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(Xinhua/Li Xueren) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, on Monday called for deepening the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. Xi made the remarks when meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam during his state visit to Vietnam. Xi pointed out that he was very pleased to pay a state visit to Vietnam and realize the first round of mutual visits with General Secretary To Lam. This year marks the 95th anniversary of the founding of the CPV, the 80th anniversary of the founding of Vietnam and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South, he said, extending warm congratulations to Vietnam on behalf of the CPC and the Chinese government. China will, as always, support Vietnam in taking a socialist path that suits its national conditions, successfully holding the 14th National Congress of the CPV in 2026, and its steadfast pursuit of realizing the two goals set for the centenary of the party and the country. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, as well as the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, said Xi, stressing that over the past 75 years, regardless of changes in the international landscape, China and Vietnam have supported each other in the struggle for national independence and liberation, advanced side by side in the cause of socialist development, and forged ahead in their respective modernization endeavors, setting an example of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries. Facing the changing and turbulent world, China and Vietnam have stayed committed to peaceful development and deepened their friendly cooperation, bringing much-needed stability and certainty to the world, Xi said. Standing at a new historical starting point, the two sides should build on past achievements, forge ahead together and carry forward the profound traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood," said Xi. Guided by the overall goals of achieving higher political mutual trust, more solid security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, stronger public support, closer multilateral coordination and better management and resolution of differences, the two countries should work to advance their comprehensive strategic cooperation with high quality, ensure steady and sustained progress in building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, and contribute even more to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said. Building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future carries great global significance, Xi said, noting that as the two countries jointly pursue peaceful development, their combined population of over 1.5 billion is jointly advancing toward modernization, which will contribute to regional and global peace and stability while promoting common development. Both countries are committed to opening up and have played a constructive role in maintaining the stability and smooth operation of regional industrial and supply chains, as well as contributing to the advancement of economic globalization, Xi said. A small boat with a lone sail cannot withstand rough seas, Xi said, noting that only by working together in the same boat can they ensure stability and long-term progress. He noted that both China and Vietnam are beneficiaries of economic globalization, and the two sides should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateralism and bullying practices, and work together to uphold the global free trade system and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains. Xi proposed six measures to deepen the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. First, enhance strategic mutual trust at a higher level. Leaders of the two parties and countries should communicate with each other as relatives, Xi said, noting the two sides should give full play to the role of channels including inter-party, legislative bodies and political consultative organizations, deepen the exchange of experience in governance, and improve the leadership of the two parties in promoting national modernization. Second, build a stronger security barrier. The two sides should set the "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security between the two countries at the ministerial level to enhance strategic coordination. It is necessary to give full play to the role of defense and law enforcement security cooperation mechanisms, resolutely tackle online gambling, telecom fraud and other cross-border crimes, strengthen bilateral and multilateral law enforcement and judicial cooperation, especially within the framework of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, so as to safeguard people's lives and property and uphold regional peace and stability. Third, expand higher quality mutually beneficial cooperation. Seize the major opportunities of China's new quality productive forces and Vietnam's new productive forces to accelerate the formation of practical cooperation between the two countries. Realize the comprehensive connection of standard-gauge railways, highways, and smart ports at an early date. Promote high-tech cooperation such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. China's mega market is always open to Vietnam, and the country welcomes more high-quality Vietnamese products. China encourages its companies to invest in Vietnam and hopes that Vietnam will create a more fair and friendly business environment. Fourth, tighten the bonds of people-to-people ties. China and Vietnam should take the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity and organize more people-oriented exchange activities, and enhance cooperation in tourism, culture, media, public health and other fields. The two sides should continue to explore resources of revolutionary heritage and promote stories of friendship. In the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for "Red Study Tours," which will help the younger generation of both countries better understand the hard-won nature of the socialist countries and the great value of China-Vietnam good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation, and will cultivate greater vitality for the development of bilateral relations and the respective national development endeavors. Fifth, conduct closer multilateral coordination. China and Vietnam should jointly uphold the outcomes of World War II, firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, promote a more equal and orderly multi-polar world and an economic globalization that is more inclusive and beneficial for all, and enhance cooperation under the frameworks of the three major global initiatives. China will stay committed to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and to the policy of pursuing friendship and partnership with its neighbors. It will deepen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries so that the fruits of Chinese modernization can better benefit the region. Sixth, achieve more positive maritime interaction. The two countries should earnestly implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, properly manage maritime issues, expand maritime cooperation, demonstrate resolve in launching joint development, and work toward the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. For his part, To Lam extended a warm welcome to Xi on his state visit to Vietnam, which took place on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said that Xi is not only an outstanding leader of the Chinese people but also a great friend of the Vietnamese people. Xi's choice to make Vietnam his first overseas destination this year fully reflects the importance he attaches to China-Vietnam relations and his support for Vietnam, the Vietnamese leader said. This visit will mark a new milestone in the history of friendly exchanges between the two parties and countries, further advancing the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, he added. Under Xi's strong leadership, To Lam noted, China has achieved historic accomplishments in advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics, made comprehensive progress in its path to modernization, and witnessed rapid development of new quality productive forces. With China's international stature on the rise, Vietnam extends its congratulations and expresses gratitude for China's long-standing support and assistance, he said. Emphasizing that both Vietnam and China are socialist countries under the leadership of a communist party, To Lam said that developing relations with China is an objective requirement, a strategic choice, and a top priority for Vietnam. Vietnam firmly adheres to the one-China policy, supports China's efforts toward national reunification, and resolutely opposes any separatist actions aimed at "Taiwan independence," he said. Advancing Vietnam-China relations, To Lam noted, is in the fundamental interest of both peoples and conforms with the trend of the times. Vietnam looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges between the two parties and countries, enhancing exchanges on governance experience, deepening strategic security cooperation, and continually consolidating political mutual trust; further elevating bilateral cooperation by creating new highlights in areas such as trade, science and technology, infrastructure and environmental protection; and promoting people-to-people exchanges, encouraging local and youth interactions, and enhancing tourism cooperation to nurture closer bonds between the peoples, he said. Vietnam supports the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and the three major global initiatives proposed by Xi, To Lam said. Vietnam lauds the vision set forth during the CPC's central conference on work related to neighboring countries, which envisions building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home with neighboring countries and insists on fostering friendly, mutually beneficial and prosperous relationships, he said. Vietnam is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China, uphold multilateralism and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, safeguard international trade rules, abide by the agreements signed by both sides, and jointly make greater contributions to world peace and human progress, To Lam said, adding that Vietnam is also willing to properly address maritime differences with China to ensure maritime stability. Before the talks, To Lam invited Xi to a small-group chat over tea. The two general secretaries exchanged views on party building and national governance. Xi stressed that party building is crucial to the destiny of the party and the country, and that the party's work style bears on whether it can win public support. The CPC Central Committee has decided to carry out an in-depth campaign throughout the party this year to learn and implement the spirit of the eight-point decision on improving work conduct. This is intended to secure new achievements in work style transformation to further support comprehensive reform and advance modernization. Both general secretaries agreed to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, and pursue progress in socialist development. After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed by China and Vietnam. These documents cover areas including connectivity, artificial intelligence, customs inspection and quarantine, agricultural trade, culture and sports, public welfare, human resource development, media, and more. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, invites Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, to a small chat over tea before their talks at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, and To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, witness the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed by the two sides after their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. Xi held talks with To Lam at the CPV Central Committee headquarters on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) 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 FULL BLOWNS music isnt made for one time of year. You can listen to it at the gym, the office, the bedroom, on rainy days, during break-ups, and as a pick-me-up. In a genre driven by the cyclical rush to Carnival, the Hart brothers are among a growing group of deliberate outliers. Theyve always made music that lives beyond the season. That very philosophy inspired their latest single, Castaway. 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. My wife and I are in our sunset years and have been trying to deal with the many issues of our health, so our doctors have been giving us prescriptions for medication which is needed to try to control our health issues. We would normally go to distributors of the various medications that are prescribed, and purchase two months supply at any one time. Alas, we no longer can do this because of the recent ruling by the respective Government agencies, and now have to purchase these medications from registered pharmacies. A Delta Air Lines flight from Tucson to Atlanta returned to TIA this afternoon after a mechanical issue arose. "Delta flight 937 returned to Tucson shortly after takeoff following indication of a mechanical issue with the aircrafts left engine," a Delta statement said. The plane landed about 1:15 p.m. without incident, and passengers are being taken on a different aircraft, the statement said. The Tucson Airport Authority Fire Department deployed in case of problems when the Boeing 737-900 landed. The airport remained fully operational, TAA said in a statement. Delta flies daily from Atlanta to Tucson and then back to Atlanta. It was the return flight to Atlanta that suffered the issue Monday. A strip of North Campbell Avenue between East Grant and East Fort Lowell roads that has become a magnet for restaurants, is getting even more. The New York-based burger chain Shake Shack will open its first Tucson restaurant at 3105 N. Campbell Ave. No opening date is set, but the company said Tuesday it will open 2026. The casual restaurant features hamburgers, chicken and portobello mushroom sandwiches and a variety of milkshakes and drinks. It will be located in a new center on Campbell Avenue, just south of Fort Lowell, where the Fabrics That Go store was recently torn down. The new center is being redesigned by local developer Larsen Baker. Future tenants for the center have not yet been announced. Currently, Shake Shack has seven locations in Arizona, and three more are expected to open in the Phoenix area later this year, the company said. There are 378 Shake Shack locations in the US. District Bite n Brews also recently leased more than 5,000 square feet at 3025 N. Campbell Ave. Other local commercial activity includes: Winterhaven Investors LLC bought a 35,300-square-foot retail center known as Winterhaven Square, 3102-3160 E. Fort Lowell Road, from Glover Associates LP for $5.3 million. Greg Furrier, Rob Tomlinson, and Natalie Furrier, with Picor, handled this transaction. KB Homes bought Rancho Del Lago Block 47, 13051 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way, from Vail Convenience Market LLC for $4 million. Aaron LaPrise, with Picor, handled the sale. US Med-Equip LLC, which supplies movable medical equipment to hospitals, leased 5,747 square feet at 831 E. 47th St. Gordon Wagner and Ben Craney, with NAI Horizon, along with Jeremy Feerer, from NAI Global Corporate Solutions, represented the tenant. Tim Healy, with CBRE, represented the landlord. Balance Pilates leased the 1,950 square feet at Bear Canyon Shopping Center, 8969 E. Tanque Verde Road. The landlord, Larsen Baker, was represented by its broker Isaac Figueroa and Pete Villaescusa, with CBRE. Joey Castillo, of Volk Co., represented the tenant. Pima County is asking thousands of long-time voters to provide proof of citizenship to rectify a decades old error for some people who registered to vote through the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division. The problem has been known for some time, but the letters have been arriving over the last few days. The letters asking about 30,000 voters in the county to submit copies of their proof of citizenship, because of a glitch in the state DMV system that incorrectly marked some individuals as having provided documentary proof of citizenship when obtaining their drivers license with no documentation on file, the Pima County Recorders Office said in a news release earlier this month announcing the mailings. The first batch of letters were sent Friday, said Marion Chubon, chief deputy recorder at the Pima County Recorders Office. About 22,000 additional letters will be mailed out in the coming weeks, she said. Currently there is no impact on a voters ability to vote in local or state elections because of this issue, Chubon said. That could change in the future, however, depending on changes in law or court rulings. The error affects Arizona residents who obtained their drivers licenses before October 1, 1996 when proof of legal citizenship was not required for a license and have since updated their license, the Recorders Office said in a news release. The Pima County Recorders Office conducted a close review of all impacted records and were able to successfully determine the citizenship of nearly 5 percent of the original list, referred to us by the Secretary of States Office in January. The glitch was discovered ahead of the Nov. 5 election last year when Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer discovered one person who had been registered who was not, in fact, a citizen despite the MVD certification, as previously reported by Capitol Media Services. The issue stems from a 2004 voter-approved law that requires proof of citizenship to register and vote. That law says proof could be verified by the registrant providing the number on an Arizona drivers license issued after Oct. 1, 1996. That is the effective date of a separate law requiring proof of legal presence to get a license. The list initially was estimated at 98,000 Arizonans but grew to about 218,000 registered voters when other problems were discovered in the link between MVDs database and information being provided to counties. The MVD glitch did not impact voters ability to cast their ballots in the 2024 election, the Pima County Recorders Office said earlier this month. Thats because a ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court in September allowed impacted voters to continue voting in state and local races, the office said. Those who receive the letter should send back a copy of their birth certificate, U.S. passport, U.S. citizenship certificate, or their Tribal Identification documentation using the envelope thats provided or by email at VoterDocs@recorder.pima.gov. Documentation also can be provided in person at offices Public Service Center Building, at 240 N. Stone Ave. Chubon recommended reaching out to the vital records office in the county a voter was born in to obtain an official record of birth. In Pima County, the office of vital records is located in the Pima County Health Department, she said. Voters can call the Recorders Office at 520-724-4330 to find out if this issue impacts their registration. PHOENIX Saying God is needed in schools, the Arizona House has approved allowing chaplains in public school classrooms. Senate Bill 1269 would allow, but not require, school boards to invite chaplains from various religions into schools to provide support, services or programs to students. There would be parental buy-in, including a list of available chaplains. And proponents say it it crafted in a way to prohibit participants from proselytizing. That did not satisfy foes who said if parents want religious counseling for their children they are free to get that elsewhere, either by taking them to a house of worship or, if they want it to be part of their academics, enrolling them in private or parochial school. They pointed out that the state provides vouchers of taxpayer funds for such an option. Theres also the contention chaplains would not be needed if the state properly funded counselors and therapists. But proponents contend there is still a need for students to get a different point of view. Rep. David Livingston, a Peoria Republican, said students are dealing with everything from drugs to cutting themselves. This bill is not the solution to everything in life, but could be one of the answers, he said. What parents are wanting is more ethics, more discipline, and, I believe more God in their schools, said Livingston. Casa Grande Republican Rep. Teresa Martinez agreed. When we talk about issues of suicide and cutting themselves, maybe a counselor is not whats required, she said. Maybe faith and God is what is required. I think we have to do a better job of including God in everything we do. And Rep. Justin Olson said what is happening in the United States is creation of a state religion in violation of the Constitution. But that religion, he said, is secularism. We need to work against that, said the Mesa Republican. We need to recognize that we should be turning to God, we should be looking to faith, and our children need opportunities to see faith and to look to a higher power, Olson said. And thats what is available under this bill. The final House vote was 31-29, with one Republican defection. Rep. Nick Kupper, a Surprise Republican, told colleagues he agrees with many of their arguments that there is no constitutional requirement to separate faith and state. But he said SB 1269 goes too far. Far too often I think schools these days have become something quite different from when I was going to school, said Kupper. I think weve made our public schools into mother, father, counselor, priest, rabbi, beyond the basic point of public education. This bill expands what a school should be. A final Senate vote is needed before the measure goes to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. The legislation opens the door to counselors of all faiths sort of. To get on the list, a chaplain would have to be from a local religious group. But that would be limited to those who meet at least monthly, and only if those meetings are at a site in which the district is located. SB 1269 then further defines eligible religions as those with a hierarchy of teachers, clergy, sages or priests, a regular practice of ritual or protocol, that acknowledges the existence of and worships one or more supernatural entities that possess power over the natural world. All that raised questions from Rep. Stephanie Simacek, a Phoenix Democrat. Last month, during a committee hearing, she raised the issue of how those rules would keep out counselors who are atheists, even if that is the preference of the parents. That didnt slow progress on the bill. This week, with a roll-call vote on the floor, she argued that the measure violates parental rights in other ways. Im the parent of two in public education, Simacek said. This bill, she said, would allow a chaplain to preach to my child what is right and what is wrong. Tucson Democratic Rep. Nancy Gutierrez had her own take. She said there are kids who do need to talk with trained adults about issues, whether counselors or social workers. Yet Arizona averages only one counselor to about 600 students, she said, while the national standard is one to 250. We are vastly underfunded, she said. Its a critical role. Gutierrez said nothing in this bill helps. All this does is put volunteers on a campus to talk about spirit, religion, she said. And thats not going to help these kids who are harming themselves. Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, a Tucson Democrat, warned of another potential problem. Under Arizona law, teachers, counselors, therapists and social workers are all mandatory reporters. That means they are required to inform police or the Department of Child Safety if there is reason to believe a child has been abused or neglected. That also can include situations where a child says something to the person. The requirement to report specifically exempts clergy if they get a confidential communication or confession in connection with their religious duties, Stahl Hamilton pointed out. That would include those working as volunteer chaplains, she said. I find that very disconcerting that we are creating a loophole for clergy who are not held to the same standard, high standards, as our educators or any other school personnel, Stahl Hamilton said. But Scottsdale Republican Rep. Alexander Kolodin said his own life experiences lead him to consider the proposal a good thing. 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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 Carol Melton, 76, holds tight to the railing as she slowly descends the narrow steps to the refinished basement. After reaching the bottom and walking down a short hallway, Melton gives a visitor a quick tour of the midtown Tulsa studio apartment she now calls home. Melton admits that she never envisioned living with her daughter and son-in-law, but after her husband of 51 years died in 2022, it quickly became apparent that the large south Tulsa home where she had lived for years would be too much for the widow. Meltons son-in-law, Richie Bolusky, said the home needed some work, and while the distance between them was not exorbitant, it was beginning to take its toll. I was having to go over there a lot, Bolusky recalled. With the goal of downsizing, Melton opted to sell her home. But after she was outbid on a couple of prospective homes, the family agreed that moving the matriarch into their home was the next best option. Melton, who still drives, has stayed busy since moving in, coming and going from the apartment, which has its own separate entry. Its like having a college kid home, joked Meltons daughter, Emily Bolusky. For many older adults like Melton, finding suitable housing can be a challenge. Affordable and accessible housing are some of the top worries for older adults and those who care for them, according to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Aging Our Way plan. Unveiled in June 2024, the state plan seeks to bring awareness to a looming fact: By 2034, adults 65 and older are expected to outnumber children in Oklahoma. And while no funds are dedicated to implementing the plan, state officials are banging the drum as loud as they can to herald the impending demographic shift. The objective of the plan is to get ahead of the demographic shift, said Joncia Johnson, DHS Aging Initiatives director and project director for the Aging Our Way plan. Connection to older-adult homeless population After surveying older adults and those who serve them, state officials identified 13 areas on which to focus their efforts. Safe, accessible and affordable housing topped the list for many survey respondents. Older adults told us that available housing is often unaffordable and/or lacks features older adults require, such as ramps, grab bars, railings and lifts, the plan says. Community partners emphasized that the lack of accessible, affordable housing is often the most significant barrier to aging in place and is a leading cause of the growing older-adult homeless population. The plan also identifies transportation, the availability of age-friendly communities and services as other top concerns among older adults. I think some of the biggest challenges that we see right now in Oklahoma as far as housing is concerned is probably what it is for all of us, which is rising costs and options to stay in their community, Johnson said. In June, the plan estimated that 860 adults age 55 and older were homeless in the state. Tulsa Day Center Executive Director Mack Haltom said the 65-and-older population makes up about 9% of the clients his agency sees. He said the agency also is seeing an increase in older clients, who often have more health issues than younger clients. I do know we are seeing the needs of the elderly growing in our clinic, Haltom said. A 2024 census of the Tulsa homeless population found 81 unhoused individuals 65 or older, according to Housing Solutions Tulsa, compared to 45 found in the 2023 point-in-time survey. Stakeholders look to government for support The DHS plan offers some solutions to alleviate housing woes for older Oklahomans, such as revising or eliminating zoning laws that limit alternative housing options and expanding federal housing programs to make it easier for developers to finance construction of housing for older adults and provide rent subsidies for tenants. But with no new funding to implement any of the recommendations, and amid stepped-up scrutiny of federal spending under the Trump administration, just how much impact the plan can have remains to be seen. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced March 27 that it was eliminating the Administration of Community Living, an HHS agency that advances independence and inclusion for older adults and people with disabilities. Programs under the Administration of Community Living would be folded in with existing agencies, HHS officials said at the time. The announcement of its pending demise follows its release in May of its own aging plan: the National Plan on Aging, a step toward improving the aging experience for older adults and creating age-friendly communities. Johnson admits to being concerned about the impact of the actions at the national level, but she said she is confident that programs will somehow remain intact. For now, Johnson is focusing on the low-hanging fruit, which involves gathering everyone from multiple sectors that work with the aging population to collaborate on less-costly solutions. There is no specific funding for Aging Our Way at this time, so we are really using our state partners and our community partners to kind of create these frameworks, Johnson said. And mainly it is just about education right now and getting the information out and then implementing what a lot of these agencies and community partners are already doing. But the plan will need legislative support if it is ever to be fully implemented, she said. In May, Mark Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin) explores one of Australias most remote and majestic landscapes when The Kimberley screens on ABC. In the remote North-Western corner of Australia lies a magnificent landscape that defies time. The Kimberley spans over 400,000 square kilometres three times the size of England and contains sprawling savannas, towering gorges, rivers, tropical coastlines and desert. The regions rugged terrain provides a last refuge for countless rare mammals, reptiles and birds, including the worlds smallest marsupial, and the largest and fiercest reptile. Guided by Mark, a Nyikina man from the lower Martuwarra (Fitzroy River) area, this three-part series is an adventure into a place like nowhere else on Earth. Following the six distinct seasons on the Nyikina calendar Lalin, Jirrbal, Willakarra, Koolawa, Barrakana and Willbooroo we track the quest of the Traditional Owners and passionate ecologists working to protect the regions incredible biodiversity. With daring camerawork and cutting-edge cinematography techniques, this landmark natural history series captures never-before-seen animal sequences as we share a year in the lives of the unique wildlife that calls The Kimberley home. Production Credits: Commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Kimberley is a Wild Pacific Media production for the ABC. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with the ABC. Financed with support from Screen NSW. The series has been produced in association with international broadcasters Love Nature and Arte France. Blue Ant Studios will manage international sales. Post, digital and visual effects supported by Screen NSW. Directed by Nick Robinson. Narrated by Mark Coles Smith. Written and produced by Nick Robinson, Peta Ayers and Mark Coles Smith. Executive Producers Electra Manikakis and Nick Robinson. Director of Photography Jack Riley. Editors Bobbi Hansel, Caspar Mazzotti and Jack Riley. ABC Commissioning Editor Stephen Oliver. ABC Head of Documentary and Specialist Susie Jones. Tuesday 13 May at 8pm on ABC. When producers ambitiously asked four Australian communities to participate in mass DNA tests for a huge ancestry documentary series, they never really knew what to expect. It was only a feasibility study, prior to production, that indicated it could succeed. But what would be the actual results for the people of Bairnsdale, Surry Hills, Bathurst and Geelong when cameras rolled in mid 2024? After all, The Secret DNA of Us had never been mounted as a television format. Mass DNA testing, conceptually, has been done in court cases and things like that. But this sort of thing where the intention is to tell the story of a nation through a town, in this way, has never been done before, says presenter Marc Fennell. We didnt really have a blueprint for how to do it, so that was a discovery process. When Fennell was approached by producers Eureka and SBS, he probed them on the risks and the ethics from their feasability study. I kind of sat there as they took me through the test results and I was like, What happens if this happens? What happens if we discover this?' he recalls. I was probably really annoying because I just asked a thousand questions. I was so intrigued as to how you would do it, and what would come out of it. In the end it elicited a myriad of results of how communities have bloomed from ancestors from across the globe and First Nations mobs. Participants learn previously-unknown histories on camera, and in front of strangers some of whom will discover they are related. When you thread those stories together, you get a picture of a place that actually reveals something about who we are as a nation. That develops across the series, and thats been the thing I found most interesting. I love the art of putting documents in front of people and watching them piece the story together, he continues. You can genuinely illuminate a picture of a country through one town, and it can actually tell you something much bigger than you think it is. DNA results led to surprising inidividual stories some of which are profiled within the bigger community pictures. The DNA is a tool that allows you to then do family research, that then allows you to find the stories, that then allows you to go, Okay, does this story do the personal, the regional and the national?' In Bairnsdale, participants gathered in a local hall to learn what was being asked of them by Fennell, journalist Rae Johnston and ancestry expert Brad Argent. After submitting to a DNA test, they regathered some months later to hear the results. It was a five hour shoot day in the middle of a dance hall, and we gave them a lot of results. One of the reasons we did that is, we werent sure what people would react to or what would mean something to people. What was surprising was people realising theyve got a cousin in the room or realising ethnicity triggers a memory much bigger thing, like being able to find out who their father is. In Surry Hills there were unexpected emotions. That reveal day is filled with tears for reasons that we genuinely didnt see coming. There is something genuinely interesting that happens when you suddenly realise that your story is the last chapter in a story that has stretched for 1000 years and reaches right across the globe, said Fennell. Theres something incredibly emotional, humbling and transcendent when that moment dawns on you that you are only here because of a handful of choices people have made hundreds of years ago. Im not gonna pretend I knew this beforehand. It genuinely took me by surprise, how humbling that experience is when you have to kind of reckon with your smallness in history. But Fennell, whose own heritage links to India, Singapore and Ireland, particularly recalls stories from Geelong and Bathurst episodes. In Geelong, there is a woman who has lived just above the poverty line for most her entire life, never knowing who her father was.. Royalty is all Ill say! The connections there are spectacular, he insists. Another one is somebody whos long had a family history that they were descended from a French Count. I laugh thinking about it.. the truth of their story is so twisty, so weird, that its actually so much better than being related to nobility. When you watch those episodes, you can see my eyes light up. Part of the joy the show is actually just watching it unfold on the contributors faces. I dont know that we expected this, but it does become very heartwarming, which is a massively overused phrase. But you do walk away from these moments as being, Wow. This completely changes how somebody sees themself, and, in turn, changes how you see the country.' The Secret DNA of Us 7:30pm Thursday on SBS. HA NOI Efforts are being ramped up to fast-track three railway projects linking Viet Nam and China, with the aim of making them symbolic project in bilateral cooperation, according to the Ministry of Construction. Joint commitment to speed up implementation Among the three planned routes, the Lao CaiHa NoiHai PhongQuang Ninh railway project is set to be the first to break ground. Following the National Assemblys adoption of Resolution No. 187 on the investment policy, Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh met with Chinese Minister of Transport Liu Wei in late March to discuss implementation plans. Both sides agreed to expedite preparations to commence construction by the end of 2025. The Ministry of Construction has asked the Chinese side to swiftly approve and issue a diplomatic note on non-refundable aid for the project's feasibility study. It also proposed China designate a focal agency to negotiate a framework agreement for a government loan, and recommend capable enterprises to form joint ventures to participate in the project. Domestically, the ministry is finalising a draft government resolution on the implementation of the National Assemblys investment policy and coordinating with relevant ministries to prepare guiding decrees on special mechanisms and policies for the project. Work is also underway to develop common criteria, regulations, technological standards, and designs to facilitate the mobilisation of capital and selection of contractors. Additional stations and branch lines are being considered to maximise economic development benefits for localities along the route. For the Ha NoiLang Son line, the ministry plans to construct a new double-track railway to meet projected demand by 2050, including million tonnes of freight and 7.5 million passengers per year. As for the Hai PhongHa LongMong Cai route, the ministry has determined the projects scale and route direction to enhance connectivity among northern coastal provinces and support international rail transit. Viet Nam is calling on China to accelerate the approval process for a technical assistance project supporting the planning of these two railways. Opportunities for growth and regional integration Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Danh Huy noted that the three cross-border railway projects are expected to enhance bilateral trade, connect Viet Nam to Chinas extensive rail network reaching Central Asia and Europe, and link China to ASEAN via Viet Nam. According to Tran Thien Canh, director of the Vietnam Railway Authority, the investment in these railways will help restructure the transport sector and improve traffic safety. To prepare for the Lao CaiHa NoiHai PhongQuang Ninh project, the ministry has asked the Peoples Committees of nine affected provinces and cities to carry out land clearance, compensation, and resettlement, with the construction of resettlement areas expected to begin in 2025. Meanwhile, domestic enterprises are strengthening their capacity to serve both this project and the NorthSouth high-speed railway. For the Ha NoiLang Son and Hai PhongHa LongMong Cai routes, detailed planning will soon commence to determine the routes' directions, technical standards, and investment plans. Construction is anticipated to begin after 2030, following approval of the planning phase. VNS HA NOI Vietnam International Bank (VIB) has officially introduced the VIB Business Card - a strategic financial solution designed to support the evolving needs of Viet Nams business community. The card offers two standout benefits - a lifetime annual fee waiver with up to 57 days of interest-free credit, and unlimited cashback on all spending. According to the Head of VIBs Card Division, Tuong Nguyen, the introduction of the new card represents a significant milestone in the banks ongoing strategy to develop a comprehensive financial ecosystem, catering to a wide range of customers from single individuals to companies. She emphasised that the card is more than just a payment tool, it serves as a strategic asset designed to optimise costs, enhance operational efficiency and accelerate business growth. The product also integrates flexible lending solutions with modern digital cash flow management, underlining VIBs commitment to addressing the specific financial needs of business clients, she said. The Country Manager for Visa Vietnam and Laos, ang Tuyet Dung, highlighted the VIB Business Card as a tailored solution for sectors that directly support business operations. As global economic dynamics continue to evolve, highlighted by tariff changes from the US and new VAT refund regulations in Viet Nam (effective July 1, 2025), which promote non-cash transactions, VIB expects that the new card will offer a timely and strategic financial solution. By empowering businesses to choose between waived annual fees with extended interest-free periods or unlimited cashback, along with deep customisation, we are redefining the corporate card experience, said Tuong Nguyen. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam and China have signed important cooperation documents in the railway and road sectors, including two intergovernmental treaties, two official development assistance (ODA) agreements between the two governments, and three ministerial-level accords. The signing took place during General Secretary of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinpings state visit to Viet Nam from April 14 to 15. Vietnamese Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh represented Viet Nam in signing the documents with Chinese counterparts. The railway sector was a focal point of the signing ceremony, with four key documents aimed at accelerating the preparation and implementation of transnational railway projects. These include a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Viet Nams Ministry of Construction and Chinas National Development and Reform Commission to establish a joint Viet NamChina Railway Cooperation Committee to fast-track priority rail projects. Among the documents signed were working minutes between the Ministry of Construction and Chinas International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), outlining field survey plans and technical support for a feasibility study of the Lao Cai Ha Noi Hai Phong railway line. The two sides also exchanged official letters regarding Chinas provision of technical assistance for the planning of standard-gauge railway lines, including the ong ang - Ha Noi and Mong Cai Ha Long Hai Phong routes. A separate exchange of official letters confirmed Chinas support in preparing a feasibility study for the Lao Cai Ha Noi Hai Phong standard-gauge railway project, a pivotal document that will facilitate internal procedures and pave the way for early commencement of the project. In the field of road transportation, three more agreements were inked. These include an intergovernmental agreement on the joint construction of cross-border transport infrastructure at the Thanh Thuy (Viet Nam) Tian Bao (China) international border gate, a protocol simplifying procedures for the cross-border movement of personnel, vehicles, construction equipment and materials, and an MoU on technical road cooperation between Viet Nams Ministry of Construction and Chinas Ministry of Transport. These road transport agreements are expected to provide a legal framework for Viet Nam's Ha Giang Province and China's Yunnan Province to jointly invest in and implement cross-border infrastructure projects. This is seen as a catalyst for enhancing trade, easing the flow of goods and responding to the growing demand for cross-border travel between the two provinces and the wider region. The memorandum on road technical cooperation will also promote collaboration in establishing engineering standards, developing new technologies and materials, and advancing construction and maintenance management practices. VNS HUNG YEN A trade conference took place in Hung Yen City on Wednesday to promote the consumption and distribution of local agricultural and handicraft products. The event was organised by the citys Department of Economy, Infrastructure and Urban Affairs, in coordination with the Central Retail Viet Nam group, in preparation for the launch of the GO! Hung Yen supermarket and shopping centre in July. The conference attracted more than 60 businesses, cooperatives and households that participate in the One CommuneOne Product (OCOP) programme, as well as representatives of craft villages from various districts and towns. At the event, suppliers in the northern province of Hung Yen had the opportunity to learn about Central Retails nationwide distribution system, gain deeper insights into the groups purchasing procedures, and explore opportunities to put their products onto the shelves of GO!. Businesses engaged in direct networking and received information and consumer trend updates from Central Retails purchasing staff, which help them make informed decisions to adjust their production and business strategies. Speaking at the event, Central Retail Viet Nams communications director Nguyen Thi Bich Van said: We have deployed an experienced purchasing team in both fast-moving consumer goods and fresh goods to ensure effective supply-demand matching, which aligns with our Better for Vietnam strategy and helps to establish a supply chain for the opening of GO! Hung Yen. We hope that after this event, many products from Hung Yen Province will be supplied to the supermarket to serve local residents and those from the surrounding areas." GO! Hung Yen is expected to promote the consumption of signature agricultural, industrial and handicraft products from Hung Yen City, and contribute to the socio-economic development of Hung Yen Province and neighbouring localities. It will support the development of the local trade and services sector through strong collaboration with small and medium-sized enterprises in the province. Hung Yens OCOP products distributed at the supermarket will have the opportunity to reach other GO! and Tops Market supermarkets nationwide. More than 100 local residents will be hired to work at GO! Hung Yen when it goes into operation. BIZHUB/VNS HA NOI The Vietnam National Brand Week will start on Wednesday to promote Vietnamese products that have achieved the Vietnam Value title to the domestic and international community, in celebration of the 17th Vietnam Brand Day (April 20). With the theme Breakthrough from Innovation and Creativity, this years event emphasises the role of innovation in business development strategies, and aims to honour Vietnamese enterprises that made outstanding efforts to improve product quality and raise the value of the Vietnamese brands in domestic and international markets, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trades Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, the events organiser. It also provides a great opportunity for enterprises to enhance their reputation, expand markets, and increase their influence amid global competition. Apart from the kick-off ceremony, other events that will take place on Wednesday include the seminar Innovation The Driving Force Behind the Breakthrough of the Vietnam National Brand, and an exhibition showcasing the achievements of the Vietnam National Brand programme. The activities will be held at the Pullman Hanoi Hotel and last until April 21. Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, chair of the Vietnam National Brand Council, has sent a letter of congratulations to the Vietnamese business community to mark the occasion. In the letter, he encouraged all enterprises especially those that have been recognised with the Vietnam Value title to actively improve product quality, develop sustainable brands, and continue to promote the national brand and image of Viet Nam. The Vietnam Value programme was started in 2003 by the Government to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products, enhance their recognition, and build a national image. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has been tasked with coordinating with other ministries and sectors to select and honour domestic brands based on three core values: quality, innovation, and leadership. BIZHUB/VNS CAN THO Businesses in Can Tho that are dependent on exports to the US face losses or even bankruptcy due to a 46 per cent import tariff the US could slap on Vietnamese goods, delegates told a dialogue held between the city administration and businesses affected by the taxes on Tuesday. Ha Vu Son, director of the city Department of Industry and trade, said goods exports to the US in 2024 exceeded US$192 million, accounting for 11 per cent of the city's total exports. Major export categories include agricultural products, seafood, apparel, handicrafts, steel, and related goods. If implemented, the 46 per cent tariff would raise the cost of goods by nearly half, hitting the competitiveness of Vietnamese products against those from countries facing lower rates. Nonetheless, in the short term US firms may continue sourcing from Viet Nam due to the difficulty in swiftly establishing alternative supply chains. Nguyen Van Bac, director of Viet Thanh Export Garment Co., Ltd, said the US is a major global consumer market and vital to both the Mekong Delta and Viet Nam. He said that in recent days he has been deeply concerned that the tariffs could significantly affect his companys operations in the near future. Phan Hoang Duy, deputy general director of Can Tho Seafood Import Export Seafood JSC (CASEAMEX), said the US is among Viet Nams largest seafood export destinations. CASEAMEX supplies 30 markets, with the US accounting for over half its exports. The company considers the US its most important market due to its stability and its impact on other regions. If the US imposed a 10 per cent tariff on seafood products across all countries, Vietnamese pangasius would likely remain stable due to limited competition. This would minimise disruption and could even benefit Viet Nams pangasius industry. However, the shrimp industry faces competition from Ecuador, India and Indonesia. In addition to possible import tariffs, anti-dumping duties and prospective countervailing duties from the US create significant pressure for businesses. A CASEAMEX representative said the US has imposed a 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods, which indirectly impacts Viet Nams seafood industry. China ranks among the worlds top two seafood producers and exporters. If Chinese seafood cannot be exported to the US, China is expected to prioritise its domestic market and other export destinations. In that case, the volume of Chinese seafood entering other markets would rise and prices would likely drop and it would be harder for Vietnamese seafood exporters to shift to these markets. But local firms are developing strategies to broaden their consumer base. During the expected three-month suspension of US tariffs, businesses aim to take advantage of the window to fulfil existing export orders. At the same time they are working to build stronger ties and expand into markets such as Europe, Japan and South Korea. Additional strategies include diversifying their customer base, growing the domestic market, training workers to improve skills, cutting costs, and streamlining production to boost internal resilience. City businesses are also actively exploring new paths to reduce risks if worst-case tariff scenarios materialise. They hope city authorities will introduce support measures such as reducing land lease rates, speeding up VAT refunds for struggling companies, increasing trade promotions, and helping seafood exporters access new markets. They also hope Viet NamUS trade negotiations will succeed. VNS HA NOI By early 2025, personal payment accounts in Viet Nam are expected to exceed 200 million, according to the Deputy Director of the Payment Department at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Le Anh Dung,. Dung made the remarks during a two-day conference on World Financial Innovation Series 2025 starting in Ha Noi on Tuesday. He noted that many banks have successfully reduced their cost-to-income ratio (CIR) to below 30 per cent, showcasing improved efficiency through comprehensive digital transformation, positioning them alongside leading financial institutions in the region. Dung emphasised that Viet Nam is entering a pivotal phase of development, aiming to become a developed nation by 2045, as outlined in Resolution 57-NQ/TW by the Politburo. This resolution focuses on breakthroughs in science, technology and national digital transformation. In this context, digital transformation is not just a trend, but a crucial driver for sustainable economic growth, enhanced national competitiveness and improved quality of life. The banking sector is vital to this transformation, playing a leading role in meeting customer demands and contributing to national digital goals. Recent years have seen significant advancements in the Vietnamese banking industry, aligning with the Digital Transformation Plan for the Banking Industry to 2025, (Decision 810/Q-NHNN). To enhance operational efficiency, customer experience and risk management, credit institutions have heavily invested in advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, big data, cloud computing and robotic process automation (RPA). The trend of hyper-personalisation is emerging as a key highlight in the banking sector, enabling the provision of tailor-made products and services for each customer based on real-time data analysis and transaction context. This approach has yielded impressive results, by early 2025, over 90 per cent of financial transactions at many credit institutions were conducted through digital channels. This achievement reflects the industry's commitment to focusing on customers, enhancing user experiences and delivering practical benefits. Most banks have effectively used the National Population Database to implement customer identification via chip-embedded citizen identification cards. As a result, the number of personal payment accounts has surpassed 200 million, with transaction growth via the internet, mobile devices and QR codes reaching 35 per cent, 33 per cent, and 66 per cent respectively, compared to the same period in 2024. Many banks have successfully reduced their cost-to-income ratio (CIR) below 30 per cent, showcasing their efficiency and alignment with leading financial institutions in the region. Le Anh Dung emphasised that these figures not only highlight the rapid pace of digital transformation but also illustrate financial inclusion, enabling tens of millions of peopleespecially in rural and remote areasto access convenient and modern financial services. According to Dung the Vietnamese banking industry, while achieving significant progress in digital transformation, also faces several challenges. The foremost challenge is ensuring network security and data protection. High-tech attacks, such as deepfake technology and identity fraud, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and widespread, necessitating robust security measures. There is an ongoing need to invest in modern technology infrastructure and develop human resources equipped with digital skills. This requires coordinated efforts among management agencies, credit institutions and technology partners to address these gaps effectively. The legal framework must continue to evolve to keep pace with technological advancements and emerging business models. It is crucial to strike a balance between encouraging innovation and ensuring system stability, safety and consumer protection. The Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Banking Association, Nguyen Quoc Hung, highlighted the significant impact of digital transformation in the banking sector. Through this transformation, banks are able to offer practical products and services that enhance user experience for both individuals and businesses. This effort aligns with the government's Project 06, focusing on modernisation and efficiency. Key advancements include the implementation of biometric authentication and one-touch payment systems via QR codes. Furthermore, the banking industry is actively leveraging artificial intelligence in two primary areas: AI is used for forecasting and optimising business operations. AI helps in identifying fraud and money laundering risks, ensuring compliance with regulations. In addition, banks are enhancing online public services, integrating them with the National Public Service Portal. Currently, over 90 per cent of work records are managed online, with nearly 14.6 million accounts and 46.2 million records submitted through the portal. The system has facilitated approximately 26.8 million online payment transactions, amounting to more than VN12.9 trillion (US$516 million). This comprehensive approach underscores the commitment of the banking sector to innovate and improve service delivery through technology. At the sideline of the event, Praveen Venu, co-founder of the Indian Tradepass - the organiser of the event - said digital transformation is becoming increasingly critical across all sectors, particularly in the financial services industry. In Viet Nam, there is a significant surge in interest from digital banks and technology providers eager to showcase their capabilities to financial institutions. The exhibition features impressive companies introducing cutting-edge digital transformation solutions. Topics of great interest include digital banking, AI in banking, cybersecurity in the financial sector and customer experience. These subjects will be focal points of discussion throughout the two-day event. We have seen remarkable engagement not only from delegates but also from many technology providers, all eager to participate in this vital conversation. The impact of digital banking in Viet Nam is substantial, with a growing number of Neo banks emerging across Southeast Asia, positioning Viet Nam as a promising market for this model, he said. VNS HA NOI The Vietnam Innovation and Private Capital Investment Forum 2025 (VIPC Summit 2025) will take place on April 22 at the National Convention Centre in Ha Noi, aiming to promote innovation, unlock private capital and support Viet Nams entry into a new era of development. The event is jointly organised by the National Innovation Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Finance, the Viet Nam Private Capital Association (VPCA), Golden Gate Ventures and Do Ventures. Building on the success of four previous editions of the Vietnam Venture Summit, this years forum has been renamed and expanded to include a broader focus on innovation and investment trends. VIPC Summit 2025 is expected to bring together government leaders, international organisations, leading venture capital funds and financial institutions such as CDH Investments, Partech Ventures, Temasek, Do Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, VinaCapital, and Mekong Capital, among others. According to Vinnie Lauria, VPCA Board Member and Golden Gate Ventures Founding Partner, the event, with over 1,000 delegates, including 200 investors flying in from across Asia, the Gulf and Europe, emphasised Viet Nams rising innovation economy, setting records in foreign direct investment and tech manufacturing. Our ambition is bold but clear, to position Viet Nam as a regional leader in private capital by unlocking US$35 billion by 2035 through data driven insights, elevated standards and deeper cooperation between government, founders and investors, Lauria said. The forum will serve as a platform for dialogue between policymakers, investors, and technology enterprises. It will cover key topics such as innovation policies, strategies to mobilise private investment, support for startups, and opportunities in Viet Nams private capital market. Panel discussions will also address IPO and M&A opportunities, as well as strategies for scaling businesses and successful fundraising. At the press briefing on April 15, NIC Director Vu Quoc Huy highlighted the importance of private investment in driving innovation, following the Politburos Resolution 57, which encourages the effective mobilisation of all resources for science, technology, and national digital transformation. Under the direction of the Ministry of Finance, NIC will continue to work with relevant ministries to implement Government priorities on fostering innovation and attracting private capital. Our goal is to help Viet Nam achieve growth of over 8 per cent in 2025 and double-digit growth in the years ahead, he said. The event will also feature the launch of the Viet Nam Innovation and Technology Investment Report 2025. According to the Viet Nam Innovation and Technology Investment Report 2024, to be released at the forum, nearly 100 funds have invested in Vietnamese tech startups. The most active investors came from Singapore, contributing a total of $529 million. Huy said although this figure dropped by 17 per cent from the previous year, it remains relatively strong compared to the 35 per cent decline in global venture capital, showing Viet Nams resilience in a challenging investment climate. Amid rising trade tensions, there are concerns that foreign investments into startups and innovation activities may slow down. However, experts said foreign investments into innovation in Viet Nam would remain unaffected. According to Lauria, this is not the first time tensions have flared between the US and China, and Viet Nam holds a unique position that could even benefit in certain scenarios. He predicted a new wave of startups emerging under current conditions and committed to allocating one-third of his $300 million funds investment to Viet Nam in the near future. Sharing this view, NIC Director Huy said Viet Nam has key advantages to attract and retain investment in innovation, including a stable political-economic environment and a high-quality workforce. BIZHUB/VNS HA NOI In a surprising shift in Viet Nams fruit export market, dragon fruit has surged ahead to become the countrys leading fruit export, surpassing durian. According to the Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association, dragon fruit exports reached US$93.8 million, accounting for 14.3 per cent of the total fruit and vegetable export value during the JanuaryFebruary period. In February alone, exports of dragon fruit brought in $35 million, representing 13.6 per cent of the sector's monthly export turnover. The sharp rise in the volumes of dragon fruit comes amid a significant decline in durian exports, which have fallen to third place. In February, durian export turnover was just $21.4 million, with the two-month total also standing at $21.4 million a 69 per cent drop year-on-year, accounting for only 7.6 per cent of total fruit and vegetable exports. The dramatic downturn is largely attributed to new import regulations from China, Viet Nams top durian buyer, which consumes 95 per cent of Viet Nams durian exports. Since early this year, China has required that all imported durian shipments be accompanied by cadmium residue and yellow O chemical test results, conducted at Chinese-recognised laboratories. These stricter requirements have delayed customs clearance and made exports more complicated. In addition, the European Union has increased border inspection frequency for Vietnamese durian from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, due to repeated violations of pesticide residue standards. Bananas have also gained ground. In February, banana exports reached $40.8 million, up 32 per cent from January. Over the first two months of the year, banana exports totalled $71.5 million, making up more than 10 per cent of the fruit and vegetable sectors overall export earnings. Dragon fruits resurgence marks a comeback for a fruit that once topped Viet Nams export charts. According to the General Secretary of the Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association, ang Phuc Nguyen, dragon fruit had previously been Viet Nams number one fruit export, earning nearly $1.3 billion in 2018. However, its value declined in subsequent years, falling below the $1 billion mark by 2022 as durian exports took off. Dragon fruit is popular in China, with Vietnamese varieties accounting for 90 per cent of Chinas imported dragon fruit, Nguyen said. Current domestic dragon fruit prices are at high levels between VN23,000 and VN35,000 ($0.90-1.37) per kilogramme, depending on the type. Viet Nam is also looking to expand dragon fruit exports to the US, a market that already accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Viet Nams dragon fruit exports. On April 11, Deputy Minister Hoang Trung of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment led a delegation to meet with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture. During the meeting, Viet Nam proposed that the US recognise a hot steam treatment method for dragon fruit, which would significantly reduce processing costs for Vietnamese exporters. If approved, this could pave the way for a sharp increase in dragon fruit exports to the US market. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam National Television (VTV) and China Media Group (CMG) will jointly produce a series of programmes focusing on political, cultural and social milestones of the two countries in the 2025-2026 period. The collaboration was announced at a ceremony held by VTV and CMG on April 14 in Ha Noi. Under the cooperation, important events such as visits by high-ranking leaders of the communist parties and states of Viet Nam and China, important conferences, strategic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges will be broadcast in both countries.The programmes will be aired on national television channels and digital platforms, ensuring wide transmission to the majority of people of the two countries. At the ceremony, VTV and CMG agreed to strongly promote the exchange of television content, aiming to introduce works that reflect the depth of culture, national identity and outstanding development achievements of each country. Documentaries, television series and reports on history, places, people and innovation, will be prioritised in the cooperation. "The cooperation between VTV and CMG will not just promote cultural exchanges, but will also contribute to building a solid foundation for lasting friendship between the two countries," VTV's General Director Nguyen Thanh Lam said. "We believe that the cooperation between VTV and CMG will be realised through television programmes. Together we convey the vibrant, diverse images of the two countries, the two peoples and the two cultures, telling traditional and modern stories about preserving values and developing future-oriented technology. "VTV will strive with CMG to expand cooperation activities boosting the relationship between Viet Nam and China." The world is changing every day, Lam said. The explosion of new technology trends such as AI opens up new opportunities, as well as challenges for the television industry. This forces television makers to transform and innovate to suit the tastes of the audience. In this context, VTV will continuously making effort to apply technology to content production and enhance digital platforms to reach audiences in a more flexible, personalised and effective way, VTV also hopes to learn from and exchange experiences in applying AI and building a comprehensive OTT (Over The Top) ecosystem from CMG, said Lam. Notably, art exchanges between outstanding traditional and modern artists from the two nations, will be a key of the cooperation. The two partners will seek opportunities to work together in content production and for distribution on digital platforms. Additionally, sharing experiences in operating digital ecosystems and digital content strategies will be emphasised. It will improve the digital transformation capacity of each party, while affirming the position of VTV and CMG in the field of modern media. To deepen the understanding of each countrys culture, for the younger generation, VTV and CMG will jointly produce a programme called 'Young Reporters Exchange'. This will provide an opportunity for younger people in the media to raise awareness, build traditional relationships, foster friendships, learn from each other and work towards a sustainable future. Speaking at the ceremony CMG's General Director Shen Haixiong said: "This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relation between China and Viet Nam and is the Viet Nam-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2025." "The programme Young Reporters Exchange will be one of a series of activities between VTV and CMG with a view to strengthening the friendship relationship between the two countries," he said. Media cooperation between the two partners has been active for many years contributing to consolidating and deepening the traditional friendship between the two countries. The benefits of this cooperation have been seen with the producing and broadcasting documentaries Viet Nam Today - China Today (in 2015) and The charm of Viet Nam - The charm of China (in 2017). VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the state visit by General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping in Ha Noi on Monday, hailing it as the most important high-level engagement in bilateral ties this year. PM Chinh expressed appreciation for Xis four visits to Viet Nam in his capacity as Party General Secretary and President of China, believing that this historic milestone will provide strategic direction and fresh impetus to further foster ties between the two Parties and countries. He congratulated China on achieving its first centenary goal, highlighting the countrys rapid post-COVID recovery, substantial contributions to global economic growth and breakthroughs in key technologies. He voiced confidence that the Chinese Party, State, and people will successfully realise their second centenary goal. Highlighting Viet Nams recent socio-economic progress, PM Chinh reaffirmed the nations commitment to its three strategic breakthroughs and strategic quartet approach, which prioritise advancements in sci-tech, a lean and efficient administrative system, private sector growth, and an independent, self-reliant, globally integrated economy. Viet Nam consistently considers the development of relations with China an objective requirement, a strategic choice, and a top priority, he said, adding that Viet Nam is determined to advance the building of a Viet NamChina community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. To nurture bilateral ties, PM Chinh proposed strengthening political trust to guide overall relations, maintaining regular exchanges between top Party and State leaders, and institutionalising contacts between the two PMs. He advocated for enhanced national defence-security cooperation as a cornerstone of the relationship and called for mutual support within multilateral frameworks. He urged both nations to enhance the quality and effectiveness of practical cooperation, particularly in railway development, prioritising credit arrangements, technology transfer, and workforce training. He proposed the early signing of an ODA loan agreement to commence construction of the Lao Cai-Ha Noi-Hai Phong railway in 2025, alongside advancing other key routes such as ong ang-Ha Noi and Mong Cai-Ha Long-Hai Phong. He also called for balanced and sustainable trade growth, urging China to facilitate greater market access for Vietnamese agricultural products and other goods. The leader called for an accelerated partnership in developing new productive forces, with a primary focus on sci-tech, innovation, and digital transformation. He stressed the importance of launching large-scale, symbolic projects in Viet Nam, creating new benchmarks in environmental and financial cooperation, deepening collaboration in culture, education, tourism, and aviation, while enhancing exchanges and coordination within multilateral frameworks. PM Chinh also proposed the two sides continuing to build a boderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development, and maintain peace and stability at sea, creating a favourable environment for the development of each country. He emphasised the need to adhere to high-level common perceptions, effectively manage and appropriately resolve disagreements in the spirit of friendship and mutual respect, in accordance with international law, including the1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Xi expressed his joy to choose Viet Nam as the first destination for his overseas visit in 2025, saying that this decision fully demonstrates the high regard the Chinese Party and Government for the China-Viet Nam relations and the friendship between the two countries' people. Showing his impression of the strong momentum of Viet Nam's oi moi (renewal) process, Xi congratulated Viet Nam on its significant achievements in socio-economic development, particularly its high and stable economic growth. He also wished Viet Nam success in organising the 14th National Party Congress, ushering the country into an era of prosperity and growth. The Chinese leader affirmed that the Party and Government of China are committed to a friendship policy towards Viet Nam, and always consider Viet Nam a priority in their neighbouring diplomacy. He reiterated China's firm support for Viet Nam's path of socialism, tailored to its specific circumstances, stating that China stands ready to work with Viet Nam to build a community with a shared future between the two countries, guided by the six major orientations, contributing to the advancement of humanity. He expressed his pleasure at the positive results achieved during his talks with Viet Nam's Party General Secretary To Lam, noting that the two sides also signed over 40 cooperation agreements, covering substantial and comprehensive areas, which generated many fruitful outcomes for the visit. Xi praised PM Chinh for his important contributions to promoting cooperation across areas between the two countries. He highly valued Chinhs proposals for strengthening relations between the two parties and countries, expressing his hope that the two sides will make full use of existing exchange mechanisms, especially the Steering Committee for bilateral cooperation; collaboration in the party, government, and parliament channels, as well as among key ministries such as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Public Security. The two sides should seize development opportunities in science and technology, leverage the geographical proximity between the two countries to tap into economic cooperation potential, and actively promote railway cooperation mechanism. Xi affirmed that China is willing to expand the import of Vietnamese agricultural products and encourage Chinese enterprises to increase high-quality investment in Viet Nam. He suggested the two sides effectively organise activities within the framework of the Year of China-Viet Nam Humanistic Exchange 2025, launch tourism routes, and strengthen cooperation in education and healthcare to bring tangible benefits to the two nations people. He also called on relevant ministries and sectors of the two countries to actively implement cooperation projects, properly manage differences based on high-level common perceptions, and promote cooperation at sea, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the region and the world. VNS HA NOI General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping and a high-ranking Chinese delegation on Tuesday morning laid wreaths in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Ha Noi. The top Chinese leader is paying a state visit to Viet Nam from April 14-15 at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and State President Luong Cuong. Also joining the event were General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee To Lam; Politburo member and Permanent member of the CPV Central Committees Secretariat Tran Cam Tu; Secretary of the CPV Central Committee and Chief of the CPV Central Committees Office Le Hoai Trung; and member of the CPV Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. Xi and the high-ranking delegation of the Chinese Party and State laid wreaths and paid respects to President Ho Chi Minh, a national liberation hero, an outstanding man of culture, a genius leader of the Party and people of Viet Nam, a steadfast revolutionary soldier and a close friend of the peoples of the world. Viet Nam and China are close neighbours, connected by mountains and rivers, and their people share long-standing friendship. Since the two sides established the framework for a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership in 2008, and especially after mutual visits by the top leaders of the two Parties and countries in recent years, bilateral relations have developed rapidly, comprehensively, and outstandingly across many fields. Xis ongoing state visit to Viet Nam is an important diplomatic event for both Parties and countries, with strategic significance and long-lasting impact on the development of bilateral relations as both nations enter a new era of development. This is Xi's fourth visit to Viet Nam in his capacity as the top leader of the Chinese Party and State and his second during the 13th-term National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the 20th-term National Congress of the Communist Party of China. It also takes place in the Year of Viet Nam - China Humanistic Exchange, marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations (1950-2025). VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh led a Vietnamese delegation to bid farewell to General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping at Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi on Tuesday afternoon. Xi concluded his two-day state visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and State President Luong Cuong. Amid a ceremonial drum performance and traditional dance featuring young people in traditional costumes representing Viet Nam's 54 ethnic groups, Chinh congratulated Xi on the success of his state visit. He emphasised that the outcomes of the visit carry strategic significance and will have a lasting impact on the development of relations between the two Parties and the two nations, especially as both Viet Nam and China are entering a new era of development. The Chinese leader once again expressed his sincere gratitude for the warm and thoughtful reception extended by the Vietnamese Party, Government, and people. He said the visit has further enhanced his confidence in Viet Nam's continued prosperity and the happiness of its people, and reaffirmed his belief that the traditional friendship between China and Viet Nam will continue to grow stronger and endure for generations to come. This marked Xis fourth visit to Viet Nam in his role as Chinas top leader, and his second visit in his current tenure. The visit took place in the context of the Year of Viet NamChina Humanistic Exchange and the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the visit, Xi had talks and meetings with Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. At the events, the leaders engaged in in-depth discussions on strategic issues related to the future orientation of the relations between the two Parties and two countries. The discussions also covered regional and international issues of mutual concern and established a new roadmap for developing the relations between the two Parties, States, and the people of Viet Nam and China. While in Viet Nam, Xi participated in various significant activities, including the Viet Nam-China peoples friendship meeting, the Red Journey launching ceremony, and the ceremony to launch the Viet NamChina railway cooperation initiative. Within the framework of the visit, 45 cooperation agreements were signed between ministries, sectors, agencies and localities of both countries across multiple domains, demonstrating the comprehensive achievements that the two sides had reached. Xis state visit to Viet Nam marked a new milestone in the history of the friendly relations between the two Parties, States, and their people. The trip contributed to deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and promoted the building of the Viet Nam-China Community with a Shared Future that carries strategic significance in the new period. VNA/VNS HA NOI "Friendship and cooperation have always been the main feature of Viet Nam-China relations," said Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam at a people-to-people friendship gathering in Ha Noi on Tuesday. The event, attended by more than 350 delegates including friendship advocates, students and youth from both countries, underscored the deepening ties between Viet Nam and China. General Secretary To Lam and President Luong Cuong accompanied Chinese Party General Secretary & President Xi Jinping, as they toured the photo exhibition and participated in the friendship meeting and launch of a youth initiative. "The Party and State of Viet Nam attach great importance to promoting the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and the Viet Nam-China Community with a Shared Future, which holds strategic significance, as we step firmly into a new era of development for the happiness of our peoples and the cause of peace and progress for humanity," said General Secretary To Lam. He emphasised the critical role of youth in strengthening the "solid social foundation" of Viet Nam-China relations, calling on them to inherit and advance the "deep Viet Nam-China friendship, both as comrades and brothers" a legacy built by revolutionary leaders Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong. He urged both nations agencies and organisations to effectively implement the 'Red Journey: Youth Research and Study' initiative and encouraged young people to enhance their creativity, master new technologies and foster unity to drive industrialisation and modernisation. China's top leader, in his remarks, expressed delight at meeting: "Comrades, friendship advocates and representatives of the youth" during his visit. Reflecting on the revolutionary forebears who shaped bilateral ties, he described Viet Nam-China relations as "a tree with roots, a spring with a source," asserting that the strength of the bilateral ties lie in the people and their heartfelt friendship. He reaffirmed Chinas commitment to building a Viet Nam-China Community with a shared future, calling it a strategic move benefiting both nations, as well as regional and global peace and prosperity. He proposed leveraging the '2025 China-Viet Nam Year of Humanistic Exchange' to enrich people-to-people exchanges through diverse activities, harness revolutionary 'red heritage', and pass down the story of China-Viet Nam friendship to future generations. The 'Red Journey: Youth Research and Study' initiative, officially launched during the event, aims to use historical revolutionary sites in both countries tied to Ho Chi Minh and other leaders, to educate youth about the shared revolutionary history and enduring friendship between Viet Nam and China. In a separate milestone, witnessed by General Secretary To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the two countries inaugurated a Viet Nam-China railway cooperation mechanism and established a joint railway cooperation committee, marking a significant step forward in infrastructure collaboration and reflecting both governments commitment to regional connectivity. VNS HA NOI State President Luong Cuong held talks in Ha Noi on Tuesday with Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China, who is on a state visit to Viet Nam. Cuong noted the special significance of the visit by Xi and the Chinese high-ranking delegation, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties (January 18, 1950-2025) and the Year of Viet NamChina Humanistic Exchange. He stressed that regular high-level exchanges and meetings between the top leaders of the two Parties and States not only enhance political trust and traditional friendship, but also provide strategic guidance for the future of bilateral cooperation. As a good neighbour, good friend, good comrade, and good partner of China, Viet Nam congratulates China on its remarkable and comprehensive achievements in recent years, he said, believing that under the CPCs leadership with Xi at its core, China will successfully realise its second centenary goals and building a modern, strong, prosperous, civilised and beautiful socialist country. Xi, in response, extended congratulations to Viet Nam on the 95th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV), as well as the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, and the 80th anniversary of National Day. He expressed his optimism that under the CPVs steadfast leadership, Viet Nam will successfully fulfil its development goals and tasks, and make thorough preparations for the success of the 14th National Party Congress. Both leaders hailed the traditional friendship founded by President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zhedong and nurtured by generations of leaders as an invaluable asset that needs to be inherited, preserved, and continuously upheld by future generations. The Vietnamese Party and State consistently consider the consolidation and development of friendly and cooperative relations with China as an objective requirement, a strategic choice, and a top priority in Viet Nam's overall foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralisation of external ties, Cuong affirmed. Pointing out that this year marks the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations, which is also the Year of Viet NamChina Humanistic Exchange, Xi said that the framework of the bilateral relations from traditional friendship and brotherhood has become a joint effort to build a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, creating a model of friendship, mutual assistance and solidarity. Highly appreciating the rich results and important common perceptions reached at the talks and meetings between Xi and the key leaders of Viet Nam, Cuong made a number of proposals and major directions for cooperation between the two countries in the near future. First, the two sides should maintain regular high-level exchanges to enhance trust, share experiences in governance and national development, and effectively promote cooperation mechanisms on the channels of the Party, Government, National Assembly/National People's Congress, Fatherland Front/People's Political Consultative Conference of the two countries. Second, Viet Nam and China need to enhance practical cooperation in all fields, with a focus on making science and technology cooperation a new pillar, new driving force, and new highlight for bilateral cooperation. Third, the two sides should effectively deploy the Year of Viet NamChina Humanistic Exchange 2025 and enhance people-to-people exchanges to consolidate the social foundation for the bilateral relations. Fourth, Viet Nam and China need to enhance exchanges and coordination at international and regional forums of which both sides are members, and to support each other in enhancing their roles and positions in the international arena. Fifth, the two countries must control and satisfactorily resolve differences at sea on the basis of compliance with high-level common perceptions, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), thereby maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea) and in the region. Xi highly appreciated the positive opinions and important proposals put forth by Cuong, affirming that the Chinese Party and State want and are ready to maintain high-level strategic exchanges with Viet Nam to promote the leading role in the bilateral relations; continue to deepen cooperation between the Party, Government, military and law enforcement channels; and effectively implement the cooperation plan connecting the "Belt and Road" initiative with the "Two Corridors, One Belt" framework. China is willing to work with Viet Nam to promote cooperation in transport infrastructure, especially the three railway lines connecting the two countries, cross-border economic cooperation zones, smart border gates, and expand the import of high-quality goods from Viet Nam, he said. The two sides will promote cooperation in emerging areas such as green development, 5G, artificial intelligence; implement rich and diverse cultural exchanges to connect their people, focusing on the young generations of the two countries as the youth of the two countries are considered the foundation and future of China-Viet Nam relations; enhance local exchange activities and cooperation in the fields of education, culture, and tourism; strengthen cooperation in multilateral mechanisms such as APEC, ASEAN, and LancangMekong, Xi said. At the same time, the Chinese leader also proposed the two sides to effectively implement the high-level common understandings, properly control disagreements and expand cooperation at sea. After the talks, State President Luong Cuong hosted a solemn reception for Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping and the high-ranking Chinese delegation. VNA/VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday afternoon for Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Ali and his spouse who are on an official visit to Viet Nam where he will also attend the 4th Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) Summit from April 14-17. This is the first visit to Viet Nam by a senior Ethiopian leader since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1976, and also the first high-level delegation exchange between the two countries in seven years. After the welcome ceremony, the PMs visited a photo exhibition on the two countries, their people and good relations between Viet Nam and Ethiopia, which was jointly organised by the Government Office and the Vietnam News Agency. The two leaders then held talks. During the visit, along with the talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, PM Abiy Ahmed Ali is scheduled to meet with the top leaders of the Party, State, and National Assembly of Viet Nam; and participate in activities within the framework of the P4G Summit. The Ethiopian PMs visit to Viet Nam takes place in the context that the two countries are looking forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026. After half a century, the traditional friendship between Viet Nam and Ethiopia has developed well. The Communist Party of Viet Nam has a good relationship with the ruling Prosperity Party of Ethiopia. Ethiopia has recognised Viet Nam's market economy since 2014. The two sides regularly support each other at multilateral forums and international organisations. However, economic, trade, and investment relations between Viet Nam and Ethiopia are still modest, not commensurate with their potential and political and diplomatic relations. Two-way trade turnover in the past four years has remained at US$10-15 million annually. Ethiopia has only one investment project in Viet Nam with a total investment capital of $10,000. Meanwhile, MK Group JSC is the only Vietnamese enterprise with a joint venture investment project in the field of smart card production in Ethiopia with a capital contribution of 60 per cent and is promoting cooperation in the field of cyber security and information security. The Ethiopian PMs visit clearly demonstrates the strategic vision and desire of the two countries to elevate and deepen bilateral relations in the new development stage. In particular, the two sides will comprehensively review the areas of cooperation, at the same time, exchange directions and shape a more substantive and effective cooperation framework in the coming time, especially in the fields of trade, investment, aviation, science and technology, agriculture and cyber security; thus contributing to enhancing the presence and image of Viet Nam in the African region, including Ethiopia. In addition, PM Abiy Ahmed Alis participation in the P4G Summit shows Ethiopias appreciation for Viet Nam's increasingly prominent role in the international arena, as well as its desire to work with Viet Nam to promote global initiatives on climate change response, green growth, innovation and sustainable development, vividly demonstrating Viet Nam's spirit of proactive, responsible cooperation and joint development for the common interests of the international community. VNA/VNS HAVANA Deputy Minister of Finance Le Tan Can led a Vietnamese Government delegation to pay a working visit to Cuba from April 11 to 14, aiming to further strengthen the traditional solidarity, special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, especially in terms of economics, trade and investment. During working sessions with representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Trade and Investment, and Finance and Prices, and the Central Bank of Cuba, the Vietnamese delegation expressed delight at the fruitful development of bilateral relations across channels and areas in recent times, affirming that the Party, State and people of Viet Nam attach special importance to the special relations with the Latin American nation. The Vietnamese guests showed their belief that the Cuban Party, State, and people will overcome all difficulties and challenges, continue to firmly move forward on the path of protecting peace and national development, and further promote Cuba's role and prestige in the international arena. For their part, Cuban officials stated that the Cuban Party, State, and people always value and sincerely appreciate the solidarity and valuable support from Viet Nam over the recent years. They expressed admiration for Viet Nam's national defence and construction achievements, stressing that Cuba views Viet Nam as a successful model and hopes to share experiences with Viet Nam in many fields. The two sides agreed to closely cooperate and implement several measures to continue strengthening bilateral relations, including promoting delegation exchanges at all levels, effectively implementing cooperation mechanisms and agreements between the two countries, particularly concretising high-level agreements made during the state visit to Cuba by Party General Secretary and President To Lam in September 2024. The two countries will enhance experience sharing, and step up cooperation in all areas, especially in trade, agriculture, energy, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals; and closely coordinate in performing a series of activities in each country to celebrate the Viet Nam-Cuba Friendship Year 2025, and the 65th founding anniversary of the diplomatic ties. During their stay, the Vietnamese delegation paid courtesy calls to First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel, and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, during which the Cuban leaders conveyed their regards to Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other senior leaders of Vietnam. The delegation laid a wreath at the statue of President Ho Chi Minh, and visited the primary school named after Nguyen Van Troi in Havana, and toured several Vietnamese enterprises and projects in Cuba. They also attended a ceremony to hand over 10,000 tonnes of rice to the Cuban side as a gift during Lam's visit to Cuba in September 2024. Acting on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister Ho uc Phoc, the delegation also announced a donation of 1,500 tonnes of rice from the Vietnamese Government and people to the Cuban people. VNA/VNS HA NOI Viet Nam and China have issued a joint statement on continuing to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and promoting the building of a Viet Nam - China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, on the occasion of the state visit to Viet Nam by General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping from April 14-15. The following is a translation of the joint statement. JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM AND THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON CONTINUING TO DEEPEN THE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC COOPERATIVE PARTNERSHIP AND PROMOTING THE BUILDING OF THE VIET NAM-CHINA COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE THAT CARRIES STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE 1. At the invitations of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam To Lam and President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam Luong Cuong, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Viet Nam from April 14 to 15, 2025. During the visit, Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping held talks with Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong and met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man. In an atmosphere of sincerity and friendship, the two sides informed each other about the situation of each Party and country, exchanged in-depth opinions and reached important common perceptions on continuing to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, promoting the building of a Viet Nam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, discussed international and regional issues of shared concern. 2. The two sides agreed to steadfastly promote the Viet Nam-China friendship. The two sides held that Viet Nam and China are geographically adjacent, culturally close, and have close people-to-people ties, similar regimes, and interrelated destinies. They are good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, and good partners. They are both socialist countries led by the Communist Parties, and both strive for the happiness of the people and the prosperity of their country, as well as for the noble cause of peace and progress of humanity. The two sides looked back at the development of the relationship between the two Parties and countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations 75 years ago. Viet Nam was the first country in Southeast Asia to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, while China was the first country in the world to recognise and establish diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, now the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. No matter how the world situation changes, the two sides have always fought side by side, supported each other in the struggles for national independence and liberation, learned from each other, and together moved forward to seek a socialist path suitable to the situation of each country and modernisation bearing the characteristics of each country. The Party, State and people of Viet Nam always appreciate and cherish the strong support of the Party, State and people of China. The two sides shared the view that the traditional friendship - the profound Viet Nam-China relationship, both comrades and brothers - built and nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh, Chairman Mao Zedong and leaders of previous generations, is increasingly strong. It is a valuable asset shared by two countries people, and needs to be well inherited, protected and promoted. Entering a new era, with the strategic orientations of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Party General Secretary To Lam, and Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping together with the leaders of the two Parties and countries, the Viet Nam-China relationship has developed remarkably, especially since the declaration of the building of the Viet Nam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance in December 2023. Up to now, the Viet Nam-China relationship has entered a new stage with: higher political trust, more substantive defence-security cooperation, deeper and substantive cooperation, more solid social foundation, closer multilateral coordination, better controlled and resolved differences; comprehensive strategic cooperation has achieved many great results, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries. Given the changes in the world, the times, and history, China emphasised that it consistently pursues the policy of friendship with Viet Nam, always considering Viet Nama priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy. Viet Namreaffirmed that it always considers relations with China a consistent policy, an objective requirement, and a top priority in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation, and diversification. This is the strategic choice of both sides. The two sides agreed that it is necessary to firmly support each other in maintaining strategic autonomy and autonomously choosing a development path suitable to the situation of their countries; persistently following the political orientations of the top leaders of the two Parties and countries, considering the development of the other side as an opportunity for their own development, persistently perceiving and developing the Viet Nam-China relationship from a strategic height and long-term vision, persistently following the motto of "friendly neighbourliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability, looking towards the future", the spirit of "good neighbours, good friends, good comrades, good partners" and "six major orientations". They will take the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations as an opportunity to continue to deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, promote the building of the Viet Nam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, enhance mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides with higher quality, deepen strategic coordination, bring more practical benefits to the people of the two countries, make important contributions to the stable development of the region and the cause of peace and progress of humanity, and create a positive model for building a community with a shared future of humanity. 3. The two sides reaffirmed the need to firmly support each other on the path to socialism in accordance with each country's situation The Vietnamese side warmly congratulated China on successfully holding the Two Sessions [the sessions of the sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference], and on its historic achievements and historic changes in its socio-economic development. Viet Nam supported China in comprehensively promoting the national rejuvenation process through Chinese-style modernisation, and held that China's continued comprehensive reform, opening-up, and high-quality development would bring new opportunities for the modernisation process of developing countries, including Viet Nam. The Vietnamese side wished and believed that, under the steadfast leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core, and the guide of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Party, Government and people of China will certainly complete the goals and tasks of the 14th five-year plan with high quality, comprehensively build a modern socialist power, and successfully realise the second centenary goal. The Chinese side warmly congratulated Viet Nam on the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. It highly valued the countrys important achievements in nearly 40 years of doi moi (renewal), nearly 15 years of implementing the "Platform for national construction in the period of transition to socialism" (supplemented and developed in 2011). Viet Nam has promoted high economic growth, significantly improved peoples life, deeply integrated into global politics, the world economy and human civilisation, undertaken many important international responsibilities, and played an increasingly active role in international organisations and multilateral forums. The Chinese side wished and believed that under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee headed by General Secretary To Lam, the Party, State and people of Viet Namwill certainly successfully implement the goals and tasks set by the 13th National Party Congress, prepare well and successfully organise the 14th National Party Congress in 2026, bring the country into a new era of development, successfully build a socialist Viet Nam with rich people, strong country, democracy, equality and civilisation. China reaffirmed its support for Viet Nam's efforts for prosperous development, the happiness of its people, a strong, independent, and self-reliant economy, comprehensive promotion of reform, industrialisation, modernisation, international integration, the expansion of its foreign relations, and its enhanced role for peace, stability, development, and prosperity in the region and the world. 4. The two sides determined that it is necessary to work together to raise strategic trust to a higher level The two sides reaffirmed that high-level orientations, especially strategic ones of the top leaders of the two Parties and countries, play an irreplaceable and important role in the stable and healthy development of Viet Nam-China relations. They agreed to continue strengthening high-level exchanges between the two Parties and countries through various forms such as mutual visits, sending special envoys, maintaining hotlines, and letter exchanges. They emphasised the importance of timely communications on bilateral relations between the two Parties and States, major and important issues of mutual concern, as well as the current international and regional situation, in order to firmly grasp the correct direction for the development of Viet Nam-China ties. Both sides also agreed to continue to fully promote the special role of the Party channel, further strengthen the role of the exchange and cooperation mechanism between the two Parties, especially high-level meetings and theoretical seminars between the two Parties; improve the effectiveness of exchange and cooperation between the respective agencies of the two Parties at the central level, local party organisations of the two countries, especially the border provinces (regions). Through theoretical seminars, and cooperation in personnel training, and delegation exchanges via the Party channel, both sides will comprehensively implement exchanges of theory and practical experiences in Party building and national governance, and work together to deepen mutual understanding of the Partys leadership role, advance the socialist cause in the context of unprecedented changes in the world, thus contributing to Party building and the development of socialism in both countries. The two sides will further strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation between the National Assembly of Viet Nam and the National People's Congress of China, the Vietnamese Government and the Chinese Government, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. They will well organise the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee between the National Assembly of Viet Nam and the Chinese People's Congress, friendly exchanges between the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the VFF and CPPCC organisations of border provinces. Promoting the coordinating role of the Viet Nam-China Bilateral Cooperation Steering Committee, direct the two countries ministries, sectors and localities to promote the building of the Viet Nam-China Community with a shared future; and deepen political security cooperation, establish the "3+3" strategic dialogue mechanism on diplomacy, defense and public security between Viet Nam and China at the ministerial level and organise the first ministerial-level conference at an appropriate time. Continuing to effectively implement the Agreement on further deepening cooperation in the new situation between the two countries' foreign ministries; maintain regular contacts between leaders of the two foreign ministries, including the Strategic Consultation at the Permanent Deputy Minister level, annual diplomatic consultation, enhance exchanges at the department (office) level, effectively implement the personnel training plan, and facilitate the improvement of headquarters and housing conditions of the two countries' diplomatic missions; and support the Vietnamese Consulate General in Chongqing to officially come into operation in the first half of 2025. The Vietnamese side affirmed its adherence to the one China policy, recognising that there is only one China in the world, that the Government of the Peoples Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing all of China, and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory. It supported the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the cause of Chinas unification, resolutely opposes any separatist activity seeking Taiwan independence, and consistently backed the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The Vietnamese side does not develop any state-level relations with Taiwan. The Vietnamese side held that the issues of Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet are Chinas internal affairs, and supported China in maintaining the stable development of Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The Chinese side expressed its appreciation for these stances of Viet Nam and expressed its support for Viet Nam in maintaining social stability, ensuring national security, development, and national unity. 5. The two sides reaffirmed the need to build a more substantive pillar of national defence-security cooperation National defence-security cooperation is one of the pillars of the Viet Nam-China relationship, contributing significantly to consolidating strategic trust between the two Parties and the two countries. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation mechanisms on national defence, public security, security, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Procuracy, enhance exchanges between the respective judicial agencies of the two countries, and promote the following key cooperation: The two sides vowed to increase high-level and all-level exchanges between their armies; uphold the role of mechanisms such as the Border Defence Friendship Exchange and the Defence Strategic Dialogue; bolster exchanges and cooperation between armies in areas such as political work, personnel training, strategic research, and joint research; strengthen cooperation in defence industry, joint exercises and training, and mutual naval ship visits; continue to expand cooperation in areas such as medical logistics, UN peacekeeping and non-traditional security; deepen border cooperation, strengthen coordination in border management, deploy joint border patrols on land, encourage border guards of the two countries to establish frienships, and enhance friendly exchanges in border areas; uphold the role of the joint patrol mechanism in the Gulf of Tonkin, effectively deploy joint patrol activities in the Gulf of Tonkin, deepen the exchange and cooperation mechanism between the navies and coast guards of the two countries. They pledged to increase high-level exchanges between law enforcement agencies; uphold the role of the mechanisms of the Ministerial Conference on Crime Prevention, the Deputy Ministerial Strategic Security Dialogue, the Deputy Ministerial Dialogue on Political Security; effectively deploy cooperation in the fields of security, intelligence, counter-terrorism, and accelerate the opening of a hotline between the two Ministers of Public Security; coordinate the prevention of cross-border crimes; deepen cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and Chinese security and law enforcement agencies, enhance cooperation in counter-terrorism, prevention of telecommunications fraud, cyber security, economic crimes and human trafficking, immigration management, and arrest of criminals who have fled abroad; strengthen information exchange and experience sharing in counter-intervention, counter-separatism, and prevention of colour revolution and peaceful evolution by hostile forces; expand cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management; strengthen cooperation in the legal and judicial fields, effectively implement the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Chinese Ministry of Justice and between the Ministries of Justice of the two countries; organise the first conference between judicial administrative agencies of the provinces sharing the border this year, continuously improve the judicial support mechanism, and enhance learning and exchange of experience in building a socialist rule-of-law state. 6. The two sides agreed to consider China's development of new quality productive forces and Vietnam's development of new production forces as opportunities to build a more comprehensive and extensive cooperation structure. They will accelerate the connection of development strategies between the two countries, effectively implement the Cooperation Plan connecting the "Two Corridors, One Belt" Framework with the "Belt and Road" Initiative; prioritise accelerating infrastructure connection in terms of railway, expressway, and border gate infrastructure. Both sides will promote the role of the Viet Nam-China Joint Committee on Railway Cooperation, effectively implement the Agreement between the Government of Viet Nam and the Government of China on cooperation in implementing standard gauge railway projects connecting Viet Nam and China, and step up standard gauge railway connections across the border. China is willing to work with Viet Nam to study and deploy cooperation in technology and human resource training. The two sides appreciated China's approval of the Technical Assistance (TA) to launch a Feasibility Study (F/S) for the Lao Cai - Ha Noi - Hai Phong standard gauge railway and agreed to soon implement the F/S, strive to start construction soon; accelerate the study of a plan for a railway section connecting Lao Cai - Ha Khau, creating a basis for early implementation of the plan. They welcomed the signing of the Official Letter of Assistance to establish the planning of the two standard gauge railways ong ang - Ha Noi and Mong Cai - Ha Long - Hai Phong. They promised to reinforce cooperation in road construction techniques; appreciated the commencement of construction of the road bridge across the Red River in the Bat Xat (Viet Nam) - Ba Sai (China) area, accelerate the construction of cross-border traffic works at the Thanh Thuy (Viet Nam) - Tianbao (China) international border gate. They will continue to uphold the role of the Viet Nam-China Land Border Gate Management Cooperation Committee, hasten the construction of smart border gates at customs clearance points and dedicated routes for transporting goods in the areas of markers 1088/2 - 1089 and markers 119 - 1120 of the Huu Nghi (Viet Nam) - Youyi Guan (China) international border gate, consider expanding this model to other eligible border gates, including Mong Cai Dongxing border gate, upgrade "soft connectivity" on smart customs; support the increased cooperation in road, air and railway transport; continue the amendment of the Border Railway Agreement, develop Viet Nam-China international railway transport, restore international passenger transport, open more cross-border railway transport routes between Viet Namand China; facilitate inspection, quarantine and export-import of goods at railway border gates. On the basis of compliance with the rules governing take-off and landing times, they will create conditions for the extension and addition of take-off and landing times for airlines to exploit each other's markets, and encourage airlines to restore and open more flights according to market demand. The two sides welcome Vietnamese aviation companies to put Chinese commercial aircraft into operation in various forms, and support the further strengthening of cooperation in the field of commercial aircraft manufactured in China. Strengthening strategic connections between their economies, linking regional development strategies including the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta region, and extending the economic corridor in the "Two Corridors, One Belt" region to Chongqing. The two sides encourage and support capable and prestigious companies with advanced technology to invest in each other's countries, create a fair and favourable business environment for enterprises. Welcoming the cooperation between the two countries' enterprises in researching and applying 5G technology. Enhancing collaboration in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, clean energy, green development, and digital economy. Promoting the role of the working group on studying the development of a Vietnam China cross-border economic cooperation zone model while actively considering the pilot implementation of a cross-border economic cooperation model and jointly building safe and stable industrial and supply chains. Both sides agreed to deepen experience exchanges on state-owned enterprise reform and management, and carry out cooperation in human resources training. Promoting the efficacy of the working group on financial monetary cooperation between the two countries, increasing information and experience sharing on policy administration and reforms in the financial monetary area, properly implementing bilateral retail payment cooperation through QR codes, considering the expansion of payments in local currencies, as well as improving financial risk prevention capabilities. Considering cooperation in the field of key minerals in accordance with each country's legal regulations and industrial policies. Accelerating the implementation of the Vietnam Traditional Medicine Academy Campus 2 project, the maintenance of the Viet Nam-China Friendship Palace, and other public welfare cooperation projects. The two sides concurred in leveraging the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the ASEAN China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) to develop bilateral trade in a balanced manner. Bringing into play the role of the Trade Facilitation Working Group and the E-commerce Cooperation Working Group, continuing to tap into bilateral trade potential, and promoting e-commerce cooperation between enterprises of the two countries; and through dialogue and consultation, resolving trade-related differences and further expanding the space for cooperation between the two sides' businesses. The two sides welcomed the signing of protocols for Vietnamese exports to China such as chili, passion fruit, raw and cleaned bird's nests, and rice bran. China is actively handling procedures for officially licensing Vietnamese agricultural products, including citrus fruits and plant-based medicinal materials. The Vietnamese side will accelerate the import of sturgeon from China. The two sides are unanimous in strengthening customs cooperation, expanding the export of products of their strength, and properly implement the mutual recognition plan for "Authorised Economic Operator" (AEO) and the "single window" cooperation. The Chinese side welcomed Viet Nam's organisation of trade promotion activities and the advertising of Vietnamese goods brands in China, and is ready to facilitate the early establishment of additional Vietnamese trade promotion offices in Haikou (Hainan) and other relevant localities. The two sides agreed to coordinate to improve customs clearance efficiency at border gates, crossings, and pairs of border markets to reduce customs clearance pressure. Continuing to promote the role of the Viet Nam-China Joint Committee on Agricultural Cooperation and the Joint Committee on Fishery in the Gulf of Tonkin, promoting substantive cooperation in areas such as high-tech agriculture, including crop cultivation and intensive processing of agricultural products, food security, and comprehensive disease control. The two sides agreed to soon discuss and sign an agreement on fishery cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin and implement cooperation in the release and protection of aquatic resources in the Gulf of Tonkin. Properly implementing the agreement on establishing a hotline to deal with unexpected fishery incidents in the Viet Nam-China waters and the agreement on maritime search and rescue cooperation. Enhancing cooperation in dealing with environmental pollution, especially air pollution in urban areas; enhancing cooperation in disaster prevention, control and mitigation, climate change response, water resources and meteorology, exchanging hydrological information in the flood seasons, while strengthening cooperation in comprehensive water resources management. Striving to make science and technology cooperation a new highlight in the bilateral relations, considering to carry out cooperation in fields such as AI, semiconductor, and nuclear energy. Properly implementing the Viet Nam-China agreement on scientific and technical cooperation, continuing to leverage the role of the Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, deepening policy connections on science, technology and innovation, and launching joint research on health care, pharmaceutical, disaster prevention, control and mitigation, clean energy, and green agriculture. Bolstering cooperation in technological human resources, and promoting collaboration in technology transfer and innovative entrepreneurship. Encouraging cooperation projects on technology research and development, and human resources exchanges between research institutions and enterprises of the two sides. Stepping up collaboration in nuclear safety regulatory management and standardisation; considering cooperation in nuclear power development, continuing to effectively implement the agreement on intellectual property cooperation, and considering the cooperation in studying the possibility of mutual protection of geographical indications. Continuing to promote exchanges and cooperation in health care, health management, infectious disease prevention and control, and traditional medicine. 7. The two sides need to work together to consolidate the social foundation of the Viet Nam-China community with a shared future The two sides reaffirmed the necessity to view the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations and the Year of Viet Nam-China Humanistic Exchange 2025 as an opportunity to properly hold people-binding, heartfelt, and practical humanistic exchange activities to help strengthen the social foundation. Fully utilising the "red resource" in exchanges between the two Parties. China invited the Vietnamese youth to China to implement the "red journey youth: research and study programme to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially the two countries' younger generations. The two sides emphasised that communications agencies of both Parties should bolster communications and education about the traditional friendship between the two Parties and the two countries, along with the Viet Nam-China comprehensive strategic cooperation. Enhancing cooperation between press, media, publication, and broadcasting agencies. The two sides agreed to effectively implement the memorandum of understanding between the two countries' regulatory authorities on digital communications, and continuing to promote cooperation in the translation and distribution of outstanding audiovisual works from the two countries. Promoting the implementation of the project on translating the classical works of Viet Nam and China. Supporting the two countries' localities, especially border provinces, in conducting exchanges and cooperation, and highly valuing the achievements of mechanisms such as the spring meeting between the Party Secretaries of Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang provinces and the Party Secretary of Guangxi, and the annual conference between the Party Secretaries of Lao Cai, Ha Giang, ien Bien, and Lai Chau provinces and the Party Secretary of Yunnan. Increasing exchanges between mass organisations such as labour unions, women's unions, youth organisations, as well as between the localities having friendly relations with each other. Continuing to well organise established activities such as the Viet Nam-China Youth Friendship Meeting, the Viet Nam-China People's Forum, and the Border People's Festival. The two sides will practically implement the implementation plan for cultural tourism cooperation for 20232027 between the cultural and tourism authorities of the two countries, and encourage cultural organisations and art troupes from the two countries to engage in exchanges and cooperation. Viet Nam supports the Ha Noi-based China Cultural Centre in carrying out activities. China welcomes Viet Nam's coming establishment of a Cultural Centre in Beijing. Increasing information sharing and the coordination of tourism policies between the two countries, jointly operating tourism routes, building tourism products, and promoting the healthy development of the tourism industry. Efficiently operating the Ban Gioc (Viet Nam) Detian (China) waterfalls landscape site, and encouraging tourists from one side to travel to the other. The two sides agree to properly carry out the Viet Nam-China education cooperation agreement, and boost exchanges between teachers, students, and scholars. China welcomes and encourages more outstanding Vietnamese students to study and do research in China while being ready to continue providing more scholarships on courses in China. Deepening cooperation in vocational training; promoting language education and exchanges between the two countries, jointly providing training for Vietnamese teachers of Chinese language, effectively implementing the scholarships on the international Chinese language teacher programme that China provides for Viet Nam; and actively bringing into play the role of the Confucius Institute at Hanoi University and the "Chinese Bridge" competition, thus intensifying educational cooperation. Bolstering exchanges between universities, colleges, and research institutions of the two countries. 8. The two sides agreed to forge closer multilateral strategy coordination The two sides affirmed to strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation in line with the process of building a Viet Nam-China Community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. This year marks the 80th founding anniversary of the United Nations. The two sides reaffirmed the perseverance to defend the international system with the United Nations as its core, the international order with international law as its foundation, and the adherence to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the basic norms of international relations with the purpose and principles of the United Nations Charter as the cornerstone. Viet Nam congratulated China on the successful commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Facing the uncertainty, instability and unpredictability of the international situation, the two sides will firmly uphold multilateralism, jointly safeguard international fairness and justice and the common interests of developing countries; maintain solidarity and cooperation in the international community, promote the common values of humanity on peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom; support an equal and orderly multipolar world and the globalisation of inclusive economy, bringing about common benefits and developing global governance in a more equitable and reasonable direction. The two sides emphasised the joint opposition to hegemony and power politics, to unilateralism in all forms, and to actions that jeopardise regional peace and stability. The two sides agreed to promote appropriate cooperation within the framework of major perspectives and initiatives such as building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative, and jointly respond to global challenges. The two sides are willing to jointly implement cooperation within the framework of the Global Civilisation Initiative, jointly promote cultural exchanges, and strengthen emotional connections between people of the two sides. Actively implementing the memorandum of understanding between the two countries on enhancing cooperation in human resources development within the framework of the Global Development Initiative. Effectively implementing cooperation documents to promote the Global Development Initiative and the high-quality Belt and Road connectivity. Supporting connectivity between China and the countries in the Mekong sub-region. Strengthening coordination and cooperation within the framework of multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and supporting each other in running for positions in international organisations. Viet Nam highly values the important role of the BRICS in promoting solidarity and cooperation among emerging economies, is ready for discussion about becoming a partner country of BRICS, and is willing to strengthen cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The two sides paid attention to the trade and investment restrictions and reaffirmed the commitment to maintaining an open, transparent, inclusive, and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its core and rules-based governance as the foundation, and to promoting economic globalisation to develop in an open and inclusive direction that brings about common, balanced, and win-win benefits. The two sides will work together to well implement the "Initiative on International Trade and Economic Cooperation Framework for Digital Economy and Green Development"; promote the high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); actively welcome the application of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) to join the RCEP. The Vietnamese side supports China's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in accordance with the standards and procedures of the Agreement. The two sides underscored the importance of cooperation in combating cybercrime, welcomed the adoption of the "United Nations Convention on Cybercrime" by the United Nations General Assembly, and called on countries to actively sign and ratify the Convention, enabling its early entry into force. China expressed support for Viet Nam's organisation of the signing ceremony for the Convention in Ha Noi in 2025. Viet Nam supports Chinas hosting of the APEC Summit in 2026, while China supports Viet Nam's hosting of APEC in 2027. The two sides pledged to strengthen discussion and coordinate closely to ensure the success of these events. The two sides emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region and jointly promoting open regional cooperation. China supports ASEAN in building a united, inclusive, resilient and developing ASEAN Community, supports ASEAN in maintaining its central role in the ever-changing Asia-Pacific regional architecture, stands ready to work with ASEAN countries to promote the initiative of building Five Common Homes" featuring peace, security, prosperity, beauty, and friendship; accelerates the signing and implementation of the ASEAN China Free Trade Area version 3.0 (ACFTA 3.0), and strives to promote regional economic integration at a higher level. The two sides agreed to continue coordination in promoting the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) and economic cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) to realise the GMS Vision to develop a more integrated, prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive subregion; strive to promote the building of a community with a shared future among Mekong Lancang countries for peace and prosperity; and successfully organise the 5th Mekong Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Leaders' Meeting and the 10th Mekong Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in 2025. China supports Viet Nam in assuming the co-chairmanship of the Mekong Lancang cooperation for the 2026-2027 period, and the two sides will closely coordinate and co-chair relevant meetings of the mechanism. The two sides held that ensuring and protecting human rights is a common cause of humanity, which must be based on each countrys specific circumstance, thus seeking a path to develop human rights in line with the needs of its people. The two sides expressed the readiness to engage in exchanges and cooperation on human rights on the basis of equality and mutual respect, strengthen international dialogue and cooperation in the field of human rights, jointly promote the healthy development of a global human rights agenda, and resolutely oppose the politicisation, instrumentalisation, and double standards on human rights issues, as well as the abuse of human rights as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign nations. 9. The two sides agreed to properly manage and resolve differences, while safeguarding the overall friendly relations between Viet Nam and China The two sides held sincere and candid discussions on sea-related issues, emphasising the need for better management and active resolution of sea-related differences, and for joint maintenance of peace and stability in the East Sea (South China Sea). The two sides agreed to abide by the important common perceptions reached by the top leaders of the two Parties and the two countries; persist in friendly consultations to actively seek fundamental and long-term solutions that are acceptable to both sides and accord with the agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Viet Nam and China, international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The two sides pledged not to take any actions that may complicate the situation or expand disputes, and to work together to maintain stability at sea. Stepping up negotiations for the delimitation of sea areas beyond the mouth of the Gulf of Tonkin, and for the cooperation for mutual development at sea to soon achieve substantive progress; actively implementing cooperation in less sensitive areas at sea; and strengthening cooperation in maritime search and rescue. The two sides pledged to push ahead with the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and, through consultation and consensus, to soon reach a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) that is in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS. The two sides agreed to properly bring into play the roles of the Land Border Joint Committee and the Committee on land border gate management cooperation between Viet Nam and China, continue to promote the effective implementation of the three legal documents on the Viet Nam-China land border and the related agreements; enhance border area management; actively promote the opening and upgrade of border gates; and continuing to well implement the agreement on the travel of vessels in the free navigation area at the mouth of the Bac Luan/Beilun River. 10. The two sides agreed to effectively implement the cooperation documents signed during the visit During the visit, the two sides signed cooperation documents in road and railway connectivity, customs inspection and quarantine, trade in agricultural products, national defence, science and technology, culture, sports, education, social welfare, human resources, media, and locality-to-locality cooperation. 11. The two sides agreed that the state visit to Viet Nam by Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping was a great success and marked a significant milestone in the history of relations between the two Parties and the two countries, importantly contributing to promoting the traditional Viet Nam-China friendship, advancing the building of a Viet Nam-China Community with a shared future that carries strategic significance in the new context, and promoting peace, stability, prosperity, and development in the region and the world. The two Parties and the peoples of both countries expressed genuine satisfaction with the outcomes of the visit. Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping expressed his sincere thanks to Party General Secretary To Lam, State President Luong Cuong, and other leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State, and the people of Vietnam for their warm, respectful, and friendly reception; cordially invited Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong to visit China at an early date. Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong thanked and gladly accepted the invitation. Ha Noi, April 15, 2025." VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Ethiopian counterpart Abiy Ahmed Ali held official talks in Ha Noi on Tuesday afternoon, discussing key directions to boost cooperation between the two countries. Ali is in Viet Nam for a state visit and to attend the fourth Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit. The trip also holds great significance as it is the first official visit to Viet Nam by a high-level Ethiopian leader since the two countries established diplomatic relations nearly 50 years ago. Their official talks focused on the key strategies to open a new chapter in Viet Nam-Ethiopia relations, fostering more effective, comprehensive and profound ties. Viet Nam and Ethiopia are increasingly asserting their important roles in their respective regions, according to the Vietnamese PM. The amicable and cooperative ties between the two countries should continue to develop in a practical manner, bringing tangible benefits to the people and the development of both nations, said PM Chinh. He also expressed his high regard for Ethiopias consistent double-digit growth rate despite numerous challenges. PM Ali expressed his gratitude for Viet Nams warm welcome and praised the Southeast Asian nations remarkable resilience, which has helped shape its proud history. I have heard many admirable things about Viet Nam, but it is only upon arriving here that I witnessed the countrys transformation, especially with multiple industrial zones, he said. He said that Viet Nam and Ethiopia shared many similarities, as both are developing nations with large and dynamic populations. Ethiopia has about 130 million people, 70 per cent of whom are young, and around 30 million students, who are expected to be a great resource for both Ethiopia and Africa in the next few decades. Alongside the scale of our population, we are also striving to reform our economy with new policies, said the Ethiopian leader. In recent years, bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Ethiopia has reached approximately US$10-15 million per year. In 2024, the trade volume reached $13.1 million, with Viet Nams exports amounting to $7.11 million and imports reaching $6.06 million. Viet Nam and Ethiopia also regularly support each other in multilateral mechanisms and forums. Ethiopia officially recognised Viet Nam as a market economy in 2014. Following their talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements and Memorandums of Understanding on trade, education and direct air travel between the two countries. VNS HA NOI Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son on Tuesday held a phone call with Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission (EC) and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (EU), who expressed her hope that the two sides will soon upgrade their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. During the call, both sides expressed satisfaction with the positive developments in Viet NamEU cooperation over the past 35 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, particularly in the fields of politics-diplomacy and trade-investment, which have laid a solid foundation for elevating the partnership to a new level. They shared the view that the EUViet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), after nearly five years of implementation, has provided new momentum for bilateral trade. To further advance bilateral relations in the time ahead, Son proposed the two countries promote high-level exchanges and visits, continue effective implementation of the EVFTA, and facilitate stronger trade and investment cooperation, especially in the context of current global trade challenges. He also called on the EC to soon lift its yellow card on Viet Nam's seafood exports, taking into account the countrys efforts in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the differences in the development level between the two sides, the interests of EU consumers, and the livelihoods of Vietnamese fishermen. Reaffirming that the EU is a key partner of Viet Nam, the Deputy PM urged the EU to accelerate the ratification of the EUViet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to create a breakthrough in bilateral trade and investment. The EU should encourage European businesses to invest in Viet Nam's key projects, particularly in infrastructure, renewable energy, green transition, and digital transformation. On the EUs ongoing anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled steel products imported from Viet Nam, Son urged the EU to ensure that its final conclusions reflect the objectivity seen in the recent preliminary findings. Kallas acknowledged the concerns, assuring that the bloc is handling the investigation cautiously based on its legal framework and the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She agreed with the Vietnamese Deputy PMs proposals on further strengthening bilateral cooperation, especially by maximising the benefits of the EVFTA. Kallas affirmed that Viet Nam is one of the EU's key partners in Asia-Pacific and expressed a strong wish to elevate the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the near future. On regional and global issues, Son stressed that Viet Nam is a responsible member of the international community, contributing actively to peace, stability, security, and development in the region and the world. The two officials agreed that conflicts and disputes must be resolved by peaceful means in accordance with the basic principles of the UN Charter and international law. On this occasion, Son extended an invitation to Kallas to soon pay an official visit to Viet Nam. VNA/VNS HA TINH Embracing the spirit of 'living well, living your faith', dozens of households in the Catholic village of Vinh Phuc in Ha Tinh Province have sacrificed personal interests, donating land and assets worth billions of ong to widen local roads. Thanks to these efforts, the local transport infrastructure is gradually being improved, helping Vinh Phuc Village meet the targets of a model new-style rural residential area. Pioneers In response to the national movement of unity, since late last month, Vinh Phuc Village has been filled with the sounds of machinery dismantling structures like fences and gates. Dozens of households have voluntarily donated land and relocated assets to help widen roads. Pham Thi Chuc, 60, was among the first to donate land. Although her property was not included in the first clearance phase, she voluntarily dismantled her fence, gate columns and canopy to support the effort. Chuc said that the road was originally quite narrow, making travel difficult now that many families own cars. When the village authorities called for land donations to widen the road, my family readily supported the plan, said Chuc. As her plot borders two roads, she donated over 70sq.m of land and removed structures like fences and a canopy. Nguyen Van Thuongs family donated nearly 100sq.m of land and 53m of fencing. With land in the area priced at around VN2 million (US$80) per square metre, his familys contribution is estimated at over VN200 million ($8,000). Thuong said that once the roads were completed and widened, travel would be easier and the local economy would benefit. Now that the country enjoys peace, political stability and growing prosperity with children receiving proper education I want to contribute to making the homeland richer and more beautiful, said Truong. These pioneers inspired others and the land donation movement in Vinh Phuc Village quickly gained momentum. Notably, Le Thi Ha, 30, had built a fence and gate worth nearly VN100 million ($4,000) just three months earlier, but when local authorities mobilised support, her family voluntarily dismantled it to make way for a new road leading into their yard. Ha said that after dismantling the structures, they had to hire workers to rebuild them. Despite the cost being doubled, the family was happy because the road in front of their home was widened from three metres to over five. Transforming the village landscape As of early this year, 43 households in the village have voluntarily donated more than 1,500sq.m of land, 1,500m of fencing, hundreds of gate columns, and hundreds of trees. The total value of land and property donated for the new-style rural construction is estimated at over VN3.5 billion ($140,000). Along with this, the Vinh Phuc Village Fatherland Front Working Committee cleared 1.5km of road space. Roads that were once only two or three metres wide are now a minimum of five in hamlets, meeting the standards for new-style rural construction. Tran Xuan Ly, head of Vinh Phuc Village, said the village has over 400 households and 1,600 residents, all of whom are Catholic. Previously, roads were so narrow that only one vehicle could pass through. So the village held meetings to discuss the road expansion initiative. Once people saw the plan was reasonable, they strongly supported it, Ly said. However, some households were initially reluctant. Some felt they had already donated land before and found it unfair to be asked again. For those still hesitant, the village persisted in campaigning and also sought the support of the local parish priest. After witnessing the improvements in widened roads and the transformed village appearance, many of the hesitant households came on board. Some even urged local authorities to expand adjacent roads for consistency, he said. The plan is for Vinh Phuc Village to meet the criteria of a model new-style rural residential area by May 2025. Along with land donation campaigns, local authorities are focusing on other targets like environmental sanitation, upgrading auxiliary buildings, and planting trees. Nguyen Van Quynh, Party cell secretary of Vinh Phuc Village, said the Fatherland Front Working Committee was continuing to mobilise the remaining hamlets to donate land for further road widening. The plan is to expand another 1km of village roads. The unity and contributions of Vinh Phuc residents are playing a major role in the model rural development of Nam Phuc Thang Commune. Nguyen Huu Tu, permanent deputy secretary of the Nam Phuc Thang Commune Party Committee, said Vinh Phuc is the most populous and largest village in the commune. In previous years, due to limited land and a dense population, land donation campaigns failed. Now, with peoples support, many roads had been expanded, Tu said. The local Catholic community had become an exemplary force in building new-style rural areas, demonstrating unity and living out the ideal of 'living well, living your faith', he added. VNS CA MAU Ca Mau is boosting shrimp farming development through linkages among stakeholders and expanding extensive and super-intensive farming methods. The shrimp industry plays a key role not only in economic development but also in providing sustainable livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of households in the southernmost province. Ca Mau, Viet Nams largest shrimp-producing province, has about 280,000ha of shrimp bred under five main farming models: industrial shrimp farming (semi-intensive, intensive, and super-intensive), advanced extensive farming, rice-shrimp farming, forest-shrimp farming, and integrated extensive farming. Advanced extensive farming and super-intensive farming are two widely adopted models. The former covered around 166,000ha last year, while the latter reached about 5,042ha. The provinces shrimp output reached 242,000 tonnes last year, with a total production value of about VN7.48 trillion (US$290 million), accounting for nearly half of the province's agricultural production value, according to its Department of Agriculture and Environment. The provinces shrimp export turnover last year stood at $1.12 billion, maintaining a consistent annual level above $1 billion. Le Van Su, deputy chairman of the Ca Mau Province Peoples Committee, said the shrimp industry had seen positive changes in recent years. The increasing application of technology in shrimp farming significantly improved productivity and output, he said. However, the provinces shrimp sector still faced several challenges, including unsynchronised infrastructure, climate change impacts, environmental pollution, and disease outbreaks. Growth target To achieve its economic growth target of more than 8 per cent this year, Ca Mau has identified shrimp farming as a fundamental pillar. Chau Cong Bang, deputy director of the provinces Department of Agriculture and Environment, said the provinces special directive on shrimp sector development was a crucial policy that set the direction for advanced extensive shrimp farming with a two-stage model, super-intensive farming, and linkage chains. This would not only enhance export value but also act as a driving force for the shrimp sector to break through, affirming Ca Maus position in the international shrimp market, he said. Pham Thanh Ngai, chairman of the province Peoples Committee, emphasised the shrimp industrys crucial role in local economic growth and urged seafood enterprises to link with farmers to enhance the value of Ca Mau shrimp, contributing to the provinces economic growth target of 8 per cent this year. Authorities at all levels, sectors, and localities should encourage shrimp farmers to shift their production mindset and actively participate in co-operative economic models to establish stable raw material supply and ensure clean, high-quality shrimp production, he said. According to Le Van Quang, chairman of Minh Phu Seafood Corp., Ca Mau shrimp has a competitive advantage thanks to its value-added products, which help maintain market share in demanding markets such as the US, EU, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. Ca Maus shrimp is not only remarkable for its large production volume but also for its superior quality, with many farming models meeting international certification standards, enhancing both environmental and social values, he said. However, the provinces shrimp sector was facing fierce competition from countries such as India, Ecuador, and Thailand due to its higher production costs compared to its competitors, he said. To address this issue, Minh Phu had implemented a linkage chain model to support shrimp farmers, ensuring sustainable production and increasing product value, he said. It would select shrimp farming households that wish to participate in its shrimp linkage chain and commit to farming shrimp correctly and sufficiently using MPBiO biological technology, he said. It committed to purchasing all shrimp from its linked co-operatives at a price 5 per cent higher than its daily procurement price, he said. This year, Ca Mau aims to expand its shrimp production linkages, develop advanced extensive shrimp farming to 127,600ha, which will be bred by 64,866 households and have an average yield of 550 kilogrammes per hectare per year. Meanwhile, the super-intensive shrimp farming model is expected to reach 5,500ha, with an average productivity of 23 tonnes per hectare this year. The department has proposed several key solutions to promote sustainable shrimp farming, including assessing the current situation to develop plans for increasing shrimp farming productivity; developing ecological, organic, and rice-shrimp farming models with certification to develop value chains and enhance added value; and reducing production costs and improving the efficiency of super-intensive shrimp farming. The super-intensive shrimp farming model in Ca Mau has shown promising results, with a success rate of 70-80 per cent and a productivity exceeding 50 tonnes per hectare per crop. Farmers can produce 2-3 crops per year, significantly contributing to the provinces shrimp production targets, according to aquaculture experts. VNS SON LA A gathering themed Everlasting Viet Nam- Laos special friendship to mark Bunpimay festival, the traditional News Year celebration of Laos, was held in the northern mountainous province of Son La on Monday. The event was organised as part of efforts to honour the close friendship between the two nations and to provide Lao students studying in Son La with a sense of cultural connection and celebration during the festive season. Speaking at the event, Deputy Head of the provincial Party Committees Board for Information, Education and Mass Mobilisation Mui Anh Tien extended warm wishes to the Lao students studying in the province. He praised local educational institutions for their role in training and supporting the Lao students, which contribute to the provinces comprehensive cooperation with nine northern Lao provinces in developing high-quality human resources. The event featured traditional Lao rituals such as wrist-tying and water splashing, alongside vibrant cultural performances and music. It offered the Lao students a chance to celebrate in a warm and familiar atmosphere. As part of the celebration, 35 Lao students were awarded certificates of merit for academic excellence and active participation in youth activities. Through this meaningful event, participants gained a deeper understanding of each others cultures and the enduring bonds between the two nations which have been nurtured through generations of leaders and people of Viet Nam and Laos. VNS The Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment on April 15 held a conference to announce official decisions and present certificates recognising traditional craft village titles and city-level OCOP (One Commune One Product) certifications for 2024. Hanoi awarded the titles of Traditional Craft, Traditional Craft Village, and Hanoi Craft Village to 14 villages across the city. Among them, Van An Carpentry Village (Son Dong Commune, Son Tay Town), Hat Mon Carpentry Village (Hat Mon Commune, Phuc Tho District), and Chung Chan Garment Village (Van Tu Commune, Phu Xuyen District) were recognized as Hanoi Craft Villages. Meanwhile, Co Chat Embroidery Village (Dung Tien Commune, Thuong Tin District), Gia Ha and Gia Thuong Leather Shoe Villages (Phu Yen Commune, Phu Xuyen District), and Quang Ba Lotus Tea Scenting Village (Quang An Ward, Tay Ho District) received the title of Traditional Craft Village. The following trades have been awarded the title of Hanoi Traditional Craft: products made from com (young sticky rice) in Hang Than Street and bronze casting in Ngu Xa, both located in Truc Bach Ward, Ba Dinh District; kites from Ba Duong Noi Village in Hong Ha Commune, Dan Phuong District; gold and silver jewelry from Dinh Cong Village in Dinh Cong Ward, Hoang Mai District; com from Vong Village in Dich Vong Hau Ward, Cau Giay District; and lotus tea scenting from Quang An in Quang An Ward, Tay Ho District. Additionally, Hanoi has recognised 108 OCOP (One Commune One Product) products from 17 districts and towns, certified by the citys People's Committee. These products have achieved 4-star status with the potential to be upgraded to five stars in 2024. At the conference, Nguyen Dinh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment, affirmed that the Department continues to implement Decision No. 282/Q-UBND dated January 15, 2025, issued by the Hanoi People's Committee. This decision approves the "Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Traditional Craft Villages in Hanoi from 2025 to 2030, with a Vision to 2050." He also noted that the department is working to support the city in coordinating with the World Craft Council to secure recognition of at least two more Hanoi craft villages as members of the Global Creative Cities of Crafts Network in 2025. The Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment has urged People's Committees at the district and commune levels to prioritise the development of traditional craft villages and occupations. This initiative aims to preserve and honour these crafts while integrating them with the growth of OCOP (One Commune One Product) products, creating new craft village tourism destinations and immersive experiences for visitors. The department emphasised the importance of efficient production and business operations for craft villages and OCOP stakeholders, with a focus on creating sustainable products across the value chain. Key measures include expanding production scale, improving packaging, enhancing product designs, and ensuring higher quality to attract consumers. Additionally, there is a push to apply advanced technologies, diversify marketing efforts on digital platforms, and create more job opportunities, contributing to increased incomes for workers./. ISLAMABAD The ambassador informed the Afghan foreign minister that it was high time for our Afghan brothers and sisters to return to Afghanistan, particularly at a time when Afghanistan was peaceful and under the control of one de-facto government, FO Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told Dawn.com about todays earlier meeting between the two sides. A statement from Afghan Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Hafiz Zia Takkal and Afghanistans Bakhtar state news agency said the two sides discussed key political and economic issues. It said Afghan FM Muttaqi expressed concern and disappointment over the forced deportation of Afghan refugees and the mistreatment by certain Pakistani authorities, calling such behaviour provocative and harmful to bilateral relations, adding that he urged for a change in approach to the situation. It said Nizamani acknowledged the concerns and said the issue would be shared with relevant authorities. The statement added that both sides emphasised the importance of taking mutually constructive steps and encouraged high-level visits and dialogue to strengthen bilateral ties. Over 860,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since September 2023, with more than half a million entering Afghanistan through border crossings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the government and UN data. Pakistan has been carrying out phase-wise repatriation of Afghans living in the country. During the first phase, which started in 2023, the government sent back Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan. In the second phase, which began earlier this year, registered Afghan refugees carrying the Afghan Citizen Cards were asked to leave Pakistan by April 1. According to the data released by the International Organisation for Migration, from Sept 15, 2023, to April 5, 2025, 861,763 Afghans have returned to their country. The Afghan interim government has called upon the United Nations and international organisations to ensure the dignified return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan. DAWN/ANN SYDNEY One of the most closely watched races in Australias election on May 3 will be in Sydney, where Labor candidate Tu Le, a lawyer, is trying to win the seat of Fowler from independent MP Dai Le, a former journalist. It is no surprise that both candidates share Vietnamese heritage. According to the last census in 2021, 19 per cent of the seats 173,000 residents have Vietnamese ancestry, making them the largest ethnic group, followed by Chinese Australians (13 per cent), and those of Australian ancestry (9 per cent). Yet, at the last election in May 2022, Labor, which had held the seat since it was founded in 1984, passed over Ms Tu Le the expected candidate and selected an American-born Australian candidate, Ms Kristina Keneally, a former New South Wales premier. Ms Keneally, who did not live in the area, lost to Ms Dai Le, who said the attempt to foist Ms Keneally on the electorate was arrogant and a slap in the face to locals. Labor appears to have learnt its lesson. Ms Tu Le is now contesting the seat and welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the electorate on April 4. Standing alongside her, he distanced himself from his partys decision to overlook her in 2022. I encouraged her to be the candidate and I think shell make a fantastic Member for Fowler, he told reporters. Both sides of the political aisle recognise that their candidates and the make-up of the countrys Parliament should reflect the growing Asian-Australian population. More than 17 per cent of the countrys population of 27 million are Asian-Australian. Currently, 12 of the 227 MPs or 5 per cent are Asian-Australian. Ahead of the May election, a series of Asian-Australian candidates have emerged in key races as Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition gradually respond to the changing demographics. In the seat of Tangney in Perth, Mr Howard Ong, who was born in Singapore and is the brother of Singapore Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, is standing as the Liberal candidate against the sitting Labor MP, the Malaysian-born Mr Sam Lim. Mr Howard Ong, who moved to Australia to study at Curtin University more than 28 years ago before meeting his future wife and starting a local IT business, has a strong chance of winning the seat which has traditionally been a safe Liberal electorate and is held by Labor with a margin of less than 3 per cent at the last election. Mr Ong, who confirmed the identity of his brother to The Straits Times, said in a statement: Our family has always had a strong commitment to serving the community, and I have carried that commitment with me. He added: I am working hard to earn the trust of my local community here in Australia as the Liberal candidate for Tangney. The proportion of Asian-Australians in Parliament has been increasing, but remains low. Mr Osmond Chiu, a research fellow at think-tank Per Capita, told ST that the proportion of Asian-Australians could rise after the coming election, noting that several Asian-Australians are standing in seats they are likely to win. Asian-Australians have become increasingly prominent in politics. Following the 2022 election, Ms Penny Wong, who was born in Malaysia, became Australias first Asian-Australian foreign minister. Reflecting on her heritage in a speech at the Australian National University in August 2024, she said she experienced racism and prejudice when she was young and wanted to work for change. A senator since 2001, Ms Wong said that in her early days as an MP, it felt at times like the only other Asian faces I would see in Parliament House were the cleaners and a woman who worked in the library. I am deeply gratified by the trend we see today, including more second-generation Asian-Australians entering politics, she said. A democratic country needs to be able to see itself in its leaders. An expert on Chinese-Australian communities and media, Professor Sun Wanning from the University of Technology Sydney, told ST that one reason for the low representation of Asian-Australians in politics is that in Chinese societies, going into politics is not the No. 1 choice of career. She said first-generation migrants also faced language and social barriers. Being able to project a relatable image to the wider Australian public is hard for someone whose English is not very good and who doesnt have extensive local social networks, she noted. She added that some Chinese-Australians may be put off by the intense scrutiny that some candidates have faced in the media over perceived links to corrupt Chinese business figures or the Communist Party of China. Still, Labor and the opposition Liberal-National coalition have increasingly turned to Asian-Australian candidates to stand in electorates with a high proportion of Asian-Australian voters. In the seat of Bennelong in Sydney, where 29 per cent of residents are Chinese-Australian, Mr Scott Yung, a Chinese-Australian Liberal, is taking on sitting Labor MP Jerome Laxale. In Reid, where 23 per cent of residents are Chinese-Australian, an Asian-Australian Liberal candidate, Mr Grange Chung, is trying to defeat Ms Sally Sitou, a Chinese-Lao Australian. In the Melbourne seat of Menzies, where 27 per cent of residents are Chinese-Australian, Mr Gabriel Ng, whose father moved to Australia from Singapore, is eyeing the seat now held by Liberal MP Keith Wolahan. But a candidates ancestry is no guarantee of electoral success. A recent survey of more than 3,000 people by Sydney Today, a Chinese-language media outlet, found that 51 per cent would support a candidate on the basis of the persons Chinese or Asian appearance, and 49 per cent would not. In Fowler, Ms Dai Le told Sky News on April 3 that the Labor Party had been overly focused on targeting voters in the local Vietnamese community. I think Labor was tokenistic in its decision to pre-select someone with a similar name to me, and thats all she has, she said. Ms Tu Le said she wants to fight for the interests of the entire community of Fowler, especially on issues like healthcare and childcare. Prof Sun said it is important to have a greater representation of Asian-Australians in Parliament so that their voices are adequately heard and they do not feel voiceless and disempowered. She added: Having more people in Parliament who look like them and are willing to speak for them is empowering. THE STRAITS TIMES/ANN On April 11, OREO hosted a star-studded launch event graced by some of Southeast Asias biggest social personalities at Nimo Highlands, Bandung Regency in Indonesia. The historic launch of the first OREO cookie into space was made in partnership with space agency Sent Into Space, in a broadcast live-streamed from Nimo Highland, Indonesia. Millions of people tuned in to witness the historic moment live. OREO brings space exploration to the masses with the OREO Space Dunk Cookie In addition, OREO released their behind the scenes documentary, combining raw and real footage of the OREO cookie being launched into space. OREO has always believed in pushing the boundaries of playfulness. By sending the cookie into space, which for ages has sparked our collective human imaginations and pushed the frontiers of science, were taking this to the next level. OREO Space Dunk highlights our enduring commitment to ignite imagination, inspire curiosity and bring people together through out-of-this-world experiences that fans have come to love, said Lucas Levy, Mondelez Southeast Asia (SEA) regional marketing director. OREO also unveiled the inaugural launch of the OREO Spaceburst Cream cookie in Southeast Asia- an exclusive limited-edition flavour with a subtle cooling sensation that feels like space in a bite. The OREO Space Dunk cookies will feature five Galactic-themed embossments of varying rarities: Rocket, Helmet, Telescope, Star Gaze, and the Shooting Star, the rarest of the series. In addition to the limited edition Spaceburst Cream cookie, OREO Space Dunk will also include the fan-favourite core flavours of Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry in leading retailers in the country. Impactful activation The launch of the OREO cookie into space was an atmospheric affair. Stepping through the futuristic Space Tunnel, guests entered the Cosmic Playground roaming with astronauts, where they could experience the Space Dome and float in the glory of the Milky Way. Guests could also view the delightful OREO Space cookie embossments on the Wall Cookie Dome, enjoy tasty OREO treats at the Space Dunk Station and capture galactic images at the Infinity Seat. The OREO Space Dunk cookies will feature five Galactic-themed embossments of varying rarities OREO will also be rolling out its very first experience to bring the Milky Way Dunk into the hands of the consumers. Along with this, consumers can purchase an OREO Space Dunk cookie pack and scan the QR code. Consumers can experience dunking OREO cookies into the Milky Way virtually, collecting points for every dunk to stand a chance to win exciting prizes. Intriguing prizes such as a VR headset, a PlayStation 5, Samsung Galaxy Phone, OREO merch, and the grand prize of an OREO Space Theme Trip in Japan, are ready for grabs. Following this groundbreaking initiative, OREO is also launching an exciting space-themed experience event in Vietnam. The event will take place from 9:30am to 9:00pm on April 19 and 20 at Thiso Mall Sala at 10 Mai Chi Tho Street, Thu Thiem, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City. OREO is also launching an exciting space-themed experience event in Vietnam, taking place on April 19 and 20 at Thiso Mall Sala in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City The campaign took flight across Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Fiji. With record-breaking engagement and stellar activation, the campaign cemented OREOs legacy of innovation and immersive storytelling, delighting fans across the region and reconnecting them with their sense of curiosity, wonder and playfulness. At its close, the OREO Space Dunk campaign was one of the most talked-about and high-impact marketing campaigns in Southeast Asia. The events immersive storytelling set a new benchmark for experiential marketing, making waves across digital platforms. The campaign contributes to strengthening brand recognition in the marketing and communications industry and marks a strategic development milestone. OREO has always been about sparking joy and igniting imaginations. With the OREO Space Dunk campaign, we have taken our playful spirit beyond Earths boundaries, creating an experience that resonates with our fans across Southeast Asia, said Lucas Levy, Mondelez SEA regional senior marketing director. OREO is one of the iconic brands of Mondelez Kinh Do, part of Mondelez International, Inc, a global snacking powerhouse. The companys several other iconic global and local brands are Cosy, Kinh Do, Solite, Slide, AFC, RITZ, LU, Toblerone, Cadbury Dairy Milk, and many more. Coca-Cola and OREO launch limited-edition drink and cookie to pair iconic brands Coca-Cola and the OREO brands have teamed up as besties to create two exclusive products: OREO Coca-Cola Sandwich Cookie and Coca-Cola OREO Zero Sugar Limited Edition. Mondelez Kinh Do to bring joy to those unable to spend Tet at home Understanding the heartfelt longing of those unable to celebrate Lunar New Year with their families, Mondelez Kinh Do continues its creative and meaningful 'Loi Moi Sum Vay' (Special Invitation) campaign for 2025. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung gave his opinion on revising the Law on Atomic Energy. Photo: quochoi.vn During its 44th session on April 14, the NA Standing Committee reviewed proposed revisions to the Law on Atomic Energy. A central point of debate was the governments proposal to delegate investment policy approval for nuclear power projects currently the NAs jurisdiction under existing investment regulations to the prime minister. NA Vice Chairman Vu Hong Thanh expressed support for stronger decentralisation. However, he cautioned that any shift in authority must be carefully considered and fully reported to the National Assembly for deliberation. He noted that nuclear projects entail not just substantial capital, but also require tailored policies to ensure timely implementationciting the precedent set by the now-shelved Ninh Thuan nuclear project. Beyond decentralisation, there must be clarity on whether future nuclear projects will benefit from similar special mechanisms as Ninh Thuan, or new ones, to fast-track progress. Without acceleration, we risk compromising our energy security, he said. Thanh proposed more streamlined investment procedures for nuclear power projects to reduce administrative bottlenecks. Chairman of the NAs Committee for Legal and Judicial Affairs Hoang Thanh Tung echoed the sentiment but urged caution. This is a major shift. While the drive for decentralisation is commendable, nuclear power projects are of national significance. They impact the environment, economy, and social structureoften requiring resettlementand therefore traditionally fall within the NA's authority, Tung said. He argued that presenting comprehensive dossiers to the NA would not necessarily delay progress, while also enhancing legal legitimacy and public support through parliamentary debate. Tung further recommended that any move towards delegation must ensure coherence across criterianot only investment capital, but also environmental and social impact. Chairman of the NA Economic and Budgetary Committee Phan Van Mai also supported the idea of strong decentralisation but emphasised the need for clear definitions of responsibilities, processes, and accountability to ensure efficiency without confusion. Responding to lawmakers concerns, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung clarified that decentralisation aligns with the governments broader strategy to empower lower levels of authority for more agile governance. However, he acknowledged the exceptional sensitivity of nuclear energy. Nuclear safety must be the top priority as it directly concerns public health and safety, he said. Small and medium-scale nuclear projectsbased on modular, standardised technologiescould be managed by the prime minister. But large-scale projects, such as those exceeding 2,000 MW like the former Ninh Thuan plant, should remain under the purview of the NA, he said. He committed to providing a more detailed explanation of the proposed changes, including the rationale for delegation and its implications, ensuring that safety and responsiveness remain balanced. The overarching policy direction belongs to the NA, but when it comes to individual projects, there should be more operational flexibility. Still, after todays feedback, we will consult the prime minister on whether to define delegation authority based on project sizesmall and medium projects under the prime minister, large ones under the NA, Dung added. Julian Gorman, head of Asia Pacific, GSMA Vietnam is experiencing remarkable growth in mobile-led services and could soon become a leading digital nation in Asia Pacific, powered by high smartphone penetration, strong connectivity, and supportive policies. Vietnams National Digital Transformation Programme aims to position the country among the worlds top 30 digital nations by 2030, with bold goals including nationwide 5G and fibre access, the development of over 100,000 digital technology businesses, and a workforce of 1.5 million people skilled in digital technologies. Vietnam is also a global leader in IPv6 adoption, with over 55 per cent of users connected via the newer protocol - a sign of strong digital infrastructure readiness. Emerging technologies such as AI, 5G and GSMA Open Gateway are reshaping industries, improving public services, and narrowing the urban-rural digital divide. Yet alongside this progress, a surge in digital scams threatens to undermine public confidence and limit the transformative potential of mobile innovation. The summit builds on insights from GSMAs Mobile Economy Asia Pacific and Digital Nations reports, as well as findings from the recent Towards an Inclusive Digital Nation: Addressing the Scam Economy and Preserving Trust in the Digital Ecosystem report, which highlights growing concerns across the region. In Vietnam,74 per cent of consumers now use e-wallets, yet 89 per cent say they fear account hacking, and95 per cent are concerned about the misuse of their personal data online. Vietnam stands at a defining moment in its digital journey, said Julian Gorman, head of Asia Pacific, GSMA. On one hand, high mobile adoption and a flourishing e-wallet market are unlocking incredible opportunities for economic growth and financial inclusion. On the other, rising scams and identity threats are putting consumer trust at risk. This summit brings industry and government leaders together to take meaningful action - from smarter regulation to innovative fraud solutions - so that Vietnams digital future remains secure, inclusive, and built on trust. Delegates explored practical measures to combat digital fraud, including real-time transaction verification, multi-factor authentication, Silent OTP solutions, and closer collaboration between mobile operators, banks, and fintech players. Sessions also addressed the threat of SIM-swap fraud - a concern for 78 per cent of Vietnamese consumers, well above the regional average - and how API-driven security tools, such as those enabled by the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, can be effectively integrated across sectors. A dedicated session focused on the broader scam economy challenge, highlighting how unchecked fraud could stall adoption of digital services and erode the foundations of the digital ecosystem. Speakers emphasised the need for coordinated action on consumer protection, from enhanced fraud monitoring to public education campaigns. Viettel, one of Vietnams leading operators, has strongly championed the development of 5G use cases, which now make up nearly a third of the main stage agenda at the Summit. From smart manufacturing and precision agriculture to enhanced public services, these real-world applications of 5G are beginning to deliver tangible societal and economic benefits. This reflects the rapid rise of Vietnam as a regional 5G leader and reinforces the countrys commitment to innovation-led growth. Despite Vietnams strong digital uptake, challenges persist around digital literacy and extending connectivity to underserved communities. Attendees stressed the importance of public-private partnerships to expand mobile coverage, improve digital skills, and support a regulatory environment that promotes both innovation and safety. Throughout the summit, discussions returned to a central theme: trust. Whether enabling e-wallets, protecting data, or delivering public services, the success of Vietnams digital transformation depends on maintaining consumer confidence. Stakeholders called for cross-sector collaboration to create a secure and user-friendly digital environment, rooted in transparency and resilience. Standard Chartered and SBV accelerate help for women integrating with digital transformation On March 10, Standard Chartered Vietnam and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) co-organised the conference themed Banking women integrating with digital transformation in Hanoi. Digital health must reach further ground Although digital transformation in healthcare is covering more bases than ever, its implementation remains slow in various aspects. Local food pantries and distribution centers are not feeling the pinch of cutbacks and freezes of federal food supplement programs yet, but rising demand has some worried about addressing local food insecurity. Cuts made earlier this spring to the U.S. Department of Agricultures Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Plan could mean a loss of $5.5 million for the Central Texas Food Bank which supplies food pantries and feeding programs in a 21-county area whose northern zone includes McLennan, Bell, Coryell, Falls and Freestone counties, the organizations CEO Sari Vatske told KCEN-TV in an April 1 story. The program provided funding for regional food banks to buy locally grown produce and other foods for distribution within their network of providers, including local food pantries. The cuts, if not replaced with other revenue, would mean less food available to help local food pantries stock their shelves. Vatske said at the time the federal cuts would not threaten the food banks construction of a new distribution and service center on Gholson Road in Waco. Representatives for the Central Texas Food Bank did not return calls asking for comment or updates. Bob Gager, founder and CEO of Waco nonprofit Shepherds Heart, one of the largest organizations providing free food for local residents in need, said federal funding cutbacks would not directly affect a faith-based organization like Shepherds Heart. Things have tightened up a bit, but we have plenty of food, Gager said. But the number of people (needing food) keeps increasing. Shepherds Heart and its volunteers staff regular food distributions throughout the Waco area. Shepherds Heart also delivers groceries twice monthly to some 800 homebound senior adults, Gager said. Since the beginning of the year, the organization has served roughly 31,000 families and the most recent numbers are about 15% higher than last year at this time, he said. Like Shepherds Heart, community nonprofit Caritas of Waco has not been affected by federal cutbacks, but is seeing increased demand, Executive Director Ann Owen said. Caritas reported 300 new families needing help in February, and Owen anticipates that number may increase in the months ahead. The organization provided food for more than 2,400 families in March, Owen said. Any reductions in food supply from providers like the Central Texas Food Bank would have a double impact on organizations like Caritas, she said. As provided food supplies shrink, Caritas will spend more of its own money to buy food to narrow the gap, she said. Were very closely monitoring the situation, Owen said. Zeke Morgan, Prosper Wacos director of health initiatives, said the threat of funding cuts for food banks and feeding programs is concerning given McLennan Countys level of food insecurity, defined as not having reliable access to sufficient or quality food. A Central Texas Food Bank study on the organizations website shows 16.9% of McLennan County residents were food insecure last year, including 16,171 children. That number had risen significantly since 2017, Morgan said. Prosper Waco does not administer or run any food pantries or feeding programs, but helps local organizations that do by facilitating communications, providing data and helping find additional resources for the work they do through ad hoc groups such as the Hunger Free Community Coalition, he said. While federal cuts in food supply and feeding programs have been made ostensibly as cost-saving or government-shrinking measures, Morgan said the work to run local programs efficiently could be at risk. Were all about wise spending, but were worried that what we are saving now will be wiped out, he said. Reduced federal support of free or reduced-price school lunches for low-income families are of particular concern, not only because of the millions of students it helps, but also the families that rely on it during summer months, Morgan said. Jeremy Everett, executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, said efforts such as the Farm to School program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance program not only benefited food insecure students and community members, but supported farmers who grow that food. Discussions in Congress on reauthorizing the Farm Bill include consideration of a $230 billion in cut in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides a monthly subsidy for low-income people to buy groceries. Such a sizable cut would have a great impact on poor Americans who rely on it to stretch their grocery dollars, Everett said. Theyre stacking the deck against low-income households, he said. Any time theres widespread, systemic disruption, the poor are the ones who always pay the price the most. Everett said the countrys lowest level of reported food insecurity was in 2019 during the first Trump administration. He said he is hopeful hunger relief advocates, congressional representatives and administration leaders can find similar common ground to continue to address the issue of hungry Americans. I think we all recognize government is somewhat bloated, but we wish the process (of budget cutting) was more deliberate, Everett said. Both Gager and Owen said community support is vital for their organizations to meet local needs, whether through financial donations, volunteering or providing supplies. Janell Gilman, a leadership consultant appointed to the Woodway City Council in 2022, will face her first election May 3 against Michael Wayne Habern, a retired small business owner, as she seeks to keep her Ward 3 Place 2 seat. Habern, who retired in 2018, said he is running for city council to give residents a greater voice in how their city tax money gets spent. I believe that if were going to spend more than $1 million or $2 million on something optional like a building, not on something needed like a water line or a sewer line, we should put it to the voters, Habern said. Woodways city charter allows residents to petition the city for a referendum aiming to enact an ordinance or to repeal an existing ordinance, excluding measures that appropriate money or implement a tax. The charter does not include a process for the city council to call a referendum without a petition. Gilman said she is running to continue to serve her city, where she has lived for 41 years, and to listen to residents of all ages in making decisions. Gilman said it is important to have a full understanding of all the facts around an issue or a decision before she makes a vote on the Woodway City Council. She said she will always make her decisions and cast her votes for what is in the best interests of all Woodway residents. For the past 28 years, Gilman has owned and operated a leadership consulting company. Her company provided leadership and teambuilding training to other companies and most recently to inmates at the Alfred Hughes prison unit of Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Gatesville. Also, from 2002 through 2014 she was an executive, and a club owner for many years, with Curves Womens Health and Fitness Clubs. Gilman was also a board member of the CareNet Pregnancy Center of Waco and of the Waco Opera. One of the achievements she points to as a reason for voters to choose her is her role chairing the committee that oversaw preparation of the Woodway Forward comprehensive plan. Gilman said she believes the comprehensive plan provides a guide to preserve residential areas, improve parks and complete development of some of the undeveloped parcels on the edges of the city. She said if voters choose her for the next term, she would like to see Lakeside Park at the end of Estates Drive, formerly known as Woodway Park, developed with restrooms and recreational facilities for lake activities. Since the city started work on its new Woodway Family Center building in 2022, a vocal group has called for the city to use the old family center building as a senior center. The city is in the process of exploring the costs of repurposing the old building. Gilman said that between 2017 and 2020, senior activities at the family center and at the Carleen Bright Arboretum were not well attended at all, with about a dozen or fewer turning up one or two days per week. The city added senior-specific programming when the new family center building opened early last year, including pickleball; classes for chair yoga, stretching and strength, and balance; and dominoes, card games and social hours. The family centers overall visitor count in the new buildings first three months surpassed its highest annual total from the years the old building was open, though the changed its method for counting visitors with the move. Gilman said she needs all the facts of what would need to be done to the old building and what it would cost to renovate it as a senior center before she can make a decision about its future. She said the state requires buildings used for senior centers to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards and be staffed with people who know CPR and first aid. A study conducted in 2019 before the council approved the new construction found renovating the old building would have cost a minimum of $2 million. It also generated debate about how much longer the buildings foundation would remain sound without rehabilitation. The cost estimate came before pandemic-related construction cost increases. Gilmans challenger, Habern, a 20-year Woodway resident, owned a concrete contracting business with 10 to 12 employees from 1972 until 2013. After that he had a store with his wife from 2014 to 2018. Habern serves on the Woodway Planning and Zoning Commission. Since 2007, he has gone back and forth between the Planning and Zoning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment. He is also a member of the Kiwanis Club of Waco. He said the main achievement he would point to is his long-term concrete contracting business, supplying for home and commercial construction. Habern said he knows the zoning laws and he knows the land in Woodway. He said the main reason people should vote for him is his honesty. Habern has criticized the city spending more than $6 million on the new family center building and in a Facebook video posted Monday calls for the old building to be used as a senior center and Meals on Wheels center. He refers to the 2019 facility study, saying it found the building is structurally sound and in relatively good condition. In an interview, Habern said any decision to tear down the old family center should be put to a vote of the residents. He said he believes senior citizens make up 46% of Woodways population and should have their own place for recreation and activities. According to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates for 2024, people 55 and older make up 35.3% of Woodways population. Habern also has criticized the citys reconfiguration of much of Estates Drive and said he does not think the council listened to residents. Work wrapped up in December on the $468,000 project, which reconfigured the street from two driving lanes in each direction to one driving lane in each direction with a central turn lane, along with shared bicycle and pedestrian lanes divided from the driving lanes by bollards. Woodway has encountered several traffic accidents since this bike lane has been installed, Habern said in a Facebook video posted last week. Texas Department of Transportation records show 34 crashes have been reported in Woodway so far this year, including one on Estates Drive. Estates had 10 crashes reported last year, five in 2023, three in 2022, three in 2021 and seven in 2020. Law enforcement officials are required to report to TxDOT crashes that cause an injury or an estimated $1,000 or more in damage. The council held two public hearings and two votes on the Estates Drive project. Both the public hearings had around 20 residents speak, and the reconfiguration passed both times with five council members voting in favor of it. Campaign finance Gilman has received $1,430 in cash contributions and $700 in in-kind contributions. She has spent $1,766. Waco-area developer David Mercer, who lives in Woodway, gave her $1,000 cash. The rest of the cash came from five donors, including Mayor Amine Qourzal and three others who live in Woodway. The in-kind contributions were from Qourzal for a website and sign frames. Gilman spent $1,202 on yard signs and $426 on banners. She had four other campaign-related expenses, each less than $80. Habern has received one contribution of $50 and spent $47 on a website. He has also spent $2,493 of his own money on campaign-related expenses including $1,182 on yard signs and stakes, $335 on his website, $278 on banners and $168 on doorhangers. He had three other campaign-related expenses, less than $80. All three of Woodways city council seats up for election this year have contested races. Mayor Amine Qourzal is seeking reelection to his Ward 1 Place 1 council seat against challenger Charles Harold Anderson. After each regular municipal election, council members select a mayor from among their ranks. Ward 2 Place 2 incumbent John Williams is not seeking reelection. David Coy Whitby and David John Wilson are competing for the seat. Early in-person voting for the May 3 election will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 22-25, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 26, 1 to 6 p.m. April 27, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 28-29. April 22 is the deadline for the elections office to receive an application for a mail ballot. Excerpt from an interview with Russian Foreign Minister S.V. Lavrov to the Kommersant newspaper (Moscow, April 14, 2025) https://t.me/MariaVladimirovnaZakharova/10202 Question: You say that the new American administration has a desire to discuss not only bilateral issues, but also a peaceful settlement in Ukraine. At a recent UN meeting on Ukraine, called in connection with the strike on Kryvyi Rih, a US representative warned that further Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory could lead to the breakdown of peace talks. This was followed a few days later by an attack on Sumy, where, according to the Ukrainian side, civilians and children were again killed. Does this mean that Russia is not taking US warnings seriously? S.V.Lavrov : The Americans have many official representatives. Including, some representative recently said something in Greenland. She was asked to return to her homeland and look for another job . I dont want to say that this woman (I dont remember this statement that you mentioned) deserves the same fate, but we know very well that the position of the West, Europe, and the US during the Biden era was dominated by outright lies . Over the past couple of years, I have drawn the attention of the UN Secretary-General A. Guterres several times to the fact that, as the chief administrative (as stated in the Charter) person of the Organization, he should comply with the requirements of Article 100 of the Charter, not take sides, but pursue a balanced position , and not receive instructions from any government. Ive known him for a long time, were on first-name terms, weve been working in different overlapping positions for decades. I told him that he may not be getting paid in this position, but hes following Western countries orders in connection with the situation in Ukraine. Now, again after the cries that dozens of children and civilians died in Sumy, he made a statement that he firmly advocates for an end to such violations of international humanitarian law, for a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on the basis of the UN Charter and respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine on the basis of the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly. International humanitarian law strictly prohibits the placement of military facilities and weapons on the territory of civilian objects . From the first days of the crisis, and even earlier, even during the Minsk agreements, during the rosy but collapsed hopes that they would allow the problem to be resolved peacefully, leaving Ukraine in its territorial integrity minus Crimea (they did not want to do this), there were a million facts of artillery deployment, air defense systems in city blocks near kindergartens. How many videos have been posted on the Internet, when Ukrainian women shout for the military to get away from stores, playgrounds. But this practice continues. We have facts about who was at the facility that was hit in Sumy. There was another meeting of Ukrainian military leaders with their Western colleagues , who were either masquerading as mercenaries or I dont know who. NATO troops are there and they directly control it. Everyone knows that. The New York Times recently explained how the Americans played a decisive role in the attacks on Russia from the very beginning. Without this role, most long-range missiles would not have left their bases at all. 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(Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on China and Vietnam to march toward modernization hand in hand. In his meeting with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man, Xi also urged the two sides to inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi pointed out that his state visit to Vietnam once again allowed him to witness the new achievements in Vietnam's cause of Doi Moi (reform) and personally experience the profound foundation of China-Vietnam friendship. At present, China is comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization, and Vietnam will usher in a new era of national rise, Xi said, adding that both sides are at a crucial stage of their respective development and rejuvenation. Facing an international landscape fraught with changes and turbulence, Xi said, China and Vietnam should strengthen confidence in their paths and systems, enhance solidarity and coordination, continue to build the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, join hands to march toward modernization, and inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi stressed that both China and Vietnam are socialist countries led by a communist party, and the political direction is crucial to the future of the parties and countries, as well as the success of their causes. Xi said the top leaders of the two parties and countries should exchange views on bilateral relations and major issues of common concern in a timely manner, continue to build consensus, enhance mutual trust and steer the course steadily, so as to ensure the steady progress of China-Vietnam relations. It is necessary to maintain exchanges and cooperation between the two parties, legislative bodies and political consultative organizations, and to keep sharing governance experiences, Xi added. The two sides should take the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity to carry forward the "red gene" and make good use of the revolutionary resources to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially the young generation, and strengthen the friendly bond between the two countries, Xi added. Recognizing the frequent exchanges and fruitful cooperation between China's National People's Congress and Vietnam's National Assembly, Xi said the two countries' legislatures should do more to strengthen traditional friendship, ensure practical cooperation and strengthen multilateral coordination, carry out exchanges on the development of socialist democracy and rule of law, and continuously enrich the substance of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. For his part, Tran Thanh Man said that Vietnam and China, connected by mountains and rivers, have forged a sincere friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood" under the careful nurturing of successive leaders of the two parties and countries, and the two sides have maintained long-standing friendly relations. He said the visit of Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, fully demonstrates the importance attached by the CPC, the country and the Chinese people to Vietnam-China ties. He said the two general secretaries have provided important strategic guidance on advancing the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, which will open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The Vietnamese National Assembly congratulated China for successfully convening the "two sessions" and looked forward to conducting close communication and cooperation with China's National People's Congress, implementing the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, and contributing to the common prosperity and development of the two countries and friendship between the peoples, Tran Thanh Man said. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Wynn Resorts has announced the passing of Elaine Wynn, the companys co-founder and one of its largest shareholders, in a touching message shared via Facebook. The company extended condolences to her daughters, grandchildren, and many close friends, honoring her lasting influence on both the business and its people. The Resort says as a visionary leader, Wynn played a crucial role in building Wynn Resorts into one of the worlds premier luxury hospitality brands. Her creative imprint is still seen throughout the companys resorts, and her legacy lives on in the culture she helped shape. Her many talents and special touches are indelibly imprinted on the company and still evident throughout our resorts, the post read. Wynn was deeply respected by employees across the organization, many of whom recalled working beside her during the opening of Wynn Las Vegasan event that marks its 20th anniversary this month. She was also recognized for her unwavering commitment to the Las Vegas community, particularly through her advocacy for education, the arts, and employee wellbeing. Wynn Resorts expressed its gratitude for the philanthropic spirit she instilled in the company, noting that it continues to guide its values today. In response to the news, Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro released a public statement recognizing Wynns profound influence on the state. Elaine Wynn was an inspirational, pioneering woman. In business, she helped build the iconic Las Vegas Strip into what we know it as today, Cannizzaro said. Through her philanthropic work and public service, she was an unflinching, passionate advocate for Nevadans, especially for our public school students. Her impact was felt in the community for decades, and it will continue to be felt for many years to come. Wynns legacy as a business icon and community champion is being remembered with deep admiration from both those who worked with her and leaders across Nevada. University of Nevada, Reno President Brian Sandoval shared the following tribute on his X account: Lauralyn and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Elaine Wynn, who was one of Nevadas visionary leaders. It is no exaggeration to say that her reach and her impact on education for school children throughout our state and on a national level was simply remarkable. You can trace her influence on state education back more than three decades. Beginning with Elaines appointment to the State Board of Education where she ably served as president, Nevada found a champion for a whole series of reforms that found innovative ways to connect our education community with the business community. In 2015 as Nevada made its most concerted push for education reform, Elaine tirelessly traveled throughout the state and was instrumental in building bridges of support for education with Nevadas business leaders. Although the stakes were high, and Elaine clearly understood the intricacies of education funding in our state, she traveled throughout Nevada always leading with her heart and with a deep-rooted sense of decency. Throughout her life, she left no stone unturned whenever others could benefit. Elaine was a titan of education, a tireless advocate for youth, and a true champion for the arts. Through her leadership, compassion, and generosity, she transformed countless lives and inspired hope in communities across Nevada. Our thoughts are with Elaines family, friends, and all those whose lives were touched by her extraordinary spirit. May her memory continue to inspire us all. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford shared his thoughts on X, saying: "Elaine Wynn was a force in business, education, philanthropy, and in every room she entered. My heart is with her loved ones and all those who, like me, were inspired by her fierce commitment to our state and its future." Senator Jacky Rosen released a statement on X as well: "I'm incredibly saddened to hear about Elaine Wynn's passing. Elaine was a trailblazer and a role model who showed us how strong women lead the way. She played an integral role in helping make Las Vegas the world class-destination it is today and gave back to our community through education and the arts. She was also a dear friend, and this is a tremendous loss. My thoughts are with her loved ones and everyone who knew her." Senator Catherine Cortez Masto also shared her thoughts via X, saying: "I'm honored to have known Elaine, and to have seen her passion for Las Vegas first hand. She cared so deeply for our community, and whether it was education for the arts, she never missed an opportunity to lend a helping hand. Nevada has lost a giant today, and we're all going to miss her. My thoughts are with the Wynn family in this time." Congresswoman Susie Lee issued a press release about Wynn's passing: "Las Vegas lost one of its true caretakers today. There are no words to express my sadness of losing a dear friend. I extend my sympathy to her family who she cherished, and her friends, and, quite honestly, to anyone whose life she touched. Many people may never know just how much she did to improve their lives, as she was instrumental in delivering so much to our state and community. Elaine was an incredible businesswoman because she put her employees and customers at the center of every decision she made. Her trailblazing philanthropy touched the lives of millions whether it was a kid playing after-school sports, a struggling student who was able to graduate, UNLV, a kid who received a food backpack for the weekend, or any family enjoying the arts. On a personal note, Elaine was not only my dear friend, but also an important mentor. While I am enormously sad, I cant be anything but truly grateful that I was able to know her and learn so much from such an amazing human being." Las Vegas Mayor, Shelley Berkley also shared her thoughts via X saying: [Wynn Las Vegas contributed to this story.] Uline, a leading distributor of shipping, industrial, and packaging materials, is set to open a 286,000-square-foot warehouse in Reno in August. This latest expansion brings the companys regional presence to 1.2 million square feet since first establishing operations in Reno in 2021. Uline says the new facility, located on Echo Avenue just three miles northwest of its existing branch, comes in response to growing customer demand across California, Nevada, and Utah. Renovations on the new building begin this month. To support the expansion, Uline says it plans to hire about 25 employees and will host a hiring event on Tuesday, April 22, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at its current Reno warehouse. Positions include day and night shift warehouse associate roles, with pay ranging from $25 to $32 per hour, including a $2 shift differential for night work. We are excited about our continued investment in the Reno area, said Brian Wayer, Ulines Reno Branch Manager. Even in an uncertain economy, Uline continues to grow and offers employees generous benefits and opportunities for growth. Uline has been named to the Forbes list of Americas Best Large Employers for three consecutive years. Uline says the company offers competitive pay, day-one health benefits, a 6% 401(k) match, tuition assistance, and wellness-focused amenities like an on-site fitness center and cafe. Interested candidates can pre-register or walk in to the hiring event by visiting uline.jobs/hiring-events. Translation assistance will not be provided at the event. Update (4/14/2025, 3:00 p.m.): The Nevada State Police have provided more details about the fatal crash that happened Saturday, April 12 on I-580. According to officials, around 7:00 a.m. a silver SUV, a box truck and three other vehicles were travelling southbound on I-580 in the same lane near the Virginia/Kietzke exit. The SUV slowed down, and the box truck did not - which resulted in the box truck crashing into the left rear of the SUV. The reason for the slowdown is currently unknown. The SUV, which contained seven passengers, then rolled as a result of the crash, ejecting two juveniles from the vehicle who were not wearing seatbelts. The two ejected teens were transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. An adult in one of the back seats, identified as 62-year old Lorraine Chavez, died in the crash. The Nevada Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the crash. Original Story (4/12/2025, 8:15 a.m.): Nevada State Police are investigating a fatal crash on I-580 southbound at the Moana Lane exit. It was first reported just before 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 12. We are working to gather more information from Nevada State Police so we will provide updates as we receive them. A lawsuit against Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and Governor Joe Lombardo challenging Nevada law SB406 has been rejected by a higher court. The suit alleges that some citizens felt like, acting in roles as election watchers or observers, they could not report suspicious activity at voting sites for fear that any reports would appear as intimidation towards election workers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that Robert Beadles and the other plaintiffs in the case have not established an "injury in fact" because they haven't alleged any credible threat of enforcement. The court also said in their ruling that SB406 does not forbid any election observation activities that are authorized by Nevada law. The court also found that a 2020 tweet by Nevada AG Ford that the defendants say threatened the plaintiffs with enforcement of SB406 couldn't have been possible because SB406 did not exist in 2020. In addition, they found that the tweet "threatened to prosecute voter intimidation, not the intimidation of election officials." The court goes on to say that the plaintiffs have not alleged that either Aguilar and Lombardo, the defendants, have the authority to enforce SB406 so the suit is not necessarily targeted at the right people. You can check out the pdf version of the filing below. Both the Assembly and Senate floors at the Nevada State Legislature were busy Monday filing bill after bill. Last Friday was the first major deadline of the 83rd Legislative Session. Bills had to pass out of their first committees, otherwise they could die. While several bills didn't make it out, there are still a lot potential laws in play. We have covered several of them over the course of the session. The first: Assembly Bill 81, also known as the Lock the Clock Act, is looking to stop Nevada from switching to daylight saving time every year. Another is Assembly Bill 375, which is looking to make the Picon Punch the official state cocktail and allow restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks. Assembly Bill 533 is looking to provide more school choice and get rid of zoning restrictions. Assembly Bill 346 is the assisted suicide bill that Governor Joe Lombardo said he would not pass if it hit his desk. That one made it out of committee. Senate Bill 263, which would criminalize the use of AI-generated child porn, is also still alive. Senate Joint Resolution 10, which urges Congress to allow for some psychedelics to be used therapeutically, is another. Assembly Bill 198, which is also known as "Lizzy's Law," is trying to add more restrictions on inflatable devices after a young girl, Lizzy Hammond, died in a bounce house a few years ago. Some notable bills that did not make it through include Assembly Joint Resolution 5. It would have allowed Nevada to sell lottery tickets. Another is Senate Bill 139, which was looking to charge women who take drugs to terminate a pregnancy after six months with a category B felony. 2 News Nevada's Arianna Bennett did a story last week on the proposed toll road from Sparks to USA Parkway, but that bill also did not pass. The next deadline is April 22 - that's when bills have to pass out of their first chamber. By Dale Critchley, Workplace Policy Manager, Aviva The government wants to see bigger, better pension schemes delivering bigger, better pensions for savers. While at the same time helping the UK economy, by investing in UK growth. The policies to enable it echo the idea of radical incrementalism - policy changes that address todays issues and take us toward a longer-term goal, rather than a great leap forward that may just be wishful thinking. The most obvious policy idea to drive scale, is the proposal to set a minimum threshold size for default arrangements. The policy objective is that schemes invest in defaults, with the scale required to make direct investments in property and infrastructure, or to negotiate the best terms to access asset classes that might deliver more diversified returns. We should see primary legislation for this in the Pension Schemes Bill within the next few months. Scale may also be driven by the new value for money framework, which will be another feature of the Bill. This will see individual schemes compared with large schemes, and large schemes compared with each other. It will highlight where employers, or groups of employers, might get a materially better deal for their employees within another pension scheme. Schemes rated red, for some or all employer cohorts, will need to improve, or look to move their savers to better performing schemes or default arrangements. Over time, we may see fewer larger default arrangements and improvements in the support provided to savers, as underperforming defaults are closed and assets are moved to better schemes. Expectations around the support provided by schemes are also being increased. This will have a positive impact on savers but may make it harder for smaller schemes to sustain the level of investment necessary to match large schemes. One of the biggest challenges for savers within DC pensions is how to turn their savings into a retirement income. The nastiest hardest problem in finance according to Nobel prize-winning economist William Sharpe. This issue will become the responsibility of trustees once new legislation and regulations mandate that all occupational pension schemes provide suitable income solutions for their members. Trustees will also need to ensure their governance processes are documented and meet the expectations of The Pension Regulators General Code of Practice. This will include carrying out their Own Risk Assessment within 12 months of their scheme year ending between 28th March 2025 and 27th March 2026 (5th July 2025 to 4th July 2026 in Northern Ireland). While The Pensions Regulator no longer refers to this as being onerous, it may bring home to some employers just how much is expected of their scheme trustees. Another anticipated measure in the Bill is to facilitate the extraction of DB surpluses, where it is appropriate and safe to do so. While the specifics are still being finalised, this may mean employers could utilise these surpluses to expand their businesses or potentially encourage them to allocate the surplus to their DC scheme members. Consolidation on its own will not drive bigger pensions for DC savers. Employer scheme design and contributions have a significant impact, but better individual decision making, and bigger returns, delivered by bigger and better pension schemes, can make a huge difference to the retirement prospects of UK savers. Clare Stinton, head of workplace saving analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown: "Tax hikes can make April a difficult month but theres a real sting in the tail for employers this year. The cost of having employees has just surged, thanks to a double whammy of higher wages and increased National Insurance costs. The numbers add up fast for businesses with large workforces, and growing businesses expanding their teams will feel the squeeze. And with Trump tariffs rearing their head again, company balance sheets are feeling the pressure from all sides. However, there is one proven way to soften the NI hike: salary sacrifice. Also known as salary exchange, salary sacrifice lets employees give up part of their salary, usually in return for certain non-cash benefits, including contributions into pension schemes by their employer. The result is tax savings for both parties - the employee saves both the income tax and employee NI on what they sacrifice into their pension, and the business doesnt have to hand over the 15% employer NI to the taxman on the portion of salary sacrificed. Salary sacrifice is often the most tax-efficient way to contribute to a pension, offering employees tax savings of 28-47% - and for those sacrificing income between 100,000 - 125,140, the effective savings soar to 62% (different rates apply for Scottish taxpayers). If an employee increases what they pay into their pension, the NI savings for businesses will grow. Any savings made by the employer can be reinvested back into the business or used to enhance employee pensions or wider benefits packages further. It could prove a very cost-effective way of boosting staff retention or way to control business costs at a difficult time. The mandate reinforces Schroders position as an insurance asset management leader and expert in delivering actively managed and tailored investment solutions. It encompasses Schroders actively managed multi-asset and fundamental equity capabilities, providing simplified yet extensive investment solutions for a range of Scottish Friendlys policyholders. This follows Scottish Friendlys decision to simplify its product offering as part of a Unit-Linked Fund Rationalisation project, ensuring customers have a clearer selection of competitively priced funds managed by Schroders. Scottish Friendly, one of the UKs largest mutual life insurance companies with over 850,000 members, is an award-winning financial services provider dedicated to delivering products and services that help families thrive in the UK. Phil Middleton, Head of UK at Schroders, said: We are delighted to be appointed by Scottish Friendly to forge a new partnership with a leading player in the UK Mutual sector. This appointment represents an exciting opportunity for Schroders, emphasising our ability to meet clients' investment needs. We believe that the combination of both businesses long-standing heritage and financial services expertise creates a strong partnership focused on the individual needs of members. The mandate is a show of support for our strong investment capabilities, compelling active investment proposition and commitment to the mutual sector, which continues to be a key growth area for us. We are dedicated to working in partnership with Scottish Friendly and the UKs thriving sector to reinforce our role as the preferred manager in this vital segment of the insurance market." Alan Rankine, CFO at Scottish Friendly, said: "We are pleased to announce our strategic partnership with Schroders who will now act as our investment manager for this business. This collaboration is integral to our goal of providing our customers with a streamlined selection of funds that will continue to reflect the varying risk profiles we offer our members. As a mutual organisation, we are committed to delivering real value to our members, and Schroders' extensive expertise, impressive track record, and competitive pricing present a compelling opportunity for us to elevate the overall investment experience through our Unit-Linked Fund Rationalisation project. We are confident that this partnership will drive significant value, ensuring our customers continue to receive investment solutions to meet their needs." Lauderdale County authorities are investigating an apparent murder-suicide that also left a woman injured. Sheriff Joe Hamilton said the incident happened at about 3:20 a.m. in the area of Ingram Street in the Underwood/Petersville community. Deputies were called to the area on a suspicious person report and found a woman with a single gunshot wound. The woman said she had seen a man fire a single shot at another man in a residence on Sylvan Street nearby. As she fled the residence to get help, she said the shooter pursued her and she was struck once by gunfire. At the Sylvan Street residence, deputies found two men dead. Their names have not been released. Investigators believe that one man died from a single gunshot wound, while the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The injured woman was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injures. A 1-year-old infant suffered non-life threatening injuries after being shot Tuesday morning, according to the Mobile Police Department. The department said that the childs mother, Joli Reid, was arrested after the incident. But the department did not specify how the child sustained the injury or what Reid allegedly did to be arrested. Blake Brown, the departments public information officer, stated there was nothing further to release currently. This is still an active investigation and we dont have anything further to release just yet, Brown said. This is all we know at this time. According to jail records, Reid was charged with first degree assault. The incident occurred at about 4:50 a.m. on the 6900 block of Dickens Ferry Road. A Birmingham man charged in the 2021 deadly Easter Sunday shooting at W.C. Patton Park will remain jailed after authorities say he shot a child while out on bond in the murder case. Jaylnd Rashad Rayford, 24, is charged with murder in the death of 32-year-old Areyelle Yarbrough. Both of Yarbroughs parents have died since she was killed. The shooting injured five other people ages 5 to 21 at the time of the shooting. The 5-year-old, Justice Holness, was shot in the lungs and the bullet also fractured his collar bone. Rayford is not charged in those crimes, and investigators are still searching for those responsible in their shootings. Rayford was initially charged and taken into custody in 2023. He was indicted in August 2024. Jefferson County prosecutors in September 2024 filed a motion to revoke Rayfords bond in Yarbroughs death. They noted he was out of jail on bond for the murder case as well as a robbery charge. On Sept. 22, 2024, according to the revocation motion, Rayford was mad at his girlfriend. While she was in her backyard at her apartment, she saw Rayford driving up the street. She got down because she anticipated shooting, the deputy district attorney wrote. Rayford opened fire, hitting the residence 13 times, documents state. One of the bullets hit a 12-year-old in the thigh. The defendant Facetimed the victim shortly after the shooting, records state, and hung up when the officer appeared on the phone. In that incident, Rayford is charged with discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling and first-degree assault. Prosecutors contend a condition of his bond was to refrain from any further criminal activity. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Alaric May on Monday ordered Rayford remain jailed. Rayford is also seeking youthful offender status in the murder case since he was 20 years old at the time. A hearing on that matter has been set for summer. The gunfire at Patton Park erupted just after 7 p.m. that Sunday, April 4, 2021, while hundreds, if not more, were gathered celebrating the holiday. In the Patton Park shooting, officers arrived to find Yarbrough laying on the ground just outside the passenger door of her vehicle wounded by gunfire. She was pronounced dead outside vehicle, and those with her said she was trying to protect some of the children who were with her. A witness said two women were sitting on top of a blue Dodge Charger when someone opened fire, striking the Charger and the two women. The witness said one of those women was shot in the chest; the witness said the other was Yarbrough. Multiple people then started shooting. Yarbrough was a graduate of Alabama A&M University and was working on her MBA. She was a manager of over 12 employees at the Jefferson County Department of Revenue where she headed principal accounting for business and sale tax licensing. Hundreds of demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common during a rally at the historic park in Cambridge, Mass., Saturday, April 12, 2025, calling on Harvard University to resist what organizers described as attempts by President Trump to influence the institution. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via AP, File) AP After weeks of saying hes willing to work with the Trump administration to combat antisemitism, Harvard University President Alan Garber emerged Monday as the highest-profile challenger to the governments effort to force change at elite US colleges. The retribution was swift. A government task force on antisemitism said late Monday that it plans to freeze $2.2 billion of multiyear grants after Harvards decision to reject new demands from the administration. In a statement earlier in the day, Garber had argued that the expanded requests crossed red lines regarding academic freedom and interference in higher education. It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner, Garber wrote on Harvards website. Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the intellectual conditions at Harvard. Harvards rebuke - backed by two law firms in a letter to US agencies - won plaudits from Democratic lawmakers, including former president Barack Obama, alumni and academics who have been eager to see resistance to President Donald Trumps use of threats and executive orders to reshape institutions. Along with targeting law firms and cities, the Trump administration has sought sweeping changes to universities, claiming that top schools arent doing enough to fight antisemitism on campus. The White House has criticized schools response to disruptions around pro-Palestinian student protests after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel and the Jewish states retaliatory response in Gaza. Already, the government has canceled $400 million in funding to Columbia University, paused funds to Northwestern and Cornell and suspended money for Princeton. US agencies have previously said they are reviewing about $9 billion of Harvards grants and contracts. Thats sparked concerns among faculty, students, lawmakers and alumni that the administrations actions are suppressing free speech and harming scientific endevor. A Gamble As the richest US university, with a $53 billion endowment, Harvard has more financial power than others to weather a potential legal and political fight. Yet the administrations response Monday - saying Harvards pushback reinforces a troubling entitlement mindset - indicates that its willing to strip key funds for research, medicine and public health at the Massachusetts school. Harvards decision to fight the government, one of the few entities thats bigger than Harvard, is a gamble, said Adam Kissel, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of Education. The government likely will begin taking action to issue findings and final determinations that will inevitably bring Harvard back to the table. A Harvard spokesman referred to Garbers earlier statements when asked about the funding freeze: For the government to retreat from these partnerships now risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals, but also the economic security and vitality of our nation. Harvard posted the administrations letter from late Friday that detailed the new demands tied to federal funding. They included reforming the universitys governance; ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs; changes to its admissions and hiring; and curbing the power of certain students, faculty and administrators because of their ideological views. In his response, Garber declared that Harvard wouldnt surrender its independence or constitutional rights. The statement drew support from former Harvard President Larry Summers, who said he hoped other universities would adopt a similar stance to defend academic freedom. Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat and Harvard alumnus, praised the schools leaders for finding the courage to stand against modern-day tyrants, while Democratic Governor Maura Healey, also a graduate, said she was grateful to Garber and Harvard for standing up for educational freedom. We all agree that antisemitism has no place in America and that it should be fought in the workplace, classrooms and everywhere, she said in a statement. Complying with the Trump administrations dangerous demands would have made us all less safe and less free. Obama, a Harvard Law alumnus, said the universitys move set an example in rejecting what he called an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom. Lets hope other institutions follow suit, he added. Columbia, which has sparked criticism over its response to some of Trumps demands, released its own statement late Monday. We would reject any agreement in which the government dictates what we teach, research, or who we hire, Acting President Claire Shipman said in a message posted on the schools website. Though we seek to continue constructive dialog with the government, we would reject any agreement that would require us to relinquish our independence and autonomy as an educational institution. Princeton President Chris Eisgruber said his university stands with Harvard. But the Trump administration continues to hold significant leverage over the institutions. Elise Stefanik, a Republican lawmaker from upstate New York, said its time to totally cut off U.S. taxpayer funding to this institution that has failed to live up to its founding motto Veritas. Stefanik, a Harvard alum, has been a leading critic of the university, its leadership and Penny Pritzker, senior fellow of the Harvard Corp., which oversees the university. Funding freezes also risk hitting both the school and the local economy, including Harvards renowned hospital system. The schools most recent financial report shows that 11% of its $6.5 billion in annual operating revenue comes from federally sponsored research funding. The school of public health is the most reliant on sponsored support, at 59% of its operating revenue, followed by the school of engineering at 37% and the medical school at 35%. The report doesnt break down federal support versus other money for the schools. Federal funding made up approximately 68% of total sponsored revenue in fiscal 2024. While Harvards $53 billion endowment is more than three times the size of Columbias, the university cant spend it like a bank account. About 70% of the annual distribution is restricted by donor terms to specific programs, departments, or purposes, according to the school. It distributed $2.4 billion in fiscal 2024. Most universities dont have enough cash and cash liquidity to go indefinitely without such a large portion of their expected budget, said Matthew Wynter, an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University in New York. While theres potential that donations will increase in the wake of Harvards resistant stance, the university still has to repair relations with some of its biggest financial supporters after its initial approach to combating antisemitism on campus created significant rifts. Whats more, turmoil in the US stock market and concern about a potential recession may also lead some alumni to hold back. Even for a school like Harvard that has an enormous endowment, in this financial market, its very difficult to raise money because of a lot of their alumni gifts are going to be financial assets, which are also performing poorly right now, Wynter said. Harvard last week sold $750 million of bonds amid the threats to its federal funding. As part of ongoing contingency planning for a range of financial circumstances, Harvard is evaluating resources needed to advance its academic and research priorities, the school said. The university is working with law firms Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and King & Spalding in response to the administration. From a legal perspective, the governments demands on issues such as requiring diversity on ideological view points were clearly overly aggressive, said Vikram Amar, a professor at the University of California Davis School of Law and the former dean of the University of Illinois College of Law. I am not surprised Harvard couldnt and didnt accept all that was being asked of it, he said. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2025 Bloomberg L.P. A bill to give workers compensation to Alabama educators will now head to the governors desk. SB1, authored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, would provide compensation benefits for full-time education employees who are injured on the job. The House unanimously approved a final version of the bill last week and the Senate approved changes April 15. For us to have everyone else with workers comp available, and for these people not to have it, its just not right. Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs, said on the House floor April 8. Its just a human bill to take care of people who cant take care of themselves as a result of having worked in our government system and trying to serve people. Most state employees are eligible to get covered medical compensation for workplace injuries through the department of labor. But under current law, education employees, such as teachers, bus drivers and lunchroom workers, have to pay for injuries out of pocket and then request a reimbursement from the Board of Adjustment. The board determines how much an employee receives a process that can be time consuming and still leave employees with unpaid bills. The new program would let employees continue to draw their salary for up to 90 days after being injured on the job, with a possibility for extension. They wouldnt have to use up sick leave, and could get medical bills paid through the Public Education Employees Health Insurance Program. If signed into law, the changes will take effect immediately. A fiscal note says it could cost about $15.6 million to start up a trust fund in the programs first year. Lawmakers are still working to approve a $9.9 billion education budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The state education department currently handles Board of Adjustment cases. The new program would create a five-person board to handle cases, as well as a separate board to handle appeals and disputes. State Superintendent Eric Mackey told reporters last week that hes supportive of the changes and believes the bill is in an excellent condition to pass. We obviously had some concerns early on, because we want to make sure that all of our teachers and employees are treated fairly, and that theres enough money in the budget to cover the cost, he said. But all those things were worked out. Mackey has the final say on claims filed by local teachers and school staff, but his own department employees must go through a different office to process reimbursements. If a teacher is injured, Mackey said it can take days or weeks before they realize they need to file a reimbursement claim, and that paperwork can be up to 200 pages thick. Mackey added that the Board of Adjustment isnt a real agency; its composed of a handful of officers who vote on claims that Mackey then has to approve individually. Were managing all that, and we dont even employ the person, so thats why I think we would like to get out of that business, he told reporters earlier this spring. If signed into law, the bill would be known as the Mary Anne Leonard Educators On-The-Job Injury Act, in honor of a former Alabama teacher who had to stop working due to an on-the-job injury. Leonard hit her head on a playground pole during a game of chase with her students, according to reporting from the Alabama Reflector. After about a year, continuous migraines and vision problems left her disabled. And the medical bills piled up. Basically, she didnt get much more than a handful of gratitude from the state of Alabama, Givhan said in a committee meeting this spring. And this is something that we need to rectify. On the House floor, several lawmakers recounted their own run-ins with educators who experienced life-altering injuries at school. Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, whose daughter is a teacher, said he met a bus mechanic whose life was barely spared after he was hit by an 18-wheeler. He had to pay out-of-pocket for many of his medical costs, Travis said. The process is really devastating to an employee who is a great worker and is doing a great job, he said. A similar bill filed last year never made it to the finish line. As this years version worked its way through both chambers, several Democrats said the legislation was long overdue. This has been a long time coming, Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, told co-sponsor Rep. Cynthia Almond, R-Tuscaloosa, on the floor Tuesday. These are the people who are touching our childrens lives, and theyre like anybody else. I apologize that we have not done this sooner but I want to thank you for doing it now. Carrie Underwood apologized - and laughed - for fans having to stare at my booty as a result of a wardrobe malfunction during her Las Vegas residency. During the American Idol judges April 11 show, the country music star handled the mishap without missing a beat. Yall want to hear a funny story? she told the audience. This is kind of embarrassing, but I was laughing and I want you to laugh, too, so Im going to embarrass myself. The last act, the zipper on the back of the little thing I was wearingwhoop! So I was laughing and running into people and I could not turn around. And Im really sorry you guys had to stare at my booty for like two songs! According to Country Living, the incident started during her performance of Denim & Rhinestones. 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. Sheinelle Jones hasn't hosted the "TODAY" show since it was reported in January that she was taking an extended leave as a result of a family matter. (Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images) Getty Images The TODAY hosts recently gave an update on host Sheinelle Jones, who hasnt been with the show since December 2024. On Friday, Craig Melvin, Al Roker and Dylan Dreyer spoke about their colleague during the show. I just talked to her a couple days ago shes taking some time to be with her family and we talk to her all the time, Melvin told Access Hollywoods Emily Orozco during a segment of the show, per NBC. We love our girl. Its been nice to see how much everyone loves her, too. Exactly, Roker added. Were just praying for her. TODAY was broadcasting from a cruise ship at the Miami port Friday when they talked of the 46-year-old mother of three. She misses being here she misses being here with us, but shes doing what she needs to do, Dreyer said. Shell be back. In January, it was reported that Jones was dealing with a serious family health matter, and, as a result, was taking an extended break from the show. It was reported that Jones three children are not the issue. Sheinelle appreciates the support shes received from fans and viewers in her absence, the source told PEOPLE. Shes especially grateful for her tight-knit Today show family and co-hosts, for all their love during a sensitive time. Jones, 46, who first joined Today in 2014, has been absent from the program since Dec. 18, sparking questions from viewers. A second suspect has been charged in the double homicide of a man and woman killed in a hail of gunfire at a southwest Birmingham home last year. LaDre Demond Todd-Green, 23, is charged with capital murder in the slayings of Kayla Warren, 28, and Na Bryan Adams, 20. The police departments Crime Reduction Team took Green into custody Monday in the 1600 block of Tuscaloosa Avenue. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail just after 4 p.m. and is held without bond. Police on Sunday announced the arrest of 23-year-old Jamil Carillo-Jemison was booked into the Jefferson County Jail Saturday. He remains held without bond as well. Multiple shots rang out just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, at a house in the 700 block of 30th Street S.W. When West Precinct officers arrived at the home, they found Warren, a rapper that went by the professional name 205KayWay, shot on the front porch of a friends home. Kayla Warren, 28, was shot to death Aug. 21, 2024, in Birmingham. (Contributed) Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service rushed her to UAB Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:54 p.m. Police learned Adams had been driven by private vehicle to Princeton Baptist Medical Center. He was then transferred to UAB because of the severity of injuries. He died the following day. A group of people were gathered at the home when the suspect opened fire. The gunfire also damaged the house next door where a 66-year-old narrowly escaped being shot. Na'Bryan Adams (Contributed) Birminghams Crime Reduction Team took Carillo-Jemison into custody Thursday, April 10, in the 1900 block of Princeton Court. He was held in the Birmingham City Jail until Saturday, when the capital murder was issued. The suspect was booked into the county jail just before 3 p.m. Saturday. A motive has not been disclosed. The Birmingham Police Department this year has solved 13 previously unsolved 2024 homicide cases and one unsolved homicide case from 2023. Two Black Madison County residents are suing the commission to redraw its districts - seeking an opportunity to elect a second Black representative. Madison County has a 7-member commission elected from six districts with an at-large election for the chairman. There is only one Black member of the body at this time. However, Black people are 25% of the voting age population, the Legal Defense Fund, which is representing Veronica Curtis-Richie and Angela Curry, said in a statement Monday announcing the lawsuit. Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher & Goldfarb, a law firm with an office in Birmingham, joined the Legal Defense Fund to represent the Madison County residents and Alabama NAACP. As a result of this 6-1 system of electing commissioners and historic block voting along racial lines, white residents control 6 out of 7 (or 84% of) seats on the Commission even though they only represent approximately 64% of the countys voting population, the Legal Defense Fund said in the statement. Redrawing the current districts would allow Black voters to form a second opportunity-to-elect district, thereby enabling Black voters to elect a second preferred candidate to the Commission. Madison County attorney Jeff Rich declined comment for this story. In the press release, Curry said that the current voting structure minimizes our role in the political process. At the same time, Curtis-Richie expressed her desire to elect candidates of our choice who share our values, goals, and lived experiences. Sidney Jackson, a partner at Wiggins, said when a vote is diluted or minimized, as is the case for Black voters currently in Madison County, we must make a stand, and calls for change to ensure fairness for Black voters. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Alabama to redraw its congressional districts, which eventually led to Shomari Figures becoming in January the states fourth-ever Black Alabama member of Congress since Reconstruction. It is also the first time two Black members of Congress from Alabama are serving at the same time. Birmingham meteorologist James Spann heard from social media followers across the political spectrum Tuesday after a post that referenced a contentious body of water. In a post on social media platform X, Spann recounted how he got drawn into a controversy regarding what to call the body of water along Alabamas coast. I made the mistake of sharing a Facebook post this morning featuring a photo from a follower that used the term Gulf of America in the description, Spann recounted. Within minutes, I was called a Nazi, denier, and several types of phobes, he wrote. I deleted the post then I was called woke and a libtard. President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed and declared February 9 was officially Gulf of America Day. For U.S. Google Map users only, the body of water appears as the Gulf of America when using the navigational service. For those outside the U.S. and Mexico, the map will show Gulf of America in parentheses under Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration also released a notice about implementing the gulfs name change. According to a Fox News poll released last month, the Gulf of America renaming is among President Donald Trumps least popular policies; only the proposal to acquire to Greenland ranks worse among registered voters. As far as Spann is concerned, he is resolved to avoid any further controversy. From now on with me its simply The Gulf, Spann said. Im beginning to think my left shoe is politicized. Royal Paper filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it prepared to sell to Sofidel America Corp. Sofidel will acquire substantially all of (Royal Papers) assets." Royal Paper may not be a household name but chances are, you have bought some of their products. The paper product manufacturer produces toilet paper for well-known brands such as Super Soft, Earth First and EcoFirst sold at Aldi, Trader Joes, Kroger and other stores. Now, Royal Paper has filed for bankruptcy as part of a restructuring plan. According to a statement from the Phoenix-based company, Royal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it prepared to sell to Sofidel America Corp. Sofidel will acquire substantially all of (Royal Papers) assets, it said. Our team has been working diligently to strengthen our financial foundation in the face of difficult macroeconomic circumstances and other challenges facing Royal, said Steve Schoembs, Chief Executive of Royal. Entering into an agreement with Sofidel provides stability for our business, its customers, and our employees, while we continue to run our sale process. I want to thank our incredibly talented employees for their continued focus and hard work, and our customers, partners, and suppliers for their support. Normal operations will continue at the company, it said. LaShunda Williams, Wendy Stephens and Amanda Melcher discuss how legislation such as the anti-DEI bill affects libraries at the 2025 Alabama Library Association Conference. Williesha Morris Librarians like Matthew Layne have fiercely loyal patrons. Please know I support you and appreciate you and if you ever get arrested, call me! I will fight for freedom any day, a politically conservative patron at ONeal Library in Mountain Brook told the director, adding a heart emoji at the end of her message. Layne shared this story after receiving an award from the Alabama Library Association on April 10. Alabama libraries have been ground zero for two years in the fight between people who believe there are sexually explicit books available on youth library shelves and those who see moving or removing books as censorship. Pending legislation HB 4 would criminalize librarians for suggesting inappropriate books for children. Alabama libraries stand to lose $1.9 million in federal grant funding due to the Institute of Museum and Library Services closure. The American Library Association is suing to stop the IMLS from being gutted, but there was no specific programming associated with this news. At a two-hour Libraries Under Fire session, librarians discussed how theyve managed being scrutinized by conservative groups and politicians for supposed sexually explicit content in books. Lacie Sutherland described working at Autauga-Prattville Library, the initial epicenter of statewide book controversies. Sutherland, along with several other employees, was dismissed in 2024 after protesting the firing of director Andrew Foster. She recalled spending weeks reading a 500-page book that was challenged as sexually explicit by a patron. The content gave few details and the explicit passage was several sentences long. Theres one paragraph where its a closed-door scene, Sutherland said. The two main characters are implied to have sex. And that was the whole thing. Gadsden Public Library branch manager LaShunda Williams said young staff felt pressure to conform to conservative standards after the passage of anti-DEI legislation Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law last year. The law took aim at state-funded diversity, equity and inclusion programming. To put it simply, the anti-DEI challenges have affected morale in the workplace, Williams said. I have personally had several coworkers that have confided in me that they dont fit the social norm. They are worried about how they could lose opportunities because they dont fit the conservative description of what an able-bodied worker is described to be. I myself have worries as well, because Im neurodivergent and I live an alternative lifestyle that most conservatives would not agree with. That hurt me because I did not know that my co-worker was feeling this way. Amanda Melcher, an associate professor and librarian at the University of Montevallo, said librarians in academia have to get involved and support, not just with sympathy but with our voices. We have to support our public and school library colleagues. Former librarian Jennifer Butler Keeton introduced My Alabama Library, an online storytelling platform launching in the summer to share those personal and emotional stories about how your libraries change lives, how your work changes lives every day, and tell them from the patrons perspective. Librarians can scream all day about how important libraries are, Keeton said. She said unless someone is a faithful library patron, the average person will believe theyve got an agenda. Theyre trying to just protect their jobs. Layne said its been a hard few years for libraries, but the conference reminded him that words create bonds between people and we have the best jobs in the world. We want the right book in the right patrons hands, he said. While they fight to ban books, we band our communities together, he said. They fight to eradicate. We strive to educate. PepsiCo representatives have agreed to meet with civil rights advocates from the National Action Network this week to discuss the companys recent rollbacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Rev. Al Sharpton told AP News. Earlier this month, Sharpton, the Networks founder and president, penned a letter expressing his profound disappointment to PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta. In a February memo, Laguarta told employees the company will no longer set goals for minority representation in its managerial roles or supplier base, according to AP News. You have walked away from equity, Sharpton wrote in his letter to Laguarta. He continued that PepsiCos DEI cuts are clear signals that political pressure has outweighed principle. Sharpton announced in January that the National Action Network would identify two companies this spring to boycott over DEI cuts. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending DEI programs across the federal government. The order calls for revoking all DEI mandates, policies, preferences and activities, along with the review and revision of existing employment practices, union contracts, and training policies or programs. Walmart, Target, Amazon, and McDonalds are just a few of the companies that have rolled back their DEI programs in recent months. But other corporations, like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Costco are maintaining their policies, despite pushback from conservative officials like Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. Earlier this year, Sharpton encouraged members of the Network to spend their money at the big box store as a show of gratitude. Were going shopping at Costco because theyve stood with us, he said. People that stand with us, we will stand with them, Sharpton was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1954 to parents Al Sharpton, Sr. and Ada Sharpton. Over the course of his life, he has become a prominent figure in the national civil rights movement. In 1991, he founded the National Action Network, an organization designed to increase voter education, to provide services to those in poverty, and to support small community businesses. Ali Rogers wishes she could serve everyone who needs help in her rural community in northeast Alabama, but she doesnt have the resources or space to be able to. Rogers runs The Arc of Dekalb County, a center that provides housing, day programs and other services to adults with disabilities. The center is at capacity, but she still estimates about a person a week comes in asking for help. She had to put a sign on the front door with a 1-800 number to call to get on a waitlist. The amount of people that actually just come in the door and say, help, please I have this person and she cant take care of herself, he cant take care of himself is so sad, Rogers told AL.com. And theres nothing I can do other than give them a phone number to call to get on a list. She still thinks about the woman who was found abandoned and looking for something to eat in a dumpster in Rainsville in December. The woman was disabled and lost her financial support from a Medicaid waiver program, meaning she could no longer pay for the group home she was living in. Nobody would take her so they just put her out on the street, said Rogers. If you go into the homeless camps, you will find that the majority of people there are either veterans or people with mental health or intellectual and developmental disabilities because they couldnt get services. Rogers worries thats the same fate awaiting other Alabamians with disabilities if Medicaid funding is cut, especially for people in rural communities. Being rural, the people in our county are struggling financially. They dont have the money to take care of their own families, much less give to a nonprofit and there are a lot of nonprofits here, Rogers said. After the woman was found looking through a dumpster, a local judge hoped Rogers could find a place for her at The Arc. But The Arc already has a long waiting list of people from around the state needing assistance. The center has six group homes in Fort Payne currently housing 18 people. No hospital would take the woman and no other group home could take her without a Medicaid waiver. The only choice they had was to put her in a county jail for 30 days where shed be safe and warm, Rogers told AL.com. Participants of The Arc of Dekalb County during their weekly yoga class, led by volunteer Jennifer Mince Stanley. Savannah Tryens-Fernandes The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted in favor of a budget plan that would significantly cut Medicaid. If the plan is ultimately adopted by both chambers of Congress, Rogers fears the worst for people with disabilities throughout Alabama. Medicaid is a critical lifeline for all people with disabilities because it provides their health care, their long term services and their supports, she told AL.com. It also helps to promote their independence, their dignity, their inclusion in society. Its more than just an insurance for them, its a pathway for leading a fulfilling life. More than 72% of Alabama Medicaids funding comes from the federal government the second most of any state. In all, the state could lose over $800 million in federal funding, according to a report from KFF, a health policy research organization. If Medicaid funding is cut, The Arc of Dekalb Countys day program would be most at risk. The day program runs from the early morning through the afternoon and currently serves 50 people. They do activities like arts and crafts and yoga, usually while listening to Britney Spears if the participants have their way. Participants take field trips into the community and attend vocational training so they can get jobs at places like the local Salvation Army. They even have an ice cream stand called the Sweet Life that they run and a softball team that plays against groups such as the sheriffs office and firefighters. The ARC team has won every game, said Rogers. I just had to get rid of about 50 trophies because we have so many, she said. I handed one out to everybody and told them to take them home with them because we were running out of space. Trophies won by The Arc of Dekalb County's softball team, the Outfield Angels. Savannah Tryens-Fernandes Of the 50 day program participants, 15 pay out of pocket $10 a day because they cant get on the Medicaid waiver program that would otherwise pay for their services. One woman in the program has been on a Medicaid waitlist for 17 years. Rogers brother, Andrew, is number 1,080 on the waitlist, which hes been on for over 12 years. If Medicaid funding is cut, states will either have to supplement these services with their own funding or cut back, according to Maria Sutter, an advocate from the coalition of Southerners for Medicaid Expansion. Sutter, who is on a Medicaid waiver that helps her receive care in her home instead of in an institution, said people with developmental disabilities are already waiting years to access programs and waivers intended to support them. This is already without cuts, said Sutter. Imagine the gut punch to Medicaid. This will mean more years of waiting and needless suffering for people with disabilities. Rogers said if Medicaid is cut, there are virtually no other funding pathways for their program and the people they serve. Alabama currently only pays for 27% of the states Medicaid budget. And while many organizations, including other Arcs throughout the state, can get additional assistance through donors and fundraisers, thats a struggle for an organization in a rural community. Ali Rogers, the executive director of The Arc of Dekalb County, worries what will happen to her programs if Medicaid funding is cut. Savannah Tryens-Fernandes I look around at other providers and think how did you bring in $60,000 at a fundraiser? And then Im like, oh, yeah, you have 100,000 people right there in your city, more than what we have in our entire county, Rogers said. The population of Dekalb County is just over 72,000 people, a third of the population of Huntsville, the nearest city. Over 20% of the countys population lives below the poverty line. Rogers said she believes the government should try to weed out fraud and abuse in Medicaid funding, but the proposed cuts wont actually solve any problems. She said shes seen people who sign up to be guardians for children or adults with disabilities, only to take the check that comes from the government for themselves and not provide any care to whom the money is intended. But thats what were trying to prevent by getting them into good residential programs, and more funding is what will prevent that fraud and abuse, not less, she said. Less funding will lead to more harm, more people in the streets like the human being who was found in a dumpster. Jasper Lumber Co. is nearing completion on a long-term investment of more than $135 million to upgrade its sawmill facility. Alabama Department of Commerce A Walker County company is pumping $135 million into its operations as part of a six-year project to more than triple its annual capacity. Jasper Lumber Co. is nearing completion on technological upgrades to its sawmill. The work is scheduled to be completed next year, according to the City of Jasper. The mills production capacity is expected to increase to nearly 225 million board feet annually, up from 65 million. This is huge for Jasper and comes at a time when many companies are looking at ways to downsize, Jasper Mayor Gary Cowen said in a statement. Jasper Lumber has long been a major employer in our city and is making an investment that really shows their commitment to the area. Alabama Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair praised the project for showing how homegrown companies can thrive through reinvestment. Jasper Lumbers long-term commitment reflects the strength of Alabamas forest products sector and the resilience of our rural communities, McNair said. This investment will create high-quality, future-focused jobs while strengthening the economic foundation of the region. Jasper Industrial Development Board Executive Director Green Suttles said the impact will reach far beyond Jasper Lumber. Area harvesting and transport for the wood required to feed the mill will increase, and this will lead to other offshoot job opportunities, stemming from the investment made in the mill, Suttles said. Plant authorities say mechanical and technological upgrades at the mill will require a highly skilled labor force. Cowen said electrical and digital maintenance skills will be required to fill the mills new jobs, and workforce training at Bevill State Community College and local schools will make the project a catalyst for a more skilled workforce in Jasper and will lead to a higher living wage for our labor force. Federal officials warned Huntsville International Airport on Tuesday to brace for potentially hundreds of passengers per day who will show up without a STAR ID once the mandate goes into effect next month. Tara Corse, TSA federal security director for Alabama, told the airports board of directors that up to 20% of Alabamians have not gotten the new enhanced ID that will be required for air travel starting May 7. There is no kicking this can down the road, she said. We are not going to stall, and we are not going to provide any type of phased approach. STAR ID Alabamas program under the federal REAL ID Act passed in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - is an enhancement to a driver license or state ID card that is issued after verifying an applicants social security number and legal status. To get a STAR ID, you will need to bring these documents to a state driver license office. For HSV, Corse said, up to 400 daily travelers without STAR ID might need to undergo additional screening and identity verification. The TSA is planning to staff up security screeners and will be working to keep travelers with STAR ID moving through screening while separating out those who do not have it. The latter group should expect delays, she said. Screeners will first ask travelers for a passport or other forms of identification. A Department of Defense ID along with another government-issued ID would likely be accepted, Corse said. The requirement also does not apply to children under 18. Those without a passport or valid secondary ID will undergo enhanced screening, Corse said. That applies as well to travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck. Enhanced screening is much more involved: Swabbing individuals, secondary pat-downs if you have TSA PreCheck, you will not be going through PreCheck, youre going to be going through standard line screening along with additional actions on top of that. Finally, travelers who do not pass additional screening, will be flatly denied and routed back to the airline for rebooking, she said. The STAR ID rollout will come at the beginning of the airports busiest season for leisure travel and amid signs that travel on federal government business is slowing. Airport CEO Butch Roberts said Tuesday that passenger volume in March was 137,120, down 0.6% from the previous March and the first year-over-year decline since 2021, when air travel was still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. We kind of broke our streak, Roberts said. It was still only 252 below the all-time [March] record of a year ago, but we are seeing travel down a bit. [Cant see the chart? Click here.] Roberts said uncertainty over government-funded travel a key driver for Huntsville -- could be keeping numbers down. In February, the Donald Trump administration ordered federal agencies to limit nonessential employee travel. Were probably flat if not down a little bit, Roberts said, though its still good, the second all-time best March weve ever had. In contrast, the International Intermodal Center the inland port of entry for international air cargo flights and for ocean-transshipped containers arriving by rail saw record freight numbers. Rail lifts were tremendous, Roberts said, at 4,400, just 79 short of the record set in October 2007. Moreover, that encompasses only international freight, whereas in the early 2000s the IIC also handled domestic freight. [Cant see the chart? Click here.] Whats going on there is unknown with tariffs, so (shippers and buyers are) building up inventory, Roberts said. Uncertainty over what may or may not happen has been good for us, (though) three months from now they may be selling out inventory and not shipping things. The IIC also passed a rail cargo milestone in March, with more than 1 million rail lifts taking place since it opened in December 1986. A new report on the tussle over U.S. Space Command headquarters reveals concerns at the highest levels of the command that a thousand civilian employees would not relocate from Colorado to Alabama if the headquarters were to be moved to Redstone Arsenal. Made public Tuesday, the 54-page, heavily redacted document from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General notes Space Commands concerns that civilian staffing lapses would impact readiness appeared to weigh heavily on former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who was tasked with recommending a decision to then-President Joe Biden. The U.S. Air Force named Redstone Arsenal the preferred location in 2021 for a permanent headquarters for the newly formed Space Command. The command had been temporarily housed at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. which is still its location after Bidens 2023 decision for it to remain there rather than move it to Alabama. The review is the first of two being done in response to a request from U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabamas 3rd Congressional District, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee. Last year he asked the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Defense Inspector General to investigate the siting decision. A provision in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act prohibited spending money on Space Commands headquarters pending the outcome of the reviews. That blocked construction work on the facility at Peterson Space Force Base. Top Alabama Republican members of Congress characterized the report as supporting their longtime assertion that the former president treated the headquarters selection process like a political football. In a statement released late Monday, Rogers said the Inspector Generals report, reveals an astounding lack of transparency and accountability by the Biden Administration. After years of promises about due diligence and careful consideration, political employees at the White House cut out the Air Force and senior defense leaders to select Colorado over Alabama as the site for SPACECOM headquarters, Rogers said. Congressman Dale Strong released the following statement in response to the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector Generals (IG) report on the Biden administrations politically-driven decisions regarding United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) headquarters: The Inspector Dale W. Strong (@RepDaleStrong) April 15, 2025 In a statement posted on X, Rep. Dale Strong, whose 5th Congressional District includes Huntsville and Redstone, said he trusted President Donald Trump would do what is right for national security. It is past time to go vertical at Redstone Arsenal, Strong wrote. Alabama Rep. Robert Aderholt said in an emailed statement that the reports conclusions, could not be clearer despite the copious redactions. Huntsville earned its ranking fair and square, based on strategic value, existing infrastructure, and quality of life in North Alabama, he said. To disregard those facts for political reasons not only undermines public trust but also compromises our military readiness. Inspectors were unable to interview Kendall or former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin because the White House and Pentagon counsels under the Biden administration refused to make them available without additional lawyers present, a requirement the Inspector Generals office rejected. Therefore, the report does not draw any conclusions about the decision-making process. It does, however, reveal previously unknown concerns over moving the headquarters that were circulating in the top echelons of Space Command and the Air Force. Chief among them, the document shows, were worries that civilian staff would not follow the command from Colorado to Alabama, and that establishing facilities at Redstone Arsenal that match those in Colorado Springs would take up to four years. Yet it acknowledges that the one-time cost of relocating the headquarters to Redstone would lead to $426 million in taxpayer savings, due to lower personnel costs and less expensive construction. The report pins much of the uncertainty over the final siting of Space Command headquarters on Kendall, who, it states, never announced a final decision on the location before July 31, 2023. On that date, the Pentagon announced Biden had decided -- after consulting with the Defense secretary and senior military leadership the headquarters would remain in Colorado Springs. Absent a ruling from Kendall between January 2021 and July 2023, the report states, construction at Redstone could not begin, while Space Command continued to accelerate its approach [to] full operational capability at Peterson Space Force Base. It reached that status in December 2023. Meanwhile, Air Force and Space Command officials were communicating their preferences on the location to their superiors in the Defense Department. The new report states the Air Force continued to back a move to Redstone Arsenal. Yet inspectors wrote that in April 2023, Space Commands commander who was Army Gen. James H. Dickinson at the time told Kendall the headquarters should remain in Colorado Springs. Inspectors wrote that, based on interviews with Redstone and Space Command staff, bringing the arsenals facilities and IT networks up to par with those in Colorado Springs could take so long after a final location decision was announced that operational readiness would be impacted. Yet Air Force staff believed, the report states, operational risks could be mitigated, though details are redacted. Of greater concern to Space Command brass, the report states, was the potential loss of up to 1,000 critical staffers if a move were ordered. In an April 2023 memo to Kendall, Dickinson wrote, there is a risk that most of the 1,000 civilians, contractors, and reservists will not relocate to another location. Inspectors noted, however, that Space Command officials did not formally survey staffers about a potential move, to avoid frightening (the) employees. As recently as May 2024, the report states, an official with the commands satellite operations directorate told inspectors with certainty that only 1 in 25 civilian employees of the directorate would move to the Rocket City. Despite the new report and a third state seeking to grab the commands headquarters Alabama elected officials seem poised to continue pressing Washington to move it to Huntsville. Tuesday, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a joint resolution encouraging the president, Defense secretary and Air Force secretary to immediately establish Space Commands permanent headquarters at Redstone. Alabama Republicans and Democrats along with the facts agree the U.S. Space Command Headquarters belongs in Huntsville, Ivey said in signing the resolution. Space Command is charged with defending space and delivering space capabilities to joint and combined U.S. and allied forces. Locating the command in Huntsville would bring at least 1,600 new jobs, AL.com reported. A Mobile firefighter was killed on Sunday in a motorcycle accident near Wilmer, the department confirmed in a release Tuesday. The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department (MFRD) is deeply saddened to announce the death of Fire Service Driver Marcine Crawford Jr., who served at Seelhorst Station as a Driver for Engine 7 on B Shift, it reads. Crawford was a member of the department for nearly a decade and was promoted to driver in August 2022. He also contributed as a hazardous materials technician and a rescue technician, according to the release. Throughout his career with MFRD, he distinguished himself with his friendly manner and his strong work ethic, reflecting his unwavering dedication to service, it reads. Driver Crawfords passion for his work, his camaraderie, and his spirit will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing and working alongside him. Mobile Fire Chief Johnny Morris Jr. said, Marcine loved the fire service and had a heart to serve. He enjoyed mentorship and teamwork and the satisfaction of seeing things through, he continued. Crawford is survived by his wife, son, daughter, and many other family members, according to the release. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time, it reads. Further information regarding memorial services will be shared as it becomes available, the department said. Members of the Alabama Independent Pharmacy Alliance outside the State House after SB252, a bill to regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers, was signed into law. Courtesy of Trent McLemore Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill into law Tuesday that is aimed at helping save Alabama pharmacies. Advocates call it one of the largest victories in the nation against companies that control prescription drug plans. The new law prohibits Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, from paying pharmacists less than Medicaid does and from charging miscellaneous fees. PBMs are essentially middlemen that manage prescription benefits between insurance companies and employers. They decide which drugs are covered, how much a patients copay is, where you can get your prescription filled and how much pharmacies are paid for medications and clinical services, according to the Alabama Pharmacy Association. This landmark legislation is the result of a widespread grassroots effort that began in May 2024 when a group of pharmacists, pharmacy owners and concerned members of the community met together to discuss the unethical practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers that were rapidly affecting access to healthcare all over the state, the Alabama Independent Pharmacy Alliance said in a press release. Many voices from the opposition maintained that PBM Reform would never be passed in Alabama due to the unique landscape of corporate affiliations. Despite those voices, these individuals launched a mass effort that would eventually result in one of the largest victories in the nation against PBMs. Pharmacists said PBMs have been paying them so little that they dont even cover the cost of the drugs they are providing. Since 2018, roughly 13% of pharmacies in the state have closed, according to the AIPA. Thats one pharmacy a week. The bill, SB252, unanimously passed both chambers of the State Legislature last week and was touted as a win for David by one lawmaker, drawing parallels with the battle between David and Goliath. Over 100 pharmacists staged a walkout in March in support of the bill and to bring attention to the issue with PBMs. Along with their advocacy and speaking in front of the legislature, many pharmacists also helped craft the bill. These dedicated and passionate individuals devoted their time and resources to educate the public, business owners and legislators on the threat that the anticompetitive practices of PBMs pose to healthcare access and small businesses in Alabama, the AIPA said in their release. The association said the fight still isnt over as they hope to continue to push for reform. While we celebrate this historic milestone, there is still work to be done. SB252 is only the first step in dismantling the corrupt behemoth that is responsible for the increased cost of healthcare in Alabama, all at the expense of pharmacies, employers and patients, the release said. The part of the law requiring PBMs to reimburse pharmacies at the same rate as Medicaid will take effect October 1. This is a guest opinion column In Alabama, we value family. We know that raising children is both one of lifes greatest callings and one of its biggest responsibilities. But for far too many, the cost of childcare has become overwhelming. From daycare to summer camps, childcare costs have universally soared, placing serious strain on household budgets. In fact, nearly 60% of Alabamians live in childcare deserts, and the average cost of infant care tops $7,800 a year. For many working parents, especially single moms, that is nearly a third of their income. These expenses keep parents, especially mothers, out of the workforce and put unnecessary pressure on families trying to do everything right. Thankfully, Alabamas own U.S. Senator Katie Britt has been working to tackle this issue. As Republicans draft their multi-trillion-dollar tax plan, Senator Britt has been advocating for the inclusion of her plan to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, a tax provision that helps families offset the cost of childcare. Her bipartisan bill would double the current credit for families with more than one childfrom $2,100 to $4,000and, critically, make it partially refundable for low- and middle-income earners. That means even families who do not have outstanding tax liabilities, which are often those working the hardest to make ends meet, would still see the benefit. This kind of policy may not make headlines, but it makes a real difference. It helps families afford childcare without creating a new government program. It supports parents who want to work and provide for their children. And it recognizes that raising kids in todays economy is a team effort that our tax system should support, not make it harder. President Trump and Congress are making history with decisive action on immigration and restoring law and ordernow is the time to build on that legacy by strengthening the American family. Including Senator Britts childcare credit alongside a broader expansion of the Child Tax Credit would reaffirm to Americans that the Republican Party is the pro-family, pro-parent party. It would make good on President Trump and Congressional Republicans promise to be the party that puts families firstand it is the kind of bold, pro-family leadership that Americans are calling for at this moment. What is more, this proposal makes economic sense. Childcare challenges cost the U.S. economy over $120 billion every year in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue. When parents cannot find or afford care, they often have no choice but to cut back hours or leave the workforce entirely. That hurts the broader economybut more importantly, it hurts families. Senator Britts plan would help reverse that trend, giving families the breathing room they need to thrive and contribute. There are always competing interests in Washington, and plenty of ideas vying for inclusion in a major tax bill. But this one deserves to make the cut. It is practical. It is affordable. And it directly addresses the day-to-day concerns of families here in Alabama and across the country. Tax credits like these are a no-brainer to include in any conservative, pro-family tax agenda. I applaud Senator Katie Britt for her leadership on this issue. As one of the youngest members of the Senateand a working mother herselfshe understands firsthand what Alabama families are going through. Now, we need Congress to follow her lead. As the White House and Republican lawmakers put the finishing touches on crafting their one, big, beautiful bill, they must modernize these family- centered tax credits. And I encourage Senator Britt to keep fighting for these provisions as the process moves forward. Thank you, Senator Britt, for championing Alabama values in Washington. This is about more than numbers on a tax formit is about helping parents raise the next generation with dignity, stability, and support. Let us get it done. Joe Lovvorn serves in the Alabama Legislature representing Lee County English News Chinese products sought-after in overseas markets Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 6 Avril 2025 Platforms like the China International Fair for Trade in Services and the China Import and Export Fair facilitate transactions, while cross-border e-commerce erases geographical barriers. Emerging digital tools continuously boost the global visibility of Chinese products. By Lyu Xiaoxun, People's Daily "Chinese manufacturers can barely keep up with the flood of orders from African buyers," remarked an executive from a high-tech agricultural machinery company during the recent "Zhejiang Agricultural Machinery Going to Africa" virtual expo. The executive emphasized that establishing additional overseas warehouses in Africa is now the top priority for Chinese agricultural equipment producers, as they grapple with skyrocketing global demand. The appeal of Chinese agricultural machinery in Africa markets stems from its tailored adaptability. African farmers prioritize equipment that is user-friendly, multifunctional, and highly adaptable to local conditions. Take China's walk-behind tractors as an example: By simply switching attachments, these machines can perform tasks ranging from rotary tillage, trenching, and sowing to serving as power sources for water pumping, irrigation, and processing grains or animal feed. Such multi-functionality reduces costs and streamlines operations, naturally winning market preference. Statistics show that from 2018 to 2023, agricultural machinery exports from Zhejiang province in east China to Africa grew at an average annual rate of 20 percent. Beyond agricultural machinery, a diverse array of Chinese products - from electric blankets, heaters, and smartphones to UV-resistant fabrics and e-bikes - have gained immense traction in global markets in recent years. This phenomenon is driven not only by product reliability but also by manufacturers' deliberate efforts to align with localized consumer preferences. For example, in equatorial regions with intense sunlight, Chinese smart phone manufacturer OPPO optimized its LCD screens for high-brightness outdoor visibility, addressing a key pain point for users struggling to view their phones under direct sunlight. For Thai households using mixed flooring materials in apartments, Chinese intelligent home appliance manufacturer Dreame Technology designed four specialized vacuum cleaner attachments - including a soft roller brush with LED lighting and a dual-purpose bristle brush - to enhance cleaning efficiency. The shift from "selling what we produce" to "producing what you need" has made Chinese products more scenario-specific and appealing to international buyers. Satisfying global market requirements demands continuous technological breakthroughs. When an Irish construction firm sought two heavy-duty automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in 2023 requiring synchronized lifting to 3 meters a request declined by European manufacturers Tianjin Lonyu Robot Co., Ltd. delivered a functional prototype promptly. The product's performance later secured repeat orders. Similarly, Chinese consumer electronic company Anker Innovations captured Middle Eastern markets by introducing smartphone cables boasting 30-fold durability enhancements over conventional models, tailored to withstand extreme regional environmental conditions. In global competition, Chinese brands are forging distinctive advantages through independent R&D to strengthen their international presence. The phenomenon of "production struggling to match order volumes" reflects both manufacturing vitality and sales effectiveness. A female entrepreneur in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang province, recently leveraged DeepSeek to create multilingual promotional videos for socks, effortlessly expanding her cross-border business. At the "Zhejiang Agricultural Machinery Going to Africa" expo, an Egyptian fruit grower was impressed by an automated fruit sorter produced by Zhejiang-based Dekfeller Intelligent Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.: "It's like apples riding a mini train through CT scanning I can't wait to see this product in Egyptian market." Platforms like the China International Fair for Trade in Services and the China Import and Export Fair facilitate transactions, while cross-border e-commerce erases geographical barriers. Emerging digital tools continuously boost the global visibility of Chinese products. Today's global competition revolves around entire supply chains rather than standalone products. True globalization means integrating with local industries and communities. For instance, Chinese home appliance manufacturer Hisense's industrial park in South Africa, established 12 years ago, has created over 6,000 local jobs and incorporated more than 10 local suppliers into its industrial chain. Chinese renewable energy company Universal Energy has built renewable power plants in Kazakhstan, reducing electricity costs and cutting carbon dioxide emissions while meeting local power demand. From trade to investment, manufacturing to lifestyle services, Chinese brands are co-developing sustainable growth paths worldwide, seizing opportunities through mutual prosperity. 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 Strengthening China-U.S. investment ties for shared economic growth Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 15 Avril 2025 As China moves forward with reform and modernization, and as the U.S. seeks to revitalize its economy, opportunities for collaboration remain abundant. By prioritizing mutual benefit over political rivalry, the two nations can foster a more stable and prosperous investment environment - one that sustains long-term growth for both their economies and their people. By Zhong Sheng, People's Daily U.S. carmaker Tesla's new Megafactory in Shanghai, a sprawling 200,000-square-meter facility, launched production this February, marking a significant milestone in China-U.S. investment cooperation. Built in just over eight months, the factory is set to produce 10,000 energy storage battery units annually, adding roughly 40 gigawatt-hours of storage capacity. The project, expected to boost Tesla's global energy storage output by over 50 percent from last year, highlights what some see as a model of the synergistic "Shanghai speed" meeting "Tesla speed." Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1979, two-way investment between China and the U.S. has grown exponentially - from near zero to $260 billion, while bilateral trade has ballooned from under $2.5 billion to over $680 billion. More than 70,000 U.S. companies have invested and operated in China, with exports to the Chinese market supporting 930,000 American jobs. At the same time, more than 7,000 Chinese enterprises have invested over $140 billion in the U.S., creating over 1 million American jobs. A notable testament to this interdependency is China's Fuyao Group. In 2014, the company inaugurated the world's largest automotive glass production facility in Ohio. The facility has since become an essential part of the U.S. auto supply chain - a crucial engine for local employment and economic growth. China offers vast investment and development opportunities for global businesses, including American firms. Despite rising concerns over unilateralism, protectionism, and geopolitical tensions, many U.S. businesses continue to view China as a vital market and key node in global innovation and supply chains. A report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) released in January revealed that 48 percent of surveyed U.S. firms ranked China among their top three global investment destinations, and 53 percent planned to increase their investment in the country this year. Alvin Liu, chair of AmCam China, underscored the enduring importance of China as both a crucial consumer market for American companies and a critical contributor to global innovation and supply chains. This sentiment is echoed by many U.S. businesses, who maintain that disengagement from China is not a viable commercial strategy. They argue that the country offers an unparalleled industrial ecosystem, an improving business environment, stable foreign investment policies, and a highly skilled workforce. Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, noted that China has grown into the world's second-largest consumer market, offering significant opportunities for global companies. Even efforts to shift production away from China have often proven impractical. When Apple sought to manufacture high-end computers in the U.S., it quickly encountered inefficiencies in domestic production compared with its longstanding Chinese partnerships. Apple CEO Tim Cook openly acknowledged that Apple's global success is inextricably linked to its Chinese suppliers. For both countries, the economic logic of continued investment cooperation remains compelling: while competition is inevitable, economic complementarity is the dominant force at play. By leveraging their respective strengths, the two countries stand to create growth opportunities that neither could achieve alone - a dynamic often summarized as "1+1>2." With China's economy continuing to recover and global investors reaffirming their confidence, many view investment in China as an investment in the future. At the same time, Chinese investment in the U.S. has helped drive innovation, job creation and industrial growth. Politicizing investment and imposing arbitrary restrictions would not bolster American competitiveness - still less curb China's development - but would instead erode the mutual benefits that businesses and people in both countries have long enjoyed. As China moves forward with reform and modernization, and as the U.S. seeks to revitalize its economy, opportunities for collaboration remain abundant. By prioritizing mutual benefit over political rivalry, the two nations can foster a more stable and prosperous investment environment - one that sustains long-term growth for both their economies and their people. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.) 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) This month, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials accused the U.S. of blackmail over the Trump administrations revived tariff strategy. But if theres any regime on Earth that understands the mechanics of blackmail, its the CCP. Theyve mastered the art -- not just through trade policy or espionage, but through targeted, violent intimidation against American cultural institutions like the one I am part of: Shen Yun Performing Arts. The New York Times has been a willing bedfellow in this effort. Shen Yun is an American company. We are based in New York, we tour across the U.S., and we are proud to present the beauty of traditional Chinese culture -- before communism -- through classical dance and music. What we are not is a state-sponsored propaganda machine -- unlike the many cultural troupes the CCP sends abroad to rewrite Chinas history and whitewash its crimes. And for that, the CCP has made us enemy number one in the cultural sphere. But in recent weeks, this battle has reached new and alarming levels. In Taiwan, where unlike mainland China, Shen Yun performs and is celebrated with dozens of sold-out shows every year, authorities report they have received no less than 17 mass violence threats targeting Shen Yun and its audience members. Liberty Times, one of Taiwans largest newspapers, reported that these emails -- threatening bombings and mass shootings if Shen Yun performances are not canceled -- were traced back to none other than Huaweis research institute in Xian, China. Among the threat targets were not only theaters but also multiple Taiwanese government offices. If you do not want to be blown into rubble, read one email, immediately cancel all future Shen Yun performance plans and make a statement before tomorrow morning, otherwise I will remotely detonate the explosives! This form of CCP transnational terrorism is not limited to Taiwan. At least 44 theaters where Shen Yun is performing have received these bomb and shooting threats. Most of the targets -- from San Jose to Worcester, from San Antonio to Cheyenne -- have targeted Americans. Not only our performers, but also theater staff and thousands upon thousands of audience members who simply bought a ticket to enjoy a night of culture and art. This is not diplomacy. This is not foreign policy. This is terrorist blackmail. For years, similar tactics have been used against theaters and elected officials in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe. Venues that contract with Shen Yun undergo pressure campaigns -- emails, phone calls, letters, and personal visits from Chinese embassies and consulates warning them not to support a politically sensitive performance. The tires of our Shen Yun buses have been repeatedly and dangerously slashed. Our artists family members are threatened and even jailed in China. Just a few days ago, our company website was simultaneously cyberattacked by 10,000 simultaneous IPs. The irony is stunning. As the CCP accuses the Trump administration of wielding tariffs like a blunt force instrument -- an economic threat to strong-arm China -- their apparatchiks simultaneously wage an actual global terror campaign against a New York-based dance company. This is projection in its most sinister form. And it raises deeper questions: Why is the CCP so afraid of a dance company? Why does a beautiful performance of traditional Chinese dynastic culture elicit such rage from Beijing? The answer lies in what we represent -- China Before Communism. Shen Yun exists to revive Chinas real cultural heritage -- one that the CCP has spent nearly a century trying to destroy. Our art draws from a time when Chinese society was deeply spiritual, before Marxism, before Mao, and before the Cultural Revolution that incinerated temples, imprisoned monks, and replaced moral tradition with state worship. Shen Yun is a living reminder that Chinas greatness predates the CCP -- and that true Chinese identity is incompatible with communist ideology. It is also no coincidence that many of Shen Yuns performers practice Falun Gong, a meditation discipline rooted in truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance -- values the CCP deems subversive. Hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of Falun Gong practitioners have been imprisoned, tortured, or killed in China. And yet here these people are, including ones who escaped persecution, thriving in the United States, drawing sold-out crowds from coast to coast. Thats not just a cultural embarrassment for the regime; its an existential threat. Even U.S.-based media outlets like the New York Times have inexplicably joined the chorus, publishing condescending hit pieces that echo CCP talking points. They would rather criticize Shen Yuns spiritual foundation than investigate who is actually sending death threats to American theaters. In February, when a bomb threat at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. forced our performers outside for three hours, the New York Times ignored it, even though the White House condemned it. Huawei, of course, may claim ignorance. But lets not be naive. This is the same Huawei that stands accused of aiding Chinas surveillance state, including the internment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. This is the same company banned from U.S. telecommunications infrastructure for national security reasons. And now, a police investigation points to Huawei as being at the center of a cyber trail leading to bomb threats against an American company. So, when Beijing cries blackmail, remember whos really holding the detonator. As Americans, we must draw a clear line. It is not acceptable for a foreign power -- least of all a totalitarian regime -- to intimidate our artists, censor our stages, or terrorize our citizens. Cultural freedom is part of what makes this country great. And when we allow intimidation to dictate what can be said, shown, or performed, we lose something essential about who we are. The time has come to expose the CCPs campaign for what it truly is: a war on truth, beauty, and freedom -- values Shen Yun was founded to uphold, and ones we will never compromise. Not now. Not ever. Leeshai Lemish has performed with Shen Yun for 19 years. He earned his bachelors degree in Chinese history and language from Pomona College, CA, and his masters in international relations from the London School of Economics. He tracks the CCPs international attempts to sabotage Shen Yun on his website: www.leeshailemish.com. Image: Shen Yun President Trumps tariffs on Canadian imports triggered the usual response from Ottawa. First under Justin Trudeau and now under his successor, Mark Carney, Canadas political class didnt just protestthey retaliated, slapping on symbolic countermeasures and accusing the United States of economic aggression. Outrage as policythe Canadian default setting when Washington asserts leverage. But beneath the indignation lies a more straightforward truth: Canada had it coming. Canada has basked in American economic and military protection for years while shirking its responsibilities. Regarding trade, defense, energy, and foreign policy, successive Liberal governments have treated the U.S.-Canada relationship as a one-way arrangementWashington provides the muscle, and Ottawa collects the perks. That indulgence is over. The Tariffs Are Long Overdue The 25% tariffs on Canadian exports to the U.S. are no longer hypotheticalthey're real and biting. Trudeaus last-minute border pledges bought a brief reprieve, but Mark Carney now inherits the fallout. These tariffs arent a response to one slighttheyre the compound interest on years of strategic freeloading by Canadian leaders, made worse by Washingtons past reluctance to demand accountability. Canada has dodged NATO spending commitments, neglected Arctic defense, appeased Beijing, and let its military atrophy into a paper force. The Canadian Armed Forces are in such disrepair they can barely police their airspacemuch less contribute meaningfully to allied operations abroad. This is the legacy Carney inherits: a hollowed-out defense posture, a strained trade relationship, and a shrinking diplomatic profile. And now, with tariffs active and patience exhausted, the burden is his to reversefor now. Canadas sudden gestures of cooperation earlier this year werent born of an alliance. They were squeezed out by economic pressure. Thats the lesson: U.S. leverage works. Strategic Friction, Not Spite Trumps tariff strategy isnt some fit of piqueit is deliberate. He uses economic pressure not just to check rivals but to realign allies. The message is clear: You cannot enjoy American protection while freeloading off the American taxpayer. Canada remains among NATOs worst defense underperformers. The alliances 2% GDP defense spending benchmark has become a punchline in Ottawa, where defense outlays hover near 1.3% despite repeated warnings. Carney may talk about reform, but his party authored the neglectand it will soon fall to the Canadian people to decide whether he represents change or merely Trudeauism in a tailored suit. The rot goes deeper than defense. Chinese influence permeates Canadian politics, universities, and critical infrastructure. Intelligence services have confirmed Beijings election interference. Huawei lingered long after other democracies cut ties. Yet, Canadas government has pledged to advance relations with Beijing rather than confront the CCPs malign reach. Some U.S. policymakers continue to misplace their outrage. Senator Tim Kaine, for example, recently lamented, Theres no reason to treat an ally and neighbor and friend like theyre an enemyfailing to grasp that Canadas chronic strategic dereliction, not diplomatic tone, is the problem. Canada stopped acting like a reliable partner long ago. Trump has ended decades of unreciprocated American subsidizationmilitary, economic, and diplomatic. Arctic Absenteeism, Maritime Neglect, and Pacific Indifference Geography is destiny, and Canada is uniquely situated: an Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic nation with enormous strategic potential. But good fortune has become a liability. Canadas leaders squandered every Arctic advantage, and the country is now vulnerable to exploitationposing not only sovereignty risks but direct threats to U.S. security. This decline was not inevitable. The Royal Canadian Navyonce a credible force and symbol of national resolvehas withered into a ceremonial fleet. Aging hulls, recruitment shortfalls, and procurement debacles have left Canada incapable of patrolling its coastline, much less projecting power abroad. This is not the Canada of Juno Beach. In 1944, Canadian troops were entrusted with one of five assault sectors during the D-Day invasiona testament to their value and martial competence. That legacy has since crumbled beneath the weight of a failing welfare state and a political class more eager to draft climate pledges than confront the complex demands of modern defense doctrine. The decline has been slow, deliberate, and entirely self-inflicted. As Arctic sea lanes open and Russian militarization intensifies, Canada has failed to meet the moment. The Kremlin has reactivated Soviet-era military bases and expanded its icebreaker fleet. China, declaring itself a near-Arctic state, has poured resources into research outposts and economic beachheads. Canadas response? Hesitation, hollow rhetoric, and empty gestures. Instead of asserting Arctic leadership, Ottawa has chosen dependencyoutsourcing its defense to the United States while posturing for a tighter alliance with continental Europe, itself a patchwork of military dependents propped up by the very American power the Canadian government seeks to snub. Even NATO has sounded the alarm. Yet Ottawa continues to delay, dither, and deflect. Under Trudeau, Canada even balked at allowing NATO military exercises on its own Arctic territory. According to CBC reporting, Trudeau was noncommittal when thenSecretary General Jens Stoltenberg requested Canadian participation in critical Arctic drills. That kind of indecision doesnt just erode Canadas credibilityit reveals the strategic incoherence of its leadership while jeopardizing both North American and European collective security. The Indo-Pacific tells the same story. As the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India deepen cooperation to counter Beijing, Canada is nowhere to be found. Like Trudeau before him, Mark Carney treats the region as a rounding erroran afterthought of little strategic or logistical consequence. A Different Relationship? Canada Chose It After an emergency cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Carney announced the end of deepening integration and the birth of a fundamentally different relationship with the United States. Its clear the U.S. is no longer a reliable partner, he claimed. But that gets the causality backward. The relationship didnt change because Washington stopped being reliableit changed because Ottawa stopped being serious. Carney even floated the idea of a new like-minded world order that would exclude the United States. The 80-year period when the United States embraced global economic leadership is over, he declared, lamenting that Canada would now have to lead this new alignment. Thats not a strategyits a delusion. No like-minded club can patrol 151,000 miles of Canadian coastline. Brussels cannot defend four million square miles of North American airspace. And Europes hollowed-out militaries cannot replace the American security umbrella Ottawa has relied on for generations. Carneys statement is not a vision for Canadian leadership. Its an abdication masquerading as aspirationproof that Canadas failed political class and institutional hauteur have drifted into strategic hallucination. What Washington Should Demand The tariffs now in place are not punitivethey are overdue leverage. They should remain until Canada: Commits 2% of GDP to NATO-aligned defense spending. Launches a real Arctic security initiative aligned with American interestsincluding U.S. basing cooperation if necessary. Dismantles Chinese political and technological influence in national institutions. Reengages the Indo-Pacific with meaningful military and diplomatic investment. Recognizes that American protection is notand never wasunconditional. Hardens its borders and ports of entry to stem the flow of fentanyl, transnational crime, and foreign subversion. The Free Ride Ends Here Mark Carney may speak with a bankers composure, but his government inherits Trudeaus failuresand the runway is nearly gone. Canada has failed in trade, defense, and alliance credibility. Now, it is being held to account for the first time in decades. Thats the new reality in U.S.-Canadian relations. And its long overdue. Real allies dont ride for free. Its time for Canada to pull its weightor be treated not as the partner it once was, but as the liability it has become. 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: Free image, Pixabay license. In less than three years universal school choice policies have been adopted by 14 states, all Republican leaning. Given the growing desire of education reformers to make similar progress in Americas more liberal bastions, the recently formed Blue State Action Coalition asked Andy Rotherham, co-founder of Bellwether Education, to host an April 2 webinar on How to Talk to Democrats about School Choice. Joining him were two people who have had a lot of experience trying to work with the Left on improving Americas K-12 schools: Ashley Berner, Associate Professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University, and Chris Cerf, former New Jersey Commissioner of Education. Here is a summary of the tips they offered school choice believers trying to engage a political liberal on the subject: Do not start off by talking about the right of every family to choose its childs school. As much as this idea appeals to conservatives and libertarians, political liberals have a longstanding and sincere fear of turning K-12 education into an unregulated marketplace. Instead, begin with the one thing everyone left and right can agree on. As Cerf described it, We want all children to graduate from high school having mastered, at minimum, the foundational skills necessary for a successful and fulfilling life. Its hard to argue that the $900 million America currently spends each year on primary and secondary education is achieving anything close to this goal, and from there you can make a persuasive case for choice based on measurable outcomes. In other words, if your position is that providing families with a range of educational options, both public and private, has been shown to improve student learning while also equalizing opportunity, it is difficult for a Democrat to keep a closed mind on the policy. Should the person youre speaking with proudly declare I believe in public education or I believe a single district school which brings everyone together is a good thing, say thats fine, but such sentiments are personal values, not facts about how to improve the quality of K-12 education. If the one thing all taxpayers can agree on is that every child must be academically prepared for the kind of world they will inherit, we must do what has been objectively documented to accomplish that. Note that the current debate over school choice is not about whether every state should have it, but about what kind of choice is best. The problem in 36 states is that most families are still forced to pick the school their child will attend by buying or renting a home in the town district that particular school serves. And given that residences in districts with better schools tend to be more expensive, poor and middle-income families have far fewer educational options for their children than the wealthy do. In Rotherhams words, Americans actually have a lot of school choice its just reverse means tested. No one imagines there is any system in which the children of the wealthy dont have some educational advantage -- if nothing else, they get to travel more and have access to more cultural activities. But by providing all families with more schooling options regardless of income, state governments can get a lot closer than they currently are to giving every student the minimum skills he or she will need to become a successful adult. Remind Democrats that the goal of empowering minority parents with the option to take their kids out of low-performing public schools has long been a progressive priority. As Berner pointed out, prominent Democrat civil rights leaders like Marquette University professor Howard Fuller and Boston Universitys Charles Glenn have fought for this right ever since the 1960s. Indeed, Martin Luther King III himself has often spoken in support of school choice, arguing that it aligns with his fathers desire to create better educational options for families of limited means. More recently, trade union officials in both New York and Illinois have backed tax credits for private education. You could add Rotherhams observation that school choice is the only issue where conservative and progressive positions seem inexplicably inverted. An alien from Mars studying Earth, he said, would be hard pressed to explain why it is the Democrats who are denying an education benefit to less fortunate families while the Republicans are saying give money to the poor and let them do whatever they want with it. Let Democrats know that school choice is far more common in other countries. One of the most persuasive ways to talk about school choice, Berner has found, is to let people know that the rigid zero-sum distinction many Americans make between government funding only public schools and giving to private as well is largely unknown in other parts of the world. As she herself noted, 80 percent of the countries that UNESCO works with dont talk about public verses private with the Netherlands alone funding 36 different kinds of schools. [Indeed], if you were to walk around with a microphone asking people in Belgium what school choice is, they wouldnt know what you are talking about. Note that people in other nations know what former American Sociological Association president James Coleman documented decades ago: that kids who attend a school with a distinctive mission -- be it religious, academic, or artistic -- tend to have superior educational outcomes. What this means is that a country that simultaneously supports classical schools, diocesan schools, yeshivas, and variously themed academies is doing something equally good for the students in each of them. Governments outside the U.S. happily support multiple academic missions because they know that the collective effect is a healthy one. Point out that one of the things America has done exceptionally well over the last century is to develop successful public-private partnerships. This has happened in areas as diverse as national defense, hospital construction, pharmaceutical development, and emergency services. There is no reason to think such collaboration would be any less successful in K-12 education, with government funding both public and private school venues. Should a Democrat you meet express his or her fear that public funds could end up subsidizing something like a madrasa run by Islamic terrorists, simply remark on the unfortunate political tendency in our country to extrapolate from the most unlikely or horrible possibility. Then add that advocating violence or political insurrection have long been illegal in the U.S. and will continue to be, no matter how schools are financed. Finally, say that the Democrat Party has a lot more to gain by joining the discussion on how to create a more pluralistic school system than by continuing to defend the status quo. Point out that school choice includes a lot more than private school vouchers and the education savings accounts [ESAs] which have become so popular in Republican-leaning states. As Cerf noted, It includes open enrollment where you are not consigned to your neighborhood school. And it can [also] mean interdistrict choice -- opening up seats in schools for kids who come from another part of the state. Virginia alone has developed an impressive variety of educational alternatives in recent years: so-called lab school partnerships between public districts and local universities, rural programs focused on Amazon Web credentialling, high schools in Norfolk which teach modern shipbuilding, and other high schools which take advantage of Wallops Island rocket launches to offer an aerospace curriculum. Given that Democrats seem to have a big political problem these days, it makes no sense for them to sit back and let Republicans be the only ones offering American families more and better schooling options. For, while it is true that their party is struggling on a number of fronts, K-12 education is clearly an area where Democrats have lost considerable ground and where they cannot afford to be seen as unmovable. In Cerfs words, Itd be much better to be a productive member of the discussion and to remember that there are many progressive values that are indeed served by choice. Dr. Andrews is president of the Kids Scholarship Fund (www.ksfct.org). His latest book is Living Spiritually in the Material World (Fidelis Books). Image: FreePik In his book Freedom Betrayed: Herbert Hoovers Secret History of the Second World War and Its Aftermath, the former president repeatedly complained about President Franklin D. Roosevelts fright campaign to get the United States into World War II. In his terrifying Navy Day address on October 27, 1941, Roosevelt claimed to have a secret map showing Nazi plans to invade South America, targeting Brazil and the Panama Canal. The key section of his Navy Day address began with Roosevelt saying, I have in my possession a secret map made in Germany by Hitlers Governmentby planners of the new world order. It is a map of South America and a part of Central America, as Hitler proposes to reorganize it. Hoover was skeptical. He conducted his own personal investigation into FDRs secret map. Four years later, after the German surrender, I was in Germany, he wrote. The American Army authorities informed me they had been instructed to search for these plans, former President Hoover added. The result of Hoovers investigation was fruitless. Our officials informed me there were no such plans in the captured German files. Hoover was not the only one to investigate the origins of Roosevelts secret map. According to Lynne Olsons book Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and Americas Fight over World War II, 1939-1941, the German government engaged in a frantic search to find out if it had produced the map. The result of this search was also fruitless. Four days after Roosevelts speech, Germanys Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop flatly denied the existence of such a map and he called it a forgery of the crudest and most brazen kind. So, who was telling the truth, Roosevelt or von Ribbentrop? With a sense of genuine surprise, Olson wrote that the Reich was telling the truth. Olson said that it was a forgery, the product of a clandestine BSC unit in downtown Toronto called Station M. BSC, which stands for British Security Coordination, was a covert arm of MI6, Britains Secret Intelligence Service. Creating fake documents at its Toronto phony-document factory was only one part of BSCs covert operations. According to Thomas E. Mahls book Desperate Deception: British Covert Operations in the United States, 1939-44, BSC infected the public opinion polling industry to rig polls and to influence the congressional decision-making process. Mahl wrote, Unknown to the public, the polls of Gallup, Hadley Cantril, Market Analysts Inc. [run by Sanford Griffith], and Roper were all done under the influence of dedicated interventionists and British intelligence agents. Interventionists faced additional problems that extended beyond the manipulation of American public opinion and American politicians. Hitler, for example, was one obstacle to their agenda because he strenuously tried to avoid war with the United States. Even after Roosevelt had issued orders to American warships to shoot on sight at German submarines on October 8, 1941, wrote Thomas Fleming in his book The New Dealers War: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the War Within World War II, Hitler had ordered Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, the German navys commander in chief, to avoid incidents that Roosevelt might use to bring America into the struggle. To further complicate matters for the interventionists, a loophole existed in the Tripartite Pact between Italy, Germany, and Japan. The Pact did not obligate Germany to join Japan in a war Tokyo initiated. A war between the United States and Japan might not automatically include Germany. This was a serious problem for interventionists hoping to entangle the United States in Europe. But then a seemingly miraculous thing happened that changed everything. On December 4, 1941, the Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times-Herald published Chesly Manlys bombshell revelation that Roosevelt was, contrary to the presidents previous denials, planning to lead the United States into war against Germany. The source of the reporters information was no less than a verbatim copy of Rainbow Five, the top-secret war plan drawn up at FDRs order. Rainbow Five called for the creation of a 10-million-man army, including an expeditionary force of 5 million men that would invade Europe in 1943 to defeat Adolf Hitlers war machine. Hitler responded on December 11 by declaring war on the United States. In his address to the Reichstag, Hitler said that his final decision was forced on him by the American newspapers that had leaked Rainbow Five. In summary, on December 11, the interventionists got exactly what they had wanted. Who leaked Rainbow Five to Chesly Manly? Manlys source was Senator Burton K. Wheeler. This much is known. Wheelers source was an unnamed army air force captain who was only a messenger. The army air force captains source was someone else hiding in the shadows. So, who was the mystery man hiding in the shadows? General Albert C. Wedemeyer, who had contributed to the writing of Rainbow Five, thought Roosevelt was the culprit: I have no hard evidence, but I have always been convinced, on some sort of intuitional level, that President Roosevelt authorized it. I cant conceive of anyone else, including General Arnold, having the nerve to release that document. Roosevelt did not have a monopoly on the use of documents that were meant to manipulate the United States into war. Harry Dexter White was both the director of the Division of Monetary Research of the United States Treasury Department and a spy working under Soviet NKVD operative Vitalii Pavlov, according to John Kosters book, Operation Snow: How a Soviet Mole in FDRs White House Triggered Pearl Harbor. Because the Soviet Union wanted to avoid a two-front war against Germany in the west and Japan in the east, Whites mission was to direct Japanese aggression away from Siberia by instigating a war between the United States and Japan. To achieve his mission, White took an active role in the diplomatic negotiations with Japan; it resulted in the American final offer, called the Hull note. The Treasury Department and White were involved in the diplomatic negotiations because economics was such a pressing issue. By freezing Japans assets and by requiring Japan to get export licenses, the United States had imposed a de facto oil embargo on July 26, 1941. Suffering from economic strangulation and seeing a major threat to its military power, Japan wanted the oil embargo lifted. White successfully steered the negotiations away from softer, conciliatory policies (such as Hulls three-month truce and limited oil shipments for civilian consumption) to his preferred hardline outcome. White accomplished this by writing two memoranda, the content of which influenced the content in the final Hull note. Specifically, the Hull note demanded that Japan withdraw from China, including the puppet state of Manchukuo (essentially Manchuria) in the northeast, and Indochina (modern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). Japans emperor responded by calling a meeting of Japans former prime ministers. Kiichiro Hiranuma pinpointed Japans problem when he said that giving up Manchuria under American pressure was political suicide. Koster concluded by saying, None of these elder statesmen could suggest an offer to the United States that might ameliorate its drastic and startling demands. On December 1, the emperor met with his privy council. The cabinet voted unanimously for war. The Japanese fleet was told to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7 unless it received a last-minute cancellation because of a sudden change in Americas attitude. The BSCs fake map, the Rainbow Five Leak, and the Hull note reveal a hidden history of manipulation. Each document, whether forged by British intelligence, leaked to provoke Hitler, or crafted to incite Japan, pushed the United States into a global conflict it was unprepared to fight. Image: Public domain. In the 1950s, Brazil began experimenting with crossbreeding domestic bees with Africanized beesthe latter known as killer bees due to their aggressive behavior and tendency to attack in swarms. Unsurprisingly, swarms of the killer bees escaped, making their way northward, eventually crossing into the U.S. in 1990. U.S. government efforts to stop their advance proved largely ineffective, resulting in their northwestern expansion. The good news is that, as they have interbred with domestic bees, the killer bees appear to have lost some of their aggressive sting. The bad news is that each year, two to three people die from these swarming Africanized bee attacks. While Biden was not responsible for the killer bee swarms that entered and settled in the U.S., he was responsible for the swarms of illegal immigrants coming across our southern border during his four-year tenure in office. Making no effort to stop it, we now know, through analyses provided by President Donald Trumps Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, Biden did more than just turn a blind eye to their illegal entries. We also learned that a startling number of these illegals harbored a killer bee mentality, resulting in their additions to watch lists, signaling they were fully capable of terrorist activity. And despite this, DOGEs analysis shows we even helped support them. A statement by Customs and Border Patrol is most telling. It reveals the number of potential terrorists being maintained in the U.S. as a subset of 6.3k individuals paroled into the United States since 2023 on the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center watchlist or with criminal records. This means, despite concerns about potential terrorist activities, parole status was granted to allow such illegal immigrants to live temporarily in the U.S., potentially able to work here, without fear of being deported. But Biden did not stop there. According to DOGE, many received government benefits including Medicaid, unemployment insurance, tax refunds, social security numbers, food stamps, etc. Imagine thisa potential terrorist walks across our border and immediately has no concerns about finding a job or supporting himself as the Biden administration provides him with freebie after freebie. Clearly, Trump has moved quickly to cut off the illegal immigration flow, dropping it to historic lows with fewer than 7,200 illegal immigrant contacts in March 2025compared to 189,000 in March 2024. He ordered Cabinet members to take all appropriate actions to facilitate Department of Defense jurisdiction over federal lands where its reasonably necessary to do so, including border wall construction and the deployment of detection and monitoring equipment needed to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States. He has granted the military control of a 60-foot wide strip of land along the Mexican border with California, Arizona, and New Mexico. But why would Biden have allowed millions of illegals to flow freely into America despite the danger posed by at least 6.3 thousand of them, and then implement programs to support them at the expense of hardworking taxpayers who had to foot the bill? There is but one answer: Biden and his cronies saw an opportunity to groom a voter base that would keep Democrats in power for years to come by having given them a right of way across our border. When it came to what was best for the country and what was best for the Democrat party, they chose their partythe country be damned. When it came to the invasion of America by killer bees, we had the motivation to do something to stop it but lacked the ability to do so. When it came to the invasion of America under Biden by illegal immigrants whose numbers included thousands of potential terrorists, we had the ability to stop it, but simply lacked the motivation to do so. Early during World War II, outnumbered British fighter pilots won air superiority for England against the Germans. Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously paid them tribute declaring, Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. Biden deserves to be similarly recognized with an appropriate tribute Never in the field of illegal immigration was so much owed by so many (illegals) to so few. Image generated by AI. It's not a scientific survey, but everyone I've met from El Salvador agrees that President Nayib Bukele is doing a good job. People like leaders who keep their streets safe. In other words, President Bukele was a superstar down there long before he took our criminals. This is from Katie Pavlich: After a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio in February, Bukele agreed to accept illegal immigrants in the U.S. for imprisonment in his country. Bukele has an 80 percent approval rating after winning a landslide election and cracking down on crime. "[Bukele] continues with full cooperation on the returning of Salvadorans who find themselves illegally in the United States and welcome them back home, and thats already existing and that will continue. But second, he has agreed to accept for deportation any illegal alien in the United States who is a criminal from any nationality, be they MS-13 or Tren de Aragua, and house them in his jails. And third, he has offered to house in his jails dangerous American criminals in custody in our country, including those of U.S. citizenship and legal residents. No countrys ever made an offer of friendship such as this," Rubio said at the time. "You can think about it: any unlawful immigrant, illegal immigrant in the United States whos a dangerous criminal -- MS-13, Tren de Aragua, whatever it may be -- he has offered his jails so we can send them here and he will put them in his jails. And hes also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States, even if theyre U.S. citizens or legal residents. We are just profoundly grateful," he continued. Grateful indeed. The best part of President Bukele is how he has turned his country around. It wasn't long ago that violence was a day in the life of everyone who lived in El Salvador. Now, it's not that way, a huge victory for a man who understands that safe streets protect people and businesses operating there. Talk to any citizen of El Salvador and don't be surprised if they love him. Of course, I'm sure that someone doesn't agree with me or will make the case that Bukele is a ruthless dictator. These people are entitled to their opinion, but the facts don't support that: Not all nations had published their 2024 annual homicide totals, but the 1.9 homicides per 100,000 in population that Bukele said had been achieved would put it below what any Latin American country had reported in 2023. El Salvadors official total does not include the killings of five suspected gang members in shootouts with security forces. In March 2022, El Salvadors notoriously powerful street gangs killed 62 people in a matter of hours. The congress granted Bukeles administration a requested state of exception to crack down on the gangs that included suspending some Constitutional rights and giving police more powers to arrest and hold suspects. Keep it up, President Bukele. You are doing a great job for your countrymen. P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. Image: White House Recently, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) has taken a break from championing pay raises for government employees and establishing a green bank to help his friends in the renewables industryhe is now backing the release and return of deported illegal migrant gang members from El Salvadoran prisons. I know how wildly popular that cause may be with members of the latte-sipping liberal class in which the Senator is firmly ensconced, but does it resonate with anyone else? Lets ask the people of the nation that have suffered the most at the hands of these criminal gangsI am referring to El Salvador. In an amazing turnaround, the nation freed itself from gang overlordship and locked these criminals away in mountaintop redoubts to make sure they never enslave the populace again. El Salvador went from being the murder capital of the world to being safer than Sweden. To be fair, thats not a great comparison because Sweden has become uncharacteristically dangerous in recent years, but it has been a stunning transformation for El Salvador. Sen. Hollen wanted a meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele during his recent visit to the United States, not to discuss his success in ridding the El Salvadoran society of its criminal element and how the U.S. might emulate it, but instead to discuss how the U.S. might retrieve some of the darling MS-13ers who were recently flown to El Salvador. For a leader, like Bukele, who recently waged an existential battle for the soul of his country against these animals, the Senators request must have seemed insane. To our cultural elites, no policy is too crazy or unsound if it supports their narrative that the Trump administration is out of control. After actively encouraging third world inhabitants to ignore our border and resettle here in a cynical attempt to remake the demographics of the nation, Sen. Hollen has no moral standing. So let him go back to obsessing about transgenderism and leave the serious business of ensuring that the American people are safe to others. Image: Public domain. If you like American Thinkers content, please consider subscribing here for an ad-free experience and access to an exclusive, weekly newsletter offering insight from the editorial staff. (See also Patricia McCarthys About that stabbing murder in Frisco, Texas) Dont expect justice for Austin Metcalf, the bright and beautiful teenage boy who was senselessly stabbed at a high school track meet earlier this month, because he had the audacity to die at the hands of a black thug while white. When Karmelo Anthony, Metcalfs admitted killer, was initially arrested and charged for the murder, his bail was set at $1,000,000but the DEI judge overseeing the case decided to lower the amount to $250,000, a 75% reduction, and Anthony is now out on house arrest. Heres the judge, for reference: This is the judge who slashed Karmelo Anthonys bond from $1M to $250K. Need I say more? pic.twitter.com/pVMb1e2DWP iamyesyouareno (@iamyesyouareno) April 14, 2025 Now, if you havent kept up, Karmelo Anthonys family set up a crowdfunding campaignand theyve been handsomely rewarded for his act, raking in almost half a million dollars for his legal defense. (Shortly after the stabbing, black Twitter lit up with endless comments about how great it is when a honkey gets killed by a black person because theyve had enough of our existence.) But, as the Daily Mail reports, the family has other plans for the moneylike moving into a fancy new house, and hiring a security team. (And the BLM acronym still stands for Buy Large Mansions.) Heres what Anthonys lawyer said: It would be disingenuous to say there isnt money, Howard told the judge in his closing statement. But it is not a bond fund. This family needs to be able to survive. So, while the family could have afforded the bond with the money they promised to use on a legal defense, theyd rather live out the stereotype: Anthonys dad has now quit his job, and theyll be living off the money for the foreseeable future. Cue a flashy new car, and maybe some designer threads. Anthonys lawyers claimed that hes a model citizenbut CBS journalist Amelia Mugavero revealed this: He is not an honor roll kid. He was suspended. pic.twitter.com/MycFWoWo3s Farmgirl (@greenboat) April 8, 2025 Why does a cold-hearted murderer get to enjoy the comforts of home? Well, if he were to actually face justice, it would be like the summer of 2020 all over again. The entire country is held hostage by racist, domestic terrorists. This is where were at with race relations in America. Image from X. U.S. government officials have declared that a number of European nations are now more dangerous thanEl Salvador, a state thats been historically notorious for gang activity. We call this: Twilight Zone politics. Seriously, in what world does El Salvador surpass Western Europe on the safety meter? Thats such a drastic turnaround, its like saying Haiti, or the Congo, or South Sudan, or any of the many sub-Saharan nations that are thoroughly burdened by anarchic violence and turmoil are now safer than France, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, etc. It goes without saying though that the decline in safety isnt due to the native population, but the imported population. From a report at Remix News today: Nearly half of all crime suspects in Austria last year were foreigners, police stats show A total of 335,911 suspects were investigated, with the largest groups of foreign nationals coming from Romania, Germany, and Syria. Syrian suspects alone saw the steepest increase, rising nearly 30 percent compared to the previous year. [snip] The data, presented by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner on Monday, revealed a total of 534,193 reported criminal cases in 2024 up 1.2 percent from 2023. Of particular concern, the report highlights a significant surge in juvenile delinquency, which Karner described as a massive problem. As reported by Kurier, Criminal reports involving children aged 10 to 14 have doubled in recent years, reaching 12,049 in 2024. The proportion of non-Austrian suspects in this age group stands at 48 percent. Karner said reports involving Syrian minors had practically increased tenfold, jumping from 150 in 2020 to around 1,000 last year. The article also notes that the number is likely much higher because German criminals are actually third world foreigners with German citizenshipand the same goes for the Austrian numbers. Also this, from an article published yesterday: Hamburg police are searching for a machete-wielding migrant gang that reportedly stormed a high-rise building in the early hours of Monday, resulting in a 15-year-old boy falling to his death from the eighth floor. As reported by Bild, the incident unfolded around 1:15 a.m. at Soltauer Ring in the Harburg district of the German port city. Armed with at least one machete, the gang of young men forced their way into an apartment on the eighth floor, according to police reports. Inside, they launched a violent attack on those present. Moments later, the teenage victim identified as an Iraqi national crashed into the courtyard below from the balcony of the apartment. Who knew that shipping in millions of angry, and unprodcutive third-worlders with third world values and beliefs would cause chaos for those living in a Christianized society? Who knew cleaning up gang violence was as simple as electing a president who prioritizes innocent life over murderers and believes in true justice? Hats off to President Nayib Bukele for a job well done. Image: Free image, Pixabay license. The way our immigration system should work is for people outside of America to seek permission to come in. If theres a genocide or famine problem somewhere in the world (as opposed to an I dont like my poverty-stricken country problem), the president can officially open Americas doors to those refugees. When a relatively small number of people circumvent those rules, they can be deported instantly if they dont claim refugee status and be reasonably processed through the courts if they do. The Democrats stood that system on its head. They opened the borders, flooding the country with tens of millions of illegal aliens. Biden then issued ex post facto announcements that entire nations worth of illegal aliens were refugees because of their specific countrys poverty and crimea standard that means the entire Third World is entitled to refugee status. Now, leftist judges are usurping entirely the Executives Article II authority over the border. Trump wants to reverse this trend, but judges are standing in the way. From the Supreme Court down, they say that those people who illegally entered America by the tens of millions and those among them who were granted ex post facto amnesty by the hundreds of thousands are all entitled to individual hearings. The point, obviously, is to run out the clock until Trump is gone from office (in part because he wont have been able to keep his promise to rid the country of illegal aliens) and, these lawless judges hope, a Democrat again de facto legalizes all illegal aliens in America. YouTube screen grab. Operation Destroy Immigration Laws begins with the fact that three-quarters of the judges to whom Trumps legal challenges are assigned are Democrat appointees. This is forum shopping with a vengeance. These judges know their job: Ignore the Constitution, ignore the laws, and ignore the will of the people of the United States. The Democrat party wants illegal aliens, and the Democrat party shall have illegal aliensespecially, it seems, the most violent among them. Of course, that violence is hidden from the useful idiots on the left. For example, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff described Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia as an innocent hostage. Theres nothing innocent about Garcia. Hes an MS-13 gang member who illegally entered the US. He was originally spared immediate deportation only because he convinced a judge that, if he were returned to El Salvador, rival gang members might kill him. At the Supreme Court level, in its decision saying that James Boasberg (a fanatic Democrat activist masquerading as a judge) lacked jurisdiction to force the Trump administration to bring home the Tren de Aragua members sent to El Salvador, the Court stripped away the Presidents unique power to designate people as deportable enemy aliens under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. It held, instead, that every single person whom the president designates as an alien enemy is entitled to challenge that designation in court. Most recently, the issue of the illegal aliens to whom Biden granted mass parole came before Indira Talwani, another Democrat activist in judges garb. Talwani held that, while Biden was fully entitled to give ex post facto amnesty to illegal immigrants who dont want to live in their admittedly nasty home countries (i.e., not fleeing genocide or death), Trump must give every single one of those illegal aliens an individual hearing. Jonathan Turley understands the end game here: If Judge Talwani prevails, individual determinations of half a million cases would be an overwhelming burden on the Administration and easily run out the time granted under the program for these individuals. Indeed, for many of the individuals, the appellate process could exceed that period. The court is not weighing the harshness of the decision but the presidents discretion in making such a decision. Judge Talwani suggests that, once created by President Biden, the program cannot be curtailed or shortened by President Trump. That question could very well find itself on the Supreme Courts ever-lengthening docket. Ill leave my conclusion to Stephen Miller, who says what I want to say, only better: Biden imported 15M+ illegals in 4 years. Democrats believe each alien should get a lengthy federal trial before being sent back. After we scour the country to find them. Because they are all evading arrest. A typical trial would take months to complete. Not counting Stephen Miller (@StephenM) April 13, 2025 Nicaragua's "little dictator," who was dubbed that by the great Ronald Reagan, has cooked up a nasty new scheme in the Catholic country he'd like to turn into a Marxist hellhole: Canceling Holy Week processions. According to Catholic Arena: This is what churches in Nicaragua will look like during Holy Week Dictator Daniel Ortega has deployed 14,000 police officers to institute a religious lockdown that will BAN Catholics from celebrating Easter openly Processions are being forced inside churches pic.twitter.com/25SXMUxwds Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) April 13, 2025 People carrying around a statue and going to church should be no threat to any reasonable leader, but things have gotten bad in Nicaragua, so Ortega's obviously afraid of people congregating together, around the idea of Jesus breaking the bonds of evil and opening the gates of Heaven, which is what the traditional Latin American procession is about. In his mind, it could too easily turn into a mass procession against himself and his detested regime, in the role of 'evil.' Not even Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has been doing that -- the Castro regime in Cuba, though, has for decades. Ortega's going for the full Castro, depriving his socialism-impoverished people of even their comforts of religion. He's also been throwing priests and even bishops in jail, on the same crazed hatred of religious and cultural Catholicism. He's been doing it for a while -- this video is from 2022: La libertad de culto esta suspendida en Nicaragua, los catolicos no pueden entrar a la iglesia para celebrar misa por ordenes del dictador comunista Daniel Ortega. La izquierda odia las libertades fundamentales; por eso hay que defenderlas a muerte. pic.twitter.com/g87uLyrG9j Sublevados (@Sublevados_) August 14, 2022 Which is ironic. Once upon a time, Ortega courted and gathered support from leftist liberation theology priests and bishops, even proclaiming his pro-life stance in the election that brought him to power a second time, after his disastrous referendum of 1990, which saw him booted from power. He's since spent his time organizing "migrant warfare" on the U.S. the better to get potential dissidents out of his country, but also to make money. His country actually has a free trade pact with the U.S., but is now subject to 18% tariffs, which should cut his cash streams. Nicaragua's opposition is reportedly cheering the tariffs from President Trump. According to CounterPunch, a virulently rabid left-wing publication: A minimum 10 per cent tariff on exports to the US will hit low-income countries throughout the region. But exports from Nicaragua have been saddled with an even higher tariff of 18 per cent. Delighted opponents of Nicaraguas Sandinista government have blamed it, rather than Trump, for the country receiving this additional penalty. However, simple examination of the figures shows that Nicaraguas tariff was calculated in the same way as every other countrys. They are likely hoping it will finally defund the monster and leave him unable to pay his goons, which may get him thrown out. Which explains why he's getting mean and oppressive with the Holy Week celebrations, which he views as a political threat. Obviously, he's going to keep going, jailing and imprisioning people for religious activity and paying for ever greater numbers of goons. He will probably hold his hat out to China some more, though the canal project he's been working with them on, has reportedly not gone well. He's probably qualified much of his nation for asylum on religous persecution grounds, which could have been intentional, given what he does, but more likely, is the act of a dictator flailing, threatened by a religious procession over a 2,000 year-old event that happened in another part of the world. While there's little likelihood asylum will be extended, Nicaragua will be full of returning migrants from the U.S. who aren't going to be happy about much of anything. They, along with religious processions, form a threat to his detested regime as he sees it. Too bad there's no Ronald Reagan to fund the contras, or George Bush Sr. to send in the Marines to 'Noreiga' the thug. But there are the Nicaraguan people, which to Ortega is threat enough. What we should be seeing is Pope Francis speaking out about this outrage, but it's likely he's too sick, and unfortunately, too unwilling to take a cue from Pope Benedict XVI's example, and gracefully pass the papal chair to someone more vigorous who will. He's also been coddling socialists during his entire papacy, meaning, it's a moral bridge too far. A John Paul II, who did rip into Ortega during his last regime as well as condemn liberation theology, he is not. We also ought to see more outrage from the Jesuits and other religious orders that in the past collaborated with Ortega, only to see this kind of persecution. That's what you get when you get into bed with a Marxist viper, but they're so socialist themselves, they aren't going to admit this. In the meantime, we are seeing what looks like a significant downhill slide in civil liberties and cultural freedom in Nicaragua. Banning religious processions during Holy Week is simply an outrage as this is Nicaragua's culture -- and about all they've got left. Doing this on top of previous waves of religious persecution is setting the stage for another Oscar Romero situation, as happened years ago in El Salvador when goons killed the man as he said Mass, and which the left loudly still rallies around even as most go hypocritically silent on Nicaragua today. It may just make Nicaraguans more determined to oppose him. With neither the Church or the U.S. defending them, Ortega is going to get nastier and uglier as his regime totters. It's already going downhill fast. Image: Screen shot from X video I understand why President Trump taking on the world's trading regimes and challenging nations to lower their tariffs. However, I must disagree with him on a minor point. Europe has not cheated us. They have just been more clever businesspeople and better at persuading us that the status quo was worth protecting. We Americans have been led down the primrose path by Trump's predecessor presidents who advocated for offshore investments in China, for example, to produce more affordable "U.S." products with cheaper labor to satisfy Americans' desire to save money. Many of us knew this was a mistake. The labor unions told us so, but American consumers didn't listen. We kept buying and buying and buying while more and more jobs left our shores for foreign sweatshops. We did not care as long as we could enjoy "Black Fridays" and save even more money on Chinese-made gimcrack while our neighbors down the street were collecting unemployment checks. Our disposable income started to drop, but we still kept buying, even though our local Walmart store was busy stocking shelves with hundreds more foreign-made products. Then came the coronavirus. Our buying habits soon changed. Our stores experienced shortages due to production declines and distribution disruptions. Prices rose. And our disposable income declined even further. Soon we were forced to buy anything we could find wherever we could find it. Europeans were suffering, too, but not as much for three basic reasons: they were traditionally more cautious shoppers; they bought European-made products; and they were not as dependent on Chinese-made or other foreign-made products. They continued to sell to each other at favorable tariff rates, but also continued to sell to us at the same low tariff rates that we charged them while keeping their rates to our imports high. Can we call this "cheating"? No. It is simply shrewd business dealings, charging what the market will bear. So when President Trump says that the Europeans "were ripping us off," what he should be saying is that we have played ourselves for suckers by not doing something to bring down European tariffs through prior Republican and Democrat presidencies. We either didn't know, were too lazy to try, were too comfortable buying foreign-made products, or too unwilling to confront the Europeans or take some personal responsibility for our buying habits and content with not getting our trade officials involved. So, if we are truly engaged in a trade war, then we had better be ready to think creatively about how we are going to wage it. If we truly want to bring back contract manufacturing from China or redirect production destined for European consumers from American-owned European subsidiaries, then we must be ready to go the distance and offer these subsidiaries some consideration for coming back "home." Knowing that the transition will take time, we will need to make tax allowances for repatriation of investment. And, if we want the Europeans to invest in our country, they, too, will need some incentives. In the past, individual states lured foreign investment with tax breaks and short-cuts through the regulatory process by speeding up permits. It may be time for the U.S. to consider offering a special program of incentives for foreign investors that does not disadvantage domestic companies but exists in tandem with that of the states' own incentives. This will take time, especially since our relations with Europe have soured because of the trade/tariff war. If President Trump and the Republicans do not want to lose the midterm elections of 2026 (and they will if the average American cannot get economic relief from rising prices), then there is no time to lose. Something must be done, quickly. We must thinking creatively to trade creatively. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has repeatedly stated its intentions to "get Greenland one way or the other." To many Europeans, especially the Danish and their protectorate island, Greenland, these are frightening words, harkening back to colonial times, which is doing nothing to improve relations between the Danes, the Greenlanders, and in general among Europeans. If the Trump administration really wants a rapprochement and to get back in the good graces of the Danes and the Greenlanders, he might wish to consider my suggestion: Imagine that a special tariff dispensation for Europe were offered that would give Greenlanders a massive economic shot in the arm? All European producers would have to do to receive a special tariff rate would be to redirect their shipments through Greenland ports, or if they did not choose to physically ship through Greenland, they could pay a surcharge equivalent to a prearranged tariff rate that the U.S. and Greenland would agree to. The proceeds of the new tariff collections would be divided along a predetermined formula between the U.S. and Greenland and remain in effect for a specific period of time. This special Make-Greenland-Tradeable tariff would help to repair relations between the U.S., Denmark, and Greenland and have a spillover effect with other European nations. Every war has an end, but the victims of a trade war are often those at the lower end of the earning curve as the price rises that accompany it (even at the end of it) will remain in place and not decline, adding to the economic insecurity of ordinary families. To minimize the pain we owe it to ourselves to act creatively. Stephen Helgesen is a retired career U.S. diplomat specializing in international trade who lived and worked in 30 countries for 25 years during the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush Administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven on American politics, and has written over 1,500 articles on politics, economics and social trends. He now lives in Denmark and is a frequent political commentator on Danish media. He can be reached at: stephenhelgesen@gmail.com. Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License Before Israel was founded, the State Department was anti-Zionist. Since Israels founding, the State Department has been hostile to Israel in ways great and small. (Marco Rubio seems to be a wonderful exception to this rule, helped by a pro-Israel president.) And, of course, the Democrat party and its media outlets hate Israel. Thats why two former State Department employees have taken to the pages of the New York Times to complain that, with Israel achieving military victories, the Trump administration must force it to surrender. The authors of the think piece are Aaron David Miller and Steven Simon, whose joint bio at the Times states, Aaron David Miller, a former State Department Middle East analyst and negotiator, is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the author of The End of Greatness: Why America Cant Have (and Doesnt Want) Another Great President. Steven Simon teaches at Dartmouth and held senior positions in the State Department and at the National Security Council. He is the author of Grand Delusion: The Rise and Fall of American Ambition in the Middle East. In their guest essay, the two men carefully explain that Israel, by successfully creating a buffer zone between itself and those who wish to kill it, is now too big and dangerous for the Middle East. Instead, to make the Palestinian people happy (something that should be the administrations highest priority), Israel must effectively surrender many of its strategic and national security gains: Israels response to the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, has fundamentally altered the Middle East balance of power in a way not seen since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It is time to acknowledge that Israel now looks like the regions hegemon. Enabled by the United States, its Arab treaty partners and key Persian Gulf states, the Israelis have broken the Hamas-Hezbollah ring of opposition and revealed the vulnerability and weakness of their patron in Tehran while also degrading Irans air defenses and missile production. Israel has expanded its occupation of Syrian territory, taken control of areas of Lebanon just north of its border and undertaken aggressive tactics in the West Bank not seen since the second intifada, which ended 20 years ago. [snip] The Trump administration, assuming it still considers peace between Israel and the Palestinians a top priority, will find it harder than ever to persuade Israel to convert its newfound military dominance into enduring political agreements with its Arab and Palestinian neighbors. There are no deals on the cheap here, to be scribbled on the back of cocktail napkins. President Trump and his team will need to put in the time and effort and press key Arab states and the Palestinians to do their part and, in an even tougher task, push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to make concessions. Mr. Netanyahus recent visit to Washington suggests that Mr. Trump isnt yet ready to try. There you have it: Israel has subdued Irans proxies and established around itself a buffer zone from which no more attacks can be launched against it. That is an unsustainable position for these former State Department employees. Instead, Israel must make concessions to make its defeated enemies happy. The combination of malevolence and naivete is stunning. The malevolence is obvious: These men think its a bad thing that Israel has defeated armiesand, by extension, their paymaster, Iranthat had as their stated objective Israels complete destruction as a nation and the death of all its citizens. The naivete is less obvious: These seasoned State Department employees actually believe that making concessions to Arabs will bring peace to the region. Or, as they frame it in the puffy language of diplomacy, Israels form of hegemony has engendered a temporary stability. But it wont last without converting Israels military dominance into arrangements and agreements with its Palestinian and Arab neighbors that reflect a balance of interests rather than the current asymmetry of power, which sooner or later will lead to more confrontation, violence and terror. Thats not how it works in the Middle East. Osama bin Laden understood the Arab psyche, and it has nothing to do with revering magnanimity: When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse. Israel is the strong horseand an intentionally dangerous one. What makes it different from other historically strong nations in the region is that it has no desire to expand its territory. It simply wishes to be left alone. Im no longer surprised when State Department employees and the New York Times display their antisemitism and stupidity. I am, however, invariably disgusted. Image by AI. Some years ago, I read an article in Scientific American about the experimental use of gene editing as a way of treating some blood cancers. I then happened to have lunch with a visiting old friend and one of his sons. The friend was a primary care physician and the son a biochemist. I mentioned the article and suggested that, considering the elaborate nature of gene editing, the process would likely cost upwards of $50,000. The son blurted out, How about $1.5 million? Time passes. Now the world is all abuzz over the actual living results of an attempt to replicate the dire wolf of the Pleistocene period. Unlike the Jurassic warm period (made famous by Michael Crichton), the dire wolf was a creature of the most recent ice age hence its large size and mammalian warm blood. The Pleistocene began about 2.58 million years ago and lasted about 2.57 million years or until about 11,700 years ago. We are now in the Holocene period, also known as an interstitial warm period between ice ages. Many of the mammals of the Pleistocene were considerably larger than their modern descendants. This is because, as an animal gets larger, its surface area increases linearly while its body mass increases geometrically. This causes greater heat-retention efficiency, which is particularly beneficial should the climate continue to get colder. A well known treasure trove of Pleistocene remains is found right near downtown Los Angeles in the La Brea Tar Pits. Prevailing wisdom has it that rainwater would accumulate on top of the tar, and various great beasts would walk into the pits to drink and become fatally stranded. Wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, American lions (Panthera atrox), giant sloths, some birds, and of course dire wolves have had their bones extracted from the tar pits. The discovery of dinosaur bones by Mediterranean farmers of previous millennia, while digging up their fields, has led some to explain the Greco-Roman myths of human-like beings that were either Giants or Titans, such as Prometheus. Rather than mere fossils, the tar pits have yielded preserved remains. It has now become within the range of possibility to harvest some ancient DNA from at least a few of the many specimens that have been collected. Where does the myth of Prometheus fit in with all of this? Prometheus was severely punished in perpetuity for bestowing upon humanity the gods coveted possession of fire. The Prometheus factor first occurred to me when thinking about the God-like human function of organ-harvesting and transplantation. Now the increasing ability to cook DNA for the sake of re-creating extinct species as well as other, more practical medical benefits reminds me again of mortal, fallible humans striving to imitate God. Although humans have developed the capability to manipulate nature, we still lack divine omniscience and thus cannot always foresee the consequences of our actions. The recent COVID-19 experience is a textbook example of this fallibility. Imagine hordes of lab-created, four-legged monsters roaming throughout our world. Meanwhile, the gene manipulators whove given us the approximate dire wolf should be at least somewhat constrained by their consideration of the consequences of their likely undeserved approach into godliness. Prometheus would understand. Image via Pexels. Literary lion and libertarian freedom advocate Mario Vargas Llosa died Sunday at his home in Lima, Peru. He was 89. His literary legacy, derived from the works of William Faulkner, and his central role in fostering "the boom" in great Latin American literary writers, which also included Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, assures his place in libraries, literary discussions, and history books. And his great literature on the nature of dictators, the crazed political correctness of left-wing splinter groups, and many more topics on human nature will remain with us forever. His courageous and direct denunciations of Latin America's most repellent dictators, such as Hugo Chavez, long before others were doing so, will always be memorable, particularly to Venezela's and Cuba's long-suffering freedom fighters. And that he once gave loudmouth socialist Garcia Marquez a shiner after the latter reportedly insulted his wife will satisfy many others. But actually, he will be missed. He was also a wonderful person. I met him a few times, at conferences and through friends of friends, and I cherish those encounters. I like to think of him, not just the literary lion, but the kind, cordial person that he was. His greatness never obscured that he was a kind and warm person, with a lovely family, in real life. As the giant passes, I recall these vignettes about him: When Vargas Llosa was finally awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, all was well in the world. Fireworks went off in every Latin American country. There was big joy in the libertarian community, because Mario was a powerful speaker against tyrants, once mixing it up with Hugo Chavez and I recall, challenging him to a debate. Chavez said he wanted to throw him into prison, which was about par for Chavez, who frankly feared him. Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez tweeted a reconciliation of sorts after the 1968 punchout, saying something to the effect that we are finally even. I was an editorial writer at Investor's Business Daily and I recall that I really wanted to write about this great event, the Earth righting itself on its axis, which my editor, Wes Mann, kindly let me do, remarking that he kind of liked the guy because he was always photographed wearing a suit and tie. Next day, we found out that I was not the only one -- a lot of people wanted to write about this writer that my editor was only vaguely familiar with. A ton of them. He kindly relented and let us run more than one editorial about it. Then we noticed something weird: The Wall Street Journal's editorial page, which was a rival of sorts, had the exact same issue -- and they ended up running more than one editorial/op-ed about the great news about Mario Vargas Llosa winning the Nobel prize. So, they ran more than one, too. It kind of says something. I got to meet the great man, first, in Santiago, Chile, at a conference where I met a lot of Latin America's great leaders. He gave a fun talk exclusively with us reporters from around the region and I got to chat and take a selfie with him, but also mention how I was slightly reproached by a well-known Argentinian intellectual (who had exceptional language skills in both Spanish and English, by the way) for not reading Vargas Llosa's books in Spanish. I apologized to him that I had only read them in English, and I just loved Feast of the Goat. Mario abruptly objected to that, saying the Argentinian (whom he knew) was flat wrong. Emphatically, he said I should read his books in English! All authors love having their works translated and read in other languages, he explained. He was so charming -- and that was exciting to hear -- it did make sense when you think about it. I got a second opportunity to meet Mario Vargas Llosa in Lima, Peru -- and a friend actually got me an invitation to his birthday party. That was exciting beyond anything I could think of. Hearing this beforehand, I lost a mountain of weight. I bought a prized designer dress I had wanted to be able to fit into, and did. And I actually wore a tiara to the event. I asked him if it would be O.K. to take another selfie with him because I was so fat the last time I saw him. Of course! He said I could use it as a before-and-after. When I saw him a couple days later at a conference -- he charmingly winked at me. I'm his fan forever. When I got back to Los Angeles, where I lived at the time, I came through Customs alone, and as a female traveling alone, the Customs guys are always on the lookout for drug mules, so I get into lots of conversations with them. I was asked what I did there in Peru. Did I go to Machu Picchu? No, just Lima, I replied, but I did something even more amazing -- I met the great Mario Vargas Llosa, the greatest living writer in all Latin America and probably the world. "Never heard of him," the unimpressed Customs guy replied. I told him he should have. I went back to work, and back to art class at Santa Monica College. I needed to produce a grayscale portrait in acrylic -- like, the next day. From my own taken photos, I quickly drew and painted this, thinking it was way too hasty. But looking back, I kind of like it: He's always a hero to me. And for a thousand reasons, he will be missed. RIP Image: Monica Showalter The Trump administration is loaded with stars and stellar performers. But it's the low-key guy, the one with the 'deputy' in his title, mostly behind the scenes, who may be the most impressive of all. Here's Stephen Miller, 39, deputy chief of staff for policy in the White House, and Homeland Security advisor, speaking to reporters about a thorny case involving a Salvadoran illegal, Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, who was repatriated back to his native El Salvador, the country of his citizenship, supposedly as an administrative error, given that a judge in 2019 had given him a stay on his final deportation orders as an MS-13 gang member in potential danger from other gangs in that Central American country. JUST IN: President Trump has multiple members of his admin take turns ripping CNN's Kaitlan Collins after she asked why an alleged MS-13 member was deported to El Salvador. Lmao. Pam Bondi, Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, as well as Nayib Bukele all ripped the media after Collins pic.twitter.com/R7Y2ZOSt37 Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 14, 2025 Stephen Miller just deconstructed the entire media narrative surrounding that deported MS-13 gang member that liberals are demanding be returned home. Here's how he completely turned the tables on these reporters pic.twitter.com/Z53rAtWqZY Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 14, 2025 I am SO GLAD the Trump administration decided to completely UNLEASH Stephen Miller on the media. He regularly displays a masterclass in debunking their lies. "Guys - do you know the difference between a deportation order and a withholding order? Do you know the difference? Any pic.twitter.com/sDmzpLtiyu Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 14, 2025 That's an authentic takedown -- asserting the U.S. is not going to tell El Salvador to do with its own citizens, and it sure as heck isn't going to kidnap a Salvadoran national from his home country to satisfy a federal judge's diktat. Yet the press is pushing the narrative that a horrible mistake has been made and Abrego-Garcia has a "right" to live in this country. It's echoed on the left among its pols, drumbeat style -- here's Bernie Sanders having a cow: In defiance of the Supreme Court & without any evidence, the White House claims that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a terrorist, who was sent to the right place. This is a blatant LIE. He is innocent. He cannot be allowed to rot in an El Salvadorian jail. He must be brought home. pic.twitter.com/im07FoR4Z0 Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 14, 2025 But it can't stand up to Miller, who clearly has a steel trap mind on these repatriations and our partner countries receiving them. While Miller may be a behind-the-scenes guy mostly, putting him out front has got to be the left's worst nightmare. They can't compete. Let's hear more from him, then -- he's as good as they get. Image: X video screen shot Democrats have been outraged that the new Hegseth-run military removed two women from their commands, one for refusing to put up pictures of the new President and Defense Secretary and the other for publicly disagreeing with administration policy. Both, of course, open violations of the chain of command and perfectly legitimate reasons to remove or demote a person. Whats interesting is whether these women are emblematic of a larger problem, which is that many women in the military do not view themselves as part of an organic whole dedicated to Americas defense. Instead, they take a more narcissistic, therapeutic approach to their service. Last week, the Pentagon issued a brief tweet that Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. military representative to NATOs Military Committee, had been relieved of her duties because of A loss of confidence in her ability to lead. Secretary Hegseth has removed U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield from her position as U.S. representative to NATOs military committee due to a loss of confidence in her ability to lead. The Defense Department is grateful for her many years of military service. Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellATSD) April 8, 2025 Subsequent reports reveal that the loss of confidence was because Admiral Chatfield refused to display the Presidents and Defense Secretarys images at the militarys NATO headquarters, an act of insubordination, which was something Rep. Jasmine Crockett found perplexing: Congresswoman, I realize this may be a foreign concept to you but here at the DoD if you disrespect the chain of command & dont do your job, you will be replaced. Period. https://t.co/HrtUpI9Owc Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) April 9, 2025 As an aside, Chatfield was all in on DEI in the military: CC @PeteHegseth: Meet Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield. Here's a report on her priorities as a leader of the U.S. Navy. Is this someone who should be leading our men and women into battle? "Just before the cake-cutting at the end of the Women's Equality Day observance, pic.twitter.com/LuauIXtPZh American Accountability Foundation (@Theswampmonitor) December 9, 2024 Subsequent reports reveal that the loss of confidence was because Admiral Chatfield refused to display the Presidents and Defense Secretarys images at the militarys NATO headquarters, an act of insubordination, which was something Rep. Jasmine Crockett found perplexing:As an aside, Chatfield was all in on DEI in the military: Another woman, Colonel Sheyla Baez Ramirez, the Garrison Commander at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, has been accused of the same failure to honor the chain of command by displaying the photographs of Trump and Hegseth. Ill have more on her in a minute, but first, lets talk about Greenland. U.S. Space Force Col. Susan Meyers, the commander of the U.S. military base in Greenland, just got herself fired from that command after she sent out an email to base personnel openly disagreeing with the Commander-In-Chiefs policies: Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump's agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense. https://t.co/ITFeGw0kUf pic.twitter.com/MO68aje1X2 Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellATSD) April 11, 2025 As Parnell said, this was a blatant violation. Back in 1977, no one blinked twice when the Carter administration removed Major Gen. John K. Singlaub from his command when he made negative comments about the administrations policies regarding troop withdrawals from South Korea. You cannot have a stable, strong military if the officers are publicly mouthing off. So, whats driving these women to jettison their careers in the name of making political statements? Some of it, of course, is Trump Derangement Syndrome, which seems to lead to uncontrollable anti-Trump logorrhea. However, some of it seems to be tied to women viewing their military service as an extension of their race and sex identity. And that gets me back to Colonel Ramirez. InfantryDort is the X account for an infantryman whos noticed something interesting about Ramirezs approach to her command. Hes loaded a video that looks beyond those allegedly missing portraits and, instead, focuses on Ramirezs words: This will be my final word on the matter. Let's set aside discussions about physical standards or the absence of certain portraits in her headquarters. Pretend it's not all messed up for a minute. Let's instead focus our attention on the colonel's public statement. Instead of pic.twitter.com/eFrQoGObAZ InfantryDort (@infantrydort) April 13, 2025 Picking up where the X embed leaves off: ... addressing mission readiness, combat effectiveness, or the welfare of her troops, she focused on being the "first" in terms of gender and ethnicity. This emphasis on identity over duty reflects a troubling shift in leadership priorities. More concerning is that she successfully navigated the Army's Command Assessment Program (CAP), designed to select competent leaders. While CAP aims to provide a holistic view of an officer's capabilities, there's growing concern that it may inadvertently favor those who align with prevailing DEI narratives over those with proven leadership skills. The previous Secretary of the Army solidified CAP's status as a permanent fixture right before she left office. It's imperative for the current administration to reassess its efficacy and ensure it truly identifies leaders based on merit and readiness. Leadership should be about mission focus and troop welfare, not personal identity milestones. If our selection processes prioritize the latter, we risk compromising the very essence of military leadership. Remember this and remember it well: CAP approved this woman for command. Take a look below and see who it did NOT approve. And keep in mind, this happens all the time. We've got awesome recruiting numbers now, great. Who's gonna lead them though? InfantryDort noticed the same thing when it came to Heather Reilly, a battalion commander, who has now made her X account private: Unfortunately, I have to repost this because the officer in question blocked me and protected her account, a soon to be brigade commander. Even though my criticism was professional. That should concern everyone. If criticism sends a senior leader offline, how do we expect them pic.twitter.com/kwvUKVrhni InfantryDort (@infantrydort) April 14, 2025 And again, picking up where X left off, ... them to face the enemy?: Battalion and Brigade command are among the rarest billets in the Army. Few ever earn that trust. So when a commander says they struggled to find their purpose in that role, its disheartening. The purpose is crystal clear: lead your Soldiers. Build a lethal formation. Win wars. Imagine a male commander saying the reverse: I finally felt seen when a male Soldier told me he was glad I was in charge. That wouldnt be praised. Itd be flagged, and rightfully so. Command isnt therapy. Its stewardship. Its warfighting. Its a sacred trust. Her inability to read the cultural terrain translates directly to the battlefield. If you can't grasp that we are one gender-neutral fighting force under a flag, how will you ever navigate the chaos of war? Whats worse, this wasnt confusion. It was bias. A commander promoting gender-based validation is not leading a team. Shes dividing one. Representation is not readiness. The enemy doesnt care who you are. Only if youre ready to fight. In sum, the military is about service to the nation and, if youre an officer, about service to the people in your command. It is not a forum for your political opinions and theater, nor is it a therapeutic outlet for your race and sex identity issues. This doesn't apply to all women, of course, many of whom serve wholeheartedly, but this is quite obviously a problem among the (mostly college-educated) officer class, and it must be addressed. Secretary Hegseth has a lot of work ahead of him, and I wish him the best of luck. Image: X screen grab. Summary: Google is adding an auto-restart feature to Android devices to improve their security. This feature will force Android devices to restart automatically if they have been locked for a certain number of days in a row. After the reboot, a PIN or password will be required to lock the device. Google is beefing up security on Android with yet another new method of bolstering the protection against thieves, by way of an auto-restart feature for devices after theyve been locked beyond a certain length of time. While this is in no way the same thing, Googles new security feature reminds me of peoples online accounts being deleted after theyve been dormant and unused for a while. Thats not really the concept here, save for the action happening after breaching that threshold of a certain number of days. But it does draw attention to the fact that Google thinks having a time barrier could be a good way to further secure devices. Googles new security feature, which is being pushed in an update to Google Play Services, is intended to put a phone back into the state of security before the device has been unlocked for the first time. This happens after every time the phone is rebooted, forcing the user to input a passcode to unlock all features. Google also wont be the first to implement something of this nature. As 9To5Google notes, Apple added an inactivity feature in 2024 with iOS 18.1, and GrapheneOS also offers a similar reboot lock. To bolster security, Android phones will now auto-restart after three days of being locked This feature isnt live yet because the update to Google Play Services isnt live, but this is what you can expect after Google rolls it out. According to the report, Android phones will now auto-restart if theyve been locked for three days. Specifically, three consecutive days. Google is implementing this feature as a means to protect phones that have either been lost or stolen. As its more likely that a phone would stay locked for three consecutive days in situations like theft. Users shouldnt experience any issues with this if theyre actively using a device. Why? Because youll be constantly locking and unlocking your phone throughout the day. That being said, this is something to pay attention to if you have multiple phones. Say, a work phone, or just a backup you keep on in case something happens to your primary device. If youre not using that other device as much, then you may encounter an auto-restart. Still, its a small price to pay if it means your device is better protected. Devices locked with this method will require a password or PIN Once a device is rebooted automatically, it will enter whats called a Before First Unlock state. The user will then be required to enter a PIN or password to fully unlock the device. Biometrics will not be accepted until this is done. After the PIN or password is entered correctly, biometrics should work fine from that point forward. But with the BFU state in place, thieves would likely have a harder time getting into a phone. As mentioned earlier, its not clear when this update is going out. Google could be rolling it out already, and its possible it may not have started yet. Either way, it should be available over the next week or two. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is becoming an increasingly prominent figure in the artificial intelligence segment. The tech expert has been very vocal with his views on AI development. Occasionally, his statements have sparked controversy due to their somewhat pessimistic tone. Now, Schmidt is warning the US government about energy needs as a potential bottleneck to dominating the AI segment. Eric Schmidt appeared before the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce to speak about the future of AI. He focused specifically on one area: energy generation. Schmidt believes that the US will soon reach a point where energy generation capabilities will limit the development of artificial intelligence. This could give China an advantage in the future. He also highlighted that current US regulations prevent the rapid set of new, efficient approaches to generating energy to meet AI needs. AI energy needs could exceed the USs power generation capacity, former Google CEO warns We need energy in all forms, renewable, non-renewable, whatever. It needs to be there, and it needs to be there quickly, the former Google CEO told the lawmakers. People are planning 10 gigawatt data centers now, he stated. An average nuclear power plant in the United States is one gigawatt, he added later. Overall, Schmidt questioned the current capacity of the USs electrical infrastructure to keep up with the speed of AI development. Schmidts words point to an impending AI bottleneck in the US. To avoid this, he believes the country must invest in new approaches to energy generation. It also needs to rethink how the electrical grid is managed and the overall use of available power. Regarding China, Schmidt warned of the risk of it achieving superintelligence before the US. The first country to achieve this will likely be the immediate winner in the AI race. If [China] becomes superintelligible first, it changes the dynamics of power globally, in ways that we have no way of understanding or predicting, he said. SMRs are the right answer, but regulations prevent them from being set up quickly Schmidt didnt limit himself to telling lawmakers to work on alternative energy production. The tech expert even offered his perspective on the ideal alternative. He said that small modular reactors (SMRs) are the right answer. However, he expressed frustration with the regulations affecting the set of these types of plants. One of my personal frustrations is the regulatory structure around nuclear and SMRs How many SMRs are in use in America today? Zero, he said. He also noted that a fast approval time is considered to be 12 years. That defies logic. AI energy needs are expected to increase notably in the coming years By 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that data centers will double their energy consumption. In particular, AI data centers will quadruple their energy needs. AIs power requirements could soon surpass those of industries like steel and cement manufacturing, The Guardian reports. US representatives project that, by 2028, AI energy consumption will account for 12% of total US consumption. For reference, the figure was 4.4% in 2023. These projections suggest that Schmidts recent warnings are not far-fetched. Summary: Google is changing the URL for Google Search, and will begin redirecting all users worldwide to a single, unified domain. Google assures users this wont change the way that Search works and that people will still get localized results from their searches. Google Search, the place most people go to search for information, is getting a new worldwide URL that will unify the webpage address on a grand, global scale. No more google.co.jp for Google Search users in Japan, and no more google.de for Google Search users in Germany. Just a singular, unified URL for all users everywhere. Google says the reason it used country-coded top-level domains was that this is how it provided local results to people who were searching for information in their specific country. So if you were here in the US searching google.com for the best pizza places near you, you would get relevant results that were different from a user searching for that same exact information in a country halfway around the world. The same goes for if youre gathering details from Google Searchs new AI Mode. However, that sort of thing is really no longer needed. Google has improved the way it serves up localized results from search queries. Thus, country-coded top-level domains arent needed anymore. The worldwide Google Search URL is already making the rounds The URL, which will just be the google.com domain that people in the US are familiar with, is already starting to make the rounds with users globally. Google says in its official blog post about this change that its already beginning to redirect users to this URL. Though it doesnt give an end date to the whole thing. The company merely says that this will happen gradually over the coming months. Well begin redirecting traffic from these ccTLDs to google.com to streamline peoples experience on Search. This change will be rolled out gradually over the coming months, Google said. Some users may need to re-enter preferences Google stresses that this will largely leave the user experience unchanged. However, it does state that some users may need to re-enter some information. Specifically, search preferences. Google notes that some users may be prompted to re-enter search preferences as part of this process. So, this suggests that not everyone will run into this. It is possible, however, that these prompts will pop up. If they do, simply follow the prompts, and everything should iron out right after. Google also confirms that this wont affect the way that Search works. So overall, the experience of using Google will work as it always has. The URL will just be different now. That means you can still expect to get the localized results. Summary: Japan has accused Google of violating anti-monopoly laws by requiring Android phone makers to pre-install its search engine, a move regulators say stifles competition. Japans Fair Trade Commission has issued a cease and desist ordermarking the first time the country has taken such action against a major tech firm. Google, already battling similar cases in the U.S. and EU. Google seems to be getting hit left, right, and center by watchdogs in different countries. Typically its the European Union going after the search giant, but this time around, its Japan. Japans regulators accused Google of violating anti-monopoly laws, which sounds very familiar. As the US and the EU have both accused Google of doing the exact same thing. In response to this accusation, Google said that it found the action regrettable. The company also noted that it has invested significantly in Japan to promote innovation as a technology leader. Japans Fair Trade Commission sent a cease and desist order to Google. Essentially forcing Google to stop the pre-installation of the Google search engine in its Android smartphones. Which Japan believes effectively shuts out the competition. Just last year, a judge in the US ruled that Googles ubiquitous search engine was illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition. Of course, Google denied these allegations and argued that its immensely popular because of what Google Search offers. The appeal process is ongoing and will likely take years. This is the first time Japan has taken such action against a major tech company. What comes next? Obviously, Google is going to take its time, and defend what Japan is accusing them of. This will likely head to trial, though Google could settle with Japan ahead of the trial, by paying an obscene amount of money. But, if it does go to trial, we may not know the results for many years. As these trials take quite some time to take place, and then appeals will need to take place, which adds even more onto it. However, Google is currently facing anti-monopolistic allegations now in the US, the European Union and Japan. Which could cost Google a pretty penny. Summary: Googles new Sources button is now available in Gemini. Instead of a scrolling list of sources, Gemini will now have a button you can tap to get a list of the sources used in its response. This is available in the latest Google app. These days, fewer and fewer people are going to Google for searching and research. More and more people are heading to AI chatbots for these things, including yours truly. Usually because its faster and easier to get the info youre looking for. However, one of the issues with that is the websites that create the content that has these answers to your questions lose out on that traffic and income. Google has a plan to sort of combat that, which is to provide a button to show all of the sources from the response. A couple of weeks ago, Android Authority found this change in the APK teardown of the Google App. Now, it appears that the feature is available in the latest version of the Google App, v16.14.39. Instead of having a side-scrolling list of sources at the bottom, there is now a Sources button that you can tap on, which will open an overlay with all of the sources listed that you can then visit if you need more information. This is very similar to how ChatGPT shows sources now, though ChatGPT does have a separate tab for images versus links. Googles implementation doesnt look as polished as what ChatGPT has, but that might change as Google continues to make minor tweaks to the Sources button. Publishers have a real problem with AI Publishers like yours truly have to combat the rise of AI chatbots, as they steal our content and also steal our traffic. Many people looking for something specific dont even need to go to other websites. Chatbots like Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude and others, all provide what is needed without sending any traffic to the publisher. Which is a real problem that the whole industry is going to have to deal with. Summary: Netflix is testing an AI-powered search engine powered by OpenAI. The new feature will allow subscribers to search for content on the platform using more specific terms, such as mood. It is currently available to some iOS users in Australia and New Zealand and will be rolling out to the US in the near future. Netflix is testing a new AI feature that could radically change the content search experience. According to Bloomberg, the new AI search engine powered by OpenAIs tech is currently available to some iOS users in Australia and New Zealand. The feature can only be enabled optionally and allows users to search for content using much more specific criteria, such as mood. Netflix is testing an AI-powered search engine with limited users The new search engine promises much more than Netflixs current system. Subscribers will be able to search not only by movie/series title, genre, or actor but also by mood or other search queries, using natural language. This will allow users to find the content they are looking for more easily and in a more personalized way. Netflix has used AI in its content recommendation system before. However, this new step expands the role of AI within the platform even further. The platform also states that it is aware of criticism from the creative community while taking advantage of this technology. The company emphasizes that it will never use AI to replace directors, screenwriters, or actors. As mentioned above, the new AI-powered search function is currently in limited testing and will be rolled out to the US in the coming weeks and months. Netflix plans to continue developing the engine as it listens to user feedback in different regions. If successful, it could completely transform the platforms content discovery experience. Android users may have to wait a while longer for the new feature Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou said there are currently no plans for the AI-powered search engine outside of iOS. So for now, testing will remain limited to iOS, and Android users will have to wait a bit longer. However, it is still too early for the feature, and things may change in the near future. Zhous statement about the new feature is as follows: Its early days for the feature, and were really in a learn and listen phase for this beta. Summary: NVIDIA is setting up AI supercomputer factories in various US cities. These plants will start mass producing by the next year, and power AI applications around the world. As NVIDIAs new chips start production in Phoenix, Arizona, the company has announced plans for further expansion. NVIDIA is building multiple AI supercomputer manufacturing plants in various U.S. cities. These factories will start operations within the next year, ramping up NVIDIAs domestic manufacturing capability. The company is planning to set up more such plants in the coming years, partnering with semiconductor titans like TSMC and Foxconn. The plants in Arizona are already operational. TSMC established these to manufacture cutting-edge semiconductors, including specialized AI chips. NVIDIAs brand-new Blackwell architecture is already being mass-produced, marking the beginning of U.S. chip production. The importance of domestic semiconductor manufacturing As of now, virtually all of the high-end chips used in PCs are imported from Taiwan. TSMC is the world leader in semiconductor fabrication, making the entire industry dependent on imports. But as supply chain woes during COVID-19 showed us, this can be a risky situation. To alleviate this issue, the U.S. government has been trying to encourage domestic manufacturing. The plants by TSMC in Phoenix, Arizona, were the first announced, and as of now have finally gone live. TSMC is setting up multiple advanced fabs in Arizona, producing the top-end chips in the U.S. itself. Companies like Amkor and SPIL are taking care of the packaging and testing of these chips, bringing the entire supply chain home. What are AI supercomputers? The rise of AI has created a demand for a new type of computer. Standard chips dont perform well for AI computations, and even GPUs arent the best answer. To meet this demand, companies like NVIDIA have designed specialized AI supercomputers. These chips can process AI calculations efficiently, making them the workhorse of this new direction. NVIDIA is looking to set up AI factories powered by these AI supercomputers in the U.S. And to manufacture these AI supercomputers, factories are being set up on shore as well. For example, there are plants coming up in Houston and Dallas. These will create thousands of jobs as well, supporting the push for revitalizing the U.S. manufacturing sector. A network of partnerships NVIDIA isnt pulling off a massive project like this alone. It is partnering with manufacturers like TSMC, Foxconn, and Wistron to set up the new factories. Furthermore, Amkor is the partner for packaging the wafers into chips, and SPIL is responsible for testing and assembling them. Soon, the U.S. will have the capability to produce advanced semiconductor chips from start to finish on its shores. Summary: Neptune is an upcoming TikTok alternative that allows creators to hide their follower and like counts. The app is still in beta, but the company has ambitious plans for it, including monetization options. Theres a new TikTok alternative app in town called Neptune. What Neptune is trying to do is bring the fun back to short-form video by doing something radical: ignoring your follower count. Meet Neptune, a TikTok alternative Neptune was founded by Ashley Darling, a talent director at the OPTYX agency. Speaking to TechCrunch, Darling says, I spent years working with independent creators, both as an influencer myself and later helping brands. I kept hearing the same thing from creators and users, I miss when social media was fun. When it was about creativity, not competition. So, instead of waiting for a platform to listen, I built one. These days, many social media users gauge interest in their posts based on how many likes they get. They also determine how popular they are based on the number of followers. In some cases, seeing a drop in follower count can have a devastating effect on some. This is why, instead of chasing likes, Neptune creators can choose to hide them entirely. This optional ghost metrics feature reduces the pressure to perform and helps users actually enjoy making videos again. Neptune also has built-in monetization tools, including tips, live streaming, and subscriptions. One of TikToks biggest problems is how difficult it can be for smaller creators to make actual money. Neptune can potentially address this issue. That being said, some features are still missing. The app doesnt have in-app editing tools or direct messaging yet, and right now, its just a feed and search bar. However, to be fair to its creators, Neptune is still in beta, so we should give it more time to develop fully before judging it. More TikTok alternatives There are no shortages when it comes to TikTok alternatives. Ignoring the impending ban for just one second, many TikTok clones popped up way before then. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube saw the potential in TikTok and launched versions of their own, such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Now, with TikToks ban looming, the need for an alternative is greater than ever. US President Trump is trying to work out a deal for TikTok, but it still needs Chinas blessing. This means the US could ultimately ban the app, making alternatives like Neptune more important and relevant than ever. Summary: The Xiaomi 16 Pro is rumored to get a new 50-megapixel Sony LYTIA sensor in its periscope lens. Additionally, Xiaomi may introduce a flat display with LIPO technology in the Xiaomi 16 series to achieve slim and uniform bezels. Xiaomi recently launched the Xiaomi 15 series in global markets, with Xiaomi 15 and Xiaomi 15 Ultra. Rumours suggest that the brand is working on the Xiaomi 15s Pro model. While Xiaomi may keep the Xiaomi 15s models exclusive to China, the brand will launch the Xiaomi 16 series as its next global flagship. We recently saw key details about the Xiaomi 16 model. Today, a new leak reveals a major upgrade to the Pro models camera. Improved camera setup in the Xiaomi 16 Pro The Xiaomi 15 Pro uses a 50-megapixel triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX858 periscope telephoto lens. As per a new leak, the upcoming Xiaomi 16 Pro will get a significant upgrade in its periscope lens. The device could use Sonys LYTIA sensor for its periscope lens. The leak doesnt reveal the exact name of the sensor, but it suggests that the new telephoto sensor will be larger in size. Xiaomi will pair it with a new generation of lenses and a large aperture for a long-range zoom. On paper, this will result in an overall improved photography experience. Flat display with LIPO technology in the Xiaomi 16 series In 2024, almost every Chinese flagship featured a quad-curved OLED display. Now it appears that the brands are shifting to the old-school flat display for their 2025 flagships. The entire Xiaomi 16 series, comprising Xiaomi 16, 16 Pro, and 16 Ultra, is rumoured to use a flat display. Besides using flat displays the devices are tipped to use LIPO technology. Low-Injection Pressure Overmolding (LIPO) is a relatively new technology in smartphone manufacturing. In this process, a second material is molded over or around an existing component using significantly lower injection pressure than traditional overmolding methods. Using this technology, the phones will have ultra-thin bezels and an immersive screen-to-body ratio. The Xiaomi 16 Pro could use a larger 6.8-inch flat OLED panel, compared to the Xiaomi 15 Pros 6.73-inch-sized quad-curved OLED display. The base Xiaomi 16 model, on the other hand, will retain the 6.36-inch panel from Xiaomi 15. The Xiaomi 16 series will be one of the first phones to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 processor. Based on past launches, we expect that Xiaomi will first launch the Xiaomi 16 and 16 Pro in China, with the Ultra model likely arriving at a later event. President Trump Donald Trumps liberation day tariffs sent international markets into a panic, plunging indexes to new lows and unnerving investors globally. Despite a slight reprieve owing to his subsequent 90-day pause, the world remains on edge. The Telegraphs US readers have shared their thoughts about the potential of a global trade war. While many expressed concerns over Mr Trumps plan to implement tariffs and bring manufacturing back to the US, others say they support the president and suggested sceptics should adopt a wait-and-see approach. A tax on Americans Zach Dookeran says Trumps plan is misguided Zach Dookeran, from San Franciscos Bay Area, believes that Mr Trumps tariffs are bad. The 32-year-old argues that broad tariffs across the economy end up being a de facto regressive tax on Americans. He says Mr Trumps plan to bring manufacturing back to the US is misguided: I see no evidence that tariffs will achieve Trumps aims at revitalising American self-sufficiency in manufacturing or other industries. Instead, Mr Dookeran sees the presidents actions as another step on Americas long road to giving up as the force that protects and sustains the free world. In agreement, James, 55, from Northern Virginia, says he views the tariff plan as a tax on Americans, plain and simple and argues in favour of free trade. He says: My economics education taught me firmly that free trade is the way to greater growth and prosperity. If we look at the world now as compared to, say, 40 or 50 years ago, we see many countries that have hugely benefited from free trade. One of those countries is the US. With markets experiencing huge single-day gains following the announcement that tariffs would be paused, James says: The whole thing strikes me as reckless. Im not surprised that insider trading accusations have been levied against those associated with the White House. Trump is out of his depth Brian Bothomley believes markets will go up and down in total chaos Reader Brian Bothomley, 77, from Puget Sound, Washington State, feels that markets will be unstable if Mr Trump continues on this trajectory. Mr Bothomley says: I think the markets will go up and down in total chaos with this government. Trump is out of his depth here and eventually he will give up and set his attention on something else. Then things will get back to some sort of normal. Walker Rowe, 64, is an American living and working in Cyprus. Mr Rowe says he understands the presidents plan on a macro level, however he feels that it lacks critical thinking. What Trumps trying to do is restore American manufacturing, he says. But there seems to be little thought on how to do it on a nuts and bolts level. To Mr Rowe, the president is trying to implement a years-long strategy on a moments notice. He adds: Trump will be long gone before any manufacturer moves their operation to America, and beyond that, what Trump doesnt seem to grasp is that you cant move an entire supply chain. An anonymous reader, aged 47, cautions that it seems unlikely Mr Trump will be able to execute his plan in his final term without serious negotiations. He said: In order to get the machines and the manufacturing lines in place, were going to need to buy from other countries. It doesnt seem feasible with the current tariff situation that that could happen. Trump has Americas best interest at heart Tom, aged 25, argues that Mr Trumps plan is necessary to move the US away from its heavy reliance on foreign nations, like China. He says: In the US, we all depend on China for our way of life. I think this decoupling from China, who is very adversarial to us, makes sense. Im happy Trump is standing up to China. Hes being very aggressive about it, but I think it makes sense for him to take these risks early in his term. As a US citizen, Im able to accept some pain from the reordering of the world economy. Weve been asleep at the wheel for a long time in relation to international trade. Laurence Goldstein says Trumps tariff plan should not come as a shock - Laurence Goldstein Laurence Goldstein, 62, believes that short-term pain to his financial portfolio from the market upheaval is par for the course. He shares: Many millions of people voted for this exact thing. Trumps tariff plan is not a shock, its not a surprise and its certainly not a bait-and-switch situation. But, if people dont like it, then wait for the next election and vote for change. Last month, I lost a huge amount from my individual retirement account, and while yes, its eye-watering in the moment, Im not retiring today. Lets see what happens in a month from now, six months from now. Everyone needs to take a moment to breathe and see how things play out. In all honesty, Trump is a negotiator at heart. So part of me thinks hes creating some instability just to get people to come to the negotiating table. Deborah Pechter, from New York, agrees with this sentiment. She adds: Trump loves the art of deal-making. When he saw the markets stumbling, he extended a 90-day pause inviting countries to dialogue. Whether you agree with his policies or not, I think Trump has Americas best interest at heart. Richard Marles has said his Indonesian counterpart told him reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia were not true. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Indonesias defence minister has said reports Russia is seeking to base military aircraft in the country are simply not true, according to the Australian government, after Canberra made urgent calls to Jakarta. The report from defence and security news website Janes said Moscow had filed an official request with Jakarta for permission for Russian aerospace forces (VKS) aircraft, including several long-range aircraft, to be based at a facility in Biak. But Richard Marles, Australias defence minister and deputy prime minister, said in a statement on Tuesday night that he had spoken to his Indonesian counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, about the reports. [He] said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true, Marles said. Marles had earlier downplayed the report that Moscow had filed an official request with Jakarta for permission for Russian aerospace forces (VKS) aircraft, including several long-range aircraft, to be based at a facility in Biak. The airbase in Biak is home to the Indonesian air forces aviation squadron 27, which operates a fleet of CN235 surveillance aircraft. Biak, in Indonesias easternmost Papua region, is about 1,400km from Darwin. The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Tuesday: We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region, very clearly. We have a position, which is: we stand with Ukraine, we regard [the Russian president] Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who has broken international law, that is attacking the sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine. Asked on Tuesday about the report, the Kremlin declined to comment. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the report: There are a lot of different pieces of fake news around, publications in the media, including those that relate to sensitive areas. But in this case we are not commenting on such publications. Related: Zelenskyy urges Trump to view devastation in Ukraine caused by Russias invasion Janes report said the Indonesian defence minister received the request following his meeting in February with Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russias security council and a longtime Putin ally. Australia is in the middle of an election campaign, with the news emerging while Albanese and his main opponent, the Liberal party leader, Peter Dutton, took part in campaign activities. Dutton told a press conference that Putin was not welcome in our neighbourhood. We do not want a presence, a military presence, from Russia in our region, which would be destabilising for south-east Asia, and it would certainly be a very different calculation for the risks that are posed to our country in a period that is very uncertain, Dutton said. He said the Australian Labor government should reveal whether it received forewarning of the Russian request from Indonesia, a detail Albanese did not offer in his press conference. Albanese repeated several times that his government was seeking further information or proper clarification, but would not provide any substantial comment. Thats the way you deal with international relations. Making sure that youre not flying from the hip, he said. At a separate press conference, the Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said she was aware of the reports and that the government was in the process of finding out more information. We, as a government, have reached out to confirm those reports and to understand whether or not those reports are accurate and what the status of those requests from Russia are, she said. Senior Indonesian military officials and the Russian embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to comment on the reported proposal, but analysts said it was unlikely the unusual request would be granted given how geopolitically risky it would be. Even if Russia is proposing to use an Indonesian airbase, I doubt that the government will allow it. There will be a very significant blowback, Yohanes Sulaiman, a defence analyst and lecturer at the Jenderal Achmad Yani university, said. The Indonesian military is very averse to having other countries build military bases in Indonesia. Member of Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Major General TNI (ret.) TB Hasanuddin, emphasised that the establishment of foreign military bases in Indonesian territory would be a violation of the constitution. Our constitution and various laws and regulations expressly prohibit the existence of foreign military bases, he said in a statement. The establishment of foreign military bases will only drag Indonesia into geopolitical games that are counterproductive to world peace. Related: Xi Jinping seeks to strengthen economic ties during tour of south-east Asia Indonesia has long practised what it called an independent and active foreign policy, which emphasises its commitment to non-alignment. In recent years it has held military exercises with the US, Australia and China. In November 2024, Indonesia and Russia held their first bilateral naval exercise off Java, a move that was deemed controversial amid widespread criticism of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Indonesia and Russia pledged to strengthen their defence ties at the Sjamsoeddin-Shoigu meeting in February. The meeting came after Indonesia, south-east Asias largest economy, was admitted as a full member to the Brics bloc of developing economies, of which Russia is one of the founding members. US actress Blake Lively has posed for photos in an all-black outfit with British TV chef Paul Hollywood as she attended a film screening for her movie Another Simple Favour. Lively, 37, is promoting her first movie since It Ends With Us, directed and co-starring Justin Baldoni, with whom she is involved in a legal battle. On Tuesday, she wore a black leather jacket and flowing skirt for the screening of the sequel to the psychological thriller A Simple Favour. Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick (Ian West/PA) She posed for photos with Great British Bake Off judge Hollywood, with whom she has appeared in adverts after becoming a fan of the British cooking competition with her husband Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds has said he watches the programme with Lively, and the couple paid a visit to the GBBO tent in 2023. Appearing on the black carpet at the Ham Yard Hotel in Soho, central London, Lively held co-star Anna Kendricks hand, smiled and looked delighted in photos with director Paul Feig and British actor Henry Golding. Lively sued Baldoni in late December, alleging harassment and a co-ordinated campaign to attack her reputation if she spoke about her treatment on the set of the romance and domestic abuse movie. Baldoni, who denies Livelys allegations, filed a counter-suit against Lively and Deadpool actor Reynolds for defamation and extortion. Paul Hollywood, Melissa Spalding and Blake Lively (Ian West/PA) A trial date is set for March 2026. The first A Simple Favour movie followed Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick), a single mother running a parenting vlog who befriends a rich and secretive PR director, Emily Nelson (Lively), until one day Emily suddenly disappears. The new film will see the return of Emily as she invites Stephanie to Capri in Italy for an extravagant wedding with the trailer showing a montage of explosions, glamorous parties and a body on a stretcher, and the words revenge is a dish best served chilled, with a twist. Lively is best known for playing the socialite Serena van der Woodsen in hit drama series Gossip Girl. She portrayed Lily Bloom in It Ends With Us, based on a novel by Colleen Hoover. Another Simple Favour is due out on Prime Video on May 1. A handout image of Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim, who was described by his family as ;a very nice boy who wanted to be a doctor. Photograph: West Yorkshire police The body of a 16-year-old refugee who died after being stabbed in Huddersfield is being returned to his parents in Syria after local people raised more than 15,000 for his repatriation. Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim, described by his family as a very nice boy who wanted to be a doctor, was stabbed in the neck on the afternoon of 3 April while being shown around the town centre by his cousin. It was only the second time he had been there, after arriving in Huddersfield two weeks earlier from an immigration centre in Wales, and spending Ramadan with his uncles family. He was pictured a few days before his death smiling and laughing with his younger cousins during Eid al-Fitr in images shown to the Guardian by his uncle, who did not want to be named. Alfie Franco, 20, of Kirkburton near Huddersfield, appeared in court two days after the killing charged with murder and was remanded in custody until a further hearing in May. Ahmads funeral prayers were held at Huddersfields Omar mosque on Friday. Maneer Siddique, who set up a fundraising campaign to help the family who he did not previously know in the aftermath of Ahmads death, estimated that about 500 people attended the service. Ahmads body will be flown from Heathrow to Damascus on Tuesday evening, accompanied by two relatives. From there, they will travel to Ahmads family in the city of Homs, where in his younger years he had been injured by bomb shrapnel during the war he was fleeing when he came to the UK. Ahmad knew no one in Huddersfield apart from his family, who he was living with, his uncle previously told the Guardian. He said: He was trying to make a friend, because he didnt have friends here. I said to him, you have to go out into the town centre to know [where everything is], to know where you can go shopping plus, youre going to make friends. Cards left at the scene in the week after Ahmad was killed carried heartfelt messages addressed to the lad I dont know, some of them signed simply from a stranger and the heartbroken Huddersfield people. Siddique said he had been absolutely overwhelmed by the response from the people of Huddersfield, having initially only hoped to raise 2,000. The GoFundMe page to pay for the funeral and repatriation expenses surpassed 15,000 on Tuesday and continues to rise. To generate that kind of money in such a short space of time is unreal, he said. He said people had also been dropping by the tailoring business he runs to make cash donations. One man brought in an envelope which Siddique passed on to Ahmads uncle. He started counting the money and there was 500 in the envelope. He was in tears, he said. He really wants to thank everyone. And I would like to also thank people personally because of the amount of money weve generated through peoples kindness. A second funeral will be held this week for Ahmad in Homs, where he will be buried. Fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced 13 million people - AFP via Getty Images Britain and the EU pledged to give more than 567 million in aid to Sudan on Tuesday as world leaders met to discuss ending the countrys brutal civil war. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said Britain would give 120 million to the north-east African country, while the EU and member states pledged over 522 million. The conference at Lancaster House in London marked two years since war broke out between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The fighting has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and triggered the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Mr Lammy said Britains financial contribution would go towards delivering food and to emergency support for survivors of sexual violence. Two years is far too long the brutal war in Sudan has devastated the lives of millions and yet much of the world continues to look away, Mr Lammy said. We need to act now to stop the crisis from becoming an all-out catastrophe, ensuring aid gets to those who need it the most. At the Lancaster House conference, Mr Lammy said much of the world continues to look away from the war in Sudan - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Fighting erupted on April 15 2023 between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. In March, Burhan announced the capital Khartoum was free of the RSF, cementing his upper hand. But the RSF has since ramped up its attacks in Darfur, launching a fierce assault on El Fasher the last state capital in the vast western region still held by the regular army. Aid agency Oxfam said the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war risked becoming a regional crisis, with fighting spilling into neighbouring countries. It said that in South Sudan, itself wracked by recent war, the arrival of people fleeing Sudans conflict has put more pressure on already scarce resources, which is deepening local tensions and threatening the fragile peace. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has ramped up its attacks in Darfur - AFP via Getty Images Almost 200 people have been killed and 125,000 displaced in South Sudan since March, the United Nations said on Tuesday, while around 3.8 million Sudanese refugees are seeking asylum in Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other countries in the region. With over four million refugees having fled the country, and instability spreading far beyond Sudans border, its also strategically wrong to forget Sudan. And thats why, as Foreign Secretary, I refused to turn away. I felt a duty to confront this wars horrors head on, said Mr Lammy. The UN said it expected more than two million people displaced in Sudan to return to the capital Khartoum within the next six months, if security conditions allowed. Representatives from more than 20 countries attended the meeting on Tuesday, including from the US and Arab countries. But notably absent was anyone from Sudan. The countrys foreign minister wrote to Mr Lammy objecting to the exclusion. Andrew Tate denies the allegations and claims his relationships with the women were consensual Photograph: Robert Ghement/EPA A civil case against Andrew Tate over allegations he subjected four women to sexual violence and coercive control is the first case of its kind, a judge has been told. The influencer is being sued by two women who worked for his webcam business in Luton, Bedfordshire, in 2015 and two former girlfriends in 2013 and 2014. One woman has accused Tate, 38, of raping, strangling and whipping her with a belt in 2015. She has also alleged he pointed a gun in her face and said: Im a boss, Im a fucking G, youre going to do as I say or therell be hell to pay. Anne Studd KC, representing the women, told the judge, Richard Armstrong, it was thought to be the first occasion that coercive control was brought before the high court in a civil context. In written submissions, the barrister added the case was understood to be the first claim where allegations of coercive control have been considered in a civil context of whether that behaviour can amount to intentional infliction of harm. The hearing at the high court in London on Tuesday dealt with preliminary matters, including disclosure and legal costs. The judge said the claimants were seeking damages likely to reach six figures and scheduled a three-week trial for early 2027. Tate denies the allegations and claims his relationships with the women were consensual. Studd told the court there was a total denial of wrongdoing and that Tate had dismissed the claims in his written defence as a pack of lies and nonsense. Tates lawyers further claim the allegations for personal injury are barred as they are subject to a three-year limitation period. Studd said there was a vast amount to review in the case, including thousands of pages of open-source material produced by Tate, as well as material provided from law enforcement agencies, material from criminal proceedings in other jurisdictions and video footage. She told the court: [Tate] has a profile, largely made by himself, where he regularly discusses issues of violence against women and girls and misogyny and gave his seemingly high-profile support for behaviours of that type. The judge allowed the women to rely on evidence from one expert on why victims of sexual violence do not always bring claims precipitously, but refused to allow them to rely on a second expert on coercive control. Studd had said expert evidence was needed so the court had the whole picture, describing coercive control as a form of grooming and manipulation where the victim becomes less and less able to respond in what might be perceived as a normal way. In particular, she may not leave even if the door is open. But Vanessa Marshall KC, for Tate, said the additional expert evidence was unnecessary. Armstrong did not allow Tates lawyers to claim the costs of travelling to Romania to take statements. He has travelled to the US and Dubai recently, there is no reason he cannot travel to the UK, the judge said. Three of the women had reported Tate to Hertfordshire police in 2019 but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to bring criminal charges. Tate and his brother Tristan are under criminal investigation in Romania over allegations of human trafficking, trafficking of minors and money laundering. Bedfordshire police are seeking to arrest the Tate brothers in relation to allegations of rape and trafficking dating to between 2012 and 2015. The two men deny all accusations against them. A poorer Britain would be far meaner - James Manning/PA Almost every dramatisation of great wealth depicts the people who possess it as monstrous or pitiable. From the Roy family in Succession to the biopic about Barbara Hutton, Poor Little Rich Girl, were invited to think of the rich as inadequate, unhappy people. In the same vein, Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre, Charles Dickens Pip and Anthony Trollopes Septimus Harding are all far kinder than the affluent folk who surround them. Its a comforting form of emotional panacea for the less fortunate: the notion that poverty somehow renders people morally superior. And a belief that transpires to be entirely misplaced. A new study, drawing on data gleaned from over two million people across 60 societies, concludes that (suck this up, class warriors!) rich citizens are more inclined than hard-up ones to donate money to charity and to generally involve themselves in good causes. The margin of greater generosity is only slight, but nevertheless it destroys the idea of sharing, caring poverty. This makes perfect sense to me. Few things have been more destructive in my relationships than one party feeling strapped for cash. Feeling poor leads to particularly rapid evaporation of the milk of human kindness in men. Its like a far worse version of feeling hangry that particular version of male fury that arises from hunger where all reason is lost. My 71-year-old husband has been much more fractious since having to make do on his state pension and finding he cant snap up the hardback of Tom Hollands Dominion for 25, as he would have done before retiring. Only last week I had a sudden, horrid text row with a great friend, who decided to interpret a reasonable comment on his Facebook thread (I pointed out Left-wing people are just as prone to mis and dis-information as Right-leaning ones) as making me somehow a supporter of Trump, Andrew Tate and all sex offenders, everywhere. I was just about to strike him from my life forever, when he messaged gloomily: Great, Ive just lost the job that was going to wipe out my debts and now Ive fallen out with my best friend. At once, the horridness made sense: feeling destitute makes people mean. I messaged back, Im sorry, I adore you, lets forget this argument ever happened. I must confess that feeling pressed for cash (being the sole wage-earner in a household of four will do that to a woman) has made me stingier. Last year I reluctantly cancelled a charitable subscription Id been paying on a monthly basis for 26 years and Im definitely more tight-fisted when the church collection plate comes round. I simply dont have the spare time to help many fellow humans while on my hamster-wheel of work. Conversely, most of my better-heeled women friends are pillars of their local communities, working with charities that support the disadvantaged and joining litter picking-up taskforces. Just look at the well-known families who tirelessly lubricate every party of society with their considerable fortunes. It sometimes feels like our great arts institutions would collapse without money from the Sainsburys and Gettys. David Sainsbury alone has distributed more than 1.7billion globally to charitable causes, while Chris Hohn and Paul Marshall have also massive sums. Nor can petty-minded souls console themselves with the rich equals miserable stereotype. Ive met a couple of these figures and they seemed content and well-balanced. Dramatists may deny it, but the capacity for munificence makes you happy, while penny-pinching makes you a misery-guts. The US consulate in Edinburgh could close under Donald Trumps plans - SST / Alamy Stock Photo Donald Trump is planning to close the US consulate in Edinburgh and dozens more of its foreign embassies in a cost-saving exercise, it has been reported. In all, 27 sites are on the chopping block in a sweeping overhaul of the US governments diplomatic presence overseas, according to documents obtained by American news organisations. The proposed cuts, which still have to be approved by Congress, amount to $30 billion for next year. Ten embassies and 17 consulates would be closed, according to the plan. As well as Edinburgh, they include Eritrea, Luxembourg, South Sudan and Malta. Posts were evaluated based on feedback from regional bureaus and the interagency, consular workload, cost , condition of facilities, and security ratings, a State Department memo says, according to Punchbowl News which obtained a copy. Proposed closures in ally nations The consulate in Edinburgh provides services to Americans in Scotland including registering births, as well as emergency assistance to citizens affected by crime or other crises. Trump administration insiders cautioned against taking the details of the planning memo at face value, saying that the proposals were changing rapidly, with one questioning if it was fake news. The reports align with Mr Trumps effort to find a new place for Washington in the world, slashing foreign aid and pulling back from international organisations. Many of the proposed closures are in nations considered close allies. Five are in France, two are in Germany, and one is in Italy. In Canada, two US consulates, in Montreal and Halifax, would be downsized under the plans. It also proposes reducing US presence in Somalia and Iraq, because of the expense of maintaining facilities in such hostile environments despite the role in counter-terrorism missions. The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said the Government sees fashion as part of the soul of the nation. The Labour politician, 45, promised that the fashion world was at the heart of the Governments industrial strategy, while reflecting that the UK has lost its self-confidence over the last decade. Ms Nandy told the Elle UK magazine that she had very loud and clear the calls from the fashion industry to reintroduce tax-free shopping. Lisa Nandy posing in Elle UK (ELLE UK/Adama Jalloh/PA) However, she said this was off the table at the moment because the previous administration scrapped it because they thought it had limited economic value. If it is a benefit, its something that well explore, but at the moment, thats not something were proposing to do, the MP for Wigan added. The schemes allow tourists to be refunded VAT on goods bought at UK airports and high street shops when they take it back home. Ms Nandy also said: You have a new Government that sees the centrality of fashion to the whole country, not just the economy, as properly at the heart of our industrial strategy, which is where it belongs, but also to the soul of the nation. Appearing to make reference to the 14 years that the Conservatives were in power before the 2024 general election, Ms Nandy said: When I reflect on the last decade, I feel the country has lost its self-confidence. But we are so good at the things that sit within my remit, whether its film, fashion, music, arts, museums, galleries And they could all do so much more if they had a government that could match that level of ambition. And thats what were determined to be. Lisa Nandy posing in Elle UK (ELLE UK/Adama Jalloh/PA) She also called fashion good at interpreting and shaping the country, and contrasted it to how bad politics is at the same thing. Ms Nandy also reflected on her own fashion choices growing-up, saying they were similar to US R&B and Hip Hop 1990s stars Aaliyah and Mary J Blige, and adding that she was grateful there was very little photographic evidence before smart phones. Theres not much you can say about what I wear nowadays that isnt water off a ducks back, she said. I think the great thing for me is that when I wear something like this (pointing to her Laura Pitharas silk shirt and black blazer) its not just that these are incredibly beautiful clothes, its that Im helping to showcase something that Britain is really good at. In 2024, the British Fashion Council outlined its priorities for the incoming government, saying it had joined more than 400 other businesses in the retail, hospitality, tourism, travel, and other sectors in calling for the tax free shopping scheme to be restored. It claimed that the UK not offering this incentive to overseas visitors placed UK fashion designers, retailers and manufacturers at a significant competitive disadvantage compared to other markets. For the full article with Ms Nandy go to elle.com/uk/lisa-nandy. Green projects will be given priority when trying to get access to the electricity grid - Bloomberg/Ian Forsyth Green projects will skip the queue for connections to the electricity grid in a bid to boost growth. Solar farms and wind turbines can currently wait up to 15 years to secure connections to the grid, under a first-come-first-served system. The queue is clogged up by so-called zombie projects that are not yet built but have priority to be connected, slowing down other developments. Under Government plans to stimulate growth, green projects, as well as those that are strategically beneficial, such as AI data centres, will be able to jump to the front of the queue. Projects that are not ready or not aligned with strategic plans will be de-prioritised in reforms the Government says will help unlock 40 billion a year of mainly private investment. Too many companies are facing gridlock because they cannot get the clean energy they need to drive growth and create jobs, said Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary. These changes will axe zombie projects and cut the time it takes to get high-growth firms online while also fast-tracking connections for companies delivering homegrown power and energy security through our Plan for Change. Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, is leading the Governments push for a green electricity grid by 2030 - Getty Images/Ian Forsyth The plans are part of the Governments push to secure a green electricity grid by 2030, which includes tripling solar power and doubling onshore wind. The Government also wants to encourage the growth of data centres to help make the UK a world leader in AI. Sam Richards, the CEO of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, welcomed the move but said the Government could not run the grid queue forever. Its ridiculous that projects which will never get off the ground are allowed to squat in the grid queue year after year, simply by paying a few thousand pounds, while much-needed new energy sources and growth-driving AI data centres are forced to wait years for a connection, he said. But the Government cant run the queue forever and should look at introducing more market mechanisms to allow priority projects to bid to move up the line without this, hundreds of millions of pounds will be wasted paying wind turbines to turn off while other clean-energy projects continue to languish in the queue. Sources say King Charles and Prince Harry, pictured in 2019, have been distant this year - Samir Hussein The Duke of Sussexs letters and calls to his father are going unanswered, sources have claimed. Prince Harry is said to have been left in the dark about the Kings health condition, only learning of his recent hospital stay for side-effects of his cancer treatment through the media, People magazine reported. A source told the US celebrity magazine: I dont think there is any rapprochement. Another said: They are distant. The Duke was at the Court of Appeal in London last week, claiming he had been singled out for unjustified and inferior treatment when he was denied the right to police protection in the UK. It came in his fight with the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection. He did not meet the King before his father left on his state visit to Italy, and flew to Ukraine before he arrived home. People magazine reported that the divide between the pair has widened, with their last face-to-face meeting taking place in February last year after the King had announced his cancer diagnosis. Security row Prince Harrys calls and letters have gone unanswered, and the King is reportedly keeping his distance to avoid being drawn into discussions about security, sources close to him believe. The Duke, awaiting the outcome of his appeal, told The Telegraph last week that people would be shocked by whats being held back after some evidence was heard in private. He described the moment he was told of the decision as difficult to swallow, having previously suggested that it was at the heart of the rift with his father. His worst fears have been confirmed by secret evidence he had heard in court, he said, in a case which has left him exhausted and overwhelmed. Of his multiple court cases in recent years, he said: This one always mattered the most. The Duke and his allies are said to believe that the King could intervene, should he choose, to ensure that his younger sons security agreements fit his requirements. It is claimed the Dukes taxpayer-funded police protection was withdrawn in a failed bid to force him and the Duchess of Sussex to stay in the UK. Palace sources have pointed out that the King cannot intervene in matters before the court, particularly regarding his own family. Ravecs decision in 2020 stated that Metropolitan Police protection would no longer be appropriate after the Sussexes departure, and that they should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK. The Sussexes receive a bespoke security service, whereby they are required to give 30 days notice of any plans to travel to the UK, with each visit being assessed for threat levels and whether protection is needed. Shaheed Fatima KC, who represents Harry, told the appeal hearing that the duke had been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment, adding that Harry does not accept that bespoke means better. Buckingham Palace declined to comment, as did the office for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The Maldives has long been hostile to Israel - Mohamed Afrah/AFP via Getty Images The Maldives has banned Israeli citizens from entering the country in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The president of the Muslim-majority Indian Ocean nation ratified legislation that was passed by the countrys parliament on Tuesday. The office of Mohamed Muizzu said: The ratification reflects the governments firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. Israel, which strongly rejects accusations of genocide, previously warned its citizens not to travel to the Maldives because of growing anti-Israeli sentiment following the Oct 7 Hamas attacks and the war in Gaza. Israelis accounted for only 0.6 per cent of tourist arrivals to the Maldives in 2024. Official data showed that 59 Israeli tourists visited the archipelago in February, among 214,000 other foreign arrivals. The ban will take immediate effect and apply to all of the countrys 1,192 coral islets. The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s. Mohamed Muizzu, the president of the Muslim-majority Indian Ocean nation - Mohamed Afrah/AFP via Getty Images Opposition parties and government allies in the Maldives have been pressuring Mr Muizzu to ban Israelis as a statement of opposition to the Gaza war. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, responded on Tuesday by criticising the Maldives record of tolerating minorities, saying: I think we will be OK not going to a country that bans freedom of speech, LGBTQ and Christians. Goa here we come! Israelis have had to exercise a degree of caution over foreign travel since the Oct 7 attacks, as some pro-Palestinian groups have sought to identify Israeli service personnel while they were abroad with the aim of having them arrested on war crimes charges. In 2024, Israels foreign ministry urged citizens to avoid travelling to the Maldives. At the time, the Maldives government announced a cabinet decision to change laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the country and establish a sub-committee to oversee the process. Gazas health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said on Sunday that at least 1,613 Palestinians had been killed since a ceasefire collapsed on March 18, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,983. In 2006, Mohamed Nasheed, then Maldivian president, announced plans to renew diplomatic relations with Israel but strong opposition from political groups led to the cancellation of that initiative. An animal rescue is being praised online after getting their newest rescue to finally take a huge step forward. Cleos Legacy in Melbourne Kentucky struggled for days to get Pit Bull Mowgli to leave his cage. The pup had been through a lot and was scared! Amazingly, with a little persistence the rescue was able to make a miracle happen. And they captured the entire thing on camera too. The moment truly was magical. If youve ever cared for an animal thats a little shy around humans before, then you know that every step forward is a major win! Shared by ABCNews, the story really is so touching. The rescue believes the Pittie was living on the street for months before they found him. They managed to capture the dog and bring him in to be cared for, but as sometimes happens in these cases, the Pit Bull had a hard time adjusting to life around people. Related: Rescue Pit Bull Overcome with Joy After Instantly Recognizing Shelter Staff a Year Later The first day that he was with rescue volunteers, Mowgli refused to leave his crate. He was too scared! Thankfully, his handler, program director Alex Siska, knew how to handle the anxious dog and slowly gained his trust. Eventually, the Pit made slow strides toward feeling safe with Siska. On his 11th day with the rescue, he finally made progress. Watch as Mowgli steps out on his own, one paw at a time, anchor David Muir explained in the clip. How sweet! It really does go to show that anything can happen with a little patience. People in the comments section were so touched by Mowglis transformation. All dogs deserve good humans, not all humans deserve dogs, wrote one person. May humanity never fail him again! Best wishes, handsome Mowgli!! cheered another commenter. Imagine what he went through to embed this much fear in him. Poor baby, lamented someone else. The trauma this poor baby mustve gone through to be like this. Poor baby, what a sweetheart, gushed another commenter. There are so many other animals just like this that need our help! If you want to be part of Mowglis story, head to the Cleos Legacy website and donate. Every dollar will help get sweet Mowgli the help he needs. Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips. Sandie Peggie was suspended after complaining about a trans woman using the female changing rooms at a Fife hospital - Alan Richardson More than 600 people have objected to a Scottish NHS trusts attempts to shut the public out of a transgender tribunal case. They have complained that NHS Fife has no right to restrict access to the case about a transgender doctor being allowed to use a female hospital changing room. Sandie Peggie, a nurse, is suing the health board on the grounds that she was subjected to harassment and discrimination after being suspended for objecting to sharing a changing room with Dr Beth Upton, a biological man who identifies as a woman. The case, in Dundee, was adjourned in March and scheduled to resume in July after it emerged that NHS Fife had failed to disclose documents that Ms Peggies lawyers deemed to be of material interest. A closed hearing was held on Tuesday after the trust submitted an application for the tribunal to restrict access to a Cloud video platform, which allows members of the public to view proceedings remotely, when the case resumes. NHS Fife has also asked Sandy Kemp, the tribunal judge, to revoke permission for Tribunal Tweets, a volunteer-led collective of citizen journalists, to live-report the proceedings. The health board is understood to have raised concerns that errors were made during live reports when the tribunal started in February and it was concerned about fairness and accuracy. The application has attracted 634 complaints to the courts service. Dr Beth Upton is at the centre of the trans tribunal - Iain Masterton/Alamy At the weekend, a message was posted on the Mumsnet internet forum encouraging members to complain. It warned that very few objections to NHS Fifes attempts to deny public access (in person or remote) to the second part of the hearing due in July had been made. It provided members with details of how to complain about the attempt to have justice done behind closed doors. Court documents submitted by lawyers on behalf of feminist campaign groups Sex Matters and For Women Scotland, Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, a policy analysis collective, and Tribunal Tweets argue that if the court approved NHS Fifes application, they and members of the public unable to attend in person would be shut out, removing their ability to scrutinise the case and share details with the wider public. The significance of remote hearings, as a tool for open justice, and of citizen journalism/policy and campaign work as a tool for public education about the law and the justice system cannot be overstated, the submission states . It said there are compelling public interest reasons which go to the fact that so many members of the public have sought to observe this case, adding: This case goes to one of the most pressing legal issues of our time. The issues around womens rights, access to womens spaces and the rights of biological males with trans identities have captured public concern like few others. There are very few other legal issues which the public at large perceive, rightly, to have so great a potential impact on their day-to-day lives, as well as involving matters of principle. Regarding live tweets of the case, the submission argues that any errors were minor and describes the health boards request for live-reporting to be banned as overblown and entirely disproportionate to the actual substance of their complaint. The submission also alleges a number of failures and omissions in terms of disclosure by NHS Fife. Extraordinarily negligent These relate to allegations that the health board was extraordinarily negligent for failing to disclose documents related to an aborted investigation into Ms Peggie. It added: There are real and pressing concerns about the transparency with which their defence in this litigation has been conducted. Such concerns might be of public interest in any case, but particularly so when that defence has been conducted by and on behalf of a public institution and regulated professionals, funded out of taxpayers money. MSP Tess White, the Scottish Conservative equalities spokesman said: Scots are understandably outraged at this attempt by NHS Fife to block public access to this hearing. There is huge interest in this case because it is fundamental to womens rights but this health board is doing everything in its power to keep it out of view from the public. Given that the taxpayer is footing a potentially massive bill for this case, NHS Fife shouldnt attempt to restrict access to open justice. It is understood that NHS Fifes application is still being considered by the tribunal. In a statement released last week, NHS Fife said: During the hearing in February, the employment tribunal restricted Cloud video platform (virtual viewing) access to press/journalists due to technical issues, as well as interruptions caused by non-media observers. The technical issues and interruptions caused significant delays which impacted the tribunals progress. A request has therefore been made that this approach be maintained in July. If these requests are granted, accredited media and press outlets will still be permitted to report on matters and in-person public access to the hearing will remain available. Hashem Abedi pictured shortly before attacking a prison officer in Belmarsh in May 2020 The Manchester Arena terrorist who stabbed prison officers last week should be in solitary confinement, the families of his victims have said. Russell Hayward, the boyfriend of Martyn Hett, said it was sickening and outrageous that Hashem Abedi had been able to cause more suffering because he had access to prison kitchens. The jihadist is serving a 55-year sentence for assisting Salman Abedi, his brother, to carry out the suicide attack that killed 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in May 2017. The 28-year-old left three prison officers in hospital after attacking them with hot oil and makeshift knives made out of a baking tray at HMP Frankland in Durham on Saturday. They suffered life-threatening injuries, including burns, scalds and multiple stab wounds that severed one officers artery and punctured a lung. Credit: BBC Newsnight Speaking to the BBCs Newsnight about the attacks, while two of the officers remained in hospital, Mr Hayward said it showed Abedi was still a very dangerous person. I think he should be in solitary confinement 24/7 and should be watched like a hawk, he said. Hes not in there for stealing a loaf of bread and he needs to be watched at all times and his life should be a living hell. I think his life inside should be so horrific. There should be no treats, not being able to be near a kitchen he should be in a straitjacket. The fact that he has been able to inflict more pain, more suffering, on innocent people is sickening and outrageous. The families of five of the Manchester Arena victims have already written to Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, to express disbelief that Abedi was not already in solitary confinement. Jailed in 2020 for his part in the bombing, he was sentenced to a further three years and 10 months for a vicious attack on a prison officer in May that year. He and two other inmates attacked prison officer Paul Edwards, 57, in his office at the high-security Belmarsh jail in south east London. Since last weeks attacks, the Prison Service has banned the use of kitchens for the most dangerous inmates. Credit: BBC Newsnight The suspension applies to prisoners in high-security separation units and close supervision centres across England and Wales. Abedi has now been transferred to Belmarsh prison and given a spork to eat his food, The Times reported. As the kitchen ban was announced, the Prime Ministers spokesman said Sir Keir Starmer was appalled by the Frankland attack, adding: His thoughts are with the officers involved. Prison staff work around the clock to keep the country safe, and we will never tolerate the violence that is targeted towards them. Its clear that something went terribly wrong in the management of this offender, and the Government is committed to carrying out an investigation to urgently get answers. Offenders should be managed in such a way that our prison officers are kept safe, and there will be an investigation here into what happened that allowed this incident to happen. The comments came after a second violent prison attack at the weekend, in which John Mansfield, a convicted murderer, was killed . The 63-year-old, who was jailed for life in 2007 for the murder of his neighbour Ann Alfanso, was found dead at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire on Sunday. A 44-year-old prisoner was arrested on suspicion of murdering Mansfield. Daniel Kebede was elected as the National Education Unions general secretary in 2023 - Geoff Pugh The British education system is fundamentally and institutionally racist, announces the speaker, on stage at the Socialist Workers Partys Marxism 2019 conference in east London. The national curriculum has been whitewashed by powerful white men, he explains, and simply teaches a little-Englander, white-saviour narrative. Its certainly a radical position to take, though perhaps one not entirely surprising given the company to whom it is directed. Yet what indeed might shock is the identity to whom it belongs Daniel Kebede, now chief of Britains biggest education union and in charge of representing the views of nearly half a million teachers and school leaders. As general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), he is currently readying his troops for strike action in the coming months after branding Labours offer of a 2.8 per cent pay bump for public sector workers insulting. This week, delegates at the NEUs annual conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, have voted to launch a formal strike ballot if the final outcome of the School Teachers Review Body (STRB) process remains unacceptable or if the Government does not announce real-terms funding increases in the spending review in June. Kebedes members, it is claimed, are burnt out, working up to 60-hour weeks as they deal with ever increasing class sizes and shrinking budgets. Their reward? Salaries that in real terms are worth a fifth of what they were over a decade ago. Government ministers will have watched with concern that the results of an indicative ballot, announced on Friday, showed 93.7 per cent of voting members rejecting the pay offer and 83.4 per cent would be willing to strike. Now delegates have voted to launch a formal strike ballot if the final outcome of the independent School Teachers Review Boda (STRB) remains unacceptable of if ministers fail to announce real-terms funding increases in the spending review in June. Yet for Kebede, 38, an avowed Marxist and hardened protester, joining the picket line is about more than just compensation. Instead, it would appear to serve a greater purpose to take back control of an education system from a brutally racist state. Hardened protester: Daniel Kebede speaks as sixth form college teachers in London take part in a strike over funding for pay increases last November - Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Its much more [than] about the issue of pay, he told another Socialist Workers Party conference in 2022, while president of the NEU and standing for election as general secretary. Its about reorganising society where we are free from racism, and free from oppression. A grand ambition indeed, though colleagues close to Kebede suggest that this is unlikely to be among the demands at any negotiation table currently. With schools struggling to recruit and retain teachers, more money remains the number one priority. To some extent, Kebede is limited by his membership, a broader church than their leaders narrow politics suggest who must agree to any strikes first. But with just over 47 per cent of members taking part in the indicative poll, parents, who may remember the chaos caused by the last school strikes in 2023, will be concerned about any repeat. More than 100,000 teachers across 23,000 schools took part, with one in 10 schools closed and around 40 per cent of pupils missing classes. If an official strike ballot does go ahead, voting is likely to be open for several months and strike action could happen as early as autumn. Kebede on the picket line at Regent High School, Camden, in July 2023 - Geoff Pugh What Kebedes words do provide, however, is a snapshot of the militant zeal fuelling the man that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is now facing. The outspoken primary school teacher, a Corbyn loyalist, has spent much of the past decade pounding the streets on countless anti-fascism and racism marches. The two issues, he says, run through him like a stick of rock and remain central to his trade union work. So where did it all start? Kebede was born in 1987 to a white British mother and a father who came to the UK seeking sanctuary from the Mengistu regime in Ethiopia, which had sought to turn the east African country into a socialist state after overthrowing Emperor Haile Selassie. Ever since he was a child, he has told how the issue of racism never strayed far, recalling how Stephen Lawrences murder had a profound effect on him aged six. While his early years were spent in west London, his family later moved to a predominantly white area in Northampton. It was here that he experienced for the first time the racism that would go on to define his activism. At school, where he acted the class clown to fit in, he told how in a Year 9 geography lesson the teacher scolded him for being disruptive, telling him: Youre not in the jungle now. I can remember being physically shocked by that, he told the Talking Race podcast in 2020. It led him to join his first protest march, aged 17, against the National Front. After studying law at the University of Wales, Kebede chose to pursue a career in teaching after volunteering to help a child with special needs at a primary school in his early 20s. I fell in love with it, he says, and moved to Newcastle to begin his teacher training. But it was witnessing the sorry conditions faced by pupils at a school in Wallsend, North Tyneside, and delving into the works of Karl Marx, that then turned him into a true socialist. Further motivated by the police shooting of Mark Duggan in 2011, and the rise of the far-Right in the North East, he soon took his anger onto the streets as a coordinator for Unite Against Fascism. His move into the teaching unions came during one far-Right counter-protest when he spotted a banner for the NUT precursor to the NEU and decided to join as a rep in 2013. Since then, his rise through the ranks has been swift. Winning the unions prestigious Blair Peach award for his anti-racism campaigning in 2017, he joined the national executive two years later and became NEU president in 2021. Kebede had established firm links to the Left of the Labour Party. For several years he was in a relationship with Laura Pidcock, the Corbynite MP for North West Durham. In 2017, the couple who have a six-year-old son bought a 230,000 three-bedroom home together in County Durham. The move courted controversy as it came just months after Pidcock had said raising a deposit for her first home was out of reach even on her then 76,000 salary and claimed she would love a council house but there arent enough. Laura Pidcock, left, joins NEU members at a Budget Day strike rally in Trafalgar Square, London, in March 2023 - Mark Kerrison Kebedes leadership bid in 2023 was also backed by his friends in the NEU Left, a powerful faction within the union pushing for more work to address social injustice within education. Kebede defeated his more moderate rival Niamh Sweeney by three to one to become general secretary, taking over at the start of the last school year. In the near 18 months since, his robust stance on underfunding in schools, teacher workload and calls to reform Ofsted have proved popular. Yet questions have continued to be raised amongst union members whether his political sentiments have distracted from the NEUs ultimate aims. The union after all is not supposed to be affiliated with any political party. For all his dedication to teaching reform, Kebede has continued to wade into various political debates, no matter their relevance to education. Most recently, his strident views on Palestine have been met with unease from some NEU members. A clip from 2021 shows him speaking at an anti-Israel rally in Newcastle calling to oppose apartheid and fight for Palestinian liberation. In the background are chants of Khaybar, oh Jews, a phrase historically associated with inciting violence against Jewish communities. After the footage emerged, Conservative Friends of Education called for an investigation and warned of the impact it could have on Jewish teachers and students within the union. Kebede addresses pro-Palestinian protesters at a rally in London in October 2023 - Mark Kerrison That same year, Kebede also had to apologise after posting an anti-Semitic trope on Facebook claiming those close to the downfall of Corbyn were being paid 30 pieces of silver for book deals the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ in the Bible. Deleting the post, he said he did not realise the phrase had been used by the Nazis to suggest that the Jews were traitors and responsible for Christs death. Last year, Kebede used the NEUs annual conference in Bournemouth to reaffirm his anti-Israel stance, condemning its relentless bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas atrocities of October 7. A few months later, he was taken to task on Teachers Talk Radio as to whether this stance was in danger of losing members. Let me be really clear: I do not care what your opinion is on the situation in Gaza or Israel, he replied, stating that all were welcome regardless of their view. That is the point of being in a union, that there is a diversity of opinion. One key area Kebede is particularly keen to influence is the national curriculum. He has welcomed the Governments review led by education expert Prof Becky Francis, a Left-winger whose life mission is to even the playing field for disadvantaged children. For Kebede, the aim should be decolonising education and embedding anti-racism throughout the curriculum, he told the Talking Race podcast in 2020. Children are taught a nationalistic, simplistic version of history that is alienating for pupils. I think we should be teaching children about the brutality of the British past, he said, citing the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya and the Amritsar massacre in India. But for now, the focus remains on improving the proposed pay deal. Last academic year, teachers received a fully funded 5.5 per cent pay rise, but the amount put forward this year is less than half an unfunded increase of 2.8 per cent. Its an issue that every teaching union leader would fight for, no one could agree to more cuts, says Kevin Courtney, who, with Mary Bousted, was Kebedes joint predecessor as general secretary of the NEU. Having known Kebede since they first marched together on the streets of Newcastle a decade ago, Courtney suggests Kebede has toned down his language since becoming leader, becoming more thoughtful. He continues: I think his fundamental drives are the same, but when youre speaking on behalf of an organisation of half a million people, you have to use words they would be happy to hear. Thoughtful: Kebede has toned down his language since becoming leader of the NEU, says his predecessor Kevin Courtney - Ben Whitley/PA Wire Kebede agrees. Speaking to this newspaper earlier this year, he said: I certainly do feel a great sense of responsibility in my role. I no longer can just speak as an individual, anything that comes out of my mouth is a representation of the union, and thats something I take really seriously. He stands by his comments that teachers need to take back control. Education is now broadly led by bureaucrats in Whitehall, he says, with teacher autonomy greatly removed, and their professional control eroded. Any industrial action is by no means an empty threat, but the reality is we absolutely want to avoid it. I prefer to deal with these things through dialogue, he adds. With the earliest time frame allowing walkouts in autumn, he says, so it gives loads of opportunity for me to talk with the Secretary of State to try and avoid this action. Speaking after the Harrogate vote, Daniel Kebede, the NEUs general secretary, told the BBC that Ms Phillipson had the STRBs report on her desk. Wed like to see that published at the earliest opportunity, with the funding settlement as well, so that we can come to a conclusion to avoid any further action. No teacher wants to take strike action, but there is nothing as disruptive, actually at the moment, as an underfunded education system. So what should Bridget Phillipson expect around the negotiating table? Kebede himself said shortly after the election that the pair enjoyed a very good relationship and he has backed the Governments Childrens Wellbeing and Schools Bill. He gets on very well with people, its a real gift, says Courtney, though he adds that Kebedes steely determination should not be underestimated. One former Tory minister, who has dealt closely with Kebede, agrees. The most interesting thing about Daniel is how nice he is, the former minister says before adding: But hes proper Left-wing. While he can be disarming, one should never be disarmed. An exterior view of the Home Office headquarters in central London An auction house specialist caught working illegally in a nail bar has been allowed to stay in the UK. A judge ruled the Home Office acted too hastily by ordering the deportation of Thi Lam Thao Dao, who is Vietnamese, following her arrest while carrying out a pedicure. She was told by officials that she had to leave the country because she was in breach of her leave to remain as a skilled worker by taking on shifts at the beauty bar, an immigration tribunal was told. She only had permission to work at an auction house that was sponsoring her. Immigration officers stormed Fabulous Nails in Whitley Bay, near Newcastle, and arrested Ms Dao while she was working on a clients feet, and within hours informed her that she faced deportation. Ms Dao, who earned 100 per day at the nail salon, was frightened, nervous and confused by the ordeal, the tribunal heard. She has now won a legal battle to remain in the UK after taking her case to the Upper Tribunals Immigration and Asylum Chamber. The court found that the Home Office acted too hastily in issuing a deportation order and did not consider that it could apply discretion in Ms Daos case. The court found in her favour and allowed Ms Daos application for a judicial review. The decision undermines a pledge by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, to crack down on illegal working and stop the UK from being a lure for people smugglers to bring in illegal migrants and undercut British businesses. It is the latest case exposed by The Telegraph where immigration tribunals have backed claims to remain in the UK, often on human rights grounds. The hearing was told that Ms Dao came to the UK from Vietnam in January 2019 with leave to remain as a student. In 2024, she was granted a five-year leave to remain as a skilled worker. Under the conditions of her leave to remain, she had to work as a valuer for her sponsor, Cadmore Auctions, based in Potters Bar, Herts. Her role involved valuing fine art for auction. The Home Office raided Fabulous Nails 270 miles away in July 2023. They encountered [Ms Dao] in the salon carrying out a pedicure, the tribunal was told. Ms Dao faced criticism over answers that she gave as to why she was in the Newcastle area, but said they were the result of a combination of her own fear, panic and confusion at being detained and questioned, and oppressive conduct in the interview. Four days later, the Home Office said that it would deport her, but she argued it had acted unfairly because it failed to exercise discretion and also failed to investigate her working history at the auction house. It was found that the Home Office did not take reasonable steps to find out Ms Daos employment status with the auction house before trying to deport her. Frightened, nervous and confused Ms Dao also claimed that she had been pressured and lied to by the officers during her interview, and had been assured that she would be released from detention if she confessed to illegally working at the nail salon. She said that she was frightened, nervous and confused as a result of her arrest and detention, described being in complete shock and shaking during the interview, and alleged her interviewer threatened her with immediate deportation. Judge Leonie Hirst said: In [Ms Daos] case, there was no obvious and immediate urgency to the cancellation decision and the [Home Office] has not put forward any reason why the decision had to be taken within hours of [Ms Dao] being [arrested]. [The Home Office] appears to accept in this case that there was no consideration of discretion. [Their lawyers] submission was that the [Home Office] was not required to do so, given the circumstances in which [Ms Dao] was encountered and her subsequent admissions in interview. I am not able to accept that submission. Judge Hirst added: Had discretion been considered on a properly informed basis, I do not consider that the inevitable result would have been immediate cancellation of leave. The failure to consider exercising discretion, compounded by the failure to ensure that the decision was sufficiently informed, was material to the outcome. The decision to cancel Ms Daos leave was quashed. A computer-generated image of an asteroid approaching Earth Water did not come to Earth from asteroids it was already here, a new study by the University of Oxford has suggested. Many scientists believe that life began on Earth following bombardment by asteroids or comets containing life-giving ingredients including hydrogen which reacted with oxygen to form water. But Oxford scientists have used ultra-powerful X-rays to peer inside space rocks, which date from the same time as the formation of the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago. The rocks represent leftover material from when the planets were forming in our solar system, and so offer a snapshot of what the early Earth looked like. The research showed a significant amount of hydrogen sulphide, which was part of the asteroid itself rather than later contamination from falling on to the planet. Dr James Bryson, an associate professor at the universitys department of Earth sciences, said: A fundamental question for planetary scientists is how Earth came to look like it does today. We now think that the material that built our planet which we can study using these rare meteorites was far richer in hydrogen than we thought previously. This finding supports the idea that the formation of water on Earth was a natural process, rather than a fluke of hydrated asteroids bombarding our planet after it formed. It has been suggested that water was created in the early Earth when hydrogen dissolved into the magma oceans, where it reacted with oxygen-containing compounds, forming water. The team looked at a rare type of meteorite known as an enstatite chondrite, which was found in Antarctica, and has a composition like that of the early Earth. Vital evidence A previous study led by a French team had originally identified traces of hydrogen within the meteorite, but it was not known if it had acquired them after crashing to Earth. But the new research found that in places in the asteroid that showed signs of cracks in the rusting, there was little or no hydrogen present. All the hydrogen was locked deep within the asteroid, forming an intrinsic part of its make-up. Tom Barrett, a doctoral student in the department of Earth sciences who led the study, said: We were incredibly excited when the analysis told us the sample contained hydrogen sulphide just not where we expected. Because the likelihood of this hydrogen sulphide originating from terrestrial contamination is very low, this research provides vital evidence to support the theory that water on Earth is native that it is a natural outcome of what our planet is made of. In 2022, a meteorite that fell on a driveway in Gloucestershire was found to contain water that resembles water on Earth. It was the best evidence yet that asteroids delivered water to the planet. But the new study suggests that by the time the early Earth had become large enough to be struck by asteroids, it would have already amassed enough reserves of hydrogen to explain Earths present-day water abundance. It suggests habitable conditions do not rely on space rocks and could have implications for searching for life on other planets. The research was published in the journal Icarus. Promoter Bob Arum does not think Tyson Fury will return to the ring after the former world champion announced his retirement in January. Fury, 36, announced he had quit the sport several weeks after his second successive defeat to Ukraines current champion Oleksandr Usyk. The British heavyweight had stepped out of retirement on three previous occasions, the latest in 2023, but Arum told the BBC 5 Live Boxing podcast he does not expect another U-turn. Fury suffered back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk before retiring (Nick Potts/PA) Arum said: If I was a betting man I would say he will never fight again. Marvin Hagler had an expression a rich guy who goes to bed wearing silk pyjamas doesnt get up in the morning to do road work. Tyson, really, I dont think wants to get up in the morning and do road work and go through the experience of having to train when economically he doesnt have to do it any more. Fury was undefeated before back-to-back losses to Usyk in Saudi Arabia, in May and December last year and his record stands at 34 wins, one draw and the two defeats. Fight fans speculated Fury was ready to return after being seen working out in his own gym, while current promoter Eddie Hearn last week said a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua could still take place. Protesters at Harvard University on Saturday - Nicholas Pfosi/REUTERS Barack Obama has taken on Donald Trump and publicly backed Harvard after the president froze the universitys funding. Mr Obama praised the Ivy League institution for setting an example by refusing to bow to the presidents demands to end diversity efforts or forego billions in federal funding. The US department of education froze more than $2.2 billion of Harvards funding on Monday, hours after it rejected Mr Trumps demands, warning it was an attempt at government regulation. On Tuesday Mr Obama came out in support of his alma mater, saying it had set an example for other higher-ed institutions by rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. He added: Lets hope other institutions follow suit. Barack Obama as a student at Harvard University in 1990 - JOE WRINN/AP The former presidents comments came as the Trump administration continued its pressure campaign on a raft of US universities, which many have seen as an assault on academic freedom. The department demanded that Harvard work to reduce the influence of faculty, staff and students who are more committed to activism than scholarship and have an external panel audit the faculty and students of each department to ensure viewpoint diversity. The letter also stated Harvard must only hire faculty and admit students based on merit and cease all preferences based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin. The university was also told to screen international students to prevent admitting students hostile to American values and report foreign students who violate conduct rules to federal immigration authorities. Refusing to agree to the administrations demands, Alan Garber, Harvards president, said: No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. Mr Garber said the federal governments demands that it audit the viewpoints of its students, faculty and staff to ferret out Left-wing thinkers generally opposed to the Trump administration, clearly violated the universitys First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, Mr Garber wrote. Entitlement mindset The department of education said the letter from Mr Garber reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. The Trump administration responded by freezing $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard. On Tuesday, Mr Trump suggested on Truth Social, his social media site: Harvard should lose its tax exempt status and be taxed as a political entity. The deepening furore came as 876 faculty members at Yale University urged the university to resist and legally challenge any unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and self-governance. We stand together at a crossroads, the letter, signed by 876 faculty members, read. It added: American universities are facing extraordinary attacks that threaten the bedrock principles of a democratic society, including rights of free expression, association, and academic freedom. We write as one faculty, to ask you to stand with us now. The staff members also urged the universitys leadership to work purposefully and proactively with other colleges and universities in collective defence. Earlier this year the government axed $400 million in funding for Columbia University over its handling of the pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The Manhattan university came under fire after giving in to the governments list of demands which included handing oversight of the universitys Middle Eastern, South Asian and African studies department to another faculty. The issue of anti-Semitism on campus erupted before Mr Trump took office for his second term, following pro-Palestinian student protests last year at several universities following the 2023 Hamas attack inside Israel and the subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza. Last week, a group of Harvard professors sued to block the Trump administrations review of nearly $9 billion in federal contracts and grants awarded to the school. Some Columbia professors have also sued the federal government. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Tuesday that Mr Trump wants to see Harvard apologise for the egregious anti-Semitism that took place on their college campus. When it comes to Harvard the president has been quite clear: they must follow federal law, Ms Leavitt said. Cocido montanes, a hearty stew, is Cantabrias signature dish. Photograph: Album/Alamy Quaint coastal villages, snow-capped mountain peaks and verdant valleys this is Cantabria. One of Spains smallest regions, Cantabria lies sandwiched up against the countrys wild north coast, in an area known as green Spain. One of the best ways to experience it is through the delicious food, seeking out local specialities and connecting with the people through age-old culinary traditions, while exploring some of its best destinations. From Santander to Santona, here are some beautiful places to enjoy the best authentic Cantabrian cuisine. Santander for cocido montanes Most trips to Cantabria begin and end in the capital the port city of Santander, a big ferry hub. Hemmed in by its historic fishing port on one side and vast white beaches on the other, its known for its numerous palatial style buildings and spectacular setting. Almost every region of Spain has its own signature stew, also known as a platos de cuchara (dish you eat with a spoon), and in Cantabria its cocido montanes. This hearty concoction is made from white beans and vegetables mixed with chorizo, black pudding, pork ribs and pancetta, spiced with paprika and a dash of olive oil. From Santander you can head east, west, or south, depending on what you want to explore (and eat), whether its charming seaside villages, national parks filled with dramatic summits, or lush valleys hiding ancient history. Bring your car on the ferry for ease of travel and flexibility, but buses also run throughout Cantabria for those travelling without a car. San Vicente de la Barquera for sorropotun West of Santander lies the small village of San Vicente de la Barquera, the best place to sample Cantabrias famed fish broth sorropotun. Family recipes have passed down through the generations among the locals here, but traditionally it features chunks of tuna and potatoes in a tomato soup flavoured with paprika, parsley and garlic. Stop en route at Santillana del Mar, an attractive medieval, cobbled town filled with Renaissance and baroque architecture and best known for its grand 12th-century Colegiata de Santa Juliana. Look out for sobaos in the local bakeries here, light and fluffy sponge cakes, flavoured with lemon zest and sometimes anise liquor or rum. A 15-minute drive from San Vicente de la Barquera lies the small town of Comillas named the capital of Spain for one day in 1881 and the first place in the country to have electric streetlamps. Today, its main claim to fame is El Capricho de Gaudi, a fanciful, colourfully-tiled villa designed by Antoni Gaudi. Potes for cocido lebaniego Continue your exploration of Cantabrias cuisine in the historic area of Liebana (less than two hours from Santander) and the town of Potes, located right on the edge of the mighty Picos de Europa national park. This medieval town is known for cocido lebaniego a type of stew found throughout the mountains of Picos de Europa. Its similar to the cocido montanes, but made with chickpeas and cabbage, as well as chorizo, bacon and ham, and served with bone marrow broth. Make sure to try some local cheeses here such as Quesucos de Liebana, a slightly smoky and buttery cheese made from cows milk, sometimes combined with goat or sheep milk too. Follow it up with a hike through the nearby mountainous landscapes. Santona for anchovies Travel east from Santander and youll find yourself at the coastal village of Santona renowned for its delicious plump anchovies and known as the anchovy capital of Spain. Anchoas de Santona are considered first-rate because of the way theyre specially prepared cured in salt for a minimum of 12 months before being filleted by hand by local women known as sobadoras and then preserved in high-quality olive oil. They are often eaten with toasted bread, olives or roasted peppers, then washed down with a glass of local wine. After youve had your fill, take a hike out along the route of the Faro del Caballo lighthouse or relax on Playa de Berria beach. Laredo for rabas Just 20 minutes along the coast from Santona, youll find yourself in Laredo with its vast four-mile sweep of sand Playa La Salve beach. This is an ideal spot to try rabas, another Cantabrian speciality. These tender strips of squid tentacles are coated in flour and fried, and can be found throughout the region, but are best eaten with a sea view and a squeeze of lemon. Drinks to enjoy here include local tart sidra (cider) and orujo, a brandy made from pressed and distilled grapes. Valles Pasiegos for quesada pasiega South of Santander lies the Valles Pasiegos, which is made up of three valleys, Pas, Miera and Pisuena. This is where youll find one of the best desserts that Cantabria has to offer quesada pasiega. Its a dense type of pudding you can cut like a cheesecake and is made from fresh cheese or leche cuajada (milk curds) mixed with eggs, sugar and flour and a touch of lemon. Apart from its dessert, the valleys are known for their natural cave systems, which are filled with Palaeolithic art. Some are Unesco world heritage sites and date back to between 30,000 and 10,000 BC. Cueva de El Castillo and Las Monedas are both open for tours. Brittany Ferries provides a fun and easy way to reach Cantabria from the UK, enabling you to experience the culinary delights and discover the region. It runs up to two departures a week from Plymouth and Portsmouth to Santander aboard its ferries for both passengers travelling by car and on foot. Crossings take one night from Plymouth and two nights from Portsmouth, meaning your trip will begin with a mini cruise through the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Sea. To find out more about Cantabrian cuisine, visit brittany-ferries.co.uk Reform UK would get the auditors in if elected to run local councils to look at how much money is being spent on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and ergonomic chairs, Nigel Farage has said. At a campaign event in County Durham ahead of local elections on May 1, Mr Farage said Reform UK are parking their tanks on the lawns of the red wall. He pointed to gains made by Reform in council by-elections in recent weeks, including in the Longdendale ward in Tameside and the Blackbrook ward in St Helens. Voters in 23 local authorities in England go to the polls on May 1 to choose their new councillors. Elections are also taking place in England on May 1 for six mayors, while voters in the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby will choose a new MP. Clacton MP Mr Farage was asked what a Reform-led council would look like. He said: I think point number one is frankly weve got to get the auditors in, weve got to see the long-term contracts that many of these county or unitary authorities have signed up to. We will look at the sums spent on DEI, we will look at the half-a-million quid being spent on ergonomic chairs for staff of Lancashire County Council. We will look at the 18,000 spent on driving lessons for cross-Channel migrants, and I could go on with a list as long as your arm. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaking at the Newton Aycliffe working mens club in Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA) Mr Farage said a sort of British equivalent of Doge is needed in every council, referring to the Elon Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency which is slashing government spending in the US. On a national level, he has said that if in power, Reform UK would rescind a rise in inheritance tax for farmers and for employers national insurance contributions as well as raising the income tax threshold to 20,000. Asked how he would finance this, he said plans to reindustrialise the UK could produce tens of thousands of well-paid jobs and suggested that doing away with excessive regulation and working from home in public sector jobs would contribute. Reform will reindustrialise Britain and well have a proper, sound industrial policy, but it only works if we start producing enough of our own gas and oil and coal, and all of those things, the party leader said. Mr Farage acknowledged that some of the old heavy industries were dangerous but said construction and steel production are vital. He said: Of course, I take your point that some of the old heavy industries were dangerous but then construction, which is vital, is also quite dangerous. I fully understand that. Nigel Farage speaking at the Newton Aycliffe working mens club (Owen Humphreys/PA) We have not been living through an international situation as dangerous as this, as potentially dangerous as this, at any point in my lifetime. Mr Farage said the UK would need to spend a lot more on defence and build a lot more homes in the coming years. We are going to need a lot of steel over the next few years, and steel isnt just another commodity, it isnt just something else thats produced in a plant or a factory. Steel is a vital strategic interest, he added. The May 1 local elections are the first big test at the ballot box for political parties since Labour won the general election in July 2024. The Conservatives are struggling in the polls and are defending more than half of the seats up for election, having won them in 2021 thanks in part to a Covid-19 vaccine polling bounce. Reform UK is standing more candidates than either the Tories or Labour and is consistently outpolling the Conservatives at a national level. Mr Farage said his party is giving Labour one hell of a run for their money and is now the opposition to the Labour Party, with the Conservatives trailing some way behind. He also lauded recent polling for his party and said its support is coming directly from people who have been, in many cases, life-long Labour voters. Mr Farage said it is a conspiracy theory to say he respects Russian President Vladimir Putin and that his party has never, ever, ever suggested the NHS should not be free. A Labour spokesperson said: Nigel Farage talks like he has a solution to everything, but he has absolutely no plan to change Britain. His snake oil salesman tactic of denying things hes said in the past will fool nobody. Voters have heard his fawning comments over Putin and theyve heard him repeatedly talk up a system that will see patients pay thousands for routine NHS treatment. Working people simply cannot risk the chaos Reform would unleash on communities. Its only this Labour Government that is delivering through our Plan for Change cutting NHS waiting lists, securing our borders, and putting more money in the pockets of working people. The superyacht Bayesian is expected to be raised from the seabed and brought to shore next month, an inquest hearing into the deaths of four British nationals who were on board including tech tycoon Mike Lynch was told. Billionaire entrepreneur Dr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among seven people who died when the vessel sank off the coast of Sicily on August 19 last year. Simon Graves, a principal investigator for the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), said it was anticipated that the Bayesian would be lifted and brought to shore by the end of May. Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, who died in the sinking of the luxury yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily (Family handout/PA) It is understood that the operation to retrieve the vessel is due to begin on April 26. Its unlikely we will be on scene when the vessel is lifted clear of the water but we will be on scene when its recovered to shore, Mr Graves told a pre-inquest review hearing in Ipswich, Suffolk. He said the Bayesian was registered in the Isle of Man so there is a British safety investigation, separate to ongoing criminal investigations. Mr Graves said he hoped the MAIB could publish its interim report online in four to six weeks, with the final report to follow in months not weeks after the vessel has been inspected for evidence. We are relatively early in our investigation, Mr Graves told Tuesdays hearing. He said a significant amount of work had already happened, including commissioning studies looking at the stability and windage of the vessel and the weather at the scene. Suffolks senior coroner Nigel Parsley asked if the vessel itself was a primary source of evidence and Mark Cam, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said absolutely sir. Italian emergency services during the search for the sunken yacht Bayesian (Jonathan Brady/PA) Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Dr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his 71-year-old wife Judy Bloomer, who were all British nationals. The others who died, in addition to the four British nationals, were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas who was working as a chef on the vessel. Suffolks senior coroner Nigel Parsley granted interested person status to the family of Mr Thomas, giving them participatory rights in proceedings. He said that if he were to receive a request for the status from the Morvillo family there was no reason why I wouldnt grant it. James Healy-Pratt, for the family of Mr Thomas, suggested that the Bayesians insurers could also be given interested person status. He told the hearing: I understand that QBE, who are an Australian insurer but their London office, they are the protection and indemnity marine insurer for the owner of the Bayesian, for Mrs (Angela) Bacares (widow of Dr Lynch), as well as Camper & Nicholsons. Italian emergency services during the search for the Bayesian (Jonathan Brady/PA) I would expect coverage in the region of 100 million to 200 million by way of marine insurance and I would suggest that they would have a sufficient interest to be invited to be interested persons. The coroner said he would not jump to say in relation to interested person status, adding: I dont have a lot of information at this time. He said a date for a further pre-inquest review hearing would be set once the MAIBs interim report has been published, indicating that September and October were possible months for this hearing. Mr Parsley said he was in the hands of the criminal investigations as to when a final inquest hearing date could be set. The Italian authorities are conducting a criminal investigation and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are looking at whether there were any breaches of maritime legislation. Mr Parsley expressed his condolences to family and friends of the deceased, some of whom listened to proceedings remotely over a link. Dr Lynchs medical cause of death was recorded as drowning when his inquest was opened and adjourned last year, with the causes of the deaths of the three other British nationals still under investigation. The Bayesian was said to be 0.8 nautical miles from the coast of the fishing village of Porticello at the time it sank and had 22 people on board 12 crew and 10 guests. Dr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London, while the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks in Kent. Dr Lynch had founded software giant Autonomy in 1996 and was cleared in June this year of carrying out a massive fraud over the sale of the firm to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal in the case in the US. Raw materials secured by the Government have arrived in the UK to keep British Steel blast furnaces burning after a race to save the companys Scunthorpe plant. Ministers have taken control of the firm to ensure supplies such as coking coal and iron ore reach the site after talks with its Chinese owner, Jingye, broke down. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will visit the Lincolnshire port of Immingham, where materials from two ships are being unloaded and transported to the plant. Two ships were being unloaded at Immingham on Tuesday (Darren Staples/PA) The supplies, sent from the US, are enough to keep the furnaces running for weeks, the Department for Business and Trade said, adding that they have been paid for out of its existing budget. The shipment was welcomed by steelworkers union Community, which said the arrival of the materials is a huge relief after Jingyes disgraceful actions risked thousands of job losses, while British Steel said it offers great hope for the future. It came after Downing Street said the Government was confident it would be able to secure the products necessary to keep the site running, and that work was continuing to get a steady pipeline of materials. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will visit the port of Immingham, where materials to keep blast furnaces burning at British Steels Scunthorpe plant have arrived from the US (BBC/PA) A third ship carrying coking coal and iron ore is on its way to the UK from Australia after a legal dispute between British Steel and Jingye was resolved. Mr Reynolds said: We will always act in the interest of working people and UK industry. Thanks to the work of those at British Steel, and in my department, we have moved decisively to secure the raw materials we need to help save British Steel. Our industries depend on UK steel and thanks to our Plan for Change demand is set to shoot up, helping build the 1.5 million homes, railways, schools and hospitals we need to usher in a decade of national renewal. The raw materials are necessary to prevent the cooling of the blast furnaces, which would risk irreparable damage to the plant systems. The Government passed emergency legislation designed to support the site on Saturday after talks with Jingye failed to reach a resolution. Mr Reynolds has said the firms plans to stop ordering new raw materials to keep the plant running and sell off supplies it already had prompted the Government into action. Meanwhile, Beijing has accused the UK of politicising trade co-operation, and suggested its companies could be put off investing in Britain if they are not treated fairly. The Business Secretary said at the weekend that he would not want to bring a Chinese firm into the steel sector again, though industry minister Sarah Jones did not rule out doing so when asked on Tuesday mornings media round. She told LBC: On any important infrastructure there would be stringent tests and I would look at each case in point and we would look at the stringent tests that we have in place. Im not going to second-guess where the Secretary of State or others might choose to make decisions. Materials have arrived in the UK to keep the blast furnaces at British Steels Scunthorpe plant switched on (Peter Byrne/PA) Ms Jones said having a pragmatic relationship with Beijing, the worlds second biggest economy, is still important. But she added: When it comes to infrastructure, we will make sure on a case-by-case basis that we are not letting anything get in the way of our national security and that we are applying those stringent tests. Asked if the Government would rule out another Chinese partner for the plant after taking control from Jingye, Ms Jones told Sky News: At the moment, Im not going to say yes or no to anything that isnt at the moment on the table or being looked at. Downing Street said it had become clear during talks that the Chinese owners wanted to shut the blast furnaces. But No 10 said it was not aware of any sabotage at the plant, when asked if there were any concerns that officials from Jingye may have purposefully attempted to shut down the furnaces. British Steel has appointed interim executives as efforts continue to try to secure its future. Alasdair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary of the Community union, said Government intervention had headed off (a) profound threat to our country. Its a huge relief that this crucial and overdue shipment of coke has arrived at Immingham this morning. We thank the Prime Minister and Business Secretary for their decisive actions to secure the raw materials required to keep the blast furnaces running, he said. Our members lost confidence in Jingye a long time ago, and recent events have proven the Chinese were never a fit and proper owner for a strategically critical business like British Steel. It beggars belief, but we now know Jingye were starving our furnaces of raw materials so they could end steelmaking at Scunthorpe and feed our rolling mills from their operations in China. Jingyes disgraceful actions, if they had succeeded, would have cost us thousands of quality jobs and severely compromised the UKs economic and national security. Jingye has been approached for comment. British Steel said in a statement: Today, we are pleased to confirm that vital raw materials are being unloaded at our port facility, Immingham Bulk Terminal. They will then be transported to our headquarters in Scunthorpe to support our iron and steelmaking operations. Other raw materials are also on their way. While this remains a challenging period for British Steel colleagues, we now have great hope. Wed like to thank the UK Government, our customers, suppliers and industry peers for their unflinching support. And above all, wed like to recognise the incredible efforts of our employees the finest steelmakers in the world. William Matthews, senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank, said Chinese investment is not necessarily a bad thing across the board but poses a risk to the steel sector and some other areas. He told the PA news agency: I think this matters a lot for areas of critical national infrastructure and critical materials and resources like steel or like digital infrastructure, and telecoms or civil nuclear power is another area. These (are) areas where I think Chinese involvement does pose a risk. I would say though, to qualify that, the world is currently going into a period of quite a lot of geopolitical volatility and were also seeing an attitude from the United States, for example, which is much more transactional and much more willing to use economic pressure and leverage to achieve national goals. So, I think, actually, there are some specific China-related questions here about data security, about the relationship between companies and the Communist Party, but there are also some bigger questions here about how willing the UK is to allow any major power through private companies and through investment and ownership to have control over core aspects of national infrastructure and national capability. The Liberal Democrats said reverting back to Chinese ownership would be like finding your house ransacked and then leaving your doors unlocked. The partys foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller MP said: Domestic steel production is absolutely vital to our national security and to put that at risk again would be completely unacceptable. The Government should rule out any Chinese firms future involvement in the ownership of British Steel and certainly until it has completed and published its China audit. The stakes are simply too high. Nigel Farage said China was not a friend of ours and that the UK should find alternatives for investment in critical infrastructure. The Reform UK leader also appeared to blame what he called net zero lunacy for Britain having to ship supplies for British Steel from abroad. Speaking at a press conference in County Durham, he said: Were living through a period of net zero lunacy, something that the Conservatives signed us up to, wrote into law and believed in, as if somehow it was their new religion, and this, of course, now being followed up by Red Ed, who is the high priest of this. Protesters opposed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and the alleged role of the UAE in Sudan gather outside the Foreign Office in London. Photograph: Vuk Valcic/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock A British-led attempt to establish a contact group to facilitate ceasefire talks in Sudan fell apart on Tuesday when Arab states refused to sign a joint communique after a conference in London. The daylong argument between Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the communique represents a big diplomatic setback for efforts to end two years of civil war in Sudan. Hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict were further dimmed late on Tuesday when the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, declared the establishment of a government rivalling the army-backed administration. On this anniversary, we proudly declare the establishment of the Government of Peace and Unity, a broad coalition that reflects the true face of Sudan, Dagalo said in a statement on Telegram. Hundreds of civilians have been killed in two major refugee camps in Darfur in recent days, and millions have been displaced by the fighting. TheForeign Office said it was saddened that agreement on a political way forward had not been reached, but insisted progress had been made. Related: Sudan in worlds largest humanitarian crisis after two years of civil war In the absence of a final communique, the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, and his counterparts from France, Germany, the African Union and the EU issued a joint co-chairs statement pledging to support efforts to find a peaceful solution and reject all activities, including external interference, that heighten tensions or that prolong or enable fighting. The statement also called for a solution that did not lead to Sudans partition. Lammy had opened the conference with high hopes. Many have given up on Sudan. That is wrong, he said. Its morally wrong when we see so many civilians beheaded, infants as young as one subjected to sexual violence, more people facing famine than anywhere else in the world. We simply cannot look away. And as I speak, civilians and aid workers in El Fasher and Zamzam IDP camp are facing unimaginable violence. The biggest obstacle is not a lack of funding or texts at the United Nations, its lack of political will. Very simply, we have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in and across the country, and to put peace first. His effort to persuade the Arab states to agree a set of diplomatic principles for a future contact group did not, however, bear fruit. Officials had said the conference did not constitute an attempt at mediation or aid-pledging, but instead intended to build greater political coherence about Sudans future among the many countries that have claimed a stake in the country. Related: Sudans outsider: how a general fell out with the army and plunged the country into war In a measure of the expanding, intractable and externally fuelled nature of the war, Lammy chose not to invite any of the principal Sudanese actors or members of civilian society. The conferences objectives are set modestly at seeking agreement on an African Union-led international contact group, and renewed commitments to end restrictions on aid. The war, which erupted in April 2023, stemmed from a power struggle between Dagalos Rapid Support Forces and the army, led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The aim of establishing a contact group had been to persuade Middle Eastern states to focus on diplomacy rather than strengthening the warring factions. But from the start officials struggled to find neutral wording that Egypt and the United Arab Emirates could accept on Sudans future. Sudan and others have long accused the UAE of arming the RSF which it strenuously denies while Egypt has maintained close ties with the Sudanese army. Sudans government criticised the conference organisers for excluding it from the meeting while inviting the UAE. The UAE minister for political affairs, Lana Nusseibeh, who attended the conference, said both sides were committing atrocities and condemned the recent RSF attacks on displacement camps. She called for an unconditional ceasefire, the end to unconscionable obstruction of humanitarian aid, and a transition to an independent civilian-led government. The army and the RSF have both been accused of committing atrocities in the course of the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million, and pushed large parts of the country into famine. Two refugee camps in Darfur, the site of a genocide in the 2000s, were captured in the past few days by the RSF as it seeks to take El Fasher, the only major population centre in Darfur not under its control. Lammy also announced an extra 120m in humanitarian aid from the depleted UK Foreign Office aid budget, enough to help deliver food to 650,000 people. The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, released a further 125m (105m) for Sudan and neighbouring states. At a separate event on Tuesday morning, aid and human rights groups called on the international community to punish the vast array of countries accused of either directly or indirectly sending arms to the warring parties in breach of a UN arms embargo. The international community will have utterly failed if we have a conference today including those actively involved in the conflict and nothing comes from it again, said Yasmine Ahmed, the UK director of Human Rights Watch. We need a coalition of states with the UK and the co-hosts at the front ready to say we are galvanising the necessary political momentum to protect civilians on the ground. It is necessary that it is made clear that this cannot continue. The international community cannot sleepwalk into another genocide. They have international obligations to protect and respect international law. However, neither side seems interested in discussing peace, and some fear the country is heading for a form of partition based around the current areas of control. The meeting comes against the backdrop of US cuts to its aid programme. Kate Phillips-Barrasso, a vice-president of global policy at the aid group Mercy Corps, said the nature of the US cuts meant it was hard to know how badly Sudan had been affected, but in her agencys case, a lifeline for 220,000 people had been cut. A family heads to the beach in Saundersfoot as the Easter holidays get off to a wet start with heavy rain across the South Wales. Photograph: Angela Swann/Alamy Live News A months worth of rain is expected to fall on parts of the UK within 48 hours as the good weather the country has basked in for weeks comes to a soggy end. Western England and the whole of Wales have been warned of possible flooding as the Easter weekend approaches. The Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain beginning at noon on Tuesday and lasting for 24 hours, advising that there could be transport disruption, flooding of homes and businesses and a chance of power cuts. Spray and flooding on roads could make journey times longer and there may be delays on bus and train services, forecasters said. Areas within the zone include popular holiday spots in Cornwall and Devon as well as Bristol, Bath, Herefordshire, Shropshire, parts of Cheshire and Merseyside. The Met Office said: Whilst there is some uncertainty in where the heaviest rain will fall, 20-40mm of rain is expected fairly widely. A few places may see 50-75 mm of rain during this period. By Tuesday evening 36mm (1.4in) had fallen in Culdrose in Cornwall in 24 hours and 30mm in Milford Haven in south-west Wales. The east of England did not completely escape, with 21mm falling on parts of Suffolk. By the end of Wednesday as much as 75mm was expected to have fallen in some areas of west Wales over 48 hours about the same as the average for the whole of April. Wind was also expected to be an issue on Wednesday, with very strong gusts hitting parts of the south coast of England and 50mph flurries inland. A yellow warning was in place for Northern Ireland for much of Wednesday, where up to 60mm of rain was predicted over the high ground of Antrim and Down. After weeks of fine weather for many parts of the UK, the Met Office said low pressure was leading to unsettled conditions. Its chief meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: After a long spell of high pressure bringing dry weather and sunshine, gloomier and unsettled conditions are on the horizon. Low pressure has become established to the west of the UK, bringing cloud, rain showers and lower temperatures for many. More persistent and heavy rain is expected on Tuesday into early Wednesday. A low-pressure system near Portugal is of particular interest as it moves towards the UK, bringing with it potentially heavy rain and thunderstorms. High rainfall totals are possible but, given the recent dry conditions, significant impacts are not anticipated. The situation remains under close watch, with further wet conditions anticipated on Thursday and another weather front moving in on Friday. In England, the Environment Agency had nine flood alerts meaning flooding is possible in place on Tuesday afternoon. There were no flood warnings for Wales. The Environment Agency was monitoring the River Mimram, a chalk stream in Hertfordshire, where the persistent rain in December and January has led to high groundwater levels. It said there may be risk of flooding there to very low-lying properties. Storm Hans, named by the Italian Met Service, is due to bring strong winds and rough seas to parts of the Mediterranean this week. Heavy rain is a concern, particularly in northern Italy, where over 200mm (8in) may fall by Thursday, giving a risk of flash flooding and landslides. Temperatures in the UK are likely to be around average for the time of year, with potentially unsettled days, dry interludes and chilly nights. The AA issued an amber warning for traffic for the Easter weekend. It said more than 19m journeys were expected on Good Friday and more than 18m on Easter Monday. Chinese FM spokesperson briefs on coordination between China, EU on additional U.S. tariffs Xinhua) 08:11, April 15, 2025 BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with the international community, including the EU, to defend international trade rules, fairness and justice, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday. Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks at a daily news briefing when asked to share more information on the communication and coordination between China and the EU on additional U.S. tariffs. The U.S. uses tariff as a weapon to exert maximum pressure and seek selfish gains, and puts its own interests over the public good of the international community, Lin said, noting that this is a typical move of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying, which severely hurts the interests of China, the EU and the rest of the world. Lin said that as the second and third largest economies, China and the EU collectively account for over one third of the global economy and more than a quarter of global trade, adding that both sides are advocates of economic globalization and trade liberalization, and firm defenders and supporters of the WTO. "The head of the EU underscored the vital importance of stability and certainty for a sound global economy. China and the EU are committed to a fair, free and WTO-centered multilateral trading system, and the sound and steady development of global trade and economic relations, which is in the interest of both sides and the rest of the world," Lin said. As a responsible major country, China has already taken resolute measures and will continue to do so to safeguard its legitimate interests, Lin said. "China stands ready to work with the international community, including the EU, to step up communication and coordination, share development opportunities, expand opening up and cooperation, and achieve mutual benefits. We will not only safeguard respective interests, but also defend international trade rules, fairness and justice," Lin said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Should Russia ever face a war crimes court over its actions in Ukraine, the men of the 112th missile brigade may have some explaining to do. Officially, their job is to support Russian troops in north-east Ukraine, using huge, truck-launched rockets to take out military targets far behind enemy lines. Unofficially, they are also accused of terror bombing, such as this weekends Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy, which killed 34 people. Just before 10.30am, an Iskander ballistic missile a 21-foot projectile big enough to carry a nuclear warhead slammed into Sumys down town area, packed with worshippers returning from church. Minutes later, in a so-called double tap, a second Iskander scattered cluster munitions as rescue workers rushed to help. The Kremlin has insisted that the attack denounced as a war crime by European leaders was aimed at a gathering of senior military officers. But Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraines military intelligence chief, has pinned the blame on the 112th missile brigade a unit Kyiv says specifically targets civilians. Kyiv also blames the 448th brigade for the Sumy attack and on Tuesday targeted its base in a retaliatory strike. In October 2023, the 112th was accused of firing an Iskander at a funeral in the village of Hroza, killing 59 mourners. Another attack, last July, destroyed a demining office in Kharkiv. Mr Budanov has sworn vengeance against the 112th, vowing that no war criminal from those who gave orders to those who launched the missiles escapes retribution. Coming from Ukraines spymaster, that is no idle threat. Last summer, his agents published a dossier on 30 Russian soldiers allegedly working for the 112th, including names, photos, rank and passport details. Credit: X/@PopularFront_ In January, Konstantin Nagayko, a 112th captain, was badly injured after opening a parcel bomb, widely understood to have delivered in retribution for the Hroza attack. He was helicoptered to hospital, but died later from massive head wounds. Russian surgery was of no help to the war criminal, said Mr Budanovs office afterwards. The Ukrainian people will see just retribution for every war crime committed against them. The aftermath of the Russian missile attack in Sumy - AP Based in Shuya, north-east of Moscow, the 112th is part of the 1st Tank Army of the Moscow Military District, and received its Iskander missile batteries in 2014 as part of Vladimir Putins modernisation of the Russian armed forces. It has three missile divisions, with 12 operational launchers. According to the Ukrainian intelligence dossier on the brigade, its commander is Sergey Sergeevich Ponomarev, 47. The deputy commanders are Vladimir Alexandrovich Filin, 48, and Nikolay Vladimirovich Izvoltsev, 50. Other senior commanders, according to the dossier, include Alexander Vladimirovich Sukhorukov, Vyacheslav Yurievich Osokin, Roman Anatolyevich Ivshyn, Sergey Aleksandrovich Tikhomirov and Vladimir Igorevich Yudin. The Kremlin denies using Iskanders to target civilians, claiming that Ukrainian troops routinely use civilian buildings to hold operational meetings. Over the weekend, Russian state television portrayed the Sumy attack as a fabrication, saying it was intended to sabotage ceasefire talks between Moscow and Washington. What is not in doubt, however, is the horrifying power of such missiles, which carry a payload many times that of the average mortar or artillery shell. An Iskander can deliver nearly a tonne of high-explosive from up to 350 miles away, precision guided to within ten or 20 metres of a target. Fired into a typical civilian neighbourhood, its warhead designed to destroy factories, take out bridges or hardened bunkers can devastate an entire street. First used in combat during Russias war with Georgia in 2008, the missile is typically launched off a 40-tonne articulated truck, equipped with tractor-sized wheels that allow it to operate off-road. It then climbs up to 30 miles into the sky before plummeting at up to six times the speed of sound, making it hard for air defences to intercept. The missiles typically cost several million dollars each far more than a mortar or artillery round but thanks to their range can be used to hit targets well beyond the immediate front-line areas. Their computerised command facilities can receive targeting information from other Russian units, and also real-time battlefield video from drones. Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said it was unlikely that some of those who had launched the missile that hit Sumy would have been ignorant as to what the target was. The individuals who were pulling the trigger, so to speak, probably would have been given essentially co-ordinates to plug into the onboard computers, rather than necessarily deep detail of what they were firing, he said. But even if you assume that the decisions were made at a higher level...the commanders of the brigade would have probably been given a set of targets...so they would have a certain degree of knowledge. Iskanders have also been used throughout Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and have been blamed for some of the wars most notorious acts of civilian slaughter. Earlier this month, Kyiv said that one had been used in an attack on president Volodymyr Zelenskys home city of Kryvyi Rih, which killed 19 people. Nine children were among those killed in the blast, which sprayed shrapnel across a playground. Another Iskander was blamed for an attack on the Ria Pizza restaurant in the Donbas city of Kramatorsk in June 2023, which killed 15 people, including the Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who also worked for Truth Hounds, a Ukrainian human rights organisation exposing Russian war crimes. Credit: X/@legion_svoboda Whether Russian missile commanders ever agonise over their targeting decisions is another matter. Glen Grant, a former British military attache to the Baltics and a former advisor to Ukraines defence ministry, said he doubted it. My sense is that throughout the Russian military system, theres a near-100 per cent consensus about destroying Ukraine. They are not going to say: Oh, this is a hospital, or this is a civilian facility, we mustnt fire. These guys dont care. While it currently seems unlikely that Russia will ever hand over war crimes suspects for trial, those who pressed the button on such attacks from afar can no longer presume they will never be identified. Thanks to open-source satellite imaging, human rights investigators are now often able to track the likely trajectories of missile launches back to specific Russian units. In the case of the Ria Pizza restaurant missile attack, Amelinas former colleagues at Truth Hounds produced an 80-page investigation, titled The Bill is on You. It identified the culprits as Russias 47th missile brigade, under the command of Colonel Vitaliy Bobyr. Col Bobyr has since also been accused by Ukrainian intelligence of involvement in a missile attack in Kramatorsk last August that killed Ryan Evans, a British security advisor working with a team of Reuters journalists. Again, the target in the attack was not a military installation, but a hotel. Supporters of the Israeli hostages carry posters of Edan Alexander during protests in Jerusalem at the weekend - Ronen Zvulun/Reuters The last remaining US hostage held captive in Gaza may have been killed in an Israeli air strike, Hamas has suggested. On Tuesday, the terrorist group said that it had lost contact with militants holding Edan Alexander after a direct strike on their location. Mr Alexander was the last American hostage thought to be alive in Gaza. The bodies of US citizens Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Omer Neutra are still being held by Hamas and other terrorist groups. The 21-year-old has been the subject of intense negotiating efforts by the White House, with Donald Trump risking a rift with Israel by launching unprecedented direct talks with Hamas to get him back. Mr Alexander, who was born in Tel Aviv and raised in New Jersey, returned to Israel after leaving high school to volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He was captured during Hamass Oct 7 attacks while on active duty near Gaza. On the Telegram messaging platform, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamass Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said: We announce that we have lost contact with the group holding soldier Edan Alexander following a direct strike on their location. We are still trying to reach them at the moment. Israel has been targeting suspected militant positions in its renewed bombardment of Gaza - Haitham Imad/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The news comes days after Hamas released a video of Mr Alexander in captivity to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Passover that his family asked the media not to circulate. At the weekend, hopes were raised at that a new ceasefire might be imminent after Hamas said it was considering an Israeli proposal to stop the fighting, let in aid and release Palestinian prisoners in return for a scheduled release of about 10 living hostages. However, a significant gulf between the two sides is thought to remain, with Israeli officials briefing on Monday that any deal could be two or three weeks away. On Tuesday, the BBC reported that Hamas had turned down the latest proposal. Black coffins warning from Hamas Heavy bombardment of suspected militant positions has been a major feature of Israels renewed Gaza offensive. On Tuesday, Hamas appeared quick to try to seize the propaganda initiative, with its spokesman suggesting that Israel was deliberately trying to relieve the pressure on the dual-nationality prisoners in order to continue its war of extermination against our people. It also released a video in which it warned that soon your children will return in black coffins. Mr Alexander was thought to be one of 24 hostages still alive in Gaza, with Hamas in control of the remains of a further 36 dead hostages. In February, his mother, Yael, spoke of her renewed sense of hope brought about by Mr Trumps administration. Smoke rises from Gaza on Monday after an explosion amid Israels renewed assault on the enclave - Amir Cohen/Reuters The White House risked angering Israel by embarking on the direct talks with Hamas, in parallel with the official mediated negotiations. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was reported to have deliberately scuppered those discussions out of anger at being blindsided and concern that the US was prioritising its own citizens in any putative deal. Israels current strategy in Gaza has been to combine heavy aerial bombardment with seizing large tracts of territory as so-called buffer zones, which are out of bounds to civilians. Recent reports suggest it now controls a third of the enclave. Ministers have said this is to pressure Hamas into giving up the remaining hostages. Israel was accused of hitting another Gazan medical facility on Tuesday, with a spokesman for the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area saying that an IDF air strike had killed a medic and wounded nine other people. A 44-year-old American man who flew to Wales to marry a teenage girl he had groomed online has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Jacob Ewing, 44, of Wildcat Pound Road, Hubert, North Carolina, forced a young girl from the Gwent area of Wales to perform degrading acts on herself and watch him masturbate online. As the girl who cannot be named for legal reasons was turning 16, he flew to the UK to be with her, bringing wedding rings. Ewing was arrested at Cardiff Airport, with a number of paedophilic images in his possession, including one of a baby being raped. He was also carrying a knife and a wooden cosh. On Tuesday, Judge Celia Hughes jailed Ewing for seven years and eight months at Newport Crown Court. He had previously pleaded guilty to the offences. In total, he was sentenced for 13 offences, including causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The court heard Ewing may be deported during his sentence but that this is a matter for the Home Office. The two met online using a video chat site that connects users randomly, where he told the girl he was a paedophile hunter and a Christian. He convinced her to let him watch her fall asleep while they were on a livestream, and in the morning told her he had masturbated while she slept. While she told the police she had been disturbed by this, she kept in contact with the defendant. Over the following months, he began to control her life. The court heard the girls parents did not know who she was speaking to, and she initially told them she was chatting to someone local and of her age. Judge Hughes said: He began to control her, being alternately kind and then unpleasant to her, including saying she shouldnt sleep covered up at night, even when she was cold. At one point she saw that the defendant had her initials tattooed on his chest. Ewing also showed her a firearm. The judge said he directed her behaviour online and made her watch him perform sex acts on himself more than 20 times. She felt overwhelmed. Unfortunately she did not speak to her parents about this, she said. The defendant said he would come to the UK as she was soon to be 16, so they could get married and have children. We know that he brought rings with him when he came to the airport. The police were tipped off about Ewing by the US authorities, and the girls parents were informed. Judge Hughes said: A sheath knife and a wooden cosh were found in the defendants luggage on arrival at the airport I really fear to what use the defendant might have put those weapons bearing in mind he was planning to meet a teenage girl he had groomed and controlled. The judge said the girl and her family have been devastated by Ewings actions. He had insisted to probation officers that he had permission from the girls mother to act as he did. Sentencing Ewing, the judge said: You have portrayed yourself as the victim and havent taken responsibility for your actions. She added: It is very fortunate that you were stopped at the airport. Ieuan Bennett, speaking for the prosecution, read out a victim personal statement on behalf of the girl to the court. She said: Even when I first started speaking to him, things were odd in the sense that he wanted me to sleep on webcam. Over the period we were speaking, this became a daily occurrence, which caused me significant stress. She said she began to struggle to sleep unless she was on the webcam and, once he realised that, he almost used it like a game. The victim said Ewing started controlling what she wore and even now she thinks about how he would respond. I struggle to cope with the stress that Jacob put me under. This resulted in a deterioration of my mental health, she said. I regularly felt suicidal due to the way he was treating me. Jacob didnt care about this and encouraged me to kill myself on a number of occasions. This confused me I couldnt understand why he would tell me he loved me and tell me to hurt myself. Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Philip OConnell, of Gwent Police, said: Ewing struck up a relationship with a 15-year-old girl online, grooming and exploiting her for over a year before travelling thousands of miles to meet her. Working closely with US authorities and UK Border Force, he was detained at Cardiff Airport before being arrested and interviewed by our officers. The collaboration between agencies meant Ewing was intercepted before he was able to cause any physical harm to the victim. However, his actions, driven by his sexual gratification and the fear he imposed on his victim, will have a profound impact. Wed like to commend the victim in this case, whos shown strength and great fortitude throughout the investigation and hope that todays sentence helps in processing and moving forward with her life. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaking at the Newton Aycliffe working men's club in Durham. (Getty Images) (Owen Humphreys - PA Images via Getty Images) "Were here, and were here to stay," Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told a crowd in County Durham during a campaign speech on Tuesday. With his party standing more candidates in the upcoming local elections on 1 May than either Labour or the Conservative Party, Farage lauded recent polling for Reform as "astonishing progress". "Our support is coming directly from people who have been, in many cases, life-long Labour voters," he said, claiming his right-wing anti-immigration party is now the opposition to the Labour Party". Farage said Reform had made gains in council by-elections in recent weeks, including in the Longdendale ward in Tameside and the Blackbrook ward in St Helens. "It is going to be, I think, incredibly close in Runcorn. So in the Midlands, in the North, in Wales and in Scotland, Reform is now the opposition to the Labour Party, with the Conservatives trailing some way behind," he said. "The sheer level of betrayal of what people who voted for Boris Johnson in 2019 got, they didnt get the Brexit they voted for... those people are not ever going to trust the Conservative Party again." With Farage striking such an optimistic tone at Tuesday's speech, how well is the party really expected to do in next month's elections? What do the polls say? At his speech in County Durham, Farage claimed Reform was parking their tanks on the lawns of the red wall, referring to the historic heartlands of Labour in the Midlands and North of England. This claim is supported by a new poll, carried out by Survation for the Sun, which has shown that since the general election in July 2024, Reform UK's popularity in the North and Midlands has risen from 18% to 30%. Meanwhile Labour's vote share in these regions has dropped from 39% to 27%, while the Tories have suffered a smaller fall from 24% to 22%. Polling suggests Reform can expect plenty of success in May's local elections. (Electoral Calculus) (Electoral Calculus) Survation said that among likely voters in this year's local elections across the region, Reform currently is expected to hold 29% of the vote share, compared to 24% for the Conservatives, and 20% for Labour. The polling suggests that Reform is securing its status as the main threat to Labour. When asked to name the party most likely to threaten Labour in this years local elections, 44% of respondents chose Reform well ahead of the Conservatives (26%) and Liberal Democrats (8%). A local election poll carried out by Electoral Calculus puts Reform on equal footing with the Conservatives, with 25% of the vote. The poll was put together using Multi-level Regression and Post-stratification (MRP), a relatively recent technique that has successfully predicted the last three general elections, and gives the estimated result in each local authority. It suggests Labour is only on 18%, just ahead of the Liberal Democrats at 17%. How is Reform UK polling nationally? Recent projections by J.L. Partners suggest that Reform UK and the Conservatives would be "neck-and-neck" if a general election was to be held now. The market research company's POLARIS model, which uses data from council by-elections to predict election outcomes mid-cycle, suggests Labour would lose its majority in the House of Commons. It puts Keir Starmer's party at 218 seats, the Tories at 136 and Reform biting at their heels with 135 seats in Parliament. Meanwhile YouGov's voting intention poll, released today, suggests 23% of voters would choose Reform now, compared to 24% for the Tories and Labour. This projection suggests Reform UK would win 135 seats in the Commons if a general election was held now. (J.L. Partners) (J.L. Partners) What about benefits? Labour entered office nearly a year ago off the back of a resounding election win. Since then, the party has introduced a number of policies that have provoked opposition, including changes to the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, increasing employers' national insurance contributions and welfare cuts. Data compiled by the Disability Poverty Campaign Group suggests at least 80 Labour MPs are at risk of losing their majorities over the planned welfare reforms. This, the group suggests, is because these MPs have a majority in their constituencies that is smaller than the number of disabled people who face having their benefits slashed. Some particularly at risk constituencies for Labour include Ribble Valley in Lancashire, Derbyshire Dales, South West Norfolk, Middlesborough South and East Cleveland, and Lichfield. Responding to the findings, former shadow employment minister Andy McDonald told the Guardian: "The governments welfare reforms disproportionately hit constituents who can least afford it and that is particularly so in the constituencies of many Labour MPs. It poses a real electoral risk." New polling with @Moreincommon_ finds 58% of people think the cuts to disability benefits are a bad idea. Objections are particularly strong in some key parts of Labour's voter coalition (see progressive activists, civic pragmatists & loyal nationals below) pic.twitter.com/yG2qZMj4pl Katie Schmuecker (@KatieSchmuecker) April 2, 2025 Polling by More in Common and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation also found that 58% of people think cuts to disability benefits are a bad idea, with "particularly strong" objections among key parts of Labour's voter base, such as "progressive activists", "civic pragmatists" and "loyal nationalists". However despite this pattern, Tom Lubbock, founding director of J.L. Partners, told Yahoo News that he has not seen any indication that benefit reforms are driving voters away from Labour in significant numbers. However, he suggested a number of other factors are pushing Labour supporters into Reform's hands mainly a lack of enthusiasm over how Starmer's government has been doing so far. Why are Reform UK doing well? Lubbock said that Reform UK had a "post Christmas bloat" but have "really plateaued" in the last two months and have "stopped making progress". "It's a combination of what's happened since the general election... Labour essentially took our a playbook which said 'let's make ourselves as unpopular as we can in 12 months," he said. He cited "talking down of the economy", constraints on the budget, the review of agricultural property relief (APR) for farmers and a general sense that "nothing was getting any better" as the cost of living remained high. "Labour have found their floor for the time being," he added, which is also benefiting Farage's party, adding that a broadly similar number of Conservative and Labour supporters have gravitated towards Reform. "Most of it is a messaging or comms issue, I don't think anyone expected the NHS to immediately improve, there has just not really been any positive change, or it has been very, very slow." Meanwhile, Lubbock said, many voters concerned about illegal immigration feel that having criticised Rishi Sunak for "over-promising and under-delivering", Labour has done the same when it comes to stopping people smuggling gangs and illegal migration. YouGov polling from January suggests 18% of people who would consider voting for Reform would do so because of its policies on immigration the biggest single reason other than "another party needs to go/better than the rest". Polling by YouGov from March said the "negativity about the economy is highest among those who voted for right-wing parties". YouGov also found that only 14% of voters thought Chancellor Rachel Reeves was doing a good job. Nigel Farage is clearly a 'valuable asset' to Reform, J.L. Partners' Tom Lubbock says, but wider factors are at play behind the party's rise. (Alamy) (Owen Humphreys, PA Images) Like him or loathe him, Farage has a strong presence, and while Lubbock said he can certainly claim a lot of credit for Reform's successes, there are wider issues at play here. "You can see how far Reform got without him, which is not nowhere but any about halfway to where they are now," he said, adding that the party has "advanced further" since Farage expressed his intention to lead the party. He said that while Reform's leader is certainly a "valuable asset", voter intention is not a "poll of Nigel Farage" and that there is a wider pattern of "rebellion" against the two parties who have dominated British elections for countless decades. "Don't underestimate the protest vote in British politics," he added, "it is extremely strong both in general elections and local elections." Read more Federal agents and local officials rescued two different hikers who were stranded in remote parts of the Arizona desert over the weekend, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said. Each of the hikers had suffered injuries. In the first incident, Border Patrol agents based in Tucson used a helicopter to locate and retrieve a hiker from a rough area near the Superstition Mountains that was too difficult to land in. The hiker's ankle may have been broken, and the person could not walk, according to the agency. Working with the local sheriff's office, a member of that search and rescue crew was lowered to the ground on the helicopter's hoist and used that to lift the hiker back up. The hiker was flown to safety and evaluated, Border Patrol said. Located roughly 50 miles east of Phoenix, the Superstition Mountains are spread over an isolated desert wilderness. The U.S. Forest Service notes that a well-developed network of trails is built into the area but warns that "trail conditions vary from fair to very poor," and the rugged terrain "can be inhospitable to those not equipped to meet nature on her own terms." The Superstition Mountains in Arizona's Sonora Desert, pictured in March 2017. / Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images The second incident, on Sunday, involved another injured hiker who by then had been lost for two days in a southern section of the Arizona Trail near Sonoita, not far from Mexico. A Border Patrol air crew located the hiker in a helicopter, but the agency said they could not land because of the harsh and foliage-dense topography. Agents were ultimately able to reach the hiker during a ground search, and he was taken to the Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department for medical treatment. The Arizona Trail runs for about 800 miles through the entire state of Arizona, touching the U.S.-Mexico border at one end and Utah at the other. According to the Forest Service, the trail includes some easily accessible passages and others in "remote and challenging wilderness." Sean McGoffin, chief patrol agent of Border Patrol's Tucson sector, praised the crews involved in both successful rescue missions. "I am incredibly proud of our agents' swift and professional response to these incidents," McGoffin said in a statement. "These rescues are a testament to their training, teamwork and unwavering commitment to public safety. Our agents and teams continuously demonstrate their dedication to saving people's lives." Incidents over the weekend followed multiple search and rescue operations on Arizona trails last week. The National Park Service branch in Lake Mead, located in far northwestern Arizona near the Nevada border, temporarily closed two trails in that area Friday as extreme heat led to at least one hiker's death. Around the same time, rangers were managing what the park service called "a large-scale rescue" involving a hiking group that included three adults and 25 children. The group had set out on a trail to Arizona Hot Springs, described as strenuous and steep by the park service and one of the two hiking routes eventually closed on Friday. "This incident underscores the severity of the current conditions and the significant strain these emergencies place on park resources," said park service officials in Lake Mead, announcing the trail closures on social media. Savannah Bananas pack stadiums with their zany twist on baseball | 60 Minutes Watch: Blue Origin's first all-women flight crew launches to space Harvey Weinstein's retrial begins in New York Arctic Canada. Polar bear on the drifting ice with snow and evening pink blue sky, Svalbard, Norway. Wild danger animals in the nature habitat, two polar bears. Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock.com If youre an adventurous, animal-obsessed individual, youve likely dreamt of embarking on a unique wildlife tourism experience. While it might seem impossible to, say, observe a polar bears activity or see a whale up close in the Arctic, these hopes can actually be fulfilled. Countless programs and organizations offer such opportunities giving back to the planet and its inhabitants in the process. Here are the five most unbelievable wildlife tourism experiences worldwide. 1. Polar Bear Safaris in Canada Observe polar bears in their natural habitats on a Churchill Wild Polar Bear Safari. iStock.com/avstraliavasin Are you a polar bear lover? Look no further than Polar Bear Safaris by Churchill Wild in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, which is the perfect wildlife tourism experience. The organization offers 11 tours throughout different months of the year, from the Fall Dual Lodge Safari in October to the Nanuk Emergence Quest in February and March. While each of the Polar Bear Safaris includes you guessed it polar bears, some also feature different types of birds, foxes, and even beluga whales. During the tours, you might even witness the breathtaking Northern Lights. Churchill Wild offers three luxury wilderness ecolodges for room and board: Seal River Heritage Lodge (The Heart of Polar Bear Territory), Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge (Home of the Polar Bear), and Dymond Lake Ecolodge (A True Wilderness Oasis). From the lodges, which are located on the Hudson Bay coast in northern Manitoba, you can witness polar bears, as well as other wildlife, in their natural habitats as they travel the coastline. The best time for viewing is during the summer and fall months. One visitor who stayed at the Seal River Heritage Lodge in August left a five-star review of Churchill Wild. I will first say that we very would very much recommend this for anyone wanting an adventure, thus the five stars, he wrote on Google. We saw polar bears every day, both from the confines of the lodge and on the daily hikes we took in the area. [We] took boat trips on two days down to the mouth of the Seal River and saw dozens (maybe hundreds) of beluga whales that came right up to our three boats. We even saw the Northern Lights on two of the nightsan amazing first-time experience for us. He also noted that the lodges operated as an upscale bed and breakfast with great cuisine (which is tundra-inspired) and a chef cooking three meals each day. Churchill Wild stated that its vision is to provide guests with life-changing wildlife encounters and wilderness adventures. Learn more at churchillwild.com. 2. Dive Safaris in the Galapagos Islands The Galapagos Islands are home to countless marine animals, including this unique red-lipped batfish. Joe Dordo Brnobic/Shutterstock.com The Galapagos Safari Camp on Santa Cruz Island in Ecuador is a must-do wildlife tourism experience for marine life enthusiasts. It offers a sanctuary for tropical and temperate creatures, many of which are endangered. While the Galapagos Islands are beautiful year-round, the best time to see abundant marine life is between July and November, as these months often bring cooler waters. However, if you prefer warmer weather and calmer seas, consider booking between December and June. During your dive safari, you can witness a variety of marine animals, such as manta rays, turtles, sea lions, marine iguanas, sharks, tuna, snapper fish, and more, getting up close and personal with them. You can also choose from a few different housing accommodations, including a luxury tented camp, a main lodge with gorgeous views, African-inspired tents, and a family suite. The camp also offers unique dining experiences and skilled chefs, as well as a pool surrounded by moss-laden trees. One reviewer stated that their trip was truly a luxury safari experience. A beautiful setting in a remote quiet location, the guest wrote. These people know how to cater to you. Every detail was attended to, and every single person at the camps goal is to make sure you are comfortable. After scuba diving for most of the day, we returned to the camp (in a cab that was waiting at the dock), only to have the hostess, take all of our dive gear that she insisted on washing for me, and handed us each a very cold beer, which we enjoyed on their veranda. They also mentioned that the food was excellent, and the tour guide was prompt and courteous. Learn more at galapagossafaricamp.com. 3. Arctic Whale Tours in Norway You can watch majestic whales off the coast of Norway. Miguel Schmitter/Shutterstock.com You might be thinking: Whale tours are hit-or-miss. However, the Arctic Whale Tours in Northern Norway offer exceptional opportunities to witness these gorgeous creatures off the breathtaking coast. The organization also dedicates itself to sustainable and responsible operations, aiming to minimize its impact on nature and wildlife while providing a unique wildlife tourism experience. Arctic Whale Tours offers three year-round tours in three different locations: the spring/summer safari in Andenes from April to September; the summer safari in St, Vesteralen from June to August; and the winter safari in Troms from November to January. During the tours, you might spot pilot whales, orcas, and humpback whales. Additionally, you might also catch other marine animals like the white-sided dolphin or harbor porpoise. During the 6- to 8-hour trip, youll be offered drinks, biscuits, soup, lunch made from local ingredients, and other perks. While the organization itself does not include housing accommodations, if youre traveling from afar, you can browse local cabins, apartments, and available rooms in each town. One satisfied booker of the St safari made a note that, despite unfavorable weather, they had an unforgettable experience. The crew did not count their hours to allow us to witness the magnificent orca show in the middle of the hunt, they wrote. It was magical. We could also see Minke whales, seals, and multiple birds, including puffins. Go without hesitation. Learn more at arcticwhaletours.com. 4. Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand Elephant sanctuaries help visitors appreciate and respect the beauty of these gentle giants. CherylRamalho/Shutterstock.com Not only is Thailand an incredibly beautiful place to visit, but its also home to countless elephant sanctuaries. Unfortunately, many sanctuaries are not as ethical as they promote themselves to be. One sanctuary thats considered truly safe and ethical by World Animal Protection is the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, which provides its animals with 30 acres of pristine jungle. The best time to visit Thailand for this wildlife tourism experience is November to April, when it tends to be warmer and dryer. While you can get close enough to observe the elephants, Phuket Elephant Sanctuary only allows limited interactions from a respectful distance. They also offer various programs, including a half-day program, a full-day program, and a volunteer program. Additionally, you can book a picturesque canopy walk tour. If youre after an unforgettable, ethical, and truly special experience in Phuket, the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary is an absolute must, one reviewer wrote. This place isnt just another tourist spotits a safe haven for rescued elephants and an experience that will stay with you long after you leave. Food is provided at the sanctuary, but housing accommodations are not. There are, however, many nearby hotels and resorts in Phuket, Thailand. Learn more at phuketelephantsanctuary.org. 5. Sea Turtle Research and Conservation in Costa Rica The Sea Turtle Conservatory allows you to spend time under the sun in gorgeous Costa Rica. Blake Ramsey/Shutterstock.com Through the Sea Turtle Conservatory (STC), you can take part in the organizations Sea Turtle Research and Conservation in Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Keep in mind that this is more of a volunteer opportunity than a tourism activity. However, you will both be helping these vulnerable little creatures and enjoying the paradise of Tortuguero National Park. This project runs for eight nights at a time, with available dates between June and October. STC covers your first and last nights hotel accommodations in San Jose (including breakfast). They also pay for land and boat transport (plus food) to Tortuguero. All meals and accommodations are on the organization while in Tortuguero. During your stay, youll get to help green turtles, leatherback turtles, and hawksbill turtles. One person shared their experience working with STC in Costa Rica on their Instagram, stating: This sea turtle conservation project was one of the most beautiful things I could have ever contributed to. Its not just for biologists or scientistsits for anyone whos passionate about the ocean and its creatures. He explained that the group relocated eggs to a hatchery. Typically, sea turtle eggs are vulnerable to predators as well as humans, who will often steal them. Most of the turtles were hawksbills, leatherbacks, and green sea turtlesall endangered species, with hawksbills being critically endangered, the volunteer wrote. If youre looking for a meaningful way to give back while experiencing one of the most incredible places on Earth, THIS IS YOUR SIGN! Learn more at conserveturtles.org. The post 5 Bucket List Wildlife-Tourism Experiences All Animal-Obsessed People Should Experience Before They Die appeared first on A-Z Animals. Joshua Boucher/Pool/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty; John Monk/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Alex Murdaugh; Russell Laffitte Russell Laffitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank in South Carolina, admitted to helping convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh steal millions from clients who had won sizable settlements Laffiite used his position at the bank to help Murdaugh profit from others' misfortune, a judge said Prosecutors will recommend Laffiite be given a 5-year-prison sentence and that he pay $3.5 million in restitution A once-prominent South Carolina banker has admitted to helping convicted murderer and fraudster Alex Murdaugh steal millions in legal settlements from clients a federal judge called vulnerable. On Monday, April 14, Russell Laffitte, the former CEO of Palmetto State Bank in Hampton, pleaded guilty to six federal counts of bank and wire fraud in connection to Murdaughs sprawling financial scheme to bilk clients out of millions of dollars, online court records show. In the signed guilty plea agreement filed with prosecutors in federal district court in South Carolina, Laffitte pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and misapplication of funds, WCSC reports. Under the terms of the agreement, Laffitte would be sentenced to five years in federal prison and pay back more than $3.6 million in restitution, the Greenville News reports. He entered the guilty pleas several weeks before his federal trial was set to begin, WCSC reports. Laffitte was previously convicted of the same charges in 2022 and was sentenced to seven years in prison. But the original conviction was overturned by an appeals court, which ruled Laffitte had not gotten a fair trial because a judge allowed the dismissal of "anxious" jurors and their replacement with alternates, the Post and Courier reports. When Laffitte was sentenced in 2023, U.S. Judge Richard Gergel said he was part of an elaborate criminal scheme in which there wasnt just bad judgment, there was complicity, for which he was richly compensated, The State reports. 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. Laffitte and Murdaughs victims were extremely vulnerable people, Gergel said. Their family members were victims of horrible, tragic events in their lives; death, people widowed, lost their parentsAnd he treated them like they were players on a chessboard, moving that money around. In Laffittes 2022 trial, prosecutors laid out how Laffitte used his role as bank head to help Murdaugh steal millions from his clients, The State reports. The now-disbarred Murdaugh sent settlements meant to be paid out or held in trust for relatives and survivors in wrongful death or personal injury cases to Laffitte, who set up accounts at his bank to house the money, which they used for themselves, prosecutors said, The State reports. Two sisters testified how Murdaugh and Laffitte mismanaged the $1 million settlement they received when their mother was killed in a car crash when they were 12 and 8, The State reports. An FBI accountant testified that Laffitte used $20,000 from one of the sisters accounts for a swimming pool. Besides that, Laffitte, who served as conservator for Murdaughs personal injury clients, extended $355,000 in personal loans for himself and $990,000 in personal loans to Murdaugh from the clients funds held at his bank, prosecutors said. Laffitte still faces state charges in South Carolina, with a trial date set for October. In 2023, Murdaugh was convicted for the 2021 murder of his wife Maggie and his son Paul and sentenced to two life terms. Read the original article on People By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Apple's main India suppliers Foxconn and Tata shipped nearly $2 billion worth of iPhones to the United States in March, an all-time high, as the U.S. company airlifted devices to bypass President Donald Trump's impending tariffs, customs data shows. The smartphone maker stepped up production in India and chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones to the United States to ensure sufficient inventory in one of its biggest markets on concern Trump's tariffs would push up costs. In April, the U.S. administration imposed 26% duties on imports from India, much lower than the more than 100% China was facing at the time. Trump has since paused most duties, except for China for three months. Foxconn, Apple's main India supplier, exported smartphones worth $1.31 billion in March, its highest ever for a single month and equal to shipments for January and February combined, according to commercially available customs data reviewed by Reuters. This included Apple iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models, and took Foxconn's total shipments from India to the United States this year to $5.3 billion. Exports from Tata Electronics, another Apple supplier, stood at $612 million in March, around 63% higher than the previous month, and included iPhone 15 and 16 models. Apple, Foxconn and Tata did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters is the first to report the shipment details. Customs data showed all Foxconn shipments to the United States in March were by air from the Chennai Air Cargo terminal, and landed at various locations, including Los Angeles and New York, with Chicago receiving the majority. Trump later granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones and some other electronics imported largely from China, but later indicated that those exemptions will likely be short-lived. To expedite shipments, Apple lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, to six hours down from 30 hours. At least six cargo jets were used in the operation which one source described was a way to "beat the tariffs". (Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil; Editing by Sharon Singleton) Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for a two-day state visit, at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. - Athit Perawongmetha/Pool/Reuters Xi Jinping has urged Vietnam to resist unilateral bullying and uphold free and open trade, as he begins a high-stakes diplomatic tour of the regions major export-reliant economies in a bid to position his country as a stable partner in contrast to the United States. The Chinese leader arrived in communist-ruled Vietnam on Monday and is set to visit Malaysia and Cambodia from Tuesday to Friday countries that have seen growing trade and investment ties with China in recent years. In meetings with Vietnams top leadership Monday, Xi said the two countries should work together to maintain the stability of the global free trade system and industrial and supply chains, according to Chinese state news agency, Xinhua. Chinas mega market is always open to Vietnam, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua, adding that China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic focus and jointly oppose unilateral bullying. A small boat with a single sail cannot withstand the stormy waves, and only by working together can we sail steadily and far, he said. The in-person trip comes just days after US President Donald Trump paused his reciprocal tariffs on most countries for 90 days narrowing the focus on his trade war squarely on China. As Washington and Beijing exchange record-high levies, Southeast Asian nations, still catching their breath from the now-suspended US tariffs, are growing increasingly anxious about being caught in the crossfire between the worlds two largest economies. Seeking to capitalize on the turmoil unleashed by Trumps tariff whiplash, Xi has cast China as a reliable partner and defender of global trade. Vietnam and Cambodia were among the highest hit by Trumps tariffs, set at 46% and 49% respectively before the pause. But while countries are rolling out the red carpet for Xi, analysts suggest they also need to tread carefully and avoid the appearance they are siding with China, and potentially risk provoking Trump during their own negotiations over pending tariffs. On Monday, Trump said from the Oval Office that the meeting between Xi and his Vietnamese counterpart, To Lam, was intended to hurt the US. I dont blame China. I dont blame Vietnam, he said. Thats a lovely meeting meeting like, trying to figure out: How do we screw the United States of America? Dont forget, the European Union was formed to do just that. Biggest export market Some Southeast Asian countries are wary of being flooded with cheap Chinese goods that are now shut out of the US markets due to the sky-high tariffs. China already runs a trade surplus with Vietnam, exporting 1.6 times the value it imports from its southern neighbor. As a bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has overtaken the US and the European Union as Chinas largest export market since 2023, according to Chinese customs data. Vietnam, a rising manufacturing powerhouse, has seen a surge in Chinese investments in recent years as manufactures move supply chains out of China to take advantage of lower labor costs and hedge against US levies. Chinas trade with Vietnam nearly doubled between 2017 and 2024, making the communist state Chinas biggest trade partner in Southeast Asia. While in Hanoi, Xi is expected to further strengthen those ties. The two countries are set to sign about 40 agreements across multiple sectors including cooperation on railways, agricultural trade and the digital and green economy, Vietnams Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Vietnam has approved plans to build a $8.3 billion railway linking its northern port city of Haiphong to China, which will be partially funded by Chinese loans. The country is also looking to purchase Chinas homegrown mainline passenger aircraft made by Chinese state-owned planemaker COMAC. Wen-ti Sung, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Xis high-profile visit is two pronged. Economically, its about finding a way to diversify Chinas economic footprint around the world, and on the foreign policy front, its also aimed at pulling countries closer to China while they are unsettled by Trumps on-and-off-again tariffs. What Xi is trying to do now is to go there in person. Instead of fear and pressure, Xi is going to show them love, maybe some souvenirs along the way, he said, referring to possible new trade deals and upgrades to their strategic partnerships. All these are ways for China to show that Im on your side. Its safe to hang out with China, especially if youre concerned about the US. But relations between China and its neighbors have been strained in recent years, with tensions flaring over claims of disputed sovereignty in the South China Sea. In February, Chinese warships held live-fire drills in waters near Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China, after Hanoi published a map defining its territorial claims there. In his signed article in Vietnams Nhan Dan Newspaper, Xi urged the two countries to properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region. The successful delimitation of our boundaries on land and in the Beibu Gulf demonstrates that with vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation, Xi was quoted as writing. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Fred He contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A Mississippi church deacon was fatally shot while trying to protect people from a dispute that broke out during an Easter egg hunt hosted by his church, witnesses and law enforcement said. Empowerment Ministries Christian Center in Gulfport, Mississippi, identified the deacon as Eddie Shed and said he died on April 12 while trying to "save others from harm" at the church's Easter egg hunt at Jack and Florence Goldin Park in Gulfport. The Gulfport Police Department said the shooting stemmed from a "child custody dispute" and that two people who tried to "de-escalate the fight" were hit by gunfire, as well as the suspect. Shed was pronounced dead at the scene and another person was airlifted to an out-of-state hospital. Eddie Shed, the deacon and head of security at Empowerment Ministries Christian Center, in Gulfport, Mississippi, was fatally shot on April 12 while trying to protect people from a dispute that broke out during an Easter egg hunt. The following day, police arrested Tyran Deion Gable, 24, of Saucier, Mississippi, on charges of murder and aggravated assault, according to the Gulfport Police Department. Gable was hit by gunfire during the shooting and was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said. In a statement posted to social media, the church said Shed was killed "in a senseless act of gun violence." "Deacon Shed epitomized the virtues of a hero, displaying selfless courage and bravery that ultimately saved others from harm," said the statement from Empowerment Ministries Christian Center, which describes itself as non-denominational. "He paid the ultimate price for his valor, and we are deeply saddened by this loss." Deacon was 'a hero,' witnesses say Eddie Shed, the deacon and head of security of Empowerment Ministries Christian Center, in Gulfport, Mississippi, was fatally shot on April 12 while trying to protect people from a dispute that broke out during an Easter egg hunt. Witnesses of the shooting said Shed didn't hesitate to protect children at the Easter egg hunt. I wouldnt expect nothing less from him to do something like that, nothing less. He was just a hero, longtime church member Shatondria Ball told WLOX. He died a hero doing what he does best, and thats protecting and thats loving and thats looking out for everyone, fellow church member Alexis Weathersby told the outlet. He was just a wonderful man that was willing to do any and everything for anyone. Gregg S. Magee, senior pastor of Empowerment Ministries Christian Center, described Shed in a statement as "a pillar of strength within our community and a beacon of light and hope." "His unwavering faith, kindness, and dedication to serving others have left an indelible mark on all who knew him," the pastor said. Shed is survived by his wife and three children. A GoFundMe for his family has raised nearly $16,000 as of April 15. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Church deacon killed protecting others from shooting at Easter event Becky Akinyode You are Nigerian. No, Im American. You are Nigerian. No, Im American. When I was a teenager, this was a typical argument I would have with my parents, usually stemming from me acting in a way that suggested I didnt know where I was from. They would accuse me of being too Americanized, to which I would respond, Well, I am! My parents feared that I considered myself to be an American first and Nigerian second. And this was not what they wanted. Even though I was born in Washington, D.C., they believed that since I was raised in a household by two African parents and I lived there for two years as a child, I should consider myself to be Nigerian. Becky Akinyode Though when I came back to the U.S., it was clear from the messages I received at school that being Nigerian was nothing to be proud of. This was the late 90s before Afrobeat took over the world, and Tyla became one of the continent's biggest exports. This was a time when the phrase African booty scratcher would easily roll off the tongues of my classmates. I wasnt necessarily FOB (fresh off the boat), but after spending two years in Lagos, I returned with a thick accent and even darker skin, neither of which helped me to survive the first grade. I was easier to shed traces of my Nigerian identity to fit in and be seen as from the States. Becky Akinyode As a stylist, Ive always appreciated how fashion were a form of communication around ones identity but back then, I was hesitant about the traditional clothing. I was never eager to wear African dress. I loved the American mall brands like Express, H&M, Guess, Rave, American Eagle and saw traditional wear as standing out too much. In my head, I wasnt that Nigerian if I wore things that allowed me to fit in. I rarely wore traditional garments when attending family events, weddings, engagement parties, and birthdays. I wanted to wear the brands that my friends wore mixed in with pieces I found at vintage stores in D.C. For me, I could eat the food and dance to the music, but wearing the clothing is the ultimate signifier of being other. In fact, As I got older and left home, I rarely attended family events all together. However, in February of this year, I traveled to Nigeria to attend my grandmothers funeral. For this occasion, I knew I had no choice. I knew I would have to fully submit and wear native clothing, especially if I didnt want to face my mothers wrath, and to my surprise, I enjoyed every moment of it. Becky Akinyode In Yoruba culture, a funeral is a celebration of life, so I had to attend many events for which outfits had to be made. Every event required a specific fabric that had to be worn by my immediate and extended family members. Remember the episode on Sex And The City where Trey has to wear his family tartan to the Scottish Highland fling? Its not dissimilar. My sisters and I had blouses (called Buba in Yoruba language) made using an Aso-Ebi (family cloth), a lace fabric that we would then pair with Aso oke (high cloth). The Aso oke we wore with our Bubas were vintage and the fabrics were almost 80 years old. They are only worn on special occasions because they are prestigious. The Aso oke I wore came in 3 parts: a head tie (Gele), a shawl (Iborun), and a large piece of fabric (iro) that we would wrap around our waist and fashion into a skirt. I wore a variation of there Aso-Ebi / Aso oke pairing to most of the planned celebrations during the week. Ever the stylist, I decided to incorporate pieces from my own personal wardrobe to make the looks feel more personal. I was eager to honor my heritage but I wanted to feel like I was merging both sides of myself. It was important for me to feel like myself, so I mixed brands like The Row, Khaite, and Gucci with my native clothing, the same way I would mix brands back home. It soon occurred to me what a reflection there was in design tropes of Nigerian dress and what I love about the boutique brands in my wardrobe. I love patterns, I love Comme and tend to wear a lot of hats so getting dressed in the Aso-Ebi and Aso oke was oddly familiar. Each piece was elaborate in the same way that some of my favorite Western brands are. Junya Watanabe and Vaquera for example. The gele head wrap framed my face perfectly and its elegance reminded me of a Prada turban I purchased in Italy last year. Becky Akinyode As the week progressed, my mindset started to change. I began looking forward to getting dressed. I didnt even mind waking up at 5:30 am for someone to come over to tie our Gele, excited to see what elaborate style they would fashion for us. The most satisfying feeling was seeing my relatives' faces; they were so happy to see me and my sisters dressed in traditional clothes. The smiles on their faces shocked me; I realized that some of them had never seen us like this. Looking back at all the photos we took during the funeral, Im filled with immense pride. I had resisted wearing traditional clothing; I didnt see its value. However, through my grandma's passing, I was able to reconnect with parts of my heritage that had long been cast aside. Each time I got dressed, I felt like I was learning more about who I was and where I came from. I craved acceptance when I was younger, but as Ive gotten older, Ive grown to embrace all parts of myself. Theres still more work that needs to be done, but Im proud to say that while I am American, Im also Nigerian and both sides can co-exist, stylishly I might add. You Might Also Like Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., speaks in Washington on March 26. WASHINGTON Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen say they are willing to go to El Salvador to seek the release of a man who the Justice Department says it mistakenly deported there a plan that has gained steam after the country's president said during a visit to the White House that he would not send the man back to the U.S. Van Hollen, D-Md., sent a letter Monday to El Salvador's ambassador in the U.S. requesting a meeting with the country's president, Nayib Bukele, who said in meeting with President Donald Trump later in the day that he "of course" would not send Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident, back to the U.S. In a statement on Monday, Van Hollen said if Abrego Garcia was not in the U.S. by "midweek," he would "travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release." The idea gained support from several Democratic lawmakers, who said they would be willing to join Van Hollen on the trip. "We must all stand as a united front against the kidnapping and illegal detention of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador," progressive Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said in a post to X, tagging Van Hollen. "Senator, I am willing to join you and help Organize other members of the House to do the same." Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., reshared Frost's post, writing that she was "ready to join" her colleagues in traveling to El Salvador to demand Abrego Garcia's release. The push to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. began after Justice Department officials acknowledged that he should not have been sent to El Salvador because of a 2019 order from an immigration judge, who barred him from being sent to the country because he might be subject to persecution. In a decision last week, the Supreme Court told the administration to "facilitate" his return. Trump administration officials have argued that the situation is out of their hands now that Abrego Garcia is in the custody of another country. During Bukele's White House visit, the Salvadoran leader called the question of returning the Maryland man "preposterous." "How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States?" Bukele told reporters on Monday. "Of course Im not going to do it." The White House has shown no signs of pushing for Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S., and Trump has repeatedly touted his controversial push to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador, where they have been transferred into a notorious prison. The administration has also deported people using the rarely invoked Alien Enemies Act, though the matter is now tied up in court. Van Hollen said after the leaders' White House meeting that he believes Bukele "will reconsider when he understands the full story of this illegal detention." "I dont think he wants to essentially be the president whos kidnapped the United States citizen," he added. The senator told reporters on Monday that his request to meet Bukele has been received by the Salvadoran embassy, but noted that he has not heard back. He reiterated to reporters that if Bukele cannot or will not meet, the senator would travel to El Salvador this week to "seek a meeting with the president or other government officials, because it is, it is absolutely unjust and illegal to have this Marylander detained one more day in a notorious prison in El Salvador." During Bukele's White House visit, Trump also floated the idea of deporting U.S. citizens, a move that immigration advocates and law experts panned, with one law professor calling the idea "pretty obviously illegal and unconstitutional." A senior dog rests Alex Mladek/Shutterstock.com We all want our dogs to live long, healthy lives. We would do anything to make that possible. The Dog Aging Project represents a groundbreaking initiative aimed at understanding the aging process in dogs and improving their health and longevity. This ambitious project brings together a diverse community of dog owners, veterinarians, researchers, and volunteers who share a common goal of enhancing the lives of companion dogs and their owners. By conducting longitudinal studies, the Dog Aging Project seeks to address the significant health issues that arise as dogs age. What is the Dog Aging Project? Through science, were gaining new insights into how our favorite companions grow older. Tanya Kalian/Shutterstock.com Were bringing together dogs, owners, veterinarians, researchers, and volunteers to carry out the worlds most ambitious canine science project, explains Harmony Diers, Communications Manager of the Dog Aging Project. Longitudinal studies allow us to connect experiences early in life with health outcomes in old age. We can use this information to investigate how those early events may have directly or indirectly caused late-in-life health issues. The key to success in these endeavors is knowing the full life story of many individual dogs. We keep going because we have so much more to learn and share about the aging process of the companion dogs we love! The Dog Aging Project conducts rigorous scientific research designed to define, explain, and ameliorate the effects of aging. To achieve this mission, they have built a community of volunteers and researchers united by a shared love for dogs and committed to helping dogs and humans live longer, healthier lives together. The Origin Story of the Dog Aging Project As reported by Diers, in 2007, one of the founders, Dr. Daniel Promislow, had been working on the biology of aging for almost 20 years and running a fruit fly lab at the University of Georgia (UGA) when an issue of Science arrived on his desk. The cover showed a Great Dane and a Chihuahua walking side by side. The paper was about the genetics of size, but it immediately led him to wonder if they could figure out why big dogs (like Great Danes) tend to be much shorter-lived than small dogs (like Chihuahuas). He knew a lot about fruit flies but nothing about the biology of dogs. An issue of Science magazine featuring a Great Dane and a Chihuahua is reportedly what provided the inspiration for the Dog Aging Project. Natallia Yaumenenka/Shutterstock.com Dr. Promislow then reached out to the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, and they put him in touch with Dr. Kate Creevy, an early-career veterinary internist. It was immediately apparent to both of them that there were rich parallels between human and canine aging. Taking advantage of the extensive medical and genetic information available about dogs, they began their first project, investigating causes of death among companion dogs. The more they discovered, the more it became clear that studying aging in dogs held powerful potential to advance veterinary medicine and basic aging biology. It also became clear that an extensive, nationwide, long-term study of companion dogs would be the best way to achieve this potential fully. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country, Dr. Matt Kaeberlein was advancing the understanding of the basic biology of aging using biochemical, genetic, and molecular approaches at the University of Washington. In addition to running a busy laboratory, he co-directed the Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging and founded the Healthy Aging and Longevity Research Institute at the University of Washington. A dog-lover himself, Dr. Kaeberlein also recognized the rich potential of the companion dog as a partner in aging research. In 2013, Dr. Promislow moved to Seattle, becoming a professor in the same department as Dr. Kaeberlein at the University of Washington. That same year, Dr. Creevy, Dr. Promislow, and five other colleagues obtained an R24 Network and Infrastructure grant from the NIH National Institute on Aging to develop the plan for a long-term, longitudinal study of aging in companion dogs. The resulting Canine Longevity Consortium hosted three national meetings among invited experts in the field, including Dr. Kaeberlein. Gradually, a plan began taking shape for a longitudinal observational study of dogs, which would include an intervention arm designed to test medicines previously investigated in laboratory species that might improve healthspan (the healthy period of a dogs life before the signs of aging begin to present) and lifespan in dogs. Dr. Kaeberlein, Dr. Creevy, and Dr. Promislow deepened their collaboration, building and expanding their shared vision of a nationwide study of aging in companion dogs. In 2014, they founded the Dog Aging Project and began to create a community of dog owners interested in becoming involved in this citizen-science project. In 2015, Dr. Kaeberlein launched the first Dog Aging Project clinical trial, a study to determine the safety and feasibility of testing whether the drug rapamycin can slow aging in pet dogs. In 2016, Dr. Creevy relocated to Texas A&M University. They continued planning for this ambitious longitudinal study of aging in dogs, with Dr. Promislow as Principal Investigator, Dr. Kaeberlein as Co-Director, and Dr. Creevy as Chief Veterinary Officer. Eventually, they built a team of 20 collaborators nationwide from nine different academic institutions. In 2018, the Dog Aging Project received U19 grant AG057377 from the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health, to support the long-term longitudinal study on health and aging in companion dogs. The Work of the Dog Aging Project The aim is to help dogs live longer, healthier lives. PeopleImages.com Yuri A/Shutterstock.com The Dog Aging Project was founded in 2014. In 2018, they received a U19 grant from the NIA to further develop their infrastructure and team and ramped up recruitment of companion dogs and their owners. We are excited to say that since our initial recruitment efforts in 2019, we have enrolled over 50,000 dogs across the United States, says Dier. Additionally, we have written and published over 70 papers. We couldnt have made this progress without our participants commitment and their incredible volunteerism, as demonstrated through the health surveys and activities they complete for their companions year after year. How to Get Involved Find out how your dog can be involved in the Dog Aging Project. iStock.com/iamnoonmai Dier wants people to know that they are still enrolling dogs for not only their longitudinal, observational study but also a clinical trial, The Test of Rapamycin in Aging Dogs. The Dog Aging Project (DAP) is an observational, longitudinal study on canine health and aging. The eligibility for this study is: Dogs of any size, age, health condition, and lifestyle may be enrolled. Currently, over 50,000 dogs are enrolled. Dogs remain at home during the study, and their humans answer an annual online survey about their canine companions, participate in optional at-home activities, and submit optional veterinary records. The Test of Rapamycin in Aging Dogs (TRIAD) is a double-blind clinical trial testing whether the drug rapamycin has an effect on canine healthspan and lifespan in aging dogs. The minimum eligibility for this clinical trial is: 7 years of age or older 44-120 pounds Spayed or neutered In overall good health TRIAD participants are required to take their dog to a clinical trial site for a veterinary examination every six months for a period of three years. Conclusion The Dog Aging Project stands as a testament to the power of collaboration in advancing our understanding of aging in dogs. By leveraging the commitment of dog owners and the expertise of researchers, the Dog Aging Project aims to uncover insights that will not only extend the lives of dogs but also enhance the quality of life for both dogs and their human companions. As the project continues to grow, it represents a significant step forward in the field of veterinary medicine and the study of aging. The post The Dog Aging Project Aims to Help Dogs and Humans Live Longer, Healthier Lives Together appeared first on A-Z Animals. BERTRAND GUAY - Getty Images Another reported fashion rumor has come to fruition. Duran Lantink has been named the permanent creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier. The Dutch designer was originally speculated to be the next guest couture collaborator, following Ludovic de Saint Sernins shipwreck-themed spring/summer 2025 show. Instead, he will step forward as the first sole replacement for Jean Paul Gaultier at his legendary eponymous house, marking an end to de Saint Sernins buzzy three-year experimental series. Both designers took to Instagram to celebrate the news. I see in him the energy, the audacity, and playful spirit through fashion that I had at the beginning of my own journey: the new enfant terrible of fashion. Welcome, Duran, Gaultier wrote. Lantink also shared a photo of himself at 11 years old in his hometown of The Hague sporting his first ever JPG beanie. As the designer put it, he was totally obsessed and [had] no clue Id end up leading the house today! Initially a cult-favorite of fashion insiders, Lantink has progressively begun making mainstream shockwaves in recent seasons. Most notably, the brands fall/winter 2025 show went viral for sending a breastplate bouncing down the runway. Though prompting mixed opinions online, industry veterans welcomed the sudden laugh after a long four weeks on the fashion circuit. Earlier this month, the designer also won the International Woolmark Prize. Presented by Donatella Versace, Lantink will receive $300,000 AUD (approximately $195,000). The honor represented more than a cash infusion, though any designer these days would welcome itthe award cemented Lantinks growing momentum. Peter White - Getty Images The move will certainly inject fresh energy into JPGs veins. During the pandemic, the hallowed brand experienced an unprecedented renaissance with Gen Z. On one hand, resale prices for vintage pieces, though abundant, suddenly tripled. On the other, besides capsule collaborations with designers including Glenn Martens and Shayne Oliver, the house was largely regurgitating the archives. Now, with Lantinks fresh, keen eyes and similarly surrealist design ethos, fans and consumers will have something truly new to look forward to. According to the brands Instagram, Lantink will not only step up to the helm of haute couture, but he will also officially reprise the ready-to-wear runway for the first time since JPG paused pret-a-porter in 2015. The designer is set to debut this September for the spring/summer 2026 seasonamong quite a few exciting first-time collectionsand will follow with couture in January 2026. You Might Also Like WASHINGTON President Donald Trump accused Ukraine of inviting Russia's assault again, arguing that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is responsible for the war that Moscow started three years ago. The war began in 2022 when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military invasion of Ukraine. But during an Oval Office meeting on April 14 with El Salvador's president, Trump said: "Everybody's to blame." Trump criticized former President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy as not "competent" after a journalist asked about Russia's attack the day before on Sumy. The missile strike in the northeastern city killed 35 people and wounded 117 more, according to the Ukrainian government. Trump told reporters on April 13 that the strike was a "mistake." But when pressed on the matter the next day, the U.S. president said that the mistake he was referring to came from Biden and Zelenskyy, whom he accused of failing to prevent Putin's invasion. "He's always looking to purchase missiles," Trump said of Zelenskyy. "When you start a war, you've got to know that you can win the war, right? You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles." Trump also blamed Ukraine for the war in February before an Oval Office dispute with Zelenskyy that led to a breakdown in talks between the two countries. Trump said then that Zelenskyy should have proactively kept Putin, who violated a ceasefire agreement with the invasion, from launching a war on Ukraine. What war abroad means for Americans: Sign up for USA TODAY's Russia-Ukraine Crisis newsletter. U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance walk to welcome the Ohio State University 2025 College Football National Champions, at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 14, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein "Youve been there for three years. You should have ended it. Three years. You should have never started it, Trump said then. The countries have since resumed negotiations, with Ukraine agreeing to the terms of a U.S.-led temporary ceasefire with Russia in March. Russia has since tried to renegotiate the parameters of the arrangement, which was never implemented. In a social media post on April 14, Zelenskyy said that Russia, as the aggressor in the war, should be forced into peace talks. "We all want this to end. Peace is needed and it must be lasting," he said. "We are not just ready for peace quickly Ukraine has never wanted this war, not for a single second." (This story has been updated with more information.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump blames Zelenskyy of starting Russia's war on Ukraine Milton Hershey was almost aboard the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic. Bettmann/Getty Images As the Titanic was the height of luxury in 1912, some celebrities had tickets for its maiden voyage. But not all of them ended up boarding the ship. J. Pierpont Morgan and Milton Hershey were among those who missed the disaster. The sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912, still captivates us today, with numerous books, a multibillion-dollar movie, museums, and, controversially, expensive tours of the wreckage available. Interest in the ship led to another maritime tragedy in 2023 when an OceanGate submersible went missing on the way to the wreckage and was eventually confirmed to have imploded, killing all five people on board. In the aftermath of the 2023 incident, stories emerged about people invited to participate in one of OceanGate's trips but decided against it. A similar scenario unfolded more than a century ago people were fascinated by stories about prominent people who had almost been on the Titanic. Here are seven notable figures, some of whom were among the richest people in the world, who were supposed to sail on the Titanic's maiden voyage but didn't and four well-known people who were booked to go on a future journey with the ship. J. Pierpont Morgan J. Pierpont Morgan. CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images J. Pierpont Morgan yes, J. P. Morgan himself had a personal suite on the Titanic and had attended its launch party in 1911. But he extended his French vacation and missed the sinking. "I've never been able to find an authoritative 1912 source explaining the exact reason why J. P. Morgan canceled his passage on the Titanic," Titanic expert George Behe told Reuters in 2021. Some speculated that the reasons were that he was in bad health or having issues with customs because of his art collection. However, we know that Morgan, the cofounder of General Electric, International Harvester, and US Steel, was also the founder of the International Mercantile Marine, which in turn owned White Star Line. According to The Washington Post, he was even on hand to witness its 1911 launch. "Monetary losses amount to nothing in life," Morgan told a New York Times reporter after the sinking. "It is the loss of life that counts. It is that frightful death." Milton Hershey Milton Hershey. Bettmann/Getty Images As they aged, the founder of Hershey's and his wife, Catherine, spent their winters on the French Riviera. In December 1911, the couple left for another extended European vacation. For their return journey, Hershey wrote a $300 check from the Hershey Trust Company to the White Star Line to reserve places on the maiden voyage of the company's brand-new ship, the Titanic. According to Lancaster History, pressing business matters forced Hershey to cut his vacation short, and he left Europe just days before the Titanic would set sail, instead heading home on a German liner called the Amerika, which would later warn the Titanic about the dangerous amount of ice. Hershey's canceled check is still in the possession of the Hershey Community Archives, and you can view it online. Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Marconi. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images You might know that Nobel Prize winner Marconi was considered a hero after the sinking of the Titanic because his invention, the wireless radio, helped ships in the surrounding area find where to look for the lifeboats. But did you know he was almost on board the ship himself? His daughter Degna wrote in her 1926 book, "My Father, Marconi," that he was offered a free ticket aboard the Titanic. But because his stenographer got seasick, Marconi opted to sail to the US on the Lusitania three days earlier because he trusted that ship's stenographer more than Titanic's, Degna wrote. Henry Clay Frick Henry Clay Frick. Bettmann/Getty Images Visitors to New York City might recognize Frick's name from the Frick Collection or the Henry Clay Frick House. Frick, the chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, was an important industrialist and a patron of the arts and he was close to sailing on the doomed voyage. "The Fricks booked the suite first, and then Mrs. Frick sprained her ankle while they were in Europe buying art and touring and things; so, they stayed behind to get medical attention," the historian Melanie Linn Gutowski told CBS News Pittsburgh in 2012. "The suite that they booked, that some historians think that they booked, was some kind of savior suite in a way," she continued. "Everybody who booked it managed to survive either by not being on the ship, or jumping into a lifeboat at the last minute." Eventually, the tickets made their way to J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line. Controversially, he was one of the few men who made their way onto a lifeboat and survived. He was criticized for this for the rest of his life. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt A cartoon of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt. Hulton Archive/Getty Images As a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt was a well-known member of New York society, so there was media coverage when it was revealed he'd narrowly escaped the Titanic. Unfortunately, just a few years later, he was aboard the Lusitania, a British ocean liner that was sunk by German U-boats in 1915. He was one of the 1,200 passengers who did not survive the attack. Theodore Dreiser Theodore Dreiser. Bettmann/Getty Images The American journalist Theodore Dreiser wrote about his brush with disaster in a chapter of his 1913 memoir, "A Traveler at Forty." Slate said the section about the Titanic, "The Voyage Home," was "one of the most gripping chapters in the memoir." Dreiser wrote that he wanted to sail home with the rich and powerful people aboard the Titanic to get a peek at how the other half lived, but added that his publisher convinced him to sail home on the Kroonland, a cheaper ship, two days before Titanic sank. "The terror of the sea had come swiftly and directly home to all," Dreiser wrote, according to Slate. "To think of a ship as immense as the Titanic, new and bright, sinking in endless fathoms of water. And the two thousand passengers routed like rats from their berths only to float helplessly in miles of water, praying and crying!" John Mott John R. Mott. Bettman/Getty Images Mott, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was the longtime leader of the YMCA, was another near-miss. Gorden R. Doss, a professor at Andrews University, said that Mott came close to death a few times. First, he skipped the Titanic and opted for the Lapland. Three decades later, in 1943, he narrowly avoided a train crash. Mott said, "The Good Lord must have more work for us to do" upon hearing about the sinking, according to Sotheby's. J.C. Penney James Cash Penney, aka J.C. Penney. Underwood Archives/Getty Images There were other celebrities who had tickets to sail the Titanic in the future, had it not sank. Smithsonian Magazine reported the founder of JCPenney was set to sail on the Titanic's second voyage from England to the US. Frank Seiberling Frank Seiberling. Heritage Art/Heritage Images/Getty Images Frank Seiberling, the cofounder of Goodyear Tires, was booked to return to Southampton on the Titanic's next voyage. The Akron Beacon Journal reported that Seiberling, the cofounder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and his wife frequently traveled to England and were huge admirers of English architecture. But one of their trips was postponed when their ship out of the States, the Titanic, sank. John Alden Dix John Alden Dix. Heritage Art/Heritage Images/Getty Images Smithsonian Magazine also reported that John Alden Dix, the governor of New York from 1911 to 1913, was on the passenger list of the Titanic's return trip to England. Henry Adams Henry Adams. Culture Club/Bridgeman/Getty Images Henry Adams, a historian who was a descendant of President John Adams and President John Quincy Adams, was also booked on the return trip. "My ship, the Titanic, is on her way," Adams wrote in a letter on April 12, 1912, "and unless she drops me somewhere else, I should get to Cherbourg in a fortnight." As history tells, Adams was never able to board the ship and was forced to book passage elsewhere, The New Republic's Timothy Noah wrote. Read the original article on Business Insider Police surround Victor Perez, 17, in his yard in Pocatello, Idaho. Relatives of an Idaho 17-year-old with autism whom police shot and killed this month said at his funeral Tuesday that they hope his death inspires change. "He was good. He was a good kid," Victor Perez's mother said in Spanish at the service. The teen's family thanked the people in the city of 56,000 who did not know Perez but attended the funeral. They said they hope the shooting prompts changes in the way public services treat people with mental health challenges. Perez, whose family said he was autistic and had cerebral palsy, was shot nine times by police in the yard of his family's home in Pocatello on April 5 after a neighbor called to report someone with a knife, according to officials. Victor Perez. The caller said other people appeared to be trying to get the knife from Perez. Perez's family said that he was in a mental health crisis and that they were not threatened. Vazquez previously told NBC News that the family was having a barbecue and that Perez found a knife that family members had hidden. Perez's sister was trying to get the knife from him, Vazquez said. She said that the family was not in danger and that Perez was not a threat to them. Police Chief Roger Schei said officers had repeatedly ordered Perez to drop the knife. He said Perez stood up and advanced toward the officers while he was holding the weapon. "In this case, two individuals were within a few feet of an armed, non-compliant individual," Schei said at a news conference Monday. "The risk was immediate and the situation rapidly evolving." Video recorded by a bystander showed officers running up to the home and opening fire. There was a chain link fence between Perez and the officers, the video showed. Vazquez said the officers did not take the time to find out what was going on before they shot him. She said Perez was having a mental health crisis. Perez was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The family took him off life support Saturday, one day after he was declared brain dead, Vazquez said. A forensic autopsy was completed Monday, the Bannock County medical examiner said. The four officers involved in the shooting were immediately placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure after a shooting, the city said. The mayor's office said criminal and internal investigations were launched, and the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is conducting an external investigation into the shooting. Bannock County Prosecutor Ian C. Johnson said he has asked the state attorney general's office to review the Critical Incident Task Forces report for any possible criminal charges. Johnson said Tuesday that he made the request to the attorney general's office in the interests of objectivity and to "avoid any appearance of bias, real or implied." Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez have clapped back at those criticizing them for participating in the all-female Blue Origin NS-13 mission. The star-studded team of women that also included Katy Perry, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, ex-NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn became the first all-women crew to visit space since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova took a solo flight in 1963. However, celebrities like Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde, and Olivia Munn appeared less than pleased that the women were participating in the historic space mission and made their opinions known publicly. Lauren Sanchez (Jeff Bezos fiancee), popstar Katy Perry, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, journalist Gayle King, and bioastronautics researcher Amanda Nguyen. Blue Origin/UPI/Shutterstock King, 70, addressed the criticism hours after landing on the successful 11 minutes in space. Anybody thats criticizing it doesnt really understand what is happening here, the journalist told People. We can all speak to the response were getting from young women from young girls about what this represents. The fiancee of Blue Origin founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos also responded to some of those criticisms shortly after the launch and said it only got her more fired up. I get really fired up. I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that dont just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle, Sanchez, 55, told the outlet. King, 70, addressed the criticism hours after landing on the successful 11 minutes in space. Blue Origin/Mega They love their work and they love the mission and its a big deal for them. So when we hear comments like that, I just say, trust me. Come with me. Ill show you what this is about, and its, its really eye-opening. Earlier this month, Munn, 44, called the mission gluttonous during an episode of Today With Jenna and Friends. I know this probably isnt the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now. What are you guys gonna do up in space? What are you doing up there? Munn questioned. The fiancee of Blue Origin founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos also responded to some of those criticisms shortly after the launch and said it only got her more fired up. Blue Origin/Mega If you wanna go to space, why do you need to tell us about it, you know? Its just like, go up there, have a good time, come on down. Schumer, 43, also took a dig at the all-female space crew. Guys, last second, they added me to space, and Im going to space, the comedian joked in an Instagram video on launch day. Im bringing this thing. It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag, and I was on the Subway, and I got the text, and they were like, Do you want to go to space? so Im going to space. Wilde, 44, also took to Instagram to poke fun at Bezos fronting the bill for the missions outrageous cost. Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess, she wrote on her story, along with a photo of Perry kissing the ground after returning from space. The Blue Origin rocket flight marked the first all-female flight crew in more than six decades. Blue Origin Model Emily Ratajkowski also joined in and went on a rant about how the womens short space voyage and others like it are damaging Mother Earth. That space mission this morning? Thats end time st. Like, this is beyond parody, Ratajkowski told her TikTok followers in a selfie-style video filmed in the car. That you care about Mother Earth and its about Mother Earth, and youre going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company thats singlehandedly destroying the planet? Blue Origins New Shepard 31 launched at 9:30 a.m. from the companys West Texas base, carrying all six crewmates. Like with previous space tourism missions, Blue Origin designed a special insignia for the womens space suits, featuring all their names and a wink to each of their works and ambitions. The womens trip will mark the New Shepards 11th human flight. The former Columbia University student arrested on campus and scheduled for deportation has filed evidence that shows claims underlying the government's case are dubious. NBC News reviewed more than 100 pages of documents submitted by the federal government in its effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil, as well as evidence filed by Khalils legal team, including his permanent residency application, several articles about his activism, and contracts and letters detailing internship and work experience. In some instances, the government appears to be relying on unverified tabloid articles about Khalil. In others, the governments claims about him are clearly erroneous because timelines dont match. Lawyers for Khalil, a 30-year-old permanent U.S. resident, have contended he was arrested March 8 for his protected speech and for playing a key role in the pro-Palestinian student protest movement last year. Mahmoud Khalil stands by the gates of Columbia University in 2024. Khalils legal team declined to comment for this article. The administration of President Donald Trump which says it has revoked the visas of hundreds of international students, particularly targeting those who take part in political activism has presented shifting arguments against Khalil, including claims two weeks after his arrest that he lied on U.S. residency application forms, a deportable offense. Ultimately, government officials said Khalil supported Hamas, a terrorist group; made Jewish students feel unsafe with his activism; and that his continued presence would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Khalil decried antisemitism Immigration Judge Jamee Comans ruled last week that Khalil can be deported at the discretion of Secretary of State Marco Rubio under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which states any noncitizen can be removed if the secretary of state deems their presence threatens U.S. foreign policy. Rubio characterized Khalil's activities as antisemitic and, thus, contrary to U.S. foreign policy. Comans shot down a defense attempt to obtain underlying evidence and question Rubio. Khalils attorney submitted evidence rebuking allegations of antisemitism in the Rubio memo, including an April 2024 CNN article in which Khalil was asked what he would say to Jewish students who felt unsafe on campus. "I would say that the liberation of Palestine and the Palestinians and the Jewish people are intertwined," he responded. "They go hand in hand. Anti-Semitism and any form of racism has no place on campus and in this movement." An encampment in support of Gaza at Columbia University in New York in April 2024. In the article, Khalil also noted that some members of Columbias protest encampment last year were Jewish and held Passover seders. "They are an integral part of this movement," Khalil said. Rubios memo which is the governments main piece of evidence in its deportation case against Khalil said that while Khalils beliefs, statements or associations were otherwise lawful, allowing him to remain in the country would undermine U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States. One of Khalil's attorneys, Marc Van Der Hout, has said such government claims are "baseless allegations in an attempt to hide from the fact that its true motivation in bringing all these charges against Mahmoud is to silence him." Protesters demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil on March 12 in New York. Mischaracterization of Khalil's work history The government case includes Khalils permanent residency application from March 2024. In the application, Khalil wrote that he was a graduate student at Columbia University and was a program manager at the British Embassy in Beirut from June 2018 to December 2022. The Trump administration alleged Khalil also omitted continued employment" at the British Embassy in Beirut "beyond 2022." As evidence, the government cited an image of a profile of Khalil published for the Society for International Developments upcoming conference in June 2025. The profile stated he works at the embassy. But a spokesperson for Britain's Commonwealth and Development Office said in a comment to NBC News that Khalil does not work for the FCDO and has not done so for over two years. Khalils extension of fixed term contract with the British Embassy in Beirut includes an extension until Dec. 20, 2022. The contract is dated Nov. 1, 2022, and the British Embassy in Beirut seal is stamped on the document. Signatures from both the head of corporate service and Khalil appear on the document. The Society for International Development, organizers of the conference, said in a statement that Khalil was not scheduled to participate in the upcoming event in June, though he did participate in 2020. The government alleged Khalil also failed to disclose he was a political affairs officer at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, known as UNRWA, in New York in 2023, and was involved with the group Columbia University Apartheid Divest. Mahmoud Khalil's wife, Noor Abdalla, leaves after a hearing in court in Newark, N.J., on March 28. The Trump administration cited articles, including from the New York Post, stating Khalil was a political affairs officer at UNRWA based on his LinkedIn profile. A spokesperson for UNRWA said Khalil completed a six-month unpaid internship in New York in 2023. The spokesperson added that he was not a staff member nor was he ever on the agencys payroll. UNRWA does not have in its Human Resources the job title of Political Affairs Officer,'" the spokesperson said. Khalils legal team also submitted into evidence a letter from UNRWA to Columbia University informing the school that Khalil was selected for an internship at the Representative Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for internship at the Representative Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in New York. It was dated May 17, 2023. In another letter entered into evidence, Columbia University said Khalil completed an internship at UNRWA for three credits in 2023. The letter is dated April 10, 2025, and signed by an associate director of Khalils graduate program. Columbia University declined to comment Monday, citing student privacy obligations. Government relied on tabloid stories Similarly, the government cited several articles as evidence, including from the New York Post, The Times of India, and the Washington Free Beacon, mentioning Khalils involvement with the group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which the government said he omitted from his residency application. The articles were published in late April 2024 and after a month after Khalil submitted his permanent residency application. A New York Post article published March 9, and cited as evidence by the government, said Khalil had fronted a radical group, Columbia United Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which sympathizes with terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and calls for the end of Western civilization. Khalil was a negotiator and spokesperson for the Columbia University student protesters, which included CUAD among a coalition of groups at Columbia participating in the on-campus actions, Van Der Hout has said. CUAD is a collection of organizations and there is no individual membership, so the allegation would be completely meritless even if all of the governments evidence were not from a month after Mahmoud submitted his application," Van Der Hout said. Khalil has until April 23 to file for relief and can remain in the United States until then. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi - AP/Getty Images US envoy Steve Witkoff has said that moving forward, talks with Iran would be about verification of its nuclear program. The conversation with the Iranians will be much about two critical points, Witkoff told Fox News on Monday. The first is verification of uranium enrichment, and ultimately verification on weaponization, that includes missiles, type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb. In the interview, Witkoff did not mention a demand to fully dismantle Irans nuclear program, as other US officials have, saying only that Iran does not need to enrich uranium past 3.67% to run a civilian program. However, Witkoff later reversed his position in a statement on X in which he said any final deal with Iran would require it to stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program. Asked to explain Witkoffs apparent reversal, an administration official told CNN: Its the most recent elaboration of policy. Other officials have been hawkish on what the US expects from Iran. On Sunday, a day after Witkoff started talks with Iranian negotiators in Oman, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Tehran to fully dismantle its nuclear program. Iran, come to the table, negotiate, full dismantlement of your nuclear capabilities, he said on Fox News, echoing earlier remarks by US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, who told CBS last month that US President Donald Trump would demand a full dismantlement. Iranian officials have dismissed that proposal as a non-starter, accusing the US of using it as a pretext to weaken and ultimately topple the Islamic Republic. Tehran is entitled to a civilian nuclear energy program under a UN treaty. The UN nuclear watchdog has however warned that Iran has been accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, closer to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade. The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, in Bushehr, Iran on November 10, 2019. - Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Uranium is a powerful fuel used in nuclear energy and weapons. When enriched, it can be used either to generate electricity or make bombs, depending on how much it is enriched. On Friday, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iran had set strict terms ahead of the talks with the US, saying that red lines include threatening language by the Trump administration and excessive demands regarding Irans nuclear program. The US must also refrain from raising issues relating to Irans defense industry, Tasnim said, likely referring Irans ballistic missile program, which the US Middle Eastern allies see as a threat to their security. Witkoff began talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday, which both sides described as positive. The next round of talks will take place on April 19. Rome had been considered for a location but its still being figured out, a person familiar with the planning told CNN. It is unclear how the deal Trump envisions would differ from the one brokered by the Obama administration in 2015, which Trump withdrew from three years later. Trump has vowed to strike a stronger agreement this time around. In his first comments on the issue since Iranian and American negotiators met over the weekend, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday against repeating the mistake we made in the last negotiations with the US. He said Iranians should not tie the countrys issues to these talks. A deal may come to fruition, or it may not, he said. Israel has been among the loudest advocates for Iran to fully dismantle its nuclear program. Speaking alongside Trump at the Oval Office last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted a Libya-style nuclear deal between the US and Iran, which in 2003 dismantled the North African nations nuclear program in the hopes of ushering in a new era of relations with the US after its two-decade oil embargo on Muammar Qaddafis regime. After relinquishing its nuclear program, Libya descended into civil war following a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Qaddafis regime and led to his killing. Iranian officials have long warned that a similar deal would be rejected from the outset. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Leila Gharagozlou, Alex Marquardt, Kevin Liptak and Abbas Al Lawati contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the second round of indirect talks with the United States are expected to take place in Oman on Saturday, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. The first round of talks were "well executed" in their "initial steps," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a post on his official X account on Tuesday. "The Oman talks is a movement that's been decided upon and well executed in its initial steps," he said in a post. "The red lines are clear. They're clear for the other side, and they're clear for us too," he added in another post. An Iranian delegation had arrived in Oman's capital, Muscat, last Saturday to meet with U.S. officials for "indirect talks" about Tehran's nuclear program, Iranian state-owned news agency IRIB reported. PHOTO: This combination of pictures created on April 09, 2025 shows U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to AFP during an interview at the Iranian consulate in Jeddah on March 7, 2025. (Evelyn Hocksteinamer and Amer HILABI /various sources/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Iran delegation holds 'indirect' nuclear talks with US in Oman, state media says The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff spoke directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as part of "very positive and constructive" talks. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted to their telegram channel Saturday that the talks ended after two and a half hours. It says the two parties "exchanged the positions of their respective governments" on Iran's nuclear program and on sanctions. There had been speculation that the second round of talks would be held in a European country. Iran's supreme leader advised Iranian officials on Tuesday not to count on the Oman talks as they may or may not yield results. We're neither overly optimistic nor overly distrusting about the Oman talks, he said. He added that the country's issues should not be tied to these talks and the mistake made in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- the former nuclear deal Iran signed with the U.S. and other countries must be avoided as they made everything dependent on the progress of the talk. ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Victoria Beaule and Guy Davies contributed to this report. Iran-US nuclear talks to continue in Oman on Saturday, Tehran says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Les Binks, the drummer responsible for Judas Priests beats in the late-70s, has died at 73. A funeral notice for Binks lists his passing at a London hospital, with some reports adding his death occurred March 15. The band announced Binks death in an Instagram post Tuesday, stating, We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends and fans. The acclaimed drumming he provided was first class demonstrating his unique techniques, flair, style and precision. Thank you, Les your acclaim will live on Ian Hill, K. K. Downing, Rob Halford, Scott Travis, Les Binks and Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest pose in the press room during the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater on Nov, 5, 2022 in Los Angeles. More: Clem Burke, legendary drummer for Blondie and the Ramones, dies at 70 Binks joined the British heavy metal band in 1977 after drumming with Eric Burdon and the Animals and War and made his first appearance on Judas Priests major label debut, Sin After Sin, that same year, playing on the bonus track, Race with the Devil. The sticksmans resume also included stints with Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, as well as the pop band Fancy, before his Judas Priest association. Born James Leslie Binks in Northern Ireland Aug. 8, 1951, Binks two-year membership in the Rob Halford-fronted outfit included the bands tour supporting Sin After Sin, which marked Judas Priests first outing in America. But it was Binks double bass drum assault that earned his acclaim in the Judas Priest canon. The 1978 albums Stained Class and Killing Machine (released as Hell Bent for Leather in the U.S.) as well as the 1979 live album Unleashed in the East, spotlighted Binks signature speedy playing, which featured prominently on the bands first hit in the U.K., Take on the World. The drum patterns from that song lived on in future generations, with both The Human League utilizing them during their 1980 tour and the indie rock band Spoon interpolating the patterns in their 2021 song, Wild. Binks also co-wrote Beyond the Realms of Death from the Stained Class album. But two years after joining Judas Priest, Binks departed just before the tour behind Hell Bent for Leather. In a 2017 interview on a fan site for Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, Binks cited management refusing to pay him for contributions on Unleashed in the East that led to my decision to leave the band. I just didnt see the point in continuing to work with a band whose manager (Mike Dolan) didnt want me to receive any payment for that live album. A completely ludicrous scenario But thats what happens if a band allows someone like that to manage them. They lose members. So exit drummer number four. Binks stayed active in his post-Priest years, joining British hard rock band Lionheart and the short-lived Tytan in the early 80s and since 2017 played Judas Priest songs in the band Les Binks Priesthood. Despite a somewhat acrimonious parting with Judas Priest, Binks joined his former mates at the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and played three songs with the band. It was the first time he shared a stage with them in 43 years. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judas Priest drummer Les Binks dead at 73 Carlos Jaramillo/A+E Networks 'Kevin Costner's The West' If you're looking for a warts-and-all inside look at the history of the American West, Kevin Costner has you covered. At 70, the Oscar-winning director and actor steps both behind the scenes as executive producer and in front of the camera as host of the upcoming eight-part docuseries Kevin Costners The West. PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at the trailer for the HISTORY channel series, premiering May 26, which explores the fierce battles over land that defined the American frontier and how its legacy continues to shape the nation today. Related: Kevin Costner Explores Yellowstone to Yosemite in New Docuseries Trailer (Exclusive) What do we see when we think of the West? Costner asks at the beginning of the trailer. The West is a place where anything is possible, Esteemed biographer and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, co-executive producer of the series, says. It is the essence of the American dream. Historian Ned Blackhawk adds, The American West conjures wonder, possibility, opportunity. While the trailer reflects on the hope and ambition tied to westward expansion, it doesnt shy away from its harsh realities. Many people have to pay the price of ambition and westward expansion, American history expert Ed ODonnell notes. Everyone is willing to fight and die for it. Author and activist Yohuru Williams adds, American forces have a sense of superiority. The Native Americans are going to prove them deadly wrong. 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 juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Related: Why Did Kevin Costner Leave Yellowstone? Inside the Actors Decision to Walk Away from John Dutton and How It Affected the Patriarchs Storyline Set to a haunting, stripped-down version of America the Beautiful, the trailer presents a striking series of on-screen words power and power shift, law and lawlessness, order and disorder, hope and despair, strength and weakness, violence and beauty juxtaposing ideals and realities as glimpses of dramatic reenactments unfold, including brutal battles, bloodshed and the anguish of displacement. Carlos Jaramillo/A+E Networks 'Kevin Costner's the West' Related: See Kevin Costner's Life in Photos as the Oscar-Winning Actor Turns 70 Californias reputation for banditry is a big problem, one expert says in the doc about the founding of the American West. Their principal tools are violence and murder. Adventurer and historian Peter Stark adds, As America is moving west, theres a seed that opens up between the free states and the slave states. Its a defining moment in the history of America. From the epic journeys of Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea (the Native American woman who helped them) to the tense showdowns between lawmen and outlaws, Kevin Costner's The West follows a century of sweeping change. It explores the rise of cowboys and ranchers, the strength of pioneer women and the drive of abolitionists and fortune seekers who helped shape the American frontier. These stories will captivate us and shock us, Costner says at the trailers close. Now its time to come face to face with the real story of our wild past. Kevin Costners The West premieres on Sunday, May 26 (Memorial Day) at 9/8c with back-to-back episodes. The third episode airs on May 27 at 8/7c. Subsequent episodes air on Mondays at 9/8c on the HISTORY channel. Read the original article on People FILE - A healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Oct. 5, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) ATLANTA (AP) A key vaccine advisory committee met for the first time under new U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading voice in the U.S. anti-vaccine movement. Tuesday's meeting was, to some extent, business as usual, though with a major question looming: Who would evaluate the committee's recommendations? The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' two-day meeting took up vaccine policy questions that had been put on hold when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly postponed the panel's February meeting. It will be striking if the meeting is routine, given signals and alarms that suggest changes and perhaps reductions in federal vaccination efforts, said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher who studies government health agencies. But Tuesday's meeting started fairly routine, with most members joining through a webcast. They discussed an mpox vaccine and how the winter flu and COVID-19 seasons were going. CDC official asks about COVID-19 vaccines The conversation took a turn when a CDC official summarized a committee workgroup discussion about the waning COVID-19 pandemic, and asked whether the panel might consider changing vaccination recommendations. For example, instead of recommending seasonal shots for all Americans 6 months and older, should the recommendations be more focused at least for certain age groups on people with chronic illnesses or otherwise at higher risk? I guess I am surprised we're considering a risk-based recommendation," said committee member Dr. Denise Jamieson, dean of the University of Iowas medical school. She worried it will be harder to implement, and may cause more headaches for patients who want to get shots and have them covered by insurance. Dr. Jamie Loehr, a family medicine doctor in Itasca, New York, said he is happy the committee is considering a risk-based recommendation but also worried about feasibility and the message it would send. COVID is still a fairly dangerous disease and very, very common, he said. "We are not talking about 10 cases of mpox. We are talking about thousands of hospitalizations and deaths. A vote on the idea could come at the next committee meeting, scheduled for June. Who will take up the committee's recommendations? The 15-member panel of outside scientific experts, created in 1964, makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC directors almost always approve those recommendations on how Food and Drug Administration-cleared vaccines should be used. The CDC's final recommendations are not binding, but for decades they have been widely heeded by doctors and determine the scope and funding of vaccination programs. The committee was slated to vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to make new recommendations regarding three kinds of vaccines, including one for meningitis and another to prevent a mosquito-borne illness called chikungunya. It's not clear who would decide whether to accept those recommendations. The Trump administration named Susan Monarez as acting CDC director in January, and last month picked her to lead the agency. But while shes awaiting Senate confirmation, Monarez has essentially recused herself from regular director duties because of federal law around vacancies, said two CDC officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss agency matters and feared being fired. That means any committee recommendations made Wednesday seems likely to fall to Kennedy. When an AP reporter asked an HHS spokesperson, he said he was looking into the question but did not immediately have an answer. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy told lawmakers he is not antivaccine. But since taking office, he has promised to investigate childrens shots and to take a new look at the possibility of links between childhood vaccinations and autism a theory that has been debunked by a number of studies, including at least a dozen that involved CDC researchers. The panels chair, Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, said she didn't know who would decide whether to sign off on any recommendations. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Image Credit: By mypubliclands/Bob Wick/CC BY 2.0/ Wiki Commons. Stretching for over 363 miles along the Pacific Ocean, the Oregon Coast is renowned for its rugged beauty, dramatic cliffs, and pristine beaches. From secluded coves to expansive sandy shores, there's a beach for every type of traveler to explore along this stunning coastline. After living in Seattle for a short stint, I drove down the entire coast to California. Although I am now loyal to SoCal, many of the beaches in Oregon remain my all time favorite on the west coast. Here are a few of my favorites that you should add to your Oregon itinerary sometime this year! Cannon Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Ive talked about this one before, but if you can only visit one beach along this stretch, then I recommend you make it Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach is one of the most popular beaches in the United States. It's famous for its iconic Haystack Rock and long stretches of sandy shoreline. Its a really unique and stunning beach with an equally charming town to visit while in the area. Seaside Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. This beach is very family-friendly, with a classic promenade and a wide sandy beach. Its a popular destination for beachcombing, kite flying, and picnicking, and there are also many nearby shops, restaurants, and arcades. Many people spend an entire week here vacationing, but its also a fun pit stop along the coast. Manzanita Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Nestled between Neahkahnie Mountain and the Pacific Ocean, Manzanita Beach offers a more tranquil escape with its pristine sands and stunning scenery. This beach also has some of the best tide pools to explore if you are traveling with young kids or just like to explore them yourself. Oswald West State Park Image Credit: Shutterstock. Known for its rugged coastline, old-growth forests, and secluded beaches, Oswald West State Park is a hidden gem along the Oregon Coast. This is a great destination for hiking as there are many trails leading to hidden coves like Short Sand Beach and Devil's Cauldron. The latter is only about .5 miles to reach, making it a great spot to escape some of the crowds but not have to put in too much work to reach an awesome vantage point. Lincoln City Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Stretching for seven miles along the coast, Lincoln City Beach offers endless opportunities for beachcombing, kite flying, and sandcastle building. I actually saw a whale from this beach, so keep your eyes peeled on the sea, and you might catch a glimpse of one, too! Depoe Bay Image Credit: Shutterstock. If you dont see a whale at Lincoln City Beach, then head to Depoe Bay for a good shot at seeing one. Known as the "Whale Watching Capital of the Oregon Coast," Depoe Bay offers prime opportunities to spot gray whales and other marine life. There is also a cool Whale Watching Center to visit, or you can just stroll along the seawall and explore nearby shops and restaurants. Newport Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Home to the historic Yaquina Bay Lighthouse and bustling Newport Bayfront, Newport Beach offers a mix of natural beauty and coastal charm. Here you can explore sandy beaches, visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and sample fresh seafood at local eateries. This is a great beach town for a weekend escape if you are wanting a charming coastal retreat. Yachats Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Surrounded by rocky headlands and tide pools, Yachats Beach is a picturesque destination for beachcombing and tidepooling. There are also some great trails here, many of which lead you along ridges with panoramic views of the coastline. Florence Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. If ATVing is on your bucket list, then Florence is the place to go. Known for its towering sand dunes and scenic beauty, its a popular destination for sandboarding, ATV riding, and beachcombing. We rented ATVs for a few hours here, and it was one of the most memorable experiences of our whole trip! If you want to explore the dunes in a more tranquil way, you can also go horseback riding along the shore or simply relax on the beach. Bandon Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Famous for its stunning sea stacks and rugged coastline, Bandon Beach offers unparalleled natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities. If you dont have much time to set up on the beach, you can also just drive the Beach Loop Drive for panoramic views of the ocean without having to leave your car. This loop is also stunning at sunset! Port Orford Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Tucked away in the charming town of Port Orford, Port Orford Beach offers a peaceful retreat with its sandy shores and scenic vistas. Explore nearby Battle Rock Park, go beachcombing for agates and shells, or watch fishing boats come and go from the harbor. This is another great spot for a full weekend retreat, with many charming inns right by the beach. Gold Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Named for the gold discovered in the sands along the coast, Gold Beach is a hidden gem with uncrowded beaches and stunning scenery. This beach is unique because its where the Rogue River meets the ocean, giving you a chance to enjoy the beach and also explore the river by jetboat if youre up for an adventure. Brookings Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Known for its mild climate and natural beauty, Brookings Beach is a tranquil oasis with its sandy shores and rugged coastline. Its also set in close proximity to Harris Beach State Park which has tons of trails and picnic spots for your venture through Oregon. Hug Point State Recreation Site Image Credit: Shutterstock. A lesser-known hidden gem, this spot is named for the "hug" carved into the cliffs by early travelers. It has a gorgeous beach, sea caves, and even a waterfall to explore. Low tide is the best time to visit this area to give you a chance to really explore all of the tide pools and unique geological features. Cape Blanco State Park Beach Image Credit: Shutterstock. Situated on the westernmost point of Oregon, Cape Blanco State Park Beach offers sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean, rugged cliffs, and a historic lighthouse. This is one of my favorite spots for sunset and equally gorgeous in the early morning. Universal; John Shearer/WireImage Nicky Katt in 1993's Dazed and Confused; Nicky Katt on Feb. 28, 2008 Nicky Katt's death was first reported on Saturday, April 12 He appeared in dozens of movies and television series during his 38-year acting career and last held an onscreen role in 2018 "Nicky was an absolute joy on and off the camera," filmmaker Robert Rodriguez wrote on Instagram in a tribute to the late actor Nicky Katt's cause of death has been announced. The actor, known for movies like Dazed and Confused, Full Frontal and Behind the Candelabra, died by suicide in his Los Angeles-area home, it was confirmed on Monday, April 15. He was 54. "Nicky Katt has been identified and a manner of death has been established," an L.A. Police Department spokesperson said in in a statement. "He died by suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner." Katt's death was first reported on Saturday, April 12. Related: Paying Tribute to the Celebrities Who Have Died in 2025 Gary Miller/FilmMagic Nicky Katt on March 7, 2013 Katt is credited with 75 acting roles between 1980 and 2018. He is perhaps best known for his appearance in 1993's Dazed and Confused, in which he played the character Clint Bruno, who memorably gets into a fight with Adam Goldberg's character Mike Newhouse. 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. In addition to that movie, notable films and television series Katt appeared in include Sister Act, Friends, A Time to Kill, Rules of Engagement, Insomnia, Boston Public, Secondhand Lions, School of Rock and The Dark Knight, among others. Katt last appeared onscreen in a 2018 episode of the Hulu series Casual. Robert Rodriguez, the filmmaker who worked with Katt on movies like Planet Terror, was among Hollywood figures who paid tribute to Katt following the news of his death. SGranitz/WireImage Nicky Katt "Hed come in incredibly prepared for a role with costumes and props. Hed come full of inventive and creative ideas that would make his characters pop off the screen and consistently have an audience howling," Rodriguez wrote in an Instagram post he shared on Sunday, April 13. "Hed deliver lines that would constantly sound as unexpected as an ad lib, yet it was the text. And if he did adlib, it was always gold. Even his physical comedy and timing was truly on another level. Nicky was an absolute joy on and off the camera. A true artist. A friend." "Its very sad to lose Nicky Katt. But I can only be grateful I got to know him, work with him, and watch him create his own truly original brand of magic that will live forever in his favorite medium," Rodriguez added in that statement. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org. Read the original article on People The man charged with setting fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros residence has been denied bail over concerns for the safety of the suspect and the Harrisburg community. During an arraignment hearing Monday, Magistrate District Judge Dale Klein recommended that Cody Balmer remain in jail for the time being. Balmer, 38, faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated arson, terrorism and other crimes after police say he climbed over a fence, broke into the governors mansion in the early hours of Sunday morning and set the fire with a homemade Molotov cocktail he fashioned from lawnmower gasoline and beer bottles. Balmer did not enter a plea on Monday. His attorney, Colton Whitener, told CNN prior to the hearing, We are declining any comments regarding the allegations against Mr. Balmer until more information is learned. The Harrisburg native turned himself in to police, authorities have said. A preliminary hearing in Balmers case is set for April 23. Shapiro, his wife Lori, their four children, two dogs and another family were forced to evacuate the state-owned Harrisburg residence, which was significantly damaged by the fire, hours after the family hosted a Passover dinner, the governor said. No injuries were reported. Balmer has admitted to harboring hatred for Shapiro, and said he would have beaten the governor with a hammer if they had encountered one another and knew it was possible the governor was home at the time, he said, and that people could have been hurt, court records allege. Authorities are still working to identify a motive and are looking into whether Balmer was motivated by antisemitism, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo. I cant speak to it directly because its not of record, Chardo told CNN on Monday. Were looking at the possibility that it was geared towards the governors religion and his views on Israel. A source familiar with the investigation said there was not yet an indication antisemitism was a factor in the incident, but said the investigation into Balmer and his motives remained ongoing. Investigators believe mental health issues may be a factor, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Officials were struck by how casual and relaxed the suspect was throughout the ordeal, the source said. Cody Balmer is escorted from court after his arraignment hearing on Monday, April 14, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. - Mingson Lau/AP Balmers mother, Christie Balmer, told CBS News her son was mentally ill, went off his meds and this is what happened. The suspects mother said she reached out to multiple police departments last week, in an effort to get him picked up, but she couldnt get anybody to help. When asked whether he had a history of mental illness, Balmer told judge Klein, thats the rumor but no. Balmer also denied abusing drugs or alcohol. When asked about medication, he said, medication that led me to different types of behavior, he mumbled. For the past year, Balmer lived at his parents house and worked as a welder at a local body shop, he said during the hearing. The case is seemingly the latest instance of violence or threats against an American elected official. A prominent Democrat, the 51-year-old Shapiro was one of several candidates considered for former Vice President Kamala Harris running mate during her 2024 presidential bid. He has also been floated as a potential presidential candidate for 2028. A surge in violent threats against politicians in recent years has included a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, in 2023 and two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump, a Republican, last year. This type of violence is not OK, Shapiro said at a news conference Sunday, his voice rising. We have to be better than this. Heres what we know about the fire at Shapiros home and the response by officials: Family woken by pounding on the door It took Balmer about an hour to walk from his Harrisburg home to the governors residence early Sunday, he told police in an interview outlined in Mondays affidavit. When he arrived, Balmer hopped the fence surrounding the residence, broke two windows with a hammer, threw an incendiary device through one of the broken windows starting a fire and climbed in through the other to enter the home, according to the affidavit, which cited footage captured by security cameras. Inside, Balmer threw a second incendiary device, causing more flames, the affidavit said. Balmer then kicked a dining room door down and fled the scene, according to the affidavit. Balmer was inside the governors residence for less than one minute, and actively evaded troopers who were searching for him at the same time, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said. He clearly had a plan, Bivens said. He was very methodical in his approach. The suspect was on the property for several minutes before the fires began, according to the source familiar with the investigation. A member of the governors security team was seen on closed-circuit footage walking not far from him, the source said, but its unclear whether the security officer was responding to a motion sensor or on a routine patrol of the compound. Cody Balmer. - Dauphin County District Attorney's Office A caller to emergency services reported a large fire on the first floor of the governors residence, adding they could see fire out the windows, according to audio from the Dauphin County Fire and EMS scanner obtained by CNN. Shapiro and his family woke up around 2 a.m. Sunday to loud bangs on the door from one of the state troopers assigned to their detail alerting them to the flames, Shapiro told reporters. Harrisburg Bureau of Fire responded around 2 a.m. and extinguished the flames, according to state police. A security review is now underway to determine how we can ensure that we dont have a repeat situation like this, Bivens said. Prior to the incident, the Pennsylvania Capitol Police alerted the governors security detail, which patrols the residence and its grounds, of a possible breach of the fence next to a utility pole on the Geiger Street side of the compound, a law enforcement source told CNN Monday. The state police security detail then sent officers onto the grounds to investigate whether someone was inside the perimeter, according to the source. At that point, a fire was discovered, and the priority shifted to getting the governor, his family and guests out of the residence, the law enforcement source said. Shapiro has praised law enforcement for its response. Despite that, the incident is seen by many within the Pennsylvania State Police as a failure, and some personnel could face discipline, according to the source familiar with the investigation. The governors residence has 24/7 security, even when Shapiro is not home, the source said. The property also has numerous security cameras equipped with motion sensor technology that are supposed to be monitored. There have been numerous past instances where the motion sensors were tripped by squirrels and cats, the source said. The windows and door are damaged after an overnight fire at the governors official residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. - Marc Levy/AP Suspect turned himself in, authorities say After Balmer fled the scene, a woman who identified herself as his ex-partner called police to say Balmer had confessed he started the fire, according to the affidavit. Balmer then turned himself in to police headquarters, authorities said. Balmer told police he removed gasoline from a lawn mower and poured it into beer bottles to make Molotov cocktails, which he threw into the governors home, the affid avit said. In his interview with police, Balmer admitted to harboring hatred towards Shapiro, the affidavit said, without elaborating on reasons for those feelings. Balmer also said he knew it was possible Shapiro and others were home when the fire started, the document said. Balmer was asked specifically what he would have done if Governor Shapiro found him inside of his residence, to which (Balmer) advised he would have beaten him with his hammer, the affidavit reads. Balmer had expressed disdain for former President Joe Biden, also a Democrat, on social media multiple times since 2021. In one post that January, Balmer wrote in part, Biden supporters shouldnt exist. Where were you his first run? Well aware of the trash he is. In September 2021, Balmer posted a meme critical of the Biden administrations handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. The meme shows Biden in a car with text that reads, Get in, loser. Were leaving Afghanistan. The next image shows Biden appearing to drive off, with text that says, *Drives off without you*. Balmer was previously charged on suspicion of assaulting members of his family two years ago after attempting suicide, court records show. He was arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts of simple assault in the 2023 case. Available court documents do not indicate whether Balmer entered a plea. The case is pending, and Balmer had a court date for the case scheduled for Wednesday, an administrator with the clerk of Dauphin County told CNN. Attorney Colton Whitener is also representing Balmer in the 2023 and did not respond to CNNs request for charges regarding the simple assault charges. In another case, Balmer pleaded guilty in 2016 to forgery and theft by deception charges, court documents show. Balmer could also face federal charges in Sundays incident, the Dauphin County district attorney said. The FBIs Philadelphia field office is assisting state police in its investigation, the agency told CNN in an email. This photo released by the commonwealth of Pennsylvania shows damage to the Pennsylvania governor's residence in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, after a fire on Sunday. - Commonwealth Media Services Fire left historic governors residence significantly damaged The fire caused significant fire damage to the residences piano room and the dining room, the affidavit said. Walls and ceilings are torched, with floors covered in ash and furniture destroyed, photos show. There are remnants of the Passover dinner the governor hosted Saturday including a Passover Crafts sign. The Pennsylvania governors residence is a 29,000 square foot Georgian-style building on the Susquehanna River, which has been home to eight governors and their families since it was completed in 1968, according to the Pennsylvania government. The residences first floor houses both temporary and permanent art exhibits. Shapiro says he refuses to be deterred In an emotional news conference Sunday, Shapiro said the fire was an attack not just on his family but on the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He expressed gratitude for the messages of support and prayers he and his family have received, including from numerous politicians. Vice President JD Vance, a Republican, called the attack really disgusting violence, and US Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, described it as truly appalling. I want you all to know that your prayers lift us up, and in this moment of darkness we are choosing to see light, Shapiro said, choking up. Still, Shapiro said he will not be deterred by the alleged attack. If this individual was trying to deter me from doing my job as your governor, rest assured, I will find a way to work even harder than I was, he said. The governor also highlighted his pride in his Jewish faith. If he was trying to terrorize our family, our friends, the Jewish community, who joined us for a Passover Seder in that room last night, hear me on this: we celebrated our faith last night, proudly and in a few hours, we will celebrate our second Seder of Passover, he said. No one will deter me or my family, or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly and proudly. CNNs Ali Main, Zoe Sottile, Josh Campbell, Sara Smart and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Getty Baby laying in a crib. A new study has found children's mattresses may contain toxic chemicals. Published on Tuesday, April 15 in the Environmental Science & Technology journal, the study examined the levels of "chemicals of concern" present in young children's bedrooms. In a follow-up study to determine the origin of chemicals, researchers found new mattresses to be a significant source. Related: Infant Deaths Linked to Decreasing Bat Populations and Pesticide Use in New Study Senior study author Miriam Diamond, a professor in the Earth Sciences Department at the University of Toronto, said her team examined the sleeping environments of 25 children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years old. In doing so, researchers "found worrisome levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants and UV filters, Diamond said all chemicals that are proven to be harmful to brain development. The harmful chemicals were most concentrated around the bed area, the study found. The companion study, which sought to determine why, found that children's new mattresses in particular exhibit high concentrations of such chemicals, which is exacerbated when the child's body warmth and weight is present. Getty Baby laying in a crib. The study was conducted in Toronto and Ontario, and researchers told CNN the mattress brands though unlisted in the study were common, lower-cost options at major retail stores. Related: Kids Are Starting Their Periods Earlier, and They Are More Irregular Than They Were in the Past, Study Says 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. Reducing exposure includes little fixes, like frequently washing bedding and toys both of which serve as a barrier of sorts between direct contact with the mattress. However, because items like pillows or toys are often vessels in which the chemicals are absorbed, the study also recommended limiting the amount of items on the bed. Yet, the larger solution to the issue is lobbying for regulation reform, the study concluded. Parents can mitigate the issue, but if on a legal level regulations are lax or unenforced, exposure to some degree remains inevitable. Read the original article on People Lori Vallow Daybell during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, in 2023. The medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Charles Vallow, the fourth husband of doomsday mom Lori Vallow Daybell, testified Monday that he could have been lying on a floor when he was shot after a bullet had already gone through his heart. Vallow Daybell, who is on trial in the death of her fourth husband, claims her brother, Alex Cox, fatally shot Charles Vallow in self-defense on July 11, 2019. Cox died later that year from a pulmonary embolism and was never charged. Derek Bumgarner, a medical examiner with the Maricopa County Medical Examiners Office, said that Charles Vallow died from multiple gunshot wounds. The fatal wound went through his heart. One wound was to the chest and was slightly downward, Bumgarner testified in Maricopa County Superior Court. The second wound was to the abdomen and was upward, the medical examiner said. Bumgarner testified that the first shot came at a short range of between 2 and 4 feet. The second shot, Bumgarner said, had a "shored" exit wound, meaning Charles Vallow could have been lying on a firm surface like a floor when he was shot. Charles Vallow also had abrasions on his knees that Bumgarner said could have happened when he fell to the ground after being shot. Vallow Daybell, who is representing herself, briefly cross-examined the medical examiner. She asked if the abrasions on Charles Vallow's knees, as well as abrasions on his hands, could have occurred during a scuffle before he was shot. "Yes," Bumgarner told Vallow Daybell. She also asked if the "shored" exit wound could have occurred while he was still falling. "Not really," Bumgarner said. "If he was still falling and still passing through air, not yet having hit the ground, that would not have caused a shored wound." "So, if he had hit the ground and bounced on the ground from the first shot as the second shot was traveling, that could not be possible?" she asked. "That he hit the ground as the shot was exiting the shoulder?" "He would have had to have been on a firm surface to create that shored wound," Bumgarner said. Vallow Daybell then asked if that type of exit wound could occur from tight clothing, such as bamboo clothing. "How tough that material would be?" Vallow Daybell said. Bumgarner said he was not familiar with that type of clothing. During a short redirect, prosecutor Treena Kay asked the medical examiner if he would expect to see two shored exit wounds if a person was wearing bamboo clothing. "If both the exits were covered with that shirt, yes," he responded. The jury also heard from Chandler police officer Cassandra Ynclan and saw recordings of Vallow Daybell's interview with police on the day that Charles Vallow was shot. Ynclan said Vallow Daybell didn't appear to be emotional at the scene. "Just seemed very kind of ordinary and kind of nonchalant," Ynclan testified. The recordings showed Vallow Daybell laughing at times as she casually told Ynclan in an interview room about the moments leading up to Charles Vallow being shot. She said there was an argument after she refused to give her husband back his cell phone and that she was outside when she heard a gunshot come from inside her home. Vallow Daybell was sentenced in 2023 to life in prison without the possibility of parole after she was convicted in a separate trial for the murders of her two children, Joshua JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell. She is also charged with conspiring to kill Brandon Boudreaux, her nieces estranged husband. A trial date has not been set, and she has pleaded not guilty. Gary Hershorn/Getty The Carnival Sunrise cruise ship sails in the Hudson River in front of the Empire State Building and Hudson Yards in New York City on May 23, 2019 as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey. A Michigan man who carried out a bomb hoax on a cruise ship last year has been sentenced to prison. Joshua Lowe, 19, was sentenced to eight months in prison on Monday, April 16, several months after he was indicted on criminal charges by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan, according to reporting from Associated Press. Anyone making a bomb threat should expect to be taken at his word. Fortunately, this particular hoax did not result in physical injury, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said in a court filing obtained by AP. The U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan, did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment on the incident. SimpleImages/Getty A photo of a judge, gavel and scales representing jurisdiction. Related: 'Hero' Cops Thought They Were Dead When a Man Allegedly Threw Fake Bomb in Their Police Van According to a press release from the district attorneys office, Lowe was charged with making a false bomb threat after he sent an email to Carnival Cruise Lines in January 2024. It read: Hey, I think someone might have a bomb on your sunrise cruise ship. The email was received after the cruise set sail from Miami toward Jamaica as part of a Caribbean cruise. The message prompted the ships personnel to individually search over a thousand staterooms. Carnival also alerted the U.S. Coast Guard and Jamaican authorities; the latter escorted the ship to port. 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. Kessler said, per a statement to AP, that FBI agents were able to trace the email address back to Lowe, who had been living with his girlfriends family at the time. Lowe admitted he sent the message because he was upset that the family went on the cruise while leaving him behind to care for their pets, Kessler said. Gary Hershorn/Getty The Carnival Sunrise cruise ship sails on the Hudson River after an afternoon thunderstorm passed over lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on May 23, 2019 as seen from Hoboken, New Jersey. Lowe apologized for committing the crime in a letter to U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney, AP reported. This is all my fault and take full responsibility, he wrote. Related: 17-Year-Old Boy Who Allegedly Boarded Plane with Shotgun Charged with Multiple Offences In addition to his prison sentence, he will be required to pay restitution for expenses associated with the hoax, the district attorneys office said. Bomb threats are not a laughing matter and are extremely irresponsible, Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in the district attorneys office press release. When individuals make false hoax threats, they divert critical law enforcement resources and spread unnecessary fear. The FBI takes all threats to life seriously and will ensure that those who resort to this kind of intimidation face the appropriate consequences, Gibson added. Read the original article on People Mississippi's Capitol Police, once primarily responsible for guarding the Statehouse, have increased in visibility recently. Two Mississippi Capitol Police officers have been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a young father during a 2022 traffic stop, part of a string of shootings by officers in an aggressive push to stamp out spiking crime in Jackson. A grand jury in Hinds County indicted the officers, Michael Rhinewalt and Stephen Frederick, last month. Rhinewalt is on unpaid administrative leave; Frederick resigned from the Capitol Police in March 2023 after a drunken driving arrest. Rhinewalt was arrested last week and released on $100,000 bond; his indictment was unsealed Monday. His defense lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. Frederick has not yet been arrested, and it is not clear when or whether he would surrender to authorities, nor was it clear whether he had an attorney who could speak about the charges. After he left the Capitol Police, Frederick went to work for the Scott County Sheriffs Office; it was unclear Tuesday whether he remained employed there. The Capitol Police are a state-run force that had been largely responsible for security at state government buildings until 2022, when the governor deployed officers to help with spiking crime. The charges Tuesday are the third case in which a current or former officer has been accused of wrongdoing during that effort. Rhinewalt and Frederick have been charged with shooting Jaylen Lewis, 25, during what authorities said at the time was a police response to a traffic violation. Lewis mother has long maintained that officers wrongly shot her son and has sought justice since the shooting. Rhinewalt, Frederick and other members of the Capitol Polices crime suppression unit, called Flex, were conducting a drug narcotics operation around 9 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2022, and saw a white Jeep Grand Cherokee run a red light, according to an incident report provided in response to a public records request. The officers opened fire after they tried to pull over the Jeep, but details of the encounter were redacted from the report at the time. A death certificate later confirmed that Lewis, the father of a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy, had been shot in the head. Rhinewalt and Frederick said they fired on Lewis in self-defense, according to the indictment, but the grand jury concluded it "was not a reasonable belief under the circumstances." Jaylen Lewis with his daughter, Brooklyn, and son, Zahari. Lewis was one of four people Capitol Police shot in the first six months of their 2022 deployment to Jackson. The victims included Sherita Harris, a mother of five who was struck in the head while she was riding in a car that Rhinewalt and another officer, Jeffery Walker, fired on during a chase on Aug. 14, 2022. Rhinewalt and Walker were indicted in December on aggravated assault charges in that shooting. A federal grand jury also indicted Walker, who left the Capitol Police in July 2023, in December on civil rights charges alleging he beat a motorist after a 2022 pursuit. Rhinewalt and Walker have pleaded not guilty in those cases. In another shooting by Capitol Police, Latasha Smith was struck in the arm in her apartment on Dec. 11, 2022, as police opened fire on a suspected car thief outside. State authorities have deemed the shooting justified. In the wake of the barrage, NBC News found that the Capitol Police had deployed the officers to Jackson without modernizing policies to reflect their new mission. In 2023, the agency quietly revised its rules on use of force. It also now equips officers with body cameras and dashboard cameras. But the Capitol Police have also amassed more power, broadening their jurisdiction to the entire city, from beyond a district surrounding downtown Jackson. Most elected leaders in the Democratic-run city opposed the measure, but state Republicans made it law. An Indianapolis woman was charged with multiple counts after she took a gun to a school in Decatur Township, Ind., authorities said. An angry Indiana mother faces multiple charges after she was accused of taking a gun to her sixth grade daughter's elementary school and threatening her lesbian teacher to "kiss ur kids goodbye" after she gave an assignment about flags, officials said Tuesday. Carrie Rivers, 48, was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school property and harassment in connection with the incident at Valley Mills Elementary School in Indianapolis. Rivers threatened her daughter's teacher over "a work assignment that had to do with same-sexuality relationships," an affidavit supporting the womans arrest said. Decatur Township school police officers answered a call last Wednesday about an "irate parent" on campus. When they arrived, officers noticed Rivers had something on her waistband that looked like a firearm, the affidavit says. "Carrie Rivers stated that she did have a gun as I was removing it from her person," responding officer Tabetha Emenaker wrote in the affidavit. "I advised Carrie Rivers on the law in regard to having a firearm on school premises and that it was an arrestable offense. She understood and stated that she didn't even realize that she had it on because she is so used to wearing it and has been on school property with it before." Rivers then said she was taking her daughter out of Valley Mills Elementary and opting for home-schooling, police said. She also called her daughter's teacher a slur disparaging to lesbians, the affidavit says. Police let Rivers go, but then she sent a threatening message to her daughter's teacher 25 minutes later, the affidavit says. Rivers told the teacher that "god will condemn you to hell" and that "your a child predator," the affidavit says. Rivers is accused of telling the teacher to "say ur prayers and kiss ur kids goodbye and goodnight u never know when god says its our time so be prepared." The teacher, who keeps a picture of her wife and daughter on her desk, told police she "gave an assignment to the whole class with the subject matter of flags." When she was giving examples of country flags, she also referred to the rainbow flag in the classroom with the words "be kind" on it, the affidavit says. Rivers told the teacher she disagreed with an assignment, accusing her of "trying to push her personal agenda in regard to sexuality on her daughter," the affidavit says. The teacher said she allowed Rivers' daughter to skip the assignment. Still, in another message Rivers is accused of sending to the teacher, she called her a child predator who tells "precious innocent kids that it's ok to be in same sex relationships," according to the affidavit. Rivers' husband, Leon Rivers, said that his wife meant no harm and that she has a firearm for "security around all the time" and "forgot to leave it" behind when she was rushing in to school that day. "We see [other parents] bring guns into the school all the time, just to drop kids off," he told NBC News on Tuesday. "I mean, you know, just coming and dropping the kids off and walking back out, like, for three seconds. They park in the front, drop the kid off, walk them in and walk right back out." Rivers will not be allowed on campus again, according to the Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township. "No threats were made against students or staff at that time. The police suspected that the parent had possession of a concealed handgun on her person and escorted her out of the building. At that point, they took possession of the weapon from the parent without incident outside the school. The parent stated that she forgot to remove the handgun before arriving on school property," the district said in a statement. "After the incident, it came to our attention that the parent then sent harassing and threatening messages to her childs teacher. A warrant was filed for her arrest, and she is not permitted on any Decatur Township school property. We are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for students and staff, and are grateful for the quick action of the office staff and school police in handling the situation safely." Emilee Calametti | The Center Square (The Center Square) The American Legislative Exchange Councils annual "Rich States, Poor States" report ranked Arizona second in economic performance. The economic performance ranking is based on data from the last 10 years, Jonathan Williams, one of the study's authors, told The Center Square. The report was released Tuesday. Despite Arizona's high ranking for its past performance, the state fell in the outlook for its economic future to sixth place after being ranked third from 2022 to 2024. States fall behind by standing still, said Williams, ALEC president and chief economist. Williams said Arizona has taken its foot off the gas as it deals with a divided government where Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed pro-growth policies sent to her desk. Arizona is stuck in this gridlock with the battle between the governor and the legislative branch. Many other states are moving forward at warp speed to become more competitive states, he explained. Williams said states in the top 10 are well-run states with great resumes in domestic migration and job creation. He added that people are going to those states because they have lower taxes, limited government and a free market approach to government, which is one that works. The studys co-author said it was a mixed message for Arizona because it is ranked in the top 10, which he called very positive." However, he added that some of Arizonas longer-term economic trends are worrying. Williams used the corporate tax rate as an example. Arizona didnt adjust its rate, while other states cut their corporate tax rate, allowing them to move ahead of Arizona. He said Arizona could adjust its tort system costs and sales taxes to improve its rankings. The study says the state ranks 30th and 45th, respectively, in these categories. If Arizona were to lower these factors, it would put the state in the driver's seat as a tax-cutting leader nationwide, Williams said. The rankings have three categories: state gross domestic product, absolute domestic migration and non-farm payroll unemployment. State gross domestic product was calculated by observing state GDP growth figures over 10 years from 2013 to 2023," according to ALEC. Absolute domestic migration is determined by the number of Americans who moved to Arizona from 2014 to 2023. Non-farm payroll unemployment measures Arizonas non-farm employment growth from 2013 to 2023. The states ranking is very competitive because it ranks in the top five in those categories, Williams said. He explained that other competitive states, like Nevada and Utah, surround Arizona. Nevada ranked 14th in its economic outlook rating, while Utah ranked first. Williams said Nevada could possibly overtake Arizona in its rankings, but he doesnt see Nevada catching Arizona soon. Nevada has the inherent advantage of being one of nine states without a personal income tax, he said. Like Arizona, Nevada faces a gridlocked government with a Republican governor and a Democratic-controlled legislative branch, Williams said. Arizona has a Democratic governor with a Republican-controlled Legislature. If Nevada got a very free market government, it could be a top-five state quickly due to its lack of income tax and some other positive factors in current law," Williams said. He added that the state would need to change other variables for this to happen. Another state, Colorado, ranked No. 17 in its future economic outlook, but No. 6 in economic performance for 2013-2023. The state's gross domestic product grew 81.84% during that 10-year period, which puts it No. 7 among the 50 states for GDP, according to ALEC. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks at the Republican National Convention. https://milwaukee.granicus.com/ (The Center Square) Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she wants her state to eat healthier. The Republican submitted a waiver to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday seeking federal approval for her plan to ban soft drinks and candy from Arkansas Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), often called food stamps. Americas facing a chronic disease epidemic, Sanders said during a news conference Tuesday announcing her plans. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic illnesses are personal struggles for millions of Americans and driving significantly higher costs in our healthcare system. Sadly, Arkansas statistics are even worse than the nation as a whole. Critics of the move, such as American Beverage, derided the governors decision, arguing that the waiver won't improve health outcomes and noting that the beverage industry supports 1,385 jobs statewide and contributes $391.9 million annually to the Arkansas economy. Make no mistake, this waiver wont make an ounce of difference on health, the trade organization said in a news release. Obesity has skyrocketed in the last two decades while beverage calories per serving have dropped by 42% thanks to our industrys efforts to empower Americans with more choice and information. In fact, 60% of beverages Americans buy today have zero sugar due to our innovation. American Beverage noted the change would still let people buy various desserts, snack cakes, and other unhealthy items while only excluding two types of products. If Governor Sanders is serious about making Arkansas healthy again, this would be a comprehensive effort not one narrowly focused on excluding one population from buying just two sets of products in the grocery store, it added. Sanders noted that one-third of Arkansas residents are either diabetic or pre-diabetic, a number she wants the state to reduce. When the numbers are that high, its important for us to examine a system that actively encourages and subsidizes unhealthy, highly processed, addictive products, she said. While speaking about chronic illness, Arkansas Department of Human Services Secretary Kristi Putnam said its logically inconsistent for a state to pay to make people unhealthy and then pay to try to manage their poor health. This makes no sense, Putnam said. Everything we do at DHS should contribute to improving health. Why do we contribute to poor health in one program and then try to fix it in another program? she added. American Beverage countered, saying Sanders is sending a conflicting message. If the Governor is sincere about what taxpayers can buy with SNAP dollars, this sends a ridiculously conflicted message: its okay to buy a wide array of desserts, snack cakes and treats, just not soda and candy," it said. "How does that make sense? Now if Arkansas really wanted to save its taxpayers money, it could eliminate the $44.7 million in SNAP fraud and overpayments in the state. The waiver also requests that the USDA let Arkansas make rotisserie chicken a SNAP-eligible item; heated foods are generally ineligible for SNAP purchases. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, who attended the news conference, said the request from Arkansas fits President Donald Trumps public health agenda. "President Trump has given his administration, our administration, a mandate to make America healthy again, she said. This is one of the things he campaigned on and this is what the American people voted for." American Beverage noted that Trump also campaigned on U.S. jobs and stands with American workers. Americas beverage companies will always stand with our consumers and their right to make the best decisions for their families. We are working every day to deliver more choices and information and do our part in making America healthier," it said. "And were providing the good-paying, family-supporting jobs the president wants the type of jobs that dont require you to be on SNAP in the first place. Just as with our consumers, our workers and products dont deserve to be denigrated either. SNAP is a $119 billion program that provides food for lower-income Americans. Yet, 23% ($27 billion) of that spending goes towards unhealthy foods like soda, candy, desserts and unhealthy snacks, according to a news release from the governors office. Sanders said during the news conference that shes not banning people from buying junk food. The government isnt dictating what you can and cant buy with your hard-earned money, she said. Its simply saying that taxpayers are no longer going to cover the cost of junk food like candy and soft drinks. The Chinese Embassy in Argentina has criticized U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for maliciously slandering the country as it continues to fund development assistance for African and Latin American countries. We advise the U.S. to adjust its mindset, instead of spending time repeatedly smearing and attacking China, meddling in the foreign cooperation of regional countries, the embassy said, according to Reuters. The statement comes after Bessent said he met with Argentine President Javier Milei a President Trump ally on Monday to emphasize the administrations economic support for the country. Bessent, who has been critical of China amid the tariff war and ongoing geopolitical competition, spoke with BloombergTV after the meeting, where he said the administration is looking to help Latin American countries avoid the rapacious foreign aid agreements made by China in Africa. What we are trying to keep from happening is what has happened on the African continent, where China has signed a number of these rapacious deals marked as aid, where they are really, they take mineral rights, theyve added huge amounts of debt on to these countries balance sheets, Bessent said, referencing the countrys investment in infrastructure and commercial projects. Since Trumps return to the White House, Bessent has taken on a leading role in the Trump administration and its sweeping tariff agenda. The Chinese Embassy in Argentina disagreed with Bessents Monday remarks, saying the claim about agreements being predatory and the large amounts of debt is false. The intention of these cooperations has been to contribute to socioeconomic development and improvement of the well-being of the people, which have been very well received by the beneficiary governments and peoples, the embassy said in a statement, translated from Spanish. The embassy argued the U.S. is lacking respect for developing countries and the Global South and has asked the administration to refrain from deliberately obstructing assistance from one country to another. Chinas cooperation with Latin American countriesincluding Argentina is a South-South partnership that always adheres to the principles of equal treatment, mutual benefit, and shared benefits, the embassy said. It never aims to carve our a sphere of influence or target third parties. Earlier this week, China and Argentina finalized a deal allowing the South American country to borrow $5 billion in a currency swap, The Associated Press reported. The Treasury Department said it had no further comment than Bessents original remarks. Updated at 12:56 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. CBP One app U.S. Customs and Border Protection (The Center Square) A federal judge in Boston issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed to stop the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from terminating a Biden-era parole program (CHNV Parole) that was used to facilitate the illegal entry of more than 531,000 citizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela into the U.S. Eleven CHNV noncitizens, seven sponsors, the organizing plaintiff, Haitian Bridge Alliance, and the Justice Action Center sued. The plaintiffs are currently living in California, Georgia, Nebraska, Massachusetts, New York and Wisconsin, according to the lawsuit. They sued after CHNV parolees received a notice through their U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services online account notifying them that their parole was being revoked. A similar notice was sent to nearly one million released into the U.S. through a Biden-era CBP One phone app, The Center Square reported. On March 25, DHS published a notification in the Federal Register that effective immediately, it was terminating the CHNV parole program and those without a lawful basis to remain in the U.S. were ordered to self-deport. DHS also said it intends to remove promptly aliens who entered the United States under the CHNV parole programs who do not depart the United States before their parole termination date and do not have any lawful basis to remain in the United States. DHS retains its discretion to commence enforcement action against any alien at any time, including during the 30-day waiting period created by this notice. CHNV parole status is slated to end April 24. After a hearing was held last week in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction Monday halting DHSs parole revocation, arguing it wasnt done on a case-by-case basis. The Trump administration, and state attorneys general who sued to end the parole program during the Biden administration, argued it and other Biden parole programs were unlawful because they facilitated the illegal entry of millions of inadmissible foreign nationals en masse instead of assessing actual humanitarian claims on a case-by-case basis under specific circumstances. Talwani also stayed all individual notices sent to noncitizens that their CHNV parole was revoked pending further court order. The Trump administration is appealing the ruling. The CHNV parole program was among more than a dozen identified by House Republicans as illegal and used as evidence to impeach former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. After the Biden administration reversed Trump-era policies and Mayorkas directed federal employees to not enforce some aspects of federal immigration law, record numbers of foreign nationals began illegally entering the country, totaling more than 14 million, The Center Square exclusively reported, including two million who evaded capture. Biden and Mayorkas implemented what they called a lawful, safe and orderly means of traveling to the United States through the parole programs and through hundreds of commercial international flights funded by the U.S. taxpayer, The Center Square reported. DHS claimed those being admitted to the U.S. were vetted for national security and public safety reasons, which numerous inspector general reports and congressional investigations found to be untrue. While Mayorkas claimed the parole process would lower illegal border crossings, more than three million illegally entered the U.S. or attempted illegal entry from CHNV countries, The Center Square exclusively reported. They totaled more than the population of 20 individual U.S. states. More than one million were from Venezuela, including members of the terrorist organization Tren de Aragua, whose criminal activity has been confirmed in at least 22 states, The Center Square exclusively reported. The Trump administration is prioritizing finding and removing TdA members as well as others its designated as members of foreign terrorist organizations. Talwani argued that it is not in the public interest to summarily declare that hundreds of thousands of individuals are no longer considered lawfully present in the country. The Trump administration argues they were never lawfully present in the U.S. and pose a danger to society and drain on public resources. As the border crisis worsened, multiple Democratic governors and mayors called on the Biden administration for financial assistance, and received it, in response to local resources being drained and law enforcement overwhelmed by violent crimes directly tied to CHNV parolees. Multiple reports revealed how Mayorkas parole programs enabled violent crimes to be committed against Americans, The Center Square reported. Volusia County Jail Kymberlee Schopper A woman from Florida has been arrested for allegedly selling human remains. According to Fox 35 Orlando, ABC Action News and WESH 2, Kymberlee Schopper was charged after reportedly purchasing and offering to sell human bones on Facebook Marketplace. Fox 35 Orlando reports that the 52-year-old faces charges of trading in human tissue. Per the outlet, the Orange City Police Department received a report on Dec. 21, 2023, that a business in the area, which was identified as Wicked Wonderland, was trying to sell human bones. The report also featured pictures from the businesss Facebook page, which advertised a slew of human bones. According to ABC Action News and Wesh 2, Schopper co-founded the website with Ashley Lelesi. A description on the company's website says, "Meet the wicked women behind Wonderland. A mother and daughter team who revel in the madness of the strange and unusual; the dark and macabre." "Having both come from a medical background we have a passion for sharing our knowledge and expertise in the preservation and exploration of anatomy and pathology of all organic beings," their description continues. Getty Stock image of police tape The summary of the company's goals concludes with, "Furthermore, we incorporate our spiritual beliefs and practices into all of our work, ensuring that every ethically sourced specimen is handled with the utmost care and respect. Much Love ~ Kym and Ash." PEOPLE reached out to the Orange City Police Department and Wicked Wonderland for comment, but they did not immediately respond. 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. Outlets report that authorities found five types of human bones put up for sale on the website, including two human skull fragments for $90, a human clavicle and scapula for $90, a human rib for $35, a human vertebrae for $35 and a partial human skull for $600. The remains are reportedly being used as evidence and have been sent to the Medical Examiner's Office for testing. Getty The hand and forearm of a replica skeleton (stock image) According to Fox 35 Orlando, officers spoke to one of the store owners, who told them that they were unaware it was illegal to sell human bones in Florida, adding that they had been trading the items for years. "She confirmed that the store had multiple human bone fragments, all purchased from private sellers, and mentioned she has documentation for these transactions but could not provide it at that moment," an arrest affidavit read, per the outlet. "She described the bones as genuine human remains and delicate in nature." Officials then said they met the store owner, Schopper, who claimed the bones were "educational models," which under state law would protect their sale. However, per the outlet, authorities stated it was likely that the cranium and the skull fragment were archaeological finds, with one bone likely to be over 100 years old and another likely to be more than 500 years old. Schopper was reportedly arrested on Thursday, April 10, and released the following day from the Volusia County Jail on a bond of $7,500. The investigation is still ongoing as of the time of publication. Read the original article on People Relatives mourn over the bodies of Abdullah Habbash, along with the bodies of six brothers from the Abu Mahadi family, all members of a Palestinian charity organization linked to Hamas, who were killed earlier in an Israeli army strike on the car they were traveling in, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)" DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people all patients and medics according to a spokesman for the hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has bombarded and raided hospitals throughout the 18-month war in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accuse Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting Gazas health system. The number of people killed by Israel's war in Gaza has climbed above 51,000 people, according to an updated toll released by the territory's Health Ministry on Tuesday. Since Israel ended the ceasefire last month, it has blocked all food, medicine and other aid from entering Gaza and its forces have seized more than half of the coastal territory. The war in Gaza started when the Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Here's the latest: Jordan's government arrests 16 people in anti-terror operation Such operations are rare in Jordan, a strategically important U.S. ally. The suspects are accused of trying to undermine national security and incite chaos in the kingdom, and have been under surveillance since 2021, said government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani. Among other things, they're accused of manufacturing short-range missiles, possessing explosives and automatic weapons, concealing a ready-to-use missile, and illegally recruiting and training people. They are being held in custody until trial. Jordans government said the accused have political affiliations and belong to what it called unlicensed groups, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordans judiciary dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood in 2020. In a statement Tuesday, the Muslim Brotherhood called the accusations unfair and said it was committed to Jordans stability and security. The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Arab Islamist political movement with branches in many countries, describing itself as a charitable and political organization, although experts say some branches have apparent ties to militants. Hamas says it lost contact with US-Israeli hostage after a strike A spokesman for Hamas says an Israeli strike caused the group to lose contact with the militants guarding Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier held hostage in Gaza. A direct bombardment targeted their location. We are still trying to reach them, said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas armed wing, on Tuesday. Hamas had released a video of the 21-year-old soldier just days earlier, likely speaking under duress. He is the last living American being held captive by Hamas. Hamas did not say where in Gaza the strike may have taken place. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The Hamas announcement comes as Israeli leaders face growing domestic pressure to halt the fighting and reach a deal to bring home the hostages. Netanyahu makes a surprise visit to Gaza Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to troops in northern Gaza on Tuesday, his office said, without providing details. Netanyahu has previously entered Gaza a handful of times during the war. The visit comes as Israels longest-serving prime minister faces dueling, possibly incompatible pressures: Families of the Israeli hostages want him to cut a deal with Hamas to free them, while his far-right coalition partners want to continue the war with the aim of annihilating the militant group. A second US aircraft carrier is in Mideast waters ahead of second round of Iran-US nuclear talks That's according to satellite photos analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press, which show the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group are operating in the Arabian Sea to back up the USS Harry S. Truman. The operation of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group in the Arabian Sea comes as suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded parts of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overnight into Tuesday. American officials have repeatedly linked the United States' expanded bombing campaign against the Houthis under President Donald Trump as a means to pressure Iran in the negotiations. The Houthis have been attacking shipping in the waters off Yemen since November 2023 attacks the rebels say aim to end Israels war against Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. Navys Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which oversees the Mideast, declined to discuss details of the Vinsons operations. However, hours after the APs report, the U.S. militarys Central Command posted videos from the two carriers on the social platform X saying there had been 24/7 strikes on the Houthis by the two carriers. Netanyahu rejects Palestinian state in call with Macron In the call with Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the creation of a Palestinian state would be a huge reward for terrorism and result in a militant-run entity just miles from Israeli cities. In his own statement posted on X, French President Emmanuel Macron called for another ceasefire, the release of hostages and renewing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has blocked for over a month. He did not mention recognition of a Palestinian state. Macron said last week that France should aim to recognize a Palestinian state by June when it joins Saudi Arabia in hosting an international conference on implementing a two-state solution. The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is widely seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the decades-old conflict. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for a future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down after Netanyahu returned to power in 2009. A number of European states have recently recognized a Palestinian state in what is largely a symbolic move aimed at reviving the peace process. Dozens of civilians killed in Lebanon since ceasefire, UN says The office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said Tuesday that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, ending the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes on what it says are Hezbollah facilities and officials since then, saying it aims to keep the militant group from rearming. Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal through the strikes as well as by continuing to occupy five strategic points in southern Lebanon. U.N. Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan said in a statement the Israeli strikes have also hit civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, medical facilities, roads and at least one cafe. From the Lebanese side, at least five rockets, two mortars and a drone have been launched at Israel since the ceasefire, he said. There were no casualties reported from those strikes. Nature gave the world the dire wolf 2.6 million years ago, and then, through the hard hand of extinction, took it awaysome 10,000 to 13,000 years ago when the last of the species died out. Now, the dire wolf is back, brought bounding into the 21st century by Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based biotech company. On April 8, Colossal announced it had used both cloning and gene-editing based on two ancient samples of dire wolf DNA to birth three pups, the six-month-old males Romulus and Remus and the two-month-old female Khaleesi. Our team took DNA from a 13,000 year old tooth and a 72,000 year old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies, said Colossal CEO Ben Lamm in a statement that accompanied the announcement of the births. It was once said, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on. Read more: The Return of the Dire Wolf So what, exactly, does that work involve? Traditional cloningthe kind that famously resulted in Dolly the sheep in 1996, and has since been used to create clones of pigs, cats, deer, horses, mice, goats, gray wolves, dogs and moreis a relatively straightforward, if invasive, process. First, a single cell is taken from a tissue sample of the animal to be cloned. That cells nucleuswhich contains the individuals entire genetic codeis then extracted and inserted into a donor ovum from the same species whose own nucleus has been removed. The ovum carrying the new genetic material is allowed to develop into an embryo and then transferred into the womb of a surrogate, which ultimately gives birth to an exact duplicate of the animal from which the donor cell was taken. Colossal says its dire wolf work had key differences. Scientists first analyzed the genome of the dire wolves contained in the ancient tooth and skull. Comparing those genomes to that of the gray wolfthe dire wolfs closest living relativethey identified 20 differences in 14 genes that account for the dire wolfs distinguishing characteristics, including its greater size, white coat, wider head, larger teeth, more powerful shoulders, more-muscular legs, and characteristic vocalizations, especially howling and whining. Next, they harvested endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which form the lining of bloodvessels, from the bloodstreams of living gray wolvesa less invasive procedure than taking a tissue sampleand edited the 14 genes in their nuclei to express those 20 dire wolf traits. This is trickier than it seems, since genes often have multiple effects, not all of them good. For example, as the company explains in its press release, the dire wolf has three genes that code for its light coat, but in gray wolves they can lead to deafness and blindness. The Colossal team thus engineered two other genes that shut down black and red pigmentation, leading to the dire wolfs characteristic light color without causing any harm in the edited gray wolf genome. Once this was finished, the edited nuclei were next extracted from the cells and inserted into denucleated gray wolf ova. The ova were left to grow into embryos and 45 were transferred into the wombs of two domestic hound mixes. One embryo in each surrogate mother took hold, and after 65 days of gestation, Rolulus and Remus were born. A few months later, the procedure was repeated with a third surrogate who ultimately gave birth to Khaleesi. All three births were conducted by scheduled cesarean section to minimize the chances of injury during delivery. No surrogate dogs had a miscarriage or stillbirth during the process. Colossal plans to use similar techniques to bring back the Ice Age woolly mammoth in 2028, editing living cell nuclei from Asian elephantsthe mammoths closest living kinto express mammoth traits preserved in nearly 60 sets of Ice Age remains. In early March, the company announced that it had successfully tested its methods in laboratory mice, producing 38 woolly mouse pups which bear the mammoths signature shaggy coat. Now it says its on track to have a surrogate elephant pregnancy in 2026 (elephants take nearly two years to gestate). Other work in Colossals labs involves not bringing back extinct animals but attempting to save endangered ones. Endangered species can suffer from several issues, including a lack of genetic diversityknown as a genetic bottleneck. The relatively few animals left repeatedly mate with one another, and the inbreeding results in birth defects, sterility, and health problems proliferating through the species. Colossal has targeted some species with these problems, and is working to genetically edit more diversity into their populations. One such project involves the all-but vanished pink pigeon. The pink pigeon species is indigenous to the island nation of Mauritius and once thrived there, until it lost its habitat as more and more of the island was given over to sugar plantations. Humanitys introduction of rats and catswhich attack pigeon nestsdrove the birds numbers down to just ten individuals. With the help of captive breeding programs, more than 650 pigeons were hatched and raised and released back on Mauritius. But with so few birds from which the captive population was bred, the species is experiencing high levels of infertility because of the genetic bottleneck. To get around that, the scientists first tap into the fertilized egg of a pink pigeon and extract what are known as primordial germ cells (PGCs)the cells that eventually become sperm and egg. In the lab, scientists then genetically edit the PGC genome to introduce greater genetic diversitythough at the moment Colossal is still studying the pink pigeon alleles and doesnt yet know what traits that more-diverse coding will produce. Then, using the fertilized egg of a common chickenwhich is far more plentiful than a pink pigeon eggthey inject the PGCs into the embryo. Once there, the cells travel to the gonads and create an embryo that, after it hatches, grows, and reaches sexual maturity, will produce not chicken chicks, but pigeon chicks. Eventually, those pigeons would be released into the wild population, producing genetically diverse young and helping to fortify the species. None of this is easy and none of it comes cheapthough with a valuation of $10.2 billion, Colossal has the resources to pursue the science without too much concern about the price. And the company is not going it alone. It is partnering with conservation organizations such the American Wolf Foundation, The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Save the Elephants, and Conservation Nation. The company worked with the indigenous MHA Nation tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara) on the dire wolf project, and the tribes have expressed a desire to have dire wolves live on their lands in North Dakota. Colossal also says it's in advanced negotiations with the government of North Carolina to use its conservation strategies to help strengthen the endangered red wolf population there. The company also believes that the new EPC cloning technique will allow them to save blood samples of existing species in a biobank as a hedge against their ever becoming endangered in the future. Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi, the most conspicuous of the animals to emerge from Colossals labs, will surely not be the last. Write to Jeffrey Kluger at jeffrey.kluger@time.com. FILE - South Sudan's president Salva Kiir, left, and vice-president Riek Machar, right, shake hands after meetings to discuss outstanding issues to the peace deal on Oct. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) JUBA, South Sudan (AP) The main opposition group in South Sudan demanded Monday an international probe into alleged rights abuses in recent fighting that saw government troops target areas loyal to the group's longtime leader, Riek Machar, who is under house arrest. Machar, the country's vice president whose political rivalry with President Salva Kiir has repeatedly threatened to tip South Sudan back into civil war, is accused of subversion. Since March, fighting has engulfed the north, where government troops battled a rebel militia known as the White Army, widely believed to be allied with Machar, with dozens killed. The rebels overran an army base in the town of Nasir, a Machar stronghold. Government troops responded with airstrikes and also attacked opposition forces barracks outside the capital, Juba. Spokesman Pal Mai Deng from Machars Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-In-Opposition said the international community should investigate airstrikes using chemical weapons" in areas such as Nasir. He did not elaborate. The statement came after Human Rights Watch last week reported the use of air-dropped incendiary weapons by government forces that have killed and horrifically burned dozens of people, including children, and destroyed civilian infrastructure in Upper Nile state. The government, which has ordered civilians to leave Nasir, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Along with Machar's house arrest, many of his allies have also been detained. Incendiary weapons inflict burns on victims, but they also cause fires that can indiscriminately destroy civilian property, the New York-based rights group said. Use of these weapons in populated areas violates international humanitarian law, and if done with criminal intent, constitutes a war crime, HRW said. The Nasir fighting threatens a 2018 peace deal between Machar and Kiir to end a five-year civil war in which more than 400,000 people were killed. Machar has served as the countrys first vice president in a national unity government, even though his political group opposes Kiir. The political rivalry between the two men is widely seen as a major obstacle to peace in South Sudan. Kiir angered Machars group earlier in the year by firing officials seen as loyal to Machar, who claims Kiir is endangering the peace agreement through persistent violations." There were high hopes for peace and stability after oil-rich South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. But the country slid into civil war in December 2013 largely based on ethnic divisions when forces loyal to Kiir started battling those loyal to Machar. Presidential elections, repeatedly postponed, are now scheduled for 2026. A collage of men shaking hands, featuring John Horam, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump WASHINGTON President Trump on Monday described Russias assault on Ukraine as Bidens war before saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky started the conflict. The War between Russia and Ukraine is Bidens war, not mine. I just got here, and for four years during my term, had no problem in preventing it from happening, the president posted on Truth Social. President Putin, and everyone else, respected your President! I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS WAR, BUT AM WORKING DILIGENTLY TO GET THE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION TO STOP. Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with President Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Saint Petersburg, Russia, April 11, 2025. via REUTERS Trump added that Biden and Zelensky bore responsibility for allowing this travesty to begin, claiming there were so many ways of preventing it from ever starting, without giving examples. In the Oval Office hours later, Trump claimed that Biden failed to prevent Putins invasion in February 2022 because the 46th president let oil prices rise too high, empowering the energy-based Russian economy to afford the war. All you had to do is lower oil prices. If you lowered oil prices Biden kept the prices so high because he made it impossible to get it if you lowered oil prices, you would have never had the war, Trump said. Biden could have stopped it, and Zelensky could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. Everybodys to blame. When asked if he had spoken to Zelensky about his offer to purchase American missiles, Trump groused: I dont know. Hes always looking to purchase missiles, you know? President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hug as they say goodbye at the Memorial Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war with photos of killed soldiers, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. AP Listen, the US president went on, when you start a war, youre going to know that you can win the war, right? You dont start a war against somebody thats 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles. Friday marks two months since special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz held initial talks with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia as part of Trumps initiative to end the war, as he frequently promised on the 2024 campaign trail. There have since been multiple meetings between Washington and both Moscow and Kyiv, albeit separately, which have resulted in Ukraine agreeing to Trumps proposed full cease-fire. However, Russia continues its attacks, killing 32 civilians attending Palm Sunday services in Sumy, Ukraine. Trump, who has repeatedly called for Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine, called the Sumy strikes a horrible thing while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. But that is the past, the president acknowledged on Truth Social Monday. Now we have to get it to STOP, AND FAST. SO SAD! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky talks with President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 28, 2025. JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Further, Trump said Sunday that Putins full-scale invasion wasnt even a question during the 45th president administration, though the war has been ongoing in Ukraines easternmost regions since 2014. You take a look at Putin, Im not saying anybodys an angel, but I will tell you, I went four years and it wasnt even a question he would never [invade Ukraine] and I told him, Dont do it, youre not going to do it. And it was the apple of his eye, but there was no way that he would have done it, the president told reporters. Trumps latest comments on the Ukraine war came after an earlier post raging against a 60 Minutes interview with Zelensky that aired Sunday, during which the Ukrainian leader expressed worry that the US is no longer our strategic strong partner. I dont doubt that the people of America are with us, but in a long war, many details are forgotten. In Europe, everyone fears that the United States may drift away from Europe, he said. I think without the United States, we will suffer great losses, human and territorial, so I wouldnt like to consider that. But this is our destiny, our land, our life, one way or another, we will end this war. Trump called the episode, which also featured a story on opposition to the US in Greenland, FAKE News. I just finished watching 60 Minutes, the FAKE News Show that was scandalously responsible for REMOVING a terrible and incompetently delivered answer, by failed Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, to an interview on 60 Minutes, just prior to Election Day, and putting in its place a completely different answer to a completely different question, in order to make Kamala look coherent, he said, referencing an edited interview with the former vice president ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Now tonight, with two separate but highly inaccurate stories about TRUMP, theyre at it again. The people at CBS Fake News just dont get it! By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - A federal judge in Vermont questioned on Monday whether the Trump administration would instigate a "constitutional crisis" by not releasing a Turkish student at Tufts University from immigration custody if he concluded her arrest was unlawful. U.S. District Judge William Sessions raised that prospect during a hearing in Burlington as he suggested he may order authorities to move Rumeysa Ozturk from the Louisiana detention center she has been in for nearly three weeks back to Vermont, where she was briefly held after her arrest last month. The judge heard arguments in the case after a federal judge in Massachusetts transferred the 30-year-old's lawsuit challenging her detention to Vermont rather than dismiss it or send it to Louisiana as the U.S. Justice Department wanted. Ozturk's arrest by masked agents on a street in the Boston suburb of Somerville was captured in a viral video that has turned her case into a high-profile example of Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to deport pro-Palestinian activists on U.S. campuses who have spoken out against Israel's war in Gaza. Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher argued that the case did not belong in Vermont and that the "wide amount of discretion" Congress vested in the executive branch to oversee immigration meant Sessions lacked authority to order her release. Sessions, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, acknowledged the case involved a "confusing area of law." But he said Drescher's argument raised a fundamental question about what the administration would do if he ruled for Ozturk. "If the government then says, 'oh, no, she can't be released because we have a detention order in immigration, which is inviolate, and she's not going to be released,' then we're in a constitutional crisis," Sessions said. Drescher responded he did not "want to be perceived in any way suggesting that we're not going to abide by an order of the court." But he said the law was clear Ozturk needed to pursue her bail request before an immigration judge, not Sessions. "It's not me who is saying this, it's Congress who said this," Drescher said. The sole basis U.S. authorities have provided for revoking Ozturk's visa was the opinion piece she co-authored that criticized Tufts' response to calls by students to divest from companies with ties to Israel after the onset of the Gaza war and to "acknowledge the Palestinian genocide." Her lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union argue the arrest marked a clear violation of her free speech and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution that should warrant her immediate release. Ozturk was moved to Louisiana despite the filing of a lawsuit in Massachusetts a day earlier by a lawyer for the student and a judge's order there barring her from being moved out of the state without 48 hours' notice. By the time that order came down, Immigration and Customs Enforcement had already taken her to Vermont, where she was held briefly before being flown to Louisiana. Rather than dismiss her case, a Massachusetts judge on April 4 transferred the case to Vermont, where she was located when the lawsuit was first filed. Her lawyers say that since being taken into ICE custody, Ozturk has suffered several asthma attacks. They say her health remains at risk while at the detention facility in Basile, Louisiana, which "is notorious for its inadequate medical care." Jessie Rossman, a lawyer for Ozturk with the ACLU of Massachusetts, urged Sessions to act "expeditiously" if he was to order her returned to Vermont, saying every day that Ozturk, who is a Fulbright scholar and PhD student, remains detained is harming her education and right to free speech. Her continued detention, Rossman said, "sends a very dangerous message to everyone else that if you do something against the government in terms of your speech, you're going to be punished." (This story has been corrected to fix the identity of the president who appointed the judge, in paragraph 6) (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Rod Nickel) (Reuters) -A Venezuelan man currently in immigration detention was arrested in February inside a New Hampshire courthouse by federal agents who tackled him and knocked over a bystander, surveillance footage showed. Arnuel Marquez Colmenarez is in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Texas, ICE records show. Marquez Colmenarez had arrived at a courthouse in Nashua, New Hampshire, on February 20 to be arraigned on misdemeanor charges, the Boston Globe reported. Marquez Colmenarez was then approached by two men who identified themselves as federal agents, who then tackled him as he tried to flee, according to the Globe. New Hampshire Public Radio reported that Marquez Colmenarez faced charges stemming from an arrest for driving under the influence. Reuters could not immediately confirm the charges he faced. The police departments in Nashua and neighboring Hudson, New Hampshire, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Surveillance video provided by the New Hampshire Judicial Branch to Reuters showed a man wearing a sweatshirt bearing the letters "ATF" tapping Marquez Colmenarez on the shoulder as he prepared to exit an elevator. ATF stands for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Marquez Colmenarez then turned to face the man, before turning around again to leave the elevator, the footage showed. The man in the ATF sweatshirt and another agent then attempted to grab Marquez Colmenarez, and chased him into a lobby, the footage showed. An older man walking with a cane fell to the ground as the two agents tackled Marquez Colmenarez while arresting him, the video showed. The surveillance video did not have sound. In response to a Reuters inquiry about the incident, an ICE spokesperson provided a general statement saying the agency is "focusing all its law enforcement personnel on mitigating public safety threats and preserving the integrity of our immigration laws." The ATF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Marquez Colmenarez could not be reached for comment. President Donald Trump has enlisted thousands of federal law enforcement officials from multiple agencies to take on new work as immigration enforcers. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Matthew Lewis) Credit: YouTube / The White House Donald Trump and his cabinet tore into a CNN anchor in a tense Oval Office showdown after she asked about a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. The president, El Salvadors leader, and members of his top team including Pam Bondi, Stephen Miller and Marco Rubio insisted there were no plans to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. The married father from Baltimore, Maryland, who is a Salvadorian national, was removed in error under the Alien Enemies Act. A court has since ordered Mr Abrego Garcia be returned to the United States. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador - Abrego Garcia Family/via REUTERS El Salvador has accepted more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants accused of violent crimes and held them in the countrys notorious maximum-security gang prison, CECOT after the crackdown was implemented in March. During an Oval Office meeting with Nayib Bukele, the countrys president, on Monday, Kaitlan Collins, CNNs chief White House correspondent, asked if Mr Abrego Garcia could be returned with the help of El Salvador. Branding the question preposterous, Mr Bukele shot back: How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I dont have the power to return him to the United States. Mr Trump referred questions about Mr Abrego Garcia to Attorney General Ms Bondi, who said he was illegally in the US and that a judge had previously ruled he was a member of the MS-13 gang. She added: He had been illegally in our country and in 2019, two courts, an immigration court and an appellate immigration court ruled that he was a member of MS-13, and he was illegally in our country right now. Abrego Garcia denies being MS-13 member In a 2019 immigration hearing, a judge denied Mr Abrego Garcia bond, partly because he was suspected to be a member of MS-13. Court filings state an ICE informant at the time had said he was an active part of the criminal gang, however it is not clear if a judge ever officially ruled this was the case. Mr Abrego Garcia denies that he is a member, while the federal district court held on April 6 found the government offered no evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or to any terrorist activity. Stephen Miller followed Ms Bondi with a further scathing response to Collins question. Stephen Miller reponds to Kaitlan Collins question - Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS Hes a citizen of El Salvador... its very arrogant, even for American media to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens as a starting point as two immigration courts found that he was a member of MS-13. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, added: I dont understand what the confusion is. The individual is a citizen of El Salvador. He was illegally in the United States and was returned to his country, that is where [we] deport people to, back to their country of origin. Mr Bukele has become a vital ally for the Trump administration, striking a deal with Mr Trump under which the US will pay around $6 million to El Salvador to imprison the men for one year. When a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to turn around a flight carrying the immigrants already en route to El Salvador, Mr Bukele wrote on social media: Oopsie ... too late. Mr Trump and Mr Bukele appeared to strike up something of a bromance as they chatted through a number of subjects, including whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in womens sports. Nayib Bukele and Mr Trump speak in the Oval Office - Ken Cedeno/ 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP Mr Trump said there are people in the US who fight to the death to allow transgender athletes to play, to which Mr Bukele added: Were big on protecting women. Gesturing to three female members of cabinet joining the El Salvador president, Mr Trump said it was very impressive to have so many women. The Salvadorian leader joked the women were not DEI hires, before Mr Trump clarified: This isnt the first time weve had women, but weve never had three of them, right here. Mr Trump also told Mr Bukele that he would be in favour of El Salvador taking American citizens who have committed violent crimes, although he added: Id only do [it] according to the law. Just before Mr Bukeles arrival in Washington, the State Department updated its travel advisory for El Salvador to Level 1, which is for countries that are considered the safest to visit. The advisory notes that gang activity, and the accompanying murders and other violent crimes, has declined in the past three years. 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. Gina Carano as Cara Dune in "The Mandalorian" and Pedro Pascal at the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Disney/Lucasfilm/; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Gina Carano won a court fight to get salary information for stars in Disney+ "Star Wars" shows. A judge ruled Disney must turn over compensation data for Pedro Pascal, Diego Luna, and others. The Elon Musk-funded lawsuit alleges Disney unjustly fired Carano from "The Mandalorian." Gina Carano is getting the salaries she's looking for. A federal judge has ruled that the mixed martial arts fighter turned actor will be allowed to see compensation information for other stars in the "Star Wars" universe on Disney+, including Pedro Pascal, Diego Luna, and Rosario Dawson. The April 3 ruling came in a lawsuit Carano filed against Disney over her termination from the "Star Wars" spinoff show "The Mandalorian" after two seasons. Disney announced in 2021 that Carano wouldn't return to the show for a third season after she had made social media posts comparing political conservatives in America to Jews in the Holocaust, questioning the results of the 2020 election and the use of masks during the coronavirus pandemic, and using the pronouns section of her Twitter (now known as X) page to mock transgender people. Carano's lawsuit, which was funded by X owner Elon Musk, accuses Disney of violating California labor laws by firing her because of her political views. Disney says the company has creative control over which characters it discontinues as well as a First Amendment right to disassociate itself from Carano's views. As part of the lawsuit, Carano's attorneys asked for salary information related to a constellation of other stars in "Star Wars" shows on Disney's streaming service. They said the information was crucial for calculating damages if Carano were to win her lawsuit. Carano's lawyers also argued Disney should be forced to disclose salary information for the lead actors of other "Star Wars" shows such as Amandla Stenberg and Luna because Carano had been set to star in a "Mandalorian" spinoff titled "Rangers of the New Republic" before Disney fired her. US Magistrate Judge Steve Kim ruled in Carano's favor, ruling that Disney needed to turn over a spreadsheet or chart of the compensation Pascal, Dawson, and the costar Carl Weathers received for the first three seasons of "The Mandalorian," Dawson's salary for "The Book of Boba Fett" and the first two seasons of "Ahsoka," Stenberg's salary for "The Acolyte," and the compensation Luna received for the first two seasons of "Andor." Kim also ruled that Disney must turn over salary information for "Mandalorian" actors who have been hired to reprise their roles for the coming Lucasfilm movie "The Mandalorian and Grogu." The information is subject to a confidential protective order but could become public if the case goes to trial, which is now scheduled for February. Representatives for Disney, Carano, Pascal, Luna, Dawson, and Stenberg didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. April 15, 2025: This story's headline was updated to clarify that the legal ruling entitled Gina Carano to receive Pedro Pascal's salary information, not the money itself. Read the original article on Business Insider A 17-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated assault mass shooting after he allegedly opened fire at his Dallas high school, shooting classmates "indiscriminately," according to court documents. Surveillance cameras showed a student letting the suspect, Tracy Haynes, into Wilmer-Hutchins High School through an unsecured door on Tuesday, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. PHOTO: Tracy Haynes, 17, is charged with aggravated assault mass shooting. (Dallas County Jail) Haynes walked the hallway "until he spotted multiple male students" and then allegedly shot at them "indiscriminately," hitting five people, the document said. Haynes then allegedly "approached one student who was not able to run" and "appeared to take a point-blank shot," the document said. PHOTO: Parents are checked in to pick up their children at Wilmer-Hutchins High School, where police are responded to reports of a shooting at in Dallas, April 15, 2025. (Julio Cortez/AP) Five students were taken to hospitals, the document said. The conditions of those injured was not clear. PHOTO: An undercover Texas Highway patrolman arrives to Wilmer-Hutchins High School, where police are responding to reports of a shooting at in Dallas, April 15, 2025. (Julio Cortez/AP) MORE: Alleged arsonist targeted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro over Palestine, search warrant says A senior student told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA that he was in the foyer when, around lunch time, he heard a few gunshots. He said he then saw students running and heard screaming, and he took cover in the band room. Video shows students evacuating the school as police cars and fire trucks gathered at the scene. PHOTO: Police crews respond to a possible shooting at Wilmer Hutchins High School in Dallas, Texas, April 15, 2025. (WFAA) All high school students were reunited with their parents and guardians, according to Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde. There will be no school the rest of the week and mental health professionals will be made available, she said. "Today, as we all know, the unthinkable has happened," Elizalde said at a briefing. "And quite frankly, this is just becoming way too familiar, and it should not be familiar." PHOTO: Police crews respond to a possible shooting at Wilmer Hutchins High School in Dallas, Texas, April 15, 2025. (WFAA) MORE: 15-year-old charged with killing Lyft driver: Police The gun used in the shooting "did not come through during regular intake time," Dallas Independent School District Assistant Chief of Police Christina Smith said at the briefing. "It was not a failure of our staff, of our protocols, of the machinery that we have," Smith stressed. ABC News' Luke Barr, Josh Margolin, Aaron Katersky and Alex Stone contributed to this report. Dallas school shooting: 17-year-old charged after allegedly firing 'indiscriminately' at students originally appeared on abcnews.go.com John Phillips/Getty; Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty King Charles and Prince Harry in 2019 Prince Harrys fight for security reveals deep family divides, with his relationship with King Charles remaining strained amid the ongoing legal battle Harrys calls and letters to his father remain unanswered, leaving him in the dark about the King's health. The Duke of Sussex is determined to expose injustice, with a ruling on his appeal expected in the coming weeks. As Prince Harrys long-running legal fight over U.K. security reaches a pivotal moment, the Duke of Sussexs relationship with his father, King Charles, remains strained a sign that the wounds within the royal family are far from healed. I dont think there is any rapprochement, a source close to the palace tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. Nothing has changed. Adds another source: They are distant. Though Harry, 40, has become a familiar figure in Britains courtrooms, fighting back against the U.K. tabloid press with unyielding resolve, the case to restore his state-funded official security which was stripped from him in 2020 after he and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties has always mattered the most, he told PEOPLE as he left Londons Royal Courts of Justice on April 9. This isnt just a legal appeal for him its a fight to protect Meghan and their children Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, and perhaps a final chance at reconciliation with his father. Related: Prince Harry Says His Worst Fears Have Been Confirmed in Raw Comments After His Security Case (Exclusive) The courtroom tensions mirror the personal rift between father and son. Charless advisers are directly tied to RAVEC, the governments Royal and VIP Executive Committee, which is denying Harrys protection. One of Harrys core beliefs is that the removal of official security was a calculated attempt to control him and Meghan, 43 and to deter them from stepping away from royal life and starting a new chapter outside the U.K. But in Harrys view, the decision only revealed the lengths to which the palace was willing to go and became his final straw. He admits that this realization was difficult to swallow and has deepened an already raw rift. Belinda Jiao/Getty Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex leaves the Royal Courts of Justice on April 8, 2025 in London, England. Amid the tumult, Harry feels his father who serves as the ceremonial head of state could easily intervene and have his security reinstated, though the palace has consistently denied this. The emotional distance between father and son has only widened. Their last face-to-face meeting was a brief 30-minute encounter in February 2024, shortly after Charles, 76, publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis. Queen Camilla, 77, was present, and there have been no private father-son conversations since. Sources close to Harry say his calls and letters continue to go unanswered. The estrangement is so profound that Harry learned of his fathers March 27 hospitalization related to complications from treatment through the media. Friends note that during each of Harrys last three U.K. visits, Charles has been unavailable including this month, despite Harrys court date having long been scheduled and known ahead of the Kings overlapping state visit to Italy. Harry also remains in the dark about his father's current condition and prognosis. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Those close to Harry believe the King is deliberately keeping his distance, in part to avoid being drawn into discussions about security. [The legal battle] puts Harry in direct contact with the people who are carrying out the Kings orders, royal author Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE. If his father was to say something even seemingly innocuous, it could end up landing in the middle of the court case. Still, another source with close palace ties pushes back, saying a distinction between personal life and official duties could be made, but things have been febrile for a while. Jeff J Mitchell - WPA Pool/Getty King Charles and Prince Harry in 2022 The same is true of Harrys fractured relationship with his brother Prince William, 42, who also hasnt responded to calls or messages from Harry. While Harry still hopes for reconciliation, trust remains a major hurdle. The fallout from Spare, Harrys candid memoir that exposed private conversations and long-held tensions, continues to weigh heavily on their relationship. These are things that would have been considered confidential, Bedell Smith notes. At the same time, Harry wants Archie and Lilibet to connect with their U.K. roots, experience their heritage and build relationships with extended family. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex/Instagram Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex with Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie While much of the hearing was conducted in private because of the sensitive nature of the case, Harry has been shaken by some of the information that emerged during the proceedings. People would be shocked by whats being held back, Harry said. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Following the hearing, a source close to Harrys legal team said they were cautiously optimistic about the outcome. A ruling is expected in the coming weeks. Regardless of the outcome of the legal case, Harry said, he is driven by exposing injustice and a desire to get under the bonnet and fix whats broken. His determination is deeply personal: If anything were to happen to Meghan or their two young children, he could never rest. Says a source close to the situation: He feels very strongly this is something he must fight for. Read the original article on People FILE - Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman on Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Roberto Rosales, file) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Authorities on Tuesday released a trove of records related to the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, including a lengthy investigation report detailing some of the last emails, phone calls and internet searches by Hackman's wife indicating that she had been scouring for information on flu-like symptoms and breathing techniques. Betsy Arakawa died in February of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome a rare, rodent-borne disease that can lead to a range of symptoms that include flu-like illness, headaches, dizziness and severe respiratory distress, investigators have said. Hackman is believed to have died about a week later of heart disease with complications from Alzheimers disease. The partially mummified remains of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found in their Santa Fe home Feb. 26, when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police. Photos, hours of footage and other documents were made public Tuesday after a recent court order that mandated any depictions of the deceased couple would be blocked from view. Authorities said additional records including dashboard camera footage could later be released. The records had been restricted from release by an earlier, temporary court order. The Hackman estate and family members had sought to keep the records sealed to protect the familys privacy. According to the lengthy investigation report, a review of Arakawa's computer showed she was actively researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms between Feb. 8 and the morning of Feb. 12. The searches included questions about whether COVID-19 could cause dizziness or nosebleeds. She also had mentioned in an email to her massage therapist that Hackman had woken up Feb. 11 with flu or cold-like symptoms but that a COVID-19 test was negative and she would have to reschedule her appointment for the next day out of an abundance of caution. Arakawa's search history also showed a query for a concierge medical service in Santa Fe the morning of Feb. 12. A review of her phone records by investigators showed she had a call with the service that lasted less than two minutes and missed a return call later that afternoon. Investigators reviewed a call history to the home phone along with voicemails and security footage from stores that Arakawa had visited Feb. 11. The redacted police body camera footage showed investigators working inside the home as they tried to piece together what had happened to the couple. Investigators found one of the couple's dogs sitting in the bathroom near Arakawa's body. They then walked to the other side of the house, where Hackman was found dead. Two totally separate areas of the house, an officer comments. Mhm, its strange, another responds. The officers, worried about a possible gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, opened doors and windows around the house. Subsequent testing showed there were no leaks. The footage showed them going through rooms of the home and finding nothing out of the ordinary and no signs of forced entry, with the couples art collection still adorning shelves and walls throughout. The investigators also can be seen counting cash that was found around the home and looking at the prescription medication on the bathroom counter as one of the couples dog barked in the background. An environmental assessment of the Hackman property by state health personnel found rodent feces in several outbuildings along with live traps on the property. There was no evidence of rodent activity inside the home. Nestled among the pinon and juniper hills overlooking Santa Fe, the Hackman home is not unlike others in the area as mice are common within the surrounding landscape. One of the couples three dogs also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, while two other dogs were found alive. A state veterinary lab tied the dogs death to dehydration and starvation. An attorney for the estate, Kurt Sommer, argued during a hearing last month that the couple had taken great pains to stay out of the public light during their lifetimes and that the right to control the use of their names and likenesses should extend to their estate in death. The Associated Press, CBS News and CBS Studios intervened in the matter, saying in court filings that they would not disseminate images of the couples bodies and would blur images to obscure them from other records. ___ Associated Press writers Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix contributed to this report. Rep. Ro Khanna speaks at Yale Law School Tuesday in New Haven, Conn. NEW HAVEN, Conn. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., unleashed an early 2028 attack on Vice President JD Vance here Tuesday, attempting to frame President Donald Trumps heir apparent as a threat to the Constitution while comparing him to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Vance, Khanna said in a speech at Yale Law School, has not only declared war on the courts, but on the universities. And it is no accident. As Stephen Kotkin observed in his study of Stalin, strongmen do not fear recessions or even failed wars as much as they fear the university. Khannas remarks called back to Vances history of criticizing what he has described as inexcusably liberal policies and teachings in higher education. The speech came a day after the federal government froze more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard University, which has rejected demands the Trump administration has issued to address antisemitism on campus. Khanna walks on the Yale University campus Tuesday. For Khanna, the appearance at the school where both he and Vance earned law degrees also marked an escalation in his effort to stake out a place for himself in the already-developing Democratic presidential field. He sees an opportunity to establish himself as his partys best foil for Vance, who is well positioned to run as Trumps successor. So at a time when much of the progressive lefts attention is on the term-limited Trump and his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, Khanna is trying to build up Vance as the ultimate Republican villain and to tear him down. Yawn, a top political adviser to Vance said when asked about how Khanna has made attacks on the vice president central to his pitch. Khanna addressed a room of about 75 law students and professors over a lunch of catered sandwiches. (Khanna abstained, saving his appetite for a late afternoon trip to Pepes, a famous New Haven pizzeria.) There was a tension around his visit befitting the Trump administrations attitude toward universities. Khanna takes photos with guests following the speech. Campus officials initially objected to the presence of media, insisting the speech be off the record before Khanna pushed them to relent. And the conservative Yale Federalist Society canceled a prearranged meeting with Khanna after leaders learned his day at Yale would be filled with Vance-bashing. The cancellation freed up time for a more leisurely meal at Pepes, where he sampled from a tomato pie, a white clam pizza and a house special loaded with meats and vegetables. Two photos of former President Bill Clinton visiting the pizzeria hung above him. Jake McDonald, the Yale Federalist Society's president, wrote in an email to NBC News that it had become clear that his visit today to the law school is nothing more than a publicity stunt designed to attack the Vice President and that his meeting with us would be used to further that end. Vance, McDonald added, is an alumnus of the Yale Federalist Society, and we will not let the organization be weaponized by Rep. Khanna as a venue to make partisan headlines. In his speech Tuesday, Khanna talked of a great anger gripping the public. He also warned of a push to dismantle the checks and balances among the branches of government. At the head of this gathering storm stands Vice President Vance, calling on the president of the United States to defy the Supreme Court, and casting universities like Yale as the enemy, Khanna said. Khanna earned a law degree at Yale. Vance has not called on Trump to defy the Supreme Court. In a February post on social media, he criticized the idea of federal judges intervening to control the executives legitimate power at a time when courts were blocking Trump from carrying out parts of his cost-cutting agenda. Many saw the post as a signal that Trump could choose to ignore unfavorable court rulings. Now, Vance says the president, elected by the people, should tell the court what the Constitution means, and if the court disagrees, let them try to enforce their ruling that the president, as a co-equal, may simply ignore the courts judgment of the law, Khanna said. Khanna also noted Vances response to what the Justice Department has characterized as a mans mistaken deportation to El Salvador. Vance falsely referred to the man as a convicted MS-13 gang member and, later, as an illegal immigrant with no right to be in our country, despite a 2019 protection order against his removal from the United States. When Americans asked for due process, he answered not with reason, but with feigned rage accusing us of sympathy for a gang member, Khanna said of Vance. Let me say this as clearly as I can: JD Vance, your cold indifference to the lives of vulnerable immigrants betrays every principle that this law school was built to uphold, he added. Your affiliation with this law school is now a stain on the degree of every Yale graduate. In an interview afterward, Khanna brushed off questions about his White House ambitions, stressing a need for all Democrats to more forcefully push back on Trump and Vance. Specifically, Khanna mentioned the recent marathon speech by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; the huge crowds at rallies headlined by Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; and increasingly tough talk on Trump from Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine. Those Democrats who want to help be new voices for our party need to speak out forcefully and clearly, like Cory Booker did, like the Maine governor did, like Bernie and AOC are doing, he said. Khanna is a leading progressive voice in Congress a pro-business, pro-growth progressive, in his words but is not well known outside of Washington or his Silicon Valley-based district. His travels this week continued his long-running push to change that. His latest anti-Vance offensive kicked off Monday in Ohio, the vice presidents home state, with a speech at the City Club of Cleveland. Khanna speaks with people on campus Tuesday. There, Khanna lumped Vance in with Trump and Musk while focusing on a pitch for economic patriotism. In place of Stalin, he compared Vance to China's Mao Zedong. Ro Khanna is a far-left socialist from one of the wealthiest and wokest congressional districts in America, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou said in response to Khannas visit to his state. His remarks remind Americans that California extremist liberals like Ro Khanna are responsible for enabling open borders, mass illegal immigration, and the out-of-control government spending of the Biden regime. He shouldve stayed in California. Khanna sees himself as something of a generational peer to Vance. Khanna, at 48, is eight years Vances senior. And Vance has risen further. But both see themselves among a younger wave of leadership ready to take over a political system that has been dominated by septuagenarians and octogenarians like Trump and former President Joe Biden. In times of crisis, this nation has often cast aside the old guard and turned to a new generation for new paths, Khanna said Tuesday. Both Khanna and Vance also are the fathers of Indian American children a detail Khanna sought to score political points with in February when picking a fight on social media with Vance. Vance had come to the defense of a federal employee who had resigned over making racist remarks online. Drawing on their common ground, Khanna chided Vance on X, asking for the sake of both of our kids if he would demand the employee apologize for an offensive post about Indian people. Vance likened Khanna to a whiny child and accused him of emotional blackmail. In the interview, Khanna said he was spurred to take on Vance more directly after being bothered with what he saw as a "callousness" emerging in someone he got to know when both joined a bus tour of venture capitalists through Midwest cities in 2018. The tour predated Vance's political career. "I have criticized Vance, but I also thought, OK, to get your message heard these days, you cant just give a positive speech," Khanna said. "You have to, you have to provide some contrast. ... So to the extent that I want to get my message out, I thought, OK, well, who is the person who was really the opposite of what I believe?" Miami Dade Corrections A Miami man was arrested following allegations that he posed as a doctor and performing a surgery that left a woman permanently disfigured just weeks after another doctor from the same facility was apprehended on similar charges. Manuel Jose Lazzaro, 58, was arrested last week on a charge of unlicensed health care causing serious bodily injury, NBC 6 South Florida reported, citing authorities. According to an arrest report obtained by the outlet, the woman told investigators that she found Lazzaro on social media and came to Miami from Orlando in September of this year. He is not currently in Floridas medical license database. According to WPLG Local 10, Lazzaro appeared in court on April 11. Lazzaro allegedly performed the surgery at New World Medical & Mystic Cosmetic, according to the arrest report obtained by the outlet. His arrest comes just weeks after authorities arrested another Miami man who allegedly was practicing without a medical license at the very same facility. On arrest reports, the previously arrested man, Wilson Munoz Suarez, and Lazzaro both had their occupations listed as surgical assistant, according to arrest reports obtained by WPLG Local 10 and NBC 6 South Florida. In court, prosecutors said that the womans breasts were infected but Lazzaro ignored her and didnt tell her to see a legitimate doctor, according to Telemundo 51. Prosecutors said the Orlando woman suffered the loss of her entire nipple, according to the outlet. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The judge set Lazzaros bail at $10,000 and prohibited him from performing any more surgeries, per the outlet. Lazzaros Instagram page is still active, though private, and has over 2,300 followers. Dr. Lazzaro Venezuelan certified Plastic Surgeon in aesthetics, face, breast & body sculpture, his biography reads. Read the original article on People The president will sign executive orders at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Oval Office before presenting midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy with the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy at 3:30 p.m. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will also hold a press briefing at 1 p.m. Latest Developments Apr 15, 3:13 PM White House tight-lipped on talks with Russia, Iran Asked if Russia agreed to anything in its meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she didn't want to get ahead of those negotiations but added that there is an "incentive" for Russia to end its war on Ukraine. Trump spoke with the sultan of Oman Tuesday, who helped facilitate talks between the United States and Iran over the weekend, Leavitt confirmed during the briefing. PHOTO: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April, 15, 2025, in Washington. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) "As you know, an additional negotiation between Steve Witkoff and Iran's representative has been scheduled for Saturday. And since these are ongoing negotiations, I have nothing more to add on that," she added. -ABC News' Molly Nagle Apr 15, 2:12 PM Leavitt mocks Biden, claims Trump will protect Social Security White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mocked former President Joe Biden when asked about his speech Tuesday night that is focused on protecting social security. "My first reaction when seeing former President Biden was speaking tonight was I'm shocked that he is speaking at night time. I thought his bedtime was much earlier," she said. She then defended President Donald Trump's Social Security policy. PHOTO: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes a question during a daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 15, 2025 in Washington. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images) "President Trump is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, taxpaying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program," she said. Apr 15, 1:59 PM White House says Abrego Garcia will not be returning to US despite court orders White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was pressed by reporters about the White House defying court orders to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the El Salvador prison where he is reportedly being held. She was asked by ABC News' Karen Travers who is responsible for Abrego Garcia. Leavitt claimed the administration is complying with court orders. PHOTO: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 15, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP) She repeated unproven claims that the Maryland man was a member of MS-13 and involved in trafficking, citing the president and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. "There is never going to be a world in which this is an individual who's going to live a peaceful life in Maryland," Leavitt said. Apr 15, 1:55 PM White House claims Trump still looking into legality of deporting American criminals abroad White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked again on Tuesday about President Donald Trump's claims that he can deport American criminals abroad and said the president is still looking into the legality of it. PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, April 15, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) "He would only consider this if legal for Americans who are the most violent, egregious repeat offenders of crime, who nobody in this room wants living in their communities," she claimed. Apr 15, 3:43 PM White House aims to cut funding of PBS, NPR, calling it a 'waste' The White House is looking to ax funding for NPR and PBS, two outlets that it alleges are left-leaning and a "waste" of taxpayer money. The White House put out a memo Monday night laying out what it claimed was evidence against the two entities in a list of reporting that it said is "trash that passes for 'news.'" PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025. (AP) The list included a PBS documentary that it alleged was "making the case for reparations," a segment on PBS' Washington Week that it said "covered up Joe Bidens clear mental decline" and a laundry list of stories exploring LGBT issues and racial identity. The memo did not actually indicate its intention to pull funding. "Eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have a devastating impact on American communities across the nation that rely on public radio for trusted local and national news, culture, lifesaving emergency alerts, and public safety information," NPR said in a statement Tuesday morning. "We serve the public interest. It's not just in our name it's our mission." The administration intends to ask Congress, through a recession request, to cancel funding from public broadcasting, foreign aid initiatives and other programs that have already been approved, according to the New York Post. -ABC News' Kelsey Walsh Apr 14, 9:05 PM 3rd federal judge blocks some deportations under Alien Enemies Act A third federal judge has temporarily blocked some deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. United States District Judge Charlotte Sweeney entered a temporary order on Monday that bars President Donald Trump's administration from removing any noncitizens located in Colorado who are subject to Trumps Alien Enemies Act Proclamation. The order will remain in effect for two weeks, and Sweeney set a hearing for April 21 to consider extending her order. She declined to rule on the lawfulness of the AEA proclamation, instead blocking removals to preserve the courts jurisdiction as she considers the issue. The decision marks the third time in the last week that a federal judge has limited deportations under the Alien Enemies Act since the Supreme Court lifted a nationwide order, with judges in New York and Texas last week issuing similar rulings. As a whole, the three decisions appear to form a growing patchwork of district-level protections to limit the use of the Alien Enemies Act in lieu of a nationwide order. -ABC News' Peter Charalambous and Laura Romero Apr 14, 7:31 PM Signal Houthi chat messages missing from Ratcliffes phone When Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffes phone was reviewed last month to preserve messages from his Signal application, a CIA official was unable to locate any substantive messages, instead finding only the name of the chat and changes to the apps settings, according to a sworn filing submitted in court Monday evening. Hurley Blankenship, CIAs chief data officer, told a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit challenging the use of Signal that he was only able to retrieve "residual administrative content" from Ratcliffe's personal Signal account. PHOTO: CIA Director, John Ratcliffe testifies before a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on 'Worldwide Threats,' on Capitol Hill in Washington, Mar. 26, 2025. (Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images) I used that terminology because the screenshot does not include substantive messages from the Signal chat; rather, it captures the name of the chat, Houthi PC small group, and reflects administrative notifications from 26 March and 28 March relating to changes in participants' administrative settings in this group chat, such as profile names and message settings, Blankenship wrote. The declaration comes after advocacy group American Oversight raised concerns that the settings on some officials phones might have triggered the messages to autodelete despite a federal requirement that the communications be preserved. Officials were able to successfully preserve messages from the devices of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, according to sworn filings. -ABC News Peter Charalambous Apr 14, 3:40 PM Trump tells El Salvador's president 'homegrowns are next' President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration is looking at the legality of sending U.S. citizens who are convicted of crimes to prisons in El Salvador or other places. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador since taking office. While welcoming Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to the Oval Office, before members of the press entered the room, Trump told him to build more prisons as "homegrowns criminals" were next. "I said homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places," Trump said, according to a livestream posted by Bukele's office on X. PHOTO: President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) Trump later told reporters directly that he was "studying the laws" regarding send American criminals to foreign prisons -- which legal experts have said would be unconstitutional. "If we can do that, that's good. And I'm talking about violent people. I'm talking about really bad people. Really bad people," Trump added. -ABC News' Michelle Stoddart Apr 14, 11:35 AM Trump administration ends TPS for Afghans The Trump administration has canceled Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Afghans, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security. Former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended TPS for Afghans until May 20, but after that, according to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, the status will end. "On March 21, 2025 (the statutory deadline), the Secretary determined that Afghanistan no longer continues to meet the statutory requirements for its TPS designation and so she terminated TPS for Afghanistan," according to McLaughlin. "The Secretary's decision was based on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) review of the conditions in Afghanistan. As part of its review process, USCIS consulted with the Department of State." PHOTO: The White House in Washington, April 14, 2025. (Shawn Thew/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) USCIS will publish a notice on the federal register, and on May 20, Afghans will be deportable. --ABC News' Luke Barr Click here to read the rest of the blog. A doctoral student studying at Tufts University in Massachusetts says conditions inside a Louisiana immigration detention facility where she's being held are "inhumane" and "unsafe," according to a court filing obtained by USA TODAY. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained 30-year-old Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk, who was in the country on a valid F-1 visa, near her home as she was on her way to meet friends to break her Ramadan fast on March 25, her attorney, Mahsa Khanbabai, told USA TODAY. Three weeks later, Ozturk says that she has limited access to food, has to wait hours for toilet paper and isn't getting proper treatment for her asthma at an ICE facility in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY on April 14. The conditions in the facility are very unsanitary, unsafe, and inhumane," she said, according to the records. "There is a mouse in our cell. The boxes they provide for our clothing are very dirty and they dont give us adequate hygiene supplies." Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University in Somerville, Massachusetts, poses in an undated photograph provided by her family and obtained by Reuters on March 29, 2025. Ozturk also accused a nurse in the ICE facility of forcing her to remove her hijab without her permission. She said, You need to take that thing off your head and took off my hijab without asking my permission, Ozturk said. They did nothing to treat my asthma and gave me a few ibuprofen. ICE did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. Ozturk's arrest by masked agents has become a high-profile example of Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to deport pro-Palestinian activists on U.S. campuses who have spoken out against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. A senior Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told USA TODAY last month that investigators found that Ozturk "engaged in activities in support of Hamas," a designated terrorist organization. "A visa is a privilege, not a right," said the spokesperson, who declined to be identified. "Glorifying and supporting terrorists who kill Americans is grounds for visa issuance to be terminated. This is common-sense security." The Homeland Security spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions from USA TODAY about whether Ozturk had been charged. Ozturk details her detention Ozturk detailed her arrest by immigration officials while she was walking near the Tufts University campus in Somerville, according to court records. I was speaking to my mother on the phone when several men approached me on the street and then surrounded me and I screamed, she said. Once she was placed into one of the unmarked cars, Ozturk said, she began to suffer asthma symptoms and asked for her inhaler. At the same time, Ozturk said, the officers shackled my feet and belly. Supporters of Rumeysa Ozturk wait outside Burlington's federal court house on April 14 for news on the Tufts grad student's hearing. More: Judge asks if 'constitutional crisis' looms in Tufts student's immigration case Ozturk said she feared for her life while she was initially taken from Massachusetts to a detention center in Vermont. Ozturk also said officers repeatedly denied her requests to speak to her attorney or friends to inform them of her condition. They didnt let me make any calls, and they asked me to put the phone into flight mode, Ozturk said. "I was so tired and scared so I agreed. It was an isolated place with four men, and it was terrifying." Ozturk: 'I don't feel safe' at facility's medical center Ozturk was later transferred from Vermont to Louisiana despite a judge's order that ICE keep Ozturk in Massachusetts, as well as provide 48-hour notice if the agency wanted to move her outside the state and why. Ozturk said she has suffered multiple asthma attacks inside the facility where she's being held and claims medical personnel in the Louisiana detention facility have done almost nothing to help. I dont feel safe at the medical center, she said. Judge: Ozturk's detention a 'potential constitutional crisis' U.S. District Judge William Sessions questioned whether the Trump administration would instigate a "constitutional crisis" by refusing to release Ozturk if he concluded her arrest was unlawful, according to reporting from Reuters. "If the government then says, 'Oh, no, she can't be released because we have a detention order in immigration, which is inviolate, and she's not going to be released,' then we're in a constitutional crisis," Sessions said during a hearing in Burlington. Sessions also suggested he may order authorities to move Ozturk from the Louisiana detention center back to Vermont. Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher argued that the case did not belong in Vermont and that Sessions did not have the power to order Ozturks release. Demonstrators take part in a rally in support of Tufts PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk, after Ozturk was taken into custody by federal agents, in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S. March 27, 2025. Ozturk says she hopes to return to Tufts Ozturk said in court filings that she just wants to return to Tufts to complete her doctorate, which she has been working on for five years. I pray every day for my release so I can go back to my home and community in Somerville, Ozturk said, detailing her summer plans to mentor students, teach a children's media course to high school students and help select students for an undergraduate research program. She concluded: "I want to return to Tufts to resume all of my cherished work." Contributing: Reuters Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Detained Tufts student details conditions in immigration facility: Doc A group of universities including Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and education groups filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to halt the Department of Energy's cuts to federal research grants. Last week, the Energy Department (DOE) announced a new policy to reduce the funding of "indirect costs" of research grants to 15%. However, the plaintiffs argue such cuts will "devastate scientific research at Americas universities" and "undermine" the nations status as a global leader in innovation. Pedestrians walk though M.I.T.'s campus in Cambridge, Mass. "The pace of scientific discoveries in the national interest will be slowed," the lawsuit says. "Progress on a safe and effective nuclear deterrent, novel energy sources, and cures for debilitating and life-threatening illness will be obstructed. Americas rivals will celebrate, even as science and industry in the United States suffer." The suit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts claims the policy change is unlawful and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. It seeks an injunction. Other plaintiffs include Cornell University, the University of Illinois, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Princeton University, the University of Rochester, the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. This same court issued a permanent injunction earlier this year against a similar Trump administration research funding cut to the National Institutes of Health. What are indirect costs? The Energy Department provides over $3.5 billion annually through grant programs to more than 300 colleges and universities to support department-sanctioned research, the agency said in a news release. Some of that goes to "direct costs," such as specific projects, and some to "indirect costs," which arent attributable to a specific project, such as facilities and administration. The complaint said indirect costs are essential to scientific work, including specialized nuclear-rated facilities, computer systems to analyze huge volumes of data, researchers and administrative staff. Indirect cost rates for grants follow regulations laid out by the Executive Branch's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and are negotiated by federal offices with each recipient to fit their circumstances and needs. The complaint argues that the Trump administration's DOE Rate Cap Policy violates those regulations and that indirect cost rates should not be a "one-size-fits-all" policy. Meanwhile, the DOE argues that the new policy will generate over $405 million in annual cost savings. "The purpose of Department of Energy funding to colleges and universities is to support scientific research not foot the bill for administrative costs and facility upgrades," U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said. The complaint said the policy's effects "will be immediate and devastating." "Because universities cannot sustain DOE-funded programs at the 15% indirect cost rate that DOE will now inflict, myriad critical projects often the product of years or decades of effort are in jeopardy of being stopped in their tracks. These include the development of advanced nuclear and cybersecurity technologies, arms control verification mechanisms designed to reduce the risk of nuclear war, novel radioactive drugs to diagnose and treat cancer, and upgrades for the electrical grids that keep the lights on in rural communities, among many others," the complaint said. The complaint said it would also result in reduced staffing and training programs, damage careers, and impact the next generation of scientists. Under the cuts, Brown University would lose over $2 million annually to its planned research budget, Caltech would lose nearly $6 million, and Cornell University would suffer "a shortfall of roughly $8 million in a typical fiscal year." MIT received $93 million from the DOE in the fiscal year 2024 for sponsored research. This year, if DOE reduces indirect costs rates to 15%, "then MIT forecasts it will lose approximately $15 million to $16 million in reimbursement for costs that support DOE research over the next 12 months alone," the complaint said. The complaint alleges that the cuts violate several aspects of the Administrative Procedure Act and asks the court to find the Rate Cap Policy invalid and order an injunction. 'It would be a self-inflicted wound and a gift to competitors' NBC News has reached out to the DOE for comment. The suit also names DOE Secretary Chris Wright as a defendant. The American Council on Education said in a statement that the administration cuts "would have an immediate and dire impact on critical energy, physical sciences and engineering research nationwide." The group argued that the slashed funding would weaken Americas economic opportunities, workforce pipeline, and families' prosperity. "It would be, quite simply, a self-inflicted wound and a gift to competitors and potential adversaries such as China," the group said. "We will continue to take the action necessary to protect the essential funding that supports Brown research and our countrys need for innovative solutions to critical problems," Brown University President Christina H. Paxson said. MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement that DOE grants support the work of nearly 1,000 school community members. Meanwhile, Cornell officials said, "arbitrarily cutting indirect costs will cause irreparable harm to Cornells research enterprise, paralyze progress on projects of national importance, and threaten the training of the next generation of energy scientists." After a devastating tornado outbreak struck southeastern Kentucky over the weekend-killing at least 19 people, injuring dozens more, and flattening neighborhoods in Laurel and Pulaski counties-Kentuckians are once again facing the grim reality of rebuilding after extreme weather. It marks the state's latest deadly disaster in a years-long barrage of floods, tornadoes, and ice storms that have turned the "new normal" into a relentless test of resilience. From floods and tornadoes to crippling ice storms, Kentucky has endured a relentless string of billion-dollar weather disasters. Since 2020, FEMA has issued 13 disaster declarations for the Bluegrass State - a staggering total in just a few years. While other states have experienced even sharper increases in natural disasters, Kentucky's location makes the state susceptible to almost every type of destructive weather. Straddling both Tornado Alley and the western Appalachians, the state is prone to damaging severe weather as well as winter weather. Its rugged hills and winding rivers also make it naturally prone to frequent-and often severe-flooding. AccuWeather.com 130 Tornadoes in 4 years Between 2020 and 2023, Kentucky recorded 130 tornadoes-including one EF4 and five EF3 storms. The most destructive tornado was the Mayfield EF4 twister, which packed 190-mph winds and tracked more than 160 miles across western Kentucky, killing 58 people and injuring 515 on Dec. 10, 2021. AccuWeather.com This was the longest-tracked tornado on record in Kentucky and set a U.S. record for tornado track length in December. That same day, four EF3 tornadoes also struck, killing 18 people and injuring 133. One twister tracked through the major city of Bowling Green. Dec. 10 marked the deadliest December tornado outbreak ever recorded in the United States. Another EF3 tornado killed four people and injured 62 in the state on Dec. 9, 2023. On May 26, 2024, the Hopkins County EF3 tornado killed one person and injured 21. It was part of a multi-billion-dollar outbreak that produced 110 tornadoes across six states. On April 2-3 of this year, more than a dozen tornadoes hit Kentucky, including an EF3 that tracked through the outskirts of Louisville. Three recent major flooding events In July 2022, just seven months after the December tornado outbreak, a catastrophic flood hit the state, killing 45 people. In the mid-February 2025, major flooding struck Kentucky. Then, during the opening days of April, a historic flood pushed rivers over their banks once again. According to the governor, the Kentucky State Police answered nearly 19,000 calls, and more than 450 roads were closed during this week's severe weather. Winter storms too Kentucky is no stranger to major winter storms. Back-to-back ice storms in February 2021 caused an "unprecedented" number of power outages. Disasters have spiked recently, and Kentucky isn't alone In just the last two years, the state has been part of 14 separate billion-dollar disasters, according to NOAA, with 2023 and 2024 tying for the highest number on record since tracking began in 1980. AccuWeather.com Looking at disaster data over the past 45 years, Kentucky ranks near the middle among the 50 U.S. states. In recent years, the pace and intensity of weather events have surged - not just in Kentucky, but across much of the country. For the Bluegrass State, what once felt like occasional bad luck is becoming a troubling new normal. By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation on Monday to bolster Ukraine in its war with Russia, another effort to pressure the Trump administration to back the Kyiv government, sources familiar with the effort said. Representative Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the Ukraine Support Act, which would provide security and reconstruction funding for Ukraine and impose steep sanctions on Russia, according to a copy of the bill seen by Reuters. The bill, which has not yet been made public, was filed two weeks after Republicans and Democrats in the Senate introduced stiff sanctions that would be imposed on Russia if it refuses to engage in good-faith peace negotiations with Ukraine. The efforts in Congress reflect increasing concern among lawmakers from both parties about Ukraine's fate, as Republican President Donald Trump has taken a more conciliatory stance toward Moscow since starting his second term on January 20. Trump, who is trying to broker a peace agreement, has repeatedly blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the three-year-old conflict even though it began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He did so again on Monday, with a complaint about Kyiv asking for missiles. Congressional aides who helped write the House bill said their goal was to influence negotiations on any Ukraine-related legislation eventually passed by Congress. Parts of the bill were expected to appear in any final broad Ukraine package even if the measure itself cannot find a way forward in the Republican-majority House. "This bill obviously will be part of the legislative conversation," one said. The effort was given additional urgency on Sunday, when two Russian ballistic missiles hit the center of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy as residents attended Palm Sunday church services. Kyiv said the attack killed 34 people and wounded 117, dozens of them civilians. Russia's defence ministry said it had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian commanding officers in the city. ADMINISTRATION AT ODDS? Trump administration officials have been increasingly at odds over how to settle the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Reuters has reported, with some suggesting Ukraine should cede territory to Russia and others favoring more direct support to Ukraine. The House bill is divided into three sections and would provide more support than the Ukraine legislation in the Senate. The first affirms support for Ukraine and NATO and includes measures to help Ukraine rebuild, including creating the position of a special coordinator for Ukraine reconstruction. The second provides security assistance for Kyiv, including direct loans and military financing, and the third would impose stiff sanctions and export controls on Russia, including on financial institutions, oil and mining and Russian officials. While many members of Congress from both parties have strongly supported Ukraine during the three-year conflict, many of Trump's closest Republican allies have grown cooler since his party took control of the House two years ago, and then the White House and Senate in January. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Cynthia Osterman) USCG Northern California A photo of the Aurora A man from Utah who spent over $1 million restoring a cruise ship he purchased on Craigslist is speaking out about the vessel being demolished "Its probably one of the saddest things that Ive had to witness in this lifetime Chris Willson, who sold the boat in October 2023, told CNN Travel Willson and his long-term partner, Jin Li, spent 15 years restoring the Aurora a 293-foot vessel after purchasing it online in 2008, PEOPLE previously reported A man from Utah who spent over $1 million restoring a cruise ship he bought on Craigslist before it started sinking is speaking out about the sad moment the vessel was demolished. As previously reported by PEOPLE, technology entrepreneur Chris Willson revealed in a September 2024 interview with CNN Travel that he and his long-term partner, Jin Li, spent 15 years restoring the Aurora a 293-foot vessel after purchasing it online in 2008. The ship which was originally named the Wappen von Hamburg and inspired The Love Boat was built by Germany after World War II. It featured 85 cabins, a swimming pool, and a theater and was featured in the 1963 film From Russia with Love. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced in May of last year that the boat had begun to "sink in 13 feet of water and discharge pollution" in Little Potato Slough near Stockton. United States Coast Guard A photo of the Aurora In December, USCG's Northern California X account confirmed a "dead ship tow" had been conducted and the vessel had been taken to nearby Mare Island. Stockton Community Relations Officer Connie Cochran has since told CNN that the vessel "is no more." Willson, who sold the boat in October 2023 after locals took issue with the dormant ship, told CNN Travel that seeing it demolished was, probably one of the saddest things that Ive had to witness in this lifetime." He added, Its hard to watch 15 years of hard work just go to complete waste. Cochran told the outlet in an email, It was towed to Mare Island, and as of April 9, 2025, the destruction of the Aurora was complete except for the final disposal of a few key pieces and material." Willson told CNN of his decision to sell the vessel nearly two years ago, Was I willing to go down with the ship? I mean, I would have worked on that ship my entire life." But once they threw a wrench in the works, that kind of ended it for me. I decided, no more," he added, per the publication, insisting he was grateful to have been able to keep it on the water for so long. I kept it safe for 15 years, and then I couldnt see any hope for me working on the project anymore. So I passed it on to someone else, Willson, who wanted to turn the ship into a museum, told CNN. If I would have known it would have [gone] in this direction, I would have stuck it out, he admitted to the outlet. But, I think it would have been sticking it out to my detriment. Maritime historian and cruise writer, Peter Knego, told CNN last month of witnessing the ship's end, Theyre demolishing it with these cranes that go in and just grind up the steel, calling it the safest method. Its a really mean-looking, horrible death for the ship, he added to the outlet. USCG Northern California A photo of the Aurora In a June 2024 statement shared on Instagram, the California Department of Fish and Wildlifes Office of Spill Prevention and Response said that contractors had removed an estimated 21,675 gallons of oily water, 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste, and five 25-yard bins of debris from the ship. It really hurts that I couldnt jump back in there and save it, Willson told CNN while discussing the ship eventually meeting its end. However, he said he had no regrets and "wouldnt trade the experience for anything." Willson, who previously documented the Aurora's "restoration project" on Instagram and YouTube, added to the outlet that there, were so many almosts with that ship." 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. We almost had the right people involved in order to save that ship for many, many more generations, but things fell through and we just kept waiting for the next one to happen," he said. He claimed the buyer who purchased the ship from him "seemed just as passionate about saving" the vessel as he was, per the outlet. While Willson didn't disclose the original cost of the vessel, he said in his previous CNN interview published in September that he was able to "work out a really good deal with the owner." Willson and Stockton Community Relations Officer Connie Cochran didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment. Read the original article on People Image Credit: Shutterstock. Theres much more to Dunkirk, France, than its military history and industrial importance. Dunkirk is home to fantastic contemporary art museums, a beautiful and serene long beach, and plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from. Dunkirk also hosts plenty of exciting events throughout the year, giving the city a flamboyant and colorful edge. Sure, Dunkirk isnt as romantic as Paris or as exciting as Nice, but it is an understated city worthy of a visit. Whether youre here for a day trip or youre spending a few days, theres plenty to do you just need to know where to look. So, let us show you our favorite things to do when visiting Dunkirk. Statue de Jean Bart Image Credit: Shutterstock. Everything in Dunkirk is linked to Jean Bart, so what better way to start your trip to Dunkirk than with a visit to his statue? He was born in Dunkirk in 1650 and was a French naval commander and privateer. Despite being born to a low-standing family, King Louis XIV was so impressed by his naval skill and bravery that he rose to the rank of admiral. He was a hero of the French Navy. Not only does he have a town square named after him, Place Jean Bart, but he also has a statue in his memory. During the Dunkirk Carnival, residents kneel together in front of the statue with one hand raised to the sky and sing the Cantate a Jean Bart. It is considered a Dunkirk hymn celebrating his life and efforts for the city. It is a stones throw from Eglise Saint-Eloi. Musee Dunkerque 1940 Operation Dynamo Image Credit: Shutterstock. You cannot come to Dunkirk and not visit the Dunkirk Museum. The museum is actually housed inside a military bunker and command post. Here, you discover the complete story of Dunkirk. Almost everything you need to know about the city, from the famous Battle of Dunkirk and Operation Dynamo, can be found in this museum. Begin your visit with a short movie, and transcend into the exhibition full of photos, weapons, uniforms, vehicles, maps, and other important artifacts. What I loved about this museum was the simple layout, walking you through an easy-to-understand but detailed timeline. There is also a day-by-day account of Operation Dynamo, allowing you to experience it from the eyes of the soldiers. Throughout the museum are QR codes so you can explore each post in more detail if you want to learn more in a selection of languages. The museum only takes a few hours to explore, and afterward, it is a short stroll to the beach. You can see the many remnants from the battle you just learned about here. The ending of WWII could have been very different if Operation Dynamo, which happened in this very spot, wasnt successful. It is a sobering visit, learning about the price of freedom, but an absolute must if you want to learn about the city and its vast significance. Musee Portuaire Image Credit: Shutterstock. The Port Museum is an ideal stop for families wanting to embark on a maritime adventure, and theres plenty to do for young children too. The museum ticket gives you access to the museum, the three ships moored outside, and the Risban Lighthouse, the highest port lighthouse in France. The museum is full of interactive exhibits that bring the citys colorful history to life, which children love. Housed in a 19th-century tobacco warehouse spanning over 17,000 square feet on three floors. It is one of the only historic buildings spared by the war. It gives you an understanding of Dunkirk's great importance in Europe as well as a sense of the extreme difficulty the town has faced throughout the years. One of the exhibits is devoted to the fishing industry, including what it was like for the fishermen who spent six months at sea. You can board three heritage ships outside the museum, including the spectacular Duchesse Anne. Here, you discover the crew's modest living conditions and the captain's luxurious quarters. But the ships are only open in the afternoon, so be sure to plan your visit around this time. Plage de Malo-les-Bains Image Credit: Shutterstock. This historic beach is another must-visit in the city of Dunkirk. Whether you are a history buff who wants to follow in the steps of many men who were evacuated from here. Or if you fancy a relaxed beach day away from the city. Theres something here for everyone, which is why it is known locally as the queen of beaches. If youve just visited the Dunkirk Museum, take a quick stroll to the beach to complete your visit. You can see the many memorials, tributes, and the two concrete moles here. The beach is long, so it doesnt get overcrowded, and it is clean. There arent many facilities around. But with a bucket and spade for the kids, theres plenty of fun to be had. We hired a few pedal-karts for a ride on the sand dunes, which was great fun for the whole family. Walk along the promenade and sample the local cuisine. One of my favorite dishes was coq a la biere (chicken cooked in beer), which was heavily influenced by Flemish cuisine. And there are plenty of fresh fish and ice cream parlors too. If you fancy a long stroll along the famous coastline, head towards Plage de Leffrinckoucke. It is around an hours walk, and youll come across historical landmarks along the way. These include the Batterie de Zuydcoote and the Claude London shipwreck. Youll also notice the impressive Art-Neveu-inspired seafront homes. Beffroi St-Eloi Image Credit: Shutterstock. The 58-meter-high belfry is another building that was spared during World War II, and it is now a Unesco World Heritage Site. It was built in the 13th century, heightened in the 15th, and became the towns watch tower, keeping the residents safe from assailants. For a small fee, the view over the town and harbor is worth the lift ride and subsequent 60+ steps. The stone spiral staircase is narrow, so watch your head! The bells ring every 15 minutes, which was a lovely but extremely loud surprise. The belfry was originally connected to the church opposite, Eglise Saint-Eloi, but a fire separated them. A road now lies between them. The Tourist Office of Dunkirk can be found on the ground floor of the belfry, which is worth a quick nose inside for any current events. The belfry is illuminated at night, making the imposing tower magical. Eglise Saint-Eloi Image Credit: Shutterstock. You can find the Eglise Saint-Eloi, which was constructed in 1560, across the road from the belfry. The best view of the church is from the belfry. But walking towards the church, you can appreciate the main facade of the church in detail. It is beautifully decorated with impressive gothic stonework. Inside, you can find a wide range of historical and religious art. The church was severely damaged in both World Wars, and a photographic exhibition takes you through its journey. You can still see the bullet holes on its exterior, a stark reminder of this towns history. There is a wide range of stained glass and a huge pipe organ, which they play regularly throughout the day. The towns hero, Jean Bart, is buried here, too. I love to visit churches and cathedrals, and this one was incredibly and surprisingly peaceful. Probably because the city isnt that busy compared to other towns in France. During my visit, I was greeted by a huge choir and orchestra. I found a seat and enjoyed the intimate concert, a much-welcomed break from the historically heavy town. Townhall Of Dunkirk Image Credit: Shutterstock. The Townhall is known as the Mairie de Dunkerque. It is an imposing red-brick building and one of the most awe-inspiring in the town. It sits proudly on an immaculate plaza, so sit on a bench and spend a few moments appreciating the typical European government-style building. Step inside, and in the entrance hall, you are welcomed by an impressively large stained glass window lighting up the staircase. The exhibitions upstairs usually include a history of the town, and it feels more like a museum than an administrative building. Lieu dArt et Action Contemporaine (LAAC) Image Credit: Shutterstock. The LAAC was founded when the City of Dunkirk was gifted an extensive collection of 20th-century art. This contemporary art museum holds a permanent collection of over 200 works from the 1940s to the 80s. Works include the famous Car Crash by Andy Warhol and other pieces by Cesar and Karel Appel. The museum also hosts guest exhibitions, keeping it fresh for repeat visitors and locals. Check out their website for up-to-date shows and events. LAAC provides guests with interactive activities, artist encounters, concerts, and screenings, making it fun for all the family. The museum is located in a sculpture and stone park overlooking the Pont Lucien-Lefol section of Dunkirk Beach. It is open daily except Mondays, and on Sundays, it is free! Tour du Leughenaer Image Credit: Shutterstock. Also known as the Liars Tower, this is the oldest monument in the city. This octagonal, 30-meter-high tower was built in 1450 and later raised in the 19th century to install a lighthouse lantern. It was nicknamed the Liars Tower after the stranding of many boats in the harbor. They sent false signals to assailants and became known as the legend of the shipwreckers. Unfortunately, it is not open to the public, but you should swing by when walking around the city. Its just over a five-minute stroll from Eglise Saint-Eloi. It is an imposing building with links to the historic importance Dunkirks played in protecting their city. Commonwealth War Graves Image Credit: Shutterstock. On the outskirts of Dunkirk, you can find the Commonwealth War Graves. It is a beautiful and moving memorial to the fallen soldiers, allowing you to reflect on the price paid for freedom and the considerable loss of life. Its not as big as other war cemeteries in the north of France and surrounding areas, but worth a visit while youre in Dunkirk. The war cemetery is well-kept and offers a pleasant and sobering time-out. Its easy to find and free to enter. It is just over a 20-minute walk from the town center. Alternatively, there is a regular bus service or free street parking just over the footbridge if traveling by vehicle. Bio-Topia Image Credit: Shutterstock. For something a little less intense, why not head to the western outskirts of the city to Fort Mardyck? There, youll find Dunkirks zoo, named Bio-Topia. It is a small zoo, housing around 270 animals, from red pandas to seals, and a petting zoo for little ones. The ticket prices are incredibly cheap, making a great afternoon out for families with children. They hold regular events focusing on animals, from detailed care and animal handling to art and conservation conferences. There is a regular bus service from Dunkirk to the zoo. Bio-Topia is part of the European Breeding Program, which aims to maintain healthy animal populations despite rapid loss and conservation efforts. A worthwhile cause! Parc Fort Louis Image Credit: Shutterstock. Just south of the city is Parc Fort Louis. It is a green area covering 33 hectares that preserves traces of an old military fort built by the famous military architect Vauban, surrounded by moats and a monumental gate. This is a beautiful afternoon trip out of the city on a summer's day. Youll also find fun activities, including a radio-controlled car track, a playground, a bowling alley, an archery pole, animal enclosures, and eateries serving delicious waffles and ice cream. Making this a fun day for everyone, regardless of age or interests. It is free to enter and is open daily from early until late. Gravelines Image Credit: Shutterstock. Gravelines is a seaside resort located at Petit Fort Philippe, 15 miles southwest of Dunkirk. Here, youll discover a long, sweeping, white sandy beach with clear waters. Lined with blue and white beach huts and a food kiosk, it looks like something from a Victorian postcard. This beach obtains the European Blue Flag every year, guaranteeing the quality of the beach. Once again, there is something for everyone. Since 2012, Petit Fort Philippe has been labeled a four-star nautical resort, offering visitors many water sports, including kayaking, canoeing, sailing, paddle boarding, and kitesurfing. The Jean Binard nautical base is open all year round, and you can rent equipment in the summer. Theres more to this place than the beach. Why not make a day of the Gravelines area and explore the fortifications, following in the footsteps of Vauban? At the Aa Rivers mouth is a Historic Monument, the fortified Star of Gravelines. It is surrounded by a double circuit of ramparts and a tidal moat. It can be explored on foot, bike, or boat. We took a 50-minute guided tour in traditional wooden boats, and the guide shared her expert knowledge. But you can also hire pedal boats for a slower pace and more intimate experience. Bergues Image Credit: Shutterstock. Less than seven miles south of Dunkirk, youll discover a charming town called Bergues. Locals refer to it as the other Bruges in Flanders. It is defended by ramparts and, again, designed by Vauban, although he built upon existing medieval ramparts. There is a 47-meter tall belfry made of yellow sandstone. Fifty bells sound for the famous Monday market and other festivities. You can also view the ruins of the former St Winnoc Abbey, which makes for an exciting stroll, as do the winding canals and moats around the town. Depending on whether you travel by car or public transport, the journey from Dunkirk to Bergues can take between 20 and 30 minutes. But if youre in Dunkirk for several days, seeing another town is worth a trip. This is a significant town for foodies, too. Here, you can sample the local cheese, known simply as Bergues. It is a semi-soft cheese made from raw, semi-skimmed cows milk. During the maturation process, it is washed with beer and salty water. It is delicious and unique thanks to its smooth texture but sharp flavor. Most eateries sample Bergues on their menus, and shops sell it too. Its a must-try for cheese lovers. Dunkirk Carnival Image Credit: Shutterstock. The annual Dunkirk Carnival is one of the citys most spectacular and fun events. Held between January and March, it travels the local areas, spreading vibrant colors and flamboyant costumes throughout the streets. The festival began in 1676, and it was initially a send-off party for the local fishermen who embarked on long trips to Iceland to catch Herring. It allowed loved ones to spend time with husbands, dads, and brothers before they left so that they could stock up on goods and feasting. The carnival is an important celebration for Dunkirk. Not only for the fishermen but also for having fun in their historically dark home. On Sundays, the visscherbende band parades through Dunkirk wearing yellow fishermen hats, playing songs for the party-goers to enjoy. And if you like Herring, youre in for a treat. The mayor throws tons of wrapped smoked herring over the gathered crowd. Its wild, but its great fun and a great way to meet the friendly, and maybe slightly drunk, locals. Open Markets Image Credit: Shutterstock. Every city trip needs a visit to an open food market. Dunkirks open market is held every Wednesday and Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm at Place du General de Gaulle and Cours Francois Bart. Here, you can find a selection of local specialties, freshly caught fish, and seasonal products. Remember to sample some Bergues cheese if you dont manage a trip there. A must-try is a locally made biscuit known as Jean Barts fingers (Doigtd de Jean Bart). It is a delicious almond biscuit with a coffee cream center coated in velvety, milky chocolate. If you cant find them at the market, youll find them at Aux Doigts de Jean Bart, Patisserie Vandewalle, 6 rue du Sud. They are a little pricey but worth it because you wont find them anywhere else. If you are in Dunkirk on Ascension Day, which falls in May or June, visit the annual flea market, brocante. It is a vast market made up of around 1,000 stalls, taking over the city center. This is the place to get a souvenir to take home! Or, if you find yourself in Dunkirk on the first weekend in October, pop along to the annual oyster festival for some of the freshest oysters youll ever try! Port du Bassin du Commerce Image Credit: Shutterstock. This old, small port in the center of Dunkirk now specializes in recreational activities. This is where youll find the Musee Portuaire, but the harbor itself deserves dedicated time. It was heavily damaged in the wars. Its beautiful at nighttime when the lights twinkle on the water. Find a cafe or a restaurant with a terrace, sit back, and relax as you watch Dunkirks life go by. Admire the fishing boats, tourists having fun, and locals going about their usual business. Sitting at the local cafes was a great way to speak to the locals and find out what is happening in the local area. You never know. They might let you into a locally guarded secret! Anna Gray/SWNS Anna Gray in the hospital Anna Gray went to the hospital numerous times after being unable to urinate by herself, even with laxatives She was diagnosed with Fowlers syndrome, a rare disorder that causes urinary retention in young women For the past six years, shes relied on a catheter to relieve her bladder manually A young woman has been diagnosed with a rare disorder after spending nearly six years without the ability to urinate. Anna Gray a 27-year-old from Bath, England first started experiencing symptoms in December 2018 when she woke up one night to go to the bathroom and couldnt pee. "The previous day had been completely fine! The first symptom was that I couldn't wee no matter how hard I tried and then, despite drinking water regularly, sitting in the bath for prolonged periods of time and listening to the sound of running water, I was unable to go," she told Metro. This went on for five days. Despite telling her doctors that laxatives werent working, Gray said they couldnt come up with any alternative solutions. It was difficult to get doctors to believe me, she added. They said that I must have been able to go to the toilet and that I was probably misremembering things. Related: Woman Details 'Awful' Rare Condition That Makes Her Allergic to Her Menstrual Cycle: 'It Was So Painful' Anna Gray/SWNS Anna Gray in the hospital before her Fowler's syndrome diagnosis 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. Days later, Gray was struggling to walk due to her bladder pain so she returned to the doctor for answers. Scans revealed that she had a litre of urine in her bladder, about four times maximum capacity. Doctors inserted a catheter to help relieve herself after the pain felt like she was being stabbed in the bladder. Over the next several months, Gray said she made multiple trips to the hospital to relieve her bladder with a catheter because she remained unable to urinate. After pushing doctors to run more tests, Gray was eventually diagnosed with Fowlers syndrome in October 2019. Fowlers syndrome is a rare functional disorder where the urethral sphincter the muscle that controls urine flow fails to relax when it should. It can cause complete or partial inability to urinate, bladder spasms and pain due to bladder distention. The condition typically affects young women in their 20s and 30s. Related: Nashville Teen with Rare Skin Condition Uses Humor About Her 'Poopy Leg' in TikToks to Raise Awareness (Exclusive) Anna Gray/SWNS Anna Gray in the hospital for Fowler's syndrome The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Doctors told Gray that there was no activity in her bladder, and it would likely never work normally again. I was told there was nothing they could do and I would need a catheter for life, she told Southwest News Service, via the New York Post. I think I went through a process of grieving to begin with, because it was so unknown. But it was a relief to know that it wasnt all in my head. With her diagnosis, Gray was taught how to self-catheterize five times a day in order to relieve her bladder manually moving forward. With more research needed surrounding Fowlers syndrome, she still struggles with infections and the condition ultimately took a significant toll on her mental health. However, she told the outlet that after six years, shes learning how to regain her confidence. Accepting it was a life-long condition was a lot to get my head around and I was in hospital for my mental health last year, she said. But Im slowly getting there, and now Im used to the bag. Ill wear shorts and tops where you can see it it doesnt bother me anymore. People ask questions and Im fine with that. Now, Gray finds comfort and support in connecting online with others who live with Fowlers syndrome. At first I thought I must be the only person in the world who was going through something like this, its so isolating to be in that position, she admitted. But finding a community of people who understand it has been incredible. Read the original article on People Rhian Butlin complained of abdominal pain and was later diagnosed with a tumor on her ovary She underwent a hysterectomy and had her appendix and the lining of her bowel removed Doctors later apologized after realizing that she didnt have ovarian cancer and said tumors had been discovered elsewhere in her body A woman is opening up about undergoing an unnecessary hysterectomy after doctors mistakenly told her she had ovarian cancer. In September 2024, Rhian Butlin went to the doctor dealing with excruciating abdominal pain. The 32-year-old said a scan came back clear and her symptoms were initially dismissed as PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, the Daily Mail reports. However, she was rushed to the hospital two months later when the pain persisted. Butlins stomach also started swelling so much that she appeared nine months pregnant. Once hospitalized, a second scan revealed that Butlin had a 25cm tumor on one of her ovaries, which needed to be surgically removed. Butlin who works as a dental nurse underwent a full hysterectomy in December. She also had her appendix and the lining of her bowel removed after they showed signs of swelling. The mom of two had biopsies done on all three organs during the major procedure. Butlins surgery and recovery was difficult. She suffered from a buildup of fluid as well as sepsis, and was put into a medically induced coma at one point. We were told our little sister possibly wouldnt make it through the night, her older sister, Lindsey Rice, said in a GoFundMe post. Our world fell apart. Thankfully Rhian pulled throughshe was sent home to recover, she added. Related: Newlywed, 27, Lied to Get a Colonoscopy. It Caught Stage 4 Cancer After Doctors Had Dismissed Her Symptoms Getty 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. But when Butlins biopsy results came back, no cancer was found in any of the body parts they removed. Doctors believed she had endometriosis, which can sometimes mimic cancer on scans. She didnt have cancer after all, Rice said. Can you believe how happy we all were. We cried, jumped for joy. The nightmare was over. Despite the exciting news, Butlins symptoms soon returned. She went back to her doctor for answers. They said, We are so sorry, we have gone through your notes and you did actually have cancer. But it was in your appendix and it is one of the rarest forms of cancer, Rice recalled to the DM. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! gofundme Rhian Butlin Related: Katie Thurston Says Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis Has Changed After Second Opinion: No Chemo for Now Although Butlins appendix had been removed during surgery, the disease had already spread to her pelvis and lymph nodes. Doctors said her cancer was now stage 4 and incurable. I'm just emotionally drained. I'm constantly scared and some nights I barely sleep, Butlin told the outlet. It's just been a very scary journey, if I'm honest. Obviously, I've had a full hysterectomy when I did not need to. I've had my ovaries removed when I did not have ovarian cancer and I've had the lining of my bowel removed when I did not have bowel cancer. she continued. Then they did remove my appendix in December but it wasn't until months later that they found cancer there. Now, more than six months after first complaining of stomach pain, Butlin started her first three-month course of intensive chemotherapy on April 8. Bultins older sister expressed her disappointment with how doctors have handled her care. It's not been the best experience, she told the outlet. If they figured it out earlier on, then we would not be in the position we are in now. It feels like we have been massively let down. Read the original article on People Corrections & Clarifications: In an earlier version of this story, a manager misidentified the office where he dealt with coffee badging. It has been removed. Tis the season to be coffee badging? The new year traditionally marks the time a fresh crop of U.S. corporations requires employees to return to the office after many businesses allowed their staffs to work remotely at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago And that means its also the season for workers to try to beat the system. What does the term coffee badging mean? Many are coffee badging, or swiping their ID badges at the office to record their arrival, staying 30 minutes or so long enough to greet colleagues and grab a cup of coffee and then heading back home. For workers who dont have to swipe a badge, simply establishing their presence or saying hi to some colleagues, dropping by a co-workers cubicle, or talking loudly in the hallway before quietly disappearing serves a similar purpose, said Christopher Nickson, vice president of Segal Group, a human resources consulting firm. More companies are asking workers to return to the office, spurring some employees to swipe their badges, stay at work for a little while and then go back home, a practice known as coffee badging. 'Will I have a job?': Federal workers full of uncertainty, fear over Trump plans Under a new offshoot of the practice, employees dont even bother trekking to the office. They enlist a co-worker to swipe in for them, Nickson said. While coffee badging has been in vogue since return-to-office mandates began a few years ago, its spreading as the share of companies announcing such policies has grown, Nickson and other human resources experts say. What companies are requiring 5 days in office? This month, Amazon and AT&T began forcing employees to work on-site five days a week while JPMorgan Chase is set to enforce a full-time office policy in March. Theyre joining a contingent of companies that already have ordered white-collar employees back to workplaces three to five days a week, including Walmart, UPS, Disney, Meta and Apple. In July, 44% of hybrid employees (who work some days a week at home and some in the office) said they were coffee badging, according to an online survey of 2,000 such workers by Owl Labs, which makes videoconferencing equipment. Far fewer 19% of 1,545 workers who responded to a LinkedIn online poll last summer said they or their co-workers coffee badge and 31% said they had done so at some point. Thats roughly in line with industry estimates that about one in five white-collar workers coffee badge, said John Frehse, head of global labor strategy for consulting firm Ankura. Meanwhile, 79% of companies see noncompliance with return-to-office mandates as an issue to some degree, according to an October survey by ResumeTemplates.com. Forty percent of the firms surveyed said workers dont stay a full day and 7% said they manipulate swipe or sign-in systems. Amazon, which until this month required its 350,000 corporate employees to work on-site three days a week, could track those who coffee badged because staffers must swipe their IDs when they arrive and leave. When they spent just a token amount of time in the office, managers would speak with them. "We want to ensure people are spending healthy time in the office....with their teams," Amazon spokesperson Zoe Hoffman said. That strengthens culture, collaboration and brainstorming, company officials have said. Since employees have had to return to the office full time starting this month, the company no longer has felt the need to ensure they're there for a minimum amount of time, Hoffman said. What work looks like in 2025: Sign up for USA TODAY's Daily Money newsletter. Why do employees not want to return to the office? Coffee badging is a byproduct of a widening gap between the views of corporate leaders and employees. Seventy-nine percent of U.S. CEOS expect a full return to office in the next three years, according to a KMPG survey and the Society for Human Resource Management. But 58% of white-collar employees prefer to work remotely at least three days a week, according to a recent USA TODAY survey. Several HR experts said workers have a compelling case. Most people have demonstrated they can work effectively in a remote environment, Nickson said. As a result, he said, when theyre forced to go back to the office, especially five days a week, The temptation is great to engage in this behavior. By working remotely, employees avoid commutes and office distractions while gaining the flexibility to juggle work and family responsibilities, HR experts said. Theyre going to work in a way that works for them, said Cali Williams Yost, CEO of Flex + Strategy Group, which helps companies adopt flexible work arrangements. If the only message is come into the office, she added, employees have figured out quickly that being at work five days is a waste of time. I can go to the office, badge in and leave. Most employees who coffee badge are showing their displeasure at having to be back at the workplace full time, though some hybrid workers also play the cat-and-mouse game, Nickson and Frehse said. What percentage of workers are back in office? Across the U.S., about 20% of remote-capable employees work in the office every weekday, 55% are hybrid and 26% telework exclusively, according to a November Gallup poll. Many workers get away with coffee badging because their own managers do it and arent in the office to monitor attendance, Nickson said. Nearly half of managers coffee badge, according to the Owl Labs survey. Fifty-nine percent of the workers surveyed by Owl Labs said theyve been caught coffee badging but their employer didnt mind. And 11% said they were caught and now have to be in the office full time. Coffee badgers are often turned in by co-workers who resent having to comply with office attendance directives while others evade them, Nickson said. Coffee badging amounts to a powerful statement by employees, Frehse said, noting the toughest part of working in an office is getting there. In instances where they leave shortly after arrival, this is due to toxicity in the workplace or the fact that there is low or no value in being physically present, Frehse wrote in an email. What makes people want to come into the office? About a quarter of the workers surveyed by Owl Labs said they could be lured to the office with free or subsidized food, reimbursement for commuting costs, more privacy at work, or the lack of a dress code, among other perks. Meanwhile, coffee badging is creating thorny dilemmas for low- and midlevel managers. Although company leaders announce the return-to-office edicts, direct supervisors are reluctant to scold or discipline employees for trying to get around them, Nickson said. Managers are saying the work is getting done, Nickson said. Why do I need to have this very difficult conversation? The risk of raising the issue is that employees will quit, resulting in significant costs to replace them, Nickson said. Others may become disengaged, hurting productivity, Yost said. As a result, the consultants said, many managers look the other way. Why are companies forcing employees back to the office? In announcing return-to-office mandates, CEOs have cited a desire to foster employee collaboration, morale and creativity. But workers often find themselves doing the same tasks they did at home and participating in the same Zoom meetings, Nickson said. Instead, the mandates would be more effective if employers required workers to come to the office two or three days a week and planned activities to foster development or collaboration during those periods, Yost said. Then they wont coffee badge, she said. What are the benefits of coffee badging? Some experts view coffee badging as a positive trend that allows employees to comply with return-to-office mandates while still meeting family and personal obligations. They have the flexibility to see people in the office, attend to personal matters during lunch, and complete their tasks from the comfort of home, Jessica Kriegel, chief strategy officer of consulting firm Culture Partners wrote in a LinkedIn post. Some leaders, unfortunately, see this as cheating, she added, noting that one firm installed a surveillance system. Others believe the practice undermines the valid goal of requiring workers to come back to work sites to improve productivity. Coffee badging isnt the same as meaningful, in-person connection, - its quick bouts of surface-level face time, Henna Pryor, a workplace performance expert, wrote in a June article in Inc.com. Its those water cooler moments, the quick hallway huddles, and the shared lunch breaks that help teams sync up. Frehse also has a dim view of coffee badging but for a different reason. Companies, he said, want workers back in the office because they do not trust their employees. As a result, he wrote, the leadership team expects 8 hours (traditionally) of time spent physically in the office. They do not expect employees to just check in'. Coffee badging, he added, is a clear indicator of dysfunction in a workplace. Tim Barnhart has dealt with coffee-badging employees at two different jobs. As a former manager at a credit union in Spokane, Washington, he said about 10% of employees would come in for a few minutes or an hour after the company called them back to the office a few days a week in 2022. They would just be there in the morning and then I didnt see them the rest of the day, Barnhart said. He told them: Hey, I see what youre doing. I get why youre doing it but the policy is from upper leadership and its not an option. Employees invariably began staying full days, he said. Then, in late 2023, when Ignitium, a Spokane-based marketing tech company he helped lead, faced a similar dilemma and broad resistance to a return to office policy, the firm decided to drop the mandate and let staffers decide whether to work remotely or in the office. Because youre supporting them, he said, theyre more invested in you and in your company. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coffee badging is employees' new way to skirt full days in the office CommsPlus Distribution has signed an agreement with security software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendor SafeWeb for the Australian market. Headquartered in London, England, SafeWeb offers a range of security features, including 24/7 dark web monitoring with AI-driven data breach detection, incident response, a privacy toolbox with more than 40 customisable policy templates and a phishing simulator. The tools are designed particularly to protect small- to medium-sized businesses (SMB) from cyber threats, with the distributors managing director, Paul Bailye, noting it provides additional opportunities for resellers to deliver more value through complete end-to-end solutions for their customers. SafeWeb also includes insurance services, but ARN understands this functionality is currently only for UK SMBs and wont be available in Australia right away, with no confirmed date as of publication. By partnering with SafeWeb, we are equipping our reseller partners with a powerful solution that enhances cyber security resilience while remaining easy to deploy and manage, said Bailye. In addition to the product itself, the distributor will also be providing dedicated sales and marketing support and training for resellers. Today's news: Mysterious deaths are affecting Chinese scientists in the AI sector; New drop in the number of inhabitants of Japan, the lowest figure in 20 years; Restoration work begins on the dome of Hagia Sophia, a basilica transformed into a mosque by Erdogan; The Burmese junta bombs a monastery in the north-west, killing at least five people including children. PAKISTAN New attack on the security forces in Pakistan. In the early hours of today a powerful explosion hit a police truck in the province of Balochistan, already the scene of attacks against sensitive targets in the recent past. According to initial reports, at least three people were killed in the explosion and 19 others were injured. Last March, separatist militias attacked a train service, taking hundreds of people hostage. CHINA A series of mysterious deaths is affecting Chinese scientists working in the field of artificial intelligence, raising concerns among workers about the pressures and personal risks associated with one of the most strategically important sectors for the future. In fact, in the space of two years, some of the brightest minds in military artificial intelligence, computer vision and medical technology have lost their lives to accidents or illness. The latest in the series is Quan Yuhui, an expert in computer image processing. JAPAN Official data released yesterday show that the Japanese population fell to 120.3 million in October 2024, marking a record drop of 898,000 compared to the previous year. The birth rate is among the lowest in the world, with a smaller workforce, fewer consumers and companies struggling to recruit employees. This is the most significant decline since the government began collecting data in 1950. The overall population, including foreigners, also fell by 550,000 to 123.8 million. TURKEY Turkey is about to begin restoration and reinforcement work on the dome of Hagia Sophia, in one of the largest renovation projects ever undertaken on the 1,486-year-old building. Built as a cathedral, it was the world's largest for 900 years, then converted into a mosque by the Ottoman sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, and became a museum under the (secular) Turkish republic of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk over 70 years ago. Finally, the building became a mosque at the hands of President Tayyip Erdogan in 2020, in a decision that was controversial and sparked fierce debate. INDIA Exports of polished and cut diamonds fell to their lowest level in two decades in the 2024/25 financial year, which ended in March. Among the reasons are the slow demand from the US market and from China. India is the largest cutting and polishing centre in the world and handles nine out of ten diamonds processed globally, however it is sensitive to economic uncertainty, particularly in the US which represents its largest market. MYANMAR The Burmese junta recently bombed a monastery in the north-west, killing at least five people including children. The air raid on Tabayin, in the Sagaing region, injured nine others and reduced a Buddhist monastery to rubble. The same military coup leaders had previously announced that the recent earthquake had destroyed almost 10,000 places of worship in Myanmar. RUSSIA - UNITED STATES Donald Trump's tariff war is causing considerable damage to the Russian budget, especially in the energy sector. In the last few days Brent crude oil has plummeted 20% to below 60 dollars a barrel, and Russian Urals has dropped to almost 50 dollars, rising to 55 with the 90-day moratorium, but Moscow officials predict that the price should not drop below 70. KYRGYZSTAN A scandal has erupted in Kyrgyzstan after MP Baktybek Sydykov proposed fining parents who give birth to children with genetic diseases without having undergone the necessary medical tests, using Germany as an example. The parents compared Sydykov to Hitler, who apologised, saying I have not been understood and that he was concerned about the health of the population, and the costs of the health service. by Gianni Criveller The PIME missionary died just before his 100th birthday. He was a pioneer in establishing contact with Catholics in China after the Cultural Revolution and founder of the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong, for decades the most documented study centre on the Catholic Church in China. Like Matteo Ricci, he followed the path of friendship and dialogue to share the Gospel of peace with the Chinese people. Milan (AsiaNews) - PIME missionary, Father Angelo Lazzarotto, passed away this morning on the eve of his 100th birthday, May 14th next. He was widely known for his long and extraordinary work in weaving ties and relations between Christianity and China. Father Angelo died in the PIME house in Rancio di Lecco, Italy, where he had lived for the last few years, always participating in community life and dedicating himself to prayer. Father Lazzarotto was born in Falze di Piave, in the province of Treviso and the diocese of Vittorio Veneto. I made my decision to become a missionary when I was attending secondary school in Conegliano Veneto, he told us. I was an enthusiastic member of Catholic Action, which introduced me to the tragic events of the civil war in Spain and its many martyrs. I also remember our religion teacher's courageous condemnation of Mussolini's racial laws. In June 1940 he entered the PIME seminary in Treviso, followed by three years of high school at the PIME seminary in Genoa. There he met two missionaries who had been to China and who had a profound influence on him: Father Attilio Garre and the then Superior General, Bishop Lorenzo M. Balconi. The superior was an austere man, who bore the marks of the violence he had suffered in China. We had a heroic ideal of the missions at the time, and so we welcomed the news of the martyrdom of our missionaries in that country in 1941 and 1942. He returned to Treviso as a teacher, and on 22 December 1947, at the age of only 22, he was ordained a priest. He was sent to Rome to study missiology and there he discovered the Focolare movement, a source of spiritual inspiration that was fundamental for his life and which he introduced, with great success, into Hong Kong, where he arrived in 1956. In Hong Kong he was appointed director of the Catholic Centre, the driving force of Catholicism in that metropolis, where he became friends with Don Francis Hsu, a great intellectual committed to the inculturation of the Catholic faith in the Chinese world, who in 1967 was elected the first Chinese bishop of Hong Kong. Meanwhile, in 1965, Lazzarotto joined the General Council of PIME. Father Lazzarotto was a pioneer in establishing contact with Catholics in China after the Cultural Revolution. Together with prominent figures such as the Milanese politician Vittorino Colombo and the intellectual Don Franco Demarchi of the University of Trento, he helped re-establish a dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Chinese regime. Not only that: he carried out various important services in missionary training facilities at the Italian Episcopal Conference and in the Vatican, before returning to Hong Kong in 1980, where he founded, together with Father John Tong (who later became a bishop and cardinal) and two American Maryknoll missionaries, the Holy Spirit Study Centre, for decades the most documented study centre on the Catholic Church in China. Father Lazzarotto was one of the members of what was jokingly called the gang of four, that is, those missionary-sinologists who, at the end of the seventies, began the first, very difficult contacts with what remained of the Catholic Church after the dark years of communist persecution. They included the Belgian Jerome Heyndricks of the Scheut missionaries (still alive) and two others who are no longer with us: the Frenchman Jean Charbonnier of the Foreign Missions of Paris and the Polish Divine Word missionary Roman Malek. It was the latter who suggested that a Festschrift be published in 2010, a volume in honour of Father Lazzarotto, on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Published in Germany by Monumenta Serica, it includes 28 essays by important international scholars and the congratulatory tabula signed by 63 personalities from all over the world. All his publications are also listed, which at the time numbered 417. The tireless Lazzarotto continued to publish books, essays and articles, including about our agency and the PIME magazine Mondo e Missione, so that today there are about 450 of his titles. Father Angelo also suffered obvious injustices, such as the ban, in 2011 at the age of 86, on entering China for what he intended to be his last trip to his beloved country. But he also bore this discourtesy with patience and a spirit of faith. In November 2015, the Catholic University of Milan awarded him the Matteo Ricci Prize, a figure who inspired Father Angelo during the long years he travelled the path of friendship and dialogue to share the Gospel of peace with the Chinese people. by Daniele Frison The Syrian community in Jordan (1.3 million) remains trapped between poverty and cuts in international aid, which have increased since the fall of the Assad regime. According to the UNHCR, few Syrians have returned home. "My house was destroyed, one refugee told AsiaNews. He wonders how he can go back to a place without work. In Mafraq, near the Za'atari camp, people barely survive. Relations between Jordan and Syria rekindle hopes, but the future remains uncertain. Amman (AsiaNews) When the news of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime reached Jordan on 8 December, it was like the doctor saying that you recovered from an incurable disease". Abu Hassans life and that of his family have a date they will never forget: 23 March 2013. On that day they left Syria, fleeing their home in Ghutah and their farmland near Damascus, after the area came under heavy fire from government forces. When we arrived here, this land was empty," he says, pointing around and holding a daffodil with the "scent of home" in his hands. For 12 years he and others lived in Mafraq, in Jordans far north, 15 km from the border. When 14 Syrian families came together in this desert spot, they set up a camp with tents and temporary accommodations. Since then, the informal settlement turned into a real village because staying in Jordan became their safest choice over the years. This was made possible thanks to the help of numerous organisations, including Caritas Jordan and an Italian NGO, Non dalla Guerra (Not from War). We had hope for the future. Slowly we rebuilt, for a dignified life, not as refugees," Abu Hassan notes. The Syrian community established here now has 24 families. From the village, when evening falls, you can see the lights on the other side of the border, and the indistinct bright spot of the Za'atari camp, the largest in the Middle East, the first place for many Syrians who fled to Jordan after 2011 (1.3 million). Now, with Syria going through a new social and political phase under the banner of "reconstruction", with the interim government committed to leading a five-year constitutional project, the dream of home is becoming ever more intense. And the name of the dictator Bashar al-Assad can be mentioned again, after years of whispers and things unsaid. "When we return . . .", Abu Hassan chants. "I feel like a dry tree. When we come back, it will be like receiving all the water that has not been given to me for years". But there is still a lot of uncertainty. According to the UNHCR, only a small number (about 302,000) of Syrians have returned from Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan since December. The return is held back by the fear of becoming "refugees" in one's own homeland. And by the persistence of sectarian violence. For Abu Hassan, If the situation wasn't difficult, there would be no one left in Jordan. Only a few families have returned to Syria from Mafraq. Those who remain, like Abu Adballah and his relatives, live in a "purgatory" of indecision. Since December, Syrians in Jordan are no longer deemed refugees. This has affected humanitarian aid, badly impacted by recent cuts to US funding. About 90 per cent of Syrians depend on this to survive. In Jordan, more than 93 per cent of Syrian households said they could not meet basic needs on their own. "We can't work here. We don't have enough money. But it is the same in Syria. My house there was destroyed. My family is made up of nine. How can I pay for the trip? With 500 Jordanian dinars (about US$ 700) I could reach Damascus, but then I would have to rebuild, he said. Some heads of families have returned alone before bringing their families, women and children. In recent months Caritas Jordan has recorded an increase in abuse of those who remain, due to this temporary "abandonment". On 26 February, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with King Abdullah II in Amman for the first time. During the meeting, the need to create adequate conditions for the "voluntary" return of Syrian refugees was discussed. Not "forced" - for the moment - like in Lebanon and Turkey. For this reason, Jordan is asking for greater collective efforts, at a time when humanitarian organisations are short of what is needed. On 14 December, after the fall of the al-Assad regime, an international meeting on the future of Syria was held in Aqaba. On that occasion, participants expressed support for the Syrian-led political transition. The committee composed, among others of Saudi Arabia and Egypt - reiterated its solidarity with the Syrian people, stressing their right to determine their future. This was followed on 9 March by another regional meeting in Amman, in which efforts to safeguard the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the "new" Syria were once again reaffirmed. Abdel (not his real name), a 64-year-old Syrian, met with the Italian association Non Dalla Guerra which supports Caritas's educational projects and AsiaNews at the al-Hashmi al-Shamali centre, on the north-eastern outskirts of Amman. He comes from Dar'a, where he was a doctor, and has been in Jordan since 2012, with his wife and six of his eight children. We came on foot, we crossed the desert until the border. The Jordanian army welcomed us. We were given a tent, bread and electricity... things not available in Syria. We hadn't eaten for days," he said. Like Abu Hassan, he notes that the fate of Syrians in Jordan today is very uncertain. "Here we don't work, life is difficult, we feel a hole in our hearts for having left the people we love. But now we don't want to go back, we wouldn't find anything in Syria," he explained. The updates he receives from his two sons who live in Syria are not heartening. My house was destroyed, looted, deserted. There is no money, the economy is not good. The jobs we had now are not there. The money and gold we had are gone, he explains. The fear of meeting those who collaborated with the al-Assad regime is still strong, and social instability does not allow anyone to feel safe, and to look to the future with serenity. At night there are gunshots, people quarrelling, his children told him. "That's why we are afraid to return. If the new government manages to control all the territory, then we will think about it". The deaths at the hands of the regime that have gone unpunished still fuel the suspicion that someone that is close might be behind them. It still takes a lot, said Abdel, who still dreams of a visa to go "anywhere", to Germany, the Netherlands or Canada, after many attempts that failed and false promises. Syria's healing is a slow process from which perhaps his children might fully benefit. GATEWAY TO THE EAST IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE MIDDLE EAST. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY TUESDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE. Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. 15 April 2025 20:32 (UTC+04:00) Court hearings on the criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen charged with torture, mercenary activity, violation of the laws and customs of warfare, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other crimes under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, continued on April 15. The open hearings were held at the Baku Military Court, presided over by Judge Zeynal Agayev and a panel of judges consisting of Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov, with reserve judge Gunel Samadova. The accused was provided with an interpreter in Russianhis language of choiceand was represented by defense attorneys. The session proceeded with the questioning of victims. Before the testimonies began, Judge Zeynal Agayev explained to the victims their rights and obligations as stipulated by law. Victims Ilgar Orujov, Mardan Musayev, Anar Aliyev, Khazri Ahmadov, Hasan Aliyev, Elshad Ahmadov, Farid Ilyaszada, Tabriz Ramazanov, Saleh Hasanov, Javid Mehdizada, Azizagha Garayev, Nariman Ibrahimov, and others testified that they had been injured as a result of provocations carried out by remnants of the Armenian army and illegal Armenian armed groups. One of the victims, Elvin Mammadli, testified that he had been injured while evacuating a wounded soldier in an ambulance. He stated that the ambulance, which bore a clearly visible Red Crescent symbol, was struck by an anti-tank rocket fired by these groups. In response to questions from public prosecutor Fuad Musayev, victim Nizami Bakhshaliyev said he had been wounded by gunfire from the opposing side while positioned 78 kilometers behind the front line. He emphasized, Their goal was to occupy the lands. Another victim, Ulvi Suleymanov, stated that he had been wounded and that one of his fellow combatants had died in his arms. Victim Imran Hasanli, answering questions from public prosecutor Tarana Mammadova, said he and his group commander were both injured in an explosion in the village of Sirkhavend, Aghdara district. Tural Mammadzada said that he had sustained shrapnel wounds in Aghdam as a result of artillery fire during a military provocation by the remnants of the Armenian army and illegal armed groups. Victim Anar Rahimli, in response to questions from public prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev, stated that he had been wounded while performing his duties as a civilian in the Yeddikhirman area of Aghdam district. We encountered an illegal Armenian armed formation. They fired at our car. I received a bullet wound in my left arm, which broke as a result. My right hand was also fractured when the vehicle overturned, he said. Our soldiers werent with us at the time. When we saw the armed group, we tried to turn back. As we did, they opened sustained firenot just to intimidate us, but to kill. Javid Mehdizada stated that he had been wounded in Abdal-Gulabli village of Aghdam during an enemy provocation. Two of my fellow combatants were martyred right next to me, and several others were wounded. We were in our position when we were attacked. The opposing side was engaged in incessant provocations, he said. Victim Valeh Nuriyev also testified that he had been injured during enemy provocation. Elshan Ibrahimli reported that he had been wounded by sniper fire in Aghdam. All victims appealed to the court to impose the harshest punishment on the accused. Conclusions from forensic medical examinations of the victims were also announced during the session. The next hearing is scheduled for April 22. Ruben Vardanyan is charged with crimes under Articles 100.1, 100.2 (planning, preparing, initiating and waging a war of aggression), 107 (deportation and forced displacement of the population), 109 (persecution), 110 (forcible disappearance of persons), 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law), 113 (torture), 114.1 (mercenary activity), 115.2 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare), 116.0.1, 116.0.2, 116.0.10, 116.0.11, 116.0.16, 116.0.18 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.12 (intentional murder), 29,120.2.1, 29,120.2.3, 29,120.2.4, 29,120.2.7, 29,120.2.11, 29,120.2.12 (attempted intentional murder), 192.3.1 (illegal entrepreneurship), 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 214.2.4 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism), 218.1, 218.2 (creation of a criminal group), 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation and possession of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices), 270-1.2, 270-1.4 (acts threatening aviation safety), 278.1 (forcible seizure or retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279.1, 279.2, 279.3 (creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by law) and 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan). 15 April 2025 13:38 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more This bilateral cooperation is responsible for some of the most significant infrastructure projects in the region. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Georgias Black Sea ports, and Azerbaijans Alat Port collectively form a backbone of what Europe calls the Middle Corridora route touted as a vital bridge between Europe and Central Asia. These are not theoretical ambitions. These are operational networks realized through the strategic alignment of Baku and Tbilisi, not Yerevan. It is, therefore, baffling to hear European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen refer to the need to open borders between Armenia and its neighbors as a prerequisite for advancing the Middle Corridor. This narrative ignores both historical context and present-day function. The corridor exists and functions without... Access to paid information is limited Find the plan that suits you best. 15 April 2025 13:19 (UTC+04:00) The second International Opera Festival, organized by Fidan Hajiyeva, will take place in Baku on April 23-29, Azernews reports. The event promises to be memorable with vibrant performances of classical art, becoming a grand celebration for opera lovers, Over seven days, concerts featuring both famous performers and young talents aged 6-16, who will take the stage for the first time, will be held at various venues throughout the capital, said the project organizer, People's Artist Fidan Hajiyeva, in an interview with Trend Life. Let's remember that the first International Opera Festival, also organized by Fidan Hajiyeva, was successfully held from April 27 to May 3 last year. Throughout that week, works by Azerbaijani classical composers as well as global authors were showcased at various concert venues in Baku and Ganja. This time, we will kick off the festival on April 23 with a performance of the operetta "Arshin Mal Alan" (The Cloth Peddler) by the great composer Uzeyir Hajibayli at the stage of the Opera Studio of the Uzeyir Hajibayli Baku Music Academy. As is known, the year 2025 has been declared the year of Uzeyir Hajibayli in Azerbaijan. The 140th anniversary of the birth of the great composer, creator of the first opera in the East, founder of contemporary professional musical art in Azerbaijan, outstanding musicologist, talented journalist, playwright, and educator, Academician Uzeyir Hajibayli, is being widely celebrated in the country and abroad. Uzeyir Hajibayli's diverse creativity has left an indelible mark on world history. "Arshin Mal Alan" is one of the musical treasures of our culture. It has been translated into 80 languages and performed in about two hundred theaters across eighty countries. The version of "Arshin Mal Alan" presented at the festival is a new production that will feature young talents artists from the opera theater of my Vocal School, who will also perform the leading roles. I will play the role of Jahan Khala, while the role of Veli will be performed by Honored Artist of Azerbaijan Tural Aghasiyev, and the role of Sultanbek will be played by Honored Artist of Azerbaijan Farid Aliyev, who is also the director of the production," said Fidan Hajiyeva. Performances will also take place on April 24 at the Central Arts School named after Gara Garayev, featuring the "Academy of Arts of the Children of Martyrs" under the direction of Professor Kyonul Guseynova of the Baku Music Academy, the wife of martyr, pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Rashad Atakiyev; on April 25, there will be a performance with the female chamber orchestra MEZZO and young performers at the State Song Theater named after Rashid Behbudov. On April 26, a concert titled "The History of Opera" featuring students from the Vocal School will take place in the "Belcanto" concert hall. On April 27, there will be a performance by People's Artist Gulnaz Ismayilova and young talents, and on April 28, there will be a solo concert titled "Desire" at the Creative Center and a concert "The Future of Opera Art A New Breath" featuring the chamber orchestra of Khazar University at the Fikret Amirov Conference and Concert Center. Fidan Gadjieva will perform at all events. The closing ceremony will be held on April 29 at the Azerbaijan State Academic Philharmonic Hall. "For me, the support of young talents is very important, and this year, there will be more than a hundred of them, including students from the Baku Music Academy, the National Conservatory, Khazar University, and children of employees from the Swedish Embassy. It is noteworthy that this year, the festival will conclude with a gala concert where soloists from the opera theater will sing, and our symphony orchestra will perform under the direction of renowned conductor Boyan Videnov from Germany," added Fidan Gadjieva. Special websites have been developed for the event for the Vocal Music School of Fidan Gajiyeva (https://musiqimektebi.az/) and the official website of Fidan Gajiyeva (https://fidanhaciyeva.com/). The resources were developed by Turkish specialist Ilgin Kanat from Istanbul, whose maternal ancestors are from the Azerbaijani city of Shamkir. He has worked in Turkiye, Russia, Estonia, and the United Kingdom. They were introduced by Farida Panahova, the head of the Azerbaijanis Society of Britain and the "Garabagh" school in London. "The websites are designed in three languages - Azerbaijani, Russian, and English- using artificial intelligence. They contain informational materials, photo and video galleries, and various events. In particular, the Vocal Music School's website features interactive information about the school itself, the concert hall, the recording studio, and various activities. In a 3D format, there is an opportunity to take a tour of the school, view the classrooms, and see the learning process. The official website of Fidan Hajiyeva includes a biography, performances and events, information about the music school, a photo gallery, television projects, an opera festival, and other materials related to her long creative career. Mobile versions of the websites have also been created," noted Ilgin Kanat. Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, and Milli.Az. 15 April 2025 17:55 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more World Art Day, celebrated on April 15, is a significant event established in 2019 during the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, Azernews reports. The resolution created for this occasion emphasizes the importance of the connection between artistic creation and society, highlights the diversity of artistic expression, and recognizes the contributions of artists to sustainable development. Under UNESCO's auspices, World Art Day aims to foster the creation, dissemination, and appreciation of art among people worldwide. While the observance of this day is relatively new to the international cultural calendar, it builds upon a rich historical context. Previously, April 15 was informally recognized as International Culture Day, a date linked to the signing of the "Treaty on the Protection of Artistic, Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments" in Washington in 1935, also known as the "Washington Pact " or the "Roerich Pact." This treaty, proposed by Russian artist and archaeologist Nicholas Roerich, marked a significant milestone as the first international agreement dedicated to safeguarding cultural heritage and was signed by about 20 countries. In the 1990s, the International League for the Protection of Culture, initiated by the International Roerich Center in Moscow, pushed for the recognition of April 15 as International Culture Day. It was celebrated informally in several nations, including Russia, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, and Cuba. Now, this date has taken on a specific significance in the international cultural landscape. Every nation strives to safeguard and cultivate its cultural values and heritage, asserting ownership of them to ensure the preservation of its unique identity. Today, Azerbaijan is celebrated internationally for its profound cultural heritage. The country actively collaborates with UNESCO, the premier global cultural organization, to promote and share its cultural treasures worldwide. As a UNESCO member, Azerbaijan has been actively engaged in promoting cultural diversity and heritage preservation. The country has been regularly participating in UNESCO programs since 1992. Through its efforts, Azerbaijan plays a significant role in UNESCO's mission to build peace, foster sustainable development, and foster intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication, and information. In 2003, the parties signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, education, and communication, which allowed Azerbaijan to become one of the donors of UNESCO. 15 April 2025 10:00 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more Azerbaijan demands that France put an end to actions that do not serve peace and undermine stability in the region, Azernews reports, citing the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aykhan Hajizadeh, as he said in response to a question from local media regarding the allegations made by French officials against Azerbaijan. "We firmly reject and condemn the allegations referred to by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, and echoed by the French ambassador to Azerbaijan. The double standards in Frances policy declaring intentions for peace while taking actions that fuel conflict reveal a troubling inconsistency. Such a hypocritical approach hampers prospects for lasting peace in the region. France's provision of lethal weapons to Armenia, along with its persistently anti-Azerbaijani stance, disrupts the peace process and directly contradicts Minister Barrots publicly expressed concerns about regional tensions," he said. In addition, Hajizadeh noted that although finalizing the draft peace agreement is a significant step, France is well aware that signing a peace treaty and ensuring lasting stability also requires addressing core issues particularly, the removal of territorial claims in Armenias Constitution and the formal dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group and other related structures. "Obstructing judicial proceedings against individuals accused of crimes against humanity not only interferes with the country's sovereignty but also undermines efforts to ensure accountability for horrific atrocities. France's interference in this regard, by shielding perpetrators, only serves to perpetuate impunity. Instead of meddling in regional affairs, France should abandon its neocolonial policies, which have been heavily criticized not only by Azerbaijan but also by various other nations, especially concerning its activities in overseas territories and Africa. French neocolonialism, while exploiting local populations and resources, has consistently prioritized French interests over the welfare of those countries, leading to long-term instability and ethnic tensions. It is no secret that France's foreign policy demonstrates the moral failure of its so-called 'civilizing mission.' We demand that France cease actions that do not contribute to peace and that destabilize the region," he added. 15 April 2025 11:03 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more The Baku Grave Crimes Court has resumed the high-profile trial of Martin Ryan, a French national and General Director of Merkorama LLC, and Azad Mammadli, an Azerbaijani citizen, both accused of espionage in favor of France, Azernews reports. Presided over by Judge Elmin Rustamov, the session included direct questioning of Martin Ryan, who is charged under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code. Responding to questions from his defense lawyer about his interactions with individuals linked to the French Embassy, Ryan stated: I am a businessman. Due to my work, I had to have contact with the embassy. I saw this as a positive thing. Thanks to this, I have established extensive contacts. When asked how he realized those individuals were likely members of the French secret services, Ryan answered: It was clear from the questions he asked that he was an employee of the secret services. It was also clear to the people who spoke to me after that. This is also reflected in the investigation materials. Despite acknowledging suspicions, Ryan justified maintaining the relationship: If you have a personal relationship with someone, it does not necessarily have to be for profit. My goal was to establish friendly relations and my safety. There is no question of position, profit, or financial resources. Ryan added that he did not report his concerns to Azerbaijani authorities, fearing it would be seen as betrayal by France: At the same time, I did not have enough evidence. But I had to inform the French Foreign Ministry about this. If I had the documents, I would not be in prison right now. During cross-examination by Azad Mammadlis lawyer, Ryan revealed that he met Azad in 2019 through a mutual acquaintance, noting: Azad had special knowledge about Russia. That is why Azad was in their circle of interest. I introduced Azad to them. In his testimony, Azad Mammadli denied all allegations of espionage, saying: I did not provide information for the French Embassy, I did not spy or carry out assignments. Although they tried to do so, I did not respond positively to those individuals. Mammadli rejected claims that he had ever collaborated or agreed to cooperate with French officials, calling Ryans previous testimony false. He stated: Martin Ryan gave false testimony during the investigation. He stated in his testimony that I had provided information to the French Embassy employees about several employees of the university where I studied in Russia. However, this did not happen. Addressing one of the accusations related to strategic security, Mammadli said: I met with Martin when I came to Baku in 2023. At that time, I expressed my subjective opinions to him about the [Zangezur] corridor. I told him that if this corridor is opened, I want European troops here, not Russian ones. Mammadli emphasized that he never sought French citizenship and was not offered it. He also portrayed himself as a victim, stating: In addition to being the accused in the case, I am also a victim. Because Martin used me to fulfill the tasks given to him illegally, and trapped me. My personal information was obtained from me without permission. He further alleged that Ryan involved nine Azerbaijani citizens through artificial friendships, and added: I regret that I did not inform the Azerbaijani special services about this in a timely manner. Both defendants were arrested on December 4, 2023, following an investigation by the State Security Service (SSS). The charges accuse Martin Ryan of acting under orders from the DGSE (French General Directorate for External Security) and of recruiting Mammadli and others before being declared persona non grata and expelled from Baku. The next hearing is scheduled for May 19. 15 April 2025 11:38 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more The 4th session of the Permanent Forum of Peoples of African Descent has officially begun at the UN Headquarters in New York, focusing on confronting the global legacy of slavery and colonialism, Azernews reports. The forum, established by a UN General Assembly resolution on August 2, 2021, aims to address historical injustices and promote full equality and justice for peoples of African descent. This years session features active participation from territories still grappling with colonial rule, with significant support from the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) an international platform advocating against colonialism and promoting legal and political awareness of its lingering consequences. Thanks to cooperation between the Permanent Forum and the BIG, representatives from Guadeloupe, Martinique, Kanaki (New Caledonia), Sint Maarten, Reunion, Bonaire, Aruba, Maohi Nui (French Polynesia), and French Guiana territories under the current or former colonial administration of France and the Netherlands were able to participate in the forum and share their voices on the world stage. Speaking at the session, Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group, highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by these territories: It is regrettable that many regions under French and Dutch control still suffer from the reality of colonial rule today, he said, underlining the group's global mission to promote decolonization within international legal frameworks. Abbasov also announced an upcoming international conference organized by BIG titled Decolonization: A Quiet Revolution, set to take place on April 15, with the support of the Permanent Forum. The event will provide a deeper look into the structural and political challenges these territories continue to face. He extended an invitation to all participating states to join this important dialogue. Representatives from Guadeloupe, Sint Maarten, Reunion, Martinique, and French Guiana echoed strong condemnation of French and Dutch colonial policies, emphasizing the urgency of coordinated efforts toward achieving full independence and self-determination. As part of the session, a pivotal report titled "The Evolution of French Colonialism: A Political and Constitutional Study", authored by prominent UN expert and U.S. citizen Carlyle Corbin at the request of the BIG, was officially presented. The report is expected to add further momentum to global advocacy efforts for decolonization and legal reforms. 15 April 2025 14:43 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more On April 14, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a telephone conversation with Assad Hassan Ash-Shibani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Syrians Abroad of the Transitional Government of Syria, Azernews reports. According to Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry, the two ministers discussed the current state and future of Azerbaijani-Syrian relations, as well as broader regional security dynamics. They emphasized the broad prospects for bilateral cooperation in the post-Assad era, with both sides expressing readiness to deepen ties once the Assad regime is no longer in power. Minister Bayramov also expressed appreciation for Syria's support in restoring the work of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Damascus following a long hiatus. During the call, the importance of Azerbaijans humanitarian assistance to Syria and its potential role in the countrys reconstruction process was underlined. The ministers agreed that enhancing tripartite cooperation between Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Syria could contribute to regional stability and rebuilding efforts. The conversation also touched on key bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest. 15 April 2025 14:00 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing the Embassy of Georgia in Baku. It is worth noting that this will be President Kavelashvilis first foreign visit. The embassy stated that high-level meetings are planned within the framework of the visit, and issues of bilateral cooperation and regional security will be discussed. "The Presidents first official foreign visit begins with the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgias strategic partner and friendly country. Discussions will cover bilateral cooperation, regional security, as well as important economic projects currently being implemented between the two countries," said Zurab Pataradze, Georgias Ambassador to Azerbaijan. It should be noted that President Kavelashvilis visit to Azerbaijan will conclude on April 16. 15 April 2025 08:00 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva China and Vietnam have signed a series of cooperation agreements in key areas such as manufacturing, supply chains, and rail transport, Azernews reports. The agreements were signed on April 14, during Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Vietnam a trip underscoring deepening ties between the two neighboring countries. The specific details and financial terms of the agreements have not been publicly disclosed, leaving it unclear whether they involve any direct funding or large-scale infrastructure commitments. The visit comes at a time of growing trade tensions, the report notes. Beijing Vietnams largest trading partner and a major supplier of raw materials and equipment for its manufacturing sector is currently facing U.S. tariffs of up to 145% on some exports. Meanwhile, Vietnam is negotiating a 46% reduction in U.S. duties on its own goods. Among the signed documents are agreements between the Ministries of Trade and Defense of both nations, as well as between their respective Chambers of Commerce and Industry, indicating a broad scope of cooperation ranging from economic development to strategic dialogue. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son stated on April 12 that around 40 cooperation agreements were expected to be signed during Xis visit highlighting the scale and ambition of this bilateral partnership. As global supply chains shift in response to rising geopolitical tensions, Vietnam is increasingly seen as a strategic alternative to China for manufacturing and assembly. Yet, rather than becoming rivals, Beijing and Hanoi are now exploring synergistic cooperation with China supplying raw materials and technology, and Vietnam serving as a key manufacturing hub for international exports. This could mark a new phase of regional economic integration in Southeast Asia. 15 April 2025 09:00 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. Pakistans exports to the United States rose by 10.4% during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, driven largely by robust performance in textiles and garments, accoring to a report published on the state-run PTV World website, Azernews reports, citing Tribune. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention. Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis. By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more. Subscribe You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper Thank you! 15 April 2025 21:15 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva In 2016, Tesla announced that all of its future cars would come equipped with "all the necessary hardware for full autopilot." The term "fully autonomous driving" has long been part of Teslas pitch, with CEO Elon Musk claiming that Tesla owners would eventually receive a software update that would transform their cars into "robotaxis" capable of Level 4-5 autonomous driving. This level of autonomy would theoretically allow cars to drive completely on their own, even without a driver in the vehicle, as described by the American news site Electrek, Azernews reports. Fast forward almost a decade, and this vision has not yet come to fruition. In fact, it seems increasingly unlikely that it willat least for the majority of Tesla vehicles produced over the past ten years. Tesla's earlier claim that its cars were equipped with "all the necessary hardware for full autonomy" has since been proven to be misleading. Initially, Tesla vehicles were built with a suite of cameras, front-facing radar, ultrasonic sensors, and a computing unit called HW2.5, which the company touted as sufficient for full self-driving capabilities. However, it quickly became clear that HW2.5 was underpowered for the ambitious goals Musk had set. As a result, Tesla started producing vehicles with the new "HW3 self-driving computer" and began offering free upgrades for owners of HW2.5-equipped cars who had purchased the "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) package. In January 2025, Musk finally admitted that even the HW3 computer, while more capable than its predecessor, is still not powerful enough to achieve the promised Level 4-5 autonomy. As of now, there are around 4 million Tesla cars globally with the HW3 computer installed. Recognizing the gap between Tesla's claims and reality, Musk stated that Tesla would replace the computers in all cars with HW3 for free, provided the owners had purchased the FSD package. However, Musk also acknowledged that replacing all these computers would be "painful" for the company, though he expressed relief that "not many people have bought the FSD package." The hardware limitations are a significant part of Teslas journey towards autonomy, but so are regulatory and ethical challenges. Even if Tesla were to develop the technology to enable true self-driving, there are still many hurdles aheadsuch as legal frameworks and public trustbefore fully autonomous vehicles could be widely adopted. Musks admission that the road to full autonomy is longer and more complicated than expected underscores the difficulties even a company as innovative as Tesla faces in the realm of autonomous vehicles. While Tesla continues to improve its software and hardware, it remains to be seen when or if the dream of a truly autonomous Tesla will become a reality for consumers. 15 April 2025 23:25 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva South China's Hainan Province is set to play a pivotal role in advancing China's commercial space ventures. The provincial authorities have outlined plans to develop key industrial zones around the Wenchang International Space Launch Center, located in the northeast of the island. This area, home to several launch pads, will be central to China's ambitious space agenda, Azernews reports. The province's plans include not only expanding launch capabilities but also establishing facilities for satellite construction and the production of launch vehicles. Furthermore, there will be a strong focus on the development of cutting-edge satellite technologies. To achieve these objectives, Hainan will attract leading companies from the space industry and create a large-scale aerospace cluster that aims to compete with some of the most advanced international space hubs. According to government documents, China intends to significantly enhance the infrastructure for commercial space launches in Hainan, introducing innovations aimed at improving both efficiency and sustainability. One of the major areas of focus will be developing the infrastructure needed to restore and reuse rockets, which could greatly reduce the cost of space travel. The goal is that, in the near future, Hainan will become a key player in executing a variety of cost-effective, safe, and reliable commercial space programs. To facilitate this, the Chinese government will establish regulations and frameworks that ensure the efficient and effective operation of space-related activities. Additionally, the authorities are working on creating an economic model tailored to the unique needs of the space industry and associated business formats. This includes sectors such as cultural and tourism activities, the development of museums and research centers, environmental sustainability, agriculture, and pharmaceuticalseach of which will benefit from the new space-driven economy. Hainans location makes it ideal for space launches, with its proximity to the equator providing an advantageous launch trajectory for satellites. This is why Hainans Wenchang spaceport is considered one of the most strategic launch sites in China, as it allows for more fuel-efficient launches and greater payload capacity. With these developments, Hainan is poised not only to become a major player in Chinas space industry but also a global space launch hub in the coming years. 15 April 2025 22:20 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva As part of its ongoing trade conflict with the United States, the Chinese government has imposed a ban on its airlines from purchasing Boeing aircraft, as well as equipment and parts for these planes. This move comes as tensions between the two economic giants continue to escalate, Azernews reports. The Chinese government is exploring ways to assist airlines that currently lease Boeing aircraft, including potential support for the 10 Boeing 737 Max planes that are scheduled for delivery to Chinese carriers. These aircraft are being prepared for integration into the fleets of local airlines, but their future remains uncertain given the current trade restrictions. Earlier, the United States increased tariffs on Chinese goods by 145%, a significant escalation in the ongoing trade war. In retaliation, China raised tariffs on American products, including a notable increase from 84% to 125%, effective from April 12. The Chinese governments move to limit Boeing aircraft imports is part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on American-made technology and promote domestic manufacturers, such as COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China). COMACs C919, a competitor to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, is currently in development and could eventually challenge Boeings dominance in the Chinese market. While the C919 has yet to enter commercial service, the Chinese governments push for greater self-reliance in aviation manufacturing could be a significant long-term shift in global aerospace dynamics. Chinas decision to suspend Boeing purchases adds pressure to the companys already strained relationship with its largest international market. As Chinese airlines look to diversify their fleets, European and Russian aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus and Sukhoi, may see increased opportunities to expand their share in the Chinese market. OPINION Observations Related to Questions Posed By Ray Leary Regarding the Closure of the Snowden School By: Dave Hudson I would like to thank Mr. Leary for his observations regarding the potential closure of the S.W. Snowden school. These are thought provoking and should be considered in detail as he mentioned in his article. I have several observations and opinions of my own regarding many of Mr. Learys observations. I have included his original observations for reference along with my own thoughts and opinions to each in bold. Is it because the superintendent is responsible for assigning teachers to individual schools with limited board oversight? Yes, this is a problem plaguing all of Beaufort County schools. Cheeseman acts as an autocrat and has nothing but a weak School Board serving as the rubber stamp to his every whim. Is it caused by a decrease in funding by the local school board for maintenance and capital funding? Maybe. This is discretionary by the board utilizing local funds provided by the county commissioners. Withholding funds or allotment of funds is a school board decision based upon priorities determined by the school board and the available funding. Most likely, Yes! I have been to Snowden several times a year over the past 3-4 years and unfortunately, it is the least maintained school in the county. The only reason I can come up with for this issue is either a total lack of care on the part of Cheeseman and the School Board for Snowden or a continued sign of their overall incompetence in governing and administering. Is it because the state DPI, by state statute, will not provide compensation for a 12-month principal to schools with less than 100 students? The NC Statute can be found in Session Law 2011-145, House Bill 200., Section 7.14.(a). Yes, this is Cheesemans primary reason he gave at the School Board meeting last month for why the school must be closed. This can be easily solved by the county providing the additional funding required to retain a 12-month principal at Snowden. It is also less expensive than Cheesemans preference for consolidating schools south of the Pamlico and the cost for busing those students to Chocowinity. However, Hood Richardson and Stan Deatherage have both spoken in support of keeping Snowden open. This includes paying the supplemental money, approximately $30,000, out of county funds to keep a 12-month principal on staff at the school. Is it because the Beaufort County schools leadership and the NC state DPI are focusing on and supporting large, consolidated schools as opposed to smaller community schools? This is debatable, but it appears to be the case. One of the criteria for receiving lottery funds for public schools is consolidation of one or more schools in a school district. Absolutely! The NC State DPI and Cheeseman are in favor of consolidating schools. This brings many issues to the communities that lose their local school. It is a way to limit parental/community involvement in the education of our children and turning our schools into indoctrination centers for the socialist agenda that has plagued our nation in higher education for over half a century and is now entering our primary schools. If Cheeseman and the School Board had any competence, ability to plan or even think critically, it would have been apparent that a better option for the lottery funds would have been a consolidated school somewhere between Chocowinity and Aurora serving those students south of the Pamlico. Instead, they decided to use the money on Cheesemans pet project and resume builder, the new mega-school in Washington which is costing the Beaufort County taxpayer $10.5 million dollars already. Remember there was no public hearing about that consolidation and was a back door deal pushed on our county without the consent of the governed or more frighteningly, the participation of all county elected officials responsible for such matters. Is it because the Beaufort County school superintendent assigns teachers to the Aurora school to encourage them to quit or move to another county? Does he assign teachers to Aurora that requires them to travel one hour or more to get to their job? There is no evidence of this, but it should be considered by the school board. As noted above, the superintendent is responsible for teacher assignments. The history of teacher turnover at Snowden should be reviewed. Yes! Cheeseman has created a hostile work environment within the Beaufort County school system. He relies on intimidation, fear and retaliation as opposed to true leadership to keep people in line. He has a reputation for holding grudges against those who disagree with him. This has gone as far as not speaking with elected officials who refuse to cater to his demands. We have lost way too many good teachers and principals in Beaufort County over the past six years of Cheesemans time as superintendent. His policies and management style have been their reason for leaving in many conversations I have had. Others are only still teaching because they cant afford to not work or need the benefits. This is shameful, if not illegal, on his part and must be corrected. Our students, faculty and community are suffering because of his ego! Enough is enough. Is it because the Beaufort County commissioners will not provide sufficient salary supplements to qualified teachers to encourage them to teach in eastern Beaufort County? Again, this should be considered by the school board and county commissioners. No. Beaufort County commissioners have provided the school system with enormous amounts of money. It is the mismanagement of those funds by the Superintendent and the School Board that would make this question true. You should only look at the $500,000 spent wastefully on four acres of land that could have been acquired for free for proof of their incompetence. Is it because the leadership of the Beaufort County school board does not value the citizens of Aurora and the Richland Township as the majority in this district are minorities? As divisive as this issue is, it must be considered. This is a biproduct of the flawed system of electing school board members in Beaufort County. They are elected to represent districts as opposed to being elected county wide. Therefore, board members cater to the needs of their respective districts with little concern for anything that takes place outside of their district as it doesnt impact their chance for reelection. Cheeseman weaponizes this against board members who dont support his agenda in an attempt to manipulate them for fear of losing support in their respective districts. Is it because the district school board representative in District 2 supports closing this school? No, he does not. Charles Hickman has been one of only two voices on the School Board advocating for Snowden. He is the only board member who visits the school routinely. Furthermore, he is actively involved in assisting the school above and beyond his duties as a board member. Is it because the superintendent wants to close a low performing school to increase the average performance scores of the other schools in the school district? This is another debatable issue the school board should consider. If this is the case, it is another example of the superintendent not having any common sense. Unfortunately, Snowden scored a 47 out of 100, which is a D ranking on its school report card from the NC DPI last year. That is the second lowest ranking school in the county. Chocowinity Primary scored an 89 out of 100, which is an A ranking while Chocowinity Middle scored a 60 out of 100 which is a C ranking. Consolidating students from the second lowest performing school in the county to the school with the highest score in the county will not improve the average performance of the school that is not being closed. Basic math would tell you that the overall score for Chocowinity Primary will drop. The average score of Chocowinity Middle will most likely drop as well. It will take more than a single year to improve those scores and provide the underperforming students from all three schools with the resources they need to bring up those school report cards. Furthermore, this scenario assumes that there wont be a decrease in high performing students as parents move their children to private or charter schools instead of remaining in Chocowinity after consolidation. This issue is debatable, and time will only tell for sure what the outcome may be. However, Cheeseman lives in a fantasy world if he thinks the scores of these three schools would improve in the span of a year or two by consolidating alone. Remember, we had zero (0) schools considered underperforming before Cheeseman came to BCS. We have six schools currently underperforming, meaning they receive a D ranking. Dont believe his false narrative. Look at the direct results of his failed policies and performance. Is the consolidation of the S. W. Snowden school with Chocowinity schools to enhance the resume of the superintendent like the consolidation of Eastern Elementary and John Cotton Tayloe as some have suggested? Will the school board support this? Absolutely! Cheeseman believes in the leftist agenda of school consolidation and sees this as another bullet point on his resume before he leaves the county for another, higher paying job in a larger county. He has little, if any, regard for the Beaufort County residents and students he is responsible for serving. It appears his only concern is what is best for himself. We only have to look at the mess surrounding his mega-school pet project at Eastern to realize this. Unfortunately for everyone in Beaufort County, he has a weak school board that rubber stamps his agenda for some unknown reason. They dont realize he works for them, not the other way around. Is it because two of the school board members are spouses of two Beaufort County commissioners and the superintendent has the support of these four in whatever he wants? This seems to be the case over the last four years. Yes! This group of four all vote in lockstep with the superintendent. It makes one wonder what Cheeseman holds over their heads or what they may be gaining personally for this absolute loyalty. The possibility of getting assistance from the local legislative representatives should be explored. A local bill could provide financial or other administrative relief for Snowden. It is doubtful that the local legislative representative will intervene in this issue. Remember one was responsible for helping secure the deal for the mega-school which the county doesnt need in a process that violated policy and state statute. That same representative is the one who endorses and supports the commissioners and school board members who vote lockstep with the superintendent. Frankie Waters has already suggested potentially building another new school south of the river. It is doubtful any more lottery money would be available for this endeavor which would mean the county taxpayer would bear the cost of this potential project. Based on this year's revaluation and the impact that has on the future tax rate, all citizens should be concerned about this train of thought. All of these potential causes/reasons must be debated before this community school is closed. The current proposal by the Beaufort County school superintendent and some members of the board are to close Snowden and bus the students to Chocowinity elementary and middle schools. This will require a 1 1 hour bus ride each way for elementary students. This may even require elementary students to transfer to other buses to complete the journey to the town of Chocowinity from Southside High School. Busing is NOT the solution. This is detrimental to students and parents alike. It will limit the opportunity for students to participate in after-school activities. It will require extremely long days for young children due to the added commute time. It will also require more of our hard-earned county taxpayer dollars to pay for this transportation annually than it would cost to keep the school open. There is a public hearing related to this school closing on April 16, 2025, at the S. W. Snowden school at 6:00 pm. Please come out and support the community as they fight to keep their school open! Remember there was a public meeting held in Aurora on September 5, 2024, to discuss the potential closing of the S. W. Snowden school. Principal Dr. Patricia Horton-Albritton and school board member Charles Hickman were there to hear and address the concerns of the attendees. No other school board members attended. The superintendent did not attend. That should tell us everything we need to know. Wilsons Auctions is eyeing new auction businesses in the UK and Ireland as it continues expansion here, Ulster Business can reveal. There arent too many privately-owned auctioneers left there might be another few [acquisitions] on the horizon, Peter Johnston, group operations director, told Ulster Business. What first began as a small business which Ian Wilson started in 1936 has blossomed into a multi-generational family operations with 19 sites across the UK and Ireland, shifting goods worth more than half a billion pounds a year. In its latest filed accounts, Wilsons Auctions Ltd posted sales of ore than 40m and pre-tax profits of 7.6m. Its a business which remains on the hunt for expansion eyeing opportunities to buy other similar family-run auction operations. Really, its now about putting more dots on the map [we have] a few gaps, Mr Johnston said. We know a few peers retiring soon, and a few dots would have us well covered. In terms of its own investment, its just spent 1m on its Mallusk headquarters, as well 7m in its Shotton Point base in Wales. Diversification has been important for us, Mr Johnston says. Everyone drives car, wears a watch, and has a house. People come to the auction for a car, but dont realise we sell art, clothes, perfumes etc one leads on to another. Some of our peers just concentrate on one thing but for us, diversification has really helped. Before lockdown, around 70% of sales were in person. Thats now flipped to 70% online. Xi eyes new advances of shared goals with Hanoi 08:23, April 15, 2025 By Cao Desheng ( China Daily President Xi Jinping has called on China and Vietnam to intensify their efforts on all fronts to build a community with a shared future, and to make greater contributions to peace, stability, development, and prosperity in Asia and the world at large. Xi made the remarks in a signed article titled "Building on past achievements and making new advances in pursuit of shared goals", which was published on Monday in Nhan Dan Newspaper of Vietnam, as he began his state visit to the Southeast Asian country. Xi highlighted the need for the two countries to jointly safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and an open and cooperative international environment, saying: "Trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere." Noting that China always gives Vietnam high priority in its relations with neighboring countries, Xi reiterated the country's commitment to the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in its neighborhood diplomacy. "We will continue to pursue the policy of forging friendship and partnership with our neighbors. And we will steadily deepen friendly cooperation with them to advance Asia's modernization," he said. Xi also hailed the sound development of bilateral relations, saying that China and Vietnam are friendly socialist neighbors who share the same ideals and extensive strategic interests. "Building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance serves the common interests of our two countries and is conducive to peace, stability, development, and prosperity in our region and beyond," Xi said. He called for deepening strategic mutual trust and advancing the socialist cause. He underlined the need for both countries to boost party, government, military, law enforcement and security cooperation, jointly tackle external risks and challenges, and uphold political security. While highlighting the importance of continuing win-win cooperation, Xi said that Beijing and Hanoi should create greater synergy between their development strategies, implement well the cooperation plan between the two governments on synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, and build more platforms for economic and technological cooperation. China stands ready to advance cooperation with Vietnam on the three standard-gauge railways in northern Vietnam and a smart port, and it welcomes more quality Vietnamese products into the Chinese market and encourages more Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Vietnam, he said. Saying that the two countries should step up cooperation on industrial and supply chains, Xi called for expanding partnership in emerging areas, such as 5G, artificial intelligence and green development, to create more benefits for the two peoples. China and Vietnam have pursued closer cooperation on industrial and supply chains amid a sluggish global economic recovery. China has been Vietnam's biggest trading partner for over 20 years in a row, with total bilateral trade exceeding $260 billion in 2024. In the article, Xi also emphasized the necessity to strengthen people-to-people exchanges to forge a closer bond between the two peoples, and enhance multilateral collaboration to promote Asia's prosperity and revitalization. Both countries should work together with the Global South to uphold the common interests of developing countries, he said. Speaking of the South China Sea issue, Xi called on both countries to properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in the region. "The successful delimitation of our boundaries on land and in the Beibu Gulf demonstrates that with vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation," he said. "We should make good use of the maritime negotiation mechanism, so as to properly manage maritime differences, expand maritime cooperation, and build up conditions for the final resolution of the disputes." Xi called for fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and actively advancing the consultation on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. "We should be impervious to all interference, bridge differences and expand common ground, and make the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation." (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Spirit of NI winner impressed by plan to save Lough Neagh Conservationist hails minsters strategy but warns much more needs to be done Ciara at work on Lough Neagh David O'Dornan Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 11:00 The Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards, in partnership with Ulster Bank, celebrate so many people from all walks of life, and the very real issue of one of the countrys biggest environmental crises in years saw us recognise the work of Lough Neagh ranger Ciara Laverty. Mowgli Street Food is opening spots in Belfast and Dublin Nisha Katona left behind a career as a child protection barrister to set up her own business An Indian street-food chain founded by a top entrepreneur and TV chef is planning its first restaurant in the Republic. In February, the Belfast Telegraph revealed that Mowgli Street Food would be opening its first restaurant on the island of Ireland in Belfast. In its next move, the UK-based Indian street-food business owned by TV presenter Nisha Katona is also set to take up a large restaurant unit in 41-46 South Great Georges Street in Dublin city centre. The company, known for its tiffin boxes and the Mowgli Chip Butty, submitted a planning application two weeks ago seeking approval for works at the unit, including installing an illuminated sign on the building. Nisha Katona The Dublin city centre building comprises a four-storey over-basement mixed-use development with three retail units as well as the restaurant space set to be taken by Mowgli. The upper floors will have a 97-bedroom hotel, fully pre-let to Premier Inn Hotels. Katona previously revealed plans for a Dublin eatery for Mowgli in an interview with Food Service Equipment Journal, a trade magazine. She said Mowgli had been looking at Dublin, saying it would be a big deal working in a different currency. I build at [a rate of] about five restaurants a year, and the only reason I will do that is if people still want us, and we are still busy, and thankfully, that is still the case, she said. Youve got to be honest theyre not going to want us if we get super expensive. Its so easy to mess this up. That is why you have got to have such a tight rein on absolutely everything. In 2023, private equity firm TriSpan made a significant investment in Mowgli Street Food. The deal provided an exit for Foresight which first invested in Mowgli Street Food in 2017 when it had just two sites in Liverpool and one in Manchester. Mowgli Street Food now has more than two dozen locations across the UK including in cities such as London, Bristol, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff. Katona left behind a career as a child protection barrister a role she had for 20 years before starting up her business. Her first restaurant was launched in 2014 in Liverpool. She has also carved out a career on television, appearing on various programmes on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. She currently presents a new cooking series ITV called Nisha Katonas Home Kitchen. Minister Rev Dr David Latimer at First Derry Presbyterian Church in 2011 Derry City and Strabane District Council has received a request to twin the city with Derry in Pennsylvania. At this months Business and Culture committee meeting, members were informed that the council had received the request from Derry Presbyterian Church Pastor, Rev Dr Stephen McKinney-Whitaker. A council officers report noted that Scots-Irish immigrants were the first to travel from the North West to settle in central Pennsylvania. A group established a church and town there and named it Derry, the report added. The connections between the two Derry communities were lost and then rekindled when John Hume visited Hershey, formally the municipality of Derry, for a conference about 30 years ago and came across the town. When the church in Derry, PA, was celebrating its 275th anniversary, a group of 40 travelled to Derry, attending the First Derry Presbyterian during their visit. The two Derry communities have developed connections and shared projects via the churches. It is hoped that the shared history, friendships and initiatives to date can be extended to culture, tourism, healthcare, education and commerce. Minister Rev Dr David Latimer at First Derry Presbyterian Church in 2011 News Catch Up - Monday 14th April Informal conversations began in September last year and Mayor, SDLP councillor Lilian Barr, hosted an online meeting in January bringing representatives from both places together to explore the possibilities of twinning them. Both the Mayor and Chief Executive John Kelpie received a request in March from Rev McKinney-Whittaker, as well as a twining proposal from Rev Dr David Latimer, former minister of First Derry Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland. In his letter, Rev Latimer said that 30 years ago Mr Hume had shared his excitement with me having found a Presbyterian Church called Derry in Pennsylvania and, close by, a little town called Londonderry. He took delight informing me the people in both places were getting along fine, he noted. That conversation ended with him imploring me to open a conversation aimed at bringing the two Derry churches closer together. For more than a quarter century First Derry, in the historic city of Derry-Londonderry, and Derry Church in Pennsylvania have been aware of each other and anxious to build bridges of friendship and understanding. Clearly, we have a splendid opportunity to rekindle historic connections between our two cities and peoples. Blue-green algae has been detected in Lough Neagh for the first time this year, according to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). The lough, which is the UKs largest freshwater lake, has had repeated issues with blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), the umbrella term to describe aquatic, photosynthetic, and nucleus-bearing organisms which are typically found on the surface of water. Algae can produce toxins that harm people and animals including livestock, with some blooms becoming so vast, sunlight is unable to get through it, therefore damaging eco-systems. According to DAERA, reports of blue-green algae at Lough Neagh were verified on 10 and 11 April at both Traad Point and Kinturk (Curran's Quay). The algae presence in the lough has been subject to protests with environmentalists claiming the issue is a sign of a bigger problem. Blue-green algae at Lough Neagh, September 2023. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Belfast Telegraph Watch: Sam McBride's in-depth look at Lough Neagh's blue-green algae crisis In September 2023, Northern Ireland surfers and nature reservists took part in a wake for the lough to highlight the concerns surrounding blue green algae which continues to plague the lake. The protest saw group Surfers against Sewage alongside environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth and Love Our Lough gather at the side of Lough Neagh near Ballyronan Marina in Magherafelt to lay flowers and wreaths in a wake style commemoration to protest against the continued contaminated water. Read more Lough Neagh has become a scene of Biblical disaster, and Stormont was central to its destruction Participants also wore black to represent being in mourning for the lough. Last year, the Environment Minister Andrew Muir welcomed an Executive approval for Lough Neagh Report and 37-point Action Plan which he said was a significant step towards improving water quality and reducing blue green algae. The Action Plan is not a wish list - it is a detailed, science-led, proportionate and ambitious set of actions that will make a tangible difference to our waterways, he said at the time. "I must be clear however, that there are no quick fixes, it will take many years, if not decades to see substantial recovery, such is the depth and complexity of the problem. He added: The Lough Neagh Report also complements and supports the actions and targets in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) and I will continue to work with Executive colleagues to obtain approval for the EIP. In March, the Minister chaired the second Lough Neagh Stakeholder Forum on the shores of Lough Neagh at Ballyronan Marina which again discussed the Action Plan, which contains science led actions to tackle the blue-green algae blooms in Lough Neagh and secure longer-term improvements in water quality across Northern Ireland. While Lough Neaghs water is publicly owned, the bed and banks are owned by English aristocrat the Earl of Shaftesbury. Members of the National Farmers Union (NFU) gather outside the Houses of Parliament in central London, to lobby for government action on bovine TB (Johnny Green/PA) A blueprint has been launched to put a renewed focus on tackling bovine TB in Northern Ireland. However the regions chief veterinary officer has warned that the eradication of the disease will take time. Herd and animal incidence rates were 10.76% and 1.156% in Northern Ireland in February following a significant increase over the past five years, and higher than in neighbouring jurisdictions. Stormont Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEARA) Minister Andrew Muir (Liam McBurney/PA) Comparatively, the herd incidence rate in the Republic of Ireland in 2024 was 6%, while it was 7.7% in England, 6.8% in Wales and just 0.6% in Scotland in 2024. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has projected that public expenditure on tackling the disease will reach 60m for the 2024/25 financial year. It published a blueprint for the eradication of bovine TB on Tuesday afternoon. It comes after AERA Minister Andrew Muir pledged to tackle bovine TB in Northern Ireland last November, and following a review, established a working group to develop a way forward. TB Partnership Steering Group which was established earlier this year, and includes both farmer and wildlife advocates, agreed the blueprint. New measures to deliver the aims of the blueprint are to include enhanced disease surveillance and testing programmes and enhanced herd health and biosecurity measures as well as wildlife interventions. Chief veterinary officer (CVO) Brian Dooher said there is no magic bullet. It (the blueprint) identifies the immediate actions and the steps needed to put these actions in place, and how were going to assess them and how were going to progress them, he said. It really is a roadmap on the way forward, short, medium and longer term, and how well work together to deliver these things. This is going to take time but it does provide us with that map, how we can realistically advance the eradication of TB and put us on that pathway. We are a bit behind the other jurisdictions, but there is an opportunity to learn from what has worked for them. The thing with TB is, there is no magic bullet here, no one single action is going to resolve this issue. Basically we need to do a lot of things differently and better. Mr Muir welcomed the blueprint, described it as the result of hard work, forward thinking and excellent collaboration by members of the TBPSG. We cannot continue on the current path, change is required and this ambitious blueprint provides us with a clear and decisive way forward to finally setting Northern Ireland on the pathway to eradication, he said. I would like to thank members for their extensive efforts in developing and agreeing the blueprint together, which helps identify the immediate priorities for action and the steps needed to put them in place. I have directed my officials to advance the necessary recommendations and decisions which we now need to progress as we set out on this journey together. Caroline McGuinness Brooks with some of the items available (Picture: Martin McKeown) A not-for-profit organisation based in Derry has received a National Lottery grant of 188,094 to help tackle waste. Repair & Share Foyle was set up five years ago with the aim of reducing the growing global waste problem, one fix and share initiative at a time. Last year, the organisation, which initially started out as a cloth nappy library, launched its latest initiative the Library of Things. Managing director Caroline McGuinness-Brooks said that working towards an authentic circular economy at the local level requires forward thinking, collaboration and innovation. Our volunteer-led team has demonstrated that we are leaders in grassroots sustainability solutions. 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 Repair & Share Foyle has now been helped through the People and Communities grant to launch more repairing and sharing initiatives. The Community Interest Company is aiming to tackle waste through its three key repairing and sharing initiatives: Tech Connect, Fixing Factory and RePaint. The projects actively engage local residents across the Derry City & Strabane District Council area to tackle the growing problem of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and waste paint. Caroline said that this funding award is the organisations first significant leap forward as a young non-profit. Were confident that well make a positive impact, tackling waste streams collectively with our community, she said, adding that, for the first time since starting their repair cafes back in 2022, the team will now employ three permanent members of staff to take the organisation to the next level. The organisation will scale up its existing laptop campaign, via Tech Connect, training volunteers and residents with new repair skills and understandings of supply chains and material recovery. Its Fixing Factory model will enable the group to expand its current repair cafe capacities, beyond monthly pop-ups. After securing 4,000 capital costs from the SSE energy fund in 2024 to remanufacture waste paint, Repair & Share Foyle said it was delighted to now have funding in place from the National Lottery to create a Paint & Innovation Technician role. As an accredited real living wage employer, we expect to receive plenty of applications for the job postings and will be ensuring that our first team of staff will set precedent for the future of jobs within Repair & Share Foyle, added Caroline. This is a really exciting time to join our team. Derry City & Strabane District Councils climate programme manager Cathy Burns said that initiatives such as Repair & Share Foyle are vital in helping to establish a circular economy. E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, and processing of waste paint costs the taxpayer significantly, as local authorities have a statutory obligation to manage waste, she explained. Social enterprises like Repair & Share Foyle are vital in developing the circular economy, keeping valuable resources in circulation. 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 Kate Beggs, Northern Ireland director of The National Lottery Community Fund, congratulated Repair & Share Foyle on its grant award. We look forward to seeing the difference this project will make to support local people to repair and re-use, creating a more sustainable community, and reducing the effect of the cost-of-living crisis, she said. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, we are continuing to deliver on our strategy It starts with community, with several programmes open for applications to support those in need. The Review of Waste Management in NI, published last July, revealed that across Northern Ireland as a whole, the amount of waste exported by the 11 local councils fell from 259,000 tonnes in 2017/18 to 250,000 in 2022/23. To keep up to date with Repair & Share Foyle, follow @repair_and_share_foyle on Instagram. Podcast sheds light on link between Liverpool family and Belfast-built ship Paul McGann played Sir Isaac Rufus in the 2012 TV film, Save Our Souls: The Titanic Inquiry A new podcast exploring the history of the Titanic has shed new light on the remarkable family link between the Belfast-built ship and two well-known actors. Doctor Who actor Paul McGann joined his brother Stephen McGann best known for playing Dr Turner in the BBCs Call The Midwife as they examined the history of the tragic luxury liner, which sank 113 years ago on Tuesday. The siblings also talked about their own family connection to the vessel in Titanic: Ship of Dreams, re-telling the story of their great-uncle James McGann, the last survivor on a lifeboat when the unsinkable ship sank in the Atlantic after striking an iceberg. The podcast was released earlier this month to coincide with the anniversary of the 1912 tragedy, in which around 1,500 lives were lost. It follows the story of the ship from its design and construction by Harland & Wolff in east Belfast through to the maiden Transatlantic voyage which sealed Titanics fate. The McGanns also look at the liners legacy, from the 1958 blockbuster A Night to Remember and James Camerons $200m epic four decades later, to the Ocean Gate submersible disaster near the wreck in 2023. Stephen McGann as Dr Turner in Call The Midwife They also discuss the experience of the workers, including their uncle James. Among them is a 29-year-old Liverpool lad, recently returned from a voyage to South Africa, his name, James McGann. My great uncle, said Paul. In my family he is known as Titanic McGann. But uncle Jimmy was already an experienced sailor when he signed up for the new ships maiden voyage. Born in the slums of Liverpools north end to a family who fled the Irish potato famine two decades earlier, Jimmy had gone to sea in his 20s travelling to ports as far afield as Capetown and Sydney. I never met uncle Jimmy; he died half a century before I was born. But my brother, Stephen you might know him as Dr Turner of Call The Midwife has managed to piece together his story. The podcast, which began on April 8, reveals the extent of the poverty James faced growing up in the worst street in the Empire. The engine rooms of the British Empire, quite an astonishing percentage were not simply British working class men, they were Liverpool-Irish, said Stephen. The Titanic So, one tiny ghetto became the veins of the Empire. These same people were so hard, so roughened to dock life, and gradually to merchant sea-life. These were your perfect people to go down to the bowels of the ship, to trim coal, to stoke coal, to be the firemen to actually stoke the engines. They were all part of what they called the Black Gang. I trace him coming back into Southampton, hes got filthy lodgings somewhere in Southampton. He tried to get another ship, but there was a problem, there was a huge coal strike. So nobody could get coal. But apparently there was a brand new ship which had managed to wrangle coal. That ship was the Titanic. Speaking on the BBCs One Show last Tuesday, Stephen explained how he came across the information. In 2012, I made an amazing discovery. My great uncle Jimmy, my grandads brother, not only worked in the foul, filthy, dirty engine room, which the water penetrated when the iceberg hit. He managed to get out. He survived on one of the most famous lifeboats, the upside-down lifeboat called Collapsible B, with some of the most important people in the Titanic story, and hes a lonely, working-class engine worker, but he managed to survive with some of these big figures. It was his auntie Mary who first mentioned his grandfathers brother James, when Stephen was 17. Titanic McGann, she called him. He survived the Titanic. The Irish Times reported that it was only in 2012, when his wife Heidi Thomas bought him a book, that Stephen was able to put the pieces together. There on page 97 of survivor Archibald Gracies memoir of his journey on the White Star liner, was the name James McGann. He turned out to be one of the 30 people Gracie recalled clinging to an upturned lifeboat with him as Titanic sank to the bottom of the ocean. Jimmy survived by leaping into the water and clambering onto the overturned boat. He was eventually transported to New York by the rescue ship, Carpathia, and subsequently spent a brief period in hospital. Despite surviving the disaster, Jimmy succumbed to tuberculosis six years later. The new podcast series featuring the McGann brothers, as well as harrowing tales of victims, and testimonies of lucky survivors, can be listened to via BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Titanic: Ship of Dreams is available on BBC Sounds and other podcast apps President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's Professor Sir Ian Greer and Chief Executive of Historic Royal Palaces John Barnes are pictured at Hillsborough Castle signing a new strategic partnership harnessing expertise from both Queen's University Belfast and Historic Royal Palaces Pictured left to right is Vice-President for Governance and External Affairs and Registrar Dr Ryan Feeney, Chair of Queen's Senate and Pro-Chancellor Dr Len O'Hagan, Queen's Pro-Chancellor Orla Corr Nixon, Queen's Chancellor Emeritus Senator George Mitchell, Chair of Historic Royal Palaces Sir Nicholas Coleridge, Head of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens Laura McCorry, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's Professor Sir Ian Greer and Chief Executive of Historic Royal Palaces John Barnes The man who chaired the peace talks that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement was back in Belfast today to preside over a new deal. Queens University, Belfast and Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) at Hillsborough Castle have announced a new strategic partnership harnessing expertise from the two leading institutions in Northern Ireland, with the shared ambition to inspire positive change. The partnership, which spans several areas including collaborative research, student placements, and joint programming, will build on the existing relationship between the two institutions. A signing ceremony to mark the partnership took place during a special event held at Hillsborough Castle the royal residence in Northern Ireland with leading political and business leaders in attendance, including special guest Senator George Mitchell and Queens Chancellor Emeritus, who chaired negotiations that led to the Agreement in 1998. A spokesperson said the new partnership aims to foster dialogues that result in tangible, positive outcomes for communities in Northern Ireland and beyond. They added that Senator Mitchells involvement in the event underscores the importance of Northern Irelands peace process as a valuable model for other regions recovering from conflict. Professor Sir Ian Greer, Queens President and Vice-Chancellor said: Queens University values the importance of partnership work and collaboration to drive positive change. We have enjoyed a strong working relationship with Hillsborough Castle, and we are delighted to formalise our commitment to pursue joint outcomes in areas including collaborative research; cultural promotion and exchange; as well as building deep dialogues that support societal change. By bringing together academic excellence and a rich cultural history, we hope to not only create a stronger understanding of Northern Ireland but also provide a platform for other societies around the world to learn from our experiences. John Barnes, Chief Executive of Historic Royal Palaces, added: This collaboration represents a unique opportunity to transform how we engage with history. Its about expanding our narratives, creating spaces for difficult conversations, and fostering an environment of learning that empowers communities to heal and grow. Former UUP leaders role in liberating Nazi death camp remembered 80 years on Late UUP leader was forever haunted by what he witnessed at Bergen-Belsen in April 1945 Jim Molyneaux returns to Bergen-Belsen in 2001 Abdullah Sabri Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 20:13 A UUP MP has praised the role of former party leader Jim Molyneaux in the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp 80 years ago on April 15, 1945 by the 11th Armoured Division. Ill-fated liners last port of call selected as venue for event The ill-starred liner Titanic sank exactly 113 years ago today, and now the British Titanic Society has voted to hold its convention next year in Ireland. Cobh, then known as Queenstown, was the last port of call for the White Star Lines new steamship in 1912, where the maiden voyager took on 113 third-class passengers and a smattering of first class. More than two-thirds of the Irish aboard, including many crew, died in the disaster. Meeting in Liverpool last weekend, members of the British Titanic Society voted heavily in favour of visiting Cobh, Co Cork, next year, where the overall spend will be worth hundreds of thousands of euro to the local economy. The port, just east of Cork city, fought off other candidate venues, including Alnwick, Northumberland, the Potteries home of Captain EJ Smith, of the lost vessel, and a proposal to hold the convention on the SS Rotterdam, on a sailing from Southampton. The society has previously stayed at the Commodore Hotel, in Cobh, with a side-trip to the Old Head of Kinsale to visit the museum dedicated to those lost with the Cunard liner Lusitania, which was torpedoed off the Irish coast by a German submarine during World War I. The 110th anniversary of the Lusitania sinking will be marked by ceremonies in Cobh and Kinsale early next month. The 2026 convention could make a trip to Youghal, home of heroic Titanic able seaman Jack Foley, who captained a lifeboat with 50 souls in the wake of the sinking. The East Cork town has a public memorial to its famous son. Foleys broad Irish vowels were misunderstood when his details were being written into Titanics crew manifest, and he was mistakenly entered as being from York. The Titanic After surviving the sinking in No 4 lifeboat, Foley found he had the ships keys from the Titanic in his pocket, and brought them home only for them to be disposed of by his wife Mary, who liked to keep a tidy house. His chagrin is likely to be shared by his many descendants in England, including the Inns, Askew and Hammond families, since a single Titanic locker key sold for 85,000 (98,500). An auction of Titanic items takes place later this month in Devizes, Wiltshire, where the lots include a letter written on ships stationery and taken off the ship at Cobh at an estimate of 40,000-60,000. First-class American passenger Archibald Gracie, who later wrote a book The Truth About Titanic writes to a friend: It is a fine ship, but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her. Gracie survived on an upturned collapsible boat and gave evidence to the US inquiry, which passed judgment that Titanic was going too fast. Also up for auction are original photographs of Titanic officers Charles Lightoller, the most senior survivor, and JG Boxhall. Fears over defrocked priest sparked Derry bishops warning to Catholics about illicit group holding Mass Alert came after diocese was informed paedophile ex-cleric linked to fundamentalist SSPX Resistance group may be in area Ultra conservative SSPX Resistance has been advertising Latin Masses in Derry Liam Tunney Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 07:29 A top clerics warning over an illicit group holding Mass in Derry was prompted by concerns over a defrocked priest convicted of child abuse. Irish deputy premier Simon Harris has said it would be bizarre for the US to implement new tariffs on the EU during ongoing negotiations (Brian Lawless/PA) It would be bizarre for the US to implement new tariffs on the EU during ongoing negotiations, Irish deputy premier Simon Harris has said. The Tanaistes comments came after US President Donald Trump reiterated a threat to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, which would have a significant impact on Irish exports. Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr Trump said he would take the measure to improve domestic production of medicines. He said the US does not make its own pharmaceuticals anymore and that the companies are based in Ireland, China and elsewhere. To encourage the manufacturers to relocate back to the US, Mr Trump said: All I have to do is impose a tariff. The president added that companies would act faster if the tariff was more severe. Asked for a timeline, Mr Trump said it would happen in the not too distant future. US President Donald Trump has reiterated a threat to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals (Niall Carson/PA) The EU is attempting to negotiate with the US during a 90-day suspension of sweeping 20% tariffs imposed on exports from the bloc. A lower baseline 10% tariff remains in place but pharmaceuticals have, for now, been exempt. However, the US has repeatedly signalled that it intends to target the pharmaceutical industry, which employs about 45,000 people in Ireland. Total Irish exports were valued at 223.8 billion euros last year, with roughly one third going to the US. Of the 72.6 billion euros in US imports from Ireland, approximately 58 billion euros relates to pharmaceuticals and chemicals leaving Ireland. It had been suggested this could halve if Mr Trump had implemented a 20% tariff on the goods and the EU had responded in kind. CSO data published on Tuesday showed there was a more than five-fold increase in pharmaceutical exports to the US in February compared with the same month last year, up from 1.87 billion to 10.45 billion euro. Exports to the US in general were up 210%. EY Ireland partner and chief economist Dr Loretta OSullivan said: This bears all the hallmarks of a pre-emptive strike. The pharmaceutical sector was not alone in frontloading in February; the drinks industry also took steps to get ahead of policy shifts by the Trump administration, a smart move now that whiskey and other products have been hit with a 10% tariff. Irelands significant trade linkages with the US mean businesses here are particularly exposed to transatlantic barriers, prompting them to get inventory into the American market as fast as possible. Speaking to reporters before a Cabinet meeting in Dublin on Tuesday, Mr Harris called for substantive engagement to continue. He said: What I would say to our counterparts in the United States is the European Union is engaging in good faith. Im sure the United States is as well. And in any good faith negotiation, you should never take any action to escalate the situation. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he expects everything will be on the table for talks with the US (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Harris, who is also Irish foreign affairs and trade minister, added: It would be bizarre and not good if, whilst in the middle of talks about trade, one of the parties to the talks was to do something that could cause economic damage or harm to the other. So Id ask that calm measures, substantive engagement continues. Also speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Irish premier Micheal Martin said he expects everything will be on the table for talks with the US. Asked how the EU should respond to American tariffs targeted at pharmaceuticals, he said: We have to take it step by step. I mean, things are getting announced, things change on a weekly basis. The sensible thing to do is get this on to a negotiating pathway and to see what emerges from those negotiations. Asked if he expects the US to pressure the EU to reduce trade and decouple with China, Mr Harris said the bloc is open to discussing all issues when it comes to trade but wants to prioritise the direct relationship between the two trading partners. He told reporters: The US does have very strong views in relation to China, and indeed thats not a state secret. Theyve been very clear and very vocal about that at all levels of the administration, right up to the president of the United States. And the European Union also has some concerns in relation to China and trade and the need for any trade to be fair, the need for a level playing field, and the need for compliance with WTO rules. But we also have a perspective. We are the European Union, were not the United States of America, and we have every right to have our own perspective in relation to trade. So were happy to sit down in any negotiation, but wed like to keep that negotiation on the basis of the relationship between the EU and the US, and how we can make that trading relationship even stronger. Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan has said we cant have relentless negativity about a career as a garda. The new minister is attempting to boost flagging garda recruitment drives over previous years and mend rifts between Gardai and their outgoing Commissioner, Drew Harris. Mr OCallaghan said he disagreed with criticism from a group representing senior gardai of Commissioner Harris and that it was unfair to place all criticisms on Mr Harris for issues within the force. He was speaking as the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) held their annual conference this week. My membership is the people of Ireland. I will listen to what Garda Inspectors and Garda Sergeants have to say. And for most of what they say the interests of the people of Ireland and them will align, Mr OCallaghan told RTE Radio. But ultimately, I have to be guided solely by what is in the best interest of the people of Ireland when it comes to policing in this country. There is discontent among Garda members on a series of issues, including a long-running wrangle on proposed changes to working rosters and internal disciplinary and suspension processes. In September 2023, more than 98% of members of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) voted no confidence in Garda Commissioner Harris. Mr OCallaghan said he had met with the GRA, which is to not invite the Garda Commissioner to their annual conference again. Ive met the GRA, I want to engage with the GRA, I received an invitation to their conference. I asked them to invite the Commissioner. I asked them to let bygones be bygones, its his last term, hes going on 1 September, they didnt. He said he was advised it would be disrespectful to the office of the Commissioner to go along with a process that completely ignored him. He said that despite issues, Mr Harris was Commissioner during difficult times and had provided leadership. In fairness to Commissioner Harris, he has turned that reputation of An Garda Siochana around, he said. But listen, this isnt a dictatorship, the AGSI are perfectly entitled to criticise the Commissioner or indeed me if they have done. He said he was not defeatist about recruitment targets and said that recent recruitment drives got expressions of interest from 6,700 people. He said there were over 200 in the latest commencement in Templemore for the first time since 2019. The programme for government sets out a target to fund the recruitment of at least 5,000 new gardai and additional Garda staff over the next five years. Since September 2014, just 4,716 Garda members have attested and been deployed to Garda stations around Ireland as recruitment remains a challenge. Mr OCallaghan said he would name a new Garda Commissioner in July. McGregor pours pints as controversial US commentator Tucker Carlson interviews him in Dublin Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson visited Conor McGregors pub in Crumlin this evening after interviewing the MMA fighter as he attempts to drum up support for a presidential candidacy. Approximately 40 people gathered inside The Black Forge Inn on Tuesday. Mr McGregor was interviewed by the controversial pundit earlier in the day and said the two-hour chat will be broadcast on the Americans various channels soon. In November 2024, McGregor was found civilly liable in a High Court damages case in Dublin taken by a woman who accused him of rape. Nikita Hand won her claim against McGregor after accusing the fighter of raping her in a penthouse room at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin in December 2018. Ms Hand was awarded 250,000 in damages. A judge at the High Court later said the jury had conclusively determined that McGregor had raped Ms Hand. McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case. He has also publicly declared his intention to seek a nomination for the presidency. Mr Carlson, an American conservative political commentator who hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News until he was suddenly fired by the corporation in 2023, visited the pub in the afternoon for lunch. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Conor McGregor's The Black Forge Inn pub. Photo: Theo McDonald The presenter, who hosts The Tucker Carlson Show on his own Tucker Carlson Network, has interviewed Conor McGregor for his online news show. "We had a good chat today, we had a two-hour chat. Were very happy, were very excited. Onward we go, onwards for Ireland. "I was interviewed by him. Itll be out, McGregor said in the Black Forge Inn. Conor McGregor behind the bar in his pub The Black Forge Inn. Photo: Theo McDonald Mr McGregor had announced Mr Carlsons visit to his pub on social media on Monday evening, saying that he is in The Black Forge Inn tomorrow evening, Tuesday, with Tucker Carlson. God bless you, Ireland, I was put on this earth to serve and protect you and I will forever my days (sic), he added. Since parting ways with Fox News, Mr Carlson has interviewed many populists and right-wing figures, including US President Donald Trump, on his X channel and is a regular figure on many anti-immigration shows and news sites. He also interviewed Vladimir Putin in 2024, nearly two years after Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine. McGregor has stated his intention to contest the next presidential election, which is likely to be held in early November. He is estimated to have little chance of gaining the required backing from either 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities. McGregors interview with Carlson is the latest appearance alongside an anti-immigration amplifier of right-wing populism. The fighter from Crumlin, during a visit with US President Donald Trump at the White House on St Patricks Day, echoed many anti-immigration talking points. He accused the Irish Government of having zero accountability and said Irish money was being spent on overseas issues that has nothing to do with the Irish people, adding that the illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country. He said rural towns have been overrun. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said his remarks were wrong and do not reflect...the views of the people of Ireland. Environmental campaigners and locals have decried the devastating felling of an ancient oak tree thought to be more than 400 years old in a north London park. Enfield Council workers discovered the tree, which has a girth of 6.1 metres, surrounded by its severed branches and trunk in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, last week. The incident has been reported to the Metropolitan Police and the council has put an emergency preservation order in place on the base of the stump. The tree is thought to be in the top 100 of Londons 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size. The Woodland Trust, which has been advocating for legal protections for the countrys oldest and most important trees, called the incident devastating. Adam Cormack, the charitys head of campaigning, said: We dont know yet who did this or why and would urge anyone with information to come forward and report it to the police. This depressing crime is a reminder to all of us that not every ancient tree is in a safe place. It is very unusual to see the felling of an oak tree of this size and age. Legally protected status for trees like the Whitewebbs Oak is long overdue. This issue has widespread public support and is an open goal for the government to act upon. Ed Allnut, Enfield resident and secretary of the Guardians of Whitewebbs group said local people wanted justice for the old oak. The tree belonged to Enfield and to our national heritage. I am personally devastated, he said. We want answers, and we want guarantees the other trees here are being protected properly. Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said the tree felling occurred on April 3. Enfield Council cares deeply about protecting trees and green spaces in the borough, he said. The council was not informed of this incident until last week. Our teams immediately carried out a full site inspection to assess the damage after receiving reports of the damage done to the tree. We are treating the matter as criminal damage and have reported it to the police. Weve now placed a legal protection (Tree Preservation Order) on the tree and are looking at ways to help it grow back. It comes as the Tree Council and Forest Research published a report on Monday, called for a robust and effective system of protections as part of a wider action plan to protect Englands most important trees in the wake of the Sycamore Gap tree felling in September 2023. The trial of the two men accused of felling the Sycamore Gap tree is due to take place later this month in Newcastle Crown Court. The Woodland Trust cited support for its Living Legends petition that was handed to Downing Street with 100,000 signatures in November and the Heritage Trees Private Members Bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Young in 2023. The legislation proposes the introduction of a list of nationally important heritage trees and a preservation order that could be used to promote the protection of ancient and important trees. Oak trees are valuable for UK wildlife with the ability to support more than 2,300 species as sequestering planet-heating carbon from the atmosphere. Mahi Muqit of Moorfields Eye Hospital in London in theatre in Bangladesh (Moorfields Eye Hospital/PA) Surgeons from a specialist UK eye hospital have helped save the sight of more than 20 Bangladeshi students who were wounded in last summers protests in the country. Mahi Muqit and Niaz Islam, consultant ophthalmologists at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, operated on more than 100 patients during the visit to Dhaka last month. The pair evaluated 150 patients aged between 14 and 30 following the invite by Bangladeshs interim government. All patients had suffered bullet injuries to the eyes after taking part in protests organised by Students Against Discrimination in July, with the majority receiving initial treatment last year. The specialist surgeons then operated on 24 patients over two days to save their sight. Those who did not have surgery were given a rehabilitation plan which was agreed with local doctors. Mr Muqit, a senior vitreoretinal consultant at Moorfields, said: It was an honour to be invited to help these people, and an intense experience for all of us. Its such a privilege to be able to restore sight to people who have lived with sight loss for months. Speaking of one patient named Rohan, who was operated on during the visit, Mr Muqit added: He was with friends when he was shot in both eyes by the police. He was blinded in both eyes, with one being beyond hope. Our operation on the other eye fixed his retinal detachment and removed scar tissue. We have every expectation that his vision will continue to improve as he recovers from the surgery. Niaz Islam of Moorfields Eye Hospital in London training ophthalmologists in Bangladesh (Moorfields Eye Hospital/PA) Another patient named Romel had also lost his vision, according to Mr Muqit: His surgery also repaired a retinal detachment after bullet trauma, and he was also very pleased to hear that his vision will slowly improve. The specialists also discovered that one 20-year-old patient, named Minhaj, still had the original bullets inside his eye from last July. He required complex surgery to remove them and repair the damage. An estimated 1,000 people suffered some form of eye trauma during the demonstrations in July 2024. Around 700 having emergency care from medics at the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH) in Dhaka. The Moorfields specialists also provided medical and surgical training to local doctors to bolster treatment services at NIOH. Mr Islam, a senior medical retina expert at Moorfields, added: I was delighted to be able to share our expertise and experience with colleagues at NIOH we hope our legacy lies in having transferred skills to them, so they can in turn offer sight-saving surgery to many others affected by eye trauma in Bangladesh. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has appeared in court to give evidence in a historic antitrust trial to defend his empire against allegations it illegally monopolised the social media market. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) called Mr Zuckerberg as its first witness on Monday as it seeks to prove that Meta acquired Instagram and WhatsApp start-ups it bought more than a decade ago to preserve its monopoly in the social networking space. In opening statements, FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson said Meta has used its position to generate enormous profits even as consumer satisfaction has dropped. He said Meta was erecting a moat to protect its interests by buying the two start-ups because the company feared they were a threat to Metas dominance. At the trial, Mr Matheson focused on a communication sent to colleagues that illustrated Mr Zuckerbergs frustration with a lack of progress on developing a photo-sharing app to compete with Instagram. The way I read this message is that Im not happy about how were executing on that project, Mr Zuckerberg said. Mr Matheson followed up by asking if that was because of Instagrams rapid growth. That does seem to be what Im highlighting, Mr Zuckerberg said, adding that he is always urging his teams to do better. Later in the day, Mr Zuckerberg appeared frustrated when Mr Matheson asked him about his concerns expressed about how fast Instagram was growing. I dont have the full timeline of Instagrams development in my head, Mr Zuckerberg said, when Mr Matheson asked him about his mention of its growth. FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson (Nathan Howard/AP) You could probably get that better from somebody else. Mr Matheson also asked about comments of plans to keep Instagram running while focusing on Facebook and not investing in Instagram. Mr Zuckerberg said he would not characterise it as a plan, and he insisted that Instagram was not neglected. In practice, we ended up investing a ton in it after we acquired it, Mr Zuckerberg, who testified most of the afternoon, said. Antitrust laws aim to ensure that competition is fair in an open-market economy. The Facebook founder will give evidence throughout the trial, along with other key Meta witnesses. Were going to give them their chance to tell their side of the story, Mr Matheson said. Mark Hansen, a lawyer for Meta, said the FTC was making a grab bag of arguments that were wrong. He said the firm has plenty of competition and has made improvements to the start-ups it acquired. This lawsuit, in summary, is misguided, he said, adding: Any way you look at it, consumers have been the big winners. The trial will be the first big test of president Donald Trumps FCCs ability to challenge Big Tech. The lawsuit was filed against Meta then called Facebook in 2020, during Mr Trumps first term as president. It claims the company bought Instagram and WhatsApp to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market. Meta, the FTC argues, has maintained a monopoly by pursuing Mr Zuckerbergs strategy, expressed in 2008: It is better to buy than compete. True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats. Facebook also enacted policies designed to make it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and neutralise perceived competitive threats, the FTC says in its complaint, just as the world shifted its attention to mobile devices from desktop computers. Unable to maintain its monopoly by fairly competing, the companys executives addressed the existential threat by buying up new innovators that were succeeding where Facebook failed, the FTC says. Facebook bought Instagram then a photo-sharing app with no ads and a small cult following in 2012. Metas fate will be decided by US District Judge James Boasberg (Thibault Camus, File/AP) The billion-dollar cash and stock purchase price was eye-popping at the time, though the deals value fell to 750 million dollars (567 million) after Facebooks stock price dipped following its initial public offering in May 2012. Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as a separate app. Until then, Facebook was known for smaller acqui-hires a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a start-up as a way to hire its talented workers, then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for 22 billion dollars (16.6 billion). WhatsApp and Instagram helped Facebook move its business from desktop computers to mobile devices and remain popular with younger generations as rivals like Snapchat (which it also tried to buy) and TikTok emerged. However, the FTC has a narrow definition of Metas competitive market, excluding companies like TikTok, YouTube and Apples messaging service from being considered rivals to Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta says the FTCs lawsuit defies reality. The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage and many others, the company said in a statement. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared our acquisitions, the commissions action in this case sends the message that no deal is ever truly final. Regulators should be supporting American innovation, rather than seeking to break up a great American company and further advantaging China on critical issues like AI. In a filing last week, Meta also stressed that the FTC must prove that Meta has monopoly power in its claimed relevant market now, not at some time in the past. This, experts say, could also prove challenging since more competitors have emerged in the social media space in the years since the company bought WhatsApp and Instagram. Metas fate will be decided by US District Judge James Boasberg, who late last year denied the firms request for a summary judgment and ruled that the case must go to trial. Sudanese displaced children take shelter in a school after being evacuated by the army from areas once controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (AP) More than 300 people have been killed after two days of intense fighting in Sudans conflict-wracked Darfur region, the United Nations (UN) said. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the nations notorious paramilitary group, attacked two refugee camps on Friday and Saturday. The siege-like assault on two refugee camps was initially reported by the UN to have left more than 100 dead, with 20 children and nine aid workers included in the tally. FILE Children sit and play on the remains of a tank, at the river port in Renk, South Sudan in 2023 (Sam Mednick/AP) However, UN officials have since revised the figure, with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting an additional 200 deaths. OCHA cited local sources that were not identified. The Associated Press could not independently verify the numbers due to the conditions and communications on the ground. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said OCHA has received reports of mass casualties and large-scale displacement following the recent fighting in and around the Zamzam and Abu Shorouk displacement camps. 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 Similar reports were made in the North Darfur capital of El Fasher, which remains the only city in Darfur not under RSF control. Preliminary figures from local sources indicate that more than 300 civilians have been killed, including 10 humanitarian personnel from the NGO Relief International who lost their lives while operating one of the last functioning health centres in Zamzam camp, Mr Dujarric said. The escalation in the fighting comes ahead of a conference in London to spotlight the wars anniversary on Tuesday organised by Britain, the European Union, Germany and France. Sudanese families displaced by the Rapid Support Forces in Omdurman, Sudan (AP) More than 20 foreign ministers are expected, along with representatives of global organisations, at the capitals Lancaster House on Tuesday. Mr Dujarric said the United Nations hopes the result will see Sudans neighbours and the international community move in unity of purpose towards peace instead of fuelling the conflict. The UN Security Council has scheduled emergency closed consultations on Sudan for Tuesday, with the UNs migration agency stating that the attacks on camps by the RSF have displaced between 60,000 to 80,000 families in the past two days. UN Refugee Agency regional director Mamadou Dian Balde said in a press conference that massive violations of human rights have forced almost 13 million Sudanese to flee their homes. 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 That figure includes four million people who have fled to other countries. Most fled to Sudans immediate neighbours, but more than 200,000 have gone to Libya and about 70,000 to Uganda, he said. Mr Balde said the refugee agencys appeal for 1.8 billion dollars to help millions who have been rendered homeless is only 10% funded. He warned that if the refugee support fund does not see an increase in capital, refugees will ultimately migrate towards southern Africa, east Africa, the Gulf countries and on to Europe. We really hope that tomorrows event in London will also show greater support for the Sudanese brothers and sisters who have been displaced, Mr Balde said. A federal judge has said she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. US District Judge Paula Xinis issued her order after Trump officials continually refused to retrieve Mr Abrego Garcia. She said they had defied a clear Supreme Court order. She also disregarded Mondays comments by White House officials and El Salvadors president that they were unable to bring back Mr Abrego Garcia, describing their statements as two very misguided ships passing in the night. A man identified as Kilmar Abrego Garcia is led by force by guards through the Terrorism Confinement Centre in Tecoluca, El Salvador (US District Court for the District of Maryland/AP) The Supreme Court has spoken, Judge Xinis said, adding that what was said in the Oval Office on Monday is not before the court. She said she will call for the evidence of government officials, including Robert Cerna, the acting field office director for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She expects the process to last about two weeks. The bottom line is it was a very simple directive, Judge Xinis said of her own order for the US to return Mr Abrego Garcia. Ive got nothing. Ive got no real response. The hearing came a day after White House advisers repeated the claim that they lack the authority to bring back the Salvadoran national from his native country. The president of El Salvador also said on Monday that he would not return Mr Abrego Garcia, likening it to smuggling a terrorist into the United States. Mr Abrego Garcias deportation has become a flashpoint as President Donald Trump follows up on campaign promises of mass deportations, including to an El Salvador prison. A man identified as Kilmar Abrego Garcia in an El Salvador prison (US District Court for the District of Maryland/AP) After Tuesdays hearing, a crowd outside the federal court house in Maryland chanted: What do we want? Due process. When do want it? Now! A lawyer for Mr Abrego Garcia said contempt proceedings could be the logical next step after the discovery phase. This is still a win, and this is still progress, Rina Ghandi said. Were not done yet, though. Mr Abrego Garcias wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said shortly before Tuesdays hearing that he was working hard to achieve the American dream for his family. That dream was shattered on March 12 when he was abducted and disappeared by the United States government in front of our five-year-old-child, she said. Today is 34 days after his disappearance I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Mr Abrego Garcia, 29, lived in the US for roughly 14 years, during which he worked in construction, got married and was raising three children with disabilities, according to court records. Jennifer Vasquez Sura (Jose Luis Magana/AP) A US immigration judge had shielded him from deportation to El Salvador in 2019, ruling that he was likely to face persecution there by local gangs who had terrorised his family. He was also given a federal permit to work in the US, where he was a metal worker and union member, according to Mr Abrego Garcias lawyers. But the Trump administration expelled him to El Salvador last month anyway. Administration officials later described the mistake as an administrative error but insisted that Mr Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang in Long Island, New York where he has never lived. He was never charged with a crime and has denied the allegations. Judge Xinis had ordered the Trump administration in early April to bring Mr Abrego Garcia back, and the US Supreme Court agreed last week that the government must facilitate his release. But the White House has baulked at trying to broker his return, arguing the courts cannot intrude on the presidents diplomacy powers. In a filing on Tuesday afternoon, Trump administration lawyers said the government is prepared to facilitate Mr Abrego Garcias return, but they said his protection from being deported to El Salvador would be removed, and he could be deported again to El Salvador or to a third country. In a court filing on Tuesday, his lawyers rejected the idea that the US lacks the authority to retrieve him. They noted that the US is paying El Salvador to hold prisoners, including Mr Abrego Garcia, and can exercise those same contractual rights to request their release. Northern Ireland Heroic NI firefighter who pulled driver from burning car seconds before it exploded to receive one of UK's highest bravery honours Samurai sword thief denies ranting and raving about beheading people Jordanian asylum seeker said he stole weapons to protect himself after threats from IRA Abdallah Maiteh speaks to our reporter Christopher Woodhouse Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 20:00 The asylum seeker who was caught by police with two samurai swords and allegedly chanting about beheading people claims he only stole the weapons for self-defence. Restaurant review: Belfasts oldest pub is recommended by a Michelin star chef so who are we to argue? Robert Stewarts Spirit Grocer, Drumbeg, has been serving customers for over 400 years and is still doing a good job, with a couple of things to work on Restaurant review: Belfasts oldest pub is recommended by a Michelin star chef so who are we to argue? Gareth Hanna Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 20:00 If Belfasts oldest pub is good enough for a Michelin star chef, then who am I to argue? Adobe Stock The role of Simon Peter in founding the Christian Church has been the subject of profound theological and historical inquiry. As one of Jesus' closest disciples and friends, Peter emerged as a leader among the apostles, a position later interpreted as establishing the foundation for the papacy. The Roman Catholic Church asserts that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, vested with unique authority by Christ. Other Christian traditions, however, challenge this claim, viewing Peter as a key apostolic figure without singular supremacy over the Church. Understanding Peter's journeyfrom his calling as a fisherman to his martyrdom in Romesheds light on his legacy and the claims surrounding his role as the first pope. By examining his interactions with Jesus, his leadership in the early Church, and the historical evidence for his presence in Rome, a clearer picture emerges of his place in Christian history. Peter's Walk With Jesus Simon Peter, originally known as Simon bar Jonah, was one of Jesus' closest disciples. A fisherman from Bethsaida (John 1:40-45), he was one of the first called by Jesus to be a "fisher of men" (Matthew 4:19). Throughout Jesus' ministry, Peter emerges as a leader among the disciples, often speaking on their behalf (John 6:68). His name changed from Simon to Peter by Jesus Christ (Greek: , Petros; Aramaic: , Kepha), meaning "rock." That word and meaning are central to the debate regarding his role in the early Church. One of the key passages cited supporting Peter's primacy is Matthew 16:18-19, where Jesus declares: "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." This passage is foundational to the Catholic claim that Jesus gave Peter unique authority. The phrase "on this rock" has been interpreted differently: the Catholic tradition views it as a reference to Peter himself. At the same time, Protestant scholars argue that it refers to Peter's confession of faith in Christ as the Messiah. Following Jesus' resurrection, Peter assumes a leadership role among the apostles. In Acts 2, he delivers the first sermon at Pentecost, leading to the conversion of 3,000 souls. He is also instrumental in the inclusion of Gentiles into the Church (Acts 10) and participates in the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), showing his influence in early Christian leadership. Peter's Walk to Rome The claim that Peter was the first Pope, known as the "Bishop of Rome," hinges on historical evidence suggesting that he traveled to the imperial city and led the Christian community there. While the New Testament does not explicitly document Peter's presence in Rome, several early Christian writers affirm it. Clement of Rome (c. 96 AD): In his letter to the Corinthians, Clement speaks of Peter's sufferings and martyrdom but does not explicitly mention Rome. Ignatius of Antioch (c. 107 AD): In his letter to the Romans, Ignatius acknowledges the authority of the Roman Church but does not explicitly link Peter to its founding. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 180 AD): In Against Heresies (3.3.2), Irenaeus writes that Peter and Paul founded the Church in Rome and appointed Linus as their successor. Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 325 AD): In Ecclesiastical History (2.25), Eusebius cites earlier sources that Peter ministered in Rome and was martyred there under Nero. The most compelling historical evidence of Peter's presence in Rome is his martyrdom. Roman historian Tacitus (Annals, 15.44) describes Nero's persecution of Christians after the Great Fire of Rome (64 AD). Early Christian tradition maintains that Peter was among those executed, crucified upside-down at his request (as per Origen and Eusebius). Peter's Walk With Destiny The title of "pope" (Latin: papa, meaning "father") was not formally used for bishops of Rome until centuries later. The earliest record "pope" was used was in the third century, when the Patriarch Herarcias of Alexandra was bestowed with the title from 232 to 248 AD. Still, Petrine primacy is rooted in both Scripture and early tradition. The Catholic argument for Peter as the first pope rests on several theological and historical pillars: Matthew 16:18-19: The keys to the kingdom symbolize authority, and binding and loosing indicate legislative and disciplinary power, which Catholics believe was uniquely given to Peter.atth Luke 22:32: Jesus tells Peter, "I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." This is seen as a divine mandate for Peter's leadership. John 21:15-17: Jesus commands Peter three times to "feed my sheep," which is interpreted as a pastoral commission over the universal Church. Historical Succession: The early Church Fathers, particularly in Rome, saw themselves as successors of Peter, reinforcing the idea of apostolic succession. However, counterarguments exist. Many Protestant scholars argue that while Peter was a prominent apostle, there is no biblical evidence that he was given exclusive primacy over the Church. They cite Galatians 2:11-14, where Paul rebukes Peter for hypocrisy, as evidence that Peter did not have supreme authority over the apostles. Additionally, some historians question whether Peter served as the Bishop of Rome, noting that Paul never mentions Peter's leadership there in his letter to the Romans. Where Did Peter's Walk Lead Us The question of Peter's role as the first pope ultimately depends on theological interpretation and historical evidence. Based on scriptural passages and early Church writings, the Catholic tradition upholds Peter as the first Bishop of Rome and leader of the universal Church. Early historical sources support his presence in Rome, and his martyrdom under Nero solidifies his significance in the city. Yet, the absence of direct biblical evidence of Peter holding a papal office leaves room for debate. Protestant traditions maintain that Peter was a foundational apostle but not uniquely supreme over the others. The Eastern Orthodox Church, while recognizing Peter's significance, does not accept the later Roman Catholic interpretation of papal authority. Thus, while Peter was undoubtedly a central figure in early Christianity and exercised significant leadership, whether he was the first pope in the modern sense remains a matter of theological perspective. His legacy, however, is undeniablePeter was a rock upon which the early Church was built, whether as a leading apostle or as the first in a line of Roman pontiffs. 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. Berkshire County Head Start would be forced to shrink its footprint in the community if the Trump administration does not allocate money for the federal program in its fiscal 2026 budget. And thats a real possibility. USA Today reported Friday that the White Houses funding blueprint for fiscal year 2026 does not set aside money for Head Start. An unidentified official who was familiar with the plan told the news outlet that the program itself would also be eliminated. In the Berkshires, Head Start employs 90 local people to serve over 200 young children and their families each year. Federal funding accounts for $5 million, or about half, of the organization's funding. Without that money, Berkshire County Head Start would have to cut back on staff, terminate comprehensive services and serve fewer children and families. We probably would not be a countywide organization," said Brett Random, executive director of Berkshire County Head Start. "We would have to really minimize what we can offer as a program. While the White Houses fiscal 2026 budget has yet to be released, Head Start staff are already warning that the proposal would be catastrophic for working families, vulnerable young children and Head Start employees, the Boston Globe reported. Head Start was founded in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnsons war on poverty to provide education, health and social services to low-income families with children younger than 5. In the years since, the program has served more than 40 million children and their families, according to the government. In fiscal 2023, the government allocated $12 billion for Head Start, which served 778,000 children and pregnant women who lived in centers, family homes and family child care homes that year. Here in Massachusetts, Head Start employs over 4,000 staff, including 90 educators, family service workers, bus drivers and cooks in the Berkshires. Because Berkshire Head Start receives about $3 million in state funding and limited local funding, Random said she would be able to maintain some preschool education classrooms if federal funding is cut. But with fewer teachers, capacity would be lower next year, leaving some vulnerable children and families without support at a time when child care, housing and living costs are quickly outpacing local salaries. The children and families that could maintain a spot would find most of the wrap-around services that Head Start currently offers gone. We would not be able to provide the comprehensive part of our services," Random said. "We wouldnt be able to serve children in the same way. Those services include everything from helping families find affordable housing to connecting them with mental health resources, local food pantries and nutrition support and reliable transportation. Congress, not the White House, has the authority to allocate federal funding, and it is unclear how lawmakers would respond to a proposal to defund Head Start. Project 2025, a conservative agenda that maps out how to shrink and restructure the federal government, has called for eliminating Head Start. Trump tapped Russell Vought, who co-authored Project 2025, to lead the White Houses budget office. The proposal to defund, and possibly eliminate, Head Start came about two weeks after the Trump administration fired staff at the New England regional office of the Administration for Children and Families which helps administer Head Start in Massachusetts and across the region as part of broader job cuts across the US Department of Health and Human Services. The closing of the Boston office has already been felt here in the Berkshires. Random said Berkshire County Head Starts program specialist was among the employees who were abruptly terminated, leaving the organization without someone to oversee its grant. That happened overnight," Random said. There was no communication, there was no plan. Were just waiting for direction. Throughout the Bible, the word, chosen is used when God or people choose a person, group of peoples, or a course of action. In Deuteronomy 7:6, we learn God chose Israel for something. For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for His own treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. How did they become chosen by God? Are the Israelites (the Jews) Gods Chosen People? Within the Pentateuch, the concept of God's selection of Israel originates from His covenant with Abraham, in which He pledged to make Abraham a great nation and to bless all families of the earth through him (Genesis 12:1-3). When we regard the biblical account of Israels history, we see, as writer Clarence L. Haynes Jr. reminds us, God did not choose a nation; He chose a man. It was Gods blessing that made one man into a great nation. Just as God made the first covenant with Adam to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28), He chose to extend that promise into the second covenant in the Bible, the Abrahamic Covenant. To further explore the topic, we should define a fully God-initiated and unilateral agreement from God to man. In plain language, when God makes promises through a covenant, He fulfills them, and the fulfillment is based on His faithfulness. Bakers Evangelical Dictionary describes the persons and details of a covenant instituted by God: Persons are recipients, not contributors; they are not expected to offer elements to the bond; they are called to accept it as offered, to keep it as demanded, and to receive the results that God, by oath, assures will not be withheld. In Exodus 19:5-6, God set His conditions for the results of His covenant with Israel. He said, So now then, if you will indeed listen to My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel. The Israelites had to listen to God and keep His covenant. If they did, they would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. To keep His covenant means God commands us to persist in our love for Him and that love is to stimulate our service to Him in all we do (Deuteronomy 7:9; 6:4-5; cf. Mark 12:28-34). Including the Gentiles But the Israelites didnt listen; they didnt keep His covenant, and so God, with His worldwide mission of filling the earth with His glory through His chosen people, expanded His grace to the Gentiles. Look at what Jesus said to His disciples in John 15:16, You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would abide, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. The nation of Israel rejected their Messiah, but God used Abraham and his descendants as a conduit to bring the gospel to all people. God built a nation from one man. In the beginning, God created one man and commanded him to be fruitful and multiply. Adam wasnt a Jew, and neither was Abraham when God called him and struck His covenant with him. Because of Adams sin, however, Gods redemptive plan extended through the Jews to the Messiah, Jesus the sinless Second Adam. God is the covenanter. He could have chosen anyone, but He chose Abraham according to His merit and not Abrahams. Gods choice of Abraham and his progeny protected the Israelites because He promised the Savior would come through Adams good seed. The good seed included Abraham and proceeded through King David and on to Jesus Christ. The key to the whole issue is Gods faithfulness to His original covenant with Adam, who had no ethnicity except as a son of God. Are Christians Chosen? The Israelites did nothing to merit Gods favor as a chosen people. So too, Christians do nothing outside the grace of God for Him to choose us for salvation (Ephesians 2:5). What God chooses is always good and according to His perfect will. Romans 9:6-8 tells us, But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abrahams seed, but: through Isaac Your seed will be named. That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed. The question Christians must consider has to do with Israel. Hosea 11:1-12 spells out for us how Israel wasnt true to its identity as Gods chosen ones, and He threw them out of the land. But later in Hosea 11, Hosea writes Gods anger would subside, and He would deliver a transformed Israel that would be who God called her to be. This hope prophesied by Hosea lasted through to the New Testament and was fulfilled in Gods only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Matthew 2:13-15 shows us Jesus is the fulfillment of Hosea 11. Jesus is Gods Chosen One the true Israel of God (Luke 9:35). He passed every test that Israel failed. He is fully worthy of His identity as Gods Son because He is God, and because of His accomplishments as a man (John 17:4), for He is fully God and fully man (Philippians 2:6-7). Its important for Christians to understand we too are chosen. As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-5). Here's more good news for Christians. Because we are in Christ (Galatians 3:14, 26, 28), we are also the true Israel of God. In Christ, we share in the privileges and relationship He has as God's true Son. As adopted children (Romans 8:16-17) and those grafted into Him (Romans 11:11-24), we, the church, inherit all of Gods promises given to Old Covenant Israel. From the first Adam to the Second and Last Adam (Jesus Christ), God protected His people for His names sake to bring redemption to all men. His entire redemptive plan is witnessed throughout history and has been fulfilled in Christ. And it will be consummated when He calls His church home and has vanquished the last enemy, death (1 Corinthians 15:26). Are the Israelites Now Excluded as Chosen Ones? Pastor Michael Horton writes, Once the New Covenant arrived in the person of Christ, the old covenant became obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). Having served its function of leading Israel to Christ, the sacred status once applied to the nation and its land is now applied to the body of Christ, consisting of Jewish and Gentile believers together. Galatians 3:28-29 serves as an exclamation point to that truth, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams seed, heirs according to promise. The Lord Jesus is exclusive in that salvation (saved from Gods wrath) comes only to those who come to Him in repentance and faith and surrender to Him as Savior and Lord. Jesus is inclusive in that any person, no matter their ethnic background, is welcomed into the kingdom when (and Ill repeat what I said above) he surrenders in repentance and faith to Jesus as Savior and Lord. The Apostle Peter was most likely speaking to a mixed audience of Jewish and Gentile believers when he proclaimed, But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Gods own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). How wonderful that the dwelling place of God will be with us (Revelation 21:3), and one day we will join in singing a new song exalting Christ, who purchased for God with [His] blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Revelation 5:9). Hallelujah! What a Savior! Photo credit: Getty Images/Paul Souders Lisa Loraine Baker is the multiple award-winning author of Someplace to be Somebody. She writes fiction and nonfiction. In addition to writing for the Salem Web Network, Lisa serves as a Word Weavers mentor and is part of a critique group. Lisa and her husband, Stephen, a pastor, live in a small Ohio village with their crazy cat, Lewis. Dr. Mohans Diabetes Specialities Centre launches AI-driven diabetic retinopathy screening software April 15, 2025 | Tuesday | News This new initiative has been rolled out across its clinics in Pondicherry and Thanjavur image credit- shutterstock Taking yet another pioneering and life-changing step in the field of diabetic care, Dr. Mohans Diabetes Specialities Centre (DMDSC) has launched a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence (AI)-driven Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Software. This initiative aims to harness the latest artificial intelligence technology to detect early-stage diabetic retinopathy and apply this technology to offer quick and precise analysis that will help doctors make informed decisions. This move further strengthens DMDSC's vision of offering holistic preventive care in the diabetic field. Set to be available across its 50 clinics nationally, the hospital has launched this initiative in its flagship Pondicherry and Thanjavur clinics in the first phase of the rollout. Diabetic retinopathy ranks among the primary causes of vision impairment in individuals with diabetes, frequently going unnoticed until substantial damage has taken place. With this AI-powered screening, DMDSC aims to bridge the gap between early detection and effective treatment by providing quick, highly accurate, and accessible diagnostic solutions. Dr R. M. Anjana, Managing Director of Dr. Mohans Diabetes Specialities Centre, said, Diabetic retinopathy is a silent but severe complication that can lead to irreversible vision loss if left undetected. With diabetes cases on the rise, it is crucial to integrate preventive eye care into routine diabetes management. This AI-powered screening initiative is a game-changer, as it enables early detection and timely intervention, significantly reducing the risk of vision impairment. We have chosen Pondicherry and Thanjavur as the first locations for this rollout due to the high prevalence of diabetes in these regions and the need to strengthen accessible eye care solutions. Our goal is to ensure that patients receive proactive, high-quality care close to home. Fortis Institute of Genomic Medicine opens ushering new era in precision medicine April 15, 2025 | Tuesday | News Bringing together a multi-disciplinary team of medical experts Fortis Healthcare has launched Fortis Institute of Genomic Medicines, a pioneering centre dedicated to harnessing the power of genomic science to transform patient care across India. Backed by Fortis advanced clinical ecosystem and Agilus Diagnostics extensive national footprint, the institute will bring together a multi-disciplinary team of medical experts including Molecular Hematology, Oncology, Neurology, Pediatrics, Pathology, Genomic scientists alongwith bioinformaticians and AI (artificial intelligence) engineers. Cardio-genomics will empower the early detection of inherited cardiac conditions, crucial for families with a history of sudden cardiac arrest, unexplained heart failure, or congenital heart disease. Meanwhile, Neuro-genomics will offer new hope for patients with complex neurological disorders, using gene-based insights to improve diagnosis and personalize interventions for conditions like epilepsy, Parkinsons and rare neurodevelopmental syndromes. In the near future, Fortis will also launch a Genomics-informed health registry, setting a new benchmark in precision medicine along with Indias first AI-powered genomic reporting platform designed specifically for Indian clinicians as per international recommendations by ACMG (American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics), AMP (Association for Molecular Pathology), and ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) - which will be compliant, clinically relevant, and intuitively designed for seamless integration into medical practice. 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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. Irish exports of pharmaceutical and medical products to the US surged by more than 450% year-on-year in February, data showed on Tuesday, a second monthly hike that suggested US drugmakers may be stockpiling medicines in advance of potential tariffs. The US administration kicked off a probe into imports of pharmaceuticals on Monday as part of a bid to impose tariffs, which US President Donald Trump said he expects to add to a raft of duties on other goods and trading partners in the "not-too-distant future". Advertisement Trump has repeatedly singled out the manufacturing of drugs in Europe and particularly Ireland as a problem he intends to tackle through tariffs. More than a dozen of the world's biggest drugmakers have plants in Ireland, where many make medicines or active ingredients for the US market. Ireland saw a spike in exports of medicines to the United States in January, when they shot up by 130% to 9.4 billion. They grew to 10.5 billion in February from 1.9 billion in the same month last year, the Central Statistics Office said. Some drugmakers have taken the unusual step of sending more medicines by air to the US amid the tariff threats, two executives and two logistics firms told Reuters last month. The Central Bank attributed a surge in pharma exports to the US from Ireland since last July to the production of highly demanded weight-loss drugs, but it has said the more recent increases may partly be driven by stockpiling. A 34% rise in all goods exports to the US from Ireland last year pushed the US goods trade deficit with the EU member state to a record 50 billion. - Reuters US actress Blake Lively posed for photos in Chanel to promote the psychological thriller Another Simple Favour amid an ongoing legal battle with director Justin Baldoni. Smiling alongside Pitch Perfect co-star Anna Kendrick and British actor Henry Golding, the 37-year-old Gossip Girl star wore a black and buttermilk Chanel cardigan with a leather mini skirt and boots, and black Chanel bag. Advertisement Lively sued her It Ends With Us co-star and director Baldoni in late December, alleging harassment and a co-ordinated campaign to attack her reputation, if she came forward about her treatment on the set. (left to right) Henry Golding, Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick at a photocall for Another Simple Favour at the Corinthia Hotel in central London. (Ian West/PA) Baldoni, who denies Livelys allegations, later filed a counter-suit against Lively and her husband, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and extortion. A trial date is set for March 2026. Lively is currently promoting the sequel to the 2018s A Simple Favour, her first new movie since It Ends With Us. Advertisement The first movie followed Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick), a single mother running a parenting vlog who befriends a rich and secretive PR director, Emily Nelson (Lively), until one day she suddenly disappears. Blake Lively. (Ian West/PA) The new film will see the return of Emily as she invites Stephanie to Capri in Italy for an extravagant wedding with the trailer showing a montage of explosions, glamorous parties, and a body on a stretcher, and the words revenge is a dish best served chilled, with a twist. Lively is best known for playing the socialite Serena van der Woodsen in the hit drama series Gossip Girl. She portrayed Lily Bloom in the romance drama It Ends With Us, based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, that also touched on themes of domestic violence. Advertisement Another Simple Favour is due to come out on Prime Video on May 1st. A judge has rejected a defence that a 28-year-old west Clare man was undergoing a sleep disorder episode when he was drink-driving and his car veered off the road into a ditch. At Kilrush District Court on Tuesday, Judge Alec Gabbett found Jack Sheehan of Sheehans Corner, Shragh, Kilrush, Co Clare, guilty of drink driving and careless driving on the night of December 2nd 2023. Advertisement Imposing a penalty, Judge Gabbett has banned Mr Sheehan from driving for two years for the drink driving offence and postponed his driving ban until October following a request from Mr Sheehan's solicitor Patrick Moylan. Judge Gabbett said that the defence put forward on behalf of Mr Sheehan was a very important point raised in defence. Inspector Ronan McMahon previously told the court that Mr Sheehan was twice over the legal alcohol limit for driving when he crashed his car near the west Clare village of Doonbeg at around 2.30am on December 3rd, 2023. At a contested hearing last September, sleep disorder expert Dr John Garvey of St Vincents Private Hospital in Dublin said that in his opinion, Jack Sheehan, on the night of December 2nd 2023, drove his car as a result of a NREM parasomnia. Advertisement NREM parasomnia is a non-rapid eye movement disordered sleep-related behaviour that occurs during the first few hours of sleep. Dr Garvey said that when Garda Gearoid Mangan found Mr Sheehan at the roadside, he was not clearly awoken from sleep. Dr Garvey said that Mr Sheehan had no motive to leave his house and get into his car in the early hours of December 3rd. In his judgement, Judge Gabbett said that the main issue at hand is that Mr Sheehan was suffering from a form of automatism and that for intent and purpose that Mr Sheehan was asleep whilst driving the car and therefore did not have the requisite mens rea and therefore it was not possible for him to commit a crime. Advertisement Judge Gabbett said: The defence are effectively saying that the accused was acting involuntarily and without any internal control of his behaviour." From the medical evidence before the court, he accused only has a recent diagnosis of non REM parasomnia and notwithstanding the clear expertise of Dr Garvey, the court is not satisfied that there is a significantly long relationship between the treating doctor and the accused to state with absolute certainty that any of the behaviour was involuntary due to his diagnosis. Furthermore, the State quite rightly points out that Dr Garvey was not present on the night and could not with absolute certainty confirm the medical event on the night." Judge Gabbett pointed out that the State contended that a defendant cannot rely on automatism where it is produced as a result of voluntary ingestion of substances such as alcohol. Advertisement Judge Gabbett said that due to the fact that Dr Garvey cannot confirm absolutely due to the fact that there was no brain tracing on the night that there was a parasominal event, the court finds that there is not sufficient reasonable doubt raised by the defence to allow an acquittal of the charges. In evidence, Garda Gearoid Morgan told the court that he saw Mr Sheehans white Skoda Rapid car veer off the road into a ditch outside Doonbeg at around 2.30am. Garda Morgan said that Mr Sheehan got out of the car and said that he was fine, but his eyes were glassy and speech was slurred that in his opinion rendered him incapable of driving a vehicle. Garda Morgan arrested Mr Sheehan on suspicion of drink driving, and Mr Sheehan said in response: I am sorry. I was drinking at a friends. Advertisement Ireland Nearly 5,900 incidents took place on the M50 last... Read More Mr Sheehan was subsequently tested and was found to be over the limit at 68 grams per 100ml of alcohol. Asked by solicitor for Mr Sheehan, Mr Moylan how his client appeared, Garda Morgan said: He seemed intoxicated. In evidence, Mr Sheehan said that he was at home on the night and had four bottles of beer and two rums before going to bed at around 1am. Mr Sheehan said that he couldn't recall saying he was at a friend's house and said that he wasn't at a friend's house on the night. A 31-year-old man who died after being stabbed in Youghal in Co Cork on Monday evening had been convicted of the manslaughter of a French chef in 2015. Gardai and the emergency services were called to the scene following a row between two men at a pub on North Main Street in the town at around 9.50 pm on Monday. Advertisement Daniel (Dano) OSullivan was transferred to Cork University Hospital (CUH), where he was treated for serious injuries. He was later pronounced dead. A 29-year-old man has been arrested for questioning in connection with his death. He is being detained at Midleton Garda Station in the county. Mr OSullivan was a native of Mallow in Co Cork. He was living in an apartment in Youghal at the time of his death. In 2016, Mr OSullivan pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to the manslaughter of Vincent Morgain (34) on Lower Oliver Plunkett St in Cork. Advertisement Sgt Dave OCallaghan told the court that OSullivan and two others bought a 700ml bottle of vodka at 10.30 am on September 10th, 2015. Mr OSullivan passed out after drinking most of it quickly. By lunchtime, he and the two others left the boardwalk on Lapps Quay and went to Lower Oliver Plunkett St where Mr Morgain and a woman were sitting in a doorway at the back of Jurys Inn hotel. They had a bag with a drink in it. One of the three men grabbed the drink, and when Mr Morgain stood up, OSullivan punched him, knocking him to the ground, where he banged his head. He struggled on his hands and knees to get up and OSullivan kicked him in the head, an attack that was witnessed by passers-by and motorists. Advertisement A number of people went to the assistance of Mr Morgain, who was unconscious on the ground when OSullivan and the others walked away. A passing ambulance transferred him to hospital, where he died on September 15th 2015. Blunt force trauma to the head was one of the main causes of death, and excess alcohol was also noted by the pathologist. Mr Morgain lived in Kerry for a period in 2000 and worked in several hotels. He developed a drinking problem and moved to Cork a year before his death. Mr OSullivan expressed deep remorse for his actions at the sentencing hearing, where he was jailed for eight years with the last three years suspended. Advertisement Marie Thomas, a sister of the late Vincent Morgain, had told the court of her hope that the man responsible for the manslaughter of her brother could be rehabilitated. Ms Thomas said she wanted Mr OSullivan to use the suspended portion of his sentence to make good of his life. Mr OSullivan was sent back to prison in 2021 for failing to comply with the probation service following his release from prison. At that time, his probation officer described him as as a young man with great potential who needed to address his heroin addiction and related issues in order to realise that potential. Advertisement Meanwhile, Mr OSullivans sister Sam, posted on social media about her deep sense of loss at the passing of her older brother. She said that her heart was broken at the loss of her Dano her one of a kind big bro. Kay Curtin, who runs a business close to the scene, told Red FM News said that locals were shocked and upset for the families involved. I just couldnt believe it this morning when I came down to discover, I thought somebody had been injured but as the day went on then we found out that somebody had died. Investigations are ongoing. The scene where the attack occurred has been forensically examined. A postmortem was due to take place this afternoon at CUH. A Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) has been appointed to lead the investigation, and an incident room has been established at Midleton Garda Station. A Family Liaison Officer (FLO) will be assigned to support the family of the deceased. Investigating gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Midleton Garda station on 021 4621550, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station. Proposals to make Ireland more competitive amid disruption to economic norms are to be brought before Ministers on Tuesday morning. Tanaiste Simon Harris, who is also Minister for Trade and Foreign Affairs, is to update colleagues on plans to make Ireland more competitive. Advertisement Harris will present an assessment of the Letta and Draghi reports, which set out visions for the EUs Single Market and competitiveness, respectively. He will also update the Cabinet on the EU and UK committing to improve relations ahead of the a high level EU-UK summit on May 19th, the first once since Brexit. Minister for Enterprise, Peter Burke, is to seek approval to fast-track an action plan on competitiveness and productivity over the next 12 weeks. It is understood the plan will cover reducing the cost and regulatory burden on businesses, investing in infrastructure, digital regulation, energy reform, trade, innovation, and research and development. Advertisement The plan is being accelerated to ensure that any proposed tax changes or spending decisions can be reflected in the budgetary process. It comes as the Government mulls over the timing of introducing previously-pledged initiatives such as the introduction of the living wage and the pension auto-enrolment scheme. The delays are being considered amid concern for Irelands vulnerability to the economic and trade disruption caused by the new US administration. Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers confirmed that the pension auto-enrolment scheme would likely not kick in in September as planned. Advertisement Its likely to be pushed beyond September, but its likely to still occur in the short number of months after September, he told RTEs This Week. So the direct commencement date is under active consideration by Minister (for Social Protection Dara Calleary, and he will bring forward an update to the government on that. Asked about the minimum wage, and the plan for phased increases to 15 by 2026, he said: The nature and scale of the increases may be extended over a slightly longer period. There would still, I expect, be increases, but it would be managed in a more sustainable way that reflects the need within the Irish economy to preserve jobs, to ensure we manage the overall cost base. Advertisement Mr Harris and Mr Burke are to also to update Cabinet on plans to prioritise work on the EU-Canada free trade agreement and other international free trade agreements, develop plans on market diversification and possible trade missions that could be expanded in the EU, Canada and Japan, as well as joint economic commissions with China, India and the UAE. Minister for Finance and President of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, will also travel to Cyprus and Greece this week for a series of meetings to discuss the global upheaval and related issues. Ireland Trump mentions Ireland again while discussing phar... Read More On Tuesday, Mr Donohoe is in Nicosia for bilateral meetings with the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and the Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos. He will also meet with members of An Garda Siochana serving with the United Nations Force in Cyprus. Advertisement On Wednesday, he will be in Athens for bilateral meetings with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis. Its every debut authors dream. You write your first novel, publishers enter a bidding war to secure it for the highest price and before you know it, a TV series has been optioned. But thats exactly what happened to first-time novelist Sarah Harman, whose satirical thriller All The Other Mothers Hate Me has been making waves through the publishing industry. Translation rights have been sold to 15 countries. Advertisement Its a lightly caustic, satirical tale centring on former girl band member and now single mother Florence Grimes, an American living in London who incurs the bitchiness, backstabbing and biting snobbery of other mothers at the school gate of the posh, private west London school that her son Dylan attends. When one of the pupils goes missing a bully who happened to be Dylans partner on the school trip on the day he disappeared and the finger is pointed at her bullied son, Florence discovers worrying signs that maybe Dylan had something to do with it. In an effort to clear his name, she forms an unlikely investigating partnership with highly strung American lawyer mum Jenny Choi to get to the bottom of the mystery. Its not so much the thriller aspect that makes this book so enjoyable. Its the interactions between the mothers at the school gate and beyond, the toxic WhatsApp groups, the nuanced comments and pushy attitudes which must be familiar to many parents who dont quite fit in with the status quo of the privileged few. Harman, 38, a former broadcast journalist and TV news anchor, is herself an American in London with two children, who moved to London in 2018 as a foreign correspondent for NBC, but gave it all up in 2021 when she became burned out by the high-pressure news environment she worked in. She had studied English at university and dreamed of writing a book, she recalls. Advertisement In 2022 I found myself unemployed and I thought, now is the time. And it was inspired by my own experiences of being an American in west London. The rest was imagination. Ive never been a pop star or had a child involved in a missing persons case. The school gate elements are written slightly from experience, although her children are much younger than those in the book and werent at school when she was writing it, she recalls. I went on a lot of school tours. I have toured most of the selective day schools in west London and a few of the boarding schools. As an American were obsessed with British boarding schools because of Harry Potter. But the day schools are actually where the drama is, because thats where the parents are. She heard stories which gave her material, including a WhatsApp group which was launching a petition against fluorescent lighting in the kindergarten, which they claimed was damaging their children. Advertisement When I toured these schools, it seemed like each one of them is a tiny universe and they each have their own rules. I remember going to one, and this boy was telling me about the house ties. Just understanding what Im seeing on the outside is like the tip of the iceberg. The school gate experience is very different in the US, she says, because children are just dropped off in cars by their parents or nannies in a drive-through fashion. The WhatsApp groups, however, do seem to be international. Harman grew up mostly in Florida and had a big broadcasting career in the US, reporting on major news stories around the world for more than a decade, most recently as a foreign correspondent for NBC News. Advertisement I just burnt out completely. I was done, she says candidly. I was in the UK for my last job and I just stayed. The transition from high-profile broadcasting journalist to debut novelist was a big adjustment, she agrees. I missed the people I worked with and the feeling of being in the field with a team. You dont feel that when youre sitting at a desk. But writing a book was a real bucket list item for me. She used her journalism experience of tight deadlines to help her discipline when writing the book, she remembers. Id worked really hard for someone else, for the broadcaster, so to take that and say, Im going to work that hard for myself, was a really good experience. She wont talk about her husband, who is also from the US, or her two children, but juggling family with writing a book clearly requires discipline. Advertisement I stopped drinking alcohol and coffee, went to bed at eight and would wake up really early, at four, and write until breakfast time. My husband calls it Hobbit mode. It made me so boring. Harman confesses that it took her about two years to write, edit and submit the manuscript, which then went to a nine-way auction and she remains totally overawed by the attention it received. I cannot emphasise to you enough how ignorant I was about the entire world of publishing or how anything worked before I started this. In my case, my agent sent it out and the next day she told me that we were going to have a really competitive situation. I was like, what does that mean? She said, Multiple people are interested. So yes, its just a dream scenario. I felt really lucky because when youre a debut author youre writing something that nobody is asking for and you basically have to take it and force it on the world and beg people to read it. It was just amazing to feel that several people want this. I felt elated. It was a dream come true. In my fantasy a good outcome was that someone wants to buy the book, but the fact that multiple people were interested, oh my God! The TV rights were also snapped up by Disneys FX following a bidding war and Harman is writing the pilot for the TV series, which is in the early stages of development. I really wanted to be involved. You know, everyone tells you not to get involved in your own adaptation. The road is paved in author tears. Its not done yet and I think it could still end in tears for me, but I thought that its such a cool opportunity, Ill kick myself if I dont try. While she is doubtful shell be involved in the casting, she says: As a debut writer, wouldnt it be nice if it was an unknown actress getting her big break, just like I got a chance? This book opened up so many doors for me. Id love to see that for someone else. All The Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman is published by 4th Estate. Available now Brazils former president Jair Bolsonaro has shared footage on social media of his recovery in hospital where he remains in intensive care following bowel surgery. The far-right leader, who has started physiotherapy, shared video of walking through the corridors of Brasilias DF Star Hospital with medical support. Advertisement On Sunday, Mr Bolsonaro underwent a 12-hour surgery to remove intestinal adhesions and reconstruct the abdominal wall. It was the sixth procedure related to long-term effects of being stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign rally in September 2018. Doctors at the hospital issued a statement on Tuesday saying there is no estimated discharge date from intensive care, and that Mr Bolsonaro should not receive visitors. Mr Bolsonaro said earlier on social media that he was only having direct contact with his family and the medical team to avoid physical complications. - Sem desistir! Vamos adiante, Brasil! - 15.04.2025 - Jair Bolsonaro pic.twitter.com/PGaLsj82vY Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) April 15, 2025 The latest surgery was the most complex procedure since the stabbing with a very delicate and prolonged post-surgery, doctors told journalists on Monday. Advertisement Mr Bolsonaro has been in and out of hospitals since the attack at a campaign event before Brazils 2018 presidential election. He underwent several surgeries during his presidency from 2019-2022. On Friday, he was admitted with severe abdominal pain to a hospital in Santa Cruz, a small city in Rio Grande do Norte, and later transferred to a hospital in the states capital, Natal. On Saturday, his family requested his transfer to Brasilia. He had been preparing for a trip across the north east to promote his Liberal Partys right-wing agenda, eyeing next years presidential election, though he himself is barred from running. Advertisement The region traditionally has been a political bastion of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The former president is expected to stand trial in the next few months at Brazils Supreme Court for allegedly attempting to stage a coup in January, 2023, with riots led by his supporters in Brasilia. A German court has fined a man for slipping into a VIP convoy for Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2023 and giving him a hug as he prepared to board a plane at Frankfurt Airport, according to German news agency dpa. The court gave the 50-year-old man a 4,500-euro fine and a two-and-a-half-year driving ban for endangering road traffic in conjunction with trespassing, dpa reported Tuesday. Advertisement The mans name was not made public in line with German privacy rules. The hug prompted an investigation into Mr Scholzs security although the Chancellor was unharmed. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not feel threatened, a spokesman said (Justin Tallis/PA) It occurred as Mr Scholz was returning to Berlin after a celebration for the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank. Mr Scholzs spokesman Wolfang Buechner at the time told reporters that the German leader didnt feel threatened at any point. Advertisement The defendant was under the influence of drugs and was found only partially responsible for the crime, dpa reported. The man apologised in the courtroom. Mr Scholzs days as chancellor are nearing an end. The German parliament plans to meet on May 6 to elect Friedrich Merz as the countrys next leader, if all the parties in his proposed government approve a coalition agreement reached last week. Prince Harry's relationship with Britain's King Charles remains distant, with Harrys letters and calls to his father going unanswered, sources have said. Harry has also been left in the dark about Charles current condition, only learning of his recent hospital stay for side-effects of his cancer treatment through the media, People magazine reported. Advertisement A source told the US publication: I dont think there is any rapprochement, with another adding: They are distant. Charles and Harry during a discussion about violent youth crime at a forum at Clarence House in 2018 (Steve Parsons/PA) Harry was in London last week for his appeal against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the UK Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK. But Harry did not meet his father before Charles left on his state visit to Italy. People magazine reported that the divide between the pair has widened, with their last face-to-face meeting taking place in February 2024 after Charles announced his cancer diagnosis. Advertisement Harrys calls and letters have gone unanswered and Charles is reportedly keeping his distance to avoid being drawn into discussions about security, sources close to Harry believe. Harry at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London for his appeal last week (Lucy North/PA) Harry, who is awaiting the outcome of his appeal, told The Telegraph people would be shocked by whats being held back after some evidence was heard in private. Harry claimed his taxpayer-funded police protection was withdrawn in a failed bid to force him and Meghan Markle to stay in the UK. Ravecs decision in 2020 stated that Metropolitan Police protection would no longer be appropriate after Harry and Meghan's departure, and that they should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK. Advertisement Harry and Meghan receive a bespoke security service, whereby they are required to give 30 days notice of any plans to travel to the UK, with each visit being assessed for threat levels and whether protection is needed. Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to the US (Aaron Chown/PA) Shaheed Fatima KC, who represents Harry, told the appeal hearing that Harry had been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment, adding that Harry does not accept that bespoke means better. Buckingham Palace declined to comment, as did the Office for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The US federal government says it is freezing more than 2.2 billion dollars in grants and 60 million US dollars in contracts to Harvard University, after the institution said it would defy the Trump administrations demands to limit activism on campus. The hold on Harvards funding marks the seventh time President Donald Trumps administration has taken the step at one of the nations most elite colleges, in an attempt to force compliance with Mr Trumps political agenda. Advertisement Six of the seven schools are in the Ivy League. In a letter to Harvard on Friday, Mr Trumps administration had called for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus, and stop recognising some student clubs. The federal government said almost nine billion US dollars in grants and contracts in total were at risk if Harvard did not comply. Advertisement On Monday, Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would not bend to the governments demands. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, Mr Garber said in a letter to the Harvard community. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. Hours later, the government froze billions in Harvards federal funding. Advertisement People walk through the campus of Harvard University (Michael Casey/AP) The first university targeted by the Trump administration was Columbia, which acquiesced to the governments demands under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts. The administration also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell and Northwestern. Mr Trumps administration has normalised the extraordinary step of withholding federal money to pressure major academic institutions to comply with the presidents political agenda and to influence campus policy. The administration has argued universities allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israels war in Gaza. Advertisement Harvard, Mr Garber said, already has made extensive reforms to address antisemitism. He said many of the governments demands do not relate to antisemitism, but instead are an attempt to regulate the intellectual conditions at Harvard. Withholding federal funding from Harvard, one of the nations top research universities in science and medicine, risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals but also the economic security and vitality of our nation. It also violates the universitys First Amendment rights and exceeds the governments authority under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, colour or national origin, Mr Garber said. Advertisement The governments demands included that Harvard institute what it called merit-based admissions and hiring policies and conduct an audit of the study body, faculty and leadership on their views about diversity. The administration also called for a ban on face masks at Harvard, an apparent target of pro-Palestinian campus protesters, and pressured the university to stop recognising or funding any student group or club that endorses or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment. Harvards defiance, the federal antisemitism task force said on Monday, reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. Mr Trump has promised a more aggressive approach against antisemitism on campus, accusing former President Joe Biden of letting schools off the hook. Mr Trumps administration has opened new investigations at colleges and detained and deported several foreign students with ties to pro-Palestinian protests. The demands from the Trump administration had prompted a group of Harvard alumni to write to university leaders calling for it to legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance. Harvard stood up today for the integrity, values, and freedoms that serve as the foundation of higher education, said Anurima Bhargava, one of the alumni behind the letter. Harvard reminded the world that learning, innovation and transformative growth will not yield to bullying and authoritarian whims. The governments pressure on Harvard also sparked a protest over the weekend from the campus community and residents of Cambridge and a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday challenging the cuts. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration has failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it starts cutting funds, including giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress. These sweeping yet indeterminate demands are not remedies targeting the causes of any determination of noncompliance with federal law. Instead, they overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavoured speech, plaintiffs wrote. The case of multiple women taking legal action against social media influencer Andrew Tate is believed to be a legal first, a judge has been told. Four women are suing Tate over allegations of sexual violence, including one who claims the former professional kickboxer grabbed her by the throat on a number of occasions in 2015, assaulted her with a belt and pointed a gun at her face. Advertisement In written submissions for a hearing on Tuesday, Anne Studd KC, for the women, said the case is understood to be the first claim where allegations of coercive control have been considered in a civil context of whether that behaviour can amount to intentional infliction of harm. Tate has previously described the allegations as unproven and untested, with the court told there was a total denial of any wrongdoing. The hearing in London, before Judge Richard Armstrong, is dealing with preliminary matters, including disclosure and legal costs, but the judge said the claimants were seeking damages likely to reach six figures. The court also heard that a trial of the claims could be held in early 2027 and could last three weeks. Advertisement In written submissions, Ms Studd said coercive control was a form of grooming and manipulation where the victim becomes less and less able to respond in what might be perceived as a normal way, in particular, she may not leave even if the door is open. She added: The claimants aver that behaviour identified as coercive control can in law give rise to a claim for intentional infliction of harm in tort and thus sound in damages. Ms Studd also said that the allegations against Tate were likely to be significantly contested by him, stating: First, he aims to deny many of the allegations made, and secondly, it will follow that he will argue that whatever facts are proved do not in fact amount to coercive control. In court, she said both sides planned to take evidence from forensic consultant psychiatrists, and also asked for further expert evidence on coercive control to be provided in the case. Advertisement Ms Studd said: It is really important that the court has the whole picture here. There is a very big concern that this is not going to be evidence which is in the knowledge of the court, and therefore the experts opinion is going to be vital to enable the court to consider the issues. She continued: The defendant has a profile, largely made by himself, where he regularly discusses issues of violence against women and girls and misogyny, and gives his seemingly high-profile support for behaviours of that type. Vanessa Marshall KC, for Tate, told the court that further expert evidence was unnecessary expertise, adding that the trial would be overseen by a judge who would be entirely competent to deal with the issues. Advertisement She said: We accept in this day and age that coercive and controlling behaviour does exist. She continued: We are not going to be saying for one moment that women subject to sexual abuse or assault could never suffer from being coerced and controlled, but that is really not the issue in this case. Ms Marshall also said that, as well as the four women giving evidence, there may well be a further 11 witnesses of fact in support of the claimants case, and that Tate will be seeking to call about 11 witnesses as well. Judge Armstrong said the case concerned serious allegations and allowed the women to rely on evidence from one expert, but refused to allow them to rely on another. Advertisement The four women, who have made allegations such as rape and sexual assault against Tate, are bringing a civil case against him at the UK high court after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute in 2019. Three of the British accusers were the subject of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary, which was closed in 2019. In court documents, one woman suing Tate claimed he would strangle her or grab her by her throat if she spoke back to him or said anything that he did not like until she told him that she loved him or apologised for whatever he demanded at the time. She said he, and his brother Tristan Tate, played good cop and bad cop to manipulate her, and that Tate allegedly put her in a headlock or whipped her with a belt if she did not get out of bed and do work for his webcam business. The documents also allege Tate had weapons, including firearms, which were often pointed at her and that he had indicated to her that he would like to kill someone if he could. Tate said that her account was fabrication and a pack of lies. World US paedophile who flew to Wales to marry schoolg... Read More In a statement, a spokesperson for Tate previously said: He denies ever threatening anyone with a firearm, engaging in non-consensual acts or subjecting any individual to physical or psychological harm. These are civil claims, brought years after the alleged events and following a CPS decision not to pursue criminal charges. It is deeply troubling that such graphic and one-sided accounts are being publicised before any judicial assessment has taken place. The statement added: Mr Tate will defend himself vigorously and remains confident the truth will prevail. Investigators worked to uncover the motive behind an arson fire over the weekend at Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiros mansion, the latest act of political violence in the US. They dug into Cody Balmers background after, authorities say, he scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and set fire to the Pennsylvania governors mansion. Advertisement Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, was denied bail on Monday as he faced charges including attempted homicide, terrorism and arson. He did not enter a plea to the charges. Pennsylvania governor. Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference at the governors official residence about a suspected arson fire that forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on the Jewish holiday of Passover (Marc Levy/AP) He had told police he planned to beat Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him after breaking into the building, according to court documents. A motive for the attack, including whether it had anything to do with Shapiros politics or religious beliefs, was not immediately clear. Advertisement Balmers mother said she had made calls in recent days about his mental health issues, but nobody would help. Christie Balmer said her son was not taking his medicine. However, in court, Balmer politely told a judge he did not suffer from any mental illness. The fire caused significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests, including other relatives, to evacuate the building early on Sunday. Advertisement The residence, built in 1968, did not have sprinklers, and the damage could be in the millions of dollars, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said. Mr Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover in the same room on Saturday night along with members of Harrisburgs Jewish community. They were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors at about 2am on Sunday. They fled and firefighters extinguished the fire, officials said. Advertisement No one was injured. Balmer had walked an hour from his home to the governors residence, and during a police interview admitted to harbouring hatred towards Governor Shapiro, according to a police affidavit that did not expand on that point. Afterwards, he returned home, where police said they later found clothing he wore at the time and a small sledgehammer. Damage after a fire at the Pennsylvania governors mansion (Commonwealth Media Services/AP) Balmer turned himself in at state police headquarters after confessing to his former partner and asking her to call police, which she did, the affidavit said. Advertisement Authorities did not say whether he has a lawyer. Balmer, who said he was an unemployed welder with no income or savings, had been due in court later this week in an assault case in which he was accused of punching two relatives and stepping on a childs already broken leg in 2023. In court Monday, he told the judge he did not have any drug or alcohol problems, but acknowledged missing a few court dates in the past. Hours after the fire, an emotional Mr Shapiro, who is viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic Party in 2028, said the intruder could not deter him from doing his job or observing his faith. I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempts to put on me by attacking us as they did here last night, Mr Shapiro said on Sunday. I refuse to let anyone who had evil intentions like that stop me from doing the work that I love. Cody Balmer is escorted from court (Dan Gleiter/AP) Balmer, who is registered as an unaffiliated voter, appeared to have carefully planned the attack, police said. He was inside the residence for about a minute before he escaped and was later arrested in the area, Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens said. He hopped over a nearly seven-foot-high (two-metre-high) iron security fence surrounding the property, eluded officers who became aware of the breach and forcibly entered the residence before setting it on fire, authorities said. He used beer bottles filled with petrol to make Molotov cocktails, documents say. Balmer has faced criminal charges over the past decade including simple assault, theft and forgery, according to online court records. He also had financial problems in recent years, including a lender filing for foreclosure on a modest Harrisburg house he owned in 2022 over missed mortgage payments, court records show. A deed transfer shows Balmer sold the house for 60,000 US dollars last September to settle the debt. He is the father of at least three children, with two women filing court complaints seeking child custody agreements in 2012 and 2023. The fire badly damaged the large room that is often used for entertaining crowds and for art displays. Large west- and south-facing windows were missing their glass panes and shattered glass littered pathways. A charred piano, tables, walls, metal buffet serving dishes and more could be seen through broken windows and fire-blackened doors. A month after a wave of revenge attacks left hundreds of Alawite civilians dead, members of the Syrian religious minority are still living in fear, with dozens killed in smaller attacks since the start of April. The Muslim minority group was seen as a privileged minority under the rule of the Alawite Assad family, but since Bashar Assads government fell late last year members have feared revenge from the countrys Sunni majority. Advertisement The new government promised to protect minority groups, but when a group of Assad loyalists attacked security forces near the coastal city of Latakia last month, it sparked a counteroffensive that took a brutal toll on the coastal regions largely Alawite population. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that more than 1,700 people, most of them civilians, were killed in March. Members of the Alawite minority gather outside the Russian air base in Hmeimim, near Latakia in Syrias coastal region in March (Omar Albam/AP) While no official figures have been released by the government, other human rights groups have given similar estimates. It was the worst violence since an insurgency led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham overthrew Bashar Assad last December. Advertisement Rights groups reported widespread revenge killings as militants from Syrias Sunni majority targeted Alawites, regardless of whether they were involved in the insurgency. Several people told me that when these militia members entered their home, in addition to asking if they were Alawite or Sunni, they blamed them for what happened to them under the former Assad government, said Diana Semaan, Amnesty Internationals Syria researcher who investigated dozens of killings that took place in Baniyas and spoke to eyewitnesses and survivors. While there has not been another outbreak of violence on the same scale, Alawites continue to report incidents of harassment, shakedowns and sometimes worse. An Alawite who lives in the Latakia area said there are still regular attacks targeting Alawites, most of whom had nothing to do with the Assad government or security forces. Advertisement Everyone from the regime or close to it fled a long time ago, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his life. He said a 20-year-old factory worker who was the breadwinner of his family was shot by guards at a local checkpoint, even though he had not served in the army under Mr Assad. He would pass the checkpoints on his motorcycle every day. He and the guards would even greet each other, he said. Advertisement Attacks on Alawites spread from Latakia into the nearby province of Tartus, with some later hitting the major city of Homs inland. Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Observatory, said 42 people have died in sectarian killings since the Muslim feast of Eid el-Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan on March 30. The killings, did not stop but now they are individual acts, Mr Abdurrahman said. Mohammed Saleh, an activist from the central city of Homs who spent 17 years imprisoned during the rule of Mr Assad and his father because of his opposition to the government, said victims of the attacks included Alawites who opposed Mr Assads rule. Advertisement Mr Saleh said 18 people he knew personally who had previously been detained by Mr Assads forces were killed in last months attacks. Mr Saleh said he is worried that Syria is turning from one dictatorship to another. What we want is to have serious national army and security agencies whose job is to protect everyone and that they include everyone and not be made up of one sect or one religion, Mr Saleh said. There cannot be a state for everyone when security agencies belong to one sect. One high school in the city of Baniyas in Tartus province, posted a list on Facebook of almost 80 teachers, students and relatives and alumni who were killed in attacks over the past month. A video widely shared on social media showed the bodies of two young men with their mother standing by them, as the person filming scolded her and said her sons deserved to die because they were Alawite. Alawites and other Syrians from coastal areas are fleeing into Lebanon through unofficial border crossings, some carrying babies and helping tired elderly people and pregnant women as they cross over a river dividing the two countries. Red Crescent vehicles leave the Russian air base in March in Hmeimim, near Latakia in Syrias coastal region (Omar Albam/AP) Some 30,000 Alawite Syrians have fled to Lebanon over the past month, the United Nations refugee agency says, scattered in some 30 towns and villages in northern Lebanon. While there is little assistance for them in Lebanon, many do not feel safe enough to go back. Ongoing attacks have been a major letdown for Syrians who hoped that Mr Assads sudden fall would spell an end to violence against the countrys many religious and ethnic groups after over a decade a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. The new government has promised to create an inclusive state that holds perpetrators of crimes to account, and interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa has vowed to hold the perpetrators of recent attacks to justice and set up a committee to investigate the attacks. A few arrests have been reported, and the committee has said it is continuing its investigation in the coastal province, though they have not yet disclosed their findings. Right groups say the interim government faces a test. What happens now is extremely important because it will literally set the path towards justice. Were no longer talking about addressing past violations and holding those perpetrators accountable, which is already a huge endeavour, said Amnesty Internationals Ms Semaan. Now were looking at how the government at how it will set paths towards justice for the violations that it (has) committed. Not because shes smarter and wittier than the rest of us (although yes, that too). Its because she would absolutely skewer the endless ream of commenters. To sum them up, its #notallmen. Its because women make different choices. Nah, there is no pay gap, its against the law. I would very much like Cordelia Fine to become a newspaper columnist, writing entirely about the trouble with men. Believe me, this is not to replace me or the many other fine women who ink many, many words about the patriarchy. Its in addition. As the genius Rebecca Solnit once wrote, Men Explain Things to Me. Now, publisher willing, I could send copies of her new book, Patriarchy Inc, to all those correspondents as a public service. Maybe I could get them to sit a test at the end. In Patriarchy Inc, Fine, a professor at the University of Melbourne in historical and philosophical studies, explains things to me. And to men. Perhaps we could have a Finebot which she designs as a public good. Her book is both an encyclopedia and a manual. Fine is meticulous in her research across social and psychological sciences to bring us a once-in-a-lifetime analysis of how we got here. At the outset, from the very first sentence of the introduction, Fine asks us what our vision of gender equality looks like. She replies: Whatever it is, it needs to take a stand on divisions of labour. Work who does what tasks in society, and what they get in return is at the heart of social justice. Who does what and who gets what. As she points out, the divisions of labour are both the causes and the consequences of the predicament we find ourselves in, the sex-based hierarchy of status and power over resources, aka patriarchy, that we see in the advanced economies of the Global North. And that is the entire focus of the book. Its a brave feminist author who lets us into her life into her bedroom to explain how boundaries are set, how those divisions of labour come about. Fine not only explains, but also provides two top tips for making it happen. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has experienced a past 12 months more tortured than a six-year-olds violin strings. First there was the abruptly cancelled concert by pianist Jayson Gillham after he went onto the MSO stage and accused Israel of killing journalists in Gaza. The resulting PR crisis led to the resignation of MSO managing director Sophie Galaise and, eventually, the launching of an external review led by former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett and a court case that remains afoot. Olivia Newton-John performing in 2003. Credit: Peter Morris Just prior to Gillhams fateful appearance at Melbournes Iwaki Auditorium, the MSO hosted Hopelessly Devoted: A Celebration of Olivia Newton-John a tribute show featuring stars such as David Campbell. And all for a great cause with the MSO promising a donation to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness Centre. Except that donation was slow to make its way to the ONJ-CWC. Whoops! This column started hearing rumours the dosh had not turned up earlier this year. After a quiet inquiry was made to Hamer Hall the error was quickly rectified, and the donation tens of thousands of dollars we understand was paid in March. The first images of Erin Patterson have been captured since she was charged with murdering and attempting to murder family members with poisonous mushrooms. Patterson, 50, appeared at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday for a hearing ahead of her upcoming trial. Its the first time Patterson has been photographed since being charged. Credit: Jason South The mother of two was ushered into the Melbourne court by security officers just before 10am. She was dressed in a green jumper, black slacks and sandals, and was holding a book. Pattersons former in-laws, Gail Patterson, 70, and Don Patterson, 70, and Gails sister, Heather Wilkinson, 66, all died in hospital days after eating lunch at Pattersons home in Leongatha, eastern Victoria, on July 29, 2023. What we find is that they descend downhill very quickly, and there are false allegations made, there are defamatory comments, and people think that they can get away with it. If there is a group of parents that are unhappy ... two becomes four, becomes eight, becomes 16 very quickly. McLean said teachers and principals should be more prepared to defend their reputations against their online detractors, in the courts if necessary. The problem is they have got away with it because schools are loath to act, she said. Teachers are loath to take legal action, but my advice is when it becomes threatening, and its clearly defamatory, then teachers should be exploring all legal options. If these adults do not see a consequence for their actions, theyre going to keep doing it. Berwick Lodge Primary School principal Henry Grossek, who retires this week after 55 years in education and 35 as principal at Berwick, said parents joined WhatsApp groups with good intentions. Berwick Lodge Primary School principal Henry Grossek says many principals deal with issues from parent WhatsApp groups. Credit: Joe Armao In fairness to parents, they get on these chatlines and arent aware of the dangers of using it as gossiping or carping sessions, Grossek said. Once you put it out there and someone repeats it, it can be distorted and become very harmful and destructive. Loading A teacher at a government school in Melbournes south-east, who also asked to remain anonymous, recounted families exploding in fury on their WhatsApp groups over a bring-your-own-device-to-school policy. Parents felt bullied by the chat group into buying or not buying a device, and the teacher overheard one parent say to another at a mums brunch, Why did you buy one? We werent buying them, remember? Another parent, who had English as a second language, went to the office to demand her money back because chatter on WhatsApp led her to believe the policy had changed. We had to go into mega-crisis mode to try to calm families down, the teacher said. It was very toxic. It can definitely become a breeding ground of misinformation. The Australia Catholic Universitys latest study of workplace safety for principals showed parents and caregivers were the alleged culprits in 87 per cent of complaints from school leaders about cyberbullying. The universitys investigator and former school leader Paul Kidson was himself the victim of a vitriolic social media campaign when he was a school principal. Loading Theyre all consistently the same structure. It is: Im unhappy with the school. Im going to say what I like with impunity, Kidson said. Thats why some principals just say, I love my job, but if this is the way this community is going to respond, I dont need this. The academic said aggressive parents slandered or cyberbullied principals with impunity on social media, and that he knew of one case in which a cease-and-desist letter was sent to a family over their online behaviour. The aggression is not confined to parent-on-teacher confrontations, and Australian Primary Principals Association president Angela Falkenberg said spats between parents often broke out on WhatsApp chat groups. Someone will make a comment saying, Thats hurtful, thats a bit mean, then its, Who are you calling mean?, she said. Falkenberg said principals were having to spend time soothing the hurt feelings of parents after WhatsApp chat group pile-ons. We are dealing with peoples children, it doesnt take much for people to get stressed very quickly, she said. Another principal at a private school in inner south-east Melbourne, who asked to remain anonymous, said hed heard secondhand a certain year level had been sounding off on a WhatsApp group about a gripe. But of course nobody contacts me directly to express a concern or ask a question on the matter at hand, he said. We do get the occasional issue with aggressive parents on WhatsApp, but pretty isolated examples. Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly also called for official intervention. The minister for education needs to reset system-wide expectations for respectful and appropriate conduct for all stakeholders in Victorias public schools, he said. Australian Principals Federation president Tina King said parents had a right to advocate for their children, but should do so respectfully. King said that as a last resort, Victorian schools could enact school community safety orders banning parents from a school for threatening or defamatory statements. The WA Greens decision to host a dance party on Anzac Day has been labelled completely inappropriate by the countrys political leaders, with the Returned and Services League lost for words. The Greens Party Party was promoted as a ticketed fundraiser to help bolster the Greens fundraising efforts to campaign for candidates Sophie Greer, running for the seat of Perth, and Senator Jordan Steele-John. The Greens WA have been criticised by the nations leaders for hosting a dance party on Anzac Day to raise funds for their election campaign. The five-hour DJed event was to be held at Old Habits in West Perth with tickets ranging from $30 to $1000 plus an optional donation. The federal election is right around the corner. Join us for a night when the dance floor becomes the platform for radical change, the invitation read. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been ambushed by alt-right video makers in the lobby of his Melbourne hotel, sparking safety concerns about the ability of extremists to infiltrate secure locations despite increased security on the campaign trail. A Labor source said the incident was concerning and underscored the growing risk of extremism around politics. The AFP is understood to have been aware of the incident and the prime ministers office declined to comment. A video circulating on far-right social media accounts on Tuesday showed two men confronting Albanese, demanding answers about housing and immigration. One man interrupts the prime minister mid-conversation with communications staffer Fiona Sugden, saying: There are hundreds of thousands of Australians around the country, who are unable to afford housing when are you going to put Australians first? Loading Albanese and Dutton have now squared off in two debates. They launched their official campaigns on the weekend, and we are less than a week away from Australians being able to cast their vote (early voting opens on April 22 before the official election day on May 3). So who won tonights contest? And did it sway your vote in any way? Our experts have handed down their verdicts: Chief political correspondent David Crowe, national affairs editor James Massola, senior writer Jacqueline Maley, deputy federal editor Nick Bonyhady, and columnists Parnell Palme McGuinness and Jenna Price have all given their opinions on the debate. You can read them here. Duttons pledge to allow tax deductibility for mortgages at least gives him a story to tell, if he can stay disciplined enough to tell it. It has been a haphazard campaign studded by policies thrown together in haste with increasing concerns expressed privately about the disconnect between Duttons office and campaign headquarters. Duttons freelancing hasnt helped, including on Sunday, when he insinuated the prime minister had been drunk when he called in to a Darwin radio station to gazump the oppositions Port of Darwin announcement. It made Trump calling Joe Biden Sleepy Joe positively benign, especially as Anthony Albanese has been near teetotal since January. Launch speeches are designed to show leaders are ready to be prime minister. It was off-piste and definitely off. Afterwards, one seasoned Liberal campaign official described it as the most uninspiring campaign I have ever worked on. Before Prices weekend comments, there were murmurs about Angus Taylor positioning for a post-election challenge to Duttons leadership. By Sunday night, angry Liberals reported the knives are out. Loading Another pivotal moment for Dutton was on March 3 when opposition finance minister Jane Hume announced a Coalition government would end working from home for public servants thats if they still had work. Within hours of Humes speech, senior Liberal women who sensed the dangers urged the party hierarchy to dump it. Immediately. They were ignored. Dutton stuck with it for more than a month. Another senior Liberal who last year dared to dream the Coalition could win, or at least form minority government, answered their phone at the end of last week without even saying hello to predict:Labor majority or Labor minority. Dutton has no choice now except to knuckle down and concentrate on selling the fuel tax rebate and tax relief for mortgages. There are still plenty of soft voters waiting to be won over who could be tempted by two fists full of dollars. Others will not be swayed by hearing the son of a wealthy politician complain about the difficulties of buying a house. Loading It highlighted something else very wrong with this debate. Poor old taxpayers are expected to fork out billions for housing because its now seen as unfair for kids to expect help from the bank of mum and dad. Even if they are loaded. If the Coalition loses this election, the size of the loss will determine the extent of the post-poll bloodbath. If Dutton gets to 68 seats but fails to secure minority government, it will be seen as a respectable loss. He will be re-elected as opposition leader, assuming he wants it, and live to fight another day. If it turns out to be a status quo election, Taylor is expected to make his move. Taylor is already being blamed for the policy failures, even though in theory and in practice everything flows from the leader and his office. The briefing against him is designed to thwart his leadership ambition. According to my sources, Taylors surrogates have spent weeks sussing out the disposition of colleagues, taking the kind of temperature checks regarded as precursors to a move against the leader. He has made some surprising gains across factions and states. Loading Weeks ago, I said on ABCs Insiders there were three leaders running in this election, and only one of them was definitely not Trump. Yesterday, in response to this mastheads Resolve poll showing how much Trump had wounded him, Dutton insisted there were only two him and Albanese. Too late, she cried. Duttons campaign needed to be blemish-free in the days before, during and after his launch. It wasnt. It needed to grab attention. It did, although again not always for the right reasons. Time is running out. He needs to win every one of the few remaining days. Indonesias defence minister has assured Australia that Russia will not be allowed to base several long-range aircraft in Indonesia after reports emerged that Moscow was seeking to establish a military foothold 1400 kilometres from the Australian mainland. Reports that Moscow had asked Jakarta for access to an Indonesian military base in the province of Papua thrust national security to the centre of the federal election campaign on Tuesday, echoing the Solomon Islands decision to strike a wide-ranging security pact with China during the 2022 campaign. But after seeking urgent clarification from Jakarta, Defence Minister Richard Marles said: I have spoken to my counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the minister for defence, and he has said to me in the clearest possible terms [that] reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true. The military website Janes reported earlier in the day that Moscow has lodged an official request for Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft to be based at a facility in Indonesias easternmost province. Moscow and Jakarta have rapidly deepened their military ties since Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto took power last October, raising alarm bells in Canberra. That Donald Trump, hes a crafty fellow. His madcap series of tariffs followed by escalations and then exemptions and then more tariffs may have looked like peak stupid, as one British commentator called it. But his secret intention all along was to isolate China, apparently. Other countries ended up with lower tariff penalties while China alone is slammed with a prohibitive 145 per cent tariff on all exports to the US. Illustration by Dionne Gain Credit: This was his strategy all along, Trumps Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the White House late last week. And you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position, he added with a knowing smile. But wait. Xi Jinping has another view. Chinas president said that there will be no winners in a tariff war, and going against the world will isolate oneself. While China hit back with a 125 per cent tariff on the US, it didnt impose tariffs on any other nation. By the time Xi Jinping touched down in Hanoi on Monday afternoon, as part of a five-day charm offensive in South-East Asia, the local press was already amplifying the Chinese presidents message to the region, and also to his US counterpart. There are no winners in trade wars or tariff wars, and protectionism leads nowhere, Xi wrote in a lengthy article published in Nhan Dan, the official newspaper of Vietnams Communist Party. With US President Donald Trumps tariff sword dangling over South-East Asia, threatening to cripple the regions trade routes and ravage economies, Xi and Vietnams top leader, To Lam, signed dozens of agreements, including deals on supply chains, artificial intelligence and railway co-operation. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Hanoi on Monday as part of a five-day tour of South-East Asia. Credit: AP Chinas mega-market is always open to Vietnam, and the country welcomes more high-quality Vietnamese products, Xi was quoted by state media outlet Xinhua as saying, along with a pitch for the countries to uphold the global free-trade system. Unlike the previous version of the scheme, there will be no income caps or restrictions on the number of places available. The government will instead guarantee part of the home loan, helping buyers avoid costly LMI fees, which can often amount to tens of thousands of dollars. April 15, 2025 - Ottawa, Ontario - Department of Finance Canada The Minister of Finance, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, today announced new measures for Canadian businesses and entities affected by the tariff dispute between Canada and the United States. These measures include the remission of some of the countermeasure tariffs announced by Canada in response to unjustified tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canadian products. First, Minister Champagne announced a performance-based remission framework for automakers, designed to incentivize continued production and investment in Canada. In recognition of the integrated nature of the North American automotive sector, this will allow automakers that continue to manufacture vehicles in Canada to import a certain number of U.S.-assembled, CUSMA-compliant vehicles into Canada, free of the countermeasure tariffs that Canada has imposed. The remission granted to these companies is contingent on these automakers continuing to produce vehicles in Canada and on completing planned investments. The number of tariff-free vehicles a company is permitted to import will be reduced if there are reductions in Canadian production or investment. Second, the Minister announced that the government intends to provide temporary 6-month relief for goods imported from the U.S. that are used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and for those used to support public health, health care, public safety, and national security objectives. This provides immediate relief to a broad cross-section of Canadian businesses that must rely on U.S. inputs to support their competitiveness as well as to entities integral to Canadians health and safety, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities and fire departments. The remission is provided on a time-limited basis to provide businesses and entities with additional time to adjust their supply chains and prioritize domestic sources of supply if available. Third, the new Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility (LETL), as announced by the Prime Minister in March, is now accepting applicants. This program will support eligible large businessesincluding those that contribute to Canadas food security, energy security, economic security and national securitythat are facing difficulties in accessing traditional sources of market financing, by providing access to liquidity. This will help employers that were viable before the recent U.S. trade actions to help sustain their operations and return to financial stability. Companies will be required to make efforts to maintain jobs and sustain business activities in Canada. Those that were already involved in insolvency proceedings before this crisis will not be eligible. In the weeks and months ahead, additional measures will be brought forward, as needed, to support businesses and workers. The federal government will also continue to work closely with provinces and territories to ensure complementary supports are in place across all jurisdictions. GAELSCOIL Eoghain Ui Thuairisc has achieved remarkable success on the national stage, bringing home the highest accolade in Irish-language school drama at Feile Scoildramaiochta. The school won the All-Ireland drama competition in Mullingar on Wednesday 9 April at the Feile Scoildramaiochta finals. The Carlow Gaelscoil not only claimed first place in its category but also secured the prestigious overall prize of Scothleriti na Feile (best overall performance). The students delivered a vibrant Irish-language reimagining of Aladdin featuring Irish versions of beloved classics such as A whole new world and A friend like me, complete with choreographed dance routines. This victory follows earlier successes in Coirm Gael Linns celebrated drama festival and the local and regional rounds of Cumann Scoildramaiochta. Principal Ruth Ni Chearbhallain praised the students dedication: For months, the students poured heart and soul into rehearsals, sacrificing lunch breaks and practicing after school under the expert direction of Muinteoir Jill and Muinteoir Clar. The performers, directors and their ever-dedicated backstage crew, drawn from the senior classes, travelled en masse to Co Westmeath, accompanied by a busload of loyal supporters brimming with anticipation, she added. The principal described how the festival transformed Mullingar into a hive of creativity and excitement over six lively days, with schools participating from across the country. As one would expect from a competition of this calibre, the standard was nothing short of exceptional. Schools from every corner of the country, from West Kerry to the Donegal Gaeltacht, brought their A-game, said Ms Ni Chearbhallain. She paid tribute to her pupils, stating: This incredible achievement is a testament not only to the talent of our students but to their dedication, teamwork and gra don teanga. Theyve shown what can happen when young people are empowered to express themselves creatively through our native language. The principal specifically acknowledged the teachers who led the project: I want to especially recognise An M Jill and An M Clar, whose vision, passion and countless hours of preparation made this success possible. Their commitment went far beyond the classroom and their belief in the children inspired everyone involved. An Cumann Scoildramaiochta expressed gratitude on social media to all who participated in the competition, posting: We would like to thank every group that took part and helped us to have another excellent festival this year. Advertisement Cemex will use abandoned fishing nets to produce alternative fuel for its kilns in Panama. Cemex, the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP) together with Audubon Americas as a facilitating partner, will provide a circular solution to the growing threat of abandoned fishing nets, or ghost nets, that endanger marine ecosystems in the countrys waters. The cement producer will collect the fishing nets through its waste management business, Regenerative, and process it into alternative fuel for its cement kilns. The solution is part of the companys Future in Action programme to achieve sustainable cement production. "Cemex Regenera transforms waste into more sustainable solutions by using it as a substitute for more expensive and carbon-intensive fossil fuels in our cement production processes," said Jaime Muguiro, CEO of Cemex. "This project illustrates the transformative power of collaboration and resource-efficient practices," he added. Eduardo Carrasquilla, general administrator of ARAP, stated that, "Over the past four years, more than six tons of derelict nets and plastics have been removed from Panama's coastal waters, which has benefited the fishing sector by improving fish habitats and reducing entanglement with fishing gear." "Protecting these habitats, essential as natural carbon sinks and refuges for marine biodiversity, is also a way to combat climate change," said Julio Montes de Oca, director of coastal resilience at Audubon Americas. Advertisement The building of the Kampung Kawayoi Pinangah cement plant in Malaysias remote Tongod district on Sabah is now under scrutiny following claims that the investor pulled out. Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (Ummo-Lamag) called upon the Sabah government to explain this turn of events. I was informed the company involved has pulled out, and the project is in limbo. The site is in the middle of nowhere - how can this be a serious plan? he said during the state assembly sitting on 14 April. He questioned the rationale behind the decision to locate the plant in a forested area with no basic infrastructure, particularly as factories in well-developed areas such as Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park are facing challenging business conditions. Furthermore, he highlighted that Sabah lacks the electricity generation capacity to support energy-intensive industries such as cement. Advertisement Ghana has taken a major step towards cement self-sufficiency with the commissioning of a US$100m facility in the port city of Tema, described as the worlds largest limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) plant. Supacem Cement, the company behind the project, says the facility will use locally-sourced raw materials to replace a portion of imported clinker in cement manufacturing, enabling Ghana, Africas largest clinker importer, more capable of weathering international supply disruption. Last week it was reported that Ghana is currently experiencing a significant shortage of cement, with many construction projects and retailers in limbo. The Supacem facility is expected to significantly reduce this vulnerability by producing a reactive cementitious material from local limestone and clay. LC3 technology has the potential to cut clinker use by up to 50 per cent, offering both economic and environmental benefits. China, Vietnam to foster cooperation 08:26, April 15, 2025 By Mo Jingxi ( China Daily Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua) President Xi Jinping emphasized on Monday the need for China and Vietnam, both beneficiaries of economic globalization, to strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateral bullying practices, and uphold the global free trade system and the stability of industrial and supply chains. Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Xi is making a two-day visit to the Southeast Asian nation. Xi said that by pursuing the path of peaceful development and jointly marching toward modernization, China and Vietnam, with a total of more than 1.5 billion people, can effectively uphold regional and global peace and stability and promote common development. A small boat and a lone sail cannot withstand the rough waves, and only by working together in the same boat can people sail steadily and far, he said. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Vietnam, two socialist neighbors connected by mountains and rivers. Children wave Chinese and Vietnamese flags, as well as flags of the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of Vietnam, at the welcoming ceremony for President Xi Jinping in Hanoi on Monday. (Feng Yongbin/China Daily) During the bilateral meeting, Xi said that over the past years, despite changes in the global landscape, the two countries have been in each other's company in striving for national independence and liberation, and have advanced hand in hand in the socialist cause and forged ahead in advancing their respective modernization processes. The two countries have set a good example of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries, he said. "Faced with the current changes and chaos in the international landscape, China and Vietnam have upheld peace and development, deepened friendly cooperation and brought valuable stability and certainty to the world," Xi said. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua) To Lam, who received Xi with a grand welcoming ceremony in Hanoi on Monday, said that promoting the continuous development of Vietnam-China relations is in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and conforms with the trend of the times. He said that Vietnam looks forward to closely engaging with China in high-level exchanges between the two parties and countries, strengthening the exchange of governance experiences, enhancing strategic security cooperation, and continuously consolidating political mutual trust. His country also aims to elevate the level of bilateral cooperation with China by creating more highlights in areas including economy, trade, science and technology, infrastructure and environmental protection, To Lam said. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua) The two leaders also witnessed the display of 45 signed bilateral cooperation documents, covering areas such as connectivity, artificial intelligence, customs inspection and quarantine, agricultural trade, culture and sports, livelihood, human resources development and media. The meeting in Hanoi was the latest interaction between the two leaders after they jointly announced the official launch of the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges and exchanged New Year greetings in a phone conversation three months ago. Xi arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on Monday for his fourth state visit to Vietnam. To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, invites Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, to a small chat over tea before their talks at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua) Upon his arrival, Xi said in a written statement that China is ready to work with Vietnam to carry out more in-depth cooperation at a higher level covering a wider range of areas, in order to deliver more benefits to their peoples, the region and the world. He called on the two sides to uphold their original aspiration of friendship, keep in mind their common mission and seize the opportunities of the time. Xi said he looks forward to using this visit as an opportunity for an in-depth exchange of views with the Vietnamese side on strategic and overarching issues critical to the direction of China-Vietnam relations and on international and regional issues of common concern. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, and To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, witness the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed by the two sides after their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Photo/Xinhua) China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner for more than 20 consecutive years, with bilateral trade exceeding $260 billion last year, while Vietnam has consistently ranked as China's largest trading partner within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since 2016. Vietnam is also an important overseas investment destination for China. In 2024, Chinese enterprises' direct investment in Vietnam surpassed $2.5 billion, sustaining swift growth. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) The teens who drowned after jumping from an I-75 bridge have been identified as two Brainerd High School students. The incident happened in Loudon County after a police pursuit last Wednesday morning. One of the teens was identified as Ma'Rico Johnson and another as Mykel Anderson. GoFundMe accounts have been set up for their burial expenses. They are at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-marico-johnsons-burial-expenses Southern Adventist University welcomes Rod and Donna Willey of Koala Center for Sleep and TMJ Disorders to speak on Unbreakable Growth for the E.A. Anderson Lecture on Monday, April 28, beginning promptly at 6:50 p.m. in Room 3205 of Brock Hall on campus. Former dentist Rod is the developer, founder, and CEO of the Koala franchise, and Donna serves as executive director. With locations in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin, the organization specializes in helping people with sleep disorders get the necessary treatment. The E.A. Anderson Lecture Series is an annual feature of the Institute of Ethical Leadership housed within Southerns School of Business. The free series aims to develop and support leaders through education and experience while fostering ethical marketplace environments. Made possible by the generosity of the late E.A. Anderson of Atlanta, Georgia, the lectures promote expertise and perspectives from business leaders from across the country. Business casual attire is required for all attendees, continuing education credit is offered, seating is limited, and doors close at 7 p.m. What: Rod and Donna Willey Present Lecture on Business Growth When: Monday, April 28, 6:50 p.m. Where: Southern Adventist University Brock Hall, Room 3205 7/2/2025 Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced Ashley Mosley of Jasper Elementary School in Marion County as one of the nine finalists for the 2025-26 Tennessee Teacher of the Year award. ... more This spring, GPS was honored to host Mary Komselis, a passionate early-years educator from St. Margarets Anglican Girls School in Brisbane, Australia, as part of a two-week faculty exchange program. Her visit served as a meaningful opportunity for both professional growth and international connection, underscoring the global nature of education and the shared mission of empowering young women. Mary, now in her fourth year of teaching, has spent her entire teaching career at St. Margarets, where she teaches Prep/Foundation, known in the U.S. as Kindergarten. I feel grateful to have taught the first formal year of schooling to girls, she said. Its such a formative year, and seeing the growth in all students is incredibly rewarding. Eager to expand her practice and perspective, Mary jumped at the chance to travel across the globe to experience the American education system firsthand. As an early career teacher, Im always looking for ways to grow, and this felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she shared. This exchange has helped me grow both personally and professionally. While on campus at GPS, Mary was struck by the strong relationships among students, teachers, and staff. Theres such a strong sense of community here, she said. Like St. Margarets, GPS is centered around a student-focused approach, but the smaller size of GPS offers a unique closeness that really stood out to me. In addition to observing GPS classrooms and school life, Mary explored Chattanooga and the surrounding area. She visited The Bright School and St. Peters Episcopal School to observe elementary classrooms, and she took in many local highlights, including Rock City, Ruby Falls, Signal Mountain, the Tennessee Aquarium, and even a little shopping at Hamilton Place Mall. She also attended two school productions during her visitMiddle Schools Romeo and Juliet and the Upper Schools Newsies musical. Reflecting on the importance of global professional development, Mary emphasized how crucial it is for educators to engage with different teaching contexts. Teaching is always evolving, and we have to keep adapting in order to connect with students and help them flourish, she said. This experience not only expanded my teaching practice but also allowed me to build lasting connections with fellow educators. As she prepared to return to Australia, Mary expressed heartfelt gratitude to the GPS community. The staff and students have been so kind and welcoming, she said. Im so glad I was able to meet such wonderful people and be part of this amazing community, even if just for a short time. A Criminal Court jury on Tuesday was shown video of the downtown incident in which local businessman Chris Wright was shot and killed. Prosecutors used multiple cameras at Patten Towers to show when Darryl T. "Too Tall" Roberts left his sixth floor room until he arrived back in the room shortly before midnight. The defense showed a longer rendition that ended just before Roberts walked quickly toward Wright and shot him in the head. Roberts, who was 58 at the time, is charged with criminal homicide. If convicted, there will be a second mini-trial involving a charge of a felon in possession of a weapon. The video shows Roberts, wearing a bright red shirt, join two men on a stoop in front of the Patten, then he walks out of the camera view. It shows Wright, dressed in white shorts and a blue shirt, walk near where Roberts and another man are on the stoop. There is no audio, but it appears that Wright engages in animated conversation with the men. At one point he stretches out one arm toward them, and at another he raises his arms. Wright walks about six steps on toward E. 11th Street, but then he stops and turns toward his right in the direction where Roberts is now standing. Roberts then pulls a gun, strides toward Wright, and shoots him once in the head. The prominent businessman slumps to the sidewalk and Wright heads back into the Patten. He is shown in the elevator punching with his right arm toward the side of the elevator. Julia Ann Friedman testified that she was in Chattanooga at a birthday celebration with her three brothers and father. She said they were on the rooftop of the Pickle Barrel that overlooks the front of the Patten. She said it was not noisy at that late hour, but she did not hear any words between Wright and the two men on the stoop. Ms. Friedman said she did hear a loud shot. She stated, "I looked down and saw a man lying on his back. There was a man in a red shirt leaning over him. The man casually walked away. It was so creepily casual that it freaked me out." The witness said she told family members they needed to get inside the restaurant. The video also showed a woman leave Roberts' room on the sixth floor after he had arrived back. She carried a yellow plastic bag of items down to her room on the third floor, then returned without the bag to the sixth floor. She was later identified as Tiffany Hawkins. Detective Alvin Abbott said Ms. Hawkins was interviewed that night, and she did not mention taking any items from Roberts' room. The detective said the gun and the clothes that Roberts was wearing were not found. Brian Houston, one of the men in front of the Patten that night, said he never heard Wright make any threats or racial slurs. Houston said he was talking over him, telling him to "get out of my face." Houston said he was homeless before getting a place at the Patten. He said he and Roberts would regularly sit out front smoking a joint and sipping a drink before going to bed. He said he often told people to keep on moving and not get in their space. Chris Burnette, who was also at the scene, said he did not hear any threats or racial slurs. After the jury was selected late Monday, prosecutor Andrew Coyle told the jury that Roberts made many "choices" that he said led to the premeditated murder of the local businessman. He told the jury, "You will see a man whose life was stolen and then you will see callous, cold actions by the defendant in the aftermath." Public Defender Steve Smith contended the case is "a perfectly understandable tragedy." He said he will ask the jury to find Roberts not guilty. The late night incident, that brought a renewed focus on downtown safety, happened Sept. 28, 2023. The victim was a Baylor School graduate who went on to Yale. He was the father of two young sons and a daughter, eight weeks old at the time. The first jury in the case was tainted when the wrong charge was read to the panel two weeks ago. Judge Boyd Patterson started over and had new jurors before the close of the day Monday. The J.A. Henry Community YMCAs new Teaching Kitchen will host a new series of cooking classes designed to "empower individuals and families with the tools they need to eat well, cook confidently and live healthier lives" beginning Tuesday, May 6. Open to all skill levels, each interactive, hands-on session focuses on creating simple and nutritious meals that are fun to prepare, easy to make and delicious to eat. Led by food and nutrition experts, some upcoming sessions include: Got Milk? Discover nutritious plant-based alternatives Back to School Bites Learn fast, healthy recipes for kids and parents One-Pot Wonders Create hearty meals with fewer dishes Eat Your Greens Turn leafy vegetables into crave-worthy dishes Whole Grain Goodness Add flavor and fiber to everyday meals Kitchen Hacks Master shortcuts and tips for cooking smarter Classes are $30 for YMCA members and $45 for non-members. Full and partial scholarships are available for those who qualify, with up to 100 percent fee coverage offered. To register or learn more, visit ymcachattanooga.org or contact Laura Horne at lhorne@ymcachattanooga.org. Here is the lineup for the classes: Session 1: Got Milk? May 6 Session 2: Seasonal Bites May 15 Session 3: Whole Grain Goodness June 3 Session 4: Eat Your Hydration June 19 Session 5: Eat Your Greens July 1 Session 6: Back to School Bites July 17 Session 7: One-Pot Wonders Aug. 21 Session 8: Kitchen Hacks Sept. 18 J.A. Henry Community YMCA is at 3500 Dodds Ave., Ste. 108. For more information, click here. The city of East Ridge is in the beginning stages of reviewing its charter. The city will be assisted and guided in the process by Municipal Technical Advisory Services, the organization in Tennessee that provides advice and recommendations to municipalities. MTAS will review and identify trends and case law across Tennessee to see if East Ridges laws and charter are still in compliance. This is a free service for cities which are members of MTAS. Each city council member has the opportunity of nominating residents to serve on citizen boards and commissions which assist in making decisions to keep it moving forward. At the April 10 council meeting, nominations were made to fill several board vacancies. Councilman Jacky Cagle appointed Regina Parris to serve on the East Ridge board of zoning appeals, and Vice Mayor David Tylers appointment to that board was Tyler Buck. Councilmember Andrea Witt appointed James Meyers to fill an unexpired term to the East Ridge housing commission. Each of the appointments was voted on and approved by the entire council. Renovations are being made for the restrooms within Camp Jordan Arena. Four bids were received ranging from $163,420 up to $224,000. The work was awarded to the low bid from general contractor Integrated Builds. The city is now in the middle of three large construction projects and all are progressing on schedule, said City Manager Scott Miller. North Mack Smith Road is being widened, and building Venue 1921, the citys new multi-use pavilion that is located in the East Ridge Town Center is going up. Plans for enlarging and renovating the East Ridge Community Center are being reviewed by the state since it is being built using a Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant from the state of Tennessee. When approval is given, the building is ready to start, said Mr. Miller. The relocation of the dog park is still being explored. After the March 13 meeting where many interested people spoke to the council, a decision was tabled. Lisa Thompson, a dog park advocate, told the council that as a city planner she understands that although the current park is much used and liked, she understands that it is too small. She said she had visited the Springvale Park where the city owns five acres and can see the potential there. She assured the council that the interested group is open to the option of putting the dog park there. She spoke for the group when she said that they want to be good partners with the city. Mayor Brian Williams told her that wherever it is moved, it will be top notch. Right now the city is looking at details and costs. At the April 24 council meeting there will be discussions about the CARTA Care-a-Van service in East Ridge. Based on the current cost that the city pays for providing rides to its residents, the projected cost for the service next year will be $150,000. That is based on 3,300 trips per year at $47 per trip, one way, the city manager told the council. The number may be reduced to about 35 percent of what the city spends now, he said, by limiting rides to only medical appointments. As it is currently, East Ridge pays almost $100 for a residents trip to and from the grocery store. If the city provided the service to its citizens on its own, said the city manager, it would cost about $300,000 a year and there would need to be two buses and four workers. There is still hope that the situation may get better with CARTA if Hamilton County makes an appropriation for the service and if grants can be secured. Dr. Thomas Kent Donovan, Sr., 85, of Rossville, Georgia, formerly of Chattanooga, Tennessee, passed away peacefully at his residence on April 12, 2025. Dr. Donovan was born on Febr. 21, 1940, to Kenneth and Genevieve Donovan in Sioux City, Iowa. Dr. Donovan spent his early years in Sioux City, Iowa, Johnson City, Tn., Sheffield, Al., and Tupelo, Ms. He received his bachelors and masters degrees at The University of Mississippi. After graduating from Ole Miss, he married his college sweetheart, Barbara Ann Elder. Dr. Donovan began his professional career in Chattanooga, working for TVA. The couple welcomed two children, Kent and Laura, while in Chattanooga. The Donovan family relocated to Baltimore, Md., where Tom attended Johns Hopkins University and received his doctorate degree. The couple later returned to Chattanooga, which became their hometown. Dr. Donovans career continued to grow as he became a consultant working throughout the US. His work gave him the opportunity to visit and share the USA with those he loved most- his family. Dr. and Mrs. Donovan were instrumental in the growth and development of the Chattanooga Zoo and the Chattanooga Ballet. After the passing of Mrs. Donovan in 2008, Dr. Donovan continued to be active in the zoo as well as the ballet. Dr. Donovan was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth Clark Donovan and Genevieve Clift Donovan, his wife, Barbara Ann Elder Donovan and their beloved Chihuahua, Freckles. He is survived by his son, Thomas Kent (Kathy) Donovan, Jr. of Millsboro, Delaware, daughter Laura (Jeff) Smith of Whitwell, Tennessee, grandchildren, Thomas Donovan III, Hannah (Nicholas) Kujawa, Summer (Sean) Walsh, Christopher Donovan, Rachel Smith and great grandchildren, Ryker & Sutton Kujawa. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to be made to the Chattanooga Zoo. The Hamilton County Coalition, the Drug Enforcement Administration and community partners will host National Prescription Drug Take Back Day at locations across Southeast Tennessee on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Attendees will be able to dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medications, vape pens and e-cigarette devices. For more than a decade, this event has helped Americans easily rid their homes of unwanted medications to ensure that meds arent improperly disposed in waterways or diverted for illicit use. We are so grateful that we are able to provide this service to our community, says Hamilton County Coalition Executive Director Camilla Bibbs. Keeping unneeded medication in the home is a safety risk that can be avoided by bringing them to a drop-off site on Drug Take Back Day. Drug Take Back Day offers free and anonymous disposal of medications at more than 4,000 local dropoff locations nationwide. The Hamilton County Coalition is partnering with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to host a total of 16 drop-off sites in Hamilton County and surrounding counties. Mt. Canaan - 4801 SR-58 Food City, Red Bank - 3901 Dayton Blvd. Walgreens - 3605 Brainerd Road Walgreens - 2289 Gunbarrel Road Walgreens, East Ridge - 5301 Ringgold Road Walgreens, Ooltewah - 9307 Lee Hwy. Walgreens, Hixson - 5478 SR-153 Elks Lodge #91 - 1067 Graysville Road Avondale Community Center - 1305 Dodson Ave. Sequoyah High School - 9517 Sequoyah Access Road Food City, Harrison - 8634 Hwy. 58 Spring City Police Department- 229 Front St. Walmart, Dayton - 3034 Rhea County Hwy. Mike's Pharmacy - 740 Main St, Tracy City Life Recovery Center - 300 Cornerstone Dr., Jasper Standefer Pharmacy - 3051 Main St., Pikeville To learn more and find a collection site near you, visit Rx Drug Take Back Events | Hamilton County Coalition | Chattanooga, TN (hccoalition.org). The Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga will transform into a battleground on Saturday, May 3 at 2 p.m. for culinary creativity and school pride during the "Battle of the Bosses: Culinary Wars.""This one-of-a-kind event showcases the exceptional talents of the Midtown Learning Communitys Culinary Arts Program lead by Dr. Crystal Sorrells and Dr. LeAndrea Ware," officials said. "Setting their executive titles aside, Dr. Sorrells and Dr. Ware, executive administrators and proud alumni of their schools, will step into the kitchen as rival chefs.Trading their administrative roles for cutting boards, they will represent their respective alma maters in a friendly, yet fierce, culinary showdown. This event celebrates not only their school pride but also the shared mission of mentorship, growth, and unity that connects the two schools."Proceeds from "Battle of the Bosses" will directly support the culinary arts programs at both schools. "These funds will provide students with enhanced learning opportunities, industry exposure and essential resources, helping to cultivate the next generation of chefs and hospitality leaders," officials said.Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga is located at 5704 Marlin Road, Building 6000 in Chattanooga.VIP Tickets (30 VIP) are available for $100 and include veranda access, battle food tastings and exclusive swag. Day-of-event spectator/general admission tickets are $20 and include a sample mocktail. Tickets can be purchased here . Donations are also welcomed.For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, Rebecca Love at 423-903-8588 or love_r@hcde.org. Dear Senator Watson, I am writing to express my profound concern regarding the passage of HB1376, which effectively bans THCa products in Tennessee. As a constituent and small business owner in Chattanoogas 37406 ZIP code, this legislation poses an existential threat to my livelihood and the well-being of my community. I own a hemp store in the Glass Farms neighborhood, an area where the median household income is approximately $42,993, significantly below the Chattanooga city average of $61,028. Our neighborhood faces economic challenges, with a poverty rate exceeding 28 percent. Despite these hardships, our store has become a beacon of hope and progress. Weve hired directly from the neighborhood, organized cleanups, and run food drives with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. Weve also helped neighbors with transportation, job references, and small but real forms of support that make a difference in peoples lives. Its not charity, its what responsible businesses do. And I know you understand that. Youve served on the Baylor School Board and worked directly with youth through Junior Achievement. Youve lived the belief that local institutions and small organizations have the power to shape lives. This business isnt just how I support my wife, Jana, and our 5-year-old son, Arlo, its my livelihood, Its our stability. Its how I feed my family. If this bill passes, we will lose it. I want you to picture having to look your wife, Nicole, in the eye and tell her that everything youve worked for was taken, not because you broke the law, but because you followed it. Imagine explaining to your son, Grey, that your familys livelihood was destroyed by lawmakers who claimed to support small business, even after the state passed SB0378, a bill that taxed these exact cannabinoids, gave us the green light to operate, and said: build here. Grow here. Invest here. So we did. Do you plan on compensating us for that time, effort and financial risk? Or is the goal just to legislate more working families into poverty? We didnt start selling THCa flower or vapes until SB0378 passed and was signed into law. As soon as the 6 percent tax went into effect, we paid it without hesitation. That first month, we paid $1,100. In December of last year, we paid $4,300, and it just keeps going up. That money should go to schools, to police, to infrastructure. And people are happy to pay it. To me, that tax said: this is here to stay. You can build on this. Instead, weve been stuck in this endless back-and-forth fight over legality. Its burned time and money. Its kept us from expanding. Weve had to cancel planned outreach efforts in the neighborhood. And thousands of dollars that shouldve gone toward local good went into lobbying and compliance just so we could survive. THCa products make up 90 percent of our sales. This bill, which hands regulation, distribution and tax authority to the alcohol industry, doesnt clean up the market, it wipes out people like me. It wipes out the Tennesseans that built this industry. People that are your constituents, your neighbors. It bans two cannabinoids and leaves others untouched. It doesnt make products safer or more responsible, it just picks winners and losers. I know we both agree that we dont want kids, not mine, not yours, to have easy access to hemp products or alcohol. But this bill doesnt even begin to address that. It does nothing to restrict sales in gas stations or convenience stores. If the goal was truly to keep these products away from minors, youd start by regulating the places theyre sold, not by destroying legitimate small businesses that are already complying with state law and paying into the system. My mother is a retired Methodist preacher. She has preached up and down East Tennessee, and I know youve probably been in the pews for one of the services she led, maybe even twice. I bring this up because she raised me to believe in fairness, responsibility and serving our community. The Bible teaches us in Proverbs 31:9: Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. This bill does the opposite. It punishes those who have followed the law and contributed positively to our community. It doesnt reflect the values we were taught. You went to Baylor. I went to McCallie. We may have worn different colors on game day, but we were both taught the same thing: be a good steward of your community. At McCallie our motto is Honor, Truth, Duty - so I have to ask if Baylor has a motto and if you have lived by it? Youve said, What everyone needs to understand is that federal tax dollars that come back to Tennessee are Tennessee taxpayer dollars, and so if you elect not to take those dollars you have to realize youre sending that money somewhere else. You were talking about education funding, and you were right. But the same logic applies here. Tennesseans are paying the hemp tax. That money is already going into the system. Killing this industry means rejecting your own argument. You dont get to say we need funding for teachers and police, and then turn your back on a massive revenue stream Tennesseans are voluntarily providing. You dont get to send that money somewhere else. Im asking you directly: please vote no on HB1376, or kill it outright. You cant campaign on better pay for teachers, police, or law enforcement while turning away $250 million in annual tax revenue from hemp, revenue Tennesseans are willingly paying. Dont kill the businesses doing it right, and dont walk away from what your own constituents built with the laws you passed. Benjamin A. Whitelaw The Bradley County Sheriffs Office responded to a report of a reckless driver following a "Be on the Lookout" (BOLO) alert on Saturday, April 5. The incident, which occurred on Eureka Road near Lower River Road, involved an individual who was struck by a projectile believed to be from a paintball gun fired from a moving vehicle. Deputies made contact with the victim at a local gas station on Georgetown Road NW, where the complainant reported being hit in the chest by the paintball while driving with the window down. Yellow paint was observed on the victims chest, the interior of the vehicle, and on the vehicles exterior. The victim provided a detailed description of the suspect vehicle and its license plate, which led investigators to identify the registered owner of the vehicle. An investigation conducted by the Bradley County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division revealed that the suspect vehicle, a silver Toyota Sequoia, was located in Meigs County. Detectives made contact with individuals associated with the vehicle, including several juveniles who were in the car at the time of the incident. One of the vehicle's occupants admitted that a passenger discharged the paintball gun, initially intending to strike a nearby stop sign. The individuals in the vehicle claimed they were unaware that anyone had been hit until seeing social media posts about the incident. The suspect responsible for firing the paintball gun has been identified and taken into custody. Due to the suspects age, their name is being withheld in accordance with state law. The case has been reviewed by the District Attorneys Office, and based on the evidence and statements collected, charges of assault, vandalism, and reckless endangerment have been filed in Bradley County Juvenile Court. The Bradley County Sheriffs Office remains committed to ensuring public safety and holding individuals accountable for reckless and harmful behavior, regardless of intent. Officials said, "This incident serves as a reminder that even seemingly harmless actions can result in serious consequences." You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close South Africa Missionary pastor Josh Sullivan. | Photo Credit: Facebook/ Fellowship Baptist Church American church-planting missionary Pastor Josh Sullivan was abducted by an assailant at gunpoint during a prayer meeting at Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, South Africa, last Thursday. Police stated, It is alleged that while a sermon was conducted at the church, four armed and masked male suspects entered the church. They reportedly stole two cell phones before taking the pastor with them and fleeing the scene, according to Vanguard. According to his familys online biography, Sullivan has served as a missionary in South Africa since 2018. He has been involved with the staff of Fellowship Baptist Church, an independent Baptist church in Maryville, Tennessee, since 2012, where he trained under Pastor Tom Hatley, who has been the couples pastor since their childhood. In an endorsement statement, Hatley mentioned that Josh and Meagan Sullivan have a tremendous desire to share the gospel with the Xhosa people of South Africa. The couples most recent blog update from March reported the conversion of two women who embraced Christianity, as well as the baptism of two others. Sullivan expressed excitement about the baptisms, stating, What makes these baptisms a little more exciting is that both were the first two people baptized who were not directly invited to our church by me or my wife. They were invited by some of our church members, heard the gospel, and were saved. This is what we pray to see more of in the coming year. We are so honored to see God work in the lives of our people. What a great God we serve! Local pastor Jeremy Hall told AFP that Sullivan was hosting a prayer meeting for 30 people at his church when the kidnapping occurred. Hall indicated that the motive appeared to be ransom, as the assailants knew Sullivans name and were aware of his occupation. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department informed BBC that the agency is aware of the situation involving an American citizen in South Africa. Captain Andre Beetge, a police spokesperson, confirmed Sullivans kidnapping to WBIR, stating that the case is being managed by a special kidnapping and ransom unit. In recent years, South Africa has seen a dramatic rise in kidnappings, with over 17,000 reported in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime attributes this increase to a surge in extortion. Home News Dawn attack kills 51 Christians in Nigerian town amid string of massacres ABUJA, Nigeria Following the killing of more than 60 Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria earlier this month, the death toll of a dawn attack on Monday on a predominantly Christian community in the state has risen to 51, according to reports. Fulani herdsmen attacked Zikke village in Kwall District, Bassa County early Monday morning, said area resident Blessing Yakubu. Over 40 Christians have killed in a fresh attack which occurred in Zikke village of Kwall district in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau state, Yakubu said in a text message to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, with the death toll later updated to 51, according to Channels TV. Lives have been lost and properties destroyed through this early morning attack by armed Fulani herdsmen. 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 On Friday, suspected herdsmen killed three members of a family in predominantly Christian Zogu village, Miango District, also in Bassa County, said community leader Sam Jugo. He identified the victims as Weyi Gebeh, 56, and his sons, Zhu Weyi, 25, and Henry Weyi, 16. Also in Bassa, herdsmen raided three predominantly Christian villages last Tuesday night, killing two people, said Joseph Chudu Yonkpa, a community leader in Bassas Miango District. Barely 24 hours after we laid to rest our beloved brethren of Hwrra village killed by Fulani militias, these same herdsmen have launched three separate deadly attacks on our communities in the night of April 8, Yonkpa said in a statement. These Fulani marauders carried out devastating ambushes in three locations: Zashi of Kperie, Kwall district; MODACS Hotel beside the College of Accountancy, Kwall; and Twin Hill (Gyu) of Miango District. Slain in Zashi was Abba Sunday Ngah, 19, with the assailants also stealing his motorcycle; and Azie Daniel, 47, who was also killed beside the Modacs Hotel in Kwall, Yonkpa said. Residents of the Twin Hill area of Miango District narrowly escaped, he said. These attacks are part of a disturbing trend of violence and destruction of farm crops that has plagued the area for years, he said. We are deeply concerned about the silence of state actors, the lack of condemnation, and the absence of intervention or visitation to our people, Yonkpa said. We are particularly worried about the lack of action taken to arrest the perpetrators of these heinous crimes as they continue to kill our people on daily basis. He said residents will continue to seek justice, peace and security. We equally charge our people to intensify vigilance as our attackers have not shown any sign to stop their atrocities in our land, Yonkpa said. Plateau state resident David Yakubu, noting the killing of three Christians in Hwrra village last week, asked, What exactly do the Fulanis want? They are everywhere launching attacks on our Christian communities, he said. We had barely finished weeping for Christians killed in Bokkos Local Government Area, now its Christians in Bassa Local Council Area who have also been attacked and many killed. Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdoms All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report. They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity, the APPG report states. Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigerias Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds. Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, according to Open Doors 2025 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 (69%) were in Nigeria, according to the WWL. The measure of anti-Christian violence in the country is already at the maximum possible under World Watch List methodology, the report stated. In the countrys North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the countrys northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years. The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jamaa Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali. Nigeria ranked seventh on the 2025 WWL list of the 50 worst countries for Christians. This article was originally published at Christian Daily InternationalMorning Star News. Home News Attorney blasts Merchant Marine midshipmen as 'Christian nationalist insects' for cheering Jesus painting Mikey Weinstein threatens 'World War 8' An attorney from the nonprofit that pushed to relocate a historic Jesus painting at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point, New York, called the midshipmen who recently cheered its restoration "cowards" and "Christian nationalist insects." Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, accused the young midshipmen of violating their constitutional oath for applauding Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffys call to bring the painting up from the basement where it was moved during the Biden administration. Weinsteins accusations come as a midshipman associated with an on-campus Christian fellowship group explained to The Christian Post why the image of Jesus saving sailors lost at sea is more than just a piece of artwork to them. 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 'Filthy, ignorant, hateful, bigoted scum' Weinstein, who offered nuance regarding "the full nature of satanism" during an interview with CP in 2024, issued a scathing statement threatening World War 8 if the 1944 painting Christ on the Water is restored to the Elliot M. See Room inside Wiley Hall, where it hung for 76 years. The 10-foot by 19-foot painting by Hunter A. Wood, a merchant mariner whose art drew on his own experiences, commemorated sailors whose boat was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean during World War II. After Weinstein fired off a complaint letter in January 2023 to USMMA Superintendent Vice Adm. Joanna M. Nunan about the painting, first it was covered with a curtain during official Academy meetings. Ultimately, it was moved to a chapel basement that is prone to flooding, as noted by midshipmen who spoke to Fox News Digital that year. Weinsteins recent statement, which he sent to CP and has been published on Daily Kos, comes days after Duffy went viral on social media for eliciting raucous, prolonged applause from midshipmen during an April 3 speech he gave at the USMMA's annual Battle Standard Dinner. Midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy erupted in applause when @SecDuffy demanded a painting of Jesus saving merchant mariners be restored. The Biden admin put a curtain over the painting before putting it in a flood-prone basement. "Let's bring Him up!" pic.twitter.com/qQvLKXKE5r Jon Brown (@JonBrownDC) April 9, 2025 Duffy, a devout Roman Catholic, appeared taken aback by the enthusiastic response, which he allowed to linger before noting it was the loudest of his entire speech. "You want Jesus up from the basement, right? Great!" he said as the midshipmen cheered. "That was the loudest applause we got!" One tweet of Duffy's remarks has received more than 617,000 views on X as of Tuesday morning. Weinstein accused Duffy of being a stray, feral dog who is clearly bereft of any semblance of morality, ethical standard, or constitutional legality, which he claimed is obviously required with all MAGA filthy, ignorant, hateful, bigoted scum. Weinstein further implied the USMMA is anti-Jewish, dubbing it the "U.S. Merchant of Venice Academy in reference to the Shakespeare play that some have deemed antisemitic. He also repeatedly referred to President Donald Trump as tRump in an apparent attempt to liken him to a backside. "To the cheering robustious throngs of Christian Nationalist midshipmen at the U.S. Merchant of Venice Academy, and to their dear MAGA fascist cheerleader Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, MRFF commands: Side Step HARCH!, you stinking piece-of-sh-- Christian Nationalist insects!!" "Do it USMVA! he said, referencing his newly minted moniker for the school. Move that giant Jesus painting back to its original place of bloody controversy in that huge secular conference room USMVA. What will happen if you do? Well, FAFO (F*** Around, Find Out)!!!" Weinstein acknowledged in his statement that he would accept its relocation to "some secular place at your Academy (such as your museum)." In a video posted on his website that echoed his public statement, Weinstein called Duffy a "piece of sh--" and accused the midshipmen who cheered him of exhibiting a "despicable, shameful disgrace of your oath to the U.S. Constitution." "You're cowards to do that," he said. CP has reached out to both Duffys office and the U.S. Maritime Administration for comment. 'Our generation has been trampled underfoot' Hundreds of midshipmen who signed a petition circulated by members of the academys Kings Point Christian Fellowship Club are calling for the painting to be moved to the school's Ackerman Auditorium. The petition, which was submitted to the USMMA administration last Friday, also explained why the image of Jesus rescuing merchant mariners means so much to them, especially in recent years. "We identify with those sailors," the petition reads in part. "Our generation has been trampled underfoot by a country that has left us stranded out to sea with no intention of saving us. Our government, schools, and in some cases even our families have told us that we are not worth the effort." "Specifically, during the COVID pandemic we were told that our lives were worth so little that they could be put on hold for years. Our bodies were not our own but we belonged to the Federal Government and USMMA Admissions, who could decide what we must put in our bodies," the petition continued. "Through those difficult years and up to this very moment only one thing has proven to us time and time again, 'whoever comes to me I will never cast out.' That one thing is Jesus Christ, God of the Universe and Lord of our lives." The USMMA's vaccine policies under Biden were the beginning of what midshipmen who spoke to Fox News Digital in 2023 described as an increasingly woke ideology seeping into the academy. According to midshipmen and their parents who spoke to the outlet at the time, unvaccinated midshipmen were segregated from their friends and some even struggled to get food. Jackson Tolle, a midshipman in USMMA's Class of 2026 who spoke to CP from a ship in the Gulf of America, said he is a member of the schools Christian fellowship and played a role in drafting the petition, though he emphasized it was a group effort and he was speaking for himself. The main goal has always been to glorify God in this situation, he said. Tolle acknowledged the demographic at the USMMA skews nominally Christian, but pushed back against the idea that non-Christian midshipmen would find the Jesus painting alienating. "Jesus Christ represents ideals that are not specific to one group of people or another," he said. "Ideals of sacrifice, ideals of love, compassion and empathy; these are ideals and traits that we, as a culture, need to return to." Tolle also suggested the enthusiastic response to Duffys speech earlier this month was an example of young people showing they are hungry for something more than what the prevailing culture has offered. Moral relativism has failed the country and the world, more so than any belief system ever really has, he said. I think we're returning to objective truth. The renewed uproar at the USMMA over Jesus comes in the wake of Trumps executive order asserting that his administration will not tolerate anti-Christian weaponization of government or unlawful conduct targeting Christians. According to a copy of an internal cable obtained by Politico last week, the U.S. State Department intends to work with an administration-wide task force to collect information "involving anti-religious bias" during the Biden administration. Home News 'Deeper down those rabbit holes': Porn algorithms 'fueling' child sex abuse crisis, watchdog says Pornography websites are fueling the rise in child sex abuse by using algorithms to direct users to extreme material, desensitizing them to abuse and sexual assault, according to the Washington-based National Center on Sexual Exploitation. Haley McNamara, NCOSEs senior vice president of strategic initiatives and programs, says pornography websites utilize these algorithms to keep people engaged as they direct users to more and more extreme content. Theyre trying to zero in on what youre interested in, the anti-sexual exploitation advocate told The Christian Post. And unfortunately, we know that with even mainstream pornography, even on the front page, first-time users are exposed to scenes of sexual violence. 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 These algorithms, McNamara explained, are intentionally designed to lead users to content featuring sexual violence, racist or incestuous themes, and even criminal content like child sexual abuse material. The algorithms create what she described as a large funnel that urges users to travel deeper and deeper down those rabbit holes. As NCOSE has reported, Pornhub, one of the largest online pornography websites, has repeatedly faced lawsuits over allegations that it knowingly profited from child sex abuse material or other content featuring sexual violence or assault. Pornhub and its parent company, Aylo, formerly known as MindGeek, did not immediately respond to The Christian Posts request for comment. In a press release last week, NCOSE cited a report published in the Victims & Offenders Journal in 2024 as an example of how easily accessible pornography is contributing to the rise of online child sex abuse materials. The report cited data by the National Police Chiefs Council lead for Child Protection, which found that around 850 men a month are arrested for online child abuse offenses in England and Wales. Another survey published in September 2021 by Protect Children, a Finnish human rights group, collected responses from 10,000 individuals, finding over 50% of those who admitted to watching online child abuse said they were not seeking these images out when they were first exposed to the material. Seventy percent of respondents said that they first saw child sex abuse material when they were under the age of 18, and nearly 40% said that they were under 13. Regarding the material they viewed, 45% of participants said it was girls between the ages of 4 and 13, while 18% said they looked at boys. The remaining respondents said that they looked at violent or sadistic material related to infants and toddlers, with ages ranging from 0 to 3. As the survey reported, viewing child sex abuse material can be addictive, and rehabilitative programs are usually necessary in this case to help people change their behavior. The individual is still responsible for their choices, McNamara said about users who access illegal pornographic material. The children are the victims in all of this. But as a society, we need to take all of the on-ramps that are feeding the crisis of child sexual abuse material seriously. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 36 million reports of suspected child sexual abuse in 2023 alone, and a majority of the reports were related to the circulation of child sex abuse material. Regarding potential solutions to the issue, NCOSE has called for repealing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which McNamara said would remove the broad immunity online platforms have under the law. The advocate cited age verification laws to keep children from accessing pornography as another solution and believes that states should pass something similar to the App Store Accountability Act signed into law in Utah earlier this year. The act places the responsibility of verifying users ages on app stores like Google and Apple. There are multiple approaches that are needed, but when we layer in these different prevention mechanisms, it can create a much safer space online for kids, especially, McNamara said. Home News West Virginia enacts Parents' Bill of Rights into law Correction appended West Virginia has enacted what is labeled a "Parents' Bill of Rights" amid concerns about parents' rights to direct their children's upbringing in other states. West Virginia's Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed House Bill 2129 into law Monday. The measure is scheduled to take effect on June 22. 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 bill outlines several examples of rights that are "reserved to the parent of a minor child in this state without obstruction or interference from the state, any of its political subdivisions, any other governmental entity, or any other state institution." Those rights include "the right to direct the education and care of his or her minor child" and "the right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of his or her minor child." The legislation also gives parents the right to enroll their children in either public schools, private schools (including religious schools) or homeschool programs. Under the law, parents will have "the right to access and review all school records" related to their children and "the right to make health care decisions" for their children unless they are prohibited by law. The measure gives parents more of a legal framework for a defense in any court proceeding. The Republican-controlled West Virginia House of Delegates passed the measure in an 87-9 vote, while the Republican-controlled West Virginia Senate approved it in a 32-1 vote. The votes in both chambers fell closely along party lines, with nearly all support coming from Republicans and all opposition coming from Democrats. While the vote in the House fell along party lines, one Senate Democrat joined Republicans in supporting it. "Parents love and know their child best, and they have the right and duty to direct the upbringing and care of their children. In no world should the government intrude on parenting choices just because it disagrees with the parents," Jordan Carpenter, a lawyer with the religious freedom legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement. "The West Virginia Parents' Bill of Rights ensures parents remain free to guide the upbringing, education, and health care of their children without undue government interference," Carpenter added. Parents in other states have sued school districts for various parental rights issues, such as failing to inform them that their child wished to identify as a member of the opposite sex or not allowing parents to opt their children out of pro-LGBT teachings. In 2021, January Littlejohn sued the Leon County School District, maintaining that the Florida public school system colluded with her daughter "to deceive us so that we would never have known she was going by an alternate name." While school officials referred to Littlejohn's daughter using a male name and pronouns at school, they used the teenager's given name when communicating with the concerned parent and her husband. In 2023, parent Aurora Regino sued the Chico Unified School District in California for taking the same course of action with her trans-identified daughter. Meanwhile, in Colorado, a bill that could have the effect of removing children from the custody of their parents if they do not embrace the minor's stated gender identity continues to advance in the Democrat-controlled legislature. Correction: An initial version of this article featured a photo of former West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, who left office in January and was succeeded by Gov. Patrick James Morrisey. Home News Self-identified Christian lawmaker joins GOP push to repeal Texas ban on 'homosexual conduct' 'God created man and woman for each other': Texans cite Scripture in opposition to HB 1738 Updated at 11:49 a.m. ET on April 15, 2025 Two Republican lawmakers including a self-identified Christian conservative are throwing their support behind an effort to repeal what activists say is an outdated and unenforceable law prohibiting homosexual conduct. House Bill 1738, reintroduced by state Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, seeks to remove criminal penalties for "homosexual conduct" from the Texas Penal Code more than two decades after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such laws unconstitutional in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision. 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 statute, part of Texas Penal Code Chapter 21, concerning sexual offenses, was originally established as part of the Revised Penal Code in 1973 and refers to homosexuality as deviate sexual acts that are not considered traditional intercourse between a man and a woman. Despite the 2003 ruling, the defunct law has remained on the books and, according to Jones, has led to ongoing issues, including accidental arrests. During a public hearing on April 8, Jones, one of the first openly-gay black members of the Texas Legislature, emphasized the practical consequences of the outdated statute. Law enforcement professionals acting in good faith, but sometimes unaware of the legal complexities, have violated the due process and civil liberties of Texans by attempting to enforce this defunct law, Jones stated. Removing this language eliminates the potential for error and protects both our citizens and our states resources. The bill has attracted support from an unlikely pair of Republicans: former House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, and Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian. Dade, who was ousted as Speaker earlier this year by Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, has previously voiced support to repeal the sodomy statute, while Harrison supported a similar effort in 2023. On his campaign website, Harrison bills himself as a promoter of conservative, Christian ideals and even touts an endorsement from Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. In a statement to CP Monday evening, Harrison said: Criminalizing homosexuality is not the role of government, and I support repealing it along with Senator Cruz, who called to repeal this law years ago, and Justice Clarence Thomas, who called our ban uncommonly silly and said, If I were a member of the Texas Legislature, I would vote to repeal it. I will continue consistently fighting for limited government and individual liberty. Cruz, a notable conservative voice who has garnered the backing of President Donald Trump, has also supported repealing the statute since at least 2022, following the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Despite the support of Cruz and others, any repeal of the statute remains a political longshot. During the April 8 public hearing, a number of self-identified Christians went on record to oppose the move. Greg Torres of Sweetwater said the ban has been a law due to the fact that it is wrong and goes against what the majority of people have always know is wrong, evil and against God. God created man and woman for each other," he added. "Any other type of sexual relationships are an abomination." Another resident, Brenda Howard of Belton, said her opposition to the repeal was based on the biblical principle of one man and one woman, while Jay Roberson of Austin cited Bible passages such as Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, and Leviticus 18:22 to explain his opposition. While I don't hate anyone, I hate what the Bible clearly calls sin, said Roberson. This truth is timeless. It brings dishonor on those who practice it and the nation who tolerates it. To tell the truth is not hate or hate-crime if you want what's best for all people, families and this state. Opponents of the repeal, however, were nearly split evenly with supporters of HB 1738, with one commenter, Rebecca Bullard of Austin, calling on the state of Texas to join the U.S. Supreme Court in protecting our right to privacy in the bedrooms of consenting adults. Texas lawmakers have attempted to push similar legislation through in 2017 and 2023, but both efforts never reached the House floor for a vote. Other proposed bills in the state Senate have failed to advance past the committee stage. Home News GoFundMe removes fundraiser for woman who assaulted pro-life activist on camera The New York woman who punched a pro-life activist in the face during a street interview raised over $8,000 on GoFundMe to pay for legal fees before the crowdfunding platform took her campaign down for violating its terms of service. A GoFundMe spokesperson told The Christian Post that a fundraiser for Brianna J. Rivers was removed for violating its terms of service, and the platform has refunded everyone who gave money to the campaign. Police arrested the 30-year-old Rivers on Thursday after a video of her striking pro-life activist Savannah Craven Antao went viral. On April 3, Craven Antao asked Rivers questions about abortion and Planned Parenthood while filming man-on-the-street style interviews in Harlem for the pro-life activist organization Live Action. 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 Rivers is facing one count of second-degree assault, sources from the New York Police Department told The New York Post last week. Rivers started a GoFundMe to pay for legal expenses, which reportedly raised around $8,695. At the time of reporting, the link directing potential donors to Rivers fundraising page no longer works. According to the rules outlined on GoFundMes terms page, an individual cannot use the platform to raise money for the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors. Rivers posted her reaction to the fundraisers removal in a Friday Facebook post, accusing Craven Antao of inciting her Klan to report her GoFundMe page. She also revealed that she lost her job and claimed that Craven Antaos trolls have taken this too far. This matter is suppose to be dealt with in court but this woman has been stalking my social media platforms to continue antagonizing and harassing me, Rivers wrote. Its one thing to be upset about what was done but cyber bullying , stalking, doxxing, are all very uncalled for. In an April 5 Facebook post, Rivers addressed the incident with Craven Antao, stating that she wanted to sincerely apologize. She also claimed that the pro-life advocate is only telling one side of the story. I understand hands being put on someone is never the answer, but throwing rocks and hiding hands is worse, Rivers wrote. She knows the truth and she needs to release the footage in its entirety. Savannah is a professional antagonist not a reporter and the truth will be told. Rivers did not immediately respond to The Christian Posts request for comment. On April 6, Live Action posted the uncut version of the interview on its YouTube page. The video footage shows that the conversation between Rivers and Craven Antao began on a friendly note, with the former even complimenting the latter. The interaction grew heated as Craven Antao asked questions about Planned Parenthood receiving taxpayer funding, with the advocate citing data that shows the health services the corporation provides have decreased over the years while abortions have increased. On the topic of abortion, Rivers claimed that she supports safe abortions, and Craven Antao asked how abortion can be safe if a baby dies as a result. Rivers argued that its only an embryo that doesnt have limbs or the ability to feel pain, to which the pro-life advocate noted that some people are born paralyzed or without limbs. Several times throughout the interview, Rivers brought up the possibility of a child in the foster care system suffering from abuse as a reason for abortion. At one point, Craven Antao asked if children in foster care should be killed, and Rivers replied, Why not? I need to know the percentage of people who take children from foster care and abuse them and molest them, who make them like personal slaves, the New York woman argued. I need statistics before you come to me talking about pro-life. Near the end of the interview, Rivers accused the pro-life activist of not understanding the magnitude of having a child. Im not the one who admitted they would be OK with killing babies in foster care and killing children that had been abused, Craven Antao replied. As the pro-life advocate started to say something else, Rivers punched the 23-year-old in the face. A photo shared on Craven Antaos Instagram page after the assault shows blood streaming down the advocates face. The pro-life activist stated in the post that she went to the hospital after the attack. In a statement to Live Action News following the assault, the advocates husband, Henry Antao, said that Rivers became aggressive and violent upon learning Savannahs pro-life stance. Henry Antao stated that he intervened to defend his wife from further harm and that the pair immediately called the police to report the assault. We are pro-life activists because ending abortion and protecting babies from the violence that Planned Parenthood commits is the most important issue of our lifetime, Henry Antao stated. Home News Kan. lawmakers override Dem. gov.s vetoes to fund pregnancy centers, teach fetal development in schools Kansas is slated to treat preborn children as dependents under the law, require education about fetal development in public schools and continue funding pro-life pregnancy centers after the Republican-controlled state Legislature overrode several gubernatorial vetoes last week. The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys veto of three bills last Thursday. The first bill, House Bill 2062, provides child support to children from the date of conception and declares that an unborn child shall be recognized as a dependent and shall be allowed a personal exemption of $2,320. The exemption also applies to babies who are stillborn. The Kansas House of Representatives voted 87-38 last Thursday to override Kellys veto of House Bill 2062 while the Kansas Senate overrode Kellys veto in a 31-9 vote that same day. The votes in both chambers fell largely along party lines, with all support coming from Republicans and most opposition coming from Democrats. One Republican joined Democrats in opposing the veto override. 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 Kelly addressed her veto of the legislation in a statement last Wednesday. This bill is yet another attempt by special interest groups and extremist lawmakers to ignore the will of Kansans and insert themselves into the lives of those making private medical decisions. It is a place where the Legislature has become all too comfortable particularly for those who espouse freedom from government overreach, she wrote. The motives behind this bill are clear, Kelly added. Instead of helping pregnant women and families, the Legislature chose to pass a bill that connects the issue to a womans constitutional rights. This bill is a dismissal of the will of the majority of Kansans who voted overwhelmingly in 2022 to keep politicians out of the private medical decisions made between a woman and her doctor. The second bill, House Bill 2382, requires any school district that offers any course or other instruction that addresses human growth, human development or human sexuality to show students a presentation of a high-quality, computer-generated animation or high-definition ultrasound of at least three minutes in duration that shows the development of the brain, heart and other vital organs in early human fetal development. The House voted 84-41 and the Senate voted 31-9 to override Kellys veto of the measure, which mirrors legislation passed in Idaho and Tennessee. The veto override fell largely along party lines, although four Republicans in the House joined Democrats to oppose the override. In her veto message, Kelly condemned the bill as convoluted, manipulative, and wrong for a number of reasons. She contended that it falls short of the goal to provide high-quality, relevant, researched, and age-appropriate educational experiences free from ideological prejudice. It undermines the authority of the Kansas State Board of Education and local school boards, who are vested with the duty and responsibility to set and enforce curricula for our schools, no matter the subject, she maintained. The Board, teachers, and administrators put in significant effort to create curricula and lesson plans. This legislation undermines their autonomy and replaces the expertise of trained professionals with the desires of special interest groups and the politicians that enable them. According to Kelly, This bill fails to establish standards to ensure the information included in the program is evidence-based. But it is not surprising, as the goal of this bill is not to educate developing and impressionable young minds it is to push a specific agenda without proper research to back it up. The third bill, Senate Bill 125, was signed into law by Kelly. However, she issued line item vetoes of several aspects of the measure, including a provision setting aside $3 million for the states pregnancy compassion awareness program. The program in question works to enhance and increase resources that promote childbirth instead of abortion to women facing unplanned pregnancies and to offer a full range of services, including pregnancy support centers, adoption assistance and maternity homes. Examples of such resources include mental health services, counseling, parenting classes, job training and the provision of car seats, cribs, maternity clothes, diapers, infant formula and other material items. The bill makes the services available to mothers of children from the beginning of their pregnancy through 24 months after they give birth. It stresses that money cannot be used to perform, induce, assist in the performing or inducing of or refer for abortions or granted to organizations that do so. In her veto message, Kelly claimed that housing the pregnancy crisis center program in the Office of the State Treasurer is inappropriate and simply politically motivated. Kelly further argued that Kansas women facing unplanned pregnancies deserve meaningful support from medical professionals who can provide evidence-based guidance, not from largely unregulated pregnancy resource centers. The House voted 88-34 to override the line item veto while the Senate voted 30-10 to do the same. One Senate Republican joined with Democrats to oppose overriding the line item veto, while the vote in the House saw three Democrats joining Republicans to support the veto override and three Republicans joining Democrats in opposing it. Home News New Mexico man charged with arson attacks on Tesla dealership, GOP office A New Mexico man has been charged in connection to arson attacks on a Tesla dealership and an office of the state chapter of the Republican Party. Federal prosecutors filed charges against Jamison Wagner, a 40-year-old resident of Albuquerque, last Saturday in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. Wagner is accused of setting fires at the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom in Bernalillo in February and at the Republican Party of New Mexico Party Office in Albuquerque late last month, according to the court documents. In the Tesla attack, two vehicles were damaged by fire. Additionally, graffiti was spraypainted on the building and some of the cars, which included the messages "Die Elon," "Tesla Nazi Inc" and "Die Tesla Nazi." "In several instances, some letters in the phrases were replaced with symbols resembling a swastika," states the criminal complaint. "The damaged vehicles in the parking lot were spray painted with similar swastika symbols on the windshields, windows, or body panels." "Several Tesla vehicles also had mechanical damage to the windows, consistent with attempted or successful forced entry." During the GOP office attack, Wagner allegedly set fire to the front entrance of the facility, heavily damaging the front door and the lobby area. He also spray-painted graffiti that included a stenciled "ICE=KKK" on a wall. 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 Investigators eventually connected the two events based on the spraypaint and types of incendiary devices used, with surveillance footage depicting an individual who resembled Wagner, as well as other footage showing what looked to be his car at both places. During a search of his residence last week, investigators found materials Wagner owned that indicated that he was responsible for the arson and vandalism, including a stencil board with the message "ICE=KKK," homemade incendiary devices and a hoodie with red spraypaint on it. "Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence," said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement issued Monday. "We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences." The arrest was "part of the FBI's aggressive efforts to investigate and hold accountable those who have targeted Tesla facilities in various states across the country," Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel said in a statement. "Under Attorney General Bondi's leadership, we will continue to locate and arrest those responsible for these acts of domestic terrorism, and the FBI will work with partners at the Department of Justice to ensure such lawbreakers face justice," stated Patel. Over the past few months, several violent attacks have been carried out against Tesla dealerships across the United States due to Tesla owner Elon Musk's working with the Trump administration to cut programs and lay off large numbers of federal employees. On New Year's Day, 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger exploded a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, injuring several people. He killed himself shortly before the explosion. An investigation later revealed that Livelsberger likely committed the suicidal action because of PTSD issues rather than any political grievances, according to The Associated Press. Home News Illinois priest reinstated after being cleared of sex abuse allegations A Roman Catholic priest in Illinois has been reinstated to the ministry after being cleared of an allegation he engaged in sexually abusive behavior decades ago. The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago sent letters to multiple parishes on Monday announcing that Father Matthew Foley was found not guilty by an investigation that involved civil authorities and a denominational independent review board. These parishes are where Foley had served in various ministry roles over the past few decades. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, wrote in his letter to St. Gall Parish that the IRB today determined that there is no reasonable cause to believe Father Foley sexually abused the person making the accusation. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe In addition, the IRB recommended that Father Foley be reinstated to ministry and that the file be closed. I have accepted their recommendation effectively immediately, wrote Cupich. I publicly affirm that Father Foley is a priest in good standing and express sincere appreciation for his many years of service to the People of God. He deserves our respect and gratitude and I hope you will join me in thanking him for his long-standing dedication. Cupich noted that while it was important to stress that the welfare of the children entrusted to our care is of paramount importance, the Catholic Church must restore the good name of anyone so accused when the allegations are found to be unsubstantiated. We encourage anyone who feels they have been sexually abused by a priest, deacon, religious or lay employee to come forward. They will be received with dignity and compassion, he added. In January, Foley was temporarily removed from ministry following an allegation that he had abused a minor while serving at St. Agatha Parish around 30 years ago. The archdiocese sent letters to parishes where Foley had served, informing them about the allegation and how it was being investigated by both secular authorities and church officials. After the civil authorities have finished their work, the archdiocese will complete its investigation and report the results to our Independent Review Board, read the January letter sent to St. Agnes of Bohemia Parish, where Foley had served from 2000 to 2008. We ask that you reserve judgement on this allegation until the process has concluded, as those accused are innocent until proven otherwise. We appreciate your patience. Only by conducting a thorough and impartial review can we ensure fairness to all concerned. Over the past several years, the Catholic Church has wrestled with scandal surrounding the failure of many leaders to report longstanding sexual abuse among priests. In response, the church has made efforts to increase accountability and the protection of minors, though some advocates believe that better reforms have yet to be fully implemented. Home News Several states reject federal DEI demands as deadline looms As the April 24 deadline approaches for states to affirm compliance with the Trump administration's policies restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in schools or risk losing federal education funds, several states say they will not comply with the federal demands, while others intend to meet the requirements. At least 11 states with Democratic governors, including New York, Colorado, Washington, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin, have openly refused to comply with the administration's demands for school districts to certify that they are not violating Title VI civil rights law through implementing DEI policies. In a letter rejecting the directive, New York's Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs Daniel Morton-Bentley said the state education department is unaware of any legal authority the federal government has to demand states eliminate DEI programs or withdraw federal funds if states refuse to comply, according to The Washington Post. 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 Morton-Bentley said New York has already certified compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, making additional certification unnecessary. Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Cordova also confirmed that the state would not comply, noting that Colorado's education system already adheres to Title VI standards and the latest federal demand differs from previous assurances signed by districts, Fox 31 reported. In Washington state, education chief Chris Reykdal described the federal certification request as lacking authority and clarity, calling it in a statement last week "an assault on the autonomy of states and local school districts." Washington officials have requested clarification on potential enforcement measures and legal authority underpinning the directive. Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly similarly asked the U.S. Department of Education for further clarification, criticizing the request as redundant and potentially unlawful. Wisconsin receives significant federal funding about $216 million in Title I funds alone this school year, with Milwaukee Public Schools receiving around $82 million of that amount, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. Other states, however, have taken a cooperative stance. Eleven Republican-controlled states, four states with split-party governance, one Democratic-led state and Puerto Rico have declared their intention to comply, according to an analysis by Education Week. Among these states, New Hampshire established a public website to post local districts' certifications, receiving praise from U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Vermont's Education Secretary Zoie Saunders said the state would sign certifications on behalf of districts to shield them from direct involvement but affirmed that Vermont would not alter its existing DEI practices. Saunders stressed that Vermont's practices are designed to support all students and create positive learning environments, dismissing the federal directive as having no practical impact on state policy. In Maryland, school officials opted for a less confrontational approach by preparing to sign a simplified two-paragraph letter affirming compliance with civil rights laws, The Baltimore Banner reported. The Education Department initially gave states a 10-day window from April 3 to respond but extended the deadline to April 24 following concerns and requests for clarification from multiple states. The certification requires state education chiefs to affirm compliance with Title VI per the federal government's interpretation that DEI practices involving racial preferences violate anti-discrimination laws. The directive cites a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting affirmative action in college admissions, interpreting it as applicable to other DEI programs. According to Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor, DEI initiatives constitute illegal discrimination if they favor one racial group over another, which the administration views as a violation of Title VI. Meanwhile, several states remain undecided or ambiguous about compliance. Louisiana has begun soliciting signatures from districts without clarifying if the state itself will comply. Missouri and Utah have advised districts that no new certifications are required since existing assurances are sufficient. Five states with pending anti-DEI legislation Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia have not yet clarified their positions regarding the federal directive, Education Week notes. Home News Salvadoran Pres. Bukele says he won't be sending Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to US in Trump meeting 'I'm not going to release him. We don't like releasing terrorists in our country.' President Donald Trump welcomed his Salvadoran counterpart, Nayib Bukele, to the White House on Monday for a meeting that strengthened collaboration between the two countries on immigration and security issues. During the meeting, Trump thanked Bukele for agreeing to the expulsion of migrants accused of terrorism and for allowing the use of a maximum-security prison in El Salvador for their detention, according to Infobae. Since March, El Salvador has received more than 200 immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, accused by U.S. authorities of belonging to gangs and criminal groups. All were transferred to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a mega-prison built by the Bukele government to house members of criminal organizations. 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 One of the most controversial cases is that of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who entered the country illegally during the Obama administration. He later married and resided in Prince Georges County, Maryland, with his wife and child, who are U.S. citizens. In 2019, a judge granted him federal protection from being deported. Last month, however, he was deported under the allegation that he's an MS-13 gang member. Abrego Garcia filed a lawsuit against several federal officials, including Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons, alleging that he was deprived of due process. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court said government officials should coordinate his return. Bukele has refused to return him, arguing that he is a "terrorist" and that his government does not release people it considers dangerous. "I'm not going to release him. We don't like releasing terrorists in our country," the Salvadoran president stated. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was present at the meeting, offered a plane to repatriate Abrego Garcia, but emphasized that El Salvador has custody. Bukele insisted that his country lacks the power to return him and will not allow "a terrorist" to return to the United States. "We have just become the safest country on the continent. We cannot release criminals; that would make us the murder capital of the world again," he declared. During the bilateral meeting, Trump publicly praised Bukele's cooperation, thanking him for helping resolve what he described as the "open borders" problem inherited from previous administrations. "We had stupid people running this country, and I can say that what they did to us at the border should never and will never be forgotten. What they did was a sin, and you're helping us. We appreciate it," Trump said from the Oval Office. The meeting between Trump and Bukele has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, which question the legality of the deportations and the conditions in which migrants are held at the CECOT (Central Secretariat of the Interior). However, both leaders have defended their collaboration as a necessary measure to combat organized crime and guarantee security in the region. The alliance between the U.S. and El Salvador on migration and security issues has strengthened in recent months, with the implementation of stricter policies to control immigration and combat transnational gangs. The meeting at the White House marks a new chapter in the bilateral relationship, with a focus on cooperation to address common challenges in the Western Hemisphere. Bukele's visit to Washington has also been interpreted as political support for his administration, at a time when his government is facing criticism for the concentration of power and the measures adopted under the state of emergency. However, the understanding between the two leaders reflects a convergence of interests on key issues for the regional agenda. This article was originally published at CP Espanol Home News US senator seeks to make Easter Monday federal holiday: 'Celebrate most extraordinary day in history' A United States senator has introduced legislation to make the day after Easter a federal holiday so families can more easily celebrate the Christian holiday together. In a thread on X, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., announced that he had introduced a bill that would make Easter Monday a federal holiday. His social media post came one week before Easter Monday, which falls on April 21 this year. 81% of Americans celebrate Easter, Schmitt wrote. But our current holiday schedule makes it way too difficult for families to celebrate together. 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 Schmitt noted that Easter falls on the longest unbroken work stretch of the calendar, adding, March and April are the only back-to-back months without a federal holiday. This isnt a radical idea. He continued, Its a federal recognition of a tradition that is central to Western civilization a tradition thats already recognized as a public holiday in nations across (and beyond!) the West, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most of Western Europe. It isnt even novel in America, Schmitt said of the idea of making Easter Monday a federal holiday. We already have a National Day of Prayer, signed into law by Missouris own President Truman. A federal Easter Monday holiday allows Americans to celebrate the most extraordinary day in world history, Easterthe day of Christs resurrection. Schmitt asserted that Easter already unites more than three-quarters of Americans and highlighted how For generations, many American school calendars gave students the day off for Good Friday and Easter Monday. The senator further characterized his proposal to make Easter Monday a federal holiday as Pro-worker. Pro-family. Pro-faith. There are plenty of practical arguments for it, too, Schmitt added. Easter weekend already generates around $15 billion for our economy. Making it a three-day weekend could boost that by an estimated 10-15%, adding up to $2 billion in economic activity while strengthening American families. Schmitt concluded his X thread by describing our holidays and traditions as part of the story we tell ourselves. He maintained that This is not partisan and Its not a Republican or Democrat holiday, but rather an American holiday, allowing a fuller celebration of the defining moment of our faith that shaped our nation and civilization. While the date of Easter varies every year, it always falls between March 22 and April 25, during what Schmitt described as the only back-to-back months without a federal holiday. The official website for Congress shows that Schmitts bill was introduced on Thursday and would amend Title 5 of the U.S. Code to make Easter Monday a federal holiday. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and doesn't have any co-sponsors at this time. Title 5 of the U.S. Code establishes the legal public holidays in the U.S. New Years Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day take place in January, Presidents Day is observed in February, Memorial Day is celebrated in May, Juneteenth is celebrated in June, Independence Day falls on July 4, Labor Day is observed in September, Columbus Day is celebrated in October, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day take place in November and Christmas Day is in December. According to officeholidays.com, the source cited by Schmitt to highlight which countries celebrate Easter Monday, over 100 countries and territories recognize the holiday. While the U.S. isn't one of those countries, the U.S. Virgin Islands celebrates the holiday. If Schmitts bill becomes law, Easter Monday would become the 13th federal holiday in the U.S. The most recent addition to the list, Juneteenth, became a public holiday four years ago after Congress overwhelmingly approved a bill to commemorate the anniversary of when slaves in Galveston, Texas, first found out about the Emancipation Proclamation. Only 14 congressional Republicans voted against the measure, which then-President Joe Biden signed into law. The Christian Post reached out to Schmitts office for a comment on the legislation. This article will be updated if a response is received. Home Opinion Hell is empty, and all the devils are in Denver In William Shakespeares The Tempest, Ariels ominous declaration that Hell is empty and all the devils are here is meant to serve as a powerful reminder that evil isnt confined to the underworld but can also be found in our fellow men. Wicked deeds and destructive plans dwell in the hearts of humans just as readily as in the depths of Hades. Yes, demons are real. And sometimes they wear the mask of a Colorado state legislator. Wokeness, far from being put away, is digging in its heels across Americas blue states, with each vying to outdo the others in dismantling truth, religious freedom, parental rights, and nature itself. 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 Colorado, once a bastion of rugged individualism, now seems determined to snatch the crown of most godless state in America from the communist paradise that we currently call California. For any astute observer, this is no surprise. The current political agenda of Colorado leftists is simply part of the course trajectory as we hurdle towards the inescapable event horizon of the cultural and sexual revolution. The brakes have been cut. Reverse is not an option. Because once you start down the slippery slope greased to the gills by the philosophical framework of critical theory, queer theory, cultural Marxism, and intersectionality empowering the government to kidnap kids from loving parents who wont affirm their transgender delusions is, well, just a speed bump on the way to our androgynous utopia of state-enforced transsexuality. Sorry, parents, progress waits for no man. Or woman. Or whatever. Case in point: Colorado House Bill 25-1312. This proposed legislation, which has passed the Colorado House and now moves to the Colorado Senate, is nothing less than a brazen attempt to enthrone radical gender ideology as the Centennial States supreme law over reason, biology, faith, and the family the First Amendment be damned. Per usual, this bill is being advanced under the guise of protecting the rights of sexual minorities and strengthening protections for transgender people and gender-affirming care. A more accurate description is a bill to outlaw Christianity in Colorado, censor and punish everyone who believes that boys cant become girls, and destroy parental rights. Euphemisms are handy, arent they? Heres a brief summary of what the bill actually does: 1. Redefines parental oversight The bill classifies a parents refusal to affirm a childs self-declared gender identity as coercive control, which is considered a form of child abuse. This could trigger state intervention, including investigations by child welfare services. Parents who do not support social or medical transitions (e.g., pronoun changes, hormone therapy) may face accusations of neglect or unfit parenting. 2. Mandates transgender affirmation in institutions If passed, schools, healthcare providers, and counselors must affirm a childs gender identity. Any failure to do so would violate the law. Religious institutions, including churches and Christian schools, would be required to adopt policies aligning with gender identity affirmation or be punished. 3. Coerces speech The bill effectively restricts free speech by compelling the use of pronouns or penalizing language that does not align with a persons declared gender identity. Publicly questioning or denying someones self-professed gender identity would be deemed discriminatory. 4. Gives the state final authority over children The state gains increased power to override parental decisions, allowing minors to access gender-affirming treatments without parental consent. This provision positions the state as the ultimate arbiter of a childs identity, sidelining family and faith-based values. This isnt a protections bill, its a calculated assault on free speech, Christian ethics, and parental rights and it demands a response. The bill is a masterclass in overreach. By elevating subjective feelings above objective truth, the bill seeks to outlaw dissent and force compliance with a worldview that denies the created order. The process was as troubling as the content. Democrats used Rule 16 to stifle debate, ensuring that the bill faced little scrutiny. Introduced with minimal notice, it left opponents scrambling to respond. Most telling was the decision to force a House vote on a Sunday, a sacred day for Christians. This wasnt mere scheduling; it was a deliberate signal of contempt for the faith community and a rush to ram the bill through. Such tactics betray a deeper aim: not dialogue but dominance. If enacted, HB25-1312 would have sweeping consequences. It would empower the state to dictate what parents teach their children about identity and morality, effectively sidelining them. Christian schools and churches could be coerced into adopting policies that violate their beliefs or face extinction. Counselors rooted in biblical ethics might lose their livelihoods. Normal Coloradans would have to weigh whether speaking the truth is worth the punishment. As with every political effort led by the gender mob, this bill isnt about inclusion; its about control control of language, belief, and the next generation. Remember, the LGBT movement doesnt (cant) reproduce naturally. So the way they produce offspring is by corrupting your kids. Thankfully, resistance is rising. Rep. Jarvis Cardwell has been on the front lines, warning the nation about the implications of this dystopian bill. And Rep. Brandi Bradley has been a steadfast voice, warning that HB25-1312 is an attack on parental rights and that what they call gender-affirming care is coercion telling a child that God got it wrong. That they alone were made incorrectly. Thats not love. Thats abuse. Pastor Chase Davis, who leads a Boulder-area congregation, has also stepped into the fray. He submitted written testimony against the bill, warning that: HB25-1312 codifies hostility toward Christian beliefs by treating basic biblical convictions as discrimination. To recognize that men and women are distinct, to refuse to affirm gender confusion, and to speak truthfully about a persons sex are not acts of hatred but of faithfulness to God. HB25-1312 is an affront to truth, to family, and to religious liberty. It seeks to replace Gods authority with state-mandated falsehoods. It criminalizes Christian convictions and makes it illegal to live and speak according to biblical truth. Additionally, 16 pastors from small-to-midsized churches sent a letter to the larger churches in Colorado, imploring them to use their reach and resources to help defeat this bill, charging them that The hour demands your voice bold and unapologetic. Use your platforms to defend parents, protect our institutions, and resist this tide. Silence is no longer neutral; it is surrender. Their clarity and courage are vital, but they need an army behind them. This bill tests whether Colorados Christians will bow or fight for their convictions. Pastors and churches must lead this charge. Too often, believers have shied away from cultural conflicts, hoping theyll pass. But Scripture commands us to contend for the faith (Jude 1:3) and to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13). Pastors need to preach with boldness, equipping their people to see HB25-1312s conflict with Gods design. They must echo Peters resolve: We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). Silence now means ceding ground to a state that demands conformity over conscience. This is a defining moment. Christians must take decisive action. We are called to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), preserving truth and exposing error. While it might appear to be an uphill battle, every Christian in Colorado must believe that God has placed them in the state for such a time as this. This is not a time for silence or half-measures but to stand valiantly in the defense of children, truth, and religious freedom. If we let the state redefine reality and claim our children, we fail as Gods servants. But we have hope: The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Colorado may be flirting with godlessness, but the Church, anchored in truth, can turn the tide. The devils are in Denver, but with a united Christian effort and through the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit, we can cast them out. Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center. Home Opinion New Apostolic Reformation: From the inner circle, what it is According to a growing number of journalists and academics, a group of religious fanatics is working right now to strip away your personal freedoms, install theocratic Christian rule, and destroy democracy in the United States; they call this group the NAR or the New Apostolic Reformation. Allegedly, this shadowy religious group was instrumental in getting Trump elected and is presently hard at work subverting your freedoms and ushering in some sort of Handmaidens Tale-type religious totalitarian society. Well at least according to some. To which I say, Malarkey! I have spent the past 26 years, the entirety of my adult life, working in the inner circle of the so-called NAR. The majority of that time was spent working directly for Dr. C. Peter Wagner, the alleged architect of NAR. This culminated in spending the last four years of his life as his personal assistant, travelling companion, and confidante. I had a front-row seat to the birth of the NAR as a concept and a movement. I count most of its purported central figures, or generals as some have called them, as close personal friends of many years. 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 For the record, there is no actual organization, association, or singular organized body of any type called the NAR. There never has been. Nor does anyone associated with it refer to themselves with that term meaningfully, if even at all. The NAR began as a term adopted by Peter Wagner to refer to a series of specific changes he observed occurring in the Body of Christ. Changes which he generally agreed with and expounded upon in several of his books, most notably Churchquake: How the New Apostolic Reformation Is Shaking Up the Church As We Know It (1999). As an academic and tenured professor at Fuller Theological Seminar, Wagner had a truly scientific mind. He would observe, formulate a theory, and then work to explore and prove or disprove that theory. And that is exactly how he approached the concepts of the New Apostolic Reformation. So, what is the New Apostolic Reformation? Without getting into a massive theological discussion, in the simplest of terms, Wagner defined the New Apostolic Reformation as a fundamental shift from pastor and committee-led churches and traditional denominational organizations to independent networks of churches run by individual leaders called apostles. Wagner saw the biblical roles of the five-fold offices found in Ephesians 4:11 being restored to prominence, and with that, there would also be a restoration of signs, wonders, and miracles as was seen in the book of Acts and the First Century Church. A significant underpinning to the shift Wagner observed was the move from simply teaching the Gospel of Salvation, which primarily emphasized the importance of individuals getting saved or asking Jesus into your heart, towards a more comprehensive Gospel of the Kingdom. It wasnt just about bringing Jesus into your own heart, it was about bringing Jesus and thus His Kingdom into all of the world. In this sense, the Gospel of the Kingdom is a much broader, more encompassing focus that includes far more than just personal salvation. Instead, the Gospel of the Kingdom includes making disciples of all nations and influencing all aspects of society and culture. This shift, from passive, status-quo churches to dynamic, personality-driven churches seeking to spread the Gospel beyond church walls, made things both interesting and controversial. Wagner noticed that the fastest-growing churches affecting social transformation in their region shared a key trait direct power confrontations with evil, known as Spiritual Warfare. In the 1990s, places like Resistencia, Argentina, and Almolonga, Guatemala, saw dramatic transformation and church growth through spiritual warfare prayer, intercession, and fasting to confront Satans influence. This warfare is purely spiritual, not physical, targeting only the forces described in Ephesians 6:12: Principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Spiritual warfare done correctly, effectively, and biblically is done only against spiritual entities and through spiritual means. It is never done against individuals, people groups, politicians, etc. Fast forward to the mid-2010s, Wagner had spent nearly 20s years cultivating a new generation of Christian leaders skilled in spiritual warfare and in advancing the Gospel of the Kingdom, often now referred to as the Seven Mountain Mandate. These leaders, organized into dynamic, independent churches, aimed to transform society beyond church walls through spiritual warfare as a confrontation with the forces of darkness. What NAR is not: NAR is not anti-democratic Free choice is a fundamental component of Christianity and as such there is no attempt to legislate people into the Kingdom. The Kingdom is something each person must choose to enter through Salvation found only in Jesus Christ. Those advancing the Gospel of the Kingdom are committed to the defense of freedom and certainly want the leaders and the laws of the land to align with biblical values and truths but they want that done as an expression of the will of the people as expressed through their votes. NAR is not about violence or physical warfare. There are zero genuine leaders within the so-called NAR that are calling for actual physical violence of any kind. Any such rhetoric is antibiblical and should be denounced. The fact is it simply doesnt exist in any meaningful way among those being called NAR. NAR is not about forcing its beliefs on others. There zero desire to force people to believe or conform to Biblical beliefs. With the exception of matters of defending the life of the unborn, nobody is trying to force or coerce anyone into anything. Ultimately, those within the movement want people to willingly enter the Kingdom. Taking Dominion is more about recognizing that we have a voice and a role to play in society, now, in the present. Its about stewardship, responsibility, and leadership, not about control or theocracy. NAR as the proverbial Boogieman Since the first Trump administration, the mainstream media and some in academia have painted NAR as a radical religious group working in the shadows to create some sort of imagined Christian Caliphate in the US. Articles have been written and books published, all of which point to NAR as something sinister and opposed to freedom, democracy, and even contrary to Christian Orthodoxy. Yet, the truth is much different; there is no NAR. No organized strategy or mass conspiracy. No grand plans for theocratic rule, suppressing freedom, democracy, or subverting the government. Herein lies the problem: since there is no centralized or organized NAR of any sort, there is no consistency in those labeled NAR. Anyone with any personal agenda or random belief could call themselves NAR or be labeled as NAR. As such, it becomes an easy label to be used to vilify anyone. Rhetoric is a key component in this process because of the strong emphasis on spiritual warfare and the use of warfare terminology. There is a tremendous opportunity for misunderstanding of what is being said by those within the movement. But this is not a new thing for Christians. Remember second-century Christian apologist Justin Martyr told us the Christians were being persecuted and charged with incest by the Romans because they referred to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, even within married couples. Furthermore, they were charged with cannibalism because of the communion elements being referred to as the blood and body of Christ. In the same way, I would argue that much of the outcry against Christians within this movement is because of the terminology used relating to warfare. For example, it was reported during prayer time on Jan 6th that an influential alleged NAR leader was calling for violence by referring to casting down a Jezebel spirit when referring to a female politician. This is a reference to Jezebel in the Bible who was killed by being thrown from a window. This statement was interpreted by many anti-NAR individuals to suggest a call for physical violence. I know for a fact that the individual meant no literal physical harm to that female politician, nor would they condone it in the least bit. However, at face value, the rhetoric could be perceived as violent towards the individual. But, remember, I clearly stated that spiritual warfare is not against individuals or any flesh and blood in accordance with Ephesian 6. But only against the spiritual forces. In the end, NAR has become the convenient boogieman built on a foundation of misinterpretation, fear, and false narratives. There is no shadowy organization plotting to overthrow democracy and in fact, there is no actual organization, group, or entity called NAR. No secret handshakes, no hidden meetings in dark forests, no plan to impose theocratic rule over society. The truth is far less dramatic NAR is a label applied loosely and often inaccurately to a diverse and decentralized group of believers seeking to fulfill the Great Commission. Instead of buying into the fear-mongering, its time for honest dialogue, deeper understanding, and a rejection of exaggerated conspiracies that only serve to divide us further. Home Opinion The Middle East: Lost cause or lost sheep? A casual glance at the news headlines suggests the Middle East is beyond saving seemingly locked in a perpetual cycle of war and bitter rage. Its a lost cause, some might feel. But is it really? 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 people of the Middle East arent a lost cause. Theyre lost sheep crying out for a divine shepherd to lead and comfort them. In Iraq and Iran, theres reportedly a surge in atheism. But its largely a reaction against religious authoritarianism. The people are sick of dictators wielding religion as a weapon, as a tool to power. They just dont see a God of love in their religious system. Who will make Gods love visible to them? For years, Ive been immersed in the cultural, religious and political atmosphere of the Middle East. As president of SAT-7 USA, the American arm of SAT-7 International located in the region, Ive had a front-row seat to the turmoil in the Middle East and yet also seen movements of the Gospel that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Back in 2009 when I joined the organization, social media was still in its infancy, Snapchat and Instagram didnt exist, smartphones were a novelty, and Blu-ray was the thing. Since then, weve experienced the social and digital media revolution including apps, video-on-demand, and high-definition television. Anyone, anywhere in the Middle East can now watch Christian programs in their local language at home or on their phone as they stroll down the street. For the first time, Gods love really is visible to the entire Middle East. Satellite television still has a huge impact in the region, especially among those who cant read or write. The poorest families own a television set. Nomadic tribespeople have satellite dishes next to their tents and camels. And even families living in refugee camps huddle around a TV set. In parts of the region that are hostile to Christianity and thats most places live satellite broadcasts cant be censored. Programs might get knocked off the air for a few hours, but theyre soon back on, and even that rarely happens. Broadcasts can reach homes in Mecca and Tehran, no matter what a regime, ruler, or religion says or does. They cant possibly tear down every satellite dish. For God, theres no such thing as a closed country or for that matter a closed heart. And he supplies courage for every heart at the moment of need. One 19-year-old viewer faced furious authorities who demanded she recant her faith in Christ. I have no idea where the courage came from, but I was not afraid and I was able to answer all their charges, she said. They released me and, 30 minutes later, I was shaking like a leaf. Another teenager began following Christ through the ministry of our Arabic-language channel. Her entire family disowned her. But they couldnt resist the love that she showed them in return. In time, her mother and sister asked to meet this Jesus and her fathers heart melted, too. Do these stories sound like a lost cause to you? Has God given up on the Iranians? The Palestinians? The hurting peoples of the Middle East and North Africa? Absolutely not! They are the lost sheep whom hes gently calling, leading them to an eternal place free of sin, suffering, pain, and death. As Revelation 7:9 says: ... and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes... (ASV). Abonati-va sa primiti pe email saptamanal lista articolelor adaugate pe parcursul saptamanii. Adresele .ru nu sunt acceptate. Email NEWSLETTER Sign up for The Media Today, CJRs daily newsletter. The Houston Landing, a newsroom that launched two years ago with $20 million in philanthropic commitments, announced today that it will shut down in mid-May and lay off all forty-three employees. The decision, which was made by the board of the Landing, represents a costly and prominentbut, so far, rarefailure of a local news startup after the launch of scores of such ventures across the country as local newspapers have shrunk or folded. We are proud of the Landings coverage of Greater Houston and continue to believe deeply in the need for more free, independent journalism in our region, Ann B. Stern, the chief executive of the Houston Endowment and the board chair of the Houston Landing, said in a statement. This decision was difficult but necessary. Houston Landings reporting has made a meaningful impact in the community, but it struggled to find its long-term financial footing. In Houston, the rise and fall of the Landing seemed nearly to match the boom-and-bust cycle of the nations fourth-largest city and energy capital, a place known for its ambition, sprawl, and diversity. Announced in January 2022, the Landing secured big commitments from major funders: $7.5 million each from the Houston Endowment and the Kinder Foundation, $4 million from Arnold Ventures, and $1.5 million from the American Journalism Projectall spread out over three years. But the Landing also spent quickly: $5.5 million in 2023 and $7.9 million in 2024. Last year, it spent $2 million more than it brought in. Last year, in its second year of operation, the Landing attracted just thirteen thousand newsletter subscribers and generated $80,000 in membership revenuea pittance, given the size of the city. The Texas Tribune, where I served as editor in chief from October 2021 until last September, was launched in 2008 with $1 million in seed money from its founderthe venture capitalist John Thornton, who died last monthand about $3 million in additional pledges and commitments. The Tribune began publication in 2009 and, fifteen years later, has a budget of about $15 million, which includes a mix of individual contributions, grants from foundations and endowments, corporate sponsorships, and revenue from an annual ideas festival. Even with a long track record, meeting the revenue target requires substantial effort each year, and past performance is no guarantee of future returnsthe Center for Public Integrity, a DC-based watchdog newsroom, is closing after thirty-six years in operation. The growth of the nonprofit news movement has meant more competition for donations and eyeballs. Its largely a healthy development, but lately the pace of startups has slowed, and some newsrooms have joined forces. Last year, Reveal (originally known as the Center for Investigative Reporting) merged with Mother Jones, as did The Markup with CalMatters. Sign up for CJRs daily email In hindsight, money was both a blessing and a curse for the Landing. With a generous three-year runway, the Landing started hiring aggressively in the late summer of 2022, months ahead of launch. As its costs increased, the revenue did not match. Last year, the Landing generated just $430,000 in new revenue, including just $25,000 from major donors. By journalism standards, the Landing paid well, with many reporters making over $80,000 a yearhardly extravagant, but generous by the standards of Texas, a right-to-work state that has no state income tax. The Landing also suffered from a lack of focus. Houston is a megalopolis. Was the aim to cover the city proper (population 2.3 million), all of Harris County (4.8 million), or the greater Houston metropolitan area (about 7.5 millionabout as many people as live in Arizona)? Was the focus on community and service journalism, a la Documenters and Outlier Media? Or was it high-impact accountability reporting, like the illegal suspensions of homeless students and collisions of vehicles into oil pipelines that cause deadly leaks? The investigations landed prestige and awards for the Landing, but in a city where many residents lack basic civic information, the Landing didnt attract and retain the kind of deep, loyal audience it needed to survive. A go-it-alone mentality also contributed to the Landings struggles. The Houston Chronicle, owned by Hearst, is smaller than it used to be but remains a formidable presence, and is arguably Texass best newspaper, alongside the Dallas Morning News. Houston is undercovered, but its hardly a news desert, and Houston Public Media is also a strong source of free local news. The Landing failed to develop a broad and robust base of community supportnot only with potential funders, but with the neighborhood associations, civic leaders, and community groups that would help spread the word. Finally, leadership matters, and the governance challenges facing the Landing were considerable. The board comprised just six members, three of whom were representatives of the three biggest funders. Smaller boards are nimbler, enabling faster decision-making, but also mean less input and participation. Of critical importance, the Landing hired a CEO in June 2022: Scott McClelland, the former president of H-E-B Food/Drug Stores. Beloved by Texans, H-E-B operates 390 stores in Texas and Mexico. McClelland brought business savvy and a rich network of contacts. He made critical hiresMizanur Rahman, investigative editor of the Chronicle, as editor in chief, and Emily Keeton, a startup innovator with deep roots in the Houston tech scene, as chief operating officer. The American Journalism Project, which committed $1.5 million in seed funding, had conducted research for two years starting in 2020 into the communitys information needs, but found itself shut out of key decisions and backed away from regular involvement in the Landings operations. Weeks before the publications launch, in February 2023, McClelland stepped down as CEO, partly for health reasons. The board scrambled to find a replacement. Instead of conducting a competitive national search, the board quickly identified Peter Bhatia, a respected former editor of the Detroit Free Press, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Portland Oregonian, as McClellands replacement, at the recommendation of board member Jeff Cohen, a former top editor of the Houston Chronicle who now advises Arnold Ventures, the philanthropic arm of Houston couple John and Laura Arnold. Ive known Bhatia for close to thirty years. The son of an Indian father, he has been a pioneering Asian American newsroom leader and has the utmost integrity. However, Bhatia had not run a digital-only operation, hadnt worked extensively in nonprofit fundraising, and didnt know Houston well. (In June 2023, I visited the Landing to share perspectives with Bhatia and his team, and was impressed by the talented people around him.) With a strong background in journalism, Bhatia clashed with his top editor, and in January 2024 he fired Rahman and a Pulitzer-winning reporter, Alex Stuckey, dismissals that received national attention. Soon after, in March 2024, the Landings journalists organized a labor union with the NewsGuild, which the Landing voluntarily recognized. Like Bhatia, Rahman is a superb journalist with a strong track record of accountability journalism. But Rahmanwho now works at the opinion section of the Washington Postwas committed to hard-hitting investigations; his model was more like a ProPublica for Houston, while most newsrooms funded by the American Journalism Project have focused on service journalism and audience engagement, which were not his strengths. (Ironically, the Houston Chronicle is part of a statewide ProPublicaTexas Tribune investigative initiative that was just announced last week.) Bhatia hired some terrific journalistsManny Garcia, the current editor in chief, was previously the top editor at the Austin American-Statesman, and Angel Rodriguez, the managing editor, was previously in charge of Latino initiatives at the Los Angeles Times (where we both served on the masthead). They began to focus the editorial strategy around education, immigration, climate and governmental accountability. The Landings journalism has continued to have impact. But in the end, the gap between board and staff, between management and labor, and between runway and revenue was just too large to bridge. While its with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of our newsroom, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the dedicated journalists and staff members who poured their passion into our mission every single day, Bhatia said in a statement. Houston Landing demonstrates how a commitment to truth and accountability can transform communities and improve lives. Im thankful to those who believed in us, supported us, and stood with us as we connected with each other through stories that inspired positive change. Michael Ouimette, the chief investment officer of the American Journalism Project, said in a statement that building a sustainable nonprofit newsroom requires bringing the right pieces together, from strategy to leadership to community engagement. While Houston Landings closure is disappointing, its not part of a broader trend, he told me. Across the country, were seeing local news organizations diversify their revenue and grow. In 2024, more than 80 percent of the organizations in our portfolio increased their revenue, and together they generated over $125 million. That kind of growth gives us real reason for optimism. The board of the Landing confirmed on Tuesday that it has entered into discussions with the Texas Tribune, which is exploring the possibility of establishing a Houston news initiative as part of its broader strategy to expand local journalism and serve more Texans. Sonal Shah, the chief executive of the Tribune, said in a statement: We look forward to exploring how we can learn from what the Landing started and create a sustainable model that serves the Houston community. However, the Tribune is preoccupied with its own local initiativesits creating news teams in Waco and Austin, projects I helped initiate during my time at the Tribune. And on Friday, Shah announced that she would be stepping down as the Tribunes CEO at the end of the year. The Tribunes board has retained executive recruiter Ann Blinkhorn to conduct a national search for her successor. While everyone is hopeful that the Tribune might someday be able to provide local news for Houstonites as part of a networked model, thats unlikely to happen anytime soon. The loss of the Landing hurts for Houston, for Texas, and for anyone who cares about the future of local news. Sign up for The Media Today, CJRs daily newsletter. In 1540, Pope Paul III revoked an arrangement under which the people of Perugia, a city in what is now central Italy, had been allowed to buy salt from suppliers outside of the papal states, within which the pope exercised a monopoly. The price of salt nearly doubled [and] Peruginis, already contending with a bad harvest, did not take it well, Vittoria Traverso wrote for Atlas Obscura in 2018; the pope said he needed the extra tax money to fight heretics, but locals suspected hed use the money corruptly and mounted an armed resistance. To this day, bread in Perugia tends to be baked without salt, a fact that many residents interpret as a continuation of a fierce act of rebellion and that chimes with the Perugians fiercely rebellious and anticlerical reputation, Traverso wrote. The story is, apparently, told often to visitors, in bakeries and beyond; my girlfriend heard a version of it in a nearby tourist office just last week. Perugia still has a strong food culture, even if, these days, its less associated with salt than fine chocolate, pungent truffle, herby pork, and other indulgences. Its a visually indulgent place, tooalmost like an AI rendering of a beautiful Italian townwith a long central street, bedecked with resplendent old buildings, eventually opening out onto a balcony with views of rolling hills punctuated by towers; Assisi (a town with modern-day papal associations) glimmers like a jewel set into a nearby hillside. Into this setting, last week, strode journalists from all over the world, distinguishable from the locals if not by their lanyards and laptops, then by their natty trainers and shirt-jackets, myself very much included. The juxtaposition was slightly uncanny; as one attendee put it to me, this seemed like the sort of place youd go for an anniversary break, not a major journalism festival. (While I did the festival, my girlfriend did the tourism; shed recommend taking a boat on the nearby Lago Trasimeno, but not trusting the online timetable.) By day, we ducked out of a beating April sun and into panel discussions in impossibly beautiful theaters, where we asked questions that were really more of a comment. By night, we ate extravagant dinners then swarmed outside the handsome Hotel Brufani, where we swilled negronis and discussed The Apocalypse. This was the nineteenth edition of the International Journalism Festival, an impeccably organized and free-to-attend annual gathering of the worlds media, but it was my first time in attendance; I thus cant judge the vibe against prior years, but this time, there was abundant talk of there not being enough money to go around, of contracts canceled (be it by the US government or Big Tech), and, of course, Donald Trump, the rising threat of autocracy trailing in his wake, and just how bad things might get. I heard secondhand reports of US journalists wanting to pull up stakes and move to Europethough a young Italian journalist asked me how they might go about moving in the opposite direction. (Indeed, the rolling hills are not always greener on the other side; Giorgia Meloni, Italys prime minister, is hardly a friend of the traditional media, as Sacha Biazzo has reported for CJR, and is ideologically proximate to Trump. As it happens, Meloni is visiting Trump this week to talk tariffs. Whiplash changes to advantageous trade arrangements, rising pricessome things never change.) The anxiety of this moment for the worlds media came across in the festivals packed program of panels, which bore titles like Journalism in exile amid rising autocracies, Journalists under fire, and The Muskification of American media (and this was just on Thursday). The first panel I attendedin a huge church with a back wall that fell away into a broad skylightwas about how Silicon Valleys AI emperors are reshaping reality, and drew on a new podcast, from Coda Story and Audible, about the tech oligarchys capture of journalism, labor, culture, and creativity (not to mention their plans to live forever and fuse humanity into a hive mind). One of the hostsChristopher Wylie, best known as the Cambridge Analytica whistlebloweradmonished journalists for covering tech titans through the lens of the products they create, rather than the underlying fascism of their worldview. The other, Isobel Cockerell, spoke about how her base, in Rome, might seem an odd place to be working as a tech journalist but is actually fascinating given the Vaticans unique perspective on AI. The Catholic Church has always known how to harness technology and spectacle to inspire faith in a higher power; they were the Silicon Valley of their age, in a way, she said. In a recent statement warning that humanity is in danger of worshipping AI as a god, Cockerell saw the old religion coming out to do battle with the new one. Anticlerical, indeed. Plenty of panels dived into other pressing challenges to global press freedom at the moment, from Ukraine to the Middle East. Not that these were uniformly apocalypsey; there were at least three sessions analyzing what appears to be a broadly hopeful moment in Syria following the stunning collapse of the Assad regime last year. There were also sessions digging into big stories at something of a remove from the front lines of global geopolitical conflict; at least two reflected on lessons from the medias coverage of the horrifying case of Gisele Pelicot, the French woman who was drugged and raped by her husband and dozens of other men. Then there were the sessions addressing the big philosophical questions about journalism, which might feel particularly resonant at this moment of existential doubt for the industry but are ultimately perennial; questions like Who is mainstream media now? and What is journalism for? (Imagine being stupid enough to try answering the latter.) One panel that I attended had the title All journalists are content creators: its time for us to embrace that. I left unconvinced that all journalists actually are content creatorsas understood in the modern information ecosystem, even if they are literallybut heartened to hear that big thinkers in the industry arent willing to cede that ecosystem and are working out how to build an infrastructure to support the ongoing demand for fact-based journalism within it. (Johnny Harris, a journalist who is massively popular on YouTube and is growing out a team to support his work, had perhaps the quote of the festival for me: The other day I was talking to somebodyand hes like, You keep talking about your business and youre describing a media company. And Im like, Oh. I guess weve created a media company.) Indeed, I left the conference as a whole less anxious about this scary moment for journalism than inspired by the breadth of creativity and resilience I encountered in the face of it. (Okay, maybe equal parts anxious and inspired. At least somewhat inspired.) I caught up with journalistslike Ben Hallman, whose health news site, The Examination, Ive written about for CJRwho are plugging away doing vitally important accountability reporting, albeit, often, below the toplines of the news cycle. And I had the chance to meet journalists whose dignity and perseverance in the face of authoritarian repression Ive long admired from afar. Probably my favorite session I attended addressed the insidious and under-covered global spread of foreign agent laws as a means of criminalizing journalism (a topic Ive also written about in this newsletter) and humanized it via the presence of Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and dual US and Russian citizen who was jailed in Russia until she was freed as part of a prisoner swap last year. At this stage of life, I dont like the word hope, though we have to use it, Kurmasheva said from the stage, during comments about the Trump administrations recent push to gut RFE/RL (which RFE/RL is fighting in court). I like strategy and I like planning. When there is no strategy, hope is kinda useless. At the end of the session, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, a lawyer who works on press freedom issues, rose in the audience and paid tribute to Kurmasheva and others who could easily have gone to ground but instead showed up at the festival to advocate for those still behind bars. It was a comment not a question that everyone could applaud. The salt uprising of 1540 was ultimately crushed by the forces of the papacy. And its far from clear that the legacy of resistance to arbitrary authority is the reason that Perugians make bread without salt; some researchers have suggested that its an urban legend, one that may have been born much later, in the 1800s, when Italy was unified. As one of those researchers told Atlas Obscura, however, its a good story. And it endures. Sign up for CJRs daily email Other notable stories: Earlier this month, G/O Mediathe private-equity-backed media company that is in the process of shedding its editorial assetssold Quartz, which it had acquired in 2022, to Redbrick, a Canadian software firm. The deal resulted in most of Quartzs staff being laid off, and Zach Seward, the cofounder, wrote in a subsequent blog post that the site is now a zombie brand; he accused G/O of destroying Quartz and suggested that the new owner seems mostly interested in the email list the site has built up. Now Jim Spanfeller, G/Os CEO, has hit back at Seward, insisting that the brand has an extremely bright future; Press Gazettes Charlotte Tobitt has more. For CJR, Megan Greenwell profiled Press Pass NYC, a small nonprofit that aims to seed student publications at under-resourced public schools around New York. Research shows that high schoolers who are involved in journalism earn higher GPAs and ACT scores than their peers and perform better in college English classes, Greenwell writes. But journalists tend to think of the primary value of a news outlet as being for the public, not for its staff, and beneficiaries of the program are vexed by a challenge known to most news publishers: growing a readership. And Gayle King, of CBS, went to the edge of space yesterday as part of an all-female flight organized by Blue Origin, the startup owned by Jeff Bezos. King was awed by the experience: You look down at the planet and you think, Thats where we came from? she said. To me its such a reminder about how we need to do better, be better. Amanda Hess, a critic at the New York Times, was less impressed. The flights roster seems to have been assembled with the energy of an American Girl doll collection, she wrote. If it proves anything, it is that women are now free to enjoy capitalisms most decadent spoils alongside the worlds wealthiest men. Starting in the 1980s, New York law enforcement and health officials fielded sexual abuse complaints from the young patients of a respected pediatrician who ran his practice out of a basement office in his home on Long Island. But Stuart Copperman was never charged with any crime, and it was only as he approached retirement in 2000, at the age of 65, that he was stripped of his medical license over the complaints. Now, 25 years later, more than 100 of his former patients have some vindication in their yearslong fight: a court has ordered him to pay a total of $1.6 billion. The Rev. Debbi Rhodes, who was awarded $25 million, says the completion of the litigation in late March in state Supreme Court brought a mix of relief and frustration. Im not sure if hes facing justice. He kind of got away with it for all these years, the 63-year-old Episcopal priest in Las Vegas said by phone. But to have a court say, definitively, I believe you. To hear that thats heavy medicine right there. A Manhattan lawyer who has represented Copperman over the years didnt respond to multiple messages seeking comment in recent days. Copperman has steadfastly denied the allegations, suggesting he was simply being thorough in his examinations, which his former patients say were typically conducted after he had ushered their parents out of the room. Some of the women filed complaints with local police and medical boards over the years, but no criminal charges or disciplinary actions were ever imposed, according to Rhodes lawsuit and others. Then a state medical board revoked his license after hearing from six accusers. Statute of limitations laws, however, prevented Coppermans accusers from filing lawsuits until passage of New Yorks Child Victims Act, a 2019 law that temporarily allowed people to file suits over sexual abuse they suffered long ago as children. The Catholic Church and other major institutions have reached huge settlements to resolve sexual misconduct claims, but lawyers for the women say their litigation has resulted in one of the largest cumulative awards against a single individual in the U.S. For decades, these women were silenced and dismissed, said Kristen Gibbons Feden, a Philadelphia lawyer representing the women. Now, they cannot be ignored. The Long Island court ruled for the women because Copperman never responded to the litigation. But some of the special referees, in assessing damages, said they believed the women. The psychological scars from the abuse suffered by Plaintiff are profound and permanent, wrote William Bodkin in awarding $27 million to a woman identified as Jane Doe T.A. in April 2024. Here, there can only be outrage at Coppermans reprehensible conduct, he wrote in Rhodes $25 million judgment in December 2024. The last of the 104 awards were handed down March 28, with amounts ranging from $500,000 to $32 million, according to Michael Della, a Long Island-based attorney also representing the women. The women also sued local hospitals and health care networks, but those claims were dismissed. Like many of the accusers, Rhodes says Copperman sexually abused her during routine visits at his home office in Merrick, some 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Manhattan. She says the abuse started in 1968 when she was 7 years old, and led to an eating disorder and alcohol and drug problems at an early age. Rhodes says she speaks openly and often about her childhood trauma as part of her ministry, which includes working with prison inmates. She still wrestles with anxiety, depression and other mental health impacts. Nobody can grow if they are living in shame. Nobody can really change, said Rhodes, who has two now-grown children and whose husband is also an Episcopal priest. Im not even sure you can love if youre living in shame. The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Rhodes has. Another woman who was awarded $27 million but declined to be named said revisiting childhood trauma during her deposition was painful but, in a way, healing. It feels good to know that someone heard us, the woman, identified in the litigation as Jane Doe A.W., said in a phone interview. People now understand the magnitude of what he did. Lawyers for the women say they have retained a collections specialist to begin pursuing compensation from Copperman. But Rhodes and other plaintiffs say theyve accepted the possibility they may never see much, if any. Copperman is now 89 years old and lives in South Florida. Im not sure what justice looks like even if I got a million dollars tomorrow, Rhodes said. For me, its about saying to other women who are facing this that someone will listen to you. I wasnt believed for a very long time. Dont stay silent. Speak your truth. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Ny) Hold Hands During A Stop On Their 'Fighting Oligarchy' Tour At Grand Park On April 12, 2025 In Los Angeles, California. Ocasio-Cortez is also being touted as a possible primary opponent against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in 2028. Schumer raised just $144,742 during the first quarter of 2025, according to his public filing . The two progressives at those events criticize President Donald Trump's policies and highlight the role that billionaires, including DOGE chief Elon Musk , have in the Trump administration. Turnout at the rallies has been strong even in red states. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised $9.6 million during the first quarter of 2025, the strongest ever quarter for the New York Democrat, a campaign finance filing showed Tuesday. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a stop on the Fighting Oligarchy tour with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at Grand Park on April 12, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Progressives are angry at her fellow New York Democrat for, among other things, voting for a Republican-sponsored resolution to avoid a government shutdown in March. There are widespread calls for new leadership in the Democratic Party due to its loss of the White House and Senate in the 2024 elections. "I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Tuesday. "Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities," said the lawmaker, whose district spans parts of the Bronx and Queens in New York City. A large percentage of donations were in small amounts, Federal Election Commission records show. AOC said that the average donation was just $21. A solid majority of donations in the first quarter 64% were from first-time donors, her campaign manager Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben said in a tweet. "These resources support a year-round organizing presence in NY-14 [AOC's district] and host rallies across the country in places like Arizona, Colorado, and Utah," said Hidalgo-Wohlleben. "It also means we are not beholden to any lobbyist, corporation, or billionaire." The first day of sale of the iPhone 15 smartphone in Mumbai, India, on Sept. 22, 2023. Apple 's main India suppliers Foxconn and Tata shipped nearly $2 billion worth of iPhones to the United States in March, an all-time high, as the U.S. company airlifted devices to bypass President Donald Trump's impending tariffs, customs data shows. The smartphone maker stepped up production in India and chartered cargo flights to ferry 600 tons of iPhones to the United States to ensure sufficient inventory in one of its biggest markets on concern Trump's tariffs would push up costs. In April, the U.S. administration imposed 26% duties on imports from India, much lower than the more than 100% China was facing at the time. Trump has since paused most duties, except for China, for three months. Foxconn, Apple's main India supplier, exported smartphones worth $1.31 billion in March, its highest ever for a single month and equal to shipments for January and February combined, according to commercially available customs data reviewed by Reuters. This included Apple iPhone 13, 14, 16 and 16e models, and took Foxconn's total shipments from India to the United States this year to $5.3 billion. Exports from Tata Electronics, another Apple supplier, stood at $612 million in March, around 63% higher than the previous month, and included iPhone 15 and 16 models. Apple, Foxconn and Tata did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters is the first to report the shipment details. Customs data showed all Foxconn shipments to the United States in March were by air from the Chennai Air Cargo terminal, and landed at various locations, including Los Angeles and New York, with Chicago receiving the majority. Trump later granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones and some other electronics imported largely from China, but later indicated that those exemptions will likely be short-lived. To expedite shipments, Apple lobbied Indian airport authorities to cut the time needed to clear customs at Chennai airport in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, to six hours down from 30 hours. At least six cargo jets were used in the operation which one source described was a way to "beat the tariffs". President Donald Trump's recently imposed auto tariffs are going to weigh on General Motors in the near term, according to Barclays. The bank downgraded the Detroit automaker to equal weight from overweight and slashed its price target on the name by $30 to $40. That implies more than 11% downside from Monday's closing level. "While we see some mitigating actions, GM will nevertheless face pressure given nearly half of the vehicles it sells in the US are assembled outside of the US," analyst Dan Levy wrote in a note to clients Tuesday. "GM also faces risk on its EV targets given its affordable EVs are made in Mexico." The downgrade comes just a day after General Motors, as well as other auto stocks, climbed on Trump saying Monday that he is " looking for something to help some of the car companies ." While that put the gains of the automaker at more than 6% over the past week, shares have still fallen about 6% since the president's 25% tariffs on imported vehicles to the U.S. went into effect earlier this month. This year, the stock has also plummeted more than 15%, underperforming the S & P 500's more than 8% loss during the period. GM YTD mountain GM, year-to-date Levy noted that just under half of General Motor's vehicles sold in the U.S. are put together outside the country, with Mexico and Canada accounting for about 30% of sales, and that about 75% of the light duty full-size trucks sold in the U.S. are from those two nations. As a result, the analyst anticipates the automaker is due to experience "relatively high" disruption in the near term. When it comes to electric vehicles, Levy also said General Motors will likely reduce its overhead spending in the coming years. This year, he believes the company could be "challenged" in meeting its goal of narrowing EV losses by about $2 billion. "We modestly prefer Ford over GM given a higher mix of US-assembled vehicles, however Ford will also face clear tariff pressures and has a weaker financial position," the analyst added. Levy's view is not among the majority's view on Wall Street. Of the 29 analysts covering the automaker, 15 have a strong buy or buy rating, while 11 analysts have a hold rating, according to LSEG. Shares dipped more than 1% in the premarket Tuesday. The technology, banking and consulting industries dominated LinkedIn's 2025 Top Companies in Singapore list published this month, which ranks the best workplaces for career growth in the city-state. The networking giant tracked and assessed companies based on eight key pillars: ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity, educational background and employee presence in the country, according to the report. Notably, DBS Bank led for the third year in a row. Biotech, healthcare and life science companies also appeared prominently on the list, with Roche landing 5th in rank, followed by Novartis and MSD (also known as Merck & Co., Inc in the United States and Canada) both joining the top 15 for the first time. This reflects "the continued expansion of Singapore's biomedical ecosystem signaling that healthcare and life sciences companies are not only growing but investing in long-term talent development," a LinkedIn spokesperson told CNBC Make It. What stands out this year is the growing diversity of industries represented in the Singapore list, the spokesperson noted. "While finance remains strong with DBS Bank retaining their top ranking and others like Standard Chartered and JPMorgan holding steady, we're also seeing a strong showing from sectors like healthcare, tech, and consulting," said the spokesperson. Here are the companies that made the list: My top 10 things to watch Tuesday, April 15 1. Wall Street is headed for a muted open this morning after back-to-back advances for the S & P 500 . The index is still 4.7% below where it closed April 2, the day President Donald Trump announced his "reciprocal" tariffs. 2. The Dow is the weakest of the indexes in the premarket, and Boeing is a big reason why. Its shares are getting hit on a Bloomberg News report that China told its airlines to stop taking deliveries of Boeing planes in response to Trump's tariffs. 3. Bank of America's first-quarter results topped expectations thanks to beats on interest income and trading revenue, sending shares up nearly 2% this morning. Citigroup also beat on the top and bottom lines. 4. Multiple price-target cuts on Club name Goldman Sachs despite its better-than-expected quarter yesterday. I really like the stock here, even with a sluggish investment banking environment. Barclays went to $720 a share from $760. Keefe Bruyette lowered its PT to $585 from $600. 5. Barclays is the latest shop to downgrade General Motors , taking the stock to a hold-equivalent rating from overweight to account for the earnings pressure from tariffs. Has anyone noticed that despite a bunch of downgrades since April 2, GM stock has actually held up better than the overall market? 6. Baird cut its price target on GE Vernova to $387 a share from $448, but kept an overweight buy rating on the stock. Analysts are worried about a "muted" outlook for the second half of the year due to economic uncertainty. The formerly red-hot data center stocks have cooled off. 7. Wells Fargo downgraded Howmet Aerospace to equal weight from a buy-equivalent rating on a belief that a global economic slowdown is bad for both aerospace manufacturers and aftermarket companies. Interestingly, though, analysts upped their price targets for GE Aerospace and RTX . 8. HCA Healthcare was downgraded to a hold-equivalent neutral from outperform at Baird. Analysts are worried that there are few incremental buyers for the hospital and health insurance stocks until policy uncertainty is resolved. 9. Bank of America downgraded PepsiCo to neutral from buy and lowered its price target to $155 a share from $185. This is a big call considering how low the stock already is at roughly $147. 10. Dow Inc. was double downgraded to an underperform sell rating from buy at BofA. Analysts warned that both Dow's earnings and dividend are at risk due to a weaker macro, trade tensions and higher costs. BofA did upgrade Club peer DuPont to neutral from underperform. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg considered spinning out Instagram in 2018 on concerns about the rising threat of antitrust litigation against Facebook, according to an email presented Tuesday in a Washington, D.C. courtroom. During Zuckerberg's second day of testimony in Meta's antitrust trial with the Federal Trade Commission, lawyers representing the FTC introduced an email from May 2018, in which Zuckerberg appeared to comment on the possibility of separating the photo-sharing app his company purchased in 2012 for $1 billion. "And i'm beginning to wonder whether spinning Instagram out is the the only structure that will accomplish a number of important goals," Zuckerberg wrote in the email. "As calls to break up the big tech companies grow, there is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5-10 years anyway. This is one more factor we should consider." Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, when the photo app had 13 employees and Zuckerberg was poised to take his company public in what, at the time, was the largest tech IPO on record. The purchase of Instagram and 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion are at the heart of the blockbuster antitrust trial that kicked off Monday and could last weeks. The FTC alleges that Meta monopolizes the social networking market, and has argued that the company shouldn't have been able to complete those acquisitions. The agency is seeking to cleave the apps from Meta as a possible remedy. Meta disputes the FTC's allegations and claims the regulator mischaracterizes the competitive landscape and fails to acknowledge a number of rivals like TikTok and Apple's iMessage, and not merely other apps like Snapchat. Earlier in the trial, the FTC also presented an Oct. 2013 email in which Zuckerberg told other Facebook executives that Snap CEO Evan Spiegel rebuffed his $6 billion offer to buy Snapchat. Zuckerberg also said in the 2018 email that the company's "best estimates are that, had Instagram remained independent, it would likely be around the size of Twitter or Snapchat with 300-400 million MAP today, rather than closer to 1 billion." MAP is short for monthly active people. WATCH: Mark Zuckerberg takes witness stand on first day of antitrust trial. A 2019 Nissan Motor Co. Rogue sport utility vehicle (SUV) sits on the lot at a car dealership in Joliet, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. Nissan will cut Japanese production of its top-selling U.S. model, the Rogue SUV, over May-July, said a person familiar with the matter, becoming the latest global automaker to alter manufacturing plans in response to new U.S. import tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to slap a 25% levy on cars built overseas has upended the global automotive supply chain. Nissan, Japan's third-largest carmaker, is more exposed than some rivals. The United States is its top market, accounting for more than a quarter of the vehicles it sold last year, with many of those made in Japan or Mexico. Nissan plans to reduce output of the Rogue by 13,000 vehicles at its plant in Kyushu, southwest Japan, during the three-month period, said the person, declining to be identified because the information is not public. The planned cut is equal to more than a fifth of the 62,000 Rogues sold in the United States in the first three months of this year. Workers at the Kyushu plant, Nissan's largest, will work fewer hours from May through July, with production halted on some days, the person said. The plant will continue to operate on two shifts a day, the person added. The automaker will reassess the production situation at a later date depending on the outlook for tariffs, the person said. On Monday, Trump said he was considering modifying the auto levy because automakers "need a little bit of time". Nissan said in a statement it was reviewing its production and supply chain operations to identify optimal solutions for efficiency and sustainability. It said it was committed to adapting to market changes while prioritizing workforce and production capabilities. "Our approach will be thoughtful and deliberate as we navigate both immediate and long-term effects," it said. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers the keynote address during the Nvidia GTC 2025 at SAP Center on March 18, 2025 in San Jose, California. Nvidia said Tuesday it will take a quarterly charge of about $5.5 billion tied to exporting H20 graphics processing units to China and other destinations. The stock slid more than 6% in extended trading. On April 9, the U.S. government told Nvidia it would require a license to export the chips to China and a handful of other countries, the company said in a filing. The disclosure is the strongest sign so far that Nvidia's historic growth could be slowed by increased export restrictions on its chips, which the U.S. government says can be used to create supercomputers for military uses. Nvidia is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter results on May 28. During President Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. restricted artificial intelligence chip exports in 2022 and then updated the rules the following year to prevent the sale of more advanced AI processors. The H20 is an AI chip for China that was designed to comply with U.S. export restrictions. It generated an estimated $12 billion to $15 billion in revenue in 2024. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on the company's last quarterly earnings call in February that revenue from China had dropped to half of pre-export control levels. Huang warned that competition in China is growing, and for the second straight year, Nvidia listed Huawei as a competitor in its annual filing. China is Nvidia's fourth-largest region by sales, after the U.S., Singapore, and Taiwan, according to the company's annual report. More than half of its sales went to U.S. companies in its fiscal year that ended in January. Nvidia's H20 chip is comparable to the H100 and H200 AI chips used in the U.S. and other countries, but it has slower interconnection speeds and bandwidth. It's based on a previous generation of AI architecture called Hopper introduced in 2022. Nvidia is now focusing on selling its current generation of AI chips, called Blackwell. DeepSeek, the Chinese company whose competitive AI model R1 unveiled earlier this year upended markets, used H20 chips in its research. In addition to the existing Chinese export controls, Nvidia also faces new restrictions on what it can export starting next month, under "AI diffusion rules" first proposed by the Biden administration. Nvidia has contended that further controls on its chips would stifle competition and potentially even erode U.S. competitiveness in technology. The company previously said it moved some of its operations, including testing and distribution, out of China after the 2022 export controls. At the company's annual conference last month, when asked about Chinese export controls, Huang said Nvidia works to comply with the law, but he also noted that about half of the world's artificial intelligence researchers are from China, and many of those work at U.S.-based AI labs. Nvidia said in Tuesday's filing that the U.S. government told the company on Monday that the license requirement for H20 chips would be in effect "for the indefinite future." Nvidia shares have dropped 16% this year, largely due to President Donald Trump's announcement of widespread tariffs on top trading partners. While exemptions have been made on various electronics products, including smartphones, computers and semiconductors, Trump and some officials said over the weekend that the reprieve was temporary and part of plans to apply separate tariffs to the sector. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices declined more than 7% in after-hours trading on Tuesday following Nvidia's disclosure. AI chipmaker Broadcom fell almost 4%. BP logo is seen at a gas station in this illustration photo taken in Poland on March 15, 2025. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Oil giant BP has been thrust into the spotlight as a prime takeover candidate but energy analysts question whether any of the likeliest suitors will rise to the occasion. Britain's beleaguered energy giant, which holds its annual general meeting on Thursday, has recently sought to resolve something of an identity crisis by launching a fundamental reset. Seeking to rebuild investor confidence, BP in February pledged to slash renewable spending and boost annual expenditure on its core business of oil and gas. CEO Murray Auchincloss has said that the pivot is starting to attract "significant interest" in the firm's non-core assets. BP's green strategy U-turn follows a protracted period of underperformance relative to its industry peers, with its depressed share price reigniting speculation of a prospective tie-up with domestic rival Shell . U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron have also been touted as possible suitors for the 54.75 billion ($71.61 billion) oil major. Shell declined to comment on the speculation. Spokespersons for BP, Exxon and Chevron did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC. "Certainly, BP is a potential takeover target no doubt about that," Maurizio Carulli, energy and materials analyst at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC by video call. "I would conceptualize the question of 'will Shell bid for BP' in the more general consolidation that it is happening in the resources sector, both oil but also mining particularly in the past year a lot of companies thought that to buy was better than to build," he added. A Shell logo in Austin, Texas on May 3, 2024. Brandon Bell | Getty Images In the energy sector, for example, Exxon Mobil completed its $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources in May last year, while Chevron still seeks to acquire Hess for $53 billion. The latter agreement remains shrouded in legal uncertainty, however, with an arbitration hearing scheduled for next month. In the mining space, market speculation kicked into overdrive at the start of the year following reports of a potential tie-up between industry giants Rio Tinto and Glencore. Both companies declined to comment at the time. Never say never, right? I think even Exxon-Chevron in the depth of the pandemic held talks so I think that would have been even wilder to say. Allen Good Director of equity research at Morningstar Quilter Cheviot's Carulli named Chevron as a potential suitor for BP, particularly if the U.S. energy giant's pursuit of Hess falls through. Speculation about a potential merger between Shell and BP, meanwhile, is far from new. Carulli said that while the rumors have some merit, a prospective deal would likely trigger antitrust concerns. Perhaps more importantly, Carulli added that a move to acquire BP would conflict with Shell's steadfast commitment to capital discipline under CEO Wael Sawan. 'An existential crisis' "Never say never, right? I think even Exxon-Chevron in the depth of the pandemic held talks so I think that would have been even wilder to say," Allen Good, director of equity research at Morningstar, told CNBC by telephone. "I wouldn't take anything off on the table. You know, oil and gas is facing an existential crisis. Now, views differ on how soon that crisis will come to head. I think we're still decades away," Good said. For Shell, Morningstar's Good said that any pursuit of BP would likely be an attempt to merge the two British peers, as opposed to an outright acquisition although he said he doesn't expect such a prospect to materialize in the near term. The sun sets behind burning gas flares at the Dora (Daura) Oil Refinery Complex in Baghdad on December 22, 2024. Ahmad Al-rubaye | Afp | Getty Images Asked about the likelihood of Chevron seeking to purchase BP if a deal to acquire Hess collapses, Morningstar's Good said he couldn't rule it out. "BP certainly doesn't have the growth prospects that Hess does, but you could get a situation where, again, like I said with Shell, you'd have Chevron acquiring BP, stripping out a lot of costs, certainly the headquarters would no longer be in London but it doesn't address the growth concerns ex-Permian for Chevron. So, in that case, I would be a little skeptical," Good said. "The issues these companies are facing are to please shareholders, and the two ways to do that really are to reduce costs and return cash to shareholders. So if you can continue to lean into that model somehow, then that's the probably the way to do it," he added. What next for BP? Michele Della Vigna, head of EMEA natural resources research at Goldman Sachs , described BP's recent strategic reset as "very wise" and "thoughtful," but acknowledged that it may not have gone far enough for an activist investor. U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management has reportedly built a near 5% stake to become one of BP's largest shareholders. Activist investor Follow This, meanwhile, recently pushed for investors to vote against Helge Lund's reappointment as chair at BP's upcoming shareholder meeting in protest over the firm's recent strategy U-turn. BP has since said that Lund will step down, likely in 2026, kickstarting a succession process. "I think there are three major optionalities in BP's portfolio that any activist investor would love to see monetized. The first one is not all in BP's hands, it's the monetization of the Rosneft stake," Della Vigna told CNBC over a video call. BP announced it was abandoning its 19.75% shareholding in Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022. It had marked a costly and abrupt end to more than three decades of activity in the country. CEO of BP Murray Auchincloss speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas, on March 19, 2024. Mark Felix | AFP | Getty Images China Week in Milan demonstrates global design vision Xinhua) 08:31, April 15, 2025 This photo taken on April 13, 2025 shows Chinese bamboo weaving designs at an exhibition of Milan Design Week in Milan, Italy. The week-long Milan Design Week concluded here on Sunday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) The event features dozens of exhibitions and activities focused on industrial cooperation, brand localization, and community integration. MILAN, Italy, April 14 (Xinhua) -- As one of the most anticipated fixtures in the global design calendar, the 2025 Milan Design Week, which closed on Sunday, brought a vibrant burst of color and creativity, drawing designers and enthusiasts from around the world. Among the kaleidoscope of international exhibits, a splash of Chinese red has stood out, symbolizing the rising global presence of Chinese design. CHINA WEEK OF CREATIVITY On April 7, the second edition of the China and Design exhibition opened in Milan's Paolo Sarpi district - often dubbed the city's Chinatown. Known as "China Week," the event features dozens of exhibitions and activities focused on industrial cooperation, brand localization, and community integration, aiming at fostering deeper cultural exchange and helping Chinese design concepts take root and flourish overseas. At the heart of China Week is the Chinese cultural and creative design exhibition, which showcases a range of creative works, including a limited-edition "Snake Dwen Dwen" mascot for the Year of the Snake (a spin-off of the beloved Beijing Winter Olympics figure), a specially crafted bronze wine vessel inspired by the ancient Sanxingdui archaeological site in southwest China, and an intricately carved statue of the legendary "Monkey King" from Journey to the West. These exhibits have captivated large crowds of international visitors. Models perform at "The Gift," a light mix design of Milan Design Week by Chinese designer Chen Yaoguang, at the University of Milan, in Milan, Italy, April 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Jing) To complement the main displays, the streets of the Paolo Sarpi district have been transformed into a festive cultural landscape. Arches themed around the Year of the Snake - decorated with traditional symbols such as dragons, dumplings, and serpentine patterns - have been erected along the streets. "Through both its immersive exhibits and the festive street atmosphere, China Week brought Chinese design vividly to life in Milan - not only as a showcase of creativity but as a celebration of cultural dialogue, urban engagement, and global visibility," said Michele Brunello, director of the China Design Centre in Milan. China Week has hosted a series of high-level dialogues featuring professors and scholars from top Chinese institutions and Italian design leaders to explore the localization of Chinese design in international markets. Lin Cunzhen, curator of the exhibition, described the event as a bridge connecting Eastern and Western design philosophies. "On the other side of the bridge stands a new generation of Chinese designers - confident, open and globally minded." INNOVATION ON WHEELS During the opening ceremony of China Week, the Turin Automotive Design Award was launched for the first time. Jointly initiated by the Turin Auto Show and the China Design Centre in Milan, the award aims to spotlight outstanding Chinese automotive designs already present in the European market. The winners will be announced in September at the Turin Auto Show. "We hope this award will strengthen cooperation between the European and Chinese automotive industries and foster cross-cultural synergy," said Barbara Santise, press officer for the Turin Auto Show. People try a BYD Denza Z9GT vehicle at an exhibition of Milan Design Week in Milan, Italy, April 11, 2025. The week-long Milan Design Week concluded here on Sunday. (Xinhua/Li Jing) Santise added that Chinese vehicles are not only technically advanced but also competitively priced, making them strong contenders in the European market. Just a few kilometers away, in Milan's Brera district, the Z9GT, a flagship luxury electric sedan by Chinese automaker DENZA under BYD, made its European debut. With flowing curves inspired by Eastern aesthetics, the vehicle stood in poetic harmony with the surrounding Baroque architecture. Lines of international visitors queued for test drives, offering enthusiastic praise. Across Milan, Chinese auto brands such as XPeng, GAC, and Geely have launched their own showcases, drawing attention from passersby. Once the stronghold of Western luxury brands, the high-end auto market is undergoing a transformation - one where Chinese firms are competing not on cost, but with cutting-edge design, innovation, and bold vision. A woman visits the booth of BYD Denza at an exhibition of Milan Design Week in Milan, Italy, April 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Jing) DESIGN AS CULTURAL FUSION Chinese design also found an artistic expression at the University of Milan. In the university's central courtyard, a circular mirror installation titled Gift, created by Hangzhou-based designer Chen Yaoguang, reflected the surrounding Renaissance architecture like a shimmering slice of modernity. The sculpture bore the word "Gift" in Latin, Italian, and Chinese-symbolizing the fusion of two rich cultures. "It looks like a pizza sliced from above. It's really fun," said an Italian visitor who only gave his first name as Stefano. "It blends perfectly into the environment. I'm truly impressed by the level of Chinese design." (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) NEW HAVEN, Conn. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., unleashed an early 2028 attack on Vice President JD Vance here Tuesday, attempting to frame President Donald Trump's heir apparent as a threat to the Constitution while comparing him to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. "Vance," Khanna said in a speech at Yale Law School, "has not only declared war on the courts, but on the universities. And it is no accident. As Stephen Kotkin observed in his study of Stalin, strongmen do not fear recessions or even failed wars as much as they fear the university." Khanna's remarks called back to Vance's history of criticizing what he has described as inexcusably liberal policies and teachings in higher education. The speech came a day after the federal government froze more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard University, which has rejected demands the Trump administration has issued to address antisemitism on campus. For Khanna, the appearance at the school where both he and Vance earned law degrees also marked an escalation in his effort to stake out a place for himself in the already-developing Democratic presidential field. He sees an opportunity to establish himself as his party's best foil for Vance, who is well positioned to run as Trump's successor. So at a time when much of the progressive left's attention is on the term-limited Trump and his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, Khanna is trying to build up Vance as the ultimate Republican villain and to tear him down. "Yawn," a top political adviser to Vance said when asked about how Khanna has made attacks on the vice president central to his pitch. In his speech Tuesday, Khanna talked of a "great anger" gripping the public. He also warned of a push "to dismantle" the checks and balances among the branches of government. "At the head of this gathering storm stands Vice President Vance, calling on the president of the United States to defy the Supreme Court, and casting universities like Yale as the enemy," Khanna said. Vance has not called on Trump to defy the Supreme Court. In a February post on social media, he criticized the idea of federal judges intervening to "control the executive's legitimate power" at a time when courts were blocking Trump from carrying out parts of his cost-cutting agenda. Many saw the post as a signal that Trump could choose to ignore unfavorable court rulings. "Now, Vance says the president, elected by the people, should tell the court what the Constitution means, and if the court disagrees, let them try to enforce their ruling that the president, as a co-equal, may simply ignore the court's judgment of the law," Khanna said. Khanna also noted Vance's response to what the Justice Department has characterized as a man's mistaken deportation to El Salvador. Vance falsely referred to the man as a "convicted MS-13 gang member" and, later, as "an illegal immigrant with no right to be in our country," despite a 2019 protection order against his removal from the United States. "When Americans asked for due process, he answered not with reason, but with feigned rage accusing us of sympathy for a gang member," Khanna said of Vance. Singapore will head to the polls on May 3, after President Tharman Shanmugaratnam dissolved the city-state's parliament on Tuesday. The Nomination Day will be on April 23, according to the country's election department. Prospective candidates will file their election papers on Nomination Day, after which there will be nine days of campaigning and one "cooling-off day" before polling day. This will be Singapore's 14th general election since independence, and Lawrence Wong's first as prime minister. Wong took over from Lee Hsien Loong who had helmed the Singapore government since 2004. According to local media outlet CNA, the ruling People's Action Party is expected to be challenged for all 97 parliamentary seats. Voter concerns heading into this election include the cost of living, jobs, as well as unemployment, CNA reported, citing a January survey. The PAP has governed Singapore since its independence in 1965. In the last general election in 2020, the party won 61.24% of the vote, and captured 83 of the 93 parliamentary seats available. The election comes at a time of heightened global turmoil, as U.S. president Donald Trump charges ahead with hefty tariffs on friends and foes alike. Referring to tariffs, Wong said in a ministerial statement on April 8, "We are very disappointed by the U.S. move, especially considering the deep and longstanding friendship between our two countries." Singapore on Monday eased its monetary policy for the second straight time, as the city-state sees zero growth this year as a possibility after posting a lower-than-expected GDP expansion of 3.8% for the first quarter. Visitors look at the display of SK Hynix Inc. 12-layer HBM3E memory chips at the Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX) in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. South Korea announced Tuesday a support package of 33 trillion won ($23.25 billion) for its vital semiconductor industry, as heightened uncertainty over U.S. tariffs threatens domestic companies. This comes after U.S. president Donald Trump reportedly said he would be announcing the tariff rate on imported semiconductors soon, after exempting them from his steep "reciprocal" tariffs last Friday. In a social media post Monday, Trump vowed to investigate the "whole electronics supply chain" on national security grounds. The U.S. Department of Commerce also released a notice saying it will initiate an investigation "to determine the effects on national security of imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products." South Korea's funding support was about a quarter more than the 26 trillion committed last year, according to a press release from the finance ministry. As part of the measures, the government will subsidize the construction of underground power transmission lines to semiconductor clusters, as well as increase the funding ratio for infrastructure in advanced industrial complexes to 50% from 30%. A total of 20 trillion won of low-interest loans to semiconductor companies will be offered between 2025 and 2027, up from the current 17 trillion won. Other measures include introducing training and research programs for domestic master's and doctoral students as well as global joint research programs for foreign talent. South Korea is home to some of the world's top chipmakers, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, with semiconductors a key export of the country. On Tuesday, the South Korean Kospi was up 0.68%, with Samsung climbing 1.07% and SK Hynix up 0.17%. In 2024, South Korea's exports of semiconductors stood at $141.9 billion, just over 20% of the country's $683.6 billion exports. The U.S. is the second largest export destination for South Korea, with exports rising 10.5% year-on-year to $127.8 billion in 2024, reaching a new annual high for the seventh consecutive year. On Monday, acting South Korean president Han Duck-soo reportedly said that Trump had "apparently" instructed his administration to conduct immediate tariff negotiations with South Korea, according to local media outlet Yonhap. Daniel Yoo, head of the global investment department at Yuanta Securities, said the move was a "sovereign effort to boost the semiconductor industry," given that Seoul's efforts at shoring up its semiconductor sector were slower compared to other countries. "Definitely, it is positive news to keep the #1 market share in the memory side of the semiconductor industry," Yoo added. If semiconductor plants need to be built in the U.S., smaller and medium enterprises will need to move to the U.S. "Therefore, government support is most needed. I am not sure that is enough, but surely needed support that other competitors were getting from their countries." A view of the Pentagon on December 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. Home to the US Defense Department, the Pentagon is one of the world's largest office buildings. One of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leading advisers, Dan Caldwell, was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday after being identified during an investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense, a U.S. official told Reuters. Caldwell was placed on administrative leave for "an unauthorized disclosure," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The decision has not been previously reported. "The investigation remains ongoing," the official said without providing details about the nature of the alleged disclosure, including whether it was made to a journalist or to someone else. President Donald Trump's administration has moved to aggressively pursue leaks, an effort that has been enthusiastically embraced by Hegseth at the Pentagon. A March 21 memo signed by Hegseth's chief of staff, Joe Kasper, requested an investigation into "recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications." Kasper's memo left open the possibility of a polygraph, although it was unclear if Caldwell was subjected to one. Although Caldwell is not as well known as other senior Pentagon officials, he has played a critical role as an adviser to Hegseth. His importance was underscored in a leaked text chain on Signal disclosed by The Atlantic last month. In it, Hegseth named Caldwell as the best staff point of contact for the National Security Council as it prepared for the launch of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Caldwell had drawn attention in Washington for past views that critics have called isolationist, but which advocates said sought to right-size America's defense priorities. A Marine Corps veteran who deployed to Iraq, Caldwell was quoted saying before going to the Pentagon that America would have been better off if U.S. troops had just stayed home. "I think the Iraq war was a monstrous crime," Caldwell told the Financial Times in December 2024. He was also a skeptic of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and advocated for U.S. retrenchment from Europe. The decision to put Caldwell on administrative leave is separate from a wave of firings since Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran, took over the Pentagon in January. Those firings of top brass have included the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top admiral in the Navy, the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the top U.S. military lawyers. Reuters was first to report last week the firing of the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee. President Donald Trump, during a meeting with Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's president, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025. President Donald Trump is exploring whether he can legally deport U.S. citizens to prisons in Central American countries, the White House said Tuesday. "It's another question that the president has raised," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said when a reporter asked if Trump currently has the power to send Americans to foreign prisons or would need to change the law to do so. "It's a legal question that the president is looking into," Leavitt answered. She said that Trump "would only consider this, if legal, for Americans who are the most violent, egregious, repeat offenders of crime who nobody in this room wants living in their communities." Asked to explain the administration's view of the law, Leavitt said, "We're looking at it, and when I have more to share, I certainly will." The Trump administration has already deported more than 200 alleged foreign citizen gang members from the United States to El Salvador, where they are in prison. U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to take China to task on trade are likely to backfire as his sweeping global tariffs hit allies as well as rivals, according to former national security advisor John Bolton. "This is certainly not the way you treat your friends. You don't slap them in the face publicly and say, I'm going to tariff you unless you do better on trade negotiations," Bolton told CNBC's Dan Murphy on Monday. "And in fact, the one country that really deserves a trade war China we've put them in a much better position strategically by going to war on tariffs with our best friends, whereas if we had all joined together, maybe we would have had an impact on China's behavior. So, this is a not just an economic blunder, which I think it clearly is. It's a strategic blunder that's going to cost the United States dearly if this tariff policy isn't reversed." A White House spokesperson was not immediately available to respond when contacted by CNBC. Trump sent global markets into chaos on April 2, which he termed "liberation day," unveiling tariffs on nearly every country and territory based on a calculation that economists roundly criticized as nonsensical. A blanket 10% tariff on imported goods was imposed globally, while many countries faced much larger levies based on the U.S. trade deficit with them a move Trump described as "reciprocal" despite the metric being unrelated to tariffs. Within a few days that saw market mayhem, trillions of dollars of wealth erased, and a spike in U.S. treasury yields, Trump announced a 90-day pause on the larger tariffs but maintained the blanket 10% measure on all countries, including Washington's closest allies, as well as prior 25% tariffs imposed on Mexico and Canada. He then increased levies on China, which had already responded with its own tariffs on U.S. goods. Dividend payers offered investors a measure of safety during a turbulent March, and Bank of America called out a few names that stood out when times became rocky. Stocks in the value and dividends category put on strong performances in March, as uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariff policy rattled the major averages, Bank of America found. The S & P 500 fell about 5.8% last month, and it's already down more than 3% in April. "In March, as global equities fell -4.1% on concerns tariffs could increase and slow growth, the best performing global styles were Value and Dividends," Bank of America quant strategist Nigel Tupper said in an April 11 report. The value category gained 1.5% last month, while the dividend group advanced 1.4%. In particular, "turbo dividends" have emerged as the strongest "extreme style" in 2025, Bank of America found. That cohort has posted a return of 11.6% this year, versus the MSCI All Country World Index's 1.7% decline. To that end, Bank of America issued a "Global Turbo Dividends" list, including a handful of names in the U.S. Stocks that made the list have a median reported dividend yield of 5%, a five-year dividend growth rate of 138.7%, and a five-year dividend payout rate of 34%. Here are some that cleared the bar. Albertsons emerged on the firm's list. Shares are up about 1% in 2025, and the stock has a dividend yield of about 2.5%. Albertsons shares were down nearly 8% on Tuesday after the supermarket chain issued full-year guidance that underwhelmed Wall Street. The company called for full-year adjusted earnings to range from $2.03 to $2.16 per share, while consensus estimates sought $2.28 per share, per FactSet. Nevertheless, Albertsons is poised to emerge a winner amid tariff uncertainty, analysts say. Wells Fargo analyst Edward Kelly is overweight on the grocer, noting that "pure play grocers have very limited tariff exposure and no need to broadly raise price." Albertsons is a "good defensively positioned" stock, he wrote in a Tuesday report. "Industry fundamentals look to be slowly improving, competitive pricing pressure may ease with tariffs," Kelly said. "Conventional grocers should benefit from the healthy eating trend." Ten of the 21 analysts covering Albertsons rate it a buy or strong buy, with consensus price targets calling for 18% upside from current levels, per LSEG. Bank of America called out Corebridge Financial , an insurer and retirement services provider. Piper Sandler analyst John Barnidge, who is overweight on the stock, lifted his price target to $38 from $35 earlier this month. He trimmed his earnings per share expectations for the full year, however, reducing his forecast by 10 cents to $5 a share and citing "lower variable investment income and spread compression." Nevertheless, he likes the name, noting that Corebridge returned $2.3 billion to shareholders in 2024, with $1.8 billion worth of share repurchases. "CRBG has been leaning into share repurchases with an expectation by us that the company will exceed its free cash flow conversion targets," he said. "The board announced a share repurchase authorization of $2 billion for '25." Shares are off 6% in 2025, and they have a dividend yield of 3.4%. In all, 12 of 16 analysts deem the name a buy or strong buy. Price targets suggest 27% upside, per LSEG. Hospital operator HCA Healthcare also turned up on Bank of America's list. The stock is up 12% in 2025, and it offers a dividend yield of 0.8%. The name is well-liked on Wall Street, with 17 analysts out of 26 rating it a buy or strong buy, and consensus price targets suggesting about 12% upside, per LSEG. Mizuho rates the stock as outperform. "We believe HCA is a solid long-term investment opportunity that provides consistent earnings growth, a healthy balance sheet, solid free cash generation, and a return to shareholders through dividends, share buybacks and strategic bolt-on acquisitions," Mizuho analyst Ann Hynes said in an April 8 report. 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! Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Tuesday's key moments. 1. Wall Street was advancing again Tuesday as the S & P 500 was shooting for three straight positive sessions. Financials was Tuesday's top-performing sector as banking earnings continued to come in solid. Club names Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs were stronger following their results on Friday and Monday, respectively. Turns out that the sector is still making a lot of money despite limited investment banking activity. The results tell a "pretty resilient story of the U.S. economy," said Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club. In the latest trade news, Bloomberg News reported that China instructed its airlines to cease taking deliveries of Boeing . Shares of the Dow stock were modestly lower on the news. 2. DuPont received another upgrade this time from Bank of America whose analysts took the stock to neutral from an underperforming sell. "It's about time," Jim Cramer said. While acknowledging earnings risk due to trade disruptions, BofA called the recent 30% pullback in DuPont shares excessive. It was noted by analysts that the recent temporary tariff exemptions for electronics benefit DuPont. "I think we kind of need to see these trade escalations settle down," Jeff said. Tuesday's BofA call followed Monday's upgrade from KeyBanc . 3. Abbott Laboratories is set to report earnings on Wednesday morning. The diversified health company is expected to see continued momentum in its core business, which includes sales of its glucose monitoring system, Libre. Abbott stock has, historically, performed poorly on earnings day, Jim noted. He added the company has to address its litigation issues over specialized baby formula. "The litigation is almost null and I like that," Jim added. The Club will also be interested in what Abbott says about the U.S.-China trade war and any impact on its businesses from tariffs. 4. Stocks covered in Tuesday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: Johnson & Johnson , Bank of America , Dow Inc ., PepsiCo , and Howmet Aerospace . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long DD, ABT, GS, WFC. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Austin Nichols admits he felt "weird" kissing Mary-Kate Olsen in 'Holiday in the Sun' because he was "too old" compared to her. Austin Nichols was worried about to kiss Mary-Kate Olsen in Holiday in the Sun because of the age gap between the two actors The 44-year-old actor was "18 or 19, or maybe even 20" when he played Griffen Grayson, the love interest of Mary-Kate's alter ego Madison Stewart, who was 15 when the family romance film was made. And, because of the age gap, Austin felt uncomfortable when he had to give Mary-Kate, 38, a smooch in Steve Purcell's 2001 flick. Speaking on the 'Drama Queens' podcast, he admitted: "I was definitely nervous because Mary-Kate was 15, and I was, I think, 18 or 19, or maybe even 20. "I don't remember, but I was too old. And it felt weird, and it felt wrong. "And I looked very young, so watching the movie, I don't think you notice. I'm real tall and skinny and nerdy. "But I don't think you can tell there's a big age difference. But from my brain, I was like, 'She's 15. This is weird.'" The 'One Tree Hill' actor was so concerned about the moment, that he had to ask Mary-Kate and her twin Ashley Olsen - who played Madison's sister Alex - dad David and the flick's producers if it was OK to kiss her. Austin recalled: "So, I remember talking to producers, and I remember talking to even her dad was there. "And I just wanted everybody to - I was like, 'Is this OK with you guys?' And they were all like, 'Oh, don't worry about it.' "Nobody seemed concerned. And I was very concerned, but it turned out fine. It was all very G-rated." Mary-Kate and Ashley played wealthy teenagers who jetted to the Bahamas with their parents for a winter getaway While Austin's character tried to woo over Madison, Ashley's alter ego fell head over heels for resort worker Jordan Landers, who was played by Ben Easter. And he was also "a little bit nervous because of my age". He told E! News in 2021: "I was a little bit nervous because of my age. My manager was like, I think they told the girls you were 16.'" Ben immediately told Ashley he was almost 22. The now photographer continued: We hit it off right off the bat. They could see I was professional, and I wasnt some creep. Emily Ratajkowski has blasted the Blue Origin space flight as "beyond parody". Emily Ratajkowski was 'disgusted' by the Blue Origin space flight The 33-year-old model and actress is "disgusted" after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' rocket flew an all-female crew - including his fiancee Lauren Sanchez, 50, pop star Katy Perry, 40, and 70-year-old journalist Gayle King - into space for a short journey which marked the first all female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova's solo trip in 1963. In a TikTok video, Emily ranted: "That space mission this morning? That's end time s***. Like, this is beyond parody. "Saying that you care about Mother Earth and its about Mother Earth, and youre going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company thats singlehandedly destroying the planet? "Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what? What was the marketing there? "And then to try to make it like Im disgusted. Literally, Im disgusted." As well as Katy, Gayle, and Lauren, the crew for the 11-minute flight was rounded off by aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, 39, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, 34, and film producer Kerianne Flynn, 45. During a press conference after they returned, Gayle addressed critics by saying: Anybody thats criticising it doesnt really understand what is happening here. She also emphasised the mission's inspirational impact on young women. Lauren also responded to detractors by highlighting the dedication of the company's employees. She said: I would love to have them (our critics) come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that dont just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle. She added: They love their work and they love the mission and it's a big deal for them. During the flight, Katy brought a small daisy as a tribute to her daughter and sang What a Wonderful World upon re-entry. Gayle, who has long feared flying, described the experience as transformative. The NS-31 mission was Blue Origins 11th human flight and aimed to inspire future generations by showcasing diversity and inclusion in space exploration. Its crew experienced approximately four minutes of weightlessness before safely returning to Earth, where they were greeted by Jeff and other supporters. Elon Musks X is facing a regulatory probe in Europe over its alleged use of public posts from EU users to train its Grok AI chatbot an investigation that could set a precedent for how companies use publicly available data under the blocs privacy laws. The Irish Data Protection Commission, in a statement, said it is examining whether X Internet Unlimited Company (XIUC), the platforms newly renamed Irish entity, has complied with key provisions of the GDPR. At the heart of the probe is Xs practice of sharing publicly available user data such as posts, profiles, and interactions with its affiliate xAI, which uses the content to train the Grok chatbot. Aimee Lou Wood made waves last weekend when she called out Saturday Night Live for a White Potus sketch that featured a mean impression mainly, Sarah Sherman impersonating Wood with a massive pair of prosthetic front teeth. Last thing Ill say on the matter. I am not thin-skinned. I actually love being taken the piss out of when its clever and in good spirits, she said on her Instagram Stories, per Deadline. But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth, not bad teeth. Wood is hardly the first to get prickly about SNLs insensitive impressions. Here are seven more celebrities who hated being ridiculed on Saturday Night Live 1 Britney Spears Don't Miss Spears might be the first celebrity to get irked by two different impressions. When Chloe Fineman goofed on Spears after she released her audio biography, she fired back through her manager. Wow. The writers of SNL are getting worse and worse, Spears rep Cade Hudson griped. No wonder you all reached out to me to get Britney on the show. SNL is on life support. You all are pathetic and this Chloe (Fineman) isnt funny. Did you find her on Craigslist or something? Play Britney didnt like it any better when Ariana Grande took a swing, per People: I've heard better. Advertisement 2 Mark Wahlberg What was Wahlbergs reaction to Andy Sambergs impression? Im going to crack that big fucking nose of his, he told Jimmy Kimmel. Then Im going to tell him, Say hi to your mother for me. Advertisement Advertisement 3 Sarah Palin I know that they portrayed me as an idiot, and I hated that, Palin says in SNL oral history Live From New York. If I ran into Tina Fey again today, I would say: You need to at least pay for my kids braces or something from all the money that you made off of pretending that youre me! My goodness, you capitalized on that! Cant you contribute a little bit? Jeez! Advertisement 4 Steve Harvey Play Harvey joked that Kenan Thompson was afraid to come on his talk show cause I told him I was gonna knock his ass out as soon as I saw him. But Harvey wasnt entirely kidding. Steve wasnt overly excited about it in the beginning, Thompson told Hollywood Reporter. But he grew to love it. I dont do it out of any malice. Advertisement Advertisement 5 Barbra Streisand In the ramp-up to SNL50, Laraine Newman confessed that Streisand went looking for her at a party after Newman performed a narcissistic parody on SNL. I was at my friends sons bar mitzvah, and she was singing at it, Newman told Andy Cohen. And she says, I wanna talk to you. Newman wanted no part of a confrontation and snuck out before Streisand could critique her performance. 6 Kathie Lee Gifford Kristen Wiigs Gifford impression was meaner than most, portraying the Today show host as a mean drunk who told dumb sex jokes about hubby Frank. I dont think its that funny, Gifford griped on Today. I think Im going to sue (Wiig) for ruining my song! Cant she get another job? Advertisement Advertisement Bringing factories back to America wont do any good for the American people if we dont bring back strong unions. Id like to see A.I. try to generate a steel mill strike. So far, 2025 has been the year in which stand-up superstar Bill Burr takes up the cause of attacking exploitative, soulless billionaires like Elon Musk who engineer inhumane outcomes for the rest of the world and financial windfalls for themselves while pretending to be patriots fighting for working people. After ruffling feathers across conservative media for defending accused CEO shooter Luigi Mangione and proclaiming that rabid dog billionaires need to be put down, Burr has moved on to exposing the downstream effects of robber barons gaming international economics and politics, pointing to the American labor movement of the late 19th century to explain why President Trumps tariffs scheme isnt going to bringing back stable industrial jobs as much as it enriches his billionaire buddies. Don't Miss During yesterdays episode of Burrs Monday Morning Podcast, the comedian educated his listeners on what actually happened to all those factories we used to have while taking swipes at the fucking idiot nerds who want to replace human workers with robots and who pretend that A.I. can have all the human emotions that the fucking sociopaths themselves are missing. Possibly set off by the recent news story about Disney Research claiming that they have made a robot that can mimic human emotions and behaviors in real time, Burr began yesterdays Monday Morning Podcast episode by roasting the A.I. evangelists who believe that such imitative technology is tantamount to actual emotional experience. If I hear one more of these fucking idiot nerds that are building these fucking robots for these fucking sociopaths thats gonna basically wipe all human beings out so they can have their ultimate slave labor tell me that these robots feel all emotions. They dont feel emotions! Theyre a fucking robot! Its an algorithm! Burr ranted. Advertisement They don't feel fucking emotions. They want them to, they want em to feel emotions. You know why? Burr asked before answering darkly, Because when we are gone and its just the robots, whats the fun of ruling something if its not sad about it? Later in the show, Burr touched on another topical issue that has listeners across the country worried, bringing up President Trumps ever-changing tariff policy and his flimsy excuses for manipulating international trade to his benefit. This whole idea that other countries stole our jobs, like our factory jobs and all that, as far as I remember, thats not the case, Burr argued, adding, Heres a little quick history from someone who doesnt read a lot. In the 1800s, during what was that period called? the Industrial Revolution, they had like kids working in factories, like fucking 12-, 14-hour days, four, five-year-old kids in dangerous situations. And people werent making any money. And the one guy who owned the factory was keeping all the money, these robber barons. Advertisement Anyway, so the working man finally has enough. They start organizing unions, the robber barons hire police, the army, all of these people to come in and kill these people in riots, crack their skulls, do unbelievable sorts of damage to them to try and force them to go back to work for sweatshop wages, Burr continued. These people died, they were maimed, catastrophic fucking injuries so that we could have a decent wage in this country. And they had unions and all of that. So then there was like a 40-, 50-year period where being a middle class person middle class white person was the dream, you know? Advertisement Advertisement And then what happened was eventually these corporations just got sick of dealing with these unions and their hard-nosed negotiating and all that, Burr explained. And then they just said, Well, fuck you, then. Keep your union, keep your factory. Were leaving. And they took their factories outside of the U.S. and went back to 1800s wages in Mexico, China, wherever the hell theyre building them. Burr summarized, So all of this talk that, you know, Mexico stole our jobs, China stole our jobs they didnt steal the jobs. They were exploited by the super rich cunts that are not patriots in this country. Theyre pieces of shit. So thats what the fuck happened. Advertisement But, as Burr pointed out, while the anger about jobs shipping overseas should be on the robber barons, thats not where billionaires like Trump place the blame. What do they do? They divide us, Burr explained of the current tactics of the ruling class. They have the American worker whos getting fucked, mad at the whatever other worker around the world whos also getting fucked, actually getting fucked worse, getting sweatshop slave wages. While Burr claims that he isnt well-read, doesnt follow the news and isnt a particularly political person, before 2025 is over, were going to hear Ol Billy Redface calling for a worldwide workers revolution. Christina Ricci has opened up about getting a creepy picture aged 11 from a pervert after a series of prank calls she and her friends made to a salesman. Christina Ricci has opened up about getting a creepy picture aged 11 from a pervert after a series of prank calls she and her friends made to a salesman The actress, 45, revealed the unsettling moment from her childhood, revealing she received a graphic photo from a man following a call made when she was a youngster to a mattress store. She said during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!: We prank-called them so much we ended up having a regular guy wed talk to named Jared. The calls, made to 1-800-Mattress, took a dark turn when one of Christinas friends gave the man their address. Christina added: He sent a picture of his penis in the mail. She said the image had been printed at a store, adding: That certainly was the first d*** pic I saw. Christina said the incident happened in the early 1990s when she and a group of friends repeatedly prank-called the mattress hotline. Host Jimmy Kimmel responded: Jared invented the d*** pic really. He gets an A for effort. He also gets a P for pervert. Christina, best known for her roles in films including Casper, The Addams Family and the TV series Yellowjackets, shared the story while discussing her 10-year-old son Freddies interest in the concept of 1990s sleepovers. She said: Hes very obsessed with the sleepovers we used to have. Youd go over, hang out, the mom would drive you to Blockbuster to pick two movies, then youd hit the grocery store for snacks, stay up all night watching movies, and finish with Saturday Night Live. He thinks that sounds so fun. Christina had Freddie with her ex-husband James Heerdegen, to whom she was married from 2013 to 2020. Their divorce became bitter, with Christina alleging James was vindictive for not allowing Freddie to travel to New York City with her, according to court documents. The actress also has a three-year-old daughter named Cleo with her current husband, Mark Hampton, who she married in 2021. Christina did not disclose whether law enforcement was involved following the incident with the photo, and no further details about the man known as Jared have been made public. 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. John Travolta has marked what would have been his late sons 33rd birthday by sharing a rare photograph of the pair together. John Travolta has marked what would have been his late sons 33rd birthday by sharing a rare photograph of the pair together The 71-year-old actor posted the image on Instagram, showing him holding Jett Travolta in his arms as the boy reached for his fathers ears years after his boy, who was the eldest child of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, died at the age of 16 in January 2009 after suffering a seizure while the family were on holiday in the Bahamas. He captioned the image: Happy birthday Jett I miss you so much! Love you forever! Jett had a history of seizures and had been diagnosed with autism before his death. John and Kelly also had daughter Ella Bleu Travolta and son Benjamin Travolta. The actor said the loss of Jett was the most devastating moment of his life. Speaking at a panel in 2014, he said: The truth is, I didnt know if I was going to make it. Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better. Jetts sister, Ella Bleu Travolta, 25, also paid tribute on social media to the boy, sharing a photograph of their mother kissing Jett as a young child. She captioned her image on Instragram: Happy Birthday, Jetty. I love you so much. John has continued to honour his sons memory, not only with annual birthday tributes but also through the creation of the Jett Travolta Foundation, which supports children with special needs. Famous friends and fans commented on the actors latest post about the boy, with actress Rita Wilson saying online: May his memory be eternal. The Travolta family experienced another loss in July 2020 when Kelly Preston died following a two-year battle with breast cancer aged 57. She and John had been married since September 1991. Announcing her passing at the time, the actor said: She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many. Kellys love and life will always be remembered. John continues to raise his youngest son, Benjamin, now 14. Rosie ODonnell has opened up about how her 12-year-old child Clay suffered isolation and fear. Rosie ODonnell has opened up about how her 12-year-old child Clay suffered isolation and fear The comic, 63, recently relocated to Ireland from her home in America in protest at Donald Trumps second presidency, and she has now told of her youngsters torment due to their autism and non-binary identity, which means Clay uses the pronouns they/them. She told People: They would not leave the house. It was me and Clay. And it got very isolating and very lonely. Rosie added for years, Clay preferred to remain in their own world drawing, watching YouTube clips and retreating into silence. The comic and actress feared the worst as she saw Clays behaviour becoming increasingly concerning. She said: I was afraid because Clays drawings were getting darker and some of their thoughts were scaring me. I was very, very afraid. Rosie and Clays world took a turn when they were introduced to a program run by Guide Dogs of America, which pairs inmates with dogs in training for various purposes, including helping children with autism. The connection came through an unlikely source convicted murderer Lyle Menendez, who had reached out to Rosie after she publicly expressed support for his bid for freedom. When Menendez invited Rosie to visit him in prison, she learned about the program and its potential to help families like hers. She added: I had never been away from Clay for 10 days. But encouraged by Menendez, she took part in the 10-day training program in February 2024. The experience was transformative for Rosie, who said about taking part: It was a very emotional bonding experience. It was one of the most cathartic things that I had ever done as an adult. Two weeks later, Rosie brought home a black lab named Kuma, who quickly became a lifeline for Clay. She said: We went inside and her tail was wagging and they were loving each other. Since Kumas arrival, Rosie says their life has totally changed, adding: All of a sudden there was this connective force alive in the house between us. Clay, who struggles with ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), now feels comfortable going out to eat when Kuma is present. Rosie said: The dog would lay on Clay's feet or put her head on their lap, and Clay would able to have a meal with me. She added about uprooting to Ireland: It was something I needed to do for myself and for my child, and for my own sanity. It turned out to be even more wonderful than I expected. I want you to think about the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. Really think about it. I want you to picture those girls, teenagers and pre-teens making plans and fussing over what to wear. Imagine them trotting off full of excitement, expecting an evening of music and joy, and instead meeting horror and death. The man who detonated his bomb at the concert, Salman Abedi, had packed it with nuts and bolts, to tear through flesh and bone. Some 800 people were injured and 22 killed, ten of them under the age of 20. I know those sentences werent easy to read. But I want you to focus on the nature of that abomination. We should be sparing in our use of the word evil. But if anything deserves that label, it is surely setting out to murder a group of children. Salman Abedi blew himself up along with his victims. But his brother Hashem Abedi, who planned the atrocity, buying materials for the explosives, the detonator tubes and the shrapnel, survived. In 2020 he was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy, and given life imprisonment with a minimum term of 55 years. Abedi embodies the problem of evil. How do we deal with it morally and legally? How do we treat people who have fallen into iniquity? The question came into focus this week when it emerged that Abedi had attacked three prison guards at HMP Frankland, leaving them with life-threatening injuries. He threw boiling oil over the officers and then stabbed them with a homemade weapon. Hashem Abedi embodies the problem of evil. How do we deal with it morally and legally? How do we treat people who have fallen into iniquity, asks Daniel Hannan Abedi had attacked three prison guards at HMP Frankland, leaving them with life-threatening injuries. He threw boiling oil over the officers and then stabbed them with a homemade weapon Aside from how this could happen at a facility for high-risk inmates, the immediate problem is how to respond. I will be pushing for the strongest possible punishment, said Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Abedi was already serving life in a separation centre under constant surveillance. So what are we to do with him now? Some will argue for the restoration of capital punishment. On balance, I am against the death penalty, though I dont think the abolitionist case is clear-cut. But making sweeping legal changes in response to one case is a mistake. There was a time when violent prisoners could be sentenced to hard labour or flogging, but there is no chance of this while we are ruled by human rights lawyers. We must accept that Abedi is our problem, a home-grown monster who will spend the rest of his days as a burden on the British taxpayer. So let me instead ask a deeper question. Why was Abedi in the country at all? His father Ramadan left Libya after falling out with the Gaddafi regime in 1991, and ended up in the UK a year or two later. Hashem and Salman were therefore native Mancunians. But the family evidently did not regard itself as British. Ramadan returned to North Africa after the Arab Spring in 2011, and his sons visited him during school holidays. In 2012, Ramadan posted a picture to Facebook of Hashem, then 15, holding a machine gun, with the caption: The lion in training. The family returned to Libya after Gaddafis death, but drifted back to Manchester when Libya descended into civil war. Now for a hard question: should our immigration policy be wholly blind to peoples backgrounds before they come here? Should we assume that being born in Britain, even if you come from a long line of tribal fighters or gangsters steeped in a culture of vendetta, will magically cancel out your ancestry? After the Manchester bomb, just like after the Southport murders, ministers and broadcasters went into overdrive, assuring everyone the suspect was British, and that there were no possible implications for our immigration policy. The idea that the children of some immigrants are likely to be more violent than those of others or, indeed, of those of the settled population is taboo. While this country does not compile ethnic crime data, those that do Denmark, for example find that, just as certain immigrant groups are hugely over-represented in the crime figures, so are their children, regardless of whether or not they were born in Denmark. Coming from an honour-based rather than a commercial culture, where status rests on the ability to inflict harm rather than on being able to get rich by selling things that people like, correlates with high conviction rates for violent crimes. Because we have elevated anti-racism as our supreme virtue, we are reluctant to admit it. Where, then, does this leave Abedi? We cant deport him: he is our problem as a British national. But we can try to stop future Abedis. We can be selective about whom we admit into this country and enforce deportation orders. We can make clear that if peoples primary allegiance is to a foreign cause, they should pursue it elsewhere. It may be too late for those murdered in Manchester; but it is not too late for the next set of targets. Lord Hannan of Kingsclere is president of the Institute for Free Trade. Sir Keir Starmer rightly declares that the world as we knew it has gone. But does he really mean what he says or is he a lawyer who has merely mastered a brief? For it is wrong-headed to suppose that the advent of Donald Trump in itself constitutes the seismic change the PM invokes. Trump is a catalyst, whose reckless policies highlight dangers that already existed, and tell us that we are more on our own than we had assumed. One danger we already knew about is Russia. Its armed forces may not yet threaten Britain directly but they menace our continent and cast a shadow over our future security. There is another danger, though, which may well be greater. It is more insidious because it does not, as yet, take the form of weapons and armaments. This threat is already among us. It comes from China. Russia has a sclerotic economy and a declining population. It is probably a power on the wane. Chinas economy is at least ten times as big, and still growing fast. China is arming itself with technologies that are light years ahead of Russias. Yet whereas we have kept Vladimir Putin and his vile regime at arms length, we have welcomed the Chinese into our midst, and encouraged them to invest in our nuclear power stations and energy infrastructure. And, of course, in what remained of our steel industry. When Nigel Farage says he is 100 per cent certain that the Chinese Communist Party bought British Steel to close British Steel, who can say that the leader of Reform is wrong? Its Chinese owner, Jingye, abandoned two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe so abruptly as to threaten their viability. The Government says it is confident that it will get enough raw materials principally coking coal and iron ore to keep what is now a nationalised plant going. Lets hope its right. Sir Keir Starmer speaks during a visit with British Steel workers in Appleby Village Hall near Scunthorpe Chinese company Jingye, which bought the plant in 2020, abandoned two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe so abruptly as to threaten their viability What is clear is that Jingye took no account of British interests. Its also obvious that it is beholden to its own government. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds conceded on Saturday that even privately owned companies have direct links to the Chinese Communist Party. Lets agree that at the very least Beijing was relaxed about Jingyes decision to kill off Britains last remaining steel manufacturer so that the company could force us to rely on imported Chinese steel. What folly our politicians have shown. The chief culprits were the Tories, who in 2019 let Jingye buy the Scunthorpe plant. That was after David Cameron and George Osborne had grovelled to President Xi Jinping. In 2014 China was allowed to acquire a third of the new Hinkley nuclear power station, which is still under construction. Admittedly, the Tory government did agree in 2020 to ban telecom firms from installing Chinese-made Huawei equipment in the UKs 5G network, but that was only after a tremendous hullabaloo. Is Labour, despite its belated decision to take over the Scunthorpe plant, any more robust than the Tories? One might just might argue that, when Cameron and Osborne were sucking up to President Xi, it was not absolutely clear what a ruthless, brutal and mendacious regime he led. The worst police crackdown in Hong Kong hadnt yet happened, nor had the complete abrogation of the Anglo-Chinese agreement to keep the former colony free of Chinese control for 50 years. When Cameron hosted Xi in a Buckinghamshire pub, the full horror of Beijings persecution of Uighur Muslims was not known. Nor could we have guessed that as a result of an unpardonable blunder in a laboratory (this now seems almost certain) China would soon unleash Covid on the world. Sir Keir can therefore have no illusions. The true nature of the Chinese Communist Party is plain for all to see. And yet notwithstanding the Governments last minute intervention in Scunthorpe, it doesnt seem alarmed that Beijings baleful influence has proliferated like bind weed throughout our economy. Why is the China General Nuclear Power Group a state-owned energy company permitted to retain a supposedly passive one third stake in the new nuclear power station at Hinkley, and how on earth can its role as the lead investor in the planned Bradwell B nuclear plant in Essex be justified? According to one analysis, China has funded or provided parts for at least 14 of 50 British offshore wind projects. It supplies the great majority of the solar panels with which Climate Secretary Ed Miliband plans to carpet swathes of our countryside. Only last month the Government with Mr Miliband as its energetic ringleader whipped its MPs to allow the import of Chinese solar panels believed to have been made with slave labour. Is the PM happy for this Chinese infiltration of our energy infrastructure to continue? Can he really think it is right for a Chinese state company to be the driving force behind the nuclear power station planned in Essex? No less serious, there is the Chinese infiltration of our leading universities. There are about 150,000 Chinese students here. Of course they bring in billions of pounds, and some universities couldnt survive without them. But should we be relaxed about educating the future leaders of a potential enemy? In particular, many Chinese students specialise in scientific or technical subjects. There are 2,600 of them at Imperial College London alone, one of our leading research universities. Some of its academics have, according to the Financial Times, worked on research that has potential military applications with scientists at Chinese institutions who were linked to Beijings armed forces and defence sector. Why are we allowing this to happen? After all, nearly all British universities are partially dependent on public money. Its likely, too, that some Chinese students are engaged in spying. In 2022 the head of MI5 reported that 50 Chinese students connected to the Peoples Liberation Army had been removed from the UK. Theres little evidence that the Government is taking Chinese subversion seriously. Rather the opposite. The Mail on Sunday reported over the weekend that the new Chinese embassy in the heart of the City includes, according to planning documents, two suites of anonymous unlabelled basement rooms and a tunnel with the exact purpose redacted for security reasons. The previous government had enough sense to block the plans for a new embassy because of fears by police and intelligence agencies that sensitive data cables running nearby could be vulnerable to attack by Chinese spies. Sir Keir has dismissed such concerns. Meanwhile Douglas Alexander, the minister for trade policy and economic security, is in Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterparts. This follows a visit by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in January. The Governments aim is to drum up more Chinese investment. Will our politicians ever learn? China doesnt want to invest in Britain because it likes us. It plans to suborn and control us. Despite what happened in Scunthorpe, we still havent learnt the lesson. Sir Keir is right that the world as we knew it has gone. But what is the point of saying this if the Government continues to treat the sinister entity that is the Chinese Communist Party in the same old trusting way? When I heard the news on Saturday that the jihadi terrorist Hashem Abedi used boiling oil and 'homemade weapons' in a brutal attack on three officers at HMP Frankland, I was not at all surprised. Even worse, as a former prisoner, I am convinced that he will attack again. Abedi is the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, sentenced to 55 years in jail for his role in planning the atrocity which killed 22 men, women and children attending an Ariana Grande concert in 2017. But clearly, prison hasn't made Abedi any less murderous. In 2020, while jailed at HMP Belmarsh, he was held in its 'Separation Centre', designed to hold the most dangerous jihadist inmates apart from the rest of the prison population. Despite being in the highest security prison environment in the country, in May 2020 Abedi and two other terrorists conducted a vicious attack on Paul Edwards, a 57-year-old prison officer. The men set upon Edwards 'like a pack of animals', and then attacked another officer, Nick Barnett, when that brave man tried to help his colleague. At his trial for that attack, Abedi seemed proud of himself, saying: 'I did assault that filthy pig, but I don't see any wrongdoing.' After being found guilty and sentenced to an extra 46 months in jail, Abedi was 'shipped out' to HMP Frankland, where he resided until Saturday's horrific attack. During his time at the Durham jail Abedi must have feigned compliance, until he was trusted. Then he took advantage of that trust to injure three officers. During my 45-month sentence for fraud I met many prisoners serving much longer sentences than me. One, 'Ryan', spent years at HMP Belmarsh for a drug offence. I spoke to him today. He remembers meeting Abedi, and told me how the man drew his fingers across his throat as a threat. Ryan said: 'Abedi's only life now is prison. He'll never get out of high-security jails. He's got nothing to work towards and nothing to lose. He loves the notoriety as most Muslims look up to him.' This chilled me. Hashem Abedi used boiling oil and 'homemade weapons' in a brutal attack on three officers at HMP Frankland Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, in Belmarsh Prison prior to storming the office of the custody manager in 2022 Although the general public tends to think badly of all prisoners, terrorists like Abedi are not like other inmates - most of whom will be horrified by Saturday's attack. The reality is that most prisoners want a quiet life, to serve their time with minimal fuss and then go home. Islamists, on the other hand, see themselves as soldiers, battling a system they hate. While a thief, a fraudster or a drug dealer can learn the error of their ways and change, jihadists are different. Don't just take my word for it. In 2022 Jonathan Hill KC wrote a detailed report named 'Terrorism in Prisons' for the government. He described a culture in our jails - one that has existed for at least 15 years - in which groups of prisoners follow Islamist beliefs that encourage violence towards non-Muslim prisoners, prison officers and the general public. These men are not changed by prison - it merely makes it harder for them to kill those they deem enemies. Yes, placing Abedi in a Separation Centre denied him access to the public and non-Muslim prisoners. Unfortunately, brave prison officers still have to work on these wings, unlocking the prisoners' doors, allowing them out for 'association' time with other inmates, for showers and for exercise. It is freedom like this that allowed Abedi to hospitalise three officers. The Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, promised she 'will be pushing for the strongest possible punishment', but what does this actually mean in practice? Abedi is already serving a minimum of nearly 59 years in jail. A few more may be added on. He knows he's almost certainly going to die inside but, as my prison friend Ryan said, the monster will actually enjoy his greater notoriety. And what will the system do with him? Of course, officers at Frankland won't want to deal with him. So the Prison Service has moved him back to HMP Belmarsh, where it's been reported he's using a 'spork' - a form of cutlery combining a spoon and a fork - to eat. Even though he's reportedly being held in a segregation cell, staff are naturally concerned. He will be housed with a new small group of Islamist terrorists, and will no doubt feign compliance until another opportunity to do harm presents itself. Then, unless he is incapacitated, he will attack again. David Shipley served a 45-month sentence for fraud How do we prevent this? The Government has announced that prisoners in Separation Centres will no longer be allowed access to cooking facilities. Frankly it's baffling they ever were. As someone who has seen the system close up, I suspect this was allowed because of what the Prison Officers Association (POA) calls a desire to 'appease' the most dangerous prisoners instead of controlling them. Jonathan Hall noticed something similar in 2022, saying that staff often felt a 'fear of discriminating against Muslim prisoners' and regarded Islam as a 'no-go area', passing responsibility to prison Imams instead. According to its national chairman, Mark Fairhurst, the POA has been 'calling for several years' for staff to be issued with stab-proof vests, but that the Ministry of Justice has consistently said the protective gear 'looks too militaristic and might intimidate prisoners'. I don't believe the POA's demand goes far enough. Stab vests wouldn't have protected the officer who on Saturday suffered a severed artery in his neck. Terrorists like Abedi will always be a threat. It's only thanks to luck that he didn't kill an officer in his latest attack. We may not be so lucky next time. We should create a separate prison for them, run along US 'Supermax' lines, where prisoners have almost no access to recreational activities and are shackled every time they leave their cell. I spoke to Fairhurst about this and he agrees 'we need Supermax-style facilitiesterrorists should be handcuffed every time they leave their cell'. He added: 'You cannot reform this evil. These prisoners need to be controlled.' If the Government doesn't listen to him, then another attack is inevitable. Sometimes when I have insomnia, I count the close friends Ive made and lost along the way. I see them in a sort of receiving line, waiting for me to figure out what went wrong, how our relationships played out, who was at fault and why things soured. In speaking with other women for my book Estranged: How Strained Female Friendships are Mended or Ended, I've learned I'm not alone in this feeling of harboring a sort of friendship graveyard. As it turns out, so many of us are trying to navigate lost friendships every day. At the end of my own receiving line is my former best friend, Paulette (not her real name), who altered the course of my life. She was the friend who lied about the man I wanted to marry; who stole my chance to be with a person I loved. Paulette and I met when we were 11. We were kids who skied together and traded our deepest secrets through high school, college, graduate school and beyond. For decades, she was a vital part of my life - the person I confided in, trusted and counted on. When we lived together during college, Jake, my boyfriend of four years who promised we'd be together forever, walked away. I was heartbroken and no one understood my mourning as well as Paulette. No one listened to my sobs and soothed me more than she did. Susan Shapiro Barash (center) with her daughters Jennie (left) and Elizabeth (right) Paulette was Susan's friend who lied about a man and stole Susan's chance to be with a person she loved Jake had promised to call when he was ready to make a commitment. Back then, Paulette and I had one black rotary phone in the kitchen. There was no answering machine. I still loved Jake, and we were both on red alert for that call. As far as I knew, it never came. Nearly two years later, I was engaged to someone else. At the rehearsal dinner the night before my wedding, Paulette cornered me. She confessed that Jake had called four months ago - he asked her to relay a message, but she had decided I didnt need to know. In her opinion, I had moved on as I was already dating the man I then married. My first reaction was to flee, to call the wedding off. Then I thought of my soon-to-be-husband and his trust in me. It was too late. Besides, Paulette was my best friend, wasnt she? She must have done what she thought was right. The next day, she was in my wedding. I never called Jake back. My marriage eventually ended. But what's baffling to me is that it took several more decades before I saw the light about my friend. At the time, I still wanted her in my life, as close as ever. I somehow excused her betrayal and still yearned for her company. I wasnt able to admit there was a mounting tension in our friendship, that rather than safe or satisfying, it was destructive. For years after my wedding - through the births of our children and our subsequent divorces - I wanted the friendship more than I wanted to face her actions. In the end, she was just never really there for me. She wasn't on my side and there was no trust. I look back and realize that I, like many women, stayed invested and hopeful, feeling like I needed the friendship the way we sometimes feel we need a partner who isn't actually right for us. Partnering and disentangling from romantic relationships are recognized and accepted events. But it's tougher to abandon a tanking platonic friendship - there's no social guidebook for that. 'Paulette... confessed that Jake had called - he had asked her to relay a message and she had decided I didnt need to know' Female friendship is endorsed as a panacea in series like Sex And The City Women are often reluctant to abandon a tanking platonic female friendship (photo: Golden Girls) For my book, I listened to a diverse group of 150 women between the ages of 20 and 80 talk about their unsettling experiences with their closest female friends. These connections were central to their lives, even when they became unhealthy and wretched. There were friendships that began in a most promising way, some of them going back to childhood, like mine and Paulette's. More than 80 percent had an issue with a close friend and 61 percent reported a friend had done something terrible to them. Sixty-seven percent wanted to leave a friend behind and 72 percent had the courage to break up with a friend. Their stories fell into different kinds of friendships, including faithless, wayward, green-eyed and thieving, among others. Faithless friends are those who push a best friend aside for a third party. For example, Ella, a 47-year-old paralegal living in Memphis, Tennessee, was ghosted by her best friend who started anew. Fifteen years ago, one of my closest friends and I co-hosted a Sunday brunch for mutual friends, she told me. It went very smoothly and then she avoided me. She was living in another state and I thought doing this meal together meant something. She stayed with me, we had a great time. After that, I texted and called and she barely got back to me. I wondered what I had done. One of our shared friends said she had begun an entirely different life 200 miles away. To this day, I feel Ive lost out. Natasha, a 39-year-old mom from the American Southwest, described a wayward relationship and struggled to deal with her best friends substance abuse. No one else can get near this friendship, we are that close, she said. But we have terrible fights because she cant stay sober. She has lost jobs and two husbands because of her drinking and drugging. While we understand divorce in a marriage, says Susan, there is no such system for our unsuccessful female friendships (photo: Grace & Frankie) Natasha (not pictured) described her struggles dealing with her best friends drinking problem (stock photo) I used to cover for her but she makes the worst choices and the cleanup is becoming too heavy for me. But, she added, We have been together since we were in pre-school. How can I turn my back on her now? As for green-eyed friends, jealousy can cause them to root against you, no matter how close you are. Avery, 53, works in the fashion business and lives on Long Island in New York. She admits to being jealous of her friends good fortune in marrying a wealthy man. I hoped to stay friends, she said. I thought she might know someone for me. Meanwhile, I wished I had met this man online. My friend knew how I felt, how I was struggling with my own kids getting student loans and Im alone. She went from sympathetic to out of the picture. The [friend] group began to fall apart after that, and she is in her husbands world, not ours. Id been a loyal friend and it was very hurtful when she bailed on us. At the same time, Im asking myself how she pulled this off. Sarrie, 29, from Iowa City, had a thieving work friend who stole her clients at the hair salon where they both work. Since I am in a new place to live and to work, the one friend I made means something, Sarrie said. We both work at the salon and when I first got there, she was welcoming. But she noticed Im good at what I do and some of her clients are now asking for me. This really upset her and she has made comments. Shes about my age and also married, so the friendship is not only about us but were friends as couples.' Now, she says, not only is the friend trying to hold onto her initial clients, but she's trying to 'take my clients that were never hers to begin with.' I dont want to be her friend anymore, but Im here. Were at the same job and our husbands play pickleball together. At every stage of our lives, we want the truest of friends. But we know deep down it is often a precarious path. When a friendship unravels, many of us hang in, having been taught to be best friends forever. This cultural message is thrown at us wherever we go, from fiction to weekly tabloids to social media. We are encouraged to believe in our female friends, and we expect to find solace and infinite understanding in our counterparts. The UCLA Study on Friendship Among Women found that, as a response to stress, our brain chemicals cause us to seek out friendships with women. Female friendship is endorsed as a panacea, but if we dig deeper, we can admit to the down side. We just arent schooled to face the reality that, along with raising us up, friends can cause emotional pain and disappointment. They can be disloyal, lie, keep secrets, be jealous or competitive, have opposite values or steal an idea, another friend or even a fiance. An MIT Media Lab study found that half the time friendships are not reciprocal, despite us believing otherwise. My interviewees - who represent both estrangers and the estrangees - felt deeply ill-prepared for moving away from their highly touted relationships. Happily, Paulette and I no longer cross paths, says Susan in her new book Estranged Many of us hope to be conflict-free when it comes to our closest friends, and we generally don't want to be disenfranchised - if we fall out with a friend, an entire group can sometimes be affected. For some, there is also a fear of emptiness - a hole in ones life now that the time together is gone. The risk of being pushed away or being alone is so great, women of all ages try to avoid it. By the time I let go of my friendship with Paulette, my awareness was heightened. I was able to process the loss by comparing our relationship my other, healthier friendships filled with mutual trust and caring - those provided a sense of security. I have also come to realize there is a shape shifting happening around female friendships. Women are now more loudly confessing their unhappiness and acting on it. Viewing this acknowledgement as a positive measure, they are bravely choosing to set themselves free from subpar friends. Happily, Paulette and I no longer cross paths. And Im here to report what an uplifting, liberating experience it is. Excerpted from Estranged: How Strained Female Friendships Are Mended or Ended by Susan Shapiro Barash, published by Meridian Editions Benny Hill was once one of Britain's most popular entertainers, with his particular brand of comedy - slapstick and risque - hugely popular for some two decades with a theme tune that will bring back memories for anyone of a certain age. It's reported that one of his specials, aired in 1969, attracted a bigger audience than the moon landings but in recent years, the comedian has fallen out of favour, with some of his sketches being criticised over their racist and sexist jokes. This was the topic of a recent Channel 5 programme, The Cancellation of Benny Hill, looking back at the comedian's career, noting that his popularity extended to major stars including Michael Jackson, while he also appeared in a number of movies, including The Italian Job and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In 1971, viewing figures for his show topped 21 million and the comedian was awarded ITV personality of the year. But his success would come to a sudden end in the 1980s and his shows are 'rarely on TV nowadays having been criticised for containing racist, sexist, risque and vulgar content which would be deemed unacceptable by today's standards'. Programme's makers looked back through the archives to find footage that cannot 'under normal circumstances' be played on TV today, and aired it for some younger viewers, Ellie, Pradeep, and Jodie, as well as cultural commentators, to get their reactions. The show also sought to answer the question of 'whether its time to bring Benny out of the comedy cold, or whether he should stay "cancelled?".' Sketches from Benny Hill's work which include scantily clad women are now considered sexist and outdated However, Gen Z viewers were amused by this scene, which showed a chat show host interviewing a vicar who'd accidentally left Some of the clips shocked the younger viewers due to their politically incorrect content, however, there were others that they found more amusing. They were shown one famous sketch which features Benny playing a chat show host speaking to a vicar whose flies are undone. The chat show host tries to surreptitiously move a table with a vase of flowers on it to hide the vicar's wardrobe malfunction, and this didn't go down too badly with the Gen Z audience. Pradeep said of the clip: 'That was funny and I think when he was trying to cover it up with the flower pot that was funny as well, just the awkwardness of it all.' However, another clip, which showed a male office worker watching a young female colleague - wearing a short skirt and suspenders and bending down to open a drawer, was less popular. At the beginning of the sketch, the male worker is counting letters, and has reached number 2,044. However, after he's distracted by his lecherous gazing at the secretary, he realises he's lost count, and has to start again. Pradeep said of the scene: 'The fact that was on TV, as well, prime time TV, is insane.' Jodie added: 'If that came up while you were watching TV with the family, it would definitely be very weird.' 'You'd quickly turn it off,' Pradeep agreed. One of the modern criticisms of Benny Hill's work is how women are often presented scantily clad, in ornamental roles (seen in the Benny Hill Show in the 70s) On top of having his own television show, Benny Hill appeared in a number of films, and topped the charts with his 1971 novelty hit Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) Journalist Nina Myskow, who appeared in the programme said of the sketch: 'So this is purely a male fantasy of what a secretary is: subservient, bend over when required, just so sleazy. Just so sleazy.' However, actress Nina Wadia was slightly more positive. She said of the scene: 'It's sad that it had to be a woman with suspenders on that distracts him, but it kind of works in that sketch. It works for me because the punchline is funny.' Another clip the Gen Z-ers found amusing showed firemen chasing after a fire engine, from a special called Two Time Feud. Ellie said: 'The Two Time Feud was quite funny, like when they are running behind the fire engine, that's quite funny.' However, one segment from the special was less popular - it showed a close up of a female firefighter sliding up and down the fireman's pole while wearing a short skirt and suspenders. There was then an 'action replay'. Commenting on the special, prominent feminist journalist Julie Bindall said: 'I couldn't help but laugh when seeing that when they did get to the house to rescue [them] from the burning building that the female fire fighters were wearing short skirts and spiked heels as they were going up the ladder. 'It's ludicrous to think of it as something that would have just been not even questioned at the time.' She added that one of the firemen crawled into the burning building just to 'canoodle' with a woman trapped in there. However, she added: 'But actually [there] were some very funny bits as well. Clever writing.' While some of Benny Hill's (pictured) comedy has not aged well, some critics have lamented that this work - a product of its time, has overshadowed his other quality comedy The most shocking scene for Gen Z viewers was a skit which saw the comedian using blackface Commenting on how unrealistic it was to see multiple women wearing just lingerie while appearing in the window of the burning building, Ellie and Jodie noted that it was 'not a common occurrence.' It was noted by several commentators, including Julie Bindel, that when the programme was made, competitions like Miss World were at peak popularity, and judging women on appearance alone was even more common than today. Moving onto another feature of Benny Hill's work which is racist by today's standards, the show discussed a character he depicted (one of his numerous characters from across the globe) called Chow Mein from China. This sketch was more shocking to the Gen Z-ers, with Pradeep noting: 'That would not fly today, I don't think.' Jodie added: 'That caught me off guard, to be honest, I was not expecting that.' Ellie said: 'The accent and him squinting his eyes, that was really bad.' Among the jokes, was one where the English man Chow Mein was speaking to understood the word 'election' as 'erection', due to the stereotypical accent used by Hill in the sketch. Jodie said: 'So the humour with the miscommunication I think was actually quite funny, but that the miscommunication was because of race is what made it unfunny.' Benny Hill had some unexpected fans - including Michael Jackson, who was at the height of his fame when he met the comedian in 1992, just months before his death The comedian scored a Christmas number one with his track The Fastest Milkman in the West (seen in video) Speaking about the context in which the programmes were made, actress Nina Wadia said: 'If you have 21 million people tuning in to watch someone portray characters who you think are inappropriate, it's a sign of the times. Why [...] would Benny HIll get blamed for something if society was laughing at it?' The show also looked at one of Hill's less controversial characters - Fred Scuttle - who was enjoyed by people of all the generations represented in the show, including the Gen Z-ers. However, one skit which featured Scuttle setting up an escort service was less popular, with all the male escorts old men, and the women young and glamorous. Another more popular character was Two Ton Ted from Teddington. He appeared in Hill's song 'Ernie (the fastest milkman in the west)', which was 1971's Christmas number one. The song was about a love rivalry between milkman Ernie Price (who was played by Hill in the music video) and bread delivery man Ted (played by Henry McGee). They both lust after a window named Sue. After Ted kills Ernie using a rock cake and pork pie, he marries Sue, but on their wedding night they fear they are haunted by the ghost of Ernie. Speaking about the song and video, Julie Bindel said: 'It was just very clever [...] it was just a very, very funny song and rhyme.' Gen Z-er Ellie said of the song that it is 'so catchy' it will be 'stuck in her head', prompting Jodie and Pradeep to agree. However, for modern viewers, the most shocking sketches were those featuring blackface. Watching one such scene, Gen Z-er Jodie said: 'In today's world, if that came up on TV, [it would be] 100 per cent cancelled, no career.' Benny Hill was described as a person who was humble, uninterested in money, and someone who enjoyed spending alone. He is said to love travelling, and a good French speaker. He is said to have been more sophisticated than much of his work may have suggested. Benny Hill (pictured in 1981) was found dead in his flat in April 1992. He had suffered a heart attack while sitting on his sofa watching television. He was 68-years-old A major changing point, according to the show, was when Hill debuted the series Hill's Angels in the 80s. As many have pointed out, the show lost much of its fun, instead presenting a more overtly 'sexy' image of women, presenting them as mere objects as pleasure. So while the Benny Hill show had been exported to 127 countries worldwide by the mid-80s, changing attitudes in Britain meant that it was losing its allure. As women were becoming more prevalent in the business world, those who appreciated Hill's Angels were seen, according to Julie Bindel, as 'dinosaurs'. Upcoming alternative comics, who were becoming more popular - like Billy Connelly - made Benny Hill appear old-fashioned and out of touch. Despite toning down the Hill's Angels, and introducing the 'little angels' - children who bullied a harangued butler characters - according to some critics, the Benny Hill show had 'lost its spark', and in 1984, it was unceremoniously axed. While he filmed an American show in 1991, titled Benny Hill's American World Tour, privately, his health was declining. In February 1992, Hill suffered a heart attack - and was visited by Michael Jackson, a huge fan, while in hospital. He soon brokered a new TV deal. However, in April that year, Hill was found dead, sitting on his sofa, watching television. His cause of death was a heart attack. He was 68-years-old. At the time of his death, Benny Hill was still a hugely popular comedian - with a surprising fan base including many from the US hip hop community like Snoop Dogg. Some critics now have lamented that his comic prowess has been overshadowed by some of his work which has become dated and offensive. The cancellation of Benny Hill is available on My5 Good American Family star Mark Duplass has revealed the harrowing scene that 'nearly killed him' to film. The New Orleans-born star shines as Michael Barnett, now ex-husband of Kristine Barnett, the parents formerly accused of abandoning and neglecting Ukrainian orphan Natalia Grace in the Disney+ dramatisation. Natalia - who was born with a rare form of dwarfism called diastrophic dysplasia - was seven years old when the Barnetts decided to adopt her in 2010, in the hope of expanding their family after years of struggles, and said they felt nothing but 'overwhelming love' for their new daughter. The new Disney+ show depicts how things quickly turned dark as the Barnetts later accused their once beloved daughter of attacking them with knives, harming their three biological sons, and even said she was lying about her age, claiming she had periods and full grown adult teeth. They branded her a 'sociopath' before eventually 'abandoning' her in an apartment years later. Mark Duplass, who stars alongside veteran TV actress Ellen Pompeo and British newcomer Imogen Faith Reid - who plays Natalia Grace in the fast rising drama - has shared how shooting one agonizing scene with Imogen 'killed' him. Taking to his Instagram stories, he posted a clip of the series capturing Natalia Grace plead for her 'daddy' Michael Barnett to stay, after he dropped off groceries to her new apartment in Lafayette. 'Shooting this killed me' he penned on Instagram. 'Love that @Imogenfaith___ so much. Actor Mark Duplass has opened up about filming a harrowing scene in a new Disney+ series (Pictured: Mark Duplass, left, and Imogen Faith Reid in a scene from Disney+ series, Good American Family) 'We would hug after every take to shake off the terrible feelings' he added. The gripping scene shows an emotional Natalia Grace asking her 'daddy' to spend time with her, rather than simply drop off the items and retreat back to his family as had become the custom. 'Please wait, daddy, daddy!' cried Natalia. She then asked Michael to explain why she was left out of her mom - TV personality and author Kristine Barnett's - new book, to which he coldly replied: 'You are not a kid are you Natalia?' Her cries fell on deaf ears as he emotionlessly repeated the statement, before telling her to 'stop it!' Natalia then hugged Michael and asked her 'daddy' if she could come home with him and be with the family once more. 'No, you can't... don't do that... stop!' he shouted. Natalia is then shown in tears while still hugging her adoptive father: 'You said you loved me for me!' she cried. Natalia was seven-years-old when the Barnetts decided to adopt her in 2010, in the hope of expanding their family after years of struggles, and said they felt nothing but 'overwhelming love' for their new daughter (Pictured: Kristine Barnett with her then-adopted daughter Natalia Grace and her three biological sons) Natalia Grace (pictured) was born with a rare form of dwarfism called diastrophic dysplasia Taking to his Instagram stories, Mark shared how shooting one agonizing scene with fellow actress Imogen Faith Reid 'killed' him 'Do you not love me anymore?' she asked. The full episode shows Michael losing his temper and telling her that she should've gotten her act together and now things were too late. The Barnetts were later accused of neglect for allegedly dumping her there to live alone following a huge fallout that saw them accuse her of faking her age. According to the series, the former couple accused Natalia of being in cahoots with her biological mother and a shady adoption agency to falsify documents showing her age, which they believed to be 22 instead of seven at the time. Though she lived alone, the Barnetts claimed they paid her rent and bills, as well as provided items such as food, make-up and hair care products. Like Natalia, Imogen, 27, also has a form of dwarfism - but in a different form. The 4ft 3in star has Russell-Silver Syndrome (RSS), a rare condition characterised by slow growth before and after birth - meaning she has curved pinky fingers and was born with blonde hair. Imogen Faith Reid shines as Ukrainian orphan Natalia Reid in Good American Family (The actress is pictured last month in London) The Barnetts were later accused of neglect for allegedly abandoning Natalia Grace following a huge fallout that saw them accuse her of faking her age (Pictured: Michael and Kristine Barnett in 2019) Mark Duplass stars alongside veteran TV actress Ellen Pompeo and British newcomer Imogen Faith Reid in the fast rising drama (The cast is seen at a BAFTA screening last month) Replying to Mark Duplass's Instagram story, she also opened up about shooting the emotional scene. 'I was soooo lucky to do a scene like this with @markduplass' wrote the actress. 'After this scene we had the biggest hug and I told him how much I love working with him'. She ended her words with a vibrating pink heart emoji. Ukrainian orphan Natalia Grace had already been adopted before finding a home with the Barnetts - but the parents had subsequently rescinded their rights, citing her 'disruptive' behaviour. Drawn in by the need to 'help another person in the world', Kristine and Michael still decided to raise Natalia as their own, alongside their three biological sons in New Hampshire. The following years saw a shocking breakdown in the relationship - with Kristine and Michael accusing her of being a 'sociopath masquerading as a child' and lying about her real age - even claiming she tried to kill them. After seeking advice from a family physician, they fought to have her birth date changed from 2003 to 1989, claiming she was an adult when they adopted her. Natalia has denied all accusations against her - and the couple were charged with neglect after moving to Canada and allegedly dumping her at an apartment in Lafayette. They were eventually acquitted of the charges. The heart wrenching scene clearly left a mark on the Creep actor who said shooting it 'killed me' (Seen in Miami this month) Natalia's unique story has now inspired Disney+ series Good American Family, starring Ellen Pompeo, Mark Duplass and Imogen Faith Reed. For years, Natalia was defended by Bishop Antwon and Cynthia Mans, who eventually became her third set of adoptive parents in June 2023. But speaking in a rare interview with PEOPLE Magazine in January, Natalia, now 21, revealed that the relationship had soured as shared an update on her situation. She said: 'It's a blessing to be alive today because looking back at my seven-year-old self, I should have been dead.' 'Learning everything that I have about how to live with my dwarfismit's been a great experience. I love it. I mean, of course, I still miss my siblings and everything. But I love it. I feel free'. In January 2024, she wrote on a GoFundMe page, revealing she'd moved out and was trying to raise money for spinal surgery. 'I recently moved out and I'm saving money to get my own house so I can have a personal place of my own,' she wrote. 'I am wanting to start my own photography business to create a fun and awesome way to have fun and do what I love which is taking pictures and creating memories for myself and other people!' She also explained that the spinal surgery she wants to have done isn't covered by her medical insurance and costs 'in excess of $500,000.' 'I have a type of dwarfism called Diastrophic Dysplasia - a form of dwarfism that has many serious issues which often require surgery,' she wrote. 'The first treatment I need is to have my spine corrected as if I leave it too long it could lead to paralysis and incontinence.' Imogen, 27, said she gave actor Mark Duplass the 'biggest hug' after shooting the heart wrenching scene In her interview with People Magazine, Natalia said she is now living with friends in New York, is learning to drive and is studying for her GED in the hope of becoming a teacher. She's also in a serious long-term relationship with her boyfriend Neil, from the UK, whom she met on Facebook while living with the Manses. Natalia was born with a bone growth disorder named spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, which causes short stature, skeletal abnormalities and problems with vision. Her first adoption from Ukraine was in 2008 by Dyan and Gary Ciccone - but just two years later, they relinquished their parental rights, citing her behaviour as the reason. The Barnetts, experienced foster parents who ran a children's day care from their Westfield, Indiana home, collected the curly-haired youngster from Florida in May 2010. Natalia's birth certificate said she was born in 2003 but her parents began to doubt her age and said she began displaying threatening behaviour towards them and their three biological sons, Jacob, Wesley and Ethan. Natalia's unique story has now inspired Disney+ series Good American Family Natalia has denied all accusations made against her by Kristine and Michael Barnett Kristine Barnett even gave an interview with the Daily Mail in 2019, alleging that Natalia had terrorised them 'for years' and accused her of threatening to stab them in their sleep, pushing her towards an electric fence and pouring bleach in her coffee. She also alleged that Natalia was far older than her six years of age, claiming she had pubic hair and had started her periods, while using an advanced vocabulary. 'The movie 'Orphan' is exactly what happened,' she said, referring to the 2009 thriller where a youngster tries to murder her family when it's revealed she's actually 33. 'She would make statements and draw pictures saying she wanted to kill family members, roll them up in a blanket and put them in the backyard. 'She was standing over people in the middle of the night. You couldn't go to sleep. We had to hide all the sharp objects. 'I saw her putting chemicals, bleach, Windex something like that, in my coffee and I asked her, what are you doing? She said, "I am trying to poison you." 'The media is painting me to be a child abuser but there is no child here,' said Barnett. 'Natalia was a woman. She had periods. She had adult teeth. She never grew a single inch, which would happen even with a child with dwarfism. 'The doctors all confirmed she was suffering a severe psychological illness only diagnosed in adults. 'She was jumping out of moving cars. She was smearing blood on mirrors. She was doing things you could never imagine a little child doing.' The Barnett family alleged they believed she was a six year old child when they picked her up from Florida in 2010. Sean 'Diddy' Combs has pleaded not guilty to two new sex crime charges. Sean 'Diddy' Combs has pleaded not guilty to new charges The 55-year-old rapper was previously charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution, and a new indictment made public by prosecutors earlier this month showed he has also been charged with one additional count each of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution, which relate to a plaintiff identified as Victim-2. And during a hearing in Manhattan on Monday (14.04.25), the Bad Boy Records founder pleaded not guilty to the new charges, with his legal team now having until Wednesday (16.04.25) to ask for additional time for discovery, which could delay the trial. His attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said defense would likely request a "very short" two-week pause due to concerns over discovery, as he claimed prosecutors had failed to ask a witness to submit 200,000 of her emails and instead allowed her to provide just what she thought was relevant. According to a letter obtained by People magazine, the lawyer asked Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday (11.04.25) for permission to question potential jurors - who are due to be selected on 5 May - about "central issues at the heart of the case," including their "connection to drug and alcohol abuse, their connection to domestic violence, their willingness to watch videos with physical assault and videos that are sexually explicit, and their views towards people with multiple sexual partners." The attorney noted the trial is related to sensitive and private content that many could feel "uncomfortable" talking about but may be more ""candid" in a questionnaire. However, prosecutors argued any questionnaire should be concise and simply focus on "issues that relate to for-cause challenges rather than personal information that would only be relevant to peremptory challenges." They added in court documents that a potentional form for would-be jurors should avoid "sensitive and personal topics, and should involve the simplest possible questions." The new indictment alleges the 'I'll Be Missing You' hitmaker recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronized and solicited [Victim-2], and attempted, aided and abetted, and willfully caused [Victim-2], to engage in commercial sex acts, knowing and in reckless disregard of the fact that Victim-2 was engaging in commercial sex acts as a result of force, fraud, and coercion. Diddy's attorney's previously said: These are not new allegations or new accusers. These are the same individuals, former long-term girlfriends, who were involved in consensual relationships. "This was their private sex life, defined by consent, not coercion. A pretrial conference is scheduled for 18 April. Diddy - who has pleaded not guilty to all the claims against him -is currently incarcerated at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center while awaiting trial. A mom has been slammed as 'entitled' and a 'bad parent,' after she let her toddler play behind the register at Trader Joe's while she filmed. Mom-of-one Brittany Polster posted the video to TikTok, showing her son, Rocky, sitting on the floor near the check out counter playing with a pile of receipt rolls. In the controversial clip, the toddler was seen taking the rolls of receipt paper out of a cabinet one at a time and placing them on the floor, while the woman working at the register was busy scanning Polster's items. 'The Trader Joe's employees who warmly giggled and watched as Rocky sat on the floor stacking the receipt paper while I packed and paid for groceries today, thank you,' she said passionately in the voice over. 'A reminder to all new moms out there, take a breath, you're doing your best while getting s**t done,' the Massachusetts mom said. Polster also posted a gushing caption with the video, thanking the grocery store employees for being 'so kind' after they saw her 'struggling.' While the mom saw no issues with letting her son play, her video was met with furious backlash. '"Packed groceries well then whos recording?' one user asked sarcastically. A mom has been slammed as 'entitled' and a 'bad parent,' after she let her toddler play behind the register at Trader Joe's while she filmed (stock image) 'You are not doing your best. Get off your phone and get your kid,' slammed another. 'As retail workers, we don't actually like this. Get your kid,' criticized someone else, with another adding: 'As the employees - we have to do that. We cant just yell at you to be a parent.' 'Brittany, your son is only special to you; everyone else deserves respect, and it's your job to set boundaries,' another user sternly replied. They continued: 'He'll grow up believing he can make people uncomfortable just because.' 'You're weird af for this. Entitled parents raise entitled kids. It's not doing the kids any favors. Do better. You're supposed to teach them that the world doesn't exist for them,' snarked someone else. In response to the comments, Polster assured naysayers that she cleaned the receipt paper up. 'Lollllll how did this get on the wrong side of TikTok of people with no kids? It didnt take any longer than her checking me out. Yes of course I made sure it was all cleaned up,' she wrote. Last week, a family-of-five was fiercely slammed for their behavior while boarding a flight. Mom-of-one Brittany Polster posted the video to TikTok , showing her son, Rocky, sitting on the floor near the check out counter playing with a pile of receipt rolls (stock image) In a clip posted to social media, the Hendrix family, from Chicago, documented their kids insisting on riding their scooters on board an aircraft. In the video, the three kids could be seen riding the scooters up to the doorway of the plane, where a stewardess motioned to the parents to fold them up in order to put them in the overhead bins. According to the Hendrix parents, their three children keep themselves entertained at airports 'zooming' around on their wheels, 'making the whole travel experience way smoother.' The parents explained how they travel with the scooters - which are foldable - since they are 'typically' considered personal items to carry on. While the Hendrix family were comfortable with their decisions to bring three scooters on board - in addition to carry on luggage - other viewers didn't agree, pointing out it's inconvenient for other passengers and staff. Millie Radford and two of her children were not able to initially travel to the US Britain's largest family The Radfords faced a nightmare start to their holiday after members of the family were turned away from their plane to the United States. Sue and Noel Radford, from Morecambe, had booked for their large brood to go abroad to America, flying out together on Sunday from Gatwick Airport. However, their daughter Millie, 24, was not able to travel with the rest of her family as her ESTA visa was not valid and she was denied entry onto the flight. Her two children Chester, two, and Ophelia, four, also did not have the correct documentation, which meant that they also couldn't travel. Millie's youngest daughter, Elodie, who is a year-and-a-half old, and her new husband Harley Passmore were eventually allowed to go to the US as their visa had gone through correctly. However, father Noel stayed and missed his flight to ensure that his daughter and grandchildren were able to sort their forms out and get on the next available plane. An ESTA is a form of online travel authorisation available to citizens from certain countries, including the UK, who intend to visit America for 90 days or less on a business trip or holiday. Without a valid ESTA, travellers will be turned away from their flight at the airport, or denied entry into the States, which may result in being sent on a plane back home. Millie called her mother 'super nan' for looking after her youngest daughter Elodie, who was able to get on the flight Sue said it had been 'the absolute worst start' to their holiday, but later praised the TUI check in staff for 'trying their best' to reunite the large brood Millie wrote on her Instagram story: 'Guys let this be your reminder to double check your ESTA because mine, Chester and Ophelia's had ran out and we were rejected on our flight to America today. 'Harley and Elodie were able to get on the flight lucky we have reapplied and they have all come back in time for us to fly tomorrow. 'My dad has stayed to help me thank God because we've had to travel hours to another airport from Gatwick. 'Hope Harley and Elodie haven't been too much hard work.' Millie shared the update along with a screenshot of her tracking her original flight to the US, which her husband and daughter were on. Sue also said it had been 'the absolute worst start' to their holiday, but later praised the TUI check in staff for 'trying their best' to reunite the large brood. The family first found out that Millie, Chester and Ophelia's ESTAs were out of date when they attempted to check in for the flight and it had popped up that they did not have the required visa needed to enter the country. 'We quickly reapplied for them at around 6.30am in the hope that they would be back before the flight but it wasn't to be,' Sue said on her Instagram. Luckily, the rest of the family were able to fly out the next day. Pictured Chester and Ophelia 'They even kept check in open until the very last minute and even allowed an extra 15 minutes but they didn't come through. So the decision was made for Noel to stay behind and get everyone on the flight the next day. They are now on their way. 'Honestly just want to really praise TUI as the staff on the flight and on the ground were just amazing.' Sue then took an image of Millie's new plane, which TUI had called Alfie, a special name for the couple. Alfie Radford is Noel and Sue's 17th child who was stillborn on July 6, 2014, after his heartbeat could no longer be found during the three-month scan. The mother-of-22 added: 'Look at the name of the plane flying them out today. Alfie definitely watching over us.' Millie called Sue 'super nan' for taking care of her 'little princess' while she remained stuck on UK soil. Sue, who turned 50 earlier this year, then also shared a video of one of the children relaxing on an inflatable lilo in their pool as they soaked up the sun. The family-of-22 are big fans of the US and have travelled there a whopping seven times over the course of two years to go on Disney cruises in Florida and the Orlando resort. Sue put up an Instagram post of Chester and Ophelia that Millie had sent her in the airport The Radford family were left in shock last month when Millie's new husband Harley suffered a suspected minor stroke, just days before they were set to celebrate Sue Radford's 50th birthday. He was rushed into hospital after he experienced numbness in his body that doctors suspected could be a mini stroke. The father-of-two, who married Sue and Noel's seventh child Millie last year, said he was 'glad to be back to normal' after the terrifying incident. In the post, Harley explained that he had been told by doctors that he had Bell's palsy, which is a temporary condition causing sudden weakness or paralysis on one side of the face. Following doctor's orders, Harley then took the next couple of days to 'relax', but soon began to panic on 16 March when he 'went numb' on his left side and had to be rushed to hospital. There, doctors feared that Harley may be suffering a mini-stroke, since Bell's palsy is not supposed to affect the body. Explaining the terrifying ordeal on social media, Harley wrote: 'Got a lot of people asking what was up. I went in on Sunday, they told me it was Bell's palsy so I came home and relaxed for the rest of the day and Monday. 'But yesterday my arm/ leg went numb and weak on my left side so I had to be rushed to hospital as they said that bell palsy shouldn't go to your body so they thought I had a mini stroke.' After having several tests and scans, Harley revealed that doctors had confirmed he had not had a mini-stroke, adding that he was 'glad' to be back to normal. 'They kept me in over night last night to do tests/ MRI scan. So glad it wasn't a stroke at such a young age,' he explained. She's the outrageous OnlyFans star known for pushing the boundaries between the sheets. From sleeping with 100 men in a single night to seducing elderly men in nursing homes, there's little that Lily Phillips won't do in the bedroom. But the 23-year does have one no-go zone when it comes to her sordid sex life. Speaking to the Stiff Socks podcast, the English model admitted that she refuses to kiss any of her sexual partners. 'I won't do any kissing on the set,' she said. 'I'll say before, "No kissing!"' The star explained that kissing strangers can make you 'ill,' and that she believes it's safer to perform oral sex or have full sexual intercourse instead of locking lips. Last year, Lily shocked the public when she admitted that she didn't know that HIV can be transmitted through fellatio. OnlyFans sensation Lily Phillips has revealed the one thing that she won't do in the bedroom Meanwhile, Lily recently participated in a 50-man 'backdoor challenge' with fellow OnlyFans star Tiffany Wisconsin. The shoot was so brutal that it ended with Tiffany taking a trip to the hospital for surgery. Meanwhile, Lily appeared on the Getting There podcast with Brogan Garrit-Smith last week to discuss how her life has changed in the media spotlight and the moral complexities surrounding OnlyFans and other adult content platforms. Speaking to Brogan, Lily revealed she initially earned $20,000 in her first month on the site and would regularly rake in $26,000 or more each month for the first year. However, she refused to disclose how much she currently earns as she doesn't want to mislead other young women into also joining the adult industry. 'I don't ever want to encourage young girls into doing this business [OnlyFans] because they think it's really quick, easy money,' she said. 'I try to stay away from that side. Everyone's going "oh I earned $43 million last year on OnlyFans." Of course, all the young girls are going, "well, why the f*** am I not doing that." Speaking to the Stiff Socks podcast, the English model admitted that she refuses to kiss any of her sexual partners 'I really, really try to be honest and open about the realities of this industry. I try to stay away from that personally in my own consciousness. I don't want to be braggy.' With the money she's earned, Lily is saving to buy a house and has also invested some of her lavish income, admitting: 'I could stop now and I'd be happy.' 'Things just get more expensive the more you earn, you do need more staff,' she added. 'I put it back into the business.' Admitting she feels responsibility for 'glamorizing' her life, she said she hopes to be 'honest and open' about the reality of a life on OnlyFans. She added: 'Everyone who knows you will think about you so much differently once you start doing OnlyFans. 'Even though you were probably doing this behind closed doors without cameras and without putting it on the internet. Now they just have this perception of you that you didn't have before.' They said the dog's hair could be contaminating the food in the hot bar An irate customer shared a picture of a woman at the hot bar with her dog Finding a hair in your food is never pleasant - but how would you feel about finding animal hair in a buffet? While the levels of hygiene at a food bar have often been discussed and debated, one furious customer recently sparked a new argument after they hit out at pet owners who bring their animals to food establishments, claiming they should be banned. The irate person shared a picture to Reddit showing a woman standing over the hot bar in a Whole Foods holding her small dog as she filled the box up with food. 'This Whole Foods I go to has a large sign at the front saying No pets allowed with service animals being the exception,' the user explained. They explained that it still doesnt stop people from bringing in their pet dogs, but added that the woman in the picture 'takes the cake.' 'She held her dog in her arms the whole time she was inside and got stuff from the hot bar, possibly contaminating it with dog hair,' they complained. In a comment, the user added that a Whole Foods employee had already gone up to her to remind her that no pets are allowed. 'This woman pretty much just rudely brushed her off and said she was gonna be quick since she was only there to get one thing, which happened to be the food,' they explained. A furious Whole Foods customer recently hit out at pet owners who bring their animals to food establishments, claiming they should be banned 'After that, the employees didnt seem to push it any further than that,' they concluded. Many other users agreed with the Reddit poster, slamming the woman for bringing her dog in the comment section. 'I love dogs. But dogs don't belong in grocery stores. Exception being legit service animals,' one responded. 'No potentially about that dog is getting hair in that food,' retorted another, labeling it as 'gross and selfish.' 'You know when people talk about potlucks. This is why we don't eat from just anybody house,' someone else chimed in. Dr Darin Detwiler, a food safety expert at Northeastern University in Boston, recently spoke to the DailyMail.com about the subject. And he warned against eating from buffet bars in places like Whole Foods - saying it was something he 'would never ever, ever, ever' do because of how prone they are to breeding germs. He explained that salad bars and buffets are a 'major opportunity' for contamination, as potentially dozens of hands come into contact with the food every day. Additionally, saliva can spray on the food and pass bacteria. The irate person shared a picture to Reddit showing a woman standing over the hot bar in a Whole Foods holding her small dog as she filled the box up with food (stock image) According to the Whole Foods website, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), their 'No Pets' policy does not apply to Service Animals. A dog at a Whole Foods hot bar isn't the strangest thing to go through a supermarket. Last week, a man and his three friends rode horses through a Louisiana Walmart, claiming they were emotional support animals. 'It was fun, we were famous. That's all. We didn't wanna hurt nobody...' Mason Webb, one of the riders told WBRZ, after a video of him and his friends riding through the Walmart in Baker garnered more than three million views on TikTok. Both Webb and the others face charges of disturbing the peace by violent and tumultuous manner and unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity. The group was seen recording themselves on the horses as they rode through the big-box store, which is likely the reason for the second charge. It's unclear if Webb, who was arrested last week, genuinely considers his horse an emotional support animal. If you have multiple devices and are constantly searching for a power point, IKEA shoppers have discovered a nifty $25 item that can charge your smartphone, earbuds and laptop at the same time. Customers are impressed by the HAGSTA three-way socket with two USB ports, calling it the ultimate charging station for all their tech essentials. The best-selling product with 220 five-star reviews features an 'ingenious' space saving design that also keeps your cables from tangling. 'HAGSTA is the epitome of multi-purpose enabling you to charge multiple electrical items at the same time,' Helen Longford, IKEA sales leader, told FEMAIL. 'It's wall mountable, so you can use it where you need it the most, and the 1.5 metre cord length allows you to position it even further from the original power source. 'Its small, cube-like shape makes it more compact and able to blend into any style expression, especially when you compare it to traditional power boards that are longer and take up more space.' The 'brilliant' product has been so popular, shoppers have given it a near-perfect rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. 'This is the product to use when your phone charger is too far away. It's compatible with Apple phones (Apple can be temperamental with some power sources). It can be permanently attached to a wall, floor or on furniture, or it can be left loose,' one raved. Customers are raving about the $25 HAGSTA three-way socket with two USB ports, calling it the ultimate charging station for all their tech essentials 'I brought this and it's been a lifesaver for me. When travelling and staying in hotels or motels, there's never enough power points and having this, allows me to charge up. Awesome product,' another shared. 'I need more of these in my life. I bought one to try. I need four more to replace all the other cumbersome extensions in my house. Highly recommend,' one added. Many said the 'clever' three-way socket is 'perfect' for their bedrooms, kitchen, living space and even caravans. 'We use this in the kitchen - we take recipes from our phones or iPads and they seem to run out of charge at crucial moments in the cooking process. This makes sure it doesn't but at the same time it is very compact and sits well on the kitchen bench to charge, and to hook up a mixer or other equipment,' one shared. 'I needed a solution to my bedside table dilemma and this fit the bill perfectly. Love it. Just perfect,' another revealed. 'Used in my sewing room perfect to plug in multiple machines and doesn't take up valuable space on my table,' one added. As part of the retailer's commitment to reducing prices to ease the cost-of-living squeeze, the item has been discounted from $35 to $25. The Swedish furniture chain has so far reduced the price of more than 200 items - including some hidden gems unique to the retailer. Prince Harry has distanced himself from his close cousin and 'ally' Princess Eugenie after their relationship 'soured', according to sources close to the royal. But as their bond apparently fades, the Duke and Duchess of York's youngest daughter has instead seemingly relied upon her other royal cousins, Princess Anne's children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips. Their close relationship was made clear this weekend after Eugenie, her sister Princess Beatrice and their husbands Jack Brooksbank and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, respectively, headed to the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain. The occasion made for quite the royal outing as they were joined by Zara and her husband, Mike Tindall, as well as Peter Phillips and his NHS nurse girlfriend Harriet Sperling. In one photograph from the event on Sunday, Beatrice and Eugenie appeared at first glance to be standing alongside only Edo. But Peter and his partner were also in the frame, facing away from the camera. King Charles' nephew was joined by his daughters, Savannah, 14, and Isla, 13, over the weekend, as well as Harriet's daughter, according to HELLO!. The family outing isn't the first time Princess Anne's children have showed their close bond with Prince Andrew's daughters, with the cousins putting on increasingly affectionate displays as they attend events with one another. In March, Eugenie, joined by her husband Jack, and Zara posed up a storm as they attended Cheltenham Festival's 'Style Wednesday' in matching burgundy outfits. In one photograph from the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain on Sunday, Beatrice and Eugenie appeared at first glance to be standing alongside only Edo. But Peter and his partner were also in the frame, facing away from the camera (pictured right) The pair couldn't help but smile as they stopped for pictures upon arrival at the occasion before being spotted deep in conversation as they made their way to the course. It appears the racing event is a favourite of the cousins, since they all attended in 2024, posing for photographs with one another as they shared a giggle. Beatrice attended alongside Zara and Mike on the Thursday, whilst Eugenie once again joined her equestrian cousin on the Wednesday. However, royal fans will likely be surprised to see Peter alongside Sarah Ferguson's daughters in Bahrain, considering they're not often pictured at the same events unless it is a big royal occasion, such as Christmas at the King's Sandringham estate. Although it isn't strange to see Peter attending a royal gathering with his new partner Harriet, after she joined him at such events throughout the summer last year. The romance between the NHS paediatric nurse and Princess Anne's son blossomed after he split from his partner of three years, Lindsay Wallace. In March, it was reported that Prince Harry has distanced himself from his close cousin and 'ally' Eugenie after their relationship 'soured'. The Duke of Sussex, who now lives in California with his wife Meghan Markle, is known to have maintained a close relationship with the Princess since announcing he would be stepping back from his role as senior working royal in January 2020. The Duke and Duchess of York 's youngest daughter has seemingly relied upon her other royal cousins, Princess Anne's children Zara Tindall (pictured left in March at Cheltenham) and Peter Phillips Princess Beatrice (left) with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Mike Tindall and Zara Tindall (right) on day three of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival Eugenie even appeared briefly in the royal's Netflix docuseries, Harry and Meghan, during a visit to the US in 2022. However, the longstanding friendship has 'soured' after she was photographed with Piers Morgan, a strong critic of Harry and Meghan, last April, according to claims made by The Sun. 'A dim view was taken of this, as Piers has clashed with Meghan and Harry in the past,' a source told the publication. 'Eugenie has been supportive of Harry and Meghan for years and was right there at the beginning of their relationship - but it has now soured.' Over the years Piers Morgans unsparing criticism about the Sussexes, both in the media and via social media, has sparked controversy. The broadcaster even stepped down from his hosting role on Good Morning Britain after a slew of Ofcom complaints due to his comments about the couple's Oprah Winfrey interview. Piers revealed he didn't believe Meghan's claims in the Oprah interview - which included allegations of 'unconscious bias'. There were more than 50,000 complaints to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, which later ruled the comments did not break the rules, however the host stepped down regardless. Peter and Eugenie at the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain on Sunday Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 41, shared a sweet snap of his wife Princess Beatrice, 36, to his Instagram on Monday as the couple continued to enjoy the FI Grand Prix And the property developer also made sure to get a snap of his sister-in-law Princess Eugenie, 35, too as she laughed alongside her husband Jack Brooksbank, 38 Princess Beatirce, 36, looked elegant in a khaki green and white 260 Sezane dress, gold Mary Jane ballet flats while Eugenie donned a black dress and accessorised with a tan wicker bag The group was spotted in the paddock during the race at the Bahrain International Circuit chatting and laughing in the sunshine with Mike Tindall chatting animatedly behind The royal swept her hair back off her face and wore several rings and appeared to enjoy her time at the sporting event Meghan claimed the royal family had 'concerns' about 'how dark' Archie's skin would be before he was born. Piers said Meghan 'portraying the Royal Family as a bunch of racists' is 'the most incendiary charge I've seen in my career'. The duchess did not reveal which Royal Family member had the conversation with the Duke of Sussex about Archie's skin colour. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Piers said: 'I expect all this vile destructive self-serving nonsense from Meghan Markle - but for Harry to let her take down his family and the Monarchy like this is shameful. 'Harry wants America and the rest of the world to hate his own family, hate the Monarchy and hate his country. 'I suggest everyone waits for the victims of his wife's rampage to have their say on her outlandish claims before they do so. I wouldn't believe Meghan Markle if she gave me a weather report.' He then added: 'Let's be clear: Prince Harry and his wife just spent two hours trashing everything the Queen stands for and has worked so hard to maintain, whilst pretending to support her. 'And they did it while her 99 year-old husband Philip is seriously ill in hospital.' Princess Eugenie and Zara Tindall attend 'Style Wednesday' on the second day of The Cheltenham Festival Princess Beatrice (C), her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (R) and stepson Wolfie (2R) arrive with Zara at the "Together At Christmas" Carol Service In 2023, Eugenie and her sister Beatrice were spotted at the The Princess Royal pub in Notting Hill with Piers and a host of celebrity friends. Leaving the pub Eugenie was pictured giving Piers a warm hug as they parted ways. Harry had a close bond with his cousin growing up. Their mothers Princess Diana and Sarah also shared a friendship and often went away on joint family holidays together. Eugenie and Meghan were introduced by their mutual friend, fashion designer Misha Nonoo, before Meghan met Prince Harry. In the early days of Meghan and Harry's relationship, Eugenie and her now-husband Jack went on double dates with the couple. They also visited Toronto, Canada, to see the pair after the Prince had travelled to be with Meghan during her time filming legal drama Suits. The cousins and their partners dressed up in Halloween costumes for a final night out before their relationship was revealed. Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in November 2021, Meghan explained how she and the Prince enjoyed a party with Eugenie and Jack days before the news of their relationship broke. Princess Eugenie and the Duke of Sussex depart after the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, in 2023 In the early days of Meghan and Harry's relationship, Eugenie and her now-husband Jack went on double dates with the couple (Meghan at Halloween Party with Princess Eugenie, seen in their Netflix series) Speaking about the event in 2016, she told Ellen: 'He came to see me in Toronto and our friends and his cousin Eugenie and now her husband Jack, they came as well, and the four of us snuck out in Halloween costumes to just have one fun night on the town before it was out in the world that we were a couple. 'It was a post-apocalypse theme, so we had all this very bizarre costuming on, and we were able to just have one fun final night out.' The couple, who are now based in Montecito, California, also recalled the night out in the first episode of their explosive Netflix docuseries Harry and Meghan. They recalled how they went incognito with 'borrowed' costumes with Eugenie, Jack, and Meghan's close friend Markus Anderson. It is not known where the couple went out in Toronto, however they shared unseen snaps of the party in a home, as well as out in a local club. In one snap, Meghan and Harry can be seen crowding in for a photograph with Eugenie and Jack, as well as another friend, Markus. Harry was dressed in a gas mask, while Meghan also pulled her hat low over her face. Meanwhile the Duchess opted for a crop top for the occasion, which she paired with dark jean shorts. Both she and Eugenie ringed their eyes in dark eyeliner for the outing, while Harry pulled a skeleton mask across his face. The couple said they 'wanted to pull the pin on the fun grenade.' Meghan said: 'His cousin Eugenie, her boyfriend Jack and my friend Markus were there too. It was so great, just silly fun.' READ MORE: Shocking rise of women in their 30s needing facelift surgery A mom from Indiana won a free custom facelift from a renowned plastic surgeon from a social media ad. The catch? Her surgery was going to be performed in front of 500 medical students. And while the procedure was ultimately successful, the woman had a scary complication during the surgery as the hundreds of aspiring doctors watched on. In 2024, Leslie, 52, saw a post shared by Nayak Plastic Surgery, an account for plastic surgeon Dr. Mike Nayak, who is based in St. Louis, Missouri, asking for a model to participate in a masterclass. The ad explained that the model would get a facelift completely free, but it had to be done in front of hundreds of studying med students. 'I had been following Dr. Nayak on Instagram for about three years before this,' she recently told People. 'His work is phenomenal.' Leslie said that part of the ad appealed to her because she also works in the medical field in a 'busy operating room.' 'Working in the OR myself and seeing medical students trickle through, I loved the idea that I could help in some way,' she explained. Leslie, 52, won a free custom facelift from plastic surgeon Dr. Nayak. The catch? It was going to be performed in front of 500 medical students (stock image) While it was successful, Leslie had a scary complication during the surgery as the hundreds of aspiring doctors watched on. She's seen before (top) and after (bottom) the procedure When she came across the post, it was at a time when the 52-year-old felt her appearance was changing. 'You always start with the little things, right? The creams, then the Botox and the micro-needling,' she admitted. 'I just looked tired. I noticed sagging and drooping. I thought, maybe one day I could do a facelift.' She submitted pictures of her face and went through two rounds of interviews before she got the call that she had won the procedure and would be the live model for Dr. Nayaks TeoNayak Congress. Students from all over the world came to Turkey to watch Dr. Nayak and fellow plastic surgeon Dr. Teoman Dogan perform Leslie's surgery at the three-day seminar. Leslie and her daughter flew to Turkey in September 2024 and stayed for nine days. During her procedure, Dr. Nayak wore a camera and had cameras in the operating room so he could broadcast the six-hour surgery to students watching live. He and his team also narrated what they were doing and answered questions from students in real-time. During her surgery, Dr. Nayak wore a camera and had cameras in the operating room so he could broadcast the six-hour surgery to students watching live Leslie received a 'preservation deep plane extended facelift, a deep neck lift, a brow lift, a lower blepharoplasty, a fat transfer, age-appropriate lip filler, and a lower eyelid TCA peel,' Dr. Nayak explained in an Instagram post about her procedure. 'I did a brow lift for her because [her expression] looked sad,' he added to People. 'I removed the fat bags from behind her eyelids. We used fat from her belly to build the dark circles out, to build the tear trough hollows out,' he explained about the darkness around her eyes. 'Then I usually laser the overlying skin of the lower lids to treat wrinkles, but they didn't have a laser that I liked, so I did it with a trichloroacetic acid peel instead.' Despite her now refreshed look, Leslie's procedure came with a few scary complications. In a post about Leslie's three-month post-op, Dr. Nayak explained that she started bleeding profusely during the surgery... as the hundreds of students watched on. 'While the surgery went extremely well, it was very challenging. For reasons unknown, Leslie was very prone to bleeding both during the entire procedure as well as for the first few days afterward,' he explained. 'For those unfamiliar, operating in a bleeding surgical field is like trying to stay safe while driving through dense fog or heavy rain. 'Thankfully, at this point in my career, I no longer find things like that quite as stressful as I once did - even with over 500 people watching. Dr. Nayak explained that her surgery had a lot of bleeding, but he was able to get it under control (stock image) 'This is in large part because I had two members of my accomplished surgical team Megan and Joanie with me to anticipate and support my every move.' He added: 'We were able to get exactly the outcome we hoped for, and used hemostatic net sutures to minimize the risk of major re-bleeding postoperatively.' A few months post-op, Leslie said the feedback from people in her life was overwhelmingly positive. 'Everybody just says I look refreshed,' she shared. '"You don't look tired, you look refreshed," but I still look like me. That's what I wanted to make sure of I would still look like me. I wasn't really trying to look younger.' A full recovery takes months and it could take six months to a year for the swelling to settle. 'For some people, if you have plastic surgery, people think that you're vain and you're just all about looks,' Leslie said. 'That's not the case. Sometimes when we look at ourselves, were like, "Do I really look that tired?" Because I still feel really young inside. 'Not that 52 is old, old, but I just felt like I was aging on the outside quicker than I was on the inside.' Leslie's surgery was free, but on Dr. Nayak's website, deep plane extended facelifts, which include a deep necklift, start at $150,000, while deep necklifts are $70,000, and brow lifts are $30,000 to $40,000. 90 Day Fiance star Darcey Silva and her sister Stacey are no strangers to plastic surgery. But even longtime viewers of the TLC franchise were left shocked by Darcey's recent appearance at the 90 Day: The Last Resort reunion special. The 50-year-old looked completely unrecognizable at the taping compared to when she first joined the reality TV franchise back in 2017. Her features were noticeably different, with the reality star now having extremely plump cheeks, much fuller lips, and a large, protruding chin. Darcey's new look sparked a frenzy on social media, with some viewers comparing her to the late Jocelyn Wildenstein, who was known as 'Catwoman' thanks to her cat-like eyes. 'Shes going to end up like the cat lady,' one user wrote. 'I was shocked when I saw her,' said another, while a third added, 'Lovely lady real shame she thought she wasn't beautiful before because she was.' Darcey declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com. 90 Day Fiance star Darcey Silva recently showed off her latest plastic surgery procedures at the 90 Day: The Last Resort tell-all special Her features were noticeably different, with the reality star now having extremely plump cheeks, much fuller lips, and a large, protruding chin The 50-year-old looked completely unrecognizable at the taping compared to when she first joined the reality TV franchise. She's Pictured in 2019 Her latest transformation comes after the mom-of-two and her twin sister Stacey returned to Istanbul in Turkey for another round of plastic surgery. The sisters documented the trip on social media and listed the various procedures they had done during the jaunt. Their surgeries on the trip included brow lifts, liposuction, skin tightening lasers, and even ab etching. Darcey and Stacey have long documented their plastic surgery journey on their self-titled TLC series. Several years ago, the siblings memorably flew to Turkey to get breast lifts, bigger implants, liposuction, buccal fat removal, a lip lift, nose jobs, and veneers. They admitted in one episode that their insecurities around their appearance stemmed from being bullied at school when they were younger. In an interview with The Sarah Fraser Show, the pair said that going under the knife was 'the best decision' they had ever made. 'We started when we were 35, and that was Botox and a little lip filler,' Stacey said. Darcey's twin sister Stacey (right) also looked drastically different compared to before The twin sisters are pictured in 2009, long before they ever went under the knife Darcey is seen when she first joined the 90 Day Fiance franchise in 2017 'Then we went for it in our 40s. No shame in what we do,' she added. In 2022, Darcey and Stacey took their sisterhood to a whole new level by getting orgasm shots - a procedure that involves a vaginal injection and encourages tissue regeneration and increased blood flow. They documented the outrageous procedure on 90 Day Fiance. 'The O-shot is an injection of platelet-rich plasma,' a doctor explained to them in the episode. 'I like to think of it as if there's a stale hot dog bun that you have been leaving out on the table for a few days. 'It might need a little bit more flour, a little more yeast, a little more water that you can add to keep that hot dog bun a little spongey, ready for its hot dog.' As the doctor inserted the syringe filled with 'liquid gold' into the vaginal wall, Darcey squeezed a stress ball, squirming in pain. After a few moments of deep breathing and gasps, the painful procedure was over and the whole crew cheered. The sisters recently flew to Turkey for another round of plastic surgery Their surgeries on the trip included brow lifts, liposuction, skin tightening lasers, and even ab etching Darcey has been to Istanbul more than once for plastic surgery The sisters showed off their new looks at the New You Awards in March Darcey then spoke about the procedure to the camera. 'The O-shot feels like your lips are swollen, your whole vagina is like one big ball,' she explained. According to Aesthetic Gynecology, the vaginal injection uses plasma harnessed from the patient's blood, and is inserted into the vagina and clitoris. There are many benefits of the O-shot including: enhancement in libido and sexual desire, heightened vaginal and clitoral sensitivity contributing to a stronger orgasms, decreased urinary incontinence and improved vaginal lubrication. It is also said to reduce pain during intercourse, increase ability to experience a G-spot orgasm and enhance the skin on the vulva. The cost of the procedure can range anywhere between $1,200 to $1,500. Darcey first shot to fame in 2017 in the hit 90 Day Fiance spin-off Before The 90 Days. After starring in the first three seasons of the spin-off, Darcey landed her own show with her twin sister called Darcey & Stacey. The series ran for four seasons before getting cancelled in 2023, but the pair are still very much part of the 90 Day Fiance franchise. Stacey just starred in another spin-off, 90 Day Fiance: The Last Resort, which also featured appearances from Darcey. In the dusty outskirts of Seminole, Texas just past the cotton fields and under the relentless spring sun Peter Hildebrand stands outside a gas station, his eyes rimmed red and voice cracking with grief. 'She did not die of the measles,' he said of his daughter, Daisy. 'If there's one thing you should know, it's that. She was failed.' Eight-year-old Daisy Hildebrand is the second child to die in the escalating measles outbreak gripping West Texas, where antivaccine conspiracy thinking has become rife and there has been an erosion of trust in public institutions. The death was confirmed to be from measles by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hidlebrand, however, claims his daughter's death was not caused by the virus, but by a failure in her medical care, a lack of proper treatment and prejudice against their faith. The family are Mennonite, part of a small Christian community that often emphasizes 'natural remedies' over modern medicine. DailyMail.com spoke to several locals, including young mothers, farmhands and truckers, in Seminole who were skeptical about vaccines. They falsely claimed the shots contained 'dangerous stuff' and that Big Pharma used them to make money, at the expense of people's health. Vaccine exemptions in Gaines County, where Seminole is based, are among the highest in the state and nationwide. About 13 percent of children attending local schools have a conscientious exemption for vaccines, compared to around three percent nationally. Seminole, Texas is at the center of a measles outbreak as antivaccine conspiracy thinking becomes rife and trust in public institutions drops Pictured above is Peter Hildebrand with his wife Eva and two of his children. They met with anti-vaccine crusader RFK Jr, health secretary, after the death of their daughter Eight-year-old Daisy Hildebrand is the second child to die in the escalating measles outbreak gripping West Texas Daisy, once a healthy and energetic child, got sick about a month ago. She came down with a fever, sore throat, and eventually pneumonia. The family tried to treat their daughter at home with cod liver oil, popular in the community for helping to 'strengthen the immune system'. But when that failed, they took her to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed her with strep throat, mononucleosis, a contagious viral infection, and measles. She was given antibiotics and sent home. But within three days, her condition worsened. Rushed back to the hospital with severe pneumonia, she was treated again this time unsuccessfully. Daisy was the second child to die in the outbreak. Six-year-old Kayley Fehr, also unvaccinated and from the same Mennonite community, succumbed just weeks earlier. They both mark the first deaths from measles in the US in a decade. Your browser does not support iframes. More than 700 cases of measles have been recorded nationwide so far this year, with 541 of these recorded in Texas. This number of cases is the worst since 2019 and the outbreak is on track to become the biggest in decades. In Texas, 70 percent of cases - or more than two thirds - are among children and young babies. Though measles itself is viral, it weakens the immune system and leaves patients vulnerable to deadly secondary infections, especially pneumonia. But Mr Hildebrand rejects that explanation in Daisys case and places little faith in the vaccines public health officials are urging the community to adopt. 'The [MMR] vaccine ain't worth a damn,' he added. 'My brother's family got it and they all still got sick worse than my unvaccinated kids. This isn't about the vaccine.' The measles vaccine is 93 percent effective at preventing infections after one dose, and 97 percent effective after two doses. Without vaccination and allowed to let rip, measles is thought to be the most infectious disease in the world. Joselyn doesnt want to get her children vaccinated despite the outbreak because she claims to know people whove had adverse reactions Judy said her family hasnt got the MMR vaccine because they dont like the things in it It is so contagious that if one person has measles, up to 90 percent of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected. The average measles patient would infect up to 18 others, if they were also not vaccinated. People who had the original Covid strain, by comparison, infected on average just two people, though this number rose considerably with new variants. In children unvaccinated against measles, about one in five are hospitalized, while one in 20 suffer from pneumonia, according to the CDC. One in 1,000 will also develop encephalitis, a swelling on the brain that can lead to convulsions, going deaf and intellectual disability, and about one to three in every 1,000 die from the disease. The Mennonite community's relationship with vaccination is complicated. Though scripture doesn't strictly forbid vaccines, many in the community believe it should be a personal choice. About 3,000 people in Gaines County follow the Mennonite faith, according to figures from 2010, out of the more than 22,000 residents. At the same time, Gaines County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country: just 82 percent of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine last year far below the 95 percent threshold required for herd immunity. Despite the outbreak, hesitancy remains. At Healthy 2 U, a Mennonite-run supplement shop in Seminole, shelves are stocked with cod liver oil rich in vitamin A an alternative therapy promoted by some vaccine skeptics as a natural defense against measles. 'We recommend it to everyone who gets sick,' says store manager Nancy, a mother of 10 and grandmother of nineteen. But there are some who are still in favor of vaccination. In a parking lot outside Walmart, DailyMail.com met two Mennonite women Helen and Helena. One said she vaccinated her children, saying it was the right thing to do, while the other said she didn't vaccinate her children believing infections like measles 'make their immune system stronger'. Steven, a local designer, said everyone should get vaccinated The above shows the entry-way to the measles testing and vaccination center in West Texas The town of Seminole, with just 7,000 residents, has been quietly grappling with the epidemic. Outside the local testing and vaccination clinic, DailyMail.com saw a slow trickle of patients many coming for blood tests to determine if they have measles antibodies, a form of proof of immunity. Still, many in the town are skeptical. Some believe the outbreak is slowing; others say they're hearing of 'more patients than ever'. Local health director Zach Holbrooks says traffic to the clinic varies, with some days seeing no patients and others over a dozen. He urges vaccinations, calling them the best protection against hospitalization and death. Signs around town warn of the outbreak, but they're easy to miss. Without large banners or public broadcasts, visitors may pass through Seminole and be completely unaware that the nation's worst measles outbreak in years is unfolding here. Hildebrand is determined, however, to overturn the report that his daughter was killed by measles. He recently met with RFK Jr during a visit to the area earlier this month. 'He didn't mention vaccines once,' Mr Hildebrand says. 'But he was the nicest man I ever met.' After his visit, RFK Jr wrote on X: 'The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.' As Daisy was laid to rest alongside Kayley in a modest Mennonite churchyard, her father hopes her story sparks reflection if not on vaccines, then on care, compassion, and the urgent need to protect the vulnerable. 'She was my little girl,' he says softly. 'And they let her down.' Experts are sounding the alarm over the spread of a virus seldom seen in the US that comes from mice, the same virus that killed actor Gene Hackmans wife. Betsy Arakawa was found dead in the Santa Fe home she shared with her husband, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding their passing gripped the nations attention for weeks. Mr Hackman was later determined to have died of heart disease, while Ms Arakawa, a classical pianist, died of hantavirus, a rare but severe respiratory illness spread through exposure, typically inhalation, to rodent droppings. The hantavirus was first identified in South Korea in 1978 when researchers isolated the virus from a field mouse. The virus is rare in the US, with fewer than 50 cases reported yearly. For reference, there are roughly 2,000 cases of West Nile Virus reported in the US annually. This is partly because the US has fewer rodent species than Asian countries. Hantaviruses in the US primarily circulate in fewer rodent species compared to Asia and Europe, where multiple rodent species act as hosts. Virginia Tech researchers found that while deer mice are still the primary reservoir for hantaviruses in North America, the virus circulates more widely than previously thought detecting antibodies in six additional rodent species where hantavirus was not documented before. The findings suggest that hantaviruses may circulate among a broader range of rodents, though human infection risk is still highest in areas with high deer mouse populations, especially in Southwestern states. Betsy Arakawa was found dead in the Santa Fe home she shared with her husband, Gene Hackman, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding their passing gripped the nations attention for weeks Hantaviruses, which kill around 50 percent of patients, are a group of viruses found worldwide and can cause deadly diseases with fatality rates comparable to serious illnesses like Ebola, which has a death rate ranging from about 60 to as much as 90 percent, depending on the strain. Hantaviruses, which are spread to people when they inhale aerosolized fecal matter, urine, or saliva from infected rodents, cause distinct diseases based on their geographic regions. In Asia, the Hantaan virus causes hemorrhagic fever with kidney disease, while in Europe, the same condition is linked to the Dobrava-Belgrade virus. In the Americas, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome is caused by the Sin Nombre virus and the Andes virus. The Sin Nombre virus was first identified in New Mexico in 1993. The Virginia Tech team analyzed data from the National Science Foundation's National Ecological Observatory Network to better understand how hantavirus spreads in the wild. They focused on how environmental factors and geographic patterns affect the rodent species that carry the virus. Arakawa was infected with hantavirus which caused a deadly build-up of fluid in her lungs, known medically as hentavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Hackman died of heart disease Seventy-nine percent of positive blood samples came from deer mice species, which cause around 90 percent of all hantavirus cases in the US Between 2014 and 2019, the program gathered and tested 14,004 blood samples from 49 different species at 45 locations across the US to test for levels of hantavirus antibodies. Seventy-nine percent of positive blood samples came from deer mice species, which cause around 90 percent of all hantavirus cases in the US. These species showed the highest infection rates in their blood at three percent based on 116 positive samples, which was to be expected. But, researchers found that some rodent species, like Peromyscus truei and Microtus pennsylvanicus, had a higher percentage of hantavirus infections than deer mice between 4.3 and 4.9 percent. Paanwaris Paansri, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and co-author of the study, said: In North America, Peromyscus maniculatus, the deer mouse, is the most common carrier, but our study also revealed that other rodent species have a higher prevalence of hantavirus, which changes the current paradigm in hantavirus circulation in wildlife. At the same time, these numbers can be misconstrued to pose a greater threat than actually exists. They are based on much smaller sample sizes: only nine out of 184 P. truei and 33 out of 768 M. pennsylvanicus tested positive. Meanwhile, 116 out of 3,919 deer mice were infected. When the sample is small, even a few positive cases can skew the percentage to appear high. The above shows hantavirus cases recorded in the US The vast majority of human cases are traced back to two or three key deer mouse species, and there is no evidence these species sustain outbreaks or significantly increase human risk. Still, according to Mr Paansri, these findings reveal that the virus is more flexible than scientists once thought, broadening what they know about its basic biology. Virginia had the highest infection rate among rodents, with nearly eight percent of 99 samples testing positive for hantavirus 3.8 times the national average of around two percent. Your browser does not support iframes. Colorado had the second-highest infection rate, followed by Texas, both known risk regions for the virus, with average positive blood samples more than twice as high as the national average. The teams findings could influence how public health officials monitor and evaluate hantavirus risk and help clarify human cases in areas where the usual rodent host is uncommon or missing. Mr Paansri said: This new information is expected to help us understand where and when hantavirus is most likely to occur, which is crucial for predicting outbreaks and informing public health officials. We believe that many lessons learned from this study can be generalized to other wildlife diseases, considering that their distribution is global. Prince Harry has said he is incredibly proud of Meghan Markle as the Duchess of Sussex re-enters the public eye with a slate of new projects. Prince Harry has said he is incredibly proud of Meghan Markle as the Duchess of Sussex re-enters the public eye with a slate of new projects After his wife, 43, launched projects including a Netflix series and a lifestyle brand, Harry, 40, told People magazine about how he is backing her amid criticism of the quality of her efforts. The Duke of Sussex said: I am so happy for my wife and fully support absolutely everything shes done and continues to do. Meghan launched her new lifestyle brand As ever in March, with its debut product line selling out in under an hour. The same month, she premiered her new Netflix series With Love, Meghan, in which Harry made a short appearance in the final episode. During a celebratory brunch shown on screen, Harry was seen leaning in to kiss Meghan and told her: You did a really great job. I love it. Alongside her brand and series, Meghan also debuted a new podcast on Lemonada Media titled Confessions of a Female Founder, which premiered on 8 April. The audio series focuses on the challenges women face in entrepreneurship. Harrys support for Meghans ventures comes as he continues to battle in court for the restoration of his UK security arrangements. After stepping back from royal duties in 2020, Harry and Meghan lost access to state-funded official protection a move the Duke is now challenging through a legal appeal. Speaking to People outside the Royal Courts of Justice on 9 April, Harry said the issue of security has always mattered the most. Harry believes the decision to strip the couple of protection was part of a wider effort to control them following their departure from the royal family. He said the realisation that security was being used as leverage was difficult to swallow and marked a turning point in his relationship with the monarchy. The duke now living in California with Meghan and their children Archie, five, and Lilibet, three has argued his father King Charles, 76, could intervene to restore protection for the Sussex family but has so far declined to do so. Along with giving your baby a restful night's sleep, their mattress could also be causing brain damage. Researchers from Canada discovered children's mattresses contain toxic substances like flame retardants - used to make products less flammable - and phthalates - used to make products more flexible - both of which have been associated with an increased risk of brain damage and cancer. The team measured the levels of chemicals in the bedrooms of children between six months and four years old. They detected concerning levels of more than two dozen types of flame retardants, plasticizers and UV-filters, chemicals that block or absorb ultraviolet light, throughout the room, with levels highest closer to the children's beds. In a companion study, the researchers tested 16 new children's mattresses and confirmed they were likely the major source of these chemicals in the bedrooms. Co-author Arlene Blum, executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute, said: 'Parents should be able to lay their children down for sleep knowing they are safe and snug. 'Flame retardants have a long history of harming our childrens cognitive function and ability to learn. Its concerning that these chemicals are still being found in childrens mattresses even though we know they have no proven fire-safety benefit, and arent needed to comply with flammability standards.' Researchers tested children's mattresses and found they contained concerningly high levels of toxins Phthalates are chemicals used to make products more flexible and able to withstand certain conditions, as well as help reduce cracking. These substances are found in makeup, nail polish, hair spray, body lotion, shampoos and cleansers. They've been linked to infertility, breast cancer, obesity, cardiovascular and neurological complications and behavioral problems. While flame retardants are added to products to make them less flammable and can be in anything from clothing to furniture. They have been linked to an increased risk of brain damage, neurological development problems, lower IQ and attention, learning and behavioral disorders in children. Researchers said: 'Children are uniquely vulnerable to exposure, given that they are still developing, have hand-to-mouth behaviors, and have breathing rates ten times higher than adults. 'They also have more permeable skin and three times the skin surface area relative to their body weight than adults.' Once the researchers discovered the high levels of toxins in children's mattresses, they tested the items again after simulating a child's body sleeping on them. With the simulated temperature and weight on the mattresses, emissions of the chemicals increased substantially - in some cases by several times. And while the products tested were purchased in Canada, most contained materials originating from other countries, including America and Mexico and the researchers said the results are likely to apply to mattresses purchased throughout North America. Senior author Miriam Diamond, professor at the University of Toronto, said: 'Sleep is vital for brain development, particularly for infants and toddlers. However, our research suggests that many mattresses contain chemicals that can harm kids brains. 'This is a wake-up call for manufacturers and policymakers to ensure our childrens beds are safe and support healthy brain development.' To reduce a child's exposure, the researchers recommend using undyed and neutral bedding, which is less likely to contain harmful chemicals Your browser does not support iframes. Researchers said the levels of flame retardants found in the mattresses were 'puzzling' given the chemicals are not necessary to pass Canadian or US flammability standards. As a result of their findings, the researchers are calling for manufacturers to be more vigilant about the chemicals they use in their products and for there to be stronger regulations on the use of these toxins in children's products. In the US, three types of phthalates are banned from use in children's items. The UK bans four. The US also has loose restrictions when it comes to phthalates in food products, while the UK severely limits seven types of the substances in all food contact materials. And while there is no formal prohibition of phthalate use in American cosmetics, the UK either tightly controls or completely bans certain phthalates from cosmetic products. While regulations and manufacturers work to improve products, the team advised parents to take their own action, including decluttering a child's sleeping area of pillows, blankets and toys. They also recommended washing and refreshing a child's bedding and pajamas, as well as only using undyed or neutral fabrics as those are less likely to contain toxic chemicals. Dementia is the UKs biggest killer, claiming more lives than heart attacks and strokes combined. Despite years of exhaustive research costing millions, science has failed to find a cure or drug to prevent it. Last year, data on a new drug donanemab suggested it could delay the worsening of symptoms in early Alzheimers, while a similar drug, lecanemab, was almost as effective. But serious side-effects a third of patients on donanemab suffered brain bleeds and the prohibitive cost of 60,000 for an 18-month course meant neither was approved for the NHS. Now, though, there are fresh hopes for existing, cheaper and readily available drugs, such as aspirin, statins and even the weight-loss jab Ozempic. Repurposing, as it is known, hit the headlines recently following the results of a seven-year study that found people given Zostavax, a shingles vaccine, were 20 per cent less likely to develop dementia, reported the journal Nature. Similar results were seen with another shingles vaccine, Shingrix, in research published last year by scientists at Oxford University. The theory is that by preventing reactivation of the herpes zoster virus which causes chickenpox in childhood and then remains dormant in the body until it is triggered later in life to resurface as shingles the vaccines ward off inflammation in the nervous system that heightens the risk of dementia. At around 200 for a shingles jab, researchers said it could be a cheap and easy way to prevent future dementia cases. Dementia is the UKs biggest killer, claiming more lives than heart attacks and strokes combined Repurposing, as it is known, brings fresh hopes for existing, cheaper and readily available drugs, such as aspirin, statins and even the weight-loss jab Ozempic to ward off dementia And it is not just readily available vaccines that could help. Earlier this month, scientists at Hallym University College of Medicine in South Korea found that statins taken by about eight million people in the UK to cut cholesterol and which cost as little as 4p each reduced the risk of Alzheimers by 28 per cent. High cholesterol has been shown to raise dementia risk, possibly by causing blood vessels to become inflamed, restricting blood flow to the brain. The researchers tracked more than half a million people and found that those who reduced their harmful cholesterol levels by taking statins were much less likely to develop dementia. Meanwhile, trials have found that over-the-counter painkillers aspirin and ibuprofen might also help prevent dementia. A recent study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed that the drugs reduced the risk by up to 20 per cent. The researchers suggested that they worked by dampening down inflammation in the bodys blood vessels and tissues but only if the drug was taken regularly for more than two years. However, both of those pills which are known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs increase the risk of stomach ulcers and serious internal bleeding if taken for weeks at a time. Other researchers are probing whether tablets already used to treat high blood pressure can help. A 2023 study published in JAMA Network Open found drugs called angiotensin-receptor blockers reduced dementia risk by almost a third. It was suggested it could be from boosting blood flow to the brain or partially destroying harmful deposits in the brain that have been linked to the condition. Even Ozempic, developed as a diabetes treatment but which has become a hugely popular weight-loss medication, might be a weapon against dementia. Last year, researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found its active ingredient, semaglutide, cut the risk of Alzheimers in patients with type 2 diabetes by two-thirds most likely because it improves the way the brain uses insulin to lower blood sugar levels. This might also explain why a cheap type 2 diabetes drug, metformin, has also been shown to protect against dementia. Some studies suggest common antibiotics may also help, possibly by reducing inflammation. And there is another, even more unlikely, candidate: Viagra. A study last year by University College London found the erectile dysfunction treatment reduced the risk of Alzheimers by up to 44 per cent when taken regularly. Viagra relaxes blood vessels, and studies have shown this improves blood flow in the brain. Its entirely possible the next breakthrough in dementia treatment comes from repurposing an old drug, says Pat Kehoe, a professor of translational dementia research at Bristol University. But he warns theres little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to fund trials, as most of the drugs are so cheap that profits would be tiny. We could be sitting on potential treatments the problem is getting the funding to find out what they are. Two people in Oregon have died of a rare brain disorder that causes dementia-like symptoms without a clear cause or possible link tying the deaths together. Officials in Hood River County, home to about 24,000 people in northern Oregon, have identified three cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease over the past eight months, two of which have been fatal. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is rare - infecting about 350 Americans per year - but it is almost always fatal. The disease, which causes a rapid descent into dementia, is caused by faulty proteins in the brain called prions that corrupt healthy ones. The underlying trigger of CJD remains unclear and most cases are sporadic with no known cause. However, some forms are genetic or linked to contaminated beef. It is not spread from person-to-person unless in the case of infected transplanted organs, and Oregon officials do not know if the state's cases are related. One patient was confirmed by autopsy to have died of CJD, while the other death is believed to be caused by CJD. State pathologists are examining brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid, one of the two ways to diagnose CJD. Rarely, a brain biopsy is performed to confirm the disease, which involves surgically removing brain tissue and often results in brain bleeding, infection, and death. A third person suspected of having the disease is still alive. Trish Elliott, director of Hood River County Health Department, said: Were trying to look at any common risk factors that might link these cases but its pretty hard in some cases to come up with what the real cause is. Panel B shows a section of the cerebral cortex where prions have killed white matter in the brain, creating lots of tiny holes, a pattern called status spongiosis, caused by severe nerve cell loss. Panel C shows severe damage in the deeper layer of white matter Health officials declined to give personal details on the patients or say whether the three cases were from the same household or family. A variant of CJD has been tied to eating meat from cattle infected with mad cow disease, another prion disorder, but Elliott said the cases in Hood River are not believed to be linked to cattle. Eighty-five percent of CJD cases are sporadic, meaning they have no apparent cause or recognizable pattern of spreading, according to the CDC. Between 10 to 14 percent of CJD cases are caused by mutations in the PRNP gene, which encodes for the prion protein. The remaining one percent are caused by external factors, such as eating infected beef or undergoing medical procedures with infected tools or receiving transplanted organs. It typically affects people in their 50s and older and presents as rapid degeneration of brain tissue. Patients usually die within four or five months. There are outliers, though. A 22-year-old college student lived for seven months with progressively worsening dementia tied to CJD. Prion diseases primarily affect people in their 50s and older and presents as rapid degeneration of brain tissue A previously high-functioning college student, she returned home from school and began experiencing severe anxiety, prompting treatment with benzodiazepines prescribed by a doctor. Still, her symptoms worsened. She experienced hallucinations, sleepwalking, and insomnia. She also developed repetitive behaviors and became fixated on completing tasks like handwashing and toothbrushing in a precise manner. She soon began to experience cognitive issues, including memory problems, trouble doing familiar tasks, and forgetting the names of close family and friends. Doctors performed MRIs, cerebral spinal fluid tests, and genetic testing to determine the cause and suspected it to be CJD. Your browser does not support iframes. It wasnt confirmed until the patient died, though, by examining brain tissue in the lab, spotting the sponge-like holes indicative of CJD. Early signs of the disease include unexplained mood shifts, irritability, paranoia, delusions and other symptoms of psychosis, and social withdrawal. Over the following weeks or months, CJD causes aggression, confusion, memory loss, inability to speak or eat, and incontinence. Hood River County Health Department did not disclose when the three cases first became sick. Health officials issued a warning to local health workers to keep CJD in mind when they treat patients exhibiting signs of rapid descent into dementia. They maintain that the risk to the public is low. CT scans may cause one in 20 cancers with the risk increasing for young children, a study has found. Computed tomography (CT) scans use X-rays to create detailed internal pictures of the body. The NHS carries out around five million scans a year for reasons such as assessing internal injuries after an accident, diagnosing conditions like cancer, stroke, broken bones, or monitoring the effectiveness of treatments. But new research from the University of California has suggested the scans could lead to lung, breast and other cancers - and the risk for babies is tenfold. This comes as MailOnline reported cancer care in the UK is at 'breaking point' and lagging behind other countries because of 'gross mismanagement'. Delayed cancer treatment has become 'the deadly norm' and no improvements will be made without radical change, leading doctors say. Writing in medical journal The Lancet Oncology, they criticise the Labour government for continuing to consult on changes rather than delivering them. The new study found that nearly 103,000 cancers were expected from the 93 million CT scans that were performed in 2023 in the US about three to four times more than previous estimates. CT scans may cause one in 20 cancers, a study has found, with the risk increasing for young children The above shows the estimated percent lifetime risk of death from cancer that is attributable to the radiation from a single CT scan of the abdomen The risk of cancer from CT scans is estimated to be on par with alcohol consumption and excess body weight. Researchers analysed 93million exams from 61.5million patients in the US to calculate how often cancer developed. They found that in adults scans of the abdomen and pelvis were likely to cause most problems while in children the biggest risk came from CTs of the head. Cancers predicted to arise from the excess radiation included lung, colon, leukaemia, bladder, breast and thyroid. The risks were highest among those who underwent CT when they were under one year old. Lynda Johnson, professional officer for clinical imaging and radiation protection at the Society of Radiographers, said: 'Accurate communication around the benefits and risks of CT is essential to protect the public from harm. 'Focusing on risk alone is not helpful and, in some cases, might prevent a person from attending a scan that could provide early diagnosis of cancer. The above image shows the estimated percent lifetime risk of death from cancer linked to the radiation from a single CT scan of the head 'Anyone undergoing a CT scan must be provided with balanced, accurate and relevant information to enable them to understand what it means to them as an individual in terms of their diagnosis, treatment and potential long-term care.' The study, published in the journal Jama Internal Medicine, pointed out that CT scan rates are much higher in the US than in the UK. Dr Doreen Lau, a lecturer in inflammation, ageing and cancer biology at Brunel University of London, said: 'The findings don't mean that people should avoid CT scans when recommended by a doctor. 'In most cases, the benefit of detecting or ruling out serious illness far outweighs the very small risk of harm. What this research highlights is the need to minimise unnecessary imaging and use the lowest dose possible, particularly in settings where CT usage is high. 'Where appropriate, clinicians may also consider alternative imaging methods that do not involve ionising radiation, such as MRI or ultrasound especially for younger patients, or when repeat imaging is anticipated.' Stephen Duffy, emeritus professor of cancer screening at Queen Mary University of London, added: 'I would say to patients that if you are recommended to have a CT scan, it would be wise to do so.' Dutch medics have revealed that sperm from just 85 donors was used to father thousands of children, leading to fears of accidental inbreeding among the country's population. The country's gynaecology and obstetrics organisation, the NVOG, said that at least 85 men have become 'mass donors', defined as having fathered 25 or more children each. The organisation revealed that Dutch fertility clinics have been breaking strict rules around donations for decades. In some cases, clinics had deliberately used sperm batches from the same donors multiple times, exchanged sperm without the necessary paperwork or even the donor's knowledge, and allowed some donors to give their sperm at multiple clinics. Most of these mass donors were the biological fathers of between 26 and 40 children, though several had been 50 and 75 each. The most famous mass donor was Jonathan Meijer, a notorious Dutch YouTuber who has so far fathered 550 children and was the star of Netflix documentary 'The Man with 1,000 Kids.' At least 10 of these mass donors were fertility doctors themselves. 'The number of mass donors in the clinics should have been zero,' said Marieke Schoonenberg, the head of the Dutch professional association of gynaecologists (NVOG), after an investigation by the NOS public broadcaster. The most infamous mass donor was Jonathan Meijer, a notorious Dutch YouTuber who has so far fathered 550 children Dutch medics have revealed that sperm from just 85 donors was used to father thousands of children (File image) 'We want to offer our apologies on behalf of the profession. We did not do it right.' Ties van der Meer, of Stichting Donorkind, a foundation that helps children trace their donor fathers, said the revelation was a 'medical calamity', as the new data suggests that there are at least 3,000 people in the Netherlands with 25 or more half-siblings. In a small, dense country like Holland, this increases the likelihood of accidental incest, he said: 'Once they start dating someone, they're going to have to do DNA tests to make sure they're not going out with a close relation.' 'The harm done to people's trust in the medical system, and in the governments that allowed all this to happen, is just the beginning,' van der Meer said, adding that both children and some of the donors would inevitably suffer more stress. The issue of mass donation came to the forefront of public imagination in the Netherlands after Jonathan Jacob Meijer, a 43-year-old YouTuber from the Netherlands, was revealed to have fathered at least 550 children. He faced a lawsuit in 2023 requesting court action over fears of unintentional incest and inbreeding between his children, and because he had gone well past the Dutch limit of fathering 25 donor children. The donor was found to have fathered at least 102 children in 2017 before a court ruled in 2023 that he must stop making donations or face fines of 100,000 euros (88,0000) per infraction. Clinics were also ordered at the time to destroy the samples they had. Meijer continued to donate abroad regardless, including to a Danish sperm bank that operates around the world. Meijer slammed the Netflix documentary - 'The Man With 1,000 Kids' - when it was released last summer. The sperm donor was previously the subject of a Netflix series, 'The Man With 1000 Kids' Jonathan Jacob Meijer, a 43-year-old YouTuber from the Netherlands, was revealed to have fathered at least 550 children He said the docuseries was 'misleading'. It included claims from parents who said they felt 'betrayed, sad and angry' when they learned how many other children he had fathered. Meijer said most of the families knew and were happy with him. He told the Independent at the time that he 'never had the idea to have 100 children or 500 children'. 'It happened step by step. Many donors want to be in the news, but for me if nobody knew about me that would be absolutely fine. Now they do know about me, so I want to explain my side of the story.' Meijer began donating sperm in 2007, aged 25. Thousands of NHS patients could be being wrongly diagnosed with health conditions due to inaccurate and misleading blood test results, an alarming investigation has found. Synnovis, a blood analyst provider for almost 200 GP surgeries and six hospitals in London, is failing to deliver accurate results 'on a daily basis', medics say. Dozens of emails sent by the firm, who makes 2 billion from the NHS, show it has repeatedly apologised to GPs since 2021 for incorrect test results relating to diseases including diabetes and malaria. Doctors claim it is now 'an everyday concern' for them, with the problem 'nothing short of a national scandal'. According to the BBC, who carried out the probe, issues with incorrect blood test results were also leading to unnecessary hospital referrals and wasted appointments. Synnovis today apologised for the 'distress, inconvenience and upset' it has caused but claimed the incorrect tests represented just a slither of the tens of thousands they process every day. It comes less than a year after the same firm was targeted by hacking group Qilin, believed to be based in Russia, who published the stolen detailed medical histories of hundreds of thousands of NHS patients online. The cyber criminals also stopped doctors from accessing vital health data, forcing hospitals to cancel almost 2,000 operations and blood transfusions. Synnovis, a lab service provider for almost 200 GP surgeries and six hospitals in London , is failing to deliver accurate results 'on a daily basis', medics say It comes less than a year after the same firm was targeted by hacking group Qilin, believed to be based in Russia, who published the stolen detailed medical histories of hundreds of thousands of NHS patients online Synnovis has delivered pathology services for Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts since 2021. More than a dozen GPs who spoke anonymously for professional reasons at the two trusts said they could no longer trust the company. One GP added: 'It would [previously] never cross our minds that a blood test might not be reliable. This is now an everyday concern. 'The current problems with Synnovis is nothing short of a national scandal.' Michelle Drage, CEO of Londonwide LMCs, the body that represents and supports GPs across the capital, said the problems were 'happening on a daily basis, on a clinic-by-clinic basis'. 'We do not believe we can rely on Synnovis for accuracy. Our GPs have lost faith and trust in that service that's a horrible situation to be in.' In one case the BBC was told about, an elderly man who was caring for his wife with dementia needlessly spent hours in A&E due to problems with his test. Another, Kemi a 17-year-old student who began to experience heart palpitations, fatigue and breathlessness six months ago was sent incorrect results after having a test at her GP. Synnovis has delivered pathology services for Guy's and St Thomas' and King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts since 2021 (pictured: King's College Hospital) More than a dozen GPs who spoke anonymously for professional reasons at the two trusts said they could no longer trust the company (pictured: Guys and St Thomas' Hospital) She claimed her blood test results showed her potassium levels were too high. Yet, when she visited her GP to discuss the results she was told they were within a normal range but the result was found because her blood sample was unusable as it had waited too long to be processed. 'I'm really stuck. I'm depressed, I'm anxious that something's going to happen to me before I get a diagnosis,' she said. 'I am worried that I am going to end up seriously hurt because I can't get the diagnosis I need.' High potassium levels in the blood can point to serious health issues, such as heart rhythm disturbances that could prove fatal if left untreated. Because of this, GPs said they could not ignore blood test results that indicate high potassium even if they believe them to be incorrect and were obliged to refer patients immediately to A&E. One GP said: 'I'm probably sending a couple of patients to A&E a week because of results I suspect to be faulty. 'Since Synnovis took over pathology services for south-east London, it's pretty much been a catalogue of disasters. It comes as the firm was targeted by a gang of hackers in June who stole NHS patient information including names, dates of birth and other private information and published it online. Pictured, lists of staff members roles, place of work and personal and work telephone numbers published seen by MailOnline One of the spreadsheets published online by hacker group Qilin contained detailed medical notes alongside patients' personal data 'We're almost second-guessing the pathology system and it's something that never used to happen.' It comes as the firm was targeted by a gang of hackers in June who stole NHS patient information including names, dates of birth and other private information and published it online. The cyber attack caused chaos in the capital after IT systems were effectively made useless, with the group demanding a 40 million ransom. Some of the data seen by MailOnline included dates of birth, NHS numbers, test results and staff information such as personal mobile numbers for patients at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. Spreadsheets also contained detailed results of tests for cancer cells, with notes regarding named patients' treatment, including operations, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as references to switching terminally ill patients to palliative care. Others showed routine test results for young babies, including blood screening for conditions such as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis. According to a statement released by NHS England in October, 10,152 acute outpatient appointments and 1,710 elective procedures were postponed as a result of the cyberattack. In its statement today, Synnovis said it offered more than 6,000 different types of test, for six hospitals and 191 GP practices across 249 sites. 'While we understand that any error at all can cause patient and practitioner distress, erroneous Synnovis tests account for significantly less than 0.001 per cent of the 150,000 tests we process per day.' It added: 'We are very aware that this has been an extremely challenging and sometimes distressing period for patients and front-line NHS colleagues and are incredibly sorry for the inconvenience and upset caused to those affected.' READ MORE: Chemical hated by RFK Jr linked to 500% increase in autism More than 30million Americans are living in areas with unsafe drinking water, researchers warn. A new study identified US counties with the most egregious water quality violations in public and private water systems are concentrated in four states: West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Oklahoma. This could mean water may have high levels of harmful contaminants and authorities may not be regularly monitoring water or alerting the public of potential safety issues. Wyoming County, a rural area in southern West Virginia, had the highest number of water quality violations, meaning its water did not meet federal safety standards. But the researchers also found water systems in Mississippi, South Dakota and Texas also repeatedly had safety violations. This could leave residents exposed to heavy metals and harmful contaminants like lead, arsenic and pesticides, increasing the risk of long-term health conditions like developmental issues, hormonal imbalances and cancer. The researchers also warned privately owned water facilities may be no safer than those that are publicly owned, suggesting a lack of government oversight. The team urged policymakers to prioritize vulnerable counties like those in West Virginia and Mississippi to reduce levels of toxins and be more transparent with members of the public. A study from researchers at the Society for Risk Analysis ranked each US county based on violations in its drinking water systems (stock image) The above map shows the counties with the highest number of violations in its public and private water systems. Darker colors represent higher number of violations Alex Segre Cohen, lead study author and assistant professor of science and risk communication at the University of Oregon, said: 'Policymakers can use our findings to identify and prioritize enforcement efforts in hotspots, make improvements in infrastructure, and implement policies that ensure affordable and safe drinking water - particularly for socially vulnerable communities. 'We found that violations and risks of water injustice tend to cluster in specific areas or hotspots across the country.' The research comes as 2million Americans don't have access to running water or indoor plumbing in their homes. Another 30million live in areas with drinking water that doesn't meet safety regulations. Additionally, nearly one in three Americans have been exposed to water teeming with forever chemicals, synthetic chemicals that accumulate in the organs and lead to hormonal imbalances and some forms of cancer. Your browser does not support iframes. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Risk Analysis, compared water quality and access to safe water in public and private water systems. The team used data on drinking water systems from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). About nine in 10 Americans receive drinking water from systems that report to the EPA. The data represents reports from 2019. Overall, public water systems reported an average of 1.9 violations per facility per year compared to 1.3 in private systems, a 38 percent difference. This could mean water systems exceeded safe levels of contaminants like lead, hazardous materials may have been disposed of in them or toxic chemicals may have been used during the cleaning process. Additionally, water systems on Native American reservations reported 1.6 violations per facility per year on average, 21 percent more than private systems. Wyoming county, West Virginia, reported 4,667 violations in its public water system and 2,464 in its private system in 2019. Boone county, West Virginia, and Mercer county, West Virginia, followed most closely behind, though the researchers did not specify how many violations they had. Wyoming and Boone counties have about 20,000 residents each, while Mercer county boasts nearly 60,000. Four counties in Pennsylvania ranked in the top 10 worst - Potter, Tioga, Cameron and Somerset - along with Caswell and Person counties in North Carolina. The researchers wrote: 'In addition to West Virginia, counties in other states, such as Arizona, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Washington, constituted hotspots with significantly higher numbers of water system violations.' Lynchburg, Virginia, Florence, Wisconsin, and Sterling, Texas each had systems reporting zero violations. Following closest behind in terms of lowest violations were three in Virginia - Danville, Craig and Henrico counties - along with Pasquotank county, North Carolina, Broomfield county, Colorado, Menard county, Texas, and Walsh county, North Dakota. The above map represents water injustice scores for each US county. Darker colors represent higher percentiles, indicating worse water scores The above map shows the proportion of private water systems by US county The researchers also calculated a 'water injustice' score for each US county, which was based on interviews with people living in each county about how safe they felt their drinking water was. Eight in 10 of the counties with the highest water injustice scores were located in Mississippi, with Issaquena county ranked the most at risk. Buffalo county, South Dakota and Presidio county, Texas, were also in the top 10. The researchers said: 'Those living in communities with higher water injustice scores were more likely, on average, to perceive their water as less accessible, lower quality, and less reliable.' Though water systems serving the public had more violations than private ones, many of those public systems are still privately owned. Segre Cohen said: 'Our results suggest that privatization alone is not a solution. 'The local context, such as regulatory enforcement, community vulnerability, and community priorities, matters in determining outcomes.' Instead, the researchers urged lawmakers to prioritize vulnerable counties as a whole rather than focusing only on those that are publicly owned. Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more A few weeks ago, I was getting my make-up done for a shoot in YOU magazine when the make-up artist pulled a tube of the Laura Mercier Real Flawless Weightless Perfecting Serum Concealer (39) out of her kit. As someone who doesnt wear foundation my minimalist makeup routine comprises a few dots of concealer, some clear brow gel, a lick of black mascara and a swipe of blush and bronzer my interest was piqued. As the name reveals, this concealer has a serum-infused formula for a skin-like finish. It promises buildable coverage, a natural finish and long-lasting, waterproof and crease-proof wear. I was having, as some would call it, a good skin day that day. There were no blemishes or dark under-eye circles that needed to be covered up, so the make-up artist placed a few dots of the Laura Mercier concealer around my nose and on my chin to cover up some redness, and worked the product into my skin with a brush. Immediately, I was impressed by the formula. It went on smooth, looked natural and offered just enough coverage to take away the redness whilst still showing my freckles. I took a picture of the label to remember the shade and placed my Boots order later that night. On a 'good skin day' wearing the Laura Mercier Real Flawless Weightless Perfecting Serum Concealer That was nearly a month ago and Ive been reaching for the Laura Mercier concealer on my good skin days. On days I have to cover up the odd breakout, however, I cant help but go back to the tried and true Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (27). Its the number-one selling concealer in the UK and for good reason. Ive repurchased more tubes of this product than I can remember because I just havent found a concealer that offers the same full coverage (one dot and the spot is gone) and staying power (it really lasts all day). And its not for a lack of trying. A few concealers that have been reduced to my good skin day pile include the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Concealer (39; pricey but the finish is truly flawless) and the Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer (23; Id say this is more of a brightener than a concealer). Now, dont get me wrong. I wouldnt not recommend any of the aforementioned concealers they all offer light-to-medium coverage and a radiant finish. But lets just say this: if I had to play favourites, the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer would always come out on top. If spinning plates were an Olympic sport, Judge Jeanine Pirro would be a gold medalist. She is a study in perpetual motion never doing just one thing when several can be tackled at once. By mid-afternoon on any given weekday, Pirro, 73 who for the last three years has been a co-host of the Fox News Channels number one rated show, The Five can be found prepping ahead of airtime in her plush office in News Corps midtown Manhattan headquarters. The Daily Mail has been granted exclusive access to this inner sanctum, where the soft edges of designer clothing and scented candles act as a foil to the judges hard news sense and straight talking. The result is an extraordinarily candid, and at times poignant, interview where no question is off limits, as the hard-charging Pirro allowed us a rare glimpse of the woman behind the legend, revealing her deepest fear and the one thing still missing from her life. Dont get old, she tells me from across her capacious oak desk, its surface cluttered with the ephemera of todays show. Research notes jostle for space alongside a small case of jewelry ready for her to select items ahead of filming, coffee cups and scattered liquorice candies that have tumbled out of their box and are offered to all who step into the judges domain. Some people dream of stopping. I worry if there comes a day when maybe I cant do it. I enjoy it all. Think about it, youre on top of every issue. Im 24/7. I always have been. Even as a young mother raising little kids, running for office, being the DA I was running a home, never stopping. If spinning plates were an Olympic sport, Judge Jeanine Pirro would be a gold medalist. She is a study in perpetual motion never doing just one thing when several can be tackled at once. (Pictured: Pirro getting her makeup and hair done whilst checking her phone). By mid-afternoon on any given weekday, Pirro, 73 who for the last three years has been a co-host of the Fox News Channels number one rated show, The Five can be found prepping ahead of airtime in her plush office in News Corps midtown Manhattan headquarters. As Pirro speaks she is sitting at her desk, curlers in her hair. Her make-up is immaculate, and her birdlike frame dressed in a cornflower blue Dior pantsuit. Designer outfits hang along the length of one wall suits by Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Chanel and more. Beneath them dozens of pairs of shoes, spike heeled pumps, are set out in serried ranks. A huge presence on screen, it is only when you meet the judge in person that you realize just how diminutive she is. A smidge over five feet tall, on set she sits on a booster cushion to elevate her to her co-hosts eye-level. Producers and team members come in and out of her office as we talk. A manila folder lies open on the desk before her, with page after page of research spilling out. Two large yellow legal pads on which she scribbles meticulous longhand notes in both red and black ink sit next to it. She reflects, If I dont want to do all this anymore, then Im good, but thats not who I am. I mean, even in high school I skipped the last year because I was in a rush to get to law school. I absolutely fear the moment this all stops and that motivates me. Pirros energy is infectious perhaps a byproduct of her lifelong commitment to fitness. She frequently posts images post-workout, lying on a gym floor, her dogs happily lapping at her face. But, she admits, her body doesnt feel the way it used to. Its terrible. I have a trainer. We do lots of weights, but my body is more sensitive now I cant do the things that I used to. So, the knee hurts, the ankle hurtsit is very frustrating.' That said, Pirro also has gratitude for her rich and busy life. I have balance, she says. I have my dogs [standard poodle rescues Stella, Ted and Red and Berne doodle, Snickerdoodle]. I have my family. My son is getting married in June and I have my wonderful grandson, Cameron, who is three and loves to come to his Tatas house. A huge presence on screen, it is only when you meet the judge in person that you realize just how diminutive she is. A smidge over five feet tall, on set she sits on a booster cushion (seen here) to elevate her to her co-hosts eye-level. Pirro reflects, If I dont want to do all this anymore, then Im good, but thats not who I am. I mean, even in high school I skipped the last year because I was in a rush to get to law school. I absolutely fear the moment this all stops and that motivates me. Pirros energy is infectious perhaps a byproduct of her lifelong commitment to fitness. She frequently posts images post-worked, lying on a gym floor, her dogs happily lapping at her face. Though still, she concedes, there is something missing, I have been divorced for 14, 15 years and I have dated. Ive had many fabulous men that Ive dated. Fabulous. But whether Ive changed or theyve changed, it hasnt worked out. Its interesting - you want to go to dinner; you want to go to the opera I had two black tie events one was at the New York Plaza; one was at the New York Public Library. And you know when you go alone you wear like a business suit. You know, you wear a Dior or a McQueen. But I would like to put on a pretty dress and go with someone. I would like to be feminine and not be the tough girl all the time. I mean there are lots of sides to me. Im not seeking a relationship but Im open to one, isnt that the best way to be? And just like that it's time for Pirro to get to the set, with that question left hanging in the air. Down in The Fives studio at Fox News HQ on Sixth Avenue and 48th street, Pirro sits in her boosted-chair scrolling on her phone, sourcing new light-fittings for her Westchester home as she sits in the make-up chair for final touches. Her assistant runs over her schedule for the rest of the week as she selects her jewelry and picks which color of mic goes best with her suit and her Alexander Bergman shoes. And for the next hour Pirro will do what Pirro does best trade jabs, comic asides and astute observations with her co-hosts, Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Brian Kilmeade and Jessica Tarlov as they discuss the topics of the day. She admits, I never dreamed of being on television, but I used it a lot as a DA doing press conferences all the time. For me, it was always about the victims and always about the fight for them whatever platform served that best I was going to do, so thats how it started. But however it all began, she tells the Daily Mail, its her sense of an ending, the deep knowledge that none of this will last forever, that has been transmuted across the years into that almost insatiable fight - the driving force for a stellar career characterized by firsts. Born in Elmira, New York, the daughter of Lebanese American parents Pirro knew she wanted to be a lawyer from the age of six. The fictional TV criminal defense attorney, Perry Mason, was, she says, her inspiration. Fresh out of Albany Law School she was appointed Westchester Countys Assistant District Attorney in 1975 and within two years had approached her boss, DA Carl Vergari, to urge him to apply for federal funding to establish a bureau specializing in domestic violence cases. The resulting department was the first of its kind in the country. Pirro recalls, Back then battered women were not considered real victims of crime. The police would say to them, Go to your mothers and tell him to take a walk. As a society, we would consider domestic violence a social problem and not a criminal justice problem. She says, People always say to me, Did you experience it? Someone in your family? But no - my mother loved my father; my father loved my mother. We had none of that. But it was my mission. My crusade. It was the opening salvo in a legal career during which Pirro frequently challenged the accepted norms. Early in her career, she states, she was told women cant prosecute homicide cases they cant go for the jugular. She says, So when I prosecuted my first homicide case, I realized there were young women behind me, and I had to win. Pirro repeatedly references her sense of this duty to the women who followed in her wake. She was not a trailblazer who pulled up the ladder behind her but rather one who extended her hand down in help. In 1990, she was appointed the first female judge in Westchester County. She was on the bench for three years before she decided, she says, I dont belong here. Her assistant runs over her schedule for the rest of the week as she selects her jewelry and picks which color of mic goes best with her suit and her Alexander Bergman shoes. Born in Elmira, New York, the daughter of Lebanese American parents Pirro knew she wanted to be a lawyer from the age of six. The fictional TV criminal defense attorney, Perry Mason, was, she says, her inspiration. Pirro repeatedly references her sense of this duty to the women who followed in her wake. She was not a trailblazer who pulled up the ladder behind her but rather one who extended her hand down in help. She explains, I loved being a judge, but I realized I was really a referee, and my nature is a fighter. Thats why I ran for DA. She smiles, I was perfect as a DA. I just loved to fight. When I ran for that office, I had to do a press conference with my then husband, who was furious about it at the time. I had to convince people that I would have enough time to take care of my children, because I had little kids. Now, the fact that I was running against a guy who had three kids and whose wife was pregnant with a fourth, they could care less about. Did that anger her? It annoyed the s**t out of me, she says, but I have the ability to channel my anger in a way where, all right, lets make this work. You know? Im going to make this work. Im going to get in there and Im going to take care of women and Im going to take care of children. Im going to take care of victims. She was elected in November 1993 and again in 1997 and 2001 before announcing, in May 2005, that she would not be seeking re-election. Instead, she turned to politics. In August 2005 she embarked on a short-lived run at the Republican nomination to challenge Hillary Clinton in the Senate before dropping out that December. In 2006 she ran for Attorney General but was beaten by Andrew Cuomo. The day after her defeat she got a call from Warner Brothers, she says, offering her a television show. Her initial reaction was one of disbelief, she admits, I said, Why would you want me on television? Her daily show, Judge Jeanine Pirro debuted in 2008 and would go onto win a daytime Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program in 2011. It was cancelled that same year by which time Pirro had already inked a deal with Fox for her hit show, Justice with Judge Jeanine. But just as her professional life took an unexpected turn, so too did her homelife. Instead, she turned to politics. In August 2005 she embarked on a short-lived run at the Republican nomination to challenge Hillary Clinton in the Senate before dropping out that December. In 2006 she ran for Attorney General but was beaten by Andrew Cuomo. The day after her defeat she got a call from Warner Brothers, she says, offering her a television show. Her daily show, Judge Jeanine Pirro debuted in 2008 and would go onto win a daytime Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program in 2011. It was cancelled that same year by which time Pirro had already inked a deal with Fox for her hit show, Justice with Judge Jeanine. Back in February 1999 Pirros then husband, Albert, 77, the father of her two children Christi, 34, and Alex, 35, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, four counts of tax evasion and 28 counts of filing a false tax return for hiding over $1million in personal income as business expenses. He was found guilty of 23 of the charges and spent 17 months in prison before being released early for good behavior and participation in an alcoholism treatment program, but the marriage did not survive the tumult. The couple separated in 2007 and finalized their divorce in 2013. There can be no doubt that Pirros career and profile has gone from strength to strength she has authored multiple books, both non-fiction and fiction and is an on-screen fixture in households across the country. And from this reporters perspective, there are no outward signs of slowing down. When Pirro does get home, she says, shell be up until 2am going through emails. Because one day, she knows, all this will stop. The billionaire software scion actively trying to acquire CBS's parent Paramount was seen sitting with Donald Trump at UFC 314 Saturday - and staffers are already explaining why the summit does not bode well for the network future. One such employee told Status the summit serves as proof those set to lead CBS are already willing to bow to the president, including Skydance Media CEO David Ellison. Ellison's Skydance has spent the past several months trying to acquire Paramount for a price-tag of $8billion, and he surfaced suddenly at the fights to sit alongside Trump, Elon Musk, Ted Cruz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and more. A now viral photo shows the unlikely meetup in Miami - one the staffer said has already made waves internally. They pointed to already-seen pushback from staff against settling Trumps $20 billion lawsuit against the network, over an an October 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris he says was deceptively edited. After senior CBS staffers expressed outrage at such an idea, Ellison's schmoozing with Trump solidified suspicions the station's situation could very soon become even worse, the staffer told Status. Ellison, 42, is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a well-known Trump supporter. The deadline for the deal that would see him assume leadership of CBS was extended automatically by 90 days just last week. It requires federal approval, sources who spoke to Status were quick to point out - leaving until July to iron out any details. The sole sticking point appears to be the suit - already a point of contention for staffers. David Ellison, the billionaire owner of Skydance Media (pictured sitting in a black blazer), was seen sitting ringside at UFC 314 with President Trump and members of his team Saturday Spending the evening schmoozing with Trump didn't go over well with staffers at CBS, an employee told Status - describing how it does not bode well for the network's future 'It's dejecting for reporters and producers to see one day before the president attacks "60 Minutes" - again - for doing accurate and fair journalism,' the source in CBS's Manhattan newsroom said. 'Anyone who believed Ellison might be a breath of fresh air after [Shari] Redstone and have the backbone to run a principled news organization is feeling pretty naive today', they continued, referring to the billionaire daughter of the late Sumner Redstone. At least one other source told Status how Ellison went on to socialize with several members of the presidents inner sanctum that night, after being spotted at a ringside table with Trump's team. Topics touched upon during these talks, however, remain unknown - but Trump took to Truth Social the very next day to renew his war of words with CBS while saying his lawsuit was just. In them, Trump continued to claim CBS is 'out of control' and 'should pay a big price for this,' referring to its handling of Harris's interview with CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker. As it stands the $8billion transaction remains under review by the FCC. If it goes through, Trump's suit that counts Paramount and CBS News as defendants would be transferred over to Skydance. The same goes for any prospective punishment, Status founder Oliver Darcy in his piece was quick to point out. Already willing to bow to that pressure was Redstone, insiders have already said - recalling how the 70-year-old has been attempting to settle the suit as a means to avoid any issues from the federal government and the FCC. 'It's dejecting,' the source said of the summit. 'Anyone who believed Ellison might be a breath of fresh air after [Shari] Redstone (seen here with her late father Sumner Redstone in 2012) and have the backbone to run a principled news organization is feeling pretty naive today' Trumps $20 billion lawsuit against CBS New s alleging the network deceptively edited an October 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris has put that in danger - as the deadline for locking it up was extended automatically by 90 days just last week. Insiders told Status last month CBS News boss Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes's Bill Owens already see Skydance as a direct threat to the independence of CBS - an important take considering it comes from the two biggest figures in its newsroom The deal is set to see Redstone reportedly walk away with a healthy $1.75billion, and her preference to get it done has spawned some division within CBS's newsroom. Adding more intrigue is the fact that insiders already told Status last month CBS News boss Wendy McMahon and 60 Minutes's Bill Owens see Skydance as a direct threat to the independence of CBS - an important dynamic given the they are perhaps the two biggest figures in its newsroom. Both are said to be 'disillusioned' by their scandal-stained, soon-to-be boss: former NBCU exec Jeff Shell, who already urged them to placate Trump and his request to provide transcripts from the Harris interview before filing his suit back in October. At the time, Shell - a senior exec at Skydance - called a meeting with McMahon and Owens, urging them to do so, Status reported in March. At the time, Trump had just begin criticizing both '60 Minutes' and CBS, alleging bias and deceptive editing on both their parts. During the sit-down, Shell - who was ousted from his post as NBCU's CEO in 2023 after he had a years-long extramarital affair exposed - told them to release the transcript, people familiar with the matter said, describing how both execs refused. Able to convince Shell into not bowing, the duo were ultimately forced to adhere to the same request in February as part of the since-filed suit. Privately, the pair have described feeling astonished, alarmed, and increasingly disillusioned by Shell's interference, sources told Status back in March - as both continue to insist CBS did nothing wrong with its handling of the Harris interview and hence should not settle. Ellison is the son of 80-year-old software billionaire Larry, who is a well-known Trump supporter. The pair are seen here with David's siser Megan, a successful Hollywood producer. She was seen sitting next to her brother in Miami Saturday Puck reported in February McMahon is set to lose her job before the Skydance deal goes through Insiders familiar with those talks said both believe a settlement would scar 60 Minutes and CBS's long-held reputation - one that Trump openly stomped on Sunday after being seen in public with Ellison and his producer sister Megan Ellison. Worsening matters is Redstone's reported desire to resolve the suit - a want that has put her at odds with the biggest forces in her newsroom. Puck reported in February McMahon is set to lose her job before the Skydance deal goes through. As for the possibility of a settlement, one insider told Puck Monday it would be 'a really odious pill [for CBS] swallow. Another said Trump may force the network to issue a public apology, with another industry vet adding, 'I think [Trump] hates CBS and 60 Minutes more than he likes Larry Ellison' - the latter being a well-known Trump supporter. 'Im not sure this deal can close.' Simultaneously, after initially signaling to associates that she had a positive working relationship with her Shell, McMahon is said to be being met with some turbulence from her soon-to-be-boss, sources told Status last month. China, Vietnam to promote pragmatic cooperation Xinhua) 08:32, April 15, 2025 Cai Qi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Tran Cam Tu, member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) and permanent member of the Secretariat of the CPVCC, in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Cai Qi, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met on Monday with Tran Cam Tu, member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) and permanent member of the Secretariat of the CPVCC. Cai, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized efforts to promote the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future with high level, quality and standards. He called for a higher level of political mutual trust, jointly safeguarding security and development interests, advancing pragmatic cooperation and accelerating a new model of cooperation in industrial and supply chains. Facing the changing and turbulent international situation, China and Vietnam should strengthen bilateral and multilateral strategic coordination, cope with division and decoupling with unity and cooperation, and jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, he added. Tran Cam Tu said developing a long-term and lasting comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, continuously consolidating political mutual trust and expanding practical cooperation are the objective needs, strategic choices and top priorities of Vietnam's foreign policy. Vietnam is willing to work with China to strengthen mutual learning on theories and practices of party and state governance, consolidate the social foundation of friendship and deepen cooperation in international and regional affairs, he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) U.S. troops could be allowed to arrest migrants after being given a large sliver of land at the southern border, a new report claims. Citing U.S. officials, The Associated Press detailed that the transfer of the border zone to military control seeks to bypass a federal law that prevents troops from being used for domestic law enforcement on U.S. soil. However, if troops are being considered as providing security for its land, a 90-foot-wide buffer zone that goes from New Mexico to California, they could be allowed to apprehend trespassers, in these case migrants. They would then be turned over to civilian law enforcement agencies. The outlet added that the Department of Defense will conduct a test in an area of the land, putting up additional fencing and signs warning people not to trespass. The move is part of a broader initiative to have the U.S. military involved in immigration enforcement. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14167, which gave the military a newly defined role in protecting the "territorial integrity" of the United States by sealing the southern border and repelling what he described as an "invasion" of unlawful migrants. This followed his proclamation of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border on the same day. Since then, Trump has escalated his rhetoric and policy initiatives aimed at curbing immigration through militarized enforcement, bypassing traditional civilian immigration agencies. In this context, the Navy deployed a guided-missile destroyer to patrol a region of the southern border on Friday. Concretely, the USS Stockdale (DDG-106) departed Naval Base San Diego with a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment onboard, becoming the second such deployment in less than a month after the USS Gravely in mid-March. The patrol is part of a broader strategy led by U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) to integrate military capabilities into border security operations. An official Navy statement said Stockdale will operate as part of a "coordinated, multi-domain strategy" intended to "protect the United States' territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security." Admiral Daryl Caudle, Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, explained that such missions would involve monitoring key maritime corridors between the U.S. and Mexico, particularly near San Diego and the Gulf of Mexico. While destroyers have historically operated in conflict zones abroad, their presence in domestic border operations have been rare. Officials have not stated whether the deployment aims to supplement limited Coast Guard resources or serve as a deterrent to smuggling and unauthorized maritime crossings. Originally published on Latin Times Former MSNBC star Mehdi Hasan announced that his relatively new newsletter, Zeteo, brought in an enormous sum of more than $3 million since its launch in April 2024. Hasan, 45, a former MSNBC host, said his platform, which prides itself on 'filling a gap in the news market,' raked in a whopping roughly $3.5 million in the last year with help of his growing subscriber base of 400,000. The former Mehdi Hasan Show host said he pulled in 31,000 paid subscribers just four months into the platform's launch on Substack - a subscription-based publishing platform - on April 15, 2024. Now, over a year since its launch, Hasan said Zeteo has more than 40,000 paid subscribers, a thousand of whom each pay $500 a year. That alone could net Hasan $3.308 million to $3.944 million a year at least. The up-and-coming platform, which Hasan said he started while fasting during Ramadan along with four others, has surpassed his expectations ranking as the sixth-most popular column on the publishing platform. 'We're having exciting existential discussions about what do we want to do because we have way more than we thought we would have: We have more content, more subscribers, more attention,' Hasan said in an interview. Zeteo - which comes from the ancient Greek word for 'seeking out' or 'striving' - aims to 'toe-the-line' somewhere between mainstream news and 'burn it all down' media, Hasan told The Los Angeles Times. In addition to a weekly video show hosted by Hasan, who left MSNBC in January 2024, Zeteo offers columns from well-known contributors, newsletters and podcasts. Hasan, 45, a former MSNBC host, said his platform, which prides itself on 'filling a gap in the news market,' raked in a whopping roughly $3.5 milion in the last year with help of his growing subscriber base which has amassed to over 400,000 followers The former Mehdi Hasan Show host said he pulled in 31,000 paid subscribers just four months into the platform's launch on Substack on April 15, 2024 The budding news platform now has a full-time staff of nine employees along with a team of 14 well-known contributors, including Bassem Youssef, John Harwood, Fatima Bhutto, Amy Klein, Owen Jones and Greta Thunberg. 'They are saying things as contributors that you won't see elsewhere,' Hasan told the Times. In addition to its Substack subscriber base, Zeteo has accumulated 731,000 followers on YouTube and is 'growing by more than 1,000 a day,' Hasan said. The publication also recently released its first documentary, Israel's Reel Extremism, which incorporates the perspectives and social media activities of IDF soldiers to tell the story of Israel and Gaza. 'Mehdi has built a new media company that was instantly successful, without institutional support, outside of the usual avenues, and all based on the strength and loyalty of an audience that has grown to trust Mehdi over the years,' Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie told The Washington Post. McKenzie added that Zeteo's launch is 'one of the most successful and fastest growing in Substack history.' Zeteo's audience includes a mix of progressive types as well as the more traditional Democrats who watched his show on MSNBC and were upset that it was taken off the air, Hasan said. With such a broad audience, 'it's a challenge to provide content that everyone engages with and appreciates,' he added. Going forward, Hasan said that Zeteo may prioritize live events as a growth area. 'We have the audience, we have the resources, and we have the ambitions to really pick what we want to do going forward.' Zeteo - which comes from the ancient Greek word for 'seeking out' or 'striving' - aims to 'toe-the-line' somewhere between mainstream news and 'burn it all down' media, Hasan told The Los Angeles Times The budding news platform now has a full-time staff of nine employees along with a team of 14 well-known contributors, including Bassem Youssef, John Harwood, Fatima Bhutto, Amy Klein, Owen Jones and Greta Thunberg. Pictured: Mehdi Hasan and Maxwell Tani speak onstage at Semafor's Innovating to Restore Trust in News on February 27 in Washington, DC Zeteo's meteoric rise comes as the Guardian contributor sparked widespread outrage after he called for more plane crashes in America... then claimed he was a victim of Islamophobia after being condemned. The British-American journalist took to X on February 16 writing: 'Make American Planes Crash Again.' Hours before, two died in a crash that occurred at Georgias Covington Airport, and just a day later on February 17, a Delta Flight crash-landed upside-down in Toronto amid some high-octane windy weather. In addition to the harrowing February crashes, the unexplained American Airlines-Black Hawk crash over DC that claimed 67 lives, and other cases including a crash that killed seven in Philadelphia in January and another which left 10 dead in Alaska, has raised concerns in the collective American consciousness. Following Hasan's comment on X, several social media users aired their outrage on the Elon Musk-owned platform. Hasan responded by quickly deleting the post, and publishing an unapologetic explanation. In it, he called the original post 'sarcastic' and fumed that it was stoking Islamophobia against him. He further claimed conservatives were clipping the five-word tweet and taking it out of context, despite it coming in response to the Georgia crash. The British-American, now-independent journalist, wrote Sunday night: 'Make American Planes Crash Again' - a tweet he later said was sarcastic When met with criticism, Hasan, 45, responded by quickly deleting the social post, before publishing the above unapologetic explanation Among those to take issue with the old host of the Mehdi Hasan Show's comments was Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal correspondent who and has written for The Washington Post and New York Times who slammed it as mere 'propaganda' Among those to take issue with his comments was Asra Nomani, a former Wall Street Journal reporter who is Muslim and has written for The Washington Post and NY Times. Speaking to DailyMail.com, she slammed Hasan for playing the victim and says he knew exactly what he was doing when he called for plane crashes. 'When Hasan published the five words, "Make American Planes Crash Again," I can assure the world, he knew the audience he was seeking to wound - a nation that saw two planes crash into the WTC on Sept. 11, 2001, and just saw innocents die in the Potomac River,' she said, after penning a stern rebuke on social media. 'He also knew the audience he was seeking to stoke when he callously deleted his words as sarcastic and played the victim,' Nomani, who is the author of Woke Army: The Red-Green Alliance That Is Destroying America's Freedom, said. 'His one million followers include many wound collectors in the Islamist and far-leftist communities, who he has cultivated to use "Islamophobia" as a shield, as he now laughably does.' CNN star Dana Bash cut away from a live press conference at the Oval Office to defend her colleague Kaitlan Collins after she was berated by president Donald Trump for asking about a man's deportation. 'I just want to say for the record, since we heard President Trump say in the Oval Office that CNN hates our country CNN does not hate our country,' Bash said on Monday. 'That should go without saying.' She added: 'Ive been here for 32 years and I see a rhetorical device in him trying to say such a thing.' Bash was responding to president Trump's claim that 'CNN hates our country' as he went after Collins for asking about the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Garcia, 29, was deported by the Trump administration in March, even though he had been granted legal protection from deportation to El Salvador by an immigration judge in 2019. Trump, who was meeting with the president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele on Monday, reacted to Collins, clearly frustrated by the media's focus on the issue. 'How long do we have to answer this question from you?' Trump replied. 'Why dont you just say, "Isnt it wonderful that were keeping criminals out of our country?" Why cant you just say that? Why do you go over and over? This is why nobody listens to you anymore. You have no credibility.' CNN star Dana Bash cut away from a live press conference at the Oval Office to defend her colleague Kaitlan Collins after she was berated by president Donald Trump President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, left, in the Oval Office Trump went after Collins for asking about the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Trump then punted the question to Attorney General Pam Bondi, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio who all took turns explaining to Collins that Garcia was an illegal immigrant and alleged to have ties to MS-13 which is why he was deported. Collins replayed the exchange at the White House on her show, reminding her audience that Garcia was facing 'danger' from gang members in his own country which is why the immigration judge granted him legal status and that his attorneys disputed that he was a member of MS-13. 'The president seemed to backtrack on what he said about the Supreme Court and instead leaned on some of his top aides to help make the case,' she said. Collins reported that the Trump administration was trying to have it both ways on the case. 'At the White House tonight, the question is, which is it was it a mistake, an administrative error, or was it the right person sent to the right place? The Trump administration has now made both arguments, one in court and the other in front of the cameras,' she said. The Trump administration is adamant that he is an MS-13 gangster who has no place in America. Trump and Bukele signaled no interest in returning the man to Maryland, even though the Supreme Court directed the Trump administration to facilitate his return. Bash was responding to president Trump's claim that 'CNN hates our country' President Bukele marveled at Trump's rapid turnaround of border enforcement on the Southern border of the United States since succeeding President Joe Biden in January. He questioned Trump why the news media in the United States did not report the good numbers on the border more often. Trump said there was a '99.1 percent' border enforcement at the southern border and complained that the media had no interest in reporting the good news. 'Well they get out, but the fake news you know like CNN over here doesn't want to put them out because they don't like putting out good numbers, because I think they hate our country actually,' Trump continued. Collins recently spoke about her job at CNN in a feature with Vanity Fair, describing herself as a 'joyful warrior' despite the president's verbal disparaging at the White House. She dismissed Trump's criticism of her network as a 'distraction technique' and said the job was all-encompassing. 'There are no days off. You can't have a chill Friday. If you ever think it's going to be chill, it's guaranteed to not be,' she said. An MSNBC host was forced to scramble to correct a guest live on the air after it was claimed that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is a 'Russian agent.' Ayman Mohyeldin stepped in on Monday after co-panelist Danielle Moodie-Mills disparaged Gabbard and her decision to nominate failed Congressional candidate Joe Kent as director of the National Counterterrorism Center. 'I really hope that alternate universe me is really enjoying, like, a life that is nicer than where we are right now in this hellhole,' she said. 'You know, why are we shocked? 'You know, we learned that she was a Russian agent. They celebrated her, you know. So why do we think that?' Mohyeldin then interjected: 'We learned that she was a Russian agent?' 'Yes,' Moodie-Mills responded, to which Mohyeldin questioned: 'Where did we learn that?' Moodie-Mills, the host of the 'Woke AF' podcast, cited Gabbard's well-known feud with Hillary Clinton, who accused Gabbard in 2019 of being 'groomed' by Russia to run for president. Despite no evidence being produced to support the conspiracy against Gabbard, Moodie-Mills justified her claim on Monday by saying: 'We heard it mentioned by Hillary Clinton during her debate.' MSNBC panelist Danielle Moodie-Mills (pictured) was corrected live on the air on Monday after claiming Tulsi Gabbard was a 'Russian agent' Gabbard has previously been accused of being a 'Russian agent', which she has said is 'ridiculous' and claimed it was an attempt to undercut her 2020 White House bid Moodie-Mills then questioned whether 'we look into Tulsi Gabbard?', to which Mohyeldin again cut in: 'Unproven.' The podcaster then conceded, saying: 'Unproven, okay, okay.' Mohyeldin added: 'Unproven allegation - no, I'm serious, I mean 'agent' is a very strong word of a foreign state.' Despite the correction, Moodie-Mills then went on to lament how some figures in President Trump's orbit are praised on Russian media. 'I dont know anybody else that gets celebrated on Russian television other than, I dont know, Tucker Carlson. Right? Right. And Donald Trump. Right?' she said. 'So, people who dont have allegations about them dont get celebrated in this way.' The issue of Gabbard being portrayed favorably by Russian state media previously came up during her 2020 run for the White House. Hillary Clinton made several inflammatory attacks against Gabbard's candidacy, including at one stage calling the veteran a 'traitor' to America. In another podcast appearance in October 2019, Clinton did not call out Gabbard by name, but slated her candidacy by saying: 'Shes the favorite of the Russians, they have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far, and thats assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not, because shes also a Russian asset.' The allegations about Gabbard's ties to Russia were pushed by Hillary Clinton, who said Gabbard was a 'traitor' Gabbard previously claimed that At the time, Gabbard brushed off the link as she said that she 'can't control' how Russia was covering her. 'I don't control what anyone else says or does. All I can do is focus on the message that I am bringing to this campaign. The message that I am delivering to voters in this country,' she said on the campaign trail. Gabbard even went on to file a lawsuit against Clinton, and said she believed Clinton's animosity toward her was retaliation for Gabbard endorsing Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary. She later dropped the lawsuit, saying that decision was to focus on her campaign and prioritize 'defeating Donald Trump in 2020, rather than righting the wrongs here.' Unlike many of her critics who accuse her of treason, Gabbard has fought for her country, serving as a US Army Reservist and completing a 12 month tour of Iraq in 2004. The blame game over the British Steel fiasco has gone into overdrive. Labour ministers, trade union leaders and even anonymous civil servants point to the Chinese owners of the Scunthorpe blast furnaces as the bad guys, saying they had always intended to close the plant however much government money was offered. Treasury minister James Murray is even claiming that Jingye has behaved irresponsibly. Some trade unionists are also making it be known that the Chinese firm brought British Steels furnaces to their knees because it wants to force the UK to import cheaper its virgin steel to be used in the rolling mills. Not so, claims Jingye, the Chinese operator that is losing 700,000 a day from the steel-making operation which supplies vital steel for Network Rails tracks and infrastructure for Hinkley Point C, among other strategic projects. It blames the extraordinarily high cost of industrial electricity for the losses. Targets: Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband (pictured) has pledged to fight for Net Zero Even if it were the case that China wants to dump cheap steel on the UK, that suggests that it is less expensive to ship virgin steel from China to Lincolnshire to be used in the mills than making it in situ. Utter madness. No wonder Chinas foreign ministry is accusing Keir Starmers Government of politicising trade cooperation after passing last Saturdays emergency law to take over the Scunthorpe site. The foreign ministry is also warning that Starmers move could discourage future Chinese investment in the UK (whether thats good or bad is for another day). What is sure is that if the Government takes full control of Scunthorpe, the problems are not going away. The losses are merely transferred from the Chinese to the UK taxpayer. Sadly, new owners are not going to make it profitable. If Scunthorpe is to be saved, then the Government has a choice: either the taxpayer will have to fork out millions of pounds more a year to keep the plant going, or its new bosses will have to make some dramatic changes to British Steels operating structure to try to curb the losses. And theres only one way to do that slash energy costs that are being held deliberately high by the Government because of insane green taxes and the hideously complex carbon credits. It cant be repeated often enough that the UKs energy prices are three times those of the US, nearly double Japans, a third above Germany and the highest of any comparable developed nation. The reasons are manifold. Over the last 30 years British governments have failed to build nuclear plants, ducked out of fracking shale gas, stopped mining coal (even though we have miles of the stuff under our feet), failed to invest in the grid or battery storage for renewables and slapped on green levies forthe privilege. All this leaves the UK a net importer of energy, mainly gas. As the current gas price is used to set the cost, renewable prices are high, too. All told, successive governments and their obsession with Net Zero have left the country high and dry with eye-wateringly high energy prices for industry and households. Yet what we are doing by de-industrialising the UK is shifting production and emissions overseas. If Starmer wants to be the strong man of steel, particularly now that he has made national security and defence such a top priority, he must also be ruthless, abandon Net Zero and sack Ed Miliband. If not, the collapse of the last vestiges of Britains industrial might Scunthorpe, Port Talbot, Grangemouth, the block on North Sea drilling and new coal mines will be on his watch. Tax to blame Rachel Reeves wont be best pleased with the latest survey of top business leaders from the ICAEW, the trade group for chartered accountants. It makes for dismal reading, with business confidence down into negative territory over the first quarter to 2022 levels. This is what they report: Record levels of distress; a state of despondency; harrowing conditions; and that prosperity remains a pipe dream. And who do they blame? Well, first and foremost, Aprils huge tax hikes ushered in by Reeves, made worse by the uncertainty provoked by Trumps trade war. If Trump can flip-flop over tariffs, then the Chancellor is surely big enough to make changes, too. An 85-year-old alleged fraudster has been charged by the Financial Conduct Authority, accused of fleecing investors through a bogus scheme. John Burford, whose investment activity was investigated by our columnist Tony Hetherington, is suspected to have generated more than 1million from fraudulent practices. The FCA said Burford, who used the Tramline Trader moniker, 'sought to defraud his clients for personal gain'. He is accused of accepting money from more than 100 investors between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2023, advising and managing their investments without authorisation, through his company Financial Trading Strategies Ltd. Burford's website promoted paid subscription services and daily trade alerts giving advice on trading opportunities. Trading troubles: John Burford, 85, will appear in court in May He also offered investments in three 'Tramline' funds, the value of which the FCA claims Burford misrepresented, as well as the amount of money he had lost while trading. Burford is set to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court in May this year under charges of carrying out unauthorised business and fraudulent trading. The FCA said carrying out unauthorised business is punishable by a fine or up to two years in prison, while fraudulent trading is punishable by a fine or as much as 10 years in prison. Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: 'Fighting financial crime is central to our new strategy and we will take action against criminal behaviour which harms consumers and damages the integrity of our markets. 'We allege that Mr Burford sought to defraud his clients for personal gain.' The FCA said it began investigating Burford in May 2023, taking 23 months to bring charges, compared to an average case length of 42 months. Burford offered a VIP Traders Club for 995 per year, and a 595 fee to get daily alerts on promising stock market opportunities. The Mail on Sunday and This is Money colulmnist, Tony Hetherington, revealed last year that Burford claimed to investors the FCA had frozen his and their assets, but the FCA said it had not placed a restraint order on the fund. Despite Burford saying his assets were frozen, he later announced he had made a 'massive profit' by speculating in oil. At the time the FCA had placed Burford's company on a warning list, saying: 'This is an unauthorised firm that may be providing financial services or products in the UK without our permission.'. The best-selling car in the UK has gone electric. Having topped the new model sales charts for the last two years, Ford has fitted its volume-selling Puma with a battery in a bid to take over the EV registrations leaderboard too. From the outside - apart from a few tweaks like the three-stripe big cat headlights and closed grille - the new electric Puma Gen-E looks almost identical to its combustion-engined sibling, so it's not going to put any noses out of joint. But underneath the familiar bodywork is a completely revised electric drivetrain and chassis upgrades that will make it feel very different to drive to the petrol Puma we've come to know and love. The big question is, does it still have all the ingredients that has seen Britons buy more Pumas than any other car over the last 24 months? We've been testing Ford's touted 'best ever Puma' at the official launch in Spain to see if it will appeal to both EV converts and those still dead against owning a battery-powered car... The best-selling car in the UK has gone all electric - but can the new Puma Gen-E pick up where it left off and become the UK's favourite EV? Petrol Puma's best-selling credentials Before we get into the new Puma Gen-E, it's worth a brief reminder about the sales success of the standard car. Ford launched the Puma in 2019, reintroducing a nameplate previously reserved for its mid-nineties, affordably-priced, two-door coupe. This time, the Puma badge has been stamped onto the bootlid of a compact 'crossover' - a growing segment that is showing no sign of waning right now. It replaced the best-selling Fiesta - on which it is mechanically based and shares a platform - as the growing demand for SUVs led Ford to substitute its iconic small car with a jacked-up alternative. In 2023, the year Fiesta production ended, Puma became the UK's best-selling new car. With 49,591 registrations, it dethroned the Nissan Qashqai by 7,270 sales that year and in 2024 Ford sold a further 48,340 Pumas to take the number one spot for a second consecutive term. Ford says more than two in five (43 per cent) of all new cars it delivers in Britain are Pumas today. The conventional petrol Puma (right) had a facelift in 2024, and has seen two years as the best-selling car in the UK. The Gen-E looks very similar, so will it prove as successful? The Puma back end is also recongisable as the new electric version by the white Puma lettering New tweaks to the EV model include the three-stripe cat headlights, closed grille and new rear spoiler The electric Puma: Ford's first sub-30k EV what do you get for that money? The Puma is an important moment for Ford because it's the first time that the American brand has delivered a genuinely affordable EV to the market. Ford has historically been the maker of attainably-priced cars, dating back to the original Model T of the early 1900s. So, it's somewhat surprising that it's taken the Michigan brand four attempts in recent years to bring to market an EV that's below that crucial 30,000 benchmark. Its Mustang Mach-E SUV costs from 43,340, the Explorer EV from 39,285, and the Capri EV from 42,085. Not what you'd call cheap. But Ford has felt the pressure mounting from rivals who have started to bring truly affordable EVs to market; think Renault's 22,975 5 E-Tech, Citroen's 22,095 e-C3 and Dacia's budget-friendly 14,995 Spring. Dacia has also recently announced it will add another sub-15k EV to its arsenal, while Chinese newcomer BYD is due to bring its Dolphin Surf to the UK with a similar price tag. Unfortunately, Ford is still no match for any of these. The Puma Gen-E starts from 29,995, which is still far above the reasonably-priced competition, but one bonus is that Ford has a simple line-up of just two trims: the entry-level Gen-E Select and the Gen-E Premium costs 31,995. On top of that there are only three packs (Comfort, Winter, ADAS) and five extra spec options (19-inch alloy wheels, panoramic roof, contrast roof, two bar and all-season tyres). Both versions are full of standard kit. This includes a 12-inch touchscreen and 12.8-inch digital instrument display, wireless smartphone connection with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, rear view camera, ambient lighting, pre-collision alert, auto beam headlights the list goes on. The Puma is known for being a fun small car to drive and the EV has managed to carry that across into the electric arena - but why is the steering wheel so ginormous? Both Puma Gen-E versions have the same 43kWh battery, which will give you either 226 or 233 miles of range WLTP, but we found it achieves less - around 200 miles is more likely What's it like to drive? I'm fortunate enough to have already driven Ford's three other EV models - and Puma Gen-E is the one I've enjoyed most form behind the wheel. This fun hatchback is a welcome break from the smooth - though rather dull - SUVs the US brand has brought us already, and it has a petrol-esque personality. The ride is firm (but not too harsh) and it handles its weight (200kg more than the petrol version) very well. It's not particularly fast. It certainly doesn't give you that throw you back in your seats EV instant acceleration kick, though it will hit 60mph in eight seconds, which isn't too shabby for a small crossover like this. There's plenty of punch for both town and country driving and it will reach 70mph on a short motorway-entry slip road so you merge at the same pace as the rest of the traffic. Grip levels during our drive were excellent. There's very minimal roll in the corners and it was engaging and rewarding to drive on the winding roads of Barcelona's wine region. While it handled any uneven surfaces in towns well at low speeds, it can jolt and become less stable on rough tarmac and bumps when you're travelling at pace. We'll have to reserve judgement on how it performs on Britain's pothole-ravaged highways until we test it here, rather than basing our assessment on the silky-smooth, crater-free, Spanish routes. The Gen-E is an EV with some spirit could even go so far as to say it's a bit of a 'driver's' small electric car because it has more personality than most SUVs these days 0-60mph is only 8 seconds but that's plenty of punch for both town and country driving and it will reach 70mph on a short motorway-entry slip road to join the rest of the traffic easily The perplexingly large steering wheel aside, the steering itself is very responsive and I thoroughly enjoyable to thread around tight mountain turns With its regenerative braking, the initial bite of stopping power is quite sharp. This, however, can be adjusted with a button the steering wheel stalk between D (regular drive mode) and L (not quite full one pedal drive) which applies tweaked regen performance across Puma Gen-E's four driving modes. Elsewhere, the infotainment system is by no means my favourite of the recent systems I've tested, but the hassle of trying to tailor (by which I mean turn off!) driver assistance features - like the drowsiness alert and intelligent speed assistance - really is a headache at best and dangerous at worst. While the steering wheel is about half the size of my 5ft3 frame, which makes little sense in a car of this size, it could be easily adjusted along with the very comfortable and not over-cladded seats to create a perfect driving position. And the steering itself is very responsive and thoroughly enjoyable to thread around tight mountain turns. In summary, this is an EV with spirit. I could even go so far as to say it's a bit of a 'driver's' small electric car, which could make it a genuine rival to the Renault 5 E-Tech. The Puma doesn't have the longest range but it's very cheap to charge and it'll get you from A to B every day with enough to spare Battery, range and charging costs The Puma Gen-E is available only with a 43kWh battery, though the two trims levels have slightly different ranges; the Select does 233 miles on a single charge while the Premium can cover just 226. In real life, we found it fell short of this with a real-world range of less than 200 miles (Ford gives the Gen-E an efficiency figure of 4.5kmi/kWh but it's more like 4.2mi/kWh in reality). While this will still be more than enough for the average British driver's weekly travel requirements, its not as impressive as some rivals with cheaper price tags. Charging times are around 23 minutes for 10 to 80 per cent charge on 100kW speeds and around seven hours on a 7kW wallbox home charger. But it's the charging costs that add to the affordability tag. Ford calculated (as of 19 March) that a full Gen-E charge costs 3.23 (based on Intelligent Octopus Go tariff) while the total cost to fill up a petrol Puma is 12.64. It also currently has a deal on offer where all new EV purchases come with a free home charger, including the cost of installation. The Puma Gen-E's interior is upbeat and light and airy with the panoramic roof, but we really don't get along with Ford' SYNC4 infotainment system The back seats, though comfortable, are restricted in space because it's a small car and has a sloping roof. Smaller passengers are fine but taller people will be cramped Storage space: The Puma Gen E's boot keeps on giving The Gen-E is a nice, small EV to cover miles in. There's lots of storage throughout the cabin the raised centre console gives additional storage and it's very comfortable during long-distance treks. The cabin feels light and airy, especially with the panoramic roof that opens up, and it's generally an upbeat interior, which helps draw attention away from a few of the cheaper materials dotted around. The dash divided my peers on the launch, but I think it looks neat enough if not actively exciting. The B&O soundbar on top - only available in the Premium trim - adds dimension as well as much improved acoustics. However, Ford's SYNC4 infotainment system with Alexa is definitely not winning points from me: it's a pain to use and the navigation has a longer lag time than a tortoise doing the 100 metre sprint. The 'Gigabox' boot can fit 532 litres of stuff in - much more than many SUVs, and that stuff doesn't have to be dry because it's waterproof too The amount of luggage you can get in a Puma is enough for a family holiday and it makes the Puma a really great family buy Another pitfall is the rear seats and lack of head room. It's definitely not suitable for six footers on long trips, but then it is a pretty small car with a sloping roof. But we forgive and forget those bugbears (not least because you can just wireless connect Apple CarPlay and that problem goes away) because Ford has managed to give a small crossover 523 litres of boot space. We'll repeat that: 523 litres. That's more than the Explorer, Mach-E and only (two litres) shy of the Capri - all of them far bigger motors. It also puts EV models from bigger body segments, like Vauxhall's Mokka-e (310 litres), Volvo EX30 (318 litres) and VW ID.3 (385 litres) to shame. Even a much larger Tesla Model Y SUV has only 554 litres. How? Because Ford's has managed to install the 'Gigabox' boot feature (available in the petrol Puma), which provides masses of underfloor storage. This is particularly useful for those who are nervous about leaving items in the boot, with your goods tucked way out of sight. It's also waterproof and has a plug in it so you can use it for electrical appliances. Bolstering the luggage capacity is a small froot (front boot) measuring 43 litres in total. However, you're likely to keep the charging cable here, so much of the storage area is used. The total space throughout the car is 574-litres of storage space that's lot for a little vehicle. We would go as far as saying this is the volume-selling EV the market has been begging for from Ford for years - we'll just have to wait for the sales figures to know for sure Ford Puma Gen-E: The Cars and Motoring verdict Ford's no stranger to the best-sellers list. In the 54 years that registrations have officially been tracked, a model with the blue oval badge has topped the charts an astonishing 51 times. And we think the arrival of the Gen-E will help Puma cement the position for a 52nd time. I would go as far as saying this is the volume-selling EV the market has been begging for from Ford for years. It's a bit let down by the range, but now Ford's joined the sub-30k EV party with a spacious, good-to-drive and comfortable small car, you can somewhat overlook this one issue. And many people will feel most comfortable buying an electric equivalent to a car they're already familiar with or driving. So, considering an awful lot of UK drivers already drive a Puma - or intend to buy one - then the electric version should be a no-brainer for those considering a more eco-conscious option. For those not yet ready to make the switch, the 'mild hybrid' petrol Puma remains on sale today with a start price of 26,580. Christmas 2024 was the high watermark for Tesla investors, with the carmaker hitting a record $489 (371) per share. Investors were optimistic that co-founder and CEO Elon Musk's relationship with US President Donald Trump and the prospect of a less hostile regulatory environment for self-driving cars would help accelerate Tesla's momentum. But shares in the group have plunged by a third this year as orders for its electric vehicles have plummeted across many major markets, and the group has once again found itself exposed to US-driven global trade disruption. In the first three months of 2025, sales of the company's EVs plummeted 62 per cent in Germany, 41 per cent in France and 25 per cent in Norway, where nearly nine in ten new car purchases are electric. Tesla sold 336,681 vehicles during the period, far below the 386,810 recorded in the previous quarter and the 390,000 forecast by analysts. Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs last week has only exacerbated Tesla's worries, raising the threat of slowing economic growth and consumer spending. Is worse to come for the automotive giant - or can it turn things around fast? On the brakes: Shares in Tesla have plunged by a third this year as orders for its electric vehicles have plummeted across many major markets Why have Tesla sales declined? Musk's close involvement with Trump's administration, whether donating to his presidential campaign or heading the Department of Government Efficiency [Doge], appears to have alienated many consumers. 'Never in automotive history has the CEO of a car brand become so deeply involved in divisive geopolitics,' says motoring expert Quentin Willson. The former Top Gear presenter also says Tesla suffers from an 'ageing model line up that's only been mildly refreshed,' unlike Chinese carmaker BYD - often nicknamed the 'Tesla Killer'. Partnership: Musk's close involvement with Trump has made the Tesla boss a divisive figure BYD's revenues overtook Tesla last year after soaring by 29 per cent to $107billion, driven by high demand for models like the Seagull, Dolphin, and Atto 3. China's share of the global EV market has rapidly expanded over the past decade to account for about three-quarters of all sales, largely thanks to generous publicly-funded subsidies. From 2009 to 2023, the Chinese Government provided about $230.9billion of support to its country's EV sector, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies think tank. This included buyer rebates, exemptions from sales taxes, research and development programmes, and spending on infrastructure like charging poles. Many Chinese EV businesses also benefit from having a vertical integration strategy, controlling key elements of the supply chain, that could themselves receive generous government subsidies. In BYD's case, it produces everything from batteries to power electronics, electric motors, and semiconductors and controls mineral rights in Brazil's 'Lithium Valley'. The setup gives them greater control over technology, supply reliability, and, most importantly, costs, meaning their vehicles can be sold for a profit at low prices. On top: BYD's revenues overtook Tesla last year after soaring by 29 per cent to $107billion How do Tesla vehicles compare to its rivals? Tesla still has a large fanbase that lauds the company's pioneering role in the EV sector and its fast, green, comfortable motors, with their autonomous driving features and over-the-air software updates. 'Tesla's overarching aim has always been to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy,' says Dan Lane, lead analyst at Robinhood UK. 'Yes, cars have been the medium so far, but it's that ideal that most die-hard fans buy into.' That's not to say the group has fallen short in the sales department. The Tesla Model Y was the world's top-selling car in 2023, with more than 1.2 million units purchased, making it the first EV to achieve such a feat. Tesla's total annual deliveries have shot up more than fourfold since 2019, from 367,656 to 1.79 million last year. However, 2024 was the first time in 13 years that the firm's sales declined. Aside from considerable Chinese competition, the business has experienced highly publicised issues with its Cybertrucks. Since launching in November 2023, the polygonal pickup has been recalled eight times, including over faulty windshield wipers, trapped accelerator pedals, and, on three occasions, detaching trims. Musk once predicted that the vehicle would enjoy 250,000 orders annually, but Tesla is reportedly sitting on $200million worth of unsold Cybertrucks. Issues: Since launching, Tesla's Cybertrucks have been recalled eight times, including over faulty windshield wipers, trapped accelerator pedals, and detaching trims While the company is partly compensating for this with high demand for its Model Y, critics regularly lambast the auto manufacturer for its ageing line-up of offerings. Ben Nelmes, chief executive at transport research organisation New AutoMotive NGO, said: 'Tesla is competing in the most innovative segment of the car market, yet they haven't brought out a new model for the mass market since the Model Y in 2020.' Even if the recently upgraded Model Y, codenamed 'Juniper', sells well, Tesla has its work cut out trying to compete with an ever-growing pool of cheaper EVs. 'Tesla needs the new Model Y to appeal to consumers' heads and to their hearts to succeed, but there are many compelling other options out there, and competition is increasingly focusing on price,' adds Nelmes. Musk's role under pressure Despite recent struggles, Tesla remains a very profitable, innovative carmaker with a strongly recognisable brand name. The firm's share price drop has nonetheless left investors worried. Matthias Schmidt, founder of data intelligence organisation Schmidt Automotive Research, has blunt advice for Tesla. 'Fire the toxic CEO ASAP,' the Hamburg-based analyst says. 'Keep him as a back-seat advisor, but perhaps ask him to refrain from speaking, publicly at least. He has turned from an asset to a liability.' Quentin Willson and Ben Nelmes think Musk should limit his political interventions, which have made the South Africa-born billionaire a deeply polarising individual. Schmidt also thinks Tesla should invest more in new products and sectors, with spending redirected away from autonomous driving and 'into more emotional vehicles for private consumers'. Tesla's tariff troubles In the more immediate future, the group's performance will depend on how badly Trump's tariffs - and the retaliatory measures by other countries - impact demand. Tesla, as well as US automotive rivals Ford and General Motors, were among the most exposed stocks the last time the US-China trade conflict broke out in 2018, according to analysis by trading platform IG. Shares proved volatile in 2018 as Tesla faced higher production costs and sales declines as tariffs increased the price of imported components and vehicles. Musk reportedly pleaded with Trump personally to back off from imposing the most recent tariffs, which include a 25 per cent tax on US automobile imports. China, one of Tesla's largest markets, has responded with an 84 per cent tariff on all US goods imports. The resulting global turmoil could further hit demand for Tesla vehicles. IG market analyst Axel Rudolph said: 'Tesla may assemble half of its vehicles in the US, but President Trump's 25 per cent tariffs are hitting where it hurts - on imported parts and raw materials. 'Musk has warned that the cost impact is 'not trivial,' signalling that even domestic production isn't shielding the company from rising expenses. 'With fears growing that Musk's political controversies are weakening demand, a 'perfect storm' is now brewing for the EV maker.' Retail investors back Tesla Recent woes have not stopped large numbers of retail investors from backing the business. Robinhood's Lane notes that Tesla was the most popular buy among Robinhood UK's investors last month and the third-most popular in February. John Moore, senior investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said commentary around the firm 'includes a wide range of price expectations, from steep declines to significant upside potential'. He added: 'If you are considering investing in the company, try to separate your opinions on the individual or individuals most associated with it from that decision. 'And, if you do hold any stock in the company, ensure it is part of a much wider, balanced portfolio of investments.' The British insurance group behind Sheilas Wheels has been snapped up by a Belgian rival in a deal worth 1.3billion. Surrey-based Esure, which was set up by Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood, was sold by its private equity owner Bain Capital to Ageas. The deal will create the third-largest motor and home insurer in the UK. Esure has around 2m customers, with Sheilas Wheels and First Alternative its leading brands, while Ageas has been growing its UK business in recent years and boasts more than 4m customers. Having set up Esure in 2000, Wood landed a 200million windfall when the company was listed on the London stock market in 2013. He scooped another 360million when it was sold to Bain Capital in 2018 for 1.2billion. The deal with Ageas is the latest in a period of consolidation in the UK insurance market after Aviva agreed to buy Direct Line last year. Ageas had also made two bids to buy Direct Line, which represented a similar opportunity to increase its exposure to the UKs personal lines insurance sector, but abandoned the effort in 2024. Key brand: Sheilas Wheels owner Esure, which was set up by Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood, was sold by its private equity owner Bain Capital to Ageas in a 1.3bn deal It last year announced an insurance tie-up with over-50s group Saga. The deal to buy Esure is expected to complete in the second half of this year, subject to regulatory approval. Ageas, which is listed on the stock market in Brussels with a value of more than 8billion, is aiming to deliver UK revenues of 3.25billion by 2028. Group chief executive Hans De Cuyper said: We are delighted to have reached an agreement to acquire Esure. 'In recent years, Ageas has experienced significant growth in the UK, making it an increasingly important part of the group. Ant Middle, the UK boss of Ageas, added: We want to continue to grow our broker and partnerships personal lines business in the UK, and Esure will help us to rapidly expand our direct distribution, our customer reach and our scale overall. And David McMillan, Esure chief, said the companies are two highly complementary businesses and create an even stronger platform for continued innovation, growth and excellent delivery for our customers. LVMH is looking to boost its manufacturing in the US to cushion the blow of Donald Trumps tariffs. Boss Bernard Arnault said in January he was seriously considering adding to the French luxury goods giants existing facilities across the Atlantic, which includes a Louis Vuitton workshop in Texas and two in California. Asked about bulking up its US presence yesterday, chief financial officer Cecile Cabanis said: We will see at what pace and how much. The firm, whose brands include Moet, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy, confirmed fears of a luxury slowdown as it posted a slump in sales for the first three months of the year. Arnault who attended Trumps inauguration had hoped rich Americans splashing out on luxury goods would offset a slowdown in demand in China. But LVMH shares have fallen 8 per cent since the US President announced a barrage of global tariffs fuelling fears of an economic slowdown. Sales fell 3 per cent to 17.5billion over its first quarter. There are concerns the luxury industry will take a huge hit in the trade war between the US and China. BPs embattled bosses received a much-needed boost yesterday thanks to an oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. As chairman Helge Lund and chief executive Murray Auchincloss brace for a rebellion at its AGM on Thursday, the energy giant reported success at an exploration well 120 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The discovery came ahead of what looks set to be a tough week for Lund and Auchincloss speculation mounts that shareholders may vote against their re-election to the board. Lund is stepping down next year, while Auchinclosss future remains uncertain. BP is under pressure from investors over an ill-fated and now-abandoned pivot towards green energy. Meta will train its artificial intelligence (AI) models with its European users' public content and conversations with the Meta AI chatbot, the firm said on Monday. The decision represents a major volte-face from the Facebook and Instagram owner, which has previously appeared wary of the European Union's stringent regulations on the use of personal data. People based in the EU who use Meta platforms can opt out of having their data used for generative AI training purposes, the social networking giant said. That means everything from Instagram photo captions to Facebook comments could soon be fair game for Meta AI, which the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company hopes will overtake market-leader ChatGPT. "This training will better support millions of people and businesses in Europe, by teaching our generative AI models to better understand and reflect their cultures, languages and history," the firm said in a statement. WhatsApp messenger will for the time being not be affected by the changes. The changes would not apply to the accounts of users under 18, nor to private messages of users to family and friends, the tech giant added on social media. Of the opt-out form, Meta said it had made it "easy to find, read, and use" and would honour all objections already or yet to be made. Though AI has revolutionary potential, critics point to its inherent ethical pitfalls, ability to wreak destructive upheaval, and the energy-guzzling technology's potential contribution to climate change. When Meta AI first launched in the EU in late March, the tech giant was at pains to point out that the chatbot was not trained on data from European users. Its rollout on the continent was delayed by more than a year as a result of overlapping European regulations on emerging technologies, including user data, AI and digital markets. In Monday's announcement Meta insisted the move was not unique in Europe, arguing it was following the example set by Google and ChatGPT maker OpenAI. Meta AI was first unveiled for the United States in September 2023, then rolled out across all the group's applications in April 2024. Although image generation is available in the US, in the EU the generative AI tool will craft text-only responses to users' questions. Meta AI can also draw on web search for its answers. Developing "large language models" (LLMs) like Meta AI requires vast reserves of data, which is heavily regulated in the European Union where it relates to individual users. As for other Silicon Valley giants, AI is an overriding priority for Meta. The group plans to invest $60-65 billion this year, with much of the cash going into data centres, servers and network infrastructure necessary to develop AI models. At present Meta claims around 700 million monthly active users for its AI assistant -- still somewhat shy of the one billion Zuckerberg has said was needed to secure "a durable long-term advantage". Bank of England currency printer De La Rue is set for a 263million takeover by a US private equity firm after its board dismissed a higher potential offer by a City financier. A takeover battle looked set to erupt on Tuesday after an agreed 130p per share takeover by Atlas Holdings was immediately followed by reports that an investment vehicle of City financier Edi Truell was readying a 132.17p per share bid. Sky News said Pension SuperFund Capital had told De La Rue's board of his plans on Monday. But De La Rue told shareholders later on Tuesday morning it had considered the 'preliminary and conditional nature' of Truell's latest proposal, including the 'absence of committed financing', and had backed Atlas' bid instead. There can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made by Truell, it added. The 130p per share Atlas offer represents a 19 per cent premium to De La Rue's closing price on 11 December, the last day before the recent offer period began. De La Rue shares surged 15.6 per cent to 129.5p by Tuesday afternoon, taking gains over the past year to around 63.5 per cent. A takeover battle looks set to erupt for the Bank of England's currency printer after a City financier reportedly put forward a higher proposal Atlas's proposal does not include the group's authentication division, which it intends to sell to industrial technology company Crane NXT for 300million at the start of May. De La Rue said Atlas's ownership would 'better position' the business for further investment and help it navigate the 'cyclical and competitive' nature of the currency market. Based in Connecticut, Atlas owns British construction group Bovis and the graphic and creative services agency ASG. Founded in 1821 by Thomas de la Rue, the firm prints over half the world's banknotes, including the new sterling notes featuring King Charles III, but also produces security features for identity documents. The Basingstoke-based company struggled following the Covid-19 pandemic as the surge in contactless payments hit demand for paper cash. Troubles were exacerbated by the loss in 2018 of a massive UK Government contract to print post-Brexit passports, an economic crisis in Sri Lanka, and higher microchip and raw materials costs. In the six months ending 28 September, De La Rue reported its turnover declined by 10.2 per cent to 145.1million, mainly due to some contract deliveries in its currency segment shifting into the second half of the financial year. Peter Bacon, operating partner at Atlas, said: 'In De La Rue, we see a company that is an industry leader, but one which has faced multiple challenges in recent years. 'We believe that our strategic resources and capital will be able to support and enhance the De La Rue business going forward.' Clive Vacher, chief executive of De La Rue, added: 'Atlas is the right partner to take De La Rue into its next phase of growth. 'Most importantly, under Atlas's ownership, we can ensure long-term stability for our customers and our people and best position the business for its next chapter.' De La Rue's anticipated takeover comes amid a flurry of activity involving foreign predators buying London-listed firms at discounted valuations. Just last week, NHS landlord Assura accepted a 1.6billion offer from a consortium consisting of investment companies Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Stonepeak Partners. Sixty businesses worth a combined 59.4billion left the London Stock Exchange last year because of acquisitions, according to financial data group Dealogic. Among those to delist were cybersecurity giant Darktrace, video games services provider Keywords Studios, and music catalogue owner Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Card and gift retailer Clintons looks set to close more stores amid dwindling footfall and an 'unpredictable' trading environment. In a financial update this week, Clintons said it was grappling with 'significant cost pressure' amid higher employer national insurance contributions and wages. The group said it had continued to close 'loss-making stores', adding that its store portfolio now stood at around 170, having been around 1,000 stores in its heyday. In its last financial year, which ran until the end of June 2024, it shuttered 38 stores and axed over 300 jobs, taking its staff count to 1,415. During the period, an insolvency court approved a restructuring plan to help keep the retailer on its feet. Clintons added: 'The high street continues to be unpredictable and the company is seeing reduced footfall in the stores year on year. 'The company continues to monitor the performance of the existing estate and to close the poor performing stores, which, whilst impacting on turnover, should improve profitability moving forwards.' Where next? Card and gifting retailer Clintons looks set to close more stores While facing some higher costs, the group said its energy costs had begun to ease thanks to a deal in October 2023 'representing a material saving compared to the deal for the prior year.' As a result of Labour's Budget in October, employer National Insurance contributions have risen from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, increasing costs for many businesses. The wage threshold at which these contributions must start to be paid has been reduced from 9,100 to 5,000. The national minimum wage has risen to 12.21 per hour. For workers aged 18-20, the minimum wage increased by 1.40 to 10 per hour this month. Earlier this month, Clintons revealed it returned to profit after enduring a turbulent spell which led to the restructuring plan and store closures. This month, Clintons in Keighley, West Yorkshire, announced that it will be closing its doors on 14 June. The list of other stores which could be affected by any future closures remains unknown. Clintons, which was launched in 1968 and acquired by Cardzone owner Pillarbox Designs in March 2024, announced a pre-tax profit of 8million for the year ending 29 June 2024, against a 5.3million loss the previous year. Sales fell 14 per cent from 96.5million to 82.6million in the period. This is Money contacted Clintons for comment. Retailers across Britain face a barrage of higher costs and a highly competitive market, while many shoppers struggle with sparse discretionary income levels. In February, fashion chain Quiz crashed into administration with the closure of 23 stores and the loss of almost 200 jobs. The clothing retailer called in administrators before its founding Ramzan family bought back 42 shops, saving around 1,300 jobs. In March, it was revealed that WH Smith, a staple of UK town centres since the Victorian era, is set to disappear from British high-streets after the firm agreed to sell its shops to Hobbycraft-owner Modella Capital. The new owner said it will keep the Post Office outlets that operate in many branches, but will rebrand the chain as TGJones. The WH Smith name is not being sold and will still be used at travel hub outlets that are not for sale. Last week, the Post Office said it was selling 108 crown branches which are currently directly owned and run by the company. It will hand over the 108 remaining directly-owned branches to franchisees by the autumn. Around 1,000 staff working in these branches will be offered a choice to move to work for any new owner or take voluntary redundancy, the Post Office said. Products featured in this article are independently selected by This is Money's specialist journalists. If you open an account using links which have an asterisk, This is Money will earn an affiliate commission. We do not allow this to affect our editorial independence. If you have a keen eye on the best-buy cash Isa tables, you will see most of the top rates at the moment are offered by a new wave of app-based savings providers. These include the likes of Plum, CMC Invest, Moneybox and Trading 212, to name a few and they are offering upwards of 4.9 per cent. The Isas offer headline-grabbing rates - though some of them are 'bonus' deals which only last three months. Several have no restrictions on how many times you can withdraw money from them, meaning customers can switch to a different account with ease. Some even have the added benefit of being flexible Isas, which means money can be withdrawn and replaced without any of the Isa allowance being used up so long as it is replaced within the same tax year. But savers flocking to these deals should be aware of another important factor when it comes to choosing an Isa, that shouldn't be overlooked for all the flashier appeals and that is Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection. Shield: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects savings accounts up to 85,000 in the event that the provider becomes insolvent What is FSCS protection? FSCS protection offers savers some security if their provider goes under. If the bank holding your cash is covered by the FSCS, and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), you should get some or all of your savings back - so long as you meet certain conditions. This is because the FSCS protects savings accounts up to 85,000 per individually licensed bank, per saver. There are murmurs that the FSCS limit could increase to 110,000 from December if proposals by the Prudential Regulation Authority are given the green light. Some money apps which offer Isas are not licensed banks, and therefore do not have their own FSCS cover, as a high street bank would. However, savers are usually still protected - as we explain below. How do money apps protect your cash? These providers use the FSCS cover of other banks and financial institutions by ringfencing money in separate accounts with them. Of the Isa providers at the top of the Isa tables, five are app-based providers which ringfence Isa deposits with other banks and financial firms to protect customers' cash. For example, money held in Plum's Isa*, which pays 5.68 per cent - including a 2.14 per cent bonus - is deposited with CitiBank, Lloyds and QNB in segregated accounts, away from these banks' other operations. If one of these firms were to fail, your money would be protected up to 85,000. Trading 212*, paying 4.9 per cent with a 0.4 per cent bonus, currently keeps deposits with Barclays, NatWest, JPMorgan, Lloyds and BNY Bank. You can see what proportion of your Isa savings are kept with each bank in Trading 212's app. Moneybox, which pays 5.71 per cent including a 1.51 per cent bonus rate, currently uses up to 10 partner banks for FSCS deposits, including Clydesdale Bank, HSBC, Santander UK, Barclays, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Qatar National Bank, NatWest, Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch. It doesn't hold more than 50 per cent of the total funds with a single bank at any given moment. So if you were to have an Isa worth 20,000 with Moneybox, only a maximum of 10,000 would be held with Santander and the other 10,000 with HSBC, or any combination of the other banks it uses. Chip*, paying 4.32 per cent , uses ClearBank, which is a licenced bank in the UK, for its Isa deposits. If ClearBank or Chip were to fail, customers Isa deposits would be protected up to 85,000. CMC Invest*, which offers 5.7 per cent, is a newer player in the cash Isa space having launched an easy-access cash Isa at the start of December 2024. Money kept in CMC Invest's easy-access cash Isa is protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. CMC Invest is not a bank but it is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to take Isa deposits. It leans on the FSCS cover of NatWest and 'Qualifying Money Market Funds' to protect customer deposits in its Isa up to 85,000 if it goes bust. It is not a completely new phenomenon for firms to use Money Market Funds, says James Blower the founder of website Savings Guru. He says: 'Money Market Funds can be FSCS protected but have to meet strict criteria in order to do so. 'Therefore, as long as CMC's is, savers shouldn't have to worry but should definitely stay within the scheme limits of 85,000.' Know where your savings are being held Sometimes it is hard to know exactly how much of your money is being held with each of the banks your Isa provider partners with, as the firm may not give a specific breakdown. But it is important to know where your money is being held - especially if you have a lot of cash in savings. This is because you might already have cash with another bank, which could lead you to inadvertently breach the 85,000 limit if that bank went bust. James Blower says: 'The issue with some of these providers is that they are using multiple [banks] and you don't know which bank your money is with.' For example, someone might hold 80,000 in savings with a bank directly, and then put 20,000 in an Isa with a firm which uses the same bank for its FSCS compensation - combined total of 100,000. In this case, 15,000 could potentially be at risk if the bank were to fail. That's because in the unlikely event one of the firms your savings provider keeps deposits with for the purpose of FSCS protection fails, you will only get back savings worth up to 85,000 per bank. If you have a joint account, you're covered up to 170,000. This means that you shouldn't hold more than 85,000 individually with each bank or building society. However, the number of savers with savings over 85,000 is less than 10 per cent of the market. For this reason, Blower says: 'This isn't an issue for the vast majority of savers. 'But it is a real risk because many non-bank providers are new with little or no financial information available on them, and their status so it is hard to know if they are viable.' 'The top three Isa providers are all paying significantly over the base rate, and do not lend money out, which means they are losing money on the savings activity. 'I expect the justification for this is that, firstly, they are making money from investments that they also sell or secondly, they are making money in the longer term when their bonuses drop off and enough customers stay with them to make it pay. 'But this makes them far riskier than licensed banks.' A Hindu priest revered by followers 'as a God' has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of the rape and attempted rape of a 'vulnerable' devotee. Born in the village of Sreekrishnapuram in Kerala, India, Muraleekrishnan Pulikkal is viewed by hundreds of followers worldwide as the living incarnation of a Hindu god. The priest - an Indian national who is referred to by members of his congregation as swami or baba - ran regular prayer sessions from a temple in Barnet, north London, which is attended by his large number of devotees across the UK. But the 'divine-like figure' was arrested and charged with five counts of serious sexual offences last year; one count of rape and one count of attempted rape against one woman, and three counts of sexual assault against another. He has now been sentenced to seven years after the jury at Wood Green Crown Court returned a guilty verdict for the two counts of rape and attempted rape. During the two-week trial, the court heard Pulikkal had taken advantage of the women, telling them he would look after them as a God and that they had been together in a 'previous life. Both women, who were allegedly not known to each other, had met Pulikkal when they began attending his prayer sessions, the court was told. The offences were said to have taken place between the spring of 2022 and 2023, though the jury did not find Pulikkal guilty of the three counts of sexual assault made by the second woman. Pulikkal had denied all the charges and appeared in the dock dressed in a white and tan Hindu robe. It comes as the Charity Commission have confirmed they have opened a regulatory compliance case into a charity for which Pulikkal was a trustee and that is named after him - the Om Saravanabhava Seva Trust. The charity had a total income of 2.14m in the financial year ending May 2023. Pictured: Muraleekrishnan Pulikkal outside Wood Green Crown Court. The Hindu priest has been found guilty of the rape and attempted rape of a devotee Pictured: Pulikkal practising a Hindu ritual at the Sri Kathirgaama Skanthan Temple where he was a priest Detailing the alleged offences, the court heard how Pulikkal would turn up to the homes of one of the women at night with blessed food from the temple. It was on two such occasions that he tried to force her to perform oral sex on him. The second woman alleged the priest had on three occasions sexually assaulted her by taking her hand during private prayer sessions at his home and placing them near his groin, though this was not upheld by the jury. Opening at Wood Green Crown Court, prosecutor Mr Christopher Amis said: The defendant Muraleekrishnan Pulikkal, sometimes referred to by the name swami or indeed sometimes known as baba, was in 2021 the religious leader or priest at a Hindu temple in Barnet in north London. The temple is known as Sri Kathirgaama Skanthan Temple, also referred to sometimes as the Om Sharavana Baba Multi-Faith Community Temple. Both women came into contact with the defendant by virtue of his position as leader of this religious temple. It is the prosecutions case that he exploited his position to take advantage of these women who were both vulnerable for different reasons. He added that the defendant was regarded in his temple by members of the congregation as a divine-like figure, who is vested with special healing powers and other black magic. The prosecution told the court how the defendant would hold prayer sessions both in his shared home and at his temple. In February 2021, one of the victims visited the priest at his home in Oakfield Road, Barnet, to ask him to heal her troubled marriage, as her husband was seeking a divorce she did not want. The defendant allegedly told the woman this was not possible but went on to say that he would look after her as a God. The court heard that after this initial consultation, Pulikkal began bombarding the woman with phone calls where he would urge her to become a member of his congregation. Pulikkal, revered as 'swami' by his large following, performing a ceremony at the temple The priest would regularly preach to his congregation at the site in Barnet He has been found guilty of the oral rape and attempted oral rape of 'vulnerable' follower During the calls he began telling her Dont worry, I am here for you, Im like your dad, adding that he liked her and that they were together in a past life. He then started asking the woman for her address, claiming it was to bring her religious food. She told police she initially refused, but he continued asking. Pulikkal then visited her home one day with three other people, bringing to her food from the temple. On this occasion, nothing untoward is said to have happened. The court heard he would then call her on WhatsApp video calls, asking her to show him her feet so that he could heal her. She said that she felt uneasy, but he persisted several times, causing her to eventually reveal her feet, to which he commented that they are very lovely. The priest's behaviour caused the woman to fear that he would use black-magic against her if she didn't agree to his requests. In a police interview played in court, the alleged victim said he then came to her house one day with the driver. The three of them sat inside on the sofa for some time, before the defendant asked the driver to go outside. She told police: He hugged and kissed me. I said no Im not comfortable. He said dont worry I am like your previous husband. I said I am not comfortable, he said you have to accept, Im the powerful person, Im the healing person. He said God has given you a chance, dont push. She continued: I was scared of him. He said he has black magic, I can do anything to anyone. Pulikkal had denied all the charges and appeared in the dock every day this week dressed in a white and tan Hindu robe It is said his followers believe he has 'special powers' and is able to perform black magic Pictured: Sharavana Baba Community Centre, in Barnet. The defendant was a priest at the temple He told me I can make them sick, I can take the house, I can make them die. Following further requests to meet her at her address at night, the woman attempted to ignore his repeated calls, the court heard. When she eventually answered, he is alleged to have told her he would destroy her and her children if she did not continue with him. She said she reduced her visits to the temple after this but still attended occasionally out of fear. It was then on a date between May 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022, that the woman alleges Pulikkal attempted to orally rape her. The Hindu priest and his driver are said to have visited the woman at her home around midnight, when the trio shared food from the temple. After the meal, the priest sent the driver back to their car. The pair were in the kitchen when the defendant lifted up his robe, pushed the woman's head down, and asked her to give him oral sex, according to the woman. Speaking in court, the woman said: He asked me to touch his penis. I couldn't do it because according to our culture I can only have sexual contact with (my husband). 'So I refused. He was saying, no it's good, it's good. I didn't like it. He forced me - I didn't open my mouth at all. He (was) trying, but I didn't do it. His penis touched my lips. I was looking at him as a God, he was looking at me in a different way. He is said to have then become angry, telling her that she does not love him, and promptly left the house. The second incident, this time of rape, is alleged to have taken place about a month after the first incident, between June 2022 and July 2022. Pulikkal returned to the womans house with a large group of men at around 11pm. The priest is understood to also have held private prayer sessions at his home where he would charge money to 'bless' or 'heal' his devotees Pictured: The priest performing a 'puja' at the Barnet-based temple When the priest and the woman were alone, Pulikkal asked the woman if he could use the toilet. According to the woman, the downstairs toilet was not in good condition and so she took him to the bathroom upstairs. When the priest came out of the bathroom, he pressured the woman into giving him oral sex, pushing her head down to the groin and leading the woman to put his penis in her mouth for roughly one minute, crying during the ordeal, the court heard. The prosecution said she was wary of making noise because her children had been sleeping next door. Defence barrister Ali Naseem Bajwa KC had questioned whether the woman had been in love with the priest. Mr Bajwa said: You said (during a police interview), he treated me like a girl-friend. You told him, I suggest, that you loved him. The woman said: I didn't love him. My main concern was to join with my husband for my children. Mr Bajwa also questioned: When the defendant came to your home around a month after what we're calling the first incident, you could have not let him in? The woman responded: I had a fear that he would do something bad for me and my children, that is the reason I allow him to come. She said that during one video call, he showed her a religious metal arrow, called a trishul in Hinduism, and warned her not to talk about what happened between them to anyone and that he was able to 'kill' people who were against him. In April 2023, the woman sent Pulikkal a voice note saying: 'You're with me in a good way. Both women were said to have attended his congregations at the temple 'Why do you talk bad things about me? Why do you ask people to talk about these stories? 'If you are only with me, if you only had an interest in me, if you would only stay with me, that would be a different matter. 'You were not only interested in me. But also interested in others as well.' The woman said the message was her questioning him about 'stories' she heard about him. She said: 'I was questioning are you doing the right thing, are you God?' The jury found Pulikkal guilty of both of these counts. In Autumn 2022, another woman alleged she had visited the priest at his home in order to seek spiritual healing for an ongoing medical issue. The woman had lost her husband two to three years earlier, and at the time of joining the temple had just spent a period in hospital and was 'anxious to get better'. She began visiting the priest at his house in September 2022, and said she believed he was 'divine' as he seemed to know facts about her and her family that she had never divulged to him. Pulikkal reassured the woman that he would look after her as a 'divine master' - but she alleged that he grabbed the woman's hand and placed it on his thigh near his groin during several private 'prayer' sessions. At the priest's direction, the woman was also said to have donated 128,000 to a charitable donation linked to the temple, as well as spending hundreds on special prayer sessions. The court heard Pulikkal would tell both women he would look after them as a God and that they had been together in a 'previous life Mr Amis told the court a basic prayer session would cost about 25, while a special blessing could cost up to 501. The women is said to have paid for several special blessings, paying about 2,000 within just a few weeks of joining the temple. In a police interview played to the court, the woman told an officer: 'The most I would spend is 1,000 a day.' The woman said that the priest would touch her hand and hair during group blessings at the temple. She said in the interview: 'I want to move away, don't touch my hair, I wanted to pull away. (I felt) very uncomfortable. In my head, he's divine - why is he standing so close to me? 'He was standing so close I could feel his leg moving. He doesn't just touch, he's sort of moving. Constantly.' But the court heard other women attending the temple would tell the woman 'you're so lucky' after she was touched by him during the mass blessings. She said: 'Every time you go to the house (his house) you have to pay 200 - just cash, no money transfer.' During one visit to the temple, the woman heard the priest announce that he needed 10 families to give 10,000 each for a special cause. She said: 'He said, "you must give 10,000". He said, "bring me cash, don't transfer it". 'I did it, I don't know why, but I did.' After she began attending the temple regularly, the priest would call her two to three times a day. She said: 'When he called me, he said, "I really like you, you're the one for me, unfortunately I'm a guru, it cannot go further." "Why are you call me so much", I said.' 'He said, "I need to call you because I cannot sleep, I cannot do anything without calling you." The woman said the priest would even place her hand on his groin during her visits to the temple. She said: 'When it comes to my turn, he will take my hand, put my hand on his groin, even in temple. He would do it and I didn't know why no-one would say anything.' The woman's first allegation of sexual assault took place on October 18, 2022. A second woman accused Pulikkal of sexually assaulting her on three occasions, but the jury did not find him guilty of these counts The court was told the woman and her teenage daughter attended a prayer session on this date at the priest's property. He is said to have offered group prayer sessions, followed by private sessions behind a curtain in his living room. During the group prayer session, the defendant appeared to turn into a 'snake' as part of a ritual, moving 'like a cobra on the floor', according to the woman. The woman told the court that in parts of the Hindu faith it is believed that priests can become possessed by snake spirits during certain rituals. 'At the time I believed that he had transformed into a snake,' she said. After this, the woman and her daughter went behind a curtain for a private blessing. It was here the woman claims the self-titled spiritual leader took hold of her and her daughter's hands and began 'massaging' them. She said: 'My daughter was trying to pull her hand away and I didn't know it was wrong because he was a priest. She said, "no mummy, I don't like it". 'He said, "she's really cute...you're both so cute". It was on this occasion that the woman alleges the priest moved her hand on to his thighs, near his groin. On January 10, 2023, the woman visited the priest again at his property, when the priest told her, unprompted, to think of him 'like a father', as he kissed her hand before rubbing it against his face. In a police interview video played to the court, the woman said: 'In January I went to the house. This time he was rubbing my hand on his face and now it seems like he was getting some kind of pleasure from it.' At one point during the private 'blessing', the priest moved the woman's hand on to his lap near his groin, according to the woman. She said: 'He put his hand near his groin. I could feel his tummy on my thumb. 'I felt very uncomfortable, I didn't like it at all. 'I was there about 40 minutes. He was touching me and I can't get away. 'He repeated, "you must bring your daughter, you must bring your daughter". I said she doesn't believe in this and he got angry.' A similar assault is alleged to have taken place on February 13, 2022. The woman claims she attended another private prayer session and the priest once again took the woman's hand and placed it near his groin. Pictured: Wood Green Crown Court, where the trial took place The prosecution argued that 'all the circumstances suggested that this was a sexually motivated action', and was not something done as part of a religious ceremony. In the first three months of 2023, the woman donated 128k, with 80k given to the priest in cash - at his request, she alleges. During calls it is claimed the defendant would tell the woman she is 'so pretty' and asked her to 'come to India' and live with him. Towards the end of March, the woman claims that the priest began a video call without his shirt on. She said: 'I didn't like it because it's not normal for a divine master. I ended the call quickly. When he did that with his shirt off, I felt something's not right.' In a written statement submitted to police during his arrest, the defendant claimed there were no 'private' sessions and that the curtains were 'never fully closed'. Mr Bajwa questioned why the woman continued to attend the temple and donate tens of thousands of pounds after the assaults. The woman said: 'Maybe he did black magic on me.' Mr Bajwa also referenced several messages sent from the woman to the priest in March, including the woman thanking the priest for his advice and calling his prayer sessions 'amazing' with heart and flower emojis. The barrister suggested that these messages showed there was a 'friendly' relationship between the pair after the alleged incidents. The woman said: 'I was trying to forget what he did, I was trying to be normal. I'm going to be focused on praying, he won't do that, he won't do that.' The woman confirmed that on May 7 she messaged the priest asking for the money to returned as she needed it. Mr Bajwa suggested the aim of a refund was a factor in her decision to complain to the police 17 days later. The woman denied this. The jury did not find the defendant guilty of the second woman's allegations. During closing remarks, the prosecution told the court: 'The prosecution say there was an enormous power differential between the women and the defendant. 'He seems to have an almost God-like status among his followers, who seem to believe he has special powers. 'Both women were in complete awe of him, and that is why I suggest there was a complete imbalance in power between both women and the defendant.' A Charity Commission spokeswoman told MailOnline: 'We can confirm that we have been engaging with the trustees of Om Saravanabhava Seva Trust as part of a regulatory compliance case, focused on ensuring the charitys safeguarding procedures were appropriate. 'All charities have a responsibility to ensure they dont cause harm to anyone who has contact with them and safeguarding should be a key governance priority for all charities. We remain in contact with the trustees.' They were scenes that brought home to the British people the full horror of Nazi depravity. Eighty years ago today the British Army's 11th Armoured Division liberated Bergen-Belsen, the concentration camp in northern Germany. Inside, they found 60,000 barely alive Jewish victims of the Holocaust, many of them suffering from typhus, dysentery and tuberculosis. Scattered everywhere were the skeletal bodies of those who had already perished, as the stench of death lingered in the air. Some had died directly at the hands of the camp's depraved commandant Josef Kramer, camp doctor Fritz Klein and guards who included whip-wielding Irma Grese. All three monsters were executed on the same day later in 1945 by British hangman Albert Pierrepoint. Among those for whom the British rescue came too late was Anne Frank, the Dutch teenager whose diary would go on to captivate the world. She died at Belsen just weeks earlier - in February or March 1945 - alongside her sister Margot. Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Northern Germany was liberated by British and Canadian troops on April 15, 1945. Above: A prisoner is seen after liberation, too weak to move Women and children are seen crowded together at Belsen in an image taken after the camp's liberation The BBC's Richard Dimbleby, accompanying the liberating British troops, summed up the unimaginably monstrous scenes in a radio broadcast to the nation that would go down in history. It was a report so graphic and distressing that Dimbleby's BBC bosses wanted to suppress it, with the broadcaster describing how he found himself 'in the world of a nightmare'. Marking today's anniversary, Belsen survivor Mala Tribich, 94, told the PA news agency: 'Whatever I know, whatever I went through, I have not forgotten, because you don't forget that. 'I hope that nothing like that will ever happen again, and of course, it's up to us to guard against it, and I hope that some people have learned the lessons. 'We have seen that it could happen again, and we must take every step not to let it.' Belsen had originally been set up to house Soviet prisoners of war but was then turned into a concentration camp in 1943. The camp in northern Germany housed some of the Jews who had been rounded up in Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary and other areas. Many inmates had been forced on 'death marches' to Belsen from Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in occupied Poland. A British sign erected after Belsen's liberation displays the horrors committed by the Nazis Inmates are seen at Belsen after its liberation by British forces. The scenes that greeted troops were shocking A photo dated April 1945 of women prisoners of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp gathering dead fellow inmates before burying them Inmates are seen with British troops after Belsen's liberation in April 1945 Many were suffering from typhus, dysentery and tuberculosis. Overall, around 70,000 people died at Belsen. The camp's horrors were documented on film by soldier-cameramen Sergeant Mike Lewis and Sergeant Bill Lawrie. The Daily Mail's report on Belsen on April 19, 1945 As members of the British Army's Film and Photographic Unit, they accompanied the British troops who liberated the camp. Their film revealed the full horrors to the world for the first time. The footage was shown to Britons again earlier this month in BBC documentary What They Found, which was directed by acclaimed director Sam Mendes. The documentary narrates the footage with interviews carried out with Sergeant Lewis and Sergeant Lawrie in the 1980s. Mrs Tribich was transported to Belsen with her cousin in early 1945. Then aged just 14, she had already endured unimaginable horrors. Born in 1930 in Piotrkow Trybunalski in Poland, she was around nine years old when the Nazis invaded. Her family were forced to move into a ghetto - the first one established in Poland. She was temporarily taken to Czestochowa, where she tried to pass as a Christian relative of a family her parents had paid to look after her until deportations at the ghetto were over. After some weeks, she returned to the ghetto, shortly after which her mother and eight-year-old sister were rounded up and murdered in a local forest. Mrs Tribich became a slave labourer until November 1944 when she was separated from her father and brother and deported to the Ravensbruck concentration camp with her younger cousin. After about 10 weeks, Ms Tribich and her cousin were transported in cattle trucks to Bergen-Belsen, spending their first night in a big tent outside the camp with arrivals from all over Europe. Mrs Tribich had her possessions bundled up in a handkerchief, including a piece of bread that she was keeping for her little cousin, which was stolen in the short time she dozed off that first night. 'It couldn't have been for long but when I woke up my bundle was gone and it was like losing my worldly possessions,' she said. 'There wasn't much in it, but I felt, how could anybody do it?' Dutch teenager Anne Frank, whose diary would captivate the world, died at Belsen in 1945 The camp's horrors were documented on film by soldier-cameramen Sergeant Mike Lewis and Sergeant Bill Lawrie The footage was shown to Britons again earlier this month in BBC documentary What They Found, which was directed by acclaimed director Sam Mendes The following day they were taken into the camp. 'The scene that hit me was, first of all, there was a terrible smell,' Mrs Tribich said. 'There was a smell and a smog and there were people there but they were like skeletons and they were sort of shuffling along aimlessly and as they were shuffling they would die. 'And there were piles of corpses. I remember one very big pile and small piles and the people were just dropping dead, literally. 'There was a sort of turmoil and a slow movement of people and it was horrific.' She overheard that there was a children's home in the camp where she and her cousin were accepted. 'That was a real bit of luck because we wouldn't have survived in the main camp,' Mrs Tribich said. She spent some months there ill with typhus and said she does not remember much of liberation day because she was so sick. Of April 15 1945, she said: 'I was on my upper bunk and I must have come to consciousness... and when I looked out the window and there were people running towards the gate. I didn't know why or where actually but that was the liberation when the British took the camp.' She added that she was left waiting in the empty barracks for two days before British troops came for her with a stretcher. Mrs Tribich recalled: 'They were going to put me on the stretcher and I said: "No, that's all right, I can do it myself." 'So I just tried to get out and I just collapsed. I wouldn't have been able to walk.' She was transferred to a hospital before reuniting with her brother, Ben, in England in March 1947. Dimbleby's 10-minute radio report was not broadcast until a few days after the journalist visited, because the broadcaster's bosses believed the public did not have the stomach for his words, and nor were they entirely sure that the report was reliable. But Dimbleby, the father of esteemed broadcasting brothers David and Jonathan, made it clear that he would resign if his words were not aired, and so they were played on April 19, 1945. He said in the broadcast: 'I wish with all my heart that everyone fighting in this war and above all those whose duty it is to direct the war from Britain and America could have come with me through the barbed-wire fence that leads to the inner compound of the camp,' he added. Inmates are Belsen are seen at the camp after its liberation by British troops in April 1945 'Outside it had been the lucky prisoners the men and women who had only just arrived at Belsen before we captured it. 'But beyond the barrier was a whirling cloud of dust, the dust of thousands of slowly moving people, laden in itself with the deadly typhus germ. 'And with the dust was a smell, sickly and thick, the smell of death and decay of corruption and filth.' Having passed through the barrier and witnessing the 'nightmare' before him, he went on: 'Dead bodies, some of them in decay lay strewn about the road. 'And along the rutted tracks on each side of the road were brown wooden huts. There were faces at the windows. 'The bony emaciated faces of starving women too weak to come outside propping themselves against the glass to see the daylight before they died. 'And they were dying, every hour and every minute. 'I saw a man wandering dazedly along the road then stagger and fall. Someone else looked down at him, took him by the heels and dragged him to the side of the road to join the other bodies lying unburied there. Female SS staff members are seen grouped together after being rounded up by British troops 'No one else took the slightest notice, they didn't even trouble to turn their heads.' One girl, a 'living skeleton', was so thin that it was 'impossible' to determine her age, he said. She pleaded: 'English, English. Medicine, medicine.' A distraught mother laid her dying baby on the ground at the feet of a British soldier, pleading for some milk. And the troops themselves were 'moved to cold fury' by the situation they were encountering, Dimbleby said. He added that the British troops were doing everything they could to save the survivors. However, more than 10,000 former inmates died in the days and weeks after liberation. Tragically, some died because their bodies had lost the ability to digest the food that was given to them. SS guards who had not already fled were put to work picking up decaying bodies and digging burial pits - necessary because of the disease threat - as they were watched by survivors. Scenes after the liberation of Belsen in April 1945.Picture shows women and children in Belsen hospital Medical students were sent from Britain to help cope with the shortage of nurses and doctors who were struggling to treat the thousands of inmates that needed care. With many too weak to survive despite the help they received, it took a month after liberation before the daily death rate fell below 100 for the first time. British soldier Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Berney was among the first troops in the camp. He later recalled how there were 'long wooden huts with corpses littering the ground between them. 'In open areas at the rear of the huts, more piles of corpses. At the end of the road, we saw a large open mass grave containing hundreds of corpses. 'The sights, the stench, the sheer horror of the place was indescribable.' Lieutenant-Colonel Berney, who was then just 25 and himself from a Jewish family, became the camp's commander for more than three months. Fortunately, there was a German barracks nearby with a hospital. It was upgraded to accommodate an incredible 15,000 patients and became the focus of the efforts to save as many lives as possible. In almost his last act as commandant of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Josef Kramer (left) executed 22 defenceless inmates with a submachine gun. Dr Fritz Klein chose who would be forced to work and who would die Lieutenant-Colonel Berney also had to try to repatriate 29,000 Belsen survivors. After Belsen was cleared, it was burned to the ground by soldiers carrying flame throwers and British Churchill Crocodile tanks. Anne Frank's final days at Belsen were spent in the camp's sick barracks, where she did her best to care for her sister Margot. The diarist's last moments are recounted in new book The Many Lives of Anne Frank, by historian Ruth Franklin. Anne, who was 'friendly and sweet' despite being feverish, said to her friends: 'Margot will sleep well and when she sleeps I won't need to get up again.' Ms Franklin adds: 'These are the last words of Anne's that anyone recorded.' Anne's body was found with her sister's a few days later by her friends, siblings Janny and Lien Brilleslijper. Janny later recounted: 'She stayed on her feet until Margot died; only then did she give in to her illness.' Nazi murderers Josef Kramer and Irma Grese, pictured, were hanged at Hameln, Germany, by Albert Pierrepoint on December 13, 1945. The friends wrapped the corpses of Anne and Margot in a blanket and carried them to a mass grave. Mrs Tribich, who was made an MBE in 2012 for services to education, shares her testimony in schools and colleges across the UK through the Holocaust Educational Trust, which gives tens of thousands of young people every year the unique opportunity to hear the first-hand testimony of Holocaust survivors. Karen Pollock CBE, chief executive of the Trust, said: 'As we mark this significant anniversary, the lessons of the Holocaust remain as urgent as ever. 'With survivors and liberators dwindling in number and with antisemitism continuing to persist in our society we must all commit to remembering the six million Jewish victims and must take action to ensure antisemitism is never again allowed to thrive.' A new exhibition marking the anniversary of the liberation opened earlier this month at the Wiener Holocaust Library in London. Among the exhibits in Traces of Belsen is a pamphlet that was published by the Daily Mail in 1945. The document, titled 'Lest We forget: The Horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps Revealed for All Time in the Most Terrible Photographs Ever Published', was distributed around the country. A new exhibition marking the anniversary of the liberation opened earlier this month at the Wiener Holocaust Library in London . Among the exhibits in Traces of Belsen is a pamphlet that was published by the Daily Mail in 1945 The document, titled ' Lest We forget: The Horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps Revealed for All Time in the Most Terrible Photographs Ever Published', was distributed around the country The Daily Mail pamphlet includes some of the best-known photos documenting the atrocities uncovered at Belsen and other camps, including Buchenwald, which was liberated on April 11 Also in the pamphlet were a series of articles that laid out in extensive detail the horrifying conditions and the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis at the camps It includes some of the best-known photos documenting the atrocities uncovered at Belsen and other camps, including Buchenwald, which was liberated on April 11. Also in the pamphlet were a series of articles that laid out in extensive detail the horrifying conditions and the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis at the camps. The exhibition also reveals the lesser-known stories of Belsen, including how it was the site of the murder of 50,000 Soviet prisoners of war. And it recounts how, after liberation, Belsen became a displaced persons camp and was the focus of the renewal of Jewish cultural and civic life. Dr Toby Simpson, the Director of the Wiener Holocaust Library, said: 'Traces of Belsen takes a fresh look at a subject that many of us think we are familiar with, because of the images of overwhelming death and suffering that were broadcast to the world in April 1945. 'The more we look at the evidence that remains, however, the more we can see that the catastrophic conditions in Belsen during the last months of the war, which so appalled the camps liberators and the wider world, produced shocking impressions which tend to obscure as much as they reveal.' A grieving dad has urged authorities to exhume the body of his wealthy businessman son who died in mysterious circumstances while on holiday in Morocco with his glamorous wife. Allen McKenna, 47, died two months ago just hours after landing in the north African country with his wife of seven years Majda Mjaoual, 27, who he had married under Islamic law. Brewing and security boss Mr McKenna was buried just 48 hours after he died in keeping with Muslim tradition, but his devastated dad Alan Moorhead has demanded authorities exhume him from the Casablanca cemetery where he is buried. In his first interview with a British news organisation Mr Moorhead, who is originally from Leeds, but moved to Australia with Allen when he was a young boy said, 'there are too many questions that need answering.' Speaking from Adelaide where he lives, Mr Moorhead, 77, told MailOnline: 'I just want my lad here with us in Australia or back in Yorkshire where he was born, he shouldn't be where he is, it's just not right. 'He deserves to be somewhere that his family can visit him, not in a cemetery in Casablanca. There are just too many questions that need answering and Majda isn't helping at all. 'I want the authorities to exhume him and look into the circumstances of how he died, we haven't been told anything, and we haven't got any paperwork we don't even know where exactly he's buried.' Mr Moorhead said the first he knew that his son who relocated back to Yorkshire ten years ago had died, was when he received a video call from Ms Mjaoual on February 22 from her flat in Casablanca. Allen McKenna, 47, died two months ago just hours after landing in the north African country with his wife of seven years Majda Mjaoual, 27, who he had married under Islamic law Majda Mjaoual, 25, whose husband Allen McKenna mysteriously died while they were away in Morrocco is back in the UK, MailOnline revealed (pictured) Mr McKenna's father Alan Moorhead, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, (pictured) has demanded authorities exhume his son from the Casablanca cemetery where he is buried He said:' I could see Allen on the bed, he looked as if he were sleeping, he was fully clothed. I said, 'take the phone over to let me see him' and then her brother walked in and said 'Don't worry we will bury him on Monday'. 'It's ridiculous, she hasn't told any of my family at all, where my son is buried, we just don't know where he is so how can we pay our last respects.' Last week Ms Mjaoual told MailOnline she and Mr McKenna had married in 2017 in a ceremony conducted under Islamic law at their then home by an imam from Regents Park Mosque in London after they had met while he was providing security at a restaurant where she was working. However, Alan Moorhead disputes her version of events saying: 'The whole thing stinks and the family and I want some answers we want the truth. What really happened? 'He had a Harley, he had an Audi TT and he had a helicopter, where is all that now? What about the business he had? The brewery and the security firm? I've heard she's taken it all over without consulting any of us.' 'Everyone who knew my son adored him he was a lovely man, very well educated and very successful businessman.' Mr Moorhead then sensationally claimed: 'Look we want justice. He worked hard and he played hard, Allen was a great boss, and he built up a good successful career.' Last week Ms Majoual claimed there had been animosity between Mr Moorhead and herself after his son had converted to Islam and that the row was over the fact she would 'inherit everything' as sole executor of his will. But Mr Moorhead insisted: 'There is no way he would have converted; he wasn't at all religious and I just don't believe he would have converted to Islam. I want a post mortem and I want to see the results and I want to know how he died. 'She keeps saying they were in love and a couple and she's always posting on social media pictures of herself here there and everywhere, but I've never seen a picture of the two of them together. Pictured: Allen McKenna (left) who died in Morocco while on holiday with his wife Majda Mjaoual (right) In pictures captured on Friday, Ms Mjaoual was seen emptying the bins, apparently without her engagement ring on Mr McKenna, 47, collapsed in Casablanca in February, while abroad with Ms Mjaoual, 25 (pictured together) Ms Mjaoual says she told Mr McKenna's father his son had died at her family home from a heart attack and had been unwell for several weeks Mr McKenna was buried in a cemetery in the Moroccan city of Casablanca shortly after his death. Pictured: Allen McKenna who, according to social media, took part in bodybuilding 'She has taken him for a ride, he bought her an Audi TT and where's that? Like I said where is his Harley? He had a McLaren, where's that? 'He ran a brewing business so how can he have turned Muslim? It just doesn't add up.' He bought her handbags, shoes, jewellery, he was infatuated with her, I think she's 100 per cent a gold digger. This is worse than watching an Agatha Christie movie because at least with that you know the ending. 'We haven't seen any documentation about his death. I miss him more than anything. He was raised in the church of England, and he went to a Catholic school, there is no way he converted to Islam. 'Technically I am the next of kin, I am his father, I don't care about his money, I just want him out of Morocco with a postmortem and then I want him in either England or Australia where we can get a plaque for him and pay our respects.' Ms Majoual has insisted she registered Mr McKenna's death with authorities and shared his certificate with MailOnline as well as documents showing how he converted in 2017 and their marriage. She said she spoke to Moroccan authorities and the British consulate and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and then buried him in Arraham Cemetery on the outskirts of Casablanca. Ms Mjaoula, is prolific on social media and has more than 24,000 followers on Instagram and 48,000 on TikTok but she has closed her profile after receiving abusive messages following Mr McKenna death. She shared posts of herself shopping at designer stores such as Louis Vuitton, Prada and Chanel as well as on holidays in Amsterdam, Rome, Tokyo and Seoul. When asked about the missing vehicles she told MailOnline: 'I think his dad is delusional. The Audi was on lease and went back to the company last year, the Harley was sold and there was never a Mclaren. 'He had a pilot's licence was taking helicopter lessons with Yorkshire Helicopter, but he didn't own a helicopter.' A spokesperson for the FCDO said:' We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in Morocco and are in contact with the local authorities.' A man dressed as Santa Claus is facing jail after allegedly hitting a four-year-old boy with a branch at a Christmas market, a court has heard. The little boy and his mother, 38, were visiting the Christmas market in Stralsund, northern Germany, in November last year when they met the 62-year-old man dressed as Santa. 'Santa' was handing out sweets and talking to children, when the four-year-old told the man he was 'dumb' and stuck his tongue out at him, reportedly causing the man to lose his temper. He then hit the boy's face and body with a fir branch, the prosecutor alleges. 'Santa' denied the allegations and labelled them 'nonsense', adding that there had 'only' been a slap on the boy's bottom, German daily Bild reports. The man, who has since stopped performing on Christmas markets, reportedly said he was 'shocked' about the aftermath of the incident. A hearing is scheduled for June 26 and if convicted, the 'Santa' could face up to five years in prison or a fine. The little boy and his mother, 38, were visiting the Christmas market in Stralsund, northern Germany, in November last year when they met the 62-year-old man dressed as Santa, who allegedly hit the boy (stock) Another man who allegedly committed a crime while dressed as Santa Claus is Russian Valery Vasiliev, 71, who is accused of fatally shooting a shopkeeper using a weapon hidden under his red robe last Christmas. Shop owner Yuriy Surakin, 54, died on the spot moments after posing for a selfie with the alleged gunman in his costume. The suspect was accused of concealing the firearm in his Santa disguise and shooting the local businessman in what has been described as an 'act of revenge' due to 'personal hostility'. Russian authorities detained Vasiliev following the deadly shooting in January while he is awaiting trial. The bizarre shooting in Kanash town, Chuvashia region, was caught on CCTV. The fake Santa, commonly known in Russia as Grandfather Frost, wandered into the Beryozka household electrical goods store and posed for pictures with the shop owner. Images show the old man donning a long, fake beard and glasses which hides the majority of his face. Vasiliev had the firearm hidden in his festive red and silver outfit, according to the Russian Investigative Committee. Four women who claim Andrew Tate 'coercively controlled them' through rape, strangulation and gunpoint threats have launched an unprecedented legal case against him. Tate, 38, is accused of raping three women and assaulting one other in Luton and Hitchin between 2013 and 2015. Two of the women say they were in relationships with him, while the other two argue their allegations of abuse took place while working for him. It is understood their case is the first in British legal history where 'allegations of coercive control' have been considered in a civil claim. Anne Studd KC representing the women said: 'The claim is understood to be the first claim where allegations of coercive control have been considered in a civil context of whether that behaviour can amount to intentional infliction of harm.' Meanwhile the complainant's solicitor told a press conference after the hearing, that Tate case would be based on 'victim shaming' the women. Lawyers for the women, also successfully argued that legal costs- set aside for the case- should not include travel expenses for Tate's lawyers to fly to Romania. Presiding over the hearing, Master Richard Armstrong said: 'Why can't he come here? He traveled to America and Dubai relatively recently. A far more proportionate way would be for the defendant to come and see his legal team.' Andrew Tate is accused of attacking four women between 2013 and 2015 in Luton and Hitchin Tate did not attend the hearing at the High Court today but was legally represented Tate, who is well-known as a social media influencer denies the allegations saying they are 'gross fabrications' and is using a team of high-powered lawyers to try to throw the accusations out of court. According to one of the women he pointed a gun at her shouting 'you're going to do as I say or there'll be hell to pay'. He is also accused of strangling all four of the women. Matt Jury, who is the solicitor acting on behalf of the women, told reporters: 'It is also clear that the defence is going to be seeking to victim shame, minimise the allegations, and deligitimise any of the evidence or expert evidence that is going to be brought in the proceedings.' Three of the women went to the police about Mr Tate at the time, but in 2019 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to bring criminal charges. One of the women known as AA says Tate 'threatened [her] daily' while she was working for him in 2015. She says he threatened her on a daily basis and pinned her against the wall by her throat. While another woman, who is referred to as BB, said the former kick boxer 'made it very clear that she was 'his', and if anyone else spoke to her, he would kill them'. Andrew Tate has not been convicted of any crimes and denies all allegations against him The High Court also known as the Royal Courts of Justice where Tate's case is being heard She goes on to say in her claim that Tate threatened to physically attack her and she was forced to barricade herself in the bathroom to avoid him. Tate did not attend the hearing today and is understood to be in America currently. Ms Studd asked the court for more time to review all possible material the women could want to use in their claims against Tate. This is likely to include online material which Tate has published. But Vanessa Marshall KC, representing Tate, argued 'What we say in relation to that is the issues in this case relate to events, allegations against Mr Tate which go back to 2013, 2014 and 2015. 'We cannot see see how it is admissible that material Mr Tate has put on the internet maybe ten or 15 years later could be relevant.' The court heard Tate strongly denies any wrong doing, including describing the allegations against him as a 'pack of lies' and repetition of previous press coverage. A woman who continued to fraudulently claim her mother's pension for three years after she died said she did it as 'a way of keeping her mother alive'. Catherine Byrne, 56, from Bettystown in County Meath, Ireland claims that she did not use the money to enrich herself. Instead, she says she spent the pension money on buying bouquets of flowers for her mother's grave, The Irish Mirror reported. Byrne was handed a two-year suspended sentence after a trial at Dundalk Circuit Court, after promising investigators she would pay back the full amount. She is now making repayments of 120 a week to the Department of Social Welfare. The judge also mandated her to do 240 hours of community service. Byrne confessed that she failed to register her mother's death in 2019 and instead continued to draw her widow's pension and carer's allowance over a period of nearly three years. The first of the fraudulent payments was collected the same year, and they continued until January 2022. Byrne said she continued to receive the payments as 'a way of keeping her mother alive'. Catherine Byrne, 56, from Bettystown in County Meath, Ireland continued getting her mother's pension after she died - and said she used it to keep her grave maintained (stock pic) 'The death was not registered, which is an unusual thing and she continued to facilitate the ongoing fraud,' said Judge Dara Hayes. He added: 'She was grieving the loss and it hit her particularly hard but she didn't inform the Department of the death.' 'Families everyday have loved ones who die and manage to complete the formalities during their grief. 'Payments are being made to pay the money back and should take a little over 10 years to repay it.' The judge conceded that Byrne was not using the money to fund any kind of 'lavish lifestyle' and was spending the money on flowers for her mother's grave. However, he reiterated that 'thefts from the public purse are serious offences'. The Democrat governor who tried to hide her face from photographers who stumbled upon her waiting to meet with President Trump has spoken out about the awkward encounter. Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer owned the ridicule she has received for the bizarre mishap earlier this week, admitting she wished she acted differently in the moment. 'You asked me what was going on in my mind at that moment,' Whitmer said on Monday. 'It was ''I don't want my picture taken'' that's all it was.' Whitmer was waiting for Trump in the Oval Office when a group of journalists entered the room to watch the president sign executive orders. She awkwardly held up two blue folders in an effort to cover her face as pictures were taken. One image taken by New York Times photographer Eric Lee shows the liberal governor shielding her face from the cameras while flanked by Trump aides. 'I kinda wish I hadn't put my folder up in front of my face,' she said, before adding, 'but whatever. We all have our moments.' A photograph of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer holding a stack of blue folders to obscure her face while President Donald Trump addressed reporters in the Oval Office sparked online ridicule The image, taken on April 9 by the New York Times , showed the 53-year-old Democrat positioned between two White House aides, seemingly attempting to conceal herself just before her meeting with Trump Gretchen Whitmer temporarily shielded herself from the cameras when she was in Trumps Oval Office, per this photo from NYTs @erjleehttps://t.co/TFDPPnci7Q pic.twitter.com/hnLnvuQvlX bryan metzger (@metzgov) April 12, 2025 When Whitmer finally lowered the folder, she looked deeply uncomfortable, with commenters saying she seemed embarrassed to be meeting a political foe. Her trip to Washington D.C. centered on discussions about tariffs and the aftermath of a severe ice storm, for which she sought a Presidential Emergency Declaration. Her office stated she was unexpectedly brought into the Oval Office during Trump's signing of executive orders and proclamations, leading to the photograph. Critics interpreted the image as Whitmer attempting to distance herself from the president, even though she was part of a bipartisan delegation advocating for Michigan. 'This looks so stupid and childish, that it needs to be printed & framed in the Oval Office,' one X user commented. 'Maybe she thought if she couldn't see Trump signing, the economy would magically fix itself in Michigan' another said. 'Why didn't she just hold her head up high and express she was there for one reason only - the wellbeing of her state and no matter who is in office she is going to work with them for the better of her people? like a normal governor should,' read a third comment. Some observers contrasted her apparent discomfort in the Oval Office with her demeanor in previous public appearances. 'I need help understanding Democrat thinking. Gretchen Whitmer was embarrassed to be photographed standing in the Oval Office, but not embarrassed enough to do this,' another person added, referencing Whitmer's bizarre campaign video of her feeding Doritos to liberal podcast host Liz Plank. Whitmer, accompanied by Michigan State House Speaker Matt Hall and Trump's cabinet secretaries, stood near the Resolute Desk during the Oval Office appearance. Trump used the occasion to announce investigations into Miles Taylor and Christopher Krebs, both individuals who had opposed him during his first term. He then publicly addressed Whitmer, stating, 'We're honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, great state of Michigan, and she's been, she's really done an excellent job, very good person.' Whitmer's office clarified to CNN that she was unaware of the signing ceremony and stressed that her presence did not imply endorsement of Trump's orders. Yet the image still caused frustration among some Democrats, who felt it compromised her political stance. 'This does not look like the politics of resistance,' CNN host Audie Cornish said. Trump used the occasion to announce investigations into Miles Taylor and Christopher Krebs, both individuals who had opposed him during his first term 'Just a f***ing disaster,' one Democratic operative told NBC News anonymously. 'It feels like it removes some of the momentum she had as a politically savvy swing-state Dem.' Despite past clashes, Whitmer has reportedly shifted her tone toward Trump during his second term. The New York Times reported she sent him a letter the day after his inauguration, thanking him for mentioning the auto industry during his speech and providing her personal cellphone number for direct contact. Whitmer has long been touted as a future Democrat presidential candidate and knows she will need to win over centrists or small-c conservatives who voted for Trump if she ever does make her own White House run. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has downplayed the likelihood of a breakthrough in peace talks with the United States, saying there is currently no agreement on the key elements of a deal to end Moscow's war in Ukraine. In an interview published Tuesday by Russian newspaper Kommersant, Lavrov was asked if the U.S. and Russia had agreed on core components of a potential settlement. "The answer is immediately 'no'," he responded. "It is not easy to agree on the key components of a settlement. They are being discussed," Lavrov added, signaling that dialogue continues but remains difficult. He also said it may be premature to expect any broad normalization of U.S.-Russia relations. "If we return to other aspects of the Russian-American dialogue, of course, after three years of failure, it's not easy to pull relations out of this hole," Lavrov said. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's foreign envoy Steve Witkoff suggested that an emerging peace deal could include significant commercial opportunities between Russia, the U.S., and Europe. "I believe there's a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too. Partnerships create stability," Witkoff told Fox News. Witkoff also revealed that he held a nearly five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to him, the discussion led to clarity on Putin's conditions for a long-term peace arrangement. "It was a compelling meeting and towards the end, we actually came up with I'm going to say finally but I don't mean in the way that we were waiting, I mean in a way that it took a while for us to get to this place what Putin's request is to get to have a permanent peace here," Witkoff said, though he declined to disclose specific details. An eight-year old girl who dreamed of being a doctor has died in Brazil after participating in a dangerous social media trend. Sarah de Castro went into cardiac arrest after she took up a challenge on Kwai, a Chinese-owned app similar to TikTok, and inhaled fumes from an Old Spice aerosol deodorant last Thursday. De Castro was rushed to Ceilandia Regional Hospital in the midwestern town of Ceilandia. She was brought back to life about an hour after her heart stopped beating but later died. De Castro was declared dead Sunday and her family filed a report with the Federal District Civil Police 'God invited our little angel to spread her wings and fly to heaven,' her family said in a statement. 'There she will be at peace and always watching over us.' De Castro was with her grandfather at home when she took on the daring challenge and hid the deodorant can under a couch cushion. Federal District Civil Police investigators launched an investigation to determine who posted the challenge on the popular social media app. Sarah de Castro was ruled brain dead Sunday after participating in a Kwai challenge by inhaling aerosol deodorant in Ceilandia, Brazil. The eight-year-old was found unresponsive at her home last Thursday. She was rushed to a medical facility, where she went into cardiac arrest Sarah de Castro is the second child in Brazil since March who has died after participating in a dangerous social media trend by inhaling fumes from an aerosol deodorant can Pictured: Old Spice can used by Brazilian eight-year-old Sarah de Castro, who died after inhaling fumes as part of a challenge on Kwai The suspect could face double-qualified homicide - a charge that includes causing common danger and involving a victim who is under the age of 14 - and a prison sentence of up to 30 years. 'The autopsy report will tell us the cause of death,' Federal District Civil Police chief Walber Lima said. 'The child's cell phone was seized, and the expert report will take about 30 days to be ready. As soon as we have this technical evidence, we will be able to move forward with the investigation.' Kelly Luane, De Castro's aunt told reporters outside the funeral that the young girl saw a video of the challenge on Kwai. Unconfirmed previous reports suggested she may have become aware of it from Tiktok. Cassio Maurilio, De Castro's father, told the press that Kwai and Old Spice were responsible for the girl's death and that he would be filing a lawsuit in court against both companies. 'The platform does not create mechanisms to prevent dangerous content from being published [on the app],' Maurilio said. 'The deodorant company, in turn, does not mention the risk of death if the product is inhaled. 'All material that poses an imminent risk of death must have [this] written on it. It must have an image on the packaging,' Maurilio added. 'The antiperspirants I looked at do not mention the risk. They explain that if there is or is any skin lesion, you should stop using it and seek medical attention.' The distraught parent revealed on social media the Old Spice can that de Castro used to perform the challenge and urged parents be extra cautious. "The packaging does not have any prominent warnings about health risks or death," Maurilio said. "I tell you, be careful with your children. This internet challenge left [Sarah] in this situation. This company will be sued. The have to pay." DailyMail.com has reached out to Kwai, TikTok and Proctor & Gamble for comment. Brazilian pediatrician Dr Paulo Telles told CNN Brasil that inhaling gases from aerosol cans can lead to serious health problems and death. 'For example, you have alcohol, which can be an irritant to the respiratory tract and cause bronchospasm, as if it were an asthma attack, closing the bronchi and can lead to a decrease in oxygen and cardiac arrest,' Dr Telles explained. 'This challenge circulating on social media is extremely dangerous,' the pediatrician added. De Castro's death comes exactly one month after 11-year-old Brenda Santana died after participating in the same crazed challenge. Santana was found unresponsive March 13 at her home in Bom Jardim, a city in the northeaster Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Santana was taken to a local hospital where she died after going into cardiac arrest. Brenda Santana, 11, was found unresponsive March 13 at her home in Bom Jardim, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, and rushed to a hospital, where she died after going into cardiac arrest 10-year-old Joao Mapa was found dead inside his home in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte after inhaling from an aerosol deodorant can in August 2022 Her parents told Brazilian news outlet G1 that he and his wife had previously warned her not to inhale deodorant spray. The girl's father said he had no idea how his daughter learned of the trend on social media since she did not own a cellphone, according to Brazilian reporter Adielson Galvao. In August 2022 10-year-old Joao Mapa was found dead inside his home in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte after inhaling from an aerosol deodorant can while playing with his siblings. At least 56 children between the aged 7 to 8 died in Brazil between 2014 and 2025 after participating in social media challenges, according to the DimiCuida Institute. Wild footage captured a cop car being chased by an allegedly stolen LandCruiser amid calls for more resources to tackle crime in the Northern Territory. The video, filmed on Thursday in Palumpa, south-west of Darwin, appeared to show a police vehicle being chased by a pair of alleged car thieves. The police truck could be seen driving down a country road with the LandCruiser in pursuit. Both vehicles came to a stop and the LandCruiser pulled up alongside the police car while performing wheel spins, before both vehicles took off again. At one point in the apparent game of cat and mouse, the police stopped behind the LandCruiser but then reversed to avoid the vehicle, which had also begun reversing. NT Police said the allegedly stolen car even 'bumped' the cop car during the chase. The LandCruiser was recovered on Saturday and two men aged 19 and 21 have been charged over the incident. NT Police Association president Nathan Finn said the officers who were chased needed greater powers and better training. The video, filmed on Thursday in Palumpa, southwest of Darwin, appeared to show a police vehicle being chased and taunted by a pair of alleged car thieves (pictured) 'Our members have their hands tied when it comes to dealing with these types of incidents,' Mr Finn told The Australian. 'The current NTPF policies significantly limit most police officers from using tactical manoeuvres to stop these vehicles, often requiring the involvement of the Territory Response Group who are trained in highly specialised manoeuvres. 'Given the vast size of the Northern Territory, relying solely on one specialised unit for these situations is insufficient. 'We need specialist training for members outside of Darwin who are available to respond in a timely manner to these types of incidents.' Mr Finn added he was 'advocating for broader access to these tactical manoeuvres and expanded training so more officers are equipped to respond to these growing threats'. 'Its only a matter of time before a police officer or a member of the public is seriously injured or killed,' he said. 'We cannot afford further delay action must be taken now... unfortunately, despite our repeated calls, no progress has been made.' The Northern Territory remains a crime hotspot, with the highest offender rates of any jurisdiction in Australia. At one point in the apparent game of cat and mouse, the police car (pictured) stopped behind the LandCruiser but reversed to avoid the car, which had also begun reversing In July, Alice Springs was put under a three-night curfew with extra police shipped in after four off-duty officers were allegedly assaulted while walking along a walkway on their way to a hotel on Barrett Drive. That followed a three-week curfew imposed for youth in the town centre during March after rampaging mobs effectively took over the streets of the town and forced terrified pub patrons to barricade themselves inside. Alice Springs has seen marauding youths break the windows of scores of vehicles, businesses, government and non-government agencies. READ MORE: Albo appears to snub Tanya Plibersek at campaign function Sunrise host Nat Barr has called out Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over his promise to build 1.2million new homes for Australians by mid-2029. Labor's National Housing Accord guaranteed the homes would be built from July 2024 to June 2029 in an effort to ease the housing crisis, however, the target is looking increasingly unlikely to be met. To reach the 1.2million figure, it would require an average of 20,000 new homes to be built a month over the five year period, with every month so far falling significantly short. Local council and state government planning and building approvals provide an indication of the construction pipeline for the year ahead. Australia hasn't approved more than 20,000 new homes in a single month since 2021, just 16,606 new homes were approved in February. Mr Albanese has said he would seek a third term at the 2028 election if he was voted back into the top job in May. 'We're working each and every day with our positive agenda for building Australia's future, strengthening Medicare, protecting free TAFE, making sure that people have a home to live in,' he said on Sunrise on Tuesday. 'Well let's talk about housing,' Barr fired back. 'Your current plan is to build 1.2million homes by 2029. Have you ever met that monthly target of 20,000 homes?' Sunrise host Nat Barr questioned why Mr Albanese and his government were not meeting the monthly targets required to keep his promise of building 1.2million new homes for Aussies Labor's National Housing Accord promised 20,000 homes a month being built, on average, over five years. But in February, just 16,606 new homes were approved (pictured is a Melbourne house under construction) Mr Albanese said his intention was that building approvals and construction would ramp up as it drew closer to 2029. 'What we're doing, of course, is it builds up. There was delay in our legislation, but we know for example, our Housing Australia Future Fund has 28,000 homes that are either under construction or in planning. 'We've had more than 400,000 dwellings completed since we came to office. Building approvals were 26 per cent up in the latest monthly figures in February this year, compared with February last year. 'Housing construction costs are up 1.6 per cent compared to up 17 per cent that it was when we came to office. 'So we're very confident we're working with state and territory governments.' Barr pointed out that, despite the impressive figures, she wasn't 'convinced' Mr Albanese could keep his promise considering the shortfall. 'We've got a comprehensive plan for homes for Australia. Social housing, private rentals through our build to rent scheme, or our help to buy scheme,' Mr Albanese said. Construction industry experts and economists said there was more the government could do to streamline the process of getting new houses built and into the market (stock image) 'What we've done is provide the incentive to state and territory governments to make sure those approvals happen, to make sure homes and units get built, because there's a financial incentive for them to achieve their targets.' Despite the PM's assurances, industry experts are also skeptical that the target will be reached. Westpac economist Neha Sharma said the uptick in building approvals was not guaranteed to remain consistent. 'Overall, a clear uptrend in approvals is in place. However fluctuations in high-rise approvals can disrupt the momentum. 'Without a sustained increase in house and low-mid rise units, the uptrend could quickly veer off course.' Policy executive at the Property Council of Australia, Matthew Kandelaars, said the gap was increasing with each month. 'The supply deficit is driving Australia's housing affordability crisis. We can't afford to slip any further behind. 'We need to stop the affordability-killing taxes and streamline planning approvals. 'We'll be kicking into the wind at the final break, making the job near impossible.' Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Tom Devitt agreed that government policy made hitting the monthly milestones difficult. 'It's the main factor behind the current shortfall in housing construction,' Mr Devitt said. 'For a long time now, government decisions have inflated the costs and complexities of home building.' According to Mr Devitt, reforms are needed to unlock land supply, reduce taxes on new housing, and to 'cut the red, white and green tape that drives up housing costs'. He added the government could also do more to get land 'shovel ready' faster, particularly in regional areas. A taxi passenger has recorded the moment a cabbie attempted to charge him double for a short trip. Scott Hamilton and his wife Sarah hailed a Black and White Cabs driver at Brisbane Airport to take them 11km to Pinkemba Port to catch their cruise ship back to Sydney. When Mr Hamilton got into the cab, he noticed that the driver had obscured the meter and, becoming suspicious, decided to record the entire trip on his phone. When the taxi arrived at Pinkemba Port, the cabbie tried to hide the fare amount on the EFTPOS machine when it came time to pay. Mr Hamilton was charged $59, which was double what the journey should have cost according to the fare calculator on Black and White Cabs' website. When the driver eventually revealed the meter, it showed the ride was 40 minutes long. He had apparently been recording the time from when he was waiting for passengers in the taxi bay at the airport. 'I have been in your cab for 17 minutes, I've been recording the whole time,' Mr Hamilton told the cab driver. The cabbie who admitted to trying to rip off his passenger tried to blame his customers at first 'I'm videoing this because I'm going to call the police on you because I knew this is what you'd do to me when I asked you about the meter.' The cabbie appeared to defend the charge. 'How is this possible, sir?' he asked. 'To be fair, because by God, I'm honest. You have (made a) mistake, sir.' Mr Hamilton hit back, saying: 'You're obviously not (honest), mate. This is what I was expecting. I was told to expect this from you guys, that's why I've been recording.' When the cabbie realised he'd been sprung, he tried to offer Mr Hamilton a full refund to end the awkward situation. But Mr Hamilton was having none of it and gave the cab driver $40 because he still received a service. He summed up his experience to A Current Affair on Tuesday. Scott Hamilton and his wife Sarah knew they were being ripped off so they recorded the whole cab ride from Brisbane Airport 'I was hoping to be taken for a drive, but instead I got taken for a ride,' he said. 'Car was great. Trip was great. Driver was a fraud.' Black and White Cabs managing director Greg Webb said the driver confessed to trying to rip off Mr Hamilton. 'Whilst there was initial denial and excuses made, upon being presented with all the evidence, the driver admitted to and it was determined to be a deliberate overcharge,' Mr Webb said in a statement to A Current Affair. Black and White Cabs said Mr Hamilton would be refunded the entire fare and the cabbie will be subjected to the company's compliance measures for deliberate overcharging. Daily Mail Australia contacted Black and White Cabs for comment. Labour must kick the Chinese out of critical UK national infrastructure, campaigners have urged. The fiasco at British Steel prompted MPs, peers and experts to insist last night that it is time for ministers to get tough to stop another crisis. The Government was forced to take direct control of the business after concerns that Jingye, its Chinese owners, would close down the blast furnaces at the Scunthorpe plant. They are the last functioning furnaces in the country. Ministers feared the company planned to 'sabotage' the site to increase British reliance on cheap Chinese imports. But yesterday the Government appeared to cosy up to Beijing with Treasury minister James Murray claiming China was 'not a hostile state'. And No 10 dismissed reports of feared sabotage, saying the Government had a 'rigorous regime' for assessing the role of China within business. Downing Street also refused to rule out working with Beijing again as they look for a private sector partner to co-invest in the Scunthorpe site. But Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who was refused entry to Hong Kong last week, stated it was 'naive' to allow British Steel to be sold to Chinese owners in the first place. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (centre right) is pictured above meeting members of staff during her visit to the British Steel site in Scunthorpe Pictured above is the British Steel works in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, which is currently owned by a Chinese company And she suggested the UK risked 'falling into the arms of false friends' without scrutiny of London's relationship with Beijing. Her warning was echoed by scores of other China critics, including Tory grandee Sir Iain Duncan Smith who urged the Government to 'stop this project kowtow'. He insisted ministers must ban China from critical infrastructure. 'We have to bar them from it. Find alternative investors and kick them out. You can't be soft with them you have to be very clear.' Sir Iain claimed that former prime minister Clement Attlee 'would be turning in his grave' and added of the man who was also leader of Labour Party from 1935 to 1955 that he was someone 'who really did care about the UK and its independence'. Luke de Pulford, from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), said the Government needed to extract Chinese influence from key industries. He added: 'The UK is like a moth to a flame when it comes to Chinese investment. You have to wonder what China has to do for the UK to wake up to the risks of opening our critical infrastructure to our biggest security threat. 'Beijing isn't going to rescue the UK economy. Their investment in the UK is likely to be small, strategic and not in the interests of UK national security. 'Politicians from all parties bear equal blame for this mess and it's about time they held up their hands, admitted they got it wrong and came forward with a plan to get the Chinese Communist Party out of our key industries.' Beijing has a stake in a number of sectors, including Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, Heathrow and Thames Water as well as in solar panels and wind farms. The Government was forced to take direct control of the business after concerns that Jingye, its Chinese owners, would close down the blast furnaces Labour peer Baroness Kennedy, who co-chairs IPAC, said of China: 'There should be a review of all the companies that are involved and the ways in which that could be happening.' Bob Seely, former Tory MP and foreign affairs expert, added: 'China should be nowhere near UK critical infrastructure. We must stop being so naive. China is a communist dictatorship.' Asked if a Chinese company could be involved in investment in British Steel in the future, Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said: 'I'm not going to get ahead of future commercial negotiations.' Yesterday Beijing accused the UK of 'politicising' trade cooperation, and suggested its companies could be put off investing in Britain if they were not treated 'fairly'. The Chinese foreign ministry said: 'We hope the British Government treats Chinese enterprises fairly and justly, protects their rights and interests, and avoids politicising and over-securitising trade cooperation, so as not to affect the confidence of Chinese enterprises in investing in the UK.' The Chinese embassy said it was following developments over the Scunthorpe plant 'closely' and that it was a fact that British steel firms had faced difficulties. The PM's spokesman said: 'We already have a rigorous regime for assessing any involvement in critical national infrastructure, that includes looking at the role of China in our supply chains and investment infrastructure.' The man accused of firebombing the Governor's Mansion while Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping inside in an act of terrorism made sick faces as he was marched into the courthouse. Cody Balmer has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson and terrorism for the Saturday night attack on the Pennsylvania Governor's home. The 38-year-old Balmer repeatedly made faces at the cameras and reporters, sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes to pose for photos. The disturbing act came as Balmer shuffled into the courthouse on Monday with both his wrists and ankles cuffed, hours after he was reportedly taken to the hospital suffering an undisclosed medical condition. Balmer allegedly used two beer bottles filled with gasoline to make homemade Molotov cocktails to light fire to Shapiro's Harrisburg mansion, the official property where Pennsylvania governors reside. He then turned himself into Pennsylvania State Police, telling officers he was 'harboring hatred towards Governor Shapiro' and that he had removed the gasoline from a lawnmower. And according to the police affidavit seen by DailyMail.com, Balmer told police he 'would have beaten him with a hammer' if they had crossed paths. Balmer's former girlfriend and the mother to his two children initially called police to inform them that he had committed the crime. She alleged he wanted her to tell investigators. The man accused of firebombing the Governor's Mansion while Josh Shapiro and his family were sleeping inside in an act of terrorism made sick faces as he was marched into the courthouse The 38-year-old Balmer repeatedly made faces at the cameras and reporters, sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes to pose for photos Extraordinary photos show the sheer extent of the damage to the Governor's Mansion, which has housed Pennsylvania's leaders since the building was completed in 1968 His mother, Christie Balmer, also maintained that her son was mentally unwell and had recently 'come off his medication.' Speaking to CBS, she said: 'So he was mentally ill, went off his meds, and this is what happened.' Christie claimed she'd reached out to four different departments seeking help for her son, but 'couldn't get anybody to help.' In court, Balmer denied having any mental health conditions. He described himself as unemployed and said he had 'a lot of children.' Courts spokesperson Stacey Witalec told the New York Post that Balmer lived with his parents, and was on bail following a 2023 simple assault charge, in which he allegedly stomped on his 10-year-old son and battered his wife. The Jewish holiday of Passover started this weekend and Shapiro is Jewish, leaving some wondering if Balmer was expressing anti-Semitic views. But Balmer's social media profile was littered with political commentary and criticism about American institutions, without any direct reference to anti-Semitism. The 38-year-old Harrisburg father had made chilling posts about former president Joe Biden and his supporters, arguing that they 'shouldn't exist' and even suggesting Biden was going to be killed. 'Biden supporters shouldn't exist,' he wrote in one post dated January 2021. 'RIP Joe Biden... whoops that's in May. #notmypresident,' another read, while another added that 'knowing is half the battle... the other half is extreme violence.' Cody Balmer has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson and terrorism for the Saturday night attack on the Pennsylvania Governor's home While the toll of the attack could have been far worse, the shocking images show the charred remnants of the once-stunning rooms The 38-year-old Harrisburg father had made chilling posts about former president Joe Biden and his supporters, arguing that they 'shouldn't exist' and even suggesting Biden was going to be killed Cody Balmer is escorted from court after his arraignment Monday Governor Shapiro's mansion was torched to a crisp Balmer turned himself in and has been hit with a raft of charges relating to the incident Balmer had separately noted during Biden's presidential term that gas was cheaper under President Donald Trump. He insisted at the time he did 'not play favorites especially since they all suck.' Trump was asked about the suspect's political leanings on Monday, and said he was likely 'just a whack job.' 'The attacker was not a fan of Trump, I understand,' Trump told reporters. 'Just from what I read and what I've been told. 'The attacker basically wasn't a fan of anybody, probably just a whack job, and certainly a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.' Extraordinary photos show the sheer extent of the damage to Shapiro's home. Fire crews were dispatched to Democrat Shapiro's home in Harrisburg around 2am Sunday, the town's Fire Chief Brian Enterline said. Everyone inside the home was in a separate part of the residence when the flames broke out and were able to evacuate safely. The shocking images show the charred remnants of the once-stunning rooms. The living areas and common spaces have been left blackened with ash and soot with what's left of the furniture scattered haphazardly around the rooms. Balmer's social media profile also offers an insight into his state of mind. The 38-year-old Harrisburg father had made chilling posts about former president Joe Biden and his supporters, arguing that they 'shouldn't exist' and even suggesting Biden was going to be killed Shapiro, his wife Lori and their four children (pictured) were in the home at the time of the blaze State police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Balmer 'clearly had a plan' going into the late-night attack. 'He was very methodical in his approach, and moved through it without a lot of hurry,' Bivens said. Shapiro, who shares four children with his wife Lori, shared a post to X about the startling incident. 'Last night at about 2AM, my family and I woke up to bangs on the door from the Pennsylvania State Police after an arsonist set fire to the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg. 'The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while they worked to put out the fire, we were evacuated from the Residence safely by Pennsylvania State Police and assisted by Capitol Police. 'Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished. Every day, we stand with the law enforcement and first responders who run towards danger to protect our communities. Last night, they did so for our family and Lori and I are eternally grateful to them for keeping us safe.' A report has listed 86 areas across Australia where most properties will become impossible to insure according to its climate change projections. The report by the Climate Council and Climate Valuation says more than 72,000 homes and businesses are located across those 86 areas where insurance 'may soon become unaffordable or withdrawn entirely'. It terms those areas as 'Critical Climate Risk Zones' where floods, cyclones and bushfires will produce severe damage to infrastructure. Almost half of the 86 suburbs were in New South Wales, topped by Ballina near Byron Bay where 99.03 per cent of the 8,910 properties located there are deemed by the report to be at high risk. The area with the most at-risk properties nationwide is Shepparton in northern Victoria, which is on the Gouldburn River. Karl Mallon, chief executive of Climate Valuation, told Daily Mail Australia climate change is 'threatening entire communities'. 'Our data draws on 15million commercial and residential properties in over 15,000 Australian suburbs and 150 electorates,' he said. 'The numbers show us that climate change is not a far-off future event: it threatens entire communities today. Forest Fire Management Victoria at the Bayindeen bushfire in February, 2024 (pictured) Flooding in Newmarket, Brisbane, after a tropical cyclone rocked the region in March (pictured) 'Most alarmingly, our analysis has identified 86 critical climate risk zones requiring urgent and major government interventions, such as flood levies, buy backs or other measures. 'It is imperative that decision makers at all levels look seriously at the stark statistics presented here and work to address questions head-on: What adaptation action are all levels of government going to take now to protect our vulnerable communities?' 'And, how will this be financed?' The report said one in 23 homes and businesses across the country are already at high risk of impact by severe weather, and one in ten are in a position where insurance rates will become abnormally high. It said that number will almost double to one in five by 2100 barring more spending on mitigation efforts such as levies and buybacks of vulnerable land. Firefighters work to extinguish smoldering trees on the outskirts of Dimboola, Victoria in January (pictured) In the report, Australia's Critical Climate Risk Zones are defined as suburbs where at least 100 properties are located, and 80 to 100 per cent of all those properties (commercial and residential) are classified as High Risk Properties (HRP). Locations with fewer than 100 properties have not been included in the list of suburbs. Is your suburb in a critical climate risk zone? Find the full list below. A Coalition government led by Peter Dutton would scrap fee-free TAFE after it was revealed just 13 per cent of students have completed their courses. The waiving of fees for the vocational education and training institution is costing taxpayers $1.5billion over four years. Shadow Education Minister and Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson was recently captured slamming the scheme. While the caption stated viewers 'weren't meant to see this', the comments were made at a public Geelong Chamber of Commerce Forum on Monday. 'The free TAFE policy has cost the country $1.5billion dollars,' she said. 'It just is not working.' The Coalition has been opposed to the policy since its inception, voting against legislation to extend the program during the final parliamentary sitting before the election was called, arguing the low completion rate means few people were actually gaining trade credentials. Figures showed just 13 per cent of TAFE students have completed their courses, around 100,000 out of the 600,000 who enrolled. The Coalition says the 13 per cent completion rate of fee-free TAFE is not value for taxpayers (pictured, Mr Dutton and his son Harry at a FoodBank depot) Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley came under fire from Labor after claiming, 'If you don't pay for something, you don't value it'. Defending her comments, Ms Ley clarified, 'Calling a policy or service 'free' doesn't make it free... free TAFE isn't free. We have all paid for it.' She said a 'TAFE-only approach' had also made it harder for aspiring tradies who used to be able to learn on the job, saying 'we've lost 80,000 apprentices and trainees since [Labor] took office'. 'While we don't know how many Australians have dropped out of the Free TAFE program, we do know that just 13 per cent of courses have been completed successfully,' a Liberal party spokesperson told the Daily Mail Australia. 'We can do better than Labor's Free TAFE program and under a Dutton Coalition Government we will do better.' Liam O'Brien, Assistant Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has this afternoon condemned the comments by Senator Henderson. Telling Daily Mail Australia, 'Peter Dutton, Sarah Henderson and Sussan Ley's rejection of Free TAFE shows how out of touch they are with the needs of women, First Nations people and young people who have grasped with both hands the opportunity to get a free skills qualification.' Adding, 'The Coalition is wrong to claim that unless you can cost something down to the last dollar, then it has no value. In fact, for many women, First Nations and young people a free education is priceless due to the life-changing job opportunities it brings.' Labor meanwhile has warned TAFE would be just the first of numerous free programs to be slashed if Mr Dutton was elected Prime Minister. Worrying statistics revealed just 13 per cent of TAFE students have completed their courses, around 100,000 out of the 600,000 who enrolled (stock) 'This not the only thing they will cut. As sure as night follows day, if they win the election they will cut funding to public schools as well. There is no other way Peter Dutton can pay for his $600billion nuclear reactor,' Federal Education Minister Jason Clare told news.com.au. 'We need more Aussies to finish school and get the skills they need to do these jobs. That's why this is important. Free TAFE is part of that.' Of the 600,000 Australians who have enrolled in fee-free TAFE, 170,000 are young people, 124,000 are on Job Seeker allowance, and 30,000 are Aboriginal Australians. Women have taken up more than six in ten of the available places, while one in three students come from regional and remote communities. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said 'Free TAFE opens doors and gives Australians one of the greatest opportunities they have, not just to fulfil their potential, but expand it'. As ministers scramble to regain control of British Steel amid suspicion its Chinese owner was ready to abandon its furnaces, scrutiny is mounting over how far Beijing's tentacles reach across the UK's critical national assets. Green power, red flags China is deeply involved in the UK's renewable energy sector from supplying virtually all solar panels to investing in offshore wind projects. While these have advanced the Government's Net Zero goals, they have exposed Britain's dependence on Chinese manufacturing. MI5 is currently taking part in a review into Beijing's influence in national infrastructure. This includes our heavy reliance on Chinese-made equipment, and whether the use of its technology poses a security threat in the future. Chinese manufacturers account for 98 per cent of solar panels already installed across Britain. And this newspaper found that Chinese firms are now linked to around a third of all offshore wind projects in the UK, worth a total of 56billion. Alarmingly, four of those companies have been placed on a Pentagon blacklist for allegedly working with the Chinese military. Meanwhile, China's largest wind turbine company, Mingyang Smart Energy Group, has just been handed 'priority status' to set up a manufacturing base in Scotland, despite Norway having rejected its bid last year amid national security concerns. Chinese manufacturers account for 98 per cent of solar panels already installed across Britain Chinese firms are now linked to around a third of all offshore wind projects in the UK, worth a total of 56billion Nuclear fallout China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) once sat comfortably in the cockpit of the UK's nuclear future, owning a 33.5 per cent stake in the Hinkley Point C project. But that foothold in the Somerset nuclear plant has shrunk drastically, with funding halted in 2023, amid mounting tensions between London and Beijing. China was also involved in building the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk, but in 2022 the Government paid 679million to buy out CGN's stake. Despite this, CGN still hopes to develop a proposed nuclear plant at Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex. Water pressure State-owned China Investment Corporation (CIC) holds a 8.7 per cent stake in Thames Water the UK's largest water utility. The firm supplies water and deals with the sewage for 15million people a quarter of England's population. Utilities unrest CIC acquired a 10.5 per cent stake of National Grid's gas distribution network in 2016. Meanwhile, conglomerate CK Hutchison based in China-controlled Hong Kong owns UK Power Networks, which supplies electricity to London, the South East and the East of England. Concerns have also been raised about smart meters made by a company with links to the Chinese government that have been installed in hundreds of thousands of British homes. Critics have called for them to be ripped out over concerns that China could shut down power through access to the meters' remote power switch. A flag bearing the logo of CK Hutchison based in China-controlled Hong Kong who owns UK Power Networks, which supplies electricity to London, the South East and the East of England Telecommunications tangle Chinese tech giant Huawei became deeply embedded in the UK's telecommunications infrastructure in 2005, supplying cheap equipment for new 5G networks. However, concerns over potential espionage, Huawei's ties with Beijing and its founder Ren Zhengfei's background as an officer in the People's Liberation Army, saw the Government reverse policy. In 2020 a law was passed banning UK mobile providers from purchasing new Huawei 5G equipment and forcing them to remove all its kit from their networks by 2027. Heathrow hang-ups (CIC) holds a major 10 per cent stake in Heathrow Airport, giving Beijing a strong foothold in our international aviation hub. The state-owned firm's share of dividends from the UK's busiest airport came to almost 163million between 2017 and 2020. It acquired the foothold in Heathrow Airport Holdings Limited in 2012 the company, previously known as BAA, also owns other major UK airports, including Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. Planes parked at Terminal 5 of London's Heathrow Airport. (CIC) holds a major 10 per cent stake in Heathrow Airport, giving Beijing a strong foothold in our international aviation hub Real estate agents Chinese investment in UK real estate is vast. Through various entities, Beijing owns more than 250 vital properties, including distribution centres that are key to the flow of food and goods. The properties are all ultimately owned by CIC via secretive offshore jurisdictions, such as Luxembourg and the Isle of Man, an investigation in 2023 revealed. CIC is estimated to have spent more than 580million hoovering up these properties in the UK. It also holds a majority stake in Logicor, a major warehouse and logistics firm serving customers of popular companies, including M&S. One of London's tallest buildings, the 1billion Leadenhall Building also known as the Cheesegrater is owned by a Chinese magnate. And the City of London's landmark Walkie Talkie building 20 Fenchurch Street was bought by a Chinese investors for 1.3billion, making it one of China's largest acquisitions of UK real estate. The City of London's landmark Walkie Talkie building 20 Fenchurch Street was bought by a Chinese investors for 1.3billion, making it one of China's largest acquisitions of UK real estate University challenged Chinese organisations have pumped nearly 50million into the UK's top universities in recent years. Oxford University alone received 24million from 2020 to 2024, while Cambridge received between 12miilion and 19million in the same period. This included money from Huawei and its subsidiaries after it was banned from involvement in Britain's telecommunications infrastructure in 2020. The number of Chinese students in the UK has surged by a third in five years, with each paying up to three times the fees of UK students. Confucius Institutes educational centres funded by the Chinese government have sprouted across UK universities, sparking concerns. Critics have warned the education system in the UK is increasingly becoming a target for Beijing as it looks to increase its global influence and stifle criticism. Queen's college, part of Oxford University, which reportedly received 24million from 2020 to 2024 from Chinese organisations, while the number of Chinese students in the UK has surged by a third in five years, with each paying up to three times the fees of UK students Pints to pizza Chinese firms have quietly acquired British favourites, including Greene King, one of the UK's largest pub chains, which was bought by Hong Kong-based CK Asset Holdings in 2019. Other acquisitions include Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International. While popular high street restaurant chain Pizza Express is now owned by the Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital. Slippery oil deals The Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland, which is part owned by PetroChina, is being shut down later this year. The closure will mean that rather than refining North Sea crude domestically, it will instead be shipped abroad and then brought back into the UK. The refinery is Scotland's only one, but the owners intends to turn it into an import terminal instead. Critics warn the closure, resulting in the loss of about 400 jobs, could erode the nation's energy security by giving Beijing a strategic advantage in jet fuel supply. Unite, which represents thousands of oil and gas workers, has also warned that closure will open the door to reliance on foreign imports for fuels. The Chinese company bought a 50 per cent stake in Grangemouth in 2011 from British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Group, which acquired it in 2005 from BP. Notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary may have inspired Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi's horrifying assault on three prison officers last weekend. Abedi attacked three warders with burning cooking oil and a makeshift blade at HMP Frankland, County Durham on Saturday, leaving them with life-threatening injuries. Choudary, 58, was previously held in the same 'segregation unit' as 28-year-old Abedi and other jihadist fanatics, The Sun reported. All the prisoners on the unit have now been dispersed to other jails following the brutal attack. But intelligence reports are said to have previously flagged the possibility of inmates falling under the spell of Choudary during their time in the 'prison within a prison'. The boyfriend of one of the Manchester Arena victims has now spoken out about the attack on prison officers this weekend and says Abedi 'should be in a straitjacket'. Russell Hayward, who lost his boyfriend Martyn Hett in the blast on May 22, 2017 told Newsnight that he and the other families of the victims have 'been failed again'. He said: 'The fact that he has been able to inflict more pain, more suffering on innocent people is sickening and outrageous.' Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi, 28, attacked three prison officers with cooking oil and makeshift weapons at HMP Frankland, County Durham on Saturday Salman Abedi, Hashem's brother, at Victoria Station making his way to the Manchester Arena, on May 22, 2017 Police reportedly believe hate preacher Anjem Choudary, who was in the same segregation unit as Abedi at the prison, may have inspired the latest attack on prison officers and are due to question him about his potential involvement Hayward said he was under the mistaken impression that Abedi was already kept apart from all other prisoners. He said: 'I think he should be in solitary confinement, 24-7. That was my impression, which he was anyway. I think his life inside should be so horrific. 'There should be no treats, not being able to be near a kitchen. He should be in a straitjacket.' Reflecting on the loss of his partner, Hayward told Newnight that sometimes it is 'a daily struggle sometimes to just do the most simple thing'. He added: 'But I just try to live my life, not only for me, but for him as well, because, you know, he had his life snatched away like the other 21 that we lost that night. 'He didn't have a choice whether he lives or dies. I have a choose. So I want to try and make something of my life. for him as well as me.' Abedi, 28, is serving life at the high-security prison after being handed a record 55-year minimum tariff for his role in helping his brother plot the Manchester Arena bombing which left 22 people dead. The officers suffered burns, scalds and stab wounds when Abedi threw hot cooking oil over them before using makeshift weapons to stab them in the 'unprovoked' and 'vicious' attack, the Prison Officers' Association (POA) said. A composite showing the 22 people killed in the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017 which Abedi helped to plan Hashem (pictured posing with a gun) was in Libya at the time of the bombing, having left the UK weeks earlier. He offered no defence to the charges that he had helped his brother plan the attack on the Manchester Arena in May 2017, killing 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert Emergency services responded in force (pictured) to the attack during the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena This picture shows police interviewing Hashem following the horrific 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack A source told The Sun Abedi was preparing food in a kitchen at the category A jail, dubbed 'Monster Mansion', when his terrifying rampage began. The attacker is then said to have produced two huge homemade weapons with 20cm long blades before he started slashing at the duo as well as another officer. One of the guards was stabbed in the neck once and another officer was stabbed five times in the back, according to the source. Both male officer remain critically injured in hospital while the female officer has been discharged after being treated for what are believed to be third-degree burns. Hate preacher Choudary, who is colloquially known as the 'Daddy' of the separation unit, is believed to have been in the prison's gym at the time of the assault with two other prisoners. That meant some of the prison staff were required to watch the group, leaving less staff available at the time the assault unfolded. Police are due to quiz Choudary about his alleged involvement in the incident, while the other prisoners will be questioned separately after being relocated to new prisons. A source told The Sun: 'Choudary had become a leader of the unit and the younger extremists like Abedi looked up to him. 'There are suspicions that Abedi colluded with others.' North Korea has become a critical military supplier for Russia in its war against Ukraine, with artillery and weapons systems forming the backbone of Russia's recent battlefield efforts, according to a Reuters investigation conducted in collaboration with the Open Source Center (OSC). The investigation found that in some units over the past year, the majority of shells fired by Russian forces came from North Korea, significantly aiding Moscow's grinding war of attrition. Analysts tracked 64 shipments over 20 months, including nearly 16,000 containers filled with millions of artillery roundsmany of which were still arriving as recently as March 17. The analysis drew from intercepted Russian artillery reports, satellite imagery, verified social media footage, and confirmation from three senior Ukrainian officials. "North Korea's contribution has been strategically vital," said Hugh Griffiths, former coordinator of the UN panel of experts monitoring North Korea sanctions. "Without Chairman Kim Jong Un's support, President Vladimir Putin wouldn't really be able to prosecute his war in Ukraine." This military alliance first surfaced in 2023 but gained urgency in recent months. As Ukraine tried to push into Russia's Kursk region, it was met with renewed Russian firepowermuch of it supplied by Pyongyang. Ukrainian officials estimate North Korea now provides nearly half of Russia's front-line ammunition needs, a figure consistent with OSC and Reuters data. One Ukrainian military expert told Reuters the contribution was sometimes as high as 70 percent. Beyond munitions, North Korea has sent long-range artillery systems, ballistic missiles, and troops. Around 4,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded since arriving in late 2024, according to a South Korean security source. An additional 3,000 troops followed by mid-February, reportedly better trained. "They adapted to modern combat conditions," said Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of Ukraine's 225th Separate Assault Regiment. Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, stated in February that North Korea also provided Russia with 120 long-range self-propelled artillery systems and 120 multiple launch rocket systems. Ukrainian drones captured footage of some systems in action during fighting in Kursk. The collaboration comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled a desire to end U.S. support for Ukraine, a move that has added uncertainty to Ukraine's war effort. Western aid, while vital, has fluctuated. A Czech-led plan to supply 1.6 million rounds has helped, but allies have not committed ground troops, and resupply efforts have struggled to keep pace with demand. "Whoever had the most shells would have a major advantage," Reuters reported. During peak fighting, both Russia and Ukraine were estimated to fire 10,000 artillery rounds per day. Russia's partnership with North Korea has helped it regain ground in key areas like Kursk, where only a small Ukrainian pocket remains. The U.S. has accused North Korea of shipping containers filled with munitions from Rajin to Russian ports, where they were transported by rail to western depots. Satellite imagery tracked the spike in deliveries starting in September 2023. The shipments peaked in January 2024 and averaged three per month by March 2025. Russia and North Korea share a brief but historically significant border. Kim Il Sung, North Korea's first leader, fought in the Soviet Red Army and received postwar Soviet support. The countries built a "Friendship Bridge" in 1959 for rail transport across the Tumen River, which is still in use today. Following Russia's political and economic isolation after its 2022 invasion, ties between the two countries have strengthened. Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang in July 2023, meeting with Kim Jong Un to discuss military cooperation. The Cold War-era alliance has since evolved into a vital supply chain fueling Russia's war machine. President Donald Trump has officially said no to attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner. DailyMail.com confirmed a report from Axios Monday night that said the president will skip the annual dinner, scheduled this year for Saturday, April 26. A source familiar said the president isn't expected to attend. The White House had been floating doing some kind of counter-programming to send a message. In the past, Trump scheduled campaign rallies to take place during the dinner, which historically has attracted prominent media members and Hollywood stars. The date of this year's dinner is the birthday of first lady Melania Trump, so it's likely the president will do something to celebrate his wife. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump and his staff have been sparring with members of the press and blasting the White House Correspondents' Association, which hosts the dinner as a journalism scholarship fundraiser every year. So it's no surprise that Trump said no - especially since he refused to attend the dinner during his first term. The dinner typically includes a comedy bit performed by the president - and then a roast - of the president and the press - by a prominent comedian. President Donald Trump will skip the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner. Last year, President Joe Biden attended. The comedian was Saturday Night Live's Colin Jost (left), who was tapped by WHCA President Kelly O'Donnell of NBC News (right) President Donald Trump's White House had floated doing some kind of counter-programming of the April 26 White House Correspondents' Dinner. It's the same day as Melania Trump's birthday, so the president will likely do something to celebrate his wife This year's WHCA president, MSNBC's Eugene Daniels, had originally picked comedian Amber Ruffin as the headliner. But in March, Ruffin ruffled feathers by saying of the Trump administration that they were 'kind of a bunch of murderers' during a podcast appearance. Daniels announced in late March that he had decided to nix Ruffin's performance. 'At this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division, but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists,' Daniels said in a statement. Relations were already tense between the Trump administration and the WHCA - the group that handles which journalists are in daily White House pool rotation and where outlets sit in the briefing room, among other logistical matters. The White House, in an effort to take over which reporters are in the pool that covers the president daily, was trying to characterize the WHCA as a group of Beltway elites who are out-of-touch. 'They have not really welcomed other people, new media, independent journalists, with open arms, and so we thought it was time to expand the coverage and determine who gets to be part of the 13-person press pool, who gets to ask the president of the United States questions in the Oval Office, aboard Air Force One,' argued White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about the press pool takeover. In reality, the WHCA has members from all types of outlets and from all political persuasions and the WHCA's board is democratically elected from the membership. Then businessman Donald Trump famously attended the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner and found himself the butt of President Barack Obama's comedy routine. During his first term, he skipped the dinner every year the group held it Comedian Amber Ruffin (left) was supposed to host this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner, but in late March the group's president decided to nix her appearance after she said of the Trump administration they're 'kind of a bunch of murderers' President Joe Biden delivers a comedy routine during last year's White House Correspondents' Dinner. Biden appeared at the WHCD every year it happened during his one term. It was canceled during 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic Journalists have argued that the White House's move to take over who's in the pool is being used as a scare tactic warning reporters and outlets against negative coverage. The Trump administration already punished reporters with the Associated Press over the wire service's refusal to use the preferred 'Gulf of America' for Gulf of Mexico in its influential style book. Despite a judge last week ruling in the AP's favor, the outlet's journalists have still not been able to rejoin the pool. On Monday a reporter and photographer from the outlet were excluded from Trump's Oval Office meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Leavitt said in March that she wouldn't be going to the dinner. Trump's former press secretary, the current governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders attended the 2018 WHCD in place of her boss, and became a punching bag for comedian Michelle Wolf. 'I actually really like Sarah, I think she's very resourceful,' Wolf said onstage at the Washington Hilton. 'But she burns fact and then she uses that ash to create a perfect smokey eye.' 'Like, maybe she's born with it, maybe it's lies,' Wolf said. 'It's probably lies.' Trump, himself, famously attended the dinner in 2011 and was publicly roasted by both President Barack Obama and comedian Seth Meyers. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month that she would not attend the dinner. When press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (left) went in Trump's place in 2018, she was mercilessly made fun of by comedian Michelle Wolf (right) President Barack Obama took on then businessman Donald Trump during the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Obama played his 'birth video' - the opening credits of the Lion King - after Trump's birtherism forced him to publicly release his long form birth certificate Real estate developer Donald Trump (left) and Melania Trump (right) walk the red carpet at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Obama and Seth Meyers both mocked Trump from onstage Obama attacked Trump's birtherism as soon as he got to the podium. Trump was one of the highest-profile figures to push the 'birther' conspiracy theory - that Obama, the country's first black and biracial president, was born in Africa and not his native Hawaii. The issue got such play, that Obama was forced to release his long-form birth certificate, which he did the Wednesday before that year's dinner. He opened the comedy set by saying he was ready to additionally release his 'birth video.' Obama then played the opening African-set scene of Disney's The Lion King. 'I know he's taken some flak lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than "The Donald,"' Obama then said. 'And that's because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter, like: Did we fake the moon landing? What really happened in Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?' the Democrat continued. Obama also mocked Trump's gig as a reality TV host. 'For example, on a recent episode of "Celebrity Apprentice," at the steakhouse, the men's cooking team did not impress the men from Omaha Steaks,' Obama began. 'And there was lots of blame to go around, but you, Mr. Trump, recognized that the real problem was a lack of leadership,' the president continued. 'And so ultimately you didn't blame Lil Jon or Meatloaf, you fired Gary Busey,' Obama said. 'These are the kinds of decisions that keep me up at night. Well handled, sir, well handled.' Steve Bannon has come out against Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as 'close to an unmitigated disaster' and he's blaming 'First Buddy' Elon Musk for the hire. The longtime Trump ally, who recently said that the president will run for and win a third term, has been one of the MAGA movement's biggest critics of Elon, referring to him as a 'parasitic illegal immigrant.' Many have been skeptical of Lutnick's bombastic advocacy of the president in the media but Bannon came out in full force against him Monday on his podcast. 'Let me be blunt. Lutnick, who is Elon's pick for Secretary of Treasury, I think he's close to being an unmitigated disaster. We should see a lot less of Lutnick on TV.' Bannon was especially hard on a much-criticized statement Lutnick made last week about how iPhone factories would come to America and use both automation and millions of American workers. 'We're not doing this so we can set up so robots have a better life. In fact, I don't know why Lutnick is still doing media,' Bannon said. In recent comments on Face the Nation, Howard Lutnick who is a regular on TV talking about tariffs delivered a rant insisting that American factories will be automated. Seconds later, he claimed they'll be staffed by American workers. Steve Bannon has come out against Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as 'close to an unmitigated disaster' and he's blaming 'First Buddy' Elon Musk for the hire The longtime Trump ally, who recently said that the president will run for and win a third term, has been one of the MAGA movement's biggest critics of Elon, referring to him as a 'parasitic illegal immigrant' 'The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America,' he said. 'Our high school educated Americans the core to our workforce, is going to have the greatest resurgence of jobs in the history of America to work on these high-tech factories, which are all coming to America. 'That's what's going to build our next generation of America.' Bannon scoffed at Lutnick's flip flop. 'No, Howard Lutnick, it's not going to all be done by robots, he said, adding that you can't be 'America first' without bringing back manufacturing jobs. Bannon argued for some replacements, including Elon nemesis Peter Navarro, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and economic adviser. As far the public face of the operation, Bannon suggested a familiar face instead of Lutnick's. 'Stephen Miller should be doing more about trade and about this new economic order that we're trying to hammer through,' he said. Many have been skeptical of Lutnick's bombastic advocacy of the president in the media but Bannon came out in full force against him Monday on his podcast Lutnick has become somewhat of a punching bag for both sides of the aisle since taking the gig in January. In mid-March, Politico published a story pointing fingers at Lutnick. 'He's trying to be a mini-Trump. I don't think he got the memo that only Trump gets to be Trump,' a source close to the administration said of Lutnick. 'It just reinforces that he doesn't really know how to do the job.' The source also said that Lutnick is 'constantly auditioning for Trump's approval.' Sources also told the news outlet that Lutnick's recent television appearances showed that he lacked a basic understanding of how the economy worked and how tariffs would impact it. Lutnick, the former head of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, also gave a rosier economic picture than he was supposed to. He said in March on Meet the Press that Americans should 'absolutely not' brace for a recession. Lutnick's interview aired shortly before Trump, in a pre-taped conversation with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo, wouldn't rule out a recession. Bannon has largely blamed Elon Musk (pictured center) for the Lutnick (pictured left) pick and suggested Stephen Miller (pictured right) should be the face of trade policy FALL GUY? Ahead of 'Liberation Day' Wednesday, unnamed sources told Politico that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (pictured) is to blame for some of the White House's mixed messaging on tariffs Trump has acknowledged that his tariffs could create some short term economic pain for consumers but argued the import taxes would help the U.S. in the longterm. 'Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it's happening, and it will happen rather quickly,' Trump said during his joint address to Congress in early March. 'There will be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that,' Trump added. 'It won't be much.' Trump insiders may be more willing to talk negatively about Lutnick because his Wall Street roots don't necessarily gel with the pro-tariff crowd. Trump's longtime trade adviser, Peter Navarro, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are considered to be more solid, true believers. 'Every member of the Trump administration is aligned on finally leveling the playing field for American industries and workers,' White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to DailyMail.com Tuesday afternoon. The White House had been asked if Trump continued to have confidence in Lutnick. 'President Trump has assembled the best and brightest trade team in modern American history to reignite American Greatness, and they are hard at work following the same playbook,' Desai added. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (right) heads toward Marine One on Friday, alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (center). They hitched a ride with President Donald Trump to Mar-a-Lago President Donald Trump (left) shows off a newly signed executive order alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (right). Lutnick's Wall Street roots - at the helm of the firm Cantor Fitzgerald - have made some in the MAGAverse skeptical of him It's clear that Trump has great affection for Lutnick. At his swearing-in ceremony in late February, Trump, again told Lutnick's September 11, 2001 story - how Lutnick wasn't in the North Tower because he was taking his son Kyle to school. 'You should leave him more than the other kids,' Trump joked. Cantor Fitzgerald horrifically 658 of its 960 New York-based employees in the terror attacks and Howard lost his younger brother Gary. During Lutnick's swearing-in, Trump also teased him for previously being a Democrat. In turn, Lutnick called Trump 'the smartest, most thoughtful and most intuitive person I've ever met.' 'And it is really it's amazing to be in this room and to work for him,' the Commerce Secretary said. The boss of the Royal Ballet School has said it must embrace bigger bodies and same-sex partners in the wake of a 'body-shaming' scandal. Iain Mackay, who became the school's artistic director last September, has said that the future of ballet lies in breaking away from outdated ideals of body image and gender roles in order to remain relevant to modern audiences. Speaking to the Times in his first interview since taking charge, he described a new direction in training, with emphasis on strength, stamina and storytelling rather than the stereotypical aesthetic that has dominated classical ballet for decades. He said discussing plus-size dancers in the industry: 'Audiences want dancers they can relate to.' He confirmed that plus-sized ballerinas are increasingly being welcomed into the profession, and said the school is preparing students for a more inclusive and diverse industry. That includes introducing same-sex partnering in classes, where male-male and female-female duets are now part of contemporary choreography training. He added there was little 'gender in terms of partner work'. Iain Mackay, who became the Royal Ballet School's artistic director last September, has said that the future of ballet lies in breaking away from outdated ideals He confirmed that plus-sized ballerinas are increasingly being welcomed into the profession, and said the school is preparing students for a more inclusive and diverse industry The Royal Ballet School, one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind, has also had to address serious concerns around student wellbeing, particularly in relation to body image and mental health. Earlier this year, the school reached an out-of-court settlement with former student Ellen Elphick, who claimed she developed an eating disorder after being body shamed by a teacher during her time at the school. Her lawyers said she was made to stand in front of a mirror while the teacher pointed out areas of her body and said they would cut them off 'if she had a knife'. The school did not admit liability but said it continues to take the wellbeing of its students 'very seriously'. Mackay said he was saddened to hear of former students having negative experiences and acknowledged that navigating the demands of elite training while supporting the physical and emotional needs of young people is a 'challenge'. Earlier this year, the school reached an out-of-court settlement with former student Ellen Elphick (pictured), who claimed she developed an eating disorder after being body shamed by a teacher In response, the school has implemented new measures, including monitoring jump height to track fatigue, reducing dance hours to avoid overtraining, and introducing 'refuelling stations' to normalise eating and energy replenishment He said 'relative energy deficiency', when dancers burn more calories than they consume, is also being closely monitored 'The environment has always been tough. We can't get away [from the fact] that ballet training is hard,' he said, 'we are artists and dancers but we train like athletes.' In response, the school has implemented new measures, including monitoring jump height to track fatigue, reducing dance hours to avoid overtraining, and introducing 'refuelling stations' to normalise eating and energy replenishment. He said 'relative energy deficiency', when dancers burn more calories than they consume, is also being closely monitored. But added: 'You are burning more calories than you are able to consume but that doesn't mean there is always an issue. But we have introduced refuelling stations to try and break that stigma in the art form. 'We have also reduced the amount of hours they dance, but they still need to refuel.' A heroic and 'brave' teenager was praised by a coroner after he tried to save his barrister father from drowning while swimming on holiday in Tenerife. Stephen Howd, 57, who had recently been appointed a judge, died off the coast of Santa Cruz after sea conditions changed while he was swimming with his son, an inquest on Monday heard. The father-of-three, from Farnham, Surrey, had enjoyed the water in the area many times after buying a holiday home in Spain in 2006, the hearing was told. But he got into difficulty, was unable to get out and struck his head on rocks. His then-16-year-old son William, who was swimming with his father during a break from studying for his GCSEs, bravely went in to the dangerous water to try to bring his father back to safety, the hearing was told. However, he couldn't prevent his father from drowning. Winchester Coroner's Court, Hants, was told Mr Howd died on 21 April, 2023, in Buenavista del Norte at a spot popular with people who liked jumping off a rocky outcrop and swimming in the sea. His ex-partner and mother to his children, Nicola Murphy, told the inquest into his death that Mr Howd and his son were enjoying themselves doing just this on the day of his death. Stephen Howd, 57, who had recently been appointed a judge, died off the coast of Santa Cruz, Tenerife, after sea conditions changed while he was swimming with his son, an inquest on Monday heard (stock) She said in a statement: 'They jumped in and were enjoying themselves until the sea conditions changed, the sea became rough and the conditions of the water became difficult to swim against.' Ms Murphy said bystanders saw the father and son get into difficulty, and made a 'makeshift rope' to pull them back to the rocky outcropping they had jumped from. The judge's son William, who is now 18, was able to get out using this rope, but his father sadly couldn't. The inquest heard that Mr Howd hit his head against the rocks, causing an injury which the coroner said may have contributed to his death. Mr Howd's son said that his father's last words were 'This is getting dangerous, I'm getting tired'. Ms Murphy's statement continued: 'William then jumped back in and swam out to his father. William described his father as being slumped down and face down in the water.' The teenager managed to bring his father almost all the way back. Area Coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Jason Pegg said, summarising the final section of Ms Murphy's statement: 'William attempted to pull himself and his father up the staircase to get him back up to the ledge, but a large wave hit and pulled Stephen out of William's grasp and back out to sea again, where he remained until emergency services arrived.' The father-of-three, from Farnham, Surrey, had enjoyed the water in the area many times after buying a holiday home in Spain in 2006, the hearing was told. But he got into difficulty, but was unable to get out and struck his head on rocks (stock) The Spanish emergency services tried to revive Mr Howd without success - he was pronounced dead at the scene. Giving evidence at the inquest in person, Mr Dowd's daughter, Constance Ridge said that her father was 'just incredibly unlucky that day'. 'He was, I would have thought, quite a strong swimmer as well - he did swimming recreationally, it was one of the things he did to stay fit, he was a competent swimmer as well,' she said. The coroner said, after offering his condolences to Mr Dowd's loved ones: 'I specifically give my condolences to William, who was present during this dreadful incident. In my view, it was very much a valiant and brave attempt by him [to save his father].' The coroner said that heart disease contributed to Mr Howd's death, but was not the cause. Mr Pegg concluded that Mr Dowd drowned, and that his cause of death was misadventure. The hearing was told Mr Howd attended Winchester College as a young man and went on to study physics at Oxford University, before obtaining the prestigious Queen Mother's Scholarship - given to outstanding candidates - to study law at the university. He was appointed a judge shortly before he died, and his daughter told the inquest that he had been looking forward to the new professional challenge. He lived on Echo Barn Lane in Surrey, where houses cost more than 1m on average. An illegal migrant has been convicted of raping and murdering mother-of-five Rachel Morin after the jury deliberated for just one hour. On Monday, Victor Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty of first degree murder, first degree rape and kidnapping for the horrific August 2023 attack on the 37-year-old mother in Baltimore. He now must await sentencing as he faces life in prison for the sick crime. Prosecutors wrapped up their case in the jury trial on Friday and the defense spent just 10 minutes responding on Monday. This paved the way for an astonishingly short deliberation period for the jurors, Fox Baltimore reported. They had returned their verdict within an hour. Harford County State Attorney Alison Healey has already indicated she will seek the maximum penalty for the 24-year-old killer. 'The quickness of the verdict speaks to the strength of the evidence in the case,' she said, noting she was not surprised. 'This was an airtight case.' Healey also said that Morin 'fought for her life' in her final moments. On Monday, Victor Martinez-Hernandez was found guilty of first degree murder, first degree rape and kidnapping for the horrific August 2023 attack on the 37-year-old mother in Baltimore Her body had been stuffed in a tunnel drain. An autopsy revealed Morin died from a combination of strangulation and blunt-force trauma 'She was viciously beaten, raped and ultimately murdered at the hands of the defendant.' Jurors had heard Morin was on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air when she was dragged into the woods and savagely brutalized. Her body had been stuffed in a tunnel drain. An autopsy revealed Morin died from a combination of strangulation and blunt-force trauma. Police say Hernandez had been living in the United States illegally since February 2023 - just months before targeting his victim. Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler slammed the immigration system which allowed Hernandez to enter the country and remain in the United States despite committing other crimes. 'The failure here, again, is the immigration system that allowed this person to enter our country illegally and remain in our country and commit crimes in Los Angeles and then here in Harford County,' Gahler said. 'We all suspected that Rachel was not his first victim. It is my understanding that this suspect, this monster, fled to the United States illegally after committing the brutal murder of a young woman in El Salvador a month earlier in January of 2023.' President Trump also weighed in on the conviction in a Truth Social post on Monday night, paying tribute to the 'beautiful mother of five' who was 'heinously murdered.' Police say Hernandez had been living in the United States illegally since February 2023 - just months before targeting his victim Rachel Morin's tragic death inflamed debates about the illegal migrant crisis in the United States 'Moments ago, the Illegal Criminal, who was allowed into our Country by Crooked Joe Biden, was convicted of the heinous murder of Rachel Morin,' he wrote. 'Rachel was a beautiful mother of five from Maryland, and her life was taken at the hands of a monster who should have NEVER been here in the first place.' Trump said Hernandez is 'actually an MS-13 Gang Member and Foreign Terrorist from El Salvador. 'We will never forget Rachel Morin, and are committed to protecting women like her across our Country. We will deport Illegal Murderers, Rapists, and Criminals.' Martinez-Hernandez went on the run after the crime and was ultimately arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2024 after his DNA was found at the scene. A search of his phone showed he had searched for the terms 'Bel Air,' 'Rachel' and an incorrect spelling of her surname after the murder, the court was told. Morin's murder inflamed debates about illegal immigrants after details of his previous alleged crimes emerged. Morin's mother, Patty Morin, last month criticized the immigration policies of the Biden-Harris administration. The body of the 37-year-old mom-of-five was discovered in a tunnel along a popular hiking trail in Bel Air, Maryland Morin's mom Patty Morin said that her daughter's death could have been prevented if there was tighter security at the border which could have picked up an outstanding warrant for the suspect in relation to another crime She shared heartbreaking testimony in congress during a hearing titled, 'A Country Without Borders: How the Biden-Harris Open-Borders Policies Have Undermined Our Safety and Security.' 'If they had done the border protocols that were in place but was set aside, just a simple DNA swab, they would know that he had a INTERPOL warrant for murder in his home country,' Morin said to the House Committee on Homeland Security. Donald Trump's education department put the hammer down on Harvard, freezing over $2.2billion in funding after they rejected a list of demands from the federal government. Harvard announced via a letter to the White House Monday that it won't comply with the requests from the Trump administration as part of its campaign against antisemitism. The Department of Education's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism swiftly announced a freeze on $2.2billion in multi-year grants and $60million in multi-year contract value to the Ivy League institution. 'Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,' the DOE said in a statement. They said that the school is not taking the problem of campus antisemitism seriously and must 'commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support.' When reached by DailyMail.com for comment, a spokesperson for the school referred us to the letter they sent the White House earlier Monday. The school came under great scrutiny over campus antisemitism in response to Israel's war against Hamas, forcing then-President Claudine Gay to resign amid mounting pressure from forces outside the university. Current Harvard President Alan Garber, in a letter to the Harvard community Monday, said the demands violated the university's First Amendment rights and 'exceeds the statutory limits of the governments authority under Title VI,' which prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, color or national origin. Donald Trump's education department put the hammer down on Harvard, freezing over $2.2billion in funding after they rejected a list of demands from the federal government Harvard announced via a letter to the White House Monday that it won't comply with the requests from the Trump administration as part of its campaign against antisemitism 'No government - regardless of which party is in power - should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,' Garber wrote, adding that the university had taken extensive reforms to address antisemitism. 'These ends will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate,' he wrote. 'The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community.' A spokesperson for the White House told DailyMail.com that Harvard's funding is now at risk. 'President Trump is working to Make Higher Education Great Again by ending unchecked anti-Semitism and ensuring federal taxpayer dollars do not fund Harvard's support of dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence,' Harrison Fields said. 'Harvard or any institution that wishes to violate Title VI is, by law, not eligible for federal funding.' In a letter to Harvard Friday, the administration called for broad government and leadership reforms, a requirement that Harvard institute what it calls 'merit-based' admissions and hiring policies as well as conduct an audit of the study body, faculty and leadership on their views about diversity. The school came under great scrutiny over campus antisemitism in response to Israel's war against Hamas , forcing then-President Claudine Gay to resign amid mounting pressure from forces outside the university Harvard announced Monday that it won't comply with the demands from the Trump administration as part of its campaign against antisemitism, which could put almost $9 billion in funding at risk The demands, which are an update from an earlier letter, also call for a ban on face masks - which appeared to target pro-Palestinian protesters. They also pressure the university to stop recognizing or funding 'any student group or club that endorses or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment.' The demands on Harvard are part of a broader push of using taxpayer dollars to pressure major academic institutions to comply with President Donald Trumps political agenda and to influence campus policy. The administration has also argued that universities allowed what it considered to be antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israel's war in Gaza; the schools deny it. Harvard is one of several Ivy League schools targeted in a pressure campaign by the administration, which also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton to force compliance with its agenda. However, Harvard - which holds the largest university endowment in the world - appears to be prepared to stand its ground against the Trump administration. The demand letter is similar to the one that prompted changes at Columbia University under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts. The Trump administration demands prompted a group of alumni to write to university leaders calling for it to 'legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance.' Current Harvard President Alan Garber, in a letter to the Harvard community Monday, said the demands violated the university's First Amendment rights and 'exceeds the statutory limits of the governments authority under Title VI' Part of the letter written to Harvard demanding change on campus antisemitism The letter written by university President Alan Garber in response 'Harvard stood up today for the integrity, values, and freedoms that serve as the foundation of higher education,' said Anurima Bhargava, one of the alumni behind the letter. 'Harvard reminded the world that learning, innovation and transformative growth will not yield to bullying and authoritarian whims.' It also sparked a protest over the weekend from members of the Harvard community and from residents of Cambridge and a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday challenging the cuts. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration has failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it starts cutting funds, and giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress. 'These sweeping yet indeterminate demands are not remedies targeting the causes of any determination of noncompliance with federal law. Instead, they overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech,' plaintiffs wrote. The position stands in stark contrast to their Ivy League siblings at Columbia, who caved to Trump weeks ago. The Trump administration pulled the grants and other federal funding, and had threatened to cut more, over the university's handling of rampant protests against Israel. Those protests led to ICE detaining activist Columbia grad student Mahmoud Khalil, 30, a legal resident in the US. The policy changes, detailed in a letter sent by the university's interim president, Katrina Armstrong, came one week after the Trump administration ordered the Ivy League school to enact reforms or lose all federal funding. Hundreds of demonstrators gather on Cambridge Common during a rally at the historic park in Cambridge A student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard College, draped in the Palestinian flag, at an encampment of students protesting against the war in Gaza In her letter, Armstrong said the university would immediately appoint a senior vice provost to conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of its regional studies programs, 'starting immediately with the Middle East.' Columbia will also revamp its long-standing disciplinary process and bar protests inside academic buildings. Students will not be permitted to wear face masks on campus 'for the purposes of concealing one's identity.' An exception would be made for people wearing them for health reasons. In an effort to expand 'intellectual diversity' within the university, Columbia will also appoint new faculty members to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies department. It will also adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand programming in its Tel Aviv Center, a research hub based in Israel. The White House has labeled the protests antisemitic, a label rejected by those who participated in the student-led demonstrations. A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for the Education Department. As a 'precondition' for restoring funding, federal officials demanded that the university to place its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under 'academic receivership for a minimum of five years.' They also told the university to ban masks on campus, adopt a new definition of antisemitism, abolish its current process for disciplining students and deliver a plan to 'reform undergraduate admissions, international recruiting, and graduate admissions practices.' Historians had described the order as an unprecedented intrusion on university rights long treated by the Supreme Court as an extension of the First Amendment. Scientists believe humans will soon be able to talk to dolphins thanks to artificial intelligence. A new model created by Google could reveal the secrets behind how the animals communicate for the first time, with hopes we may be able to 'speak dolphin' in the future. Google DeepMind's DolphinGemma has been programmed with the world's largest collection of dolphin sounds, including clicks, whistles and vocalisations that have been recorded over several years by the Wild Dolphin Project. Dr Denize Herzing, founder and research director of the Wild Dolphin Project told The Telegraph: 'We do not know if animals have words. 'Dolphins can recognise themselves in the mirror, they use tools, they're smart but language is still the last barrier so feeding dolphin sounds into an AI model will give us a really good look if there are patterns, subtleties that humans can't pick out. 'The goal would someday be to "speak dolphin".' The model will search through sounds that have been linked to behaviour to try to find sequences that could indicate a language. Dr Thas Starner, a Google Deep-Mind scientist, said: 'The model can help researchers uncover hidden structures and potential meaningswithin the dolphins' natural communication, a task previously requiring immense human effort. 'We're just beginning to understand the patterns within the sounds.' Humans could be able to understand dolphins thanks to Artificial Intelligence, scientists believe Scientists say the goal would be to be able to 'speak dolphin' at some point in the future Scientists hope the AI will be able to pick up patterns in noises made by the animals which could indicate words It was revealed in 2022 that dolphins have regional accents. Bottlenose dolphins have signature whistles that they use to identify each other. These noises are unique to each animal. However, the new study found that the acoustic features of each dolphin's whistles are influenced by its local habitat and community. It was already known that different groups of dolphins tend to develop different styles of signature whistles that they use like a name, but the factors that influenced them were a mystery. Gabriella La Manna and her team at the University of Sassari in Italy studied the whistling habits of common bottlenose dolphins in six populations in the Mediterranean Sea. In total, they analysed 188 hours of recorded dolphin chatter, mapping variations in acoustic features such as duration and changes in pitch, and ended up identifying 168 signature whistles. They concluded that the local ocean environment and population size had the largest effect on the tones. Signature whistles in areas with sea grass, such as Lampedusa and Port Cros, were higher pitched and shorter in length compared to when the sea bottom was muddy. Dolphins use taste and signature whistles to identify each other, which are being recorded by scientists It is known that dolphins tend to develop different styles of signature whistles that they use like a name Additionally, amongst small populations, like in the Gulf of Corinth, the identifying calls had more changes in pitch than among larger populations. Last year, a scientist dubbed the 'real life Doctor Dolittle' identified some of the meanings in the sounds made by dolphins Dr Arik Kershenbaum, an expert in animal communications from the University of Cambridge, said dolphins' communication is some of the most difficult to study. He explained: 'With dolphins, it is really hard because we don't even know the framework of what their language would be if they had one.' In the recording, he identified a repeated pattern of the same whistle. This, he hypotheses could be a 'signature whistle' equivalent to the dolphin's name. From this, we might guess that this is a recording of one dolphin greeting another. These whistles are so distinct that dolphins even develop regional accents influenced by the habitat and the community. Scientists have discovered that Bottlenose Dolphins have regional accents much like humans Dolphins are known to be able to recognise themselves in a mirror and be able to use tools However, there are still mysteries in the recording. For example, he notes that one whistle in the sequence was different from all the others. He concludes: 'I don't know whether a dolphin would think this sounds the same just by looking at them. 'They do seem different but we just don't know whether these whistles would have the same cognitive effect.' A decision by the Greens to host a six-hour rave and fundraiser on Anzac Day has been slammed as 'completely inappropriate' for a reflective memorial day. Far from pausing their campaigning that day along with other parties, the Greens will host a ticketed 'Greens Party Party' at Old Habits bar and tattoo parlour in West Perth on April 25. The event is planned to raise funds for the election campaign of Perth candidate Sophie Greer and the re-election of WA Senator Jordon Steele-John. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton who, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, plans to spend Anzac Day paying his respects at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, said the 'inappropriate' event should be condemned. 'To every young Australian who's proud of their grandfather who fought in the war, proud of a cousin who is serving in the Australian Defence Force now - understand the Greens have complete contempt for our Defence Force personnel,' Mr Dutton said. 'The Greens, of course, would be the partners in government with Anthony Albanese and Mr Albanese should condemn these actions.' The event will run from 6pm to 11.30pm and cost $30 to attend. 'The federal election is right around the corner. Join us for a night when the dancefloor becomes the platform for radical change. Your moves matter - on the floor and at the polls,' the event information shared. The dance party event is reminiscent of Greens leader Adam Bandt's performance alongside Abbie Chatfield at a Melbourne music venue last month (pictured) The Greens will host a ticketed 'Greens Party Party' at a tattoo parlour in West Perth on April 25 It is an unwritten rule that candidates and parties pause or at least tone down their campaigns on Anzac Day as dawn service memorials and parades of veterans are held across the country. The rave is reminiscent of Greens leader Adam Bandt's DJ performance at a Melbourne music venue alongside FBoy Island star Abbie Chatfield last month. Duncan Anderson, the Deputy National President and director of RSL Australia, said the rave was 'entirely unacceptable'. 'The decision to do a fundraiser by any political party is one I find perplexing at best,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday. 'The irony of the whole situation is that the whole reason our political system enjoys such freedoms - such as freedom of speech and free discourse - is because hundreds of thousands of men and women have sacrificed for Australia.' Mr Anderson serves in the army reserves and completed two military deployments as an officer to Iraq and Afghanistan. 'It is the perspective of the WA RSL that if we were to receive a donation from any political party holding a fundraiser on Anzac Day it wouldn't be accepted,' he said. 'This is because Anzac Day is above any one person or organisation.' The Greens will host a dance party event to support the election of Greens candidate for Perth Sophie Greer (left) and the re-election of WA Senator Jordon Steele-John (right) Opposition Leader Peter Dutton who, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, plans to spend the day paying his respects at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, slammed the event as 'completely inappropriate' (pictured, an Anzac Day parade in 2023) Perth candidate Sophie Greer hopes to oust Labor member Patrick Gorman who has held the seat since a 2018 by-election. Mr Gorman retained his seat at the 2022 federal election with a 5.7 swing in his favour and has since become the assistant minister to the Prime Minister and public service. 'I've seen some silly things in my time in politics, but this one is one of the worst judgments I have seen in a very long time,' Labor member for Perth Patrick Gorman told The West Australian. 'They consult a lot in the Greens party, and how they all got together and thought it was appropriate to be having a campaign fundraiser on Anzac Day is just beyond me.' In a stunning backflip WA Greens organisers told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday afternoon the event had been rescheduled. 'The event originally scheduled for 25 April has been rescheduled. Sophie Greer will attend an Anzac Day service on that day, and she was always intending to do,' Chilla Bulbeck and Giz Watson said. A courageous stranger risked his life to try and save an elderly couple after their daily fishing trip turned fatal. Ahmad Dunia, 86, and his wife Halima, 74, had been at Manns Point in Greenwich, on Sydney's Lower North Shore, at 4.15pm on Monday. Mr Dunia went to park his Toyota sedan at the popular fishing spot before he accidentally hit his wife, ploughed through a fence and drove into Parramatta River. A 55-year-old man, from the Central Coast, then jumped five metres off a ledge to rescue Ms Dunia and managed to take her to a nearby vessel. He also attempted to save Mr Dunia, but was unable to do so. A second person is also understood to have attempted to help. Superintendent Paul Devaney said on Tuesday the heroic bystander was continuing to grapple with the tragedy. I have spoken with him a short time ago and he is quite traumatized, but, I inform you that we would be submitting an application for recognition of his bravery,' he said. Ahmad Dunia has been identified as the Greenwich crash victim Tributes are flowing for an 86-year-old man whose body was recovered from the Parramatta River after a horror crash which has also left his wife in hospital with a number of injuries Mr Dunias body was recovered from the water by emergency services two hours after the incident. His wife was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with a suspected broken ankle, bruises and abrasions, and in a state of shock. Tributes poured in online for Mr Dunia in addition to requests for prayers for his wifes recovery. He returned to Allah, while his grandmother is in hospital undergoing surgery after their car plunged into the river, one post read. Elevate his station among those who are guided. Send him along the path of those who came before, and forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds. Superintendent Devaney said the couple had been going to the same fishing spot daily for the last several years. A crime scene has since been established and police have launched an investigation into the incident. A report will be prepared for the Coroner, while police work to recover the vehicle for a forensic examination. Emergency services remained at the scene on Monday night, where the car had crashed through a fence and into the water Police require a crane to retrieve sunken vehicle The Parramatta River reaches a depth of around ten metres at Manns Point. Due to the depth of the water it is a complicated to recover the vehicle for a forensic examination and will require a crane, superintendent Devaney said. Photos from the scene on Monday showed only a small fence blocked the car park from a sharp drop into the water. Sitting on a park bench metres away from the broken fence was an abandoned esky and fishing rod. The depth of the river made the search effort difficult, and rescuers were also hampered by the strong currents. 'The vehicle was bobbing but has completely sunk in the harbour,' Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said. 'You cannot see it from the shoreline or above.' The former wife of a local television anchor was arrested after she was caught red-handed by an undercover cop for hiring a hit man to make her husband 'disappear.' Angelia Solomon, who now goes by Angie Huffines on social media, was arrested on Friday in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb outside of Nashville for allegedly hiring a hitman to murder her ex-husband, Aaron Solomon. The Franklin Police Department confirmed that Angelia was arrested and charged with solicitation to commit first-degree murder against Aaron. She was taken into custody on a $500,000 bond. Angelia had allegedly told the undercover officer that she wanted her ex-husband to 'disappear and be put underground,' a Public Information Manager with the Franklin Police Department confirmed to DailyMail.com. She also allegedly said that her ex's death would provide her daughter access to a trust fund and gave the officer the registration on her vehicle as collateral. Angelia had also allegedly told the officer where he could locate her ex-husband and how he could find him. The couple previously endured a shocking tragedy when their son, Grant, died on July 20, 2020. Grant was in the parking lot of a sporting facility for a private pitching lesson when his car rolled backward over him. Angelia Solomon was arrested and charged with solicitation to commit first-degree murder against her husband, former local TV anchor Aaron Solomon Police said that Angelia was arrested after she was caught attempting to solicit an undercover cop to commit murder-for-hire The Franklin Police Department said that Angelia is in custody on a $500,000 bond His father, Aaron was in a separate vehicle in the sporting complex and called 911 when the incident occurred. Aaron said in a 911 call that Aaron was underneath his white truck and 'somehow it backed up.' In a statement to police, Aaron said that he was parked next to his son's car when he noticed Grant got out of his truck to grab his gear from the trunk. 'I looked down to check a work email and the next thing I know I hear and see the truck rolling backwards into the ditch. I get out of my car to try to find my son and saw that he was trapped underneath the truck and immediately called 911,' he said. A police report previously reviewed by DailyMail.com said that Grant was struck by his own vehicle in a parking lot. Since Grant's death, Angelia has maintained that Aaron had something to do with it and has pushed authorities to further investigate the case. Grant's death was ruled as a 'parking lot accident' and was a result of a horrible tragedy. Sumner County District Attorney Ray Whitley previously told DailyMail.com that there was no basis for a homicide charge or a criminal act. Angelia has previously been vocal about her suspicions regarding her son Grant's (left) death Angelia previously said that her son Grant's death investigation shouldn't have been ruled an accident and blamed her ex-husband for his death Grant died at the age of 18 in 2020 after a car ran over him in the parking lot of a sporting facility. His mother and sister have been vocal that they believe there is more to the story that authorities didn't investigate 'It is just a horrible accident, and I am really sorry that it happened, but it's not a criminal case so there is nothing we are are going to go forward with.' He added that there have been allegations of a homicide from Angelia, but facts didn't suggest that. Angelia and her daughter, Gracie, have continued to fight for justice in Grant's death and created an online petition to reopen the case. In the description of the petition, Angelia claimed that Grant had been alone with his father for the first time in two years on the day of his death. 'Its important to note that Aaron and Grant had a turbulent past due to Grant reporting that Aaron had been abusing both Grant and his younger sister, Gracie,' the petition continued. A GoFundMe was also launched titled Freedom for Gracie, which alleged that Grant's sister had endured abuse from their father. In an interview with NewsNation last year, Angelia maintained that she believed her husband had something to do with their son's death. A landlord has stunned an experienced real estate agent after they asked if they would still be paid rent after their tenant passed away. Perth business manager of SOCO Realty Samantha Priddis said she couldn't 'even comprehend' why that had been the landlord's 'first thought'. 'The landlord's response was, "well the lease hasn't ended yet, will I keep getting rent?"' Ms Priddis said in a TikTok video recalling the interaction. Aussies were quick to slam the landlord over the 'greedy' question. 'It's always the first thought of the landlord... money, money, money,' one wrote. 'The perfect example of why people hate landlords,' another said. 'Landlords = money and greed,' a third said. But Kristen Porter from ONO Legal said there were legal ramifications. Perth real state agent Samantha Priddis (pictured) was shocked when a landlord asked if they would still be paid rent after their tenant passed away Landlords have various legal options if their sole tenant dies (stock) 'Not all procedures are written into law, such as dealing with executors, next of kin and releasing funds,' Ms Porter told Yahoo Finance . 'One example we have seen is where a sole tenant died and the supposed 'next of kin' was allowed access to the property to collect all belongings. 'Rent paid past the end of the tenancy was refunded to this person.' Ms Porter said landlords should follow their property managers' advice when a tenant dies because the law differed around the country. If the homeowner is self-managing a rental property, Ms Porter said they should try to get a copy of the death certificate to officially verify the death. If the tenant died in the property, disclosures would need to be made to the new tenants if the property was rented out again. In NSW, the tenancy contract doesn't automatically end if a tenant dies. Either the landlord or the tenant's representative, which includes the executor or administrator of their estate, has to issue a termination notice. ONO Legal's Kristen Porter said it was important to follow the right steps if a tenant dies That representative will be liable for rent until the home is returned to the landlord. No notice is required in Tasmania if the tenant dies and the lease is suspended upon their death. In the Northern Territory, if the sole tenant dies, the lease agreement is automatically terminated, even if other people are also living there. In Queensland, the tenant's relative or representative can give written notice to end the lease agreement which will end after 14 days. The landlord can send a written notice to the relative or representative and that will also apply after 14 days. It's a similar in Victoria, with both the landlord and the tenant's relative or representative able to terminate the lease. In South Australia, the tenancy agreement ends 30 days after a tenant's death. In Western Australia, the Residential Tenancies Act says an agreement ends if the sole tenant dies and no one has to pay rent from that moment. An Ipsos poll commissioned exclusively for Daily Mail Australia reveals that Peter Dutton's personal approval ratings have collapsed during the election campaign to the lowest level recorded by any opposition leader over the past 20 years. In a devastating blow for the Liberal leader, just 27 per cent of voters approve of his performance so far on the campaign trail, with 47 per cent disapproving. This leaves him with a dissatisfaction score of minus 20. 'Peter Dutton has recorded the lowest poll performance rating and lowest figure as preferred PM of any candidate this century,' said Jessica Elgood, Ipsos public affairs director. In contrast 35 per cent of those polled approve of Anthony Albanese's performance as PM, with 39 per cent registering their disapproval. While the PM's satisfaction rating is also in the negative, it is only minus four compared to Dutton's minus 20 result. Elgood said the results show 'there's not a lot of love for either of our possible future prime ministers', noting that while Albanese leads Dutton comfortably, 'his ratings are low compared to political leaders over the last two decades'. The poll also showed that a majority of Australians believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, citing economic management and leadership failures as the two main reasons. Anthony Albanese (above with fiancee Jodie Haydon and son Nathan) has reason to smile after the Daily Mail Australia Ipsos poll found Peter Dutton had the lowest poll performance rating and lowest preferred PM rating of 'any candidate this century' Some 39 per cent of voters disapprove of Albo's performance at PM - while 35 per cent approved, according to the Daily Mail Australia Ipsos poll The PM's approval is at its highest amongst younger voters aged between 18 to 34, with 41 per cent approving of his performance compared with 24 per cent who disapprove. In contrast, only 18 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds approve of Dutton's performance. That figure only slightly improves to 22 per cent amongst 35 to 54-year olds. In these age cohorts more than half - 50 per cent and 49 per cent respectively - disapprove of the Opposition Leader's performance so far. The age group most satisfied with Dutton's performance are older Australians aged 55 and over. However, even then they register a net dissatisfaction rating of minus six. As the Opposition Leader's unpopularity sets in, unsurprisingly 47 per cent of those polled believe Labor will be returned to government for a second term compared with just 29 per cent who think the Coalition will win the election on May 3. In a dangerous precedent for Dutton and his team, these figures are broadly in line with who voters thought would win the 2022 election between prime minister Scott Morrison and then opposition leader Anthony Albanese. The difference in satisfaction ratings between the performances of Albanese and Dutton also means that the Labor leader enjoys a significant lead in the preferred PM stakes. Albanese is favoured by 44 per cent of those polled compared to just 30 percent support for Dutton as the better prime ministerial candidate. Peter Dutton's son Harry has joined him on the campaign trail as the Daily Mail Australia Ipsos poll shows only 18 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds approve of his performance Some 47 per cent of voters surveyed disapproved of Peter Dutton's performance as Opposition Leader The preferred PM lead enjoyed by Albanese is the largest since Malcolm Turnbull's ratings advantage over then-opposition leader Bill Shorten at the 2016 election. Given that Shorten's opposition won a swag of seats from the then-Coalition government, and Turnbull's Coalition was reduced to a one seat majority, Coalition strategists will remain hopeful they can overcome the poor ratings of their leader to register a competitive showing at the election. And the biggest issue for Aussie voters is... The Ipsos results are less devastating for the Opposition when analysing voter responses to the issues dominating the campaign. Cost of living tops the concerns of those polled, with 52 per cent identifying it as the number one issue during the election campaign. 'Our polling shows that the cost of living crisis is crowding out other issues when it comes to voters concerns', Elgood said. The next two highest rating issues are the economy and housing, with 10 and eight percent of voters listing each as the top issue on the campaign trail. The cost of living was overwhelmingly nominated as the top issue facing voters - with 52 per cent naming it the biggest issue at this election Concerns about Donald Trump placed fourth in the minds of voters, with six percent of those polled naming worries about the US President as their number one concern. The Coalition is seen as narrowly better than Labor at handling Trump, 32 per cent to 29 per cent. But the dominance of cost of living concerns highlights just how central an election issue it is for voters as they decide on which party to support. 'Convincing voters that they have policies that can make a difference on this issue is clearly going to be critical to attracting voters and motivating those who are undecided', Elgood pointed out. When it comes to which party is better placed to handle cost of living issues, voters were evenly split, with each major party favoured by 38 per cent of those polled. The Coalition has a narrow lead as better placed to handle the economy, favoured by 41 per cent of voters compared to 36 per cent support for Labor. But Labor is seen as better placed to handle housing issues by 37 per cent of voters compared to 35 percent who favour the Coalition. The major party campaign launches on the weekend included a series of new policies to address cost of living issues, specifically in respect to housing and tax. That's a clear indication their internal polling reflects the results of the Daily Mail Australia Ipsos poll. Australia is on the wrong track, poll says A majority of those surveyed believe Australia is heading in the wrong direction. Some 51 per cent say Australia is on the wrong track compared to just 35 per cent who believe the nation is on the right track. The biggest reason given by those polled said Australia is on the wrong track, And the two most cited reasons why Australia is on the wrong track according to the majority are the economy (43 per cent) and political leadership (34 per cent). 'Irrespective of age or gender, only a third of Australians think the country is on the right track', Elgood said. 'And it's the economy that is most likely to worry Australians that we're heading in the wrong direction.' These twin issues were also the two most cited reasons for why Australia is on the right track, according to a minority 35 percent of voters who say that is the case. The Daily Mail Australia Ipsos poll surveyed 2006 Aussies aged 18 and over using an online data collection methodology. PVO's view: Our political insider on what these results mean for the 2022 election... So what can we take from these results? It is clear that Peter Dutton has personally become a drag on his party's vote. But there are also few others within his Coalition team who boast high profiles and strong political performances. The Coalition has largely been a one man attack team for much of its three years in opposition. It seems that the relentless negativity Dutton has deployed to attack the PM and his government has hurt his personal standing with voters. The fact a majority of Australians think our country is heading in the wrong direction should be a devastating response for a government still in its first term, says Political Editor Peter van Onselen But it has also likely helped drive dissatisfaction with the job the government as a whole has done in managing the challenges of our time. Cost of living sits at the top of people's concerns, more specifically identifying housing and the state of the economy as issues within that envelope. The fact a majority of Australians think our country is heading in the wrong direction should be a devastating response for a government still in its first term. But Albanese's better PM and satisfaction ratings are clear signs that Labor is the frontrunner and on course to secure a second term in power. With two and a half weeks of campaigning to go, the government needs to avoid complacency - especially given those polled are overwhelmingly confident Labor will win this election. Such certainty might mean a protest vote amongst some voters on the day, in the belief that doing so won't affect the overall outcome. That was what happened in 2016 when Turnbull's Coalition government was favoured to win but only narrowly beat Shorten's opposition. The tight result damaged Turnbull within his own party and started his downfall as PM. Albanese will hope to avoid suffering a similar defeat. For now, this Ipsos poll clearly identifies the PM as getting the better of Dutton across voting cohorts and in the perception stakes of who is likely to form government. These are powerful advantages to build an election winning lead. Asa Ellerup, the ex-wife of al Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann claims he may have been framed after watching the new Netflix docuseries Gone Girls. Heuermanns ex-wife told The Daily Mail exclusively after seeing the corruption that took place with the Suffolk County Police Department specifically, the disgraced former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke and former Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota. Burke, 58, who was the police chief from 2012 to 2015, has been accused of hampering the Gilgo Beach serial killer probe by booting the FBI off the case in its early stages. He was sentenced to 46 months in prison after the 2012 beating of a man, who took a bag of porn and sex toys from his cop car, then trying to cover up the attack. Spota, 82, resigned in 2017, and was later indicted on federal charges on obstruction, corruption and witness tampering in the investigation of Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke. Ellerup's legal Team, Bob Macedonio and Ginenne Pugliese told The Daily Mail that the corruption has left her questioning the state of the investigation into her now ex-husband. 'Was Heuermann framed? Ellerup has theorized the possibility of this being the case especially after watching the new Netflix drama Gone Girls (2025) which confirms the major corruption that persisted throughout Suffolk County and the subsequent impact on innocent defendants and their loved ones, 'They all fell victim to the corruption that ensued, why should this case be any different. One thing is certain, Ellerup hopes that Justice will prevail and no matter how these heinous crimes happened her sincere sympathies extend to the victims families.' Asa Ellerup, the ex-wife of al Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect Rex Heuermann claims he may have been framed after watching the new Netflix docuseries Gone Girls'. The suspected serial killer is seen speaking to his attorney Michael Brown in the courtroom Ellerups attorneys spoke out hours before Heuermann returned to court Tuesday for a Frye hearing over key DNA evidence in the case. Outside the courthouse in Riverhead, Macedonio told reporters how important it is for the family to gain whatever closure they can out of this case. He addressed the DNA that was allegedly found on some of the victims bodies. After watching the Netflix series it raises more concerns and questions about how this investigation was conducted and procedures that were to extract that DNA, he said. Asa has said from the beginning that Rex, the man she married and father of her children was not capable of committing these crimes. She wants to see it play out in the courtroom and listen to the evidence. Though Ellerup and Victoria did not say anything during the presser, Ellerup was seen nodding her head in agreement. 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. Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer 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. The man behind this crucial DNA testing - Astrea Forensics founder Dr Richard Green - was flown in from California for Tuesdays hearing as the prosecution fights to keep this evidence in the trial. Green - who has worked as a professor in biomolecular engineering at University of California in Santa Cruz since 2010 - laid out his expertise and experience in the field of genetics and testified how his company Astrea Forensics has become the go to for the specific DNA testing used in the Gilgo Beach serial killer case. He told the court how his research largely focuses on developing technology which can extract DNA from old or difficult samples - such as ancient bones that are tens of thousands of years old or rootless hairs. On March 28, the first day of the Frye hearing, the state's first expert witness, Dr Kelley Harris, testified that the method is well-regarded in the scientific community. 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. Ellerup and Heuermann share two adult children together. A daughter Victoria, 27, and son Christoper, 35, from Ellerups first marriage. Elllerup, 62, filed for divorce weeks later. Last month, both Ellerup and Heuermann had signed the divorce papers, but the terms of the settlement would need to go to a judge for review. Ellerups attorneys told The Daily Mail she is intently watching the Frye hearings unfold. She reserves judgment of her husband of 29 years until she hears all of the evidence play out in the courtroom. James Burke, the disgraced former head of Suffolk County Police Department, has been accused of hampering the Gilgo Beach serial killer probe by booting the FBI off the case in its early stages Burke pictured in 2015 outside an FBI office in New York after he was arrested and charged for beating a thief who took a bag of porn and sex toys from his cop car then trying to cover up the attack Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota leaves Federal Court in Central Islip, New York following his arraignment in October 2017. Longtime Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota and one of his chief aides have been indicted on federal charges in a cover-up of former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke's assault of a suspect in 2012 The 61-year-old architect was dramatically arrested as he left his midtown Manhattan office on July 14, 2023. He was 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. 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. Melissa Barthelemy, top left, Amber Costello, top right, Megan Waterman, bottom left, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes. Authorities on Long Island are vowing to continue investigating the Gilgo Beach murders Ellerup (pictured outside court last year) has frequently attended her ex-husband's hearings since he was arrested The home Ellerup shared with Heuermann in Long Island, New York, was searched multiple times by Suffolk County and New York State Police 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. Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer is a documentary about the Gilgo Beach Serial Killer that launched on Netflix on March 31, that is directed and produced by Liz Garbus. The three-part true crime docuseries focuses from the perspective of the victims families and friends and police involved in the case, including Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and author Robert Kolker of the 2013 nonfiction book Lost Girls. Garbus previously directed the film Lost Girls that was based on Kolker's book. Accused triple-murderer Erin Patterson has been photographed for the first time since she was charged over a fatal mushroom lunch. Patterson, 50, was seen at the Victorian Supreme Court complex on Tuesday on the day of a hearing. Patterson is accused of murdering of her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66. All three died in hospital days after consuming an allegedly deadly mushroom meal at Patterson's Leongatha home, in South Gippsland, on July 29, 2023. She is also accused of the attempted murder of Ms Wilkinson's husband Ian, 68. Mr Wilkinson spent almost two months being treated in the Austin Hospital, including time spent in a coma. Patterson pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and the attempted murder charge in the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court in May 2024. She is due to face trial later this year. Erin Patterson has been seen for the first time since being charged over the alleged fatal mushroom poisoning of family members at a lunch in regional Victoria An Obama-appointed judge will prevent the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with temporary legal status later this month. The ruling is a significant, although perhaps temporary, setback for the administration as it dismantles Biden-era policies that created new and expanded pathways for people to live in the United States, generally for two years with work authorization. The order applies to about 532,000 people from the four countries who came to the United States since October 2022 under a program called CHNV that the Biden administration was heavily criticized for. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said she would issue a stay on an order for more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to leave the country, sparing them until the case advances to the next phase. Their permits were to be canceled April 24. During a hearing, Talwani repeatedly questioned the government's assertion that it could end humanitarian parole for the four nationalities. She argued that immigrants in the program who are here legally now face an option of 'fleeing the country' or staying and 'risk losing everything.' 'The nub of the problem here is that the secretary, in cutting short the parole period afforded to these individuals, has to have a reasoned decision,' Talwani said, adding that the explanation for ending the program was 'based on an incorrect reading of the law.' 'There was a deal and now that deal has been undercut,' she said later in the hearing. An Obama-appointed judge will prevent the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with temporary legal status later this month Venezuelan migrants walk following their arrival on a flight after being deported from the United States Last month, the administration revoked legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, setting them up for potential deportation in 30 days. Uncertainty still remains for some 240,000 Ukrainians who sought refuge in the US following the Russian invasion in 2021. Trump was said to be considering ending their legal status even before recent tensions between Washington and Kyiv. They arrived with financial sponsors, applying online and paying their own airfare for two-year permits to live and work in the U.S. During that time, the beneficiaries needed to find other legal pathways if they wanted to stay longer in the U.S. Parole is a temporary status. Trump has been ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the U.S., implementing campaign promises to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally. Advocates, who called the administrations action 'unprecedented,' said it would result in people losing their legal status and ability to work and argued that it violated federal rule-making. The government's lawyer, Brian Ward, argued in court that ending the program doesn't mean that individuals couldnt be considered for other immigration programs. He also said the government wouldn't prioritize them for deportation - something Talwani found suspect, given they could be arrested if they happened to go to the hospital or were involved in a car accident. The order applies to about 532,000 people from the four countries who came to the United States since October 2022 under a program called CHNV that the Biden administration was heavily criticized for District Judge Indira Talwani said she would issue a stay on an order for more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to leave the country, sparing them until the case advances to the next phase The end of temporary protections for these immigrants has generated little political blowback among Republicans other than three Cuban-American representatives from Florida who called for preventing the deportation of the Venezuelans affected. One of them, Rep. Maria Salazar of Miami, also joined about 200 congressional Democrats this week in cosponsoring a bill that would enable them to become lawful permanent residents. It follows an earlier Trump administration decision to end what it called the 'broad abuse' of the humanitarian parole, a long-standing legal tool presidents have used to allow people from countries where theres war or political instability to enter and temporarily live in the U.S. During his campaign President Donald Trump promised to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally, and as president he has been also ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the U.S. and to stay. DHS said parolees without a lawful basis to stay in the U.S. 'must depart' before their parole termination date. 'Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status,' DHS said. Before the new order, the beneficiaries of the program could stay in the U.S. until their parole expires, although the administration had stopped processing their applications for asylum, visas and other requests that might allow them to remain longer. The Biden administration allowed up to 30,000 people a month from the four countries to come to the United States for two years with eligibility to work. The end of temporary protections for these immigrants has generated little political blowback among Republicans Trump has been ending legal pathways for immigrants to come to the U.S., implementing campaign promises to deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally It persuaded Mexico to take back the same number from those countries because the U.S. could deport few, if any, to their homes. Haitians and Cubans that are involved with the program are immediately eligible for taxpayer-funded federal benefits like Medicaid, food stamps and welfare. Analysis by DailyMail.com indicates that the Medicaid cost, which costs around $9,175 per enrollee, would cost $1.8 billion if every Haitian who entered the country received it. SNAP benefits, more commonly known as food stamps, would cost the country $451 million, with general welfare benefits climbing to $1.2 billion. The three figures take the overall spend on benefits only to over an eyewatering $3.4 billion. Even if only a quarter of the Haitians are getting all the benefits they are entitled to receive, that figure would stand at $850 million. Average costs were obtained from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Department of Health & Human Services, and a Medicaid Commission. Court documents show that the vetting process isn't stringent, with an approval rating of 98.3 percent for Haitian applicants from January to June of last year. In that time frame, 78,838 Haitians had applied to the program with the Department of Homeland Security adjudicating 64,285 cases. Of those, 63,214 applications were approved. That figure was revealed in a lawsuit filed this year by the state of Texas and other Republican-led states who sued the Biden administration to block the program. Other states including Florida, Tennessee and Arkansas argued that the program had left them with extra costs for health care, education and law enforcement. They also argued that the Biden administration was inviting people who otherwise would have entered the country illegally. Cuba generally accepted about one deportation flight a month, while Venezuela and Nicaragua refused to take any. All three are U.S. adversaries. Haiti accepted many deportation flights, especially after a surge of migrants from the Caribbean country in the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, in 2021. But Haiti has been in constant turmoil, hampering U.S. efforts. Since late 2022, more than half a million people have come to the U.S. under the policy, also known as CHNV. It was a part of the Biden administrations approach to encourage people to come through new legal channels while cracking down on those who crossed the border illegally. Wild video footage captured the shocking moment federal agents tackled a Venezuelan migrant into an innocent elderly bystander inside a New Hampshire courthouse before banishing him to a detention center in Texas. Arnuel Marquez Colmenarez, 33, was shown on an elevator camera in the Nashua Circuit Court alongside federal agents. As the elevator stopped, a federal agent tapped Colmenarez on the shoulder and gestured for him to come over. Colmenarez attempted to make his getaway, darting away from the elevator as agents ran after him and tackled him to the ground. During the chaos, an elderly man with a cane was taken out and fell to the ground, seemingly in pain. Onlookers moved out of the way as multiple law enforcement officials handcuffed Colmenarez. Jared Neff, a court liaison officer said in an incident report that he was in the prosecutor's office when he heard voices yelling and a loud bang, which sounded like a fall. Neff added that he helped the officers restrain Colmenarez as he actively resisted arrest, the Associated Press reported. Wild video footage captured the moment federal agents tackled a Venezuelan man in a New Hampshire courthouse The agents were seen tapping Colmenarez on the shoulder before he fled the elevator and they tackled him to the ground Agents said they went to the courthouse on orders to detain immigrants in the country illegally The wild chain of events occurred on February 20 after Colmenarez was charged with drunken driving, driving without a license, and failing to provide information after an accident. Federal agents apprehended Colmenarez at the courthouse on orders to detain undocumented migrants. The prosecutor handling the case was reportedly not contacted by federal agents before the arrest. After the shocking arrest, Colmenarez was sent to an ICE detention center in Texas, miles away from the New Hampshire courthouse. The arrest is the latest in a string of apprehensions by ICE to crack down on illegal immigration with orders from the Trump administration. Undocumented migrants typically were not arrested by ICE in courthouses, places of worship, hospitals, or schools, due to a 2011 policy, but President Trump recently repealed it. Federal agents consistently showed up at courthouses during Trump's first term and have increased their presence since the president was re-elected. The current policy now allows ICE agents to make arrests in or around courthouses when they receive credible information that leads them to an undocumented migrant. An elderly man was caught in the crossfire and fell to the ground after agents tackled Colmenarez and handcuffed him The policy has received pushback with a judge in Boston claiming a suspected undocumented migrant was denied his right to a fair trial when ICE detained him while on trial for an unrelated matter. Wilson Martell-Lebron was on trial for lying on a license application form when an ICE agent detained him. The agent, Brian Sullivan, was waiting in plain clothes to apprehend Martell-Lebron, and was later held in contempt for 'violating' a defendant's right to a fair trial. 'It couldn't be more serious... Brian Sullivan and other agents of ICE conspired in a premeditated manner to take the defendant into custody, but not just that, to not return him to court for his trial,' the judge said. The Trump administration has ramped up deportations since he took office in January, but has maintained that the raids are targeting criminals. However, immigration activists and government officials in sanctuary cities have questioned the validity of the increased deportations. A young lawyer who was fired after chucking a sickie to attend a footy game has claimed he was suffering from burnout at the time. Commercial lawyer Mitchell Fuller was fired by Melbourne law firm Madison Branson Lawyers in August after the firm discovered he had attended last year's AFL Gather Round in Adelaide while claiming to be too unwell to work. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) law week rejected the former Victorian Greens candidate's unfair dismissal claim finding Mr Fuller had acted 'dishonestly and misled the firm'. 'Mr Fuller's conduct and attitude was utterly incompatible with his ongoing employment as a solicitor at the firm, where integrity and honesty are paramount,' wrote FWC deputy president Andrew Bell. While Mr Fuller said he respected the FWC's decision, he told the Herald Sun his story revealed the inadequate workplace protections for neurodivergent people. 'If you're neurodivergent, under pressure, and trying to manage a health condition without support, how likely are you to document every detail yourself, or get yourself into a psychologist's office that very week?' he said. 'We need a better system that supports workers before they burn out, not one that punishes them after. As a society at large, we need to quit snickering at the idea of "mental health days" and start writing them explicitly into our workplace laws. 'Employees shouldn't have to over-explain, self-diagnose, or conjure up evidence to justify the simple act of looking after themselves. It's completely absurd.' Commercial lawyer Mitchell Fuller (pictured) was fired by Melbourne law firm Madison Branson Lawyers in August after the firm discovered he had attended last year's AFL Gather Round in Adelaide while claiming to be too unwell to work According to Mr Fuller, the weekend in Adelaide helped him to return to work 'clearer, calmer and more productive than I'd been in ages' (the 2024 AFL Gather Round is pictured) Mr Fuller described the turnover at the firm as 'relentless' and alleged he was already the longest-serving staff member after just six months into the job. Deciding he needed to take time off from the demands of his work, he agreed to attend the AFL's Gather Round with friends after initially declining the invitation. He applied for personal leave for Friday April 5, claiming he had a 'tough time sleeping last night and am not feeling up to coming into the office'. He signed a statutory declaration supporting this leave request. He then followed up with a separate leave request on Monday April 8 in which he told his employers he was 'still in a bit of discomfort today and don't think I can hack taking public transport'. To support the Monday leave request, he submitted a medical certificate obtained from an online provider. According to Mr Fuller, the time off helped him to return to work 'clearer, calmer and more productive than I'd been in ages'. The solicitor is diagnosed with ADHD, a condition he claimed was compounded at the time by a national shortage in his prescribed medication. Mr Fuller (pictured) is diagnosed with ADHD, a condition he claimed was compounded at the time by a national shortage in his prescribed medication 'My thoughts scattered, anxiety surged, and my mind felt like a broken radio constantly flicking between channels,' he told the Herald Sun. 'I could barely hold a conversation, let alone focus on legal drafting. The existing situation in the office became almost unbearable. 'I was burning out on fast-forward.' Three months after his trip to Adelaide, Mr Fuller was asked to attend a disciplinary meeting and sent a letter listing a number of mostly minor complaints including a dress code violation. He rescheduled the meeting to bring a support person from the Australian Services Union. But shortly before the meeting, he was sent a list of further complaints including that he had wrongfully claimed to have been sick when he applied for leave in April. 'I was baffled. My understanding was that personal leave was available when you're unfit for work due to illness or injury. I didn't realise you had to be coughing and spluttering to qualify,' he said. He alleged the leave complaints were not discussed at the meeting and he had no opportunity to respond before he received a subsequent termination letter. Mr Fuller said he was feeling burnt out when he applied for the leave, adding the turnover at Madison Branson Lawyers (pictured) was 'relentless' The letter contained accusations he had submitted a false statutory declaration and made false leave requests. Mr Bell said the solicitor's dishonesty was unfitting for a legal practitioner when he handed down his ruling last week. 'The most generous conclusion that could be made is that Mr Fuller was simply indifferent to the accuracy of his witness statement to the point of falsity,' he said. 'Either way, it is conduct no witness should engage in; for a practising solicitor giving evidence about a critical event, it is inexcusable.' Madison Branson Lawyers was contacted by Daily Mail Australia. READ MORE: Aussie family that moved to Bali permanently reveals why An Australian garbage bag giant has been ordered to pay over $8million after it falsely claimed it products were partly made of recycled 'ocean plastic'. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took Clorox Australia to the Federal Court over the false claims made between June 2021 and 2023. The packaging for its 'GLAD to be GREEN' kitchen bags claimed to be made from at least 50 per cent recycled ocean plastic. The products were actually made from 50 per cent plastic waste collected in Indonesian communities without formal waste systems, located 50km inland. The rest was made from non-recycled plastic, along with processing aids and dye. More than 2.2million of the products were sold between 2021 and 2023. ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb accused Clorox of undermining confidence for Aussies looking to be environmentally conscious. 'Claims about environmental benefits matter to many consumers and may impact their purchasing behaviour,' she said. 'When those claims are false or misleading, this is a serious breach of trust, as well as the Australian Consumer Law.' The packaging was found by the Federal Court to be misleading to consumers A volunteer is seen picking up rubbish at a river in Pecatu, in Bali, Indonesia in March, 2024 The court found that the packaging 'connoted a relationship between the products and the ocean,' and that the word 'green' implied 'environmental-friendliness'. It criticised Glad for the broader impact of false environmental claims, noting the 'societal harm [that] arises when conduct undermines consumers' confidence in environmental claims'. It also stressed that while 'the development of products that minimise adverse environmental impacts is beneficial,' these claims are 'useful for consumers only if they are accurate'. Clorox was ordered to implement an Australian Consumer Law compliance program, publish a corrective notice on its website, and contribute to the ACCC's legal costs. The GLAD bags in question were discontinued in July 2023, shortly after the ACCC began its investigation. Between June 2021 and about 13 November 2022, GLAD included a disclaimer in small font on the back of their bags. It read: '*Made using 50% ocean bound plastic that is collected from communities with no formal waste management system within 50km of the shore line'. The disclaimer on the back of the bag revealed the 'ocean plastic' was found inland From March 6 2022, GLAD changed the packaging again, this time saying it was 'Made using 50% Ocean Bound Plastic*'. A new disclaimer was added that read '*Made using 50% ocean bound recycled plastic that is collected from communities with no formal waste management system within 50 km of the shore line'. The ACCC says these changes were 'insufficient to dispel the false or misleading ocean plastic representation'. The act has been branded as 'greenwashing', which the ACCC defines as when 'a business uses any claim, or omits key information, that makes a product or service seem better or less harmful for the environment than it really is'. 'We take allegations of greenwashing extremely seriously and will continue to monitor claims made by businesses and, where appropriate, will take enforcement action on misleading environmental claims,' Ms Cass-Gottlieb said. A 2023 report by the ACCC into greenwashing found that 57 per cent of businesses surveyed in Australia made claims that 'raised concern' regarding their validity into environmental practices. In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Clorox said that 'GLAD Australia takes seriously its obligations to package and market its products with claims that are accurate and substantiated.' Adding 'While the ACCC and the Court recognised that Glad did not intend to mislead consumers, we respect this outcome and see this as an opportunity to further enhance our practices and reaffirm our commitment to offering products that help reduce environmental impact and meet consumers evolving needs.' A military clerk stole nearly 1million from the Ministry of Defence to pay for hair transplants, Turkey teeth and cosmetic surgery for a fake six-pack in an expenses scam, a court has been told. Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, ran the scheme while working at Regent's Park Barracks in central London. He defrauded taxpayers of 911,677, of which he kept 557,093 for himself. Stelmach-Purdie had a love for the good life - undergoing a hair transplant and flying to Turkey for teeth-whitening and abdominal implants. Officers searched his home and found nine pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, a Louis Vuitton luggage set and three Patek Philippe watches which turned out to be fake. Stelmach-Purdie ran the expenses swindle with the help of five others, who appeared before him in court yesterday and were convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud. Stelmach-Purdie, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, was told he faces jail for fraud and money laundering after uploading fake claims onto an online admin portal from November 2014 to January 2016. Southwark Crown Court heard yesterday how he was assisted by five other clerks, former sergeant Roger Clerice, 28, Allan O'Neil, 48, Lee Richards, 41, Anthony Sharwood, 38, and Peter Wilson, 55. Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, (pictured) ran an expenses scam while working at Regent's Park Barracks in central London Prosecutor Domonic Connolly told the court: 'This case concerns a series of frauds carried out by a number of employees of the Ministry of Defence at their administrative headquarters situated within Regents Park Barracks in Central London. 'These defendants, who were all employed at the Regent's Park Barracks made a series of fictitious claims to expenses and allowances that they were not entitled to. 'As a result of these frauds, there has been a loss of public funds totalling 911,677.66. These are public funds that had been demarcated for the defence of the realm and the protection of its armed services.' Prosecutors said the fraud centred around the use of the Joint Personal Administration (JPA) - an online administrative system used by the UK armed forces to pay the salaries of staff, including claims for expenses and allowances. While he was responsible for the management of claims to expenses and allowances, Stelmach-Purdie used his position to make fraudulent claims on his JPA account and on the accounts of others, the court was told. He then used the bank accounts of third parties, including his mother and sister, to conceal the proceeds of the fraud, the court heard. The other defendants told the court they were approached by Stelmach-Purdie in or shortly after December 2014, when he claimed he had found a way to 'make some money manipulating JPA', prosecutors said. The military clerks ran the expenses scam from London's Regent's Park Barracks (pictured) Stelmach-Purdie's line manager Clerice, who was an administration specialist, received 7,691 from the fraud. He pleaded guilty to money laundering. Wilson, a former lance sergeant who retired from the army in October 2015, continued to receive 230,400 in fraudulent claims made by Stelmach-Purdie for months until December 31 2015. Between June and December 2015, Wilson's JPA account was used to make 28 fraudulent claims totalling 378,662. Sharwood, a former corporal in the Royal Marines who retired from the Armed Forces in January this year, was involved in eight fraudulent expenses claims made between January 2015 and November 2015, totalling 28,935. The defendant, from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, admitted to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in March 2023. Richards, a former lance sergeant from Amesbury in Wiltshire, was convicted by a jury of 103 fraudulent claims made between March 2015 and January 2016, totalling 434,825. He retained approximately 160,000 of that sum, the court heard. Wilson, from Kidderminster in Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in March 2023. The military clerk stole 1million from the Ministry of Defence to pay for hair transplants, Turkey teeth and a fake six pack The total value of the fraud he pleaded guilty to is 385,432 involving 28 fraudulent claims made between June 2015 and January 2016. A total of 378,662.26 passed through his bank account, 149,781 of which he retained, the court was told. O'Neil, a former sergeant from Droitwich in Worcestershire, was involved in three fraudulent claims totalling 18,218, and has pleaded guilty to money laundering. Stelmach-Purdie, whom the court heard was involved in all of the 161 fraudulent claims, was dismissed from the Armed Forces in January 2016 after he was convicted and sentenced over four counts of sexual activity with a child. When interviewed by police shortly after over his fraudulent activity, Stelmach-Purdie said he became involved because of the state of poor mental health brought about by the sexual allegations made against him. Prosecutor Connolly told the judge: 'When he (Stelmach-Purdie) commenced his job in administration, he was aware people were making claims for allowances that they were not entitled to. 'He claimed he felt people knew of these proceedings and would use it against him if he didn't comply with their claims. 'He would allow claims to go through for a percentage in return.' Stelmach-Purdie pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of money laundering in August 2023. All six defendants are due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. The US is 'working very hard' to negotiate a 'great' trade deal with Keir Starmer's government because Donald Trump 'really loves the UK', vice president JD Vance has said. Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports to the US earlier this month, rocking the world economy and sending stock prices tumbling, sparking fears of a global recession. The UK government has been hopeful of a deal to exempt the UK from Trump's tariffs, and in an interview on Tuesday, Vance said he was optimistic that both sides could come to a mutually beneficial agreement. 'We're certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer's government' on a trade deal, Vance told the website UnHerd. 'The President really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And he's a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think it's much deeper than that. 'There's a real cultural affinity. And, of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country. 'I think there's a good chance that, yes, we'll come to a great agreement that's in the best interest of both countries.' The US is 'working very hard' to negotiate a 'great' trade deal with Keir Starmer's government because Donald Trump 'really loves the UK', vice president JD Vance has said The UK government has been hopeful of a deal to exempt the UK from Trump's tariffs Britain was spared the most punitive treatment in Trump's initial tariff announcement, due to the two sides enjoying a largely balanced trade relationship. Still, British imports in the US now incur a 10 per cent charge while its steel and car sectors incur a rate of 25 per cent. Vance told UnHerd that the U.S. administration was working very hard with Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government. Vance said the 'reciprocal relationship' between the US and UK gave Britain a more advantageous position than other European countries when it comes to negotiating new trade arrangements. 'While we love the Germans, they are heavily dependent on exporting to the United States but are pretty tough on a lot of American businesses that would like to export into Germany.' Chancellor Rachel Reeves will aim to continue negotiations for an economic deal with the US later this month when she travels to Washington to attend the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings with other finance ministers. She warned earlier this week that the US tariffs will have a 'profound' impact, saying she is 'under no illusion about the difficulties that lie ahead'. But in an article for the Observer she also said that the UK would argue for a 'more balanced global economic and trading system' that 'recognises the benefits of free trade'. British and American officials have been locked in talks for weeks that initially focused on boosting cooperation on artificial intelligence and tech but could also expand to include food and other goods. It comes as the trade war between the US and China has continued to intensify, with Trump accusing Beijing of trying to 'screw' America. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been touring south east Asia this week, making the case for free trade in the region and presenting Beijing as a source of 'stability and certainty.' In a clear reference to Trump's tariffs, he urged Vietnam to 'oppose unilateralism and bullying practices' and told its communist leader that the two nations should 'strengthen strategic resolve.' Reacting to the visit, Trump said: 'I don't blame China; I don't blame Vietnam.'That's a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, 'how do we screw the United States of America?' Vietnam was hit by one of the highest tariffs of 46 per cent earlier this month. An earthquake has rocked parts of Spain, with the tremors felt by tourists and locals in a popular Costa Blanca resort. Residents as well as Brits staying in Torrevieja for the Easter holidays described being 'almost thrown out of bed' when the tremors hit just after midnight. A British ex-pat living in the Los Balcones resort just south of the Alicante town shared his experience of being awoken by the quake. 'It was something else. The whole house was shaking. I couldn't go back to sleep as I thought there was more to come,' he wrote on social media. 'This was the strongest and loudest I've experienced yet.' Another person living in the area described the tremor as 'the strongest quake I have ever felt in my life,' Spanish Eye reports. The epicentre was just five kilometres from the popular holiday hotspot and was registered at a magnitude of 3, according to the Instituto Geografico Nacional. A series of quakes was also registered off the coast of Barcelona, north of the Balearic islands, shortly after. Residents as well as Brits staying in Torrevieja for the Easter holidays described being 'almost thrown out of bed' Your browser does not support iframes. Local Matias Web said on X that while he is 'used to these types of events', last night's quake produced 'a very loud noise, as if rocks had been breaking deep underground.' 'We were probably very close to the epicentre,' he added. One Spanish social media user wrote: 'My whole house shook!', while another simply said: 'I'm terrified.' 'In Orihuela Costa there was a lot of noise and vibrations,' another said. 'It was pretty noticeable, it was short but strong,' one person described. Another local said: 'Well, an earthquake just woke me up here at home in Torrevieja... What an unpleasant feeling. I'm freaked out.' A Brit in the area described the incident on a Facebook forum as a 'big earthquake', while another said: 'It was also quite loud.' The heartbroken family of a toddler killed in a tragic crash have described the 'unimaginable void' left in their lives. Three-year-old Heidi was walking along a footpath in Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula last Friday when a car allegedly lost control and collided into her. Emergency services were called to Presidents Avenue in Ocean Grove, 20km south-east of Geelong, where Heidi died at the scene. An Ocean Grove woman, 71, was arrested at the scene and interviewed by detectives before she was released, pending further inquiries. No charges have been laid at this stage. The local community have rallied around Heidi's parents Liesl and Nathan and sister, Bonnie. 'Heidi was a bright, beautiful, joy-filled little girl who brought light and love wherever she went,' family friend Kristi Davidson wrote on a GoFundMe. 'Her absence leaves an unimaginable void in the lives of all who knew and loved her.' Three-year-old Heidi (pictured) was walking along a footpath at Ocean Grove in Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula when a car allegedly lost control and collided with her Police inquiries into the fatal collision outside Ocean Grove Library continue 'In the midst of their heartbreak, Liesl and Nathan have expressed deep gratitude for the overwhelming love and support they've already received.' The family has been inundated with support from friends, their church, and the wider community, including prayers, meals, flowers and cards. More than $45,000 already has been raised to help the family with daily expenses such as rent, groceries and bills as well as food delivery and cleaning services. 'This practical support will be a blessing to them, not only so they don't feel the need to return to work too soon, but allowing space for them to grieve, heal, and be together,' Ms Davidson said. Victoria Police are yet to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the collision. Inquiries by Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives continue. The tragedy has rocked the beachside town. 'It was like a catastrophe, it was like an earthquake happened by silently,' local resident Tracey Pinnow told Nine News last weekend. Tributes were placed at the scene where little Heidi's life was tragically cut short 'All we can think about is the parents, out of no fault of their own enjoying the afternoon, walking home from the shops. 'Everyone is in tears, and we just can't believe anything like this can happen so quickly.' Andrew Pinnow added: 'It's hard to believe that this has happened.' 'A small seaside place like Ocean Grove where children walk by all the time everyday.' Anyone who witnessed the collision, has CCTV, dashcam footage or any information that could assist police has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers. Horror footage shows the moment a gun was pointed at a group on a street in Salford last night before seven people were arrested. The offender, seen on a bike, pointed the weapon - believed to be a firearm - at a crowd on Romney Street as the crowd screamed in terror. Armed police raced to the residential road and cordoned it off, along with nearby Littleton Road last night with a police helicopter circling overhead. A huge scene was put in place as the nearby area was evacuated. Witnesses reported seeing 'at least 30' armed officers, with police vans and ambulances in attendance. The mobile phone video showed a male dressed in dark clothing appearing to point the weapon at a group in the street. Shortly after, other footage showed armed officers arriving with one suspect seen lying on the ground with their arms behind their back. A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'At around 9:30pm yesterday (15/04/2025), specialist officers were deployed following reports that a gun had been seen during a disturbance on Romney Street in Salford. 'We have arrested seven people in connection with this incident, including a man, aged 54, on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and six teenagers, aged 16-18, on suspicion of affray. Horror footage shows the moment a gun was pointed at a group on a street in Salford last night before seven people were arrested Armed police raced to the residential road and cordoned it off, along with nearby Littleton Road last night with a police helicopter circling overhead 'A crossbow has also been recovered.' One resident of Romney Street said the incident erupted after a house party. 'All of them were just being loud, I started recording to send it to my landlord which is the exact moment couple of boys started running,' they said. 'And then a guy on a bike with a lot of lights pulled out a handheld gun and he didn't let it off, he just pulled it and aimed it.' Multiple police vehicles were seen on Romney Street before adjoining Littleton Road was cordoned off. Bystanders said they were told to 'evacuate the area'. 'We got told by a member of the public someone was seriously hurt and everybody had to evacuate the area,' one person said. Describing the size of the police response, another local said: 'There were at least 30 police cars. 'They were all the way from Littleton Road to the Shell Garage on Cromwell Road.' GMP said a dispersal order has been put in place in the area until late on Tuesday night. The mobile phone video showed a male dressed in dark clothing appearing to point the weapon at a group in the street Other footage showed armed officers arriving with one suspect seen lying on the ground with their arms behind their back Detective Superintendent Simon Moyles said: 'Our frontline officers' rapid response to a concerning report prevented what could have been a dangerous incident from occurring. 'There was a large group of youths gathering in the area, and officers intervened in fights and helped several young people return home safely. Thankfully, no one at the scene required medical treatment. 'Our investigation is moving at a pace; we have arrested seven people and taken a weapon off the streets while enquiries are ongoing. 'A police presence will remain in the area as we conduct enquiries and gather evidence. Neighbourhood officers will be patrolling around to provide reassurance to the local community. 'We understand an incident of this nature will cause alarm, and we encourage anyone with concerns to speak with a neighbourhood officer; they are there to help. You can also contact a local officer via the Your Area page on our website: Your area | Greater Manchester Police. 'If you have any information to support our investigation, call 101, quoting log 3631 14/04/2025 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.' Chinese recruits who fought for Russia in Ukraine have said they 'made a mistake' and had no idea they would be sent to tear through Ukrainian villages, blaming Russian propaganda for tricking them into signing up. Others claim they were attracted by promises of a high salary and quick release contracts, only to discover once they got to the front that their commanders treated them as 'less than human'. The presence of Chinese fighters in Russian frontline units was officially confirmed earlier this month when two Chinese nationals, Wang Guangjun and Zhang Renbo, were captured and paraded before Ukrainian media. In interviews with Ukrainian army officials, both appeared bewildered and almost relieved, as though they were thankful to their captors for liberating them from their Russian commanders. In a press conference yesterday in Kyiv, Wang claimed Russian propaganda videos on the Chinese version of TikTok had encouraged him to sign up for military service after he lost his job. The 33-year-old said: 'To my compatriots who want to join the Ukraine war, I want to say: don't take part in this war... I want to apologise to my parents. My only wish is to follow all the instructions that will help me return home.' Zhang meanwhile said he 'knew nothing about Ukraine' before the war and that he did not want to be exchanged back to Russia. 'When you really participate in the war, when the moment of the fighting comes, you will find that everything is a lie,' he said solemnly. The experience of Chinese soldiers in Ukraine was exposed in great detail by another recruit, nicknamed 'Red Macaron', who gave a lengthy interview to independent Chinese broadcaster Chai Jing that was shared on YouTube last month. Speaking via FaceTime from a trench in Bakhmut, in Ukraine's occupied Donetsk region, Macaron said that he realised he was likely going to die on the frontline and decided to 'share some real life experiences... and tell (the Chinese people) what war is like for an ordinary soldier.' 'I made the wrong choice joining this war... every inch of ground is taken with blood, there's nothing noble about it, nothing cool... or good. There's no humanity, no morality,' he told Chai. A Security Service of Ukraine officer escorts Chinese national Wang Guangjun to the press conference on April 14, 2025 in Kyiv Detained Chinese nationals Zhang Renbo (L) and Wang Guangjun (R) are present at the press conference on April 14, 2025 in Kyiv The experience of Chinese soldiers in Ukraine was exposed in great detail by another recruit, nicknamed 'Red Macaron', who gave a lengthy interview to independent Chinese broadcaster Chai Jing Ukrainian serviceman from 30th brigade coneal a mobile howitzer in the direction of Bakhmut, Ukraine on January 8, 2025 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on April 8 issued a statement claiming at least 155 Chinese nationals were battling on the frontlines. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine had summoned the Chinese ambassador to demand an explanation. In a damning admission, he added that the presence of Chinese nationals fighting for Russia 'puts into question China's declared stance for peace'. Beijing swiftly hit back at the Ukrainian government statements, calling the claims 'totally unfounded'. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a press conference it was 'absolutely groundless' to suggest many Chinese citizens were fighting in Ukraine. 'The Chinese government has always asked its citizens to stay away from areas of armed conflict (and) avoid involvement in armed conflicts in any form,' he said. But in his interview with Chai Jing, Red Macaron said he thought there were 'at least a few hundred' Chinese fighters who had signed up to fight for the Kremlin. He also said Russian commanders would routinely abuse foreign mercenaries, particularly those who weren't white. 'The Russian commanding officers would openly insult Black soldiers. They'd say these really horrible, racist things about Black, Arab, and Chinese soldiers. 'One officer even said, 'Right now, it's wartime, the war is still going on. But once the war's over, how about we kill the lot of you? You won't be going home alive',' he claimed. Macaron also told how he was given a decades-old gun and partially destroyed, broken equipment before being sent into battle. He later procured rusted body armour from a fallen comrade, but his commanding officer allegedly took it from him and refused to give it back. When he complained, he was thrown into a 'punishment pit' - kept in a tiny space behind bars and only allowed out once per day to use a toilet. 'After the first time I was released from the pit, my will to fight was gone. Why would I want to fight for someone who throws me in a dungeon, someone who treats me like that? I felt like they had no respect for me at all,' he said. A Ukrainian soldier of an artillery unit fires towards Russian positions outside Bakhmut Chinese national Zhang Renbo attends the press conference on April 14, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a press conference in Kyiv, April 4, 2025 Video purported to show Chinese citizens detained after fighting for Russia A Ukrainian howitzer fires towards Russian troops on the Donetsk frontline, on April 6, 2025 NATO members have branded China a 'decisive enabler' of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Beijing continues to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict but has never openly condemned Putin's move. Philip Ingram MBE, retired British Army colonel and military intelligence specialist, told MailOnline: 'I am not surprised Chinese nationals have been captured. 'Whilst China won't be formally providing troops to Russia they won't discourage individuals wanting to join. 'They will probably be sending liaison staff and special forces to gain combat experience but in as deniable a way as possible.' Though Zelensky officially recognised the presence of Chinese nationals fighting in Ukraine earlier this month, there have been reports suggesting they arrived in Russia months ago. Radio Free Europe quoted one Chinese national in February who 'confirmed to us that he had been fighting in Russia but had already returned home', correspondent Mark Krutov said. While foreign volunteers have participated on both sides of the conflict, Russia has been accused of leveraging extensive propaganda campaigns and paid advertisements on social media to attract foreign recruits. Red Macaron sought to discourage war fever in his home nation and told Chinese citizens considering a future in Russia's army to stay at home. 'I hope China can maintain a sensible stance and avoid rashly starting or getting drawn into a war. A lot of people watch these exaggerated patriotic dramas that glorify war like Wolf Warrior and Drawing Sword and they get all fired up. But the reality of battle is incredibly brutal. It's literally hell on earth. 'Why should I be cannon fodder in someone else's war? Before I came, I didn't know that's how they'd treat me.' Taco Bell lovers may soon be forced to say adios to the popular fast food restaurant after the Australian operator announced it would be selling the chain. The ASX-listed Collins Foods, which also runs KFC stores across the country, announced the news on Tuesday and aims to finalise its plans within a year. 'Collins Foods has decided to exit its Taco Bell business,' a release published on the ASX stated. 'If a new operator cannot be identified and/or an agreement cannot be reached, other exit options will be explored. 'Collins Foods intends to complete the transition within the next 12 months, subject to formal terms being agreed.' Further details, including the cost of selling off the Mexican-themed chain will be released further down the line. Collins chief executive and manager director Xavier Simonet highlighted Australia's 'challenging economic environment' for the decision to sell. He reassured that customers will still be the priority. Collins Foods announced sad news for Mexican food lovers on Tuesday (stock image) To keep Taco Bell stores open in Australia, a new operator would have to be found 'We remain laser focused on delivering operational excellence in our core market, Australia, where we continue to successfully adapt to a dynamic consumer landscape,' Mr Simonet said. 'We will continue to deliver high-quality food at accessible prices, leveraging the heritage of the KFC brand at a time when consumer trust has never been more important.' Taco Bell stores in Australia have been in fierce competition with Guzman y Gomez, a rival chain also known for its Mexican-style casual dining. Guzman y Gomez saw a market capitalisation of more than $3.4billion after joining the ASX in 2024, the Australian Financial Review reported. Meanwhile, Taco Bell made a loss of $1.1million in the six months up to October 13. The beloved US brand has tried to crack the Australian market since the 1980s, with Collins Food taking over in 2017, but it has not been straightforward. Over the years it has been embroiled in an old feud over naming rights after Collins was taken to court by Taco Bill - a Victorian-focused fast food rival. Collins said Taco Bill Mexican Restaurants Australia was trying to stop them from bringing the chain to Victoria and southern NSW in November 2019. Taco Bell has had a bumpy history in establishing stores across Australia after multiple feuds over naming rights over the decades (stock image) Taco Bell had attempted to open stores in the late 90s but failed despite managing to register its trademark, an action that locked it and Taco Bill in a four-year legal stoush. Prior to that, Taco Bell had also failed to open a store in 1981 after a Sydney restaurant called Taco Bell's Casa took it to court over its name. When the franchise finally opened Australia's first Taco Bell store in Brisbane in November 2017, the restaurant attracted a line out the door that lasted months. The Mexican-themed fast food chain is famous for its bargain burritos, quesadillas and nachos. Collins Foods operates 27 Taco Bells and 285 of the 750 KFC stores across Australia. It also runs KFCs in the Netherlands and Germany. Have YOU had issues with construction work on your home? Email gethin.hicks@mailonline.co.uk A son was forced to put his parents into a care home after a bogus workman left a gaping hole in their ceiling and ran away with his money. Paul McArdle, 52, had moved back into his parents' house in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, after his mother, Patricia, and later his father, James, were diagnosed with dementia. After noticing a leak in the property's roof, Paul hired workman William Watt to carry out repairs. But after completing just half a job, the bogus worker never returned to finish the repair and instead kept the cash for himself. With the roof continuing to deteriorate throughout 2021 and Watt dodging Paul's calls, the son could no longer afford to have the roof fixed - and was given no choice but to move his two vulnerable parents into a care home. 'The ceiling had partially collapsed and there was water seeping through the light fitting in my room,' he said. 'I kept calling him, telling him how bad it was. Then by December I'd had enough and asked for my money back.' The matter was later reported to the police and after an investigation the following year, Watt pleaded guilty to a charge of theft. After noticing a leak in the home's roof, Paul McArdle (pictured) hired workman William Watt to carry out repairs After William Watt ran away with Paul's money despite completing just half a job, the son was left with no choice but to put his parents in a care home Paul says the house is still without hot water because of damage caused to the boiler by the leaking roof, and that he has to sleep in the living room because of dampness in his bedroom He was ordered to pay out 2,760 in compensation within 12 months when he was sentenced at Greenock Sheriff Court last year. Unfortunately, Paul's dad died in October 2024. At the time of his death, Watt hadn't paid any money back, with the first payment of 500 eventually made in January 2025. Paul said that putting his parents into a care home was 'one of the hardest things I've ever had to do'. 'This court case had a massive impact on them and had a massive impact on me,' he added. 'I'm suffering with depression, stress and anxiety. For a long time I was adamant that they weren't going to go in a care home. 'Mum and dad didn't want to go onto a care home either, but they had to. 'If he had carried out the repair back in 2021 when he should have done, I think they could have stayed in the house another two years.' Paul's parents moved into Newark Care Home a short distance away - but Paul said that he believed his dad was still hopeful of moving back home prior to his death. 'I visited him just after he had been diagnosed,' Paul continued, 'and he asked "how was the roof damage?" Paul moved his parents, Patricia and James, into Newark Care Home. Unfortunately, James died before he ever got to return to the family home 'Then another day we had another conversation and he said "this is going to take a long time" and he got very upset. 'My mum and dad were the life and soul of this house. Now it is just soulless. 'My mum still recognises me and she cries when I visit her and she cries when I leave. It breaks my heart.' Paul says the house is still without hot water because of damage caused to the boiler by the leaking roof, and that he has to sleep in the living room because of dampness in his bedroom. Paul is now working for a tech company and hopes to save enough by the end of the years to make the roof wind and watertight. 'When a case calls in court,' he said, 'people don't know the full story of the emotional impact on the victims. 'He gave this sob story that he was so ashamed. So why didn't he come up and fix the roof for free?' Watt still has two months to complete payment of the compensation. Watt's solicitor, Gerry Keenan, told last June's sentencing hearing that his client, who appeared as a first offender, was 'very remorseful' and was 'anxious to make restitution so that the complainer is not out of pocket'. In addition to the compensation order, Watt was told to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work and was put under social work supervision for 12 months. A Russian mother allegedly killed her baby and two young children before taking her son, 7, to visit his grandparents because she 'did not have the strength to deal with him'. Valentina Mytko, 29, hacked her daughter, four, and sons, eight and seven months, to death with an axe, according to the country's Investigative Committee. Mytko is under investigation for the multiple murders of her children 'with particular cruelty' in Kansk, Krasnoyarsk region on April 14. Neighbours heard screams as the eight-year-old was killed, according to the evidence in the case. 'He screamed really loudly,' said one. The killings were witnessed by the woman's other child, a boy aged seven, when he returned from school, according to reports. The church-going mother took the boy to his grandparents and 'sat down and cried'. Committee official Yulia Arbuzova said: 'He did not see what happened there. 'He was in another room. A mother allegedly killed her baby and two young children before taking her son, 7, to visit his grandparents because she 'did not have the strength to deal with him' Valentina Mytko, 29, from Russia , hacked her daughter, four, and sons, eight and seven months to death with an axe, according to the country's Investigative Committee Chilling footage shows the police investigating the crime scene and murder weapon after the horrific attack A police officer can be seen picking up a rusty axe (pictured) as a colleague examines it for traces of blood 'Then the woman took the boy and went to her parents, and she told them what happened. 'Her father went into the house and found the children there, after which [he] called the police.' Later during an interrogation she could not explain what had happened but allegedly told investigators that she 'did not have the strength to deal with [her surviving son].' The killings happened after the woman's husband, a driver, had gone out to work, it is alleged. The children were found to have 'axe wounds to their heads and various parts of their bodies', reported the official Kremlin newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The suspected axe allegedly used as the murder weapon was found at the site of the killings. Chilling footage shows the police investigating the crime scene and murder weapon after the horrific attack. The children were found to have 'axe wounds to their heads and various parts of their bodies', reported the official Kremlin newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta Neighbours heard screams as the eight-year-old was killed, according to the evidence in the case Russian social services officials are facing criminal prosecution for 'negligence' over the deaths as the investigating committee believes officials knew Mytko had been registered with 'paranoid schizophrenia', and that the children were at risk, yet did not act In one clip a police officer can be seen picking up a rusty axe as a colleague examines it for traces of blood. The Investigative Committee of Russia for Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Republic of Khakassia said in a statement: 'A report was received about the discovery in a private home on Gertsena Street in the city of Kansk of the bodies of three young children: a four-year-old girl and two boys aged seven months and eight years with cut wounds to the head and various parts of the body.' Russian social services officials are facing criminal prosecution for 'negligence' over the deaths as the investigating committee believes officials knew Mytko had been registered with 'paranoid schizophrenia', and that the children were at risk, yet did not act. The desperate hunt to track down Valerie the miniature dachshund has turned into a tense waiting game after new vision emerged of her visiting high-tech traps. Valerie vanished in November 2023 after escaping her pen during a camping trip at Stokes Bay on Kangaroo Island off the South Australian coast. Despite searching for five days in dense bushland, her devastated owners Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock returned home in Albury on the NSW-Victoria border without her. But the broader effort to find the elusive sausage dog never ended, bolstered last month when she was caught on camera for the first time since her disappearance. Kangala Wildlife Rescue, run by Jared and Lisa Karran, has spent weeks searching for Valerie. Their efforts paid off on Monday when the sausage dog was captured on camera visiting a trap. The footage showed the pooch eating from a bowl, sniffing toys and walking around the area. 'Valerie is now attending our trap site on a regular basis, even if that means she disappears for five or six days, we now know she will return,' the rescue group captioned the video. When Valerie the miniature dachshund escaped her pen during a camping trip, owners Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock (pictured) spent five days searching dense bushland Kangala Wildlife Rescue has led the hunt for Valerie for weeks and announced on Tuesday that she has visited their carefully placed traps multiple times (captured on camera) 'She has become confident entering the large dog trap which has been set up like her own little room.' The rescue decked out the cage with Valerie's old toys and bed from home, her owners' clothing, hidden food and challenges to keep her entertained. 'We have seen an amazing change in Valeries demeanor recently as she begins to remember all those familiar smells, tastes and sounds,' it wrote. The rescue has not been able to safely ensnare the dog yet 'due to the abundance of wildlife and Valeries constantly changing schedule'. This includes the complex issue of carefully placed traps attracting possums, wallabies and kangaroos as well as Valerie. 'All these guys are coming into the trap, so we have to be strategic,' Ms Karan said. The wait may soon be over as the final part needed for a custom-built trap will arrive this week. The high-tech cage will rely on a mobile phone network to use a remote trigger system, which will then safely capture Valerie. The story of Valerie's miraculous survival for more than 500 days in Australian wilderness has captured the world's attention Valerie's small size, speed, and sharp canine instincts have helped her survive in the wild, but those same traits have also made her too difficult to catch. 'She's still in that survival mode. To be able to survive in these conditions is absolutely incredible,' Ms Karan said. Sightings of the dog are so eagerly sought that the rescue has dubbed Valerie 'the dachshund version of Bigfoot'. Aussies took to social media to celebrate the major milestone in the months-long search. 'How exciting. Brings tears to ones eyes. It looks a great trap set up there to,' one wrote. Valerie (captured on CCTV this week) is one step closer to be reunited with her owners Valerie (pictured) has spent more than 500 days in the Australian wilderness Another added: 'As a dachshund owner of a little girl too, l'm following this closely.' 'They are such little hunters her true dachshunds instincts have given her the gift of survival.' The hunt for Valerie has captured the imagination of people across the globe with The New York Times running the headline: 'Dachshund Lost on Australian Island Is Still Alive, but Elusive.' The story also reached the UK where The Independent reported 'Miniature dachshund spotted alive 16 months after being lost in wilderness: Impossible to catch.' This is the shocking moment a gangster's moll battered a woman with a hammer in a love triangle street brawl just days before helping a group of thugs torture and kill her drug-dealing ex-husband. Brutal Coleen Campbell launched into the savage daylight attack against Niamh Wasik in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester on June 29, 2022. The onslaught took place days before Campbell's ex-husband, Thomas Campbell, was tortured to death by three men, acting on information she provided. Drug dealer Thomas was ambushed as he unlocked his front door in Mossley, Greater Manchester, on July 2, 2022. He had been followed after a tracker was placed on his van while he was picking up his daughter from school. He was stabbed, punched and stamped on before boiling water was poured on his buttocks. Neighbours found his body in the hallway naked except for his socks. Coleen was later exposed after a seance in which she revealed graphic details about Thomas's injuries that would have only been known by his killers. Campbell was caged for 13 years for her role in Thomas's death. Two men were also convicted over the attack, while a third accused of murder is due to go on trial later this year. On Monday, Coleen was hauled before the courts again following her involvement in a separate attack involving two other women, Hannah Derbyshire, 27, and Chloe Bamford, 30, and Simon Bowden, 38. Derbyshire was said to be in a love triangle with Ms Wasik and James Heaney, who was dating both women, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Coleen Campbell launched into the savage daylight attack in Ashton-under-Lyne on June 29, 2022 - days before helping gangsters to find and torture her husband Thomas to death Campbell's ex-husband Thomas (pictured) was tortured to death days after she took part in the love triangle attack Coleen was caught on a CCTV camera plotting the attack against her ex-husband at her home Pictured is Campbell and another woman as they batter Niamh Wasik in Ashton-under-Lyne on June 29, 2022 Prosecutors said the love triangle was the reason for the attack. Campbell, who appeared via video link from HMP Drake Hall in Staffordshire, was not part of the triangle. Campbell was armed with a hammer while Bamford wielded a rolling pin. Bowden had a 2ft long drill bit on him at the time of the attack. Prosecutor Danielle Gilmour told how Campbell was driving a VW Tiguan with the three other defendants in the car, on June 29, 2022 before ambushing Ms Wasik at the junction of Rutland Street and Granville Street in Ashton-under-Lyne. The four then got out and launched into a frenzied assault on the victim, which was caught on CCTV. Derbyshire leapt out the car and began 'raining down blows and kicks' on the victim,' the court heard, while Bowden - armed with a 'two foot long drill bit' - pulled a balaclava down over his face. Campbell, wearing all black and armed with a hammer, hit the victim 'multiple times' before dragging the woman to the ground where she was kicked by Campbell and her two female accomplices. The brutal battering lasted about 90 seconds before Campbell and the three other attackers fled the scene in the Tiguan, with a rock being hurled at the vehicle's windshield as it sped away. Campbell allegedly stole the victim's handbag, which was found in her home when police raided it, the court heard. Campbell, wearing all black and armed with a hammer, hit the victim 'multiple times' before dragging the woman to the ground where she was kicked by Campbell and her accomplices Thomas and Coleen Campbell pose during a holiday photo. Thomas died in July 2022 Campbell and her three accomplices all 'lied or made no comment' when questioned by police, a judge said. Bamford claimed she had been acting in self-defence, while Bowden said he had been in Manchester city centre at the time. It is not known whether the victim suffered any injuries, as she refused to co-operate with police. The attack took place just days before Campbell helped gangsters murder her ex-husband. Coleen and Thomas initially became notorious over a string extravagant trips abroad funded by their family-run cocaine trafficking racket. The couple who married in 2011 were eventually detained in a police operation in 2018 which culminated in them admitting concealing criminal property. Coleen was given a suspended sentence but Thomas served two years jail and after his release from jail the couple split up acrimoniously in 2021 when he started an affair with another woman. Initially Coleen sent messages to friends saying: 'Best thing this man did was sh*g my baggy mate 12 months ago. Roll on new beginnings.' She later got caught up in the sinister plot after the unnamed mistress' ex-boyfriend also learnt of the romance and decided to rob Thomas of cash, drugs and valuables in a revenge raid on his home. Campbell later implicated herself in the 'barbaric killing' by sharing graphic details about his injuries during a bizarre seance. The former Matalan store assistant visited a clairvoyant four days after Thomas was tortured to death. At the spiritual meeting, she claimed Thomas was summoned by the clairvoyant and said he gave intimate details about both the killing and his injuries as she listened in. She relayed them to the victim's suspicious mother, Lynn Campbell, who alerted police to the bizarre conversation. At the time of the seance, little information had previously been made public by police about the fatal assault - but Colleen fell under suspicion as only the killers could have known the details about Thomas' fatal wounds. Coleen Campbell was jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of manslaughter. Her ex-husband Thomas Campbell (pictured together outside court in 2019) was ambushed and murdered in July 2022 Thomas Campbell (left) suffered 61 separate injuries after being stabbed, punched, stamped on and even had boiling water poured on his buttocks Lynn Campbell (above), told police how Coleen shared intimate details of her son's injuries and information on his attackers after claiming to have been visited by her ex-partner during an encounter with a clairvoyant days after the attack She was later arrested and jailed for 13 years for her part in the murder plot. During her latest court appearance on Monday for the attack on Ms Wasik, Campbell and her three co-accused all pleaded guilty to violent disorder. Campbell also admitted theft. Defending Campbell, Bob Elias said she appeared an 'amiable, bright and pleasant woman'. Constance Halliwell for Bowden said the father had a young son who was just starting high school and that he was determined to 'keep himself on the straight and narrow', The court heard the defendant had been recalled to prison on a life licence since August 2022, which he received as part of an indeterminate sentence for public protection for robbery. Beautician Bamford had no previous convictions and was completing a university degree, her lawyer Umar Shahzad, told the court. While John Richards, who represented Derbyshire, said his client a catering assistant at a pub also had no previous convictions and insisted she was 'thoroughly ashamed' of her actions which were a 'one off'. Campbell is pictured outside Manchester Crown Court during an earlier hearing on a different matter in 2019 Police launched a murder probe after Mr Campbell's body was discovered by neighbours Sentencing, Recorder Michael Blakey said: 'On June 29, 2022, the four of you went in a car, clearly a planned adventure, to a place, Granville Street in Ashton-under-Lyne, where the victim in this case was assaulted. 'The motive behind this appears to be the relationship that there was between you, Hannah Derbyshire, and somebody called James Heaney. 'The victim was involved in a relationship with him also. The four of you went in the car, three of you armed, Ms Campbell with a hammer, you Hannah Derbyshire didn't arm yourself, and you Ms Bamford with a rolling pin. Mr Bowden you had a two foot long drill bit in your possession. 'It must have been a very frightening and scary situation which arose, and no doubt put people who were watching what was going on in fear themselves.' He told Campbell: 'You armed yourself with a hammer, you in fact used the hammer on the victim in this case. I have read information which suggests you while you have been in custody have developed insight, that you have attended courses and are doing all you possibly can to reform yourself. That is to be commended.' Campbell and Bowden, both of no fixed address, were sentenced to 18 months in prison each. Derbyshire, of Clayton, and Bamford, of Openshaw, were both handed suspended prison sentences. Brits were warned that Birmingham bin misery could spread today after workers ignored Labour's pleas to end strikes. Union officials said there is 'potential' for walkouts to happen in other areas of the country as they demanded more concessions on pay. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had urged Unite to accept a 'significantly improved offer' to end the month-long crisis, which has seen rats running through mountains of bin bags. Business minister Sarah Jones repeated the message as she toured broadcast studios this morning, insisting: 'Fundamentally what needs to happen now is the strike needs to be called off. 'Unite need to accept the offer that's on the table. It's a good offer and that is what we are asking them to do, and that is the way we're going to get back to normal in Birmingham.' However, it was announced yesterday that union members in Birmingham had voted overwhelmingly against the council's 'totally inadequate' proposal. Brits were warned that Birmingham bin misery could spread today after workers ignored Labour's pleas to end strikes A rat spotted running towards rubbish bags in Birmingham today Business minister Sarah Jones repeated the message as she toured broadcast studios this morning, insisting: 'Fundamentally what needs to happen now is the strike needs to be called off.' Unite general secretary Sharon Graham (pictured) has accused Labour of attacking workers' reputations That scotched hoped of an immediate end to strikes which have left 21,000 tons of rubbish piling up on the streets of England's second city. The rejection ramped up pressure on ministers to get tough on their 'paymasters', with accusations that Labour's inaction was taking Britain 'back to the 1970s'. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham insisted they would not shy away from further action if public sector workers are losing out. 'If other councils decide to make low paid workers pay for bad decisions that they did not make, workers paying the price yet again, then absolutely, of course, we will have to take action in those other areas,' she said. Onay Kasab, national lead officer at Unite, was asked on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 if the strike action in Birmingham could spread to other parts of the country. He said: 'Well, if other local authorities look to cut the pay of essential public service workers, then there is the potential for strike action spreading. 'That's why different political choices need to be made.' Mr Kasab added: 'It's not about doing things more efficiently, I don't think cutting the pay of public service workers is doing things more efficiently. 'If the pay of public service workers is attacked in other local authorities, then we shouldn't be surprised when people take action.' Mr Kasab denied that the union was 'leveraging the public'. He told Times Radio: 'The offer from the council would still lead to a sharp, cliff edge drop in pay, up to 8,000 a year, for our members. 'They have told us in negotiations that they're looking to cut the pay of drivers from around 40,000 to 32,000 a year. 'We've been told that people have been given the opportunity to go on driver training. That's brilliant. However, we also know that there's no driver vacancies, so those people will be put straight down to a grade two role with the cut in pay. Labour was humiliated yesterday as bin workers voted to prolong crippling strikes in Birmingham (Pictured: Uncollected rubbish fills the streets in Balsall Heath) Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner had urged Unite to accept a 'significantly improved offer' to end the month-long crisis, which has seen rats running through mountains of bin bags Rubbish spilling out of bins in the Shard End suburb of Birmingham yesterday 'So far the council has decided to go down their own line. We're meeting again tomorrow, so there are solutions that we've put that could solve this dispute within days.' Conservative West Midlands MP Wendy Morton said the rats dubbed Squeaky Blinders after the TV drama set in the city would be 'dancing in the streets'. Ms Morton said: 'This really shows yet again that Labour-led Birmingham Council and this Labour Government are failing residents and our region. 'They need to get a grip, stop blaming others, and face the unions their paymasters.' Tory local government spokesman Kevin Hollinrake added: 'Yet again, Labour proves utterly incapable of standing up for Birmingham's residents against their union paymasters.' Sir Keir Starmer is facing claims of a Brexit betrayal after it emerged the UK could align with Brussels rules on meat and dairy and accept the rulings of EU judges. Furious Brexiteers are warning the Prime Minister against leaving Britain as a 'rule-taker' in his ongoing negotiations with the EU. Since entering Downing Street, Sir Keir has promised a 'reset' of post-Brexit relations with Brussels and is preparing to host a UK-EU summit in London on May 19. But the PM is enduring a backlash amid reports that Labour could breach the negotiating 'red lines' of the previous Tory government in its talks with the bloc. According to Bloomberg, British officials have signalled to their EU counterparts an openness to accept the dynamic alignment of rules on fresh meat and dairy. It also reported the UK could allow the oversight of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as part of a deal to cut checks on imports of foods and agricultural products. While in power, the Conservatives were loath to accept regulatory alignment or the continued influence of the ECJ after Brexit. There are fears it could impact the UK's ability to strike trade deals with non-EU countries, such as the US. Sir Keir Starmer is facing claims of a Brexit betrayal after it emerged the UK could align with Brussels rules on meat and dairy and accept the rulings of EU judges The PM, pictured with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in October, is being warned against leaving Britain as a 'rule-taker' in his ongoing negotiations with the EU It is reported the UK could allow the oversight of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as part of a deal to cut checks on imports of foods and agricultural products Dynamic alignment is where Britain would agree to follow existing EU rules and copy and paste new ones in order to enable closer trade and reduce border checks. Prior to last year's general election, Sir Keir was accused of trying to reverse Brexit 'by stealth' after he admitted Labour 'don't want to diverge' from EU rules. In Labour's manifesto, the party promised to negotiate a veterinary agreement to prevent 'unnecessary border checks'. Sir Keir is also hoping to agree a new UK-EU security pact, mutual recognition for professional qualifications, and help for British artists to play across Europe as part of his Brexit 'reset'. But he has been hit by EU demands for the UK to back down on post-Brexit fishing rights, as well as to agree a youth mobility scheme, in exchange. Tory MP Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, warned that 'Labour's Brexit betrayal has begun'. She added: 'They spent everyday in opposition blocking Brexit. Starmer and his Government are sabotaging our Brexit freedoms and surrendering our sovereignty. 'They want to impose EU laws on us through the back door, make Britain a rule-taker and subject us to ECJ decisions.' Lord David Frost, the Tory peer and the UK's former chief Brexit negotiator, said: 'It's been obvious for some months Labour are going to do this terrible deal and bring EU law and EU courts back into Britain. 'All that struggle for control and independence - Labour are going to reverse it for nothing in return.' Tory MP Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, warned of 'a blatant betrayal of British interests and freedom to make our own rules'. A Government spokesperson said: 'A closer, more cooperative relationship with the EU will improve the British people's security, safety and prosperity. 'We will act in Britain's national interest and we have been clear there will be no return to freedom of movement, the customs union or the single market. 'We will not provide a running commentary on talks.' An Indiana Jones crew member who was found dead in his hotel room while filming the fifth and final film in Morocco died from heart disease, an inquest has ruled. Nicholas Cupac, 54, who was among 100 crew members working on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was tragically found dead in Fes, Morocco, on October 31, 2021. Mr Cupac, who was working as a camera grip on the blockbuster sequel starring Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, died from ischaemic heart disease, an inquest in writing has revealed. Ischaemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease, is a condition where the heart does not receive enough blood and oxygen due to narrowed or blocked arteries. Crispin Butler, senior coroner for Buckinghamshire, said the cause of death was revealed following a post mortem examination in Morocco before Mr Cupac's body was returned to his family in Britain. In written findings, Mr Butler concluded Mr Cupac's death as 'natural causes' and said the heart disease would have developed over a period of time. Mr Cupac's mother, Jenny, paid tribute to her son after his death, saying her 'world will never be the same'. In a statement via his trade union, Jenny said: 'Nick was my rock he made my life interesting, he made me laugh, giggle and sometimes cry, he took me travelling to places I would never had had the chance to go to.' Nicholas Cupac (pictured), 54, who was among 100 crew members working on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was tragically found dead in Fes, Morocco, on October 31 2021 Mr Cupac's mother, Jenny (pictured with her late son), paid tribute to her son after his death, saying her 'world will never be the same'. She described him as 'wise, caring and protective', adding: 'He didnt just have friends, he valued them. From school, colleges, arborists, neighbours and all in the film world. 'His most redeeming feature being, if he lost the plot or his temper, he would always regret it and attempt to apologise. 'I feel blessed to have been his mother. My world will never be the same.' The Grips Branch, a branch of the trade union Bectu, which represents Grips and Crane Technicians in film and TV, revealed that Mr Cupac, from Bridlington, Yorkshire, and his mother had bought a small caravan which they had plans to 'do the fairs' with in the future. They added: 'When the job in Morocco came up and Nic although suffering somewhat with his sleep apnea and a bit under par decided to go, for where he liked to be was with the crew, the lads whose company he enjoyed and the work he loved this was where he was happiest. It was his last gig.' The tragedy was part of a number of incidents that took place during filming for the action-adventure anthology, which was directed by James Mangold and produced by Steven Spielberg and released in 2023. Mr Cupac was working as a camera grip on the blockbuster sequel starring Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (pictured), died from ischaemic heart disease, an inquest in writing has revealed Four months after Mr Cupac's death, it emerged that Harrison Ford helped another crew member on the set of Indiana Jones 5 who was in the midst of a suspected heart attack. A source told The Sun at the time that the shocking incident took place while the final scenes were being filmed at Pinewood Studios in England. 'All of a sudden a male member of crew collapsed,' the source said. Ford 'was standing just yards away and yelled for a medic,' saying, 'Get me a medic quick,' the source added. Ford was also sidelined for three months during filming after he 'sustained an injury involving his shoulder' while in rehearsal for a fight sequence. The film faced multiple delays during the pandemic, as it was first scheduled to come out in July 9 2021, then delayed to July 29 2022, and only came out in June 2023. It was the fifth instalment in the film series, which followed Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). The husband of a woman killed in a suspicious house fire has been arrested more than 200km from their home and charged with murder. Emergency services rushed to a property on Strack Rd address in Geham, 150km west of Brisbane shortly before 3am Tuesday and arrived to find the house fully alight. The body of Louise Hunt was discovered inside the burnt out home after firefighters spent several hours putting out the blaze. Two children were found uninjured nearby but the woman's husband, Cameron Hunt, was allegedly nowhere to be found. A crime scene was established with a PolAir helicopter seen circling the home. Hunt was arrested 12 hours later in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane. 'A 45-year-old Geham man has been charged with one count each of murder domestic violence offence and arson,' a police statement read. Hunt spent he night in custody and appear in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday. Cameron Hunt (right) has been charged with the alleged murder of his wife, Louise Hunt (left) Emergency services were called to the Geham home (pictured) early Tuesday Formal identification of Ms Hunt's remains is ongoing. The large home was completely destroyed by the fire with confronting images showing its roof caved in and a burnt out car. It's understood the family moved into the home inherited from Ms Hunt's parents Angela and Phil Griffiths. Well known in the nearby Toowoomba community, the Griffiths are said to be devastated by Ms Hunt's death. Operation X-Ray Geo has been established to investigate the fatal blaze. The gutted property remains a crime scene. 'We have homicide investigators from Brisbane who are at the investigation centre assisting Toowoomba detectives,' Detective Superintendent George Marchesini said. 'It is still early stages of the investigation and obviously early stages of doing any thorough examination of that particular scene. Ms Hunt's remains are yet to be formally identified. Her husband will face court on Wednesday The home was engulfed in flames by the time emergency services arrived 'As you can appreciate further scientific and forensic examination needs to occur at that particular scene.' He added the two children were 'safe and well and accounted for'. 'There was no hospitalisations of the children,' Det Supt George Marchesini said. Investigations into whether if anyone else was inside the house when the fire began continue. 'Our investigations now are focusing on not only who resides there but could there have been any other people at that residence,' he said. Ms Hunt's husband has been charged with one count each of murder domestic violence offence and arson 'We are trying to establish and make contact with any other persons that may have been there. 'It's a terrible situation when you have an incident like this.' Police urge anyone with information or CCTV to come forward. The doomed superyacht of tech tycoon Mike Lynch is set to be raised from the Sicilian seabed next month, an inquest was told today. The 184ft Bayesian, which sank in August last year with the loss of seven lives including Mr Lynch and his teenage daughter, capsized after she was caught at anchor during a freak storm. Italian authorities are continuing a manslaughter probe into the deaths on the 30 million vessel, the inquest also heard. Speculation about the tragedy has centred around claims of human error and design flaws the latter firmly refuted by the Italian designers, who filed a massive lawsuit for reputational damage. The Maritime Coastguard Agency told the hearing in Ipswich today that it had been running an investigation in parallel with the Italian authorities. An inspector, Mark Cam, said it would be relying on an inspection of the Bayesian as a primary source when she has finally been brought ashore by a salvage crew next month. The operation is expected to begin on Sunday. We are looking at whether there has been culpability in breaches of maritime legislation, he said. The Italians are conducting a criminal investigation which incorporates the equivalent of manslaughter. Mr Lynch, 59, and Hannah, 18, were among seven people who died when the Bayesian sank in August 2024 Marine Accident Investigation Branch investigator Simon Graves told the inquest it had commissioned a report into the weather at the time of the tragedy and another into the stability and windage of the Bayesian. He added: We hope to issue an interim report in four to six weeks which will provide an overview of the accident. UK authorities are involved because the Bayesian was a British-registered vessel. A total of 22 people 12 crew and ten guests were aboard the Bayesian when she sank in the early hours of August 19 near Porticello, a small fishing town. Mr Lynch, 59, was on board his yacht celebrating after a US jury cleared him of fraud and other charges that could have left him in a jail there for 20 years. The founder of software and data firm Autonomy had been accused of selling the company for a vastly inflated price of 8.3 billion to US company Hewlett Packard. His daughter Hannah, 18, also died, although her American mother, Angela Bacares, was among those who managed to escape and were picked up by a nearby Dutch sailing ship. Other victims were Britons Jonathan Bloomer, 70, chairman of Morgan Stanley International bank and his wife Judy, 71, American lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Nada, and the yachts chef, Recaldo Thomas. A handout photo made available on August 19 last year by Perini Navi Press Office shows the 'Bayesian' sailing boat, in Palermo, Sicily, Italy All four British deaths are being looked at by Suffolk coroner Nigel Parsley. The inquest also heard from James Healy-Pratt, representing the family of Mr Thomas and speaking on behalf of the Bloomer family, who said they had concerns there may be issues with safety. He didnt explain what these were, other than to say points centred around the yachts safety booklet. The owner of the Bayesian had legal obligations, including the seaworthiness of the vessel and due diligence, he added. Mr Parsley adjourned the case for another pre-inquest hearing, probably to take place in September or October. He said it was impossible to say when a full hearing would take place but he expected it to last between five and ten days. According to reports, the Bayesians anchor was down when the storm hit and broke the mast, causing the vessel to lose its balance and capsize. Theories about what happened have included the yacht being hit by a downburst, a strong downward and outward gushing wind system which blows down rapidly. Dr Karsten Haustein, a climate change researcher at Leipzig University, said the average speed of a downburst is 90mph. Those caught up in one dont have time to react due to its sudden nature, which could explain how the vessel sank so quickly. Autopsies carried out on Morgan Stanley boss Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy reveal they 'suffocated' in an air bubble and didn't drown, reports claim The first autopsies were carried out on lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda (both pictured) were also found to have no water in their lungs in post-mortem examinations Recaldo Thomas, chef on the Bayesian, was the first person to be recovered after the yacht sank There have also been claims that a door had been left open on the Bayesian, allowing water to flood on board. However, a photo taken 14 minutes before it sank, taken by a neighbouring yacht, appeared to show the door had been closed. Christopher Deacon, international injury partner at Stewarts Law, said investigations remain at an early stage but investigators have suggested that responsibility could rest with the captain and his crew for their actions. Areas being looked at include human error and operational intelligence, including doors and hatches left open and causing flooding, the keel being retracted, and the captains decision on the positioning of the superyacht in light of weather warnings. There were also the design flaws firmly refuted by manufacturer The Italian Sea Group whose chief executive previously said the Bayesian was unsinkable and alleged the crew were responsible. Skipper New Zealander James Cutfield, 51, and British duo, chief engineer Tim Parker Eaton, 59, and watchman Matthew Griffiths, 22, have all been placed under formal investigation in Italy for multiple manslaughter charges and causing a disaster. Desperate searches were launched for the missing after the Bayesian disappeared under the water, with Hannah, who was due to start a degree course at Oxford University weeks later, the last to be found after several days as her petite body was hidden behind a mattress. Mike Lynch's rise to become 'Britain's Bill Gates' Born in Ilford, Essex, as the son of an Irish fireman and a nurse, Mr Lynch won a scholarship to Bancroft's School, a private day school in northeast London, and later read natural sciences at Cambridge. At university he developed his fascination with technology, completing a doctorate and holding a research fellowship in adaptive pattern recognition. In 1991, he set up Cambridge Neurodynamics, which specialised in computer-based finger print recognition for the police. Five years later he founded data analysis company Autonomy, which became one of Britain's most successful start-ups. His rise to fame and fortune had been celebrated as a major and pioneering British success story and the married father of two daughters was awarded an OBE in 2006 for services to enterprise. That same year, he was appointed to the board of the BBC - and was later elected to then-prime minister David Cameron's council for science and technology in 2011. He advised Mr Cameron on subjects including 'the opportunities and risks of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the government's role in the regulation of these technologies'. Advertisement One diver described how other victims were found together in a compartment, suggesting they had time to get together as the boat sank, having been sleeping in their cabins moments earlier. He said: The victims were found in the lower level. We found the people in one room. Bearing in mind the time of the sinking, they were all in their rooms sleeping. The fact they were together means its just a theory they got together to escape or to comfort each other. At a previous inquest hearing in October, Mr Parsley was told by Detective Sergeant Mike Brown of Suffolk Police that the yacht had sunk rapidly for reasons yet to be ascertained. DS Brown revealed the post-mortem examination in Italy had established Mr Lynch died from drowning and his daughters cause of death remained under investigation. The cause of Sevenoaks-based Mr Bloomers death and that of his wife Judy was also under investigation. Italian reports have said the three may have been in airpockets and suffocated, rather than drowned, as no water was found in their lungs. But no evidence of this was heard at the inquest. DS Brown said further tests were needed to establish the cause of the deaths and it was not uncommon in such circumstances. Mr Lynch, once described as Britains Bill Gates, was one of the worlds richest men with an estimated fortune of 852 million. He had only just returned to the UK following his extradition to the US following a 13-year legal nightmare over the sale of Autonomy. He lost a three-year battle to avoid extradition under controversial laws considered to be heavily weighted against British citizens and was flown to California in May 2023. But on June 6 last year, he was acquitted by a jury in San Francisco, while former Autonomy finance executive Stephen Chamberlain, who faced the same charges, was also acquitted on all counts. In a strange twist of fate, Mr Chamberlain also died in August last year after he was hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire. He was taken to hospital but passed away three days after the August 17 accident. Describing how he had feared dying in a US jail because medical issues would have made it difficult to survive, Mr Lynch spoke shortly before his death of seizing the opportunities presented by a second life. If this had gone the wrong way, it would have been the end of my life as I have known it in any sense, he said. Its bizarre but now you have a second life. The question is, what do you want to do with it? Having been living under house arrest with an electronic tag in the US, the entrepreneur celebrated his freedom by flying home and spending time in his luxury property in Chelsea, west London, before heading to his 2,500-acre farm near Wickham Market in Suffolk. He then headed out to his yacht in the Mediterranean to relax with friends and consider his future. Mr Lynch had previously lost a 2019 civil fraud case based on similar allegations that Hewlett Packard brought in the UK, with Londons High Court ruling in 2020 that HP had substantially won its case. The company is still pursuing damages from his estate as part of its civil case, despite the yachting tragedy. It is claiming 3 billion, although the level of the payout is yet to be decided. Crucial supplies needed to keep the UK's blast furnaces burning were set to be delivered to British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe today. After stepping in to take control of British Steel over the weekend, the Government faced a race against time to get materials such as coking coal and iron ore to the site. The raw materials are necessary to prevent the cooling of the blast furnaces, which would risk irreparable damage to the plant systems. Some of the supplies arrived at Immingham docks, North Lincolnshire, this morning before they were due to be unloaded and transported to nearby Scunthorpe. The Amstel Tiger ship, which travelled from New Orleans in Louisiana, US, was pictured docked in Immingham as a British Steel-emblazoned crane began to lift off coking coal. A third ship carrying crucial supplies, the Navios Algeria, was off the coast of West Africa on Monday before its scheduled arrival at Immingham on Thursday. The Department for Business and Trade said the materials were enough to keep the furnaces running for weeks and had been paid for out of its existing budget. It came as the Government looked to avoid full nationalisation of British Steel after seizing control of the Scunthorpe plant from its Chinese owners Jingye. Ministers dodged on whether another Chinese firm could yet be allowed to become involved with British Steel - despite calls for Labour to rule out Chinese investment in 'strategic' sectors. The Amstel Tiger ship, which travelled from New Orleans in Louisiana , US, was pictured docked in Immingham as a British Steel-emblazoned crane began to lift off coking coal After stepping in to take control of British Steel over the weekend, the Government faced a race against time to get materials such as coking coal and iron ore to the site The raw materials are necessary to prevent the cooling of the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, which would risk irreparable damage to the plant systems An aerial view of coal and coke mounds at the British Steel bulk terminal site at Immingham docks Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, speaking on a visit to Immingham today, said there was a need for a private sector partner 'to work with us as a Government on a transformation programme' to secure the long-term future of British Steel. He also admitted there might be a 'different employment footprint' at Scunthorpe when asked if the Government could guarantee there would be no job losses at the plant. 'What we need for the long-term future of British Steel is that private sector partner to work with us as a Government on a transformation programme,' Mr Reynolds said. 'That might be new technology, new facilities, that might have a different employment footprint. The staff here absolutely know that, they know they need a long-term future. 'These blast furnaces have given this country nearly a century of service in one case, so they know they need the future and that might be a different model, different technology. 'What they didn't want was the unplanned, uncontrolled shutdown of the blast furnaces with thousands of job losses and no plan in place for the future. 'And by what we've been able to do, working with the brilliant team here at British Steel, is secure the possibility of that better future and I for one am confident that we've made the right decision to support the people here.' Mr Reynolds also suggested he would 'look at a Chinese firm in a different way' when it comes to future involvement in the UK steel sector, following the row with Jingye. 'In this case, our difference of opinion on the future was with a specific company,' he added. 'I know there's a lot of interest in the wider UK-China relationship, understandably so but this was about this company. I think we've got to recognise that steel is a sensitive sector. 'It's a sensitive sector around the world, and a lot of the issues in the global economy with steel come from over-production and dumping of steel products, and that does come from China. 'So I think you would look at a Chinese firm in a different way but I'm really keen to stress the action we've taken here was to step in, because it was one specific company that I thought wasn't acting in the UK's national interest, and we had to take the action we did.' Mr Reynolds' comments appeared to be a softening of his stance from the weekend, when he told broadcasters he would not 'personally bring a Chinese company into our steel sector' again, describing steel as a 'sensitive area' in the UK. Business and trade minister Sarah Jones had earlier declined to rule out the possibility of another Chinese firm's involvement with British Steel. This is despite the row with Jingye over the Scunthorpe plant raising fresh fears about Chinese involvement in Britain's critical infrastructure. Ms Jones told Sky News: 'At the moment, I'm not going to say yes or no to anything that isn't at the moment on the table or being looked at. 'Whatever the future for Scunthorpe, we want to make sure we can keep primary steel-making, we can keep steel-making in our country and we can grow that industry, not see the continued decline that we've had over recent years.' Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, speaking on a visit to Immingham, said there was a need for a private sector partner to work with ministers to secure the future of British Steel Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the Government needed to define which industries are 'strategic' and prevent China from being allowed to invest in such sectors. 'The Government now needs to define which of its industries and areas are strategic,' he said. 'Personally I think the whole Net Zero project is an energy project, therefore is strategic including therefore the nuclear industries. 'Steel and steelmaking are a strategic industry, all the arms manufacturers are strategic industries, and anything to do with water and various other areas, they're all strategic industries.' Sir Iain said China should be placed into the upper tier of the foreign influence registration scheme, but the Government had so far not done so. 'That will define them as a threat. They are a threat, and we cannot have China investing in our strategic infrastructure,' he added. 'I don't particularly think we should be letting China invest in our infrastructure or anything else like that. 'But I think the base bottom line is we must define now what are strategic industries, and once we have defined that China certainly can't be involved in any of that.' The Government passed emergency legislation designed to support the plant on Saturday after talks with Jingye broke down. The firm's plans to stop ordering new raw materials to keep the plant running and sell off supplies it already had prompted the Government into action, Mr Reynolds has said. China has accused the UK of 'politicising' trade co-operation, and suggested its companies could be put off investing in Britain if they were not treated 'fairly'. Downing Street said it had become 'clear' that the Chinese owners 'wanted to shut the blast furnaces' during talks. But No10 said it was not aware of any 'sabotage' at the plant, when asked if there were any concerns that officials from Jingye may have purposefully attempted to shut down the furnaces. British Steel has appointed interim executives as efforts continue to try and secure its future. Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller, the party's foreign affairs spokesperson, said: 'Giving another Chinese firm ownership of British Steel would be like coming home to find your house ransacked and then leaving your doors unlocked. 'Domestic steel production is absolutely vital to our national security and to put that at risk again would be completely unacceptable. 'The Government should rule out any Chinese firms' future involvement in the ownership of British Steel - and certainly until it has completed and published its China audit. The stakes are simply too high.' US President Donald Trump has claimed the war in Ukraine would not have happened 'if Zelensky was competent', as he vowed to 'stop the killing'. Trump on Monday blamed the Ukrainian president, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his predecessor Joe Biden for the war, before implying that Putin would have never invaded if he had been in power in the US. 'If Biden were competent, and if Zelensky were competent, and I don't know that he is... that war should never have been allowed to happen,' he told reporters at the White House yesterday. 'I went four years and Putin wouldn't even bring it up and as soon as the election was rigged and I wasn't here, that war started.' He doubled down on his assertion that 'everybody's to blame' for the war, as he repeated: 'Biden could have stopped it, and Zelensky could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. 'I'm not saying that anybody's an angel, but I went four years and it wasn't even a question. He would never - and I told him "don't do it, you're not going to do it." And it was the apple of his eye, but there was no way that he would've done it,' he added. Trump's harsh criticisms come amid reports from his special envoy Steve Witkoff that Putin is open to a 'permanent peace' deal with Ukraine. Witkoff, who met with the Kremlin leader last week, has now claimed that the US and Russia 'might be on the verge of something that would be very, very important for the world at large'. US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 28, 2025 A Ukrainian rescuer works to extinguish a fire at the site of a missile attack in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine on Sunday, April 13, 2025 Trump - who had a blazing public row in the Oval Office with Zelensky six weeks ago - claimed yesterday that there were 'millions of people dead because of three people'. 'Let's say Putin number one, but let's say Biden, who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelensky,' Trump said during a meeting with the visiting president of El Salvador. He then doubled down on his attack on Zelensky. 'He's always looking to purchase missiles,' he said dismissively of the Ukrainian leader's attempts to maintain his country's defense against the Russian invasion. 'When you start a war, you got to know that you can win the war,' Trump said. 'You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size, and then hope that people give you some missiles.' Relations between Trump and Zelensky have been tense ever since the US president stunned the world by opening talks with Russia in February. In the run-up to their televised row on February 28 Trump repeatedly echoed Moscow's talking points - blaming Ukraine for the war and calling Zelensky a 'dictator without elections.' Zelensky has since tried to patch things up, including sending a delegation to Washington last week to discuss a mineral deal Trump has called for, that would give the US preferential access to Ukrainian natural resources. But Trump has stepped up his rhetoric in the last few days and insisted a deal to end the Ukraine war was possible - despite Ukrainian accusations that Moscow is stalling. Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (left) during a meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday, April 11, 2025 Firefighters extinguish a fire in a damaged apartment building following a Ukrainian drone attack in Kursk, Russia on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 The aftermath of the Russian shelling of the city center of Sumy, Ukraine on April 14, 2025 'I want to stop the killing, and I think we're doing well in that regard. I think you'll have some very good proposals very soon,' Trump said. Trump's comments came despite a deadly Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday that killed at least 35 people, one of the deadliest attacks of the war. The US president said on Sunday that the attack was a 'mistake' but did not elaborate. Russia insisted Monday that its missiles hit a meeting of Ukrainian army commanders. Zelensky urged Trump in a CBS interview broadcast Sunday to visit his country to better understand the devastation wrought by Russia's invasion. Meanwhile, Witkoff has claimed that he sees a peace deal 'emerging' after having attended a 'compelling' meeting, which lasted close to five hours, with Putin and two Kremlin advisers. 'Towards the end, we actually came up with - I'm going to say finally, but I don't mean it in the way that we were waiting; I mean it in the way that it took a while for us to get to this place - what Putin's request is to get to, have a permanent peace,' he told Fox News last night. He did not say whether any of Putin's previous demands for a ceasefire had changed, but hinted that the Kremlin leader's security demands are centered around control of 'five territories' in Ukraine. Witkoff had previously claimed the fastest way to broker a ceasefire was to support a strategy that would give Russia ownership of four eastern Ukrainian regions it attempted to annex illegally in 2022. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg have urged Trump to resist territorial concessions to Moscow, but Trump has seemingly sided with Witkoff on the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports. Ukrainian snipers from different military units attend training at a shooting range at an undisclosed location in the Chernihiv region, Ukraine on Monday, April 14, 2025 Ukrainian sappers prepare to detonate explosive objects that were collected around the Kharkiv region on Monday, April 14, 2025 Ukrainian sappers detonate explosive objects that were collected around the Kharkiv region, at an unlocated place near Kharkiv, Ukraine on Monday, April 14, 2025 Trump on Monday also doubled down on his attempt to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia's invasion, falsely accusing him of responsibility for 'millions' of deaths. 'Putin's request is to have a permanent peace here. So, beyond the ceasefire, we got an answer to that,' Witkoff revealed on Fox News last night. He claimed the peace deal is 'about the so-called five territories, but there's so much more to it: there's security protocols, there's no NATO, NATO Article 5, I mean, it's just a lot of detail attached to it'. Trump's special envoy added that 'it took a while for us to get to this place' and claimed the situation in Ukraine is 'complicated' and 'rooted in some real problematic things happening between the two countries'. Witkoff also revealed that business relations between the US and Russia were discussed during Friday's meeting in St Petersburg. He reportedly believes 'there is a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too'. The Kremlin, however, does not seem as optimistic about the discussions, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov writing on Telegram that diplomatic efforts to end the war remain 'tense and ongoing'. 'The issue is so complex that it's unrealistic to expect immediate results,' Peskov said, adding: 'Still, we hope for the best, that this work will eventually bring positive outcomes.' The Albanese government has adamantly rejected reports that Russian aircraft could be posted near Australia's borders. The nation was rocked by reports on Tuesday suggesting the Kremlin had lodged an official request with Indonesia to base long-range aircraft at Manuhua Air Force. The base, which shares a runway with the Frans Kaisiepo Airport, is in the Papua province and could bring Russian military planes within 1300km of Darwin. Multiple sources from the Indonesian government told Janes Defence Weekly the request was received by the office of Indonesia's Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. It's believed to have followed a meeting between Mr Sjamsoeddin and the Russian Federation's Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu in February. But Australia's defence minister Richard Marles has insisted the claims are false after getting clarification from Mr Sjamsoeddin. 'He has said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true,' Mr Marles told news.com.au. Ties between Russia and Indonesia have deepened in recent months, with the pair performing drills in the Java Sea. Anthony Albanese's government has confirmed reports that Russian aircraft could be posted unnervingly close to the Australian coast. He pictured with partner Jodie Haydon The alleged request from Russia to base long-range aircraft at Manuhua Air Force would place military planes in Papua province which is within 1300km of Darwin The Kremlin said there was a lot of fake news around when it was asked about the reports, ABC reported. Russia has previously flown two nuclear-capable bombers from the base on what were believed to be an intelligence gathering exercise in 2017. At a press conference in Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government 'obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region'. 'We stand with Ukraine. We regard Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who has broken international law, who's attacking the sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine,' he said. Mr Albanese told reporters the government was seeking 'proper clarification' with Indonesia about what had taken place so as to 'not fire from the hip'. But, before Mr Marles had made his statement, Peter Dutton appeared to suggest the deal had been announced by the Indonesian government when it had in fact not. The Opposition Leader was pulled up during an interview with ABC's Afternoon Briefing over his claim. 'There's commentary I have seen reported from the Indonesian spokesperson; that's obviously come from the administration,' he said. Russia and Indonesia have appeared to deepen relations in recent months, with the nations performing joint drills in the Java Sea. Pictured is Russian President Vladimir Putin 'If the government has the functioning relationship they claim they have, then they should have engaged, surely, with Indonesia,' he said. He also echoed the Prime Minister's stance that he does not want to see Russian aircraft near Australia. 'We don't want Russian planes or other military assets in our region, it's not in our country's best interests,' Mr Dutton said. Earlier, Mr Dutton demanded the Albanese government to reveal when they found out about Putin's request. 'This would be a catastrophic failure of diplomatic relations (if the government did not know) this is a very very troubling development,' he said. 'Did the Prime Minister know about this before it was publicly announced? 'They need to explain to the Australian people what has gone wrong here We don't welcome his presence in our neighbourhood at all.' The Indonesian air base shares a runway with the Frans Kaisiepo Airport (pictured) There has been no such formal announcement of a Russian-Indonesian agreement on the location of military planes as of Tuesday evening. Security on Australia's northern coast has taken up much headline space, with both the government and opposition unveiling policy on the Port of Darwin. Both Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese have said they would take back control of the port from the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group during their election campaigns. A Trump official has defended the administration's decision to ignore court rulings about returning a deported El Salvadoran migrant to the US by likening him to Osama Bin Laden. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin hit out at those referring to Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a 'Maryland father'. 'I think this illegal alien is exactly where he belongs home in El Salvador,' McLaughlin told Fox. 'He was in our country illegally. He's from El Salvador, was born in El Salvador, and oh, the media forgot to mention he is an MS-13 gang member. 'The media would love for you to believe this is a media darling and that's just a Maryland father. Well, Osama bin Laden was also a father. And yet, he wasn't a good guy and they actually are both terrorists.' Abrego Garcia deported to El Salvador's brutal CECOT prison last month after he was accused of being a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. His lawyers claim he has no gang affiliations, no criminal charges and has lived peacefully in Maryland with his wife and three children for the last ten years. CNN's Kaitlan Collins attempted to question the president about his case on Monday but was quickly eviscerated by Trump and his officials. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin hit out at those referring to deported El Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a ' Maryland father' Garcia was deported to his homeland after Trump officials accused him of being a member of the notorious MS-13 gang, which he denies Abrego Garcia came to the US through illegal means in 2019. But he was protected by a withholding order which prevented his deportation, as his lawyers successfully argued he was unsafe in his homeland. Trump officials initially branded his removal an 'administrative error', but have since walked back this claim and have been fighting subsequent court rulings ordering his return to the US. Trump was questioned about the defiance Collins during a sit down in the Oval Office yesterday alongside El Salvador's President Nayib Buekele. Collins attempted to question whether the president intends to follow court orders but was quickly eviscerated by him and Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was also present. Abrego Garcia's case has quickly become a flashpoint amid the president's attempts to expand the White House's control over immigration matters. The US Supreme Court last week upheld a lower court ruling directing the administration to 'facilitate and effectuate' Abrego Garcia's return. But it said the term 'effectuate' was unclear and might exceed the authority of the district court judge. The Trump administration has indicated it does not plan to ask for Abrego Garcia back, raising questions about whether it is defying the courts. McLaughlin pointed out that renowned terrorist Osama Bin Laden was 'also a father' as she attempted to defend her department's defiance of court orders regarding Abrego Garcia On Monday El Salvador's president Nayib Bukele said he would not help return Abrego Garcia and suggested he was a 'terrorist' His comments came after CNN's Kaitlan Collins tried to press the president on whether he would respect court rulings about Abrego Garcia In a Monday court filing, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official said the agency 'does not have authority to forcibly extract an alien from the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation.' And during the sit down at the Oval Office on Monday, Bukele suggested he would not be returning Abrego Garcia. 'The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?' he said. 'I don't have the power to return him to the United States.' 'Should El Salvador want to return Abrego Garcia, the U.S. would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said. 'First and foremost, he was illegally in our country, and he had been illegally in our country,' she said. 'Thats up to El Salvador if they want to return him. Thats not up to us.' Hundreds of people have been deported to El Salvador under the president's crackdown on illegal immigration. The country has in return received around $6 million to house deportees at CECOT, a high-security mega-prison. The State Department last week lifted its advisory for American travelers to El Salvador to the safest level, crediting Bukele for reducing gang activity and violent crime. Lawyers and relatives of the migrants held in El Salvador say they are not gang members and had no opportunity to contest the U.S. government assertion that they were. Donald Trump stunned a Fox News host when he suggested that his tariffs could replace income tax. 'There is a chance that the money from tariffs could be so great that it would replace [income tax]' he told Fox Noticias' Rachel Campos-Duffy. 'I deal with these big financial geniuses and no one ever asks me that,' he added. Earlier on Tuesday, China suspended purchases of Boeing jets in a response to the U.S. decision to impose 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. The U.S. and China have been embroiled in a tariff war triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon ignited a new MAGA civil war. This live blog is now closed. A New York banker who vanished while in vacation in Spain has been found dead. Grant Barr, 37, disappeared on January 28 while visiting Estepona, in southern Spain, with friends and family. HIs body washed up on a beach on March 3, but his family was not informed until April 4, when the remains were identified. Barr's family had been desperately searching for him until they learned just days ago that his remains had been found. Barr's brother James told The Spanish Eye that police had to use DNA to identify the banker's remains, which are now back in the US. 'After a week and back and forth between the courts and the coroners office, his remains were released on Friday and we were able to cremate him and finally bring him home,' James said. While the thoughts of a worst case scenario came to mind form time to time, none of us actually thought this would ultimately be the outcome. James said his brother likely drowned, but he did not know where exactly his remains were found. Grant Barr, 37, vanished while on vacation in Spain in January. His body was found in March Barr had reportedly traveled to Spain for a sailing getaway after a breakup Barr, 37, disappeared on January 28 while visiting Estepona, in southern Spain James Barr expressed frustration that officials did not mention the remains found back in March. 'It means the last time we were all there searching for two weeks he was already found, however they didn't even suggest that there was something they were looking into,' James said. Barr had reportedly traveled to Spain for a sailing getaway after a breakup. His father Michael Barr had previously said he was in an emotional state when he vanished and might have been suffering from paranoia and struggling with reality. Days after he disappeared, Barr's pants and passport were found near a beach in the resort town. The discovery sparked a massive search and social media campaigns pleading for help, but they yielded no results. Barr's other brother Luke also shared a message following news of his death. Barr's father Michael said his son had been emotional and paranoid before he vanished Barr worked at the The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation 'Our brother passed on doing what he loved: facing the sea in its magnificent beauty and terrible might,' he said. Barr's father Micharl said: 'As a father, my world will never be the same; the same may be true for all who knew and loved him. I ask God for the strength to carry on, with courage and love in my heart. And I give thanks for the prayers and kind thoughts from all who knew and loved him.' Barr worked at the The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, according to his LinkedIn. He had also previously worked for Citibank. Florida police have arrested a teacher who allegedly had sex with her student after he found her crying in her classroom. Erika Mattson, 36, was charged by the Panama City Police Department with a single felony count of authority figure engaging in sexual conduct with a student, after the student in question claimed they began a 'sexual and romantic relationship' in May 2023. An affidavit filed by cops read: 'The victim stated that the relationship began after he saw [Mattson] crying in her classroom and approached her.' While the student was 18 at the time of the alleged relationship, he was attending the high school of the Kaleidoscope School of Discovery in Panama City, where she worked - on top of this, Mattson was the student's middle school teacher some years prior. The student, who has not been identified, told police that he and the teacher began messaging each other and started 'flirting' while he was still a student, which culminated in the pair agreeing to go on a date. He said that while they had agreed to go to a local cinema, they 'never made it inside', and instead 'talked and made out.' Days later, Mattson invited him to her home and they had sex, according to the affidavit. The document read: 'The victim could not advise exactly how many times the two engaged in sexual activity while he was still enrolled in school but advised it happened numerous times before he graduated.' Erika Mattson (pictured) was charged by the Panama City Police Department with a single felony count of authority figure engaging in sexual conduct with a student The teacher was taken to Bay City Jail last week, and subsequently released after posting a $25,000 bond She taught at the Kaleidoscope School of Discovery in Panama City, Florida On top of his claims, the student provided cops with pictures of himself with his teacher which included 'shirtless photos of the victim with [Mattson] embracing him' as well as 'kissing,' according to the affidavit. She was taken to Bay City Jail last week, and subsequently released after posting a $25,000 bond. She is set to appear again in court on May 15 to be arraigned. Mattson is reportedly choosing to represent herself in her case. An award-winning farmer who featured on BBC Countryfile has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after he conned HMRC out of 1.8 million through VAT fraud. Jack Stilwell - once crowned Young Farmer of the Year - was caught submitting fraudulent VAT claims for three of his agricultural businesses. The 34-year-old, who rose to international prominence in the industry with his pioneering business model that saw him crowdfund to set up his first farm, 'refused to play by the rules', according to HMRC HMRC, said it carried out a probe into Stilwell, from Hampshire, following his offences which took place between November 2021 and June 2022, and on 2 July 2022. Stilwell's first offence saw him submit 20 false VAT statements on behalf of Roundstone Beef Ltd, totalling 1,278,277.13. The second conviction involved a single false VAT statement submitted in July 2022 for Greenwell Farms Ltd in which he claimed 37,621.00. The third charge related to eight false statements submitted on behalf of Greenwell Holdings Ltd, amounting to 568,345.66. Jack Stilwell, 34, from Hampshire, tried to rip off the government by submitting fraudulent VAT claims to a total of 1.8 million Stilwell was previously awarded Young Farmer of the Year (pictured at ceremony) and appeared on BBC Countryfile At Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday, Stilwell was jailed for two-and-a-half years for tax fraud after admitting three counts of furnishing false VAT returns. A spokesperson for HMRC said: 'Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. The tax we all pay helps to fund the public services we rely on. 'The majority pay the tax that is due, but a determined minority refuse to play by the rules. 'We are determined to create a level playing field to allow honest businesses to thrive and we encourage anyone with information about tax fraud or money laundering to report it online.' Stilwell's fall from grace comes after the farming prodigy set up his own beef farming business using money from the public via an industry-first crowdfunding campaign. In his final year of study at Harper Adams University in 2015 when he was just 23 he set up a crowdfunder to raise 4,000 to buy beef cattle and rent land. It was a campaign that 'caught the attention of the agricultural press and farmers across the world', the university proudly declared on its website. A farm owner from the USA donated the full 4,000 and another in West Sussex offered him 600 acres of land as part of a farm-share project. Stilwell, a cattle farmer, has now been jailed for more than two years after admitting the charges against him In his final year of study at Harper Adams University, Stilwell launched a crowdfunder to help set up his first farm His business flourished and grew to include over 200 Hereford and Aberdeen-Angus cattle, split across a number of farms. In 2015 he was named Young Farmer of the Year at the Food and Farming Industry Awards, and he even appeared on the BBC's Countryfile program in 2016 and 2017. Stilwell recently opened up on his mental health struggles and shamelessly turned to the public again for cash as he set about raising money for The Farm Safety Foundation. Writing on the JustGiving page at the time, Stilwell confessed he was 'struggling in myself for a long while and lost my way'. He gave his last update in February about his bid to run 500 miles in a year for the charity - when he had already pleaded guilty to VAT fraud and was awaiting sentence. Stilwell added on the fundraising page: 'As a farmer and business owner, I know the stresses and strains that starting and running an agricultural business can have on your body and mind. 'This can affect other areas of your life and relationships. Sometimes, you just feel on your own and your thoughts can get as dark as they come. If you, or someone you care for gets to that place, it's really important to know that there is always someone there to help.' A former Colorado deputy broke down in tears as he received the maximum sentence after the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old who called 911 for help. Andrew Buen stood before Christian Glass' family as he was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday morning after Glass was killed in June 2022 during a mental health crisis. 'There are a million things I should have done better that night,' Buen said in court on Monday with a tissue wiping away tears. 'I wish I could take it all back.' On that fateful day, Glass had called 911 in the early hours of the morning after he became stuck in his car in Clear Creek County in Denver. He told responding officers, including Buen, that he had some weapons in his car, including a knife, CBS News reported. But Glass refused to get out of the car and instead offered to toss the knife from the car out of the window. Buen, who claimed his actions aligned with his training, ordered Glass not to throw any weapons from the vehicle. The former officer told the outlet that his goal was to get Glass out of the car and away from the knife. Andrew Buen (pictured) stood before Christian Glass' family as he was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday morning after Glass was killed in June 2022 during a mental health crisis Glass called 911 in the early hours of the morning in June 2022 after he became stuck in his car in Clear Creek County in Denver. The hours long standoff resulted in the 22-year-old being shot five times by Buen Buen (pictured) opened up to CBS News ahead of his sentencing Body camera footage showed how the hours long standoff continued, with officers resorting to using a taser at one point. It was the moment that Glass swung the knife at another officer through the vehicle's broken window that Buen opened fire. Glass was shot five times by Buen. 'When I saw what I saw, and believed what I believed, that's why I did what I did,' Buen told CBS News. 'I thought he [already stabbed the officer]. After the shots were fired, I thought I may have been too late... I remember having the overwhelming sense of, "Was I too slow?" 'I would never have done what I did if I didn't feel it absolutely necessary in that moment.' Prosecutors, however, argued that Buen unnecessarily escalated the situation as the case reached a $19 million settlement that included crisis intervention training for officers. Judge Catherine Cheroutes said that the former officer's sentencing needed to address not only the loss of Glass' life but also the effect on the community. Glass swung the knife at another officer (pictured) through the vehicle's broken window that Buen opened fire Glass's mother Sally said that the officer had acted as a 'bully' toward her son, who she described as a creative and gentle artist 'I think this was about power. It wasn't a mistake. It was about, "You need to listen to me because I'm in charge," and that is what police need to learn,' Cheroutes said. Buen's family described him as a 'shirt-off-your-back kind of guy,' but Cheroutes argued that while that may be true, he acted differently when he put on the uniform. Sally Glass said that the officer had acted as a 'bully' toward her son, whom she described as a creative and gentle artist. 'He met evil that night and there was no compassion,' she said, CNN reported. Glass' father, Simon, said that he takes comfort in knowing his son's name was cleared after Glass was labelled as the aggressor in the standoff. 'Talking about Christian in the past tense still seems completely alien to me, like someone else is speaking,' he added. Simon went on to accuse the sheriff's office of attempting to conceal the truth of his son's death. He described the narrative that 'Christian had committed "suicide by cop" and attacked officers with knives,' as a 'cruel lie.' Glass' father, Simon Glass (pictured left), said that he takes comfort in knowing his son's name was cleared after Glass was labelled as the aggressor in the standoff 'He met evil that night and there was no compassion,' said Sally Glass, Christian's mother (pictured right) 'Without the bodycam, I believe the truth would have remained hidden,' he added. 'We would have gone to our graves believing that Christian had inexplicably attacked the police.' Glass' sister Katie said she regretted watching the footage which showed her older brother's final moments, and added: 'He died terrified, in pain and all alone. That is what hurts me the most.' Buen's defense argued that due to the weapon present at the scene, the officer was legally justified in the shooting as means of protecting a fellow officer. Buen originally faced a charge of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting, but the jury instead convicted him on a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide in February, according to CBS News. 'My actions resulted in the outcome of someone losing their life, and that's something that I live with every day,' Buen told the outlet prior to his sentencing. He described the Glass family's loss as 'absolutely devastating.' 'More than anything I wish and pray every night actually that they just got some peace,' he said. 'And know that it was never an ill intent situation.' Buen added that he 'absolutely' would have 'done things differently.' Glass' father told the outlet: 'Christian was our first and only son, the only grandson in our family. I have so many memories now infused with pain. It's only recently that I can even look at a photo of him... I miss him.' The family have said the money from the settlement felt tainted by Glass' death, and plan to use a large portion to help hold law enforcement accountable for their actions, the outlet reported. In defiance of the Trump administration, Harvard University is pushing back against the Education Department's freeze of more than $2 billion in funding by turning to Wall Street to fill the gap. The Ivy League university announced via a letter to the White House on Monday that it won't comply with the requests from Donald Trump's administration as part of its campaign against anti-Semitism. Just hours later, the administration put the hammer down, freezing $2.26 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to the institution. However, turning to Wall Street, Harvard has already issued $750 million in taxable bonds, a move aimed at cushioning the blow of potential federal funding cuts, The Wall Street Journal reported. 'The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,' Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a letter to the community on Monday. 'No government - regardless of which party is in power - should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.' President Trump has since responded to Harvard in a post shared to Truth Social, claiming the Ivy League is 'supporting sickness'. 'Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting Sickness? Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!' he wrote. Harvard has turned to Wall Street for money after the education department froze more than $2 billion in funding as part of the Trump administration's campaign against antisemitism on campuses Earlier this month, the Trump administration task force on antisemitism sent a letter to the prestigious school, demanding it comply with nine specific measures in order to continue receiving nearly $9 billion in grants and contracts, including discontinuation of DEI programs and external monitoring of antisemitism Harvard has issued $750 million in taxable bonds, a move aimed at cushioning the blow of potential federal funding cuts should negotiations with the task force fail Earlier this month, the Trump administration task force on antisemitism sent a letter to the prestigious school, demanding it comply with nine specific measures in order to continue receiving nearly $9 billion in grants and contracts. 'The United States has invested in Harvard University's operations because of the value to the school of scholarly discovery and academic excellence,' the administration wrote in the letter. 'But an investment is not an entitlement.' Some of the listed demands included: merit-based hiring and admissions, discontinuation of DEI programs, external monitoring of antisemitism and whistleblower safeguards. Additionally, the orders called for a ban on face masks, which appeared to target pro-Palestinian protesters. The government also pushed for interference inside the classroom, calling for 'necessary changes' to be made to 'address bias, improve viewpoint diversity and end ideological capture' - factors the task force claimed contributes to anti-Semitic harassment. While recognizing that some of the demands are intended to combat anti-Semitism on campus, President Garber asserted that the majority represents direct governmental regulation of the institution's intellectual environment. Garber responded to the administration on Monday, ultimately announcing that Harvard would not be complying with the government's proposed agreement. Harvard President Alan Garber (pictured) announced on Monday that Harvard would not be complying with the government's proposed agreement through a response letter to the community, claiming that the demands violate the university's First Amendment rights While recognizing that some of the demands are intended to combat antisemitism on campus, President Garber asserted that the majority represents direct governmental regulation of the institution's intellectual environment (pictured: part of the letter written to Harvard demanding change on campus antisemitism) Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey applauded the university for 'standing against the Trump Administration's brazen attempt to bully schools and weaponize the US Department of Justice under the false pretext of civil rights' (pictured: a student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard College, draped in the Palestinian flag) In the letter, Garber said the demands violated the university's First Amendment rights and 'exceeds the statutory limits of the government's authority under Title VI,' which prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, color or national origin. 'These ends will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate,' he wrote. 'The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community.' The Department of Education's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism swiftly moved to freeze billions in federal funding to the university, signaling a sharp escalation in enforcement. The frozen funds have been used by the school for three-quarters of a century to allow 'ground-breaking' research in the engineering, medical and scientific fields. 'These innovations have made countless people in our country and throughout the world healthier and safer,' the letter said. 'New frontiers beckon us with the prospect of life-changing advances - from treatments for diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and diabetes, to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, quantum science and engineering, and numerous other areas of possibility,' it continued. 'For the government to retreat from these partnerships now risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals but also the economic security and vitality of our nation.' Garber responded with a letter (pictured) detailing ongoing efforts on campus to address anti-Semitism, including the implementation of new disciplinary measures for policy violations, the launch of programs aimed at combating bias and the enhancement of safety and security measures The frozen funds have been used by Harvard for three-quarters of a century to allow 'ground-breaking' research in the engineering, medical and scientific fields Trump's demands sparked a protest over the weekend from members of the Harvard community and from residents of Cambridge, along with a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday challenging the cuts (pictured: letter from lawyers) Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey applauded the university for 'standing against the Trump Administration's brazen attempt to bully schools and weaponize the US Department of Justice under the false pretext of civil rights', according to The Harvard Crimson. However, the DOE responded to Garber's refusal and accused the institution of having a 'troubling entitlement mindset', claiming they failed to 'live up to intellectual and civil rights conditions'. The Trump administration demands prompted a group of alumni to write to university leaders calling for it to 'legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance'. It also sparked a protest over the weekend from members of the Harvard community and from residents of Cambridge, along with a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday challenging the cuts. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it began cutting funds - giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress. According to the lawsuit, the federal governments actions 'overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech', WSJ reported. The position stands in stark contrast to their Ivy League siblings at Columbia, who caved to Trump's requests weeks ago. Harvard is just one of several Ivy League schools targeted in a pressure campaign by the administration, which also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton to force compliance with its agenda. The DOE responded to Garber's refusal and accused the institution of having a 'troubling entitlement mindset', claiming they failed to 'live up to intellectual and civil rights conditions' A recent lawsuit has argued that the Trump administration failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it began cutting funds - giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress Harvard is now seeking Wall Street's help in funding, claiming that 'for the government to retreat from these partnerships now risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals but also the economic security and vitality of our nation' The Ivy League college initially came under great scrutiny over their response to Israel's war on Gaza that has left more than 50,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza's health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes - allegations Israel denies. Accusations of campus antisemitism forced the then-president Claudine Gay to resign amid mounting pressure from forces outside the university. Recently, the administration argued that universities - including Harvard - allowed what is considered to be antisemitism go unchecked at campus protests last year, though the schools deny it. In Harvard's letter to the task force on Monday, their lawyers claimed the university has made 'significant strides over the past 15 months' to address these issues. 'Harvard is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community,' the letter read. 'Antisemitism and discrimination of any kind not only are abhorrent and antithetical to Harvards values but also threaten its academic mission.' The letter detailed ongoing efforts on campus, including the implementation of new disciplinary measures for policy violations, the launch of programs aimed at combating bias, the enhancement of safety and security measures and the promotion of civil discourse, ideological diversity, and respectful dialogue. 'As a result, Harvard is in a very different place today from where it was a year ago,' the letter read. 'These efforts, and additional measures the university will be taking against antisemitism, not only are the right thing to do but also are critical to strengthening Harvards community as a place in which everyone can thrive,' it added. 'Antisemitism and discrimination of any kind not only are abhorrent and antithetical to Harvards values but also threaten its academic mission.' Historians have described the administration's orders as an unprecedented intrusion on university rights long treated by the Supreme Court as an extension of the First Amendment. Two American college students have been released from a Danish jail nearly two weeks after their Spring Break trip to Copenhagen took a dramatic turn for the worse. Owen Ray, a 19-year-old student at Miami University in Ohio, and his friend - who has not been identified - were taken into custody at Copenhagen Airport on April 1 following an altercation with an Uber driver the night before. The teenaged student, a Chicago native, said he and a friend were in an Uber on March 31 when they realized they had entered the wrong address for their destination. When the boys realized their error, they asked the rideshare driver to take them to another address, but he allegedly refused to do so, Ray told ABCNews. That's when the alleged altercation broke out, according to Jordan Finfer, a US-based attorney representing Ray's family. Ray said he and his unnamed friend then decided to cancel their Uber and left the vehicle. Then, after they walked a few blocks, the Uber driver pulled up, got out of the car and 'started yelling at us, thinking he hadn't been paid for the Uber, but in fact, he had been paid for the Uber,' Ray said. Ray, the friend and the Uber driver eventually got out of the car, before the infuriated driver allegedly kicked Ray in the groin, Finfer, said of Ray's account of the incident. In response to the low-blow, Ray said he then shoved the driver, causing him to fall before the pair of college students fled the scene, Finfer told the outlet. Owen Ray, a 19-year-old student at Miami University in Ohio, and his unnamed friend, were taken into custody at Copenhagen Airport on April 1 following an alleged altercation with an Uber driver the night before The teenaged student, a Chicago native, said he and a friend were in an Uber on March 31 when they realized they had entered the wrong address for their destination. Pictured: Owen Ray (center right) with friends in Copenhagen, Denmark 'He then got in our faces and was saying, 'I'm gonna call 10 guys,'' Ray said, recounting the incident to Good Morning America on Monday. 'We were both just very shocked about the fact that we were being arrested over this incident,' Ray added. 'We had done nothing wrong.' The next day, as they were trying to return home, the two students were detained at Copenhagen Airport. Local police deemed the boys 'flight risks,' claiming they were planning to run from the incident, Finfer recalled. Copenhagen police eventually charged the two students with common assault. However, after their shock arrest, Ray and his unnamed friend believed they would be able to explain what had happened to a judge - arguing they had done nothing wrong and would be released. 'But then we went to the judge, and we were actually told that we would be imprisoned in a Danish prison for 10 days,' the student said. Ray said he was unable to make a phone call for the first 36 hours of his detainment, adding that he was 'worried' his parents had no idea where he was. 'I was initially very worried about making sure that I could get in contact,' he said. Eventually, the Miami University student was able to text his mother from a court phone. His mother, Sara Buchen-Ray, then flew to Denmark to help support her troubled son. The boys were released from the Copenhagen jail on Monday, police confirmed to ABC News, however, Ray - and his friend - remain in Denmark, with Ray's family saying that Danish authorities are holding their passports Ray's mother, Sara Buchen-Ray, then flew to Denmark to help support her troubled son. Pictured: Owen Ray hugs his mother Sara Buchen-Ray outside the Danish jail 'I was very relieved to have heard that she was able to do that, and thankful that she was able to,' Ray said. 'I'm very thankful to my family and everyone else who's been supporting me throughout this situation.' The boys were released from the Copenhagen jail on Monday, police confirmed to ABCNews, however, Ray - and his friend - remain in Denmark, with Ray's family saying that Danish authorities are holding their passports. 'We are relieved that Owen has been released from a Danish prison following the unprovoked assault he and his friend suffered at the hands of an Uber driver on March 31,' his parents, Andy Ray and Sara Buchen-Ray, said in a statement. 'The facts make clear that Owen is the victim in this case, and we urge Danish officials to allow him to return home to the United States without delay.' Andy and Sara Buchen-Ray said their son and his friend 'did nothing to instigate the attack.' 'We urge the Danish authorities to recognize Owen's innocence and release him immediately,' they said. 'Our family is heartbroken, and we want our son home to celebrate Easter with us this week.' The teen he has to check in with police daily until they get an update on the case. He added he believes they are waiting for either the investigating authorities to drop the case or for a trial date to be set. The teen said Danish authorities are holding their passports and that they have to check in with police daily until they get an update on the case 'I just hope that Denmark and the legal authorities here are able to - and the US government can help us and do what they can to help us be released by Easter, so I can be home with my family,' Ray said. 'I think the best case would be for the Danish police and the prosecutor to drop the case at this point, because we're completely innocent, and for them to return us our passports and allow us to head back to the United States,' he said. A spokesperson for the popular rideshare company said the company considers each customer's safety a 'a top priority' while emphasizing that they take reports of violence 'very seriously.' The Uber spokesperson added that any additional questions regarding the ongoing investigation should be directed to the Danish police, according to a statement provided to ABC News on Sunday. The US State Department also provided a statement on Sunday saying, 'We are aware of media reports of two US citizens detained in Denmark. Staff at our embassy in Copenhagen are providing consular assistance.' The Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad,' it continued. 'Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.' The safety of senior politicians has again been brought into question after the Prime Minister became the latest figure to be verbally bombarded during the election campaign. Alt-right groups Melbourne Freedom Rally and Tactical Force Combatives have taken credit for footage showing Anthony Albanese being ambushed by two men in a Melbourne hotel lobby on Tuesday. Mr Albanese was speaking to his media staffer Fiona Sugden at the Grand Hyatt Hotel when he was approached by a man filming on his phone. 'Mr Albanese, I have a question for you,' he began. 'There are hundreds of thousands of Australians around the country, who are unable to afford housing when are you going to put Australians first?' A stunned Mr Albanese didn't reply. Ms Sugden can be heard asking for the man's name as a member from the prime minister's security entourage steps in to end the exchange. 'Okay mate, that's enough, thank you,' he tells the man. Anthony Albanese looked stunned as he was confronted in a hotel lobby on Tuesday The PM's staffer Fiona Sugden quickly stepped in after he was bombarded with questions A second video shared showed Mr Albanese being confronted by another man. 'Albo! How do you feel about the rise in immigration, mate? Do you think it's fair?' the man asked as security again stepped in. The man replied: 'I'm not touching anyone. I'm not touching anyone.' 'I have questions. I vote!' 'That's right and you're also not approaching the Prime Minister,' a member of the security team told him as he was escorted from the hotel. Ms Sudgen added: 'Unfortunately, you're not staying here, so you can leave.' It's unclear how the pair managed to slip past security or approach the prime minister in the hotel lobby. Melbourne Freedom Rally, protesters who have previously held out-of-control anti-vaccination demonstrations, laid claim to the first video. Both men were escorted from the hotel by the Prime Minister's security entourage Meanwhile, Tactical Force Combatives - owned by Daniel Jones, who has worked as a bodyguard to far-right figure Avi Yemeni - has taken credit for the second. Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Albanese's office and Australian Federal Police for comment on Tuesday night. A Labor source told The Age the incidents are a concern and highlighted the growing risk of extremism around politics. The ambush from the men is the latest in a string of headlines about threats to politicians' security as they travel across the country in lead up to the May 3 election. Dozens of activists dressed in black yelled racist slogans outside Coalition Senator James Paterson's office in South Melbourne on Sunday. Last week, it was also revealed Peter Dutton was the alleged target of a private school student's terror plot which reportedly involved the use of a drone. Mr Albanese later revealed that authorities have launched legal proceedings to protect him after a 'serious incident'. The AFP had issued a sobering warning about concerns for politicians' safety only a few weeks before. 'The number of reports of threats to high office holders, federal parliamentarians, dignitaries and electorate offices continue to grow,' Commissioner Reece Kershaw told the Senate on March 27. Peter Dutton (pictured) was the alleged target of a terror plot which involved the use of a drone Citing data from the last few years, he revealed reports of threats to politicians had doubled from 555 in 2021-22,to 1009 in 2023-24. 'In Australia, we are recording an increase in issue-motivated extremism, and offenders who are quickly willing to use violence to further their cause.' Commissioner Kershaw said AFP had developed election-specific protected security advice with this in mind. An apparent Luigi Mangione copycat who turned up at United Healthcare's Minnesota headquarters 'with a gun' has been unmasked in his police mugshot. Pawn shop worker Ian Stanley Wagner, 26, was arrested on Monday after he arrived at the facility in Minnetonka - just four months after Mangione, 26, allegedly gunned down the health insurance giant's CEO in New York City. The FBI Minneapolis Field Office told DailyMail.com Wagner contacted them at around 10.47am and 'issued threats of violence directed at the United Healthcare facility if specific demands were not met'. 'Within minutes of receiving the call, the FBI initiated a coordinated response with our partners,' an FBI spokesperson said. 'A trained FBI crisis negotiator established contact with the individual by phone from within the FBI building and Minnetonka Police was on scene, along with two FBI Task Force Officers.' Wagner surrendered after around 45 minutes, and Minnetonka Police took him into custody. He appeared dazed while wearing a prison-issue orange jumpsuit in his police booking photograph. The FBI added that the investigation is in its 'early stages', but 'there is currently no indication that the individual had specific grievances against United Healthcare'. However, Wagner's mother told ABC affiliate 5 Eyewitness News that her son called her from outside the United Healthcare HQ and told her he was going to shoot into it. Ian Stanley Wagner, an apparent Luigi Mangione copycat who turned up at United Healthcare's Minnesota headquarters 'with a gun' has been unmasked in his police mugshot, shown above Police rushed to United Healthcare's Minnesota HQ (pictured) - just four months after Luigi Mangione allegedly murdered the insurance giant's CEO in New York City Luigi Mangione has attracted a substantial fanbase of mainly female supporters, and a cult-like following - sparking fears about the possibility of copycat killings Sources also told the outlet that a gun was found in the front seat of Wagner's car. It appears that barriers in the parking lot stopped his vehicle from entering the facility. His mother said he is on spectrum and has been suffering with mental health issues. According to his social media profiles, Wagner lives in Hopkins, Minnesota, where he works as the lead pawnbroker at EZCORP. UnitedHealthcare is America's biggest health insurer, covering more than 49 million people. It is headquartered at 9700 Health Care Lane on the outskirts of Minneapolis. Police records obtained by KSTP show that Minnetonka Police stationed an officer at the site as they heightened security in the days after Mangione, 26, allegedly gunned down UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson in Manhattan on December 4. Mangione has attracted a substantial fanbase of mainly female supporters and a cult-like following - sparking fears about the possibility of copycat killings. Health industry heavyweights, executives and politicians across the country from New York to California have been on high alert since Thompson's murder. Luxury security firm Fortified Estates previously told DailyMail.com they've seen in a boom in demand for security fittings including infrared robotic cameras, bulletproof glass and secret doors to safe rooms. Ian Stanley Wagner, 26, was arrested on Monday after he arrived at the facility in Minnetonka - just four months after Mangione, 26, allegedly gunned down the health insurance giant's CEO Wagner lives in Hopkins, Minnesota, where he works as the lead pawnbroker at EZCORP. His mother said he is on the spectrum and suffering with mental health issues Meanwhile, Mangione has been imprisoned at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9. US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced earlier this month that she has directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against the Ivy League graduate It is the first time the Justice Department has sought to bring the death penalty since President Donald Trump returned to office in January with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration. 'Luigi Mangione's murder of Brian Thompson an innocent man and father of two young children was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,' Bondi said in a statement. She described Thompson's killing as 'an act of political violence.' Mangione's lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said that in seeking the death penalty 'the Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the barbaric.' Mangione 'is caught in a high-stakes game of tug-of-war between state and federal prosecutors, except the trophy is a young man's life,' Friedman Agnifilo said in a statement, vowing to fight all charges against him. His federal charges include murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson (pictured) outside a Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York City on December 4, 2024 Mangione, 26, is facing state and federal murder charges for allegedly gunning down United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside of the Midtown Hilton hotel in Manhattan The state charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a state indictment and has not yet been required to enter a plea on the federal charges. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state case expected to go to trial first. It wasn't immediately clear if Bondi's announcement will change the order. Mangione was arrested December 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of New York City and whisked to Manhattan by plane and helicopter. Police said Mangione had a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in the shooting and other items including a notebook in which they say he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives. Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from August 2024 that said 'the target is insurance' because 'it checks every box' and one from October that describes an intent to 'wack' an insurance company CEO. UnitedHealthcare has said Mangione has never been a client of theirs. Solar and wind projects, data centres and AI are set to be prioritised for electricity grid connections under new reforms, it was confirmed today. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is bidding to axe 'zombie projects' that are currently holding up the queue for connections to the power grid. The Government warned that companies are currently waiting up to 15 years to be connected to the grid, with the queue having grown tenfold over the last five years. As part of the changes, projects not ready or not aligned with the Government's 'strategic plans' - such as decarbonising the grid by 2030 - will be deprioritised. At the same time, 'industries of the future' such as data centres, AI, solar and wind projects will be able to skip the queue after being 'accelerated' for grid connections. Ofgem, the energy regulator, has signed off the reforms that were drafted by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). But it came as concerns were raised about Mr Miliband's wooing of China for investment in the UK's energy sector. Chinese involvement in Britain's critical infrastructure has come under fresh scrutiny after the Government was forced to seize control of Chinese-owned British Steel. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is bidding to axe 'zombie projects' that are currently holding up the queue for connections to the power grid As part of new reforms, 'industries of the future' such as data centres, AI, solar and wind projects will be able to skip the queue after being 'accelerated' for grid connections Mr Miliband pictured with Chinese vice premier Ding Xuexiang in Beijing last month. Concerns have been raised about Mr Miliband's wooing of China for investment in the UK's energy sector According to The Times, Mr Miliband signed a memorandum of understanding on a 'clean energy partnership' during a visit to China from 14 to 17 March. This outlined co-operation in key areas including the power grid, battery storage and offshore wind power, the newspaper reported. Luke de Pulford, the executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, warned that closer co-operation could hand 'strategic leverage' to Beijing. 'China's renewable industry is notoriously carbon intensive and hugely dependent on state imposed forced labour,' he said. 'Why would we want close co-operation with such a government? It's bad enough that our green targets are already unachievable without China. 'Even more terrifying to think of the strategic leverage such dependency hands to the Chinese Communist Party - our biggest security threat.' Mr Miliband's trip came nearly a month before the Government was forced to intervene to halt the planned closure of blast furnaces at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant. A row with Jingye, the Chinese owners of British Steel, over the future of the plant sparked fresh fears about Beijing's involvement in key UK industries. A Government source said the agreement made by Mr Miliband, which has not been made public, focuses on 'sharing research and technical expertise'. They added: 'They're very good at offshore wind, we're also good at offshore wind this is about sharing lessons.' The agreement does not set any legally binding targets or enforce specific projects, it was reported. A Government spokesman said: 'As set out by the Chancellor, we must engage pragmatically with China on trade, co-operate where we can, finding opportunities for safe trade, and challenging them on areas where we disagree. 'We will always take a consistent long-term strategic approach to managing relations with China, supporting UK businesses involved with China and ensuring that we have the appropriate measures in place to mitigate any risks.' The little girl of an abusive former detective has bravely fronted court with her mother to detail the violence they suffered. For five years, Matthew Alan Thomson, 42, scared his wife and young daughter into silence by instilling a fear that he would 'kill' them. But on Tuesday, the former South Australian cop was forced to listen as the pair detailed his horrific abuse. Stella Magnisalis told the South Australian District Court how she and her daughter, now 8, suffered 'slow, deliberate, calculated' violence at the hands of the once decorated cop behind closed doors, all while he was protected by his colleagues. Thomson earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault and one count of aggravated assault causing harm. Their daughter sent a powerful message to the man she now refers to only by his name, not as dad. 'I've seen my mum cry many times and I didn't know why,' the girl told the court through videolink. 'Now I know that it was because Matthew is a bully. Stella Magnisalis (left) on Tuesday bravely told South Australian District Court the abuse she and her daughter suffered at the hands of Matthew Thomson Matthew Alan Thomson (pictured) was a formerly decorated SA Police detective 'I still remember when you slapped my face and gave me a blood nose. Don't contact me. I don't want to see you. 'What you did to my mum was disgusting, gross and unacceptable. You are not my father.' The eight-year-old added her life had improved since Thomson's arrest, the Adelaide Advertiser reported. 'He is no longer hurting anyone I love', she said. Ms Magnisalis recalled Thomson stomping on her, hitting her and kicking her head 'like a ball'. 'My silence was not consent. I was trained to be obedient, to hide my pain,' she said in her harrowing victim impact statement. 'You broke things to scare me, and eventually I was one of them. My home became a prison and I lived in constant fear. To this day, I still believe that you're going to kill me.' Ms Magnisalis and her young daughter displayed incredible courage in court on Tuesday Matthew Thomson (pictured as a police officer) allegedly suffered violence in his own home as a child at the hands of his veteran father The brutality continued even while Ms Magnisalis was pregnant. 'I was covered in bruises, calling it love and devotion,' she recalled. 'I lost everything. Bruises on my neck, my face, my arms, my legs have healed, but the damage of the pain is still in my body. 'Even while I was pregnant, the assaults never stopped. I thought carrying a child might spare me, but the terror, the torment, the dehumanisation never stopped. 'Every year on my birthday, I cannot erase the smell, the texture, feeling utterly degraded after you wiped faeces on my face. Every year, that moment lives inside me.' Her home became a prison while her attacker was protected by the 'boys in blue'. 'My calls to the police were never truly heard and always overlooked,' Ms Magnisalis said. Supporters both inside and out of the courtroom applauded after the pair finished reading their statements. An emotional Ms Magnisalis received a huge cheer and more applause as she left the court flanked by an army of supporters. 'He can't hurt us anymore,' she told reporters. Thomson, 42, has moved to Queensland with his new wife. She knows of his crimes but continues to support him. They have just welcomed a baby son. His lawyer Peter Morrison told the court that Thomson had suffered violence in his own home as a child at the hands of his veteran father. Ms Magnisalis (centre) was applauded as she left the court However, Judge Anthony Allen determined Thomson's role as a police officer needed to be reflected in his sentencing. 'There needs to be an element of sentence that denounces the fact that someone who's responsible for enforcing the law has broken it,' he said. Thomson will face court again in June but is unlikely to be sentenced until later this year. Both he and his wife refused to comment outside court. This is the moment a crack cocaine gang were caught red-handed as cops raided their caravan hideaway at a popular holiday park. Police armed with tasers busted the gang as they chopped up the deathly drugs on the kitchen counter. Officers swooped on Coastfields Holiday Village Caravan Park in Ingoldmells, near Skegness, Lincolnshire, at 2.39pm on September 20. Bodycam footage shows officers smash down the door and search the caravan which was full of drugs. Two of the gang members were wearing rubber gloves as they prepared the drugs to sell. The others were forced to lie on their fronts before being handcuffed. Officers seized large amounts of crack cocaine and heroin as well as 1,000 in cash. They also found cars parked outside the caravan that had been seen making short journeys into Skegness which were linked to drug dealing. This is the moment a crack cocaine gang were caught red-handed as cops raided their caravan hideaway at a popular holiday park Two of the gang members were wearing rubber gloves as they prepared the drugs to sell Police armed with tasers busted the four-strong gang as they chopped up Class A drugs on the kitchen counter The five men were charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A, while one was found not guilty Dylan Brandon, 24, Shane Brandon, 26, Adam Fawcett, 23, Kayne Harrison, 31, and Jardell Healey-Hunter, 27, all from Bradford, were arrested. They were charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class A. Following a four-day trial at Lincoln Crown Court, Harrison was found not guilty, and three of the other men pleaded guilty. On Monday Dylan Brandon was jailed for three years and seven months. Shane Brandon was sentenced to four years and one month in prison. Fawcett was jailed for four-and-a-half years while Healey-Hunter, who failed to appear in court, was sentenced in his absence for four years in prison. Detective Inspector Kara Nicholson of Lincolnshire Police CID, said: 'We are firmly committed to bringing County Lines and drug supply offenders to justice. 'This is significantly aided by the valuable information provided by community members, which enables us to effectively target the most problematic areas.' President Donald Trump is considering closing up to three dozen U.S. consulates around the world as part of massive cuts to the State Department's budget. Those cuts also include all funds for United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters. It also cuts all of the State Department's educational and cultural exchanges, like the Fulbright Program. Under the proposal, 10 embassies and 17 consulates would be closed, Punchbowl News reported. Five of the proposed consulate closures are in France: Lyon, Rennes, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Marseille. Two are in Germany: Dusseldorf and Leipzig. The list also includes Edinburgh and Florence. Other outposts in including Eritrea, Luxembourg, South Sudan and Malta would be shuttered with those embassies being in folded into embassies in nearby countries. Canada and Japan would see U.S. consulates in various cities downsized to 'provide 'last-mile' diplomacy with minimal local support.' President Donald Trump is weighing a plan to close up to three dozen U.S. consulates around the world as he looks to cut the State Department's budget The Trump administration also proposed making U.S. missions to international organizations as part of the U.S. embassies and consulates in those cities. One specifically named is Paris, where OECD and UNESCO are headquartered. Trump hasn't nominated ambassadors to either organization. The president has pushed an America first policy that has seen him raise tariffs on imports in an attempt to ramp up manufacturing in the United States. But his moves also have frustrated allies around the world. Meanwhile, Trump is also weighing whether to slash the budgets of the State Department and USAID by nearly half as part of his quest to cut the size and scope of the federal government. His budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 allocates $28.4 billion to State and USAID, which is down from $54.4 billion in year 2025. That is a 48 percent cut. That amount accounts for the dismantling of USAID and the parts of the agency being absorbed by State. It's unclear where Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands on the proposed budget cuts President Trump's proposal would cut funding for NATO Headquarters (above) Much of the cuts would be to programs promote democracy, support educational and cultural exchanges, aid multinational institutions, fight drug trafficking, and tackle health challenges abroad, Politico reported. The White House is also pushing $2.1 billion in funds for a new program called the America First Opportunities Fund. It's unclear where Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands on the cuts. He has objected to some of the slashing of his department and to how the dismantling of USAID was handled. Trump's budget proposal is expected to be presented to Congress in late April. Congress, however, doesn't have to follow White House requests when it comes to the budget. The final numbers will likely change during the lengthy budget negotiations. A ladies' pocket watch found among the possessions of one of the victims of the Titanic disaster could sell for up to 50,000 at auction. Danish second-class passenger Hans Christensen Givard, 27, was one of 1,517 passengers and crew who died when the luxury liner sank after hitting an iceberg. The tragedy occurred exactly 113 years ago, on April 15, 1912, during the Titanic's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Mr Givard was travelling to the US with two of his friends, who also died in the disaster. The watch was found when Givard's body was recovered from the North Atlantic and he was later buried in Halifax, Canada. The gilded ladies' pocket watch still bears the scars of the disaster, in the form of salt water corrosion. Also found in Givard's pockets was a savings book, keys, a wallet with cash in, a silver watch, a compass and a passport. All his belongings were returned to his brother in Denmark, and it is his descendants who are selling the watch. A ladies' pocket watch found among the belongings of one the passengers who drowned on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic could sell for up to 50,000 at auction Danish second-class passenger Hans Christensen Givard, 27, was among one of the 1,500 who died when the vessel struck an iceberg in 1912 Givard, a well-travelled bachelor, had first gone to New York in 1907. Records show he later went back to Denmark and then to Argentina. In 1912, he embarked on the Titanic - which stopped in Cherbourg in France, and Queenstown, Ireland, before heading towards New York - after visiting Norway. His family are said to not have known that he was on the Titanic, because he could not bear to say goodbye to his mother. The ill-fated story of Mr Givard inspired curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and US resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to write the book Titanic - De Danske Fortaellinger (Titanic - The Danish Stories), in which the watch is mentioned. It was also exhibited by Claes Goran Wetterholm, the leading authority globally on the Scandinavian element of the Titanic story, in Copenhagen in 2012. The watch is going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge and Son, of Devizes, Wiltshire, on April 26. Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: 'This piece is documented in the official list of Hans's effects compiled by the Authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the weeks after the Titanic disaster and has remained in his family ever since. 'It was one of the centre pieces of the display of Titanic memorabilia in the Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012 which illustrates its importance. The watch was found when Givard's body was recovered from the North Atlantic and he was later buried in Halifax, Canada The gilded ladies' pocket watch still bears the scars of the disaster, in the form of corrosion from coming into contact with salt water 'The watches movement is frozen in time at the moment the cold North Atlantic waters consumed not only its owner but the most famous ocean liner of all time Titanic on April 15 1912.' The sale comes as a service in Belfast - where the Titanic was built - was held today to remember the victims of the sinking. Lord mayor Micky Murray led the annual commemoration, which was attended by relatives of those who died, along with members of history group the Belfast Titanic Society. Marjorie Wilson, 84, whose grandfather William McQuillan, 26, from north Belfast had been working in the boiler room of the ship, was among the attendees. She said: 'He really shouldn't have been there, but his mate's wife was having a baby so my grandfather took his place. 'He was washed ashore in Nova Scotia, the 183rd body to be brought ashore to Canada.' She said she was about 12 and saw his name on the memorial, and her mother confirmed that was her grandfather. They had all believed he was lost at sea until comparatively recently, when a local journalist discovered he had been buried in Canada and told Ms Wilson. 'Most of my relatives died thinking he was at the bottom of the sea, even my own mother was surprised when I went up to tell her the BBC had found his grave - in those days there had been no communication,' she said. 'It gave her comfort to know that there was a grave.' At just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg while travelling on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. Within three hours, the 'unsinkable' ship had slipped beneath the waves of the freezing Atlantic Ocean, killing more than 1,500 people A wealthy Utah mother accused of killing her husband after confessing an affair then having whiskey-fueled sex with him asked her dad for a huge loan days before. Jennifer Gledhill, 42, was arrested last year for allegedly fatally shooting Utah National Guardsman Matthew Johnson, then 51, on September 21, 2024. And now a newly-unsealed search warrant has revealed that her father Thomas Gledhill used Venmo to transfer $1,000 to the alleged killer's account on September 18, 2024. Gledhill then messaged him saying 'I need 13K by Friday,' the legal document shows. It's not known why Gledhill needed the specific amount of money. Police said Gledhill admitted to blasting the of her three children as he slept in their $1 million home in Cottonwood Heights, Salt Lake City, after admitting she had taken a lover. Gledhill and Johnson, a Utah National Guardsman, had what appeared to be make-up sex. But no such rapprochement was on the horizon, with Johnson killed shortly after. His body still hasn't been found. Her parents Thomas and Rosalie Gledhill have also been arrested for allegedly helping their daughter cover up the murder by deep-cleaning the home afterwards. Despite alleged efforts to remove any signs of the bloody murder from the scene of the crime, gruesome evidence was unearthed in court last October. Prosecutors showed images they say prove that Jennifer brutally killed Johnson as he slept, before dragging his lifeless body and the blood-soaked evidence out of their home. Jennifer Gledhill, 42, was arrested in early October after her husband Matthew Johnson, 51, vanished and was later charged with his murder Gledhill's parents Thomas and Rosalie Gledhill have also been charged in the murder after police revealed that witnesses saw them cleaning her house The court saw images of blood stains on a carpet that was underneath the bed in the couple's bedroom, where detectives believe Matthew was killed. DNA analysis confirmed it was Matthew's blood, per prosecutors. Prosecutors also exhibited a GPS tracking map showing that Jennifer traveled north the day after the alleged murder, on September 21, to a location where Matthew's red truck was found. At the same location, police say they found a vehicle storage container floating in a creek. Investigators say the inside of the container tested positive for Matthew's blood, as reported by Fox 13. An eerie snap of the couple's bedroom where the whiskey-fueled sex and subsequent murder took place was also shown in court. GPS data also revealed that Jennifer traveled to another location in the same county where police found the couple's mattress and pillows wrapped up in a rug from the their home. Prosecutors also showed the court a 2023 image they say shows Matthew by the same rug Jennifer dumped alongside the mattress. Jennifer was allegedly having an affair with a man who told police she confessed to shooting Matthew. She allegedly said she put his body in a storage contained and then loaded it into her minivan. Police claim the mom-of-three opened fire on Johnson as he slept at their $1 million home (pictured) in Cottonwood Heights, a suburb of Salt Lake City Detectives say the above image shows a blood stain found in the rug directly under the couple's bed. Police say Jennifer killed Matthew Johnson as he slept in bed Police say they found the vehicle storage container pictured in an area Jennifer drove to the day after the alleged murder. The container reportedly tested positive for Matthew's DNA Her apparent calls with her unidentified lover were shared at the bail hearing. 'Right before [Jennifer] reported Matthew missing, [her lover] recorded a phone call with the defendant,' prosecutors said. 'In the phone call, the [Jennifer] apologizes for telling [her lover] about what happened, she tells him to not think of her as a monster and to remember her who she was before she opened her mouth.' Prosecutors then began quoting Jennifer verbatim, including references to Johnson in the past tense before he'd been reported missing. 'I think that the fact that you got scared of me, that part like broke my heart because I was like "wow if you think I could even heard a fly," she said. 'Like he just, he is, he's not a person. He wasn't a person anymore he wasn't Matt anymore.' But far more chilling words were to follow, the hearing was told. Jennifer's secret lover, whose name has never been shared, told her that he was frightened by what she confessed. He asked how she would feel if the roles were reversed, which she responded, 'not if I deserved it.' Johnson's remains have yet to be found, and Gledhill pleaded not guilty to the charges Jennifer Gledhill, 42, is accused of killing her husband Matthew Johnson in their Utah home The couple's bedroom is seen above. Police say they matched blood stains in the room to Matthew's DNA 'I always preach that I was like the queen of hearts in my past lives because I'm like "Off With Their Heads.",' Jennifer is then said to have bragged. 'I'm like if we could just round up the scum of this Earth and put them on an island or just kill them all I could shipshape this country back into a good place,' Gledhill said. He is said to have been shot dead as he slept and his body has never been found. Attorneys for Jennifer, who denied murder at a hearing last month, claim the newly-released phone calls were taken out of context. Matthew was reported missing on September 23. Jennifer's parents Thomas and Rosalie Gledhill have also been charged in the murder. Police revealed that witnesses saw them cleaning her house for five hours following the alleged murder. Jennifer's mother was even suspected of buying a new mattress for her daughter to replace the one Johnson is said to have bled out over after being shot dead. Prosecutors also exhibited a GPS tracking map showing that Jennifer traveled north the day after the alleged murder, on September 21 GPS data also revealed that Jennifer traveled to another location where police found the couple's mattress and pillows wrapped up in a rug from the their home Detectives showed the court images of blue lighting detecting blood on the storage container Jennifer was arrested after her unnamed lover told police that she'd told him about killing her husband. In a police interview after her October 3 arrest, she claimed to have separated from Matthew - only to spend the evening of September 20 talking and drinking liquor with him. She said they then had sex that night, and 'informed (the officer) due to the intoxication from the whiskey she had a hard time recalling the events that took place after her and Matthew had sex', the search warrant said. Jennifer said Matthew 'became upset' during their evening together, but could not recall why. Her unnamed lover told police Matthew was upset at discovering his wife had been cheating on him. The man contacted police after Jennifer allegedly confessed to the murder, which led to her arrest. A 26-year-old mother who forged paternity test results and lied to her ex-partner about him being her child's father has avoided prison. In April 2019, Beth Fernley told Ryan Hampson she was pregnant and was unsure about who the baby's father was, Liverpool Crown Court heard. On Tuesday, Gareth Roberts, prosecuting, told the court that Fernley had asked Mr Hampson for 300 towards a DNA test. After this, she sent him screenshots which she claimed were from company EasyDNA and showed there was a 99.9% probability he was the father. Mr Hampson purchased items for the unborn baby and resumed a relationship with Fernley, who he had been with for four years before they broke up in early 2019, the prosecution said. He was at the baby's birth, named on the birth certificate and purchased a house with Fernley in 2020. The 26-year-old later forged another letter which claimed the company had made a mistake and he was not the father, the court heard. But when Mr Hampson contacted the firm he was told they had no record of the tests. Liverpool Crown Court heard how Beth Fernley (pictured) tricked her ex-partner into believing he was the father of her child Ryan Hampston told the court his 'world fell apart' upon discovering the news (pictured: outside of Liverpool Crown Court) He contacted police in July 2022 and Fernley was arrested, Mr Roberts, prosecuting, said. Reading a statement to the court, Mr Hampson, 27, said he had felt 'profound grief, confusion and heartbreak' after learning the child wasn't his, adding: 'My entire world fell apart. 'The emotional pain of people asking me about my daughter is unbearable and it brings waves of grief and sadness back that I can't control.' Tom Worsfold, defending, said Fernley had shown insight into the impact of her crime. 'She has demonstrated she accepts it was wrong of her, in her own words, to play God,' he said. At a hearing last month, Fernley, of Warrington, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary, sentencing, described the incident as a 'particulalary dreadful offence, which had a profound effect on many people', namely Mr Hampson and his extended family. He added: 'Whether it began out of some sort of apprehension because you found yourself pregnant with somebody who wasn't your partner or because you were keen to create some sort of perfect family it is hard for me to understand.' Fernley sent Mr Hampson screenshots which she claimed were from company EasyDNA and showed there was a 99.9% probability he was the father. She was handed a suspended sentence of 18 months at today's hearing (pictured second left: Beth Ferley) He said when police became involved she continued to deny she had lied in a 'perpetuation of sinister dishonesty'. Giving her a sentence of 13 months, suspended for 18 months, the judge added: 'You could not have complained today if I had sent you immediately to prison.' The defendant, who wore an olive green blazer and grey dress, wiped away a tear at one point during the hearing but showed no other reaction as she was sentenced. Fernley was ordered to undertake 10 days of rehabilitation activity and do 200 hours of unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay compensation of 300 and a statutory surcharge. A British father who drowned on a family holiday in Tenerife as his son tried to save him was a newly qualified judge who once stood for parliament, MailOnline can reveal as he is pictured for the first time. Veteran barrister Stephen Howd, 57, hit his head on a rock and died after getting into difficulty while swimming with his teenage son, William, off the coast of Santa Cruz in April 2023. The father-of-three, from Farnham, Surrey, had just been promoted to the judiciary and previously ran for parliament twice for the Conservative Party and UKIP. An inquest into the University of Oxford graduates death on April 21, 2023 was held this week at Winchester Coroners Court. The hearing was told that his 16-year-old son William, who was taking a break from studying for his GCSEs, bravely went into the water to try and save his father. The inquest was told that Mr Howd got into difficulty and drowned after the conditions at a popular swimming spot in Buenavista del Norte suddenly changed. His ex-partner and mother to his children, Nicola Murphy, said: They jumped in and were enjoying themselves until the sea conditions changed, the sea became rough and the conditions of the water became difficult to swim against. Ms Murphy said bystanders saw the father and son get into difficulty, and made a makeshift rope to pull them back to the rocky outcropping they had jumped from. Veteran barrister Stephen Howd, 57, hit his head on a rock and died after getting into difficulty while swimming with his teenage son, William, off the coast of Santa Cruz in April 2023 The father-of-three, from Farnham, Surrey, had just been promoted to the judiciary and previously ran for parliament twice for the Conservative Party and UKIP Mr Howd had enjoyed the water in Tenerife many times after buying a holiday home in Spain in 2006 Mr Howds son William, who is now 18, was able to get out using this rope, but his father was unable to. The inquest also heard that Mr Howd hit his head against the rocks, causing an injury which the coroner said may have contributed to his death. William said that his fathers last words were: This is getting dangerous, Im getting tired. Giving evidence at the inquest in person, Mr Howds daughter, Constance Ridge said that her father was just incredibly unlucky that day. He was, I would have thought, quite a strong swimmer as well - he did swimming recreationally, it was one of the things he did to stay fit, he was a competent swimmer as well, she said. The 57-year-old attended Winchester College and went on to study physics at Oxford University When he ran for parliament in Scunthorpe in 2015 it was for UKIP. Here, Mr Howd is pictured with current Reform UK leader Nigel Farage The coroner said, after offering his condolences to Mr Howds loved ones: I specifically give my condolences to William, who was present during this dreadful incident. In my view, it was very much a valiant and brave attempt by him [to save his father]. Area Coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Jason Pegg concluded that Mr Howd drowned and his cause of death was misadventure. The hearing was told Mr Howd attended Winchester College and went on to study physics at Oxford University. He later obtained the prestigious Queen Mothers Scholarship - given to outstanding candidates - to study law at the university. Mr Howd was appointed a judge shortly before he died, and his daughter told the inquest that he had been looking forward to the new professional challenge. He lived on Echo Barn Lane in Surrey, where houses cost more than 1m on average. Insiders close to Prince Harry say his rift with the Royal Family is deepening claiming he was left in the dark about his father King Charles's cancer battle. The Duke of Sussex's calls to family members including his elder brother Prince William are also ignored, new reports today have suggested. People magazine in the US quotes sources close to Harry as describing the ongoing 'strained' relationship with his father five years after the Duke and his wife Meghan Markle quit frontline royal duties and moved to California. Palace insiders were also quoted on the estrangement since so-called 'Megxit' in 2020 with the last face-to-face encounter between Charles and Harry being a 30-minute meeting in February last year. Sources close to the Duke have told of his calls and letters to relatives being left unanswered. And he is said to have only known his father the King was recently admitted to hospital on March 27 through media reports rather than being told directly. Harry spent some time in the UK last week, attending a hearing at London's High Court in his continuing battle over financing personal protection officers. His legal team is arguing that he, Meghan and their two children are not safe to come to Britain. Insiders close to Prince Harry (pictured) say his rift with the Royal Family is deepening The Duke of Sussex is said to have only learnt his father King Charles (pictured) was hospitalised last month through media reports Harry (left) and his elder brother William (right) have become estranged in recent years Harry's barrister claimed the prince, who is believed to have earned $120million from Netflix and Spotify and lives in a $15million Montecito mansion, must have his full taxpayer-funded bodyguards restored when in the UK because his 'life is at stake'. His lawyers said, 'Al Qaeda called for the duke to be murdered' saying 'his assassination would please the Muslim community'. The prince says he was 'singled out' for 'inferior treatment' when the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) stripped him of his top-level security in February 2020 after he moved out of the UK. But Sir James Eadie KC, representing the Home Office, said it had discretion to strip his guaranteed full time police security without consulting the Risk Management Board quango. People magazine suggested insiders close to the Duke feel Charles is intentionally staying distant partly to avoid being embroiled in questions over security. Now People has quoted royal author Sally Bedell Smith as saying the ongoing case 'puts Harry in direct contact with the people who are carrying out the Kings orders'. She added: 'If his father was to say something even seemingly innocuous, it could end up landing in the middle of the court case.' The magazine also quoted a source close to Harry as saying: 'He feels very strongly this is something he must fight for.' Prince Harry made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city of Lviv on Thursday last week His brother Prince William previous made a trip to a Nato base in Estonia last month Charles and his sons are seen here during a ski break in Klosters, Switzerland, in March 2005 After last week's hearing, Harry then left the UK secretly and without informing Buckingham Palace early last Thursday. He was then understood to have landed at an unnamed airport in Poland ahead of a surprise visit to Ukraine. He was given a police escort to and from the Polish border and former Ukrainian military personnel accompanied him to the Superhumans rehabilitation centre in Lviv where he met adults and children who have been injured since war broke out in 2022. His visit came after William visited a Nato base in Ukraine's neighbour Estonia last month. The two brothers have been increasingly estranged following the decision by Harry and his wife Meghan to quit frontline royal duties and move to the US in January 2019. Harry then published his critical memoir Spare in 2023, in which he described disputes between the siblings including an allegation of a physical tussle. The Duke of Sussex's book saw him accuse William of pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over his wife Meghan. It also claimed William teased Harry about his panic attacks and that King Charles put his own interests above his second son, while Harry also referred to taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms. MailOnline has contacted Kensington Palace for comment. Representatives for Prince Harry declined to comment. Russia has begun building new military infrastructure along its border with Finland, in a move Finnish army officials have described as a deliberate attempt to test NATO's alliance and resolve. Lieutenant General Vesa Virtanen, Finland's Deputy Chief of Defence, expressed concerns over Russia's actions, stating that the Kremlin is 'deliberately testing NATO's unity' to see if it will trigger Article 5 - the alliance's collective defence clause. Speaking to German newspaper Welt, Virtanen claimed: 'Russia has been testing Article 5 the whole time with mass migration, with cyber attacks, with GPS jamming, and attacks in the information space.' He believes Russia are testing to what extent it can act without Article 5 being triggered, as their latest move sees the country erecting new equipment to station Russian troops along its border. 'During the war there were about 20,000 soldiers stationed and about four standby brigades, now we see that Russia is building new infrastructure and as soon as they can, more troops in this region,' Virtanen warned. The army chief explained that they are reorganising themselves from the brigades and there would likely be around four to five divisions, an army corps, and a supporting unit. 'So there will be more troops there in the future than before the Ukraine war,' he added, while reassuring that Finland has been ready to defend its allies for decades. The move comes after Finland's accession to NATO on April 4, 2023, which extended the alliance's border with Russia by over 1,300km. Finland's Deputy Chief of Defence warned that Russia is building new military infrastructure along its border with Finland. Pictured: Border guard stands near a fence marking the boundary between Finland and the Russian Federation near the border crossing of Pelkola, in Imatra, Finland on November 18, 2022 The army chief explained that Russian troops are reorganising themselves from the brigades and there would likely be around four to five divisions, an army corps, and a supporting unit along the border Virtanen claimed Russia are testing to what extent it can act without Article 5 being triggered. Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin In response to Finland's NATO membership, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the establishment of the 'Leningrad Military District' near the Finnish border and the deployment of additional military units to the area. Despite these actions, Putin has dismissed concerns over a potential attack on NATO members as 'complete nonsense', asserting that Russia has no interest in engaging in conflict with the alliance. Finnish officials have also reported an increase in hybrid tactics employed by Russia, including the orchestrated movement of asylum seekers to the Finnish border, which Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described as a 'hybrid attack' aimed at destabilising Finland and the EU. In anticipation of potential threats, Finland has initiated the construction of a 200km border fence to enhance security and reduce reliance on Russian border controls. Similarly, Poland and the Baltic states last year demanded the EU strengthen its 2,400km eastern border as it warned of a 'looming threat' from Russia and Belarus. In their letter, the leaders of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania urged the 27-nation EU to 'spend more and coordinate on defence initiatives within the EU and with NATO' in order to protect the bloc of 450 million people. 'Building a defence infrastructure system along the EU external border with Russia and Belarus will address the dire and urgent need to secure the EU from military and hybrid threats,' they said. Finland's defence strategy involves allowing an invading force to initially cross the border, only to be met with a robust counteroffensive. 'The Finnish thinking has been to allow the enemy to advance a little inwards and then beat them back,' military policy expert Lieutenant Colonel Juhani Pihlajamaa told Finnish broadcaster Yle last year. European leaders have said the invasion of Ukraine could soon break out into a 'global' war This approach is supported by Finland's maintenance of a large reserve force and significant artillery capabilities, ensuring readiness in the face of aggression. As tensions escalate, Finland's integration into NATO's defense framework continues, with the establishment of a new NATO command center in Mikkeli, less than 200 kilometers from the Russian border. NATO officers assigned to the Multi Corps Land Component Command (MCLCC) will begin arriving in Mikkeli later this year, according to the city's mayor, Janne Kinnunen. Kinnunen told Yle last week that between 10 and 15 officers will begin arriving in the city as early as autumn this year, although the number of arrivals is expected to climb much higher. But Finland is not the only country foucisng on their defence against Russia and a possible expansion of the bloody war. In March, the EU pushed for every household in the 27-nation bloc to have a three-day survival kit ready in case of war or natural disasters. EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib said the proposals would be formally presented as part of a broader 'preparedness strategy'. Brussels is hoping to ensure every citizen is equipped for 72 hours of self-sufficiency amid the growing threat of continental conflict breaking out. EU citizens will be told to stock up on a dozen key items, including matches, ID documents in a waterproof punch, bottled water, energy bars and a flashlight, as part of their 'resilience' kit. European leaders have said the invasion of Ukraine could soon break out into a 'global' war. Some Scandinavian countries have already stepped up their preparation by distributing war survival guides. Russian warplanes have been detected off the coast of Alaska in a terrifying escalation, military officials said Tuesday. Officials with the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Russian aircraft never entered American or Canadian airspace. Authorities did not name the type of Russian aircraft, how many flew close to the coast nor what their purpose was. The Russian planes remained in international airspace, but reportedly crossed into a region named the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which is beyond sovereign US airspace. Aircraft are expected to identify themselves in the ADIZ, and NORAD says it surveils the area to maintain national security. It comes just two months after US fighter jets were scrambled to the ADIZ region twice in three days when Russian military aircraft, including bombers, were also detected. That incident first saw two bombers and two fighter jets buzz near Alaska, and after they were shadowed away by US aircraft, Russia followed it two days later by sending two more jets in a show of force. And in September, Russian aircraft came dangerously close to colliding with a US fighter jet as shocking footage showed the Russian pilot turn at the last second to avoid a crash. Russian warplanes have been detected off the coast of Alaska (pictured in a stock) in a terrifying escalation, military officials said Tuesday Russian military aircraft have been spotted in the ADIZ airspace at least two more times in recent months, as experts say the nation is stepping up its hostile approach to the US US officials say instances of Russian aircraft violating ADIZ airspace come as the nation has been stepping up its hostile approach to the US. NORAD said Tuesday that although the incidents are repeating, the aircraft spotted near Alaska this week were 'not seen as a threat.' The defense authority said in a press release following the detection of the Russian warplanes that 'Russian activity in Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly.' It explained that the ADIZ region 'begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.' 'NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions,' the press release read. 'NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.' A billionaire hotel magnate famed for masterminding some of the Las Vegas strip's most iconic tourist attractions with her ex-husband has died at the age of 82. Elaine Wynn and her former partner Steve operated an eponymous global collection of casinos and hotels synonymous with Sin City. They ran in the same circles as Donald Trump, who also established a Nevada resort chain in the 1990s. Further details on Wynn's cause of death, or where and when she died have yet to emerge. The Wall Street Journal, who broke news of Wynn's death, said she was the largest individual shareholder in Wynn Resorts, with a stake worth $2 billion in 2018. Wynn signed away her voting rights in the company when she divorced Steve for the second time in 2010, but in June 2018 she returned to the board amid a cloud of sexual harassment complaints against Steve by former employees. Steve sold his 12 percent share in the company after some staffers claimed he had paid them off to keep quiet about the alleged harassment. The casino power couple, who share two daughters called Kevyn and Gillian, originally married in 1963 after meeting on a blind date, and they divorced for the first time in 1986. They tied the knot again in 1991 but divorced 19 years later. They faced horrific trauma in 1993 when Kevyn was kidnapped. Stricken Wynn paid a $1.45 million ransom for the safe return of her daughter, with the blundering kidnappers caught when they tried to use the cash to buy a Ferrari. Elaine Wynn, a billionaire philanthropist who created the famous Wynn Hotels and Casino resorts with ex-husband Steve, has died aged 82 Elaine Wynn and her ex-husband Steve are pictured with magicians Siegfried and Roy at Elizabeth Taylor's 79th birthday in 2007. The couple married and divorced twice Together they forged some of the most famous attractions on the Las Vegas strip, including the Mirage and its erupting volcano (shown above), and the Bellagio fountains Together they forged some of the most famous attractions on the Las Vegas strip, including the Mirage and its erupting volcano, and the Bellagio fountains (shown above) Wynn was born to a middle-class family of New York Jews and founded Vegas' iconic Mirage Resorts with Steve in 1976. The couple went on to develop the famously glitzy Wynn resorts in 2000. Their combined efforts were credited with revitalizing the Vegas Strip and helping the area shake off its seedy reputation. Together they forged some of the most famous attractions on the strip, including the Mirage and its erupting volcano, and the Bellagio fountains. Wynn Resorts issued a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about her passing. 'We are all deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Elaine Wynn, and send our condolences to her daughters, grandchildren, and her many close friends,' the company said. 'As co-founder and one of the largest shareholders of Wynn Resorts, she helped to create and grow the company to become the most esteemed luxury resort brand in the world. Wynn and her ex-husband Steve designed and ran an eponymous global collection of casinos and hotel resorts synonymous with Las Vegas. They are pictured together in 2007 Elaine Wynn, a billionaire philanthropist who created the famous Wynn Hotels and Casino resorts with ex-husband Steve, has died aged 82 The Wall Street Journal , who broke news of Wynn's death, said she was the largest individual shareholder in Wynn Resorts. She is pictured on the left in Las Vegas, September 2009 The Wynn Hotel & Casino, located on the famed Las Vegas Strip and located next to its sister hotel, The Encore, is seen in this 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada, exterior photo Her many talents and special touches are indelibly imprinted on the company and still evident throughout our resorts. Elaine cared deeply about the employees of our resorts. 'The current and former employees who worked alongside her to create Wynn and Encore Las Vegas cherish the many fond memories they have of her, especially of when they opened Wynn Las Vegas with her 20 years ago this month. 'She was a tireless advocate for Las Vegas, for children and their education, and for the arts. We're grateful that the enduring sense of philanthropy she instilled in our company continues to this day.' Wynn spoke about moving to Las Vegas in 1967 with author Jack Sheehan, for a biography he wrote about her mentor, banker E Parry Thomas. 'Initially I did feel very out of place because I still was in most respects a very traditional middle-class Jewish girl and life here seemed pretty fast,' Wynn said. 'But I had grown up in Miami Beach, and it was a similar environment to Las Vegas minus the gaming. A lot of the same people who wound up in Las Vegas.' Wynn and her ex-husband Steve designed and ran an eponymous global collection of casinos and hotel resorts synonymous with Las Vegas. They are pictured together in 2007 Pictured: Steve Wynn and Elaine Wynn during La Bete Nightclub Opening at Wynn Las Vegas at La Bete at Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Elaine Wynn and her former partner Steve ran in the same circles as Donald Trump, who also established a Nevada resort chain in the 1990s. Pictured: Roberto Cavalli, Elaine Wynn, Steve Wynn, Melania Trump, Eva Cavalli and Donald Trump in the 1990s Together they forged some of the most famous attractions on the Las Vegas strip, including the Mirage and its erupting volcano (shown above), and the Bellagio fountains Born Elaine Pascal, the hotel tycoon was raised in New York City and graduated from George Washington University in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in political science. She met her ex-husband Steve on a blind date arranged by relatives, and they ran his father's East Coast bingo parlors together. They moved to Las Vegas in 1967 after he purchased a stake in a since-closed hotel and casino. Wynn is survived by her two children, Kevyn and Gillian, and her seven grandchildren. Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley issued a tribute to Wynn on Tuesday, describing her as a longtime friend while remembering her philanthropy. 'All of Las Vegas is saddened by the loss of Elaine Wynn,' Berkley said. 'I have known Elaine since I was a student at UNLV, and she has impacted my life in so very many ways. 'Elaine has been a force for compassion, the arts and philanthropy in our city for many decades. 'Her spirit, creativity and caring nature will live on through her foundation, the many projects she has had a hand in and the many lives she has touched. 'I look forward to the future opening of the Las Vegas Museum of Art that she had partnered with the city to create.' Governor Gavin Newsom is trying to salvage California's Canadian ties as the state's tourism numbers from America's neighbor to the north have dipped considerably. Newsom has partnered with tourism nonprofit Visit California to launch a pro-Canada campaign to distance California from President Donald Trump's administration. In an enthusiastic video pleading California's case, Newsom pitched the state's offerings and urged Canadians to book their next vacation at the 'ultimate playground.' 'The Golden State and Canada have always shared so much in common,' Newsom began his announcement, which was shared online on Monday. 'Sure, you know who's trying to stir things up back in DC, but don't let that ruin your beach plans,' he added with a smile. Vaguely addressing US-Canadian political tensions, the Democratic governor said that California and Washington DC are 2,000 miles away in distance, but 'a world away in mindset.' 'Last year, nearly two million Canadians visited California. Because here in California, we've got plenty of sunshine and a whole lot of love for our neighbors up north,' he said. Newsom begging snowbirds not to turn their backs on California comes as Trump's policies and attitudes toward Canada have made Canadian visitors far less inclined to come to the US. Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured) is trying to salvage California 's Canadian ties as America's strained relationship with its northern neighbor hit the Golden State's tourism industry hard California is America's number-one tourist destination, with travelers spending more than $150 billion in the state in 2023, according to state data (pictured: the Santa Monica Pier) Newsom also met with British Columbia Premier David Eby on Monday to discuss the issue of California expanding its economic relationship with Canada. The governor and Eby reportedly discussed 'shared priorities,' including the lumber industry and affordable housing projects, Newsom's office said in a press release. California is America's number-one tourist destination, with travelers spending more than $150 billion in the state in 2023, according to state data. The industry generates about 1.2 million hospitality and tourism jobs in California. Last year, Canadians contributed $3.72 billion to the state's economy. But as of this February, the tourist hot spot has seen a 12 percent decrease in Canadian guests from the same time last year, the governor's office reported. According to 2023 data shared by Visit California, Canada was the state's second largest international market in terms of spending. 'California is committed to rolling out the red carpet for our Canadian visitors, whenever youre ready to visit,' Visit California President & CEO Caroline Beteta declared. 'California and Canada share so much in common. Our inclusive values, love of natural beauty and passion for innovation bind us, and we look forward to welcoming you back with the same community spirit youve always shown us.' Palm Springs has made its pro-Canada stance abundantly clear by hanging signs (pictured) throughout the downtown area Before Monday's statewide Canadian address, Palm Springs had already made its loyalty to the Great White North known by hanging signs throughout the downtown area. The banners read 'Palm Springs [heart] Canada.' The heart has Canada's flag inside, signifying solidarity with the people who have been swearing off American getaways. 'The City of Palm Springs loves our Canadian friends and neighbors,' the city declared in an April 5 Facebook post of the posters being placed around the city. 'These new banners downtown are just a reminder that you are welcome and appreciated in our City and that will never change!' Palm Springs International Airport has also been decked out to make Canadians feel welcome. The same 'Palm Spring [heart] Canada' message has been plastered on big screens near the entrances and baggage carousels. 'Despite what the government does, we in Palm Springs welcome you,' Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte asserted in an April 1 Facebook video message to Canadians. During his second presidential term, Trump has been particularly vocal about his plans to absorb Canada as an American state. Newsom also met with British Columbia Premier David Eby on Monday to tackle the issue of California expanding its economic relationship with Canada (pictured: Newsom's meeting with Eby) In an enthusiastic video pleading California's case, Newsom (pictured) pitched the state's offerings and urged Canadians to book their next vacation at the 'ultimate playground' 'I would love to see Canada be the 51st state. The Canadian citizens, if that happened, would get a very big tax cut, tremendous tax cut, because they're very highly taxed,' Trump said in January. The president's bold idea has not sat well with Canadian leaders and citizens, who have no interest in being incorporated into the US. 'How about, if we buy Alaska, and well throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time? Its not realistic,' Ontario Premier Doug Ford, head of Canadas most populous province, responded the idea in February. Trump added fuel to the fire when he slapped hefty import taxes on Canada in March. He imposed 25 percent tariffs on nearly all Canadian and Mexican imports to the US. Good covered under the trade agreement between America, Canada and Mexico are still duty free, while products outside of the agreement are subject to the 25 percent tax. Fertilizer and energy products from Canada will be hit with 10 percent tariffs. As fears of damage to California's tourism industry loom, the state may also be at risk of losing billions of dollars in annual tax revenue because the Trump administration authorized the IRS to share illegal immigrants' tax data with ICE. President Donald Trump (pictured) has been vocal about his plans to absorb Canada as an American state The tourism industry fosters about 1.2 million jobs in California. Last year, Canadians contributed $3.72 billion to the California economy (pictured: Palm Springs) If ICE is able to execute the deportations of California's 1.8 million unauthorized migrants - the largest population in any US state - the state risks losing the estimated $8.5 billion in state and local taxes they pay every year. Newsom, widely considered to be a favorite in the 2028 Democratic Primary, hasn't commented on what this will mean for the state's finances. Britain's largest teaching union has sparked fears for Jewish pupils after vowing to produce school resources to raise awareness of the situation in Palestine. The National Education Union (NEU) voted to develop materials for its half a million members to use in classrooms about the ongoing conflict in Gaza. However, one of its own members accused the union of presenting a one-sided and anti-Israel view, saying the plans could fuel anti-Semitism in schools. The action was voted in at the NEUs annual conference in Harrogate, with a motion which also accused Israel of genocide and apartheid. The motion said members should attend Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstrations and campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. And it said the NEU should continue to develop resources and advice for members in schools to raise awareness about the situation in Palestine. Peter Block, 76, a Jewish NEU member and retired teacher, said: They are trying to filter into the curriculum this one-sided view. Its anti-Israel. But how is vilification of Israel helping with anti-Semitism? The National Education Union has sparked fears for Jewish pupils after vowing to produce school resources to 'raise awareness' of the situation in Palestine (pictured: General Secretary Daniel Kebede) The NEU voted to develop materials for its half a million members to use in classrooms about the ongoing conflict in Gaza (pictured: a Palestine solidarity protest in 2021 which was attended by NEU members) One of the NEU's own members accused the union of presenting a one-sided and anti-Israel view, saying the plans could fuel anti-Semitism in schools (pictured: Jewish member Peter Block) I worry that these materials will be one-sided, and that they will fuel anti-Semitism in schools. Im not saying Israel is a paragon but there needs to be some balance. The people advocating this are jumping on the anti-Zionism bandwagon and theres a fair bit of virtue-signalling going on. I think the NEU is a hostile environment for Jewish members. During the motion debate, speakers wearing Keffiyehs led audience chants of free, free Palestine and we are all Palestinians. Louise Regan, an NEU activist from Nottingham, urged members to keep protesting saying: We must not be silenced by those in power. We are not going anywhere. During the debate, Mr Block, who attended as an observer, shouted from the audience: Why dont you tell the other side! Do you remember October 7th? Israel is not a genocidal state, it is not an apartheid state. The action was voted in at the NEU's annual conference in Harrogate, with a motion which also accused Israel of 'genocide' and 'apartheid' (pictured: General Secretary Daniel Kebede addresses a Palestine solidarity protest in 2024) The motion said members should attend Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstrations and 'campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza' (pictured: NEU branches attending protests about pay) NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede addressing members at a previous union event The president, Sarah Kilpatrick, urged him to listen respectfully. However, Mr Block, who was heckled during his speech on Palestine at last years conference, hit back: Its a shame I didnt have that courtesy last time. Separately, he was then asked to leave by an usher due to heckling being against the rules, and he walked out. Only one delegate spoke officially against the motion Duncan Morris, a teacher from the Isle of Wight who said he was in solidarity with the Palestinians but accused the NEU of omitting facts. He told the conference: It omits a lot. It omits enough to make it unbalanced It omits condemnation of Hamas 7th October attacks. It omits Hamas oppression of trade unions in Gaza. It omits Hamas oppression of women and LGBT+ [people]. Afterwards, General Secretary Daniel Kebede denied that the NEU was hostile to Jewish members and added that the materials produced would not be biased. He said: Teachers have professional standards. They must teach from an impartial standpoint. Everybody recognises that and this union will only ever advise members on that. Whatever we produce will be obviously within the line of the law. Schools should be places where discussion around really difficult subjects can be had fairly, properly and impartially. Also at the conference, the union voted to launch a formal ballot on autumn strikes if the Government does not improve its 2.8 per cent pay rise offer, which is unfunded. A military clerk who stole nearly 1million from the Ministry of Defence to pay for hair transplants, Turkey teeth and cosmetic surgery for a fake six-pack in an expenses scam has today been jailed. Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, ran the scheme while working at Regent's Park Barracks in central London. He defrauded taxpayers of 911,677, of which he kept 557,093 for himself. Stelmach-Purdie, of from Oldham in Greater Manchester, had a love for the good life - undergoing a hair transplant and flying to Turkey for teeth-whitening and abdominal implants. Officers searched his home and found nine pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, a Louis Vuitton luggage set and three Patek Philippe watches which turned out to be fake. Stelmach-Purdie, ran the expenses swindle with the help of five others, who appeared before him in court yesterday and were convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud. He was told he faces jail for fraud and money laundering after uploading fake claims onto an online admin portal from November 2014 to January 2016. He has today been jailed for three years and four months at Southwark Crown Court. Former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, 34, (pictured) ran an expenses scam while working at Regent's Park Barracks in central London The court previously heard how he was assisted by five other clerks, former sergeant Roger Clerice, 28, Allan O'Neil, 48, Lee Richards, 41, Anthony Sharwood, 38, and Peter Wilson, 55. Prosecutor Domonic Connolly told the court: 'This case concerns a series of frauds carried out by a number of employees of the Ministry of Defence at their administrative headquarters situated within Regents Park Barracks in Central London. 'These defendants, who were all employed at the Regent's Park Barracks made a series of fictitious claims to expenses and allowances that they were not entitled to. 'As a result of these frauds, there has been a loss of public funds totalling 911,677.66. These are public funds that had been demarcated for the defence of the realm and the protection of its armed services.' Prosecutors said the fraud centred around the use of the Joint Personal Administration (JPA) - an online administrative system used by the UK armed forces to pay the salaries of staff, including claims for expenses and allowances. While he was responsible for the management of claims to expenses and allowances, Stelmach-Purdie used his position to make fraudulent claims on his JPA account and on the accounts of others, the court was told. He then used the bank accounts of third parties, including his mother and sister, to conceal the proceeds of the fraud, the court heard. The other defendants told the court they were approached by Stelmach-Purdie in or shortly after December 2014, when he claimed he had found a way to 'make some money manipulating JPA', prosecutors said. Rogeer Clerice (pictured), who was Stelmach-Purdie's line manager, received more than 7,500 for his role in the scheme Stelmach-Purdie's line manager Clerice, who was an administration specialist, received 7,691 from the fraud. He pleaded guilty to money laundering. Wilson, a former lance sergeant who retired from the army in October 2015, continued to receive 230,400 in fraudulent claims made by Stelmach-Purdie for months until December 31 2015. Between June and December 2015, Wilson's JPA account was used to make 28 fraudulent claims totalling 378,662. Sharwood, a former corporal in the Royal Marines who retired from the Armed Forces in January this year, was involved in eight fraudulent expenses claims made between January 2015 and November 2015, totalling 28,935. The defendant, from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, admitted to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in March 2023. Richards, a former lance sergeant from Amesbury in Wiltshire, was convicted by a jury of 103 fraudulent claims made between March 2015 and January 2016, totalling 434,825. He retained approximately 160,000 of that sum, the court heard. Wilson, from Kidderminster in Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in March 2023. The total value of the fraud he pleaded guilty to is 385,432 involving 28 fraudulent claims made between June 2015 and January 2016. A total of 378,662.26 passed through his bank account, 149,781 of which he retained, the court was told. O'Neil, a former sergeant from Droitwich in Worcestershire, was involved in three fraudulent claims totalling 18,218, and has pleaded guilty to money laundering. Stelmach-Purdie, whom the court heard was involved in all of the 161 fraudulent claims, was dismissed from the Armed Forces in January 2016 after he was convicted and sentenced over four counts of sexual activity with a child. When interviewed by police shortly after over his fraudulent activity, Stelmach-Purdie said he became involved because of the state of poor mental health brought about by the sexual allegations made against him. Prosecutor Connolly told the judge: 'When he (Stelmach-Purdie) commenced his job in administration, he was aware people were making claims for allowances that they were not entitled to. 'He claimed he felt people knew of these proceedings and would use it against him if he didn't comply with their claims. 'He would allow claims to go through for a percentage in return. The military clerks ran the expenses scam from London's Regent's Park Barracks (pictured) Stelmach-Purdie pleaded guilty to seven counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of money laundering in August 2023. Today, Stelmach-Purdie was jailed for three years and four months, half of which he will serve in custody. Richards was given a two year prison sentence suspended for two years, and will have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. Friends and family of Richards wept with joy in the public gallery as he walked free. Wilson also received a 24 month prison sentence suspended for two years, and will have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. O'Neil was given a 12 month community order, which will require him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Sharwood was given a 15 month prison sentence suspended for two years, and he will have to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Clerice was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years, and he will also have to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. Judge Philip Bartle said: '161 fraudulent claims were made between November 2014 and January 2016. 'Mr Stelmach-Purdie was central to the commission of these frauds, and it would not have happened without his involvement. Without him none of the other defendants would have been involved in these offences. 'He used his position to make fictitious claims. He made fraudulent claims on his JPA account and on the accounts of others. 'While a JPA [Joint Personnel Allowance] user should never disclose their JPA password to others, the other defendants allowed Mr Stelmach-Purdie to use their passwords so that he could access their JPA accounts. 'Mr Stelmach-Purdie used the bank account of his friend Simon Lees to enable Mr Stelmach-Purdie to hide the proceeds of the fraud. Mr Lees stood trial with Mr Richards.' 'As messages to Simon Lees show, Mr Stelmach-Purdie was prepared to tell him to lie about the source of the money paid into his bank account, and brow beat him into continuing to accept very large sums of money.' When Stelmach-Purdie was interviewed by the police he claimed that he had been struggling with mental health issues when he became involved in the fraud. 'Mr Stelmach-Purdie outlined that he had been in the army since he was sixteen, and had performed traumatising tours in Afghanistan,' said Judge Bartle. 'He claimed that he became involved when in a poor mental state brought about by court proceedings relating to sexual allegations against him. 'He lied to his mother his sister, and to Mr Lees-all of whose bank accounts were used- as to where the money came from.' The judge referred to text messages between Stelmach-Purdie and Wilson discussing the fraud. 'The messages used a code referring to 'flights'. So they referred to 'flights landing' as code for money being paid into an account through the JPA.' Los Angeles County is facing a financial crisis as leaders are forced to find ways to pay for a sex abuse settlement that cost twice the amount as the devastating wildfires. The county's unveiled their $47.9 billion budget recommendation Monday that included massive cuts to pay for their 'unprecedented financial challenges.' These challenges include $2 billion for the massive LA fires that ripped through Southern California in January, killing 30 people and destroying thousands of homes. Even heftier on the budget is the $4 billion the county agreed to pay to settle nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities since 1959. 'We are in uncharted territory with these simultaneous pressures on our budget,' said Los Angeles County CEO Fesia Davenport. On April 4, the county reached a $4 billion agreement to settle more than 6,800 sexual abuse claims dating back to 1959, calling it the costliest financial settlement in the county's history. The majority of the claims date from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and are alleged to have happened at Probation Department facilities and at the MacLaren Children's Center, which was permanently closed in 2003. The plaintiffs were able to sue because of a state law - known as AB 218 - that took effect in 2020 and suspended the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse victims to bring cases for three years. Los Angeles County CEO Fesia Davenport (pictured) said the county is facing 'uncharted territory' as they search for a way to pay for a $4 billion sex abuse settlement The county reached a $4 billion settlement to more than 6,800 sexual abuse claims dating back to 1959, a majority of which happened at the MacLaren Children's Center (pictured) The county also has to pay $2 billion for the massive LA fires that ripped through Southern California in January One man said he was sexually abused by a physician at the facility when he was eight years old, while another said he was assaulted by a male staff member in a bathroom when he was five. Children were routinely placed in solitary confinement, drugged and restrained in chairs at the facility, according to court papers filed by plaintiffs. Davenport said the county will have to use cash reserves, borrow money by issuing bonds and cut the budget for decades to pay for settlement, reported KABC. 'Any of these alone would be daunting, but taken together, these challenges the wildfires, the AB 218 settlement, the threat of deep cuts in federal funding are cause for great concern,' she said. 'The AB 218 settlement is an unprecedented settlement. By far, the costliest in county history. 'This is not a one-year, not even a one-decade impact. We anticipate that we will be paying hundreds of millions of dollars every year until 2030, and then millions more each year through fiscal year, 2050 - (20)51.' Financial strain on the county is compounded by the pressures from January's deadly wildfires. LA county expects the revenue impact of the fires will be $1 billion, plus another $1 billion for the recovery, the local news station reported. The sex abuse plaintiffs were able to sue because of a state law - known as AB 218 - that took effect in 2020 and suspended the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse victims Financial strain on the county is compounded by the pressures from January's fires that killed 30 people and destroyed thousands of homes While some those costs could be reimbursed by the federal government, Davenport caution any relief will be years away. 'The FEMA process requires the county to front the funding first, so we call that front-funding, and then at some point, in a couple of years, we hope to receive reimbursement for expenses that are eligible for FEMA reimbursement,' Davenport said. To make up for these costs, officials proposed county departments make three percent cuts to the budgets. 'These targeted cuts total $88.9 million and include eliminating 310 vacancies and more than $50 million in savings from cutting supplies, delaying equipment purchases and reducing the scope of some programs,' Davenport's office said. 'No layoffs are anticipated at this time, but the Recommended Budgetthe first phase in the Countys annual budget processreflects a high degree of caution, restraint and uncertainty in the face of the cascading budgetary pressures.' United States special envoy Steve Witkoff revealed Monday there was real progress during his latest meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding peace talks and a reset of relations between the two countries. Witkoff said that he met with Russian president Vladimir Putin and his advisors Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev for ongoing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. 'It was a compelling meeting,' Witkoff said. 'And toward the end, we actually came up with - I'm going to say 'finally,' but I don't mean it in the way that we were waiting, I mean it in the way that it took a while for us to get to this place,' he told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview on Monday evening. 'What Putin's request is to get, to have a permanent peace here,' he added. Witkoff said he also discussed security protocols, NATO, and Article V, with Putin as well as economic opportunities. I believe there's a possibility to reshape the Russian-United States relationship through some very compelling commercial opportunities that I think give real stability to the region too,' he said. This is the third meeting Witkoff has had in Moscow with the Russians, as President Trump is growing impatient about the lack of movement in negotiations with Russia. 'Russia has to get moving,' Trump wrote on social media on Friday. 'Too many people are DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war A war that should have never happened, and wouldn't have happened, if I were President!!!' Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Saint Petersburg Russia's top economic negotiator Kirill Dmitriev talks to US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff in Saint Petersburg Witkoff has angered some Democrats for his positive comments about Putin as he continues to negotiate with Russia. 'I don't regard Putin as a bad guy. That is a complicated situation, that war, and all the ingredients that led up to it,' Witkoff said during an interview with the Trucker Carlson Show in March, adding that he 'liked' the Russian president. Witkoff has also defended President Trump's efforts to negotiated a peace with Russia and Ukraine. 'I sit with the president and we talk often about what the end game is, where does he want to get to, and once you decide where to get to then it's all about tactically figuring out what that pathway is,' he said. A young California girl was found dead in her apartment after screaming 'Mommy, please no' in a heartbreaking final plea before her mother allegedly drowned her in the bathtub. Rebecca Castellanos, 7, was tragically found dead in a bathtub on Friday evening, with the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office ruling her death as asphyxiation due to neck compression and drowning, NBC 4 reported. Identified as the primary suspect, her mother, 37-year-old Graciela Castellanos, was arrested and taken into custody on a $2 million bail. 'With passive bipolar disorder and the depression of potentially being unable to become a legal resident, all of this drove her to do what she did,' Rebecca's stepfather and Graciela's fiance, who wished to remain anonymous, told NBC 4. 'I'm sure she was out of her mind when she attacked the girl.' On Friday evening, a neighbor of the Van Nuys apartment complex reported hearing the haunting cries and screams of the child, ABC 7 reported. Shortly after, Los Angles police and paramedics arrived to the apartment in the 6800 block of Sepulveda Boulevard at around 5:40 pm. Rebecca was pronounced dead at the scene, prompting authorities to arrest her mother on suspicion of murder. Rebecca Castellanos, 7, was found dead in a bathtub on Friday evening inside her California apartment, with a neighbor reportedly hearing the haunting cries of a child screaming, 'Mommy, please no. Mommy, please no' before the tragic discovery The seven-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene, with the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office ruling her death as asphyxiation due to neck compression and drowning Identified as the primary suspect, her mother, 37-year-old Graciela Castellanos, was arrested and taken into custody on a $2 million bail (pictured: Castellanos handcuffed in transport chair) Castellanos' fiance, whose name has not been released, arrived home around 7 pm to find police surrounding their upstairs unit - initially unaware of what horrors just unfolded right inside. He said that Castellanos struggled with mental and emotional issues, which, at times, led her to scream and isolate herself. However, the fiance - who had planned to adopt Rebecca after marrying Castellanos in two months - emphasized that she was never violent during her episodes and was able to calm herself down, ABC 7 reported. 'First, I want to say that my wife was an almost perfect mom,' he said to the outlet in Spanish. 'She never told a bad word, yelled at the girl, didn't hit her. She was the sweetest mom in the world.' Additionally, he revealed to NBC4 that the 37-year-old mother allegedly attempted to take her own life on the evening of her daughter's murder. He believes that Castellanos' mental health struggles, combined with the growing realization that she might never obtain legal residency in the US, may have been the driving force that pushed her over the edge. 'She was the most loving person in the world,' he told the outlet. Castellanos' fiance, whose name has not been released, stated that she struggled with mental and emotional issues, which, at times, led her to scream and isolate herself - yet he emphasized that she was never violent during these episodes Castellanos' fiance believes that the 37-year-old mother's mental health struggles, combined with the growing realization that she might never obtain legal residency in the US, may have been the driving force that pushed her over the edge Neighbors were left in utter shock by the unexpected tragedy, describing the family as 'humble' throughout their friendly interactions, NBC 4 reported. 'It's a feeling of sadness because my thought is that she was a mother who perhaps had no support at all,' Ana Diaz, a neighbor, told the outlet. Norma Amador, another neighbor, concurred, adding: 'It's like a state of shock, something in my stomach and in my heart. It feels like a feeling because I'm a mother.' Castellanos was handcuffed to a transport chair and taken into custody where she remains behind bars. An investigation led by the LAPD is still ongoing. The tragic death comes amid Donald Trump's mass crackdown on illegal immigrants. Earlier this month, the 78-year-old president revealed that more than illegal 100,000 immigrants have been deported from the US since taking office on January 20, Newsweek reported. Less than three months ago, an 11-year-old girl from Texas took her own life after classmates threatened to call Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to have her deported. On February 3, Jocelynn Rojo Carranza was found unresponsive in her Gainesville home and spent five days in intensive care in Dallas before ultimately passing away. Her family believed relentless bullying drove her to suicide, according to a GoFundMe page, as Jocelynn feared ICE would deport her family. 'The kids said because your family is Hispanic, that they were going to call ICE so her parents could be taken away and she would be left alone,' grieving mother Marbella Carranza told the local Univision station. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump revealed that more than illegal 100,000 immigrants have been deported from the US since he took office on January 20 On February 3, Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, an 11-year-old girl from Texas, took her own life after classmates threatened to call Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to have her deported The bullying went on for months, according to the single mom of six, with the sixth grader seeing a school counselor to report the bullying. However, the mother claimed that she was never made aware of the torment her daughter had been enduring until after her death. 'The school was aware of what was going, but they never informed me,' Carranza, who earns a living by cleaning homes, told the outlet. 'She apparently went once or twice a week to the counselor to report what was happening,' the mom stated. 'I want justice because it was an oversight by the school not to have told me what was going on.' For weeks, rumors of ICE raids and deportations circulated at Carranza's school, Gainesville Intermediate School, according to the network. Jocelynn was an American citizen, her family told the outlet, which did not report her family's legal status. Brits back shutting Chinese firms out of key parts of the economy, according to a poll. Research by More in Common found two-thirds would prefer to see Beijing-linked companies barred from significant UK defence and communications investments. Some 60 per cent said the same about the NHS, and 55 per cent about transport and energy. The results emerged after the government's dramatic move to seize control of British Steel, with claims the Chinese owner tried to shut down furnaces permanently. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said at the weekend that there would be a 'high trust bar' for allowing Beijing-connected companies to gain stakes in the UK in future. However, the Labour government has been engaged in efforts to woo the world's second largest economy - as it desperately seeks ways of fuelling growth. Research by More in Common found two-thirds would prefer to see Beijing-linked companies barred from significant UK defence and communications investments The poll suggested broad support for reducing Chinese involvement in the UK economy The survey suggested that Brits would support nationalising British Steel, by a margin of 54 per cent to 14 per cent. But ministers have indicated that a commercial partner would still be their favoured option, amid concerns over costs. They have also dodged on whether another Chinese firm could yet be allowed to become involved with British Steel - despite calls for Labour to rule out Chinese investment in 'strategic' sectors. Mr Reynolds, speaking on a visit to Immingham today, said there was a need for a private sector partner 'to work with us as a Government on a transformation programme' to secure the long-term future of British Steel. He also admitted there might be a 'different employment footprint' at Scunthorpe when asked if the Government could guarantee there would be no job losses at the plant. 'What we need for the long-term future of British Steel is that private sector partner to work with us as a Government on a transformation programme,' Mr Reynolds said. 'That might be new technology, new facilities, that might have a different employment footprint. The staff here absolutely know that, they know they need a long-term future. 'These blast furnaces have given this country nearly a century of service in one case, so they know they need the future and that might be a different model, different technology. 'What they didn't want was the unplanned, uncontrolled shutdown of the blast furnaces with thousands of job losses and no plan in place for the future. 'And by what we've been able to do, working with the brilliant team here at British Steel, is secure the possibility of that better future and I for one am confident that we've made the right decision to support the people here.' Mr Reynolds also suggested he would 'look at a Chinese firm in a different way' when it comes to future involvement in the UK steel sector, following the row with Jingye. 'In this case, our difference of opinion on the future was with a specific company,' he added. 'I know there's a lot of interest in the wider UK-China relationship, understandably so but this was about this company. I think we've got to recognise that steel is a sensitive sector. 'It's a sensitive sector around the world, and a lot of the issues in the global economy with steel come from over-production and dumping of steel products, and that does come from China. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds (pictured watching coal be unloaded in Lincolnshire today) said at the weekend that there would be a 'high trust bar' for allowing Beijing-connected companies to gain stakes in the UK in future 'So I think you would look at a Chinese firm in a different way but I'm really keen to stress the action we've taken here was to step in, because it was one specific company that I thought wasn't acting in the UK's national interest, and we had to take the action we did.' Trade minister Sarah Jones had earlier declined to rule out the possibility of another Chinese firm's involvement with British Steel. This is despite the row with Jingye over the Scunthorpe plant raising fresh fears about Chinese involvement in Britain's critical infrastructure. Ms Jones told Sky News: 'At the moment, I'm not going to say yes or no to anything that isn't at the moment on the table or being looked at. 'Whatever the future for Scunthorpe, we want to make sure we can keep primary steel-making, we can keep steel-making in our country and we can grow that industry, not see the continued decline that we've had over recent years.' Jonathan Halstead, 35 Jonathan Halstead, 35 - January 29, 2020 Jonathan died from a severe neck injury and bites after being attacked in his home in Oldham, Greater Manchester by his pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bronson. It is believed the dog attacked him when its owner suffered an epileptic fit. Jack Lis, 10 Jack Lis, 10 - November 8, 2021 Schoolboy Jack Lis, ten, suffered catastrophic injuries after being mauled by an American XL bully dog called Beast while visiting a friend's home in Penyrheol in Caerphilly, Wales on November 8, 2021. Neighbours and Welsh Ambulance Service paramedics desperately tried to save him but he died at the scene. Armed police destroyed the dog on site. Adam Watts, 55 Adam Watts, 55 - December 22, 2021 Adam Watts, 55, was attacked at the Juniper Kennels and Cattery in Kirkton of Auchterhouse, near Dundee, and was pronounced dead at the scene on December 22, 2021. MARCH 21, 2022: Undated family handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of Bella-Rae Birch Bella-Rae Birch, 17 months - March 21, 2022 Toddler Bella-Rae Birch was attacked by her family's pet American bully XL dog when she was just 17 months old. The vicious dog snatched the child out of her mother's arms while they were at their home in Blackbrook, St Helens, Merseyside, on March 21 last year. Keven Jones, 62 Keven Jones, 62 - May 28, 2022 Keven Jones died after he was attacked by an American Bully XL dog in Wrexham, Wales on May 28 last year. Ambulance workers attempted to save him but they were unable to stop his left leg bleeding. Mr Jones was then pronounced dead at his son's house following the attack. Joanne Robinson, 43 Joanne Robinson, 43 - July 15, 2022 Mother-of-two Joanne Robinson, 43, was killed by her American bully XL dog, Rocco, after it 'turned mad in the extreme heat' in July last year. She died at the scene of the attack at home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire while her partner, Jamie Stead, was left with injuries to his hands, stomach and face as he tried to pull the animal off her. Joanne's mother Dot, of Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire, revealed at the time that Rocco had previously fought with their other dog Lola - and she had warned her daughter to 'get rid of one of them'. Ian 'Wiggy' Symes, 34 Ian Symes, 34 - August 2022 Ian 'Wiggy' Symes, 34, who is understood to have been walking a bully XL dog himself at a recreation ground in Fareham, Hampshire, died at the scene following a horrific dog attack in August 2022. His devastated family said he was 'doing something he loved' when he died in the field in Fareham, Hampshire. Ann Dunn, 65 Ann Dunn, 65 - October 3, 2022 Ann Dunn, 65, was found collapsed with 'catastrophic injuries' at her Liverpool home she shared with seven dogs on October 3 last year. She was mauled to death by dogs including an American bully XL - and had been sent to hospital a year before her death because she had been bitten by a dog. Shirley Patrick, 83 Shirley Patrick, 83 - December 3, 2022 Widowed grandmother Shirley Patrick, 83, died after being viciously mauled by an XL bully in her own home. The retired nurse died in hospital 17 days after suffering 'life-threatening injuries' during the 'hellish' and 'violent' dog attack in Caerphilly, South Wales on December 3 last year. Jonathan Hogg, 37 Jonathan Hogg, 37 - May 18, 2023 Jonathan Hogg, 37, was mauled to death by an American XL bully dog when it turned on him while he was looking after it for a friend. He entered the pen when it went for him, leaving bite wounds on his arm, leg and head, an inquest heard. He was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries after the mauling in Leigh, Greater Manchester, on May 18 this year. Ian Price, 52 Ian Price, 52 - September 14, 2023 On Thursday, September 14, 'pillar of the community' Ian Price, 52, was attacked and killed by two 'devil' XL bully dogs after they jumped out of his neighbour's window in Stonnall, Staffordshire. Mr Price was attacked and killed by the two dogs which jumped out of a neighbour's window yards from a primary school. He reportedly died defending his elderly mother from the animals. The dogs bit him and ripped the clothes from his body leaving him dying in a pool of blood in his boxer shorts in the horror attack just feet from his home. Ian Langley, 54 Ian Langley, 54 - October 3, 2023 Ian Langley, 54, was set upon on the estate in Sunderland on October 3 this year by an enormous XL bully dog which grabbed him by the neck as he bent down to pick up his Patterdale terrier pup. The attack left Mr Langley needing CPR for around 15 minutes as emergency services fought to stop heavy bleeding from his wounds. He died from his injuries. A brazen Albanian drug dealer is set to be deported for a third time after repeatedly sneaking back into Britain. Ronaldo Zani, 26, has repeatedly made his way Britain despite twice being booted out for being part of an Albanian crime gang. He was first deported in 2019 after being found peddling cocaine. But he returned months later and boasted to his customers 'I'm back to work'. The dealer was later caught in possession of 4,250 cash, 24g of cocaine, three 'burner' phones, as well as scales, deal lists and a fake Greek ID card. Zani admitted he was selling drugs to pay off a 15,000 debt to the people smuggling gang who got him back into the UK. He was deported a second time in May 2021 after being jailed for three years. But on February 13 this year police officer who recognised Zani was stunned when he saw him driving a Mercedes in Bournemouth, Dorset. He pulled him over and during a search he found 1,935 cash and 24.75g of cocaine, which would have a street value of up to 2,500. Zani, 26, told the authorities he got back into the UK 'some months ago' by hiding in the back of a lorry. Ronaldo Zani (pictured), 26, has repeatedly snuck back into Britain despite twice being booted out for being part of an Albanian crime gang Zani was first deported in 2019 after being found peddling cocaine. But he returned months later before being caught in possession of cocaine, 'burner' phones, scales and deal lists in 2020. He admitted he was dealing drugs to pay off a 15,000 debt to the people smuggling gang who got him back into the UK. He was deported a second time in May 2021 He said he was initially employed as a labourer but did not earn enough to repay his smugglers so he started working as a drugs courier. However, the judge said he had 'no real sympathy' for Zani as he knew what he was getting himself in to by illegally coming back to these shores. In jailing him for four years at Bournemouth Crown Court, Judge Richard Fuller KC said he expected Zani to be deported again. He said: 'You entered the country illegally knowing either you were in debt to those who were putting you on the back of a lorry or would be in debt to an organised crime group. 'The country is rife with Albanian crime groups and with your previous convictions you would have been fully aware of what you were getting yourself into. 'There can be no real sympathy for you taking the direction to work for drug dealers. With your sentence I have taken into account that you will no doubt be deported.' Zani pleaded guilty to charges of arriving in the UK without valid entry clearance, possessing criminal property, possessing cocaine with intent to supply and driving without a licence or insurance. Jonathan Rees, mitigating, said Zani has 'no intention or desire to try to re-enter the country again'. A Home Office spokesperson said: 'Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain's streets, including removal from the United Kingdom at the earliest possible opportunity. 'Since the election we've removed 3,594 foreign criminals, a 16 per cent increase on the same period 12 months prior.' A Tennessee school custodian was horrifically stabbed to death outside her school on Monday as cops have launched an urgent manhunt for her estranged husband. Candido Raul Rubio-Perez, 54, is being sought by cops after he allegedly fatally stabbed his wife Niurka Alfonso-Acevedo, 52, on Monday morning outside Chadwell Elementary School in Nashville. Police say they believe Rubio-Perez was waiting for Alfonso-Acevedo in the parking lot of the school, where she worked as a custodian. The attack took place before children arrived for the school day, and friends say they fear she was being stalked by her estranged husband who knew her schedule. Alfonso-Acevedo's loved ones claim she was in an abusive marriage and her husband had beaten her on numerous occasions, and he had allegedly sent her to hospital with one attack on Christmas Day. That incident reportedly almost caused her to lose one of her eyes, and while she kicked Rubio-Perez out of their home, friends said she didn't go to the police over fears of breaking up her family. Friend Jorge Felix told WSMV that Alfonso-Acevedo continually rejected her estranged husband's attempts to get back together, including calling her the night before she was stabbed to death. 'He called her asking for another chance, but she said no,' he explained. A school custodian was stabbed to death on Monday outside Chadwell Elementary School in Nashville, with police launching an urgent search for the victim's estranged husband Niurka Alfonso-Acevedo, 52, was found fatally stabbed outside the school on Monday Candido Raul Rubio-Perez, 54, is being sought by cops after he allegedly fatally stabbed his wife, and a $5,000 reward has been issued for his capture Rubio-Perez allegedly fled the scene after the stabbing, and police have issued a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Alfonso-Acevedo was left dying in the parking lot before she was found by a school staff member. Felix said fears over Alfonso-Acevedo's marriage led a friend to call her every morning when she got to work to make sure she was safe. He added that Rubio-Perez 'knew she was the first person at the school because of her job.' In a GoFundMe set up after the shocking stabbing, one of Alfonso-Acevedo's own children pointed the finger at Rubio-Perez and accused him of a 'cowardly act.' 'She was a fighter and much loved among all those who knew her,' the fundraiser read. Alfonso-Acevedo had reportedly kicked her estranged husband out of the house after he beat her on Christmas Day and almost caused her to lose an eye, but he persistently tried to get back together, friends said Felix said that when her friend called her on Monday morning, they heard the horrific sounds of her stabbing taking place. 'He could hear her asking him not to hurt her, don't hurt her,' Felix added, saying he then raced to the school as soon as he heard, but found his friend had been killed. Turning to the camera, Felix said he had a message to the alleged killer: 'Raul, turn yourself into the police and face the consequences.' In a statement following the stabbing at the school, Metro Nashville Public Schools said its 'thoughts are with the victim's family, friends, and the entire Chadwell Elementary community during this time of loss.' Beijing, Kuala Lumpur set to expand cooperation 08:34, April 15, 2025 By Zhong Nan ( China Daily China and Malaysia two strong supporters of economic globalization will boost bilateral trade, broaden investment flows and create more jobs, as their enhanced partnership benefits from strengthened mutual trust and steady advances under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, said government officials and exporters. As the world grapples with rising unilateralism and protectionism, they said the degree of interdependence between China and Malaysia remains stable in bilateral cross-industry trade, trade in services and supply chain development, especially in areas such as electronics, palm oil, renewable energy, the digital economy and logistics. Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the academic committee at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said that looking ahead, the two countries are expected to accelerate cooperation in both emerging and traditional sectors, including green technology, artificial intelligence and infrastructure connectivity. "This deepening collaboration will be bolstered by upgraded free trade arrangements like the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area, increased regional integration under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and dynamic international production capacity cooperation under the BRI," he said. Trade between China and Malaysia totaled 1.51 trillion yuan ($206 billion) in 2024, up 12.7 percent year-on-year, while bilateral trade grew 3.6 percent to 213.67 billion yuan in the first two months of this year, according to the General Administration of Customs. With the United States using tariffs as a weapon to exert maximum pressure on many economies and engaging in zero-sum games to pursue its own interests, China and Malaysia, which is the rotating chair of ASEAN for 2025, are expected to form closer ties to maintain Asia's economic stability and create a buffer against unilateralism. In a video meeting held earlier this month with Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Malaysia's minister for investment, trade and industry, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said that the US' so-called "reciprocal tariffs" disregard the hard-won balance of interests achieved through years of multilateral trade negotiations and ignore the fact that the US has long reaped substantial benefits from international trade, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce. This move severely undermines the legitimate rights and interests of all parties involved, including China and ASEAN member states, and represents a typical act of unilateral bullying, Wang said. He reiterated that China is willing to work with its trading partners, including ASEAN member states, to strengthen communication and coordination, address respective concerns through equal dialogue and consultation based on mutual respect, and jointly uphold the multilateral trading system. The Malaysian minister said the relevant policies of the US administration do not conform to the principles of free and fair trade as stipulated by the World Trade Organization. Malaysia fully respects China's position and is willing to jointly support multilateralism and the development of global trade, he said, adding that his country will consult with other ASEAN members to formulate a coordinated response to the US' "reciprocal tariffs". While policymakers in both countries have pledged to safeguard multilateralism and deepen regional trade ties, Chinese companies are already benefiting from the steady growth of bilateral trade. Ningbo JF Furniture, a manufacturer based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, is one such example. "Malaysia is one of our key overseas markets. We have a deep understanding of customer needs and make personalized furniture to meet local demand," said Chu Jiangwen, a logistics manager at the company. The company's exports to Malaysia reached 15 million yuan in the first quarter of this year, marking a 25 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to data from Ningbo Customs. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) An investigation has been launched after a baby boy died in a tragic accident during a family holiday. Seven-month-old Tommy Taylor-Mclean fell off of a bed on the first day of a family trip to the Caribbean island of St Lucia, East London Coroner's Court has heard. The tot, from Upminster, Havering, was tragically pronounced dead in a hospital on the island on April 2. An inquest was opened in Walthamstow on Wednesday, April 9, after his body was repatriated to the UK. Senior coroner Graeme Irvine said he would ask the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to help obtain key evidence gathered by the authorities in St Lucia. He told the court: 'I will be very clear. Coroners in England and Wales have legal powers to require evidence from persons and organisations. Regrettably, those powers cease at the borders of England and Wales. 'I have to rely on diplomatic channels to get evidence from foreign jurisdictions.' The details Mr Irvine had of the case so far had come from repatriation papers supplied by funeral directors, he told the court last week. Seven-month-old Tommy Taylor-Mclean fell off of a bed on the first day of a family trip to the Caribbean island of St Lucia Initially, Tommy had seemed okay - but then his condition deteriorated and he required hospitalisation The tot was treated by St Jude Hospital in Vieux Fort, where it was discovered he had suffered a bleed on the brain He added: 'It indicated that Tommy had been on holiday with his parents. 'They had arrived in St Lucia on the first of March and early in the trip Tommy had fallen from a bed and injured himself.' Initially, Tommy had seemed okay - but then his condition deteriorated and he required hospitalisation. He was treated by St Jude Hospital in Vieux Fort, where it was discovered he had suffered a bleed on the brain. Mr Irvine told the inquest opening: 'It seems that a post-mortem examination was undertaken in St Lucia. 'The full extent of that investigation has not been disclosed to the court.' A paediatric post-mortem ordered by Mr Irvine has not so far resulted in a provisional cause of death. Further laboratory tests had been ordered. 'It seems to me that this is a tragic set of circumstances and I want to offer my condolences to Tommy's parents for their tragic loss,' said Mr Irvine. 'We are totally lost without him, but take comfort in knowing the number of lives he touched in the short time he was with us,' his parents said An online fundraising page in memory of baby Tommy has so far raised more than 13,000 for the St Lucia hospital that treated him An online fundraising page in memory of baby Tommy has so far raised more than 13,000 for the St Lucia hospital that treated him. It described him as 'the best little boy' who 'brought so much joy and happiness to everyone that met him'. 'We are totally lost without him, but take comfort in knowing the number of lives he touched in the short time he was with us,' said a statement attributed to his parents Hannah and Matt. The online fundraising page also praised the 'wonderful doctors' who treated him. It reads: 'All the staff treated Tommy with such care and compassion, but sadly there were not the resources to operate on Tommy. 'We would love to raise money for the paediatric ward to be able to help other children. 'Sadly, our baby boy Tommy lost his life, but we would love to try and help save other children and babies in the future, in our precious son's honour. He will live forever in our hearts and minds.' Mr Irvine added: 'It seems that the circumstances of Tommy's fall have not resulted in any criminal investigation in St Lucia. I should make that absolutely clear. 'Regrettable delays that take place in the provision of paediatric post-mortem reports' meant he would have to schedule Tommy's final inquest towards the end of the year, on November 24. 'That causes me real concern,' the coroner said. 'It seems to me that that will cause significant upset to the family and I'm very, very sorry for that.' A baby has died in southern Spain after receiving a botched circumcision ordered by his parents. The infant's mother and father - both originally from Mali - paid a man 100 euros to carry out the illegal procedure in their home in Roquetas de Mar, Almeria on Sunday. The 45-day-old baby boy suffered severe blood loss after being operated on by the man who reportedly had no medical background, Spanish newspaper El Pais said. He also allegedly carried out the circumcision 'without the necessary hygiene measures'. The baby's parents rushed him to the Roquetas de Mar Norte health centre, but medical staff were unable to save him. All three adults involved were arrested and are being investigated for alleged reckless homicide. Appearing in court today, the child's father gave a statement, while the mother was reportedly 'unable to offer her testimony because she was not in adequate physical condition'. The couple were released on bail and have been banned from leaving the country. A baby in Almeria, southern Spain, has died after receiving a botched circumcision. Image shows Roquetas de Mar health centre, where the baby boy died File photo: Newborn in hospital. The infant's parents and the man who carried out the illegal procedure were arrested in Roquetas de Mar, Almeria and appeared in court today They will also have to appear in court on the 1st and 15th of each month. Meanwhile, the man who performed the procedure was remanded in custody. The tragic case in Almeria has shocked the nation, but it is not the first time a young child has died as a result of a botched circumcision in Spain. In 2011, a one-month-old baby in Valencia, on Spain's eastern coast, bled to death after his parents' friends performed a circumcision on him. The horrifying incident also comes after a baby's penis had to be fully amputated in Somalia after a surgeon botched his circumcision in 2023. The infant was seven days old when he was given the procedure, which is very common in East Africa. The 'inexperienced' surgeon applied too much heat while cauterizing the foreskin, which led to the penile tissue becoming extreme damaged. The skin on the boy's penis head quickly became discolored and eventually died, forcing doctors to remove dead tissue to prevent infection and further complications. They eventually had to perform a full amputation of the penis. Unfortunately, the entire organ perished along with the skin that covered it, doctors who treated the boy said. They inserted a catheter in what was left of the newborn's penis to prevent the urethra from narrowing, and it remained inserted for months. Circumcision is a surgical procedure that removes part or all of the foreskin from the penis. It is practiced across various cultures and religions around the world, including Judaism, Islam, as well as certain ethnic groups in Africa. The practice of male circumcision is generally legal when performed by a registered doctor in a medical setting. The main risk of this procedure is that it could accidentally pinch the foreskin, which could lead to serious complications like tearing of the head of the penis, loss of part of the head of the penis, shortening of the area that connects the foreskin to the head of the penis, or even the formation of an abnormal connection between the urethra and the surrounding tissue. Actor William Levy has been arrested for allegedly refusing to leave a Florida restaurant after he got too drunk. The 'Single Moms Club' star, known as the 'Cuban Brad Pitt' was 'highly intoxicated', according to an arrest report. Police were called to Baires Grill in Weston on Monday following reports the actor was 'causing a disturbance' inside the restaurant. He ignored multiple verbal warnings to leave the premises from its manager and police, cops allege. Levy, 44, whose full name is William Gutierrez-Levy, was then arrested and transported to jail. He is facing charges of disorderly intoxication in a public place, causing a disturbance and trespassing. He appeared for a bail hearing on Tuesday where a judge granted him a $500 bond, Local 10 reports. Actor William Levy has been arrested for being drunk and disorderly in Florida The 'Single Moms Club' star, known as the 'Cuban Brad Pitt ' was booked into Broward County on Monday He was also ordered to stay away from the location he is accused of trespassing on. As of Tuesday afternoon, he was still listed as an inmate in the Broward County Main Jail. Levy is a huge star in Latin America and has appeared in several telenovelas alongside Hollywood hits such as 'Girls Trip' and 'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'. He also appeared in Jennifer Lopez's music video for her single, 'I'm Into You'. A month later he and wife Elizabeth Gutierrez announced they had split. Levy insisted his relationship with Lopez was 'strictly professional' and he and Gutierrez appeared to later reconcile. However last year they separated after 20 years together, People reported. The couple share two children together. His son Christopher is a star baseball player and was recently named Sports Illustrated's Player of the Week in South Florida. His daughter Kailey is an OmegaXL Sport Brand Ambassador. He is facing charges of disorderly intoxication in a public place, causing a disturbance and trespassing As well as his film career, levy appeared in Jennifer Lopez's video for her single 'I'm Into You' Levy split from his wife of two decades Elizabeth Gutierrez last year. The couple share two children together Levy is a huge star in Latin America and has appeared in several telenovelas alongside Hollywood hits such as 'Girls Trip' and 'Resident Evil: The Final Chapter' In addition to his actor credits, Levy is listed as a producer and appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2012. DailyMail.com has contacted Levy's manager and agent for comment. This is a developing story, check back for updates... Shocking surveillance footage captured a Washington State University instructor beating up a student for wearing a Make America Great Again hat. The video, obtained by Turning Point USA Frontlines reporter Jonathan Choe, appears to show two men attacking engineering student Jay Sani outside of a bar near the Pullman campus on February 28. Sani, who is Indian-American, said white PhD student and instructor Patrick Mahoney, along with Gerald Hoff, ripped his Donald Trump 2024 cap off and attacked him. '[Mahoney] said to me, "Go get it b***h.' He punched me a bunch of times on the back,' Sani said. 'Gerald also kicked me a bunch of times too. Patrick, he grabbed my chest and slammed it on the concrete as I was falling.' Disturbing footage appeared to show the two men pulling Sani as he walked down the street, pushing him to the ground and repeatedly punching him. 'A fight ensued which resulted in Jay Sani being thrown onto the concrete. This caused Jay Sani to bleed and suffer further injuries. One or more of them then proceeded to kick Jay Sani while he collapsed on the concrete,' Sani said in a Facebook post. The engineering student claimed the attack left him with multiple scrapes and bruises. He reported the assault to police, who tracked down the men hours later. Washington State University student Jay Sani (pictured) said he was beat up outside of a college bar for wearing a MAGA hat White PhD student and instructor Patrick Mahoney, along with Gerald Hoff, allegedly threw his cap off, told him to 'Go get it b***h,' then assaulted him Police bodycam footage showed the men admitted to the assault but downplayed what happened. 'I've seen this guy f*****g on campus before. I know he's like, f*****g like, right-wing dude,' Mahoney said. 'I, like, grabbed his hat, threw it, and I said like, "Go get it."' 'We did grab him and bring him to the ground,' Hoff said. Mahoney - who is a PhD candidate at the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs and teaches an intro level politics class - tried to blame the fight on Sani. 'I didn't f*****g hit him. I don't think I did f*****g something illegal,' Mahoney said. 'He wanted to fight, he f*****g got what's coming to him. I gave him a hit to be like, "Yo, don't f**k with us anymore." Mahoney and Hoff were arrested and charged with fourth-degree misdemeanor assault. The WSU student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, reported that the university suspended and removed Mahoney from all the classes he previously taught. 'It should go without saying that this is completely unacceptable behavior from anyone employed by or affiliated with WSU,' Sani said. Disturbing footage appeared to show the two men pulling Sani as he walked down the street, pushing him to the ground and repeatedly punching him Mahoney and Hoff were arrested and charged with fourth-degree misdemeanor assault Police bodycam footage showed the men (Mahoney pictured) admitted to the assault but downplayed what happened Sani told Turning Point he did not know Hoff before the attack, but believes his past encounters with Mahoney may have contributed to the assault. Sani is involved with conservative student groups on campus, including Turning Point USA, while Mahoney is described as a far-left graduate student. Mahoney has been active in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including advocating for the Pullman City Council to sign a Gaza ceasefire resolution. DailyMail.com contacted Washington State University for comment on the matter. President Donald Trump may strip Harvard University of its tax-exempt status because of antisemitism on campus, which he considers a systemic illness. 'Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a political entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?'' Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday morning. 'Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the public interest!' the president's message continued. Since October 7, 2023, college campuses nationwide have erupted with protests over the Israel-Hamas war. Some demonstrations have turned violent, and others resulted in full-fledged occupations with students camping out for weeks on lawns and in halls. Harvard, like many elite universities, has been a hotbed for these protests. Trump's new threat to take away the 388-year-old school's tax status could result in Harvard having to pay out cash to the federal government. Though almost all U.S. universities are tax-exempt organizations, universities who become overtly political can lose this status, according to the IRS. The new threat comes a day after Harvard rejected a Trump administration proposal to reform the university in exchange for restoring billions in frozen federal funds. Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt said during a White House press briefing Tuesday that Harvard has been complicit with 'illegal' antisemitic harassment on its campus. She said because it has not complied with demands from the Trump administration additional consequences are on the horizon. Trump floated the idea The Trump administration froze billions of dollars in federal funding meant for Harvard University on Monday White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that Trump is 'Unfortunately, Harvard has not taken the president or the administration's demands seriously,' Leavitt, 27, said. 'All the President is asking, don't break federal law, and then you can have your federal funding.' 'Jewish American students, or students of any faith, should not be illegally harassed and targeted on our nation's college campuses,' Leavitt said. 'We unfortunately saw that illegal discrimination take place on the campus of Harvard, there are countless examples to prove it.' The press secretary also noted how former Harvard President Claudine Gay testified before Congress last year that bullying and harassment depends on the context. Gay resigned just weeks after those statements to Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who was briefly nominated to be Trump's ambassador to the U.N. Trump, who signed an order setting up an antisemitism task force earlier this year, froze over $2.2 billion in federal grants and around $60 million in contracts to the Ivy League institution on Monday. According to a letter sent from the administration to the university on Friday, the school could stand to lose out on around $9 billion in grants and contracts should they not conform. But the Harvard president hit back at the White House in a letter Monday. Harvard President Alan Garber (pictured) announced on Monday that Harvard would not be complying with the government's proposed agreement through a response letter to the community, claiming that the demands violate the university's First Amendment rights 'The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,' Harvard President Alan Garber wrote. 'No government - regardless of which party is in power - should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.' Talking about the White House row with the Massachusetts's school Leavitt also brought up how the university boasts an endowment of over $50 billion. She said: 'Why are the American taxpayers subsidizing a university that has billions of dollars in the bank already?' 'We certainly should not be funding a place where such grave antisemitism exists.' Another Boston immigration lawyer received a nerve-wracking email telling her to leave the United States in yet another email mix-up from the Trump administration. Carmen Bello, 43, was the second lawyer in Boston to receive the email on Friday morning ordering her to 'depart the United States immediately.' The letters they were sent came from the Department of Homeland Security, informing them that their 'parole' was terminated. Bello, however, had become a US citizen in 2007 and had been practicing immigration law for 14 years, the Boston Globe reported. The letter threatened that she would be subject to criminal prosecution, civil fines and penalties if she didn't leave 'immediately.' She was also informed that her parole, and any work authorization as a consequence, would terminate in seven days. 'You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security parole you into the United States for a limited period,' the letter, sent at 2:05 am, said, according to the Globe. 'DHS encourages you to leave immediately on your own. You can use the CBP Home mobile app on your phone to make arrangements for your departure,' the letter continued. Carmen Bello, 43, was the second lawyer in Boston to receive the email on Friday morning ordering her to 'depart the United States immediately' 'You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security parole you into the United States for a limited period,' the letter, sent at 2.05am The letters they were sent came from the Department of Homeland Security, informing them that their 'parole' was terminated. Bello, however, had become a US citizen in 2007 Bello told DailyMail.com she initially assumed the email was intended for one of her clients, but it included no case information or inclusion of her name. She said she 'realized the email was sent in error and was likely connected to a client's application for humanitarian parole.' 'Unfortunately, this type of mistaken notification is not uncommon and has been received by numerous individuals who have been paroled by the Department of Homeland Security,' Bello added. She strongly encouraged anyone who did receive the 'alarming' email to seek legal advice before taking any action. But Bello was not the only Boston lawyer to receive the same email informing her she needed to leave the country. American citizen Nicole Micheroni was equally stunned when she opened the letter from the Department of Homeland Security on Friday morning. The Newton-born attorney initially assumed the email titled; 'Notification of Termination of Parole' was for one of her clients. 'Do not attempt to remain in the United States the federal government will find you.' 'It took me a couple of minutes to realize it was sent to me, instead of someone I represent,' Micheroni said. The DHS has since confirmed the email was sent in error. 'I never took DHS's scary-sounding notice that I had 7 days to leave the country too seriously, because it was obviously some kind of mistake,' Micheroni added. 'But what about the people the emails were actually aimed at?' American citizen Nicole Micheroni was equally stunned when she opened the letter from the Department of Homeland Security on Friday morning The email was one of many sent as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation plans, according to Sarah Sherman-Stokes, associate director of the Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic at Boston University School of Law. She said the letters were predominantly sent to asylum seekers who were using the Biden-era CPB one app, which allowed them to schedule hearings and appointments. President Trump immediately axed the program upon taking office, leaving thousands of people scrambling for legal ways to pursue their asylum claims. The DHS has since said that more emails may have been incorrectly sent to US citizens if their details were used on CPB one applications. '[Customs and Border Protection] is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis,' the statement said. But Micheroni said she is still perplexed over how she ended up receiving the email. 'The system doesn't let you include an attorney's contact info, so we still have no idea how I ended up on the list,' she added. 'CBP One was converted to "CBP Home," an app that "helps" immigrants "self-deport". 'I never took DHS's scary-sounding notice that I had 7 days to leave the country too seriously, because it was obviously some kind of mistake,' Micheroni added. 'But what about the people the emails were actually aimed at?' 'Revocation of parole isn't the same as a deportation order, and this email does not initiate deportation proceedings. 'Anyone who has received this may still have options and should talk to an immigration lawyer now.' One immigration attorney, Emmanuel Olawale, told The Columbus Dispatch that several of his clients received similar emails, including US Citizen employee Rea Main. Speaking on the email sent to Main, Olawale wrote on Facebook: 'This isn't just bureaucratic error. This is a chilling example of how broken the system is - and how dangerous it can be when the government blindly targets innocent people.' But Olawale said that no matter of immigration status, people do not have to self-deport. He said that they still have the right to go through US Immigration court process despite the method of their arrival into the country. 'We try to advise them, even though it's scary, it is illegal,' he told the outlet. 'You still have a right to due process under the 14th amendment, which covers citizens and noncitizens if on US soil.' As part of the migration crackdown, the Trump administration had sought to deport hundreds of thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela by ending legal humanitarian protections granted under Biden 'Imagine you tell clients: "This is not legal, they can't do this," but they do it anyway,' he told the outlet. 'The powerless and the voiceless have just been ignored, even when they go through the right path to get justice' Olawale acknowledged that convincing his clients to overlook their fear in favor of the law, however, has proven tricky. He added that the menacing tone of the emails was concerning and said: 'It's like: "The same way you found your way here, you need to find your way back home, without due process."' 'Imagine you tell clients: "This is not legal, they can't do this," but they do it anyway,' he told the outlet. 'The powerless and the voiceless have just been ignored, even when they go through the right path to get justice.' As part of the migration crackdown, the Trump administration had sought to deport hundreds of thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela by ending legal humanitarian protections granted under Biden. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said more than 500,000 people from the four countries would be given until April 24 to leave. However, the initiative suffered a setback last week after a judge blocked the order. During a hearing, US District Judge Indira Talwani repeatedly questioned the government's assertion that it could end humanitarian parole for the four nationalities. She argued that immigrants in the program who are here legally now face an option of 'fleeing the country' or staying and 'risk losing everything.' 'The nub of the problem here is that the secretary, in cutting short the parole period afforded to these individuals, has to have a reasoned decision,' Talwani said, adding that the explanation for ending the program was 'based on an incorrect reading of the law.' 'There was a deal and now that deal has been undercut,' she said later in the hearing. DHS previously stated that the recent deportation push does not extend to Ukrainian and Afghan war refugees who have been granted a temporary special status. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro shared footage of his recovery at a hospital after undergoing bowel surgery. The controversial far-right leader, 70, was filmed walking with the help of a walker at DF Star Hospital in Brasilia on Tuesday. Bolsonaro seemed to be in good spirits as he pushed the walker and then placed his hands on the back of two physicians for support as he took several steps. Bolsonaro remains under observation in the intensive care after undergoing a grueling 12-hour intestinal surgery Sunday. The surgical team removed intestinal adhesions and reconstructed a section of his abdominal wall. Bolsonaro said in a statement posted on X that the first 48 hours were critical for his recovery to the most 'invasive' operation he has had since surviving an assassination attempt on September 6, 2018. 'This is the period in which the organs that were manipulated during the procedure lasting more than 12 hours begin to deflate, allowing us to observe the first signs of a real situation,' he said. 'I remain focused on the recovery process, which from what I understand was the most invasive procedure that took place, seeking strength to get out of bed once again.' In a statement Tuesday, the former president's team of doctors recommend that Bolsonaro should not receive any visitors and did not provide a date for him to be discharged. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro shared a video of his recovery on social media Tuesday. Bolsonaro had surgery Sunday to remove intestinal adhesions and had his abdominal wall reconstructed Pictured: Bolsonaro gesturing moments after he was stabbed at a presidential campaign rally on September 6, 2018 Doctors noticed during the operation that there was a fold in the small intestine. Dr Leandro Echenique, the team cardiologist, said the surgery was a 'very complex procedure.' 'In post-operative care, when there is a very prolonged procedure like this, the patient's body ends up having a very significant inflammatory response, it becomes very inflamed,' Echenique said, as quoted by Brazilian news outlet G1. 'This can lead to a series of complications. It increases the risk of some infections, of needing medication to control blood pressure. There is an increased risk of thrombosis, blood clotting problems. We end up taking specific care of the lungs ... All preventive measures will be taken, which is why he is in the ICU at the moment.' Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro described the 12-hour operation he had Sunday as the most 'invasive procedure that took place' since he was stabbed in 2018 Bolsonaro fell sick at a party Friday and was admitted to a hospital in Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte and diagnosed with intestinal subocclusion, which includes the inability to pass stool. Bolsonaro has been hospitalized several times and undergone seven surgeries since the stabbing incident ahead of the South American nation's presidential election in 2018. He fell sick at a party Friday and was admitted to a hospital in Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte and diagnosed with intestinal subocclusion, which includes the inability to pass stools. He was transferred to a hospital in Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, and on Saturday was airlifted to Brasilia. Bolsonaro had been preparing for a trip across the northeast to promote his Liberal Party's right-wing agenda, eyeing next year's presidential election, though he himself is barred from running. The region traditionally has been a political stronghold of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro is expected to stand trial in the coming months at Brazil's Supreme Court over claims that he tried to stage a coup in January 2023 when supporters stormed the country's federal buildings in Brasilia. A female illegal migrant who allegedly gang-raped her five-year-old stepchild with the girl's father has been snared by ICE, Massachusetts authorities have said. Brazilian national Ilma Leandro De Oliveira, 53, was arrested on March 17 for incest, statutory rape of a child, unnatural acts with a child, indecent assault and battery. ICE released a photograph of Leandro wearing a pink t-shirt and gray sweatpants as she stood handcuffed beside three officials from police and FBI agencies on Monday. The 14-year-old victim has said she suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father and Leandro, her stepmother, from the time she was five to 13. Leandro has been living in the Cape Cod coastal town of Falmouth for the last six years, where she was finally snared by local police last month. She was released on bail from the Barnstable County Correctional Facility on March 19, court records show, but a new warrant for her arrest was issued after she removed her GPS monitor. 'She is unmonitorable. Her whereabouts are unknown,' court documents read. Ilma Leandro De Oliveira, 53, who allegedly gang-raped her five-year-old stepchild with the girl's father has been snared by ICE, Massachusetts authorities have said. ICE released a photograph of Leandro handcuffed beside three law enforcement officials, shown above In late February, Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem announced that in conjunction with Border Czar Tom Homan (pictured) immigration officials had already apprehended over 20,000 at large illegal aliens since Trump was sworn in on January 20 She was detained again later that day by ICE who have ordered her deportation. She is currently being held in an ICE custody facility. ICE agent Christopher R. Jordan wrote in an arrest affidavit that Leandro has entered the US twice illegally. On September 18, 2007, US Border Control agents intercepted Leandro around the Rio Grande River near Laredo, Texas, and her fingerprints were taken. Three days later, she was hit with a notice ordering her removal from the US and she was transferred to ICE custody until her deportation on December 27, 2007. But she re-entered the US illegally again sometime after this, and appears to have lived in America for a long time until her latest arrest on March 17, 2025. Leandro is scheduled to appear in Falmouth District Court on May 15 for a probable cause hearing on the child sex and abuse charges. Donald Trump has ordered DHS Sec. Kristi Noem to increase the speed of deportations Her arrest is the latest amid Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, which has seen a range of people deported, from murderers and rapists to pro-Palestine protesters. In late February, Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem announced that in conjunction with Border Czar Tom Homan, immigration officials had already apprehended over 20,000 at large illegal aliens since Trump was sworn in. 'That's a 627% increase in monthly arrests compared to just 33,000 at large arrests under Biden for ALL of last year,' she wrote in a post on X. In another post on the platform she bragged that DHS has slashed border encounters from 15,000 a day under Joe Biden to just 200 under Trump. It's a '15-year low,' she wrote. Gene Hackman's wife Betsy Arakawa was searching the internet for information on Covid-19 symptoms and breathing techniques days before her tragic death. Arakawa, 65, died in February of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome a rare, rodent-borne disease that can led to a range of symptoms that include flu-like illness, headaches, dizziness and severe respiratory distress, investigators have said. Hackman, 95, is believed to have died about a week later of heart disease with complications from Alzheimers disease. It's possible the Oscar-winner did not realize his wife and sole caretaker had died, given his severe health conditions at the time of her death. The partially mummified remains of the couple were found in their Santa Fe home on February 26, when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police. A review of the open bookmarks on Arakawas computer on February 8 and the morning of February 12 indicated she was actively researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu-like symptoms. The searches included questions about whether COVID could cause dizziness or nosebleeds, suggesting Arakawa was concerned about her deadly symptoms. She also had mentioned in an email to her masseuse that Hackman had woken up Feb. 11 with flu or cold-like symptoms but that a COVID test was negative and she would have to reschedule her appointment for the next day 'out of an abundance of caution.' Hollywood royalty Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa are seen months before their death. Betsy Arakawa was searching the internet for information on Covid-19 symptoms and breathing techniques days before her tragic death Authorities have released law enforcement body camera footage from outside the home of Gene Hackman, where the actor and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in late February. The outhouses were infested with rodents, TMZ reported Arakawas last search was the morning of February 12 for a health care provider in Santa Fe. Investigators also reviewed a call history to the Hackmans home phone along with voicemails and security footage from stores that Arakawa had visited on February 11. Authorities also are expected to release more redacted police body camera footage from inside the home as sheriffs deputies and investigators tried to piece together what had happened to the couple. The materials were being released as the result of a recent court order that mandated any depictions of the deceased couple would have to be blocked from view. All photos, video and documents from the investigation had been restricted from release by an earlier, temporary court order. The Hackman estate and family members had sought to keep the records sealed to protect the familys constitutional right to privacy. A report obtained from the New Mexico Department of Health showed an environmental assessment of the Hackman property found rodent feces in several outbuildings but not inside the living quarters. A live rodent, dead rodent and a rodent nest were found in three detached garages. The department concluded that dead rodents and their nests were found in 'eight detached outbuildings' on the Hackman property making it a 'breeding ground' for the hantavirus. Just over two months after actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their New Mexico home, more details are coming in The partially mummified remains of the couple were found in their home on February 26 There were also two vehicles seen on the estate that had evidence of rodents, and they even found traps in the buildings as well, suggesting this had been an ongoing issue for the Hackmans. The health assessment was conducted to assess whether first responders or others who were on the property were safe from the virus. The results revealed that the primary residence was deemed 'low-risk' with no signs of a rodent infestation inside. The hantavirus was first identified in South Korea in 1978 when researchers isolated the virus from a field mouse. The virus is rare in the US, with fewer than 50 cases reported yearly. For reference, there are roughly 2,000 cases of West Nile Virus reported in the US annually. Hundreds of people have complained about a health boards bid to stop the public watching a landmark tribunal on access to single-sex spaces. NHS Fife has asked a judge overseeing the case brought by nurse Sandie Peggie, who had to share a changing room with trans medic Dr Beth Upton, to remove public access to a livestream. But the move has caused uproar and the HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has been flooded with more than 600 complaints about the attempt which - if successful - would stop them from watching proceedings. The beleaguered health board said it has made the request due to technical issues and interruptions which led to significant delays to earlier hearings. However, critics have accused it of using excuses to try and restrict access to a case of huge importance which has seen scores of people view it. Yesterday (TUES), a behind closed doors hearing was considering the NHS Fife request, but one submission urged the tribunal judge to reject the secrecy attempt. The document, on behalf of Sex Matters, For Women Scotland, Murray Blackburn Mackenzie and Tribunal Tweets said: There are compelling public interest reasons which go to the fact that so many members of the public have sought to observe this case. Dr Beth Upton, who was born male, arriving at the tribunal in Dundee earlier this year Nurse Sandie Peggie was suspended from work after complaining about a trans college using a female changing room This case goes to one of the most pressing legal issues of our time. The issues around womens rights, access to womens spaces and the rights of biological males with trans identities have captured public concern like few others. There are very few other legal issues which the public at large perceive, rightly, to have so great a potential impact on their day-to-day lives, as well as involving matters of principle. Tribunal Tweets is a collective of volunteer citizen journalists who report on tribunals and court proceedings across the UK. Today the UK Supreme Court will deliver judgment in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers. The group wants to overturn a 2023 ruling by Scottish courts that treating someone with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) as a woman under the Equality Act is lawful. And last night Scottish Conservative Tess White, the partys equalities spokeswoman, said NHS Fife should not be attempting to restrict access to open justice. The MSP said: Scots are understandably outraged at this attempt by NHS Fife to block public access to this hearing. There is huge interest in this case - because it is fundamental to womens rights - but this health board is doing everything in its power to keep it out of view from the public. Given that the taxpayer is footing a potentially massive bill for this case, NHS Fife shouldnt attempt to restrict access to open justice. Mrs Peggies case has become of huge public interest since it began hearing evidence earlier this year. She has claimed being made to get changed beside Dr Upton was unlawful harassment under the Equality Act, and has taken the health board and the medic to an employment tribunal. NHS Fife had made a previous attempt to have the case be held in private as well as keeping the names of those involved and the hospital department they worked in secret. But before the case began in February the secrecy attempt was dismissed given the considerable... public interest in this case. The general public have been able to access a livestream of previous sessions via an online link, but they were hit with technical difficulties. Disruptions, including a crying baby and even a viewer using a hairdryer, also impacted the livestream. An NHS Fife spokesman said: During the hearing in February, the employment tribunal restricted Cloud Video Platform (virtual viewing) access to press/journalists due to technical issues, as well as interruptions caused by non-media observers. The technical issues and interruptions caused significant delays which impacted the tribunals progress. A request has therefore been made that this approach be maintained in July. The case is expected to conclude in the summer, and the ruling could have significant impacts on the future of single-sex facilities across Scotland. An HMCTS spokesman said: Decisions on how cases are conducted are made by the independent judiciary. In this case, all remote participants will be automatically muted at the point of joining the July hearing to minimise disruptions. The oldest member of Congress was startlingly screamed at during his most recent town hall appearance in Iowa. Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, 91, was yelled at by his constituents on Tuesday as the audience peppered him with complaints about President Donald Trump's administration. 'The framers of the Constitution said that every person, not citizen, every person within the jurisdiction of the United States has due process,' one upset citizen mentioned. The man was referencing a recent legal case involving the White House and a deported Salvadorian Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, a migrant who has an American son and wife that was sent back to El Salvador over alleged ties to MS-13. 'We would like to know what you as the people the Congress who are supposed to reign in this dictator. What are you going to do about these people have been sentenced to life imprisonment in a foreign country with no due process.' The Republican stood silently as the crowd cheered on the question and progressively got louder. The oldest lawmaker in the country quietly took the jeers. 'Why won't you do your job, senator?' the man dressed in a blue button down and glasses continued. 'Trump disobeys the Supreme Court, he just ignores them,' another man blurts out in the heated standoff. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, takes questions at a town hall in Fort Madison, Iowa, Tuesday, April 15, 2025 One man at the town hall started yelling at Grassley over a recent legal case in which the Trump administration deported a migrant who has an American wife and kid Grassley responded saying that the decision to bring the man back is up to the president of El Salvador, who said he wouldn't 'The president of that country is not subject to our U.S. Supreme Court,' Grassley said of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, 43, who just met with Trump this week. Bukele said Monday that he would not return Abrego despite the White House admitting that he was deported because of an administrative error. Grassley - standing in front of a podium with an armed popped up resting on it - got in a quick word saying he is 'doing what the Constitution requires.' 'Im trying to recapture the constitutional authority of article 1, section 8,' Grassley said trying to placate the crowd, noting a recent bipartisan bill of his to restore congressional power ceded to the executive branch. The measure would give Congress more power over trade agreements and was a direct response to Trump's tariffs. Grassley further explained that the bill would fix 'mistakes that Democratic Congress has made in 1963.' He proceeded to receive loud boos and jeers for his counterpunch. The senator, who has served since 1981, was out talking to voters as a part of his 45th annual 99 counties tour, an annual event he does to visit each of the state's counties. Attendees raise their hands to be called on by Grassley Trump welcomes El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to the White House on Monday The scene has been a common one for Republican lawmakers that have recently sought to begin dialogues with constituents at town halls. There have been scores of public appearances gone wrong in the months since Trump took office. As DOGE slashed government jobs, Trump's deportation initiative began and the president whipsawed markets with a tariff regime, GOP lawmakers have been hearing earfuls while in their districts. Last month, Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., held a town hall in Asheville, North Carolina, and he got ridiculed nearly the entire session. The Republican began by mentioning Donald Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE effort cutting government spending when the audience first erupted in boos. 'You're not allowed to cut our jobs,' one angry attendee interrupted. 'Do your job,' chimed in another. 'Stand up to Trump!' Republican congressional leadership has advised members against in person town halls as they have been swamped with upset voters. Some lawmakers and Elon Musk have even suggested that the protests are funded by dark money groups with liberal backing. A Democratic senator announced he would travel to El Salvador to free the 'unjustly' deported Maryland man accused by the Trump administration of being a criminal. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen vowed to travel to El Salvador to discuss the release of 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported in defiance of a 2019 order intended to spare him from persecution. Van Hollen sent a letter to El Salvador's ambassador in the United States to request a meeting with President Bukele. The Democratic lawmaker added that if he did not hear back by mid-week, he would travel to El Salvador to 'check on his condition and discuss his release.' 'I saw the comments of President Bukele, and I look forward to meeting with him. I've requested to meet with him; I reached out to the ambassador here to ask to meet while he's here,' Van Hollen said. 'I do intend to go to El Salvador to discuss the release of this individual who is illegally detained,' he continued. 'And I believe the president of El Salvador will recognize why it is important to allow him to return to the USA, because it is absolutely unjust and illegal to have this Marylander detained for one more day in this notorious prison in El Salvador.' 'This is an administration who has lied about Mr. Abrego Garcia,' Van Hollen said. 'The Vice President of the United States tweeted out that he had a criminal record, that was a lie!' Senator Chris Van Hollen vowed to travel to El Salvador to discuss the release of 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was deported in defiance of a 2019 order intended to spare him from persecution On March 12, Garcia was pulled over outside of an IKEA in Baltimore with his son 'So, all the President of El Salvador has to do now is hand over and release an innocent man and let him come home to his family,' Van Hollen said 'They're just lying, they've gotten caught lying, they don't want to admit it,' Van Hollen continued. 'They have an obligation to bring him home, but I will say the President of El Salvador should not now take it upon himself to say that he is detaining him for one more day.' Van Hollen concluded that he 'understood' that the attorney general said a plane would be provided to bring him home. 'So, all the President of El Salvador has to do now is hand over and release an innocent man and let him come home to his family,' he concluded. The deportation of the father of three, who is currently being held in a 'notorious' prison in El Salvador, has been acknowledged by Justice Department Officials as a mistake. On March 12, Garcia was pulled over outside of an IKEA in Baltimore with his son, according to court documents obtained by NBC News. Garcia called his wife from jail and said authorities had been questioning him on MS-13 and queried his family's visits to a restaurant serving Mexican and Salvadoran food. 'He would repeat the truth again and again - that he was not in a gang,' Vasquez Sura said. The deportation of the father of three, who is currently being held in a 'notorious' prison in El Salvador, has been acknowledged by Justice Department Officials as a mistake An order from an immigration judge in 2019 barred Garcia from being sent to El Salvador because he might be subject to persecution 'Kilmar was kidnapped... and sent to a hideous prison,' Illinois Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia said according to NBC. 'And the question now is: "Who will be next?"' In a Monday court filing, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official said the agency 'does not have authority to forcibly extract an alien from the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation.' And during the sit down at the Oval Office on Monday, Bukele suggested he would not be returning Abrego Garcia. 'The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?' he said. 'I don't have the power to return him to the United States.' 'Should El Salvador want to return Abrego Garcia, the U.S. would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said. 'First and foremost, he was illegally in our country, and he had been illegally in our country,' she said. 'Thats up to El Salvador if they want to return him. Thats not up to us.' An order from an immigration judge in 2019 barred Garcia from being sent to El Salvador because he might be subject to persecution, NBC News reported. Last week, the Supreme Court told the administration to 'facilitate' his return to the United States. Hundreds of people have been deported to El Salvador under the president's crackdown on illegal immigration The country has in return received around $6 million to house deportees at CECOT, a high-security mega-prison However, the Trump administration has said the issue is no longer under their jurisdiction as he is in the custody of another country. Vice President JD Vance posted on X and said that 'according to the court document you apparently didn't read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here.' Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin reprimanded those describing Garcia as a 'Maryland father.' 'I think this illegal alien is exactly where he belongs - home in El Salvador,' she told Fox. 'He was in our country illegally. He's from El Salvador, was born in El Salvador, and oh, the media forgot to mention he is an MS-13 gang member.' 'The media would love for you to believe this is a media darling and that's just a Maryland father. Well, Osama bin Laden was also a father. And yet, he wasn't a good guy, and they actually are both terrorists.' The White House described Garcia's deportation as an 'administrative error.' It claimed that the father of three was a part of MS-13, which was designated a foreign terrorist organization in February, citing a 2019 allegation from Maryland police. 'He would repeat the truth again and again - that he was not in a gang,' Vasquez Sura said Vice President JD Vance posted on X and said that 'according to the court document you apparently didn't read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here' The 2019 arrest resulted in no charges being filed, and the case sparked nationwide outrage. Court filings claimed the only evidence against Garcia was an anonymous tip and a Chicago Bulls hat he was wearing on his arrest, NBC reported. Garcia, who grew up in El Salvador's capital city San Salvador, fled to the US illegally in 2011 at the age of 16, according to court filings obtained by NBC. His family had faced threats of extortion for 'rent money' by a local gang who also threatened to kill his brother or force him into their gang if they weren't paid. When Garcia was 12, the gang threatened to take away until his father paid them 'all of the money that they wanted,' the outlet reported. The gang also threatened to rape and kill Garcia's sisters, and his family shut down their business before sending him to the US. He joined his brother, Cesar, who is now a US Citizen in Maryland. Garcia was arrested in 2019 at a Home Depot and asked if he was a gang member, which he denied. He was then detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and later told an immigration judge that he would seek asylum. The 2019 arrest resulted in no charges being filed, and the case sparked nationwide outrage. Court filings claimed the only evidence against Garcia was an anonymous tip and a Chicago Bulls hat he was wearing on his arrest Garcia married Vasquez Sura while still in jail. In October of 2019, an immigration judge denied his appeal for asylum but granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador because of a 'well-founded fear' of gang persecution. He was released and ICE did not appeal. Since, he has checked in with ICE annually and was issued a work permit, according to court filings. Hundreds of people have been deported to El Salvador under the president's crackdown on illegal immigration. The country has in return received around $6 million to house deportees at CECOT, a high-security mega-prison. The State Department last week lifted its advisory for American travelers to El Salvador to the safest level, crediting Bukele for reducing gang activity and violent crime. Lawyers and relatives of the migrants held in El Salvador say they are not gang members and had no opportunity to contest the U.S. government assertion that they were. A keffiyeh-clad attendee at a pro-Palestine fundraiser in Michigan vowed that people at the event are willing to fight and die to bring down the 'American empire.' A resurfaced video shared by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) shows a man at the Stories for Liberation event in Dearborn Heights on February 7 called for the United States to be brought down. The event, hosted by the Palestinian Youth Movement at Newora Cafe, was a poetry night and raffle fundraiser to 'strengthen the steadfastness of the people of Gaza.' Dearborn Heights - as well as the neighboring city of Dearborn - have some of the highest populations of Muslims in the United States. Dearborn was dubbed the U.S. 'Jihad Capital' by The Wall Street Journal and made headlines last year when protesters at a pro-Palestine rally chanted 'death to America.' The video showed the attendee promising to work towards and even sacrifice themselves to end America. 'We do feel like change needs to come, because change must come. And in the form that it must come is that this empire, the American empire that's been hurting our people since the beginning, the imperial Western powers that have been hurting our people since the beginning, they must fall,' the man said. 'And inshallah, inshallah, they will fall. And my message to people of Gaza and oppressed people across the world is that there are people here, both young and old, who are going to be willing to fight and are willing to put their lives and everything they can on the line to bring these empires down. Because they must come down.' A keffiyeh-clad attendee at a pro-Palestine fundraiser in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, vowed that people at the event are willing to fight and die to bring down the 'American empire' Neighboring Dearborn was dubbed the U.S. 'Jihad Capital' by The Wall Street Journal and made headlines last year when protesters at a pro-Palestine rally chanted 'death to America' Dearborn Heights Fundraiser and Poetry Night for Palestine: This American Empire Must Fall; People Here Are Willing to Fight and Put Their Lives on the Line to Bring These Western Empires Down pic.twitter.com/sr8gxD1szC MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) April 15, 2025 The alarming message sparked immediate backlash online, with some calling for the federal government to investigate his claims. 'This guy is speaking calmly & clearly & the lady next to him had that Squeaky look in her eyes. TRUST he means what hes saying people,' actor Michael Rapaport said. 'Ill never get used to the hypocrisy of the people calling for the fall of America while living in America - particularly the ones that moved here,' said another. A third person said, 'I have such a tough time understanding this. How do you live in America, benefit from everything it offers, but then want it to fall? Why not just go live in a country that has the qualities you desire?' 'These people are dangerous hateful idiots,' added a fourth. Even those who said they are pro-Palestine slammed the man for his beliefs claiming he is hurting the movement. 'You're going to get Dearborn blown up. We're with you on stopping our Country from being complicit in genocide, but the stand you're taking is making it a no choice situation,' one person said. 'We don't want your ideology or Israel's. We want to restore the Constitutional Republic.' Donald Trump won Michigan in the 2024 election after attending a campaign event with Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi and local Imam Belal Alzuhairi in October. 'We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace, not war,' Alzuhairi told the crowd of a few thousand, who cheered loudly. 'The bloodshed has to stop all over the world. And I think this man can make that happen. I personally believe that God saved his life twice for a reason.' Many voters in Dearborn refused to vote in the primaries because residents are fiercely divided over the war in Gaza. A top adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday after allegedly being identified during an investigation into leaks at the department. Dan Caldwell was placed on administrative leave for 'an unauthorized disclosure,' an official told Reuters. 'The investigation remains ongoing,' the official said without providing details about the nature of the alleged disclosure, including whether it was made to a journalist or to someone else. The move comes after a March 21 memo ordering a Pentagon investigation into leaks ordered by Hegseth's chief of staff Joe Kasper. President Donald Trump has railed against leakers, particularly those leaking information about his administration. He has ordered them found. Dan Caldwell (red circle) sits behind Pete Hegseth during a meeting with Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the Pentagon on February 5 Top Pentagon adviser Dan Caldwell was escorted from the building for leaks Kasper's order left open the possibility of a polygraph, although it was unclear if Caldwell was subject to one. The Pentagon chief of staff said the probe would examine 'recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information' and said polygraphs would be used. 'The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy,' Kasper wrote in a memo. 'This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense.' He wrote that 'information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure' would be referred for criminal prosecution.' Kasper ordered the probe one day after the New York Times reported the Pentagon set up a briefing with Elon Musk on a potential war with China. Although Caldwell is not as well known as other senior Pentagon officials, he has played a critical role as an adviser to Hegseth. His importance was underscored in a leaked text chain on Signal disclosed by The Atlantic magazine last month. In it, Hegseth named Caldwell as the best staff point of contact for the National Security Council as it prepared for the launch of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. That article came out on March 24th, three days after Kasper ordered the probe into leaks. Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran, was head of the transition team at the Pentagon and took the lead on hiring staff at the Defense Department. He later formally joined the department. He and Hegseth have a longtime friendship. Caldwell was by Hegseth's side on Capitol Hill as the former Fox News host fought to keep his nomination alive during questions about his treatment of women. Before joining Hegseth's team, Caldwell worked for Defense Priorities and Concerned Veterans for America. Defense Priorities, a conservative think tank funded by the Koch brothers, advocates for more restrained US foreign policy. Concerned Veterans for America has strong ties to Republican lawmakers on the veterans and armed services committees and it has enjoyed a friendly relationship with President Donald Trump in the past. It's also funded by the Koch brothers and is where Hegseth and Caldwell met. A young Dan Caldwell (right) as a Marine assigned to Camp David - seen with then President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush Dan Caldwell is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq Caldwell and Hegseth, like Vice President J.D. Vance, all share the same isolationist view of foreign policy. Similar in age, they are all veterans of either Iraq or Afghanistan. Don Trump Jr., the president's oldest son, is said to share that isolationist view point. Caldwell, in an interview with Politico last year when he worked Defense Priorities, said of his time in Iraq: 'We didn't go in with this attitude of doing harm. We wanted to fight. We didn't want to unnecessarily hurt anybody. Yet our presence did unintentionally hurt people. A lot of people.' And he told the Financial Times in December: 'A lot of times when President Trump is railing against American foreign policy failures, he is his most focused and righteously angry. And that really appealed to me in 2016.' Caldwell, while at the Pentagon, pushed for the U.S. to dramatically reduce its military footprint abroad. He also downplayed the significance of the American-Israeli alliance and was skeptic of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine. But there are reports that Caldwell clashed with Hegseth and Trump on Iran. Caldwell had an more open-mind when it came to the Middle East nation instead of Trump's tough-on-Iran rhetoric. In an essay for Foreign Affairs, Caldwell argued the U.S. should 'significantly' pull back from the Middle East, where he believed that 'American interests are less pronounced.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (above) worked with Caldwell at Concerned Veterans for America before they both joined the Trump administration President Donald Trump has railed against leakers Dan Caldwell, circled in red, seated against the wall during Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Saudi Arabia Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud's bilateral meeting at the Pentagon on Feb. 24th Caldwell, during his military service, worked in the Marine Corps Presidential Support Program, where he served as a member of the security force at the presidential retreat at Camp David. He later deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and conducted operations in Al Anbar and Ninawa provinces. After he left the service he worked worked for Rep. David Schweikert, a Republican congressman from Arizona, from 2011 to 2013, focusing on veterans and defense issues. A fraudster who pretended he worked for high street baker Greggs to swindle more than 710,000 in Covid grants has been jailed for four years. Aftab Baig, 47, of Glasgow, made fraudulent claims to Leeds City Council against 32 properties and arranged for the money to go into his business account. The money came from the Small Business Grant Fund, one of several schemes set up by the government to help small businesses with rates relief during the pandemic. In May 2020, Baig contacted Leeds Council pretending to be a group property manager at Greggs Head Office. He asked for business rates numbers for Leeds branches and claimed he could not access them due to lockdown. Baig, who had no links to Greggs and was not employed by them, used the details to apply for rates relief to the tune of 710,000. This was paid into a bank account associated with his catering business. In May 2020, the council realised the claims were fraudulent and took action which resulted in the account being frozen. Aftab Baig, 47, conned Leeds City Council out of 710k in Covid business grants Aftab Baig arriving at Leeds Crown Court today where he was jailed for four years While most of the money was later returned to the council more than 90,000 was left outstanding. The National Investigation Service (NATIS) launched a probe and Baig was arrested in Glasgow by Police Scotland in July 2020. Officers raided his home and found 16,000 in cash as well as forged remittance slips which detectives believed he was planning to use to persuade the bank to return the frozen money. Baig, of Paisley Road, Glasgow, was found guilty of three counts of fraud on February 12 at Leeds Crown Court. Prosecutors have today welcomed his prison sentence after he was jailed. Kelly Ward from the Crown Prosecution Service said: 'Baig took advantage of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic in 2020 to defraud the council out of taxpayers money. 'Those who cheat the public purse are stealing funds which should rightly go towards services and the community, or in this case towards supporting small businesses through an extremely challenging time. 'We will not hesitate to work together with investigators such as NATIS to bring offenders like Baig to justice. 'We will also be starting proceedings to recover any assets resulting from this criminality.' A digital marketing executive has died after she ran through a glass door after an argument with her boyfriend. Claire Austin, 38, partially severed her arm running through an internal glass door and was found bleeding profusely in her top-floor apartment on Randwick Street in Randwick, Sydney's eastern suburbs, after 7.30am on Saturday. A concerned neighbour rang Triple Zero and paramedics rushed her to St Vincent's Hospital where she was placed on life support for three days before she died. Ms Austin, who was originally from the UK, had been living in Australia for the past 10 years and was working in digital marketing. After being told Ms Austin would not survive her injuries, her family immediately flew from the UK to Sydney and arrived on Tuesday morning just hours before she passed away. NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell said Ms Austin's death was being treated as a criminal matter. Claire Austin, 38, was found inside her top-floor apartment bleeding profusely from a partially severed arm It's understood Ms Austin severed an artery in her arm after she tried to flee her apartment on the top floor by forcing herself through an internal glass door Police attended the apartment block after a concerned neighbour called Triple-0 and made a concern for welfare report 'This is a tragic loss of life and we are determined to work out exactly what happened,' Deputy Commissioner Thurtell told the Daily Telegraph. Police launched Strike Force Lyndoch to investigate the exact circumstances surrounding Ms Austin's death. Daily Mail Australia can reveal an application for an apprehended violence order on behalf of Ms Austin was due to face Waverley Local Court on Thursday. It is not suggested the person named in the order was linked to the incident that led to her death. A 44-year-old man known to Ms Austin assisted police with their inquiries and was admitted to a mental health facility. 'He has since been released without charge and no arrests have been made at this time,' a NSW Police spokesman said. A second western Sydney home has been sprayed with bullets a day after a woman was killed in a drive-by shooting nearby. A house on Faulds Road, in Guilford West, was shot at shortly before 2.15am on Wednesday, but no one was inside the home at the time. It comes a day after a 65-year-old woman died in Ambarvale, south of Campbelltown, after being struck by shrapnel when gunmen opened fire on her home in what police described as a 'targeted attack'. NSW Police established a crime scene and launched an investigation into the latest shooting. Not long after the shooting, firefighters were called to Birmingham Avenue in Villawood, about 10 minutes away, to find a car on fire. Fire and Rescue crews put out the blaze, but the car was destroyed. Police are investigating if the car fire is linked to the Guildford West shooting. The shooting comes a day after grandmother Kim Duncan was killed when gunmen fired shots into a home on Dickens Road in Ambarvale at 11pm on Monday. Police are investigating the second shooting in as many days in Sydney's west Her 34-year-old son tried to save her after she was struck by bullet fragments. Police believe she was not the intended target, but think it was meant to be a 'warning' shot to someone else. Campbelltown Police Superintendent Grant Healey said three men left a dark-coloured sedan before firing shots. 'It's a tragedy that a grandmother has been shot by cowards out the front of their house,' he said. No arrests have been made for ether shooting and police are urging anyone with information or CCTV footage from either area to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Former President Joe Biden took aim at President Donald Trump and Elon Musk during the first speech of his post-presidency. Biden headlined the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled conference in Chicago Tuesday evening. The 82-year-old loudly asked: 'Who in the hell do they think they are?' as he went after Trump, Republicans and DOGE for destabilizing Social Security. 'Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now?' the former president asked. 'They're following that old line from tech startups - the quote is "move fast, break things." They're shooting first and aiming later.' Without saying Trump's name, nor Musk's, he said they were creating 'needless pain and sleepless nights.' Biden quoted Martin O'Malley, the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration during his administration and the man who introduced the former president at Tuesday's event. 'My friend Gov. O'Malley knows what they're really up to, he says, and I love this quote - they want to wreck it so they can rob it,' Biden went on. 'Why do they want to rob it? To deliver huge tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations and keep it going.' President Joe Biden gave the first speech of his post-presidency, taking aim at President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, but not calling them out by name During his introduction of Biden, O'Malley called out Trump and Musk saying that they have 'gutted the Social Secuity Administration with a chainsaw' creating the 'largest exodus of staff the agency has ever suffered.' O'Malley said their 'big lie' during Trump 2.0 was that 'there's a massive zombie apocalypse of dead people' on the Social Security rolls. The former Maryland governor said the other big lie was that illegal immigrants were 'sucking Social Security dry.' O'Malley pointed out that it's already illegal for undocumented immigrants to receive Social Security benefits. Over all, the pushed that DOGE's efforts were a 'massive breaking-and-entering in process.' Biden joked a bit about DOGE's findings before turning more serious. 'By the way, those 300-year-old folks getting Social Security, I'd like to meet them,' the 82-year-old said. 'Helluva thing man. I'm looking for longevity. Because it is hell when you turn 40 years old,' he said to laughs. It was old-age concerns that prompted Biden to drop out of the presidential race last summer, helping set the table for Trump's return. Former President Joe Biden took aim at President Donald Trump (left) and Elon Musk (right), though didn't call them out by name, in the first speech of his post-presidency Tuesday night in Chicago Biden turned to similar themes that he spoke about throughout his entire career, including that a job is more than just a paycheck, it's 'dignity.' He spoke of hard working Americans all across the country. 'The last thing they need from their government is deliberate cruelty,' he said. Biden also knocked the MAGA movement more generally. 'I said I've been doing this a long time, it's never been this divided. Granted it's roughly 30 percent, but it's a 30 percent that has no heart,' the former president said. Biden had been keeping a low-profile since leaving office in January, though outside the confines of the presidency is again allowed to ride his beloved Amtrak - between Wilmington, Delaware and Washington, D.C. Fellow passengers have posted images of the 82-year-old leader on board the train. Ahead of his first post-presidential address, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt mocked the Democrat. 'My first reaction when seeing former President Biden was speaking tonight was: I'm shocked that he is speaking at night time,' Leavitt said from the podium Tuesday. Following Biden's disastrous Atlanta debate performance last June, Axios reported that the president was 'dependably engaged' between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Outside those hours, aides told the news site, Biden would 'have verbal miscues and become fatigued.' 'I thought his bedtime was much earlier than his speech tonight,' Leavitt cracked to the press corps. Biden's speech Tuesday was originally scheduled for 4:45 p.m. CDT. The former president, known for being consistenly late, kicked off the speech at 5:14 p.m. CDT. Leavitt tried to get in front of any attacks Biden made about Republicans defunding Social Security. 'Let me make it very clear ahead of former President Biden's remarks, the president, this president, President Trump, is absolutely certain about protecting Social Security benefits for law-abiding, tax-paying American citizens and seniors who have paid into this program,' Leavitt said. Chinese researchers will be granted access to NHS medical records despite MI5 fears that health data could be misused by Beijing. Western intelligence agencies have warned that China is amassing troves of sensitive information in a potential threat to national security. But it could soon get its hands on data from the GP records of half a million UK patients in a move branded 'outrageous' by MPs. The information is being uploaded to the central database of the UK Biobank, a research hub that makes data available to universities, scientific institutes and private companies. Analysis by the Guardian has suggested one in five successful applications for access come from China. MI5 has warned that organisations and individuals can be ordered by Chinese intelligence agencies to carry out work on their behalf. Now they will have medical histories sitting alongside other data already held on the directory. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Mail last night the situation was 'outrageous', adding: 'China is an unfriendly country and there should be a complete ban on any further NHS data going there. 'It can use medical data to develop drugs and give itself a competitive advantage or to understand our genetic makeup and develop targeted weapons.' Western intelligence agencies have warned that China is amassing troves of sensitive information in a potential threat to national security (pictured: China's President Xi Jinping) The medical data is being uploaded to the central database of the UK Biobank, a research hub that makes data available to universities, scientific institutes and private companies Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith (pictured) said 'China is an unfriendly country and there should be a complete ban on any further NHS data going there' The UK Biobank already holds genomes, tissue samples and questionnaire responses from 500,000 people, who have now agreed for their GP data to be added to the database, building up a broader picture of patients and their medical histories. Personal details such as names and dates of birth are stripped from the data before it is shared, but experts say that in some cases individuals could still be identified and this could be used for espionage by hostile states. Participants gave consent for their de-identified data to be shared with approved national and international researchers but were not asked specifically about China. UK Biobank said NHS England has recently audited its processes for sharing data internationally, including how it assesses applications from China. It passed the audit, meaning Chinese researchers can now apply for access to the GP records. Experts believe access to health data could be part of China's broader, long-term strategy to develop biological capabilities that transcend traditional military or economic geopolitical tactics. Shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns said: 'The risk of our data being harvested to manufacture future bioweapons is real. 'China is the largest genomic data harvester in the world, its goal to be a biotech superpower, but it cannot do that unless it harvests the data from more diverse populations than its own.' Shadow national security minister Alicia Kearns (pictured) said 'China is the largest genomic data harvester in the world, its goal to be a biotech superpower' In 2023 MI5 chief Ken McCallum (pictured) warned that hostile states such as China are 'laser focused' on emerging technology like synthetic biology Last year, UK Biobank approved access for a research project on ageing by a unit of the Chinese genetics company BGI (pictured) In 2023, MI5 chief Ken McCallum warned that hostile states such as China are 'laser focused' on emerging technology like synthetic biology, a scientific field that involves designing or modifying biological systems like a virus to perform new functions. 'States which lead the way in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum computing and synthetic biology will have the power to shape all our futures,' he said. 'We all need to be aware, and respond, before it's too late.' Last year, UK Biobank approved access for a research project on ageing by a unit of the Chinese genetics company BGI. The US has blacklisted BGI subsidiaries, barring Americans from exporting to them. Joe Biden's government said in 2023 that it had information indicating that the actions of BGI units 'present a significant risk of diversion to China's military programmes'. BGI dismissed the claims, saying its research 'is undertaken for civilian and scientific purposes only'. A UK Biobank representative said it was 'continually in dialogue' with MI5 and other state agencies about the use of its data, including by BGI. A government spokesman said: 'We have strict security procedures in place to ensure all sensitive UK health data information is protected... 'It can only be accessed within a secure digital environment and it is not possible to download copies of the GP data outside of that secure digital space.' All 87 Jeanswest stores across the country will close their doors in the next six weeks. The Aussie fashion giant announced last month that up to 90 stores would close and up to 600 jobs would be axed after its parent company Harbour Guidance collapsed. Last month, administrator Lindsay Bainbridge said the news of the closure of stores and job losses was 'a hard day' for staff. 'The owners have done everything they can to keep Jeanswest going, but market conditions mean sustaining bricks-and-mortar stores is not viable and unlikely to improve,' he said. 'They deeply regret the impact of store closures on their team members and their customers, and we will be working now with teams across the country. 'This is a hard day for hundreds of Jeanswest team members and we will be working directly with the team members to provide clarity and information about the next steps.' The administrators previously said they'd identified a related party debt of about $40million. Administrators put the company's failure down to an 'unsustainable business model'. Shoppers will only have weeks to visit Jeanswest after it announced it would close their doors Jeanswest had been operating across Australia for more than 50 years, after opening its first store in Perth in 1972 The stores have cut prices on all stock in a bid to partially repay its creditors. Last week, administrators revealed more than 53,000 pairs of jeans had been sold in the first week of a nationwide discounting campaign. Administrators are looking to shift more than $20million worth of stock. Jeanswest had been operating across Australia for more than 50 years, after opening its first store in Perth in 1972. In 2017, the owner of Jeanswest claimed Australians were forking out their money for 'lifestyle spending' on travel and televisions, rather than buying new clothes. He said this led to 'lethargic' and 'slothful' retail habits. The brand has three stores in New Zealand, which are not part of the administration process and will remain open for business. Nigel Farage warned Labour yesterday that Reform was parking our tanks on the Red Wall lawn as he fired the starting gun on his partys local elections campaign. In a major speech in Durham, the Reform leader insisted Labour had just as much to fear from his insurgent party as the Tories in its traditional working-class heartlands. He even joked of a Nige-mare on Downing Street as he taunted Sir Keir Starmer over the prospect of winning the next general election, with the populist party continuing to ride high in the polls. But the Tories accused him of cosying up to the far-Left in a cynical bid to win more votes after he used the speech to talk of the need for a good partnership with militant trade union bosses. Striking a similar tone to Sir Keir in some of his speeches, Mr Farage added that a pragmatic, sensible relationship was vital when dealing with hard-Left barons. Mr Farage added, however, that in the wake of the Birmingham bin strikes, he would take a firm but fair approach with the unions if he were negotiating with them. It comes after Reform led the crusade for nationalising British Steel and after Richard Tice, the partys deputy leader and MP for Skegness, wore a trade union Save Our Steel badge in the Commons chamber during a crunch debate on Saturday. Asked if Reform may propose nationalising further industries in the future, Mr Farage did not rule it out and said it was the partys aim to re-industrialise Britain. Nigel Farage launched the Reform party's local election campaign in Durham yesterday Farage joked of a Nige-mare on Downing Street as he taunted Sir Keir Starmer over the prospect of winning the next general election Your browser does not support iframes. Speaking on whether he really believed he could turn the Red Wall the label given to Labour heartlands in the Midlands and North into the Reform Wall, he said: Yeah, you know what, I think voting has become much more transitory than its ever been before. 'And while Labour did win back the heartlands [in last years general election], it was a loveless win in many of those seats, actually with fewer votes than they got under Jeremy Corbyn in 2019. The local elections on May 1, when 1,641 seats across 24 councils will be up for grabs, are the first Reform will stand in after winning five parliamentary seats in last years election. Asked what a Reform-run council would look like, Mr Farage said the party would introduce a British equivalent of DOGE in every single council. This was a reference to US President Donald Trumps bureaucracy-slashing Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla tycoon Elon Musk. He added: Weve got to see the long-term contracts that many of these county or unitary authorities have signed up to. We will look at the sums spent on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives). A massive change of culture, thats what were going to bring to these county councils. He also admitted that women have been more cautious about voting Reform than men but insisted that new polling shows the split is now 50:50. Farage said the Reform-run councils would introduce a British equivalent of DOGE in every single council The Reform leader also called for a good partnership with militant trade union bosses Your browser does not support iframes. It came after polling by Survation across Red Wall seats found Reforms support since the last election has soared from 18 to 30 per cent. At the same time, Sir Keirs net rating in the North and Midlands was -26 per cent, based on 27 per cent approving of him and 53 per cent disapproving. By contrast, the polling agency had Mr Farage on -4 and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch on -8. A Tory spokesman said: Hes cosying up to the far-Left and will always side with vested interests, rather than the national interest. The Prime Minister and Peter Dutton both begin their day in Melbourne as the election campaign passes the halfway point. Both party leaders will go head to head in their second debate tonight. Australians go to the polls on May 3. Follow Daily Mail Australia's live campaign coverage below. Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more Let's be honest, everyone's talking about Meghan's latest move. The Duchess of Sussex has made headlines with her new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, where she brings a touch of luxury to the kitchen while cooking with friends. But what really caught our eye? The chic homeware and kitchen essentials subtly featured behind the scenes. From stylish 6 glass storage jars from M&S and a beautiful 50 Anthropologie table runner to a high-powered 429 Vitamix blender, Meghan's selections are as practical as they are aspirational. Of course, her kitchen wouldn't be complete without classic Le Creuset casserole dishes in the elegant 'Meringue' shade and pretty blue-and-white ceramics from LA-based Earth + Element. Keep scrolling for our edit of must-have buys that combine style and substance. Maria Cuccia woke with a leaping heart. It was 3 a.m., the family home in eastern Long Island was peaceful, her husband slept soundly beside her and their three young daughters were tucked in around the house. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to a white light that seemed to radiate from the bedroom ceiling. The 31-year-old piano teacher felt herself being drawn toward it. What she claims happened next would change her life forever and bring her face to face with the boy she believes is her lost son, Elijah - a half human, half alien child. Today, Cuccia, now 64, lives in Florida. She is one of many Americans who claim to have been abducted from Earth by alien beings. Estimates of affected humans vary from several thousand to 3.7 million, according to one controversial study dismissed as false by some psychologists. Her experience in 1992 was particularly vivid, Cuccia told the Daily Mail. As she gazed at the white light flooding her room that night, she claims her body became paralyzed. Then, she said, something surreal happened: She felt energy surge through her body, 'like electricity,' and claims she was lifted into the sky. Maria Cuccia has since spoken to other abductees and released albums of music about her experiences (Maria Cuccia/supplied) The next thing she says she remembers is standing on 'some kind of spaceship aircraft something.' Cuccia says she was surrounded by tall beings in robes, with a glowing light emanating from their heads - she cant remember what their faces looked like. 'All I know is they instructed me to look at a large glass window, at what appeared to be like a spaceship. And I looked out the window and I saw what appeared to be a group of many, many children,' she told the Daily Mail. She says that the beings then 'brought forth' a young boy, about eight years old, and that she found herself unable to look away from him. He began to wave at her and their eyes 'locked.' She says she asked the beings: 'Is this my son?' And claims they replied, 'This is your son, and we call him Elijah.' Cuccia claims they told her to look up the meaning of the name when she returned home, and that for now her visit to them was over. She told her husband that 'something had happened' to her in the night. Understandably, he dismissed it as a dream or nightmare. Yet, she believed it was all far too real to be a dream. She had never experienced anything like it. And how could she explain that young boy who so clearly recognized her, and she him? Maria Cuccia has written albums of music about her experiences Cuccia claims she was lifted rapidly into the sky When she looked up the name Elijah, she found it means 'the Lord is our Savior.' That close encounter with her hybrid son spoke to a deep loss that Cuccia had experienced some years before her abduction. After the birth of her first daughter, shed become pregnant again. During one of her appointments for an ultrasound scan, she was told she was going to have a healthy boy. But a day or two later, she was in excruciating pain and bleeding, and her husband had to call an ambulance. Cuccia had a miscarriage. Some days later, her doctor called to tell her that she had passed a fetal sac, but there was no fetus inside. They were worried the fetus was still in her body, Cuccia told the Daily Mail, although that proved not to be the case. Now, Cuccia believes the fetus was taken from her body by the alien beings, and that this happens to other women around the world. She claimed that she later had a feeling something 'was inside [her] that did not belong.' After the miscarriage and feelings of housing something foreign, Cuccia began receiving what she described as 'messages' - she claims she would wake in the middle of the night, hearing voices that inspired her to create music. Cuccia says she was spiritually curious before her abduction and had tried hypnosis therapy to reclaim past lives. She has wondered if those practices 'opened up a channel' related to what she claims happened to her. In the years since that supposed encounter, Cuccia has spoken to many others who also claim to be abductees and contactees. Maria Cuccia has written albums of music about her experiences Many of them believe that aliens are secretly reaching out to the human race for various reasons, some think it's to warn us of impending dangers while others, more sinisterly, think it could be to experiment on us. Some experts suggest that the claims of alien interventions are simply related to phenomena such as sleep paralysis. Others suggest they are manufactured within affected people as coping mechanisms for trauma, including experiencing a miscarriage. Nothing will persuade Cuccia that these explanations apply to her. Her recent move to Florida during the pandemic - which coincided with her mothers death - felt like a turning point, she said. She had spent much of her life working with her now ex-husband and traveling the world for business. Now, she has the time at last to turn her incredible experiences into a book. 'I brought a big plastic container filled with journals and things from my past... and came out here to reflect during [lockdown], and I started writing a book,' she said. For Cuccia, it will be a chance to share a story many may scoff at, but one that, after more than 30 years, remains very real to her. Reports of encounters with aliens - some ecstatic, some disturbing began to proliferate with the dawn of the space age, although similar stories from previous centuries, involving demons or mystical beings, are long established in human history. One of the most highly publicized cases no doubt because of its salacious nature - involved Brazilian farmer, Antonio Villas Boas, who claimed he had sex with an alien in October 1957. Boas' report stated that he was 'hauled aboard' a star-like UFO that landed in front of him, before being experimented on and covered in a mysterious gel. Brazilian farmer Antonio Villas Boas claimed he was abducted by a UFO in 1957 and had intercourse with a female alien Nigel Watson, who has researched and investigated historical and contemporary reports of UFO sightings, is author of The UFO Files. He told the Daily Mail, 'This was first case of sexual contact in our "flying saucer" era. 'Boas claimed he was dragged inside a flying saucer and forced to have sexual intercourse with a beautiful alien woman. 'When he left, she pointed at her stomach, at him and then at the sky, implying she would have his child somewhere in outer space. Though, Watson said it's important to remember that people have been telling stories about sexual encounters with supernatural beings throughout history. 'I suspect many are fantasies that the abductees actually believe,' he said. 'Such fantasies or stories make [them] feel like special people who are selected to breed a new race of hybrid beings.' 'Other abductees might use these fantasy experiences as a way of unconsciously disguising and coping with real miscarriages, abortion or rape.' The controversial 1991 study into alien abductions was conducted by artist Budd Hopkins, associate professor of history at Temple University David Jacobs, and professor of sociology at Eastern Michigan University Ron Westrum. The team surveyed nearly 6,000 adults, asking them how often they experienced five specific scenarios (see box below). They concluded that many of the participants who claimed to have been abducted reported similar scenarios. They wake up immobilized in a room surrounded by alien creatures ('small, gray-skinned, hairless figures' with large eyes) and balls of light,' the study reported. 'They [claim they] are levitated to a metallic spacecraft, where they are stripped and subjected to medical examinations (aliens take an unusual interest in the genitals of abductees) that sometimes leave scars. Afterward, they are unable to account for their lost time.' Elon Musk's DOGE and his team of geniuses have caused outcry across the nation over their access to American's Social Security and other private payment data. While Musk has said the Department of Government Efficiency is only auditing the federal government for signs of fraud and waste, the public sees it as a national security threat. However, a top cybersecurity expert told DailyMail.com that DOGE is a necessary solution to fix a decrepit government computer system that's fallen decades behind the times. Cybersecurity guru James Knight said: 'It's a mess. It's an absolute mess. A lot of these systems shouldn't be on the Internet. There needs to be accountability, and there needs to be that that drive to improve.' According to President Trump in March, around 100 people currently work for DOGE, with many of them being in the middle or very beginning of their careers as software developers, Supreme Court clerks, consultants, or corporate financiers. 'They're doing a fantastic job. These are some of the brightest minds, and I think, no matter what side somebody is politically, coming up with efficiencies in any area is certainly a fantastic idea,' Knight said. Despite receiving praise from some in the tech industry like Knight, violent protests disrupting the billionaire's businesses have pushed President Trump to admit that Musk will need to return to the private sector and oversee his companies in the near future. Although the president said each federal agency would keep working with the DOGE team, there's already speculation that the workers streamlining America's computer systems will disappear too - leaving the US in the same tech mess it's been in. Reports that Elon Musk would be immediately stepping down from his leadership position in DOGE began swirling in early April The White House has already pushed back on Musk quitting his budget-slashing role in Washington, with Trump saying he wants the Tesla and SpaceX CEO in charge 'as long as possible.' Knight said it would be a major mistake for the DOGE team to completely shut down after Musk's suspected departure, as the young 'whiz kids' may be the key to unlocking a digital renaissance in 2025. The cyber warfare expert told DailyMail.com these are the right people to not only find ways to cut government costs but also upgrade a decades-old computer infrastructure on the verge of catastrophe. DOGE was officially signed into existence on January 20, 2025 by executive order of President Trump, with a mission to 'modernize Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity' by July 4, 2026. According to Knight, however, that process could drag on for years without Musk and his 'tech support' staff at the helm to push through the desperately needed changes. 'They're dealing with decades-old systems. If they can update that, make it secure, it will be cheaper. It'll run better operationally and it'll make it make it a lot more secure from hackers,' Knight explained. 'It's not going to be easy. It's very going to be very difficult. But these are experts... savants that are the brightest and the best,' he continued. As of April 4, DOGE reported that their cost-cutting measures have saved taxpayers $140 billion. Much of this savings comes from canceling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) contracts, auditing government credit card use, and reducing fraudulent spending - such as social security payments to individuals listed as being over 150 years-old. However, the DOGE experts assigned to various agencies throughout Washington have also cut down on mind-boggling expenses for repairs to the government's cyber systems. This includes one DOGE employee discovering the US Department of Veterans Affairs was 'paying ~$380,000/month for minor website modifications.' 'That contract has not been renewed and the same work is now being executed by 1 internal VA software engineer spending ~10 hours/week,' DOGE wrote on their blog. Cyber warfare expert James Knight told DailyMail.com that he has full confidence in Elon Musk's ability to streamline the US government's outdated digital networks Despite finding a fortune in government waste, the DOGE staff has drawn intense criticism in just two months - mainly because many people don't know who they are. Musk and the White House have been slammed by political opponents for the unconventional recruitment of the DOGE team (largely through X), the lack of transparency in the process, and their unprecedented access to sensitive government systems. Moreover, actions like terminating thousands of IRS employees, canceling over 1,000 government contracts, and targeting agencies like USAID for closure have disrupted services nationwide and brought lawsuits from both Democrats and federal unions. Still, industry experts like Knight see the positive in having a group of outsiders break up the federal bureaucracy. 'It seems to me that they do have expertise. They seem to have skills in analytics and the logical basis of trying to sort through looking for any fraud or waste,' the cyber expert told DailyMail.com. Meanwhile, more members of the secretive DOGE team are finally coming forward to reveal themselves and what they're learning from their audits of the government. Sam Corcos, 36, a DOGE advisor to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), recently did a televised interview to report on his cost-cutting efforts. He and the rest of Musk's young team have also been heavily criticized for their age, inexperience in government, and allegedly unvetted access to private taxpayer information. DOGE advisor Sam Corcos said that the US government is decades behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget in their efforts to modernize their digital technology Edward Coristine, 19, one of the youngest of Elon Musk's baby-faced 'tech support' staff at DOGE waging war on the federal bureaucracy Unlike Corcos, many are in their late teens to mid-20s, with resumes emphasizing coding skills over public administration experience. Several have worked for Musk-led companies, like Tesla and SpaceX prior to taking these government positions. That includes Gavin Kliger, a 25-year-old software engineer who previously worked at Twitter (now X). He was tasked with auditing the US Department of Agriculture. Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old prodigy who built multiple tech start-ups, became a lightning rod for DOGE critics over the his raunchy LinkedIn moniker, Big Balls. Musk made the teen senior adviser at the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Technology and Office of Personnel Management, sparking backlash because of Coristine's firing from cybersecurity firm Path Networks for allegedly leaking internal information to competitors. 'There are people who come in, I can tell you that haven't got that many years, but they are absolute geniuses,' Knight said. 'They're savants. Their intelligence is off the scale. Their youth doesn't seem to be affecting anything,' he added, talking about the DOGE staff. As for what the team is finding through their work, Corcos recently said that efforts to modernize the tax agency's systems are 30 years behind schedule and $15 billion over budget. 'Typically, in industry, this takes a few years, maybe a few hundred million dollars,' Corcos said during an interview with The Ingraham Angle host Laura Ingraham on March 20. 'We're now 35 years into this program. If you ask them now, it's five years away, and it's been five years away since 1990,' the DOGE advisor, software developer, and CEO continued. Musk recruited Corcos and other tech experts to audit the government and recommend major cost cuts to improve efficiency James Knight, a veteran pen tester, explained that federal computer systems need to be taken off the internet to protect government information from hackers Knight, a pen tester for DigitalWarfare.com, works with companies and even government agencies to test their cyber defenses. Organizations hire pen testers to break through their security (on purpose) in order to see where they're vulnerable. Sometimes, that also means trying to physically break into the client's building to see if security around their computers and servers can keep cybercriminals from literally stealing their secrets. When it comes to what the expert with three decades of experience said DOGE needs to focus on after removing the 'absolute incompetence' in Washington, Knight focused on the disturbing ease of access hackers have to critical federal systems. Knight said that one of the biggest problems facing America is the fact that so many government systems are on the internet that shouldn't be. The cyber expert said one of the first things Musk's efficiency teams at DOGE need to recommend is air gapping many of the key systems the federal government currently has connected to the internet. Air gapping physically isolates computers and servers from unsecured networks, like the internet. They're not connected through cables, Wi-Fi, or any other means that could allow remote access. Simply put, if the system isn't online, hackers can't reach it through the internet. Confirming Knight's point, Corcos explained that government agencies like the IRS have been using the same old mainframes that major US banks used for years in the 1990s. The only difference is nearly all of those banks quickly upgraded their computer systems to modern technology for a fraction of the price the US government is still paying - and the job isn't close to being done. While Knight explained that a process this complex could take years to fully implement, he added that no one should bet against Musk to come up with a plan to get it done within the next year or so - if he stays around long enough to see it through. Nearly 300,000 residents of a city in Alaska have been told to prepare for a volcano that 'is about to erupt.' Mount Spurr, located 80 miles from Anchorage, has been experiencing elevated seismic activity in recent months with swarms of earthquakes hitting within a 30-mile radius of the base in the last week. The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) detected a 2.2 magnitude at 7:43 PM ET Sunday, while the other tremors did not exceed 1 magnitude. 'Unrest continues at Mount Spurr volcano,' the AVO shared in a Monday update. 'Seismicity remains elevated with occasional small, shallow volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the volcano over the past day.' Officials say the increased seismic activity is a sign magma is rising beneath Mount Spurr, causing stress and cracking in the surrounding rock, leading to earthquakes. Residents of Anchorage are now stocking up on protective gear, including TikToker Lia, who showed off how she and her family are preparing for the imminent eruption. 'Mount Spurr is about to erupt, and I want to make sure we are prepared because we have never gone through a volcanic eruption,' she said. She explained that the biggest concern is ash that will be blown from the explosion over the city, showing she purchased several respirators, goggles and air filters for her vehicle. Residents of Anchorage are now stocking up on protective gear, including TikToker Lia, who showed off how she and her family are preparing for the imminent eruption. She has purchased goggles and air filters for her vehicle Mount Spurr, located 80 miles from Anchorage, has been experiencing elevated seismic activity in recent months with swarms of earthquakes hitting within a 30-mile radius of the base in the last week. Pictured dated March 26 Lia said she purchased swim goggles from Amazon, explaining that they needed to be tight around the head in order to keep the ash out. She also purchased a pair of goggles for her dog, which is what many Anchorage residents have done to protect their pups. Lia said her doors and windows 'seal up very nice nicely' so she did not purchase tape. However, other residents have stockpiled duct tape that they will place around window sills and door openings to protect against ashfall and other hazards. 'So now we just wait for it to erupt and see how it goes,' said Lia in the TikTok, explaining that experts are predicting about a quarter-inch of ash to blanket Anchorage. The AVO predicts this eruption will be similar to those in 1953 and 1992, which saw,' one or more explosive events, each lasting as long as a few hours, would produce ash clouds carried downwind for hundreds of miles and minor (up to about inch) ashfall over southcentral Alaska. 'These would likely result in larger ash clouds, thicker ashfall deposits and greater overall impacts. No such eruptions are known in historical times, and the geologic record suggests these are rare. Therefore, the likelihood of such an event is low.' The AVO also noted on Monday that it did not seen evidence of steaming from Mount Spurr through its land cameras, but it was unable to capture satellite data due to poor weather conditions. While Anchorage is not within the impact zone, massive clouds of ash are likely to blanket the city and residents The AVO measured significantly elevated volcanic gas emissions from Mount Spurr volcano on March 7, but the levels have dissipated in the last week. The stop of emissions could mean that a blockage has formed by hardened magma or gas has been trapped underground. Magma may still be be rising, and gases still forming, but instead of being released at the surface, they're both being trapped, adding more stress to the system. There is also the chance that Mount Spurr could be calming down, but the AVO did make the suggestion in its Monday update. When it blows, the event 'would be explosive,' Matt Haney, scientist-in-charge at the AVO told DailyMail.com, adding that it would spew multiple plumes of ash rising as high as 50,000 feet into the air. Each ash-producing explosive episode would last three to four hours, resulting in Anchorage and other nearby communities being engulfed in a giant cloud. While Anchorage is not within the impact zone, massive clouds of ash are likely to blanket the city and residents. Volcanic ash can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and cause more serious health issues for people with asthma, other forms of lung disease and severe heart problems. Seismic activity near Mount Spurr kicked off in April 2024, and the rate of events increased from an average of 30 per week to an average of 125 per week in early October that has continued since. While the recent quakes are small, the swarms suggest pressure is building, cracks are widening and magma is moving. On March 20, Anchorage officials raised the emergency planning level to Level 2, which means that they will ramp up communication with the public about the threat and public safety agencies will prepare to launch into eruption response protocols. The city has also issued safety recommendations for pet owners ahead of the possible eruption. The AVO predicts this eruption will be similar to those in 1953 and 1992 (pictured) Anchorage locals have shared photos of their pups' protective gear on the Facebook page for a local pet shop, AK Bark, that is selling goggles and dog respirators Officials advised people to keep their animals inside as much as possible, have enough food and medication on hand to last two weeks, and be sure to brush or wash ash out of their fur if they do have to go outside. Residents of Anchorage have not taken the warnings lightly and have purchases necessary gear for themselves and their dogs. 'We're getting ready for the volcanic eruption,' said TikTok user Angela ot'oydaatlno Gonzalez in a recent video, 'Check out the dogs.' Wearing a pair of goggles, she sits with her two dogs who are also sporting protective eyewear. 'They're not happy with the goggles,' Gonzalez says. 'We have to get them ear protection next, and something to cover their bodies.' She also shows all the items she has purchased over the last few weeks in preparation for a Mount Spurr eruption, including protective masks, dog booties and tape to close off any gaps in windows and doors and jugs of water. Anchorage residents Alliana Salanguit and Jesslin Wooliver told NPR that they bought protective gear for their dog, Iroh, as soon as scientists announced that Mount Spurr may erupt. 'I searched 'pink, dog goggles, small,' and it was the top result,' Salanguit said of Iroh's heart-shaped goggles. 'Aren't they darling?' AK Bark, an Anchorage pet store sells protective eyewear for dogs, and owner Mark Robokoff told NPR he sold more than 500 pairs in March. He added that a shipment dog respirators is also headed to the store, and he's already presold 1,800 of them. Over 25,000 containers of baby food exclusively sold at Target nationwide have been recalled over a lead contamination. The recall affects four-ounce containers of Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree, Target's store brand baby food puree. While the brand has other flavors, this one is the only one being pulled from shelves due to lead. In total, 25,600 containers of Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree are being recalled, and Target revealed that this product was sold nationwide. The recalled containers come from two batches of the baby food: Lot Number 4169 that has a Best by date of December 9, 2025, and Lot Number 4167, which has a Best by December 7, 2025. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially alerted shoppers to the elevated levels of lead in March. However, the alert has now been upgraded, receiving a Class II recall warning, meaning that eating this baby food could cause temporary medical problems involving the brain and other organs. This is just one step down from a Class I recall, which means a product could cause severe health issues and even death. The baby food recall specifically affects 4oz. containers of Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree sold at Target Although the recall still hasn't been included on Target's official recall list, elevated lead levels in baby food could pose serious health risks to infants and young children, including causing damage to the brain, blood, and other organs. Lead is a toxic heavy metal that can accumulate in the body. Young children are particularly at risk because their developing bodies tend to absorb higher rates of the toxin. If a baby were to consume too much lead, the poisoning could lead to neurological damage, impairing brain development, lowering IQs, and potentially causing learning disabilities, behavioral issues, and developmental delays. Studies have warned that even low levels of exposure to lead may cause irreversible harm. Dr Sana Mujahid, Consumer Reports' manager of food safety research and testing, said: 'We know that there is no safe level of lead exposure for babies and small children, who are particularly vulnerable to negative health consequences due to their smaller size and developing organ systems.' Target has released a statement about the recall, noting that they require suppliers like Good & Gather to uphold all safety standards at the local, state, and federal levels. As of January 2025, the FDA required all baby food containing fruits, vegetables, mixtures of grains and meat, yogurts, custards and puddings, and single-ingredient meats to have lead levels lower than 10 parts per billion (ppb). Ppb is a way of measuring tiny amounts of something in a larger substance, like lead in baby food. Food contaminated with unsafe levels of lead can cause neurological damage, impair brain development, and lower IQ scores among children Customers who have purchased the recalled baby food are urged to throw it away. They can also contact the Target store they purchased it from for a full refund Imagine a billion droplets of water in a huge swimming pool. If you add one drop of lead to that pool, thats one part per billion. So, 10 ppb means 10 drops of lead in that billion-droplet pool. It may sound very tiny, but when it comes to lead, it's still concerning for babies. For baby foods containing single-ingredient root vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes and dry infant cereals, that limit is 20 ppb. Anyone that has purchased the recalled baby food is urged to throw it away. Customers with the contaminated puree can also take it back to the store or contact Target's Guest Relations at 800-440-0680 for a full refund. For parents who believe their child may have eaten some of the recalled Good & Gather puree, Dr Mujahid recommended that they speak with their pediatrician who would likely have more information about lead tests children can undergo. A blood test is the most reliable check parents can do, which will reveal the level of lead in the infant's system. This is usually done through a finger prick (capillary test) or by having blood drawn from the veins. Venous tests tend to be more accurate for confirming unsafe lead levels. Although the CDC maintains that no levels of lead in the blood is safe, federal officials use a blood lead reference value (BLRV) of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (g/dL) as their threshold when determining if a child has elevated lead levels in their body. A microgram (g) is equal to one-millionth of a gram. Meanwhile, a deciliter (dL) is about half a cup of liquid (100 milliliters), roughly the same amount of blood taken in a small syringe during medical tests. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) has found that most children in the US have lead levels below 1 g/dL. NHANES data collected between 2011 and 2016 specifically found that blood-lead levels for kids under the age of five was approximately 0.83 g/dL. The most common ways children encounter lead is through old paint that is chipping off of walls and contaminated water systems. However, lead can also be found in children's clothing, stainless steel bottles and sippy cups, desks, toys, and jewelry. As for food and other goods, the CDC noted last month that foods, cosmetics, ceremonial powders, and traditional remedies being imported from unregulated sources could act as untested carriers of lead. The agency recently found dangerous lead levels in certain spices imported from sources in Vietnam, India, and Syria. If you're still yet to witness the Northern Lights, tonight could finally be your night. The Northern Lights are set to shine across large parts of the UK tonight as a coronal mass ejection strikes Earth. People in the north of Northern Ireland and Scotland are best-placed to see tonight's stunning display, with clear skies forecast. However, if you've got a decent camera on your phone, you may be able to capture shots of the aurora further south - even if you can't see it yourself. 'Cameras help as the long exposure allows loads of light in and enhances the colours more than the human eye can see,' a Met Office spokesperson said. The natural light display, also known as aurora borealis, makes the night's sky glow a magical mix of red, green, purple and pink. It is being triggered by a coronal mass ejection a violent expulsion of charged material from the sun over 90 million miles away. Although it's not an exact science, generally the further north you are, the greater the probability of you witnessing aurora borealis. Also known as the aurora borealis, the colourful light show which turns the sky various fluorescent shades should be visible in parts of the UK. Pictured, aurora from Northumberland, October 11, 2024 Experts say the natural light show, also known as the aurora borealis, should be visible on Wednesday night due to 'enhanced solar activity'. Pictured, aurora at St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay in the early hours of Wednesday According to the Met Office, tonight's aurora stems from a coronal mass ejection (CME) a massive expulsion of plasma from the sun's corona, its outermost layer. The high-energy particles travelled from the sun towards us at hundreds of miles per second before bombarding our magnetosphere commonly known as a 'solar storm'. At this point, some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into our planet's atmosphere. There, the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere, resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky, known as auroras. The various colours on show during the natural event depends in part on what molecules the charged particles interact with. Red and green colours tend to be hallmarks of oxygen, pink and red the signs of nitrogen with blue and purple being the results of hydrogen and helium. According to the Met Office, the aurora is expected to become visible in the northern hemisphere when the CME arrives from Tuesday night. The aurora will likely continue into Wednesday, meaning if you miss it tonight you'll have another opportunity tomorrow. A Met Office animation shows tonight's auroral oval - the ring-like range of auroral activity that determines the range of the Northern Lights and where it will be most visible Aurora sightings are likely across Scotland and Northern Ireland , perhaps across northern England. Pictured is a view from Northumberland on October 11, 2024 People visit St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay to see the aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights, on May 10, 2024 in Whitley Bay Tips to see the aurora Head north - the nearer the poles you are the better - the nearer the poles you are the better Check the forecast - cloudless skies provide more visibility - cloudless skies provide more visibility Get out of town - light pollution can mask the aurora - light pollution can mask the aurora Stay up late - best times are between 11pm to 2am - best times are between 11pm to 2am Bring your smartphone - cameras can capture the aurora even when your eyes can't Advertisement 'This is likely to bring visible aurora to northern parts of the UK, and similar geomagnetic latitudes, with a chance of some limited visibility further south (e.g. with cameras),' Met Office says. The best way to see the stunning displays is to find a dark place, away from light pollution such as street lights and ideally a cloud-free sky. Some of the best aurora spots around the UK are in areas of high elevation (closer to the magnetosphere) and away from cities that pollute the sky with artificial light. Such aurora hotspots include the Lake District in Cumbria, Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, the Shetland Islands and Whitley Bay, North Tyneside. In the southern hemisphere where it's known as aurora australis the spectacle could be seen across Tasmania and New Zealand's south island also on Tuesday night and Wednesday evening after nightfall. In North America, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which also keeps an eye on 'space weather', puts those in Canada and Alaska most likely to catch a glimpse. However, in the US, people those in Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and the very northern tip of Idaho may also see it too. NOAA has rated it 'G0' (on a scale of one to five) meaning it will be will be far north and quite dim in intensity, but this will reach G3 on Wednesday night meaning 'strong' and likely visible. The various colours on show during the natural event depends in part on what molecules the charged particles interact with. Red and green colours tend to be hallmarks of oxygen, pink and red the signs of nitrogen with blue and purple being the results of hydrogen and helium. Pictured Newcastle upon Tyne, October 10, 2024 An impressive display from the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) illuminates the sky in Fairbanks, Alaska on March 27, 2025 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has rated it 'G0' (on a scale of one to five) meaning it will be will be far north, quite dim in intensity and not very active, but it will be stronger on Wednesday 'The auroras colorful green, red, and purple light shifts gently and often changes shape like softly blowing curtains,' NOAA says. Although not dangerous to humans, the particles can damage power grids on Earth and satellites in orbit, which can lead to internet disruptions. One of the most notable dangers is to power grids, according to Dr Amore Elsje, an applied geomagnetic researcher at SANSA Space Science. 'Powerful storms can induce electric currents in power lines, potentially overloading transformers and causing blackouts,' she said in a piece for The Conversation. Two severe solar storms in modern times caused extensive power cuts in Quebec, Canada, in 1989 and Malmo, Sweden, in 2003. Researchers have discovered that the percentage of Americans not wanting to have children has doubled in the past 20 years. The study, which took place at Michigan State University (MSU), found that the percentage of childless adults who do not want any children rose from 14 per cent in 2002 to 29 per cent in 2023. This new discovery confirms what Elon Musk previously deemed to be 'the greatest risk to the future of civilization' as a far more likely possibility. Warned you! Elon Musk's worst fears seem to have come true after new study finds that the percentage of Americans not wanting to have children has doubled in the past 20 years Jennifer Watling Neal, a psychology professor, said: 'During the same period, the percent of nonparents who plan to have children in the future fell from 79 per cent to 59 per cent.' The team used data from the National Survey Of Family Growth, a nationwide survey on family planning that included submissions from 80,000 adults under the age of 45. Participants who reported wanting to remain childfree were predominantly female (51 per cent) and white (72 per cent). Musk, who boasts of 'always banging the baby drum', has been warning about worldwide population collapse for years, claiming that it will be 'the biggest problem the world will face in 20 years.' The billionaire, who has 14 children with four different women, has said that low birth rates mean there will be few workers, increased debt, strained healthcare and pension systems and total social unrest. For the new study, the team uncovered six categories for adults without children: Childfree, biologically unable but wanted them, socially childless, not yet parents, ambivalent, and undecided. The findings: Participants who reported wanting to remain childfree were predominantly female (51 per cent) and white (72 per cent) Socially childless refers to individuals who do not want children due to factors such as economic hardships or social constraints. Those who reported being 'ambivalent' are open to having children but do not have a clear preference over if they do or do not. The majority of individuals in the groups live in metropolitan areas (up to 99 per cent) and are employed (up to 72 per cent). Those in the 'not yet parents' and 'undecided' groups were among the youngest, with an average age of 23 to 24, according to the study published in the Journal Of Marriage And Family. A significant portion of childfree participants identified as LGBTQ+ (36 per cent), highlighting diversity in parenthood preferences. While researchers have observed a decline in the prevalence of 'not yet parents' from 2002 to 2023, they saw a rise in 'childfree,' 'ambivalent,' and 'undecided' individuals. These shifts, according to the team, may reflect how broader societal trends are influencing the declining birth rate in the U.S.. Another issue: America has also seen a declining fertility rate in recent years However, the study did not give specific reasons for why individuals wanted to remain childfree. According to the CDC, data released last year showed a three per cent decrease in birth rates from 2022. The agency's National Center for Health Statistics said: 'This marks the second consecutive year of decline, following a brief one percent increase from 2020 to 2021. 'From 2014 to 2020, the rate consistently decreased by two percent annually.' Musk has been warning about a decline in births for years. In 2022, the billionaire tweeted: 'Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming... mark these words.' And at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last June, he said declining birth rates could lead to a potential 'mass extinction' of humanity. However, many demographers and experts have said Musk's fears may be overstated. According to recent projections, the global population is expected to continue to grow until it peaks in around the mid-2080s, reaching approximately 10.3 billion, before experiencing a gradual decline to about 10.2 billion by 2100. Joseph Chamie, a consulting demographer and a former director of the United Nations Population Division, told CNN: 'He's better off making cars and engineering than at predicting the trajectory of the population. 'Yes, some countries, their population is declining, but for the world, that's just not the case.' He added that 'virtually every developed country' has seen birth rates below two per cent, but that this is the way 'it has been for 20 or 30 years.' Ken Johnson, a professor of sociology at the University Of New Hampshire, said the rate is down in the U.S. due to a 'significant' decline in teen births. He added: 'Most demographers would see that as a good thing.' The fertility rate in the U.S. also plunged to another new low last year, with fewer women than at any point in history having children. The rate was 54.5 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years old) last year, a three per cent fall compared to 56 in 2022. The number of children born in the U.S. has also declined year-over-year, with just under 3.6 million live births in 2023. Experts have warned that the U.S. is headed for a so-called 'underpopulation crisis' by 2050. An underpopulation crisis occurs when too few people are born to support a current economic system. The drop is sparking alarm mostly because of the shrinking workforce and taxpayer pool which threatens to throw many communities into jeopardy. Social Security, which pays pensions, is already expected to run out of money in only ten years, while a key trust fund for Medicare may be completely spent by 2031. There are also warnings that the shift will force a complete reorganization of society, as the population grows older and a larger majority are unable to work. The most beautiful views in Britain have been revealed - and some hotspots are so breathtaking that many Brits can't believe they're actually in the UK. While the nation may be small in size compared to its European neighbours, it's bursting with natural beauty. From the rugged terrain and towering peaks of Scotland's Highlands, to the lush, winding valleys of Wales, to the sandy, sunlit shores of southern England, the country's landscapes are incredibly diverse. Now, a new study by GoShorty insurance broker has asked the nation to vote for the most stunning sights across Britain. Lake Windermere in the Lake District came out on top, with 42 percent of the vote, closely followed by Snowdonia in Wales with 35 percent and Loch Ness in Scotland with 29 percent. But despite their popularity, the research shows that many Brits still find it hard to believe these jaw-dropping places are right on their doorstep. In fact, when shown a photo of the vibrant lavender fields in Snowshill, Cotswolds, more than one in five people assumed it was taken in Provence, France. With 92 percent of respondents admitting they'd prefer to visit one of the UK's best views over heading abroad, it's clear Britain's beauty is not only appreciated it's in demand. Here are the top 10 most beautiful views in Britain, as voted by the public: Your browser does not support iframes. 1. Lake Windermere, Lake District Lake Windermere offers tranquil boat rides, scenic walking trails, and panoramic viewpoints like Orrest Head and Gummer's How Lake Windermere is England's largest natural lake, stretching over 10 miles. Surrounded by charming villages like Bowness-on-Windermere and dense woodlands, it offers tranquil boat rides, scenic walking trails, and panoramic viewpoints like Orrest Head and Gummer's How. It's clear its natural beauty is a favourite among walkers, photographers, and anyone seeking peace and serenity, as 42 percent of Brits vote the hotspot as the UK's most beautiful. 2. Snowdonia, Wales Snowdonia's landscape includes rugged mountains, glacial lakes, waterfalls, and quaint stone-built villages Snowdonia National Park is home to Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales at 1,085 metres. The landscape includes rugged mountains, glacial lakes, waterfalls, and quaint stone-built villages. According to 35 percent of Brits, it's a paradise for hikers and outdoor lovers, with routes for all abilities. 3. Loch Ness, Scotland Loch Ness is bordered by dramatic hills, medieval ruins like Urquhart Castle, and picturesque walking trails Stretching for 23 miles, Loch Ness is one of the deepest and largest bodies of freshwater in the UK - and arguably its most famous, thanks to the legendary Loch Ness Monster. The loch is bordered by dramatic hills, medieval ruins like Urquhart Castle, and picturesque walking trails. 4. St Michael's Mount in Mount's Bay, Cornwall The fairytale-like setting of St Michael's Mount, rising from the sea, often gets mistaken for Mont Saint-Michel in France This tidal island is crowned with a medieval castle and church, and connected to the mainland by a causeway that appears only at low tide. The fairytale-like setting, rising from the sea, often gets mistaken for Mont Saint-Michel in France. The Dales is a patchwork of green valleys, dry stone walls, ancient moors and woodlands, and limestone cliffs This national park is a patchwork of green valleys, dry stone walls, ancient moors and woodlands, and limestone cliffs. The Dales are also home to waterfalls like Aysgarth and hidden gems like Malham Cove. It's a place of wild beauty and timeless charm, according to 22 percent of Brits. 6. Durdle Door, Dorset With turquoise waters and golden sands, Durdle Door looks more like a Mediterranean beach than something found in England This iconic limestone arch has been carved naturally by the sea over thousands of years. With turquoise waters and golden sands, it looks more like a Mediterranean beach than something found in England. 7. St Ives Bay, Cornwall St Ives is home to a sweeping bay of soft, sandy beaches, turquoise water, and charming fishing villages The charming town of St Ives is home to a sweeping bay of soft, sandy beaches and turquoise water. It's also a cultural hotspot, home to the Tate St Ives and numerous artist galleries. Spanning 95 miles, this coastline is rich in geological wonders, sea cliffs, and fossil-strewn beaches Spanning 95 miles, The Jurassic Coast is rich in geological wonders, soaring cliffs and fossil-strewn beaches. Spots like Lulworth Cove and Old Harry Rocks are particularly photogenic and unique to the region. 9. The Three Sisters in Glencoe Valley, Scotland These three steeply-sided ridges on the Bidean nam Bian mountain are known for their dramatic and scenic views One of the most prominent landmarks in the Scottish Highlands, these three steeply-sided ridges on the Bidean nam Bian mountain are known for their dramatic and scenic views. The road-facing peaks of Aonach Dubh, Beinn Fhada and Gearr Aonach are together known as the Three Sisters of Glencoe. 10. Cheddar Gorge, Somerset Britain's largest gorge features towering limestone cliffs that plunge dramatically into a narrow valley Britain's largest gorge features towering limestone cliffs that plunge dramatically into a narrow valley. With winding cliff-top walks, caves full of ancient secrets, and striking views, it's a geological gem - and it's also home to a quintessentially British staple: Cheddar cheese. READ MORE: The cheapest and most expensive cities for expats revealed Nicky Kelvin headed to Seoul in South Korea to try the unusual procedure From bee stings to 24-carat gold creations, unusual facials are becoming more and more popular. And one of the world's quirkier new anti-aging concoctions is the salmon sperm facial. Kim Kardashian has had the fishy treatment while Jennifer Aniston has also admitted to trying the procedure. Polynucleotide (salmon sperm) injections, typically use purified and sterilised DNA molecules extracted from salmon sperm. But what's the process actually like? Travel expert at The Points Guy, Nicky Kelvin, headed to South Korea to try out the unusual facial and reveals exactly how it went in a video shared to Instagram (@nickykelvin). Filming himself before the facial, Nicky reveals: 'I'm 38 and I've never done anything to my face.' The travel expert explains that he went to Seoul, South Korea's capital, as it's 'the best place in the world for skincare'. Travel expert Nicky Kelvin headed to Seoul to try the salmon sperm facial. He got 700 injections over the course of his procedure In the caption of the video, he shares that he was 'actually quite nervous' before the procedure. Nicky chooses to visit Cheongdam La Belle Clinic for his salmon sperm facial and starts the process with a consultation from Dr Ethan Hwang. The travel expert first has an Oxypod hydrating treatment - facial designed to deeply hydrate and replenish the skin - before getting a thick face mask applied. After the face mask, numbing cream is applied all over Nicky's face. The travel expert explains that the cream 'took some time to take effect'. Once the numbing cream has taken effect, Nicky is taken into the doctor's room for the salmon sperm facial. He says: 'We disinfected my face ahead of starting the injections.' The travel expert then films himself getting the 'famous salmon sperm injections'. Nicky has 700 injections all over his face. Nicky videos the results of his facial a week late and describes his skin as 'definitely fresher, brighter and not bad for an old man' He explains that the product is designed to 'stimulate collagen and elastin production, improve hydration and rejuvenate the skin'. Nicky admits that the treatment was 'painful in places' but says that the pain wasn't 'unbearable' and adds that his face was looking 'kind of bumpy' right after the treatment. He then gets a face mask and an LED light treatment to finish his procedure. Nicky then videos the results of his facial a week later and describes his face as 'definitely fresher, brighter and not bad for an old man'. With summer on the horizon and millions of Brits set to head abroad, a new study has revealed which European beaches offer sun, sea - and space for a prime spot on the sand. While iconic destinations like Ibiza, the Algarve, and Barcelona continue to attact huge crowds, new research from Wizz Air highlights a growing divide between Europe's packed tourist hotspots and its quieter coastal gems. By analysing over 50 European countries, and calculating the average number of daily visitors and how much towel space each person typically gets, the study ranked the most and least crowded beaches across the continent. Andras Rado, Head of Communications, said 'While most of us are familiar with Europe's iconic beach destinations like Ibiza, Tenerife, or the Algarve, there are countless coastal gems that often go unnoticed by travellers. 'From a secluded, pristine cove in Croatia to a hidden sandy stretch in Albania, there are plenty of lesser-known beach spots where you can unwind, away from the bustling crowds.' So, whether you're in search of serenity or preparing to brave the bustle, here's where to head - and where to avoid - for your next beach getaway. The top 5 least overcrowded beaches in Europe Beach of Durres, Durres, Albania Towel space: 64.5 The Beach of Durres in the historic city of Durres in Albania, is the least overcrowded beach out of all beaches researched The study places the Beach of Durres in the historic city of Durres in Albania, as the least overcrowded beach out of all beaches researched. Despite being one of the most popular beaches in Albania, it still provides a laid-back charm. Wizz Air's calculations reveal that each visitor has ample space, with room for just under 65 beach towels per person, making it the perfect spot for families and sunbathers alike. Albania is quickly becoming a top destination for travellers in 2024 as more people uncover this hidden gem. Boasting pristine, natural landscapes and budget-friendly prices, it's the ideal choice for adventurers looking for something unique and off the beaten path. Camber Sands, East Sussex, England Towel space: 61.1 Known for its expansive sandy beach that extends nearly five miles along the English Channel, Camber Sands offers plenty of room to spread out Next on the list at in second place is Camber Sands, situated in East Sussex, England. Known for its expansive sandy beach that extends nearly five miles along the English Channel, Camber Sands offers plenty of room to spread out, with space for as many as 61 beach towels per person. Camber Sands has grown increasingly popular with both locals and tourists, especially those from London looking for a quick escape from the city, thanks in part to its exposure and popularity on TikTok. Zlatni Rat Beach (Golden Horn), Bol/Brac, Croatia Towel space: 54.1 Located in Bol on the island of Brac, Croatia, this iconic beach is renowned for its distinctive, horn-shaped spit of golden pebbles that extends into the turquoise Adriatic sea Taking third place is Zlatni Rat Beach in Croatia, commonly known as the Golden Horn. Located in Bol on the island of Brac, this iconic beach is renowned for its distinctive, horn-shaped spit of golden pebbles that extends into the turquoise Adriatic sea. Although it's a popular tourist destination, attracting visitors from around the world, its considerable size and expansive shoreline help maintain a sense of space, making it feel less crowded compared to smaller, busier beaches in Croatia. Borsh Beach, Borsh, Albania Towel space: 43.0 Borsh Beach, one of the Albania's longest and most picturesque beaches with calculations showing there to be enough room for 43 beach towels per person In fourth place is another gem from Albania: Borsh Beach, one of the country's longest and most picturesque beaches with calculations showing there to be enough room for 43 beach towels per person. Surrounded by green hills and olive groves, its size and relative anonymity mean fewer tourists and more room to sprawl. It's rustic, raw, and ideal for travellers chasing quiet over cocktails Plage de Pampelonne, Ramatuelle, France Towel space: 33.8 Pampelonne Beach offers surprising space for sun worshipper, perfect for those seeking a blend of luxury and leisure without the bustle Plage de Pampelonne, Ramatuelle, on the French Riviera came in fifth place offering enough room for just under 34 beach towels per person. Despite its fame and the nearby buzz of Saint-Tropez, Pampelonne Beach offers surprising space for sun worshipper, perfect for those seeking a blend of luxury and leisure without the bustle. Your browser does not support iframes. The top five most crowded beaches in Europe Playa Sa Caleta, Ibiza, Spain Towel space: 0.5 Its dramatic cliffs and red sands might look aesthetically pleasing in an Instagram post - but prepare to get up close and personal with your beach neighbours at Playa Sa Caleta With just half a towels worth of space per person, Playa Sa Caleta in Ibiza tops the most crowded list. Its dramatic cliffs and red sands might look aesthetically pleasing in an Instagram post - but prepare to get up close and personal with your beach neighbours. Cala Macarella, Menorca, Spain Towel space: 0.6 In second place is Cala Macarella - but this postcard-perfect cove in Menorca is far from a hidden gem. In second place is Cala Macarella - and this postcard-perfect cove in Menorca is far from a hidden gem. Its turquoise waters and pine-lined cliffs draw in large crowds of tourists - and with less than one towel per person, you'll soon understand why it's one of the most popular beaches on the Spanish island. Barceloneta Beach, Barcelona, Spain Towel space: 0.7 Between volleyball matches and beachfront bars, it's a non-stop buzz from sunrise to sunset at Barceloneta A city beach as bustling as the city itself, Barceloneta is beloved by tourists and locals alike - but dont expect personal space here. Between volleyball matches and beachfront bars, it's a non-stop buzz from sunrise to sunset. Melliea Bay, Mellieha, Malta Towel space: 0.9 Malta's largest sandy beach makes for a perfect family day out - but be prepared to have little space to spread out Malta's largest sandy beach makes for a perfect family day out - with calm waters and shallow waves - but be warned, it's an almost-guarantee you'll be sharing the sand. Cala Goloritze, Sardinia, Italy Towel space: 1.2 Famous for its limestone cliffs and snorkeling spots, Cala Goloritze's limited size means it fills up quickly This secluded beach in Sardinia is reachable only by boat or a challenging hike - but even that doesn't stop the crowds. Famous for its limestone cliffs and snorkeling spots, its limited size means it fills up quickly. Some of the globe's most famous attractions have found themselves on the list A new ranking has revealed the world's biggest tourist letdowns. And some of the globe's most famous attractions have found themselves on the list. The research, carried out by experts at CasiMonka, used AI to analyse Reddit posts, Tripadvisor reviews and Google Reviews to see which attractions received the most negative feedback. Top of the list is Times Square in New York which has 1,151 one-star Tripadvisor reviews and 934 negative comments on Reddit. The famous square is known for its huge billboards and street entertainers but unfortunately it seems that not everyone is having the time of their life there. In a one-star review on Tripadvisor, 'elf fine' wrote: 'It's the worst part of all things touristy in New York. If you must go, then just get your selfie and get out.' Second on the list is the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which had 49 negative comments on Reddit and 1,180 one-star reviews on Tripadvisor. The star-studded pavement has tributes to a huge range of celebrities from Fred Astaire to Lady Gaga. But it's failed to impress many tourists with one describing it on Tripadvisor as a 'complete disappointment'. The visitor added: 'It is an absolutely filthy place, unloved and uncared for by the authorities.' A new ranking has revealed the world's biggest tourist letdowns. Top of the list is Times Square in New York which has 1,151 one-star Tripadvisor reviews and 934 negative comments on Reddit Second on the list is the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which had 49 negative comments on Reddit and 1,180 one-star reviews on Tripadvisor Third on the ranking and topping the list in Europe is Stonehenge which has 342 negative references on Reddit and 577 one-star Tripadvisor reviews. The ancient Neolithic monument is an UNESCO World Heritage site and attracts more than a million visitors a year. However, it hasn't impressed everyone with one tourist writing on Tripadvisor that the attraction is 'grossly overpriced'. Other negative comments described the attraction as 'expensive' and 'touristy'. The Dead Sea in Jordan and Israel ranks as the fourth most disappointing tourist attraction in the world with 234 negative comments on Reddit and 20 one-star Tripadvisor reviews. Negative reviews primarily describe the salty attraction as 'expensive'. Brazil's Christ the Redeemer statue rounds off the top five most disappointing tourist attractions. The 98 feet/30m tall statue stands at the top of the Corcovado Mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. But some tourists were left disappointed by the attraction with many describing it as 'touristy'. It picks up 52 negative comments on Reddit and earns 373 one-star Tripadvisor reviews. Third on the ranking and topping the list in Europe is Stonehenge which has 342 negative references on Reddit and 577 one-star Tripadvisor reviews The Dead Sea in Jordan and Israel ranks as the fourth most disappointing tourist attraction in the world THE WORLD'S MOST DISAPPOINTING TOURIST ATTRACTIONS 1. Times Square, USA 2. Hollywood Walk of Fame, USA 3. Stonehenge, UK 4. Dead Sea, Jordan and Israel 5. Christ the Redeemer, Brazil 6. Manneken Pis, Belgium 7. Copacabana Beach, Brazil 8. Colosseum, Italy 9. Four Corners Monument, USA 10. Loch Ness, Scotland Source: CasiMonka Advertisement Other attractions to rank as disappointing include Manneken Pis in Belgium and Copacabana Beach in Brazil. Mannekin Pis is a 55.5cm/21 inch high bronze statue of a small boy weeing into a fountain. More than 1,000 tourists left a negative review of the quirky Brussels attraction. Copacabana Beach has 373 one-star Tripadvisor reviews with one tourist describing it as the 'dirtiest beach' they'd ever been to. The last three attractions to rank among the bottom 10 are Italy's Colosseum, the Four Corners Monument in the USA and Loch Ness in Scotland. Tourists could get in trouble if they break alcohol rules in top Spanish resorts Tourists have been warned of strict drinking rules which are in place in several top holiday destinations in Spain. While many tourists travel to resorts such as Magaluf, Palma and Sant Antoni to party, the rules could put a dampener on their plans. Under rules introduced in 2024, tourists are blocked from buying alcohol between the hours of 9:30pm to 8am in the resorts. The strict rules are in place in Llucmajor, Palma, Calvia in Magaluf and Sant Antoni in Ibiza. And now an insurance company has issued a warning to holidaymakers. One Sure Insurance said: 'With mass tourism a growing issue across Spain, the government has made it clear that they are committed to enforcing fines for those engaging in disruptive or inappropriate behaviour. 'Laws such as the public drinking ban, as well as restrictions on things like party boat trips, pub crawls and alcohol sales after hours, are not temporary measures, but long-term regulations in place until at least 2027.' The drinks curfew is one of many strict rules designed to curb overindulgence in the resorts. Tourists have been warned of strict drinking rules which are in place in several top holiday destinations (such as Magaluf, pictured above) in Spain Under rules introduced in 2024, tourists are blocked from buying alcohol between the hours of 9:30pm to 8am in the resorts Tourists are banned from drinking alcohol in public in designated areas of the resorts and will face fines if caught disobeying the rules. All-inclusive hotels in some areas of the Balearic islands are banned from serving guests more than six alcoholic drinks per day. Guests should check the rules at their hotel before booking their accommodation. And the Balearic islands aren't the only holiday destination where tourists might need to check the fine print. In Italy, tourists have been banned from wearing flip-flops on a popular tourist walking trail. A solo traveller is opening up about the 'ugly parts' of exploring the world alone after a recent experience in Milan left her feeling uneasy. Fiona, from New York, U.S., regularly shares videos of her global adventures on social media - from spa days in Budapest to snowy scenes in Alaska and foodie finds in Mexico. But a recent vlog she posted to her TikTok account, @findingfiona, which saw her document her journey from Milan to Budapest, has sparked a conversation about following one's instincts as a female travelling alone in an unfamiliar place. The video, which has amassed over a million views since its upload in March, shows Fiona getting ready to leave her hotel in Milan at 4am to catch a flight. Concerned about catching public transport alone that early, she asked the hotel receptionist if it was safe to walk to Milan Central Station. His response was a clear shake of the head, before promptly offering to call the her a taxi instead. Fiona, now in the back of an Uber ride, shared, 'I'm in the taxi, it's pouring with rain,' before she arrived safely at the bus station. She later added how she's 'thankful to that man and to the universe' as the bus actually left ten minutes early - meaning if she had walked, she might've missed it altogether. Fiona made it safely to Budapest, where she continued to vlog her journey to her hotel and some well-earned downtime at an outdoor pool. But it was her transparency about feeling unsafe in Milan that caught people's attention in the comments. Responding to a viewer's question about safety during her stay in the Italian tourist hotspot, she said: 'There were a lot of men loitering around the corners and it just felt weird walking past them, I did it when I landed and I had to speed walk.' Her experience hit home with over 800 female travellers, who flooded the comments with support and similar stories. One person wrote: 'Therapy and PTSD cost way more than a 12 euro car ride. Throw money at safety.' Another said, 'Im glad they called a taxi for you. Milan is definitely not safe, let alone at night/early morning,' as a third added, 'I will ALWAYS save extra $ for uber/taxi. Thats the one thing I dont chance.' One viewer, who claimed to be an Italian citizen, wrote: 'As an Italian, taking the taxi was definitely the best decision ever. Milan became so dangerous lately. It's hell for women.' Another former visitor said: 'When I went to Milan last year our tour guide told us not to walk around at night, so completely understandable he told you to take a cab.' One daring tourist added: 'Haha years ago solo traveled Europe by myself but was low on cash when I got to Italy so I walked to the train station in Milan at 5am.' Another, who had visited Pisa, wrote: 'I paid 20 for a 5-minute taxi ride to Pisa airport at like 5am so I wouldn't have to walk through quiet, empty roads alone. solo tax + pink tax!' Meanwhile, another female solo traveller has named the country that she believes is the most sexist to visit. The account named Claujoor travels the world and posts videos on TikTok from the various countries she visits. Now she has warned women about travelling to Morocco, after she found herself receiving constant cat calls from men in the street. Airports are notoriously expensive but this one may be the dearest in the world, selling beer for 17.50 (15), Big Macs for 21.50 (18.50), and even bananas at 6 (5) a pop. Visited by 220,000 passengers every day, Istanbul Airport has been dubbed the most expensive airport in the world by travellers whove been spotting outrageous prices on food and drink. A writer from Italian news website LEconomia, Leonard Berberi revealed when he visited the Turkey airport he saw a lasagne weighing just 90 grams sitting in a fridge, being sold for a whopping 24.50 (21). He added: It looks more like a piece of brick with a sprinkling of what looks like grated cheese and a pseudo-basil leaf. The tourist also found some savoury croissants being sold for 14.50 (12.50) to 17.50 depending on the filling, Italian chicken salads for 17.50, and beer was extortionate. While hed enjoyed a half-litre bottle of Efes, Turkeys most popular beer, for 1.50 (1.28) in Taksim Square the previous day, Leonard was now being forced to cough up 17.50 in the airport an increase of 1,067 per cent. Leonard also ventured around the airports many fast food joints and things werent much better. At Popeyes, four fried chicken wings with Coca-Cola and French fries cost 17.50. At McDonald's, a Big Mac cost 21.50, while the Double Quarter Pounder menu was 25.30 (21.65). Visited by 220,000 passengers every day, Istanbul Airport has been dubbed the most expensive airport in the world by travellers whove been spotting outrageous prices on food and drink A writer from Italian news website LEconomia , Leonard Berberi revealed when he visited the Turkey airport he saw beer for 17.50 (15), Big Macs for 21.50 (18.50), and even bananas at 6 (5) a pop Meanwile, Burger King was charging 22 (19) for a Whopper. Leonard isnt the only holidaymaker to have noted Istanbul Airports outrageous prices. On Reddit, many travellers have complained about how expensive it is, with one even claiming they paid 6 for a banana. Unluckily for the airport, it was also revealed to be one of the worlds most likely airports for passengers to have their luggage go missing earlier today. Travellers have shared the holiday memories that they'd definitely rather forget Holidays are meant to be unforgettable. But sadly, some tourists leave their trip abroad with memories they'd rather not remember. Travellers have taken to Reddit to share the activities they regret doing on holiday, after one user kicked off discussion by sharing their terrible experience. They say: 'When I was in Bali, I visited the Monkey Temple. It was one of the most highly recommended activities for tourists there. 'I somehow ended up agreeing to include it in my itinerary, even though I'm deathly afraid of monkeys and their tendency to get aggressive. I was anxious the whole time, worrying they might jump on or attack me.' And many of the worst experiences unfortunately involved bad encounters with animals. 'Adorable_Misfit' writes: 'About 20 years ago, I visited the Tiger Temple in Kanhanaburi, Thailand. I regretted going almost immediately. 'Got there and the tigers were very obviously drugged. I know the temple denied any accusations of drugging the animals, but the way those tigers slept through being manhandled and posed for pictures was not natural.' Tourists have taken to Reddit to share the experiences they regret doing. One tourist wishes they hadn't visited Bali's monkey temple (stock photo) Elephant riding was a common regret on the thread. Pictured above is a stock photo of elephant riding in Thailand Another tourist says they will 'regret' their elephant riding experience in India 'until they die'. They explain: 'I was told it was a must-do by my fellow travellers. I looked that elephant in his eye and have never felt more guilty.' And 'Pizzarina_'s' elephant riding trip in Thailand also left them with plenty of regrets. They say: 'It did not seem like they treated them well and the elephants had to be coaxed to walk. I never did animal tourism again.' Meanwhile in Japan, one tourist's visit to a capybara - the world's largest rodent' - cafe left them upset. 'It was the saddest thing,' says 'SeitanicVoyager. 'The poor capybara was completely disinterested in the horde of humans and cats surrounding it. It is never taken out of the small cafe and never will be for its entire life.' But not everyone's bad experience involved an animal. One traveller regrets visiting New York's Times Square to see the ball drop on New Year's Eve, explaining they could 'barely move' due to the crowds. They say: 'Had to get there at noon to get a good spot and just stood there all day. After a few hours you can barely move, let alone go to the bathroom or get food.' 'Saltaro' reveals that they paid 90/76 for a 25 minute ride on gondola that wasn't 'relaxing at all' due to the 'traffic' on the canals And gondolas might be an iconic Venetian experience but one traveller suggests leaving them off your bucket list. 'Saltaro' reveals that they paid 90/76 for a 25 minute ride on gondola that wasn't 'relaxing at all' due to the 'traffic' on the canals. Another tourist even goes so far as to say they regret their whole holiday experience. 'Rusty5th' explains: 'My ex always wanted to go [on a cruise] but I was reluctant. The boat was nice, food and drinks were great. Still felt like I was trapped in a mall for a week.' And they're not alone. Another user adds: 'My ex talked me into going on one and I could not get over how they were constantly trying to sell us stuff the whole trip - jewellery, art, perfume, more cruises, other vacations, etc.' Lanzarote was hit by heavy storms over the weekend, as resorts and roads were submerged by floods. Some hotels were left without power and services across the island were affected as a state of emergency was declared following the torrential rainfall, which one British tourist described as feeling like 'Armageddon'. And now Tui has cancelled a small number of holidays to the Spanish destination ahead of the Easter bank holiday. A Tui spokesperson said: Due to the lack of alternative accommodation on the island during the busy Easter period, we unfortunately had to cancel a small number of holidays to Lanzarote. Customers were able to receive a full-refund or amend to another Tui holiday with a re-booking incentive. As always, the safety of our customers and colleagues is our main priority, therefore Tui resort teams are working with the local authorities to find customers currently in impacted hotels alternative accommodation or return flights back to the UK. Jet2holidays has also warned some hotels in Lanzarote have closed. A Jet2holidays spokesperson said: Due to the severe weather conditions that have affected parts of Lanzarote, a small number of hotels have contacted us to let us know that they are temporarily unable to accept arrivals due to the impact of the adverse conditions. The torrential rain in Lanzarote, left by an enormous storm on Saturday afternoon, forced local officials to call a state of emergency which was in place until 7am local time Sunday morning The pool in the Hotel Beatriz Costa and Spa in Teguise, Las Palmas, was left completely overflown by the floods In one clip, taken by a tourist staying at the four-star hotel, grey skies were seen looming over nearby mountains as the rain lashed down onto deckchairs As always, we have been making decisions with the best interests of our customers in mind, and we have contacted affected customers to let them know their options. Our flights programme is continuing to operate as normal. At the weekend, shocking footage emerged from tourists across Lanzarote showing brown muddy waters sweeping through the streets, leaving vehicles and properties unreachable. Citizens and holidaymakers were forced to wade through the streets which became deep, fast-flowing rivers, while others took shelter on balconies and higher land. Theme parks across the world offer everything from white-knuckle rides and immersive attractions to live shows, shopping, restaurants and even onsite hotels. And, for this reason, theyre becoming more and more popular for families. In fact, 24 per cent of families now opt for theme parks when it comes to their holidays, according to American Holidays Family Fun Report. But the cost of these resorts can easily add up, especially when youre paying entry fee for multiple children and adults and often for various parks. To help families keep the costs down at theme parks, experts at American Holidays have revealed their top tips for getting the best out of the fun-filled destinations Time your visit right To save money and avoid long queues, its best to visit theme parks during off-peak timestypically outside of school holidays, such as in May, early June, or September. These quieter periods usually mean shorter waits for popular rides, better availability for shows and restaurants, and often discounted ticket prices or special offers on park entry and accommodation. To help families keep the costs down at theme parks, experts at American Holidays have revealed their top tips for getting the best out of the fun-filled destinations. Pictured is Jurassic World: The Ride, at Universal Studios Hollywood To save money and avoid long queues, its best to visit theme parks during off-peak timestypically outside of school holidays, such as in May, early June, or September. Pictured is Space Mountain at Disney's Magic Kingdom, in Florida Its wise to steer clear of bank holiday weekends, the height of summer, and school breaks, when parks tend to be at their busiest. If you are visiting during peak times, try arriving early and staying later in the dayqueues tend to be shorter first thing in the morning and later in the evening. Some parks also offer perks for on-site hotel guests, such as early entry or queue-jump options, which can help you make the most of your day. Bring your own snacks Food and drink costs inside theme parks can quickly add up, especially for families. One of the easiest ways to save money is to bring your own snacks and a refillable water bottle. Most UK theme parks allow guests to bring in food, though its always worth checking their guidelines beforehand. Packing items like cereal bars, fruit, sandwiches, or crisps can keep everyone going throughout the day without the need to queue or spend extra at food outlets. Experts recommend bringing your own food and drink to theme parks. Pictured is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, found at Disneyland California and Disneyland Paris, France Many parks now have water fountains or bottle refill stations available, making it easy to stay hydrated without constantly buying bottled drinks. If you're staying nearby, its also a good idea to stock up on essentials at a local supermarketmany are just a short drive or taxi ride away from major park locations. Look at packages Booking your tickets in advance is a smart way to save money and skip the queues at the entrance. Many parks offer discounted rates for early bookings or online-only deals, which can make a real differenceespecially for families. If you're planning a longer break, multi-day ticket bundles often offer better value than buying day passes separately, and some even include extras like free parking or fast-track access. For bigger trips that include multiple attractions - such as pairing a theme park visit with a nearby zoo, safari park, or science centre - its worth looking into combination tickets or attraction passes, which can help you make the most of your time and budget. Plan ahead To avoid queues for rides like Alton Towers' Nemesis (pictured), the experts recommend planning ahead and looking at the theme parks' apps Big theme parks can be overwhelmingsome are even the size of small townsso getting familiar with the layout before you go can save you lots of time on the day. Most parks have interactive maps on their official apps or websites, so its worth spending a bit of time planning your route and pinpointing the locations of your must-do rides, food spots, toilets, and rest areas. Watching YouTube videos, reading blogs, or checking out reviews can also give you a good sense of what to expect, especially when it comes to knowing which queue-skipping systems or ride reservation tools its worth spending money on. A little prep goes a long way in helping you make the most of your visit without constantly checking your phone or wandering in circles. A contestant on The Chase broke down in tears after an unlikely win, but viewers were left divided over her plans for the prize fund. Monday's instalment of the ITV quiz show hosted by Bradley Walsh, 64, saw four players, Ali, Fiona, Emma and Nick, attempt to take on Chaser Darragh Ennis, known as The Menace. Emma, a university student from Nottingham, managed to secure 2,000 in the cash builder round and went for the lower 1,000 offer when it was her turn to face Darragh. The 19-year-old was successful and brought 1,000 back to the team and took her place in the final chase. She went on to play a huge role in securing the team's prize fund and managed to answer several questions, bringing them to victory against Darragh. Emma was visibly emotional after the win and cried as Bradley asked her what she would do with her share of the prize fund, which came to 4,500 each. Monday's instalment of the ITV quiz show hosted by Bradley Walsh , 64, saw four players Ali, Fiona, Emma and Nick, attempt to take on Chaser Darragh Ennis, known as The Menace Emma, pictured, went on to play a huge role in securing the team's prize fund and managed to answer several questions, bringing them to victory against Darragh Emma was visibly emotional after the win and cried as Bradley, pictured, asked her what she would do with her share of the prize fund which came to 4,500 each Wiping tears away, Emma replied: 'Sorry, going to see my cousins in Australia who I've never met.' 'And what are their names?' Bradley asked. Emma said: 'Harry and Annabel.' The host replied: 'Well let me tell you, you've done a fantastic job congratulations to you darling, I'm thrilled for you, I really am. Enjoy your trip.' Many viewers took to social media to praise the student and one penned on X: '#thechase omg emma was the worst player and then suddenly the best player! so glad she won and bless her for crying. well done all.' 'Never count anyone out BECAUSE Emma with her low 1000 contribution to the 18k prize pot, is the one that made the difference with her answers in the final chase!!! Go Emma Congratulations to a brilliant team.' 'Excellent effort and well played team. Enjoy the 4.5K each. You deserve the money X.' 'Aww bless Emma #thechase.' Many viewers took to social media to praise the student and team, while others commented on the players' plans to spend their prize money 'Well Darragh mucked that up well and truly! Well done team! #TheChase And bless Emma for getting tearful.' '#TheChase Awwww Emma. Well done sweetie.' However, some were confused by the contestants' plans to spend their prize money and one wrote: 'People on #TheChase have absolutely no concept of money. What you going to do if you win Take the family to Australia and buy a Range Rover *wins 3k*.' The Chase airs weekdays on ITV1 at 5pm and is available to stream on ITVX. Advertisement Janet Street Porter has admitted the backlash around Aimee Lou Wood's Saturday Night Live impression has 'really hit home' as she ripped into her White Lotus co-star Walton Goggins on Tuesday's episode of Loose Women. The sketch comedy has come under scrutiny after a recent 'mean' sketch that mocked the Sex Education star's teeth. Actress and comedian Sarah Sherman wore huge prosthetic teeth while parodying Aimee in a White Lotus sketch for the American show. It has got a lot of people talking, including the Loose Women ladies, and Janet opened up about how she feels about it all after being mocked by Kenny Everett and Spitting Image. Janet said: 'Looking at that sketch, I can see exactly why Amiee Lou loathed it. The way it probably, the same reason why I got so upset when Kenny Everett and Panelsa Stevenosn impersonated me. 'I took part in that sketch at the time, in early 70s, because I wanted to be thought a good sport, I thought it was bad for my career if I didn't take part in it. Janet Street Porter compares herself to Aimee Lou Wood amid cruel mocking of her teeth - admitting backlash 'really hits home' as she rips into her White Lotus co-star Walton Goggins The sketch comedy has come under scrutiny after a recent 'mean' sketch that mocked the Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood's teeth. Actress and comedian Sarah Sherman wore huge prosthetic teeth while parodying Aimee in a White Lotus sketch for the American show 'I thought everybody would say "She's an opinionated journalist, she dishes it out, but she can't take it." 'But I felt the sketch about me was just about my accent and teeth and my glasses, and it kind of reinforced the idea I was a bit thick. 'I think that's the reason, because Aimee Lou, if you look at that sketch, she's stupid in it. That's what really hit home. 'If you've watched White Lotus, I'm not a big fan of the show, I've watched her in it, I've watched a couple of episodes, she's the star of the show, she's very engaging and the bloke who plays her love interest or whatever, is like a big hole of nothing-ness on the screen. 'He apparently loved the sketch with mocking Aimee Lou... well he would wouldn't he? Because he's got his moment of stardom. 'So what I think about her sketch, I understand why she's upset, but she's different to me, she's spoken out. I didn't say anything. 'At the time I moaned to my partner, I moaned to my friend, I felt really, really upset and then when Spitting Image did the puppets of me, again, I didn't really moan about it.' Aimee Lou Wood and Walton Goggins on White Lotus They then showed a picture of the puppet to viewers, and Janet revealed that it didn't upset her as much because she thought that Spitting Image was show 'written by clever people'. But she thought that Kenny Everett's script was 'rubbish'. Peter Fluck, co-creator of Spitting Image later admitted that Janet's puppet went 'too far' and 'it wasn't funny' - which Janet agreed with. In the Saturday Night Live sketch, named The White Potus, it imagined the Trump family and various political figures on holiday at the famous retreat. Walton Goggins' character Rick was reimagined as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who was seen on a rambling rant debating they take 'all the fluoride out of the water'. The camera then cut to Aimee's character Chelsea - played by Sarah - with exaggerated buck teeth, who exclaimed: 'Fluoride? What's that?' In response to being mocked on the show, Aimee took to her Instagram Story to slam SNL and address rumors about HBO. 'Whilst in honest mode - I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,' she told her followers. Earlier, she clarified that 'nobody at HBO called her ugly.' 'That was my own paranoid thought' she explained, referring to a recent interview, which she says was misconstrued. The star continued: 'Nobody at HBO would say that. My point in the article was about how our mind plays tricks on us. Please read carefully before getting angry for me.' 'So to conclude today's rant: @hbo - kind and supportive and never wronged me so leave them alone. @nbcsnl - mean.' But on Sunday her co-star Walton Goggins, 53 - who plays Rick Hatchett in the show, shared a since-deleted post to his Instagram Stories praising the skit. He raved that the sketch was a 'SMASHING' success, and he included a message for Jon Hamm, who appeared in the sketch as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 'Jon I knew I was miscast,' he wrote to the Mad Men star, who imbued the vaccine-skeptic politician with some of his White Lotus character Rick's personality. He went so far as to also comment 'Hahahahahhahaha Amazzzingggg' on the official SNL Instagram account, according to Page Six. Yesterday it was reporter that Saturday Night Live have reportedly issued an apology to Aimee. And the likes of British A-listers Cara Delevingne, Jameela Jamil and Georgia May Jagger have rushed to defend the star. A beloved TV star has returned to Have I Got News For You for the first time in 10 years in an epic hosting comeback. The prime-time BBC comedy show sees celebrities answer questions on news stories from the week, with discussions fuelled by satirical humour. Ian Hislop, 64, and Paul Merton, 67, captain a team each and a different guest hosts each episode. It has now been revealed that Sue Perkins will host the show for episode five on Friday, May 2. The broadcaster appeared on Have I Got News For You for the first time back in 2015 and this will mark her first time returning. American comedian Michelle Wolf, 39, and political sketch writer Tom Peck will feature as guest panellists. A TV star has returned to Have I Got News For You for the first time in 10 years. Ian Hislop and Paul Merton (pictured) captain a team each and a different guest hosts each episode It has now been revealed that Sue Perkins (pictured) will host the show for episode five on Friday, May 2. She last hosted the programme in 2015 Have I Got News For You has aired 610 episodes over 68 series. It was presented by Angus Deayton between 1990 and 2002 and a number of guest presenters have filled the role ever since. Team captain Ian previously revealed the 'best and worst guest' to ever grace hit the BBC show. Over the past 35 years there have been numerous famous faces on the panel. And the journalist didn't hold back when he opened up about who his favourite and least favourite person to appear on the programme was. Speaking to the Independent at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards earlier this week, Ian said: 'My favourite guest was William Shatner, Captain Kirk from Star Trek. 'He had no idea who we were. He didn't know any of the news stories and was incredibly funny, and he actually sang.' Ian added: 'He'd just released an album, so I think he was probably both the best and the worst guest ever.' William famously guest-hosted the iconic show back in 2012, and while he left many viewers in hysterics with his quips, one comment accidentally irked residents of an English town. The veteran actor made a controversial claim about the seaside town of Ilfracombe in Devon. After initially mispronouncing the name of the town, fellow panelist Charlie Brooker joked that William made it sound 'deeply sexual'. American comedian Michelle Wolf (left) and political sketch writer Tom Peck (right) will feature as guest panellists William hit back: 'The place is laced with prostitution,' leading then town's then-Mayor Paul Crabb to pen a letter to the actor's representatives. In it he invited William to visit Ilfracombe and see for himself that his remarks were completely unfounded. He wrote: 'As Captain James T Kirk, Mr Shatner has been to places where no man has gone before. However, the episode of Have I Got News for You clearly shows he has never been to Ilfracombe. 'If he came, we could show him that there is no prostitution in Ilfracombe and that it is a lovely coastal town with spectacular scenery and a close community.' Have I Got News For You is produced by Hat Trick Productions and is filmed at Riverside Studios. It was originally released on BBC Two, where it aired until 2000, before moving over to BBC One. Have I Got News For You is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. In the world of celebrity and influencer brand deals, a Priceline Pharmacy ambassadorship was long considered the gold standard. Not only is the chemist chain a brand name trusted by millions, but it also paid very well - just ask the likes of Chrissie Swan, Olivia Molly Rogers and Tanya Hennessy. But beauty and pharmaceutical industry insiders tell us those halcyon days are over. 'The golden goose has laid its last egg' was how one figure put it. We received a string of tip-offs about the lucrative contracts not being renewed and soon discovered the retailer had quietly dropped its ambassador program in October last year when the brand underwent a 'refresh and rejuvenation'. One part of the rebrand was a 'new visual identity', spearheaded by design agency Houston Group, which saw the logo modernised into a heart and cross while also maintaining long-established elements of the old brand, namely the colour pink. The halcyon days of big-money Priceline ambassadorships are over with the pharmacy chain dropping all its celebrity spruikers, including long-time partner Chrissie Swan (pictured at the opening of a new Priceline Pharmacy in Melbourne on May 17, 2022) But the changes weren't just cosmetic. We are told the pharmacy business has undergone a complete change of strategy under new owners Wesfarmers, which bought Priceline from its old parent company Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (API) in March 2022. One component of that strategy is discontinuing the ambassador program, which for years had seen the likes of Swan, Rogers and Hennessy splashed across Priceline stores while promoting the brand's products across social media. Swan had a particularly sweet deal with the chemist, said to be in the high six figures ('perhaps even more') and which included her Nova radio show, which she co-hosts with Jack Charles, being pumped through Priceline stores. (Nova still provides in-store audio for Priceline, but it no longer features Swan.) Hennessy, a comedian and former star of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, was also a long-serving ambassador, clocking up five years. Her partnership with Priceline's cosmetics brand Models Prefer was particularly popular. A source from Swan's camp tells us there were 'no hard feelings' when the ambassadorship came to a natural end last year when her five-year deal expired. We received tip-offs about the contracts not being renewed and discovered the retailer had quietly dropped its ambassador program in October last year. Olivia Molly Rogers' (pictured) contract with Priceline ended in 2023, a year before the cull, were were told We had a similar response from Tanya's people who stressed the relationship ended on good terms. Rogers' Priceline contract ended in 2023, a year before the cull, were were told. While they may have been amicable break-ups, one industry source tells us the end of Priceline's ambassador program will be keenly felt by celebs and influencers. 'It was good, steady money, and very legit,' they said. 'It's the sort of deal you call "mortgage money". Pays well, brand-safe, feels premium. The celebrities will definitely miss it. 'And it's not just Instagram posts - you're on TV, in-store advertising, your name is on products that people actually buy.' A Priceline Pharmacy spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday: 'Like all businesses, we are constantly assessing and evolving our strategy. 'Last year we launched a revised marketing strategy for Priceline Pharmacy, as part of this we reviewed existing partnerships and made the decision to not renew our ambassador contracts. 'We continue to work with a number of partners in the content creation space.' In the background of this, Wesfarmers is planning to double the size of the Priceline business within the next five years, both by maximising existing outlets and growing the number of pharmacies within the network. Evidently the WA-based conglomerate, which also owns Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks, reckons it can achieve this without a roster of celebrity ambassadors. NEW TO MAIL+? READ MORE CELEBRITY EXCLUSIVES: A Saturday Night Live sketch that left The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood got a surprising defender over the weekend one of her own costars. On Sunday, Wood's on-screen love interest Walton Goggins shared a since-deleted post to his Instagram Stories praising a skit that featured comedian Sarah Sherman parodying the British actress by wearing comically huge prosthetic teeth. Goggins, 53, raved that the sketch was a 'SMASHING' success, and he included a message for Jon Hamm, who appeared in the sketch as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 'Jon I knew I was miscast,' he wrote to the Mad Men star, who imbued the vaccine-skeptic politician with some of his White Lotus character Rick's personality. Goggins went so far as to also comment 'Hahahahahhahaha Amazzzingggg' on the official SNL Instagram account, according to Page Six. His shocking reaction to the sketch that offended his costar comes amid rumors swirling within fan circles claiming that he and Wood are feuding. A Saturday Night Live sketch that left The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood got a surprising defender over the weekend one of her own costars, Walton Goggins On Sunday, Wood's on-screen love interest Walton Goggins shared a since-deleted post to his Instagram Stories praising a skit that featured comedian Sarah Sherman parodying the British actress by wearing comically huge prosthetic teeth; still from SNL Goggins, 53, raved that the sketch was a 'SMASHING' success, and he included a message for Jon Hamm, who appeared in the sketch as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fans have cited the Justified star's once-effusive praise for his costar, which mysteriously dried up as the White Lotus was wrapping up its third season. Since then, fans have even noticed that the two stars no longer follow each other on Instagram, and Goggins appeared to have tagged several of his costars in behind-the-scenes photos he posted from the series except for Wood, whom he shared many of his scenes with. Although Aimee doesn't appear to follow Walton's personal account, she still follows his eyeglasses page, Goggle Glasses On Reddit, users struggled to understand why Goggins and Wood didn't follow each other, with one person writing, 'I feel like no one is talking about the falling out of them? 'They unfollowed each other on insta a couple weeks ago, walton posts white lotus stuff and tags everyone in the photos except aimee lou wood, posts a whole tribute to white lotus and still doesnt tag her, posts tons of pictures of her on his story in a commemorative tribute to the show. what happened?' The user added, 'They used to idolize each other and talk about each other in such positive light in interviews and such, its so weird that all of a sudden theres this switch up?' Another X user wrote in amazement: 'aimee lou wood follows 5,160 people on instagram and none of them are walton goggins' On X, one viewer weighed in on an album of behind-the-scenes photos Walton had posted to Instagram. His shocking reaction to the sketch that offended his costar comes amid rumors swirling within fan circles claiming that he and Wood are feuding after they appeared to have unfollowed each other on Instagram The move shocked fans, as Goggins had once been effusive about Wood and posted numerous behind-the-scenes photos of the two looking chummy during White Lotus shooting 'Walton Goggins not tagging Aimee but tagging everyone else WHAT HAPPENED,' they wrote. Particularly perplexing to some fans was how Walton had apparently posted a sweet and extensive set of photos of himself and Aimee to his Instagram Stories. 'Obsessed with walton goggins posting an 18 slide instagram story of photos of him and aimee lou wood set to silver springs by fleetwood mac.' one X user wrote in astonishment. Several others were surprised by the same set of posts and just how long the display of photos of the two actors went on. But music critic Carl Wilson offered a more measured take. 'Everyone on here reading tea leaves on Walton Goggins & Aimee Lou Wood clearly has never met actors, who are constantly emotionally over the top with each other, until they move on to their next job and don't even keep in touch,' he wrote. Walton has been married to director Nadia Conners since 2011. His previous wife, Leanne Goggins, died by suicide in 2004. The actor's praise for the SNL sketch appears to be particularly ill-timed, as the iconic sketch-comedy series has reportedly issued an apology to Wood after she slammed its 'mean' sketch that mocked her teeth. Following the controversy, Saturday Night Live reportedly issued an apology to Wood after she slammed the 'mean' sketch that mocked her teeth On Sunday night, The White Lotus star shared a series of posts condemning the sketch show over Sherman's enormous prosthetic teeth, which dwarfed Wood's own teeth After the actress went viral for her takedown of the 'mean and unfunny' skit, she claimed that SNL had reached out to extend an olive branch On Sunday night, The White Lotus star shared a series of posts condemning the sketch show after Sarah Sherman wore huge prosthetic teeth which dwarfed her own teeth to parody her. In response to being mocked on the show, the Sex Education star, 31, took to her Instagram Story to slam SNL and address rumors about HBO. After the actress went viral for her takedown of the 'mean and unfunny' skit, she claimed that SNL had reached out to extend an olive branch. Alongside a selfie distorted to make her eyes and mouth larger, she penned: 'I've had apologies from SNL'. In the sketch, named The White Potus, it imagined the Trump family and various political figures on holiday at the famous retreat. Walton Goggins' character Rick was reimagined as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who was seen on a rambling rant debating they take 'all the fluoride out of the water'. The camera then cut to Aimee's character Chelsea - played by Sarah - with exaggerated buck teeth, who exclaimed: 'Fluoride? What's that?' In response, Aimee took aim at the 'cheap' joke, as she wrote: 'Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the p**s for sure - that's what the show is about- but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?' In the sketch, the camera cut to Aimee's character Chelsea played by Sarah with exaggerated buck teeth, who exclaimed: 'Fluoride? What's that?' In response, Aimee took aim at the 'cheap' joke, as she wrote: 'Yes, take the p**s for sure - that's what the show is about- but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?' She also shared messages of support from her followers who had reached out to share their thoughts on the sketch and said they'd been inspired by the actress The Sex Education actress revealed she'd had 'thousands' of messages supporting her She also shared messages of support from her followers and sister Emily, admitting she'd received 'thousands' of messages backing her up. Aimee continued: 'Last thing I'll say on the matter. I am not thin skinned. I actually love being taken the p**s out of when it's clever and in good spirits. But the joke was about fluoride. I have big gap teeth not bad teeth. 'I don't mind caricature - I understand that's what SNL is. But the rest of the skit was punching up and I/ Chelsea was the only one punched down On... Okay end of.' To conclude, she shared a comment from a fan that read: 'It was a sharp and funny skit until it suddenly took a screeching turn into 1970's misogyny', she added: 'This sums up my view'. Earlier in the day, Aimee shared more thoughts on the matter, admitting: 'Whilst in honest mode - I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,' she told her followers. After noting she was feeling 'righteous' but 'might delete' her post later, fans encouraged her not to remove it. 'Don't delete it, one comment read. 'It was mean and unfunny and saying it out loud removes their power. 'You're unreal in every way, I have a big gap in my teeth and an overbite and you've genuinely made me feel so much better about myself. She also shared a sweet post from her little sister Emily who shared a selfie of the pair To conclude she lashed out once more at her 'misogynistic' portrayal in the skit Earlier in the day, Aimee shared more thoughts on the matter, as she slammed SNL and addressed rumours about HBO 'I was going to spend thousands on fixing it all which I'm not doing now because I look at you and think how gorgeous you look so why not try and apply that logic to myself,' they concluded. Another commenter wrote, 'I agree- everyone else in that parody was a political figure who was being mocked. 'The only character who wasn't political was Chelsea, and they were clearly just taking the piss out of your appearance/accent, which is extremely c***y and uncalled for.' Earlier, she clarified that 'nobody at HBO called' her 'ugly.' 'That was my own paranoid thought' she explained, referring to a recent interview, which she says was misconstrued. The star continued: 'Nobody at HBO would say that. My point in the article was about how our mind plays tricks on us. Please read carefully before getting angry for me.' 'So to conclude today's rant: @hbo - kind and supportive and never wronged me so leave them alone. @nbcsnl - mean.' MailOnline has contacted NBC for comment. She insisted HBO had been 'super supportive' but she was suffering from 'imposter syndrome' In a recent interview with British GQ, Aimee explained that White Lotus creator Mike White had to 'fight' to cast her, which made her feel insecure. She continued: 'When someone (not a producer) told me Mike fought for me it was said in a nice way. 'I just spiraled about it because of my own imposter syndrome. That was my point. Just really wanted to clear that up because hbo have been nothing but super supportive. In the GQ article, Aimee dove into the insecurity, saying, 'My little head goes: "HBO didnt want me. And I know why HBO didnt want me, its because Im ugly."' 'Mike had to say, "Please let me have the ugly girl!" That was the thing that was in my head,' she continued. Elsewhere in the interview, Aimee spoke about the interest in her natural overbite and gapped buck teeth, which she worried had progressed to the point that it was stealing attention from her performance. She worried that her teeth were now seen by some White Lotus fans as something 'goofy' that she hadn't yet had 'fixed.' 'It makes me really happy that its symbolizing rebellion and freedom, but theres a limit,' she said. In a series of slides the British actress wrote her sentiment over the photos 'The whole conversation is just about my teeth, and it makes me a bit sad because I'm not getting to talk about my work. 'They think its nice because theyre not criticizing,' she said of those focused on her smile, before pausing and suggesting that the whole discussion might be tied in with sexism. 'And, I have to go there I dont know if it was a man would we be talking about it this much? Its still going on about a womans appearance,' she added. Aimee has been praised online for leaving her buck teeth natural, instead of caving into the artificial beauty standards of Hollywood. During an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, the actress marveled: 'I cant believe the impact my teeth are having. Americans cant get over them. 'Even the way White Lotus fans are talking about me and my teeth that I dont have veneers or Botox it feels a bit rebellious.' Reggie Bird has updated her fans after a knee injury saw her rushed to surgery two weeks ago. The two-time Big Brother winner, 51, posted a picture on Instagram on Tuesday of her knee post-op after she revealed a week earlier that she was battling complications from the procedure. 'Still swollen Hope this heals up soon and I can get back to being my normal self,' she captioned the post. In the picture, Reggie's left leg was swelled up to twice the size of her right, which showed her distinguishable tattoo wrapped around her ankle. The Aussie TV personality, who recently starred on I'm A Celebrity! Get Me Out Of Here!, has been documenting her healing on Instagram. Last week, Reggie revealed that she had been rushed to hospital after suffering complications from the tricky knee operation. Reggie Bird has updated her fans after a knee injury saw her rushed to surgery two weeks ago. Pictured The two-time Big Brother winner, 51, posted a picture on Instagram on Tuesday of her knee post-op after she revealed a week earlier that she was battling complications from the procedure The reality star vlogged her day in the emergency department at Gold Coast Hospital on Instagram. 'It's been six days after the surgery,' she said. 'Not feeling real crash hot, so I've rung the hospital to let them know that my ankle and foot is still really swollen since I've had the operation and my calf is hurting.' Reggie's surgeon had to shave 40 per cent of the cartilage off from one side of her kneecap to replace what she had lost on the other side. 'The surgeon also asked if I had any falls or trauma and I said yes I had an old man on a big mobility scooter mow me down in Woolworths about a year and a half ago So it's most likely came from that,' she explained in the caption of a pre-surgery update. 'I spent today in emergency,' Reggie continued in her vlog posted on Tuesday. 'Think I've got a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in my leg and it's the same vein that I've had a DVT in before. 'So they've told me I've got to come into emergency. Oh my god. It never ends. Fingers crossed everything is going to be okay.' The two time Big Brother winner, 50, vlogged her day in the emergency department at Gold Coast Hospital on Instagram, where she had blood tests, X-rays, and an ultrasound on her knee In her video, Reggie showed the swollen state of her leg underneath her bandages, which had to be cut off on Monday for assessment. Deep vein thrombosis is a condition where a blood clot forms in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs, potentially leading to a life-threatening pulmonary embolism if the clot dislodges and travels to the lungs. Reggie spent the entire day in the emergency department, where she underwent blood tests and X-rays, and then an ultra-sound to diagnosis her leg. 'Feel like s***,' she said. 'They've just found another DVT in my leg which sucks. So I'm just waiting to get my leg re-bandaged. Feels like it's going to fall off.' 'The clot goes from ankle just to the bottom of my knee cap,' she continued in her video, which was filmed at Gold Coast Hospital. 'The [doctors] said they were lucky that I took myself in there today. If it had have gone any higher than I would have been in trouble.' She sighed deeply. Reggie, who is legally blind, has deep vein thombrosis in her knee resulting from her operation 'So yeah, it doesn't end. I'm tired. Just always something. It never ever ever stops with me,' she said. 'I've got to go on blood thinners for six months and rest up. That was my day. Ready for bed, I'm buggered.' Reggie, who recently starred on I'm A Celebrity! Get Me Outta Here, is legally blind. She suffers from both retinitis pigmentosa, a rare degenerative eye disease that causes severe vision impairment, and stage two Usher Syndrome, which causes deafness and hearing loss. Currently, Reggie describes her vision as like 'looking through a straw', and doctors have told her that one day soon, she might wake up and not be able to see anything at all. Gloria Hunniford has revealed the shocking reason she was forced to suddenly quit Celebrity British Bake off mid episode, following the show airing on Sunday. The iconic TV host, 85, pulled out shortly before the final showstopper with host Alison Hammond telling the other celebs she had been 'feeling unwell'. However Gloria has now revealed that she actually took a 'terrible fall' backstage and had to be whisked off to hospital to be checked over. She told The Mirror: 'I had a terrible fall at the end of the programme, so I never got to finish it,' after previously revealing she'd signed up to the Stand Up To Cancer special in honour of her late daughter Caron Keating. Gloria did however assure fans that she was now 'fine' after recovering from the accident which occurred during filming last summer. The Loose Women icon crafted a 'magician cake' in honour of her late father, who was a member of the magic circle. Gloria Hunniford , 85, has revealed the shocking reason she was forced to suddenly quit Celebrity British Bake off mid episode, following the show airing on Sunday The iconic TV host pulled out shortly before the final showstopper with host Alison Hammond telling the other celebs she had been 'feeling unwell' However Gloria has now revealed that she actually took a 'terrible fall' backstage and had to be whisked off to hospital to be checked over Speaking about her showstopper she said: 'I thought my dice cake looked pretty good! For me, it looked amazing, considering I'd never baked before. 'And the theme was inspired by my dad, it was my mother's recipe, which I really liked. I practiced it at home, and gave it to my son for his birthday, so it really tied in with the family theme. I don't think I would have won, but I was really pleased with it.' Following her exit. Alison told fellow contestants Jim Howick, 45 - who was crowned Star Baker of the week - as well as Jamali Maddix, 33, and Ellie Goldstein, 23, the sad news. 'Before we start the judging we should mention the fact that Gloria is not here, she is not feeling very well but she wanted us to carry on anyway.' It was an egg-free four layer chocolate cake, filled with golden syrup and vanilla filling. Meanwhile presenter Noel Fielding ensured to still give feedback on the cake, with fellow judge Paul Hollywood adding: 'I like the concept. The concept is being executed really well.' 'Such a shame Gloria wasn't feeling very well and wasn't able to tell the story,' Alison quipped. Thrilled to be 'part of a change', Gloria previously got candid about her reasons to join the show: 'Unfortunately, I lost my daughter to cancer. To lose a child is the worst thing that can happen to you. previously revealing she'd signed up to the Stand Up To Cancer special in honour of her late daughter Caron Keating who died of cancer aged 41 in 2004 (pictured together 2000) 'Before we start the judging we should mention the fact that Gloria is not here, she is not feeling very well but she wanted us to carry on anyway,' host Alison Hammond told viewers Gloria joined actor Jim Howick, 45 - who was crowned Star Baker of the week - as well as Jamali Maddix, 33, and Ellie Goldstein, 23, for the Stand Up to Cancer spin-off 'Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to any woman because you can't carry a baby for nine months, give birth to that baby, love that baby for whatever length of time without it having the deepest, deepest impact. 'It's so tragic when you lose that child. 'So giving something back has a wonderful mending process because you are giving back in the name of the person you loved, who you do love, and have lost. It's very prevalent in my mind, and in my actions all the time. 'When you do something positive against something so deeply negative, it's very healing. 'She was a very special girl, with a great sense of humour. She was the woman in this world that I loved talking to the most.' Earlier this month, Kate Garraway was crowned Star Baker on Celebrity Bake Off For Stand Up To Cancer after earning a coveted handshake from Paul Hollywood. The beloved presenter, 57, was left speechless after host Noel Fielding announced the joyful news after the gruelling baking competition. Almost in disbelief, the Good Morning Britain host mumbled: 'What?', as Noel, 51, gave her the Star Baker apron. 'I can't believe it! It's the best day of my life,' Kate said thrilled, struggling to contain her excitement on screen. But that wasn't the only reason to giggle on the show, as the broadcaster was left stunned when Paul Hollywood awarded her the coveted handshake for her first bake. The Channel 4 cooking show sees hosts Alison Hammond, 50, and Noel welcome four new stars for the Stand Up To Cancer special, with efforts being judged by Paul, 59, and new judge Caroline Waldegrave, 72. Emily Ratajkowski joined a growing number of stars criticizing Blue Origin for its star-studded, all-female space flight that took place on Monday. The model, 33, said she was 'disgusted' by the historic 11-minute expedition, which carried Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn. 'That space mission this morning? Thats end time s**t. Like, this is beyond parody,' Ratajkowski said in a TikTok video. 'That you care about Mother Earth and its about Mother Earth, and youre going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company thats singlehandedly destroying the planet?' she went on. Blue Origin is owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 61, who is engaged to Sanchez, 55. Ratajkowski continued, wondering about the purpose of the quick space journey. 'Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what? What was the marketing there?' Emily Ratajkowski, 33, joined a growing number of stars criticizing Blue Origin for its star-studded, all-female space flight that took place on Monday The model said she was 'disgusted' by the 11-minute expedition, which carried Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe and Kerianne Flynn 'And then to try to make it like... I'm disgusted, literally I'm disgusted.' Ratajkowski was not the only star taking jabs at the space mission. Olivia Wilde and Olivia Munn also shared their disapproval. Having safely returned to Texas, Perry was photographed kissing the ground, a picture that quickly spread across social media. Wilde shared the photo to her Instagram Stories, writing, 'Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess.' Earlier this month, Munn slammed the space mission ahead of its launch, while appearing on Today With Jenna And Friends. 'What are they doing? Like why? You know what I mean?' she said. 'I know that this is probably not the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now.' Munn then added, 'What are you going to do up in space? What are you doing up there?' The mother-of-two went on to compare the launch to a ride at Disneyland, before asking why those on the trip needed 'to tell' everyone about it, versus just going up, having a nice time and coming back down. 'That space mission this morning? Thats end time s**t. Like, this is beyond parody. That you care about Mother Earth... and youre going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company thats singlehandedly destroying the planet?' she said in a TikTok video 'Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what?... I'm disgusted, literally I'm disgusted' Blue Origin is owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos , 61, who is engaged to Sanchez, 55; the pair seen April 5 'I know that this is probably obnoxious - but like, it's so much money to go to space. You know, there's a lot of people that can't even afford eggs,' she stressed. Host, Jenna Bush Hager, then informed Olivia that the all-female crew will go to space 'in glam' which prompted the actress to give a confused reaction. 'They are getting their hair done, their makeup done, even eyelash extensions,' Hager continued. Munn was left speechless once again and then questioned, 'They said this out loud?' The actress silently shook her head and Hager humorously added, 'Yeah, and a lot of eyelash glue to nail that baby down. That's what I can't stop thinking about.' Blue Origin Flight NS-31 marked the first launch with an all-female crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova's solo space flight in 1963. After the crew touched down, a number of celebrities called out their voyage on social media. This includes, Amy Schumer, who jokingly claimed she scored a last-minute invite to join the mission. House star Olivia Wilde, 41, also shared her disapproval; she is pictured April 5 Wilde shared a photo of Katy Perry upon her return to Earth, writing, 'Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess' Having safely returned to Texas, Perry was photographed kissing the ground, a picture that quickly spread across social media Actress Olivia Munn (seen earlier this year) previously called the trip 'gluttonous' Additionally, Amy Schumer jokingly claimed she scored a last-minute invite to join the mission Sanchez and King defended their expedition. King said those criticizing don't 'really understand' the mission, while Sanchez revealed the judgment gets her 'really fired up' 'I'm bringing this thing. It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag and I was on the Subway, and I got the text and they were like, 'Do you want to go to space?' so I'm going to space,' she quipped. Schumer ended the video by saying: 'Thank you to everyone who got me here... I'll see you guys in space.' Gayle and Sanchez did not hold back as they defended their choice to embark on Blue Origin's first all-female flight. Hours after their round-trip expedition, the duo answered questions about the backlash over their voyage, specifically what they thought about Munn calling the trip 'gluttonous.' King, 70, revealed to People that she feels that anyone 'criticizing it doesnt really understand what is happening here.' 'We can all speak to the response we're getting from young women from young girls about what this represents,' the the journalist said, in defense of their trip to space. Meanwhile, Sanchez, revealed the judgment gets her 'really fired up.' 'I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don't just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle,' she said of their critics. Blue Origin Flight NS-31 marked the first launch with an all-female crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova's solo space flight in 1963; the crew seen in space 'They love their work and they love the mission and it's a big deal for them.' She continued: 'So when we hear comments like that, I just say, trust me. Come with me. I'll show you what this is about, and it's, it's really eye opening.' Fans were left shocked earlier this year following the announcement that the six women were heading to space. At the time, Sanchez said she couldn't 'believe it's happening.' 'So, what I'm hoping that this flight is transformative for them but also for all of the people they tell their story to. Hopefully it sparks that imagination to dream big and reach for the stars,' she said. Advertisement Cameron Daddo has weighed in on open relationships as he approaches his 35th wedding anniversary with wife Alison Brahe. The veteran actor, 60, and Alison were chatting to a non-monogamous couple on the latest episode of Nova's The Heart of It podcast, when Daddo revealed why it wasn't for him. 'I find it hard to get my head around it. The idea of sharing sexual life with somebody else, or have Ali do the same thing... I would find that very hard,' Daddo said. An open relationship is where a couple agrees they are allowed to date and have sex with other people, without it impacting their bond. 'Ali's my person... so if you are bringing someone else in, how would you work on the emotional intimacy?' Daddo added. He said the bond between him and Ali was so strong he would never want to share it. Cameron Daddo has weighed in on open relationship as he approached his 35th wedding anniversary with wife Alison Brahe. Both pictured The pair married in 1991 and have one of the strongest relationships in showbusiness, despite some challenges along the way. In 2022, they revealed how they saved their marriage after the actor cheated on the model in 1994. Brahe told the Sydney Morning Herald that her relationship to Daddo 'evolved the most' during marriage counselling in the wake of his infidelity. However it wasn't all smooth sailing, with the mother-of-three admitting they had 'a terrible experience' with their first therapist. 'It is so important to find the right therapist for you. The one we found was our second choice, as the first one was a terrible experience,' said Alison. However once they found a decent counsellor, the long-term couple 'both wanted the relationship to work, so that was a good starting point'. In 2021, Daddo spoke about hurting his wife by cheating on her three years after tying the knot in 1991. The Australian actor discussed his marriage on Nova FM's Separate Bathrooms podcast and admitted it was important to 'learn how to apologise'. The veteran actor, 60, and Alison were chatting to a non-monogamous couple on the latest episode of Nova's The Heart of It podcast, when Daddo revealed why it wasn't for him The pair married in 1991 and have one of the strongest relationships in showbusiness, despite some challenges along the way 'We were told by the Reverend that married us. He said you're going to hurt your partner the most of anyone in your life,' an emotional Daddo said. 'In my case, it's probably true. 'So it's a good idea to learn how to apologise, mean it and then make the necessary actions, so you don't repeat it. That's a good lesson,' he added. The couple wed in 1991 and share three children, daughters Lotus, 27, and Bodhi, 17, and a son, River, 23. Back in 2019, Cameron revealed his marriage was never the same again after his extra-marital affair. Alison added they had to go through a 'hell of a lot of work' before they could finally reach a happy place. 'I was the one who left the marriage,' Cameron told Woman's Day, clarifying that he had been unfaithful, not Alison. His infidelity took place in America, after he had relocated there for his acting career. Advertisement Michael Clifford is absolutely besotted with his bundle of joy, so much so that he wants her to become a 'nepo-baby'. The 5 Seconds of Summer guitarist, 29, who welcomed baby Lua in October, 2023 with his wife Crystal, revealed on Nova show Smallzy's Surgery on Saturday that having a daughter made him 'way cooler'. 'It's the best thing and the most exhausting, fulfilling, emotionally draining and fulfilling thing at the same time,' he said. When Smallzy pointed out that Michael's daughter is going to be a 'nepo baby', a term used to describe a child that benefits from their parent's fame, success and money, the rocker replied: 'Damn right'. He went on to say that he wanted Lua to be 'the craziest, best nepo baby on the planet'. 'Anything she wants, anything I can facilitate, she'll have,' he shared. Michael Clifford is absolutely besotted with his bundle of joy, so much so that he wants her to become a 'nepo-baby' Michael and Crystal could barely contain their excitement as they gave an inside look at their baby shower back in 2023. The 5 Seconds of Summer band member and his glamorous partner revealed in July that year that they were expecting a baby girl. The couple celebrated with family at a baby shower planned by the mum-to-be's cousin Lindsey Thomason Cook at their east coast home in Georgia. Crystal turned heads at the lavish event as she flaunted her heavily pregnant belly in a stunning floral Selkie gown. The brunette beauty swept her long tresses back into a half up-do, secured in the back with a pink bow as she let a few face framing pieces fall free. She opted for a gorgeous natural makeup look as she adorned her hands with several gold rings before securing a simple cross around her neck. Crystal was all smiles as she posed with her husband who seemed over-the-moon to be an expecting father. Matching his wife's colours with a white button-down and blue jeans, the Australian musician dyed his hair pink for the happy occasion. The 5 Seconds of Summer guitarist, 29, welcomed baby Lua in October, 2023 with his wife Crystal Your browser does not support iframes. Michael and Crystal Clifford (both pictured) could barely contain their excitement as they gave an inside look at their baby shower The expecting couple certainly knew how to put on a party as they filled their home with pastel balloons and signs which welcomed people to Baby Clifford's shower. A beautiful white cake covered in wildflower decorations was served alongside a huge spread of finger foods. Guests were also invited to partake in some sociable alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinking as a juice and Champagne bar was set up by the pool. The married couple, who wed in January, 2022, announced that they were expecting their first child together in June, 2023 by posting a series of pregnancy snaps on social media. Advertisement Robert Irwin has opened up over claims his recent internet-breaking photoshoot for bonds was 'digitally altered.' The 21-year-old wildlife warrior set pulses racing earlier this month after posing in a series of steamy snaps promoting the iconic Aussie underwear brand in the US. Robert appeared on Today on Tuesday, to discuss his pulse raising shoot that saw him posing, nearly naked, while a spider and a snake crawled about his person. Host Karl Stefanovic, referencing chatter in some cynical corners of the internet, asked Robert to come clean about the authenticity of the images. 'Was anything digitally altered in those images? Because I don't think anyone believes the spider was real,' Karl joked. Robert quickly put paid to the suggestion of digital chicanery, revealing that everything that appeared in the images was 100 per cent real. Robert Irwin has opened up over claims his recent internet-breaking photoshoot for bonds was 'digitally altered'. Pictured 'Mate, everything is 100 per cent real,' Robert confirmed. 'Everything you see was all there. The spider - that was right there, the beautiful big black headed python that was all there.' Robert continued: 'My abs - none of that was airbrushed. That was a lot of work - a lot of work and very little carbohydrates.' Karl then asked Robert to clarify claims, published by New idea, that mum Terri had a problem with the Bonds shoot as it did not align with the Irwin family-friendly brand. 'Mum was fully on board,' Robert revealed. '[She] used to do bodybuilding so she was actually giving me tips. 'Bindi took a bit of convincing. It was a bit uncomfortable. 'I'm still not 100 per cent comfortable with some of it anyway, but you know what? We did it and you just got to own it and give it your all,' he said. With Robert's steamy shoot setting hearts aflutter across the globe, Karl asked the I'm A Celebrity host how he is dealing with all the attention. The 21-year-old wildlife warrior set pulses racing earlier this month after posing in a series of steamy snaps promoting the iconic Aussie underwear brand in the US Robert appeared on Today on Tuesday to discuss his pulse raising shoot 'Was anything digitally altered in those images? Because I don't think anyone believes the spider was real,' Karl joked 'It's not easy dealing with all of the fallout from this stuff,' Karl said. 'Not easy dealing with all these cougars like Sarah [Abo, Today co-host] who want you to get your gear off all the time. How do you handle that kind of attention?' 'I must say this whole process has been an eye opening experience, that's for sure. I've always dealt with wildlife, but this is the wildest thing I've ever dealt with. 'For me there's a conservation mission and legacy behind everything I do. the outpouring of support has been amazing, but mostly for my mission, for my message. Everyone is listening to it.' The chat, which was shared to the Today Instagram page, drew a flurry of fawning comments from fans. 'Am I wrong for perving on him being 30yrs older... he's a mother's son-in-law Dream,' one fan wrote, summing up the sentiment of many. Robert, who is the son of the late icon Steve Irwin, posed in a series of smoking pictures for People Magazine as he modeled Bonds, the Australian underwear brand that he's helping bring to the U.S. 'Mate, everything is 100 per cent real,' Robert confirmed. 'Everything you see was all there. The spider - that was right there, the beautiful big black headed python that was all there' Robert continued: 'My abs - none of that was airbrushed. That was a lot of work - a lot of work and very little carbohydrates' In one picture, Robert left little to the imagination as he wore a pair of white underwear, giving a smoldering look to the camera as a large snake was wrapped around his neck. He also draped the snake around himself as he sat down in a chair in a pair of black Bonds underwear, showing off his washboard abs. In another snap, he cuddled with a large lizard, but this time, Robert was more covered up in a casual white tank top and dark teal undies. Robert later proved he's not afraid of anything as the former zookeeper even had a large spider crawling up his arm as he lay with one leg up in the grass, showing off a pair of the gray boxers. The photos have since gone viral, with fans from all around the world swooning at the all grown-up Robert. The property where Hollywood star Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in February was infested with rats that spread a deadly disease, it has emerged. The 95-year-old actor and his 65-year-old wife were found dead on February 26 at their home in New Mexico after security personnel saw their bodies through a window and alerted authorities. Carbon monoxide poisoning was considered an early cause of death, but was later ruled out after investigators discovered the couple's dog was also found dead elsewhere on the property. It was later concluded that Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome around February 12, a rare condition brought about by the hantavirus that is spread via rodent droppings and urine. Hackman died a few days later on February 18 from severe heart disease, which was exacerbated by Alzheimer's disease and kidney disease. Hackman may have been unaware Arakawa was dead, investigators speculated, given his severe health condition at the time of her death. A week after the bodies were discovered, the New Mexico Department of Public Health conducted a health assessment on the property. The department concluded that dead rodents and their nests were found in 'eight detached outbuildings' on the Hackman property making it a 'breeding ground' for the hantavirus, TMZ reported. Authorities have released law enforcement body camera footage from outside the home of Gene Hackman, where the actor and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in late February. The outhouses were infested with rodents, TMZ reported Hollywood royalty Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa are seen months before their death Just over two months after actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their New Mexico home, more details are coming in The house owned by actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa stands Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 A week after the bodies were discovered, the New Mexico Department of Public Health conducted a health assessment on the property and discovered a severe rodent infestation The deadly hantavirus typically spreads through rodent urine and droppings that one may come into contact with when cleaning a basement or an attic. There were droppings found in three garages, two casitas, and three sheds on the property. Additionally, there was a live rodent, dead rodent and a rodent nest found in three more garages on the property, according to the inspectors. There were also two vehicles seen on the estate that had evidence of rodents, and they even found traps in the buildings as well, suggesting this had been an ongoing issue for the Hackmans. The health assessment was conducted to assess whether first responders or others who were on the property were safe from the virus. The results revealed that the primary residence was deemed 'low-risk' with no signs of a rodent infestation inside. The hantavirus was first identified in South Korea in 1978 when researchers isolated the virus from a field mouse. The virus is rare in the US, with fewer than 50 cases reported yearly. For reference, there are roughly 2,000 cases of West Nile Virus reported in the US annually. However, after Arakawa's death, the virus claimed three more victims in the town of Mammoth Lakes, California. Hackman's 1995 will listed Arakawa - whom he married in 1991 - as his sole inheritor. Arakawa's will meanwhile revealed that if the spouses were to die within 90 days of each other, the proceeds from the estate would be donated to charity. Hackman retired from acting after 2004's Welcome to Mooseport and was rarely seen in public during the final two decades of his life. The 95-year-old actor and his 65-year-old wife were found dead on February 26 after security personnel saw their bodies through a window and alerted authorities The body cam footage and details of the investigation into Hackman's property were made public by court order earlier this month. The ruling from a New Mexico judge allowed the release of redacted police body camera video and other investigative materials, including images of the couple's dead dog. All photos, video and documents from the investigation had been restricted from release by an earlier, temporary court order, to protect the Hackman family's constitutional right to privacy. An attorney for the estate, Kurt Sommer, argued that the couple took great pains to stay out of the public light during their lifetimes and that the right to control the use of their names and likenesses should extend to their estate in death. But judge Matthew Wilson permitted details to be released, provided they did not depict the bodies of Hackman or Arakawa. 'There shall be no depiction of either body in any video production' or photographic image of the bodies, Santa Fe-based Judge Matthew Wilson said in response to questions from attorneys on his ruling. The previously redacted body cam footage shows deputies talking with two workers who called authorities to report seeing someone lying on the floor inside the Hackman home. With no signs of forced entry or other evidence of suspicious circumstances, the deputies asked about the possibility of a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning, and the workers said they didn't see how that could have been the case. 'Something's not right,' one of the workers said. Authorities quickly determined there were no leaks that could have been fatal, fuelling a mystery that captured the public's attention. But the case was ultimately when medical investigators confirmed that Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimers about a week after hantavirus pulmonary syndrome took the life of his wife. Jeff Brazier has revealed his family have 'pulled together', amid his legal battle with Jade's mother Jackiey Budden. The presenter, 45, shared both Freddy, 20, and Strictly's Bobby, 21, with the late Jade Goody who tragically died in 2009 from cervical cancer aged just 27. And it was revealed last month that Jeff is taking action in an attempt to legally block contact between Freddy and the mother of the late Big Brother star amid concerns over his welfare. Now, as he embarks on a 'spiritual journey' on BBCs hit Pilgrimage programme, Jeff has shared an update on how his family are doing amid the legal battle. He told the Mirror: 'All we really know how to do is to pull together and be there for one another and I think that's what we do best, and that's what all good families do.' Despite not commenting on the ongoing situation, he said Freddy is in a 'really good place right now'. Jeff Brazier has revealed his family have 'pulled together', amid his legal battle with Jade's mother Jackiey Budden It was revealed last month that Jeff is taking action in an attempt to legally block contact between Freddy and the mother of the late Big Brother star amid concerns over his welfare He added: 'I was really proud of him, and it's wonderful to just watch him grow in experience.' The pair will even be teaming up for a presenting stint together on This Morning in Malta, which left Jeff brimming with pride. Jeff has hired a leading barrister for the upcoming hearing which is the latest in part of a long-running feud between Jackiey and Jeff. Speaking to MailOnline from her ground floor flat in Bermondsey, south east London, last month, Jackiey hit out at the proceedings. She said: 'I know what this is all about. It (the situation with Jeff) doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.' She asked: 'Do I want to see Freddy? Of course I do. I see Freddy all of the time. I will see him.' One neighbour said: 'I feel sorry for Jackiey. She's been through so much. It's a complex situation. I just hope they can be all together again as a family. Her grandchildren mean the world to her.' They added: 'How did it come to this that lawyers are apparently involved? She wants to be the best gran she can be to those boys.' The presenter, 45, shared both Freddy, 20, and Strictly's Bobby, 21, with the late Jade Goody who tragically died in 2009 from cervical cancer aged just 27 It comes after Freddy broke his silence on his relationship with his father as it's revealed Jeff Brazier has started legal proceedings against Jade's mum Freddy, 20, lost his mother Jade when he was just four years old after she died from cervical cancer on Mother's Day 2009. He paid trubute to Jade and Jeff on Sunday On Sunday it was reported that Jeff has launched legal action in a bid to keep Freddy 'safe' from Jackiey. According to The Sun Jeff is now attempting to block any contact between his youngest son and grandmother, 68, claiming the relationship has been 'incredibly detrimental'. He is also said to have hired a top barrister for the upcoming hearings with a source insisting Jeff's actions prove just how 'concerned' he is. Freddy broke his silence on his relationship with his father in an Instagram post to celebrate Mother's Day. The influencer, 20, lost his mother Jade when he was just four years old after she died from cervical cancer on Mother's Day 2009. Since her death, Jeff has looked after Freddy and his older brother Bobby, 21. In celebration of his father's efforts for the last 16 years, Freddy paid tribute to both his father and late mother on Sunday. In his first post shared to Instagram Stories, Freddy uploaded a collection of photographs of Jade and their family and simply wrote: 'Happy Mother's Day'. He then posted a new picture of him and his dad with their arms around each other, adding: 'Forever grateful for you and all you do for me.' The story is the first post Freddy has made about his dad since it was revealed Jeff is planning on putting a legal block on Freddy's grandmother Jackiey having contact with him. Jackiey, 68, helped raise Bobby and Freddy following Jade's death but she and Jeff have clashed multiple times over the years. In celebration of his father's efforts for the last 16 years, Freddy paid tribute to both his father and late mother as he shared a collage of his mother Jeff then thanked 'the heros that have picked us up' but did not mention Jade's mother (pictured in 2019), who he has launched legal action against to block her contact with Freddy As well as Freddy's post, Jeff also shared a loving tribute to Jade Goody on Mother's Day, admitting that he and their sons 'still need you'. The TV star also thanked his network of friends and family including his wife Kate for helping him raise his and Jade's sons Bobby, 21, and Freddy 20, since Jade's death. Sharing photos of himself and Jade, Jeff gushed: 'To the greatest mother imaginable to be cruelly denied the privilege of seeing her children long into adulthood. Anyone taken from loved ones is sorely missed but Id have to admit we have needed you ever since and still do to this day.' 'It was too big a job for me alone but thankfully we have a strong dependable village around us.' He went onto to thank 'the heros that have picked us up' but there was no mention of Jade's mother Jackiey . Jade's husband Jack Tweed, who she married a month before she died, spoke out on Jeff's feud with Jade's mother Jackiey last week . Reflecting on the feud, Jack - who has stayed close with the two boys - has insisted that Jade wouldn't have wanted the animosity towards her mother, but added that the late star had been determined that Jackiey wouldn't raise her sons either. In a new interview with the Sun , he admitted that he didn't think that Jackiey was in the 'right place' to be raising the boys, but insisted that Jade wouldn't want her completely cut out. He said: 'Maybe at the minute, Jackiey isn't in the right place to see the boys and bring them up because she doesn't make the right decisions sometimes and she might let the boys get away with things that most parents wouldn't. But he added he was sympathetic to Jeff, as he felt the TV presenter has 'not really got too much choice' but to prioritise Freddy's mental health, rather than Jackiey's desire to see them. Jade's husband Jack Tweed, who she married a month before she died, spoke out on Jeff's feud with Jade's mother Jackiey last week (seen with Jade in 2006) While Jack confessed that he that he knew Jade would not 'be over the moon' about the war between Jeff and Jackiey, as he said she had been determined not to let her sons have the same upbringing that she had. Jackiey is a former drug addict, who lost the use of her left arm in a motorbike accident, openly admitted smoking crack cocaine while Jade was a child, and in 2010 a video emerged of her taking cocaine. Jack said: 'Its hard because I'd never ever sit here and slag Jackiey off because I wouldn't ever do that to Jade. 'Jade wouldn't like that. Obviously, she's not going to be over the moon about what's going on, but at the same time she knew she struggled with her childhood with Jackiey, so she knew she wouldn't want the same for her boys.'Her whole life the main thing was she didn't want her boys having the same upbringing as what she did, which obviously they haven't, they've had a nicer upbringing with Jeff, but she wouldn't want Jackiey doing things that she wouldnt have with the boys.' Florence Pugh has admitted she is difficult to be in a relationship with due to her busy schedule as she confessed she is 'sympathetic' to her partner. The We Live In Time actress, 29, is currently dating Peaky Blinders star Finn Cole, however neither of the pair have officially confirmed their relationship. And now the star has admitted that while she recognises she isn't easy to date, she doesn't want to end up alone. Speaking to Harper's Bazaar she explained: 'I'm more sympathetic to the people who are in love with me, because it's not easy! 'I'm tricky I'm always busy, I can never make dates. But it's not good enough for me to ask someone to just to accept that.' She added: 'I'll just end up alone. I don't want that I want a family.' Florence Pugh has confessed being in a relationship with her is 'tricky' as she admits she is 'sympathetic' to her Peaky Blinders boyfriend Finn Cole The actress, 28, has admitted that while she recognises she isn't easy to date due to her busy schedule, she doesn't want to end up alone Florence and Finn have been friends for several years and were first reported to be secretly dating after they were seen slipping out of the after-party for the London premiere of Netflix hit The Perfect Couple together last September. They had previously been seen partying at Glastonbury Festival together, while Florence had been spotted liking his Instagram posts and shared her delight when it was revealed he had landed a role in the theatre production Red Speedo. Confirming she is in a relationship, Florence wouldn't name Finn but confessed she is very much in love and is approaching their romance differently to things in the past. Reflecting on her breakup with former long term boyfriend Zach Braff, who she split with in 2022, she added: 'It was a scary break-up and I think that movie forced me to realise I can't wait for people any more. 'I can't accept this version of love. I have to help myself.' Last December Florence admitted she had begun to feel like her life had 'spun' out of control after she put having a Hollywood career above all else. The actress revealed after wrapping We Live In Time she was forced to reevaluate her personal life and how she many sacrifices she had made. In an interview with The Times, Florence revealed how 'relationships came and went' after she split from Zach. The We Live In Time actress, 29, is currently dating Peaky Blinders star Finn Cole, however neither of the pair have officially confirmed their relationship (Finn pictured in 2022) Speaking to Harper's Bazaar she explained: 'I'm more sympathetic to the people who are in love with me, because it's not easy!' She added: 'I'm tricky I'm always busy, I can never make dates. But it's not good enough for me to ask someone to just to accept that' Reflecting on her breakup with former long term boyfriend Zach Braff, who she split with in 2022, she added: 'It was a scary break-up' (pictured together in 2023) Last December Florence admitted she had begun to feel like her life had 'spun' out of control after she put having a Hollywood career above all else The actress revealed after wrapping We Live In Time she was forced to reevaluate her personal life and how she many sacrifices she had made She said: 'I had this opportunity to look at my life away from my work. And I realised, OK, I need to wake the f*** up. 'I had to look away from my career, from movies, from wanting to be this kind of actor, that kind of actor. Or how many awards I would love to get before I pass away. 'Thats been my focus for ten years, but I want to make sure that the things I need to do, whether children, family, change, change in relationships well, I realised I need to make changes now. Because Im a worker bee and that is why Ive never wanted a break. Everything was just, wow! Whats next? And it is only ten years in that I can now go, oh, I need to do a bit of my life. ' Florence also confirmed her loved-up status during her October cover shoot with Vogue, she said: 'I am. OK, so something that I resonate with is that I believe that if magic is real, then it's falling in love.' Florence candidly revealed they are 'figuring it out' and admitted she is ready to start a family. She added: 'We are figuring what we actually are. And I think for the first time, I'm not allowing myself to go on a roller-coaster. 'I'm allowing myself to take time to let something evolve and let it be completely real to its core, as opposed to racing into that.' The May issue of Harpers Bazaar UK is on sale from April 17 Neighbours royalty Ian Smith has stunned fans with a remarkable health update, revealing he's feeling better than ever despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer just months ago. The beloved Aussie actor, best known for his role as the cardigan-wearing, tuba-playing Harold Bishop on the long-running soap, was told he had just weeks to live late last year. But in a miraculous turn of events, the 86-year-old says he feels like he's been 'reborn' following a ground-breaking immunotherapy treatment. 'I was supposed to die in March. I didn't. So I'm here to talk about me dying last month,' Smith said in an emotional interview on The Project. 'I know I've got cancer because doctors keep telling me I have. That's the only way I know. I've got no pain none of that.' Smith was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer called pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, which doctors initially told him was 'non-fixable'. Neighbours royalty Ian Smith has stunned fans with a remarkable health update, revealing he's feeling better than ever despite being diagnosed with terminal cancer just months ago But after being put on a revolutionary treatment plan which he cheekily described as being a 'guinea pig' for he's defied expectations and is now hoping for 'a year, maybe two' of extra life. 'I want to go forever,' he said, beaming. 'I don't want to play Harold anymore, but I don't want to stop acting.' And while Harold may have officially bid farewell to Ramsay Street this week, Smith's final scenes had viewers across the country in tears with his character announcing he was moving to Port Douglas, Queensland, in a sentimental send-off that featured a heart-warming flashback montage of fan favourites. Smith admitted filming those last episodes was deeply emotional, especially surrounded by his co-stars who he described as nothing short of 'family'. 'I love them all dearly,' he said. The veteran performer first stepped into Harold's shoes in 1987 and went on to become one of Neighbours' most iconic faces, known for his wholesome charm, slow-burning romances, and multiple disappearances (including being presumed dead after falling off a cliff in 1991 only to return five years later with amnesia). But in real life, Smith is writing a comeback story even more dramatic than any soap plot. And while his days as Harold may be over, the man behind the moustache isn't done yet. 'I'm not cured,' he said frankly. 'But I'm here. And I feel fine.' The beloved Aussie actor, best known for his role as the cardigan-wearing, tuba-playing Harold Bishop on the long-running soap, was told he had just weeks to live late last year From defying death to dreaming of his next role, Ian is proving that age and illness is no match for the Aussie spirit. 'I've been reborn,' he said. 'And I've still got stories to tell.' Ian announced in December he has pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, a rare form of cancer. In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Ian revealed that he was 'defying the odds' after initially being told he would die by March this year. 'I've got cancer, yes, I'm going to die soon but I seem to be defying the odds, which is good,' Ian revealed. Ian added that he still had at least one more thing to tick off his bucket list. 'I'm now thinking of buying a new car. That's not what you do if you're going to die in March,' he revealed. 'I'm determined to have an electric car before I die. And I was speaking to a salesman. I said, "Now, what about the delivery? Can you get to me before I'm dead?" And he was so shocked! I said, "Come on, let's have a giggle."' In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Ian revealed that he was 'defying the odds' after initially being told he would die by March this year. Pictured with co-star Jackie Woodburne Ian received news he would outlive his original prognosis just before Christmas. 'I took the second chance and I had to say to myself, "What are you going to do with it?"' he said. 'I'm still not sure I've worked out the answer to that but I'm certainly not going to mope around.' In January, Ian told TV Week his cancerous tumour had been shrinking after three rounds of treatment, including immunotherapy and chemotherapy. 'I did a PET scan and the words, I believe, were 'significant metabolic change, significant shrinkage of tumour,'' he said at the time. 'I've gone from a threat of dying this coming March to maybe a few more monthsand now, God, who knows? 'It's not a cure and it won't be a cure, but I certainly have got a year, maybe two. That's amazing. It really is.' Ian stepped down from his popular role on Neighbours last year amid his terminal cancer battle. Former Celebrity Big Brother contestant Tila Tequila looked worlds away from her extremely controversial time on the reality show in recent clips. The former glamour model and reality star, 43, was kicked off the 16th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2015 after it emerged she previously posed in front of Auschwitz wearing Nazi gear and claimed to be 'Hitila' or 'Hitler reborn'. She reportedly begged Channel 5 bosses to let her back into the CBB house by claiming she was high on drugs and severely depressed when she made the shocking comments. In 2021, Perez Hilton shared a bizarre clip of Tequila ranting about resurrection which he captioned: 'This is what she's up to now.' Tequila looked a far cry from her modelling days in the clip, with fans speculating that she could be on drugs as she reeled off bible passages about rising from the dead. Long gone were her fair wavy locks and glitzy ensembles as she sported straight dark tresses and a conservative white blouse. Former Celebrity Big Brother contestant Tila Tequila looked worlds away from her extremely controversial time on the reality show in recent clips (Seen in 2015 on CBB) Tequila looked a far cry from her modelling days in the clip, with fans speculating that she could be on drugs as she reeled off bible passages about rising from the dead Another snap shared by fans showed Tequila with thin dark hair and sporting a very modest high-neck white blouse. In 2018, Tequila called out social media users who had been scrutinising her physical appearance. She wrote: 'Meanwhile, I find it hilarious how all the haters have been calling me "fat" and telling me that God is going to punish me for the things I have been saying and always trying to send curses my way. But God took all your wretched curses and turned them into huge blessings for me instead!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAY!!!' Tequila's axing from the 2015 series of CBB, which was also known as Celebrity Big Brother: UK vs USA, came after her shockingly offensive posts, made in 2013, were unearthed. The posts prompted complaints from hundreds of viewers as well as the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, and she was removed from the house one day after entering. A spokesman for Channel 5, that airs the programme, said at the time: 'Unfortunately, Channel 5 and Endemol did not know about the views and attitudes Tila had expressed in social media postings prior to her involvement in Celebrity Big Brother. 'The views Tila had expressed, and permitted to remain uncorrected, are totally unacceptable and, accordingly, her continued involvement in the program was untenable.' Speaking to The Sun on Sunday after her axing, she said: 'I was doing a lot of drugs and suffering from severe depression. I wasnt well in the head.' The former glamour model and reality star, 43, was kicked off the 16th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2015 after it emerged she previously posed in front of Auschwitz wearing Nazi gear She reportedly begged Channel 5 bosses to let her back into the CBB house by claiming she was high on drugs and severely depressed when she made the shocking comments (Seen on show) Another snap shared by fans showed Tequila with thin dark hair and sporting a very modest high-neck white blouse Tequila strongly denied that she is anti-Semitic at the time - but in a series of online postings, including a blog entitled 'Why I sympathize with Hitler Part 1', she described the Nazi leader as a 'good man' who deserved forgiveness. She has since referred to the killing of six million Jews by the Nazi regime as the 'Holohoax.' Tequila was then banned from X, then-Twitter, the following year after a 24-hour Twitter tirade that began with wishing Adolf Hitler a happy birthday. In a truly shocking rant, Tequila called the Nazi leader her 'boo,' claimed to be the reincarnation of the dictator and posted a photo of herself wearing a Nazi cap, Hitler mustache and Swastika armband. 'On this great day of 420 I will HONOR our TRUE KING! They tried to destroy your legacy, but I will fight for you!' she tweeted along with a black and white photo of Hitler. In another tweet, she wrote: 'And happy birthday to my past life historical figure, most epic legend of all time, Mein Furhor (sic), Adolf Hitila! The MOST HIGH!' 'We all knew this day was coming! The 2nd coming of Christ in the end times prophecy has been fulfilled! #HeilHitila.' In 2018, Tequila called out social media users who had been scrutinising her physical appearance (Seen in 2008) Tequila's vile diatribe was also littered with slurs directed at Jewish, black and LGBTQ+ people. The offensive ramblings went on and on, explaining how the Singapore born former Playboy pinup is of 'Angelic descent,' how the Rapture will take place this year and promising to post a video of how to move between two parallel universes like she does. In a brief social media return in 2018, Tequila revealed that she was expecting a second child. 'The Lord God has blessed me with baby #2!!!!!' she wrote on the social media site Friday, according to E! News. 'Praise the Father in Heaven for He is merciful and graceful! I give glory to Him every day.' The Hills star Whitney Port revealed that she has had five miscarriages after welcoming her son Sonny as she opened up about her fertility journey on Tuesday. The Whitney Eve designer, 40, who welcomed son Sonny in 2017 with husband Tim Rosenman, broke down in tears as she candidly discussed trying to expand her family. She has now revealed that the couple have been trying to have more children for the last seven years and have faced a number of struggles. Speaking on SHE MD podcast, hosted by Dr Thais Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney, Whitney explained that she is now looking for a surrogate. Opening up about her battle, she said: 'My first pregnancy was extremely easy. I went off my birth control and within a couple months I was pregnant. I had no issues, no complications. 'I didn't feel great, but it was a completely healthy pregnancy. I was 32. Whitney Port has revealed that she has had five miscarriages after welcoming her son Sonny as she opened up about her fertility journey on a podcast on Tuesday The Whitney Eve designer, 40, who welcomed son Sonny in 2017 with husband Tim Rosenman 'About a year after I had Sonny, I got pregnant again and then miscarried at around eight weeks, and I had another miscarriage after that'. The TV personality said that this is when her doctor suggested she see a fertility specialist. She continued: 'At this point, I was 34 or 35. I've had a total of five miscarriages. One at eight weeks, a few at nine weeks, and one ended up at 11 weeks. All with heartbeats.' Whitney explained that the specialist didn't reveal any complications, and her doctor suggested she do the embryo transfer herself. After a round of in vitro fertilization, she had four embryos two boys and two girls that the doctor recommended she use. She added that the boy embryos had stronger grades than the two girls. She recalled: 'The week before I did a transfer, I got extremely sick, throwing up so much that I ended up having to have an endoscopy, and it was just a whole situation. 'I ended up not being able to do the transfer and basically had, like a mental breakdown.' Following the struggles, Whitney and her husband started talking to people about their fertility journey and decided to find a surrogate. Whitney broke down in tears as she candidly revealed that the couple have been trying to expand their family for the last seven years and have faced a number of struggles Speaking on SHE MD podcast, hosted by Dr. Thais Aliabadi and Mary Alice Haney, Whitney explained that she is now looking for a surrogate; pictured Tim and son Sonny She recalled: 'I was 34 or 35. I've had a total of five miscarriages. One at eight weeks, a few at nine weeks, and one ended up at 11 weeks. All with heartbeats' Discussing surrogacy, Whitney continued: 'We ended up doing two transfers with her and we used the girls even though they weren't graded as high. I wanted the girls. 'So, we put in one girl and she had a clot, a subchorionic hemorrhage. 'She went on bedrest, but then she miscarried, and the doctor recommended that we try again with her. He thought that it was just something random. 'We tried again with her, and the same thing happened, and heartbeat and everything. And then she miscarried. We obviously decided at that point we needed to take a little bit of a breather from everything.' Whitney and Tim decided to take a break for a year to figure out what they wanted to do next to expand their family. She said: 'We had talked to a lot of people and we thought that maybe doing a fresh round of embryos and a new surrogate was the best option. 'I had decided I really felt like carrying was off the table for me. 'We still do have those two embryos from that last round. That could be better because I was younger, who knows, but the other two didn't work, so maybe that batch was bad. 'So, I went this summer at 39 years old, and did another round with a different doctor, and ended up getting one healthy embryo. A male embryo. And now we are on the search for a new surrogate.' She said: 'I had decided I really felt like carrying was off the table for me. So, I went this summer at 39 years old, and did another round with a different doctor, and ended up getting one healthy embryo. A male embryo. And now we are on the search for a new surrogate' Whitney and Tim met in the mid-2000s at a birthday dinner for one of her ex-boyfriend's. The pair started dating in 2010 before tying the knot in 2015 and welcoming their son two years later Whitney and Tim met in the mid-2000s at a birthday dinner for one of her ex-boyfriend's. After having an almost immediate attraction to him, she revealed to a mutual friend that she thought she was already in love with him. Tim would end up working as a producer on Whitney's reality show, The City, and then the pair struck up a romance together less than two years after it concluded in 2010. They wound up dating for about three years when they decided to tie-the-knot in a ceremony in Palm Springs, California in November 2015. Their boy Sonny would ended up making his arrival into the world about two years after exchanging their nuptials. If you've been affected by this story contact Miscarriage Association on: www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk / 01924 200 799 A host of celebrities including Olivia Munn and Emily Ratajkowski have slammed the Blue Origin mission as 'gluttonous' and 'planet destroying' as Katy Perry comes under fire. The historic 11-minute expedition carried Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn. Blue Origin is owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 61, who is engaged to Sanchez, 55. Flight NS-31 marked the first launch with an all-female crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova's solo space flight in 1963. Ahead of the mission, Munn blasted it 'gluttonous' due to the extraordinary cost for just 11 minutes in space, as she declared: 'Some people can't even afford eggs!' And after the crew touched down, more celebrities took to social media to call out the voyage... here MailOnine takes a look at the stars who made their disdain known. Olivia Munn has called the Blue Origin mission 'gluttonous' while Emily Ratajkowski raged it was 'destroying the planet' as they lead the stars slamming the mission The historic 11-minute expedition carried Katy Perry , Lauren Sanchez , Gayle King , civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn Flight NS-31 marked the first launch with an all-female crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova's solo space flight in 1963 Emily Ratajkowski Model Emily Ratajkowski, 33, was among those to blast the mission as she said on Monday that she was 'disgusted' by it on her TikTok. 'That space mission this morning? That's end time s**t. Like, this is beyond parody,' she ranted. 'That you care about Mother Earth and it's about Mother Earth, and you're going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that's singlehandedly destroying the planet?' Ratajkowski continued, perplexed about the purpose of the quick journey: 'Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. 'For what? What was the marketing there?' She added: 'And then to try to make it like... I'm disgusted, literally I'm disgusted.' Model Emily Ratajkowski, 33, was among those to blast the mission as she said on Monday that she was 'disgusted' by it on her TikTok Olivia Munn Earlier this month, actress Olivia Munn slammed the space mission ahead of its launch, while appearing on Today With Jenna And Friends. 'What are they doing? Like why? You know what I mean?' she said. 'I know that this is probably not the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now.' Munn then added: 'What are you going to do up in space? What are you doing up there?' The mother-of-two went on to compare the launch to a ride at Disneyland, before asking why those on the trip needed 'to tell' everyone about it, versus just going up, having a nice time and coming back down. 'I know that this is probably obnoxious - but like, it's so much money to go to space. You know, there's a lot of people that can't even afford eggs,' she stressed. Host, Jenna Bush Hager, then informed Olivia that the all-female crew will go to space 'in glam' which prompted the actress to give a confused reaction. 'They are getting their hair done, their makeup done, even eyelash extensions,' Hager continued. Munn was left speechless once again and then questioned: 'They said this out loud?' The actress silently shook her head and Hager humorously added: 'Yeah, and a lot of eyelash glue to nail that baby down. That's what I can't stop thinking about.' Earlier this month, actress Olivia Munn slammed the space mission ahead of its launch, while appearing on Today With Jenna And Friends 'What are they doing? Like why? You know what I mean?' she said. 'I know that this is probably not the cool thing to say' Amy Schumer Comedian Amy Schumer joined in on the backlash as she shared clips of herself mocking the mission and pretending she was joining. 'Guys, last second they added me to space and I'm going to space,' she said in a video on social media as she held a black panther toy mocking Katy, who brought a daisy to represent her daughter Daisy. 'I'm bringing this thing. It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag and I was on the Subway, and I got the text and they were like, "Do you want to go to space?" so I'm going to space.' 'Thank you to everyone who got me here, I'll see you guys in space.' In a second clip Schumer was lying on a bed in a doctor's office and continued to ramble about the mission, slurring her speech in a suggestion she was under some sort of anaesthetic. She said: 'So I'm going space. I'm so excited. Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry and Amanda Nguyen have been my guiding lights through this whole journey, which I just got called to be part of the space team this morning - and I'm loving it. 'I've always wanted to go to space... and also I just want to say how high were the people who came up with the name for space, were they like "What should we call it? It's got so much like... space, you know". And they were like "That's it! Call it space" And like... was that the best they could do? But okay I'm going there and I can't wait.' Comedian Amy Schumer joined in on the backlash as she shared clips of herself mocking the mission and pretending she was joining In a second clip Schumer was lying on a bed in a doctor's office and continued to ramble about the mission Olivia Wilde Having safely returned to Texas, Perry was photographed kissing the ground, a picture that quickly spread across social media. Olivia Wilde shared a meme of the kissing snaps on her Instagram Stories as she made clear her disapproval. The meme shared by Wilde referenced the recent surge in plane crashes and saw two pictures of Perry, one of her kissing the ground and another punching the air, with the caption: 'Getting off a commercial flight in 2025.' The Don't Worry Darling director captioned her sharing of the meme: 'Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess.' Film producer Paddy Higson has died at the age of 83 following a battle with cancer. Her children Michael, Chris and Frances announced the news in a Facebook post on Monday, revealing she was 'surrounded by love' in her final hours. Alongside an image of their mother, they wrote: 'Yesterday evening our mum's battle with cancer reached its inevitable conclusion and she passed gently away surrounded by her family and so much love. 'Not only have the three of us lost our amazing and extraordinary mother, we as a wider community have lost a kind and generous, supportive and selfless pioneer. 'We are heartbroken but find comfort in knowing she is no longer suffering.' They promised to announce funeral arrangements later. Paddy began her career with the BBC in the 1970s as a production secretary and went on to produce several episodes of Taggart, Monarch of the Glen, and Cardiac Arrest. Film producer Paddy Higson has died at the age of 83 following a battle with cancer (pictured receiving a Scottish BAFTA in 2018) She also worked with director Bill Forsyth on Scottish film Gregory's Girl. In 2018, she was presented her with a Scottish BAFTA for for her outstanding contribution to the Scottish film industry. While presenting her with the award, actor David Hayman described her as 'the mother of the Scottish film industry'. She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2023 Kings New Years Honours List for her services to the Film and Television Industry and to Diversity and Inclusion in Film and Television. Speaking to GMAC about her work in 2019, she confessed: 'I got involved in film by accident, if you like. 'I was working at the BBC as a production secretary and the producer I was working for at the time got involved in doing some early television programmes. I went along as his assistant. 'Through that, I met my husband who was a film editor. Later he had a company with another film editor and director, Murray Grigor Viz Ltd. They made documentary films for an organisation called Films of Scotland. 'They wanted somebody to organise things for them. I seemed to be quite good at it, so I got involved. I got a huge amount of pleasure from facilitating and making things happen.' Paddy's children Michael, Chris and Frances announced the news in a Facebook post on Monday, revealing she was 'surrounded by love' in her final hours She continued: 'I was very lucky because it was a very small industry Everybody knew everybody. I knew Bill Forsyth quite well. He was wanting to make a film called That Sinking Feeling (1979) and I got involved in that. 'That project led to Gregorys Girl (1981), then to all sorts of other films. Thats how it happened.' BAFTA Scotland paid tribute to the producer on social media, writing: 'We were saddened to hear of the passing of Paddy Higson OBE. 'Higson was a trailblazer in the Scottish screen industry, having worked on Gregory's Girl, Restless Natives, and Taggart. 'She received the BAFTA Scotland Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Scottish Industry in 2018.' Blake Lively was captured in an awkward interaction with Anna Kendrick at a London photocall for Another Simple Favor on Tuesday after a string of painful press interviews. The pair looked to be in a tense exchange at the Corinthia Hotel as they promoted the new film ahead of its launch on Prime Video on May 1. Blake, 37, wore a black cardigan with gold trim, adding dark tights and knee-length black boots for the shoot. She toted a black and gold Chanel handbag and accessorised with a range of golden jewellery, letting her long blonde tresses loose. Co-star Anna, 39, sported a bright red vest with gold buttons, teaming the item with a matching mini-skirt and completing the look with some sparkly gold heels. The pair were joined by fellow stars Paul Feig, Laura Fischer and Henry Golding as they posed for photos in front of the London Eye. Blake Lively was captured in an awkward interaction with Anna Kendrick at a London photocall for Another Simple Favor on Tuesday after a string of painful press interviews The pair seemed to be having a tense exchange at the Corinthia Hotel as they promoted the new film The shoot comes amid swirling rumours of tension between Blake - who has also been locked in a legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni - and Anna ahead of the A Simple Favor sequel. Its South By Southwest premiere last month was overshadowed by controversy including a protestor brandishing a 'Justice for Justin Baldoni, Blake lied' sign and a seemingly icy reunion with Anna. Despite the drama, the Gossip Girl star gushed about the event, comparing it to a 'rock concert' on in an Instagram post. In the caption she wrote: 'Watching @asimplefavor opening night @sxsw felt like a rock concert. Thank you to the very best audience. Texas turns it out. 'Making this movie was already the gift, every element of it. To share it with you all and feel the love returned to us was the best feeling. Thank you for having us Austin.' In March, Blake was accused of beefing up the crowd at the premiere after she was seen posing for a selfie with Laurie Feig, the wife of Another Simple Favor director Paul. Some of the star's critics became convinced based on photos that Laurie was pretending to be a fan in the crowd, despite being married to the filmmaker. 'Why is the director of Another Simple Favors wife pretending to be a fan in the crowd waiting for Blake on the red carpet to take a selfie?' wrote a YouTuber critical of Blake. Blake, 37, wore a black cardigan with gold trim while her co-star sported a bright red vest with gold buttons, teaming the item with a matching mini-skirt The It Ends With Us star accessorised with a range of golden jewellery, letting her long blonde tresses loose The shoot comes amid swirling rumours of tension between Blake - who has also been locked in a legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni - and Anna ahead of the sequel Anna meanwhile teamed her red vest with a matching mini-skirt and let her tresses loose for the promotional session Blake also toted a black and gold Chanel handbag which featured a gold chain and a built-in mirror The pair have reunited for the much-anticipated film, which follows Stephanie Smothers (Anna) and Emily Nelson (Blake) as they 'head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily's extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman,' per IMDB. The leading stars have been hit by rumors of a 'secret feud' after reuniting on set - five years after the original movie came out. 'Watch how many PR bots reply that this is normal, internalized misogyny, and why do you care?' the poster added. The premiere also started off on the wrong foot, as Blake was greeted by a protestor. Proving that the PR disaster of It Ends With Us is far from over, a woman was seen wearing a shirt that said 'Blake lied' and holding the opinionated sign, as the star walked the red carpet nearby. To make matters worse, there were more excruciating moments as Blake's co-star Anna had an awkward response to a question about working with her on the film. 'Oh you know...' Anna cryptically said on the red carpet when asked what it was like to work with Blake again. There were also no photos of Blake and Anna posing solo together, aside from a picture with their director. The star smiled for pictures during the event ahead of the movie's launch on Amazon Prime Video on May 1 Blake added gold bracelets on her right wrist, gold rings on both hands and a gold plated watch with a black strap The actress seemed in good spirts at the event, wearing gold and silver earrings and chatting away to the rest of the cast and crew The pair were joined by fellow stars Paul Feig, Laura Fischer and Henry Golding as they posed for photos in front of the London Eye It was previously reported that Anna is less than thrilled that her co-star's legal drama is overshadowing their film. Inside the event, the stars were pictured awkwardly standing next to each other, with Anna holding her head down as she listened to the Gossip Girl star speak. Blake excitedly recounted the filming of the movie in Capri, Italy, as her colleague stood by and only glanced over once in a video shared by Variety. While talking to Variety, Anna shared a vague response when questioned about how the movie has been affected by 'everything going on in the world.' 'Why, what happened? I did ayahuasca and the last year of my life is just gone,' the star replied, referencing to the plant-based psychedelic. The actress then continued, 'But I've heard the movie is amazing,' before walking away. Blake and Anna were also seen on the red carpet together in March, but director Paul Feig noticeably stood in between the pair for the photos. The filmmaker reflected on working with the stars once again following the 2018 film A Simple Favor and gushed to People that it was 'too much fun.' The film's South By Southwest premier last month was overshadowed by controversy including a seemingly icy reunion with co-star Anna Last month, Blake was also accused of beefing up the crowd at the premiere after she was seen posing for a selfie with Laurie Feig, the wife of Another Simple Favor director Paul It was previously reported that Anna is less than thrilled that her co-star's legal drama is overshadowing their film Meanwhile a fan asked the Gossip Girl star: 'Blake, what does it mean to be back with Anna?' 'Oh, it's the best! I'm so happy,' she gushed before being guided to take additional photos during the festivities. A source told People last month: 'The comments on Instagram have upset her, especially the ones saying fans are now refusing to watch the movie because they don't want to support Blake.' They further explained that the Pitch Perfect star is 'not used to being caught up in any drama'. However another insider shared: 'The film is in the early stages of planning what press will look like, and Blake and Anna will be doing some things together.' A separate source explained to DailyMail.com: 'These movies are basically all Anna and Blake have in common. They have a working relationship, by no means a close friendship or bond. 'Last-minute talks are underway with execs as Anna would prefer to distance herself from Blake going forward.' The insider added: 'It was originally planned that the two would do much of the promotion together. That's what the studio requested, and Anna and Blake agreed to it. But Anna could go it alone over fears she will get caught up in the drama.' It comes a month after the two stars continued to keep their distance while promoting their sequel Another Simple Favor during the SXSW Film Festival in Austin A separate source explained to DailyMail.com, 'These movies are basically all Anna and Blake have in common. They have a working relationship, by no means a close friendship or bond' (pictured: the duo in 2018) Anna and Blake are also rumored to have clashed over their billing on the sequel and Blake failing to address the effect of her lawsuit on the movie. In regards to the position of their names when it came to the billing, another source shared, 'In the original film Anna got top billing over Blake. She thought it was a no-brainer that the same would happen this time around. But Blake didn't see it that way. 'She fought, through her reps to get top billing over Anna, who refused to bow to Blake's demands. Finally, after weeks of negotiations a deal was struck between the actresses. 'They agreed on staggered billing, which meant Anna's name would read first and Blake's would be above hers but on the right-hand side. In the business that's considered equal billing,' the source explained. Meanwhile, Blake is continuing to slam It Ends With Us director Justin, 41, amid their raging legal war. The pair have been locked in a court battle since December 2024 after she accused him of sexual harassment and launching a 'smear campaign' against her. He responded by filing a $400million defamation lawsuit against Blake, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, and her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane. Justin also filed a $250m libel lawsuit against the New York Times for its reporting on Blake's claims. All parties have denied the allegations against them. Blake filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in December against Justin Baldoni, who also co-starred in the hit romantic drama It Ends With Us And as Blake and Ryan attempt to get Justin's 'retaliatory' lawsuit thrown out, the actress' legal team is hurling more accusations the 41-year-old actor's way. On Thursday, the star accused Justin and his legal team of using 'scorched earth litigation' tactics to silence sexual harassment accusers. In a statement to Us Weekly, Blake's lawyers claimed that Justin is trying to 'tear down' California laws that were put in place to protect victims from being sued 'into oblivion' by their perpetrators. 'Mr. Baldoni has gone from monetizing a brand devoted to believing and supporting women, to leading the charge to tear down the very law that protects women who come forward about sexual assault, harassment and discrimination,' Blake's team's statement began. 'California's sexual harassment privilege, AB 933, was enacted to stop perpetrators of sexual harassment from abusing defamation lawsuits to sue their accusers into oblivion.' Team Blake continued: 'The chilling message scorched earth litigation sends to victims is stay silent or be destroyed.' Her attorneys then went on to mention the 'reply brief' that they filed Thursday on Blake's behalf as part of her ongoing attempt to have Justin's lawsuit dismissed. 'As demonstrated in the reply brief Ms. Lively filed today, the Wayfarer Parties' attempt to slap Ms. Lively with a retaliatory lawsuit for her decision to speak out against the sexual harassment she experienced on set has not only failed miserably but exposes them to substantial economic damages,' the statement continued. The pair have been locked in a court battle since December 2024 after she accused him of sexual harassment and launching a 'smear campaign' against her 'Ms. Lively will continue to show all victims that they are not alone, that they do not have to stay silent, and that the law is on their side.' According to Thursday's reply brief, which was also obtained by Us Weekly, Blake's lawyers stated that Justin and the 'Wayfarer Parties have tied themselves in knots trying to state a defamation claim against Ms. Lively that is not barred by the statute of limitations or wholly contained within her Legal Complaints, which they concede cannot form the basis of any actionable claims.' Blake's latest statement came just days after insiders exclusively told DailyMail.com that she is now privately struggling with creeping 'regret' over her legal war with Justin. Justin accused Blake of staging a PR stunt against him which he claimed was 'designed to ruin the reputations and careers of the Wayfarer parties' after she filed to dismiss his $400 million lawsuit on March 20. In his recent filing, Justin stated he was 'exercising' his First Amendment right 'to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims.' Blake's attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told TMZ last Friday: 'That's right: Justin Baldoni, the man who has built his brand on supposedly speaking up for victims, believes that the First Amendment rights of victims of sexual assault and harassment to speak out should give way to the rights of perpetrators to sue their victims "into oblivion."' Her legal team further stated that Justin and his lawyer Bryan Freedman are trying to 'shed' a law that protects victims and also prevents others from speaking out in the future. In response, Freedman told DailyMail.com: 'This convoluted statement makes it abundantly clear that Ms. Lively and team are rattled and once again resorting to making inflammatory remarks to steer focus away from the actual facts. 'Clearly they want to divert the public's attention from the receipts, the actual documents, video footage and additional evidence shown that make it irrefutable that there was no sexual harassment.' Freedman added it is 'surprising that Ms. Lively and her team are suddenly speaking so passionately about the hard won rights of the survivor community, considering she sidestepped this topic for the entirety of the film campaign... 'Focusing instead on her hair care and alcohol products which at that time caused the organic backlash that she received. She does not need discovery to find out who smeared her. Just a mirror will do.' Justin's attorney also recently told TMZ, 'Ms. Lively and her circle of Hollywood elites cannot prevent my clients from exercising their constitutional right to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims.' Kai Widdrington has reportedly found love again, nine months after his acrimonious split from fellow dancer Nadiya Bychkova. The Strictly Come Dancing star, 29, is said to be secretly dating Chloe Wells, an executive assistant who hails from Essex, after meeting on a night out at a west London pub. According to The Sun, they have kept their romance private as Kai struggled with the publicity surrounding his past relationship with Nadiya, but are now set to make their debut red carpet appearance together. And in a sign of how well things are progressing, the couple are reportedly planning to move in together soon. A pal told the publication: 'Chloe is a great girl and has absolutely no interest in the limelight; she just likes Kai for Kai. They have a real laugh together and although its early days, theyre planning on moving in together in the coming months. 'Kai found it very damaging to his mental health having his past relationship with Nadiya played out in public, and thankfully Chloe has no interest at all in being in the spotlight. She also isnt a Strictly superfan which makes things easier. Kai Widdrington has reportedly found love again, nine months after his acrimonious split from fellow dancer Nadiya Bychkova (pictured with Nadiya) The Strictly Come Dancing star, 29, is said to be secretly dating Chloe Wells, an executive assistant who hails from Essex, after meeting on a night out at a West London pub 'Theyre super-content, and Kai attributes a lot of his looking so well to being in a happier place in life thanks to her. They make a really cute couple.' Representatives for Kai had no further comment when contacted by MailOnline. MailOnline confirmed Kai had split from his Strictly co-star Nadiya, 35, after two years in June, at the end of their lucrative tour Behind the Magic. The dancers reportedly ended their romance after 'emotionally drifting away from each other' with sources claiming they were battling off-stage problems during their tour. It was reported at the time that the pressure of being in each other's space 24/7 eventually 'took its toll' on their relationship. A friend of Kai and Nadiya told The Sun: 'Its heartbreaking. Kai and Nadiya seemed like the most perfect couple and have been so, so blissfully in love. 'But the pressures of touring - being in each others space 24/7 and the stress of performing a sell-out show - eventually took its toll. 'They had been drifting emotionally for a while, and things actually came to a head during the tour - ironically called Behind The Magic - which, obviously, was incredibly problematic.' MailOnline confirmed Kai had split from his Strictly co-star Nadiya, 35, after two years in June, at the end of their lucrative tour Behind the Magic (pictured on tour in June) But it appeared the split was far from amicable, with the pair having to be kept far apart at the National Television Awards in September (Nadiya pictured left and Kai right at the NTAs) Kai and Nadiya made the mutual decision to quit 'after a rough few weeks' once their tour finished, the source added. But it appeared the split was far from amicable, with the pair having to be kept far apart at the National Television Awards in September. An onlooker told MailOnline at the time: 'When the pair got inside the O2 they gave each other a very wide berth. 'Organisers had ensured there would be no awkward camera shots by keeping the frosty pair apart from each other. 'Angela Rippon was on Kai's arm all night, and was keen to show her support after his recent demotion. When it came to accepting Strictly's award, Kai was front of centre behind Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman but Nadiya was nowhere to be seen. 'If this is what they are like at an awards bash, imagine what things are like in the rehearsal room.' Nadiya later spoke out about their split at the Pride Of Britain Awards in October, where she admitted they are 'not friends'. However, the Ukrainian star insisted that she and Kai were still able to dance and work together on Strictly because she was a 'professional'. Nadiya spoke out about the split at the Pride Of Britain Awards (seen) in October, where she admitted they are 'not friends' but insisted they can still work together as she's 'a professional' The talented dancer originally confirmed their romance in 2022, during an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail Weekend magazine after months of speculation Speaking to The Mirror, Nadiya said: 'We work together but we are not friends and that's OK. 'One thing I can tell you is that when you see me dancing with him it will be amazing because I'm a professional.' The talented dancer originally confirmed their romance in 2022, during an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail Weekend magazine after months of speculation. Nadiya confessed: 'We've been seeing each other properly for a couple of months now. It's early days and we've been rehearsing for the Strictly Professionals tour, so there's been very little free time. 'But we're getting to know more and more about each other day by day. He's kind and compassionate and makes me laugh. I feel very relaxed with him.' Ali Bastian revealed her mother has died while she was battling cancer. The Hollyoaks star, 43, who recently revealed that she is 'free from cancer' after having a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, shared her tragic loss in an emotional post on Tuesday. Alongside a snap showing the mother and daughter together at her wedding, Ali revealed her 'beautiful' mum died in 2023 just before Ali was diagnosed with cancer - but she has been grieving privately until now. She penned: 'I wrote this on Mothers Day but didnt end up posting, but here goes. TW grief. We lost our beautiful Mum in the autumn of 23, only a few months before my diagnosis. 'A sudden death after a short terrible illness. Impossible to make sense of. 'Grief, I attempted to put on hold whilst I managed a grueling treatment regime now comes in waves, sometimes crashing, sometimes tidal, rarely gentle but I try to go gently with myself as I navigate life after cancer and life without you. Hollyoaks star Ali Bastian, 43, announced her mother's death in a tragic Instagram post on Tuesday following her own cancer battle The Hollyoaks star, 43, recently revealed that she is 'free from cancer' after having a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, has now bravely shared the tragic loss in an emotional post 'I love you Mum, always and forever. Days like today are so complicated letting in all the love from my little people and loving them back with all my might whilst the child within me longs for your arms wrapped tight around me. 'I hope you are watching over us Mum and I hope we are making you proud xxxxx'. Fans took to the comments to say they 'admire' Ali for her 'strength and courage' while others related to losing a parent. 'I admire your great strength and courage ali. Your mums spirit is here with you and your family. Sending love always; 'Ali this is so terribly sad, I'm sure your mum is watching over you and being so proud. You come so far with your treatment , be proud of yourself, you've done amazingly. Sending love to you; 'Sending you so much love and hugs. I too lost my mum so suddenly in autumn 2023, the devastating effect it has and the deep deep sadness, plus you going though everything that you have she will be so proud of you; 'Oh Ali Im so sorry you are having to go through so much. I lost my mum to cancer many years ago but I still have a huge part of me missing. You are so strong and amazing and I know she will be watching over you xxx'. Ali, who is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap from 2001 to 2007, was told by doctors in June last year that she had stage two breast cancer. Fans took to the comments to say they 'admire' Ali for her 'strength and courage' while others related to losing a parent Ali revealed that she is now cancer free in a huge health update shared last month The star, who is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap from 2001 to 2007, was told by doctors in June last year that she had stage two breast cancer In December, she told how she had just finished five months of chemotherapy - describing the process as 'major'. She also had a mastectomy. And last month she shared a new Instagram post saying that she was cancer-free and 'couldn't believe it'. She wrote in the caption: 'I wanted to update you all. I'm on to my final week of radio therapy which should mark the end my active treatment - I hope and pray for good. 'I had my mastectomy in January which was thankfully a success and has healed really well, it proved that my chemo had worked. As I sit here right now, I'm free from Cancer. I can't even believe it. 'I have the most incredible team at CUH and I'm so grateful for every single one of them. The nurses who have given me compassion, time and space to share and talk about my experience of a very challenging treatment pathway One that although we thank god exists, is not only a lot for the body to process but an awful lot to process mentally and emotionally.' The actress continued: 'My consultants - golly, to be surrounded by such excellence. We used to joke on TV sets when we all started to take ourselves a bit too seriously 'come on guys, we're not curing cancer here.' 'Well these incredible men and women dedicate their lives to doing just that, at least that is what they hope for, for all of us. I hope one day their dreams are realised for everyone touched by this. 'Another shout out for Stef in the Dunmanway who makes tea for all the chemo patients... thank you for taking time to know us as we pass through the clinic week after week. You make an incredible difference to a lonely journey, as do all the onc nurses who are not only incredible but the hand holds, the tears, the laughs and the kindness will never be forgotten.' Ali continued, saying that it feels 'unreal' to have been told she's cancer free after the 'shock diagnosis.' Last month, she shared a new Instagram post saying that she was cancer-free and 'couldn't believe it' Ali married actor and producer for Big Finish Productions, David O'Mahony, in February 2019 She explained: 'To be coming out of the other side of this feels unreal, after the shock of a diagnosis it's hard to let in the light and believe that it might just be ok. The road back to my life won't be a linear one and I will share with you as always, as much of my truth of this experience as I can. 'I am so, so grateful for all of your support. People with cancer, experiencing cancer treatment need love. Full stop. Unconditional, arms around you love and support. I've really felt that from you all, also in my day to day life from the most unexpected of places. When it's dark, look for stars.' In December Ali marked the end of five months of chemotherapy treatment amid her breast cancer battle. Updating fans, Ali revealed that she had completed five months of chemo - describing the process as 'major'. She was flooded with messages of support from fans, co-stars and celebrity pals alike, as she said their kindness 'gets her through'. Sharing a sweet video of her and husband David O'Mahony, Ali said: 'I got to ring (the tiny little bell I stole from my kid's music box as they don't do the [bell] thing here in Ireland) after five months of chemotherapy. I'm still halfway through this last cycle, so much still to process on every level. 'Chemo is major. The oncology nursing team at the Dunmanway CUH are INCREDIBLE, I said to them as I left it's not that I never want to see them again because I love them all so much, I just hope the next time I do we all have a glass of Prosecco in our hands raising money and awareness for all their incredible work. 'For anyone going through this, you think the end will never come and then through the fog the goal posts appear. You are not alone.' She added: 'Thank you all so, so much. I read every kind word of support and it honestly gets me through xxxxxxx .' Messages of support flooded in from Ali's celebrity pals, as Lizzie Cundy said: 'Stay positive and keep strong my beautiful friend . You are amazing ,'; 'You are AMAZING ,' said Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas, while fellow soap co-star Gemma Merna said: 'You are amazing Ali .' Ashley James said: 'Thinking of you Ali ,' with Anna Williamson adding: 'You're absolutely amazing so much love .' 'Sending love xxxxxxx ,' said Helen Skelton, with Giovanna Fletcher adding: 'Sending you huge amounts of love!! Xxx.' Hollyoaks alum Danny Mac shared love hearts, with Dermot O'Leary also sending support. The Strictly pros also turned out, with Karen Hauer saying 'Sending love ' and Janette Manrara adding: 'Keep going! Sending you all the love.' Meanwhile Ola Jordan said: 'Sending you love Ali ,' and Ian Watkins saying 'Huge hugs xxxx.' 'Jesus I had no idea,' said presenter Kelle Bryan. 'Keep fighting warrior, you got this sending all my love and prayers.' Last year, Ali was rushed to hospital amid her cancer treatment. Sharing an update to her Instagram Story, she posed for a selfie and told her followers she was getting some much needed rest. Ali wrapped up warm in a knitted hat and a padded coat a walk through the countryside. Ali is best known for playing Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap from 2001 to 2007 She captioned the post: 'Thank you so much to all at Cork University Hospital A&E for taking care of me this weekend. Back home now getting some fresh air and some rest.' Ali recently opened up about losing her hair in a candid interview. She admitted she feared she would 'lose her identity' along with her hair after shaving her head. She told The Sun's Fabulous magazine: 'I trot around with a bald head all the time at home. But I'd had this fear that becoming bald from chemo was me 'becoming' a cancer patient, and that was all anyone would see. 'I thought it would be like losing my identity.' But Ali revealed the first time she took her wig off, it only felt like a big deal for 'a split second'. She added: 'Then it felt all right, and then it just felt normal. I'm hot and my bald head needs some air!' If something in your body doesn't feel right, contact your GP practice. To rule out cancer, they may refer you for further tests. It's probably nothing serious, but finding cancer early makes it more treatable and can save lives. Whatever the result, your NHS is here for you. For more information on cancer signs and symptoms, go to nhs.uk/cancersymptoms. Pregnant Poppy Delevingne showed off her baby bump in a stylish striped co-ord as she attended a brunch with Nobody's Child at The Orangery in London on Tuesday. The socialite, 38, who announced she was pregnant with her first child in January, was all smiles as she celebrated her upcoming collaboration with the brand. Poppy looked incredible in a white and brown woven shirt which she teamed with matching wide legged trousers. The sister of supermodel Cara kept comfortable in a pair of white trainers and accessorised with chunky gold cuff bracelets. Styling her long blonde tresses in a neat waved up do, the beauty wore minimal makeup to showcase her beauty. Poppy flashed her gorgeous smiles as she cradled her baby bump while posing for photos in front of a black cab with her face printed on the side. Pregnant Poppy Delevingne showed off her baby bump in a stylish striped co-ord as she attended a brunch with Nobody's Child at The Orangery in London on Tuesday The mum-to-be shelter under a red umbrella alongside pal Paula Anton as they made their way inside for the lavish brunch. Poppy was joined at the bash by actress Clara Paget who put on a leggy display in a pair of towering black thigh high boots. The St Trinian's 2 star teamed the eye catching footwear with a chic black and red floral minidress and a coordinated handbag. Elsewhere Victoria's Secret model Jessica Clarke hugged Poppy and cradled her bump as she arrived and posed for photos together. The model showed off her amazing figure in a stylish white and pink crochet crop top which she teamed with blue denim trousers. Styling her long blonde tresses loose, she added inches to her frame in a pair of denim stilettos and toted her belongings in a matching shoulder bag. Meanwhile model and socialite Lady Lola Crichton-Stuart turned heads in a leopard print maxi dress which she teamed with a long black fur coat. The stunner added inches to her frame in a pair of black boots and accessorised with a silver cross necklace. Poppy looked incredible in a white and brown woven shirt which she teamed with matching wide legged trousers and a red Blunt Umbrella; pictured with Paula Anton The socialite, 38, who announced she was pregnant with her first child in January, was all smiles as she celebrated her upcoming collaboration with the brand Poppy flashed her gorgeous smiles as she cradled her baby bump while posing for photos in front of a black cab with her face printed on the side The mum-to-be shelter under a red Blunt Umbrella alongside pal Paula Anton as they made their way inside for the lavish brunch Jaime Winstone cut a cool figure in a blue denim tasseled jacked which she wore over a black hooded dress. The Donkey Punch actress elevated her frame in a pair of stilettos and opted for a pair of dark sunglasses. Jaime posed with pal and Johnny English reborn star Josephine de La Baume as they coordinated in matching denim jackets. Josephine flashed her toned midriff in a white and blue crop top under her jacket and rocked a pair of black trousers. The Queer Bible founder Jack Guinness, 43, cut a dapper figure in a brown checked blazer which he donned over a crisp white shirt and blue denim jeans. Jack and Jaime looked in high spirits as they posed with the star of the brunch Poppy. During the brunch, guests were treated to a number of delicious foods as they sipped on champagne at the floral decorated table. Poppy announced that she was expecting her first child, a girl, with businessman boyfriend Archie Keswick in January. The socialite told ELLE: 'She really is all I've ever wanted.' Poppy was joined at the bash by actress Clara Paget who put on a leggy display in a pair of towering black thigh high boots and a chic black and red floral minidress Elsewhere Victoria's Secret model Jessica Clarke hugged Poppy and cradled her bump as she arrived and posed for photos together The model showed off her amazing figure in a stylish white and pink crochet crop top which she teamed with blue denim trousers Meanwhile model and socialite Lady Lola Crichton-Stuart turned heads in a leopard print maxi dress which she teamed with a long black fur coat Lola was seen placing her hands of Poppy's baby bump The duo beamed as they posed for photos ahead of sitting down the for lunch Jaime Winstone cut a cool figure in a blue denim tasseled jacked which she wore over a black hooded dress Jaime posed with pal and Johnny English reborn star Josephine de La Baume as they coordinated in matching denim jackets While Poppy admitted that she would have been happy with any gender of baby, as she comes from a family of girls, the news was particularly welcome. She added: 'Obviously, I would have been fine with either and when I was younger I always thought when I get pregnant, I wouldnt find out, but the second we got told we could find out, we did. 'Im so excited. I come from all girls, were very girl heavy. Girls are great.' The impending arrival will have more than just her mum for style inspiration, but her aunt, Cara, who is just as excited to meet the baby. Poppy said of their Christmas family time: We were all in New York, with each other and with the bump and there was a lot of talking to the bump, stroking the bump. They're just elated. The model admitted that becoming a mum a little later in life has also made the experience all the more special. Poppy said: 'It just feels like such an extraordinary privilege to be able to do this, to be able to have a baby at this age and at this time.' The star did not consider the possibility that she was pregnant until London Fashion Week when she realised her clothes were tighter than usual. A pregnancy test shortly after confirmed the happy news. Jaime was all smiles as she sat next to Moyo Akande The Queer Bible founder Jack Guinness, 43, cut a dapper figure in a brown checked blazer which he donned over a crisp white shirt and blue denim jeans Jack and Jaime looked in high spirits as they posed with the star of the brunch Poppy Poppy beamed as she posed alongside Nobody's Child CEO Jody Plows ahead of the bash Actress Moyo wowed in a white and orange floral gown which she teamed with clear sandals Olivia Buckingham cut a trendy figure in a white lace blouse which she teamed with blue jeans and white stilettos Poppy showed off her growing bump while posing with Noa Sturgeon It came after Poppy went public with her and Archie's relationship at BTS Hyde Park in July 2024. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, he has a private fortune of an estimated 6.35bn. He is the son of Simon Keswick, former director of multi-billion-pound Hong Kong conglomerate Jardine Matheson - owner of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. In 2019, the now 44-year-old was named as one of the UK's most eligible bachelors. Last month, Poppy cut a stylish figure as she stepped out in a leather-look jacket and stylish black fit in London. The model was more than happy to pose for the camera as she attended Clinque's The Science of Glow event, tying her hair back with a single black ribbon to match her leather jacket and turtleneck dress. It was the 'mean' sketch that sparked a furious transatlantic row over teeth, with British stars leading the charge against the supposedly cruel mocking of actress Aimee Lou Wood on Saturday Night Live. The White Lotus star, whose role in the HBO drama has been somewhat overshadowed by an obsession with her non-Hollywood-conforming smile, appeared to put to bed the backlash when she claimed to have received an apology. But sources have since told Daily Mail that bosses have not officially apologized to the British star, 31. They have in fact outright refused to do so because they believe the controversy to be 'ridiculous,' according to the insider. 'Far worse has been said about other celebrities and everyone knows that this is what SNL does. It's comedy. It is meant to entertain,' the source said. The sketch in question, named The White Potus, featured SNL cast members portraying the Trump family and various political figures on vacation at the fictional Thai resort. Walton Goggins' White Lotus character, Rick, was reimagined as Robert F Kennedy Jr by Jon Hamm who went on a rambling rant about vaccines and questioned what would happen to people's teeth if 'all the fluoride [was taken] out of the water.' The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood (pictured) claimed Saturday Night Live issued an apology to her after she slammed a sketch that mocked her teeth SNL cast member Sarah Sherman (pictured) wore huge prosthetic teeth while parodying Wood, 31, in the 'White Potus' sketch, which Wood described as 'mean and unfunny' The camera then cut to Wood's ditzy character Chelsea, played by SNL comedian Sarah Sherman, who was sporting exaggerated buck teeth and asked: 'Fluoride? What's that?' The parody wasn't received favorably by the Sex Education actress, who took aim at the 'cheap' joke in a series of posts shared to Instagram the next day. 'Whilst in honest mode - I did find the SNL thing mean and unfunny,' she wrote. 'Such a shame cuz I had such a great time watching it a couple weeks ago. Yes, take the p**s for sure - that's what the show is about - but there must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way?' She insisted she is not 'thin skinned' but that her issue was with Chelsea being the 'only one punched down on.' 'The joke was about fluoride,' she wrote, adding: 'I have big gap teeth not bad teeth.' Our insider maintained that the sketch 'was all in good fun' and in the tradition of SNL 'roasting celebrities,' so Wood should not expect an official apology from the show or its parent network, NBC Universal. 'No one needed her approval,' they said. 'If Aimee Lou got an apology, it would have been from someone directly involved in the skit who contacted her to personally apologize.' A second source explained that although 'most of the cast and producers find this controversy ridiculous,' bosses would happily welcome Wood onto the show 'if she would like to get her so-called revenge.' However, a source has exclusively revealed that SNL 'did not issue an official apology and they are not going to' In the sketch, the camera cut to Aimee's character Chelsea, played by Sarah, with exaggerated buck teeth, who exclaimed: 'Fluoride? What's that?' Taking to Instagram, the Sex Education star shared her candid thoughts about the sketch over a series of selfies NBC and SNL did not respond to the Daily Mail's requests for comment. Since slamming the show for mocking her appearance, Wood has received an outpouring of support, including from Reese Witherspoon's media company Hello Sunshine and fellow celebrities Jameela Jamil and Georgia May Jagger who hailed her 'gorgeous.' Only days after the divisive SNL joke photos were published of the BAFTA winner in tears and being consoled by fellow actor Ralph Davis. She then sparked concern with a slew of Instagram Stories about the emotional toll she experienced while filming The White Lotus. Her posts also referenced how she was 'bullied' in the past for her appearance and previously sought 'therapy' to help treat her symptoms of ADHD and body image issues. The British actress has a long history of body image struggles and experienced bulimia during her studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She recently admitted that she felt too 'ugly' to be cast in the Mike White-led series, and worried that her teeth were being seen by viewers as something 'goofy' that she hadn't yet had 'fixed.' Wood received an outpouring of support from stars including Jameela Jamil and Georgia May Jagger, who hailed her 'gorgeous' In a later post to Instagram Wood clarified that her tears pictured in the media were 'completely unrelated' to the SNL sketch. Wood has expressed her appreciation towards those who have praised her natural smile but has vented that conversations surrounding her appearance are distracting from her performance. 'It does feel a bit weird that the thing I got bullied for is now the thing that everyone's, like, "Woo!"' she told the Sunday Times' Culture Magazine. 'It's still the thing that's defining me. 'It's, like, cool, and now I want to stop f***ing talking about it. Can I talk about my character? Why am I talking about my gnashers?' The SNL skit was praised by Goggins, who plays Wood's on-screen love interest, amid rumors that the co-stars are feuding. On Instagram the 53-year-old actor raved that the sketch was a 'SMASHING' success and applauded host Hamm for his portrayal of RFK Jr. Fans have cited his once-effusive praise for Wood, which mysteriously dried up as The White Lotus was wrapping up its third season. Particularly perplexing to some fans was a large number of photos that Goggins posted to Instagram of himself and Wood set to the soundtrack of the famous break up song Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac. The SNL skit was praised by Walton Goggins, who plays her on-screen love interest (pictured) Goggins, 53, raved that the sketch was a 'SMASHING' success and he included a message for Jon Hamm, who appeared as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr His comments come amid swirling rumors that he and Wood are feuding after they appeared to unfollow each other on Instagram Eagle-eyed social media users have also noticed the two stars no longer follow each other on Instagram. Just this month Goggins appeared to have tagged several of his costars in behind-the-scenes photos he posted from the series except for Wood, despite sharing many scenes together. Although the pair have not publicly addressed any strife, other cast members, including the British actor Jason Isaacs, have hinted at some discord in general during the seven-month shoot in Thailand. 'Some people got very close, there were friendships that were made and friendships that were lost,' he told Vulture. 'They say in the show, "What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand," but there's an off-screen White Lotus as well, with fewer deaths but just as much drama.' Sienna Miller took centre stage in some action-packed scenes with John Krasinski on London's iconic Trafalgar Square on Tuesday. They joined Max Beesley to shoot the upcoming movie adaptation of hit TV series Jack Ryan at the famous site, which was closed off to the public for the shoot. The Edge Of Love actress, 43, cut a stylish figure in an olive trench coat over some dark grey jeans as she took part in filming. John, meanwhile, looked dashing in a navy reefer jacket as he shot his scenes for the movie version of the political thriller, in which he plays the title character. The Office star, 45, kept warm with a navy sweater and added a pair of admiral blue jeans for the session. Max was also present at the shoot and wore an olive zipped fleece over a navy turtleneck sweater. Sienna Miller, 43, took centre stage in some action-packed scenes with John Krasinski on London's iconic Trafalgar Square on Tuesday The pair were shooting the upcoming movie adaptation of Jack Ryan at the iconic London site, which was closed off to the public Intrigued passersby crammed around the barriers to catch a glimpse of the star-studded cast. It comes after Sienna posed for photos with her lookalike daughter Marlowe as they attended her sister Savannah Miller's Bridal Ballerina Breakfast in London earlier this month. The actress was also joined by her boyfriend Oli Green, 28, for the event at Four Seasons Tower Bridge. Supporting her fashion designer sister, Sienna looked as chic as ever in a denim ensemble. She teamed a long trench coat with a pair of matching wide leg trousers and a sheer patterned blouse. Marlowe showed off her sense of style in a checked wool coat which she pair with a smart shirt and jeans. In March, Sienna and Oli looked every inch the loved-up couple as they attended the Frame dinner party during Paris Fashion Week. The Layer Cake actress and the Bridget Jones star made the most of their time in the French capital as they joined fellow celebs for a lavish occasion at Chateau Voltaire. The Edge Of Love actress, 43, cut a stylish figure in an olive trench coat over some dark grey jeans as she took part in filming She layered up on a cloudy day in the capital with a grey turtleneck sweater, teaming it with a pair of black boots Sienna completed her look by tying her blonde hair in an updo and showing off two silver rings on her right hand and one on her left John, meanwhile, looked dashing in a navy reefer jacket as he shot his scenes for the movie version of the political thriller, in which he plays the title character The Office star, 45, kept warm with a navy sweater and added a pair of admiral blue jeans for the session Max was also present at the shoot and wore an olive zipped fleece over a navy turtleneck sweater Sienna could be seen on the phone in one shot before the British-American actress lifted a black umbrella as rain began to fall in London She then kept spirits high by sharing a joke with a member of the crew after pointing at the camera during a break Intrigued passersby crammed around the barriers to catch a glimpse of the star-studded cast on a drizzly day The happy pair - who welcomed their first child together in 2023 - looked very high-spirited while also stopping to pose for a few shots inside. Sienna looked effortlessly stylish in a black cropped vest and smart white denim, toted with a black cinched belt. Emily and one-time 'Sexiest Man Alive' John were last spotted enjoying a fun double date in New York City in January with a couple of A-list friends. The couple, who married in 2010, met up with Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, for dinner at The Corner Store in the SoHo area of NYC. Matt and Emily are old friends, having first worked together in 2011's The Adjustment Bureau before re-teaming for the 2023 blockbuster Oppenheimer. Both couples live in the same building in the Big Apple and revealed they often go on double dates together in a 2023 interview with Access Hollywood. 'We literally ask for milk (from each other),' Emily said. 'Or tequila,' Matt quipped. Natalie Portman has reflected on her struggles being sexualized as a young actress and the 'Lolita phase' she endured early in her acting career. Portman was just 12 when she began her film career in Leon: The Professional, playing a young girl who befriends a hit man in hopes of avenging her parents' murders. Two years later she starred in Beautiful Girls, which sees a 30-year-old man (played by Timothy Hutton) who starts crushing on a 13-year-old girl played by Portman. In the latest issue of Interview Magazine, Portman, 43, recalled her struggles being sexualized as a young girl and how she projected an image of intelligence to protect herself. The topic came up after Jenna Ortega, who stars opposite Portman in The Gallerist and was interviewing her for the magazine, asked Portman if she felt the public's perception of her was 'on the money' or if she felt she's been able to 'keep things just for you.' 'I think theres a public understanding of me thats different from who I am. Ive talked about it a little beforeabout how, as a kid, I was really sexualized, which I think happens to a lot of young girls who are onscreen. I felt very scared by it,' Portman replied. Natalie Portman has reflected on her struggles being sexualized as a young actress and the 'Lolita phase' she endured early in her acting career 'Obviously sexuality is a huge part of being a kid, but I wanted it to be inside of me, not directed towards me. And I felt like my way of protecting myself was to be like, Im so serious. Im so studious. Im smart, and thats not the kind of girl you attack. 'I was like, if I create this image of myself, Ill be left alone. It shouldnt be a thing, but it worked. But I think thats the disconnect between me being stupid and silly in real life, and people thinking that Im some really serious bookish person. 'Im not a particularly private person in real lifeIll tell you anythingbut in public, it was so clear early on that if you tell people how private you are, your privacy gets respected a lot more. I set up a little bit of a barrier to be like, Im not going to do photo shoots with my kids."' Leon: The Professional attracted controversy for its moral ambiguity, with many viewing Portman's character as a Lolita-esque figure and many were left uncomfortable with the relationship between her and the middle-aged killer, played by Jean Reno. Indeed, the movie's writer and director, Luc Besson has admitted that in the initial draft script, the pair actually become lovers, but he changed his mind. Portman was discovered in a pizza shop by a Revlon modeling agent at the age of 10, but quickly turned from modeling to acting, according to HDNet Movies. In her first audition for The Professional, casting director Todd Thaler felt she was too young. But in a callback, director Luc Besson was impressed with her emotional depth, and hand-picked her for the role. 'There are definitely tropes, and I think at each phase in my career, there was a different one that I was like, Oh, Ive got to avoid this,"' Portman said as she began reflecting on the various tropes she's been cast in during her career. 'Obviously there was a long Lolita phase, then there was the long chick who helps the guy realize his emotional thing phase for about a decade. And now I feel like its mothers who have harmed children, which is just like, I cannot emotionally go there.' Portman was just 12 when she began her film career in Leon: The Professional, playing a young girl who befriends a hit man in hopes of avenging her parents' murders Three years later she played the object of an adult man's affection in Beautiful Girls The artistic accompanying shoot captured Portman in a series of stylish looks 'I was just excited to have kids, and with a person that I was in love with,' she told Ortega of raising kids as a former child star herself The actress spoke with The Gallerist co-star Jenna Ortega for the latest issue of Interview Magazine Portman also offered a rare glimpse inside her former marriage to Benjamin Millepied. Portman, who divorced Millepied, 47, last year following allegations he cheated on her with a younger woman, shares son Aleph, 13, and daughter Amalia, eight, recalled being 'excited' to start a family with someone she 'was in love with'. 'I was just excited to have kids, and with a person that I was in love with. But its really important to have people in your life who keep you on the ground,' she told Jenna of starting a family as a former child star. Portman and Millepied met in 2009 on the set of her psychological horror film Black Swan, for which he was the choreographer. The now-exes became engaged in 2010 and were married in 2012 at Big Sur, California. The sophisticated shoot saw an elegantly-dressed Portman cleaning a window She struck a shy note as she posed by a curtain in a chic LBD with matching hat She caught up on some work from the comfort of a bed Portman sported a tartan mini dress and tights as she spoke into a walkie-talkie The actress got comfortable in some pajamas She wore sunglasses as she typed away on her computer Portman's marriage to Benjamin Millepied ended last year following allegations he cheated on her with a younger woman Benjamin also worked on choreography for Natalie's dark musical drama film Vox Lux in 2018, in which she played a woman who survives a school shooting, only to become a pop star. Last year French outlet Voici released an explosive report claiming Millepied had an affair with 25-year-old climate activist Camille Etienne. The allegations came to light in June 2023 and Portman subsequently filed for divorce. It was finalized last year. Nick Frost has vowed to embrace the role of the 'loyal, gentle and courageous' Rubeus Hagrid after joining the star-studded cast of HBO's Harry Potter TV series. The acclaimed actor, 53, will star as the legendary Hogwarts groundskeeper in the much-anticipated show, which is set to begin filming this summer. Taking to Instagram after his casting was announced, Nick, best known for a string of comedy films opposite Simon Pegg, posed with a classic copy of the first book in JK Rowling's series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. He is set to play the role that was made famous by veteran actor Robbie Coltrane in the original film series, before his death in 2022. Nick captioned his post: 'You're a wizard, Harry!!! 'Thank you for trusting me with such a loyal, gentle and courageous half-giant like Rubeus Hagrid. Robbie, I promise I won't let you down.' Nick Frost has vowed to embrace the role of the 'loyal, gentle and courageous' Rubeus Hagrid after joining the star-studded cast of HBO 's Harry Potter TV series While news of the casting for the Harry Potter series earned a mixed reaction from fans, Nick's involvement was quickly praised as the perfect choice for the character. Comments on X included: 'Not remotely interested in the Harry Potter TV series but Nick Frost as Hagrid and Paul Whitehouse as Filch is great casting;' 'Nick Frost as Hagrid might be the best casting so far for this new series, he was my fan cast for Hagrid, Robbie did such a great job and one of the few castings from this films that came right off the page so it will be hard to live up to but Nick Frost just seems to perfect;' 'Damn Nick Frost as Hagrid is inspired casting. Great choice;' 'Nick Frost as Hagrid is going to be great! He has a very lovable and funny demeanor.' In a move that's sent shockwaves of excitement across the fandom, Hollywood heavyweight John Lithgow has been announced as the new Albus Dumbledore. Janet McTeer, known for her powerhouse performances on stage and screen, will step into the sharp heels of Professor McGonagall, while rising star Paapa Essiedu takes on the darker, more complicated role of Severus Snape a part made famous by the late Alan Rickman. The casting, which was officially announced this week, forms part of HBO's hotly anticipated reboot of J.K. Rowling's seven-book series a full-scale, decade-long adaptation that promises to stick far more closely to the original storylines than the blockbuster films. He is set to play the role that was made famous by veteran actor Robbie Coltrane in the original film series, before his death in 2022 Taking to Instagram after his casting was announced, Nick posed with a classic copy of the first book in JK Rowling's series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Your browser does not support iframes. The new series is aims to 'lead a new generation of fandom' and hopes to recapture the beloved details Harry Potter fans have enjoyed for 25 years Fans say this could be the most exciting reboot yet, with many calling the casting 'perfectly magical' and praising the diverse, inclusive approach taken by producers. Showrunner and executive producer Francesca Gardiner said: 'We are happy to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse to play Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell and Filch.' Executive producer and director Mark Mylod added: 'We're delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can't wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life.' The new series is aims to 'lead a new generation of fandom' and hopes to recapture the beloved details Harry Potter fans have enjoyed for 25 years. It will be executive produced by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, Ruth Kenley-Letts, Neil Blair and David Heyman. Back in 2023, the Mail's Alison Boshoff revealed how Rowling would personally approve all of the key castings in the forthcoming series. The author previously said: 'Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me. 'And I'm looking forward to being part of this new adaptation, which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series.' Blake Lively has earned a reputation as one of Hollywood's chicest stars for her consistently daring fashion choices on and off the red carpet. Since landing her breakout role in the 2005 blockbuster The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the actress, 37, has famously never worked with a stylist due to her self-admitted 'control issues and big ego.' Despite typically turning heads with her memorable fashion choices, many of her fans were left perplexed by her choice of shoes, which further exaggerated her and costar Anna Kendrick's striking, eight-inch height difference. While attending a photo call for Another Simple Favor in London, the mother-of-four rocked a pair of knee-high Chanel boots, a preppy wool cardigan and black leather miniskirt. Meanwhile, Kendrick, 39, attempted to add a few extra inches in her own height department by wearing metallic gold heels from Christian Louboutin. After the women posed for photos together on the red carpet, social media users marveled over their 'awkward contrast' and how 'petite' Kendrick looked, compared to Lively, who is five-foot-ten. Blake Lively has earned a reputation as one of Hollywood's chicest stars for her consistently daring fashion choices on and off the red carpet 'Is Blake lively that tall or is Anna Kendrick that short. Or is it just an optical illusion made worse by the shoes?' one X user asked. Another accused Lively of having 'zero self awareness' for 'wearing super high boots when she's already miles taller than Anna Kendrick to begin with.' Some even speculated that Lively was attempting to assert her dominance by purposely towering over the Pitch Perfect star amid rumors of a longstanding rift between them. 'This heel height choice seems deliberate,' one social media user concluded. 'Maybe it was meant for Blake to look more predominant over Anna and the outfit just ended up missing the mark completely when photographed. Some critics wondered why Lively did not give more thought to who she would be 'photographed next' to while selecting her shoes. Previously, Kendrick admitted that she 'was angsty' about her height when she was younger and didn't wear heels out of fear that 'people would notice' how her short stature. 'I had this crazy idea that if I wore them people would notice and say, "You're not even tall in heels!" I committed to flip-flops and sneakers because I was like, "I'm short and that's just what it is." And, I don't want to try and correct something,' she told Glamour back in 2015. In that same interview, Kendrick clarified that she is no longer insecure about her height or whether others see her as short or a short girl trying to look tall in heels. Since landing her breakout role in the 2005 blockbuster The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the actress, 37, has famously never worked with a stylist due to her self-admitted 'control issues and big ego' Despite typically turning heads with her memorable fashion choices, many of her fans were left perplexed by her choice of shoes, which further exaggerated her and costar Anna Kendrick's striking, 8-inch height difference After the women posed for photos together on the red carpet, social media users marveled over their 'awkward contrast' and how 'petite' Kendrick looked, compared to Lively, who is five-foot-ten Meanwhile, Lively revealed she was bullied in elementary school for her height and called 'Big Bird' because she was 'too tall' and had 'yellow hair' back in 2018. Their latest appearances comes a month after the two stars continued to keep their distance while promoting their sequel Another Simple Favor during the SXSW Film Festival in Austin. During the event, there were several excruciating moments for Blake, including Anna's awkward response to a question about working with her on the film. 'Oh you know,' Anna cryptically said on the red carpet, where the women opted not to take solo photos together. Inside the event, the stars were pictured awkwardly standing next to each other, with Anna holding her head down as she listened to the Gossip Girl star speak. Their upcoming movie follows main characters Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) and Emily (Lively) 'head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily's extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman,' according to Variety. 'Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.' The timing is a publicity nightmare for the movie, which will no doubt be over shadowed by Blake's ongoing legal drama with her It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni. For the occasion, the mother-of-four rocked a pair of knee-high Chanel boots with a tapered heel, a preppy wool cardigan and black leather miniskirt Meanwhile, Kendrick add a few extra inches in her own height department while sporting a pair of metallic gold heels from Christian Louboutin Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her in a lawsuit filed in December while Baldoni accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, and publicist Leslie Sloane of defamation and extortion in a $400 million suit filed in February. Baldoni has denied the allegations from Lively, while Lively, Reynolds and Sloane have denied the accusations made by Baldoni. Baldoni's team has also released a website which includes private communications such as text messages that were included in court filings detailing his interactions with the Hollywood power couple over the making of romantic drama. He claimed in court filings they made efforts made to usurp and undermine his input as the director of It Ends with Us. After Prime Video released a promotional post for Another Simple Favor on February 5 - a number of commenters implicated that Lively might have tried to assert her influence over director Paul Feig, 62, over that movie, leading the filmmaker to respond to the speculation. The sequel to A Simple Favour will begin streaming on Prime Video staring May 1 Amid Baldoni's claims that Lively and her inner circle used their considerable clout to commandeer changes to the script - even enlisting Taylor Swift to lean on him at one point - and re-cut the motion picture, a user asked in the comment section, 'Is it Paul Feig's cut or Blake's cut?' Feig - whose other cinematic credits include 2011's Bridesmaids, 2016's Ghostbusters and 2024's Jackpot! - made clear he had full creative control over the film, replying, 'Its my cut. There is no other cut ... just wanted to clear that up.' Feig in his reply heaped massive praise on Lively, who he previously worked with on 2018's A Simple Favor. 'Blake has been nothing but supportive and a dream to work with,' said the Emmy-nominated director, who has directed shows such as Arrested Development, The Office and Nurse Jackie. 'She is the best and an amazing collaborator and Im her biggest fan.' A number of the director's fans criticized his defense of Lively, amid the allegations Baldoni made in court filings and on the website. 'Paul, I know youre gonna wanna shake off these comments as coming from a bunch of loons, but Blake and Ryan really did use their star power to bulldoze Justin,' said one user. 'It makes me really sad, and I hope you remember when you were starting off in this business.' Others told Feig that his stellar reputation as a feted industry veteran insulated him from the strong-arming and meddling Lively allegedly subjected Baldoni to in regard to It Ends with Us's screenplay, wardrobe and editing. The timing is a publicity nightmare for the movie, which will no doubt be over shadowed by Blake's ongoing legal drama with her It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni (seen in March 2024) Amid the press tour for Another Simple Favor, the film has been hit with drama, from rumors of tension between Lively and Kendrick to Sharon Stone claiming she was cast then dropped for 'no reason at all' (seen on March 07, 2025) 'Youve been in the directing game for so long, so of course Blake isnt going to attempt to step on your toes,' said one user. 'She just goes for the directors that are starting off and tries to use her husband to bully them and take over. 'Shed never have the balls to do that to someone like you so of course shes "amazing, great, kind, etc."' Said another user: 'Youre making things worse by defending Blake, you know. This just reaffirms that Blake treats powerful directors like you nicely and targets those she considers less than.' Another echoed, 'You're probably a good guy but you're extremely lucky that you got your cut [because] Blake knew not to bully you and put you in the basement. She thought highly of you [because] you're not a nobody. 'But good luck with this show. It's dead in the water.' Multiple commenters referenced in Feig's post Baldoni's claim made in court filings that Lively arranged for his presence to be minimized at the It Ends with Us premiere. 'Be careful you might end up in the basement in the premiere,' one user said, while another responded, 'Be careful Paul she may put you in the basement come premiere day.' Blake Lively attempted to shut down drama with her co-star Anna Kendrick as she flashed a huge smile at the London's screening of Another Simple Favor on Tuesday. The Hollywood actress, 37, is currently promoting her upcoming movie sequel Another Simple Favor with Anna. The pair have hinted at a possible rift after enduring plenty of awkward interactions during their press tour. Earlier in the day, Blake and Anna looked to be in a tense exchange at the Corinthia Hotel as they promoted the new film ahead of its launch on Prime Video on May 1. But in an attempt to prove all is well, Blake and Anna stuck on a smile as they celebrated their upcoming movie. Blake went braless in a plunging leather tasseled dress as she beamed while walking out of her hotel to head to the screening. Blake Lively, 37, attempted to shut down drama with her co-star Anna Kendrick as she flashed a huge smile at the London's screening of Another Simple Favor on Tuesday The Hollywood actress is currently promoting her upcoming movie sequel Another Simple Favor with Anna (pictured) Meanwhile, Anna kept her head down as she strutted out of the building in a glamorous black mesh dress. The pair were joined by fellow stars Paul Feig, Laura Fischer and Henry Golding as they posed for photos. The shoot comes amid swirling rumours of tension between Blake - who has also been locked in a legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni - and Anna ahead of the A Simple Favor sequel. Its South By Southwest premiere last month was overshadowed by controversy including a protestor brandishing a 'Justice for Justin Baldoni, Blake lied' sign and a seemingly icy reunion with Anna. Despite the drama, the Gossip Girl star gushed about the event, comparing it to a 'rock concert' on in an Instagram post. In the caption she wrote: 'Watching @asimplefavor opening night @sxsw felt like a rock concert. Thank you to the very best audience. Texas turns it out. 'Making this movie was already the gift, every element of it. To share it with you all and feel the love returned to us was the best feeling. Thank you for having us Austin.' In March, Blake was accused of beefing up the crowd at the premiere after she was seen posing for a selfie with Laurie Feig, the wife of Another Simple Favor director Paul. Some of the star's critics became convinced based on photos that Laurie was pretending to be a fan in the crowd, despite being married to the filmmaker. The pair have hinted at a possible rift after enduring plenty of awkward interactions during their press tour Earlier in the day, Blake and Anna looked to be in a tense exchange at the Corinthia Hotel as they promoted the new film ahead of its launch on Prime Video on May 1 But proving all is well, Blake and Anna stuck on a smile as they celebrated their upcoming movie Blake went braless in a plunging leather tasseled dress as she beamed while walking out of her hotel to head to the screening Blake looked effortlessly stylish in a plunging maxi dress as she beamed while walking out of her hotel Blake looked happier than ever in the city She looked out of this world in the long-sleeved ensemble Meanwhile, Anna kept her head down as she strutted out of the building in a glamorous black mesh dress She flashed her toned legs and elevated her frame with strappy black heels 'Why is the director of Another Simple Favors wife pretending to be a fan in the crowd waiting for Blake on the red carpet to take a selfie?' wrote a YouTuber critical of Blake. The pair have reunited for the much-anticipated film, which follows Stephanie Smothers (Anna) and Emily Nelson (Blake) as they 'head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily's extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman,' per IMDB. The leading stars have been hit by rumors of a 'secret feud' after reuniting on set - five years after the original movie came out. 'Watch how many PR bots reply that this is normal, internalized misogyny, and why do you care?' the poster added. The premiere also started off on the wrong foot, as Blake was greeted by a protestor. Proving that the PR disaster of It Ends With Us is far from over, a woman was seen wearing a shirt that said 'Blake lied' and holding the opinionated sign, as the star walked the red carpet nearby. To make matters worse, there were more excruciating moments as Blake's co-star Anna had an awkward response to a question about working with her on the film. 'Oh you know...' Anna cryptically said on the red carpet when asked what it was like to work with Blake again. Paul Hollywood and his wife Melissa Spalding look smitten as they posed at the premiere Chris Kowalski (R) and Victoria Brown (L) posed up a storm on the star-studded red carpet Chris cut a dapper figure in a blue double breasted suit and crisp white shirt Menahwile Victoria stunning in a chic white lace dress The pair seemed to be having a tense exchange at the Corinthia Hotel as they promoted the new film The shoot comes amid swirling rumours of tension between Blake - who has also been locked in a legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni - and Anna ahead of the sequel The pair were joined by fellow stars Paul Feig, Laura Fischer and Henry Golding as they posed for photos in front of the London Eye There were also no photos of Blake and Anna posing solo together, aside from a picture with their director. It was previously reported that Anna is less than thrilled that her co-star's legal drama is overshadowing their film. Inside the event, the stars were pictured awkwardly standing next to each other, with Anna holding her head down as she listened to the Gossip Girl star speak. Blake excitedly recounted the filming of the movie in Capri, Italy, as her colleague stood by and only glanced over once in a video shared by Variety. While talking to Variety, Anna shared a vague response when questioned about how the movie has been affected by 'everything going on in the world.' 'Why, what happened? I did ayahuasca and the last year of my life is just gone,' the star replied, referencing to the plant-based psychedelic. The actress then continued, 'But I've heard the movie is amazing,' before walking away. Blake and Anna were also seen on the red carpet together in March, but director Paul Feig noticeably stood in between the pair for the photos. The film's South By Southwest premier last month was overshadowed by controversy including a seemingly icy reunion with co-star Anna Last month, Blake was also accused of beefing up the crowd at the premiere after she was seen posing for a selfie with Laurie Feig, the wife of Another Simple Favor director Paul It was previously reported that Anna is less than thrilled that her co-star's legal drama is overshadowing their film The filmmaker reflected on working with the stars once again following the 2018 film A Simple Favor and gushed to People that it was 'too much fun.' Meanwhile a fan asked the Gossip Girl star: 'Blake, what does it mean to be back with Anna?' 'Oh, it's the best! I'm so happy,' she gushed before being guided to take additional photos during the festivities. A source told People last month: 'The comments on Instagram have upset her, especially the ones saying fans are now refusing to watch the movie because they don't want to support Blake.' They further explained that the Pitch Perfect star is 'not used to being caught up in any drama'. However another insider shared: 'The film is in the early stages of planning what press will look like, and Blake and Anna will be doing some things together.' A separate source explained to DailyMail.com: 'These movies are basically all Anna and Blake have in common. They have a working relationship, by no means a close friendship or bond. 'Last-minute talks are underway with execs as Anna would prefer to distance herself from Blake going forward.' It comes a month after the two stars continued to keep their distance while promoting their sequel Another Simple Favor during the SXSW Film Festival in Austin A separate source explained to DailyMail.com, 'These movies are basically all Anna and Blake have in common. They have a working relationship, by no means a close friendship or bond' (pictured: the duo in 2018) The insider added: 'It was originally planned that the two would do much of the promotion together. That's what the studio requested, and Anna and Blake agreed to it. But Anna could go it alone over fears she will get caught up in the drama.' Anna and Blake are also rumored to have clashed over their billing on the sequel and Blake failing to address the effect of her lawsuit on the movie. In regards to the position of their names when it came to the billing, another source shared, 'In the original film Anna got top billing over Blake. She thought it was a no-brainer that the same would happen this time around. But Blake didn't see it that way. 'She fought, through her reps to get top billing over Anna, who refused to bow to Blake's demands. Finally, after weeks of negotiations a deal was struck between the actresses. 'They agreed on staggered billing, which meant Anna's name would read first and Blake's would be above hers but on the right-hand side. In the business that's considered equal billing,' the source explained. Meanwhile, Blake is continuing to slam It Ends With Us director Justin, 41, amid their raging legal war. The pair have been locked in a court battle since December 2024 after she accused him of sexual harassment and launching a 'smear campaign' against her. He responded by filing a $400million defamation lawsuit against Blake, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, and her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane. Blake filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in December against Justin Baldoni, who also co-starred in the hit romantic drama It Ends With Us Justin also filed a $250m libel lawsuit against the New York Times for its reporting on Blake's claims. All parties have denied the allegations against them. And as Blake and Ryan attempt to get Justin's 'retaliatory' lawsuit thrown out, the actress' legal team is hurling more accusations the 41-year-old actor's way. On Thursday, the star accused Justin and his legal team of using 'scorched earth litigation' tactics to silence sexual harassment accusers. In a statement to Us Weekly, Blake's lawyers claimed that Justin is trying to 'tear down' California laws that were put in place to protect victims from being sued 'into oblivion' by their perpetrators. 'Mr. Baldoni has gone from monetizing a brand devoted to believing and supporting women, to leading the charge to tear down the very law that protects women who come forward about sexual assault, harassment and discrimination,' Blake's team's statement began. 'California's sexual harassment privilege, AB 933, was enacted to stop perpetrators of sexual harassment from abusing defamation lawsuits to sue their accusers into oblivion.' Team Blake continued: 'The chilling message scorched earth litigation sends to victims is stay silent or be destroyed.' Her attorneys then went on to mention the 'reply brief' that they filed Thursday on Blake's behalf as part of her ongoing attempt to have Justin's lawsuit dismissed. 'As demonstrated in the reply brief Ms. Lively filed today, the Wayfarer Parties' attempt to slap Ms. Lively with a retaliatory lawsuit for her decision to speak out against the sexual harassment she experienced on set has not only failed miserably but exposes them to substantial economic damages,' the statement continued. The pair have been locked in a court battle since December 2024 after she accused him of sexual harassment and launching a 'smear campaign' against her 'Ms. Lively will continue to show all victims that they are not alone, that they do not have to stay silent, and that the law is on their side.' According to Thursday's reply brief, which was also obtained by Us Weekly, Blake's lawyers stated that Justin and the 'Wayfarer Parties have tied themselves in knots trying to state a defamation claim against Ms. Lively that is not barred by the statute of limitations or wholly contained within her Legal Complaints, which they concede cannot form the basis of any actionable claims.' Blake's latest statement came just days after insiders exclusively told DailyMail.com that she is now privately struggling with creeping 'regret' over her legal war with Justin. Justin accused Blake of staging a PR stunt against him which he claimed was 'designed to ruin the reputations and careers of the Wayfarer parties' after she filed to dismiss his $400 million lawsuit on March 20. In his recent filing, Justin stated he was 'exercising' his First Amendment right 'to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims.' Blake's attorneys Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told TMZ last Friday: 'That's right: Justin Baldoni, the man who has built his brand on supposedly speaking up for victims, believes that the First Amendment rights of victims of sexual assault and harassment to speak out should give way to the rights of perpetrators to sue their victims "into oblivion."' Her legal team further stated that Justin and his lawyer Bryan Freedman are trying to 'shed' a law that protects victims and also prevents others from speaking out in the future. In response, Freedman told DailyMail.com: 'This convoluted statement makes it abundantly clear that Ms. Lively and team are rattled and once again resorting to making inflammatory remarks to steer focus away from the actual facts. 'Clearly they want to divert the public's attention from the receipts, the actual documents, video footage and additional evidence shown that make it irrefutable that there was no sexual harassment.' Freedman added it is 'surprising that Ms. Lively and her team are suddenly speaking so passionately about the hard won rights of the survivor community, considering she sidestepped this topic for the entirety of the film campaign... 'Focusing instead on her hair care and alcohol products which at that time caused the organic backlash that she received. She does not need discovery to find out who smeared her. Just a mirror will do.' Justin's attorney also recently told TMZ, 'Ms. Lively and her circle of Hollywood elites cannot prevent my clients from exercising their constitutional right to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims.' Rihanna ignited a fresh round of rumors about her and A$AP Rocky with a telling detail in her sizzling new lingerie shoot. The pair have been dating for over five years and have welcomed two sons into the world together, RZA, two, and Riot, one. In recent weeks Rihanna has modeled a string of extravagantly baggy outfits, prompting fans to wonder whether she might be pregnant again. She did not appear to have a baby bump in her flesh-flashing new modeling shots, though it is unclear how long ago the pictures were taken. However eagle-eyed fans may spot a clue in some of the photos that could lead them down a whole other road of speculation. In a number of the shots, the 37-year-old pop superstar can be seen wearing a dazzling ring on her engagement finger. Rihanna ignited a fresh round of rumors about her and A$AP Rocky with a telling detail in her sizzling new lingerie shoot The jewelry may only be a costume piece, as the shoot had a wedding theme, complete with a large white-tiered cake. Although Rihanna's clothes were bubblegum pink rather than bridal white, she held a delicate mesh veil in front of her face, adding to the nuptial effect. She was promoting a new collection from her Savage x Fenty line of clothing, which has been promoted as being inclusive of all sizes. The photos appeared on the Savage x Fenty Instagram with a caption that read: 'Rihanna is the picture-perfect bride in our At First Sight collection in Velour Pink.' Rihanna's tantalizingly revealing outfit included thigh stockings, a bustier, a thong and a veil, as well as occasionally a set of slinky stilettos. The post comes two months after A$AP Rocky was found not guilty of shooting his former friend A$AP Relli, a verdict that left Rihanna weeping with joy in the courtroom. Rocky's grandmother Cathy - who like Rihanna is from Barbados - recently hailed the songstress as a 'down-to-earth person' in a Vogue profile of her grandson. Meanwhile Rocky also gushed over the mother of his children, saying his love for her was 'internal, external, infinite, the past, the future.' In a number of the shots, the 37-year-old pop superstar can be seen wearing a dazzling ring on her engagement finger She was promoting a new collection from her Savage x Fenty line of clothing, which has been promoted as being inclusive of all sizes The jewelry may only be a costume piece, as the shoot had a wedding theme, complete with a large white-tiered cake Although Rihanna's clothes was bubblegum pink rather than bridal white, she sported a delicate mesh veil, adding to the nuptial effect The photos appeared on the Savage x Fenty Instagram with a caption that read: 'Rihanna is the picture-perfect bride in our At First Sight collection in Velour Pink' Rihanna's tantalizingly revealing outfit included thigh stockings, a bustier, a thong and a veil, as well as occasionally a set of slinky stilettos He shed some light on his sons, saying RZA 'stays to himself - he likes his books,' while Riot 'likes to take stuff from his brother so his brother can chase him.' Rocky also alluded to the trial in the profile, during a night out at the New York branch of the private members club Soho House. Ordering a round of tequila shots at 2am, the rapper toasted his drinking companions: 'Im so glad to be here with all of you and not in jail.' Rocky is one of the chairs of this year's Met Gala, which has the theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style and will be held the first Monday in May. Anna Wintour is among the chairs as usual, joined this year by Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo, Pharrell Williams and in an honorary capacity LeBron James. Rihanna - who chaired the Catholic-themed Met Gala in 2018 alongside names like Amal Clooney and Donna Karan - has confirmed she will be at Rocky's side at this year's edition of the event dubbed 'fashion's night out.' Jamie Foxx has reunited with lover Alyce Huckstepp two months after their split which came off of the heels of him declaring that he is done dating white women. The 57-year-old Oscar winner was seen on a romantic night out with his 30-year-old girlfriend in Malibu on Monday night. The two were seen waiting in the valet queue at celeb favorite Nobu together before departing off separately. They did share a flirty moment, however, as Jamie showed the stunner something which made her giggle. Alyce certainly showed Jamie what he was missing as she showcased her ripped abs in a body clinging long-sleeved crop top with a mock neck. She teamed the colorful top with a pair of on trend baggy light blue jeans and white boots. Jamie Foxx has reunited with lover Alyce Huckstepp two months after their split which came off of the heels of him declaring that he is done dating white women Alyce certainly showed Jamie what he was missing as she showcased her ripped abs in a body clinging long-sleeved crop top with a mock neck Jamie seemed in good spirits The beauty showcased her designer good as she sported a pair of large black shades and carried along a black Lady Dior bag which retails for $6,500. Her blonde locks were pulled back into a ponytail braid as she showcased her natural looks with complementary make-up on her face. Jamie also showed off his fashion sense as he sported a black hoodie with large flowers embroidered on it along with baggy jeans with a frilly detailing. He also donned a pair of dark green suede boots as he accessorized with a large wide brimmed hat and black sunglasses. The A-lister then hopped into his white Rolls-Royce - which retails for over $500K - before driving off solo. Back in January, a source close to Foxx told PEOPLE that he and Huckstepp are no longer together after dating for a year and a half. They were first romantically linked in 2023 following Foxx's six-year relationship with Dawson's Creek star Katie Holmes, 46, which came to an end in 2019. Foxx and Huckstepp were previously last photographed together on October 30, 2024 during a romantic trip to Mexico. The 57-year-old Oscar winner was seen on a romantic night out with his 30-year-old girlfriend in Malibu on Monday night They did share a flirty moment, however, as Jamie showed the stunner something which made her giggle The two were seen waiting in the valet queue at celeb favorite Nobu together before departing off separately She teamed the colorful top with a pair of on trend baggy light blue jeans and white boots Her blonde locks were pulled back into a ponytail braid as she showcased her natural looks with complementary make-up on her face The two seemed to enjoy their night out together Jamie also showed off his fashion sense as he sported a black hoodie with large flowers embroidered on it along with baggy jeans with a frilly detailing He also donned a pair of dark green suede boots as he accessorized with a large wide brimmed hat and black sunglasses The A-lister then hopped into his white Rolls-Royce - which retails for over $500K - before driving off solo Jamie kept his fashionable headwear on A month prior, the couple looked very much in love as they were spotted grabbing dinner with friends at Nobu Malibu where they were on their most recent reunion outing. The restaurant which nearly succumbed to the LA fire holds significance for Foxx and Huckstepp as it's where they first debuted their romance in August 2023. The pair may have first crossed paths in August 2022 when Huckstepp attended the Los Angeles premiere of Foxx's Netflix film Night Shift. While they never made their official red carpet debut as a couple, Huckstepp has supported Foxx behind the scenes. She is said to have joined Foxx on set of several of his projects, including a commercial shoot for BetMGM in July 2024. A source told PEOPLE at the time that the pair looked 'cozy' and that Huckstepp was present for at least one of the shoot days. Huckstepp and Foxx went public with their romance just months after he suffered a stroke caused by a bleed on the brain in April 2023. The blonde beauty proved to be a 'great' presence in the actor's life as he recovered from the health scare that left him in a coma for 20 days, an insider told the outlet last year. Back in January, a source close to Foxx (seen in Berlin back in January) told PEOPLE that he and Huckstepp are no longer together after dating for a year and a half The couple were first romantically linked in 2023; Huckstepp pictured with a guest at the LA premiere of Foxx's film Night Shift on August 10, 2022 Sitting down at a piano, Foxx sang: 'Sisters, I'm here to tell you, I've been cured. 'I've been cured of everything, no more white girls. I'm serious, no more white girls. No more white girls. No more. No more white girls.' As audience members applauded and leapt out their seats, Jamie continued: 'I'm back on the Black side of town! 'No more white girls. No more potato salad and raisins. No more white girls. No more spray tan, no more big t*tties no ass, no more white girls.' Foxx has had several high-profile relationships over the years with both black and white women. In 1993 he dated Connie Kline, and the pair went on to welcome daughter Connie one year later. Between 1996 and 2001, Foxx was linked to Haitian actress Garcelle Beauvais, before going on to date actress Leila Arcieri in 2005. In 2008, Foxx dated Kristin Grannis, the mother of his second daughter, Anelise. But things changed in the couple's relationship following their October 2024 Mexico trip as just months later Foxx announced that he'd been 'cured' of white women and that he is 'back on the black side of town' He made the joke in his new Netflix special What Had Happened Was, which was released on December 10, after dishing on his shock stroke and denying that disgraced music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs had anything to do with his hospitalization He then enjoyed a six-year romance with Katie Holmes from 2013 to 2019. While many viewers were in hysterics by Foxx's admission, they couldn't help but question his sincerity. Taking to X, one wrote: 'Interesting. It took a stroke???' Another said: 'Jamie funny as s**t because he lying like hell LMFAOOOOO.' A third added: 'I don't believe him. But I'm going to mind my business.' 'Jamie knows he lyin',' a fourth continued. Elsewhere in his special, Foxx revealed that he lost 20 days' worth of memory and was unable to walk amid his terrifying health battle. During an emotional scene on his Netflix special, he recalled: 'On April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for Aspirin. 'I realized quickly that when you're in a medical emergency, your boys don't know what the f*** to do.' Jamie has had several high-profile relationships over the years with a variety of women, including a six-year romance with Katie Holmes; the exes seen in 2019 But things changed in the couple's relationship following their October 2024 Mexico trip as less than two months later Foxx announced that he'd been 'cured' of white women and that he is 'back on the black side of town'. He made the joke in his new Netflix special What Had Happened Was, which was released on December 10, after dishing on his shock stroke and denying that disgraced music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs had anything to do with his hospitalization. Foxx then confessed: 'I don't remember 20 days.' Becoming emotional, Jamie broke down in tears told audience that he was 'back,' adding: 'You don't know how good this feels.' He also credited his 16-year-old daughter Anelise for saving his life by playing the guitar at his bedside, branding her his 'spiritual defibrillator.' Foxx said that Anelise, who he shares with psychotherapist Kristin, snuck into my hospital room with her guitar. He continued: 'They said when she was playing, my vitals went down. Foxx's shock split from Huckstepp comes amid the actor's busy promo schedule for his and Cameron Doaz's new action-comedy Back In Action; the actors seen on January 15 It marks Foxx's first film since he suffered a stroke in 2023 and Cameron's first project since she famously quit acting for family reasons in 2014 'The nurses at the nurses station were baffled. Like, 'Wow what did they give him?' 'They rushed into the room and she said, 'Ssh. I got him.' 'Do you know what I found out? That God was in that guitar. That's my spiritual defibrillator.' During this heartfelt moment, Anelise came out onto the stage with her guitar. 'Thank you much for stepping up when all was lost,' the actor said. Foxx's shock split from Huckstepp comes amid the actor's busy promo schedule for the action-comedy Back In Action. The film which was released on Netflix on January 17 sees Foxx star opposite Cameron Diaz, 52, and serves as a comeback for both A-list actors. It marks Foxx's first film since he suffered a stroke in 2023 and Cameron's first project since she famously quit acting for family reasons in 2014. Back In Action follows Emily (Cameron) and Matt (Jamie), two former CIA agents who have given up their life of espionage and action in order to settle down, start a family, and live a normal life. The cast list for the film also includes Kyle Chandler, Glenn, Andrew Scott, Jamie Demetriou, Jamie Demetriou, and Rylan Jackson. Sam Neill went on a rant about grocery store etiquette in his latest social media post. On Sunday, the Jurassic Park star, 77, posted a video on Instagram, in which he expressed outrage at having to check out his own groceries. He slammed the system and explained that an increase in self-checkout means less jobs for people in the same stores. 'Call me old fashioned,' he began by holding his hand to his ear in his self-recorded rant. 'Thank you. But I refuse to check out my own groceries at a supermarket.' He continued: 'I want a human being to assist me. I don't think that's too much to ask.' The actor and filmmaker who recently revealed he is in remission after his two-year battle with stage-three blood cancer shared his concern over robots replacing humans. Sam Neill went on a rant about grocery store etiquette in his latest social media post On Sunday, the Jurassic Park star, 77, posted a video on Instagram , in which he expressed outrage at having to check out his own groceries; pictured March 2023 in Sydney 'And every time I check out something for myself you got to think like this I'm doing someone out of a job,' he said. 'And if robots and self-serving is going to do all the work everywhere, who's going to be buying the groceries at the checkout? It's an old-fashioned question, but it's a legitimate one, I think.' He finished off the video with a cheeky grin and whispered, once again, 'Old fashioned.' Reiterating the same point, he wrote In his caption: 'CALL ME OLD FASHIONED!' His post received over 21,000 likes and many fans in the comments section sharing their thoughts on the topic. Lots of his 747,000 followers said that they 'totally agree' and 'feel the same' about how grocery shopping has changed in many countries. Some of his fans said they miss the 'human interaction' aspect of having an grocery store clerk rather than a robot to help them check out and bag their purchases. Many of the comments also came from Instagram users who also called themselves old fashioned like Neill. 'Call me old fashioned,' he began by holding his hand to his ear in his self-recorded rant. 'Thank you. But I refuse to check out my own groceries at a supermarket' He slammed the system and explained that an increase in self-checkout means less jobs for people in the same stores. He continued: 'I want a human being to assist me. I don't think that's too much to ask' The actor and filmmaker who recently revealed he is in remission after his two-year battle with stage-three blood cancer shared his concern over robots replacing humans Another person said it is more 'lovely' to have someone to talk to while checking out. 'How lovely it is to have someone say hello, thanks and have a nice day when one is at the store,' the Instagram user commented. 'Agree 100% and would like to add we need more human interactions to regain some of the empathy, kindness, compassion and politeness that seem to be evaporating the last few years,' one person wrote. Another fan said they agreed with his thoughts about self-checkouts and shared their grievances over other technological advances over the years. 'You go, Sam!! It's like how I still prefer physical menus than the QR code bulls***,' the comment read. His post received over 21,000 likes and many fans in the comments section sharing their thoughts on the topic. Lots of his 747,000 followers said that they 'totally agree' and 'feel the same' about how grocery shopping has changed in many countries Many of the comments also came from Instagram users who also called themselves old fashioned like Neill Some of his fans said they miss the 'human interaction' aspect of having an grocery store clerk rather than a robot to help them check out and bag their purchases Another person said it is more 'lovely' to have someone to talk to while checking out. Another fan said they agreed with his thoughts about self-checkouts and shared their grievances over other technological advances over the years Other people disagreed with Neill's take and left comments about how self-check is quicker and more convenient, especially whenever customers are making a large purchase with many items Other people disagreed with Neill's take and left comments about how self-check is quicker and more convenient, especially whenever customers are making a large purchase with many items. 'I hate waiting in line with people who have full baskets while I have a couple of items, so I appreciate it then!' The comment continued: As long as the self-checkout is limited to a few items, it's ok by me. 'You know, I just thought, there is always a human working at the self-checkout in the stores here so it's about the same as having a person at an express lane,' the fan added. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck finalized their divorce four months ago. And now it appears that the former lovebirds are keeping their minds off heartbreak by working nonstop. 'They are both sad that the marriage did not work out,' a source tells DailyMail.com. 'Instead of crying over it, however, they are working their hearts out. They love being busy with solid projects.' A motivating factor? 'They want more successes, more hit films, more awards.' This week JLo announced that she will be performing at certain venues as part of her delayed summer tour. And on Tuesday Affleck was seen filming the new movie Animals in a Los Angeles river where his shoes got wet. Neither one has a new love interest, the source added, even though Lopez has looked cozy with his Office Romance costar Brett Goldstein. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck finalized their divorce four months ago. And now it appears that the former lovebirds are keeping their minds off heartbreak by working nonstop Neither one has a new love interest, the source added, even though Lopez has looked cozy with his Office Romance costar Brett Goldstein Lopez seemed thrilled with her new concerts in the hot months. 'To all my international JLovers, Ill be doing a few select show dates over the summer,' she wrote in her Instagram caption. She then added, 'I cant wait to get back out there to see all of you. Its been too long. Its gonna be an amazing summer #JLoLiveIn2025 'Stay tuned for more and visit @onthejlo for local venue ticketing information this week @briannalcapozzi @louispalacios.' She canceled her 2024 summer tour before she filed for divorce from Affleck. As far as Ben, he has started working on his new films Animals. It has been reported he has replaced his longtime pal Matt Damon in the upcoming Netflix film, after the 54-year-old stepped down. Luckily for fans of the iconic duo, insiders confirmed Damon will remain involved behind-the-scenes. Both he and Affleck are producing the project under their Artists Equity banner, alongside Dani Bernfeld. Meanwhile, the script was penned by Connor McIntyre and Captain Phillips screenwriter Billy Ray. On Tuesday Affleck was seen filming the new movie Animals in a Los Angeles river where his shoes got wet It has been reported he has replaced his longtime pal Matt Damon in the upcoming Netflix film, after the 54-year-old stepped down Luckily for fans of the iconic duo, insiders confirmed Damon will remain involved behind-the-scenes. Both he and Affleck are producing the project under their Artists Equity banner, alongside Dani Bernfeld This is the ad that Lopez put on her Insta stories to announce her new concert series As to why Damon stepped back from the role scheduling conflicts seemed to be the culprit. The outlet suggested that his responsibilities in Christopher Nolans adaptation of The Odyssey took priority. Production began in April in Los Angeles, setting the stage for what could be another powerhouse film from the duo behind Good Will Hunting and Air. While details surrounding Animals' plot have been largely kept under wraps, the thriller is set to revolving around a kidnapping. Adding star power to the highly anticipated film, it was announced that X-Files legend Gillian Anderson has joined the cast. Despite Damon's departure, fans of the dynamic duo wont have to wait much longer to see them together again. Lopez took teen daughter Emme to an event in New York City on April 3 She has been on the East Coast to shoot Office Romance; seen on April 7 in Hoboken, New Jersey The pals are slated to act alongside each other in the forthcoming crime thriller RIP, set to debut on Netflix this summer. However, the casting change in Animals does not come as a shocking surprise as production had been majorly delayed in September 2024 when filming was supposed to be complete. At the time, Affleck's commitments with his film The Accountant 2 had prevented him from effectively rolling out his production duties. Per Netflix, the initial logline read: 'When the son of L.A. Mayoral Candidate Milo Bradford (Damon) is kidnapped, he and his wife have a few hours to come up with the ransom payment. 'With most of their money spent on his political campaign, they have to get their hands dirty and exposing a side of their lives they never intended to see the light of day.' Now, fans can expect to see the film sometime in 2026, if production moves forward as planned in 2025. This comes after the actor revealed the 'key to directing' and establishing trust on set in a panel interview with Variety. He told the outlet: 'Actors have to understand that you respect them and that you know whats good and youre gonna use. 'I just wanted everyone to feel comfortable the key to directing is take advantage of the people who are better and smarter and can do the job better than you and let them do it.' Nadiya Bychkova looked sensational as she arrived at the Black Tap launch party in London on Tuesday - shortly after reports emerged that her ex, Kai Widdrington, has found love again nine months after their split. The Strictly Come Dancing pro, 35, cut a stylish figure in a black mini dress that showcased her tanned and toned pins. Her chic ensemble featured a V-neckline, a sleeveless design, silver button detailing, and a figure-hugging silhouette. Nadiya added height with a pair of black lace-up heels and accessorised with silver hoop earrings as she smiled for the cameras. To complete her look, the dancer wore her blonde tresses in a sleek ponytail and opted for a glamorous makeup look, including a bold red lip. Her outing comes just after MailOnline reported that Kai has found love again, following their acrimonious split nine months ago. Nadiya Bychkova looked sensational as she arrived at the Black Tap launch party at London's Glaslshouse Street on Tuesday - shortly after reports emerged that her ex, Kai Widdrington, has found love again The Strictly Come Dancing pro, 35, cut a stylish figure in a black mini dress that showcased her tanned and toned pins Nadiya cut a cool figure in the outfit on the night The Strictly Come Dancing star, 29, is said to be secretly dating Chloe Wells, an executive assistant who hails from Essex, after meeting on a night out at a west London pub. According to The Sun, they have kept their romance private as Kai struggled with the publicity surrounding his past relationship with Nadiya, but are now set to make their debut red-carpet appearance together. And in a sign of how well things are progressing, the couple are reportedly planning to move in together soon. A pal told the publication: 'Chloe is a great girl and has absolutely no interest in the limelight; she just likes Kai for Kai. They have a real laugh together and although its early days, theyre planning on moving in together in the coming months. 'Kai found it very damaging to his mental health having his past relationship with Nadiya played out in public, and thankfully Chloe has no interest at all in being in the spotlight. She also isn't a Strictly superfan which makes things easier. 'Theyre super-content, and Kai attributes a lot of his looking so well to being in a happier place in life thanks to her. They make a really cute couple.' Representatives for Kai had no further comment when contacted by MailOnline. MailOnline confirmed Kai had split from his Strictly co-star Nadiya after two years in June 2024, at the end of their lucrative tour Behind the Magic. Nadiya added height with a pair of black lace-up heels and accessorised with silver hoop earrings as she smiled for the cameras To complete her look, the dancer wore her blonde tresses in a sleek ponytail and opted for a glamorous makeup look as she posed with a tasty CrazyShake At the bash, the beauty couldn't wipe the grin off her face as she devoured a mouthwatering burger Later in the evening, she looked completely in her element as she stepped behind the DJ decks, sporting a pair of headphones Former Love Island star Georgia Harrison put on a busty display in a plunging satin corset and blazer as she arrived at the event with her hunky boyfriend Jack Love Island couple Ronnie Vint and Harriett Blackmore struck a pose as they shared a CrazyShake at the bash Meanwhile, Olivia Attwood and her husband Bradley Dack put on a loved-up display as they posed for a sweet snap ahead of the event Olivia looked effortlessly chic in a pair of blue denim Miu Miu dungarees as she beamed for the camera alongside her pal Georgia Olivia arrived with her husband Bradley Dack Bradley was sporting a white T-shirt with a pair of dark trousers and an open shirt Olivia was rocking a pair of denim dungarees with a long-sleeved white top and trainers The dancers reportedly ended their romance after 'emotionally drifting away from each other' with sources claiming they were battling off-stage problems during their tour. It was reported at the time that the pressure of being in each other's space 24/7 eventually 'took its toll' on their relationship. A friend of Kai and Nadiya told The Sun: 'Its heartbreaking. Kai and Nadiya seemed like the most perfect couple and have been so, so blissfully in love. 'But the pressures of touring - being in each others space 24/7 and the stress of performing a sell-out show - eventually took its toll. 'They had been drifting emotionally for a while, and things actually came to a head during the tour - ironically called Behind The Magic - which, obviously, was incredibly problematic.' Kai and Nadiya made the mutual decision to quit 'after a rough few weeks' once their tour finished, the source added. But it appeared the split was far from amicable, with the pair having to be kept far apart at the National Television Awards in September. An onlooker told MailOnline at the time: 'When the pair got inside the O2 they gave each other a very wide berth. Georgia arrived at the event with her boyfriend Georgia was spotted tucking into a huge sundae Harriet also indulged in the sweet treat at the event Her outing comes just after MailOnline reported that Kai has found love again, following their acrimonious split nine months ago (pictured with Nadiya) The Strictly Come Dancing star, 29, is said to be secretly dating Chloe Wells, an executive assistant who hails from Essex, after meeting on a night out at a west London pub 'Organisers had ensured there would be no awkward camera shots by keeping the frosty pair apart from each other. 'Angela Rippon was on Kai's arm all night, and was keen to show her support after his recent demotion. When it came to accepting Strictly's award, Kai was front of centre behind Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman but Nadiya was nowhere to be seen. 'If this is what they are like at an awards bash, imagine what things are like in the rehearsal room.' Nadiya later spoke out about their split at the Pride Of Britain Awards in October, where she admitted they are 'not friends'. However, the Ukrainian star insisted that she and Kai were still able to dance and work together on Strictly because she was a 'professional'. MailOnline confirmed Kai had split from his Strictly co-star Nadiya after two years in June, at the end of their lucrative tour Behind the Magic (pictured on tour in June) Speaking to The Mirror, Nadiya said: 'We work together but we are not friends and that's OK. 'One thing I can tell you is that when you see me dancing with him it will be amazing because I'm a professional.' The talented dancer originally confirmed their romance in 2022, during an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail Weekend magazine after months of speculation. Nadiya confessed: 'We've been seeing each other properly for a couple of months now. It's early days and we've been rehearsing for the Strictly Professionals tour, so there's been very little free time. 'But we're getting to know more and more about each other day by day. He's kind and compassionate and makes me laugh. I feel very relaxed with him.' The director of Home Alone 2 has revealed why Donald Trump's controversial cameo in the beloved film will never be cut. Filmmaker Chris Columbus - who Trump claims 'begged' him to appear in the film - revealed that even if he would like to cut the current US President's small role in the 1992 sequel film, he would be unable to. The 66-year-old director recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that he would like to eliminate Trump's seven-second appearance as he has explained that it has 'become this curse. Its become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.' He then reportedly took a sarcastic tone as he explained: 'I cant cut it. If I cut it, Ill probably be sent out of the country. 'Ill be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States, so Ill have to go back to Italy or something.' The famous scene saw Kevin McCallister - played by Macaulay Culkin - all alone without his family in New York City as he asked Trump to point him in the direction of the Plaza Hotel which Trump had owned at the time. The director of 1992 classic Home Alone 2 has revealed why Donald Trump 's controversial cameo in the beloved film will never be cut In it McAllister asks Trump, 'where the lobby is' and he replies, 'Down the hall and to the left.' Director Columbus and Trump have had quite a few disagreements over the years including the filmmaker saying the current president 'bullied' his way into the on-screen appearance. Back in December 2020, Columbus said in an interview that Trump had made his cameo part of the deal in order for production to use the Plaza Hotel. He explained to Business Insider at the time that they needed to shoot at the Plaza because it was something that couldn't be reconstructed on a soundstage. He said that like most locations in New York, 'you just pay a fee and you are allowed to shot in that location.' But when production approached the Plaza the deal came with an extra ask. 'Trump said OK. We paid the fee, but he also said, "The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie." So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen."' 'So I said to my editor, "Leave him in the movie. It's a moment for the audience,"' Columbus continued. 'But he did bully his way into the movie.' Filmmaker Chris Columbus (pictured in February 2010) revealed that even if he would like to cut the current US President's small role in the 1992 sequel film, he would be unable to. The 66-year-old director recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that he would like to eliminate Trump's (pictured on Tuesday) seven-second appearance as he has explained that it has 'become this curse. Its become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone. I cant cut it. If I cut it, Ill probably be sent out of the country' The famous scene saw Kevin McCallister - played by Macaulay Culkin (pictured) - all alone without his family in New York City as he asked Trump to point him in the direction of the Plaza Hotel which Trump had owned at the time However Trump retorted in years later in December 2023 on Truth Social as he explained that it was the other way around. '30 years ago (how time flies!), Director Chris Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance in Home Alone 2,' the current president said. 'I was very busy, and didn't want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history!' 'That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time,' Trump noted. 'People call me whenever it is aired.' 'Now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie. Nothing could be further from the truth,' Trump continued. The US president also took umbrage with Columbus commenting that he 'bullied' his way into the film. Trump said: ''That cameo helped make the movie a success, but if they felt bullied, or didn't want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there, for over 30 years?' 'Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that's why!' he answered. 'Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!' Trump said. Director Columbus (pictured in December 2024) and Trump have had quite a few disagreements over the years including the filmmaker saying in December 2020 that the current president 'bullied' his way into the on-screen appearance However Trump retorted in years later in December 2023 on Truth Social as he explained that it was the other way around There have been numerous pushes for Trump to be cut from the film from fans with the lead star Culkin (pictured in January) even showing his support for the omission Back in January 2021 a fan used some crude editing skills on Twitter (now X) to remove both Trump's likeness and voice from the cameo, so Culkin's Kevin seemingly just asks where the lobby is to no one at all. The original tweet, from Twitter user @maxschramp, went viral at the time with Culkin chiming in, 'Bravo' Another fan asked for a, 'petition to digitally replace trump in home alone 2 with 40-year-old macaulay culkin,' which Culkin replied, 'Sold' There have been numerous pushes for Trump to be cut from the film from fans with the lead star Culkin even showing his support for the omission. Back in January 2021 a fan used some crude editing skills on Twitter (now X) to remove both Trump's likeness and voice from the cameo, so Culkin's Kevin seemingly just asks where the lobby is to no one at all. The original tweet, from Twitter user @maxschramp, went viral at the time with Culkin chiming in, 'Bravo.' Another fan asked for a, 'petition to digitally replace trump in home alone 2 with 40-year-old macaulay culkin,' which Culkin replied, 'Sold.' Wawa will close two stores months after being crowned the best convenience store chain in America. Wawa spokesperson Jennifer Wolf apologized for the closures in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They will shut with little notice on April 22 and 24. 'It has been a pleasure serving the community for many years and we are grateful for the support of the local community,' Wolf told NBC10. Wolf did not reveal the reason why Wawa has decided to close these stores. However, a Pennsylvania Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) claimed it was due to failed efforts to change the store's design to meet customers' needs. Wawa still has over 20 locations in Philadelphia, 1,000 across the US. Wawa has maintained strong revenue since announcing in 2023 it plans to open 160 stores over the next eight to ten years, starting with locations in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and North Carolina. The first new stores are set to open this year. Wawa will close two locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, months after being named the best convenience store chain in America Wawa expressed its gratitude to all the shoppers and associates who helped make it the reigning best convenience store chain. 'These ratings are incredibly meaningful to all Wawa associates as they strive to provide the best possible customer experience every day,' CEO Chris Gheysens added. Wawa's menu, which features hoagies, built-to-order wraps, and pizza, was highly praised after the win. Its full breakfast menu and Delivery & Curbside Pickup services were also factors in the win. In addition to Pennsylvania, Wawa operates stores in New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida. Before becoming a top convenience store chain, Wawa was founded as Wawa Dairy in 1902, delivering milk to homes throughout Philadelphia. The first Wawa Food Market opened in Folsom, Pennsylvania, in 1964, and by then, stores were operating in New Jersey and Delaware, serving foods like burgers and fried chicken. Wawas hoagies debuted in 1970, leading to its Best of Philly award for coffee and deli throughout the 1980s. The restaurant chain announced its plans to open 160 locations over the next eight to ten years in 2023 As of now, there are currently over 1,000 Wawa locations operating in the US The Store had to shut locations last year The chain continued to grow, creating its fan-favorite Hoagie Day and launching the Wawa Foundation, which supports causes related to health, hunger, and everyday heroes. After introducing Delivery & Curbside Pickup in 2021, Wawa debuted its dinner menu, further cementing its status as a favorite. Today, Wawa employs around 47,000 workers and remains a privately owned company. The chain is on track to achieve its goal of opening 160 new locations. It is preparing to open its first-ever Ohio store on Wednesday, offering limited-time promotions like free hot coffee and limited-edition t-shirts. Once the Ohio store opens, Wawa will turn its attention to its first Indiana store, scheduled for May 15. The company has not confirmed how many stores will open this year. Meanwhile, last year Wisconsin convenience store and gas station chain The Store was forced to close all of its 25 locations. The Store, established in 1976, shuttered its businesses at the end of July last year. It also had locations in Michigan. But this is not the story of another retail chain getting into financial trouble or being hit with falling sales. The Wisconsin staple was forced to close after the company that owns its buildings and land, Mountain Express Oil, entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year. A new anti-aging laser promising facelift-style results has already amassed a jaw-dropping waitlist of 16,000 Americans despite its nearly $6,000 price tag. It helps that Hollywood stars Carey Mulligan and Kate Beckinsale, and models Rosie Huntington Whitley and Miranda Kerr, are fans of the gadget. It also doesn't hurt that British company Lyma's other two other luxury products skin supplements and creams costing up to $655 per month have received rave reviews from other celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Eva Longria. Originally launched in Europe in 2024, the Lyma Laser PRO sold out twice before gaining FDA clearance for its US debut. Now, with over 16,000 people on the waitlist, the brand estimates potential sales north of $100 million. Hollywood's obsession with the laser has led to some stars making special trips to Harrods in London just to get their hands on one before the US launch. 'This marks the end of damaging your skin in the hope of creating collagen,' said Lyma founder Lucy Goff. 'We've cracked the code to superior collagen production.' The Laser PRO is the only clinic-grade cosmetic laser cleared by the FDA for at-home use. Unlike traditional LED skincare devices, it penetrates up to 10cm deep into the skin, targeting both surface and underlying muscle tissue. Rosie Huntington-Whitley, 37, the model and actress, got Lyma Laser PRO when it first went on sale in the UK last year Miranda Kerr, 41, the Australian model and former Victoria's Secret Angel, has been using Lyma products Carey Mulligan, 39, is a British-born Hollywood actress and fan of the Lyma Laser Pro Lyma claims it can boost skin elasticity by more than 100 percent in just 30 days without pain or downtime. Plastic surgeons and dermatologists have backed the science behind the product. Dr Graeme Glass, a plastic surgeon at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, said the device could delay the need for a facelift and help speed recovery for those who do undergo surgery. He said: 'The LYMA Laser PRO's transformative effects are so powerful that it might even delay the need for a facelift - but for those who do decide to have one, its ability to accelerate healing and then optimise results is really astonishing.' Dr. Dan Belkin, board-certified dermatological surgeon at the New York Dermatology Group, noted that most home-use devices use LED light, which doesn't penetrate deeply whereas LYMA's laser can deliver results closer to in-clinic treatments. 'The LYMA Laser technology, on the other hand, can deliver this wavelength of near-infrared light as a laser, therefore penetrating much more deeply and more powerfully.' The Laser Pro is now available online at lyma.life/en-us. The LYMA Laser PRO takes the unrivalled power of the original cult-favourite LYMA Laser and trebles it 3x bigger, 3x faster. Actress Naomie Harris,49, also uses the Lyma Laser Pro Lyma's Laser Pro has a 16,000 waitlist in the US ahead of its launch Visible results: Using the device for 45 minutes a day for three months, this user saw fewer lines around her mouth, better elasticity and tone, and improved radiance. Lyma gained a following among beauty fans and celebrities - also including Kim Kardashian and Kate Hudson - after launching a $255-a-month daily supplement in 2018. A $2,695 at-home laser, a smaller version of the Pro, followed in 2020. In 2023, came Lyma Skincare, which costs $655 for a starter set of 50ml serum, which users put on first, and 50ml cream. Both come in the brand's distinctive gold packaging, with refills $590. Using it morning and night, with three pumps of each, makes that amount enough for 30 days, Goff said. It also makes it close to $7,145 a year. Although they were sent products to try, none of the famous names were paid to endorse them. Paltrow liked the products so much she began selling via her Goop website, which also sell in the UK at Harrods and Harvey Nichols. A federal judge has overturned a rule that capped credit card late fees at $8. The judge found the Biden-era policy to be illegal and threw it out on Tuesday. The $8 cap, introduced in March last year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in March last year, was put in place under a director who opposes the cap. US District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, TX, granted a joint request by the CFPB and a coalition of business and banking groups to scrap the rule. Pittman, who was appointed by President Trump, said the $8 cap violated the Credit CARD Act of 2009 because it prevented card issuers from charging fees 'reasonable and proportional to violations.' Prior to that the average late payment fee from American banks was $32 per statement. The policy was introduced as part of Biden's crackdown on consumer 'junk fees.' A coalition of six business and banking groups including the US Chamber of Commerce and American Bankers Association sued the CFPB arguing it was overstepping its authority. The $8 cap was introduced as part of Biden's crackdown on consumer 'junk fees.' U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas granted a request to scrap the rule The groups also argued the rule ignored Congress' intent that fees be high enough to deter late payments and compensate card issuers for their costs. They added that the cap was not actually good for consumers as it would force issuers to pass costs to cardholders who pay their bills on time. The reversal comes as the Trump administration aims to reverse many of the previous president's rules and policies it sees as unfriendly to business. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the groups called Pittman's order 'a win for consumers and common sense.' Last year when the $8 cap was rolled out, Adam Rust, director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America - a non-profit that campaigns for the rights of consumers - spoke out in favor of it. 'It closes the loophole that permitted this form of price-gouging and injects fairness where it has been sorely needed,' he said. The CFA also sought to debunk a number of claims made by critics of the new rule, most notably the argument that eliminating the source of revenue for credit card issuers would harm consumers in the long run. It also said that credit card benefits such as air miles or cashback, relished by many Americans, would remain unaffected by the cap. These are generally offered to peiople with good credit records. Those with a poor credit score rarely receive the same benefits, it said. Folk cultural activities held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, China's Yunnan Xinhua) 08:52, April 15, 2025 People fly Kongming lanterns, a kind of small hot-air paper balloon, by the Lancang River in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) People fly a Kongming lantern, a kind of small hot-air paper balloon, by the Lancang River in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) People fly a Kongming lantern, a kind of small hot-air paper balloon, by the Lancang River in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Actors perform on the gala celebrating the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 12, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) A visitor takes a photo of Kongming lanterns, a kind of small hot-air paper balloon, by the Lancang River in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) A girl flies a Kongming lantern, a kind of small hot-air paper balloon, by the Lancang River in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) People take part in a traditional dragon boat race in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Actors perform during the celebration of the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Actors perform on the gala celebrating the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 12, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) People take part in a traditional dragon boat race in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2025. A variety of folk cultural activities were held in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) The massive commercial enterprise that capitalises on the use of the royal titles to make huge profits has warned the British royal family to back off and get lost with their threats to take away the Duke and Duchesss royal titles. Our vast commercial enterprise is using the royal titles to make huge profits at the expense of the British royal family. We are thus warning them to cease and desist with their threats to curtail our money-making operations, Edwin Kleinnegler, the Sussex CEO for the enterprise, revealed at an impromptu press conference in Florida on Monday. As well as utilising the Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles to profit financially, Meghan Markle has been showing off letters written to her by a Ukrainian minister labelling her as Her Royal Highness which was forbidden by the late Queen Elizabeth II. Meghan Markle also utilises a crown logo with a large M under it to sell her jam products, and cheap Chinese made trinkets she sells in her online shop to dumb Americans who wouldnt know better. If she did not use the royal symbols and titles, sales would be negligible, but because she is using the royal stuff to sell products, she is making vast profits at the expense of the royal family who she hates with a vengeance. Meghan Markle has never even been to the English county of Sussex, and views the people of the county with absolute disgust and disdain. She calls them peasants, a royal commentator revealed on Tuesday. It is rumoured that Prince William wants the titles removed from Markle, but he is currently being held back by King Charles, who is unfortunately a very weak and easily played monarch. The royal family have essentially opted to keep a dignified silence despite the disgusting displays of royal protocol being flouted. One can only shed a tear for poor old Queen Elizabeth II, whose life was made hell in the last days of her life by Meghan Markle, and whose objections to using the Windsor royal titles by these two grifters were so overtly flouted. London, UK, (PANA) - On the second anniversary on Tuesday of the outbreak of Sudans civil war, a human rights watchdog is urging the world to stop ignoring the East African country New York, US (PANA) - The number of children in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan has doubled as the war between rival militaries enters a third year on Tuesday SOS Causeway Hospital will make an important presentation to the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council at a deputation workshop tomorrow, Wednesday, April 16, to address recent developments and discuss the future of Causeway Hospital. The presentation marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing campaign to secure sustainable and equitable healthcare provision for the Causeway area. The campaign group will then hold a public meeting where they will update the public on the deputation workshop meeting and recent findings. The group will use the opportunity to highlight the urgent need for transparency, accountability, and long-term planning in relation to services at Causeway Hospital. Members of the public are encouraged to take note of which elected representatives attend this workshop, as their presence will reflect their commitment to the future of our local health service. We will continue to work for genuine and meaningful engagement with all stakeholders, and we will hold decision-makers to account, said Gemma Brolly, Chairperson of SOS Causeway Hospital. This deputation is a vital step in ensuring that the voices of this community are heard. We demand that decisions affecting our hospital be made in the public interest, not behind closed doors. People are sick of being ignored outside of election time. We would impress upon all our elected representatives to attend Wednesday's meeting. Following this we will hold a public meeting, with details on this to follow soon. Supporting the group's message, retired physician Dr. Owen Finnegan, who served the Causeway community for over three decades, underscored the significance of maintaining a fully operational hospital in the region. Causeway Hospital has served this community with distinctionit is not only viable, but it provides the essential acute and emergency services that every community needs." Dr Finnegan continued, "Loss of inpatient acute services would result in longer travel times for urgent care resulting in poorer outcomes and deepened health inequalities. The group urges the public and press to observe closely and support efforts to protect local healthcare. "We need to see strong leadership and a clear show of support from our councillors this week," Brolly added. "This is not a time for silence or absenceit is a time for action." For updates and further information, follow SOS Causeway Hospital on social media or contact the group directly at soscauseway@gmail.com. Sinn Fein councillor Pat Murphy has encouraged the public to take part in the Easter Sunday commemoration in Derry City where veteran Belfast republican Gerry Kelly will be the keynote speaker. Cllr. Murphy commented: "Easter is a special and poignant time for republicans as we gather to remember and pay tribute to all those who have lost their lives in the pursuit of Irish freedom. The main address this year will be delivered by Gerry Kelly MLA who I am sure will be reflecting on the positive change that the party is driving right across Ireland and which is bringing us closer than ever to achieving the kind of Ireland that was envisaged by the men and women of 1916. Therefore, I would urge local republicans to make a special effort to attend both the main and local area commemorations in Derry and to wear the Easter Lily with pride over the Easter period in honour of the sacrifices of all of our patriot dead. The main commemoration will assemble at Westland street at 2pm. A number of localised ceremonies will also take place on Easter Sunday at 1.00pm. These are: Shantallow Monument (Racecourse Road) Waterside (Rose Court) and 1.30pm at Creggan (Central Drive), Bogside Brandywell (Lecky Road) Republican ex-prisoners in Derry are calling on the public to support a vigil to mark Palestinian Prisoners day and to oppose the ongoing Israeli genocide on Gaza. Commenting after a number of former political prisoners came together at Free Derry Wall to launch the initiative, Mickey Kinsella said it was important for ex-prisoners and the wider public to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Former POWs know the reality of imprisonment and occupation and, particularly those who were on the Blanket and the hunger strikes, know how bleak the situation can seem in the gaols, he said. But they also know how we can come through those times, as we did as Irish republicans, so its important to send that message to the Palestinians who are suffering so horrendously as a result of Israels genocidal attacks. We are therefore urging ex-prisoners to come to the vigil at the Hunger Strike monument on Thursday, April 17 at 7pm. We are also calling on the wider public to come along. People are rightly appalled at what is going on in Palestine and many are asking what they can do to oppose it. International solidarity is what we can all do. The experience of other struggles, particularly in South Africa, have shown the importance of international solidarity in achieving freedom and justice so its crucial that we keep up the pressure on Israel and constantly expose the genocide and occupation for the horrific attack on humanity which it is. The gap in economic performance and well-being indicators between Ireland and Northern Ireland is widening, a report has found. The research found that Ireland is outperforming Northern Ireland in most areas, including labour market trends, living standards, economic structures, education, health and overall well-being. New research, published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and commissioned as part of the Institutes research programme with the Shared Island Unit, Department of the Taoiseach, provides a high-level comparison of the economies of Ireland and Northern Ireland in recent years. The research recognises that the economies north and south on the island are distinct in important structural respects. Northern Ireland is part of the wider UK economy, with significant implications for trade and public policy. Ireland, on the other hand, is a national-level economy and an EU member state, so direct comparisons between the two will not always be on a like-for-like basis. Nevertheless, the research provides a range of insights on the relative performance of both economies over recent years. The report found that Irelands population is growing faster than Northern Irelands, largely due to strong net migration in recent years. This has resulted in Ireland having a younger population, with a lower old-age dependency rate. There have also been shifts in the labour market over time. Labour market participation in Ireland has increased significantly since 2010, widening the gap with Northern Ireland. In 2022, the participation rate of those aged 16 to 64 was 76.8% in Ireland compared with 72.4% north of the border. Employment rates in Ireland overtook Northern Ireland in the period after the financial crisis, reflecting Irelands strong recovery. But due to the Irish economys highly open nature, the countrys labour market is more volatile than Northern Irelands, and experiences larger swings in unemployment, migration, and NEET (not in employment, education, or training) rates. Turning to living standards and income, the report found widening gaps in all commonly used measures of living standards and these gaps favour Ireland. It focuses on reliable measures of living standards that are not distorted by globalisation effects, which is important for Ireland. Household disposable income in Ireland is 18.3% higher than in Northern Ireland and the gap has widened over time. Irelands Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in 2022 was 57% higher than Northern Irelands Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, reflecting stronger economic growth. In terms of wages, the data show a positive gap favouring Ireland, with hourly earnings 36% higher than in Northern Ireland in 2022. While Great Britain remains Northern Irelands largest trading partner, the norths trade with Great Britain has declined since 2015, while trade with Ireland has increased. On a per capita basis, Northern Ireland residents pay significantly lower personal income tax than those in Ireland, which is 2,980 euro in Northern Ireland compared with 6,725 euro per capita in Ireland. Corporate tax receipts per capita in Ireland, which is sitting at 5,760 euro, are more than five times those in Northern Ireland, reflecting the dominance of multinationals. Ireland allocates a higher share of government expenditure to health, with 26.3% in Ireland compared with 17.3% in Northern Ireland in 2022/23, and education, with 10.7% in Ireland compared with 9.5% in Northern Ireland in the same period. Northern Ireland has a higher share of pubic sector employment, while employment in Ireland is more heavily concentrated in high-value-added sectors such as ICT and financial services. Manufacturing in Ireland accounts for 44% of gross value added, more than 2.5 times Northern Irelands share. Labour productivity in Northern Ireland lags behind that of Ireland in most sectors. The report found that Northern Ireland is more productive in construction, and agriculture, and forestry and fishing. Labour productivity in Ireland is more than 2.5 times compared with north of the border, with the gap particularly influenced by the role of foreign-owned firms in Ireland. Across all age-groups in 2022, education enrolment rates are higher in Ireland than in Northern Ireland. The report shows that some 71% of 15 to 19-year-olds in Northern Ireland are in education compared with 94% in Ireland, a gap of more than 20 percentage points. Early-school-leaving rates have dropped in Ireland, from 5% to 2.7% between 2018 and 2022, but increased in Northern Ireland, from 9.4% to 10% between 2018 and 2022. Overall, early-school-leaving rates are three times higher in Northern Ireland than in Ireland. Inpatient and outpatient waiting lists were similar for those waiting between zero and six months for treatment in 2024, but the rates for longer durations are much higher in Northern Ireland. Some 86 per 1,000 people in Northern Ireland are on waiting lists for 18-plus months, compared with 12 per 1,000 in Ireland. Life expectancy is an important indicator that tends to encapsulate the impacts of multiple well-being determinants across a range of areas including income levels, educational attainment and access to health services. In 2021, life expectancy for children aged below one in Ireland was 82.4 years compared with 80.4 years in Northern Ireland, a gap of two years. As was the case with many other key metrics, the gap between Ireland and Northern Ireland in life expectancy has also been widening over recent years. Adele Bergin, an author of the report and an associate research professor at the ESRI, said: Ireland has experienced stronger economic growth, higher wages, and higher living standards in recent years. The gap in economic performance and well-being indicators between Ireland and Northern Ireland is widening. Seamus McGuinness, an author of the report and a research professor at the ESRI, said: The report provides a contemporary analysis of relative economic performance of both economies and allows for differences, in both the levels and evolution of key performance metrics, between Ireland and Northern Ireland to be better understood. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the Irish government will assess and absorb the report. Asked for his reaction to the report, Mr Martin said: It illustrates similarities, complementarities, difference, and we just should take the material as it is. I think the Northern Ireland Executive will take the material in terms of its plans for economic development in the north and so forth. We, likewise, will assess it and absorb it. But I think its good work by the ESRI and theres pluses and minuses within the report, some of it is not a surprise, but I think some of it, insofar as it applies to the post-Brexit era, is interesting in terms of the exports and imports both ways. But suffice to say, the British market is still extremely important, and I think the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain is very important, north-south is very important. That tripartite relationship is key, and research of this kind shines a light, and also indicates where we can co-operate and work together to deal with the challenges facing citizens. TSMC's global expansion bolsters 'Silicon Shield' amid Intel tie-up concerns TSMC, the world's leading chip foundry, is embarking on an unprecedented global expansion that is testing the resilience of Taiwan's "silicon shield" while drawing skepticism about rumored partnerships with struggling competitors like Intel. The chipmaker is simultaneously constructing multi-billion-dollar factories in the US, Japan, and Europe while maintaining its technological dominance in Taiwan a strategic balance that industry experts view as strengthening rather than weakening the company's position. Credit: DIGITIMES TSMC's competitive advantage and expansion strategy TSMC's competitive advantage stems from its exclusive focus on manufacturing chips without competing with its customers in design. This approach has allowed the company to secure relationships with the world's largest technology firms while maintaining manufacturing excellence. Industry insiders have dismissed rumors of a potential TSMC-Intel joint venture. According to Marco Mezger, Executive VP and COO at Neumonda, TSMC has earned its market leadership through decades of strategic investments and technological innovation, contrary to accusations that it has somehow taken semiconductor expertise from the US. "Why should you even take a minority share from Intel, which is lagging behind in technology, does not have the ability to ramp up, and does not have the customer mindset?" Mezger questioned. Despite concerns about diluting Taiwan's technological edge, Mezger and other experts believe TSMC's global expansion actually strengthens the island's position in the semiconductor ecosystem. While the company faces challenges in replicating Taiwan's distinctive engineering culture abroad, Mezger expects varying levels of success across regions, with Japan likely to perform best, followed by Germany with its strategic local partnerships, and then the US, where production yields are reportedly improving. Saxony, Dresden: Future site of TSMC's chip factory, a joint venture with Bosch, Infineon, and NXP. Credit: AFP The Dresden facility exemplifies TSMC's differentiated approach to global expansion, with three European semiconductor companies holding 30% ownership stakes and ensuring steady factory utilization. According to Mezger, this global strategy ultimately strengthens Taiwan by fostering international connections rather than isolation. "I think it's rather strengthening Taiwan in getting connected to the other cultures instead of just being on this island," Mezger said. "It's about going out and making connections." Intel's structural challenges Intel's strategic direction has become a focus of industry discussion following Lip-Bu Tan's appointment as CEO. While some investors reportedly favor shifting Intel toward an asset-light model similar to Qualcomm or Broadcom, Mezger believes Tan will likely continue prioritizing manufacturing capabilities. This strategic tension highlights the challenges Intel faces when competing against TSMC's focused business model. Konrad Young, a former independent director at SMIC and technical advisor to Intel, points to deep-seated operational issues that have accumulated over many years at the company. Intel has declined significantly from the highly efficient operation it maintained under Andy Grove's leadership. Credit: AFP Young describes a fundamental cultural divide between integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) like Intel and pure-play foundries like TSMC. "IDM and foundry are completely different cultures," Young emphasized. He explained that he witnessed TSMC undergo what he called a "cultural revolution" as it transformed from a manufacturing-focused company to a service-oriented enterprise. This shift established customer priorities throughout the organization, from top management to the factory floor. Intel's corporate structure, by contrast, has traditionally elevated technology leadership above customer needs. "The technology guy seems like the king of the company. They don't listen to their own internal customer, not to mention external customers," Young noted. Future outlook Despite considering Tan a strong choice for CEO, Young expressed skepticism about whether any leader could transform Intel's entrenched organization rapidly enough. Samsung faces similar foundry transition challenges, according to Young. Any potential TSMC collaboration would provide limited value without Intel's internal transformation. TSMC can offer assistance, but Intel must develop its own capability to create a customer-centric culture, Young concluded. Article edited by Jack Wu 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. 7 advantages of GPU overclocking The cryptocurrency market is evolving, prompting changes in GPU mining operations across Asia. Digital currency mining has become lucrative, with miners establishing operations in regions such as China, Kazakhstan, and Vietnam. This article explores GPU overclocking techniques, their advantages, and how miners in Asia can adapt to dynamic market conditions through responsible practices. What excatly is GPU mining? GPU mining involves using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) to secure and validate blockchain networks. GPUs are preferred over CPUs for this task due to their efficiency in handling multiple operations simultaneously. Asia has experienced significant growth in GPU mining due to lower electricity costs and, in some cases, less restrictive regulations. Despite crackdowns in certain areas, China's abundant hydroelectric power continues to support mining operations, keeping the region competitive. Advantages of overclocking techniques Overclocking, or increasing GPU clock speeds beyond factory settings, offers miners several key benefits: 1. Increased Hash Rates: Faster processing of cryptocurrency transactions enhances profitability in competitive markets. 2. Cost Efficiency: Overclocking optimizes GPU performance without requiring expensive upgrades, helping miners maintain economic sustainability. 3. Optimization for Altcoins: Adjusting GPU settings can improve performance for specific cryptocurrencies, boosting mining profitability. 4. Enhanced Cooling Solutions: Overclocking generates additional heat, requiring advanced cooling systems like water cooling or high-performance fans. 5. Longer GPU Lifespan: When done responsibly, overclocking can extend hardware life by optimizing clock speeds and managing temperatures effectively. 6. Competitive Edge: Overclocking allows miners to stay competitive as global cryptocurrency markets evolve. How to get started with overclocking For those new to overclocking, a careful approach with the right tools is essential. Here's a step-by-step guide: 1. Research Your GPU Model: Understand your GPU's performance limits using forums, reviews, and manufacturer guidelines. 2. Download Overclocking Software: Reliable tools include: - MSI Afterburner for easy core and memory speed adjustments. - EVGA Precision X1 for NVIDIA GPUs, offering real-time monitoring and advanced tools. - AMD Radeon Software for built-in overclocking on AMD GPUs. 3. Monitor Metrics: Use mining software to track hash rates, temperatures, and power usage. Adjust core clock speeds incrementally (1025 MHz) while keeping temperatures below 85C. 4. Stability Testing: Test using tools like Unigine Heaven or 3DMark to ensure system stability after changes. Keep a record of results to refine settings over time. 5. Optimize Cooling: Install enhanced cooling systems to manage heat generated during overclocking. Responsible decision-making in overclocking While overclocking offers significant advantages, miners must carefully evaluate their goals, equipment, and technical capabilities. Conducting thorough research, adhering to manufacturer guidelines, and testing stability are crucial to avoiding hardware damage. Additionally, miners should remain vigilant against potential scams in the cryptocurrency sector. By exercising caution and making informed decisions, they can protect their operations and achieve long-term profitability. GPU overclocking can boost performance and efficiency, allowing miners to stay competitive in an evolving market. However, success depends on a balanced, responsible approach tailored to each individual's needs. Article edited by Jack Wu Subscriber content preview SEATTLE A small restaurant building at 422 E. Pine St. sold last week for $3 million, according to King County records. The seller was Hillclimb LLC, which acquired the property in 2022 for $2.3 million. That LLC was associated with the Mezcaleria Oaxaca family of restaurants, which had previously been leasing the buildings. Three related restaurants closed there last year. The buyer was Pine Summit LLC, which is associated with Pike Street Hospitality Group, which runs Agua Verde Cafe and other eateries. Public records indicate a loan from KeyBank. . . . News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. It would be bizarre for the US to implement new tariffs on the EU during ongoing negotiations, Irish deputy premier Simon Harris has said. The Tanaistes comments came after US President Donald Trump reiterated a threat to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals, which would have a significant impact on Irish exports. Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Mr Trump said he would take the measure to improve domestic production of medicines. He said the US does not make its own pharmaceuticals anymore and that the companies are based in Ireland, China and elsewhere. To encourage the manufacturers to relocate back to the US, Mr Trump said: All I have to do is impose a tariff. The president added that companies would act faster if the tariff was more severe. Asked for a timeline, Mr Trump said it would happen in the not too distant future. The EU is attempting to negotiate with the US during a 90-day suspension of sweeping 20% tariffs imposed on exports from the bloc. A lower baseline 10% tariff remains in place but pharmaceuticals have, for now, been exempt. However, the US has repeatedly signalled that it intends to target the pharmaceutical industry, which employs about 45,000 people in Ireland. Total Irish exports were valued at 223.8 billion euros last year, with roughly one third going to the US. Of the 72.6 billion euros in US imports from Ireland, approximately 58 billion euros relates to pharmaceuticals and chemicals leaving Ireland. It had been suggested this could halve if Mr Trump had implemented a 20% tariff on the goods and the EU had responded in kind. CSO data published on Tuesday showed there was a more than five-fold increase in pharmaceutical exports to the US in February compared with the same month last year, up from 1.87 billion to 10.45 billion euro. Exports to the US in general were up 210%. EY Ireland partner and chief economist Dr Loretta OSullivan said: This bears all the hallmarks of a pre-emptive strike. The pharmaceutical sector was not alone in frontloading in February; the drinks industry also took steps to get ahead of policy shifts by the Trump administration, a smart move now that whiskey and other products have been hit with a 10% tariff. Irelands significant trade linkages with the US mean businesses here are particularly exposed to transatlantic barriers, prompting them to get inventory into the American market as fast as possible. Speaking to reporters before a Cabinet meeting in Dublin on Tuesday, Mr Harris called for substantive engagement to continue. He said: What I would say to our counterparts in the United States is the European Union is engaging in good faith. Im sure the United States is as well. And in any good faith negotiation, you should never take any action to escalate the situation. Mr Harris, who is also Irish foreign affairs and trade minister, added: It would be bizarre and not good if, whilst in the middle of talks about trade, one of the parties to the talks was to do something that could cause economic damage or harm to the other. So Id ask that calm measures, substantive engagement continues. Also speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Irish premier Micheal Martin said he expects everything will be on the table for talks with the US. Asked how the EU should respond to American tariffs targeted at pharmaceuticals, he said: We have to take it step by step. I mean, things are getting announced, things change on a weekly basis. The sensible thing to do is get this on to a negotiating pathway and to see what emerges from those negotiations. Asked if he expects the US to pressure the EU to reduce trade and decouple with China, Mr Harris said the bloc is open to discussing all issues when it comes to trade but wants to prioritise the direct relationship between the two trading partners. He told reporters: The US does have very strong views in relation to China, and indeed thats not a state secret. Theyve been very clear and very vocal about that at all levels of the administration, right up to the president of the United States. And the European Union also has some concerns in relation to China and trade and the need for any trade to be fair, the need for a level playing field, and the need for compliance with WTO rules. But we also have a perspective. We are the European Union, were not the United States of America, and we have every right to have our own perspective in relation to trade. So were happy to sit down in any negotiation, but wed like to keep that negotiation on the basis of the relationship between the EU and the US, and how we can make that trading relationship even stronger. Irish students travelling to the United States while on a J1 visa have been urged to consider the local situation and the laws regarding protests, however the Taoiseach said most J1 students are not that focused on activism. It comes after the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) warned students to be cautious about the potential risks of becoming involved in activism while in the US over the summer. Thousands of students will travel to the US on the special student visa which allows them to work and travel across the US for up to four months. In a statement, the students union said: We urge students to be cautious and informed about the potential risks involved in activism while on a J1 visa. While activism is a vital part of student life and a right that should be protected, it is important that students fully understand the possible consequences for their visa status, including the risk of deportation, and take steps to safeguard their participation in such activities. Since Donald Trump became US President, the US administration has revoked hundreds of student visas, with some relating to activism and participation in protests, particularly those in connection to the Middle East. Many of these students have had their immigration status changed by the Trump administration, including students who are in the US on a J1 visa. The focus on international students is seen as part of Mr Trumps aim to reduce immigration. Micheal Martin said that students and Irish people in general must be aware of what is going on in a country they are travelling to. I think we need to keep everything in perspective. Most people who go on their J1 are not that focused on activism, to be fair, he said on Tuesday. I mean, most are out there to work, to get experience, to enjoy the United States, and thats perspective we need to keep on this. Obviously, in any country, youre going to need to understand whats going on within the country at any given time and adapt accordingly. Tanaiste Simon Harris said that the Department of Foreign Affairs has not changed its travel advice in relation to the US, but said the department is keeping things under constant review. He said that parents and young people across Ireland have been asking questions in relation to travel advice. They see scenes in America in terms of protest, in terms of Palestinian protest, and I suppose that does make people think again in relation to this. My advice to people would be that Ireland and the United States have a long and enduring relationship. Many, many people from the US come to Ireland, and theyre very welcome. Many Irish people travel to the US on holidays and student exchanges. I know theyre very welcome too. Of course, its important when you go to any jurisdiction, to consider the local situation, the local laws, to consider if whats acceptable in Ireland is acceptable in the country that youre visiting. Of course, to also know specifically in relation to the United States that Ireland has a very large diplomatic footprint there, and were second only to France in terms of the number of consulates that any European country has in the United States, and to make yourself aware of the presence of our consulate service in advance of travelling to the US. But look, J1s are a great time for people. Theyre a great time for young people. I hope our many young people who travel on J1s this year have a really good summer, a safe summer, and familiarise themselves with the local situation. Protest indeed, has always been an important part of US society as well. The USI added: We call on both the US and Irish authorities to provide clarity on these issues, ensuring that students are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities while participating in the J1 programme. USI/AMLE is committed to supporting students in navigating these challenges, and we will continue to advocate for their safety, rights, and freedom of expression. Labour senator Laura Harmon, the partys spokesperson for higher education, said that families and students are concerned. Ms Harmon, who is a former president of the students union, said that a lot can change in the US from week to week. I think that the Union of Students in Ireland is absolutely correct in issuing the statement this morning and saying that people should be wary, she said on Tuesday. It is a very different political situation now in the US. I think Donald Trump as we know is very unpredictable. A lot can change from one week to the next in terms of what statements are issued. And certainly any student should be wary in terms of activity in the US or while theyre there, or protests that they may take part in, in terms of their own rights. Failure to reimburse women across Ireland for Hormone Replacement Treatment (HRT) that was last year promised to be free by then Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has been slammed as "insulting". Legislation that was included in this year's Budget to provide the free treatment came into effect on January 1 but nationwide implementation was delayed due to disagreements between Government and the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU). Complexity of schemes and fees fuelled the row between the two which delayed the free treatment for thousands of women across the country. Now, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has assured women that the treatment will be free from June 1, excluding a dispensing fee of five euro. HRT is a medicine-based treatment used to relieve symptoms of menopause and perimenopause and costs women nearly 250 every month. The IPU have said there have been multiple engagements with Government and have said that "prospects are poor" when it comes to a majority of pharmacies across Ireland participating in the scheme and that pharmacies are at "breaking point" when it comes to taking on "loss-making services for the State". The Health Minister has assured pharmacies that the Government is prepared to pay a once-off 1000 grant to each participating pharmacy in order to cap the dispensing fee at 5 instead of the usual 7 to 10 fee. Several women across the country called in to the Joe Duffy show to challenge the minister on the delays and ask her how she can assure them that all pharmacies will agree to the new scheme come June 1. The Minister replied by saying that she "hoped" all pharmacies would want to be involved in the scheme and to get the ball rolling on the important treatment. The Minister also went on to say that she wants to roll out more schemes in pharmacies to generate revenue including diagnoses from expert pharmacies for a fee to save them from seeing a GP. Previous Health Minster Stephen Donnelly lauded the 20m scheme for the free treatment throughout the general election campaign with the measures being heavily featured in Fianna Fail and Fine Gael's manifesto at the time. When asked did she discuss the issue with Mr Donnelly, Jennifer Carroll MacNeil said no because she 'just wanted to get on with it". READ NEXT: Irish students warned of key changes to SUSI grants including income limits Met Eireann is warning that spot flooding can be expected this Tuesday night as heavy rainfall is set to replace the recent dry and sunny weather. The national forecaster has issued a status yellow rain warning for five counties - Dublin, Louth, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow. "Rain will become heavy at times and persistent," states the warning, which is the first to be issued for a number of weeks. It will come into effect at 9pm this Tuesday and will remain valid until 2pm on Wednesday. According to Met Eireann, potential impacts include spot flooding and motorists are being urged exercise caution if driving late tonight or tomorrow morning. READ ALSO: LIVE: One county pinpointed for spring snow amid miserable Ireland weather u-turn It it's latest forecast, Met Eireann says it will be cloudy on Tuesday night with outbreaks of rain in most places. In contrast to recent weeks, overnight temperatures could drop below zero in some places leading to a risk of frost - particularly in the west and south-west. It will stay cloudy on Wednesday with persistent rain in parts during the morning with some heavy bursts. Sunny spells will develop in most places on Wednesday afternoon while temperatures will range from 6 to 13 degrees. Louth company Uniquely, is celebrating being awarded not one, but two awards at the Guaranteed Irish Business Awards 2025. Uniquely was honoured in the Professional Services category and claimed the Guaranteed Irish Business of the Year award. The event was recently held in The Round Room at The Mansion House and hosted by Irish comedian Mario Rosenstock. Gerard Teahon, Founder and CEO of Uniquely said: This recognition is incredibly meaningful to us, not just because of the awards themselves, but because of what they represent: quality, innovation and genuine commitment to Irelandits people, its communities and its future. Weve always held fast to a very simple but powerful idea: investing in Ireland and Irish people is the best way to build a sustainable, successful business. To everyone who has supported usour staff, our partners, our suppliers and the communities we servethank you. In addition, the companys relaunch last year from SalesSense International, in partnership with RichardsDee, caught the attention of the judges at the Transform Europe Awards. Alongside some of Europes most recognisable corporate brands and leading global agencies, Uniquely was awarded two Silver accolades Best Naming Strategy and Best Visual Identity in the Professional Services sector. Read Next: Suretank launches Dundalk IT engineering bursary programme Gerard continued: These awards mean that our strategy landed, our creativity resonated, and our belief in doing things differently was seen. Its been a winning strategy for our business our website traffic, brand recognition and LinkedIn engagement scores have all increased. Whats more, almost 90% of our people feel aligned with our new brand. As we are growing across sectors and expanding into new markets our rebrand is part of our overall mission of raising the bar for sales and service. The business currently employs over 275 staff working in every county in Ireland and has donated refurbished laptops to local schools and supporting sporting clubs and counties such as Louth GAA and Dundalk FC, to its teams' fundraising for causes including Save Our Homeless Dundalk. Last month, Uniquely also announced its expansion into the UK with an over 20 million investment, creating 300 new UK jobs across the west midlands, northwest and Scotland contributing to economic growth and innovation. The case of a north Louth family whose daughter was recommended for invasive hip surgery at Childrens Health Ireland that did not go ahead after the parents sought a second opinion has been raised in the Dail by Sinn Fein. The parents of the girl told Deputy Ruairi O Murchu how they were stunned when a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in the North said that that not only did their daughter not need the surgery, he was shocked that any doctor would have recommended it. The case was raised in the Dail on Thursday by Sinn Fein deputy leader Pearse Doherty TD during leaders questions which focused on the fallout from the reviews of scoliosis and other surgeries at Childrens Health Ireland hospitals. Deputy O Murchu said the family had contacted him after reading about the Childrens Health Ireland review and outlined how their daughter, who was a patient at the hospital from 2016 when she was 14 months old until she was just past three, had been diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Read next: Dundalk man first of his family to graduate The Louth TD said: "The consultant was adamant that surgery, which would have required sawing into her hip bone and reshaping the socket was needed. This is despite the fact that the child had not shown any symptoms, and, because of this, the parents sought a second opinion from a specialist in the North in 2019. "Not only did the consultant say that the child did not need the surgery, she also didnt have hip dysplasia and the specialist was horrified that that a doctor had made such an error of judgement. This was a situation that spanned from 2016 to early 2019 and the parents have told me that they were under so much stress about the impending surgery that when they were told it was not needed, the relief was incredible." He said the child is now involved in gymnastics and "that may not have been the case if this surgery had gone ahead". Deputy O Murchu said: It would have been extreme torture, and no-one would put their kids through that if it was not necessary. People put their trust in doctors, and, in this case, that has been shattered. There has been abject failure in this case and I suspect that it might be systemic. He said that while there were around 560 children being reviewed by an independent expert for the years 2021-2023, "we need to ensure that all the cases are taken into account". The Department of Life and Health Sciences at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), in association with the Virtual Labs Project, recently welcomed past alumni to the third Career Paths in Science event held at the north Louth institute. Past graduates, Darragh Connolly, Joy McGinn and Nicole Byrne, currently in microbiology roles within WuXi Biologics as well as Cathal OByrne, a quality control new product introduction specialist at Pfizer, spoke about their career journeys so far and how their science degrees from DkIT have influenced their chosen paths after graduation. Dr Sinead Loughran and Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens discussed the value of postgraduate study and outlined the postgraduate opportunities within the school of Health and Science. Career opportunities within WuXi were also highlighted by the companys talent and acquisition manager Eimear Forde and Claire Fallon from the DkIT Careers and Employability Centre presented some advice on how to get career ready using resources available to students at the centre. This event was organised by lecturers in the Department of Life and Health Sciences and supported by the Virtual Labs project, a HCI funded multi-institutional innovative project which aims to evaluate the use of virtual laboratory resources in STEM practical learning and teaching. Read next: 4.6m windfall for Louth to fund local projects from church renovations to toilet upgrades The Virtual Labs project aims to enhance transversal skill development- which can be applied in diverse contexts, making them highly valuable in both professional and personal settings, and ultimately the employability, of science graduates. Speaking about the event, Dr Bridget Kelly, Microbiology lecturer in the Department of Life and Health Sciences said: we were delighted to host this careers event for current students in our department, as it gave them an excellent opportunity to learn about the many career paths available to them as well as opportunities for postgraduate studies within DkIT. "Through the panel discussion, students also gained an insight into the valuable skills for industry that the graduates gained throughout their time at DkIT. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday embarked on a visit to Brazil to participate in the 11th BRICS Parliamentary Forum where he is scheduled to prese ... Click the 'Next >' arrow above or 'Next Story' below to go through the gallery All photos: Arthur Kinahan De La Salle College held a coffee morning for parents last Wednesday morning, as part of the school's celebration of Autism Acceptance Week. Katy Lynch, a teacher and autism co-ordinator at the De La Salle, told the Dundalk Democrat a little about the activities during Autism Acceptance Week. The coffee morning on Wednesday saw Trish and Jacinta from Autism Support Louth visit the school to give parents an informative talk. Cllr Maeve Yore who has been very supportive of the work done by the De La Salle for those with additional needs, including giving the school some funding in January to go towards trips and excursions for the boys in the autism class, was also there. Cllr Yore was presented with a bouquet of flowers by the pupils in appreciation of the work and support she has given. A tour was given of the school's autism class, Le Cheile (Together). Le Cheile was opened in September 2023, taking in four pupils. Then in September 2024, four more boys were taken in and the school got its modular unit. It's a fabulous space, Katy explained, it's been such a game changer, the boys really love it. The boys love coming to school, they do go out to some mainstream classes as well and we give some of the mainstream students opportunities to come over to us as well. It's really welcomed by the school. On Thursday, the school held a a sponsored walk and a quiz. The annual sponsored walk was held in aid of two charities, My Canine Companion and the Maria Goretti Foundation. The staff and students enjoyed the 5km walk through Ice House Hill in the sunshine. The school quiz that afternoon brought students together for some friendly competition, with Fifth Year Mentors teaming up with their First Year PC classes for a fun Easter Quiz in the school gym. Finally, on Friday, it was Blue Day at the De La Salle, with staff wearing blue to mark the day, with the Social Committee organising coffee and cupcakes for everyone as an Easter treat. Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has met with the board of Childrens Health Ireland (CHI) in the wake of the child spine surgeries controversy. The health watchdogs report into the experimental use of non-medical grade springs in three child spine surgeries at CHI Temple Street was published last week. The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) report said the use of the springs was wrong and highlighted failures around governance, communication, consent and safeguards. The chairman of CHIs board, Dr Jim Browne, resigned hours after the report was published, while Taoiseach Micheal Martin said sacking the rest of the board would further weaken governance. A spokesman for the health minister said she spoke to the board about the recent Hiqa report on Monday. Ms Carroll MacNeill outlined her expectation that CHI will work with the HSE and her department to ensure that the recommendations are implemented in full, as quickly as possible. She also made clear that Hiqas independent review showed what happened was wrong and should not have been allowed to happen. She said these children were not protected from the risk of harm as they should have been, and that she expects an update on the implementation of the recommendations on April 25. The minister also discussed her concern at the length of time children are waiting for spinal surgery. The opening of the long-awaited 2.2 billion euro National Childrens Hospital was also discussed. The minister made clear that CHI needs to do everything in its power to ensure that the hospital is opened as safely and quickly as possible. Ms Carroll MacNeill is due to meet the CHI board again on April 28. 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. Met Eireann is warning that spot flooding can be expected in Louth this Tuesday night as heavy rainfall is set to replace the recent dry and sunny weather. The national forecaster has issued a status yellow rain warning for five counties - Louth, Dublin, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow. "Rain will become heavy at times and persistent," states the warning, which is the first to be issued for a number of weeks. It will come into effect at 9pm this Tuesday and will remain valid until 2pm on Wednesday. According to Met Eireann, potential impacts include spot flooding and motorists are being urged exercise caution if driving late tonight or tomorrow morning. READ ALSO: Louth man first of his family to graduate It it's latest forecast, Met Eireann says it will be cloudy on Tuesday night with outbreaks of rain in most places. In contrast to recent weeks, overnight temperatures could drop below zero in some places leading to a risk of frost - particularly in the west and south-west. It will stay cloudy on Wednesday with persistent rain in parts during the morning with some heavy bursts. Sunny spells will develop in most places on Wednesday afternoon while temperatures will range from 6 to 13 degrees. Some books are like a profiterole - one gobble and theyre gone. But this is not the case with Cork author William Walls latest offering, Writers Anonymous, a multi- layered thriller more akin to a mille-feuille, a deliciously layered confection to be savoured with a coffee. Set during the covid pandemic in an imagined West Cork location, loosely based on Schull with the Fastnet Rock in the background, this page-turning thriller brings the reader right back to those unsettling days, to a time when the sale of masks soared as lipstick sales plunged. But this is so much more than a thriller set during the covid era. The emotional resonance of those days, the fear, uncertainty and anxiety is also central to the plot, as well as being palpable to the reader. The story unfolds with a lightness of touch and wonderful linguistic compression giving rise to many moments of humour as well as an urgency to know what happens next. The tale unfolds around the character of Jim Winter, an acclaimed author, who, finding himself fighting off the boredom of lockdown, decides to share his skills by setting up an anonymous online writing group. Each participant, hiding their true identities from behind a computer screen, sends him chapters of their work-in-progress over the weeks. Right from the start, the writing of one group member, a woman calling herself Deirdre, stands out head and shoulders above the rest. Her book within the book is set in the summer of 1980 in a West Cork fishing village where the body of 17-year -old Mattie Lantry is found murdered in the local cemetery. To Jims great horror, as more and more of Deirdres chapters arrive for him to read, he realises that her novel is actually set in a time and a place which he himself knows well, and set in the actual village where he grew up. Deirdres writing exactly describes his own schoolfriends, and to his astonishment, he reads about one character which describes even himself. He finds this realisation incredibly unsettling, and one which shakes him to the core. Jim knew Mattie Lantry well, whose murder is described in Deirdres book. He remembers a friendly neuro-divergent lad who lived with his grandfather. Among his many gifts, Mattie enjoyed reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica, recalling every single detail of what he read. Sadly, as often happens in real- life his uniqueness made him a target for the local bullies, and his fate was to be tragically murdered at the tender age of 17, but who did it? As Deirdres story unfolds, Jim becomes increasingly more disturbed, wondering who this woman could really be and how she could know so much about his past and Matties story. He feels almost on the verge of paranoia, thinking that she surely knows him, while he is none the wiser as she hides behind the anonymity of the computer screen. What is her motivation to slowly prise the lid off a huge Pandoras box, ready to expose a secret which he had hoped would never, ever be revealed, one which he had worked all of his life to repress? The cover of William's new book: Writers Anonymous Jim finds himself needing nerves of steel to pretend that he does not suspect anything in order for her to keep feeding him her story. He is compelled to figure out who she really is, and how much she really knows about Matties murder. During a reprieve in the pandemic restrictions, Jim decides to visit his holiday home in the fishing village where he grew up and where Deirdres story unfolds, so he heads off with his wife Catherine on a quest to unearth the truth of who the anonymous writer can be. Nothings impossible on the internet, remarks Catherine at one point, and indeed this observation is ever more pertinent to this day. The masking and hiding behind screens is a feature of modern life, and a particular tool of choice for bullies, and this was seeded to a large degree during the pandemic. I think the far right gained traction during the pandemic, starting with the mistrust of science, and being able to hide behind a computer screen gave an added impetus to their hate-filled attitudes, author William Wall tells me, from his base in Italy, where he was when the pandemic first started five years ago. It was such a strange time. As soon as I began to hear the reports on the news, I knew that we had to get back to Cork as soon as possible. he recalled. We quickly packed up our home here, and travelling through Italy by train to catch the plane in Rome was one of the eeriest moments I have ever lived through. The normally crowded trains were empty and the usually crowded streets of Rome were deserted. We were lucky that we got home to Cork just a few days before lockdown. I started writing this novel during that time and my research took me to reading about previous plagues. It helped to reassure me that contact tracing and lockdowns actually really worked when I read about how Italy had managed to curb the spread of infection as far back as 1630 when a plague hit. In Florence, they thought that the plague was as a result of foul air, so they cleaned up the sewers and septic tanks, and eventually tracked the origin of the plague to a chicken seller that came to the city, so they kept up the contact tracing and isolating people in their homes. They provided food for the people and thus the poor in Florence were better fed during the plague than they usually were. In Milan, where they didnt use contact tracing or isolation, the incidence of infection was 46% compared to Florence, which was only 12%, proving that those methods actually worked. William said. Writers Anonymous is brimming with these juicy pieces of historical detail, making it a very stimulating read, as the character of Jim Winter goes on his own trajectory of exploration as well as trying to unmask the mysterious character of Deirdre who knows way too much about him. Whatever else he does, Jim must not let his own mask slip. Writers Anonymous, by William Wall, will be launched in Cork City Library, as part of Cork World Books Fest, with an introduction by Liam Ronayne, on Tuesday, April 22, at 8.30pm. Entry free. A Cork TD has highlighted the importance of the HSE Treatment Abroad Scheme for providing access to specialist cancer care overseas. Data provided to Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central Colm Burke shows that, nationally, 466 people over the age of 25, and 164 aged 24 and under, travelled outside of Ireland for specialised cancer treatment not available in Ireland in the last five years. In 2024, the highest number of people under 24 travelled abroad to receive treatment in the last five years, with 48 Irish patients availing of the scheme. A HSE spokesperson said: In general, the Treatment Abroad Scheme provides for the funding of a public patient from Ireland to access treatment that is not available in Ireland, in another EU/EEA country, the UK or Switzerland. A core principle of the governing legislation, EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009, is that the patient must apply for, and be granted, prior authorisation before accessing the treatment. The HSE cannot be held liable for the costs of healthcare that the HSE has not agreed in advance to assume. Mr Burke told The Echo that it was good to see the system was being used: Often, we would have a scenario where the expertise just isnt here. If you have a type of cancer that only six people a year are diagnosed with in Ireland, our consultants wont have the same level of expertise as in a country where they get six diagnoses a month. He added that he has helped people to apply for this scheme successfully, to travel to the UK, and praised the staff in the treatment abroad process, whom he said were incredibly helpful. Mr Burke explained: Every EU citizen has the right to travel to another member state to get treatment, and after the UK left the EU, a memorandum of agreement was signed to ensure that the UK and Ireland could continue on with the treatment-abroad process. Four new routes are included in Cork Airports 2025 summer schedule, which features 2.75m seats on sale on over 50 routes, operated by nine airlines. The schedule was launched by Tom Randles, incoming president of the Irish Travel Agents Association and managing director of Barters Travelnet, at an event in Cork city. The new summer routes include flights to Bilbao and Bordeaux, both operated by Aer Lingus. Flights to Bilbao will start later this week, and the Cork Bordeaux service will begin on May 15. There will also be a service to Corfu, operated by TUI and starting on May 9. A new service to Izmir, which is the airports first scheduled connection with Turkiye, and will also run from May 31, and will be operated by SunExpress. Ryanair will operate a total of 33 routes from Cork Airport this summer, including additional frequencies on 14 routes, including Alicante, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Gdansk, Girona, Liverpool, Malaga, Manchester, Palma de Mallorca, Paris Beauvais, Reus, Seville and Valencia. In total, Ryanairs passenger traffic this summer is expected to grow by an estimated 21% compared with last summer. Connectivity from some of Europes largest airlines will continue, with flights from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France, who returned to Cork Airport earlier this year. The French airline will operate twice-daily services on Monday and Saturday to Paris Charles de Gaulle later in the summer. We are working to constantly build and expand our choice of routes from Cork and we have four additional, fantastic new choices this year. We are already working for even more choice for summer 2026, head of aviation business development and communications Tara Finn said. The airports managing director, Niall MacCarthy, added:Whilst we are well-known in Munster, we are increasingly seeing passengers from south Leinster and the midlands, discovering Cork Airport. If you are one of those, who hasnt flown from Cork Airport before, we strongly encourage you to give it a try! Uisce Eireann is set to invest 6.5m into the Macroom Water Treatment Plant under plans aimed at ending boil water notices that have impacted Macroom, Carrigadrohid, Canovee, and surrounding areas in recent years. An Uisce Eireann spokesperson confirmed to The Echo that the upgrade is due to commence shortly. This is a critical investment of over 6.5m, which will benefit homes and businesses in Macroom providing the community with improved drinking water quality and providing a more reliable water supply, the spokesperson said. The upgrade will also address treatment and management issues for the Macroom regional water supply, which is on the Environmental Protection Agencys remedial action list, they added. Fianna Fail Cork North West TD Aindrias Moynihan described this news as long overdue for the town of Macroom and the surrounding areas. There is a lot of work ahead, and it will be important to keep after [Uisce Eireann], but finally there is a clear roadmap ahead to deal with the repeated boil water notices locals have endured in recent years. Mr Moynihan added: There is a good bit of work to go on it yet. But, it is a chance to finally get rid of these boil water notices and poor drinking water quality that people have endured in the Canovee, Carrigadrohid, and Macroom area. Speaking to The Echo about the situation in Macroom, Fine Gael senator Eileen Lynch said the amount of boil water notices the town has been impacted by in the last few years is absolutely insane. It puts an extra burden on people financially. Ms Lynch added that it is important that the service provided by the wastewater treatment centre be adequate and satisfactory and large enough to service the town and also plans ahead for the expansion of the town. Sinn Fein senator Nicole Ryan said the news of an Uisce Eireann investment into the Macroom Water Treatment Plant is welcome. There have been issues with water in Macroom for the last two to nearly three years, so thankfully something is being done about that, she told The Echo. Just how long it is going to take and is there going to be more disruption to people, is just the question around that. Hopefully it does get done fast. Then people can enjoy better quality of water. I hope that Uisce Eireann are transparent with people as well. Equally, if Macroom starts to inflate, because there is so many houses being built and there is new families moving in constantly, that Uisce Eireann keeps up with that infrastructure. The Taoiseach led tributes to businessman, entrepreneur, and Fine Gael politician John Mullins, who passed away suddenly at home on Monday morning at the age of 57. A former chief executive of Bord Gais, and group chairman of clean energy firm Amarenco Solar, Mr Mullins was a Fine Gael candidate in Ireland South in last Junes European parliamentary elections, polling 33,281 first preferences. An engineering graduate of UCC, Mr Mullins served as president of Cork Chamber from 2011 to 2013, and he also served as chairman of the Port of Cork board between 2013 and 2018. A native of Blarney St and raised in Bishopstown, Mr Mullins had been living in Castlemartyr in recent years. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he had been deeply saddened to hear of Mr Mullinss passing, describing him as a wonderfully gregarious character who made such a distinguished contribution to public life, business, sport, and politics. As chief executive of Bord Gais, John made tremendous strides in the transformation of that organisation, and subsequently guided the growth of the Port of Cork. With Amarenco Solar, he was influential in advancing solar power technology in this country and internationally, Mr Martin said. John had a particular interest in sport, with his beloved Bishopstown GAA and as director of Pairc Ui Chaoimh, and I often enjoyed great banter with him over sporting rivalries. John fully realised his potential in public service and in business, but he could just as easily have realised his promise in politics with his deep and abiding interest and involvement with Fine Gael. So many people will be shocked and saddened at Johns passing at such a young age, and I offer our deepest sympathies to his wife Siobhan, his family and friends. Tanaiste Simon Harris said he learned of Mr Mullinss death with shock and deep sadness. It was an honour to know John, to soldier with him in politics, to canvass with him and I always found it a joy to be in his company, Mr Harris said. John was a businessman and an entrepreneur who was experienced and motivated by ingenuity and reward of enterprise. A GAA fan, a charity advocate, John was a true son of Cork. Whether it was through his chairmanship of the Port of Cork, his role as director of Pairc Ui Chaoimh, or his presidency of Cork Chamber, his entire career was motivated by a desire to do right by his native city. For Fine Gael, he was a proud friend of so many, and a party activist to his core. The Fine Gael family, especially across Cork, mourns his loss today. Mr Mullins unsuccessfully sought the Fine Gael nomination to run in Cork South Central in Novembers general election. The party chose Shane OCallaghan and Una McCarthy in the July selection convention, and Jerry Buttimer, who ultimately won the seat, was added as a third candidate in September. Mr Buttimer said he was heartbroken at the loss of someone he had known for many years. Our friendship goes back a long way, and we both contested the nomination convention, we did so in a friendly way, we said wed both support each other if one of us came through, and thats what happened, and John was very involved in my campaign, and I wouldnt be, I think, in Dail Eireann if not for him. Fine Gael county councillor Jack White told The Echo he was shell-shocked and heartbroken at the news. John was a good friend and a mentor to me, in politics and in life, he said. We had the best conversations and fun, always. I count myself very lucky to have known him. Councillors attending yesterdays county council meeting passed a vote expressing condolences on Mr Mullinss passing. County Mayor Joe Carroll, a Fianna Fail councillor, described the late Mr Mullins as a gentleman. Rob Horgan, president of Cork Chamber, said Mr Mullins had a true pillar of the wider business community. Cork Chamber CEO Conor Healy added: John was a remarkable person whose warmth, intelligence and drive made a deep and lasting impression on all of us. An Amarenco spokesperson said: John will be greatly missed by all in our business, and industry, for his leadership and friendship. Our business is stronger because of him and we remain fully committed to ensuring our continued success with the same passion and dedication. Funeral arrangements Funeral arrangements for Mr Mullins have been announced. Reposing at the Wilton Funeral Home, Sarsfield Road of Jerh. OConnor Ltd; tomorrow, Wednesday [April 16] from 5pm to 6pm. Liturgy of the Word at 1pm on Thursday [April 17] in the Church of the Holy Spirit, Dennehys Cross. Funeral afterwards to the Island Crematorium, Rocky Island, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork. A 40-year-old woman with a horrific list of previous convictions for shoplifting was just released from prison when she carried out another theft of vodka on Sunday afternoon. On Monday Jennifer Rogers of Cork Simon Community, was sent back to prison to commence a new sentence of four months. In one offence to which she pleaded guilty yesterday - she punched a security officer in the face when she was carrying out a theft. Eddie Burke solicitor said: A very very sad situation. She is crucified with alcoholism. Mental health issues came into play also. Originally from Crosshaven, in 2022/2023 she went to Coolmine and got clean and sober but her former partner fell down a stairs and died and she could not cope with this. Judge Philip OLeary said: She has a horrific record in terms of offending. I have a huge amount of sympathy for her because of her addictions but that does not keep the people of Cork safe and now there is a member of security staff being assaulted. The defendant said to Judge OLeary in relation to her arrest on Sunday, April 13: I drank one day. I know I can get myself back on my feet. Judge OLeary said: I will impose a short sentence. A custodial sentence cannot be avoided. You need to come out and rehabilitate yourself. Sergeant Aisling Murphy said that at 2.30pm at Tesco, Paul Street, on April 13, Jennifer Rogers stole the vodka and was arrested in an intoxicated condition. Earlier on March 6 predating her last period in custody - she assaulted a security guard at Dunnes Stores in Ballincollig and stole three bottles of vodka and two packs of Red Bull, and again she was intoxicated. Arrested on Sunday and charged with counts arising out of both incidents, she pleaded guilty to all charges yesterday. 109 of her 165 previous convictions are for theft and 31 of them are for being so intoxicated that she was a danger to herself or others, Sergeant Murphy said. Two iconic Home and Away characters are coming to Cork for a meet and greet event with fans of the Australian soap opera. John Palmer, played by Shane Withington and Irene Roberts, played by Lynne McGranger, will be coming to The Address Hotel, Military Hill, St Lukes, on Sunday, June 8. During the event, which kicks off at 6pm, people will have the opportunity to take photos with the two soap stars, ask them questions about their experiences on the show and get the inside scoop on what is next for them, in particular for Lynne McGranger, who recently announced that she will be departing Home and Away. The pair will also be appearing at meet and greet fan events across the month of June taking place in Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford. For further information and details on how to purchase tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/4nayya8j A five-year-old boy who was injured by a cow following an incident on a farm at Minane Bridge in Cork currently remains seriously ill in hospital. The boy was taken to Cork University Hospital (CUH) following the incident on Sunday evening. He was assessed at CUH and it is understood then was transferred to a Dublin hospital for treatment. County councillors in the Carrigaline district have told The Echo that their thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family. Fine Gael Cork county councillor Jack White, who also knows the family, said the incident has shocked the local community and area. As a community, we are all entirely shocked and distraught with the news of this farm accident. We are all keeping the family in our thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time. Our agricultural community in Tracton, Carrigaline and Crosshaven is tight knit, and there is a collective sense of disbelief. I want to pay tribute to the medical staff both in Cork and Dublin who are caring for the boy and those who are supporting the family. Mr White added: There will be a prayer service in the Church of Ireland Church, Crosshaven tomorrow (Wednesday) evening for the family and I know the community will turn out in numbers to show their support to the family. Sinn Fein Cork county councillor Eoghan Fahy said he is praying for the family. My thoughts are with the boy and his family at this difficult time and I pray the boy makes a full recovery. As a father of a young boy, I cant imagine how the family are feeling but theyre in our thoughts and prayers. Fianna Fail county councillor Patrick Donovan said: "Everyone is in shock with this news. The whole community is thinking and praying for the little boy and his entire family. We all hope he makes a full recovery." Party colleague and county councillor Audrey Buckley praised the emergency services who attended the scene and the medical staff caring for the boy. My thoughts are with the young boy and his family during this incredibly difficult time. This is a deeply upsetting incident that has shocked the local community. I know everyone in Minane Bridge is holding the family in their hearts and hoping for his full recovery. We are grateful to the emergency services and medical staff at Cork University Hospital for their continued care and support. Funeral arrangements have been announced for businessman and Fine Gael politician John Mullins, who passed away suddenly at home yesterday morning at the age of 57. Mr Mullins will repose at the Jerh OConnor & Sons Ltd funeral home at Sarsfield Rd tomorrow from 5pm to 6pm. Liturgy of the Word will take place at 1pm on Thursday in the Church of the Holy Spirit, Dennehys Cross, with funeral afterwards to the Island Crematorium, Rocky Island, Ringaskiddy. The Taoiseach and Tanaiste led multiple tributes to Mr Mullins, who was a former chief executive of Bord Gais, and group chairman of clean energy firm Amarenco Solar. Mr Mullins was a Fine Gael candidate in Ireland South in last Junes European parliamentary elections, polling 33,281 first preferences. An engineering graduate of UCC, Mr Mullins served as president of Cork Chamber from 2011 to 2013, and he also served as chairman of the Port of Cork board between 2013 and 2018. A native of Blarney St and raised in Bishopstown, Mr Mullins had been living in Castlemartyr in recent years. He is survived by his wife Siobhan and their children Michael and Sarah. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he had been deeply saddened to hear of Mr Mullinss passing, describing him as a wonderfully gregarious character who made such a distinguished contribution to public life, business, sport, and politics. Tanaiste Simon Harris said it had been an honour to know John, to soldier with him in politics, to canvass with him adding that he had always found it a joy to be in his company. EU commissioner Michael McGrath said Mr Mullins had made an enormous contribution to the civic life and the business life of the city. The Lord Mayor of Cork, Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, said Mr Mullinss leadership and strategic foresight had a huge impact on the development and direction of Cork and Ireland. A spokesperson for Amarenco said Mr Mullins, who co-founded the company, had been a visionary entrepreneur and a passionate climate protection advocate. Gardai have commenced a murder inquiry into the death of a 31-year-old man who died on Monday night after being stabbed. The man, who died after an assault in Youghal, has been named locally as Daniel Dano OSullivan, who had been jailed for manslaughter in 2016. A post-mortem examination was carried out at Cork University Hospital (CUH) by Dr Margot Bolster yesterday. Gardai in Midleton commenced a murder investigation after receiving preliminary results. A 29-year-old man, who had been arrested on Monday night for questioning in connection with the death, remained in custody last night under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Midleton Garda Station. A number of scenes remained preserved last night awaiting examination by the Garda Technical Bureau. Gardai and the emergency services were called to the scene at a bar on Youghals North Main St at around 9.50pm on Monday night following an altercation between two men. Transferred Mr OSullivan was transferred to CUH suffering from serious injuries, and was later pronounced dead. A native of Mallow, Mr OSullivan had been living in an apartment in Youghal at the time of his death. In 2016, Mr OSullivan pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to the manslaughter of Vincent Morgain, a 34-year-old French chef, on Lower Oliver Plunkett St. At the sentencing hearing, Mr OSullivan expressed deep remorse for his actions, and he was jailed for eight years with the final three years suspended. Mr OSullivan was sent back to prison in 2021 for failing to comply with the probation service following his release from prison. At that time, his probation officer described him as a young man with great potential who needed to address his heroin addiction and related issues in order to realise that potential. Heart broken Meanwhile, Mr OSullivans sister Sam posted on social media about her deep sense of loss at the passing of her older brother. She said that her heart was broken at the loss of her Dano, her one of a kind big bro. Speaking to The Echo, Fine Gael Cork East TD Noel McCarthy said that his thoughts were with the family of the deceased during a very difficult time. I am devastated to hear the news, and obviously there are huge concerns in Youghal about it, said Mr McCarthy. Fianna Fail Cork East TD James OConnor said that the people of Youghal were in disbelief following the fatal attack. This sort of incident does not happen in Youghal, Mr OConnor said. The community is in 100% support of the emergency services and local gardai for the work they have had to do over last night and this morning, for what has been an incredibly difficult incident. Describing the incident as shocking, Sinn Fein Cork East TD Pat Buckley said that the incident highlighted the need for increased operational hours among regional garda stations across the county. Garda investigations are ongoing. Incident room A senior investigating officer has been appointed to lead the investigation and an incident room has been established at Midleton Garda Station, and a family liaison officer will be assigned to support the deceaseds family. Investigating gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Midleton Garda Station on 021 4621550, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. The Cork Summer Show 2025 is now open for applications. Taking place on Saturday June 14 and Sunday June 15 at the Cork Summer Show Showgrounds in Curraheen, applications can be made across over 800 competition classes for what is Munsters largest and longest-running agricultural showcase. Competition classes from across a wide range of categories include livestock and equestrian events to horticulture, baking, art and traditional craftsmanship. For 2025, the Irish Draught sections have been enhanced, with multiple qualifiers for other shows. The Cork/Kerry branch of the Irish Draught Houses Breeders Association (IDHBA) will also be offering a substantial prize for Irish Draught mares and foals. Returning favourites include the Supreme Beef Champion, one of the shows most prestigious titles, recognising excellence in beef cattle. The Young Stockperson Classes, meanwhile, welcome the next generation of farmers, with dedicated classes for ages 812 and 1317. There is also the Best Overall Art & Crafts award celebrating creativity across all mediums. While the Best in Show - Craft Item winner will be awarded the prestigious Dr Ruth Mitchell Quill Cup, which will be open to all entries within the crafts sections. While the winners of the Floral Art Completions: Best in Show, Floral Art - much sought after due to its high standards of perfection and skill - will get a specially commissioned box rosette. Gerard Murphy, president of the Munster Agricultural Society, said the Cork Summer show provides a great platform to showcase talent and creativity. Everyone is encouraged to enter, whether youre an experienced breeder, a young enthusiast or a talented craftsperson, the Cork Summer Show is your stage. For 220 years, the Munster Agricultural Society has championed Irish agriculture, supporting innovation and excellence across farming, food and rural industries. This years show will be a fitting tribute to that proud legacy while embracing the future of the sector. Traders and small businesses are also encouraged to apply for a chance to engage with over 40,000 visitors across the weekend. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. In a new study, researchers have confirmed that pharmaceutical pollutants are influencing how Atlantic salmon behave. The study, published in the journal Science, revealed that migrating salmon exposed to a type of psychoactive medicine under the benzodiazepine class caused the fish to be more bold and take more risks during migration. Although this led to the salmon with the medication present in their brains to have more successful migrations than the fish that did not have medication present, scientists explained that the risk-taking behavior could be dangerous to the fish in the long-term. On the face of it, it sounds like giving drugs to fish is beneficial, Jack Brand, a biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, told NPR. But any departure from natural behaviour is likely to have potential broad and negative consequences for the population. The researchers examined how exposure to clobazam, an anti-seizure medication, affected migrating Atlantic salmon over the course of multiple years using both lab- and field-based experiments. The team tracked 279 young salmon that were fitted with medicating implants, which gave the salmon the same dosage of the medication typically found in the natural environment. As they migrated from the River Dal in Sweden to the Baltic Sea, the salmon passed two hydropower dams that would typically delay the salmon. However, the salmon that had clobazam in their brains passed the dams faster than unmedicated fish and reached the sea faster. According to the researchers, the fish that passed the barriers faster may have left behind their schools to do so. In a lab setting, the salmon exposed to clobazam still showed signs of risk-taking while also being less social. As of 2023, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified Atlantic salmon as Near Threatened, with global populations declining 23% from 2006 to 2020. Based on the findings of this study, researchers are concerned how pharmaceutical pollution and bioaccumulation could affect vulnerable salmon populations and other species in the future. Michael Bertram, senior author of the study and assistant professor at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, said additional research is needed to examine potential long-term impacts of pharmaceutical pollution on Atlantic salmon. By becoming less social, the salmon with drugs bioaccumulating in their brains could become easier targets for predators. The increase in risk-taking behaviors also threatens fish, as they could be injured or killed by obstacles, like the turbines in hydropower dams. When the medications mix with other pollutants present in waterways, there are other risk concerns as well. We have no idea what those anti-anxiety medications plus the analgesics, plus the antibiotics, you know, plus the anti-epileptic plus the chemotherapy, etc., etc., collectively are doing to fish and other aquatic species, Karen Kidd, an ecotoxicologist at McMaster University, told NPR. Its a global concern. More and more studies are highlighting how pharmaceutical pollutants can affect aquatic life. In another recent study, researchers discovered that fluoxetine, known by the brand name Prozac, exposure changed body conditions and sperm velocity of wild-caught guppies (Poecilia reticulata). A 2022 study revealed widespread pharmaceutical pollution in rivers that threatened both wildlife and human health. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Demonstrators at the Stand Up for Science rally at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan on March 7, 2025. Jim West / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images Environmental and science groups are suing the Trump administration for removing public information concerning climate and the environment from federal agency websites. The Sierra Club, the Environmental Integrity Project, California Communities Against Toxics and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) filed a complaint on Monday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The removal of these websites and the critical data they hold is yet another direct attack on the communities already suffering under the weight of deadly air and water, said Ben Jealous, executive director of Sierra Club, in a press release from the grassroots environmental organization. Simply put, these data and tools save lives, and efforts to delete, unpublish, or in any way remove them jeopardize peoples ability to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live safe and healthy lives. The Trump administration must end its efforts to further disenfranchise and endanger these communities. The administration started going through agency websites and removing mentions of climate change days after President Donald Trump began his second term. These actions were coupled with the closing of environmental and climate offices and other activities meant to undermine environmental justice throughout the federal government. Sierra Club v. EPA challenges the administrations removal of important environmental justice tools such as the Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool and EJScreen. Both websites have been frequently used by regulators, advocates and academics to identify communities disproportionately impacted by climate change and pollution. Removing public information from websites creates dangerous gaps in the data available to communities and decisionmakers about health risks from industrial pollution, said Jen Duggan, Environmental Integrity Projects executive director, in the press release. Pulling down EJScreen from the web obscures the real impact of toxic releases on low-income communities and communities of color from big polluters like oil, gas, and petrochemical operations, which is pretty ironic coming from an administration that claims to champion transparency. The essential tools track burdens related to energy, housing, health, climate change, legacy pollution, water and wastewater, transportation and workforce development. The agencies actions represent an attempt to sell out the health of Americans and the environment, and also to deny access to the information that allows people to advocate for change, said Zach Shelley, lead counsel for the plaintiffs and an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group. These resources were developed for public use, and the government has a duty to keep them available. Stripping the publics access to these resources is part of an unlawful attempt to undermine key environmental protections. The lawsuit filed against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also challenges the removal of climate, environmental and energy justice tools like DOEs Low-Income Energy Affordability Data Tool and Community Benefits Plan Map, FEMAs Future Risk Index and DOTs Equitable Transportation Community Explorer. Many nonprofit organizations and researchers use the tools to advocate for and educate about agency actions or policies to address the disproportionate harm inflicted upon overburdened communities. They use them as resources in compiling reports on disproportionate energy burdens in certain states; proposed gas pipeline projects; and long-form reports on online retail shipping practices environmental impacts, such as Sierra Clubs LNG tracker and Environmental Integrity Projects tracker for oil and gas operations. The public has a right to access these taxpayer-funded datasets, said President of UCS Gretchen Goldman, in the press release. From vital information for communities about their exposure to harmful pollution, to data that help local governments build resilience to extreme weather events, the public deserves access to federal datasets. Removing government datasets is tantamount to theft. Last week, Trump signed executive orders that would attempt to keep coal-fired power plants running while pushing the expansion of mining the dirty fuel on public lands. The Trump EPA announced last month a plan to revoke or roll back over 30 crucial environmental standards that help safeguard everything from clean air to safe drinking water. We cannot just erase the impacts that pollution is having on communities hosting our industrial infrastructure. This pollution is causing increases in asthma, COPD, low birthweight, and earlier death. Understanding these impacts allows us to reduce pollution, and protect public health, said Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics. These are essential tenets of a healthy society, and the information being disappeared by this Administration is essential to protect the public from these adverse health impacts. There's another development in the saga that is governments accusing Google of monopolistic practices favoring its search app and Chrome. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has issued a cease and desist order to Google, demanding the tech company end all efforts to gain preferential treatment on Android phones. The watchdog alleges that Google required phone makers to preinstall Chrome and Google Search on Android phones along with setting Chrome as the default browser. It also claims they had to place the icons for each app on the home screen. This arrangement came due to the tech company's power as provider of the Google Play app ecosystem, which Android manufacturers need to install before distribution. However, the JFTC further claims that Google sweetened the deal, agreeing to give these phone manufacturers a slice of its ad revenue. As of last December, six Android phone manufacturers allegedly had these deals with Google. These arrangements have been ongoing since at least July 2020, if not earlier. The JFTC's decision follows an investigation, opened in October 2023. It comes the same week as a Japanese delegation, led by Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa, will visit the US to negotiate tariffs. The US has expressed similar concerns to Japan. Last November, US federal judge Amit Mehta called Google "a monopolist" within the search engine industry and called on the company to sell off Chrome. An evidentiary hearing on the matter is set to begin later this month, with a trial commencing in May. 'There is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp,' the Meta CEO wrote. In 2018, Mark Zuckerberg floated the idea of spinning out Instagram, one of the remedies the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will likely seek in Meta's antitrust trial that began this week. CNBC reported on Tuesday that the comments from an email thread with executives came to light in Washington, DC. "I'm beginning to wonder whether spinning Instagram out is the only structure that will accomplish a number of important goals," Zuckerberg wrote in the email. "As calls to break up the big tech companies grow, there is a non-trivial chance that we will be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in the next 5-10 years anyway." His estimate, made six years ago, ended up being spot-on. "On the flip side, while most companies resist breakups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they've been split up," Zuckerberg added in the same email, according to The New York Times. It's Zuckerberg's second day of testimony in the trial, which stemmed from a 2020 government lawsuit against Meta (then still known as Facebook). The FTC argues that the company's purchases of Instagram (for $1 billion in 2012) and WhatsApp (for $19 billion in 2014) hurt competition. If the trial goes the FTC's way, it will likely ask the judge to break up Meta by selling off one or both of the apps. Last April, Meta moved to dismiss the case, but US District Judge James Boasberg allowed it to proceed with a narrower scope. On the stand on Tuesday, the Meta CEO reportedly defended the company's Instagram purchase as the result of a standard cost-benefit examination. "We were doing a build-vs.-buy analysis," Zuckerberg said. "I thought that Instagram was better at that [than Facebook's Camera app], so I thought it was better to buy them." "Building a new app is hard," he said when asked on the stand why he was intent on buying Instagram. "Weve probably tried building dozens of apps over the history of the company, and the majority of them dont go anywhere." Other details that came to light on Tuesday include a 2013 email in which Zuckerberg told executives to block Asian competitors Kakao and WeChat from advertising on Facebook. "Those companies are trying to build social networks and replace us," he wrote. "The revenue is immaterial to us compared to any risk." TV host Don Lemon is speaking out after having dinner with Wendy Williams, revealing troubling details about her stay at the Coterie assisted living facility in New York City. Lemon, who met Williams for a rare night out on Thursday, told TMZ the food at the facility is "sub-par" and joked that she enjoyed her restaurant meal because "you can only imagine" what she usually gets. Wendy, 60, has been under court-ordered guardianship since 2022 and has repeatedly called her living situation a "prison." Last month, she even told The View, "I don't want a guardian... I want my life and my money back." Wendy has also said she isn't allowed to go outside without permission and is kept in a "memory unit," despite questioning the legitimacy of her diagnosis. Thursday's dinner was one of her few public outings. She was joined by her niece, Alex Finnie, Don Lemon, and his husband Tim Malone. They ate at Il Cantinori, a restaurant in Greenwich Village. Just a day before, her guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, had reportedly denied her request to go out for dinner with Alex and her new attorney, Joe Tacopina. Heres the answer .. spoke to Wendys attorney this am and asked him.. Why was Wendy Williams allowed to go to dinner with Don Lemon & Her niece Alex Finney but not her attorney? As decided by the guardian .. https://t.co/Uh3WeHYn7A pic.twitter.com/9r3wqvMpzr BROWN GIRL GRINDING (@LorenLorosa) April 14, 2025 Don Lemon Defends Wendy Williams, Shuts Down Karma Claims Don Lemon, who has been a target of Wendy's jokes in the past, didn't hold back when asked if he thought her current condition was karma, TMZ said. "People don't really understand how karma works," Lemon said, shutting down that theory. He added that no one deserves what Wendy is going through. Wendy has recently taken steps to end her guardianship. She hired Tacopina, known for representing high-profile clients like A$AP Rocky, to help fight her case. Meanwhile, her facility has called police in the past when she tried to leave without approval, adding to concerns about her freedom and mental well-being. Her guardian claims Wendy has refused important medical tests, including an MRI and neuropsychological assessment, which are required by the court. Wendy denies knowing about the missed appointments and told People, "I can't talk about it right now." According to DailyMail, supporters have begun the #FreeWendy movement, calling for her release from what many see as an unfair conservatorship. Don Lemon's comments have only added to the growing public concern. As for what's next, Lemon hinted that he believes Wendy's situation may soon change. "We're all hoping for the best," he said. "She deserves her voice back." According to a New Mexico Department of Public Health report, the $4 million estate, owned by the late actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, was plagued with signs of rodent infestation in several of the buildings on the property. An investigation in the eight-building complex conducted in March found dead rats, rat droppings, and nesting materials in various apartments following the couple's bodies being found on February 26. Per TMZ, officials said signs of rodent activity were found in two tiny houses, three storage sheds, three detached garages, and two vehicles. The couple had not seen evidence of pests in their primary home, but the outbuildings presented another story. Arakawa Death Associated with Hantavirus Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). This uncommon but frequently deadly illness is acquired through inhalation of aerosolized urine, feces, or saliva of infected rodents, the autopsy concluded. The classical pianist was said to have passed away on February 12. Traps had also been set around the property, leading officials to believe that Hackman and Arakawa knew about the rodent problem before they died. "Traps were set up across the area," the report noted, stressing ongoing pest control efforts at the home. Hackman was suffering from dementia as well but passed away a few days after his wife. 95-year-old Hackman was discovered dead and located near the kitchen. His cause of death was listed as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and he had Alzheimer's disease as well. Dr Heather Jarrell, now the chief medical examiner in New Mexico, said it was "quite possible" that Hackman, because of his mental state, did not know his wife had died. Authorities found the couple nine days after Hackman's pacemaker had stopped working, officials said. It is believed he died on or about February 18. Hackman was found in another room, and Arakawa was located in the bathroom. During more recent years, Hackman and Arakawa, who married in 1991, tended to stay fairly low-key in New Mexico. The discovery of the rodent-infested conditions and tragic circumstances surrounding their deaths has stunned fans and neighbors alike. Michelle Obama is reportedly contemplating an extended stay in Europe without her husband, former President Barack Obama, as whispers of marital strain continue to circulate. According to a source who spoke to The US Sun, Michelle, 61, has recently become more focused on her personal needs and long-held dreams including a life abroad, away from the political spotlight and public scrutiny she's faced for decades. "She has a dream that she has been having since she was a teenager about living out of America for a bit and spend time in another continent, like Europe," the source told the outlet. "To enjoy espresso at a terrace, eat some pastries, walking down the streets like a normal person and not get any attention, and get away from all the spotlights, that is one goal that she would like to do soon." Southern Europe on Her Mind Michelle has reportedly been exploring destinations in southern Europe, particularly France, Italy, Spain, and Greece Mediterranean countries she finds appealing for their "slower pace" and "simpler" way of life. "She is really interested by this possibility, to go there for some months," the source added. "I don't know if Barack would join her or not, but she really would love to live this kind of experience as soon as possible." The conversation about stepping away reportedly began in late 202, when Michelle began voicing frustration about long-standing obligations and expectations. "She wants to explore, to live a simple life the way she wants, and be free to travel and spend time wherever she wants," the source said. "She feels the need to do things for her own experience, and be a bit more selfish, and putting her needs and goals first," they added. "She wants to live a bit without being a public figure, and go somewhere that takes her out of America for a bit, like a mini break, a getaway from her life in the USA." Read more: Michelle Obama Addresses Barack Obama Divorce Rumors Amid Ongoing Breakup Speculation Responding to Divorce Rumors Speculation about the Obamas' relationship intensified after Michelle was notably absent from key public events in early 2025, including former President Jimmy Carter's funeral and the inauguration of Donald Trump. Barack Obama attended both alone. In a March interview on Sophia Bush's "Work in Progress" podcast, Michelle addressed the rumors head-on, suggesting her absences were simply personal choices. "That's the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with disappointing people," she said. "I mean, so much so that this year people were, you know, they couldn't even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing." Michelle also opened up about this phase of her life. "Now is the time for me to start asking myself these hard questions of, Who do I truly want to be every day? Who do I want to have a lunch with? How long do I want to stay in a place? Do I want to travel? If a girlfriend calls and says let's go here, I can say yes. And I'm trying to do that more and more." She added, "If it doesn't fit into the sort of stereotype of what people think we should do, then it gets labeled as something negative and horrible. I learned that I can really only control me." US President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview broadcast that he had found a buyer for the TikTok short-video app, whom he described... Tuesday, April 15, 2025 Think back to what you were doing at age 12maybe you were busy with homework, hanging out with friends, or figuring out which after-school club to join. Meanwhile, Tavi Gevinson was laying the groundwork for a media empire. At an age when most of us were just beginning to explore our interests, Tavi launched Style Rookie, a personal fashion blog that rapidly attracted readers from across the globe. By 15, she had transformed her early online success into Rookie, an online magazine that tackled fashion, art, and social issues, all while maintaining a relatable teen voice. Interested in exploring her legacy? You can still visit the Rookie Magazine Archives though the site is no longer active, its spirit and influence remain. Tavis story is a shining example of what it means to be an early starter, leveraging every opportunity to build a foundation for long-term success. Growing up in Oak Park, Illinois, Tavi was your typical middle school studentexcept for one major difference: she had an uncanny knack for expressing her creativity through clothes. At 12, she started Style Rookie, a fashion blog where she posted photos of herself in experimental outfits, accompanied by insightful commentary that belied her age. Within months, her posts gained serious traction. I never expected people to actually care about what I wore, she joked in an early interview, I was just having fun in my bedroom, playing dress-up. Yet people did caredeeply. Her unique eye for style and thoughtful writing resonated with teens and adults alike. Overnight, Tavi found herself thrust into a new world. Major fashion magazines and designers began to take notice, inviting her to runway shows and featuring her in articles. She once wrote, Im 13, and I just went to New York Fashion Week. Pinch me! This whirlwind taught her the power of the internet to connect people and ideas across the globe. It also made her realize that her voice matteredno matter how young she was. By the time Tavi reached high school, her blogs success pointed to even bigger possibilities. Fashion was fun, but she wanted a platform that could encompass more than just outfit-of-the-day posts. She wanted a place for teens to talk about music, art, relationships, body image, social justiceanything that felt urgent and real. With the connections shed made in the blogging world and the supportive community that rallied around her, Tavi launched Rookie at age 15. Rookie was no ordinary teen magazine. Contributors ranged from up-and-coming writers to celebrities, but all shared a common goal: to speak honestly to young people about the issues they cared about. I wanted a space where teens wouldnt feel talked down to, Tavi explained in an interview. A place that respected the intelligence and emotional depth of teenagers. Whether it was discussing new bands, creating DIY zines, or exploring mental health topics, Rookie quickly became a cultural touchstone. It proved that a teen-led platform could produce serious content without losing its sense of humor or authenticity. Although it might look like Tavis success happened overnight, her achievements grew from a series of deliberate steps. Each blog post she wrote sharpened her ability to communicate. Each fashion show she attended opened doors to mentorships and collaborations. At 12, she was just experimenting with clothes. By 15, she was orchestrating an editorial calendar, managing a staff of contributors, and building a business model based on advertising and brand partnerships. This is the very definition of synergy: each experience built on the last, creating a compounding effect that propelled her forward. Rookie didnt just cover teen cultureit shaped it. Tavi and her team werent afraid to delve into deeper issues, discussing feminism, identity, and social justice alongside style tips and celebrity interviews. The magazines ethos proved that young people could drive meaningful conversations and that teenage perspectives mattered. In a world often dismissive of teen voices, Rookie stood as a testament to what can happen when you trust young people to speak for themselves. No journey is without bumps in the road. Tavi has been candid about the pressure she felt juggling school, a burgeoning media empire, and later, an acting career. She also faced skepticism from industry professionals who couldnt believe someone so young could be so influential. Instead of letting the naysayers slow her down, she embraced each challenge as a learning experience. I had to figure out how to balance my passion with my everyday life, she once said. Sometimes that meant turning down opportunities. Sometimes it meant pulling an all-nighter before my math test. Rookie eventually ceased publishing new content, but its archives remain a vital resource. Tavi moved on to pursue acting on Broadway and in television, along with writing and other creative endeavors. The skills she honedtime management, editorial judgment, community buildingtranslated seamlessly into her new projects. Today, she reflects on Rookie with gratitude, saying, It was such an incredible community. I learned that if you trust people, amazing collaborations happen. Tavis story resonates because it underscores a powerful truth: age doesnt have to limit possibility. By starting young, she amassed years worth of experience in her teens that many dont gain until their thirties. Her path also highlights the importance of authenticityreaders flocked to her blog not just for outfit inspiration, but for the genuine insight she offered into her life and her evolving passions. Theres another key takeaway: early success often arises from curiosity and a willingness to adapt. Tavi didnt lock herself into a single vision. She experimented, pivoted, and learned from every new opportunity. From blogging in her bedroom to launching a widely celebrated online magazine, each phase of her journey informed the next. Tavi Gevinsons meteoric rise from a 12-year-old fashion blogger to the editor-in-chief of her own teen magazine demonstrates the compounding power of following your passions early. She reminds us that real change and real creativity can come from a young person with a visionespecially when that person dares to think big. Now its your turn. Do you know someone who has defied age-related expectations and started pursuing their dreams early, just like Tavi Gevinson? Maybe a friend launched a nonprofit in high school or a sibling who turned a YouTube channel into a real business. Share your own early starter stories with friends or on social media. After all, who knows whose spark you might ignite by highlighting another teens trailblazing path? Sometimes, all it takes is one examplelike Tavito show us that the future can begin whenever were ready to build it. While limiting strings-attached grants and curbing federal regulation, President Trumps efforts to dismantle the Department of Education also take aim at a key tool bureaucrats use to oversee schools in all 50 states: civil rights investigations. Probes handled by the departments Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against public schools, colleges and universities roughly doubled during the Biden administration, topping 20,000 last year. Investigations by hundreds of OCR lawyers and staff members and responses to them by untold numbers of school officials and administrators touched on everything from allegations of sexual violence and disability accommodations to website compatibility. Defenders of the office say it has been an invaluable protector of civil rights for Americas nearly 70 million students. They say eliminating or even downsizing the office, which has already begun, would kneecap thousands of ongoing investigations while abolishing a prime instrument of justice. This reckless action strips students of vital resources and tears down statutorily mandated functions that are essential to addressing racial and economic inequality in education, the ACLU declared last month. Trump, it said, has put millions of students education and civil rights at risk. Advocates for handicapped students, who until recent years accounted for half of all complaints, are concerned they might get short shrift in the Trump administration and have gone to court to block cuts. We have many members who file complaints, and it has left many of them in limbo, or distraught, thinking there will be no accountability, said Selene A. Almazan, legal director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, plaintiffs in a suit filed March 14. But backers of Trumps effort to eliminate the Department of Education counter that the Office for Civil Rights is a symbol of how the federal government has expanded its reach into what they describe as chiefly local matters. They say its investigative arm has been designed to make it as easy as possible for the department to maximize its influence and oversight through investigations. A complainant does not need a personal connection to a school. Indeed, petitioners dont even have to live in the same state, and legal standing is not a factor. They do not even need to identify themselves. They are not required to try to resolve their problems at the local level before notifying the feds though many do. Consequently, the offices operations sometimes function as a nationwide anonymous sounding board rather than a source of last resort, a place where anyone can make a federal case out of any slight, real or perceived. Although OCR probes include many serious allegations, the systems structure means the number of cases can be inflated through duplication, serial filers and ambitious bureaucrats. The numbers arent really what they first appear, said Teresa R. Manning, policy director at the National Association of Scholars, a conservative counterweight in higher education to the liberal American Association of University Professors. A lot of this was by design. If they didnt have complaints, they wouldnt have jobs, so a lot of federal bureaucrats and campus officers want any grievance to become a federal case. The numbers themselves are unclear. Neither the Department of Education nor its Office for Civil Rights responded to multiple requests for comment, and a listed phone number is no longer manned daily; voice messages left there were not returned. But it appears the administration has laid off some 240 people in the OCR, shuttering at least six of its 12 regional offices. Currently, eight of 22 key staff positions there are vacant, according to its website. When Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon first announced layoffs in February, reports mentioned 12,000 active investigations listed on the OCR database, which was last updated on Jan. 14. Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his own report on the office, claiming 6,800 cases would be shortchanged by the layoffs. But no matter which total is used, the claim that U.S. schools are teeming with incidents of overt racism or sexism, or bias against handicapped students, is misleading, according to experts familiar with the OCR and its work. In theory, every complaint is reviewed to determine if it constitutes discrimination on the basis of race (Title VI), sex (Title IX), or disability. If so, the Office for Civil Rights can open an investigation, or its attorneys can allege that there are systemic violations and trigger much broader investigations. Such initiatives were highlighted in a glossy report the office released on Jan. 16, four days before Trumps inauguration. The office appears to have published six such special reports since 2016, with half of those during Bidens term. Two of them the first and another in 2021 dealt with alleged racial disparities or equity in school discipline. This looks like a more proactive OCR following the age-old practice of boosting the cases on its books and then insisting it needs more funding, said Jim Blew, a co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute and a former assistant secretary of education in Trumps first term. Skepticism is legitimate, because by declaring something is systemic, then rather than resolve that one issue they can turn it into a federal case, Blew said. And if youre going to interpret the discrimination on much different and broader levels than ever before, thats going to increase the number of complaints, too. RealClearInvestigations found that, despite claims that cuts to OCR will impede prompt action or justice for filers, the office did not always handle complaints promptly. Among the 12,000 ongoing investigations listed in the OCR database half of which involved disability complaints RCI found active investigations into alleged incidents that occurred in 2016 or 2017, long after any students at the schools in question would have departed. Many alleged incidents also triggered more than one investigation, meaning the thousands are fewer than they first appear. The investigations can take years. Alabama A&M University, for example, is under investigation for sexual violence that allegedly occurred on Aug. 24, 2016. The university did not respond to requests for comments on this alleged incident or general compliance with OCR. Similarly, on Aug. 2, 2017, an alleged incident in Mississippis Greene County School District sparked two investigations, one for racial harassment and another for retaliation that remain active, according to OCRs website. Also, totals were swollen by one unnamed individual. For example, in 2022 when OCR received 9,948 complaints of Title IX violations, nearly three out of four 7,339 came from this person. That same individual slipped a bit the following year, accounting for only 69% of the 5,590 complaints. RCI asked several people familiar with Office of Civil Rights work who this person might be, but none said they knew. The number of complaints skyrocketed during the Biden administration, doubling the average that had held for more than a decade, records show. Last April, Biden regulators sought a radical expansion of Title IX sex discrimination protection to cover things like gender identity. That attempt was later blocked by the courts. Through President Obamas two terms and Trumps first term, the office received just under 10,000 complaints annually. In 2022, however, that figure shot up to a record 18,804 and did not stop climbing. It jumped 18% in 2023 before topping 20,000 complaints for the first time in 2024, according to OCR. Its not exactly clear what accounted for the big increases, according to experts. But the usual breakdown of classification of complaints changed. Instead of disability complaints comprising more than half of the total OCR received, 42% of those filed in 2023 concerned sexual discrimination, while disability complaints fell to a bit more than a third, according to the offices figures. Office for Civil Rights attorneys can launch investigations, or encourage schools to do so, via the well-known Dear Colleague letter that alerts administrators to how regulators plan to interpret federal laws. It was just such a Dear Colleague letter in 2011 from Catherine Lhamon, who headed the Office for Civil Rights under Obama and Biden, that urged schools to use the lowest possible level of evidence in sexual harassment or assault cases, to make it easier for people to request a remedy to perceived injustice. If youre going to interpret the discrimination in much different and broader terms than ever before then youre going to increase complaints, Blew said. It should be obvious there are certain interests that care about padding their Office of Civil Rights numbers. 'Administrative Bloat' In the face of rising Office for Civil Rights investigations, letters and complaints, schools have been forced to add more layers of administrators and attorneys. Those offices also grew during Bidens term, when an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion departments and offices swelled higher education payrolls. It has led to administrative bloat, too, as tuition goes to deanlets and bureaucrats, Manning said. They often partner together with other entities on campus, and you have many bureaucrats who feed complaints. In its January report, OCR reported that it had received 71,385 complaints during Bidens term and had resolved 56,383 of them. But the backlog of complaints has grown, and in the 13 years covered by the report it was only during Trumps first term that the office reported resolving more complaints than it received. At least one person who has filed numerous complaints with the OCR suspects that some of the backlog results from an unwillingness to tackle cases that do not fit progressive orthodoxy. Mark Perry, a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, who specializes in complaints challenging race- and gender-based scholarships, fellowships and other programs, said OCR has opened 423 investigations into his complaints since he started filing them in 2019. I currently have nearly 300 complaints backlogged at OCR, some going back to 2019 and 2020 that have either never made it through the evaluation stage to being opened for investigation and others opened for investigation back in 2019, 2020, and 2021, etc. that have never been resolved, he said. Now it's possible I'm being targeted and slow-walked for being a repeat filer for complaints alleging discrimination against men and whites. Perry based that belief, in part, on a handwritten letter he received from an OCR employee in its Chicago branch in September 2023 in response to a Chronicle of Higher Education article about Perrys filings. OCR has no impetus, sadly, to advance your cases, total failure in HQ, the letter said. Your cases just sit with no activity. The delays are especially odd, in Perrys opinion, given that he is a professional who accompanies his complaints with printed evidence of the specific grant or program he thinks should be curtailed or made available to all students. My complaints are simple; they should only take a couple of months, he told RCI. Another more recent, consistent filer is the Equal Protection Project, launched by conservative Cornell Law School Professor William Jacobson, who runs the Legal Insurrection website. In 2025, the project has averaged an OCR complaint a week, and has filed 70 complaints since it began in February 2023. Like Perry's, the projects focus is on clear violations of the plain language of statues, Jacobson said. On April 1, the project filed a complaint against the Pennsylvania College of Technology, an affiliate of Pennsylvania State University, for 12 scholarships that allegedly discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, and/or sex in violation of Title VI and Title IX, respectively. For now, its unclear what will happen to the thousands of investigations on the offices books, or to future complaints like disability grievances filed by Almazans group. The laws require a direct interference with a students education to validate a complaint, a distinction drawn more by the courts than administrators and bureaucrats who give themselves wide latitude to pursue their own enforcement goals, experts said. Biden and the Democrats tend to tinker with the language, creating subjective offenses that are a moving target and raise due-process concerns, Manning said. The courts have tried to rein it in. Even as it appears intent on limiting the Education Department's reach, the Trump administration has also signaled that it will not completely surrender the use of federal power to influence local schools. It has vowed to root out antisemitism on college campuses, biological men competing against women in sports, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs the administration says violate the clear letter of discrimination laws. On April 7, McMahon announced a special investigative office, staffed by the Education and Justice departments, to enforce Title IX to protect female students and athletes. Correction April 15, 2025, 2:58 P.M. Eastern This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Because of an editing error, a photo caption misspelled the first name of an advocate for the disabled. She is Selene Almazon, not Celine. Meta chief and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Monday in a landmark US antitrust trial in which his social media juggernaut stands accused of abusing its market power to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp before they could become competitors. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorneys argue that Facebook, since renamed Meta, devoured what it saw as competitive threats. Zuckerberg was shown an internal Facebook email from 2011 that warned Instagram was a hit on smartphones and could easily copy what his social network offered. Another 2012 email regarding acquiring Instagram suggested simply keeping the app running without any improvements while Facebook developed its own products, and in doing so avoid upsetting users by shutting it down. Zuckerberg downplayed those exchanges as early talk before plans for Instagram came together. The start of the trial in a Washington federal court dashed the hopes of Zuckerberg that the return of President Donald Trump to the White House would see the government let up on the enforcement of antitrust law against Big Tech. The Meta case could see the owner of Facebook forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, which have grown into global powerhouses since their buyout. "They decided that competition is too hard and it would be easier to buy out their rivals than to compete with them," FTC attorney Daniel Matheson said in opening remarks at the trial. Meta attorney Mark Hansen countered in his first salvo that "acquisitions to improve and grow an acquired firm" are not unlawful in the United States and that is what Facebook did. - Playing to Trump - The case against Meta was originally filed in December 2020, during the first Trump administration, and all eyes were on whether he would ask the FTC to stand down. Zuckerberg, the world's third-richest person, has made repeated visits to the White House as he tried to persuade the US leader to choose settlement instead of fighting the trial. As part of his lobbying efforts, Zuckerberg contributed to Trump's inauguration fund and overhauled content moderation policies. He also purchased a $23 million mansion in Washington in what was seen as a bid to spend more time close to the center of political power. Zuckerberg's former lieutenant Sheryl Sandberg and a long line of executives from rival companies are scheduled to testify at a trial expected to last at least eight weeks. Central to the case is Facebook's 2012 billion-dollar purchase of Instagram -- then a small but promising photo-sharing app that now boasts two billion active users. An email from Zuckerberg cited by the FTC showed him depicting Instagram's emergence as "really scary," adding that is "why we might want to consider paying a lot of money for this." The FTC argues that Meta's $19 billion WhatsApp acquisition in 2014 followed the same pattern, with Zuckerberg fearing the messaging app could either transform into a social network or be purchased by a competitor. Meta's defense attorneys counter that substantial investments transformed these acquisitions into the blockbusters they are today. They also highlight that Meta's apps are free for users and face fierce competition. The FTC argues that Meta's monopoly power is demonstrated by a severely downgraded user experience -- with too many ads and product changes. A key courtroom battleground will be how the FTC defines Meta's market. The US government argues that Facebook and Instagram are dominant players in apps that provide a way to connect with family and friends, a category that does not include TikTok and YouTube. But Meta disagrees. "The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage and many others," a spokesperson said. "The bigger that Meta can make the relevant market... the more likely it is to defeat the FTC's case," said lawyer Brendan Benedict on Substack. gc-arp/bjt BELGRADE, Mont. The Belgrade School District is preparing for an election on May 6 to vote on operational levies and school board trustees. The elementary district is seeking $100,000 while the high school district aims for $65,000. HELENA Sen. Daniel Zolnikov brought one of lifes biggest dilemmas to the Senate floor over the weekend: When youre microwaving leftovers, how do you determine the perfect amount of time needed to evenly heat your food? Specifically, how long should you heat up your takeout pork carnitas in its styrofoam container? Is it a minute? A minute-and-a-half? The ultimate, ultimate microwave dilemma Zolnikov asked. Better to do it a little longer than have it still be cold in the middle. However, that decision comes with increased risks. But you microwaved it too long, and the styrofoam has had some small portions that now also melted. Zolnikov carried House Bill 477 through the Senate, a bill that would ban the use of styrofoam containers in the food industry within five years. He, and other proponents of the legislation, urged lawmakers to consider the known health risks of polystyrene foam, as well as the environmental concerns of using a material that doesnt break down easily. But opponents in the Senate, and in prior House debates, decried the legislation as governmental overreach and asked for free-market solutions to handle the problem. HB 477, introduced by Rep. Marilyn Marler, D-Missoula, provides for a phase out of expanded polystyrene foam commonly called styrofoam containers used to serve or package food from restaurants and food establishment, including coffee cups, plates, trays, and other food and drink carriers. The law would affect roughly 7,500 establishments in Montana, according to the bills fiscal note. The bill creates a three-step process for the phaseout beginning in 2028 with the use of styrofoam containers used to serve food consumed on site. The next year it expands to packaging prepared food, and in 2030 will apply to food packagers and include bakery items and other prepared food. The Department of Environmental Quality would be tasked with ensuring compliance with the rule and issuing fines. House lawmakers passed the bill 56-44 in March, and the Senate on Saturday passed the bill 26-24. In Zolnikovs microwave example, he asked lawmakers to contemplate a meal of pork carnitas, ordered as takeout from a favorite restaurant, a delicious dish that is hot, fatty and acidic. Those three conditions enhance the leaching of chemicals into food, increasing the amount ingested, and contributing to the growing number of microplastics found in all human bodies, including newborn babies. In addition, styrene and other chemicals found in food packaging have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption and other chronic health conditions. The thing is, consumers assume our food and food storage products are safe and healthy, and when we realize they arent, we take action, or were supposed to, Zolnikov said. The bill applies only to styrofoam in the food service industry not its use in transportation, construction or health and safety industries. It also exempts raw, uncooked meat, fish, or eggs, where styrofoam is often used as an insulator to keep those items cold, lowering the risk of chemical leaching. Despite the health concerns widely agreed on by lawmakers several senators opposed the bill for its overreach into peoples lives. You should not be heating up food in your microwave in a styrofoam container, in a plastic container, on melamine plates, just about anything, except maybe glass. What you should be doing, if youre concerned about your health and your kids health and your grandkids health, heat it up in a frying pan. Not a frying pan with Teflon in it. A good old cast iron frying pan, said Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, adding that he felt such a law should be the role of the federal government. Thats the problem with this bill. There are so many other products out there that are causing harm to our health I dont like styrofoam either, but this isnt the answer. Eleven other states have passed similar statewide laws, as have numerous local governments. Other opponents raised concerns that the bill might set a precedent to expand to other industries in the future, while proponents expounded on the environmental benefits. Ive seen them floating in ponds or water. Ive seen fish eating the particles that break up, Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula said. You also will see birds picking up styrofoam, using it in nests and other places eating it as well. And so theres other things that styrofoam is actually impacting, not just on the food service side. The bill was amended in a Senate committee to extend the phase-out timeframe from five to 10 years, but the Senate body changed the bill back to its original form on the floor. If all those arguments arent enough to get everybody to vote yes on this, Ive got a few more, said Sen. Bruce Butch Gillespie, R-Ethbridge, who brought the amendment on the floor. He said that businesses in Montana could manufacture biodegradable packaging using sustainable sources such as hemp. Let this be the beginnings of a whole new industry for Montana here. HB 477 contains a process for a business to request a waiver if they can show undue hardship, such as finding no suitable alternatives for food packaging. A fiscal note for the bill also shows the state would fund a half-time employee to develop and oversee the exemption program. We have chemicals in our food, we have chemicals touching our food, we are being poisoned in more ways than we know, Zolnikov said. This is an easy way to say if the feds arent going to do it, were going to do it. Were going to phase it out. The ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on behalf of two Montana State University students whose international visas were revoked last week, asking a federal judge to immediately suspend the departments actions. As the Chronicle and Montana Free Press reported Friday, MSU officials recently discovered during a mandatory routine check of international student records that the F-1 visas of three of its international students on the Bozeman campus had been revoked. President Waded Cruzado informed the MSU community of the situation in a brief email, which did not include any information about the impacted students. MSU Vice President of Communications Tracy Ellig told MTFP Friday that the administration had had no other contact with the federal government regarding the revocations. Weve reached out to all our international students to let them know that the staff at the MSU Office of International Programs can meet with them face-to-face to discuss any concerns they might have, Ellig wrote in a follow-up email Monday, adding MSU still has had no formal communication from the federal government regarding the recent revocations. They are valued members of our community, and we will provide what assistance we can. MSU has more than 400 foreign students from 64 countries. We cant speculate on whether their will or wont be more revocations of F-1 student visas, Michael Becker, MSUs director of communications, told the Chronicle in an email Monday. Weve reached out to all our international students to let them know that the staff at the MSU Office of International Programs can meet with them face-to-face to discuss any concerns they might have. They are valued members of our community and we will provide what assistance we can. A Protect Our International Students protest march from Brick Breeden Fieldhouse to Montana Hall on the MSU campus is set for 1 p.m. Friday. It has been organized by Students for a Democratic Society. The ACLUs filing Monday shed further light on two of the three students whose academic records and status were terminated at MSU. Naming them only as John Roe and Jane Doe, the ACLU wrote that both students were informed by email April 10 that their international visas had been revoked and are now experiencing immense stress due to the uncertainty of their legal standing in the United States. According to the brief, the emails received by Roe and Doe stated that students whose visas are terminated are expected to leave the U.S. and that their unlawful presence could result in arrest, detention or deportation by federal authorities. Despite no criminal convictions nor immigration violations and having never participated in any protest in the United States or elsewhere, these students were told that due to the termination of their student status, they are expected to depart the United States immediately, the ACLU of Montana wrote in a press release announcing the filing. The lawsuit asks the court to reinstate these students F-1 student status, allowing them to continue their studies and avoid facing the risk of detention and deportation. The lawsuit is one of a growing number of legal challenges filed across the country on behalf of international students whose visas to study in the U.S. have been revoked by the Trump administration. According to the online news outlet Inside Higher Ed, hundreds of students on more than 170 campuses nationwide are facing sudden changes to their legal status. In an email to MTFP on Monday, University of Montana Director of Strategic Communications Dave Kuntz confirmed one student on the Missoula campus had their F-1 visa revoked last week without further communication or justification from the federal government. Kuntz added the campus has 174 international students out of a total campus population of 11,000. UMs Global Engagement Office is paying close attention to the termination of education-related visas in Montana and across the country, Kuntz wrote. They have proactively communicated with all UM international students about the shifting procedures from the federal government, and we are confident that international students at UM understand the options available to them if a visa is terminated. Leanne Kuntz, spokesperson for Montanas Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, told MTFP via email Monday the office was unaware of any other terminations on other campuses in the states university system. She added the office is having weekly conversations with leadership on Montanas flagship campuses regarding visa revocations and other federal actions impacting their operations and is encouraging campus staff to make sure the international students with visas are aware of the situation and ongoing developments and provide resources, information, and support. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to an email seeking comment on the MSU revocations, its communication with the campus or the ACLUs lawsuit. In its request for a temporary injunction from the U.S. District Court in Butte, the ACLU wrote that one of the two MSU students who reached out for the organizations assistance identified as Roe is an Iranian citizen whose family has already faced persecution as members of that countrys Kurdish minority. Roe received his undergraduate degree in physics from Azad University before obtaining an F-1 visa in 2016 and attending Auburn University in Alabama, where he earned a masters degree in experimental condensed matter physics in 2019. Roe has been pursuing a PhD in electrical engineering and physics at MSU for six years, including working as a researcher on the campus for a monthly stipend, and is only eight months away from obtaining his doctoral degree. The ACLU argues Roes financial stability, academic trajectory and professional future are now imperiled by the termination of his F-1 visa. The brief further alleges that the federal government has offered Roe no explanation or details for why his visa was revoked, Roes entire academic and professional identity is rooted in the path he built in the United States, and the possibility of losing that is devastating, the ACLU wrote. The sudden revocation of his visa without any additional information and the risk it engenders to his future has left him feeling overwhelmed and deeply unsettled. The brief also claims Roe is relying on his research stipend to help support his sister, who is currently enrolled as a graduate student in Colorado. According to the brief, the other MSU student now being represented by the ACLU Jane Doe is a citizen of Turkey who first arrived in the U.S. on an F-1 visa in 2014. She completed a dual undergraduate degree at MSU in 2017 with a degree in microbiology and returned to the campus in 2021 to pursue a masters degree, with her current research focusing on evolutionary relationships in microbial communities. Doe is scheduled to defend her graduate thesis on April 18 and graduate May 8 with a 3.98 GPA. The ACLU wrote that, like Roe, Doe has not received any explanation or details regarding the termination of her F-1 visa and is scared about her safety and future. The nonprofit has requested, among other actions, that the Department of Homeland Security be directed to reinstate both students visas and be prohibited from arresting, detaining or relocating either from the Butte federal courts jurisdiction. A judge has yet to rule on the ACLUs request for an immediate injunction and temporary restraining order. HELENA Once thought to be a legislative priority, a Republican effort to regulate Montana courts is going out with a whimper in the final days of the Legislature. Of the 27 bills crafted by a select committee to rein in the courts, only eight remain as the Legislature nears its endpoint. Several attempts to get judicial candidates to declare a political party have died, even though that objective was cited as a priority by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte in his State of the State address. Lt. Gov Kristin Juras, a former law professor and 2014 state Supreme Court candidate, testified before the House and Senate judiciary committees in support of partisan judicial races. States Supreme Court Chief Justice Cory Swanson and the Montana Bar Association have cautioned lawmakers against politicizing the judiciary. I have personally stated that the judiciary should remain nonpartisan, despite the almost irresistible pull of partisan spending and messaging in these campaigns, Swanson said in an address to the Legislature in February. House Speaker Brandon Ler, R-Savage, still bristled at the mention of Swansons remarks during a late March interview with Montana Free Press. I guess Ill push back with Chief Justice Swanson just a little bit because he got elected by people that wanted Supreme Court reform, or just judicial reform, Ler said. And thats what the House and the Senate are still committed to bringing, judicial reform. He doesnt have to agree with us, but thats what a good majority of people that voted him into office want. But Ler said House lawmakers were divided over whether all court races should be partisan. Senate Bill 42, by Sen. Daniel Emrich, D-Great Falls, offered partisan judicial races at all levels. The bill passed out of the Senate on a 28-22 vote, but failed 41-59 in the House, where Republicans have a 58-seat majority. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in late March, Emrich suggested freedom was on the line if judicial races werent partisan. Our founders described the judges in the English courts as black-robed tyrants because their power was unchecked. And I pray that we never get to a day in this state or in this nation that our judiciarys power is unchecked, Emrich said. Right now, it is chaotic, and we have an opportunity to give the power back to the people. Later, a Ler bill to allow state Supreme Court candidates to use party affiliation, if they chose to, also died by a 46-54 vote in the House. Limiting the powers of Montana courts was a low priority for voters responding to a Montana Free Press-Eggleston poll conducted in late January and early February. Only 20% of respondents said Montana courts have too much power and 40% said courts had the right amount of power, while 25% of respondents said they didnt know. The poll surveyed more than 900 Montanans and has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4.1%. So far, just one of the bills drafted by the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform has been signed into law. House Bill 39, by Rep. Tom Millett, R-Marion, repeals a state law banning political parties from contributing to judicial campaigns. A second bill passed out of the Legislature, Senate Bill 48, by Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, removes a ban on citizens discussing complaints against judges before the matter is settled by the Judicial Standards Commission. The Montana State Bar Association opposed the bill in the House Judiciary Committee on April 8. If you do this, judges would be the only profession that would not have confidentiality until a determination is made that a complaint is substantive, Bruce Spencer, the state bar lobbyist, said. So, 98% of complaints are dismissed. Glimm told the House Judiciary Committee that lifting the ban on speaking about complaints against judges before cases were decided was a matter of free speech. He carried a similar bill in a previous legislative session. A bill to create a judicial performance review of judges is still alive. Senate Bill 45 sponsor Senate Majority Leader Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, framed the reviews as something voters could refer to. The issue received attention from the Senate Select Committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform, which met for eight months in 2024. New laws crafted by the Legislatures Republican majority havent fared well before the state Supreme Court in recent years, spurring GOP frustration with the courts that led in part to the formation of that committee. Laws curtailing abortion rights, election participation, or limiting environmental review have been declared unconstitutional. One failed bill this session would have required the Supreme Court to presume constitutionality of, and deference to, legislative acts, There was a bill to audit the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which last year prosecuted Montanas Republican Attorney General for undermining public confidence in the judicial system. AG Austin Knudsen refused to comply with a court order in 2021 while representing the Legislature in a subpoena battle with the state Supreme Court. The attorney general also disparaged the Supreme Court justices. The bill failed, as did another one to prevent disciplinary action against attorneys serving in public office. An attempt by McGillvray to create a governor-appointed general claims court as a first stop for cases with constitutional issues died on a tie vote on the Senate Finance and Claims Committee after Democrats and some Republicans questioned the cost of creating a new court when many staffing requests by existing courts were going unfulfilled. Its called out that the salary would be 20% greater than the salary for a Supreme Court justice, said Sen. Chris Pope, D-Bozeman, of Senate Bill 385. It just doesnt financially add up. Base pay for a state Supreme Court justice is $78.13, according to the state employee data portal. The 2024 Senate select committee was spearheaded by then-Senate president Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton. Ellsworth has since been censured for not disclosing a personal relationship with a friend to whom the senator awarded a government contract. As a result of the censure, Ellsworth has been barred from attending the Legislature in person. The former presidents Senate Bill 20, prohibiting retired judges from hearing constitutional cases, is one the select committees eight surviving bills. The House Judiciary Committee has postponed three hearings on the bill because Ellsworth wasnt in attendance. The UKs leading sheep progeny testing project is looking for new commercial farms across England and Wales to take part in the upcoming season. The RamCompare project is seeking host farms that can provide around 300 commercial ewes of a consistent breed type. These ewes will be mated with terminal sire rams supplied by the initiative, using either single-sire natural service groups or artificial insemination (AI). RamCompare collects vital performance data from commercial lambs to support genetic improvement and enhance productivity across the sheep sector. Bridget Lloyd, RamCompare project coordinator said: This is a great opportunity for host farms to benefit from using top genetics within their flock. "They have the chance to use rams with high health and genetic merit, they will get support to benchmark their flock performance against other project farms and the opportunity to engage with a small group of innovative likeminded farmers. All rams used in the RamCompare project are selected from the top 20% of performance-recorded terminal sires. Host farms play a key role by collecting detailed performance data using electronic identification (EID), tracking each lamb from birth through to slaughter. Lambs are reared as one management group within a fast-finishing system to ensure consistent data collection. To be eligible as a host farm for RamCompare, which is jointly funded by Hybu Cig Cymru Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) and AHDB, participants must meet several key requirements. Farms must provide 300 commercial ewes of a consistent breed type and use high-index, performance-recorded terminal sire rams supplied by the project. Ewes must be mated in single-sire groups to ensure accurate data collection. All lambs must be individually monitored using electronic identification (EID) from birth through to slaughter, allowing comprehensive performance data to be gathered. Additionally, lambs must be managed as a single group under a fast-finishing system to maintain consistency throughout the trial. Artificial insemination (AI) is optional and can be arranged for 90 to 120 ewes as part of the project. Participating host farms will receive funding to support the data collection process. Dr Heather McCalman, development executive at HCC, said: A number of pedigree performance recorded flocks in Wales have submitted rams to this project over the years in order to test their value in a commercial progeny test. To hear more about them, the project and genetic improvement in sustainable grassland livestock systems, we will be hosting an open day at Glascoed farm on 4 September. "It will also be a chance to hear about the economic benefits achieved for lamb enterprises using top performance recorded sires in a commercial system. "Save the date and keep an eye out for more information later in the year. Young farmers have voted overwhelmingly against Labour's inheritance tax reforms during the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC) annual meeting of clubs. Members of the NFYFC voted by a 98.9% majority to oppose proposed changes to inheritance tax, voicing strong support for the future of British farming. Held in Leamington Spa on 13 April, the motion was introduced by Luke Cox of Wiltshire, who warned that the reforms would harm the next generation of farmers and threaten family-run farms. In the autumn budget last October, the government announced several reforms to agricultural property relief from inheritance tax. This includes a 1m allowance which will apply to the combined value of property that qualifies for 100% APR. After the 1m allowance has been exhausted, relief will apply at a lower rate of 50% to the combined value of qualifying agricultural and business property. Speaking at the event, Luke Cox, 28, explained how the looming threat of inheritance tax would stifle investment in his family's Gloucestershire farm. Its the restraint on investment that I think is particularly cruel to us as the next generation, he said during the meeting. The family farm tax is mathematically and morally wrong. I call on you to stand up for the future of UK agriculture. YFC AGRI chair Robbie Tuer, from Cumbria, seconded the motion, highlighting how the next generation "is having to navigate more hurdles than ever before". He called for more representation in policy decisions: We need young people, not just working in farming, but sitting at the table when policies are written," he said. "We need to be listened to, not just about inheritance tax, but about what kind of industry we want to build one thats resilient, fair and sustainable. The debate continued with young people from across the federation speaking passionately about the impact the tax would have on their lives and families, with one 15-year olds speech winning an award. From Leicestershire & Rutland YFC, Jessica was recognised by the judges after sharing her views on two of the motions, one being the inheritance tax proposals. Jessica, who will be the fifth-generation farmer on her familys 430-acre beef and arable farm, shared her concerns about the proposals. How can we be expected to carry on the legacies of our families when we are faced with such a huge tax burden?" she asked. "The reality is, the inheritance tax isnt just a financial issue, its a barrier to continuing a family farm. If these tax proposals go through, many family farms will be lost. Without these family farms, without young farmers, we lose more than just a farm, we lose the very heart of rural Britain. Speaking after the meeting, Jessica said the proposals were going to have a massive impact on her family farm. She added: It may even lead to the farm being unviable when its my turn to take it on, leading us to sell up and not continue this legacy. Vietnam and China yesterday signed over 40 cooperation agreements, as visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned in an article published in Vietnam's state-run Nhan Dan newspaper that protectionism will lead nowhere and that a trade war would produce no winner. These agreements cover connectivity, artificial intelligence, customs inspection and quarantine, agricultural trade, culture and sports, public welfare, human resource development and media, a Chinese state-controlled media outlet reported. Vietnam and China have signed over 40 cooperation pacts, as visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping cautioned that 'protectionism will lead nowhere' and that a trade war would produce 'no winner'. The pacts cover customs inspection and quarantine, and agricultural trade. Xi said both sides should jointly oppose bullying practices, and work to maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains. Xi held talks with Vietnam's top leaders. He is visiting Vietnam for the first time since December 2023. He is in Vietnam till today, before visiting Malaysia and Cambodia. Speaking during a meeting with Lam Monday, Xi said Vietnam and China were "standing at the turning point of history... and should move forward with joint hands." Xi earlier urged the two countries to "resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment". Vietnam's President To Lam said in an article posted on the government's news portal that his country "is always ready to join hands with China to make cooperation between the two countries more substantive, profound, balanced and sustainable". During the visit, Xi noted that both China and Vietnam are beneficiaries of economic globalisation, and the two sides should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateralism and bullying practices, and work together to uphold the global free trade system and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) Ibrahim Ali Khan recently made his debut with Nadaaniyan, opposite Khushi Kapoor. While the movie earned him mixed reviews, the young actor is looking forward to make a mark in Bollywood. However, being from a film family has its own positives and negatives. During an exclusive interview with Filmfare, the actor shared his take on social media making it tougher for debutants. He shared, "Of course. Because there was no social media then. Things were easier then. If you ask all these star kids, as you call them, they will probably think before they give an answer. I dont have to think before I say, yes, we do have it harder." Delving deeper, Khan quipped about nepotism. Noting that the concept has "been through ages", he shared, "But nowadays, its more of a thing. Im Saif Ali Khans son. But this has been happening for years. Maybe its just social media. I dont know. We have it harder for sure. Today it is tougher to trick the audience. They have become smart now. Theyre not going to pay and go to theatres and see a bad movie, especially when they can watch the movie at home." The star kid further added, "Earlier there was no social media. You wouldnt see stars in public. There was limited exposure to Hollywood. The audience would go to the theatres, and they would die to see all these stars. I want to be like that." Lauding actors like Saif Ali Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, who are not on social media, the actor added, "These guys arent out there, no one can get to them. And thats what makes them so desirable. We want to reach them, but we cant." Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore has reviewed her grandson Ibrahim Ali Khan's Bollywood debut Nadaaniyan. The star kid debuted with the OTT film along with Khushi Kapoor. The Shauna Gautam directorial opened to mixed reviews and the audience were not impressed with the lead pair. Amid this, Tagore shared her thoughts on the film and said it was not good. However, she also praised her grandson by calling her handsome.The actress said, "Ibrahims film was not good, but he still looks very handsome. He has tried his best. These things shouldnt really be said in front of everyone, but honestly, the picture isnt great. Ultimately, the picture has to be good."Last week, Ibrahim's aunt, actress Soha Ali Khan also spoke about Nadaaniyan debacle and said, "Number one, I think you need to have thick skin when you join this world. One needs to digest peoples opinions or then dont read the comments. But, I feel, sometimes, its important to read the comments because you cant just work in a vacuum. You have to be receptive to certain criticism, and you have to work on your craft and go forward. The only thing you can do is have some kind of armour. Do not shut yourself to the world and surround yourself only with love and people who are going to say positive things and be like yes-men. Be open to criticism, introspect and work towards your craft. "Meanwhile, Sharmila Tagore made her return to Bengali cinema after 14 years with the film Puratawn.The Suman Ghosh directorial also stars Rituparna Sengupta and Indraneil Sengupta in key roles. Talking about it she said, "I love doing Bengali films. I love everything about Kolkata, but I am not as fit as required due to my health conditions." The trailer for Another Simple Favor takes the action to Capri About Another Simple Favor Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are back at it! The two are all set to return in director Paul Feigs Another Simple Favor, a sequel to the 2018 film A Simple Favor. And it looks like the drama has been dialled all the way up. Now, the makers have unveiled an intriguing trailer.Blake Livelys Emily Nelson is back to haunt Anna Kendricks Stephanie Smothers. The clip shows them running into each other during the latters book tour. Emily is out of prison five years after the events of A Simple Favor. Not only has she managed to re-emerge, but she also asks Stephanie for another favor, and its a lot more personal. Will you be my maid of honour? she says as she announces that shes getting married in Capri, Italy. Enter - Michele Morrones Dante Versano, a mysterious guy with old money.The clip also features Emily in her wedding look with an ominous red hue at the hem of her veil. Between threats, secrets and complicated friendships, the trailer promises a spicier instalment.The official description of the film reads, Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emilys extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.Another Simple Favor, which also features Henry Golding, Kelly McCormack, Taylor Ortega, Elizabeth Perkins, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin and more, releases on Amazon Prime Video on May 1, 2025. She revealed that she emailed Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige about not using a stunt double. "I got on all the emails. It was in the script, and then slowly as we got closer and closer to shooting, they said they dont think its going to happen because its a crazy insurance ordeal and obviously were not going to throw (me) off the second tallest building in the world. I was like what the f**k? Of course we are! We have to do that," said Pugh. For Marvel's upcoming film Thunderbolts*, Florence Pugh had to shoot a scene where her character jumps off the second tallest building in the world. The actress recently revealed that she did not use a stunt double for the scene. In one of the behind-the-scenes clip released by the makers, Florence Pugh was seen preparing for one of the boldest sequences in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. The scene is set at Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysiathe second-tallest building in the world. Pugh, who reprises her role as the sharp and skilled Yelena Belova, is seen harnessed up, beaming with excitement just moments before initiating a base jump from the towering skyscraper. She continued that she repeatedly told Feige that it would do wonders for their press tour. Florence added, "I was being a sassy Karen emailing Kevin and saying its going to do wonders for the press tour. We have to do this! Were going to have three women break three different Guinness World Records and well do this and this. I had to keep on pushing and then theyre like, Okay, if you want to fall off the second tallest building, well figure it out for you. I dont mind heights. I quite like them and enjoy them, but that was a whole different ballgame and insane. The mental control I had to do that day was its own superpower." Directed by Jake Schreier and also starring Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell and Olga Kurylenko, Thunderbolts* will be released theatrically on May 1. See Also: Marvels Thunderbolts BTS Clip Of Merdeka 118 Stunt Sends Fans Into A Frenzy Popular Kannada TV actress Vaishnavi Gowda got engaged to her beau Akai in Bengaluru on Monday. The grand event was attended by family, friends and close ones. The actress took to her Instagram and revealed the engagement photoshoot pictures and captioned them, Her world was scripts and stages, His was skies and service But destiny wrote the perfect love story ." No sooner had she put up her engagement photos, her timeline was filled with congratulatory messages and good wishes from industry colleagues and fans. Vaishnavis engagement news certainly surprised her fans as she hasnt dropped any hints earlier. The event was a low-key affair and the invitation was extended to only the near and dear ones. Apparently, Vaishnavis close friends from the industry Amulya, Chaitra Vasudevan and other friends have been part of the event. The ceremony was reportedly a mix of traditional and modern. While the traditional engagement ceremony took place in the morning, a party was followed in the evening. Videos of the groom going down on his knees and proposing to Vaishnavi, and putting on the engagement ring have also gone viral. The soon-to-be-couple also grooved to super hit Kannada songs amid loud cheers from the guests who have wished them. Vaishnavi looked radiant in a cream-colour gown; Akai complemented her in a black suit. The wedding date is yet to be announced. Among those who attended the do were Vaishnavis Kannada Bigg Boss contestant Chaitra Vasudevan, Pooja Lokesh, Jyoti Kiran, and Ritu Singh, along with actress Amulya Gowda and Jagdish R. Chandra. Vaishnavi started her career with Zee Kannada's soap opera Devi when she was a teenager. Later, she was part of successful television serials like Agnisakshi and Seetharama. Vaishnavi garnered acclaim and became a household name after she took part in the Kiccha Sudeep-hosted Bigg Boss Kannada 8 where she finished in fifth position. Critic's rating 3.5 /5 Puratawn (The Ancient) is a poignant exploration of memory, ageing, and the circular nature of time. Directed by Suman Ghosh, the film marks the luminous return of Sharmila Tagore to Bengali cinema after 16 years. Its not just a comebackits a quiet triumph, a performance that transcends acting to become a lived experience. The story unfolds in the quaint town of Konnagar in West Bengals Hooghly district, where Ritika (Rituparna Sengupta) and her husband Rajeev (Indraneil Sengupta) arrive at her ancestral home to celebrate her mother Mrs Sens (Tagore) 80th birthday. But what should be a reunion steeped in warmth is shadowed by the realisation of her mothers deteriorating mental health, likely Alzheimers. What begins as a family visit slowly unravels into an intimate confrontation with loss, memory, and the inevitability of change. Puratawn (The Ancient) deals with our fondness for our past. If Sharmila Tagore is stuck in the past due to dementia/Alzheimer's, then Rituparna Sengupta is fond of remembering fragments of her fading relationship, while Indraneil Gupta, in turn, turns to photographs of his dead girlfriend for solace. Its also an examination of the various guilts we carry deep inside our hearts. There are no big reveals, though, only hints. Ekavali Khanna is a delight as Ritikas friend and family doctor Gaurika Kapoor. In the scene where Ritika discusses her mothers plight with her childhood buddy, she has the luxury to break down because she knows Gaurika wont let her shatter. While the bonding between the women is real and their bond palpable, we dont understand why Gaurika didnt apprise her bosom friend of the situation when she first caught on to the signs. Rituparna is the very picture of a concerned daughter in the film. Her silences, her secret tears, breakdowns all pointing towards her initial denial and then gradual acceptance. Her scenes with Sharmila Tagore are the soul of the film. Theres a vulnerability there in those scenes, a certain pathos that stays with you. Here are two actresses at their peak effortlessly delivering their best. Indraneil Sengupta has more of a supporting role here and lends a certain fortitude to the proceedings, a manly energy which was much needed. Of course, he does get to show his insecure side as well. The film has been touted as Sharmila Tagores comeback to Bengali cinema and its as if she never went away. She doesnt just act, she lives her role with consummate ease, making us root for her character throughout. Suman Ghosh has made a slice of life film. The film teaches that one should look to the future with a quiet acceptance, whatever it may bring. The film is set to a lyrical pace. Ghosh doesn't chase drama but allows emotions to unfurl like an old melody at their own pace. The film is littered with the familiar detritus of lifeDurga Puja bills, forgotten grocery lists, old photographs, broken pots, pans, gramophones and harmoniums that we should have thrown away but we still preserve, much like the wounds to our souls which we dont allow to heal. Ravi Kiran Ayyagaris cinematography bathes the film in soft light, evoking an autumnal stillness. Aditya Vikram Senguptas editing complements this with long, unhurried takes, making time feel like another character, slipping, pausing and circling back. Watch the film for the fabulous acting on display by the entire ensemble cast and for its old-world, unhurried charm. Clean Energy Transition Inc. (TSXV:TRAN) ("transition.inc" or the "Company") announces that it has filed on SEDAR+ an independent Technical Report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") in support of the updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the Aurora Nickel Project, located 25 kilometres southeast of Timmins, Ontario. The Aurora Nickel Project is held by Clean Metals Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of transition.inc. The mining lease is registered to Clean Metals Inc. in the Ontario Ministry's Mining Lands Administration System (MLAS), and this ownership structure has been previously disclosed in the Company's financial filings. As previously reported on March 6, 2025, the updated MRE outlines an Indicated Mineral Resource of 10.06 million tonnes grading 0.42% nickel across the Aurora North and Aurora South deposits. The Aurora North deposit, amenable to open pit mining, contains 8.32 Mt at 0.40% Ni, while the Aurora South deposit, anticipated to be mined using underground methods, contains 1.73 Mt at 0.51% Ni. "We are pleased to formally file this Technical Report, which supports the strong results of the updated MRE," said Sean Samson, President and CEO. "Aurora remains an attractive low-carbon nickel opportunity, especially given its location, infrastructure advantages and scale. We believe high-quality, near-surface nickel projects in mining-friendly jurisdictions like Timmins will continue to be essential as the energy transition advances." The Technical Report is dated April 14, 2025, with an effective date of March 3, 2025, and was prepared by Micon International Limited ("Micon"). The Technical Report is available under the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at www.transition.inc. For context Clean Energy notes the equivalent number of Electric Vehicles in the MRE's Contained Nickel as follows: It is estimated that the average electric vehicle battery requires ~145 pounds of nickel (Bloomberg New Energy Finance ("BNEF") estimate, for a 100kWh battery*) and based on this, the Contained Nickel in the Aurora Nickel Project's MRE, this represents the equivalent nickel which would be used in more than 705K electric vehicles. For context, this is more than 5x the total 2023 new Battery EV registrations in Canada**. * Company estimates, based on BNEF calculations https://tinyurl.com/3xswdn8k. ** Company estimates, based on 139,501 Battery EVs registered in Canada (StatsCan) https://tinyurl.com/3z8penz7. About Clean Energy Transition Inc. Transition.inc is focused on opportunities to generate positive cash flow across the energy transition. The Company includes a Quartz division focused on advancing its silica/Quartz business with the Snow White Project in Ontario and the Silicon Ridge Project in Quebec. The silica in high-quality Quartz can be used to make silicon metal, a key component in solar energy panels. The Company also has a Critical Minerals division, which includes the Aurora Nickel Project in Ontario, where it is working to advance a potential low-carbon production opportunity to supply the growing North American demand for low-carbon nickel. Alongside the mining assets, transition.inc is also looking for additional opportunities, more broadly, from across the energy transition. Qualified Persons The Qualified Persons (QPs) for the MRE in this News Release as defined by NI 43-101, are Mr. Charley Murahwi, M.Sc., P.Geo., Pr. Sci. Nat., FAusIMM and Ms. Chitrali Sarkar, MSc. P.Geo., respectively Senior Economic Geologist and Senior Geologist at Micon. Both QPs have reviewed and approved the technical information in this press release, related to the Aurora Nickel Project updated Resource. There are no known factors that could materially affect the reliability of the MRE information verified by Mr. Murahwi and Ms. Chitrali. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "anticipate", "proposed", "estimates", "would", "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in business plans and strategies, market conditions, share price, best use of available cash, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient capital to fund its obligations under various contractual arrangements, to maintain its mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, and to explore and develop its projects and for general working capital purposes, changes in economic conditions or financial markets, the inherent hazards associated with mineral exploration, future prices of metals and other commodities, environmental challenges and risks, the Company's ability to obtain the necessary permits and consents required to explore, drill and develop its projects and if obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion relative to the Company's plans and business objectives, changes in environmental and other laws or regulations that could have an impact on the Company's operations, compliance with such laws and regulations, the Company's ability to obtain required shareholder or regulatory approvals, dependence on key management personnel, natural disasters and global pandemics and general competition in the mining industry. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. The forward-looking information in this press release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of transition.inc based on information currently available to the Company. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Contact Information For further information, visit www.transition.inc Or contact: Sean Samson, President, CEO, and Director at: Clean Energy Transition Inc. 200 - 150 King St. W. Toronto, ON M5H 1J9 info@transition.inc Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release. SOURCE: Clean Energy Transition Inc. Barton Gold Holdings Limited (ASX:BGD) (Barton or the Company) advises that the attached presentation is due to be presented today at the Gold Coast Gold Conference. A copy of this presentation can be accessed on the ASX website, the investor section of Barton's website, or directly by clicking here. Authorised by the Managing Director of Barton Gold Holdings Limited. For further information, please contact: Alexander Scanlon Managing Director a.scanlon@bartongold.com.au +61 425 226 649 Jade Cook Company Secretary cosec@bartongold.com.au +61 8 9322 1587 About Barton Gold Barton Gold is an ASX, OTCQB and Frankfurt Stock Exchange listed Australian gold developer targeting future gold production of 150,000oz annually, with ~1.7Moz Au JORC Mineral Resources (64.0Mt @ 0.83 g/t Au), brownfield mines, and 100% ownership of the region's only gold mill in the renowned Gawler Craton of South Australia.* Tarcoola Gold Project Fully permitted open pit mine with ~20koz Au within trucking distance of Barton's Central Gawler Mill Historical goldfield with new high-grade gold-silver discovery in grades up to 83.6 g/t Au and 17,600 g/t Ag Tunkillia Gold Project 1.6Moz Au Mineral Resources (62.9Mt @ 0.80 g/t Au) Scoping Study for competitive ~130kozpa Au mine Key Regional Infrastructure Region's only gold processing plant (650ktpa CIP) Distributed accommodated and other infrastructure to support regional exploration and development Competent Persons Statement & Previously Reported Information The information in this announcement that relates to the historic Exploration Results and Mineral Resources as listed in the table below is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by the Competent Person whose name appears in the same row, who is an employee of or independent consultant to the Company and is a Member or Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) or a Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO). Each person named in the table below has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he has undertaken to quality as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code 2012 (JORC). Activity Competent Person Membership Status Tarcoola Mineral Resource (Stockpiles) Dr Andrew Fowler (Consultant) AusIMM Member Tarcoola Mineral Resource (Perseverance Mine) Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow Tarcoola Exploration Results (until 15 Nov 2021) Mr Colin Skidmore (Consultant) AIG Member Tarcoola Exploration Results (after 15 Nov 2021) Mr Marc Twining (Employee) AusIMM Member Tunkillia Exploration Results (until 15 Nov 2021) Mr Colin Skidmore (Consultant) AIG Member Tunkillia Exploration Results (after 15 Nov 2021) Mr Marc Twining (Employee) AusIMM Member Tunkillia Mineral Resource Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow Challenger Mineral Resource Mr Dale Sims (Consultant) AusIMM / AIG Fellow / Member The information relating to historic Exploration Results and Mineral Resources in this announcement is extracted from the Company's Prospectus dated 14 May 2021 or as otherwise noted in this announcement, available from the Company's website at www.bartongold.com.au or on the ASX website www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the Exploration Results and Mineral Resource information included in previous announcements and, in the case of estimates of Mineral Resources, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates, and any production targets and forecast financial information derived from the production targets, continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the applicable Competent Persons' findings are presented have not been materially modified from the previous announcements. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This document may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "target" and "intend" and statements than an event or result "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information is subject to business, legal and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, risks relating to property interests, the global economic climate, commodity prices, sovereign and legal risks, and environmental risks. Forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and opinions at the date the statements are made. Barton undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements for events or circumstances that occur subsequent to such dates or to update or keep current any of the information contained herein. Any estimates or projections as to events that may occur in the future (including projections of revenue, expense, net income and performance) are based upon the best judgment of Barton from information available as of the date of this document. There is no guarantee that any of these estimates or projections will be achieved. Actual results will vary from the projections and such variations may be material. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation as to the past or future. Any reliance placed by the reader on this document, or on any forward-looking statement contained in or referred to in this document will be solely at the readers own risk, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. * Refer to Barton Prospectus dated 14 May 2021 and ASX announcement dated 4 March 2025. Total Barton JORC (2012) Mineral Resources include 909koz Au (30.8Mt @ 0.92 g/t Au) in Indicated category and 799koz Au (33.2Mt @ 0.75 g/t Au) in Inferred category, and 3,070koz Ag (34.5Mt @ 2.80 g/t Ag) in Inferred category as a subset of Tunkillia gold JORC (2012) Mineral Resources. SOURCE: Barton Gold Holdings Limited Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 14, 2025) - Planet Based Foods Global Inc. (CSE: PBF) (OTC Pink: PBFFF) (FSE: AZ00) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful closing of its strategic reorganization previously announced on April 2, 2025 (the "Transaction") pursuant to the terms of a Share Purchase Agreement dated April 2, 2025 with Planet Based Foods Inc. ("PBF"), a private California-based company, and certain insiders of the Company (together, the "Purchasers"). As part of the Transaction, all outstanding shares of PBF were transferred to the Purchasers in exchange for the surrender of their securities in the Company. This resulted in the cancellation and return to treasury of 800,000 multiple voting shares and 600,000 subordinate voting shares of the Company. In addition to the share transfer, PBF transferred to the Company its proprietary recipes, trademarks, and related intellectual property assets (the "IP") in return for the Company forgiving approximately $5.5 million in intercompany debt and granting PBF an exclusive license for the use of the IP within the United States, in exchange for a royalty on revenues derived therefrom. Following the completion of the Transaction, Messrs. Braelyn Davis, James Harris, and Gregory Maselli have resigned from the Company's board of directors, and Braelyn Davis and Robert Davis have stepped down from their executive positions as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Innovation Officer, respectively. Mr. Ted Cash has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Company and will act at the interim Chief Financial Officer until the Company appoints a new Chief Financial Officer, which is expected to occur in the near future. "I am honored to step into the role of Chief Executive Officer at Planet Based Foods Global," said Ted Cash. "This is a pivotal time for our company as we restructure and continue to innovate in creating sustainable food solutions. I look forward to working with our talented team to build a strong foundation for growth, create value for our stakeholders, and advance our mission to provide delicious, planet-friendly food solutions to consumers worldwide." Shareholder approval of the Transaction was obtained by way of consent resolution in accordance with subsection 4.6(1)(b) of the Canadian Securities Exchange's Policy 4 - Corporate Governance Securityholder Approvals and Miscellaneous Provisions. About Planet Based Foods Global Inc. The Company is dedicated to advancing the plant-based food industry through a diverse portfolio of sustainable food ingredients and innovative plant-based solutions that prioritize quality and environmental responsibility. Planet Based Foods Global Inc. is committed to upholding the highest standards of sustainability and fostering equitable partnerships that empower communities worldwide. With a focus on creativity and integrity, the Company provides products that align with evolving consumer values and contribute to a more sustainable food ecosystem. Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). To subscribe to automated email alerts for future news and public filings, visit the Planet Based Foods website at www.planetbasedfoods.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements included in this news release constitute "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Such statements include those identified by the expressions "anticipate", "assume" "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "should" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements or information relate to, among other things, the future plans of the Company and the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance, or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, development of the industry in which the Company operates; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's business activities; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; laws and regulations governing the industry in which the Company operates; operating or technical difficulties; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and other risk factors disclosed in the Company's public disclosure documents available on the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward- looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information other than as required by applicable law. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248497 SOURCE: Planet Based Foods Global Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 14, 2025) - Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. (CSE: DOCT) (FSE: 7FM) (OTC Pink: DOCKF) ("Beyond Medical" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful closing of its previously announced non-brokered private placement financing for total gross proceeds of for total gross proceeds of $979,232. The private placement involved the issuance of 8,987,677 units at a price of $0.109 per unit, with each unit comprising one common share in the capital of the Company. The securities are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside of Canada. The net proceeds will be used for general working capital and the strategic acquisition of ETH as an asset supporting the Company's blockchain-based medical attestation business. Concurrently, the Company is pleased to announce the acquisition of 408 ETH at an average price of $2,397 CAD per ETH. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Additional Disclosure Tianrui Zhang, an insider holding more than 10% of the Company's outstanding shares, acquired or exercised control over a total of 1,100,000 units under the private placement. The placement to Mr. Zhang constitutes a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the directors of the Company have determined that Mr. Zhang's participation in the private placement will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on the exemptions set forth in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report 21 days prior to the closing of the private placement as the details of the participation of Interested Parties had not been confirmed at that time. Immediately before completion of the private placement, Mr. Zhang beneficially owned and controlled 2,967,800 common shares and 1,467,800 common share purchase warrants, representing 12.73% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted and 17.90% on a partially diluted basis, assuming exercise of his warrants. Immediately after completion of the private placement, Mr. Zhang beneficially owned and controlled a total of 4,067,800 common shares and 1,467,800 common share purchase warrants, representing 12.59% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis and 16.39% on a partially diluted basis, assuming exercise of his warrants. The units were acquired by Mr. Zhang for investment purposes. Mr. Zhang 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 Reports to be filed by Mr. Zhang in connection with the private placement described above will be available on the SEDAR+ profile of the Company at www.sedarplus.ca. The team can be contacted at danzliu94@gmail.com. About Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. is a healthcare technology company integrating blockchain infrastructure to enhance patient outcomes and operational efficiency across the medical ecosystem. 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 This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements relating to: the anticipated use of proceeds of the offering and the allocation of ETH towards enhancing the Company's blockchain-based healthcare attestation platform. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions of management, including, without limitation, that the Company will complete the offering on the terms and conditions expected, that the Company will use the proceeds of the offering as currently anticipated and that the Company will allocate the ETH as currently anticipated. Additionally, forward-looking statements involve 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 statements. Such risks include, without limitation: that the Company will not use the proceeds of the offering as currently anticipated, that the Company will not allocate the ETH as anticipated, or at all, market volatility, the state of the financial markets for the Company's securities, and political, legal and regulatory risks generally. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this press release. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to you or any person resulting from the use of the information in this press release by you or any of your representatives or for omissions from the information in this press release. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248499 SOURCE: Beyond Medical Technologies Inc. More exchanges urged between China, Vietnam 08:58, April 15, 2025 By Yang Han ( China Daily Dong Quang Vinh, a Vietnamese musician, leads a rehearsal of the Suc Song Moi (New Vitality) Bamboo Ensemble in Hanoi, Vietnam, in March. Vinh studied music in China from 2004 to 2013, during which time he married Mo Shuangshuang, a Chinese pianist. The couple founded the ensemble in Hanoi in 2013. (Hu Jiali/Xinhua) More people-to-people exchanges between China and Vietnam should be encouraged to deepen mutual understanding, which serves as the foundation for building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, according to experts in the Southeast Asian nation. "The time-honored friendship, trust and mutual understanding among the peoples of the two countries are crucial foundations for the sustainable development of political and economic cooperation," said Nguyen Van Tho, former deputy minister of foreign affairs and former Vietnamese ambassador to China. This year marks the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Tho, who is also vice-president of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, told China Daily that meaningful and diverse people-to-people exchanges are being organized by relevant agencies and localities on both sides as part of the celebrations. "This will further strengthen the social foundation for a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, building a strategic Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance," said Tho. "Thanks to the stable and positive development of bilateral relations, people-to-people exchanges have seen vibrant and positive progress," Tho added. Using tourism as an example, Tho said the number of Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam reached around 3.74 million in 2024, up 214 percent year-on-year. According to data from Vietnam's General Statistics Office, China is the largest source market for Vietnam's tourism industry, with 1.58 million visitors recorded in the first quarter of 2025. Noting that Vietnamese tourists have also shown an increasing interest in traveling to China, Tho said the robust development of tourism cooperation has facilitated travel for citizens from both countries, leading to a more vivid and direct understanding of each other and boosting friendly relations. Do Hong Quan, chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, said the two countries should continue to build upon their long friendship and strengthen cultural exchanges, especially between youths. He said his union will organize various exchange activities focused on cultural figures and artists so that the two sides can share and better understand each other's work, lives and national development. Quan, one of Vietnam's leading composers of music for films and plays, said that Vietnam and China could co-create musicals and plays telling the story of their shared history or the contemporary youth of the two countries, or organize joint art exhibitions for young people. "By doing so, we could not only showcase the unique characteristics of each country, but also result in joint creations," said Quan. Other cultural activities such as arts festivals and puppet shows could also be organized, said Quan, adding that artists from both nations should hold regular meetings and jointly develop projects. The role of youth exchanges was highlighted by experts. "The youth of both countries serve as cultural ambassadors, playing a key role in bridging the friendship between our two nations," said Dong Huy Cuong, vice-president of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations. Cuong said he was pleased to see an increasing number of Vietnamese students showing an interest in learning Chinese, exploring Chinese culture and studying China's economic, social and technological achievements. More than 23,000 Vietnamese students are studying in China, according to the Vietnam News Agency. "We also warmly welcome and encourage more young Chinese people to come to Vietnam to study, learn the Vietnamese language, discover Vietnamese culture, and explore investment, business, and development opportunities here," said Cuong. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 14, 2025) - PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) (the "Company" or "PreveCeutical") announces that, further to its news release dated April 2, 2025, that the Company will be increasing the size of its previously announced non- brokered private placement (the "Offering") from $500,000 to $700,000, resulting in up to 23,333,333 units (each, a "Unit") of the Company at a price of $0.03 per Unit. Each Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share (each, a "Share") in the capital of the Company and one-half (1/2) of one Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase an additional Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.05 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months from the closing of the Offering (the "Closing"), subject to an acceleration right, whereby the expiry date of the Warrants may be accelerated if the daily closing price of the Shares equals or exceeds $0.08 or greater on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") (or such other recognized securities exchange on which the Shares may then trade) for a minimum of ten consecutive trading days, in which event the Company may accelerate the expiry of the Warrants by givings notice via news release and, in such case, all of the then unexercised Warrants will expire on the 30th day after the date on which the news release is disseminated (the "Acceleration Right"). The Company intends to use the aggregate gross proceeds from the sale of the Offering to pay outstanding payables, for operating expenses and for general working capital purposes. The Company may pay finder's fees in connection with the Offering. Closing of the Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including from the CSE. All securities issued in relation to the Offering will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day after the closing date, in accordance with applicable securities laws. The securities issued under the Offering have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements under the Securities Act. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. About PreveCeutical PreveCeutical is a health sciences company that develops innovative options for preventive and curative therapies utilizing organic and nature identical products. PreveCeutical aims to be a leader in preventive health sciences and currently has five research and development programs, including: dual gene therapy for curative and prevention therapies for diabetes and obesity; the Sol-gel Program; Nature Identical peptides for treatment of various ailments; nonaddictive analgesic peptides as a replacement to the highly addictive analgesics such as morphine, fentanyl and oxycodone; and a therapeutic product for treating athletes who suffer from concussions (mild traumatic brain injury). For more information about PreveCeutical, please visit www.PreveCeutical.com, follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PreveCeuticals and Facebook: www.facebook.com/PreveCeutical. On behalf of the Board of Directors of PreveCeutical Stephen Van Deventer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact: Neither the CSE nor any Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expectations of management regarding the proposed Offering, the expectations of management regarding the use of proceeds of the Offering, closing conditions for the Offering, the expiry of hold periods for securities distributed pursuant to the Offering and other statements regarding the company's proposed business plans. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements including that: the Company may not complete the Offering on terms favorable to the Company or at all; the proceeds of the Offering may not be used as stated in this news release; the Company may be unable to satisfy all of the conditions to the Closing; and those additional risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES 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/248521 SOURCE: PreveCeutical Medical Inc. HEFEI, China, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sungrow, a global leading PV inverter and energy storage system provider, proudly announces the launch of PowerStack 255CS, the next-generation liquid-cooling commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage system, at Global Renewable Energy Summit 2025. Designed to redefine efficiency, safety, and convenience, the PowerStack 255CS accelerates the global transition toward a sustainable energy future. The Growing Demand of C&I Energy Storage With increasing global policy support, the installed capacity of C&I energy storage is expected to reach 46GWh by 2028. Businesses worldwide are turning to C&I ESS, to reduce energy consumption, lower electricity costs, enhance power supply reliability, and support the integration of renewable energy. However, the rapid energy transition requires innovative storage solutions to tackle pressing challenges such as unstable power supply and grid pressure from from growing demands of EV charging. PowerStack 255CS: A Leap in Energy Storage Technology with 314Ah Cells Battery High Efficiency & Extended Lifespan Equipped with 314Ah battery cells, the PowerStack 255CS delivers a 257kWh capacity (2-hour system) or 514kWh capacity (4-hour system) for a single container. Following Sungrow's renowned AC Block product design, the system ensures a round-trip efficiency (RTE) of more than 90% and a product design lifetime of up to 20 years. Besides, incorporating advanced liquid-cooling technology, the AI-controlled heat balance technology analyzes the cell temperature and the operating conditions data, intelligently adjusting the cooling power to reduce auxiliary power consumption by 33% - maximizing both performance and economic benefits. Unparalleled Safety Standards The PowerStack 255CS meets top-tier global safety certifications, including UL9540 and NFPA855/69/68/14, ensuring the highest standards of protection. It features advanced cell anomaly detection and multi-stage overcurrent protection to prevent thermal runaway. The system integrates early fire detection with multiple suppression measures, minimizing risks at every stage. With a comprehensive safety design incorporating cabinet-level, rack-level, and pack-level fuse protection, the PowerStack 255CS delivers robust fire prevention and enhanced operational security. Unmatched Flexibility & Convenience With a fully integrated Energy Management System (EMS), Power Conversion System (PCS), and Battery Management System (BMS), PowerStack 255CS streamlines energy storage operations while reducing installation complexity. The system supports multiple layout configurations, offering adaptable deployment for diverse site requirements. Additionally, pre-installed and pre-commissioned components enable rapid grid connection, enhancing overall efficiency. Its' innovative design allows for scalable parallel applications, supporting up to 25 units and projects between 257kWh and 6.4MWh, making it an ideal solution for a wide range of energy storage needs. Optimized for Diverse Energy Scenarios A superior product alone does not guarantee optimal energy solutions. Optimal energy solutions of today require more than a superior product. Sungrow tailors PowerStack 255CS applications for various scenarios, ensuring maximum profitability and grid stability: - Standalone Energy Storage: Featuring an ultra-fast response time of 100ms, up to a hundred frequency regulation bids per day to maximize revenue. It also integrates Sungrow's innovative grid-forming technology, ensuring stability even in complex grid environments. - PV + Energy Storage Integration: Supporting both AC and DC coupling, the system enables maximum solar power utilization and grid stability. - EV Charger + Energy Storage: Fast and convenient site construction through realizing demand control of storage and charger coordination in software, reducing transformer capacity retrofitting, and maximizing benefits. - Microgrid Scenarios: Built-in PCS with a three-phase design, 400V AC output without the need for an external transformer, and single-phase 100% unbalanced load support to meet a variety of power needs of users. With automatic transfer switching (ATS), it enables seamless transitions between PV, ESS, and diesel generators, ensuring continuous support for critical loads. Premium Power Experience & Global Reach Sungrow's commercial and industrial products have been deployed in over 1,000 projects worldwide, spanning various industries, including metallurgy, automotive, and textiles. Sungrow solutions are widely used across Europe, including Spain, the Benelux region, Italy, and other countries, as well as in Australia, Japan, the Middle East, and South Africa, among other regions. Furthermore, Sungrow has established five major global service regions (China, Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa), with over 520 service outlets, serving customers in more than 180 countries and regions. Now available in the IEC, UL, and AU versions, Sungrow reaffirms its commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions for businesses worldwide. The PowerStack 255CS is a testament to Sungrow's mission of driving innovation in energy storage and paving the way toward a greener future. About Sungrow Sungrow, a global leader in renewable energy technology, has pioneered sustainable power solutions for over 28 years. As of December 2024, Sungrow has installed 740 GW of power electronic converters worldwide. The Company is recognized as the world's No. 1 on PV inverter shipments (S&P Global Commodity Insights) and the world's most bankable energy storage company (BloombergNEF). Its innovations power clean energy projects in over 180 countries, supported by a network of 520 service outlets guaranteeing excellent customer experience. At Sungrow, we're committed to bridging to a sustainable future through cutting-edge technology and unparalleled service. For more information, please visit: www.sungrowpower.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2663502/03_Sungrow_C_I_ESS_PowerStack_255CS__Launches_at_GRES_2025.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1344575/Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sungrow-launches-powerstack-255cs-a-next-gen-ci-energy-storage-system-redefining-efficiency-safety-and-convenience-302428292.html Sculptra , the first proven regenerative biostimulator, will provide new options for patients in China who are looking for innovative treatments to correct mid-facial volume loss and/or contour deficiencies 1-7 , the first proven regenerative biostimulator, will provide new options for patients in China who are looking for innovative treatments to correct mid-facial volume loss and/or contour deficiencies Sculptra is the only regenerative biostimulator supported by over 25 years of clinical evidence and safety while providing natural-looking results through to two years 7-10 Galderma's journey is marked by continuous innovation and expansion, and with this new launch, products from across Galderma's Injectable Aesthetics portfolio are now available in China, demonstrating its commitment to meeting the needs of even more patients and healthcare professionals Galderma today announced the launch of Sculptra, the first proven regenerative biostimulator with a unique poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA-SCA) formulation, in China.1-7,11-14 This follows Sculptra's approval by China's National Medical Products Administration for correcting mid-facial volume loss and/or contour deficiencies last year. Sculptra which works with the body's natural processes to achieve healthier, radiant skin and a more youthful appearance will now be available in China, where growth of aesthetics has outpaced the global market in the past decade.15-18 This launch is indicative of Galderma's commitment to expanding its unparalleled aesthetics portfolio into new geographies, in order to meet the needs of even more patients and healthcare professionals. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250414954037/en/ "Sculptra has a unique and rich history spanning over 25 years, and its launch in China signals the start of another chapter in its incredible journey. Patients and healthcare professionals in China will now have access to a premium product, backed by decades of clinical evidence, which can help them achieve their varied aesthetic needs by offering long-lasting and natural-looking results." BALDO SCASSELLATI SFORZOLINI, M.D., PH.D. GLOBAL HEAD OF R&D GALDERMA The approval was based on results from a study in China, which showed Sculptra's ability to achieve high and maintained response rates in the correction of midface volume/contour deficit through to two years, building on its 25 years of clinical evidence.7-10 Over this time, Sculptra has proven to be a premium, versatile treatment which consistently meets the needs of patients and healthcare providers.4,8,19,20 Sculptra's unmatched long-term safety data make it a reliable choice, and its unique PLLA-SCA formulation provides differentiated advantages such as volumization, skin firmness, structural support, radiance, overall skin quality and natural-looking results.1,2,7,12-16,21-24 China is a major market for Galderma, where sales have fueled the company's strong performance across product categories.25 The aesthetics industry in China has also experienced remarkable growth in recent years, driven by increasing consumer demand for beauty and wellness treatments.18 The market is expected to continue expanding at a rate of up to 15% in the coming years, and research has shown that many Chinese consumers prioritize the safety and outcomes of their aesthetic treatments.18,26 Sculptra is well placed to meet these expectations as its extensive safety profile and high satisfaction rate has been demonstrated in more than 10,000 patients in clinical studies over 25 years.1,5-10,21,27 "I am very excited by Sculptra's introduction to the Chinese market, as it allows me to provide my patients with a distinctive product renowned for its exceptional safety and effectiveness. Sculptra restores a youthful appearance and enhances skin quality, all while maintaining a natural look and feel, and I am looking forward to offering it to my patients in China." PROF. HAIYAN CUI DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PLASTIC AND COSMETIC SURGERY OF TONGJI HOSPITAL, TONGJI UNIVERSITY DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTE OF AESTHETIC PLASTIC SURGERY AND MEDICINE, TONGJI UNIVERSITY, CHINA This launch further expands Sculptra's global reach, which already spans over 40 countries and regions worldwide, and underscores Galderma's commitment to meeting the diverse patient needs and beauty standards across different parts of the world. As the pure-play dermatology category leader, Galderma's story is one of continuous growth, and it is committed to bringing innovative aesthetics solutions to patients across the world. Watch this videoto find out more about the value of introducing Sculptra to the injectable aesthetics market in China. About Sculptra Sculptra is the first proven regenerative biostimulator, with a unique PLLA-SCA formulation, to provide rapid, progressive, and sustained regenerative effect across all three skin layers.1-14 Sculptra addresses the underlying causes of facial aging, including degradation of the extracellular matrix, which results in volume loss, laxity, and the appearance of wrinkles.1,11,28-30 Sculptra encourages the remodeling of components of the extracellular matrix, such as elastin and collagen, helping to gradually restore facial volume and the look of fullness to wrinkles and folds over time.31-34 The results from Sculptra are long-lasting, with optimal correction seen in approximately three months and results lasting for more than two years.2,15,30,35 About Galderma Galderma (SIX: GALD) is the pure-play dermatology category leader, present in approximately 90 countries. We deliver an innovative, science-based portfolio of premium flagship brands and services that span the full spectrum of the fast-growing dermatology market through Injectable Aesthetics, Dermatological Skincare and Therapeutic Dermatology. Since our foundation in 1981, we have dedicated our focus and passion to the human body's largest organ the skin meeting individual consumer and patient needs with superior outcomes in partnership with healthcare professionals. Because we understand that the skin we are in shapes our lives, we are advancing dermatology for every skin story. For more information: www.galderma.com References Sculptra. EU Instructions for Use. 2021. Widgerow A, et al. A randomized, comparative study describing the gene signatures of Poly-L-Lactic Acid (PLLA-SCA) and Calcium Hydroxylapaptite (CaHA) in the treatment of nasolabial folds. Poster presented at IMCAS World Congress, February 1-3, 2024, Paris, France. Zhang Y, et al. In vivo inducing collagen regeneration of biodegradable polymer microspheres. Regen Biomater. 2021;8(5):rbab042. doi: 10.1093/rb/rbab042. Huth S, et al. Molecular Insights into the effects of PLLA_SCA on Gene Expression. J Drugs Dermatol. 2024;23(4):285-288. doi: 10.36849/JDD.7791. Fabi S, et al. Effectiveness and safety of correction of cheek wrinkles using a biostimulatory poly-L-lactic acid injectable implant Clinical study data up to 24 months. Poster presented at the IMCAS World Congress. 26-28 January 2023. Paris, France. Brandt FS, et al. Investigator global evaluations of efficacy of injectable poly-L-lactic acid versus human collagen in the correction of nasolabial fold wrinkles. Aesthet Surg J. 2011;31(5):521-8. Narins RS, et al. A randomized study of the efficacy and safety of injectable poly-L-lactic acid versus human-based collagen implant in the treatment of nasolabial fold wrinkles. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010;62(3):448-62. Galderma. Data on File (MA-47133). Mu X, et al. 12-Month Effectiveness and Safety of PLLA Treatment of Midface in Chinese Subjects: A Multicenter, Randomized, No-Treatment Controlled Study. Presented at AMWC. March 30 to April 1, 2023. Monte-Carlo, Monaco. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sculptra summary of safety and effectiveness data. Available online. Accessed April 2025. Zhang S and Duan E. Fighting against Skin Aging: The Way from Bench to Bedside. Cell Transplant. 2018;27(5):729-738. doi: 10.1177/0963689717725755. Asius J, et al. Inventors. US patent US 7,731,758 B2.2010. Available online. Accessed April 2025. Morgan P, et al. Product Manufacturing Process for Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA-SCA). Poster presented at IMCAS World Congress, January 26-28, 2023, Paris, France. Galderma. Data on File (MA-53568). Hexsel D, et al. Introducing the L-Lift-A Novel Approach to Treat Age-Related Facial Skin Ptosis Using A Collagen Stimulator. Dermatol Surg. 2020;46(8):1122-1124. doi:10.1097/DSS.0000000000002015. Fabi S, et al. A multi-center, retrospective, chart review to evaluate the safety of poly-L-lactic acid injectable implant when used in non-facial areas. Poster presented at IMCAS World Congress, January 26-28, 2023, Paris, France. Kwon SH, et al. Experiences and attitudes toward aesthetic procedures in East Asia: a cross-sectional survey of five geographical regions. Arch Plast Surg. 2021;48(6):660-669. doi: 10.5999/aps.2020.02565. Deloitte. China Aesthetic Medicine Outlook Report. Accessed April 2025. Available online. Bohnert K, et al. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2019;45(5):718-24. Valantin MA, et al. Polylactic acid implants (New-Fill) to correct facial lipoatrophy in HIV-infected patients: results of the open-label study VEGA. AIDS. 2003;17(17):2471-7. doi: 10.1097/00002030-200311210-00009. Redaelli A et al. European Expert Recommendations on the Use of Injectable Poly-L-Lactic Acid for Facial Rejuvenation. JDD. 2014;13(9):1057-1066. Palm M et al. A Randomized Study on PLLA Using Higher Dilution Volume and Immediate Use Following Reconstitution. J Drugs Dermatol. 2021;20(7):760-766. doi: 10.36849/JDD.6034. Avelar LE and Haddad A. Facial assessment for poly-l-lactic acid application-One product, different outcomes. J of Derm Cos. 2023;7,3. doi: 10.15406/jdc.2023.07.00239. Snyder A, et al. Sculptra-History and how it is best used today. Derm Reviews. 2023;4(3). doi: 10.1002/der2.186. Galderma. Annual Report 2024. Available online. Accessed April 2025 Aesthetics Today. Chinese Beauty Industry Trends in 2023. Available online. Accessed April 2025 Rayess HM et al. A Cross-sectional Analysis of Adverse Events and Litigation for Injectable Fillers. JAMA Facial. Plast Surg. 2018;20(3):207-214. doi: 10.1001/jamafacial.2017.1888. Shuster S, et al. The influence of age and sex on skin thickness, skin collagen and density. Br J Dermatol. 1975;93(6):639-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1975.tb05113.x. Zarbafian M, et al. The emerging field of regenerative aesthetics-where we are now. Dermatol Surg. 2022;48: 101-108. doi: 10.1097/DSS.0000000000003239. Goldberg D, et al. Single-arm study for the characterization of human tissue response to injectable poly-L-lactic acid. Dermatol Surg. 2013;39:915-22. Waibel J, et al. Gene Analysis of Biostimulators: PLLA-SCA Triggers Regenerative Morphogenesis while CaHA-R Induces Inflammation upon Facial Injection. Poster presented at ASDS 2024, October 17-20, 2024, Orlando, Floria, United States. Waibel J, et al. Bulk RNA-seq Analysis of Poly-L-Lactic Acid (PLLA-SCA) vs Calcium Hydroxyapetite (CaHA-R) Reveals a Novel, Adipocyte Mediated Regenerative Mechanism of Action Unique to PLLA. Poster presented at ASDS 2024 Annual Meeting, October 17-20, 2024, Orlando, Floria, United States. Haddad S, et al. Evaluation of the biostimulatory effects and the level of neocollagenesis of dermal fillers: a review. Int J Dermatol. 2022;61:1284-1288. doi: 10.1111/ijd.16229. Vleggaar D, et al. Consensus recommendations on the use of injectable poly-L-lactic-acid for facial and nonfacial volumization. J Drugs Dermatol 2014;13(4 Suppl):s44-s51. Fabi S, et al. 24-month clinical trial data on effectiveness and safety after correction of cheek wrinkles using a biostimulatory poly-L-lactic acid injectable implant. Poster presented at AMWC, March 30 April 1, 2023, Monaco. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250414954037/en/ Contacts: For further information: Christian Marcoux, M.Sc. Chief Communications Officer christian.marcoux@galderma.com +41 76 315 26 50 Richard Harbinson Corporate Communications Director richard.harbinson@galderma.com +41 76 210 60 62 Celine Buguet Franchises and R&D Communications Director celine.buguet@galderma.com +41 76 249 90 87 Emil Ivanov Head of Strategy, Investor Relations, and ESG emil.ivanov@galderma.com +41 21 642 78 12 Jessica Cohen Investor Relations and Strategy Director jessica.cohen@galderma.com +41 21 642 76 43 GS1 Healthcare celebrates 20 years advancing healthcare digitalisation with a series of events throughout the year The GS1 DataMatrix barcode is recommended or mandated in healthcare regulations across more than 70 countries Twenty years ago, GS1 expanded barcode technology into healthcare, revolutionising how medical products are tracked and identified and extending its use to standardise the identification of patients, locations, assets, and more. Originally launched in the retail sector in the 1970s, the barcode has simplified processes and enhanced efficiency across the healthcare industry. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250414850444/en/ GS1 Healthcare 20 years campaign key visual GS1 barcodes have become indispensable in global healthcare supply chains. From giving time back to patient care by streamlining inventory management, to enabling unique identification of medicines and medical devices, these barcodes have laid the foundations for safer, smarter care. "The journey of barcodes in healthcare began when regulators sought a reliable and smart way to identify and track medical products. GS1 provided the right technology-an innovation as simple as a barcode scan," said Renaud de Barbuat, President and CEO of GS1. "Over the past two decades, GS1 barcodes have transformed healthcare systems, creating a ripple effect that ultimately benefits patients worldwide." Regulators rely on GS1 standards to ensure globally harmonised traceability of medical products. Today, the GS1 DataMatrix barcode is recommended or mandated in healthcare regulations across more than 70 countries. With over 16.5 billion medicine packs in the U.S. and EU alone carrying GS1 DataMatrix barcodes annually, the system has become a cornerstone of global healthcare. Making patients safer every day Barcodes in healthcare are making a difference for millions globally. In the UK for instance, a report commissioned by the Scan4safety initiative found that the use of GS1 barcodes led to a 76% reduction in medical errors, eliminating mistakes related to the wrong patient, drug, or dosage. Scanning GS1 DataMatrix barcodes allows healthcare professionals to verify the correct medication, dose, and patient in real time. In operating rooms, barcodes help track surgical instruments, so all tools are sterilised and accounted for before and after surgery, reducing risks for patients. "For two decades, GS1 barcodes have been an indispensable guardian of patient safety", said Susan Moffatt-Bruce (MD), President of Lahey Hospital Medical Centre (US). "By powering the efficient sharing of data, barcodes help healthcare providers make informed decisions that prevent errors and improve care". Additionally, GS1 barcodes support fighting counterfeit medicines. The WHO estimates that 1 in 10 medicines globally are substandard or falsified. GS1 barcodes ensure that medicines can be tracked and traced at every stage-from manufacturer to patient-making it easier to detect fake drugs or to report adverse events swiftly across the world. A year of celebrations to mark 20 years of GS1 standards in healthcare To mark the 20th anniversary milestone, GS1 has announced that the 40th GS1 Healthcare Global Conference will take place in Brussels from 4 to 6 November 2025. This flagship event will bring together global healthcare leaders, regulators, and industry stakeholders to celebrate two decades of progress and collaboration. Held as the culmination of a year-long series of local events, the conference will spotlight the critical role of global standards in driving digitaltransformationpatientsafetyandsupplychainresilience across the healthcare sector. The future of safer, smarter care GS1 Healthcare looks to the future with a clear mission: to make safer, smarter care accessible to everyone, everywhere. GS1 is working with leading global technology companies to ensure barcodes on medical products can be scanned by patients with their smartphones, giving instant access to critical information about treatments-all in one simple scan. "For over a decade, we've been using GS1 barcodes to help us share patient data to enable digital innovation in the Australian healthcare system. I imagine a world in the future where all data can move seamlessly from point A to point B without any manual intervention", said Peter O'Halloran, Chief Digital Officer for the Australian Digital Health Agency. A Call to Action This 20-year milestone is a celebration and a call to action to all healthcare stakeholders to join GS1 in building safer, smarter care for everyone, everywhere. About GS1 GS1 is a neutral, not-for-profit organisation that is best known for the barcode, named by the BBC as one of "the 50 things that made the world economy." GS1 standards improve the efficiency, safety and visibility of supply chains across physical and digital channels in 25 sectors. We enable organisations to identify, capture and share information seamlessly. Our scale and reach local Member Organisations in 118 countries, more than 2 million user companies and 10 billion transactions every day -ensure that GS1 standards create a common language that supports systems and processes across the globe. Find out more at www.gs1.org. About GS1 Healthcare GS1 Healthcare is a neutral and open community bringing together key healthcare stakeholders to develop and implement global standards. The development and implementation of GS1 standards is led by its users, a global community of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, group purchasing organisations, hospitals, pharmacies, logistics providers, solution providers, governmental and regulatory bodies, and trade associations. This collaborative network has been essential for the adoption of GS1 standards in healthcare. Members of GS1 Healthcare include more than 150 leading healthcare organisations worldwide. For more information, visit: https://www.gs1.org/industries/healthcare/gs1-healthcare-20th-anniversary View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250414850444/en/ Contacts: GS1 media contact Carlos Carnicero Urabayen carlos.carnicero@gs1.org +32 (0) 2788 7891 Dr. Max will implement VusionGroup's cutting-edge solutions in 1,000 stores across 6 countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Italy, Serbia, and Poland. April 15, 2025 - VusionGroup (VU- FR0010282822), the global leader in digitalization solutions for commerce, today announced a new roll-out with Dr. Max, one of the leading pharmacy chains in Europe, to deploy its state-of-the-art solutions throughout their stores across Europe. Dr. Max selected the VusionGroup solutions to digitalize their locations and create a connected store experience for both associates and customers. The leading pharmacy chain will benefit from the technology developed by the Group to increase sales and operational efficiency, while fostering a better experience for consumers. "VusionGroup's innovative solutions help us simplify and modernize how our pharmacies operate - from daily workflows to the way we engage with customers and patients. This partnership supports our ambition to lead the digital transformation of pharmacy care while reinforcing our strong position across Europe", comments Branislav Chmela, Group Retail Operation Officer , Dr. Max. "By combining greater efficiency with smarter tools, we're creating more space for our pharmacists to focus on what truly matters - providing personal, professional care." Dr Max's adoption of VusionGroup's advanced solutions marks a major step forward in digitalizing the pharmacy environment to better serve both customers and patients. With VusionCloud, pricing and promotional updates will be centrally managed and fully automated, reducing the need for manual tasks at the pharmacy level. This will allow pharmacy teams to focus more on professional care and meaningful customer interactions. At the same time, VusionCloud will provide Dr. Max with powerful tools to seamlessly manage and monitor its in-store connected devices, ensuring smoother daily operations and greater overall efficiency. "We are thrilled to partner with Dr. Max, the second-largest pharmacy chain in Europe, to support their digital transformation journey. The pharmacy sector is a pivotal focus of our strategic plan, as it strengthens our presence in Central and Eastern Europe. This collaboration underscores our commitment to transforming physical stores into efficient, intelligent, connected, and data-driven assets across EMEA," comments Sebastien Fourcy, SEVP EMEA, VusionGroup. The roll-out of VusionGroup's solutions at Dr. Max has already begun in 220 of its stores, and the target date for completion has been set for the end of 2026. Dr. Max will also benefit from the seamless integration of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) into the existing Cisco-Meraki wireless infrastructure across all its stores. Additionally, VusionGroup will be assisted by its value-added partner S&K that will support implementation and key technical services locally. About Dr. Max Dr. Max Group is the leading Central European pharmacy chain and one of the largest in Europe, committed to enhancing healthcare accessibility and quality across the continent. With a presence in 17 countries, over 3,000 pharmacies, and a team of 20,000 professionals, the group serves millions of customers by offering a wide range of pharmaceutical products, expert advice, and personalized care. Founded in 2004 and owned by Penta Investments, Dr. Max has grown rapidly through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion, becoming the second-largest pharmacy group in Europe. Beyond retail, the company operates an extensive e-shop with more than 30,000 products, as well as wholesale distribution, private label development, and healthcare services, ensuring a seamless omnichannel experience. Dr. Max prioritizes innovation and customer-centric solutions, continuously adapting to meet evolving healthcare needs. With a strong commitment to affordability and quality, the company provides accessible medicines and value-driven healthcare solutions, reinforcing its mission to be the first choice when it comes to care. www.drmax.eu About VusionGroup VusionGroup is the global leader in the digitalization solutions for commerce, serving over 350 large retailer groups around the world in Europe, Asia and North America. The Group develops technologies that create a positive impact on society by enabling sustainable and human-centered commerce. By leveraging our IoT & Data technologies, we empower retailers to re-imagine their physical stores into efficient, intelligent, connected, and data-driven assets. We unlock higher economic performance, facilitate seamless collaboration across the value chain, enhance the shopping experience, create better jobs, cultivate healthier communities, and significantly reduce waste and carbon emissions. VusionGroup consist of six families of solutions, harnessing the full potential of IoT, Cloud, Data, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, at the service of the modernization of commerce: SESimagotag (ESL & Digital Shelf Systems), VusionCloud, Captana (computer vision and artificial intelligence platform), Memory (data analytics), Engage (retail media and in-store advertising), and PDidigital (logistics and industrial solutions). VusionGroup supports the United Nations' Global Compact initiative and has received in 2023 the Platinum Sustainability Rating from EcoVadis, the world's reference of business sustainability ratings. VusionGroup is listed in compartment A of Euronext Paris and member of the SBF120 Index. Ticker: VU - ISIN code: FR0010282822 - Reuters: VU.FP - Bloomberg: VU www.vusion.com Investor Relations: Olivier Gernandt - olivier.gernandt@vusion.com Press Contact: Publicis Consultants - vusiongroup@publicisconsultants.com ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: xmqcY8abY5jFyZ1rk5huaWlnmptqlmCamGaXm2OdZZydmJqRmJqVa5ydZnJilWds - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-91026-vusiongroup_drmax_pr_en_2.pdf DUBAI, UAE, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At the recent Middle East Energy (MEE) Dubai 2025, BLUETTI, a global leader in clean energy solutions, stole the show with its latest innovations in energy storage. The company's EP2000 high-voltage Energy Storage System and a rich lineup of portable power solutions attracted widespread interest from industry professionals and business decision-makers. The BLUETTI booth attracted a significant crowd, with countless attendees exploring its innovative energy storage solutions. The groundbreaking EP2000 was a highlight during live demonstrations. Designed for both residential and commercial use, this modular system offers an expandable capacity of up to 150kWh and a powerful 60kW output. Visitors praised its adaptability across various applications, spanning off-grid homes, convenience stores, warehouses, and medical facilities. Beyond the EP2000 ESS, BLUETTI's portable power stations captivated a large audience. Models such as the AC50P and AC70P were presented as compact mobile power sources for outdoor enthusiasts and small business owners. They can recharge phones, lights, car fridges, portable fans, and small appliances, ideal for camping, remote worksites, and mobile businesses. The original Handfree Series impressed visitors loving hiking and photographing, seamlessly integrating a lightweight power station with a multifunctional outdoor backpack. The Premium200V2 and AC200PL also stood out as powerful backup solutions for villas, restaurants, and medical institutions. They deliver robust uninterrupted power to keep fridges, freezers, data storage devices, and medical equipment running during power interruptions. BLUETTI's diverse product lineups along with its expertise facilitated multiple collaboration opportunities. At the event, several local distributors and retailers forged strategic partnerships with BLUETTI, bolstering its expansion in the Middle East market. BLUETTI extends its sincere appreciation to all visitors, partners, and industry experts who contributed to the success of its exhibition at MEE 2025. As the company continues its mission to revolutionize energy storage, it remains dedicated to providing smarter, more efficient, and sustainable energy solutions worldwide. For more information and updates, visit BLUETTI's official website and follow BLUETTI on social media. About BLUETTI As a technology pioneer in clean energy, BLUETTI is committed to a sustainable future by providing affordable green energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use. With a strong focus on innovation and customer needs, BLUETTI has established itself as a trusted industry leader in over 110 countries and regions. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664921/20250415___1920X1080_MEE.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2637648/logo_bluetti_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bluettis-ep2000-ess-and-portable-power-solutions-shine-at-mee-2025-302428476.html 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! Purcell adopts an innovative digital procurement solution ProcurePro, setting the pace for innovation in Ireland's construction sector DUBLIN, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Purcell, one of Ireland's leading building contractors, is set to be the first in the country to implement ProcurePro, a modern construction procurement solution, digitising their procurement process end-to-end. Purcell is taking the lead in transforming how procurement is managed across the sector, setting a bold new precedent for the industry. Ireland's construction sector is in an ongoing struggle with outdated processes. When asked about the industry's readiness to digitise back in October, PJ Rudden, chair of Construction Innovation and Digital Adoption, replied, "The industry is coming with us, but it's slow." The truth is, digitalisation is happening across construction, onsite and offsite, but one area that hasn't developed past 1995 is procurement. Most firms would freely admit they still rely on inefficient spreadsheets and fragmented communication methods. As the sector faces growing pressure to improve project delivery times and manage complex supply chains more effectively, Purcell's move to digital procurement marks a pivotal shift towards greater efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness. According to the Construction Industry Forecast (CIS), Irish construction project growth is projected to increase by 6% in 2025, with a total value of 850 million for projects under 100 million. This growth presents both significant opportunities and challenges for Irish contractors, who must adapt to meet the rising demand for faster, more efficient project delivery. Purcell's embrace of digital procurement technology positions the company to capitalise on these opportunities while streamlining operations and reducing risk. "The construction industry in Ireland is at a crossroads," said Tom Whelan, Commercial Director, Purcell Construction. "To remain competitive and deliver projects more effectively, we knew we had to embrace innovation. Digital procurement isn't just a trend - it's a necessity. We're leading by example, showing that contractors can stay ahead by moving away from outdated methods to smarter, more streamlined solutions like ProcurePro." Purcell's adoption of digital procurement technology improves operational efficiency, reduces risk, and enhances visibility over every step of the procurement process. This move brings procurement processes in line with the expectations of a modern construction industry - smarter, data-driven solutions that help contractors navigate a rapidly changing landscape. Purcell's leadership in digital procurement will likely serve as a catalyst for other Irish contractors, setting the stage for widespread adoption of digital tools across the sector. With project timelines shrinking and competition intensifying, the Irish construction industry is primed for a digital transformation, and Purcell is at the forefront of that change. "Purcell's decision to lead the way in digitising their procurement processes will undoubtedly inspire other Irish contractors to follow suit," said Alastair Blenkin, Founder & CEO, ProcurePro. "This is a defining moment for the industry - innovation like this will drive efficiencies that benefit not just contractors, but also their clients, supply chains, and the wider economy." Purcell's commitment to digital procurement is a crucial step in ensuring Ireland remains competitive in the global construction market. As more contractors follow Purcell's lead, digital procurement will surely become the standard across the Irish construction industry. About Purcell Purcell Construction is a leading Irish building contractor, delivering high-quality projects from its offices in Galway and Dublin. Known for its strong commitment to safety, quality, and sustainability, the company has earned a reputation for exceeding client expectations across sectors including commercial, education, healthcare, and residential. About ProcurePro ProcurePro is The Procurement Software for the Construction Industry, helping Head Contractors compare, select, approve and contract Subcontractors on a single platform. Procurement is mission-critical to the success of a project, but current methods are inefficient and expensive. ProcurePro solves this by transforming the procurement process enabling consistency, early risk identification and enhancing project profitability - double the quality while saving more than 50% of time spent procuring. Contact Emily Broom, emily.broom@procuerpro.co Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664982/Purcell_ProcurePro.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2522492/5194338/ProcurePro_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/purcell-leads-the-way-first-irish-contractor-to-adopt-digital-procurement-302428643.html The final phase of the refurbished Kansai International Airport (KIX) Terminal 1 has now opened to accommodate the millions of passengers expected to pass through the iconic building to attend World Expo in Osaka. Kansai Airports and global design firm Populous have been working for more than seven years to completely reimagine the airport's floor plan, bringing a new level of efficiency and experience for travellers to Japan's west. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250331282189/en/ KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT'S POPULOUS REDESIGNED TERMINAL 1 OPENS AHEAD OF WORLD EXPO 2025. The final phase of the refurbished Kansai International Airport (KIX) Terminal 1 has opened on 27 March 2025 to accommodate the millions of passengers expected to pass through the iconic building to attend World Expo in Osaka. Kansai Airports and global design firm Populous have been working for more than seven years to completely reimagine the airport's floor plan, bringing a new level of efficiency and experience for travellers to Japan's west. Populous Senior Principal and Director, Brett Wightman, said the original Kansai International Airport (KIX) Terminal 1 wanted to make the best possible use of the existing infrastructure and maximize commercial return for Kansai Airports. "Working closely with the facility operators, key stakeholders and end users, as well as expert retail and planning consultants, we have been able to craft a design that is built upon operational functionality, passenger convenience, accessibility and sustainability, while delivering innovative solutions that create an authentic and experiential environment with a clearly defined spirit of place," Mr Wightman said. The new Terminal 1 includes a 60% increase in the size of the international departure lounge and retail offerings, the introduction of innovative retail layouts based on passenger experiences, and the creation of a seamless processing experience. PHASED RENOVATION TO ALLOW FOR CONTINUED OPERATIONS Populous led the architecture and interior design of the redevelopment, as well overseeing the project throughout construction. Mr Wightman said, importantly, the design considered operational functionality during renovation. The project has been completed in four phases to allow for continued operations of the airport, which is expected to accommodate more than 40 million passengers a year from 2025 and almost double international capacity. In October 2022, KIX opened the new Phase 1 domestic area followed by the new international area. Phase 2 of the project was completed in December 2023, and included 6,650 square meters of additional airside retail outlets, 1,130 square meters of food and beverage space and a new centralized immigration area. The Populous team and Kansai Airports completed Phase 3 on March 27, 2025, allowing the consolidation and extension of the security screening area to be ready before World Expo 2025 begins in April in Osaka. PHASE 3 INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CHECKPOINT OPENS 27 MARCH 2025 Phase 3 includes faster, more comfortable and smoother security inspection with additional smart lanes capable of processing between 4,500 and 6,000 passengers an hour. The new queuing management system is the first of its kind in Japan, automatically controlling flapper gates to switch waiting lines by utilizing real-time passenger flow data. The system enables passengers to be automatically guided to the security inspection lanes based on the number of passengers and their flow. A new commercial area includes 13 stores across international departures, international arrivals and a street food court. The project has already been recognised for its architectural vision as a finalist in the 2023 World Architecture Festival Awards for Future Projects Infrastructure. Originally designed by world renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, the airport is considered an architectural icon. Regarded as part of the high-tech architecture movement of the 1990s, KIX's industrial design is famous for its asymmetrical clear-span sweeping aerofoil roofline. At 1.7km long, it is one of the longest airport passenger terminal buildings in the world. Principal Design Manager, Architect Jack Kato said the redesign had to respect the old while embracing new commercial opportunities for passengers. "We broke away from the former gray color scheme, reinvigorating the interior spaces with a palette of natural materials to give the terminal a distinctly Japanese feel, but at the same time we opened up areas like the relocated immigration hall to provide an open space reflecting the original architecture and offering an inspiring arrival experience to start each journey," Mr Kato said. "This will transform the arrival experience of each journey into something inspirational." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250331282189/en/ Contacts: Charlie Brooks Charlie.brooks@populous.com +44 7881268501 Wright co-founded the Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies and is a UNESCO AI Expert Without Borders. She brings deep experience in technology transactions and regulatory matters. LONDON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Emma Wright, a market leading lawyer representing prominent technology companies and governments on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, has joined Crowell & Moring U.K. LLP as a partner in its Privacy and Cybersecurity Group in London. Wright will advise clients on regulatory matters and complex technology procurements with a regulatory or government interface. Wright is co-founder and director of the Interparliamentary Forum on Emerging Technologies and an executive committee member of the global UNESCO Women4EthicalAI. Wright works with clients from all parts of the tech ecosystem in areas such as emerging AI and data regulation, cybersecurity and resilience, telecom and online safety regulation, and the rules governing technology procurement and foreign investment. Her practice encompasses complex commercial transactions and investments in the tech sector, and her experience includes advising on technology related to critical national infrastructure and procurement of multimillion-pound digital transformation projects. "It is a real pleasure to welcome Emma to our growing London office. Emma's practice encompasses both regulatory and transactional elements, and she is highly skilled at translating regulatory frameworks into commercial and practical advice. Her appointment is a strategic move which bolsters our global capabilities in emerging tech and enhances our London legal offering," said Robert Weekes, managing partner of the firm's London office and member of the firm's management board. Wright joins Crowell from Harbottle & Lewis, where she established and led the Technology, Data, and Digital Group. Prior to that role, she led the Government and Public Sector team for Deloitte Legal. Wright previously served as a policy advisor in the U.K. Government. "Emma is a proven leader in her field, and her move to Crowell enhances the global reach of our Privacy and Cybersecurity Group at a time when data protection and cyber issues are growing increasingly complex. We are delighted to welcome Emma to our team," said Jeffrey Poston, co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Privacy and Cybersecurity Group. Wright's move to Crowell is the third senior addition to its London Privacy and Cybersecurity Group in just over a year. In January, Clare Sellars joined as counsel, bringing more than 20 years of experience in data protection, privacy, IP, IT and commercial matters. Last year, the team added partner Rafi Azim-Khan, a leading advisor on data, digital, and e-commerce laws. The firm's Privacy and Cybersecurity Group has also made recent additions in the U.S., with the arrival of senior counsel Rita Heimes, former general counsel for the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and Justin B. Weiss, former associate general counsel for global technology investor Naspers. Wright commented: "Crowell's Privacy and Cybersecurity Group is among the most respected within the market. I look forward to working with my colleagues in London and across the firm to deliver a comprehensive offering to clients operating at the forefront of technological innovation." Wright is ranked as a leading partner in The Legal 500 and ranked in Chambers UK. She is listed by Computer Weekly as one of the Top 20 Most Influential Women in Tech. About Crowell & Moring Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia. Drawing on significant government, business, industry, and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex regulatory and policy, litigation, transactional, and intellectual property issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service, as well as its comprehensive programs and initiatives to advance the professional and personal development of all members of the Crowell community. Media Contact: Email: prteam@crowell.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2663058/Emma_Wright___Crowell_and_Moring.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1801193/Crowell_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/crowell--morings-london-office-adds-leading-ai-and-emerging-tech-partner-emma-wright-302427034.html utu launches a new program allowing tourists to gain up to 25% more value from their tourist refunds with vouchers valid for additional purchases in the same store The program kicks off with key partnerships with renowned merchants in Dubai's Gold Souk, which accounts for 30-35% of tourist refund volume in the UAE Anchor partner Thangals Jewellery is debuting the voucher program in eight stores across the UAE, with integration already planned for an additional 15 stores The initiative aligns with Dubai's long-term strategy to boost overall tourist spending and retail sales DUBAI, UAE, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel fintech utu today launched the region's first downtown tourist refund voucher program in Dubai's iconic Gold Souk. Alongside the existing method of receiving tax refunds in cash or to a credit card at the airport, tourists can now choose to convert their refunds into vouchers worth up to 25% more than the original refund amount. These vouchers are instantly accessible through utu's web app and redeemable in-store. Operating seamlessly alongside the UAE's mandated tourist refund process, utu's solution offers travelers an optional, immediate benefit without altering any official procedures. When making an initial purchase at participating Gold Souk stores, tourists can choose to purchase a higher-value voucher based on their tourist refund amount via a quick process on utu's web app, with guidance from store staff. While the program launches in the Gold Souk, it represents the first step in utu's broader vision to enhance tourist spending across the UAE's full retail ecosystem - both downtown and at the airport. Building on its partnership with global travel retailer Avolta in Milan, utu is working to extend its solution to serve more travelers across key retail touchpoints throughout the city. Once a purchase is made, a digital voucher is generated within seconds, allowing shoppers to increase their purchase value on the spot at that specific store. Tourists complete the standard tax refund validation process at the airport before departure as usual. The program is launching with select merchants in the historic Gold Souk market in Deira, a major international hub for gold and jewellery trading. Thangals Jewellery, a respected name in the Souk since 1974, is the anchor partner, debuting the utu system in eight stores in the initial launch phase with plans to roll out to an additional 15 stores including Dorrado by Thangals, its exclusive diamond section. Fazil Thangals, Chief Executive Officer of Thangals Jewellery, said: "utu's innovative voucher program gives tourists extra spending power immediately, encouraging larger basket sizes or entirely additional purchases while shopping in our stores. We expect this will significantly boost sales and contribute to Dubai's goal of higher tourist spending, while also enhancing the shopper experience and vibrancy of the Gold Souk, with Thangals leading the way." Asad Jumabhoy, Co-Founder and CEO of utu said: "This launch gives tourists more spending power while they are still enjoying Dubai, and in one of the world's most significant gold markets. By providing instant, in-store vouchers, we're creating a seamless way for shoppers to maximize their refunds on the spot while driving incremental sales for merchants. This approach not only enhances the shopping experience for travelers but also delivers clear benefits for our retail partners, and directly supports Dubai's aim of maximizing tourist spending, all while staying fully aligned with regulatory frameworks." With over 380 traders, the Gold Souk is a prime location for this initiative. Gold and jewellery purchases represent a substantial portion (30-35%) of the UAE's tourist refund volume, driven by the market's international appeal and high transaction values. Dubai welcomed almost 19 million overnight visitors in 2024 , making it one of the world's most-visited destinations. utu is pioneering a new approach in tourist retail by capturing the value typically lost when tourist refunds leave the country. By enabling shoppers to instantly access and spend this enhanced value with partner merchants before departure, utu is helping to create a more vibrant local retail community and is driving higher tourist spending within Dubai, enhancing its reputation as a world-class shopping destination. Media contacts Global Press office - Black Unicorn PR Alice Lam - alice@blackunicornpr.com About utu utu (pronounced "you-too") is creating a new category in global travel retail. By unlocking the value of tourist refunds worldwide, enabling immediate in-country spending, utu empowers travelers with more value while driving significant incremental sales for retailers, and contributing to a more dynamic retail ecosystem. With over 25 years of expertise in VAT and GST refunds worldwide, the utu management team is bridging the worlds of refunds and rewards, unlocking new value for travelers and retailers alike. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Singapore. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664883/UAE_signing_ceremony.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/utu-boosts-tourist-spending-power-with-new-tourist-refund-vouchers-in-dubais-gold-souk-302428705.html Ashtead Group Plc - Directorate Change PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, April 15 15 April 2025 Ashtead Group plc ("Ashtead") Directorate Change DIRECTORATE CHANGE Ashtead today announces that Lucinda Riches, who has been a member of the Board since 1 June 2016 and Chair of the Remuneration Committee since 11 September 2018, and Tanya Fratto who has been a member of the Board since 4 July 2016 will be stepping down at the next Annual General Meeting in September 2025, by which time they both will have served on the Board for nine years. Ashtead has commenced a search for their successors and a further announcement will be made in due course. Paul Walker, Chair of Ashtead, said: "I would like to take the opportunity to thank both Lucinda and Tanya for their contributions, which have been of considerable value to the Group." Enquiries: Ashtead Group Will Shaw +44 (0) 20 7726 9700 Maitland Sam Cartwright +44 (0) 20 7379 5151 Student Concerns About Use of AI in Education (64%) Outpace Academic Administrators and Educators OAKLAND, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Turnitin , a global leader in upholding academic integrity, released new survey findings on the state of AI in secondary and higher education. Sharing perspectives from students, educators and academic administrators across six countries, the survey highlights a demand for clear guidelines around ethical and responsible use, as well as a disconnect in how AI use is perceived - balancing positivity about its impact with concern regarding the potential for over-reliance, misuse and learning loss. "The risk of intentional misuse will always exist with generative AI. Transparency throughout the student writing process enables educators to leverage the opportunities that AI technologies present, while upholding the integrity of original student work," said Turnitin chief product officer, Annie Chechitelli. "Navigating a clear path forward means equipping educators with solutions to integrate AI in ways that preserve critical thinking skills, and prepare students for the demands of an AI-driven future." To encompass diverse perspectives across academia, Turnitin commissioned Vanson Bourne* to survey higher education students, as well as educators and academic administrators in secondary and higher education across Australia/New Zealand, India, Mexico, United Kingdom/Ireland, and the United States. "The research highlights a pivotal moment in academia," said David Gallichan, Business Strategy & Partnerships Lead at Vanson Bourne. "While there is clear optimism about AI's potential, there is also significant concern-particularly among students-about its misuse and the lack of preparedness." Key takeaways from Crossroads: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Academia. 64% of students worry about the use of AI within education, outpacing academic administrators and educators. Though educators (50%) and academic administrators (41%) surveyed are also worried about the use of AI in education, students expressed the greatest concern. For educators and students alike, overreliance on AI and potential loss of critical thinking skills were identified as top risks of AI use, while academic administrators listed data privacy and security breaches as one of their top concerns. 95% of academic administrators, educators, and students surveyed believe AI is being misused. Although 78% of all survey participants feel positive about the impacts that AI is having on education, 74% noted that the volume and availability of AI is overwhelming. Organizations may be expecting a future workforce that is AI-ready, but 67% of surveyed students feel they are shortcutting their learning by using AI. In addition to feeling they are shortcutting learning, 50% of students report not knowing how to get the most benefit from AI in their studies. Still, AI adoption and use remains high, with 70% of surveyed students reported that they use AI at least occasionally for their assignments. "AI use is not slowing down, so we have to create space for collaboration and transparency that allows everyone in education to embrace new technologies responsibly, recognizing them as the essential tools and competitive skill builders they can become," said Chechitelli. "AI use does not have to be at odds with academic integrity, but we must establish a clear distinction between using AI to enhance student learning, and over-reliance on AI that replaces authentic and original work." *Turnitin was a partner in providing compensation to conduct Vanson Bourne's research. **Download the full report - Crossroads: Navigating the Intersection of AI and Academia . Methodology Turnitin commissioned Vanson Bourne to survey a total of 3,500 respondents, including academic administrators (500), educators (500) and students (2,500) in August 2024, with interviews in Australia (350)/New Zealand (350), India (700), Mexico (700), U.K. / Ireland (700), and the U.S. (700). The academic administrators and educators were from both secondary (500) and higher education institutions (500), while students were from higher education institutions, studying both full time (2,064) and part time (436). The survey was conducted online using a rigorous multi-level screening process to ensure that only suitable candidates were given the opportunity to participate. About Turnitin Turnitin is a global company dedicated to ensuring the integrity of education and meaningfully improving learning outcomes. For more than 25 years, Turnitin has partnered with educational institutions to promote honesty, consistency, and fairness across all subject areas and assessment types. Over 16,000 customers in 185 countries use Turnitin solutions to uphold academic integrity, increase learning performance, and enable students and professionals to do their best, original work. About Vanson Bourne Vanson Bourne is an independent specialist in market research for the technology sector. Their reputation for robust and credible research-based analysis is founded upon rigorous research principles and their ability to seek the opinions of senior decision-makers across technical and business functions, in all business sectors and all major markets. www.vansonbourne.com . Press Contact: press@turnitin.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2001658/Turnitin_v1_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/turnitin-releases-new-findings-and-key-insights-from-focused-survey-on-impact-of-ai-in-education-302428330.html LISBON, Portugal, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Neglect is one of the most pervasive yet overlooked threats to a child's well-being. Unlike abandonment, neglect often goes unnoticed-leaving children trapped in cycles of chronic emotional harm, broken trust, and long-term developmental struggles. During a recent visit to SOS Children's Villages Portugal in Lisbon, Vantage Foundation met with Corporate Fundraising Coordinator Teresa Conceicao and Brand and Communication Lead Emerson Marques to discuss the organisation's 60-year commitment to protecting children who have suffered neglect, abandonment, or abuse. In Portugal, every 10 minutes, a child grows up without the support they need to thrive-many facing neglect that can span generations. Because neglect is less visible than other forms of harm, it often escapes intervention, leaving children to endure silent, long-lasting trauma. SOS Children's Villages Portugal works to break this cycle through prevention, protection, and advocacy, ensuring no child is left behind. Neglect is more than just the absence of care-it's a chronic erosion of trust, with devastating effects on mental health and development. Children who experience neglect often suffer from emotional distress, attachment issues and difficulties in forming healthy relationships. Without intervention, the cycle of neglect continues, trapping families in a generational struggle. SOS Children's Villages Portugal tackles neglect at its roots by strengthening families through education, mental health support, and emergency assistance. By addressing systemic challenges early, they help prevent family breakdowns and reduce the need for out-of-home care. When family separation is unavoidable, the organisation ensures that children receive high-quality care in a nurturing environment. This includes keeping siblings together, tailoring care to individual needs, and providing caregivers with specialised training in trauma-informed practices. They also advocate for stronger legal protections for young people transitioning out of care, ensuring they have the tools to build independent lives. Vantage Foundation recognises that ending neglect requires collaboration. By working with organisations like SOS Children's Villages, businesses, policymakers, and communities can amplify the voices of children in vulnerable situations-and help break the cycle of neglect within families. "Child neglect is a deep, invisible, and devastating issue," emphasises Emerson Marques, Brand and Communication Lead at SOS Children's Villages Portugal. "The more silent it is, the more dangerous it becomes. Sharing this message is essential to breaking the cycle-we need more people to know, care, and join this cause. Only then can we ensure that no child grows up without the love, respect, and safety they deserve." "The work of SOS Children's Villages Portugal is truly inspiring," said Steven, Executive Director of Vantage Foundation. "It is a testament to what's possible when we prioritise children's futures and reinforce the importance of collective action. Neglect is a silent crisis-but together, we can bring it out of the shadows and create real change." By confronting neglect head-on, we can build a world where every child grows up with love, respect, and safety. This initiative is part of Vantage Foundation's ongoing commitment to empowering vulnerable communities. To learn more about SOS Children's Villages Portugal, visit https://www.aldeias-sos.org/ . About Vantage Foundation Vantage Foundation is an independent charitable organization launched at the McLaren Technology Centre in the UK in 2023. The foundation has partnered with organisations worldwide, including Grab Indonesia, the iREDE Foundation in Nigeria, Teach For Malaysia, and Instituto Claret in Brazil, to drive impactful social initiatives. For more information, please visit www.vantage.foundation Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664835/Vantage_Foundation_Visits_SOS_Children_s_Villages_Portugal_Addressing_Neglect_Breaking.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664836/Vantage_Foundation_Visits_SOS_Children_s_Villages_Portugal_Addressing_Neglect_Breaking_1.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2299654/Vantage_Foundation_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/vantage-foundation-visits-sos-childrens-villages-portugal-addressing-neglect-and-breaking-the-cycle-302428621.html Paul Holmes, Lord Evans of Sealand, WCFA President Maxim Behar, Mary Beth West, Catherine Blades and many others spoke of what they called it "Global communications event of the year" DAVOS, Switzerland, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Communications Forum Association (WCFA) successfully concluded the Davos Communications Summit & Awards 2025, held on April 10-11 at the Davos Congress Centre in Davos, Switzerland. The two-day event gathered nearly 100 senior communication professionals, CEOs, policy advisors, and academics from over 20 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. The program featured a diverse range of speakers addressing critical topics such as AI integration, trust in public institutions, values-driven leadership, and the evolving role of PR in politics and business. Keynote speeches were delivered by Paul Holmes, founder of PRovoke Media, Lord Evans of Sealand, former General Secretary of the UK Labour Party, and Mary Beth West, a senior strategist and communications ethicist. WCFA President Maxim Behar summed it up perfectly: "This event didn't just reflect where the communications industry is today, but also where we're heading. From digital transformation to future trends and AI, we've just seen the beginning of what will define the next decade. We're already looking ahead to the next edition of Davos Communications Summit in April 2026, where more brilliant minds will come together to explore the future and how we can shape, lead, and master the digital landscape." Paul Holmes emphasized that public relations are no longer just about crafting messages or managing media - it's about helping organizations see what's coming and prepare for it. That means developing new skills: understanding global issues, advising leaders during difficult moments, and helping companies protect their reputations in a world that moves fast. He warned that tools like AI might make everyday tasks easier but could also weaken critical thinking - something PR professionals can't afford to lose. Lord Evans of Sealand, current senior advisor to the Progressive Policy Institute and House of Lords member, focused on how influence is built through the alignment of values and identity. Referencing the "funnel of causality," he argued that decisions - whether political or corporate - are shaped by a wide range of factors, from cultural conditions and social loyalty to personal beliefs. He stressed that communicators must engage people where their values live, not just where campaigns are visible. The summit tackled some of the most urgent challenges facing the communications profession today - particularly the tension between narrative control and ethical responsibility in a polarized world. Mary Beth West offered a compelling reflection on the dangers of narrowing public discourse. She emphasized that protecting ideological diversity is essential to maintaining trust, warning against the growing tendency to label dissent as misinformation. The event also featured six panel discussions, led by industry experts Stuart Bruce (Purposeful Relations, UK), Mike Southon (The Beermat Entrepreneur, UK), Guntram Kaiser (KaiserCommunication GmbH, Germany), Catherine Hernandez-Blades, Independent Board Director, and Tatevik Simonian (SPRING PR, Amrenia), with over 30 speakers exploring topics such as AI, political messaging, crisis communication, digital marketing, and culturally tailored PR strategies. Day one included contributions from Sanjiv Winayak (Milk & Honey PR, UK), Kateryna Doroshevska (BECOME PR, Ukraine), Sophie Reymond (SRPR, Switzerland), Diego Biasi (BPRESS, Italy), Iryna Zolotarevych (Advisor to the Minister of Social Policy, Ukraine), Melissa Buch (Brandbuch, Switzerland), and Lima Alhawamdeh (AIWIZ Digital Marketing, UK). On day two, panelists such as Laura Baxter (Castle Mount Media, Germany), Mihael Cigler (MC Public Affairs, Slovenia), Veronique Haller (furrerhugi, Switzerland), Rodrigue Soffo (RS Intelligence & Lobbying, Cameroon), Katja Fasink (key7 Communications, Slovenia), Syed Bukhari (American University of Sharjah, UAE), Andre Williams (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA), and Barbel Hestert-Vecoli (Edelman, Germany) offered insight on political and crisis communications. The final panel focused on regional adaptation strategies with Thabisile Phumo (Sibanye-Stillwater, South Africa), Chetna Krishna (CERN, Switzerland), Viroslava Novosylna (Slova Tech PR, Ukraine), Lebo Madiba (PR Powerhouse, South Africa), and Kobi H. Osisiadan-Bekoe (Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center of Excellence, Ghana). The event also welcomed WCFA Controller Mina Nazari, who serves as Public Relations Manager at Tabriz Power Distribution Company (Iran). On the evening of April 10, the summit hosted the first in-person Davos Communications Awards Gala, recognizing excellence across 24 categories in strategic communications. A complete list of winners is available here: davosawards.com. In a historic first, Lord Evans of Sealand and Paul Holmes were inducted into the WCFA Hall of Fame, recognizing their contributions to the global communications industry. The United PR Association of Ukraine, led by Sergii Bidenko, was also honoured for its outstanding work in wartime conditions. The Davos Communications Summit & Awards 2025 is in cooperation with the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and is proudly supported by The PREthics Community as the gold sponsor and Brain 4 Strategy as the silver sponsor. The official media partner is PR Newswire, part of Cision Group Ltd. For further information, images, or access to speakers and award winners, please contact: mainoffice@wcfaglobal.com. About World Communications Forum: Founded in 2010 in Davos, Switzerland, the World Communications Forum Association is a premier global platform for networking, knowledge exchange, and industry development, focused on upgrading its members' expertise and to be an active voice in business, society and politics. WCFA's flagship event, the World Communications Forum, has been hosted in major cities worldwide, including Istanbul, Prague, Moscow, New York City, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Mexico City, Lusaka, Cape Town, and Geneva. In 2020, the association launched the Global Communications Summit on Zoom, bringing together over 450 global experts to establish the Tenets for Ethical Communications, endorsed by 135 industry leaders from 36 countries. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2666498/WCFA_Davos_Congress_Centre.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2633362/5268498/WCFA_Logo.jpg For more information, contact: Maxim Behar, WCFA President mainoffice@wcfaglobal.com +359 888 50 31 13 www.wcfaglobal.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/davos-communications-summit-drafted-the-trends-of-modern-pr-and-digital-business-for-the-next-decade-302428726.html Port Jefferson, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - 365 Airport Transfer, a fully licensed and certified car and limousine service operating throughout New York City, has announced the latest upgrade to its high-end fleet: the inclusion of the 2026 Cadillac Escalade and 2026 Chevrolet Suburban. These next-generation vehicles bring a host of passenger-focused enhancements, reaffirming the company's commitment to providing elevated comfort, convenience, and consistency across every journey. 365 Airport Transfer Introduces 2026 Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Suburban to Elevate Passenger Experience To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10740/248063_190cda23f42fbb88_001full.jpg With increased demand for dependable, premium ground mobility, the integration of these 2026 models marks a strategic step forward for 365 Airport Transfer in meeting the evolving needs of clients ranging from airport travelers to corporate delegations. Both vehicles have been selected for their ability to enhance the in-cabin experience through practical comfort and thoughtful design. The 2026 Cadillac Escalade offers expanded third-row accommodations as standard, delivering increased legroom and headroom for rear passengers. The cabin features multi-zone climate control and a panoramic fixed glass roof, available in select trims, which contribute to a quiet and spacious environment. In parallel, the 2026 Chevrolet Suburban includes tri-zone automatic climate control and multiple USB charging ports across all seating rows. These standard features help ensure consistent connectivity and comfort for passengers throughout the ride. With roomy seating for up to nine and a reengineered platform that prioritizes ride quality, the Suburban remains a preferred choice for group outings and New York City airport transfers. "This expansion reflects our long-standing mission to set a higher benchmark in ground transportation," said Wajid Iqbal, owner of 365 Airport Transfer. "Clients expect reliability and comfort. These vehicle additions deliver on both." 365 Airport Transfer expands its premium fleet To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10740/248063_190cda23f42fbb88_002full.jpg The move comes at a time when expectations for luxury and adaptability in the car service sector are growing. By offering flexible booking options, 365 Airport Transfer makes these new vehicles available for both planned itineraries and last-minute arrangements. Whether servicing a business meeting in Manhattan, transportation to and from JFK, or car service to LaGuardia Airport, the company continues to provide refined rides built around passenger satisfaction. The introduction of these models is also supported by real-time vehicle tracking and weather-responsive routing, enabling chauffeurs to navigate complex traffic conditions across New York City and surrounding boroughs. Each chauffeur undergoes extensive training and background screening, ensuring a professional experience from start to finish. With 24/7 customer support and consistent investment in cutting-edge vehicles, 365 Airport Transfer strengthens its foothold as one of the most dependable names in the New York region. From Nassau County to Queens, from airport pickups to special events, the company's upgraded fleet signals its readiness to lead in a competitive ground transportation landscape. To learn more about 365 Airport Transfer's services or to book a ride, visit https://365airporttransfer.com. About 365 Airport Transfer: 365 Airport Transfer operates throughout New York City, providing licensed car and limousine services that prioritize safety, dependability, and client satisfaction. With an experienced team of professional chauffeurs and a fleet built around comfort and functionality, the company remains dedicated to enhancing every passenger experience. info@365airporttransfer.com Media Contact: SOURCE: GetFeatured Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Canadian Copper Inc. (CSE: CCI) ("Canadian Copper" or the "Company") announces that it has closed its non-brokered, flow-through share offering (the "FT Offering") consisting of 2,710,517 flow-through shares (the "FT Shares") of the Company at a price of C$0.19 per FT Share for aggregate gross proceeds of $515,000. There were no warrants as part of this financing. Simon Quick, CEO of Canadian Copper, stated, "We would like to simultaneously thank and welcome a new small group of strategic shareholders to Canadian Copper. This flow-through placement did not utilize a flow-through fund, and these investors share our view that the Bathurst Camp of New Brunswick remains both prospective for exploration and is also a top tier jurisdiction to develop new Canadian mines. With this raise now closed, we are excited to start working on the Murray Brook East property." The Notice of Planned Work ("NPW") was submitted to the New Brunswick Government on April 8th, 2025. The current program will consist of: 1) Prospecting and geologic mapping; 2) Excavation of up to 14 trenches ranging from 2 - 20 meters wide by 50 - 300 meters long; 3) Several near surface drill holes to test known geochemical and geophysical targets. The purpose and use for this proposed funding are to advance the Murray Brook East Project which is located between the Murray Brook deposit and the Caribou Complex (Figure A). The program will start in Q2 2025 and include prospecting, trenching and drilling activity. Murray Brook East has a minimum spend requirement of ~$140,000 per year to maintain its good standing status. Our budgeted figure of ~$500,000 will satisfy carry over holding expenses because of Canadian Copper's transaction with Votorantim Metals Canada. The proceeds of the FT Offering will be used to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that qualify as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures" as both terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's projects in New Brunswick, Canada. The Company plans to incur Qualifying Expenditures on or before December 31, 2026 (or such other period as may be permissible under applicable tax legislation), and to renounce all the Qualifying Expenditures in favour of the subscribers of the FT Shares effective December 31, 2025. The Company paid 6% in finders fees associated with the FT Offering. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in the United States nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless registered under the 1933 Act and any applicable securities laws of any state of the United States or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements is available. Figure A: Murray Brook East Location To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9218/248407_552d4ed1f49e68c6_001full.jpg About Canadian Copper Inc. Canadian Copper is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company with a copper and base metals portfolio of historical resources and grassroots projects. The Company is focused on the prolific Bathurst Mining Camp (BMC) of New Brunswick, Canada. There are currently 104,981,836 shares issued and outstanding in the Company. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed FT Offering, proposed use of proceeds, market and regulatory approval, anticipated closing date for the FT Offering, future exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, 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. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, including the Company's option to acquire properties under the Puma Option Agreement, the proposed expenditures for exploration work thereon, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the CSE), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual management discussion and analysis for the year ended October 31, 2024 and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca. 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 presentation or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248407 SOURCE: Canadian Copper Inc. Melbourne, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Kincora Copper Limited (ASX: KCC) (TSXV: KCC) (Kincora or the Company) is pleased to advise shareholders and investors that it will host an briefing webinar following a major amendment to the Earn-in and Joint Venture Agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti plc ("AngloGold Ashanti") for a further and second joint venture in the Northern Junee-Narromine Belt of the Macquarie Arc supporting total expenditures of up to $100 million. The expanded partnership represents a significant milestone in Kincora's exploration and asset level partner strategy. Kincora's President & CEO, Sam Spring, will lead the briefing with a short presentation followed by an interactive Q&A session. Shareholders and interested investors are invited to attend the webinar and participate in the discussion. Registration is required - please see the details below. A replay will be made available for those registered and at: https://kincoracopper.com/interviews/. Investor Briefing Details: Australian Time Zones North American Time Zones Date: Thursday, 17 April Wednesday, 16 April Time: 11:00 am AEST | 9:00 am AWST 6:00 pm Pacific | 9:00 pm Eastern Format: Live webinar (online) with replay Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_McaP8yExQYGmMkFoC7iISw About Kincora Copper Limited Kincora Copper is dual listed on the ASX and TSX-V (ticker "KCC") and is an active explorer and project generator focused on new globally significant copper-gold discovery opportunities. The Company's portfolio includes district scale landholdings and scalable drill ready targets in both Australia and Mongolia's leading porphyry belts, the Macquarie Arc and Southern Gobi, respectively, and the historical Condobolin mining field in the southern section of the Cobar superbasin NSW. Kincora has adopted an asset level partner model for it's large-scale exploration stage porphyry projects and to date has unlocked over A$110 million of potential partner funding for eight earlier stage and/or non-core projects. Discussions are ongoing for further agreements for the Company's remaining four, and generally significantly more advanced and/or proximal to existing world-class mines, porphyry projects in NSW, including Fairholme, Jemalong, Trundle and Nyngan West. Kincora's ambition is to be the operator for exploration budgets of over A$10 million per annum for the porphyry portfolio providing sufficient project management fees for the Company to be self funding (covering G&A costs) and have partnerships with a diversified portfolio of industry leading producers/explorers. For more information please visit Kincora's website at www.kincoracopper.com. This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Kincora Copper Limited (ARBN 645 457 763) Forward-Looking Statements Certain information regarding Kincora contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-Looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Kincora believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Kincora cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Kincora currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and is subject to change after that date. Kincora does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) or the Australian Securities Exchange accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248529 SOURCE: Kincora Copper Limited KUKA Home, a world-renowned Chinese home furnishing brand, made a striking impression at this year's Milan Design Week. Showcasing a unique design philosophy that harmoniously blends Eastern wisdom with modern aesthetics and functionality, KUKA Home captivated audiences at one of the world's most prestigious design events-highlighting the creativity and growing influence of China's home furnishing industry. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250414373649/en/ From Milan to the World: KUKA HOME Highlights the Global Rise of Chinese Furnishing Power The event is being framed not merely as an installation presentation or product exhibition, but as a "cultural bridge program," underscoring its function in fostering cross-cultural exchanges that transcend traditional showcase models. By participating in Milan Design Week, KUKA Home is helping elevate Chinese creativity to the global stage, facilitating a mutual exchange of cultural and aesthetic perspectives between East and West. This shift signifies a transition from "Made in China" to "Designed by China." KUKA Home showcased its design-driven strategy through a series of impactful events. Collaborating with an acclaimed Chinese designer, the brand unveiled an art installation titled Gift, a poetic expression of harmony between humanity and nature-core tenets of Chinese design philosophy. This initiative exemplified KUKA Home's commitment to supporting Chinese designers on the global stage. Another highlight was the "Design Without Borders China Europe Design Talk," which brought together prominent designers from around the world to explore the fusion of Eastern and Western design trends. The event culminated in the launch of KUKA DESIGN, a bold new concept that embraces global collaboration to create better living experiences through design. KUKA Home also introduced standout high-end products: Moon Bay and Beloved One etc. Inspired by the phases of the moon, Moon Bay features elegant, wave-like backrest lines that evoke tranquility and spiritual comfort. Beloved One, crafted from ultra-thick premium cowhide with refined edge detailing, embodies understated luxury and exceptional craftsmanship. With its compelling presence in Milan, KUKA Home is proving that Chinese brands are not only manufacturing powerhouses but also leaders in global design innovation. By reinterpreting Oriental aesthetics with contemporary flair, KUKA Home is forging a bold new chapter for Chinese home furnishing on the world stage. Looking ahead, KUKA Home remains committed to enriching lives through design and continuing to explore new possibilities for a better, more beautiful future. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250414373649/en/ Contacts: KUKA Home Co., Ltd. www.kukahome.com Ruining Chang RuiyingZhang@kukahome.com Highlights: Meridian drills into a VMS pile hosting massive to semi-massive Cu-Au-Zn & Ag sulphides on the western edge of Santa Helena: CD-651: 33.4m @ 2.0g/t AuEq (1.4% CuEq) from 151.0m; Including: 13.1m @ 4.2g/t AuEq (2.8% CuEq) from 151.4m; 4.4m @ 6.5g/t AuEq (4.4% CuEq) from 214.0m; Santa Helena mine area infill drilling returns more shallow high-grade mineralization; CD-655: 9.9m @ 5.6g/t AuEq (3.7% CuEq) from 3.8m; Meridian announces discovery of "open" 2,200m copper-gold soil anomaly at Santa Fe and Potential for Santa Helena to be a second hub within the Cabacal belt strengthens. Meridian Mining UK S (TSX:MNO)(Frankfurt/Tradegate:2MM)(OTCQX:MRRDF) ("Meridian" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has drilled laterally into a VMS pile hosting Cu-Au-Zn & Ag massive to semi-massive sulphides on the western limit of the Santa Helena Au-Cu-Ag & Zn deposit "Santa Helena". CD-651 returned 33.4m @ 2.0g/t AuEq (1.4% CuEq) including 13.1m @ 4.2g/t AuEq (2.8% CuEq). Potential exists for further Cu-Zn-Au rich domains to the west, where it is considered open. Drilling continues and further results are pending. The Company is also announcing that its exploration team has defined a new Cu-Au and Zn discovery at Santa Fe ("Santa Fe"), 5km southeast of Santa Helena. Santa Fe hosts an open Cu-Au-Zn soil geochemical anomaly extending over 2,200m with a coincident Induced Polarization ("IP") anomaly. Further geophysical and surface mapping is ongoing with Santa Fe projected to be drill ready by late in Q2. Mr. Gilbert Clark, CEO, comments: "CD-651 returned multiple shallow layers of massive to semi-massive, and disseminated sulphides, hosting high-grades of Au-Cu-Ag & Zn mineralization starting at only 26m below surface. With CD-651's strong sulphides, it now makes the whole of the Santa Helena system resemble a string of precious and base metal pearls, just like the black smokers that create VMS deposits. The mineralization at both ends of Santa Helena remains open for extensions and more drilling is needed to close-off and in-fill this system. I believe that by combining this growth at Santa Helena with the exciting Santa Fe discovery the potential for a future second mining Hub centred on Santa Helena is apparent. This growth potential builds on the exceptional PFS results for Cabacal[1], and this is why Meridian's Cabacal project is Brazil's and South America's most prospective Cu-Au VMS belt." Santa Helena Drilling The Santa Helena drill program continues to build the resource potential of the western sector of the exploration target area, ("Figure 1"). New mineralization has been defined in areas where the VMS sheet had not previously been projected. CD-651's success in intercepting shallow semi-massive to massive high-grade VMS mineralization confirms that this western extension of Santa Helena's system is open, and more continuous than originally modelled ("Table 1"). Drilling from the 2024 campaign in this western extension had outlined a gold-rich shallow zone, with drill holes CD-539, CD-600, CD-605, and CD-612[2] outlining a mineralized position considered to be up to 15-17m thick. CD-651's further western extensions of this Au-Cu-Ag & Zn mineralization, importantly indicates that some of the historical holes stopped short of the mineralization or failed to fully assay the VMS horizon. It is apparent after reviewing the Company's recent drill results, that the previous interpretation of the Santa Helena western edge, limited the size of the deposit due to historical drill holes being too shallow (PM-26A) or being partially un-assayed (PM-25A) ("Figure 2"). In addition, Meridian's field validation checks suggested that one mineralized hole, JUCHD-056, was mislocated in the historical database. Meridian's continued success in intercepting high-grade Au-Cu-Ag & Zn mineralization, indicates a far stronger and open system than historically modelled. As a result of this success, additional drilling is needed to close off this western zone of Santa Helena's mineralization before a mineral resource can be estimated; this will now be later in H2, 2025. Figure 1: Santa Helena drilling highlights. Lateral drilling has continued at a low angle while the Company evaluates options to establish alternative platforms. Following adaptations to the drill rig, CD-651 extended further west than the Company's previous limits of drilling. The recent results of CD-651 have returned multiple zones of semi-massive to massive VMS mineralization: 41.2m @ 0.9g/t AuEq (0.6% CuEq) from 78.0m; Including: 5.1m @ 1.6g/t AuEq (1.1% CuEq) from 102.7m; 33.4m @ 2.0g/t AuEq (1.4% CuEq) from 151.0m; Including: 13.1m @ 4.2g/t AuEq (2.8% CuEq) from 151.4m; 4.4m @ 6.5g/t AuEq (4.4% CuEq) from 214.0m; Figure 2: Section showing Meridian drilling along CD-651 projection, in relation to historical drilling and historical mineralization envelope model. Black drill traces are un-assayed intervals, coloured traces indicate assayed intervals In addition, new results from drill holes in this western position include: CD-624: 73.7m @ 1.0g/t AuEq (0.7% CuEq) from 22.6m; Including: 22.4m @ 1.5g/t AuEq (1.0% CuEq) from 22.6m; CD-643: 30.3m @ 1.2g/t AuEq (0.8% CuEq ) from 66.4m; Including: 7.6m @ 2.5g/t AuEq (1.7% CuEq ) from 66.4m; CD-661: 46m @ 1.5g/t AuEq (1% CuEq ) from 2.0m Including 7.6m @ 2.6g/t AuEq (1.7% CuEq ) from 2.0m And 41.7m @ 0.9g/t AuEq (0.6% CuEq ) from 54.0m Metallurgical studies continue assessment of optimizing metal recovery from this and other geometallurgical domains. Drilling over the main sheet includes a combination of infill and verification drilling, where incomplete historical data has created uncertainty in the modelling approach. An angled hole, CD-618, was drilled where hole PM-10A terminated at 27.5m, having been sampled to 27.1m with some doubt as to whether it traversed the full layer. CD-618 intersected 2.9m @ 3.7g/t AuEq from 40.8m in the VMS position, with additional mineralization intercepted in the footwall positions, including 4.8m @ 1.6g/t AuEq (1.0% CuEq) from 54.4m. These may represent multiple exhalative positions or possibly sub-seafloor replacement, which may have potentially to strengthen. Two historical holes were twinned (JUCHD-100, JUCHD-112) where composites had been recorded but for which individual assays were lost, making the holes unsuitable for resource estimation. Twin holes returned: CD-655: 9.9m @ 5.6g/t AuEq (3.7% CuEq) from 3.8m; Including: 6.7m @ 7.5g/t AuEq (5.1% CuEq) from 6.0m; and CD-652: 7.0m @ 1.8g/t AuEq (1.2% CuEq) from 10.3m. The more complete data enables better modelling of the VMS horizon where the partial data implied a more restricted extent. Santa Fe Exploration Discovery Through the Company's regional exploration programs, a new target area in the southeast of the Cabacal Belt, Santa Fe, (" Figure 3") has returned multiple strong surface geochemical anomalies ("Figure 4"), in a position not defined by historical exploration campaigns. A soil survey grid extending over 2.2km has returned peak values of 547 ppm Cu, 2539 ppm Pb, 1135 ppm Zn, and 65 ppb Au. Alluvial cover constrains the geochemical effectiveness of the grid extensions. The area has limited exposure but subcrop and float characteristic of the chlorite-altered mine sequence succession were observed, with rock chips returning up to 0.40% Cu, 0.79g/t Au, 1.1g/t Ag, 0.38% Zn, 0.36% Pb & 47 ppm Bi (a strong pathfinder element for gold at Cabacal). The Company has completed 3 trenches for 292m to gather initial information on the basement structure in the central and southern sector of the area. The anomalous corridors align with west-dipping contacts between meta-volcanic and sedimentary rocks considered correlative with the mine sequence at Cabacal and Santa Helena. Geophysical programs have been ongoing to refine drill targets. Santa Fe is located ~ 5km southeast of Santa Helena. Figure 3: Newly located soil anomaly at Santa Fe, ~5km southeast of Santa Helena, marking a potential fold-repeat of the VMS stratigraphic horizon. Background image is RTP tilt-derivative magnetics. Figure 4: Copper-in soil geochemical response over Santa Fe, superimposed on a chargeability grid. Background image is RTP tilt-derivative magnetics. Technical Notes Samples have been analysed at ALS laboratory in Lima, Peru. Samples are dried, crushed with 70% passing 85% passing 200m. Routine gold analyses have been conducted by Au-AA24 (fire assay of a 50g charge with AAS finish). High-grade samples (>10g/t Au) are repeated with a gravimetric finish (Au-GRA22), and base metal analysis by methods ME-ICP61 and OG62 (four acid digest with ICP-AES finish). Visible gold intervals are sampled by metallic screen fire assay method Au-SCR21. Samples are held in the Company's secure facilities until dispatched and delivered by staff and commercial couriers to the laboratory. Pulps and coarse rejects are retained and returned to the Company for storage. The Company submits a range of quality control samples, including blanks and gold and polymetallic standards supplied by Rocklabs, ITAK and OREAS, supplementing laboratory quality control procedures. Approximately 5% of archived samples are sent for umpire laboratory analysis, including any lots exhibiting QAQC outliers after discussion with the laboratory. In BP Minerals sampling, gold was analysed historically by fire assay and base metals by three acid digest and ICP finish at the Nomos laboratory in Rio de Janeiro. Silver was analysed by aqua regia digest with an atomic absorption finish. True width is considered to be 70-90% of intersection width, except for low-angle holes CD-624, CD-643, CD-651 and CD-661 which are considered to be ~20% of true width. Assay figures and intervals are rounded to 1 decimal place. Gold equivalents for Santa Helena are based on metallurgical recoveries from the historical resource calculation, updated with pricing forecasts aligned with the Cabacal PEA. AuEq (g/t) = (Au(g/t) * 65%Recovery) + (1.492*Cu(%) * 89%Recovery) + (0.474*Zn% * 89%Recovery)) + (0.013*Ag(g/t) * 61%Recovery)). CuEq (%) = (Cu(%) * 89%Recovery) + (0.318*Zn% * 89%Recovery)) + (0.67*Au(g/t) * 65%Recovery) + (0.0087*Ag(g/t) * 61%Recovery)). Metallurgical testwork is currently in progress to evaluate recoveries in primary lithologies and saprolite, with formulas to be updated based on revised recoveries pricing. Induced polarization surveys have been conducted by the Company's in-house team utilizing its GDD GRx8-16c receiver and 5000W-2400-15A transmitter. Results are sent daily for processing and quality control to the Company's consultancy, Core Geophysics. Modelling of conductivity response is undertaken using industry-standard Maxwell software. Geophysical and geochemical exploration targets are preliminary in nature and not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit. Qualified Person Statement Mr. Erich Marques, B.Sc., FAIG, Chief Geologist of Meridian Mining and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, verified and approved the technical information in this news release. About Meridian Meridian Mining is focused on: The development and exploration of the advanced stage Cabacal VMS gold-copper project; The initial resource definition at the second higher-grade VMS asset at Santa Helena as the first stage of the Cabacal Hub development strategy; Regional scale exploration of the Cabacal VMS belt to expand the Cabacal Hub strategy; and Exploration in the Jauru & Araputanga Greenstone belts (the above all located in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil). The Pre-feasibility Study technical report (the "PFS Technical Report") dated March 31, 2025, entitled: "Cabacal Gold-Copper Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Pre-feasibility Study" outlines a base case after-tax NPV5 of USD 984 million and 61.2% IRR from a pre-production capital cost of USD 248 million, leading to capital repayment in 17 months (assuming metals price scenario of USD 2,119 per ounces of gold, USD 4.16 per pound of copper, and USD 26.89 per ounce of silver). Cabacal has a low All-in-Sustaining-Cost of USD 742 per ounce gold equivalent & production profile of 141,000 ounce gold equivalent life of mine, driven by high metallurgical recovery, a low life-of-mine strip ratio of 2.3:1, and the low operating cost environment of Brazil. The Cabacal Mineral Reserve estimate consists of Proven and Probable reserves of 41.7 million tonnes at 0.63g/t gold, 0.44% copper and 1.64g/t silver (at a 0.25 g/t gold equivalent cut-off grade). Readers are encouraged to read the PFS Technical Report in its entirety. The PFS Technical Report may be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at www.meridianmining.co The PFS Technical Report was prepared for the Company by Tommaso Roberto Raponi (P. Eng), Principal Metallurgist with Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC; Scott Elfen (P. E.), Global Lead Geotechnical and Civil Services with Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC; John Anthony McCartney, C.Geol., Ausenco Chile Ltda.; Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodriguez (Engineer Geologist FAIG), of GE21 Consultoria Mineral; Leonardo Soares (PGeo, MAIG), Senior Geological Consultant of GE21 Consultoria Mineral; Norman Lotter (Mineral Processing Engineer; P.Eng.), of Flowsheets Metallurgical Consulting Inc.; and, Juliano Felix de Lima (Engineer Geologist MAIG), of GE21 Consultoria Mineral. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Meridian Mining UK S Mr. Gilbert Clark - CEO and Director Meridian Mining UK S 8th Floor, 4 More London Riverside London SE1 2AU United Kingdom Email: info@meridianmining.co Ph: +1 778 715-6410 (BST) Stay up to date by subscribing for news alerts here: https://meridianmining.co/contact/ Follow Meridian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeridianMining Further information can be found at: www.meridianmining.co Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements for the purposes of applicable securities laws. These statements address future events and conditions and so involve inherent risks and uncertainties, as disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Meridian's most recent Annual Information Form filed on www.sedarplus.ca. While these factors and assumptions are considered reasonable by Meridian, in light of management's experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, Meridian can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Meridian disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or results or otherwise. Table 1: Assay Results from Santa Helena Drilling Hole-id Dip Azi EOH Zone Int AuEq CuEq Au Cu Ag Zn Pb From (m) (m) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (g/t) (%) (%) (m) CD-661 -21 280 95.7 SHM Subparallel Hole 46.0 1.5 1.0 0.6 0.7 5.6 0.4 0.9 2.0 Including 7.6 2.6 1.7 2.5 0.6 6.4 0.2 0.6 2.0 41.7 0.9 0.6 0.0 0.2 5.6 1.4 0.0 54.0 CD-655 -90 000 25.2 SHM 9.9 5.6 3.7 1.4 1.5 35.1 5.7 0.7 3.8 Including 8.1 6.6 4.4 1.6 1.8 41.1 6.9 0.8 5.6 Including 6.7 7.5 5.1 1.8 2.1 47.7 7.6 0.9 6.0 Including 1.6 11.6 7.8 3.4 4.2 83.8 7.5 1.0 8.2 CD-652 -90 000 35.5 SHM 6.7 0.3 0.2 0.0 0.1 3.2 0.3 0.1 0.9 7.0 1.8 1.2 0.3 0.6 40.5 1.4 0.8 10.3 Including 5.2 2.3 1.6 0.4 0.7 51.9 1.6 0.9 10.7 Including 2.3 3.7 2.5 0.3 1.6 68.9 2.1 1.6 10.7 CD-651 -21 295 231.1 SHM Subparallel Hole 41.2 0.9 0.6 0.3 0.1 10.9 1.0 0.5 78.0 Including 16.6 1.2 0.8 0.2 0.1 16.1 1.8 0.5 102.7 Including 5.1 1.6 1.1 0.4 0.1 15.2 2.8 0.8 102.7 2.4 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.1 16.8 0.6 0.2 132.0 3.0 1.0 0.7 0.2 0.1 16.2 1.4 0.6 140.0 33.4 2.0 1.4 0.3 0.3 24.4 3.1 0.7 151.0 Including 13.1 4.2 2.8 0.4 0.6 48.4 6.5 1.2 151.4 Including 5.9 5.7 3.8 0.5 0.7 65.2 9.2 1.8 151.4 Including 3.4 5.9 4.0 0.6 1.0 66.3 8.8 1.4 161.0 2.4 2.7 1.8 0.3 0.6 28.0 3.4 0.6 189.0 4.4 6.5 4.4 0.4 0.6 65.6 11.6 2.1 214.0 CD-644 -71 186 45.1 SHM 9.5 0.8 0.6 0.2 0.2 7.0 0.9 0.4 4.7 3.2 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.1 3.6 0.8 0.0 17.2 2.4 1.4 0.9 0.4 0.1 5.6 2.3 0.5 24.7 CD-643 -26 280 145.5 SHM Subparallel Hole 30.3 1.2 0.8 0.7 0.3 10.9 0.7 0.9 66.4 Including 7.6 2.5 1.7 2.0 0.5 23.8 0.8 2.5 66.4 CD-637 -90 000 71.0 SHM 0.9 1.7 1.2 0.4 0.7 11.2 1.0 0.1 31.2 2.9 1.7 1.1 0.2 0.2 11.8 2.9 0.5 43.2 1.1 1.7 1.1 0.6 0.1 20.1 2.5 1.2 50.7 CD-633 -21 009 119.3 SHM NSR CD-630 -66 315 85.9 SHM 1.5 0.8 0.5 0.1 0.0 7.1 1.5 0.4 70.4 0.5 1.4 0.9 0.0 0.3 5.7 2.4 0.3 75.2 CD-624 -21 290 140.3 SHM Subparallel Hole 73.7 1.0 0.7 0.3 0.4 8.9 0.7 0.3 22.6 Including 22.4 1.5 1.0 0.8 0.6 13.7 0.4 0.9 22.6 Including 15.5 1.8 1.2 1.0 0.6 14.2 0.4 1.0 22.6 Including 8.1 2.2 1.5 1.4 0.8 5.6 0.6 0.7 22.6 3.2 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.0 1.8 0.8 0.0 99.4 CD-621 -70 190 77.8 SHM NSR CD-618 -61 181 106.9 SHM 2.9 3.7 2.5 0.8 0.9 30.7 4.2 0.9 40.8 3.7 0.8 0.5 0.3 0.0 14.2 1.3 0.7 45.7 4.8 1.6 1.0 0.9 0.0 39.4 1.5 1.1 54.4 3.3 0.9 0.6 0.1 0.1 7.2 1.5 0.3 72.9 2.1 1.7 1.1 0.8 0.1 17.8 2.3 1.2 79.0 [1] Meridian Mining news release of March 10, 2025. [2]Meridian Mining news release of November 20th and December 16, 2024. SOURCE: Meridian Mining SE Elvictor Group, Inc. (OTC PINK:ELVG) ("Elvictor" or the "Company"), a leader in digitalized maritime crew management, today announced the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company also reiterated key developments and recent corporate milestones. The report details Elvictor's financial and operational performance, highlighting a year of stable revenues and a return to profitability. For 2024, the Company reported $2.4 million in revenue, with net income of $199,780, compared to a net loss of $222,727 in 2023, driven by improved cost control and operational efficiencies. Konstantinos Galanakis, CEO of Elvictor Group, commented: "We are pleased with our return to profitability in 2024, which reflects our commitment to operational discipline, digital transformation, and transparent governance. Last year marked a pivotal moment for us as we optimized our cost structure, initiated the deployment of a new AI-driven financial system, and laid the foundation for greater market visibility with our successful application to the OTC ID tier. We're excited about the opportunities ahead as we continue to modernize our operations and expand our presence in the market." The full report is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on the Company's website via EDGAR at www.elvictorgroup.com. About Elvictor Group, Inc. Elvictor Group, Inc. (OTC PINK:ELVG) is transforming the fragmented maritime industry through its fully digitalized crew and ship management platform designed to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. With a strategic focus on AI-driven workforce solutions, M&A-driven expansion, and cost-efficient vessel ownership, Elvictor is ushering in a new era of transparency in the shipping industry. For more information about Elvictor Group, please visit: https://www.elvictorgroup.com/, and follow us on LinkedIn. Investor and Media Contact: Investor Relations Jonathan.Paterson@harbor-access.com Tel +1 475 477 9401 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may be forward-looking statements or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. Such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions, future market conditions, unusual catastrophic loss events, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. The Company does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will the Company and its affiliates be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or for any related damages. SOURCE: Elvictor Group Inc. Redwire Corporation (NYSE:RDW), a leader in space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, announced today it has been awarded a contract from prime contractor Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales 67% and Leonardo 33%, to provide four docking mechanisms for the European Space Agency's habitation module for the lunar Gateway (the Lunar I-Hab). Redwire's wholly-owned Belgian subsidiary, Redwire Space NV, has been awarded the contract to deliver the International Berthing and Docking Mechanism (IBDM) for the Lunar I-Hab. The contract includes one active IBDM that will couple Lunar I-Hab to the rest of the Gateway; and three passive systems, which will be used as a docking port for other modules or visiting vehicles. The IBDM will enable safe transfers of crew and cargo, supporting continuous operations and missions within the Gateway lunar space station. The system incorporates advanced automation, precision alignment, and multiple redundancies to safeguard both the station and the crew aboard. "We are honored to be selected by Thales Alenia Space to provide this critical capability for the Lunar I-Hab module," said Mike Gold, President of Civil and International Space at Redwire. "With decades of flight heritage, Redwire Europe is thrilled to play a vital role developing organic capability as the European market pivots toward increased independence in space and defense." The Lunar I-Hab, built under Thales Alenia Space's prime contractorship, is ESA's habitation module which will provide living quarters, laboratory space, and mission support infrastructure for astronauts conducting long-duration missions in deep space. The Gateway Space Station is an international lunar-orbiting outpost designed to support crewed missions to the Moon while developing key technologies and experience for a future human mission to Mars. About Redwire Redwire Corporation (NYSE:RDW) is a global space infrastructure and innovation company enabling civil, commercial, and national security programs. Redwire's proven and reliable capabilities include avionics, sensors, power solutions, critical structures, mechanisms, radio frequency systems, platforms, missions, and microgravity payloads. Redwire combines decades of flight heritage and proven experience with an agile and innovative culture. Redwire's approximately 750 employees working from 17 facilities located throughout the United States and Europe are committed to building a bold future in space for humanity, pushing the envelope of discovery and science while creating a better world on Earth. For more information, please visit redwirespace.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415182762/en/ Contacts: Media Contact: Tere Riley Tere.Riley@redwirespace.com +1 321-831-0134 Marta Lebron Marta.Lebron@redwirespace.eu +32 3 250 14 50 OR Investors: investorrelations@redwirespace.com +1 904-425-1431 AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ABC Technologies (ABC) today announces the completion of its acquisition of TI Fluid Systems plc (TIFS) for an enterprise value of over 1.8 billion. The combined business will be rebranded TI Automotive, a name with a distinguished heritage that reflects both companies' shared focus on world-class engineering, people and customer service. The transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses to create a stronger, more diversified Tier 1 manufacturer supplying market-leading safety and performance critical products and highly engineered components. The business is ideally positioned to support a diverse range of customers with its propulsion agnostic portfolio. With combined revenue of $5.4 billion[1] and 34,600 employees in 26 countries, TI Automotive will have the global scale and local reach needed to serve the automotive industry. TI Automotive will be led by ABC President & Chief Executive Officer Terry Campbell. He will be supported by an Executive Leadership Team that combines the extensive skills and expertise of both ABC and TIFS. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, TI Automotive will be managed through a Regional Operating Model to ensure customer proximity and the agility to respond rapidly to local market dynamics. Terry Campbell, President & CEO of TI Automotive, said, "We have a great business with exceptional people, differentiated products, a deep commitment to safety and a relentless focus on delivering for our customers. As we embark on the next chapter of our history, we are focused on maximizing shared strengths, building on the best of both our organizations and winning as a team. The combination creates exciting opportunities to drive innovation and manufacturing excellence, while establishing the foundations for our future growth. I am confident that we will do great things together." [1] Pro forma 2024 revenue About TI Automotive TI Automotive is a Tier 1 supplier of market-leading safety and performance critical products and highly engineered components to the global automotive industry. We have more than 100 years' experience of solving customers' safety, efficiency and environmental challenges. Our exceptional team, powertrain agnostic product portfolio, vertical integration, global footprint and customer proximity make us a trusted partner to all the world's leading OEMs. TI Automotive was created through ABC Technologies' acquisition of TI Fluid Systems in April 2025 and is majority owned by certain of the affiliated funds of Apollo Global Management, Inc. and its subsidiaries, with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. owning a minority equity interest. For more information visit www.abctechnologies.com or www.tifluidsystems.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/abc-technologies-completes-acquisition-of-ti-fluid-systems-combined-business-will-rebrand-as-ti-automotive-302427871.html LONDON, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Pinnacle Guide - the global 1, 2 & 3 PIN recognition system for the world's best cocktail bars - has announced the latest additions to its revered list, now taking the total to 85 PINNED bars around the world, since the launch in 2024. 31 bars have been newly-recognised with PINs - 25 with 1 PIN and six with 2 PINs - following a rigorous assessment of excellence, both behind and in front of the bar. No bar has been awarded 3 PINs, meaning Lyaness in London is still the only 3 PIN bar in the world. In this round, The Pinnacle Guide extended their reach to include five new countries - France, Italy, Greece, Hong Kong and Switzerland - taking the total number of countries covered to twelve. There are four newly awarded 1 PIN bars in London and Bristol and a new 2 PIN for Kioku Bar at The OWO, London. This makes The OWO (Old War Office) at 57 Whitehall the most PINNED venue in the world, with Spy Bar (2 PINs) and Guard's Bar (1 PIN) previously recognised. The Pinnacle Guide is considered to be the most comprehensive accolade for cocktail bars globally, rapidly becoming the ultimate symbol of excellence and a trusted resource for discerning drinkers around the world. The pioneering recognition system was created with the mission to challenge the status quo and is the first to formally reward exemplary standards on both sides of the bar. Starting with a transparent self-nomination process, The Pinnacle Guide first evaluates bars across key criteria, including their drinks program, staff welfare and sustainability efforts. This is followed by multiple in-person anonymous reviews by a global network of industry enthusiasts and experts. PINs are held for two years when bars can reapply to retain or raise their current PINNED status. NEWLY-PINNED BARS 2 PIN Bars Bar 1802, Paris, France Kaito del Valle, Mexico City, Mexico Kioku Bar at The OWO, London, UK Little Red Door, Paris, France The Bar In Front Of The Bar, Athens, Greece The Cambridge Public House, Paris, France 1 PIN Bars Aster Bar, Sydney, Australia Baba Au Rum, Athens, Greece BackDoor43, Milan, Italy Candelaria, Paris, France Cat Bite Club, Singapore CERESIO 7, Milan, Italy Cinquanta - Spirito Italiano, Pagani, Italy Copper Spoon, Fort Wayne, USA Dr. Zhivago Bar, Zurich, Switzerland Dry Milano, Milan, Italy Equal Parts, London, UK Hanky Panky, Mexico City, Mexico Le Mary Celeste, Paris, France Manhattan, Singapore Moebius, Milan, Italy Sentaku Izakaya, Bologna, Italy Service Bar, Washington DC, USA Sexy Fish, Miami, USA Shinji's, New York, USA The Bar Below, London, UK The Diplomat, Hong Kong The K Bar, London, UK The Milk Thistle, Bristol, UK Thyme Bar, New York, USA Tiger Bar, Nashville, USA There are now 85 PINNED bars in twelve countries since The Pinnacle Guide launched in May 2024. Full list HERE . The Pinnacle Guide co-founder, Hannah Sharman-Cox said, "We believe that a great bar is one that not only provides an incredible drinks and hospitality experience for their guests, but also takes great care behind the scenes, including management of their staff and consideration for the environment. The most recent list of PINNED bars are yet another selection of venues that we can categorically say are doing great work, both sides of the bar." IMAGE LIBRARY for the latest PINNED bars. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Condor Resources Inc. ("Condor" or the "Company") (TSXV:CN) is pleased to announce that Crescat Capital LLC ("Crescat"), a strategic institutional shareholder of Condor, will participate in the Company's LIFE Offering Private Placement of up to $1.5 million announced in Condor's April 14, 2025 news release. Crescat will subscribe for $500,000 of the private placement through Crescat Portfolio Management LLC on behalf of its Pooled Investment Funds. Additional insiders will also subscribe for a significant portion of the private placement. The Company intends to use the net proceeds raised from the LIFE Offering for exploration at the Huinac Punta Project, the Pucamayo Project, and for general corporate purposes. Kevin Smith, CFA, Founder and CEO of Crescat Capital LLC, commented: "At Crescat, we provide capital to drive discovery across a global portfolio of exploration-focused mining companies. We invest only in teams with the technical expertise and leadership strength to deliver, and Condor fits that criteria. Our goal is to help our partners make world-class, high-margin metal discoveries in top-tier mining jurisdictions. Peru is a proven district for high-grade epithermal gold systems with the potential to develop into significant, profitable operations, such as at Yanacocha and Pierina. We believe Condor has a real opportunity to uncover the next major gold discovery in this prolific region." Chris Buncic, President and CEO, added, "We are greatly appreciative of the continued support and strong participation from our strategic investor, Crescat Capital, as we advance our Pucamayo epithermal gold project and Huinac Punta high-grade silver CRD target". About Condor Resources Inc. Condor Resources is a precious and base metals exploration company focused on its portfolio of projects in Peru. The Company's flagship project, Pucamayo, is an 85 km2 property containing a high sulfidation epithermal system with disseminated precious metals mineralization with a large lithocap alteration visible at surface. The Huinac Punta project, a 7,200 Ha property in Huanuco, Peru, has the potential to host a large carbonate replacement style (CRD) silver-dominant polymetallic mineralized body with the potential for discovery of a bulk tonnage silver and base metals deposit. The Company has optioned several large projects to partners who continue to advance these projects. The Company's award-winning exploration team in Peru has a long history of success in discovering and advancing high quality exploration projects and managing the social aspects of its exploration activities. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.condorresources.com. Follow Condor Resources (@CondorResources) on X and (@condor-resources) on LinkedIn. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Chris Buncic President & Chief Executive Officer For further information please contact the Company at 1-866-642-5707, or by email at info@condorresources.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to the Company's expectations with respect to the use of proceeds and the use of the available funds following completion of the LIFE Offering and statements respecting completion of the LIFE Offering and receipt of all regulatory approvals in respect of the LIFE Offering, including approval of the TSXV. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in applicable forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the business of mineral exploration and development; continued availability of capital and financing; general political and economic conditions, fluctuations in metal prices and other market-related risks, including any volatility in the Company's share price, that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in such statements. Therefore, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Condor does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. SOURCE: Condor Resources Inc. Metallic Minerals Corp. (TSX.V:MMG)(OTCQB:MMNGF) ("Metallic Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the signing of a new production royalty agreement for a mile of alluvial gold claims at its Australia Creek property in the Klondike Gold District, Yukon Territory (see Figure 1). Strategic Expansion Amid Rising Gold Prices This agreement builds on Metallic Minerals gold royalty business in 2025 and has been signed with an experienced mining operator, who brings over 40 years of gold mining experience in the Yukon. This marks the second agreement at Australia Creek expanding the Company's leased ground to over two miles from the original one-mile lease in Australia Creek. With this additional agreement the Company anticipates at least two gold mining operations on its Klondike Gold District claims for the 2025 season with discussions underway with other potential operators on other properties. "With gold prices at historic highs, we've seen strong interest in our alluvial gold royalty portfolio," said Greg Johnson, Chairman & CEO of Metallic Minerals. "We are pleased to be able to expand our leased ground in the Klondike, which follows the Company's first gold production at Australia Creek in 2023 and 2024 (see Figure 2). This agreement supports a second operation capitalizing on today's market conditions with an operator that has a track record of operational excellence and environmental stewardship, aligning with our commitment to responsible resource development." The agreement is effective immediately, with production on this block anticipated to begin this summer. Under the terms of the lease, the operator must meet a minimum $500,000 annual work commitment and pay a royalty of 12% on all gold production to Metallic Minerals. Australia Creek represents a significant eastern extension of the historic Klondike Gold District and is one of the most important discoveries in the region in decades. Metallic Minerals is among the largest holders of alluvial gold mining claims in the Yukon, and additional gold production royalties from Australia Creek will contribute funds toward the Company's hard rock silver and copper exploration projects in Yukon and Colorado. Camp setup and road clearing is underway at Australia Creek in preparation for exploration drilling and mine operations on the two leased blocks. About Australia Creek Metallic Minerals holds a 100% interest in 36.4 square kilometers of mining rights along the Australia Creek drainage south of Dawson City, Yukon. Australia Creek is part of the historic Klondike gold district that is estimated to have produced over 20 million ounces of gold since its discovery in 18981. Australia Creek and its benches are now recognized by Yukon Geological Survey as the eastern continuation of the highly productive Klondike Goldfields, which is the largest placer gold producing area in the Yukon. Modern, open-pit operations in the Klondike have doubled production in the region over the past decade1. Despite extensive mining activity nearby, Australia Creek itself was not historically mined due to its importance as a source of water and hydro-electric power for the floating dredge operations that were conducted in the region between the 1920s and 1960s. However, exploration drilling at Australia Creek has returned gold-in-gravel values that compare to some of the best producing areas of the Klondike presenting an exciting opportunity for the Company. The Company has additional ground for lease to experienced operators in Dominion and Australia Creek in the Klondike District, and Granite Creek near Keno City, Yukon that have active water licenses. New operating permits are being advanced on additional ground in both areas. Figure 1: Klondike Gold District and Metallic Minerals' Properties Figure 2: Gold Operations on Australia Creek on Metallic Minerals Claims in 2024 Grant of Long-Term Performance Incentives The Company also announces that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, it has granted 1,400,000 stock options (each, an "Option") to certain directors, officers, consultants and employees of the Company in accordance with the Company's Long-Term Performance Incentive Plan. Each Option is exercisable into one common share in the capital of the Company ("Share") at a price of $0.23 per share, being the five-day moving average volume weighted price of the Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange as of April 14, 2025. The Options are valid for a period of five years from the date of grant and subject to certain vesting requirements in accordance with the shareholder approved plan. Upcoming Events Metallic Minerals management will be available at the following upcoming events in 2025, in addition to other events to be added as the Company rolls out its marketing plans over the coming year: INVEST Fair - Stuttgart, Germany, May 9-10, 2025. For information, click here. Global Commodity Expo Florida - Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, May 11-13, 2025. For information, click here. Global Commodity Expo Atlanta - Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 14-16, 2025. For information, click here. Precious Metals Summit - Beaver Creek, Colorado, September 9-12, 2025. For information, click here. Precious Metals Summit - Zurich, Switzerland, November 10-11, 2025. For information, click here. About Metallic Minerals Metallic Minerals Corp. is a leading exploration and development stage company, focused on Cu, Ag, Au, and other critical minerals in the La Plata mining district in Colorado, and Ag and Au in the high-grade Keno Hill and Klondike districts of the Yukon. Our objective is to create shareholder value through a systematic, entrepreneurial approach to making exploration discoveries, growing resources, and advancing projects toward development. At the Company's La Plata project in southwestern Colorado, the expanded 2023 NI 43-101 Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate highlights a significant porphyry Cu-Ag resource containing 1.21 Blbs Cu and 17.6 Moz Ag2, with numerous additional targets showing potential for a district-scale porphyry system. Newmont is a 9.5% strategic investor in Metallic Minerals and provides expertise and collaboration on the La Plata project through a joint technical committee. The U.S. Geological Survey has identified the La Plata mining district as a critical minerals resource area under the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative program and has completed significant geologic and geophysical studies to enhance understanding of the critical mineral potential in the district. In Canada's Yukon Territory, Metallic Minerals has consolidated the second-largest land position in the high-grade Keno Hill silver district, directly adjacent to Hecla Mining's operations, with more than 300 million ounces of high-grade silver in past production and current Reserves and Resources3. The 2024 Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate at the Company's Keno Silver project adds 18.2 Moz Ag Eq grading 223 g/t Ag Eq (120 g/t Ag, 0.10 g/t Au, 0.80% Pb and 1.77% Zn)4 to the Company's total resources. Hecla is the largest primary silver producer in the USA and now in Canada with production from its Keno Hill operations. Metallic Minerals is also one of the largest holders of alluvial gold claims in the Yukon and is building a production royalty business by partnering with experienced mining operators. The Company is led by a team with a track record of discovery and exploration success on several major precious and base metal deposits in North America, as well as having large-scale development, permitting and project financing expertise. The Metallic Minerals team has been recognized for its environmental stewardship practices and is committed to responsible and sustainable resource development. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: www.metallic-minerals.com and info@metallic-minerals.com Phone: 604-629-7800 Toll Free: 1-888-570-4420 Footnotes Yukon Geological Survey ("YGS") Yukon Placer Mining Industry Report 2010-2014. La Plata Mineral Resource Estimate see news release dated July 31, 2023 and associated NI 43-101 Technical Report dated September 14, 2023, entitled "Mineral Resource Estimate Update for the Allard Cu-Ag Porphyry Deposit, La Plata Project", with an effective date of July 12, 2023. The Mineral Resource has been estimated by Allan Armitage, Ph.D., P.Geo of SGS Geological Services who is an independent Qualified Person. In addition to the company website, the Technical Report is available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Cathro, R. J. (Bob). Great Mining Camps of Canada 1. The History and Geology of the Keno Hill Silver Camp, Yukon Territory. Geoscience Canada, Sept. 2006. ISSN 1911-4850; Boyle, R.W., 1965. "Geology, Geochemistry, and Origin of the Lead-Zinc-Silver Deposits of the Keno Hill-Galena Hill Area, Yukon Territory". Bulletin 111, Geological Survey of Canada. Keno Silver Mineral Resource Estimate see news release dated February 26, 2024 and Technical Report dated April 12, 2024, entitled "Mineral Resource Estimate for the Keno Silver Project, Yukon, Canada", with an effective date of February 1, 2024. The Mineral Resource has been estimated by Allan Armitage, Ph.D., P.Geo of SGS Geological Services who is an independent Qualified Person. In addition to the company website, the Technical Report is available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Qualified Person The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding exploration projects on Metallic Minerals' mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Catherine Knight, P. Geo, Vice President, Technical Services for The Metallic Group of Companies, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Ms. Knight is not independent of the Company. Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, historic production, estimation of mineral resources, the realization of mineral resource estimates, interpretation of prior exploration and potential exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, the timing and results of future resource estimates, permitting time lines, metal prices and currency exchange rates, availability of capital, government regulation of exploration operations, environmental risks, reclamation, title, statements about expected results of operations, royalties, cash flows, financial position and future dividends as well as financial position, prospects, and future plans and objectives of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Metallic Minerals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals, unsuccessful exploration results, unsuccessful operations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral exploration, development of mines and mining operations is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Metallic Minerals and the risks and challenges of their businesses, investors should review their annual filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Metallic Minerals Corp. Tamarack, Minnesota--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) (OTC Pink: TLOFF) (together with its subsidiaries, "Talon" or the "Company"), the majority owner and operator of the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project ("Tamarack Nickel Copper Project") in central Minnesota, is pleased to announce a mixed massive sulphide intercept in the CGO East Zone at the Tamarack Nickel Copper Project measuring 16.09 meters. Figure 1: Photo of drill core from drill hole 25TK0561 at 359.16 meters depth showing 16.09 meters of mixed massive sulphide. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/248464_talonfigure1.jpg Highlights Talon's in-house exploration team has been 'Infilling' and 'Outfilling' the Tamarack Resource Area for purposes of completing a feasibility study at the Tamarack Nickel Copper Project. Once again, this exploration work has resulted in new success with drill hole 25TK0561 , that was targeting a Borehole Electromagnetic (" BHEM ") model below the Tamarack Resource Area, encountering significant mineralization at a depth of 359.16 meters, drilling 16.09 meters (See Figure 1) logged as 10% to 80% sulphide content (the higher the percentage of sulphide, the higher the grade of nickel at the Tamarack Nickel Copper Project). Its position below the existing shallow part of the Tamarack Resource Area is important as it may represent a waterfall draining the CGO East Zone mineralization, similar to the waterfall in the CGO West Zone, where the mineralization orientation changes from near horizontal to near vertical (See Figure 2 (plan view of cross section A-A') and Figure 3 (cross section showing the potential CGO East Zone waterfall)). As is the case with CGO West Zone waterfall, a CGO East Zone waterfall of mineralization has the potential to add tonnage early in the Tamarack mine life, with minimal additional cost. Brian Goldner, COO and Chief Exploration Officer of Talon, commented on the recent results, stating: "Not to sound like a broken record, but once again, borehole EM pointed to another great intercept, this time in CGO East. The really exciting part of this intercept is that the Massive Sulphide Unit appears to be plunging down below the CGO intrusion which begs the question, if it is draining where does it pool. Both the CGO East Zone and CGO West Zone, and the results from last month's intercept in the 138 Zone, show strong evidence that the Tamarack mineralization is draining to depth into areas with limited drilling." "The timing of this record CGO East Zone intercept at shallow depth could not be more aligned with the Administration's Executive Order: "Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production" from March 20, 2025," said Henri van Rooyen, CEO of Talon. "Together with last month's exceptional 8.25-meter intercept in drill hole 16TK0250, the Tamarack Nickel Copper Project is clearly demonstrating the potential for additional high-grade nickel and copper mineralization beyond the current known resource footprint." Figure 2: Plan view of the Tamarack Resource Area, showing the location of the new mixed massive sulphide intercept in drill hole 25TK0561. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/248464_91714438b4e9f9d2_003full.jpg Figure 3: Cross section looking North-Northeast showing location of drill hole 25TK0561 in relation to other drill holes with high-grade nickel-copper mineralization along with the interpreted down dip extension of the CGO East mineralization. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/248464_91714438b4e9f9d2_004full.jpg Geophysical Innovation : Drill hole 25TK0561 targeted a BHEM model that was developed using Provus, a unique 3-D BHEM software package developed by Novaminex, in partnership with Talon (see Figure 4). A follow-up BHEM survey has been conducted, and Talon is reviewing the area to determine if any other historical holes should be extended to look for additional mineralization at depth. Brian Bengert, VP of Geophysics, stated: "The Novaminex Provus EM modelling software is changing our understanding of complex conductivity structures that are the focus of major nickel massive sulphide deposits. While industry standard EM modelling should only be applied to a single borehole at a time, Provus can model entire conductive systems from multiple holes simultaneously. In this case, we were able to model a complicated electromagnetic conductor that was winding its way between our boreholes beneath the CGO East mineralization. This was not apparent in the individual plate models of traditional modelling and the target yielded some great results." Figure 4: View of the Provus BHEM model that combines surveys from multiple drill holes into a single ribbon model, better fitting the BHEM response with a conductive system rather than the industry standard of modelling plates to individual drill holes. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/248464_91714438b4e9f9d2_005full.jpg Lundin Earn-in Agreement Update Talon and Lundin Mining Corporation ("Lundin Mining") have extended the exclusivity period until April 30, 2025, as the parties continue to work on the earn-in and related agreements pursuant to which Lundin Mining may acquire up to a 70% ownership interest in the Boulderdash and Roland exploration targets, which are in close proximity to Lundin Mining's Eagle Mine and encompass approximately 33,000 acres of minerals rights out of Talon's over 400,000 acre mineral package in Michigan (see the Company's press release from March 5, 2025 for further information). QUALITY ASSURANCE, QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALIFIED PERSONS Please see the technical report entitled "November 2022 National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report of the Tamarack North Project - Tamarack, Minnesota" with an effective date of November 2, 2022 ("November 2022 Technical Report") prepared by independent "Qualified Persons" (as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101")) Brian Thomas (P. Geo), Roger Jackson (P. Geo), Oliver Peters (P. Eng) and Christine Pint (P.G) for information on the QA/QC, data verification, analytical and testing procedures at the Tamarack Nickel Copper Project. Copies are available on the Company's website (www.talonmetals.com) or on SEDAR+ at (www.sedarplus.ca). The laboratory used is ALS Minerals who is independent of the Company. Lengths are drill intersections and not necessarily true widths. True widths cannot be consistently calculated for comparison purposes between holes because of the irregular shapes of the mineralized zones. Drill intersections have been independently selected by Talon. Drill composites have been independently calculated by Talon. The geological interpretations in this news release are solely those of the Company. The locations and distances highlighted on all maps in this news release are approximate. Dr. Etienne Dinel, Vice President, Geology of Talon, is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Dr. Dinel is satisfied that the analytical and testing procedures used are standard industry operating procedures and methodologies, and he has reviewed, approved and verified the technical information disclosed in this news release, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the technical information. Where used in this news release: NiEq% = Ni% + Cu% x $3.75/$9.50 x Cu Recovery/Ni Recovery + Co% x $25.00/$9.50 x Co Recovery/Ni Recovery + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,000/$9.50/22.04 x Pt Recovery/Ni Recovery + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $1,000/$9.50/22.04 x Pd Recovery/Ni Recovery + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,400/$9.50/22.04 x Au Recovery/Ni Recovery CuEq% = Cu%+ Ni% x $9.50/$3.75 + Co% x $25.00/$3. + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,000/$3.75/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $1,000/$3.75/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,400/$3.75/22.04 For Ni and Cu recoveries, please refer to the formulae in the November 2022 Technical Report. Recovery of Ni to the Cu concentrate was excluded from the NiEq calculation. The following recoveries were used for the other metals: 64.1% for Co, 82.5% for Pt, 69.3% for Pd and 72.6% for Au. ABOUT TALON Talon is a TSX-listed base metals company in a joint venture with Rio Tinto on the high-grade Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project located in central Minnesota. Talon's shares are also traded in the US over the OTC market under the symbol TLOFF. The Tamarack Nickel Project comprises a large land position (18km of strike length) with additional high-grade intercepts outside the current resource area. Talon has an earn-in right to acquire up to 60% of the Tamarack Nickel Project and currently owns 51%. Talon is focused on (i) expanding and infilling its current high-grade nickel mineralization resource prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 to shape a mine plan for submission to Minnesota regulators, and (ii) following up on additional high-grade nickel mineralization in the Tamarack Intrusive Complex. Talon has a neutrality and workforce development agreement in place with the United Steelworkers union. Talon's Battery Mineral Processing Facility in Mercer County was selected by the US Department of Energy for US$114.8 million funding grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the US Department of Defense awarded Talon a grant of US$20.6 million to support and accelerate Talon's exploration efforts in both Minnesota and Michigan. Talon has well-qualified experienced exploration, mine development, external affairs and mine permitting teams. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements". All statements, other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to future exploration work, including future drill results and assays, geologic and geophysical interpretations, potential tonnage for a future potential mine, and whether Talon will enter into the earn-in and related agreements with Lundin Mining. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Table 1: Collar Locations of Drill Holes not Previously Disclosed Drill Hole (#) Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (masl) Azm Dip End Depth (m) 24TK0507 490677.7 5169020.1 388.0 84.1 -61.4 619.5 24TK0536 491111.4 5169076.7 388.0 235.6 -54.2 374.0 24TK0539 491112.0 5169077.1 388.0 227.2 -58.1 370.9 25TK0561 490842.9 5168859.1 388.0 23.0 -64.0 389.2 Collar coordinates are UTM Zone 15N, NAD83. Azimuths and dips are taken from the survey record at collar unless otherwise noted. Table 2: Quick Lithology Log Drill Hole (#) From (m) To (m) Length Quick Log % Sulphides 24TK0536 0 53.64 OB 53.64 343.35 FGO/MZNO Traces-4% 343.35 344.17 0.82 MMS/MSU 80% 344.17 349.3 SED 349.3 351.35 2.05 MMS/MSU 20-80% 351.35 373.99 SED 24TK0539 0 48.16 OB 48.16 307.32 FGO/MZNO Traces-10% 307.32 309.19 1.87 MMS/MSU 70% 309.19 370.94 SED 25TK0561 0 42.67 OB 42.67 290 FGO/MZNO Traces-4% 290 353.1 CGO 1-5% 353.1 354.4 SED 354.4 359.16 CGO Traces 359.16 367.63 8.47 MMS/MSU 15-80% 367.63 371.33 3.7 GAB 10% 371.33 375.25 3.92 MMS/MSU 65% 375.25 389.23 SED Quick lithology log of drill holes: Overburden (OB) Meta-sedimentary rocks (SED); Coarse-grained Orthocumulate (CGO); Fine-grained Orthocumulate/ Mixed Zone (FGO/MZNO); Gabbro (GAB); Massive and mixed sulphide (MMS/MSU). Table 3: Assay Table for Drill Hole 24TK0507 Drill Hole (#) From (m) To (m) Length (m) Assay NiEq (%) CuEq (%) Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Pd (g/t) Pt (g/t) Au (g/t) 24TK0507 274.95 292.00 17.05 0.47 0.26 0.02 0.17 0.28 0.13 0.74 1.82 and 382.50 422.59 40.09 0.72 0.51 0.02 0.27 0.48 0.22 1.15 2.90 including 402.00 418.00 16.00 0.96 0.67 0.02 0.41 0.69 0.28 1.50 3.84 and 456.95 457.88 0.93 7.57 4.30 0.06 8.41 22.00 7.10 14.42 39.63 and 485.45 487.40 1.91 1.15 0.87 0.02 0.95 1.53 0.61 2.01 5.20 Length refers to drill hole length and not True Width. True Width is unknown at the time of publication. All samples were analysed by ALS Minerals. Nickel, copper, and cobalt grades were first analysed by a 4-acid digestion and ICP AES (ME-MS61). Grades reporting greater than 0.25% Ni and/or 0.1% Cu, using ME-MS61, trigger a sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES finish (ICP81). Platinum, palladium, and gold are initially analyzed by a 50g fire assay with an ICP-MS finish (PGM-MS24). Any samples reporting >1g/t Pt or Pd trigger an over-limit analysis by ICP-AES finish (PGM-ICP27) and any samples reporting >1g/t Au trigger an over-limit analysis by AAS (Au-AA26). For Ni and Cu recoveries, please refer to the formulae in the November 2022 Technical Report. Recovery of Ni to the Cu concentrate was excluded from the NiEq calculation. The following recoveries were used for the other metals: 64.1% for Co, 82.5% for Pt, 69.3% for Pd and 72.6% for Au. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248464 SOURCE: Talon Metals Corp. Featuring the X50 UC, H15 Pro, and more; Dreame to open first MEA flagship store at Dubai Hills Mall on April 24, 2025 DUBAI, UAE, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As demand for smart home technology accelerates across the Middle East & Africa (MEA), Dreame Technology, a global leader in smart home appliances, is expanding its presence with the launch of its latest product lineup and the opening of its first MEA flagship store at Dubai Hills Mall, First Floor, FF-247, scheduled for 1:30 PM on April 24, 2025. At an exclusive launch event, Dreame will unveil its most advanced lineup of cleaning and personal care innovations to elevate everyday living across MEA. Highlights include the X50 Ultra Complete (X50 UC) Robovac, the world's first* robotic vacuum with retractable legs, and the H15 Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum, featuring the first AI-powered robotic arm for gap-free cleaning. The lineup also features the Z30, Dreame's most powerful cordless stick vacuum; the Airstyle Pro, a 7-in-1 professional styling tool; and the PM20 Air Purifier with adaptive airflow technology. The launch will also mark the opening of Dreame's first MEA flagship store, representing a key milestone in the company's global expansion strategy and its first offline retail space in the region. To celebrate the grand opening, Dreame has prepared exclusive in-store offers. Shoppers can receive gifts with their qualifying purchases, including a free Pocket Hair Dryer and a Dreame Coffee Maker Set. Customers who spend over AED 500 will also have a chance to win prizes worth AED 5,999 - featuring the X50 UC Robovac. In addition, visitors can enjoy live styling sessions, with professional demonstrations, styling tips, and an exclusive styling experience. The launch event will offer partners, consumers, and media a firsthand look at Dreame's latest innovations, reinforcing the brand's commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology, smart living, and modern style. About Dreame Technology Founded in 2017, Dreame Technology focuses on smart home cleaning appliances with a vision to empower lives through technology. For more details on the event and exclusive offers, follow Dreame Arabia on Instagram or visit Amazon to explore the X50 UC Robovac. Note: *World's 1st Robotic Retractable Legs certified by Frost & Sullivan. Based on research conducted by the manufacturer as of Dec. 2024, within the robot Vacuum category; Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2662538/Dreame_Technology_to_Unveil_Strategic_New_Product_Lineup_and_First_MEA_Flagship_Store_in_Dubai_on_Ap.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dreame-technology-to-unveil-strategic-new-product-lineup-and-first-mea-flagship-store-in-dubai-on-april-24-302428871.html Customers can now optimize critical operations with single-source compressors, dryers, filters and nitrogen generators South-Tek Systems , a global leader in nitrogen generation solutions, is excited to announce the expansion of its product line to include a full suite of South-Tek branded compressed air solutions, including compressors, dryers and filters . This strategic move marks a significant shift for South-Tek, broadening its focus from nitrogen generation to encompass a comprehensive range of air and gas solutions. South-Tek Systems Compressor South-Tek Systems Fixed Speed Belt Drive Rotary Screw Compressor With this expansion, South-Tek Systems now offers a one-stop solution for industrial end-users, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers seeking reliable and high-performance compressed air systems. The addition of compressors, dryers and filters complements South-Tek's existing nitrogen generators, providing customers with a complete solution for their air and gas needs. "This launch marks a significant step in our mission to provide unmatched control, performance and expertise," said South-Tek Systems CEO, Jens Bolleyer . "As the leading single-source provider of gas generation and compressed air solutions, we now offer a comprehensive product suite under one brand, giving our customers the confidence of relying on one vendor and exceptional support for all their needs." South-Tek Systems' new line of compressors is designed for maximum efficiency and durability, offering reliable performance and low maintenance costs. The addition of dryers and filters ensures clean, dry air, protecting equipment and optimizing system performance. "We are thrilled to expand our product offerings and provide our customers with a comprehensive compressed air solution," said Dustin Parscal , National Sales Manager at South-Tek Systems. "This expansion allows us to better serve our customers and streamline their operations by offering a single source for all their mission critical air and gas requirements." Key highlights of the expanded product line include: Complete Compressed Air Solutions: Compressors, dryers and filters added to the existing nitrogen generator offerings. One-Stop Solution: Customers can now rely on South-Tek Systems for all their air and gas needs. Expertise and Support: Unmatched service with PhD-level engineering expertise and a comprehensive support team. High-Performance Products: Designed for optimal uptime and superior ROI, backed by a comprehensive warranty. South-Tek Systems will be launching their new compressors product line at the AICD tradeshow (Association of Independent Compressor Distributors) on April 27, 2025. South-Tek Systems is committed to providing superior expertise, control and performance through its comprehensive product suite, ensuring customers can streamline mission-critical operations with complete compressed air solutions engineered for excellence. For more information about South-Tek Systems and its expanded product line, please visit southteksystems.com . About South-Tek Systems South-Tek Systems is a leading provider of mission-critical complete air and gas solutions through our distribution network, offering a full suite of products from nitrogen generators to compressors, filters, and dryers. With decades of experience in the field, South-Tek Systems continues to deliver cutting-edge, cost-saving solutions that drive operational efficiency and sustainability. For more information about South-Tek Systems compressors or to request a quote, visit southteksystems.com . For high-quality images and media assets, see our Media Assets folder. ### SOURCE: South-Tek Systems The annual event returns to Lisbon with Diego Lo Giudice, software transformation expert and Research VP, Principal Analyst, announced as a lead speaker OutSystems, a global leader transforming how companies innovate through software, today announced ONE Conference 2025, an event pushing the boundaries in the evolution of generative software development and showcasing the possibilities of Agentic AI. Scheduled to take place from September 30 October 1 in Lisbon at Feira Internacional de Lisboa FIL, the event provides an exclusive opportunity for the global OutSystems community to connect with industry leaders and visionaries, and discover the latest breakthroughs in AI-powered software development and Agentic AI. Attendees will have an exclusive first look at the future of the OutSystems platform, exploring new possibilities with a growing Agentic AI tech stack and the generative AI development movement. As a leading software transformation expert, Forrester's Diego Lo Giudice will take to the stage at ONE to share Forrester's insights into the application development landscape and its predictions for how Agentic AI will accelerate investments moving from off-the-shelf applications toward custom development. This builds on Forrester's 2025 predictions, which forecast that this will be the year businesses begin to deliver tangible results on AI investment. "Each year we look forward to the opportunity to bring together a collection of visionary individuals, true innovators, and industry leaders at our global ONE Conference," said OutSystems Founder and CEO Paulo Rosado. "At this year's event, we will showcase the transformative potential of AI-powered application and agent development and demonstrate how organizations can start deriving real value from AI." For more information about the 2025 ONE Conference, including registration details and speaker submissions, please click here. About OutSystems OutSystems is a global leader transforming how companies innovate through software, empowering IT leaders with a better way to build the software that matters most. The OutSystems platform helps companies develop, deploy, and maintain mission-critical applications by unifying and automating the entire software lifecycle. With OutSystems, organizations leverage GenAI to deliver software instantaneously, adapt faster to changing requirements, and reduce technical debt by building on a future-proof platform. Helping customers achieve their business goals by addressing key strategic initiatives, OutSystems delivers software up to 10x faster than traditional development. Recognized as a leader by analysts, IT executives, business leaders, and developers around the world, global brands trust OutSystems to tackle their impossible projects and turn their big ideas into software that moves their business, people, and the world forward. Founded in 2001, the company's network spans more than 800,000 community members, over 500 partners, and active customers in 75+ countries across 21 industries. Learn more at www.outsystems.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415291669/en/ Contacts: Media Contact: Shayna Chapel pr@outsystems.com Cybersecurity veterans from Skybox Security join FireMon to lead growth and drive unified customer value across EMEA, APAC, and North America FireMon, a leader in network security policy management (NSPM), today announced the recruitment of four strategic sales leaders formerly from Skybox Security, reinforcing its commitment to global growth and customer success. With the addition of Alessio Fasano (Southern EMEA), Morris Becker (DACH), Veera Subramanian (Southeast Asia), and Brian Matzke (New York City), FireMon continues to expand its global footprint and strengthen its regional leadership, enhancing its ability to deliver scalable, secure, and innovative solutions tailored to enterprise needs across markets. Alessio Fasano, who served as Country Manager for Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta at Skybox, joins FireMon with a track record as the company's most successful sales executive. A seasoned technical leader and entrepreneur, Fasano brings decades of experience leading teams, growing channel partnerships, and delivering measurable outcomes under pressure. He also served as Group Chief Security Officer at Retelit, gaining deep insight into customer pain points from the other side of the table. Morris Becker, based in Germany, also joins FireMon following a successful tenure at Skybox, where he helped guide enterprise engagements and grow the business in Central Europe. Known for his consultative sales approach and deep regional knowledge, Becker will play a key role in FireMon's growth in the DACH region. Veera Subramanian, previously Regional Sales Director for ASEAN and Hong Kong at Skybox, now leads FireMon's strategic accounts across Southeast Asia and Australia. With more than 20 years of experience building and scaling sales operations across APAC, Subramanian is recognized for helping organizations achieve stronger security postures through visibility, analytics, and automation. He is also the founder of Vincere CyberTech and has held leadership roles at F5, Picus Security, and other fast-growing security vendors in the region. Brian Matzke joins FireMon as a Strategic Account Executive for the New York City territory, following his tenure at Skybox Security, where he helped drive enterprise sales across the Northeast. His addition further strengthens FireMon's North American team as part of a broader global investment in customer-facing leadership. With more than 30 years of experience in technology sales, including the last 15 in cybersecurity, Brian brings deep expertise in network and infosec solutions. His background also includes roles at Radware, Tenable, and IntSights. "FireMon has been at the forefront of network security policy management for more than 25 years, helping global enterprises navigate complexity, reduce risk, and stay secure in an evolving threat landscape," said Brian Keets, Chief Revenue Officer at FireMon. "Bringing in industry-proven leaders like Alessio, Morris, Veera, and Brian is essential to advancing that mission. Each of them brings deep regional expertise and a strong customer-first mindset-qualities that are critical as we scale globally and continue delivering meaningful outcomes for our customers worldwide." Following the closure of Skybox Security, FireMon has seen a sharp increase in global interest and recruitment from some of the industry's best-known security professionals. These hires are the latest in a series of strategic moves designed to increase FireMon's reach and responsiveness in international markets while continuing to support its enterprise customers with the industry's most intelligent security policy management platform. FireMon's global footprint now spans over 70 countries, serving more than 1,700 customers worldwide. The company continues to lead the market in hybrid cloud security, automation, and risk reduction through continuous compliance and intelligent policy governance. About FireMon FireMon's mission is to improve security operations that will, in turn, lead to better security outcomes. FireMon delivers industry-leading security policy management, cloud security, and asset management solutions. Our platform is the only real-time solution that reduces firewall and cloud security policy-related risks, manages policy changes, and enforces compliance. FireMon's Cloud Defense (formerly DisruptOps) is the only distributed cloud security offering that detects and responds to issues in the fast-paced public cloud environments. Our cloud-based Asset Management solution (formerly Lumeta) scans entire infrastructures to identify everything in the environment and provide valuable insights into how it's all connected. Learn more at FireMon.com and the FireMon Blog. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415298552/en/ Contacts: Media Contact Sarah Shkargi Email: Sarah@tnsmediacomms.com Annual General Meeting of Kuros Biosciences approves all resolutions Schlieren (Zurich), Switzerland, April 15, 2025 - Kuros Biosciences ("Kuros" or the "Company") a leader in next generation bone healing technologies, held its Annual General Meeting today. The Annual General Meeting approved the Annual Report, the Annual Financial Statements, and the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year 2024 and took note of the Reports of the Auditors. Shareholders granted discharge to the Board and the Executive Committee, voted in favor of the proposed appropriation of the Annual Results, and approved compensation for the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. Clemens van Blitterswijk was re-elected as Chairman and Joost de Bruijn, Oliver Walker, Albert Arp and Chris Fair (CEO) were re-elected as members of the Board. Kimberley Elting was elected as a new member of the Board of Directors. Clemens van Blitterswijk, Oliver Walker and Albert Arp were re-elected as members of the Compensation Committee. The law firm Keller AG, Zurich, was re-elected as independent Proxy. PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd, Basel, were re-elected for another one-year term as Kuros' auditor. The Annual General Meeting also approved the U.S. Option and Equity Incentive Plan Regulation 2025. The Annual General Meeting further approved, with the required 2/3 majority, adjustments to the Articles of Association to increase the Conditional Share Capital for Employees, Persons of Comparable Positions and Board Members. The Annual General Meeting took place at JED Events, Zurcherstrasse 39E, 8952 Schlieren (Zurich). 19,610,174 shares or 51.8% of a total of 37,868,889 shares were represented. For further information, please contact: Alexandre Muller Daniel Geiger Investor Relations Chief Financial Officer Tel +41 43 268 32 31 Tel +41 44 733 47 41 IR@kurosbio.com (mailto:IR@kurosbio.com) daniel.geiger@kurosbio.com (mailto:daniel.geiger@kurosbio.com) About MagnetOs MagnetOsTM is a bone graft like no other: thanks to its NeedleGripTM surface technology, it grows bone even in soft tissues. This surface technology provides traction for our body's vitally important 'pro-healing' immune cells (M2 macrophages). This in turn, unlocks previously untapped potential to stimulate stem cells - and form new bone throughout the graft. The growing body of science behind NeedleGrip is called osteoimmunology. But for surgeons and their patients it means one thing: a more predictable fusion. *1-5 Indications Statement Please refer to the instructions for use for your local region for a full list of indications, contraindications, warnings, and precautions. About Kuros Biosciences Kuros Biosciences is on a mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative biologic technologies. With locations in the United States, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the company is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company's first commercial product, MagnetOsTM, is a unique advanced bone graft that has already been used across four continents. For more information on the company, its products and pipeline, visit kurosbio.com. Forward Looking Statements This media release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You are urged to consider statements that include the words "will" or "expect" or the negative of those words or other similar words to be uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements include scientific, business, economic and financial factors. Against the background of these uncertainties, readers should not rely on forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no responsibility for updating forward-looking statements or adapting them to future events or developments. *Results from in vivo laboratory testing may not be predictive of clinical experience in humans. For important safety and intended use information please visit kurosbio.com. MagnetOs is not cleared by the FDA or TGA as an osteoinductive bone graft. MagnetOs has been proven to generate more predictable fusions than two commercially available alternatives in an ovine model of posterolateral fusion. Van Dijk, et al. eCM. 2021; 41:756-73. Duan, et al. eCM. 2019; 37:60-73. Van Dijk, et al. Clin Spine Surg. 2020;33(6): E276-E287. Van Dijk, et al. JOR Spine. 2018; e1039. Van Dijk, et al. J Biomed Mater Res. Part B: Appl Biomater. 2019;107(6):2080-2090. Attachment The payment processing solutions company Adaptiv Payments has been operating for over ten years while providing services to businesses belonging to high-risk industries. From its inception, the company has delivered customized financial services to these sectors, including travel, CBD, subscriptions, and e-commerce. Adaptiv Payments has been dedicated to business credit services for risk management merchant accounts since 2009 as part of its decade-long mission. The accounts target sectors that handle complex transaction risks and face multiple chargebacks and regulatory requirements. The company operates in multiple markets, including retail sectors and specialized domains like tech support, since payment solutions need customization for individual operational requirements. Payment processing has continued to transform through technology and regulatory developments in the past ten years since businesses adjusted how they process transactions. Adaptiv Payments transforms its business model to specialize in high risk credit card processing that enables challenging industry sectors to process secure payments. The company handles worldwide transactions for High-Risk companies while working to eliminate payment frauds and combat chargebacks since these problems frequently affect businesses operating in such sectors. "Over the years, we've seen how businesses in high-risk sectors need more than just standard payment tools," said a spokesperson for Adaptiv Payments. "Our aim has been to understand their operations and provide options that fit, whether it's for a travel agency processing bookings or a CBD retailer handling online sales." The company's approach involves assessing each client's situation to offer solutions that align with their market conditions. Adaptiv Payments' work in high risk payment processing has included efforts to streamline transaction flows for businesses operating in competitive environments. For example, subscription-based companies often require recurring billing systems, while e-commerce platforms need flexibility to handle fluctuating sales volumes. The company has developed methods to support these needs, drawing on its years of industry observation. The customer base of the company represents multiple high-risk markets. Travel businesses use Adaptiv Payments to manage their consistent financial processing due to their tasks involving payments and international transactions and cancellation procedures. CBD merchants benefit from Adaptiv Payment's services because their industry faces shifting legal conditions. Adaptiv Payments offers services to e-commerce companies that experience payment complexities from swift business expansion. From its founding in 2011 to the present day, Adaptiv Payments has built its success by continuously tracking developing payment industry standards. The company has adapted its product structure based on the emergence of payment technology innovations, which include mobile wallets and contactless systems. The company makes continual adjustments to its processes since CBD sales regulational updates demand clients to maintain payment compliance. The businesses that join Adaptiv Payments obtain an industry-specific high risk merchant account and receive support in handling payment security risks. As expressed in their mission statement, the company continues their efforts to eliminate obstacles that prevent high-risk businesses from obtaining financial services. About Adaptiv Payments Adaptiv Payments began over a decade ago with a focus on payment processing for businesses in high-risk industries. The company serves sectors including travel, CBD, subscriptions, and e-commerce, offering customized solutions like high risk credit card processing. Its team brings years of experience to address transaction challenges, from international payments to regulatory compliance. Media Contact Company Name: Adaptiv Payments Contact Person Name: Luke Deviney Email: contact@adaptivpayments.com Phone: +17273392936 Website: https://adaptivpayments.com SOURCE: Adaptiv Payments The facility will be financed by Barclays Bank PLC for an amount up to 250,000,000 and is the first ABS warehouse to be issued in the UK solar Commercial and Industrial (C&I) sector. LONDON, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atrato Onsite Energy, the UK C&I solar specialist owned by Brookfield Renewables and Real Assets Investment Management Ltd announces it has entered into an ABS warehouse to support its investment into C&I solar projects in the UK. Atrato Onsite Energy focuses on providing long-term, low-cost energy to UK corporates and is targeting 1bn of investment in solar by 2030. Since launching in November 2021, Atrato Onsite Energy has developed a portfolio of more than 240MW of solar assets which generate clean energy that would otherwise have resulted in 50,000 tonnes of annual CO 2 emissions, equivalent to planting 2,000,000 trees.(1) Since being acquired in November 2024, Atrato Onsite Energy has signed 10 power purchase agreements and reached financial close on 42MW of projects. The ABS warehouse was financed by Barclays Bank PLC and will be used to accelerate Atrato's roll out of rooftop and ground mounted solar to customers. The transaction involved Norton Rose Fulbright as legal adviser to Atrato Onsite Energy and Hogan Lovells as legal adviser to Barclays. Gurpreet Gujral, CEO of Atrato Onsite Energy said "We have developed a strong portfolio of solar projects, working with customers such as Amazon, Britvic, Nissan, and Tesco. With unprecedented demand for our solar solutions, this new facility provides us with an additional 250 million of capacity, on top of the capital support from our investors. This enables us to tap into our pipeline and brings us closer to our goal of becoming the largest provider of C&I solar in Europe." Gordon Beck, Head of Corporate & Sustainable Securitisation EMEA of Barclays Bank PLC said "We are proud to support Atrato Onsite Energy with this landmark financing, demonstrating our commitment to enabling corporates to transition to cleaner sources of energy whilst fostering sustainable economic growth in our UK home market. Barclays is committed to supporting clients with their transition and has a target to facilitate $1trn of Sustainable and Transition Finance by 2030 to support the delivery of such activities." About Atrato Onsite Energy Atrato Onsite Energy is an independent power producer launched in November 2021 and is one of the largest commercial and industrial solar companies in the UK. In November 2024 leading infrastructure investors, Brookfield Renewables and Real Assets Investment Management Ltd, acquired the company and subsequently de-listed it from the London Stock Exchange. The company continues its strategy to develop and invest in renewable energy infrastructure, delivering clean energy to commercial and industrial customers. (1)Full year generation on fully operational portfolio Contact Christopher Fearon, Director Chris.fearon@roofenergy.uk Galway Metals Inc. (TSX-V:GWM)(OTCQB:GAYMF) (the "Company" or "Galway") is pleased to report results from its diamond drilling program at the Southwest Deposit in the Company's 100%-owned flagship Clarence Stream high-grade gold project in New Brunswick, Canada. The Clarence Stream Gold Project has district-scale potential with approximately 65-kilometre strike length of highly prospective gold showings and anomalies; and a 2022 MRE of 12.4 Mt @ 2.3 g/t Au Indicated for 922,000 oz., and 16.0 Mt @ 2.6 g/t Au Inferred for 1.334 M oz. gold from the NI 43-101 technical report titled "Technical Report on the Clarence Stream Mineral Resource Project, New Brunswick, Canada" dated March 31, 2022, by SLR Consulting Ltd. Rob Hincliffe, President and CEO of Galway, said, "We are excited to see gold mineralization continuing 300 meters north, which significantly opens the resource expansion potential of the Southwest Deposit. We have an additional 12 holes with pending assays from this area, which should continue to prove gold continuity and add near surface ounces. The second drill rig has been drilling shallow high-grade gold and antimony mineralization at the North Deposit since January with 23 drillholes currently pending assays. With gold reaching record prices, Galway is positioned to take advantage because we will have drillhole assays, metallurgical results and additional news in the coming weeks and months." Highlights CL-206 intersected 3.4 g/t gold over 5.0m including 11.1 g/t gold over 1.0m ( Section 1 ) CL-211 intersected 3.1 g/t gold over 2.9m including 13.2 g/t over 0.5m -Extending SW Deposit over 300m to the N-NE from the 2022 MRE models ( Section 2 ) CL-209 intersected 0.92 g/t gold over 14.0m Twelve additional follow-up drill holes are pending assays for this area Drill Results Confirm Northern expansion of SW Deposit The drill holes in this release are located on the northeastern area of the Southwest Deposit (Figure 1) with the purpose of following up on shallow, wide mineralized zones and extending mineralization to the north. The results (Assay and Coordinate Table) now extend the mineralization approximately 300-metres from the 2022 Clarence Stream Resource Estimate. There are an additional 12 holes with pending assay from this area, with the purpose of connecting mineralization along strike and dip with 25-to-50-meter centers. The Southwest Deposit is open for expansion in both directions along strike and at depth. North Zone drilling expanding mineralization Since acquiring Clarence Stream in 2016, Galway has increased the North Deposit resource by >240% from 93,000 ounces to 226,000 ounces with under 10,000m drilled. The second rig has been drilling off the North Deposit since January, with the purpose of extending the shallow, flat lying gold-antimony mineralization beyond the current resource pits. There are currently 23 drill holes with pending assays (Figure 2), including hole ND-21 with visible gold at 43.4 meters (Photo). Most of the holes are located outside the 2022 resource, expanding the deposit approximately 350m to the North and East. Geology and Mineralization The Clarence Stream deposits can be characterized as intrusion-related, structurally controlled, quartz-vein hosted gold deposits. These deposits consist of quartz veins and quartz stockwork within brittle-ductile fault zones that include adjacent crushed, altered wall rocks and veinlet material. The mineralized systems are hosted in intrusive and metasedimentary rocks within high strain zones controlled by regional fault systems. Pyrite, base metal sulphides, and stibnite occur in these deposits along with anomalous concentrations of bismuth, arsenic, antimony and tungsten. Alteration in the host rocks is confined within a few metres of quartz veins and occurs mainly in the form of sericitization and chloritization. A more complete description of Clarence Stream's geology and mineralization can be found at www.galwaymetalsinc.com. New Brunswick Junior Mining Assistance Program Galway would like to acknowledge financial support from the New Brunswick Junior Mining Assistance Program, which will contribute up to $50,000 towards exploration drilling in 2024. Review by Qualified Person Jesse Fisher, P.Geo., Project Manager for Galway Metals, is the Qualified Person who supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of Galway Metals Inc. Quality Control and Reports All core, chip/boulder samples, and soil samples are assayed by Activation Laboratories, located at 41 Bittern Street, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, Agat Laboratories, located at 5623 McAdam Road, Mississauga Ontario, Canada L4Z 1N9 and 35 General Aviation Road, Timmins, ON P4P 7C3, and/or Swastika Laboratories situated in Swastika, ON. All four labs have ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. All core is under watch from the drill site to the core processing facility. Drill core is NQ size and sample intervals range from 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters in length. All samples are assayed for gold by Fire Assay, with gravimetric finish, and other elements assayed using ICP. The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of blanks and standards into the sample shipments, as well as instructions for duplication. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted at one per 20 samples. Approximately five percent (5%) of the pulps and rejects are sent for check assaying at a second lab with the results averaged and intersections updated when received. Core recovery in the mineralized zones has averaged 99%. About Galway Metals Inc. Galway Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, high-grade, open-pitable flagship Clarence Stream gold project in southwest New Brunswick. Clarence Stream is an emerging gold district with an exploration strike length of approximately 65 kilometres and widths of up to 28 kilometres in certain areas. Galway Metals also has 100%-ownership in the Estrades project, a former producing high-grade, gold-rich polymetallic VMS mine in the northern Abitibi of western Quebec. Led by a management team with a proven track-record of creating shareholder value having sold Galway Resources for US$340 million, Galway Metals is focused on creating value for all its stakeholders. For additional Information on Galway Metals Inc., Please contact: Robert Hinchcliffe President & Chief Executive Officer Telephone: 1-800-771-0680 Email: info@galwaymetalsinc.co Website: www.galwaymetalsinc.com Look us up on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn Cautionary Statement Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, information with respect to the OTCQB listing, DTC eligibility, and broadening U.S. institutional and retail investors. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to changes in economic conditions or financial markets, political and competitive developments, operation or exploration difficulties, changes in equity markets, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restrictions on labour and international travel and supply chains, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. SOURCE: Galway Metals Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. (CSE: HYPE) (FSE: N7S) (the "Company" or "HyperBit") announces it has launched a new corporate website at www.hyperbit.ca as part of a corporate rebrand and the Company encourages investors and crypto enthusiasts to visit our newly launched site. The Company has appointed experienced Web3 and Blockchain operations leader, Mr. Yoshito Okubo, to the Board of Directors effective immediately. Mr. Okubo has over a decade of industry experience in operations, business development, and emerging technologies. Mr. Okubo has built a career at the forefront of innovation, bridging traditional industries with the transformative potential of Web3 and Blockchain ecosystems. Mr. Okubo has worked across Canada, the USA, Japan and Southeast Asia and brings a global perspective to blockchain projects, ensuring cultural and regulatory nuances are considered. Mr. Okubo has created and tailored strategies to help Web3 startups navigate challenges while accelerating adoption. Mr. Okubo's key strengths include Decentralized Ecosystems: Expertise in applying Blockchain for supply chain transparency, decentralized governance, and tokenomics. Mr. Okubo has a proven track record of driving user adoption and scale Web3 products through partnerships and community-building initiatives. Mr. Yoshito Okubo, Director of Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. stated: "As a forward-thinking Blockchain and Web3 professional, I'm deeply passionate about the disruptive impact of blockchain technology, decentralized applications (dApps), and tokenized ecosystems. My experience includes crafting operational strategies that integrate Web3 principles, enabling businesses to adopt more transparent, secure, and efficient systems. I look forward to contributing to what the HyperBit team is building as the Company prepares itself for the next crypto bull market." Mr. Brian Gusko, Director of Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. stated: "We are excited to launch our new website and will continue to refine the site as we focus the Company on identifying new opportunities to mine crypto in cost-friendly power environments. We anticipate the deployment of our new Goldshell Aleo miners, recently announced, and look for opportunities to reactivate our 150 SC2000 Miners in a profitable environment. We are privileged to welcome Mr. Yoshito Okubo to the board and look forward to working with him to develop the Company's vision for HyperBit." About Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. is a forward-thinking, diversified technology company specializing in the acquisition, development, and strategic deployment of crypto mining operations and blockchain-based innovations. As global interest in digital assets accelerates-driven by the rise of blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), and increasing institutional and retail adoption-HyperBit is committed to unlocking value across the crypto ecosystem while delivering growth for our stakeholders. Stay informed on our latest developments by subscribing to Company updates and following us across our social media channels: TikTok, Instagram, X.com, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. is publicly listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: HYPE) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB: N7S). Additional Announcements The Company also announces that it has engaged Venture Liquidity Providers Inc. ("VLP") to initiate its market-making services by providing assistance in maintaining a consistent and orderly trading market for its common shares. The market-making service will be undertaken by VLP through a registered broker, W.D. Latimer Co. Ltd., in compliance with the policies of the CSE and other applicable laws. For its services, the Company has agreed to pay VLP $5,000 month. The agreement has an initial term of three months, following which it will renew for successive one-month terms, provided that after the initial three-month term the agreement may be terminated by either party at any time. The Company and VLP act at arm's length, and VLP has no present interest, directly or indirectly, in the Company or its securities. The fee paid by the Company to VLP is for services only. VLP is a specialized consulting firm based in Toronto providing a variety of services focused on CSE-listed issuers. VLP's CEO, JC Cunningham, can be reached by telephone at (416) 891-4349 or by email at info@vlpinc.net. The Company has engaged Aktiencheck.de AG ("Aktiencheck") and its principal, Stefan Lindam, pursuant to which Aktiencheck will assist with an initial European marketing awareness program. The engagement includes up to five editorial write-ups, stand-alone e-mail marketing campaign distribution of the editorial write-ups to opt-in e-mail addresses of active investors, targeted distribution of the editorial reports to active investors, distribution of the editorial write-ups through social media to active financial investors and distribution of the editorial write-ups through the aktiencheck.de website and search engine marketing. Aktiencheck.de AG will set up on-line advertising portals and digital marketing and will be retained commencing April 28th, 2025, for a period of up to 2 months. In consideration of the marketing services to be provided by Aktiencheck, the Company has agreed to pay a total of 12,500. No shares or options were issued to Aktiencheck.de AG or its principal as part of this engagement and they do not own any shares in Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. The principal of Aktiencheck.de AG is Mr. Lindam of Bahnhofstrase 6 56470 Bad Marienberg Deutschland. The Company has engaged Free Market Media Ltd. ("Free Market") of Langley, BC, Canada, to provide Web services to the Company. Free Market will set up on-line advertising portals, on which Hyper Bit Technologies will pay directly at-cost for the advertising. Free Market will be retained on a month-to-month basis and commence immediately to assist the Company in raising awareness. In consideration of the marketing services provided by Free Market, the Company has agreed to pay advertising expenses up to $10,000 per month should the Company deem this beneficial. To the Company's knowledge, Free Market's principal owns no shares in Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. Free Market Media is owned by Brenton Rusin. Free Market media can be contacted at freemarketmedialtd@gmail.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Signed "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. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company 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", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. 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 results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248490 SOURCE: Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Couloir Capital is pleased to announce it has initiated research coverage Quimbaya Gold Inc. (CSE: QIM) ("QIM," or "Company"). Couloir Capital's Senior Mining Analyst, Ron Wortel, MBA, P.Eng., Q.P. crafted a report titled "Building a high-impact exploration portfolio in Colombia's prolific Antioquia gold camp." Report excerpt: "Quimbaya's projects cover areas prospective for orogenic and epithermal gold deposits related to the major and splay structures of the region. Numerous prospects and small-scale locally operated mines are in the region and on the Company's claim groups. Limited modern exploration work has been completed on the claim groups at this time. The Company focused on its strategy of building a targeted land package in the Country for the first few years of its operations. The Company managed low-cost and fast claim acquisition through access to proprietary staking software, allowing Quimbaya a timing advantage to pick up the most prospective land ahead of other companies. It is now ready to commence its first drilling campaign on a mining title claim in the Segovia area, the Tahami South, adjacent to the Aris Gold project land." The report can be accessed through Couloir Capital's portal: https://www.couloircapital.com/research-portal. About Couloir Capital Ltd. Couloir Capital Ltd. is an investment research firm with a team of experienced investment professionals dedicated to providing institutional-quality research coverage in the natural resource exploration and development sectors. Our research reports are disseminated through Bloomberg, FactSet, Capital IQ, LSEG, and many other portals, as well as through our social media and extensive email distribution lists. To subscribe, visit: https://www.couloircapital.com/research-portal. DISCLAIMER: Analyst Disclosure: Couloir Capital holds shares or options in the Company. The analyst does not hold shares or options in the Company. The Company has retained Couloir Capital under a service agreement that includes analyst research coverage. Investors are encouraged to read the complete list of disclosures contained in the report. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248514 SOURCE: Couloir Capital Ltd Building Resilience by Scaling Innovation Through Collaboration The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2), a $55-million technology program funded by Wells Fargo & Company and coadministered by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), announced the recipients of a pool of $750,000 in pilot funding as part of its inaugural Scalable Tech Track. The awards aim to address demand-side barriers to energy technology adoption by supporting large-scale, high-impact pilots across industries and sectors. The Scalable Tech program awarded funding to five organizations for pilots of innovative energy technologies with expert support from NREL researchers. The projects include retrofitting HVAC systems, improving school air quality and energy use, optimizing data center cooling, and modernizing aging building infrastructure. "The projects selected for this inaugural cohort embody the spirit of collaboration and innovation," said Sarah Derdowski, IN2 program manager at NREL. "By integrating an ecosystem approach with scalable drop-in solutions, these pilots aim to demonstrate how energy technologies can address pressing resiliency and infrastructure challenges while establishing replicable pathways for widespread impact." Awarded Pilots: CBRE received $150,000 to install and test Blue Frontier*'s rooftop HVAC system on a Delaware property. NREL researchers, including the scientist behind the liquid desiccant technology, will closely monitor the project. Coconino County secured $55,000 to implement Rensair's air quality solutions and Komfort's low-energy lighting at Ponderosa High School in Flagstaff, Arizona. Digital Realty will use $125,000 to partner with Hayzel for data center chilling improvements in Santa Clara, California. Galvanize Real Estate received $200,000 to work with EnKoat* and Alpen High-Performance Products on a building retrofit in Pedricktown, New Jersey. The University of Colorado Boulder will implement INOVUES' advanced window technology in aging campus buildings with $220,000 in funding. *Denotes graduates of previous IN2 cohorts. Pilots launched in early 2025 and will conclude within six months, demonstrating the program's focus on rapid results and actionable insights to advance adoption. By targeting scalable energy solutions for the built environment, IN2 equips participants with resources, peer collaboration, and third-party validation. A panel of judges chose organizations based on their feasibility, impact, pilot readiness, and dedication to knowledge sharing. Each project aims to drive meaningful progress toward energy solutions while fostering broader adoption of innovative technologies. "Effective adoption of energy innovation requires scalability," said Jeffrey Schub, head of sustainability at Wells Fargo. "These pilot projects represent a critical step in bridging the gap between promising advanced, and often cost-saving, technologies and widespread adoption. By connecting these industry leaders with resources and expertise, we're helping them be successful as they pursue their energy and resiliency needs." Organizations that were not selected for pilot funding have also gained significant value through their participation in IN2. Several have initiated independent collaborations with NREL, leveraging its expertise to advance their innovative energy solutions. In addition, these organizations are developing white papers, case studies, and other resources to share insights and encourage broader adoption of advanced technologies. These activities reflect the program's ability to drive impact beyond the funded pilots, fostering progress across the energy ecosystem. The success of the 2024 cohort has paved the way for a second round of the Scalable Tech Track, anticipated to launch applications in late 2025. About the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) The Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) is a $55-million energy technology program funded by Wells Fargo & Company and coadministered by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. IN2 advances innovative energy solutions from concept to commercialization. By bridging the gap between cutting-edge startups and market adopters, IN2 fosters collaboration across a growing ecosystem-convening entrepreneurs, industry stakeholders, and research institutions. Through this networked approach, IN2 accelerates real-world implementation and scaling of transformative technologies in the built environment and infrastructure sectors, driving a more resilient, adaptable future. For more information, visit www.in2ecosystem.com. IN2 Scalable Tech participants View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Wells Fargo & Company on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Wells Fargo & Company Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/wells-fargo Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Wells Fargo & Company The companies are now moving forward with the import permit application process. Following expected approval of the import permit, Red Light Holland will ship materials from its Netherlands farm to Irvine Labs. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTCQB: TRUFF) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth, and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, as well as a premium brand of psilocybin truffles in the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws is excited to announce that its research and development partner, Irvine Labs Inc. ("Irvine Labs"), an FDA-compliant and DEA-registered facility in California, United States has successfully received its 2025 psilocybin DEA quotas including an import quota. With the DEA quota now secured, Irvine Labs will submit the import permit necessary to receive Red Light Holland's natural psilocybin products, grown in the company's farm in the Netherlands. Red Light Holland's partner, Irvine Labs is licensed for prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug manufacturing by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and is a DEA Schedule 1 Bulk drug cultivator, manufacturer, importer and exporter; including psilocybin, psilocin, marijuana, THC, extracts, DET, DMT, LSD, peyote and mescaline. First Milestone Achieved: "We are thrilled to announce this significant milestone in our partnership with Irvine Labs, as they have now received their 2025 psilocybin DEA import quota," said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland. "This advancement allows us to immediately begin the import permit application process, bringing us one step closer to shipping our naturally derived psilocybin from our Netherlands farm to Irvine's state-of-the-art facilities in California. Once the materials arrive, the plans is for Irvine Labs to begin testing their proprietary dehydration and packaging solutions designed to extend the shelf life of our naturally derived psilocybin microdosing capsules. This progress underscores our commitment to expanding into global emerging legal markets with the highest quality products that meet rigorous standards for distribution and commercialization." Shaun Land, President of Irvine Labs, added, "Receiving our 2025 psilocybin import quota from the DEA represents a critical milestone in our collaboration with Red Light Holland. We are now focused on securing the import permit and preparing our facilities to receive the raw materials from the Netherlands. We have extensive experience working with naturally derived pharmaceutical ingredients and are excited to support Red Light Holland's microdosing program with our expertise in manufacturing and compliance, aiming to extend these innovative products stability and shelf life." The preservation of psilocybin from naturally derived compounds presents unique challenges in product development and manufacturing. Through Red Light Holland's partnership with Irvine Labs and the implementation of proprietary preservation technology, Red Light Holland aims to overcome these challenges by developing precise dehydration, manufacturing and storage protocols that maintain the integrity of natural compounds while significantly extending product shelf life. Combined with research into advanced packaging solutions, these innovations represent a comprehensive approach to ensuring product stability and quality throughout the supply chain. Red Light and Irvine Labs combined goal is to develop a commercialized product that can be legally exported to emerging markets and used in government-funded pilot programs and clinical trials within the United States. About Irvine Labs Irvine Labs was established in 1997. Since 2013, Irvine Labs has had a significant investment in medical research and development through its Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Division with a focus on natural medicines, including cannabis, cannabinoids, psilocybin, herbs and other sources of natural medicines. Irvine Labs is licensed for Prescription and Over-the-Counter (OTC) drug manufacturing by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Irvine Labs is a DEA Schedule 1 Bulk drug manufacturer, importer and exporter (including marijuana, THC, extracts, psilocybin, psilocin, DET, DMT, LSD, Peyote and Mescaline, and Schedule 1-5 testing lab). About Red Light Holland Red Light Holland is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws. Forward-Looking Statements and Cautionary Note CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's performance, business objectives and milestones and the anticipated timing thereof, and costs in connection with, the execution or achievement of such objectives and milestones, including its plans to continue seeking legal opportunities to increase responsible access to natural psilocybin around the world and Irvine lab's development of the Company's psilocybin; the Company and the Company's partners to maintain its stated licenses and obtain all necessary additional licenses and regulatory approval required for the Company to carry out its plans as described; the expectations with respect to the Company's planned psilocybin import following Irvine Labs' successful receipt of its 2025 psilocybin DEA quota and pending import permit approval; the Company's continued commitment towards ensuring legal, responsible access to Red Light's standardized natural psilocybin products; the Company's commitment to making further announcements with respect to its overall R&D project, including its partnership with Irvine Labs Inc. and the research project to develop a process for the commercial manufacture of microdosing capsules derived from the Company's psilocybin truffles; the Company proving out potential therapeutic benefits of Psilocybin; the Company receiving important insights from naturally occurring psilocybin truffles; the Company's ability to extract and expand access to psilocybin products; and the Company's ability to scalable production of high-quality, and approved microdoing capsules with extended shelf life via Irvine Labs ability to export their manufactured products from the United States to emerging markets, or sell to government funded pilot programs or clinical trials in the United States or around the world. Forward-Looking information in this press release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company's ability to maintain or exceed its current performance, and carry out its business objectives and milestones and under the anticipated timing and costs in connection with, the execution or achievement of such objectives and milestones; the Company and the Company's partners' abilities, including Irvine Labs to maintain its stated licenses and obtain all necessary additional licenses and regulatory approval required for the Company to carry out its plans as described; the Company's ability to realize its plans for its planned psilocybin imports following Irvine Labs' successful receipt of its 2025 psilocybin DEA quota and pending import permit approval; the Company's ability for its continued commitment towards ensuring legal, responsible access to Red Light's standardized natural psilocybin products; the Company's ability to maintain its commitment to making further announcements with respect to its overall R&D project, including its partnership with Irvine Labs and their research project to develop a process for the commercial manufacture of natural-source microdoing capsules derived from the Company's psilocybin truffles; the Company proving out potential therapeutic benefits of Psilocybin; the Company receiving important insights from naturally occurring psilocybin truffles; the ability to extract and expand access to psilocybin products; and the Company's ability to have scalable production of high-quality, microdosing capsules with extended shelf life for Global Distribution and The Company's ability to import their products into the United States and eventually the Companys ability to export their manufactured products from the United States to emerging markets, or sell to government funded pilot programs or clinical trials in the us or around the world. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the Company's inability to maintain or exceed its current performance, and carry out its business objectives and milestones and under the anticipated timing and costs in connection with, the execution or achievement of such objectives and milestones; the Company and the Company's partners' inabilities, including Irvine Labs, to maintain its stated licenses and obtain all necessary additional licenses and regulatory approval required for the Company to carry out its plans as described; the Company's inability to realize upon its plans for its planned psilocybin import despite Irvine Labs' successful receipt of its 2025 psilocybin DEA quota; delays or issues with the import permit process; the Company's inability to maintain its commitment towards ensuring legal, responsible access to Red Light's standardized natural psilocybin products; the Company's inability to maintain its commitment to making further announcements with respect to its overall R&D project, including its partnership with Irvine Labs; and The Company's ability to expand and extract access to psilocybin products. The Company cannot make medical claims and is purely in a R&D phase with its partners Irvine Labs Inc. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-Looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248548 SOURCE: Red Light Holland Corp. Unlock VIP access to the prestigious tournament with tailored packages and experiences. KKday, the leading e-commerce travel platform, is thrilled to announce the launch of its exclusive Roland-Garros 2025 ticket packages. This marks the first time KKday has been appointed as an official agent for the prestigious tournament. Among the six authorized agents, KKday is one of only three in Asia, further solidifying its position as a top-tier provider of unique travel experiences. Roland-Garros Ticket KKday Announces Exclusive Roland-Garros Ticket Packages for 2025 The 2025 Roland-Garros tournament will take place from May 25 to June 8, 2025, featuring two distinct match sessions: Day session: 10:00 AM - 5:30 PM (CEST) Night session: from 6:00 PM onwards (CEST) This iconic event will showcase thrilling matchups across the following rounds: 1st Round: May 25, 26, 27 2nd Round: May 28, 29 3rd Round: May 30, 31 4th Round: June 1, 2 Quarter Finals: June 3, 4 Women's Semifinals: June 5 1st Men's Semifinal at 2 PM: June 6 2nd Men's Semifinal at 7 PM: June 6 Women's Final: June 7 Men's Final: June 8 Fans can now secure their tickets for any round of the tournament with a selection of exclusive luxury packages. KKday offers three premium packages, granting unparalleled access to this world-renowned event. Secure the Best Ticket Packages for Roland-Garros 2025 L'ORANGERIE For those seeking the ultimate luxury experience, L'Orangerie provides a world-class setting within the Auteuil greenhouses, just 200 meters from the Philippe-Chatrier court. This elegant venue offers VIP access, gourmet dining, and a champagne bar, all in an intimate and refined atmosphere. Highlights: Seating in Category 1 VIP Access Exclusive access to a shaded terrace and outdoor areas Champagne bar, gourmet lunch OR dinner *Starting at USD 510 per seat. LA MEZZANINE Located on the first floor of L'Orangerie, La Mezzanine offers a chic, contemporary atmosphere. Guests can indulge in gourmet lunches, cocktail experiences, and enjoy complimentary drinks throughout the day. The venue is just a stone's throw from the Philippe-Chatrier court. Highlights: Seating in Category 1 VIP Access Cocktail lunch or dinner experience Stylish and refined setting *Starting at USD 492 per seat. LE PAVILLON Le Pavillon offers 500m of outdoor space where guests can savor gourmet lunches or intimate cocktails while enjoying exceptional views of the players during their training. This exclusive area is perfect for those seeking a relaxed yet luxurious experience. Highlights: Seating in Category 1 VIP Access Access to outdoor areas with champagne bar Close proximity to the players' training courts *Starting at USD 479 per seat. Indulge in a World-Class Roland-Garros Experience with KKday Tickets are now available for all rounds of the tournament, offering fans a chance to experience the thrill of Roland-Garros in person. Don't miss your opportunity to be part of this iconic event-secure your spot today on KKday's website. SOURCE: Taiwanmania.com International Travel Service Co., Ltd. Industry veteran strengthens scientific foundation of AI-powered shopper insight platform TestPilot Simulations, an AI-enabled platform for on-demand shopper insight, announced today that Dave Fish, Ph D, has joined the company as a Strategic Advisor. TestPilot helps CPG brands make smarter product and campaign decisions. The platform brings real shoppers to simulated eCommerce marketplaces and uses expert-trained AI to deliver fast, actionable insights. While TestPilot is built to be intuitive for business users, the team is committed to ensuring it meets the standards of seasoned research professionals as well. David Fish, Ph D Dr. Fish holds a Ph.D. in Social Psychology and is CEO of CuriosityCX, an award-winning insights and customer experience agency. He brings over 20 years of experience across both client and supplier sides, with leadership roles at Toyota, JD Power, and MaritzCX, and teaching appointments at Michigan State University, California State, and the University of Arkansas. "TestPilot is rethinking how we generate and apply shopper insight," said Fish. "It's fast, scalable, and grounded in real behavior-not just opinions. I'm excited to help ensure the engine behind it meets the needs of market researchers and the highest research standards." TestPilot CEO Allan Peretz added, "We're thrilled to have Dave on board. He brings world-class expertise in research design and analytics-exactly what we need as we scale a platform that's simple on the surface but scientifically rigorous underneath." About TestPilot: TestPilot Simulations enables brands to test new products, designs, and messaging in realistic digital environments-then analyzes shopper behavior using AI. The result: confident decisions, faster launches, and fewer costly mistakes. Learn more at www.testpilotcpg.com SOURCE: TestPilot Simulations, LLC TAIPEI, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- GIGABYTE, the world's leading computer brand, launches the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, and GeForce RTX 5060 series graphics cards, powered by NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, which will be available starting April 16. Designed for mainstream gamers, creators, and entry-level AI users, these new models offer an optimal balance between performance and cooling efficiency with an upgraded WINDFORCE cooling system for smooth gameplay and multitasking. The upgraded WINDFORCE cooling system aims to enhance cooling efficiency by maximizing air volume and minimizing turbulence and noise. These graphics cards feature the Hawk Fan design that delivers up to a 53.6% increase in air pressure and a 12.5% boost in air volume. GIGABYTE also applied server-grade conductive gel to ensure optimal contact with uneven surfaces, reducing thermal resistance and maintaining stability over prolonged usage. Equipped with direct GPU contact copper plate and composite heat pipes, GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and GeForce RTX 5060 series graphics cards are accomplished to maximize heat transfer for superior cooling performance. GIGABYTE offers a diversity of GeForce RTX5060 Ti and GeForce RTX 5060 models to cater to different users' needs. The ELITE model is the gateway of the AORUS series, offering an advanced cooling system and Screen Cooling feature to optimize rear airflow for additional heat dissipation. The GIGABYTE Gaming and AERO models are designed for high-performance gaming and creators, while the AERO model features a sleek white and silver for aesthetic PC build. Tailored for white PC build seekers, the GIGABYTE EAGLE ICE is the ideal option for an all-white setup. Meanwhile, the WINDFORCE model is designed with a simple black style for users seeking stability and durability. To fulfill the growing market for small-form-factor builds, GIGABYTE also offers an 182mm length model on GeForce RTX 5060 for a compact setup. Learn more about GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 series graphics cards at the official website. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2663635/RTX_5060_Ti___5060_KV.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gigabyte-debuts-geforce-rtx-5060-ti--5060-with-advanced-cooling-system-for-ultimate-gaming-and-ai-302427455.html High quality shots every time thanks to a hyperfocal 4-lens system, sonar autofocus, Polaroid's most powerful flash and new 'scene analysis' feature that warns when photos will be over or underexposed. Packed with iconic innovations from Polaroid's 80-year photography legacy, all in one easy-to-use, point-and-shoot instant camera. Polaroid Flip invites you to swap digital experiences for analog ones. Because the best of life is analog - and the 8 pictures in a Polaroid Film pack will be cherished far more than 800 digital ones. AMSTERDAM, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Polaroid unveils the Flip: A tech-packed instant camera for high-quality shots at the click of a button. With modern innovation hidden inside an iconic point-and-shoot design, the Polaroid Flip is the ultimate instant camera for an analog life. Featuring sonar autofocusing, a hyperfocal 4-lens system, Polaroid's most powerful flash and scene analysis (warning you when your shots are over or underexposed), you get high quality shots every time. Polaroid reignites real-life experiences and the Flip and invites you to step away from screens to capture unfiltered moments-lived, not lost in algorithms. Tech-packed instant camera for sharper shots. With a flippable lid for ultimate protection, the Polaroid Flip embodies 80 years of Polaroid innovation and iconic features. Flip is the best camera for everyone who wants to get great shots with ease. Hyperfocal 4-Lens System for beautifully sharp shots : Four automatically selected sweet spots, depending on the distance to the subject (0.65m, 0.85m, 1.2m, 2.5m) that ensure sharper focus across photography styles. : Four automatically selected sweet spots, depending on the distance to the subject (0.65m, 0.85m, 1.2m, 2.5m) that ensure sharper focus across photography styles. Sonar Autofocus ensures your subject is always in focus : Sonar waves to determine subject distance and select the right lens, for maximum focal clarity, delivering crisp focus - even in the dark. : Sonar waves to determine subject distance and select the right lens, for maximum focal clarity, delivering crisp focus - even in the dark. Polaroid's most powerful flash for any lighting condition : Located in the Flip's 'lid,' this adaptive flash adjusts power based on subject distance, illuminating up to 4.5m away. : Located in the Flip's 'lid,' this adaptive flash adjusts power based on subject distance, illuminating up to 4.5m away. Scene Analysis for well-exposed pictures, more often: Photographers receive an alert when the photo might be over or underexposed through the viewfinder LED, or when the subject is too close on the 'lid' display. Instant photography over instant gratification. Polaroid Flip is more than just a camera-it's an invitation to embrace real-life moments. In this hyper-digitized, constantly doomscrolling, high-anxiety age, the Polaroid Flip offers a way to connect with life's best moments - the real, tangible, analog ones; with eight pictures in a pack that will connect to life far more than 800 digital ones. Polaroid delivers a true analog experience: photos you can hold forever, not pixels lost in the cloud or forgotten on a phone. The Flip invites creators to simply live a life worth capturing, then click the Flip's iconic red shutter button. Available from April 29 The Polaroid Flip will be available for 219 / $199,99 / 199,99 / CNY 1699, with early access for members starting April 15. It launches on polaroid.com on April 29 and in retailers from May 13. Compatible with Polaroid i-Type & 600 film, the Flip is USB-C rechargeable and comes with a neck strap. It connects to the Polaroid app via Bluetooth, offering newly optimized manual settings through the app, allowing full remote control. Additional features include Double Exposure and a Self-Timer mode, giving creators even more creative freedom. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664102/Polaroid_Flip_Camera.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664103/Polaroid_Flip.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664104/Polaroid_Flip_2.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664105/Polaroid_Flip_Design_process.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/introducing-the-polaroid-flip-the-ultimate-point-and-shoot-instant-camera-for-an-analog-life-302428735.html 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! Helping Business Owners Take Control, Increase Value, and Prepare for a Successful Exit Exit Factor, a business consulting franchise that specializes in exit planning for small to mid-sized companies, announced today the opening of its newest location in Naperville, Illinois. John Kopp, a Naperville native and former CFO and Co-Owner of Lisle-based transportation brokerage ITG Transportation Services, will serve as the owner and operator of Exit Factor of Naperville. Exit Factor Logo The Exit Factor program is a proven process with tailored exit plans that safeguard the long-term value of a business now and in the future, no matter the size. Designed to help owners take control of their business by maximizing profit, efficiency, and value from day one, even if a sale isn't uppermost on the owner's mind. "I see so much value in the service Exit Factor provides," said John Kopp, franchise owner. "Too many business owners shutter their doors instead of capitalizing on years of hard work and dedication. Too often, business owners are being run by their businesses. Exit Factor gives business owners a clear path to take back control and unlock the full value of what they've built." The company was founded by best-selling author, speaker, and small-business advocate Jessica Fialkovich. Her passion for helping business owners maximize their company's value, grew from her experience as a business broker and owner of a Transworld Business Advisors franchise. For businesses that were not quite ready to sell, or had potential to increase their value prior to listing, Fialkovich developed a program, teaching strategies on ways to build value, profitability, and salability. "We're very proud of the success Exit Factor has had in helping businesses plan for profitability to ensure business owners maximize their company's value when it's time to sell," Jessica Fialkovich said. "We look forward to bringing Exit Factor of Naperville, Illinois on board to help even more business owners." Participants in Exit Factor's program earn back an average of $2,700 in exit value for every hour they spend in the program. Within the first year, clients have seen a 25% increase in profit and a 56.7% increase in business value. For those who have decided to sell, the program has helped them achieve successful exits. About Exit Factor Exit Factor offers a proven method that helps small to mid-size business owners maximize their company's value. It's among the United Franchise Group (UFG) family of affiliated brands and consultants, representing the very best in their industries. Through one-on-one consulting services and online programs, the trusted advisors at Exit Factor teach entrepreneurs how to successfully improve their company's efficiency, value and ultimately ability to exit. For more information, visit www.ExitFactor.com and for more information on owning a Exit Factor franchise, visit www.exitfactorfranchise.com. SOURCE: Exit Factor Designed for retail U.S. stock and equities Investors, CoinResearch helps investors navigate crypto markets for long term investing and diversification With the next crypto bull run on the horizon, CoinResearch.ai has launched a comprehensive Crypto Toolkit designed to help investors maximize their profits while minimizing risks. Combining advanced AI-powered insights, exclusive research reports, and step-by-step guidance, the toolkit equips retail stock and equities investors with the tools they need to succeed in this critical market cycle. CoinResearch CoinResearch "Timing is everything in crypto, and the next bull run is shaping up to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for investors," said Travis Wright, CEO of CoinResearch.ai. "Our Crypto Toolkit is designed to provide both beginners and experienced investors with the resources, insights, and confidence they need to capitalize on this moment safely and strategically." What's Inside the Crypto Toolkit? CoinResearch.ai's Crypto Toolkit is the ultimate guide to navigating the next bull run. It includes: Access to CoinResearch.ai's AI-powered platform , featuring real-time price predictions, sentiment analysis, buy-sell-hold signals, and a learning hub for crypto education. Crypto Outlook 2025 : An analysis of crypto's trajectory and the factors that could drive its value to new heights. A Decade of Bitcoin Price Trends and it's Key Growth and Volatility Drivers : A side-by-side comparison of the two leading cryptocurrencies to help investors decide where to focus their attention. The Evolution of Stablecoins - Mechanisms and Their Role in the Crypto Ecosystem: Explores the evolution, mechanisms, and impact of stablecoins on the cryptocurrency and financial systems, highlighting their role in promoting stability and innovation in the digital economy. Empowering Retail Investors for Success The Crypto Toolkit is part of CoinResearch.ai's mission to democratize access to high-quality crypto research and insights. Traditionally available only to institutional investors, these tools are now accessible to retail investors through an affordable and user-friendly platform. "Our goal is to level the playing field for retail investors," Eric Fellows, CTO, explained. "With the Crypto Toolkit and our AI-powered platform, users can make informed decisions based on real-time data and expert analysis instead of relying on guesswork or hype." Launch Offer: Risk-Free 30-Day Trial for Early Adopters To celebrate its launch, CoinResearch.ai offers early adopters a risk-free 30-day trial. The trial grants full access to the Crypto Toolkit and the platform's premium features. Subscribers will also receive $2,500 in value, including research reports and tools, at no cost. After the trial, membership costs just $9 monthly, and no long-term commitments exist. However, this launch special is limited to the first 500 subscribers, creating urgency for investors to act quickly. About CoinResearch.ai CoinResearch.ai is an advanced crypto research platform that combines AI-driven insights, expert analysis, and educational resources to help retail investors confidently navigate the volatile crypto market. The platform's comprehensive tools and features empower users to make smarter, data-driven decisions during the next bull run and beyond. For more information, visit www.coinresearch.ai . Visit the financial and investor disclaimer for research and publications, https://www.coinresearch.ai/disclaimer/ SOURCE: CoinResearch G6 Hospitality, the parent company of the iconic Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands, announces a strategic partnership with PaymentKey, a specialized payment solutions offering by HotelKey, one of the hospitality industry's largest property management system providers. This collaboration brings PaymentKey's secure, fully integrated payment platform to G6's network of properties across the U.S. and Canada, helping franchisees simplify payment operations, reduce chargebacks, and deliver a seamless payment transaction experience. Through this partnership, G6 properties will gain access to PaymentKey's integrated payment platform, which offers seamless card processing, consolidated settlement, chargeback, and reconciliation tools, and enhanced fraud protection. A single, cloud-based user-friendly dashboard will provide complete visibility into all payment activities and hotel operators can now manage all their payment activity in one place. The PaymentKey solution will actively help fight chargebacks, with the dedicated team managing the process of claiming back disputed charges with a higher likelihood of success. The platform will help reconcile all card transactions associated with the hotel by meticulously tracking every step in the payment lifecycle, ensuring every penny reaches the owner's bank account. For G6 hotel owners, this partnership brings in faster transactions, real-time visibility into payment activity, and improved guest satisfaction through quicker, more secure payment capture. PaymentKey's PCI- compliant technology also ensures the highest levels of data protection, giving both operators and guests peace of mind. PaymentKey is an optional service for Franchisees. It is already live at select G6 properties. The PaymentKey team is working closely with G6 to ensure franchisees have the training tools and ongoing support they need to make the transition with confidence. This process is designed to ensure no service disruption for the franchisees. Franchisees will not need to take any active steps beyond potentially signing an addendum to activate this service. Sonal Sinha, CEO - G6 Hospitality said that "G6 Hospitality selected PaymentKey as an important partner based on its deep expertise in hospitality payments, proven ability to scale across large property Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Specialty Medical Partners, We aim to establish Canada's most comprehensive outpatient specialty medical group, integrating all aspects of non-hospital-based specialty care., will be participating in the 2025 Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference, which will take place on May 5 and 6 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Dates: Monday May 5, 2025 - Tuesday May 6, 2025 Time: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM ET Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building 255 Front St W Toronto, Ontario M5V 2W6 Michael Black, CEO will be speaking at 3:00 PM ET ON Tuesday, May 6th. Interested parties can register to attend the conference here. Members of Specialty Medical Partners management will also be taking meetings from interested investors throughout the day. Take advantage of the opportunity and reach out to the team. To register for the conference, please follow this link. About Specialty Medical Partners At Specialty Medical Partners, our mission is to deliver exceptional medical care through close collaboration with our practice partners and a deep commitment to serving our patients and communities. We strive to create a personalized, compassionate healthcare experience that prioritizes patient well-being and fosters a sense of connection, trust, and shared ownership among our team members. About the Conference: The Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference brings together U.S., Canadian and international investors who are interested in the latest developments in the Canadian healthcare sector. Attendees will have an opportunity to obtain corporate updates from the premier Canadian publicly traded and private companies through presentations and private meetings. About Bloom Burton & Co.: Bloom Burton & Co. is a firm dedicated to accelerating returns in the healthcare sector for both investors and companies. Bloom Burton has an experienced team of medical, scientific, industry and capital markets professionals who perform a deep level of diligence, which combined with our creative and entrepreneurial approach, assists our clients in achieving the right monetization events. Bloom Burton and its affiliates provide capital raising, M&A advisory, equity research, strategic advisory, as well as company creation and incubation services. Bloom Burton Securities Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is also a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). SOURCE: Bloom Burton & Co. Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - SOL Strategies Inc. (CSE: HODL) (OTCQX: CYFRF) (formerly, Cypherpunk Holdings Inc, "Sol Strategies" or the "Company"), a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to investing in and providing infrastructure for the Solana blockchain ecosystem. On February 26, 2025, Sol Strategies entered into a definitive agreement with Pudgy Penguins-one of the most recognized brands in crypto, known for its toy line available in over 10,000 retailers, billions of online views, and a highly engaged global community-to launch a dedicated Solana validator in support of the PENGU ecosystem. This partnership is a continuation of Pudgy Penguins expansion into the Solana ecosystem and demonstrates the brand's commitment to securing the network. The PENGU validator is now operational, providing secure, high-performance validation infrastructure as part of SOL Strategies' white-label validator program. This validator program enables select partners to participate in Solana's blockchain security while leveraging its high-speed, low-cost network. "Partnering with Pudgy Penguins reflects a strong alignment between blockchain infrastructure and consumer-facing innovation," said Leah Wald, CEO of SOL Strategies. "As a widely recognized Web3 brand expands its presence on Solana, it underscores the evolving role of blockchain in supporting mainstream engagement. Through this validator partnership, SOL Strategies is helping connect well-established brands to the underlying infrastructure of the digital economy." Pudgy Penguins has built a distinctive presence at the intersection of Web2 and Web3, with its toy line resonating across major retail platforms. This collaboration with SOL Strategies represents a step toward enabling Web3-native brands to engage with institutional-grade infrastructure and explore blockchain ecosystems beyond Ethereum. "A big part of Pudgy Penguins vision is to build on and contribute to ecosystems that are aligned with our ethos of creating a simple and user-friendly crypto experience," said Luca Netz, CEO of Pudgy Penguins. "This mentality is why we chose to partner with SOL Strategies, one of the largest and fastest-growing validator operators, to run a Solana Validator for PENGU. Working alongside SOL Strategies allows us to build the Solana ecosystem uniquely and transparently. This is just the first of many initiatives where Pudgy Penguins is set to improve blockchain infrastructure and institutional involvement." About SOL Strategies SOL Strategies Inc. (CSE: HODL) (OTCQX: CYFRF) is a Canadian investment company that operates at the forefront of blockchain innovation. Specializing in the Solana ecosystem, the company provides strategic investments and infrastructure solutions to enable the next generation of decentralized applications. To learn more about SOL Strategies, please visit www.solstrategies.io. A copy of this news release and all the Company's related material documents regarding the Company may be obtained under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. About Pudgy Penguins Pudgy Penguins is one of the most recognized brands in Web3 consumer innovation. It is the first major NFT project to enter traditional retail, with Pudgy Penguins toys available in Walmart and other leading stores. The brand continues to pioneer blockchain-integrated consumer experiences, bridging Web3 with mainstream adoption. Learn more at pudgypenguins.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information: Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (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 information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements and information. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to the Company's or the Company's management team's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and expectations regarding the characteristics, value drivers, and anticipated benefits of the Company's business plans and operations related thereto. Forward-looking information can also be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the Pudgy Penguins validator partnership, its potential benefits to the Solana ecosystem, and the anticipated impact on SOL Strategies' white-label validator program and broader business objectives. There is no assurance that the Company's plans or objectives will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The purpose of forward-looking information is to provide the reader with a description of management's expectations, and such forward-looking information may not be appropriate for any other purpose. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking 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. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates, and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates, and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Disclaimer: SOL Strategies is an independent organization in the Solana ecosystem. SOL Strategies is not affiliated with, owned by, or under common control with Solana Foundation (the "Foundation"), and the Foundation has not entered into any association, partnership, joint venture, employee, or agency relationship with SOL Strategies. None of the Foundation or its council members, officers, agents or make any representations or warranties, recommendations, endorsements or promises with respect to the accuracy of any statements made, information provided, or action taken by SOL Strategies and expressly disclaim any and all liability arising from or related to any such statements, information or action. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248553 SOURCE: Sol Strategies Inc. Mastercard As Peruvian biologist Constantino Aucca Chutas sat chewing coca leaves with a local elder high in the Andes, his companion pointed to a peak known as Demon Mountain and shared how its rocky slopes were once snow-covered. The elder explained how Pachamama, or Mother Earth, grew so annoyed with humans that she stopped sending snow. Planting trees was the only way to harness much-needed water for the farmers in the valleys below. Looking across the pass to the bare mountain, Aucca began thinking of how he could combine his understanding of biodiversity with the knowledge of Indigenous communities to help reforest the mountains and repair vulnerable ecosystems. "A thousand years ago we were once part of the magnificent Inca Empire, which also suffered climate change. They planted millions of trees to manage the weather," says Cusco-based Aucca. "We did it then by working together for a common goal." Following their lead, Aucca vowed to unite his community together once more to plant millions of trees that would generate water for all. He and three colleagues founded the Peru-based Asociacion Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN) in 2000 and began reviving the High Andean ecosystems of his homeland. Determined to expand his work across the Andes, Aucca joined forces with three other conservation leaders to co-found Global Forest Generation (GFG) in 2018 and launch Accion Andina, an ambitious initiative to restore forests and secure water resources throughout the region. Shortly after, Florent Kaiser became the leader of GFG, helping to solidify Aucca's vision. Under this model, ECOAN would contribute its deep expertise in ecosystem restoration and unite grassroots conservation leaders already working to protect fragile High Andean landscapes. Global Forest Generation would provide the global partnerships, funding and technical support needed to scale these efforts, empowering local organizations to achieve more than they could alone. Fast-forward to 2025 and Accion Andina has planted 12 million native Polylepis trees and wants to protect and restore a million hectares along the mountainous spine of South America, which extends from northern Venezuela, on the Caribbean Sea, to ice-glazed Patagonia in the south. Last year, the Mastercard-led Priceless Planet Coalition, which aims to restore 100 million trees worldwide, expanded its planting sites to include nearly 1,000 acres in Peru and Ecuador, with a target of 1.1 million trees. By the end of 2024, 579,306 trees had been planted by five local partners representing 11 Accion Andina projects. With the Andes having lost some 95% of its native forests and up to 50% of its glaciers, the project aims to build climate resilience using a community-based model that honors local knowledge. The broader goal is to adapt this model to other ecosystems around the world while respecting each geography's unique local culture and developing conservation tools that meet community needs. Through its work, involving 26 projects, some 40,000 people are now directly involved in Accion Andina's efforts to plant native trees that absorb rain and glacial meltwater, helping to reduce the damaging cycle of floods and droughts. "It's not a conservation or a tree-planting project," Kaiser says. "It is a massive, century-long effort to increase water security across the Andes by reviving these ecosystems." But initially, convincing local communities to get on board was challenging. It was a tough ask of farmers, who were already struggling to survive climate-induced droughts and wildfires, to throw their energy into conservation. Tapping into the ancestral concepts of ayni and minka, which together mean "today for me, tomorrow for you," Aucca reminded communities of their Inca heritage and how they fought for independence from the Spanish. Protecting the environment was their next battle, and they would fight by planting trees. Aucca organized the first of many tree-planting events. Heralded by musicians blasting trumpets and giant shells, hundreds of people trek up the mountains to plant tens of thousands of trees in a single day, interspersing the backbreaking work with music and dancing. While native Polylepis trees are slow-growing, each hole people dig to plant them helps funnel water into the mountainside. At less than two feet tall, the saplings start to create mini ecosystems as their moss-covered branches absorb humidity and attract bugs and birds. Engaging with local communities and supporting livelihoods remains a focus and priority of the project. The production of the seedlings, which cost about $1.50 each, are bought from local nurseries that use the income for community projects, such as repairing village schools or installing solar panels. With funding from the Coalition, Accion Andina has also held educational workshops to teach communities how to improve water catchment systems and built a drip irrigation system that will help hundreds of families in a village in Peru with more sustainable infrastructure. Now recognized with the prestigious 2023 Earthshot Prize and as a U.N. World Restoration Flagship in 2024, Accion Andina is exploring how to combine traditional knowledge with artificial intelligence and high-tech imaging to identify the best locations for tree planting to protect vital watersheds, including those that sustain Lima and Quito. The Priceless Planet Coalition's work, in partnership with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute, is targeting these regions, with the aim of securing the future of these vital water sources and carbon sinks, creating jobs, building leadership capacity, preventing forest fires and protecting biodiversity. The High Andean forests provide key habitat for more than 40 species of conservation concern, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The coalition, whose partners contribute resources and run awareness campaigns that educate consumers on the importance of locally led tree restoration projects, is proving that the private sector has an essential role in supporting local communities as they take on ambitious cross-border projects. Kaiser echoes this emphasis on collaboration, highlighting that partnerships across generations, nations and sectors have been key to Accion Andina's success. "What makes Accion Andina so powerful is the deep sense of community that drives it," he says. "The friendships and partnerships we have built over the years, including with the PPC, have allowed us to grow in ways we never imagined. Accion Andina is an inspiring symbol of what can happen when people come together under a shared purpose." Originally published by Mastercard Follow along Mastercard's journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Mastercard on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Mastercard Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/mastercard Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Mastercard Baker Tilly Client background For more than 30 years, Northeast Technical Services (NTS), a full-service engineering firm, has provided environmental services to their clients. Today, 50 employees provide consulting, engineering and data management to industrial and governmental clients. To better understand and track the utilization of its employees, NTS implemented Baker Tilly's Project Intelligence project profitability software to better analyze projects and employee performance as well as improve decision-making. The business challenge NTS struggled with a lack of accurate and customizable metrics for managing employee utilization and project profitability. More specifically, NTS's metrics were being tracked and calculated in Excel because it wasn't possible to calculate and report on them directly out of Sage Intacct. Because these metrics were kept in multiple Excel files with manual calculations, the company had no single source of truth, and employees would sometimes be working with different sets of numbers. This made it difficult to have effective conversations about performance and goal setting. While NTS used an employee utilization dashboard, it only showed estimates because Sage Intacct couldn't factor in certain utilization variables, such as expected employee hours per day and different utilization targets by employee. That caused even more work in Excel and more questions about accurate metrics. Staff saw employee utilization against a utilization target that wasn't always accurate. This made it challenging to discuss performance with staff and led to a lot of time validating the numbers. If someone was trying to hit a target, it created a less than ideal situation when the data was called into question. Overall, too much time was spent compiling metrics, doing calculations and trying to discover why employees were seeing different numbers in different places instead of spending that time making decisions based on accurate data. Strategy and solution With help from the Baker Tilly team, NTS implemented Baker Tilly's Project Intelligence, a project profitability software. This provided NTS the reports they needed out of the box, and they no longer need to use the error-prone, out-of-date processes tied to Excel spreadsheets. By implementing Project Intelligence, NTS no longer needs to waste time figuring out who has the right numbers on which spreadsheet. NTS now has real-time, accurate information and has the entire team working with the same data. Not only are all processes taking place within Intacct sparing them the headache of jumping to different applications, NTS estimates Project Intelligence is saving them one to two days of preparation time each month. Meetings at NTS are now about finding solutions instead of getting bogged down in data accuracy and calculations. In fact, the Project Intelligence dashboards have become integral to NTS's monthly meetings with project managers and staff. By including Project Intelligence, there is better understanding across the team, as there's no longer any guesswork about the accuracy of the data they're using to set the next goal. Project Intelligence also gives NTS leadership the opportunity to be transparent and ensure everyone is on the same page. Project Intelligence has also allowed the team to have more deliberate goals and clear business objectives, and the use of the Project Intelligence dashboards have helped communicate that information to the staff. Connect with a Baker Tilly specialist to learn more View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Baker Tilly on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Baker Tilly Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/baker-tilly Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Baker Tilly XponentL Data Inc., a leading provider of Data AI services, today announced the acquisition of SmartBits, a leading Digital, Data AI consultancy in Switzerland. This strategic move expands XponentL's service offerings, strengthens its position in the growing Data AI market and expands its European footprint. The acquisition complements XponentL's existing capabilities in data strategy and platform/software engineering. XponentL aims to enable its clients with AI-ready data, complementing its software partners with assets that drive value across Life Sciences, Healthcare, Retail, Hospitality, Energy, Manufacturing, and Financial Services-forming a foundation for growth. Bekim Kasumi, SmartBits CEO, had this to say about the acquisition, "I founded SmartBits in Switzerland 24 years ago to advance digital transformation. The acquisition by XponentL Data is an exciting opportunity to scale our expertise and expand our impact in Switzerland and across Europe. With XponentL's strong capabilities in AI and data, SmartBits is well-positioned to drive innovation and deliver greater value to our clients in this rapidly evolving space." XponentL's CEO, Tom Johnstone, expressed similar thoughts on the synergies, "The acquisition of SmartBits will allow us to increase our reach in Europe and bolster our platform engineering capabilities." The initial focus of the acquisition will be launching XponentL's Innovation Lab, which will focus on helping clients quickly prove hypotheses. "XponentL's Innovation Lab will be where we combine leading technology to solve our clients' most critical business opportunities. The team will take learnings from large technology companies where we'll utilize a golden path approach to drive innovation execution," said Matt Arellano, President of XponentL. The organizations will introduce industry-focused assets to the market over the next twelve months. About XponentL Data Inc: https://xponentl.ai/ We specialize in delivering innovative Data AI driven solutions that empower organizations to harness their full potential. With unmatched expertise, a collaborative approach, and a focus on value-driven results, we simplify complex challenges to unlock strategic opportunities, making us the ideal partner for businesses seeking transformation and competitive advantages. About SmartBits: https://smart-bits.ch SmartBits is a management, consulting, and software development company specializing in innovative digital solutions for education and professional development. Established in 2003, SmartBits SH.P.K operates as the Kosovan branch of SmartBits GmbH, headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415669172/en/ Contacts: Media: Dave Taub Chief Marketing Officer david.taub@xponentl.ai Additional Information: Matthew Arellano President Chief Data Officer matthew.arellano@xponentl.ai Clean Air Metals Inc. ("Clean Air Metals" or the "Company") (TSX.V:AIR)(FRA:CKU)(OTCQB:CLRMF) is pleased to announce the last results from its 2025 winter drilling program at its 100%-owned Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project ("TBN"). The final set of assay results, in conjunction with recent findings from the program, continue to demonstrate that the near-surface, high-grade mineralization at the Current Deposit is more extensive than previously anticipated. Assay highlights from holes reported today: 16.8 m of 2.95 g/t Pt, 2.89 g/t Pd, 0.65% Cu and 0.33% Ni from 148.0 m downhole in Hole CL25-009, including 4.86 g/t Pt, 4.77 g/t Pd, 1.05% Cu and 0.50% Ni over 7.8 m from 157.0 m, 29.1 m of 1.24 g/t Pt, 1.15 g/t Pd, 0.33% Cu and 0.26% Ni from 142.9 m downhole in Hole CL25-012, including 2.76 g/t Pt, 2.63 g/t Pd, 0.59% Cu and 0.34% Ni over 4.1m from 147.0 m, 39.6 m of 1.29 g/t Pt, 1.19 g/t Pd, 0.29% Cu and 0.20% Ni from 104.0 m downhole in Hole CL25-007, including 2.11 g/t Pt, 1.96 g/t Pd, 0.45% Cu and 0.25% Ni over 11.0 m from 116.0 m, and 1.73 g/t Pt, 1.55 g/t Pd, 0.42% Cu and 0.26% Ni over 5.0 m from 133.0 m. Mike Garbutt, CEO of Clean Air Metals, remarked, "We are pleased with the recent drill results that continue to show that Thunder Bay North has some of the thickest and highest-grade PGE-Cu-Ni sulphide mineralization in the country. We believe that there is significant potential to improve the average grade and mineability of the Current Deposit by improved definition and resource estimation of structurally-controlled higher-grade areas ('ballrooms'). This work will assist us in developing a more robust, high-grade production model that includes both low capital intensity and toll milling optionality." Table 1. Complete assay results from the 2025 Winter Drilling program Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Pt (g/t) Pd (g/t) Cu (%) Ni (%) Pt+Pd (g/t) Cu+Ni (%) CL25-007 104.0 143.6 39.56 1.29 1.19 0.29 0.20 2.48 0.49 Incl 116.0 127.0 11.00 2.11 1.96 0.45 0.25 4.07 0.70 and 133.0 138.0 5.00 1.73 1.55 0.42 0.26 3.28 0.68 CL25-008 122.0 141.0 19.00 0.98 0.89 0.21 0.20 1.86 0.41 Incl 133.0 138.7 5.70 1.34 1.20 0.29 0.22 2.54 0.50 CL25-009 148.0 164.8 16.80 2.95 2.89 0.65 0.33 5.84 0.98 Incl 157.0 164.8 7.80 4.86 4.77 1.05 0.50 9.63 1.54 CL25-010 148.5 158.7 10.20 0.60 0.51 0.13 0.15 1.11 0.28 Incl 155.8 158.7 2.90 1.02 0.89 0.27 0.18 1.91 0.45 CL25-011 153.0 163.0 10.00 0.80 0.76 0.17 0.16 1.56 0.33 CL25-012 142.9 172.0 29.14 1.24 1.15 0.33 0.26 2.38 0.59 Incl 142.9 147.0 4.14 2.76 2.63 0.59 0.34 5.39 0.93 CL25-0011 74.0 123.0 49.02 1.57 1.46 0.32 0.21 3.03 0.53 Incl 96.0 104.0 8.00 2.91 2.67 0.55 0.29 5.58 0.84 And 110.0 119.0 9.00 2.74 2.42 0.53 0.27 5.15 0.80 CL25-0021 96.0 117.4 21.41 2.71 2.41 0.53 0.28 5.12 0.81 incl. 100.3 106.0 5.75 3.83 3.37 0.68 0.34 7.20 1.01 incl. 111.0 117.4 6.41 4.20 3.76 0.89 0.34 7.96 1.23 CL25-0031 88.0 116.0 28.00 0.89 0.83 0.22 0.20 1.72 0.42 Incl 102.0 113.0 11.00 1.12 1.01 0.27 0.23 2.13 0.50 CL25-0042 117 136 19.00 1.11 1.00 0.25 0.21 2.11 0.46 Incl 128 134 6.00 2.32 2.06 0.54 0.31 4.38 0.85 Incl 128 132 4.00 2.73 2.43 0.61 0.34 5.16 0.95 CL25-0052 110.0 151.0 41.00 4.52 4.29 0.97 0.52 8.81 1.49 Incl 121.0 149.0 28.01 5.75 5.37 1.18 0.61 11.12 1.79 incl 138.0 148.0 10.00 7.87 7.34 1.57 0.90 15.20 2.47 Incl 146.0 148.0 2.00 12.08 10.87 2.38 1.05 22.95 3.42 CL25-0062 125.0 140.5 15.50 2.72 2.48 0.65 0.35 5.20 0.99 Incl 126.0 135.5 9.50 2.95 2.70 0.68 0.35 5.65 1.03 Incl 130.0 135.5 5.50 3.95 3.68 0.95 0.47 7.63 1.42 1. Reported in the February 27, 2025, News Release 2. Reported in the March 4, 2025, News Release A Closer Look at the 2025 Winter Drilling Program: The Winter 2025 drilling program was designed to increase the size, number, and grade of the near-surface high-grade mineralization within the Lower Current and Bridge zones. Out of the 13 holes drilled, eight intersected significant widths of high-grade mineralization, averaging over 3 g/t Pt+Pd (Table 1). This supports the view that the high-grade zones at the Current Deposit are larger and more extensive than previously modeled (Figure 1). In the Bridge Zone, tighter drilling successfully expanded a flat-lying high-grade mineralization target, with grades matching or surpassing those predicted in the current resource estimate. This area demonstrates significant potential for further resource growth. In the Lower Current Zone, historical and recent drilling shows that the highest-grade mineralization is concentrated in embayment structures developed at the base of the tubular-shaped host intrusion. These structures can extend for up to several tens of metres below the average position of the basal contact and resemble the "ballroom" structures seen in the JM reef in the Stillwater Complex, Montana. They represent a key to improving the average grade for the Current Deposit (Figure 2). Figure 1. Plan view map showing locations of high-grade intercepts of the 2025 Winter Drilling Program at the Current Deposit. Clean Air Metals' Vice President of Exploration, Lionnel Djon, commented, "The winter drilling program clearly demonstrates the potential of the Current Deposit to host near-surface, high-grade zones beyond previously defined boundaries, highlighting a strong opportunity for expansion of the highest-grade parts of the deposit. What's particularly exciting is that the recent high-grade expansion drilling has covered only ~20% of the known strike length of the Current Intrusion, leaving substantial potential for expanding the number and size of high-grade areas in the deposit." Table 2. Hole Coordinates Hole ID Easting- NAD83_16 (m) Northing NAD83_16 (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth (deg) Dip (deg) Hole length (m) CL25-001 357548 5402688 493 208.22 -73.9 165.60 CL25-002 357548 5402688 493 210.59 -85.3 150.00 CL25-003 357587 5402644 494 287.99 -83.9 150.00 CL25-004 357670 5402604 495 34.84 -84.6 165.00 CL25-005 357670 5402604 495 194.93 -84.4 165.00 CL25-006 357682 5402598 495 42.31 -84.1 165.00 CL25-007 357712 5402582 499 231.86 -86.1 160.54 CL25-008 357767 5402567 501 84.21 -87.5 178.50 CL25-009 357832 5402506 508 37.24 -87.1 195.00 CL25-010 357916 5402458 504 42.50 -83.8 195.00 CL25-011 357880 5402374 503 189.24 -85.7 192.00 CL25-012 358024 5402427 495 42.23 -82.8 183.00 CL25-0133 357745 5402218 506 100.18 -86.4 150.00 3. Hole CL25-013 (not included in the table 1), was designated to target a conductor outside of the known intrusion. The hole intersected barren rock associated with a magnetite-bearing hybrid unit. Figure 2. Cartoon showing a conceptual mineralized ultramafic conduit representing the Current Deposit. Sulfide-rich, high-grade "ballrooms" occupy embayment structures along the basal contact of the ultramafic conduit and extend well into the footwall. Qualified Person Dr. Lionnel Djon, Ph.D., P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and Vice President of Exploration for the Company, has reviewed and approved all technical information in this press release. Quality Assurance / Quality Control Clean Air Metals uses ALS Global ("ALS"), a well-established and recognized mineral assay and geochemical analytical services company. The Thunder Bay laboratory holds ISO-9000 accreditation; the Vancouver facility holds ISO-17025 registration. All NQ-sized drill cores are cut with a diamond-tipped saw blade, and half are submitted to ALS for sample preparation and analysis. Sample preparation is completed at the ALS sample preparation facility in Thunder Bay, ON, and analysis is completed at the primary ALS assay laboratory in Vancouver, B.C. Clean Air Metals follows a quality control procedure for its core assay sampling program: inserting blind blanks and certified Palladium-Platinum and Copper-Nickel standards into the sample stream. The insertion procedure follows industry standards with control sample frequency depending on the length of the sampled interval. Gold, platinum, and palladium are analyzed using fire assay (FA) with an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) finish. Samples with grades above the optimal ICP-MS detection limits are analyzed using optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Also, thirty-three (33) elements of each sample, including copper, nickel, silver, chromium, cobalt, and sulphur, are analyzed by a multi-element analytical method using the atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) technique following four-acid digestion of the sample. When samples have grades above the optimal detection limits for this analytical method, they are re-analyzed using a high-grade assay method with an ICP finish. About Clean Air Metals Clean Air Metals is a development and exploration company advancing its flagship, 100% owned Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals ("TBN") project, 40 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The TBN project, accessible by road and next to established infrastructure, hosts two (2) deposits - the Current and Escape deposits, only 2.5 km apart. Together, the deposits host a 13.8 Mt indicated mineral resource containing 2.4M Pt eq. oz (Technical Report on the Thunder Bay North Project, Ontario Canada, NI43-101, SLR Consulting Canada Ltd, June 19, 2023) with significant potential for expansion down-plunge. One of the rare primary platinum resources outside of South Africa, the TBN project is in a stable and mining-friendly jurisdiction and benefits from longstanding relationships with local First Nations. With its proven technical team, Clean Air Metals is committed to growing the resources at the TBN project and creating long-term value for shareholders. Social Engagement Clean Air Metals Inc. acknowledges that the Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project is located within the area encompassed by the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850 and includes the territories of the Fort William First Nation,?Red Rock Indian Band, Biinjitiwabik Zaaging Anishinabek and Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek. Clean Air Metals also acknowledges the contributions of the Metis Nation of Ontario, Region 2 and the Red Sky Metis Independent Nation to the rich history of our area.? The Company appreciates the opportunity to work in these territories and remains committed to the recognition and respect of those who have lived, travelled, and gathered on the lands since time immemorial. Clean Air Metals is committed to stewarding Indigenous heritage and remains committed to building, fostering and encouraging a respectful relationship with First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples based upon principles of mutual trust, respect, reciprocity and collaboration in the spirit of reconciliation. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Mike Garbutt" Mike Garbutt, CEO of Clean Air Metals Inc. Connect with us on X/ Facebook/ Instagram. Visit www.cleanairmetals.ca for more information or contact: Mia Boiridy Director of Communications and Investor Relations 250-575-3305 mboiridy@cleanairmetals.ca 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. Cautionary Note The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or, future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections. SOURCE: Clean Air Metals, Inc. New pilot opportunity opens nationwide as Fort Lauderdale prepares for deployment US Ignite, in partnership with Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), is excited to announce the launch of a pilot opportunity for communities across the United States to deploy and evaluate the transformative BrightSites technology. Through the Brightening Smart Communities with Innovation Pilot Program, selected communities will have the opportunity to pilot Signify's cutting-edge wireless infrastructure platform to address pressing local challenges related to Internet access, public safety, transportation, and environmental health. Signify's BrightSites technology transforms traditional lighting infrastructure into reliable, low-latency, high-bandwidth communication infrastructure capable of supporting gigabit-speed wireless communication without the need for disruptive trenching. By leveraging existing lighting grids, communities can enable new smart applications from real-time traffic monitoring to public Wi-Fi and environmental sensors with minimal installation effort. The City of Fort Lauderdale, selected during an earlier round of this program, is set to launch its pilot later this summer. This upcoming deployment reflects the potential of the solution to make a real impact on the ground. Both US Ignite and Signify are excited to expand the program to more communities nationwide. "We are proud to offer Signify BrightSites, a transformative broadband luminaire solution that redefines urban infrastructure. By turning existing streetlights into ultra-fast, gigabit-speed digital hubs, cities can now bridge the digital divide, enhance public safety, and accelerate smart city innovation without the disruption and cost of fiber trenching. With up to 80% lower deployment costs and a 95-ton per kilometer reduction in CO2 emissions, BrightSites is not only smart, but sustainable," said Kristene Canady, VP Business Development, Signify BrightSites. "This pilot launch marks a new era of connectivity, where every light pole becomes a gateway to opportunity. Through this unique approach we're enabling local leaders to tackle real challenges affecting communities, like public health and safety all while increasing connectivity and reducing operating costs." The communities selected to participate in the Brightening Smart Communities with Innovation Pilot Program will work with US Ignite and Signify to co-design and to tailor their pilots to focus on local needs. Each pilot will run for up to six months and focus on solving a key community challenge, such as expanding access to the Internet, improving public safety, enhancing transportation systems, or enabling environmental monitoring. In addition to receiving BrightSites equipment, participating communities will benefit from dedicated technical assistance, strategic guidance, and the support of US Ignite's national network of connected communities. "Brightening Smart Communities with Innovation Pilot Program offers communities an opportune chance to shape their future using an easy-to-deploy infrastructure solution that comes with expert guidance and support," said Domenick Lasorsa, Community Innovation Manager. "We are proud to work with Signify to help communities deploy meaningful connected solutions that improve residents' quality of life." To be considered for this unique pilot opportunity, communities must fill out the application form by May 16, 2025. US Ignite will host a project discovery meeting with eligible applicants, and aim to begin pilot planning in early June. Full details on the program timeline, eligibility criteria, and application process are available at https://www.us-ignite.org/program/us-ignite-communities/brightening-smart-communities-with-innovation/. About Signify BrightSites: BrightSites technology transforms legacy lighting grids into reliable, low-latency, high-bandwidth (1GB+) communication infrastructures. This easy-to-deploy, ultra-reliable, no-trenching network connectivity solution is an excellent option for any growing city or town. It acts as the invisible infrastructure that supports seamless interaction between IoT sensors, smart systems, autonomous transportation, and people. Wireless connectivity is essential to modern city infrastructure, helping attract businesses and talent, providing information for citizens and visitors alike, and enabling smart city solutions. About US Ignite: US Ignite works closely with communities, military bases, startups, and researchers to solve their toughest economic growth and technology innovation challenges. Operating like a high-tech startup, our nonprofit organization delivers customized results through stakeholder engagement, technical expertise, and targeted tools. In collaboration with our partners, we deliver project outcomes that include breakthrough technologies while creating innovative new jobs, startups, and services. Learn more at us-ignite.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415411960/en/ Contacts: Media Contact: Lizzette Arias, US Ignite Communications Manager 571-245-0016 Lizzette.arias@us-ignite.org InnVest Hotels, one of Canada's largest hotel owners and operators, has entered into a strategic partnership with Tailos Robotics, the Austin-based innovator in AI-powered cleaning solutions. Together, the companies are bringing smarter, more efficient, and people-first automation to InnVest's portfolio of properties. Tailos Employee Training InnVest Hotel Employees with Rosie A Tailos employee providing training to InnVest Hotel employees on how to use Rosie, the AI-powered commercial cleaning robot vacuum. This collaboration reflects InnVest's deep commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences while supporting the team members who make them possible. As part of the partnership, Tailos' robotic vacuum, Rosie, will be deployed across multiple InnVest hotels throughout 2025. The partnership follows an in-depth, two-year evaluation led by McLean Xavier, Chief Information Officer at InnVest Hotels. After testing multiple robotic solutions, InnVest selected Tailos as its preferred provider. "Normally, an evaluation process takes a bit less than two years, but for us, we wanted to make certain that the partner we chose would be one that we could rely on when we needed them most," said McLean Xavier. "That means having access to the right person within the group with the right influence to deal with our challenges and respond to our changing needs." "I found it very easy to interact and get responses from the Tailos team," Xavier added. "They have been very accommodating to our needs. It also helps when the team that you are working with stays within all project goals, which Tailos did." By integrating Rosie into daily operations, InnVest expects to clean more than 80 million square feet of carpet in the next 12 months. Beyond efficiency, Rosie also helps reduce physical strain on housekeeping staff by automating repetitive vacuuming tasks-addressing a well-documented source of wrist injuries in the hospitality industry. "Our partnership with InnVest Hotels exemplifies the powerful role robotics and AI can play in transforming hospitality operations-not merely from an efficiency standpoint but, importantly, by significantly improving employee well-being," stated Micah Estis Green, CEO at Tailos Robotics. "Rosie empowers housekeeping teams, enabling them to focus energy on activities that truly enhance guest experience." Together, InnVest and Tailos are demonstrating how thoughtful automation can drive both operational excellence and employee care-proving that better guest experiences start with better support for the teams behind them. For more information about InnVest Hotels, please visit innvesthotels.com . To learn more about Tailos Robotics and Rosie, visit tailos.com . Contact Information Maxx Liebig Digital Marketing Manager maxx.liebig@tailos.com SOURCE: Tailos Ascend Aesthetic Partners, a national network of leading aesthetic surgeons, has announced its 2025-2026 fellowship matches-an initiative designed to advance the next generation of aesthetic specialists through immersive, practice-based training. Ascend Aesthetic Partners The 2026 Ascend fellows have been matched with two of the network's leading practices. Hedden, Gunn & Halka Plastic Surgery of Birmingham, Alabama, welcomes Timothy Stoddard, M.D., from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Courtney Leonard, M.D., from Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, Texas. Dr. Stoddard and Dr. Leonard will be joining the practice in 2026. Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, welcomes Evan Childers, M.D., from Marshall University, who will join the practice in July 2026. These placements reflect Ascend's commitment to fostering talent at highly regarded aesthetic practices recognized for their excellence. Both fellowship programs are endorsed by The Aesthetic Society and exemplify excellence in surgical quality standards and aesthetic medicine. Fellows gain hands-on experience through mentorship on both surgical techniques and the business aspects of aesthetic practice. The program also offers opportunities for independent clinical practice, monthly didactic sessions, and participation in research presented at The Aesthetic Society's Fellows Forum. Introducing 2025 Fellows: William Rifkin, M.D., will join Hedden, Gunn & Halka Plastic Surgery in July 2025. Dr. Rifkin completed a two-year plastic surgery research fellowship at NYU before earning his medical degree from New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He completed his residency at NYU Langone Health in New York, New York. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Tufts University. He specializes in facial aesthetics, body contouring, and reconstructive techniques. Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery welcomes Aaron Jacobs, M.D., who is trained in both cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. Dr. Jacobs is joining PVPS to expand his knowledge and hone his skills during his one-year aesthetic fellowship. He is a recent graduate of Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a Level 1 trauma center and regional burn center, where he gained extensive experience in reconstructive procedures and cosmetic surgery. Dr. Jacobs earned his medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and completed his residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he was inducted into both the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. "At Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery, we're excited to work alongside our fellows and mentor them during this pivotal year," said Christopher Bates, M.D., who oversees the fellowship program at PVPS. What Current Fellows Are Saying About the Ascend Fellowship Program "I am deeply honored to be part of the Ascend Fellowship Program and to work with the exceptional team at Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery," said Abby Threet, M.D. "Being able to collaborate with such a distinguished group of surgeons is invaluable to my growth as a surgeon and to the care I provide." "Joining the fellowship program at Hedden, Gunn & Halka Plastic Surgery offers a unique opportunity to refine my skills while contributing to a team that values excellence in patient care," said Hannah England, M.D. About Ascend Aesthetic Partners Ascend Aesthetic Partners is a collaborative alliance of leading surgeons dedicated to redefining excellence in plastic surgery and aesthetic care. Through clinical leadership and strategic growth, Ascend provides comprehensive support to its network of surgeons. Ascend continues expanding its network of premier aesthetic practices across the nation and invites you to connect if you are interested in learning more. For more information about Ascend Aesthetic Partners and its services, visit AscendAestheticPartners.com. For more information about the fellowship program, contact Beth Guerin, Director of Physician Recruitment and Engagement, at beth.guerin@ascendpsp.com. Contact Information Lori Moonen Marketing Agency lori@creativesparkjax.com 9042287318 SOURCE: Ascend Aesthetic Partners Momentum, a leading global managed services provider, today announced the successful close of its acquisition of Secher Security, a respected cybersecurity firm as one of the world first Cato Networks partners therefore with extensive knowledge into Cato solutions and next-generation threat protection. This strategic move further solidifies Momentum's mission to deliver robust, secure connectivity and managed services to customers in EMEA and beyond. momentum logo momentum The acquisition of Secher Security follows Momentum's earlier acquisition of Horizon Telecom in early 2024, a key milestone in advancing its EMEA growth strategy. With Horizon Telecom, Momentum has already established a strong foundation in Western Europe, forming the basis of its EMEA operations. The addition of Denmark-based Secher Security now further strengthens Momentum's security capabilities worldwide. "As we continue to broaden our presence in Europe and beyond, bringing Secher Security on board is a natural progression for Momentum," said Todd Zittrouer, CEO of Momentum. "Following the successful acquisition of Horizon Telecom, we are eager to deepen our footprint across EMEA and accelerate our efforts to support businesses throughout the region. Secher's proven track record and specialized security knowledge complement our existing portfolio, enabling us to deliver a truly comprehensive suite of networking and cybersecurity services to our growing global clientele." With a global network infrastructure and a dedication to local, personalized service, Momentum has earned a reputation for excellence in connectivity, voice, and managed solutions for businesses seeking resilient global coverage. Building on its recent expansions across EMEA-most notably with the addition of Horizon Telecom in early 2024-Momentum remains committed to meeting customers where they do business, maintaining regional expertise, and delivering reliable, high-quality support. Secher Security, led by Kristian Secher-Johnsen, brings a wealth of experience in advanced security methodologies, helping organizations fortify their digital defenses against emerging threats. Their expertise enhances Momentum's ability to respond proactively to global cybersecurity challenges, ensuring clients stay protected as they scale. "I'm delighted to join the Momentum family," said Kristian Secher-Johnsen, CEO and Founder of Secher Security. "By combining our specialized security offerings with Momentum's expansive network reach, we can help organizations worldwide achieve unparalleled protection and peace of mind. Furthermore, it will strengthen our position in our primary market area (Ed. Nordic region of Europe), where we will be able to meet the demands and needs of even the largest companies in the region." As a combined force, Momentum's innovative technology, Secher Security's specialized security knowledge, and Horizon's proven track record in local markets create a powerful synergy designed to benefit customers on a global scale. Both Momentum and Secher Security are dedicated to ensuring a smooth integration, with day-to-day services continuing uninterrupted. Clients across Europe and the broader EMEA region can expect expanded resources, wider coverage, and enhanced capabilities to meet their evolving needs in today's rapidly shifting digital landscape. For more information about Momentum, Secher Security, or Momentum's global networking and security solutions, please visit: Momentum Secher Security SOURCE: Momentum STOCKHOLM, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Inex One, a leading market research platform, today announces the report "The Expert Network Market Sizing 2025". The report reveals that the global expert network industry surpassed $2.5 billion in 2024, growing 9% after a few slower years. To view the full report, visit:https://inex.one/blog/expert-network-market-size "Expert networks start where Google (or ChatGPT) ends. They help businesses make better-informed decisions, to allocate resources and improve our societies, said Max Friberg, CEO at Inex One. "In a world of AI sludge and misinformation, true insights are worth ever more. "Our findings illustrate the growing demand for high-quality expert insights to inform strategic decision-making worldwide." Key Findings from the Report: The global expert network industry surpassed $2.5 billion in 2024, up 9% from the previous year. The main growth drivers were a) the rebound in private equity buyout activity, and b) growth in the survey product, as corporate and market research teams partly substitute away from traditional B2C survey panels. Other notable trends in 2024 were the consolidation and emerging winners in the transcript library business, and expert networks looking for cost-optimization with new office openings. Expert networks are expected to continue growing in the years ahead, as global value chains grow ever more complex. The report contains an extensive dataset mapping the 35 leading expert networks over 12 years, containing: 2012-2024 revenue for the 35 largest expert networks, including source detail. Market share development 2012-2024 by individual network, by Category and Generation of expert network. 2020-2024 Hiring trends per top-15 expert network. Headcount and productivity benchmarks. Breakdown of spend by region (US, EMEA, RoW). Breakdown of spend by customer segment, and segment characteristics, including client segment evolution 2020-2024. Trends and outlook for the years ahead, including product innovations such as transcript libraries, and possible M&A activity. About Inex One Inex One is a leading digital platform and marketplace that connects strategy consulting firms, private equity firms, corporates strategy teams, market research firms, and other professionals with the best expert networks and survey providers worldwide. Trusted by more than 8,000 clients globally, Inex One offers unparalleled user experience, streamlining the management of expert calls and delivering valuable insights. For more information, please visit www.inex.one or contact us at info@inex.one. Infographic: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665169/Inex_One_2025_Infographic.jpg Infographic: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665170/Inex_One_Infographic.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2538353/5269112/Inex_One_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/inex-one-the-expert-network-industry-exceeds-2-5-billion-302429098.html Named The Cormorant at 55 South, Silversea reveals first spaces of the hotel, set to open during the 2025/2026 Antarctica season Take a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the hotel here and learn more on Silversea's Antarctica offering here. MIAMI, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Silversea, the leading experiential luxury and expedition travel brand, has unveiled the first spaces and name of The Cormorant at 55 South, its new 150-room hotel in Puerto Williams, Chile, scheduled to open during the 2025/2026 Antarctica season. Upon completion, Silversea's new hotel will create the most convenient, comfortable and seamless way to visit Antarctica. "The Cormorant at 55 South is a tribute to the rich culture, breathtaking natural beauty, and storied history of Puerto Williams, immersing guests in their destination before embarking on their journey to Antarctica," said Bert Hernandez, president, Silversea. "Every aspect of The Cormorant is thoughtfully designed with our guests in mind, ensuring a comfortable and uniquely Silversea experience. Each room offers panoramic views of Patagonia, and the hotel creates a deep connection to the local community, providing specially designed experiences that will allow our guests to begin their expeditions sooner than ever, all in uncompromised comfort." THE CORMORANT AT 55 SOUTH The Cormorant is a nod to the unique location of the property at 55 S - making it the southernmost hotel on Earth - and an acknowledgement of the location's history. Paying homage to Lakutaia, which is the indigenous Yahgan word for cormorant, the aquatic bird is a symbol of the seafarer and intended to bestow good fortune on guests embarking on their greatest adventure. ROOMS DESIGNED TO IMMERSE GUESTS IN THE DESTINATION The Cormorant will feature two distinct room views, including serene forest views and tranquil water vistas overlooking the Beagle Channel. This design brings guests closer to the breathtaking natural beauty of Patagonia, immersing them in the landscapes that define this region. Each room is thoughtfully designed with expansive windows that frame sweeping views, filling the space with natural light and creating a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. The interiors feature warm wood tones and earthy elements, deepening the connection to the destination while creating an authentic and calming environment. To further this connection, every room will incorporate handcrafted items created by regional artisans, adding a unique touch that celebrates local and regional culture. Welcoming guests from the moment they arrive will be The Cormorant's own dedicated staff - all trained in The Silversea Way to provide the high level of service that is synonymous with Silversea. ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE THROUGH DESTINATION LEADERSHIP The hotel will facilitate a uniquely frictionless journey to Antarctica, allowing guests to enjoy Silversea's personalized service and warm hospitality throughout their entire experience. Silversea's innovative six-day Antarctica Fly Cruise expeditions allow guests to fly over the Drake Passage, providing a shorter option without compromising on the time spent in the destination. Having pioneered luxury expedition cruising in 2008, Silversea became the first travel brand to offer luxury Antarctica expeditions. With its experience in the region, Silversea now offers the most enriching and personalized adventures on the continent, with an industry-leading expedition team that comprises up to 28 experts in their field, knowledgeable kayak instructors, world-class onboard lectures and some of the highest Zodiac-to-guest ratios in the industry, among other enriching features. Silversea's expedition experts host guided walks ashore, identifying wildlife species, unique glacial and geological structures, and other fascinating features only found on an Antarctic expedition. Back on board, the team's insightful lectures provide an overview of the day's sightings and experiences. FOLLOW ALONG WITH STORIES BY SILVERSEA Silversea also announces the launch of Stories by Silversea, its new content series featuring authentic storytelling and resources. Today, Silversea is releasing the first two episodes, "Embrace the Unknown" and "A Legacy in the Making: Part 1." Designed to speak to the topics that matter most to its guests, Stories by Silversea will publish new content focusing on different topics, stories and moments unique to Silversea, establishing an important educational tool to learn more. Included in the series will be a multi-part highlight on the development of The Cormorant at 55 South, including new resources and information, regular updates and a behind-the-scenes look at creating the southernmost hotel in the world. For more information, please visit https://www.silversea.com/lp-fly-to-antarctica.html. Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release relating to, among other things, expectations on timing, design, and demand for the development of the new hotel in Puerto Williams, Chile, constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "will," and similar expressions are intended to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, are based on judgments, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, those included under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as well as our other filings with the SEC, copies of which may be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations website at www.rclinvestor.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to us on the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Silversea Silversea is the leading experiential luxury and expedition travel brand, offering guests immersive experiences on all seven continents, personalized service, and an innovative culinary offering aboard its 12 intimate ocean and expedition ships. Silversea's itineraries encompass an unparalleled range of destinations worldwide, from the Mediterranean and the Caribbean to the Galapagos, both Polar Regions, and hundreds of fascinating places in between. Set to strengthen its destination leadership in late 2025, the brand is developing the southernmost hotel on Earth in Puerto Williams, Chile - offering guests a uniquely seamless journey to Antarctica. Silversea brings its likeminded guests closer to their destination in uncompromised comfort, championing the joy of travel, an enriching spirit of discovery, and an enduring commitment To Finding More?. Silversea is one of five cruise brands owned by global cruise company Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL). For more information, visit www.silversea.com. About Royal Caribbean Group Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) is a vacation industry leader with a global fleet of 67 ships across its five brands traveling to all seven continents. With a mission to deliver the best vacations responsibly, Royal Caribbean Group serves millions of guests each year through its portfolio of best-in-class brands, including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea; and an expanding portfolio of land-based vacation experiences through Perfect Day at CocoCay and Royal Beach Club collection. The company also owns 50% of a joint venture that operates TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. With a rich history of innovating, Royal Caribbean Group continually delivers exciting new products and guest experiences that help shape the future of leisure travel. Learn more at royalcaribbeangroup.com or rclinvestor.com. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665353/Silversea_Reveal.jpg Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KNxHGJvVLA Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsRUq3r3Huk Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665357/Silversea_Reveal_2.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665358/Silversea_Reveal_3.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665359/Silversea_Reveal_4.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1488683/Silversea_Cruises_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/silversea-reveals-more-on-its-highly-anticipated-southernmost-hotel-in-puerto-williams-chile-creating-a-new-gateway-to-antarctica-302429111.html Published by Action Against Hunger. Today marks two years since the beginning of the armed conflict in Sudan, which has escalated into one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, with 30.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The Famine Review Committee of the IPC system evaluated in August 2024 that Zamzam camp in North Darfur reached the famine threshold, making it the first formal declaration of famine in more than seven years. Now, 26 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity in Sudan. An estimated 12.1 million women and girls in Sudan need support against gender-based and sexual violence, but access to medical and psychosocial care is limited due to the ongoing conflict. Women and girls are especially likely to be displaced from their homes to escape threats of such violence and, in 2024, they represented over 50% of Sudan's refugees. Conflict-related challenges have inhibited humanitarian organizations' ability to reach populations in need. "It has become very difficult to work in Sudan. We are worse off than yesterday, but we will continue to work to make the situation better," says Action Against Hunger's regional head for Africa, Paloma Martin de Miguel. Action Against Hunger reminds all parties to the conflict that prevention of sufficient food aid delivery, including attacks on food production and distribution infrastructure, are in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2417, which should be respected. Action Against Hunger has been present in Sudan since 2018 and has scaled up efforts to address this unprecedented humanitarian crisis. From April 2023 to December 2024, Action Against Hunger's teams supported 816,943 people with health and nutrition supplies in 15 locations across Blue Nile, Central Darfur, Red Sea, South Kordofan and White Nile. Interventions such as protection measures and medical and psychosocial support were provided to 11,953 people affected by gender-based violence. Action Against Hunger urges the following actions to be taken immediately That all parties to the conflict take urgent action to stem the humanitarian crisis in Sudan by refraining from attacking, looting or damaging infrastructure essential to the safety of the population such as markets, agricultural or livestock lands, and hospitals. That there be accountability for human rights violations, particularly the reported incidents of gender and sexual based violence committed against women and girls, and that protection measures be strengthened to prevent further atrocities. That the international community and humanitarian actors mobilize urgent aid, as the situation is critical and requires an immediate response. *** Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 59 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Action Against Hunger on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Action Against Hunger Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/action-against-hunger Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Action Against Hunger By Erik Foley, Sustainability Practice Lead at Antea Group USA In today's business landscape, sustainability professionals face more pressure than ever to demonstrate their value-not just for environmental good, but for the bottom line. In this blog, Erik Foley, Sustainability Practice Lead at Antea Group USA, shares why the key to lasting impact isn't leading with sustainability at all. Drawing on decades of experience and real-world examples, Erik outlines four essential roles sustainability leaders must play to stay relevant and drive business value-from strategist and collaborator to risk analyst and bridge-builder. Most importantly, he explains why sustainability conversations need to start with business priorities and not ESG acronyms. Read the beginning below and then head over to Erik's blog for the full piece: To save you and I both some writing and reading time, I could summarize my point this way:?make it a business meeting, not a sustainability meeting. But you would wonder what I meant....fine. Here's what I mean: Several years ago, I was helping a large pharmaceutical distribution company establish a sustainability committee. I was working with the new--and first ever--sustainability officer, an excellent natural leader. She had done great work establishing a committee of well-respected leaders from across the company. This is not an easy thing to do. She had spent time studying the company, the competition, and understanding relevant sustainability frameworks and regulations. She was set for a great kick-off meeting. People were in their seats. Anticipation hung in the air. She cleared her throat and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Then she made a critical error: she opened the meeting talking about sustainability. I winced. No one else noticed. It was a sustainability meeting after all, right? You are supposed to talk about sustainability...aren't you? The fact that a sustainability meeting is expected to be about sustainability is exactly the problem she was feeding into. By meeting this expectation she was, ironically, making her work in the future to mainstream sustainability at the company that much harder. She was splitting sustainability away from core business, a dislocation that can take a long time to mend. At the time, I had been in sustainability for over 25 years and knew the topic teetered on a razor's edge between the ethical and the strategic, the nice-to-do and the must-do, between social responsibility and fiscal discipline. It easily becomes a sideshow while the main event plays on. A significant part of my life's work has been to get sustainability in the big tent, but they talk differently in there and they don't let just anyone in. Click below to continue reading and learn how to make sustainability indispensable to your business. Continue Reading Here View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Antea Group on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Antea Group Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/antea-group Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Antea Group A Premier Multifamily Development in the Heart of Peoria, AZ Viking Capital, in partnership with Overland Group, is pleased to announce the official groundbreaking ceremony for Peoria Gateway. This dynamic new multifamily development will elevate luxury living in the fast-growing West Valley region. Scheduled for May 28, 2025, the event will welcome city officials, community leaders, and project partners to the future site of this thoughtfully designed 336-unit luxury apartment community. With sleek modern architecture, resort-style amenities, and smart home technology, Peoria Gateway is positioned to meet the growing demand for high-quality housing in the Phoenix metropolitan area. "Breaking ground on Peoria Gateway marks more than the start of construction-it represents our shared vision for building vibrant, future-forward communities," said Vikram Raya, CEO and Co-Founder of Viking Capital. "We're proud to collaborate with Overland Group on this transformative project and to support the continued growth of Peoria." Strategically located near Loop 101 and significant retail, healthcare, and employment hubs, Peoria Gateway will offer residents convenience and lifestyle excellence. Construction is slated for completion in 20 months, with pre-leasing expected to begin in month 14. The project is a key milestone in Viking Capital's mission to create investment opportunities that deliver strong, risk-adjusted returns while positively impacting local communities. "This isn't just about developing apartments-it's about designing a place where people truly want to live," added Michael Holeman, Development and Finance Lead at Overland Group. "Peoria Gateway will set a new standard for multifamily living in the West Valley." For media inquiries, event attendance, development updates, or investment information, please visit: https://go.vikingcapllc.com/org-peoria SOURCE: Viking Capital Investments LLC Luxury fragrance house Fragrance Du Bois is now one of the fastest-growing brands in the luxury niche fragrance sector, driven by its iconic scents and distinctive style which resonate with consumers worldwide in search of their signature fragrance. Founded in Paris in 2013, Fragrance Du Bois has more than tripled its global sales over the past three years. In the UK, growth has been particularly remarkable, following the brand's decision to take control of its own sales in March 2024, transitioning from a UK distributor. This strategic move has resulted in a sales increase of over 600% in under a year across Harrods, Selfridges, and Harvey Nichols, with further expansion into Fenwick and leading independent retailers. Unleash unstoppable power with Lucius The essence of invincibility for those who conquer all. Everyone's wearing Lucius. "Globally, our sales are growing rapidly - and exponentially in some markets," said Jonnie Swarbrick, Founder and Creative Director. "This is fantastic for the brand, as it allows us to connect with more people in person and showcase the quality and diversity of our fragrances. Today's consumers are moving away from the mainstream and seeking unique, signature scents that set them apart - like our first female fragrance, Sirene, which has become a No.1 bestseller and a phenomenal success in nearly every store and market. People no longer want to smell like everyone else - they want to express their individuality and embrace their own identity." OK! magazine recently reviewed the brand's first male fragrance, Lucius, stating: "Fragrance Du Bois have launched their first male-focused fragrance, Lucius, and it might just be the new 'it scent' for men. Our team fragrance expert caught a whiff of it in Harvey Nichols last week and has been thinking about it ever since." Lucius arrives in the US and South America later this month. In 2025, Fragrance Du Bois has entered new markets including China, Peru, The Dominican Republic and Indonesia, while maintaining strong momentum across Europe, the Middle East, the USA, and South America. Expansion plans include new openings at Saks and Neiman Marcus in the US, continued growth with Globus in Switzerland, and an enhanced partnership with Breuninger department stores in Germany. In the United States Fragrance Du Bois has invested in corporate offices and a second US warehouse in central Miami on Biscayne Boulevard, strategically positioned to service both North and South America and provide same-day despatches to our department store partners across the country including flagship stores which start opening in 2025. Jonnie Swarbrick - "Currently we are working on one of our most exciting projects yet developing a unique collection specifically and exclusively for the US and South American markets and the continent's fragrance lovers, I can't say too much just yet but this will be unique and something very special no other brand has done before for US consumers and will become a focal point for our flagship US partners and our own flagship boutiques in the US." Fragrance Du Bois was founded in 2013 by Jonnie Swarbrick and a dedicated creative team, drawing inspiration from traditional French perfumery while embracing a bold, modern and disruptive vision, collaborating with a growing collective of master perfumers. SOURCE: Fragrance Du Bois Chief turns real-time data into action, helping SaaS teams forecast accurately, move faster, and execute with confidence. Chief, a new Predictive Platform for growth-stage B2B SaaS companies, today announces its public launch and $3.3M in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Dundee Venture Capital, with participation from Deepwater Asset Management, York IE, Upstream Ventures, Service Provider Capital, Monsoon Ventures, and strategic angels including operators from Google, Meta, Yahoo!, Snapchat, and eVisit. Chief Logo Chief was built to solve one of the most persistent problems in SaaS: operators are drowning in data but starved for clarity. In conversations with over 80 founders and executives at companies ranging from $7M to $600M+ ARR, one theme kept emerging: decisions are being made based on outdated, disconnected dashboards. Forecasts are fuzzy, execution is reactive, and insights often arrive too late to matter. "Dashboards aren't the answer," said Bret Larsen, CEO and Founder of Chief. "They're historical and disconnected - built for reporting, not decision-making. Operators need tools that help them act in the moment. That's why we built Chief: to turn operational data into real-time, AI-powered insight and action." Chief combines classical machine learning, generative AI, and a company-specific context library to create proactive agents trained on each business. These agents monitor operations, surface insights, recommend actions, and ensure follow-through in real time. The platform is designed for enterprise and growth-stage SaaS companies experiencing the operational drag of scale. Whether it's CEOs struggling with forecast confidence, COOs managing cross-functional complexity, CROs dealing with deal slippage, or CFOs stuck in post-mortems - Chief gives every team access to the context they need to move fast and stay aligned. Chief delivers: Proactive insight into what's working, what's breaking, and what's about to - across Sales, CS, Product, Marketing, and Finance Real-time answers to critical questions - without bouncing between dashboards or waiting on analysts Forecasting that works , from pipeline and churn to spend and margin - with full traceability Early detection of risks and opportunities - so teams can act, not just react Execution tracking to ensure actions are assigned, owned, and completed A single operational source of truth - contextualized for the business and powered by AI Early design partners - SaaS companies from $10M to $300M+ ARR - are already seeing value, gaining sharper insight into operational bottlenecks and opportunities. "We're building the infrastructure for operational intelligence," said Jon Daniels, Co-Founder and CTO. "Chief isn't just surfacing insights - it's helping teams make better decisions, faster, and with full accountability." Chief's founding team brings deep SaaS and AI expertise. CEO Bret Larsen previously founded eVisit, backed by Goldman Sachs and used by the largest U.S. health systems. The team includes alumni from Google, Meta, Amazon, and DigiCert, and advisors to brands like Netflix and Tableau. About Chief Chief is the first Predictive Operations Platform for growth-stage SaaS companies. We help operators anticipate what's coming, take action faster, and drive execution with clarity and control. Learn more at getchief.com. SOURCE: Chief Regulatory News: Arverne Group (ISIN code: FR001400JWR8, mnemonic code ARVEN), a French industrial company specialized in the production of renewable underground resources, reaches a new milestone by launching construction of the Direct Geothermal Lithium Extraction (DLE) demonstration plant for its project in Alsace. Located in the Bas-Rhin region of France, this demonstrator will play a key role in assessing lithium resources, as well as the technical and economic performance of the innovative DLE technology in real conditions. It will validate the process for extracting lithium from geothermal brines in the Rhine basin, optimizing yield, selectivity and environmental impact. Initiated in 2024 with studies and pre-orders, the construction of the demonstration plant is supported by BPI France1, a project financed by the Government as part of France 2030 and by the European Union Next Generation EU as part of the France Relance plan2 The equipment has been designed in collaboration with DG SKID, a recognized expert in this field, following the pilot phase carried out by Lithium de France3 in the laboratories of Equinor in Norway, a long-standing partner of the Group and co-shareholder of Lithium de France. The demonstration plant will be installed in Northern Alsace, on the first geothermal doublet, whose work is scheduled to start in the coming months, subject to official authorization for drilling. Pierre Brossollet, founder and Chairman CEO of Arverne Group, stated: "The construction of the geothermal lithium extraction demonstration plant marks a key milestone in the pre-industrial phase of our strategic project. We are pursuing our roadmap to reach, by 2031, an annual production capacity of 4 TWh of geothermal heat and 27,000 tonnes of geothermal lithium, a critical metal in the energy transition, meeting the growing needs of the electric mobility and energy storage markets." About Arverne Group Arverne Group specializes in harnessing underground resources to transform them into environmentally friendly, local and renewable energy, contributing to the prosperity of local communities. As an integrated industrial player, Arverne Group spans the entire underground value chain, from exploration to drilling and production to sales to end-users. Arverne Group aims to become the French leader in geothermal energy and its by-products, including low-carbon geothermal lithium. Founded in Pau in 2018, Arverne Group has structured its business activities around several subsidiaries, notably Lithium de France (geothermal heat and extraction and sale of geothermal lithium), 2gre (sale of geothermal heat), Arverne Drilling Services (drilling operations). A mission-driven company, Arverne Group is listed on the Tech Leaders segment of Euronext Paris (ISIN FR001400JWR8, symbol ARVEN). www.arverne.earth 1 GEOVALI program led by Lithium de France, winner of the 2022 call for projects 2 Acceleration strategy "Innovative battery solutions and technologies" 3 Lithium de France: subsidiary with headquarters in Haguenau, Alsace, 63% owned by Arverne Group, 23% by Equinor and 12% by Hydro View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415061267/en/ Contacts: Media Relations communication@arverne.earth arvernegroup@image7.fr Investor Relations investor.relations@arverne.earth alexandre.commerot@seitosei-actifin.com poLight ASA("poLight" or the "Company", OSE: PLT) today announced that the Company has entered into a strategic investment agreement (the "Investment Agreement") with Q Technology (Group) Company Limited ("Q Tech"), a leading manufacturer of camera modules for global companies. Pursuant to the Investment Agreement, the Company will issue 63,743,112 new shares to Q Tech at a subscription price of NOK 2.69 per share, raising total gross proceeds of NOK 171,468,971.28 (the "Private Placement"). The issuance will represent approximately 32.97% of poLight's outstanding shares following the Private Placement, and Q Tech will have the right to nominate two members to poLight's Board of Directors. The completion of the Private Placement is conditional upon the approval by the Company's general meeting for the share issuance to Q Tech, the appointment of Q Tech's nominated directors to poLight's Board of Directors, and certain amendments to the Company's articles of association regarding the composition of the Board of Directors as set out below. The general meeting is expected to be held on 21 May 2025. The Company's largest shareholder Investinor Direkte AS and LHH AS, holding 10.42% and 5.01% of the shares of the Company, respectively, have entered into irrevocable undertakings to vote in favor of the Private Placement and the related resolutions at the general meeting. Following the Private Placement, the Company may carry out a subsequent offering of up to 19,122,933 new shares to existing shareholders of poLight (the "Subsequent Offering"). As a part of the strategic investment, Q Tech is working to establish a dedicated TLens assembly and test line ("Strategic Partnership Agreement"), in addition to poLight's existing manufacturing capabilities. "This partnership, combining our technology and expertise with Q Tech's experience in ramping up technology to high volume, is an important element in convincing major OEM's to use our products and establish poLight as a trusted long-term supplier," said Dr. yvind Isaksen, CEO of poLight ASA. "We strongly believe that poLight's unique technology will be important for several applications," said Q Tech Chairman Roy Ho. "With backing from a top tier U.S. consumer electronics customer, we are confident this alliance will bring cutting-edge solutions to the market, addressing key industry challenges." The Private Placement entails a deviation from the shareholders' pre-emptive rights pursuant to Sections 10-4 and 10-5 of the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act. The Board of Directors has carefully considered whether such a deviation from the shareholders' pre-emptive rights is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders. The Board of Directors has concluded this is the case. The Board of Directors emphasized, inter alia, that the Company by this transaction will secure the equity required for further growth and working capital needed to scale production of the Company's TLens and further develop the Company's technology platform, both related to TLens and TWedge. The Board of Directors believes that the subscription price in the Private Placement is fair, considering the trading price of the Company's shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange, as well as the knowledge, production scaling, and significant funding offered by Q Tech. The development of the Company's TLens and TWedge technology through the partnership with Q Tech is in line with the Company's strategy, and this transaction has the potential to significantly accelerate scaling of this offering. Further, Q Tech has agreed to a two-year lock-up on its shareholding in the Company, subject to customary terms and conditions. The Board of Directors also emphasized that the transaction will not imply an unequal treatment of existing shareholders, and the Subsequent Offering reduces dilution for such shareholders. The transaction is supported by the Company's largest shareholders, Investinor Direkte AS and LHH AS. According to the Investment Agreement, at least two members of poLight's Board of Directors shall be independent of poLight's largest shareholders and management in accordance with the recommendations of the Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance (the "Independent Directors"), and this shall be reflected in the Company's articles of association. Further, the articles of association shall set out that Q Tech will have the right to appoint two members to the Board of Directors for as long as Q Tech and/or its affiliates hold in aggregate at least 25% of the shares of poLight. Pursuant to the Investment Agreement, in the event a voluntary offer by a third party to acquire all the shares in the Company is recommended by the Independent Directors, Q Tech must either accept the offer, present a competing offer with at least the same cash price and other terms that are in aggregate no less favorable, or agree to co-bid (if permitted by applicable law). All aspects of such an offer shall be handled by the Independent Directors, including engaging advisors and negotiating terms. If a higher offer is made and Q Tech does not respond appropriately, it must sell its shares as per the initial offer. The Company will call for a general meeting to resolve the share capital increase pertaining to the Private Placement, appoint two board members nominated by Q Tech and amend its articles of association, as will be further described in the notice to the general meeting to be announced separately on or prior to 30 April 2025. Further, the Board of Directors will propose to the general meeting that the Board of Directors is granted an authorization to carry out the Subsequent Offering of up to 19,122,933 new shares in the Company, directed at shareholders in the Company as of 15 April 2025 (as registered in Euronext Securities Oslo (VPS) two trading days thereafter) who are not domiciled in a jurisdiction where such an offer would be unlawful or, for jurisdictions other than Norway, require any prospectus, filing, registration or similar action (the "Eligible Shareholders"). The Eligible Shareholders will be granted non-transferable subscription rights to subscribe for and be allocated new shares in the Subsequent Offering. The subscription price in the Subsequent Offering will be NOK 2.69. Oversubscription will be permitted, but subscription without subscription rights will not be permitted. The Subsequent Offering will be conditional upon the approval of the said authorization by the general meeting, as well as the completion of the Private Placement. The application period for the Subsequent Offering is expected to commence shortly after the publication of the Prospectus (as defined below). The Company will issue a separate stock exchange announcement with further details on the Subsequent Offering. The Company reserves the right to cancel the Subsequent Offering due to prevailing the market conditions in the future. The Company will publish a prospectus for the listing of the shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement, subject to approval by the general meeting, as well as the offer and listing of new shares in connection with the Subsequent Offering (the "Prospectus"). Publication of the Prospectus is subject to approval of the Prospectus by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, expected during June/July 2025. The shares issued in the Private Placement will, subject to the general meeting's approval, be issued prior to approval and publication of the Prospectus, and will be issued under a separate and temporary ISIN blocked from trade on the Oslo Stock Exchange pending publication of a listing prospectus. Pareto Securities AS is acting as financial advisor to the Company, as well as settlement agent (the "Settlement Agent") for the Private Placement and the Subsequent Offering. Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS is acting as legal advisor to the Company. Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS is acting as legal advisor to Q Tech. Information in this announcement is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements according to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication by Joakim Hines Bredahl, CFO of poLight on the date and time as set out above. About poLight ASA poLight ASA (listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange: PLT) offers a patented, proprietary tunable optics technology, starting with its first product, TLens which replicates "the human eye" experience in autofocus cameras used in devices such as smartphones, wearables, barcode scanners, machine vision systems and various medical equipment. poLight's TLens enables better system performance and new user experiences due to benefits such as extremely fast focus, small footprint, no magnetic interference, low power consumption and constant field of view. poLight is based in Tnsberg, Norway, with employees in Finland, France, UK, US, China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines. For more information, please visit https://www.polight.com About Q Technology (Group) Company Limited Q Technology (Group) Company Limited (listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ticker: 1478) is a global leading manufacturer of camera modules and fingerprint recognition modules. Through the persistent pursuit of capabilities in optics, computer vision and deep learning, Q Tech is dedicated to becoming a world-class intelligent vision enterprise adhering to the motto of "Illuminate Things" and offering high-quality machine vision and human vision to mobile terminals, vehicles and IoT smart devices. For more information, please visit (https://www.qtechsmartvision.com/common/lang/lng/en.html) IMPORTANT INFORMATION The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness. Neither the Settlement Agent, nor or any of its affiliates or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisors or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for, or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to the Company, its subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available, or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. This announcement has been prepared by and is the sole responsibility of poLight. Neither this announcement nor the information contained herein is for publication, distribution or release, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into or from Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia) or any other jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The publication, distribution or release of this announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This announcement is not an offer for sale of securities in the United States. The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any securities referred to herein in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States. This announcement is an advertisement and is not a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 (the "EU Prospectus Regulation") (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State). Any offering of the securities referred to in this announcement will be made by means of a Prospectus which will be prepared, and which is subject to the approval by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority. Investors in the Subsequent Offering should not subscribe for any securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information contained in the Prospectus. Copies of the Prospectus will, following publication, be available from the Company's registered office and, subject to certain exceptions, on the websites of the Settlement Agent. In any EEA Member State, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the EU Prospectus Regulation, i.e. only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are "qualified investors" within the meaning of the EU Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of English law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order") or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so. This announcement is made by, and is the responsibility of, the Company. The Settlement Agent and its affiliates are acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with the transactions described in this announcement. They will not regard any other person as their respective clients in relation to the transactions described in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company, for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the transactions described in this announcement, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein. In connection with the transaction described in this announcement, the Settlement Agent and any of its affiliates, acting as investors for their own accounts, may subscribe for or purchase securities and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell or otherwise deal for their own accounts in such securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the transactions described in this announcement or otherwise. Accordingly, references in the Prospectus to the securities being issued, offered, subscribed, acquired, placed or otherwise dealt in should be read as including any issue or offer to, or subscription, acquisition, placing or dealing by, the Settlement Agent and any of its affiliates acting as investors for their own accounts. The Settlement Agent does not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions otherwise than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so. Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as "believe", "aim", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "will", "may", "continue", "should" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. The Company, the Settlement Agent and their respective affiliates expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any forward-looking statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date and are subject to change without notice. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415207307/en/ Contacts: For further information, please contact: Dr. yvind Isaksen, CEO, poLight ASA: +47 90 87 63 98 Joakim Hines Bredahl, CFO, poLight ASA: +47 97 52 17 31 Vero Technologies, a leading financial technology platform for asset finance, today announced the launch of its newly redesigned website as part of a broader relaunch of its brand and mission. The refreshed website, available at www.vero-technologies.com , represents more than a visual overhaul-it reflects Vero's commitment to empowering the next generation of leaders in asset finance. The relaunch underscores Vero's expanded vision: delivering innovative solutions and tailored support for a new era of asset-based lenders. Designed for decision-makers who are modernizing legacy systems, scaling operations, and driving change within their organizations, Vero's platform and services are built with agility, extensibility, and usability at the core. A Digital Experience That Mirrors the Platform The new website features a modern, intuitive interface with streamlined navigation and dedicated pages for each of Vero's core solutions-wholesale, trade & supply chain, equipment, fleet & rental, and consumer auto finance-as well as new sections highlighting industry verticals, modular capabilities, and real-world use cases. The result is a faster, clearer path for visitors to discover how Vero can unlock operational efficiency and scale lending programs without adding headcount. "This relaunch is more than a new website - it reflects a new chapter for Vero," said John Mizzi, Co-Founder and CEO of Vero Technologies. "We're aligning our brand with the next generation of leaders in asset finance - those who are pushing boundaries, embracing change, and modernizing how lending gets done. Our mission is to serve as the innovation engine behind that movement." Powering the Next Generation of Asset Finance This relaunch also marks the beginning of a broader brand evolution. At the center of Vero's go-forward mission is a focus on enabling the Next Generation of Asset Finance Leaders - those who are redefining the future of commercial, equipment, and specialty lending. In the coming months, Vero will be rolling out a series of initiatives to support this growing community, including: Thought leadership campaigns centered on the topics that matter most to tomorrow's decision-makers Industry spotlights and case studies that showcase innovation in action The Next Gen Summit - a new in-person event series designed to spark collaboration, share strategies, and explore what's next for the asset finance ecosystem More Than Technology - A Team, A Mission The updated About Us page introduces the people behind the platform - bringing to light the deep operational and technical expertise that powers Vero's service model. Visitors can also learn more about the company's founding story and its mission to bring modern, API-first tools to an industry ready for change. About Vero Technologies Vero Technologies is a leading financial technology platform for asset finance. Built to serve wholesale lenders, OEMs, captives, and specialty finance providers, Vero delivers end-to-end solutions that span credit, servicing, title management, audit reconciliation, and risk monitoring. With its modular architecture and deep servicing expertise, Vero enables clients to launch, scale, and modernize lending programs - without the overhead. To explore the new site and learn more about Vero's solutions, visit: www.vero-technologies.com Contact: Frank Paleno, frank@vero-technologies.com, +17343550973 SOURCE: Vero Finance Technologies Trust Consulting Services, a leading provider of comprehensive technology solutions, is proud to announce the awarding of the OASIS Plus 8(a) Small Business contract by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This significant milestone marks a new chapter in Trust Consulting Services' commitment to delivering exceptional service and innovation in government contracting. The OASIS (One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services) Plus contract is a government-wide, multiple-award, IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity) contract that provides federal agencies with flexible and streamlined solutions for complex professional services. The selection of Trust Consulting Services as a recipient underscores the company's proven expertise and exceptional reputation within the industry. "We are extremely honored to receive the OASIS Plus 8(a) Small Business award," said James Radford, CEO of Trust Consulting Services. "This contract is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, as well as our unwavering commitment to providing innovative and effective solutions to our federal clients. We look forward to leveraging our expertise to help government agencies achieve their goals efficiently and effectively." As an awardee of the OASIS Plus 8(a) Small Business contract, Trust Consulting Services is poised to offer unparalleled service across diverse areas, including technology integration, program management, engineering, and financial management. This contract positions the company to significantly expand its reach and impact, enhancing its ability to support vital government initiatives and drive forward national objectives. Trust Consulting Services takes pride in its commitment to excellence and its mission to deliver transformative solutions that meet the evolving needs of the modern world. This award not only highlights the company's capabilities and achievements but also sets the stage for future growth and continued success in the government contracting landscape. For more information about Trust Consulting Services and its award-winning services, please visit www.tcsservices.net. About Trust Consulting Services Trust Consulting Services is a premier technology solutions provider based in Washington, D.C. Specializing in digital workforce, digital transformation, AI/ML, and cybersecurity, the company is dedicated to empowering organizations through innovative solutions and unparalleled expertise. Contact: Patton Hunnicutt, Marketing, Trust Consulting Services pattonh@tcsservices.net (202) 888-4567 SOURCE: Trust Consulting Services, Inc. BANGALORE, India, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Water Electrolysis Equipment Market is Segmented by Type (PEM Electrolyzer, Alkaline Electrolyzer), by Application (Power to Gas, Chemical Industry and Refining, Metallurgy and Steel Industry, Hydrogen Refueling Station, Power Industry, Electronics and Semiconductor). The Global Water Electrolysis Equipment Market was valued at USD 885 Million in 2023 and is anticipated to reach USD 18840 Million by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 51.3% during the forecast period 2024-2030. Claim Your Free Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-35R13170/Global_Water_Electrolysis_Equipment_Market Major Factors Driving the Growth of Water Electrolysis Equipment Market: The water electrolysis equipment market is witnessing robust growth driven by global energy transition efforts and the accelerating adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. The rising demand across industrial sectors, coupled with strong policy backing and falling system costs, is fueling market expansion. Both PEM and alkaline technologies are gaining ground, with newer entrants exploring solid oxide alternatives. Strategic collaborations, green hydrogen mega projects, and integration with renewables are propelling innovation and commercialization. As hydrogen becomes central to decarbonization, the market is poised for sustained, long-term development across diverse applications. Unlock Insights: View Full Report Now! https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-35R13170/global-water-electrolysis-equipment TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE WATER ELECTROLYSIS EQUIPMENT MARKET: Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers are significantly contributing to the expansion of the water electrolysis equipment market due to their high efficiency and compact design. These systems are particularly favorable for dynamic operations and intermittent power supply from renewable sources like solar and wind. Their ability to operate at high current densities and produce high-purity hydrogen with rapid startup and shutdown cycles makes them ideal for energy storage and industrial hydrogen demand. Additionally, PEM electrolyzers are witnessing growing deployment in transportation applications, particularly for fuel cell vehicles, thereby expanding the scope of green hydrogen production. As countries push toward decarbonization, PEM electrolyzers play a pivotal role in enabling clean hydrogen ecosystems. Alkaline electrolyzers are propelling the growth of the water electrolysis equipment market owing to their technological maturity, cost-effectiveness, and large-scale hydrogen production capabilities. These systems are widely used in industries such as chemicals, fertilizers, and metallurgy where continuous hydrogen supply is essential. Their long operational lifespan and lower capital costs compared to PEM systems make them particularly attractive for industrial-scale hydrogen production. Furthermore, governments and industries are revisiting alkaline systems with modernization upgrades to enhance energy efficiency and integrate them with renewable sources. This renewed interest, combined with their historical reliability, is reinforcing alkaline electrolyzers as a cornerstone in scaling up green hydrogen infrastructure. Power to Gas (P2G) technologies are driving demand for water electrolysis equipment as they enable the conversion of excess renewable electricity into storable hydrogen or synthetic methane. This approach supports grid stability by utilizing surplus electricity and bridging seasonal energy supply gaps. Water electrolysis acts as the fundamental enabler in P2G by splitting water into hydrogen, which can be injected into natural gas pipelines or used directly in industrial applications. As energy transition accelerates, the integration of electrolysis units into P2G systems provides utilities and grid operators with a scalable solution for energy balancing and decarbonization, thereby fueling market growth. National hydrogen strategies and policy frameworks are catalyzing market adoption. Several countries have introduced subsidies, grants, and regulatory support to encourage investment in electrolysis technologies. These initiatives are not only reducing the financial risks associated with large-scale projects but also boosting industry confidence in long-term hydrogen infrastructure development. Industrial decarbonization goals are prompting sectors like steel, cement, and chemicals to adopt hydrogen as a clean energy substitute. Water electrolysis provides an efficient, zero-emission method of producing hydrogen, aligning perfectly with corporate ESG targets and carbon neutrality pathways, thereby expanding demand for electrolysis systems. The global scale-up of solar and wind power installations is creating an environment conducive to electrolysis. These renewable sources supply the required electricity for electrolysis, allowing hydrogen to be produced cleanly and sustainably. The synchronization of electrolyzers with renewable energy grids enhances energy utilization and supports the growth of the hydrogen economy. Fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refueling infrastructure are gaining momentum, particularly in public transport and logistics. Electrolysis systems offer a clean method for producing hydrogen fuel on-site, reducing dependence on fossil-based hydrogen and cutting emissions in the transportation sector. This surge in fuel demand propels the electrolyzer market forward. The adoption of hybrid renewable-electrolyzer systems for energy-intensive industrial processes is becoming a key growth driver. These setups enhance energy efficiency and reduce overall emissions. The seamless integration of electrolyzers into existing industrial ecosystems provides scalability and operational flexibility, expanding their market footprint. Advancements in manufacturing and economies of scale are driving down the costs of electrolysis units. Innovations in catalyst materials, membrane technology, and modular design are improving system efficiency and lifespan. These trends are making electrolyzers more accessible to a broader range of end users, from SMEs to utilities. Claim Yours Now! https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-35R13170&lic=single-user WATER ELECTROLYSIS EQUIPMENT MARKET SHARE: Global key players of Water Electrolysis Equipment include Nel Hydrogen, Siemens, Plug Power, PERIC Hydrogen Technologies, Hydrogen Pro, etc. The top five players hold a share of about 46%. China is the world's largest market for Water Electrolysis Equipment and holds a share of about 37%, followed by Europe and North America, with shares about 31% and 21%, separately. In terms of product type, Alkaline Electrolyzer is the largest segment, accounting for a share of about 55%. In terms of application, Power to Gas is the largest field with a share of about 38 percent. Key Companies: Cummins Siemens AG Teledyne Energy Systems EM Solution McPhy Nel Hydrogen TianJin Mainland ShaanXi HuaQin Beijing Zhongdian H2B2 PERIC Hydrogen Technologies LONGi Green Energy Technology Sungrow Power Supply Hydrogen Pro Plug Power Cockerill Jingli Hydrogen Thyssenkrupp AG Sunfire SANY Hydrogen Shandong Saikesaisi Hydrogen Energy CIMC GH2 Technology Verde Hydrogen SPIC Hydrogen Technology Purchase Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-35R13170/Global_Water_Electrolysis_Equipment_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. DISCOVER MORE INSIGHTS: EXPLORE SIMILAR REPORTS! - Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Equipment Market was valued at USD 1801 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 24170 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 45.6% during the forecast period. - Water Electrolysis Market - PEM Water Electrolysis Equipment for Hydrogen Production Market - Electrolyzed Water Generation Equipment Market - Seawater Electrolysis System Market - Alkaline Water Electrolysis System Market - Water Electrolysis Proton Exchange Membrane Market - Electrolyzer Market was estimated to be worth USD 308 Million and is forecast to reach approximately USD 999 Million by 2030 with a CAGR of 18.6% during the forecast period 2024-2030. - Alkaline Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production System Market - Electrolytic Water Hydrogen Production Equipment Market - Catalyst for Hydrogen Production from Water Electrolysis Market was valued at USD 183 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 1927 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 40.5% during the forecast period. 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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/global-water-electrolysis-equipment-market-booms-with-51-3-cagr--pem--alkaline-electrolyzers-in-focus---valuates-reports-302429348.html Regulatory News: Havas N.V. ("Havas" or the "Company") (AEX:HAVAS) today publishes its annual report for the financial year ended December 31, 2024 (the "2024 Annual Report") and the agenda for its 2025 annual general meeting of shareholders (the "2025 AGM"), to be held on May 28, 2025, starting at 9:00 am CEST, at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam, Ferdinand Bolstraat 333, 1072 LH Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The 2024 Annual Report provides an overview of its businesses, the company's strengths and strategy, risks factors, and shareholder information, and its financial performance. In addition, the 2024 Annual Report includes the report of Non-Executive Directors and the audited consolidated and parent company financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024, as well as other information. Investors are invited to refer to the audited consolidated financial statements included in the 2024 Annual Report. The 2024 Annual Report has been filed with the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (the AFM) and is available at www.havas.com/investor-relations-shareholders/regulated-information in the ESEF and HTML format (European Single Electronic Format). A copy of the 2024 Annual Report in PDF format is also available at www.havas.com/investor-relations-shareholders/regulated-information. The agenda for the 2025 AGM and the documentation for the 2025 AGM are available at www.havas.com/investor-relations-shareholders/2025-annual-general-meeting. On the agenda for the 2025 AGM are the advisory vote on the 2024 remuneration report, the adoption of the 2024 financial statements, the adoption of the proposed distribution of capital from the share premium reserve, the discharge of the Company's directors, the re-appointment of Deloitte as external auditor, the authorization of the Board as the competent body to repurchase and cancel own shares and to implement the contemplated reverse share split. About Havas Founded in 1835 in Paris, Havas is one of the world's largest global communications groups, with more than 23,000 people operating in over 100 markets and sharing one mission: to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses, and people. To meet the needs of its clients, Havas has developed a seamlessly integrated strategy and operating system, Converged, fusing all its global expertise, tools and capabilities, to create, produce, and distribute real-time, optimized, and personalized marketing solutions at scale. With inspired human ideas at the heart of this unique model, supercharged by the latest data, technology and AI, the teams work together with agility and in perfect synergy within Havas Villages to provide clients with tailor-made solutions that support them in their positive transformation. Havas is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace, that prioritizes the well-being and professional development of its talents. Further information about Havas is available at www.havas.com. IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION AND CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans, expectations or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause the Havas Group's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Please refer to Section 7.2, "Risk Factors" of the Annual Report of Havas N.V. for the year ended December 31, 2024 and available at www.havas.com for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect the Havas Group's business and/or results of operations. Havas undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws and regulations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415758701/en/ Contacts: For more information, please contact: Charlotte Rambaud Global Chief Communications Officer charlotte.rambaud@havas.com +33 6 64 67 66 27 Delphine Maillet Head of Investor Relations delphine.maillet@havas.com +33 6 80 36 18 12 Kristin Calmes Global Senior Communications Officer kristin.calmes@havas.com +33 6 08 40 76 27 Fort Lauderdale, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Volunteering has entered a new era. Thanks to growing digital access and flexible nonprofit models, online community service is now a powerful way for people of all ages to contribute to meaningful causes - from anywhere, at any time. Online Community Service To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8530/248331_community%20service_1500.jpg From helping the visually impaired navigate the internet, to offering professional skills to nonprofits in need, people are discovering that community service is no longer limited to in-person tasks like cleaning parks or sorting donations. Thousands of opportunities now exist for individuals to serve their communities virtually - while traditional in-person roles remain available for those who prefer them. To make it easier to connect with legitimate, flexible service options, Online-Community-Service.com has launched as a public directory of trusted nonprofit organizations that offer both remote and in-person service opportunities. The site features a growing list of programs for students, adults, retirees, and even those completing court-ordered community service - all with a focus on accessibility and impact. "Community service doesn't have to happen in one place anymore," says Sid Washington, a spokesperson for the site. "Whether you're helping your local food bank, mentoring youth via Zoom, or supporting global causes with your computer, online community service lets you give back in ways that fit your life." Online-Community-Service.com allows users to browse verified programs that focus on education, youth development, humanitarian aid, environmental action, nonprofit support, and more. Whether you're looking to give back locally or contribute to international efforts, there's a path for you - online or in person. For those seeking flexibility, meaning, and real impact, online community service is no longer the future - it's the now. To explore opportunities and start volunteering today, visit: https://online-community-service.com About Online-Community-Service.com Online-Community-Service.com is a free, public resource that helps connect people with reputable nonprofit organizations offering both online and in-person volunteer opportunities. Whether you're volunteering to fulfill a requirement or simply to make a difference, we help you find a service path that fits your life. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248331 SOURCE: GYT LONDON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FNZ has extended the deadline for three "catch-up" equity offers to 14 May 2025, in what appears to be an effort to manage growing discontent among employee shareholders. Impacted shareholders, however, say the extension fails to address the fundamental issues: significant dilution, lack of transparency, conflicts of interest on the Board, uncommercial terms, and financial barriers that effectively exclude them from participating. The three offers relate to equity raises in May 2024, August 2024, and most recently 12 April 2025. Together, these capital raisings have diluted employee shareholders by over US$4.5 billion - including US$1.5 billion from the most recent raise of US$500 million. Despite the magnitude of these transactions, affected shareholders were not notified of the dilutive impact until early 2025 - months after the first two raises had already occurred. Notices regarding the 2024 raises were only issued in February this year, giving shareholders just 30 days to respond. FNZ has since extended this deadline three times, culminating in the new May cut-off. But former employees say the real issues run deeper. "It's not about having more time," said one shareholder, who asked to remain anonymous. "The documents are complex, and I'm being asked to contribute money to retain equity that I was originally granted for years of work. That's never been the model before." Another added: "The only reason I'd even consider investing is to avoid being diluted further. But the amount is way beyond what I or any of my colleagues would be able to afford. They know that, so they are just giving themselves a 200% return at the expense of my equity." Adding to the unease of the bullying tactics used to muzzle this shareholder class, a social media account on X (formerly Twitter) that had been sharing updates of media coverage about the situation was recently suspended. A new version of the account has since been launched at x.com/nzclassaction. FNZ was founded in New Zealand in 2003, and remains domiciled there. The board's actions may violate The New Zealand Companies Act 1993, and the shareholders have said that they will reserve the right to take the dispute to the New Zealand High Court if an agreement cannot be reached. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/fnz-shareholder-feud-boards-oppressive-tactics-persist-as-fnz-extends-equity-deadline-without-addressing-core-concerns-302429374.html Cummins Stories presents: Climbing toward Destination Zero Cummins - Carrying a giant, black folded foam pad on her back, Alexandra Toth hikes a path surrounded by towering southern red oak trees in a Tennessee forest. She is on her way to boulder at one of her favorite rock-climbing spots. "I did not like bouldering when I first started climbing," Alexandra admits. "It was so hard. I couldn't figure out how to do it. I didn't feel strong enough. So I tried other types of climbing, and over time, especially as I started to climb outside, I found that bouldering was actually my favorite." Unlike traditional rock climbing, bouldering doesn't use a safety rope. It's highly dependent on the balance, grip and technique of the climber to complete a sequence of moves called a "problem." Rather than moving toward neck-craning heights, Alexandra must find her way through a shorter climb with condensed, complex formations. She must think creatively and rely on her flexibility to figure out the movements that work best towards finding the solution, the giant, black folded foam pad there to catch her if she can't. Climbers may have to put a heel well above their head, hang upside down, and carefully but forcefully swing a leg or arm from one spot to the next. It's why Alexandra describes boulders as hard puzzles. "As someone who has always loved a puzzle to solve and finding different solutions, it's what attracted me to bouldering - a way to exercise my mind and my body, but also find these unique ways to problem-solve." Alexandra's passion for rock climbing was born from an even deeper passion for the environment that began when she attended a unique elementary and middle school located down the river from a national park. Much of the curriculum focused on environmental education. Field trips and activities included spending a weekend backpacking through a forest, learning how to kayak and flip the kayak back over if you tipped, climbing rocks and alpine towers, and mastering how to use a compass to navigate your way through the woods. After taking an environmental science course in high school, Alexandra knew she wanted to apply those learnings into her career. So she did just that. As an Environmental and Product Data Manager at Cummins Inc., Alexandra focuses on technology investment portfolio analysis and product greenhouse gas emissions accounting, strategic planning and reporting. Her goal is to help Cummins make investment decisions as technology evolves through the energy transition. "Most of Cummins' greenhouse gas footprint is from product emissions," Alexandra explains. "So, how do we make the products more efficient, use low-carbon fuels, make renewable fuels, electrify, or use alternative powertrain pathways to reduce emissions for the world?" Those are exactly the questions Alexandra hopes to answer. For the past three and a half years, she's been studying market trends, tracking engineering research and development expenses, and analyzing the emissions of application technologies to ensure the company creates a product portfolio that meets the needs of its customers now while also supporting a more sustainable future. "I think that's one of the foundational aspects of Cummins: We have so many products that apply to different industries, and we're all going to move at different rates and speeds through this energy transition," Alexandra shares. "We're making investments in all these different technologies so that we have foundational building blocks that will set us up when the market turns or when an industry shifts." Ultimately, Alexandra's eagerness to solve problems, coupled with her deep appreciation for the environment combined seamlessly with her position at Cummins Inc. Her passion for the outdoors has continued to follow her throughout her life, from adolescence to adulthood, weaving between her career and personal adventures. "Reflecting on younger me, I'm very proud of the work I do now," Alexandra says. Her role at Cummins is one way she can help protect the places where she finds serenity and peace. Navigating the energy transition is not an easy task, but Alexandra isn't one to shy away from a challenge. Every time she falls while bouldering, she's quick to dust herself off, chalk her hands and try a different path. It's the same mindset she applies to her work. "Rock climbing can feel like 99% failure, but you have to remember it's okay to fail," she explains. "It's okay to be wrong. The most important part is you learning from it and changing your approach. The beta [your solution to a rock climb] may be different depending on how strong you're feeling that day, how much you prepared or weather conditions, and I think this actually parallels really well with the energy transition - how we all are going to have to adapt and evolve." Like Cummins, Alexandra believes there is no single solution for everyone, nor are all obstacles ahead predictable and controllable. However, as Alexandra believes, "those who find success are the ones who learned along the way to find the best approach at the moment." Learn more about Cummins' Destination Zero strategy. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cummins Inc on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Cummins Inc Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cummins-inc Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Cummins Inc Coeur d'Alene Bancorp (OTC Pink:CDAB), the parent company of bankcda, is pleased to announce its results for the first quarter 2025. Coeur d'Alene Bancorp, today reported net income of $249,759 or $0.13 per share for the first quarter 2025, compared to $385,434 or $0.20 per share for the first quarter 2024. All results are unaudited. As of March 31, 2025, total consolidated assets were $231.1 million, a decrease of $8.8 million or 3.7% compared to March 31, 2024. Gross loans ended the period at $136.6 million compared to $121.1 million as of March 31, 2024, an increase of $15.4 million or 12.7%. Total deposits were $194.0 million as of March 31, 2025, compared to $198.0 million as of March 31, 2024, a 2.0% decrease. "2025 is off to a good start, we opened our first full-service branch in Spokane during the quarter as part of our growth strategy. Loan growth continues to be steady with 12.7% growth over the previous year and a modest increase during the quarter. Although competition for deposits continues to keep interest costs elevated, we continue to increase our net interest margin, which was 3.62% at the end of the quarter. Net income continues to trail prior periods due to increased overhead related to expansion initiatives, but we are confident this will benefit us in the future," said Wes Veach, President, and Chief Executive Officer. Financial Highlights: Diluted earnings per share were $0.13 for three months ended 2025 versus $0.20 per share for three months ended 2024. Net book value per share ended the quarter at $12.58 compared to $11.01 from one year ago. Annualized return on average asset (ROAA) was 0.42% and annualized return on average equity (ROAE) was 4.26% for three months ended 2025 compared to 0.65% and 7.48% for three months ended 2024, respectively. Total assets ended the period at $231.1 million compared to $239.9 million as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of 3.7%. Gross loans were $136.6 million at quarter end, versus $121.1 million on March 31, 2024. Total deposits were $194.0 million, compared to $198.0 million as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of 2.0%. For the 3 months ended March 31, 2025, net interest margin was 3.62%, compared to 3.20% for 3 months ended March 31, 2024. Asset quality remains strong with nonperforming assets to Tier 1 capital of 0% as of March 31, 2025. We continue to be FIVE Star-rated from Bauer Financial, which is their highest rating. We continue to far exceed the minimum community bank leverage ratio. Coeur d'Alene Bancorp, parent company of bankcda, is headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with branches in Coeur d'Alene, Hayden, Post Falls, and Kellogg, Spokane, and a loan production office in Spokane Valley. For more information, visit www.bankcda.bank or contact Wes Veach at 208-415-5006. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains, among other things, certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements preceded by, followed by, or that include the words "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "projects," "outlook" or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current belief and expectations of the Coeur d'Alene Bancorp's management team and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond Coeur d'Alene Bancorp's control). Although Coeur d'Alene Bancorp believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove to be inaccurate. Therefore, Coeur d'Alene Bancorp can give no assurance that the results contemplated in the forward-looking statements will be realized. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be construed as a representation by Coeur d'Alene Bancorp or any other person that the future events, plans, or expectations contemplated by Coeur d'Alene Bancorp will be achieved. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Coeur d'Alene Bancorp or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above. Coeur d'Alene Bancorp does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made, except as required by law. Balance Sheet Overview (Unaudited) Mar 31, 2025 Mar 31, 2024 Dec 31, 2024 Assets: Cash and due from banks $ 6,523,357 $ 10,342,676 $ 6,170,321 Securities available for sale, at fair value 77,684,462 100,446,473 91,070,959 Net loans 134,049,508 119,032,731 131,562,189 Other assets 12,821,221 10,103,270 12,610,024 Total assets $ 231,078,548 $ 239,925,150 $ 241,413,494 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity: Total deposits $ 193,995,705 $ 198,007,164 $ 195,494,331 Borrowings 6,000,000 15,500,000 15,397,000 Capital lease liability 1,436,798 389,393 1,442,171 Other liabilities 5,784,565 5,211,527 5,714,280 Shareholders' equity 23,861,479 20,817,067 23,365,712 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 231,078,548 $ 239,925,150 $ 241,413,494 Ratios: Return on average assets 0.42 % 0.65 % 0.62 % Return on average equity 4.26 % 7.48 % 6.77 % Community bank leverage ratio 10.74 % 10.22 % 10.59 % Net interest margin (YTD) 3.62 % 3.20 % 3.27 % Efficiency Ratio (YTD) 79.20 % 75.04 % 75.72 % Nonperforming assets to total assets 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % Nonperforming assets to tier 1 capital 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % Income Statement Overview (unaudited) For the three months ended Mar 31, 2025 Mar 31, 2024 Interest income $ 2,856,144 $ 2,644,552 Interest expense 801,329 780,945 Net interest income 2,054,815 1,863,607 Loan loss provision 106,500 - Noninterest income 216,080 214,912 Salaries and employee benefits 1,000,116 903,781 Occupancy expense 236,595 172,267 Loss on sale, net of gains - 23,005 Other noninterest expense 561,877 483,613 Income before income taxes 365,806 495,853 Income tax expense 116,046 110,419 Net income $ 249,759 $ 385,434 SOURCE: Coeur d'Alene Bancorp Next-Generation Cybersecurity Tool for Automated Vulnerability Discovery and Remediation GrammaTech, a leading provider of application security testing solutions, today announced the official release of Proteus 4.0, a cutting-edge software system designed to automatically detect and repair software vulnerabilities in source code. Purpose-built for development groups, testing organizations, and cybersecurity teams, Proteus combines advanced analysis techniques to improve software security while reducing manual effort and operational costs. With this release, Proteus empowers organizations running both Linux and Windows with seamless, full-platform coverage-bringing unified security and analysis to mixed OS environments in one powerful, integrated toolset. Proteus 4.0 Automatically detect and repair software vulnerabilities with Proteus Proteus represents a leap forward in cybersecurity automation. By integrating symbolic execution, fuzzing, runtime monitoring, error amplification, and exploitability analysis, Proteus identifies vulnerabilities triggered by malicious inputs-including many listed in the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)-and suggests or applies effective remediations. Unlike traditional tools, Proteus works directly on Windows and Linux binaries, eliminating the need for access to source code. "Cybersecurity teams are overwhelmed while end customers bear 100 times greater cost to fix bugs post deployment, plus the organizational risk of insecure code" said Ray DeMeo, CGO at GrammaTech. "Proteus offers a smarter, faster, and more efficient way to secure software before it is deployed, supporting both Secure-by-Design and Secure-by-Demand imperatives-especially in mission-critical systems where there's no room for error." Proteus 4.0 Highlights Expanded Platform Reach: Now with full support for Windows binaries-bringing seamless coverage across both Windows and Linux environments. Effortless Integration: Instantly enhances your existing Proteus workflows with cross-platform fuzzing, symbolic execution, runtime monitoring, and exploitability analysis-no retooling required. Instant Benefits, Zero Disruption: Current users get broader binary support right out of the box, with no changes to existing setups or workflows. Cut Time, Cut Costs: Streamlines vulnerability management by automating the most time-consuming and expensive parts of the process-so your team can focus on what matters most. "This release marks a major milestone in our vision to redefine what's possible in automated cybersecurity," said Dan Goodwin, CEO of GrammaTech. "Proteus 4.0 not only expands platform coverage but sets a new standard for precision, speed, and reliability in vulnerability management." Proteus is available through multiple deployment models, including on-premises licensing and Software as a Service (SaaS). It has achieved Authorization to Operate (ATO) and supports air-gapped environments, making it an ideal solution for both commercial and government use, including classified settings. About GrammaTech: GrammaTech is a provider of advanced cybersecurity services and leading developer of software-assurance solutions. Our origin story began in the computer science department at Cornell University and now traverses a thirty-five-year company history of delivering cutting-edge cyber capability in support of government, intelligence and mission-critical infrastructure. GrammaTech technology is used by software developers and system defenders alike, everywhere reliability and security are paramount. It covers threat detection and mitigation, malware analysis, machine learning and automation, migration to memory safe languages, attack surface area reduction, and software supply chain integrity. SOURCE: GrammaTech New Holland Construction, CNH's construction equipment brand, celebrates 75 years of operation in Brazil. Present in all states, with a network of dealerships structured to serve customers with excellence, the brand celebrates more than seven decades contributing to the development and progress of the region. The brand is now established in Minas Gerais, where its factory is located, in Contagem and the Customer Experience Center, in Sarzedo, recently inaugurated with an investment of R$12 million. "The CEC is a space that offers product and service demonstrations, performs engineering tests and the technical and commercial training of our dealer network, elevating the customer experience and further reinforcing the proximity to the brand," says Pedro Silva, leader of New Holland Construction for Latin America. Sustainability and excellence Like all CNH plants in Brazil, the Contagem plant is zero landfill, correctly disposing of 100% of the waste, seeking environmentally appropriate solutions for each type. Solid waste from industrial activity includes wood, plastic, cardboard, organic material and oil.. The wood is sent for biomass production; the solvent used in the paint is recycled and reused internally; organic waste is composted; the technological effluent passes through an Effluent Treatment Station for reuse in discharges, cleaning the factory floor or testing on machines. This result is achieved thanks to the separation, packaging and transportation of materials, done internally by a team responsible for waste management. New Holland Construction's Parts Distribution Center in Sorocaba (SP) also achieved the Zero Landfill goal. The building, inaugurated in 2010, has 66 thousand m and was built within the modern concepts of Green Building, which identify the construction and the enterprise as environmentally responsible. All the material used in the construction had its origin certified to ensure that the work did not use predatory elements to nature. For this reason, the Distribution Center received the Green Building certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) - one of the most prestigious certifying entities in the world. New Holland Construction's DC was the first in the sector in South America to receive LEED Gold certification, the most important international environmental seal for sustainable buildings. Click here to read the full article. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CNH on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: CNH Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cnh Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: CNH Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Adyton Resources Corporation (TSXV: ADY) ("Adyton" or the "Company") announces that Dr. Chris Wilson has tendered his resignation from the board of directors of the Company, and the board has accepted his resignation. The Board wishes Mr. Chris Wilson every success in his future endeavors. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF ADYTON RESOURCES CORPORATION Adyton is also on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the code 701:GR. For more information about Adyton and its projects, visit www.adytonresources.com. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248540 SOURCE: Adyton Resources Corporation Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Total Helium Ltd. (TSXV: TOH) (FSE: Y02) (the "Company") announces that it will change its name to "Altura Energy Corp." (the "Name Change") and will concurrently consolidate its common share capital on a ten-for-one basis (the "Consolidation"). The Company currently has 102,393,542 common shares issued and outstanding, and following completion of the Consolidation is expected to have approximately 10,239,354 shares outstanding. No fractional common shares will be issued as a result of the Consolidation. Instead, any fractional common shares will be rounded to the nearest whole number of common shares. In accordance with the articles of the Company, the Consolidation and the Name Change do not require the approval of shareholders of the Company. All outstanding convertible securities of the Company will be adjusted to reflect the Consolidation. In connection with the Consolidation and the Name Change, the common shares of the Company are expected to trade under the ticker symbol "AURA" using a new CUSIP and ISIN. The Company will issue a further news release once the effective date for the Consolidation and the Name Change have been determined. Completion of both the Consolidation and the Name Change remain subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Brokered Private Placement The Company also announces that it has engaged Haywood Securities Inc. (the "Agent") to lead a brokered private placement (the "Offering") of up to 15,000,000 post-Consolidation units of the Company (each, a "Unit"). The Units will be offered at a post-Consolidation price of $0.10 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000. The net proceeds from the Offering will be utilized by the Company to repay existing indebtedness and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Each Unit will consist of one post-Consolidation common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at a post-Consolidation exercise price of $0.25 at any time up to sixty months following the closing. In the event the closing price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is equal to or greater than $0.75 for a period of twenty consecutive trading dates, the Company may, within five trading days following such event, accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants. The Company shall seek the necessary approvals to list the Common Shares and Warrant Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange, which listing shall be conditionally approved prior to closing. The Warrants will not be listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company has granted the Agent an option to increase the size of the Offering by up to 15% at any time up to the forty-eight hours prior to closing. The Offering will take place by way of a private placement pursuant to applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirements in each of the provinces of Canada, and in those jurisdictions where the Offering can lawfully be made including the United States under private placement exemptions. Completion of the Offering remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to restrictions on resale for a period of four-months-and-one-day in accordance with applicable securities laws. Debt Settlement Transactions The Company also announces that it has reached an agreement with the Chairman to settle (the "Debt Settlement") outstanding indebtedness (the "Indebtedness") totaling C$526,683, which was issued as an unsecured convertible note in Dec 2023. The Company will also settle (the "Payables Settlement") C$150,000 of outstanding payables (the "Payables") to Fiore Management for accounting, auditing and corporate governance services rendered over the past twenty-one months. Pursuant to the terms of the Debt Settlement and the Payables Settlement, the Indebtedness and the Payables will be settled in consideration for the issuance of 6,766,830 post-Consolidation common shares at a deemed price of $0.10 per share, (collectively, the "Settlement"). Insiders of the Company will be participating in the Debt Settlement in the amount of C$676,683. Such insiders are related parties of the Company pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Related party involvement in the Debt Settlement constitutes a "related party transaction". The Company expects to rely on the exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) respectively, as neither the fair market value of the subject matter of, nor the fair market value of the consideration for, the Debt Settlement, insofar as it involves interested parties, exceeds 25.0% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company expects to complete the Settlement concurrently with completion of the Offering. Completion of the Settlement remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Settlement will be subject to restrictions on resale for a period of four-months-and-one-day in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Company has also reached a settlement with ANB Bank (the "Lender"), an arms-length lender, to restructure an existing loan facility in place with the Lender. Under the settlement, the Company will complete a payment of US$150,000 to the Lender on or before May 30, 2025, leaving an outstanding balance of US$205,000 owing to the Lender. The Company will then commence monthly payments of US$10,000 towards the remaining balance beginning on September 21, 2025. Warrant Amendment The Company also announces that it intends to amend (the "Amendment") the terms of 25,000,000 pre-Consolidation share purchase warrants (the "Amended Warrants"). The Amended Warrants were previously issued by the Company in connection with a private placement financing and are exercisable to acquire an equivalent number of pre-Consolidation common shares of the Company at a price of $0.75 per share until May 1, 2025. The Amended Warrants are currently listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol "TOH.WT.A". Following the Consolidation, the number of Amended Warrants would be reduced to 2,500,000 and the exercise price adjusted to $7.50. Under the proposed terms of the Amendment, following the Consolidation, the exercise price of the Amended Warrants would be reduced to $0.25 post consolidation ($0.025 pre-consolidation) and the term would be extended by an additional three years until May 1, 2028. In accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, in the event the closing price of the post-Consolidation common shares of the Company exceeds $0.3125 for a period of ten consecutive trading days the term of the Amended Warrants will be automatically accelerated and they will expire after thirty calendar days. Completion of the Amendment remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The policies of the TSX Venture Exchange restrict the ability of the Company to amend the terms of share purchase warrants which are listed for trading. The Company intends to request a waiver of this restriction, but in the event a waiver is not granted the Company may look to delist the Amended Warrants to facilitate the Amendment. Acquisition of Pinta South Assets The Company also announces that Brooks Range Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, has entered into a letter of intent (the "Letter of Intent") with Pinta South Operating Company, LLC, Butler Minerals I, LLC, Desert Eagle Operating, LLC and Mid America Exploration LLC (collectively, the "Vendors"), which provides for the acquisition (the "Transaction") of a working interest in certain oil and gas leases, and associated pooling and unitization agreements, equipment and fixtures and surface leases and permits, in the Holbrook Basin (the "Pinta South Assets"). The Pinta South Assets will form part of the Company's existing Pinta South Project, and in consideration the Company will assume responsibility for reclamation of the locations of existing wells and the Vendors will forgive approximately US$600,000 of joint interest payments currently owing by the Company in connection with development of the Pinta South Project. The Letter of Intent does not bind the parties to complete the Transaction. Completion of a Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including the satisfactory completion of due diligence, the negotiation of definitive documentation and completion of customary closing deliverables. ABOUT TOTAL HELIUM LTD. Total Helium is a helium exploration and production company with interests in the prolific Holbrook basin of Arizona. For more information, please visit SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.totalhelium.com). Forward-Looking Statements Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations and business prospects, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 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 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248641 SOURCE: Total Helium Ltd. Electric Metals (USA) Limited ("EML" or the "Company") (TSXV:EML)(OTCQB:EMUSF) announces it has entered into a business consulting services agreement with Terrella Capital Ltd. ("Terrella") from April 11, 2025 to October 11, 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, Terrella will research open market interest from investors within the context of bid/ask/volume price movements and will monitor and advise of any irregularities in capital market sentiment toward Company stock value. In consideration of the business services, EML will pay Terrella a fee of $10,000 per month plus applicable HST. EML has no relationship with Terrella other than the business consulting services agreement described herein. Subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange, and pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan, the Company intends to grant Terrella 250,000 stock options, exercisable at a price of $0.20 per share, for a term of 18 months from the date of grant. These options shall vest in equal quarterly installments of 62,500 options on each of the 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month anniversaries of the date of the grant, provided Terrella remains engaged under the agreement on each applicable vesting date. The engagement of Terrella 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 business services agreement with Terrella Capital Ltd.a, 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 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - KINGSMEN RESOURCES LTD. (TSXV: KNG), (OTCQB: KNGRF) ( FSE: TUY) ("KINGSMEN" or the "COMPANY") announces that further to a price reservation filed on March 17, 2025 the Company has arranged a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Financing") of up to 2,100,000 units (each a "Unit"), at a price of $0.72 per Unit, to raise up to $1,512,000. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant (a "Warrant") will entitle the holder to purchase an additional common share at a price of $0.89 for a period of two years from closing. Finder's fees may be payable and net proceeds will be used to further advance its Las Coloradas Silver/Gold project in Mexico and for working capital. All securities issued in the Financing are subject to a four-month hold period and to all necessary regulatory approvals, including acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. This press 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 Shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or the securities laws of any state of the United States, 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) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements. About Kingsmen Resources Kingsmen Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on advancing its 100% held Las Coloradas Project located in the prolific mining district of Parral Mexico. The project hosts the historic past producing high-grade silver mine, Las Coloradas. It is considered to be prospective for hosting further precious metal deposits, being on the same structural and stratigraphic belts that host numerous other, on -trend, high- grade deposits. In addition, the company has a 1% NSR on the Los Ricos North project operated by GoGold Resources Inc.in Mexico. The Company's leaders have extensive experience in the mining and financial sectors. Kingsmen is a publicly-traded company (TSXV: KNG) (OTCQB: KNGRF) and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. On behalf of the Board, "Scott Emerson" Forward-Looking Statement: Certain disclosure contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. These statements may relate to this news release and other matters identified in the Company's public filings. In making the forward-looking statements the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the political environment in which the Company operates continuing to support the development and operation of mining projects; the threat associated with outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases; risks related to negative publicity with respect to the Company or the mining industry in general; planned work programs; permitting; and community relations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news. 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/248655 SOURCE: Kingsmen Resources Ltd Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Edgemont Gold Corp. (CSE: EDGM) (the "Company") announces that, further to its news releases dated February 20, 2025 and March 21, 2025 regarding the proposed acquisition by the Company of all the issued and outstanding common shares of Laiva Gold Inc. ("Laiva") from the shareholders of Laiva (the "Transaction"), the Company and Laiva have entered into a second amending agreement whereby the parties have agreed to extend the deadline for execution of a definitive agreement (a "Definitive Agreement") in respect of the Transaction to April 30, 2025. The parties continue to diligently work towards finalizing and executing the Definitive Agreement. About Laiva Laiva is a Canadian mining company, incorporated under the Alberta Business Corporations Act, and through a subsidiary company owns its flagship operation, the Laiva mine ("Laiva Mine") in Finland. The Laiva Mine is an open pit operation, fully equipped with one of the largest gold plants in Europe (6,000 tonnes per day capacity) and a sizeable proven resource estimate. The securities of the Company have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an available exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there by any sale of the securities referenced in this press release, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. About Edgemont Edgemont holds a 100% interest in the Dungate copper/gold porphyry project located just 6 km south of Houston, BC, in a region with a history of successful mining projects including the Equity Silver Mine and Imperial Metals' Huckleberry Mine. The Dungate project is comprised of five mineral tenures covering 1,582.2 hectares that can be explored year-round by all-season roads. For more information, please visit our website at www.edgemontgold.com. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as the term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward looking information or statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, statements relating to the terms and completion of the Transaction, including the entry into a Definitive Agreement, the receipt of corporate, regulatory and stock exchange approval in respect of the Transaction, the technical, financial, and business prospects of the Company, its assets and other matters. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward looking information or statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking information or statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking information or statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, the ability to achieve its goals, expected costs and timelines to achieve the Company's goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, and that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward looking information or statements reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties included in in documents filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking information or statements include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to complete the Offering on the terms described herein, including obtaining the requisite regulatory and stock exchange approvals, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, failure to compete effectively with competitors, failure to maintain or obtain all necessary permits, approvals and authorizations, failure to comply with applicable laws, including environmental laws, risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties. The Company does not undertake to update forward looking statements or forward-looking information, except as required by law. Not for distribution to United States 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/248659 SOURCE: Edgemont Gold Corp. Petroff Amshen LLP's foreclosure defense attorneys secured a major legal victory after a New York court dismissed a time-barred foreclosure case. The ruling confirms that the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act ("FAPA") applies retroactively and blocks financial entities from manipulating timelines. This decision protects homeowners and strengthens legal defenses against long-standing foreclosure threats. A Brooklyn homeowner has won a major legal battle after a New York court dismissed a foreclosure case brought by a financial entity. The court ruled that the foreclosure was filed late-and that the bank couldn't legally restart the process after the deadline had already passed. The case was handled by Petroff Amshen LLP, a New York law firm that fights for homeowners facing unfair or prolonged foreclosure threats with legal advocacy for its clients. The foreclosure in question was tied to a mortgage that had been the subject of a previous foreclosure case years ago. That earlier case had been dismissed, but the financial entity later tried to bring it back to court by sending a letter in 2018-claiming the mortgage was no longer accelerated. That move was meant to restart the clock and give them more time to file a new foreclosure. Thanks to the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act ("FAPA")-designed to stop financial institutions from dragging out foreclosure cases for years-banks can no longer restart the timeline just by sending a letter. The law protects homeowners from being stuck in legal limbo and applies to cases that were already in progress before the law was passed. Importantly, the court confirmed that FAPA can be applied retroactively, even to foreclosure actions that started before the law existed. The court rejected arguments that this violates constitutional rights like due process or contract protections, stating that the law was created to fix a confusing and unsettled area of foreclosure litigation. Because the rules around deacceleration weren't clear in 2018, the court determined that applying FAPA retroactively does not unfairly harm financial institutions, and instead accurately protects homeowners' rights. "This case represents more than just a legal victory-it's a critical moment for homeowners who have been left in limbo by the banking industry's inconsistent and self-serving tactics," said Steven Amshen, founding partner of Petroff Amshen LLP. "The court sent a clear message: you cannot manipulate time and law to trap people in endless foreclosure cycles. FAPA exists to level the playing field, and we're here to enforce it." The judge agreed that the six-year deadline to start a foreclosure had already passed, and that the attempt to reset the clock wasn't valid under the law. As a result, the court dismissed the foreclosure case entirely and denied all of the financial entity's requests, including its efforts to move forward with the process. This ruling is part of a growing number of decisions that show how FAPA is helping New Yorkers stand up to unfair foreclosure attempts. It sends a strong message: homeowners deserve clear answers, legal protection, and finality-not years of stress caused by repeated filings. Key highlights from the court's decision: The six-year deadline to bring a foreclosure action had expired. The 2018 letter attempting to undo acceleration was not valid under the law. FAPA blocks financial entities from restarting the foreclosure process. FAPA applies retrospectively, even for situations that began before the statute was passed. The court emphasized that the law around deacceleration was unclear in 2018, justifying retroactive enforcement. The ruling protects homeowners from indefinite foreclosure threats and legal uncertainty. Petroff Amshen LLP, a New York based law firm, has been advocating for New Yorkers' to keep their home since the 2008 recession, helping people fight back against foreclosures, mortgage abuse, and credit damage. Their foreclosure defense attorneys work directly with homeowners to challenge illegal practices and defend their rights in and out of court. "As long as financial entities continue to use delay tactics and stretch the law to their advantage, we will be in court fighting back," added Mr. Amshen. "Our clients deserve finality, dignity, and protection-and we won't stop until they get it." Contact Information Gabriel Botero Media Relations media@petroffamshen.com (718) 336-4200 SOURCE: Petroff Amshen LLP Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Lode Gold Resources Inc. (TSXV: LOD) (OTCQB: LODFF) ("Lode Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed on its first tranche of its non-brokered private placement offering. The Company has raised $790,186 through the issuance of 4,389,922 Units at a price of $0.18 per Unit. The cash raised will be used for the execution of the 2025 business plan and general working capital. In Yukon, the Company will conduct field work, including geological mapping, soil sampling, and channel sampling to advance drill target development. In California, the funds will support the completion of a 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) focused on bulk mining, underground channel sampling to upgrade resources, and moving towards the pre-feasibility study (PFS) at the Fremont project. Each $0.18 Unit shall consist of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share at an exercise price of $0.35 per common share for a period of three years following the date of closing. The Company may accelerate the expiry date if the shares trade at $0.65 or more for a period of 10 days, including days where no trading occurs. Lode Gold is extending the closing date of its private placement to April 30, 2025, for the second tranche. The Company may sell additional Units in the offering in one or more subsequent closings, on or before this date. Closing of the offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including acceptance by the TSX-V. The Units were offered by way of private placement pursuant to exemptions from prospectus requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106, Prospectus Exemptions. All securities issued in this closing are subject to a four month hold period, in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. About Lode Gold Lode Gold (TSXV: LOD) is an exploration and development company with projects in highly prospective and safe mining jurisdictions in Canada and the United States. In Canada, its Golden Culvert and WIN Projects in Yukon, covering 99.5 km2 across a 27-km strike length, are situated in a district-scale, high grade gold mineralized trend within the southern portion of the Tombstone Gold Belt. A total of four RIRGS targets have been confirmed on the property. A NI 43-101 technical report has been completed in May 2024. In New Brunswick, Lode Gold has created one of the largest land packages with its Acadian Gold JV Co; consisting of an area that spans 445 km2 and a 44 km strike. McIntyre Brook covers 111 km2 and a 17-km strike in the emerging Appalachian/Iapetus Gold Belt; it is hosted by orogenic rocks of similar age and structure as New Found Gold's Queensway Project. Riley Brook is a 335 km2 package covering a 26 km strike of Wapske formation with its numerous felsic units. A NI 43-101 technical report has been completed in August 2024. In the United States, the Company is advancing its Fremont Gold project. This is a brownfield project with over 43,000 m drilled and 23 km of underground workings. It was previously mined at 10.7 g/t Au in the 1930's. Mining was halted in 1942 due the gold mining prohibition in World War Two (WWII) just as it was ramping up production. Unlike typical brownfield projects that are mined out; only 8% of the veins have been exploited. The Company is the first owner to investigate an underground high grade mine potential at Fremont. The project is located on 3,351 acres of private and patented land in Mariposa County. The asset is a 4 km strike on the prolific 190 km Mother Lode Gold Belt, California that produced over 50,000,000 oz of gold and is instrumental in creating the towns, businesses and infrastructure in the 1800s gold rush. It is 1.5 hours from Fresno, California. The property has year-round road access and is close to airports and rail. An NI 43-101 MRE has been reported on March 5, 2025. A complete technical report will be filed 45 days later on SEDAR+. Previously, in March 2023, the company completed an NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Fremont Gold project. A sensitivity to the March 31, 2023 PEA at USD $2,000/oz gold gives an after-tax NPV of USD $370M and a 31% IRR over an 11-year LOM. At $1,750 /oz gold, NPV (5%) is $217M. The project hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 1.16 Moz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 MT Indicated and 2.02 Moz at 2.22 g/t Au within 28.3 MT Inferred. The MRE evaluates only 1.4 km of the 4 km strike of Fremont property. Three step-out holes at depth (up to 1200 m) hit structure and were mineralized. All NI 43-101 technical reports are available on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.lode-gold.com) ON BEHALF OF THE COMPANY Wendy T. Chan CEO & Director Information Contact This news release contains information about adjacent properties on which the Company has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements with respect to the completion of the transaction and the timing thereof, the expected benefits of the transaction to shareholders of the Company, the structure, terms and conditions of the transaction and the execution of a definitive agreement, the timing of submission to the CSE and TSXV, Gold Orogen raising an additional $1,500,000 and the anticipated use of proceeds. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management based on the business and markets in which the Company operates, are inherently subject to significant operational, economic, and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies. These include assumptions regarding, among other things: that the Company and GRM will be able to negotiate the definitive agreement on the terms and within the time frame expected, that the Company and GRM will be able to make submissions to the CSE and TSXV within the time frame expected, that the Company and GRM will be able to obtain shareholder approval for the transaction, that the Company and GRM will be able to obtain necessary third party and regulatory approvals required for the transaction, if completed, that the transaction will provide the expected benefits to the Company and its shareholders. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include adverse market conditions, general economic, market or business risks, unanticipated costs, the failure of the Company and GRM to negotiate the definitive agreement on the terms and conditions and within the timeframe expected, the failure of the Company and GRM to make submissions to the CSE and TSXV within the timeframe expected, the failure of the Company and GRM to obtain shareholder approval for the transaction, the failure of the Company and GRM to obtain all necessary approvals for the transaction, and r other risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators, including those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/248662 SOURCE: Lode Gold Resources Inc. Positioned for Growth in 2025; Focused on Higher Margin Product Mix KonaTel, Inc. (OTCQB:KTEL) (www.konatel.com), a voice/data communications holding company, today announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2024. Full Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Highlights (2024 vs. 2023) Revenues of $15.5 million compared to $18.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in revenue was due to fewer activations within the Company's Mobile Services segment as a result of reduced government subsidized revenues due to the cancellation of the Affordable Connectivity Program (the "ACP"). Gross profit of $3.41 million compared to $3.37 million for the year ended December 31, 2023. GAAP net income (loss) $4.5 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to $(3.9) million, or $(0.09) per diluted share, in the year ended December 31, 2023, which includes IM Telecom 49% ownership sale. Non-GAAP net income (loss) of $(3.3) million, or $(0.08) per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net loss of $(2.9) million, or $(0.07) per diluted share, in the year ended December 31, 2023, which excludes IM Telecom 49% ownership sale. Cash and cash equivalents of $1.7 million compared to $777,000 as of December 31, 2023. Quarterly Financial Highlights (Q4 2024 vs. Q4 2023) Revenue of $2.4 million, a decrease of 51.5% compared to $4.9 million. This decrease was directly related to the decline in government subsidized revenues within the Mobile Services segment. Gross profit was $677,723 or 28.5% gross profit margin, compared to $333,540, or 6.8% gross profit margin. The increase in gross profit was directly related to a decrease in customer acquisition costs. Total operating expenses were flat at $1.8 million, compared to $1.8 million. GAAP net loss was $(1.1) million, or $(0.02) per diluted share compared to $(1.7) million, or $(0.04) per diluted share. The loss for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was impacted by reduced subsidized mobile activations in Q4-2024 triggering substantially lower customer acquisition costs (booked at time of sale) compared to increased activations in Q4-2023 triggering higher customer acquisition costs (booked at time of sale). Non-GAAP net loss was $(620,728), or $(0.01) per diluted share, compared to Non-GAAP net loss of $(1.2) million, or $(0.03) per diluted share. Sean McEwen, Chairman and CEO of KonaTel stated, "There is no doubt 2024 was a challenging year for our Company, our employees and our shareholders; however, we feel the worst is behind us as we stabilized the impact from the government's unwillingness to re-fund the ACP in 2024. That being said, we are prepared to take advantage of the ACP, if it returns, or an enhanced (more profitable) Lifeline program. In some ways, we are better positioned to expand our government subsidy business as we have grown our national Lifeline license from our original eleven (11) states to forty (40) states over the past twelve (12) months. "It's also encouraging that in January, 2025, President Elect Trump, in a post on Truth Social announcing his nomination of FCC commissioner Olivia Trusty and reemphasizing his support for affordable Internet access, which was the foundation of the ACP created by President Trump in his first term, "[She] will work with our incredible new Chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, to cut regulations at a record pace, protect Free Speech, and ensure every American has access to affordable and fast Internet." McEwen added, "Additionally, we have paid down all our long-term debt accumulated during our ACP/Lifeline growth period. With a cash balance of 1,679,345 and net working capital of $2,006,701, we have been growing our hosted cloud service platform focusing on enhanced and new product offerings." Hosted Cloud Service Platform Expansion McEwen continued, "Throughout 2024, we dedicated additional resources to expand our SaaS ("Software as a Service") cloud platform to include a variety of enhanced and new wholesale services, ready for deployment in 2025. Our expansion efforts have already resulted in an increase in our monthly SMS service revenue from $20,000 to $110,000 over the last twelve (12) months. Customers are selecting our wholesale SMS service because of our robust API interface, flexibility within our cloud platform, and a streamlined process for enabling SMS short codes, critical for wholesale SMS distribution." "In addition to our SMS expansion, we have added a new wholesale POTS ("plain old telephone service") service to our suite of cloud products. Our POTS service utilizes our wireless cellular infrastructure and offers unique features specifically designed to support the wholesale market, which includes telecommunications companies and national resellers with an existing POTS customer base. This allows us to grow at scale versus selling to individual retail customers." "There are approximately 40 million traditional (i.e., "copper wire") POTS lines in the USA. Many lines are used for elevator phones, monitoring systems, fire alarms, and other equipment that require access to the national telephone network. After the FCC deregulated mandatory POTS support in 2019, carriers started to move their POTS customers to less expensive internet and wireless (cellular) data solutions. With the advent of more cost-effective POTS replacement services, like ours, carriers are getting more aggressive in moving their customers to a new internet/wireless based POTS solution." McEwen concluded, "As of Q1-2025, we have already entered into wholesale agreements with a group of resellers who have over 35,000 existing POTS lines, which they plan to migrate. Our new wholesale POTS service provides a stable, sticky ("very low churn"), predictable recurring revenue line of business." About KonaTel KonaTel provides a variety of retail and wholesale telecommunications services including mobile voice/text/data service supported by national U.S. mobile networks, mobile numbers, SMS/MMS services, IoT mobile data service, and a range of hosted cloud services. KonaTel's subsidiary, Apeiron Systems (www.apeiron.io), is a global cloud communications service provider employing a dynamic "as a service" ("CPaaS/UCaaS/CCaaS/PaaS") platform. Apeiron provides voice, messaging, SD-WAN, and platform services using its national cloud network. All Apeiron's services can be accessed through legacy interfaces and rich communications APIs. KonaTel's other subsidiary, IM Telecom, dba "Infiniti Mobile" (www.infinitimobile.com), is an FCC authorized wireless Lifeline carrier with an FCC approved wireless Lifeline Compliance Plan, authorized to provide government subsidized cellular service to low-income American families. KonaTel is headquartered in Plano, Texas. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of the disclosures contained in the filings of KonaTel and its "forward-looking statements" in such filings that are contained in the EDGAR Archives of the SEC at www.sec.gov. Contacts D. Sean McEwen inquiries@konatel.com -- Tables Follow - KonaTel, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets December 31, 2024 December 31, 2023 Assets Current Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents $ 1,679,345 $ 777,103 Accounts Receivable, Net 1,533,015 1,496,799 Notes Receivable 1,000,000 - Inventory, Net 163,063 1,229,770 Prepaid Expenses 94,496 129,706 Other Current Assets 112,170 - Total Current Assets 4,582,089 3,633,378 Property and Equipment, Net 15,128 24,184 Other Assets Intangible Assets, Net 323,468 634,251 Right of Use Asset 319,549 443,328 Other Assets 74,328 74,543 Total Other Assets 717,345 1,152,122 Total Assets $ 5,314,562 $ 4,809,684 Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Current Liabilities Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses $ 2,277,597 $ 3,709,691 Loans Payable, Net of Loan Fees - 3,655,171 Right of Use Operating Lease Obligation - Current 113,740 127,716 Income Tax Payable 184,051 - Total Current Liabilities 2,575,388 7,492,578 Long Term Liabilities Right of Use Operating Lease Obligation - Long Term 227,776 330,511 Total Long Term Liabilities 227,776 330,511 Total Liabilities 2,803,164 7,823,089 Commitments and Contingencies Stockholders' Equity Common stock, $.001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized, 43,503,658 outstanding and issued at December 31, 2024 and 43,145,720 outstanding and issued at December 31, 2023 43,504 43,146 Additional Paid In Capital 10,215,767 9,182,140 Accumulated Deficit (7,747,873 ) (12,238,691 ) Total Stockholders' Equity 2,511,398 (3,013,405 ) Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 5,314,562 $ 4,809,684 KonaTel, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Operations Years Ended December 31, 2024 2023 Revenue $ 15,503,251 $ 18,223,745 Cost of Revenue 12,088,944 14,850,105 Gross Profit 3,414,307 3,373,640 Operating Expenses Payroll and Related Expenses 5,310,549 3,995,698 Operating and Maintenance 6,086 5,804 Credit Loss 1,448 215 Professional and Other Expenses 1,646,755 1,526,947 Utilities and Facilities 210,438 191,556 Depreciation and Amortization 9,056 12,352 General and Administrative 213,149 155,734 Marketing and Advertising 99,759 154,533 Application Development Costs 140,880 138,600 Taxes and Insurance 315,258 312,804 Total Operating Expenses 7,953,378 6,494,243 Operating Loss (4,539,071 ) (3,120,603 ) Other Income and Expense Gain on Sale 9,247,726 - Interest Expense (104,737 ) (820,254 ) Other Income/(Expense), net 70,951 30 Total Other Income and Expenses 9,213,940 (820,224 ) Income Before Income Taxes 4,674,869 (3,940,827 ) Income Tax Expense 184,051 - Net Income (Loss) $ 4,490,818 $ (3,940,827 ) Loss per Share Basic $ 0.10 $ (0.09 ) Diluted $ 0.10 $ (0.09 ) Weighted Average Outstanding Shares Basic 43,402,219 42,773,269 Diluted 43,526,417 42,773,269 SOURCE: KonaTel LONDON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- North America's 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, has revealed the inaugural 51-100 list. This extended list is the result of the votes cast by the voting Academy, which is comprised of more than 300 independent cocktail experts, renowned bartenders, educators and drinks writers from across the region. The 51-100 List in Numbers The 51-100 list includes bars spanning 23 destinations across North America The US leads the list with 29 bars represented, from cities across the country including New York , Los Angeles and Chicago as well as Albuquerque , Boston , Houston , Miami , New Orleans , Phoenix , and more , and as well as , , , , , , and more Canada boasts 15 institutions on the list, hailing from Vancouver , Toronto , Montreal , Calgary and Victoria , , , and Mexico City,Oaxaca and Playa del Carmen have a combined total of 5 bars featured The 51-100 list celebrates the rich and diverse cocktail cultures across the region in the lead-up to the unveiling of the 1-50 list on April 29 in Vancouver, Canada. Emma Sleight, Head of Content for North America's 50 Best Bars, says "In sharing the 51-100 list, we recognize the hard work and dedication of even more of the hospitality and drinks community and shine a spotlight on the development of exceptional drinks culture across the region." Topping the 51-100 list is Library Bar in Toronto at No.51. Other Canadian bars include Missy's at No.52 from Calgary and Bar Bisou Bisou at No.75 from Montreal. Bars from across the US include destinations like Austin's Nickel City at No.70, Albuquerque's Happy Accidents at No.88, Honolulu's Bar Leather Apron at No.73, Houston's Bandista at No.59 and Boston's Equal Measure at No.81. Bars in Seattle on the list include Roquette at No.72, The Doctor's Office at No.76 and Canon at No.79. Five bars from Mexico are featured: Sabina Sabe (No.54), Brujas (No.65), Zapote Bar (No.74), Ticuchi (No.82) and Casa Prunes (No.94). The full list can be viewed here. The 1-50 list of North America's 50 Best Bars 2025, sponsored by Perrier, will be revealed at a live awards ceremony in Vancouver on April 29 in collaboration with host destination partner, Destination Vancouver. The countdown of the list will be broadcast live to a global audience who are unable to attend in person, through the 50 Best Bars TV channel on YouTube. Media center access: https://mediacentre.theworlds50best.com/ Infographic - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665518/NA_50_Best_Bars.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664383/NA_50_Best_Bars_logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/north-americas-50-best-bars-unveils-inaugural-list-of-bars-ranked-51st-to-100th-for-2025-302429631.html Assiduous, a Dublin, Ireland-based company providing a corporate finance autopilot, raised 1M in funding. The round was backed by business owners and executives, with the support of Enterprise Ireland High-Potential Start-Up (HPSU) funding. The company intends to use the funds to expand its technical team and recruit new product and engineering talent. Led by Fergal Meegan and Barry Murphy, Assiduous has developed a Corporate Finance AutopilotTM, which is a virtual corporate finance service-as-a-software solution that supports small and medium sized companies in preparing for strategic, financing and liquidity transactions with a whole of lifecycle approach. FinSMEs 15/04/2025 BKN301, a London, UK-based fintech startup, raised $24.4m in Series B funding round. Backers included Cdp Venture Capital Sgr, Azimut Libera Impresa, SIMEST, and Alisei Forinvestments and Aldo Fumagalli. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts. Led by Stiven Muccioli, CEO, BKN301 provide a single API gateway that allows banks, fintechs, and digital and mobile banks to integrate core banking and payment processing services. The startup also has offices in Milan, San Marino and Doha. FinSMEs 15/04/2025 Online gambling is booming in Michigan, with no signs of slowing down. In 2023 alone, the state generated $1.92 billion in online casino receipts, positioning itself as a national leader in digital gambling. It even surpassed long-standing front-runners like New Jersey and Pennsylvania, once considered the gold standard for online gaming success. Michigans approach to online casino regulation has paid off. This article explores how the state built its thriving industry, highlights its major achievements, and considers what other states can take away from its model as they navigate online casino legalization. Michigans Journey to Dominating Online Gambling Michigan was a relative latecomer to online casino gaming, launching in January 2021. But it quickly achieved something remarkable. Within just three years, Michigan became the nations largest market for online gambling receipts, surpassing even New Jerseys well-established industry. Michigans success didnt happen by chance. Several key factors contributed to its rapid rise in the online gambling space. 1. Robust Regulation for Confidence and Security One of Michigans strongest moves was creating a solid, transparent regulatory framework. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) set clear rules to keep gaming fair and ensure consumer protection. This helped build trust among residents and encouraged participation in legal platforms. 2. A Competitive Market Michigans model allows multiple operators to compete for market share. Instead of creating a monopoly or limiting licenses to a few providers, Michigan opened the market to quality operators under its regulatory umbrella. Well-known Michigan online casino like FanDuel operate alongside smaller operators, giving players a range of options to choose from. 3. Mobile-Friendly Platforms Michigan embraced how people prefer to gamble today. Platforms in the state work seamlessly across mobile apps and desktop browsers, meeting users where theyre most comfortable. Most residents access casinos through phones, whether for a quick slot spin or a round of digital blackjack. This mobile-centric approach ensures accessibility and creates a consistent, high-quality experience. 4. Tax Revenue That Benefits the Public The numbers dont lie. Michigan earned $466.1 million in taxes from online gambling in 2024, with the bulk coming from internet casinos ($451.4 million). A significant portion of this revenue went toward Michigans School Aid Fund, earmarked for K-12 education. This reinvestment creates a positive public perception of online gambling as a contributor to community welfare. Key Areas Where Michigan Excels While Michigans overall success is impressive, there are areas where it truly excels, serving as a model for other states. Customer Protection Michigan emphasizes responsible gambling through measures like self-exclusion programs and player protection tools. Whether its setting deposit limits or seeking help through resources like 1-800-GAMBLER, residents can gamble with safeguards in place. Focused Marketing Michigans casinos know how to get players involved responsibly. By targeting seasoned gamblers and casual players alike, the state captures a diverse user base without excessive advertising or predatory tactics. Collaboration Across Operators and Government Michigans approach involved collaboration between operators, regulators, and lawmakers. By working together, they created a framework that fosters trust, ensures compliance, and keeps tax revenue flowing without compromising the player experience. The Numbers Speak for Themselves The Michigan online casino industry isnt just about flashy platforms and big brand names. Its backed by numbers that underline its success. $1.92 billion in gross receipts (2023), ranking Michigan as the highest in the U.S, in gross receipts (2023), ranking Michigan as the highest in the U.S, 50% growth in tax revenue since online gamblings first year in 2021, in tax revenue since online gamblings first year in 2021, 15 operators actively providing online casino gaming, creating a competitive yet balanced market, actively providing online casino gaming, creating a competitive yet balanced market, $89 million was provided to Detroit alone in additional tax revenue in 2023. These figures show that Michigans strategy doesnt only benefit casual players; it has also created a stable income stream for vital state programs. Lessons for Other States Considering Regulation Michigans success with online casinos proves that a well-regulated setup benefits everyonefrom players to operators to state economies. Here are the takeaway lessons for other states looking to replicate its model. 1. Build Trust Through Regulation The first step to establishing a successful online casino market is creating clear rules and regulations. These ensure fairness, protect players funds, and prevent fraud. Without this, residents may stick to unregulated offshore platforms, which do nothing for local economies. 2. Encourage Healthy Competition A diverse marketplace makes for a much better player experience. States looking to adopt online gaming should explore Michigans approach of licensing several operators while maintaining oversight through regulatory boards. 3. Reinvest Tax Revenue The reinvestment of gaming taxes into education and public welfare has helped Michigan gain public support for online gambling. Other states can use similar strategies to show tangible societal benefits from regulated gaming. 4. Focus on Mobile Mobile gambling is the present and the future. States should ensure any approved operators invest in creating accessible, easy-to-use mobile platforms to attract and retain players. 5. Promote Responsible Gambling Its crucial to provide tools and support for players to gamble responsibly. States should partner with operators to create programs that educate players and minimize gambling addiction risk. Michigans Blueprint for Online Casino Success Michigans rise to the top of the online casino industry didnt happen by accident. Its success is the result of foresight, innovation, and collaboration between lawmakers, regulators, and operators. Other states considering the legalization and regulation of online casinos would do well to study Michigans example. Its balanced approach proves that it is possible to create a thriving industry that benefits players, businesses, and the community at large. The next phase of online gambling in Michigan will be just as exciting to watch. Whether examining tax revenue growth, technology innovations, or the introduction of new operators, theres a lot to learn from this dynamic, well-regulated market. The Thrive Smart Systems founders Seth Bangerter (CEO), Bryan Brittain, and Skyler Rowley, met while attending Brigham Young University Thrive Smart Systems, an American Fork, UT-based wireless irrigation technology company, raised $1M in funding. The round was led by the Hawaii Angels. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its development efforts. Founded by Seth Bangerter (CEO), Bryan Brittain and Skyler Rowley, Thrive Smart Systems provides wireless irrigation systems that reduce installation costs and optimize water management. Its flagship product, Thrive EVO, eliminates the wiring required between irrigation controllers and valves that often creates problems for landscape professionals and limits water efficiency. The solution reduces installation complexity and maintenance costs, while ensuring long-term performance in the field. FinSMEs 15/04/2025 In an interview with Filmfare, the actor broke his silence and said, I know I shouldnt have reacted but Im also new to public scrutiny. read more Netflixs Nadaaniyan actor Ibrahim Ali Khan faced a lot of online trolling when the film released on the OTT platform along with his leading lady Khushi Kapoor. And he even sent assault threats to a journalist who criticized his film. In an interview with Filmfare, the actor broke his silence and said, I know I shouldnt have reacted but Im also new to public scrutiny. The actor added, When he made that personal comment about my body, it felt like a below-the-belt remark. But going forward, Ill be more composed. I shouldnt have reacted. It wont happen again. Advertisement What Ibrahim Ali Khan wrote The actor wrote to the journalist, Tamur almost like Taimoor you got my brothers name. Guess what you dont got? His face. You ugly piece of trash. Since you cant keep your words to yourself, dont bother, theyre irrelevant just like you. He added, Ugly goddamn piece of shit I feel bad for you and your family and if I see you on the streets one day, Ill make sure I leave you uglier than you are you walking piece of scum. The journalist replied, Hahahahaha see thats my man. This is the guy I want to see in the movie. Not that fake cornetto mushy cringy human. He continued, But hey yes that nose job comment was in bad taste. Rest I totally own up. Massive fan of your dad, dont let him down. While Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoors Netflix film Nadaaniyan garnered severe criticism for its performances, storyline, and dialogues, Mahima Chaudhry, who played a supporting role in the rom-com, compared it with Ranbir Kapoors starrer Animal. And now, producer Karan Johar spoke about the trolling at the trailer launch of Akaal. Responding to the journalist who asked the question about the film. Johar said, Bas yehi kahoonga purane gaane ka yeh alfaaz hai kuch to log kahenge logo ka kaam hai kehna chodo bekaar ki baatein kahin beet na jaaye raina bas yehi kehna chahoonga aur kya kahoon. Advertisement While some of the filmmakers from the fraternity, along with the cast of Nadaaniyan, defended the movie, legendary actress and Ibrahim Ali Khans grandmother Sharmila Tagore shared her honest opinion and criticised the rom-com. read more Saif Ali Khan & Amrita Singhs son Ibrahim Ali Khans debut movie, Nadaaniyan, which premiered on Netflix, garnered criticism right from its first day from netizens for its performances and storytelling. While some of the filmmakers from the fraternity, along with the cast of Nadaaniyan, defended the movie, legendary actress and Ibrahims grandmother Sharmila Tagore shared her honest opinion and criticised the rom-com. Ibrahims film was not good, but he still looks very handsome. He has tried his best. These things shouldnt really be said in front of everyone, but honestly, the picture isnt great. Ultimately, the picture has to be good," Sharmila said while talking to Anandabazar Patrika.com. Advertisement Praising Sara Ali Khan, Sharmila shared, Sara is a good actress. She works very hard and is capable of doing a lot more. Shell also achieve that." Sharmila recently made her comeback to Bengali film Puratawn after 14 years, which released on 11th April. Talking about it, she told PTI, I love doing Bengali films. I love everything about Kolkata, but I am not as fit (for acting in shoots) as required due to my health conditions." Dia Mirza, who played Ibrahims mother in the movie, defended him and Khushi and slammed the eat the privileged culture for it. I have never been in favour of personal attacks and find them extremely disrespectful. Everyone is free to have an opinion, but it shouldnt be expressed at the cost of somebodys mental health. Ive been concerned, especially for the younger actors, about the harshness of whats being said. I feel theres a culture of eat the privileged, which is harsh because people have their own struggles to deal with, said Dia while talking to Bombay Times. At least three people are dead and over 150 people have been arrested since protests triggered by the Waqf Act broke out on Friday. Now, there are reports that Bangladeshi miscreants may be behind the violence. But what do we know? Lets take a closer look read more Flames billow out after a vehicle was set on fire during a protest over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. PTI West Bengal has been rocked by violence these past few days. At least three people are dead and over 150 people have been arrested since violence triggered by the Waqf Act broke out on Friday. Now, there are reports that Bangladeshi miscreants may be behind the violence. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that the Waqf Amendment Act will not be enforced in the state, while the BJP has taken the TMC to task over the violence. Advertisement But are Bangladeshi miscreants behind the Waqf violence? And what happened? Are Bangladeshi miscreants behind Waqf violence? According to India Today, the initial probe of the violence in West Bengal has revealed that miscreants from Bangladesh are involved the violence. The outlet also quoted sources as blaming the Mamata government for failing to monitor the movements of these miscreants. News18 quoted intelligence sources as saying that groups like Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) a militant group that works with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) may have been involved in the violence. These groups may have provided arms, given training, and spread propaganda across Bangladesh border routes and the Sundarbans delta. NDTV reported that these miscreants were supported by local elements. The situation worsened when the infiltrators went out of control. An intelligence input from the Border Security Force (BSF) also pointed the finger at the terror group the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) for the riots. As per the report, both these groups which are banned in India allegedly conspired to spread violence using their sleeper cells in India. Both were taken off the banned list in Bangladesh by the interim government of Bangladesh, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammad Yunus. Damaged furniture after clashes between two groups at Jangipur, in Murshidabad district, Saturday, April 12, 2025. PTI The leaders of both groups have been released from jail. Advertisement The report claimed that the two groups had been instigating local youths for quite some time. The members of the group made several video calls to the youths living along the border areas of Murshidabad. These youths were aged between 12 and 25 years. The BSF said its assessment of the violence-hit areas has found that the opposition to the Waqf law has links with Bangladesh. In the BSFs intelligence report, it has been said that the fundamentalist organisations of Bangladesh are involved in instigating the anti-Waqf law movement in Murshidabad, West Bengal with the help of their sleeper cells. BJP slams Mamata Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday slammed Mamata. How? How can she say she will not implement it? She is sitting in a constitutional position and the law is passed by a constitutional body, then how can she say that she will not follow something that is constitutional? Rijiju asked, as per The Times of India. The CM is visibly inciting violence by asking people to protest and saying that she will not follow the law passed by Parliament, Rijiju added. Advertisement Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath too took on Mamata. Adityanath said Bengal is burning and its Chief Minister is silent. He also said danda meaning stick is the only treatment for rioters. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for calm. PTI File In the name of secularism, they have given freedom to rioters. The government is silent. Such anarchy should be controlled," Adityanath said. Adityanath claimed that the Congress and Samajwadi Party had not addressed the violence in Bengal. They (rioters) are issuing threats after threats. They are shamelessly supporting what happened in Bangladesh. If they like Bangladesh, they should go there. Why are they being a burden on India? Mamata has called for peace and for people not to exhibit irreligious behaviour in the name of religion, as per The Times of India. What happened? The Waqf Act has become a major issue in Bengal. As per India Today, the state has over 80,480 Waqf properties. It is second only to Uttar Pradesh, which has 2.2 lakh Waqf properties. Advertisement At least three people were killed and hundreds were rendered homeless in communal violence in parts of Murshidabad district, mainly Suti, Samserganj, Dhulian and Jangipur, on April 11 and 12 during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Fresh incidents of Waqf law-related violence rocked Bhangar area in West Bengals South 24 Parganas district on April 14. This, as police claimed the law and order situation in the previous riot epicentre of Murshidabad remained largely under control. The Calcutta High Court recently ordered the deployment of central forces in violence-hit Murshidabad district. Two petitions in the Supreme Court have sought a court-monitored probe into the violence in West Bengal over the newly-enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act. Two cases have been filed in the Supreme Court over the violence. PTI One PIL was filed by lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha seeking the Court to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the cases of violence. Another plea was filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari seeking the constitution of a five-member judicial enquiry commission headed by a former Supreme Court judge to investigate the violence in the State. Advertisement One of the pleas sought a direction to the State Government to file a report in the top court on the violence aside from the directions for protecting peoples lives and properties. With inputs from agencies Donald Trump has set his sights on woke US universities and on Monday, he took aim at Harvard University. The US president has ordered a freeze of $2.2 billion in grants after the elite college refused to adhere to his demands. This is part of a larger crackdown on famous educational institutions in the country hes already targeted Columbia, Princeton, Brown and University of Pennsylvania read more Demonstrators rally on Cambridge Common in a protest organised by the City of Cambridge calling on Harvard leadership to resist interference at the university by the federal government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. On Monday, the Trump administration announced a federal funding freeze in response to the university not adhering to the government's demands. Reuters A new battle is looming in the United States and this time, its President Trump vs Harvard University. The elite US university is facing Trumps wrath the US administration is freezing $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts after the Ivy League school rejected the Trump administrations demands. The battle with Harvard University is part of Trumps ongoing war with Ivy League schools his administration has already cut or paused billions in funding to Brown University, Columbia University, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. Advertisement But what exactly is going on? We take a closer look at Trumps battle against Americas elite universities and who exactly is winning. Trump pauses Harvard funding On Monday (April 14), the Trump government announced that it would be pausing federal funding worth $2.2 billion and another $60 million in multi-year contracts to Harvard after the school said it would not follow policy demands from the administration. The move comes after the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvard last Friday calling for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus, and stop recognising some student clubs. The federal government said almost $9 billion in grants and contracts in total were at risk if Harvard did not comply. A passerby poses for a photo with a Harvard tour group and the statue of John Harvard in the background on Harvard Yard. File image/Reuters The letter sent by the Trump administration outlined the changes it wanted to be implemented at Harvard this included banning face masks, closing its diversity, equity and inclusion programmes and even reforming its admissions process for international students to screen for students supportive of terrorism and anti-Semitism and to report international students to federal authorities if they break university conduct policies. However, Harvard University president, Alan Garber, vowed that he wouldnt adhere to the Trump administrations demands, insisting that the school would not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, Garber said in a letter to the Harvard community. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. Advertisement Harvard attorneys also wrote a letter to the Trump administration, Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the governments terms as an agreement in principle. This prompted Trumps Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism to announce a $2.2 billion hold in grants in addition to a $60 million freeze in government contracts. Harvards statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws, it said. The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support. Trumps White House spokesman Harrison Fields also said in a statement on Monday that Trump was working to Make Higher Education Great Again by ending unchecked anti-Semitism and ensuring federal taxpayer dollars do not fund Harvards support of dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence. Advertisement Trump vs US universities Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has set his eyes on the leading universities across the nation, threatening them with funding freezes if they dont comply with his demands. This includes Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Northwestern and Columbia. The US president has taken a more aggressive stance on anti-semitism on campus, even accusing his predecessor, Joe Biden, of letting them off the hook. As part of his crackdown, Trump has opened new investigations at colleges and detained and deported several foreign students with ties to pro-Palestinian protests. His battle against woke universities began on March 13 when he sent a letter to Columbia University, announcing it was holding $400 million in federal grants hostage until the university complied with his administrations demands. Protesters gather at Foley Square calling for the release of Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, in Manhattan, New York City. Reuters To win back their grants, the letter stated that Columbia would have to expel certain students, reform its admissions policies and place its Middle Eastern studies department into academic receivership. Moreover, the Trump administration has also targeted two students of the university: Mahmoud Khalil, whom the government is seeking to deport, and Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested on April 14, as he attended an interview to become a US citizen. Advertisement The University later complied and a week later, its president, Katrina Armstrong, resigned. But Trump didnt stop at Columbia. He then took aim at Princeton University, leading to its president, Christopher Eisgruber, writing in The Atlantic that the Trump administrations actions presented the greatest threat to the American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s. In early April, the Trump administration then suspended research grants totalling $210 million to Princeton University. Trump has also suspended more than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and around $790 million for Northwestern University. In a statement, Cornell said it had received more than 75 stop work orders from the Defence Department related to research profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity, and health but that it had not otherwise received any information confirming $1 billion in frozen grants. Meanwhile, in an email to the Northwestern community, university president Michael Schill said it had not been notified by the federal government of the cuts, according to The Daily Northwestern, the campus newspaper. Advertisement Protesters supporting Mahmoud Khalil demonstrate in Union Square in New York City. Reuters Reason behind Trumps war on universities But what is the purpose of this war against the elite universities of America? Trump and his allies believe that some schools, especially a handful of elite universities, have become bastions of anti-semitism and ideological indoctrination. However, the reasoning for the battle against colleges and universities is much deeper. Over the years, many conservatives have been suspicious of higher education and questioned the institutions affirmative action admissions programmes as well as high tuition costs. Moreover, the views of liberal professors and the DEI initiatives have bugged conservatives. Members of the Columbia Medical physicians, nurses, researchers, and faculty protest against federal funding cuts affecting their research at the Columbia University campus in New York City. Reuters Many conservatives have been quoted as telling the New York Times that their views have been marginalised in lecture halls and regard top schools as incubators of wokeism. They have said they want universities to emphasise academic programs that will lead students to jobs that are essential to the economy. Notably, this isnt the first time that elite universities have earned the disdain of Americas right. In fact, Ronald Reagan won the governorship of California in 1966 by pledging to clean up the mess at Berkeley and clear out the beatniks, radicals and filthy speech advocates who had brought such shame to the flagship state university. Advertisement It is left to be seen what comes next in this Trump vs universities battle, but as of now, more than $12 billion have been paused in funding, with more at stake. With inputs from agencies Rumours online claim that US President Donald Trump could invoke the centuries-old Insurrection Act and declare martial law on April 20. The rumour originates from an executive order he signed on his first day in office, which hinted at the possibility of such steps within 90 days. Notably, the Insurrection Act of 1807 is among the most powerful emergency powers available to a president read more The Insurrection Act of 1807 is one of the most powerful emergency powers available to a president. Reuters/File Photo Is Donald Trump planning to invoke a centuries-old law called the Insurrection Act? Speculation is circulating online that the US President may bring the law into effect and declare martial law on April 20. This rumour originates from an executive order he signed on the day he took office, which suggested such measures could be introduced within a 90-day period. ALSO READ | Confused about Trumps on-again, off-again tariffs? Heres where we stand as of now Advertisement In this report, we explore what the law is, the rumours surrounding Trumps possible use of it, and whether it has ever been enforced in the past. What is the Insurrection Act of 1807? The Insurrection Act of 1807, rarely invoked, allows the president to use federal troops or place National Guard units under federal control to suppress large-scale protests or civil disturbances. It is one of the most powerful emergency powers available to a president. Once enforced, the president can deploy the US military or National Guard to handle situations involving rebellion, civil unrest, or to enforce the law when it becomes impracticable to do so by other means. Rather than being a single law, the Insurrection Act is a collection of laws passed by the US Congress between 1792 and 1871, all concerning the use of military force within the United States. The law is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally bars the federal military or National Guard from carrying out domestic law enforcement duties. Once the Insurrection Act is in effect, Posse Comitatus is temporarily suspended. Notably, there are three ways troops can be deployed under this act. First, if a state governor or legislature requests federal assistance to put down an uprising within the state. Second, the president can act without a states consent when unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States. Advertisement ALSO READ | How fit is Donald Trump, Americas oldest-elected president? Third, the president may also proceed without a states approval in two specific cases: if any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy prevents the state from enforcing laws that protect constitutional rights; or if such unrest interferes with carrying out federal law or justice. However, before the president can proceed with the Insurrection Act, they must issue a formal proclamation instructing those disrupting law enforcement to disperse peacefully within a set time, according to a report by The Independent. Donald Trump holds a signed executive order. AP What is martial law? Martial law refers to the temporary replacement of civilian rule with military control, typically enforced during periods of war, rebellion, or severe natural disasters. Under martial law, a military commander overseeing a region or the entire country gains unrestricted power to create and enforce laws. According to the US Department of Justice, it may be imposed when civilian authorities are no longer functioning, are completely absent, or are unable to maintain order. During this period, civil liberties can be suspended, and the duration of martial law may be fixed or open-ended, depending on the situation. Advertisement In the United States, martial law has been declared at least 68 times, usually by state or federal officials, although no president has imposed it since the Civil War. While martial law enables the military to assume control of civilian governance in a crisis, the Insurrection Act only permits the military to support civilian authorities without replacing them. Is Trump planning to invoke the Insurrection Act? After taking office in January, Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border. He also instructed US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to deliver a report within 90 days on the situation at the border to assess whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807. According to the New York Times, he had previously threatened to use the law during his first term amid the George Floyd protests. Notably, Trump has already pushed the boundaries of executive authority to bypass the usual, slower legislative process for implementing his policies. Trump at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, US. Reuters/File Photo There are concerns that if department heads recommend invoking the act, the president could gain even more authority, supported by the military. Advertisement On April 9, fact-checking site Snopes published a piece examining claims that Trump plans to invoke the Insurrection Act and impose martial law on April 20. ALSO READ | Trump guts Department of Education: How it will hurt students, parents across America As of this writing on April 9, this rumour existed more as a prediction than a provable claim, Snopes noted. Searches of the websites for the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and the White House yielded no announcements, statements or demonstrable evidence that might help to shed light on the unproven matter. April 20 marks the end of the 90-day deadline. Was the Insurrection Act invoked before? The Insurrection Act has been used at least 30 times in American history, with the latest instance taking place in 1992, when US President George H. W. Bush invoked it during the Los Angeles riots that followed the Rodney King verdict, according to The Independent. One of the earliest and most notable uses was by Abraham Lincoln at the outset of the Civil War, after Southern states began to secede from the Union. Another case was under former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who invoked the act when the Arkansas National Guard blocked Black students from entering a school in Little Rock. Eisenhower responded by federalising the Guard, ensuring the students could attend classes. Advertisement With inputs from agencies India is waiting to extradite fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi after his arrest by the Belgian Police on April 12. However, the lawyers of the 65-year-old diamantaire, who is a key accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, are going to use all legal means to avoid that. Heres why his extradition to India might have to wait read more Businessman Mehul Choksi is taken to a police van via a wheelchair by a police officer after attending a court hearing, in Roseau, Dominica, June 10, 2021. File Photo/AP Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been arrested in Belgium after an extradition request by Indian probe agencies in relation to the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case. The 65-year-old had fled his home country in 2018, weeks before the alleged scam came to light. Choksi, who is wanted in India, was arrested on Saturday (April 12) by the Belgian Police in Antwerp following an extradition request by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Last month, reports emerged that Choksi is living in Belgiums port city of Antwerp along with his wife, Preeti Choksi, a citizen of Belgium. Advertisement While Choksi has been arrested, his extradition to India from Belgium is not easy. We will explain why. India-Belgium extradition treaty India and Belgium have an extradition treaty that allows them to send back fugitives based on dual criminality, including for financial crimes. Dual criminality means that a person can be extradited only if the crime is punishable according to the laws in force in both countries. Notably, the treaty allows for the rejection of extradition requests if the offence involved is political in nature. The arrested person can be released if the requesting country is unable to present evidence of culpability within two months. In 2023, India and Belgium signed Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs), which require both nations to put into effect each others search warrants and summons against fugitives wanted by their investigating agencies. Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi is in a Belgium jail after his arrest on April 12. File Photo/News18 Can Mehul Choksi be extradited? Yes, but the extradition process is not simple. After Belgium arrested Mehul Choksi, government sources told NDTV that a request had been made to extradite him. The government will use every legal tool available to bring him back. The Indian probe agencies have shared at least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021 against Choksi, with their Belgian counterparts, sources told PTI. Formal paperwork is underway after his arrest. Once the extradition process starts, teams from the CBI and the ED will visit Belgium to prepare a case as per the European countrys laws, as per Indian Express. Advertisement However, there is no guarantee that Choksi will be back in India anytime soon. The extradition process is lengthy and the fugitive businessmans lawyers will challenge his return to India on various grounds. Speaking to reporters on Monday (April 14), his lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, said they will file an appeal, arguing Choksis human rights will be greatly affected if he is extradited to India. He said the obvious grounds for the appeal would be that the businessman is not a flight risk, is extremely sick and undergoing treatment for cancer. As per reports, Choksi arrived in Belgium last year for his cancer treatment from Antigua and Barbuda. Aggarwal said they also plan to argue that this is a political case and the human condition (in Indian prisons) was not good. Former Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi told India Today that India does not have a very strong record of extraditions from Europe. He said Choksis defence on the grounds of medical treatment could delay his travel till the examination of his condition but would not stop his extradition. Advertisement As far as Choksi is concerned, for the past seven to eight years, his medical condition hasnt prevented him from travelling. The fact that he moves from country to country and makes misrepresentations suggests an attempt to evade the legal process, Lekhi said. This shows an implicit acknowledgement of his criminal liability, and such factors are taken into consideration. Speaking to CNN-News18, Choksis lawyer also referred to a UK court rejecting Indias request to appeal in Britains Supreme Court against the discharge of Sanjay Bhandari, a consultant in the defence sector wanted in India for tax evasion and money laundering charges. Denying the Indian governments request, the High Court in London said last week that the defence consultant would be at risk of extortion and violence" from other prisoners and prison officials" in Delhis Tihar jail. Addressing the grounds for Choksis appeal, Aggarwal said, Generally there are two grounds this is a political case and human rights of the client will be affected. We will make a strong case based on the Bhandari judgment which has come that said Indian prison conditions are not human." Advertisement Lekhi said Choksis detention in Belgium jail will continue unless he is granted bail, reported India Today. Choksis lawyers are also expected to raise the failed attempt to bring the jeweller from Dominica to India in 2021, according to Indian Express. Photos of the businessman in a wheelchair with a black eye and bruised face in Dominica surfaced in local media in May 2021. He was arrested for illegally entering the Caribbean country. Soon, CBI and Ministry of External Affairs officials reached Dominica to bring him back to India but in vain. Choksis family and lawyers accused Indian agents of abducting the businessman in Antigua, torturing and forcibly bringing him to the Dominican Republic on a boat with the help of a Hungarian national Barbara Jabarika. His lawyers alleged Choksi was threatened to sign a consent form that said he was going to India of his own will. After this, the businessman got relief as Dominica withdrew its case against him and sent him back to Antigua. Advertisement In 2023, Interpol scrapped its Red Corner Notice against Choksi, citing that he was abducted for deportation to India, and there was a risk of him not getting a fair trial in the country. Choksis Antiguan citizenship could also complicate his extradition from Belgium to India. I dont think hell be on a flight to India soon, Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde told India Today. With inputs from agencies Hamas says studying new Gaza peace proposal from mediators Xinhua) 09:02, April 15, 2025 Civil defense workers transfer a victim from the rubble of destroyed buildings after an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on April 13, 2025. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) GAZA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Hamas said Monday evening that its leadership is reviewing the Gaza peace proposal received from the mediators and will submit its response after completing internal consultations. In a statement, Hamas said its leadership is studying the proposal "with great national responsibility" and will submit its response "as soon as the necessary consultations are completed." The group reaffirmed its core demands for any potential agreement: "a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, a genuine prisoner exchange, the start of a serious reconstruction process, and the lifting of the unjust siege on our people in Gaza." Hamas did not give details of the proposal in the statement. At least 1,613 Palestinians were killed and 4,233 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes on March 18 across the Gaza Strip, Gaza-based health authorities said on Monday. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Meta is on trial in a historic antitrust case that could force it to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. The US Federal Trade Commission alleges these acquisitions crushed competition and cemented Metas dominance in social media. With CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifying and billions in revenue at stake, this case could redefine how Big Tech operates in the US and beyond read more A photograph taken during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2025, shows the logo of Meta, the US company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. File Photo/AFP Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is facing a landmark antitrust trial in Washington that could fundamentally reshape the structure of the social media giant. At the heart of the case are two of the companys biggest acquisitions Instagram and WhatsApp which the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges were bought to crush competition, not foster innovation. The FTC argues that after failing to compete effectively with emerging social apps, Meta turned to acquisition as a means of eliminating threats. Advertisement The agencys complaint claims Meta created entry barriers that for more than a decade protected Metas dominance, and that the market has since lacked reasonable alternatives for consumers. The trial marks one of the most high-profile antitrust challenges in recent tech history. If successful, it could force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp two platforms that have become integral not just to Metas business model, but to global communication. Inside Metas acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram a then-nascent photo-sharing platform with no advertising and a small cult following for $1 billion in cash and stock. The deal, later valued at $750 million after Facebooks IPO, was a notable shift from the companys earlier pattern of acquiring startups only to shut them down and absorb their talent, in what Silicon Valley terms acqui-hires. Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and continued to operate as a standalone app. Two years later, in 2014, the company made a bold $22 billion purchase of WhatsApp, a rapidly growing messaging service. These acquisitions enabled Facebook to pivot from a desktop-centric model to mobile-first platforms, ensuring relevance among younger users and adapting to changing user behaviour. The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, June 14, 2023. File Image/AP Critics including the FTC say these strategic acquisitions were less about product development and more about neutralising potential rivals. Meta has maintained a monopoly by pursuing Zuckerbergs strategy, expressed in 2008: It is better to buy than compete. True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats, the FTC alleges. Advertisement What the Meta CEO said on the stand Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in what many are calling a pivotal moment for the company. On the first day of trial, FTC attorney Daniel Matheson questioned Zuckerberg on internal communications that indicated concern over Facebooks inability to build a competitive photo-sharing app. The way I read this message is that Im not happy about how were executing on that project, Zuckerberg said, in reference to Facebooks in-house attempts to rival Instagram. When asked if this frustration was due to Instagrams rapid growth, he responded, That does seem to be what Im highlighting. Later, when pushed on whether Meta deliberately neglected Instagram in favour of Facebook after the acquisition, Zuckerberg disagreed. In practice, we ended up investing a ton in it after we acquired it," he stated, adding that Instagram received significant resources. Zuckerberg also addressed the shifting nature of online engagement. Reflecting on a 2018 decision to prioritise posts from friends over public content, he said, I think we misunderstood how social engagement online was evolving. People just kept on engaging with more and more stuff that wasnt what their friends were doing. He estimated that now, around 20 per cent of content on Facebook and 10% on Instagram is generated by users friends, showing a broader shift in how users interact on social platforms. Advertisement The FTCs argument At the heart of the FTCs argument is the belief that Meta holds a monopoly in the specific market of social platforms used to share content with friends and family a definition that notably excludes platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Apples iMessage, and X (formerly Twitter), which are more geared toward content sharing based on interests or broadcasting to the public. FTC attorney Daniel Matheson contends that Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to erect a moat around its business and preserve its dominance. The lawsuit claims that these acquisitions are not just historical issues they continue to shape the market today by limiting user choice and deterring new entrants. Meta, however, contends that the FTC is selectively narrowing the market definition to build its case. In a statement, the company argued, The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage and many others. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared our acquisitions, the Commissions action in this case sends the message that no deal is ever truly final. Jennifer Newstead, Metas chief legal officer, went further in a blog post, writing, Its absurd that the FTC is trying to break up a great American company at the same time the Administration is trying to save Chinese-owned TikTok. Advertisement Could Meta survive without Instagram and WhatsApp? The financial stakes for Meta are massive. Instagram, according to research firm Emarketer, is expected to generate $37.13 billion in 2025 a little over half of Metas US ad revenue. Instagram is now Metas biggest money maker in the US, its most lucrative market, where the app accounts for 50.5% of the companys ad revenues in 2025, The Guardian quoted Jasmine Enberg, a principal analyst at Emarketer. Instagram has also been picking up the slack for Facebook on the user front, particularly among young people, for a long time. WhatsApp, on the other hand, contributes less to Metas current revenue but is the companys most-used app in terms of daily users. It plays a vital role in Metas strategy to monetise business messaging through tools like chatbots and commerce features. Zuckerberg has described this segment as the next wave of growth for the company. If the FTC succeeds in breaking up Meta, the agency would need to hold a second trial to prove that such a move would, in fact, restore competition in the marketplace. Such a remedy phase is likely to be as contentious and complex as the current proceedings. Advertisement A wider crackdown on Big Tech The Meta trial is being closely watched as the first major test of the Trump administrations current FTC strategy. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2020, during Trumps first term. The ongoing proceedings are now a litmus test for how far federal enforcers are willing to go to rein in Big Tech. Joe Simonson, an FTC spokesperson, signalled the agencys commitment: The Trump-Vance FTC could not be more ready for this trial. We are blessed with some of the most hardworking and intelligent lawyers in the country who are working around the clock. The FTCs current chair, Lina Khan, has been a vocal critic of Metas acquisition practices, accusing the company of employing a buy-or-bury strategy. Theres no expiration date when it comes to the illegality of the transaction, Khan said in an NBC interview. I think there is a way in which the entire social networking ecosystem looks different today because Facebook was permitted to go out and make these acquisitions. This case unfolds as other tech giants, including Amazon, Google, and Apple, are also facing antitrust lawsuits. Google was declared an illegal monopoly by a federal judge in 2024, with the remedy phase in that case beginning later this April. The trial against Meta is expected to stretch into July 2025. Presiding over the case is US District Judge James Boasberg, who has already rejected Metas request for summary judgment and allowed the FTCs claims to proceed. Advertisement In a November ruling, Boasberg noted that the agency faces hard questions about whether its claims can hold up in the crucible of trial. Still, if the FTC prevails, the results could be historic marking the first forced breakup of a major tech company since the dismantling of AT&T. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies Neela Rajendra, who is of Indian origin, served as the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The space agency has now sacked the DEI chief. In March, Nasa officially shut down its diversity division after an executive order by US President Donald Trump, which banned all DEI programmes across executive branch agencies. Trump claimed these initiatives create unfair practices within the federal system read more She was responsible for leading initiatives aimed at diversifying the workforce. Nasa Neela Rajendra, an Indian-origin official who served as the chief of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), has been fired from her role. Her removal comes amid a bigger move led by US President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) head Elon Musk, both of whom have been opponents of DEI initiatives, which they claim promote unfair practices in the federal system. In March, Nasa formally dissolved its diversity division, following an executive order by Trump that banned DEI programmes across all executive branch agencies. Advertisement ALSO READ | First Columbia, now Harvard and more How Trump is targeting elite US universities Rajendras departure follows reports that she had survived the initial wave of terminations in 2024, during which around 900 DEI employees at Nasa lost their jobs. In this explainer, we look at Neela Rajendras background and examine how she managed to remain in her position during Trumps earlier DEI purge, until now. Who is Neela Rajendra? Rajendra, who is of Indian origin, served as the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She was responsible for leading initiatives aimed at diversifying the workforce, including supporting the Space Workforce 2030 pledge, which focused on increasing the hiring of women and minorities. Rajendra served as the chief of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at Nasa. Image: LinkedIn/Neela Rajendra According to the Washington Free Beacon, Rajendra argued in a 2022 presentation that extreme deadline[s] were slowing progress towards inclusion goals. In a bid to protect her from getting fired after Trumps executive order banning DEI programmes, the space agency rebranded her role, appointing her as Head of the Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success. In her new role, lab staff were informed she would oversee affinity groups at the lab, such as the Black Excellence Strategic Team. Following the change, Rajendra updated her LinkedIn profile to announce the new position, describing her job as helping to unlock our potential to dare mighty things together. While her title no longer referenced DEI, many of her core responsibilities remained the same under the revised designation. Advertisement ALSO READ | Will Trump impose a martial law-type order in the US soon? As of early March, Rajendra was still leading the Black Excellence Strategic Team at the lab. However, after reports surfaced about her continued presence despite the broader crackdown on DEI, the lab ended her employment earlier this week. In an internal email last week, employees at Nasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory were informed of her departure. Neela Rajendra is no longer working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We are incredibly grateful for the lasting impact she made to our organisation. We wish her the very best, read the message, reportedly sent by JPL Director Laurie Leshin, according to Daily Mail. Leshin further said that the Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success, previously led by Rajendra, would now be moved under the human resources division. Nasa on DEI programmes Nasa formally ended its diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) programmes after all federal agencies were instructed to dismantle such initiatives. On January 20, just hours after taking the oath of office, Trump began signing executive orders to roll back existing programmes. Advertisement These directives also urged federal contractors to abandon what were termed illegal DEI discrimination policies and told agencies to compile lists of private companies that could be scrutinised for their diversity efforts. Months ago, in an internal email from acting administrator Janet Petro, the agency notified staff that it was taking steps to close all agency DEIA offices and end all DEIA-related contracts in accordance with President Trumps executive orders. Nasa ended its DEIA programmes after all federal agencies were instructed to dismantle such initiatives. Reuters/File Photo In that message, Nasa stated the programmes had divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination. ALSO READ | How fit is Donald Trump, Americas oldest-elected president? According to Daily Mail, the agency had been spending around $22.4 million each year on these initiatives. Nasa had been involved in DEI work for more than a decade, having launched its first Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Implementation Plan in 2012. Since 2022, most of its DEI funding had been directed towards environmental-related projects. The aim of DEI programmes was to expand opportunities for women, ethnic minorities, LGBT individuals, and other underrepresented groups. Advertisement Supporters argue that such initiatives are essential for addressing systemic inequality and historical injustices. However, Trump and several Republicans have claimed that these policies unfairly discriminate against others and undermine merit-based systems. With inputs from agencies Has Bengaluru International Airport removed Hindi from its digital display boards? A social media user pointed out that the flight information was in two languages: English and Kannada. The post has reignited the years-long debate on the imposition of Hindi in the southern states read more A video from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) last week showed a digital screen at Terminal 1 displaying flight numbers, destinations, statuses, and gate detailsonly in English and Kannada. Hindi was nowhere to be seen. Image courtesy: X/@@Ellarakannada A small change at Bengalurus International Airport has ended up creating a big buzz. A traveller recently noticed that the airports display boards, which earlier showed flight information in English, Kannada, and Hindi, now feature just English and Kannada. Hindi has quietly been dropped, and that hasnt gone down well with everyone. As photos of the new boards started doing the rounds online, people began weighing in with strong opinions. Some welcomed the move as a win for local identity, while others questioned why a widely spoken language was removed from public places. The airport authorities have responded, but the debate has only grown louder. Heres what is happening. Hindi removed from airports display boards? The debate kicked off after a user on X (formerly Twitter) shared a video from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) last week. The clip showed a digital screen at Terminal 1 displaying flight numbers, destinations, statuses, and gate detailsonly in English and Kannada. Hindi was nowhere to be seen. Today, a surprise awaited at the T1 terminal of Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. All the digital boards displaying flight information, flight arrival and departure schedules and other information were only in English and Kannada, the user wrote. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They followed up with more videos, clearly showing that all the display boards around the airport had dropped Hindi altogether. It didnt take long for the videos to go viral, sparking a flurry of reactions online, from support to sharp criticism. Kannadigas are resisting Hindi imposition The videos from the airport reignited the long-standing debate around the use of Hindi in southern states, especially the recurring charge of Hindi imposition in Karnataka. One user commented, Hindi is removed from digital display boards of Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. Kannada & English. Kannadigas are resisting Hindi imposition. This is a really good development!" Another echoed the sentiment, saying, Hindi isnt the most spoken and understood in the south. We dont need it. So learn South languages if you want to visit our states. While many welcomed the change as a pushback against Hindi imposition, not everyone agreed, especially those from Hindi-speaking regions. They raised concerns about accessibility for travellers unfamiliar with Kannada or English. Do you think only those who know English and Kannada visit Bengaluru? Not having Hindi at metro station is understandable, but it has to be there at the airport and railway station, one user argued. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Another wrote sarcastically, Do we get information in Kannada at Delhi airport? Others felt the move could end up making travel harder for some passengers. But isnt this just adding inconvenience to the folks who can neither understand English nor Kannada? asked one person. A third user added, As much as I oppose the imposition of Hindi, removing it from travel hubs like airports and railway stations is unwise. These places should facilitate travel, not complicate it for people. Also read: What is the 60% Kannada rule that led to vandalism of stores in Bengaluru? Airport authorities respond After the video went viral and triggered a flurry of reactions online, the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)which manages Kempegowda International Airportissued a statement to clear the air. Contrary to the claims being circulated, BIAL said that there had been no recent change in the airports flight information display system. There has been no change in our flight information display system. In line with established practices, the displays continue to feature English and Kannada to effectively assist passengers. Additionally, the wayfinding signages throughout the terminals are displayed in English, Kannada and Hindi, a BIAL spokesperson clarified to The Times of India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The language debate in Karnataka The controversy over language in Karnataka is far from new, but its been intensifying in recent years. Pro-Kannada groups have been increasingly vocal about giving the local language top priority in the state. Their push has often spilled over into public spaces, with reported incidents ranging from auto drivers refusing rides to non-Kannada speakers to English signboards being defaced, and even shopkeepers allegedly overcharging customers who speak Hindi. The debate has also reached the classroom. Much like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka is now seeing growing resistance to the Centres three-language formula in schools. Many Kannada language activists are calling on the state government to drop Hindi as a compulsory third language and instead adopt a two-language policy, retaining Kannada and English. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Under the current SSLC (State syllabus), students study Kannada as their first language, English as their second, and from Class 6 onwards, a third languagemost commonly Hindiis introduced. Anand Guru, founder of the pro-Kannada group Banavasi Balaga, told Frontline, The two- or three-language controversy predates Independence. In the princely State of Mysore, only Kannada and English were used, but after Independence, Hindi was imposed as an official language. The National Education Policy is designed to promote Hindi and establish it as the dominant language in the country. Karnataka is becoming a haven for Hindi speakers, yet many migrants neither learn nor attempt to learn Kannada. We demand the removal of Hindi from Karnatakas education system." While language activism continues to grow in the state, the latest signboard debate at the Bengaluru airport shows just how sensitive the topic has become. With input from agencies The Maldives has banned Israeli citizens from entering the country, while Bangladesh and Pakistan have witnessed massive protests against the Gaza war. Dhaka has also reintroduced except Israel inscription on passports, barring its citizens from travelling to the Jewish state read more Anti-Israel sentiment over the Gaza war is increasing in South Asias Muslim nations. The Maldives has banned Israeli citizens from entering the country, while Bangladesh and Pakistan have witnessed massive protests against the Gaza war. Dhaka has even restored the phrase this passport is valid for all countries of the world excerpt Israel on it. But what happened? What do we know? Lets take a closer look: In Maldives The Maldives announced a ban on Israeli citizens entering the country. As per Times of Israel, the island nation said it was making the move in resolute solidarity with the Palestinian people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD President Mohamed Muizzu ratified the legislation shortly after it was approved by parliament today. The ratification reflects the governments firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, his office said in a statement. The Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The ban will be implemented with immediate effect, a spokesman for Muizzus office said. The ratification reflects the governments firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, his office says in a statement. Muizzu also publicised a national fundraising campaign called Maldivians in Solidarity with Palestine. As per Al Jazeera, around 11,000 Israelis visited the Maldives which his famous for its sandy beaches and luxury resorts in 2024. Around 11,000 Israelis visited the Maldives which his famous for its sandy beaches and luxury resorts in 2024. Reuters Israelis comprised 0.6 per cent of all total tourist arrivals. Just 528 Israelis have come to the Maldives in the first four months of 2025. That figure is down 88 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Israel has urged its citizens to leave the Maldives. For Israeli citizens staying in the country, it is recommended to consider leaving, since if they fall into distress for any reason, it will be difficult for us to help. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Israels Foreign Ministry last year had urged citizens to avoid traveling to the Maldives. Israeli passport holders have been banned from entering Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen. In Bangladesh Bangladesh has witnessed massive anti-Israel protests. As per Al Jazeera, around 100,000 took to the streets of Dhaka on Sunday to protest Israels actions in Gaza. Thousands of protesters rallied in the capital to condemn Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip, carrying hundreds of Palestinian flags and chanting slogans like Free, Free Palestine. The main protest was held in central Dhakas Suhrawardy Udyan near the premier Dhaka University and many among them beat the images of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing them of backing Israel. Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zias Bangladesh Nationalist Party and right-wing Islamic groups and parties expressed solidarity with the rally. Bogra, Sylhet and Coxs Bazar also saw massive crowds on the streets over the past few days, as per NDTV. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Unfortunately, the demonstrations turned violent with protesters targeting brands they believe are linked to Israel. As per Dhaka Tribune, in Bogra, protestors vandalised a Bata showroom. In Sylhet, a KFC bore the brunt of outrage, while in Coxs Bazar demonstrators targeting a Pizza Hut and KFC. Protesters condemn Israels actions in the Gaza Strip, at a rally in Bangladeshs capital Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo) Bangladesh has also reintroduced except Israel inscription on passports barring its citizens from travelling to the Jewish state. Bata has issued a public statement. Bata Globally is a privately held, family-owned company founded in the Czech Republic, with no political ties to the conflict. It is deeply regrettable that some of our retail locations in Bangladesh have recently been subjected to vandalism, apparently triggered by these false narratives, the company said, as per Dhaka Tribune. The home ministry issued a directive asking the passport and immigration department to reinstate the sentence THIS PASSPORT IS VALID FOR ALL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD EXCEPT ISRAEL in the official travel permits for citizens visiting abroad, the state-run BSS news agency reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The phrase all countries except Israel was dropped in 2021 during the Awami League government led by now-deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The authorities at that time said it was dropped from the passport to maintain international standards of the document. We issued the letter (directive) on April 7, Nilima Afroze, Deputy Secretary of Home Ministrys Security Services Division, told the news agency. In Pakistan Pakistan on Sunday witnessed thousands of people take to the streets in Karachi to protest Israels actions in Gaza. Pakistan maintains no diplomatic ties with Israel and has consistently called for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Last week, an American fast food outlet in Rawalpindi was vandalised by anti-Israel protesters. As per The Print, the video purportedly shows some individuals abusing people and vandalising the shop. The patrons, including some elderly women, are shown leaving in fear. In a separate incident, supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) vandalised another fast food outlet in Rawalpindi. In Karachi, ten people were arrested after a mob vandalised KFC outlet. Supporters of the Pakistani religious group Jamaat-e-Islami hold a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza, in Karachi, Pakistan Friday. AP Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that around 40 people, mostly young people armed with sticks and stones, attacked the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet at 6.15 pm. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Their motive was to protest against US and Israel policies in Gaza, Raza said. There is a similar pattern across the Muslim World, especially Bangladesh and other countries, mostly incited by social media, where mobs resort to such hooliganism. Thousands of supporters of Pakistans main religious political party rallied in Lahore on Friday against the United States and Israel over the war in Gaza. An estimated 15,000 people attended the rally called by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, whose head, Naeem Ur Rehman, called on all Muslim nations to announce a holy war to defend Gaza. Pakistans parliament on Monday passed a unanimous resolution strongly condemning the ongoing military attack and related atrocities by the Israeli army in Gaza. The resolution was introduced by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tara, as per BRecorder. It urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for alleged war crimes in Gaza. It also called for increasing efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It also demanded that Palestine be recognised as a full member of the United Nations. The move came days after Mufti Taqi Usmani, a prominent Islamic scholar who heads a conglomerate of seminaries of Islams Deobandi school of thought in Pakistan, called on the Muslim world to impose a complete boycott of Israel. The cleric stressed that protests against Israel must be peaceful after anti-Israel protesters attacked American fast-food restaurant chains in several cities across Pakistan. With inputs from agencies Sudan on Tuesday marked two years of civil war. Though there has been some good news with the Sudanese military retaking Khartoum, there seems to be no end in sight for what the UN has called the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Now, experts fear Sudan could essentially be split into two. All this in the backdrop of Sudans population facing hunger and the World Food Program warning that millions are in danger of starvation read more Sudan army soldiers celebrate after they took over the Republican Palace in Khartoum, Sudan, Friday, March 21, 2025. Image- AP On Tuesday, Sudan marked two years of civil war. Though there has been some good news with the Sudanese military retaking Khartoum, there seems to be no end in sight for what the UN has called the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Now, experts fear Sudan could essentially be split into two. On Friday and Saturday, RSF fighters and their allies attacked two refugee camps in the western Darfur region. At least 300 people were left dead. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, which shelter some 700,000 Sudanese who fled their homes, have both been plagued by famine. Aid workers cannot get through to provide relief due the fighting. Nearly half of Sudans population is staring at hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and says it could spread, putting millions in danger of starvation. This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long, said Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid group still working in the Zamzam camp. Nine of its workers were killed in the RSF attack. He said the world needs to press for a ceasefire. Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance, he said. Humanity must prevail. Now, as the war enters its third year, heres what you need to know The war begins The war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country. It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSFs commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudans movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power. The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women. The militarys recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing. But experts say the RSF consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and center. The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition, said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Universita di Trieste in Italy. Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a war between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF. - AFP Donelli said its possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Neither side appears able to defeat the other. Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue, said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and lacks political legitimacy within the country, said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University. But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he said. Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSFs resilience and ability to strike back, said Srinivasan, author of When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans. Hunger and starvation getting worse Hundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicenter of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves. We have no choice, she said in a recent phone interview. We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope. Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and nearby South Kordofan province. The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine including other parts of the Darfur region but also places in central and south Sudan because aid workers cannot reach them. The situation is very dire, said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the UN Food and Agricultural Agency in Sudan. Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the countrys population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dire situation In other areas, the militarys capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years. Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the Health Ministry. The economy has been decimated, with a 40 per cent drop in GDP, according to the United Nations Development Program, UNDP. Full-time employment has been halved and almost 20 per cent of urban households reported that they have no income at all, it said. At the same time, UN agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the United States. Only 6.3 per cent of the $4.2 billion required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading, she said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the UN migration agency. Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food. A doctor treats a Sudanese child suffering from malnutrition are treated at an MSF clinic in Metche Camp, Chad, near the Sudanese border, on April 6, 2024. File Image- AP Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighborhood in Khartoums sister city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement. The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted. It was a dream, he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighborhood with almost no electricity or communications is much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person. Following long-awaited extradition from the United States, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the key mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is being questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for eight to 10 hours daily. The Pakistan-born Canadian businessman is currently lodged in a high-security cell at the NIA headquarters in Delhis CGO Complex and is guarded by security personnel round the clock read more NIA officers have been questioning Tahawwur Rana based on a mix of evidence, including call records, his travel history across India, and other intelligence leads. File Photo- FP After years of diplomatic back-and-forth and legal hurdles, Tahawwur Hussain Rana one of the key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks was finally extradited to India. The Pakistan-born Canadian businessman landed in New Delhi last week from the United States and is currently facing intense interrogation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), according to PTI. Rana, who ran an immigration business, allegedly allowed co-conspirator David Headley to use his firm as a cover while scouting locations across Mumbai ahead of the 2008 attacks. His name has long been associated with the planning stages of the assault, and Indian authorities had been pressing for his extradition for years. Advertisement Now that hes in custody, investigators are hoping to revisit key leads and unanswered questions from the 26/11 tragedy an attack that left 166 people dead and more than 300 injured. As the NIA delves further, their investigation focuses not only on Ranas potential involvement but also on exposing the broader conspiracy, including his alleged connections to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other terrorist organisations believed to be linked to the attack. Heres a closer look at what has unfolded so far. Asked for Quran, pen & paper, offers Namaz five times Following Ranas extradition, NIA took his custody, and he is currently being held in a high-security cell at the NIA headquarters in Delhis CGO Complex and is guarded by security personnel round the clock. According to PTI sources, he has been cooperating with investigators led by Chief Investigating Officer Jaya Roy. The NIA officials are ensuring Ranas medical check-up every 48 hours, and he is being allowed to meet his lawyers, in accordance with the order of a Delhi court that had on early Friday morning granted 18-day custody to the probe agency. Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana with NIA officials upon his arrival at the IGI Airport, in New Delhi, on April 10, 2025. NIA via PTI Photo Inside the cell, Rana has made a few requests. As per PTI sources, he asked for a pen, some paper or a notepad, and a copy of the Quran all of which were provided to him. He has also been observed offering Namaz five times a day, an officer told Hindustan Times. He requested for a copy of Quran which we provided. He is seen offering Namaz five times in his cell, said an officer, describing Rana as a religious man". He has raised no special food demands and is being provided with food items which are given to any other accused according to the standard protocols meant to deal with such subjects. Advertisement Meanwhile, NIA officers have been questioning Rana for nearly eight to ten hours each day. The interrogation is reportedly being carried out based on a mix of evidence, including call records, his travel history across India, and other intelligence leads. The NIA, on Sunday, closely analysed dozens of phone conversations between Tahawwur Rana and his childhood friend and co-conspirator, David Coleman Headley, also known as Daood Gilani. These calls are now being used to piece together the broader conspiracy behind the 26/11 attacks. As per a Times Now report, the agency has found a lead involving a person based in Dubai, who is believed to have met Rana at Headleys request. In one of the recorded conversations, Headley is heard advising Rana not to travel to India in the fall of 2008 a period just before the deadly attacks took place. The NIA, on Sunday, closely analysed dozens of phone conversations between Tahawwur Rana and co-conspirator, David Coleman Headley, also known as Daood Gilani. These calls are now being used to piece together the broader conspiracy behind the 26/11 attacks. File image/Reuters Investigators have learned that this Dubai meeting was facilitated by Headley and involved an unidentified individual, currently being referred to as Mr. X. Agencies suspect this person may have had prior knowledge of the attack plans. They are also investigating whether this person has any links to Dawood Ibrahim or D-Company, the organised crime syndicate operating out of Dubai, sources told IANS. Advertisement As the investigation progresses, the NIA has also brought into focus the involvement of senior leaders from terror outfits such as LeT and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HuJI). Names that have surfaced include Hafiz Muhammad Saeed alias Tayyaji, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Sajid Majid alias Wasi, Illyas Kashmiri, and Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, also known as Major Abdurrehman or Pasha. These conspirators worked in active connivance with officials from Pakistans spy agency ISI, namely Major Iqbal alias Major Ali and Major Sameer Ali alias Major Samir, according to the NIA probe. According to sources cited by India TV, Rana is believed to have admitted to instructing Headley to carry out surveillance missions in India, under orders from Sajid Mir and Major Iqbal. Nearly 40 to 50 high-value targets were identified during these missions, including prominent locations in Mumbai such as army cantonments, the Siddhivinayak Temple, Shiv Sena Headquarters, and Chabad House all of which were photographed and video recorded. Advertisement Investigators are also trying to verify Ranas movements across parts of northern and southern India in the days leading up to the attack. These travel details could potentially shed light on further aspects of the planning and execution of the assault. Rana is currently facing a range of serious charges under Indian law, including criminal conspiracy, murder, and several terrorism-related offences. These fall under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as well as the SAARC Convention (Suppression of Terrorism) Act. With input from agencies The oldest Indian restaurant in Britain, Veeraswamy, may shut down in June after nearly a century of serving acclaimed curries to everyone, including former British PM Winston Churchill and Hollywood actor Marlon Brando. This comes as the Crown Estate claims that it needs to reclaim space used by the Michelin-starred eatery read more Veeraswamy, on Londons Regent Street, first opened in 1926. This iconic restaurant is now facing a closure owing to a dispute with the Crown Estate. Image Courtesy: veeraswamy.com Britains love for curry is known the world over. But now, one of the countrys most famous and oldest curry houses a term used for eateries that serve Indian food may be facing closure in its 99th year, just a few months short of its centenary. Veeraswamy, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant that opened in 1926, is at risk of closing due to a dispute with the Crown Estate, which owns the building the restaurant has occupied for nearly a century. For those who dont know, the Crown Estate is an independent commercial business run by a board the Crown Estate commissioners. It belongs to the King for the duration of his reign as sovereign. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Heres what we know about the food fight that is forcing the historical Veeraswamy out of its location. The Crown Estate vs Veeraswamy The existence of Veeraswamy, Britains oldest Indian restaurant, is at risk thanks to a dispute with the Crown Estate. The Crown Estate, which owns Victory House where the Michelin-starred Veeraswamy is located, has sent a mail to the owners of the restaurant, saying it could not extend its lease beyond June. Ranjit Mathrani, who co-owns Veeraswamy, said the news came out of the blue as the estate, had last year, asked him if they wanted more space in the building. At the time, he had turned down the offer, as he was unsure if he could fill the extra tables. However, the Crown Estate maintains that the issue has arisen because it wants to extend the ground floor reception area for the offices on the buildings upper floors. Knocking through into Veeraswamys entrance area would give it an extra 11 sq metres. Veeraswamy, hailed as the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK, has served up its acclaimed curries just steps from Piccadilly Circus since 1926. Image courtesy: Veeraswamy.com According to a report in The Times, the Crown Estate says it needs to take back that space from Veeraswamy so it can complete a 12-month renovation of the entire building, including the enlarging of the office entrance. In a statement, the Crown Estate stated, We need to carry out a comprehensive refurbishment of Victory House. Due to the limited options available in this listed building we need to remove the entrance to the restaurant, which means we will not be able to offer Veeraswamy an extension when their lease expires. Without its own entrance, Veeraswamy has said it will not be able to operate. Mathrani further added that he had requested the monarchs property developer if they could make an entrance for him elsewhere, but it said that would not be possible. Veeraswamys owners, Ranjit Mathrani, Namita Panjabi and Camellia Panjabi. They took control of the restaurant in 1996. Image Courtesy: Veeraswamy/Facebook A furious Mathrani was quoted as telling The Times, They dont care a bugger for history. Had they wanted to, they couldve easily put the [office] reception on the first floor. If theyd have asked us to match the [office] rent, I would have. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He further added that he would be approaching the courts now in this matter, adding that if the royal family were informed of the changes to the restaurant, they wouldnt be happy. They believe in history, in living history, and thats what this restaurant is. Its not just a museum, and I think they would be disappointed that an institution bearing their name would be so heartless, the 81-year-old was quoted as telling The Guardian. Delicious history of Veeraswamy Veeraswamy, located just around the corner from Piccadilly Circus, first opened its doors on 1926. It was started by Edward Palmer, an Anglo-Indian retired British Indian Army officer, who was the great grandson of General William Palmer and the Moghul Princess Faisan Nissa Begum. However, in 1934, MP William Stewart took charge of Veeraswamy, with the website stating that his obsessive attention to detail and quality helped the restaurant reach its golden age with visits from celebrities across the world. In its golden period, Veeraswamy served royalty as well as world leaders. Notable figures such as Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi, the former prime minister of India, have savoured the restaurants delectable offerings. Even legendary actor Charlie Chaplin frequented Veeraswamy, adding to its star-studded allure. Even Britains Prince Edward was a frequent visitor, with his coat of arms hanging outside the door. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A view of Veeraswamy before it underwent renovation in the 1960s. Image Courtesy: veeraswamy.com Britains former Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Hollywoods Marlon Brando have also devoured food at Veeraswamy. According to the restaurants website, Stewarts tenure ended in 1967. And in 1996, the restaurant was taken over by current owners Namita Panjabi & Ranjit Mathrani of MW Eat. In 2008, the restaurant catered for a function held by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and it was invited back to launch the UK-India 2017 Year of Culture. In 2016, the restaurant in its 90th year also received a Michelin star that it holds to this day. Veeraswamys menu pays close attention to the tastes and trends for regionality, specificity, and nuance in Indian cuisine. Image courtesy: veeraswamy.com A culinary affair Since opening its doors to the public, Veeraswamy has delighted patrons with contemporary regional Indian dishes from around the country. The menu specialises in dishes from Indias historic royal kitchens, including Hyderabadi, Mughal, and Patiala dishes richly flavoured with aromatics like rose and saffron. It also blends quality British meats with regional Indian specialities, like a Goan vindaloo made with Creedy Carver duck. Veeraswamys customers swear by the food at the restaurant. As one patron was quoted as telling GBNews, Its the best restaurant meal I have ever tasted. With inputs from agencies At a recent White House briefing, Karoline Leavitt wore a red and black lace dress that immediately drew attention on social media. Users were quick to claim the dress was made in China. Zhang Zhisheng, the current Consul General of the Peoples Republic of China in Denpasar, Indonesia, slammed Leavitt for wearing the dress. Accusing China is business. Buying China is life, he said. The controversy comes amid escalating tensions between the United States and China over trade tariffs read more Karoline Leavitt appeared in a red and black lace dress that quickly drew attention on social media. X/@Byron_Wan White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is under fire for wearing a dress that social media users claim was made in China. The controversy comes at a time when the United States and China are locked in an escalating trade dispute, with new tariffs and countermeasures being introduced by both sides. Adding to the strain, China has also issued a fresh risk alert for its citizens planning to visit the United States due to rising tensions between the two countries. Advertisement ALSO READ | Amid US-China tariff war, why Xi Jinpings Southeast Asia tour matters Amid the tensions, the youngest White House press secretary in US history has become a target of social media. In this report, we look at what the controversy is about, how people on social media are reacting, and a brief overview of the tensions between the United States and China The row over Karoline Leavitts Made in China dress The White House Press Secretary has been accused of using the US-China tariff row for business, while continuing to rely on Chinese-made goods in practice. During a recent White House briefing, Karoline Leavitt appeared in a red and black lace dress that quickly drew attention on social media. Users pointed out its resemblance to a design available on several Chinese e-commerce platforms, though it remains unconfirmed whether the dress was made in China. Zhang Zhisheng, who serves as the current Consul General of the Peoples Republic of China in Denpasar, Indonesia, and former CG in Zanzibar, Tanzania also criticised Leavitt on social media platform X for wearing a dress allegedly made from Chinese lace. Accusing China is business. Buying China is life. The beautiful lace on the dress was recognized by an employee of a Chinese company as its product. pic.twitter.com/SfPyM4M02Z Zhang Zhisheng (@salahzhang) April 14, 2025 Advertisement Accusing China is business. Buying China is life. The beautiful lace on the dress was recognised by an employee of a Chinese company as its product, he wrote. He posted an image of Leavitts outfit alongside screenshots from the Chinese platform Weibo, where users claimed to recognise the lace pattern. One said it came from a factory in Mabu, China, where they are employed. The response on social media was mixed: some argued the dress could be a replica, while others criticised Leavitt for relying on Chinese products while speaking against them. A user commented: The clothes are all made in China, and we shout boycott China every day. Another added: The lace on the collar and placket of this dress was woven in Mabu Town. It was dyed by our factory. Advertisement What social media users are saying Several social media users have criticised Leavitt for wearing what appears to be Chinese-made clothing while publicly bashing China. Leavitt slams Made in China while rocking a Chinese-made dress, hypocrisy much? Tariffs hit hard, but her wardrobe says shes all for it. Classic politician move: blame China, but keep the cheap goods, one user wrote. Another wrote, How does Karoline Leavitt manage the crushing irony of slamming Made in China while strutting in a gorgeous Chinese-made lace dress at the White House podium? Someone is claiming in a social media post that the Chanel-style () jacket White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wears was made in China pic.twitter.com/Far77tirva Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) April 14, 2025 Commenters also pointed out that items branded with Donald Trumps Make America Great Again slogan, often referred to as Maga, are said to be manufactured and obtained from China. Chinese news outlet China 24 said that such examples highlighted a paradox in China-US relations under the current Trump administration. The outlet further claimed that Chinese manufacturers have benefitted from Trumps campaign orders and shared a video clip from his 2016 rally, where Trump told supporters to buy American and hire American. Meanwhile, some users defended Leavitt, suggesting that the item sold on the Chinese website might simply be a replica. Chinese people are notorious for bootleg clothes. Its more likely that they copied a luxury brands jacket, one user wrote. Another posted, Everything China makes is stolen from other people. Her dress is an original. Everything China makes is stolen from other people. Her dress is an original. Martin Lukas (@MartinLukasMD) April 14, 2025 Advertisement A third user wrote, Fake news. Shes wearing the French original whereas the advert shows a Chinese copy. Its funny indeed, but the spin of the tweet is dishonest. US-China tensions The US-China tariff war has escalated, with both sides imposing huge duties on goods worth billions of dollars. Amid fears of a global market downturn, Trump last week temporarily suspended tariffs on most countries for 90 days, stating that nations were ready to enter talks for improved trade terms. China, however, has rejected any negotiations, declaring it would fight to the end in the tariff standoff. In response, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145 per cent. US and Chinese flags and a label with the word 34% Tariffs are seen in this illustration. Reuters/File Photo The hike was initially pegged at 125 per cent on Wednesday last week but did not account for an additional 20 per cent duty linked to Chinas involvement in fentanyl production. In retaliation, China increased its own tariffs on American goods to 125 percent, as tensions deepen between the worlds two largest economies. Barring a few exceptions, trade in goods between the two countries has largely come to a halt. Beijing has also begun tightening restrictions on services and has advised its citizens against travelling to the US, while also discussing a possible ban on imports of American films. Advertisement Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian and legal US resident for over 10 years, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 8 during a naturalisation interview in Colchester, Vermont. A philosophy student at Columbia University, Mahdawi co-founded the Dar Palestinian student group and Columbia University Apartheid Divest. He now faces deportation under a provision linked to US foreign policy threats read more Mohsen Mahdawi spoke to the CBS programme 60 Minutes in December 2023. Screenshot from CBS News Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student at Columbia University and a known organiser of pro-Palestinian campus activism, was arrested on April 8, 2025, during what he believed would be a routine interview to complete his US citizenship process. Instead of being naturalised, Mahdawi, a US green card holder for the past decade, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Colchester, Vermont. Advertisement Mahdawis detention, which his lawyers described as abrupt and unlawful, triggered urgent legal efforts and widespread concern. A Vermont federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring his transfer out of state, a tactic reportedly used against other Palestinian students. This is their M.O., said Mahdawis attorney, Luna Droubi. They just continue to hide the individual to the point where their attorneys cant quite understand or identify where to file. According to his legal team, Mahdawi is now facing deportation under a rarely used provision that allows the US Secretary of State to label individuals as threats to national security or foreign policy. Immigration authorities have not filed any criminal charges but appear to be linking his activism to national security concerns. Who is Mohsen Mahdawi? Originally from a refugee camp in the West Bank, Mahdawi moved to the United States in 2014. He is currently finishing his undergraduate degree in philosophy at Columbias School of General Studies and had planned to begin graduate studies at Columbias School of International and Public Affairs in the fall. Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and Israels subsequent military operations in Gaza, Mahdawi co-founded Dar: the Palestinian Student Society at Columbia and played a key role in organising pro-Palestinian demonstrations. He also helped launch Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a student-led coalition advocating for divestment from Israel. EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE: Columbia student and Palestinian Mohsen Madawi was just arrested during a visit to the immigration office here in Colchester, VT. More to follow. Footage by: Christopher Helali pic.twitter.com/I9JvPS2DLn Christopher Helali (@ChrisHelali) April 14, 2025 Advertisement However, by March 2024, he chose to step back from organising, citing concerns over his immigration status and his values as a practicing Buddhist. My motivation comes out of love now, not out of anger, not out of hate, he said in a December 2023 CBS News 60 Minutes interview, where he also recounted witnessing the killing of his childhood best friend by an Israeli soldier. The fight for freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand in hand because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, Mahdawi told CBS at the time. Mahdawi also served as president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association for two years and actively sought dialogue with Jewish and Israeli students. According to The New York Times, his friend, Mikey Baratz, an Israeli-American student at Columbia, described him as someone who so quickly was willing to take feedback. Advertisement This is a Palestinian. Im an Israeli. Our people are at war, Baratz said. And his willingness to actually hear and actively learn and understand the Israeli experience I mean, Ive never met anyone who so quickly was willing to take feedback. How Mahdawi came under fire Mahdawis name has appeared frequently in online campaigns by pro-Israel groups such as Betar USA and Canary Mission, who have accused him of antisemitic views and labelled him pro-Hamas. These groups began posting about him as early as January 2024, publicly calling for his deportation. Betar USA claimed Mahdawi was on our deport list and repeated the call several times over the following months. In early 2024, Mahdawi attempted to connect with pro-Israel voices on campus, even meeting Columbia professor Shai Davidai for coffee. Davidai later included Mahdawi in a social media thread suggesting that he and other student activists were antisemitic and pro-Hamas. While there is no indication Davidai was involved in deportation discussions, he was reportedly part of a WhatsApp group of alumni and faculty seeking to push for the removal of student protest leaders, reported The Intercept. Advertisement Mahdawi also became a subject of profiles by StopAntisemitism and Documenting Jew Hatred on Campus at ColumbiaU, further raising his visibility among right-wing groups. After the Trump administration resumed efforts to deport pro-Palestinian student activists, Mahdawi went into hiding for over three weeks and repeatedly sought help from Columbia University to secure a safe location. According to emails reviewed by The Intercept, the university declined to relocate him to a more secure space. What next for Mahdawi With violence escalating in the West Bank, Mahdawi fears deportation could be life-threatening. Its kind of a death sentence, he said. Because my people are being killed unjustly in an indiscriminate way. He added that several members of his family, including two cousins, have been killed in the ongoing violence since October 2023, and his fathers store was destroyed in Jenin. Despite the danger, Mahdawi said he still hopes to one day become a US citizen and continue his education. People ask me why I would want to become a citizen of a country committing genocide, he said. I have faith in the people living in this country. The government is not the people. Advertisement Vermont lawmakers, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Representative Becca Balint, issued a joint statement condemning the arrest: This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention. With inputs from agencies Three Russian warships, Rezkiy, Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Pechenga, have arrived in Bangladesh. The development comes just days after Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zamans trip to Moscow. But what are Russian warships doing in Bangladeshi waters? read more The ships Rezkiy, Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Pechenga arrived at Chittagong Port. Image courtesy: X Three Russian warships have arrived in Bangladesh. The development comes just days after Bangladesh Army Chief made a trip to Moscow. The ships Rezkiy, Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Pechenga arrived at Chittagong Port on Monday. They will be in Bangladesh for four days. But what do we know? And what are the ships doing there? Lets take a closer look: What do we know? As per Economic Times, the ships arrived in Bangladesh less than a week after Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zamans trip to Moscow. Zaman met both civilian and military leaderships in Moscow. He also visited arms manufacturing facilities. Advertisement They were greeted in Bangladeshi waters by the Bangladesh Navy ship BNS Khalid Bin Walid. As per Daily Observer, the Russian warships are in Bangladesh on a goodwill visit. The ships were welcomed by the Chittagong naval region chief staff officer as well as high-ranking officials of the Bangadesh Navy, as per New Age. The Russian ambassador to Bangladesh, military, air and naval attache, and Russian honorary consul in Chittagong were also present. A Russian delegation including the captains of the ships and the Russian ambassador to Bangladesh will be paying courtesy calls to commander Chittagong Naval Area, commander BN Fleet and chairman of Chittagong Port Authority. The officers and sailors of the visiting ships will lay a wreath at the Redkin Point inside the Naval Academy. They will visit the Navy training base and ships, BN Ashar Alo School for the special children as well as different scenic and historical sites in Chattogram. the Russian warships are in Bangladesh on a goodwill visit. Image courtesy: X Members of the Bangladesh navy and students of schools run by the navy will also visit the Russian ships. The goodwill visit will further strengthen bilateral relations, exchange views on professional matters, and create opportunities for future training and mutual cooperation between the naval officers and sailors of the two countries, according to the release put out by the Bangladesh navy. Advertisement The ships are slated to leave the country on April 16. Why are they there? As per Economic Times, the visit is an indication that Bangladesh is looking beyond China for its military needs. The newspaper quoted experts as saying that Bangladesh wants to expand its military partnerships in order to decrease its reliance on China. Bangladeshs military heavily relies on Chinese equipment. As per The Statesman, Bangladesh in recent years has been the second-biggest importer of Chinese arms after Pakistan. From 2019 to 2023, Bangladesh imported 11 per cent of all Chinese arms exported globally. Bangladesh during the same period sourced 72 per cent of all its weapons from China. As per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Bangladesh has spent $2.59 billion on arms purchases from China from 2010 to 2019. Dhaka has bought important weapons from Beijing, including maritime patrol vessels, corvettes, tanks, fighter jets, and surface-to-air and anti-ship missiles, the Sipri report states. Around 86 per cent of its military imports come from China. These include naval guns, anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems, and corvettes. Since 2006, the majority of small arms over 1600 rifles and 4,100 pistols have been bought from China. Advertisement In 2016, Bangladesh purchased two Type 035G class (Ming class) submarines from China at a discounted price of $203 million. In 2017, Bangladesh gave a Chinese state-owned defence firm a $1.2 billion contract to build Bangladeshs first submarine base in Coxs Bazaar. The base, named BNS Sheikh Hasina, has been operational since last year. It is capable of housing six submarines and eight warships. As per Financial Express, Bangladesh is thought to be negotiating an agreement with China to buy 16 J-10C multirole fighter jets as well as attack helicopters. Bangladeshs interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus recently undertook a trip to China. According to Wion, Yunus signed eight Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and one agreement with regard to infrastructure, economic cooperation, and expanded defence collaboration. Bangladesh and Russia at present only have a limited partnership when it comes to defence. Russian has provided the Bangladesh military with a Yak trainer aircraft and a few MiG fighter planes. With inputs from agencies Advertisement The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint, the equivalent of charge sheet in EDs cases, against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Sam Pitroda in the National Herald case read more Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and her son and fellow party leader Rahul Gandhi are seen in the photograph. (Photo: ANI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed the prosecution complaint against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Sam Pitroda in the National Herald case, according to CNN-News 18. The prosecution complaint is the equivalent of charge sheet in EDs cases. The prosecution complaint has also listed Suman Dubey and others. The court has listed the matter to be heard on April 25. In the National Herald case, the Gandhis and others are accused of fraudulently acquiring the National Heralds parent company Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) along with all of its assets, including prized real estate in Delhi and elsewhere, via Young Indian Ltd (YIL) in 2011. Advertisement In 2010, Congress leaders incorporated YIL where Sonia and Rahul had 38 per cent ownership each and fellow party leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes held 24 per cent ownership each. By that time, the AJL had been granted around Rs 90 crore in loans by Congress for the functioning of National Herald the newspaper was started by Congress stalwart and former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The Congress party assigned this debt of Rs 90 crore owed to it by AJL to YIL. For the transfer of the debt, the YIL paid merely Rs 50 lakh to Congress. Then, nearly 99 per cent of AJLs shares were transferred to YIL in lieu of Rs 90 crore in debt. However, the YIL acquired this debt from Congress for mere Rs 50 lakh. This meant that the YIL, owned majorly by Gandhis in personal capacity, acquired AJL for mere Rs 50 lakh. While the nature of such transaction itself has been questioned, the real estate owned by AJL in prime areas of Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Mumbai, Indore, Patna, Panchkula, and elsewhere, estimated to be valued to the tune of around Rs 5,000 crore, is at the heart of the matter, according to The Hindu. It has been alleged that Gandhis via YIL acquired such prized real estate fraudulently with just Rs 50 lakh. In 2014, a Delhi court said while hearing the matter that it appeared that the YIL was in fact created as a sham or a cloak to acquire AJLs assets worth thousands of crores, according to The Indian Express. Advertisement The Indian Air Forces C-130J Hercules, tasked with delivering aid to Myanmar after the March 2025 earthquake, fell victim to GPS spoofing, raising suspicions about the involvement of foreign actors in the disruption read more (File) In this image released by @IAF_MCC via X on Sunday, March 30, 2025, IAF planes prepare for the Operation Brahma, the HADR mission to earthquake-hit Myanmar. PTI For the Indian Air Force pilots of the C-130J Hercules aircraft that took off from Hindon Airbase with tonnes of relief materials for Myanmarstruck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake followed by intermittent aftershocks on March 29, 2025the GPS spoofing encountered in Myanmars skies must have come as a surprise. Professional and well-trained as they are, they immediately switched to backup systems, ensuring the safety of both aircraft and crew. They effectively put their training to use under unexpected and challenging conditions. Advertisement The origin of this electronic interference is certainly foreign. It sends a clear message to those who attempted this below-the-belt attack on a military aircraft engaged in a peace mission. The question is: who carried out these dirty attempts targeting aircraft involved in humanitarian missions to Myanmar? Mapping GPS spoofing over Myanmar Below is a screenshot from the website GPSJam.org, which uses publicly available flight data to identify areas of likely GPS disruption worldwide. On March 29, 2025, GPS interference levels were indeed high. This kind of interference is not unique to Myanmar, as reports from around the world have revealed an increasing frequency of GPS spoofing incidents. In late August of the previous year, for example, pilots in the West Asia or the Middle East, reported their navigation systems being hijacked by fake GPS signals, causing them to be thrown hundreds of miles off course. This type of interference resulted in a complete loss of navigational capability in some instances, forcing pilots to rely on air traffic controllers for directions, according to an article by Amy Mackinnon in Foreign Policy. GPSJam.orgs data from March 29 shows significant GPS spoofing or jamming activity over southern Myanmar, particularly around Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta (marked ion blue), with areas of interference exceeding 10 per cent. Image courtesy screenshot from GPSjam According to GPSJam.orgs data from March 29, there are strong indications of GPS spoofing or jamming activity in the skies over southern Myanmarparticularly around Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta (marked in blue). A dense red cluster on the map marks areas with significant GPS interference (greater than 10 per cent), pointing to concentrated disruption of satellite navigation systems in that airspace. These red zonesindicating high interferenceare notably concentrated around Yangon and stretch toward the southern coastline. The localised and isolated pattern suggests deliberate electronic interference, possibly involving spoofing, jamming or other forms of electronic warfare. Spoofing, in particular, is a more dangerous phenomenon than jamming, as it involves the transmission of false signals that mislead aircraft systems into calculating incorrect positions. As experts have pointed out, spoofing is particularly dangerous because it can infect the aircrafts inertial reference system (IRS), essentially disabling the aircrafts ability to navigate properly as Mackinnon wrote in the Foreign Policy. Advertisement The Coco Islands: A strategic link Of particular interest is the areas relative proximity to the Coco Islands. Though under Myanmars control, these islands have long been subject to speculation about the presence of signals intelligence (SIGINT) and radar facilities. Located just north of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Coco Islands are approximately 300 to 400 kilometres southwest of the red hotspot. If equipped with long-range electronic warfare systems, installations there could potentially project interference into Myanmars mainland airspace. The timing and geographic isolation of the interferenceespecially when the surrounding region shows minimal disruptionsuggest a targeted activity. While the exact source remains unidentified, the pattern supports the theory that military or intelligence-linked installations may be involved, either on the Coco Islands or elsewhere in the region. As Todd Humphreys, a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, noted, the use of spoofing technology has become increasingly common in regions with heightened military tension, such as the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where it is used as a missile-defence technique, as reported in an article by Matt Berg for Politico. Advertisement Deliberate electronic warfare or random interference? The GPS spoofing over Myanmar on March 29 appears deliberate and concentrated. The data points to a possible operational footprint extending from nearby strategic locations. Given recent developments and infrastructure upgrades in the area, the situation warrants further investigation and monitoring to determine the scope and intent behind the interference. The possibility of degraded GPS availability was published by Mandalay International airport as NOTAM and all due precautions were put in place to cater for such conditions. IAF crew are well capable to handle such unavailability, while ensuring safety of flight and achievement Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) April 14, 2025 The IAFs statement on April 14, 2025, acknowledging temporary navigational anomalies experienced by one of its transport aircraft near Myanmar on March 29, significantly reinforces concerns about active GPS spoofing or jamming in the region. This incident, analysed alongside independent GPS interference data and known developments on the Coco Islands, presents a compelling case for a coordinated electronic warfare presence affecting regional airspace. Advertisement As mentioned, GPS interference data from that date clearly show disruptions over southern Myanmar, especially near Yangon and the Irrawaddy Delta. The concentrated nature of the interference suggests a deliberate effort rather than incidental signal loss. Its geographical proximity to the Coco Islands raises the possibility of a link between the disruption and suspected electronic warfare infrastructure on the islands. Growing geopolitical context and risks of spoofing Now, with the IAF confirming navigational issues on the exact date and in the exact region where spoofing was detected, the theoretical risk becomes demonstrably real. Military aircraft are generally equipped with more robust inertial and backup navigation systems than civilian platforms, so for such an aircraft to report anomalies suggests a highly coordinated and potent spoofing attemptnot a random degradation. The broader geopolitical context further strengthens the connection. India has long harboured concerns about the dual-use nature of Chinese-backed infrastructure in Myanmar, including suspected facilities on the Coco Islands. If the interference did originate there, it marks a strategic shift toward active electronic shaping of regional airspace, granting hostile actors the ability to disrupt or deceive both military and civilian navigation systems. This shift is reminiscent of incidents reported in the Middle East, where GPS spoofing has been employed to mislead military and civilian aircraft. Advertisement The IAFs report isnt an isolated incidentit fits into a broader pattern of electronic interference tracked through GPS monitoring tools and satellite imagery. Similar incidents have been observed in northern Europe, where increased spoofing activity has been linked to Russias military operations in Ukraine. Meanwhile, in West Asia, Israeli military forces reportedly used GPS spoofing to protect against missile attacks during the war in Gaza, further highlighting the growing reliance on this technology in military conflicts, as reported in Politico by Berg and in The New York Times by Selam Gebrekidan. Taken together, these elements suggest the Coco Islands are not just a strategic outpost but an operational hub for electronic warfare, posing risks to regional aerial navigation and stability. South Korea finds itself in turmoil, facing a power vacuum at the highest level at an especially fraught moment, driven by several factors, including Trumps tariff tsunami and a shaky economy read more Demonstrators stand in front of a banner with the photograph of Yoon Suk Yeol as people wait for the Constitutional Court ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, the court upheld the impeachment later, South Korea, April 4, 2025. File Image/Reuters South Korea has been engulfed in unprecedented political chaos and confusion over the past few months. Its more than 44,000,000 registered voters are now set to vote in a snap election to replace President Yoon Suk Yeol, after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment in a unanimous 80 decision on April 4, 2025. The successor will be elected to a single five-year term through a single-round plurality voting system. Fraught Time South Korea finds itself in turmoil, facing a power vacuum at the highest level at an especially fraught moment, driven by a triple whammy of factors: STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD One, Inability to Effectively Manage the Trump Tariff Tsunami Having rebuilt itself from a war-torn nation into an export-driven economic powerhouse, South Korea is now reeling from US President Donald Trumps sweeping 25 per cent tariffsparticularly on its key export sectors like the auto industry. For the last four months, Asias fourth-largest economyand a key US allyhas been under the command of a revolving cast of interim presidents who have failed to adequately respond to the tariff shock. During the next two critical months, as the country remains politically rudderless, Seoul may be unable to coordinate effectively with Washington or respond swiftly to Trumps fast-paced decisions that affect its security and economy. Two, The Economy in Serious Trouble Even before the tariffs hit, South Koreas economy was already on shaky ground. In Q4 of 2024, GDP expanded just 0.1 per cent quarter-over-quarter (seasonally adjusted), according to the Bank of Koreas advanced estimates. The country narrowly avoided a technical recession in Q3, growing only 0.1 per cent after a 0.2 per cent contraction in Q2. A prolonged political standoff between the governing and opposition parties has only deepened economic uncertainty. The South Korean won has plunged to a 16-year low. Three, Ballooning Debt South Koreas household debt-to-GDP ratio in 2024 was the second highest among major nations, trailing only Canada. The ratio stood at 91.7 per cent in Q4 2024, compared to a global average of 60.3 per cent, according to the Institute of International Finance. Concerns are mounting about household borrowing amid sluggish economic growth and weak domestic demand. A Flawed Democracy South Koreas political troubles are further compounded by a decline in democratic standards. According to the Economist Intelligence Units (EIU) Democracy Index 2024, South Koreas rank fell from 22nd in 2022 to 32nd in 2024, with its overall score dropping from 8.09 to 7.75the lowest since the index began in 2006. The EIU reclassified South Korea as a flawed democracy, down from the full democracy status it had held since 2020. Nations with scores between 6.00 and 7.99 fall under this category. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Root of the Present Crisis The crisis began just before midnight on December 3, 2024, when President Yoon declared martial lawa first since South Korea became a democracy in 1987. Justifying the decision as necessary to combat anti-state forces allegedly sympathetic to North Korea, it soon became evident that Yoons move was politically motivated. His presidency, which began in May 2022, had been marred by scandals, poor approval ratings, and a landslide opposition victory in the 2024 general elections. Under intense political pressure and reportedly acting on advice from aides, Yoon imposed martial law. Short-Lived Declaration Public anger and mass protests quickly followed. In a dramatic late-night session, lawmakers scaled fences and breached barricades to enter the National Assembly and voted down the martial law declaration. The move was condemned across the political spectrum. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets, demanding Yoons removal. Impeachment Opposition lawmakers filed a motion to impeach Yoon, requiring a two-thirds majority. With 192 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, they needed 12 defectors from Yoons party. Though the first vote failed, the opposition pushed again, and on December 14, succeeded when 12 ruling party lawmakers voted in favor. Following the impeachment, Yoon was suspended, and the matter was handed to the Constitutional Court, which had six months to deliver a verdict. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Chaos Continues The chaos intensified. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo assumed the role of interim president but lasted only two weeks before being impeached himself. Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok then took over as acting president. Several former ministers and presidential aides either resigned or were detained by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which is probing Yoon for abuse of power and inciting insurrection. Kissa Kursi Ka In another twist, on March 24, 2025, the Constitutional Court reinstated Han Duck-soo as acting president in a 7-1 voteanother dramatic turn in the saga. Since then, Han has led the country in a caretaker capacity. The Case Settled On April 4, the Constitutional Court upheld Yoons impeachment in a unanimous 8-0 verdict, bringing closure to the 18-week crisis and clearing the way for a snap presidential election on June 3, 2025. But why does South Korea keep landing in political turmoil? A deeper understanding requires a look at the countrys turbulent history. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Litany of Woes To understand South Koreas current predicament, one must examine its historical swings between authoritarianism and democracy: 19481960: Under Syngman Rhees democratic authoritarianism, the country endured 12 years of iron-fisted anti-communist rule before Rhee was ousted and exiled to Hawaii. 19611972: Park Chung Hees illiberal democracy began with a coup and ended with the imposition of an authoritarian constitution in 1972. 19721987: A period of full-fledged authoritarianism marked by military dominance, brutal suppression, and the infamous Gwangju Uprising. 1987present: The democratic revival was spurred by student-led protests that ushered in constitutional democracy. At the Crossroads President Yoons declaration of martial law on December 3 evoked memories of South Koreas authoritarian past. As the nation heads into its snap election on June 3, it stands at a critical crossroads. It must now commit to restoring democratic order through a transparent and credible electoral process. This is not only essential to rebuild public trust but also to reassert South Koreas standing among global democracies and economies. What Next? The question now is: who will be South Koreas next president? The ruling Peoples Power Party (PPP) is in disarray, with many Yoon loyalists portraying him as a victim of injustice. Meanwhile, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK)who led his party to a resounding victory in last years parliamentary electionis emerging as the frontrunner. Lee, who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential race, is now leading in several polls by double-digit margins. Notably, he was among the lawmakers who stormed the National Assembly on December 3 to vote down martial law. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Regardless of who wins, the new president will face monumental challenges: pulling South Korea back from political brinkmanship, restoring public faith in democracy, and reviving the economy will be top priorities for the next administration. The author is a multi-disciplinary thought leader with Action Bias and an India based impact consultant. He is a keen watcher of changing national and international scenarios. He works as President Advisory Services of Consulting Company BARSYL. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The most significant US-Iran meeting since Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal of 2015 has been about format and scope; the two sides would soon need to delve into technical negotiations, and thats the hard part of talks read more The positive is that both Iran and the US are likely on the same page with regards to the endgame in these negotiations. Representational image: AP File On April 12, Iran and the US held their first talks since President Donald Trumps second term began. The two-and-a-half-hour meeting held in Muscat, Oman, was brief and respectful and set the stage for a second round. Both countries described the talks as constructive and confirmed a second round of discussions will take place next week, with the US hailing the direct communication as being key to striking a possible deal. Advertisement The US Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a veteran of the 2015 talks who holds a PhD in political thought from the University of Kent, briefly spoke together, the first time the two nations have done that since the Obama administration. The meeting was the most significant development since Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal of 2015 during his first term in office. After the talks, Araghchi said discussions next week may not happen in Oman but would still be mediated by them. The White House said they would take place next Saturday. Neither we nor the other party want fruitless negotiations, discussions for discussions sake, time wasting or talks that drag on forever, Araghchi told Iranian state television. The most important issue at stake is what kind of deal each side would be willing to accept. The Meeting Speculation over whether the American and Iranian envoys would meet directly or indirectly was settled by doing both. The Iranian and US teams sat in separate rooms for the duration of the two-and-a-half-hour negotiations, with the Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi shuffling back and forth. At the end, Witkoff and Araghchi met in person briefly. Advertisement The verdict of Irans lead negotiator was positive. It was a constructive meeting held in a very peaceful and respectful environment because there were no sharp words used, Araghchi told Iranian state TV. Both sides showed commitment to take these talks forward until we reach a deal that is favourable to both sides. Prior to the meeting, he had said the goal was to build trust and to reach an agreement on the framework and timeline for negotiations on the nuclear programme. Iran had indicated that if the US pursued full dismantlement of its nuclear programme, it would walk away from the talks. His tone suggests the US team led by Trumps envoy Steve Witkoff did not reiterate some of the Presidents threats that Iran would face great danger if this dialogue did not succeed. He also said, I think we are very close to a basis for negotiations, and if we can conclude this basis next week, well have gone a long way and will be able to start real discussions based on that. Advertisement Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi wrote on X that the talks took place in a friendly atmosphere conducive to bridging viewpoints and ultimately achieving regional and global peace, security and stability. We will continue to work together and put further efforts to assist in arriving at this goal, Busaidi added. President Trump, who pulled the US out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in 2018, has long said he would make a better deal. Witkoff, who is leading the US delegation, had previously only spoken of meeting face-to-face. But Araghchi and Witkoff did speak for a few minutes in the presence of Busaidi in what could be a small but significant opening. Iran, mindful of pressure from hardliners at home, underlined how limited their face-to-face exchange was, with no photographs taken. For Iran, the first round of talks went as well as could be expected. It can claim that two of its main conditions for taking the negotiations to the next level were achieved: Washington kept the focus on Irans nuclear programme and did not mention the dismantling of its nuclear facilities or its regional policy with proxy militant groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Advertisement The talks were broad and aimed at maintaining a dialogue. As per reports, Steve Witkoff did not suggest that Iran abandon its enrichment programme entirely. Instead, the focus was on the country not weaponising its existing material. But added, That doesnt mean we wont find other ways to bridge gaps. In a statement following the talks, the White House noted that Witkoff had emphasised to Iran that he had instructions to resolve the adversaries differences through dialogue and diplomacy, if that is possible. These issues are very complicated, and Special Envoy Witkoffs direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome, the statement added. Araghchi had said ahead of the discussions that his country wanted a fair agreement. The Stance of Various Countries President Trump had sent a letter to Irans Supreme Leader via the UAE last month, saying he wanted a deal to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and to avert possible military strikes by the US and Israel. He said he would rather find a way to forge a deal than escalate a military campaign. If such a deal could not be reached in the coming weeks, he had said, Iran may face a military campaign against its facilities. President Trump received a letter back saying the moment to talk had arrived. Advertisement Trump had then revealed the talks would take place during a visit by Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on April 7. Ahead of the talks, Trump said on Friday that he wanted Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country but they cant have nuclear weapons. Trump has warned that the US would use military force if a deal was not reached, while Iran has repeatedly said it will not negotiate under pressure. Even as preparations were under way to arrange this first meeting, the US moved two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 stealth bombers and fighter jets, as well as air defences to the region, and imposed more sanctions. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on April 10 that he hoped the talks would lead to peace, adding that Weve been very clear that Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon, and I think thats what led to this meeting. Advertisement The Iranian delegation had planned to convey that it was open to talking about scaling back uranium enrichment and allowing outside monitoring of its nuclear activity, according to reports. On April 8, the Iranian newspaper Javan wrote that Tehran dictated the type of talks, their timing, location and agenda, portraying Washingtons participation as a sign of strategic need, not strength. Iran insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and that it will never seek to develop or acquire nuclear weapons. It hopes for a deal to limit, but not dismantle, its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Iranian officials also made it clear the negotiations would focus only on its nuclear programme, not its broader defence capability, such as its ballistic missile programme. Iran has sought sanctions relief as its economy reels from renewed US pressure and regional setbacks in exchange for limits on its nuclear programme during the talks. It also needs time and space to recover from a string of strategic blows that have significantly diminished its standing and influence in the region. These aims, however, cannot be achieved without settling the nuclear issue. However, since Trump pulled out of the 2015 agreement, which expires later this year, Iran has increasingly breached restrictions in retaliation to crippling US sanctions reinstated seven years ago and has stockpiled enough highly enriched uranium to make several bombs. Under the terms of the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to only enrich uranium up to 3.67 per cent purity. In February, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Tehran had stockpiled uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity and could swiftly move to 90 per cent, which would be weapons-grade. The 2015 nuclear deal took nearly two years of intensive negotiations. At the start of this new effort to reach an agreement, Irans programme is far more developed and complex, and the wider region is far more volatile. At issue is also the fact that the UK, Germany and France must signal by the end of July whether they will reimpose UN sanctions against Tehran. The option to reimpose those sanctions, which were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, will expire on October 18. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on April 8 had said that both he and President Trump had agreed that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. He called for a Libya-style deal, referring to Libya completely dismantling its weapons programme in an agreement reached with Western powers in 2003. That would be completely unacceptable to Iran. Israel, which regards Irans nuclear programme as an existential threat, has long threatened to attack Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its nuclear ambitions. The deal with Iran is acceptable only if the nuclear sites are destroyed under US supervision, is what Prime Minister Netanyahu stated. The next rounds of talks will have tricky issues regarding dispensing with the Iranian stockpile and the reintroduction of an independent inspection regime. While both sides may have cleared a low bar, each side must exercise restraint. For the US, this could mean dialling back the military threats. For Iran, signalling more openness to direct negotiations and ceasing warnings of weaponisation options can help build momentum and put a breakthrough in reach. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has always favoured talks with the US as the way to escape the cage of sanctions, but he has faced resistance from parliamentary hardliners. Conclusion The two sides came in with deep distrust, but President Trump now wants to strike a deal both to showcase his negotiating skills and to keep simmering tensions between Iran and Israel from escalating into a more intense conflict that would lead to further turmoil in West Asia. Given the challenges, even a limited deal that does not fundamentally dismantle Irans programme and leads to the lifting of sanctions will be a huge positive. India will, of course, benefit immensely from Irans reintegration into the world economy, as it will result in resuming crude oil purchases as well as furthering the North-South Trade Corridor, including Chabahar Port. Though there are fears that Iran is likely to extend diplomatic talks for as long as possible both to delay Israeli military action and to push past an October 18 deadline when the UNs authority to impose quick snapback sanctions on Iran expires. However, signs of diplomatic development could help cool tensions in a region aflame with wars in Gaza and Lebanon and missile exchanges between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the government in Syria. Failure would aggravate fears of a wider conflagration across a region that exports much of the worlds oil. While the meeting may have been about format and scope, the two sides would soon need to delve into technical negotiations, and thats the hard part of talks. The positive is that both Iran and the US are likely on the same page with regards to the endgame in these negotiations and thus could be moving forward. The author is a retired Major General of the Indian Army. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Possibly, Dhaka did not expect New Delhi to react in such a strong way and stop the transit facility, but the India-baiters of the time have had their day, which has elongated this far, by years and decades read more The Bangladesh government, led by Chief Advisor Mohamed Yunus, took great pains to provoke India into halting transit facilities for the nations trade with Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar. Though India has cited congestion as the reason, the real reason seems to be Yunus provocative statement which was made by him in Beijing recently that in effect implied that his country could blockade Indias Seven Sisters of the northeast. In Beijing, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping, Yunus said that the seven northeastern states of India depended on Bangladesh for accessing the sea and, in turn, sea ports. The implication was that especially after the recent earthquake in common neighbour Myanmar, where even otherwise multiple militias are holding fort along the border, the northeastern states were, as per Yunus, cut off from the rest of India if Bangladesh effected a blockade along the seafront. Advertisement The seven states of India in the eastern part of India are completely landlocked, said the Bangladeshi chief advisor. They have no way to reach the ocean. We (Bangladesh) are the only guardians of the ocean for the entire region (northeast India), Yunus had said. If he was also seeking to visualise a vivisecting India in the northeast, he should be sadly mistaken but he might have also implied it all the same. Possibly, Dhaka did not expect New Delhi to react in such a strong way and stop the transit facility. Russo-Indian parallel Of course, the Indian decision does not seem to owe only to Yunus provocative statement pertaining to the Seven Sisters. In Beijing, he also invited Indias Chinese adversary to build an airbase in Lalmonirhat district in northern Bangladesh. He did not stop there. Yunus wanted Pakistan to be employed as the subcontractor for the project. If it was Chinas proposal, he did not mention it, then or later. All of it meant that the new dispensation in Bangladesh was giving a strategic foothold in Bangladesh against India. By implication, Bangladesh too was with the other two in their anti-India strategic endeavour. Independent of the China-Pakistan angle now, there is another angle to Yunus proposal for the two to align against India. During the now-toppled regime of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh contracted a nuclear power plant. The civil works for the project were given to India, the latter having worked with Russia on nuclear power plants, including Kudankulam in southern Tamil Nadu. Advertisement The parallel is striking. But if Yunus thought that he had the nuclear power plant precedent to put India on the defensive in any argument over his China-Pakistan proposal, he should be mistaken. The nuclear deal did not have any component that threatened Bangladeshs security and territorial integrity or that of any of its neighbours. But his proposal for a joint airbase directly threatens India and can also threaten Bhutan, Nepal and even Myanmar, depending on how their bilateral relations with China and, at times, Pakistan evolve in the coming years and decades. Jaundiced eye Yet, the Indian decision viz Bangladesh would have regional reactions (expressed or otherwise). Critics of India in countries like Nepal and Bhutan will draw a parallel between the present Indian decision viz Bangladesh and past blockades of their respective countries by different political leaderships in New Delhi. They will see it all as a greater Indian conspiracy involving the Indian state as an institution independent of the political leadership at the helm at a given time. Advertisement In 2015, for instance, an Indian blockade of the Nepal border led to severe shortages. The blockade was primarily driven by Madhesi ethnic groups protesting against the new constitution. The Nepalese government accused India in the matter of shortages of medicine, fuel and other essentials exacerbating the situation, a claim India denied. This time, it is Modi 3.0 that is in power in India. However, on the occasion, the Nepali media especially went to town about an earlier blockade of 1989, when the late Rajiv Gandhi was in power. At the time, India allegedly imposed an economic blockade, leading to massive shortages, as Nepal is a landlocked country and had traditionally depended on guaranteed supplies of all goods from India. The main dispute was over transit treaties, but the Nepali leadership alleged that it was also over Indian suspicions that their government was getting closer to China. India promptly denied the allegation, but every time that India is caught in a dispute of the kind, as now, there is this inevitable reference to 1989. Advertisement China ties were again alleged to be the reason when India withdrew fuel subsidies to Bhutan in 2013, leading to massive shortages of cooking gas and kerosene in the other Himalayan state. It also impacted the outcome of parliamentary polls in that country. In subsequent years, there were complaints that Bhutan had blocked irrigation waters for India, but Thimphu denied it. In the case of the Maldives in the south, discredited former President Abdulla Yameens camp had taken offence to the Indian immigration declaring the leader of the ruling parliamentary group, persona non grata, when he arrived in Chennai to visit his ailing mother in a local hospital. The Yameen camp was even more upset when New Delhi criticised the president for declaring an emergency and acting against the independence of the judiciary when the Supreme Court freed self-exiled former President Mohammed Nasheed through a unanimous verdict posted on the courts website. Yameens estranged aide and current President Mohamed Muizzu began on the formers India Out campaign plank but seems to have come around to accepting certain ground realities that are unique to the region and more so, New Delhis genuine interest in ensuring growth-for-all in the immediate neighbourhood. Yet, the transformation was not without hiccups, and there is no knowing how long and how far the Muizzu governments passivity will remain and grow. Advertisement Defensive on the domestic front However, the immediate reaction, if any, will be felt in southern Sri Lanka, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertook a very successful three-day visit this very month. Such criticism can put the host government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on the defensive on the domestic front. Peculiar to the Sri Lankan situation, more than major political parties, peripheral sections of the centre-left and centre-right parties and leaders are the ones who have always been critical of an India that they have not known or, an India whom they have trained themselves to view only through a jaundiced eye. In power in Colombo is a centre-left coalition led by the once-violent Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), or Peoples Liberation Front, that fought an insurgent war for two long years in the 1987-89 period. The scale of the insurgency and the counter-insurgency can be measured by the high number of JVP cadres who lost their lives. Unconfirmed yet independent assessments put the figure variously between 60,000 and 100,000 youth of both genders in the reproductive age group. Advertisement The JVP at the time was protesting violently against Indias involvement in finding a negotiated settlement to the ethnic issue in the island nation and more so to the induction of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), 1987. More to the point, the JVP and other critics of India of which there were/are many assumed that New Delhi under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had pressured President JR Jayewardene (JRJ) to accept the trilaterally negotiated Indo-Sri Lanka Accord and, more so, the IPKF that was specifically sought by the Colombo dispensation. India has changed Today, when its all history, JVP General Secretary and party ideologue-in-chief Tilvin Silva too has said as much. India has changed, he told a public rally in an interior village in the Sinhala South while referring to the seven MoUs signed during Prime Minister Modis visit. He said that they all had to move with the times and not live in the past. Encouraging words, not only because Tilvin too is supportive of the initiatives of President Dissanayake, who too was in his league on ideological matters, say, until the other day. Tilvins comments coming, as they do, after a near-similar expression of confidence in India by another top party ideologue and transport minister, Bimal Rathnayake, mean that the top leadership is looking into the future and is not living in their own past. However, this may trigger problems for the government. After letting his sidekicks flag the issue, feebly but still on record, the SJB Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, too, wants the Indian MoUs placed before Parliament for obvious national discourse and debate on the larger India relations. Already, politically weak dissenters like one-time JVP deserter Wimal Weerawansa and centre-right critics, including Patali Champika Ranawaka and right-right, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, have criticised the Dissanayake government for surrendering the nations sovereignty without even knowing what they are talking about. However, a relatively recent breakaway faction of the JVP, namely, calling itself the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP), is more specific in its criticism of much of India than the incumbent Sri Lankan leadership though all of them are theoretical still. They were the ones who began demanding that the government seek prior parliamentary approval before signing the India MoUs. Since Modis visit, they want it placed before Parliament. After talking in general terms against the bilateral MoU on defence cooperation, about which they demand details, the FSP has zeroed in on energy cooperation. Possibly smelling the current Indian difficulties with Bangladesh, and even otherwise, the party has drawn a parallel to Indias bilateral power pacts with Bangladesh and Nepal. The party claims that even when they can generate the electricity required for their use, they are being forced to purchase electricity from India under the past pacts. Likewise, the Sri Lankan government has signed an MoU for the Indian public sector NTPC to set up a solar power plant in eastern Sampur but has since disconnected the existing solar energy suppliers from the national grid. The FSP smells a rat and claims, without evidence, that the decision was aimed at helping Indias NTPC. However, none of those demanding the India MoUs to be publicised, barring the SJB and Premadasa, are politico-electoral heavyweights in any sense of the term. For instance, even though the FSP competed with the JVP both of them after hiding their faces for the success of the mass Aragalaya protests at the height of the 2022 economic crisis, the party continued to remain a wash-out in last years parliamentary elections when it headed a new front. Against this, the people of Sri Lanka voted the JVP-led NPP to power. Early referendum Incidentally, no known leader of the multiple parties, trade unions and left groups that compose the ruling NPP alliance under the JVP leadership has commented on the India MoUs. The positive side is that none of them commented against it, either. Loosely put, the NPP combine in Parliament comprises roughly 100 members belonging to the JVP and 69 from the other groups, taking the total past the two-thirds mark in a House of 225. Incidentally, NPP leader and Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has since talked about preparing for a new constitution only after the LG and PC polls. It sounds positive from a popular perception, considering that before and after his election as president, Dissanayake declared that he was going to take up the promised constitution-remaking issue only in his third year in office, after stabilising the economy. Right now, the government leadership is facing the nation-wide local government (LG) elections, which are as crucial for the survival and growth of the ruling coalition as the presidential poll and the parliamentary elections last year both of which they won. There are then the Provincial Council (PC) elections, which, like the local government polls, were delayed by successive predecessors the latter despite a Supreme Court fiat. All sides will now be looking at the outcome of the local government polls, which are being staggered after the courts accepted contestations to the Election Commissions decision to reject the nomination forms of multiple groups in many local bodies, citing technical reasons. Yet, at the end of it all, the LG poll results will be construed as an early referendum on the Dissanayake government. So will the PC polls, likely to be held before the year is out. If nothing else, the Dissanayake leadership has to pull all poll pressures behind if it has to begin governing in the true sense of the term, without poll-time public pressures. It is here that the Indian MoU and the larger India relations could be flagged as a success or failure post-polls even if India has not been an election issue proper, now or ever. Next in the line? In context, nothing explains the predicament of India-baiters in each of the neighbouring nations better than the reported internal discourse within the Sri Lankan Government of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike on the night of 16 December 1971, when the Pakistan army surrendered to the Indian troops, bringing the Bangladesh War to a successful closure. At the end of night-long discussions, in which the Prime Minister too was said to be present, a senior member of the grouping knocked at the doors of an Indian High Commission official, almost at the crack of dawn. And his message from the internal discussions? Will India target Sri Lanka for vivisection like Pakistan next? India did not, for sure, but internal events and developments a decade and more later led to precisely as much. Barring the humanitarian Operation Garland food-and-medicine drop, it was all at the instance of the elected Sri Lankan government of the day. Of course, preceding them was the Indian aid, assistance and arms training for militant Tamil youth to defend themselves and their women and property against the marauding Sinhala-Buddhist majoritarian mobs across capital Colombo that too under the direct supervision of incumbent ministers when the JRJ leadership and the security forces pretended to be oblivious to it all that is where the latter were not colluding and collaborating in the anti-Tamil pogrom of 1983. Yes, the JVP was one of those parties that demanded the IPKFs exit, but they were not the marauders. Today, they are changed men, but not all of them from that period have changed. In the guise of opinion-makers like strategist thinkers (former security forces commanders, academics and editorial writers), they continue to harbour those unfounded anathemas towards India and not all of them are pro-China or pro-Sri Lanka, either. But the India-baiters of the time have had their day, which has elongated this far, by years and decades! The writer is a Chennai-based Policy Analyst & Political Commentator. Email: sathiyam54@nsathiyamoorthy.com. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) found that Google had engaged in practices that restricted competition by requiring at least six Android device makers to give preferential treatment to Google Search and the Chrome browser since at least July 2020 read more Japan's Fair Trade Commission has ordered Google to stop favouring Google Search and Chrome on android phones. Reuters Japans antitrust watchdog has ordered Google to stop pressuring Android smartphone manufacturers to prioritise its search engine and browser, in what marks a significant shift in Tokyos regulatory posture towards Big Tech. In a cease and desist order issued on Tuesday (April 15), the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) found that Google had engaged in practices that restricted competition by requiring at least six Android device makers to give preferential treatment to Google Search and the Chrome browser since at least July 2020. These terms were embedded in the licensing agreements for the Google Play store, covering about 80 per cent of Android smartphones sold in Japan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Commission also determined that the US tech giant guaranteed advertising revenue rebates to five of its business partners including smartphone manufacturers and telecom operators in return for placing Google services prominently on home screens and avoiding pre-installation of rival apps, Nikkei reported. Under Japans anti-monopoly law, companies are prohibited from imposing transaction conditions that unfairly limit the freedom of business partners to engage with competitors. The JFTC concluded that Googles contractual arrangements had effectively blocked potential market entrants and curbed existing competitors access to users. Tuesdays ruling comes a year after the Commission initiated commitment procedures with Google, in which the company avoided a formal finding of illegality by agreeing to submit voluntary remedial measures. However, the JFTC said the new order reflects a more serious assessment of the competitive harm caused by Googles conduct. The order mandates that Google immediately cease forcing manufacturers to install its apps on the initial screen of devices, and lift restrictions on the inclusion of competing services. It also requires Google to relax the terms under which it shares advertising revenue, giving hardware partners greater freedom in app selection. Similar actions in EU, US, and India This is the first time a cease and desist order has been issued to a major tech company in Japan, the JFTC said, noting that the decision aligned with similar moves by authorities in Europe and the United States to rein in dominant digital platforms. In July 2018, the European Commission fined Google 4.34 billion for abusing its dominance in the Android ecosystem. The Commission found that Google required manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome as a condition for licensing the Play Store and paid manufacturers and operators to pre-install Google Search exclusively. In 2024, a US federal judge ruled that Google violated antitrust laws by engaging in anticompetitive practices, including paying billions of dollars to secure its position as the default search engine on various devices and browsers, thereby stifling competition. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Google had said that it would appeal the decision. In India, too, the antitrust watchdog fined Google for anti-competitive practices related to mandatory pre-installation of Google Search and Chrome on Android phones. With its pledge to invest $500 billion, Nvidia has become the latest tech giant to ramp up manufacturing in the United States read more Tech giant Nvidia has announced it will build factories in the United States to manufacture chips and supercomputers worth $500 billion over the next four years. In a statement on Monday, Nvidia said that it has already started manufacturing its Blackwell chips at TSMCs plant in Arizona and will start the manufacturing of supercomputers at Foxconns and Wistrons plants in Texas. The manufacturing is expected to start in the next 12-15 months. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With the announcement, Nvidia has become the latest tech company to announce investments in the United States under pressure from US President Donald Trumps trade and economic policies. In major announcements, Microsoft has pledged around $40 billion in 2025 and Meta has pledged to invest to the tune of $65 billion this year with a major share going into building a huge data center in Louisiana around the size of New Yorks Manhattan neighbourhood. Previously, OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle announced a joint venture called Stargate to create artificial intelligence (AI)-related infrastructure worth at least $100 billion. They said the investments could be ramped up to the tune of $500 billion over the next four years. Separately, Softbank has announced the investment of $100 billion in the United States over the next four years. In February, Apple pledged to invest $500 billion over the next four years in the United States, which include setting up AI servers in Texas. However, such pledges do not always materialise and an analyst said that Nvidias latest pledge is more of a hyperbole. It is unlikely Nvidia would have moved any production to the US if it was not for pressure from the Trump administration. The half a trillion number is likely hyperbole, in the same way Apple made a half a trillion promise, said DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria, according to Reuters. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Such pledges have been prompted by Trumps pivot to protectionism. He has pressured companies to manufacture in the United States with a particular focus on bringing home manufacturing outsourced over the years to China. However, such investments have been complicated by Trumps rollout of tariffs. Trump has waived tariffs on the import of finished electronics like computers and smartphones, but has kept tariffs on components. Such a policy incentivises the import of foreign-made finished devices instead of manufacturing those devices in the United States. However, the Trump administration has said the waiver is not going to be permanent and electronics and semiconductors will be covered in sectoral tariffs set to be rolled out soon. Following the Soviet Unions collapse in 1991, the CIA came into possession of a 250-page KGB dossier detailing an extraordinary incident involving a Soviet military unit and a UFO over Ukraine. The report included purported photographs, sketches, and eyewitness accounts of the confrontation. One CIA agent reportedly characterised the account as a horrific picture of revenge on the part of extraterrestrial creatures. read more A declassified CIA document from the Cold War era has gained renewed attention for detailing a bizarre and chilling account of a deadly encounter between Soviet troops and extra-terrestrials in Ukraine. The file, reportedly based on a 250-page KGB report, claims that a group of Soviet soldiers fired on a UFO, prompting a response that left 23 of them turned into stone. According to the account, after the USSRs collapse in 1991, the CIA obtained the KGB dossier, which included photographs, drawings, and witness testimonies. The report recounts that during a routine military training exercise, a saucer-shaped UFO appeared overhead. One of the soldiers launched a missile at the craft, causing it to crash nearby. Out of the wreckage, five humanoid beings with large heads and black eyes allegedly emerged. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Two soldiers who survived said the aliens merged into a single glowing sphere that emitted a piercing hiss before exploding in a blinding flash. This flash reportedly petrified 23 troops on the spot, while the two survivors remained shielded in the shadows. The report claims the remains of the UFO and the petrified soldiers were taken to a top-secret research facility near Moscow. KGB scientists allegedly concluded that the victims bodies had undergone a molecular transformation, becoming indistinguishable from limestone. If the KGB file corresponds to reality, this is an extremely menacing case, the CIA memo concluded. The aliens possess such weapons and technology that go beyond all our assumptions. They can stand up for themselves if attacked. Though declassified in 2000, the document continues to fuel debate among UFO researchers. It was previously covered by Canadian tabloid Weekly World News and Ukraines Holos Ukrayiny and resurfaced recently through discussions on The Joe Rogan Experience, as reported by the New York Post. Industry experts say Chinas suspension of rare earth exports is only the beginning of a broader reckoning as the US and its allies scramble to secure critical mineral supplies. While recent US-India efforts to boost joint extraction and refining progress, they remain far from meeting the needs of high-tech and defence sectors long dependent on Beijings supply chains. read more China suspended all exports of rare earth elements on Monday, jolting the American tech and defence industries that rely heavily on the critical minerals used in everything from electric vehicles and wind turbines to missiles. The move targets elements like dysprosium and neodymiumsounding more like cough syrups than linchpins of modern technologyand marks a dramatic escalation in Beijings response to US President Donald Trumps sweeping tariffs. Although the US has cut its dependence on Chinese rare earths from 80% in 2017 to around 70% today, most global refining is still dominated by China which controls 90% of the processing capacity. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The disruption comes as Washington and New Delhi deepen cooperation on mineral security. In a bipartisan push earlier this year, the Biden administration lifted longstanding sanctions on Indias state-run IREL and the Trump administration followed up with a US-India Strategic Mineral Recovery initiative announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Washington. Industry analysts warn that Chinas suspension of rare earth exports signals just the opening stage of a major supply chain realignment as the U.S. and its allies rush to secure critical mineral supplies. While recent US-India partnerships seek to boost collaborative mining and refining efforts, they remain unable to meet the needs of high-tech and defense sectors still heavily dependent on Chinese supply chains. Even the Pentagon relies on Chinese-processed rare earths for key components such as permanent magnets used in F-35 fighter jets, laser targeting systems, and missile guidance a strategic vulnerability that has jolted the Trump administration into seeking rapid diversification of supply. Elon Musk, whose Tesla and SpaceX ventures depend on rare earths for EV motors and rocket systems, responded with cautious optimism. These materials arent rare in nature, he said, pointing out that deposits exist worldwide with India holding the fifth-largest reserves. However, Chinas near-monopoly on refining, which stands at around 90% of global capacity, remains the real choke point. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Chinese export ban, long foreshadowed, has left US manufacturers scrambling for alternatives, further straining relations between the worlds top two economies. China has suspended exports of a wide range of rare earth metals and magnets, dealing a fresh blow to global supply chains as part of its response to US President Donald Trumps tariff hikes that took effect on April 2. The move tightens Beijings grip on critical materials vital to electric vehicles, semiconductors, aerospace and defence manufacturing. With nearly total control over global processingespecially in hubs like Longnan and Ganzhou in Jiangxi ProvinceChinas rare earth dominance is now being wielded as strategic leverage. Key suppliers such as JL Mag Rare-Earth Company have long fueled industries worldwide, including automakers like Tesla and BYD. The export halt coincides with resumed mining in Jiangxi, where machinery and chemical activity suggest extraction is quietly restarting despite previous environmental concerns. The decision highlights a new phase in the tariff war, as Beijing signals its willingness to weaponise critical raw materials in an intensifying geopolitical contest. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Speaking at a press conference held in Ukraine on Monday (April 14), the two men Wang Guangjun and Zhang Renbo offered different personal histories but shared a sense of disillusionment with Russia and regret over their involvement read more Chinese prisoners of war Zhang Renbo (L) and Wang Guangjun (R) address the audience during a press conference in Kyiv on April 14, 2025. AFP Two Chinese nationals captured on the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war have publicly disavowed their participation in the conflict, recounting their experience under Russian command and urging fellow citizens not to enlist. Their statements come days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of using Chinese citizens in its war effort the first such official claim from Kyiv. Speaking at a press conference held in Ukraine on Monday (April 14), the two men Wang Guangjun and Zhang Renbo offered different personal histories but shared a sense of disillusionment with Russia and regret over their involvement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Wang, who was captured after only three days on the front line, claimed he had been exposed to a Russian chemical agent shortly after being taken prisoner. I was losing my strength and fainting Then I felt someone grabbing my collar and pulling me out into the fresh air, he said, according to The Kyiv Independent* His fellow captive, Zhang, described a circuitous path to the battlefield. A former firefighter from a wealthy family, he said he had initially come to Russia in December seeking employment. I wanted to make money, but I did not expect to end up in the war. Both men confirmed that they were under the command of Russian officers, who communicated with them using gestures due to the language barrier. Wang added that the control at the training ground was very tight, making it nearly impossible to leave once enlisted. Neither Wang nor Zhang claimed to have engaged Ukrainian forces directly. Wang said he didnt kill any Ukrainian soldiers, while Zhang remarked that he hadnt even seen Ukrainian troops until the moment of his capture. Their testimony lends weight to President Zelenskyys claim last week that at least 155 Chinese citizens were fighting on Russias side. Kyiv made the assertion after capturing the two men the first public evidence suggesting that Chinese nationals may be taking part in the war. The development has sparked a diplomatic reaction from Beijing. On Tuesday, Chinas foreign ministry rejected the claims as manipulation and hype, urging parties to avoid politicising the matter. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China is verifying the relevant information and circumstances, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, before calling on relevant parties to accurately understand Chinas objective and impartial stance, and to refrain from political manipulation and hype. The comments from the Chinese captives were unambiguous in their condemnation of the Kremlins role. To my compatriots who want to join the Ukraine war, I want to say: dont take part in this war, said Wang. When you really participate in the war, when the moment of the fighting comes, you will find that everything is a lie. While China has consistently maintained a neutral stance in the conflict, its growing ties with Russia have drawn increasing scrutiny from Western governments. The presence of Chinese nationals on the battlefield even in unofficial capacities may complicate Beijings efforts to portray itself as an impartial actor in the war. The bomb exploded near a vehicle transporting security forces in Mastung district, an area long plagued by separatist violence. No group has yet claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch insurgents read more Three security personnel were killed and at least 18 were injured in a bomb blast in Pakistan. Representational AI-generated image via DALL-E A roadside bomb blast in Pakistans Balochistan province killed three security officers and injured 18 others on Tuesday (April 15), amid a resurgence of violence in the countrys volatile southwest. Hours later, two polio health workers were abducted by unidentified gunmen in the northwestern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The bomb exploded near a vehicle transporting security forces in Mastung district, an area long plagued by separatist violence. Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government, confirmed the casualties and said an investigation was underway. Advertisement No group has yet claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch insurgents who have waged a decades-long campaign against the Pakistani state. Among the most active of these groups is the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States in 2019. The BLA and other armed separatist factions demand independence for the mineral-rich province, accusing the central government of exploitation and neglect. Although Islamabad insists it has suppressed the insurgency, Balochistan continues to witness regular attacks targeting both civilians and security forces. The province borders both Afghanistan and Iran and remains a geopolitical flashpoint in the region. In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and pledged to carry on the fight against terrorism until it is fully eradicated. In a separate incident in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, gunmen opened fire on a vehicle before abducting two polio workers. According to local police officer Zahid Khan, the workers were returning from a local health facility. The kidnapping comes just days before the start of a nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign set to begin on April 21, targeting 45 million children. While no group has claimed responsibility, such attacks have previously been blamed on Islamist militants who propagate false claims that polio vaccination efforts are part of a Western plot to sterilise Muslim children. These conspiracies, coupled with targeted violence, have severely hampered Pakistans public health campaigns. Pakistan has reported six new cases of polio since the beginning of 2025. Alongside neighbouring Afghanistan, it remains one of only two countries in the world where the virus capable of causing permanent paralysis or death continues to circulate, according to the World Health Organization. Advertisement The dual incidents have once again underscored the precarious security environment in Pakistan, where militant and insurgent violence regularly disrupts both civil life and essential health services. The refusal of both countries to allow the return of Abrego Garcia, who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation over fears of gang persecution, is intensifying the battle over the Maryland residents future read more President Donald Trump greets El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House, in Washington. AP President Donald Trumps top advisers and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said Monday that they have no basis for the small Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. Bukele called the idea preposterous even though the US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcias return. Trump administration officials emphasized that Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that the US has no say in his future. And Bukele, who has been a vital partner for the Trump administration in its deportation efforts, said of course he would not release him back to US soil. Advertisement The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Bukele, seated alongside Trump, told reporters in the Oval Office Monday. I dont have the power to return him to the United States. Should El Salvador want to return Abrego Garcia, the US would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. But first and foremost, he was illegally in our country, and he had been illegally in our country, she said. Thats up to El Salvador if they want to return him. Thats not up to us. In a court filing Monday evening, Joseph Mazzara, the acting general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, said it does not have authority to forcibly extract Abrego Garcia from El Salvador because he is in the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation. Mazarra also argued that Abergo Garcia is no longer eligible for withholding of removal because the US designated MS-13 as a foreign terror organization. Abergo Garcias attorneys say the government has provided no evidence that he was affiliated with MS-13 or any other gang. The refusal of both countries to allow the return of Abrego Garcia, who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation over fears of gang persecution, is intensifying the battle over the Maryland residents future. It has also played out in contentious court filings, with repeated refusals from the government to tell a judge what it plans to do, if anything, to repatriate him. Advertisement The judge handling the case, Paula Xinis, is now considering whether to grant a request from the mans legal team to compel the government to explain why it should not be held in contempt. The fight over Abrego Garcia also underscores how critical El Salvador has been as a linchpin of the US administrations mass deportation operation. How Bukele is helping with Trumps immigration crackdown Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the US more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants whom Trump administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes and placed them inside the countrys maximum-security gang prison just outside of the capital, San Salvador. That prison is part of Bukeles broader effort to crack down on the countrys powerful street gangs, which has put 84,000 people behind bars and made Bukele extremely popular at home. I want to just say hello to the people of El Salvador and say they have one hell of a president, Trump said as he greeted Bukele, who was wearing a black mock turtleneck sans tie. Advertisement Bukele struck a deal under which the US will pay about $6 million for El Salvador to imprison the Venezuelan immigrants for a year. But Democrats have raised alarm about the treatment of Abrego Garcia and other migrants who may be wrongfully detained in El Salvador. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland pushed for a meeting with Bukele while he was in Washington to discuss Abrego Garcias potential return, and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the administration to release Abrego Garcia and others with no credible criminal record who were deported to the maximum-security prison. Disregarding the rule of law, ignoring unanimous rulings by the Supreme Court and subjecting individuals to detention and deportation without due process makes us less safe as a country, Shaheen said. Though other judges had ruled against the Trump administration, this month the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to use the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport the immigrants. The justices did insist that the immigrants get a court hearing before being removed from the US Over the weekend, 10 more people who the administration claims are members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs arrived in El Salvador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday. Advertisement Trump wants to expand his deportation plans The president has said openly that he would also favor El Salvador taking custody of American citizens who have committed violent crimes, a view he repeated Monday. We have bad ones too, and Im all for it because we can do things with the president for less money and have great security, Trump said during the meeting. And we have a huge prison population. It is unclear how lawful US citizens could be deported elsewhere in the world. Before the press entered the Oval Office, Trump said in a video posted on social media by Bukele that he wanted to send homegrowns to be incarcerated in El Salvador, and added that youve got to build five more places, suggesting Bukele doesnt have enough prison capacity for all of the US citizens that Trump would like to send there. The high court weighs in, and the administration response The Supreme Court has called for the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia. Advertisement Trump indicated over the weekend that he would return Abrego Garcia to the US if the high courts justices said to bring him back, saying I have great respect for the Supreme Court. But the tone from top administration officials was sharply different Monday, Hes a citizen of El Salvador, said Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff. So its very arrogant, even for American media, to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens. Bondi asserted that two immigration court judges who are under Justice Department purview found that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13. The allegation is based on a confidential informants claim in 2019 that Abrego Garcia was a member of a chapter in New York, where he has never lived. How Bukele is viewed back home While Bukeles crackdown on gangs has popular support, the country has lived under a state of emergency that suspends some basic rights for three years. He built the massive prison, located just outside San Salvador in the town of Tecoluca, to hold those accused of gang affiliation under his crackdown. Advertisement Part of his offer to receive the Venezuelans there was that the US also send back some Salvadoran gang leaders. In February, his ambassador to the US, Milena Mayorga, said on a radio program that having gang leaders face justice in El Salvador was an issue of honor. Populists who have successfully crafted their images through media, Bukele and Trump are of different generations but display similar tendencies in how they relate to the press, political opposition and justice systems in their respective countries. Bukele came to power in the middle of Trumps first term and had a straightforward relationship with the US leader. Trump was most concerned with immigration and, under Bukele, the number of Salvadorans heading for the US border declined. Bukeles relationship with the US grew more complicated at the start of the Biden administration, which was openly critical of some of his antidemocratic actions. Trump has also shown some irritation with Bukele in the past, accusing El Salvador of lowering its crime rate by sending people to the US. European officials and industries are growing increasingly concerned about the potential flooding of European markets with Chinas surplus goods, originally meant for the US. This is a result of recent tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump amid the ongoing trade war, which could lead to Chinese products being redirected to Europe at lower prices, threatening local industries. read more Europe fears China could dump goods meant for US at cheaper price, will hurt local firms.Representational image. European officials and industries are increasingly concerned that Chinas surplus goods, originally intended for the US market, may flood European markets at reduced prices due to recent reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump amid an ongoing trade war, according to a report from The New York Times. With many Chinese goods now hit by high tariffs from Trump, there is growing concern that these products will be redirected to Europe, hurting local industries in France, Germany, Italy, and across the EU. Advertisement The issue of overproduction has been building for a while, and now its reached Europe, said Liana Fix, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Theres a growing sense here that Europe needs to protect its own interests. EU chief speaks to Chinese Premier Earlier, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke with Chinas Premier Li Qiang about the risk of cheap Chinese goods flooding the EU market, as Trumps new reciprocal tariffs shake up global trade. In a statement after the call, the Commission said von der Leyen highlighted the need for stability and predictability in the global economy. She also said that both Europe and China, as two major markets, have a shared responsibility to support fair and balanced global trade. Parcels from Chinese online retailers like Shein and Temu are set soon face stricter customs. This comes as the European Commission cracks down on dangerous products entering the EU. EU pushing to remove tax exemption for parcels under 150 EU officials are also pushing to remove the current tax exemption for parcels under 150, which allows foreign sellers to avoid paying customs duties on cheap goods. The Commission said many of these low-cost items do not comply with EU rules, and that European businesses playing by the rules are being undercut by sellers offering unsafe or counterfeit products. Advertisement Trade war with China and nervousness among investors The US has imposed a 145 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, prompting Chinese exporters to seek alternative markets for their goods. In retaliation, China, escalating the trade war, imposed 125 per cent tariffs on imports from the US. Europe, already grappling with overcapacity in sectors like solar panels and electric vehicles, fears an influx of these redirected products could undercut local businesses. In 2024, the EU reported a trade deficit with China of 304.5 billion ($347 billion), partly attributed to unfair subsidies. The footprint of US-made F-16 fighter jets is expanding in Chinas neighbourhood, with at least six Western Pacific nations flying or ordering them amid regional tensions. While the US emphasises strong defence ties with Indo-Pacific allies, China has warned of retaliatory steps over arms deals with Taiwan. read more At least six nations across the Western Pacific have either deployed or placed orders for American-made F-16 fighter jets, including Taiwan and the Philippinescountries facing mounting military pressure from China, according to reports. The US State Department has said it is taking decisive actions to support its Indo-Pacific allies and partners in response to emerging threats. Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, accused the US of fuelling military confrontation in the region. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite first taking flight in 1974, the F-16also known as the Fighting Falconcontinues to enjoy global demand. According to Lockheed Martin, the jets manufacturer, over 3,100 F-16s are currently in use across 28 nations, with the fleet accumulating approximately 19.5 million flight hours and over 13 million sorties. The latest iteration of the aircraft, the F-16 Block 70/72 is described by Lockheed Martin as the most advanced among fourth-generation fighters. The company has received orders for 114 units of the upgraded jet from Bahrain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Taiwan, Jordan and an undisclosed customer. A senior Chinese defence official recently reiterated Beijings opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan, warning of further consequences if Washington proceeds with longstanding Taiwanese requests for advanced fighter aircraft. Recently, defence ministry spokesman Huang Xueping urged the U.S. to speak and act cautiously to prevent further strain in bilateral ties. He also reaffirmed previous threats to suspend military exchanges, although specific retaliatory measures were not disclosed. Beijing has historically responded to US arms deals with Taiwan by cancelling high-level military meetings and imposing sanctions on American defence firms involved in the transactions. China considers self-governed Taiwan a breakaway province and denounces President Lai Ching-te as a separatist. Lai, elected last year, has consistently rejected Beijings claims, asserting that Taiwans future can only be decided by its citizens. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In recent weeks, Chinese officials and state media have strongly objected to a $6.4 billion US arms deal for Taiwan, which includes Black Hawk helicopters, communication systems, and 114 Patriot missiles. In the broader region, Chinas expansive claims over the South China Seabased on historical mapsremain a major source of friction with neighbouring claimants such as Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. South Korea, a key US ally in Northeast Asia, ranks as the second-largest F-16 user in the region, with 180 aircraft ordered. Last month, during a joint drill with the US, two South Korean KF-16slocally assembled variantsaccidentally released eight bombs short of their target, injuring civilians and military personnel and damaging residential property. Southeast Asia is also home to three F-16 operatorsIndonesia, Singapore, and Thailandall located near the contested South China Sea. Singapore maintains a fleet of 62 F-16s, according to F-16.net, while Thailand has acquired 52 jets from the US and received seven additional aircraft from Singapore. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Indonesia has obtained a total of 36 jets from two separate orders, including 24 second-hand aircraft previously flown by the US Air Force. The Philippines, a US treaty ally, is set to become the latest addition to the list of F-16 operators. Washington has approved Manilas request to purchase 20 fighter jets and associated weaponry in a $5.6 billion deal. The retaliatory measure came after the former French colony on Sunday ordered 12 French officials from the interior ministry to leave within 48 hours. read more Frances President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday decided to expel 12 Algerian consular and diplomatic officials and recalled the French ambassador in Algiers, his office said, as a spat escalates between both countries. The retaliatory measure came after the former French colony on Sunday ordered 12 French officials from the interior ministry to leave within 48 hours. President Macrons office said the 12 French officials kicked out of Algeria were on their way to France. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It called on Algiers to resume dialogue, saying the Algerian authorities had taken responsibility for the sudden degradation of our bilateral relations. It said it was stunned that relations had taken such a turn just two weeks after a phone call between Algerias President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Macron in a bid to repair ties. Relations between Paris and Algiers came under strain last year when France recognised Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria has long backed the pro-independence Polisario Front. Relations soured further when Algeria arrested the French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in November on national security charges, after he told a French far-right media outlet that Moroccos territory was truncated in favour of Algeria during French colonial rule. Algerias foreign ministry said it had declared the 12 persona non grata after the arrest in France of an Algerian consular official. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had earlier said the expulsion orders were linked to the arrest of three Algerian nationals in France. In this difficult context, France will defend its interests and continue to demand that Algeria fully fulfil its obligations towards it, in particular with regards to our national security and cooperation on migration, the Elysee added. Algeria has refused to take back nationals France has ordered to leave, including a 37-year-old man who went on a stabbing rampage in the French city of Mulhouse in February, killing one person. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Data published by the International Trade Administration shows a drop of 10 per cent in tourist arrivals in the US since March as compared to the previous year read more A trader works as a television screen shows news about US President Donald Trump's trade and tariff policies, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell on April 10, in New York City. AFP US President Donald Trumps policies are keeping tourists away from the country and that can bear bad news for its economy. The Trump administration is making sweeping changes to Americas core policies, including harsh deportation and immigration rules. Data published by the International Trade Administration shows a drop of 10 per cent in tourist arrivals in the US since March as compared to the previous year. Goldman Sachs Group anticipates that this fall is likely to hit 0.3 per cent of Americas gross domestic product, which would amount to almost $90 billion. Advertisement How has US tourism taken a hit? Until last year, international travellers spent a record $254 billion in the US. In fact, towards the end of the year, the outlook was positive as per ITA projections. However, those estimates came before officials started detaining people in airports. Now, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, $20 billion of retail spending from international tourists in the US may take a hit in the coming days. Early indications of a sharp pullback are already emerging. According to a monthly consumer price report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on April 10, airfares, hotel prices, and car rental rates all declined in March. Economists at Goldman Sachs and HSBC Holdings Plc suggest that reduced demandparticularly from international travelerslikely contributed to the drop. Well spend the money somewhere else A Canadian videographer named Curtis Allen told Bloomberg that he cancelled one of his upcoming trips to the US following Trumps punitive tariffs on his country and after the president suggested that Canada should become Americas 51st state. Were not just staying home. Were going to go spend the same money somewhere else, he said. Allen has even cancelled his Netflix subscription and is actively avoiding American products while shopping at grocery stores. Now it takes us double the time, because were looking at where the products came from, he said. Notably, the most tourism dip was noticed from Canadian travellers, who make up the largest group of foreign tourists in the US. According to newly released data from Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians driving to the USthe primary way most Canadians travel therefell by 32 per cent in March compared to the same month in 2024. A Hamas official said on Monday that the Palestinian armed group is sending a delegation to Qatar for continued indirect ceasefire talks with Israel, amid the ongoing war in Gaza read more Hamas sending team for new ceasefire talks in Qatar; will Israel end Gaza war as part of deal a sticking point. ( File Photo: AP) A Hamas official said on Monday that the Palestinian armed group is sending a delegation to Qatar to continue its indirect ceasefire talks with Israel regarding the ongoing war in Gaza. Meanwhile, earlier, Gazas Health Ministry said that 38 people were confirmed dead in the last day. A Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire in Cairo. These also include a proposal for Hamas to release 8 to 10 hostages held in Gaza. Advertisement However, the official mentioned that a key issue remains whether the war will end as part of any new deal. The talks in Qatar are expected to take place later this week or next, according to the official. Israel and Hamas agreed to a fragile ceasefire in January that lasted for eight weeks, ending the conflict and leading to the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. But Israel resumed the fighting last month. Gaza crisis worsens as fighting resumes Hundreds of people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire ended last month. Israel has blocked aid from entering the territory and taken control of parts of Gaza to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal closer to its own terms. The United Nations warned on Monday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is likely the worst since the war began after Hamas 7 October attack on Israel. Israel has banned all supplies from entering Gaza since 2 March. No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. 7 October attack and its aftermath The war began when Hamas-led militants launched the 7 October attack in southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Most have since been released through deals, but 59 are still in Gaza, with 24 believed to be alive. Advertisement This led Israel to begin its fierce campaign in the Gaza Strip, also known as an open jail due to its dense population in the small area. Gazas Health Ministry says nearly 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israels response, with more than half being women and children. On Monday, the ministry said 38 bodies were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, and over 1,600 people have died since the ceasefire ended. The Israeli ceasefire proposal includes a truce of at least 45 days in return for the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza. It also provides for the release of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory, which has been under complete blockade since March 2 read more Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house as rescuers attempt to remove casualties from under the rubble, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, on April 13, 2025. Reuters File Hamas on Tuesday said that it will respond to Israels proposal for a Gaza ceasefire within 48 hours that it received through mediators. Hamas will most likely send its response to the mediators within the next 48 hours, as the movement is still conducting in-depth consultations, the official told AFP. On Monday, the Palestinian terrorist group said that it had received an Israeli proposal for a truce in Gaza after the first phase of the ceasefire ended last month. Advertisement What does the ceasefire proposal say? The Israeli ceasefire proposal includes a truce of at least 45 days in return for the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza. It also provides for the release of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory, which has been under complete blockade since March 2. The proposal calls for a permanent end to the war on the condition that Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas, disarm, the official told AFP. While Hamas will review the provisions of the proposal, it has rejected the disarmament demand as a red line and non-negotiable. Hamas sends delegation to Qatar Hamas has reportedly sent a delegation to Qatar to resume indirect ceasefire talks with Israel. A Hamas official said that teams have been in Cairo in recent days negotiating the terms of a new ceasefire agreement, which includes a proposal for Hamas to release eight to ten hostages currently held in Gaza. However, a key point of contention remains: whether the agreement would include an end to the war. Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34, the Israeli military says, are dead. With inputs from agencies The universitys president, Alan Garber, asked students and the faculty to defy the governments order, adding that Harvard would not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights read more A student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard College, draped in the Palestinian flag, at an encampment of students protesting against the war in Gaza, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. File image/ AP Harvard University is paying the price for not complying with US President Donald Trumps list of demands intended to crack down on antisemitism on campus. The Ivy League school was hit with a $2.2 billion freeze in federal funding on Monday after its rejections reached the White House. Trumps Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism said in response, Harvards statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. Advertisement The universitys president, Alan Garber, asked students and the faculty to defy the governments order, adding that Harvard would not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights. Campuses across the country were rocked last year by student protests against Israels war in Gaza, with some resulting in violent clashes involving police and pro-Israel counter-protesters. Heres the full text of the letter that was written by the lawyers representing Harvard: Josh Gruenbaum Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service General Services Administration Sean R. Keveney Acting General Counsel U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Thomas E. Wheeler Acting General Counsel U.S. Department of Education Dear Messrs. Gruenbaum, Keveney, and Wheeler: We represent Harvard University. We are writing in response to your letter dated April 11, 2025, addressed to Dr. Alan Garber, Harvards President, and Penny Pritzker, Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation. Harvard is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community. Antisemitism and discrimination of any kind not only are abhorrent and antithetical to Harvards values but also threaten its academic mission. To that end, Harvard has made, and will continue to make, lasting and robust structural, policy, and programmatic changes to ensure that the university is a welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students and continues to abide in all respects with federal law across its academic programs and operations, while fostering open inquiry in a pluralistic community free from intimidation and open to challenging orthodoxies, whatever their source. Advertisement Over the past 15 months, Harvard has undertaken substantial policy and programmatic measures. It has made changes to its campus use policies; adopted new accountability procedures; imposed meaningful discipline for those who violate university policies; enhanced programs designed to address bias and promote ideological diversity and civil discourse; hired staff to support these programs and support students; changed partnerships; dedicated resources to combat hate and bias; and enhanced safety and security measures. As a result, Harvard is in a very different place today from where it was a year ago. These efforts, and additional measures the university will be taking against antisemitism, not only are the right thing to do but also are critical to strengthening Harvards community as a place in which everyone can thrive. It is unfortunate, then, that your letter disregards Harvards efforts and instead presents demands that, in contravention of the First Amendment, invade university freedoms long Messrs. Gruenbaum, Keveney, and Wheeler April 14, 2025 Page 2 recognized by the Supreme Court. The governments terms also circumvent Harvards statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law. No less objectionable is the condition, first made explicit in the letter of March 31, 2025, that Harvard accede to these terms or risk the loss of billions of dollars in federal funding critical to vital research and innovation that has saved and improved lives and allowed Harvard to play a central role in making our countrys scientific, medical, and other research communities the standard-bearers for the world. These demands extend not only to Harvard but to separately incorporated and independently operated medical and research hospitals engaging in life-saving work on behalf of their patients. The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the governments terms as an agreement in principle. Advertisement Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community. But Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration. In a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, Trump escalated his threat against Harvard, warning he may go beyond withholding federal funds and target the universitys tax-exempt status read more Demonstrators rally on Cambridge Common in a protest organised by the City of Cambridge calling on Harvard leadership to resist interference at the university by the federal government in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. On Monday, the Trump administration announced a federal funding freeze in response to the university not adhering to the government's demands. Reuters Hours after Trump administration announced it is freezing more than $2 billion in federal funds for Harvard University after the Ivy League school refused to cave in to administrations demands, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the elite institution should lose its tax exempt status and be taxed as a political entity. The White House has called on the United States oldest university to overhaul its hiring, admissions, and teaching practices, claiming the changes are necessary to combat antisemitism. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since returning to office, President Trump has sought to reshape elite academic institutions by threatening to cut federal research funding. According to a BBC report, Harvard became the first major university to reject the Trump administrations demands on Monday, accusing the White House of attempting to control its academic community. In a social media post Tuesday morning, Trump escalated his threat against Harvard, warning he may go beyond withholding federal funds and target the universitys tax-exempt status. Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting Sickness? he wrote on Truth Social. Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST! he added. Most universities, including Harvard, are exempt from federal income taxes because they are classified as providing a public good. This valuable tax break, though, can be removed if the groups become involved in political activities or move away from their stated purposes. Losing its tax-exempt status could cost Harvard millions annually. The White Houses sweeping demands, outlined in a letter obtained by The New York Times, would have significantly altered Harvards operations and handed substantial control to the federal government. The letter accused Harvard of failing to meet the intellectual and civil rights conditions tied to federal funding and listed 10 proposed reforms, including, reporting students deemed hostile to American values; ensuring academic departments reflect viewpoint diversity; hiring a government-approved auditor to review programmes allegedly fueling antisemitic harassment; checking faculty for plagiarism. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD President Trump has criticised elite universities for not protecting Jewish students during last years pro-Palestinian campus protests. The letter also orders disciplinary action for violations tied to those demonstrations. Harvard President Alan Garber rejected the demands, stating the university will not compromise its independence or give up its First Amendment right to free speech. Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the intellectual conditions at Harvard, BBC quoted Garber as writing in a letter. Soon after Harvards defiant response, the US Department of Education announced it was immediately freezing $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the university. In a statement, the department criticised Harvards stance, calling it emblematic of the troubling entitlement mindset prevalent at elite institutions. It added that the ongoing campus disruptions and harassment of Jewish students were unacceptable and intolerable. In March, the Trump administration began reviewing $256 million in active federal contracts and $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments at Harvard. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In response, Harvard professors filed a lawsuit, accusing the government of unlawfully targeting free speech and academic freedom. With a $53 billion endowment, Harvard is among several elite universities under scrutiny. Last month, Columbia University agreed to White House demands after $400 million in federal funding was pulled. Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday said President Trump wants Harvard to apologise for what his administration insists is the universitys tolerance of anti-Semitism. Trump wants to see Harvard apologise. And Harvard should apologise, AFP quoted Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying to journalists on Tuesday. With inputs from agencies Chorus shift to a simpler all-fibre network continued with another 16,000 copper lines disconnected nationwide in the quarter. This left about 107,000 copper lines in service on 31 March. More than 1,700 copper broadband cabinets no longer have active customers and the Forrest Hill exchange in Auckland has become the second major exchange to become copper-free. Forrest Hill had more than 8,000 copper connections until the arrival of Netflix streaming services in 2015 began to fuel the rapid adoption of fibre connections. Just 19,000 copper lines remain in service in Chorus fibre areas, down from about 28,000 lines at the end of December. A final group of about 4,000 copper customers is due to receive six months notice of copper service withdrawal this month. Chorus expects the copper network in its fibre areas to be fully retired by mid-2026. Deregulation proposed for copper services In March the Commerce Commission released a draft recommendation that copper voice and broadband services should be deregulated. They said the wide availability of alternative technologies meant regulation of copper services was no longer needed to promote competition. A final recommendation is due to Government by the end of 2025. In areas where fibre is not available, Chorus saw about 5,000 copper customers choose to migrate to alternative network options in the quarter. This leaves approximately 75,000 copper lines outside of the existing fibre footprint, down 24% from a year ago. Chorus current programme to extend fibre to approximately 10,000 existing homes in smaller communities is shrinking the copper footprint further. About 2,500 of these premises now have fibre available with 4,500 expressions of interest received and 700 customers connected to date. Fibre uptake reaches 72% Total fibre connections increased by about 9,000 lines in the quarter to 1,107,000. Fibre uptake in UFB2 rollout areas, completed between 2018 and the end of 2022, rose from 60% to 61%. Fibre uptake across Chorus wider fibre network footprint, excluding other local fibre company areas, lifted by 0.3% to 72%. A recent global report on fibre uptake ranks New Zealand at 19th, just behind Sweden and Japan. Another 5,000 addresses were added to the network footprint in the quarter, largely from new property developments. The majority of these were in Auckland, which meant overall uptake in the city remained flat at 76.4% despite continued growth in connections. Fibre uptake in Dunedin rebounded to 76.4% with the return of the student population. The combination of reducing demand for copper connections, partly offset by growth in fibre connections, saw Chorus total fixed line connections reduce by 7,000 lines. This was an improvement on a decline of 10,000 lines in the prior quarter. 50Mbps plan remains popular as offnet demand drives majority of growth Chorus Home Fibre Starter 50Mbps plan remained popular in the challenging economic environment. A net 9,000 connections were added to the plan in the quarter. About two-thirds of gross adds on the plan were from new fibre connections or off-net addresses, up 4% from the prior quarter. A quarter of the gross adds were from higher speed plans and the remainder from legacy 50Mbps plans. Residential customers on 1Gbps or better grew by about 2,000 connections in the quarter, while business connections on speeds of 500Mbps and above grew by 6,000 connections. Chorus plans to upgrade the residential 50Mbps plan to 100Mbps download and the 300Mbps plan to 500Mbps download in June. Record peak time usage in February Chorus saw another peak time usage record set in February with a Fortnite upgrade lifting overall network usage to 5.4Tbps in the evening. Data usage trends in March were consistent with December. Average monthly data usage on fibre was stable at 642 gigabytes (GB) and the proportion of fibre users consuming more than 1,000GB, or 1 terabyte of data, was 17%. 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Related News: CDC Independent Valuation - 30 June 2025 TruScreen Group Limited SPP Update THL provides updated guidance CEN - Greymouth gas deal July 4th Morning Report July 3rd Morning Report ikeGPS Chief Financial Officer Transition TWL - TradeWindow announces strategic partnership with FTA BLT - Patent issue settled and new 5 year agreement with BSP July 2nd Morning Report After concluding the first round of indirect talks in Oman, Iran and the US are preparing for a second round in Rome. In a conversation with Firstpost, Seyed Emamian, co-founder of Governance and Policy Think Tank, explains why Iran is cautious about the negotiations read more Last week, the United States and Iran concluded their first indirect nuclear talks and agreed to proceed with the negotiations. Irans Ministry of Foreign Affairs described talks, held in the Omani capital of Muscat, as having been conducted in a constructive atmosphere and based on mutual respect. The Iranian foreign ministry noted that the chief negotiators spoke for several minutes in the presence of the Omani Foreign Minister while leaving the negotiations venue." While the concepts of constructive talks and mutual respect found emphasis in the Iranian language, the talks came days after US President Donald Trump used aggressive threats, asking Tehran to sit at the negotiation table. Advertisement This handout picture provided by Khabar Online on April 12, 2025, shows Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (2nd-L) speaking with members of the Iranian delegation after a meeting in Muscat. Image- AFP Following the talks, Firstpost sat down with Seyed Emamian, Assistant Professor at Tehran Polytechnic University of Technology, and Co-founder of Governance and Policy Think Tank, to understand the current dynamic between the two nations and how Iran is looking at these talks. Hopes & Concerns: Trumps inner circle While speaking to Firstpost, Prof. Emamian said there were hopes and concerns among the Iranian side about the talks due to Trumps unconventional approach. Trump has been someone who has accumulated that kind of distrust because of his very aggressive approach in the first term of his administration, he said. However, Prof. Emamian highlighted how Trumps polarised camp or inner circle are taking an isolationist approach towards American foreign policy. Trumps team would be the most influential one concerning Iran. But it seems Trump himself and someone like Steve Whitkoff are from the, we call America First part of the current administration. And you have seen that Trump has very skilfully ignored or to some extent bypassed his security advisor Mike Waltz, and Mark Rubio, his Secretary of State, he explained. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C), US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (R) and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff attend an interview after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putins foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on February 18, 2025. (File/AFP) So its that Trump has been very much intelligent in sending a representative that has been very loyal to Trump himself and hes going to make a deal, the Iranian professor furthered. When it comes to Iran, Prof. Emamian emphasised that political activists and policymakers in Tehran are still very pessimistic about the talks and they have distrust towards the Trump administration. I would say that almost there is no one in Iran who is thinking too optimistic about Trump. Not only because of the long history of the distrust between Iran and the US but also because of Irans bad experience with Trump during his first stint in the office, he said. Advertisement However, the Iranian professor also spoke about the other side of the coin. There are some hopes, particularly with the appointment of Steve Witkoff and Trumps very supportive approach toward the deal with Iran. We also need to think about Trumps approach toward Iran as part of his approach toward Russia. It seems that Trump is going to come to kind of an agreement very soon with Iran and Russia to provide some evidence for his electoral promise of being a peaceful president," he told Firstpost. So I think that Trump needs to come across some kind of results very soon to show that he was someone that he has brought peace through very long conflicts, controversies or crises in the region, not only in the Middle East but in West Asia, also in Europe with Russian-Ukrainian crisis, he added. The Israel lobby Prof. Emamian also noted how Israel had a strong influence on Iran-US ties. However, he stated that things are different this time. The Iranian professor went on to state that Trump is now very much concerned about Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus intervention in Trumps policy. Trump invited Netanyahu to the White House, and in front of him, Trump publicly announced to everyone his plan for something that had already been agreed between Iranians and the US delegation to meet in Muscat. Trump wanted to say directly to Netanyahu that its my policy, and that you should keep your distance from it. You are not going to be a negative player in that negotiation, he said. Advertisement US President Donald Trump (R) meets with Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2025. Image- AFP I think its too early. We are not going to be too rushed to be optimistic more than realistic. But as I said before, there are hopes and concerns, he added. Prof. Emamian also threw light on how Trump would be different from former US President Barack Obama, who signed the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. Trump is much more open-handed with the deal with Iran. During Obama, 2015, he was very pressurised by the Republicans in Congress. The Republican congressmen were just in favour of the Israeli lobby, he said. But now Trump is the main one within the Republican camp. So Israel doesnt have such kind of leverage to pressure Trump from within the US. So it would be much more open-handed for Trump, he furthered. Why Iran insisted on indirect talks One of the main questions raised before the talks between the delegates was why Tehran insisted that both nations hold indirect talks first. Prof. Emamian laid out two reasons Iran chose this approach: 1) Irans distrust of the Trump administration and 2) Trumps frequent threats. Yes, there were at least two reasons that have been publicly talked about or discussed. First of all, it was a kind of a sign of mistrust. Yes, we are going to reflect on the previous experience that Trump made it a failure in 2018, he told Firstpost. Advertisement There was a message from Iranians to the US delegation that the reason that we are very much insisting on having indirect talks rather than direct talks is because you have threatened us for military intervention. Once you continue to threaten us, even very marginal threats, but you are talking about military intervention option as something on the table, we are not going to treat you directly. Omani security personnel watch a convoy believed to be carrying U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, Oman. AP If they [US] are going to continue being respectful, they are not going to use any aggressive language of using military intervention as part of their plan. So Iran is ready. I think that Iran doesnt have a problem having direct talks similar to what happened in 2015 with John Kerry and Obamas delegation, he added. Back to square one In 2018, Trump took the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal or Iran Deal. The deal was signed by Obama in 2015. Trumps recent insistence on signing a brand new deal with Iran makes many wonder if Iran and the US are at the same place they were in 2015. Prof. Emamian emphasised that given the current geopolitical situation, every nation is seeking short-term agreements. Actually, I would say we are living in a time where there is no deep trust between societies, countries or political systems. We are living in a time when everyone is thinking about short-term agreements rather than long-term strategy agreements, he said. Advertisement Source: AFP There is a very famous argument, that Trump came out from the JCPOA, not because of JCPOAs content, but because the deal was signed by Obama. So lets come across to some kind of agreement with the Trump administration. After that, we need to think about the next session, and what would happen afterwards. Hopefully, if Trump comes to an agreement, no Democrat president will withdraw from that, he added. However, he also raised alarm about American lawmakers to the likes of John Bolton and Mike Pompeo, who he claims are more aggressive on Iran. Expectations from round 2 Prof Emamian reiterated that for round 2, which will take place in Rome, there is a wide range of expectations in Iran but little optimism about the talks. As I said, someone like Steve Witkoff is going to represent Iran, he is going to use respectful language, and he is going to, to some extent, be more realistic with regards to the content of the deal, just containing or limiting the expectation towards preventing Iran from getting access to nuclear weaponization, he said. As long as they are very much careful about not letting Netanyahu and Israelis get in, play a bad role, or interrupt the negotiation by any kind of aggressive operation or violent policies, then something can be materialised, the Iranian professor told Firstpost. Representational Image- FP Emphasising how Trump has intelligently limited the talks to nuclear weaponisation, Prof. Emamian noted that Irans defence doctrine was never built upon nuclear weaponisation and that Tehran would be okay as long as its civilian nuclear program is not getting affected. Advertisement 3 Hs and the challenges that come with it One of Washingtons biggest points of contention with Iran is Tehrans support to militant groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen. When asked if Tehrans alliances can pose a hindrance in talks with Washington, Prof. Emamian said that the discussion between the two nations is only limited to a nuclear deal. Iran has been very keen, very clear about the negotiation that is only about the nuclear programme. They are not going to talk about anything else, including Irans regional policy. Like other regional powers, Iran has its regional policies and its allies. Iran has been very keen not to use the word of the proxy. They are allies, independent allies, he said. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with the head of the Political Council of Hamas, Mohammed Ismail Darwish and senior officials of Hamas, in Tehran, Iran, February 8, 2025. (Photo: Reuters) They are very much concerned about their own interests, national interests, and sovereignty. So as long as, for example, Hezbollah is going to defend the Lebanese borders and is going to take some already occupied parts of Lebanese sovereignty by the Israelis, in Shaba, if you know, and Palestinians, of course, have been occupied for more than 70 years. So as long as they are trying for their interests, for their legitimate political interests, to defend their sovereignty, their own normal lives, Iran, not only Iran but most of the regional powers are going to support them, he furthered. People walk past a billboard with a picture of the late Lebanons Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in a street in Tehran, Iran, October 2, 2024. Reuters He said that several Arab nations are concerned about Israels expansionist nature in the region. So everyone is going to keep borders safe as much as possible by supporting Palestinians, supporting Lebanese, supporting Syrians. And thats the regional security policy for everyone in the region, he concluded. Western countries, including the United States, have long suspected Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting its programme is for peaceful purposes read more Ahead of a fresh round of talks between the adversaries scheduled for Rome, Irans foreign minister will travel to Russia, an ally, this week to discuss nuclear discussions with the United States. In the highest-level talks since the breakdown of the 2015 nuclear pact, Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday. Since taking office again in January, US President Donald Trump has thrust Iran back into the public front by withdrawing from the agreement. Advertisement He wrote to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans top leader, in March, urging nuclear negotiations and threatening military action if Tehran refused. Western countries, including the United States, have long suspected Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting its programme is for peaceful purposes. Russia, a close ally of Iran and party to the 2015 deal, and China have engaged with Tehran in recent weeks over its nuclear programme. Dr Araghchi will travel to Moscow at the end of the week, said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, adding that the pre-planned trip would be an opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to the Muscat talks. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Araghchi would meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and other officials. Iran and the United States have both described Saturdays discussions as constructive. Moscow welcomed the Iran-US talks as it pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned that military confrontation would be a global catastrophe. Another round of talks between Iran and the United States is to be held in Oman on Saturday, the foreign ministry spokesman told the official IRNA news agency. Rome had earlier been cited as a possible venue. Advertisement Red lines Baqaei said the next set of talks would continue to be indirect with Omani mediation, adding that direct talks were not effective and not useful. Omans foreign minister shuttled between the two delegations at the last talks. Baqaei had previously said the only focus of the next talks would be the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions, and that Iran will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue. Late Sunday, IRNA reported that Tehrans regional influence and its missile capabilities were among its red lines in the talks. Washington reinstated biting sanctions on Tehran following its withdrawal from the 2015 deal three years later. Iran continued to adhere to the agreement for a year after Trumps withdrawal but later began rolling back its compliance. Iran has consistently denied it is seeking nuclear weapons. Trump addressed reporters on Monday regarding Iran, saying Ill solve that problem and Thats almost an easy one. Advertisement However, it remains unclear whether his remarks referred specifically to nuclear negotiations or broader issues involving the Islamic republic. Baqaei reiterated that Iran would host United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi in the coming days but noted that the details of his trip were still to be decided on. In a post on X, Grossi confirmed that he would be heading to Tehran later this week. Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed, he said. IRNA later reported that Grossi would arrive on Wednesday and meet Araghchi and Mohammad Eslami, the head of Irans nuclear energy agency. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency last visited Iran in November when he held talks with top officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian. In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, which far exceeds the 3.67 percent limit set under the 2015 deal and is much closer to the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material. Advertisement Irans opposition to a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to a third country is seen as a key stumbling block in talks with US as Washington seeks to scale back Irans nuclear programme, according to a report read more US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to members of the news media with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt outside of the West Wing at the White House in Washington, US, on March 6, 2025. Reuters File Iran is likely to oppose a US proposal to transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to a third country potentially Russia as part of Washingtons push to curb Tehrans civil nuclear programme and prevent it from being used to develop a nuclear weapon. According to The Guardian report, the proposal, considered a major hurdle to any future deal, was discussed during initial, mostly indirect talks in Oman between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran insists its uranium stockpile, built up over the past four years, should remain on its soil under strict UN nuclear watchdog oversight. Tehran sees this as a precaution, or a form of insurance in case a future US administration withdraws from the agreement, as Donald Trump did in 2018 when he rejected the 2015 deal brokered by Barack Obama. Iran argues that if the material is moved abroad and the US exits again, it would be forced to restart enrichment from scratch effectively penalising Tehran for Washingtons actions, added the report. While most talks in Oman were indirect, with Oman mediating, some direct discussions did take place between Witkoff and Araghchi. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has agreed to host the next round of Iran talks this Saturday in Rome a move seen as a political nod from Donald Trump to Italy and a way to sideline the traditional European powers in the negotiations. Oman remains the main mediator. US Vice President JD Vance is also expected in Rome over the Easter weekend. Italy, notably absent from the original 2015 nuclear talks dominated by the E3 France, Germany, and the UK now gains a more prominent role in the renewed diplomatic effort. Meloni is an interesting choice since Meloni seems to be the European leader that has the best personal line to Trump, more than France, Germany and the UK. If Italy hosts the meeting it begs the question of the future role of the E3 in the US-Iran dialogue, The Guardian quoted Mohamed Amersi, of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, as saying. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Iran is negotiating under pressure from potential US military strikes and more sanctions. With its economy in decline, Tehran is keen to lift sanctions and attract foreign investment, prompting talks on insurance options for investors wary of renewed US tensions. The EU failed to protect businesses after Trumps 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal, leaving Iran cautious. So far, Trump has kept regional issues like Irans role in Syria and Lebanon out of the talks, frustrating Israel and Washington hawks. Iran, in turn, accuses Israel of regional aggression. Tehrans regional clout has weakened with Assads fall, Israeli strikes on allies like Hamas and Hezbollah, and US action in Yemen. Meanwhile, Irans oil exports face growing US sanctions pressure. With inputs from agencies Militants took 251 hostages during the October 7, 2023 attacks that set off the war. Some 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead read more People take part in a protest demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel. AP Hamas said Monday that Israel has offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, which the United Nations said is now in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war. A Hamas official told AFP that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war but that this crossed a red line. Advertisement Egyptian mediators passed on an Israeli proposal that includes the release of half the hostages in the first week of the agreement, an extension of the truce for at least 45 days, and the entry of aid, the official said. Militants took 251 hostages during the October 7, 2023 attacks that set off the war. Some 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. The proposal includes the disarmament of Hamas and all Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip as a condition for a permanent end to the war, the official added. Hamas leaders were reviewing the ceasefire proposal but the official said: Hamas and the resistance factions position is that the resistances weapons are a red line and non-negotiable, the official said. The official said Hamas negotiators were going to Qatar, where the group has an office and the main mediation talks with Israel have been held. Israel did not immediately comment on the Hamas statement. Hamas informed the mediators that it is willing to agree to any proposal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the entry of aid, the official said. Advertisement Earlier, the United Nation warned that Gazas humanitarian crisis was spiralling out of control with no aid entering the territory for weeks and conditions rapidly deteriorating. Israel, fighting in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, resumed operations in the Palestinian territory in March after the collapse of a two-month-old ceasefire amid differences over the next phase. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, with Israel blocking humanitarian aid since March 2, before the truce disintegrated. Medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply, the UN says. The humanitarian situation is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Aid workers had been forced to ration and reduce deliveries to make the most of the remaining stocks, OCHA said. At Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis, a doctor, Ahmed al-Farah said the medical team was working non-stop despite a shortage in everything. Advertisement Urgent need Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza. In a phone call, Macron and Abbas emphasised the urgent need for a ceasefire, the acceleration of humanitarian aid delivery (and) the rejection of the displacement of the Palestinian people from their land, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Macron said on X that France is fully mobilised to free hostages and halt the fighting. He also advocated reform of the Palestinian Authority as part of moves to let the body govern a post-war Gaza without Hamas. Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu indicated that the group was willing to release all hostages in exchange for a serious prisoner swap and guarantees that Israel would end the war. The issue is not the number of captives, Nunu said, but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war. Advertisement Speaking after talks with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, he insisted Hamas would not relinquish its arms. Israeli news website Ynet reported that under a new ceasefire proposal, Hamas would release 10 living hostages in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire. France hopes others follow The first ceasefire, which began on January 19, included multiple hostage-prisoner exchanges before it unravelled. Israel had sought to extend the first phase, while Hamas insisted that negotiations be held for the second phase under the deal, as outlined by former US president Joe Biden. Macron has announced that France could recognise a Palestinian state within months, leading to sharp criticism in Israel. On Monday he said he hoped French recognition would trigger other countries to follow suit, and that countries which do not recognise Israel should do so. Israel insists recognition moves are premature. President Macron is gravely mistaken in continuing to promote the idea of a Palestinian state in the heart of our land a state whose sole aspiration is the destruction of Israel, Netanyahu said in a statement. Advertisement Trumps abrupt decision last week to pause most global tariffs for 90 days has relieved some of the pressure on Meloni, meaning that she wont feel the need to return with a deal but rather to create the right environment for an accord. read more Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is heading to the White House for a meeting on Thursday with President Donald Trump, seeking to ease tensions over U.S. tariffs on European goods and position herself as a bridge between Washington and Brussels. Meloni is walking a tightrope between her ideological affinity to the president and her ties with European allies, who have criticised Trumps tariff hikes and his decision to exclude the EU from talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Meloni is under pressure at home to protect Italys export-driven economy, which last year ran a 40 billion euro ($45.4 billion) trade surplus with the US, she must also be seen to defend the interests of the whole 27-nation EU bloc. French government ministers have warned that the nationalist Italian leader might undermine EU unity by going alone to Washington, but the European Commission, which has responsibility for negotiating trade accords, has welcomed Melonis trip. She is no longer travelling amid an open clash involving the EU. She is going as a de facto mediator, said Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst at Luiss University in Rome. Romes Ambitions Meloni was the only EU leader invited to Trumps inauguration in January and this weeks meeting will take place the day before she hosts Vice President JD Vance in Rome back-to-back talks that could be crucial to furthering Italian ambitions to play a pivotal role in transatlantic relations. If she facilitates negotiations with Trump without penalising Europe, she will emerge much stronger, said Castellani. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has so far not been granted an audience with Trump, meaning that she has to rely on others to promote EU interests. A Commission spokesperson said Meloni and von der Leyen had been in regular contact ahead of the White House meeting. Both leaders have called for all of Trumps so-called reciprocal tariffs to be scrapped for the EU, and Meloni is expected to push for a zero-for-zero deal on industrial tariffs between the two sides. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD French officials fear Trump is seeking to divide and conquer Europe, and worry Meloni could play into his hands. We need to be united because Europe is strong if its united, Marc Ferracci, the French minister for industry and energy, told FranceInfo radio. If we start having bilateral talks, of course itll break this momentum. While Trump has frozen many tariffs, he has maintained a wall of levies on China and some analysts say this might bring China and Europe closer together. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week, and urged greater engagement with China in order to defend globalisation and to oppose unilateral acts of bullying. Rome has distanced itself from his comments. The great clash underway is not between the U.S. and Europe, but between the U.S. and China, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Reuters in an interview. Trump and Meloni may also discuss defence and Castellani said Meloni might promise to hike defence spending in the future. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Italys defence budget was 1.49% of its GDP last year, even as Trump is pushing NATO allies to lift military spending to 5% of GDP. El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele, who calls himself the worlds coolest dictator, met with US President Donald Trump on Monday (April 14), drawing global attention. Know more about him. read more President Donald Trump greets El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House, in Washington. AP Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, has become a prominent yet controversial figure in Latin America. Calling himself the worlds coolest dictator, he vowed to bring security, modernisation, and transparency to a country once plagued by gang violence and corruption. Bukele became the 81st President of El Salvadore in 2019 and got re-elected in the 2024 election. While his tough security reforms have sharply reduced crime, his leadership style has raised concerns about El Salvadors democratic norms. Advertisement Bukeles meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday (April 14) drew global attention, highlighting a rare convergence of two influential leaders with similar political narratives. Here are five things you need to know about the worlds coolest dictator. 1. Crackdown on gangsters In March 2022, at the request of Bukele, the Legislative Assembly proclaimed a state of exception. This gave sweeping powers to the security forces and suspended several constitutional rights, such as freedom of assembly and access to legal counsel. Since its implementation, according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), more than 110,000 people were put behind bars and 85,000 were detained. The crackdown has led to a significant reduction in homicide rates and weakened notorious criminal organisations like MS-13 and Barrio 18. 2. Decline in homicide rate Before Bukele, El Salvador was widely known as the murder capital of the world. In 2015, according to Foreign Policy, the country had a homicide rate of 105 per 100,000 people, a staggering figure that represented the cumbersome and dangerous life in the country. However, after Bukele implemented his state of exception, the homicide rate drastically dropped to under 2.4 per 100,0000. This placed El Salvadore among the safest countries in Latin America. Advertisement Bukele attributes this success directly to his hardline security measures. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, he said, El Salvador is the safest country in Latin America. Thats not a miracle. Thats the result of political will. 3. Despite popularity, Bukele faces accusations of authoritarianism The United Nations have reported widespread human rights abuses and violations of fundamental rights under Bukeles state of exception. We understand the serious challenges posed by gang violence, and the States duty to ensure security. However, it is the States duty to do so in compliance with international human rights law, Spokesperson Marta Hurtado told journalists in Geneva. Despite this, he continues to enjoy approval ratings exceeding 80 per cent among Salvadorans. Moreover, Bukeles administration has removed presidential term limits an unusual move for democratic nations which has fuelled concerns and speculation about the erosion of democratic norms in El Salvador. 4. Pioneer of Bitcoin In 2021, Bukele made El Salvador the first country to adopt Bitcoin, aiming to modernise the economy and attract foreign investment. Advertisement It will bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development for our country, Bukele said in a post on X. However, this move faced significant challenges. Despite government incentives, not many people were able to adapt Bitcoin. Approximately, 88 per cent of Salvadorans were not able to use Bitcoin in 2023, according to a survey done by the University of Central Americas public opinion institute. 5. Prison megaproject As part of his aggressive anti-gang campaign, Bukele launched the construction of the Terrorism Confinement Center in 2022. This is said to be one of the worlds largest prisons with a capacity to hold up to 40,000 inmates. However, footage released by the government showed thousands of prisoners being shirtless, shackled, and guarded. The United Nations has condemned such a state of affairs. Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticised the actions of El Salvadors security forces during the gang crackdown, describing them as an unnecessary and excessive use of force. Advertisement A New York City helicopter tour company has grounded its flights after one of its helicopters crashed into the Hudson River last week, killing all six people on board. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will also review the companys licence and safety record following the tragic incident. read more The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that the tour company New York Helicopter Tours has grounded its choppers after one of its helicopters crashed into the Hudson River last week, killing all six people on board. The FAA said that New York Helicopter Tours had voluntarily shut down flights, and it took this step partly because the companys operations director had been dismissed. Earlier, a sightseeing helicopter in New York City broke apart in the air on Thursday and crashed upside down into the Hudson River, killing the pilot and a family of five Spanish tourists, news agency AP reported, citing officials. Advertisement The victims included Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, who worked as a global manager at an energy company, and their three children. The pilot also died. In a statement on X, the FAA said it would immediately review New York Helicopter Tours licence and safety record. This decision came just hours after New York Senator Chuck Schumer urged federal officials to cancel the companys operating permits. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also urged the FAA to increase safety checks for other helicopter tour companies. He even accused them of cutting corners and putting profits before people. One of the things we can do to honour those lives and try to save others is to make sure it doesnt happen again, Schumer said. We know there is one thing for sure about New York Citys helicopter tour companies: they have a deadly track record. U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants to end the bloodbath of the three-year war in Ukraine, though a deal has yet to be agreed read more Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that it was not easy to agree with the United States on the key parts of a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine and that Russia would never again allow itself to depend economically on the West. U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he wants to be remembered as a peacemaker, has repeatedly said he wants to end the bloodbath of the three-year war in Ukraine, though a deal has yet to be agreed. It is not easy to agree the key components of a settlement. They are being discussed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper when asked if Moscow and Washington had agreement on some aspects of a possible peace deal. Advertisement We are well aware of what a mutually beneficial deal looks like, which we have never rejected, and what a deal looks like that could lead us into another trap, Lavrov said in the interview published in Tuesdays edition. The Kremlin on Sunday said that it was too early to expect results from the restoration of more normal relations with Washington. Lavrov said that Russias position had been set out clearly by President Vladimir Putin in June 2024, when Putin demanded Ukraine must officially drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed by Russia. Were talking about the rights of the people who live on these lands. That is why these lands are dear to us. And we cannot give them up, allowing people to be kicked out of there, Lavrov said. Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and parts of four other regions Moscow now claims are part of Russia - a claim not recognised by most countries. Lavrov praised Trumps common sense and for saying that previous U.S. support of Ukraines bid to join the NATO military alliance was a major cause of the war in Ukraine. Advertisement But Russias political elite, he said, would not countenance any moves that led Russia back towards economic, military, technological or agricultural dependence on the West. The globalisation of the world economy, Lavrov said, had been destroyed by sanctions imposed on Russia, China and Iran by the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden. Biden, Western European leaders and Ukraine describe Russias 2022 invasion as an imperial-style land grab, and repeatedly vowed to defeat Russian forces. Putin casts the war in Ukraine as part of a battle with a declining West, which he says humiliated Russia after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 by enlarging the NATO military alliance and encroaching on what he considers Moscows sphere of influence. The potential deal, described by the US Department of Energy as an unprecedented civil nuclear cooperation, comes amid Washingtons broader strategy to counter Irans influence and that of China and Russia in the Middle East, according to a report read more Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud attends the joint news conference after the 7th OPEC (Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria. AP File As the US continues negotiations with Iran to curb its nuclear programme, it is also moving toward finalising a preliminary civil nuclear agreement with Irans regional rival, Saudi Arabia. According to a Newsweek report, the potential deal, described by the US Department of Energy as an unprecedented civil nuclear cooperation, comes amid Washingtons broader strategy to counter Irans influence and that of China and Russia in the Middle East. The move could also serve as a nonproliferation measure, aiming to dissuade Riyadh from pursuing nuclear weapons if Iran were ever to develop them, added the report STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Riyadh this week as part of a wider regional tour that includes the UAE and Qatar. His meetings with Saudi officials focused on enhancing strategic energy ties and laying groundwork for a potential nuclear cooperation agreement that aligns with Saudi Arabias Vision 2030, an initiative to diversify its economy and energy portfolio. Such a deal would deepen the long-standing US-Saudi relationship, historically rooted in oil and security, while also offering a counterweight to Chinas and Russias growing presence in the region, according to the report, citing Wilson Center. The renewed US-Saudi dialogue comes as the US prepares for a second round of nuclear talks with Iran this weekend. The parallel track with Riyadh signals Washingtons intent to re-engage on a civil nuclear agreement that was also explored during the Biden administration. A potential agreement could allow US companies to lead the development of the kingdoms first nuclear reactors and may involve Saudi investment in a US-based uranium enrichment facility, a move that would help Washington reduce its dependence on Russian-enriched uranium, Newsweek quoted Robert Einhorn, Senior Fellow at Brookings, as highlighting in a 2024 published analysis. Former President Joe Bidens efforts to secure a civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia stalled due to US demands for strict non-proliferation safeguards and Riyadhs unwillingness to normalise relations with Israel without movement on the Palestinian issue. Under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act known as the 123 Agreements" any nuclear deal must include strong safeguards to prevent weapons development, including prohibitions on uranium enrichment and reprocessing. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Saudi Arabia has resisted these restrictions, citing its right to energy independence, according to media reports. According to a Reuters report in January, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom plans to monetise its mineral resources by producing, enriching, and selling uranium for nuclear fuel, including processing it into yellowcake. Saudi Arabia also aims to move to full IAEA inspections, replacing its current limited oversight, added the report. Under Biden, a nuclear deal was linked to Saudi-Israel normalisation. While the Trump administration hasnt made that connection explicit, it sees Riyadh as key to expanding the Abraham Accords. Saudi Arabia, however, insists on Israeli support for a two-state solution. To get a specific agreement to partner on commercial nuclear development in Saudi Arabia, that will take a little bit longer, that will be months not weeks. Well need a 123 Agreement and a broader specific framework for how were gona cooperate together and how things are gona work but based on the discussions so far, I think its likely we get there, Newsweek quoted US Energy Secretary Chris Wright as saying to Al-Arabiya English. Saudi Energy Ministry Abdulaziz bin Salman said, The meeting discussed prospects for enhancing bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America in several areas of the energy sector. Israels Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid on X, translated from Hebrew: Israel must demand from the United States, our closest ally, that any nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia explicitly prohibit uranium enrichment on Saudi soil. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Talks are likely to progress, but the timeframe may be a matter of months at least. Israel is likely to seek assurances that any agreement would not make it easier for Saudi Arabia to take a path to nuclear weapons development. With inputs from agencies Once hailed as a decorated commander of Russias 58th Combined Arms Army in Ukraine, Popov now finds himself reportedly tasked with leading a Russian military battalion made up of former convicts, notorious for its heavy casualties and suicide-style assaults read more Major General Ivan Popov, former commander of Russia's 58th army, arrested on suspicion of fraud, attends a hearing at the military court in Moscow, Russia May 27, 2024. Reuters Two years after publicly denouncing Russias military leadership and finding himself disgraced, detained and facing jail, Major General Ivan Popov has made a comeback. He is returning to the battlefield. But his comeback is less triumph than coercion what some military observers are calling a de facto death sentence. Why, though? Once hailed as a decorated commander of Russias 58th Combined Arms Army in Ukraine, Popov now finds himself reportedly tasked with leading one of the Russian militarys most expendable units: a battalion made up of former convicts, notorious for its heavy casualties and suicide-style assaults, CNN reported. Advertisement A generals fall from grace In July 2023, Popov, in a voice message to his comrades, accused the Defence Ministry particularly chief-of-staff Valery Gerasimov of failing frontline troops and punishing commanders who dared to raise operational concerns. The armed forces of Ukraine could not break through our army from the front, (but) our senior commander hit us from the rear, treacherously and vilely decapitating the army at the most difficult and tense moment, Popov said at the time, warning that he had been dismissed for exposing shortages in artillery and equipment. The comments, delivered less than a month after Yevgeny Prigozhins failed Wagner mutiny, landed hard in a military already on edge. While many serving officers and pro-war commentators supported Popovs critique, the Kremlin responded with swift retribution. Popov was transferred to Syria, then arrested in May 2024 on charges of fraud charges he continues to deny. Prosecutors had been seeking a six-year sentence. From prisoner to front-line commander Now, following a letter to President Vladimir Putin in which he declared the Russian leader his moral guide and role model, Popov is being allowed back into military service. But the apparent reprieve comes with strings attached. According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Popov wont be returning to command the elite 58th Army. Instead, he has been tapped to lead a Storm Z battalion units composed of convicts recruited from Russian prisons, often with little regard for casualties or survival rates. Whether Popovs gambit will save himpolitically or literallyremains uncertain. His case still awaits confirmation from a military court. Singapores parliament dissolved for a national election, testing PM Lawrence Wong. Nomination day is April 23, with 97 seats at stake. The Workers Party seeks to build on 2020 success. read more A general view of the Parliament House in Singapore. File image/ Reuters Singapores parliament was dissolved on Tuesday, the government said, ahead of an upcoming national election seen as a crucial test for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Last year Wong succeeded Lee Hsien Loong, the son of Singapores founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, ushering in a new era after decades of leadership by the influential Lee family. President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, on the advice of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, has dissolved Parliament on Tuesday, 15 April 2025, a government statement said. Advertisement Nomination day has been set for April 23, and the Elections Department will announce the polling date later on Tuesday, it added. A total of 97 seats are at stake in this election, four more than the previous parliament, with most seats coming from a bloc voting system the opposition says favours the ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP), in power since 1959. The main opposition Workers Party, which stunned the nation when it won 10 of the 93 seats contested in the 2020 elections, is expected to build on that momentum and make more inroads. Other smaller opposition parties are also expected to contest at the polls. The election comes as US President Donald Trumps trade war threatens the world order instrumental to Singapores rapid economic prosperity. Although Trump imposed the baseline 10 percent tariffs on Singapore, the city-state is vulnerable to a global economic slowdown caused by the much higher levies on other countries because of its heavy reliance on international trade. South Korea is a major exporter to the United States and its powerhouse chip and auto industries would suffer a hefty hit from President Donald Trumps threatened 25 percent levies read more South Korea on Tuesday announced plans to invest almost $5 billion extra in the countrys semiconductor industry, citing growing uncertainty over US tariffs. The country is a major exporter to the United States and its powerhouse chip and auto industries would suffer a hefty hit from President Donald Trumps threatened 25 percent levies. Concerns about the sector have hammered the Seoul-listed shares of the worlds largest memory chip maker Samsung, and largest memory chip supplier SK Hynix. Advertisement Officials have now stepped up to provide more cover for the economically crucial industry by announcing an extra $4.9 billion will be pumped into it through 2026. An aggressive fiscal investment plan has been devised to help local firms navigate mounting challenges in the global semiconductor race, the finance ministry said in a press release. It warned growing uncertainty following rounds of US tariff threats had left the sector clamouring for government support. To foster a dynamic, private sector-led ecosystem for semiconductor innovation and growth, the government will increase its investment in the sector from 26 trillion won ($18.2 billion) to 33 trillion won, the ministry said. Trump announced on his April 2 Liberation Day sweeping tariffs on its global trading partners, including the 25 percent on South Korean goods, before backtracking and suspending their implementation for 90 days. Even so, duties targeting specific sectors such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, remain on the horizon, finance minister Choi Sang-mok said during a meeting. This grace period offers a crucial window to strengthen the competitiveness of South Korean companies amid intensifying global trade tensions, he added. The government plans to expand support for the semiconductor industry, allocating 33 trillion won, with over 4 trillion won in fiscal spending set to be injected through 2026, he said. Advertisement The package includes funding for infrastructure development, including underground transmission lines at semiconductor clusters that are currently being built. The government will boldly support investment by semiconductor companies, said Choi, adding that the package included securing talent for the industry. The investment is part of a large revised supplementary budget proposal of 12 trillion won ($8.4 billion), and is required to be passed by the National Assembly. Talks next week The tariffs announcement has rocked global markets, with investors uncertain over whether they are a negotiating tactic or permanent US position. Trump has insisted he will not back down until he has reduced or even wiped out US trade deficits while simultaneously signalling that he is ready to negotiate. The US trade deficit with South Korea was $66 billion in goods last year. Seoul last week unveiled a $2 billion emergency support package to help carmakers weather the storm. South Koreas auto-related exports to the United States total-ed $42.9 billion last year, according to officials. Advertisement Still, analysts said that for now, South Korea should not be too worried about its chips sector. Unlike automobiles, which are already subject to tariffs, semiconductors are unique in that the United States lacks viable substitutes, Kim Dae-jong, a professor at Sejong University, told AFP. Our companies are building large-scale semiconductor plants in the US, contributing to local job creation, a point that will likely be emphasised, Kim added. Behind-the-scenes negotiations will likely continue, and there is a chance they could conclude on a positive note. There also remains the possibility that tariffs will be adjusted item by item in the future. Trump last week spoke to South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is acting as president since Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office for attempting to subvert civilian rule. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that trade talks with South Korea would take place next week. The leaked UN report identifies what it calls a consistent pattern of Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo flights originating from the United Arab Emirates and landing in Chad. From there, the experts said, at least three overland routes could be used to move weapons into Sudan read more A leaked UN experts report has turned the heat on UAE due to speculation of its role in the Sudan war. Reuters Pressure is mounting on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over its involvement in a key London conference aimed at ending the conflict in Sudan, following allegations in a leaked United Nations report suggesting the Gulf nation may be covertly supplying arms to Sudans paramilitary forces. The Guardian, citing the highly confidential document, details a series of flights from the UAE that allegedly attempted to evade detection as they landed in Chad, near a border area where illicit weapons transfers into Sudan have been reported. The UAE has repeatedly denied any role in providing arms to Sudanese paramilitaries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The 14-page November report, prepared for the Sudan sanctions committee of the UN Security Council by a panel of five experts, identifies what it calls a consistent pattern of Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo flights originating from the United Arab Emirates and landing in Chad. From there, the experts said, at least three overland routes could be used to move weapons into Sudan. According to the report, the flights established a new regional air bridge and often went dark for crucial segments of their journeys, suggesting potential covert operations. However, the experts said they had no direct evidence of arms on board the planes. In their November update, the UN experts looked into potential arms smuggling routes from Chad into Darfur, assessing whether these activities violated an existing arms embargo. They cited at least 24 Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo flights landing at Amdjarass airport in Chad last year, concurrent with a surge of drone attacks mainly by the RSF for both combat and intelligence in and around El Fasher. The experts noted that some of the cargo flight operators had been previously linked to military logistics and illicit arms transfers and, in two cases, flagged for prior arms embargo violations. They specifically identified regular departures from airports in Ras Al-Khaimah and Al Ain, in the UAE, to Chad. The flights, they said, frequently went off radar mid-journey and then reappeared while returning to the UAE. Scrutiny of the UAEs alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) comes after a weekend in which RSF fighters reportedly killed more than 200 civilians. The attacks occurred in and around displacement camps and near El Fasher the last major city in Darfur still under government control. In January, the United States formally declared that RSF fighters had committed genocide in Sudan. The UAE insists it is dedicated to finding a lasting peace for the country. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Algerias foreign ministry said it had declared the 12 persona non grata after the arrest in France of an Algerian consular official, a vile act it blamed on French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau read more Frances foreign minister on Tuesday slammed Algerias decision to expel 12 French officials and warned of a riposte, as tensions mounted between Paris and its former North African colony. Jean-Noel Barrot said the move was regrettable and warned it will not be without consequences, adding that if Algeria chooses escalation, we will respond with the greatest firmness. Algerias foreign ministry said it had declared the 12 persona non grata after the arrest in France of an Algerian consular official, a vile act it blamed on French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. Advertisement For decades, ties between France and Algeria have gone through diplomatic upheavals, and the fresh row comes at a delicate time in relations, underscoring the difficulties in repairing ties. On Friday, French prosecutors indicted three Algerians, including a consular official, on suspicion of involvement in the 2024 abduction of an opponent of the Algerian government, Amir Boukhors, in a Paris suburb. The men, who are also being prosecuted for terrorist conspiracy, were placed in pre-trial detention. In the latest instance of US President Donald Trump parroting Russian talking points, he has repeated the lie that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy started the ongoing war read more US President Donald Trump shouts at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during their interaction with the press at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2025. Reuters File US President Donald Trump has again repeated the lie that Ukraine started the ongoing war. In an interaction with the press at the White House, Trump on Monday said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy started the ongoing war with Russia. Hes [Zelenskyy] always looking to purchase missiles. Listen, when you start a war, you gotta know you can win a war. You dont start a war against somebody thats 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles, said Trump. Advertisement Separately, Trump said in a post on Truth Social, President Zelenskyy and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin. There were so many ways of preventing it from ever starting. Trump has fully turned on Zelenskyy: "He's always looking to purchase missiles. Listen, when you start a war, you gotta know you can win a war. You don't start a war against somebody that's 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles." pic.twitter.com/1hBWeyu2hg Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025 This is not the first time that Trump has falsely absolved Russia of blame for starting the ongoing war with the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He has previously blamed Zelenskyy, previous US President Joe Biden, and the Western military alliance Nato for starting the war. These are of course lies. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in a decade. President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion, which he dubbed special military operation, in a special broadcast. Previously, Russia had invaded Ukraine in 2014 and captured and annexed the region of Crimea that it continues to illegally occupy till date. Advertisement ALSO READ: From Russian invasion to Zelenskyys election, Trump rewrites Ukraine wars history with lies While Trump had always been friendly with Putin and a critic of support to Ukraine, he has completely aligned himself with Russia in his second term. While he has repeatedly pressured Ukraine into making concessions after concessions, such as entering ceasefires beneficial to Russia, ceding territory, and ceding control of natural resources to the United States, he has done nothing to pressure Russia. Previously, Trump has called Zelenskyy a dictator ruling Ukraine without elections and has essentially called for his ouster. The covert engagement of the Trump administration with Zelenskyys domestic rivals was seen as a sign of Trumps attempts at a regime change in Ukraine. Trump has also falsely claimed that the United States has provided $350 billion in aid so far. As of Sept. 2024, the US allocations stood around $183 billion, out of which only $86.7 billion had been disbursed, according to data with the US inspector general overseeing the US response to the situation in Ukraine carried by CNN. Advertisement In February, as part of his vilification campaign against Zelenskyy, Trump claimed that Zelenskyy refused to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent when he visited the country. Trump said that Zelenskyy did not meet Bessent as he was sleeping. That is of course a lie. Zelenskyy met Bessent and photos of their meeting were posted on X from official accounts. After President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants to buy US-made Patriot air defence systems, US President Donald Trump bashed him for always looking to purchase missiles and falsely accused him of starting the war with Russia read more US President Donald Trump shouts at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during their interaction with the press at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2025. Reuters File Russia continues to attack civilians in Ukraine at least 35 people were killed on Sunday in a Russian airstrike in the city of Sumy. To protect those civilians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to buy US-made Patriot air defence systems. For US President Donald Trump, such a purchase is a sign of Zelenskyy being a warmonger. In an interaction with the press at the White House, Trump on Monday said that Zelenskyy is always looking to purchase missiles. He further went on to falsely accuse him of starting the war with Russia not for the first time though. Advertisement Trump bashes Ukraine, defends Russia again In the latest display of his alignment with Vladimir Putin, Trump has bashed Zelenskyy for wanting to defend his people from Russian aerial attacks but has dismissed Russian attacks killing civilians as mistakes. In response to the Russian attack in Sumy, Trump said, I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think its a horrible thing. They made a mistake. On the other hand, after Zelenskyy sought to buy not seek in donations US-made air defence systems, Trump said, Hes [Zelenskyy] always looking to purchase missiles. Listen, when you start a war, you gotta know you can win a war. You dont start a war against somebody thats 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles. Separately, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Zelenskyy allowed the war to start. President Zelenskyy and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin. There were so many ways of preventing it from ever starting, said Trump. This is not the first time that Trump has lied about the war in Ukraine and personally attacked Zelenskyy. Trump has previously accused Zelenskyy, former US President Joe Biden, and Western military alliance Nato of starting the war with Russia. In reality, Russia started the war on February 24, 2022, when it invaded Ukraine. Russian leader Putin announced the invasion in a special broadcast. Advertisement ALSO READ: From Russian invasion to Zelenskyys election, Trump rewrites Ukraine wars history with lies The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was the second invasion within a decade. In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and captured and annexed the region of Crimea. Russia continues to illegally occupy the region. In his personal attacks on Zelenskyy, Trump called him a dictator running the country without elections. After such an attack, the Trump administration made covert contacts to Zelenskyy domestic rivals. Such contacts were seen as a sign of Trump seeking a regime change in Ukraine. Zelenskyy seeks to buy 10 Patriot systems Zelenskyy has said Ukraine wants to buy 10 US-made Patriot air defence systems. In an interview with CBS News, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would pay for those systems and not seek them as part of a grant. There is the Patriot system, and you have many of them. You also have production capacity. There are a few steps to protect Ukraine. Step number one: one system costs $1.5 billion we are ready to buy itThats $15 billion. We are ready to pay it. We will find the money and pay for everything, said Zelenskyy, according to translated quotes carried by Kyiv Independent. Advertisement President Trumps administration told allies it couldnt sign the statement denouncing the Sumy attack as it is working to preserve the space to negotiate peace as meetings continue between the White House and the Kremlin, according to a report read more The US has informed its G7 allies that it will not back a joint statement condemning Russias deadliest strike on Ukraine this year, citing a desire to keep diplomatic channels with Moscow open. The attack took place on Palm Sunday, when Russia launched two short-range ballistic missiles one reportedly carrying cluster munitions at the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, killing at least 35 people and injuring 119, including children. According to a Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with diplomatic correspondence, President Trumps administration told allies it couldnt sign the statement denouncing the attack as it is working to preserve the space to negotiate peace as meetings continue between the White House and the Kremlin. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Canada, which holds the G-7 presidency this year, told allies that without US endorsement it would be impossible to go ahead with the statement, added the report, citing the same people. On Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed via Telegram that it carried out the deadly strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, claiming it targeted a meeting of Ukrainian military commanders and killed over 60 servicemen. Drafts of a planned G7 statement, seen by Bloomberg News, described the attack as further evidence of Russias intent to prolong the war. However, the US has told allies it will not endorse the statement, aiming to preserve momentum in ongoing negotiations with Moscow. On Sunday night, President Trump described the attack as terrible but added without elaboration that he was told Russia had made a mistake. Trump, who is accelerating efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, deflected blame onto President Joe Biden and President Zelenskyy. Russias strike on Sumy came just two days after President Vladimir Putin met with Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg for nearly five hours of ceasefire discussions. Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Witkoff said the talks with Putin opened a path to reshape US-Russia relations and stabilise the region through what he described as very compelling commercial opportunities, though he did not provide details. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In his daily address, President Zelenskyy said nearly 50 countries and international organisations had expressed support following the Sumy attack. He confirmed that Ukraine had accepted Trumps proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire, which also aimed to end deadly attacks like those in Sumy and Kryvyi Rih where a strike on a childrens playground earlier this month killed 20. However, Zelenskyy noted that 34 days had passed since the proposal with no halt in Russian attacks. Putin remains committed to waging war, he said, and will continue unless serious pressure is applied. With inputs from agencies Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt read out a statement from Trump asserting that China needs to strike a deal with the US, emphasising that there is no difference between China and other countries except for its larger size. read more President Donald Trump said that the responsibility lies with China to engage in trade negotiations, according to the White House on Tuesday. The ball is in Chinas court. China needs to make a deal with us. We dont have to make a deal with them. Theres no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger, a statement from Trump read out by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a briefing said. Advertisement Theres no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger, she added. Leavitts remarks came after President Donald Trump accused China of backing out of a significant agreement with US aerospace firm Boeing. His comments followed a Bloomberg report claiming that Chinese authorities had instructed domestic airlines to halt further deliveries of Boeing aircraft and suspend purchases of related equipment and parts from American companies. They just reneged on the big Boeing deal, saying that they will not take possession of fully committed to aircraft, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, referencing China, though he offered no specifics about the deal in question. Since resuming the presidency earlier this year, Trump has imposed fresh tariffs on both allies and adversaries, with the steepest measures aimed at China including an additional 145% duty on numerous Chinese imports. Trump took aim at Beijing again on Tuesday, saying on Truth Social that China did not fulfill its commitments under an earlier trade deal. He appeared to be referencing a pact that marked a truce in both sides escalating tariff war during his first term. The US president said China bought only a portion of what they agreed to buy, charging that Beijing had zero respect for his predecessor Joe Bidens administration. Trump also vowed to protect US farmers in the same post, noting that they were often put on the Front Line with our adversaries, such as China, when there were trade tussles. Advertisement Australia, the United States and Britain removed significant barriers on defence trade between Aukus countries in August, with 70% of defence exports from the United States to Australia, previously subject to the U.S. International Trafficking in Arms Regulations, becoming licence-free read more Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN-783) is seen off the coast of Western Australia, Australia. File image/ Reuters U.S. controls on sensitive defence exports, relaxed for Aukus partner Australia last year, still apply to submarines, creating hurdles to defence industry collaboration on U.S. Virginia-class sub production, officials and executives said. Whether the United States can overcome production delays to meet U.S. Navy targets is key to whether Australia can buy three Virginia-class nuclear powered submarines under Aukus, Defence Minister Richard Marles said last month. Australia faces a 2025 deadline to pay $2 billion of the $3 billion it has pledged to improve the U.S. submarine industrial base. Advertisement Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency has been tasked by U.S. President Donald Trump with reviewing Navy procurement, in an executive order on shipbuilding that also refers to American-made components and reducing regulations. Attempts to bring Australian companies into the Virginia submarines U.S. supply chain have made slow progress. Australia, the United States and Britain removed significant barriers on defence trade between Aukus countries in August, with 70% of defence exports from the United States to Australia, previously subject to the U.S. International Trafficking in Arms Regulations, becoming licence-free. A lengthy licence process remains for an Excluded Technology List, which largely covers advanced or sensitive defence areas. Submarine technology is on the excluded technologies list, meaning it is not going under the Aukus exemption, said Kylie Wright, assistant secretary of defence industry at Australias Department of Defence. An Australian Submarine Agency spokesman said it was working with the United States on other solutions. Seamless transfer of technology and information between Australia and the U.S. is key to the success of Aukus, the spokesperson added. Restrictions on transferring information about the nuclear submarine mean Australian component manufacturers cant bid for work in U.S. naval shipyards, even where they can supply badly needed parts, company executives said. Advertisement U.S. submarine builder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Honeywell and the U.S. Navy are helping a handful of Australian companies qualify to bid for Virginia sub contracts in pilot programmes focussed on information security. Western Australian defence contractor Veem expects to take a year to complete the U.S. security process that will allow it to exchange information with HII. The components that are delaying them in their build are components which we build, said Veem chief executive Trevor Raman. Proving we have enough systems in place to secure that information and it wont fall into the hands of U.S. enemies, that is the biggest one we have to get ourselves around, he said. Raman said he is unconcerned by the made in America focus of Trumps shipbuilding review. The reality is what we do is extremely specialised and requires a very high level of skill, he said. They are going to have to rely on some outward help. Advertisement HII declined to comment. Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, last week told a Senate Armed Services Committee the biggest advantage Aukus gave the United States was operating U.S.-commanded submarines out of Australias Indian Ocean port from 2027. Its a straight shot to the South China Sea, he said. In an interview, Scott Bessent said the Trump administration was focused on helping Latin American countries avert what he called rapacious agreements made by China in Africa read more U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he met with Argentine President Javier Milei on Monday to underscore the Trump administrations full support for economic reforms that were bringing the Latin American country back from the precipice. Bessent also commended Milei for working to reduce barriers towards reciprocal trade with the United States, Treasury said in a statement about the visit. In an interview with Bloomberg TV after his meeting with Milei, Bessent said the Trump administration was focused on helping Latin American countries avert what he called rapacious agreements made by China in Africa. Advertisement Argentina on Friday sealed a $20 billion, 48-month Extended Fund Facility deal with the International Monetary Fund after dismantling key parts of its years-long currency controls. It also announced a $12 billion loan program with the World Bank and a separate $10 billion deal with the Inter-American Development Bank. I wanted to come here today to show support for President Milei and his commitment to what I think is historic in terms of bringing Argentina back from the precipice, Bessent said in the interview. The U.S. sought to prevent Latin American countries giving up mining rights to China in return for aid, he said. China has signed a number of these rapacious deals marked as aid, where theyve taken mineral rights. Theyve added huge amounts of debt onto these countries balance sheets, he said. Theyre guaranteeing that future generations are going to be poor and without resources. And we dont want that to happen any more than already has in Latin America. Chinese lenders provided a combined $182.28 billion to 49 African countries from 2000-2023, leaving many countries heavily in debt. Since 2005, Chinese lenders provided more than $120 billion in loans to Latin American and Caribbean countries, according to data from Boston University Global Development Policy Center. Bessent said the U.S. was not considering a credit line directly to Argentina like the one extended by China. He said Beijing had shown a very good faith effort in conjunction with the IMF deal, and would be rolling forward the $5 billion drawn down by the previous Argentine government. Advertisement He said Mileis government should eventually have enough foreign exchange inflows to repay that amount as it stayed the course on economic reforms. President Donald Trump has sought to expand ties with a handful of leaders in Latin America, including Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who visited the White House on Monday, and Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa, who met with Trump in Florida last month. Bessent did not say whether Argentina, which received the 10% base rate in Trumps recent reciprocal tariff announcement, could achieve a zero tariff rate, saying he told Argentine officials to bring their A game for negotiations. Asked if any country could negotiate a zero tariff rate, Bessent said the negotiations were focused on a whole box of things weve got to overcome: tariffs, non-tariff barriers, trade barriers, currency manipulation and subsidization of labor and facilities. The American vice president agrees with the French view that Europe must achieve military independence, according to a report read more US Vice President JD Vance delivers remarks at the American Dynamism Summit in Washington, DC, US, March 18, 2025. File Image/Reuters US Vice President JD Vance has once again urged Europe to rethink its defence posture and hes looking to history to make his case. According to a Politico report, citing a recent interview with British news site UnHerd, Vance invoked the legacy of Charles de Gaulle, the legendary French leader who steered the country through World War II and later served as president from 1959 to 1969. According to Vance, de Gaulle had a clear-eyed view of the balance needed between transatlantic cooperation and European sovereignty. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD De Gaulle loved the United States of America," Politico quoted Vance as saying, adding, but (he) recognised what I certainly recognise, that its not in Europes interest, and its not in Americas interest, for Europe to be a permanent security vassal of the United States." Vances comments mark another chapter in his long-running call for Europe to shoulder more of its own defense responsibilities, echoing a strain of foreign policy realism that has gained traction within parts of the American political right. Vances remarks come amid mounting pressure from President Donald Trumps administration on European allies to take greater responsibility for their own defence. The White House has repeatedly criticised European capitals for leaning too heavily on American military support, while signaling that the US may not come to the rescue of Nato members who fail to invest adequately in their security. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced that message recently, cautioning that the American military presence in Europe is not forever. Trump is pushing for Nato countries to significantly ramp up their defence spending, calling for members to allocate 5% of their GDP more than double the alliances current target of 2%. That target is expected to rise during an upcoming Nato summit in The Hague this summer. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD I dont think that Europe being more independent is bad for the United States its good for the United States, Vance was quoted as saying. Just going back through history, I think frankly the British and the French were certainly right in their disagreements with Eisenhower about the Suez Canal, he added. In the 1950s, US leader Dwight Eisenhower forced London and Paris, before de Gaulle became president, to back down from a military intervention to regain control of the Suez Canal from Egypt, which was key to the countries economic and colonial interests. With the exception of Britain, France and Poland, most European nations dont have militaries that can provide for their reasonable defence, Vance said. The reality is its blunt to say it, but its also true that Europes entire security infrastructure, for my entire life, has been subsidised by the United States of America, he added. De Gaulle, shaped by the fallout from the Suez Crisis, was a staunch advocate for European independence from US influence. He pushed to make Frances military more autonomousbuilding a nuclear arsenal and a strong defence industry laying the groundwork for what French President Emmanuel Macron now calls strategic autonomy. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Vance also weighed in on Europes role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, which he called a strategic disaster. While countries like France and Germany opposed the war, Vance argued they should have spoken out more forcefully as the US moved toward invasion. Vance said a lot of European nations were right to question the Iraq war and, without offering evidence, claimed the invasion might have been stopped if Europe had been a little more independent, and a little more willing to stand up. Known for his sharp critiques of Europe on issues like migration and free speech, the vice president softened his tone by emphasising his love for the continent. I love European people. Ive said repeatedly that I think that you cant separate American culture from European culture, Politico quoted him as saying. Were very much a product of philosophies, theologies, and of course the migration patterns that came out of Europe that launched the United States of America, he said. But, Vance added, European leaders have radically underinvested in security, and that has to change. Vance took another swipe at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, continuing their feud that began with a tense Oval Office exchange in February, when Vance accused Zelenskyy of being disrespectful. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In a Sunday interview on 60 Minutes, Zelenskyy charged the vice president with somehow justifying Russias invasion and falling for Kremlin disinformation. Vance fired back, calling the accusation absurd, and added, Its sort of absurd for Zelenskyy to tell the (American) government currently keeping his entire government and war effort afloat that were somehow siding with the Russians. With inputs from agencies Pop star Katy Perry and five other women made history as the first all-female crew in over six decades to travel to space. The group flew aboard Blue Origins NS-31 mission, experiencing weightlessness during the brief suborbital flight. read more 'What a wonderful world': Katy Perry sings in joy as all-woman Blue Origin space flight returns to Earth. Image: X Pop star Katy Perry and five other women made history on Monday, as the first all-female crew in over 60 years went into space. They flew on Blue Origins NS-31 mission. The 11-minute flight took off from West Texas and returned safely after reaching the edge of space. The crew were seen enjoying a few moments of weightlessness in the zero gravity of space. A video from Blue Origin showed the women feeling weightless and limitless during the trip, which later went viral on social media. Advertisement The Blue Origin all-female crew, including Katy Perry, have launched into Space. pic.twitter.com/18Oo6GAnOa Pop Base (@PopBase) April 14, 2025 Along with Perry on the six-member crew were Lauren Sanchez (Jeff Bezoss fiancee), CBS host Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, scientist and activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. Blue Origins New Shepard rocket reached an altitude of 107 kilometres, just past the Karman line, the recognised edge of space, before returning to Earth. Perry sings What a Wonderful World After experiencing weightlessness, the crew got back in their seats while Perry sang Louis Armstrongs What a Wonderful World. She held a daisy, a flower she brought along in honour of her daughter, Daisy. I feel super connected to love, Perry said after the landing. This was the first time in the history of the United States that all seats on a spaceflight were occupied by women. In the 64 years since human spaceflight began, the only other all-female mission was in 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. Advertisement Blue Origin has not yet disclosed the cost of the flight or who paid for the expenses. Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Vietnam as part of a regional tour aimed at strengthening ties with Southeast Asian nations. His trip comes at a time of rising trade tensions, with US President Donald Trump accusing Xi of trying to screw the United States amid the ongoing tariff war. read more Xi in Vietnam: Trump says China, Vietnam 'trying to figure our how to screw the US.' Image: Reuters US President Donald Trump said that Xi Jinping is aiming to screw the United States amid its trade war with China. Chinese President Xi Jinping is visiting Vietnam as part of a Southeast Asia tour that also includes Malaysia and Cambodia. The trip comes as China tries to present itself as a stable partner, especially as countries face US tariffs and uncertainty around Donald Trumps policies. On his last day in Hanoi, Xi paid tribute to Vietnams late revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh. A day earlier, he urged China and Vietnam to stand together against unilateral bullying and protect the global free trade system, according to Chinese state media. Advertisement Hours later, Trump told reporters at the White House that their meeting was aimed at hurting the United States. I dont blame China. I dont blame Vietnam. I dont. I see theyre meeting today, and thats wonderful, he said. Thats a lovely meeting like trying to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America. China and Vietnam signed 45 cooperation agreements on Monday, including on supply chains, artificial intelligence, joint maritime patrols, and railway development. Xi said in a meeting with Vietnams top leader To Lam on Monday that their countries were standing at the turning point of history and should move forward with joint hands. Lam said after the talks that the two leaders reached many important and comprehensive common perceptions, according to Vietnam News Agency. On the final day of his visit, Xi laid a red wreath emblazoned with his name and the words Long live Vietnams great leader President Ho Chi Minh at the late leaders mausoleum in central Hanoi. He is also due to attend the launch of the Vietnam-China Railway Cooperation, which will help manage an $8-billion rail project announced this year to link Vietnams largest northern port city to the border with China. Xis trip comes almost two weeks after the United States the biggest export market for Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, in the first three months of the year imposed a 46 percent levy on Vietnamese goods as part of a global tariff blitz. Advertisement Although the US tariffs on Vietnam and most other countries have been paused, China still faces enormous levies and is seeking to tighten regional trade ties and offset their impact during Xis first overseas trip of the year. Xi will head to Malaysia later on Tuesday and then Cambodia on a tour that bears major importance for the broader region, Beijing has said. Xi earlier urged Vietnam and China to resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment. He also reiterated Beijings line that a trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere in an article published on Monday in Vietnams major state-run Nhan Dan newspaper. China and Vietnam, both ruled by communist parties, already share a comprehensive strategic partnership, Hanois highest diplomatic status. Vietnam has long pursued a bamboo diplomacy approach striving to stay on good terms with both China and the United States. Advertisement The two countries have close economic ties, but Hanoi shares US concerns about Beijings increasing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea. UltraProlink has launched the Juice-Up Mag 5, a 3-in-1 magnetic wireless power bank with a 10,000mAh capacity in India. Designed for convenience and portability, this compact power bank is compatible with Apple devices and other Qi-enabled smartphones. The Juice-Up Mag 5 supports 15W Mag-Safe wireless charging for iPhones (16, 15, 14, 13 series). The strong magnetic alignment ensures secure charging. It also includes 2.5W wireless charging for Apple Watch and 5W for AirPods, offering a complete charging solution for Apple users. Beyond Apple, the power bank features a flat-bed wireless charging surface that works with Qi-enabled phones from brands like Samsung, Google, and others. For fast wired charging, the Juice-Up Mag 5 has a 22.5W Type-C PD-PPS output, ideal for iPhones, Samsung Galaxy, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Google Pixel devices. Two built-in cables20W Type-C and 12W Lightningeliminate the need for extra cables, making it a perfect option for travelers. The Juice-Up Mag 5 also features a Smart LCD screen, showing real-time battery percentage and charging status. Additionally, the built-in kickstand lets users mount their phone vertically for video calls or horizontally for media viewing. Quick Specifications: UltraProlink Juice-Up Mag 5 (UM1126GRY) Battery Capacity: 10,000mAh / 38.5Wh 15W Mag-Safe Wireless for iPhones (16, 15, 14, 13 series) 2.5W for Apple Watch, 5W for AirPods 22.5W Type-C PD-PPS for fast wired charging Built-in Cables: 20W Type-C, 12W Lightning Qi Wireless Charging: Compatible with all Qi-enabled phones Display: Smart LCD for battery & charging status Kickstand: Built-in for vertical & horizontal phone support Build: Lightweight, durable, travel-friendly Warranty: 6-month replacement (India) Made in India Pricing and Availability The UltraProlink Juice-Up Mag 5 is priced at Rs. 3,999 and is available on Amazon.in and UltraProlinks official website. A limited-time offer on the website allows it to be purchased for Rs. 2,999. Commenting on the launch event, Pankaj Mirchandani, Founder & CEO of UltraProlink, stated, Global smartphone shipments grew 1.5% year-over-year (YoY) to 304.9 million units in the first quarter of 2025 (1Q25), according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. IDC noted that the smartphone market aligned with forecasts, as manufacturers increased production ahead of a widely anticipated announcement from the U.S. administration concerning tariffs on Chinese imports. Shipment volumes surged due to tariff anticipation Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of Client Devices at IDC, said that vendors accelerated production schedules in response to heightened geopolitical uncertainty and the threat of major U.S. tariff hikes on goods from China. To avoid future cost increases and disruptions, many manufacturers pulled forward shipments into Q1, especially for the U.S. market. This move effectively pushed shipment numbers beyond what was expected from actual consumer demand trends, Jeronimo added. U.S. tariff pause brings short-term relief The U.S. governments recent move to pause smartphone import tariffs from China has offered temporary relief to U.S. companies. However, dependency on Chinas supply chain remains strong, creating volatility in future planning. Ryan Reith, group vice president of Worldwide Device Trackers at IDC, stated that this situation makes future planning challenging and leaves many companies with important decisions with high levels of uncertainty. Reith added, Right now, the focus for U.S. smartphone brands should be taking advantage of the exemption by building and shipping as much as possible. However, he warned that economic uncertainty may reduce consumer demand in the coming months. U.S. smartphone market grew over 5% The U.S. smartphone market grew more than 5% during Q1 2025, despite pressures from tariffs and broader trade challenges impacting consumer spending. Anthony Scarsella, research director for Client Devices at IDC, said the growth was supported by increasing consumer interest in new models and a growing urgency to buy before possible price increases. He noted that the growth in 1Q25 was fueled by rising consumer interest in the latest models from top manufacturers, along with a sense of urgency to buy before potential price increases. Chinese subsidy program boosts local market IDC observed that global growth among top smartphone vendors was particularly strong in China, helped by a government-backed subsidy program extended to smartphones in January 2025. The program, which began in 2024, aims to drive consumption by covering products priced below CNY6,000 (approximately $820). This price range represents the bulk of sales by Chinese brands. How major smartphone brands performed Samsung regained the top spot globally. The company was supported by the continued success of its Galaxy S25 premium model and its mid-range Galaxy A seriesparticularly the Galaxy A36 and A56which offer AI features at lower price points. Apple recorded its best Q1 ever in terms of units shipped. The company increased its inventory to guard against potential U.S. tariffs and to prepare for possible supply disruptions globally. However, Apple saw a drop in its China performance, as its Pro models did not qualify for the governments subsidy program. Xiaomi saw growth mainly from China, where the subsidy program boosted sales of its mid-range devices. OPPO moved back into fourth place, despite a decline in overall shipments. The brands performance weakened in international markets but was lifted by growth in China. vivo posted a 6.3% YoY increase in shipments, driven by both the Chinese subsidy program and international success, particularly in the low-end segment and its V series. Looking ahead: Q2 2025 outlook IDC expects the recently announced 90-day pause on U.S. smartphone tariffs to potentially lift Q2 sales, as consumers may move quickly to buy before the possible reintroduction of tariffs that could raise prices. Source Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024. April 15, 2025: Recently Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov sought to dominate neighboring Ingushetia as the first move in establishing a Chechen-controlled coalition in the region. Kadyrov ran into problems with the neighboring Magas region as he tried to a Chechen-controlled Islamic muftiate throughout the Caucasus. This ran into problems because the leaders and residents of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Magas did not get along. Kadyrov is also criticized for seeking to absorb Ingushetia and portions of Dagestan and Chechnya. Kadyrov is trying to use Islam to strengthen his control over Chechnya and other regions of the Caucasus he covets. Kadyrov is not a religious man, but a conniving politician trying to bring all the Moslem regions of the Caucasus under his control. Georgia, the only Christian state in the Caucasus fears it would be next on the absorption list if Kadyrov succeeds. This sort of grab for regional grab for power can be expected on a more general power struggle after President Putin of Russia dies. There have also been discussions in Cairo, Egypt involving Caucasus muftis and local religious scholars. Each part of the Caucasus, except Georgia, has a muftiate to administer religious life in the various regions. Given the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed in the Caucasus, this effort appears to be superficial. Despite those problems Kadyrov is determined to control the Moslim Spiritual Directorates or MSDs in each region. Chechen efforts to create new MSDs in the region appear to be succeeding. Kadyrov uses some brutally effective methods. Any groups that oppose him are largely eliminated as Kadyrov arranges to have many of these critics mobilized into the army and sent to Ukraine to be killed. Despite Kadyrovs success at controlling or punishing his opponents, he threatens to destabilize the region. The Russian government has granted Kadyrov power in the Caucasus because he keeps the peace, No peace, no Kadyrov. This would be the end of Kadyrov's two decades of power in the region. Fifteen years ago Russia finally established peace in Chechnya by putting the toughest warlords in charge. This is an old tactic and has worked in the past. One problem was that the Russians did not want to divide the province into smaller parts, each run by a different warlord. So, as a compromise, Ramzan Kadyrov, and his allies, were put in charge of the Chechen Republic provincial government via elections. Meanwhile, the other major group, led by the three Yamadaev brothers and their clans, were put in charge of the Vostok Battalion. This unit, with a strength of 300-400 men, was largely composed of rebels who have accepted amnesty. To separate the Vostok Battalion from the government, it was attached to the Russian Army's 42nd Motorized Rifle Division, which was stationed in Chechnya. There was still friction between Kadyrov's provincial police and counter-terror forces, and the Vostok Battalion. The Vostok men did not get along with the provincial forces, and eventually growing tensions erupted into a daylong gun battle in the town of Gudermes. The Vostok Battalion called on the 42nd division to send reinforcements, which didn't happen. Instead, the Russians prevented the provincial forces from getting reinforcements, and eventually got both sides to stop shooting. At least eighteen were killed, and many more wounded. Both sides accused each other of running criminal operations like kidnapping, extortion, and prostitution. Both sides were right, and the hostility was the result of turf battles. Who should be the chief criminal in what part of the province? The Russians had to sort all this out, otherwise, the fighting would resume. felicilin at 15-04-2025 02:45 PM (2 months ago) (f) A Nigerian lady has claimed that Burkina Faso is far better than Nigeria. A Nigerian lady has claimed that Burkina Faso is far better than Nigeria. She made the claim in a post shared online while giving her japa experience. It was gathered that the lady relocated to Burkina Faso two years. While reacting to calls for her to relocate to Nigeria, the lady opined that Burkina Faso is better than Nigeria. Nigeria is better in what way? Burkina Faso is not so developed like Nigeria but are ten times better. I can go to the market with a thousand and buy food meant for four people. The government doesnt mess around here; fuel hasnt increased since I got here; electricity doesnt go off and when it would for just 30 minutes, it would be announced on the radio, she ranted. How will you compare the youngest president in AfricaCaptain Ibrahim Traoreto Tinubu? They are proud of their president here; how many people is proud of Tinubu there? If you go to market in Nigeria with N1000, you can only buy seasoning cubes, she added. Watch the video below Stop Telling Me To Come Back To Nigeria. Burkina Faso Is Better Than Nigeria By Far. Light Is Stable. Food Is Very Affordable. Fuel Is Price Low. Transportation Fee Is Not High.-Nigerian Lady Shares What It Is To Live In Burkina Faso Under Captain Ibrahim Traore Leadership. pic.twitter.com/vDHL49bMWp Somto Okonkwo (@General_Somto) April 14, 2025 She made the claim in a post shared online while giving her japa experience.It was gathered that the lady relocated to Burkina Faso two years.While reacting to calls for her to relocate to Nigeria, the lady opined that Burkina Faso is better than Nigeria.she added.Watch the video below Post Reply Posted: at 15-04-2025 02:45 PM (2 months ago) | Addicted Hero Nathan graduated with his journalism degree from Auburn University in 2017. After growing up in the flatlands of rural Alabama with his parents and older sister, Nathan enjoys Western Colorado's natural resources and recreational opportunities. He currently covers education and business for The Daily Sentinel. The last director of the Bureau of Land Management is voicing alarm about the possibility of selling federal lands to help pay for tax cuts, something U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper also unsuccessfully sought to block in a recently passed Senate budget resolution. Im concerned that there are people talking about selling off our public lands to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. Public lands belong to all Americans, not (political) donors and corporate executives, and it appears to be a real contemplation, Tracy Stone-Manning, who served as director of the BLM during the Biden administration and is now president of The Wilderness Society, said in an interview with the Sentinel. She said that the idea was mentioned a few months ago in a memo that came out of the House Budget Committee and talked about how to pay for tax cuts, but the memo didnt say how much acreage might be involved or how much money would be generated. Recently, key Republicans including House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman confirmed the idea is on the table, she said. Its all happening behind closed doors. The public has not seen the list (of what might be sold). We dont know where, we dont know how many acres. None of it is OK, she said. Hickenlooper, D-Colo., with the support of other senators including Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., led an unsuccessful effort to pass an amendment to the Senate budget resolution to bar public lands from being sold to reduce the federal deficit. (Republicans) tax handouts for the wealthy are so large, and so important, that some are willing to plunder our public lands. So lets be clear: Our public lands are not for sale, Hickenlooper said. While it failed, the amendment had some bipartisan support from Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, both R-Montana. And Stone-Manning noted that Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, who is a former Interior secretary, is a lead sponsor of a bill that would prevent the administration from selling off public lands without congressional approval. While that bill is a good backstop, Congress is considering selling off public lands, so the bill is not a full solution, Stone-Manning said. She said she thinks the full solution is the public saying these lands are our heritage, these lands are how we access everything from camping and hiking and hunting and fishing to making lifetime memories with our families. Everybody has always taken it for granted because weve always had it. She said polls of westerners show overwhelming bipartisan support for keeping public lands in the publics hands. It isnt a partisan issue for people. It is one of those things that unites us as a country. The last thing we should be doing is using it as a wedge to divide people, Stone-Manning said. According to an E&E News story, Westerman spoke of the possibility of selling public lands in the context of being able to provide affordable housing in areas such as gateways to national parks. Stone-Manning said thats a separate conversation from selling public lands for revenues. I think there may be some intentional conflating of the two issues, she said. She said there already are current mechanisms for agencies to sell off public lands where it makes sense, such as small parcels that local BLM resource management plans have identified for disposal. Those kinds of parcels of land being picked up for affordable housing, great, no problem, she said. Selling off large chunks of public lands to pay for a tax cut is just a whole different story. Stone-Manning said one of the most expensive parts of housing is the land itself, so for affordable housing to be built the government would have to give land away for that purpose. An existing law provides for sales by the BLM for a dollar an acre for affordable housing in the Las Vegas area, she said. But presumably, if the goal is to raise revenue for the federal government, that would mean trying to sell off the most valuable lands, she said. Everyone knows the most valuable lands isnt where affordable housing goes. Its where trophy homes go, its where McMansions go, Stone-Manning said. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, favors the sale of public lands. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a lawsuit brought by the state of Utah seeking state control of some of the federal land there, though the state can still pursue the matter by filing its suit in federal district court. Some Grand Junction City Council members were among more than 300 elected officials who recently signed a letter calling for full funding of public land management, opposing any sale of public lands through budget reconciliation, and opposing changes to the Antiquities Act that would reduce the size of national monuments. The Trump administration, led by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, has been cutting numerous federal jobs, including in public land agencies. Stone-Manning is among people who think the administration is cutting staff in those agencies in order to be able to later say the government doesnt know how to manage public lands. They are intentionally setting up the government to fail so they can say, Look, the government is failing, we need to sell off these public lands. Its not OK. I think what is happening at our land management agencies is heartbreaking and I think that it doesnt take a former director of the BLM to see that its heartbreaking. She pointed to grassroots rallies organized by people in places such as Missoula, Montana, and Boise, Idaho. She said they each drew some 1,000 people who were aghast at what is happening to their neighbors who are losing their jobs at these agencies. The protesters understand that the impact to public land access will be things such as trailheads and campgrounds closing, she said. The experience is going to be different if our neighbors arent out there managing these lands for us, so its just heartbreaking, she said. Stone-Manning said while there is room for more efficiencies, theres not a lot of fat in these agencies. She said when she arrived at the BLM what I heard most (from staff) was Im doing two jobs, Im doing three jobs. She said while she was its director the BLM hired about 1,000 people, or 10% of the workforce, because staffing was down by about that amount when she got there and people were drowning in work. The government sure could get more efficient at hiring. Its a very cumbersome process, and the hardest thing we did was hire 1,000 people. She said that to see the evaporation of staff now and know that those left behind wont have the tools, colleagues and resources needed to do their jobs is hard to watch. Were all going to see it. The public is going to see the effects of it, she said. As one example, she said, ranchers already have been dealing with a backlog when it comes to grazing permits that expire and can take years to get renewed, and that backlog will now only grow. Stone-Manning pointed to recent reporting by the Washington Post indicating the administration is considering potential total staff cuts of up to 25% within the Interior Department, of which the BLM is a part. Of course government can be more efficient, but gutting it by 25 percent is not the way to do it. Thats the way to break it, she said. Stone-Manning said she doesnt think people expected Musk to be taking charge of public lands instead of park rangers and forest scientists and experienced land managers doing their jobs. I didnt expect it, I dont think anyone did, this whole wrecking ball and gutting of agencies, she said. I think the best backstop is for the American people to raise their voices and say this is not OK and demand that the Congress and the administration do better, she said. Fri Friday 90 /65 Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the mid 60s. Chinese agricultural researcher sentenced 2 years in prison for smuggling 61 germplasm resources to foreign entities: MSS Global Times By Global Times Published: Apr 14, 2025 02:15 PM China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) revealed a case on Monday, involving a researcher from an agricultural research institute who illegally brought a total of 61 germplasm resources without authorization out of China. The individual received a two-year prison sentence and one year of political rights deprivation for illegally disseminating intelligence to foreign entities, according to the MSS. Seeds are the "chips" of agriculture, which are closely related to national food security. China is a major country in terms of germplasm resources, with abundant resources for crops such as rice. For a long time, some countries have continuously sought to steal China's agricultural germplasm resources through various means, harming the national security and interests. At the same time, some personnel in domestic research institutions have a weak awareness of the law and national security, posing a serious threat to the safety of the seed industry and food security, according to a video posted by the MSS via its official WeChat account on Monday. The researcher, identified by the surname Fu, went abroad as a visiting scholar in a university. At first Fu didn't have a research project in that university. Fu noticed advanced lab equipment and thought of using it for Fu's own domestic research projects. Fu shared the idea with the mentor, a professor surnamed Song, a rice expert at the university. Song supported this idea and encouraged Fu to bring Chinese wild rice germplasm resources, according to the MSS. Fully aware that exporting domestic rice seeds without authorization is prohibited, Fu made three unauthorized trips, transporting four batches totaling 61 samples of China's rice germplasm resources abroad. These were provided to his mentor, Song, and other foreign research personnel, according to the MSS. Fu employed deceptive tactics to acquire germplasm resources. For instance, Fu applied for seeds through formal approval procedures for research purposes, but later kept the remaining seeds, secretly collected them from the unit's laboratory fields, or solicited them from contacts at domestic agricultural research institutes and agricultural colleges under the guise of research. When these contacts specifically emphasized that the provided wild germplasm resources could not be shared externally and were only for domestic research, Fu agreed, according to the MSS. The 61 germplasm resources Fu supplied to foreign research institutions have significant value for scientific research and production. Notably, one wild rice resource is a rare and unique resource exclusive to China, which is strictly prohibited from being provided to foreign entities according to relevant regulations, the MSS said. The MSS warned that if foreign research institutions utilize the illegally obtained germplasm resources for rice genetic breeding, it could adversely impact China's seed industry development and compromise intellectual property rights. Fu paid the price for the foolish and illegal behavior. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China issues blue alert for strong gales Xinhua) 09:16, April 15, 2025 BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China's meteorological authorities on Monday evening issued a blue alert for strong gales that will sweep the country's northern regions and coastal areas. From 8 p.m. Monday to 8 p.m. Tuesday, strong winds are forecast to hit parts of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Ningxia, with gusts reaching up to 24.4 meters per second, according to the National Meteorological Center. Parts of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea will experience stronger gales during the same period, with the fastest wind speeds likely to hit 28.4 meters per second, the center said. It has warned ships of the dangers of sailing or operating in affected waters, and urged relevant authorities to implement precautionary measures with a focus on fire prevention and transport safety. Pedestrians and vehicles should not linger under or near tall buildings, billboards or trees, the center has advised. China has a four-tier weather-warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) April 15, 2025: On February 12th the aircraft carrier Truman (CVN-75) received a small gash in its hull and damage to its right side aircraft elevator when it collided with a merchant ships while approaching the Suez Canal. The Truman went to a port in the Mediterranean where it could have the damage repaired. This wouldnt have happened if the May 2019 retirement announcement of the Truman had been carried out. This was to save the cost of its mid-life upgrade and refueling of the nuclear reactors. The mid-life upgrade will cost $3.5 billion and takes five years to complete. At that point, Truman would be able to operate another 25 years. That would cost $20 billion. By retiring the Truman the navy would save about $24 billion over 30 years and that money would be used to build new, smaller, ships and buy new weapons. Retiring Truman would also allow the navy to order and build two new Ford class CVNs at once, which would save time and money. The decision to keep Truman in service was not about money, but the fact that the new Ford class CVNs were facing major problems with launching and recovering aircraft and somewhat less desperate problems with its new radar and some other mechanical systems. Keeping the Truman was also about the seemingly intractable problems the navy has building ships and developing new designs. Keeping the Truman is seen as a positive move towards fixing some fundamental management problems. The Ford class has become a major crisis. In February 2018 the navy confirmed that it had major problems with the design and construction of its new EMALS Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System catapult installed in its latest aircraft carrier; the USS Ford (CVN 78) and the three other Ford-class carriers under construction. During sea trials, the Ford used EMALS heavily, as would be the case in combat and training operations and found EMALS less reliable than the older steam catapult. EMALS was also more labor intensive to operate and put more stress on launched aircraft than expected. Worse, due to a basic design flaw, if one EMALS catapult becomes inoperable, the other three catapults could not be used in the meantime as was the case with steam catapults. This meant that the older practice of taking one or more steam catapults offline for maintenance or repairs while at sea was not practical. The navy admitted that in combat if one or more catapults were rendered unusable, they remained that way until it was possible to shut down all four catapults for repairs. During the initial at-sea tests the EMALS failed once every 75 aircraft launches. The standard for steam catapults is one failure every 4,166 launches. The landing and recovery system also had reliability problems, failing once every 76 landings, which is far below the standard of one failure per 16,500 landings. In effect, these problems with launching and recovering aircraft make the Fords much less effective than the older Truman and other Nimitz class CVNs. The navy has long had a growing problem with developing new ships and technology and the Ford is the worst example to date. With no assurance as to when and to what extent the launch and recovery systems would be fixed and be at least as effective as the older steam catapults. the navy was overruled and told to keep the Truman. The navy also asked for another delay in performing mandated shock tests for the Ford, in which controlled explosions were set off near the hull that generated at least 66 percent of the amount of force the ship was designed to handle. This would reveal what equipment was not sufficiently built or installed to handle shock and make changes as well as confirming that the hull can handle the stress overall. The navy wants to wait until the second Ford-class carrier enters service in 2024 because, it admits, it is unsure how badly shock tests would damage new systems and design features. Meanwhile, there are some other major shortcomings with the Fords, including the radars, some of the elevators and a few other mechanical systems. But none of these are as serious as the malfunctioning catapults. Progress is being made in improving the reliability of the new launch and recovery system but such progress has been very slow and there is no convincing plan to achieve parity with steam catapult systems any time soon. Some of the problems with EMALS were of the sort that could be fixed while the new ship was in service. That included tweaking EMALS operation to generate less stress on aircraft and modifying the design of EMALS and reorganizing how sailors use the system to attain the smaller number of personnel required for catapult operations. But the fatal flaws involved reliability. An EMALS catapult was supposed to have a breakdown every 4,100 launches but even after some initial fixes, in heavy use, EMALS actually failed every 400 launches. By the end of 2017, the Navy concluded that an EMALS equipped carrier had only a seven percent chance of successfully completing a typical four-day surge with multiple catapult launches for a major combat operation and only a 70 percent chance of completing a one-day surge operation. That was mainly because when one EMALS catapult went down, all four were inoperable. In effect, the Ford-class carriers are much less capable of performing in combat than their predecessors. The navy eventually came up with modifications to EMALS that fixed these problems. This EMALS catastrophe was avoidable and the problems should have been detected and taken care of before the Ford was on sea trials. Back in 2010, the U.S. Navy plan to equip future aircraft carriers with electromagnetic catapults seemed like a great idea and everyone seemed assured that all was proceeding according to plan. This was especially true after EMALS passed some key tests in 2010. This included the first time an EMALS catapult launched an F-18E carrier jet fighter. This was from a land base equipped with the test version of EMALS. Earlier in 2010 tests had been put on hold for a bit while software problems were fixed. The mechanical aspects of the electromagnetic catapult were believed pretty much solved but the test model the navy was working with has been having some serious problems with the control software. In the midst of all this, there was no mention of the key problems, like being able to repair one catapult while the other three kept working. This had been a key feature of steam catapults for a long time and what is really scary here is that no one caught it. With the 2010 decision, the plan to put electromagnetic catapults into all future carriers, beginning with the Ford, went ahead and apparently serious criticism of real problems was no longer an option. This was a great relief at the time because the Ford was under construction and a massive and expensive redesign would be needed to make room for the bulkier steam catapult. The EMALS disaster calls into question the ability of the navy to handle new, untried, technologies. That is not a new problem and has been around since World War II. In retrospect, not enough was done to test and address what are now obvious problems. The current solution is to delay the moment of truth as long as possible and then conclude that it was unclear exactly how it happened but that measures would be taken to see that it never happen again. That approach is wearing thin because more people are well aware that is just a cover for the corruption and mismanagement that has been developing within the industries that build warships. The navy has been having a growing number of similar problems with the design of the LCS, the DDG 1000 and a lot of smaller systems. Meanwhile, there is a critical need for new carriers. The first ship of the new class of carriers, the Ford is about the same length of 333 meters and displacement of 100,000 tons as the previous generation of Nimitz class ships, but will look different. The most noticeable difference will be the island being set closer to the stern/rear of the ship. The internal differences are much more obvious, including the power generation and electrical system. The Nimitz ships were rapidly wearing out and with the EMALS disaster, the Navy will have to improvise and do without for a decade or more. The Fords were not just replacements for the aging Nimitz class; they were designed to be cheaper to operate. There is a lot more automation and smaller crews. The Ford will be the first modern American warship built without urinals. There are several reasons for this. The Ford will have a 20 percent smaller crew and more of them will be women. Currently, about ten percent of American warship crews are presently women, but the Ford crew will be at least 15 percent female. Since women sleep in all-female berthing areas, a toilet was attached to each berthing area. Moreover, berthing areas will be more spacious because of the smaller crew and hold a third to half as many bunks as previous carriers. Finally, drainpipes for urinals more frequently get clogged than those coming from toilets, so eliminating the urinals means less work for the plumbers. There are a lot of other visible changes to enhance habitability and make long voyages more tolerable. All that will have to be changed somewhat, at least in the Ford, and perhaps in others of this new class if EMALS cannot be fixed. Before the EMALS crisis, the Ford was expected to cost nearly $14 billion. About 40 percent of that is for designing the first ship of the class, so the actual cost of the first ship CVN 78 itself will be at least $9 billion and about the same for subsequent ships of the class. Except, that is, for the additional cost of fixing the EMALS problems. Against this, the navy expected to reduce the carrier's lifetime operating expenses by several billion dollars because of greatly reduced crew size. Compared to the current Nimitz class carriers, which cost over $5 billion each to build the Fords will feel, well, kind of empty because of the automation and smaller crews. There will also be more computer networking, and robots, reducing the number of people constantly moving around inside a Nimitz class carrier with its crew of 6,000. The most recent Nimitz class ships have a lot of this automation already but adding EMALS was considered too expensive because of the major engineer changes to the power plant and electrical systems. A lot of that is subject to change depending on what internal alterations are required to make the carrier work at least as well as the Nimitz class. So far that has turned out to be a lot more difficult than anyone expected. 3 US agents wanted with reward for involving in cyberattacks targeting 9th Asian Winter Games; more details unveiled by technical team Global Times By Yuan Hong Published: Apr 15, 2025 09:26 AM The public security bureau in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Tuesday issued a wanted notice with a bounty for three agents from the US National Security Agency (NSA) for their involvement in cyberattacks targeting the 9th Asian Winter Games held in Harbin in February. Katheryn A Wilson, Robert J. Snelling and Stephen W. Johnson - all from the NSA's Office of Tailored Access Operation - were involved in cyberattacks against the information systems during the Asian Winter Games, according to a police statement. Investigations revealed that the three participated in cyberattacks targeting China's critical network infrastructures and enterprises, including Huawei. To combat cyber intrusion and espionage crimes committed by foreign entities against China in accordance with laws, and to safeguard national cybersecurity and the safety of people's lives and property, wanted notices with rewards have been issued for the three criminal suspects, according to the statement. In early April, China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and National Engineering Laboratory for Computer Virus Prevention Technology released a report, disclosing that some external forces attempted to disrupt and interfere with the event through cyberattacks during the 9th Asian Winter Games. These attacks targeted critical network infrastructure in an attempt to create chaos and steal sensitive information. According to monitoring data, 63.24 percent of the traced attacks originated from the US. The Harbin public security bureau attached great importance to the cyberattacks and invited experts from China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and National Engineering Laboratory for Computer Virus Prevention Technology to carry out a cyberattack traceability investigations. The technical team found that three agents from the NSA and two US universities had involved in the cyberattacks. Experts from China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center told the Global Times that the technical team conducted a layered trace based on the data obtained and ultimately identified the mastermind behind the attacks as originating from the US. The organization responsible for carrying out the cyberattack is the NSA's Office of Tailored Access Operation codename S32from the Signals Intelligence Directorate (codenamed S) of the NSA. Aside from the above three agents, the technical team also found that the University of California and Virginia Tech, both with ties to the NSA, also participated in the attacks. The team traced and analyzed the IP addresses that took part in the cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in Harbin and found that IP addresses of 169.228.*.*45.3.*.*, attributed to these two universities. According to publicly available information, the University of California has been designated as Centers of Academic Excellence in cyber defense education by the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security since 2015. Virginia Tech, one of the six senior military colleges in the US, received funding from the NSA in 2021 to strengthen its cyber offense and defense capabilities. The university is certified by the NSA as both a cybersecurity defense research center and a cybersecurity operations research center, and has long participated in NSA-funded federal scholarship programs. Additionally, the university has undertaken the construction of cyber operation training range for the Virginia state government. Du Zhenhua, a senior engineer from China's National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center, told the Global Times that this was a meticulously organized cyberattack operation. Investigations reveal that their attack campaign consisted of two phases. During the pre-event phase, they primarily targeted critical information systems such as registration systems, arrival/departure management systems and competition enrollment systems. These systems, used for pre-event operations, stored vast amounts of sensitive identity information related to event personnel, with the attackers aiming to steal personal privacy data of participating athletes through cyber intrusions, said Du. During the event phase, the focus shifted to critical systems like the event information distribution system (including API interfaces) and arrival/departure management systems. As these systems were vital for ensuring smooth event operations, the attackers sought to sabotage them and disrupt the normal functioning of the competition, said the expert. The NSA also organized cyberattacks targeting critical industries such as energy, transportation, water resources, communications, as well as national defense research institutes and universities. These attacks aimed to disrupt crucial information infrastructure, cause social disorder and steal confidential intelligence in key fields. The NSA conducts cyber infiltration attacks focused on specific application systems, critical information infrastructure and key government entities. These operations utilize hundreds of advanced attack techniques, including both known and novel methods. Tactics range from exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, blind attacks leveraging undisclosed flaws, and file read vulnerabilities to short-duration, high-frequency targeted reconnaissance, probing of backup files and sensitive directory paths, and password brute-force attacks. The sophistication and preemptive nature of these strategies highlight their technical complexity. The targets and objectives of these cyberattack operations are explicitly deliberate, aimed at infiltrating high-value systems for intelligence collection and operational disruption. Such systematic efforts underscore the NSA's strategic intent to compromise critical networks, posing significant risks to national security and global cybersecurity frameworks. The technical team also found the during the Asian Winter Games, the NSA also transmitted unknown encrypted bytes to multiple devices within a country running Microsoft Windows, suspected of activating pre-embedded backdoors in the operating system. These actions are believed to exploit dormant vulnerabilities intentionally left in Windows, potentially enabling remote control or data extraction from targeted systems. To mask the attack's origin and safeguard its cyber weapons, the NSA's Office of Tailored Access Operation has procured IP addresses from various countries through affiliated front organizations. Additionally, they have secretly leased servers across Europe, Asia and other regions. This infrastructure allows the NSA to obscure its involvement while conducting sophisticated cyber operations, ensuring plausible deniability and prolonging the lifecycle of its offensive tools. Li Bosong, a vice director of the Antiy security committee, which is one of the security guarantee teams for the ninth Asian Winter Games, told the Global Times that the US has long conducted cyberattacks against critical information systems and infrastructure of China, a practice rooted in its hegemonic nature to enforce dominance and stifle the development of other countries. "For instance, during the competition phase alone, our team monitored and intercepted multiple overseas cyberattacks, most of which were orchestrated by US-backed entities," Li said. These cyber operations exhibited extreme covertness and strong targeting. Beyond disrupting the event, they sought to persistently embed themselves within China's critical information infrastructure to continuously harvest sensitive information, intelligence, data, and technological If the cyberattack operation had succeeded, it would have severely disrupted the event's organization and posed significant threats to sovereignty, security and developmental interests, said Li. "However, this incident demonstrates our capability to establish an effective defense system capable of withstanding large-scale, high-frequency cyberattacks. Moreover, through analyzing massive incidents, we have uncovered highly covert threat indicators, reflecting strengthened national and public security capabilities. By adopting systematic thinking, worst-case scenario planning, and a 'holistic warfare' organizational model, we have proactively countered adversarial threats," said Li. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NE.China's Heilongjiang police issue reward-based wanted notice for 3 US agents for involving in cyberattacks in Asian Winter Games Global Times By Global Times Published: Apr 15, 2025 09:01 AM The public security bureau in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Tuesday issued a wanted notice with a bounty for three agents from the US National Security Agency (NSA) for their involvement in cyberattacks targeting the 9th Asian Winter Games held in Harbin in February. Katheryn A Wilson, Robert J. Snelling and Stephen W. Johnson - all from the NSA's Office of Tailored Access Operation - were involved in cyberattacks against the information systems during the Asian Winter Games, according to a police statement. Investigations revealed that the three participated in cyberattacks targeting China's critical network infrastructures and enterprises, including Huawei. To combat cyber intrusion and espionage crimes committed by foreign entities against China in accordance with laws, and to safeguard national cybersecurity and safety of people's lives and property, wanted notices with rewards have been issued for the three criminal suspects, said the statement. Citizens who obtain relevant information about these individuals can immediately report to public security authorities. The identity of informants will be strictly confidential. Monetary rewards will be granted to those who provide effective clues to the public security authorities or those who assist the public security authorities in the capture of the suspects, according to the statement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Support of the Haitian Transitional Government and CARICOM US Department of State Press Statement Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson April 13, 2025 Following discussions between the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of State with Prime Minister of Barbados and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Mia Mottley, the United States supports the statement by CARICOM condemning any actions to destabilize Haiti's Transitional Presidential Council. The United States supports the efforts by the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission and CARICOM to assist the government in its efforts to bring peace and stability to Haiti in the face of armed criminal gangs. The United States continues to consult with governments across the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov: Bulgaria-Turkiye relations guarantee external EU borders protection Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria 14.04.2025 Relations between Bulgaria and Turkiye of friendship and partnership, relations that we have been developing viably for decades, guarantee the protection of both, our national borders and the external EU borders in a manner that sets an example in the European context. This was stated by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov when he called on Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They met and talked in Antalya, which hosts the fourth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. The Prime Minister accentuated the excellent interaction between Bulgaria and Turkiye as a key factor in the fight against illegal migration and the protection of the common border, which is one of the external borders of the European Union. Mr. Jeliazkov expressed his confidence that cooperation in this important matter will continue in the future. Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov specially emphasized the upgrade of the Kapitan Andreevo border-crossing checkpoint, which is Number One in the world in terms of the huge heavy-duty traffic that is handled there daily. The Prime Minister cited as a priority the expansion of the capacity and the throughput of the checkpoint as this would increase the economic benefits for both countries. In addition, Mr. Jeliazkov noted the importance of the development of other important border-crossing checkpoints such as Lessovo and Malko Turnovo. Accordingly, the security in the Black Sea region was a focus of the meeting of Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bulgaria's Prime Minister recognized the good cooperation in the establishment of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group. Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov pointed out that for Bulgaria Turkiye is a neighbour country but also a NATO ally and a major partner in areas such as trade and investment, transport, energy, tourism, the fight against terrorism and organized crime. He was firm that the promotion of economic cooperation and of trade relations is important for both countries. Further, the Prime Minister put forth a proposal for cooperation between Bulgaria and Turkiye in initiatives related to the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Other promising areas of successful cooperation as identified by Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov were innovation, digital infrastructure, green technologies and low-carbon energy technologies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Announcement regarding the completion of drilling operations at Elektra-1 well, in Block 5 of the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office, Ministry of Interior, Republic of Cyprus Press Releases 14-04-2025 14:22 The Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry announces the completion of drilling operations at the "Elektra-1" well, in Block 5 of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus, conducted by the consortium of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited (Operator) and QatarEnergy International E&P LLC. Well data and preliminary evaluation work indicate the presence of natural gas in non-commercial quantities. According to Operator's early assessment, "Elektra-1" has yielded encouraging results, confirming the existence of a hydrocarbon system and good quality reservoirs. The data collected during the drilling operations are being evaluated to determine consortium's future plans in Block 5. The "Valaris DS-9" drillship, which carried out the drilling operations, will now move to Block 10 of the EEZ of Cyprus to conduct exploration drilling at the "Pegasus-1" well site, on behalf of the consortium of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Cyprus (Offshore) Limited and QatarEnergy International E&P LLC. (GA/NZ/IA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address April 14, 2025 Release Readout of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's Call With Lithuanian Minister of National Defense, Dovile Sakaliene Senior Defense Spokesperson Col. Chris Devine provided the following readout: On April 11th, Secretary of Defense Hegseth spoke with his counterpart Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Dovile Sakaliene, to express gratitude for her leadership in the recovery of four U.S. soldiers who went missing on March 25. Over seven days and nights, more than 400 Lithuanian, U.S., and Allied personnel, supported by 60 civilian professionals, volunteers, and specialized teams, conducted the exhaustive search across challenging terrain in the Pabrade Training Area in Lithuania. The soldiers were recovered on March 31 and April 1. The Secretary thanked the Lithuanian people for their outpouring of support. A crowd-funded effort from a Vilnius, Lithuania television station raised more than 200,000 for the families of the fallen. Minister Sakaliene thanked the Secretary for the ongoing rotational presence of the U. S. Forces in Lithuania, stating that Lithuania has no greater ally. The two Ministers agreed to speak again in the near future about the upcoming June defense ministerial meeting. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4153861/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Jordan: Council adopts decision to provide EU assistance of 500 million in loans European Council / Council of the European Union Council of the EU Press release 14 April 2025 08:18 The Council officially adopted a decision to provide up to 500 million in macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Jordan. The EU assistance will bolster Jordan's economic stability and support its ongoing reform agenda in the face of mounting internal and external challenges. It will help the country meet its outstanding external financing needs while creating the fiscal space necessary to sustain reform efforts. The assistance, provided in response to Jordan's request for additional support in October 2023, will be available for two and a half years and will be provided in the form of concessional loans, granted at terms that allow Jordan to repay them during a long period, including a possible grace period. Loans will be disbursed in three instalments. The new support for Jordan will be provided under conditions outlined in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Jordan and the European Commission. The disbursement of instalments will be contingent on Jordan's progress with the reforms specified in the MoU. Additionally, Jordan must continue to uphold democratic mechanisms, the rule of law, and human rights throughout the programme. Monitoring will be conducted by the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS). Next steps The decision will enter into force on the third day after publication in the Official Journal. Background Since 2013, the EU has provided Jordan with 1.08 billion through three previous macro-financial assistance (MFA) programmes, with the latest MFA-III programme (2020-2023) offering 700 million to support key reforms in public finance management, social policies, and governance. The EU and Jordan have been linked by an Association Agreement since 2002. In 2022, they signed the Partnership Priorities, which aim to strengthen cooperation further and will guide the partnership until 2027. The EU's support to Jordan assists the country in mitigating the impact of the war in Syria and the resulting large number of refugees. Overall, the EU has already mobilised around 4 billion for Jordan since the beginning of this crisis in 2011. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU-Palestine High-Level Political Dialogue: press remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas after the meeting European External Action Service (EEAS) 14.04.2025 Luxembourg, 14/04/2025 East Strategic Communication Team Check against delivery! Dear Prime Minister Mustafa, it is a real pleasure to have this first ever High-Level Political Dialogue and I hope that there are many more such meetings to come. Of course, we all wish that this was taking place under different circumstances. Let me again express our solidarity with the Palestinian people at the appalling loss of life and destruction in Gaza. We condemned the total blockade of aid into Gaza and Israel must fully reinstate humanitarian aid. During the first phase of ceasefire, EUBAM Rafah supported over 4000 people from Gaza to Egypt, including many sick and with medical needs. You know that you can count on EUBAM Rafah in the future, including potentially facilitating the delivery of goods to Gaza and supporting the Palestinian Authority returning to Gaza. In the West Bank, we are very concerned about the worsening situation. This includes the displacement of tens of thousands of people, as well as the restricted access to essential services such as healthcare and education. I would also like to add here that the EU is strongly opposed to Israel's settlement policy, including in and around East Jerusalem. We call on Israel to halt its settlement expansion. We have imposed sanctions on extremist settlers, and I will work to seek consensus on further restrictive measures. Security cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian security forces has been crucial and should be reinforced. Ultimately, the European Union position is clear on the fact that there is no military way through this war. Resuming negotiations is the only way to put an end to the suffering on both sides. We fundamentally believe in a negotiated Two-State solution. [More] importantly our discussions today went beyond the dire immediate needs and formed the basis of long-term cooperation. I commend the Palestinian Authority and its readiness to pursue reforms despite the extremely difficult circumstances. It is important that you deliver on them as well and this is also important for your capacity to govern the Gaza Strip. You have our full support. Through EUPOL COPPS mission, we could also continue assisting the Palestinian Authority in strengthening institutions, notably ministers dealing with security and justice. We also discussed the needs of Palestinian civilian police, including their needs in policing Gaza in the future. EUPOL COPPS is ready to support here. We will also work to deepen our bilateral cooperation, and I know that you wish to participate in Horizon Europe, our research programme, so we will explore this opportunity. Dear Mohammed, you know that you can count on our full support to Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian People. That is why today the EU announced a new multiannual support package for Palestine worth of 1.6 billion over the next two years, but Commissioner Suica will elaborate on that. The European Union will invest in essential infrastructure, deliver humanitarian aid and support refugees. Thank you again their Prime Minister for being here and the floor is yours. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-270528 Q&A Q. It's about the political significance of this political dialogue or the first round of this dialogue, while on the ground 80% of Gaza is destroyed. More than that, or more serious than that, that Israel is destroying the Palestinian people in Gaza and the ongoing settlement in the West Bank. The importance of today's meeting: as we 27 countries in European Union have agreed to support the Two-State solution. It is also important that the two states would be more equal and that is why we are also having this High-Level Political Dialogue with Palestine, to raise the importance of Palestine. On the other side to have more equal parties to this process. And, I hear you, this situation is very grave and there is frustration that we cannot do enough to stop that. We have called on ceasefire and humanitarian aid to reach Gaza and of course, for the international law to be followed when it comes to the casualties of war as well. But I think that we are still looking ahead for the future and to having the Two-State solution, to have a place where the security of Israel is taken into account while also respecting the rights of Palestinians. I think this is important. Q. HRVP you mentioned that you would be working on sanctions on extremist settlers and work on consensus on this. Can you maybe just clarify the political impacts? I mean so far, we have not seen any impact on the settler's violence against Palestinians. So, is there may be no consensus among member states to escalate further? It would be interesting to understand a little bit more the discussions on this. So, the discussions we have on the sanctions, they go in line with the countries' support. You know how the countries are in this regard. To send a very strong signal that we deplore the settler violence, we need to also have tangible steps and therefore we have proposed sanctions. But so far, we do not have 27 Member States on board. Some Member States are saying that: "Yes, but it should be on equal footing to put members of Hamas under sanctions" but to be very clear, we have put many and there are not many left as well. So, it cannot be equal footing anyhow. This is clear that if we deplore in words, then we should also follow in deeds, and it is hard with 27. We have many issues like this, but we are still working on it. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-270859 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Affairs Council: press remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas after the meeting European External Action Service (EEAS) 14.04.2025 Luxembourg, 14/04/2025 EEAS Press Team Check against delivery! Thank you, it is good to see you here in Luxembourg. It is my first time in this building, so it is interesting and different. We had many important topics that we discussed today. First, of course, Ukraine. It is clear that all Member States want peace. And, remember, we had 27 [EU] countries who supported the ceasefire. Also, Ukraine agreed to unconditional ceasefire already a month ago. Yet, we are seeing that Russia alone wants war, because we [saw one of] the deadliest attacks yesterday: Sumy air strikes over the weekend. It is clear that they are stalling and [do] not want peace at all. So, the only way to get Russia to negotiate seriously is putting some more pressure on Russia. Then, second the military aid to Ukraine. I mean, one [part] is putting pressure on Russia, but then the other part is also helping Ukraine to defend itself. It is clear that we are the biggest provider of military aid, we are also the biggest buyer from the Ukraine defence industry and the biggest supporter of the defence industry. We also have the mission of training Ukrainian soldiers [EUMAM Ukraine], [we have already trained] over 73,000 soldiers. So, today we also discussed what more we [can] do when it comes to the missions: should we expand the mandate of the missions that we have in order to contribute to the security guarantees of coalition of the willing. Then, when it comes to the initiative of delivering 2 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, I am happy to see that we have already reached the two- thirds of the target. We still do not have 100%, but we definitely need to move forward with that. The large majority of Member States agrees that we need to do more. I am also happy to see Norway contributing with 400 million part, so [the support] goes beyond the European Union. When it comes to the support for this year, then already this year, Members States [of] the European Union have contributed more than 23 billion to Ukraine. Last year, it was [] 20 billion together with the help of United States, altogether []40 billion last year. So, we still have room to go. Then third: putting the pressure on Russia. It is clear, that we are working on the 17th package [of sanctions]. Also, the shadow fleet and different elements there to put it together for the Foreign Affairs Council in May. Then, the second big topic is [the] Middle East and there of course we discussed the situation of Gaza. We will later today have a first ever High-Level Dialogue with Palestine, also discussing its future. What all the Member States agree is that we support the Two-State solution and. We have also proposed 1.6 billion support for three years for Palestinian Authority, who should be the one providing those services to the Palestinians. When it comes to the overall situation, then it is very grave and of course we really want the mediators to come back to the negotiation table, and resume the ceasefire and release all hostages. The humanitarian aid we are giving to Gaza and Palestinians it should not be politicised. What it means is that it has to reach the people that are in need. Israel has the right to defend itself, but its current actions go beyond proportionate self-defence. We welcome the Arab Plan for reconstruction of Gaza, but at the same time it lacks three important elements which are funding, security, and governance of Gaza. But we are willing to work with our Arab partners, international partners to develop on these topics. Then, we had a very intense discussion on Syria and whether to go on with the easing of the sanctions. And there it is clear, that in order to reconstruct Syria, they need access to services. But it is also clear that we have not seen many steps from the new leadership. And [the] future of Syria is still very fragile, but still hopeful. We agreed that we will evaluate the process so far because we have done some lifting of the sanctions. But we will also work to propose next steps, of course, keeping in mind the conditionalities, the red lines that we will put, or the conditions that we really want to see. So, we will work on the technical specifications there and then come back if we are ready to agree and move forward with this step. Then on Iran, we adopted sanctions for state sponsored hostage taking. [Seven individuals and two entities]. were sanctioned. And when it comes to the Iran nuclear talks in Oman, these are a step in the right direction because we do not want to see a nuclear weapon developed by Iran. Then, we had a discussion on Africa and there I thanked all those Member States who have represented also the European Union on their side on different events in different parts of Africa. What is clear is that all the Member States want more engagement with African countries and not to lose them to any outside influence like Russia or China. We definitely have something to offer. And as we have the African Union - European Union Ministerial [meeting] coming - it is the third of a kind - then we were discussing what could be the deliverables. Of course, also in Africa we see some very worrying developments, like the worst humanitarian crisis in Sudan. We also discussed what more can we do. We condemn the attacks on the Zamzam refugee camp by the Rapid Support Forces. These assaults on the most vulnerable are utterly unacceptable and must stop. We also have tomorrow in London a Sudan aid conference where Commissioner Lahbib will represent the European Union and it is organised together with France, UK, and Germany. And then last point, we discussed yesterday, but also today. We also had the Western Balkan ministers with us. And today we had very good discussions on Western Balkans. It is clear that the stability and security of the region is essential. If you look at the map, Western Balkans are in Europe geographically. They should also be in the European Union. And that is why the enlargement process is super important, and we need to move forward with that. We see Albania and Montenegro doing good steps and good reforms. So hopefully we will have some success stories from there. Then, in Bosnia Herzegovina, it is in [a] constitutional crisis and it is clear that any attempt to break Bosnia Herzegovina is unacceptable. The political leaders must bridge divisions, not to widen them. And when I was there, I was also seeing that enlargement is something that they all agree on. So, they should move with the decisions in this regard because the international intervention could be phased out if everybody sees that they are able to make their decisions on their own. And then, finally on Serbia and Kosovo, it is clear that the normalisation of their relations is of utmost importance. And that is why the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue must continue. We have appointed a new Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, and I will also visit [them] later in May. But what was also discussed and very clearly said by different Member States is that any participation in the 9th of May parades - or celebrations - in Moscow will be not taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe. I will stop here, and I am ready to take your questions. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-270520 Q&A Q. Are you tracking which countries or candidate countries intend to visit Moscow on the 9th of May? And of course, it will be a huge celebration in Moscow, for Putin. Do you plan some visit to Kyiv on the same day or the date near to 9th of May? Thank you. We made it very clear that we do not want any candidate country to participate in these events on the 9th of May in Moscow. So that was very clear, the message was there. When it comes to visits to Kyiv, then of course, I have called, on all the Member States, but also on representatives of the institutions to visit Kyiv and Ukraine as much as possible, to really show our solidarity and that we are with Ukraine. Of course, we are always looking for options to visit and go also together with deliverables to Ukraine. Thank you. Q. I have a question on Iran which you mentioned in your introduction. The HRVP traditionally has a lead mediation role on talks on its nuclear program. So, I was wondering if you could tell us about coordination efforts with the E3 so that you could maybe be included in the ongoing talks, considering they are going to continue in Rome on Saturday. Might we see a stronger EU involvement there? And overall, how confident are you that these US-led talks can help contain the nuclear program without new strikes? Thank you. At the last Foreign Affairs Council, we had a deep discussion on Iran and how Member States really want to proceed with it. Therefore, one of the outcomes are actually the sanctions that we put today on Iran regarding the state-sponsored hostage-taking [ of European citizens as well. When it comes to the nuclear talks, then of course we are constantly talking with the E3 countries [about] what the position could be, because the deadline of the snapback is really approaching. But there, we also need to discuss this with the United States, and we did so also at the G7 meeting because it is important to have a really unified approach to this, and because nobody wants to see Iran developing a nuclear weapon. So, we are concentrating our efforts on that. Thank you. Q. HRVP, you mentioned this morning two-thirds of progress towards your ammunition initiative. Could you give us a sense of whether any meaningful progress has been achieved today, and by when you expect to like hit the 100%? And could you give us a sense of when this ammunition would be delivered? Because now we are talking pledges. Is there a sense of when they could actually arrive in Ukraine? Thank you. As soon as possible is the short answer, because they need it now. Because these attacks are going through, there are civilian casualties in great numbers. That is why they need the ammunition. That is why they also need the air defence. The calls by Ukraine to have more air defence have been really vocal as well. So, that is why the short answer is: as soon as possible. [There are], of course, commitments, but commitments also need to be followed. So, some Member States have already proposed ammunition and some have proposed funding for ammunition. The Czech initiative has mapped the ammunition that is available and the external action service has done so, too. So, we can move quite fast. Thank you. Q. Two questions, one is on Ukraine. This morning, some of the ministers, when they came in at the doorsteps, underlined the fact that the attack in Sumy was not only horrific, but it was intentional. Then, we have different words from the US, where President Trump said that they made a mistake. So, I was wondering which is the true and correct assessment of that. Secondly, on the Balkans again, this morning one Member State said that there were worrying signs, possible conflicts in the area. You yourself said that there are tensions rising. So, do we need to worry? On Western Balkans, I think we should always worry about the tensions rising, and that is why we need to keep the tensions down. I think the best way to really proceed is to have them all in [the] European Union. Then there are less tensions, because the European Union is a peace project and works in calming the tensions between those countries. But I think also the meetings we have had are very good in this regard, giving very clear messages also from our side and all the Member States being very united. So, if you think that their support in their countries is generally very high for the European Union. This is what the people want to have hope for. We can also stress on that. Now, on the first question, I think it is in everybody's interest that, Russia realises it made a mistake, but it made a mistake by attacking Ukraine, that it cannot win in Ukraine because the will of the Ukrainian people is not broken. And European countries will - and not only European countries but many other countries - will stand by Ukraine. And I hope that it is also clear to everybody now that if you want the killing to stop, you should put the pressure on Russia who actually does the killing. Thank you. Q. A number of countries have been calling for a while to stop LNG imports from Russia. Last year, I think Russia gained around 7 or 8 billion with these shipments. Now the EU is offering to the US to replace some of those imports by US imports - or imports from the US. Is there a new case now for sanctions on Russian LNG in the 17th package? Thank you. Like I said, we are working on the 17th package. So, of course, putting the sanctions on oil and gas and putting more on that side would have a bigger effect because this is how they are funding also their war. The discussions are ongoing, but you know very well that we need 27 countries to agree. But my point is that we should put as strong a package together as possible, hopefully also with our international partners. Thank you. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-270847v NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palestine: Statement by the High Representative on the High-Level Dialogue between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority European External Action Service (EEAS) 14.04.2025 Strategic Communications The European Union welcomes the first meeting of the High-Level Dialogue between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which represents a significant milestone in our relationship. The EU attaches great importance to its relations with Palestine and remains the largest provider of external assistance to the Palestinian people. The High-Level Dialogue is also an opportunity to discuss the conflict in Gaza and the importance of a political horizon based on the two-state solution. The EU and the PA discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in line with the interim Association Agreement. The EU commends the PA's readiness to continue its ambitious reform agenda, despite the challenges involved, and will continue to accompany and support the PA on this path. The meeting itself, and the financial package announced by the Commission, are a testament to the EU's long-standing support to the PA and the Palestinian people in these challenging times. In the High-Level Dialogue, the EU expressed its grave concern about the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza and Israel's resumption of hostilities that have caused the death of thousands of civilians, including children. Israel must reinstate humanitarian aid to Gaza. The EU called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the resumption of negotiations on the ceasefire in Gaza, and an enduring end to hostilities. The EUBAM Rafah Mission is also ready to resume its monitoring activity at the Rafah Crossing Point, once conditions allow it. The Mission helped more than four thousand people seeking medical attention and accompanying family members cross over to Egypt. The number of civilian casualties, especially women, children and humanitarian workers, in Gaza and the West Bank is unacceptable, and the risk of hunger and famine imminent. The EU reiterated its solidarity with the Palestinian people who continue to be heavily affected by events unfolding in both Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The EU also expressed its deep concern at the high level of violence in the West Bank and reiterated its opposition to the settlement policy of Israel and recalled its sanctions against violent settlers. It is time to break the cycle of violence. Stability is also a prerequisite for swift reconstruction. In that regard, the EU welcomed the Arab Recovery and Reconstruction Plan endorsed at the Cairo Summit on 4 March 2025 and is ready to engage with its Arab partners, as well as with other international partners, on that basis. The EU is resolutely committed to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, based on the implementation of the Two-State solution, with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign and viable State of Palestine living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition, with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states. The EU will continue to spare no effort to help revive a political process, including through the Global Alliance for the implementation of the Two-State Solution, and is looking forward to the High Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, hosted by France and Saudi Arabia in June. The EU reiterated its condemnation in the strongest terms of the brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks conducted by Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel on 7 October 2023. The EU recalled that Israel must fully comply with its obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, in all circumstances. The EU reiterates the importance of ensuring the protection of all civilians, including humanitarian workers, at all times, as well as civilian infrastructures. 18 months after the terrorist attacks by Hamas across Israel, the abduction of hostages, and the ensuing conflict in Gaza, there are still 59 hostages in captivity and no permanent ceasefire. The resumption of negotiations is essential to end the hostilities, ensure the release of all hostages, and ease the humanitarian suffering in Gaza. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Affairs Council: press remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas ahead of the meeting European External Action Service (EEAS) 14.04.2025 Luxembourg EEAS Press Team Check against delivery! Good morning, There is real traffic today, everybody wants to talk to you is which is great. We are gathered here in Luxembourg for the Foreign Affairs Council, and we have many, many topics on the agenda. And then afterwards we also have the High-Level Political Dialogue with Palestine. First, of course, we start with Ukraine. We see the deadliest attacks in this war, civilians are being killed. And, it is already one month into this period where Ukraine agreed to unconditional ceasefire. We have not seen that from the Russian side. What is clear is that we need to support Ukraine more, and I am happy to see that we already have two thirds of my ammunition initiative together. But of course, we need to do more. This year, European countries have already committed to 23 billion, which is more than last year, but we also need to put the pressure on Russia, so that they would stop this war. Then, we have the Western Balkans. We had a very good dinner yesterday, talking and discussing with our Western Balkan friends. We see the tensions rising and we definitely need to move with the enlargement process because this is something that is really tangible. And we really need success stories here. Then, we discuss Africa. We have the [European Union -] African [Union] Summit coming, and we have the Ministerial before. So, we prepare for that: how we can engage more with Africa to really grow our geopolitical power. Then, afterwards we have the High-Level Political Dialogue with Palestine, where we are going to discuss a lot of issues. But before that we also have the discussion on the Middle East, whether to go forward with the relief of Syrian sanctions, what is happening in Gaza. We are the biggest donors of humanitarian aid to Gaza. What more can we do to stop this really appalling loss of life there. Thank you. As we have a press conference as well, so the others can also talk to you. Q&A Q. Yesterday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the next Chancellor of course, renewed his offer to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine in response to the Sumy attack. He also said it needs to be coordinated among European allies. So, what do you think would be the right decision? Of course, every Member State is giving what they can give, but I think the message is very clear. We need to do more, so that Ukraine can defend itself and the civilians do not have to die. Q. What kind [inaudible] the EU is willing to take today? Of course, we are going to discuss but right now I think we have to put the pressure - the maximum pressure - on Russia to really end this war because it takes two to want peace, it only takes one to want war. And we see that Russia really wants war and all those who want the killing to stop should put the maximum pressure on Russia. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Commission announces multiannual programme for Palestinian recovery and resilience worth up to 1.6 billion European Commission Press release Apr 14, 2025 Brussels Today, at the occasion of the first ever High-Level Political Dialogue between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority, the Commission is proposing a multiannual Comprehensive Support Programme worth up to 1.6 billion, to foster Palestinian recovery and resilience. With this Programme, the EU reiterates its unwavering support for the Palestinian people and its commitment to a lasting and sustainable peace based on the Two-State solution. It will cover the period from 2025 to 2027 and is structured around three pillars: Support to services for Palestinian people Around 620 million in grants of direct assistance to the budget of the Palestinian Authority (PA). This is an increase compared to previous years. It will support the PA to address the most urgent needs of the public administration. The funds will also help the Palestinian Authority to continue delivering services to its people. Most of EU disbursements will be linked to the Palestinian Authority's progress on key reforms in fiscal sustainability, democratic governance, private sector development and public infrastructure and services; contributing to sustainable state-building across Palestinian territories. The EU and the Palestinian Authority have identified these reforms in the Reform Matrix, agreed in November 2024. The EU will disburse its direct financial assistance via the EU mechanism PEGASE to guarantee the necessary controls and existing safeguards regarding the final recipients of the EU support. Support to recovery and stabilization of the West Bank and in Gaza Around 576 million in grants are proposed to support concrete projects on the ground to foster economic recovery and resilience in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and in Gaza, once the situation on the ground allows. Thanks to an integrated approach the focus will be on different sectors including, water, energy, infrastructure. As part of this pillar to increase resilience, we are proposing to allocate 82 million per year to provide services to Palestine refugees via the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), both in the occupied Palestinian territories and the wider region. This will enable UNRWA to continue playing its crucial role both as a humanitarian and a development actor. The support for the private sector As part of the Multiannual Comprehensive Programme for Palestine 2025-2027, the Commission will support with loans for up to 400 million by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to new finance to the Palestinian private sector, subject to approval of EIB's Governing Bodies. Mobilising international support via a dedicated Donor Platform In addition, the Commission will launch a dedicated Palestine Donor Platform. The Platform will offer a forum for the Palestinian Authority to present the implementation of its Reform Agenda and will ensure full transparency in the implementation of the Programme. This Platform will also allow for discussions on key elements for future engagement on Gaza and coordinate international efforts for its recovery and reconstruction, once conditions allow. Background On 19 July 2024, the EU and the Palestinian Authority have signed a Letter of Intent which has set out a strategy for addressing the critical budgetary and fiscal situation of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian economy. The Letter of Intent put forward a two-step approach: An emergency financial support of 400 million to the Palestinian Authority that has been disbursed between July 2024 and February 2025. The Programme, which has been presented today. The EU Comprehensive Programme for Palestine 2025-2027 is the Commission's proposal resulting from further discussions with the Palestinian Authority and various partners. It can be flexibly adjusted to the conditions on the ground according to needs. The EU is the biggest provider of external assistance to the Palestinians with a bilateral allocation amounting to indicatively 1.36 billion for 2021-2024, of which over 1.043 billion have already been allocated. *This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue. Quote(s) The EU is determined to support the Palestinian Authority in its reform efforts. This will reinforce the PA's ability to meet the needs of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and prepare it to return to govern Gaza once conditions allow. The Comprehensive Programme for Palestine is designed to promote greater Palestinian control, autonomy, and capacity. The EU remains firmly committed to the Two-State solution, as the only way to achieve sustainable peace and security for Israel, the Palestinians, and the region. Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Today's proposal aims to support the Palestinian people in their efforts to build a sustainable future. We want to enhance their governance, economic recovery, and boost the grow of the local private sector businesses. A well-functioning and reformed Palestinian Authority must play a central role in post-conflict governance of Gaza. The dedicated Donor Platform will ensure that international support efforts are aligned, effective, and tailored to the needs on the ground, including in Gaza, when conditions allow. Dubravka Suica, Commissioner for Mediterranean NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU pauses countermeasures against US tariffs to allow space for negotiations European Commission Press release Apr 14, 2025 Brussels The European Union has paused its countermeasures on unjustified US trade tariffs to allow time and space for EU-US negotiations. The pause was first announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week, and takes legal effect tomorrow. The decision - which puts on hold for up to 90 days the EU's planned countermeasures against US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium imports - was made in response to the US delaying by 90 days its so-called reciprocal tariffs. In total, the suspended EU countermeasures cover 21 billion of US exports. As part of the EU's push to find a negotiated outcome with the US, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic is today in Washington DC to hold meetings with his US counterparts in order to explore the ground for a negotiated solution. As President von der Leyen made clear in her statement, the EU wants "to give negotiations a chance," but should talks not prove satisfactory, the EU countermeasures will kick in. In addition to these now-suspended countermeasures against US tariffs on steel and aluminium, preparatory work on further EU countermeasures continues. The EU considers US tariffs unjustified and damaging, risking economic harm to both sides, as well as the global economy. Next steps The Commission has adopted two legal acts on 14 April which, respectively, impose and suspend its countermeasures: The first act imposes the EU countermeasures. The second act suspends all such measures until 14 July 2025. Background On 10 February 2025, the US announced that it would impose 25% tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium and derivative products. President von der Leyen immediately warned that such tariffs are "bad for business, worse for consumers" and would trigger a firm and proportionate European response. These US tariffs were imposed on 12 March. The US tariffs of up to 25% apply on industrial-grade steel and aluminium, other steel and aluminium semifinished and finished products, and also their derivative commercial products (from machinery parts to knitting needles). In response, the EU announced a swift and proportionate plan to impose countermeasures on US goods exports, while consistently stating its preference for finding a negotiated solution with the US. On 9 April, EU Member States voted in favour of the European Commission's proposal. Later on 9 April, the US announced a 90-day pause on all universal tariffs impacting the EU, and the EU swiftly responded by announcing a pause on its intended countermeasures. On 14 April, the Commission adopted two implementing acts - one that adopts the EU countermeasures, and another act that immediately suspends them. Concretely, the first implementing act, which imposes the EU response: Calibrates the 2018 measures reducing of the duty rate level to maximum 25% across the board and revising its scope (annex I). Introduces the new package of countermeasures to respond to the expansion of the US tariffs to new products the increase of US tariffs on aluminium from 10 to 25% (annexes II-IV). The second act suspends all measures until 14 July 2025. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address RAMSTEIN FLAG 2025 WRAPS UP: NATO FORCES DEMONSTRATE MULTI-DOMAIN READINESS NATO Allied Air Command Apr 14 2025 RAMSTEIN, Germany -- Allied Air Command's premier tactical-level live-fly exercise, Ramstein Flag 2025 (RAFL25), concluded on April 11, reinforcing the Alliance's commitment to readiness, interoperability, and integrated multi-domain operations. Hosted by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF), RAFL25 brought together around 2000 personnel, over 90 aircraft from more than 15 NATO nations, operating from 12 Allied air bases across Europe. Building upon the inaugural Ramstein Flag 25 (RAFL24), this year's exercise focused on enhancing capabilities in Counter Anti-Access/Area Denial (C-A2/AD), Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD), Agile Combat Employment (ACE), and information sharing among participating Allies. The scenarios provided a high-intensity training environment, challenging participants to execute complex missions across all warfighting domains: air, land, maritime, cyber, and space. General James Hecker, Commander of NATO Allied Air Command, emphasized the importance of such exercises: "Ramstein Flag 2025 underscores the Alliance's determination to adapt, evolve, and deter potential threats across the Euro-Atlantic region." RAFL25 builds not only on the lessons identified during RAFL24 but also lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine. To gain and maintain air superiority in a potential conflict is the level of ambition in every contested area of operations. "Air superiority is a premise, for the Air Force and for all domains", added General Hecker, "we are here today practicing to ensure that if we need to get air superiority, that we have the capability to achieve it." A Flag series exercise is based on traditional designations of red, i.e. enemy, and blue, i.e. friendly, aerial systems simulate Air Defence assets that engage offensive or adversary assets, during RAGL25 over 1800 sorties were completed demonstrating the training opportunities for all participating assets. Lieutenant General Andre Steur, Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, emphasized the importance of exercises such as RAFL25, "When push comes to shove, many will depend on us as a First Responder, tonight if need be. The ability and will to fight together among Allied Air Forces remains NATO's most significant deterrent. RAFL25 showcased the collective strength and unity of NATO forces, further developing NATO's ACE concepts. A notable highlight of RAFL25 was the successful aerial refueling operation where a Turkish Air Force KC-135R tanker refueled Danish F-35s. Additionally, cross-servicing operations were conducted, with the RNLAF and United States F-35s being serviced by each other's crews, showcasing the integration of logistics and maintenance capabilities. The DARS (NATO's deployable air surveillance and control capability radar) and NATO's Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) delivered command and control across a complex and dynamic operational scenario during RAFL25. The DARS played a pivotal role in providing command and control functions, including real time control, monitoring and coordination of aerial and missile assets. The AWCAS flying from Geilenkirchen, Germany, provided air surveillance, air battle management, and fighter control in support of this large-scale, live-fly, multi-domain exercise. "Operating from NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, our crews provided the Command and Control backbone for the exercise, integrating over 90 aircraft from 15 nations into a synchronized and highly-effective force that showcases NATO's airpower excellence," said Air Commodore Andy Turk, Deputy Commander NATO Airborne Early Warning & Control Force. "Exercise Ramstein Flag also provided our crews with excellent training opportunities to refine our large-scale air operations procedures, further enhancing our capabilities and refining our interoperability across the Alliance," he added The successful execution of RAFL25 reinforces NATO's ability to respond rapidly and effectively to emerging threats. By integrating advanced tactics and fostering collaboration among member nations, the exercise contributes to the Alliance's deterrence and defence posture. As NATO continues to adapt to the evolving security landscape, exercises like Ramstein Flag remain vital in ensuring that Allied forces are prepared to defend the Alliance's territory and populations. Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Operation Resolution New Zealand Defence Force Updates on Operation Resolution - New Zealand Defence Force's response to the grounding and sinking of HMNZS Manawanui near Samoa. 14 April 2025 Update: 2:58pm NZDT The latest on Operation Resolution in Samoa. NZDF Senior National Representative for Operation Resolution, Commodore Andrew Brown said, "The salvors continue to use their highly-specialised diving and salvage capability to recover equipment, weapons, ammunition and some debris from HMNZS Manawanui. They also continue to work to make the ship as secure as possible." "We recently returned our recovered equipment, including weapons, to New Zealand on a military flight and are working alongside local Samoan authorities on this, as work on the ship progresses." "The Samoan and New Zealand Governments continue to work through the next steps with an independent expert assessment of the wreck underway, which will help inform that work. This includes studies of the reef and marine environment in the vicinity of Manawanui." "With the risk of environmental damage reduced after the successful work to remove diesel fuel and other pollutants from HMNZS Manawanui, Samoan Government officials have approved the cessation of NZDF drone surveillance of the area." "The Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa has continued to report the seawater and marine life in the area clear and uncontaminated. They have recommended to move the frequency of seawater testing in their monitoring plan, to monthly." Commodore Brown said, "The findings of the Court of Inquiry into the grounding and sinking of HMNZS Manawanui was released last week and I reinforce the Chief of Navy's commitment that Navy are 'owning it, fixing it and learning from it'." "I'm looking forward to returning to Samoa soon to continue high-level engagements with High Commission and Government of Samoa officials," Commodore Brown said. "While in Apia, I will be honoured to stand shoulder- to-shoulder with Samoan veterans and serving military personnel at Anzac Day commemorations." "The recovery efforts will take time - our priority continues to be to minimise any possible environmental impacts, and New Zealand remains committed to doing a careful and thorough job." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sudan: UN Fact-Finding Mission deplores Darfur killings as conflict enters third year, warning "darkest chapters" may lie ahead Press releases Independent investigation 14 April 2025 GENEVA -- The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan condemned the reported massacre of more than 100 people at displacement camps in Darfur over the weekend and warned that the nation's already devastating conflict could intensify as the war tragically enters its third year. The Fact-Finding Mission reiterated its call for warring parties to immediately cease fire and stop attacking civilians and urged other states to refrain from fueling the war and ensure respect for international humanitarian law. "As Sudan enters into its third year of conflict, we must reflect on the catastrophic situation in Sudan and honor the lives of all Sudanese who have been lost or changed forever," said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission. "The world has witnessed two years of ruthless conflict which has trapped millions of civilians in harrowing situations, subjecting them to violations and suffering with no end in sight. Amid the rising tide of hate speech and ethnically driven violence and reprisals, we fear the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold." On 15 April 2023, residents of the capital, Khartoum, woke to the sound of gunfire and explosions, signaling the outbreak of intense fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which rapidly spread across the country. Since then, thousands of civilians have been killed, with many more subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence, forced displacement, starvation, looting and the destruction of homes, health facilities, markets and other civilian infrastructure. An unknown number of Sudanese also remain missing, while humanitarian workers and human rights defenders continue to be threatened and attacked. The Fact-Finding Mission, established by the Human Rights Council in October 2023, has been investigating violations committed during the conflict, including through gathering testimony from witnesses and survivors of some of the country's worst atrocities. The Mission has recently obtained first-hand accounts of atrocities committed in El Fasher and surrounding areas in North Darfur. These include reports of civilians being targeted and killed, through shelling, as well as widespread looting and the destruction and burning of civilian property, farmland and crops. Survivors from Zamzam camp, south of El Fasher - one of the largest internally displaced persons camps in Sudan with an estimated population of 750,000, half of them children according to UNICEF - recounted being placed under siege-like conditions which have severely restricted their access to food, water, medicine and movement. These conditions continue until today, and humanitarian access to the camp remains nearly impossible, resulting in children dying from hunger, according to the UN World Food Program. Survivors spoke of being stopped, harassed, robbed and detained at checkpoints around El Fasher and Zamzam camp. They also testified about the looting of property, livestock and food supplies, killings of dozens of people, and the burning of dozens of villages around El Fasher, including north between Kutum and Anka in October 2024, and Abu Zerega, Shagra, and Golo in December 2024 and January 2025. Most of these atrocities were attributed to the RSF. The latest attacks by RSF forces - which began on 11 April and targeted Zamzam and Abu Shouk settlements for internally displaced people, as well as El Fasher itself - have killed more than a hundred civilians, including nine medical personnel of Relief International. The Fact-Finding Mission also received alarming reports of reprisal attacks carried out by the SAF and its allies in areas recaptured from the RSF. It is investigating such attacks, including reports of detention and extra-judicial and arbitrary executions of RSF members and those believed to have supported the RSF in areas previously under its control, in particular in Al-Dinder and Sinja in Sennar state, and Wad Madani in Al-Gezira state, between September 2024 and January 2025. Newly acquired areas in Khartoum, over which the SAF announced full control on 7 April, have reportedly seen harsh retaliation from the SAF and its allies, including public executions and without fair trials of civilians accused of collaborating with the RSF and mass arrests in districts like Al-Kalakla and other parts of southern Khartoum, with detainees' fates currently unknown. On Tuesday, around 20 states, many of them with influence over the warring parties, are meeting in London to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sudan. The Fact-Finding Mission urges them to design and support measures to protect civilians and ensure respect for human rights and international humanitarian law by all parties. "This weekend's mass killings of civilians in Zamzam and Abu Shouk are horrific," said Mona Rishmawi, a member of the Fact-Finding Mission. "Deliberate attacks on civilians, medical workers and healthcare infrastructure amount to international crimes. These acts highlight the urgent need to prevent further escalation and to protect civilians and the lifesaving systems they rely on." "States have an obligation not only to respect but also to ensure respect for the Geneva Conventions," Rishmawi said. "This means that States should neither finance the war nor provide weapons, as this may encourage, aid and assist the warring parties in committing violations. Our Fact-Finding Mission has found already last year that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both sides have committed war crimes, and in the case of the RSF, also crimes against humanity". An estimated 24.6 million persons in Sudan - more than half of Sudan's population - are facing acute food insecurity, with nearly eight million facing acute hunger. Famine conditions in Zamzam Camp were confirmed in August 2024 and have persisted and expanded to Abu Shouk and Al Salam camps and the Western Nuba Mountains. Over 12 million civilians have been displaced in all, which includes over 8.5 million internally and more than 3.5 million refugees who fled the country. These numbers are increasing daily. "The testimonies we have recently received about food insecurity and starvation suggest these conditions may be man-made," said Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, a member of the Fact-Finding Mission. "The impact of the conflict on all Sudanese, in particular women and children, is severe and long-lasting. Many have lost family members and are left traumatized by the level of violence they have been subjected to without the support they desperately need. This reemphasizes the need for protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers and human rights defenders, humanitarian aid, accountability for these atrocity crimes, and to address the huge impact of the conflict on the Sudanese civilians through justice and reparations including socio-psychological support." ENDS Background: The UN Human Rights Council established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan in October 2023 with resolution A/HRC/RES/54/2, and extended its mandate until October 2025 with resolution A/HRC/RES/57/2. Its key task is "to investigate and establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of all alleged human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including those committed against refugees, and related crimes in the context of the ongoing armed conflict that began on 15 April 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, as well as other warring parties." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippines Hosts ASEAN-China Code of Conduct Negotiations Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs MANILA 14 April 2025 -- The Philippines hosted last week the latest round of negotiations to conclude an ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. The meeting of the Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (JWG-DOC), which is tasked with undertaking the COC negotiations, was held in Manila on 09-11 April 2025. The JWG-DOC is co-chaired by Malaysia and China. The negotiations continued to tackle the paragraphs of the Draft COC, including the so-called milestone issues, in line with the commitment of ASEAN and China to conclude a substantive and effective COC in an early fashion. The meeting was an opportunity for the Philippines to strongly call for the need to adhere to international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award. The Philippines voiced its concerns on the situation in the West Philippine Sea, especially with regard to recent incidents that posed risks to Philippine vessels and personnel, and actions by other countries that infringed on the Philippines' sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction. The Philippines also reiterated its commitment to resolve disputes peacefully and to pursue constructive diplomatic approaches in managing differences at sea. It will be recalled that in 2023, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and China adopted the Guidelines on Accelerating the Early Conclusion of the Code of Conduct and agreed to work towards concluding the COC within three years. The next round of negotiations will be held in Malaysia later in the year. END NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippines, Canada Reaffirm Strengthening of Defense and Security Ties Republic of the Philippines - Department of Foreign Affairs MANILA 14 April 2025 -- Canadian Armed Forces Chief of the Defence Staff General Marie Annabelle Jennie Carignan, CMM, MSC, MSM, CD paid a courtesy call on Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro during the former's visit to Manila on 2 April 2025 to reaffirm the strengthening of Philippines-Canada defense and security ties which, since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation between the Philippines and Canada on 19 January 2024, has expanded both in breadth and depth across all areas of defense, especially in maritime security, cybersecurity, and capacity building. Gen. Carignan's visit to Manila aimed to better understand the context and needs of the Philippines in the realm of security and defense, as Canada further operationalizes their Indo-Pacific Strategy. The meeting included discussions on topics related to defense and security, the Philippines' active role in the Indo-Pacific region, efforts - both joint and individual - in maintaining and promoting a rules-based international order, the similarities of the Philippines and Canada's political and security landscape, and potential collaboration and joint projects, including capacity-building, knowledge sharing, and increasing interoperability between the national forces. Joining Gen. Carignan's meeting with the Undersecretary were Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. David Bruce Hartman, Canadian Defense Attache to the Philippines Lt. Col. Jason King, and representatives of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Defense Attache's Office in Manila. Gen. Carignan's delegation also held meetings with the Department of National Defense (DND), the National Intelligence Coordination Agency (NICA), and the National Maritime Council (NMC). Undersecretary Lazaro was accompanied by officials from the Office of the Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and Asean Affairs, and officials from the Office of American Affairs led by Assistant Secretary Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga. The fruitful discussion highlights both countries' commitment to deepen defense and security cooperation, and also reflects the intention of both countries to enhance their partnership and cooperation through tangible programs and projects that will not only improve national security, but also reinforce the more than seventy-five (75) years of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Canada. END NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Acquisition of 12 add'l FA-50s possible -- AFP chief Brawner Philippine News Agency By Priam Nepomuceno April 14, 2025, 4:30 pm MANILA -- Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Monday expressed confidence that the acquisition for the additional 12 FA-50 fighter jets will proceed as planned. "Yung pagdagdag natin ng mga FA-50s, (yun) 12 na FA-50s na jet fighters ay medyo mas posible na yun dahil nasa pipeline na po (the additional FA-50s, the other 12 FA-50 fighter jets, it's acquisition is more possible as it is now on the pipeline)," he said when asked for update on the ongoing AFP modernization during a chance interview with reporters. Earlier, the Philippine Air Force said it has submitted a recommendation to the Department of National Defense to acquire 12 more FA-50s as part of the AFP's Rehorizon 3, which seeks to boost the military's intelligence, area denial and deterrence capabilities. These additional 12 FA-50s will beef up the existing fleet of 11 FA-50PHs which were acquired from the Korea Aerospace Industries from 2015 to 2017 from PHP18.9 billion. However, when asked whether the government has already determined which multi-role fighter (MRF) is planning to acquire to further beef up the defensive capabilities of the PAF, Brawner said, they are still in the process of selecting one which is affordable and can best serve the country. "But as to the MRFs, we're still in the process of determining which one we can get according to our fiscal space, according to how we can afford these platforms," he said. The AFP chief also expressed hope that these assets will be acquired soon considering their importance to Philippine defense. The MRFs are expected to augment the existing fleet of FA-50PHs now in Philippine service. "Whether these are the F-16s (Vipers) or Gripen (Sweden JAS-39s) or whatever other MRFs, pinag-aaralan po natin yan (we are still studying about that)," Brawner said. Brawner further said they are happy with the news that the US Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on April 1 announced that the State Department has made a "determination approving a possible" foreign military sale of 20 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines for an estimated cost of USD5.58 billion. But he said the Philippines is still to make a final decision on this matter. Aside from the airframes, the contract includes spare parts, weapon systems, munitions, sensors and targeting systems, and training. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PH urges respect for int'l law in ASEAN-China COC talks Philippine News Agency By Marita Moaje April 14, 2025, 2:59 pm MANILA -- The Philippines firmly called for respect to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea during the latest round of the ASEAN-China Code of Conduct (COC) negotiations in the South China Sea held in Manila. In a news release on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Philippines took the opportunity to reaffirm its stance on upholding international law while reiterating its commitment to resolving disputes in a peaceful manner. "The Philippines voiced its concerns on the situation in the West Philippine Sea, especially with regard to recent incidents that posed risks to Philippine vessels and personnel, and actions by other countries that infringed on the Philippines' sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction," the DFA said. It added that the country pushed for the pursuance of constructive diplomatic approaches in managing differences at sea. The negotiations brought together ASEAN member states and China under the Joint Working Group on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (JWG-DOC). The meeting held on April 9 to 11 was co-chaired by Malaysia and China, with the Philippines hosting the talks. The DFA said the negotiations continued to tackle the paragraphs of the Draft COC, including the so-called milestone issues, in line with the commitment of ASEAN and China to conclude a substantive and effective COC in an early fashion. The 2016 ruling by an arbitral tribunal in The Hague invalidated Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, including areas within Manila's exclusive economic zone. However, China has rejected the ruling and continues to assert its claims. The COC seeks to manage tensions and prevent conflict in the South China Sea, a strategic and resource-rich waterway claimed in part by several ASEAN members, including the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei. Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Malik Melvin Castelino said earlier that as ASEAN chair, Kuala Lumpur has been pushing to move forward with the negotiations, citing the importance of early engagements on the issue. The next round of negotiations will take place in Malaysia later this year. The Philippines will assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2026. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Hamas not defeated, military overstretched': Israeli army chief Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 6:52 PM Israel's new chief of the military has warned that the regime armed forces lack the manpower and resources to fulfill the regime's expansive goals in the besieged Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip even a year and a half after the outbreak of the war. "Military-only strategies cannot fulfill all objectives in Gaza, particularly in the absence of a complementary diplomatic track," Eyal Zamir told prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet in a recent meeting. The Israeli regime has called for capturing new zones in Gaza, mainly as an expansion of the so-called buffer zones. But many in Israel have warned that successfully implementing this could take a considerably long period of time. Hundreds of Israeli reserve soldiers and veterans have already signed petitions demanding an end to the Gaza war and the return of the captives through a prisoner swap with Hamas. Netanyahu has threatened to dismiss active-duty soldiers who signed the petitions. The military has also been facing a shortage of soldiers due to the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews and the reluctance and the battle fatigue of the regular troops. Figures released by Israeli media showed that the current participation rates in combat units within the reservists stood at 60%. "There is concern that those numbers will not improve in the event of a broader offensive," a military source was quoted as saying. Israel's Ynet newspaper reported that the military lacks sufficient numbers of tanks and armored personnel carriers to conduct a full invasion of Gaza. Contrary to what the military initially expected, Hamas is continuing the strategic policy of preserving its fighting capabilities. Israeli intelligence claims that virtually 20,000 of Hamas fighters, including several commanders, remain active across Gaza. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A number of Israeli soldiers killed, injured in Gaza ambush as retaliation rages Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 5:50 PM Palestinian resistance fighters have killed at least one Israeli soldier and injured several others during separate retaliatory operations in Gaza City and the southern side of the besieged coastal sliver, according to reports. As a result of a complex operation by the fighters on Monday, four Israeli troops sustained injuries when they were trapped inside a house in Shuja'iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City, and repeatedly shot at, Arab and Israeli media outlets reported. Separately, a number of Israeli soldiers were killed and wounded in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip when Palestinian combatants carried out a surprise operation against them. Hebrew-language news agencies reported that Israeli military helicopters evacuated the casualties. The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, also announced in a short statement that one of its snipers had shot an Israeli soldier who had taken a position in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City. The retaliatory operations come as the Israeli military has intensifies its land and air attacks on Gaza, with artillery and air raids hitting several areas of Khan Younis in the south. The Israeli military launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing at least 1,613 Palestinians, injuring 4,233 others, and shattering the ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives from Palestinian prisoners. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 50,983 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 116,274 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023. Hamas has emphasized that it is "approaching any proposals positively if they guarantee a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, an end to the suffering of our Palestinian people, and a serious prisoner exchange deal." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US pro-Israel strikes killed 123 Yemenis in less than a month: Ministry Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 5:43 PM Yemen's Health Ministry says 370 civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed and wounded in strikes launched by the United States on the impoverished country in support of Israel. On Monday, the ministry said the US strikes on civilian facilities in Yemen have killed 123 people and injured 247 others since March 16. The ministry condemned the "blatant US aggression against the homeland and its targeting of civilian objects and civilians through direct bombardment", including the attacks on a factory in the capital Sana'a on Sunday night. Noting that six people were killed and 30 others wounded, including five children, in the attack, the ministry described it as "a full-fledged war crime" and "a flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions". It urged Arab and Islamic nations as well as human rights organizations to take to the streets to decry the US crimes against the Yemeni people. Since the onset of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Yemeni forces have carried out scores of operations in support of the war-hit Gazans, striking targets throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, in addition to targeting Israeli ships or vessels heading towards ports in the occupied territories. In support of Israel, the US announced the formation of maritime task force in the Red Sea in December 2023 to protect the passage of vessels bound for the Israeli-occupied territories. The Yemeni forces responded by ramping up their strikes against strategic and sensitive Israeli and American targets, including the US warships and aircraft carriers that are deployed off Yemen's coastline. The Yemeni forces paused their retaliatory strikes in support of the ceasefire that took effect in Gaza on January 19, before Israel broke it in March. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Top official: Hamas agrees to free all Israeli captives for 'serious prisoner swap' Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 3:50 PM A high-ranking Hamas official says the Palestinian resistance movement is willing to set free all Israeli captives remaining in the besieged Gaza Strip in exchange for what he described as a "serious prisoner swap" and a guaranteed end to the ongoing genocidal war. "We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid," AFP news agency quoted Taher al-Nunu as saying on Monday. Hamas is currently engaged in negotiations in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, and is reportedly dealing with the talks in a "positive and responsible" manner. Nunu, however, lambasted Israel for hindering the progress towards a ceasefire. "The issue is not the number of captives, but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war," the senior Hamas official said. "Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation (Israel) to uphold the agreement," he added. There are reports that Washington would exert pressure on the Tel Aviv regime to agree on a new proposal to the Gaza truce. Under the deal, Hamas would release 10 living captives in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire. Hamas leader details new Gaza ceasefire proposal, group's stance Meanwhile, a Hamas leader has outlined the key points of the latest Israeli proposal, which includes the redeployment of Israeli occupation forces to positions held before March 2, a 45-day lull in military offensives, the reopening of border crossings, and the entry of humanitarian aid but all under Israeli-imposed conditions. He underlined that the proposal, however, fails to meet his group's pressing demands of a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The leader further warned that the plan appears designed to gradually strip Hamas of its leverage by repatriating captives without securing meaningful concessions. He stated that the Israeli proposal seeks to disarm Hamas and ensure it does not return to power in Gaza. Hamas has emphasized that it is "approaching any proposals positively if they guarantee a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, an end to the suffering of our Palestinian people, and a serious prisoner exchange deal." The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing hundreds of people, injuring many others, and shattering the ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives from Palestinian prisoners. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 50,983 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 116,274 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address More Palestinians fall victim as Israeli forces, settlers step up aggression across West Bank Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 11:29 AM Three young Palestinian men have been injured by Israeli gunfire during a raid on the Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah, as settlers simultaneously stepped up violence in the southern West Bank. The Palestinian WAFA news agency, citing local sources, reported that Israeli forces raided the camp on Monday, shooting a young man in the abdomen with live ammunition, as well as others in the knee and hand. In recent months, Israeli forces have escalated their acts of aggression in Jenin and its refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, increasing their military presence through home demolitions, arrests, and the repurposing of civilian structures into military bases. Also on Monday, Israeli forces intensified their operations at the entrances to towns and villages in the Salfit Governorate. According to WAFA, the checkpoints were established near the entrance of Qarawat Bani Hassan and another at the entrance of Bruqin, located west of Salfit. At these checkpoints, soldiers halted vehicles and inspected the identification of citizens. Additionally, they blocked the main northern entrance to Salfit for several days. Settler aggression soars Israeli settlers also simultaneously bulldozed agricultural land in the villages of Al-Burj and Masafer Yatta, located south of Hebron. Media activist Osama Makhamreh said that settlers destroyed farmland owned by Saeed Rabaa Al-Amour in the Al-Rakeez region of Masafer Yatta, dismantling stone fences, cutting down several trees, and removing the surrounding fence. Additionally, settlers chased shepherds in the Sha'b Al-Batm area and the eastern part of Ma'in village in Masafer Yatta. Israeli forces and settlers also cleared land to construct settlement roads in Al-Burj and the town of Adh-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron. There has been an increase in attacks on citizens' properties and land by settlers and occupation forces, particularly in Area C, to create colonial roads and establish new outposts. Israeli forces have significantly intensified their demolition efforts throughout the occupied West Bank, reaching one of the highest levels seen in recent years. In a brief period, hundreds of Palestinian structures have been destroyed, resulting in the displacement of numerous families and raising urgent humanitarian and legal issues. The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, recently cautioned that Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank have led to the displacement of 40,000 Palestinians and that the regime is systematically annexing the area. On April 3, Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed that the conditions in the occupied West Bank are "extremely alarming." Turk added that his office has confirmed that since October 7, 2023, the Israeli military and settlers have resulted in the deaths of at least 900 Palestinians in the West Bank, which includes 191 children and five individuals with disabilities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas says Israel 'narrowing truce', stresses any new deal must end Gaza genocide Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 7:28 AM The Hamas resistance movement has rejected Israel's attempts to narrow down the ongoing ceasefire negotiations to a limited release of Palestinian prisoners in return for Israeli captives, warning it would turn down any agreement that fails to lead to a permanent end to the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. In a statement on Sunday, high-ranking Hamas official Basem Naim said his group would not allow talks to become a "cover for resuming aggression and massacres" following a temporary pause in Israeli attacks. Naim stated that Hamas will continue to uphold its commitment to a comprehensive agreement that entails a full withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza, the reconstruction of the coastal territory, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East al-Quds as its capital. His comments came as a Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday for negotiations mediated by Egypt and Qatar. Naim characterized the discussions as "complex," citing the inability of regional players to exert pressure on Israel and the international community's complicity in the devastation resulting from the conflict. He stated that talks held in Cairo concentrated on halting the Israeli aggression, reopening the border crossings of Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and establishing a committee to manage governance during the post-war phase. Hamas has emphasized that it is "approaching any proposals positively if they guarantee a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, an end to the suffering of our Palestinian people, and a serious prisoner exchange deal." The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing hundreds of people, injuring many others, and shattering the ceasefire agreement with the Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives from Palestinian prisoners. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 50,944 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 116,156 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Over 200 civilians killed as Sudan's UAE-backed RSF attacks Darfur displacement camps Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 6:13 AM Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed more than 200 civilians in a series of assaults on displacement camps and surrounding areas of El Fasher, the last major city controlled by the Sudanese army in the Darfur region. The fatalities include at least 56 civilians who were killed by the RSF forces during two days of assaults in Um Kadadah, a town they captured on the route to El Fasher. The violence in the Darfur region is among the most severe since the start of the civil war between Sudan's army and the RSF forces, who are backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), nearly two years ago. The United Nations said that killings were ongoing at two major displacement camps, including the complete massacre of the medical personnel from Relief International, which was running the last functioning clinic within Zamzam camp. The RSF forces were reportedly setting buildings ablaze throughout Zamzam on Sunday, claiming that they were searching for Sudanese government fighters concealed within the camps. In 2023, a conflict broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, displaced over 12 million people, and led the International Rescue Committee to characterize it as "the largest humanitarian crisis ever documented." Khartoum has accused the UAE of backing the RSF in what it calls a genocide against the non-Arab Masalit people in Sudan's Darfur region. The Sudanese government demands that the UAE cease its support for the RSF and provide "full reparations," including compensation for the war's victims. On Thursday, Sudan took legal action against the UAE at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for creating the "driving force" behind the ongoing "genocide" in Sudan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hungary Passes Constitutional Amendment Recognizing Only Two Genders By Pablo Gorondi April 14, 2025 Hungarian lawmakers on Monday passed the 15th amendment to the Fundamental Law, as the constitution is called, restricting the right of LGBT groups to hold public events while recognizing only two genders: male and female. The amendment was passed by a vote of 140 to 21, with deputies from the far-right Our Homeland Movement joining Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party and its allies, the Christian Democrats. Members and supporters of the opposition Momentum party tried to disrupt the vote by blocking the parliamentary parking lot and honking a horn during the plenary session. Opposition groups also protested against the amendment outside Parliament during the voting. As a result of the vote, the Fundamental Law now stipulates that a person can only identify as either male or female. The law comes three months after US President Donald Trump, an ally of Orban, issued an executive order recognizing only two genders. The Hungarian bill says the right of children to proper physical, mental, and moral development -- with the exception of the right to life -- takes precedence over all other fundamental rights, including the right to assembly. The Pride march, held annually in Budapest for some 30 years, can now be banned. The new amendment also says Hungarians have the fundamental right to use cash and allows for the suspension of citizenship and the expulsion from Hungary of Hungarians who are also citizens of another country outside the European Union if they are deemed to pose a threat to public order and the country's national security. The production, use, distribution, and promotion of drugs is also now constitutionally banned. The ban on public LGBT events was the latest step by the Orban government opposing the rights of the LGBT community. Since Orban's return to power in 2010, the government has banned gay marriage, severely restricted the possibility for LGBT people to adopt children and has tried equating homosexuality with pedophilia. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-passes- bill-two-sexes/33385011.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 Thousands of Gaza patients waiting for urgent medical evacuation 14 April 2025 - The Israeli bombardment of Al-Ahli, a Gaza City hospital, has put even more pressure on the remaining health facilities in the occupied Palestinian territory, where the delivery of aid and movement of humanitarian workers is highly restricted by the Israeli authorities. On Monday, World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative Rik Peeperkorn told UN News about the desperate conditions he had seen at Al-Ahli before the attack, and the severe restriction on movement that is preventing thousands being evacuated for medical treatment outside of Gaza. "I was in Gaza several weeks ago and I came out in early March, just before the aid blockade started and the attacks started up again. When I was there, during the ceasefire, we were organising polio vaccinations and medevacs (medical evacuations), and we stocked up on essential medicine and medical supplies. This was also the only time there were proper food stocks in Gaza. There was almost a ray of hope among all the misery. Places I'd been before, like Rafah in the south, or Jabalia in the north, were utterly devastation wastelands, but people, including our own staff, were going back to their homes, trying to repair destroyed houses or building makeshift camps. You saw commercial activities restarting, and a choice of food. But then, of course, with the blockade, food, water and essential medicines very quickly began running out. Even though we stocked up during the ceasefire, we are now critically low on supplies and it is challenging to keep hospitals even partly open. We have completely run out of therapeutic milk, antibiotics, to treat severe infections, trauma painkillers, insulin, ambulance spare parts, oxygen tanks etc. A couple of days before the attack on Al Ahli, a medical specialist there told us that the hospital was already overflowing because it's one of the key hospitals in the north for trauma patients [those who have suffered severe and life-threatening injuries], and that they were forced to perform surgery under questionable sterile conditions. They were lacking enough surgical gowns, drapes or gloves. They even had to wear the same gloves from one operation to the next. Because of the lack of equipment, surgeries could take hours, increasing the risk of permanent disability or amputations. The staff asked us for the supplies that we have in our two warehouses in the south of Gaza, but we were not allowed. This aid blockade needs to be lifted, and we have to get back to an arrangement whereby we can have humanitarian corridors throughout Gaza, without being denied or delayed entry. Even when a war is going on, humanitarian supplies should be allowed in and aid workers should be able to do their work. Today I spoke to my team leads in Gaza, who have been to Al-Shifa hospital. Al-Shifa, now the major surgical and trauma centre for the north, is completely overwhelmed and under-supported. We are looking at the possibility of getting some patients from Al-Shifa to the south but everything is complex. Far too few patients have been able to leave Gaza for the urgent care they so desperately need. We estimate that up to 12,000 patients need medical evacuation but, since the blockade we have only been able to evacuate 121 people, including 73 children. We call for the immediate resumption of medical evacuation through all possible routes. That should happen now." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli attack puts Gaza City hospital out of service 14 April 2025 - A Gaza City hospital has been put out of action by an Israeli strike at the weekend, while a child patient with reported head trauma died while being evacuated, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. "Al Ahli Hospital is out of service," WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris told UN News, after the airstrike early on Sunday morning. "The pharmacy was destroyed, many of the different buildings and services were destroyed." Some 40 patients whose condition is too critical to be moved from the health facility are continuing to receive care, while the 50 other remaining patients - including the child who died - were evacuated to other medical centres shortly before the attack began. Supplies now critically low The situation remains critical and medical supplies of all kinds are now "desperately low", WHO's Dr Harris said, before expressing deep concern for the safety of health personnel at the stricken hospital. Until Sunday's strike, Al Ahli was the main hospital dealing with the casualties from Israeli airstrikes. Now, most casualties are sent to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The UN health agency says that only 21 of Gaza's 36 hospitals now remain partially functional. Almost all of them have been damaged in the war, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel in October 2023 in which some 1,250 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Leading condemnation for the attack and repeating calls for a ceasefire, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted that hospitals have special protection under international humanitarian law: "Attacks on health care must stop. Once again we repeat: patients, health workers and hospitals must be protected. The aid blockade must be lifted." Aid teams highlighted how the hospital strike has already put "an immense additional strain" on the war-shattered enclave's remaining partially operational hospitals. "Mass casualty events are now the norm and those hospitals that are treating trauma patients are doing so amid severe shortages of critical supplies, including critical medicine," Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, told UN News. It has now been seven weeks since crossings were closed to all relief supplies meant for the people of Gaza, and nearly a month since Israeli bombardment resumed in the enclave amid disagreement between Israel and Hamas over the terms of a ceasefire extension that include the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. According to OCHA, more than 390,000 people have been displaced since Israeli bombing began again on 18 March. In recent days, top UN officials have rebuffed Israeli assertions that there was enough food to feed all Palestinians, insisting that they were "far from the reality on the ground". The global body's top emergency relief official, Tom Fletcher, also stated that aid teams are "deliberately blocked from saving lives in Gaza", leading to further civilian deaths. According to the Gazan health authorities, well over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed and 115,688 Palestinians injured during the conflict. This includes 1,449 people killed and 3,647 injured since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March. "Supplies that we had are rapidly running out and we're running out of food of medicine, of shelter and every other life-critical item if the situation does not change immediately," Ms. Cherevko stressed. "The catastrophe that is in Gaza will become worse and the needs of the people will become even higher. This cannot continue. Civilians must be protected and the crossings must be reopened immediately." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sudan war: 'Darkest chapters' ahead as Darfur massacre claims over 100 lives By Vibhu Mishra 14 April 2025 - As Sudan's devastating war enters its third year, UN rights investigators are warning that its "darkest chapters" may still lie ahead, following the massacre of more than 100 people at displacement camps in Darfur over the weekend. The latest attacks, which began on 11 April, saw Rapid Support Forces (RSF)-affiliated forces launch coordinated assaults on Zamzam and Abu Shouk - two of the largest camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Darfur - as well as the regional capital, El Fasher. Among those killed were 23 children as well as nine humanitarian workers who were operating one of the last remaining health posts. No end in sight to suffering The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan condemned the violence, warning that the situation is deteriorating as ethnically driven violence and hate speech escalate. "The world has witnessed two years of ruthless conflict which has trapped millions of civilians in harrowing situations, subjecting them to violations and suffering with no end in sight," Mohamed Chande Othman, FFM chair, said in a statement on Monday. "Amid the rising tide of hate speech and ethnically driven violence and reprisals, we fear the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold." Bring perpetrators to justice UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the latest violence, stressing that attacks on civilians, humanitarian and medical personnel are strictly prohibited under international law. "The perpetrators of these attacks must be brought to justice," he said, calling for urgent, safe and sustained access to besieged areas like Zamzam camp, where famine conditions have already been identified. Two years of atrocities The Darfur attacks are the latest flashpoints in a conflict that erupted on 15 April 2023, when fighting broke out in Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. The power struggle quickly descended into a nationwide civil war, killing thousands and displacing over 12.4 million people - more than 3.3 million as refugees into neighbouring countries. According to the FFM, both sides have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including deliberate attacks on civilians, rape and sexual violence, starvation tactics, mass looting and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Aid workers targeted Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, described the escalation as "deadly and unacceptable," and condemned the deliberate targeting of civilians and aid workers. "These families - many of whom have already been displaced multiple times - are once again caught in the crossfire, with nowhere safe to go. This must end now," she stressed. Survivors from Zamzam camp - once home to over 750,000 people, half of them children - were reported as being placed under siege-like conditions, according to the FFM. Humanitarian access inside the camp remains nearly impossible, while children are reported to be dying from hunger and the few remaining health outposts have been overrun or destroyed. Protect children The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also sounded the alarm. "These unconscionable acts of violence against civilians, children and aid workers must end immediately," said Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Children must be protected from this senseless violence, and humanitarian workers must never be targets." Ms. Russell warned that with aid blocked and violence surging, famine is already "stalking children," placing over one million people at high risk in and around El Fasher and Zamzam camp. Situation beyond Darfur Violations are not confined to Darfur. The SAF and its allies have allegedly committed reprisal attacks in areas recently recaptured from the RSF, particularly in Sinja and Al-Dinder in Sennar state and Wad Madani in Al-Jazirah (also spelled Gezira). Witnesses described arbitrary detentions, mass arrests and public executions, including in newly controlled areas of southern Khartoum, the FFM said. Many of those detained have reportedly disappeared. "These acts highlight the urgent need to prevent further escalation and to protect civilians and the lifesaving systems they rely on," said FFM member Mona Rishmawi. Stop encouraging the war In the midst of the violence, the Fact-Finding Mission alongside humanitarian agencies continue to call for international accountability and support. As key regional and global actors set to meet this week in London to discuss humanitarian funding and strategies for civilian protection, the FFM reiterated the need for all States to "respect and ensure respect" for the Geneva Conventions - the core of international humanitarian law. "This means that States should neither finance the war nor provide weapons, as this may encourage, aid and assist the warring parties in committing violations," said Ms. Rishmawi. The Human Rights Council - UN's primary human rights forum - established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan in October 2023 and extended its mandate until October this year. Its core task is to investigate all alleged human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law linked to Sudan's ongoing conflict since April 2023. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address How is the Sudanese civil war destabilising neighbouring countries? By Conor Lennon 14 April 2025 - Since April 2023, Sudan, the third-largest country in Africa, has been embroiled in war, as a brutal battle between government forces and a powerful paramilitary group has exacerbated the nation's existing crises, including political instability and economic hardship. The conflict, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is the cause of a major humanitarian crisis, not only in the country itself, but also in neighbouring States. The crisis has proven to be particularly dangerous for people who have already been driven from their homes and, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, thousands are fleeing the country every day. The situation within the country is dire: attacks on Sudanese displacement camps in the North Darfur region, currently the hotspot of the conflict, have resulted in multiple civilian casualties, and the UN has made an urgent call for action to prevent widespread famine. Out of a population of some 50 million, almost 25 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity, and the number is expected to grow. "With the rainy season starting soon, and flooding along key routes likely to compound access challenges, time is running out," Stephane Dujarric, the UN Spokesperson, warned 1. Over 3 million have fled the country As of this year, Sudan is the largest displacement crisis in the world. "Today, one-third of Sudan's entire population is displaced. The consequences of this horrific and senseless conflict spread far beyond Sudan's borders," said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in February. In total, around 3.8 million refugees have crossed Sudan's borders, creating a significant crisis: they are often extremely vulnerable, facing shortages of food, water, and medical care. The UN expects that number to rise by about one million in 2025. The countries surrounding Sudan were already barely managing to cope with mass displacement before the war - just the latest in a series of conflicts and periods of instability stretching back to the 2003 Darfur crisis - erupted in April 2023. These countries are already hosting large refugee and internally displaced populations and their humanitarian programmes are severely underfunded. Moreover, those leaving Sudan are arriving in remote locations, which makes it difficult to get access to them. Chad and Egypt have received the biggest numbers: Egypt is currently hosting around 600,000 Sudanese and in Chad over 700,000 have been registered (the Chadian government has estimated that this number could rise to almost one million by the end of 2025). 2. Struggle to maintain basic services Neighbouring countries are struggling to cope with the increased demand on healthcare, education and other basic services. According to the UN aid office, OCHA, the influx has overwhelmed health facilities in Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, where medicines, supplies and personnel are in short supply. The lack of clarity over the level of donor contributions this year has added an extra layer of uncertainty for those concerned. For example, it has forced UNHCR to suspend all medical treatment for refugees who crossed the northern border to enter Egypt. This means suspending procedures such as cancer surgery, heart operations and medication for chronic diseases, affecting some 20,000 patients. 3. Ideal conditions for the spread of disease The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned in 2024 that the situation in Sudan was approaching a "perfect storm," because of a barely functioning health system, large numbers of people sheltering in overcrowded areas lacking access to water and sanitation, food and the most basic services. As expected, the collapse of healthcare infrastructure has led to the spread of diseases, which have crossed borders and affected neighbouring countries hosting large numbers of refugees, who have a greater vulnerability to preventable diseases, due to plummeting vaccination rates in Sudan. Humanitarian partners have reported increased disease cases and concerns for outbreaks, particularly in border areas and shelter sites. 4. Growing insecurity The countries surrounding Sudan (Egypt, Libya, Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Central African Republic) were all grappling with their own domestic crises before the war, such as internal conflict, hunger and disease. The conflict has led to increased violence and instability in border regions, and there have been reports of cross-border fighting. In Chad, the flow of weapons and the presence of armed groups have reportedly increased violence and insecurity, whilst a militia group in South Sudan is reported to have allied itself with the RSF in Sudan, one of the parties to the war. 5. Sexual violence - scars of Sudan's war Sexual violence is also being weaponised in Sudan's conflict, putting millions of children at risk. The brutal reality of this violence, and the fear of falling victim to it, is pushing women and girls to leave their homes and families, only to face further dangers as they become internally displaced and cross borders requiring medical and psycho-social services.. UNICEF reported in March that girls often end up in informal displacement sites with scarce resources, where the risk of sexual violence is high. Of the reported child rape survivors, 66 per cent are girls. Meanwhile, boys face their own difficulties. With deep-seated stigma, reporting sexual assault presents its challenges, making it harder to seek help and access services. Shockingly, 16 of the survivors were under five years old, including four one-year-olds. 6. Economic disruption, rising regional poverty The conflict has disrupted trade routes and economic activities, affecting the livelihoods of people in neighbouring countries, leading to increased poverty and economic hardship. In Ethiopia and Egypt, border restrictions and insecurity along trade corridors has led to increased transportation costs and a big drop in cross-border economic activity, whilst in Chad and South Sudan, the massive influx of refugees has diverted resources from other critical areas of the economy. The UN Regional Response Plan The Regional Refugee Response Plan for 2025 will prioritise the delivery of life-saving assistance and protection, including emergency shelters, relocation from border areas to safer locations, psychosocial support, clean water, health care and education. Without immediate funding, two-thirds of refugee children will be denied access to primary education, threatening an entire generation. Up to 4.8 million refugees and host community members will continue to face severe food insecurity, with at least 1.8 million going without food assistance. Already strained health systems may collapse. Humanitarian partners will need $1.8 billion to support 4.8 million people in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda. The plan also aims to help host countries strengthen national services and implement programmes that will help bring stability. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address World News in Brief: Gaza aid crisis worsens, South Sudan clashes, Ecuador oil spill update 14 April 2025 - The humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely the worst it has been in the 18 months since the outbreak of hostilities, the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, reported on Monday. "It has now been a month and a half since any supplies were last allowed through the crossings into Gaza," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told journalists at the daily media briefing in New York. OCHA said about 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip is currently under displacement orders or in "no go" zones. Over the weekend, the Israeli military issued four new displacement orders, some of them following reports of Palestinian rocket fire. The UN was able to "relocate some existing fuel stocks from areas under displacement orders to locations where they are more easily accessible by humanitarian workers," said Mr. Dujarric. A surge in attacks causing mass civilian casualties has been reported by UN partners on the ground, according to OCHA. The Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City was targeted by an Israeli strike and has now gone out of service, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. Additionally, a UN warehouse in Gaza City and a community food distribution point in Khan Younis were hit and damaged by Israeli strikes over the weekend. South Sudan: UN responds to deteriorating security in Upper Nile state Peacekeepers with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) are stepping up patrols, and engaging with various communities and authorities, amid a deteriorating security situation, the global organization reported on Monday. This comes as clashes continue in areas of Upper Nile State between the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLA-iO), causing casualties and displacement. Elsewhere, intercommunal violence in Warrap and Lakes states is also rising, with over 200 deaths reported in recent weeks. Accord in Abyei Meanwhile, the UN is highlighting positive developments in Abyei, the disputed oil-rich region straddling Sudan and South Sudan. Sixty youth leaders from the Ngok Dinka community of Abyei and the Twic Dinka community of Warrap State in South Sudan recently signed an agreement committing to an immediate cessation of hostilities. The parties agreed to re-open key routes enabling the free and secure movement of both people and goods. They also pledged to collaborate to counter misinformation and hate speech. The accord was the result of a four-day dialogue attended by key peace partners including the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and UNMISS. Both missions reaffirmed their full support towards these efforts and to strengthening dialogue and harmony between communities. Ecuador oil spill affects 150,000, UN assessment finds A massive oil spill in Ecuador last month has left at least 150,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance, according to an assessment by UN aid coordination office OCHA. The disaster was caused by the rupture of the SOTE pipeline in Esmeraldas province in March, resulting in the spilling of over 25,000 barrels of oil. The UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, which is part of OCHA, carried out the assessment. In addition to the thousands affected, the team also pointed to a concerning increase in respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, as well as limited access to safe drinking water. People's livelihoods have been particularly hit hard, especially in fishing, agriculture and shellfish harvesting. OCHA said more than 37,000 women have lost their means of earning a living. Many are shellfish gatherers and now face growing health risks and exposure to gender-based violence. The UN is testing water from affected rivers, treatment plants and seafood from the ocean for hydrocarbons and heavy metals, as it could have long term environmental and health repercussions. UN Resident Coordinator in Ecuador, Lena Savelli, has shared the findings and recommendations with Government ministers and the national humanitarian forum. The top official also reiterated the UN's commitment to support the Government with technical assistance. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary-General's statement on the second anniversary of the Sudanese conflict United Nations Secretary-General New York 14 April 2025 Two years into a devastating war, Sudan remains in a crisis of staggering proportions, with civilians paying the highest price. Indiscriminate shelling and air strikes continue to kill and maim. Markets, hospitals, schools, places of worship and displacement sites are being attacked. Sexual violence is rampant, with women and girls subjected to horrific acts. Civilians suffer from gross violations and abuses from all warring parties. Almost 12 million people have fled their homes, in what has become the world's largest displacement crisis. More than 3.8 million of these have crossed into neighbouring countries. More than 30 million people require humanitarian support. Half of the population - some 25 million people - are acutely hungry. As the lean season looms, famine has been identified in at least five locations and is projected to spread further. Aid workers have been targeted: at least 90 have lost their lives since the fighting began. Basic services have been decimated, with millions of children deprived of education, and less than one-quarter of health facilities are functional in the hardest hit areas. Attacks on infrastructure have left people without electricity and access to safe water. Last year, the United Nations and its partners reached more than 15.6 million people with at least one form of assistance. But the needs remain overwhelming. Conflict and insecurity, coupled with bureaucratic impediments and drastic funding cuts, have kept humanitarians from increasing their presence in many areas where assistance is needed most. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the parties' disregard for human life. In addition to their obligations under international humanitarian and international human rights law, the warring parties have made commitments to protect civilians, including in the Jeddah Declaration of May 2023. Such commitments must be translated into concrete action. Independent, impartial and transparent investigations into all reports of violations and abuses are also crucial. The only way to ensure the protection of civilians is to end this senseless conflict. I am deeply concerned that weapons and fighters continue to flow into Sudan, allowing the conflict to persist and spread across the country. The external support and flow of weapons must end. Those with greatest influence on the parties must use it to better the lives of people in Sudan - not to perpetuate this disaster. Comprehensive, revitalised and well-coordinated political efforts are urgently needed to prevent Sudan's further fragmentation. As an international community, we must find ways to help the Sudanese people bring this unspeakable catastrophe to an end and establish acceptable transitional arrangements. Sudan remains a highest priority for the United Nations. I will continue to engage with regional leaders on means to enhance our collective efforts for peace. This will complement the ongoing work of my Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, who will seek to ensure international mediation efforts are mutually reinforcing. He will also continue to explore with the parties ways to bring them closer to a peaceful solution and support and empower civilians as they work towards a common vision for Sudan's future. We must renew our focus on finding an end to this brutal war. The world must not forget the people of Sudan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 14 April 2025 - Day 1146 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 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 UK Ministry of Defence reported that Russia has likely sustained approximately 138,000 casualties (killed and wounded) in the Russia-Ukraine conflict so far in 2025. In March 2025, the average daily Russian casualties was approximately 1,300, according to Ukrainian General Staff reporting. This rose from 1,250 in February 2025, but remains below the very high daily rates of nearly 1,600 in late 2024. The rise in casualty rates has continued into early April 2025, and is highly likely reflective of increased Russian attacks along the frontline. Russian forces are likely attempting to rebuild frontline momentum following a period of lower attacks in the opening months of the year. Despite a relatively static frontline, reported Russian casualties remain significantly higher in 2025 so far than compared to spring 2024, when recorded daily Russian casualty rates were consistently below 1,000. Since invading Ukraine, Russia has likely sustained more than 920,000 total casualties. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in total, 82 combat encounters have taken place since the beginning of this day. Ukrainian defenders continue to decisively interrupt the attempts of the Russian enemy to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, inflicting fire on him. Today, Russian zagarbniks launched 86 airstrikes on the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements, dropping 117 controlled aviation bombs. In addition, 1114 kamikadze drones were involved for impressions and carried out almost five thousand shellings. In the Kupiansky direction, the Russian aggressor tried to go forward in the direction of the New Kruglyakivka, where Ukrainian defenders stopped this attack of the enemy. In the Lyman direction, Russian invaders 20 times attacked the positions of Defense Forces near the settlements of Nadia, Nove, Katerinivka, Grekivka, Green Valley, Torske, Bilogorivka and Grigorivka. The two clashes are still ongoing. In the Siversky direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled two Russian attacks near Verkhnyokamiansky and Ivano-Daryivka, another confrontation is still ongoing. In the Kramatorsky direction, Russian forces four times attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders near the settlements of the Times of Yar, Andriyivka and in the direction of Maysky. There is currently one confrontation in progress. Eleven times Russians stormed the positions of Ukrainian units in the Toretsky direction in the areas of settlements Ozaryanivka and Toretsk. All enemy attacks are successfully repelled by Ukrainian defenders. In the Pokrovsky direction, from the beginning of this day, Russian forces tried to advance in the areas of settlements of Suha Balka, Elizabethtivka, Lisivka, Kotline, Udacne, Kotlyarivka, Bogdanivka and Andriyivka. Ukrainian defenders stopped 26 assault actions of the enemy, two confrontations are ongoing. Today, according to preliminary data, 350 Russian occupants were defecated in this direction, 166 of them - irrevocably. Also destroyed two tanks, one artillery system, one RSV, 34 vehicles units, 14 BPLAs, two BPLA control points and two ammunition warehouses. In addition, six cannons and seven Russian cars were damaged. In the Novopavlivs komu direction, Russian forces seven times tried to break through the defense of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of settlements of Konstantinopil and Rozliv. Still one battle going on. In the Orihiv direction, Ukrainian defenders repel seven Russian assaults in the direction of settlements Stepovo, Lobkove and Mali Sherbaky. The settlement of Novoandriivka suffered aerial strikes. In the Pridniprovsk direction, Ukrainian defenders stopped two Russian attempts to approach Ukrainian positions. On the Kurs komu direction since the beginning of the day, there have been 17 fights, two of which continue until now. In addition, Russian forces launched 48 air strikes, dropping 76 controlled bombs, and carrying out 379 artillery shells. In Kharkiv and Gulyaipils komu directions, Russian forces did not carry out offensive actions. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that yesterday, the Russian Armed Forces launched two Iskander-M operational-tactical missiles in conditions of heavy electronic warfare countermeasures and foreign-made air defence systems in action to hit the site in Sumy where commanding officers of the Seversk task force had a meeting. More than 60 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been eliminated. The Kiev regime continues to use the Ukrainian population as a human shield by deploying military facilities and carrying out activities involving servicemen in the centre of the densely populated city. In Belgorod direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted damage on one mechanised brigade, one coastal brigade of the AFU, and two territorial defence brigades close to Lesnoye, Miropolskoye, Petrushevka, and Prokhody (Sumy region). The AFU lost up to 95 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, three motor vehicles, one field artillery gun, one MLRS gun, and three electronic warfare stations. The Zapad Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions and defeated the formations of two mechanised brigades, one assault brigade, one artillery brigade of the AFU, and two territorial defence brigades close to Kupyansk, Borovaya, Kamenka (Kharkov region), Kirovsk, Karpovka, and Krasny Liman (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU lost up to 240 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, including two U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carriers, five motor vehicles, and two artillery guns. One Kvertus electronic warfare station, as well as two ammunition depots, were neutralised. The Yug Group of Forces units improved the tactical situation and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one airmobile brigade, one UAV regiment, one territorial defence brigade and one National Guard brigade close to Petrovka, Kalinovo, Tarasovka, Chasov Yar and Kleban-Byk (Donetsk People's Republic). The enemy lost up to 315 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-made HMMWV armoured vehicle, 13 motor vehicles, and one field artillery gun. Two electronic warfare stations and six ammunition depots were neutralised. The Tsentr Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops hit three mechanised brigades, one assault brigade, one UAV brigade, one assault regiment of the AFU, one marine brigade, and two National Guard brigades close to Mirolyubovka, Lysovka, Zverevo, Rodinskoye, Krasnoarmeysk, Kotlino, Udachnoye, Alekseyevka, and Preobrazhenka(Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU lost up to 420 troops, five armoured fighting vehicles, including four U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carriers, six motor vehicles, and four artillery guns. The Vostok Group of Forces continued to advance to the depths of the enemy's defence and engaged manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one air assault brigade of the AFU, one marine brigade, and two territorial defence brigades close to Shevchenko, Zeleny Kut, Zelenoye Pole, Bogatyr, Voskresenka (Donetsk People's Republic) and Gulyaipole (Zaporozhye region). The AFU lost up to 165 troops, one tank, five motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns. The Dnepr Group of Forces units hit one mechanised brigade, one mountain assault brigade, and three coastal defence brigades of the AFU close to Novodanilovka, Pavlovka (Zaporozhye region), Ponyatovka, Antonovka, and Nikolskoye (Kherson region). The enemy losses amounted to up to 55 troops, one M113 armoured personnel carrier and one HMMWV armoured fighting vehicle made in the USA, seven motor vehicles, one American 155-mm M777 howitzer, one electronic warfare station, one Israeli-made RADA radar, and four ammunition depots. Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, missile troops and artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have inflicted damage on workshops of the Ukrainian defence industry, military airfield infrastructure, sites storing weapons and ammunition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed formations and mercenaries in 137 areas. Russian air defence systems shot down six JDAM guided aerial bombs and three HIMARS MLRS projectiles made in the USA, as well as 227 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. Since the beginning of the special military operation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralized 661 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 51,562 unmanned aerial vehicles, 601 anti-aircraft missile systems, 22,833 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,536 MLRS combat vehicles, 23,602 field artillery guns and mortars, 34,087 units of special military vehicles. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to destroy AFU units on the territory of Kursk region. The Sever Group of Forces engaged units of two mechanised brigades, a tank brigade, two air assault brigades, a marine brigade, two territorial defence brigades, and an assault regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Gornal and Oleshnya. Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, and artillery strikes engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Belovody, Maryino, Miropolye, Mogritsa, Novonikolayevka, Sadki, Shalygino, Yunakovka, and Yablonovka in Sumy region. In the past 24 hours, up to 235 troops have been neutralised as well as one armoured personnel carrier, three armoured fighting vehicles, 14 motor vehicles, four field artillery guns, four mortars, and one BM-21 Grad MLRS vehicle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the AFU losses amounted to more than 74,245 troops, 406 tanks, 333 infantry fighting vehicles, 303 armoured personnel carriers, 2,268 armoured fighting vehicles, 2,704 motor vehicles, 610 artillery guns, 55 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, 57 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 The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland indicts young Swiss man for planning a trip to join the jihad Swiss Government Press release Published on 14 April 2025 Bern, 14.04.2025 The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) has filed an indictment against a 21-year-old Swiss citizen in accelerated proceedings before the Federal Criminal Court. The defendant is suspected of having supported the proscribed terrorist group 'Islamic state' (IS), in particular by planning a trip to Somalia in order to join IS there. He is also alleged to have sent IS propaganda material to various recipients and to have possessed depictions of violence. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland accuses the defendant, who resides in the canton of Basel-Stadt, of having been an IS follower from 2023 at the latest and of having sent IS propaganda material to several persons via various communication channels. He allegedly decided to join IS in April 2024 at the latest. To this end, the accused is alleged to have actively contacted IS recruiters and to have maintained close exchanges with them for several months. The recruiters are alleged to have chosen Somalia as the destination and to have organised the accused's trip. This journey is alleged to have been thwarted by his arrest on 9 July 2024, ordered by the OAG and carried out by fedpol with the support of the cantonal police of Basel-Stadt. The accused is also suspected of having produced several video files containing extreme depictions of violence in 2024. At the time of his arrest, he was allegedly in possession of twenty other depictions of violence. Additional charges According to the indictment, when arrested on 9 July 2024, the young man was also in possession of prohibited pornography. Furthermore, during a search of his home, a soft-air weapon was seized; under the applicable provisions of the Weapons Act, the acquisition and possession of this type was illegal. In addition, he is alleged to have committed a burglary with an accomplice in a shop in Basel in January 2021. Measures to prevent terrorist activities have been ordered The accused is currently at liberty. On the basis of the Federal Act on Measures to Safeguard Internal Security (LMSI), fedpol has ordered measures to prevent terrorist activities at the request of the competent authorities. This is an administrative measure. From the time of the indictment, the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona will be responsible for providing further information to the media. The presumption of innocence applies until a legally binding judgment is handed down. Original text of the press release in German. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Allies practise coordination of mutual cyber support through NATO NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 14 Apr. 2025 From 7 to 11 April, representatives from 20 Allied government and national agencies exercised NATO's ability to coordinate responses to significant malicious cyber activities affecting critical national infrastructures. The exercise, organized by Czechia, aimed to ensure that NATO's Virtual Cyber Incident Support Capability (VCISC) mechanism can operate swiftly and smoothly. Launched at the 2023 Vilnius Summit, this capability works as a clearing house for Allied assistance in the event of a cyber-attack. Through the VCISC, NATO facilitates assistance, linking those requesting support with designated counterparts in other Allied countries, and helping coordinate offers of support such as malware analysis, cyber threat intelligence and digital forensics. The aim is to help Allies mitigate the impact of and recover from significant malicious activities. The initiative is led by Allies on a voluntary basis, using national assets. Malicious cyber activities have been increasing over time, targeting amongst others; critical infrastructure, industrial control systems and government services - to disrupt societies, steal intelligence or impede military activities. Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in 2022 highlighted the extent to which cyber is now a part of modern conflict, both before and alongside kinetic hostilities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon allowing extremism in US military to go unchecked: Report Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 2:51 PM Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth apparently condones instances of far-right extremism in the US military, a report by The Guardian says. The British left-wing paper revealed in a Monday report that an active-duty serviceman in the US Army is openly following the Base, a proscribed terrorist group on social media. According to a George Washington University (GWU) investigation, the Base is a white supremacist neo-Nazi accelerationist terrorist group founded in 2018. The GWU cites the group as part of the broader neo-fascist skullmask movement. The organization was once the target of an FBI investigation. It has vowed to recruit soldiers in preparation for a so-called race war. Experts interviewed by The Guardian believe examples like the young private who serves in the US Army's 1st Infantry Division show how under Hegseth, the Pentagon brushes off far-right extremism. They say the directives issued under the previous Pentagon chief, Lloyd Austin, had explicitly discouraged this kind of social media activity. In February, new directives issued by the Department of Defense (DoD) and meant to reshape the Pentagon cancelled a major counter-extremism initiative rooting out white nationalists and far-right influences among servicemen. The DoD directives held that the initiative was not in line with President Donald Trump's executive orders. After the insurrection of January 6, 2021 on the Capitol Hill, there were revelations that at least 151 of the people who took part in the attacks were of US military background. The DoD then created a working group on extremism. Under policies in line with the administration of Joe Biden, the Pentagon issued new directives in December 2021, defining what constituted extremist activities. That included any affiliations to extremist organizations on social media. The Guardian report said the Base had 30 followers on an obscure and secretive TikTok account. The aforementioned private in the 1st Infantry Division was listed as a follower. Posts on the account promote the Base's assassination and sabotage mission in Ukraine, neo-Nazi iconography, and plans to create "platoon-sized units of highly dedicated, trained men." The Guardian emailed the name of the private to the US Army for investigation. A US military spokesperson made remarks in an email replied to The Guardian's. "The army will not tolerate harmful behaviors and activities - including active participation in extremist activities." "Army senior leaders are committed to confronting extremism in the army, identifying the root of the problem, and understanding the issue's depth." Joshua Fisher-Birch, a longtime far-right analyst and expert on the Base, who had himself noticed the US Army soldier was following the Base on TikTok, said the group openly advocates active participation in terrorist activities. "The TikTok account affiliated with the group includes a clear statement supporting accelerationism and advises joining the group to be linked up with other individuals to exploit 'collapse.'" "The Base has been designated as a terrorist group by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand," Fisher-Birch said. He said extremist organizations are still interested in political violence and continue to prioritize the recruitment of servicemen because "combat experience and military training are prized." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK and Cyprus strengthen space ties Press and Information Office, Ministry of Interior, Republic of Cyprus 14-04-2025 14:40 Cyprus and the United Kingdom (UK) are set to collaborate more closely on space activities, following a successful bilateral event held in Lefkosia on 27-28 March 2025. The first Cyprus-UK Bilateral Cooperation Event brought together representatives from the space sectors and governments of both countries, with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA). The Cypriot Government used the event to announce its intention to join ESA as an Associate Member, a move which could unlock further growth in its space sector and greater collaboration with other ESA member states such as the UK. Professor Anu Ojha, International Director at the UK Space Agency, said: "There is great potential for collaboration on space activities to add a new dimension to the UK's strong partnership with Cyprus. This has never been more important, with space firmly established as a vital tool for driving economic growth, environmental protection, and national security. That is why Cyprus has been working with ESA and growing its space sector to great effect over recent years, and we are looking forward to working very closely with them in the future". Mr George Komodromos, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, said: "The high-level dialogue and engagement among companies, as well as among delegations is encouraging and shows that we are moving in the right direction. We are especially grateful for the UK's continued support of our efforts to position ourselves within the global space ecosystem, a highly revolving and rapidly changing environment in a vastly changing world". The event featured a number of working sessions on topics including regulation, the development of space strategies, commercial development, and future missions and opportunities within ESA. Cypriot universities and companies shared information on national space projects in areas such as Earth observation, satellite research, and digital infrastructure. Ten UK space companies alongside fourteen Cypriot entities delivered presentations on their growing capabilities, while ESA representatives explained the potential funding programmes that could support future joint UK-Cyprus initiatives. The UK is a founding member of ESA, which currently has 23 member states. In addition, Cyprus is one of four countries with a cooperation agreement with ESA, signed in 2016, aiming to achieve Associate Membership in ESA by 2026. The UK Space Agency will host a reciprocal visit by the Cypriot government, academics and companies later this year, and both countries will work together to map existing capabilities and identify areas for future collaboration. (MS/GS) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint Statement from the Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of Korea at the United States-Republic of Korea Civil Space Dialogue US Department of State Media Note Office of the Spokesperson April 14, 2025 The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of Korea at the Fourth United States-Republic of Korea Civil Space Dialogue. Begin Text Officials from the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) met in Washington, DC on April 14 for the fourth U.S.-ROK Civil Space Dialogue. The U.S. Department of State's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Science, Technology, and Space Affairs Rahima Kandahari and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Associate Administrator for International Relations Karen Feldstein jointly led an interagency U.S. delegation. The ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Director-General of the Climate Change, Environment and Scientific Affairs Bureau Minyoung Han and Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) Vice Administrator of Mission Directorates John Lee jointly led the ROK delegation. Noting that the U.S.-ROK Alliance stands as the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific, the two sides committed to strengthening the U.S.-ROK Alliance through further space cooperation, including joint research in space exploration and science, Earth observation, and enhanced regulatory cooperation. Space officials for the United States and the ROK discussed enhancing space exploration cooperation in Artemis and other missions and noted NASA and KASA's October 2024 completion of a study agreement on future Artemis cooperation. The two sides shared progress on the implementation of the study agreement and noted ongoing discussions on the use of the Korean Deep Space Antennae (KDSA) to support Artemis and other missions. The two sides plan to continue discussing how to boost the ROK investment in capabilities that support shared goals in Moon and Mars exploration. The two sides also discussed the ROK's activities to develop and mature Korean human spaceflight capabilities and will explore potential human spaceflight opportunities to low Earth orbit. The two sides discussed recent space science cooperation, such as implementing the September 2024 NASA-KASA study agreement on cooperation for a potential KASA-led Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 4 Mission and identifying opportunities to expand partnerships to upcoming NASA-led astrophysics missions. In Earth observation, the two sides discussed continued collaboration on future next-generation meteorological geostationary satellites, and potential ROK participation in the U.S. Landsat 2030 International Partnership Initiative. The two sides affirmed their desire to expand cooperation in exchanging satellite data, including from Compact Advanced Satellite 4 (CAS500-4) scheduled for launch in 2026, to enhance the usability of satellite data, increase the interoperability of satellites of both countries, and strengthen agricultural monitoring and real-time response capabilities to disasters and emergencies. The two sides also highlighted the successful Airborne and Satellite Investigation of the Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) mission from 2024 and the soon to be released joint Rapid Science Synthesis Report. The two sides welcomed the successful launch of NASA's SPHEREx space telescope, in which the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) participates as an instrument and science partner. The two sides intend to further strengthen our partnership in astronomy and space weather, including ROK cooperation in NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission and NOAA's Space Weather Follow On - Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) mission. The two sides also intend to expand efforts in key technologies to enhance space weather prediction and forecasting capabilities. The United States pledged to continue support for the ROK's development of the Korean Positioning System (KPS) as an interoperable regional system that complements the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), including potentially hosting KPS ground monitor stations on U.S. territory. As the host country for the 19th annual meeting of the UN-affiliated International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG) scheduled for October 2025, the ROK will welcome the U.S. delegation as its most important partner in satellite navigation cooperation. Noting the success of the ROK-U.S. Space Industry Symposium held November 8, 2023, in Seoul, the United States and ROK intend to continue discussions to facilitate deeper U.S.-ROK commercial space cooperation, including potential ROK support for space situational awareness, lunar exploration, and resilient supply chains. The U.S. encouraged the ROK and Korean companies to engage with private U.S. firms that are working to establish Commercial LEO Destinations (CLDs). The two sides intend to explore opportunities for ROK's participation in lunar exploration through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. NASA and KASI noted significant progress towards launching KASI's lunar science payload on a NASA CLPS mission in 2026. The two sides discussed the possibility of exchanging radiation test data and enhancing resilient supply chains by mutually recognizing their test reports or certifications. On regulatory alignment, the ROK presented its space regulatory framework for the launch and the operation of spaceports, and the United States also presented its launch and re-entry regulatory framework. The two sides noted the recent meeting of the U.S.-ROK Working Group on Export Controls as affirmed in the third Civil Space Dialogue. The two sides intend to hold a follow-up meeting later this year to enhance mutual understanding on this issue. The two sides plan to continue to meet to share standards and best practices for leveraging space situational awareness capabilities to improve spaceflight safety and sustainability. The two sides recognized the importance of improved international coordination on this issue, including discussion of data and information sharing principles and engagement with private sector space actors. To enhance U.S.-ROK Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), the two sides discussed how to cooperate in providing satellite data for securing safe maritime transportation routes and addressing various maritime security threats. The two sides discussed how to enhance cooperation on information and infrastructure between the U.S. National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office and the Korea Coast Guard. The two countries intend to enhance our close cooperation on advancing the peaceful exploration and use of space at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS), in the Artemis Accords signatory group, in global fora such as the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), in regional fora such as the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) and in trilateral U.S.-ROK-Japan civil and commercial space cooperation. The U.S. delegation included representatives from the Department of State, NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Commerce's Office of Space Commerce (OSC), the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NMIO), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The ROK delegation included representatives from the MOFA, KASA, the Rural Development Administration (RDA), the Korea Coast Guard (KCG), the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and KASI. To further bilateral civil and commercial space cooperation, the two sides plan to hold the U.S.-ROK Civil Space Dialogue every two years, with the ROK hosting the next dialogue in 2027. End Text NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China to impose reciprocal visa restrictions on US personnel involved in egregious behavior related to Xizang issues Global Times By Global Times Published: Apr 14, 2025 04:46 PM In response to the US claim that it would impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved in formulating and implementing policies that limit foreign access to Xizang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday that Xizang affairs are purely a matter of China's internal affairs. The US, by imposing unwarranted visa restrictions on Chinese officials over Xizang-related issues, has seriously violated international law and fundamental principles of international relations, Lin said. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Law on Foreign Relations" and the "Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law," China has decided to take reciprocal visa restriction measures against US personnel who have exhibited egregious behavior regarding Xizang-related issues, Lin said. Xizang is open, and China welcomes friendly foreign individuals to visit, travel, and conduct business in the region. At the same time, China opposes any country or individual using so-called human rights, religion, or culture as an excuse to interfere in Xizang affairs, and opposes anyone who uses visits to Xizang as a pretext for disruption and sabotage, Lin said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Three key points of Xi's state visits to Southeast Asia, first trips abroad this year Global Times Neighborly synergy By Li Jianguang from People's Daily Published: Apr 14, 2025 10:38 PM General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia from April 14 to 18. This is the first overseas trip of the year by China's head of state, and also serves as the inaugural visit to neighboring countries following the Central Conference on Work Related to Neighboring Countries. Amid a turbulent global climate, the first overseas visits this year, with a focus on the periphery, are set to capture the world's attention. A guiding principle: 'Emphasizing the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness' "A good neighbor is worth thousands of pieces of gold," and "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors." Just as this holds true for families, it also applies to nations. Harmonious relations with neighboring countries, alongside friendliness and benevolence toward neighboring states, have long been the traditional Chinese way of coexisting with neighbors. In recent years, China and its neighboring countries have grown increasingly close, just like relatives. After assuming the position of general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, To Lam chose China for his first overseas visit; Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in just over two years in office, has visited China three times; and following his assumption of office, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet designated China as the destination of his first official visit overseas. Frequent meetings and increased interactions illustrate the vibrant practice of the "amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness" neighborhood diplomacy. In October 2013, at the first conference on neighborhood diplomacy since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xi proposed the concept of neighborhood diplomacy featuring amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. Over more than a decade, China has borne fruit from these efforts: It has now reached a consensus with 17 neighboring nations on building a community with a shared future and has become the largest trading partner for 18 countries. The recent Central Conference on Work Related to Neighboring Countries stressed the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness in neighborhood diplomacy, and advocated for the building of a community with a shared future with neighboring countries. This enduring concept has continuously propelled China's relations with its neighbors forward, allowing them to genuinely experience China's goodwill and sincerity. Good neighbors wish each other well. As Xi embarked once again on a Southeast Asia tour, how the rich connotation of this important concept will be expanded and enriched is highly anticipated. A vision: 'China's development will bring even greater benefits to its neighbors' Neighbors are as inseparable as lips and teeth, and as connected as hands and feet. In the face of the expectations of neighboring countries to share opportunities and achieve common development, Xi has repeatedly stressed that China welcomes its neighboring countries to take a ride on its development express train. In the autumn of 2013, Xi journeyed westward to Kazakhstan and southward to Indonesia. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was met with an overwhelming response. Originating from China and beginning in neighboring regions, the initiative has gone on to benefit the world. Over the past decade, China has signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with 25 neighboring countries. The China-Laos Railway has solved Laos' "landlocked" dilemma, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway has given the local economy wings to soar, and the China-Malaysia "Two Countries, Two Parks" project has pioneered a new model of industrial cooperation. A large number of projects have brought tangible benefits to the people and improved livelihoods. "Neighboring countries cannot be moved away. Helping one's neighbor is helping oneself." Vietnam's Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, Malaysia's East Coast Rail Link project, Cambodia's "Diamond Hexagon" cooperation framework, and other key projects are accelerating alignment with the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. These efforts are now generating a synergistic effect where "1+1>2," creating robust momentum for regional cooperation. At the bilateral level, China and Vietnam are building a strategically significant China-Vietnam community with a shared future; China and Malaysia are deepening their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership toward China-Malaysia Community with a Shared Future; and the China-Cambodia community with a shared future has entered a new era of high level, high quality, and high standard. At the regional level, the upgraded protocol for the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) is expected to be signed within the year. Digital empowerment and green development will support the transformative growth of ASEAN countries, fostering the formation of a community with a shared future in the two major clusters of the Indo-China Peninsula and Central Asia. In the face of headwinds against globalization, all parties are looking forward to how China and its neighboring countries can continuously establish cooperative models and how the construction of a community with a shared future in the region can be further deepened and solidified. An action: Jointly contributing to open regionalism This has been an extraordinary journey. Thirty-four years ago, China and ASEAN officially initiated their dialogue process. Among ASEAN's dialogue partners, China is the first among major countries to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and to establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN. It is precisely under the impetus of the rapidly advancing China-ASEAN relationship that countries have increasingly intensified their cooperation with ASEAN, gradually fostering a thriving landscape of East Asian cooperation. In November 2021, at a special summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, Xi profoundly summarized the valuable experiences of bilateral development, one of which is "inclusiveness and mutual learning and jointly contributed to open regionalism." "We have steered regional economic integration with an open mind, advanced ASEAN-led regional cooperation through equal-footed consultation, and forged friendships that are open, not exclusionary, with an inclusive attitude, thus honoring the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefit." As the world once again stands at a historical crossroads, the choice lies between fostering division and confrontation or advocating for openness and win-win cooperation; between extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, or resorting to hegemony, bullying, and dominance. These two options represent two different futures, impacting the overall interests of humanity and testing the wisdom of nations. China and ASEAN together account for about one-quarter of the world's total population and are the second and fifth-largest economies in the world, respectively. "An increasingly cohesive China-ASEAN community of shared future conforms to the trend of the times of seeking peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit and meets the common interests of the people of Asia and the rest of the world. This gives it abroad space and huge potential for growth." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on April 14, 2025 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: April 14, 2025 19:24 CCTV: The world is closely following the devastating impact of the Trump administration's tariff hikes on other countries. As two major economies in the world, China and the EU have recently had quite a lot of high-level exchanges. Could you share with us the communication and coordination between China and the EU on additional U.S. tariffs? Lin Jian: The U.S. uses tariff as a weapon to exert maximum pressure and seek selfish gains, and puts its own interests over the public good of the international community. This is a typical move of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying, which severely hurts the interests of China, the EU and the rest of the world. As the second and third largest economies, China and the EU collectively account for over one third of the global economy and more than a quarter of global trade. Both sides are advocates of economic globalization and trade liberalization, and firm defenders and supporters of the WTO. The head of the EU underscored the vital importance of stability and certainty for a sound global economy. China and the EU are committed to a fair, free and WTO-centered multilateral trading system, and the sound and steady development of global trade and economic relations, which is in the interest of both sides and the rest of the world. As a responsible major country, China has already taken resolute measures and will continue to do so to safeguard its legitimate interests. China stands ready to work with the international community, including the EU, to step up communication and coordination, share development opportunities, expand opening up and cooperation, and achieve mutual benefits. We will not only safeguard respective interests, but also defend international trade rules, fairness and justice. China-Arab TV: The U.S. kept changing its tariffs policy and for now granted exemption on part of Chinese imports. What's China's view? Will China cut tariffs correspondingly? Lin Jian: The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce has made clear China's view on this. Facts have shown and will continue to show that there are no winners in a trade war and protectionism will lead nowhere. The tariff tsunami hurts the U.S. itself as well as other countries. We urge the U.S. to quit maximum pressure and resolve issues through dialogue on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit. China News Service: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson recently said China will take firm countermeasures against the U.S.'s additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials determined to be substantially involved in the formulation or execution of policies related to access for foreigners to "Tibetan Areas." Could you share more details on these countermeasures? Lin Jian: Xizang affairs are purely China's internal affairs. The U.S.'s arbitrary visa restrictions on Chinese officials under the pretext of the Xizang-related issues violate international law and basic norms governing international relations. In accordance with the Law on Foreign Relations of the People's Republic of China and the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People's Republic of China, China decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who have acted egregiously on the Xizang-related issues. Xizang is an open region. We welcome friends from foreign countries to visit, travel and do business in China's Xizang region. At the same time, we oppose any country or individual using human rights, religion and culture as a false pretext to meddle in Xizang affairs. We oppose interference and sabotage by people with ill motives who would use visits to Xizang as an opportunity to engage in such activities. Antara: Indonesia and China celebrated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations yesterday on April 13th. In his exchange of congratulatory messages with President Prabowo Subianto, the Chinese leader stated that we should enrich the China-Indonesia community with a shared future and it serves as a model of solidarity between major developing countries. My question is, amid the current complex and turbulent international landscape, what opportunities can be further explored to deepen cooperation between the two countries? Lin Jian: Yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Indonesia. President Xi Jinping and President Prabowo Subianto exchanged congratulatory messages, spoke highly the development of bilateral ties, and stressed that they will firmly support each other's national development outlook, jointly advance along our respective modernization path, and lead the relationship to new heights. We have full confidence in a better future of the growth of China-Indonesia relations. Both China and Indonesia are major developing countries and important forces in the Global South. The cooperation between the two countries has strategic significance and global influence. Amid increasing turbulence in the international landscape, the all-round strategic cooperation between China and Indonesia is all the more important. As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic ties, China stands ready to work with Indonesia to jointly uphold regional development, prosperity and stability, work for closer coordination between major countries in response to global challenges, keep the multilateral trading system and industrial and supply chains stable and smooth, and demonstrate the influence of China-Indonesia community with a shared future in the region and the world at large. China Daily: In his remarks at the 2025 Central American Security Conference in Panama City, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blatantly peddled the "China threat" narrative and made aggressive remarks on China's military and companies. He said the U.S. must prevent war by robustly and vigorously deterring China's threats in the Western Hemisphere. Deputy Secretary Landau made clear to El Salvador the importance of collaboration on 5G, cybersecurity, and AI, and stressed the need to prevent China from accessing it by only allowing trusted vendors. What's China's comment? Lin Jian: The remarks of relevant U.S. officials are steeped in ideological bias and the Cold War mentality. There is not a single word of truth in them. Who sees Latin America and the Caribbean as a backyard and forces the "Neo-Monroe Doctrine" on them? Who keeps pointing fingers at the domestic affairs of these countries? Who's been coercing them with tariff threats? Who's engaged in massive global surveillance? Who's got military bases all over the Western Hemisphere? Who's letting small arms and light weapons and ammunition flow into Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace? The world knows full well the answer to these questions. China's cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries is South-South cooperation. It is always aimed at giving each other support and never driven by geopolitical calculations. China is committed to equality and mutual benefit in engaging with these countries and never seeks sphere of influence or targets any third party. The U.S. keeps vilifying China and peddling the so-called "China threat" in order to cook up a pretext to justify their action to control countries in this region, yet they will never succeed. AFP: Russia launched a missile attack against the Sumy region in Ukraine yesterday. U.S. President Donald Trump called it "terrible" while other leaders have also condemned that. What's China's response? Lin Jian: China's stance on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. Dialogue and negotiation is the only way out of the crisis. AFP: The UK government this weekend said that it was taking control of British Steel from the Chinese company Jingye. The UK's Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds also said that it was "naive" for Britain to allow the steel industry to fall into Chinese hands. Does the Foreign Ministry have a comment on the takeover and then also on the Business Secretary's comments on the deal? Lin Jian: As I understand, the Jingye Group you mentioned is a private Chinese enterprise that has business cooperation with the UK side on the basis of market principles. As for the current difficulties arising in the operation of British Steel, the two sides should resolve them through consultations in the principle of mutual benefit. We hope that the British government will treat Chinese companies investing and operating in the UK in a fair and just manner, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and refrain from turning economic and trade cooperation into political and security issues lest it should undermine the confidence of Chinese companies in their normal investment and operation in the UK. Shenzhen TV: Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited China, which received extensive and close attention. When speaking to the press during the trip, he noted that the aim of the visit is to consolidate Spain's relations with China and enhance dialogue and cooperation with China. He also stressed that Spain and the EU support free trade and stand ready to work with China to address global challenges. What's your comment on the visit by Prime Minister Sanchez? Lin Jian: This is Prime Minister Sanchez's third visit to China within three years. The visit is a great success and demonstrates the firm willingness and determination of China and Spain to further grow the bilateral ties. During the visit, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Sanchez and Premier Li Qiang had talks with him. Leaders of the two countries had friendly and in-depth exchanges of views. The two sides jointly issued the Action Plan for Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and proposed to build a more strategically resilient and dynamic comprehensive strategic partnership, to better serve the well-being of both peoples, inject impetus into the China-EU relations, and make greater contributions to world peace, stability, and development. Leaders of the two countries had in-depth and strategic communication on the growth of bilateral relations. They agreed to continue to respect and support each other. Spain reaffirmed its commitment to the one-China principle. They stressed the importance to leverage their complementarity in cooperation, strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and other traditional areas, and tap the potential in emerging areas like new energy, artificial intelligence and digital economy. They underscored the need to explore the rich historical heritage of the two ancient civilizations, give a stronger boost to cooperation in such areas as culture, education, youth exchange and tourism, and carry forward the deep bond between the two peoples fostered through the Olympics and panda cooperation. They also exchanged views on China-EU relations, and international and regional issues of mutual interest. They stressed the need to boost the steady development of China-EU relations, and stay committed as each other's partner for mutually beneficial cooperation. Both China and Spain are positive supporters of multilateralism and open cooperation. It is important for the two sides to uphold free trade and steady global economic order. President Xi Jinping noted that as the international situation gets more complex and volatile, it is increasingly important for China and Spain to develop sound and stable relations. China stands ready to work with the international community, including Spain, to firmly stand on the right side of history, be a firm defender of multilateralism, international order and rules, firmly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, jointly pursue openness and cooperation, defend the common interests of the international community and provide more confidence and driving force for world development and prosperity. AFP: The UK's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that he was deeply concerned after a British Member of Parliament was denied entry to Hong Kong last week. He said he would raise the issue with the Chinese authorities. I just wonder if the Foreign Ministry could say why this MP was denied entry or provide any more details. And also what's the ministry's response to the UK Foreign Secretary's concerns? Lin Jian: The Hong Kong SAR government has stated its position on that. Let me stress that border entry is a matter within a country's sovereignty. The Hong Kong SAR government has the authority to handle individual cases of entry in accordance with relevant laws and policies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China urges US to ease trade tensions via 'equal dialogue' Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 7:03 PM China urges the United States to settle its trade dispute with the Asian powerhouse through "equal dialogue." A senior Chinese official from the country's General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Monday called on the United States to resolve trade differences between the two countries via equal dialogue. The deputy head of the GAC, at a press conference in Beijing, responded to questions asked by reporters regarding the escalating tariff war between China and the US. Wang Lingjun said despite the continued high tensions and new challenges posed by the fresh tariffs slapped by Washington, China-US trade ties has kept on expanding in the first three months of 2025. The Chinese official said import and export volumes had increased four percent in the first quarter, reaching 1.11 trillion yuan (about $152.2 bn). He attributed the continued growth of mutual businesses of the two countries to strong internal trade dynamics that existed in the two nations. The deputy head of the GAC pointed out that the economic relationship between the two countries was founded on mutual benefit, and shaped by the inherent principles of economic laws. The Chinese official, however, also pointed out that Washington's use of tariffs as a weapon for staging a trade war against its global business partners under various pretexts will inevitably exert negative impacts on international trade. He called the misuse of tariffs by US President Donald Trump "bullying" that will eventually damage bilateral trade between China and the United States. "The United States' so-called 'reciprocal tariffs' subvert the existing international economic and trade order, and place the interests of the US above the public interests of the international community. This is a typical act of tariff bullying, which seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization, severely undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, and heavily impacts the stability of the global economic order," said Wang. Wang said "US tariff bullying and hegemony" has led to widespread opposition and result in the future isolation of the Americans. "What the US government has done has aroused widespread opposition across the world. China has resolutely taken countermeasures and will continue to work with all parties to oppose US tariff bullying and hegemony, as well as jointly defend the multilateral trading system and economic globalization. We urge the U.S. to immediately correct its wrongdoings and resolve trade differences through equal dialogue, in accordance with the principle of mutual respect," Wang said. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Monday that the trade war launched by Trump against China had "no winners". China blasted the American leader, dismissing his trade war as a "joke". In an article run by Vietnam's state-run Nhan Dan paper on Monday, Xi reiterated his belief that a "trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere." Washington's ineffective tariffs "will become a joke in the history of the world economy," a Chinese Finance Ministry spokesman said in a statement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'No winners in trade war': China's Xi blasts Trump's protectionism as he kicks off regional tour Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 9:36 AM Chinese President Xi Jinping warns that there would be "no winners" in a trade war as US President Donald Trump has upended the global economy with his latest tariffs. Xi began a week of diplomatic engagements in Southeast Asia with a visit to Vietnam on Monday, highlighting China's dedication to global trade. Despite temporarily suspending certain tariffs, Trump has made an exception for China, maintaining a significant 145% tariff on the world's second-largest economy. On Friday, China further raised the retaliatory tariffs to 125%, to be put into force from Saturday. In an article published on Monday in Vietnam's major state-run Nhan Dan newspaper, Xi reiterated Beijing's stance that a "trade war and tariff war will produce no winner, and protectionism will lead nowhere." Washington's repeated tariffs "will become a joke in the history of the world economy," a Chinese Finance Ministry spokesman said in a statement. "However, if the US insists on continuing to substantially infringe on China's interests, China will resolutely counter and fight to the end." Xi's visits, starting in Hanoi, includes infrequent visits to Malaysia and Cambodia, aiming to bolster relationships with China's nearest neighbors, while mitigating the effects of the US tariffs. According to Xinhua news agency, Xi looked forward to an "in-depth exchange of views with Vietnamese leaders on issues concerning ties between the two parties and countries that have a global impact." Xi also called on both countries to firmly protect the multilateral trading system, ensure stable global industrial and supply chains, and maintain an open and cooperative international environment. Vietnam's top leader, To Lam, said in an article posted on the government's news portal on Monday that his country "is always ready to join hands with China to make cooperation between the two countries more substantive, profound, balanced and sustainable." During Xi's visit, Vietnam and China are set to finalize approximately 40 agreements spanning various sectors, according to Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister, Bui Thanh Son. Among these agreements, there is an expectation of collaboration on the development of Vietnam's railway network." Vietnam, along with several other Southeast Asian nations, is navigating a complex balancing act between the US and China. The US serves as Vietnam's largest export market, representing 30% of the country's GDP, while China is its primary source of imports, supplying essential raw materials and other goods needed for manufacturing exports aimed at the US market. Historically, Vietnam has aimed to remain neutral in the US-China rivalry and is keen to avoid provoking either side, particularly as it seeks to convince Washington to reduce its 46% tariff. Cambodia and Malaysia, facing tariffs of 49% and 24% respectively, are actively pursuing negotiations with Trump. Meanwhile, China has expressed its determination to "fight until the end" if the United States continues to intensify the trade conflict. On Friday, Xi called on the European Union to join Beijing in opposing the United States' "bullying" practices as Washington's controversial tariffs continue to shock global markets. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China's Xi seeks stronger Vietnam trade ties at start of SE Asia tour Xi will also stop in Malaysia and Cambodia on trip shadowed by uncertainty over U.S. tariffs. By RFA Vietnamese 2025.04.14 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sought stronger trade ties with neighboring Vietnam at the start of a five-day swing through Southeast Asia where Beijing presents itself as a source of economic stability amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs. Xi was welcomed in Hanoi on Monday by Vietnam's top leader To Lam. He also held talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The two countries signed 45 agreements including on enhancing supply chains and on cooperation over railways, Reuters reported. In an editorial published in state media, Xi called for the two communist neighbors to "resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment." "There are no winners in a trade war, or a tariff war," he wrote. His visit comes as Beijing faces 145% U.S. duties and shows little sign of backing down on its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods despite the impact the standoff will have on an export-dependent Chinese economy. Vietnam, meanwhile, is negotiating with the Trump administration to forestall U.S. tariffs of 46% taking effect in July. Vietnam ran the third-largest trade surplus with the United States in 2024, only behind China and Mexico. Vietnam is under pressure from Washington to ensure that goods originating in China aren't just transshipped through Vietnam. Trump views tariffs as a means to boost U.S. revenues and incentivize American manufacturers. U.S. officials have long accused China of massive state subsidies of domestic companies. Critics, however, say the sudden imposition of tariffs and uncertainty over the direction of U.S. policy could trigger not just a trade war but a recession. A commentary in the Chinese communist party mouthpiece, China Daily, described Xi's Southeast Asia tour as "providing more certainty for regional economic development amid the chaos brought by the United States' launch of a tariff war." Xi is making his second visit to Vietnam in two years. He travels later this week to Malaysia and Cambodia. Ahead of Xi's two-day stop in Hanoi, Vietnamese authorities stepped up surveillance of local dissidents and their families. Do Thi Thu, wife of incarcerated land rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong, said a Hanoi police investigator called her last Thursday then visited her at her house in person, inquired after her family and suddenly asked: "President Xi Jinping is coming to Vietnam. Are you going anywhere?" On Monday, she said that police took turns guarding in front of her house. "Two people in the morning, two people at noon, one person in the afternoon, and one more person in the evening," she told RFA Vietnamese. 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 April 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 China told Hong Kong's last major opposition party to shut down: members The Democratic Party, now set to disband, had previously avoided commenting on potential pressure from Beijing. By Alan Lu for RFA 2025.04.14 TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Senior members of Hong Kong's Democratic Party, the city's last remaining major opposition party, said that Chinese officials and their proxies had warned the party to disband or face "serious consequences," including possible arrests. Founded in 1994, the Democratic Party was Hong Kong's first major pro-democracy political force. It emerged from a movement that began in 1982 to oppose any erosion of freedoms from China-U.K. negotiations on the territory's future. In February, the party announced plans to disband amid an ongoing political crackdown under two national security laws, though it did not initially cite pressure from Chinese authorities. But Fred Li, a Democratic Party member and former lawmaker, told the Reuters news agency on Sunday that a Chinese official had informed him the party should be disbanded before the next legislative elections in December. Li was among five senior Democratic Party members who said they had been told in meetings with Chinese officials or individuals linked to Beijing in recent months that the party should close, Reuters reported. Radio Free Asia has not been able to independently verify the report. The report came on the same day the party held a special members' meeting and passed a motion authorizing its Central Committee to proceed with the disbandment. "I hope Hong Kong's political parties will continue to work for the people," Party Chairman Lo Kin-hei told reporters at the party's headquarters. "We have always hoped to serve the Hong Kong people and to do things that are good for society." The party is now seeking legal and accounting professionals to carry out its liquidation. Any remaining assets will be donated to local organizations working for the betterment of Hong Kong, according to party rules. Lo didn't specify when the dissolution would be complete, only indicating that it could happen later this year or possibly next year. The political crackdown has already resulted in the dissolution of the Civic Party. It was disbanded in May 2023 after its lawmakers were barred from running for reelection in the wake of the 2020 National Security Law. The pro-democracy youth activist party Demosisto disbanded in June 2020. The government has blamed several waves of pro-democracy protests in recent years on "foreign forces" trying to instigate a democratic revolution in Hong Kong. Recent electoral changes ensure that almost nobody in the city's once-vibrant opposition camp will stand for election again. Dozens of pro-democracy figures have been jailed and rule changes require political vetting for candidates. Pro-democracy candidates who stood for the last directly elected district council attracted record turnout and won a landslide victory - widely seen as a ringing public endorsement of the 2019 protest movement. Turnout plummeted in the first Legislative Council election after the rule change and Chief Executive John Lee was given the top job after running unopposed. Since Beijing imposed two national security laws that banned public opposition and dissent in the city, and blamed "hostile foreign forces" for the resulting protests, hundreds of thousands have fled. The territory has plummeted in human rights rankings, press freedom has shrunk and government propaganda is now widespread in schools. Hong Kong denies entry of UK politician Reports of Chinese pressure on Hong Kong's Democratic Party emerged just days after media outlets revealed that U.K. Liberal Democrat member of parliament Wera Hobhouse had been denied entry to the city during a family visit to meet her newborn grandson. The British government expressed "serious concern" over the incident after Hobhouse said she was detained at the airport, questioned, had her passport confiscated, and was sent back to the U.K. without explanation. She is believed to be the first British MP barred from entering Hong Kong since the 1997 handover. As a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, Hobhouse believes her political role was the reason. "Until now, I think there had been a diplomatic understanding that we might have different values, different political ideas, but there is some sort of basic rule in which we allow politicians into each other's countries, and that sort of understanding seems to be collapsing," she said in an interview with BBC's Newscast. The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, called on the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, to summon the Chinese ambassador and provide a full explanation. Lammy said he will raise the "deeply concerning" incident with authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing. Edited by Taejun Kang and Stephen Wright. 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 April 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 Xi Eyes Inroads In Asia, Europe Amid Trump's Tariffs And US-China Tensions By Reid Standish April 14, 2025 Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for upholding multilateral trade as he landed in Vietnam as part of a high-stakes tour of Southeast Asia's most export-reliant economies as he looks to capitalize on global trade tensions with the United States. The three-country visit, which begins with a two-day state visit to Vietnam on April 14, will also take Xi to Malaysia and Cambodia as he aims to emphasize China as a stable partner in contrast to the United States, which has imposed and then suspended punishing tariffs across the region and roiled global markets. "There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, and protectionism has no way out," Xi wrote in an article published in Vietnamese state media ahead of his visit, without mentioning the United States specifically. The Chinese leader also urged strengthening coordination and cooperation through regional initiatives, such as the East Asia Cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, which he called necessary to "inject more stability and positive energy into a chaotic and intertwined world." Beijing and Hanoi signed 45 agreements, although the contents of all the deals have not yet been disclosed. Xi expected to attend the launch ceremony for a new $8-billion railway project connecting Vietnam and China on April 15. The venture is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy. While planned ahead of the announcement of global US tariffs, the tour now forms part of a broader Chinese charm offensive launched in the wake of a growing trade war that saw US President Donald Trump hit China with 145 percent tariffs and Beijing respond with a 125 percent tit-for-tat move on US goods. Before receiving a 90-day reprieve on "reciprocal" US tariffs, Vietnam and Cambodia were hit with 46 percent and 49 percent tariffs, respectively, and both countries are walking a tightrope in their relations between China and the United States, both of which are important economic partners. China is also looking for inroads in Europe amid the tariff tumult. Xi hosted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on April 11, where he said China and the European Union should "jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying." Similarly, Chinese premier Li Qiang spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week when they both emphasized the need for a "strong reformed trading system, free, fair, and founded on a level playing field," according to a readout. "US tariffs were seen as truly existential, and while we're in a pause on the retaliatory tariffs, there's still this pervading sense of uncertainty around the threat of future tariffs," said Kaitlyn Garman, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). "You can see short- and long-term scenarios where policy decisions will need to be assessed through the lens of the potential that this opens up another point of confrontation with the United States and risks an escalating trade war," she added. Tariffs Ignite A Delicate Balancing Act in Southeast Asia Trump has said his goal in unleashing tariffs is to eliminate the US trade deficit once and for all, which he says will help lure more manufacturing back to the United States, creating jobs at home and staunching the flow of US money to China. But the tariffs also appear to be a negotiating tool for Washington to remake its trade relationships with much of the world. Some 70 countries are said to currently be negotiating tariff relief with Washington, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week they should "approach China as a group" together with the United States. Many countries across Asia, however, are also grappling with being slapped by soaring tariffs and debating how to respond in the event that they could be reinstated to their full level after the 90-day pause ends. It's against this backdrop that Beijing is looking to gain ground with its strategic neighbors in Southeast Asia. Vietnam and many others in the region have traditionally sought to avoid taking sides between China and the United States. Washington is a crucial export market for southeast Asia and a security partner that serves as a counterbalance to China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea. However, trade in the region is closely intertwined with China, with countries from the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), counting as the biggest recipient of Chinese exports last year, according to China's customs data. Vietnam is in the process of looking to negotiate its trade relationship with the Trump administration and has already sent Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc to Washington, who promised to buy more US goods, including defense systems, as it looks to avoid the 46 percent levy being reintroduced. Exports to the United States account for 30 percent of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) and the country has received a boost in recent years as many companies moved there from China to skirt tariffs imposed by Washington. China Looks For Diplomatic Inroads Elsewhere Beijing has cast a wide net as it has looked to capitalize diplomatically in the aftermath of US tariffs. Last week, China held video calls with Malaysia, as well as Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Xi also vowed to deepen China's strategic partnership with Indonesia in a call with that country's president, Prabowo Subianto, on April 13. Brussels also announced that it plans to host an EU-China summit in July, and the bloc said last week that it agreed to restart talks with Beijing to settle a dispute over Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, which the EU hit with tariffs in 2024. Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez's recent visit to Beijing also made headlines when he called for Europe to review its relationship with China as it adapts to a new reality with the United States. Those comments were met with a rebuke from US Treasury Secretary Bessent, who warned that cooperating with Beijing would be "cutting your own throat." Analysts say a rapprochement between Brussels and Beijing is not in the cards given that China's support of Russia amid its war in Ukraine has deeply damaged relations with the bloc. But Trump's tariffs threats, as well disagreements over US diplomacy over how to end the war in Ukraine, are also leading European governments to adjust their foreign policies, which could see them forge closer trading partnerships with other "like-minded" partners in Asia like India, Japan, and South Korea, and elsewhere in Europe with Norway and Britain. "Europe will invest into robustly promoting trade through a like-minded partners approach," said Reinhard Butikofer, a former Member of the European Parliament. "The European Union will pursue a very active trade policy and try to strike new trade deals." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/china-vietnam-asia-trade-war- tariffs-europe-spain/33384694.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 The UK Government has issued a response after a UK MP was refused entry to Hong Kong. 14 April 2025 A Government spokesperson said: During his visit to mainland China and Hong Kong Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander relayed our immediate and deep concern regarding MP Wera Hobhouse denial of entry into Hong Kong. Minister Alexander raised our concerns and demanded an explanation with senior Chinese and Hong Kong interlocutors including Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for Administration, to understand why the Hong Kong authorities refused access to a British MP. It is deeply concerning that a UK MP was refused permission to enter Hong Kong last week. Unjustified restrictions on the freedom of movement for UK citizens into Hong Kong only serves to further undermine Hong Kong's international reputation and the important people-people connections between the UK and Hong Kong. As the Foreign Secretary has made clear, and Minister Alexander relayed in person, it would be unacceptable for any MP to be denied entry for simply expressing their views. Xi calls on China, Vietnam to oppose unilateral bullying Global Times By Fan Anqi in Hanoi and Wang Qi in Beijing Published: Apr 15, 2025 12:01 AM Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, said on Monday that China and Vietnam should carry forward the profound traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood." China will continue to support Vietnam taking socialist path suited to its national conditions, Xi said. Xi made the remarks while meeting with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, during his state visit to Vietnam. During the meeting, Xi proposed six measures to deepen the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic focus and jointly oppose unilateral bullying, Xi said. Xi also called on the two sides to maintain the stability of the global free trade system and industrial and supply chains. Xi said leaders of China and Vietnam should exchange visits frequently like relatives. Building China-Vietnam community with shared future carries great global significance and China's mega market is always open to Vietnam, said Xi. Xi also urged China and Vietnam to jointly tackle online gambling, telecom fraud and other cross-border crimes. China and Vietnam should achieve more positive maritime interaction, Xi said. In meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday, Xi said that China and Vietnam should firmly uphold the multilateral trading system. Xi also urged the two countries to work together to push for an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. Xi arrived in Hanoi on Monday. In a written statement upon his arrival at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Xi said he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with Vietnamese leaders on issues concerning ties between the two parties and countries that have a global impact, determine future direction, and possess strategic significance, as well as on international and regional issues of common concern. To a new height Upon arrival, Xi was warmly welcomed by enthusiastic crowds in Hanoi. On Monday morning, enthusiastic crowds lined the streets - Vietnamese locals, overseas Chinese, students and employees of Chinese enterprises all gathered together holding Chinese and Vietnamese national flags. Some held up red banners reading "Deep China-Vietnam Friendship, Comrades Plus Brothers." According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the Chinese leader and his entourage were greeted at the airport with exciting drum performances by 200 artists, along with dance performances by 54 young girls dressed in the traditional costumes of 54 ethnic groups from across Vietnam. Later on Monday, Xi attended a welcome ceremony held by To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said head-of-state diplomacy is crucial in the relations between the two parties and countries of China and Vietnam, steering and setting the course for bilateral ties, especially amid rising global economic uncertainties. During Xi's visit to Vietnam in December 2023, bilateral ties were elevated to a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. In August 2024, then Vietnamese President To Lam chose China as the destination for his first overseas visit only two weeks after being elected general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. Xi's visit is taking place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. A VNA article said Xi's visit is significant and symbolic for the bilateral relationship, thereby continuing to maintain the positive development trend, spreading strongly to all levels, sectors, and people, creating a vibrant, effective, and practical atmosphere of cooperation. Xu believes the state visit by the Chinese leader provides a valuable opportunity to elevate bilateral relations to a new height and enhance the strategic nature of China-Vietnam ties. The expert commented that the prospects for cooperation in areas such as infrastructure connectivity, trade of agricultural products, digital and green economy, as well as people-to-people exchanges and education are broad, contributing to creating new highlights in pragmatic cooperation. Commenting on the development of China-Vietnam bilateral trade ties, He Yongqian, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, said on April 10 that China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner since 2004, and Vietnam has been China's largest trading partner in ASEAN since 2016. China-Vietnam bilateral trade has exceeded $200 billion for four consecutive years, reaching $260.65 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 13.5 percent, said He, adding that Vietnam is an important overseas investment destination for China, with Chinese enterprises investing over $2.5 billion directly in Vietnam in 2024, maintaining rapid growth. "Infrastructure links from rail to ports are expanding fast. Fruits from Vietnam frequent Chinese tables while Chinese raw materials and machinery fuel Vietnamese industry," Xinhua said in a report. A reliable partner President Xi's visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia are his first trips abroad this year, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. In a signed article titled "Building on past achievements and making new advances in pursuit of shared goals" published on Monday by the Nhan Dan Newspaper of Vietnam ahead of his state visit, Xi said China will deepen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries and jointly advance Asia's modernization, according to the Xinhua News Agency. "China will ensure continuity and stability of its neighborhood diplomacy. We will stay committed to the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness," he wrote, adding that "we will continue to pursue the policy of forging friendships and partnerships with our neighbors." Some Western media have claimed that the Chinese leader's visit comes amid the US' launched global tariff war. The New York Times pointed out the visit may highlight a contrast between China as "a reliable partner" and an "unpredictable US." According to Xu, trade issues may not be the primary focus of the leader's visit as Chinese diplomacy places greater emphasis on strategic, long-term, and fundamental issues and cooperation. However, the visits to the Southeast Asian neighbors show that amid US tariff threats and global trade turbulence, China remains as a trustworthy partner for Southeast Asian countries, and deepening regional cooperation is mutually beneficial for all parties, Xu said. "It adds more certainty to not only bilateral relations but also regional stability, contributing to the recovery and growth of Asia-Pacific regional and global economies,'' Xu added. According to Chinese official customs data, China's exports to ASEAN jumped 8.1 percent in March, particularly outbound shipments to Vietnam surged nearly 16.5 percent, while imports from the region grew 2.8 percent. Nguyen Tang Nghi, dean of the School of International Relations, University of Social Sciences & Humanities under the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, told the Global Times that Vietnam, China and other countries in the Southeast Asian region may face similar challenges - all being "victims" of the US tariff policies. Therefore, we need to further open our economies and strengthen mutual trade and investment cooperation. Vietnam and China, in particular, need to be more proactive and decisive in promoting trade and investment, leveraging each other's strengths as the tariff row becomes more intense and unpredictable, he said. Chen Xuan contributed to the story NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 2025 Joint Statement by Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland 14.04.2025 Member States Representatives of Poland, Sweden and Switzerland, Member States of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) in Korea, met in Stockholm on 8-9 April 2025 for their annual consultations. Discussions focused on the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and its impact on the activities of the NNSC. The representatives also evaluated the operational tasks of the NNSC and reaffirmed their long-term commitment to contribute to a permanent peace solution on the Korean Peninsula. In addition, the NNSC Member States exchanged views with representatives of several Stockholm-based institutions over the situation on the Korean Peninsula and on the work of NNSC. The NNSC was established nearly 72 years ago through the Korean Armistice Agreement of 27 July 1953, which is still the only legally binding instrument for the avoidance of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. The role of the NNSC remains crucial in maintaining the military armistice as well as in promoting transparency and in building confidence on both sides of the military demarcation line. NNSC Member States underscored the need for all parties to continue to abstain from actions that risk further increasing tensions in the region, and to undertake concrete measures to build confidence and trust on the Peninsula. During the Consultations, Poland was represented by Brigadier General M. Bieniek, Head of the Polish Military Mission to the NNSC, and Mr. Konrad Pawlik, Deputy Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Next year's annual consultations will take place in Warsaw. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Diplomatic tension flares as Algeria threatens to expel 12 French officials Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 11:59 AM Diplomatic tension has risen between Algeria and France as the former colony calls on 12 French diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reported on Monday that Algeria has demanded the French diplomats leave the country following the arrest of three Algerian nationals in France, For decades, ties between Algeria and France have gone through several diplomatic upheavals, and Monday's announcement comes at a sensitive time in relations and shows difficulties in repairing ties. "I am asking Algerian authorities to abandon these expulsion measures," Barrot said, adding, "If the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately." The French foreign minister visited the former African colony earlier this month in an attempt to mend diplomatic issues that brought the two countries to the brink of a diplomatic breakdown. After a meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Barrot said that both countries wanted to "rebuild a partnership of equals." On Friday, French prosecutors indicted three Algerians, including a consular official, on suspicion of involvement in the 2024 abduction of an opponent of the Algerian government, Amir Boukhors, in a Paris suburb. The three Algerian citizens, who are also being prosecuted for "terrorism" and "conspiracy," have been placed under pre-trial detention. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Europe's promise: Middle East, Ukraine and Western Balkans in focus at the Foreign Affairs Council Germany Federal Foreign Office 14.04.2025 - Article At the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg today, the EU Foreign Ministers will discuss the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as relations with the Western Balkans and Africa. Immediately afterwards, a high-level dialogue between the EU and the Palestinian Authority will be held. Turbulent times in particular remind us of how important our European partners and friends are. The EU offers more than just economic strength and political cohesion. It is our home, where we can live together freely and in security and which we can shape together. In view of the war in Ukraine, the reorientation of US foreign policy and the changing global balance of power, European cohesion is more important than ever. The Common Foreign and Security Policy has achieved a great deal for Ukraine over the past three years. With the package put together by the European Commission, we are now strengthening Europe through greater investment in defence. Germany has a special responsibility here - both for the people of Ukraine and for a strong and united Europe. Today, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will meet her European counterparts in Luxembourg at the Foreign Affairs Council for the last time to discuss and prepare decisions for a strong EU in the world, which will assume greater responsibility for prosperity and security on our continent in the coming years. Safeguarding support for Ukraine and strengthening sanctions against Russia Three years after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, it is clear that the EU must continue to stand united to provide Ukraine with all the support it needs and to keep up the pressure on Russia. Germany is particularly committed to intensifying EU sanctions against Russia and to implementing them effectively. At the beginning of the meeting, there will be a virtual exchange with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to discuss the way forward. The first few weeks of April are devoted to security policy. The EU Defence Ministers met in Warsaw on 1 and 2 April, and the NATO Foreign Ministers convened in Brussels on 3 and 4 April. A recurring issue on the agenda was the question of how we can invest more in European defence and support Ukraine in the long term. Germany supports the initiative of the European External Action Service to provide five billion euro for two million rounds of artillery ammunition. In March, the European Commission presented a White Paper with ideas for making Europe more secure by 2030. The ReArm initiative will enable us to invest more in armaments and defence in Europe. The EU member states must now swiftly reach a decision on the details and implementation. Stabilisation in the Middle East The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. In order to put an end to the people's suffering, a ceasefire is needed in the very near future and the hostages held by the Hamas terrorists must be released. Israel must allow unrestricted access for humanitarian assistance. It is vital for the people of Gaza that we develop and coordinate plans for the future and for reconstruction together with our Arab partners. Following the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the EU Foreign Ministers and the EU will hold discussions with the Palestinian Authority. The situation in Syria is also back on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council. The EU is continuing its efforts to support successful reconstruction and the transition process. Further easing of sanctions is also important in this regard. Foreign Minister Baerbock will present the results of her most recent trip to Syria to her counterparts. It is clear that Syria is facing major challenges and that the newly appointed government must be judged by its actions. Prospects for accession in the Western Balkans The security of the Western Balkans is essential for the security of the EU . It is clear that the EU stands by its promise of a structured accession process. The main priority at the present time is to protect the state integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Germany and Austria have imposed national travel bans on three key officials of the Republika Srpska who are undermining Bosnian statehood. Furthermore, we are not supporting any new projects that would benefit the Republika Srpska financially. Yesterday, High Representative Kaja Kallas hosted a dinner with the Foreign Ministers of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran: seven individuals and two entities targeted by EU's sanctions over serious human rights violations European Council / Council of the European Union Council of the EU Press release 14 April 2025 13:11 The Council decided today to impose restrictive measures on an additional seven individuals and two entities responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran, including for the use of thejudiciary as a tool for arbitrary detention. The European Union continues to be deeply concerned by Iran's distressing practice to arbitrarily detain EU mono and dual nationals on spurious grounds, with a view to making political gains. Last year, there was a dramatic increase in the number of executions, including of women and individuals belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, as well as of one European citizen. Freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of religion or belief, as well as freedom of assembly have been increasingly restricted, and threatening measures have been taken against human rights defenders, journalists and political dissidents. In this context, the EU is imposing sanctions on the Shiraz Central Prison, located in Fars Province, and the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz. Furthermore, the EU is imposing restrictive measures on members of the judiciary, including Farzadi Hedayatollah, head of Evin prison, and Mehdi Nemati, head of the Fars Prisons Protection and Intelligence Department. Restrictive measures now apply to a total of 232 individuals and 44 entities. They consist of an asset freeze, a travel ban to the EU, and a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to those listed. A ban on exports to Iran of equipment, that might be used for internal repression, and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications is also in place. The European Union expresses its support for the fundamental aspiration of the people of Iran for a future where their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected, protected and fulfilled. The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the EU. Background The EU introduced in 2011 a regime consisting of restrictive measures that have been renewed annually since, and last extended until 13 of April 2026. Since 2022, the EU has drastically increased restrictive measures, adopting 11 packages of sanctions in the context of growing concerns about serious human rights abuses and violations in Iran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address European Union imposes new sanctions on Iran IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 The European Union (E.U.) has adopted new sanctions against seven Iranian individuals and two organizations under the pretext of human rights issues. The European Union imposed the new sanctions on Monday. Among those listed were three judges, two prosecutors, and two prison officials, including Hedayatollah Farzadi, head of Tehran's Evin Prison, and Mehdi Nemati, head of the Fars Prisons Protection and Intelligence Department. Additionally, Shiraz Prison and the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz's first branch have been sanctioned. Restrictive measures now apply to a total of 232 individuals and 44 entities. They consist of an asset freeze, a travel ban to the E.U., and a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to those listed. Since 2022, the E.U. has drastically increased restrictive measures on Iran, adopting 11 packages of sanctions under the pretext of human rights issues. The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently warned about the repercussions of Western interventionist actions, asserting that actions will not go unanswered. Iranian officials emphasize that Europe's unconstructive behaviors contradict the principles of the United Nations Charter as well as international rules. 3266**2050**4482 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Grossi says he will visit Iran in coming days IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 London, IRNA -- Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says he will pay a visit to Tehran soon. "Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency are essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed," wrote Grossi on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. He also noted that he had received the credentials of Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi. Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Sunday that Grossi expected to arrive in Tehran on Wednesday. Similarly, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami confirmed last week that Grossi would soon visit Tehran for talks on Iran's nuclear program. 7129**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia welcomes Iran-U.S. talks in Oman IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 Russia has once again welcomed the indirect talks between Iran and the United States, expressing hope that the negotiations would help achieve a concrete result. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko was quoted by Russia's Ria Novosti news agency on Monday as saying that Russia always judges any negotiations by their results. He added that Moscow will expect the results to be concrete and tangible. The Russian diplomat emphasized, however, that Moscow will only be happy if positive results are achieved from the negotiations. Earlier Russia's permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, also hailed the outcome of the first round of discussions between Iranian and American delegations in Muscat. "On the outcomes of the meeting in Oman, both the Iranians and the Americans described the negotiations as positive and constructive. This is reassuring," Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on his Telegram account. The discussions, hosted and mediated by Oman on Saturday, focused on Iran's nuclear program and the lifting of the sanctions against the country. Many countries around the world have reacted positively to the indirect Iran-U.S. talks, the second round of which is expected to be held next week. 4399**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Administration thanks Leader for green-lighting indirect talks with U.S. IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- President Masoud Pezeshkian and the members of his cabinet have expressed their appreciation for the strategic approval given by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to hold indirect negotiations with the United States in the Omani capital, Muscat. During the cabinet meeting on Sunday, President Pezeshkian and administration officials also commended Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi's efforts in advancing the diplomatic engagement. At the cabinet meeting, Araqchi presented a comprehensive report briefing the administration on the first round of the indirect negotiations between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. 7129**9417**4482 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Pezeshkian offers condolences for death of Iran's nuclear industry founder IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- President Masoud Pezeshkian in a message expressed condolences over the passing of Akbar Etemad, the founder of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI). Undoubtedly, the invaluable contributions of this distinguished scientific figure, who acted with a profound sense of responsibility to advance nuclear technology and promote scientific and industrial independence, paving the way for progress in this strategic field, will never be forgotten, the message read. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref also issued separate condolence messages regarding Etemad's demise. Born in Hamadan, Iran on January 9, 1931, Etemad served as the head of the AEOI from 1974 to 1978. He passed away in Paris, France on April 11, 2025. 9376**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address British diplomat terms Iran-U.S. talks first step to reach diplomatic solution IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 London, IRNA -- U.K. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan Hamish Falconer has described the indirect talks between Iran and the United States held in Muscat on Saturday as the first step to reach a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear problem. "I'm glad to be in Muscat to welcome the important first step in Oman between US-Iran in seeking a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear problem," Falconer wrote on his X account on Monday. Stressing the limitation of time, he said, "The UK, alongside E3 partners, stand ready to support." The first round of Iran-U.S. indirect talks, hosted by Oman, took place in Muscat on Saturday. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the negotiations as "constructive and promising." Araqchi also confirmed that a second round of indirect talks with the American team would take place next week to "discuss the framework of an agreement." He added that the next round may not be held in Muscat, but Oman would remain the mediator. 9376**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tehran: Past experience proves direct talks with Washington are not useful IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Tehran says negotiations with Washington are held indirectly because direct talks have not been proven useful. Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said that holding indirect talks is not unconventional. "If we seek effective negotiations and are serious about diplomatic engagement, we must choose a method we are confident will yield results," he said. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and the US president's special envoy for West Asia affairs, Steve Witkoff, led the first round of indirect talks between the two sides in the Omani capital of Muscat on Saturday. The talks focused on the nuclear issue and terminating Washington's unlawful sanctions against Tehran. Baqaei further said holding direct negotiations in circumstances where one side insists on using the language of force is "neither useful nor acceptable" to Iran. He said Iran's positions on the nuclear issue are clear, adding, "Our main issue is the termination of the cruel sanctions that have been imposed on Iran for decades, and this is our serious demand that we have raised and are pursuing." Araqchi set to visit Russia Asked about Iran's interaction with China and Russia on the nuclear issue, Baqaei said Tehran will continue to interact and consult with all members of the 2015 Iran deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the U.S. abandoned in 2018. "We believe that these interactions will be beneficial." He said that Araqchi will travel to Russia later this week and use this opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to the Muscat talks. Baqaei was also asked about the level of coordination on the negotiations within the Islamic Republic, to which he said the coordination and coherence that exists regarding this issue at the highest level is "truly commendable." He said that the country's lawmakers were also briefed both before and after the negotiations. IAEA chief to visit Tehran this week According to the spokesperson, Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will visit Tehran later this week to discuss and make decisions on certain "logistics issues." He said the visit was planned before the Oman talks and is part of Iran's normal interactions with the United Nations nuclear watchdog. Iran is open to American investors On whether American businesspeople are able to invest in Iran, Baqaei said that Iran has never been an obstacle to economic cooperation and investment by other parties, including the U.S. "This is the problem of America itself, which, by imposing complex, compact, and multi-layered laws, has deprived its own citizens of any economic dealings with Iran," he said. "Therefore, it is a problem that the other party must think about and decide." European sanctions are unlawful The senior Iranian diplomat was also asked to comment on Europe's sanctions against the Islamic Republic. He said European countries use their own interpretation of human rights to target other countries with sanctions. "These sanctions are illegal and we consider them unconstructive," he added. Israel is the root cause of regional insecurity Elsewhere in his presser, Baqaei made clear that the indirect dialogue between Tehran and Washington cannot bring calm to the region, as the continued insecurity "stems from a deeply destructive actor called Israel." He cited the ongoing "genocide and killings" in occupied Palestine and described Israel as "the only entity recognized as apartheid by the UN" and the sole occupier of two regional countries' territories. He added that the Israeli regime's atrocities are the root of regional tensions - something Western governments, he said, refuse to acknowledge while misplacing blame. 4354**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Takht-e-Ravanchi briefs Parliament on Oman talks; 'says next round will be held in Europe' IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi has briefed Parliament on the first round of indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington, held in Oman on Saturday. Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson for Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Sunday evening that Takht-e-Ravanchi had attended the session earlier in the day to elaborate on the content of the negotiations. Rezaei quoted the deputy foreign minister as saying that the focus of the talks had been on defining a framework for future negotiations, which he said would be limited to nuclear and sanctions-related issues. During the meeting, Takht-e-Ravanchi emphasized that the Iranian side had rejected the use of threats by the other side and made clear that Iran would respond in kind to any hostile move. According to Rezaei, Takht-e-Ravanchi cited the U.S. side as saying that it was serious about the negotiations and had no intention of pursuing war, and expressed readiness to address Iran's concerns. They also expressed Washington's willingness to invest in Iran and stated that they were serious about resolving the issues. Rezaei said the lawmakers also raised the need for firm responses to threats and avoiding what they called flaws of a 2015 deal, which the U.S. abandoned in 2018. 4354**9417**4482 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK, alongside E3, supports indirect Iran-US talks: British minister Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 7:15 AM British Minister for West Asia Hamish Falconer says the United Kingdom, along with France and Germany, supports settlement of Iran's nuclear issue through diplomacy. In a post on X on Sunday, Falconer hailed the indirect talks between Iran and the United States in the Omani capital of Muscat as an "important first step." "I'm glad to be in Muscat to welcome the important first step in Oman between US-Iran in seeking a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear problem," he wrote. Falconer, who also serves as minister for West Asia and North Africa, warned that time remains short. "The UK, alongside E3 partners, stand ready to support," he emphasized. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, the US president's special envoy for West Asia affairs, led the first round of indirect talks in the Omani capital of Muscat on Saturday. Both sides described the talks as positive and constructive, with Araghchi saying that the next round is expected to take place on April 19 at the same level. Speaking to IRIB after the talks concluded, Araghchi said the first round of indirect Iran-US negotiations brought the two sides closer to establishing "the basis of negotiations" for future discussions. Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the US due to President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" policy and military threats. Despite this, Iranian officials have expressed a willingness to give diplomacy a "genuine chance." They view the talks in Oman as a first step to assess Washington's intent and resolve. In 2018 and during his first term in office, Trump withdrew the United States from a previous agreement on Iran's nuclear program - formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - and launched a maximum pressure campaign against the country. Trump restored that policy after returning to the White House for a second term in January, but he has since signaled a willingness to make a new deal to replace the JCPOA. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address More regional countries hail first round of Iran-US talks, express support for process Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 7:03 AM More regional states have expressed support for the indirect negotiations that were held between Iran and the United States in the Omani capital Muscat, calling for the continuation. Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani conveyed Doha's approval of the process, while voicing the country's readiness to support the diplomatic track during a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday. Qatar's potential contribution to the process, Al Thani said, would be aimed at resolving outstanding issues between Tehran and Washington. Araghchi, for his part, outlined the objectives and framework of the Muscat talks, stressing the Islamic Republic's commitment to utilize all diplomatic tools towards unraveling existing complications. UAE praises Iran's diplomatic engagement In a separate phone call with Araghchi, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed his appreciation for Iran's decision to pursue dialogue with the US. He described the move as a positive diplomatic step and voiced hope that the process would yield constructive outcomes for the broader region. Egypt echoes support for talks Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty welcomed the negotiations during a phone conversation with the top Iranian diplomat, referencing a previous official statement by Cairo that had endorsed the Muscat process. Abdelatty expressed hope that the dialogue would lead to a "favorable outcome." Araghchi thanked Egypt for its supportive stance and elaborated on Tehran's outlook regarding the future of diplomacy with Washington. In another exchange, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya and Araghchi discussed bilateral ties, regional dynamics, and the discussions between Tehran and Washington. Iraq, Turkey welcome Muscat talks during joint meeting Senior Iraqi and Turkish officials, including the foreign ministers of both the countries, also voiced their support for the talks during a joint security meeting held in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya on Sunday. The delegations welcomed the talks, hoping that they will help yield peaceful solutions for contentious issues between the Islamic Republic and the US. The April 12 negotiations in Oman marked the first formal indirect contact between Iranian and American delegations under US President Donald Trump's second term. Both sides have welcomed the outcome as constructive and promising, while Iran has underlined that the talks are solely geared towards addressing the US's illegal and oppressive sanctions on the Islamic Republic and the nuclear issue. The two sides have agreed to continue the talks in Europe still with Omani mediation. Several other regional countries had previously likewise announced their backing of the process. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Next round of negotiations between Iran and US will take place in Europe: Deputy FM Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 12:39 AM The second round of talks between Iran and the US will take place in Europe on April 19, a senior Iranian official has said. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, made the announcement on Sunday as he presented a report to the Iranian parliament on the negotiations that were held between Iran and the United States in Muscat, the capital of Oman. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Political Affairs also emphasized in this meeting that an attempt was made to determine the basis for the negotiations, and we explained why there is no necessary trust in the Americans. Takht-Ravanchi quoted the Americans as saying that we are serious in the negotiations and were not looking for war, and they had announced their readiness to address Iran's concerns. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff, the US president's special envoy for Middle East affairs, led the first round of indirect talks in the Omani capital of Muscat on Saturday. Both sides described the talks as positive and constructive, with Araghchi saying that the next round is expected to take place on April 19 at the same level. Earlier, Tehran rejected Washington's proposal for direct negotiations over US President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign and threats of military action against the Islamic Republic. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Says Oman Will Continue As Venue For Nuclear Talks Though Italy Previously Said It Would Host By RFE/RL April 14, 2025 The Iranian Foreign Ministry on April 14 said a second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran will be held in Oman, contradicting an earlier statement from Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani that the talks will be held in Rome. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted by Iranian state news agency IRNA as saying that it was decided that Muscat will continue to host the talks and the second round will be on April 19. Tajani said earlier on April 14 that Italy received the request from the interested parties and announced that Rome would be the venue. "We are ready to welcome, as always, meetings that can bring positive results, in this case on the nuclear issue," Tajani told reporters during a trip to Osaka, Japan. "Rome confirms itself as a capital of peace and mediation," Tajani said. "We will continue to support all negotiations that can lead to resolving the nuclear issue, but also to building peace." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi also said the next round of talks would happen in Rome in comments to his Iraqi counterpart, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency. Tehran and Washington have said the first round of talks was "positive" and "constructive." In a surprise development, Araqchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met briefly after the talks in Oman ended, adding to optimism relations between the two countries have taken a step forward. Tehran also confirmed that Araqchi will visit Moscow ahead of the next round of talks. Separately, Iran confirmed on April 13 that Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will travel to Iran on April 16. US President Donald Trump has said he wants to ensure Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and wants a deal that leads to the lifting of sanctions that have battered its economy. Trump has said that in the absence of a deal, there will be military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, with potential Israeli involvement. Estimates suggest Iran could enrich sufficient uranium for a single bomb in less than a week and enough for several bombs within a month. Meanwhile, the EU on April 13 introduced sanctions on seven Iranian prison and judicial officials over Tehran's detention of nationals from the bloc. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the sanctions were in response to Iran's "state-sponsored hostage-taking" of European citizens. On Iran's nuclear program, she said there was a need for a swift resolution because the October deadline to reimpose UN sanctions on Tehran was is approaching. European powers have warned Iran that they will trigger the 2015 nuclear deal's "snapback mechanism" to reimpose UN sanctions if it fails to reach a new deal with the United States. With reporting by AP and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-us-nuclear-talks-italy -rome-witkoff-trump/33384657.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 The UK has announced further sanctions to tackle the domestic threat posed by the Iranian regime by sanctioning Iranian-backed, Swedish-based Foxtrot criminal Network and its leader, Rawa Majid, for their role in attacks against targets across Europe. 14 April 2025 Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said: Today, the UK has announced sanctions against the notorious criminal Foxtrot Network and its leadership. The Iranian regime uses criminal gangs across the world to threaten people. The UK has targeted this criminal network and its leader, Rawa Majid, due to their involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime. The UK will not tolerate these threats. This forms part of the UK Government's ongoing response to Iranian hostilities in Europe. Last month, we announced that Iran will be placed on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) and to date, the UK has sanctioned more than 450 Iranian individuals and entities, in response to the regime's human rights violations, nuclear weapons programme and malign influence internationally. The UK Government will continue to hold the Iranian regime and criminals acting on its behalf to account. Exclusive | Next round of Iran-U.S. talks will be held in Muscat, Oman IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 15, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says the next round of negotiations between Iran and the United States will be held in Muscat, Oman. In response to a query by IRNA late on Monday, Baqaei said that following consultations, it had been decided to hold the next round of the talks in the Omani capital on April 19. Envoys from Iran and the United States held a brief round of preliminary indirect negotiations in Muscat on April 12. Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi shuffled between the Iranian and American delegations to relay messages. Both sides later described the talks as constructive, and agreed to continue next week. Conflicting reports had emerged about the venue for the next round of the talks. An Iranian lawmaker earlier quoted Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi as saying in a briefing to the Parliament that the next round of the negotiations would be held in Europe. Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Takht-e-Ravanchi had told the lawmakers that Oman would nevertheless continue to mediate the talks. Later, a Reuters report said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had said Rome would host the second round of the negotiations between Iran and the United States. The news organization said Italy's ANSA news agency had first reported Tajani's remark. 4482 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran signs contract to convert Iraq's flare gas into petchem feedstock Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 3:20 PM Iran has secured a contract to convert flare gas from Iraqi oilfields into feedstock for petrochemical plants located near its border with the Arab country. Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs Hayyan Abdul Ghani supervised the signing of the contract on Monday in Baghdad, according to a report by the Iranian Oil Ministry's news service Shana. The report said that Iran's state-run and private companies will contribute to the flare gas recovery project in the Iraqi oilfields that are located near the Iranian border. The report quoted Paknejad as saying that Iraq is currently burning a part of the flare gas that is extracted with oil, adding that Iran will capture the gases and transport them to its Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plants across the border to convert them to feedstock for its petrochemical plants. He said that the contract will alleviate a shortage of NGL feedstock in western Iran where the country is racing against time to end gas flaring in its own oilfields. Shana said Paknejad and his delegation, who arrived in Iraq earlier in the day as part of an official visit, signed other contracts with the Iraqi side led by Abdul Ghani to facilitate petroleum sector cooperation between the world's two major oil-producing nations. Abdul Ghani, who is also Iraq's oil minister, said after meeting his Iranian counterpart that the Arab country needs Iran's technical and investment support to reach self-sufficiency in petroleum products. The contracts include the exchange of experts between Iran and Iraq and launching joint investment projects, Shana said. During his two-day visit to Iraq, Paknejad will also meet Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani and the country's Minister of Electricity Ziad Ali Fadel. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran petroleum minister in Iraq to discuss enhanced energy cooperation Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 10:57 AM Iran's Minister of Petroleum Mohsen Paknejad has arrived in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. Paknejad started his two-day visit on Monday at the invitation of his Iraqi counterpart. He is scheduled to meet the Iraqi ministers of oil and electricity, in addition to the prime minister. The two sides are scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding in the oil sector and agreements on the supply of gas to Iraqi power plants. Upon arrival, Paknejad paid tribute to the memorial site of General Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). Soleimani, Muhandis and their companions were assassinated in a US drone strike near Baghdad's International Airport on January 3, 2020. Paknejad has expressed hope that the sides would finalize the issues discussed between the two countries in the past and sign agreements in the field of energy during his trip to Baghdad. "We have very good interactions and relations with Iraq in various fields. Cooperation between the two countries, especially in the oil industry and the implementation of oil projects, is currently underway," he explained. In March, Paknejad and Iraq's Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadhil discussed in Tehran the development of cooperation in the fields of oil, gas, petrochemicals and electricity. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli navy officers sign petition urging Netanyahu to end Gaza war IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Apr 14, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Hundreds of Israeli naval officers have signed a petition, calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the Gaza war to help secure the release of the Israeli prisoners. Palestine's Shahab news agency reported on Monday that 450 working and retired officers signed the petition as they were concerned by the prolonged war and Israel's failure to achieve its goals, including among others the release of the prisoners. They believed that continuing the war not only does not serve the security interests of Israel, but also jeopardizes the security of the prisoners remaining in the hands of the Palestinian resistance. 9341**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Myanmar junta bombs monastery as it blames quake for religious devastation The junta said a recent earthquake destroyed almost 10,000 religious buildings in the country. By RFA Burmese 2025.04.14 -- Myanmar's junta bombed a monastery in the country's northwest on Saturday, killing five people, including children, just one day before it publicly announced that a recent earthquake had destroyed almost 10,000 religious buildings across the country. The airstrike in Tabayin township, Sagaing region, injured nine others and reduced a monastery to rubble, according to the Tabayin Brotherhood Organization, which supports displaced civilians. "Around 1 p.m., a military plane opened fire on the monastery outside Kya Khat village," a member of the organization said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security risks. "Three child monks, one student and a civilian fleeing conflict were killed." Additional junta airstrikes on Sunday in Mindat township, Chin state - now under control of the Chin Brotherhood alliance - destroyed more buildings, including the Myoma Baptist Church, residents said. The attack came amid ongoing clashes and aerial bombardments in Sagaing and Mandalay regions, which have been severely impacted both by conflict and the powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck on March 28. The disaster has so far claimed more than 3,600 lives and caused widespread structural damage, including the collapse of religious sites. Yet, while the junta continues to launch airstrikes across the country - including on religious institutions - it released a report through state-run media the following day blaming the earthquake for widespread damage to sacred sites. According to its figures, almost 10,000 religious buildings were destroyed, including over 5,000 stupas, 3,800 monasteries, 180 nunneries, 130 mosques, 50 churches, 26 Hindu temples and one Chinese temple. Nearly 160 monks and 55 nuns were reported killed in the quake, with 177 others injured. In Mandalay's Bone Oe village, three collapsed mosques reportedly killed 140 worshippers. Despite the devastation, local communities have begun efforts to restore places of worship, though rebuilding requires approval from the very military responsible for much of the destruction. The military previously announced that international aid groups who wanted to provide assistance to earthquake-hit areas of Myanmar must gain prior approval from junta authorities "We, along with state authorities, will rebuild the mosque," said Nay Zaw Aung, chairperson of the Amarapura-based Charity Social Action Association. "All of the earthquake-affected people will be happy that we will continue to actively participate in its reconstruction." Myanmar is home to a vast number of religious buildings, reflecting its rich cultural and religious heritage. While precise figures are challenging to calculate due to the country's ongoing conflicts and limited access to comprehensive data, estimates suggest that there are over 50,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries across the country. In addition to Buddhist sites, Myanmar also hosts numerous Christian churches, mosques, Hindu temples and other places of worship, particularly in regions with diverse ethnic and religious communities, although the exact numbers for these religious buildings are not available. 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 April 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 Islamabad Demands Justice After 'Brutal' Killing of 8 Pakistanis in Iran By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL's Radio Farda April 14, 2025 Pakistan has called on Iran to take swift action following the killing of eight Pakistani nationals in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan. The victims, all workers at an auto repair shop in the town of Mehrestan, were reportedly shot dead by unidentified armed assailants on April 11. The attackers are said to have tied up the victims before executing them at close range and fleeing the scene. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the killings and urged Iranian authorities to apprehend and punish those responsible. "The Iranian government must immediately arrest those involved in the killings, ensure they receive severe punishment, and uncover the motives behind this brutal act," he said. He also emphasized the need for the immediate repatriation of the victims' bodies to their families in Punjab, Pakistan, where all eight men were from. The attack has sparked outrage in Pakistan, with officials calling for enhanced security measures to protect Pakistani citizens working in Iran. Iran has officially condemned the killings as an "act of terrorism." Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said in a statement on April 13 that Iranian security and judicial authorities are committed to identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators. The Iranian Embassy in Islamabad also strongly condemned the incident, labeling it a "cowardly and inhumane attack" while emphasizing terrorism as a shared threat to regional peace and security. Some reports allege the separatist group Baloch National Army (BNA) has claimed responsibility for the killings, alleging the victims were linked to Pakistani intelligence agencies. RFE/RL has not been able to independently verify this. The BNA has a history of targeting Pakistani nationals and has carried out similar attacks in the past as part of its campaign against Islamabad's influence in the region. Iran and Pakistan have frequently accused one another of allowing militants to launch cross-border attacks from their territory. In January last year, nine Pakistanis were killed in Sistan-Baluchistan province. Armed opposition groups to the Islamic republic -- such as Jaish al-Adl -- have a long history of launching attacks in the Iranian province. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-iran-killing- separatists-baluch/33384519.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 Can the EU Extend Russia Sanctions Despite Hungary's Blackmail? By Rikard Jozwiak April 15, 2025 Extending sanctions against Russia has been one of the most pressing issues for the European Union -- especially this year. And Hungary's record of holding out against such sanctions has officials in Brussels worried about what will happen when the next extension deadline comes around, this time in July. These rollovers happen every six months and are split into two groups: sectoral sanctions -- such as import bans on various Russian goods -- and listings, meaning visa bans and asset freezes on more than 2,500 Russian individuals and firms. The sectoral sanctions come up for renewal in January and July, while the listings are reviewed for prolongation in March and September. That adds up to four decisions each calendar year, all of which must be taken unanimously by the 27 EU member states. In both the January sectoral renewal and the March listings rollover, Hungary -- long critical of EU sanctions on the Kremlin -- toyed with the idea of withholding approval. In the end, Budapest gave the green light, but not without securing some concessions from Brussels. EU officials in Brussels told me that there is already concern about the upcoming extension of sectoral sanctions in July -- and what Budapest might demand. The issue is further compounded by a broader question about the West's sanctions policy toward Moscow and the ongoing cease-fire talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Sanctions relief, in some form, has been dangled as a potential carrot in front of the Kremlin -- at least from Washington's side -- even though the Europeans, who are not involved in the talks, have dismissed the idea for now. The question is if that will still hold in the summer. "Three months is a lifetime in politics, and by that time [US President Donald] Trump might be tired of Russia and ramping up sanctions instead," said one EU official I spoke to, though the official also admitted more EU capitals could be tempted to scale down. The ever-present threat of a transatlantic trade war hitting EU economies might, according to diplomats, reignite calls to ease sanctions on things like Russian gas, aluminum, steel, and broader trade with Moscow. What Is Europe's Plan B For Sanctions? In order to circumvent a potential Hungarian veto this summer or prevent other member states from cherry-picking elements they want removed, the brightest legal minds in Brussels are now poring over legal texts to come up with a Plan B, in case Plan A -- a "clean" prolongation -- proves impossible in July. And they might have found one. The idea was already floated during the height of the listings rollover process in March. It remains untested, and it's questionable whether it's fully legal. It's also complicated, at least for those outside the "Brussels bubble." But it looks like this: EU sanctions consist of two legal documents, a decision and a regulation. These texts are essentially identical and function together; member states agree and adopt a decision, which is then implemented as a regulation. The regulation must be extended every six months by unanimity, while the decision does not. In fact, the decision remains in force unless a qualified majority votes to repeal it. That would mean sanctions could stay in place without needing a formal extension, and it would sidestep Hungary's big opportunity to "blackmail" the rest of the club on this. This is very much a fallback option -- and a temporary one, according to diplomats I've spoken with. Hungary, and potentially others, would likely take the EU to court over it, as the approach would be unprecedented. As one diplomat put it: "Happening on very shaky legal grounds, as we always have used unanimity to prolong sanctions -- that's just the way this has always worked." But there are other Plan Bs in the works as well. Perhaps the most obvious involves the European Commission proposing more sanctions in the coming weeks, which would mark the 17th sanctions package since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. But the trick is that these new sanctions wouldn't actually be adopted. Instead, they'd be "horse-traded" in exchange for Hungary agreeing to the general sanctions rollover. In that scenario, Budapest could claim a win in that no new sanctions would be approved, while others would at least secure a prolongation of existing sanctions until the end of the year. Another potential avenue would be to let the sanctions lapse, but to compensate for this by raising tariffs on Russia across all equivalent economic sectors. This type of decision wouldn't require unanimity, so it could fly, but what would the bloc do, for example, with all the export restrictions it has already imposed on Russia? One option would be to let EU sanctions expire but replicate the same measures at the national level. However, far from all member states have national sanctions legislation and instead rely on a European framework. As a result, implementation would very soon become patchy and inconsistent across the bloc. There is also another potential dilemma. Apart from sanctions extensions, most EU member states want the bloc to open accession talks with Ukraine in June at the very latest. This means that another potential Hungarian veto would need to be overcome around the same time as the sanctions one. It's possible some frozen EU funds that were withheld from Budapest over rule-of-law concerns may need to be heated up and sent its way to get both issues across the line. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-eu- russia-sanctions/33384522.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 Iraq warns Daesh threats 'resurging' in Syria Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 11:03 AM Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has warned about the escalating activities of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in neighboring Syria following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad's government late last year. He gave the warning during the fifth high-level meeting of the Iraq-Turkey security mechanism held in the southwestern Turkish city of Antalya on Sunday. Hussein warned of "the escalation of Daesh activities in Syria, calling for the formation of a five-member operations room comprising Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria in order to confront the menace." The security situation in Syria remains tenuous after militant factions, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled Assad's government on December 8, 2024. Iraqi al-Maalomeh news agency, citing informed sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported earlier this year that Daesh terrorists are active in about a dozen regions in Syria. The sources continued that approximately half of the weapons used by Daesh terrorists are made in the US, suggesting that the extremists are secretly being armed. They also asserted that Daesh terrorists are moving freely in large swathes of Syria, and American occupation forces are not taking any action to target them. Elsewhere in his remarks, Hussein stated that Baghdad supports the Turkish government's initiative to resolve the decades-long conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group, and welcomes PKK ringleader Abdullah Ocalan's call for the dissolution of all groups under the PKK umbrella. For his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara and Baghdad are closely following developments in the region, adding that they are reviewing current security issues, notably the fight against terrorism, and possible security-related developments together. Iraq is also treating the PKK as a terrorist group, he said, stressing that the PKK is officially outlawed in the Arab country. "Whether it's (classified as) banned or terrorist, this makes no difference to the treatment it gets. It's enough for it to be an illegal organization. What matters is the attitude taken," Fidan noted. The top Turkish diplomat stated that everyone hopes the PKK will make the decision to dissolve itself as soon as possible. Everyone also hopes the agreement the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) reached with Syria's new administration, on ending its activities, is implemented as soon as possible and helps restore stability in Syria, Fidan underlined. 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 2025/04/14 PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan Date6 a.m. Apr. 13 (Sun.) to 6 a.m. Apr. 14 (Mon.) (UTC+8) PLA activities 6 sorties of PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN ships operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 out of 6 sorties entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities. 1140414_PLA activities 1140414_PLA air activities in the vicinity of Taiwan NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address British govt should refrain from turning economic cooperation into political issue: Chinese FM on British Steel Global Times By Yu Xi Published: Apr 14, 2025 11:03 PM Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday that the Jingye Group is a private Chinese enterprise that has business cooperation with the UK side on the basis of market principles, in response to a media inquiry regarding the UK government's announcement over the weekend that it was taking control of British Steel from the Chinese company Jingye, and the remarks by the UK's Business Secretary noting that it was "naive" for Britain to allow the steel industry to fall into Chinese hands. As for the current difficulties arising in the operation of British Steel, the two sides should resolve them through consultations in the principle of mutual benefit, said Lin. "We hope that the British government will treat Chinese companies investing and operating in the UK in a fair and just manner, protect their legitimate rights and interests, and refrain from turning economic and trade cooperation into political and security issues lest it should undermine the confidence of Chinese companies in their normal investment and operation in the UK," said Lin. The British Parliament on Saturday passed an emergency law granting the government sweeping powers to take control of British Steel, the last in Britain capable of producing steel from iron ore, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The Scunthorpe facility supplies the vast majority of the UK's rail tracks. The legislation was introduced in response to British Steel's plan to shut down its blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, citing unsustainable financial losses, said the report. In an extraordinary Saturday sitting, the first in more than four decades, both Houses of Parliament returned from Easter recess to fast-track the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, which received royal assent the same day, according to Xinhua. Based in North China's Hebei Province, Jingye Group has owned British Steel since 2020. Last month, Jingye Group warned of losses of about 700,000 pounds ($922,505) a day and said that the blast furnaces and steelmaking operations are no longer financially sustainable due to highly challenging market conditions, the imposition of tariffs and higher environmental costs relating to the production of high-carbon steel, the Independent reported. A spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the UK said on Sunday that "We have urged the British side to act in accordance with the principles of fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination and to make sure the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese company will be protected." It is an objective fact that British steel companies have generally encountered difficulties in recent years, said the Chinese Embassy spokesperson. "It is hoped that the British government will actively seek negotiation with the relevant Chinese company to find a solution acceptable to all parties," said the spokesperson. Reuters reported earlier that "a transfer of ownership to the state remains on the table," citing Britain's business secretary Jonathan Reynolds. It is essential for the UK to provide a reasonable explanation for such actions to avoid creating new complications in gradually improving China-UK relations, Cui Hongjian, professor of the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday. Any measures taken by the UK should be reasonable, compliant with regulations and avoid simplistic intervention, Cui noted. If the goal is to address corporate losses, market-oriented approaches should be prioritized, Cui said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Defence Ministers met in Brussels to discuss further support of Ukraine Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic 14.4.2025 Author: by Karel Capek, MoD Press Section The Defence Ministers of the countries united in the so-called Coalition of the Willing and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) met in Brussels to discuss further support of Ukraine. While the Coalition of the Willing primarily addresses the question of a possible military engagement in Ukraine in case a truce or peace is negotiated, the UDCG addressed Ukraine's urgent needs in regard of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's (AFU) support. That includes the supplies of artillery ammunition, which are the focal point of the Czech ammunition initiative. Defence Minister Jana Cernochova represented the Czech Republic at both events with Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces Lieutenant General Karel Rehka. In the past weeks, the Coalition of the Willing led by the United Kingdom and France held talks in various formats on both the political and military level. The Defence Ministers' meeting, however, took place for the first time. The representatives of the Defence Ministries of thirty countries met in the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. "The more members the Coalition of the Willing has, the stronger a message we can send to Russia but also to the US and Ukraine," Minister Cernochova said. The participants of the meeting expressed readiness and determination to continue supporting Ukraine. Military planning regarding possible force deployment is currently underway. Minister Cernochova emphasized that any decision regarding a deployment of Czech service members is contingent on better clarity of specific truce conditions and other factors, for example the extent of other states' involvement. According to Minister Cernochova, any eventual force deployment should primarily practically benefit Ukraine and should help regenerate and expand its own defence capacities. "A strong and fully armed Ukraine is key to deterring any future Russian attack," she said. The UDCG organised by Germany and the United Kingdom, followed up on the first session. The aim of the session was to discuss Ukraine's urgent needs and the next steps in both the short-term and long-term support of AFU. "Our common goal is clear - to get Ukraine into the best possible negotiating position. Russian goals are clear as well - to prolong warfighting and gain as much territory as possible. By increasing Ukraine's support, we are not prolonging the war but the other way around," Minister Cernochova said. Minister Cernochova informed the Allies of the current artillery rounds supply under the Czech ammunition initiative and asked them for further support. The initiative's funding is now covered until the autumn. Thanks to the Czech ammunition initiative, Ukraine has received 1.5 million artillery rounds last year, one third of which were the 155 mm calibre. More than 400 thousand large-calibre shells have been provided this year by the ammunition initiative whose effort will further continue. The ammunition initiative was one of the topics of the bilateral meeting between Minister Cernochova and her Belgian counterpart, Minister Theo Francken. Minister Francken expressed a high interest in strengthening defence and security cooperation and Minister Cernochova invited him to attend the IDET fair in Brno. At the end of the UDCG session, the Letter of Intent for a Capability Coalition for Electromagnetic Warfare involving almost twenty countries was signed. Its aim is to improve Ukraine's and NATO nations' capabilities in this area. The member nations want to cooperate, for example, on joint systems acquisition and testing, on acquiring materiel for Ukraine, as well as training and education. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Baiba Braze: comprehensive EU support for Ukraine continues, priority is air defence, long-range artillery capabilities, munitions deliveries Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 14.04.2025 On 14 April 2025 in Luxembourg, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braze, participated in a meeting of the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council, which addressed further military support to Ukraine, the sectors of Russian economy to be covered by the 17th package of sanctions, the fight against Russia's unconventional threats, and ensuring Russia's accountability. "Russia's barbaric attack on Ukrainian civilians in the city of Sumy clearly shows that the aggressor's ambitions have not changed. Our support for Ukraine must be unwavering. Not only political will and funding are important, but also Europe's own industrial capacity to provide the much-needed military support. It is no less vital to align EU defence industry programmes with the objectives and capabilities set out in NATO's defence plans," Foreign Minister Baiba Braze noted. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, joined the Foreign Affairs Council meeting via videoconference, and he underlined that Ukraine appreciates any military support provided by EU Member States. At present, there is an urgent need for air defence systems. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister also expressed hope that the initiative of the EU High Representative on the supply of ammunition to Ukraine will be implemented in the shortest possible timeframe. In a Council's discussion on future military support to Ukraine in 2025, ministers exchanged views on further development and enhancement of EU missions to Ukraine in line with Ukraine's needs. Foreign Minister Baiba Braze welcomed the EU High Representative's efforts in support of Ukraine and commended the work of the European Commission in implementing the ReArm Europe plan, which also provides for the possibility of financing military support to Ukraine and boosting the capacity of Europe's own military industry. Baiba Braze called for a close engagement with all like-minded partners and organizations. Ministers agreed that economic pressure on Russia should be increased to prevent Russia from rebuilding its capabilities. Baiba Braze pointed out: "Sanctions are working, the Russian war economy is crumbling. No easement or lifting of sanctions against Russia and Belarus is acceptable. The 17th package of sanctions should focus on further restrictions to the export of energy and raw materials, on sanctioning the transport and logistics sectors, and on preventing import of technologies. Legal solutions should be sought for the channelling of all immobilised assets of the Central Bank of Russia in support of Ukraine. It is also necessary to find a common EU solution for unblocking EUR 6.6 billion from the European Peace Facility." Ministers also underlined the need to prepare a new round of sanctions targeting Russia's unconventional threat. "Ukraine's future lies with the European Union. As concerns security guarantees for Ukraine, their essential element is the process of European integration, the implementation of which must continue. It is essential that an agreement be reached within the EU on the launch of Part 1 (Fundamental Rights) of Ukraine's accession negotiations," Baiba Braze emphasised. EU foreign ministers also exchanged views on how to ensure Russia's accountability for the crime of aggression and took stock of the progress made in setting up the Special Tribunal. The EU High Representative proposed that its launch be announced on 9 May. Ministers then discussed the situation in the Middle East, including Syria. Baiba Braze underlined: "We must work closely with regional and global partners, especially the United States and the Arab countries, to put an end to the crisis as soon as possible. A peaceful transition of power must be ensured in Syria." The Council also approved a decision to add seven individuals and two legal entities to the list of Iran's human rights sanctions regime for their involvement in the illegal detention of EU citizens in Iran. EU Foreign Ministers also discussed the priorities of the EU-Africa strategic partnership in preparation for the EU-African Union Ministerial Meeting in Brussels on 21 May 2025. Baiba Braze stressed that "it is important to put in place strategic communication measures so as to explain the EU's engagement and contribution to economic stability and development in Africa. The visibility and presence of the EU is particularly important given the growing involvement of Russia and disinformation campaigns on the African continent." Foreign ministers also examined the situation in Sudan, which is undergoing the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. The Foreign Affairs Council was preceded by an informal exchange between EU Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Ministers of the Western Balkan countries. Baiba Braze shared with them the Baltic states' perspective on cooperation with the Western Balkan countries in the field of security and defence. The Minister welcomed the opening of the next chapter of Albania's EU accession negotiations and emphasised: "The security and stability of the Western Balkan countries is an integral element of the security of Europe as a whole. We expect potential EU Member States to give unequivocal support for the EU values, in particular, through aligning their foreign policy with the EU's Common Foreign Security Policy, which includes setting sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The ongoing process of EU integration must continue, and the EU must provide support to the region's countries in promoting their resilience, including to fight disinformation and cyber-attacks." Baiba Braze added that the participation of any EU Member State or candidate country in Russia's 9 May parade was unacceptable and incompatible with European values. The Baltic states informed the EU Foreign Ministers about the visit of the fifth President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, to the Baltic capitals on 25-28 March. For information The Foreign Affairs Council deals with matters relating to EU external action, including the common foreign and security policy, the European security and defence policy, external trade and development cooperation. The Council's main role is to ensure the unity, consistency and effectiveness of the EU's external action. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Budrys in Luxembourg: attacks on Sumy are a barbaric war crime Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Updated 2025-04-14 Today, on 14 April, in Luxembourg, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kestutis Budrys, is attending the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council. The Council meeting addresses urgent military support and security guarantees for Ukraine, sanctions against Russia, and ensuring the aggressor's accountability. When addressing journalists before the meeting, the head of Lithuania's diplomacy called yesterday's Russian ballistic missile strikes on the city of Sumy a barbaric war crime."This is a war crime by definition and another humiliation for everyone who tries to stop this aggression through diplomatic means, at least for a ceasefire for negotiations to begin," said Budrys. According to the Minister, as Putin continues posing such challenges, Europe must respond with the 17th sanctions package, thereby increasing pressure to stop the war. "Lithuania is ready to support the inclusion in the package all the sectors we left out of the 16th package such as the liquefied natural gas, Rosatom, and shadow fleet," the Minister noted. Budrys also stressed that it was time to open the negotiating clusters and set a date for Ukraine's EU membership, which could be 1 January 2030. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine receives precision weapons financed by Lithuania Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence 2025-04-14 International cooperation | Security and defense policy The advanced long-range Ukrainian-made weapons paid for by Lithuania via the bilateral financing mechanism for the defence industry of Ukraine have been delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine: the precisions weapons are already on the frontlines and scoring high in the battle-test. In December 2024 the Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania transferred EUR 10 million, the first part of the assistance pledged in the bilateral agreement on assistance to the defence and security forces of Ukraine through strengthening the defence industry of Ukraine. "Ukraine's struggle for freedom is a fight for the freedom of Europe too. Lithuania will continue the support for as long as it takes for Ukraine to come out victorious. Our commitment is iron-clad, resolute and carved in stone. Lithuania will remain a loyal partner prepared to render whichever assistance needed till victory," said Minister of National Defence of the Republic of Lithuania Dovile Sakaliene. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine with the Ministry of Defence of Lithuania are currently implementing yet another EUR 10 million worth joint project of assistance to the Ukrainian defence industry as well. "The Lithuanian assistance is not only a tangible support to our warriors but also an investment in Ukraine's fortitude, sovereignty and resilience. Such steps takes strengthen our defence capabilities in real time," said Minister of Defence of Ukraine Rustem Umerov. The Ministry of National Defence of Ukraine conveys deepest gratitude to the Government and people of Lithuania for unwavering support and significant contribution in strengthening not just Ukraine's defensive power and security of the entire region of Europe as well. The funds will be used to further strengthen Ukraine's long-range capabilities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kremlin warns Germany sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine risks 'escalation' Iran Press TV Monday, 14 April 2025 5:23 PM The Kremlin has warned Germany against giving Kiev Taurus missiles, saying the move risks an "escalation" of the Ukraine war. Germany's incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz has said Berlin is willing to send Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Monday that supplying German Taurus missiles to Ukraine risked escalating the three-year conflict that US President Donald Trump has vowed to end. "He is agitating on the side of toughening his position and in favor of various steps that can and will, inevitably lead to a further escalation of the Ukraine situation," Peskov said. "Unfortunately, European capitals are really not inclined to look for ways of reaching peace talks, they are rather inclined to further provoke the continuation of the war." Germany, as Europe's biggest supplier of arms and munitions to Ukraine, ranks second after the US. Berlin has already provided Kiev with tens of billions of euros' worth of military equipment, with billions more earmarked over the next few years. Merz, who is set to take office next month, proposed sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine so they can strike vast amounts of Russian military sites in Crimea and hit the Kerch Bridge. "Our European partners are already supplying cruise missiles," Merz said in an interview with ARD television network. "The British are doing it, the French are doing it, and the Americans are doing it." Merz said he would be willing to do so if done in co-ordination with Germany's allies. "This must be jointly agreed. And if it's agreed, then Germany should take part." He said Kiev needed to be supplied with more weapons and munitions now in order to "shape events" and to "get ahead of the situation." "If things continue as they are, if, for example, the most important land connection between Russia and Crimea is destroyed, or if something happens on Crimea itself, where most of the Russian military logistics are located, then that would be an opportunity to bring this country strategically back into the picture finally." In a reference to Trump's efforts to end the war, Merz claimed that Putin would not "respond positively to weakness and peace offers." "At some point, [Putin] must recognize the hopelessness of this war, which means we have to help Ukraine." Despite Kiev's ceaseless pleas to Berlin for more and more weaponry, the outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to give any Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Scholz was against sending Kiev "destructive weapons" capable of striking targets deep inside of Russia. Taurus air-launched missiles, which have an intelligent warhead system that can inflict huge damage to structures such as bridges and bunkers, can reach targets in distances of up to 500 kilometers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin Condemned Over Sumy Attack As Zelenskyy Invites Trump To See Destruction By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service April 14, 2025 Officials from around the world condemned Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, as the Ukrainian city of Sumy continued to sift through the wreckage caused by Russian a missile strike that left at least 34 people dead. Ukraine's state emergency service said two children were among those killed in the April 13 attack when Ukrainians were marking Palm Sunday, while at least 117 others -- including 15 children -- were injured. The attack prompted European officials to accuse Russia of committing a war crime, while US officials from President Donald Trump to several Republican and Democratic Party lawmakers expressed horror at the death and destruction caused in the second major attack to kill civilians in 10 days. In an interview that aired late on April 13 on the US news program 60 Minutes, Zelenskyy, who was speaking before the latest attack had occurred, urged President Donald Trump to visit Ukraine to see first hand what Russia was doing to his country even as the two sides talk with Washington about a cease-fire. "But please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead," Zelenskyy said. "You will understand what Putin did." The Kremlin denied that the two attacks targeted civilian infrastructure. Russia has throughout the war consistently rejected allegations of deliberately striking civilian targets in Ukraine, even though repeated attacks on hospitals, schools, energy facilities, and residential buildings far from any military objects have been documented. Trump, who has made ending the war a top foreign policy priority since taking office less than three months ago, called the Russian strike on Sumy a "horrible thing." "I think it was terrible. And I was told they made a mistake. But I think it's a horrible thing. I think the whole war is a horrible thing," he told reporters aboard Air Force One on April 13 as he traveled to Washington from Florida, although he didn't specify what he meant by "made a mistake." Russia Targeted Crowded Center of Sumy An RFE/RL correspondent who arrived in Sumy not long after the attack said it occurred "in a very crowded place -- the center of the city" at a time when many Ukrainians would have been going to church for Palm Sunday. "People walk there with their children," Alyona Yatsyna added. "There are some cafes. All the cars on the street, including public transport -- a whole bus burned to the ground. There's a lot of destruction. A lot of people were killed." The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Telegram that two Iskander-M / KN-23 ballistic missiles had been launched at Sumy from Russia's Voronezh and Kursk regions. As crews began to clean up debris the day after the attack, locals laid flowers to remember the victims. "It's a huge tragedy," said Serhiy Pask, the mayor of Mykolayivka, a village just north of Sumy. "Unfortunately, it's happening every day." Global Leaders Condemn Putin Over Sumy Strike "This is the height of [Putin's] perfidy," Germany's incoming chancellor, Friedrich Merz, told public broadcaster ARD on April 14. "It was a deliberate and calculated war crime." Merz, the 69-year-old leader of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), reiterated his consistent support for supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, stressing that such a move should be made in close coordination with European allies. "European partners are already supplying cruise missiles," he said. "The British are doing it, the French are doing it, and the Americans are doing it anyway. It has to be coordinated, and if it is coordinated, then Germany should be part of it," he added. He also pointed to Crimea as a potential target for Ukraine's long-range strikes. "One example would be to destroy the most important land link between Russia and Crimea," Merz added, noting its strategic importance for Russian military logistics. When questioned about the Sumy attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on April 14 said Russia's military targets only "military and military-linked targets." At the news briefing, Peskov also condemned Merz's proposal on supplies of Taurus long-range missiles, warning that such a move "will only lead to a further escalation" of the conflict. The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on April 14 in Luxembourg that "all those who want the killing to stop should put the maximum pressure" possible on Russia to agree to a peace plan. "We have to put the pressure, the maximum pressure, on Russia to really end this war, because it takes two to want peace," Kallas said as she arrived at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers. UN chief Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, was "deeply alarmed and shocked" by the attack in Sumy, his spokesman stated, saying it "continues a devastating pattern of similar assaults on Ukrainian cities and towns in recent weeks." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "horrifying Russian missile attack," while Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said the "Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency." Trump has signaled impatience with the pace of negotiations to cement a cease-fire in Ukraine. His administration continues to engage in direct talks with Russian officials as part of a wider deal aimed at rebuilding bilateral relations. White House envoy Steve Witkoff flew to St. Petersburg, Russia, to meet with Putin for more than four hours of talks on April 12. Neither Witkoff nor the White House issued any public comment after the meeting, though the Kremlin said "aspects of a Ukrainian settlement" had been discussed. "While Ukraine has accepted President Trump's ceasefire proposal, Putin continues to show he is more interested in bloodshed than in peace. Targeting innocent civilians as they gather to worship on Palm Sunday is beyond the pale," Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in a post on X. Russia and Ukraine separately agreed with the United States last month at talks in Saudi Arabia to halt strikes on energy infrastructure and at sea in what appeared to be an important step toward a full cease-fire. In the meantime, Russia has continued to strike civilian infrastructure. "I don't see any hope for a real cease-fire as long as Russia is not under pressure to comply with it. All the pressure has been on Ukraine. I've seen no pressure from the U.S. administration on Russia," retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe from 2014 and 2017, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. 'Russia Is Targeting Civilians' Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, claimed the missiles contained cluster munitions. "The Russians are doing this to kill as many civilians as possible," he said, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy's condemnation of the attack came after a Russian strike on the city of Kryviy Rih killed 20 people, including nine children, just over a week earlier. Maia Sandu, president of Ukraine's southwestern neighbor Moldova, was quick to offer her condolences, too. "Palm Sunday is a day of peace. This morning, as people gathered to pray, Russia bombed Sumy -- killing and injuring civilians," she said on X. "Moldova mourns with Ukraine and urges more air defense to save lives. The aggressor must be held accountable. There is no justification for such evil." There has been no comment yet from the Kremlin on the reported strike. The UN reported late last month that at least 413 civilians had been killed in the conflict since the beginning of 2025. It also said that more than 2,000 people had been injured in Ukraine due to Russian aggression in the first three months of the year, an increase of 30 percent compared to the same period in 2024. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said: "For the second month in a row, Russia has refused to accept the US proposal for a full cease-fire, which Ukraine unconditionally accepted on March 11. Instead, Russia ramps up its terror." "We urge partners to provide Ukraine with additional air defense capabilities and increase pressure on Moscow. Strength is the only language they can understand and the only way to put an end to the horrific terror." Elsewhere on April 13, the Turkish Defense Ministry said it will hold a meeting on Black Sea security on April 15-16, according to TASS, although Ukrainian officials said such a session had not yet been scheduled. The meeting would take place in the context of a possible cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. Military representatives from foreign countries will take part, the Russian news agency reported. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-missile-strike-sumy- kills-civilians-ukraine-missiles/33383716.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 14.04.2025 (12:55) In violation of the Russian-American agreements to halt strikes at power facilities from 18 March for 30 days, the Kiev regime continues its unilateral attacks against the Russian energy infrastructure. Eight AFU attacks on Russian power industry facilities have been recorded. In Belgorod region: On 13 April, at 01:08, an attack launched by a Ukrainian UAV resulted in rupturing a span wire and powering off a 10 kV high-voltage line of the Rosseti-Centre's branch (Belgorodenergo). There were 735 household consumers left without electricity in Grayvoronsky District. In Bryansk region: On 13 April, at 08:42, the Armed Forces of Ukraine deliberately shelled and disabled a complete transformer substation of the Rosseti-Centre's branch (Bryanskenergo). Household consumers in Sevsky District were left without electricity. On 13 April, at 14:55, a Ukrainian UAV attacked the 110kV Suzemka power substation of the Rosseti Centre's branch (Bryanskenergo); about 2,800 people were left without electricity due to the damage caused to the transformer in Suzemsky District. On 13 April, at 17:29, a 10 kV high-voltage line of the Rosseti Centre's branch (Belgorodenergo) was disabled by deliberate shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that ruptured a span wire. Some household consumers were left without electricity in Pogarsky District. In Zaporozhye region: On 13 April, at 16:30, a high-voltage line of the Tavriya-Energo State Unitary Enterprise was powered off by deliberate shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that ruptured a span wire. Some household consumers were left without electricity in Kamenka-Dneprovskaya. In Kursk region: On 12 April, at 23:56, a Ukrainian UAV attacked and disabled a 110kV high-voltage line of the Rosseti Centre's branch (Kurskenergo). On 13 April, at 11:35 a Ukrainian UAV attacked the 330 kV power substation (Zheleznogorskaya); because of a damaged span wire, a section of the 110 kV high-voltage line (Zheleznogoirskaya-Dmitriyev) was taken out of service for repair. In the Lugansk People's Republic: On 12 April, at 21:35, a Ukrainian UAV attacked the 110 kV power substation (Troitskaya). As a result, the 110 kV high-voltage line (Svatovo-Troitskaya of the State Unitary Enterprise of the Lugansk People's Republic 'Republican Network Company') was disabled. About 36,600 people were left without electricity in Troitsky, Svatovsky, and Kremensky districts. Department for Media Affairs and Information NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Has Evidence Sumy Strike Targeted Ukrainian Troops and Foreign Mercs - Lavrov Sputnik News 20250414 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia possesses information that Ukrainian troops met with their foreign counterparts at the facility targeted by Russian forces in the strike on Sumy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. On Sunday, Russian forces carried out a missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, targeting a site of a meeting of the Seversk tactical and operational command's leadership. Earlier on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the strike killed over 60 Ukrainian servicepeople. "International humanitarian law categorically prohibits the placement of military facilities and weapons around civilian objects. Since the first days of the [Ukraine] crisis, and earlier, even during the Minsk agreements ... there have been a million cases of artillery and air defense systems being placed in city blocks near kindergartens. How many videos are posted online of Ukrainian women shouting for the military to get away from stores and playgrounds? But this practice continues. We have facts about who was at the facility that was hit in Sumy. There was another 'gathering' of Ukrainian military commanders with their Western colleagues, who were disguised either as mercenaries or I do not know who," Lavrov told Russian newspaper Kommersant. It is widely known that NATO forces are present in Ukraine, the minister added. "The New York Times recently reported that Americans have been playing a leading role in strikes on Russia. Without this part, the majority of [Ukrainian] long-range missiles would never have taken off at their deployment sites," he said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK sends multi-million pound military equipment loan to Ukraine The UK makes second 752 million payment to Ukraine through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine scheme. 14 April 2025 A 752 million payment has today (14 April) been sent to Ukraine through the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine scheme. The funding will support Ukraine to procure vital military equipment, including urgently needed air defence. This comes as Russia continues its air assault on Ukraine, striking the city of Sumy. The loan, which will be paid for through the profits of sanctioned Russian sovereign assets in the EU, forms part of a wider 2.26 billion loan agreed between the Chancellor and Minister Marchenko on 1 March. The payment highlights the UK's steadfast support to Ukraine whilst building on the Chancellor's Spring Statement pledge to go further and faster to protect our national security and maximise the economic growth potential of the UK defence sector. The equipment support and maintenance elements will be mainly spent in the UK, boosting the UK economy and skilled jobs. Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer said: The world is changing before our eyes, reshaped by global instability, including Russian aggression in Ukraine. A strong Ukraine is vital to UK national security and this second tranche of funding will help put them in the strongest possible position, and contribute towards our collective security. Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said: 2025 is the critical year for Ukraine and this is the critical moment. This is the moment for our defence industries to step up, and they are; a moment for our militaries to step up, and they are; a moment for our Governments to step up, and we are. This new tranche of funds is part of our 4.5 billion of military support this year - more than ever before - and will be used to buy urgently needed air defence, artillery, and parts to help repair vehicles and equipment to get them back into the fight. We are stepping up support for Ukraine to deter Russian aggression and bolster Britain's national security as the foundation of our Plan for Change. Today's payment forms the second part of the UK's 2.26 billion loan, which has been spaced into three separate tranches to give Ukraine more flexibility and allow them to swiftly adapt to the ever-changing battlefield. The first payment was made on 6 March, with the final payment to follow in 2026. The multi-billion payment forms part of the UK's contribution to the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine scheme, which is a G7 commitment to collectively support Ukraine through a total of $50 billion. It follows a 450 million surge in military support that was announced by the UK last week, which includes 350 million from this year's record 4.5 billion military support funding for Ukraine. Further funding is being provided by Norway, via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine. In addition to providing financial support, the Ministry of Defence will also support Ukraine to procure the equipment needed to fight Russia's invasion. This will include a new 'close fight' military aid package - with funding for radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones - worth more than 250 million, using funding from the UK and Norway. The government's Plan for Change will see UK defence spending increased to 2.5% of GDP by 2027. The UK's world-leading defence sector is vital to the economy, supporting 430,000 high-skilled, high-paid jobs across the UK and strengthening our security. 68% of defence spending is outside of London and the South East, benefitting every nation and region of the UK. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address For 34 Days Now, Russia Has Been Openly Refusing to Cease Fire - Address by the President President of Ukraine 14 April 2025 - 20:23 Dear Ukrainians! All day today, recovery efforts have been ongoing in Sumy following yesterday's Russian ballistic missile strike - the rubble is being cleared. Nearly forty of the injured remain in hospitals, including children. Eleven people are in serious condition. Doctors are doing everything they can to help - to save lives. Every expression of support matters greatly right now - every leader, every country, every diplomatic representative who has spoken out - we see and hear everyone. Thirty-five people were killed by this single Russian strike - my condolences to all the families and loved ones. One hundred nineteen people were injured. And this was just one strike. 34 days ago, Ukraine responded positively to the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire - an end to all such strikes like the ones on Sumy, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kupyansk and Beryslav, and along the entire front line. And for 34 days now, Russia has been openly refusing to cease fire. Now - just as he has been for years - Putin remains focused on continuing the war. Focused on strikes like these. Focused on killing. Russian state propagandists are preparing their audience for the idea that negotiations and diplomacy will not bring any results. And there is only one reason for this - in Moscow, they are not afraid right now. And if there is no strong enough pressure on Russia, they will keep doing what they are used to - they will keep waging war. This has already become a Russian state habit - waging war against neighbors, exporting hatred, and destroying lives. We all want this to end. Peace is needed - and it must be lasting. That is why Ukraine always works constructively with its partners, in all formats that can bring security and restore peace. We are not just ready for peace quickly - Ukraine has never wanted this war, not for a single second. And every day, Ukraine defends life. Now, following the strike on Sumy, nearly 50 countries and international organizations have spoken out in support of Ukraine. Heads of state, heads of government, heads of foreign ministries - I want to thank each and every one. The world knows the truth - what happened and who is to blame. And when the war ends, the world will clearly know: it happened because Russia, the aggressor, was forced into peace. The same aggressor that came to Ukrainian land in 2014 - 11 years ago. And it is important for everyone that it does not take more years. Today, I held a meeting of the Staff. We are continuing the development of our army - forming a corps-level command system. Relevant reports were presented. Together with our partners, we are also laying the groundwork for a security contingent - a contingent with the participation of partners, which will maintain peace after this war. Meetings on this - on the contingent - are planned for this week. Today, we also outlined our foreign policy agenda for the coming weeks - we are working to secure air defense for Ukraine, to strengthen the resilience of our state and Defense Forces, and to ensure that diplomacy finally begins to bear fruit. Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Andriy Yermak Urges G7 Countries to Increase Pressure on Russia to Achieve a Ceasefire and a Just Peace President of Ukraine 14 April 2025 - 18:44 Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a video conference with the national security advisors to the leaders of the G7 countries. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva and Advisor to the Head of the President's Office Dariia Zarivna. Andriy Yermak informed the participants that a double ballistic missile strike on the city of Sumy had killed 34 people and injured over 100 others. He emphasized that the attack was premeditated, as the missiles were deliberately targeted at the city center on Palm Sunday. On April 4, Russia also launched a ballistic missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, killing 19 people, including 9 children. "They use terror as a message. It's clear they want to continue this war. It doesn't matter what they tell you - they will keep trying to conquer Ukraine. And there will be more attempts at such terrorist attacks. When dealing with Russians, we must remember that they are ruthless. Don't look for goodwill - you won't find it," he stated. The Head of the Office of the President thanked representatives of each country for the reactions from their leaders to the tragedy in Sumy. All participants condemned the Russian strike and expressed their condolences to the families of the victims. In light of Russia's continued missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians, Andriy Yermak called on G7 nations to increase pressure on the Russian Federation. "To achieve a true ceasefire and lasting peace, we must compel them - not plead with them. There is only one way: more destructive sanctions against Russia, increased political pressure, greater defense aid to Ukraine, and fast-tracked EU accession. Any other path would allow Russia to simulate a peace process while prolonging the war," he stressed. The representatives of the G7 countries agreed on the need to maintain pressure on Russia - including through sanctions - to achieve a full ceasefire and implement key humanitarian measures, such as the release of military and civilian prisoners and the return of illegally deported children. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Steps Toward a Just Peace and the Use of Frozen Russian Assets: The Office of the President Hosted a Meeting with the Ambassador of Italy President of Ukraine 14 April 2025 - 12:10 Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Iryna Mudra held a meeting with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Ukraine, Carlo Formosa. The main topics of discussion included joint steps toward achieving a just and lasting peace, holding Russia accountable for the crime of aggression, and ensuring the effective use of frozen Russian assets. Iryna Mudra emphasized the importance of establishing a special tribunal for the crime of aggression as a component of the international system of justice. Special attention was paid to concrete steps to launch an international compensation mechanism that would enable frozen Russian assets to be directed to Ukraine's recovery. The Ambassador of Italy reaffirmed his country's commitment to the principles of international law, its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its readiness to continue close cooperation within key international formats. Iryna Mudra thanked Italy for its active position and ongoing support, including within the European Union and the Group of Seven (G7). "Italy is one of Ukraine's key partners. We greatly value the support we receive from the Italian people and your contribution to building a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world," she concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN denounces deadly Palm Sunday attack in Ukraine 14 April 2025 - The United Nations has condemned the Russian attack on the city of Sumy, Ukraine, on Sunday which reportedly killed at least 34 people, including two children, and injured more than 100 others. The two missiles struck a busy street in the city centre, damaging residential buildings, an educational facility and civilian vehicles, as people were out celebrating Palm Sunday, a major religious holiday in Ukraine. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply alarmed and shocked to learn of the attack his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Devastating pattern of assaults "The attack, on Palm Sunday and at the start of Holy Week, continues a devastating pattern of similar assaults on Ukrainian cities and towns in recent weeks, resulting in civilian casualties and large-scale destruction," he said. The Secretary-General underlined that attacks against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited under international humanitarian law and must end immediately. Mr. Guterres renewed his call for a durable ceasefire in Ukraine. He also reiterated the UN's support to meaningful efforts towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace that fully upholds the country's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, in line with the UN Charter, international law, and relevant UN resolutions. Senior aid official 'utterly appalled' The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, was "utterly appalled" by the Russian missile strike on the heart of Sumy city, which is located in northeastern Ukraine. "Palm Sunday is meant to be a day of peace and reflection. Instead, people in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine have been subjected to violence, terror, and loss," he said. The missile hit a busy street in the city centre, damaging residential buildings, an educational facility, and civilian vehicles including a public bus. "On behalf of the humanitarian community and the United Nations country team, I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and express my deeply felt condolences with the families whose lives have been torn apart," said Mr. Schmale. He recalled that international humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, stressing that "those rules exist to protect human life and dignity and they must be respected at all times." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EAST LANSING, Mich. Michigan State University (MSU) police arrested 19 individuals, including 17 students and two community members, on Thursday evening following a pro-Palestinian sit-in at the Hannah Administration Building. The protest, organized by the Hurriya Coalition and Students for Justice in Palestine, demanded divestment from Israel and highlighted concerns over the deportation of international students involved in similar campus actions. The arrests occurred around 8 p.m. after MSU Police Lieutenant Kim Parviainen issued a final warning to vacate the building's lobby, citing trespassing violations. The demonstration followed a rally and a meeting with university officials, where protesters sought accountability on MSU's investments. Tensions escalated as the group refused to leave, leading to a swift police response. Images from the scene showed students being handcuffed, sparking outcry among supporters who argue the arrests stifle free speech. The Hurriya Coalition, a collective of over 20 student organizations, framed the protest as part of a broader push for Palestinian solidarity amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Organizers also raised alarms about the Trump administration's immigration policies, pointing to recent cases like that of Columbia University's Mahmoud Khalil, whose deportation was temporarily blocked after his arrest tied to campus protests. Fears are mounting that international students at MSU could face similar repercussions, with some protesters alleging the arrests were retaliatory. MSU administrators have not commented on the deportation concerns but stated the arrests followed protocol for unauthorized building occupation. The university emphasized its commitment to balancing free expression with campus safety. However, the incident has reignited debates about institutional responses to political activism, with critics arguing that heavy-handed tactics risk alienating students and escalating tensions. The arrests come amid heightened scrutiny of universities nationwide, as the Trump administration signals a broader crackdown on campus protests perceived as disruptive. Posts circulating online reflect divided sentiment, with some praising MSU's response as necessary for order, while others condemn it as an overreach targeting marginalized voices. For MSU's student body, the fallout raises questions about the future of activism on campus. The Hurriya Coalition vowed to continue its campaign, calling for solidarity and urging the university to address divestment demands transparently. As legal proceedings loom for those arrested, the incident underscores the precarious balance between protest rights and institutional authority in an increasingly polarized climate. Ad Hoc Announcement Pursuant to Article 53 of the SIX Exchange Regulation Listing Rules SIKA IS GENERATING GROWTH IN Q1 DESPITE UNPREDICTABLE MARKETS AND CONTINUES INVESTING WORLDWIDE Growth in local currencies of +1.9% (growth in CHF: +1.1%) Q1 sales of CHF 2 , 678.3 million (previous year: CHF 2,648.0 million) , Organic growth of 0.9% Acquisition effect of 1.0% Targeted investment in future growth Acquisition of Elmich (Singapore), Cromar (UK), and HPS (USA) Opening of new factories in Singapore, Xian (China), Quito (Ecuador), and Ust-Kamenogorsk ( Kazakhstan) Outlook for fiscal 2025: Sika confirms the outlook, but points to increased market uncertainties arising from potentially prolonged trade conflicts Expected sales increase in local currencies of 3-6% Over-proportional increase in EBITDA and EBITDA margin of between 19.5%-19.8% Confirmation of 2028 strategic mid-term targets for sustainable, profitable growth In the first quarter of the 2025 financial year Sika has continued to grow, despite less predictable global trade and ongoing geopolitical tensions. In markets in which protectionist tariffs are hindering free trade, Sikas local supply chain and its systematic global production expansion over the past years are proving to be a strategic advantage. With over 400 factories worldwide, the company has a comprehensive production network in 102 countries and produces its state-of-the-art technologies locally. Sika is therefore not directly affected by tariffs and can reliably supply its customers even under challenging market conditions as well as continue to strengthen its leading position in the field of construction chemicals by gaining market share. In the first quarter of 2025, Sika generated record sales of CHF 2,678.3 million (previous year: CHF 2,648.0 million). This equates to an increase of 1.1% in Swiss francs. Sika once again succeeded in achieving organic growth in a declining overall market and grew by 0.9% in the first three months of the year. Thomas Hasler, CEO: In a challenging market environment we were again able to assert ourselves and grow against the market trend. We have a strong position in particular in the project and infrastructure business. With a clear focus and a comprehensive product portfolio we are targeting further growth in both areas. In addition, our proven local for local strategy is the basis for our strong resilience, especially in times of global uncertainty and increasing trade barriers. We produce our solutions and innovations locally in our respective markets, close to our customers. In the US in particular, we have implemented this decentralized model successfully and now produce close to 100% of our products locally for the US market. The same is true for Europe and Asia, where our local production network also gives us a strategic competitive advantage. INVESTMENT IN FURTHER GROWTH IN ALL REGIONS In the first quarter, Sika generated local currency growth in EMEA and Americas and gained market share in all regions. Investments were made in all regions in the acquisition of small and medium-sized enterprises and in the expansion of production facilities for future growth. In the first three months of 2025, sales in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) increased by 0.7% in local currencies (previous year: 22.4%). Conditions remain very challenging in the European construction markets. Compared to the same period last year, the region also had one working day less. Overall, Sika achieved a significant increase in sales in the countries in the Middle East and Africa. With its strong sales organization, Sika Germany is very well positioned to benefit from the infrastructure package approved by the German government for which around EUR 500 billion will be invested in modernizing and expanding infrastructure over a period of 10 years. The automotive and industrial sectors are still experiencing a downturn in the EMEA region. This is due to the falling production figures for new vehicles owing to persistently weak demand in Europe. Sika has invested in future growth in Europe. In the first quarter it acquired Cromar Building Products, a well-known provider of roofing systems in the UK. Cromar supplies its customers mainly via the distribution channel. With the acquisition Sika is developing substantial cross-selling potential and is targeting expansion in the roofing sector in the UK. Moreover, Sika has commissioned a new production facility in Ust-Kamenogorsk with production lines for mortar and concrete admixtures and a modern laboratory. The plant is Sikas fourth factory in Kazakhstan and is situated in an economically important industrial region in the eastern part of the country. In local currency terms, the Americas region achieved a 4.9% increase in sales (previous year: 21.1%). After a good start to the current financial year, the last month of the quarter saw the market unsettled by mixed signals in terms of US trade policy. Consequently, growth for Sika has slowed in North America, whereas last year's growth momentum in Latin America has continued. One positive effect comes from state-supported infrastructure projects in the US and commercial construction projects that are being implemented as part of the drive to relocate production in the USA. Thanks to Sikas local presence almost 100% of all products and solutions sold in the USA are produced in the country and its strong leading position in the renovation market, Sika outperformed the market as a whole. In the first quarter, Sika acquired HPS North America, Inc., a successful provider of materials for building finishing. The complete integration into Sika USA creates a strong platform for further expansion in the Building Finishing segment and facilitates considerable efficiency gains. Furthermore, investments were made in the expansion of the supply chain in Ecuador. By opening a new factory in Quito, Sika is reinforcing its presence and customer proximity in the country. The strategic investment enables Sika to leverage the full market potential of Ecuador for its mortar solutions in the field of interior walls, insulation, and tile adhesives. In Asia/Pacific, sales in the first three months of the current financial year have remained stable (previous year: 14.1% growth). Sikas sequential growth in the region has thus improved. Southeast Asia and the Automotive & Industry business posted strong growth where Sika was able to further increase the share of its technologies in vehicles of local and international manufacturers. Japan and India, two of the largest countries in the region, also contributed to the growth. China, the region's biggest country, experienced a continued downturn in the first quarter. Sika also invested in Asia/Pacific and acquired Elmich Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company and a leading provider of green roofs and spaces for urban areas. With this move, Sika is expanding its regional offering of roofing systems and is also strengthening the specifications business in the region. In addition, Sika opened two state-of-the-art production facilities in Singapore and Xian, in the northwest of China. Whereas the new plant in Singapore will specialize in mortar production, the facility in Xian will produce tile adhesives, cementitious waterproofing, and flooring solutions. OUTLOOK Sika confirms the outlook, but points to increased market uncertainties arising from potentially prolonged trade conflicts. Especially in a protectionist market environment, Sika's long-standing investments in a local for local strategy should pay off and drive resilient results. For the 2025 fiscal year, Sika is expecting sales growth in local currencies of 3-6%. The company is anticipating an over-proportional increase in EBITDA and an EBITDA margin in the range of 19.5%-19.8%. Sika is also confirming its 2028 strategic medium-term targets for sustainable, profitable growth. NET SALES IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF 2025 In CHF mn 1.1.2024 - 31.3.2024 1.1.2025 - 31.3.2025 Year-on-year change (+/- in %) In CHF In local currencies Currency effect Acquisition effect Organic growth By region EMEA 1,210.7 1,204.1 -0.5 0.7 -1.2 0.3 0.4 Americas 903.2 934.7 3.5 4.9 -1.4 2.5 2.4 Asia/Pacific 534.1 539.5 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.4 -0.4 Net sales 2,648.0 2,678.3 1.1 1.9 -0.8 1.0 0.9 Products for construction industry 2,211.5 2,248.0 1.7 2.5 -0.8 1.2 1.3 Products for industrial manufacturing 436.5 430.3 -1.4 -1.0 -0.4 0.0 -1.0 FINANCIAL CALENDAR Half-Year Report 2025 Tuesday, July 29, 2025 Sika Innovation Lab Tuesday, October 7, 2025 Results first nine months 2025 Friday, October 24, 2025 Net sales 2025 Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Media conference/analyst presentation on the 2025 full-year results Friday, February 20, 2026 58th Annual General Meeting Tuesday, March 24, 2026 Sales first quarter 2026 Tuesday, April 14, 2026 SIKA CORPORATE PROFILE Sika is a specialty chemicals company with a globally leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protection in the building sector and industry. Sika has subsidiaries in 102 countries around the world, produces in over 400 factories, and develops innovative technologies for customers worldwide. In doing so, it plays a crucial role in enabling the transformation of the construction and transportation industries toward greater environmental compatibility. Its 34,000 or so employees generated annual sales of CHF 11.76 billion in 2024. CONTACT Dominik Slappnig Corporate Communications & Investor Relations +41 58 436 68 21 slappnig.dominik@ch.sika.com The media release can be downloaded from the following link: Media Release OSLO, NORWAY (15 April 2025) - The annual general meeting of TGS ASA ("TGS" or the "Company") will be held on 8 May 2025 as a virtual meeting through the facilities of Lumi at 17:00 hours (Oslo time). The notice for the annual general meeting is attached hereto (English and Norwegian), together with relevant appendices. The notice will be sent to all registered shareholders on 15 April 2025. To register your attendance, grant proxy or cast votes electronically in advance through VPS Investor Services, please use the following link: https://investor.vps.no/gm/logOn.htm?token=48ca9cc55098a7e54352ba1649fc3a5d6f01582a&validTo=1749308400000&oppdragsId=20250326VPNBNSU0 (also available on www.tgs.com (http://www.tgs.com)). The pin code and reference number, which are sent out with the notice, will be needed. Shareholders that have received the notice electronically will find information by logging in through VPS Investor services; available at euronextvps.no or through own account keeper (bank/broker). Earlier in April TGS held an election by and among the TGS employees to the TGS board of directors. Subject to the shareholders approving the agreement on global employee representation (item 6 in the calling notice), the following three TGS employees will serve as employee elected regular board members on the board of TGS ASA for a period of two years from the 2025 Annual General Meeting: Christine Roche, Cristina-Reta Tang and Michael Vale, whereas Emma Taylor, Carl Neuhaus and Cerys James are deputies. For more information, visit TGS.com (http://www.tgs.com), email generalmeeting@tgs.com or contact: Bard Stenberg VP IR & Communication Mobile: +47 992 45 235 investor@tgs.com About TGS TGS provides advanced data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. With leading-edge technology and solutions spanning the entire energy value chain, TGS offers a comprehensive range of insights to help clients make better decisions. Our broad range of products and advanced data technologies, coupled with a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, make TGS a trusted partner in supporting the exploration and production of energy resources worldwide. For further information, please visit www.tgs.com (https://www.tgs.com/). Forward Looking Statement All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include volatile market conditions, investment opportunities in new and existing markets, demand for licensing of data within the energy industry, operational challenges, and reliance on a cyclical industry and principal customers. Actual results may differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. TGS undertakes no responsibility or obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements for any reason. Attachments CALGARY, Alberta, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integral Metals Corp. (CSE: INTG | OTC: ITGLF | FSE: ZK9) (the Company or Integral) recognizes the recent decision by Chinas Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs to implement new export restrictions on essential rare earth elements, which took effect on April 4, 2025. The new export controls will impact the supply of several vital rare earth elements, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium, which are integral to a wide range of high-tech and defense applications. China's recent decision to impose export restrictions on critical rare earth elements highlights the growing global dependence on these materials and emphasizes the need for North America to secure a stable, independent supply. As the dominant global producer of rare earths, Chinas actions reinforce the pressing need for the development of a robust and sustainable rare earth supply chain within North America. This move further reinforces the urgency for North American self-sufficiency in securing access to these vital resources. Woods Creek and Burntwood Properties Integrals Key Assets Integral Metals is advancing its exploration efforts at the Woods Creek property in Montana, USA, and the Burntwood property in Manitoba, Canada. Both properties are located in strategic regions aimed at reducing North Americas reliance on foreign rare earth elements. The Woods Creek Property is located in Montana, USA, within a region known for its potential to host rare earth mineral deposits. This exploration project focuses on developing prospective areas for a range of rare earth elements. The property is well situated in a region that could contribute to meeting North America's demand for rare earths. The Burntwood property is situated in Manitoba, Canada, another key asset in Integrals portfolio. This property is strategically located near various infrastructure that could support exploration activities. Initial studies have shown potential for rare earth mineralization. Paul Sparkes, CEO of Integral Metals, commented, "Chinas export restrictions have highlighted the importance of securing a stable, domestic supply of rare earth elements. At Integral, we are focused on advancing exploration at our Woods Creek and Burntwood properties, strategically located to help reduce North America's reliance on foreign sources and contribute to a more self-sufficient supply chain." Qualified Person Jared Suchan, Ph.D., P.Geo., Integral Metals Vice President of Exploration and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical contents of this news release. On Behalf of the Board Directors Paul Sparkes Chief Executive Officer 825-414-3163 info@integralmetals.com ABOUT INTEGRAL METALS CORP. Integral is an exploration stage company, engaged in the business of mineral exploration for critical minerals, including gallium, germanium, and rare earth elements, with the goal of contributing to the development of a domestic supply chain for these minerals. Integral holds properties in mining-friendly jurisdictions in Canada and the United States of America, including the Northwest Territories, Manitoba and Montana, where it has received regulatory support for its exploration efforts. Forward-Looking Information Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companys current beliefs or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the Companys future plans, including the Companys plans to focus its efforts and resources on the Kap Property and its other mineral properties. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information, including, in respect of the forward-looking information included in this press release, assumptions regarding the future plans and strategies of the Company, including that the Company will continue to focus its efforts and resources on the Kap Property. Although forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions of the Companys management, there can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, among other things, the risk that the Companys business prospects and priorities may change, whether as a result of unexpected events, general market and economic conditions or as a result of the Companys future exploration efforts, and that any such change may result in a re-deployment of the Companys resources and efforts in a manner divergent from the Companys current business plan or strategy. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company is not obligated 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 laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (West Red Lake Gold or WRLG or the Company) (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF) is pleased to announce positive results from the 2024 regional surface mapping, geochemical sampling and core re-logging program (the Program) at its 100% owned Rowan Property located in the Red Lake Gold District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada. HIGHLIGHTS: The Program at Rowan in 2024 consisted of a diamond drill core re-logging and sampling program, expansion of the 2023 till sampling grid, and compilation of a new deposit-scale 3D geologic model to enhance targeting of favorable structural and lithologic settings for gold mineralization at Rowan. The re-logging program included 50 diamond drill holes for a total of 16,830 meters (m) of drill core this core was predominately from historic drilling campaigns (Figure 2). A total of 3,070 samples were collected over 4,604m of core to fill analytical gaps in the historic data set and update mineralized domains at Rowan. A total of 984 till samples were collected in 2024 with an emphasis on prospective geology and interpreted structural trends that are believed to be important controls for gold mineralization at Rowan. This was in addition to the 344 till samples collected during 2023 (Figure 3). Geochemical data from 2023-2024 till sampling campaigns were integrated to refine what is interpreted to be the main mineralized structural trend at Rowan, which has been folded and conforms to a regional-scale east verging antiform (Figure 1). This structural trend is constrained geochemically by strong potassic (K) alteration and Ag-Cd-Zn loading. Visible gold in drill core at Rowan is often associated with the presence of sphalerite (Zn-sulphide). Two (2) new till anomalies were defined at Rowan that also align spatially with deflections and folding in the main regional shear. These two newly defined target areas have seen very little previous drilling. The areas immediately northeast and southwest along strike from the main Rowan deposit, and the Mount Jamie area also remain highly prospective for expansion and discovery potential. Will Robinson, Vice President of Exploration, stated, The 2024 exploration program at Rowan achieved a number of key objectives in advancing our understanding of the geological controls on mineralization in this part of the Red Lake District. We now have a succinct and systematic logging convention for Rowan to pair with a high-confidence and detailed deposit-scale 3D geologic model, which will prove invaluable for targeting and data processing in future drilling programs. Many of the common themes we see at Madsen associated with gold are also present at Rowan, which further substantiates our regional targeting model. The till sampling program was highly successful in mapping out the footprint of the main controlling mineralized shear at Rowan, while also defining two high caliber gold-in-till anomalies at Big Bend and Apex. Inflections and folds in mineralized shears are great places to look for high-grade gold and we are excited to test these new targets with future drilling campaigns. Figure 1. Map showing new target areas defined through 2023-2024 surface till sampling and characterized by strong K-alteration and Ag-Cd-Zn loading. The areas immediately northeast and southwest of the main Rowan deposit remain high-priority expansion targets. Figure 2. Map showing location of drill collars for re-logged holes relative to known gold deposits and mineral occurrences. Newly interpreted 2025 geology map shown as underlay. Figure 3. Map showing location of 2023-2024 till sampling grid with sampled and non-sampled sites displayed. Non-sampled sites were due to lack of viable sample material and/or swampy terrain. DISCUSSION Drill Core Re-logging and Sampling Program The re-logging program included 50 diamond drill holes for a total of 16,830m of drill core this core was predominately from historic drilling campaigns from Rowan, Mount Jamie, Red Summit and the NT Zone (Table 1). A total of 3,070 samples were collected over 4,604m of core to fill analytical gaps in the historic data set and update mineralized domains at Rowan. Sample preparation and gold analysis were conducted at SGS in Red Lake, subsequent to which the master analytical pulps were picked up by WRLG contract employees and transported to ALS Minerals in Thunder Bay for multi-element ICP analysis. Table 1. Summary of drill holes, primary samples and QAQC samples from 2024 Rowan re-logging and sampling program. Hole ID Target Area Hole Depth (m) Meters Sampled No. Samples CRMs Blanks Field Dup's Prep Dup's HYR-07-01 Strat Interp. 575 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-22-125 Strat Interp. 300 0 0 0 0 0 0 HY-07-09 Mount Jamie 155 92.3 55 2 2 1 1 HY-07-10 Mount Jamie 101 49.8 28 1 1 1 0 HY-07-13 Mount Jamie 152 98.7 59 2 2 1 1 HY-07-14 Mount Jamie 152 115.8 76 3 3 1 1 HY-07-35 Mount Jamie 300 35.6 20 0 1 0 1 HY-07-38 Mount Jamie 360 80.55 42 2 1 1 1 MJ-17-01 Mount Jamie 108 0 0 0 0 0 0 MJ-17-02 Mount Jamie 102 0 0 0 0 0 0 MJ-17-08 Mount Jamie 141 60.3 38 2 1 0 1 MJ-17-11 Mount Jamie 201 61.4 39 1 2 1 0 MJ-17-13 Mount Jamie 108 42.2 26 1 1 1 0 RLG-19-70 NT Zone 273 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-19-72 NT Zone 327 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-22-119 NT Zone 339 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-23-128 Red Summit 408 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-15-24 Fold Hinge 396 0 0 0 0 0 0 HYR-07-02 Rowan 350 115.5 72 2 3 2 1 HYR-07-03 Rowan 475 262.1 146 5 6 3 2 HYR-07-04 Rowan 336 218 136 5 5 3 3 HYR-07-06 Rowan 528 152.4 95 4 3 2 2 HYR-07-07 Rowan 650 217.8 139 5 5 3 2 RLG-14-011 Rowan 90 23.1 16 1 0 0 1 RLG-14-013 Rowan 141 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-14-014 Rowan 216 46.25 30 1 1 1 1 RLG-14-015 Rowan 240 30 16 1 0 0 0 RLG-14-018 Rowan 153 19 10 0 1 0 0 RLG-15-019 Rowan 300 187.1 114 5 4 2 2 RLG-15-020 Rowan 261 208 127 5 5 2 2 RLG-16-034 Rowan 465 353.25 316 11 12 3 9 RLG-16-035 Rowan 351 288.7 242 8 9 6 3 RLG-16-036 Rowan 474 181.55 116 4 4 3 2 RLG-16-037 Rowan 275 236.3 170 6 7 3 2 RLG-16-038 Rowan 355 93.8 66 2 3 1 1 RLG-16-039 Rowan 150 54.1 34 2 1 1 0 RLG-17-045 Rowan 357 251.2 180 6 7 3 3 RLG-17-046 Rowan 433 161.8 99 4 4 1 2 RLG-17-047 Rowan 405 307.9 218 9 8 5 3 RLG-17-048 Rowan 522 144 99 4 3 2 2 RLG-17-050 Rowan 600 108.64 66 2 3 1 2 RLG-17-051 Rowan 650 143.04 93 3 4 1 2 RLG-17-052 Rowan 351 163.88 96 3 4 2 1 RLG-21-109 Rowan 486 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-23-157 Rowan 471 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-23-159 Rowan 351 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-23-172 Rowan 708 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-23-175 Rowan 447 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-23-177 Rowan 432 0 0 0 0 0 0 RLG-23-184 Rowan 309 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 16,830 4,604.06 3,079 112 116 57 54 Till Sampling Program A total of 1,328 till samples (exclusive of duplicates) were taken by contracted field personnel between both phases of surficial sampling on the Rowan property in 2023 and 2024. Of these 1,328 samples, 984 were prepared in the lab with a -63 m passing sieve, whereas the remaining samples were sieved to the -180+63 m fractions size. The average sample weight received at the lab was 1.75 kg, with a following average weight of 245 g of sample material passing the -63m fraction screen during preparation. Of the 984 field samples, 12 returned with insufficient material for analysis (NSS). These NSS samples had an average receival weight of 1.39 kg, but a post screen average weight of 36.07 grams. A review of sample commentary and field data shows that these 12 samples were taken either in sand rich till, or over shallow subcrop with low volumes of the appropriate sample medium. With a required nominal weight of 50 g required for the AuME-ST44 analysis method, field sampling protocols are deemed adequate to ensure the required volume of material has been collected. At a failure rate of 1.2 %, this is deemed to be within acceptable tolerance for sample collection. QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL The Rowan Mine deposit presently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) Indicated resource of 195,746 ounces (oz) of gold grading 12.78 g/t Au and an Inferred resource of 115,719 oz of gold grading 8.76 g/t Au. Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 3.80 g/t Au and a gold price of US$1,800/oz. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please refer to the technical report entitled Technical Report on The Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for The Rowan Property, Ontario, Canada, prepared by SIMS Resources LLC and dated April 26, 2024 (the Rowan Report). The Rowan Mine Resource Estimate has an effective date of March 1, 2024. A full copy of the Rowan Report is available on the Companys website and on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Will Robinson, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for West Red Lake Gold and the Qualified Person for exploration at the West Red Lake Project, as defined by NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ABOUT WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. is a mineral exploration company that is publicly traded and focused on advancing and developing its flagship Madsen Gold Mine and the associated 47 km2 highly prospective land package in the Red Lake district of Ontario. The highly productive Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada has yielded over 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones and hosts some of the worlds richest gold deposits. WRLG also holds the wholly owned Rowan Property in Red Lake, with an expansive property position covering 31 km2 including three past producing gold mines - Rowan, Mount Jamie, and Red Summit. ON BEHALF OF WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES LTD. Shane Williams Shane Williams President & Chief Executive Officer FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Gwen Preston Vice President Communications Tel: (604) 609-6132 Email: investors@wrgold.com or visit the Companys website at https://www.westredlakegold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT AND FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by words such as anticipate, expect, estimate, forecast, planned, and similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Forward-looking information is based on current expectations of management; however, it is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this news release and include without limitation, statements relating to the potential for mineralization in the Red Lake district, the anticipated value of the dataset for advancing targets on the Rowan property, and all other plans for the potential restart of mining operations at the Madsen Mine, the potential of the Madsen Mine; any untapped growth potential in the Madsen deposit or Rowan deposit; and the Companys future objectives and plans. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks associated with mineral exploration and development activities, environmental risks, market volatility; the state of the financial markets for the Companys securities; fluctuations in commodity prices; timing and results of the cleanup and recovery at the Madsen Mine; and changes in the Companys business plans. Forward-looking information is based on a number of key expectations and assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will continue with its stated business objectives and its ability to raise additional capital to proceed. Although management of 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, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Additional information about risks and uncertainties is contained in the Companys managements discussion and analysis for the year ended November 30, 2023, and the Companys annual information form for the year ended November 30, 2023, copies of which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects managements current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Companys continuous disclosure filings that are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a68fbf2c-c839-4a17-a7a2-754fc80aabd8 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/47e7338c-1e94-4289-81ef-4f5bbf249948 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/44118e92-a485-41c1-afac-dc2f0edc83e1 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/98c50b06-2aaf-47c4-b66a-fa126dd6198e Dublin, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Business Jet Market by Point of Sale (Pre-Owned, OEM, Aftermarket), Aircraft Type (Light, Mid-Sized, Large, Airliner), End-Use (Private Jet User, Operator), Systems (Aerostructures, Avionics, Aircraft Systems), Range - Global Forecast to 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The business jet market size is expected to grow from USD 95.80 billion in 2024 to USD 156.99 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2024 to 2032 The increasing technological advancements such as innovations in aircraft design and onboarded amenities are attracting more buyers. The increased focus on improving passenger experience and enhancing operational efficiency is driving the business jet market. However, complex rules and regulations for business jet certification a high maintenance cost are limiting the overall growth of the market. Dassault Aviation (France), Textron Inc. (US), Bombardier Inc. (Canada), Embraer SA (Brazil), Gulfstream Aerospace (US), among others. These key players offer connectivity applicable to various sectors and have well-equipped and strong distribution networks across North America, Europe, Asia Pacifica, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. The Large aircraft type segment is expected to hold the highest market share in 2024. Based on aircraft type, the large aircraft segment of the business jet market is estimated to have highest market share in 2024. Large business jets are equipped with a large and spacious cabin with advanced avionics, luxury and comfort. These are mostly preferred for long-haul travel. The increased demand for intercity travel is driving the growth of large business jets. The increased international travel by high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and corporations is also adding to the overall growth of business jet market. The private user segment of end use is expected to hold the largest share in 2024. Based on end use, the private user segment is expected to hold the largest share in 2024. The desire for privacy, flexibility and convenience is driving the market for private users. Additionally, due to the fact that the private users can customize their aircraft as per their preferences and have a complete control over travel schedule is expected to drive this market segment. Increasing trend of adopting fractional ownership or leasing the aircraft to reduce costs is also driving the private user segment. Europe is projected to have the second highest share in 2024. Europe is projected to account for the second largest share of the business jet market in 2024. Europe emphasis more on sustainability, with increasing interest in eco-friendly operations and sustainable aviation fuels. The presence of major electric aircraft manufacturers such as lilium (Germany), Vertical Aerospace (UK), Heart Aerospace (Sweden) among others. The strong demand for business travel among European countries and neighboring countries is expected to drive the market. European private jet market is fueled by the robust market for used/re-sale private jets. The report provides insights on the following pointers: Analysis of the key drivers (Increased advancements in hybrid & electric technologies, High demand for digitalization, Need for enhanced productivity and efficiency by business jet users, Increase in number of high-net-worth individuals), restraint (High maintenance cost, complex rules and regulations for business jet certifications), opportunities (Need for charter services and fractional ownership, Increased emphasis on use of SAF for business aviation), and challenges (Increase shortage for pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers, Rising supply chain disruptions, Increasing delays due to ATC and airport access) these are several factors that could contribute to an increase in the business jet market. Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on business jet offered by top players in the market Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product launches in the business jet market Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets - the report analyzes the business jet market across varied regions. Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the business jet market Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of leading players in the business jet market Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 280 Forecast Period 2024 - 2032 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $95.8 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2032 $156.99 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.4% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured Bombardier General Dynamics Corporation Textron Inc. Dassault Aviation Embraer Pilatus Aircraft Ltd Airbus Boeing Cirrus Aircraft Piaggio Aero Industries Piper Aircraft, Inc. Deutsche Aircraft GmbH Eclipse Aerospace, Inc. Honda Aircraft Company, LLC Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd. Stellar Aviation AG Electra Aero Eviation Vaeridion GmbH Aura Aero Heart Aerospace Lyte Aviation New Horizon Aircraft Ltd Beyond Aero Overair, Inc Odys Aviation Nimbus Aerospace For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/bquy1q 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 LONDON, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global diversified professional services and investment management company Colliers announced today that Miro Karttunen will become the Managing Director (MD) of Colliers in Finland, effective 1 August 2025. Karttunen will extend Colliers position as the market leader for client service excellence with a focus on strengthening Property Management services, driving strategic collaboration with the broader Nordics and EMEA region and fostering a high-performance culture. This leadership transition follows Ari Vanhanens announcement of his intention to retire as CEO of Finland. Karttunen, an experienced leader in the real estate industry, has a proven track record for driving business growth and creating high-performing teams. At CapMan Real Estate, he led the operational strategy for residential funds across the Nordics. Previously, he spent 13 years at Newsec Property Asset Management, where he most recently served as Managing Director, concentrating on developing the company's Nordic strategy, enhancing employee engagement and advancing the operational development of strategic accounts. Davoud Amel-Azizpour, CEO, Colliers EMEA, said: Miros appointment is crucial as we aim to enhance our Property Management services throughout the Nordic region. He has a dynamic approach to leadership, as well as experience in driving expansion within the international investor sector, that will be invaluable for delivering robust and profitable growth. Vanhanen remains with Colliers in Finland as an advisory board member until the end of 2025 and will support Karttunen during the transition. Karttunen will join the leadership team of Colliers Nordic region and working closely with his counterparts in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, will have the strategic remit to expand Property Management services across the Nordics. Amel-Azizpour continued, I am immensely grateful to Ari for his leadership of our Finnish business over the last six years and his ongoing commitment to accelerate our success in a different capacity. Commenting on his appointment, Karttunen said: I am delighted to be appointed the MD of Colliers in Finland. Colliers strong market presence and reputation for delivering exceptional client results in Finland, the Nordics, and globally are significant attractions for me. I look forward to working alongside enterprising leaders and professionals across EMEA to unlock opportunities for our clients. Media Contact: Anna Silkstone Head of Content, EMEA Anna.Silkstone@colliers.com About Colliers Colliers is a global diversified professional services and investment management company. Operating through three industry-leading platforms Real Estate Services, Engineering, and Investment Management we have a proven business model, an enterprising culture, and a unique partnership philosophy that drives growth and value creation. For 30 years, Colliers has consistently delivered approximately 20% compound annual returns for shareholders, fuelled by visionary leadership, significant inside ownership and substantial recurring earnings. With annual revenues exceeding $4.8 billion, a team of 23,000 professionals, and $99 billion in assets under management, Colliers remains committed to accelerating the success of our clients, investors, and people worldwide. Learn more at corporate.colliers.com , X @Colliers or LinkedIn . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/25f749da-8976-4d2c-b831-654d42f9a333 Dublin, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Military Platforms Market by Platform Type (Military Aircraft, Military Vessels, Military Vehicles), Technology (Conventional, Next-Gen ), End-User (Army, Navy, Air-Force) - Global Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The military platforms market is projected to reach USD 77.08 billion by 2030, from USD 51.87 billion in 2024, at a CAGR of 6.8% Major Growth Drivers for Military Platforms Market Geopolitical tensions, increasing defense expenditure, and rapid technological advancements across air, sea, and land domains are the growth drivers for the military platforms market. Countries in the world would continue to build up their military capabilities with a focus on air defense, naval modernization, and armored vehicle upgrades, thereby demanding advanced military platforms. As such, with the change in security dynamics and the demand for more sophisticated defense systems, the military forces will tend to buy integrated platforms with cutting-edge technologies, including advanced stealth capabilities, precision-guided targeting system, and command and control integration. Industry majors are indeed enhancing their R&D investments in developing next-generation solutions relevant to strategic defense initiatives of the world's leading countries, specially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. BAE Systems (UK), Thales (France), Leonardo S.p.A (Italy), Rheinmetall AG (Germany), Boeing (US), Huntington Ingalls Industries (US) and Lockheed Martin Corporation, (US), and are some of the leading players operating in the military platforms market. Based on platform type, military vehicle segment estimated to have the largest share in the market during the forecast period The military vehicle segment is expected to have the highest share of market in the military platforms market during the forecast period. This is because of increasing demands for strong ground-based platforms, mainly in regions with rising geopolitical tensions and border conflicts. Military vehicles, including Main Battle Tanks, Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Armored Personnel Carriers, and Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, give the base for effective modern land warfare, thus enhancing mobility, firepower, and protection available for ground forces. Governments are spending significantly across the globe in overhauling their military vehicle fleets to adapt to shifting defense needs. Most of the countries replace the legacy fleets with next-generation platforms that feature various advanced technologies, such as active protection systems, automated targeting systems, and advanced armor solutions. Every one of these advanced technologies enhances the survivability as well as lethality of the military vehicle in a battle. A growing need for smaller, more agile vehicles to operate in challenging environments is a result of the high regard given to asymmetric warfare and other counterinsurgency operations. Military vehicle manufacturers also stand to gain from the heightening importance placed on logistics and supply chain management in order for the armies to be prepared offensively as well as defensively. The leading charge for North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, in terms of defence modernization, will help this segment retain its good market position. Moreover, key players in this segment, with the presence of companies such as General Dynamics, BAE Systems, and Oshkosh Defense, have been heavily investing in R&D to introduce advanced military vehicles, further driving growth in this market. Based on end-user, the air-force segment forecasted to grow at highest CAGR during forecast period The air-force segment is likely to achieve the highest CAGR in the forecast period as there have been massive investments in the modernization of air-defense programs. Countries around the world have been increasing their air power with next-generation fighter jets, multi-role combat aircraft, and strategic surveillance platforms. These new aircraft will have stealth technology, advanced avionics, and high-precision weaponry for air superiority in newer warfare. Another driver for the market in this segment is the rising demand for AEWS with advanced capabilities for ISR missions. There is a great focus on accuracy in an airstrike and long-range operational capabilities, which pushes governments to upgrade their air force infrastructure. This is where the induction of fifth and sixth-generation fighter aircraft will play the most significant role in changing the face of air power and consequently accelerate growth in the segment further. The North-America region is estimated to be the largest CAGR in market during the forecast period The highest CAGR in the military platforms market are expected during the forecast period in the North America region. This is due to significant investments done by the United States on defense budget, which upgrade its air, land, and naval platforms significantly. The US also leads in innovations of global defense with high investments in next-generation technologies including hypersonic missiles, advanced radar systems, and cyber defence solutions. Furthermore, the continent has some key defence manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, and General Dynamics, which add more weight to North America's lead in the market. Companies are developing advanced military advanced platforms, which will be needed to meet the changing security concerns in the region and around the world. The area's focus on these new-age threats like cyber warfare, space militarization, and precision-guided munitions will ensure that the North America market will continue to dominate the global military platforms market. The report provides insights on the following pointers: Analysis of key Drivers (Increased Global Defense Expenditure, Leveraging Rapid Technological Advancements, Growing demand for armored vehicles to tackle cross-border conflicts, Increasing Regional Conflicts), restrains (High capital cost of military platforms, Regulatory Compliance), opportunities (Increasing Modernization Programs, Modular and Scalable Armored Vehicles) and challenges (Supply Chain Disruptions, Lifecycle Maintenance Costs) influencing the growth of the market. Product Development/Innovation: Detailed Insights on upcoming technologies, R&D activities, and new products/solutions launched in the market. Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets - the report analyses the military platforms market across varied regions Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new solutions, recent developments, and investments in the military platforms market Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies, and service offerings of leading players including BAE Systems (UK), Thales (France), Leonardo S.p.A (Italy), Rheinmetall AG (Germany), Boeing (US), Huntington Ingalls Industries (US), Lockheed Martin Corporation, (US), Leonardo S.p.A (Italy) and among others in the military platforms market. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 448 Forecast Period 2024 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $51.87 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $77.08 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.8% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured Bae Systems Lockheed Martin Corporation Huntington Ingalls Industries (Hii) Boeing Rheinmetall AG General Dynamics Corporation Textron Inc. Saab Ab Leonardo S.P.A. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Fincantieri S.P.A. Hd Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. Hanwha Ocean Co. Ltd. Naval Group Rtx St Engineering Thales Northrop Grumman Israel Aerospace Industries Dassault Aviation Airbus Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd. Mahindra Emirates Vehicle Armouring Fz LLC Tata Advanced Systems Limited Inkas Armored Vehicle Manufacturing Streit Group For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qn4udy 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 TORONTO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blue Moon Metals Inc. (Blue Moon or the Company) (TSXV: MOON; OTCQB: BMOOF), is pleased to announce approval by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for a portal and tunnel to enable underground mineral exploration activities at the Blue Moon volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit (the Project), located in Mariposa County, California. The BLMs approval represents a significant permitting milestone for development of the Project, as the initial portal and decline will provide access for infill and exploration drilling, allow for examination of geology, rock mechanics, and underground mining conditions, and be utilized once the mine moves into production as the main haulage route. The BLMs approval allows for immediate commencement of the underground exploration program. As a result of this development, management has commenced the detailed exploration decline engineering and has initiated an RFP (request for proposal) process to select a mining contractor. The decline is expected to start construction in Q3-2025 and support a feasibility study which is expected to be completed in 24 months. The total program as outlined in the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) technical report for the Blue Moon Mine, is expected to cost US$31M, and result in approximately 20 new jobs in Mariposa County, California over that period. One of the additional goals of this program is to conduct additional work to evaluate the potential addition of barite, pyrite, gypsum, aggregates, gallium, germanium and/or indium to a future mineral resource as well as the associated economic potential, as these were not focus products for prior operators of the mine. The Company is expected to fund this program through a combination of a potential royalty sale, equity and/or the existing undrawn Hartree Partners standby facility. The Project currently only has one third-party royalty, capped at US$500,000. The BLMs approval is consistent with an Executive Order issued by President Donald Trump on March 20, 2025 calling for immediate measures to increase American mineral production, including streamlining permitting processes and prioritizing domestic mineral production projects. Soon after the issuance of the Executive Order, United States Congressman Tom McClintock, Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, issued a letter of support for the Project to BLM, noting approval of the Blue Moon Mining Project would result in the mining of multiple critical metals, such as zinc, copper, gallium, germanium, and barite, which would reduce the United States' dependency on foreign critical minerals. Congressman McClintock further urged the BLM to identify the Blue Moon Project as a Priority Project that, pursuant to the Executive Order, can be immediately approved or for which permits can be immediately issued and take all necessary or appropriate actions within the agencys authority to expedite and issue the relevant permits or approvals. The CEO of Blue Moon, Christian Kargl-Simard stated: "This project was identified by Westmin in the 1980s as a high-grade VMS project with strong metallurgy, which they completed a historical prefeasibility study on and advanced permitting. The project is now advancing rapidly with the focus on domestic production of critical metals. The PEA results announced on March 3, 2025 summarized top decile economics for a mining project, and at current spot prices the after-tax rate of return is over 50%. We are grateful for the support of multiple layers of government in the US to dedicate resources and expediency to advancing critical metals projects. With the strong economics of the project, we can deliver the Blue Moon Project using the highest environmental and social standards, and demonstrate to the county, where the California Gold Rush took place, what modern responsible mining looks like. With this approval, all three of Blue Moons critical metals projects have permits for underground exploration and development activities. This development supersedes and accelerates the permitting approach outlined in the PEA for the Blue Moon Mine, which had an effective date of March 3, 2025. The independent National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Technical Report has now been filed on SEDAR+. The study was commissioned by Blue Moon and carried out by Micon International Ltd. and Resource Development Associates, Inc. It provides a base case assessment for the development of the Project as an underground mine with onsite production of saleable concentrates for zinc and copper. Qualified Persons The technical and scientific information of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Dustin Small, P.Eng., a non-Independent Qualified Person, as defined by NI 43-101. About Blue Moon Blue Moon is advancing 3 brownfield polymetallic projects, including the Nussir copper-gold-silver project in Norway, the NSG copper-zinc-gold-silver project in Norway and the Blue Moon zinc-gold-silver-copper project in the United States. All 3 projects are well located with existing local infrastructure including roads, power and historical infrastructure. Zinc and copper are currently on the USGS and EU list of metals critical to the global economy and national security. More information is available on the Companys website (www.bluemoonmetals.com). For further information: Blue Moon Metals Inc. Christian Kargl-Simard CEO and Director Phone: (416) 230 3440 Email: christian@bluemoonmetals.com 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. CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER - FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release includes forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. All statements included herein that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information may in some cases be identified by words such as will, anticipates, expects, intends and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance. We caution that all forward-looking information is inherently subject to change and uncertainty and that actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. A number of risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information or could cause our current objectives, strategies and intentions to change. Accordingly, we warn investors to exercise caution when considering statements containing forward-looking information and that it would be unreasonable to rely on such statements as creating legal rights regarding our future results or plans. We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking information will materialize and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents managements current expectations and are based on information currently available to management, and are subject to change after the date of this news release. We are under no obligation (and we expressly disclaim any such obligation) to update or alter any statements containing forward-looking information, the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. All of the forward-looking information in this news release is qualified by the cautionary statements herein. Forward-looking information is provided herein for the purpose of giving information about the Project and its expected impact. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. A comprehensive discussion of other risks that impact Blue Moon can also be found in its public reports and filings which are available at www.sedarplus.ca. BEIJING, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zhihu Inc. (Zhihu or the Company) (NYSE: ZH; HKEX: 2390), a leading online content community in China, today announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15, 2025. The annual report can be accessed on the Companys investor relations website at https://ir.zhihu.com. The Company will provide a hard copy of its annual report containing the audited consolidated financial statements, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request. Requests should be directed to Investor Relations, Zhihu Inc., 18 Xueqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, Peoples Republic of China. About Zhihu Inc. Zhihu Inc. (NYSE: ZH; HKEX: 2390) is a leading online content community in China where people come to find solutions, make decisions, seek inspiration, and have fun. Since the initial launch in 2010, we have grown from a Q&A community into one of the top comprehensive online content communities and the largest Q&A-inspired online content community in China. For more information, please visit https://ir.zhihu.com. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Zhihu Inc. Email: ir@zhihu.com Christensen Advisory Roger Hu Tel: +86-10-5900-1548 Email: zhihu@christensencomms.com Dublin, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Heavy Construction Equipment Market by Machinery Type (Earthmoving Equipment, Material Handling Equipment, Heavy Construction Vehicles), Propulsion Type (Diesel, CNG/LNG/RNG, Electric), Engine Capacity, End-Use Industry, & Region - Global Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The heavy construction equipment market is estimated at USD 224.49 Billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 286.51 Billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2025 to 2030 One of the key factors anticipated to propel the growth of the heavy construction equipment market is the rising demand for such equipment in the mining and construction sectors. Asia Pacific led the heavy construction equipment market, in terms of value, in 2024 and is projected to register a CAGR of 5.2% between 2025 and 2030. The region's growing mining and infrastructure projects, particularly in China and India, are responsible for this high market penetration. These nations' governments are encouraging infrastructure development in an effort to boost their economies and draw in fresh foreign investment. The governments of these two nations are aggressively searching for suitable lithium mines both inside and outside the nation for battery manufacture in response to the growing demand for raw materials worldwide and to protect their energy interests. These will encourage the region to use heavy construction equipment more frequently. Prominent companies Caterpillar (US), Liebherr AG (Germany), Terex Corporation (US), Volvo Group (Sweden), Komatsu (Japan), Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Japan), SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (China), HD Hyundai (South Korea), XCMG Group (China), CNH Industrial N.V. (UK), and J C Bamford Excavators Ltd (UK), among others. Increasing investments in construction and infrastructure sectors to drive the heavy construction equipment market. The growing investments in construction activities are driving up demand for heavy construction equipment. Beijing, China, for example, is making 6.8 trillion yuan (about $1 trillion USD) in government cash available for building projects. Canal, dam, and reservoir building was expected to cost about 800 billion yuan (USD 115.96 million) in 2022. Additionally, the majority of China's infrastructure investment is allocated to local governments, who most frequently choose to spend on urban infrastructure development, which includes parks, gas and water pipe networks, and urban highways. Additionally, by 2035, China intends to construct 70,000 kilometers of high-speed rail. The European Union declared in June 2022 that it will invest over USD 5.4 billion in the construction of transportation infrastructure. About 135 infrastructure projects have been chosen by the EU to receive development funding. The National Infrastructure Pipeline is expected to receive about USD 645.7 billion and 700 projects, according to the UK Construction Leadership Council. The demand for construction equipment is anticipated to be driven during the forecast period by such planned investments and expanding construction activity for infrastructure development. Stringent government regulations to restrain for heavy construction equipment market. Government laws particular to a certain region are one of the biggest challenges heavy construction equipment manufacturers confront. A corporation must go through a drawn-out and difficult procedure of getting a permit after completing several necessary checks before beginning significant construction. For instance, appropriate baseline data is gathered to accurately represent the environmental status of the area because the construction industry employs more diesel engines than any other business in order to comply with EU emissions rules. Wetlands, soil, vegetation, animals, surface and groundwater hydrology, climatology, and cultural and historical resources are all the subjects of surveys. Following preparation and submission to the regulatory body, the permit undergoes technical and completeness evaluations. Such lengthy, time-consuming, and often varying regulations act as a restraint to the heavy construction equipment market. Digitization of services to provide an opportunity for the heavy construction equipment market. The construction equipment business has a plethora of opportunities to adopt new construction methods, cutting-edge technologies, and digitization. It is possible to employ and deploy new technologies on construction sites around the world, including telematics, smart applications, connected tools and equipment, and autonomous heavy machinery. Manufacturers of construction equipment use data to reduce hazards, boost productivity, enhance job site safety, and make smarter decisions. In order to monitor the health of construction equipment, predictive analytics solutions are developed using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning systems. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. introduced the ConSite Mine, a machine analytics solution that uses the Internet of Things to remotely monitor mining equipment around-the-clock, to the world market in January 2022. Development of alternative solutions to be a major challenge for heavy construction equipment market. The two most basic components of electric heavy construction equipment are the battery and the motor. The battery stores and provides the energy, while the motor generates the force. One of the difficulties faced by producers of heavy construction equipment is managing the motor's speed and torque under a variety of load and speed settings. A battery's capacity must be maximized in order to make the most efficient use of its limited amount of stored energy. Increasing the battery's size would help it hold more power, but it also makes the heavy construction equipment heavier and more expensive. Since batteries in electric-powered heavy-duty construction equipment require a long time to recharge, battery charging is one of the main problems. This delays the return on investment and lengthens downtime. In addition, battery thermal management systems have to deal with aging, climate, corrosion, leakage, and clogging. To address this issue, producers of heavy construction equipment and technological specialists are creating sophisticated battery thermal management systems. The report provides insights on the following pointers: Analysis of key drivers (Increasing investments in construction and infrastructure sector, Rapid urbanization and population growth, Technological advancements and upgradation, government investments and supportive policies for sustainable solutions), restraints (Substantial capital investment, socio-economic effects of heavy construction activities), opportunities (Demand for autonomous heavy construction equipment, Electrification and Digitization of equipment, renting or leasing of equipment), and challenges (Development of alternative optimized solutions, lack of skilled labor force and maintenance and repair related issues) influencing the growth of the hydrogen tanks market. Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research & development activities, and new product & service launches in the heavy construction equipment market. Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative markets - the report analyses the hydrogen tanks market across varied regions. Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about services, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments in the hydrogen tanks market Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies and service offerings of leading players like Caterpillar (US), Liebherr AG (Germany), Terex Corporation (US), Volvo Group (Sweden), Komatsu (Japan), Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Japan), SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (China), HD Hyundai (South Korea), XCMG Group (China), CNH Industrial N.V. (UK), and J C Bamford Excavators Ltd (UK), among others in the heavy construction equipment market. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 352 Forecast Period 2025 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2025 $224.49 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $286.51 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.0% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured Caterpillar Volvo Group Komatsu Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. Terex Corporation Liebherr AG Sany Group Hd Hyundai Xcmg Group Cnh Industrial N.V. Wacker Neuson SE Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. Jc Bamford Excavators Ltd. Manitou Group Escorts Kubota Limited Deere and Company Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co. Ltd. Kobelco Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. Hiab Hidromek Doosan Bobcat Mahindra Construction Equipment For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/720ocd 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 Consumer goods expo highlights China's growing allure for global brands Xinhua) 09:30, April 15, 2025 People visit the Britain pavilion during the China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, April 13, 2025. (Xinhua/Pu Xiaoxu) HAIKOU, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The fifth China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), held on the tropical island province of Hainan, has reaffirmed the country's position as a vital marketplace for global enterprises. This year's expo has drawn record participation from over 4,100 brands across 71 countries and regions, reflecting the expanding international appetite for engagement with China's vast consumer market and its evolving landscape. The UK, this year's guest country of honor, brought 27 companies spanning fashion, beauty, and other fields. Flagship brands like Burberry and Bentley showcased their latest offerings, with a strong emphasis on green technology and sustainable development. "I have seen the tremendous innovation and growth taking place within China's economy in recent years, not least in digital technologies, life sciences and green energy," said Douglas Alexander, minister of state of the UK's Department for Business and Trade. These areas present significant opportunities for both economies, he said, emphasizing the UK's commitment to deepening economic ties with China. Burberry Greater China President Josie Zhang noted the value of the expo in facilitating foreign firms to engage with local partners. "By deepening cooperation with various stakeholders, we aim to explore new market opportunities and achieve mutual growth," she said in a written interview with Xinhua. Slovakia also made a notable debut with its first-ever national pavilion. Andrea Jancekova, CEO of Slovak brand Truscada, praised the expo's global reach. "You can have a good connection also with people from all over the world." Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Denisa Sakova highlighted the expanding trade ties between the two countries. "China is one of our most important trading partners outside the European Union," she said. "The growing volume of trade is a testament to the strength and dynamism of our economic relationship." Among the newcomers was Japan's Eda Livestock Co., Ltd., known for its premium Wagyu beef. "We plan to establish a foreign trade company in Hainan as our strategic entry point into the Chinese market," said Rei Tanaka, the firm's chief operating officer, who participated in the CICPE for the first time. This year's expo also gathered an array of top-tier global luxury brands. Richemont's TimeVallee debuted as an independent exhibitor, while LVMH and Kering Group brands made notable appearances, reflecting confidence in China's premium consumption growth. "Luxury consumers in China are significantly younger than those in many overseas markets, and that presents a major opportunity for us," said Nancy Liu, president of luxury travel retailer DFS China. The company has introduced tailored services to cater to the expectations of these emerging consumer groups. Beyond luxury, sectors like automotive and technology are repositioning China from being a mere sales destination to a research and innovation hub. Amid China's technological innovation momentum, this year's expo for the first time introduced dedicated zones for artificial intelligence and the low-altitude economy, showcasing cutting-edge technologies and products from leading tech companies around the world. "Since 2020, Volkswagen has invested over 10 billion euros in China. In particular, we have established a research and development center in China in 2023, the largest outside Germany," said Su Bahong, vice president of Volkswagen Group China. "This shows the trend where China is becoming the global technological innovation hub." (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) PROVIDENCE, R.I. Brown University is under a federal Title VI investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, as announced in a Thursday evening email from university officials. The probe, which centers on Brown's compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, follows allegations of inadequate responses to protests outside its May 2024 graduation ceremony, raising questions about the university's handling of discrimination and harassment on campus. The investigation marks an escalation in federal scrutiny of Brown, which has faced multiple Title VI complaints in recent years, including a resolved case in July 2024 over antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents. Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs receiving federal funding, and this review specifically examines whether Brown's actionsor lack thereofduring the commencement protests violated these protections. The university, already navigating a $510 million federal funding freeze tied to separate antisemitism and diversity policy concerns, now faces heightened pressure to demonstrate compliance. The protests at Brown's 2024 commencement, which took place on a public street adjacent to campus, were part of a broader wave of pro-Palestinian activism that swept U.S. universities last spring. While Brown has maintained that its response adhered to federal laws, critics argue the university failed to ensure a safe environment for all students, particularly Jewish students who reported feeling targeted. The Brown Divest Coalition and other student groups have countered that such investigations are being weaponized to suppress dissent against U.S. and university policies regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict. For Brown's campus community, the investigation adds to an already tense atmosphere. Students like Angel Romero '25, a member of the undocumented and first-generation student community, expressed uncertainty about how federal actions might impact financial aid and campus resources. Others, like graduate student Gillian Foo, voiced concerns about the broader chilling effect on academic freedom and job prospects in an increasingly volatile higher education landscape. The university's recent mandatory training module on discrimination and harassment, introduced in response to earlier federal agreements, has done little to quell these anxieties. Administrators, led by President Christina Paxson, have emphasized Brown's commitment to fostering an inclusive environment while defending its academic mission. In a prior statement, Paxson outlined plans to protect university autonomy against federal overreach, including potential legal action to safeguard funding and values. Yet, with the Title VI probe now underway, Brown faces a delicate balancing act: addressing federal concerns without alienating students and faculty who view such investigations as politically motivated. The outcome of this investigation could have far-reaching implications. A finding of noncompliance might lead to stricter oversight, policy changes, or further funding cuts, compounding Brown's existing $46 million budget deficit. Conversely, a successful defense could bolster the university's case against the funding freeze and set a precedent for other institutions facing similar scrutiny. For now, Brown's community awaits clarity, with many bracing for a prolonged battle over the university's values and future. ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. (OTCQB: KBLB) ("Company" or "Kraig Labs"), a world leader in spider silk technology1, today announced the successful rollout of a next-generation molecular biology and gene-splicing platform. This powerful new system represents a major leap forward in the Company's ability to create and refine genetically engineered spider silk and other advanced materials. The Company has already validated the technology with a newly created transgenic. Leveraging cutting-edge advancements in gene editing, this platform enables more precise, efficient, and versatile manipulation of DNA. As a result, Kraig Labs has rapidly developed a new transgenic silkworm, which is now undergoing evaluation testing and commercial application assessment. This breakthrough empowers Kraig Labs to significantly accelerate its R&D pipeline for advanced materials and enhance material performance. "Our adaption of this technology represents a transformative advancement for Kraig Labs and our entire molecular biology program," said Company Founder and CEO, Kim Thompson. "With this platform in place, we are dramatically expanding the speed, scope, and sophistication of our genetic engineering capabilities. The successful creation of new transgenics using this system confirms its effectiveness. We are experimenting with two such platforms and will likely adopt one of them for all of our ongoing and future commercial silkworm development." Kraig Labs is now actively transitioning all of its silkworm biotechnology programs to these next-generation platforms, which is expected to drive increased efficiency, consistency, and performance in spider silk production. This development marks another milestone in the Companys mission to lead the commercialization of high-performance spider silk materials for a broad range of end markets, including technical textiles, defense, performance apparel, and medical textiles. For the latest updates on Kraig Labs and its pioneering spider silk technologies, visit www.kraiglabs.com. For details about other recent Kraig Labs advancements, please watch the Company's investor conference at www.kraiglabs.com/videos or on the Company's YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@kraigbiocraftlaboratories2270. 1For a description of our historical leadership in this technology please follow this link https://www.kraiglabs.com/world-leader/ To view the most recent news from Kraig Labs and/or to sign up for Company alerts, please go to www.KraigLabs.com/news About Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. ( www.KraigLabs.com ), a reporting biotechnology company is the leading developer of genetically engineered spider silk-based fiber technologies. The Company has achieved a series of scientific breakthroughs in the area of spider silk technology with implications for the global textile industry. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information Statements in this press release about the Company's future and expectations other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements." These statements are made on the basis of management's current views and assumptions. As a result, there can be no assurance that management's expectations will necessarily come to pass. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as "believes," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "estimated," "hopes," "if," "develops," "researching," "research," "pilot," "potential," "could" or other words or phrases of similar import. Forward looking statements include descriptions of the Company's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions and goals. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. TORONTO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Purpose Investments Inc. (Purpose), the firm behind the worlds first spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, is set to launch the worlds first spot Solana ETF Purpose Solana ETF (ticker: SOLL). The ETF is expected to commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on April 16, 2025, and is designed to offer direct spot exposure to Solana along with attractive staking rewards, powered by Purposes proprietary in-house validator infrastructure, a product feature that eliminates third-party costs and may result in higher net rewards for investors. Solana represents the next wave of blockchain innovation lightning-fast, scalable, and powering real-world applications. Launching the worlds first spot Solana ETF is a natural next step for Purpose. With SOLL, we will combine direct access to this rapidly growing ecosystem with built-in staking rewards powered by Purposes validator infrastructure giving investors a secure and easy way to earn more from investing in Solana, said Vlad Tasevski, Chief Innovation Officer, Purpose Investments. With SOLL, investors will gain regulated access to Solanas high-performance blockchain without needing digital wallets or exchanges. The ETF will be available in CAD-hedged (ticker: SOLL), CAD non-hedged (ticker: SOLL.B), and USD non-hedged (ticker: SOLL.U) units. This launch further strengthens Purposes status as a global leader in digital asset ETF innovation and as Canadas largest digital asset ETF manager. To date, Purposes crypto suite lineup includes: Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) and Purpose Ether ETF (ETHH): The worlds first spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, offering regulated access, high liquidity, and a strong track record backed by advanced features for active traders and tactical allocators. The worlds first spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, offering regulated access, high liquidity, and a strong track record backed by advanced features for active traders and tactical allocators. Purpose Bitcoin Yield ETF (BTCY) and Purpose Ether Yield ETF (ETHY): Yield-generating ETFs that use covered call strategies to help investors earn income from their Bitcoin and Ether holdings. Yield-generating ETFs that use covered call strategies to help investors earn income from their Bitcoin and Ether holdings. Purpose Ether Staking Corp. ETF (ETHC.B): A staking-focused Ether ETF, giving investors access to Ethereums proof-of-stake rewards in a regulated structure. As blockchain technology transforms financial markets, Purpose remains committed to bridging traditional finance with the future of decentralized and emerging financial technology, helping investors navigate the evolving digital economy with confidence. To learn more about Solanas investment opportunity, check out Purposes blog and whitepaper. To explore the full suite of crypto ETFs, visit the Purpose Digital Assets Suite. About Purpose Investments Purpose Investments Inc. is an asset management company with over $22 billion in assets under management, focused on client-centric innovation across ETFs and investment funds. Purpose is a division of Purpose Unlimited, an independent financial technology company led by entrepreneur Som Seif. For further information, please email us at info@purposeinvest.com. Media inquiries: Keera Hart keera.hart@kaiserpartners.com 905-580-1257 The content of this document is for informational purposes only and is not being provided in the context of an offering of any securities described herein, nor is it a recommendation or solicitation to buy, hold or sell any security. Information contained in this document is not, and under no circumstances is it to be construed as, an offering memorandum, prospectus, advertisement or public offering of securities. No securities commission or similar regulatory authority has reviewed this information, and any representation to the contrary is an offence. The information contained in this document is believed to be accurate and reliable; however, we cannot guarantee that it is complete or current at all times. The information provided is subject to change without notice. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses may all be associated with investment fund investments. Please read the prospectus and other disclosure documents before investing. Crypto assets can be extremely volatile, and there can be no assurance that the full amount of your investment in a fund will be returned to you. If the securities are purchased or sold on a stock exchange, you may pay more or receive less than the current net asset value. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Fund distribution levels and frequencies are not guaranteed and may vary at the Purpose Investment's sole discretion. Certain statements in this document may be forward-looking. Forward-looking statements ("FLS") are statements that are predictive in nature, depend on or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "may, "will, "should, "could, "expect, "anticipate, "intend, "plan, "believe, "estimate" or other similar expressions. Statements that look forward in time or include anything other than historical information are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results, actions or events could differ materially from those set forth in the FLS. FLS are not guarantees of future performance and are, by their nature, based on numerous assumptions. Although the FLS contained in this document are based upon what Purpose Investments believes to be reasonable assumptions, Purpose Investments cannot assure that actual results will be consistent with these FLS. The reader is cautioned to consider the FLS carefully and not to place undue reliance on the FLS. Unless required by applicable law, it is not undertaken, and specifically disclaimed, that there is any intention or obligation to update or revise FLS, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All proposals of Board of Directors approved Gilbert Ghostine re-elected as Chairman of Board of Directors; all other Board members standing for re-election confirmed Dividend of CHF 0.60 per registered dividend-paying share approved, representing 24% of core net income Basel, April 15, 2025 Sandoz (SIX:SDZ;OTCQX:SDZNY) today announced that its shareholders approved all proposals of the Board of Directors at its Annual General Meeting, including the Annual Financial Statements and Consolidated Financial Statements as well as the report on non-financial matters for the 2024 financial year. The 1,072 shareholders in attendance, together with the votes represented by the independent proxy, represented 75.73% of shares registered with voting rights. Gilbert Ghostine, who was confirmed as Chairman of the Board of Directors, addressed the shareholders in a speech today: I want to sincerely thank you for your trust, partnership, and belief in our vision. As an independent company, we have already made good progress, and we are proud of how far we have come. But this is just the beginning. The opportunities ahead are even greater as we are committed to continue to strengthen our leadership and create long-term value. We will continue pioneering access, driving impact, and leading the future of healthcare. None of this would be possible without the tireless efforts and dedication of our outstanding teams all over the world. Shareholders approved the proposed appropriation of available earnings and the dividend of 0.60 Swiss francs per registered dividend-paying share, representing 24% of core net income. The dividend will be paid, subject to deduction of Swiss withholding tax, as of April 23, 2025. The last trading day with entitlement to receive the dividend is April 16, 2025. The AGM endorsed the change of the registered seat of Sandoz Group AG from Risch to Basel. Sandoz shareholders also approved other amendments to the Articles of Incorporation: the renewal and expansion of the capital band of up to 10% of the share capital as well as the introduction of a new authorization to create conditional share capital. Both measures support the optimization of Sandoz capital structure. In two separate votes, shareholders approved the maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the Board of Directors for the period until the next Annual General Meeting, and the maximum aggregate amount of compensation for the members of Executive Committee for the 2026 financial year. Shareholders also endorsed the 2024 Compensation Report in an advisory vote. In addition to the re-election of Gilbert Ghostine as Chairman, shareholders also re-elected all other members of the Board of Directors for a one-year term. The following Board members were re-elected to the Human Capital and ESG Committee for a term of one year: Urs Riedener Michael Rechsteiner Aarti Shah, Ph.D. Ioannis Skoufalos Maria Varsellona The Board of Directors intends to re-designate Urs Riedener as chair of the Human Capital and ESG Committee. The Annual General Meeting also re-elected KPMG AG as statutory auditors for the 2025 financial year and confirmed Advoro Zurich AG as independent proxy until the conclusion of the 2026 Annual General Meeting. DISCLAIMER This Media Release contains forward-looking statements, which offer no guarantee with regard to future performance. These statements are made on the basis of managements views and assumptions regarding future events and business performance at the time the statements are made. They are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not confined to, future global economic conditions, exchange rates, legal provisions, market conditions, activities by competitors and other factors outside of the control of Sandoz. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those forecasted or expected. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and Sandoz undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. ABOUT SANDOZ Sandoz (SIX: SDZ; OTCQX: SDZNY) is the global leader in generic and biosimilar medicines, with a growth strategy driven by its Purpose: pioneering access for patients. More than 20,000 people of 100 nationalities work together to ensure 900 million patient treatments are provided by Sandoz, generating substantial global healthcare savings and an even larger social impact. Its leading portfolio of approximately 1,300 products addresses diseases from the common cold to cancer. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Sandoz traces its heritage back to 1886. Its history of breakthroughs includes Calcium Sandoz in 1929, the worlds first oral penicillin in 1951, and the worlds first biosimilar in 2006. In 2024, Sandoz recorded net sales of USD 10.4 billion. CONTACTS Global Media Relations contacts Investor Relations contacts Global.MediaRelations@sandoz.com Investor.Relations@sandoz.com Alex Kalomparis +41 79 279 02 85 Craig Marks +44 7818 942 383 Joerg E. Allgaeuer +49 171 838 4838 Tamara Hackl +41 79 790 5217 Swiss Media Relations contact Danja Spring +41 79 156 74 88 Attachment NEW YORK, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a lawsuit has been filed against Atkore Inc. (NYSE: ATKR) and certain of the Companys 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 Revealed On 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 Atkores 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 Companys 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: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/atkore-inc Or contact: Ross Shikowitz ross@bfalaw.com 212-789-3619 Why 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. https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/atkore-inc Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Upchurch Watson White & Max Mediation Group is pleased to welcome seasoned litigator Robert Scott Newman to its distinguished panel of neutrals. With nearly four decades of experience handling complex insurance coverage disputes, high-exposure claims, and intricate multi-party litigation, Mr. Newman brings a wealth of expertise to his new role as a mediator. Insurance coverage issues apply across the board in disputes we are called upon every day to solve in mediation, said John Upchurch, the firms chief executive. Scott Newmans specialty and focus in this field brings us an invaluable resource for the benefit of clients we will channel his way, as well as his fellow panelists. We extend a warm welcome to Scott, and look forward to a long and successful relationship. He has built a reputation for his deep understanding of insurance coverage, including primary, umbrella, and excess liability policies. His extensive background spans professional liability lines such as Medical Professional Liability (MPL), Architects & Engineers (A&E), Directors & Officers (D&O), Lawyers Professional Liability (LPL), and Financial Lines. He has also worked on cases involving construction defects, products liability, uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, COVID-19-related coverage disputes, high-net-worth claims and general tort and negligence matters. Throughout his career, Mr. Newman has represented global clients, including individuals, insurers and manufacturers from the U.S., England, France, Italy, Canada, and South Africa. He has successfully handled high-stakes litigation, from obtaining precedent-setting summary judgments to resolving large-scale construction defect and pollution claims. Mr. Newman is also a sought-after lecturer and author on insurance law, professional liability, and emerging legal issues, including artificial intelligence and its impact on insurance coverage. He has spoken at national and international conferences and contributed extensively to legal publications. He is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil and County Mediator and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He is admitted to practice in Floridas state and federal district courts, as well as the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Eleventh Circuits. For more information or to schedule a mediation with Scott, please get in touch with Justyce Ortiz at jortiz@uww-adr.com or (407) 214-0466. About Upchurch Watson White & Max Mediation Group: Upchurch Watson White & Max is a nationally recognized mediation firm known for its skilled mediators and innovative dispute resolution strategies. The firm specializes in complex, high-stakes cases and serves clients throughout Florida and beyond. On the Web: uww-adr.com TAMPA, Fla., April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FLUENT Corp. (CSE: FNT.U) (OTCQB: CNTMF) (FLUENT or the Company), a national cannabis company operating under the FLUENT brand, proudly announces the launch of MOODS Black, an extension of its acclaimed MOODS lineup. Featuring cannabis-derived terpenes and high-potency cannabis oil, MOODS Black is crafted to deliver an elevated and authentic cannabis experience. In Florida, MOODS Black will debut in the Mini 1g all-in-one device. The device features the same sleek and compact format as the original MOODS Mini, but with a refined formulation that enhances the true-to-the-plant flavor and effects. Each product is made 100% from cannabis, with a rotating cast of carefully selected strains designed to match a range of moodswhether customers seek relaxation, an energy boost, or creative inspiration. Key Features of MOODS Black Minis: Sleek & Ultra-Compact Design A discreet, pocket-sized device measuring just two inches. A discreet, pocket-sized device measuring just two inches. True-to-the-Plant Flavor Infused with one gram of FLUENTs premium cannabis oil for a smooth and flavorful vaping experience. Infused with one gram of FLUENTs premium cannabis oil for a smooth and flavorful vaping experience. Advanced Technology Designed for long-lasting flavor and performance, with a USB-C rechargeable port for convenience. MOODS Black Minis are now available for purchase at all 35 FLUENT dispensary locations across Florida. They can also be found at all FLUENT New York dispensaries and in many third-party dispensaries in New York, made available through Entourage wholesale. As we introduce MOODS Black in Florida, we are making a strategic shift in our product portfolio, said Robert Beasley, CEO of FLUENT. By the end of the year, all products currently sold under the Black Line brand will be consolidated into the MOODS Black brand. This evolution strengthens our MOODS lineup, creating a seamless experience that unites our native and botanically derived vape and tincture offerings under a single, premium brand. For the latest updates on product releases and availability, visit FLUENTs website and follow @Fluent_FL on Instagram. About FLUENT Corp. FLUENT Corp. ("FLUENT") a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer, is dedicated to being one of the highest quality cannabis companies for the communities it serves. This is driven by FLUENT's unrelenting commitment to operational excellence in cultivation, production, distribution and retail experience. FLUENT produces an assortment of cannabis products under a diverse portfolio of brands including MOODS, Knack, Wandr, Bag-O and Hyer Kind. FLUENT operates in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, FLUENT employs 700 employees across 8 cultivation and manufacturing facilities and 42 active retail locations. For more information about the Company, please visit www.getFLUENT.com. FLUENTs Common Shares trade on the CSE under the symbol FNT.U and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol CNTMF. For more information about the Company, please visit www.getFLUENT.com. Company Contact: Robert Beasley, CEO investors@getfluent.com Media Contact: Press@getfluent.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/00367cd5-1091-4927-9818-945e32790dc6 MONTREAL, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- If you had told us back in 2005 that turning an old taxi garage into a design store would be a good idea, we probably would have laughed and yet, 20 years later, Nuspace is still going strong! What began as a somewhat wild idea on Saint-Denis Street has become a must-visit destination for furniture and design lovers. Two decades of discoveries, favourites, furniture assembled, disassembled, and rearranged we have just one thing to say: thank you to everyone whos been part of this adventure! A Story That Starts in a Garage Great ideas often start in a garage. For us, it was a former taxi garage in the Plateau, complete with steel beams, skylights, brick walls, and a neighbouring mechanic shop that fried fish right at the front door. It had a certain gritty charm. And it set the tone: Nuspace was going to be different. After a few years of building a name for ourselves in a neighbourhood that didnt guarantee foot traffic, a clientele of artists and politicians began to take shape. Then, a turning point arrived in 2007: we secured exclusive Canadian distribution of Fatboy , the Dutch brand known for its iconic bean bags and design-forward accessories. It was a major milestone that gave Nuspace its unique personality and lift-off. Nuspace Is a Story of Teamwork and Passion Nuspace has grown thanks to the many people whove contributed their ideas, creativity, and quite often sweat. Our teams have traveled, explored, and uncovered unique objects from around the world, all while ensuring Quebec-based creators always had a prominent place on our shelves. To answer a question we still get today: No, were not a European chain. Sure, the umlaut in Nuspace can be confusing but were 100% Montreal-based and proud of it! In fact, in 2024, the name officially became a registered trademark in Canada. 20 Years Later, Still Here Still Different Lets be real: surviving as an independent retailer for 20 years is an Olympic-level feat. Each year brings its own challenges (and thrills), but here we are, still driven by the same mission: to create inspiring spaces and offer furniture that makes people want to rethink their interiors all while making great design more accessible. Whats Next? Were just getting started. With boutiques worth the visit, an ever-exciting product selection, like Gus* Modern , Umage, TOOU Design, and an online store that brings design to every corner of Canada, Nuspace is here to stay. So whether youve been with us from the beginning or just discovered us, lets raise a glass to 20 years of design, boldness, and perseverance and to everything thats still to come! About Nuspace Founded in 2005 in Montreal, Nuspace is a design furniture and decor boutique known for its unique approach and passion for beautiful things. With a curated selection and a dedicated team, Nuspace has become a go-to for design lovers from near and far. HALIFAX, Canada, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Foresight Canada announced the winners of the inaugural Atlantic Canada Cleantech Awards at last nights sold-out ceremony in Halifax. The event celebrated the region's innovators, funders, adopters, and supporters collectively accelerating clean technology adoption, catalyzing economic resilience, and advancing net zero goals. This years award winners exemplify the regions capability to turn visionary ideas into tangible progress. Driven by breakthroughs in ocean technology and increased adoption of renewable energy, the East Coasts growing cleantech sector is well-positioned to increase efficiency and productivity of key industries and lead a more sustainable, economically prosperous future. In 2024 alone, the Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), invested $72M in 166 cleantech projects , anticipated to generate 100,000 new clean energy jobs in Atlantic Canada by mid-century . This projected growth underscores the momentum of Atlantic Canada's cleantech sector. Foresight Canada is proud to establish this new tradition on the East Coast, celebrating leaders whose dedication and ingenuity are shaping a resilient and sustainable economy. Meet the Winners Adopter of the Year: City of Summerside Summerside has emerged as a Canadian leader in community-driven sustainability. By expanding its smart grid, integrating renewable energy sources, and introducing innovative programs for energy efficiency and clean transportation, the city is paving the way toward a more sustainable future. Additionally, Summerside supports cleantech business growth through its Eco Park, a dedicated space that encourages clean economic development in the region. Supporter of the Year: Dalhousie University Researchers at Dalhousie University are developing clean, carbon-free technologies that will facilitate the transition to a more sustainable future. Their work encompasses engineering and commercializing innovative breakthroughs, including clean fuels, chemicals and materials, and long-life batteries for electric mobility. Dalhousie is playing a key role in advancing battery innovation through the establishment of Canada's first university-based battery prototyping and testing facility, set to open in fall 2025. Funder of the Year: Carbon to Sea Carbon to Sea is the leading nonprofit evaluating ocean alkalinity enhancement for CO removal at scale. Its work is aligned with key scientific bodies, such as IPCC and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. As the worlds foremost organization pursuing ocean alkalinity enhancement, Carbon to Sea funds exceptional researchers to close knowledge gaps and build a responsible sector. Startup Venture of the Year: pHathom Technologies pHathom is advancing a breakthrough carbon removal technology through its Accelerated Weathering of Limestone (AWL) process, which uses seawater and limestone to capture biogenic CO while helping to reduce ocean acidification. The company aims to launch a commercial demonstration by 2027, with the potential to remove gigatons of carbon and unlock substantial revenue opportunities. Scaleup Venture of the Year: CarbonRun CarbonRun's innovative river restoration method permanently removes CO from the atmosphere and improves river health simultaneously. By adding limestone to rivers, they enhance natural carbon absorption and restore salmon habitats. With commitments from large corporate buyers for its credits, and a robust pipeline of projects that are being developed, CarbonRun is poised to make a major impact on global CDR goals. Learn more about all our 2025 Canada Cleantech Awards finalists and winners. Quotes For the City of Summerside, being nominated for and receiving this award is like a boost of clean tech energyfueling our momentum and reaffirming our path forward. Over the past 20 years, we've been deeply committed to validating and scaling solutions in the innovation and clean tech space. Along the way, we've learned that real progress takes a united effortit takes a community to move mountains. The work we do with our partners can be complex, but it's incredibly rewarding. By leveraging our infrastructure, collaborating with leading businesses, and cultivating a thriving ecosystem for change, Summerside is proud to lead and support Canadas transition toward a sustainable future. Driving innovation, clean tech solutions and economic growth isnt just our missionits our passion. Mike Thususka, Director of Economic Development, City of Summerside We are extremely honoured to be recognized by the Atlantic Canada Cleantech community. We are thankful for the support of our partners and the broader network in helping us get to this stage, and we hope to live up to your expectations by continuing to fight climate change while also restoring and enhancing the ecosystems we depend on. Dr. Halfyard, Co-Founder and CTO, CarbonRun Were capturing CO right at the source and using natural ocean chemistry to lock it away safely for thousands of years. Its high-integrity carbon removal, rooted in science, and its happening right here in Atlantic Canada. Were honoured to accept this award and proud to be doing that work here, in a region that understands resilience, collaboration, and bold ideas. Kim Gilbert, CEO, pHathom Technologies Nova Scotias growing reputation as a home for innovation makes it a great location to advance ocean climate science, and Carbon to Sea is proud to play a role in that. As the world grapples with the need to remove billions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere safely in the coming decades, we look forward to deepening our work here. Were grateful to Foresight for this recognition, and for all they do to support climate innovation across Canada. Miriam Zitner, Canadian General Manager, Carbon to Sea Initiative A heartfelt congratulations to the winners of the inaugural Atlantic Canada Cleantech Awards! Your innovative spirit is propelling the region's cleantech growth in exciting new directions. We celebrate your vision and look forward to witnessing the ecosystem thrive and the significant contributions you'll make in transforming East Coast industries. Jeanette Jackson, CEO, Foresight Canada Marking a pivotal moment, the first Atlantic Canada Cleantech Awards celebrated the remarkable strength and innovation thriving within our region. The achievements of this year's winners pave the way for a future where Atlantic Canada is a true leader in clean technology, and I cant wait to see what comes next in East Coast innovation. Lindsay Murray, Sr. Manager, Partnerships, Foresight Canada About Foresight Canada Foresight Canada helps the world do more with less, sustainably. As Canada's largest cleantech innovation and adoption accelerator, they connect public and private sectors to the worlds best clean technologies, de-risking and simplifying the adoption of innovative solutions that improve productivity, profitability, and economic competitiveness, all while addressing todays most urgent climate challenges. Contact: Heather Kingdon Manager, Communications hkingdon@foresightcac.com The Atlantic Canada Cleantech Awards are presented by Foresight and Bloom Funding with support from Bonsai Growth, MNP, Springboard Atlantic, and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). Event hosted in partnership with Smart Energy Halifax. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c628c430-d0e3-4bef-905a-fd0639b1317d Austin, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mortuary Equipment Market Size & Growth Analysis: According to SNS Insider, the global Mortuary Equipment Market was valued at USD 1.25 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 2.13 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 6.08% during the forecast period of 20242032. The increasing demand for advanced, automated equipment, a growing aging population, and a rise in chronic and communicable diseases have contributed to a higher mortality rate worldwide, fueling the need for efficient and hygienic mortuary solutions. Get a Sample Report of Mortuary Equipment Market@ https://www.snsinsider.com/sample-request/5935 Mortuary Equipment Market Overview: The world mortuary equipment market is seeing consistent growth on the back of a growing demand for sophisticated systems that guarantee hygiene, operational efficiency, and improved safety in body storage and handling. The growing mortality rate due to age-related disease, accidents, pandemics, and non-communicable diseases, along with expanding investments in healthcare and forensic infrastructure, is driving the pace of adoption of technologically advanced mortuary equipment. In addition, the incorporation of automated processes and electronic monitoring in mortuary processes has enhanced procedural effectiveness, minimizing manual handling hazards and capacity planning. The U.S. Mortuary Equipment Market was valued at USD 0.36 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to USD 0.58 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 5.46%. This growth is primarily driven by robust healthcare infrastructure, high elderly mortality rates, and a growing demand for contemporary funeral services. In addition, increased investments in funeral homes, hospitals, and research centers continue to generate substantial opportunities for mortuary equipment manufacturers. Key Mortuary Equipment Companies Profiled in the Report Holland Supply MortuaryMall.com Link Mortuary Equipment Slaughter Supply American Crematory Equipment Company Lynch Supply Cemetery Funeral Supply Buy Mortuary Equipment William Kenyon Mobi Medical Supply Affordable Funeral Supply Mopec LEEC Limited Flexmort Ferno-Washington Junkin Safety Appliance Company Mortech Manufacturing Thermo Fisher Scientific Spencer Italia Roftek Ltd Mortuary Equipment Market Report Scope Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2023 US$ 1.25 billion Market Size by 2032 US$ 2.13 billion CAGR CAGR of 6.08% 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 Equipment Type The refrigeration units segment dominated the mortuary equipment market in 2023, with a revenue share of 30.25%. These units are critical in keeping human remains for long durations in hospitals, funeral homes, and forensic facilities. Their universal use is because of their dependability, cleanliness levels, and compatibility with temperature-control technologies. Conversely, the autopsy equipment and platforms segment is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period. The hike is due to the increased demand for forensic pathology services and more autopsy procedures within medical and academic facilities. Technologies such as ergonomic designs and cleanable stainless steel material have also added to their popularity. By Type The automated mortuary equipment segment led the market in 2023 with a strong market share of 75.16%. Automated systems save considerable labor, enhance hygiene levels, and decrease manual handling, which is particularly useful in high-volume premises. As emphasis grows on workplace safety and efficiency in operations, healthcare and funeral services providers are putting money into automated trolleys, lifts, and body transportation systems. On the other hand, the manual equipment category is transforming with hybrid models but still lags in growth owing to operational inefficiencies compared to their automated versions. By End-User In 2023, forensic labs and hospitals were the biggest consumers of mortuary equipment. Academic and research institutions, however, are likely to experience the highest rate of adoption. With an expansion of anatomy and pathology programs in medical schools, there is a growing need for embalming systems, dissection tables, and cadaver storage units. These institutions need sophisticated mortuary systems to handle, preserve, and analyze human specimens, and this significantly increases equipment demand. For A Detailed Briefing Session with Our Team of Analysts, Connect with Us Now@ https://www.snsinsider.com/request-analyst/5935 Mortuary Equipment Market Segmentation By Equipment Type Trolleys Refrigeration Units Autopsy Platforms and Equipment Embalming Workstation Dissection Table Other Accessories By Type Manual Automated By End-User Hospitals Funeral Homes Research and Academic Institutions Forensic Laboratories Others Regional Analysis: North America was the top region contributing to the mortuary equipment market in 2023, accounting for a high 37.20% share. The region's position at the top is attributed to robust healthcare infrastructure, rising mortality rates, and a highly developed funeral industry. A high rate of adoption of technologically advanced mortuary systems also contributes to the region's dominance, due to supporting reimbursement policies and strict regulatory needs. During this period, the Asia Pacific is also expected to experience the highest growth rate up to 2032, primarily due to the fast pace of urbanization, increasing investments in healthcare, and widening medical education networks in nations such as China, India, and Japan. The increased focus on hospital infrastructure modernization and growing death rates in populous countries are spurring the implementation of new mortuary systems in the region. Recent Developments: January 2025 Holland Supply launched its Must-Have Funeral Products for 2025, which included premium mortuary trolleys and lifts designed for optimal mobility and space-saving in mortuary environments. launched its Must-Have Funeral Products for 2025, which included premium mortuary trolleys and lifts designed for optimal mobility and space-saving in mortuary environments. January 2025 Link Mortuary Equipment introduced the SS150XLC Single Deck System, engineered for full-size cargo vans, accommodating wider cots and stretchers for increased body transport efficiency. introduced the SS150XLC Single Deck System, engineered for full-size cargo vans, accommodating wider cots and stretchers for increased body transport efficiency. March 2024 LEEC Limited unveiled its new Modular Mortuary Cold Rooms, which feature energy-efficient refrigeration and customizable configurations for funeral homes and forensic labs. unveiled its new Modular Mortuary Cold Rooms, which feature energy-efficient refrigeration and customizable configurations for funeral homes and forensic labs. October 2024 Flexmort launched the FoldaCool Mortuary Cooling System, a portable and foldable refrigeration solution ideal for disaster management scenarios. launched the FoldaCool Mortuary Cooling System, a portable and foldable refrigeration solution ideal for disaster management scenarios. In June 2024, Mopec introduced the Maestro Autopsy Platform, incorporating advanced fluid management systems and hands-free operation for improved workflow and sanitation. introduced the Maestro Autopsy Platform, incorporating advanced fluid management systems and hands-free operation for improved workflow and sanitation. September 2024 MortuaryMall.com began distributing the new Elevated Cadaver Trolley from Ferno, which features battery-powered height adjustments and all-terrain wheels for flexible movement. Statistical Insights and Trends Reporting: The global death rate increased by 8.7% from 2018 to 2023 due to the rise in chronic diseases and the aging population, contributing significantly to mortuary equipment demand. North America had the highest mortuary facility penetration at 82% in hospitals and 71% in funeral homes, followed by Europe at 77%. Due to wear and tear and evolving standards, the average replacement cycle for mortuary refrigeration units is 68 years, driving consistent market demand. Asia Pacific recorded a 14% increase in healthcare infrastructure spending, with 22% of new hospitals integrating advanced mortuary systems in their design. 68% of funeral homes in the U.S. reported using automated mortuary handling systems, reflecting a trend toward modernization and labor efficiency. 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 6. Competitive Landscape 7. Mortuary Equipment Market by Equipment Type 8. Mortuary Equipment Market by Type 9. Mortuary Equipment Market by End-User 10. Regional Analysis 11. Company Profiles 12. Use Cases and Best Practices 13. Conclusion Related Reports: Pet Funeral Services Market Forecast 20242032 Burial Insurance Market Forecast 20242032 Hospital Services Market Forecast 20242032 Cold Chain Equipment Market Forecast 20242032 Anatomic Pathology Market Forecast 20242032 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. BURLINGTON, Ontario, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Juno Beach Centre (JBC), Canadas Second World War museum and memorial in Normandy, France, announces the launch of a commemorative postcard initiative, He Lived Where You Live. 1,945 households across Canada will receive a unique postcard that shares the name and fate of a soldier who lived at that address and later gave their life during the final months of the war. These postcards create a personal connection between contemporary Canadians and the young heroes who perished to defeat Nazi Germany and restore freedom to millions, said Alex Fitzgerald-Black, Executive Director of the Juno Beach Centre Association. We have a responsibility to remember that everyone who participated had a unique personality, occupation, family, and home. These postcards remind us that their legacies can be traced back to our local communities even today. At the end of April 2025, just ahead of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, each address was mailed a unique postcard that shares the name and story of the service person who lived at their address when they enlisted in the war effort. Very popular with the public, this is the third time the JBC has created a postcard campaign to connect Canadians with wartime history and commemoration. The campaign is made possible by funds received through Veterans Affairs Canada Commemorative Partnership Program. With research using the digitized service files from Library and Archives Canada, JBC staff located nearly 2,000 addresses that still exist today from service personnel who died between July 1944 and May 1945. Addresses were located in all 10 provinces, recognizing the geographic diversity of the people who enlisted in the war effort. Over the course of the war, nearly 45,000 Canadians gave their lives in the fight for a better world. After the success of D-Day, the Canadian Army joined in the pursuit and fought through Belgium and liberated the Netherlands before striking into Germany; their victory was achieved with the support of the Royal Canadian Air Force and enabled by the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Merchant Navy. Biographies about certain individuals featured on the postcards from specific locations or regiments are available for media upon request. Postcard recipients are encouraged to share their homes special history and their personal reflections on receiving the card through social media using #JunotoVictory or by emailing junopostcards@junobeach.org ABOUT THE JUNO BEACH CENTRE The Juno Beach Centre was established in 2003 as a permanent memorial to all Canadians who were part of the Allied victory in the Second World War, and to preserve this legacy for future generations through education. The Centre in Normandy, France, pays homage to the nearly 45,000 Canadians who died during the War, of which 5,500 during the Battle of Normandy and 381 on D-Day. Over 20 years and more than 1.3 million visitors later, the Centre has been designated a site of national historic significance to Canada. It is owned and operated by the Juno Beach Centre Association, a registered charitable organization based in Burlington, ON, Canada. To learn more, please visit www.junobeach.org . Media Contact: Sal Falk, Interpretation and Outreach Coordinator Juno Beach Centre Association sal@junobeach.org 905-581-5001 PALO ALTO, Calif. Twelve individuals, including current and former Stanford University students, have been charged with felony vandalism and conspiracy to trespass following a June 2024 pro-Palestinian protest that occupied the university president's office, causing significant damage. The charges, announced by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, mark one of the most severe legal responses to campus protests sparked by the Israel-Gaza conflict last year. The protesters, part of a coordinated effort demanding Stanford divest from companies tied to Israel's military actions, barricaded themselves inside the administrative building known as Building 10 on June 5, 2024. Authorities allege the group spray-painted walls with slogans like "Death to Israel," broke windows and furniture, disabled security cameras, and splattered red liquid resembling fake blood across the premises. Damages are estimated to range from $250,000 to $1 million, with one campus safety officer reportedly injured during the three-hour occupation. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen condemned the actions, stating, "Dissent is American, vandalism is criminal." Evidence presented by prosecutors includes cellphone data showing the group planned the takeover using a "Do-It-Yourself Occupation Guide," which detailed methods for breaking into buildings with tools like crowbars and bolt cutters, all of which were found at the scene. The occupation, accompanied by a Stanford Daily reporter, ended with arrests after police intervened. The protest was part of a broader wave of campus activism calling for universities to address their financial ties to the Israel-Hamas conflict. At Stanford, students had maintained a pro-Palestinian encampment in White Plaza, not far from the occupied building, amplifying demands for divestment. However, the escalation to property destruction has drawn sharp criticism, with university officials condemning the protest as crossing legal boundaries. For Stanford's community, the charges raise complex questions about free speech and accountability. Some students argue the felony charges are disproportionate, aimed at deterring activism, while others believe the vandalism undermined legitimate calls for change. The case also intersects with broader federal scrutiny, as the Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from universities accused of failing to curb antisemitism, a charge Stanford has faced in separate complaints. As the legal process unfolds, the charged individualsmostly women aged 19 to 32face significant consequences, including potential jail time if convicted. The case could set a precedent for how universities and authorities handle future protests, with Stanford already signaling stricter enforcement of campus policies. For now, the university remains a flashpoint in the national debate over activism, institutional responsibility, and the limits of dissent. Energy Transmission and Exchange Group EPSO-G (legal entity code 302826889, registered address Laisves pr. 10, Vilnius, Lithuania) The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania, being the sole shareholder of EPSO-G, adopted the following resolutions at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, held on 15 April 2024: Regarding taking note of the independent auditor's report on the set of consolidated and Company 2024 financial statements of UAB EPSO-G UAB and the consolidated and Company Management report of UAB EPSO-G for 2024 Acknowledge the independent auditor's report on the consolidated and Companys 2024 financial statements of UAB EPSO-G and the submission of the consolidated and Companys 2024 management report of UAB EPSO-G. A decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders is not required. Regarding taking note of the consolidated management report of UAB EPSO-G and the Company's management report for 2024; Acknowledge the consolidated and Companys management report of UAB EPSO-G for 2024, which, among other things, provides information on the implementation of the Company's business strategy. A decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders is not required. Regarding the approval of the set of consolidated and companys financial statements of UAB EPSO-G for 2024; Approve the set of consolidated and Companys financial statements of UAB EPSO-G for 2024 (attached). Regarding the approval of the distribution of profit of UAB EPSO-G for 2024; Approve the distribution of UAB EPSO-G profit for 2024 (attached). Regarding taking note of the report on the activities of the Audit Committee of UAB EPSO-G for 2024; Acknowledge the activity report of the Audit Committee of UAB EPSO-G for 2024. A decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders is not required. Regarding taking note of the results of the evaluation of the performance of the collegial bodies of UAB EPSO-G Group for 2024. Acknowledge the areas for improvement in the performance of the UAB EPSO-G group of companies, approved by the Remuneration and Nomination Committee on February 6, 2025. A decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders is not required. The EPSO-G group consists of the management company EPSO-G and six directly owned subsidiaries - Amber Grid, Baltpool, Energy cells, EPSO-G Invest, Litgrid and Tetas. EPSO-G and its Group companies also hold shares in GET Baltic, Rheinmetall Defence Lietuva, Baltic RCC OU and TSO Holding AS. The rights and obligations of the sole shareholder of EPSO-G are exercised by the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania. Annexes: Set of consolidated and Companys financial statements; Distribution of UAB EPSO-G profit for 2024 For more information Gediminas Petrauskas, Communications Partner at EPSO-G Tel. +370 610 63306, e-mail gediminas.petrauskas@epsog.lt Attachments BALTIMORE, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Urology Care Foundation, the worlds leading nonprofit urological health foundation and the official foundation of the American Urological Association, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Research Awards of Distinction. The awards acknowledge outstanding contributions to urological research, specifically in pediatrics and prostate cancer. They recognize the accomplishments of previous Urology Care Foundation grant recipients, celebrate the dedication of exemplary research mentors and highlight the efforts of talented early-career scholars. Were extremely proud to recognize the extraordinary contributions of this years awardees, said Harris M. Nagler, MD, Urology Care Foundation president. Their commitment to advancing urologic research to improve urological care is exemplary. The support of dedicated researchers is central to the Foundations mission. Congratulations to this years recipients: John W. Duckett, Jr., MD Pediatric Urology Research Excellence Award Andrew J. Kirsch, MD, clinical professor and chief of Pediatric Urology, Emory University School of Medicine Established in 2009, the Duckett Award is named in honor of the late world-renowned pediatric urologist and professor and made possible through a fund established by Mrs. Peggy Duckett-Drach and the Societies for Pediatric Urology. The Duckett Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding work in the field of pediatric urology research. Richard D. Williams, MD Prostate Cancer Research Excellence Award Howard Scher, MD, head of Biomarker Development Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and professor of medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College Established in 2013, the Williams Award is named in honor of the late urologist, scientist, mentor and humanitarian. Its made possible through a fund established by Mrs. Beverly Williams. The Williams Award is presented annually to recognize outstanding and impactful research in the field of prostate cancer over the previous 10 years. Distinguished Mentor Award John L. Gore, MD, MS, professor, Department of Urology at University of Washington Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Established in 2003, the Distinguished Mentor Award recognizes researchers and physician-scientists who have an outstanding track record of fostering the next generation of research by continually providing an excellent training environment and guidance to early-career investigators. Distinguished Scholar Alumnus Award Robert Uzzo, MD, MBA, FACS, president and CEO, Fox Chase Cancer Center Established in 2003, the Distinguished Scholar Alumnus Award recognizes former Urology Care Foundation Research Scholars who have achieved substantial impactful research and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to scholarship and academic leadership in the field. Outstanding Graduate Scholar Award Established in 2016, the Outstanding Graduate Scholar Award recognizes a one-year and two-year Research Scholar Award recipient completing their Urology Care Foundation-funded research. Awardees are chosen based on the quality and difficulty of the applicants project, the potential impact of their studies, demonstrated research productivity, publications generated during the award period and the scholars potential as future research leaders. Recipients of this award undergo a competitive application process and are selected by the AUA Research Council and Committees. Venkat Ramakrishnan, MD, PhD, clinical fellow of Pediatric Urology at Boston Childrens Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has received a 2025 Outstanding Graduate Scholar Award for a one-year research project on the Development of a Novel Minimally Invasive Intravesical Drug-Delivery Platform to Address Neurogenic Bladder. It was conducted under the mentorship of Rosalyn Adam, PhD, Boston Childrens Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Asmaa El-Kenawi, PhD, assistant professor of Urology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Urology, and Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, has received a 2025 Outstanding Graduate Scholar Award for a two-year research project on Identifying Immune Tumor Cell Metabolic Dependencies in Prostate Cancer. It was conducted under the mentorship of Kosj Yamoah, MD, PhD, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, and Michael Koch, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Urology. Im inspired by the groundbreaking research being conducted by this years awardees. Their innovative studies in pediatric urology and prostate cancer advance our scientific understanding and pave the way for significant improvements in patient care, added Steven Kaplan, MD, chair of the AUAs Research Council. Their commitment to pushing the boundaries of urologic research heralds a bright future for our specialty and sets a new standard for clinical excellence. The awardees will be celebrated at the Urology Care Foundation Research Honors Program held at the AUA Annual Meeting in April 2025. To learn more, visit AUAnet.org/researchhonors. About the Urology Care Foundation: The Urology Care Foundation is the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation, and the official foundation of the American Urological Association. Collaborating with physicians, researchers, patients and the public, the Foundation supports and improves urologic clinical care by funding research, developing patient education and pursuing philanthropic support. To learn more about the Urology Care Foundation and its programs visit: UrologyHealth.org. About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 25,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy. www.AUAnet.org Attachment ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Travelers heading to Europe this summer are feeling the pinch of rising travel prices, with the average trip expected to cost $10,346 a 38% increase over 2024. As the cost of travel soars, many are pivoting toward more affordable European destinations in search of value without sacrificing experience. According to new data from Squaremouth, the nations top travel insurance comparison service , European hotspots that offer lower trip costs are quickly rising in popularity. An analysis of thousands of travel insurance policies purchased for this summer reveals the top destinations travelers are headed. Europe on a Budget: Top Affordable Destinations for Summer 2025 Price-conscious travelers are prioritizing destinations that deliver big on culture, scenery, and value. The following European countries stand out for offering the most budget-friendly summer trips, with Poland taking the top spot for most affordable European destination this summer: Top 10 Affordable European Summer Destinations: Destination Average Trip Cost Poland $5,505 Finland $6,577 Austria $7,177 Greenland $7,321 Germany $7,897 Ireland $8,258 Spain $8,699 Great Britain (UK) $8,779 Portugal $8,903 Sweden $9,072 Travel Behavior Shifts Alongside Rising Costs As the financial pressure of summer travel builds, travelers are becoming more cautious and strategic. Squaremouths data shows: Flexibility is a Priority: The number of travelers opting for Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage more than doubled this year, climbing from 5% in 2024 to 12% this year. (CFAR) coverage more than doubled this year, climbing from 5% in 2024 to 12% this year. Health is a Top Concern: More than half (52%) of summer travelers say their biggest worry is getting sick or injured while away from home. For international trips, travel medical insurance is especially important, since most U.S. health plans dont cover medical care abroad. In fact, Emergency Medical claims made up 27% of all paid travel insurance claims in 2024 the highest of any category. Methodology: The destinations above are based on insured trip costs. Squaremouth analytics compared travel insurance policy sales for trips purchased prior to April 1 with travel dates between May 23 and September 1. Available Topic Expert: Ned Tadic is available for comment and interview. ntadic@squaremouth.com 2024 Operational and Project Highlights: Completed and filed the new National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report that defines the large and high-grade Mineral Resources at the 100% owned Ferguson Lake Project (Table 1). 80% of the Indicated Mineral Resource is Open Pit, which provides a solid Mineral Resource base for the initial development of a potential large mine. (Figure 1 and 2). Achieved metal extraction of 96.1 98.5% nickel and 96.1 97.7% cobalt from initial bioleaching tests, offering much higher metal recoveries than flotation (29-51% nickel and 39-48% cobalt), significantly increasing the value of current mineral resources. Demonstrated high amenability of massive sulfides and rougher sulfide tails that suggests bioleaching is a promising, cost-effective, and eco-friendly technology for developing a low-carbon footprint mine at the Ferguson Lake project. Identified new exploration targets with significant resource upside potential along strike and down-dip of the 15 km long main mineralized horizon and on satellite zones including M-Zone, A51-Zone, A51 Zone Extension, Small Island and Lake Zone, West Zone South and South Discovery Zone (Figure 1). Carried out airborne LiDAR survey, environmental reconnaissance fieldwork, community engagements, geophysical modeling for resource expansion and studies for follow-up exploration and development of the Ferguson Lake Project. Received DIG and CESP grants from the governments for the successful completion of exploration and community engagement programs. TORONTO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian North Resources Inc. (the Company, TSXV: CNRI; OTCQX: CNRSF; FSE: EO0 (E-O-zero)) is pleased to announce the operational and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2024. Dr. Kaihui Yang, President and CEO of Canadian North, commented: During 2024, we have made major technical achievements for the 100% owned Ferguson Lake base metal (nickel, copper, cobalt) and PGM (palladium and platinum) Project (the Ferguson Lake Project), said Dr. Kaihui Yang, the President & CEO. The Company completed the new Mineral Resources estimation and filed the National Instrument 43-101 compliant Technical Report. (Refer to Independent Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada (the Technical Report), prepared by SRK Consulting and Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc., effective March 19, 2024, filed by the Company to SEDAR at http://www.sedarplus.com on May 3, 2024. The Technical Report has also been posted on the Companys website at www.cnresources.com.). The new NI 43-101 Technical Report has demonstrated the project is one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped critical mineral projects in North America with a strong potential for Mineral Resource expansion. We believe this filed Mineral Resource provide a solid bases for the potential development of a producing mine. For the first time in the history of the Ferguson Lake Project, we have evaluated the application of the low-carbon footprint bioleaching technology. We are extremely encouraged by the initial bioleaching tests results, which indicate highly efficient metal extraction and suggest the potential to produce nickel/cobalt sulphates on the project site for battery manufacturing. When proven, the bioleaching technology will significantly simplify mineral processing, bypass smelting and refining, and substantially reduce the capital expenses for mine development, energy consumption, and operating costs for production. We believe that bioleaching is a promising technology for developing a low-cost, low-carbon footprint mine, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable practices at the Ferguson Lake project." Additionally, the consistent and high extraction rates of 96 98% for nickel and cobalt will significantly increase the value of the current Mineral Resources, which were estimated using the flotation process with lower and more variable recoveries of nickel (29-51%) and cobalt (39-48%). Moreover, bioleaching, with its much higher metal extraction capabilities, will substantially increase the value of the current mineral resources and potentially allow the Company to add substantial lower-grade mineralized materials as economic mineral resources. Figure 1, Geological map showing mineralization zones. The Mineral Resources incorporate West, Central and East Zones: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d6d4075c-64b8-4f73-9e53-197350795d80 Figure 2, The 3D model of the mineral resources for the West and Central Zones of the Ferguson Lake Project: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f8efe51c-b839-4a48-bfd7-683d18b4c287 Table 1: Mineral Resource Statement*, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., March 19, 2024 Mineral Resource Statement, Ferguson Lake Project, Canada. SRK Consulting (Canada)., March 19, 2024 Mining Method Category Tonnes (Mt) Grade Material Content NSR Cu Ni Co Pd Pt Cu Ni Co Pd Pt (US$/t) (%) (%) (%) g/t g/t (Mlbs) (Mlbs) (Mlbs) ('000oz) ('000oz) Open Pit Indicated 52.7 149 0.65 0.43 0.05 0.97 0.17 755.7 497.2 57.7 1,647 295 Inferred 4.0 159 0.65 0.50 0.06 0.88 0.17 56.7 43.4 5.3 111 21 Underground Indicated 13.5 243 1.13 0.61 0.07 1.60 0.29 336.8 181.0 21.6 692 124 Inferred 21.9 231 1.04 0.60 0.07 1.53 0.26 501.0 289.7 34.4 1,081 184 Total Indicated 66.1 168 0.75 0.47 0.05 1.10 0.19 1,092.5 678.2 79.3 2,340 419 Inferred 25.9 220 0.98 0.58 0.07 1.43 0.25 557.8 333.1 39.6 1,192 205 Mineral Resource Estimation Notes The Mineral Resource estimation work including construction of geological solids, grade estimation, associated sensitivity analyses, and Mineral Resource classification was completed by Joycelyn Smith, P.Geo. (PGO#2963), under supervision of Mr. Glen Cole, P.Geo. (PGO#1416) of SRK Consulting, an appropriate independent Qualified Person as this term is defined in National Instrument 43-101. The Mineral Resources have been estimated in conformity with generally accepted Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM) Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices Guidelines (November 2019) and are reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument (NI) 43-101. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate. A total of 18 massive sulphide and two low-sulphide platinum group element (LSPGE) domains were modeled within an overall host gabbroic intrusion to constrain the mineralization. The Mineral Resources for the Ferguson Lake Project are estimated based 756 boreholes (approximately 226,167 metres) as of November 2, 2023, including 129 boreholes (approximately 35,775 meters) added to the deposit model out of the 39,270 metres completed since the previous Mineral Resource update as on June 13, 2022 (refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd filed by the Company to Sedar.com on July 13, 2022). All composites have been capped where appropriate. The Mineral Resources for the Ferguson Lake Project were estimated using Leapfrog Edge software. The estimation parameters consider 3 passes estimated by Ordinary Kriging with progressively relaxed criteria, including a requirement of 3-4 boreholes in the first pass, 2-3 boreholes in the second pass and at least 4 composites in the third pass. Massive sulphide domains were estimated with hard boundaries, and LSPGE domains were estimated with limited (10m) soft boundaries. The block classification strategy considers drillhole spacing, geologic confidence and continuity of category. Indicated Mineral Resources were defined for blocks inside geological resource solids estimated within the first two passes and having a nominal drillholes spacing less than 150 metres. Classification results were smoothed to improve continuity. Mineral Resources are reported in relation to a conceptual pit shell and underground mining shapes. Open pit Mineral Resources include all blocks inside the conceptual shell. Underground mineral resources include blocks not meeting open pit reporting requirements contained within conceptual mining shapes. Open pit Mineral Resources are reported at a NSR cut-off value of US$33.00 and underground Mineral Resources are reported at a NSR cut-off value of US$96.00. Cut-off values are based on a price of US$4.00 per pound of copper, US$9.00 per pound of nickel, US$22.00 per pound of cobalt, US$1,250 per ounce of palladium, and US$1,150 per ounce of platinum, and recoveries of 95 percent for copper, 51 percent for nickel, 89 percent for cobalt, 76 percent for palladium and 60 percent for platinum for massive sulphide material, and 78 percent for copper, 29 percent for nickel, 48 percent for cobalt, 60 percent for palladium and 70 percent for platinum for LSPGE material, for open pit and underground resources. The reported Mineral Resource is inclusive of East, Central and West zones along the 15km-long main mineralized horizon. The Company also engaged in the following activities in 2024: January 2, 2024, the Company reported the results from the processing of Borehole Time-Domain Electromagnetic (BHTEM) surveys from deep West Zone drillholes FL22-481A and FL23-481B completed at its 100% owned Ferguson Lake Project. The results demonstrate the continuance of the West Zone greater than 200 metres beyond the historically defined down-dip drilled extent of the zone and show its open potential for continued expansion both laterally and further down-dip at depths of 650 to >800 metres. The Company also announced that Dr. Trevor Boyd retired from the VP Exploration and would continue to be a Technical Advisor and QP for the Company. In late January, 2024, the IR team attended the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (the VRIC) in Vancouver on January 21-22, 2024. During and after the VRIC, the IR team did the road-shows to the investors in Vancouver. In early March, 2024, the Company participated in the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) in Toronto on March 3-6, 2024. Dr. Kaihui Yang, the President of CEO was invited to present an overview of the Company and its Ferguson Lake project at the Corporate Presentation Forum for Investors (CPFI). During and after the PDAC, the IR team did the road-shows to the investors in Toronto. March 19, 2024, the Company announced an updated Mineral Resource estimate for its 100% owned Ferguson Lake project. The updated Mineral Resources includes (1) a 172% increase of Indicated Mineral Resources to 66.1 million tonnes (Mt) containing 1,093 million pounds (Mlb) copper at 0.75%, 678Mlb nickel at 0.47%, 79Mlb cobalt at 0.05%, 2.34 million ounces (Moz) palladium at 1.10 g/t and 0.42Moz platinum at 0.19 g/t, of which 80% is the Open pit Indicated Mineral Resources with 52.7Mt at 0.65% Cu, 0.43% Ni, 0.05% Co, 0.97g/t Pd and 0.17g/t Pt; (2) an Inferred Mineral Resources of 25.9Mt containing 558Mlb copper at 0.98%, 333Mlb nickel at 0.58%, 40Mlb cobalt at 0.07%, 1.12Moz palladium at 1.43 g/t and 0.21Moz platinum at 0.25 g/t. The updated Mineral Resource Model demonstrates a successful major upgrade of Mineral Resource tonnages from Inferred to Indicated category combined with continued expansion of overall Mineral Resource size along strike and down / up dip. The model shows the deposit potential for continued Mineral Resource expansion along strike and at depth over the 15 km long main mineralized horizon and within the open satellite mineralized zones. March 21, 2024, the Company announced the amendment on the exercise price of options to purchase a total of 1,600,000 Common Shares from $2.45 to $1.70 per share, for options previously granted to consultants to the Corporation. April 3, 2024, the Company provided an update of the metallurgical test programs. Metallurgical flotation test results indicate the reasonable probability of producing three payable copper, nickel and PGM bearing concentrates from the various types of mineralized materials that comprise its National instrument 43-101 Mineral Resource of the Ferguson Lake Project, suggesting a potential low-capital cost option for the project development. Alternatively, hydrometallurgy is considered as an effective option albeit with higher capital and operating cost. The Company is focusing on conducting follow-up investigations using new technologies for high metal extraction. April 5, 2024, the Company announced that it has filed with the TSX Venture Exchange a Notice of Intention to Make a Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB) which is proposed to commence on April 10, 2024, and terminate on April 9, 2025, or the earlier of the date all shares which are subject to the Normal Course Issuer Bid are purchased. In the opinion of the Board of Directors of the Company, the market price of the Common Shares does not accurately reflect the value of those shares. As a result, the Company intends to repurchase CNRIs Common Shares that may become available for purchase at prices, which makes them an appropriate use of funds of the Company. The Company intends to attempt to acquire up to an aggregate of 5,726,380 of its Common Shares over the next 12-month period, representing approximately 5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of CNRI. April 24, 2024, the Company filed the annual financial results and operational updates for 2023. During the year, the Company raised over $17 million for exploration, with cash and cash equivalents of $5,540,312 at the year end. The Company completed an aggressive exploration program with 21,126 meters drilled in 2023 for a cumulative total of 39,270 meters in 145 holes of new diamond drilling to the project database for the updated Mineral Resources estimation reported on March 19, 2024. The statement of the updated Mineral Resources demonstrates that the Ferguson Lake project is one of the highest-grade and largest undeveloped critical mineral projects in North America. The Company plans to continue drilling to expand the mineral resources and to conduct follow-up metallurgical testing, commence economic evaluation, infrastructure and environmental studies for a low-carbon footprint mine development plan at the Ferguson Lake Project. May 6, 2024, the Company filed the Independent Technical Report on the Mineral Resources Estimation for the Ferguson Lake project. The Technical Report supports the definition of the large and high-grade Mineral Resource at the Ferguson Lake Project, including 52.7Mt of high-grade open pit Indicated Mineral Resources at 0.65% Cu, 0.43% Ni, 0.05% Co, 0.97g/t Pd and 0.17% Pt, which provides a solid Mineral Resource base for the initial development of a potential large mine. Mineral Resources are estimated for West, Central and East Zones along the 15km-long main mineralized horizon. The Mineral Resource model indicates potential for continued Mineral Resource expansion along strike and at depth over the mineralized horizon. Significant resource upside potential outside the main mineralized zone is also anticipated when sufficient grid definition drilling is completed on additional satellite exploration zones including M-Zone, A51-Zone, A51 Zone Extension, West Zone South and South Discovery Zone May 27, the Company reported the financial results and operational update for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. During the quarter, the Company planned geological and geophysical programs and identified new exploration targets with significant resource upside potential along strike and down dip of the 15 km long main mineralized horizon and on additional zones including M-Zone, A51-Zone, A51-Zone Extension, Small Island and Lake Zone, West Zone South and South Discovery Zone. The Company also planned new metallurgical tests, economic evaluation and infrastructure and environmental studies for low-carbon footprint mine development at the Ferguson Lake Project. June 19, the Company announced the voting results for the election of its Board of Directors at its Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders held on June 18, 2024. During the 3 rd quarter, the Company carried out technical programs including the completion of an airborne LiDAR survey; upgrading and renewing licenses and permits, community engagement, environmental reconnaissance field assessments, expanding metallurgical tests, and re-modeling and re-interpretation of historical geophysical data to generate new targets for drilling. All the programs were planned with the goal of resource expansion and potential mine development at Ferguson Lake. The execution of these programs was crucial for the advancement of the Ferguson Lake Project. The LiDAR survey data will aid in facilitating precise engineering and infrastructure development, a key milestone for the project. The Company expanded metallurgical tests with both current flotation and new bioleaching low-carbon footprint technologies. In the field, the Company collected additional samples for ongoing and further metallurgical tests and completed environmental reconnaissance for exploration and development. A geophysical review is under the way to generate drilling targets for resource expansion. The Company was actively upgrading and renewing the licenses and permits for the next phase of exploration and development of the Ferguson Lake Project. quarter, the Company carried out technical programs including the completion of an airborne LiDAR survey; upgrading and renewing licenses and permits, community engagement, environmental reconnaissance field assessments, expanding metallurgical tests, and re-modeling and re-interpretation of historical geophysical data to generate new targets for drilling. All the programs were planned with the goal of resource expansion and potential mine development at Ferguson Lake. The execution of these programs was crucial for the advancement of the Ferguson Lake Project. The LiDAR survey data will aid in facilitating precise engineering and infrastructure development, a key milestone for the project. The Company expanded metallurgical tests with both current flotation and new bioleaching low-carbon footprint technologies. In the field, the Company collected additional samples for ongoing and further metallurgical tests and completed environmental reconnaissance for exploration and development. A geophysical review is under the way to generate drilling targets for resource expansion. The Company was actively upgrading and renewing the licenses and permits for the next phase of exploration and development of the Ferguson Lake Project. On August 22, the Company reported receiving a grant for its Community Engagement Support Program(CESP) from the Government of Nunavut, represented by the Minister of the Department of Economic Development & Transportation (EDT). The CESP aims to support the Companys ongoing community engagement activities in Nunavut through contributions to cover costs associated with engagement and consultation work required during the permitting and regulatory stages of an exploration project. Under CESP, the Company has signed the CESP Contribution Agreement (the Agreement) that the Government of Nunavut will contribute $98,875, with an initial payment of $49,437.50, which has been received. The balance is expected upon the submission of a final report to be completed on January 31, 2025. Canadian North is committed to building strong, respectful, and productive relationships with the people of Nunavut. This support from the Government of Nunavut is appreciated and pivotal in ensuring that our exploration activities are aligned with the values and expectations of local communities. On August 27, 2024, the Company reported filing of the financial and operational results during the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. During the 2 nd quarter, the Company completed the filing and completion of the new National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report that defines the large and high-grade Mineral Resources at the Ferguson Lake Project . 80% of the Indicated Mineral Resource is Open Pit, which provides a solid Mineral Resource base for initial development studies for a potential large mine. The technical team started working with the consultants on reprocessing of historic geophysical data to generate new exploration targets with significant resource upside potential along strike and down dip of the 15 km long main mineralized horizon and on additional satellite zones including M-Zone, A51-Zone, West Zone Extension, West Zone South and South Discovery Zone. Based on the new Technical Report, the Company planned new metallurgical tests, community engagement programs and economic evaluation, infrastructure and environmental studies for low-carbon footprint mine development at the Ferguson Lake Project. quarter, the Company completed the filing and completion of the new National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report that defines the large and high-grade Mineral Resources at the Ferguson Lake Project 80% of the Indicated Mineral Resource is Open Pit, which provides a solid Mineral Resource base for initial development studies for a potential large mine. The technical team started working with the consultants on reprocessing of historic geophysical data to generate new exploration targets with significant resource upside potential along strike and down dip of the 15 km long main mineralized horizon and on additional satellite zones including M-Zone, A51-Zone, West Zone Extension, West Zone South and South Discovery Zone. Based on the new Technical Report, the Company planned new metallurgical tests, community engagement programs and economic evaluation, infrastructure and environmental studies for low-carbon footprint mine development at the Ferguson Lake Project. On September 24, 2024, the Company announced that following the signing of a Community Engagement Support Program (CESP) agreement with the Government of Nunavut, represented by the Minister of the Department of Economic Development & Transportation (EDT), the Company has strengthened its community engagement and consultation, with a focus on the communities of Baker Lake and Arviat, in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. The Company organized a site visit for the community council members, elders and their families from Baker Lake to the camp and historic sites of great importance to the community. Carrying out this program has reinforced the strong community support for the exploration and potential mine development of the Ferguson Lake Project. Strengthening our relationships with the communities and deepening our understanding of historically significant areas will be key to responsible resource development in the region On October 1, 2024, the Company announced that it received the final $125,000 payment of the $250,000 exploration grant from the Government of Nunavut's Discover, Invest, Grow ("DIG") program. This grant was awarded to the Company for its successful exploration programs completed in 2023. This grant further highlights the strong potential of the Ferguson Lake project and reinforces our commitment to responsible, sustainable exploration and mine development in Nunavut. We remain dedicated to building lasting relationships with local communities and government as we work together toward developing this valuable resource On October 8, 2024, the Company reported the progression of technical programs for the Ferguson Lake copper, nickel, cobalt, palladium and platinum project (the Ferguson Lake Project) during the 2024 summer season. The technical programs include the completion of the LiDAR survey; upgrading and renewing licenses and permits, environmental reconnaissance fieldwork, expanding metallurgical tests, and re-modeling and re-interpretation of historical geophysical data. The Company opened the Ferguson Lake field camp for maintenance of living quarters and heavy equipment, support field working programs and visit by the council members, elders and families from local communities, as well as the site visit by New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council (RPC) engineer for the collection of bacterial sample material for bioleaching tests. On October 21, 2024, the Company reported the preliminary results from the technical evaluation of bioleaching technology for its Ferguson Lake copper, nickel, cobalt, palladium and platinum project (the Ferguson Lake Project). The bioleaching tests were conducted by RPC at its laboratory in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The initial results indicated metal extraction of 96.1 98.5% nickel and 96.1 97.7% cobalt from bioleaching tests. Bioleaching could offer much higher metal recoveries than flotation (29-51% nickel and 48-89% cobalt), significantly increasing the value of current mineral resources. Both massive sulphides and rougher sulphide tails from flotation tests on the massive sulfides are amenable for bioleaching extraction, potentially producing nickel/cobalt sulphates onsite for battery manufacturing. On-going metallurgical testing was expanded to achieve high recoveries of copper and precious metals (palladium, platinum, gold, etc.) and were to be completed in conjunction with follow-up flotation tests by SGS Canada. The Management believed that bioleaching is a promising, cost-effective, and eco-friendly technology for developing a low- carbon footprint mine at the Ferguson Lake project. In late October early November, the Company presented at the 2024 International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney, Australia. The Company joined as part of the Ontario Mining Mission., organized by the Government of Ontario in partnership with the Canadian Consulate General in Sydney. The mission provided visibility and access to potential partners across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The event brought together more than 600 leaders and experts from across the industry. Dr. Kaihui Yang, CEO of Canadian North Resources, delivered a presentation at the Section of Investment Mining Spotlight on Wednesday, October 30th at 10:15 AM (local time). Dr. Yangs presentation focused on the Companys flagship Ferguson Lake Project in Nunavut, Canada, highlighting its abundant and high-grade copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum group metals. Dr. Yang provided an overview of the resource potential, project development, and how Canadian North Resources is positioning itself in the global battery metals and clean energy supply chains. Dr. Yang also communicated with investment bankers, investors and major mining companies in Australia, who showed significant interest in Canadian Norths recent technical achievements, especially the preliminary results of the bioleaching tests for the Ferguson Lake project. On November 1, the Company announced the resignation of Rick Brown from the Board of Directors due to his other engagements. On November 15, the Company announced the appointment of Henderson Tse as a new Director. In December, the Company organized another trip to the local communities, as part of the Community Engagement Support Program (CESP) as supported by the Government of Nunavut, represented by the Minister of the Department of Economic Development & Transportation (EDT). The Company further strengthened its community engagement and consultation, with a focus on the communities of Baker Lake and Arviat, in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut. Carrying out this program has reinforced the strong community support for the exploration and potential mine development of the Ferguson Lake Project. Subsequent Events: On February 20, 2025, the Company provided an update on its Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB) that was announced on April 5, 2024. Since December 5, 2024, the Company has repurchased a total of 162,500 Common Shares at an average price of $0.97 per share under the NCIB. The Company believes that the current market price does not fully represent the intrinsic value of CNRIs Common Shares. The completion of this initial phase underscores the Managements commitment to returning value to shareholders while optimizing the Companys capital structure. On March 3, 2025, the Company announced to start new metallurgical tests using the low-carbon footprint bioleaching technologies. Based on the exceptional initial results that indicated 96-98% extraction of nickel and cobalt, the Company moved forward to expand the bioleaching tests to recover copper and PGM in addition to nickel and cobalt. In early March, the Company participated in the PDAC 2025 Annual Conference with a booth to display recent drill cores from the Ferguson Lake project and new metallurgical tests. The team met with investors and potential partners with updated mineral resources and the results of new metallurgical tests using the low-carbon footprint, bioleaching technology for the Ferguson Lake project. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company reported cash and cash-equivalent of $1,646,226, a net loss of $1,900,677 or $ 0.02 per share. For the Year End 2024 financial statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis, please see the Company website at www.cnresources.com or on SEDAR. Qualified Person: Dr. Trevor Boyd, P.Geo. and Technical Advisor for Canadian North Resources, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 standards has reviewed the technical content of this news release and has approved its dissemination. About Canadian North Resources Inc. Canadian North Resources Inc. is an exploration and development company focusing on the critical metals for the clean-energy, electric vehicles, battery and high-tech industries. The company is advancing its 100% owned Ferguson Lake nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, and platinum project in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada. The Ferguson Lake mining property contains a substantial National Instrument 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate announced on March 19 2024, which include Indicated Mineral Resources of 66.1 million tonnes (Mt) containing 1,093 million pounds (Mlb) copper at 0.75%, 678Mlb nickel at 0.47%, 79.3Mlb cobalt at 0.05%, 2.34 million ounces (Moz) palladium at 1.10gpt and 0.419Moz platinum at 0.19gpt; and Inferred Mineral Resources of 25.9Mt containing 558Mlb copper at 0.98%, 333Mlb nickel at 0.58%, 39.6Mlb cobalt at 0.07%, 1.192Moz palladium at 1.43gpt and 0.205Moz platinum at 0.25gpt. In particular, 80% of the Indicated Mineral Resources is Open Pit with 52.7Mt at 0.65% copper, 0.43% nickel, 0.05% cobalt, 0.97gpt palladium and 0.17gpt platinum, which provides a solid Mineral Resource base for the initial development of a potential large mine. The Mineral Resource model indicates significant potential for resource expansion along strike and at depth over the 15 km long mineralized belt and a number of undefined mineralization zones and prospective areas. (Refer to Independent Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada (the Technical Report), prepared by SRK Consulting and Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc., effective March 19, 2024, filed by the Company to SEDAR at http://www.sedarplus.com on May 3, 2024. The Technical Report has also been posted on the Companys website at www.cnresources.com.) Further information please visit the website at www.cnresources.com, or contact: Dr. Kaihui Yang, President and CEO Phone: 905-696-8288 (Canada) 1-888-688-8809 (Toll-Free) Email: info@cnresources.com 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, estimates, or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts, are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect managements expectations regarding the Companys future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Companys forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, 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 statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law. FAIRFIELD, Conn., April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seats are limited, Register Now! C-level executives from the National Capital region who want to find out how technology helps them reimagine their enterprise and reshape their businesses are encouraged to attend HMG Strategys 14th Annual Washington D.C. C-Level Technology Leadership Summit on April 22. Its important for the DMV top-tier CIOs and business technology executives to share information that will help their companies and the industry as a whole, said Hunter Muller, Founder and CEO of HMG Strategy. HMG Strategy is happy to provide a platform for these high-caliber leaders to pass on what theyve learned. Key topics to be explored at the 14th Annual Washington D.C. C-Level Technology Leadership Summit will include: The Tremendous Opportunities and Challenges of Quantum Computing Securing the Future Against Geopolitical Cyber Risks Using AI and Cutting-Edge Technologies and Partnerships to Boost Business Performance The Technology Supercycle is Here: Lead, Innovate, or Be Left Behind Reskilling and Upskilling the Tech Workforce for the GenAI-Enabled Enterprise Making Security a Competitive Advantage Visionary Leaders Harnessing Tomorrows Technology And you wont want to miss our exclusive fireside chat with Bridget Bean, Senior Official Performing the Duties of Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the current Administration, where she will share insights to the agencys challenges 24/7 for reducing cybersecurity risk for Americans that can help technology leaders in their own companys efforts. Preliminary speakers at the 14th Annual Washington D.C. C-Level Technology Leadership Summit are slated to include: Raj Badhwar, SVP, CISO, Jacobs Bridget Bean, Senior Official Performing the Duties of Director of CISA Tom Berray, Managing Partner, DHR Global Girish Bhat, SVP, Revefi Dr. David Bray, Distinguished Chair of the Accelerator, Stimson Center, Principal/CEO, LeadDoAdapt Ventures Rob Collins, CISO, AGCO Sean Datcher, SVP & CIO, Farmer Mac Alan Edwards, CISO, NFF Inc. Edima Elinewinga, VP & Chief Technology Officer, Association of Corporate Counsel Gilbert Herrera, Director of Research, National Security Agency Jamie Holcombe, CIO, USPTO Angela Jung, Executive Search Consultant | Technology & Cyber Security, Russell Reynolds Stuart Kippelman, CEO, Kippelman Advisory Israel Martinez, CEO and Global CTO, Axon Global Laura McCanlies, Chief Information Officer, IFC Derrick Pledger, Chief Digital & Information Officer, Maximus Nick Salian, MD & CISO, Cantor Fitzgerald Ivan Shefrin, Executive Director Managed Security Services, Comcast Business Services Melissa Vice, Director of Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP), DoD Cyber Crime Center (DC3) Brandon Wales, VP Cybersecurity Strategy, SentinelOne (Speaker list subject to change.) In addition, HMG Strategy will present several D.C. area technology executives with its HMG Strategys 2025-2026 Global Leadership Institute Awards. The award recognizes the industrys premier business technology executives who are making a difference in their organizations and their respective vertical markets. The event will be held at the Westwood Country Club, 800 Maple Ave. East., Vienna, VA 22180. Valued Partners so far for the 14th Annual Washington D.C. C-Level Technology Leadership Summit include: Platinum Partners: Comcast Business, SentinelOne Gold Partners: Glean, Moveworks, T-Mobile for Business, Tanium Innovation Accelerator Partners: Andromeda, Cyera, Kodem, Revefi Strategic Partners: Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry, Russell Reynolds Associates, Spencer Stuart Alliance Partners: Cyberstarts, Greylock Partners, GTM Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Sequoia Registration for the 14th Annual Washington D.C. C-Level Technology Leadership Summit is still open. In addition to this Technology Leadership Summit, HMG Strategy has opened registration for 18 other regional Summits in major cities across the United States and Canada for 2025. Cant make it yourself? Tell a colleague! About HMG Strategy HMG Strategy is the world's leading digital platform for technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world. The HMG Strategy global network consists of more than 500,000 CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, CDOs, senior business technology executives, search industry executives, venture capitalists, industry experts and world-class thought leaders. The companys global media model generates more than one million impressions per week, providing vast opportunities for business technology leaders and sponsor partners to promote themselves and their brands. HMG Strategy was founded in 2008 by Hunter Muller, a leadership expert who has worked side-by-side with Fortune 2000 executives with strategic planning and career ascent for the past 30+ years. The companys regional CIO and CISO Executive Leadership Series, publications, and Digital Resource Center deliver unique, peer-driven guidance from CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, CDOs and other technology executives on leadership, innovation, transformation and career ascent. HMG Strategy offers a range of peer-led advisory services such as its Global CIO & CISO Executive Leadership Alliance (CELA) service, which bring together the worlds top CIOs, CISOs and technology executives to brainstorm on the top opportunities and challenges facing them in their roles. In addition, its Global Advisory Services are a unique set of peer-driven research services designed to keep business technology executives up to speed on the latest leadership, business, technology and global macro-economic trends that affect businesses and industries. The companys business model is based on its 7 Pillars of Trust. HMG Strategy: We Build Legends Here. Contact: Peggy Pedwano, Chief Operations Officer, HMG Strategy: 203-221-2702 or at peggyp@hmgstrategy.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2d322dfd-db8a-433e-b6a9-0707086331db AUSTIN, Texas, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AutoScheduler.AI, an innovative Warehouse Orchestration Platform and WMS accelerator, announces that CEO Keith Moore and Axel Arias, Senior Director of Warehouse Operations for PepsiCo, will discuss how PepsiCo is leveraging artificial intelligence and orchestration to drive more efficient warehouse execution within its plant-based warehouses. The session occurs on Monday, May 5, from 1:35 PM to 1:55 PM EDT. AutoScheduler will be demoing its award-winning orchestration platform in Booth 922. Our clients face constant disruptions, production schedule changes, poor coordination between warehouse and production processes, ineffective WMS and automation system performance, and complex layouts that result in high travel, says Keith Moore, CEO of AutoScheduler.AI. For enterprises serious about efficiency and resource maximization, AutoScheduler delivers dynamic orchestration tailored to plant warehouse complexities, ensuring every asset and process is optimized to support production, boost throughput, and drive profitability. Attendees to the AutoScheduler.AI session, How PepsiCo Uses AI and Orchestration to Evolve Warehouse Decision-Making, will learn: Key challenges in warehousing and how automation adds complexity. How AI-driven orchestration improved speed, accuracy, and efficiency at PepsiCo, including a 30 35% increase in pallet moves without adding additional labor or equipment. Insights into the future state of warehousingshowcasing how continued advancements in orchestration and AI will redefine warehouse operations. Keith Moore is the CEO of AutoScheduler.AI. He provides organization-wide strategic oversight and establishes external engagement and development initiatives. He spends most of his time working with his customers to deliver supply chain solutions focused on driving efficiency in distribution centers. Axel Arias is the Senior Director of Warehouse Operations at PepsiCo Foods North America, supporting the Frito-Lay division. Since joining PepsiCo in 2011, Axel has held leadership roles across both manufacturing and warehousing, where he has successfully led large-scale transformation initiatives spanning packaging, automation, and operational efficiency. He earned his Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Merced. Today, Axel applies his deep operational expertise and passion for team development to drive warehouse strategyfocusing on enhancing automation performance, elevating workforce capabilities, and minimizing end-to-end operational waste. The Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo 2025 will take place in Orlando, Florida, from May 57, 2025. This event brings together Chief Supply Chain Officers and supply chain leaders to explore critical topics such as transformative strategies, emerging technologies, and risk mitigation. The conference is designed to equip attendees with the insights and tools needed to tackle todays most pressing supply chain challenges. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. About AutoScheduler.AI AutoScheduler.AI empowers you to take full control of your warehouse with a cloud-based solution that seamlessly integrates with your existing WMS/LMS/YMS or any other solution. We automate critical tasks like labor scheduling, dock management, and task sequencing, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Youve already invested in the software to run your warehousewhat we do is provide the orchestration layer that ties it all together to make real-time data driven decisions. With AutoScheduler.AI, you get smart orchestration for a smarter, more agile warehouse. For more information, visit: http://www.autoscheduler.ai. Contact: Becky Boyd MediaFirst PR Becky@MediaFirst.Net Cell: (404) 421-8497 TALLINN, Estonia, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The XRP ecosystem is officially heating up as XRPTurbo ($XRT) , the first AI DeFi launchpad built on the XRP Ledger, successfully launches on Bitmart Exchange with an explosive debuttrading more than 30% above its listing price within hours of going live. After its over-subscribed presale, XRPTurbo has entered its next major growth and development phaseand its happening fast. XRT Bitmart Listing Is Live, Coingecko & CMC Listings Coming Next $XRT is now officially trading on Bitmart under the XRT/USDT pair. Also you can trade XRT on XPmarket . The tokens strong opening price action, driven by heavy retail and whale interest, has pushed its Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) to over $1.5 million, up from its presale listing of $1.4M. To add to the excitement, CoinGecko listing is already live, providing even more visibility for what many are calling the next big thing in the XRP ecosystem. First XRPTurbo AMA: April 15th @ 3PM UTC: To kick off the next chapter, the XRPTurbo team will host its first AMA on Satoshi Club Telegram today at 3PM UTC. This is your chance to connect with the minds behind the project, learn about the platform's roadmap, and get early alpha on whats nextincluding exclusive staking details and the first launchpad project reveal. AI + DeFi + Real-World Assets = XRPTurbos Unique Edge XRPTurbo is more than just a tokenits the XRP Ledgers first full-featured launchpad, bringing DeFi, AI agents, and tokenized real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure to a network thats long overdue for tools to match its speed. With the platforms no-code GUI Token Minter, anyone can launch tokens and NFTs with a few clicks. Developers and entrepreneurs can raise capital through XRPTurbos curated launchpadand soon, stakers will be part of vetting projects via DAO governance. Liquid Staking Launches with 1M $XRT Reward Pool XRPTurbos liquid staking platform is rolling out this week, giving holders the ability to earn up to 25% APY without locking their tokens. Heres how it works: First snapshot happens every 15th of the month Stake just by holding $XRT in your wallet during the snapshot Share in a monthly 1,000,000 XRT reward pool Rewards are distributed only to wallets that dont move their stake during the staking window To ensure sustainability, a portion of onboarding and success fees from future projects launching on XRPTurbo will be used to buy back $XRT from the market and refuel the staking poola bold model designed to reward early believers and long-term holders. First Launchpad Project Reveal Coming Soon Following the launchpad demo (dropping Friday), XRPTurbo will reveal the first project to launch via its platform. $XRT holders will enjoy priority access, giving them early entry into high-potential AI and RWA-focused launches. Get Involved Before Its Too Late With $XRT now live on Bitmart and listings on CoinGecko and CMC imminent, XRPTurbo is positioning itself as XRPs go-to DeFi infrastructure. If you missed the presale, the window to get in early is still openbut with the staking snapshot just days away, the time to act is now. Join the Xrpturbo community on telegram to learn more. Visit XRPTurbo: xrpturbo.com Trade $XRT: Bitmart XRT/USDT Telegram: t.me/xrpturbocom X: x.com/xrpturbocom Whitepaper: docs.xrpturbo.com Media Contact: John Rodi contact@xrpturbo.com Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the XRPTurbo. 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. 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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. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/be6655d3-230e-4dd7-8f18-4ba5dfa00be8 Detroit, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DTE Energy, the states largest producer of and investor in renewable energy, broke ground this morning on a 100-megawatt solar array near Coldwater, MI. When complete in 2026, Cold Creek Solar Park will be the first of several DTE parks that will help Ford Motor Company reach its goal of attributing 100 percent carbon-free and renewable energy to its Michigan manufacturing facilities. Fords purchase of 650 megawatts of renewable energy from DTEs CleanVision MIGreenPower program is the larges such purchase from a utility in U.S. history. MIGreenPower, DTEs voluntary renewable energy program, enables business and residential customers to attribute their electricity use to Michigan-made renewable energy while funding the development of new solar and wind parks, such as the new array now under construction near Coldwater. Fords enrollment in MIGreenPower, which will help the company avoid as much as 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, is part of its global environmental commitments. The companys goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across its vehicles, manufacturing and supply chain no later than 2050, and to use 100% carbon-free electricity in its global manufacturing facilities by 2035. Thanks to this strategic investment with DTE, Ford will soon be able to attribute all of our electricity supply in Michigan to clean energy, said Amir Mirshahi, director of Utilities and Energy Infrastructure at Ford. This partnership is proof of Fords unwavering commitment to transitioning to clean energy and aligns us with our sustainability objectives. It represents a significant step toward our goal of achieving carbon neutrality and will also help make our local Michigan communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. "Were excited to be on this clean energy journey with Ford to fulfill its electricity needs with affordable, Michigan-made renewable energy, said Matt Paul, president and chief operating officer, DTE Electric. Our customers whether they are large manufacturers like Ford, or hometown businesses, or families are telling us they want more renewable energy, and we will continue to develop and deliver it to them. DTE's renewable energy portfolio currently consists of 20 wind parks and 34 solar parks all located in Michigan. DTE has invested $4.6 billion in its renewable energy infrastructure since 2009 and aims to invest an additional $4 billion in renewable energy over the next several years. In 2025, DTE will have three new solar parks coming online in the first half of year, with three additional solar parks beginning construction. The six parks will total 800 megawatts, or enough clean energy to power more than 220,000 homes. The developments will help DTE make significant progress toward its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions as well as meeting the State of Michigans clean energy goals. For more information on DTEs MIGreenPower program, please visit www.migreenpower.com. About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan, that is committed to helping build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The companys Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for and deepen the loyalty of those customers. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and Lincoln luxury vehicles, as well as connected services. Additionally, Ford is establishing leadership positions in mobility solutions, including self-driving technology, and provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford employs about 182,000 people worldwide. More information about the company, its products and Ford Credit is available at corporate.ford.com. About DTE Energy DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers across Michigan. The DTE portfolio also includes energy businesses focused on custom energy solutions, renewable energy generation, and energy marketing and trading. DTE has continued to accelerate its carbon reduction goals to meet aggressive targets and is committed to serving with its energy through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy, emission reductions and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, x.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy. College Station, Texas, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capital Farm Credits GROW your AgriRoots contest opens for agricultural producers on April 15, with $50,000 in award money up for grabs for rising stars in agriculture, as well as trailblazers. The GROW your AgriRoots contest was established to award outstanding agribusinesses with financial support to continue to grow their operations. The winners are those who excel in their field, with selection based on applicants efforts in agriculture, financial character, leadership, community involvement, continuing education and sustainability practices. This years award categories are Rising Star and Trailblazer. Rising Star applicants have less than two years of experience, while Trailblazers have between two and 10 years of experience. Applications will open on April 15, 2025, for online submission and will close on June 20, 2025. All applications must be received online before midnight on June 20, to be eligible for awards. In 2024, four winners were chosen to receive $10,000 two relatively new farmers and two more experienced farmers. Finalists were awarded $1,000, for a total of $50,000 in prize money. The top winners were: Katherine Johnson and Shaun Maier: First-generation ranchers who have expanded their registered Angus seed stock and commercial beef cattle operations. Caitlin and Kevin Book with Kevin Book Farms: A dynamic duo farming approximately cattle, corn, cotton, and wheat in Central Texas. Matt Barattino with Wild Texan Farm: A veteran who established a sustainable farm offering pasture-raised chickens, eggs, pork, and lamb in Jourdanton, Texas. Charlie Agar with Charlie Bee Company: Beekeeper Charlie Agar manages 400 bee hives in and around the family homestead in Seguin, Texas where he and wife Kaye operate a mom-and-pop bee school, retail store and agritourism site on 15 acres. For more information regarding the GROW your AgriRoots program and a chance to apply visit GROW your AgriRoots (capitalfarmcredit.com). About Capital Farm Credit For more than 100 years, Capital Farm Credit has supported rural communities and agriculture with reliable, consistent credit and financial services that include home, land and agribusiness lending; equipment and facilities leasing, and insurance for crops and livestock. Capital Farm Credit is a proud member of the Farm Credit System with more than 600 employees, serving over 24,500 members and more than $13 billion in loan volume. Since 2006, CFC has returned $2.9 billion in combined cash and allocated equities to its members. Headquartered in College Station, Texas, Capital Farm Credit has offices serving 192 of Texas 254 counties. For more information about financial services or our cooperative returns program, visit CapitalFarmCredit.com. -30- Connect with Capital Farm Credit: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn London, UK, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With Bitcoin adoption on the rise, more investors are searching for secure, low-barrier ways to profit from mining. Enter SpeedHash the 2025 standout in cloud-based Bitcoin mining. By removing hardware hassles and offering real ROI from day one, SpeedHash is redefining how the world mines Bitcoin. New User Bonus: Claim $18 Free Hash Power Instantly Getting started has never been easier. Every new user receives $18 in free mining power, allowing you to begin earning passive Bitcoin income immediately, no deposit required. Whether youre a crypto newbie or an experienced investor, SpeedHash makes remote BTC mining accessible to all. 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Named one of the most trusted Bitcoin mining platforms in 2025, SpeedHash is your gateway to building real, consistent crypto incomewithout any of the usual headaches. Your mining journey starts now. Register today to claim your $18 bonus and start earning Bitcoin from the comfort of your home. Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. Cryptocurrency mining and staking involves risk. There is potential for loss of funds. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. CLEVELAND, Ohio Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) students were ordered to shelter in place late Friday night after reports of an armed intruder on campus, prompting a swift response from university police. The alert, issued around 8:58 p.m., followed a car accident on campus where individuals reportedly exited a vehicle with weapons, according to CWRU police statements shared with FOX 8. One suspect, unaffiliated with the university, was detained, and a second individual was later taken into custody, allowing the university to lift the shelter-in-place order by 10:25 p.m. The incident began when witnesses reported seeing an armed individual inside Michelson House, a south side dormitory. CWRU police locked down all south side residence halls, instructing students to stay indoors and avoid windows while they conducted a thorough search to ensure safety. "CWRU police continue to search and clear south side residence halls for safety," the university posted on X at 8:58 p.m., urging students not to call dispatch unless they had critical information. By 9:45 p.m., the shelter-in-place order was lifted for areas north of Euclid Avenue, though students were advised to steer clear of the south side until the situation was fully resolved. Police confirmed to FOX 8 that the detained individuals were connected to the car accident, though no further details about the suspects or the nature of the weapons were released. The university's alert system kept students updated, with a final message at 10:25 p.m. declaring the campus clear and safe. "Shelter in place lifted. ALL CLEAR!!" the university announced, signaling a return to normalcy. This incident follows CWRU's efforts to bolster campus security, including the addition of 35 part-time officers last May, a move tied to heightened tensions during pro-Palestinian protests. For students, the swift resolution was a relief, but the scare underscored ongoing concerns about safety on urban campuses. No injuries were reported, and the investigation remains ongoing. AVAILABILITY OR CONSULTATION OF THE INFORMATION RELATING TO THE COMBINED GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS DATED 20 MAY 2025 Press release Paris, 15 April 2025 The Combined General Meeting of shareholders will be held on 20 May 2025, at 4 pm, at CNIT Forest, 2, Place de la Defense, 92092 Puteaux, France. The notice of meeting and the convening notice relating to this Meeting were respectively published in the Bulletins des Annonces Legales Obligatoires (BALO) dated 12 March and 14 April 2025. These notices, the convening brochure as well as the documents and information mentioned in Article R. 22-10-23 of the French Commercial Code intended to be presented to the Meeting are now (regarding the information mentioned in Article R. 225-83 of the French Commercial Code) or will be made available to the shareholders on Societe Generales website at the following address: https://www.societegenerale.com/en/societe-generale-group/governance/annual-general-meeting . The documents to be made available to the shareholders as part of this Meeting, may be consulted by the shareholders, in accordance with the conditions provided by the applicable regulations, at the administrative office of Societe Generale, 17 cours Valmy - 92972 La Defense Cedex (France), by sending a request by email to the electronic address: General.meeting@socgen.com. Press contacts: Jean-Baptiste Froville_+33 1 58 98 68 00_ jean-baptiste.froville@socgen.com Fanny Rouby_+33 1 57 29 11 12_ fanny.rouby@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.com website where official Press Releases sent by Societe Generale can be certified using blockchain technology. A link will allow you to check the documents legitimacy directly on the web page. For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com. Attachment VANCOUVER, British Columbia and AUSTIN, Texas, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inspire Semiconductor Holdings Inc. (InspireSemi or the Company), a chip design company that provides revolutionary high-performance, energy-efficient accelerated computing solutions for High Performance Computing (HPC), AI, graph analytics, and other compute-intensive workloads is pleased to announce that it has promoted its interim Chief Financial Officer, Jack Cartwright, to the permanent Chief Financial Officer role with the Company. Ron Van Dell, InspireSemi CEO, commented, Jack has been working with the InspireSemi team since June 2024 and has shown tremendous dedication and skill while acting as interim CFO. We are delighted to now make the position with the Company permanent and look forward to Jack leading the finance side of the business at this critical juncture for the Company, as we seek to commercialize our product. Jack Cartwright is a successful financial and operational leader with over 20 years of corporate finance experience ranging from high growth early-stage tech firms to highly technical complex global businesses. Jacks depth of experience includes SaaS, B2C marketplaces, AdTech, telecommunications, carbon and clean energy, and logistics. Based in Austin, Texas, Jack was previously CFO at two other technology firms and has held a variety of leadership positions in finance, including leading several M&A transactions on both the sell side and buy side, and also several fundraising efforts with large, institutional investors. Jack has also led many post-closing integration projects involving advanced reporting optimization, including the financial integration of two public software companies and the acquisition and concurrent integration of 4 Fintech companies with audit and IPO filings. Jack holds an MBA (The University of Texas at Austin) with a concentration in finance, accounting & strategy, and a Master of Science degree in Accounting (University of Miami) and was formerly an officer in the United States Army. The Company also announces its board of directors approved the grant of stock options dated April 15, 2025 (the "Options") to an officer to acquire a total of 1,000,000 subordinate voting shares in the capital of the Company at an exercise price of $0.16. All of the Options are exercisable for a ten-year term expiring April 15, 2035, and were granted pursuant to the Company's omnibus equity incentive plan (the "Plan"). All of the Options are subject to the terms of the Plan and applicable option agreements. 166,667 stock options will vest immediately. A further 83,333 will vest on August 1, 2025, and the remainder will vest in equal monthly amounts over 3 years from August 1, 2025. About InspireSemi InspireSemi provides revolutionary high-performance, energy-efficient accelerated computing solutions for High-Performance Computing (HPC), AI, graph analytics, and other compute-intensive workloads. The Thunderbird I supercomputer-cluster-on-a-chip is a disruptive, next-generation datacenter accelerator designed to address multiple underserved and diversified industries, including financial services, computer-aided engineering, energy, climate modeling, cybersecurity, and life sciences & drug discovery. Based on the open standard RISC-V instruction set architecture, InspireSemis solutions set new standards of performance, energy efficiency, and ease of programming. InspireSemi is headquartered in Austin, TX. For more information visit https://inspiresemi.com Follow InspireSemi on LinkedIn Company Contact Ron Van Dell, CEO (737) 471-3230 invest@inspiresemi.com Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (forward-looking statements). Statements concerning InspireSemis objectives, goals, strategies, priorities, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and the business, operations, financial performance and condition of InspireSemi are forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or believes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will (or other variations of the forgoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, information regarding the Delisting and any future listing. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and operating plans, strategies or beliefs as of the date of this presentation, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of InspireSemi, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to the Company including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources and are based on managements current expectations or beliefs. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflect managements expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Forward-looking information reflects managements current beliefs and is based on information currently available to them and on assumptions they believe to be not unreasonable in light of all of the circumstances. 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 statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information 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 risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Koryx Copper Inc. (Koryx or the "Company") (TSX-V: KRY) (NSX: KYX) announces that it has changed its auditor from Crowe MacKay LLP (Former Auditor) to MNP LLP (Successor Auditor) effective April 4, 2025 at the request of the Company. At the request of the Company, the Former Auditor resigned as auditor of the Company and the board of directors of the Company appointed the Successor Auditor effective April 4, 2025. The Company and its management teams have worked closely with MNP LLP for well over a decade with MNP LLP serving as the auditors at both Auryx Gold Corp. and more recently Osino Resources Corp., both entities founded and sold by the current management team. The Company looks forward to continuing this relationship with this appointment. The Company has confirmed that there were no reservations in the Former Auditors audit reports for any financial period during which the Former Auditor was the Companys auditor. There are no reportable events (as defined in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations) between the Company and the Former Auditor. In accordance with NI 51-102, the Notice of Change of Auditor, together with the required letters from the Former Auditor and the Successor Auditor, have been reviewed by the Companys Audit Committee and the board of directors of the Company and have been filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. About Koryx Copper Inc. Koryx Copper Inc. is a Canadian copper development Company focused on advancing the 100% owned, PEA-stage Haib Copper Project in Namibia whilst also building a portfolio of copper exploration licenses in Zambia. Haib is a large and advanced copper/molybdenum porphyry deposit in southern Namibia with a long history of exploration and project development by multiple operators. Mineralization at Haib is typical of a porphyry copper deposit and the deposit remains intact. Porphyry copper deposits are a major global source of copper with the best-known examples being concentrated around the Pacific Rim, North America and South America. Haib is one of the few examples of a Paleoproterozoic porphyry copper deposit in the world and one of only two in southern Africa (both in Namibia). Due to its age, the deposit has been subjected to multiple metamorphic and deformation events, but still retains many of the classic mineralization and alteration features typical of these deposits. The mineralization is dominantly chalcopyrite with minor bornite and chalcocite present and only minor secondary copper minerals at surface due to the arid environment. More than 70,000m of drilling has been conducted at Haib since the 1970s with significant exploration programs led by companies including Falconbridge (1964), Rio Tinto (1975) and Teck (2014). Teck remains a strategic and supportive shareholder. In addition to extensive drilling, metallurgical testing, geophysics and geological mapping, various mine modelling and technical studies have been completed to date. Further details are available on the Company's website at https://koryxcopper.com and under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca More information is available by contacting the Company: Julia Becker Corporate Communications jbecker@koryxcopper.com +1-604-785-0850 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statement and Disclaimer This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's future plans or prospects of the Company, including prospects for economic recoverability of mineral resources. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. 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, 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements also include those described under the heading Risk Factors in the Companys most recently filed management discussion and analysis (MD&A), which is available on SEDAR+ under the Companys profile at www.sedarplus.ca 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 information. The Company does not undertake to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. NEW YORK, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lowey Dannenberg, P.C.s Data Privacy Team is investigating claims that data brokers and identity solution providers may be profiling consumers without consent or meaningful disclosures. Investigation Details Many consumers are unaware that certain data brokers and identity solution providers quietly track them across their computers, smartphones, tablets, and even smart TVs. Some of these companies use this data to create hyper-specific identity profiles used to facilitate targeted advertising without consumers knowledge or consent. Loweys Data Privacy Team is currently investigating companies engaged in these types of practices. You can find more information about this investigation here. Existing Cases Lowey Dannenberg, P.C. has filed lawsuits against three companies alleging they created or used consumer identity profiles without consent: Turner v. The Trade Desk, Inc., 4:25-CV-03136 (N.D. Cal.) Rapak v. Adobe, Inc., 5:25-CV-03032 (N.D. Cal.) Baker v. Yahoo, Inc., 1:25-CV-02797 (S.D.N.Y.) Contact Us If you believe your personal data has been collected without your consent, or if you want to participate in one of our existing cases, please contact us at 914-733-7266 or privacy@lowey.com. You can also fill out our form here. About Lowey Dannenberg, P.C. Lowey Dannenberg, P.C. is a national class action law firm with offices in New York and Pennsylvania. Lowey Dannenberg attorneys routinely litigate complex data breach and privacy class actions, as well as antitrust, commodities, and securities matters. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. TORONTO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX: PFIA, PFSS, PFCB, PFAA, PFIG) Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the April 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0292 per unit for the ETF units (ETF Units) of the Picton Mahoney Fortified Income Alternative Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the April 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0383 per unit for the ETF Units of the Picton Mahoney Fortified Special Situations Alternative Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the April 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0264 per unit for the ETF Units of the Picton Mahoney Fortified Core Bond Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the April 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0256 per unit for the ETF Units of the Picton Mahoney Fortified Alpha Alternative Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the April 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0647 per unit for the ETF units of the Picton Mahoney Fortified Investment Grade Alternative Fund. Unitholders of record of the ETF Units, at the close of business on April 22, 2025, will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on April 30, 2025. About Picton Mahoney Asset Management Picton Mahoney Asset Management specializes in differentiated investment solutions and rules-based volatility management. Picton Mahoney helps its clients fortify their portfolios based on experience honed over the years through different market cycles and investing environments. Founded in 2004 and 100% employee-owned, Picton Mahoney is a portfolio management boutique entrusted with over $13.6 billion (as at March 31, 2025) in assets under management. Pioneers of Authentic Hedge investment principles and practices in Canada, the firm offers a full suite of investment solutions, including mutual and alternative funds, to institutional and retail investors across the country. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, performance fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Alternative funds can only be purchased through a registered dealer and are available only in those jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale. For further information please contact: Arthur Galloway Picton Mahoney Asset Management Tel: (416) 955-4108 Web site: www.pictonmahoney.com Email: service@pictonmahoney.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almadex Minerals Ltd. ("Almadex" or the "Company") (TSX-V: DEX) is pleased to announce that it has received results from surface exploration geological and geophysical work on its wholly owned Confusion Hills and Red Ring projects near Tonopah, Nevada. Both projects cover gold-silver early-stage exploration targets and were acquired by staking. Summaries of the work and results returned to date are as follows. Confusion Hills Epithermal-Porphyry Gold Project The Confusion Hills high sulphidation Prospect covers a large alteration zone developed in volcanic rocks. To date 107 grab rock samples have been taken from outcrop and subcrop and float (grab samples are selected samples and may not represent true underlying mineralisation). These preliminary results are very encouraging as 6 of these samples returned over 0.1 g/t gold with 3 returning more than 0.5 g/t gold (up to 7.1 g/t gold in a grab sample of subcrop and averaging 1.6 g/t gold for all 6). Mapping in 2024 and 2025 has defined a high sulphidation/porphyry lithocap over an area of 1.6 km x 0.5 km. The lithocap displays complex alteration with central zones of vuggy quartz with alunite and massive pyrophyllite zones. Soil sampling was carried out in 2024 and returned anomalous Au, Mo and Cu with an association of Au within the central zone of alteration and a Mo anomaly on one edge. Recently a two line test IP geophysical survey was conducted which identified a high chargeability feature (interpreted to represent sulphide development) directly beneath the area of quartz alunite alteration and high gold in grab samples at surface. A drone based mag survey has also been conducted to aid with interpretation. The Company has a drill permit in hand to allow first pass drill testing of the target now defined by surface alteration, surface gold rock and soil results and an IP target at depth. The Company plans to conduct first pass drilling on the project in 2025. A plan and section illustrating the target are attached to this release. Red Ring Epithermal-Porphyry Project The Red Ring prospect covers an area of hydrothermal alteration developed in volcanic rocks adjacent to carbonate rocks. Alteration mapping in 2024 identified a large alteration zone interpreted to be a porphyry lithocap extending 2.8 km NW-SE and by at least 1 km NE-SW. Mapping also defined a very strong surface pyrophyllite footprint of 1 km (NW-SE) by 0.5 km (NE-SW). Preliminary rock sampling returned high values of pathfinder trace elements typically associated with the lithocap alteration identified. Soil sampling conducted in 2024 also highlighted areas of anomalous trace elements indicative of a high sulphidation environment above or near a porphyry system. Further mapping, sampling and a drone based mag survey have recently been carried out. More geological fieldwork, mapping and sampling is necessary in order to better define this large alteration zone to help with future more focussed exploration. This follow up work is planned for 2025. J Duane Poliquin, Chairman of Almadex commented, We are pleased to report that continued work on the Confusion Hills project has outlined a drill target. Preliminary work at Red Ring needs follow-up to define the potential there. These two projects are part of our new US exploration portfolio we have recently put together through staking. These projects are the result of a large continental scale regional exploration program using our in-house conceptual models. We will continue to move these projects forward this year along with the others in our emerging portfolio and look forward to the day when we can initiate drilling. Qualified Persons Morgan J Poliquin, PhD, PEng, the President and CEO of Almadex and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical contents of this news release. The analyses reported were carried out at ALS Chemex Laboratories using industry standard analytical techniques. For gold, samples are first analysed by fire assay and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Samples that return values greater than 10 g/t gold using this technique are then re analysed by fire assay but with a gravimetric finish. About Almadex Almadex Minerals Ltd. is an exploration company that holds a large mineral portfolio consisting of projects and NSR royalties in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. This portfolio is the direct result of many years of prospecting and deal-making by Almadex's management team. The Company owns several portable diamond drill rigs, enabling it to conduct cost effective first pass exploration drilling in house. The Almadex team have significant porphyry lithocap exploration experience and have made three discoveries of mineral deposits under advanced argillic alteration. Our success comes from our audacity, in house exploration capacity and our ability to drill with our company owned drilling unit. We have assembled a portfolio of lithocap targets that have the potential to be concealing porphyry copper and gold systems at depth as well as high sulphidation epithermal gold-silver systems in the best jurisdiction we know: the United States of America. We have the cash and drills to advance and test these targets and will begin to do so in 2025. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Morgan J. Poliquin, Ph.D., P.Eng. President and CEO Almadex Minerals Ltd. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within it, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among other things, any further work to advance exploration targets at the Confusion Hills and Red Ring projects. 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 results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, permitting, continued availability of capital and financing, equipment availability and general economic, market or business conditions. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. There can be no assurances that forward-looking statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, other than as required pursuant to applicable securities laws. Contact Information: Almadex Minerals Ltd. Tel. 604.689.7644 Email: info@almadexminerals.com http://www.almadexminerals.com/ Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/606cd739-22f6-4bcd-88e7-03a1a7fbd42e https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1ba20463-abea-4a8c-a40f-5ad6a9e42b4b https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4a0c920c-766e-40ea-a236-99196dd8e7ff TYLER, Texas, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southside Bancshares, Inc. (Southside) (NYSE: SBSI), the holding company for Southside Bank, announced today it will release its first quarter financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Southside will host a conference call to discuss its results on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. CST. The call will be hosted by Lee R. Gibson, CEO, Keith Donahoe, President, Julie Shamburger, CFO, and Lindsey Bailes, VP, Investor Relations. Following prepared remarks there will be a question and answer session for the analyst community. The Conference Call Details The conference call can be accessed by webcast, for listen-only mode, here or on the company website, https://investors.southside.com , under Events. Those interested in participating in the question and answer session, or others who prefer to call-in, can register using this online form to receive the dial-in number and unique code to access the conference call seamlessly. While not required, it is recommended that those wishing to participate register 10 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure a more efficient registration process. For those unable to attend the live event, a webcast recording will be available here or on the company website, https://investors.southside.com , for at least 30 days, beginning approximately two hours following the conference call. About Southside Bancshares, Inc. Southside Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Tyler, Texas, with approximately $8.52 billion in assets as of December 31, 2024. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southside Bank, Southside currently operates 53 branches and a network of 72 ATMs/ITMs throughout East Texas, Southeast Texas and the greater Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and Houston areas. Serving customers since 1960, Southside Bank is a community-focused financial institution that offers a full range of financial products and services to individuals and businesses. These products and services include consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, deposit accounts, safe deposit boxes, treasury management, wealth management, trust services, brokerage services and an array of online and mobile services. To learn more about Southside Bancshares, Inc., please visit our investor relations website at https://investors.southside.com . Our investor relations site provides a detailed overview of our activities, financial information and historical stock price data. To receive e-mail notification of company news, events and stock activity, please register on the website under Resources and Investor Email Alerts. Questions or comments may be directed to Lindsey Bailes at 903-630-7965 or lindsey.bailes@southside.com . For further information: Lindsey Bailes 903-630-7965 Boston, Massachusetts, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HYCU, Inc., a leader for modern data protection for on-prem, cloud services, and SaaS, and one of the fastest growing companies in the industry, announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has included HYCU on its prestigious annual Storage 100 list in the Data Recovery, Observability and Resiliency category for the sixth consecutive year. HYCU was also recognized as one The 40 Coolest Data Recovery/Observability/Resiliency Vendors of the Storage 100. The CRN Storage 100 spotlights storage vendors advancing innovation, delivering cutting-edge technology, and supporting high-impact strategic partnerships. Selected by the CRN editorial team, each company on the list was chosen for its dedication to bringing best-in-class storage offerings to the channel. The Storage 100 list serves as a valuable resource for solution providers looking to optimize their portfolios with critical storage technology in areas such as software-defined storage, data protection, management and resilience, and storage hardware components. The award-winning HYCU R-Cloud Platform was developed and introduced as an integrated SaaS platform. It offers enterprise class automated backup, granular recovery, data migration, and disaster recovery across on-premises, multi and hybrid cloud platforms, cloud services, and SaaS applications for channel partners globally. HYCU R-Cloud is built on an agentless architecture and eliminates the need for additional hardware or software. HYCU R-Graph, a key component of HYCU R-Cloud, provides data estate discovery and visualization, supporting more than 90 data sources. From the HYCU Generative AI Initiative introduced in January 2023, HYCU seamlessly integrated generative AI technology, including Anthropics' AI assistant Claude with HYCU R-Cloud, users and partners can now create new, easy-to-use SaaS integrations. Our partners and their customers continue to face the challenge of having too much unprotected data and no clean, simple way to ensure cyber resilience. With the number of SaaS platforms in use growing, and the need to move data between clouds and from on-prem to clouds and back, there is little room for error whether its a simple human mistake or a malicious ransomware attack, said Simon Taylor, Founder and CEO, HYCU. We continue to drive innovation with our partners to deliver comprehensive data protection, recovery, and resilience that provides choice that is critical for customers. Thank you to the editors and The Channel Company team for recognizing HYCU for our significant contributions to the channel and partner communities. Were pleased to highlight the companies on the Storage 100 list for their commitment to working hand in hand with the channel to deliver transformational storage solutions, said Jennifer Follett, VP, U.S. Content and Executive Editor, CRN, at The Channel Company. These technology vendors consistently prioritize meaningful storage innovation and evolving partner strategies that advance success for all parts of the channel ecosystem. Coverage of the CRN Storage 100 list began on April 14, 2025 at www.crn.com/storage100. About HYCU HYCU is the fastest-growing leader in the multi-cloud and SaaS data protection as a service industry. By bringing true SaaS-based data backup and recovery to on-premises, cloud-native, and SaaS IT environments, the company provides unrivaled data protection, migration, disaster recovery, and ransomware protection to thousands of companies worldwide. The company's award-winning R-Cloud platform eliminates complexity, risk, and the high cost of legacy-based solutions, providing data protection simplicity to make it the#1 SaaS Data Protection platform. With an industry leading NPS score of 91, HYCU has raised $140M in VC funding to date and is based in Boston, Mass. Learn more at www.hycu.com. About The Channel Company The Channel Company (TCC) is the global leader in channel growth for the worlds top technology brands. We accelerate success across strategic channels for tech vendors, solution providers, and end users with premier media brands, integrated marketing and event services, strategic consulting, and exclusive market and audience insights. TCC is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. For more information, visit thechannelco.com. Follow The Channel Company: LinkedIn , X, and Facebook. 2025 The Channel Company, Inc. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Attachment WASHINGTON, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Solidarity Center, Global March Against Child Labour, and the American Institutes for Research (AIR), represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, filed a lawsuit today challenging the U.S. Department of Labors unlawful termination of congressionally authorized international labor rights programs. The lawsuit challenges the Departments halt on funding for programs administered by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). These longstanding, bipartisan programs are the backbone of U.S. efforts to uphold labor standards in global trade, combat child and forced labor and protect American and global workers and businesses from unfair competition. Programs like those run by our clients, which promote stronger labor standards and better working conditions worldwide, are both critical from a human rights standpoint and necessary to ensure that American companies and workers, as well as workers around the world, arent undercut in the global marketplace, said Stephanie Garlock, lead counsel at Public Citizen. Congress required the Department of Labor to fund these crucial programs. The Secretary of Labor has no authority to refuse to do so. The plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent further harm and restore funding lawfully appropriated by Congress. The Solidarity Center, a U.S.-based nonprofit labor organization, had support for all 11 of its ILAB-funded projects terminated totaling nearly $80 million. These programs, implemented in more than 15 countries, have supported workers organizing for better wages, enforcing safety standards and holding trade partners accountable under agreements like the United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA). The termination of Global March Against Child Labour's single largest grant will impact around 40,000-50,000 children in Uganda, Peru and Nepal as its implementing partners' program developing child-labor-free municipalities cooperating with national governments has halted. The result will be tens of thousands of children out of school and a stoppage of preventive community work within supply chains like coffee production even though these supply chains are crucial for U.S. companies' imports. This case is about more than funding its about protecting workers and enforcing the law, said Shawna Bader-Blau, Executive Director of the Solidarity Center. When governments or companies exploit workers to cut costs, it drags down wages and standards everywhere including in the U.S. These programs are vital to ensuring fair trade and dignity on the job, from Honduras to Ohio. Cutting ILAB programs dismantles one of the main tools we have to fight worker exploitation in the global economy, Bader-Blau added. From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, most of what we buy is produced across complex supply chains that stretch around the world. ILAB programs help make sure those workers arent being abused and that businesses that dont play by the rules dont get an advantage by exploiting workers overseas. We owe it to workers in America and around the world, to responsible businesses and to our trade partners to do better. Media Contacts: Solidarity Center: media@solidaritycenter.org or Emily Leach, Public Citizen: eleach@citizen.org About the Solidarity Center The Solidarity Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works with unions and worker organizations around the world to promote and protect labor rights. It supports frontline efforts to improve wages, working conditions and workplace safety, combat exploitation and advance the rule of law in the global economy. Learn more: www.solidaritycenter.org/stopping-the-race-to-the-bottom/ About Public Citizen Litigation Group Photo Courtesy of: Salaam Cola ISTANBUL, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On an overcast afternoon in Turkey, the scent of cola syrup lingers faintly in the air outside a modest bottling plant. It sits unassuming, nestled between rows of small businesses in a redeveloped industrial park. Yet behind those factory doors, something quietly radical takes place. Salaam Cola , a halal-certified soft drink launched less than two years ago, bottles more than soda. It engineers a counter-narrative to a century-old industry. Aykiz Shah, a 27-year-old soft-spoken yet steely entrepreneur, leads the company and redefines what a global brand can look like when profit shares the stage with purpose. Frustration birthed Salaam Cola. Defiance formed it. Faith fuels it. The company has upended expectations in more ways than one. Sellers now distribute it in over 14 countries with aggressive expansion plans underway. It has become a symbol for consumers seeking more than fizz from their refreshments. Yet amid this momentum, the company continues to wrestle with questions about scale, sustainability, and how far a mission-driven brand can stretch without compromising its core. A Market Ready for Disruption Legacy players have long controlled the global soft drinks market, which has now entered a new phase. According to Statista, the worldwide market will reach $1.49 trillion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.7 percent forecast through 2030. The soft drinks sector will generate $2.61 billion in 2025 alone in Ireland, where Salaam Cola maintains its headquarters. Out-of-home consumption will contribute $1.48 billion of that total. These numbers underscore the size of the opportunity and the challenge of entering a space multinational incumbents still tightly hold. Shifting consumer priorities are changing the industry. Functional beverages, ethically produced goods, and culturally inclusive brands are gaining momentum. Salaam Cola aligns its strategy with these values. The company pledges 10 percent of its profits to communities affected by war and poverty. This commitment remains consistent across all markets. Current efforts include funding a school in Egypt for displaced Palestinian children, providing medical care to more than 10,000 refugees, and delivering essential food and water in Gaza, Syria, and Yemen. Unlike competitors that embed philanthropy behind complex branding campaigns, Salaam Cola places its mission front and center. Shah explains their approach. "I decided early on. I will lead my brand with our ethics, and giving back is in our DNA. We choose transparency. Turns out, that is what people waited for." The Woman Behind the Movement Resistance and resolve root Aykiz Shah's path to entrepreneurship . As a veiled Muslim woman in an industry men still dominate, she chose to build a company that reflects her values and addresses the needs of underrepresented communities. Born in the UK to immigrant parents, she founded Salaam Beverages Co. Limited in 2023 without outside investment or industry backing. Her work ethic now forms part of the company's story. Shah, with a background in the soft drinks industry, Launched Salaam Cola, Starting from a small kitchen worktop with just a laptop, Shah's determination has led to remarkable growth, including an international expansion of Salaam Cola within this short time frame. This journey highlights how passion and hard work can transform a simple idea into a thriving brand; the first 6 months Shah drove the delivery trucks and operated forklifts, often working 19-hour days to run the business. "There was not a roadmap," she says. "Just a clear sense that something needed to change in this space." That change began modestly. Community centers, local shops, and informal feedback loops in Muslim-majority neighborhoods facilitated early market testing. When the feedback proved overwhelmingly positive, praising both the flavor and the brand's mission, Shah pushed forward. She scaled up at a pace many advised against. Today, distributors sell Salaam Cola in 14 countries, including Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States. The company has also secured shelf space in major halal grocery chains and makes inroads into more mainstream outlets. The founder's visibility has not come without friction, however. "They asked me once if I would remove my niqab for a brand campaign," Shah recalls. "I told them I would consider removing them from my vendor list instead." Growing Demand and Rising Tensions Scrutiny grows as the company expands. With increased market visibility, Salaam Cola has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over brand activism. Supporters hail it as a case study in ethical capitalism. Detractors accuse it of politicizing consumer goods. Some fringe voices have gone further, spinning conspiracy theories about the company's real intentions. Shah meets such criticism with composure and wit. "Terrorists? No. The only thing we blow up is sales," she said in a recent interview. "If feeding starving kids qualifies as radical, then fine. Call it a revolution." Nevertheless, the company's growth presents real success. Salaam Cola plans to expand into ten more countries by early 2026. The company builds regional production hubs in North America and Southeast Asia. These facilities will create over 2,000 jobs, with roles spanning manufacturing, logistics, marketing, and operations. Despite this growth, Salaam Cola maintains its requirement that all international partners contribute 10 percent of their local sales to regional charities. "We do not just export cola," Shah explains. "We export a framework for responsible enterprise." Salaam Cola is emerging as a strong competitor in the beverage market, gaining the trust of consumers who are increasingly choosing it as their go-to brand. This shift in preference has prompted Coca-Cola sales agents to reach out to distributors to understand the decline in their sales. Distributors have noted that Salaam Cola has successfully captured their shelf space, reflecting its growing popularity among consumers. Corporate Cola Wars Are Brewing. We didnt come to play. We came to disrupt, Shah states. If our success makes people uncomfortable, good. It means were doing something right. A Reflection and a Recommitment The rise of Salaam Cola signals a possible shift in how people evaluate soft drinks and perhaps consumer brands more broadly as the global beverage market continues to change. In an industry defined by flavor, pricing, and advertising muscle, Shah bets that transparency, ethics, and shared impact can drive loyalty and longevity. She focuses on scale without dilution from her modest Dublin headquarters. "We share photos. We share receipts. We share proof," she says. "You cannot build trust behind closed doors." Shah has ambitious plans for the future. She envisions new products, new markets, new partnerships. However, the foundation remains unchanged. "We started with cola," she says. "But we build something bigger. It is not just a brand. It serves as proof that doing the right thing can work at scale." In a world where branding often obscures meaning, Salaam Cola offers something rare. It provides clarity. Contact Information: Contact Person's Name: Aykiz Shah, Founder and CEO Organization / Company:Salaam Beverages Co Limited Company website: www.salaamcola.com Contact Email Address: distribution@salaamcola.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/74a6d11b-0096-4a8c-a4f8-11a64356768d HOUSTON, Texas Thinh Pham, a senior at George Bush High School in Fort Bend ISD, has achieved what many students only dream of: acceptance into all eight Ivy League universities. Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Penn, and Yale all opened their doors to the standout scholar. But in a bold move that surprised many, Pham turned down every one of them, opting instead for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a decision that reflects his unique vision for the future. "I was shocked, honestly," Pham told ABC13 Houston, recalling the moment he received his final Ivy League acceptance. "Getting into one would've been amazing, but all eight? It felt unreal." Alongside the Ivy League sweep, Pham was accepted to other top-tier schools, including Stanford and Rice, amassing an astonishing $2.8 million in scholarship offers. Yet, his choice of MIT wasn't driven by prestige alone but by a clear sense of purpose. Pham's journey to this point is a testament to grit and focus. As the son of Vietnamese immigrants, he grew up balancing academic rigor with a deep curiosity for science and technology. At George Bush High School, he excelled as a leadercaptaining the robotics team, mentoring peers, and maintaining a near-perfect GPA. Teachers describe him as relentlessly curious, often staying late to tinker with code or debate solutions to complex problems. "Thinh doesn't just learnhe questions everything," said his physics teacher in a statement to WWNY-TV. The Ivy League acceptances were a milestone, but Pham's heart was set elsewhere. "MIT felt like the right fit," he explained to ABC13. "Their hands-on approach, the focus on innovationit's where I see myself making a difference." Pham plans to study computer science, with an eye toward developing AI solutions for healthcare. His decision reflects a growing trend among high-achieving students who prioritize alignment with their goals over brand-name prestige, a shift echoed in stories like that of Ronald Nelson, who in 2015 declined all eight Ivies for a full-ride at the University of Alabama to avoid debt. For Pham, the choice wasn't without pressure. "Everyone has an opinion," he admitted, grinning. "Friends, familythey all had their favorite Ivy." Social media buzzed with reactions, with posts on X celebrating his feat: "This kid got into ALL the Ivies and said, 'Nah, MIT's my vibe.' Legend," one user wrote. Another posted, "Thinh Pham's out here redefining success. Respect." Yet, Pham remains grounded, crediting his parents' sacrifices and his community's support for his achievements. Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Dr. Christie Whitbeck praised Pham's accomplishment in a district statement, noting, "Thinh's story inspires us all. His decision to follow his passion over prestige is a powerful example for our students." The district plans to honor Pham at an upcoming board meeting, recognizing not just his academic prowess but his courage to chart his own path. As Pham prepares for MIT, he's already looking ahead. "I want to solve problems that matter," he told WWNY-TV. "Whether it's helping doctors diagnose diseases faster or making tech more accessible, I want my work to mean something." For a teenager who could've gone anywhere, Pham's clarity is strikinga reminder that success isn't about collecting acceptances but choosing the path that feels like home. Carlsbad, CA, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carlsbad, CA April 15, 2025 Deal Box, a leading digital securities investment platform, and OroBit, an innovative Bitcoin Layer-2 entity, today announced a strategic initiative aimed at the rapidly growing $30 trillion market for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and private equity. Leveraging Bitcoins unmatched security, reliability, and decentralization, the partnership provides institutional investors and asset managers with a secure and robust solution for digital asset ownership and management. As institutions increasingly digitize high-value assets such as fine art, gold reserves, and private equity stakes, the choice of blockchain infrastructure becomes critical. Bitcoin, with over 15 years of continuous uptime (99.99%), no successful protocol-level hacks, and resistance to censorship and shutdown, offers unmatched stability for assets demanding absolute security and longevity. Expanding Bitcoins Capabilities with OroBits Layer-2 Innovation OroBits Layer-2 technology enables Bitcoin to securely support sophisticated financial transactions traditionally reserved for newer blockchains. OroBit combines off-chain computations and its proprietary Simple Contract Language (SCL) with Bitcoins secure Unspent Transaction Output (UTXO) model, directly anchoring crucial data to Bitcoins blockchain. This ensures institutional-grade security, stability, and transaction efficiency without relying on external tokens or validators. Thomas Carter, founder of Deal Box, emphasized the partnerships strategic rationale: "Bitcoin is uniquely positioned to become the safest possible infrastructure for tokenizing and managing highly valuable real-world assets. Our collaboration with OroBit makes Bitcoins reliability accessible to institutional investors and asset managers who require long-term assurance that their digital assets are secure and immutable." Real-World Asset Tokenization: Fine Art and Commodities Deal Box and OroBit were recently selected to tokenize fractional ownership of an authentic Andy Warhol artwork. Each fractional stake is permanently recorded on Bitcoins immutable ledger, democratizing access to fine art previously limited to ultra-high-net-worth collectors. Securing Private Equity with Bitcoins Blockchain Leveraging Deal Boxs rigorous compliance framework, OroBits Bitcoin-based technology brings institutional-grade private equity onto the security and permanence of the Bitcoin blockchain. This ensures that investors' private equity assets benefit from Bitcoins unmatched stability, security, and resilience over the long term. Accredited investors can now confidently access high-quality private market opportunities, knowing their digital ownership is safeguarded by the most secure and reliable blockchain infrastructure available. Bitcoins Proven Institutional Appeal Bitcoins unmatched resilience was best demonstrated following Chinas 2021 mining ban, where Bitcoin quickly rebounded from a significant drop in mining power. Major institutions, including Fidelity Investments, acknowledge Bitcoins strategic role, recently endorsing Bitcoins Lightning Network as "the most efficient way to transact in the digital asset ecosystem." This growing institutional confidence validates Bitcoinand OroBits strategic use of its infrastructureas an ideal foundation for tokenizing and safeguarding valuable long-term assets. A New Era in Asset Management "Institutions holding priceless artworks, precious metals, and private securities cannot risk relying on unstable or centralized blockchains," said Carter. "Bitcoins unmatched uptime and proven security, combined with OroBits advanced capabilities, deliver exactly the infrastructure required to support asset management at an institutional scale." Media Contact: Deal Box: PR@DealBox.io OroBit: PR@orobit.ai About Deal Box Deal Box is venture capital that fits your life. By merging institutional-grade diligence with flexible investment options, Deal Box empowers accredited investors to craft portfolios that align with their financial ambitions. For more information, visit https://www.dealbox.io/ About OroBit OroBit delivers secure, scalable Bitcoin Layer-2 solutions, enabling sophisticated smart-contract capabilities specifically tailored to institutional and private market asset tokenization. Warren, New Jersey, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K9 Experts LLC, a premier dog daycare, boarding, and training facility, proudly celebrates its 16th anniversary of providing top-tier canine care. Founded by Jose Menendez, an immigrant entrepreneur with an immense love for dogs, the company has grown from a small dog-walking service into a full-fledged pet care business serving hundreds of clients across New Jersey. Dogs of K9 Experts LLC. Since its establishment in 2009, K9 Experts has earned a reputation for creating a safe, clean, and stimulating environment for dogs. It offers daycare services, overnight boarding, and professional training programs. Distinguishing itself from traditional boarding facilities, it remains kennel-free, ensuring all furry companions enjoy a comfortable, home-like atmosphere. K9 Experts training programs are highly personalized, offering one-on-one sessions, daycare-and-train packages, and board-and-train programs that cater to dogs of all temperaments and skill levels. The company also benefits those seeking convenient door-to-door pet transportation. The majority of its clients rely on K9 Experts to pick up and return their pets. Through real-time notifications via text or their mobile app, owners are informed every step of the way. The New Jersey-based companys story is intertwined with its founders journey. Menendez didnt have specific plans for his future upon arriving in the United States from his home country. A chance visit to a dog daycare changed everything. He managed to get hired on the spot despite his limited English skills and found himself learning more about the business and the industry. Menendez expanded his services in the following years, eventually acquiring a daycare facility and building a loyal client base. After undergoing multiple hardships, from his spouses passing to navigating debt, the entrepreneur persevered and started fresh with a new location and a renewed vision. When I first walked into a dog daycare decades ago, I never imagined it would lead to this. Every challenge along the way has been an opportunity to grow, and the trust our clients place in us keeps pushing us forward. Were happy to make a difference in the lives of dogs and their families, says Menendez. Client experiences attest to K9 Experts impact. A long-time customer, whose two Australian Shepherds have been part of the K9 Experts family for a decade, shares: Weve trusted Jose and his team for over 10 years, from walking our first Aussie, Gracie, to now providing daycare and boarding for our energetic pup, Maui. Knowing our dogs are in safe hands, coming home happy and well-exercised, gives us peace of mind every time. Testimonials like this illustrate why the company has thrived for over 15 years. K9 Experts shares exciting expansion plans. It intends to build a state-of-the-art canine enrichment center featuring swimming pools, agility courses, and interactive play areas. Menendez looks forward to opening multiple locations in the future, each operated by trusted, highly trained staff. Following its 16th anniversary, K9 Experts invites new clients to experience its exceptional services firsthand. Prospective customers can schedule a meet-and-greet or book a trial session through its mobile app. Media Contact Name: Jose Menendez Email: jmenendez@k9experts.com https://apps.apple.com/us/app/k9-experts/id6444244103 CALGARY, Alberta, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TSX:SHLE FIRST QUARTER RESULTS RELEASE AND CONFERENCE CALL Source is pleased to announce that its first quarter financial results for the period ending March 31, 2025, will be released following the Toronto Stock Exchange market close on Thursday, May 8, 2025. A conference call has been scheduled for 7:30 am (Calgary time) on Friday, May 9, 2025. Interested analysts, investors and media representatives are invited to register to participate in the call. Once you are registered, a dial-in number and passcode will be provided to you via email. The link to register for the call is on the Upcoming Events page of our website and as follows: Click Below to Register for the Results Conference Call: Source Energy Services Q125 Results Call Results Conference Call Playback Access: The call will be recorded and available for playback approximately 2 hours after the meeting end time, until June 9, 2025. Below are the details to access the call playback: Toll-Free Playback Number: 1-855-669-9658 (toll-free in Canada/US) 1-412-317-0088 (international, long distance charges may apply) Replay Access Code: 3122177 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Source also wishes to announce that its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the AGM) will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (Calgary time) in a virtual, audio only, webcast format. Shareholder engagement is extremely important to Source and all shareholders will have equal opportunity to ask questions. Below are the details to attend the virtual-only AGM: URL: https://web.lumiagm.com/221536615 Meeting ID: 221-536-615 Password: source2025 If you experience technical or logistical issues related to accessing the virtual meeting, technical support is available: 1-888-290-1175 (toll-free in Canada and the United States) 1-587-885-0960 (long distance charges may apply) support-us@lumiglobal.com helpdesk.us@lumiglobal.com ABOUT SOURCE ENERGY SERVICES Source Energy Services is a company that focuses on the integrated production and distribution of frac sand, as well as the distribution of other bulk completion materials not produced by Source. Source provides its customers with an end-to-end solution for frac sand supported by its Wisconsin and Peace River mines and processing facilities, its Western Canadian terminal network and its last mile logistics capabilities, including its trucking operations, and Sahara, a proprietary well site mobile sand storage and handling system. Sources full-service approach allows customers to rely on its logistics platform to increase reliability of supply and to ensure the timely delivery of frac sand and other bulk completion materials at the well site. For more information about Source, please visit www.sourceenergyservices.com. Fort Lauderdale, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fort Lauderdale, Florida - FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA Blue Interactive Agency, a leading digital marketing company in Fort Lauderdale specializing in assisted living growth strategies, is proud to announce it has been accepted as the newest member of the Florida Assisted Living Association (FALA). As Florida's oldest and largest state association, FALA advocates for nearly 500 assisted living facilities, adult family care centers, and almost 300 associate members who provide products and services to the assisted living industry. "We're incredibly excited to join FALA and support its mission of advancing excellence in senior care through our digital marketing solutions," Peter Brooke said, CEO of Blue Interactive Agency. "The assisted living industry faces unique marketing challenges, and we look forward to helping these essential care providers enhance their online presence and connect with families seeking quality care options for their loved ones." By providing advocacy, education, and regulatory support for the assisted living industry, FALA aims to support state legislation that is beneficial to senior living facilities. This process includes securing increased funding, changing government relations, and providing instructional resources to enhance assisted living facilities and their partners. Blue Interactive Agency's membership further demonstrates FALA's ongoing commitment to providing its members with resources that enhance operations and community outreach. Blue Interactive Agency will provide members of FALA access to specialized digital marketing services for assisted living centers, including website development, search engine optimization (SEO), social media management, content marketing, and targeted digital advertising campaigns tailored to the unique needs of assisted living providers. These vital services help senior centers target potential clients in the digital space to ensure the facility can meet capacity demands. This strategic partnership comes at a critical time when senior living communities are navigating post-pandemic challenges and increasing market competition. With Florida's senior population expected to grow by over 30% in the next decade, assisted living facilities must strengthen their digital footprint to remain competitive and accessible to families seeking quality care options. The senior living industry faces unprecedented demographic shifts as record numbers of Baby Boomers enter retirement age. This dramatic population change creates opportunities and challenges for assisted living facilities throughout Florida. Digital marketing strategies have become essential tools for communicating value propositions, showcasing amenities, and highlighting specialized care services to prospective residents and their families. Blue Interactive Agency brings specialized expertise in creating accessible websites optimized for seniors and their adult children, developing targeted social media campaigns that resonate with multiple generations, and implementing data-driven marketing strategies that track engagement across the decision-making journey. The firm also specializes in reputation management, a critical component for assisted living facilities in today's review-driven marketplace. Through hosting individual consultations, Blue Interactive Agency plans to help FALA members develop comprehensive assisted living digital marketing strategies that address the unique considerations of senior living communities, including privacy concerns, sensitivity around care discussions, healthcare marketing compliance, and authentic representation of facility amenities and services. By becoming a member of FALA, Blue Interactive Agency aims to provide critical marketing services for assisted living facilities needing to enhance their online presence. Blue Interactive Agency's membership further demonstrates FALA's ongoing commitment to providing its members with resources that improve operations and community outreach. As a full-service digital marketing firm, Blue Interactive Agency offers modern online marketing solutions for businesses across various industries, including assisted living, law, behavioral health, luxury marinas, and more. Visit their website for more information about Blue Interactive Agency's online marketing services for senior living centers. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/upmfN7IPkr4 ### For more information about Blue Interactive Agency, contact the company here: Blue Interactive Agency Peter Brooke (954) 779-2801 sales@speaktoblue.com 3323 W Commercial Blvd Suite 260, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 MONTREAL, April 14, 2025 - Auxico Resources Canada Inc. (CSE: AUAG) ("Auxico" or the "Company") announces that the Company will host a management update call on Thursday April 17, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The call will be accessible via the Zoom platform, by video conference and by telephone, and participants should use the following information to join the call: Please click the link below to join the video call: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86453300862 Or join via telephone: United States: +1 646 931 3860 Canada: +1 647 374 4685 United Kingdom: +44 330 088 5830 Webinar ID: 864 5330 0862 More international numbers are available on the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/keDxuREffH About Auxico Resources Canada Inc. Auxico is a Canadian company that was founded in 2014 and based in Montreal, trading on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE) under symbol AUAG. Auxico is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Colombia and Bolivia. Additional information on Auxico can be found on the Company's website (www.auxicoresources.com) or on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under "Auxico Resources Canada Inc." The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-statements." Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include information relating to the planned studies, drill program and the development of the Minastyc, El Bento/Monte Verde or other Projects, its sampling programs, indications and other mining projects and prospects thereof, related to the Company's operations in Colombia and/or Bolivia. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various risk factors. These factors include, among others, uncertainties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors, and their potential effects, which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca). Except as required by securities law, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise. SOURCE Auxico Resources Canada Inc. Azincourt Energy Corp. (TSXV: AAZ) (OTCQB: AZURF) ("Azincourt" or the "Company"), applauds the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's recent approval of Ontario Power Generation's ("OPG") plans to build Canada's first small modular reactor ("SMR") at the site of the Darlington Nuclear Generation Station in Clarington, Ontario. The approval grants OPG a license to construct a BWRX-300 Small Modular Reactor at the site, which would serve as a model for future reactor builds within Ontario and across Canada. It would also be the first SMR built in any G7 country. OPG's full plan includes the construction of up to four of the 327-megawatt SMRs at the Darlington site, which would reliably generate enough zero-emissions electricity to power around 900,000 homes1. "The approval of the SMR project in Ontario is a milestone not just for Canadian energy security, but also highlights the urgency for governments worldwide to find sustainable energy solutions that can replace fossil fuels while also meeting rapidly rising electricity demands," said Alex Klenman, CEO of Azincourt Energy. "The nuclear energy industry is experiencing a major revival as nations seek to meet their net-zero emissions goals by 2050 while grappling with rising energy demands. As a Canadian uranium exploration company with two advanced Canada-based projects underway, we are acutely aware of the role that uranium and nuclear energy will play as the world's clean energy needs continue to expand." "We are also pleased to see that Canadian legislators are supportive of finding new domestic sources of uranium, as exemplified by the province of Nova Scotia's recent move to lift its moratorium to ban uranium exploration and mining, which has been in place for 45 years2. Tariffs aside, if Canada continues to find new domestic uranium sources that can be mined safely and with the consideration and support of local communities and First Nations, it has a real chance to be a responsible and ethical world leader in nuclear energy innovation." According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), factors such as urbanization, increasing global standards of living, the expansion of data centres and the adoption of AI mean that global electricity consumption is expected to rise 4% annually to 2027, the fastest rate in recent years3. While renewable energy sources such as wind and solar will increasingly contribute to the energy mix, they will not be sufficient to support our rising energy needs. It's for these reasons that 31 countries, including Canada and the US, have now joined the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy capacity by 2050 introduced at COP28 in 20234. SMRs will play a key role in the global nuclear energy revival. A relatively new technology, SMRs can reliably and consistently produce zero-carbon energy while offering improved safety features and a reduced environmental footprint compared to large-scale nuclear reactors. According to a recent report by RBC, Canada will need to build a projected 85 SMRs to reach its net-zero emissions target by 20505. In August 2023, Canada also approved up to CAD$74 million in federal funding for SMR development in Saskatchewan, with potential deployment of a first plant in the mid-2030s6. Canada, the world's second largest producer of uranium, has an extensive history of nuclear research, technology and deployment behind it. In March 2025 the Canadian government announced it would provide up to $304 million in funding to assist in modernising the Canadian-designed and built CANDU reactor7, which was first commissioned in the 1960s and has been deployed at numerous nuclear power facilities domestically and internationally. Unlike other nuclear technologies, CANDU reactors are fueled by natural uranium mined in Saskatchewan, eliminating the need for enrichment and enabling energy security and independence. About Azincourt Energy Corp. Azincourt is currently conducting an inaugural exploration program at its recently acquired Snegamook uranium deposit in Eastern Canada's Central Mineral Belt, an advanced project which contains known multiple lenses of uranium mineralization over a 300-metre strike length and to a vertical depth of 200 metres, with grades ranging from 225 to 771 ppm U3O8. Some zones contain higher-grade uranium concentrations (e.g., 0.11% U3O8 over 3m). The project's geology suggests open-pit mining potential, a key advantage as uranium prices continue to rise. The Company is also advancing exploration at its 87% owned, 20,674-hectare East Preston Project, one of the largest land packages in the Paterson Lake region of the Athabasca Basin, home to some of the world's largest high-grade uranium deposits. The project is strategically positioned near high-grade discoveries including NexGen Energy's Arrow Deposit, Paladin's Triple R Deposit and Cameco's Spitfire Joint Venture. Since 2018, Azincourt has invested over $10 million in exploration at East Preston, leading to the discovery of multiple potentially uranium-bearing structures. To learn more please visit: www.azincourtenergy.com Sources: 1.) https://www.canada.ca/en/natural-resources-canada/news/2025/03/canada-invests-in-the-next-generation-of-canadian-made-clean-affordable-nuclear-energy0.html 2.) https://www.mining.com/nova-scotia-mining-association-applauds-passage-of-bill-that-could-end-uranium-ban/ 3.) https://www.iea.org/news/growth-in-global-electricity-demand-is-set-to-accelerate-in-the-coming-years-as-power-hungry-sectors-expand 4.) https://netzeronuclear.org/news/six-more-countries-endorse-the-declaration-to-triple-nuclear-energy-by-2050-at-cop29 5.) https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/think-small-how-canada-can-make-small-modular-nuclear-reactors-a-priority/ 6.) https://www.canada.ca/en/natural-resources-canada/news/2023/08/government-of-canada-announces-federal-support-for-small-modular-reactor-smr-development-in-saskatchewan.html 7.) https://www.foronuclear.org/en/updates/news/canadian-nuclear-investment/#:~:text=The%20Government%20of%20Canada%20will,and%20use%20uranium%20from%20Saskatchewan. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF AZINCOURT ENERGY CORP. "Alex Klenman" Alex Klenman, President & CEO Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political, and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules, and regulations. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. (the "Company") (CSE:GCC) (OTC:GCCFF) (WKN:A402CQ) (FSE:3TZ) announces that the current drill hole QGQ24-21 on the Halo zone at the Quesnelle Gold Quartz property ("the Project"), intersected a zone of strong persistent gold mineralization including multiple occurrences of visible gold ("VG") starting from 257 m (843.2 ft) downhole. This makes the current drillhole the ninth consecutive hole with visible gold since the initial discovery of the Halo zone in July, 2024 (July 18, 2024 News Release). Similar to mineralization intersected in previous drilling at Halo zone, the visible gold was found in a stockwork of quartz-carbonate-pyrite veins hosted in an intensely sericite and iron-carbonate altered greenstone package of intermediate to mafic volcanics (see pictures at https://goldencariboo.com/latest-news). QGQ24-21 drilled 257 m (843.2 ft) of carbonaceous argillites in the hanging wall before intersecting the greenstones. The mineralization, similar to that in the previous drill hole QGQ24-20, lies in close spatial relation with shear zones at the contact (February 25, 2025 News Release). Drill hole QGQ24-21 was set up at an azimuth of 355 and inclination of -45 to intersect veins of several different directions and lithological contacts at favourable angles. It was started in December 2024 and now continues in April 2025, currently underway at 285.3 m (936 ft) without intersecting the lower boundary of the mineralized zone. Golden Cariboo's President and CEO, Frank Callaghan, stated, "Building on the success of last year's exceptional discovery at our Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property, the whole crew couldn't wait to resume drilling in 2025. To kick off with yet another strike of visible gold is nothing short of thrilling. It's the perfect start into what we believe will be a standout season. We are looking forward to more fantastic intercepts as we keep expanding our Halo Zone discovery along strike and towards depth." Click Image To View Full Size Photos 1 & 2: Example of visible gold bearing quartz-carbonate vein in drill hole QGQ24-21 at 266.3 m (873.7 ft) depth Click Image To View Full Size Photo 3: Section of drill hole QGQ24-21 showing intense stockwork of gold bearing quartz-carbonate veins within altered greenstones at 261.72 - 268.05 m (858.7 - 879.4 ft). VG is shown, but not limited to the area of the red box, which marks the location of Photos 1 & 2. The technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Jean Pautler, P.Geo., a qualified person with respect to NI 43-101. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 1: Current status of drilling at Halo zone Click Image To View Full Size Figure 2: Location of the Halo Zone Discovery and nearby infrastructure About Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. is rediscovering the Cariboo Gold Rush by proceeding with highly targeted drilling and trenching programs on its Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property, which is bordered by Osisko Development Corp. (NSE:ODV/TSXV:ODV) and partly intertwined at the north end of the Cariboo Gold Project, and located along a favorable corridor adjacent to the Spanish and Eureka thrust faults over a 94,889 hectare (234,501 acre) area. Historically, over 101 placer gold creeks on the 90 km (56 mile) trend from the Cariboo Hudson mine north to the Project have recorded production and successful placer mining continues to this day. Golden Cariboo's Project is 4 km (2.5 miles) northeast of, and road accessible from, Hixon in central British Columbia. It includes the Quesnelle Quartz gold-silver deposit, which was discovered in 1865 in conjunction with placer mining activities. Hixon Creek, which dissects the old workings, is a placer creek which has seen small-scale placer production since the mid 1860s. For further information please contact: GOLDEN CARIBOO RESOURCES LTD "J. Frank Callaghan" J. Frank Callaghan, President & CEO Tel: 604-669-6463 VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS www.goldencariboo.com LIKE AND FOLLOW Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn Neither the "CSE" Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statements: This news release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and plans of the Company. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding; the expectation that the Company will receive all necessary exemptions and approvals to complete the Offering; the expectation that the Company will complete the Offering on the terms disclosed, or at all; the expectation that the proceeds will be used for property exploration and for general working capital; the Company's exploration plans with respect to its Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property; and the anticipated participation of the insider in the Offering. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions of management, including, without limitation, that the Company will receive all necessary exemptions and approvals to complete the Offering; that the Company will complete the Offering on the terms disclosed, or at all; that the proceeds will be used for property exploration and for general working capital; that the Company will have the resources required to proceed with its exploration plans; that the Company will not run into regulatory or other barriers in carrying out its business plans; that the insider will participate in the Offering, on the terms and conditions and in the amount currently expected by management; and that the Company will be able to rely on the exemption from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements on the basis anticipated. Additionally, forward-looking information involve 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 statements. Such risks include, without limitation: that the Company will not receive the necessary exemptions and approvals to complete the Offering; that the Company will not complete the Offering on the terms disclosed, or at all; that the Company will be unable to use the proceeds for property exploration and for general working capital; that the Company may incur unanticipated costs; that the Company may not have the resources required to pursue its exploration plans; that the Company's operations could be adversely affected by possible future government legislation policies and controls or by changes in applicable laws and regulations; that the insider may not participate in the Offering on the terms and conditions and in the amount currently expected by management, or at all; and that the Company may not be able to rely on the exemption from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements on the basis currently expected. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, sufficiency or completeness of the information in this news release. Neither the Company nor any of its representatives shall have any liability whatsoever, under contract, tort, trust or otherwise, to you or any person resulting from the use of the information in this news release by you or any of your representatives or for omissions from the information in this news release. The forward-looking statements herein speak only as of the date they were originally made. The Company has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. VANCOUVER - Giant Mining Corp. (CSE: BFG | OTC: BFGFF | FWB: YW5) ("Giant Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that key members of Giant's executive team visited the ongoing drill program at Majuba Hill Porphyry Copper-silver-Gold Deposit ("Majuba Hill") located in Pershing County, Nevada. During the site visit, drilling surpassed 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) at Hole MHB-34 ("MHB-34"). MHB-34 is the third of five holes of the 2025 diamond core drilling program (the "Core Program"), currently underway. Click Image To View Full Size As previously stated, the primary objective of the Core Program is to expand the known zones of copper mineralization at Majuba Hill and advance the project toward a new Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE"). David Greenway, CEO of Giant Mining, commented: "The Company has now collectively drilled over 2,500 feet of development drilling in 2025 to adding to the drill database of over 80,000 feet of past drilling and over 100 historical holes of development and deposit understanding at Majuba Hill. This is another step toward advancing Majuba Hill toward our ultimate goal of a new NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate. The scale and potential of this system continue to impress and the entire team at Giant Mining has never had more conviction in advancing Majuba Hill toward its true potential." Big Sky Exploration, LLC ("Big Sky") of Eureka, Nevada, successfully completed drilling of Hole MHB-33 and mobilized the drill rig to a new pad where Hole MHB-34 has commenced drilling. MHB-33 was quick-logged and tagged for sampling on-site by Giant Mining geologists (Figure 2), as part of the Company's efforts to efficiently advance the 2025 Core Program at Majuba Hill. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 2: Azurite, malachite, chalcocite in core from MHB-32: 527 to 537 ft (160.6-163.6 m) Click Image To View Full Size Figure 3: MHB-32 Prepped to Haul to Elko, Nevada Secured Facility The core samples from MHB-32 and MHB-33 have been securely transported to Giant Mining's secured warehouse facility in Elko, Nevada. At this location, the cores are being sawn in half and sampled. Following this, the processed samples will be sent to ALS Group USA, Corp. ("ALS Labs") in Elko, Nevada. At ALS Labs, the samples will undergo analyses, including assays for copper, silver, gold, and other trace elements, to accurately assess the mineral content and support ongoing exploration efforts at Majuba Hill.? As previously reported in the March 17, 2025 news release, the 2025 Core Program has been designed to follow up on high-grade copper mineralization intersected in breccias from the 2024 core holes MHB-30 ("MHB-30") and MHB-31 ("MHB-31") and extend the high-grade copper zones below the historic underground workings (Figure 3). Figure 4: Majuba Hill 2025 Actual and Proposed Drill Hole Locations The Company will provide regular updates as the drill program progresses, including assay results, geological observations, and any significant developments encountered during drilling. These updates will keep shareholders and stakeholders informed on the advancement of the Majuba Hill project and its potential to support a future resource estimate. Warrant Expiry The Company also wishes to advise shareholders that approximately 4,000,000 tradeable warrants ("CSE:BFG.WT") are still outstanding and are expiring May 1st, 2025 (within the next three weeks). Investors who want to benefit from the warrants are encourages to exercise their warrants prior to expiry. Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") Measures, Chain of Custody The Company utilizes a QA/QC program using best industry practices at the Majuba Hill Project. The samples are placed in cloth or plastic sample bags and are transported from the Majuba Hill to the Giant Mining secure warehouse for core sawing and processing and then samples are delivered to the ALS Labs sample prep facility in Elko, Nevada. ALS then transports the prepared pulps to their analytical lab in North Vancouver, B.C. Drill core samples are sawn in half lengthwise and one half is placed in labeled cloth sample bags. All samples are analyzed for copper, gold, silver, and 33 other elements. Gold is determined by ALS Labs method Au-AA23 which is a fire assay with an AAS finish on a 30-gram split. Copper, silver, and the remaining 31 elements are determined by ALS Labs method ME-ICP61 which is a four-acid digestion and ICP-AES assay. Approximately 5% of the submitted samples are drill duplicates and copper-gold-porphyry commercial standard reference material pulps. The remaining sample pulps are retrieved from ALS Minerals and retained by the Company for future metallurgical testing. Majuba Hill's critically important characteristics are as follows: Location: Nevada, USA - a globally top-ranked mining jurisdiction, ranked #1 in the Fraser Institute's 2022 Annual Survey of Mining Companies. Project Size: 9,684 Acres Infrastructure: The Majuba Hill property is 113 road km (70 miles) southwest of Winnemucca, Nevada, and 251 km (156 miles) northeast of Reno. Access is by well-maintained county roads from the Imlay, Nevada exit on U.S. Interstate 80, and traveling westward 23 miles. People, Roads, Power and Water are the basic elements when considering infrastructure and Majuba Hill already has a solid infrastructure foundation for building a large facility which will provide significant savings compared to more remote projects History: Historical Producer Drilling: 83,930 feet of drilling to date. Rough replacement value of drilling USD $10.4 Million in development costs. Mineralization: The project shows indications of a potentially large Cu - Ag +/- Au mineralized body with many features in common with both large porphyry copper, silver, and gold projects. Expandability: The IP survey, deep drilling, and step-out drilling indicate significant expansion potential, with mineralization open in all directions. Fully Financed: Secured funding for 2025 Drilling Campaign Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by E.L. "Buster" Hunsaker III, CPG 8137, a non-independent consulting geologist who is a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43- 101"). About Giant Mining Corp. Giant Mining is focused on identifying, acquiring, and advancing late-stage copper and copper/silver/gold projects to meet the growing global demand for critical metals. This demand is driven by initiatives like the Green New Deal in the United States and similar climate-focused programs worldwide, which require substantial amounts of copper, silver, and gold for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and the modernization of clean and affordable energy systems. The Company's flagship asset is the Majuba Hill Copper, Silver, and Gold District, located 156 miles (251 km) from Reno, Nevada. Majuba Hill is situated in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with supportive regulations and has the potential to become one of the next major copper deposits, critical for meeting the increasing need for this red metal. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. On Behalf of the Board of Giant Mining Corp. "David Greenway" David C. Greenway President & CEO For further information, please contact: E: info@giantminingcorp.com P: 1 (236) 788-0643 VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS www.giantminingcorp.com LIKE AND FOLLOW Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn DOWNLOAD INVESTOR INFORMATION Click Here Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward?looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward?looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward?looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward?looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. ### Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. Abu Dhabi - Falcon Energy Materials plc (TSX-V: FLCN) ("Falcon" or the "Company") and Shanghai Shanshan New Material Co., LTD ("Shanshan") are pleased to announce the signing of a term sheet for a strategic partnership to develop the customer base for Falcon's coated spherical purified graphite ("CSPG") anode production facility in Morocco (the "Anode Plant"). Shanshan is a global leader in lithium-ion battery anode materials, producing both natural graphite anode materials as well as synthetic graphite anode materials. Shanshan was the world's largest producer of synthetic graphite anode materials in 2024, with a 21% market share, and has an industry-leading research and development department near Shanghai, China. HIGHLIGHTS The partnership with Shanshan, alongside previously announced technical partner, Hensen, round out key partnerships required to de-risk and accelerate the development of Falcon's anode plant in Morocco; Shanshan brings synthetic CSPG production capabilities and an established customer base in Asia and Europe, and will support Falcon in qualifying its CSPG product to meet end-user specifications; Construction of Falcon's pilot plant in Morocco, with a production capacity of 100kg per day of CSPG, will commence in Q2 2025, and is expected to be operational by H2 2025; Following the successful commissioning of the Anode Plant, Shanshan will collaborate with Falcon to secure a binding offtake agreement, followed by a formal marketing agreement. "We are very pleased to welcome Shanshan to our consortium. Following our redomicile to Abu Dhabi completed last year, we have created a unique platform, headquartered in the UAE, while maintaining an open mind to partnerships with industry leaders such as Shanshan" commented Matthieu Bos, Chief Executive Officer of Falcon. "The addition of Shanshan to Falcon's Partnership Framework will firmly establish us in the CSPG supply chain at this important time in history. Falcon's strategy and structure are truly unique and cannot be replicated by anyone in the short to medium term." DETAILS Key Addition to Falcon's Partnership Framework. Falcon's partnership framework, which was announced in Q3 2024, identified the requirement for two key partners to derisk and accelerate the development of the Anode Plant. Shanshan, as the commercial partner (the "Commercial Partner"), will be responsible for the integration of Falcon within the complex battery supply chain, including working closely with Falcon on the qualification of its CSPG product to end-user specifications. The Company believes that aligning with a Commercial Partner, who has existing synthetic CSPG production and an established list of clients both in Asia and Europe, is strategically important. The majority of commercially available graphite anodes consist of a blend between synthetic and natural graphite. This alignment between Falcon and the Shanshan will firmly establish Falcon in the highly complex anode material supply chain. In addition, Hensen Graphite & Carbon Corporation ("Hensen") was previously announced as the technical partner (the "Technical Partner") providing engineering, procurement, qualification and construction expertise to produce CSPG. Hensen brings years of operational expertise from its successful synthetic and natural graphite anode plants in China and has collaborated with Shanshan in the past. Figure 1: Falcon Partnership Framework Notes: 1. Falcon to control, fund and operate Morocco Anode Plant; 2 Hensen to provide technical support to development of Anode Plant; 3. Shanshan to provide offtake for Anode Plant; 4. Graphite concentrate production from Falcon Lola Graphite Project in Guinea and third-parties; and 5. Commercial production to blend synthetic CSPG to produce anode material. Construction of Pilot Plant to Develop Customer Base. Falcon and Hensen, will start the construction of a pilot plant in Morocco (the "Pilot Plant") in Q2 2025. The Pilot Plant will have a daily production capacity of approximately 100kg of CSPG. Products from the Pilot Plant, which is expected to be operational in H2 2025, will be shared with Shanshan's existing clients as well as potential new customers to facilitate the development of the Anode Plant customer base and qualify Falcon's CSPG to end-user specifications. Marketing Agreement and Potential Investment. As part of the non-binding term sheet and following the successful qualification of CSPG from the Pilot Plant, Shanshan will assist Falcon to secure a binding offtake agreement with an international offtaker (the "Binding Offtake Agreement") using the Shanshan brand. In return for securing the Binding Offtake Agreement, Shanshan will enter into a marketing agreement with Falcon (the "Marketing Agreement"). Key provisions of the Marketing Agreement will include a gross revenue royalty payment to Shanshan for the first phase of production from the Anode plant as well as a second, reduced, gross revenue royalty payment for all subsequent Anode Plant production phases. The Marketing Agreement will remain in force for an initial period of five years from the commencement of the Anode Plant production and can be extended by mutual consent. In addition, Shanshan and Falcon have started discussions about a potential investment in the Anode Plant or in Falcon by Shanshan. About Shanghai Shanshan New Material Co., LTD Shanshan is the world's largest producer of synthetic graphite anode materials with a market share of 21% in 2024 (ICCSino). Shanshan counts all the preeminent cell manufacturers and Chinese, European and American end-users among its clients. Shanshan has an industry leading research and development department with over 775 employees which have drafted numerous industry standards and has over 465 battery-related patents. Shanshan has developed a large production base for various anode materials that sets the benchmark in the industry with a current designed capacity of 700,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of anode material in China and a 100,000 tpa development project in Finland. About Falcon Energy Materials PLC Falcon aims to become a fully integrated supplier of battery anode material. The integrated business model would result in the creation of a mine-to-market active anode material producer, hosting a large high-purity graphite production mine in the Republic of Guinea, and a value-added, coated spherical purified graphite conversion facility in Morocco. With attractive operating costs, proximity to European end-markets and strong ESG credentials, the Company is poised to become a reliable supplier while promoting sustainability and supply chain transparency. Falcon is committed to generating sustainable, long-term benefits that are shared with the host countries and communities where it operates. For additional information, please visit Falcon's website at www.falconem.net. Contact: Matthieu Bos Matt Johnston President & CEO IR Advisor Email: m.bos@falconem.net Email: m.johnston@falconem.net Telephone: +971 2307 4013 Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. cautionary note regarding forward-looking statementS This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are included to provide information about management's current expectations and plans that allow investors and others to have a better understanding of the Company's business plans and financial performance and condition. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "round out", "accelerate", "expect", "follow", "successful", "including", "believe", "qualify", "aim", "become", "commit" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "will", "would" or "might". Specific forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements and information with respect to: (1) the conclusion of a final and binding partnership with Shanshan; (2) the impact of the partnership with Shanshan and the previously announced technical partner, Hensen, in rounding out the key partnership required to de-risk and accelerate the development of Falcon's Anode Plant; (3) Shanshan supporting Falcon in qualifying its CSPG product to meet end-user specifications; (4) the commencement of construction of Falcon's Pilot Plant in Morocco in Q2 2025; (5) Falcon's Pilot Plant in Morocco planned production capacity of 100kg per day of CSPG; (6) the expectation that the Pilot Plant will be operational by H2 2025; (7) the commissioning of the Pilot Plant; (8) the anticipated collaboration between Shanshan and Falcon to secure a Binding Offtake Agreement (9) the formal marketing agreement to be concluded following the commissioning of the Anode Plant; (10) the expected impact of adding Shanshan to Falcon's Partnership Framework in establishing Falcon within the CSPG supply chain; (11) Falcon's belief that its strategy and structure are unique and cannot be replicated by others in the short to medium term; (12) the role of Shanshan as Falcon's commercial partner in integrating Falcon within the battery supply chain, including in supporting the qualification of its CSPG product to meet end-user specifications; (13) Falcon's belief that alignment with a commercial partner possessing existing synthetic CSPG production capabilities and a client base in Asia and Europe is strategically important to its success; (14) the establishment of Falcon within the anode material supply chain through its alignment with Shanshan; (15) the role of Hensen as Falcon's technical partner in providing engineering, procurement, qualification, and construction expertise to support CSPG production; (16) the benefit to Falcon of Hensen's prior operational experience and collaboration with Shanshan; (17) Falcon controlling, funding, and operating the Morocco Anode Plant; (18) Hensen providing technical support for the development of the Anode Plant; (19) Shanshan providing offtake for the Anode Plant; (20) the production of graphite concentrate from Falcon's Lola Graphite Project in Guinea and from third-party sources; (21) the commencement of commercial production to blend synthetic CSPG to produce anode material; (22) Falcon partnership framework; (23) Falcon and Hensen commencing construction of the Pilot Plant in Morocco in Q2 2025; (24) the Pilot Plant having a daily production capacity of approximately 100kg of CSPG; (25) the expectation that the Pilot Plant will be operational in H2 2025; (26) products from the Pilot Plant being shared with Shanshan's existing clients and potential new customers; (27) the facilitation of the development of the Anode Plant customer base and the qualification of Falcon's CSPG to end-user specifications through the Pilot Plant's production; (28) the successful qualification of CSPG produced from the Pilot Plant; (29) Shanshan assisting Falcon to secure a Binding Offtake Agreement with an international offtake following the qualification of CSPG from the Pilot Plant; (30) use of the Shanshan brand; (31) the entry by Shanshan into a Marketing Agreement with Falcon in return for securing the Binding Offtake Agreement; (32) key provisions to be included in the Marketing Agreement; (33) the inclusion of gross revenue royalty payments to Shanshan in the Marketing Agreement, including a higher royalty for the first production phase and a reduced royalty for subsequent production phases; (34) the Marketing Agreement remaining in force for an initial five-year term from the commencement of Anode Plant production, with the possibility of extension by mutual consent; (35) the ongoing discussions between Shanshan and Falcon regarding a potential investment by Shanshan in the Anode Plant or in Falcon; (36) Falcon's aim to become a fully integrated supplier of battery anode material; (37) the creation of a mine-to-market active anode material producer through Falcon's integrated business model; (38) the development of a high-purity graphite production mine in the Republic of Guinea; (39) the development of a value-added, coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG) conversion facility in Morocco; (40) Falcon being poised to become a reliable supplier of anode materials while promoting sustainability and supply chain transparency, supported by attractive operating costs, proximity to European end-markets, and strong ESG credentials; (41) Falcon's commitment to generating sustainable, long-term benefits to be shared with host countries and communities where it operates. Forward-looking information is based upon certain assumptions and other important factors and assumptions subject to significant business, geological, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such information or statements. There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate. Key assumptions upon which the Company's forward-looking information is based include, without limitation, the Company's capacity to execute on its plans. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits and mine plans for the Company's mining operations; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets including permitting, development, operations and production from the Company's operations being consistent with expectations and projections; (vi) fluctuations in commodity prices, finding offtake takers and potential clients or enforcing such agreements against same, (vii) prices for diesel, process reagents, fuel oil, electricity and other key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; (viii) production and cost of sales forecasts meeting expectations; (ix) the accuracy of the mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates of the Company; (x) labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with the Company's current expectations; (xi) there being no significant disruptions affecting the operations of the Company whether due to artisanal miners, access to water, extreme weather events and other or related natural disasters, labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; (xii) asset impairment (or reversal) potential, being consistent with the Company's current expectations; (xiii) risks associated to the accuracy of projections provided in a preliminary economic study which are preliminary in nature and which include significant of uncertainties; and (xiv) other risks and uncertainties described or referred to in the section entitled "Risk and Uncertainties" in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2023, as updated from time to time in the Company's interim management's discussion and analysis for its quarterly financial periods, each of which is filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, 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 forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is given as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Company qualifies all of its forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. Golden Minerals Company ("Golden Minerals," "Golden" or the "Company") (OTCQB: AUMN and TSX: AUMN) has reported financial results and a business summary for the full fiscal year ended December 31, 2024. (All figures are in approximate U.S. dollars.) 2024 Business Summary "2024 was a defining year for Golden Minerals as we undertook a comprehensive strategic repositioning of the Company. This effort not only included the successful sale of several assets, including the Velardena Properties, the El Quevar project in Argentina, and the Yoquivo exploration project. We have realized a significant reduction in liabilities and a meaningful decrease in our cost structure. These combined actions allowed us to strengthen our balance sheet and preserve capital, enabling us to shift focus toward our most promising exploration assets. With a leaner organization and improved liquidity, we anticipate initiating work on a high-potential project in 2025," said Pablo Castanos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Minerals. The Company suspended mining operations at its Velardena Properties in February 2024 after the performance of the mine and processing plant did not meet expectations. The Company subsequently entered into four agreements to sell the Velardena Properties to a privately held Mexican company (the "Buyer") for $5.5 million in cash plus value-added tax ("VAT"). As of April 4, 2025, the Company is still owed $0.2 million plus VAT under the fourth agreement related to the oxide plant and water rights. The Buyer has been making periodic payments to the Company but remains in default. In August 2024, the Company sold a Mexican subsidiary holding tax losses to a private Mexican company for approximately $0.45 million plus VAT. In October 2024, Golden Minerals sold its subsidiary that owned the El Quevar advanced exploration silver project in Salta Province, Argentina, for $3.5 million. In November 2024, the Company sold its Yoquivo gold-silver exploration project in Chihuahua State, Mexico, for $0.57 million plus VAT. Financial Summary Exploration expenses were $0.6 million in 2024 vs. $1.1 million in 2023. Administrative expenses were $3.6 million in 2024 vs. $4.7 million in 2023. Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes, was $3.0 million in 2024 vs. $3.2 million in 2023. The 2024 and 2023 amounts include revenue and expenses from the Velardena Properties and El Quevar, the details of which may be found in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15, 2025. Net loss was $7.6 million, or $0.52 per share, in 2024 compared to a net loss of $9.2 million, or $1.08 per share, in 2023. Cash and equivalents balance was $3.2 million as of December 31, 2024 vs. $3.8 million as of December 31, 2023. Debt was zero as of December 31, 2024, unchanged from December 31, 2023. 2024 Liquidity Discussion At December 31, 2024, aggregate cash and cash equivalents totaled $3.2 million, compared to $3.8 million at December 31, 2023. 2024 expenditures totaled $10.2 million and included the following: $6.0 million from the net loss on discontinued operations and assets held for sale, which includes $4.9 million of net operating costs, $0.4 million in care and maintenance costs at the El Quevar project and $0.7 million in exploration expense; $3.6 million in general and administrative expenses; and $0.6 million in exploration expenditures. The above expenditures were offset by cash inflows of $9.6 million from the following: $8.8 million of proceeds received from the sale of the assets held for sale and discontinued operations as follows: $2.5 million of proceeds received from the sale of the Velardena and Chicago mines, sulfide plant, mine equipment and mine concessions, $1.8 million of proceeds received from the sale of the Velardena oxide plant and water wells, $0.4 million of proceeds received from the sale of a Mexican subsidiary with tax losses, $3.5 million of proceeds received from the sale of Silex Argentina, and $0.6 million of proceeds received from the sale of Yoquivo. $0.6 million of other working capital changes. Capital Resources and 2025 Financial Outlook Forecasted expenditures during the twelve months ending December 31, 2025 total approximately $3.3 million. These forecasted expenditures include: (i) exploration expenses of $1.0 million, (ii) administrative expense of $1.8 million, and (iii) $0.5 million for administrative and shutdown costs in Mexico. The actual amount of cash expenditures that we incur during the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2025 may vary significantly from the amounts specified above and will depend on a number of factors, including variations in the anticipated administrative expenses and costs for continued exploration, project assessment, resolution of claims related to the Mexican operations and shutdown, and advancement of the Company's exploration properties. At December 31, 2024, Golden had current assets of approximately $3.9 million, including cash and cash equivalents of approximately $3.2 million. On the same date, the Company had current liabilities of approximately $3.6 million, which includes $1.8 million in deferred revenue for the sale of the Velardena oxide plant and water wells recorded within current liabilities held for sale on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The Company will require further sources of capital. Golden's near-term opportunities to generate cash flow to meet its expected cash requirements may take the form of asset sales, equity or other external financing activities, collection of the outstanding amounts due on the sale of the remaining Velardena Properties, or from other sources. The Company also continues to evaluate other strategic transactions. In the absence of additional cash inflows, the Company anticipates that its cash resources will be exhausted in the first quarter of 2026. If Golden Minerals is unable to obtain additional cash resources or sell the Company, it will be forced to cease operations and liquidate. Annual Report on Form 10-K The Company's consolidated audited financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, as well as other important disclosures, may be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. This Form 10-K is available on the Company's website at Golden Minerals Company - SEC Filings. It has also been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR at www.sec.gov./edgar.shtml and with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Company's forecasted expenditures for 2025; expectations regarding receiving remaining funds owed from the sale of the Velardena Properties; the Company's liquidity forecast for 2025; the ability of the Company generate additional cash flow in the near term and the amount of proceeds needed to cover forecasted expenditures; and the Company's expectations regarding the depletion of its cash balance in the first quarter of 2026 and the potential consequences should depletion occur. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including increases in costs and declines in general economic conditions; changes in political conditions, in tax, royalty, environmental and other laws in the United States, Mexico or Argentina and other market conditions; and fluctuations in silver and gold prices. Golden Minerals assumes no obligation to update this information. Additional risks relating to Golden Minerals may be found in the periodic and current reports filed with the SEC by Golden Minerals, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. For additional information, please visit http://www.goldenminerals.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415420903/en/ Contact Golden Minerals Company (303) 839-5060 Solid performance while growth projects move ahead with pace Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said: "We continued to see strong operational improvement with the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine and our bauxite operations delivering record months for production in March. Production was affected, however, by extreme weather events that impacted our Pilbara iron ore operations. "We are making excellent progress with our major projects to deliver profitable organic growth. We achieved first iron ore at Western Range in the Pilbara and the Simandou high-grade iron ore project in Guinea remains on track. After successful completion of the Arcadium acquisition in March, we are advancing to establish a world-class lithium business. "We will continue to drive progress towards our long-term strategy to deliver profitable growth, attractive shareholder returns and build a stronger, more diversified business." Executive Summary Production and cost guidance for the year on track, with Pilbara iron ore shipments expected to be at the lower end of guidance due to the losses sustained from extreme weather events in Q1. Oyu Tolgoi achieved record copper production in March in line with our underground mine ramp-up plan. Bauxite hit record first quarter production and a monthly production record in March. World-class lithium business now up and running: Following completion of the Arcadium acquisition in March, we formed Rio Tinto Lithium, combining Arcadium assets and our Rincon project. Development of the Simandou high-grade iron ore project, on schedule, proceeding at an impressive pace. Pilbara Iron Ore replacement projects progressing as expected: Western Range achieved first ore through the new crushing and conveying circuit, on plan. Brockman Syncline 1 investment approved ($1.8 billion) following receipt of all necessary approvals. Production1 Quarter 1 2025 vs Q1 2024 vs Q4 2024 2025 guidance5 Guidance status Pilbara iron ore shipments (100% basis) (Mt) 70.7 -9% -17% 323 to 338 Unchanged6 Pilbara iron ore production (100% basis) (Mt) 69.8 -10% -19% NA Unchanged Bauxite (Mt) 15.0 +12% -3% 57 to 59 Unchanged Alumina (Mt) 1.9 +3% -4 % 7.4 to 7.8 Unchanged Aluminium2 (Mt) 0.83 +0% -1% 3.25 to 3.45 Unchanged Copper (consolidated basis)3 (kt) 210 +16% -8% 780 to 850 Unchanged Titanium dioxide slag (Mt) 0.2 -12% -5% 1.0 to 1.2 Unchanged IOC4 iron ore pellets and concentrate (Mt) 2.3 -11% -9% 9.7 to 11.4 Unchanged Boric oxide equivalent (Mt) 0.1 -4% -11% ~0.5 Unchanged 1 Rio Tinto share unless otherwise stated. 2 Includes primary aluminium only. 3 From Q1 2025, we report copper production and guidance as one metric, in order to simplify reporting and align with peer practices. For further details see slide 90 of our Investor Seminar 2024 presentation. 4 Iron Ore Company of Canada. 5 See further notes in Section 2, 2025 guidance. 6 At the lower end of guidance. The full first quarter production results are available here This announcement is authorised for release to the market by Andy Hodges, Rio Tinto's Group Company Secretary. LEI: 213800YOEO5OQ72G2R82 Classification: 3.1 Additional regulated information required to be disclosed under the laws of a Member State View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250415416644/en/ Contact Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com Media Relations, United Kingdom Matthew Klar M +44 7796 630 637 David Outhwaite M +44 7787 597 493 Media Relations, Australia Matt Chambers M +61 433 525 739 Michelle Lee M +61 458 609 322 Rachel Pupazzoni M +61 438 875 469 Media Relations, Canada Simon Letendre M +1 514 796 4973 Malika Cherry M +1 418 592 7293 Vanessa Damha M +1 514 715 2152 Media Relations, US Jesse Riseborough M +1 202 394 9480 Investor Relations, United Kingdom Rachel Arellano M: +44 7584 609 644 David Ovington M +44 7920 010 978 Laura Brooks M +44 7826 942 797 Weiwei Hu M +44 7825 907 230 Investor Relations, Australia Tom Gallop M +61 439 353 948 Amar Jambaa M +61 472 865 948 Rio Tinto Plc 6 St James's Square London SW1Y 4AD United Kingdom T +44 20 7781 2000 Registered in England No. 719885 Rio Tinto Ltd. Level 43, 120 Collins Street Melbourne 3000 Australia T +61 3 9283 3333 Registered in Australia ABN 96 004 458 404 riotinto.com Category: General 2026 Madrid GP track work to begin in May Madrid is definitely still racing towards the Formula 1 calendar. Carlos Sainz, Bahrain GP 2025 Williams On paper, the Spanish capital has a long-term contract to stage a grand prix on the newly-named 'Madring' street layout starting in 2026. However, there have been reports of delays that have held up the beginning of construction - which has still not started. Madrid mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, though, told Telemadrid on Monday that construction can finally begin within weeks. We have already put out to tender the contract for the construction of the circuit, he said. We will grant the license immediately, after Easter, so the works should, in principle, begin in May to accommodate the 2026 calendar. (GMM) Next article: Delaganza to launch luxury salon in Accra on April 26 Gold Fields share price drops after government rejected renewal of its mining lease Kweku Zurek Business News Apr - 15 - 2025 , 06:22 Gold Fields Limited, one of the worlds leading gold producers, is preparing to shut down its Damang mine in Ghana by Friday, April 18, 2025, after the government rejected the companys application to extend its mining lease. The announcement, made on Monday, triggered a 6.3 per cent drop in Gold Fields' share price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), closing at 444.81 rands. This decline came despite a 4.11 per cent increase in the global gold price, which stood at $3,208.71 per ounce. A year ago, Gold Fields share was trading at 342.47 rands, indicating significant volatility tied to recent developments. In a statement, Gold Fields disclosed that its subsidiary, Abosso Goldfields, had submitted a lease extension application in December 2023 for the Damang Main Mining Lease. However, the Minerals Commission of Ghana rejected the request, instructing the company to cease all operations and vacate the site by April 18. The company continues to seek ongoing engagement with the government to secure the best outcome for all stakeholders, Gold Fields said. According to the company, the application had met all statutory requirements, and multiple engagements had taken place with relevant authorities since the rejection notice was received. The Damang mine, which had been operational since 2002, was part of Gold Fields key West African portfolio, contributing significantly to its overall gold production. However, active mining at the site stopped in 2023 following the depletion of the Huni pits, with the mine continuing to process existing stockpiles. While the closure of Damang marks a major shift, Gold Fields has clarified that its Tarkwa operations remain unaffected and continue to operate as normal. The company has committed to safely and responsibly winding down operations at Damang, with attention to the safety of personnel and the management of high-risk infrastructure. These developments at Damang do not affect operations at Tarkwa, which remain ongoing, the company reiterated. Gold Fields has assured stakeholders that it will provide further updates should there be any material changes to the situation. Next article: 9 Things to note as Ghana prohibits foreigners from local gold trading MTN MoMo denies system breach in viral GH11,000 fraud claim, cites customer negligence GraphicOnline Business News Apr - 15 - 2025 , 13:45 MobileMoney Limited (MoMo), the operator of MTN Ghana's mobile money service, has refuted allegations of a system breach following a viral social media complaint from a customer who claimed GH11,000 was withdrawn from her mobile wallet without her consent. The incident, which sparked widespread concern online, was detailed by the affected customer in a TikTok video posted on Saturday, April 12, 2025. In the video [attached below], the woman accused MTN Ghana of failing to safeguard user funds and expressed frustration over what she described as poor customer service after reporting the case. "MTN Ghana, I was just lying here when I realized someone had withdrawn GH11,000 from my mobile money account. Nobody contacted me, no one asked for any transaction ID or my mobile money PIN, so how is this possible?" she questioned. She further lamented the response from the telco, stating, "I called MTN Ghana after seeing the transaction, and they told me to wait for 15 working days. Are we safe? What is the problem, MTN Ghana? I called and the lady who answered was even rude to me. Is this kind of money easy to come by these days?" In response to the viral video, MobileMoney LTD issued an official statement on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, clarifying that its internal investigations had found no evidence of a technical breach. Rather, the company pointed to social engineeringa common fraud tacticas the likely cause. Our findings suggest that this was a case of social engineering, where a person unknowingly shares sensitive informationsuch as a One-Time Password (OTP), verification link, or PINwith fraudsters, the company stated. The mobile financial service provider reiterated that customers digital security remains a top priority. Never share your PIN or OTP with anyonenot even someone claiming to be from MTN, the company advised. MoMo also reassured the public of its ongoing efforts to strengthen security and combat fraud. We remain committed to keeping your transactions safe, convenient, and secure, the statement concluded. The controversy has reignited conversations about the growing threat of digital fraud in Ghanas rapidly expanding mobile money sector. With millions relying on mobile wallets for daily transactions, cybersecurity experts continue to stress the need for user vigilance, particularly against scams that rely on deception and impersonation. MTN Ghana has recently pledged to intensify its fight against fraud, with the companys CEO assuring customers of improved measures to tackle mobile money-related scams. Meanwhile, users are encouraged to promptly report any suspicious activity and to independently verify unsolicited messages or calls claiming to be from MoMo. Efia Odo: Jesus Christ, not plastic surgery, is the answer to true fulfillment Graphic Showbiz Showbiz News Apr - 15 - 2025 , 11:18 2 minutes read Ghanaian actress and socialite, Efia Odo has weighed in on the debate over women's body enhancements, arguing that such procedures won't address underlying insecurities. Instead, she advocates for spiritual fulfillment, encouraging women to seek validation through Jesus Christ rather than external means since that doesnt erode insecurities. In a post published on X on April 14, 2025, Efia Odo advises women to find self-worth through faith in Christ, rather than relying on external fixes like plastic surgery or body enhancements. She wrote: Plastic surgery doesnt fix insecurities. You must be self-validated within. Nothing outside of you can save you apart from being in Christ, because thats your true self. Christ is not a religion; its ones true self. In November last year, Efia announced that she had turned a new page in her life, declaring herself born again and devoted to a Christ-centred path. Speaking candidly on the Konnected Minds Podcast, Efia shared insights into her spiritual transformation, emphasising her commitment to living intentionally in alignment with her newfound faith. (Read VIDEO: Efia Odo declares new faith, embraces Christ-centred life ) Efia explained that her previous search for love and fulfilment in worldly desires had replaced with a deeper connection to Christ and her latest offering on plastic surgery seems to come from her experience with her new found faith. However, Efia Odo appears not to be alone in her views about body enhancements. In a recent interview with Joy Prime, actress Yvonne Nelson eexpressed her disapproval of cosmetic surgeries, stating that women who undergo such procedures lacked self- confidence. (Read Women who enhance their body lack self-confidence, says Yvonne Nelson) I feel that it is a mental thing. It is a lack of confidence, she said in the interview. Called to the Bar, but barred from practice - Woes of the Ghanaian student in the Gambia Law School Harrison A. Tawiah Opinion Apr - 15 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read The ultimate dream of every student of law is to be called to the Bar in record time, and be able to practice in that same Bar, if he/she chooses so to do. Despite this truism, the situation appears different for Ghanaian and foreign students in The Gambia Law School (GLS). Per the current dispensation, foreign students are free to seek legal education at The Gambia Law School and be called to the Bar in the Gambia; however, they are barred from practising law in The Gambia. The Legal Practitioners Act, 2016, is the law that regulates legal practice in the Republic of The Gambia. Part IV of the aforementioned law bears the heading, Admission and Enrolment to Practice, and Section 15(1)(d) of the Act provides: A person shall be eligible to apply for admission as a legal practitioner if he or she is a citizen of The Gambia Thus, to practice in The Gambia means the lawyer must not just be called to the Gambia Bar but must be a citizen of The Gambia. The Gambia On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, I happened to be in The Gambia and had the opportunity to interact briefly with Ghanaian law students admitted into legal education in the Gambia Law School for the 2024/2025 academic year. It is worrying to be informed that foreign students are free to be called to the Gambia Bar, but barred from practising in the same Bar they were called to. The Director-General of the Gambia Law School, Mrs Rougie Thomasi, speaking to the statistics in a private meeting, made it clear that 300 Ghanaians bearing the requisite legal qualifications applied to be admitted into the professional law programme for the 2024/2025 academic year. Out of this number, only 36 applicants were granted admission. Considering the current class size, a total of 100 professional law students (36 being Ghanaians) are expected to be called to the Gambia Bar this year; a Bar from which they are statute-barred to practice. The story of Ghanaians in the circumstance is more nuanced because within the sovereign State of The Gambia is an old settler town called Ghana Town. A good number of Ghanaians are born and raised in this town who speak Twi, Ga and other Ghanaian dialects fluently, even though they have never been to Ghana. It became evident from the interactions I had with the settlers that these young ones of Ghanaian descent and lineage, should they attend the GLS and be called to the Gambia Bar, would also be unable to practice in their country of birth, The Gambia. This is because they are considered Ghanaians irrespective of the fact that they were born and bred in The Gambia. Engagements Bilateral engagements to seek an amendment to Section 15(1)(d) are paramount so as to allow Ghanaian and foreign students who study in GLS and are called to the Bar of The Gambia, the space to be able to practice within, if they so wish. The General Legal Council of the Republic of The Gambia may consider a higher licensing threshold for foreigners who graduate from The GLS and would want to practice in The Gambia. The Minister for Foreign Affairs may negotiate and secure concessions for Ghanaian citizens of Ghana Town who are called to the Gambia Bar to practice in The Gambia, if they so wish to do. I humbly call on the ministry and all relevant bodies to collaborate and find lasting solutions to the matter brought to the fore in this write-up. The writer is a student, Ghana School of Law. E-mail: [email protected] The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced the arrest of a man said to be behind an attempted sale of Ghana's diplomatic property at a Lagos beach front in Nigeria, The Minister announced in a social media post on Tuesday afternoon [April 15, 2025]. Attached below is a copy of the post. We got him! Bright Mensah Bonsu, the man who received US$1.5million cash and signed documents purporting to sell a prime diplomatic property belonging to Ghanas High Commission in Nigeria has finally been arrested by Ghanaian security operatives. Bright Mensah Bonsu describes himself as a special aide to former Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria, the late Alhaji Rashid Bawa who was appointed by President Akufo-Addo. It is important to emphasize that the US$1.5million cash was not paid into government accounts neither is there any record at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the cash was officially declared. Documents reveal that Bright Mensah Bonsu and his collaborators had valued the prime Lagos beachfront diplomatic property at US$5.3million and considered the US$1.5million payment as the first installment. The outcome of the 2024 elections must have thwarted their plans. We are also investigating the circumstances under which Bright Mensah Bonsu was issued a diplomatic passport on October 18, 2023 by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government when from all assessments, he could not have been eligible for a diplomatic passport. Bright Mensah Bonsu was not a staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria even though he was often seen in the company of the High Commissioner. As we await criminal prosecution shortly, it would be interesting to see how Mr. Mensah Bonsu backs his claims that he acted on the instructions of his superiors, and that those superiors gave him access to documents on the diplomatic property. This latest significant development should send clear assurances to Nigerian government officials and the Nigerian attempted buyer who have all desperately petitioned the Mahama government demanding our intervention, that consistent with what we have always said, we take this matter very seriously and will do everything in our power to bring the notorious criminals to justice and recover the US$1.5million. The Mahama administration would not shield anyone who played a role in this grand conspiracy not only to commit crime but to dent Ghanas enviable international image. The Government of Ghana is equally determined not to allow this condemnable incident to mar our great and ancestral bilateral relations with Nigeria. We promised that justice will be done, we are keeping our word. Let me state for the umpteenth time, no diplomatic property belonging to the people of Ghana is for sale severe consequences awaits anyone who tests our resolve. For God and Country Armed forces dismantle illegal mining settlement in Subri Forest Reserve Gertrude Ankah Apr - 15 - 2025 , 15:31 1 minute read Some officials from the Forestry Commission and personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) on Tuesday morning dismantled and demolished a sprawling settlement in the Subri Forest Reserve in the Western Region. According to the Forestry Commission, the settlement in the forest reserve was illegal and therefore needed to be demolished. They accused the settlers of engaging in illegal mining in the forest reserve in addition to other vices such as prostitution, money laundering and human trafficking. This entire place is deep inside a forest reserve and has been completely taken over by illegal miners. We found nationals from Niger, Mali, Guinea, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Ghana, all living and mining illegally here, one of the personnel from the GAF who was part of the operation said in a video shared by Joy News. According to the Forestry Commission, illegal mining has left extensive environmental damage throughout the Subri Forest Reserve, with deep pits, widespread deforestation, and polluted streams. In the dawn raid, the troops dismantled dozens of makeshift structures. Some young women, believed to have been trafficked from Nigeria and forced into prostitution, were rescued after revealing they had been misled by promises of legitimate work. This is more than galamsey. Its a complex criminal hub with everything from human trafficking to money laundering happening right under the radar, one of the officers in the operation said. Next article: Ghana in talks with WAHO to host new West African health office in Accra Ato Forson elected board chair of ECOWAS Bank, pledges Ghanas support for regional development Mohammed Ali Apr - 15 - 2025 , 08:04 2 minutes read Ghanas Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), placing Ghana in a leading role within one of West Africas main financial institutions. The announcement was made during the 23rd Annual General Meeting of the Board of Governors of EBID, held in Banjul, The Gambia, on Monday, April 14 2025. Although Dr Forson was not present at the meeting, his message was delivered by Deputy Minister for Finance, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem. Speaking on behalf of Dr Forson, Mr Ampem conveyed the Finance Ministers appreciation for the confidence shown in Ghanas leadership and said the country is prepared to contribute meaningfully to the Banks work. To my fellow Governors, thank you for the trust you have placed in Ghanas leadership. I will continue to rely on your support in the year ahead, Dr Forson said in his message. Outlining his vision for the Bank, Dr Forson identified four priorities for his tenure. These include raising funds for regional projects, recovering capital through stronger asset management, expanding the Banks investment base by attracting non-regional members, and increasing EBIDs visibility as a development finance institution in West Africa. He noted that while the sub-region faces economic challenges, it also has opportunities for growth. With shared effort, he said, the Bank can help build a more integrated and productive West Africa. Ghana is currently one of the largest beneficiaries of EBID funding, with about $408 million committed to 24 ongoing projects across sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and financial services. These include financing for Consolidated Bank Ghana, Access Bank Ghana PLC, the Tema LNG Terminal, and the Marriott Hotel project. Dr Forson also acknowledged the work of the Banks President, Dr George Agyekum Donkor, and said progress made under his leadership reflects steady institutional growth. The outgoing chairman, Mr Seedy Keita of The Gambia, described his time in office as a privilege and said he was confident that Dr Forson would steer the Board effectively. He also reiterated EBIDs role in supporting the development agenda of ECOWAS member states. Headquartered in Lome, Togo, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development is the financial arm of the 15-member regional bloc. Originally set up in 1975 as the ECOWAS Fund, it became EBID in 1999 and was later restructured in 2007 to support both public and private sector investment across the region. Next article: I'll drastically reduce radio frequencies in Ghana from 600 to less than 100 if... - Sam George Constitution Review Committee receives over 500 proposals from stakeholders Graphic.com.gh Apr - 15 - 2025 , 13:23 4 minutes read The Constitution Review Committee (CRC), responsible for evaluating and recommending changes to Ghanas 1992 Constitution, has received more than 500 submissionsboth online and in-personfrom various stakeholders to support its work. Comprising legal and governance experts, the committee aims to pinpoint key sections of the Constitution that require updates to reflect Ghanas current democratic and socio-economic landscape. As part of its mandate, the CRC will also review previous recommendations, determine necessary reforms, and develop a clear roadmap for effective constitutional amendments. Secretary to the CRC, Dr Rainer Akumperigya explained that the stakeholder consultations conducted so far have been productive. Dr Rainer Akumperigya revealed that the Constitution Review Committee has received written submissions from a diverse range of stakeholders. These include institutions such as the National Commission for Civic Education, former officials of the Electoral Commission, and several NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) with expertise in natural resourcesamong them, the Africa Centre for Energy Policy. From the academic sphere, Professors Kwame Gyan, Kofi Quashiga, and Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, all from the University of Ghana, have also submitted proposals to the Committee. The Institute of Economic Affairs contributed written recommendations through two prominent representatives: former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, and former Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo. Additionally, numerous engineers and professional institutions have submitted proposals to support the review process. Dr Akumperigya added that the Committee has held a meeting with former President John Dramani Mahama at the Jubilee House to tap into his extensive governance experienceranging from his time as an assemblyman to roles as Member of Parliament, Vice President, and President of Ghana. The Committee will also meet with the other arms of government; the Legislature and Judiciary, to present their proposals, as well as former Presidents and Vice President to make their submissions to support our work, he said. Committee sets strategic framework, merges engagements for broader participation Dr. Rainer Akumperigya explained that following its inauguration in February, the Constitution Review Committee began by outlining the modalities for executing its mandate. This included developing a comprehensive strategy, setting timelines, and organizing planning and resource allocation for its work. In the initial week of deliberations, the Committee agreed on two main forms of engagement: stakeholder consultations and validation sessions. He noted that prior to the Committees formation, the President had already announced plans to hold a National Constitutional Validation Conference. To avoid overlap between the Committees activities and the outcomes of the planned conferencewhich are expected to be highly valuablethe Committee proposed integrating the national conference into its zonal engagement strategy, a suggestion the President approved. As a result, the country has been divided into eight zones across the 16 regions. Tamale and Bolgatanga form one zone, while the others include Wa, Sunyani, Kumasi, Takoradi, Cape Coast, and Koforidua as individual zones. Accra will function as the central hub for stakeholder engagement activities. The zonal engagements were open to the public; traditional authorities, heads of educational institutions, students unions, womens groups, and disability groups among others. Mr Akumperigya said the Committee delineated the Constitution into 10 identifiable thematic subject matter areas, which included the Lands and Natural Resource Governance, Decentralisation, Local Government and Chieftancy, and Public Services and Enterprises. Other areas to be considered are the independent constitutional bodies or offices such as the Electoral Commission, National Media Commission, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the National Commission for Civic Education, the Auditor General, and Audit Service. A discussion would also be held on three arms of government, the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. The last will be the Finance, the Central Bank, the use of discretionary power, and dual citizenship amendment. Dr Akumperigya explained that the Constitution provided for the mode of amending the entrenched clauses and the non-entrenched ones. For the non-entrenched clauses the provisions can be amended by Parliament based on the numbers and with the NDCs majority in Parliament that can easily be done, he said. For the entrenched ones, part of the mandate of the committee was to provide some timelines, plan, and a roadmap as to how government could implement the recommendations. He noted that the report would go beyond some of the existing ones such as the Prof Albert K. Fiadjoe Constitution Review Committee Report and take into account current major developments. Next article: Gov't to support enterprises through Kwahu Business Forum Previous article: Interior Ministry declares April 18 and 21 as Public Holidays for Easter observance Chief of Staff leads 2nd Kwahu Business Forum - Event to boost entrepreneurship Kester Aburam Korankye Apr - 15 - 2025 , 02:28 2 minutes read President John Dramani Mahama has tasked the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, to spearhead the second edition of the Kwahu Business Forum, a strategic initiative aimed at fostering entrepreneurial growth and strengthening businesses across the country. The forum, to start from Saturday, April 19, 2025, at Kwahu Mpraeso in the Eastern Region, forms part of the governments broader agenda to stimulate private sector development and reduce unemployment through enterprise-driven solutions. Economic growth Speaking to journalists at the Presidency yesterday, Mr Debrah emphasised that the forum would serve as a critical platform for stakeholders to collaborate on policies and strategies to propel the economy forward. This initiative will gradually transition into a national forum to ensure that businesses and the private sector thrive, he stated. He added that the Presidents vision is to create a legacy of business growth where the private sector becomes a key driver in job creation and economic expansion. The Chief of Staff revealed that the government anticipated significant economic benefits from the forum, including increased revenue generation and investment opportunities. He added that the event would be an annual affair, with plans to expand its scope in subsequent editions to cover more sectors and regions. We are committed to making this a sustainable platform where entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers can converge to shape Ghanas economic future, Mr Debrah said. Forum The three-day event will feature panel discussions on entrepreneurship and business innovation; networking sessions for startups and investors; policy dialogues between government officials and industry leaders; and exhibitions showcasing local and international business opportunities. Stakeholders from various sectors, including finance, agriculture, technology and manufacturing, are expected to participate in the forum. Call to action The Chief of Staff encouraged Ghanaian entrepreneurs, business leaders, and the youth to actively engage in the forum, underscoring its potential to unlock new economic opportunities. This is not just a Kwahu initiative; it is a national movement towards economic resilience and prosperity, he said. He expressed optimism that the Kwahu Business Forum would mark another milestone in the countrys journey towards sustainable development and private sector-led growth. Scholarship scheme overhauled - New bill to go before Parliament soon Severious Kale-Dery Apr - 15 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read A new scholarship bill to be known as the Ghana Scholarship Authority Bill will be laid before Parliament when it reconvenes as government takes drastic measures to restructure the current Scholarship Secretariat. The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, who announced this in Accra, said the new Bill would prevent cronyism and nepotism, and provide scholarships to those who truly deserve them. Apart from dealing with cronyism and nepotism and giving scholarships to those who are undeserving, the emphasis will be on merit, and also help our institutions to build faculties that can compete with the rest of the world, Mr Iddrisu stressed. The new arrangement, he said, would start with an effort to build strong faculties for Ghanaian universities, with a new local scholarship scheme on the table. We will be initiating, with your support again, what I call the local scholarship initiative, he said during the inauguration of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Board of Trustees in Accra last Friday. In your formula that you will soon review, I said that some provision be made so that at least each public university in Ghana will have some minimum support to support the pursuit of five PhDs locally. You can make this an institutional part of the fund so that in the next four years, we will boast that these were PhDs trained by the Ghana Education Trust Fund, he suggested to the trustees. The minister said: I am happy to note that President Mahama has requested that as soon as Parliament convenes, I lay before Parliament a new scholarship bill to respond to the negative cronyism and nepotism associated with the award of government scholarship. Recently, the Scholarship Secretariat was accused of offering scholarships to beneficiaries based on negative cronyism and nepotism, a development President John Dramani Mahama hopes to correct with the new bill. GETFund scholarship While awaiting the ratification of allocations, the GETFund has earmarked GH266.2 million for continuing and new beneficiaries of its scholarship. The figure is about a GH90.2 million increase on the previous years allocation, which was GH176 million. Mr Iddrisu reminded the trustees that they remained a primary source of what went into the scholarship secretariat. Natural calamities He proposed to the trustees to consider making some allocation that would respond to natural calamities, saying such a fund would have responded to the fire disaster which occurred at the Labone Senior High School (SHS). Explaining the rationale for the emergency fund for Members of Parliament (MPs), the minister, who is also the MP for Tamale Central, recounted the challenges and frustrations parliamentarians went through daily in their constituencies. He cited an instance where a month ago the roof of a school at Zobo, a village in his constituency, was ripped off. Next article: No more faeces on our streets Stray cattle to be killed and donated to Prison inmates - Kumasi Mayor Ghana hires international auditors to scrutinise GH4.4bn government debts Mohammed Ali Apr - 15 - 2025 , 14:42 2 minutes read The Ministry of Finance has begun an eight-week forensic audit into GH4.4 billion in outstanding government payables, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson announced at a press conference on 15 April 2025. The event was held jointly with officials from the Bank of Ghana and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The exercise will be conducted by the Auditor-Generals office in collaboration with two international accounting firms. Its objective is to verify the authenticity and actual amounts of unpaid government obligations that have accumulated over time. This forms part of corrective actions under Ghanas programme with the IMF, which is supported by the Extended Credit Facility. These steps are meant to strengthen our public expenditure controls and stop the continued build-up of arrears, Dr Forson said. He added that the audit team will provide recommendations for addressing any irregularities that may be discovered. The move follows the governments failure to meet several targets under the IMF programme, including missing the 2024 primary surplus target. The Ministry has blamed this on what it describes as a large buildup of payables. The audit forms part of a broader fiscal effort by the government, which includes recent amendments to the Public Financial Management Act. The revised law introduces a debt ceiling of 45 percent of GDP to be achieved by 2035, requires annual primary budget surpluses of no less than 1.5 percent of GDP, and establishes an independent Fiscal Council to provide oversight. The audit is expected to conclude in June, ahead of the IMF Executive Boards review of Ghanas next tranche disbursement of $370 million. If approved, this would bring the countrys total receipts under the current programme to $2.3 billion. Dr Forsons announcement followed the end of a two-week IMF review mission, which concluded with a Staff-Level Agreement between the Fund and the government. The Minister described the agreement as a step forward in efforts to restore macroeconomic stability and put public debt on a more sustainable path. Meanwhile, arrears in the energy sectorwhich have long posed challenges to the national budgetwill be addressed separately through new payment systems. These include the Cash Waterfall Mechanism and a Single Treasury Account structure designed to regularise payments to Independent Power Producers. In a related measure, the Ministry of Finance will begin publishing quarterly rankings of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, based on their compliance with new spending rules. No more faeces on our streets Stray cattle to be killed and donated to Prison inmates - Kumasi Mayor GraphicOnline Apr - 15 - 2025 , 14:36 2 minutes read The Mayor of Kumasi, Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, has sounded a warning to cattle owners and roadside traders, unveiling a no-nonsense plan to restore law and order in Ghanas second-largest city. At a news conference held on Monday, April 14, the Mayor announced that effective May 1, any stray cattle found within the Kumasi metropolis will be seized, slaughtered, and handed over to the Kumasi Central Prison to feed inmates. There is another thing I will want you to help me look at. If you have cattle and if they stray in the vicinity of KMA, be assured that from May 1, they will be killed and given to Kumasi Central Prison for food. Especially the route from the airport through to Manhyia Palace, Mr Boadi declared. He expressed frustration at the sight of roaming cattle, particularly along high-profile corridors like the stretch from the Kumasi Airport to the Manhyia Palace, which he said tarnishes the city's image in the eyes of visitors. I cannot sit for visitors come to Kumasi [and] from the airport to Manhyia, and all they see are faecal matter from cattle, he lamented. The directive marks an escalation in efforts to address the long-standing nuisance posed by stray animals in urban Kumasia problem that has triggered numerous complaints from residents and commuters alike. In a related development, the Mayor issued a two-week ultimatum to traders operating on pavements and along the roadsides of the Central Business District (CBD). He warned that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) will, beginning Wednesday, April 16, launch a major decongestion exercise to reclaim pedestrian walkways and restore order. According to Mr Boadi, traders who flout this directive risk facing severe sanctions, including, controversially, the threat of being physically beaten. Previous article: No more faeces on our streets Stray cattle to be killed and donated to Prison inmates - Kumasi Mayor Police personnel banned from moving to Bawku, Binduri, Pusiga, Garu areas following targeted attacks Gertrude Ankah Apr - 15 - 2025 , 14:19 1 minute read Following last Sunday's dastardly killing of two police personnel near Binduri in the Upper East Region by unknown assailants, the police administration has identified that police personnel and their families have been targeted for possible assassination and attacks in the Bawku, Pusiga and Binduri areas. The police administration, with immediate effect, has, therefore, banned the movement of police personnel and their families in the Bawku, Pusiga and Binduri areas. It has also advised that police personnel, both indigenes and non-indigenes, should immediately stay away from traveling to the Bawku , Pusiga and Binduri areas. Apart from police personnel who are on operational duties, who have been advised to always be in personnel protective equipment (PPE) and only move under armoured escort, all other police personnel have been advised against moving without wearing uniform. In a wireless message, a copy of which has been seen by Graphic Online, the police administration indicated that there was a surge in violence in the three areas in addition to Garu, with the latest being a target at police personnel. In the wireless message, the police warned of a dangerous development in the Bawku enclave, where personnel and their relatives have become targets of unknown attackers. The directive asked police personnel to treat the wireless message as urgent. Read the message below: Sam George: "Unfair" to expect President Mahama to end galamsey in 96 days Jemima Okang Addae Apr - 15 - 2025 , 11:19 2 minutes read The Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam Nartey George, has said it would be "unfair" to expect President John Mahama to completely resolve the issue of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, within just 96 days in office. Speaking during an interview on Channel One TV on Monday, April 14, the Minister noted that while steps are being taken to tackle illegal mining, it is unrealistic to expect full resolution of a problem that has persisted for nearly a decade. He added that it would be unreasonable to expect President Mahama to fix the deep-rooted issues of galamsey in a matter of weeks when the previous administration had eight years to address it but failed. Mr George was responding to questions about his own past remarks regarding illegal mining. During the tenure of former President Akufo-Addo, he had stated that "the President at the time, (former President Akufo-Addo) could have dealt with galamsey in a week because he was Commander-in-Chief." Addressing the apparent contradiction, he clarified: "When I made those comments about President Akufo-Addo, I didn't make those comments at the beginning of his term. I made those comments about three months to the end of his term and he had the opportunity, he had expended taxpayers money in Operation Vanguard and you rather seen instances of the people who were supposed to fight this, becoming complicit in it. At the time I made that criticism of President Akufo-Addo, he had had the benefit of almost eight years in office, a full grasp of the state machinery, had the opportunity to take action." The Minister highlighted that in just 60 days of President Mahamas return to office, seven forest reserves had already been recovered from illegal miners. "Can we do more? Absolutely. Do I expect to see more? Certainly. But again, like I said, it will be unfair to expect that in 90 days, one man will clean the mess of another for eight years," he stressed. Mr George stated that he regarded galamsey as a crime against humanity and emphasised that, regardless of which political party is in powerbe it the NDC or the NPPand irrespective of who is involved in the activity, illegal mining remains unlawful and should be addressed in a comprehensive and non-partisan manner. Next article: Appointment of MDCEs in Ashanti: Dr Amoakohene urges party to guard against tribal sentiments NPP activist charged with communication of false news Justice Agbenorsi Politics Apr - 15 - 2025 , 06:45 2 minutes read The New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist who was arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the Vice-President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has been hauled before the Achimota Court in Accra. Mohammed Zakou, who is said to have posted Rest Well Her Excellency, on his Facebook wall, has been charged with one count of communicating false news when he made his first appearance on April 12. According to a prosecutor from the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), the accused admitted to making the post but explained that it was intended as a gesture of goodwill towards the Vice-President. His lawyer, Gary Nimako Marfo, prayed the court to grant his client bail. The state did not oppose the request but asked that bail conditions be set to ensure Zakous availability for trial. The accused was subsequently admitted to bail in the sum of GH 100,000 with two sureties. As part of the bail conditions, Zakou is also required to report to the investigator once every week. The case has been adjourned to May 12, 2025, for a case management conference. Background The accused was arrested last Saturday, April 12, after he made the post on his Facebook wall. The post was interpreted by authorities as a false announcement of the Vice-Presidents death, leading to his arrest. Scores of New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters gathered at the Kawukudi office of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) to protest his arrest and detention. New Patriotic Front: Amoako Baah reveals plans for new political party to challenge NPP Gertrude Ankah Politics Apr - 15 - 2025 , 11:15 3 minutes read A former National Chairman candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Richard Amoako Baah, has disclosed that plans are far advanced for the formation of a new political partythe New Patriotic Frontto offer an alternative to what he describes as a corrupt and incompetent leadership currently steering the NPP. Speaking on TV3s Ghana Tonight on Monday, April 14, Dr Amoako Baah, a political scientist and longstanding member of the NPP, said the party in its current state is beyond redemption due to the firm grip of individuals he alleges are responsible for its failings and massive public discontent. If you try to remove them, they will frustrate you quick. Its impossible. So what is left? Leave them alone. Give the party to them. Form a new one. Thats what I think, he declared. I mentioned it before, New Patriotic Front. Join that one when it comes out. That will be the real NPP, not the one taken over by corrupt leaders. Dr Amoako Baahs remarks come in the wake of the NPPs defeat in the 2024 general elections, where Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia lost the presidential race. The party has since launched an internal review process chaired by former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, to examine the factors behind the loss. But Dr Amoako Baah insists no genuine reform can occur under the current leadership. You want to fix the party, but those who are involved in the wrongdoings are the ones in charge. So how do you fix it? he questioned. Those who were involved in corruption are in leadership roles. He added that work is already underway to establish the New Patriotic Front and that an announcement will be made in due course. People are working on it. Im sure in a while, it will come out, he revealed. When you see the people in it, youll know this is the real NPP, he stated. Scathing criticism of Akufo-Addos administration The political analyst was equally unrestrained in his critique of President Nana Akufo-Addo, whom he accused of turning a blind eye to corruption and economic mismanagement. This is deliberate thievery... If you know the President, you are untouchable. Thats it. Thats what happened. All the money theyve taken is stolen with impunity, but well get it back slowly, he claimed. He further cited recent controversies involving public officials, including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), suggesting a pattern of entrenched rot in public institutions under the NPP-led administration. How is that possible? A minister and a Majority Leader? Whats going on in this country? Are we attending to a mafia? he questioned. Party discontent and the road to 2028 The internal strife within the NPP has deepened since the 2024 defeat, with other prominent figures, including Dr Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe and Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, also raising concerns over the direction of the party. Some members, like Deputy Communications Officer Ernest Owusu-Bempah, have cited poor candidate selection as a key reason for the party's lossa claim Dr Amoako Baah rebuffed, arguing that such sentiments often emerge after electoral defeat. If its not your candidate, its the wrong candidate. But who is the right candidate? he asked. You can only know after the vote. As promised, Motorola today launched the Edge 60 Stylus as the latest member of the Edge 60 series, joining the Edge 60 Fusion unveiled earlier this month. Motorola Edge 60 Stylus 5G These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. 256GB 8GB RAM 23,290 Show all prices Motorola already revealed the Edge 60 Stylus' specs and design last week, so we know what's on offer, and the new details coming our way from Motorola are about its pricing and availability. The Motorola Edge 60 Stylus comes in a single 8GB/256GB version priced at INR22,999 ($270/235), which will go on sale in India starting April 23 through Motorola's official Indian website, Flipkart, and leading retail stores, including Reliance Digital. It has two color options - Pantone Surf the Web and Pantone Gibraltar Sea. Motorola Edge 60 Stylus The Motorola Edge 60 Stylus packs a built-in stylus and comes with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 SoC, a 6.67" 120Hz pOLED screen, a 50MP primary camera, and a 5,000 mAh battery with 68W wired and 15W wireless charging support. The smartphone is IP68-rated and has MIL-STD-810H certification. You can head this way to learn more about the Motorola Edge 60 Stylus. Motorola Edge 60 Fusion A man on pre-trial release was ordered held on $7,000 cash bail Tuesday after he told police he was taking a vehicle from the owners property to use as a bed for a minor, according to a magistrates complaint filed in Superior Court. Joey Justin Cruz Campos Jr., 36, was charged with theft of a motor vehicle as a second-degree felony and vehicle without identification as a misdemeanor. Officers received a report of a burglary in progress on Chalan Palauan in Dededo Sunday. Officers met with two men who told police that one of them received a call from a neighbor who had seen a Nissan car being pulled off the property. When the men arrived, they noticed the Nissan was no longer parked on the property. They drove down the road and saw a man, later identified as Campos, towing the Nissan with a Toyota. They blocked the Toyota from being able to drive further, then called police. Inside the Nissan was a boy unknown to the men or the victim, as well as various items from the victims residence. A female passenger rode in the Toyota with Campos. She later told police that Campos attached the Nissan to the Toyota in order to tow it off the property. Campos allegedly told police that he knew what he did was wrong but he was trying to help out the boy, who needed a place to sleep. Police also ran a check on the Toyota and learned that its license plate was fraudulent, and that it was registered to someone other than Campos. The Toyota was not reported stolen and police were unable to contact the registered owner, according to the complaint. Besides the felony charge for theft of a motor vehicle, Campos was also charged with operating a vehicle without identification as a misdemeanor. Records from the Office of the Attorney General show Campos is also on pre-trial release in a 2024 drug possession case. If found guilty of the current charges, he could face 11 years in prison. A recent community town hall held at George Washington High School in Mangilao became a powerful platform for deaf students and the parents, educators and lawmakers who support them to call out longstanding setbacks in Guams public school system especially the shortage of interpreters and one-to-one aides for students with disabilities. Organized by Sen. Vince Borja, who chairs the legislative committee with oversight of the Guam Department of Education, the town hall gave residents the opportunity to speak directly to government and education officials. What followed was a wave of emotional testimony and appeals for action. Deaf student Caleb Suzuki from Career Tech Academy, speaking through an interpreter, opened the meeting with a direct call to increase interpreter access. He said he has a deaf teacher, and there are interpreters at his school. I want to get more support and find a way so we could have more interpreters for our deaf students or deaf people to communicate with, which is really important for us. Suzuki described the difficulty of relying on written communication and pointed to the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, as legal grounds for better support. Kevin Lizama-Reyes, a 2004 graduate of George Washington High, recalled navigating his entire K-12 education without interpreters, hearing aids or support services. I struggled. I really struggled, he said. I fought my way through elementary, middle and high school without an interpreter, without hearing aids. I had to learn to read lips. Frustrated by years of unmet promises, Lizama-Reyes spoke directly to lawmakers. You keep saying you will do this, you will do that. You will get funding. But... the past legislators tell me and my mom and many other deaf students... What difference can you make for us in terms of school? he said Lizama-Reyes also demanded data to back up claims of support for students with disabilities. Do you actually know how many disabled kids you have in school right now?... Do you know how many teachers are certified in special education that we have now? Do you guys know? Im asking. No. And that hurts me, Lizama-Reyes said. That hurts so many kids with disabilities. He called on schools to partner with the disabled community and build what he never had. I want to see a difference. I really do. Theres so many public education students that are dropping out. Its not in their favor probably, but they are dropping out to go to charter school. They got better service system, he said. Public schools need to actually work and collaborate with many people with disabilities to improve the services, and thats all Im asking for. We have to give Guam Education Board member Alecxis Peter Ada, moved by Lizama-Reyes words, stood to address the crowd and fellow officials. There are more kids out there right now in our public school system who are needing special education treatment, he said. If the federal government wont give, let the government of Guam take care of our children. We have to give. Ada described poor working conditions faced by one-to-one aides. No school, no pay... no annual, no sick leave, he said. They would say, I love my kids, but I have to turn and look for another job. He turned to Lizama-Reyes and offered a heartfelt apology. I was on board at that time... Please accept my apology. I will not be quiet anymore. Sen. Vince Borja pointed to ongoing legislative efforts with GDOE to address both immediate and systemic issues. Sen. Shelly Calvo committed to follow-up and direct engagement with the community. I would like to coordinate with you and invite you... because this is an issue that I will not let pass, she told Lizama-Reyes. You have my word. Sen. Chris Barnett voiced continued concern over service gaps in public schools. Students are going to this program down at Career Tech because these services simply arent available in our public school system, Barnett said. Its been my experience that were not going to see positive changes for our students unless the Legislature and the management of the Guam Department of Education hold special education accountable. Barnett cited an $8 million underspend by the special education department intended for one-to-one aides. From GDOEs Division of Special Education, Michelle Camacho acknowledged the need for more interpreters, and said the division is working to hire more aides. Sen. Tina Muna Barnes offered a commitment to improve communication between branches and agencies. If there is a disconnect... lets come together, she said. If we really need to revisit the policy, then bring it to our attention... Let me help connect the dots. Barnes referenced her daughters experience working in special education. My daughter was a one-to-one aide. She worked in the system for nine years... unless you can provide the resources, its not going to change, she said. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero wants another special prosecutor appointed to investigate Attorney General Doug Moylan, this time for alleged procurement violations related to the hiring of $1.5 million worth of contract attorney services. Moylan, who dismissed wrongful hiring allegations brought by Adelup legal counsel last month, stated, Keep crying wolf, and no one will believe you. The AG in a statement Tuesday accused Adelup of seeking to fire prosecutors and attorneys that protect us against criminals and corrupt (government) officials. On Tuesday, Adelup legal counsel Jeffrey Moots sent Moylan a letter notifying him that the governor seeks to appoint a special prosecutor and special assistant attorney general to investigate and prosecute the alleged procurement violations. The notice comes after a series Freedom of Information Act document requests sent to the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Administration, which sought procurement documents for legal services contracted out by the AG. Moots wrote that the AGs office failed to produce a procurement record, which is required by law, for a number of contracts secured with attorneys and law offices for amounts totaling $345,000. According to Moots, the AGs office did not produce procurement records for the following contracts with attorneys or law offices: Edward C. Han, $25,000 Sean Brown, $25,000 Eric Miller, $45,000 Martin Dinehart, $25,000 Vandeveld Law Offices, $25,000 Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, $175,000 Torres Law Group, $25,000 There is no solicitation method under Guam law that does not require a procuring agency to create, maintain and produce for public inspection the record related to such procurement, the Adelup legal counsel stated. Meetings between vendors and government officials and a log of communications with vendors, recordings of negotiations, and submittals of potential bidders are all required, he stated The very lack of a procurement record for these contracts violates the law. Procurement records are public records, subject to inspection and copy by the public. On March 21, more documents from the Department of Administration revealed other contracts and recertifications of contract funds that the AGs office did not disclose in response to FOIA requests, Moots wrote. According to the letter, those were for: Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, $1 million McDonald Law Office, $65,603.50 Edward Han, $25,000 Vandeveld Law Offices, $50,000 William J Ruotolo, $70,000 The AGs office also awarded the following contracts for consultant services on a sole-source basis, Moots wrote: Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, totaling $1.175 million The Law Office of William B. Pole, P.C., $45,000 Torres Law Group, $25,000 Edward C. Han, $50,000 Sean Brown, $25,000 Eric Miller, $20,000 Martin Dinehart, $25,000 William J. Ruotolo, $70,000 Vandeveld Law Office, P.C., $25,000 The services required, including consultation with government bodies, document preparation, and legal analysis, were all ordinary legal services. The services you contracted for in these sole-source contracts were ordinary legal services that could be procured from the hundreds of attorneys licensed to practice law in Guam, Moots wrote. Another five contracts secured through request for purchase bid processes also involved normal attorney work under the guise of legal consulting, Moots alleged. The AGs office is not authorized to contract out regular attorney work, only experts and consultants, he stated. Seek to distract Moylan said the governors FOIA requests and letters, seek to distract from ongoing criminal investigations upon this governors administration. Guam budget laws for over a decade, going back to 2014 and for past attorneys general, allowed the AGs office to hire prosecutors and attorneys to supplement staff and do critical legal work, Moylan stated. Like in the last set of allegations, the governors own Department of Administration was involved in the process, he stated. The Courts should justly reject political manipulation at taxpayer expense intended to stop legitimate investigations and prosecutions by the elected public auditor and the AGs office, he said. He again asserted the governor had a conflict of interest in trying to fire his prosecutors using baseless procurement allegations. Democratically-elected AGs act upon their legal opinions of budget laws, as was the case herein, he stated, and the opinion of the AG trumped the opinion of the governors private attorney. Publics money All public officials are required to comply with procurement law if they are spending even a dollar in public funds. This applies uniformly to all agencies, including the Office of the Attorney General, whether he admits it or not, the governor said in a statement Tuesday. This is the publics money, and the attorney general has been spending it without a care in the world, she said. Moylan was asked in the letter from Moots to respond by April 22. If he did not, the governor would seek a declaratory judgment from the Supreme Court of Guam. The governor has already asked the courts to intervene in the appointment of a special prosecutor, related to earlier allegations of hiring violations brought in March. Moylan is currently suing the governor and the Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority in federal court for alleged illegalities in the condemnation and acquisition of land intended for a new Mangilao hospital and medical complex. The AG has also pointed to ongoing public corruption cases brought against the administration as clear conflicts of interest. To comply with an executive order issued by President Trump last month, the Guam Election Commission will require prospective voters to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote. During a commission meeting Monday, a letter from attorney and former Sen. Thomas Fisher prompted discussion about the March 25 order titled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections. Commission attorney Vince Camacho summarized the order for commission members: People registering to vote must have proof of citizenship at the time of registration a birth certificate, U.S. passport or RealID, military ID or other government ID indicating citizenship. Any absentee or mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day, with the exception of those cast by members of the military stationed overseas. The federal Department of Homeland Security is directed to review voter registration lists for accuracy and citizenship status. Federal Election Assistance funding, which for Guam currently totals about $200,000 a year, will be tied to compliance with the orders. There are, or could be, several impacts on how Guam conducts the federal elections for 2026, Camacho explained. He said the new documentation requirements could create barriers to voter access, especially for people without passports or RealIDs. Guam law would have to be changed to comply with the absentee voter requirement, because currently, votes must be received within 10 days of the election. The order eliminates that grace period. And handing voter data over to a federal agency may lead to data privacy concerns, he said. The executive order is facing several legal challenges, he added, but right now it is in effect, and the board should sort of consider what it needs to do to revise its current policies and procedures, pending the outcome of the litigation. Although commission members said proof of citizenship was required in the past to register to vote on Guam, laws have been updated and now people can attest to being a citizen when they register. I just have a problem with attestation, especially when it comes to votes, Commission Chair Jerry Crisostomo said. Proof of citizenship is the fairest way to go. He said although there are legal challenges, it is an executive order and it stands today. Were going to follow this. Crisostomo said the commission needs concrete points to recommend amendments to the Legislature, because laws will need to be changed. But voter registration is being undertaken now. Were required to comply, at least in that provision of asking for proof of citizenship. The other provisions will follow once we make some changes, he said. A Superior Court of Guam judge on Monday denied requests to freeze the land condemnation brought by the government against owners of 42 acres of private land eyed for a new Mangilao hospital and medical complex. Superior Court Judge Elyze Iriarte denied the request after about 20 minutes of arguments in her courtroom. The condemnation case will proceed, even as the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Governor and Guam Housing and Urban Renewal Authority fight in federal court over the legality of the condemnations and other matters related to the land taking. Attorneys for both property owners, Dr. Joel Joseph and Hong Yi Tian Inc., argued Monday that the condemnation case should be put on hold while GovGuam litigates the matter in the District Court of Guam. Judge Iriarte was not persuaded. Iriarte said that while there would be benefits if her court deferred to the District Court of Guam, a stay on the condemnation was not appropriate as of Monday. Federal court judges first have to decide on jurisdictional issues raised in the lawsuit from the AGs office, Iriarte said. She said it will take some time before they get to the core issues in the case. GHURA and Adelup have both moved to dismiss the federal lawsuit, arguing the AG cant bring the suit, and that the Superior Court of Guam has jurisdiction over the case, the Pacific Daily News has reported. Those questions will have to be decided on by federal judges, before any of the allegations brought by the AGs office are addressed. Unlike the federal case, the condemnation action was ready to move forward, Iriarte said Monday. There was also the question of public interest in the condemnation. She said a resolution on the hospital question was needed, so that construction could proceed, wherever it may be built, whether this land at issue or somewhere else. There was low prejudice against the defendants in the case, Iriarte noted, because the funds to compensate them for the lands were already deposited with the court and accruing interest. GHURA has deposited the full sum of $6.65 million with the court to pay landowners for their properties, the PDN has reported. Hong Yi Tian will be paid an estimated $2.68 million, while Joseph will get an estimated $3.97 million, according to documents filed by GHURA. Both Joseph and Hong Yi Tian have rejected past offers from the government, arguing sums provided were too low, and negotiationswhich began last Augustmoved too fast. Iriarte on Monday said court needed to move forward and hear the issues related to GHURAs powers to condemn land. In the meantime, the District Court lawsuit could be monitored, she added. Attorney Mitch Thompson, for Joseph, argued on Monday that his client believed GHURA had violated the Open Government Law, and violated the laws related to condemnation powers. Attorney General Doug Moylan reached the same conclusions in a pair of legal opinions issued this past December, he stressed. With a motion to stay the case denied, Thompson said his client would likely move to discovery to gather further evidence and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that GHURA violated the law. Attorney Jacqueline Terlaje, for Hong Yi Tian, said she agreed with Thompson on the next steps in the case. Terlaje told the judge that allowing the condemnation to proceed would put the immense burden of proving wrongdoing onto the landowners. The matter was already being litigated in federal court, by the government, Terlaje said. We should not be involved in extremely contentious and expensive lawsuit, she told Iriarte. GHURA believed that the federal court may not even hear the arguments in the case, according to agency legal counsel Eliseo Florig Jr. It may just be sent back to your honor, he said. GHURA acted within its broad powers to condemn land, Florig said, and disagreed with the AGs opinions. The hospital has been in the news for a while, Florig said. The Mangilao medical complex is needed. Iriarte gave parties 60 days to gather any evidence they wanted for the case through limited discovery. Parties are due back in her courtroom by June 16. Consumer-grade fireworks have been legal on Guam for just over a year and no company is authorized to import or sell them, yet, but lawmakers are already weighing a return to a fireworks ban. The Guam Legislature on Monday morning heard testimony for Sen. Telo Taitagues Bill 20-38, which would roll back fireworks legalization enacted in November 2023. Before Public Law 37-47 took effect in 2023, any fireworks launched outside of a professional show were considered illegal, down to the smallest sparklers and bottle rockets. The blanket ban was in place for decades. Rules and regulations for the import, storage, and sale of consumer fireworks are still pending from the Guam Fire Department, meaning theres no place for residents to legally buy the products. Bill 20-38 would repeal Public Law 37-47 in its entirety and return Guam to the old ban. Taitague on Monday played video of numerous unauthorized aerial fireworks displays caught on camera in Yigo this past New Years Eve, which were first reported by the Pacific Daily News. She also pointed to GFD reports of people injured by fireworks, and an illegal fireworks explosion in Hawaii that left five dead and 20 injured after New Years Eve. Taitague said that with fireworks legalized, the island was risking irreversible tragedy in exchange for fleeting moments of celebration. With no burn unit on Guam, resident would be forced to fly off-island should someone be severely injured. Testimony on Bill 20-38 was mostly positive. The Department of Agriculture supports the bill, said acting director Christine Camacho Fejeran. She told lawmakers that every year, an average of 4.5% of Guams land area, about 8,000 acres, is burned up in fires. Every single one of those fires is manmade. They responded to five fires this past weekend, Fejeran said. In contrast, high-burn rate states like California see less than 1% of their landscape burn each year, Fejeran said. Even before fireworks were legalized, GFD and wildland firefighters were already stretched thin to respond. The blanket fireworks ban Guam was the envy of other states and jurisdictions for years, she said. Right now you see fireworks going up in the air, then we hear injury. But how soon before we see more burned land, more compromised landscape and loss of agriculture lands, Fejeran said. The fire department did not speak for or against the bill, but was prepared to provide senators with data about fires and injuries, said GFD Fire Marshal Edward Artero. Every year, during Liberation, Fourth of July, New Years Eve, we respond to injuries associated with fireworks, whether legal or illegal, he said. Rules and regulations pending As of Monday, rules and regulations for fireworks sale and importation were still pending, Artero said. GFD was in the process of updating all of its fees and fines, and the fireworks rules and regs were wrapped up in that process, he said. Questioned by Sen. Sabina Perez, Artero said that GFD had reached out to the Guam Police Department to investigate New Years Eve fireworks shows. GPD, which was not present Monday, was the lead on the investigation, Artero said. He told Perez that the fire department only provided technical assistance to law enforcement on the matter. You havent fully come to a conclusion for the investigation of that, Perez said at one point. And so thats a clear indication that we dont have the capacity to deal with illegal explosion of fireworks. Taitague, who opposed fireworks legalization along with Perez back in 2023, apologized to GFD at one point. I want to apologize to the fire department putting you in this predicament, she said. Fireworks professional Jeff Sanchez, of ShowPro Pyrotechnics, said he could probably make more money if he sold fireworks to consumers instead of running professional-grade shows. But he said he would not make the switch, because of the dangers widespread fireworks use presented. When this supposedly became legal, in the past few months, we saw a great uptick in illegal fireworks, not only at New Years, but in a weekly celebration, Sanchez told senators. He said he had been informed personally that residents were bringing in fireworks by boat and from Saipan, where consumer fireworks are legal. Many of the fireworks brought to Guam were consumer-grade but still illegal, because Guam law limited fireworks to those that went up just 12 feet above the ground, Sanchez added. Consumer fireworks were unpredictable when launched, and prone to explosion when stored improperly. Besides that, GovGuam had no rules, regulations, or enforcement in place, he said. The government of Guam will pay Sanchez company about $208,000 for a 2025 New Years Eve and Liberation Day fireworks shows, Guam Visitors Bureau purchase records show. Taitague at one point during the hearing said she would be open to fireworks legalization if done correctly. Legalization had put the cart before the horse, by allowing fireworks when no regulations were in place, and with no restrictions based on the time of the year, or the risk of fires, she said. Last week my International Relations class covered international law, a very important topic for small island nations. The independence of small countries is guaranteed by international law, which treats all countries as equally sovereign, however small or weak they are. This was not always true. International law also gives island nations their 200-mile economic exclusion zone (EEZ) which many depend on. EEZs were created by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the 1970s. They are in addition to the 12-mile limit on how much ocean a country can claim as its own territory. Before UNCLOS countries could only claim territorial waters up to a few miles, and no EEZ. But the reality is, international law is much weaker than we think. There is no world government or police to enforce international law. The UN has no authority or forces of its own. It can do only what the most powerful member countries allow. And while international courts exist they cannot force governments to appear before them, much less obey. When countries follow international laws or obey international courts, there is usually something more going on than just respect for the rule of law. Sometimes, all countries find it in their mutual self-interest to have a rule about a particular issue, because they recognize that everyone benefits from it, but when one major country stops finding it in their self-interest the rule breaks down. Most maritime countries agree it is in their mutual self-interest to respect the rules about ocean territory and EEZs, including the U.S., which did not ratify UNCLOS. But now China, which did ratify UNCLOS, has started to violate those rules in the South China Sea. When the Philippines won a judgement under the UNCLOS arbitration tribunal, China refused to accept it. The U.S. too has simply ignored judgements it doesnt like. Sometimes countries appeal to international laws when it is convenient and ignore the them when it isnt. The laws of war are like this. There are traditionally two kinds of laws of war laws about when a country can go to war (jus ab bellum) and laws about what they can do in war (jus in bello). Some laws are generally respected out of mutual self-interest, like those relating to prisoners of war. Others are respected when convenient. One such law is that combatants should not attack civilian infrastructure unless it is necessary to achieve their war aims. The Biden administration condemned Russias bombing of power plants as a war crime, but supported Israels claim that similar actions were necessary for their war aims in Gaza. The arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for human rights violations when he was president might seem like an exception. It is not. Both the ICC and the violations Duterte is accused of are unusual for international law. Most international law covers how governments behave toward each other. Even the laws of war traditionally focus on the ways countries treat each others population. The ICC was created in the 1990s to cover individuals behavior, not just governments. It also has jurisdiction over how governments treat their own populations, under the emerging body of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The ICCs problem is many countries, including the U.S., did not join it. They reject its jurisdiction over their citizens. The ICC will usually only prosecute citizens of these countries when their crimes are carried out on the territory of ICC members. ICC expects member states to enforce its warrants against citizens of non-members. When the ICC issued a warrant against Duterte, the Philippines was an ICC member and Duterte himself was president. Duterte then withdrew the Philippines from the ICC, but the ICC claims jurisdiction over his actions before that withdrawal. Since the Philippines is no longer a member state, it was not obliged to hand Duterte over. Most observers believe the only reason President Marcos handed his predecessor over to the ICC was Marcos growing conflict with his own vice president, Sara Duterte, Rodrigos daughter. But this just highlights the weakness and hypocrisy of international law. Last year the ICC issued a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza. Imagine that Netanyahu arrived in the Philippines. Would Marcos, who is trying to get closer to Washington, arrest such a close ally of the U.S.? Of course not. Respect for international law has been getting weaker, not stronger. Soon, it may be difficult even to count on areas of international law that countries voluntarily abided by, like the EEZ provisions of UNCLOS. This danger this poses to small states is obvious. Haiti - FAd'H : A Haitian army of 20,000 men over 4 years As part of efforts to modernize the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd'H) and strengthen regional security cooperation, Presidential Advisor Smith Augustin, currently in Washington, at the head of a Haitian delegation, accompanied by the Permanent Mission of Haiti to the OAS, was received by the Executive Council of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB). Meeting Highlights : White Paper : Thanks for the IADB's historic support, particularly during the development of the White Paper (https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/Livre_Blanc.pdf) on security and national defense (2014-2015). This strategic document served as a guiding light for Haiti's military institutional development. This white paper will be updated and strengthened in light of current security challenges and based on the elements of the framework document discussed during the meeting. Presentation of the Haitian Government's Vision : Build a modern, inclusive, republican army that respects human rights and is deeply committed to serving the population. Training and Capacity Building for Law Enforcement : The Haitian Government has expressed its commitment to training 20,000 soldiers over four years, with specialized modules in crisis management, armed counterinsurgency intervention, cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and natural disaster relief operations. As part of this strengthening, the delegation advocated for assistance in establishing a military academy dedicated to officer training, as well as the creation of local training structures for soldiers to facilitate the autonomous and sustainable development of human resources within the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd'H) and a strategic response tailored to current security challenges. - Relaunching regional cooperation : Expressed desire to strengthen cooperation with the IADB, the Inter-American Defense College (IADC), and the OAS Secretariat for Multidimensional Security (SMS), with a view to exchanging expertise, sharing intelligence, and strengthening the technical and scientific capabilities of the FAD'H. HL/ S/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Education : Launch of the National Learning Compensation Program On Saturday, April 12, 2025, Augustin Antoine, the Minister of National Education, launched the National Learning Compensation Program at the Lycee National de Petion-ville, in front of several hundred Secondary IV students from various high schools in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. This program, which aims to recover, accelerate, and consolidate academic achievement, is not limited to public school students but is also open to students in private schools. It provides educational support targeted at schools whose operations have been disrupted by insecurity in certain Departmental Directorates of Education. The Learning Compensation Program applies to all ninth-grade and Secondary IV students preparing to take official exams. It will last 12 weeks (200 hours of instruction in total), divided into nine weeks of recovery and three weeks of consolidation of academic achievement. Minister Antoine praised the courage of all young Haitians who have not only been attending school recently, but have also been staying there. "Given the chronic and ongoing socioeconomic difficulties and the problems of violence to which young people are exposed on a daily basis, a young person who stays in school today is someone who has a grandiose dream. Therefore, the State has an obligation to enable them to realize their dreams." Antoine explained to them that the remedial courses are part of a logical approach aimed at bringing them up to date with the Ministry's curricula. They are also part of a philosophy that aims to ensure that all candidates, taking into account school categories, socioeconomic backgrounds, and geographic location, have the same opportunity to pass state exams. Twenty-five centers, expected to accommodate tens of thousands of students from public and private schools, will soon be operational in this School Department. But, for this Saturday, April 12, 2025, about ten of these activities were launched in the metropolitan area. Miguel Fleurijean, Director of Secondary Education, explained the rationale for the Compensation for Learning Program, now in its third year. "The Ministry seeks to ensure, on the one hand, the establishment of academic achievement, and on the other, the preparation of students for official examinations and the continuation of their academic careers, either within the traditional education system, for those in the ninth grade, or at university, for those in the fourth grade." Aside from the center housed at the Lycee National de Petion-ville, 10 other centers, welcoming students from several other public and private schools in the metropolitan area, began compensatory learning courses this Saturday, April 12. 1. Guatemala National School (Petion-Ville); 2. Horatius Laventure High School (Delmas 75); 3. Daniel Fignole High School (Delmas 31); 4. Georges and Antoine Izmery High School (Petite-Place Cazeau); 5. Jean-Marie Vincent High School (Carradeux); 6. Sister Theresa of Calcutta National School (Petite-Place Cazeau); 7. Carradeux National School; 8. Sibert National High School (Marin); 9. Duvivier National High School (Cite-Soleil); 10. Jacques 1er High School in Croix-des-Bouquets. Starting next weekend, classes will begin in other school districts in the West and in other departmental offices. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... PNH : Resumption of suicide drone attacks On Monday, April 14, 2025, at least five explosions attributed to suicide drone strikes were heard in the lower downtown area of Port-au-Prince, according to residents living nearby. Explosions were reported near Village de Dieu, located in the Bicentenaire neighborhood. The results of these drone attacks have not been officially released... Security : Cooperation with a Spanish firm ? On Monday, April 14, 2025, Carl Eric Barthelus, Charge d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Haiti in Spain, met with Antonio Ramirez Gonzalez, President of Technology & Security Developments (TSD), a firm specializing in the development of integrated security solutions. The discussion focused on security cooperation to support the Haitian government's efforts to strengthen the material and human capacities of law enforcement in their fight against armed gangs. WHO assists Mirebalais Hospital The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent 1.5 tons of medical supplies (emergency kits, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), etc.) to the Center's Health Directorate to respond to the emergency at Mirebalais Hospital. Thanks to the support of EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid, this shipment will cover 50 surgical procedures and primary care for more than 1,000 patients. Orlando : Next Mobile Consulate The Consulate of Haiti in Orlando informs the Haitian Community of Central Florida that the next "Mobile Consulate" in Jacksonville will take place on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Jacksonville Evangelical Church located at 570 Ellis Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32254. For more information, please contact the Consular Post at (407) 897-3232. Chatelas : Road Rehabilitation Funded by Farmers The Progressive Association of Chatelas (commune of Saint-Marc) has been carrying out improvement work on the section of road between Chardene and Chatelas since March. This community project consists of concreting a road strip approximately 2 kilometers long in two sections, connecting the local cemetery to Morne Melaneau. It is entirely funded by the resources of farmers who have chosen to use their limited means to turn their challenges into opportunities. Chatelas, the first section of Bois-Neuf, in the commune of Saint-Marc, is located about twenty kilometers from the city of Saint-Marc. MHAVE : Proud of the Success of the International Diaspora Days The Ministry of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE) proudly and gratefully acknowledges the remarkable success of the 7th edition of the International Diaspora Days in Montreal (April 11-13, 2025), under the theme: "Haiti, a New Beginning." This major event, which is part of the effort to strengthen ties with the diaspora, was marked by the exemplary mobilization of the Haitian community in Canada, the quality of the discussions, the richness of the panels, and the depth of the discussions surrounding reconstruction and civic participation of the Haitian diaspora. HL/ HaitiLibre by Jonathan Kujawa The humble 2. Its not big, like the Brobdingnagian numbers. Its not nothing, like zero. Its not the first something, like one. Its hard to imagine much can be said about the unremarkable two. Of course, Covid gave us a newfound appreciation for the power of exponential doubling. If you know of a novel disease and have 3 cases yesterday, 6 cases today, and are told to expect 12 cases tomorrow, it is quite something to predict close to zero new cases by April. But Im just a simple mathematician who finds pulling random numbers from my rear end uncomfortable. A happier, if apocryphal, tale is about the invention of chess. The story goes back to at least the 11th century: a clever courtier invents chess and presents it to their king. The king so loves the new game that he offers to give the courtier whatever they request. The courtier says that theyd like one piece of wheat for the first square of the chessboard, another two pieces for the second square, another four pieces for the third square, another 8 pieces for the fourth square, and so on for the 64 squares of an 8 x 8 chessboard. The king grants this laughably small request. After all, it couldnt be more than a sack or two of wheat, right [1]? When you do the sums, you end up with 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 grains of wheat for the courtier. That seems like a lot to count and you might rather weigh it out. Even then, itll be some work. After all, were talking about something like 18,446,744,000 metric tons. A riddle loved and hated by students when they first learn about the prime numbers is: What is the oddest prime?. Sure to generate groans, the answer, of course, is two. Why the oddest? Being the only even prime makes two the black sheep among the primes. On a questionably more serious note, the largest prime numbers are found using powers of two. As we talked about here at 3QD, last October the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search announced that 2136279841-1 is the largest prime number known to humankind. It has 41,024,320 digits. Printing it out would take an 8,000 page book if you wanted to carry it around with you. Given the massive amount of computational power needed to verify the above was a prime number, I can only marvel at Norman De Forests tour-de-force: The Square Root of 4 to a Million Places. Given that this calculation was done on the limited technology available at the time, it is no surprise the author offers a cautionary preface: What follows are the first 1 million digits of the square root of 4. Actually, slightly more than 1 million digits are given here. These digits were computed by Norman De Forest using a custom utility and a command with a lot of dollar signs in the command line. They were computed during his copious spare time on a standard IBM PC over the course of about 6 minutes and 40 seconds. We do NOT guarantee the accuracy of these digits. Although these digits have been checked once we encourage others to check them as well. Please report any errors to Norman L. De Forest <[email protected]>. Norman L. De Forest Mr. De Forest gives us another gift by providing a webpage from the early days of the internet. An era when the internet still had the simple naivete of a young technology full of promise. When you could share your interest in Tom Swiftes, and your virtual nemesis could be the Kellogg Corporation. Speaking of square roots, the square root of two is a significant turning point in the history of mathematics. In the sixth century BCE the Pythagoreans of Ancient Greece discovered that 2 cannot be written as the ratio of two natural numbers. It was the first example of a number that undoubtedly exists in the real world and cant be written as such a fraction. We know it exists because the Pythagorean theorem tells us it is the very real length of the diagonal in a square which has side length one. For more on the math of this, see [3]. In what is surely another apocryphal story, the Pythagoreans supposedly tossed Hippasus to his death over the side of a ship for his discovery of this abomination. Of course, you cant put the genie back in the bottle. Once you know that the world contains non-fractions, you have to be dead inside not to be curious about what other numerical wonders lie out there. And, indeed, as we discussed here at 3QD, there are more real numbers than our minds can possibly comprehend. Square root of 2 is not equal to a/b, noted Tom irrationally. I recently learned of the following nifty puzzle: Given exactly four instances of the digit 2 and some target natural number, use any mathematical operations to generate the target number with these 2s, using no other digits. To avoid too much craziness, lets agree that mathematical operations means the sort of operations we all see in high school. Things like addition, exponentiation, logarithms, trig functions, and the like. This is neither a riddle nor a trick. For example, 1 = (2+2)(2-2), 2 = 2*(2)(2-2), 3 = 2+(2)(2-2), 4 = 2*2*(2/2), Its fun to noodle on this puzzle during tedious work meetings. Pick a handy number, say 2025 or the largest known prime number, and try to write it using precisely four twos. For years, this was a fun little challenge to throw at your friendly neighborhood mathematician to get them out of your hair. In the 1920s, the physicist Paul Dirac put his big brain on the problem and came up with a solution for all natural numbers. Namely, given a natural number n, you can always express it using logarithms and square roots via Here you should use exactly n square roots. For example, If youd like to see how Dirac came up with this formula, check out this great blog post by Eli Bendersky. It was here that I first learned of Diracs technique. A question that immediately comes to mind is if two is somehow special here. Can you do this with, say fours? The four fours puzzle, too, is an old problem that goes back to at least the 1800s. If you look at the Wikipedia link, youll find that you can solve it using a very Dirac-ish kind of solution. This suggests that maybe you can write any natural number using four copies of your favorite number between 1 and 9, whatever it might be. As you might guess, there is a long history of people working on this and related problems. For similar topics, I recommend this Numberphile video. In it, Matt Parker talks about the work of Inder J. Taneja, a mathematician who is absolutely mad about these sorts of numerological puzzles. It turns out that two holds more than a few surprises, after all! [1] I mean, its one banana, Michael. What could it cost? Ten dollars? [2] Image borrowed from Wikipedia. [3] A natural number is a number from among 1,2,3,4,5,6,. Until 2 came along, it was widely assumed that every number could be written as a fraction using these numbers (e.g., 1/2, 18/5, 11/3). One of the most powerful things about mathematics is our ability to prove that something is impossible. How? By imagining that it could be possible and then reasoning our way to something that cant possibly be true. If our logic is sound, then the only escape is that we must have been wrong in supposing the thing was possible in the first place. Here, suppose 2 = a/b for some natural numbers a and b. We can simplify by first canceling and eliminating as many 2s from the a and b as we can. That leaves us with 2 = c/d, where one of c and d is an odd number. But then (2)d = c and, squaring both sides, 2d = c. Since 2 divides evenly into the left side, it must divide evenly into the right-hand side and, hence, must divide evenly into c. That means c is an even number and looks like c = 2k. But then we can substitute and do the algebra to get 2d = (2k) = 4k. Dividing by 2 gives us that d = 2k. Once again, we can say that since 2 divides the right-hand side evenly, that means it evenly divides d. So, d is also an even number. Wait! We reasoned our way to knowing that both c and d are even. But we already know one of them is odd. Since a natural number cannot be both even and odd, we must have gone wrong somewhere. Our logic is sound, so we must have been mistaken when we supposed we could write 2 as the ratio of two natural numbers. *** Enjoying the content on 3QD? Help keep us going by donating now. According to a report in the New York Times, China has begun to ban the export of numerous rare earths, not only to the USA, but as a whole. According to the US newspaper, these are the raw materials whose export was already restricted by the leadership in Beijing on April 4. The export ban is now being implemented at many Chinese ports, while the government is still working on a new set of regulations to allow exports again. As this will take time, supplies could soon dry up, affecting not only the USA but also Japan and Germany, writes the newspaper. The raw materials are key to the construction of cars, airplanes, semiconductors and military technology, among other things. Anzeige Stricter controls at many ports The export controls imposed a week and a half ago concern the elements samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium, the news agency Reuters reported at the time. Contrary to some reports, they already applied to all countries, not just the USA, although this was in response to the massive tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on all goods from China. According to the New York Times, the implementation of the export ban has so far been inconsistent and has been handled differently depending on the port, but the regulations are now being implemented more and more strictly. They have been in full force since last Friday. Rare earths are essential for the manufacture of many high-tech products and China has dominated the global market for some time now. For the People's Republic, they only account for a small proportion of exports, so the export ban is causing little economic damage in the country. At the same time, it is likely to have a significant impact on various industries around the world. Although some manufacturers have built up stocks in preparation for the trade war, these will not last forever. According to the US newspaper, it is expected that it could be weeks before the promised new regulations are in place and export licenses are issued again. In the worst-case scenario, some factories would have to suspend production until then. The export ban could therefore potentially escalate the conflict between China and the US, with consequences for the global economy. Last week, the US President paused his massive tariff package against the vast majority of countries in the world and suspended some of the additional tariffs imposed for 90 days. However, this did not apply to China; instead, Trump is taking even tougher action against the People's Republic: While the US is now demanding additional tariffs of 145 percent on imports from China, Beijing is now imposing 125 percent on US goods for its part. There is no agreement in sight. (mho) Don't miss any news follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication. Speaking from military positions and memorial sites in Ukraine, the volunteers criticised the current state of Finlands defence readiness. They also questioned the countrys policy on fundraising for military assistance, saying Finnish law prevents public support for Ukrainians and foreign volunteers fighting on their behalf. Finnish volunteer soldiers serving in Ukraine say Finland is not ready to face a potential Russian military threat, citing outdated training and a lack of preparation for modern drone warfare. Finn, a Finnish national who has spent the last three years fighting in Ukraine, said much of what he learned during his Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) training no longer applies. Warfare has changed entirely, he told Yle, describing drone use as a dominant feature of todays battlefield. If Russia attacked Finland right now, the initial losses would be catastrophic. Infantry have no way to protect themselves from drones. Finn, who previously worked as a welder, said his decision to fight in Ukraine followed reports of Russian atrocities in Bucha and Mariupol. He has taken part in several high-profile operations, including the 2023 Ukrainian counter-offensive. Four of his unit members have died, and he himself was injured in the Battle of Bakhmut. I think it would be wrong to pack up and say, Thats it, he said. Mikko, another Finnish soldier fighting in Ukraine, echoed similar concerns. Finland does not understand the scale to which drones are used on the battlefield, he said. He described modern electronic warfare as a standard feature of the front line. Vehicles and even individual soldiers in Ukraine are routinely equipped with jamming systems. The Russians have so many drones they are free to choose who they kill, he said. Both Mikko and Finn said they see their presence in Ukraine as defending Finland and Europe. Neither believes the war will end soon. The Finnish Defence Forces responded to the claims by stating they monitor the war in Ukraine closely and are continually updating their capabilities. The Defence Forces are constantly developing their own performance and expertise to meet the requirements of the threat environment, the military told Yle. But according to the volunteers, that is not enough. Nobody seems to understand the huge number of drones here, Finn said. A Finnish flag now stands in Maidan Square in Kyiv in memory of one of their fallen compatriots. Mikko placed it there alongside a diary excerpt from the deceased soldier. It is now the duty of peaceful nations to stand up, it read. Funding restrictions draw criticism While the soldiers are employed and paid by the Ukrainian army, they receive no support or formal status from Finland. Volunteer group Your Finnish Friends has supplied equipment and gear, which Mikko said often exceeded what was issued by Ukrainian forces. Its a lifeline for us, he said. Mikko criticised Finlands laws on fundraising for military aid, which prohibit raising money for combat-related equipment or soldier support. How is it that fighting here for the interests of Finland and Europe is not an activity of public benefit? he asked. The current restrictions have triggered political debate in Finland. The Parliamentary Friendship Group for Ukraine has proposed changes to the law. According to Turun Sanomat, more than 100 MPs have expressed support across party lines. In addition to drones, Mikko and Finn highlighted electronic warfare and combat experience as areas where Ukrainian training far surpasses Finnish standards. They said such skills would be essential if Finland faced military aggression from Russia. According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo), around 100 Finnish nationals have volunteered to fight in Ukraine since the war began in 2022. After returning from his first tour, Mikko said he struggled with reintegration. I couldnt sleep at night. I was angry all the time, he said. Finn, reflecting on his own experience, said the war had changed him permanently. I dont know if Ive become a bit numb. When someone dies, I just say one 200 on the radio, he said, using the Ukrainian army code for a fallen soldier. HT Police units will respond only to urgent calls involving threats to life or health. The strike, which continues through Wednesday, also affects the prisons in Hameenlinna and Vantaa, where only food services and healthcare are being provided. A police strike began today, 15th of April, in Western Uusimaa, shutting down stations and halting most non-urgent operations, after salary talks failed to reach agreement . The Espoo main police station and those in Kirkkonummi, Lohja and Raasepori are closed to the public during the strike days. Crime reports will not be accepted in person at any Western Uusimaa police stations but can be filed online or at other police stations in Finland. Permit services are also suspended. Individuals with appointments to apply for passports, ID cards, firearm licences or private security permits on Tuesday or Wednesday will not be served. Those needing to present firearms for inspection must reschedule. Urgent permit services can still be accessed at other police departments. Lost property services and applications for asylum or temporary protection are also suspended in Western Uusimaa during the strike. Applications can be submitted at other police locations. Emergency calls to 112 remain available for life-threatening situations. According to the National Police Board, investigations into serious crimes affecting life or health will continue during the strike. The Police Board, Western Uusimaa Police Department, and the Finnish Police Union have agreed on minimum protective duties for the strike period. Units will only respond to tasks necessary to prevent immediate danger to life or serious damage to property. Support from nearby departments is limited to these duties. At Hameenlinna and Vantaa prisons, authorities expect that inmates will not be allowed to exercise outdoors, participate in scheduled activities or make outside contacts during the strike. The Criminal Sanctions Agency also anticipates disruptions to prisoner transport and some court proceedings. HT According to meteorologists at Foreca , the 20-degree threshold may already be broken in western and southern Finland by Wednesday. Temperatures in Finland are expected to reach their highest point so far this year, with forecasters predicting up to 23C in southern regions by Good Friday. The warm weather follows several days of steady warming across the country and is forecast to continue through the end of the week. The warm air mass arriving from the south is expected to push daytime temperatures to unseasonably high levels in many parts of the country, particularly in the south and west. On Tuesday, temperatures remained under 20C nationwide but reached between 15C and 17C in the south. Central areas saw temperatures between 10C and 15C, while northern regions remained cooler at around 2C to 10C. Cloud cover and occasional rainfall persisted in parts of Lapland. Wednesday is expected to be dry and sunny across most of Finland. Forecas forecast suggests that the south and west could see highs of 17C to 20C, with central Finland experiencing similar conditions. In Lapland, temperatures may rise to 10C to 12C in the south, but northernmost areas are likely to stay below 10C. Thursday is set to bring more variable conditions. A weak front moving south during the night may bring showers to central and southern areas, with snow possible in northern Lapland. Despite the cloudier conditions, daytime highs will remain above average, ranging from 15C to 17C in the south, around 10C to 15C in central Finland, and 7C to 10C in the north. Forecas meteorologist Joanna Rinne said the highest temperatures of the week are expected on Friday, especially in southern Finland. In regions with clear skies, temperatures could rise to between 20C and 23C. In more widespread areas across the south and west, temperatures will likely range from 17C to 21C. Good Friday is shaping up to be the warmest day of the week, Rinne told Iltalehti. She added that a colder front from the north could bring some localised thunderstorms and rain showers in parts of central Finland and around Oulu, though Lapland will remain mostly sunny but cooler. The warm spell will begin to ease over the weekend. On Saturday, the cold front is forecast to move further south, bringing rain showers and cooler air. Despite increased cloud cover, southern Finland could still see temperatures between 15C and 20C. Central areas are likely to vary, with some locations such as Pohjanmaa falling below 10C, while others, including North Karelia, may reach 14C to 15C. By Sunday, colder air will likely dominate across the country. Foreca expects temperatures to fall below 10C in most areas, and heavier rainfall is possible in the south. The forecast remains uncertain, but the trend points to a brief decline in temperatures. Rinne emphasised that despite the weekends drop, no return to winter conditions is expected. The spring conditions are here to stay, she said. Daytime temperatures next week are still projected to remain above 10C in most parts of the country, though night-time lows could bring localised frost in the south. Snowfall remains confined to parts of Lapland. Looking ahead, long-range forecasts suggest above-average temperatures will continue through the end of April and into May. The final week of April, including May Day, is expected to be slightly warmer than usual, although variability remains high. Foreca's seasonal outlook for May and early summer also points to a warmer-than-average period, although there may be increased rainfall. Rinne noted that the precision of long-range forecasts for Finland remains limited, but the current trend supports continued mild conditions. HT The new system enables the death of a Finnish citizen in Estonia, or vice versa, to be recorded without the need for a separate notification by relatives. Authorities in Finland and Estonia will begin automatically sharing information on the deaths of their citizens starting 15 April 2025, aiming to streamline official procedures and ease the administrative burden on families. It ensures faster updates to national population registers, supports the termination of social benefits, and facilitates the closure of services such as banking. Until now, family members were responsible for reporting such deaths manually to their respective authorities. With the new data-sharing agreement in effect, this obligation will no longer apply. In the first phase of the information exchange, we will receive regular information on Finnish citizens who have passed away in Estonia, said Timo Salovaara, Deputy Director General of Finlands Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Later, the exchanges will expand to cover changes in residence, names, marital status, and births. The development is based on a bilateral treaty signed in September 2022, which entered into force in May 2024. By the end of 2025, the cooperation is expected to include automated updates for people moving between the two countries. This will ensure that citizens address information remains current in both national registers. Once the changes take full effect, it will only be possible to register a permanent residence in one country at a time. Consequently, residence-based benefits such as social security will be granted by only one country. Finland has operated under similar arrangements with other Nordic countries since the 1960s. Population authorities in both countries are currently reviewing existing records. Approximately 5,000 Finnish citizens are listed as having permanent addresses in both Finland and Estonia. These individuals will be contacted later this year to confirm or update their registered residence. Enel Pungas, Head of the Population Facts Department at the Estonian Ministry of the Interior, said: The vast majority of affected people have their residence correctly registered in one country. However, for those with dual records, the entries will be checked and corrected. Finland has shared name, address, and marital status data with Estonia since 2005. With the new reciprocal system, Estonian authorities will now do the same for Finnish residents. This step further deepens cross-border cooperation in civil administration, which began in the 1990s. Authorities advise citizens moving between the two countries to review and update their residence status. Those living permanently in Estonia but still registered in Finland should file an emigration notice with the Finnish Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Similarly, Finnish residents listed in Estonia should consult the Estonian Population Register for instructions. HT The report, published by the Centre for New Economic Thinking (UTAK), focuses on the consolidation policies of Prime Minister Petteri Orpos administration. It concludes that the austerity-driven economic strategy is not achieving the intended goal of debt reduction. A new economic analysis claims that the Finnish government's current fiscal tightening programme is weakening economic growth and raising the countrys debt-to-GDP ratio. The report was written by Lauri Holappa, Executive Director at UTAK, Otto Kyyronen, Chief Economist at the Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health (SOSTE), and Patrizio Laina, Chief Economist at the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK). Their analysis uses a model based on the European Commissions debt sustainability framework, as adapted by the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel. This framework considers various sectors, including online gambling, to assess the broader economic implications of fiscal policies. Our findings show that the governments consolidation measures strongly suppress domestic demand, Kyyronen said. Its been clear all along that austerity is harmful for growth, but our simulations also demonstrate that the public debt ratio increases as a result. The reports simulations incorporate fiscal multipliers from existing research into the Commissions sustainability analysis. According to the authors, the estimates used in the modelling were conservative. Even with cautious assumptions, the conclusion is clear. Public finances would be in a better state without these harsh cuts, Laina said. The authors recommend overhauling both Finnish and EU-level fiscal rules. They argue that investment spending should be excluded from deficit targets to allow for growth-enhancing public investment. We propose a 4 billion stimulus programme, Holappa said. It would include infrastructure and housing investments, increased education funding, capital support for growth companies, and industrial policy actions aligned with the green transition. According to the report, Finlands current budget policy fails to account for the broader economic consequences of cuts, which may reduce revenues and increase welfare costs. The proposed growth package, in contrast, would seek to stimulate private sector activity and improve long-term sustainability through structural investment. The government's consolidation strategy has faced repeated criticism from labour organisations and social advocacy groups. The Finance Ministry has defended the programme, citing the need to address structural imbalances and control rising expenditure. UTAKs report adds to a growing body of analysis suggesting that austerity measures imposed during periods of economic uncertainty may prove counterproductive. The authors argue that a more flexible policy framework would give governments better tools to support recovery and structural adjustment simultaneously. HT International travellers are currently making bookings for summer holidays in Finland, with data showing that most reservations occur just a few months in advance. According to Visit Finland, summer bookings from foreign leisure tourists are typically made 2.7 months before travel. Visitors from the United States book earlier, averaging 3.7 months, while French travellers typically confirm their summer trips 3.1 months in advance. Distance plays a key role in booking behaviour. Travellers from further away tend to plan earlier, said Katarina Wakonen, Senior Expert at Visit Finland. During the winter season, this link is less straightforward because many of Finlands winter destinations and services sell out quickly. Bookings for Lapland and similar attractions come early from all over the world. Data shows that Finland is not typically a last-minute destination. In contrast to summer travel, foreign tourists book their Finnish winter holidays on average 4.1 months ahead of arrival. British travellers are the most proactive, booking nearly seven months in advance, especially for Christmas holidays in Lapland. These seasonal trips are marketed as unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. French travellers book winter holidays around five months ahead, followed by Germans at 3.7 months. Despite the growth in independent travel, package holidays remain important, particularly in winter. Last season, one in four foreign visitors travelled independently. Among British tourists, almost half chose package tours, while nearly one-third of French travellers also opted for pre-arranged holidays. Finlands competitiveness as a summer destination remains a challenge. During the Nordic high season, around 23 million overnight stays by foreign travellers are recorded across the region. Finlands share is just eight percent. Finland needs to improve its visibility and appeal, particularly for summer. Last summer, tourism exports brought approximately one billion euros into the country. One in seven euros earned through Finnish service exports during summer comes from tourism, said Wakonen. Finland often competes as part of a Nordic trio with Sweden and Norway in the minds of international tourists. In many cases, potential visitors perceive little difference between the three. Efforts to boost Finlands tourism appeal focus on enhancing recognition and distinctiveness. Positive themes such as Finnish happiness rankings and the popularity of sauna culture are seen as assets that can support growth in tourism services. HT City celebrates Tree City Day on April 25 The Hendersonville Tree Board invites the community to an Arbor Day celebration and tree planting at noon Friday, April 25, at Hendersonville Elementary School, 1039 Randall Circle. Related Stories The celebration will include Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk, the North Carolina Forest Service, Four Seasons Rotary Club, Hendersonville Tree Board and elementary school students. The community is invited. During the event, a Forest Service ranger will present awards from the Arbor Day Foundation to the city of Hendersonville. Mayor Volk will also proclaim April 25 as Tree City Day in Hendersonville. Public works staff will assist in planting trees to benefit the community for years to come. The event is hosted by the Four Seasons Rotary Club, which has sponsored Arbor Day events in Hendersonville since 1991. Pardee honors Price as Physician of the Year David Price is UNC Health Pardee's 2025 Physician of the Year The Pardee Hospital Foundation honored Dr. David Price on April 11 as the UNC Health Pardee Physician of the Year, citing his outstanding service, compassionate care and unwavering commitment to his patients and the broader community. Related Stories It is my great honor to recognize an extraordinary individual who has gone above and beyond in the care of his patients and service to this community, said Nicola Barksdale, senior vice president and market executive at First Citizens Bank, the evenings Physician of the Year Sponsor, as she announced the award during the foundations Spring Soire. Dr. Price exemplifies the very best of what it means to be a physician skillful, compassionate, and committed to making a difference in the lives of others. Each year, the Physician of the Year is selected through an extensive nomination process that invites community members, patients, and Pardee team members to share how a physician has made a meaningful impact on their lives. Finalists are then reviewed and voted on by their peers in the medical community. "The Physician of the Year Award represents an opportunity for us to recognize and express our gratitude to the exceptional physicians within our community who consistently go above and beyond to deliver outstanding healthcare services," said Amy Treece, executive director of Pardee Hospital Foundation. "Dr. Prices unwavering dedication and commitment to excellence have impacted the lives of individual patients and colleagues and contributed to advancing healthcare standards." A native of Wetumpka, Alabama, Price grew up in a military family before pursuing a medical career. He earned his medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed his residency in general surgery at Carraway Methodist Medical Center. Drawn to the problem-solving nature of surgery and a deep interest in human anatomy, Price joined Pardee UNC Health Care in 2005 and has been an integral part of the medical staff ever since. He and his wife, Tonya, chose to settle in Hendersonville nearly two decades ago, drawn by the areas quality of life and ideal setting to raise their daughters, who now attend the University of North Carolina and N.C. State University. Known for his calm and steady demeanor, Price is highly respected by colleagues and patients. During the nomination process, patients described Dr. Price as: Kind, compassionate, and really wants his patients informed and part of the process. Very smart, kind-hearted, good personality. A compassionate doctor who listens to the problems and needs of his patients. Perfectly amazing service. These sentiments reflect his clinical expertise and his gift for connecting with patients in ways that foster trust, clarity, and comfort. He puts his patients first and makes sure to hear out his patients family members, one patient wrote. I credit my wife for her unwavering support throughout my career, Price said. My success would not have been possible without her. Price enjoys hiking, biking and spending time with his family in his free time. These are all things that contribute to the work-life balance that I truly value at Pardee, he said. Dr. Price has served not only his patients but this community as a whole, Barksdale said. We are grateful to have him as part of our healthcare family and proud to honor him as our 2025 Physician of the Year. Optimized, primed next-Gen robots start rollout 09:51, April 15, 2025 By Ma Si ( China Daily Members of the R&D team of Glory Road Intelligent Technology Co adjust a humanoid robot in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Feb 24. (Du Zixuan/Xinhua) In a cutting-edge facility in Shanghai, engineers are precisely assembling humanoid robots, while rows of newly manufactured units stand ready for quality checks. In an adjacent testing zone, 100 humanoid robots are being trained to perform daily tasks such as serving tea, folding laundry, and setting tables in simulated environments ranging from cafes to residential spaces. The factory is in Lin-gang Special Area, Shanghai's first mass production hub for humanoid robots. Despite being operational for less than a year, it has already rolled out over 1,500 units, according to AgiBot, the artificial intelligence and robotics startup that runs the factory. "We plan to open a second factory in Shanghai this year, and are aiming for an annual capacity of 10,000 units," said Peng Zhihui, co-founder of AgiBot. In a market traditionally accustomed to United States names such as Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot, the global humanoid robotics industry is now being wowed by eye-catching innovations from Chinese companies. This year is widely anticipated to mark the first mass production of humanoid robots, and Chinese heavyweights and startups are scrambling to exhibit their technological and manufacturing prowess. On the list of 100 global humanoid robotics-related companies, which was recently released by United States investment bank Morgan Stanley, 37 are from China, including UBTech Robotics and BYD. Humanoid robotics is a perfect example of "embodied AI", the integration of physical hardware and artificial intelligence, a phrase that was highlighted in the 2025 Government Work Report. According to a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology guideline, China aims to build an innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025, with breakthroughs in key technologies to ensure the safe and effective supply of core components. By 2027, China will see a secure and reliable industrial and supply chain system of humanoid robots, and related products will be deeply integrated into the real economy, the guideline added. China has made rapid progress in robotics and artificial intelligence, said Qiao Hong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the State key laboratory of multimodal artificial intelligence systems. "Over the past three years, China has accounted for more than half of the global installations of industrial robots, and its lunar exploration robots have successfully returned lunar soil samples," she said. Qiao pointed to the development of humanoid robots as a particularly promising area, with China establishing a core foundation of technology for large-scale, cost-effective production of high-performance robotic systems. China's humanoid robot market is expected to grow into a more than 100 billion yuan ($13.6 billion) market by 2030, up from 2.76 billion yuan in 2024, according to a report from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Goldman Sachs Research predicts the global humanoid robot market could hit $154 billion by 2035, with optimistic projections reaching $205 billion. A humanoid robot attracts attention during the China Science Fiction Convention 2025 at Shougang Park in Beijing on March 27. (Zou Hong/China Daily) Automakers' crossover Well aware of the opportunities, Chinese tech heavyweights, automakers, and startups are all jumping on the bandwagon for both short-term gains and long-term strategic goals. Since the beginning of this year, humanoid robots have become the hottest trend in the automotive industry. At least 15 Chinese automakers, including GAC, SAIC, XPeng, Chery, and Xiaomi, along with supply chain companies like Huawei, Horizon Robotics, and Hesai Technology, have entered the humanoid robot race. Overseas, six automakers Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai have also proposed their own humanoid robot concepts. Virtually all mainstream global automakers have now joined the humanoid robotics arena. Tesla has set an ambitious mass production target: expanding the monthly production capacity of its Optimus humanoid robot to 100,000 units by 2027. The automotive industry has long been considered the largest application field for robotics. Sixty-four years ago, General Motors became the first customer for the Unimate industrial robot, a mechanical arm, ushering in the era of automated manufacturing. Since then, cutting-edge robots have played crucial roles in automotive workshops. Now, automakers are again at the forefront of robotics innovation, but with greater ambitions in the AI plus robotics domain. In the short term, they aim to enhance manufacturing and sales efficiency. In the long term, as population growth plateaus and the automotive technology matures, automakers will need new growth drivers, experts said. From a technical perspective, automakers' crossover into humanoid robotics appears logical if humanoid robots are seen as general-purpose robots, then smart vehicles resemble specialized robots for specific scenarios, they added. Both share foundational technologies: intelligent perception, human-machine interaction, decision-making in complex environments, and path planning. For automakers, entering this field represents reusing established technology that could reduce costs and production cycles. Zhang Shaozheng, general manager of manufacturing at AgiBot, said: "We've leveraged synergies with the new energy sector, particularly in components like electric motors and gearboxes. It is precisely these mature supply chains that enabled us to produce humanoid robots at scale in such a short time frame." Industrial automation Goldman Sachs Research also forecasts significant demand for humanoid robots in structured environments like manufacturing. That could include use in scenarios such as electric vehicle assembly and component sorting. Industry research indicates that about 70 percent of manufacturing in China is already done by machines and automation. Since humanoids are more flexible and capable of adapting to complex terrains, Goldman Sachs analysts believe they can expand the market for industrial automation. Humanoids are particularly appealing for tasks that are "dangerous, dirty, and dull", Goldman Sachs Research said, adding that there would be potential demand for robots in mining, disaster rescue, nuclear reactor maintenance, and chemicals manufacturing. Customers may be willing to pay a higher price for robots that can do dangerous jobs that people are reluctant to do. Importantly, robots could also provide labor in sectors that don't have enough workers, Goldman Sachs added. Labor is still indispensable in the era of industrial automation. However, going forward, humanoid robots can collaborate with traditional automation equipment to solve complex scenarios of flexible unmanned operations, and independently complete difficult tasks, such as torque tightening and material handling, Zhou Jian, chairman and CEO of UBTech Robotics, said. The company is exploring the application of humanoid robots in industrial scenarios, such as new energy vehicles, with leading EV makers including Nio and BYD. UBTech Robotics released a video in March that showed a team of its humanoid robots working collaboratively at an EV factory in China, claiming it as the world's first multi-humanoid robot collaboration across multiple scenarios and tasks. Zheshang Securities estimates that by 2030, Chinese and US manufacturing sectors will require 1.1 million and 583,000 humanoid robots, respectively, indicating the massive market potential. Unitree Robotics' G1 robot joins models during Shanghai Fashion Week on March 26. (Zhang Hengwei/China News Service) Shortcomings, challenges Humanoid robots, however, are still in the very early stages of development. There are shortcomings in their design, and their functionalities are not fully in line with customer needs. Technological hurdles and cost challenges also exist, experts said. "As a manufactured product, humanoid robots can only have a solid market when costs are lowered to an acceptable level," said Guo Qianqian, an analyst at Essence Securities. But progress is underway. Last year, Unitree Robotics unveiled a surprisingly low price of 99,000 yuan for its latest G1 humanoid robot, standing in sharp contrast to many robots from other companies that are priced from 150,000 to 200,000 yuan. According to Unitree Robotics, G1 is about 127 centimeters tall and boasts impressive stability and flexibility, such as 180-degree body rotation and the ability to crack walnuts "barehanded". The story behind Unitree Robotics' ability to offer such low prices can be traced back to its years of developing quadruped robots and its self-developed electric drive technology. "The core components of the G1 joint unit, including the servo motor, reducer and controller, are all independently developed and produced by Unitree," said Wang Qixin, chief marketing officer at Unitree Robotics. The development of the G1 humanoid took about three months from project initiation to launch, primarily due to Unitree Robotics' own technology. Wang also acknowledged that the reduced size of the robot contributed to the lower price. Humanoid robots' path to commercialization may take even longer than that of autonomous driving vehicles, experts said. He Xiaopeng, chairman and CEO of Chinese automaker Xpeng Motors, said he recently had a discussion with Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics, and Zhou from UBTech Robotics. The trio agreed that current humanoid robot technology approximates to level 2 autonomy, or assisted autonomy, while the industry hopes to achieve commercially viable level 3 autonomy, or conditional automation. Level 2 is part of broader standards developed in relation to the degree to which autonomous machines take over driving functions. Level 2 means partial driver assistance. Level 3 means that drivers don't need to pay attention in certain situations. Level 4 means that vehicles can perform all driving tasks under specific circumstances, but human overrides are still an option. He said the leap from level 2 to level 3 in humanoid robots requires "exponentially" greater capabilities, and humanoid robots need to reach level 4 autonomy before operating in households. Compared with autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots face far greater challenges in perception, decision-making, motion control, and hardware across more complex, unpredictable scenarios, experts added. Over the years, smart cars have developed high-level autonomous driving, but level 4 and above remain commercially elusive. Compared to vehicles' controlled traffic environments, humanoid robots demand "higher generality" across diverse, unpredictable scenarios. Current applications focus on grasping, assembly, and inspection in factories processes that require 18 to 24 months of rigorous testing, said Zhou from UBTech Robotics. A humanoid robot opens a can in the exhibition hall of UBTech Robotics in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. (Deng Hua/Xinhua) Smarter robot 'brains' The progress of large language models such as China-developed DeepSeek is also injecting new vitality into the sector. US market research company International Data Corp said that LLMs are key drivers and can help better develop the "brain" of humanoid robots, enhancing perception and enabling autonomous learning and decision-making, while improving motion generalization through behavioral interaction training. In March, AgiBot launched an AI large language model, the GO-1, to accelerate the training of robots. The model enables robots to rapidly generalize new tasks with minimal training, significantly lowering the technical barriers for embodied AI applications, AgiBot said. The GO-1 model leverages real-world human demonstrations and internet-sourced video data to enhance contextual understanding of human activities. Yao Maoqing, a partner of AgiBot and president of its embodied intelligence business unit, said: "Even a simple water-pouring action requires nearly 100 high-quality data samples for training. These data sets, collected from 100 robots, are uploaded to the cloud computing platform for model iteration, eventually enabling universal task deployment." Repetitive industrial tasks remain the initial focus for the application of humanoid robots. Yao highlighted logistics as a prime example. "While automated guided vehicles excel at transporting goods, tasks such as packaging different-sized items demand real-time adjustments and error correction a challenge perfectly suited for humanoid robots. AI control allows them to rethink strategies upon failure, much like humans," he said. As technologies evolve, AgiBot envisions broader applications. "Humanoid robots' flexibility fills the gap between rigid automation and human labor," Yao said. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Zhong Wenxing) Foreign businesses flock to consumer products expo Global Times) 10:27, April 15, 2025 CICPE (Chen Tao/GT) Foreign businesses from a wide range of industries, from vehicles to food and beverages, are flocking to the annual China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, as they seek to strengthen their ties with the vast Chinese consumer market. The strong presence of the world's companies at the six-day expo, which is being held from Sunday to Friday, is yet another sign of the resilience and vitality of the Chinese market, with several foreign delegates also rejecting claims by certain Western media outlets about weakened consumer spending in China. Speaking with a Global Times reporter at the CICPE, Song Guanhua, a person-in-charge of the Singapore pavilion at the expo, said that many Singaporean brands had previously participated in the CICPE individually, but this year marked the first time they were exhibiting as a group, highlighting the importance Singaporean businesses place on the growing Chinese consumer market. The participating Singaporean exhibitors represent a diverse range of industries and consumer needs, from bird's nest products to luxury safes. A total of five companies joined the exhibition. The expo serves as a platform for interaction between Chinese consumers and businesses, and it is an important gateway for Singaporean companies looking to enter the Chinese market, Song said, noting that with its 1.4 billion population offering massive consumer potential and the strengthening ties between China and Singapore, "China has become a top destination for Singaporean businesses expanding overseas." This year marks Tesla's fifth consecutive appearance at the expo, making it a full attendee and participant since the event's inception. Over the previous four years, Tesla continuously evolved its exhibition approach, from showcasing products in the early days to highlighting green mobility and intelligent manufacturing, underscoring the company's ongoing efforts to explore the intersection of technology and consumer needs in China, according to the company. Meanwhile, Volkswagen Group China is participating in the CICPE for the third consecutive year, presenting a strong lineup of nine cars and two motorcycles. Liu Yunfeng, executive vice president of Volkswagen Group China, said in a press release that the company sent to the Global Times that the company is committed to its "In China, for China" strategy and is embracing the transition to the era of intelligent and connected vehicles. The German carmaker pledged to continue to strengthen its presence in the Chinese market, with a broad product portfolio and forward-looking technological solutions. In addition to automakers, TCP Group is participating in the CICPE for the fifth consecutive year as the founder and owner of the global Red Bull brand, the energy drink conglomerate. Saravoot Yoovidhya, CEO of TCP Group, said in a press release the company shared with the Global Times, "As a leading Thai food and beverage enterprise that began its global journey from Hainan, TCP Group is honored to have witnessed, participated in, and benefited from Hainan's development over the years. As a key component of the Hainan Free Trade Port initiative, the CICPE provides an international platform for foreign enterprises to showcase products and services, explore business opportunities, and establish strategic partnerships. "We will continue to deepen our presence in China by leveraging the favorable policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port," Yoovidhya said This is the second time for Daniel Bont to attend the expo in Hainan and he is impressed by the wide presence of cutting-edge products related to electric vehicles (EVs) at the event. The development of Chinese EVs is very impressive, and there is a high complementarity between Switzerland and China in this sector and beyond, said Bont. As a senior consultant from Switzerland Global Enterprise, an official Swiss organization for export and investment promotion, Bont understands the importance of the Chinese market for Swiss businesses' development. The organization has nine different companies representing 11 brands from Switzerland at this year's expo, ranging from sectors such as cosmetics to watches and baby milk powder. Data recently released by the China General Chamber of Commerce showed that the China retail prosperity index stood at 50.5 percent in April, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, an indication of a slight improvement in the overall performance of the nation's retail sector during the month, according to a report published by CCTV.com. Analysis suggests that with seasonal promotions and trade-in programs for consumer goods gaining momentum in April, the retail business environment has continued to improve and consumer activity steadily increased, the report said. The active participation of foreign enterprises itself refutes the claims made by some Western media outlets about so-called "weak consumption" in China, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Monday. With a population of more than 1.4 billion, China represents an enormous market, the expert said, noting that consumer purchasing power is steadily expanding, while consumption scenarios and the range of available goods and services continue to diversify. Together, these trends are making China an increasingly dynamic market with immense potential, said Li. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) The helicopter tour company behind a crash in New York that killed six people last week is shutting down, US authorities said Sunday. A senior business executive, his wife and three children died along with the pilot when the helicopter operated by New York Helicopter Tours malfunctioned and plunged into the Hudson River on Thursday. The family was on a tourism flight over Manhattan, described by the operator as the "ultimate sightseeing tour of New York City." New York Helicopter Tours is "shutting down their operations immediately," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement on X. "The FAA will be launching an immediate review of the tour operator's license and safety record," the civil aviation authority said. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash. Jersey City officials said working theories included a drone collision, a bird strike or mechanical failure. Video of the incident has emerged showing the fuselage apparently becoming detached from the rotor. The crash has shone a another light on US aviation safety after a string of deadly crashes, including the collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington in January that claimed 67 lives. A light aircraft also crashed after departing Boca Raton airport in Florida on Friday, with local media reporting three people had been killed after the plane developed a mechanical issue. President Donald Trump reacted to the Russian attack that killed over 30 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday, saying he was told it was a "mistake." "I think it was terrible and I was told they made a mistake. I think the whole war was a mistake. They made a mistake. Look, you got to ask them. This is Biden's war, this is not my war," Trump told press aboard Air Force One. Trump downplays Russia's latest deadly attack on Ukrainian civilians: "I was told they made a mistake ... this is Biden's war. This is not my war." pic.twitter.com/qX9eWjxe4f Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025 The statement came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Trump to visit the country to better understand the devastation caused by Moscow's invasion. "Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead," Zelensky said in an interview on CBS "60 Minutes" broadcast Sunday. "You will understand with whom you have a deal," Zelensky added. The attack on Sumy, carried out with two ballistic missiles, left 34 people dead and 117 wounded, becoming the deadliest strike on the country so far in 2025. "Only scoundrels can act like this, taking the lives of ordinary people," Zelensky said following the attack, adding that it took place on Palm Sunday when some people were going to Church. Trump then expanded on his reaction, saying in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, that "President Zelenskyy and Crooked Joe Biden did an absolutely horrible job in allowing this travesty to begin." In another passage of the "60 Minutes" interview, Zelensky took on U.S. Vice President JD Vance, saying that he is "somehow justifying Putin's actions." "I tried to explain, 'You can't look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim,'" he said. Vance at the time accused Ukraine of hosting foreign leaders on "propaganda tours" to win support. Zelensky repeated his denial of that allegation, and told CBS that if Trump chose to visit Ukraine, "we will not prepare anything. It will not be theater." "You can go exactly where you want, in any city which (has) been under attacks." Originally published on Latin Times A Wisconsin teen allegedly murdered his parents as part of a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to the FBI. Nikita Casap, 17, allegedly murdered his mother and stepfather and then stayed in the home for nearly two weeks until school officials called police for a wellness check, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The FBI, in an affidavit quoted by the newspaper, says the motive for the crime was to gain independence to kill the president. "The killing of his parents appeared to be an effort to obtain the financial means and autonomy necessary to carry out his plan," the newspaper quoted the FBI affidavit. In February, Casap shot his mother, Tatiana, and his stepfather, Donald Mayer. The teen then stayed in the house with the couple's decomposing bodies for nearly two weeks before leaving with $14,000, passports and the family dog, the Associated Press reported. According to the AP, Casap planned the murder and even shared his plans with others through a messaging app, including a Russian speaker. He also wrote a 3-page manifesto that praised Adolf Hitler. "Casap appears to have written a manifesto calling for the assassination of the President of the United States. He was in touch with other parties about his plan to kill the President and overthrow the government of the United States," the AP quoted a search warrant. Casap apparently messaged people after the deaths of his parents, including school officials. "Due to unfortunate circumstances, I will be out for another week," a text to Mayer's boss read. Eventually, Casap took off, and police found the bodies after school officials became concerned. Casap was eventually arrested in Kansas and is now being held on $1 million bond, the AP reported. He faces several charges including first-degree murder and theft. Originally published on Lawyer Herald During a Monday meeting with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele at the White House, President Donald Trump could be heard demanding that his country build more prisons to incarcerate "home-grown" criminals. "Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You gotta build about five more places. It's not big enough," Trump can be heard saying. Trump to Bukele: "Home-growns are next. The home-growns. You gotta build about five more places. It's not big enough." pic.twitter.com/o20thGNK9e Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025 During the meeting, both leaders indicated that returning Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a father from Maryland who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, to the US was not their concern, despite the Supreme Court ordering his return. Instead, Trump expressed his desire to deport American criminals to El Salvador if permitted by law. "I'd like to go a step further. I said to Pam (Bondi, US Attorney General), I don't know what the laws are, we always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways ... I'd like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country," Trump said. Trump says he'd like to deport American citizens to a gulag in El Salvador: "I'd like to go a step further. I said to Pam, I don't know what the laws are, we always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways ... I'd like to include pic.twitter.com/noStvA8JI8 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2025 Trump also told Bukele that he wanted him to facilitate the building of more institutions like El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in the country to house more prisoners from the US. CECOT is the largest prison in the Americas, having opened in 2023 and housing 40,000 inmates. It includes multiple electric fences, 19 watchtowers and over 1,000 armed guards. Originally published on Latin Times A 14-year-old boy from Rockford, Michigan, died by suicide in August after he was targeted in a sextortion scheme and believed he was in trouble with police. His devastated family is now speaking out to raise awareness, hoping to prevent other tragedies. Sextortion is an increasingly frequent scam that often targets minors online. The offender coerces their target into sending sexually explicit images either with a threat or by posing as a desirable peer, then they use the threat of exposure to make more demands. According to the family's attorney, Marc Lipton, Henry had realized he was being manipulated online by someone posing as a girl, who had tricked him into sending an explicit photo, abc10 reported. That person then threatened to distribute the image unless Henry sent more. "He reached out to a friend, telling that his life had been ruined and it was over and he was in trouble," Lipton said. " Alarmed, the friend told his mother, who contacted police for a wellness check. But when Henry saw officers arriving at his home, he panicked. "He thought he was in trouble, and he took his own life," Lipton said. "That's not to blame Henry or his own parents, or the friends' parents, everyone doing it all they could to protect them." Described by loved ones as "kind-hearted" and "charismatic," Henry was an athlete, who had worked his first job as a caddy and dishwasher over the summer, and was just days away from beginning high school when he committed suicide. The investigation following his death led law enforcement to the arrest of another Kent County teen, who was charged with six felony counts in October. The perpetrator, also a 14-year-old male, pleaded guilty to victimizing 17 children through sextortion. Henry's parents are urging other families to talk to their children about online safety and to understand that victims of sextortion are not to blame. "Sending inappropriate pics is a bad decision," they said, "but if someone threatens to spread your photo, they are committing a crime and you deserve to be protected." Law enforcement officials say cases like Henry's are sadly becoming more common. "We take three to five of these cases a month," said Chief Deputy Jason Kelly of the Kent County Sheriff's Office. "Most victims are boys aged 12 to 17." The FBI urges teens and parents to be cautious about online interactions, and to ask for help if something doesn't feel right. "If someone is trying to control and humiliate you," Henry's parents said, "please reach out for help." Originally published on Lawyer Herald Peachtree Group ("Peachtree"), a diversified commercial real estate investment platform, today announced the grand opening of the 87-suite TownePlace Suites in Forney, Texas. Peachtree will operate the hotel for TEKMAK Development ("TEKMAK"), a full-service hospitality development company. TownePlace Suites Forney is conveniently located just 22 miles east of Dallas, offering guests a comfortable and contemporary stay in a rapidly growing area. Ongoing new construction, expanding retail centers and industrial parks continue to position Forney as a dynamic destination for business and leisure travelers. At this brand-new, pet-friendly hotel, guests can enjoy spacious suites featuring full kitchensideal for both short and extended stays. Travelers will appreciate complimentary breakfast with customizable menu options, as well as on-site amenities like a 24-hour fitness center and an outdoor pool. In 2023, Peachtree partnered with TEKMAK to provide third-party management for a selection of its Texas-based hotels and today oversees six properties. Fairfield Inn & Suites Paris SpringHill Suites Dallas Rockwall SpringHill Suites Lindale TownePlace Suites Dallas Rockwall TownePlace Suites Forney TownePlace Suites Paris Peachtree's hospitality management division specializes in operating premium-branded hotels across the upper-midscale and upscale segments, including limited-service, select-service and compact full-service properties. The division manages 108 hotels across 28 brands, totaling 13,440 rooms in 26 states, with 35 properties under third-party management. Hotel website Hyatt Hotels Corporation today announced the opening of Hyatt Place Gothenburg Central, further expanding Hyatt's brand footprint in Scandinavia. Located in the heart of Gothenburg, atop the city's Central Station, the 300-room hotel offers a dynamic hub for modern travellers seeking comfort, connectivity, and convenience. A prime destination for business and leisure Situated in the vibrant city centre within easy reach of cultural landmarks, a thriving restaurant scene, and charming canals and parks, Hyatt Place Gothenburg Central offers guests a convenient stay experience amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. World-class attractions like Liseberg Amusement Park, the picturesque Gothenburg Archipelago, and Ullevi, one of Scandinavia's most iconic stadiums, are right outside the hotel's doorstep. Blending nature with casual comfort Built on top of the Central Station, Hyatt Place Gothenburg Central has undergone a year-long refurbishment to reflect the Hyatt Place brand's modern design and welcoming ambience. The interiors have been thoughtfully crafted as a 'green oasis', taking inspiration from Gothenburg's lush green spaces, natural landscapes and the Archipelago. This is complimented by calming hues of beige and green in the guestrooms and suites, evoking a comfortable environment for rest and relaxation. Practical amenities and effortless convenience Hyatt Place Gothenburg Central offers 300 modern guestrooms including five suites. Guests can enjoy access to a fitness centre and flexible meeting spaces, including a 968-square-foot (90-square-meter) event space accommodating up to 100 guests. The hotel also offers a vibrant restaurant and bar concept, Blanche Brasserie & Bar, a modern bistro that breathes the Mediterranean and makes guests feel welcome and relaxed amidst an all-day menu and curated beverage program. The opening of Hyatt Place Gothenburg Central underscores Hyatt's ongoing commitment to expanding its brand footprint in key global markets, creating unique experiences that cater to the needs of both business and leisure travellers. For more information or to book a reservation, please visit: Hyatt Place Gothenburg The term "Hyatt" is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates. Hotel website Today, Marriott Hotels, the namesake brand of Marriott Bonvoy's extraordinary portfolio of over 30 hotel brands, announced the opening of Udaipur Marriott Hotel, proudly marking Marriott International's debut in Udaipur, arguably the most romantically set city in all of Rajasthan. Set against the backdrop of the breathtaking Aravalli Hills and overlooking the serene Fateh Sagar Lake, the hotel seamlessly blends Rajasthan's rich regal heritage with contemporary influences. Designed to capture the essence of the region's architectural grandeur, Udaipur Marriott Hotel offers panoramic views, exquisite accommodations, and Marriott Hotels' wonderful hospitality, inviting guests to immerse themselves in the cultural splendor of the "City of Lakes." Udaipur is a captivating city that is celebrated for its breathtaking palaces, serene lakes, and rich cultural heritage. Home to the iconic City Palace, the enchanting Lake Pichola, and the majestic Jag Mandir, the city offers a glimpse into Rajasthan's royal past. Guests can explore vibrant bazaars, indulge in traditional Rajasthani cuisine, and witness folk performances that bring the city's history to life, with its classic charm, stunning sunsets, romantic boat rides, and picturesque landscapes. With Udaipur's Maharana Pratap Airport, a 35-minutes' drive away and Udaipur City Railway Station 20-minutes away, the hotel provides seamless connectivity for travelers looking to soak up the old-world charm of the city. The hotel seamlessly blends the grandeur of Mewar architecture with modern sophistication, offering an experience that is both regal and refined. Upon arrival, guests are welcomed into a world of timeless elegance, where hand-painted Pichwai-style motifs, Mewar-style arches, traditional 'jharokhas' (ornate overhanging balconies), and intricately carved 'chajjas' (projecting eaves above windows and doors) pay homage to Udaipur's iconic City Palace. At the heart of the hotel stands a grand staircase, crowned by a magnificent chandelier, serving as a striking architectural masterpiece. The 226 elegantly designed guestrooms and suites are inspired by Rajasthan's royal heritage. Each room is thoughtfully crafted for comfort and convenience, boasting plush bedding, high-speed Wi-Fi, well-appointed workspaces, and spa-inspired bathrooms. State-of-the-art climate control systems ensure a relaxing stay, while stunning views of the Aravalli Hills or the serene Fateh Sagar Lake elevate the experience. The hotel offers a host of curated culinary experiences, each one unique and indulgent in their offering. Okra, the hotel's all-day dining restaurant, features a live interactive kitchen that showcases a dynamic fusion of local and global flavors, offering both indoor and alfresco seating with views of the majestic Aravalli Hills. The Greatroom - a brand signature at Marriott Hotels globally, holds an inviting and sophisticated space for guests to relax and reconnect over artisanal teas and full-bodied coffees, besides catching up on business meetings. For those seeking a cozy escape, Udaipur Baking Co. serves freshly brewed rich coffees alongside a selection of handcrafted pastries, perfect for a moment of relaxed indulgence. Meanwhile, the Opal Lounge, with its chic, library-inspired ambiance, offers expertly crafted cocktails and small plates, creating the perfect space for an elevated and intimate dining experience. One can look forward to rejuvenating at the Quan Spa, offering Ayurvedic and modern therapies, or start the day with rooftop yoga and nature walks by the Fateh Sagar Lake. Fitness enthusiasts can stay active at the modern fitness center, while the serene poolside and engaging indoor games offer relaxation and fun. Young guests can unleash their creativity at the interactive Kids Club. Udaipur Marriott Hotel sets the stage for dream weddings and grand celebrations with 65,000 sq. ft. of versatile indoor and outdoor event spaces. Whether it's a dreamy wedding, corporate event, or social gathering, the hotel's exquisite pillarless ballroom, expansive pre-function area, and picturesque outdoor venues provide the ideal backdrop for stunning visuals and unforgettable moments. Blending classic allure with modern sophistication, each event is thoughtfully curated to perfection, leaving guests with a deep sense of memorable satisfaction. Hotel website Leonardo Hotels has appointed Isaac Mizrachi as its new Global Head of Loyalty, a position he has been actively fulfilling since March. Based in Berlin, Mizrachi will focus on further developing the hotel group's loyalty program, AdvantageCLUB, as part of its ongoing growth strategy in Europe and the UK. A strong background in marketing and technology Isaac Mizrachi brings a wealth of experience in travel, marketing, and technology to Leonardo Hotels. Before joining the company, Mizrachi played a key role in driving brand growth and digital strategies during his time as Country Manager at Booking.com. He also served as Senior Director of Marketing at Visit Canberra, where he led successful international marketing campaigns, including market expansions into India and the USA. Mizrachi's diverse background in both marketing and technology will be instrumental in shaping the future of Leonardo Hotels' loyalty initiatives, aligning with the brand's commitment to enhancing guest experiences through innovative and personalized solutions. Enhancing the AdvantageCLUB Loyalty program In his new role, Isaac Mizrachi will lead the development of an innovative, technology-driven global loyalty program aimed at enhancing customer retention and satisfaction. Looking ahead, Mizrachi's leadership will steer the program towards new heights with a focus on hyper-personalization, gamification elements, and a seamless omnichannel experience. These enhancements are designed to increase guest engagement and loyalty, setting new standards for the industry and helping to establish Leonardo Hotels as a leading brand in the competitive European hospitality market. The Leonardo AdvantageCLUB program already offers a range of benefits for members, such as earning points with direct bookings that can be redeemed for free stays, discounts on reservations, food and drinks, and complimentary late check-outs (subject to availability). Strategic growth for Leonardo Hotels As Leonardo Hotels continues to expand its presence across Europe and the UK, the appointment of Isaac Mizrachi signifies a strong commitment to enhancing its customer loyalty efforts. By focusing on the continued development of the AdvantageCLUB program, Mizrachi aims to foster deeper connections with guests, ensuring long-term loyalty and reinforcing the brand's position in the hospitality market. View Isaac Mizrachi's LinkedIn Profile Isaac Mizrachi is a graduate of Victoria University in Melbourne - Australia Hotel Maverick, Grand Junction Colo.'s premier independent boutique hotel situated on the campus of Colorado Mesa University, announced the appointment of Ernest Brown as director of food, beverage and culinary. With more than three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, Brown will oversee all aspects of the award-winning hotel's culinary operations, including banquets; onsite coffee shop, Bettys; and popular rooftop restaurant, Devil's Kitchen. Brown most recently served as director of food and beverage at Grand Hyatt Vail. Prior to this he held many culinary director and chef roles at notable hotels, resorts, casinos and restaurants in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Chicago and more. His duties involved operating dining concepts; executing new restaurant openings, such as the House of Blues locations in Anaheim and inside the famed Mandalay Bay; in addition to working with notable chefs at Caesar's Palace including Giada De Laurentiis, Gordon Ramsey Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse. Bringing his unique flair, passion for service and guest experience and strong business acumen to Hotel Maverick as director of food, beverage and culinary, Brown will utilize his experience and expansive repertoire of skills to manage and train staff, handle budgets and curate the hotel's menu of regionally inspired cuisine. Brown will also oversee the culinary arm of Hotel Maverick's hospitality management program which offers Colorado Mesa University students hands-on career experience through one-of-a-kind hospitality and culinary teaching programs at Hotel Maverick and its culinary concepts. Brown will mentor students seeking degrees in culinary and hotel management, providing them with the knowledge and practical experience necessary for a successful career in the industry. View Ernest Brown's LinkedIn Profile Ernest Brown is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu North America in Schaumburg, Illinois - United States WASHINGTON, D.C. AAHOA, the world's largest hotel owners association, has entered into a strategic partnership with Kalibri Labs, the leading authority on hotel performance analytics. Together, the organizations have launched a nationwide investigation into the effects of recent federal policy changes and anticipated industry challenges. Early findings reveal a mixed outlook for the hospitality sector in 2025: while roughly one-third of U.S. hotel submarkets are currently outperforming 2024 benchmarks, a larger share is experiencing declinesparticularly in government and corporate segmentsraising early concerns about demand heading into the peak summer travel season. The joint initiative combines the voice of AAHOA's more than 20,000 hotelier members with Kalibri Labs' proprietary insights gleaned from daily data aggregated from over 35,000 U.S. hotels. The result is a comprehensive picture of an industry navigating a dynamic and uneven recovery, with some segments showing strength and others signaling potential headwinds. Key Findings From AAHOA's March 2025 Member Survey: 69% of hotel owners reported business declines tied to recent federal policychanges. Nearly 50% cited reductions in government per diem bookings over the past 30 days, with similar expectations for future demand. 61% said bookings for the critical summer period (Memorial DayJuly 4) are pacing behind 2024. Fewer than 5% reported any growth in government or general business bookings. Properties near military bases and those relying on transient traffic from Canada and Mexico are experiencing notable declines. From Kalibri Labs' Market Intelligence (as of YTD Q1 2025): Government per diem business (YTD actualized room nights) is down 9% year over year, with future government bookings (on-the-books room nights) down 16% for the next 30 days compared to 2024. Corporate business (YTD actualized room nights) is down 4% year over year, with future bookings (on-the-books room nights) for the next 30 days down by 2% compared to 2024. Overall, across all rate segments, future bookings for the next 30 days in 2025 (as of the end of March) are pacing 3% behind the same period in 2024. Upper-midscale hotels were just 1% below 2024 levels in actual YTD roomnight demand (all rate segments) through March but have considerably fewer bookings 30 days into the future than in 2024 (-12%). Upscale and Upper Upscale hotels were at 2024 levels or slightly below (-1%) in actual room night demand (all rate segments) through March 2025, but Upscale hotels were below 2024 in 30-day future bookings by 7%, and Upper Upscale by 4%. All Extended Stay brands (lower and upper tier) are outperforming 2024 by 12% (all rate segments) despite having lower room night demand in government and corporate segments. While one-third of Kalibri's 975 submarkets are pacing ahead compared to 2024, more than 60% are pacing behind 2024 for bookings 30 days out. California has the highest number of submarkets pacing ahead of the prior yearlikely due to wildfire response and related housing needs. Florida also shows a high number of Resort/Destination submarkets pacing ahead of 2024, while Urban Metro, Suburban, and Airport submarkets in the state show mixed results. These findings are not just numbersthey reflect the real-world challenges and opportunities facing our members. It's encouraging to see that some markets are holding steady or growing, but the overall outlook calls for close attention and action. As owners, we are on the front lines, and partnerships like this help ensure our perspective is represented in broader industry discussions. AAHOA Chairman Miraj S. Patel The hospitality industry is navigating a period of change, and the ability to make informed, data-driven decisions is more important than ever. This collaboration with Kalibri Labs helps paint a fuller picture of what hotel owners are experiencing across different markets and property types. While some segments are showing resilience, others are beginning to feel the pressure of recent federal shifts. By working together, we can better understand these changes and advocate for policies that support sustainable industry growth. AAHOA President & CEO Laura Lee Blake While some markets are managing well through a turbulent period, the broader trend shows evidence of contractionparticularly in government and corporate segments. Our collaboration with AAHOA brings both context and clarity to these early warning signs. Cindy Estis Green, CEO of Kalibri Labs About AAHOA AAHOA is the largest hotel owners association in the nation, with Member-owned properties representing a significant part of the U.S. economy. AAHOA's 20,000 members own 60% of the hotels in the United States and are responsible for 1.7% of the nation's GDP. More than 1 million employees work at AAHOA member-owned hotels, earning $51.3 billion annually, and member-owned hotels support 4.2 million U.S. jobs across all sectors of the hospitality industry. AAHOA's mission is to advance and protect the business interests of hotel owners through advocacy, industry leadership, professional development, member benefits, and community engagement. Jodi Scott PR Contact AAHOA Chinese cities unveil measures to boost trade integration amid US tariff concerns 10:39, April 15, 2025 By Chen Qingrui ( Global Times Aiming to tackle the increasing tariff concerns arising from the US, China's foreign trade hubs have introduced new policies to stabilize foreign trade and boost consumption, gearing up to counter the impact from the external market. Dongguan in South China's Guangdong Province unveiled a work plan on Monday to support stable foreign trade growth, with a focus on minimizing the negative impact of trade frictions on the city, the Securities Times reported on Monday. The report highlighted strengthening ties with leading mobile phone producers to monitor supply risks and guiding key enterprises to improve their response to supply chain issues, including imbalances in raw materials, components, and price fluctuations. Shenzhen is also actively supporting businesses in expanding both the domestic and international markets. On April 9, multiple city government departments co-hosted a service and demand matchmaking event to help private enterprises explore international markets in a steady and orderly manner, the Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality reported on Friday. Meanwhile, officials from several districts in Shanghai have visited key foreign trade enterprises in their areas, aiming to stabilize expectations, boost confidence and promote consumption, according to an article on the Shanghai government's official website. The article noted that, in response to significant changes in both domestic and international conditions, many enterprises in Shanghai are actively aligning with the new trend of integrating domestic and foreign trade development. In addition to policy support and providing foreign trade information, some cities have opted to use subsidies to help businesses expand their international markets. In Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, companies told the Global Times that the government, aiming to encourage their participation in overseas consumer goods exhibitions, covered a substantial portion of their expenses. "We recently attended an exhibition in Kenya, with nearly one-third of the costs subsidized by the government, covering everything from flight tickets and hotel accommodations to booth fees. Notably, the Yiwu government fully covered the booth fee," Wang Nan, owner of Conan Hardware, a local hardware company, told the Global Times. Having operated in Yiwu for more than 20 years, Wang noted that this was the company's first foray into the African market since the tariff issues arose. Wang said that exhibitions in Kenya, as well as those in regions like Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, have all received government support. A spokesperson from ADEGSO, a machinery and hardware manufacturer, surnamed Wu, said that the government covered more than 50 percent of the booth fees for overseas exhibitions. The government-led initiatives to help enterprises stabilize foreign trade and domestic demand have been both highly meaningful and necessary. Since 2018, both businesses and the government have acknowledged that rising risks in the foreign trade market are a long-term challenge, Huang Bin, a deputy director of the Guoyan Economic Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday. "Amid uncertainty, it is essential for the government to provide businesses with certainty," according to Huang. He noted that China's main foreign trade markets are currently the EU, ASEAN countries, and Latin America, particularly Belt and Road Initiative partner countries. "We must shift our focus, moving beyond traditional product exports and imports. While goods trade remains primary, services trade is becoming increasingly important," Huang said. Government policies are helping businesses alleviate anxiety. More importantly, the government should clearly outline trends in the changing foreign trade landscape and even take the lead in guiding these trends, Huang suggested, adding that governments of cities with free trade zones probably will do more to enhance the openness of these zones and promote relevant policies. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) In Jakarta, the Commission for Asia and the Pacific, alongside the Commission for South Asia, met jointly for the 37th time, with 17 countries represented. Asia and Pacific returning to full tourism strength According to UN Tourisms data, after an initial slow recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, Asia and the Pacific has been rapidly returning to full strength. In 2024. Destinations in the region welcomed 316 million international arrivals between them, equivalent to 87% of pre-pandemic numbers, and up from 66% at the end of 2023. South Asia saw the best results by sub-region, with a 92% recovery, and Maldives posted the highest growth in the region, welcoming 20% more tourists than in 2019, followed by Japan, with 16%, Fiji with 10% and Sri Lanka 7% more compared to 2019. The Commissions host this year, Indonesia welcomed 13.9 million tourists in 2024, recovering 86% of 2019 levels. In Jakarta, Member States were brought up-to-date of the progress being made guiding the sectors development in the region. The Report of the Secretary-General outlined progress made over the past year, most notably in the priority areas of Tourism Insights, Knowhow, Investments and Innovation, Education, and UN Tourisms support on the ground for its Members. Our shared priorities will lay the foundations for a more resilient and sustainable tourism sector for Asia and the Pacific. At the heart of it all, however, is innovation and youth empowerment through training and education. Asia and the Pacific is one of the most dynamic regions on Earth. It is a hub of digital transformation, new ideas and innovators. And the future looks very bright indeed. UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili Investing in a resilient future Between 2018 and 2024, Asia and the Pacific attracted over 640 greenfield tourism projects, worth a collective US$66 billion, and equivalent to more than one-third of global capital expenditure in tourism-related investment. In Jakarta, UN Tourism made clear the need to further increase investment and direct FDI towards projects with the potential to enhance sustainability and boost resilience. Within the framework of the Commission meetings, UN Tourism hosted a first Regional Conference on Tourism Policy on Circular Economy, uniting public and private sector leaders to focus on key challenges including reducing waste, enhancing resource efficiency and rethinking supply chains across the sector. The Secretary-General also made clear intentions to keep enhancing the work of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Nara, Japan, working towards strengthening this office as a hub for a wide-reaching Tourism Resilience Programme. Hand-in-hand with boosting investments in resilient infrastructure, UN Tourism is also guiding investment in people in the region. Education and human capital development is a key priority, with Member States updated on progress in this area. This includes the development of a first Co-branded Masters in Tourism Management with Beijing International Studies University, with 15 full scholarships awarded annually, as well as a co-branded Masters in Digital Marketing and Analytics with the Macao University of Tourism. Looking ahead In Jakarta, UN Tourism fulfilled its statutory obligations for the Organization, with elections held for key positions for the months ahead. The Philippines and Maldives were nominated as Vice-Presidents for the upcoming 26th UN Tourism General Assembly. The Philippines was also nominated to Chair the Commission for South Asia, with the Maldives nominated to Chair the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific. Japan and Fiji were nominated as Vice-Chairs for East Asia and the Pacific, and India and Bhutan were nominated as Vice-Chairs of South Asia. Iran and India were nominated to represent the Asia and Pacific region on the UN Tourism Executive Council. All nominations are to be ratified by the General Assembly. UN Tourism will return to Asia and the Pacific in September as Malaysia is the official host of World Tourism Day 2025. About UN Tourism UN Tourism is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members. The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council takes all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly. UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The election for Secretary General will be in May 2025. As part of its ongoing commitment to guests wellbeing, Radisson Hotel Group is launching Revitalize Rooms to enhance the sleep quality of its guests. In partnership with Biow, a leader in sleep science technology, this initiative will further elevate the sleep experience, ensuring guests can recharge their energy while sleeping and wake up feeling refreshed. Recognizing that sleep quality is crucial for an outstanding guest experience, Radisson Hotel Group continues to redefine hospitality by prioritizing the essentials that matter most to guests. As part of its renowned "Radisson Brilliant Basics" offering, the Group ensures premium-quality sleep through expertly selected mattresses, duvets, and pillows. These thoughtful choices combine comfort and quality to provide guests with the restful nights they deserve. Taking this commitment a step further, Radisson Hotel Group has partnered with Biow to introduce Revitalize Rooms: a science-based device designed to enhance sleep quality even more. By addressing common sleep challenges, this cutting-edge addition underscores the Groups dedication to holistic guest well-being and its ongoing commitment to delivering Memorable Moments. Sleep is a crucial part of well-being Surveys show that a comfortable bed and a good nights sleep are key priorities for travelers of all ages, with over 75% of travelers across all age groups ranking it first, even ahead of strong WiFi. However, research from the University of Fribourg examined the impact of unfamiliar environments on peoples sleep patterns and revealed the impact of the first night effect which leads to lighter, more restless sleep. Data from luxury bedmaker DUX showed that just 34% of people sleep better in hotel rooms, with mattress makers Simba saying 40% of people dread staying away from their own beds due to a lack of quality sleep. At Radisson Hotel Group we now define this as away-somnia and have launched Revitalized Rooms with the enlisted support of Biow to tackle it. How guests can enjoy this enhanced sleeping experience As part of its partnership with Radisson Hotel Group, Biow will implement its unique, innovative technology produced in the European Union in four Radisson Hotels properties in Europe; Radisson Collection Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, Radisson RED Liverpool, Radisson Blu Hotel, Madrid Prado, and Radisson RED Madrid. This introduction highlights the Groups care for the wellbeing of its guests, and desire to continue providing best-in-class stays across its portfolio. The device can now be booked by guests prior to their arrival at any of the four properties, highlighting the Groups commitment to continually pushing for more innovative guest experiences. Biow is a device that improves your body simply by breathing. It eliminates inhaled biotoxicity, while emitting energy that reaches the bodys cells through breath and skin. The technology promotes an environment where body cells can function efficiently, helping to manage oxidative stress naturally and without adverse effects. The device operates 24/7 in silence and consumes minimal power. The plasma-powered Biow E-OX device will enable guests to recharge their energy while sleeping, wake up feeling refreshed, experience a plasma bath paired with light therapy to reduce stress and stimulate skin collagen. By using the device, guests will experience benefits such as improved sleep quality, reduced stress, and an energy boost, enabling business and leisure travelers alike to embrace the day ahead. A good nights sleep is vital to every guests experience at a hotel. For many, it is the defining factor in the quality of their stay. At Radisson Hotel Group, we have consistently sought to elevate the sleeping experience for our guests. Together with Biow, we are determined to tackle the problem of away-somnia and are delighted to introduce Revitalize Rooms to deliver a new era of wellbeing technology to our guests. Cristina Serra, Global Senior Vice President Brand & Experience, Customer and Marketing Strategy at Radisson Hotel Group Our partnership with Radisson Hotel Group takes rest to a whole new level: transforming every night into a regenerative experience. With Biow, guests can breathe better, sleep deeper, and recover faster, enjoying suites that actively enhance their wellbeing while they sleep. Pedro Llana President & Founder Biow Even a single night with Biows Cold Atmospheric Plasma technology can reset your bodys balance clearing your airways, reducing oxidative stress, and enhancing cellular energy. At Radisson Hotel Group, sleep becomes more than rest: it becomes recovery. Ignacio Fernandez-Simal , CEO Biow About Radisson Hotel Group Radisson Hotel Group is one of the world's largest hotel groups with nine distinctive hotel brands, and more than 1,600 hotels in operation and under development in 120 countries. The Group's overarching brand promise is Every Moment Matters with a signature Yes I Can! service ethos. The Radisson Hotel Group portfolio includes Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, and prizeotel brought together under one commercial umbrella brand Radisson Hotels. Radisson Rewards is our international rewards program that delivers unique and personalized ways to create memorable moments that matter to our guests. Radisson Rewards offers an exceptional experience for our guests, meeting planners, and travel agents at over 550 hotels in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Radisson Meetings provides tailored solutions for any event or meeting, including hybrid solutions placing guests and their needs at the heart of its offer. Radisson Meetings is built around three strong service commitments: Personal, Professional and Memorable, while delivering on the brilliant basics and being uniquely 100% Carbon Neutral. The health and safety of guests and team members remain a top priority for Radisson Hotel Group. All properties across the Group's portfolio are subject to stringent health and safety requirements, as outlined in the Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol. More than 100,000 team members work at Radisson Hotel Group and at the hotels licensed to operate in its systems. For more information, visit our corporate website. Or connect with Radisson Hotels on: LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube Projeto Biodiversidade and BIOS Cabo Verde, two environmental conservation organisations from Cape Verde, have presented the outcome of the 2024loggerhead sea turtle nesting season. Both of these organisations receive support from RIU Hotels & Resorts, the hotel chain that operates six establishments in the destination and is involved in biodiversity protection and conservation initiatives as part of its Proudly Committed sustainability strategy. The births took place in the hatcheries set up by these organisations on the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, which help make Cape Verde home to one of the worlds most important nesting populations of this species. This season, the island of Boa Vista hosted 60% of Cape Verdes turtle population, with 22,427 nests in the Tartarugas Natural Reserve alone. Six hundred of these nests were protected in hatcheries with a hatch rate of 77.9%, which led to 34,592 hatchlings being released into the sea. Whats more, 7,576 turtles were monitored and 169 were rescued. BIOS Cape Verde also continued experiments on nests to mitigate the effects of global warming and obtained promising results in terms of hatchling sex ratios. Projeto Biodiversidade recorded 36,587 nests on the island of Sal. A total of 2,225 were protected in hatcheries, one of which is located in front of RIUs hotels. The hatch rate reached 82.3% and 115,962 hatchlings were released into the sea. A 27 km stretch of coastline was patrolled and 1,645 turtles were monitored. The hatcheries were shaded to help reduce the incubation temperature by 2C with the aim of increasing the proportion of male turtles, a key measure to counteract the effects of climate change. There has also been a significant reduction in poaching over the last few years, falling from 440 cases in 2021 to just 110 in 2024 on the island of Sal. The nurseries are monitored by volunteers from BIOS Cape Verde and Projeto Biodiversidade. RIU supports these organisations by paying for food at the beach surveillance teams camps. This initiative helps strengthen measures to protect the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), which is classified as vulnerable in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species. RIU is involved in programmes to protect a variety of animal species and their habitats in Mexico, Jamaica, Mauritius and Aruba, where it supports projects that work to preserve jaguars, green macaws, whale sharks and cottontail rabbits, among other species. About Projeto Biodiversidade Projeto Biodiversidade is a non-profit association in Cape Verde that is committed to protecting wildlife through community-driven environmental conservation plans on the island of Sal. It focuses on the study and conservation of the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). For more information: https://es.projectbiodiversity.org/ About BIOS Cabo Verde BIOS Cabo Verde is an environmental conservation association based on the island of Boa Vista that protects turtles, seabirds and cetaceans. For more information: https://bioscaboverde.com/ 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. View source The theme for Future Hospitality Summit Saudi Arabia 2025 - taking place from 11-13 May at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh - is Where Vision Shapes Opportunity. In the lead up to the event next month, we asked several industry partners about the opportunities they see for the hospitaliy industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2025 and beyond. The ambitious initiatives of Vision 2030 have significantly transformed Saudi Arabias hospitality sector over the past few years with excellent results. The National Tourism Strategy has set a target of 150 million annual visitors by 2030, contributing 1.6 million jobs in the tourism sector and 10% of GDP. There are plenty of opportunities across the Kingdom - in cities, coastal areas, and mountainous regions - where hotel groups should invest time and resources to develop the proper infrastructure and nurture the right talent to take Saudi hospitality to great heights. Here are a few things to consider throughout the process. Untapped opportunities in secondary cities The Kingdoms secondary cities play an essential role in Vision 2030. Developing secondary cities into tourism destinations offers travelers historical and cultural experiences beyond major urban hubs such as Riyadh and Jeddah. For instance, the new Mercure Khamis Mushait (managed by Amsa Hospitality) marks a significant milestone in the economic development of Khamis Mushait as the citys first internationally branded hotel and helps position the wider Aseer region as a tourism destination. AI-driven efficiency improvements If tech advancements continue at their current pace, we can expect some great ways in which AI and data-driven systems will improve efficiency in hotel operations. Our main task as hospitality leaders will be to teach our teams how to make the most of this technology. New systems are only as good as we are capable of using them. We must also stay flexible and quickly adapt to tech changes to stay ahead of the competition. Preparing Saudi talent for the future Hospitality is in the DNA of Saudi culture, where people are naturally inclined to be welcoming and excel in a job that requires them to look after their guests. Hoteliers must focus on training local talent to meet international hotel group standards. This becomes even more crucial as more established global brands enter the Saudi market. Private-public partnerships As things stand today, very few Saudis are in a hotel general manager role. We need to flip this around and aim to have most general manager appointments from the local talent market. Partnerships between the private and public sectors have become key here. For instance, Amsa Hospitality Academy has signed agreements with leading Saudi universities, such as King Khalid University and Princess Noura University, to train their graduates at hotels across the Kingdom. Anne Bleeker In2 Consulting +971 56 603 0886 The Bench How All-In-One PMS Technology is Helping Hotels Utilize Guest Feedback in Real Time and Improve Satisfaction Scores - Image Credit Maestro PMS Hoteliers leverage property-management system preference and sentiment data to boost guest satisfaction when the industry needs it most In 2025, nearly half of the hotel guests say they prefer to check out using their smartphones, and 58% believe AI can enhance their hotel stay experience. Hotels that fail to meet these digital expectations risk falling behind," according to Hotel Tech Report. Improving guest satisfaction is at the top of hoteliers priority lists in 2025, but only properties that have the technology in place to track, manage, and respond to guest feedback are in a position to actually move the needle on the guest experience. Operators need the ability to track and manage guest feedback while quickly adjusting their operations to respond to their guests needs. They need to be aware of long waits at the front desk, missing amenities, or guestrooms in need of extra attention prior to the guests check-out. With the right property-management system powering their reputation-management strategy, operators will have everything they need to hold their property to the highest standard. After the last five years of delayed or canceled flights, missed connections, understaffed hotels, and suspended expectations, travelers are once again demanding more out of their service experience. The value of customer sentiment and loyalty can be difficult to track, but it is no mystery what travelers think of the hotel experience today and its impact on each hoteliers success. They need a guarantee that their stay will be consistent and enjoyable regardless of a hotels location or chain scale, and operatorsparticularly independents, must find ways to leverage guest feedback to improve satisfaction scores and even generate ongoing loyalty. A 2020 study found that well-executed loyalty programs remain a crucial strategy for customer loyalty and help develop competitive loyalty programs for success, and independents should be a part of hospitalitys loyalty growth story. The future of hospitality hinges on anticipating guest needs before they voice them. By integrating feedback into the core PMS, operators can act instantly, creating five-star experiences that guests remember and return for. However, without clear context, guest feedback is not always seen as constructive, valuable, or actionable. If hoteliers want to rely on technology to develop new strategies, adapt to guests needs mid-stay, and target guest needs more effectively, they must begin trusting the insights technology provides. Perhaps most importantly, feedback should be collected and accessible in the hotel PMS, next to the levers and controls, allowing operators to impact the stay experience in real time without having to access it through third-party platforms. What Will You Learn? What you dont know can hurt your bottom line. In todays operating environment, where hoteliers have limited time to walk each floor of their property and visit each guestroom, traveler feedback is invaluable for improving your propertys operating stature. Guest feedback can help keep hotels informed on everything from musty odors in the hallway near the hotel pool to Wi-Fi dead zones preventing guests from enjoying complimentary internet in the guestroom. [Having a guest experience management platform] made a huge difference with our guests, reviews, and, honestly, our maintenance, because it gives us the ability to get instant feedback from the guest. It puts all the reviews in one place. We also can use it to make sure we're addressing issues before guests arrive. We noticed within three months of implementing, our online reviews increased by 1.5 points, a significant difference on platforms like Google reviews. Venita Yelley, Operations manager for MCM Elegante Hotel and Suites When operators can easily view feedback from post check-in/out reviews, direct and two-way text messaging and more from directly within the hotel PMS in realtime, they can nimbly react to issues they would not typically see until multiple guests have been impacted. Studies show that a hotel utilizing real-time feedback mechanisms identified frequent complaints about slow check-ins. By addressing this promptly, they reduced wait times by 40%, leading to a notable increase in guest satisfaction. For front desk associates, it should be as easy as checking a box to inform housekeeping or maintenance of an intervention. When viewed on the PMS, operators will be in the right place to see, adjust, and improve the guest experience based on real-time feedback. Smart hoteliers are already introducing data analytics to uncover patterns in guest complaints and proactively improve service. Over time, hotels can embrace learnings from guest feedback to benefit loyal customers without tapping into their loyalty program, even driving more guests to sign up for these programs. Whats the Message? Lastly, hotels can also leverage guest feedback to learn how travelers prefer hotels to interact with them. Between email, SMS communication, voicemail, and your app of choice, everyone wants to be reached on their own terms today. Your hotel needs to embrace an effective guest messaging strategy powered by your hotels PMS, such as SMS, which can push messages directly to and from guests and operators equally. Simplifying your propertys messaging and delivery process is of the utmost importance today. Operators dont have time to cross-reference offerings, capabilities, amenities, room availability, and more across three or more tools, and then use a separate app to message guests. All of these features should be available directly on the hotel PMS platform, and an all-in-one PMS could easily manage the above processes without any integrations or breaking a sweat. Operators with access to two-way SMS delivery can help create a chain of communication between hotel workers, leaders, and guests, which can be used to maintain consistency and reduce the introduction of errors into your propertys workflow. Most importantly, it helps the hotel operations team feel empowered to make these decisions and solve problems, rather than being proud of themselves for successfully navigating a complex technology infrastructure to deliver the basics to guests. How Does It Impact Loyalty/Satisfaction Scores? Every hotel today is chasing consistency. From operations and daily rates to guest satisfaction scores and room turnover times, listening to guest feedback helps hotels understand where their properties are thriving and need a little extra attention. And while not all consumer feedback is valuable or constructive, knowing where you could improve is better than believing ignorance is bliss. Hotels are physical assets that age and degrade over time. They experience significant foot traffic and undergo fantastic levels of wear and tear each year. This is true regardless of location, chain scale, and clientele. However, today's greatest differentiator is who is and isnt listening to their guests. Hotel leaders have the opportunity today to differentiate their properties from competitors by dialing in on the details, greasing the wheels, and smoothing out their imperfections to deliver the experiences guests demand. Guests know what makes for a standout hotel stay. If your team has traveler feedback in front of them, baked into the PMS where they are equipped to make a difference during their stay, guests will never know what served them. About the Author Audrey MacRae is the Vice President of Maestro, the preferred cloud and on-premises PMS solution for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups. Maestro was first to market with a fully integrated Windows PMS and Sales & Catering solution and is continuing that trend with leading edge web and mobile based solutions encompassing all aspects of the operation. Platform and deployment independence present Maestro as an investment that will continue to grow and adapt as innovative technologies emerge. Image Credit HospitalityLawyer.com/iStock International travel may pose serious data security risks especially for your foreign national workers carrying sensitive, proprietary, or regulated information. Travelers must be aware of potential border inspections, surveillance practices abroad, and export control regulations that may impact their devices and data. What does your organization need to know about these significant risks, and what can employers do to safeguard their information? Quick Background on Border Searches In countries like the United States, border agents can inspect electronic devices without a warrant or suspicion of wrongdoing. While the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches, this protection does not full apply to searches at the U.S. border. Searches can range from viewing accessible content on an unlocked device to requesting passwords, accessing encrypted files, or copying data for forensic review. And its not just foreign nationals subject to these searches. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are also subject to these inspections, even when entering lawfully. This is why professionals carrying confidential information should take extra precautions, as your company data may be accessed or copied and your workers could be detained. Other Data Security Risks But its not just border searches that can lead to loss of data. Once inside a country, travelers especially foreign nationals may face a range of digital security threats that go beyond airport inspections. Surveillance Dangers Network surveillance is common in many regions, particularly when using public Wi-Fi in hotels, airports, or cafes, where communications can be intercepted or monitored without the users knowledge. In some countries, there are legal restrictions or outright bans on the use of encryption tools, making it more difficult for travelers to protect their data. Countries with higher risks for such activities include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and certain parts of the Middle East, where government surveillance is particularly aggressive. Cybertheft In addition to state-sponsored monitoring, cyber criminals often exploit these same environments, targeting unsecured connections to steal sensitive data, login credentials, or financial information. Travelers unaware of these risks may become easy targets for man-in-the-middle attacks or malware installations, especially when using outdated software or unsecured devices. Export Control Considerations Carrying certain data, software, or technologies abroad may trigger export control laws, especially in fields like defense, technology, and pharmaceuticals. Even encrypted files on a laptop can violate export laws if shared or accessed abroad. In the U.S., laws like ITAR and EAR impose serious penalties for violations. Ethical and Legal Responsibilities Professionals in law, research, journalism, and academia may be ethically or legally obligated to protect sensitive data. A New York State Bar ethics opinion, for example, concludes that attorneys must take reasonable precautions to avoid ethical breaches at borders. Third-party access of devices may also constitute a data breach that would require disclosure. What Steps Can Your Organization Take? Here are some recommended safeguards to help avoid a security breach or device access when your workers travel internationally: Instruct your workers to use VPNs or virtual desktops (if permitted). Prohibit them from using unsecured networks for sensitive communication. Require them to be wary of unknown USB devices or file transfers. Instruct workers to bring only essential devices and data when traveling internationally. Train them on maintaining strict control over their digital footprint while abroad. Use encrypted or clean loaner devices with minimal data. Require them to store confidential information in secure, institution-approved cloud platforms, not on devices. Ensure your compliance team has provided guidance on whether your data or software is export-controlled. Require your workers to use strong passwords and disable biometrics before crossing borders. Have your workers back up important data before departure. Require workers who travel abroad to disclose such travel with IT, legal, or compliance teams. Develop institutional data handling policies for international trips and train your workers on best practices. Conclusion In an era of digital mobility, data protection is essential. By preparing properly through encryption, legal awareness, and secure data practices foreign nationals can reduce their risk and travel with confidence. If you have any questions, please contact your Fisher Phillips attorney, the authors of this Insight, or any attorney in our Immigration Practice Group, our FP Global Mobility team, or our Data Protection and Cybersecurity Team. We will provide updates as warranted, so make sure you are subscribed to Fisher Phillips Insight System to get the most up-to-date information directly to your inbox. Gurney's Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa in Montauk, NY Secures $235 Million Refinancing Smith Hill Capital and Bain Capital have refinanced the Gurney's Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa for $235 million. The oceanfront resort includes 158 units, five dining venues, a 30,000 square foot spa, and 25,000 square feet of meeting space. Smith Hill Capital and Bain Capital have announced a successful joint venture, which resulted in a $235 million refinancing for the iconic Gurney's Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa in Montauk, New York. The refinance was completed on behalf of BLDG Management Co., Inc. and Metrovest Equities. Situated on a 2,000-foot private beach, the 158-key oceanfront resort is divided into 109 guestrooms, 35 suites, eight beachfront cottages, and six residences. The property also boasts five dining venues, a 30,000-square-foot onsite spa with four spa pools, a full-size indoor saltwater pool, 20 treatment rooms, a salon, a top-of-the-line fitness center, and 25,000 square feet of meeting space. Brendan McCormick, Managing Principal at Smith Hill Capital, expressed that Gurney's Montauk is an irreplaceable, generational asset that perfectly aligns with their investment strategy. He highlighted the resort's strong market fundamentals, exceptional sponsorship, and potential for long-term value creation, even amidst current market uncertainty. This refinancing deal underscores the continued resilience and appeal of the hotel and resort industry despite the challenges posed by the current economic context. Gurney's Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa's iconic status and strategic location, paired with its comprehensive amenities, make it a compelling investment in the eyes of Smith Hill Capital and Bain Capital. Rendering of Holiday Inn Express Generation 5 All-Day Dinning area - Image Credit IHG Hotels & Resorts IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with Gauri Resort & Banquet Services for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hapur, set to open in 2027. The hotel will be part of a larger development encompassing more than 75,000 sq ft of MICE and social event space. IHG Hotels & Resorts has recently announced a management agreement with Gauri Resort & Banquet Services to open Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, India by 2027. This aligns with IHG's strategic expansion plans in response to market demands. The planned hotel will have 120 rooms, an all-day dining restaurant, a business center, and a dedicated meeting space. Additional amenities include a fitness center and ample parking. The hotel will be part of a larger development project, presenting over 75,000 sq ft of space intended for meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions (MICE), and social events. Sudeep Jain, Managing Director, South West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, expressed delight over the partnership with Gauri Resort & Banquet Services. He stated that the collaboration underlines their commitment to expand in line with market needs and deliver top-notch hospitality across India. The hotel's strategic location along NH 9 and excellent connectivity to key business hubs make it an ideal choice for both business and leisure travelers. Advertisement Managing Partners of Gauri Resort & Banquet Services, Mrs. Pallavi Bhardwaj and Ms. Gauri Bhardwaj, also shared their enthusiasm about the collaboration. They believe that the combination of IHG's global expertise and their local market insights will create a hospitality destination that meets the evolving needs of modern travelers. Hapur, in Uttar Pradesh, is a rapidly developing city known for its manufacturing prowess. The city's evolution as an industrial hub makes it a significant destination for business travelers. The new hotel, situated along National Highway 9, will also provide easy connectivity to Ghaziabad and Meerut, catering to the demand from MICE opportunities within and nearby cities. IHG currently operates 47 hotels across six brands in India and plans to open 60 more hotels in the next 3-5 years. IHG Expands Presence in Saudi Arabia with Upcoming Holiday Inn Jeddah Al Naseem - Image Credit IHG Hotels & Resorts IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement to launch the Holiday Inn Jeddah Al Naseem. The 222-key new-build hotel is set to open its doors in June 2026. The new hotel aligns with Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 objectives, which aim to diversify the Kingdom's economy and develop its public sectors. The agreement reinforces IHGs dedication to the Kingdom's thriving hospitality industry. IHG already operates 45 hotels across six brands in the country. The Holiday Inn Jeddah Al Naseem will feature the brand's Open Lobby concept, designed to provide a versatile space where guests can work, dine, or relax. The hotel's location in Al Naseem, a bustling district in Jeddah, serves business and leisure travelers well. The district has a diverse mix of commercial, retail, and residential establishments, including popular shopping centers and leading healthcare facilities. Commenting on the development, Haitham Mattar, Managing Director, India, Middle East & Africa, IHG Hotels & Resorts, highlighted Saudi Arabia as a key growth market for IHG. He also emphasized the new establishment's role in supporting the growth of the hospitality and tourism sectors in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The hotel will feature four dining options, a dedicated business center, and meeting rooms for corporate guests. Leisure amenities include a fitness center, a spa, and an outdoor pool. Owner of Holiday Inn Jeddah Al Naseem, Hassan Salem Al Zahrani, expressed his optimism about the partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts. He stated his confidence in the hotel's contribution to Jeddah's continuously developing hospitality sector, and its offering of exceptional guest experiences. 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. How Trump is reshaping Music Education Presidents Trumps gutting of the Kennedy Center may get headlines, but his broader war on DEI and the Department of Education could have far deeper long term consequences. Learn how Trump is reshaping music education. How Trump is reshaping Music Education Todays US orchestras are 80% White, 11% Asian, 5% Hispanic and 2% Black. In an effort to change that Chicago non-profit Equity Arc connects talented student musicians of color with mentors and opportunities to learn. Perhaps the most exciting for many of those students was an invitation from the United States Marine Band to come to Washington, DC to perform with them this Spring. But after President Trumps day-one executive orders Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing the show was cancelled. 60 Minutes recently did a piece including the retired Marines who stepped in. I just felt like, well, theres usually two responses to something. You can complain about it, or you could do something about it. I chose the latter within seconds. And it was the easiest decision ever, John Abbracciamento, retired Marine Band trumpeter, said. I challenge anyone, literally anyone, to come to me and say by having this concert does damage to the United States, he continued. It doesnt. It brings out the best of us. Gutting The Department Of Education Trumps was on diversity in music and music education extends far beyond a single band concert. The US Department of Education is responsible for IDEA (disability education funding), Pell Grants (college funding for poor families), Title I (federal funding for grade school education), and student loans. All have a direct of inderect impact But Trump has also promised to gut and eventually close the entire US Department of Education a major source funding and guidance for music education programs of all kinds. Already 40% to 50% of DoE staff are or will soon be let go. In February a letter from the Department of Education to presidents of colleges and music schools, outlawed positive discrimination for students of under-represented backgrounds: The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nations educational institutions. The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent. In addition to DEI, Trump has also promised to gut and eventually close the entire US Department of Education a major source funding and guidance for music education programs of all kinds. Already 40% to 50% of DoE staff are or will soon be let go. Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency Share on: Dalton residents have been pushing town officials to take action against Berkshire Concrete, which they say is coating their neighborhoods with dust and sand. More than 350 people have signed a petition asking for action. PreviousNext Dalton Health Board Orders Dust-Abatement Plan for Concrete Site Residents protest on Wednesday ahead of a Board of Health meeting. DALTON, Mass. Residents urged for quicker action to address the dust and particulates affecting their neighborhood allegedly from Berkshire Concrete's dig site. During Wednesday's meeting, the Board of Health voted to send a letter to the company requiring a comprehensive plan by April 25. This letter establishes a formal deadline for submitting a detailed plan to address the dust nuisance and notes that failure to comply with this requirement could lead to financial penalties and potential legal action. The board also recommended to request that a third-party review the dust mitigation plans and ongoing air quality monitoring as conditions of the special permit for Berkshire Concrete. Resident David Pugh argued that Petricca Industries, the parent company of Berkshire Concrete, has shown a generational disregard. "The history speaks for itself," he said. A petition submitted by residents argues this point, using newspaper clippings dating back to 1976. "What we need with [the board's] action, is the same level of reaction by the people who created the problem to begin," Pugh said. "So our reaction has been very strongly coordinated. Their reaction has been very slow and one of inaction, and that's where the real frustration." Since February, more than 100 residents have been searching for a solution to the sand they say is causing health issues. Many have attended meetings of the Select Board, Conservation Commission, Board of Health, and Planning Board to demonstrate their complaints. The issue resulted in a petition that gathered 357 signatures to urge the boards to take strict action on the situation. "One of the things I want to have happen within all this process is a better process with the town and the different boards, the Planning Board, the permitting your oversight as a Board of Health, so when something goes wrong, you have a plan in place to react," Pugh said. The board voted to issue layered fines for situations such as this based upon the violation itself, the basis of the violation, and the history behind the circumstances. The first violation would range from $1,000 to $5,000 and subsequent violations can get fined up to $10,000 per violation. During the meeting, residents advocated for ongoing, continuous air quality testing and highlighted how this would aid in enforcement because it shows when the violations take place. After months of residents demanding action and town boards navigating a process toward a resolution and getting the sand tested , the state Department of Environmental Protection determined that the dust is not an air quality health concern but a nuisance, which the town is the regulatory authority to mitigate. Sampling was conducted at multiple locations: 38 Deming St., 30 Florence St., 33 Florence St., and the upper end of Prospect Street. For background information, Silver Lake in Pittsfield, which serves as the monitoring station for DEP, was included in the analysis. The sampling occurred over three days: March 3, March 12 (which had light winds), and March 21 (which experienced strong winds). Residents expressed skepticism of these results, saying the sampling does not reflect their daily lived experience. Ronald Griffin disagreed with the state's assessment that the sand is not a health risk, citing a note from his wife's doctor saying the contrary. Griffin said, he and his wife, Lynne Griffin, are willing to share this with the Board of Health. On March 12, Town Health Agent Agnes Witkowski issued a cease-and-desist letter to Berkshire Concrete, ordering that they abate nuisance conditions. On March 26, the town received a response from Berkshire Concrete's attorneys Cohen, Kinne, Valicenti, and Cook. "While [Berkshire Concrete Corporation] does not agree that the activities set forth in the order constitute a nuisance, BCC has been working diligently and thoughtfully with Foresight Land Services Inc. to complete a comprehensive mitigation plan addressing issues set forth in the order, as well as, the issues brought to BCC's attention by the [Planning Board,] " attorney Dennis Egan Jr. wrote in the letter. The attorney claims that the last remaining piece of the plan is a map that shows the specific parcels, including the areas for mitigation, and is expected to be complete by "early next week." A final dust mitigation plan has not yet been submitted. The town did receive a preliminary plan, which was considered incomplete. Cheshire Works to Obtain Borrowing for Fire Truck CHESHIRE, Mass.The Fire Department's new firetruck is ready, but the town can not pay for it. During a special town meeting last year, voters approved the borrowing of $850,000 for the purchase of a new fire truck. However, the meeting was not properly posted, causing a delay in borrowing. One of the borrowing requirements is that the town supply the posting of the special election but since it was not properly posted, the town can not provide that. "The way around that is to have special legislation approved by the state of Massachusetts, to basically approve the special election," one member said. Another option is to have another special election. However, it can not be held close to the annual election. There isn't time to add the article to the annual election, said Town Administrator Jennifer Morse. State Rep. John Barrett III has been involved in this process for going on eight months and state Sen. Paul Mark is also involved to aid on the Senate side, Morse said. The best path forward is getting the town meeting approval on the Legislature to make it an official meeting. It's just a matter of getting it on the docket, one board member said. "There's a plethora of towns that have had similar situations, whether it's wording on a ballot or not posting. It happens quite a bit. We're not reinventing the wheel. I mean, this has all been done before," one board member said. The approval of the meeting has to go through the House and Senate. So Barrett and Mark are working together to try to push it, Morse said. "It didn't get through the last session that ended on Dec. 31 for various reasons, so Barrett has refiled," she said. "It's in front of the elections committee. Last I spoke to about Barrett, he's going to push and hopefully have it through by the end of April, and he said that he's really pushing hard. I have also involved [Senator Paul Mark] as well so he can push through on the Senate side." The fire truck dealer is charging the town $220 per day for keeping the truck on its lot after the delivery date of April 1. "So the more time that goes by, the meter keeps ticking," Fire Chief Thomas Francesconi said. If the legislation can go through by the end of April, it will have cost the town $6,000, he said. The town had originally expected to receive the truck by mid-January 2026. One board member inquired whether the board could ask the business to waive the $220 fee for one month while the town seeks funding, given that the delivery is arriving earlier than anticipated. It was said the town had already tried this, and the business would not budge because if Cheshire didn't agree to take the fire truck, someone else would have. The early delivery of the truck would have been a positive thing if the meeting was posted properly, Francesconi said. "Whether it's 21 months or 12 months, we would have been fine if it had been posted and had gone through town meeting correctly, we would have been fine. That's all it is. It's a mistake. It's an error. So it doesn't matter if it was 21 months or 10 months or anything. We would have been fine," he said. The new treasurer also reached out to the state Department of Revenue last week trying to do a State House note or something for this borrowing but that is not going to work without the legislation, Morse said. "So, we have gone at this from every angle we could possibly think of," she said. The special election was highly attended and publicized, and the borrowing for the truck was noncontroversial, passing by 100 votes, board members said. "Barrett said he has spoken to the chair of the elections committee several times, and they promise that they're going to try to push it up as fast as they can," Morse said. "There are 800 bills sitting in the elections. So that was the problem at the end of last year, because there's so many bills on December 31 they just didn't get to this one." If the legislation doesn't pass by the end of the month the town has to determine next steps, board members said. Principal Maggie Harrington-Esko speaks at a PHS graduation in this file photo. The principal is leaving at the end of the school year. PHS Principal Stepping Down at School Year's End PITTSFIELD, Mass. Pittsfield High School Principal Maggie Harrington-Esko will step down at the end of the year after nearly 20 years in the building. "I feel that it is important to let you know that this is a decision that I have come to on my own," she wrote to the school community on Monday evening. Harrington-Esko is the second administrator to resign after the school became embroiled in a staffing scandal in December. Earlier this year, Superintendent Joseph Curtis announced that he would step down from his position effective June 30. "This is not an easy decision because PHS is a place I love deeply," she wrote. "For the past 18 years, this school has been my Home Under the Dome. It's where I've grown as an educator, a leader, and a person. It's where I've laughed, learned, and had the honor of standing beside so many of you through challenges, triumphs, and everything in between." Harrington-Esko began her career at the high school in September 2006 as a social studies teacher, during which she also acted as a teacher leader, mentor, and adviser. After 11 years in the classroom, Esko was hired to the administrative team where she had multiple titles, including dean of students, vice principal, assistant principal of teaching and learning, and interim principal. She was tapped as principal in 2022 and is "incredibly" proud of what the school has accomplished together. Letter: Williamstown Dealing in Toxic Sludge to Save Money? Madness To the Editor: While Williamstown builds a $20 million fire station, Bob Menicocci and the Finance Committee expect us to be up in arms about $500,000 to deal with a very real environmental problem in a responsible fashion toxic sludge. Waste water treatment in Williamstown yields effluent (discharged to the Hoosic River where there is a PFAS advisory on fish from the Mass Department of Health) and sludge a concentrated byproduct. The proposal before us is to start taking toxic sludge from other towns because the town wants to lower costs and we have the capacity. But what is the trade-off? The trade-off is increased liability for Williamstown who would become a producer/source of toxic waste spread on New York agricultural fields (that is, our food and water) and environmental contamination. As the country scrambles to find ways to filter PFAS from our drinking water, given that it causes cancer, Williamstown wants to sign on to spreading more of the chemical around? Madness. It's a terrible idea. We should tell Casella "No" at the Select Board meeting April 14, Town Hall, 31 North St. at 7 p.m. We can't on the one hand say: PFAS "forever chemicals" cause intractable harm to humans, ecosystems and animals, but then also say, let's put them into our food at varying levels depending on any given state legislature. Maine and Connecticut have banned the land application of PFAS chemicals; Vermont is extremely stringent; they have the right idea! Because various New England farms have been contaminated, Casella seeks to send the product to New York, essentially taking advantage of regulatory lag time. Lawmakers haven't banned it there yet. We should not be a partner in this kind of short-term exploitation. Williamstown has it's own PFAS problem. The Hoosac Water Quality District has not explained the planned testing protocol for incoming sludge: What is the type and frequency of testing? PFAS bioaccumulates in the environment and our bloodstream. Yet, they talk of expansion. With a PFAS advisory on the Hoosic, apparently our method is leading to contamination, which doesn't make me want to say: Let's scale up! Harmful heavy metals also exist in the sludge and effluent. Human waste is a bad fertilizer in general. Too much junkfood and pharmaceuticals. Now, Williamstown wants to go into the toxic sludge business to save $500,000? Madness. Todd Fiorentino Williamstown, Mass. PITTSFIELD, MASS Ten have been arrested on charges related to child exploitation following a two-week operation in Berkshire County. The Berkshire State Police Detective Unit, assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, and the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force conducted the operation. According to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, the operation involved law enforcement officers posing as 14 and 15-year-old girls on various online platforms. The individuals allegedly communicated with these online personas and traveled to pre-arranged locations within Berkshire County, intending to exchange money for sexual activity with individuals under the age of 16, according to authorities. "The utilization of grant funding and the dedicated work of our Law Enforcement Task Force allowed us to apprehend those looking to abuse our most vulnerable population, children. I want to especially thank the North Adams Police Department and Chief Bailey for their commitment to this operation," stated District Attorney Shugrue, "I also would like to recognize and thank Governor Healey in awarding grant funds that allowed our office to conduct investigations into human trafficking in our county. Sex trafficking is far more prevalent than most people realize. Through the Governor's support, we are able to devote resources to disrupt and apprehend criminals looking to exploit victims of human trafficking." The following individuals have been arraigned in either Central Berkshire District Court or Great Barrington District Court: Sydney Brodrick, 21 of Pittsfield, arraigned on April 1, 2025, faces the following charges: Possession of Obscene Material Distribution of Obscene Material Brodrick is being held pending evaluation. Ted Crosby, 56 of Pittsfield, was arraigned on April 7, 2025, and charged with: Sexual Conduct for a Fee Enticing a Child Under 16 Attempt to Commit a Crime Pose/Exhibit a Child in a Sexual Act Bail was set at $5,000. Roger Prell, 67 of Pittsfield, was arraigned on April 10, 2025, and charged with: Pay for Sexual Conduct with a Child Under 18 Obscene Matter to a Minor Entice Child Under 16 Attempt to Commit a Crime Prell was released on personal recognizance. Dana Brookman, 31 of Pittsfield, was arraigned on April 14, 2025, and charged with: Entice Child Under 16 Obscene Matter to a Minor Attempt to Commit a Crime Bail was set at $7,000. Eduardo/Kevin Miranda Hernandez was arraigned on April 14, 2025, and charged with: Enticement of a Child Under 16 Attempt to Commit a Crime Procure Liquor for a Person Under 21 Bail was set at $5,000. Hernandez also has an active Connecticut warrant for strangulation. Jonathan Kornbluth, 45 of Housatonic, was arraigned on April 14, 2025, and charged with: Entice Child Under 16 Attempt to Commit a Crime Drug Possession Class B Bail was set at $5,000. Forhad Chaudhury, 40 of Ronkonkoma, NY, was arraigned on April 14, 2025, and charged with: Pay for Sexual Conduct with a Child Under 18 Entice Child Under 16 Attempt to Commit a Crime Bail was set at $15,000. Jean Arce, 39 of Westfield, was arraigned on April 14, 2025, and charged with: Pay for Sexual Conduct with a Child Under 18 Entice Child Under 16 Attempt to Commit a Crime Bail was set at $5,000. Stevenson Clercidor had their case heard on April 15, 2025. Dominick Boschetto, 31 of Brookfield, was arraigned on April 15, 2025, and charged with: Sexual Conduct for a Fee Enticement for Sex with a Child Under 16 Bail was set at $5,000. 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 Director Chris Columbus has said he fears Donald Trumps administration would deport him if he cut the presidents cameo from his film, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Released in 1992, the comedy sequel tells the story of eight-year-old boy Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who accidentally boards a flight to New York instead of Miami, where his family are spending the Christmas holidays. After landing in New York, Kevin makes his way to the five-star Plaza Hotel. There, Culkins character bumps into Trump, who owned the Plaza at the time, and asks him for directions to the lobby. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Columbus said of Trumps cameo: Its become this curse. Its become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone. Although the filmmaker was born and raised in the United States, he has Italian ancestry and admitted he would be worried he would have to go back to Italy or something if he nixed the scene. I cant cut it, Columbus added. If I cut it, Ill probably be sent out of the country. Ill be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States, so Ill have to go back to Italy or something. Trumps cameo has been removed from Home Alone 2 before. Back in 2019, Trump supporters complained after a cut of the film without the president was aired on a Canadian channel. open image in gallery Macaulay Culkin and Donald Trump in Home Alone 2 Additionally, in 2021, Culkin said on social media he was sold on the idea of digitally replacing Trump in the film. A year earlier, Columbus had revealed that Trump had bullied his way into the movie while they were filming in his hotel. 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. We paid the fee, but he also said, The only way you can use the Plaza is if Im in the movie, Columbus said. So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on screen. So I said to my editor, Leave him in the movie. Its a moment for the audience. open image in gallery Trump shakes hands with El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele during a meeting in the Oval Office ( Getty ) Columbus fears of deportation come after Trumps administration deported a man living in Maryland to a mega-prison in El Salvador in what they have since claimed was an administration error. When questioned about the incident by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins, the president repeatedly attacked the reporter claiming her network hates our country and personally insulting her as low-rated. After a judge ordered earlier this month that Abrego Garcia who is married to an American citizen and has no criminal record must be returned, calling his removal unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration must facilitate Garcias release from the prison adding that his removal from the United States was illegal. 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 Nick Carter is facing yet another sexual assault lawsuit but his lawyers have vowed to fight the latest accusations. The Backstreet Boy, 45 who has been hit with three previous sexual assault lawsuits has been accused of sexually assaulting Laura Penly, allegedly resulting in the woman contracting multiple STDs, leading to a cervical cancer diagnosis. Carter has vehemently denied all accusations against him. The alleged assault took place when Penly was 19, according to the documents viewed by People. Penly alleged the two had a sexually intimate relationship and [they] would see each other approximately every few weeks from December 2004 to February 2005. Penly claimed she and Carter had consensual sex three times before their relationship soured at his Hollywood apartment. She alleged Carter refused to wear a condom, and led her to believe he was clean of sexually transmittable diseases, according to the documents. When Penly returned to Carters apartment in early 2005, she believed the two were going to watch movies together. Instead, Carter allegedly told her the only reason she was there was to have sex. Penly said the forceful assault happened on Carters bed despite her saying no multiple times. She claimed Carter failed to use protection to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. Months later, after a July 2005 doctors appointment, Penly was allegedly diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea, and human papillomavirus (commonly known as HPV). Thats also when the cancerous cells were discovered. Nick Carter has been hit with a fourth sexual assault lawsuit ( Getty Images ) She was diagnosed with Stage 2 cervical cancer and underwent multiple treatments, the documents alleged. In addition to demanding a jury trial, Penly is seeking damages of $15,000. Liane K. Wakayama and Dale Hayes, Jr., Carters attorneys, shared the following statement with The Independent in response to the latest allegations: This is just more of the same nonsense from the gang of conspirators and their lawyers who continue to abuse the justice system to try to ruin Nick Carter. Its drawn from the same predictable playbook lie in wait for decades until Mr. Carter is celebrating a professional milestone, then hide behind litigation privilege to make utterly false claims in an attempt to inflict maximum damage on Nick and his family. Nick does not recall ever even meeting Laura Penly, the lawyers continued. He certainly never had any romantic or sexual relationship with her. Ever. 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. Not only will we fight this, we will be seeking sanctions against her legal team for enabling this frivolous action. Penly is now the fourth woman to come forward with accusations of sexual assault against Carter. In 2017, Melissa Schuman alleged Carter raped her in the early 2000s while the two worked on a project together. Schuman, who was in the band Dream, sued Carter for sexual assault and battery in April 2023. Her case is set to start in California in December. Shannon Ruth then came forward and alleged Carter raped her on a tour bus in 2001. She was just 17 at the time. Ruth sued Carter in December 2022 for sexual battery. Then, in August 2023, Ashley Repp sued Carter, alleging he sexually assaulted her multiple times in 2003 when she was 15. Carter countersued Repp and Ruth for defamation in 2023. But a judge ruled the next year that Carter could not countersue Repp. Repp and Ruths cases are reportedly being heard together in Nevada in 2026, People reported. Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673). 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 Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd has been crowned as the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2025 after a dramatic final on Friday (25 April). The star was named as the winner of the ITV reality show with pop star JoJo Siwa surprisingly finishing third on the evening. Drag queen Danny Beard finished second overall. Elsewhere, comedian Donna Preston, singer Chesney Hawkes and TV presenter Chris Hughes finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Walking away victorious, Jack becomes the reigning champion, joining ITVs cohort of winners including fellow Celebrity Big Brother winner David Potts, and Big Brother winners Jordan Sangha and Ali Bromley. On Tuesday (22 April) ,three housemates, presenter Angellica Bell, The Only Way Is Essex star Ella Rae Wise, and EastEnders actor Patsy Palmer, were evicted from the competition, leaving just six contestants in with a chance of scooping the crown. Singer Chesney Hawkes, comedian Donna Preston, RuPauls Drag Race UK star Danny Beard and Coronation Streets Jack P Shepherd all survived the eviction, alongside former Love Island contestant Chris Hughes and Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa who have raised eyebrows with their tactile relationship in recent weeks. Jack P Shepherd has won Celebrity Big Brother ( ITV ) Bell, Wise, and Palmer follow in the footsteps of Trisha Goddard, Daley Thompson and politician Michael Fabricant, who was the first of the housemates to be evicted. The Wrestler actor Mickey Rourke was next removed after a chaotic six-day stint in the house. Rourke, 72, had been at the centre of controversy since his entrance when he ogled presenter AJ Odudu. He later faced calls to be ejected from the house after making homophobic comments to Siwa. He was ultimately thrown off the show by producers for inappropriate sexual language aimed at Wise, 24, as well as threatening and aggressive behaviour towards Hughes, 32. Rourke grew irate when Hughes, in character as a pirate for a shopping task, eyeballed him. Rourke later apologised to the former Love Island star, and told Big Brother he was ashamed of his actions. According to evicted housemate Fabricant, however, the worst of what Rourke said was not even broadcast. Celebrity Big Brother launched earlier this month with a reach of 4.2 million (average of 2.7 million). The Big Brother brand has now surpassed a colossal 100 million streams on ITV, with the new series generating over 20 million streams so far on ITVX (an increase on the first series). Applications for the next series of Big Brother are open. Hopefuls looking to embark on the ultimate social experiment can apply to be a part of the next series of Big Brother set to air in 2025. 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 Jon Stewart says that Donald Trump is missing one key component to be a top-tier authoritarian. The host of US series The Daily Show often spends time discussing the US president and the latest episode, which aired on Monday (14 April), was no different. Trump came up in conversation during a game of How Authoritarian is We? in which Stewart measured powerful high-profile figures, ranging from Trump to Russian president Vladimir Putin and Vogues editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. When he assessed Trumps status as a dictator, he said: Authoritarianism isnt just policies its an aesthetic. The opulence of medieval kings, the excesses of Middle Eastern autocrats. It's a Pinterest vibe that speaks to the power of one's position the riches that are the privilege of the office. Does Trump measure up? Here, Stewart showed a clip of Trump gloating about the golden ages on the walls of the White House, before impersonating the president: Theyre angels. They visited me in the night and asked me to change my ways, he said, making a nod to A Christmas Carol. So I held them down and dipped them in gold Have you ever heard an angel scream? It is just, it is erotic. But Stewart was not sure if Trump qualified for full authoritarian status, adding: So Trumps got it all, authoritarian-wise: the looks, the attitude, the relentless dissent-crushing all the ingredients to be a top-tier authoritarian. All he needs now is to bring it home with his ruthless competence. This led to a compilation of TV reports on the Trumps controversial tariffs policy, which caused a stock market crisis around the world. Earlier this month, Trump announced a partial pullback of the policy, which has so far seen a 25 per cent tax imposed on imported vehicles that went into effect on 3 April. Daily Show host Jon Stewart and Donald Trump ( YouTube / Getty Images ) Trump first unveiled a raft of new tariffs after repeatedly threatening to impose reciprocal dollar-for-dollar tariffs on nations that levy duties on the US. He called it Liberation Day. However, when markets began to nosedive, Trump announced on Truth Social that there would be a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs while hiking other duties on China to 125 per cent. He has been widely mocked for his back-and-forth. 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. Last week, Real Time host Bill Maher made an unexpected admission about Trump after attending a private White House dinner with the president. The Real Time host, who has long been critical of Trump and previously called for him to be impeached, revealed the result of the evening after being invited by their mutual friend, the musician and noted Republican Kid Rock. But the comedian was surprised to find that he enjoyed Trumps company, calling him gracious and measured and far different from the crazy man he watches on TV. 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 cast of HBOs high-profile Harry Potter TV adaptation has finally been revealed after months of rumour and speculation. Each season of the forthcoming show will be based on JK Rowlings book franchise, with each book comprising one season. This means that a new batch of actors will be portraying roles previously played by stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Rickman, and Maggie Smith. Nick Frost has now been confirmed to be playing the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the series, following reports last month that the actor was poised to accept the role. Meanwhile, Oscar nominee John Lithgow has been cast as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, despite Mark Rylance being rumoured to be the producers favourite for the part. Taking over Dame Maggie Smiths role of Minerva McGonagall is Golden Globe winner Janet McTeer, who has reportedly been the leading name in contention, ahead of Irish actor Sharon Horgan and The Favourites Rachel Weisz, since the start of March. Elsewhere in the lineup, Gangs of London, The Lazarus Project and The Capture star Paapa Essiedu will play Severus Snape in the series. Alan Rickman famously played the role in the films. open image in gallery Nick Frost will play Hagrid in the forthcoming HBO Harry Potter series ( Getty/Warner Bros ) Additionally, Luke Thallon will play Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse will take on the role of caretaker Argus Filch. An open casting call was launched earlier this year for children from the UK and Ireland to audition for the lead roles for HBOs forthcoming television adaptation, which is yet to be announced. 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 TV adaption was confirmed by HBO Max in 2023 and aims to be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer JK Rowling. open image in gallery Janet McTeer will play Dame Maggie Smith's role of Professor McgGonagall ( Getty/Warner Bros ) The series is expected to run for a decade, with each season based on one of the seven Rowling books. Were delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we cant wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life, said Francesca Gardiner, showrunner and executive producer and Mark Mylod, director of multiple episodes and executive producer. Recently David Tennant appeared to take a dig at Rowling when the Scottish actor was asked about participating in the new streaming series. open image in gallery Paapa Essiedu will replace Alan Rickman as Snape in the Harry Potter' series ( Getty/Warner Bros ) Tennant, 53, previously played the role of Barty Crouch Jr in 2005s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In recent months, he has drawn the ire of Rowling an outspoken opponent of the transgender rights movement after voicing support for the community. Tennant was asked during a Q&A at Planet ComicCon about the possibility of returning to the world of Harry Potter for the reboot. I mean, theyre great stories, he replied, adding that his contribution has probably been made to the Potter franchise already. He then added: Im told theres an executive producer who doesnt love me on that show. 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 White Lotus star Jason Isaacs has clarified comments he made about drama on the set of the popular show. Isaacs, 61, plays Timothy Ratliff, the patriarch of a wealthy family and father of Saxon Ratliff (played by Patrick Schwarzenegger). The new season of the dark comedy was set in another luxury hotel - this time in Thailand. The British actor had previously described his experience working on the show as a cross between summer camp and Lord of the Flies but in a gilded cage, in an interview with Vulture. He added there had been friendships that were made and friendships that were lost. He also called out a double standard in questioning when asked if he had used a prosthetic penis during shooting, insisting women would not be asked that question. Mike White, the shows creator, also hit out at the shows composer, Tapia de Veer, for quitting. De Veer said: We already had our last fight forever. Isaacs addressed these comments, which many interpreted as signalling tension or ongoing feuds on set. Like anywhere you go for the summer, theres friendships, theres romances, theres arguments, theres cliques that form and break and reform and stuff like that. Im careful, he toldThe Happy Hour podcast. Im not stupid. I look at the internet. He added: Nobody has the slightest clue what theyre talking about. People who think theyre onto something, and it then gets magnified because of a thousand other people. Nobody has any clue. Isaacs described his experience working on the show as a cross between summer camp and Lord of the Flies ( HBO ) He went on to clarify his earlier comments saying: First of all, its none of your business. Im just saying it wasnt a holiday, and partly I started saying that because people think we were on a seven-month holiday, and believe me, it felt like work a lot of the time. It was insanely hot and theres all the normal social tensions you get anywhere. 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. In his previous comments to Vulture, Isaacs had said: They say in the show, What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand, but theres an off-screen White Lotus as well, with fewer deaths but just as much drama. About his statement on double standards for men, the star backtracked and told Variety: I said the wrong words in the wrong way. I used the phrase double standard, which I didnt mean at all. At the time, Isaacs had said on CBS Mornings: I think its interesting that theres a double standard for men, but when women are naked, Margaret Qualley in The Substance, no one would dream of talking to her about her genitalia or her nipples or any of those things. So, its odd that theres a double standard. 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 Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria has explained in a new interview why he chose to step back from voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon following controversy surrounding the character. Azaria voiced the Indian shopkeeper on the animated comedy for 30 years, but his depiction faced high-profile criticism in 2017 with the release of a documentary titled The Problem with Apu. The film saw comedian Hari Kondabolu investigate why the character was problematic and a racial stereotype. Simpsons writer, producer and erstwhile showrunner Mike Reiss confirmed in 2018 that the sitcom had decided to retire Apu. In a new discussion on the topic, Azaria has told the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast that his decision to step away from Apu required a deep dive. Azaria explained that the characters voice was inspired by Peter Sellars's performance in the 1968 film The Party, where the British actor wore brownface. open image in gallery Hank Azaria ( Getty ) Whats the difference between Inspector Clouseau, a silly French voice, or Doctor Strangelove, a silly German voice, and Hrundi V Bakshi, a rather silly Indian voice? asked Azaria. And its a question I still get asked. People will say comments still to this day, Why can you do [Italian Simpsons character] Luigi and thats not offensive? Why can you talk like [stereotypical hick character] Cletus and thats not a problem, but you cant do Apu? Right? Honestly, at first, I thought let me look into this, and then Ill go back to doing the voice, and say I understand, but Im going to keep doing this. And I was surprised myself that I came down on, No, actually, I think I am participating in a harm here. 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. He also said he is not a hero and had a professional public decision to make when he left the character. The 60-year-old went on to express his regret after learning that Apu was often cited when hate crimes were committed against South Asian people. It became a slur when convenience store guys were stabbed or shot or robbed, you know, he noted. Theres all this other stereotyping and things that have teeth in them that affect people of colour in this country. So, while Apu might not be the most important thing in the world, its a window into something quite important. open image in gallery Apu in The Simpsons ( Fox ) Azaria had previously apologised for voicing Apu. In 2021 he told the Armchair Expert podcast that: I was speaking at my sons school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input. A 17-year-old ... hes never even seen The Simpsons but knows what Apu means. Its practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country. I really do apologise, Azaria continued. Its important. I apologise for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise. And sometimes I do. 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 Beijing has hit back with reciprocal visa restrictions on US personnel for acting egregiously on Tibet-related issues after it denounced American travel curbs on Chinese officials. The tit-for-tat move came two weeks after the US imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved in enforcing travel restrictions on US diplomats, journalists and other international observers seeking to visit Tibet. Western governments have accused China of restricting diplomats and foreign journalists from travelling to the remote Himalayan region referred to as Xizang by Beijing. Foreign tourists are allowed to visit Tibet so long as they travel in groups and secure a permit in advance. Diplomats and foreign journalists must obtain approval of Tibet's local authorities to visit. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said issues related to Tibet were China's "internal affairs". The USs arbitrary visa restrictions on Chinese officials under the pretext of Xizang-related issues violate international law and basic norms governing international relations, she said. China decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who have acted egregiously on the Xizang-related issues. She claimed that Tibet was open, and Beijing welcomed foreigners to visit and do business in the region. At the same time, we oppose any country or individual using human rights, religion and culture as a false pretext to meddle in Xizang affairs, she said. We oppose interference and sabotage by people with ill motives who would use visits to Xizang as an opportunity to engage in such activities. The visa restrictions came after US president Donald Trump singled out China for steep import levies, imposing an effective tariff rate of 145 per cent on the Asian giant, while reducing it to 10 per cent for almost every other country. Beijing responded by raising import duties on American goods to 125 per cent. File. The Chinese flag flies at a plaza near the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, on 1 June 2021 ( AP ) On 31 March, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said the US would impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials determined to be substantially involved in the formulation or execution of policies related to access for foreigners to Tibet. He said the move was in line with the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 under which Chinese officials could be denied American visas if they were found denying access to US officials, journalists, observers, and tourists to the area. Mr Rubio claimed Beijing had long refused to afford US diplomats, journalists and other international observers access to the Tibet autonomous region and other Tibetan areas, while Chinese diplomats and reporters enjoyed broad access in the United States. This lack of reciprocity is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, he said and demanded unrestricted access for American diplomats to Tibet. The Chinese foreign ministry responded that Beijing had never issued regulations to restrict entry into Tibet. China seized control of Tibet in 1950 after the communists won the Chinese civil war. It described the takeover as peaceful liberation from feudalistic serfdom. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibetan Buddhists, fled following a failed uprising against Beijings rule in 1959. He has lived in exile in India ever since. 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 Chinese court has sentenced a researcher to two years in prison for taking plant germplasm out of the country without authorisation, the state security ministry said. The researcher, identified only by surname Fu, was accused of smuggling a total of 61 germplasm specimens out of China. The accused, who worked at an agricultural research institute, was also deprived of political rights for a year for illegally disseminating intelligence to foreign entities", Global Times reported, citing the ministry. The state media outlet claimed some countries have "continuously sought to steal Chinas agricultural germplasm resources through various means, harming the national security and interests. Germplasm is a collection of genetic material from plants or animals that is preserved for the purposes of breeding, research, conservation, and agricultural development. The material is the chips of agriculture, closely related to national food security, the ministry said on Monday. Fu had gone as a visiting scholar to a foreign university where they did not have any ongoing research project, the ministry said. Fu noticed advanced lab equipment at the university and thought of using it for their own domestic research projects. Fu shared the idea with a mentor, a rice expert surnamed Song, who allegedly encouraged the researcher to bring Chinese wild rice germplasm resources to the university, the ministry said. Fully aware that exporting domestic rice seeds without authorisation is prohibited," the ministry claimed, Fu made three unauthorised trips, transporting four batches totalling 61 samples of Chinas rice germplasm resources abroad. The samples, including a rare one exclusive to China, were allegedly sent to Song and other foreign research personnel. In 2018, the US sentenced a Chinese scientist to 10 years in a federal prison for conspiring to steal samples of a variety of rice seeds from a Kansas biopharmaceutical research facility. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The US and South Korea have flown their bomber warplanes in a show of strength against North Koreas rapidly advancing nuclear programme and threats. South Koreas defence ministry said that the US long-range B-1B bombers participated in the joint South Korea-US aerial drill aimed at strengthening the allies combined operational capability and demonstrate their deterrence capability against North Koreas advancing nuclear programme. The ministry said South Korea flew its F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and American F-16 fighter jets also took part in the training over the Korean Peninsula. South Korea and the US will continue to expand their joint military exercises to respond to North Korean nuclear threats, the ministry said. The drills come on the day Pyongyang is celebrating a key anniversary of the 113th birthday of their state founder Kim Il Sung and just days after the North Korean leaders powerful sister Kim Yo Jong, who also serves as the countrys top diplomat, vowed to resist a US-led push to eliminate the Norths nuclear programme. North Korea has often responded to the US aerial deployment of fighter jets with missile tests and powerful rhetoric of retaliation, including an intercontinental ballistic missile launch. It was the second time a US B-1B had participated in a drill with South Korea since president Donald Trump began his second term in January. open image in gallery South Korean and US fighter jets fly over South Korea during a joint air drill ( South Korean Defence Ministry/AF ) In February, North Koreas defence ministry slammed the B-1B's earlier flyover as proof of intensifying US-led provocations since Mr Trumps inauguration. It pledged to counter the strategic threat of the US with strategic means. Days later, North Korea test-fired cruise missiles in what it called an attempt to show its nuclear counterattack capability. Mr Trump has repeatedly said he will reach out to Kim Jong Un to revive diplomacy. North Korea hasnt directly responded to Mr Trumps outreach. open image in gallery US B-1B bomber jets fly alongside South Korean F-15s and F-16s in joint drills ( South Korean Defence Ministry/AF ) Last Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong Mr Kims sister and a senior official derided the US and its Asian allies over what she called their daydream of denuclearising North Korea, insisting that her country will never give up its nuclear weapons program. Her statement came as a response to a recent meeting among the top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan where they reaffirmed their commitment to push for North Korea's denuclearisation. The Kim Il Sung birthday, called the Day of Sun, is one of the most important holidays in North Korea, where a state-sponsored cult of personality treats key members of the ruling Kim family like gods. On Tuesday, the country's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper issued an editorial urging the public to rally behind Kim Jong Un to achieve a national prosperity. In recent days, North Korea has held seminars, performances and other events commemorating the founder's achievements. 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 South Korean aviation authorities were reportedly warned about a high risk of bird strikes near the Muan international airport before a Jeju Air flight crashed there in December, killing 179 people in the countrys worst air disaster. Ten days before the fatal incident, a dozen officials met at the airport to review an alarming rise in bird strike incidents. Bird strikes when birds collide with aircraft are a known hazard to aviation, particularly near wetlands or migratory flyways. They can damage engines and fuselages, and in rare cases, lead to crashes. At that meeting of the bird strike prevention committee late last year, an official from a national aviation training institute flagged that incoming planes regularly encountered large flocks of birds along the coast. To what extent is it possible to keep the birds away? the official asked, according to records obtained by a lawmaker, reported the New York Times, without disclosing the name of the official. The response was sobering. An official from the company overseeing airport operations admitted that there werent enough personnel or vehicles to drive birds away, and said the loudspeakers meant to frighten them were ineffective beyond airport boundaries. They were trying their best, the official added, according to the American paper. open image in gallery Mourners pay respects at a memorial altar for the victims of the Jeju Air crash in front of the Seoul City Hall on 31 December 2024 ( Getty ) Jeju Air Flight 2216 was on approach at Muan on 29 December when the pilot issued a distress call: Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! A bird strike had occurred. Moments later, the Boeing 737-800 hit the tarmac without the landing gear, skidded off the runway, and crashed into a concrete barrier, erupting in flames. Only two of the 181 people on board survived. While investigators have not yet formally determined the cause of the crash, South Koreas transport ministry has confirmed the presence of bird feathers and blood in both engines. The remains belong to the Baikal teal, a species of migratory duck that arrives in South Korea in large flocks during the winter months. The issue had been known for years. Government documents, environmental assessments, and eyewitness accounts seen by The New York Times revealed that warnings about the area's high bird population predated the airport's opening in 2007. A 2020 environmental impact review conducted for runway expansion work explicitly cautioned of a high risk of bird strikes during takeoff and landing and called for mitigation strategies. Korea Airports Corporation, the national airport authority, earlier stated it had taken steps to reduce the danger, including environmental monitoring, vehicle patrols, and noise-based bird dispersal systems. It also said that additional loudspeakers were installed after the 19 December meeting. But Muan and several smaller airports still lacked essential technology recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation like bird detection radar and thermal imaging cameras, designed to alert air traffic controllers and pilots to avian activity in real time. open image in gallery Recovery teams work at the scene where a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 aircraft crashed and burst into flames at the Muan airport ( Getty ) In the wake of the tragedy, South Korea mandated the installation of such detection systems at all airports in the country. It also pledged to dismantle the concrete barrier at the end of the Muan runway that the aircraft collided with. Currently, only four airports Incheon, Gimpo, Gimhae, and Jeju are equipped with thermal cameras. Starting in March this year, all 15 domestic airports are expected to receive both thermal imaging and bird detection radars. These radars will detect and relay the size and direction of birds to air traffic controllers and pilots, the ministry said in a statement. The Jeju Air pilot had been warned of increased bird activity in the area shortly before the crash. A preliminary accident report released last month revealed the aircrafts black box had stopped recording four minutes before impact. 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 Violent protests against a controversial Muslim land law in the Indian state of West Bengal have killed at least three people and sent hundreds fleeing their homes during deadly weekend clashes. Angry protesters in Murshidabad district of the eastern state set fire to shopping malls and cars, hurled bombs, and attacked a Hindu home, stabbing two people on Saturday, police said. Another person who was shot during the clashes succumbed to his injuries. Fresh violence broke out in the South 24 Parganas district of the state on Monday, with rioters setting vehicles on fire even as a large contingent of police remained deployed in the streets. The protesters clashed with the police as they were stopped from marching towards capital Kolkata. Authorities deployed troops in the violence-hit areas of the state after a court order. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the Murshidabad district and internet services were suspended to control the escalating violence. Indian Muslim groups protest against Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Kolkata ( EPA ) The Indian parliament passed a controversial bill, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, that will make changes in the management of Waqf properties assets donated by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes, like mosques, schools, or orphanages. The law would seek to make changes to the Waqf Boards, which oversee these properties, valued at Rs 1.2 trillion (10.58bn) across 870,000 properties in the country, according to reports. Muslim groups and opposition political parties have condemned the law and said it aimed to alienate and discriminate against Muslims. Mr Modi and officials in his party denied the allegations and said the law is aimed at "pro-Muslim reform". West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called on people to maintain peace while reminding them of their right to protest peacefully. Everybody has the democratic right to stage a peaceful protest with permission. I will request people not to take the law into their own hands. To protect the law, we have custodians and do not need any demon, she said. There will be many provocations but you should not be provoked, she added. Mr Modi's party has accused Ms Banerjees Trinamool Congress, BJPs bitter rival which rules West Bengal, of appeasing Muslims in order to win votes. The Trinamool Congress has denied the allegations and criticised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for polarising people on religious lines. More than 200 people have been arrested in the state following the clashes with more than 10 formal complaints lodged at the police stations till Monday. Police officer Rajeev Kumar said the situation was "fully under control" as he warned against a wall of "deliberate and concerted" misinformation. He said some groups are spreading rumours to incite youths for political mileage. "We are setting up pickets wherever we have received reports that residents are still fearful. The life and property of everyone is our responsibility, he added. Nearly 500 people in Murshidabad have crossed a river to flee to the neighbouring Malda district to escape the escalating violence as their businesses and houses came under attack. People have started arriving on boats, crossing the Bhagirathi river, Sulekha Choudhury, a local administration official, said. She added that they have been provided with food and shelter. "The number of people who have arrived till Saturday night crossed 500, with most of them being women," she said. However, other public officials claimed the number of people fleeing to Malda have increased. Protesters in neighbouring Assam also turned to violence as hundreds gathered in the Cachar district to protest against the law. People allegedly pelted stones at the police who responded by baton-charging protesters. District officials issued prohibitory orders to prevent potential disruption of public tranquility. 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 Violent protests rocked Indian cities after the parliament recently passed a controversial bill moved by prime minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government to amend laws governing Muslim land endowments. Angry protesters in the Murshidabad district of the eastern state of West Bengal set fire to shopping malls and cars, hurled bombs and attacked a Hindu home, stabbing two people on Saturday, police said. Another person who was shot during the clashes succumbed to his injuries. The bill would add non-Muslims to boards that manage Waqf land endowments and give the government a larger role in validating their land holdings. The government says the changes will help to fight corruption and mismanagement while promoting diversity, but critics fear that it will further undermine the rights of the countrys Muslim minority and could be used to confiscate historic mosques and other property. Debate in the Lower House was heated as the Congress-led opposition firmly opposed the proposal, calling it unconstitutional and discriminatory against Muslims. Mr Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party lacks a majority in the Lower House, but its allies helped to pass the bill. The debate ended with 288 members voting for the bill while 232 were against it. The bill also cleared the Upper House before it was sent to president Droupadi Murmu for her assent to become law. Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju introduced the bill to change a 1995 law that set rules for the foundations and set up state-level boards to administer them. open image in gallery Members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), along with various minority organisations, take part in a protest against the Waqf Amendment Bill, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India, 17 March 2025 ( EPA ) Many Muslim groups as well as the opposition parties say the proposal is discriminatory, politically motivated and an attempt by Mr Modis ruling party to weaken minority rights. The bill was first introduced in parliament last year, and opposition leaders have said some of their subsequent proposals on it were ignored. The government has said opposition parties are using rumors to discredit them and block transparency in managing the endowments. Whats a Waqf? Waqfs are a traditional type of Islamic charitable foundation in which a donor permanently sets aside property often but not always real estate for religious or charitable purposes. Waqfs in India control 872,000 properties that cover 405,000 hectares (1 million acres) of land, worth an estimated $14.22bn. Some of these endowments date back centuries, and many are used for mosques, seminaries, graveyards and orphanages. In India, Waqf property is managed by semi-official boards, one for each state and federally run union territory. The law would require non-Muslims to be appointed to the boards. Currently, Waqf boards are staffed by Muslims, like similar bodies that help administer other religious charities. During the parliamentary debate, home minister Amit Shah said non-Muslims would be included in waqf boards only for administration purposes and helping run the endowments smoothly. He added that they were not there to interfere in religious affairs. The (non-Muslim) members will monitor whether the administration is running as per law or not, and whether the donations are being used for what they were intended or not, he said. One of the most controversial changes is to ownership rules, which could impact historical mosques, shrines and graveyards since many such properties lack formal documentation as they were donated without legal records decades, and even centuries, ago. Other changes could impact mosques on land held in centuries-old waqfs. open image in gallery Indian Muslim groups protest against Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Kolkata ( EPA ) Radical Hindu groups have laid claim to several mosques around India, arguing they are built on the ruins of important Hindu temples. Many such cases are pending in courts. The law would require waqf boards to seek approval from a district level officer to confirm the waqfs claims to property. Critics say that would undermine the board and could lead to Muslims being stripped of their land. Its not clear how often the boards would be asked to confirm such claims to land. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill is a weapon aimed at marginalising Muslims and usurping their personal laws and property rights, Rahul Gandhi, the main opposition leader, wrote on social media platform X. He said the bill was an attack on the Constitution by the BJP and its allies aimed at Muslims today but sets a precedent to target other communities in the future. While many Muslims agree that Waqfs suffer from corruption, encroachments and poor management, they also fear that the new law could give Indias Hindu nationalist government far greater control over Muslim properties, particularly at a time when attacks against minority communities have become more aggressive under Modi, with Muslims often targeted for everything from their food and clothing styles to inter-religious marriages. open image in gallery Protesters attend a march called by different Muslim organizations to protest against the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Bill in Kolkata ( EPA ) Last month, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its annual report that religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate while Mr Modi and his party propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities during last years election campaign. Mr Modis government says India is run on democratic principles of equality and no discrimination exists in the country. Muslims, who are 14 per cent of Indias 1.4 billion population, are the largest minority group in the Hindu-majority nation but they are also the poorest, a 2013 government survey found. 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 Japanese police have arrested four people for selling AI-generated obscene images in the first of its kind clampdown on the sale of pornographic images in the country. The suspects, arrested in Tokyo, were accused of selling posters with obscene images on internet auction sites in October of last year, NHK reported. They had allegedly used AI software to make nude images of non-existent women. The posters were reportedly sold for thousands of yen. A 2019 study by Dutch AI company Sensity found that around 96 per cent of deepfake videos online were non-consensual pornography. According to a survey by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, the East Asian nation ranks third in traffic to websites that disseminate sexually explicit deepfake images, with over 18 million visits. The United States ranks second, while India ranks first in terms of users visiting these websites. A police officer rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Tokyo ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) The survey, conducted with digital analytics firm Similarweb, analysed data from 41 websites that enabled users to produce sexually explicit images between December 2023 and November 2024. Nearly 410,000 users in Japan visited these websites monthly, with 80 per cent accessing through their smartphones. Digital technology experts have demanded better regulation of such content. "It is believed that there has potentially been much more damage than we are aware of, said professor Yuasa Harumichi of Meiji University. Regulations on fake porn should be imposed before the damage spreads, and discussions should start immediately, he told NHK in December 2024. 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 Japan's population fell to a record low in 2024 following a steep decline in the birth rate, according to government data. The population of the world's fourth-largest economy fell to 120.3 million as of October last year, marking a record fall of 898,000 people from 2023. The year-on-year shrinking population has triggered anxieties over a shrinking future workforce that could severely impact the countrys economy and separately threaten national security. The population fell for the 14th straight year and marked the largest fall on record since the government began collecting comparable data in 1950. The number of people aged 75 or above grew by 700,000 to 20,777,000, accounting for a record 16.8 per cent of the entire population, the government said on Monday. About 29.3 per cent of Japan's population were made up of people aged 65 or above, according to reports. "We understand that the declining birthrate is continuing because many people who wish to raise children are not able to fulfill their wishes," chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. He added that the government has been trying to offer assistance to young families who want to have children but couldn't due to financial constraints. "We will promote comprehensive measures to realise a society where everyone who wishes to have children can have children and raise them with peace of mind," he was quoted by AFP as saying. open image in gallery Crowds of people cross the street at Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world, in the Shibuya district of Tokyo ( AFP via Getty Images ) Japan also recorded a natural population drop for the 18th consecutive year, meaning the number of deaths outnumbered the number of births. Last year, the number of babies born in Japan dropped to the lowest the country has ever seen since records began 125 years ago. Prime minister Shigeru Ishiba accepted that the trend of declining births has not been reversed yet, saying: "We need to be aware the trend of falling births has not been arrested." "But the number of marriages posted an increase. Given close ties between the number of marriages and the number of births, we should focus on this aspect as well." The number of marriages edged up 2.2 per cent to 499,999 in 2024, which came only after steep declines, such as a plunge of 12.7 per cent in 2020. The former prime minister Fumio Kishida's government used measures to boost childbearing, including expanding childcare facilities, offering housing subsidies, and even launching a government-run dating app to encourage marriage and childbearing. 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 Five underwater drones found by Filipino fishermen were capable of aiding underwater warfare and at least one sent signals to China, the Philippine Navy has said. An investigation into the drones discovered in 2022 and 2024 found links tracing back to China, the Philippines military officials said in a briefing on Tuesday, without explicitly identifying the origin of the drones. Tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, particularly over disputed areas like the Second Thomas Shoal and Scarborough Shoal, have been ongoing for years but have escalated significantly since 2022. Confrontations involving the Chinese Coast Guard and maritime militia vessels interfering with Philippine resupply missions and fishing activities have escalated into aggressive action, involving collisions, firing of water cannons and clashes. It comes as Manila prepares for large-scale military exercises with the US, which is treaty-bound to ensure security of the country. The drones were found by fishermen in the area important strategically in the defence and security not only of the country but for international maritime navigation, Philippine military officials told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday. open image in gallery Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, speaks during a press conference while a submersible drone is projected from an electronic screen at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines ( EPA ) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the drones collected data that served "beyond navigation" purpose and the information could be used to aid "underwater warfare" by detecting threats and testing weaponry under the water. Admiral Trinidad said some of the drones had Chinese markings on them and at least one of them sent signals to China. He said there was "a 55 to 80 percent likelihood" that at least two of these drones were sent by China. "Based on the technical study of the forensics of the SIM card (found on one of the five drones), the last contact of the card was in mainland China," he added. Three drones were found off the northern coast of Luzon, the Philippines' main island with two of them near the Balintang Channel, just south of Taiwan. Two more were recovered from key strategic areas, including one near Masbate Island in the central Philippines and another near Mindanao in the south, admiral Trinidad said. He said the findings are important strategically in the defence and security not only of the country but for international maritime navigation. open image in gallery ( AFP/Getty ) Drones like this could either be launched by air, by a mothership or by a submarine, Admiral Trinidad said. But most likely, these were dropped by a mothership. Jonathan Malaya, spokesperson of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, said the forensic investigation yields conclusive evidence to suggest that China sent drones to map the underwater terrain of Philippines. "The forensic examination on the submersible drones have allowed us to conclusively determine that they are of Chinese origin. They are also in all likelihood deployed by China to map the Philippines underwater terrain," Mr Malaya said. He said this is alarming because of its implications to national security. This only shows that we need to be more vigilant and we need to undertake more maritime patrols in more parts of the country to stop these types of activities," he added. The Philippines is preparing for Balikatan or "shoulder to shoulder" exercises with the US military from 21 April to 9 May. The exercise involving approximately 10,000 soldiers will include a test of "integrated air missile defence" for the first time. Also, for the first time, observers from countries like Poland and the Czech Republic will also participate. 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 Cats became human companions for the first time likely following mass cult ritual sacrifices of the furry felines in ancient Egypt, a pair of new studies suggest. Ancient Egypt is well known to have been the cradle of human civilisation where feline domestication and worship were prevalent. Several mummified cat remains and deities like the Egyptian goddess Bastet suggest that the furry felines and humans lived alongside each other in the region. However, the exact circumstances under which cats became human companions was unknown. Then, in 2001, scientists made a breakthrough discovery of a 9,500-year-old grave in Cyprus containing the remains of a human and a feline, hinting that cat domestication began in the Mediterranean island. Researchers theorised that cats in and around Cyprus may have followed early farmers and gradually got accustomed to living with humans over thousands of years. Now, two yet-to-be peer-reviewed DNA studies debunk this theory, finding that the Cyprus animal is actually a European wildcat, and not a domesticated cat. Collection of cat figurines dedicated to the ancient Egyptian deity Bastet ( AFP via Getty Images ) This brings the focus back to Egypt as the origin site of cat domestication possibly as recent as 3000 years ago, researchers say. We demonstrate that domestic cats did not spread to Europe with Neolithic farmers, as previously thought, they write. Instead, scientists suspect that domesticated forms of wildcats were first sacrificed in mass cult rituals for Bastet before they were tamed to be pets. Archaeologists say the Egyptian goddess of protection, pleasure, and good health, was first depicted with a lions head, but around the first millennium BC she became to be represented with the head of a cat. This transformation was coincident with the rise of cat sacrifice, whereby millions of free-ranging and specifically-reared cats were mummified as offerings to the goddess, researchers write in the new study. Excavations have also found that the temples and sanctuaries dedicated to Bastet are situated around vast ancient agricultural landscapes. Such arable land would have had large numbers of rodents as well as their natural predators wildcats. This would have provided the context for the tighter relationship between people and cats that led to the wildcats domestication, motivated by their newly acquired divine status, scientists write. Eventually, some ancient Egyptians likely welcomed the cats home as adorable pet companions, they say. The domestication and spread of animals driven by cults is not uncommon. For instance, previous research has shown that the spread of the fallow deer is linked to the Greek goddess Artemis, and of chickens to the cult of Mithras. In the same way, the cult of Bastet could have facilitated the dispersal of cats, researchers say. Our results offer a new interpretative framework for the geographic origin of domestic cats, suggesting a broader and more complex process of domestication that may have involved multiple regions and cultures in North Africa, scientists write. They call for further research to pinpoint the original source populations of present-day domestic cats. Key testimony used to convict Lucy Letby of attempting to murder a premature baby, Baby K, is now under scrutiny after a newly disclosed email suggests a key witness, Dr Ravi Jayaram, may have initially said Letby called for help, contradicting his later courtroom account. The email, not seen by the defence until after her conviction, is expected to form part of her legal team's submission to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. These revelations have added further momentum to Letbys ongoing efforts to challenge her convictions efforts that came sharply into public view in February, when her new barrister, Mark McDonald, held a live-streamed press conference to announce plans to apply directly to the Court of Appeal. Though striking in its presentation, the event underscored the formidable legal challenges ahead. Although I am sure it was not entirely without precedent, the press conference to announce that his client would be immediately asking the Court of Appeal to reopen her case was highly unusual, to say the least. The event was live-streamed by Sky News and others, allowing those of us who had not made the trek to Londons Royal Society of Medicine to follow the conference as it happened. There were questions from the assembled media afterwards, but no one asked the obvious one: why have you called a press conference? A clue came perhaps in the answer to this question: is the Court of Appeal aware of your plans? They are now, said McDonald, smiling from the lectern. It conjured an unlikely image of a roomful of lord and lady justices of appeal, gathered around a laptop in their ermine gowns and full-bottomed wigs, watching the live-stream intently in the hope of discovering what this presser was all about. While arguments over the pros and cons of the case are raging in the court of public opinion, the reality of the Court of Appeals iron grip on Letbys fate casts a long shadow over her prospects of achieving freedom anytime soon, or frankly ever. As things stand, she will die in prison. To put the facts starkly, she is in HMP Bronzefield serving 15 whole life prison sentences after two trials at which she was found guilty of seven counts of murder and eight counts of attempted murder. The victims were newborn babies, and Letby was convicted of killing or harming them while working as a neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016. As must be obvious by now, the case is both highly emotive and immensely difficult, not least because there was no direct evidence against Letby. There is no forensic trail pointing inexorably to her guilt and no witness who could say, I saw her do it. In these circumstances quite rightly there is room for doubt; the possibility that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred. But that is not the same as saying Letby must therefore be innocent. Over two trials spanning many months jurors heard detailed medical accounts of each incident, and also watched on as the evidence, and the witnesses who gave it, were challenged robustly by her former defence counsel, Ben Myers KC. It was only when I recently read the transcript comprising over 600 pages of the judges summing up in the main trial that I fully understood how Letby had come to be convicted and the scale of the hurdle she now faces after two failed appeals. open image in gallery Mark McDonald is the new barrister representing Lucy Letby ( PA ) It was apparent, for instance, that statistics had played a minimal role in her conviction and are therefore unlikely (no matter what others say) to be of much relevance to any further appeal or review by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). McDonald already knows how little traction statistics have at appeal in such complex medical cases, when they have not formed a significant part of the prosecution at the original trial. He has been acting, for many years, on behalf of Benjamin Geen, another nurse who is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2006 of two murders and 15 counts of grievous bodily harm against patients at a hospital in Banbury. At Geens 2009 appeal, McDonald and the QC who led him, Dr Michael Powers, attempted to use statistics to prove that clusters of the kinds of events of which Geen was accused were not so unusual. Among the statisticians who supported Geen are two whose names will be familiar to Letby watchers: Jane Hutton and Richard Gill. The Court of Appeals 2009 decision on Geen is available online and reveals just how hard it will be for Lucy Letby to mount any similar arguments. open image in gallery Letby being questioned by detectives following her arrest in July 2018 ( Cheshire Constabulary ) Take this line from paragraph 70: It was also an agreed fact that the applicant (Geen) was on duty for each incident. Thus in this case the prosecution were not attempting to prove primary facts by the use of statistics or untested data. They proved their primary fact of the rarity of these events and presence of the applicant by unchallenged evidence. They then invited the jury to draw the inference that this formed an unusual pattern, which if formed by chance, which it may have been, it was a remarkable coincidence. This was a straightforward argument of a kind often put before a jury, upon which a statisticians evidence was not, in our view, required, provided of course proper attention was paid to the circumstances of each of the incidents relied upon. The Crown here did just that. And then this: Finally, as Mr Price (the Crowns appeal barrister) observed, there was in any event a wealth of material pointing to the applicants guilt from which the jury would have drawn their own safe and proper inferences. Mr Price argued (that) the danger of approaching this particular case on the basis of academic statistical opinion, however distinguished, is (that it is) divorced from the actual facts. We agree. That was about Ben Geen, but it might equally have been about Letby. Although her case like Geens lacked direct evidence there was, as the 600-page summing up reveals, plenty of evidence from which guilt could be inferred. As criminal lawyers and judges well know, circumstantial evidence can be compelling too. open image in gallery Nurse Benjamin Geen has been convicted of two murders and 15 counts of grievous bodily harm ( PA ) McDonald established the London Innocence Project, which supported Geens case when he later applied to the CCRC, again advancing statistical arguments, among other points. The CCRC appears to have commissioned its own analysis, before rejecting the application. McDonald took the CCRC to Judicial review where it agreed to look at the case again, and again rejected it. It has rejected it again since. It is now 18 years since Ben Geen was convicted. He is serving a minimum term of 30 years. If he had been convicted now, he too might have faced a whole life sentence. Perhaps McDonald was hoping to speed things up for Letby when he announced at the press conference that he was going to apply immediately and directly to the Court of Appeal to reopen her case, in the light of what he said was the changed position of Dr Dewi Evans, the Crowns main witness for three of the baby cases. Dr Evans has since denied he has changed his mind. A telling question at the press conference was why Letbys original defence team had failed to call any expert witnesses at the two trials, to challenge the witnesses for the Crown, who claimed that babies had died or been harmed McDonald suggested there could be a hearing by Easter, a quashing of the verdicts, and a retrial. In truth, his prospects of succeeding by this route must be next to non-existent. In another recent notorious case the Maids Moreton murder, which was the subject of the BBC drama The Sixth Commandment David Jeremy KC, on behalf of convicted killer Ben Field, sought to persuade the Court of Appeal in 2022 to reopen Fields rejected appeal against conviction on the basis that the original hearing had been unfair and biased against Field. Jeremy must have rattled the courts cage as they explained their reasons for rejecting his application at some length, emphasising the extremely rare circumstances in which the court would reopen a rejected bid. They then said this: If [as the applicant contends] the decision of the Full Court is legally flawed and profoundly wrong, then there is a potential remedy: in the form of an application to the CCRC. They will surely say the same to McDonald too. Letbys only hope now is via the CCRC. You cannot have more than one direct appeal, but you can make as many applications as you like to the CCRC, which alone has the power to refer cases for a new appeal. If it makes a referral the court must hear it. open image in gallery A Post-it note used as evidence in Letbys trial ( CP ) The question, regarding Evans, will be the extent to which he really has changed his evidence. Many years ago, Barry George was found guilty of murdering the television presenter Jill Dando on her doorstep. No one saw him carry out the shooting in April 1999, and the only forensic evidence was a single particle of firearm residue in his coat pocket, which the Crown expert at trial said matched residue from the scene of the shooting. Some time afterwards, the expert changed his mind science had moved on and Georges conviction was quashed, following a referral by the CCRC. He was put on trial again without the particle in evidence and this time he was acquitted. If Evans does not formally withdraw or change his evidence and his role as an expert witness has already been endorsed by the Court of Appeal Letby will be wholly reliant on the many new experts who have apparently come forward. McDonald said at the press conference that, just two weeks ago, more than 50 of these experts had gathered together in another room at the Royal Society of Medicine. Three doctors were cited at the press conference and one of them, neonatologist Dr Richard Taylor, had flown in from Canada to tell the conference that on his reading of some of the papers, an unnamed doctor, not Letby, had inadvertently caused one of the baby deaths. As McDonald will know, an appeal or a CCRC review like a trial, is a legal process. Its not a meeting, and not easily susceptible to arguments about the contrary views of experts who may be medically qualified but not necessarily familiar with how the case evolved at the trial that led to the conviction(s). A telling question at the press conference was why Letbys original defence team had failed to call any expert witnesses at the two trials, to challenge the witnesses for the Crown, who claimed that babies had died or been harmed by injections of air, or insulin, or more. McDonald, perhaps surprisingly, said he didnt know why, and had not yet asked Letbys trial lawyers. He was not going to criticise them, he said. Any future appeal will depend on a satisfactory answer to that very question far more so, almost, than anything else. It is the platform for fresh evidence. It is there in the 1968 statute, the Criminal Appeal Act, that sets out the grounds for allowing fresh evidence at appeal, which require a reasonable explanation for why the evidence was not called at the trial. open image in gallery A court sketch of Letby by Julia Quenzler, drawn on 24 October ( Julia Quenzler ) In other words, you had your chance, why didnt you take it? If you were playing tactics, its too late now, you should have thought of that the first time around. Letby may however take some encouragement from an observation by the Court of Appeal in its second decision, refusing her leave to appeal the 15th conviction, for attempted murder, which was delivered in October 2024. The court noted that there had been significant media coverage since the first trial ended, involving a critique of the medical and scientific evidence called at the first trial. Some of the public comment has called into question whether Letby ought to have been convicted in August 2023. We are not concerned with the first trial Whether there are or may be issues arising from the first trial which have yet to be the subject of judicial consideration is not for us to say. That would be speculative. On one generous reading, the Court of Appeal acknowledged the concerns and invited an application for a CCRC review. Still, there is no escaping the harsh fact of her position. Letby stands at the foot of a steep mountain of Himalayan proportions. Much now depends on the mountaineering skills of her new barrister, Mark McDonald. David James Smith is a former Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission 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 Bin strikes in Birmingham could spread across the UK, a union leader has warned, as a bitter dispute over pay continues. Rubbish has been piling up on Birminghams streets for over a month, sparking fears of a public health crisis, as hundreds of refuse workers continue all-out strike action. The Unite union rejected a council offer on Monday, further escalating the standoff. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned that similar action could erupt elsewhere if other councils attempt to impose pay cuts on low-paid workers. "Well, if other councils decide to make low-paid workers pay for bad decisions that they did not make then absolutely, of course, we all have to take action in those other areas," she stated on LBC. This warning was echoed by Unites national lead officer, Onay Kasab, who highlighted the potential for wider industrial action. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said: "If other local authorities look to cut the pay of essential public service workers, then there is the potential for strike action spreading. Thats why different political choices need to be made." Ms Graham criticised Sir Keir Starmers Government, saying it had taken them a huge amount of time to get involved in the dispute between the union and Birmingham City Council. open image in gallery Rats have been seen around the piles of bin bags in Birmingham ( PA ) The Government has stepped in and attempted to prompt an end to the deadlock and had urged the Unite union to accept the deal. A small number of office-based military planners were called in by the Government to give logistical support to clean up the streets. Business and trade minister Sarah Jones on Tuesday urged Unite to accept the good offer on the table so Birmingham can get back to normal. So our message loud and clear is Unite need to call off the strike, accept the deal, and lets get back to normal, which is what people expect and what people deserve, she told BBC Breakfast. She said strikes are always a last resort when asked if she thought they could spread. One of the first things we did when we got into Government back in July was to negotiate deals with trade unions where years of under-investment, years of underpay, had led to all kinds of problems and strikes that were costing everybody in the NHS, costing huge amounts of money. So nobody wants to see strikes, theyre always a last resort. More than 11,000 tonnes of waste has been collected during efforts to clear the backlog of rubbish, according to local government minister Jim McMahon. open image in gallery Business and trade minister Sarah Jones on Tuesday urged Unite to accept the good offer on the table so Birmingham can get back to normal. ( AFP/Getty ) Unite said its members in Birmingham voted overwhelmingly against what the union described as the councils totally inadequate offer, which it maintained still included pay cuts. Ms Graham said pay would be cut by up to 8,000, or around a quarter of pay, under the councils plans. She urged the Government to call a meeting with the stakeholders to address the issues and bring the strike to an end, as well as to urgently consider Unites proposal for debt restructure at Birmingham City Council. Birmingham Council said it was disappointed, but that our door remains open to continue discussions. Further talks are planned for Wednesday. 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 Princess of Wales had a very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection with nature during a trip to the Lake District in March, which was not announced at the time. On Monday, Kensington Palace posted a new video of Kate sporting a baker boy cap and strolling near the shores of Lake Windermere last month with a group of Scouts from Cumbria and Stretford, Greater Manchester. While in a conversation with chief scout Dwayne Fields, the princess revealed how being outdoors was so meaningful for me as a place of balance. Kate, who is in remission from cancer, has long advocated the benefits of spending time in the natural world, previously revealing how nature became her familys sanctuary in the wake of her diagnosis and during her chemotherapy treatment. Fields asked Kate as they walked through woodland: When you come out here, when all the stresses and strains of regular life happen and you come into a space like this, what do you think about? open image in gallery Kate with UK Chief Scout Dwayne Fields ( Kensington Palace ) The princess replied: I find it a very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection, I suppose, these environments. Not everyone has that same relationship perhaps with nature, but it is so, therefore, meaningful for me as a place to balance and find a sort of sense of peace and reconnection in what is otherwise a very busy world. Kate, in a knitted, roll neck jumper, jacket, matching trousers, and walking boots, is shown crouching down as the youngsters, aged between 10 and 15, crowd around a map on the ground. The princess said, pointing at the map: Its so beautiful because so many of the walks here, you can see Lake Windermere because its huge, isnt it? Look how hilly it is in here. Have you done any of these big mountains? open image in gallery The Princess of Wales near Lake Windermere last month ( Kensington Palace ) She was also photographed standing and laughing with the Scouts while they sat eating ice-creams at a picnic table at the edge of the lake. Kate, who is joint president of Scouts, was meeting Fields, who took on his role in September, for the first time. She told him: Whats so fantastic about the Scouts is that the same foundation has sort of always been there, and still, despite how different the modern-day world is now, actually it still resonates with so many young people and its making such a massive difference to them. Fields said: When you come out into a natural environment, it helps you understand your self that much more. We really belong in nature. Were in tune with it, and I think we need to come back to it because there is definitely something about being in nature thats connected to our well-being. Kensington Palace said Kates visit to the Lake District, which was not announced at the time, took place in March. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A centuries-old oak tree that has more ecological value than the Sycamore Gap has been cut down by the owners of a nearby Toby Carvery. Reports were made to Enfield Council in London earlier this month over the felling of an ancient oak tree in Whitewebbs Wood, a woodland in the north of the capital, with locals having decried the incident as devastating. The tree, which was thought to be in the top 100 of Londons 600,000 oak trees in terms of its size, sat on land owned by the council that was leased to Mitchell and Butlers, the hospitality group that operates the Whitewebbs House Toby Carvery in the park. A spokesperson for Mitchell and Butlers said the tree was cut down after the company was advised by arboriculture experts that it caused a serious health and safety risk. This was an essential action to protect our employees and guests, to whom we have a duty of care, the spokesperson said. We took every necessary measure to ensure all legal requirements were met, they said. open image in gallery The 300 to 500-year-old ancient oak before it was cut down ( Thors Trees ) We are grateful to our expert contractors for warning us of this hazard so swiftly, allowing us to act before anyone was harmed." Lawrence-Thor Stephen, CEO of London-based tree care company Thors Trees, not the company that worked on the tree, said the 3 April felling was a loss for Enfield and a loss for the nation. The tree is estimated to be up to 500 years old, and Mr Stephen said that, due to its age, it is more ecologically valuable than the roughly 200-year-old Sycamore Gap tree near Hadrians Wall, which was felled in 2023. I cant believe this has happened, he said. This is a loss of a national treasure. The tree is a pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) with a girth of 6.1m, and it is officially verified on the Woodland Trusts Ancient Tree Inventory. Mr Stephen told The Independent that thousands of species of birds, bats and insects rely on the tree to survive. When an ancient tree falls, its nature thats wounded and a community, he said. But from this, we have the chance to build something better: stronger protections, greater awareness, and a renewed commitment to the trees that quietly support all life around us. Lets make sure this story is not just one of loss but a turning point for action. open image in gallery The tree is a pedunculate oak with a girth of 6.1m ( Thors Trees ) The Woodland Trust, which has been advocating for legal protections for the countrys oldest and most important trees, called the incident devastating. The trust cited support for its Living Legends petition that was handed to Downing Street with 100,000 signatures in November and the Heritage Trees Bill, which was introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Young in 2023. The legislation proposes the introduction of a list of nationally important heritage trees and a preservation order that could be used to promote the protection of ancient and important trees. In a statement issued before Mitchell and Butlers revealed it was behind the tree being cut down, Ergin Erbil, leader of Enfield Council, said that while the incident occurred on 3 April, the council wasnt made aware until last week, prompting it to carry out an immediate inspection of the site. In that statement, he said the incident had been reported to the police and a tree preservation order was put in place to protect it from further damage. The Metropolitan Police confirmed before Mitchell and Butlers admission that it had received a report from Enfield Council. Both the police and the council have since been contacted for further comment. 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 The government has awarded a contract which allows for hotels and barges to house asylum seekers up until September 2027, despite Labour vowing to end the practice. The wide-ranging agreement which covers transport, accommodation and venue bookings for the public sector includes services for asylum seekers, released prisoners and rough sleepers. The transparency document, seen by The Independent, says it includes the provision of commercial accommodation, including hotels, serviced apartments, holiday parks, staff blocks, halls of residence, barges and cruise vessels. There were 38,079 people being accommodated in hotels by the Home Office at the end of 2024, figures show ( PA ) The contract, advertised ahead of the election, was awarded by the Cabinet Office in October 2024 just months after Labour won a historic landslide election victory promising to end the use of hotels and barges to house asylum seekers. The contract runs up until September 2027. The agreement, known as a call off contract, is agreed in advance so that government bodies are able to purchase goods or services from a supplier under a pre-existing framework agreement, without needing to go through a full procurement process each time. The government said it has no intention of using the contract to keep hotels open. A government source said of the contract: Were trying to cover every possible use that you can think of, even if theres a 0.01 per cent chance of it being used... Youd rather have it in there than not. No one has a crystal ball. In extreme cases, it may be needed from a procurement perspective. The Green Party urged the government to confirm that they would not restore the inhumane use of barges to house people seeking asylum. The last governments cruel, dangerous use of the Bibby Stockholm barge to house people seeking asylum was a failure of government policy but also a failure of humanity, the partys co-leader, Carla Denyer, told The Independent. Those who were forced to live on the barge were exposed to disease, bedbugs and flooding, and given inedible, sometimes rancid food. One person tragically died on board the boat, having been moved there against his will. The home secretary must confirm that this government will not restore the inhumane use of barges to house people seeking asylum. Instead, this government should take urgent action to fix our broken asylum system by introducing safe routes for people fleeing war, persecution and danger abroad to seek safety in the UK. Meanwhile, Steven Smith, CEO of the charity Care4Calais, said: Whilst private companies continue to make massive profits, people seeking asylum are being accommodated in former military camps and mould-infested properties. The UKs for-profit asylum accommodation model is broken. Its time the government moved to a new system that places the needs of people before shareholder profits. The Conservatives also criticised the government over the contract, accusing the Labour Party of taking the British people for a ride. They promised to end hotel accommodation for illegal immigrants but have seen it balloon, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told The Independent. Labours claims to smash the gangs are in tatters. This has been the worst year so far for illegal immigrants crossing the channel. That is why illegal immigrants being accommodated in asylum hotels are going up. Last month, Home Office figures revealed that the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels has increased by more than 8,000 since the general election, with 38,079 migrants being housed in asylum hotels at the end of December. However, the number of hotels being used to house asylum seekers has declined. At its peak, under the previous government, over 400 hotels were in use. Now just over half of those are in use. Some 6,796 people have made the dangerous journey to the UK after crossing the English Channel so far this year, according to the latest Home Office figures. This is 25 per cent up from the same point last year (5,435) and a 49 per cent increase on 2023 (4,563). Ahead of the election, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to end the use of asylum hotels, saying: Tory chaos at our borders and in the asylum system is costing taxpayers billions and must come to an end. All we have had from this government is gimmicks, not grip. Labour has a serious plan to end the governments wasteful spending on hotels and return people who have no right to be here. A government spokesperson has said: This is highly misleading the contract is for travel, transport, accommodation and venue services across the public sector and we have no intention of using it to keep hotels open. We are already closing asylum hotels and, with further closures in the coming weeks, will reduce taxpayer costs and give control back to local communities. We are also reviewing all contracts across the asylum estate inherited from the previous government and taking action where necessary. 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 Ministers have secured raw materials needed to keep British Steel furnaces in Scunthorpe alive amid accusations that the plants Chinese owners were poised to let it fail. The materials which have arrived by ship from the United States are enough to keep the furnaces running for the coming weeks while the government scrambles to secure the long-term future of the Jingye-owned site. A row is now raging over whether China should be banned from investing in critical British infrastructure, with senior ex-ministers saying the crisis over the plant should be a wake-up call over Beijings reach. But China hit back on Monday, urging Britain to avoid politicising trade cooperation or linking it to security issues or risk losing the confidence of firms investing in the UK. open image in gallery Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds ( PA ) Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner visited the site on Monday to express confidence that the government will be able to keep it open. A separate ship containing yet more coking coal and iron ore is on the way to Britain from Australia cargo that was the subject of a legal dispute between British Steel and Jingye over the weekend that has now been resolved. The materials have been paid for using existing Department for Business and Trade (DBT) budgets. Business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: We will always act in the interest of working people and UK industry. Thanks to the work of those at British Steel, and in my department, we have moved decisively to secure the raw materials we need to help save British Steel. New legislation passed over the weekend following an emergency Saturday sitting gave the government the power to direct the companys board and workforce, ensure they get paid, and order the raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running. It also permits the government to do these things itself if needed. open image in gallery Angela Rayner during her visit to the British Steel site in Scunthorpe ( PA ) The government says it acted to protect 37,000 jobs in supply chains and ensure the UK maintained its capacity to produce steel. Mr Reynolds has also confirmed the appointment of Allan Bell as interim chief executive and Lisa Coulson as interim chief commercial officer, both with immediate effect. Once furnaces are turned off, it is extremely difficult to bring them back online. Officials believe Jingye had been planning to let the raw materials run out in a bid to sabotage the plant, shuttering the blast furnaces and making the UK reliant on Chinese exports of so-called virgin steel. A Downing Street spokesperson accused Jingye of not acting in good faith. Asked about claims the firm had sought to force the closure of the plant, the spokesperson said he was not aware" of any sabotage but it had become clear that the Chinese owners wanted to shut the blast furnaces, adding: That wasn't an outcome that we wanted to see ... they had decided not to order more raw materials. China suggested its companies could be put off investing in Britain if they were not treated fairly. At a weekly press conference in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said: We hope the British government treats Chinese enterprises investing and operating in the UK fairly and justly, protects their legitimate rights and interests, and avoids politicising and over-securitising economic and trade cooperation, so as not to affect the confidence of Chinese enterprises in investing and cooperating in the UK. Meanwhile, senior figures from Labour and the Tories have added their voices to the governments over putting security first. open image in gallery Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith ( PA ) Prior to the issues with British Steel, there had been concerns over Chinese control of the UKs critical infrastructure and the way China almost got control of the UKs 5G network with Huawei, and tried to invest in nuclear energy. Most recently, Unite the Union questioned plans for a Chinese merger with Vodafone. Former defence secretary Sir Gavin Williamson, who was sacked by Theresa May over his opposition to Huawei and allegations he had leaked plans to allow it to develop 5G in the UK, pointed out that steel is essential for UK defence and security. He said: Its absolutely clear that we have to show such a level of caution allowing Chinese companies to be involved in any form of critical national infrastructure and critical industries. Quite simply, we are going to have to take moves to make sure that they are excluded from such investments in the future. Tobias Ellwood, a former minister in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Foreign Office (FCDO), added: Its a wake-up call. It certainly is a very progressive but clandestine approach. China does this very well. It is able to usurp itself into critical national infrastructure capability, able then to turn the taps on and off as they will, blaming the economic circumstances in a particular country. But its very dangerous for Britain. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) with 40 countries in it, who has been sanctioned by Beijing, called for China to be put in the top category of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) to prevent it from investing in critical infrastructure. He warned: China has completely subverted the World Trade Organisation rules. Of course we need to stop them investing in critical industries but we also need to prevent them from dumping large amounts of steel, electric cars and other goods on us to flood our markets and destroy our industries. The EU has tariffs to prevent this and we need to do the same. Meanwhile, Labour chair of the Commons trade and business committee, Liam Byrne, confirmed that his committee wants to get to the bottom of Chinese ownership of critical infrastructure in an inquiry. And Dame Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, added: We need to listen to security advice and let that guide us. Security first. 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 Hackers have targeted the leader of the House of Commonss social media account promoting the launch of a bogus House of Commons crypto coin. A link posted to Labour MP Lucy Powells X account called for investors in a so-called $HOC House of Commons coin, alongside the House of Commons logo. House of Commons official crypto coin is now live! a post from Ms Powells official account read. open image in gallery Lucy Powells X account was hacked to promote a fake cryptocurrency ( House of Commons/UK Parliament ) A second post from Ms Powells account promised the House of Commons Coin would be a community-driven digital currency bringing peoples power to the blockchain. Transparency, participation, trust, it said. The posts were swiftly deleted, but the hijacking of a senior MPs account highlights the increasing risk of cryptocurrency scams facing the public. Ms Powell declined to comment, but her team said steps were quickly taken to secure her account and remove the misleading posts. A House of Commons spokesman said: UK Parliament takes cyber security extremely seriously. We provide advice to users including Members to make them aware of the risks and how to manage their digital safety, however we do not comment on specific details of our cyber security policies. Cyber security firm Darktrace warned the hack comes as criminals are increasingly targeting high-profile individuals and institutions. Vice president for security and AI strategy Nathaniel Jones said: The surge in crypto fraud isn't surprising we're seeing fraudsters evolve their tactics as fast as the market itself. In an industry deliberately designed to preserve anonymity, tracking and investigating fraud becomes exponentially more complex. The industry stands at a critical juncture where security can no longer be an afterthought it must be woven into the very fabric of how these platforms operate." Crypto-scammers have previously used deepfake videos of Sir Keir Starmer and Prince William to dupe would-be investors. open image in gallery From deepfake adverts to crypto-scams, cyber scams are on the rise ( Alamy/PA ) Those who clicked on the link shared via Ms Powells account were taken to an investment website and asked to connect a crypto wallet before buying various currencies. Last year saw a surge in reports of hacked social media and email accounts, according to data from Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. A staggering 35,434 cases were reported throughout the year, a significant jump from the 22,530 reported in 2023. Action Fraud said criminals often target accounts for financial gain, using compromised profiles to perpetrate investment or ticket fraud. In other cases, the account itself is the prize, stolen and potentially sold on for illicit purposes. Another common fraud happens when account details are gained via phishing scams or data breaches, such as leaked passwords. People often use the same passwords across their accounts, so a leaked password from one website can leave several online accounts vulnerable to hacking. 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 Watch as Nigel Farage makes a Reform UK campaign speech in County Durham on Tuesday, 15 April, ahead of May's local elections. Voters in 23 local authorities in England go to the polls on 1 May to choose new councillors. Reform is standing more candidates in next months local elections than either Labour or the Conservatives though no party has managed to find enough people to contest every seat. It is the first ballot box test for political parties since Labour won the 2024 general election. A total of 1,641 council seats across the 23 authorities are up for grabs. According to PA news agency analysis of nomination data published by local authorities, Reform is standing 1,631 candidates meaning the party is contesting 99.4 per cent of seats. The Conservatives have 1,596 candidates (97.3 per cent of seats) and Labour has 1,543 (94.0 per cent). The Liberal Democrats have 1,396 candidates (85.1 per cent), and the Greens have 1,183 (72.1 per cent). Steve Bray, known to most as the Stop Brexit Man after his years-long noisy campaign against Britains departure from the European Union, has won his latest legal case. He has been cleared of failing to follow a police order, namely to stop being quite so loud in the environs of parliament. Westminster Magistrates Court, in quiet deliberation, agreed with Brays arguments that he has the right to protest at any given level of decibels. Deputy District Judge Anthony Woodcock said Bray admitted that he is anti-Tory ... He believes his is an important message to disseminate. He needs the volume that he uses to get the message across from Parliament Street to the Palace of Westminster. After nearly a decade as a fixture on the streets and public spaces around Whitehall and too divisive and annoying to be termed a national treasure Bray has at least become a part of Britains constitution How did he end up in court this time? By offering a supposedly inappropriate musical accompaniment to then prime minister Rishi Sunaks entry into the House of Commons on 20 March 2024. It was not a legal argument, but Bray justified blasting the Darth Vader theme in the general direction of the Palace of Westminster on the grounds that Sunak is a Star Wars fan (a matter of public knowledge and not in doubt). When he followed up with The Muppet Show theme during Prime Ministers Questions, police confiscated his loudspeakers. Steve Bray can be heard around Westminster ( AFP/Getty ) Officers had previously issued Bray a map of permitted areas for his protests, using a Westminster Council by-law. But that was no match for the amateur human rights lawyer. He told them the map was inaccurate and, as an obiter dictum, that the officers could stick it where the sun don't shine. If authorities now choose to appeal this weeks judgment, the arguments could go all the way to the European Court of Human Rights (which, lets face it, hed enjoy though in his absence, Westminster would be a bit more tranquil.) What does it mean for protests? It proves that, contrary to what Elon Musk and JD Vance claim, free speech is alive and well in Britain loud and clear. Is everyone pleased by the court ruling? By no means. A price of (extremely loud) free speech is disruption to anyone working or living in the area, who must endure a racket which, like a bad busker knocking out Oasis, could be viewed as a form of torture. In court, Bray apologised to those affected. Lee Anderson, the Tory/Brexit Party/Reform UK MP who sometimes had testy exchanges with Bray, condemned the judgment: As well as being a public nuisance, Steve Bray is also known as a sponging parasite who relies on dimwitted do-gooders to subsidise his lifestyle. I suspect Bray is probably a person of interest to the HMRC, as are many others who scrounge an existence through political campaigning. It is time for transparency and people like Bray should publish all their donations just like a charity has to. I suspect he has trousered hundreds of thousands of pounds. Its about time he spent some of it on new clothes and toiletries. Anderson provided no evidence for his claims, and his arguments did not address the legal right to say things that Reform UK might not like. What are Steve Brays greatest hits? Plenty of D:Reams Things Can Only Get Better as Labour came closer to power, while Liz Truss had to compete with Kaiser Chiefs I Predict a Riot during appearances in Downing Street in her brief premiership. Most notably, Yakety Sax used on The Benny Hill Show eradicated any vestigial dignity during Boris Johnsons resignation statement. Where do we go from here? Protest and survive. Brays case adds to the corpus of legal protections for awkward dissent. Brian Haw, the man who spent about a decade living in a tent on Parliament Square in protest against the Iraq war, similarly survived numerous legal attempts to dislodge him. In 2005, then home secretary David Blunkett drafted an act of parliament apparently specially designed to end Haws small and untidy encampment; the attempt failed because someone failed to make the legislation retrospective. Squares and streets around Westminster have always been the scenes of marches, protests and the odd riot and will continue to do so. For Steve Bray, things can hardly get better; hell be fine now unless Lee Anderson ever gets to be home secretary. 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 Since the beginning of the year, there has been a marked difference between the effusive and slightly over-the-top kind words Donald Trump has used about Keir Starmer and the appalling things his key supporters have been saying about the prime minister. This, along with the contemptuous briefings against him and his government. But over the last weeks, all has become crystal clear about the mafia boss-style game Trump is using in his relations with his beloved UK the land of his mother. And his political heavy JD knuckle dusters Vance is a big part of that strategy. This is the context in which Vances latest optimistic comments on a free trade deal between the UK and US need to be considered. The vice president told Unherd: Were certainly working very hard with Keir Starmers government. open image in gallery Trump and Starmer hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington DC ( PA ) The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And hes a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think its much deeper than that. He added: I think theres a good chance that, yes, well come to a great agreement thats in the best interest of both countries. But while a deal may be close, there remain significant obstacles not least the vice president himself and his obsession with Keir Starmers government being anti-free speech. It was highlighted in the Oval Office in early March in the afterglow of Trump getting the letter from the King he had hankered for, asking him to be the first person in history to get a second state visit to the UK. A reporter asked a question about vice-president JD Vances attack on Britain in his incredibly hostile Munich speech where he claimed Starmers government was engaged in an assault on free speech, not least with its plans to impose laws restricting online and social media activity. The president paused for a moment and then, turning to his vice-president, asked him to explain what he meant. Vance did not hold back and a slightly alarmed-looking Starmer felt the need to jump in to remind everyone that Britain has had free speech for hundreds of years and will continue to have free speech for hundreds of years. It was not exactly the meltdown in the Oval Office that followed 24 hours later, when Vance publicly launched an attack on Ukraines President Zelensky, but it was a noticeably awkward moment in an atmosphere of mutual back-slapping and bonhomie. As we all took to our laptops to congratulate the prime minister on a diplomatic victory, apparently edging Trump closer to starting trade deal talks and getting his support for the Chagos Islands deal, that moment began to loom large. It did not take long for friends connected to the Trump team to contact me about what had happened there. And there was an interesting answer to the contrast between Trump and Vance. Dont take Trumps comments at face value. He could just be softening Starmer for another reason, one said. But perhaps a more significant warning: JD is his mouthpiece. He says what Trump doesnt want to say personally. This explains why Trump did not want to ruin the moment with the letter from the King and praising Starmers wonderful, beautiful wife with a sour note on free speech and social media, instead asking his vice-president to do his dirty work. It also explains why, 24 hours later, Vance was the rottweiler unleashed to rip apart Zelensky in front of the world, in the middle of the Oval Office, before Trump himself intervened. open image in gallery JD Vance attacks Zelensky in the Oval Office ( AP ) Back in Munich, Vance said what people connected to the administration have been saying for months. The aggressive language used by Vance and in briefings represents Trumps view of Starmer and the UK government much more than his praise for the special man prime minister with his lovely accent words nobody has ever thought, let alone said, about the PMs voice. But then, here is the crux of the problem. When Trump formally announced that US-UK trade talks were underway saying that we will have a deal very quickly, I think he pointed to his vice-president, saying Vance would be leading those talks for the US. Vance is among those who want to impose tariffs on the UK over what they believe is a two-tier legal system, a policing of social media with people going to prison for the content of their tweets, and new laws coming in cracking down on social media. It does not take much imagination to know what will be at the top of his demands when those talks begin. He will be cheered from the rafters and X by Elon Musk. The trouble is the gulf between Vance and the UK on this issue. Lord Mandelson and Starmer dismiss their plans for tackling online abuse as stopping terrorists, paedophiles and extreme pornographers. Who could argue with that? However, Vance and the Trump administration see it as imprisoning people for tweeting about the murders in Southport and immigration. They genuinely believe Tommy Robinson is a political prisoner. They see online restrictions as a protectionist assault on the American tech sector. Just this month there have been further issues flagged up by Vance and his allies about the UK, attacking the the conviction of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for praying silently outside an abortion clinic. Senior British embassy sources in the US have made clear that the UK ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, wants a trade deal focused on the new critical industries of artificial intelligence and biosciences. He rightly believes that it makes sense for the two countries with the most Nobel prize winners, the top two destinations for foreign investment and the top two for universities to connect like this. The partnership could see the UK and US dominate in these spheres as closely connected allies for decades to come. However, obtaining this vision will come at a price. Trump avoided saying whether the US would impose tariffs on the UK, instead joking about how good a negotiator Starmer was. But Vance wants to make an example of the UK government. He is no friend of the PMs and the Mandelson vision of the renewed special relationship is second order for him. open image in gallery Lord Mandelson with foreign secretary David Lammy are leading on keeping the special relationship special ( Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street ) The public bullying we saw on Friday of Zelensky will be worse behind the scenes for the UK and other allies. As one Trump insider ominously warned: No one appears prepared for the level of aggression the US is going to display. It will be their way or it will be no way at all. The UK government does seem aware of this, though, which explains why Starmer and Mandelson have adopted such a supine approach to dealing with the Trump White House. In fact, there was annoyance from the UK embassy in Washington that Zelensky had not heeded the advice to take a similar approach. Still, rolling over and hoping not to get a kicking is a high-risk strategy when dealing with a rottweiler like Vance and a president like Trump who is happy to keep him off the leash. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sir Keir Starmer must embrace Donald Trumps agenda by repealing hate speech laws in order to get a trade deal over the line, a Washington source has told The Independent. The warning came after the US vice-president suggested a UK-US agreement may be close, with the White House working very hard on it. He told UnHerd: I think theres a good chance that, yes, well come to a great agreement thats in the best interest of both countries. But a senior Washington figure, who has provided advice for the administration, claimed he is obsessed by the fall of Western civilisation including his view that free speech is being eroded in Britain and that he will demand the Labour government rolls back laws against hateful comments, including abuse targeting LGBT+ groups or other minorities, as a condition of any deal. The Independent was told: The vice-president expressing optimism [on a trade deal] is a way of putting further pressure on the UK over free speech. If a deal does not go through, it makes Labour look bad. open image in gallery US vice-president JD Vance said the administration was working very hard to negotiate a trade deal with the UK ( PA ) Mr Vances recent speech to the right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank was cited as an example of his views on Western culture and free speech being linked to securing an agreement. No free speech, no deal. It is as simple as that, the Washington source said. It is understood that Britain has already offered to drop its proposed digital services tax as a means of getting a trade deal through. But the US wants to see laws on hate speech repealed as well as plans for a new online safety law dropped. Labour has made it clear it is not prepared to go that far. A Downing Street source said the subject is not a feature of the talks. However, the issue seems to be one of the main sticking points from the White Houses perspective. Talks began last month after Sir Keir visited Mr Trump in the White House and intensified earlier this month with the tariffs announcement. While tariffs have been suspended for 90 days, the hope is that a deal can be done before they are brought into force. Downing Street is aiming not for a traditional trade deal, but one focused on growth industries of the future, such as biotech and artificial intelligence. Ministers insist this will not mean Britain has to accept imports of chlorinated chicken or beef with hormones, which have long been cited as concerns. However, they hope it will see most, if not all, tariffs removed between the two countries. While Mr Trumps trade secretary Howard Lutnick has taken a leading role in the talks with UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, the president announced at the start that Mr Vance would take the overall lead in the negotiations. UK sources have said he has been at the forefront of the tech side of the talks. This has put the issue of free speech front and centre for Mr Vance and his allies in getting a deal with the UK. open image in gallery US vice-president JD Vance said the US is working on a trade deal with the UK ( PA ) The issue has become a central problem in UK-US relations since the summer riots when Mr Trump ally and X (Twitter) owner Elon Musk launched a vitriolic social media campaign against Sir Keir and his government, with people arrested over tweets. It continued when Sir Keir visited the White House for the first time since Mr Trump took power and clashed with Mr Vance in front of the TV cameras in the Oval Office. The vice-president claimed that free speech was being undermined and also claimed that laws being brought in for online safety were an attack on US tech giants. Most recently, the trial of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce for silently praying outside an abortion clinic has become a major issue in the US, with Mr Vance criticising the UK legal system over the case. In his interview with UnHerd, the vice-president expressed optimism about the talks. He said: Were certainly working very hard with Keir Starmers government. The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And hes a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think its much deeper than that. Theres a real cultural affinity. And, of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country. Meanwhile, Mr Reynolds on Tuesday said he had been clear with US counterparts that he did not support Mr Trumps approach on tariffs. But he said there is a need in some instances to look at how to rebalance world trade to ensure greater fairness. He said: I dont support the kind of approach to unilateral tariffs that the US has pursued. Weve made that very clear to our US friends and colleagues, but there are issues as to how parts of trading works around the word, and there is a need to look at how we can do that fairly: how we can consider where in some cases countries are not operating to the same rules that we might expect here in the UK? 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 JD Vance has said the US is trying to secure a "great" trade deal with the UK as Donald Trumps tariffs heighten global trade tensions. The vice president said Mr Trump is working very hard on an agreement with Britain that could see damaging import taxes eased or lifted. His remarks are a boost to Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, with Mr Trumps trade war threatening to wipe out economic growth and force Labour into further spending cuts or tax hikes in the autumn budget. It comes after senior Trump adviser Kevin Hassett last week said deals with two countries, thought to be the UK and Australia, were close. British officials fear a 10 per cent universal tariff levied by the US president could be a permanent feature under his administration. But they are hopeful a trade deal could see the 25 per cent tariffs on steel, aluminium and automotive imports lifted or slashed. open image in gallery US vice president JD Vance said the US is working on a trade deal with the UK ( PA ) President Trump's initial sweeping tariffs triggered global economic concerns and stock market declines. However, subsequent adjustments have seen tariff rates reduced to 10 per cent for most countries, with further exemptions for electronics like smartphones and laptops, even those imported from China, which had faced a 145 per cent levy. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Tuesday said he had been clear with US counterparts that he did not support Mr Trumps approach on tariffs. But he said there is a need in some instances to look at how to rebalance world trade to ensure greater fairness. He said: "I don't support the kind of approach to unilateral tariffs that the US has pursued. We've made that very clear to our US friends and colleagues, but there are issues as to how parts of trading works around the word, and there is a need to look at how we can that fairly: how we can consider where in some cases countries are not operating to the same rules that we might expect here in the UK? "These are issues that need to be addressed as part of countries coming together to find answers to that. "So I don't support the kind of action the US has taken, but I do understand there are grievances there which we've got to appreciate in this country too." Officials in Sir Keirs government had hoped to secure a carve-out before Mr Trumps tariffs were introduced, and talks have continued since the measures came into effect. open image in gallery US president Donald Trump meeting UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer ( PA ) In an interview with UnHerd, vice president Mr Vance expressed optimism about reaching an agreement, saying the US is "working very hard" with the UK on negotiations. Were certainly working very hard with Keir Starmers government, Mr Vance said. The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved the Queen. He admires and loves the King. It is a very important relationship. And hes a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in [Britain]. But I think its much deeper than that. Theres a real cultural affinity. And, of course, fundamentally, America is an Anglo country. open image in gallery Then-US president Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth II during a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2019 ( PA Archive ) I think theres a good chance that, yes, well come to a great agreement thats in the best interest of both countries. Mr Vance said the reciprocal relationship between the US and UK gave Britain a more advantageous position than other European countries when it comes to negotiating new trade arrangements, adding: While we love the Germans, they are heavily dependent on exporting to the United States but are pretty tough on a lot of American businesses that would like to export into Germany. Business and trade minister Sarah Jones welcomed Mr Vance's comments but refused to comment on the progress of negotiations. She told LBC: "The conversations are ongoing, I can't update more than that. "We know we're in a good position. We are having good conversations. "The secretary of state (Jonathan Reynolds) has been having good conversations with his partners and there is a deal there to be done, but as to when that will be done, I wouldn't be able to tell you, but it's positive that the vice president is positive about our negotiations." The Liberal Democrats cautioned against Britain lowering food standards, selling out the NHS or watering down protections for children online as part of a trade deal with the US. Mr Reynolds has ruled out lowering food standards, but it is thought changes to Labours online safety bill or digital services tax are on the table in talks over a deal. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: A good trade deal with the US could bring huge benefits, but Trump is an unreliable partner who breaks deals whenever he feels like it. He and his sidekick JD Vance must not be allowed to bully their way into a bad trade deal for the UK. "The Government must commit to protecting our NHS, farmers and online safety laws, not barter them away just to appease Donald Trump." Ms Reeves will aim to continue negotiations for an economic deal with the US later this month when she travels to Washington to attend the International Monetary Funds spring meetings with other finance ministers. open image in gallery The chancellors autumn budget depends hugely on the outcome of trade talks with the US ( PA ) With just months before another major fiscal event for the chancellor, any sign of a softening in the US stance on tariffs will be a welcome boost. Ms Reeves currently has 9.9 billion of headroom against her self-imposed fiscal rules, based on forecasts set out at the spring statement, but Mr Trumps tariffs threaten to completely wipe that out. If her headroom disappears, Ms Reeves could announce further cuts to welfare or other spending, or be forced into a second round of politically painful tax hikes since the general election. 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 Watch as David Lammy speaks at a conference on Sudan on Tuesday, 15 April, as the UK government announces a 120m food and aid package for the country. The foreign secretary addressed a gathering at the London Sudan Conference. The UK co-hosted the gathering alongside the 55-member African Union bloc, the European Union, France and Germany, attended by representatives from other states including South Sudan, Saudi Arabia and the US. Mr Lammy has described the war in Sudan, which is in its second year, as brutal. Fighting started in April 2023 with armed clashes between the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary organisation and the Sudanese Armed Forces. More than 12.7 million people have been forcibly displaced in the war, with 1.1 million moving into South Sudan and 1.5 million into Egypt, according to United Nations (UN) agencies. The new 120m funding is for the 2025/26 financial year and aims to reach more than 600,000 people. Money will go towards supplying people, including vulnerable children, with pulses, oils, salts and cereals. Funding will also help provide emergency support for survivors of sexual violence. It comes after a separate 113m aid package announced last November, before Labours decision to cut UK development spending from 0.5 per cent of GNI (gross national income) to 0.3 per cent by 2027. 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 Two Belgian teenagers have been charged with wildlife piracy after Kenyan authorities discovered 5,000 ants packed in test tubes at the guest house where they were staying. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, both 19, were arrested on April 5 following the discovery. The pair - who appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives - told the magistrate they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal. Kenyan authorities say there is a growing trend in trafficking smaller and lesser-known species, and in a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis Nganga and Vietnamese Duh Hung Nguyen were also charged with illegal trafficking in the same courtroom, following their arrest while in possession of 400 ants. The Kenya Wildlife Service, or KWS, said the four men were involved in trafficking the ants to markets in Europe and Asia and that the species included messor cephalotes, a distinctive, large and red-colored harvester ant native to East Africa. The illegal export of the ants "not only undermines Kenyas sovereign rights over its biodiversity but also deprives local communities and research institutions of potential ecological and economic benefits, KWS said. open image in gallery A relative hugs Belgian national Seppe Lodewijck ( AP Photo/Brian Inganga ) Kenya has in the past fought against the trafficking of body parts of larger species of wild animals such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins among others. But the cases against the four men represent "a shift in trafficking trends from iconic large mammals to lesser-known yet ecologically critical species, KWS said. The two Belgians were arrested in Kenyas Nakuru county, which is home to various national parks. The 5,000 ants were found in a guest house where they were staying, and were packed in 2,244 test tubes that had been filled with cotton wool to enable the ants to survive for months. The other two men were arrested in Nairobi where they were found to have 400 ants in their apartments. Kenyan authorities valued the ants at 1 million shillings ($7,700). The prices for ants can vary greatly according to the species and the market. Philip Muruthi, a vice president for conservation at the Africa Wildlife Foundation in Nairobi, said ants play the role of enriching soils, enabling germination and providing food for species such as birds. The thing is, when you see a healthy forest, like Ngong forest, you dont think about what is making it healthy. It is the relationships all the way from the bacteria to the ants to the bigger things, he said. Muruthi warned of the risk of trafficking species and exporting diseases to the agricultural industry of the destination countries. Even if there is trade, it should be regulated and nobody should be taking our resources just like that, 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 Sudan is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis two years into a brutal civil war, marked by escalating atrocities and widespread famine. The conflict, described by the UN as the worlds worst humanitarian emergency, has reached a critical juncture following a recent shift in the fighting. In March, the Sudanese military regained control of the capital, Khartoum, from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This victory, however, has not brought peace but instead pushed the conflict into a dangerous new phase, raising fears of a potential division of the country. Over the weekend, the violence intensified as RSF fighters and allied militias attacked two refugee camps in the Darfur region, leaving at least 300 dead. The besieged Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, home to around 700,000 displaced Sudanese, are now grappling with famine conditions, further exacerbated by the ongoing fighting that prevents aid workers from reaching those in desperate need. The humanitarian situation is dire, with half of Sudans population of 50 million facing hunger. The World Food Programme (WFP) has confirmed famine in 10 locations and warned of its potential spread, putting millions at risk of starvation. open image in gallery Soldiers arrive at the Allafah market, in an area recently recaptured by Sudans army from the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, in March ( AP ) Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid organisation operating in the Zamzam camp, stressed the urgency of the situation. This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long, he said, following the deaths of nine of his colleagues in the RSF attack. Mr Shafique called for international pressure to secure a ceasefire, emphasising the critical need for immediate action. Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance, he warned. Humanity must prevail. Here is what is happening as the war marks its second anniversary on Tuesday. open image in gallery Sudanese evacuees wait to board a Saudi military ship in 2023 ( AP ) Carving up Sudan The war erupted on 15 April 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country. It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSFs commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudans movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power. The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighbouring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women. The militarys recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Gen Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing. But experts say the RSF consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and centre. open image in gallery Burned documents left on shelves at the Republican Palace, following its recapture by Sudans army from the RSF in March ( AP ) The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition, said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Universita di Trieste in Italy. Mr Donelli said its possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. Neither side appears able to defeat the other. Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue, said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and lacks political legitimacy within the country, said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University. But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, south Sudan and Ethiopia, he said. Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSFs resilience and ability to strike back, said Mr Srinivasan, author of When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans. Timeline of Sudans war: Two years of attacks, displacement, and humanitarian crisis Famine is deepening Hundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicentre of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region. Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves. We have no choice, she said in a recent phone interview. We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope. Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and the nearby South Kordofan province. The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine, including other parts of the Darfur region, but also places in central and south Sudan, because aid workers cannot reach them. The situation is very dire, said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Sudan. Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the countrys population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. open image in gallery People board a truck to leave Sudan in June 2023 ( AP ) The needs everywhere are huge In other areas, the militarys capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years. Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the countrys health ministry. The economy has been decimated, with a 40 per cent drop in GDP, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Full-time employment has been halved, and almost 20 per cent of urban households reported that they have no income at all, the organisation said. At the same time, UN agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the US. Only 6.3 per cent of the $4.2bn (3.24bn) required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading, she said. About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the UN migration agency. Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food. Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighbourhood in Khartoums sister city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement. The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted. It was a dream, he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighbourhood with almost no electricity or communications is much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person. 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 homeless man living in California won $1 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket, according to local reports. The man, who has chosen to remain anonymous, purchased his ticket from Sandy's Deli-Liquor in San Luis Obispo. The store manager, Wilson Samaan, told Cal Coastal News that the winner is a loyal regular and sometimes helps him by watching over the front of his shop. Samaan told KSBY that the winner initially misread his ticket and thought he'd won $100,000. It was only after Samaan took a look at the ticket that he realized his customer had actually won the full million. "He came to the store, he scratched it and is like, 'Oh, my God. Is that real? Wilson, can you come and take a look'?" Samaan said. "I'm like, 'Let me see,' so I grabbed the ticket out of his hand went to the machine over there. He's like, 'Man, I'm not homeless anymore!' I'm like, 'Man, you hit the jackpot.' He's like, '$100,000' and I'm like, 'No, bro. Thats $1 million. Congrats brother,' so, and we gave each other a high five." The shop manager confirmed that he sold the $1 million winning ticket, but went a step further for his customer by driving him to the California Lottery office in Fresno. The winner initially planned to mail his ticket it, but Samaan insisted that he drive him to make sure it got to lottery officials without issue. Sandy's Deli-Liquor in San Luis Obispo, California, where a $1 million winning lottery scratcher ticket was sold to a homeless man who frequents the shop ( Google Maps ) Samaan said he was overjoyed for his customer's good fortune, and that the winner deserved to catch a break. I was so excited he hit the jackpot because he deserves it, Samaan said. Its like when good things happen to good people. The winning ticket was a Red 777 Scratcher. Samaan said it was the first time anyone has won a lottery prize of that size from his store. Lottery officials told KSBY that there is a vetting process for all winners before the state releases any money. Typically, the process takes a few months. "With a million-dollar ticket like this, the person who comes forward can expect a very thorough vetting process," Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the CA State Lottery, told the outlet. "As you can imagine, we give away a lot of prize money at the CA lottery, and we are happy to do it, but we want to make sure we are giving it to the right person." The man who won told KSBY that he intends to make a down payment on a home, to get himself a car and to bank the rest of his money. 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 Chinese American scholar convicted of spying on Chinese dissidents was spared prison time Monday by a U.S. judge. Shujun Wang was sentenced by U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin to time served and three years supervised release, according to attorneys. Wang has been free on bail since the day of his arrest. Wang, 76, was convicted last summer of charges including conspiring to act as an illegal foreign agent. With a story that federal prosecutors have described as akin to a spy novel, the case is part of their portfolio on what Washington views as " transnational repression " by authoritarian governments targeting critics abroad. The Chinese government has said it's being slandered by the malicious fabrication of the so-called transnational suppression narrative." A Chinese-born American citizen, Wang was a history professor in his homeland. He became a visiting fellow at Columbia University for a time in the 1990s and emigrated to the U.S., where he wrote books and co-founded a pro-democracy group in New York City. Prosecutors portrayed Wang's advocacy as a facade that garnered him credibility with sincere activists, allowing him to gather information on Hong Kong democracy protesters, supporters of Taiwanese independence, Uyghur and Tibetan activists and others. He relayed the intel to Chinas main intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security, in the form of emails styled as diaries," according to prosecutors and trial evidence. The messages concerned demonstrations planned during Chinese President Xi Jinping' s visits to the U.S., anniversary events for the 1989 protests and bloody crackdown in Beijings Tiananmen Square, and more. Wang also met with ministry officials on trips to China, according to prosecutors and evidence. One activist and fellow academic mentioned in the diaries, Ming Xia, told the court in a letter that hed altered his daily routine as a result. Another activist, Anna Yeung-Cheung, wrote that Wang's betrayal not only damaged personal bonds and shattered our collective trust but also exacerbated harmful stereotypes that depict Chinese and Asian Americans as potential spies. Another figure in the diaries Juntao Wang, an academic and dissident who spent years in prison in China said he knew about Shujun Wang's Chinese Communist Party connections but still appreciated his work with the pro-democracy movement. From the perspective of traditional Chinese political culture and contemporary Chinese politics, his dual identity is a common and understandable phenomenon, he wrote to the court. Saying that some genuine supporters of democracy also deal with Chinese officials to gain some benefits, he asked for a short sentence for Shujun Wang. Shujun Wang told FBI agents in interviews that his communiques were just accounts of publicly available tidbits. In a New York Times Magazine interview after his conviction, he at times called the diaries a hobby and said he hadn't known his contacts in China worked for the security agency. At other points, he acknowledged sharing information with Chinese officials and said he was just trying to promote democracy to the Communist government, according to the magazine. Wangs attorney, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, called Judge Chin's sentence a wise decision. It appropriately recognized that his conduct was not driven by any financial motive and did limited, if any harm, said Margulis-Ohnuma, who also noted that Wang has multiple health problems. In court papers, Margulis-Ohnuma said the case didn't depict a debonair spy but rather an aging democracy activist lonesome and starved for attention, eager to please and always delighted to engage who occasionally provided mostly-useless information to the Chinese government and lied about it as he became older, more impaired and more isolated. ___ Hill reported from Albany, New York. 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 At least four people were injured in a shooting at a Dallas high school Tuesday afternoon that prompted a massive law enforcement presence. Just after 1 p.m. CT, police received a call at Wilmer-Hutchins High School after gunshots were fired inside the school, according to Fox 4. At least four people, including a 17-year-old student, were injured in the shooting, Dallas Fire Department officials told CBS News. Two of the victims are believed to have sustained gunshot wounds that are considered non-life-threatening. All four victims were taken to the hospital. Law enforcement officials told CBS News Texas that they believe the perpetrator was a student. No information about the shooters identity has been released. Students at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas, Texas evacuate after a shooting ( Reuters ) The Independent has asked the Dallas Independent School District for comment. Police did not immediately confirm the details of the incident or the injuries. The Dallas Independent School District said at 1:25 p.m. police were responding to a shooting at the high school and safety protocols were implemented. By 2:12 p.m., they declared the school was secure and set up a reunification center for parents to meet their students. We understand this is a difficult time and ask for your patience. Counselors are on site and available, Dallas Independent School District wrote. Images from helicopters showed a significant police presence at the school. Students could be seen evacuating from the building. Adonta Jackson, a senior at the high school, told The Dallas Morning News he heard approximately eight gunshots followed by screaming. He said students began running out of the school. The shooting arrives almost exactly one year after another student was shot in the leg while in a classroom. That incident spurred an investigation into how a student was able to bring a gun into the school. District officials later found that one of the metal detectors was broken. Approximately 1,020 students attend Wilmer-Hutchins High School, according the U.S. News and World Report. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An enraged pet owner has accused a Connecticut groomers of snipping part of her dogs tongue off and giving the animal back while he was bleeding profusely. The alleged incident occurred on April 4 at Dirty Tails in Plainville, where fluffy brown dog Teddy had been a customer for years, his owner told WFSB. His owner, who has chosen to remain anonymous, only noticed the severity of his injuries when she was carrying him to her car. Video footage of the dog following the alleged incident showed him panting frantically with a bleeding and partly mutilated tongue. I was carrying him out without looking at him, and when I got to the car, there was blood on my sweater, my hand, and my wallet, the owner told the station. open image in gallery The Connecticut pet owner has accused Dirty Tails Pet Groomers in Plainville (pictured) of snipping off her dog's tongue ( Google Maps ) When I looked at him, he was panting, and the blood was dripping from his tongue onto the ground, she added. She described the ordeal as distressing and really scary. Teddys mom returned to the groomers later that night but was denied entry and told the stores manager had gone home for the day. I went down there, and I was asking her, pleading and begging, to talk to a manager. Shes like no, theres no manager available, shes not here, so the owner asked if she could talk to the Dirty Tails manager over the phone. She said she heard nothing from them that night. Dirty Tails spokesperson Scott Reckert took responsibility for the incident and said the groomers regrets the events that unfolded, as per a statement to WFSB. open image in gallery Police are reportedly not pursuing charges on either side (stock image) ( Getty/iStock ) Dirty Tails regrets the incident that occurred on Friday night [April 4] at their facility. Our staff member did meet the client at the door indicating that she could not let her into the shop as it was after business hours, it read. A manager from the groomers reportedly called the owner back three days later to issue a refund. The Dirty Tails statement continued: She further indicated that she is not a groomer nor a manager and has no authority to offer any type of resolution to this matter. Teddys family claimed their dogs tongue had been permanently damaged and that it would never grow back. She insisted, I dont want to damage anyones business, yet she said it was necessary for the groomers to take accountability for their actions. I believe in being responsible, and I believe in treating individuals fairly with compassion, and I got none of that, the pet mom said. Dirty Tails stated that they were determined to provide some relief and solace to the owners and remained dedicated to providing the best possible service to our clients. Police were reportedly contacted on the night but are not pursuing charges for either of the parties involved. The Independent contacted Dirty Tails for comment. 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 Florida third-grade teacher who was arrested and charged with two misdemeanors for attending an underage house party has returned to work at a different elementary school in her school district. Karly Anderson, 45, was placed on administrative leave at Roosevelt Elementary School in January after being arrested in connection with an alcohol-fueled underage party that took place at a principals home in Cocoa Beach, Florida. According to an affidavit, Anderson was allegedly slurring her words and smelled of alcohol when she identified herself as a teacher to police. She allegedly admitted to hanging out at the party. Anderson, who denies participating in the party, initially told Inside Edition she had retired from her job. But according to Brevard Public Schools, shes returned to work at Saturn Elementary in Cocoa Beach. open image in gallery Karly Anderson, a third-grade teacher in Florida, has returned to the classroom after being arrested on two misdemeanors in connection to an underage party ( Brevard County Sheriff's Office ) A spokesperson for the schools told Florida Today that Anderson was cleared by the Department of Children and Family Services and the state attorney who declined to formally charge her with a child neglect-related charge. Anderson was arrested on suspicion of child neglect but was only charged with disorderly conduct and disorderly intoxication regarding the January incident. "She is a certified teacher and as of today shes been placed by the district back into a classroom, the spokesperson said. The Independent has asked Brevard Public Schools for comment. open image in gallery Principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan (left) and third-grade teacher Anderson (right) were arrested in connection to the underage party that had more than 100 teens in attendance ( Brevard County Sheriffs Office ) Police in Cocoa Beach showed up at the home of former Roosevelt Elementary School principal Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan in January after receiving a noise complaint. When they arrived, they discovered more than 100 teenagers drinking alcohol and using marijuana. Body camera footage released by police shows Anderson, reportedly intoxicated, arguing with police officers about the party. At one point, when an officer tried to inform Anderson that children were drinking alcohol, she interrupted him and said, Ive already known. But Anderson maintains that she did not participate. I did not see any alcohol, Anderson told Inside Edition. Ken Weaver, an attorney for Anderson, said his client did not participate in the party and wasnt responsible for anything going on. He said Anderson was at a restaurant with Hill-Brodigan when she received a call that there was a party at her home. The two then went to Hill-Brodigans home. Parents of school-aged children at the elementary school protested Andersons return to the classroom on Monday, according to Fox 35 Orlando. I was livid because honestly the woman still hasnt gone to court, this issue has not been resolved at all and so she has no place being inside of a school right now, parent Ashley Fernandez told Fox 35 Orlando. 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 Last week, it looked like nothing could stand in the way of the tortilla becoming New Mexicos official state bread. The idea had unanimous support from lawmakers, with the round wrap long being a culinary staple in the Southwestern state. But on Friday, the plan fell as flat as the Mexican ingredient itself. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham didnt shoot down the proposals because she isnt a fan of the food. Rather, it was because she believes it marked another missed opportunity to debate bills that deal with serious matters as the state faces extraordinary challenges. Of course, I enjoy celebrating our unique culture, she wrote in her veto message, naming many of the official state symbols and songs that New Mexico has adopted over the years. The question should not be how many more symbols we can collect but whether we are meeting the moment with the gravity it demands, she continued, we are living in perilous and unprecedented times. The stakes for our state have never been higher. open image in gallery Garcia's Kitchen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday 10 April 2025 ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) New Mexico's lawmakers were hardly alone in wanting to pad their state's list of symbols this legislative season. Georgia lawmakers recently passed a bill to recognize cornbread as their states official bread. The Oregon Legislature, meanwhile, is considering adopting the T-bone steak as an official symbol. And theres a proposal in California to name Bigfoot the states official cryptid a creature that has never been proven to exist. Striking a balance? Legislating isnt always about taxes, tariffs and other serious issues. Lawmakers sometimes yearn for levity and the rare chance to find common ground. With the push to adopt the tortilla, which was proposed by Las Cruces fourth-grader Adaline McIntosh, lawmakers debated the kinds of flour needed for the perfect specimen. Their conclusion: It depends on the meal. They also got a history lesson from state Senator Benny Shendo, a member of Jemez Pueblo tribe who explained that the first bread in what is now New Mexico was made by Pueblo people who cooked blue corn paste on a hot stone. State Senator Cindy Nava talked about growing up on her mother's homemade tortillas, saying: This is much bigger than a simple piece of legislation," Nava told fellow lawmakers. "This is culture and this is cultural awareness that we desperately need. From cattle to cocktails Official state symbols date to the late 1800s, as legislatures throughout the U.S. sought to stake cultural claims and foster pride among their residents. First came flowers and flags. Then came fossils and foods, with the practice growing into a clever marketing tool to boost conversation and commerce. Oregon already has an official state nut, fruit and pie. But adopting the T-bone would recognize the role that cattle has played in the states development and its contribution to the economy, supporters say. open image in gallery Locally made tortillas rest on the desks of New Mexico legislators, Tuesday 18 March 2025 It's all about Nashville hot chicken in Tennessee, where a proposal calls for making the popular dish an official state food, joining hot slaw and Memphis barbecue. Whereas some states adopted milk as their official drink, Nevada is considering a less wholesome option, Picon punch. The home of Sin City is weighing legislation that would add the cocktail that traces its roots to Basque immigrants who settled out West to its list of state symbols. Shooting for the stars In North Carolina, lawmakers are considering adopting the Moravian star, a multi-pointed decoration that symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem and has become synonymous with Christmas. Minnesota might adopt a whole constellation, with legislation pending that would add Ursa Minor to that state's list. Texas, meanwhile, is considering adding the cannon as an official gun. The Lone Star State already has an official handgun the Colt Walker pistol. But those who introduced this year's resolution say historic weapons such as the cannon are powerful reminders of the state's struggle for freedom. That includes the first battle of the Texas Revolution, when settlers coined the phrase Come and Take It" during a skirmish with the Mexican military over a bronze cannon. A nod to nature Colorado's list of symbols now includes Agaricus julius, a mushroom once mistaken as The Prince mushroom" that supporters say plays a vital role in high-elevation spruce and fir forests. Iowa and Michigan are considering adding butterflies to their lists. There are dueling proposals in Michigan, with black swallowtails and monarchs duking it out. Minnesota lawmakers are mulling adopting an official state fossil a giant beaver that was about the size of a small bear and roamed the area during the last ice age. It's part of a campaign led by the Science Museum of Minnesota. California lawmakers are considering adding two things to their state list: solar energy and Bigfoot. California has the country's largest solar market, according to industry groups. As for the legendary creature, Bigfoot's proponents say it's part of popular culture and inspires searches that boost tourism in rural parts of the state. 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 Two college students are still stuck in Denmark after they got into a physical spat with an Uber driver while on vacation over spring break. Owen Ray, a 19-year-old student at Miami University in Ohio, and another young man, were visiting friends in Copenhagen when the altercation took place. On April 1, a day after the fracas, police detained them at the airport as a flight risk moments before they were due to board a flight home to Chicago. According to CBS News, they were released from custody on Monday afternoon, but their passports were seized, meaning they must remain in Denmark. They are both alumni of St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. Ray is due to speak on Good Morning America on Tuesday. In a promotional clip for the piece, Ray says: We were both just very shocked about the fact that we were being arrested over this incident. We had done nothing wrong. We were the, you know, victims of an attack. In a statement to ABC News, Copenhagen police said the boys were sentenced to 10 days pre-trial detention and that a verdict on the incident had been extended to April 24. A family spokesperson released a statement on behalf of the parents to the network: "We remain deeply concerned that Danish authorities have confiscated his passport and will not allow him to return to the United States something we understand is unusual in Danish court proceedings. "The facts make clear that Owen is the victim in this case, and we urge Danish officials to allow him to return home to the United States without delay." The two boys have now missed two weeks of college. Rays mother previously said she was concerned about the incident's ramifications in years to come. Prior to their release, Rays family spokesperson shared a statement with The Independent. "On the evening of March 31, 2025, Owen Ray and a friend were the victims of an unprovoked verbal and physical assault by an Uber driver in Denmark, it read. They did nothing to instigate the attack. We urge the Danish authorities to recognize Owen's innocence and release him immediately. Our family is heartbroken, and we want our son home to celebrate Easter with us this week." Rays U.S.-based attorney Jordan Finfer initially told ABC News the pair allegedly got into a dispute with the taxi driver the night before they were due to fly home, after one of the men input the wrong destination when requesting the ride. They claim the driver refused to bring them to the correct address, Finfer says and then accused them of not paying. open image in gallery Owen Rays family said they were heartbroken and that they just wanted their son home in time to celebrate Easter ( The Ray Family/Handout ) Finfer alleges that when all three men got out of the car during the dispute, the driver kicked Ray in the groin. Ray retaliated by pushing the driver, causing him to fall over, Finfer further claimed. Rays mother Sara Buchen-Ray described her sons version of events to NewsNation: He [the driver] threatened he was going to call 10 guys in and take care of them. At that point, my son yelled again, Weve done nothing wrong; please call the police. And he kicked Owen in between the legs, she continued. Owen went down. The other child knocked him down, and they ran away. They were scared. The Independent has learned that the driver reported the two boys and claimed that they started fighting in the back of the car before going on to assault him after the trip ended. This is when the driver reportedly phoned the police. He also claimed they failed to pay for the ride. open image in gallery Receipts shared by Ray's family representative confirm that Ray paid for the ride on the night of March 31 ( Supplied by the Ray family ) Uber confirmed to The Independent that the trip was paid for. On Monday, an Uber spokesperson said: The safety of everyone who uses the Uber app is a top priority, and we take reports of violence very seriously. open image in gallery Receipt information screenshotted by Ray on the night confirmed a payment of 113 Danish Krones ( Supplied by the Ray family ) The driver reported to Uber that he was assaulted by two riders who were later arrested by Danish police. Any additional questions about the investigation should be directed to the Danish police. The U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs confirmed they were aware of the incident and that U.S. embassy staff in Copenhagen were providing consular assistance. 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 Americas tech giants have been accused of paying nearly $278bn less in corporate income tax over the last decade compared to the 10 years prior. New research from the non-profit Fair Tax Foundation (FTF) calculates that the so-called Silicon Six Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Netflix generated a combined $11tn of revenue and $2.5tn of profits over that time period. However, the same six paid an average of 18.8 percent in combined national and federal corporation taxes, compared to the average rate for companies operating in the United States, which is 29.7 percent. That percentage falls even lower to just 16.1 percent if one-off repatriation payments in the U.S. connected to historical tax avoidance are excluded. Our analysis would indicate that tax avoidance continues to be hardwired into corporate structures, said the FTFs chief executive Paul Monaghan. The Silicon Sixs corporate income tax contributions are, in percentage terms, way below what sectors such as banking and energy are paying in many parts of the world. According to the foundations analysis, Netflix recorded the lowest rate of tax paid compared with profit booked, at 14.7 percent, followed by Meta at 15.4 percent, Amazon at 19.6 percent, and Microsoft at 20.4 percent. Monaghan warned of the enormous political influence as well as economic power the Big Tech behemoths now wield, illustrated by the likes of Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Tim Cook attending Donald Trumps inauguration in January and making friendly overtures to the president since his election win in November. While Tesla CEO Elon Musks proximity to the president is well documented. open image in gallery Tech bosses including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have aligned themselves with the new Trump administration ( Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP ) Monaghan explained that much of the sextets overseas revenue was subject to lower corporate income tax rates in America because of a tax break for foreign-derived intangible income. Their overseas sales are also benefiting from reduced rates accessed by a combination of lower profit margins and by their making profits in low-tax destinations such as Luxembourg, Monaghan added. We follow international and local tax rules, ensuring that we pay all taxes required in each of the countries where we operate, a Meta spokesperson told The Independent. The suggestions in this report are extremely misleading, an Amazon spokesperson told The Independent. Tax is paid on profit not revenue. Amazon is primarily a retailer with low-profit margins, so comparisons to technology companies with much higher operating profit margins are deeply flawed. Governments write the tax laws and Amazon is doing the very thing these laws encourage companies to do paying all taxes due while also investing billions in creating jobs and infrastructure. Since 2010, we have invested more than $1.2tn in the U.S. and over 250bn in Europe. Coupled with low margins, this investment will naturally result in a lower cash tax rate, particularly when measured as a percentage of revenue. A Netflix spokesperson said: Governments determine tax rules and rates and companies comply with them. Netflix complies with the relevant tax rules and regulations in every country in which we operate. The Independent has contacted Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft for further comment. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Former President Barack Obama has praised Harvard for rejecting the Trump administrations ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom. Obama said that in refusing to buckle to the White Houses demands, the Ivy League university has set an example for other higher education institutions and hopes they will also follow suit. Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect, Obama said in a statement posted on X Monday night. Lets hope other institutions follow suit. Obama also shared a statement from the universitys president, Alan Garber, to his 130 million followers. No governmentregardless of which party is in powershould dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, Garber said. Harvard rejected a list of demands that would have required sweeping changes at the university, saying it would not allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. The move is part of the administrations plans to cut billions from Ivy League universities in response to their alleged failure to combat antisemitism. open image in gallery Former president Barack Obama applauded Harvard for standing up to the Trump administration after the university refused to buckle to the White Houses demands. ( AFP via Getty Images ) The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the governments terms as an agreement in principle, the university stated in a letter. The Trump administration retaliated by slashing $2.2 billion in federal funds from Harvard on Monday after the university defiantly refused to comply with the changes. The federal Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which is made up of several federal agencies including the Justice Department and Education Department, announced the freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University." The task force did not specify which programs the cut grants will affect. open image in gallery Harvard has pushed back against the Trump administrations efforts to make sweeping changes across the university. The administration retaliated by announcing a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants. ( EPA ) President Donald Trump issued a fresh threat against Harvard in a Truth Social post shared Tuesday. Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting Sickness? Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST! Trump said. The Department of Health and Human Services also issued a rebuke and accused Harvard of holding a troubling entitlement mindset in a statement released Tuesday. Harvards statement reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws, the statement said. The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support. 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 Department of Government Efficiency staffers have been given access to government databases containing private information about where people work or live - all with the intention of identifying undocumented immigrants and assisting in President Donald Trumps mass deportation agenda. Those databases - at agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Social Security Administration and IRS - contain private information that immigrants of all statuses have submitted about themselves, believing the information would not be used against them. At HUD, officials are working on a rule that would ban mixed-status households or those with people who have different immigration or citizenship statuses from obtaining public housing, unnamed staffers DOGE, which is being spearheaded by Elon Musk, is combing through HUD data to identify undocumented immigrants and then share that data with the Department of Homeland Security to have people removed from accessing public benefits, even if they live with someone who has legal status. open image in gallery Several federal agencies have agreed to share sensitive and private data with Department of Government Efficiency workers and immigration agents to find undocumented migrants ( Getty Images ) The push is the latest in a string of moves to use government data to help back the executive branchs priorities. However, legal experts say the moves risk breaking privacy rules and can sow distrust in the government. Its not only about one subgroup of people, its really about all of us, Tanya Broder, senior counsel for health and economic justice policy at the National Immigration Law Center told the Post. Everyone cares about their privacy. Nobody wants their health-care information or tax information broadcast and used to go after us. However, the White House has backed the moves saying sharing data to find migrants and remove them. Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense, a Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs told the outlet. American tax dollars should be used for the benefit of American citizens, especially when it comes to an issue as pressing as our nations housing crisis, Secretary of HUD, Scott Turner, said in a statement. This new agreement will leverage resources including technology and personnel to ensure American people are the only priority when it comes to public housing. The Independent has asked HUD for comment. Similar database-accessing tactics have been used at other federal agencies in order to share information with Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At the Social Security office, officials revoked more than 6,300 undocumented immigrants status that allows them to work, hoping the move will encourage people to self deport. open image in gallery Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner said undocumented immigrants should not be permitted to access public benefits ( REUTERS ) At the IRS, officials have agreed to share specific tax information related to undocumented immigrants with ICE. The agency could use that information to locate millions of people they suspect of being in the country illegally. After the two agencies reached the agreement, the commissioner of the IRS resigned. Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for DHS, said in a statement that sharing information across government agencies was crucial to solve problems. Several DOGE engineers have been integrated at the DHS to assist in providing technical infrastructure to take actions aimed at revoking parole, terminating visas and eventually reengineering the asylum process, Politico reported. Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at the American taxpayer expense, McLaughlin said. 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 New Hampshire real estate attorney and an American citizen have claimed they were detained at the U.S. border without explanation. Bachir Atallah and his wife, Jessica Fakhri, were returning from a family vacation in Canada Sunday when officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped them as they were re-entering the country in Vermont. They held us in two separate cells, and neither of us had shoes or a jacket. It was freezing, Atallah told The Independent Tuesday. Atallah, the founder of the Bachir Atallah Law and a U.S. citizen for 10 years, said he was treated like a criminal as he claims to have been removed from his car by immigration authorities at a border crossing. The travelers accusations are blatantly false and sensationalized, said CBP Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham in a statement to The Independent. Attalahs wife, Fakhri said the ordeal was a shock in an interview with NBC News. Atallah told NBC: "He asked me, 'Exit the vehicle right now,' and he reached for his gun. I said, 'OK, I'm exiting the vehicle; keep your gun at your waist." Bachir Atallah and his wife, Jessica Fakhri said he and his wife were detained without explanation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection ( Bachir Atallah ) This is when he says authorities handcuffed him, twisted his arm and walked him inside as he stared anxiously into the eyes of his wife. Speaking with The Independent, the attorney described how the experience caused him to feel extremely unwell as his blood pressure soared to 153 over 112 and customs agents called for paramedics to assess him. However, Atallah said he refused the medical treatment after being advised it would delay the entire process. He later received medical attention when the couple returned home. As of Tuesday, he was finally starting to feel better after the encounter. Its one thing to protect the country from illegal aliens but to obtain a law abiding citizen who works as a lawyer in the country? Bachir Atallah Attallah said that when he questioned why they were being apprehended, he was told: We don't know; it's the government. Border agents agents reportedly requested access to Attallahs email on his phone, he tried to refuse, citing attorney-client privilege. So I had to, under duress, give him permission to look through my email, through my privileged information, and he made me write a statement, signed by me, saying that I gave him permission to look through the email, Attallah told NBC News. CBP Assistant Commissioner Beckham insisted in a statement that CBP officers acted in accordance with established protocols. Beckham continued: Upon arrival at the port of entry, the traveler was appropriately referred to secondary inspection a routine, lawful process that occurs daily, and can apply for any traveler. Officers worked to ensure an attorney-client privilege was respected during the electronic media search. The traveler provided written consent to a limited search of his electronic device. While the duo were detained, agents called Atallahs sister, Celine Atallah, who works as an immigration lawyer. She told NBC: It's not about the immigrants. It's coming to us Americans, and it's going to go after all of us." After five long hours, the duo were finally released. Now, they are pursuing legal action. Atallah previously held high hopes for the Trump administration and was convinced things would change for the better. Its one thing to protect the country from illegal aliens, but to obtain a law-abiding citizen who works as a lawyer in the country? he told The Independent. The real estate attorney is due to leave the U.S. for Lebanon Tuesday evening for work and to visit family and is frightened of what could unfold upon his return. Im scared its going to happen again tonight, he said. 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 Mohsen Mahdawi walked out in handcuffs shortly after arriving for a citizenship interview inside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service office in Vermont. Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident who has held a green card for at least 10 years, was anticipating a scheduled interview in Colchester as part of his citizenship process on Monday. Instead, hooded federal agents walked him into a car and drove off. Born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, where he lived until moving to the United States in 2014, Mahdawi is among the latest Columbia University student activists marked for removal by Donald Trumps administration for their Palestinian advocacy. A federal judge on Monday swiftly granted a temporary restraining order blocking his removal from the state after Mahdawis attorneys filed a petition with the court challenging his arrest and detention. He remains in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the agencys inmate locator. Members of Vermonts congressional delegation called his arrest immoral, inhumane and illegal and demanded his immediate release from detention. Mahdawi walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process, they wrote. Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered, lawmakers added. These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him. This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention. open image in gallery An image taken from a video by Christopher Helali and provided to the Associated Press shows Mohsen Mahdawi being escorted out of a federal building by federal agents on March 14 ( AP ) Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked hundreds of student visas over campus activism, leading to several high-profile arrests of international scholars who are now awaiting deportation hearings in remote jails across the southern United States while the administration conflates protests against Israels war in Gaza with antisemitic violence. After taking office, Trump signed an executive order that declares U.S. policy is to ensure noncitizens do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security. Another executive order pledges immediate action to investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities with a promise to deport Hamas sympathizers and revoke student visas, according to a fact sheet from the White House. Mahdawis petition in federal court states that it appears he was similarly targeted for removal from the country under the Trump administrations determination that there is reasonable ground to believe his presence would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. That language has also been used to target Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian student activist from Columbia. Public statements by government officials, including statements by the President and Secretary of State, establish that [the administration] detained Mr. Mahdawi to punish and silence him because of his constitutionally protected speech, beliefs, statements and associations, his attorneys wrote. Mahdawis attorneys contend that his arrest violates his First and Fifth Amendment rights. Mr. Mahdawi is fearful that, if he loses his lawful permanent resident status and he is removed to the West Bank, he will experience the same harassment, detention, and torture that his family has experienced, and would be in even more danger in light of the campaigns that have targeted and spread lies about him, his attorneys wrote. open image in gallery Demonstrators gathered in Times Square on April 12 demanded the release of Columbia University student activist and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil ( Getty Images ) Like Khalil, Mahdawi was among the prominent faces of Columbias student-led campus demonstrations against Israels campaign in Gaza, making him a prime target for far-right pro-Israel activist groups that have shared information about student activists with federal law enforcement. At Columbia, where he enrolled in 2021, Mahdawi helped organize the Palestinian Student Union (Dar) with Khalil. His attorneys describe him as a committed Buddhist who believes in non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion. Mahdawi was featured in a segment on campus protest for 60 Minutes on CBS News in December 2023, during which he described how he confronted an agitator who shouted antisemitic chants. I was shocked, and I walked directly to the person, and I told him, 'You don't represent us,' because this is not something that we agree with, he said. To be antisemitic is unjust, and the fight for the freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand in hand, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Last week, Louisiana immigration court judge Jamee Comans determined that the Trump administration can deport Khalil for his involvement in campus demonstrations. The administrations claims that Khalil poses adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is facially reasonable, the judge said. Khalil is also challenging the constitutionality of his arrest and detention in a federal courtroom in New Jersey, where his attorneys successfully moved jurisdiction to handle a legal challenge to his arrest. 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 Nancy Mace, who once challenged another congresswoman to take their disagreement "outside, denounced political violence and rhetoric after being targeted by a Pennsylvania man who threatened Donald Trump. Shawn Monper, of Butler, Pennsylvania, has been charged with allegedly making threats against Trump and Mace, according to Fox News, citing a law enforcement source. The man allegedly wrote about wanting to shoot Mace in a YouTube comment. "If I ever see her unprotected in public I would [love] to be the one to put a bullet in her skull," the man allegedly wrote. "What a disgusting [piece] of trash." Monper also allegedly made threats against Trump, saying he would assassinate the president himself and calling for those opposed to the MAGA movement to just start killing people. "Nah, we just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon [Musk], all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way, he allegedly wrote on YouTube. Remember, we are the majority, MAGA is a minority of the country, and by the time its time to make the move, they will be weakened, many will be crushed by these policies, and they will want revenge too. American Revolution 2.0." According to Fox News Digital, Mace appears to be the only member of Congress who received a threat. Congresswoman Nancy Mace was allegedly threatened by Shawn Monper, a Pennsylvanian man who is accused of threatening President Donald Trump ( Kent Nishimura/Getty Images ) Monper allegedly said he'd bought guns and ammunition since Trump took office, and allegedly made threats against members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and against Tesla CEO and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, according to law enforcement. Mace confirmed the threats on Monday night and issued a statement denouncing political violence. "If you think attempting to assassinate elected officials makes you a hero, youre not an activist. Youre a terrorist. And you should never see the light of day again," she said. "This political violence is getting out of control, and silence is no longer an option. I wont be intimidated. I wont be silenced. We have a duty to call this evil outloudly and publicly." Mace herself was involved in a high-profile incident earlier this year when she challenged a political opponent to fight with her during a disagreement on Capitol Hill. In January, Mace was arguing with Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, during which she asked the representative if she wanted to "take it outside" generally understood to be a challenge to brawl. Mace and Crockett were arguing about Republicans' attacks on trans rights before the incident took a turn for the threatening, according to NBC News. I can see that somebodys campaign coffers really are struggling right now. So [Mace] is gonna keep saying trans, trans, trans, trans so that people will feel threatened, and child, listen Crockett said, before Mace interjected. I am no child, do not call me a child, I am no child, Mace shot back. If you want to take it outside, we can do that." Representative Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, defended Crockett and said Mace was trying to incite violence against her. Republican Congressman James Comer, who chairs the subcommittee on civil rights, facilitated a discussion and decided that Mace's words did not constitute a call to violence, offering the explanation that perhaps Mace was simply asking Crockett to "have a cup of coffee or perhaps a beer." Mace herself, despite referencing the incident and saying that she "went off" on the Congresswoman, insisted she was not calling on Crockett to fight her. Let me be clear: I wanted to take the conversation off the floor to have a more constructive conversation, not to fight. At no point was there any intention of causing harm to anyone, she wrote in a post on X. Crockett maintained that she had been threatened and called Mace an "attention seeking loser." Last I checked, threatening members in a committee room doesnt exactly reduce the cost of eggs, she wrote at the time. 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 former White House strategist and rightwing podcaster Steve Bannon is on a mission against the presidents Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He wants him yanked off the media because hes close to an unmitigated disaster, Bannon slammed on his podcast Monday. Lutnick, former CEO of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, is an almost always gregarious, smiling salesman for Trumps economic vision, whatever that might be on a given day. But he doesnt often seem super clear on what that vision is or what might most appeal to Trump supporters. I dont know why Lutnicks still doing media. Let me be blunt, said Bannon, who pointed out that Lutnick had been tech billionaire Elon Musks pick for Treasury secretary. I think hes close to being an unmitigated disaster. We should see a lot less of Lutnick on TV, he added. We have to have a clear message so people understand what the process is, Bannon added, claiming there is a well thought through process concerning Trumps ping-ponging tariffs that have rattled the markets. open image in gallery Extreme-right podcaster and Donald Trump's former White House strategist appears to flash a NAZI salute during his speech Thursday at CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland ( Screen Grab/CPAC Livestream/RSBN ) Last week Lutnick pushed a vision of a happy future army of millions of Americans delighted to screw screws into cell phones once tariffs somehow move those kinds of jobs back to the U.S. from China. "The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little screws to make iPhones that kind of thing is going to come to America," he boasted to CBS News (to the horror of many who responded on social media). But then in a total turnaround he said those were the kind of jobs that would be automated. Bannon smirked on his podcast: No were not doing this so robots have a better life. Is the Trump administration considering any kind of subsidy or bailout for U.S. farmers or other industries to help weather the impact from tariffs? "I have not participated in any meetings with respect to that," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick tells @margbrennan. pic.twitter.com/xBWRwRx2Of Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 6, 2025 Lutnick was also the one who said that Trumps tariffs would not cause a recession, but then said if they did cause a recession it would be worth it. He has also insisted that only fraudsters worry about the possibility of missing their Social Security checks, and that his 94-year-old mother-in-law would never call and complain if her check didnt show up. Bannon has also railed against Lutnick supporter Musk, primarily for pushing special H-1B visas for immigrants to do higher-paying tech work, while leaving jobs like screwing in screws to Americans. He has also called Musk a parasitic illegal immigrant. Lutnick could not immediately be reached for comment. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Lawyers for a wrongfully deported Maryland man will be allowed to depose Trump administration officials to determine whether they complied with a Supreme Court ruling to facilitate his return from a brutal El Salvador prison. Cancel vacations, cancel other appointments, Maryland District Judge Paula Xinis told lawyers for the government on Tuesday. The judge is setting an expedited schedule for depositions for Department of Homeland Security and State Department officials to testify under oath about their efforts to retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who the administration has repeatedly admitted in court was deported to a notorious jail in El Salvador due to an administrative error. Judge Xinis will determine whether the administration is acting in good faith after doing nothing and getting no real response about any efforts to secure his release despite a unanimous ruling from the nations high court. There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding, she said. Depositions are expected to be completed by April 28. That said, should Defendants fail or refuse to engage in the above-described discovery in good faith, Plaintiffs are free to seek separate sanctions on an expedited basis, Judge Xinis wrote in an order following Tuesdays hearing. Fast-moving and high-stakes testimony will test a case that has put Donald Trump on a crash course with the judiciary, escalating what legal scholars fear is putting the country on the brink of a constitutional crisis. Kilmar Abrego Garcias wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura told a crowd outside a federal courthouse in Maryland on April 15 that she is pleading with Trump to stop playing political games with her husbands life ( Reuters ) Outside the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, Abrego Garcias wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura told a crowd of protesters she will not stop fighting until she sees her husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong, she said. God hasnt forgotten about you. Our children are asking, When you will come home?And I pray for the day to tell them the time and date you will return. She said she is pleading with the Trump administration as well as Salvadoran presidentNayib Bukele to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar. Our family is torn apart during this scary time. Our children miss their dad so much, she said. Enough is enough. My family cant be robbed from another day without seeing Kilmar. This administration has already taken so much from my children, from Kilmars mother, brother, sisters, and me. Abrego Garcia who was under a judges years-long withholding order that prevents his removal from the country for humanitarian reasons was among immigrants deported to El Salvador on March 15, which the White House and government attorneys admitted was due to an administrative error. But the administration has refused to seek his return and instead justified his imprisonment as an alleged leader of MS-13 who is involved in human trafficking despite no evidence submitted to the court. On April 4, Xinis ordered his immediate return. Last week, following what has become a protracted legal battle over the return of Abrego Garcia, the Supreme Court ordered the administration to facilitate his release from custody in El Salvador, which the justices appeared to agree was illegal. Xinis then ordered the administration to provide daily updates on his condition and what steps, if any, officials were taking to facilitate his return. But officials have balked. In their replies to the court, hey argue that the administration cant forcibly extract an alien from the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation and pointed to remarks from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, who told reporters at the White House on April 14 that he has no plans to release him. Now, lawyers for Abrego Garcia will be able to depose at least four government officials who have already submitted sworn statements about Abrego Garcias status to get those answers. That includes ICE officials Robert L. Cerna and Evan C. Katz, State Department official Michael G. Kozak, and Homeland Securitys acting general counsel Joseph N. Mazzara, the Department of Homeland Securitys acting general counsel. Moments before Tuesdays hearing, Mazzara wrote to the court that Homeland Security is prepared to facilitate Abrego Garcias presence in the United States in accordance with those processes if he presents at a port of entry. DHS will then detain him and either remove him to a third country or terminate his withholding of removal and then send him back to El Salvador, he wrote. Judge Xinis said that the governments use of facilitate flies in the face of the plain meaning of the word. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The State Department is looking to close dozens of embassies and consulates overseas as part of its effort to dramatically reduce the United States diplomatic presence abroad, according to internal documents obtained by CNN. The information, part of the FY 2026 budget proposal, proposes sweeping changes that are apparently meant to reduce federal spending a goal of the Department of Government Efficiency and senior adviser Elon Musk. It recommends closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates many in Europe and Africa and consolidating them into embassies in nearby countries, Punchbowl reported. It also recommends consolidating outposts in countries such as Japan and Canada, and reducing U.S. diplomatic missions in countries such as Somalia and Iraq, CNN reported. open image in gallery The internal document reportedly recommends shuttering 10 embassies and 17 consulates across the globe ( AFP via Getty Images ) The proposed changes were made based on feedback from regional bureaus and the interagency, consular workload, cost per billet, condition of facilities and security ratings, the memos say, according to Punchbowl. Its unclear if Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed off on the proposed closures. A State Department spokesperson said in a statement to The Independent: No embassy or consulate closures have been announced, and operations continue as normal. The State Department continues to assess our global programs and posture to ensure we are best positioned to address modern challenges on behalf of the American people. The Independent has asked the White House for comment. Of the suggested consulates to close, the proposal names five in France, two in Germany, one in Edinburgh, Scotland and another in Florence, Italy. It also recommends downsizing consulates in Montreal and Halifax, Canada. Among embassies, it recommends shuttering those in Eritrea, Luxembourg, Malta and South Sudan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced he would revoke visas for the people of South Sudan. open image in gallery State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to specify if details about the department's proposed budget would include drastic cuts ( AFP via Getty Images ) Other suggestions include reducing the U.S. presence in Mogadishu, Somalia and closing the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center. The news arrives on the heels of other reports that suggest the Trump administration is preparing to ask Congress to slash the State Department budget and the U.S. Agency for International Development by nearly half, from $54.4 billion to $28.4 billion. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce warned on Tuesday that the kinds of numbers and what we tend to see is reporting that is early or wrong, based on leaked documents from somewhere unknown. Bruce said it would ultimately be up to the White House and President Donald Trump to decide what budget to submit to Congress. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Donald Trump has repeatedly endorsed the idea of sending U.S. citizens to prisons in El Salvador, following a proposal from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, who is jailing dozens of deported Venezuelan immigrants in a notorious prison. But the presidents desire is plainly illegal. There is no constitutional or statutory authority to exile citizens in foreign prisons, and banishing citizens from the country and incarcerating them abroad amounts to an unconstitutional assault on human rights, according to immigration law experts and constitutional scholars. Trump and administration officials have not offered up any specific plans, or clarified whether he is only referring to naturalized citizens who were not born in the United States. But Trumps suggestion that citizens can be imprisoned in foreign jails shows how absolutely critical it is for the courts to put an immediate stop to this extrajudicial imprisonment by foreign proxy, according to David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. U.S. citizens may not be deported to imprisonment abroad, he told NBC News. There is no authority for that in any U.S. law. Bukele has already agreed to jail dozens of immigrants summarily removed from the United States inside a notorious prison complex that human rights groups have labeled a tropical gulag following reports of abuse, torture and lack of medical attention for inmates in densely packed cells. Inmates there face the prospect of indefinite detention. The State Department arranged a $6 million deal with Bukele the self-described worlds coolest dictator to jail hundreds of immigrants removed from the United States inside the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, despite U.S. law barring financial support in the form of units of foreign security forces that face credible accusations of human rights abuses. Inside the Oval Office alongside Bukele on April 14, Trump said homegrowns should be next. open image in gallery Salvadoran prison guards walk alleged gang members in handcuffs through El Salvadors Terrorism Confinement Center after they were deported from the United States on April 12 ( via REUTERS ) The homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places, he said. Its not big enough. I just asked the president its this massive complex that he built, jail complex I said, 'Can you build some more of them please? As many as we can get out of our country, Trump told reporters. Pressed on whether that means incarcerating American citizens in El Salvador, Trump said Im all for it. Trump said he spoke with Attorney General Pam Bondi to determine how to legally deport and incarcerate American citizens out of the country. Id like to go a step further. I said to Pam I dont know what the laws are, we always have to obey the laws but we also have homegrown criminals that push people into subways, that hit elderly ladies on the back of the head with a baseball bat when theyre not looking, that are absolute monsters, Trump told reporters. Id like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country. But youll have to be looking at the laws. But the law is already clear, according to legal experts. It is pretty obviously illegal and unconstitutional, according to Ilya Somin, a professor at George Mason Universitys Antonin Scalia Law School. Its constitutionally very problematic, if not illegal, University of Virginia immigration law professor Amanda Frost told TIME. It's a baseline right of citizenship that you can remain in the country. Its also illegal to expatriate U.S. citizens for a crime, according to Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director of the justice program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. In fact, U.S. citizens can only be stripped of citizenship if they knowingly perform acts resulting in a voluntary relinquishment of citizenship such as a formal renunciation of nationality in the United States during a time of war or leaving or remaining outside the United States during a time of war or national emergency to avoid military service, according to Eisen. open image in gallery During a White House meeting with El Salvadors president Nayib Bukele on April 14, Trump said he is all for jailing American citizens in that countrys prisons ( AFP via Getty Images ) Trump administration officials have been publicly mulling whether to send Americans to El Salvadors prisons since at least February. There are obviously legalities involved. We have a Constitution, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. But its a very generous offer. No ones ever made an offer like that and to outsource, at a fraction of the cost, at least some of the most dangerous and violent criminals that we have in the United States But obviously, the administration will have to make a decision. Bukele is undoubtedly trolling, but to emphasize again: this is so incredibly illegal that there's not even a hint of a possible way to do it under any circumstances whatsoever, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council think tank, wrote at the time. It violates international law and the U.S. constitution. Period. End of story. Trump later said he would be fine and very happy with sending incarcerated Americans to El Salvadors jails, which Elon Musk also called a great idea. On April 6, Trump told reporters he loves the idea of jailing American wise guys in El Salvador. "I love that," Trump said. "If we could take some of our 20-time wiseguys that push people into subways and hit people over the back of the head and then purposely run people over in cars if he would take them, I would be honored to give them. Courts have affirmed constitutional protections ensuring Americans cannot be stripped of their citizenship for criminal convictions, meaning incarcerated citizens cannot be kicked out of the country, whether or not theyre imprisoned. I know of nothing that would give the president the authority to force U.S. citizens serving federal prison sentences to serve their time in a different country's prisons, law professor M. Isabel Medina with Loyola University New Orleans College of Law told The Independent earlier this year. There is also nothing in federal law that would give the Bureau of Prisons discretion to send citizens outside of the federal corrections system. Thus, anyone enmeshed in the federal criminal justice system certainly including the very very bad people Trump says he would like to send to prison in El Salvador must be housed (and cared for) by the Bureau of Prisons, according to Cornell Law School professor Michael C. Dorf. To be sure, the statute nowhere says that the federal Bureau of Prisons must operate all of its facilities in the United States, but crucially, it must operate, manage, and regulate all prisons or other facilities that house U.S. prisoners, Dorf writes. It might, in theory, be possible for the Bureau of Prisons to operate a prison on foreign soil, but if so, it would have to be a U.S. prison operating under U.S. standards. Shipping U.S. prisoners to a prison operated by a foreign sovereign as Trump proposes to do would be plainly unlawful. Even if Congress tried to rewrite federal law to hand citizens to a foreign government, constitutional safeguards would still apply, according to Dorf. Other than the lack of statutory authority, another complication would be application of the Eighth Amendment, procedural due process, First Amendment and other constitutional protections that federal prisoners are entitled to while serving their sentences, Medina told The Independent. Because the constitutional authority to create federal crimes lies with Congress, not the executive, and because U.S. citizens may not be deported, even if imprisoned, it would appear to be illegal for the president to do this particularly without any statutory authority, she said. Its also a scenario that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned about in a dissent to the courts divided ruling that partially blocked the Trump administration from summarily deporting alleged Venezuelan members of Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act without a court hearing. The implication of the Governments position is that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress, she wrote. History is no stranger to such lawless regimes, but this Nations system of laws is designed to prevent, not enable, their rise. This story was first published on February 2 and has been updated with developments The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The White Houses Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Departments budget by almost 50%, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, slashing the number of diplomatic staff, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters, officials said. The proposal, which was presented to the State Department last week and is still in a highly preliminary phase, is not expected to pass muster with either the departments leadership or Congress, which will ultimately be asked to vote on the entire federal budget in the coming months. Officials familiar with the proposal say it must still go through several rounds of review before it even gets to lawmakers, who in the past have amended and even rejected White House budget requests. Though the proposal is preliminary, it gives an indication of the Trump administration's priorities and coincides with massive job and funding cuts across the federal government, from Health and Human Services and the Education Department to the U.S. Agency for International Development. Notes from an internal meeting about the proposal have been circulated in online chat groups among foreign service officers since the weekend but exploded Monday when the State Department was due to present a separate unrelated reorganization plan to the OMB. One senior U.S. official familiar with the OMB proposal called it aggressive in terms of cost-cutting, but also stressed that it was an early outline that mirrored what OMB chief Russell Vought sought to do in President Donald Trumps first administration when he served in the same job. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations. So did two people familiar with the matter who confirmed the proposal, one of whom also said it originated from OMB. OMB spokesperson Alexandra McCandless said that no final funding decisions have been made. OMBs efforts to severely reduce the State Departments budget during Trumps first term were met with fierce resistance on Capitol Hill and largely failed. However, Trumps second administration has moved swiftly to scale back the federal government, slashing jobs and funding across agencies. It's already dismantled USAID and moved to defund so-called other soft power institutions of foreign policy importance like the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Radio Free Asia and Radio/TV Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba. Thus, State Department officials and others have expressed increasing concern about the possibility that the proposed drastic cuts could actually be implemented. According to the notes from the internal State Department meeting, the budget proposal calls for: Halving foreign assistance funding managed by State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which stood at $52 billion in 2024. Eliminating more than a quarter of foreign assistance through State and USAID overall, freeze pay through next year, and cut travel and benefits for U.S. foreign service staffers. Eliminating global health funding other than small amounts for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. Require global health partners to contribute a bigger share. Eliminating funding to the United Nations, a major logistical partner key to many humanitarian efforts around the world, and other major nongovernment organizations, including NATO. Eliminating the main office helping Afghan allies resettle in other countries to escape Taliban rule. Eliminating the governments independent watchdog office looking for waste and inefficiency in U.S. programs in Afghanistan. Cutting a number of refugee and immigration programs, and move them under a new bureau for international humanitarian affairs. ___ Amiri reported from the United Nations. AP writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed from Washington. 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 Australia is seeking clarification from Indonesia about a report claiming Russia is seeking access to a military base in the Southeast Asian country. The report by defence news website Janes says Russia is seeking to base military aircraft in the countrys Papua province. We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region, very clearly, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said. We have a position, which is: we stand with Ukraine, we regard Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who has broken international law, that is attacking the sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine. Janes claims Moscow is looking to base long-range aircraft at the Manuhua air force base, which shares a runway with the Frans Kaisiepo airport. The news outlet, citing Indonesian government sources, says that Russia made a request for access to the base to defence minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddins office following his meeting with secretary of the Russian security council Sergei Shoigu, in February. Indonesia has denied the report, however. Australian defence minister Richard Marles said that he spoke with Mr Sjamsoeddin who told him in the clearest possible terms that reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true. Peter Dutton, leader of the opposition Liberal party, described the report as concerning and declared that Russia was not welcome in our neighbourhood. We dont want a presence, a military presence, from Russia in our region which would be destabilising for Southeast Asia, he said, and it would certainly be a very different calculation for the risks that are posed to our country in a period that is very uncertain. The Manuhua military base lies about 1,200km north of the Australian city of Darwin, where a US Marines Corp rotational force is based for six months of the year. Australia is also upgrading its air bases to host visiting US bombers. Dr Rahman Yaacob of the Lowy Institute told ABC News that Indonesia had always maintained a position of non-alignment with major global powers. He told the outlet Russia had made a similar request before but was turned down. Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said Indonesia was critical for Australian security. The two nations signed a defence cooperation agreement last year. We, as a government, have reached out to confirm those reports and to understand whether or not those reports are accurate and what the status of those requests from Russia are, she said. Yohanes Sulaiman, a defence analyst at the Jenderal Achmad Yani University, said Jakarta was unlikely to allow Russia use of the military base. Even if Russia is proposing to use an Indonesian airbase, I doubt that the government will allow it, he told the Guardian. There will be a very significant blowback. The Indonesian military is very averse to having other countries build military bases in Indonesia. 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 man and a teenager have been charged over the death of a nine-year-old boy killed by an accidental gunshot in Australia. Emergency services were called to a property in Windellama at about 11.20am local time on Sunday, and the Hume police were told the minor had sustained injuries. Mohamed Fattah was on a weekend away with relatives near Goulburn in southern New South Wales when a 14-year-old boy allegedly picked up a gun from inside a vehicle and discharged it, hitting the minor. Fattah, 9, was treated by paramedics for serious neck injuries but he reportedly succumbed on the spot. The 14-year-old was arrested shortly after the incident along with a 33-year-old man and taken to the Goulburn police station. While the teenager was charged with possessing an unauthorised firearm, the man was charged with letting an unauthorised person possess a firearm and not keeping it safely. The boy, given conditional bail, was likely to appear before a children's court on 16 May, the New South Wales police said. Ron Wenban, who lives two doors down from the property where the incident occurred, said it was rare to hear one shot here. We were outside and I said to my partner, 'Was that a shot?' and she said, 'Yeah, he told the ABC. Shortly after, Mr Wenban said, he heard sirens and about an hour later an emergency helicopter flew overhead. "Once the chopper came over, I said to my partner, 'Someone's been hurt. To have a gunshot like that happen, that was a concern, neither of us wanted to go over there," he said. The victim's mother remembered Fattah as a "very cheeky son", the ABC reported. New South Wales premier Chris Minns offered his condolences to the minors family and reiterated the need for compliance with gun laws. It's a very troubling story and a life has been lost as a result. These are dangerous weapons, everyone must comply with the laws, they're in place for a reason to keep people safe. I'm sure this was a terrible, terrible accident, but a life's been lost as a result, he said. We need to make sure that under all circumstances, everybody in the state complies with the law when it comes to firearms, it's not designed to get in the way, it's designed to save lives." Goulburn Mulwaree Council mayor Nina Dillon said that the incident was a reminder for the community to take gun security seriously. 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 It was meant to be a luxury escape off the Sicilian coast but the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian ended in tragedy. An inquest has now opened into the deaths of tech billionaire Mike Lynch and three other British nationals who died when the vessel sank on 19 August last year. After a decade-long legal battle which had seen him extradited to the US to face an $11bn fraud case, Mr Lynch had celebrated being cleared of charges by inviting his close friends, colleagues and those who helped him on his legal team aboard his boat as a gesture of gratitude. open image in gallery Mike Lynch was celebrating his acquittal of fraud charges when the boat sank ( PA Archive ) Yet a week of sunshine along the Italian coastline would soon turn to horror after the boat capsized shortly before dawn, only offering those onboard a few minutes to get themselves to safety. Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the seven people who died after the Bayesian superyacht sank near Porticello. Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo also died. Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas who was working as a chef on the vessel, also died. The British-flagged vessel named Bayesian had 12 guests and 10 crew on board - 15 of whom were rescued, including Mr Lynchs wife. Here's what we know about the 22 people on board: Mike Lynch open image in gallery Mr Lynch said he experienced indescribable relief at being able to see his family in the UK again ( Supplied ) British technology tycoon Mike Lynch had been in the headlines long before the maritime tragedy following a high-profile fraud case. The 59-year-old is known for founding Invoke Capital and Autonomy. His death came just weeks after he was cleared of all charges by a US jury related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. Mr Lynch told a Sunday Times journalist following his acquittal that he was about to go on a very long holiday. In June, he spoke of his indescribable relief at being back at home in Suffolk with his wife, daughters and their six dogs. He told reporters: I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field. Angela Bacares open image in gallery Angela Bacares managed to escape to safety ( Desmond O'Neill ) Wife of Mike Lynch, 57-year-old Angela Bacares managed to escape to safety and was in a wheelchair with abrasions on her feet that prevented her from walking. She told doctors that at 4am, the boat had tilted and she and her husband were woken up. Under Angela Bacares name, the couples estimated wealth was 852m, the Sunday Times Rich List reported in 2023. They had a house in Chelsea, west London, but primarily lived on their farm in Suffolk with their six dogs and rare breeds of pigs and cows. Hannah Lynch open image in gallery Hannah Lynch was a bright English student ( Supplied ) Mr Lynch was travelling with his daughter Hannah. The 18-year-old had just completed her A-levels and secured a place to read English at Oxford University. Hannahs former English teacher Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said she was one of the best English students in the country having scored 100 per cent in her English Literature GCSE. Patrick Jacob, a family friend, paid tribute to her at the time, saying: Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable. Chris Morvillo open image in gallery Neda Morvillo and her husband Chris Morvillo, a lawyer for Mr Lynch, were aboard the superyacht ( Patrick McMullan via Getty Image ) Chris Morvillo was a lawyer who represented Mr Lynch in his US trial. He was a partner at the Clifford Chance law firm. In a LinkedIn post before the yacht sank, he thanked the legal team that helped win Mr Lynchs trial. At the end of the post, he thanked his family for their support: And, finally, a huge thank you to my patient and incredible wife, Neda Morvillo, and my two strong, brilliant, and beautiful daughters, Sabrina Morvillo and Sophia Morvillo. None of this would have been possible without your love and support. I am so glad to be home. And they all lived happily ever after. Neda Morvillo Chris Morvillos 57-year-old wife Neda was with him on the holiday. She owned a luxury jewellery brand, which she ran under her maiden name Neda Nassiri. Jonathan Bloomer open image in gallery Jonathan Bloomer was a defence witness for Mr Lynch in the case ( PA Media ) Jonathan Bloomer was the chairman of the investment bank Morgan Stanley International. He was also the chairman of the insurance provider Hiscox. Its group chief executive Aki Hussain said at the time they were deeply shocked and saddened by his death. Mr Bloomer was a defence witness for Mr Lynch during his US criminal trial and the pair were believed to be good friends. Judy Bloomer open image in gallery Judy Bloomer was described as a champion for womens health ( Family Handout/PA ) Jonathan Bloomers wife Judy was also on board the yacht and died following the sinking. Mrs Bloomer was on the board of The Eve Appeal charity, which focuses on gynaecological cancers. The charity described her at the time as a brilliant champion for womens health and medical research... an incredible supporter, committee member, and trustee of our charity for over 20 years. Recaldo Thomas open image in gallery Recaldo Thomas was a special human being, a friend said ( Facebook ) Recaldo Thomas was the superyachts chef and the first person whose death was confirmed. The Canadian-Antiguan national was found by the Italian coastguard near the sunken boat. A friend of Mr Thomas, who asked to remain anonymous, said the yachting community has been saddened by his death. She told The Independent at the time: He was a one-of-a-kind special human being. Incredibly talented, contagious smile and laugh, an incredible voice with a deep love of the ocean and the moon. I spoke to him nearly every day. He loved his life his friends and his job. Ayla Ronald open image in gallery Ayla Ronald survived the tragedy ( Clifford Chance ) Ayla Ronald and her partner are two of the 15 who survived the yacht disaster. The 36-year-old defended Mr Lynch in court and was on the trip as part of the celebration for his acquittal. She is originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, but lives in London, her father Lin Ronald said at the time. Mr Ronald said that she was invited to go sailing as a result of the success in the recent United States court case. Ms Ronalds partner Matthew also survived the boat disaster. There is little more known about his background. Charlotte Golunski open image in gallery Charlotte Golunsky survived, along with her infant daughter ( REUTERS ) Charlotte Golunskis testimony of the ordeal on the ship was some of the first to be published after she was rescued along with her one-year-old daughter, Sofia. She spoke to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, confirming she survived the yacht sinking and told how she kept her daughter alive after she was rescued. I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning. It was all dark. In the water I couldnt keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others. The 35-year-old is a partner at Invoke Capital, one of Mr Lynchs law firms, and has worked there since 2012, according to her LinkedIn profile. James Emsley Ms Golunksis partner James Emsley was also rescued from the yacht. There is little information on him, but the 36-year-old is the father of her one-year-old daughter. Sofia One-year-old Sofia was rescued from the water by her mother and treated in hospital. Ms Golunski told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that her family survived only because they were on deck when the yacht sank after encountering a heavy storm. Dr Domenico Cipolla told local media at the time that the family have had a physical and psychological upheaval of their lives. He said the hospital provided toys for the baby, cuddles, and fed them because they were frightened and hungry. James Catfield The captain of the superyacht James Catfield survived the horror and broke his silence a day after the sinking with just five words. He said: We didnt see it coming and was described as limp as he waited outside an emergency room in the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese, according to local media. Leo Eppel Leo Eppel, a crew member, also survived the yacht sinking. 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 Multiple prisons in France have been attacked, the countrys justice minister has said with reports of gunfire and arson. Frances anti-terrorism prosecutors department is investigating the attacks alongside the national security agency, while local media reports claim the attacks were co-ordinated. Vehicles were set alight in prison car parks, according to Le Parisien, while a prison in the southern city of Toulon was fired at with an automatic weapon. Attempts have been made to intimidate staff in several prisons, ranging from burning vehicles to firing automatic weapons, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed on social media platform X. open image in gallery Toulon prison was targeted by gunmen ( FO Justice Union ) The wave of attacks comes as lawmakers are poised to approve a sweeping new anti-drug trafficking law that would increase the powers of police investigating narcos and create a new prosecutors office for organised crime. Record cocaine imports from South America to Europe have increased drug violence in France, where cocaine seizures are at an all-time high. Drug groups have expanded from traditional power bases like Marseille into smaller regional towns. These targeted, cowardly, and heinous attacks aim to terrorise those who embody the authority of the State and ensure the safety of all on a daily basis, even at the cost of their own peace of mind, prison staff union UFAP said. open image in gallery The door to Toulon prison was reportedly hit seven times with gunfire ( FO Justice Union ) Prisons were also hit in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, Valence and Nimes, Luynes, Villepinte, and Nanterre, according to local reports. Prison unions have said burnt vehicles have been found outside prisons for several days, BFMTV reported. Student cars were also set alight outside the National School of Prison Administration on Sunday evening, FO Justice union said. Mr Darmanin said that he would travel to the southern city of Toulon to support officers impacted by the attacks. He has been leading efforts to crackdown on prison security and people operating from behind bars. Heres what we know so far: Toulon According to newspaper Le Parisien, the entrance to Toulon prison was targeted by gunmen in a car at around 1am. The gunmen fled the scene. Gendarmes found the door had been hit seven times and several boxes of ammunition were left on the ground, Le Parisien reported. No one is believed to have been injured. open image in gallery "DDPF" tagged on a wall of the Aix-Luynes Penitentiary Centre ( REUTERS ) Marseille Several vehicles were set on fire in a street in the 13th district of the southern French city, according to BFMTV, with DDPF found spray painted near. DDPF stands for Droit des Prisonniers Francais - the rights of French prisoners. Le Parisien reported that a residence known for housing prison guards in the north of the city was targeted. The newspaper said two cars were burnt and nine were spray-painted with DDPF. It is not yet clear whether these reports relate to the same cars as those reported by broadcaster BFMTV. Nanterre Two people were seen setting fire to a car belonging to prison staff on Monday evening, local reports said. The car was parked in the prison car park and a petrol can was found nearby. Nanterre is a suburb of Paris in the north of the country. Union staff later confirmed staff vehicles were set on fire outside jails in Nanterre, Villepinte, Aix-Luynes, and Valence. open image in gallery Cars were burned in the car park of Frances National School of Prison Administration (ENPA) overnight on 13 April ( FO Justice Union ) Villepinte Later at around 10.30pm, two men were seen setting fire to three vehicles parked in the prison car park in Villepinte, another Parisian suburb. Two of the cars belonged to prison staff, and a can of petrol was also found at the scene. Union staff later confirmed staff vehicles were set on fire outside jails in Villepinte, Nanterre, Aix-Luynes, and Valence. Valence Someone on a scooter set fire to vehicles outside the prison in Valence in southeast France, according to BFMTV. Meanwhile Le Parisien reported that it was two cars belonging to prison staff which were set on fire in the car park. open image in gallery Seven students cars were burned on the ENPA site ( FO Justice Union ) Union staff later confirmed staff vehicles were set on fire outside jails in Valence, Villepinte, Nanterre, and Aix-Luynes. Nimes Vehicles were damaged in the southern city of Nimes. Local media reported that DDPF was also spraypainted on the vehicles in Nimes. Luynes As in Nimes, Le Parisien reported the discovery of damaged vehicles sprayed with DDPF in Luynes village in southern France. BFMTV also said cars had been set alight in a prison carpark. The village is known for its prison and international schools. Union staff later confirmed staff vehicles were set on fire outside jails in Aix-Luynes, Valence, Villepinte, and Nanterre. 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 An inquest has begun into the deaths of tech tycoon Mike Lynch and three other British nationals after the superyacht Bayesian sank in Sicily last year. The 59-year-old is known for founding technology investment firm Invoke Capital and Autonomy Corporation and was in the headlines after he was cleared of charges in a high-profile US fraud case in June 2024. Mr Lynch was on the Bayesian superyacht, which sank in bad weather on 19 August 2024 near the Sicilian capital Palermo. There were 12 guests and 10 crew on board - of whom 15 were rescued, including Mr Lynchs wife. Their daughter, Hannah, 18, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife Judy Bloomer, 71, all died following the sinking. open image in gallery Mick Lynch and his daughter Hannah were among the seven people who died after the luxury yacht Bayesian sank in a storm ( PA Media ) The others who died, in addition to the four British nationals, were US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, and Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the vessel. Once dubbed the British Bill Gates, his death came just weeks after he was cleared of all charges by a US jury related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal. Mr Lynch founded Autonomy in 1996 using technology he developed as a Cambridge student. HP claimed, just a year after the sale, that Mr Lynch had used accounting tricks to artificially inflate its value before the sale. He was then extradited to the US last May for a trial that acquitted him on all 15 counts over the 11-billion dollar (8.64 billion) purchase of his company. open image in gallery The Bayesian superyacht ( EPA ) Mr Lynch said on BBCs Radio 4 that being acquitted was indescribable and believed he could only clear his name because of his huge wealth. He said most people, even if they sold all their assets, would run out of funds in a matter of months, to cover the legal fees, a situation that he said has to change. Born near Chelmsford, Essex, to a mother who worked as a nurse and father who worked as a fireman, Mr Lynch said his father regretted not having the chance to attend university. He told LeadersIn: "He realised the importance of education so that was something that was very much fostered in my home. When he was 11 years old, he won a scholarship to study at Bancroft's School in Woodford Green and then studied natural sciences at the University of Cambridge. He set up his first company in the 1980s, with a 2,000 loan from the manager of a band, producing audio products for the recording industry. Mr Lynch has a string of accolades including being awarded an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006. That same year, he was appointed to the BBCs board. He was also elected to former prime minister David Camerons council for science and technology in 2011. 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 German man has been fined 4,500 and given a two-and-a-half-year driving ban for breaching Chancellor Olaf Scholz's security detail and embracing him at Frankfurt Airport. The incident, which triggered a security review, occurred in 2023 as Scholz prepared to board a plane following a celebration of the European Central Bank's 25th anniversary. The 50-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was fined for endangering road traffic and trespassing, according to German news agency dpa. He slipped into the Chancellor's VIP convoy before embracing him. Despite the security breach, Scholz's spokesperson, Wolfgang Buechner, confirmed that the Chancellor felt unthreatened throughout the incident. The defendant was under the influence of drugs and was found only partially responsible for the crime, dpa reported. The man apologised in the courtroom. At the time of the incident, a spokesperson for the Federal Criminal Police Office, who is in charge of protecting the chancellor, said: No one was hurt. The person was arrested without resistance by the Federal Police at Frankfurt Airport. The man slipped into the Chancellor's VIP convoy before embracing him ( AP ) Scholz has served as Chancellor of Germany since 2021 and has overseen Germany's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tweaked government spending, increased the country's defence budget, and contributed German military and medical aid to Israel. His days as chancellor are nearing an end after Scholz lost a vote of confidence on December 16, 2024, and in the following snap election on February 23, 2025, his SPD lost to Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union. The German parliament plans to meet on May 6 to elect Friedrich Merz as the countrys next leader, if all the parties in his proposed government approve a coalition agreement reached last week. Merz has vowed to prioritise European unity and the continent's security as it grapples with the new Trump administration and Russia's war on Ukraine. 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 Slovakias populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has reacted angrily to what he called disrespectful remarks by the EU foreign policy chief who warned European leaders against traveling to Moscow for military celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Known for his pro-Russian views, Fico has repeatedly vowed to attend the military parade in the Russian capital on 9 May. Kaja Kallas told reporters in Luxembourg on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers that what was also discussed and very clearly said by different member states is that any participation in the 9th of May parades, or celebrations, in Moscow will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe. Ms Kallas added: We made it very clear that we do not want any candidate country to participate in these events on the 9th of May in Moscow and called on the member states to send their representatives to the capital of Kyiv instead to show solidarity with Ukraine. However, Mr Fico said in a statement: I will go to Moscow on 9 May. Mrs Kallas, I would like to inform you that I am a legitimate premier of Slovakia, a sovereign country. Nobody can order me where to go or not to go. Mr Fico said he will travel to Moscow to honour the Red Army soldiers who liberated his country and other victims of the Nazis. The Kremlin has used the annual Victory Day celebrations to tout its battlefield prowess, and Vladimir Putin hailed Russian troops fighting in Ukraine as heroes at last years event. Mr Ficos views on Russias war on Ukraine differ sharply from most other European leaders. The Slovakian prime minister returned to power last year after his leftist party Smer (Direction) won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform. Since then, he has ended his countrys military aid for Ukraine, lashed out at EU sanctions on Russia, and vowed to block Ukraine from joining Nato. Unlike many Western politicians, Mr Fico has not visited Kyiv since the start of the Russias full-scale invasion more than three years ago. His government has faced vocal protests against its pro-Russian stance and other policies. 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 Russian soldier has been jailed for 15 years after he deserted the military and voluntarily surrendered to Ukraine. In what is a Russian military courts first such prosecution, the crime of voluntary surrender, which is punishable by between three and 10 years in prison, was first introduced in September 2022. According to the Kommersant newspaper, a court on the far eastern Russian island of Sakhalin found soldier Roman Ivanishin guilty of voluntary surrender, of attempting to voluntarily surrender, and of desertion. Ivanishin, who was reported to have denied all the charges, will serve his sentence in a maximum security facility. Local media reported that his trial was held behind closed doors. The newspaper reported that Ivanishin, a miner on Sakhalin in civilian life whom local media described as a veteran of Russia's wars in Chechnya, was mobilised in 2022 and fought in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Russian Defence Ministry headquarters seen on the bank of the Moskva river in Moscow ( AFP/Getty ) He was captured by Ukrainian soldiers in June 2023 and, in a video published on the internet, was shown denouncing Russia's military campaign in Ukraine and calling on other soldiers to desert. It was not clear from the report in Kommersant whether he had been speaking under duress in the video. His defence team was reported to have sought his acquittal, saying there was no evidence he had committed any crime. Ivanishin was returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange in January 2024 and was placed under investigation, Kommersant said. The sentencing comes after Ukrainian forces captured two Chinese nationals who were fighting for the Russian army in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said intelligence suggested the number of Chinese soldiers in Russia's army was "much higher than two". At a recent press confernece, he has accused Moscow of dragging Beijing into its invasion and remarked that several hundred Chinese nationals were fighting at the frontline. The Kremlin has denied the claims made by President Zelensky, while Beijing has warned parties to the conflict against making irresponsible remarks. For a showman given to overarching high-wire performances in every theatre at home and abroad, Donald Trumps recent criticisms of Russia have been distinctly mumbled showing he doesnt have the courage of his lack of conviction. In his latest utterance, he appeared to be speaking on behalf of the Kremlin for the killing of 34 people, including two children, in a double missile strike on Sumy city, on Ukraines northern border with Russia. I was told they made a mistake, he said. One can only guess whether he made this claim after talking with Vladimir Putins officials. It seems more likely that he came up with the line to avoid further global condemnation of Russia for another war crime. But I think its a horrible thing," the US president added, after the Palm Sunday attacks using Iskander missiles fired from Russia into the centre of the provincial capital. open image in gallery Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One, during Sundays flight from Palm Beach to Joint Base Andrews ( AFP/Getty ) His response to the killing and bombing since the US/Ukraine-agreed ceasefire was proposed a month ago has been, safe to say, mixed. He was silent over the death of 20 people in Kryvyi Rih a week ago. He did hint at mild frustration last Saturday when he told reporters that talks brokered by the US with Russia and Ukraine were getting to the point where the two sides would have to put up or shut up. The day before he said that they should get moving. And some weeks ago, Trump went as far as to suggest that he might even impose extra sanctions on nations still importing Russian oil and other commodities if Russia continued to ignore his attempts to get a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, one should not be misled by this performative frustration. Since then, Russias envoy Kirill Dmitriev has been feted in Washington just as Trump unleashed his disastrous wave of tariffs on the rest of the world. Dmitriev, the Kremlins envoy and chief of Moscows government investments, then met Steve Witkoff last Friday in St Petersburg, where Putin was once mayor. After the Sumy atrocities, Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he hoped that Trump would be able to see that Putin was mocking their goodwill. Sikorski was trying to goad Trump into taking a moral stand against Russia after the US president took Moscows side in negotiations and the Kremlins bogus interpretations of the Ukraine war. open image in gallery Rescuers fight fire after Sundays deadly attack in Sumy ( Volodymyr Zelensky/Twitter ) Ukraine unconditionally agreed to a ceasefire over a month ago. The heinous attacks on Kryvyi Rih and Sumy is Russias mocking answer, Sikorski said on arrival at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. I hope that President Trump and the US administration see that the leader of Russia is mocking their goodwill and I hope the right decisions are taken. He may be hoping in vain. Just as Volodymyr Zelenskys pleas for a visit by Trump to see the horrors of Russias invasion for himself will be in vain. Ukraine has agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in attacks on energy infrastructure and in the Black Sea but Russia has so far refused to observe it. On Monday, Russia said its energy infrastructure had been attacked eight times overnight and that it had shot down 52 Ukrainian drones. Ukraine said Russia had fired at least 62 drones into its territory the day after the Sumy missiles. European foreign ministers gathering in Luxembourg are clearer than ever that they need to get their countries to step into the gap that Americas president is leaving open for Russia in Ukraine. There is also a widening understanding that while Ukraine is suffering deeply, it is not losing and that it could actually win a war against Russia if it can hold on for a year or so. There is a forlorn hope that, as Putin ignores Trumps ceasefire efforts and appears to humiliate his envoy to Russia, the US president may lose patience and turn his wrath on the Kremlin. But this ignores the pattern of his behaviour which has been to back Russia against Ukraine no matter what. Trump has agreed with Putins claim that Russia invaded Ukraine because of Kyivs intent to join Nato. This is nonsense. Russia invaded Ukraine before it tried to join Nato and Putin himself wrote of his intention to recolonise the country in a return to a Soviet-era unity. Trump has backed Russias claims to hold onto, at the very least, the territory it has already captured, ruled out US troops supporting even a peace deal in the future, turned the intelligence-sharing spigot off and on again with Ukraine, and used military aid as a lever to force Ukraine into ceasefire talks. The ceasefire talks have been driven by Trump and most favour Russia not Ukraine. He has shown no interest in Ukraines democratic future but has displayed a Putinesque passion for the nations mineral resources which he hopes to harness for profit and back-pay for Americas past support for Kyiv. Trump has also served Russias interests by destabilising his own countrys constitutional structures, eviscerating its military and intelligence services, scuppering its relations with its closest allies, and tearing up 80 years of post-war security doctrine oh, and threatening to invade Panama and Greenland. Trump wants to see a Ukrainian ceasefire because Russia needs it to rebuild its forces, rearm, and return to the fight. Small wonder he cant bring himself to even murmur a condemnation for the murder of children. Donald Trump has already cast himself as a great man of history. His influence is felt not only now, but will likely endure for decades. Yet, as he stands astride Europe, upending nearly a century of alliances, he finds himself eclipsed by a man of smaller physical stature. And its getting to him. Yesterday, Americas big man once again lashed out at the diminutive Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Warning that Zelensky would lose his country if he refused to accept a peace deal, Trump accused him of prolonging the killing field after Zelensky declined to cede Crimea to Vladimir Putin as part of a potential settlement. Claiming the territory had been lost for good in 2014 and was not up for discussion, Trump reserved his harshest criticism not for the aggressor who invaded a neighbouring sovereign state, but for the leader defending it. And if it all feels personal, thats because it is. The narcissism of Americas 47th president has long been one of Vladimir Putins greatest assets. As a former head of the Federal Security Service successor to the KGB and expert in personality profiling and manipulation Putin understands that the fragile ego behind the resolute desk is a potent weapon for the Kremlin. In his latest attack on the widely respected Zelensky, Trump echoed Russias claims to Crimea once the headquarters of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, ceded to Ukraine in 1954. Trump likes to imagine himself in the 19th-century mould of the great man a history-maker. It explains his fascination with North Koreas Kim Jong-un during his first administration, and his repeated and blatant oiling up to Putin today. But while Trump revels in membership of the great man club, he resents true heroes. To him, even American soldiers who gave their lives in service are losers. Zelensky, by contrast, has captured the global imagination as a symbol of underdog courage against the Russian bear and Trump detests him for it. The standing ovations and roars of praise that follow the Ukrainian leader, even on Capitol Hill, must make Trumps ears bleed. And Trump has form when it comes to Zelensky and his infuriating insistence on principle. The Ukrainian president, elected by a landslide, was first painted as a traitor to Trumps cause when he refused to assist in digging up dirt on Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden then the likely Democratic candidate. Trump viewed Zelensky as an ungrateful recipient of American aid for failing to launch an investigation into Hunter Bidens business dealings in Ukraine in July 2019. Trump was later impeached by Congress over allegations he had threatened to withhold nearly $400m in US military aid unless Zelensky helped his re-election campaign. Although acquitted by the Senate, the damage was done and the grudge was born. Since then, we have witnessed its ugly expression time and again. open image in gallery Trump likes to imagine himself in the 19th-century mould of the great man a history-maker ( AP ) It is hard to imagine another world leader subjected to the kind of personal and vicious public attack Zelensky endured in the White House. So the question remains: has this personal animosity pushed America to the brink of choosing tyranny over democracy? Trumps ties to Moscow stretch back to 1987, when he first visited the Soviet capital to explore investment opportunities. Although he never completed any deals in Russia, his enterprises have reportedly received backing from Russian financiers. Putin was in east Germany in 1987, but it is certain that Trump was of considerable interest to his colleagues in the Soviet regime that first invited him to Moscow. The KGB/FSB are among the most skilled at secret surveillance in the world. Given his long history of friendship with Russia and his personal hatred of Zelensky, Trumps claim that I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever, rings hollow. Zelensky was elected by 73 per cent of the Ukrainian electorate a figure that clearly irritates Trump, who has never reached that level of support and whose popularity continues to slide Trump supports Russian G7/8 membership. He refused to put tariffs on Moscow this month. He has adopted every one of Russias initial negotiating principles as his own when it comes to Ukraine, and said he thought that the country may be Russian one day. He wants to get back into doing business with Russia, too. Trump has insisted he is putting pressure on Russias Vladimir Putin, hours after lambasting him for pounding Kyiv overnight, writing on social media: I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE! But his latest so-called peace plan offers carrots to the Kremlin and a stick to Kyiv: Ukraine must cede 20 per cent of its territory (including Crimea), abandon Nato ambitions, and give the US half its natural resources all in exchange for a peace with no guarantees against future Russian invasions. Someone ought to explain to him the difference between a peace deal and a surrender. Trump has labelled Zelensky a dictator, without elections, and claimed he had just 4 per cent approval. In fact, Zelensky was elected by 73 per cent of the Ukrainian electorate a figure that clearly irritates Trump, who has never reached that level of support and whose popularity continues to slide. Zelenskys current approval rating stands at around 57 per cent that must hurt. open image in gallery Trump and Putin at a press conference in Helsinki in 2018 ( Getty ) Ukraine, a Western democracy seeking EU membership, is a sovereign nation. Putin has openly declared ambitions to reclaim it for a new post-Soviet empire, and has also set his sights on the Baltic states, Moldova, and Romania. Support for Ukraine is a necessary condition of Europes defence. Americas network of allies in Nato and beyond has been the weft of Washingtons tapestry of alliances that has made it a global superpower. To Trump, though, its getting in the way of turning the world into spheres of influence in which the US, Russia, and China carve up the planet. That just so happens to be Putins vision, too. Thats big man thinking. And a little guy in khaki? Hes just in the way. 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 bustle of daily life in Ukraines Sumy makes it hard to believe that its people have faced a constant threat of death since Russia invaded their country three years ago. Just days ago, Putins forces targeted the city centre in back-to-back missile strikes, killing 35 people and injuring over 100. It marked the deadliest attack on Ukrainian civilians this year. Neighbours chatted in their apartment blocks, watching children play games in the courtyards. Pausing to look up, they would see the buzzing of attack drones and the familiar sounds of Ukrainian air defences before going back to their strange routine which is quickly becoming usual. open image in gallery Smoke rises from an explosion following a Russian drone strike on Sumy, Ukraine, 14 April 2025 ( AP ) Sumy is only 18 miles from the border of Russias Kursk region, where Ukrainian soldiers continue to hold on to the strip of territory they took in a surprise offensive last summer. Residents of the city say there has been an increase in attacks in recent weeks, but none as devastating as Sundays airstrike which targeted a busy intersection. It came just over over a week after a separate missile strike killed 20 people on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. Russia says its forces were targeting a meeting of soldiers in the attack which killed nine children, but evidence has not been provided to support the claim. The attacks on their cities has left many Ukrainians wondering where the next will occur and cast a shadow over the ongoing ceasefire talks being brokered by the United States. The talks have produced only muted results, as Russia insists on conditions Ukraine deems impossible and Kyiv believes Moscow's forces are gearing up for a fresh offensive. The attack ended some lives and shattered others To the people of Sumy, the talks seem far-removed from their daily struggles. As some of the victims of Sunday's attack were laid to rest on Tuesday, Viktor Voitenko, 56, described how he ended up paralyzed in a hospital bed. He was working as a security guard when the second missile hit and shattered his spine. As he spoke, his wife Hanna, 40, lovingly applied his deodorant a simple act he could no longer perform. open image in gallery The mother of Olena Kohut, who was killed in the deadly Russian attack on Sumy, during a farewell ceremony, 15 April 2025 ( AP ) Mention of the ceasefire negotiations conjured a weary smile from her. Its empty talks. They dont move anywhere. It seems to be public relations to me, Hanna Voitenko said. Nothing happens to bring comfort to regular people. Her husband offered his own take: They are stalling for time. Work, errands and planned family visits brought the victims of Sundays attack to the intersection of Petropavlivska Street and the state university on Sunday morning. Asia Pohorila, 20, was working at a cafe and thinking about whether to buy pastries after her shift when the first missile strike left her in shock and bleeding profusely from her legs. On Tuesday, the times 10:20 and "10:23" were still scrawled in marker on her thighs, noting when medics applied tourniquets to them. A teen springs into action Maryna Illiashenko and her 13-year old son, Kyrylo, heard the sound of that first blast ricochet across the center city as they waited for a bus. They were headed to visit his grandmother, but the teenager was more excited about wrestling practice later that afternoon. Undeterred, they boarded the bus when it arrived a few minutes later. One stop later, the second missile crashed a few feet from from the vehicle, scorching nearby cars, burning passengers alive, killing the bus driver and causing shrapnel to rain down. Three fragments tore through Kyrylos scalp and scratched Marynas face. Enveloped in smoke and debris, the teen leaped out of the shattered bus window and pried open the locked door from outside, saving half a dozen trapped passengers, witnesses said. open image in gallery A woman cries during farewell ceremony of Olena Kohut, who was killed in the deadly Russian attack on Sumy, Ukraine, 15 April 2025 ( AP ) I dont want to think about this as a new type of reality for Sumy city. We can clearly see that our frontline cities are being erased, Oleh Strilka, a spokesperson for the city's State Emergency Service, said while standing outside the collapsed facade of the university building, where the second missile struck. The most painful thing for me is our children. Why do they need to suffer? he asked. I dont want our 13-year-old kids becoming heroes. Liudmyla Shelukhina, 70, was waiting in a neighbors house for a haircut. She was standing in line in the kitchen when the windows suddenly shattered. She said the fridge she was next to saved her life. I would have been decapitated." Dont be so dramatic, joked her husband, Viktor, a former soldier. Their son was hospitalized in the attack. No relief for first responders Rescue workers like Dmytro Shevchenko, 31, have to be prepared to head to the scene of the next attack at all times. He was among the first to arrive at the university grounds on Sunday. Most people he found were too badly injured to help, he said, wiping away tears. He holds on to little hope that ceasefire talks will bear fruit. I just dont believe in it, he said. The childrens hospital where Kyrylo Illiashenko is recovering bears the scars of repeated drone attacks. More than 100 windows were shattered only two weeks ago when a massive drone attack struck nearby, said Chief Dr. Ihor Zmislya. As workers cleared rubble from the sites of the missile strikes Tuesday and Kyrylo expounded on his favorite computer games, an explosion sounded in the distance. From the teen's hospital window, plumes of smoke could be seen rising from a nearby railway line. This is our reality, said Zmislya. It happens all the time. Ports get smarter with automation push Xinhua) 11:01, April 15, 2025 GUANGZHOU, April 14 (Xinhua) -- At a terminal in the port of Guangzhou in Guangdong, south China, the future has arrived: AI-powered cranes automatically unload cargo ships while driverless vehicles navigate docks with clockwork precision. This is China's automated port revolution in action. The Nansha Phase IV terminal in Guangzhou, completed in November 2024, is among the country's 52 fully automated ports as of late 2024, according to the Ministry of Transport. The 52 ports span China's coast line, from Bohai Bay to the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, forming a network leading in scale, efficiency and technology worldwide. "Previously, crane operators worked in 40-meter high cabins, straining to see containers below," said Yang Xuan, a veteran operator at Guangzhou Port. "Now we operate in the intelligent control room hundreds of meters away from the ship, with much higher efficiency and safety." The terminal integrates cutting-edge technologies including BeiDou navigation, 5G communications, automated driving and AI. Its intelligent guided vehicles automatically calculate optimal routes, while smart algorithms coordinate all loading equipment. The advancement is rewriting the rules of productivity. In east China's Shandong Province, the automated terminal of Qingdao port set its 11th world record for loading speed in December last year, with each crane handling 60.6 containers per hour on average, more than double that of traditional docks (around 25 to 28 containers per hour). Collaboration between automated ports has greatly improved the efficiency of shipping. The "FAST" shopping route between Shanghai and Guangzhou has slashed logistics costs by 65 percent compared to road transport. Behind the scenes, China's port automation surge relies on domestically developed systems. According to a report on 2024 global automated container terminals, Chinese terminal operating systems have matured since 1997, when the first domestic version was introduced. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port's n-TOS system optimizes operations through intelligent bay planning and automatic stowage, while Shanghai Port's iTOS system streamlines vessel operations. These innovations have enabled major ports to complete comprehensive automation upgrades. Ports across China are also increasingly integrating AI solutions. In March this year, Sinotrans South China Co., Ltd. launched an AI assistant powered by DeepSeek's language models, allowing clients to run queries on their shipment status in plain language. "Whether inquiring about berth plans, container movements or loading progress, customers get instant, accurate responses through simple commands," said Ye Zengjian, a support engineer at the company. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) 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 Sandstorms in central and southern Iraq have led to the hospitalisation of more than 1,800 people due to respiratory issues, health officials said. Mazen al-Egeili, a local official in the Muthanna province in the south of the country told AFPnews agency that at least 700 people were hospitalised due to suffocation on Monday. Iraqs environment ministry had earlier warned that the country might see more such dust days. In the Najaf province, authorities told the outlet that over 250 people were taken to the hospital over breathing difficulties and at least 322 people were taken to local hospitals in Diwaniyah province. Reports suggest there were several children among the afflicted. In the Dhi Qar and Basra provinces, health authorities reported at least 530 people were hospitalised. Airports in the southern provinces of Najaf and Basra were temporarily shut as visibility was severely impaired due to the sandstorm deemed to be the biggest this year. open image in gallery TOPSHOT - A pedestrian struggles to breathe as he walks along the side of a road through low visibility conditions due to a massive dust storm in Iraqs central city of Najaf on 14 April 2025 ( AFP/Getty ) Visibility was low as dust covered the streets and landmarks and drivers reportedly kept car headlights on to see the road. open image in gallery A paramedic in an ambulance helps a person use a respirator as a massive dust storm hits Iraq's central city of Najaf on 14 April 2025 ( AFP/Getty ) Sandstorms in Iraq are common but experts say that climate crisis is making them more severe and frequent. United Nations says that Iraq is one of the five countries most impacted by some effects of climate change. According to experts, sandstorms are also exacerbated by low rainfall and desertification. According to the Iraqi ministry of environment, desertification has ravaged 71 per cent of the countrys arable land. It says that an additional 10,000 hectares are becoming barren each year. open image in gallery An Iraqi worker wipes his face with water from a modern irrigation sprinkler system in a wheat field in the desert of Najaf as a heavy sandstorm hit the area in central Iraq on 10 April 2025 ( AFP/Getty ) Footage shared on social media and local media outlets showed people wearing face masks to protect themselves against the dust. Paramedics were reportedly stationed in public places in the affected provinces to assist people facing difficulties in breathing. The sandstorm also led to power outages in the affected provinces. open image in gallery A wheelchair-bound person is assisted by others to cross to a traffic island in the middle of a road in low visibility conditions amidst a massive dust storm in Iraq's southern city of Basra on 14 April 2025 ( AFP/Getty ) According to local weather services, conditions are expected to get better by Tuesday. In 2022, one person died due to a severe sandstorm in Iraq and at least 5000 were hospitalised. open image in gallery A man sits along the bank of the Shatt al-Arab waterway amid a massive dust storm in Iraq's southern city of Basra on 14 April 2025. Around 1,500 people were sent to hospitals with respiratory problems on 14 April as a storm hit central and southern Iraq, health officials said ( AFP/Getty ) At the time, Azzam Alwash, head of the Nature Iraq non-profit organisation, told APthat climate change alone doesnt give the whole picture and that inappropriate farming practices and mismanagement of water resources have contributed to the problems. Sandstorm disrupts daily life in Iraq's Najaf Climate change has become a very convenient excuse for officials to avoid responsibility for not taking action over the last 20 to 40 years, he said. Desertification and rising water salinity are also factors, Mr Alwash said at the time. These are policy issues. The World Bank has warned that Iraq could suffer a 20 per cent drop in water resources by 2050. 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 More than 50 years after the Vietnam War gripped the world's attention, the battlefields where countless lives were lost have become poignant pilgrimage sites for veterans and tourists alike. Locations like Hamburger Hill, Hue, the Ia Drang Valley, and Khe Sanh, once synonymous with conflict and etched in the annals of history, now draw visitors seeking to understand the war's impact firsthand. For US Army veteran Paul Hazelton, returning to Vietnam just shy of his 80th birthday was a journey through time. Revisiting places he served as a young draftee, including Hue, the former Phu Bai Combat Base, and Da Nang, evoked a stark contrast between the war-torn landscapes he remembered and the vibrant nation Vietnam has become. "It was a war zone when I was here before," Mr Hazelton reflected, walking with his wife through the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. The city, once a hub of military activity, now pulses with commerce and industry. "Everywhere you went it was occupied territory with our military, now you just see the hustle and bustle and the industry, and its remarkable," he said. open image in gallery A tourist looks at a US Air Force fighter jet used during the Vietnam War, on display at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City ( AP ) Mr Hazelton's sentiment echoes a broader shift in the relationship between the United States and Vietnam. Decades after the war's end, the two nations have forged a new path based on trade and cooperation. "Im just glad that were now trading and friendly with Vietnam," Mr Hazelton commented, adding, "And I think both sides are benefiting from it." Vietnams war with the United States lasted for nearly 20 years, from November 1955 to April 1975, and resulted in the deaths of more than 58,000 Americans and many times that number of Vietnamese. For Vietnam, it started almost immediately after the nearly decade-long fight to expel the colonial French, who were supported by Washington, which culminated with the decisive defeat of French forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The end of French Indochina meant major changes in the region, including the partitioning of Vietnam into communist North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, and US-aligned South Vietnam. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla troops, and the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Vietnam. Read more: The best Vietnam holiday destinations when to travel and where to stay open image in gallery A tourist walks through the Dien Bien Phu Military Cemetery ( AP ) Tourism has rebounded rapidly since the Covid pandemic and is now a critical driver of Vietnams growth, the fastest in the region, accounting for roughly one in nine jobs in the country. Vietnam had more than 17.5 million foreign visitors in 2024, close to the record 18 million set in 2019 before the pandemic. The War Remnants Museum attracts some 500,000 visitors a year, about two-thirds of whom are foreigners. Its exhibits focus on American war crimes and atrocities like the My Lai massacre and the devastating effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used during the war. The US was to open the first exhibit of its own at the museum this year, detailing Washingtons extensive efforts to remediate wartime damage, but it is indefinitely on hold after the Trump administration slashed foreign aid. Other wartime sites in Saigon, which was the capital of South Vietnam, include the South Vietnamese presidents Independence Palace where North Vietnamese tanks famously crashed through the gates as they took the city and the Rex Hotel where the US held press briefings derisively dubbed the Five OClock Follies for their paucity of credible information. open image in gallery Tourists look at a mural at the Hoa Lo Prison museum in Hanoi ( AP ) On the northern outskirts of the city are the Cu Chi tunnels, an underground warren used by Viet Cong guerrillas to avoid detection from American planes and patrols, which attracts some 1.5 million people annually. Today, visitors can climb and crawl through some of the narrow passages and take turns at a firing range shooting targets with war-era weapons like the AK-47, M-16 and the M-60 machine gun known as the pig by American troops for its bulky size and high rate of fire. I can understand a bit better now how the war took place, how the Vietnamese people managed to fight and protect themselves, said Italian tourist Theo Buono after visiting the site while waiting for others in his tour group to finish at the firing range. Former North Vietnamese Army artilleryman Luu Van Duc remembers the fighting at first hand but his visit to the Cu Chi tunnels with a group of other veterans provided an opportunity to see how their allies with the Viet Cong lived and fought. open image in gallery A tourist takes photos of a mural at the Hoa Lo Prison museum in Hanoi ( AP ) Im so moved visiting the old battlefields it was my last dying wish to be able to relive those hard but glorious days together with my comrades, the 78-year-old said. Relics like this must be preserved so the next generations will know about their history, about the victories over much stronger enemies. The former Demilitarized Zone where the country was split between North and South in Quang Tri province saw the heaviest fighting during the war, and drew more than 3 million visitors in 2024. On the north side of the DMZ, visitors can walk through the labyrinthine Vinh Moc tunnel complex, where civilians took shelter from bombs that the US dropped in an effort to disrupt supplies to the North Vietnamese. The tunnels, along with a memorial and small museum at the border, can be reached on a day trip from Hue, which typically also includes a stop at the former Khe Sanh Combat Base, the site of a fierce battle in 1968 in which both sides claimed victory. open image in gallery The wreckage of an American tank on display at the former Khe Sanh Combat Base ( AP ) Today, Khe Sanh boasts a small museum and some of the original fortifications, along with tanks, helicopters and other equipment left by US forces after their withdrawal. Hue itself was the scene of a major battle during the Tet Offensive in 1968, one of the longest and most intense of the war. Today, the citys ancient citadel and Imperial City, a Unesco site on the north bank of the Perfume River, still bears signs of the fierce fighting but has largely been rebuilt. West of Hue, a little off the beaten path near the border with Laos, is Hamburger Hill, the scene of a major battle in 1969. About 500km (300 miles) to the southwest near the Cambodian border is the Ia Drang Valley, where the first major engagement between American and North Vietnamese forces was fought in 1965. Fighting in North Vietnam was primarily an air war, and today the Hoa Lo Prison museum tells that story from the Vietnamese perspective. Sardonically dubbed the Hanoi Hilton by inmates, the former French prison in Hanoi was used to hold American prisoners of war, primarily pilots shot down during bombing raids. Its most famous resident was the late senator John McCain after he was shot down in 1967. It was kind of eerie but fascinating at the same time, said Olivia Wilson, a 28-year-old from New York, after a recent visit. Its an alternative perspective on the war. 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 A battle is brewing on Egypt's Red Sea coast, where a pristine beach faces potential development within a protected national park. Ras Hankorab, a jewel of Wadi el-Gemal National Park known for its untouched marine ecosystem, is currently closed off, its future hanging in the balance. Located 90 minutes from Marsa Alam airport and four hours from the bustling resort of Hurghada, Ras Hankorab boasts crystal-clear waters and white sand beaches. However, original plans propose transforming this natural haven with accommodation huts, a restaurant, and a farm. Conservationists are raising the alarm, warning that development threatens a fragile ecosystem supporting turtles, coral reefs, sea grasses, and diverse fish species. Local communities also fear the permanent loss of this precious natural resource. Egypt, grappling with economic challenges, has been selling investment licenses within its national parks to stimulate income. Tourism represents a cornerstone of the Egyptian economy, with a recent UN report estimating annual tourism revenue at $14.1 billion in 2024, surpassing even Suez Canal revenues. While Egypt welcomed 17 million visitors in 2024, a 17 per cent annual increase, the government sees potential for further growth. open image in gallery Located 90 minutes from Marsa Alam airport and four hours from the bustling resort of Hurghada, Ras Hankorab boasts crystal-clear waters and white sand beaches. ( REUTERS ) By expanding infrastructure, improving air connectivity, and promoting sustainable coastal and desert tourism, Egypt aims to compete with regional tourism giants like Turkey (62 million visitors), Greece (35 million), and Dubai (18.7 million). The question remains whether this economic drive will come at the cost of irreplaceable natural treasures like Ras Hankorab. Environmentalists and local communities warn that even light construction on the beach would destroy one of Egypts last untouched marine sanctuaries. Asmaa Ali, executive director of Ecoris, an Egyptian sustainable development and conservation group, said the national park and beach is one of the world's most important spots for biodiversity. "It has one of the most precious coral reefs, located at the reserve's beach. It also has sea turtles at risk of extinction, it has mangrove trees," she said. Sherif Baha el-Din, a co-founder of Wadi el-Gemal national park, said tourists seek unspoiled nature, not concrete resorts. "The more development on the Red Sea coast, the more important it becomes to leave this small part untouched," he said. "If we must develop, lets talk about where. But the best thing to build here is nothing at all." The Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), an NGO, notes that the reef is so significant because it is one of the world's most tolerant of climate change, and has the potential to repopulate other reefs and even bring back some from extinction. Revenue from National Parks open image in gallery Environmentalists and local communities warn that even light construction on the Ras Hankorab beach would destroy one of Egypts last untouched marine sanctuaries. ( REUTERS ) Over the past decade, changes to the law have allowed spots within Egypt's national parks to be used for commercial projects. Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said projects within protected areas including national parks surged from 10 in 2016 to 150 in 2024, with revenue increasing by 1,900 per cent. Egypt's Environmental Affairs Agency initially offered the operation of Ras Hankorab for tourism use to investors, albeit under strict conditions. However, responsibility has now moved to a government fund, the minister said in a recent presentation on Wadi el-Gemal. She declined to comment further. Worried conservationist groups have filed an appeal with a state prosecutor, alleging development is not meeting protection laws and would damage a public resource. Locals say they have been sidelined. Many once made a living from low-key eco-tourism but are now effectively barred from the beach. "I used to take my kids there for free. Now, I have to pay 250 Egyptian pounds ($5) just to enter," said Mohamed Saleh, a tribal elder. "They didn't consult us. They didn't hire us. They just took over our land." Fouad and other Egyptian officials argue that eco-tourism and investment can coexist. She defended development of the beach and Wadi el-Gemal as a "controlled expansion," ensuring sustainability while attracting revenue. open image in gallery A man sits under a wooden structure at Ras Hankorab beach, home to one of the country's last untouched marine ecosystems, with crystal clear waters and white sands, at southern Egypt's Red Sea coast in Marsa Alam, Egypt ( REUTERS ) Her ministry will monitor and evaluate the proposed projects in sensitive areas, including Ras Hankorab, Ras Boghdady, and the world-renowned diving spot the Blue Hole, she said. However, critics see the ministry as lacking the resources for that. Egypt has lost environmental expertise due to low wages and limited resources, conservationists say. In 2007, Wadi el-Gemal had 20 wildlife specialists monitoring biodiversity. Today, there are only a handful, said an NGO member. The Environment Ministry and the State Information Service did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. "This [development] completely undermines the idea of eco-tourism. How does handing over protected land to private investors align with conservation?" said environmental lawyer Ahmed El-Seidi. "The state is obliged to protect its natural resources and to protect the rights of future generations in these resources." A Labour minister has refused to rule out another Chinese company taking over operations at British Steel. Ministers have secured raw materials needed to keep British Steel furnaces in Scunthorpe alive amid accusations that the plants Chinese owners were poised to let it fail. The materials which have arrived by ship from the United States are enough to keep the furnaces running for the coming weeks while the government scrambles to secure the long-term future of the Jingye-owned site. Speaking on Sky News on Tuesday (15 April), Minister of State for Industry Sarah Jones was grilled on the possibility of further Chinese ownership of British Steel. She said: "Im not going to say yes or no to anything that isnt on the table." A shoplifter stole 100 worth of Easter eggs from a Tesco Express in Nottingham, security footage shows. Jordon King, 28, of no fixed address, targeted shops in Radford from 27 February to 27 March, stealing Easter eggs, nappies and washing pods from supermarkets. He pleaded guilty to three counts of shop theft and was jailed for eight weeks after appearing at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Friday (28 March). He also pleaded guilty to resisting an officer when he was arrested on the morning of Thursday 27 March and further admitted to causing criminal damage to a Tesco Express on Alfreton Road back on 27 February. King was ordered to pay back the cost of the items stolen. Inquiries remain ongoing for the second offender involved in the criminal damage incident. Donald Trump and his cabinet hit out at a CNN journalist during a tense Oval Office showdown after she asked about a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Kaitlan Collins, CNNs chief White House correspondent asked if Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be returned to the United States, during a media round with Trump and El Salvador leader President Nayib Bukele on Monday (14 April). President Bukele said it was preposterous to suggest he return Garcia, calling him a terrorist. Trump also appeared angered by the journalist he called a very low-rated anchor. Why do you go over and over?, Trump asked. Thats why nobody watches you, youve lost your credibility. California governor Gavin Newsom has launched a new international campaign with Visit California to encourage a "strong tourism partnership" between the state and Canada. Mr Newsom's team said the campaign was launched in response to "recent declines in tourism created by Donald Trumps policies." The US president has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the "51st state." A statement on Mr Newsom's website added that the campaign will remind Canadians "that California is a grateful partner and remains one of the best and most welcoming destinations in the United States, and the world." 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 Secretive Italian tycoon emerges as key player in $19bn ports deal Low-key billionaire Aponte is leading the bid to buy from Hong Kong mogul An MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co SA container sails southbound to exit the Suez Canal in Suez, Egypt. Photo: Stringer/Bloomberg Tara Patel and Alessandra Migliaccio Bloomberg Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 03:30 Gianluigi Aponte, the secretive Italian billionaire who founded MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co, has emerged as a powerful broker in a $19bn (16.7bn) port deal with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing. Sky-high beef prices are here to stay, says leading UK finisher There are just not enough cattle in the system, says Doug Dear, who finishes 4,000 cattle a year in a specialised fattening unit in Yorkshire Doug Dear on his North Yorkshire fattening unit Martin Coughlan Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 03:30 Beef prices in the UK have rocketed in the last six months because the market is desperately short of beef and that is not going to change any time soon. Teagasc: Beef prices will not collapse to 2024 levels Teagasc projected a 4pc price increase for Irish finished cattle in 2025, but prices are already 40pc+ higher than last year Bord Bia's forecast remains relatively unchanged with the overall cattle throughput expected to be back by 70,000-90,000 head or 5pc this year. Photo: Roger Jones Catherina Cunnane Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 03:30 Irish beef prices are forecast to moderate but will not collapse back to last years levels, Teagascs agricultural economist, Dr Kevin Hanrahan, has said. A lawyer for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has told a court that a prosecution against a landowner concerning the alleged destruction of limestone pavement is not a JCB gone wrong case. Johannes Brandhuber lost band while feeding livestock several months later, his butcher was able to retrieve it A recently married farmer in the small town of Simbach am Inn in Lower Bavaria, was distraught when he lost his ring in November while tending to his livestock. Its a nightmare that becomes reality for all too many newlyweds: an ill-fitting wedding ring that slips off the finger and vanishes while doing the dishes or taking a swim. But for one German farmer, luck was on his side after he lost his ring while feeding his cows. Several months later, his local butcher retrieved it from the animals stomach. Johannes Brandhuber, a recently married farmer in the small town of Simbach am Inn in Lower Bavaria, was distraught when he lost his ring in November while tending to his livestock. Unbeknown to him at the time, the ring came off his finger and was swallowed by one of his cows, Herzal, while he was feeding her some silage. Four months after losing the ring, Mr Brandhuber received a surprise phone call from his local butcher, who revealed that one of his workers had found it inside Herzals stomach Four months after losing the ring, Mr Brandhuber received a surprise phone call from his local butcher, who revealed that one of his workers had found it inside Herzals stomach. Ive never encountered anything like this before, its extraordinary, Josef Steinleitner, the 59-year-old butcher shop owner, told German news outlet Passauer Neue Presse. It was a miraculous discovery by Mr Steinleitners employee, who only found the ring because the 135-year-old family business insists on carving up animals by hand. It is a lucky coincidence to find such a thing, said Mr Steinleitner, who pointed out that metal fragments such as nuts or bolts are sometimes found in cow stomachs, and would not immediately be considered unusual. Mr Brandhuber himself said he had already given up on finding the wedding ring. His wife, he said, was very happy as she had continued to believe the old ring would turn up eventually. Herzal, which means little heart in Bavarian dialect, received her name because she had a small white heart mark on his head, Passauer Neue Presse reported. While the rings return marked a happy ending for Herzals owner, the same cannot be said for the cow. All that remains of Herzl now, German newspaper Der Stern reports, is some salami at the Steinleitner butcher shop. Young man denies teacher 'groomed him as Leaving Cert student, but says they had sex in hotel after exams were over The ill-starred liner Titanic sank exactly 113 years ago today, and now the British Titanic Society has voted to hold its convention next year in Ireland. Cobh, then known as Queenstown, was the last port of call for the White Star Lines new steamship in 1912, where the maiden voyager took on 113 third-class passengers and a smattering of first class. More than two-thirds of the Irish aboard, including many crew, died in the disaster. Meeting in Liverpool last weekend, members of the British Titanic Society voted heavily in favour of visiting Cobh, Co Cork, next year, where the overall spend will be worth hundreds of thousands of euro to the local economy. The port, just east of Cork city, fought off other candidate venues, including Alnwick, Northumberland, the Potteries home of Captain EJ Smith, of the lost vessel, and a proposal to hold the convention on the SS Rotterdam, on a sailing from Southampton. The society has previously stayed at the Commodore Hotel, in Cobh, with a side-trip to the Old Head of Kinsale to visit the museum dedicated to those lost with the Cunard liner Lusitania, which was torpedoed off the Irish coast by a German submarine during World War I. The 110th anniversary of the Lusitania sinking will be marked by ceremonies in Cobh and Kinsale early next month. The 2026 convention could make a trip to Youghal, home of heroic Titanic able seaman Jack Foley, who captained a lifeboat with 50 souls in the wake of the sinking. The East Cork town has a public memorial to its famous son. Foleys broad Irish vowels were misunderstood when his details were being written into Titanics crew manifest, and he was mistakenly entered as being from York. After surviving the sinking in No 4 lifeboat, Foley found he had the ships keys from the Titanic in his pocket, and brought them home only for them to be disposed of by his wife Mary, who liked to keep a tidy house. His chagrin is likely to be shared by his many descendants in England, including the Inns, Askew and Hammond families, since a single Titanic locker key sold for 85,000 (98,500). An auction of Titanic items takes place later this month in Devizes, Wiltshire, where the lots include a letter written on ships stationery and taken off the ship at Cobh at an estimate of 40,000-60,000. First-class American passenger Archibald Gracie, who later wrote a book The Truth About Titanic writes to a friend: It is a fine ship, but I shall await my journeys end before I pass judgment on her. Gracie survived on an upturned collapsible boat and gave evidence to the US inquiry, which passed judgment that Titanic was going too fast. Also up for auction are original photographs of Titanic officers Charles Lightoller, the most senior survivor, and JG Boxhall. Two women who went on a boob job trip to Dubai during the pandemic have been acquitted of breaching Covid-19 regulations by refusing to quarantine in a hotel when they returned. Twenty-six-year-old has undergone surgery in Belfasts RVH A GAA player whose skull was shattered during a brutal beating in his home is in excellent spirits and chatting to his family following what his family hope is his last major surgery in Belfast. LATEST | Gardai launch murder probe after fatal Cork stabbing of man (31) previously convicted of manslaughter Daniel O'Sullivans sister said her family wants "justice for our big bro as gardai are poised to launch murder probe Gardai at scene of fatal stabbing in Youghal Ralph Riegel Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 21:34 Gardai have launched a murder investigation into the death of a young man who died after being stabbed following a street row in Cork. Second explosive device found in Limerick city in three days as feud escalates A number of pipe bomb attacks and arson attacks on cars and homes, as well as shootings and stabbings, have occurred The scene of the incident in Ballinacurra Weston on Sunday David Raleigh Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 13:35 Residents in the Prospect area of Limerick City were evacuated from their homes this morning as an army bomb disposal unit made safe a second improvised explosive device in the city, in three days, as a violent feud escalated between rival groups. People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the Mothers Against Genocide protest descended to the strip searching of peaceful female protesters (Brian Lawless/PA) The Garda Commissioner is to write to the Ceann Comhairle about allegations made in the Dail about garda treatment of Palestine protesters. Fourteen people were arrested after a vigil was held outside Leinster House for Mothers Day, to remember women and children killed in Gaza and Lebanon. People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Richard Boyd Barrett told the Dail on April 1 that the Mothers Against Genocide group were taking part in a peaceful sit-down protest when some were very violently arrested and strip searched. His party colleague Paul Murphy said that the protesters were forcibly removed by the gardai and one woman was subjected to a cavity search. The day after the statements in the Dail, gardaisaid preliminary enquiries conducted by local garda management found that any searches were in line with regulations. An Garda Siochana refutes any allegation that a cavity search took place, it said. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris today said he would write to Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy about the inaccurate allegations made in the Dail. Reacting, Mr Murphy said it was quite incredible if the Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan was just taking the word of the Garda Commissioner that strip or cavity searches did not take place. He said complaints to the new garda oversight body, Fiosru were being prepared. This is the minister effectively calling these mothers liars before there has been any independent investigation of their complaints, he said. I believe the multiple women who have described their experience of being strip searched and one of being cavity searched. They are standing over their statements and are currently preparing complaints to Fiosru. The Minister for Justice should have waited for an independent investigation before coming to a conclusion on this. If these mothers are vindicated, as I believe they will be, his position will be untenable. Teachers are facing intolerable pressure through unacceptable workload, with 78pc admitting they now feel under pressure all the time in schools and classrooms. The Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) warned that its new study revealed alarming levels of burn-out among both teachers and principals, stressing that the findings should be "scary" for the Government. A total of 64pc of teachers in leadership roles admitted they now felt exhausted in schools from the daily workload they face. The study of principals was conducted for the ASTI by Red C.The study findings were released ahead of the ASTI annual conference which opens in Kerry next Tuesday. ASTI assistant general secretary Moira Leydon outlined the findings, with 78pc of teachers in leadership roles admitting they now feel under pressure all the time in schools. The study was conducted among 2,000 teachers in leadership roles and focused on workload, wellbeing and curriculum changes. Principals said 69pc of their time was now taken up by administration issues. Surprisingly, principals said just 3pc of their time was available for curriculum and teaching programme planning. Almost three-quarters said they had no time to relax given the soaring demands facing them in schools and classrooms. An alarming 60pc of teachers admitted they are losing their enthusiasm for their work because of stress in the workplace. Some 83pc of teachers - when queried about stress - said they felt they did not have enough time to plan for learning. Almost three-quarters of principals said they worked 51 or more hours weekly. More than 40pc of principals admitted they worked 56 hours or more each week. Some 66pc of school leaders are in the job for 10 years or less - and stress on them is being increased by teacher recruitment concerns and the resources demands from curriculum changes. The ASTI said the level of burn-out and the difficulty in recruiting staff should be matters of great concern for education chiefs. "The teacher supply problem is not confined to the classroom and it is really quite serious," Ms Leydon said. ASTI president Donal Cremin said teachers were being stretched to the limit with workload demands and lack of resources. "The reality is that teachers simply do not have the time and resources to cope with this workload - it is causing major problems and major headaches for all concerned," he warned. "Teacher stress levels have gone way up. That must be addressed." The ASTI warned that sizeable amounts of investment and resources were now required for second-level education and the demands posed by curriculum changes. There is also unacceptable pressure being placed on students with six or seven major final-year projects. "The teachers are the ones expected to roll this (senior cycle change) out from September 2025 but it is going to cause major problems, said Mr Cremin. I am a teacher myself so I know this is going to cause major stress for both teachers and students. "We must be careful and prudent but if you don't put proper resources into place before you make changes you are going to have problems." "This is about the wider community. If they put sufficient resources in place, that will be a different story." Mr Cremin also noted that there is a severe teacher shortage crisis. "Why are teachers voting with their feet and choosing to work elsewhere? The reality is, how can you (afford to) be a teacher in Dublin at the moment with the housing and accommodation crisis, he said. "It is about time they (the Government) sat down constructively with us and discussed ways to address these issues. It is time they faced up to reality." ASTI general secretary Kieran Christie said proposed changes to the senior cycle would be the dominant issue at the upcoming ASTI conference. Nine new revised subject specifications are scheduled to be introduced into the senior cycle from September. Mr Christie warned that there had been insufficient training and inadequate resources for the changes. "Our view is that the training has been rushed. We think it has been rushed into schools...the facilities are not there in many schools. The resources are not there. There are deficits all over the place. The truth is that the system isn't fit or ready for this, he said. "We are trying to secure as much new resources as we can get (from the department) - but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." Teachers have major concerns that the accelerated timetable for the senior cycle reforms has created undue problems. The ASTI warned that the changes would involve "a massive increase in workload", particularly in respect of science subjects including projects and ongoing assessments. "Our members across the country tell us in no uncertain terms they are not ready and the materials (for courses) are not ready either," Mr Christie said. More than 500 teachers are expected to attend the three day ASTI event in Killarney. "It is around the issues of the 'acceleration' of the process that we have significant problems," he said. Mr Cremin said it was clear that schools didnt have the resources to cope with the proposed changes particularly in respect of projects and ongoing assessments. Mr Christie said the ASTI had appealed for a 12-month pause to allow for all the issues surrounding senior cycle reform to be clarified. "Ultimately, the minister issued a statement rejecting any prospect of a delay. We think that is a mistake and is very regrettable, he said. Talks on teacher union concerns about the senior cycle changes resumed with the Department of Education on Tuesday. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is set to visit Conor McGregors pub on Tuesday, the MMA fighter has announced. Mr Carlson, an American conservative political commentator who hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News until 2023, will be in The Black Forge Inn, according to Conor McGregor. The pub in Crumlin, Dublin 12, is Mr McGregor. In a post on social media, McGregor shared that he is in The Black Forge Inn tomorrow evening, Tuesday, with Tucker Carlson. For those who wish to drop in for a pint of Forged Irish Stout," he wrote on X. God bless you, Ireland, I was put on this earth to serve and protect you and I will forever my days (sic), he added. The presenter, who hosts The Tucker Carlson Show on his own Tucker Carlson Network, was fired from Fox News two years ago. He has since interviewed many populists and right-wing figures, including US President Donald Trump, on his X channel and is a regular figure on many anti-immigration shows and news sites. He also interviewed Vladimir Putin last year, almost two years on from Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Marjorie Wilson, whose father was on the Titanic, attends a memorial event to remember more than 1,500 people who perished during the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, during the Titanic Memorial Service in the grounds of Belfast City Hall. The delayed 20m free HRT scheme which was originally planned to roll out in January will come in to effect from June 1 - but without the agreement of the pharmacists' union. From June 1, women prescribed HRT will be entitled to the product free and in an advance from the original plan, it will also cover a dispensing fee of 5, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said today. It will be a matter for each individual pharmacy if they want to sign up. The Minister said today: I have written to all community pharmacies today asking that they support and facilitate the women in their communities to access State-funded HRT products and medicines. In doing so, I am committed to supporting each participating pharmacy by paying them a 5 dispensing fee per HRT medicine/product dispensed to all eligible patients, including those existing patients under the GMS/DPS Schemes and for all other patients prescribed HRT (private patients), and a 1,000 once-off grant to every participating community pharmacy. I have set June 1 as the date for commencement of this support. This will allow participating pharmacies time to be ready to facilitate the free HRT scheme to their customers. This means that women would be able to access the product and medicines at no charge, including dispensing fees in participating pharmacies from June 1. This is an advancement on the Budget 2025 measure which covered the cost of the medication only, and the women would have had to pay for the dispensing fee. Under this new measure women will have to pay nothing if their pharmacy signs up. Improving care before, during, and after menopause is a priority for me and for the Government. We are committed to removing the cost of HRT medicines and products for women and Budget 2025 provided funding for the provision of State-funded HRT products for women experiencing symptoms of menopause. I hope todays commitment to pay a dispensing fee of 5 per product and a 1,000 once-off grant to participating pharmacists will deliver this initiative to the women of Ireland, noting that this is in addition to the Budget 2025 commitment to cover the cost of the medication. She added that the HSE will today notify all community pharmacies of the reimbursement arrangements, the process for participation and the mechanism to receive the 1,000 grant. An information campaign will commence in the coming days providing further information for patients. The prescription charges for medical card holders in relation to HRT medicines and products on the reimbursement list would also be abolished. The Department of Health said it regrets that an agreed implementation of this measure could not be agreed with the Irish Pharmacy Union, despite engagement over many months. To try to find a resolution to the remaining issue regarding dispensing fees, the Minister offered the IPU the option of a 5 dispensing fee per HRT medicine/product dispensed to all eligible patients, including those existing patients under the GMS/DPS Schemes and all other patients prescribed HRT (private patients) to be funded from the combined allocation for 2025 for pharmacy and HRT, and a 1,000 once-off grant to every participating community pharmacy. Alternatively they can opt for a 3,000 once-off grant to every participating community pharmacy. Community Pharmacies may then have continued to apply dispensing fees as before, having regard to existing arrangements. These offers did not lead to an agreement with the IPU. She added that she wants to see "pharmacists practicing at their full potential, delivering expert professional services and expanded healthcare roles like diagnosing and prescribing for common conditions. This will enhance patient access to health care, speed up diagnoses, and improve recovery, as we also continue to expand GP services for Irelands growing population. I look forward to working on this with pharmacies as the year progresses, she added. The Garda Commissioner has said investigators have no leads into the mysterious disappearance of farmer Michael Gaine who vanished from Kerry almost a month ago. Mr Gaine was last seen alive on the morning of March 20 with no trace of the 56-year-old despite significant multi-agency searches involving gardai and the army. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris today received a two-hour briefing at Kenmare garda station on the investigation, which remains a missing-person case. Mr Harris said that a huge number of searches and investigative work was being carried out, with more than 230 lines of inquiry followed up on to locate the Kerryman. There still remains a missing persons enquiry, we are still at this moment trying to work out what happened to Michael Gaine and how between the 20th of March and the 21st of March in effect he goes missing and as yet we can find no trace of him, he said. Asked whether this meant there are no leads in the case, the Garda chief said: No leads at this time weve certainly been given a lot of assistance and information from the public, but we have yet to find him. Michael Gaine Today's News in 90 Seconds - April 15th He said officers were continuing to follow all lines of inquiry and searches to their conclusion, until they were absolutely certain they had thoroughly searched and gained all the evidence they can. Together with all the other enquiries one would make in terms of proof of life and trying to actually work out what happened between the 20th and 21st of March, he said. Obviously we're at the moment in time very proximate to the 20th of March so we want to get as much information as possible and then that will be subject to analysis. So we're very much still in the position of drawing in information. Mr Harris also said that officers did not yet have any rationale to request the assistance of foreign police forces as part of the investigation. He was speaking at the annual delegate conference of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI). Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan yesterday had a briefing from investigating gardai and said that no indication had been made to him as of yet that a murder was suspected. Gardai are continuing to appeal to the public for help in tracing the whereabouts of Mr Gaine, who was reported missing from his home near Kenmare, Co Kerry, on Friday, March 21, having been last seen alive the previous morning. Gardai continue to appeal for any person who travelled on the N71 on Thursday, March 20, after 9.48am and/or any person who may have any camera footage, including dash-cam or CCTV, or any other images (video or still) from Thursday, March 20, and Friday, March 21, in the Kenmare town/Molls Gap (N71/ R568) area is urged to provide that imagery to the garda investigation team An Garda Siochana has been helped by the Civil Defence (Kerry and Cork), Irish Coast Guard Units (Glenderry and Iveragh), Irish Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 115, Kerry Mountain Rescue, Search and Rescue Dog Team, Kerry Fire Service and 200 civilian volunteers. To date An Garda Siochana has taken nearly 100 witness statements and recovered about 1,500 hours of CCTV/dash-cam footage. "There is no denying the fact that this is the largest search conducted in Kerry in recent times and this is highlighted by the volume of support we have received, Garda Superintendent Dave OCallaghan said at a briefing last week. The Irish armys elite commando force is set to move into a state-of-the-art headquarters at a cost of nearly 50 million. The Army Ranger Wing (ARW), which is the countrys primary counterterrorism and special operations unit, has been involved in several high-profile missions in recent years. This includes the rescue of Irish citizens from Afghanistan in 2021 and the record 2.2 tonne cocaine seizure off the west coast in 2023. Plans are now underway to significantly improve the special forces facilities with a new headquarters and training centre set to be built. The Tanaiste and Defence Minister Simon Harris will bring a memo before Cabinet today detailing plans to deliver the multi-million-euro facility. Its expected that the centre, at the Army Ranger Wings current base in the Curragh Camp in Kildare, will cost 46m with construction to get underway later this year. It follows recommendations made in the Commission on the Defence Forces which outlined that there is a clear requirement to develop enhanced infrastructure to support the planned expansion of the commando unit. Speaking about the new HQ, Mr Harris said: Im delighted to announce this significant level of investment in our Army Ranger Wing. This speaks to my commitment to ensuring our Defence Force personnel across all services have fit-for-purpose infrastructure to enable them to carry out their duties. I look forward to visiting this project upon its completion, which will act as a fitting headquarters and training centre for our ARW personnel, the Fine Gael leader added. The Army Ranger Wing is a highly trained and sought after unit within the military, with some 90pc of candidates failing the selection process due to its gruelling demands. Also now referred to as Ireland Special Operations Force (IRL-SOF), members of the unit recently provided security for the Tanaiste as he visited Irish troops serving in South Lebanon. In September 2023, army rangers were deployed to intercept the MV Matthew vessel which was trafficking 2.2 tonnes of cocaine off the Wexford coast. Their operation received widespread praise after the soldiers rappelled from an army helicopter onto the vessel, which was travelling through rough seas and attempting evasive manoeuvres, before securing the ship. In 2021, the Army Ranger Wing were deployed to Kabul to assist with the repatriation of Irish citizens. The Taliban had just regained control of Afghanistan with Irish nationals effectively stranded in the region before being rescued by the special forces unit. The Irish Defence Forces has paid tribute to Corporal Martin Lebbie OBrien, who has died aged 41. He served 23 years in the Defence Forces and completed seven overseas trips, travelling to Lebanon with UNIFIL, Kosovo with KFOR and Liberia with UNMIL. Cpl OBrien, who is from Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, enlisted in the Irish Defence Forces on August 16, 2001, and was a member of the 3rd Infantry Battalion, 1 Brigade. In a statement issued this morning, a spokesperson said: It is with great sadness that Oglaigh na hEireann can confirm that the death has occurred of Corporal Martin "Lebbie" O'Brien, of 3rd Infantry Battalion, 1 Brigade. Corporal Martin "Lebbie" O'Brien Today's News in 90 Seconds - April 15th Lieutenant General Sean Clancy, the chief of staff of the Defence Forces, said: "The men and woman of Oglaigh na hEireann extend their sympathies to the family of Cpl O Brien. "The loss of a colleague and friend, with as vast an experience as his, is felt throughout his whole unit and the wider Defence Forces. He will be missed by his friends, family and colleagues but never forgotten. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis." Where Michelin-star chefs go to eat a curry: I think its some of the best food of any kind being served in Ireland right now A demonstrator tears up as he protests the arrest of student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil by chaining himself to gates at Columbia University in New York City. Photo: Reuters Irish students planning on travelling to the US this summer have been urged to be cautious and informed about the potential risks involved in activism while on a J1 visa, including the risk of deportation. It comes as the US has revoked hundreds of international student and visitor visas so far this year, including from students who have engaged in pro-Palestinian activism. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has said that while activism is a vital part of student life, students must fully understand the possible consequences for their visa status, including the risk of deportation, and take steps to safeguard their participation in such activities while in the US. Thousands of Irish students participate in the J1 visa programme each year, which allows full-time third level students to work and travel in the US. Speaking last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at least 300 student and visitor visas had been revoked as he confirmed that if visa-holders are taking part in activities that are counter to our foreign, to our national interest, to our foreign policy, well revoke the visa. US President Donald Trump has announced a series of new immigration-related measures like stricter vetting procedures since he took office. The USI, which represents over 350,000 students across the country, said it strongly condemns any attempt to restrict the rights of students to engage in activism, adding: Any actions that threaten students ability to freely express their views are deeply concerning and undermine the principles of free speech and democratic engagement. It has urged students to be cautious and informed about the potential risks involved in activism while on a J1 visa. "While activism is a vital part of student life and a right that should be protected, it is important that students fully understand the possible consequences for their visa status, including the risk of deportation, and take steps to safeguard their participation in such activities, USI said. A demonstrator tears up as he protests the arrest of student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil by chaining himself to gates at Columbia University in New York City. Photo: Reuters Today's News in 90 Seconds - April 15th We call on both the US and Irish authorities to provide clarity on these issues, ensuring that students are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities while participating in the J1 programme. The union said it is committed to supporting students in navigating these challenges, and we will continue to advocate for their safety, rights, and freedom of expression. Speaking outside Government buildings this morning, Tanaiste Simon Harris said the Department of Foreign Affairs has not changed the travel advice for Irish citizens travelling to the US as he urged Irish tourists to familiarise themselves with the local situation and the Irish diplomatic presence wherever they travel. "My department has not changed its travel advice to the United States of America though, of course, we keep all of these things under constant review and I do know from talking to parents and talking to young people across this country, many people do ask that question, he told RTE. "They see scenes in America in terms of protest, in terms of Palestinian protest and I suppose that does make people think again in relation to this. My advice to people would be that Ireland and the United States have a long and enduring relationship, many, many people from the US come to Ireland and theyre very welcome, many Irish people travel to the US on holidays, on student exchanges, and I know theyre very welcome too. He added: Of course, its important when you go any jurisdiction to consider the local situation, the local laws, to consider if whats acceptable in Ireland is acceptable in the country that youre visiting. Mr Harris said Ireland has a very large diplomatic footprint in the US and advised Irish people travelling to the US to be aware of the presence of consulate services in advance of travelling. "J1s are a great time for people, theyre a great time for young people and I hope our many young people who travel on J1s this year have a really good summer, a safe summer and familiarise themselves with the local situation. He said a march for Palestine is of course acceptable in Ireland and it is a matter that Irish people feel very strongly about, adding: Protest, I think, is a really important part of any democracy. Protest, indeed, has always been a very important part of US society as well but, look, my advice to students travelling to the United States or indeed, anywhere this summer is to enjoy their summer, to be safe, to familiarise themselves with their local environment and to make themselves aware of the Irish consulate or ambassadorial presence in a country should they need it. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said tailored advice for J1 students is available on the DFA website. All of the travel advice it publishes for Irish citizens travelling abroad is reviewed regularly and updated based on consultation with Irish embassies and consulates, local authorities and others, a spokesperson said. As in all cases of international travel, its important that Irish citizens are aware of the local context and that local laws apply to you as a visitor and it is your responsibility to follow them, they added. Its important to be aware that some activities that would not be problematic at home may be seen as improper, hostile or even illegal in another country. While you are abroad you are subject to local laws, including ones that may not apply in Ireland. If you have to deal with any legal matters, we advise you to get professional local legal advice. They urged all Irish citizens travelling this summer to be aware of the latest advice for their destination. A man is due in court this afternoon in relation with the discovery of a mans body in Co Donegal over the weekend. The deceased has been named locally as Eddie Friel, who was aged in his 60s. His body was discovered in Killybegs on Sunday at about 12.20pm, when gardai and emergency services responded to a report of man found unresponsive at a residence on Harbour View Drive. Mr Friel was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later. The post mortem has since been completed, the results of which are not being released for operational reasons. Gardai arrested a man, aged in his 50s, who is being detained at a Garda Station in Co Donegal under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. He has since been charged and will appear before Carrick-on-Shannon District Court at 2pm today. Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council and Killybegs resident Cllr Niamh Kennedy said the community is shocked and saddened by the news. It is a terrible time, she said. Everyone is truly shocked. It is not the norm around here and everyone is trying to come to terms with it. There was a great shock at the discovery yesterday, the gardai presence, the unit coming down to do forensics and the road was closed off. The neighbours were distressed and they did not know what was going on. Interviews were taking place and then there was the subsequent arrest this morning of an individual, said Cllr Kennedy. Cllr Kennedy said Mr Friel and his family are well known in the community. Mr Friel lived on his own while members of his family reside in Killybegs and the surrounding areas. Eddie and his family are well known in the town, she said. It is sad for the younger members of the family, living in the family home. There are a lot of his nieces and nephews around so it will be tough on them and it must be very tough on the person who made the discovery. Our thoughts are with them all, said Cllr Kennedy. Gardai are continuing to investigate the incident and Cllr Kennedy urged anyone with information to come forward. We have to await and see what comes out of the investigation but if anyone has information, come forward. The more information there is, the quicker it can be pieced together and the quicker we can get this dealt with. It would give peace of mind to everyone. It is an awful time, said Cllr Kennedy. Gardai are appealing for witnesses and those with information to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Ballyshannon Garda Station on 071 9858530, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station. Investigations ongoing. The Government has reached a deal to share Garda intelligence and files on the Omagh bombing in the North with the dedicated UK inquiry into the 1998 atrocity. The August 1998 bombing claimed the lives of 29 people. Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the chairman of the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, Alan Turnbull. The agreement relates to the disclosure of materials to the inquiry, which was established by the UK government in February 2024 to investigate whether the bombing could have been prevented. It will also allow persons resident in the south, including former members of An Garda Siochana or the Defence Forces, such as military intelligence officers, to give evidence to the UK inquiry. Family members of the victims in the worst incident of the Troubles had complained that it would be hamstrung without equivalent action south of the Border. Omagh bomb. Photo: PA Today's News in 90 Seconds - April 15th The agreement reflects the Irish Governments decision in July 2024 to assist the inquiry to the extent that is permissible under the Constitution and laws. Mr OCallaghan said: The signing of this agreement with the chairman of the inquiry is an important step forward in delivering on the Governments commitment, and is in the best interests of the victims families and survivors. He said it had been about finding a means of navigating the legal complexities in the relationship between Ireland, as a sovereign state, and an inquiry established under the laws of another sovereign state. The agreement provides transparency in relation to how the Government will fulfil its commitment and provides a clear framework to guide departments and their agencies who may hold materials potentially relevant to the work of the Inquiry. My department is already managing requests for materials from the Inquiry and engaging with relevant agencies, including An Garda Siochana. The need for any further action to be taken by the Government will be kept under review, he added even at the conclusion of the inquiry and its findings. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris said: Addressing the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is fundamental to securing peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland. The signature today of the MOU with the Omagh Bombing Inquiry is a key step in delivering on that commitment. The Government will continue to support the work of the Inquiry to ensure that victims are afforded the truth and justice that they deserve. The Programme for Government stated that it would play our full part in legacy processes including facilitating and supporting the Omagh inquiry. The memorandum sets out the working arrangements that will apply between the inquiry and the minister on the lawful disclosure of materials from Government departments and their agencies to the Inquiry to assist it in carrying out its terms of reference. It also addresses the onward disclosure of those materials and their destruction or retention at the conclusion of the work of the Inquiry. Importantly, a central point of contact has been established in the Department of Justice to receive and manage all requests for materials from the Inquiry. The department and the inquiry will maintain regular contact to support the operation of the new deal. Mr OCallaghan said he would continue to engage with the inquiry to find solutions consistent with Irish law to fulfil the Governments commitment to assist. This includes the giving of oral testimony for the purposes of the Inquiry. The Government is making it clear that, should it be necessary to bring forward legislation to support this assistance to the inquiry, then this will be done. John McGuinness TD, who has raised case in Dail, said he was stunned and baffled by the reportMary Lou McDonald said: "We still have no answers and nobody held to account for a child being left in dangerReport found Grace was subjected to neglect and failed by the StateIt made no findings that she had experienced sexual or emotional abuse Grace report: Norma Foley said HSE must answer questions over why Grace was not removed from the foster home earlier Politicians have expressed bafflement and shock at the outcome of the long-awaited report into the Grace case. A non-verbal child with profound intellectual disabilities, given the pseudonym Grace, was placed in the care of a foster family located in the south east by the State in 1989. In 2017, a commission of investigation was set up to examine her case after allegations of sexual abuse were levelled against her foster father. The Farrelly Commission report, published today, made no findings that she had experienced sexual or emotional abuse. It did find that Grace was subjected to neglect through insufficient dental care and financial mismanagement while in the care of the foster family. In relation to seven other people in the care of the same foster family, the commission said they should potentially be investigated further, while 40 others who had not made allegations should not. Politicians have expressed shock at the findings of the utterly anaemic 2,000-page report, which is expected to cost a total of 20 million euro and took years to complete. Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness, who has raised the case in the Dail, said he was stunned and baffled by the content of the report. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said she was deeply shocked and disappointed that the report is so lengthy and has no answers in it. I feel that Grace and the others are being let down all over again. To me, the passage of time, the delay, the prevarication, the failure to act when clearly there was evidence of abuse, that abuse had been reported, and yet Grace was left in a very, very dangerous and abusive situation. The hurt, the damage and the trauma of all of that, I think, is doubled today. We had hoped that after eight years, that this report would bring some answers, some clarity, but above all else, accountability. Somebody somewhere has to be answerable for this. I think its very disappointing, and as I say, shocking, that we now see this report which seems to have nothing to say about accountability. Ms McDonald said she did not find the report credible and added: Im really shocked to hear that the report is so utterly anaemic, has no conclusions that tally in any way credibly with the information and complaints that was brought forward decades ago. Green Party leader Roderic OGorman, former childrens minister, said that much better care infrastructure for vulnerable children and adults had been put in place. I do think the steps that were announced today in terms of an analysis and examination of all our safeguarding laws are really important for both children and vulnerable adults. Asked if the Government accepts the findings of the report, Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan said it would be inappropriate for him as a minister to reject the findings. It comes as a Commission of Investigation today found there was a fundamental failure in the duty of care to the woman at the centre of the case, through a general absence of oversight and monitoring by the HSE and the South Eastern Health Board. The report provides details of Grace as an "extremely vulnerable" child. Grace was placed with a foster family in the southeast, referred to as Family X, in 1989 when she was 10 years of age. She remained there for 20 years until she was moved to residential care by the HSE in 2009. The woman was left with Family X, despite the family being the subject of abuse allegations, including allegations of sexual abuse. Grace's mother, who was aged 17, moved to a mother-and-baby home approximately two months prior to her daughter's birth. The baby was born on November 24, 1978 after a difficult birth that resulted in significant trauma to her brain. Grace was subsequently diagnosed with microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's head is much smaller than expected for her age. This resulted in Grace suffering profound lifelong intellectual and physical disability and she also required full-time assistance in almost every aspect of her daily life, including using the toilet, bathing, dressing, the provision of meals and other routine activities. Grace, who is also non-verbal, grew up in a children's home until, at aged four-and-a-half, she moved in with foster parents who are described as being "very fond of her". She attended school until age 11 when the foster family was no longer in a position to look after her. Grace was then placed with a new foster family in the southeast of the country on what was supposed to be a short-term placement. The foster father, referred to as Mr X, was 67-years-old when she came to live with the family in 1989. The foster mother was 50. Grace would stay with this family for the next 20 years. No qualified social worker visited Grace before 1995. She was not removed from the foster family even when a complaint of sexual abuse was made to the South Eastern Health Board against Mr X in 1996, in relation to another individual who was no longer in care of that family. Mr X died in the early 2000s. In 2007, a social worker who became aware of the previous allegation warned that Grace was vulnerable to exploitation, sexual abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse and neglect. Grace was removed from Family X in 2009 and moved to a residential family. For many years during her time with Family X, Grace did not attend any school. She was eventually brought to a day centre but attendance was irregular. By 2009, the report states that Grace's oral hygiene had been substantially neglected to the point that seven of her teeth had to be extracted. The commission found there was neglect by Graces foster mother, Mrs X, in not ensuring that Grace attended the day centre more consistently and neglect over the standard of care in relation to her clothing and hygiene. The report found that some of Grace's weekly disability allowance was not spent on her, and that there was a "level of financial mismanagement or abuse" by Mrs X in this regard. The commission found there was a general absence of oversight and monitoring of Grace in her placement by the South Eastern Health Board and the HSE, and that this was a fundamental failure of their duty of care to Grace. The Commission did not establish neglect in the provision of food or sustenance to Grace. The Commission gathered 312,000 pages of documentation over the last eight years and heard evidence over 251 days. The final report has found that the evidence did not establish that Grace was subjected to sexual abuse while she lived with Family X. Findings also show that the commission is not satisfied that the evidence established that marks and bruises sustained by Grace was the result of physical abuse. The commission also found no evidence that Grace was the subject of emotional abuse. No evidence of neglect was found in the provision of food during Graces time with Family X. The report was published by Minister for Children Norma Foley today. Ms Foley described the circumstances of Grace's case as "harrowing" and "distressing", noting they had a devastating impact on her quality of life. She said: "What Grace experienced was both intolerable and utterly unacceptable." The minister said significant changes have been made to help safeguard against similar circumstances from ever happening again. She said the landscape around care for vulnerable children had radically changed with new standards and State bodies. When Grace was born, paediatricians advised that her expected lifespan would be five years. She is now aged 46, living in a residential facility as a ward of court. Ms Foley said she had overcome a "grim prediction" about her lifespan and many other challenges, adding: "Her story, which is at the heart of the Farrelly Commission, is one that must never be forgotten." Ms Foley said there are questions to be answered over why Grace was not removed from the foster home earlier. She said:In terms of why Grace was not removed, I think that speaks to the lack of oversight that was there. The minister added: There were two other cases in relation to others that were in care there that should have precipitated Graces removal there. Absolutely there are questions to be answered there and that is why I think it is worthwhile that the commission is very clear in saying that there was no appropriate oversight of Grace within her placement. Obviously those questions will have to be answered by the HSE. Asked to explain how Grace had suffered injuries while in the foster home, Ms Foley said the commission had found that she was susceptible to incidents of bruising on her body. The commission had examined incidents where she had bruising near her eye and around her body. She said: That was an an initial cause for extreme concern in relation to issues of abuse. Subsequently it was pointed out that when Grace moved to a residential facility, she continued to manifest at times bruising on different parts of her body. Indicating that she was a very active young person and she seemed to be susceptible to that. That is how the commission addresses that. The Commission also examined whether the facts and information gathered in the inquiry warrants scope for further work. This section of the report, known as Part X, examined 47 cases where other children had stayed with Mr and Mrs X in foster and respite arrangements. Ms Foley said the commission found there were no allegations raised in the case of 40 of 47 individuals. She said: The commission has concluded that of the 47, there were 40 where there were no allegations. In relation to the seven, there were two specifically where there were very serious allegations around sexual abuse. One of those, the individual had moved to England and the family did not wish to pursue. The second one, the commission is very clear it is their view that there wasnt a completed investigation, it should have been more thorough in relation to that. There is no additional evidence available from the commission in relation to any of the outstanding cases. She added: There were no prosecutions pursued by An Garda Siochana. So, for those reasons there is the recommendation around the commission coming to a conclusion. The Department of Children has said there were a number of factors to consider given the absence of a clear recommendation of further investigation from the Commission, and given that Mr and Mrs X are both deceased. Ms Foley said a non-statutory exercise would now be undertaken to inform further development of safeguarding policies. The seven individuals referenced in Part X will be invited to contribute. The cost of the commission's probe is approximately 13.6m. No substantial changes have been made to the long-awaited clampdown on Airbnb, according to Enterprise Minister Peter Burke, after a row within Government delayed a sign-off of the new rules. The Cabinet finally approved the Failte Ireland register for short-term lets, which will kick in from May 2026. But a clash between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael last week meant proposals from Tourism Minister Peter Burke were pushed back another week after Housing Minister James Browne raised concerns at Cabinet. The only changes to the plans signed off at Cabinet today state the Department of Housing will draft amendments for new planning rules for Airbnbs. Fianna Fail accused Fine Gael for attempting to rush through the plans at Cabinet last week while Fine Gael fired back saying it had given plenty of due notice for its Coalition partner to raise concerns. As a result, Taoiseach Micheal Martin warned all Cabinet ministers to be on top of their briefs after the Airbnb plan was not signed off. The Government plans to ban short-term lets in urban cities and towns apart from rural areas with a population of 10,000 people or less. Minister Burke said no substantial changes have been made to the plans in the seven days since the Cabinet met last week. He said he was not frustrated with the delay in signing off the proposals to start the legislative process. Its important that we work right across Government to ensure that we do get a balance, he said at Government buildings. We have a unique, very strong housing challenge and its critical that we are moving every single lever in Government to respond to that. The Minister said the sector has grown by 10pc annually in recent years which isnt sustainable. Kerry Minister Michael Healy-Rae has raised concerns with the proposed rules and said he doesnt think it would help solve the housing crisis. Minister Burke said the clampdown will go through pre-legislative scrutiny and everyone will get to have their voice heard in that process. For me as Tourism Minister, it is critical that we ensure we retain the industry at its current capacity and grow it, he said. He said any changes should be proportionate and help to solve the housing crisis. Minister Burke said about 10,000 properties will be put into the long-term rental sector once the new rules kick in. He said he will soon finish a tourism policy which will have key initiatives to enhance the short term lettings sector. All short-term lets which are usually advertised on sites such as Airbnb and Booking.com will have to register so local authorities can keep track of them easier. For Airbnbs to operate for more than a certain period of days each year, they need planning permission. However, the Government will also move to update current planning laws, banning Airbnbs in towns and cities. Tanaiste Simon Harris and Enterprise Minister Peter Burke will bring proposals to the Cabinet today to enhance Irelands competitiveness and productivity amid tensions over tariffs. Although US president Donald Trump has now placed a partial 90-day pause on his tariffs on most imported goods, he said yesterday that he anticipated rolling out tariffs on pharmaceutical imports in the not-too-distant future. Ireland is heavily dependent on US pharma companies who manufacture here, and the sector escaped in Mr Trumps initial Liberation Day announcement. The Tanaiste, who said yesterday wed be foolish not to prepare for an environment in which tariffs persist, will outline Irelands priorities following reports about plans to strengthen the EUs competitiveness. Mr Burke will propose a series of short-term measures to be implemented by next month to address competitiveness challenges. These include speeding up implementing Ceta, the free-trade agreement with Canada. The Tanaiste is prioritising work on other international free-trade agreements. An advisory forum on the cost of business will be established and steps will be taken to strengthen the powers of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. Mr Burke will also seek to expedite an action plan, with a view to having it ready for discussion at a special competitiveness summit of ministers in July. The plan is being accelerated to ensure tax changes or proposed spending decisions can be reflected in the Budget. It will cover industrial policy, including reducing the cost and regulatory burden on businesses. But it will also look to investing in infrastructure, digital regulation and reform, energy reform, R&D and innovation. The Government will also work on market diversification, including an assessment of overseas offices, such as those of Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland and the IDA. There will be an overview of trade missions that could be expanded, particularly to the EU, Canada and Japan. And there could be joint economic commissions with China, India and the United Arab Emirates. Tanaiste Simon Harris. Photo: PA Simon Harris says there is a 'period of negotiation' with the US over tariffs Mr Harris said work would be needed every hour of every day during the 90-day tariffs pause announced by Mr Trump last week, because a tariff of 10pc on all EU good still exists, as well as a tariff of 25pc on cars, steel and aluminium. The Tanaiste appeared to refer obliquely to the continued threat of pharma tariffs when he said: We also stand ready to act if our economy and our jobs and investment are threatened. But we certainly hope thats not what it comes to. Ireland and the EU were preparing for the worst, but continuing to try to bring about the best, he added. Thats why I very much welcome that Commissioner [Maros] Sefcovic is in Washington, engaging with his counterparts and interlocutors there, Mr Harris said. Certainly, when I was in DC, I got the very clear impression that negotiation was something that the United States was now very interested in. Thats not surprising, because the European Union position and the Irish position has been clear from the start that we wanted talks ahead of tariffs. The US decided to put tariffs ahead of talks, and we saw the turmoil and the chaos that caused. Stressing that trade between the EU and the US is worth about 1.6trn a year, Mr Harris added: No one can sniff at that reality. Its now time to get serious, after the moments of chaos and the big reveal and all the press conferences. Its time to get down to business. The long-promised register to clamp down on Airbnb-style short-term lettings will also be presented to the Cabinet today. The Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill was meant to be brought to the Cabinet for approval last week. However, a disagreement over last-minute amendments saw the bill dropped from the agenda. The bill will see Failte Ireland as the registration body for short-term lets like those on Airbnb by May 2026. The new register is being brought to the Cabinet by Mr Burke and Housing Minister James Browne. It will see areas with populations of fewer than 10,000 residents exempt from requiring planning permission for short-term lets including those on Airbnb. Currently, homeowners in Rent Pressure Zones require planning permission if they let out properties over 90 days a year. It is believed that some 12,000 homes currently being used as short-term lets could be introduced into the long-term rental market. The new rules will be introduced ahead of the EUs Short-Term Rental Regulation. Tributes have been paid to Irish businessman John Mullins as the details of his funeral have been announced. Mr Mullins, executive chairman of clean energy firm Amarenco and a former European Parliament candidate for Fine Gael, died on Monday following a sudden illness. The businessman was a native of Cork city but had been living over recent years in Castlemartyr in east Cork. He will lie in repose at the Wilton Funeral Home on the Sarsfield Road tomorrow evening, from 5pm until 6pm, before a liturgy of the word at 1pm on Thursday in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Dennehys Cross. The funeral afterwards will travel to the Island Crematorium in Ringaskiddy. In his death notice, Mr Mullins is remembered as the beloved husband of Siobhan, loving father to Michael and Sarah. "Sadly missed by loving wife and children, parents Pat and Maureen (Bishopstown), brothers Jim, Pat, Kieran and Brian, sisters-in-law Helen, Gail, Maebh, Deirdre, Theresa and Paula, brothers-in-law Colman, Richard and Peter, nieces, nephews relatives, aunts, uncles, neighbours, and a wide circle of colleagues and friends. Mr Mullins has been remembered for his contribution to the Cork sporting and business communities, with tributes describing him as a true gentleman and a wonderful person and friend. Mr Mullins was deeply involved in Cork Chamber of Commerce, Cork GAA as well as multiple charities and cultural groups. He served as Chamber of Commerce President in 2011, the chief executive of Bord Gais from 2007 to 2012 and the chairman of the Port of Cork from 2013 until 2021. A lifelong Gaelic games fan, Mr Mullins played a key role in helping Cork Co Board to maximise the commercial potential of its revamp of Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he was deeply saddened at the passing of John Mullins, someone who made such a distinguished contribution to public life, business, sport and politics, as he paid tribute to Mr Mullins yesterday. "John was a wonderfully gregarious character who had a huge impact in Cork and across the country. As chief executive of Bord Gais, John made tremendous strides in the transformation of that organisation, and subsequently guided the growth of the Port of Cork. With Amarenco Solar he was influential in advancing solar power technology in this country and internationally. John had a particular interest in sport, with his beloved Bishopstown GAA and as director of Pairc Ui Chaoimh, and I often enjoyed great banter with him over sporting rivalries. John fully realised his potential in public service and in business, but he could just as easily have realised his promise in politics with his deep and abiding interest and involvement with Fine Gael. A great strategist, you would see John at all the election counts over the years." Tanaiste Simon Harris said it was an honour to know John, to soldier with him in politics, to canvass with him and I always found it a joy to be in his company, describing him as a true son of Cork. "Whether it was through his chairmanship of the Port of Cork, his role as director of Pairc Ui Chaoimh, or his presidency of Cork Chamber of Commerce, his entire career was motivated by a desire to do right by his native city. He added: He was kind, witty, intelligent, fundamentally decent and someone who always wanted to do right by his community and his country. His loss is immense and will be felt deeply by so many. McGregor pours pints as controversial US commentator Tucker Carlson interviews him in Dublin Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson visited Conor McGregors pub in Crumlin this evening after interviewing the MMA fighter as he attempts to drum up support for a presidential candidacy. Approximately 40 people gathered inside The Black Forge Inn on Tuesday. Mr McGregor was interviewed by the controversial pundit earlier in the day and said the two-hour chat will be broadcast on the Americans various channels soon. In November 2024, McGregor was found civilly liable in a High Court damages case in Dublin taken by a woman who accused him of rape. Nikita Hand won her claim against McGregor after accusing the fighter of raping her in a penthouse room at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin in December 2018. Ms Hand was awarded 250,000 in damages. Conor McGregor behind the bar in his pub The Black Forge Inn. Photo: Theo McDonald A judge at the High Court later said the jury had conclusively determined that McGregor had raped Ms Hand. McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case. He has also publicly declared his intention to seek a nomination for the presidency. Mr Carlson, an American conservative political commentator who hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News until he was suddenly fired by the corporation in 2023, visited the pub in the afternoon for lunch. The presenter, who hosts The Tucker Carlson Show on his own Tucker Carlson Network, has interviewed Conor McGregor for his online news show. Tucker Carlson in McGregor's Dublin pub this afternoon. Photo: Theo McDonald. "We had a good chat today, we had a two-hour chat. Were very happy, were very excited. Onward we go, onwards for Ireland. "I was interviewed by him. Itll be out, McGregor said in the Black Forge Inn. Mr McGregor had announced Mr Carlsons visit to his pub on social media on Monday evening, saying that he is in The Black Forge Inn tomorrow evening, Tuesday, with Tucker Carlson. God bless you, Ireland, I was put on this earth to serve and protect you and I will forever my days (sic), he added. Since parting ways with Fox News, Mr Carlson has interviewed many populists and right-wing figures, including US President Donald Trump, on his X channel and is a regular figure on many anti-immigration shows and news sites. He also interviewed Vladimir Putin in 2024, nearly two years after Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine. Today's News in 90 Seconds - April 15th McGregor has stated his intention to contest the next presidential election, which is likely to be held in early November. He is estimated to have little chance of gaining the required backing from either 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities. McGregors interview with Carlson is the latest appearance alongside an anti-immigration amplifier of right-wing populism. The fighter from Crumlin, during a visit with US President Donald Trump at the White House on St Patricks Day, echoed many anti-immigration talking points. He accused the Irish Government of having zero accountability and said Irish money was being spent on overseas issues that has nothing to do with the Irish people, adding that the illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country. He said rural towns have been overrun. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said his remarks were wrong and do not reflect...the views of the people of Ireland. Were under a lot of pressure, our first baby is on the way Palestinian couple with PTSD battling Dublins housing crisis Adham Shnaino (35) and his wife Waed (23) are awaiting the birth of their first baby as they mourn the death of Adhams uncle in the Palm Sunday air strikes in Gaza Palestinian couple discuss PTSD from Gaza war compounded by Irish housing crisis Laura Lynott Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 03:30 A Palestinian man mourning the loss of his uncle in an Israeli bombing in Gaza at the weekend says he dreams his first baby will live in peace in a normal family home in Ireland. Lucinda OSullivans restaurant review: China Sichuan has been serving excellence for almost 50 years and now you can order to go Celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, the superb China Sichuan in Sandyford has just launched its new To Go option The steamed hand-dived scallops, Chuan pickled lettuce from China Sichuan in Sandyford, Co Dublin. Photo: Lucinda O'Sullivan Lucinda O'Sullivan Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 03:30 There arent many restaurants in Dublin, or anywhere else around the country, that can boast of being full on a Tuesday evening. But then, I guess Kevin Huis high-end elegant China Sichuan, which will soon be celebrating its 50th birthday, has been getting it right for a very long time. Founded by his parents, the late David Hui and his wife Julie, originally in Kilmacud, Kevin grew up in the restaurant industry and never stays still. Hes always moved the business forward with the times, including the move some years ago to its current stylish location in the Sandyford Industrial Estate. Kirsty Blake Knox: Sunny weather always brings criticism of the way we socialise isnt it time for real solutions rather than rage spiralling? Every year when the weather improves issues around drinking and littering come up again but getting outraged solves nothing on our streets People enjoying the sunny weather on Dublin's Drury St. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos Kirsty Blake Knox Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 03:30 There are certain stories and behaviours that seem to emerge in Ireland each year when the sun comes out from behind the clouds, and we edge towards summer. In April 2005, 43-year-old Irene White was found dead at her home in Dundalk in what is now regarded as one of the most violent and frenzied killings in Irish history. The mother of three had been stabbed 34 times. The subsequent investigation would last for over a decade, eventually leading to the conviction of two men: Anthony Lamb and Niall Power, both of whom claimed they were acting under orders. Detective Pat Marry and his teams efforts to solve the crime proved pivotal, with dogged detective work carried out in Ireland and as far afield as Australia. Irenes killers may be behind bars, but with the suspected mastermind of the crime still at large, can this case ever truly be closed? Today on the Indo Daily, Tabitha Monahan is joined by Pat Marry, former Garda detective and co-author of the new book The Ice House Murder: The Killing of Irene White, to examine one of Irelands most prolific murder casesfrom the perspective of the man tasked with solving it. The decision to shut down the Tenant-in-Situ scheme in Cork city has been labelled as shameful by Sinn Fein councillor Kenneth Collins and Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould. The scheme allows tenants to stay in their home even if the landlord decides to sell. The council or the Housing Agency can buy the property from the landlord and the tenants can stay and avoid eviction. In more than half of eviction cases, the landlord is selling the property. Kenneth Collins, a Sinn Fein councillor for the city's North West ward said he recently received confirmation that the 2025 funding allocation to Cork City Council is insufficient and the scheme will be closed with immediate effect. Cllr Collins criticised the Government for slashing funding to the Tenant-in-Situ scheme in Cork city. This is absolutely shocking. There are families in Cork city who will be made homeless because of this. We stand in full solidarity with Cork City Council in fighting against this. They have worked tirelessly to implement the Tenant-in-Situ scheme to prevent homelessness over the last 18 months. That work has now been undermined and dismissed by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Families in Cork city deserve to be treated with compassion, said Cllr Collins. They deserve a government that will do everything it can to prevent homelessness. It is very worrying that the Council are even being forced to fight to honour existing commitments. The funding allocation is clearly nowhere near sufficient and the Minister must have known this. Deputy Gould said the Tenant-in-Situ scheme was one of the only initiatives that was working to prevent homelessness. We warned that government were seeking to shut down this scheme. This has now been confirmed by Cork City Council. 187 people in Cork city, including 100 children, were stopped from becoming homeless last year thanks to this scheme. This protection will no longer be in place. The Cork TD wants the Minister for Housing James Browne to urgently reconsider the position on the Tenant-in-Situ scheme. I am calling on Minister James Browne to urgently reconsider this position. He must recognise that this cruel and heartless decision will push families into homelessness. We didnt think Fianna Fail and Fine Gael could get much worse on housing. We were wrong. We have a Taoiseach from Cork, and now families in his own constituency will be forced to live through the trauma of living in emergency accommodation as a result of this disgraceful decision. It is shameful, he added. A herd of seven goats were the subject of a 20-minute debate The issue of loose goats on Cork Citys northside caused chaos at last nights council meeting, which was ultimately ceased after councillors couldnt agree on whether to continue debate or not. Labour Councillor John Maher suspended proceedings in council chamber to talk about the goats which have been roaming freely across the Ballyvolane area of the city for the last number of months. They are believed to be from the local Spring Lane halting site, causing what Cllr Maher believes is a serious road safety issue. Finglas teenager named Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year at the annual Fresh Film Festival A scene from Abhaile which explores identity, class and belonging through the eyes of a working-class teen Emma Whelan was named Ireland's Young Filmmaker of the Year at the Fresh Film Festival. Pic: Celine Mermier A teenager from Finglas, who was recently named Young Filmmaker of the Year for her film Abhaile, has said she is relishing the win. Emma Whelan (18) was presented with the title at the annual Fresh Film Festival last week, for the film she wrote, directed, and starred in. The story centres on the character of Aimee, a working-class teen navigating friendship and identity across social and class divides. Judges at the festival praised the film for its emotional honesty. Emma Whelan was named Ireland's Young Filmmaker of the Year at the Fresh Film Festival. Pic: Celine Mermier Today's News in 90 seconds - 16th April 2025 Emma said the message of the script is that home is not defined by a postcode or status, but by the people who shape us. I think growing up in Finglas, I knew there was a reputation around the city, but I suppose I didnt realise how big of a deal it was to people who werent from my side of the city, she said. The more I interacted with others as Ive grown up, the more I realised the stigma around it. It got to a point where the banter or jokes became a very tiring rhetoric. At that time, jokes made about where I come from werent funny because thats my home. At the end of the day, it seemed tone-deaf from people who came from a higher socio-economic background. I felt that the people making these jokes didnt understand the power of their words, and they should realise that comedy is punching up, not punching down. That was the inspiration behind the film, as it has been something on my mind for a while, she added. A scene from Abhaile which explores identity, class and belonging through the eyes of a working-class teen Abhaile is a film that explores the friendship between Aimee and Donnacha, two young people from different backgrounds. It emphasises that Donnacha isnt a bad guy, but rather a product of his environment, showing the disconnect between people who dont fully understand each others struggles. Much of the film was shot in Emmas grandparents house, and she said they were hugely supportive of her, along with her community and the rest of her family. Emma also praised the brilliant team around her and said she wouldnt have been able to make the film without them. She is currently studying film at Technological University Dublin and hopes to keep gaining experience as a filmmaker. Artistic Director of Fresh Film, Jayne Foley, praised Emmas film as an extraordinary achievement. She told a deeply personal story with honesty and heart, and thats the true power of film, she said. Theres no doubt she has a brilliant future ahead. Demand for treated water in the Greater Dublin Area has reached record levels, putting severe pressure on water supplies serving communities in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath An investment of a further 30m in the Leixlip Water Treatment Plant in Co Kildare will help create a more robust water supply for over 600,000 residents across Kildare and parts of Dublin. This investment marks the third phase of enhancements aimed at increasing the resilience of Ireland's second largest water treatment facility. The upgrade, once completed, will add 63 million litres of water per day back into Uisce Eireanns network ensuring a robust water supply for over 620,000 residents across Kildare and the Greater Dublin Area. This is a good news story for families and businesses in the Greater Dublin Area, including parts of Kildare, welcomed Ian ONeill, Portfolio Manager with Uisce Eireann. The combined upgrades will improve the security of water supply for over 620,000 people. This upgrade will play a key role in supporting housing and industry. It will also help futureproof our water supplies as we face challenges that are likely to be presented by factors such as population growth, climate change, and prolonged periods of warm, dry weather. Phase 3 of the upgrade, which is anticipated to take three years, will include upgrades to the filters and clarifiers; the installation of a new flocculation tank; the replacement of the raw water pumps and significant enabling works. Works will be contained within the plant and therefore there will be limited impact on the local community. Strategic planning ensures that there will be no water outages expected during the project. The works are well under way and are expected to be completed by 2027. The first phase of the project commenced in June 2018 and focused on modernising existing facilities, enhancing drinking water quality, reliability, and resilience. These improvements significantly reduced the risk of boil water notices and enabled the removal of the Leixlip Water Supply Scheme from the EPAs Remedial Action List. The second phase consisted of a 20 million investment and involved upgrading coagulation, flocculation, clarification, and filtration processes, along with pH control enhancements. This upgrade is currently nearing completion. Demand for treated water across the Greater Dublin Area has reached record levels this year, putting severe strain on water supplies serving communities in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath. Last week, University of Galway student Vladyslav Piatin-Ponomarenko took home the National Student Media Award for Film Documentary of the Year. His personal and emotional documentary, Imagine War 75 Days of Survival in Mariupol, documents his escape from Mariupol at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fresh from his win, the filmmaker sat down with the Irish Independent to unpack the making of his epic and emotional short documentary. With the sun packed away after its fleeting Irish romance, Vladyslav (Vlad for short) laughed about the grey sky in the background of our zoom call. The Ukrainian refugee has just finished his first year of his journalism degree in the University of Galway and yet, he has already accomplished what most Irish media students spend four years dreaming of. On the other hand, Vlad has also been through the unimaginable. I started filming this documentary because I wanted to show the truth, never mind whether I was killed or not, I wanted to show the truth, he explained. I just told myself, if I die tomorrow, what will I leave behind? What in this world will I be remembered for? I wanted to show what the people of Mariupol and all the people in Ukraine have been living through. Vladyslav Piatin-Ponomarenko When I started filming, I started thinking, Im not going to die just a boy in a basement, if I die, Ill leave something behind, Vlad reflected. Now it's helping me in some difficult periods to know that I made maybe a small, small impact in the war, very small, but this is helping people, it supports people, and it informs people. Vlads documentary captures the before and after of war the happy life people in Mariupol, Ukraine, lived before the Russian invasion, and the devastation that had already occurred only 75 days in. According to the young documentarian, filming the war was like a calling or a mission for him. The filmmaker said his thinking was that as no one on his street knew what was happening in the world, the world might not know what was happening to them. Someone spread some gossip that Russians took Kyiv, that there were Russians in Poland, that the USA sent a nuclear bomb to Moscow, Vlad said. We didn't have any information. And if we didn't have any information, maybe people outside of Mariupol wouldn't know what happened to us. I was also a little bored, Vlad laughed. You know, when you sit every day in a basement and you hear bombs, bombs, bombs every minute and you only see darkness Im a creative person, I needed to do something to pass the time and not focus on the war so much. Because it was a real hell, what we saw. Still from Imagine War: 75 Days of Survival in Mariupol by University of Galway student Vladyslav Piatin-Ponomarenko. The Ukrainian looked back in frustration at the scenes he didnt capture, the dangerous moments, despite being a child at the time. Unfortunately, I didn't film a lot of very difficult and dangerous moments and Im angry at myself because of that, Vlad reflected. I didn't film when a Russian tank started shooting the building across the street from us. I didn't film when one of the Russian forces shot a propaganda video in our area, acting like they were liberating Ukraine. I didn't film the many times when planes dropped bombs. I didn't film dead bodies, and there was a lot, or a hand or leg every five metres. To be honest, I was scared to look at the bodies. I felt unsafe every time I picked up my camera, he admitted. When I went to the window to film, my mom would shout at me about snipers. I didnt believe her because I thought, you know, snipers in the 21st century? But after we escaped Mariupol, some people told us that there were real snipers who were shooting people in windows and in the street. So, every time I filmed, it was taking a chance that a sniper wouldnt shoot me. Vlad recalled a time he was filming in the street and was met with a gut feeling to get inside. Within five seconds of himself and a friend re-entering his apartment building, a drone landed where he had been standing and let off a bomb. When I was editing the documentary, sometimes Id have to drink a pint of Guinness beforehand, because it was so difficult, Vlad timidly recalled. The hardest part was that I really dont understand how time has gone so fast. For me, yesterday was a peaceful day in Mariupol, when I went with my friend to the cinema. It was the 23rd of February, 2022. It's like Im not living in the real world, its all a decoration. University of Galway student Vladyslav Piatin-Ponomarenko at the National Student Media Awards 2025. Despite living through what he describes as actual hell, the Mariupol native said he was scared at the thought of winning a student media award. In the current political climate, where a rise in far right targeting of immigrants and refugees is ever-looming, the documentarian feared the abuse a win may bring. I was scared a little at the thought of winning, because I thought maybe some Irish people would say, He won because hes Ukrainian, Vlad confessed. But, you know, I didn't choose this way. I didn't choose to live through 75 days of war. I didn't choose to move somewhere totally new to me, where I had nothing, where I don't see a big part of my family. I didn't choose this. We need to fight this anti-immigrant position in Ireland its very scary, Vlad said. We're not enemies for the Irish, we are the same. You are the west point in Europe, we are the east point in Europe. We all want peace and to live normally. The most important matter for Vlad, however, is that his award has made him feel like no one has forgotten about Ukraine and that he is making the people of Mariupol proud. It's very good for the Ukrainian diaspora, Vlad stated. We're all different - in every nation we have good people and bad people - but mostly people just want to wait for when the war is over or to be a community in Ireland, but totally respect Irish culture. So it's really important to show that we dont want to destroy your house, we just want to be your neighbours. For the people who watch his documentary in the future, Vlad has one wish: Enjoy every second of life. l hope people understand that it's not only documenting the facts about what Russia did, because most people cant do anything about it. They can only support or talk about Putin while standing around in the kitchen. I just want you to enjoy your life. You don't know when a crazy dictator might come to your country and destroy your homes. You don't know when it might happen. Cheques were presented to Kerry Hospice Foundation and Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre at the event Lorna ORegan (FeelGood Health & Fitness), Roisin Smullen (VPD & Secretary Network Ireland Kerry) and Yasmina Renaudin (Reda Care) pictured at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Aisling Foley (The Rose Hotel & vice president and events officer/awards coordinator NIK), Emily Reen (NIK president) and Jean Evans (founder of NetworkMe) pictured at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Cathy Fitzgibbon (Network Ireland Cork President) and Joan Walsh (Partnership International) pictured at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening (April 10th). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Diane Crean (Crean McCann Property), Noreen Lane (Travel Counsellors) and Daire McCann (Crean McCann Property) pictured at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening (April 10). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Pictured at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday were: Michelle Walsh (New Body and Soul), Patricia Healy (Healy Insurances), Noreen Leader (AIB) and Maria Gormon (AIB). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Mary Shanahan (Kerry Hospice Foundation), Kristy McFetridge (chief executive Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre) and Margaret Crean (Kerry Hospice Foundation) attended the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening. Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Pictured at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney were: Linda OMahony Logan (Leadership360) and Michelle Walsh (New Body and Soul). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography A cheque for 500 was presented to Kristy McFetridge (Chief Executive Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre) from the Network Ireland & Tralee Chamber fundraising walk in March which took place in Tralee. Pictured at the presentation at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening (April 10) were: Megan Daly-Tyrell (Corporate Membership Officer, NIK), Daire McCann (Crean McCann Property & also representing Tralee Chamber), Emily Reen (NIK President), and Aisling Foley (The Rose Hotel & Vice President & Events Officer/Awards Coordinator NIK). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Sarah Farrar (Ainmhi), Emily Reen (NIK President) and Edel Treacy (Skin Health by Edel) pictured at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening (April 10). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Mary Shanahan and Margaret Crean from Kerry Hospice attended the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening (April 10). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography A cheque for 500 was presented to Mary Shanahan and Margaret Crean from Kerry Hospice Foundation at the Network Ireland Kerry April event Networking for Success in The Plaza Hotel, Killarney on Thursday evening (April 10th). The funds were raised from the Network Ireland & Tralee Chamber fundraising walk in March which took place in Tralee. Pictured were: Megan Daly-Tyrell (Corporate Membership Officer, NIK), Mary Shanahan, Emily Reen (NIK President), Margaret Crean, Daire McCann (Crean McCann Property & also representing Tralee Chamber) and Aisling Foley (The Rose Hotel & Vice President & Events Officer/Awards Coordinator NIK). Photo: Michelle Breen Crean Photography Kerry women from all areas of business and professional services attended a special event aimed at understanding networking as a tool for career and enterprise growth in Killarney last week. The Network Ireland Kerry April event, titled Networking for Success, was held at The Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa on Thursday evening. The occasion was held with networking expert Jean Evans, founder of NetworkMe, who delivered a session on building your networks and the importance of strengthening your community. Throughout the event, Jean guided attendees through an immersive and hands-on experience, offering practical tips and a fresh perspective on how to network with purpose and confidence. The MC at the event was Network Ireland Kerrys vice president and awards coordinator, Aisling Foley. Ms Foley said the energy was a true reflection of what her organization is all about connection, collaboration and community. She also spoke about the upcoming 2025 Network Ireland Kerry Businesswoman of the Year Awards. The Awards are currently open for applications for the employer, employee and entrepreneur categories. As we open applications for the 2025 Businesswoman of the Year Awards, I encourage every member to recognise their own achievements and take that bold step forward. These awards arent just about winning theyre about celebrating your journey, your growth, and the incredible impact you're making in business, Ms Foley said. Kerry McCarthy Brady, owner of Hercules Building Systems and winner of Emerging Businesswoman of the Year at inter-branch and national level, representing Kerry in 2024 also shared her insights on entering the Awards and encouraged all Members to put themselves forward for 2025. Closing the evening Network Ireland president Emily Reen, along with Tralee Chamber Alliance representative, Daire McCann of Crean McCann Property, presented Kerry Hospice Foundation and Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre with two donation cheques to the value of 500. The money was raised by the two organisations joint collaboration event and fundraiser for International Womens Day last month. Raising these funds for two vital charities for International Womens Day and in collaboration with Tralee Chamber Alliance has been very rewarding for us as a Network and shows the power of bringing two business organisations together to add value to our community and raise much needed funds for Kerry Hospice Foundation and Kerry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre, Ms Reen said. We continue to look forward as a network for ways we can add value to our community and give back as an organisation wherever we can. Colette OConnor, CEO of Tralee Chamber Alliance said events like that which ran last week highlight the incredible strength of collaboration between organisations such as Tralee Chamber and Network Ireland Kerry. Its inspiring to see the energy, connection, and generosity within our business community. We were delighted to partner on this initiative for International Womens Day 2025, Ms OConnor said. Network Ireland Kerry closed last Thursdays event with a special toast in honour of the 2024 Kerry Businesswomen of the Year and announced the details of the Network Ireland Kerry Awards Ceremony taking place at The Rose Hotel in Tralee on Friday, May 23. The host on the night will be Dr Breda ODwyer, head of department of organisation and professional development and head of the Cantillon Academy at MTU. The keynote speaker will be Norah Casey, an award-winning entrepreneur, broadcaster, publisher and former dragon on Dragons Den. Sponsors for the upcoming Awards include National Partners AIB, Local Partners KerryLEO, Hercules Building Systems, Partnership International, Fexco and MTU. There will also be a raffle held on the night in aid of Kerry Hospice Foundation. Applications for the upcoming Network Ireland Kerry Businesswoman of the Year Awards are closing at 6pm on Thursday. April 17. And can be submitted on networkireland.ie. Pupils from Holy Cross Mercy School in Killarney displayed an abundance of creativity last week when they took part in the annual school tradition that is the Easter Bonnet Parade. The event took place last Wednesday, amidst a jam-packed week of activities in the school in the lead-up to the Easter holidays, and was a huge hit according to organiser Marie Coleman who spoke to The Kerryman. "It's become an annual event and it's one that showcases the children's creativity and their artistic talents. It's so colourful and it's just an exciting end to the second term. The emphasis was on creativity and there was a beautiful exhibition of colour and you're just showcasing the talents of the kids and that's what we love to do, she said. With this emphasis on creativity, Marie said, the children are encouraged to work on their bonnets at home, whether by themselves or, if the children are on the younger side, with the help of their parents. Once they are done, the schools Easter Bonnet Parade takes place with Marie likening it to a fashion show event where the children walk along a catwalk, showing off their headwear creations to the gathered parents and rest of the school community. "Our sixth class girls then actually, they are the MC's for the day. They go up and they give a description of the bonnet and the name of the bonnet. It's really exciting for them, they look forward to it every year because they are running the show for the day. It's a very exciting event annually and everyone looks forward to it, Marie continued. "We actually had a very action-packed week last week in the school. There were three events. There was the Easter Bonnet Parade but then there was also a talent show for the senior side of the school. The kids, they sang and they danced and if they could play an instrument, they played it. They showed off their artwork. "Then on Friday, we had a crazy hair day in recognition of Autism Awareness Month. It was a busy but really amazing week. We were delighted with how it went it was a great way to lead into the Easter holidays, Marie added. The development in Dunboyne will also comprise a cafe, medical unit, two retail units, a community room and two creches An artist's impression of what a section of the proposed development will look like. Photo: stationroaddunboynelrd.ie One of the single largest planned residential developments the State has seen this year has been given the green light in county Meath. Dublin based firm John Connaughton Ltd applied last September to build over 850 new homes on the outskirts of Dunboyne. The plans, had at the time, been widely viewed as being one of the most substantial residential planning applications in recent memory, designs that subject to approval, incorporated the building of 853 new homes. The development had been earmarked on lands spanning over 50 acres at Station Road (L2228) and Old Navan Road (R147), Dunboyne, Co Meath in the townlands of Dunboyne, Clonee, Castle Farm and Loughsallagh. In a further move and to cater for the anticipated population influx into the area, a cafe, medical unit, two retail units, a community room and two creches have similarly been incorporated. The mooted development site stretches to in excess of 54 acres with over two-thirds of that total boasting a net developable area, according to its planning file. Almost 400 of the proposed homes have been earmarked as one, two and three bedroom apartments in three separate apartment blocks. A further 112 duplex homes in six additional apartment blocks, ranging from two to four storeys in height also form part of the application. The plans also provide for 343 houses, spanning one to three storeys with approximately 308 of those comprising of three bedroom homes. The remaining 35 homes comprise 31 four bedroom houses and four two bedroom homes. Meath County Councils planning department has now granted planning permission to the ambitious plans, subject to 49 conditions. In 1997, Jean founded Sophia to be an organisation with a radically different model for addressing homelessness. A model that offered a home with visiting supports and to offer a holistic response to people who had experienced homelessness. Michael McCarthy (Chair of Sophia) said: Jeans vision was ahead of its time. Thirty years ago, the dominant response to homelessness was large scale hostels and shelters. The issue of homelessness was being managed but not solved. "Jeans grassroots work informed her of what people who experienced homelessness wanted most of all; they didnt just want a bed for the night but instead they needed a home for life. "Jean also instinctively knew that people who had experienced the trauma of homelessness also needed a range of supports to help them transition from the instability of homelessness to the security of having a home of ones own. Jean Quinns vision for addressing homelessness enabled Sophia to expand its impact on homelessness to the point where Sophia now provides over 500 homes across the State and supports over 1,500 people at any one time. Jeans vision for a holistic response to homelessness has been proven to work as Sophia attains a 90% success rate i.e. over nine out of ten people supported by Sophia never return to homelessness and this is above the international norm. Sophia believes its model is needed and it is very relevant to addressing the homelessness crisis in Ireland. As patron of Sophia, Jean will continue to nourish and motivate the work of Sophia as well as acting as an ambassador promoting the work of Sophia. Jean is a member of the International Congregation of the Daughters of Wisdom. She is a nurse by profession, studied Family Therapy, Addiction Studies as well as Social Housing Studies with the Irish Council for Social Housing. She also Studied Theology and Philosophy with Milltown Institute in Dublin. As well as holding many congregational and professional leadership roles throughout her career she has been actively involved in International Social Justice through a range of facets for many years. Jean has spent a vast number of years working with the homeless in Dublin and is the Founder of Sophia Housing in Ireland. Her vision and leadership brought strength and growth to Sophia, which is now celebrating its 21st year as an organisation committed to providing a holistic approach in supporting people, specifically women and children on their journey from Homelessness. Jean was a member of the UNANIMA International Board in 2016 and completed an internship that year also. Since joining the UNANIMA International team as the Executive Director in 2017 Jeans passion for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation have continuously been utilized in her international advocacy. Through this role, she sits as the Co-Chair of the NGO Working Group to End Homelessness and Member at Large on the NGO Committee of Social Development. More than 160 students from 46 schools from Donegal, Clare, Mayo, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and Galway attended the awards event on campus to recognise and celebrate their achievements. These students are among the 3.3% of students across the country who achieved a distinction in the Higher Level T2 Irish paper, or the 3.8% of students who achieved a distinction in the Higher Level T1 paper in the 2024 Junior Cycle examinations by scoring between 90% and 100%. University of Galway Interim President Professor Peter McHugh said: We are very proud of the Irish language here in Ollscoil na Gaillimhe and we are delighted to welcome these exceptional students, who achieved outstanding results in their Irish Junior Cycle examinations last year, here today to present them with these Special Irish Recognition Awards. It is our privilege to give these students the praise and recognition they deserve, and to celebrate their achievements with them at this special event. I would also like to acknowledge the dedication, encouragement and support of their families, teachers, and principals, both at home and in the classroom. Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Kevin Boxer Moran, T.D. and Eddie Taaffe, Chief Executive of Wexford County Council met with elected representatives from Enniscorthy Municipal District on Tuesday, April 15, to provide an update on the progression of the Enniscorthy Flood Relief Scheme. They informed representatives that Wexford County Council is working hard with the OPW to deliver the scheme in the two set out phases. Phase One of the scheme will involve the removal of the Seamus Rafter Bridge, which poses a significant obstruction to river flow through the town centre during flood events, and the construction of a new road bridge and new pedestrian bridge to replace the Seamus Rafter Bridge. Meanwhile, Phase 2 of the scheme will involve the construction of the remaining flood relief works required for the town. In addition, elected representatives were updated on immediate priorities for the scheme including: a planned Public Consultation Day (PCD) on options being considered and the emerging preferred option for Phase 1 in May 2025, the submission of a planning application for Phase 1 to An Bord Pleanala in Q2 2026; and the appointment of an engineering consultant to progress Phase 2 design and construction in Q3 2025. Minister Moran welcomed the opportunity for constructive engagement with the Enniscorthy councillors, following monthly invitations from local representatives. He said: "The OPW and Wexford County Council are committed to progressing a flood relief scheme for Enniscorthy, which will protect the local community from significant flood events such as that in 2015. While the delivery of flood relief schemes are complex and challenging, the OPW and Wexford County Council are steadfast in its commitment to deliver a scheme for the people of Enniscorthy." I welcome todays constructive engagement with elected representatives from Enniscorthy Municipal District and I look forward to updating the members again as the scheme progresses through various stages of development including planning and construction, he added. Mr Taaffe emphasised the importance of progressing the project, given the numerous flooding incidents in the area. Minister Kevin 'Boxer' Moran. "We welcome the meeting with Minister Moran today as a positive sign of the ongoing commitment to the flood protections for Enniscorthy town. There have been a number of serious flooding incidents here over the years and it is vital we can secure a sustainable future for the businesses and residents in the area. As a council we are unwavering in our determination to see this project to fruition and look forward to working with the OPW to make this happen as expediently as possible The Enniscorthy Flood Relief Scheme is part of the Governments strategy under Project Ireland 2040 to make Ireland a better country for all and to build a more resilient and sustainable future. The scheme currently has an approved total project budget of approximately 51 million and will be funded through the Governments 2030 National Development Plan with 1.3 billion for flood relief measures, including from the impacts of climate change through future-proofed, adaptable flood relief schemes. When Phase One and Phase Two of the Scheme are completed it is currently envisaged that the scheme will provide protection to approximately 326 properties (including 159 residential and 167 commercial). Fr John Hennebry will be laid to rest in New Ross, Co Wexford, on Wednesday Fr. Des Foley, Fr. Colm OMahony, Fr Michael Collender, Fr. Tony Egan, Fr. Peter Emoit and Fr. Niall Coghlan with the late Fr Hennebry, (centre) at the opening of the Fr. Hennebry building in Good Counsel College. Photo: Patrick Browne Principal Mark O'Brien, Deputy Principal P.J. Walsh, and retired Deputy Principal Aidan O'Brien with the late Fr. Hennebry O.S.A at the official opening of the Fr Hennebry building at Good Counsel College in October 2024. Photo: Patrick Browne The community of New Ross and further afield will bid a final farewell to Fr John Hennebry O.S.A. on Wednesday following his death on Sunday. The former principal of Good Counsel College, New Ross, was known to many as a man who loved to inspire those around him in every aspect of life. Even during his final illness which he faced with courage and dignity he continued to put others before himself. 59-year-old Fr John, a native of Tramore, Co Waterford, died peacefully on Sunday, April 13, in the tender care of the staff, Augustinian community and his family at St. Augustines, Ballyboden, Dublin 16. Since his death there was been an outpouring of tributes outlining the positive impact he had on the lives of so many. His colleague Fr. Anthony OConnor said that despite Fr Johns illness he continued to give himself unsparingly, and said that as a friend of more than 25 years, he always found Fr John to be a most agreeable and supportive colleague who gave 100 per cent to whatever task he undertook and thereby earned the respect of those with whom and for whom he worked. Fr John was ordained in the college church in 1992, and a year later he took up his teaching role in Good Counsel College. In 1997 he succeeded Fr John Cosgrave O.S.A. as principal of the college and was principal of the school until 2013, when he left to take up the role of provincial of the Augustinian Order in Ireland. The influence Fr John had on his students and colleagues during his time at Good Counsel College was evident last October with the opening of the Fr John Hennebry building in the Good Counsel. The modern two-storey building comprises of six classrooms, two science labs, a computer lab, a conference room and social areas for students, and marks the legacy he left behind at the school. At the opening, those in attendance heard that Fr Johns commitment to education and his immense contribution to the life and fabric of the school embody the Augustinian values of Unitas, Veritas, Caritas, that adorn the crest of Good Counsel College. It is envisaged that the building will embody all that Fr John dedicated his life to and be a place of learning, a place of growth, a place of inspiration. The schools current principal, Mark OBrien, described Fr Johns unwavering support and commitment to people, young or old, as one of his many great gifts. He has left an indelible mark on all of us in his own unique way. Each of us who have been lucky enough to call John a colleague and a friend have felt the warmth of his genuine care and love for us, Mr OBrien continued. For so many in our community, John has supported us in times of grief and loss and celebrated our success and joy. For that we are eternally grateful. We are privileged to have been part of Johns wide circle of admires and we will greatly miss his kindness and wisdom. It was fitting, with equal measures of pride and humility, that we named our new building in honour of Fr Hennebry and his legacy and contribution to the College and Augustinian education. We were so pleased that he could be with us back in October for its official opening. However, I believe, the example he gave to all of us in how to live the values of Unity, Truth and Love is his greatest gift to staff and students. We will miss him, Mr OBrien said. Fr. Des Foley, Fr. Colm OMahony, Fr Michael Collender, Fr. Tony Egan, Fr. Peter Emoit and Fr. Niall Coghlan with the late Fr Hennebry, (centre) at the opening of the Fr. Hennebry building in Good Counsel College. Photo: Patrick Browne Former students of Good Counsel College have also shared their condolences and sorrow following his death. One student wrote: I was privileged enough to have been among the generation of young men who attended Good Counsel College during Fr Hennebry's time as principal. Fr Hennebry embodied the Augustinian Motto Unitas, Caritas, Veritas, and left a lasting impression on every student he interacted with. Always available with a friendly ear, sage advice or a witty comment or joke, Fr Hennebry was more than just a teacher. He was a friend to us all. He will be sorely missed. May he rest now in eternal peace. Another student said that while he made an impression on him as a student, his kindness extended into a friendship in later years: My condolences to the Hennebry family and friends on Fr Hennebrys passing. "Henners" was of great comfort to me during my mothers passing and all through her illness. Its something I have never forgotten and wont ever. A blessing to have him as a principal and as a friend. May he rest in peace. In addition to the tributes from his past pupils, those who knew him through his dedication to the Augustinian Order passed on their condolences to his loved ones, with many offering words of comfort from the Deise. Principal Mark O'Brien, Deputy Principal P.J. Walsh, and retired Deputy Principal Aidan O'Brien with the late Fr. Hennebry O.S.A at the official opening of the Fr Hennebry building at Good Counsel College in October 2024. Photo: Patrick Browne The principal of St. Augustines College, Dungarvan, Michael OSullivan wrote: On behalf of the entire community of St. Augustines College, Dungarvan, I wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Fr John Hennebry O.S.A., and to the wider Augustinian Order, on his passing. Fr John was an inspirational figure in Irish education and religious life. A man of great wisdom, humility, and vision. His leadership within the Augustinian community and his commitment to the development of young people through education marked him as a true servant leader. He carried out his duties with grace and quiet strength, always guided by deep faith and compassion. Above all, he was a true gentleman. His kindness, sense of purpose, and unwavering dedication left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of working with him or knowing him. His legacy will live on in the lives he touched and the institutions he helped to shape, Mr OSullivan concluded. Fr Johns skills in leadership and kind and inspiring characteristics were shared throughout many messages of condolences. A member of the Friary Choir in Dungarvan describes the group as having fond memories of him as our Provincial and his inspirational input into our journey as part of the Augustinian team". Another tribute reiterates the impact Fr John had on everyone he met: We extend our heartfelt condolences to the Hennebry family and the Augustinian community on the passing of Fr John Hennebry. He will be remembered by many as a compassionate leader whose kindness and good nature touched countless lives. We feel truly blessed that he was able to concelebrate our marriage and share in our joy, his presence made those moments even more meaningful. His legacy will continue to live on in the hearts of all who knew him, it continued. Fr John is predeceased by his parents, Michael and Alice. He is deeply mourned by his sister Brid, brothers Michael and Anthony, sister-in-law Ann, brother-in-law Colin, nephews and nieces, grand-nephew and grand-niece, relatives, Augustinian Confreres and a wide circle of friends. Fr Johns remains will be reposing at Cooneys Funeral Directors, New Ross from 4pm to 7pm on Tuesday, April 15. His removal will then take place arriving to the Church of St Marys and St Michaels at 7.30pm for prayers. Fr. Johns funeral mass will take place on Wednesday, April 16 at 10 a.m. in the parish church of St. Marys and St. Michaels, New Ross. His burial will take place at the Augustinian cemetery, Good Counsel College grounds, New Ross. Family flowers only, donations if desired to Our Ladys Hospice and Care Services, Harold's Cross, Dublin 6. Donald Trumps top advisers and the president of El Salvador have said they have no basis for the Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. Trump administration officials emphasised that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that the US has no say in his future. Hungarys parliament yesterday passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics call another step towards authoritarianism by the populist government. LATEST | Trump again claims Ukraine started war as world fury grows with Russia over Sumy strike it claims hit military meeting Zelensky calls for global response to attack which has left at least 34 dead Rescue workers carry a dead body after a Russian missile strike on Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Volodymyr Hordiienko) Lorne Cook Associated Press Tue 15 Apr 2025 at 03:30 Donald Trump has once again falsely blamed Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war in Ukraine without acknowledging Vladimir Putins military invasion in February 2022. The UK and France are planning to present Donald Trump with a comprehensive plan for a post-war reassurance force in Ukraine that they hope will persuade the US president to commit to security guarantees for Kyiv, according to people familiar with the matter. In the next two weeks, military chiefs aim to hammer out the details of how a Europe-led coalition of the willing will help ensure the security of Ukraines airspace, coastline and land as well as the regeneration of its forces, UK defence secretary John Healey and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu said. Elon Musks misadventures with DOGE might be the ultimate example of a powerful flaw in how we think about leaders. Thats our tendency to believe skills and accomplishments are portable, that someone who excels in one venue will be just as impressive in others. I call this exceptional - if imaginary - superpower omni-genius.In reality, though, success doesnt exist without context. While theres no pleasure in watching Musk make a mess of the US government, maybe it will help clarify the crucial link between the two. Palestinians injured in an Israeli airstrike are brought to the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on April 12. Photo: AP The latest round of talks in Cairo to restore the defunct Gaza ceasefire and free Israeli hostages ended with no apparent breakthrough, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said yesterday. The sources said Hamas had stuck to its position that any agreement must lead to an end to the war in Gaza. Overnight, US airstrikes killed at least six people and wounded dozens in Yemens Sanaa province, Houthi media reported yesterday. A Yemeni news channel showed firefighters tackling a raging fire they said was caused by the latest airstrikes. The Houthis, who rule much of the Arab nation, also claimed in a local news broadcast that they had shot down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone. Animal Salvaje OTT Release Date: Get ready to meet Anton, a grumpy country vet who suddenly finds himself surrounded by posh poodles, glittery collars, and pet spa treatments. According to What's on Netflix, the Spanish comedy series Animal Salvaje is set to premiere on Netflix on August 22, 2025. Its funny, heartfelt, and full of that classic small-town-meets-big-city chaos, all packed into one wild, pet-filled ride. Whats Animal Salvaje all about? At the centre of Animal Salvaje is Anton, played by Luis Zahera, a vet from rural Galicia, the kind of guy more comfortable treating cows than cuddling chihuahuas. But life takes a turn when hes forced to work at a fancy pet boutique in the city, run by his young and driven niece Uxia (played by Lucia Caraballo). Antons world flips upside down. Gone are the muddy fields and cowbells. Instead, hes dealing with dog grooming, glittery accessories, and rich clients who treat their pets like royalty. The clash between Antons old-school ways and the over-the-top world of urban pet parenting is what gives this comedy its heart and humour. Still from Animal Salvaje | Credits: Netflix Meet the cast of Animal Salvaje The show brings together a strong cast, including Luis Zahera (Entrevias, Vivir sin permiso) as Anton, the traditional vet trying to fit in, Lucia Caraballo (No me gusta conducir) as Uxia, his ambitious niece and boutique owner, Carmen Ruiz (Amar en tiempos revueltos) and Antonio Duran Morris (Farina) among others. Made in Galicia, from the Heart What makes Animal Salvaje stand out is its setting. The story takes place in Topomorto, a fictional village created by blending multiple real locations in Galicia, including Diono, A Calle, Pontemaceira, Teo, and Vedra. The boutique scenes are set in Santiago de Compostela, showing the contrast between the quiet countryside and the stylish city life. The creators, Aitor Gabilondo (Patria, El Silencio) and Jota Aceytuno (Urban, La vida es nuestra), teamed up with directors Alberto del Toro and Victor Garcia Leon. The script comes from a talented writing team: Ana Boyero, Araceli Alvarez de Sotomayor, German Aparicio, and Daniel Castro. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Istanbul Encyclopedia OTT Release Date: If you enjoy stories that speak straight to the heart about growing up, growing apart, and finding unexpected companionship, then Istanbul Encyclopedia might just be your next watch. The all-new Turkish drama is ready to make its Netflix debut on April 17, 2025, and promises a heartwarming tale that blends generational tension with emotional healing. This story feels like home... Istanbul Encyclopedia revolves around Zehra, a young woman trying to make a fresh start in the bustling city of Istanbul. But shes not alone, she moves in with her mothers old friend, Dr. Nesrin, a reserved and seemingly tough woman from a very different world. What starts off as an awkward living arrangement soon unfolds into a heartwarming journey of connection, confrontation, and quiet understanding. Through Zehra and Nesrins contrasting lives, one just beginning to chase dreams, the other wrestling with lifes missed chances, the show captures the everyday moments that define us: making tea for someone without asking, arguments that sting, silences that say more than words, and memories that linger in every room. More about Istanbul Encyclopedia Helin Kandemir stars as Zehra, the headstrong, hopeful student who moves into a world she barely understands. Canan Erguder plays Dr. Nesrin, the older woman with her own unresolved past and quiet heartbreak. Supporting the leads are talented actors like Mujde Ar, Tolga Tekin, Nezaket Erden, and Kaan Mirac Sezen. Behind the camera is Selman Nacar, a director known for his honest storytelling. This show is a love letter to Istanbul, too and not just the city, but the memories it holds, the homes tucked away in narrow lanes, and the personal histories written into every street. Dont forget to watch Istanbul Encyclopedia and come back to review @indiatimes. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. One Piece chapter 1146 release date & time: After a two-week break, One Piece Chapter 1146 will shortly be released, much to the delight of fans. It is anticipated that the next chapter would begin with Gunko facing the Straw Hat gang, laying the groundwork for yet another fierce battle. Here is all you need to know about Chapter 1146, if you've been anxiously awaiting the next part. This includes the official release date, timing, and what to anticipate from the story's next thrilling development. One Piece chapter 1146 release date & time One Piece Chapter 1146 will be available on Monday, April 21, 2025, at 12 a.m. JST, according to MANGAPlus. In India it is reported to release on April 20, 2025, at 8:30 p.m. IST (Indian Standard Time). Where to read One Piece chapter 1146? Through official sites like Viz Media's website, Shueisha's MANGAPlus website, and Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ app, readers can pick up One Piece Chapter 1146. The chapter may also be found in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 21 for fans. Luffy and Zoro pic.twitter.com/j8VZJjgE0e One Piece Daily (@opdaiIy) April 14, 2025 What to expect from One Piece chapter 1146? Given that current arc hasn't yet shown the Straw Hats in action, One Piece Chapter #1146 has a good possibility of doing so, according to Screenrant. However, since their opponent is a member of God's Knights, who are perhaps even higher ranking than the Navy Admirals, their action will be given more weight this time. Without Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, this battle will be the greatest way to gauge how strong the other Straw Hats are. Jinbe will undoubtedly take the lead, with Nami and Usopp following suit. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, as well as celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Ibrahim Ali Khan may have inherited Saif Ali Khan's charm and Sharmila Tagore's legacy, but it seems that wasn't enough to save his debut film, Nadaaniyan. While fans were eagerly waiting to be wowed, the trailer, and eventually the film, left them thoroughly underwhelmed. And now, his own grandmother, Sharmila Tagore, didn't hold back either, bluntly stating, "the picture isn't great." Oof! In a candid chat with Anandabazar Patrika, veteran actor and Bollywood royalty Sharmila Tagore didn't mince words when talking about grandson Ibrahim Ali Khan's debut in Nadaaniyan. Echoing the sentiments of many viewers, she admitted, "Ibrahim's film was not good, but he still looks very handsome. He has tried his best. These things shouldn't really be said in front of everyone, but honestly, the picture isn't great. Ultimately, the picture has to be good." Nadaaniyan poster | Credit: Netflix However, she did note, just like any other doting grandma: "Sara and Ibrahim are doing a wonderful job." The 80-year-old veteran, whose Bengali film Puratawn is currently in theatres, also praised Sara Ali Khan, saying, "Sara is a good actress. She works very hard and is capable of doing a lot more. She'll also achieve that." Up next, Ibrahim will be seen in Karan Johar's Sarzameen alongside Kajol, while Sara is all set to star in Anurag Basu's Metro... In Dino opposite Aditya Roy Kapur. Sharmila Tagore's next Directed by Suman Ghosh, Puratwan has won several awards, including Best Feature Film at the Indian Film Festival of Houston and Best Film and Best Actress (for Sharmila Tagore) at the Washington DC South Asian Film Festival. In a recent interview with PTI, Sharmila shared that Puratwan will be her last Bengali film due to health reasons. "I love doing Bengali films. I love everything about Kolkata, but I am not as fit (for acting in shoots) as required due to my health conditions." For those unaware, Tagore was diagnosed with stage zero lung cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her daughter Soha Ali Khan said it was caught very early and removed surgically, with no need for chemotherapy. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Pohela Boishakh 2025 holiday: Pohela Boishakh, also known as the Bengali New Year, is one of the most important festivals in West Bengal and Bangladesh. This day marks the beginning of the new year as per the Bengali calendar. People celebrate with great enthusiasm, colourful clothes, traditional food, and cultural programmes. Lets take a look at whether banks, schools, and government offices will be open or closed on Pohela Boishakh 2025, and what to expect on this special day. When is Pohela Boishakh 2025? In 2025, Pohela Boishakh will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 15, according to the Drik Panchang. The Sankranti moment, which marks the transition, will occur at 3:30 AM on Monday, April 14. Although Bangladesh has been celebrating Pohela Boishakh on April 14 since 1987, in India, the date may vary slightly between April 14 and 15, depending on regional calendars. Are Schools Closed on Pohela Boishakh 2025? Yes, schools and colleges in West Bengal and some nearby regions will remain shut on Tuesday, April 15, in celebration of the Bengali New Year. This day is observed as a public school holiday, allowing students and teachers to take part in cultural festivities and family gatherings. Are Government Offices Open on Bengali New Year? No, most government offices in West Bengal will remain closed on April 15 for Pohela Boishakh. It is recognised as an official public holiday, and state employees usually get the day off to enjoy the Bengali New Year celebrations. Will Banks Be Open on Pohela Boishakh 2025? According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holiday list, banks will remain closed on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in several cities, including: Kolkata Guwahati Agartala Itanagar Shimla The reason is not just Pohela Boishakh, but also Bohag Bihu and Himachal Day, depending on the region. Hence, it is considered a bank holiday in these locations. People are advised to complete important banking tasks in advance. However, online services such as mobile and net banking will remain available as usual. Are Shops and Markets Open on Pohela Boishakh? Yes, most shops and markets in West Bengal are expected to stay open on April 15. In fact, this day is considered lucky for businesses. Many merchants start a fresh financial year by holding a special ritual called Halkhata, where new account books are opened with prayers for prosperity. So, even though its a day of celebration, business activities carry on in full swing. Upcoming Bank Holidays in April 2025 (State-wise List) If youre planning your month, here are some upcoming bank holidays after Pohela Boishakh: April 16 (Wednesday) Banks closed in Assam for Bohag Bihu Banks closed in Assam for Bohag Bihu April 18 (Friday) Good Friday: Banks closed in Tripura, Assam, Rajasthan, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, and Srinagar Good Friday: Banks closed in Tripura, Assam, Rajasthan, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh, and Srinagar April 20 (Sunday) Regular weekend holiday Regular weekend holiday April 21 (Monday) Garia Puja: Banks closed in Tripura Garia Puja: Banks closed in Tripura April 26 (Saturday) Fourth Saturday: All banks across India will be closed Fourth Saturday: All banks across India will be closed April 29 (Tuesday) Parshuram Jayanti: Banks closed in Himachal Pradesh Parshuram Jayanti: Banks closed in Himachal Pradesh April 30 (Wednesday) Basava Jayanti and Akshaya Tritiya: Banks closed in Karnataka What is Pohela Boishakh, and why is it celebrated? Pohela Boishakh literally means the "first day of Boishakh"the first month in the Bengali calendar. The Bengali era or Bangabda began in 594 CE, although some historians believe it was formally introduced during the reign of King Shashanka. However, it was Emperor Akbar who shaped the modern form of this calendar in the Mughal period. Akbars calendar, known as the Fasholi Shan or "harvest calendar", was a blend of the Islamic Hijri calendar and the Hindu solar calendar, adjusted to suit agricultural cycles. Is Pohela Boishakh a Holiday in 2025? Yes, Pohela Boishakh 2025 is a holiday in West Bengal and some other parts of India. Schools, government offices, and banks will be closed in many cities. However, shops and businesses are mostly open and actively take part in celebrating the Bengali New Year with rituals like Halkhata. If you're planning to visit any bank or office, its best to check local listings or call in advance to avoid inconvenience. For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. China has delivered a strong counterpunch in the ongoing trade battle with the United States. Following President Donald Trumps decision to impose sharp tariffs on a range of Chinese goods, China has retaliated by halting aircraft deliveries from Boeing, a major blow to the American aerospace industry. With further tensions unfolding in sectors like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, both nations appear locked in a strong economic standoff that is now expanding into new areas of global trade. Boeing grounded: China blocks aircraft deliveries As a part of direct response to US tariff moves, China has instructed its domestic airlines to stop accepting new aircraft from Boeing. The news as reported by Bloombergfurther complicates trade relations between the two countries. Boeing, which relies heavily on China as a key customer, is now facing the fallout of political decisions beyond its control. US expands tariff plans to pharma and chips As part of its wider strategy, the Trump administration is now looking into tariffs on pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports. Official filings show that the White House has launched investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, citing national security concerns. Donald Trump defends tariff policy, rejects exemption claims Donald Trump with Chinese President | Credit: X Facing backlash and confusion over the scope of the new tech tariffs, President Trump used Truth Social to clarify his stance. He firmly denied reports suggesting exemptions for products like smartphones and semiconductors, stating these items remain tariffed under a new category. Trump criticized the media for misreporting and insisted that no country, particularly China, would be let off the hook for what he termed unfair trade practices. Temporary relief for tech imports wont last Though the US Customs and Border Protection had temporarily held off tariffs on select tech itemsbringing brief relief to industries reliant on Chinese manufacturingTrump officials clarified the pause is only part of a broader national security review. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said tariffs of 20% will apply across the board, with some items facing up to 125%. All products under review are being evaluated by the Commerce Department for final decisions. French PM slams US over global impact The fallout of the US-China trade war isnt just bilateral. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou described the US tariff policy as a tsunami of destabilisation, warning that it shakes the foundation of global economic trust. Speaking at a press conference on Frances 2026 budget, Bayrou said Trumps aggressive strategy has turned the US into an unpredictable force in world trade. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods to a staggering 145 percent, and now a country like India has found itself in a curious position. While India itself faced a steep 27 percent tariff on its exports to the U.S., the harsher measures imposed on China suddenly made India look like a better deal. For years, India has aimed to present itself as a viable alternative to Chinas manufacturing dominance. With the trade war in full swing, that dream feels closeryet still fraught with old challenges. A seeming advantage, but are we ready? While Trump's 27 percent tariff on Indian exports caused concern, Indian officials and business leaders remained cautiously optimistic. Compared to the 145 percent slapped on Chinese goods, Indias situation seemed manageable, even advantageous. Praveen Khandelwal, a BJP Member of Parliament and a prominent figure in Indian business circles, described it as a significant opening for Indias trade and industrial sectors. Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping | Credit: X However, when comparing in reality this optimism must be weighed against reality. India has long attempted to compete with China by boosting its manufacturing capabilities. According to The New York Times, under Prime Minister Narendra Modis Make in India initiative, the government has invested over $26 billion in incentives for manufacturers. The plan aimed to reduce dependence on Chinese imports and create 100 million new jobs by 2022. Yet, even with some progress, Indias manufacturing share in the economy has declined from 15 percent to below 13 percent over the past decade. Apples iPhones are a start, but the bigger picture is complex A key success story has been Apples manufacturing shift. Taiwanese firm Foxconn, which assembles iPhones, has started moving production from China to India. In Tamil Nadu, a cluster of Apple suppliers now reportedly handle about 20 percent of global iPhone production. Ahead of Trumps tariff announcement, exports from Tamil Nadus main airport spiked as companies rushed shipments to the U.S. PM Modi with US President Donald Trump | Credit: X At present it can be looked upon as that while India may increase its share to 30 percent of iPhone production globally, replicating Chinas manufacturing ecosystem at scale remains a tough task. The Indian government has improved infrastructure and streamlined some regulations. But critical gaps in workforce skills and inter-regional connectivity can still limit the countrys full potential. Opportunity meets old obstacles As per the findings of The New York Times, at the Rai Industrial Estate near New Delhi, factories stand on land that once grew wheat and mustard. Some units here, like LiKraft, which produces lithium-ion batteries, have been operating for years. Others are just starting. Vikram Bathla, who founded LiKraft in 2019, said that the core challenges they face are the: lack of skilled workers. His company imports most of its tech from China, from cells to machinery, but struggles to find workers capable of handling high-tech tasks. Workers at LiKraft, most of them migrants, start with Chinese-made cells and operate imported machines to produce batteries labelled Made in India. Despite the label, the supply chain remains largely foreign. In nearby factories, the story is similar. AutoKame, which makes car seat covers, depends on raw materials from overseas and operates imported machines from Europe. Policy, power and the fear of courts Many of these manufacturing units run into the same set of problems: expensive land, inconsistent policies, and limited financing. Anil Bhardwaj, head of a manufacturing trade body, pointed out that Indias legal system also creates hurdles. Smaller firms are reluctant to scale due to fear of litigation and biased rulings that favour large companies with better legal access. With over 50 million cases pending, India's clogged judicial system is another obstacle in the path to industrial growth. Donald Trump with PM Modi | Credit: X Still, there has been progress. Power supply has improved, particularly in areas like Haryana. Some processes have become more efficient under Modis administration. But these improvements havent been enough to inspire confidence among smaller manufacturers who still battle red tape and regulatory uncertainty. Can India truly compete? Theres no doubt that Trumps trade war with China has opened a door for India. But translating this advantage into a long-term gain depends on Indias ability to address deep-rooted structural issues. While large players like Apple are ramping up production, smaller firms struggle with outdated systems, skill shortages, and policy unpredictability. Unless these long-standing issues are resolved, India risks letting this rare chance slip by. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Its not every day that a top tech billionaire praises an Indian startup online, and even rarer when it's for a baby product. But that's exactly what happened when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to X to give a big thumbs up to a smart crib designed by Bengaluru entrepreneur Radhika Patil. Now that's a proud moment! OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who became a dad earlier this year, has given a big thumbs up to a smart crib made by Bengaluru-born entrepreneur Radhika Patil's startup, Cradlewise. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman called it one of the few baby products he and his partner actually found worth buying: "We bought a lot of silly baby things that we haven't needed. but definitely i recommend a cradlewise crib and a lot more burp rags than you think you could possibly need." we bought a lot of silly baby things that we haven't needed but definitely i recommend a cradlewise crib and a lot more burp rags than you think you could possibly need Sam Altman (@sama) April 13, 2025 A pleasantly surprised Radhika responded, "Thanks for loving us @sama. The AI god's trust in the smarts of @cradlewise means a lot to us. Wishing you all more [sleep]" Thanks for loving us@sama . The AI gods trust in the smarts of@cradlewise means a lot to us. Wishing you all more Radhika | Cradlewise (@radhikagandhi) April 14, 2025 What is Cradlewise? Cradlewise was founded in 2016 by Radhika Patil and her husband, Bharath Patil. The startup, which operates in both the U.S. and India, focuses on tech-based solutions to help babies (and parents!) sleep better. The idea for their smart crib was first brought to life in Bengaluru. But aiming to launch it in the U.S. market, the couple moved there with their two kids during the pandemic. Priced at about $1,999 in the U.S. and Rs 1.5 lakh in India, the crib comes with a built-in monitor, soothing music, and a gentle bouncing motion that activates when the baby stirs, helping calm them before they start crying. It also adjusts as the baby grows, converting from a bassinet into a crib for toddlers up to two years old. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending. Trigger Warning: This article contains references to murder, death and crime. Readers discretion is strictly advised. A man accused of sending a death threat to actor Salman Khan has been tracked down to a village in Vadodara district, Gujarat. According to PTI, police revealed on Tuesday (15th April) that he has been found to be mentally unstable. Mumbai police have issued a notice to the 26-year-old man, who lives in a village in Waghodia taluka, directing him to appear before them. More about the latest threat issued to Salman Khan The threat was received via the Mumbai Traffic Police's WhatsApp helpline on Sunday. In the message, the sender warned of planting a bomb in Salman Khans car and physically attacking the actor, who is under Y-Plus security cover, by entering his residence. In response, the Worli police in Mumbai registered a case against the then-unknown sender under Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Security was also increased around Khans home in the Bandra area. During the investigation, Mumbai police discovered that the threat had come from a person residing in Waghodia taluka, Vadodara, Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand informed reporters. He shared, A team of Mumbai police, accompanied by Waghodia police, reached the suspect's house at a village in Waghodia on Monday. However, it turned out that the 26-year-old man, who had sent the message, is mentally unstable and his treatment is also going on. The Mumbai police served him a notice to appear and left". Quick look at Salman Khans security threats in the past year In April last year, two people on a motorbike fired four shots outside Salman Khan's home at Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai's Bandra. This wasnt the first time Khan had been threatened, he had earlier received warnings from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. They had demanded an apology to the Bishnoi community over the alleged blackbuck hunting incident and warned of serious consequences if he didnt comply. Due to these threats, Mumbai police assigned Khan Y-Plus security protection. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending. Move over Single's Inferno, Heart Signal, and I AM SOLO; there's a new love story on the block, and this time, it's breaking barriers. South Korea is about to make history with ToGetHer, its first-ever lesbian dating reality show, and we are as excited as you are. With all the makings of a classic K-drama centered on queer women, this show promises heart flutters, vulnerable confessions, and even lifelong love. The dating show was announced earlier this year. A poster was launched on April 1, and a new teaser has now only added to the buzz. As we anticipate the show, here's everything from release date to streaming platformyou need to know about ToGetHer. ToGetHer teaser: Single ladies search for true love on screen ToGetHer recently dropped its first teaser, and its giving ultimate K-drama vibes. It opens with a group of single women entering the ToGetHer house, their expressions a mix of nerves and hope. As they settle in, the women start opening up about their expectations for lovenot just a fling but the kind of romance that makes you want to spend a lifetime with someone. You know, the kind we see in slow-mo drama scenes and read about in late-night novels. Further in the teaser, the women are seen partaking in various activities, including cooking and painting, to get to know each other. At one point, we also see one woman make a heartfelt confession to another participant, expressing how they have had eyes only for them since the beginning. Isn't it sweet? Fans react to ToGetHer teaser Fans wholeheartedly welcomed the new concept with open arms, with one writing on X, "Why is this so cute?! I'm so used to dating shows in Spain or the USA that this is so new to me." Why is this so cute?! I'm so used to dating shows in Spain or USA that this is so new to me https://t.co/WXWzuPSpSp DdeDena (@d3enagl) April 14, 2025 "Wavve really knows how to release the wlw content. They really started it with Love Alarm. Clap! Clap! Clap!" another user wrote. wavve really knows how to release the wlw content. They really started it with Love Alarm Clap! Clap! Clap! https://t.co/ynS01k85Hd Sam saw TWICE @ RTB LV (@Samsteazy) April 14, 2025 "I am so fucking hyped for this, like, Im so seated Ive fallen through the chair. I cant express enough how excited I am." a third individual added. i am so fucking hyped for this like im so seated ive fallen through the chair i cant express enough how excited i am https://t.co/cIKsKMT6T6 mari (@sanazilla) April 14, 2025 "This will be the only time Ill watch a dating show, AND ITS WLW FOR MEEEEE," mentioned another user. this will be the only time ill watch a dating show AND ITS WLW FOR MEEEEE https://t.co/j2yAytCb8m lorem ipsum (@yyxyela) April 14, 2025 ToGetHer cast: Who will be there in the show? The faces of the women who have participated in the show have been kept blurred, adding to the intrigue. While dating shows usually feature non-celebrities, in recent shows like Single's Inferno, we have seen participation from semi-celebs like models and Instagram influencers. ToGetHer: When and where to watch? The show premieres on April 25 on Wavve, South Koreas homegrown streaming platform. So, if you're ready to see love bloom in a refreshing setting, you know when and where to stream. For all the latest K-drama, K-pop, and Hallyuwood updates, keep following our coverage here. National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and the president of the Independent Authority for Public Revenues (AADE) Giorgos Pitsilis on Tuesday signed a memorandum of cooperation between the defence ministry's Internal Affairs Service and the Internal Affairs Directorate of AADE. "The purpose of the memorandum is the cooperation between the two bodies on matters of asset control and the enhancement of the effectiveness of controls," said Dendias in a post on "X". "The aim is also to combat corruption and ensure transparency, as well as to protect the financial interests of the State in the execution of contracts for armament programmes," he added. iefimerida.gr Wherever Greeks may be, they welcome with true joy the designation by UNESCO of February 9 as "World Greek Language Day", Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a post on Facebook. Every year, he added, the world will honor the vehicle carrying the values of the country that gave birth to democracy , and that established philosophy and the sciences. Mitsotakis hailed the act as "an undoubted success of our cultural diplomacy - as proof of the global appeal Homer's language always had", and beyond. The unanimous decision, he said, to choose as point of reference and honor the day national poet Dionysios Solomos died "makes us doubly proud." Both because the Greek language is identified with the nation's historic progress, but also because it declares its universal human status, so that all citizens of the world may keep in mind poet Odysseas Elytis' line, "The language given me was Greek." Mitsotakis also referred to the designation event earlier in the day, during his first monthly meeting with Greek President Constantine Tassoulas, who also recalled the two Greek poets to win the Nobel Prize, George Seferis in 1963 and Odysseas Elytis in 1979. Tassoulas had cited Elytis as saying in a speech in November 1979 that there is no other language in the world where the words 'sky' (ouranos) and 'sea' (thalassa) have been spoken over 3,000 years, from Homer and Plato to the present. iefimerida.gr Popular comedian and activist, Mr Macaroni, has fired shots at supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing them of years of non-stop online harassment. In a post shared on his official X handle on Monday, Mr Macaroni expressed disbelief at how some of these trolls now portray themselves as victims, despite their constant attacks on him and his family. I love APC Trolls so much!!! Till Today I never rest from them. They insult me, insult my family, series of curses and attacks for years now! But somehow they are the victims, he wrote, adding a laughing emoji to mock their claims. Advertisement READ MORE: Portable Remanded In Kwara Prison Over Unmet Bail Requirements The skit maker, who rose to political prominence during the 2020 #EndSARS protests, has remained one of the most vocal critics of bad governance in Nigeria. His criticism has often made him a target for online attacks, especially from political supporters. Despite the backlash, Mr Macaroni has maintained his stance, insisting that citizens must always speak truth to power, no matter the cost. SEE POST: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the security policies of President Bola Tinubu, following a deadly attack in Plateau State that resulted in the deaths of at least 47 people on Sunday. The attack took place in the Zike community, Kimakpa area of Bassa Local Government Area, and came just a week after another deadly assault in Bokkos Local Government Area. Atiku has pointed to the failure of the current administrations security strategies, claiming that Tinubus policies have left citizens vulnerable to repeated terrorist and bandit attacks. Advertisement He also highlighted the worsening situation in Borno State, where Boko Haram insurgents continue to carry out attacks, resulting in the loss of both lives and territory. In a statement released by his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku expressed deep concern over the increase in violence, which he believes shows the governments inability to provide the necessary protection. He noted that the frequency of attacks, especially in Northern Nigeria, is alarming and requires urgent attention from the federal government. Atiku has called for stronger, more proactive measures to curb these attacks, particularly urging the government to prioritize the swift prosecution of captured terrorists and bandits. He criticized the delayed judicial processes, with many criminals languishing in custody without trial since 2016, thus emboldening them to carry out their violent acts without fear of consequences. The former vice president further condemned the ease with which armed groups operate across Nigerias borders, stressing that simply condemning terrorist activities is insufficient. He called for immediate actions that could prevent future attacks and ensure justice for the victims. According to Atiku, the lack of accountability and justice is contributing to the continued insecurity in the country. Every sincere Nigerian should be worried about the frequency and impunity with which terrorists and bandits attack innocent people in the country, especially in Northern Nigeria, which has become the epicentre of terrorist violence in the country, Atiku said in the statement made on Monday. Atiku also added, If the government had applied the same energy in the prosecution of terrorists and bandits as it did in the trial of political critics, it would have gone a long way to send a powerful message to the outlaws that there are consequences for mass murder. He further emphasised, Hundreds of terrorists and bandits have been in custody since 2016 without trial, and the delay in bringing them to justice is demoralising to our security forces. If terrorists and bandits are captured and then are left in custody longer than necessary without trial, it will undermine the efforts and sacrifices of our security forces. Melinda Gates, the former wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has discussed their divorce in her new book, The Next Day. Bill and Melinda tied the knot in 1994, but after 27 years together, they announced their divorce in 2021. During a recent interview on ABCs Good Morning America, which was shared on YouTube on Monday, Melinda explained that she felt it was important to speak openly about her divorce in order to be honest with herself and to relate to others who have gone through similar experiences. Advertisement She called the separation painful, but also acknowledged it as a transition that brought some growth. READ MORE: APC Supporters Curse My Family, But Now Claim To Be The Victims Mr Macaroni The 60-year-old also highlighted that divorce is a difficult experience for any family and shared her hope that her story could provide some valuable insight. It was important because if I am going to be my most authentic self. People knew I had gone through it, she said. And it is hard on any family, so I write from my perspective. But its not something I would wish on anybody and unfortunately so many families go through it. It is a big transition. And for me, while it was painful for sure, I ended up learning some lessons and there was some growth in there, too. Bill and Melinda first met in 1987 when she joined Microsoft as a product manager. They got married in Hawaii in 1994 and went on to establish the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, a nonprofit focused on addressing global poverty and disease. After their divorce, Melinda stepped down from her role at the foundation in May 2024. The former couple has three children: son Rory, 25, and daughters Phoebe, 22, and Jennifer, 28. Bill described his divorce from Melinda as his biggest regret in life, a statement he made in January. SEE BELOW: Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have arrested 19 suspected internet fraudsters in Benin, Edo State. It was gathered that the suspects, which identities are yet to be revealed to public were apprehended in different locations in the state over the weekend. This was contained in a statement by EFCCs Spokesman Dele Oyewale on Monday, saying that the suspects were arrested based on credible intelligence that linked them to fraudulent internet activities. Advertisement Mr. Oyewale disclosed that expensive items, such as cars, laptops and smartphones were recovered from the arrested individuals. He said: Operatives of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Saturday, April 12, 2025, arrested 19 suspected internet fraudsters at different locations within Benin City, Edo State. READ MORE: Edo Fraudster Turns Himself In To EFCC, Confesses To Romance Scams The suspects were arrested based on credible intelligence that linked them to fraudulent internet activities. Items recovered from them included five exotic cars and smartphones. They would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded. The Niger State Police Command has arrested four suspected kidnappers who were found in possession of two locally made pistols and a Dane gun in Rijau, located in the Rijau Local Government Area of the state. On Monday, the state command, via its Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed that the suspects were arrested on April 12, 2025, by police operatives from the Rijau Division. The individuals apprehended were Shehu Mohammed, 35, Mamman Sani, Daudu Mohammed, 37, and Jibrin Ahmodu, all hailing from Rijau Local Government Area. Advertisement READ MORE: Driver Nabbed While Dumping Refuse On Lagos Expressway He stated that initial investigations showed the suspects had abducted a female victim from Angwan-Gwanda village in Rijau within the past month, but she was able to escape from their captivity. The victim was able to recognise one of the suspects, which eventually resulted in the apprehension of the other individuals involved. The suspects confessed to the crime and they are under investigation. All will be charged in court for prosecution after the investigations, Abiodun disclosed. In another operation, he revealed that police operatives stopped a trailer truck with the registration number NDG 161 XA at Garima Junction, Bosso, which was found to be transporting 900 bags of cement valued at more than N9 million. He mentioned that the cement was believed to have been diverted from its original destination in Maiduguri, Borno State. During interrogation, the suspect confessed that he was a motor boy to the driver of the truck, Ibrahim Yusuf, who is at large, that they conspired with one other and removed the truck with intent to sell the cement, abandon the truck and escape before he was arrested, Abiodun stated. The police spokesperson also revealed that the suspect was arraigned in court on April 9th on charges of criminal conspiracy and theft. Following the trial, he was sentenced to ten months in prison without the option of a fine. Efforts are ongoing to arrest and prosecute the driver at large. The cement truck was released to the companys representative through a court order, he added. Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, on Monday, issued a firm warning to newly elected local government chairmen, urging them to avoid corruption, inefficiency, and negligence in their duties. During the swearing-in ceremony of the 34 chairmen, Radda made it clear that any form of misconduct would not be tolerated under his administration. He emphasised that local governments serve as the closest link between the government and the people, and as such, the expectations from the citizens were extremely high. Advertisement Your election represents the trust placed in you by your communities, Radda stated. Today marks the beginning of a new era in grassroots governance in Katsina. The governor highlighted the vital role local governments play in fostering development and peace within the state. He urged the new chairmen to focus on key areas such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and security. Radda also reiterated his commitment to implementing full local government autonomy and announced the establishment of a new department under the Ministry for Local Government, which would be tasked with monitoring performance and safeguarding resources. Radda encouraged the chairmen to uphold integrity and transparency in their governance, stressing that public service should always prioritize the welfare of the people. He emphasised that they must be judicious in managing public funds and ensure that every kobo allocated to their councils is used for the benefit of the people. Also speaking at the event, APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, congratulated the chairmen and urged them to emulate the governors approach to governance. He praised Raddas commitment to local government independence and his focus on effective management. With the bar set high, the new chairmen will have to prove themselves capable of delivering on the promises made to their communities. The Lagos State House of Assembly has emphasized the urgent need for the full enforcement of the Tenancy Law of 2015 to address the persistent problem of arbitrary rent hikes across the state. This call follows growing concerns from residents and lawmakers about the rising cost of housing in Lagos, which has been making it increasingly difficult for many to find affordable accommodation. During a recent session on Tuesday, Hon. Saad Olumoh moved a motion urging the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to ensure that the Tenancy Law is implemented to its full extent. Advertisement He highlighted how excessive rent increases were exacerbating the housing crisis and making it harder for the average Lagosian to secure a place to live. He cited Section 37 of the law, which prohibits unjustified rent hikes and offers tenants legal recourse against such practices. The Assembly also urged the Commissioner for Information and Strategy to launch more extensive public awareness campaigns, educating residents on the provisions of the Tenancy Law and how they can protect themselves from illegal rent increases. These efforts aim to equip tenants with the knowledge they need to challenge unlawful practices by landlords. Hon. Desmond Elliot, representing Surulere 1, added his concerns, noting that rents in his constituency had increased by as much as 100 to 200 percent. While he acknowledged that infrastructural development may influence rent prices, he stressed that such increases should not be allowed to escalate unchecked. Elliot also called for a review of the provision requiring tenants to pay two years rent upfront, along with commissions and legal fees. As rents continue to escalate in Lagos, many people earning minimum wage can no longer afford a room, said Hon. Aro Moshood. He condemned landlords who impose new rent figures without regard to tenants income levels or failing to provide prior notice, as outlined by the law. Moshood also criticized the prevalence of illegal evictions that bypass legal procedures. As the debate continued, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa emphasised the need for dialogue between the state government and real estate stakeholders to find sustainable solutions to the housing crisis in Lagos. On Tuesday, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, confirmed that Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, the former governor who passed away on April 6, will be honored with a state funeral that reflects his immense contributions to the state and the country. Makinde, during his condolence visit to the Olunloyo family in Ibadan, revealed that detailed plans were underway to ensure the funeral was a fitting tribute to the deceaseds legacy. The Governor expressed admiration for Olunloyos towering presence in both the political and intellectual spheres of Oyo State, acknowledging that his work in governance, academia, and public service had left a profound mark on the state. Advertisement He emphasiaed that Olunloyos contributions spanned decades and played a pivotal role in shaping the development of Oyo State. Furthermore, Makinde praised the late Olunloyo for his brilliance in Mathematics and for being one of Nigerias earliest PhD holders in the subject, a feat that inspired many in the academic community. Makinde referred to Olunloyo not just as a former governor, but as a man of remarkable intellect, integrity, and leadership. He highlighted Olunloyos role as a role model who exemplified excellence in his professional and personal life. The Governor was received by Mrs. Aderonke Olunloyo, the widow of the late statesman, during his visit. Olunloyo was not just a former governor, but a brilliant mind, a respected leader, and a symbol of integrity and excellence, Makinde said. He made significant contributions to the state, not only in governance but also in shaping the intellectual landscape of Oyo State. His death is a loss not only to the state but to the nation as a whole. The Governor also noted that Olunloyos influence went beyond politics, as he was deeply involved in shaping policy on education and was a constant advocate for progress. His efforts to ensure quality education and intellectual development were unmatched, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations of Oyo State citizens, Makinde added. The funeral arrangements are expected to bring together people from various walks of life, united in their respect for Olunloyos legacy. As the state prepares for the funeral, the people of Oyo State are set to honor one of their most respected figures, whose life and work continue to resonate with many. Troops of 6 brigade Nigeria Army/sector 3 operation whirl stroke have killed two suspected terrorists in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State. It was gathered that some other criminal elements escaped with gunshot injuries in during the fierce battle with the security agents. This was contained in a statement on Tuesday by the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations, 6 Brigade Nigeria Army, Captain Olubodunde Oni. Advertisement Captain Olubodunde disclosed that the troops launched a coordinated response on April 14 to reports of bandit movements between Mayokan and Bondogri villages in Bali Local Government. He added that dangerous weapons and items including one AK-47 rifle with a magazine, four rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, a single-barrel Dane gun, 27 arrows, and six cutlasses were recovered during the operations. READ MORE: Troops Raid Bandits Hideouts, Arrest Gunrunner In Taraba The statement partly reads: On 14 April 2025, acting on credible intelligence, troops swiftly responded to the movement of suspected bandits between Mayokan and Bondogri villages in Bali Local Government Area (LGA). The troops tactically advanced to the general area and made contact with the bandits around Garbatau, Garin Hamidu, Bandaguri, and Mayokan villages. A fierce exchange of gunfire ensued, resulting in the neutralization of two terrorists, while several others escaped with gunshot wounds. Fuji musician Okunola Saheed, also known as Osupa, has dropped his legal action against the controversial artiste Badmus Okikiola, famously called Portable. Osupas lawyer, Ahmed Opalekunde, confirmed to The PUNCH Online on Tuesday that a notice of withdrawal had been filed at the Upper Area Court 1 of the High Court in Ilorin. Portable was brought before a court on Monday by the Kwara State Police Command after Osupa lodged a formal complaint against him. Advertisement Osupa had personally reported Portable to the police, alleging criminal defamation, intimidation, incitement of public unrest, and cyberstalking. READ MORE: Portable Granted N1m Bail In Kwara Court Following Osupas Petition The reported offences were said to violate and attract penalties under several laws, including Section 392 on criminal defamation, Section 114 on inciting disturbance, and Section 397 on criminal intimidation of the Penal Code. They also fall under Sections 24(1)(b) and 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015, along with Sections 10 and 13 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2020. In a chat with The PUNCH on Tuesday, Osupas solicitor revealed that his client instructed him to withdraw the case after appeals and interventions from prominent stakeholders. He stated that Osupa had decided to resolve the matter with Portable through an out-of-court settlement. The letter of withdrawal also carried a caution from Osupa, advising Portable to cease any further harmful comments or publications about him. The withdrawal letter read, Its our clients (nominal complainant) instruction that the stakeholders in the music industry and other notable personalities in the society have intervened in the matter and pleaded to the nominal complainant to withdraw the case against the defendant in the interest of public peace. We hereby on behalf of our client apply to withdraw the case against the defendant and terminate same accordingly as the matter had been resolved amicably. Further, sir, we want to pray the court to admonish and warn the defendant to desist from any further publications, utterances and any other acts aiming at disparaging the person and businesses of the nominal complainant. Its worth noting that Osupa, among other claims, accused Portable of using a live stream to insult him and damage his character. He further alleged that Portable falsely stated Osupa had removed his music from streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, actions that could have harmed his reputation and affected his potential earnings. The petition claimed that, in a live Instagram broadcast on March 19, 2025, Portable made damaging remarks about Osupa, accusing him of jealousy and trying to undermine his career. In the viral video, Portable was quoted as saying, This man dey try to bring down my shine! He be like person wey dey chop snail with shellhim no get sense. Osupa na tortoise. When Apple Music and Spotify wan drop money for me, na him remove my song from platform make I no see money. Osupa characterised the statements as harmful, provocative, and an assault on his reputation, asserting that the content had sparked public tension and unrest. It should be noted that Chief Magistrate Sunday Adeniyi, in his brief ruling on Monday, granted Portable bail in the amount of N1 million with two sureties. One surety was required to be the chairman of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, while the other must own property in the Government Reserved Area within the courts jurisdiction. A senior member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Daboikiabo Warmate, has strongly opposed the recognition of Sunday Udey-Okoye as the partys national secretary by the PDP Governors Forum, warning that the move undermines internal democracy. Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, Warmate condemned the decision taken during the governors recent meeting in Ibadan. He insisted that such endorsements bypass established party processes and discredit the authority of constitutional organs within the PDP. Advertisement This resolution is nothing short of an unconstitutional declaration of a state of emergency and a coup against members of our great party, he said. According to Warmate, Senator Samuel Anyanwu still holds the office of national secretary, as there has been no official resignation or declaration of vacancy. The PDP constitution clearly stipulates how a national officer of the party can be elected, appointed, replaced, or removed. Anyanwu has neither resigned, nor has the office become vacant to warrant any replacement, Warmate noted. He accused the governors of interfering in the functions of the National Working Committee and other decision-making bodies, stating that only the National Convention has the power to appoint or remove national officers. Warmate also suggested that the endorsement may have been influenced by tensions involving FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, urging the governors to resolve their differences privately. He concluded by cautioning that such internal friction could weaken the PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections and damage its credibility before the electorate. Former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has charged President Bola Tinubus administration to rise up to its responsibility, amid security challenge facing some parts of the country. Kwankwaso called out federal government to protect every Nigerians and their properties across the nation. The former governor of Kano State in a statement on Tuesday, condemned the recent killing in Zike community, Platueu State, saying that it was important for Plateau State not to be allowed to become a hotbed of violence and wanton destruction. Advertisement He also called on residents of the state to embrace unity, regardless of their religion, ethnic differences. Kwankwaso said: I am saddened to learn of the attack on the Zike community, Kimakpa, Kwall district of Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, which resulted in the death of 51 people and destruction of several properties. This sad attack came after over fifty persons were killed within a week in attacks over five communities in the state. It is important that Plateau State must not be allowed to become a hotbed of violence and wanton destruction again after the relative peace it has enjoyed in recent years. READ MORE: Many Killed, Houses Destroyed As Gunmen Invade Plateau Community The Federal Government must rise to its responsibility to ensure that all lives and properties are protected and the message of peace should be embraced by everyone in the state and beyond. I extend my condolences to the Government and people of Plateau State. I also urge the authorities to ensure that justice is served by bringing the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to book. A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dele Momodu has berated the partys Governors over their decision to reject opposition coalition by former vice president Atiku Abubakar. Mr. Momodu noted that the refusal of the governors proved that they are working for President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressive Congress. Recall that Atiku, who was PDPs former presidential candidate had announced his plan to create a strong coalition with former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. Advertisement Speaking on Monday, after a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, PDP Governors Forum insisted that it wont be part of any merger talk to unseat President Tinubu in 2027. READ MORE: We Wont Be Part Of Any Merger, Coalition In 2027 PDP Govs Meanwhile, Mr. Momodu during an interview on Arise TV, noted that no opposition party can remove Tinubu with coalition with other political group. He added that APC had done something similar in the past, adding that the ruling party need to be payback in it own coin. Momodu said: Opposition leaders are very determined to work together this time around, the truth of the matter is that Atiku cannot do it alone, Peter Obi cannot do it alone, and Kwankwaso cannot do it alone, and whosoever wants to run. They have to find a way to pay the APC back in its own coin. I was one of those who supported APC in 2014 and 2015, they are going to pay them back in their own coin by at least trying to get a chunk of all the parties including APC to come together. If our (PDP) governors are saying, Oh, we dont go into coalitions, it means you are probably working for a Tinubu presidency. Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has apologized to victims families over failure of government and security agencies to protect them and their properties. Governor Muftwangs appeal is coming, following the recent attack in some communities located in Bassa Local Government Area of the state. Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA had reported that gunmen on Monday, invaded Zikke community, destroyed homes and killed a yet to be ascertained numbers of villagers. READ MORE: Many Killed, Houses Destroyed As Gunmen Invade Plateau Community Two weeks earlier, scores of people were gruesomely killed in the Bokkos Local Government Area of the state. Speaking during his visit to the Zikke community to commiserate with the people, Governor Mutfwang, on Tuesday, admitted that his administration has failed to protect them. He begged the people of the state to forgive him, saying he had been crying since the latest killings happened. He said: I will tell you the truth, i have been crying since yesterday because I had trusted God that all the arrangements were put in place, that this will not happen again. We have made investments in security. But like all human arrangements, sometimes they fail. I want to admit that on Sunday night into Monday morning, we failed you. Please, forgive me. Close up of a judge gavel and handcuffs in a courtroom. Read more A Burlington County man was convicted of murder for strangling his wife to death in 2023, telling responding police officers she had gone to take a nap and never woke up, authorities said. Babu Natarajan, 43, was found guilty of killing his wife, Angammal Babu, 41, in their Medford home in March 2023, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office said in a statement. A jury deliberated for three hours before convicting him, prosecutors said. Advertisement Natarajan is scheduled for sentencing in May. Police responded to the couples home on March 21, 2023 for a report of an unconscious and unresponsive woman, authorities said. When officers arrived, they found Babu on the bed in the upstairs master bedroom. Natarajan had called 911 to report that he could not awaken his wife and told officers who arrived at the house that she had taken a nap. An autopsy determined that Babu died from compression of the neck and her death was ruled a homicide. Michelle Zajko, seen here after her arrest in February, accused the media of printing speculation as fact, and denied any criminal activity. Read more A former Delaware County woman who prosecutors say has ties to an extremist group accused of a number of violent crimes, and is a person of interest in the 2022 deaths of her parents in their Chester Heights home, denied killing the couple in a statement released Tuesday. Michelle Zajko, 32, said she had nothing to do with the shooting deaths of her parents. In a 20-page memo she wrote while incarcerated in Maryland awaiting trial on trespassing and gun charges, Zajko accused the media of reporting speculation as fact. Advertisement Rita and Richard Zajko were found shot in the head, execution-style, in their home on Dec. 31, 2022. Their only daughter has long been considered a person of interest in the investigation of their slayings, but she has not been charged with any crime related to their deaths. In her sprawling statement, Zajko denied that she and her associates are violent, and blamed rivals in a Bay Area philosophical movement of being out to discredit her. Im viscerally reminded of the witch hunts, of the Satanic Panic, of the mob that burned Joan of Arc at the stake, and of the mob that ripped apart Hippolyta, Zajko wrote. The papers are lying I did not murder my parents. Zajko was arrested in rural Maryland in February after police said she was found illegally camping on private property in a box truck. The Cabrini and Temple University graduate was clad in all black and carrying body armor, ammunition, and two weapons, a .50-caliber sniper rifle and a .380-caliber handgun, when she was taken into custody. She was arrested alongside Jack Ziz LaSota, an associate of hers whom prosecutors have described as the leader of the Zizians, a cultlike group of California activists whose members prosecutors say are suspects in several murders. The Zizians are an offshoot of the Rationalist movement, whose members encourage seeking truth and making decisions through reason and hyperlogical decision-making, as opposed to impulse and intuition. In her statement, however, Zajko denied that the group used the moniker Zizians and disputed the characterization that they are extremists. She said other Rationalists are seeking to discredit them, and even physically harm them. Zajko wrote that she and LaSota were in Maryland in a form of self-imposed witness protection, fearful of those other Rationalists. Ziz is not my leader and I am not hers, Zajko wrote of LaSota, who identifies as female. What we have is called friendship, and I love her infinitely more than I could ever express. Two other members of the group, Felix Bauckholt and Theresa Youngblut, are accused of engaging U.S. Border Patrol agents in a deadly gunfight earlier this year in Vermont, in which an agent and Bauckholt were killed. Zajko was charged with illegally providing the couple with the guns used in that shooting, weapons that federal investigators say she purchased last year in Vermont. Zajko did not address those allegations in her statement, saying only that if called to testify against Youngblut, she would refuse to do so. Meanwhile, she is awaiting trial in Maryland in the trespassing case, which is scheduled to be heard before a judge in mid-August. Zajko said she and LaSota are innocent, and are being treated unfairly by the authorities in Maryland. She said she was denied medical attention after hitting her head during her arrest, has been given very little to eat, and has been kept in unsanitary conditions at the local jail. Everyone here is being subjected to our injustice system designed to grab people off of the streets and coerce confessions and declarations of guilt (in the form of plea deals) out of them, with little to no regard for whether their captives are actually guilty, she wrote. She and LaSota are not criminals, she said, and their only plans for their time in Maryland were camping peacefully, eating (vegan) soft pretzels with guacamole and repairing a diesel engine. The news media has terrified this small town into thinking we are here to hurt them, as opposed to the truth, she said. Moments after a group of men burst into Demetrius Jones jail cell trying to steal his belongings, they began punching and kicking him as he lay on the ground, breaking his eye socket and leaving his face swollen and bruised. And when a corrections officer, Ivory Cousins, finally responded to the melee inside Philadelphias Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Jones who was jailed on drug charges said the guard didnt call for help or seek to get him medical treatment. Advertisement Instead, he said, Cousins told him to clean his blood off the floor and prepare himself in case his assailants came back. She kept saying she wanted me to fight those guys, Jones testified last week, later adding: I couldve died in that cell room. Philadelphias jails have experienced a variety of overlapping crises over the last several years, with a critical staff shortage leaving units, prisoners, and even guards vulnerable to deaths, assaults, riots, and more. Several recent court cases against former corrections officers including the prosecution of Cousins have provided a rare window into how the tenuous situation in the overcrowded facilities can quickly devolve into chaos. Cousins was tried in federal court last week on charges including deprivation of rights and falsification of records. Witnesses including Jones told jurors that after she declined to seek medical treatment for Jones when he was assaulted in August 2019, she locked him in his cell for an hour. Surveillance video showed Cousins leaving Jones in his room as other prisoners wandered about outside. Then, when Cousins came back, witnesses said, she went inside the cell and pepper-sprayed Jones, irritating the wounds on his face. And although her colleagues ultimately got Jones medical treatment, prosecutors said Cousins created false reports about what happened that night while trying to cover up the original fight in order to avoid being blamed for it. Cousins had a sworn duty to protect inmates, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rice told jurors, but failed to do that over and over and over again. Jurors found Cousins guilty on all counts, and she faces the possibility of years behind bars. She is scheduled to be sentenced in July. Other city jail guards have been charged in recent years with crimes including attacking prisoners and smuggling in contraband for inmates, including weapons and drugs. Former Corrections Officer Breyanna Cornish, for example, is accused of bringing opioids, knives, and cell phones into the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center in 2021 in exchange for about $10,000 in bribes. Cornishs trial is scheduled to begin in federal court next month. Ronald C. Granville, meanwhile, has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing for participating in the brutal beating of a pretrial detainee in 2020 a crime that prosecutors say involved four other guards and sent the man to the hospital for emergency surgery. The U.S. Attorneys Office over the last five years has charged at least four corrections officers with crimes including conspiracy, falsifying records, and deprivation of rights. In addition, the district attorneys office in recent years has filed similar charges against several corrections officers, including one who was sentenced to prison last year for crimes including conspiracy and bribery, and two others who were charged in December with running separate smuggling and bribery operations. These correctional officers were helping to fuel a market within the Philadelphia jails for cell phones and narcotics, Assistant District Attorney Joseph Lanuti said when those two guards were charged. This poses a danger to inmates, correctional officers, and the community at-large. Officials at the union representing city correctional officers declined to comment for this article. In the past, union leaders have said that a long-standing staffing crisis has left corrections officers facing challenging and often dangerous working conditions. John Mitchell, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, said in a statement that officials do not tolerate corruption and will continue working with law enforcement partners to investigate any such allegations. We hold our staff accountable when they violate the constitutional rights of our incarcerated population, he said. The Philadelphia Department of Prisons has made some progress in recent months addressing its staffing crisis, which officials say is a key aspect of regaining a sense of order in the jails. Vacancies were down by about 5% as of December, according to a monitoring report filed in federal court last month, and officials have also worked to reduce the number of people behind bars by nearly 20% another tactic to address the imbalance between guards and prisoners. Leigh Owens, director of education and advocacy for the Pennsylvania Prison Society, said that disorder is sometimes viewed as part of the carceral culture. Its part of the culture of carceral facilities, and that incidents involving correctional officers can fuel the notion that lawlessness in jail is inevitable. But that aspect of it is something that needs to change, Owens said. Our basic premise is we need to protect health, safety, and dignity of incarcerated people. Police investigate shooting that resulted in the death of a sanitation worker in Northeast Philadelphia in November 2022. Read more Two men have been found guilty in the murder of a Philadelphia sanitation worker who was shot to death while he was on the job in the citys Northeast in 2022. Jurors last week convicted Nushar Scott, 42, of first-degree murder, firearms violations, and related offenses in connection with the shooting death of Ikeem Johnson. Rasheen Trusty, 32, who drove Scott to and from the murder scene, was convicted of third-degree murder and related offenses. Both men were also convicted of conspiracy. Advertisement Theres no winners in a courtroom where one person is held accountable and staying in jail for the rest of his life, and another person is lost, District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a Tuesday news conference announcing the convictions. But there is accountability, there is at least a little sliver of justice, there is some closure, and I hope that weve been able to deliver that with this conviction. The killing unfolded the morning of Nov. 18, 2022, on the corner of Bleigh and Rowland Avenues near Lincoln High School, as Johnson, a city employee of about five years, was collecting trash. Scott, officials said, exited a vehicle driven by Trusty, and stalked Johnson briefly before opening fire with a .45-caliber firearm, and then a .40-caliber weapon. Scott fired 28 shots, 15 of which struck Johnson throughout his body, killing him. Johnson, authorities said in 2022, was in the passenger seat of a trash truck at the time of his killing. The driver of the truck was not injured, but Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene. The fact is that Ikeem Johnson was a sanitation worker, and he was literally doing his job, Assistant District Attorney Robert Wainwright said Tuesday. This is just a terrible act perpetrated by the defendants. Investigators found DNA on a fired cartridge casing at the scene, as well as on latex gloves used during the shooting that linked Scott to the murder. An analysis of cell phone data showed Trusty in the area of the killing when it occurred, and police recovered surveillance video showing the pair traveling to and from an apartment in Northern Liberties, the district attorneys office said. Police arrested Scott in January 2023. Trustys arrest came in August 2023. Police had identified the men as suspects in December 2022, offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to their arrests. Authorities said that the advertised award was higher than usual due to the killings close proximity to a school. A jury convicted Scott and Trusty after several hours of deliberation, the district attorneys office said. Scott is slated to be sentenced to life in prison without parole in May, while a sentencing hearing for Trusty is scheduled for June. Scott is also facing charges in another forthcoming murder trial, Krasner said Tuesday without providing additional details. Proceedings in the case are slated to begin in May, court documents indicated. Johnsons mother, Kim Johnson, described the slain city worker Tuesday as a hard worker, good father, and role model to young boys in his community. Johnsons sister, Ikeya Johnson, remembered her brother for his vibrant smile and how he could light up a room with his presence. We miss him and know that hes been brought justice, Johnsons sister said. He can finally rest fully. One man was killed and two others wounded in a shooting Monday evening in North Philadelphia, police said. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. on the 1500 block of North 18th Street, police said. Three victims were taken to Temple University Hospital, where one was pronounced dead at 7:42 p.m. The second victim was listed in critical condition and third was listed in stable, police said. No other information about the victims was immediately available. No arrests were reported, but police were looking for two vehicles that fled the scene. Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. and City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas announce changes during a news conference at district headquarters Tuesday to address widespread problems in "reassignment rooms," where teachers accused of misconduct are required to spend time. Read more Changes are underway in the Philadelphia School Districts reassignment rooms, where teachers and other employees accused of wrongdoing have languished with full pay for months or years. The news comes three months after City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, chair of Councils education committee, called for hearings on the so-called rubber rooms. Advertisement What came to us was complaints about the process, and were here today to announce that the process has changed, Thomas said during a news conference at school district headquarters Tuesday, where he was joined by Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. and Oz Hill, the districts deputy superintendent of operations. READ MORE: Bedbugs, lounge chairs and absolutely nothing to do: Tales from inside Philly schools rubber room To ensure investigations are on track, the district has instituted weekly case monitoring, and has started an intake process for employees assigned to the rooms, Watlington said. The district has reduced backlogged investigations those taking longer than 60 or 90 days to complete, depending on the type of case by 87% from July 2024 to January, Watlington said. Employees assigned to the rubber rooms windowless conference rooms have described their stints there as surreal: There was little or no supervision or work to do; people came and went as they pleased, sometimes leaving for lunches or to exercise. Some dragged in lounge chairs, slept, read, and even formed romantic relationships or threw parties, employees said. One rubber room had bedbugs at one point. Those in the room often have little to no information about the status of their cases, they say. The president of the districts teachers union said Tuesday that despite the districts changes, investigations are still taking too long. Heres what to know about the rubber rooms, and what steps the district is taking to address problems: What are the rubber rooms? The rubber rooms work this way: Teachers, administrators, and other staff accused of improprieties are forced to leave their current positions and report to these offices in district headquarters while investigations are completed. (The offices, shown to reporters Tuesday while employees were on spring break, are basic conference rooms, with rows of tables and plastic chairs.) District policy calls for investigations to be completed within 60 days, or 90 days for Title IX discrimination cases, Watlington said Tuesday. But some employees are there much longer: One administrator who previously spoke to The Inquirer said he was assigned to the room for a year and a half. Watlington, who said 66 employees were assigned to the rubber rooms as of January, could not immediately provide an updated number Tuesday. He also did not know how often employees were fired after being assigned to the rooms. Watlington who has led Philadelphia schools for close to three years said the longest he has heard of someone being assigned to the room is two years. Some of the delays have been due to district failings like sluggish, lackluster case management, Watlington said. But he also said that in some cases, employees were not participating in investigations in a timely manner. Arthur Steinberg, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said that even staff who are cleared during investigations are not returned to classrooms right away due to bureaucratic inefficiencies within the administration. Amid a district-wide staffing shortage, the absence of just one educator from our classrooms is one too many especially in light of the fact that a majority of staff are eventually cleared of any misconduct," Steinberg said, while calling for better working conditions to improve ongoing shortages. What changes has the district made? The reforms announced Tuesday include establishing an intake process for those sent to the reassignment room and more communication with employees about next steps and timelines. Nobody should ever be unclear about why theyre there, Watlington said. The district is also using a new system to track the status of cases, and monitoring cases weekly to ensure it is complying with the 60- and 90-day timelines. It is also improving transition planning for employees returning to schools, taking attendance in the rooms, and inspecting the rooms multiple times daily for cleanliness. We already see more timely investigations, Thomas said. Steinberg said that while the union was gratified to hear of progress since we asked them to address the backlog last year the process of investigating and adjudicating professional conduct allegations against educators and staff is still taking far too long. What happens next? While Watlington said the district had reduced backlogged cases from 46 to six, between July 2024 and January it cannot guarantee all cases will be resolved within 60 to 90 days. Weve got to make sure in those cases that present some unusual extenuating circumstances that we dont violate peoples right to due process, Watlington said. The district has not hired additional staff to help conduct investigations. But it is advertising for a deputy chief of investigations, along with a permanent human resources director. Once those positions are filled, district officials plan a full assessment of the rubber rooms, Watlington said, for a deeper analysis of what the current system costs the district and how it can improve the process with its existing five-person staff. The district will regularly report to the school board and City Council on the status of backlogged investigations, Watlington said. Thomas said that given the districts budget deficit, he was glad Watlingtons focus for improving the rubber-room process was on reevaluating existing resources rather than hiring more investigative staff. He is not currently planning to hold hearings on the issue, he said. While he doesnt like that the district is spending money on teachers who are not in the classroom, Thomas said, that was an unfortunate consequence of the need to protect students while ensuring fair investigations of employees. Youre stuck between a rock and a hard place. No one wants to pay someone $90,000 to come to work every day and look at walls and draw pictures, Thomas said. But Im not quite sure what the alternative is. Reality TV personality Bethenny Frankel poses for a portrait Thursday, March 17, 2011 in New York. Read more Munching pickled baby beets straight from the jar, The Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel took to Instagram and TikTok on Monday to rave about the nicest hotel in the world: the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at 1 N. 19th St. Maybe in Morocco or certain parts of Asia there are nicer [hotels], but none in this country, said Frankel, pausing between bites. None. Four Seasons in Philadelphia with all due to Philadelphia nicest hotel in the world. Advertisement Frankel, founder of the Skinnygirl cocktail brand, called the hotel next-level, later adding, The Four Seasons in Hong Kong is not even close to this one in Philly. Like why? The hotel shoutout was part of a larger series documenting her trip to the city a visit she teased last week to her 3.3 million followers. Known for her rapid-fire, off-the-cuff reviews, Frankel regularly shares takes on everything from luxury groceries to mayonnaise-based deli salads and has spent the past few days checking out fan-suggested Philly spots. Her content quickly gained traction. The hotel video alone garnered nearly 50,000 views, with commenters flooding her page with more recommendations from Kalaya and DAlessandros to Reading Terminal Market and a Phillies game. Among the stops she followed through on was Reading Terminal Market, where she set out in search of the alligator sausage at Becks Cajun Cafe. You thought it was courageous I tried Kourtney [Kardashians Crumbl] cake Im trying alligator for the f people," she said in the video. While waiting in line, Frankel chatted with two customers who reassure her the sausage is delish. She also eyed the cafes snapper turtle soup before heading back to her car for the taste test. There, she takes a big bite and gives her signature stamp of approval pointing to her hat, which reads Davoon, her made-up word for anything top tier. The alligator is davoon Im team gator," she said. This is superbo. But as her latest video makes clear, the Four Seasons is the real davoon. Four Seasons Philadelphia 1 N. 19th St, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103, 215-419-5000, fourseasons.com/philadelphia Hanoi Citywalk: China-Vietnam fruit trade fuels a 'sweet opportunity' 12:02, April 15, 2025 By Sheng Chuyi, Zhang Wenjie ( People's Daily Online China has been Vietnam's biggest trading partner for over 20 years in a row, with total bilateral trade exceeding 260 billion USD in 2024. More and more quality Vietnamese agricultural products such as durian and coconut are available to Chinese consumers. China is also the largest export market for Vietnam's agricultural products. Durian is China's top imported fruit. Since Vietnam's fresh durians were approved for export to China in 2022, its exports to China have surged. The shorter and less costly journey for Vietnamese durians to China offers more options for Chinese consumers. China has been committed to promoting the building of a community with a shared future with neighboring countries. China's consumers' pursuit of affordable and accessible fruits has created a 'sweet opportunity' for Vietnam and other countries. (Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Wu Chengliang) Tony Esposito, CEO of Crozer Health, told employees Monday that he is resigning as of April 18. The health systems includes Crozer-Keystone Medical Center in Upland. Read more Crozer Healths CEO Tony Esposito is leaving at the end of this week, the executive told Crozer employees in an email Monday evening. The departure comes on the heels of announcements last week that the bankrupt health system is starting to unload some of its operations. Esposito said his replacement on an interim basis is Greg Williams, president of East Coast operations for Crozers owner, Prospect Medical Holdings. California-based Prospect, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, owns hospitals in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Advertisement His leadership and oversight will be invaluable to Crozer Health during this pivotal time as we remain in active discussions with the Pennsylvania attorney general and other parties to find a sustainable path forward to allow Crozer Health to continue to operate and provide our patients with the critical care they require, Espositos email said. Esposito worked at Crozer for 5 years, his email said. He replaced Prospect executive Kevin Spiegel as CEO in 2022 after significant cutbacks that included the closure of Springfield Hospital. He said Monday that he had not yet made a decision of his future plans. Last Thursday, Crozer announced during a bankruptcy hearing that the University of Pennsylvania Health System planned to take over the leases at its medical offices in Broomall and Glen Mills. Prospect said the $5 million Penn agreed to pay would forestall for up to 10 days the closure of Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland and Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park. Main Line Health has agreed to take on the labor and delivery services provided at Crozer-Chester. Crozer and Main Line have not shared details on when that transition will happen. On average, about 1,000 babies are born at Crozer-Chester annually, according to state data. Crozer told a labor union Friday that it plans to close the home care and hospice business that operates out of Taylor Hospital by early June. That will eliminate jobs for 25 nurses, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals. WASHINGTON President Donald Trumps top advisers and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said Monday that they have no basis for the small Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. Bukele called the idea preposterous even though the U.S. Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcias return. Trump administration officials emphasized that Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that the U.S. has no say in his future. And Bukele, who has been a vital partner for the Trump administration in its deportation efforts, said of course he would not release him back to U.S. soil. Advertisement The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Bukele, seated alongside Trump, told reporters in the Oval Office Monday. I dont have the power to return him to the United States. Should El Salvador want to return Abrego Garcia, the U.S. would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. But first and foremost, he was illegally in our country, and he had been illegally in our country, she said. Thats up to El Salvador if they want to return him. Thats not up to us. The refusal of both countries to allow the return of Abrego Garcia, who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation over fears of gang persecution, is intensifying the battle over the Maryland residents future. It has also played out in contentious court filings, with repeated refusals from the government to tell a judge what it plans to do, if anything, to repatriate him. The judge handling the case, Paula Xinis, is now considering whether to grant a request from the mans legal team to compel the government to explain why it should not be held in contempt. The fight over Abrego Garcia also underscores how critical El Salvador has been as a linchpin of the U.S. administrations mass deportation operation. How Bukele is helping with Trumps immigration crackdown Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants whom Trump administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes and placed them inside the countrys maximum-security gang prison just outside of the capital, San Salvador. That prison is part of Bukeles broader effort to crack down on the countrys powerful street gangs, which has put 84,000 people behind bars and made Bukele extremely popular at home. I want to just say hello to the people of El Salvador and say they have one hell of a president, Trump said as he greeted Bukele, who was wearing a black mock turtleneck sans tie. Bukele struck a deal under which the U.S. will pay about $6 million for El Salvador to imprison the Venezuelan immigrants for a year. But Democrats have raised alarm about the treatment of Abrego Garcia and other migrants who may be wrongfully detained in El Salvador. Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is pushing for a meeting with Bukele while he is in Washington to discuss Abrego Garcias potential return, and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the administration to release Abrego Garcia and others with no credible criminal record who were deported to the maximum-security prison. Disregarding the rule of law, ignoring unanimous rulings by the Supreme Court and subjecting individuals to detention and deportation without due process makes us less safe as a country, Shaheen said. Though other judges had ruled against the Trump administration, this month the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to use the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport the immigrants. The justices did insist that the immigrants get a court hearing before being removed from the U.S. Over the weekend, 10 more people who the administration claims are members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs arrived in El Salvador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday. Trump wants to expand his deportation plans The president has said openly that he would also favor El Salvador taking custody of American citizens who have committed violent crimes, a view he repeated Monday. We have bad ones too, and Im all for it because we can do things with the president for less money and have great security, Trump said during the meeting. And we have a huge prison population. It is unclear how lawful U.S. citizens could be deported elsewhere in the world. Before the press entered the Oval Office, Trump said in a video posted on social media by Bukele that he wanted to send homegrowns to be incarcerated in El Salvador, and added that youve got to build five more places, suggesting Bukele doesnt have enough prison capacity for all of the U.S. citizens that Trump would like to send there. The high court weighs in, and the administration response The Supreme Court has called for the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia. Trump indicated over the weekend that he would return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. if the high courts justices said to bring him back, saying I have great respect for the Supreme Court. But the tone from top administration officials was sharply different on Monday, Hes a citizen of El Salvador, said Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff. So its very arrogant, even for American media, to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens. Bondi asserted that two immigration court judges who are under Justice Department purview found that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13, although the mans attorneys say the government has provided no evidence that he was affiliated with MS-13 or any other gang. The allegation is based on a confidential informants claim in 2019 that Abrego Garcia was a member of a chapter in New York, where he has never lived. How Bukele is viewed back home While Bukeles crackdown on gangs has popular support, the country has lived under a state of emergency that suspends some basic rights for three years. He built the massive prison, located just outside San Salvador in the town of Tecoluca, to hold those accused of gang affiliation under his crackdown. Part of his offer to receive the Venezuelans there was that the U.S. also send back some Salvadoran gang leaders. In February, his ambassador to the U.S., Milena Mayorga, said on a radio program that having gang leaders face justice in El Salvador was an issue of honor. Populists who have successfully crafted their images through media, Bukele and Trump are of different generations but display similar tendencies in how they relate to the press, political opposition and justice systems in their respective countries. The Trump-Bukele relationship Bukele came to power in the middle of Trumps first term and had a straightforward relationship with the U.S. leader. Trump was most concerned with immigration and, under Bukele, the number of Salvadorans heading for the U.S. border declined. Bukeles relationship with the U.S. grew more complicated at the start of the Biden administration, which was openly critical of some of his antidemocratic actions. Trump has also shown some irritation with Bukele in the past, accusing El Salvador of lowering its crime rate by sending people to the U.S. Hes just, were working with our people that are causing problems and crime, Trump said of Bukele at a campaign rally last year. Hes not working with them. Hes dumping them in the United States and their crime rate, their murder rate, is down 72%. Just before Bukeles arrival in Washington, the State Department updated its travel advisory for El Salvador to Level 1, which is for countries that are considered the safest to visit for U.S. citizens. The advisory notes that gang activity, and the accompanying murders and other violent crimes, has declined in the past three years. The Gloucester County Department of Health and Human Services. The county, like Burlington and Camden Counties, has suffered budget cuts to health programs ordered by the Trump administration. Read more Surprised and distressed, health officials in Camden and Gloucester Counties are reporting significant budget cuts authorized by the Trump administrations Department of Government Efficiency. In all, health programs were cut by $2 million in Camden County and almost $680,000 in Gloucester County. Burlington County lost $1.1 million in health funding, The Inquirer reported earlier this week. Advertisement Combined, the three South Jersey counties must somehow make up for nearly $3.8 million in lost subsidies. In Gloucester County, programs affected include food inspections and disease tracking. In Camden County, the cuts will initially hurt infrastructure improvements in public health buildings. The White House has not responded to requests for comment. According to DOGE directives, $11.4 billion in COVID-era funding that was slated for grants to state and county public health departments and nonprofit groups nationwide was cut on March 24. Of that amount, $350 million was to have gone to New Jersey, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Health said. To combat the cuts, 23 states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware filed a lawsuit in federal court in Rhode Island against the Trump administration on April 1. On April 3, Judge Mary McElroy granted an emergency temporary restraining order to halt the funding cuts. On Friday, according to an Inquirer analysis, many of the funding cuts were removed from a list of terminated grants maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. READ MORE: In Philly region, chaos over cuts to federal health grants closes an addiction care center and threatens vaccine clinics But New Jersey officials said Monday afternoon that they were unaware that cuts had been removed. And, officials added, because McElroys order is only temporary, they would proceed as though the budget reductions will be permanent. Linda Brown, who heads the New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials (NJACCHO), said that her organization was working to close out all grants by noon Tuesday, in compliance with previously ordered deadlines. The NJACCHO has received no notification from the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services to do otherwise, she said. No one has yet told us to modify the goal of making these cuts, Brown said. The N.J. health department did not respond to a request for comment. The NJACCHO is an organization of municipal and county public health leaders and allied health professionals. Trump administration officials tell New Jersey health department officials the amount of money being cut, and the department relays the amounts to the NJACCHO. Its baffling to see the current administration taking this money, said Michelle Baylor, director of the Gloucester County Department of Health & Human Services. We are the ones making sure water is safe, food establishments are safe. We give vaccines and rabies treatment if youre bitten by an animal. All these efforts are crucial for public health. The cuts came without warning, in some cases leaving projects unfinished, with officials scrambling to patch newly torn holes in their budgets. Its really a waste not to be able to see through certain projects, said Caryelle Vilaubi, director of the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services. Were going to have to work across all departments and see where theres capital available. We have to make some tough decisions. In Camden County, $1.4 million of the slashed $2 million has already been spent or is obligated in contracts and now wont be reimbursed by the federal government, Vilaubi said. The remaining $600,000 is unspent but is earmarked for vital projects that now may go unfunded, she said. Vilaubi explained that the bulk of the money was for long-neglected infrastructure projects, such as repairing elevators, upgrading security in buildings, and replacing a generator used to safeguard vaccine storage. The county has also lost $100,000 meant for staffing and supplies in its sexually transmitted disease program, Vilaubi said. In Gloucester County, the money now gone was to be used to help track and control communicable diseases such as measles; inspect restaurants and school cafeterias for food-borne illnesses; and underwrite youth drug and alcohol prevention programs. All of that money pulled," Baylor said. We have to get creative and try to absorb these functions into other parts of the department. In a statement explaining the cuts last month, HHS officials said, 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. But the money has been used for much more than treating COVID-19, health officials said. In South Jersey, officials said they learned about the cuts on March 28, four days after they were made. It was literally five minutes to 5 p.m. on a Friday when we heard about it, Baylor said. We were like, What? No one around the country knew this was coming, Brown said. The losses are far-reaching, and were being left to fill in gaps. Its a really troubling time for public health. Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. agreed, saying in a statement on Friday, Its appalling, unconscionable and disconcerting that the Trump/Musk Administration would think to cut federal tax dollars to fund the work of the same heroes that served on the front lines of the pandemic. Make no mistake, this is not a political issue, but this is a decision made by two men who do not care about the health and welfare of anyone that is not uber rich ... Kosuke Chujo, the cheesesteak king of Tokyo and an honorary Philadelphian in his own right, is bringing his internationally famous sandwiches to the city where his culinary journey began. Chujo, and his wife, Tomomi, announced theyll return to Philadelphia from April 26 through May 9 for a pop-up tour, with two opportunities for locals and the cheesesteak-curious to try their take on the Philly staple. Advertisement The duo plans to serve their sandwiches on April 30 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. (or when they sell out) at Liberty Kitchen on 1400 N. Front St., and at a Northern Liberties block party on May 5 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., outside of Yanaga Kappo Izakaya on 637 N. 3rd St. The latter will be a tribute event for the late Hiroyuki Zama Tanaka, the founder of Rittenhouses Japanese restaurant Zama, who passed away last December, with the Chujos creating Japanese fusion cheesesteaks in his honor. The announcement post, appropriately set to The Roots Star a funk-sampled nod to the genre that inspired a young Chujos love of Philly in the 80s has already sparked buzz online. By now, many Philadelphians are familiar with Chujos story: A Japanese man who went viral for opening a cheesesteak joint in Tokyo called Nihonbashi Philly, combining the name of his familys longtime neighborhood with the city he adores. The 12-seat restaurant is decorated with SEPTA signs, Eagles memorabilia, and menu items styled after Inquirer news clippings. Still, few fans have actually tasted the Tokyo cheesesteak. Inquirer food writer Jenn Ladd visited the Chujos last year alongside South Philly pizza and bread consultant Gregorio Fierro and Royal Tavern chef Nic Macri. They were impressed given the difficulties of sourcing traditional cheesesteak ingredients, Ladd wrote of the Tokyo cheesesteak. Because of the differences in baking styles of Japanese bakers and the lack of Cooper Sharp cheese and quality cheese whiz, the Chujos make these ingredients in-house, learning to bake bread like Sarcones Bakery and make their own Philly-style cheese (some American tourists joke theyll bring Cooper Sharp to them). Macri and Fierro noted that their use of American short rib is perhaps superior to the meat most American cheesesteak joints use. Now, Philadelphians will get to try it themselves in the coming weeks. Kosuke and Tomomi Chujo cheesesteak pop-ups April 30, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Liberty Kitchen, 1400 N. Front St., Philadelphia libertykitchenphl.com May 5, 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Yanaga Kappo Izakaya, 637 N. 3rd St., Philadelphia ykisushi.com How Kosuke Chujo became Tokyos cheesesteak king Chujos love for Philadelphia may go back to the 1980s, but his cheesesteak devotion didnt emerge until decades later. After an unsuccessful run as an Italian restaurant owner in Tokyos commercial Nihonbashi district, Chujo searched for a new concept to revive the space. (In Tokyo, its common for homeowners to operate cafes or shops from the first floor of their homes.) Following their wedding, Chujo and Tomomi pored over cookbooks to connect deeper with the city they hoped to one day visit, landing on the cheesesteak to anchor their business. For years, the couple perfected their craft, often stumbling along the way, as early customers noted the sandwich was delicious, but not quite a cheesesteak, one Philadelphian tourist told Chujo years ago. That changed in 2021, when the couple finally made their first trip to Philadelphia. They sampled cheesesteaks across the city from Angelos Pizzeria in South Philly to Cafe Carmela in the Northeast, their respective favorites and took notes on everything. During their 2024 trip, the Chujos ate cheesesteaks for nearly every meal; Kosuke measured each sandwich with a small tape measure and weighed it with a pocket scale, writing his findings in a small notebook he carries with him everywhere. Soon, itll be Phillys turn to take notes. Charred tables and dishes are visible Sunday inside the Pennsylvania governor's official residence in Harrisburg after a man was arrested in an alleged arson that forced Gov. Shapiro, his family, and guests to flee in the middle of the night during the Jewish holiday of Passover. (AP Photo/Marc Levy) Read more The 38-year-old Harrisburg man charged with the attempted murder of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro told authorities he hated the Democrat so much, he would have beaten him with a hammer had he found him early Sunday morning. But if politics fueled Cody Balmers hate, it was not obvious in his voter registration record he was not affiliated with any political party nor in his public digital footprint. Advertisement Balmer billed himself as a master mechanic on his Facebook profile, where he repeatedly posted about drug use, relationship troubles, and the struggles of parenting, along with memes that ran the political spectrum. Other public records also point to a turbulent life, including a string of run-ins with the law. The suspect was hospitalized Monday morning due to a medical event not connected to this incident nor his arrest, according to state police. He was arraigned Monday evening. In addition to attempted murder, Balmer is charged with aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism, and related offenses. Balmers mother, Christie, told the Associated Press that her son has bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had not been taking his medications. She told reporters she had tried to get him mental-health help in recent days to no avail. The Inquirer was not able to verify that information. Balmer walked an hour to the governors mansion, where he evaded state police and security assigned to Shapiro, scaling a fence and breaking into the residence, according to a state police affidavit. He lit a Heineken beer bottle filled with gasoline in the piano room, moving on to the dining room. He was there for about a minute, according to authorities. Images shared by police of the dining room show extensive damage, which Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said Monday could cost millions of dollars, given the buildings historic nature. Shapiro had hosted a Passover Seder there with his family the night before, and the initial call reporting the fire said there were as many as 25 people in the governors mansion at the time of the arson. Had a key door in the home not been closed, Enterline said, the fire would have definitely spread down a hallway and up to the main staircase to the second floor. Before Balmer stopped publicly posting to Facebook in summer 2023, he repeatedly posted anti-government sentiment and memes that seemed to advocate for violent acts. One image is a needlepoint Molotov cocktail with the words Be the light you want to see in the world. Another features an anarcho-communist meme depicting a still from a vintage GI Joe cartoon, announcing that Knowing is half the battle, the other half is extreme violence. In another image posted to Facebook, Balmer is shown holding a pistol pointed at the camera. Still, its hard to neatly place the man charged with setting three fires with Molotov cocktails in the governors mansion early Sunday morning in the political spectrum. Some posts took jabs at former President Joe Biden, including a custom meme that reads Biden Owes Me 2 Grand a reference to COVID-19 relief checks promised during the 2020 campaign. In another post he wrote, Biden supporters shouldnt exist. Though Balmer posted a meme with a quote from conservative economist Thomas Sowell, he rarely mentioned President Donald Trump. In a 2021 post commenting that gas prices were lower during the first Trump administration, he remarked, I dont [sic] play favorites especially since they all suck. Balmer also peppered in other memes favorable to former presidential candidates Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, and Ron Paul. Along with a string of traffic citations, Balmer pleaded guilty to attempting to pass a forged paycheck in 2015 and was sentenced to 18 months probation. A 2022 sheriffs sale notice shows that a property where Balmer was formerly registered to vote was put up for a foreclosure sale. Dauphin County records show Balmer had also been in court multiple times over custody battles involving his children, most recently in 2023. That year, Penbrook Borough police encountered Balmer after a child called 911 to report that his stepfather was beating his mother. After officers arrived at the scene, Balmer asserted that he had taken a bottle full of pills in an attempt to kill himself and that a fight had ensued. However, Balmers wife said he had violently shoved his stepson and then punched her in the face and bit her hand when she attempted to intervene. That court case is pending. That year, Balmer stopped working at a Harrisburg auto mechanic a mutual decision, the owner said Monday. Balmer apparently stopped using social media altogether about that time. According to the most recent criminal complaint, Balmer told an ex-paramour that he had attempted to set fire to the governors residence and asked her to call the police to report him. She did. Balmer turned himself in Sunday afternoon. The arson took place during the first night of Passover. State Police are still exploring Balmers motive, including as a potential hate crime. Former U.S. Ambassadors David L. Cohen (left) and Amy Gutmann (right) participate in a "Common Sense Diplomacy" event at The University of Pennsylvania Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025. The event, sponsored by the Perry World House at Penn was moderated by NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. Guttmann is a former Penn president and former U.S. Ambassador to Germany. Cohen was executive vice president at Comcast and former U.S. Ambassador to Canada. Read more In February 2022, Amy Gutmann, then the United States ambassador to Germany under President Joe Biden, sat in the back seat of an armored Audi A8 as it sped down the Autobahn from Berlin to Munich. She was racing the clock to alert the German government that Russia was going to invade Ukraine a crisis that required the preparedness and collaboration of one of the United States strongest European allies. Roughly a week later, on Feb. 24, Russia invaded. Advertisement Thats the moral of this little story, Gutmann said while recalling the tale Tuesday at the University of Pennsylvania, which is: There really isnt time to spare these days. Time is of the essence today, too, for the U.S. to build and maintain strong international alliances as President Donald Trump continues his volatile foreign policy decisions, such as straining relationships with key global partners, Gutmann said during an appearance at Penns Perry World House with David L. Cohen Bidens U.S. ambassador to Canada, and a former Comcast executive and Philadelphia power broker. Those decisions, they said, have brought into question the United States relationship with Europe and other allies amid global threats like Russias ongoing assault on Ukraine. The event, titled Common Sense Diplomacy, was moderated by Penn alumna and NBC News journalist Andrea Mitchell. Gutmann and Cohen were in familiar territory as they spoke at the universitys global policy engagement hub Gutmann was Penns president for 18 years (the schools longest-serving president) and Cohen, who for decades wielded significant political influence in Philadelphia and beyond, is a Penn Law grad and served as chair of the university Board of Trustees for nearly 12 years. Before Biden appointed them as ambassadors, his connections to Gutmann and Cohen ran through Philly. After completing two terms as vice president in 2017, Biden snagged a lucrative presidential practice professorship at Penn while Gutmann was president. When Biden later launched his presidential campaign, his first formal event took place at Cohens West Mount Airy home, where more than $700,000 was raised for his bid. READ MORE: Back at Penn, former president Amy Gutmann reflects on ambassadorship and where she is now: I feel very free During the hour-long discussion Tuesday, the two former ambassadors focused on the hardships that they said foreign policy from Trump a 1968 Penn grad is creating for the nations strongest, closest international partners. Having allies and knowing who your allies are is incredibly important for the United States, Gutmann said. She said that Germanys support for the U.S. has become so strong that Germans are mourning when somebody in America, especially the chief, the president of America, calls Ukraine, the Ukrainian president, a dictator and doesnt call [Russian President Vladimir] Putin one, or blames Ukraine for starting a war when Putin actually was the clear aggressor. READ MORE: Germanys rightward shift reflects Pennsylvanias Rust Belt realignment and Democratic failures with the working class And on Canada, Cohen said he feels its citizens are hurt more by Trumps rhetoric to annex the country as a 51st state than by blanket tariffs on many of the countrys exports, which have caused uncertainty in Canada and worldwide. Canada having to defend itself against the U.S. has been a long-standing sore spot for its citizens, Cohen said, and he believes that Trump knew how sensitive Canada would be to suggesting the U.S. absorb its northern neighbor, and that the president and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have a personal antipathy. Donald Trump does a lot of things wrong, Cohen said. One of the things he gets right is he knows vulnerabilities. He knows how to needle people and countries, and talking about Canada being the 51st state, I believe he knew how sensitive Canada would be to this. READ MORE: Ambassador David L. Cohen on what he misses about Comcast and why Pa. should trade more with Canada The ambassadors also discussed the implications of top U.S. political figures embracing far-right parties and leaders on the international stage. Cohen said alliances between the U.S. and other countries are even more important now amid the global rise of right-wing entities. Its a time for alliances to be even more important, for people to look for even more ways to work together and to preserve those alliances, and not to let a Donald Trump or a Putin or any of these other right-wing movements take over the conversation and the dialogue," he said. In February, Vice President JD Vance met with Alice Weidel, the leader of the rising far-right German political party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), and, to the shock of many at the Munich Security Conference, urged the countrys other political parties to work with her. Elon Musk, Trumps billionaire adviser who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, endorsed Weidel and held an X Spaces talk with her ahead of Germanys election, similar to his strategy to deliver a Trump win in Pennsylvania. The AfD doubled its support in the German election, becoming the nations second-largest party. Nothing could be more horrifying for Germans to have their greatest ally since World War II the ally that 80% of Germans will tell you immediately saved us from the Nazis, saved us from our worst selves, their greatest ally ally with the neo-Nazi party, Gutmann said. The path forward, Gutmann said: a lot of diplomacy and a big sea change in our politics at the top. Robert and Pat Thompson with his book "Patterned Brick Architecture of West New Jersey." They are outside the patterned brick wall on Hancock House in Salem County, N.J. Read more For years, author Robert L. Thompson heard fellow historians rave about the jazzy exterior wall designs of South Jerseys 18th-century patterned brick farmhouses. These geometric arrangements of structural bricks in contrasting colors, typically found on a single side of a house, are really beautiful, said Thompson. Advertisement But nobody was asking why at least 107 of these houses were built by Quaker farmers in Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, and Salem Counties more than anywhere else in the country, he said. The product of five years of research, Thompsons Patterned Brick Architecture of West New Jersey was published in 2023 by the South Jersey Culture & History Center at Stockton University. Thompson and others hope next years Philadelphia-focused celebration of the 250th anniversary, or Semiquincentennial, of the signing of the Declaration of Independence will heighten public interest in Revolutionary War buildings in South Jersey, including those made of patterned brick. One of the problems these buildings have is that people just take them for granted, Thompson said. READ MORE: In shock move, Revolutionary War landmark in South Jersey is razed Architectural as well as historical significance Thompsons deeply researched book features photographs of about 40 patterned brick houses, most in the four South Jersey counties but also from Maryland and elsewhere. Patterned brick is an important architectural genre, said the centers assistant director, Paul W. Schopp, who edited the book. Quakers were generally thought of as quiet and not ostentatious, he said. But these houses shout with exuberance. Thompson and his wife, Pat, who grew up in a Quaker family, drove all over rural New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky to document and photograph the structures. They found houses whose owners invited them inside and houses in ruins, along with barking dogs, wary neighbors, and occasional questions from curious police officers. There was a house in Louisiana we never could find, said Pat, a retired nurse. Most patterned brick houses were built in the early 1700s by Quaker farmers affluent enough to commission skilled laborers to make the bricks on site and build intricate, often zigzag displays into an exterior wall. Some of the designs resemble textile weaving. They usually include the initials of the married couples who owned the property and the date of construction. A husband and wife together were building a home for their family that would last for generations, said the author, whose book also notes that enslaved Africans were among the residents of some of the homes. As for the geographic concentration of patterned brick in South Jersey, theres no simple answer, he said. Location, location, location The book does suggest that the great fire of London in 1666, the geology of New Jersey, and the economic circumstances of Quakers who settled in South Jersey created a mix of conditions that gave rise to the distinctive and enduring patterned brick architecture. A great band of readily accessible clay, excellent for brickmaking, runs along the western flank of New Jersey, including Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties. Deposits of sand and limestone, the raw materials of mortar, also are abundant in the region. After Londons great fire led to regulations requiring dwellings to be constructed of brick or stone, large numbers of often newly trained brickmakers and bricklayers rebuilt the city. By the late 17th century, that task was substantially complete, and some of these skilled workers emigrated to America, settling in South Jersey, Thompson said. The building trades struck me as the key to why patterned brick houses became popular in South Jersey, he said. Before then, most residential construction involved wood, and techniques tended to be rudimentary. The tradesmen and their Quaker clients were the first to move beyond pioneering conditions, suggesting the colony was going to be permanent, and have a future in which great buildings were going to be possible, said Bob Craig, owner of Advanced Old Building Research in Mercer County and author of a research paper on patterned brick houses. Home to a massacre In the Hancocks Bridge section of Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, stands the stately patterned brick home built by William and Sarah Hancock in 1734. Annually, several thousand people visit the property, which has been owned by the State of New Jersey since 1931, said William P. Michel, an interpretive specialist with the state park service. While some visitors are eager to see the patterned brick wall at the house, others are drawn by the massacre of its inhabitants by British soldiers on March 21, 1778. Ten people, including the Hancocks son, were killed. The patterning definitely helps, but most of the time people come here for the story about the massacre, said Michel. Looking ahead New Jersey is the crossroads of the American Revolution, said the historian Matthew Skic, director of a personal project he calls Written With Bricks. Hes creating an analog and digital visitor guide and road map to the South Jersey houses, as well as Quaker meetinghouses that also have the distinctive brick design. Some of these structures witnessed or were sites of important [Revolutionary] wartime events, said Skic, senior curator at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Craig hopes for more than appreciation. These buildings are at risk, and people need to step forward to preserve and rehabilitate them, he said. Id like to see more of them protected by listing in historic building registers and by local ordinances. Thats not something we can accept, forcing developers to find coverage elsewhere, often in a different market. We are seeing more engagement between lenders, insurance advisors, brokers, and developers to ensure that policies are bankable from the start. This needs to happen early in the process, ideally before construction insurance is finalised, Luciano added. Joining Clyde & Co will allow me to combine my decades of experience with the strength of a global platform to be able to service client needs, navigate cyber risk, and respond to any incidents in the most effective manner, being part of a large global team of experts, she said. Prosiegel has been with Munich Re since 2014, previously serving as an underwriter for special enterprise risks. Most recently, he led North American market efforts related to AI risks through roles at HSB and Munich Re. He holds degrees in mathematics and business from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and is a certified actuary. The insurance industry has seen several notable leadership changes recently, with companies making key appointments aimed at strengthening their positions in their respective markets. The following highlights significant promotions and new appointments within Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Alliant Insurance Services, and Resilience, as they look to enhance their teams and expand their influence. Godfread said the move is intended to create efficiencies for both industry professionals and consumers and noted that many insurance professionals regularly engage with both departments. He also said this is an initial step in examining how best to integrate the agencies' existing responsibilities. U.S. insurers are expected to face several hundred million dollars in losses following a series of severe storms that moved from Texas through the southeastern United States between April 2 and April 7, according to a report from AM Best, citing data from Aon. The sole issue was whether Ahlgren was using the vehicle when he was struck, as required under the policy. The Illinois Supreme Courts decision in Schultz v. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co., 237 Ill. 2d 391 (2010), defines use as any action rationally connected to the vehicle for the purpose of providing transportation or satisfying some other related need of the user. Lok-N-Logs, Inc., which owns a warehouse in the Village of Sherburne, Chenango County, filed a claim with Leatherstocking Cooperative Insurance Company after copper and brass were stolen from the buildings electrical and plumbing systems during a break-in in April 2020. Leatherstocking denied the claim, invoking policy exclusions that bar coverage for vandalism when a property is vacant for more than 30 consecutive days, and that suspend coverage entirely if the property is vacant or unoccupied for more than 60 days. The case arose after Ephesus filed a claim in 2021 under its property insurance policy with Church Mutual, alleging that wind and hail had damaged the building during the policy period. Church Mutuals inspection concluded that only the sloped roof, gutters, and HVAC units were affected by storm damage. It denied coverage for the flat roof and interior, attributing those damages to wear and tear and disbursed $59,084.05. The underlying case stems from the April 2016 murder of Yaimi Machado at a property owned by The Waves of Hialeah Inc. Court records show that Machado and a male companion had a dispute that resulted in Machado being locked out of her motel room. When she asked to be let back in, the front desk declined, citing that the room was registered under another name. Imperial Charters did not allege that any such condition applied. Although the company claimed that a March 2020 executive order from Governor Greg Abbott and industry-specific impacts made performance impractical, the court found no evidence that the charter bus industry had been legally prohibited from operating. Moreover, the insurance policy itself contained no force majeure clause or any provision excusing nonpayment of premiums due to economic hardship or the effects of a pandemic. Accordingly, the impossibility defense failed as a matter of law. According to a report from Triple-I, Louisiana ranks among the least affordable states for both home and auto insurance, despite reforms introduced in 2024. Louisiana, with the leadership of its insurance commissioner, Tim Temple, is on a potential path to stabilizing its insurance market, said Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan. Weve seen in other states, like Florida, that legal reform can lead to market stabilization, increased competition, and more favorable pricing for consumers. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered New York Helicopter Charter Inc. to cease operations while it conducts a review of the tour operators license and safety record following a deadly crash last week. The regulators decision, announced on X, came just hours after US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on it to revoke the companys license and expand safety inspections of other tour operators. The New York senator criticized the companys use of FAA Part 91 certification a regulatory framework that permits sightseeing flights with fewer training, maintenance and oversight requirements than commercial operators must meet. This company was operating under the lowest bar of safety, Schumer said Sunday in New York. Every helicopter tour company in New York City is using this same model and its killing people. The April 10 crash killed the pilot, a Navy veteran, and five passengers including a Siemens AG executive, his wife and their three children ages 10, eight and four. The aircraft, a Bell 206 L-4, was on its eighth sightseeing flight of the day when it went down in the Hudson River near Jersey City. Schumer called on the FAA to suspend the companys operations pending the National Transportation Safety Boards investigation. He also urged an increase in ramp inspections surprise checks to ensure compliance with aviation safety standards for all tour operators in the New York metro area. These inspections are like meat or food safety inspections, Schumer said. You show up unannounced and see whats really going on. Read more: Helicopter in Hudson River Crash Lacked Recorder, NTSB Says The helicopter lacked both a cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, according to the NTSB. Divers continue to search for the main rotor and gearbox, which could help determine the cause of the crash. Some wreckage has been recovered and is being analyzed by investigators. New York Helicopter has a troubled safety record. Two incidents involving the company in 2013 and 2015 were tied to maintenance failures. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after restrictions on helicopter traffic were introduced. Schumer said tour operators should face stricter regulations, including limits on aircraft age, greater pilot experience requirements and stronger financial standards to prevent cost-cutting on safety. Passengers deserve one level of safety whether theyre flying across the country or around the Statue of Liberty, he said. Photo: The wreckage of a helicopter that crashed into the Hudson River is extracted from the water in Jersey City, New Jersey, US, on Thursday, April 10, 2025. A helicopter crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, killing all six people on board, the latest in a string of incidents in the past few months that has rattled confidence in aviation safety. Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. Topics New York Aviation Aerospace A former Massachusetts State Police trooper has agreed to plead guilty to his role in an alleged conspiracy to falsify records by giving passing scores to certain commercial drivers license (CDL) applicants even if they failed the CDL test or took less than the full test required by federal law. In January 2024, Calvin Butner, of Halifax, was charged in a 74-count indictment along with five others in the alleged conspiracy and related schemes. According to the charging document, between about May 2019 and January 2023, Butner and three other members of the CDL unit conspired to give preferential treatment to at least 17 applicants by agreeing to give passing scores on their CDL tests regardless of whether or not they actually passed. Butner and the co-defendants allegedly used the code word golden to identify these applicants. The indictment alleges that Butner gave passing scores to applicants about whom he texted the following comments to a co-conspirator: This guys a mess. . . . Lol. He owes u a prime rib 6inch. Golden mess. Hes a mess Class A truck 2psi loss with truck running truck cut our again while timing Total mess this guy[.] i think some time[s] we should just do what we can but not golden. Ill tell you about it later. Prosecutors said Butner has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to falsify records, falsifying records and aiding and abetting and making false statementsIn addition to the false records conspiracy, Butner has also agreed to plead guilty to giving passing scores to three applicants who failed the CDL test, and making false statements by giving passing scores to five applicants who did not take the test at all. State Troopers Arrested for Alleged Commercial Drivers License Bribery Scam On March 21 a civilian co-defendant, Eric Mathison, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, according to prosecutors. All CDL recipients identified as not qualified during the course of this investigation have been reported to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. According to court documents, a CDL is required to drive a commercial vehicle, such as a tractor-trailer, a box truck, or a school bus. Test requirements for CDLs are established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, states administer CDL tests and issue the licenses. U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Michael J. Krol of Homeland Security, and Christopher A. Scharf of the. Department of Transportation made the announcement regarding Butner.. The details in the charging documents are allegations. Butner and his-codefendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance Personal Auto Law Enforcement A Vermont firm has recalled more than 1,700 pounds of butter because it may be contaminated with coliform, a type of bacteria found in fecal matter. Agri-Mark Inc., of Waitsfield, Vermont, recalled 189 cases of Cabot Creamery 8-ounce premium butter made with sea salt, according to a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The butter was distributed in Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont. The recall was issued on March 26 and is ongoing, according to the FDA. It is classified as the lowest level of recall, Class III, which means its not likely to cause health problems in people. Consumers should not eat or use the recalled butter, which has a best-by date of Sept. 9. It is identified as lot 090925-055, item 2038. Agri-Mark officials said in statement that the company recovered 99.5% of the potentially contaminated lot before it was sold to consumers. The firm said that 17 packages of the butter were sold to consumers in Vermont. Coliform bacteria are found in the environment and in the feces of all warm-blooded animals and humans. The bacteria likely will not cause illness but could indicate the presence of disease-causing germs. Agri-Mark officials said that they have taken the appropriate internal actions to address the cause. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. After what it says was an investigation that took months, the Delaware Department of Insurance has levied a $300,000 penalty on three Liberty Mutual companies for advertising discounts that they do not offer in the state. The department said the final settlement incudes a stipulation that the insurers will pay an additional $200,000 if they do not immediately remedy the conduct. Liberty Mutual has cooperated with the department, has paid the penalty, and is working to correct the mistakes. However, the company does not agree with all of the violations cited in the departments report. Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro said that the main activities under review were the companies advertisement of potential premium discounts to automobile and homeowners insurance consumers despite not offering such discounts in Delaware. He said such misleading advertising and other misrepresentations could lead to consumers choosing the wrong coverage for their needs, or their wallets. According to the department, this is not the first time the company has been investigated for this issue. We have seen this problem before, and we are committed to ensuring it is corrected, Navarro said. According to the department, investigators uncovered 39,806 instances of false information and advertising. In 31,696 instances, the company listed a claims free discount on homeowners insurance declaration pages, when no such discount was offered in Delaware. In 8,110 cases, the department said Liberty companies indicated auto insurance consumers could access safety discounts if their vehicles use adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, or collision preparation systems but they offered no such discounts on Delaware policies. The companies, Liberty Insurance Corp., Liberty Mutual Personal Insurance Co., and LM Insurance Corp. write more than $59.7 million in premium in Delaware. The examination reviewed data from January 1, 2021 to July 31, 2023. In the past, the department said, its investigations of LM General Insurance Co. and Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Co. from January 1, 2018 through March 31, 2021 encountered nearly 35,000 instances of false information and advertising, as well as additional violations of the states insurance code. The companies each paid $150,000 in penalty, but their noncompliance with orders to correct the issue resulted in an additional examination. Penalties are paid to the states general fund. The department warned that if it finds further violations by Liberty Mutual, it could issue additional monetary penalties, prohibit it from writing new business in the state, or suspend the insurers certificate of authority. While it did not agree with all of the findings, Liberty Mutual waived its right for a hearing or a challenge to the report. Australias competition regulator said on Monday Cloroxs local unit had been fined A$8.25 million ($5.19 million) by the Federal Court over falsely claiming its GLAD kitchen and garbage bags were partially made from recycled ocean plastic. The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the U.S.-based cleaning products maker admitted to breaching the Australian Consumer Law from June 2021 to July 2023 by falsely claiming on its GLAD kitchen and garbage bags that these were made of at least half recycled oceanic plastic waste. In reality, over 2.2 million of these bags were made of approximately 50% plastic waste collected from Indonesian communities without formal waste management systems, and up to 50 kilometers from any shoreline, ACCC added. The ACCC and the Court recognized that Glad did not intend to mislead consumers, we respect this outcome and see this as an opportunity to further enhance our practices, Clorox said in emailed statement. The court ruling comes amid a broader societal focus on environmental impact and sustainability, with misleading green claims potentially eroding consumer trust and creating unfair market conditions. The court noted that claims of environmental friendliness were crucial in assessing the violating conduct. Clorox was also directed to establish an Australian Consumer Law compliance program, publish a corrective notice on its website, and bear a portion of the ACCCs legal costs, according to the regulators statement. The company ceased the production of the products in question in July 2023 after the ACCC initiated its investigation. ($1 = 1.5903 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava and Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; editing by Rashmi Aich and Tasim Zahid) A German court will weigh a request to release a seized oil tanker that is believed to be part of a so-called shadow fleet used by Russia to circumvent oil sanctions, Germanys finance ministry said on Monday. The Panama-flagged vessel, the Eventin, was found drifting out of control off Germanys Baltic Sea coast in January. It had been on its way from Russia to Egypt with a cargo of around 100,000 metric tons of oil, worth some 40 million euros ($45.24 million). German authorities confiscated the decrepit vessel, which was included in an EU sanctions package targeting Russia for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and sharply rebuked Moscow over the incident. Read more: Germany Confiscates Tanker in Russian Shadow Fleet, Spiegel Reports Russian authorities at the time said they had no information about the ship or its owner. A spokesman for Germanys finance ministry said on Monday that it was pausing further enforcement measures pending a courts decision regarding the vessel. Appeals for interim relief have now been filed with the competent court against the seizure and confiscation of the ship and its cargo, the spokesman said. The finance ministry declined to reveal the identity of the plaintiff, whether the petition had been brought by the owner of the ship or its cargo, or how long the legal process would last. The Eventin is currently moored off the resort town of Sassnitz. It will soon be relocated to a hazardous goods anchorage about three nautical miles away, but it is deemed seaworthy and poses no current threat, an official with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. EU sanctions have aimed to put pressure on Russia and limit its ability to finance the war in Ukraine by targeting the shadow fleet vessels used by Russia to move oil, arms and grains around in violation of sanctions. The vessels are not regulated or insured by conventional Western providers, and, with little incentive to follow shipping standards, they pose safety and environmental risks, industry experts say. ($1 = 0.8841 euros) (Reporting by Holger Hansen and Andreas Rinke; writing by Riham Alkousaa; editing by Miranda Murray and Joe Bavier) Photograph: The unmaneuverable tanker Eventin is lying between Binz and Sassnitz, east of the island Ruegen, northern Germany, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Stefan Sauer/dpa via AP) Authorities in several countries in Central Europe are working to contain an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among cattle populations that has caused widespread border closures and required the killing of thousands of animals. The outbreak was first detected on a cattle farm in northwestern Hungary in early March, and animals on three farms in neighboring Slovakia tested positive for the highly transmissible virus two weeks later. Since then, animals from an additional three farms in Hungary and another three in Slovakia have tested positive for the virus, the first outbreak of the disease in either country in more than half a century. Everything is completely upside down in the area as farmers fear for their own herds and transportation is disrupted by border closures, said Sandor Szoboszlai, a local entrepreneur and hunter in the Hungarian town of Level where nearly 3,000 cattle had to be culled after the disease was discovered on a farm. We didnt even think such a thing could happen. Who could count on that? Nobody, he said. There are big farms in the area, but I dont think it was the fault of the animal owners, thats for sure. The wind blew it here. Foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects cloven-hooved animals like cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and deer, and results in fevers and blisters in the mouth and hooves. The virus spreads through contact between animals, or on surfaces like clothing, skin and vehicles, or on the wind. It poses little danger to humans. On Friday, authorities in Hungary continued to conduct operations aimed at stopping the spread of the disease and disinfecting affected farms and vehicles in the area. Mats doused in a powerful disinfectant were placed at the entrances and exits of towns and villages across the region to eliminate virus molecules that may cling to tires though many of those mats quickly went dry and were swept partially off the road by passing vehicles. This week, the Slovakian government, citing insufficient containment measures by Hungary, closed 16 of their common borders and one with Austria, all of them lesser-trafficked crossings so authorities can focus on conducting border checks at the major ones. Last week, Austria where there have been no reported cases closed 23 of its border crossings with Hungary and Slovakia. Authorities in the Czech Republic, relatively distant from the Hungarian and Slovakian farms where the disease has been detected, have introduced disinfection measures at all the five border crossings used by freight trucks entering the country. Jiri Cerny, associate professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, said the most significant risk of transmission is through contaminated human objects such as tires and cars, on the soles of shoes, and through contaminated food. The Czech Agriculture Minister, Marek Vyborny, has said the restrictions could be lifted 30 days after the last farm animal infected with foot-and-mouth disease has been culled in Slovakia. No new infections have been discovered in Hungary this week, and the cleanup of the last infected farms will likely be completed on Saturday, Istvan Nagy, Hungarys agricultural minister said on Friday. Earlier this week, a Hungarian official said in a news conference that the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak may have been caused by an artificially produced virus. Without citing specific evidence to back his claims, Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said it couldnt be ruled out that the disease had been released in Hungary as a biological attack, adding that the suspicion was based on verbal statements from a laboratory in a foreign country that had begun initial analysis of viral samples. Hungarys government has promised to institute a loan payment moratorium for affected farmers, and to help compensate them for the loss of their animals and assist in developing measures on farms to prevent future outbreaks. Szoboszlai, the hunter in Level, choked up when speaking about the local farmer who had to cull his entire herd when the virus appeared, saying the situation was terrible. I feel so sorry for him, because this is his lifes work, he said. It will be very difficult to start over. ___ Karel Janicek and Stanislav Hodina in Prague, Czech Republic, contributed. Photograph: A firefighter sprays a truck with disinfectant to try to prevent the spread of a the highly infectious foot-and-mouth disease from Slovakia at the border in Lanzhot, Czech Republic, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) A federal judge ordered Bank of America to pay $540.3 million in a long-running Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation lawsuit accusing the second-largest U.S. bank of underpaying what it owed for deposit insurance. In a decision made public on Monday, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, D.C., said the payment covers assessments from the second quarter of 2013 through the end of 2014, plus interest. The FDIC sued Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America for $1.12 billion in 2017, accusing it of reducing its deposit insurance contributions by failing to honor a 2011 rule that changed how banks report risk exposure to counterparties. That rule was one of many federal reforms designed to ensure the stability of the banking system, and avert a repeat of the 2008 global financial crisis. In a 59-page decision, AliKhan rejected Bank of Americas claims that there was no reasonable basis for the rule, and that the FDIC acted arbitrarily and capriciously. AliKhan said the FDIC was not required to develop a perfect measure of predicting banks potential exposure to losses, and Bank of America could claim it lacked fair notice of what was required of it. She also said the FDIC waited too long to sue over claims predating the second quarter of 2013. Bank of America strongly denied any intent to evade payments. Bill Halldin, a Bank of America spokesperson, said in a statement: We are pleased the judge has ruled and have reserves reflecting the decision. The FDIC declined to comment. AliKhan issued her decision on March 31, and released it in partially-redacted form. Bank of America is expected to report first-quarter results on Tuesday. The case is FDIC v Bank of America NA, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, No. 17-00036. Topics Lawsuits Legislation A lawsuit filed in Texas this month accuses online vehicle auction provider Copart of gender discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment. Christine Arnold, a former global vice president of human resources for Copart, says she was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about pay disparities between genders, glass ceiling barriers, and sexual harassment by male employees directed toward herself and other female employees. The Dallas County lawsuit accuses Copart of retaliation, creating a hostile work environment and sexual harassment in violation of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act and seeks damages for lost compensation, emotional pain, mental anguish and other violations. Arnold is seeking damages of more than $1 million. According to the lawsuit, Arnold was told to look the other way when male executives were seen with prostitutes at company-sponsored events and was yelled at for bringing her concerns to leadership. Arnold says she also learned of a disparity in stock options grants in which females in leadership, including herself, did not receive awards. When she reported this discrimination, her direct supervisor, Will Franklin, Executive Vice President, the Americas Operations and Worldwide Shared Services, told her to not go there, the complaint details. The case is Christine Arnold vs. Copart, Inc., Cause No. DC-25-05579 in the 193rd District Court in Dallas County. Topics Lawsuits Texas An Idaho man pleaded guilty to one count of felony insurance fraud for diverting fiduciary funds for personal use. Johnny Mateo Robles, Jr. of Twin Falls, pleaded guilty to one count of felony insurance fraud for diverting fiduciary funds that were unlawfully used by a producer for personal use. On January 12, 2021, Johnny Robles was an Idaho licensed bail agent for Mr. Bail Inc. when he reportedly arranged a bail bond for an individual at the Twin Falls County Jail. Robles requested $35,000 in cash as collateral for the bail bond, along with a $15,000 fee to cover the bail premium, according to the Idaho Department of Insurance. Robles reportedly received the collateral and the fee from the individual being bailed out of jail and provided a receipt to the person. Then, on April 7, 2022, the bail bond was exonerated, and the individual requested the return of their $35,000 collateral. However, Robles only returned $10,000 and stated that the rest of the collateral was his personal fee for posting the bail bond, according to the Idaho Department of Insurance. According to investigators, Robles deposited the $15,000 fee into a bank account for Mr. Bail. The $35,000 collateral should have been placed into a fiduciary bank account with Mr. Bail, but Robles never reported collecting collateral to them. Instead, Robles deposited the $35,000 into his personal bank account and used the money for personal use in violation of Idaho state statute. On January 13, the Idaho Department of Insurance revoked Robles Idaho Resident Bail Agent License due to these violations. On March 17, Robles, was sentenced to five years in prison which was suspended in lieu of supervised probation, 25 hours of community service, a fine of $1,500 and restitution payments to the victim. Topics Agencies Fraud Weeks after deadly fires swept through Los Angeles County, the state regulator in charge of overseeing utility companies declined a request that would have required Californias largest utilities to update maps showing high fire threat areas. Consumer advocates argued for more up-to-date maps that could help assess risk to communities and impose more stringent requirements for utility infrastructure within high-threat areas. The maps show the risk of a wildfire caused by equipment owned by the states three major investor-owned utilities; they are separate from Cal Fires maps that show the potential for fires based on fuel in a given area. Originally filed eight years ago, the maps havent been updated as a whole. Instead, the utilities voluntarily file piecemeal updates to mark areas as at risk for fire, or no longer at risk, as they determine this with internal models. Even with these additions, the maps badly need updating, according to Cal Advocates, which represents ratepayers before the California Public Utilities Commission. A proposal from the agency would have required immediately updated maps and a shorter update period going forward. Originally filed in 2023 by the California Public Advocates Office, a state entity tasked with representing consumer interests, it had support from the three large power companies Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. But in late January, the commission voted against the proposal, with four commissioners in opposition and one, who previously led Cal Advocates, who recused himself. The CPUC is focused on monitoring utilities compliance with numerous rules and programs directing their activities in high fire threat areas of California, Adam Cranfill, spokesperson for the commission, said. We cannot comment today on a potential future vehicle about the fire maps. As investigators examine the causes of the recent fires in Los Angeles County, Southern California Edison, which serves the area, has come under increased scrutiny. The utility said in a regulatory filing that its equipment may have played a role in starting the 799-acre Hurst Fire in the San Fernando Valley, and the company is investigating whether its equipment may have been involved in the 14,021-acre Eaton Fire that burned Altadena and parts of Pasadena. Southern California Edison spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas declined to answer specific questions about the utilitys fire maps and whether updated maps would have helped prevent or extinguish the recent fires or its response. In a statement read over the phone, she said the company internally reviews the fire risk in its service area using multiple factors. Should that analysis determine that changes to the CPUC maps are warranted, SCE will file a petition to modify the map with the CPUC, she said. The commissions fire risk maps sprung out of a regulatory response to a series of fires in late 2007 in Southern California, several of which were attributed to utility equipment. As a result, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, which serve the vast majority of the state, submitted maps in 2017 to identify potential areas where utility equipment could cause fires. The three utilities are required to update their maps every 10 years, but both Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison have updated sections of their maps since the original filing. Southern California Edison is also currently seeking approval to update a portion of its maps. San Diego Gas & Electric has not updated its maps since 2017. But Cal Advocates argued in its initial 2023 proposal that the maps need both a complete update and to be updated more frequently than once a decade. When Pacific Gas & Electric filed an update in 2023, for example, the new inclusions amounted to about 4.5% of its service area. Even its most recent mapping was in dire need of updating, Cal Advocates said in its 2023 request. This suggests public safety needs would be better met if utilities across the state update their wildfire risk mapping every five years. All three of the utilities with mapping requirements supported Cal Advocates position, which would allow the utilities to update the maps based on their own internal models. In a statement, Pacific Gas & Electric spokesperson Matt Nauman said the company updates its internal fire maps annually and expects to file updated maps with the commission at the end of this year. Mussey Grade Road Alliance, a Ramona community advocacy group, pushed back on the proposal in May 2023 because of the discretion it would give the utilities to choose what counts as risky, which Cal Advocates later agreed with. With the mapping comes additional regulatory scrutiny, as well as more stringent requirements for inspecting and maintaining utility infrastructure in high-risk areas. The advocacy groups Joseph Mitchell said the maps lack sufficient modeling for how wind affects the fires. The annual average of wind in an area doesnt account for the short-term, significant gusts that were associated with large fires both recently and within the last decade. San Diego Gas & Electric comes the closest to accounting for this, he said. Alex Welling, spokesperson for San Diego Gas & Electric, said the utility regularly compares its maps against wind speeds, historical fire data, fire modeling and more. The utility will file to update the maps if it identifies a need for updates, Welling said. Identifying the most dangerous areas for appropriate mitigation is important and continues to be important, Mitchell said. This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Southern California Edison (SCE), a subsidiary of utility Edison International, said on Friday it had submitted an initial plan to rebuild the areas within its service territory that were devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires in January. The preliminary plan was submitted to California Governor Gavin Newsom and is estimated to cost between $860 million and $925 million, SCE said, adding that securing alternate funding sources was critical to making the plan a reality. The wildfires tore across LA starting on January 7, leading to dozens of deaths and destroying thousands of homes. It is estimated to be the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Although no official cause for the fires has been released, several lawsuits have claimed that SCE power lines and towers in Altadena started one of the blazes the Eaton Fire. SCE has also been sued by the LA County and the City of Pasadena. The company said on Friday the investigation was ongoing and it remains committed to transparency with the public. It also said that its preliminary plan would primarily focus on undergrounding power lines in the Altadena and Malibu areas located in the Los Angeles county. (Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli) Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters California Wildfire Louisiana Calls for proposals are open to applicants that meet eligibility criteria. The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) funds small, high-impact projects in over 120 countries that are eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA). The CFLI has an annual budget of $26.8 million, with projects averaging $31,000 each. Local organizations plan and carry out projects, while the Canadian Embassy or High Commission selects and approves them. Background and priorities The CFLI funds projects led by small local civil society organizations. These organizations understand local needs and are often the best equipped to address them. This increases the impact of projects and strengthens involvement in issues crucial to the prosperity and well-being of local communities. The CFLI funds approximately 650 projects annually. This includes initiatives such as: training local election monitors, boosting community resilience to climate change, and supporting women's inclusion in peace negotiations. It also supports local civil-society organizations that may not qualify for funding from larger donors, helping them thrive and succeed. CFLI projects focus on issues such as: Inclusive governance, including diversity, democracy, human rights, 2SLGBTQI+ rights and the rule of law. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Peace and security, with a focus on conflict prevention and building peace. Growth that benefits everyone, such as women's economic rights, fair jobs, and entrepreneurship, investing in the most vulnerable, and protecting economic progress. Environmental and climate action, focusing on adaptation and mitigation, and water management. Human dignity, covering health, education and nutrition. It also provides modest financing for projects in response to natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies. Eligibility requirements Organizations that can apply for CFLI funding include: Local NGOs, community groups, and non-profits Local academic institutions International NGOs Intergovernmental, multilateral, and regional organizations Government agencies at the municipal, regional, or national level in the recipient country Canadian NGOs and non-profits Most CFLI funding is for local civil society organizations. However, other groups can apply if they partner with local organizations on projects that align with CFLI goals. The CFLI is always looking to fund innovative projects that support meaningful change in communities abroad. Over the last decade, the easternmost parts of West Cork have become one of the most sought after agricultural land zones in Munster. Any time a parcel of good land comes up in the area between Bandon, Kinsale and Clonakilty, there is strong demand and strong prices. Banshees of Insherin and Better Call Saul star Kerry Condon has said that working with Brad Pitt on the new F1 action drama was "a dream come true". With just two months to go until the release of F1, Condon, alongside her co-star Damson Idris, who plays mentor rookie prodigy Joshua "Noah" Pearce, spoke at a press day at British racing track Goodwood. The pair touched on working closely with Brad Pitt and producer Lewis Hamilton, as well as their experience filming on real Grand Prix circuits around the world. In the new film, Tipperary-born actress Condon plays Kate McKenna, the race director of the fictional APXGP team and the first female technical director in Formula 1, opposite Pitt as veteran driver Sonny Hayes and Idris as young rookie driver Joshua Pearce. Sharing her insights into her experience working with the fellow Irish actor on the highly anticipated film, Condon said Pitt instilled a sense of humility while making the movie better every step of the way and joked that her aim was to become "one of his top ten co-stars". Working with Brad was just a dream come true. Hes been in the business for so long and has worked with so many amazing people, I just really wanted to be in his top 10 co-stars sort of my aim, she said. Speaking about working alongside Idris, she said: Working with Damson Idris was fun, hes like a child. Hes got amazing energy. Damson opened up about his passion for Formula 1, reminiscing his binge-watching sessions of Drive to Survive, and his opportunity to connect with the drivers on a personal level. The film, which was shot over the past two years at Grand Prix races across the globe, will be released on June 25. Flooding could be in store with a status yellow warning set to hit five counties this Tuesday. Met Eireann issued the status yellow rain warning for Dublin, Louth, Meath, Wexford, and Wicklow, with the warning coming into effect at 9pm. The forecaster is warning of "heavy rain", which could be persistent and lead to spot flooding until the warning elapses at 2pm on Wednesday. For the rest of the country, Tuesday afternoon will see some sunny spells, especially in the north and west with just the odd shower. Cloud thickening can be expected in the east and south, however, bringing some patchy rain to the southeast coast later. Temperatures between 9C and 12C can be expected, with moderate north to northwesterly breezes. On Wednesday, outbreaks of rain can be expected along the eastern coasts, persistent in parts during the morning with some heavy bursts, and possibly some spot flooding. These will ease away northeastwards during the afternoon and evening. Further west, the occasional sunny breaks can be expected, with highest temperatures of 6C to 13C, with moderate to fresh northwesterly winds. The forecaster has said the weekend is likely to remain somewhat unsettled with rain and blustery winds. In 2017, the Farrelly Commission was established to investigate the care and protection of Grace and others in a former foster home in the south-east of the country, which had been the subject of abuse allegations. Grace is the pseudonym of a woman now in her 40s who has been in the care of the State all her life. Grace has profound intellectual disabilities and is non-verbal. She resided with Family X the family at the centre of the investigation between the ages of 10 and 30, a period spanning 1989 until her move to residential care in 2009. The commission of investigation report was published on Tuesday. Here, the Irish Examiner details who Grace is and how she came to live with the family. Who is Grace? On September 28, 1978, about two months prior to her daughter's birth, Grace's mother moved to reside in a mother and baby home in Cork. She was just 17 at the time and was attending school. Grace was born at 9.30am on November 24, 1978, following a Neville Barnes forceps delivery. Grace suffered asphyxia at birth and was transferred to the neonatal unit. Her birth was a difficult one. She suffered significant trauma to her brain, and she required intubation for 15 minutes after birth. Grace stopped breathing for about five minutes 12 hours after her birth. On February 27, 1979, she was admitted to the maternity hospital for an investigation into the reasons for her failure to thrive. Grace was on March 6, 1979, diagnosed with secondary perinatal asphyxia. This condition resulted in her suffering profound lifelong intellectual and physical disabilities. On May 13, 1979, Graces care officer received a telephone call from the medical officer in the mother and baby home. The medical officer indicated the hospital had no services to offer Grace. The officer asked whether since the mother was born in the south-east, would the South-Eastern Health Board accept the infant back into the area. On June 1, 1979, Grace was placed in foster care with a Waterford family, but because she was a poor feeder and cried a lot, the foster care broke down. Amid a wrangling as to which health board would accept the cost of her care, Graces case officer asked would the South-Eastern Health Board accept responsibility for maintenance. Since the child's mother worked, the officer said, they intended asking her to make some contribution also. However, in what now appears to be a most callous comment in the context of money, Grace was not given long to live. The note stated: "I am assured by the paediatricians that the lifespan of this infant is about five years." In September 1979, when Grace was about 10 months' old, she was placed in a children's home in Dublin. It was pointed out that Grace's parents at this point, were both 18, and not in a position to marry. The children's home reported Grace had arrived safely and settled quite well. She's a nice wee girl, and not as handicapped as we thought she might have been. She remained with displacement until August 1983, when she was about four. At this point, Grace's mother agreed to a weekly payment of 10 to the South-Eastern Health Board for the maintenance of Grace. An assessment of Grace at this time noted she was considered to be severely mentally handicapped, and the amount of vision in both eyes was extremely limited. Her hearing was also said to be grossly impaired. However, the child is now walking but is very hyperactive and crashes into furniture and the bins. She pulls out her hair, grinds her teeth, and smiles occasionally. She is said to be the subject of temper tantrums and makes no effort to feed herself, the assessment stated. Family A In January 1983, when Grace was just over four, the matron of the children's home wrote to her care officer notifying that a couple had come forward who were interested in fostering Grace. This couple, known as Family A, was from North Wicklow and had been visiting Grace for about three months at that stage, and took her home at weekends. Official notes said it was felt the couple were most suitable foster parents for Grace. This period of her life appeared to be a happy one and while Grace was placed on a waiting list for a residential placement in 1985 within the South-Eastern Health Board, she had still not been offered one in 1989 when her time with Family A came to an end. She was 11. Family X It was envisaged her placement with Family X would be only a temporary one until her residential place became available. Grace would stay with this family for the next 20 years. The foster father, referred to as Mr X, was 67 years old when she came to live with the family in 1989. The foster mother was 50. She was not removed from the foster family even when a complaint of sexual abuse was made to the South-Eastern Health Board against Mr X in 1996, in relation to another individual who was no longer in care of that family. Mr X died in the early 2000s. In 2007, a social worker who became aware of the previous allegation warned Grace was vulnerable to exploitation, sexual abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse and neglect. Grace was removed from Family X in 2009 and moved to a residential family. For many years during her time with Family X, Grace did not attend any school. She was eventually brought to a day centre, but attendance was irregular. Farrelly report The Farrelly Commission report, published on April 15, 2025, found a "fundamental failure" by the South-Eastern Health Board and the HSE in their duty of care to Grace. However, it concluded it was "not satisfied" that the level of evidence was such to fully establish sexual, emotional or physical abuse of Grace during her time in the foster home. The investigation found there was a general absence of oversight and monitoring of Grace in her placement with Family X. It also found Grace was seriously neglected in relation to lack of attention to her dental care. By 2009, the report states Graces oral hygiene had been substantially neglected to the point that seven of her teeth had to be extracted. The commission found there was neglect on Mrs X in not ensuring Grace attended the day centre more consistently and neglect over the standard of care in relation to her clothing and hygiene. The report found some of Graces weekly disability allowance was not spent on her, and there was a level of financial mismanagement or abuse by Mrs X in this regard. The commission found there was a general absence of oversight and monitoring of Grace in her placement by the South-Eastern Health Board and the HSE, and that this was a fundamental failure of their duty of care to Grace. The commission did not establish neglect in the provision of food or sustenance to Grace. Children's minister Norma Foley, who published the report, said there was also no finding of any evidence of physical abuse, emotional abuse, or sexual abuse. The commission was also not satisfied evidence provided to it established or supported a finding there had been emotional abuse of Grace. Mrs X died in 2024. The Government has reached an agreement with the Omagh bombing inquiry to allow materials from the Irish State be accessed by investigators. Justice minister Jim OCallaghan received Cabinet approval for the signing of a memorandum of understanding with inquiry chairman Alan Turnbull. A point of contact between the inquiry and the Department of Justice has now been established, which will manage all requests for materials from the inquiry team. The memorandum also outlines the processes for disclosing information beyond the inquiry, as well as for their destruction or retention once the inquiry has concluded. Mr OCallaghan said the agreement provides transparency on how Government will fulfil its prior commitments to the inquiry on disclosure. He confirmed the department is already managing requests for information from the inquiry team and is engaging with authorities like the Gardai. He added: The need for any further action to be taken by the Government in the course of, or following the conclusion of the Inquiry, will be kept under review. Meanwhile, the Government have also approved new legislation to regulate short-term lets after Cabinet approval stalled last week. The new laws will see the introduction of a short-term letting register, as well as new regulations that would ban the use of short-term lets for more than 90 days in towns of more than 10,000 people. Enterprise minister Peter Burke said it was important the Government works to achieve a balance between tourism and housing. Despite the delay, Mr Burke said there were no meaningful changes between this week and last week on the bill. Agreement has been reached between the Omagh Bombing Inquiry and the Irish Government over cooperation. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) comes ahead of the resumption of public hearings in the inquiry which is probing whether the Real IRA bomb attack in 1998 could have been prevented. The attack, which killed 29 people including a woman who was pregnant with twins, is the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The MoU is to allow the inquiry chairman and members of his team to access to material held by the Irish administration, and has been described as a significant step. It outlines the arrangements for the provision of information and materials from the Irish Government and its agencies to the inquiry, with a central point of contact to be established in the Department of Justice. The MoU also outlines the process of disclosure materials to the inquirys core participants. In a statement the inquiry said it will continue to discuss further cooperation with the Government of Ireland, such as taking evidence from witnesses from the Republic of Ireland. Secretary to the Inquiry Sam Hartley said such agreements are not commonplace in inquiries. This formal agreement between the inquiry and the Government of Ireland marks a significant step forward in allowing the Inquiry access to material, information and assistance from the Government and agencies in Ireland, he said. Agreements of this nature are not commonplace in inquiries. On behalf of the Inquiry, I express my gratitude to the Government of Ireland for its repeated commitment to assist the Inquiry. Ireland had been under pressure to establish its own public inquiry into the 1998 outrage. Dublin has said it will fully co-operate with the UK inquiry into the bombing, which is operating out of Omagh, but stopped short of committing to a separate public inquiry. All those who were killed were remembered during commemorative hearings at the inquiry earlier this year, and evidence was also heard from those injured and emergency workers who responded. The next phase of public hearings, due to start from June, will hear from core participants, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and former chief constable Ronnie Flanagan. Planning has been granted for a 54-unit social housing scheme on the southside of Cork City after major changes were made to the designs, first proposed in 2022. City councillors voted 28-1 on Monday night to approve Part 8 planning for the residential scheme on a triangular greenfield site at Scairt Cross in Douglas, at the junction of Scairt Hill and Donnybrook Hill. It will include eight houses - five with three bedrooms, three with two bedrooms - as well as two three-storey apartment blocks comprising 24 two-bedroom units and 22 one-bedroom units, with 44 car parking spaces and 94 bike parking spaces. The development will be carried out for Cork City Council by Cetti Limited, by agreement. The council first published social housing plans for the site in 2022 but withdrew them after local opposition. Following engagement with local councillors and residents, substantial design changes were made, including reducing the height of one of the apartment blocks from four/five storeys to three, and the other to two storeys, along with the removal of balconies. That led to the publication of a new Part 8 notice last summer on a new scheme for public consultation. However, a third party sought a determination from An Bord Pleanala as to whether or not the development would be likely to give rise to significant effects on the environment, and would require an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR). The board determined in January that an EIAR report was not required. That cleared the way for a report on the public consultation to come before councillors on Monday for consideration. Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy opposed it, saying Douglas deserves better. He said he is watching with unease the housing at all costs approach to the wider development of houses, both public and private, in the Douglas area, and said there is no real ambition around public transport, new parks and playgrounds, or sustainable place making. Deputy lord mayor and Green Party Cllr Honore Kamegni said while he supports the delivery of housing and supports this scheme, homes must be built in the right areas. This area has seen a lot of population growth in recent years without parallel investment in infrastructure, and that is not good, he said. Fianna Fail Cllr Mary Rose Desmond backed the scheme, pointing out the scale of design changes since 2022. I have never seen a redesign to take place on a Part 8 to the extent here, she said. Her party colleague, Cllr Terry Shannon, who lives nearby, described the level of redesign as unprecedented and said there has been investment in the area and the bus service is improving, and he took a swipe at councillors opposing housing. Making up an issue to vote against it because you think there might be a few votes in it for you is not going to work. We can see through that. Its nonsense, he said. Labour Cllr Peter Horgan described the design changes as far-ranging. Scairt Cross is the frontier of the city. Its where the city is going. We have to get serious and realise that housing must happen but we need to engage on traffic management and public transport, he said. Fine Gael Cllr Shane OCallaghan paid tribute to officials for amending the designs. We are in a housing crisis. We badly need housing, he said. Fine Gael Cllr Des Cahill said if a private developer had applied for planning on this site, a maximum of 150 units could be delivered under current guidelines. In some ways, its better the devil you know than the devil you dont. With this process you know exactly what youre going to get, he said. New laws which will limit the use of AirBnb and other short-term rentals in large towns and cities will come to Cabinet today, after being delayed last week. The Short-Term Lettings Bill will include restrictions to prevent homeowners from renting out properties for more than 90 days a year if they live in an area with a population greater than 10,000. This would, in effect, prevent individuals who are short-term letting properties on a full-time basis from operating in large towns and cities. The bill had been due to come to Cabinet last week, but was dropped at the last minute leading to what sources called a "robust" exchange between the two ministers who are leading the legislation housing minister James Browne and enterprise minister Peter Burke. It is understood that the bill returning to Cabinet today is largely identical to that which came last week, save for one legal note. Competitive strategy Meanwhile, Mr Burke will on Tuesday join Tanaiste Simon Harris in bringing a plan to make Ireland more competitive amidst global economic uncertainty. Mr Burke will aim to publish a competitiveness strategy within the next 12 weeks, ahead of the Dail's summer recess, in a bid to ensure that any tax or budgetary changes contained in the plan will be represented in October's Budget. It is understood that the plan will cover industrial policy, reducing the cost and regulatory burden on businesses, investing in infrastructure, digital regulation and reform, energy reform, international trade and research, and development and innovation, alongside a number of short-term measures to be introduced next month. Cabinet will also be told of a plan which could see trade commissions with China, India, and the UAE prioritised. The government will examine the overseas offices of the State agencies in trade promotion, including Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland, and the IDA, and could expand trade missions. A Cost of Business Advisory Forum will also be established and the consumer protection and competition functions of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission will be strengthened. Mr Harris will also update Cabinet on Ireland's response to two landmark reports on EU competitiveness the Letta and Draghi reports and will tell ministers that Ireland is engaging with the European Commission's simplification process which is seeking to remove unnecessary European red tape. Mr Harris will also tell Cabinet that the first EU-UK summit since Brexit will take place next month. Also at Cabinet, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers will update ministers on the new dedicated Infrastructure Division within his department. The division will second sectoral experts who will identify blockages and barriers to infrastructure delivery and accelerate major capital projects. Children's Minister Norma Foley is bringing a memo for cabinet to get approval for the publication of the final report of the Farrelly Commission's investigation into a disability service in the southeast and related matters, otherwise known as the 'Grace' case. The Commission of Investigation into certain matters relative to a disability service in the South East and related matters was established in 2017 to investigate the care and protection of Grace and others in a former foster home in the Southeast. The EU has ruled out changes to food standards in any negotiations with the US on trade, describing them as sacrosanct and a red line, even as it said the ball is now in the US court on further negotiations. EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic met with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick this week. The EUs trade spokesperson, Olof Gill, described the talks as a very focused and productive meeting. However, the EU has called for the US to outline exactly what it wants out of the negotiations. We need to have a clear idea about what their preferred outcomes are, Mr Gill said. An existing EU offer for zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods and cars remains on the table. Were willing to look at a range of other areas as well, but we would need an additional level of engagement from the US to keep the ball rolling forward, he added. It comes as the US administration is continuing probes into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as part of bids to place tariffs on both sectors. The probe is on grounds that extensive reliance on foreign production of both medicine and chips is a national security threat, according to the Federal Register filings. Enterprise minister Peter Burke, meanwhile, has warned the US against introducing pharma tariffs, saying it could lead to increased medicine costs for US consumers. However, he pushed back when asked if Ireland was overexposed to the US market, saying Ireland hopes to retain the majority, if not all of the market share. Mr Burke added the Government would be looking at diversifying trade in Asia and the Pacific. Well, I watched every second of the buildup, flight and aftermath of the first Blue Origin all-female space trip. Youve heard of one small step for man? This was one giant leap backwards for womankind. Im kidding, Im kidding! What could be more empowering or something than watching Lauren Sanchez make going to space sound like brunch with the girrrrrls. Sally Ride could never. Anyway, if you missed this, Jeff Bezoss fiancee took an 11-minute trip to the edge of space on one of his Blue Origin craft on Monday, alongside some all-female passengers sorry, crew who included CBS anchor Gayle King and pop star Katy Perry. So yes: the Womans World video is no longer the most plastic feminist thing Katys done. Given the mixture of freebie rides and seats sold to the super-rich, the thing people always say about Blue Origin tickets is that prices range from zero to $28m dollars. A bit like a seat on a RyanAir flight to Tallinn. But these spots were all personally gifted by Bezos and Sanchez because this was an Important Mission. Which also meant the whole thing was exclusively documented by Blue Origins Pravda-like web channel. Here, the anchors and reporters kept explaining that unlike when men went to space in the past this mission was all about emotions. But look, its great that were valorising emotions above all things, because it gives me permission to say how very much I hated this entire, hilariously vacuous spectacle. Lauren already bills herself as a childrens author, helicopter pilot, journalist and philanthropist, and kept being told she was adding astronaut to the worlds longest multi-hyphenate. How did she find the trip? I dont really have the words for this, like ? OK but can you at least try? I cant put it into words but I looked out the window and we got to see the moon. Back at the viewing platform in the West Texas desert, commentary was provided by, among others, Kris Jenner and a bottom-tier Kardashian (Khloe). Khloe glossed the moment of landing with the words: its literally so hard to explain right now. Other insights? Theres one woman whose grandfather is back there and he is 92 and they didnt even have transportation back then. I mean, the guy was literally pre-horse. Historic scenes. Amid extremely stiff competition, the most hardcore gibberish emanated from Perry, who served up an entire word salad bar involving the feminine divine and being super connected to love. Its about making space for future woman, she explained. Its about taking up space. Imagine going to actual space and talking instead about therapy-speak space. When Buzz Aldrin beheld the surface of the moon, he described it as magnificent desolation. Honestly, if he wanted to feel desolation he could have just tuned into this corner of West Texas on Monday afternoon. When a Stem advocate came for her post-flight interview, we got to see the apparently lobotomised reporter shriek: How do you look perfect after just going to space?! In truth, how the women looked had been an overwhelming part of the buildup, and by their own design. In an Elle magazine joint interview with the passengers, Lauren showed off the hot space suits shed personally commissioned, inquiring rhetorically: Who would not get glam before the flight? Space is going to finally be glam, agreed Perry. Let me tell you something. If I could take glam up with me, I would do that. We are going to put the ass in astronaut. A former Nasa rocket scientist said: I also wanted to test out my hair and make sure that it was OK. So I skydived in Dubai with similar hair to make sure I would be good took it for a dry run. Still want more? Because there was SO much of it. Were going to have lash extensions flying in the capsule! explained Lauren. I think its so important for people to see us like that, explained a civil rights activist. This dichotomy of engineer and scientist, and then beauty and fashion. We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. Im going to be wearing lipstick. Ooof. I always thought space travel was futuristic, but this was the first time it came off as travelling back in time, in this case using their little capsule to take us back to the most ludicrous inanities of 2010s girlboss feminism. Ultimately, it felt like a sign of the times that everything was about personal growth rather than affording any new understanding of wider humanity. As Gayle King put it: Im so proud of me right now. Everyone, bar none, talked in whatever trite solipsism language has been reduced to by a permanent diet of social media self-care. It all made me realise how much I miss humans not permanently crying on TV, and being able to find words that dont sound like they could be printed above a picture of a crossroads sign on Instagram, or maybe some sandy footprints on a beach. Having oh-my-godded her way through some pure gibberish, Lauren eventually announced that shed learned: Were all in this together. Were so connected. Agreed. In which spirit, please please please could Amazon pay full and fair tax in all the territories in which it, one of the worlds three biggest companies, operates? Such an act of connection truly would be your and Jeffs gift to our planet that you apparently just got some kind of a perspective on while Katy Perry was floating around during the zero-gravity bit pushing towards the camera a butterfly printed with her next tour dates. Why do I feel like the most meaningful thing to come out of this will be a three-minute song called Space Cowgirl? Forget the right stuff. This was the wrong stuff. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Jury selection is starting for the retrial of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein for alleged sex offences. The last time a New York City panel sat in judgment of Weinstein, the ex-movie studio boss was convicted of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Five years later, that landmark #MeToo verdict is gone, wiped away on appeal, and Weinstein is set to go on trial again, beginning on Tuesday with jury selection. New Yorks highest court, the Court of Appeals, overturned Weinsteins conviction and ordered a new trial, finding that his original one in 2020 was tainted by improper rulings and prejudicial evidence. That ruling gave Weinstein a second chance to fight the charges, and do so in a different atmosphere than his first trial, which was held in the middle of a global reckoning over sexual misconduct. Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty and denies that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone, is older and more frail, in and out of the hospital regularly for a variety of health problems. He is now far removed from the time when he was among the most powerful men in the movie business. And even if he is acquitted, he will not walk free. Weinstein is also appealing against a 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles. Harvey Weinsteins first trial was overturned (Jefferson Siegel/AP) His 16-year prison sentence in that case still stands, though his lawyers said he needs to be re-sentenced because the since-vacated New York conviction was a factor in how his punishment was calculated. In the New York retrial, Judge Curtis Farber has set aside at least four days for jury selection and expects opening statements and the start of evidence next week. The judge, prosecution and defence will work to whittle a massive pool of potential jurors down to the 18 people, 12 jurors and six alternates, needed for the trial by asking questions and seeking to eliminate anyone they feel cannot judge the case fairly. Weinstein, 73, is being retried on two charges from his original trial. He is accused of raping an aspiring actor in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and performing a criminal sex act by forcing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant in 2006. He is also charged with one count of criminal sex act based on an allegation from a woman who was not a part of the original trial. That woman, who has not been named publicly, alleges Weinstein forced oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel. Selecting a jury will involve bringing in around 80 potential jurors at a time for two basic screening questions. First, the judge will ask for a show of hands from anyone who has work, family or other obligations that will prevent them from serving. Then, he will ask for a show of hands from anyone who feels they cannot be impartial based on the nature of the charges or news coverage. Anyone who raises a hand will be sent home, Mr Farber has said. Those who remain will be seated in or near the jury box, 24 at a time, and asked additional questions about things like their education, work, and whether anyone they know is in law enforcement or has been a victim of a crime. Prosecutors and Weinsteins lawyers will then each have 40 minutes to ask questions to each subset of 24 potential jurors. Often, lawyers will use that time to follow up on things raised in earlier questioning or to zero in on concerns about potential biases. Either side can ask the judge to dismiss a potential juror. If too many jurors are dismissed, another group will be brought in and the process will repeat until the full jury is seated. The US federal government says it is freezing more than 2.2 billion dollars in grants and 60 million US dollars in contracts to Harvard University, after the institution said it would defy the Trump administrations demands to limit activism on campus. The hold on Harvards funding marks the seventh time President Donald Trumps administration has taken the step at one of the nations most elite colleges, in an attempt to force compliance with Mr Trumps political agenda. Six of the seven schools are in the Ivy League. In a letter to Harvard on Friday, Mr Trumps administration had called for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus, and stop recognising some student clubs. The federal government said almost nine billion US dollars in grants and contracts in total were at risk if Harvard did not comply. On Monday, Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would not bend to the governments demands. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, Mr Garber said in a letter to the Harvard community. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. Hours later, the government froze billions in Harvards federal funding. People walk through the campus of Harvard University (Michael Casey/AP) The first university targeted by the Trump administration was Columbia, which acquiesced to the governments demands under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts. The administration also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell and Northwestern. Mr Trumps administration has normalised the extraordinary step of withholding federal money to pressure major academic institutions to comply with the presidents political agenda and to influence campus policy. The administration has argued universities allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israels war in Gaza. Harvard, Mr Garber said, already has made extensive reforms to address antisemitism. He said many of the governments demands do not relate to antisemitism, but instead are an attempt to regulate the intellectual conditions at Harvard. Withholding federal funding from Harvard, one of the nations top research universities in science and medicine, risks not only the health and well-being of millions of individuals but also the economic security and vitality of our nation. It also violates the universitys First Amendment rights and exceeds the governments authority under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination against students based on their race, colour or national origin, Mr Garber said. The governments demands included that Harvard institute what it called merit-based admissions and hiring policies and conduct an audit of the study body, faculty and leadership on their views about diversity. The administration also called for a ban on face masks at Harvard, an apparent target of pro-Palestinian campus protesters, and pressured the university to stop recognising or funding any student group or club that endorses or promotes criminal activity, illegal violence, or illegal harassment. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable Harvards defiance, the federal antisemitism task force said on Monday, reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. Mr Trump has promised a more aggressive approach against antisemitism on campus, accusing former President Joe Biden of letting schools off the hook. Mr Trumps administration has opened new investigations at colleges and detained and deported several foreign students with ties to pro-Palestinian protests. The demands from the Trump administration had prompted a group of Harvard alumni to write to university leaders calling for it to legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance. Harvard stood up today for the integrity, values, and freedoms that serve as the foundation of higher education, said Anurima Bhargava, one of the alumni behind the letter. Harvard reminded the world that learning, innovation and transformative growth will not yield to bullying and authoritarian whims. The governments pressure on Harvard also sparked a protest over the weekend from the campus community and residents of Cambridge and a lawsuit from the American Association of University Professors on Friday challenging the cuts. In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration has failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it starts cutting funds, including giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress. These sweeping yet indeterminate demands are not remedies targeting the causes of any determination of noncompliance with federal law. Instead, they overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavoured speech, plaintiffs wrote. Tens of thousands of people have gathered at the holiest Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem for the traditional priestly blessing prayer. The Birkat Cohanim, or Cohens blessing, is a ritual dating back more than 2,500 years to when King Solomons Temple stood on the same site. The blessing is performed by male Jews who can trace their lineage back to the priestly caste, and takes place three times a year during Judaisms major holidays. Jews are currently observing the week-long holiday of Passover. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men participate in a blessing (Leo Correa/AP) The prayer was led by many of the countrys top rabbis as well as Eliya Cohen, a former hostage who was released from Gaza in February, and relatives of other hostages still being held in Gaza. After the traditional blessing, the rabbis recited a prayer for the 59 hostages still held in captivity in Gaza. Many worshippers said the prayer had special meaning this year, given the ongoing war, which has stretched on for more than 18 months. Its hard for us to believe that we still have hostages that are not able to come home and come and be here and join us with this, said Shandey Fuchs, who said she tries to attend the ceremony every year. She added that she hopes the prayer brings unity and lasting peace across Israel. The blessing is recited in Hebrew while religious men cover their heads with prayer shawls, creating a sea of white at the Western Wall Plaza. The paved prayer area in front of the wall is the last remnant of the second Jewish Temple destroyed in the 1st century. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which runs the site, said more than 200,000 people have visited the site during the Passover holiday, one of three Jewish holidays where ancient Jews traditionally made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. A Russian court has convicted four journalists of extremism for working for an anti-corruption group founded by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny and sentenced them to five-and-a-half years in prison each. Antonina Favorskaya, Kostantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin and Artyom Kriger were found guilty of involvement with a group that had been labelled as extremist. All four maintained their innocence, arguing they were being prosecuted for doing their job as journalists. The closed-door trial was part of an unrelenting crackdown on dissent that has reached an unprecedented scale after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Russian journalist Sergey Karelin (AP Photo) The authorities have targeted opposition figures, independent journalists, rights activists and ordinary Russians critical of the Kremlin with prosecution, jailing hundreds and prompting thousands to flee the country to avoid prosecution. Favorskaya and Kriger worked with SotaVision, an independent Russian news outlet that covers protests and political trials. Gabov is a freelance producer who has worked for multiple organisations, including Reuters. Karelin, a freelance video journalist, has done work for Western media outlets, including The Associated Press. The four journalists were accused of working with Mr Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which was designated as extremist and outlawed in 2021 in a move widely seen as politically motivated. Mr Navalny was President Vladimir Putins fiercest and most prominent foe and relentlessly campaigned against official corruption in Russia. Mr Navalny died in February 2024 in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on a number of charges, including running an extremist group, which he had rejected as politically driven. Donald Trump has said he wants to give money and a plane ticket to any immigrant who is in the country illegally who chooses to self-deport, and to get those who are good back in the US, in a break from his usual hardline immigration rhetoric. The president, who campaigned on a pledge to carry out mass deportations, said in a taped interview with Fox Noticias that aired on Tuesday that his administration is focused on getting murderers out of the country. For others in the US illegally, he said, he is going to implement a self-deportation programme. Mr Trump offered few details about the plan, including timing, but said the US would provide immigrants with air fare and a stipend. Were doing a self-deportation and were going to make it comfortable for people. And were going to work with those people to come back into our country legally Were going to give them a stipend. Were going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then were going to work with them if theyre good if we want them back in, were going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can, he said. Fox Noticias interviewer Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is married to transportation secretary Sean Duffy, played Mr Trump a clip of a Mexican man who, she said, arrived in the US illegally more than 20 years ago and has children who are American citizens. It is not clear if the man now has legal permission to be in the country, but Ms Campos-Duffy said the man claimed that even though he cannot vote, he would have supported Mr Trump. She played a clip of the man saying he agrees that if someone commits a crime, they should be returned to their countries including himself. I look at this man. I say, this is a guy that we want to keep, Mr Trump replied. Ill probably take heat for saying it. He then asked if the man was supposed to have been deported, and answered his own question: No, he didnt say that. Good. I dont think hes in any danger of it. The Republican president also said he wants to help hotels and farms get the workers they need and recommend people to fill needed positions. He said that would be very soothing for farmers and he ultimately wants workers who are in the US illegally to leave and come back with legal permission, but he did not outline any steps to do that. Were doing a self-deportation and were going to make it comfortable for people, he said. And were going to work with those people to come back into our country legally. Fox Noticias said the interview with Mr Trump was taped on Monday. Refuse workers in Birmingham have rejected a deal aimed at ending a weeks-long strike that has resulted in piles of uncollected rubbish in the streets, according to union officials. The vote occurred as military logistics teams were deployed to help alleviate a crisis that has now persisted for six weeks. The Unite union stated that its members in Birmingham overwhelmingly voted against what they termed a wholly inadequate proposal. The rejection of the offer comes as no surprise since these workers cannot afford to incur such significant pay cuts to compensate for a series of poor decisions, said Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham. Hundreds of workers initiated the strike on 11 March, with Unite noting that some employees could potentially lose 8,000 (9,200) annually due to a proposed reorganization of the refuse service. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner reported that two-thirds of the rubbish collected on the streets has now been cleared. She mentioned that military personnel were assisting Birmingham City Council with logistics to remove as much waste as possible, but clarified that there were no boots on the ground. The buildup of trash left to decompose during an unusually warm spring has raised public health alarms, as residents have observed bags being ripped apart by rats, cats, and foxes. Workers are collecting uncollected bin bags from local residents to load into dustbins and refuse trucks at a temporary waste collection site in Birmingham. Prime Minister Keir Starmers spokesperson stated that the purely office-based military personnel were involved in coordinating the local response with local authorities, providing additional vehicles and crews, and opening household waste centers for Birmingham residents. We are now urging Unite to halt its action and accept the proposal currently on the table, the spokesperson added. More than 100 vehicles departed from depots on Monday morning, with 12,500 tonnes of waste cleared since 4 April, they noted. According to Palestinian and Egyptian sources, the latest round of discussions in Cairo aimed at reinstating the stalled Gaza ceasefire and securing the release of Israeli hostages yielded no significant progress. Sources reported that Hamas maintained its stance that any agreements must result in a cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Israel has resumed its military operations in Gaza last month following the collapse of a ceasefire that was established in January, asserting it will continue its campaign until Hamas is defeated. The militant group has dismissed any suggestion of disarming. An Egyptian source informed Reuters that the most recent proposal to prolong the truce would require Hamas to release a greater number of hostages. Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus security cabinet, stated on Army Radio that Israel is pursuing the release of approximately ten hostages, an increase from Hamass earlier agreement to release five. The Egyptian source indicated that Hamas has requested additional time to respond to the latest proposal. Hamas is open to discussion, but it seeks assurances that Israel agrees to initiate discussions on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, the Egyptian source remarked, which aims to conclude the conflict. During the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire that began in January, Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees. However, the second phase, intended to commence at the beginning of March and terminate the war, did not materialize. Since the resumption of military actions last month, Israeli forces have killed over 1,500 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands, seizing extensive territories and enforcing a total blockade on all supplies to the entire enclave. Currently, 59 Israeli hostages are believed to be held by the militants, with Israel estimating that up to 24 of them are still alive. Israeli airstrikes in Gaza persist. Palestinians have reported that the recent surge of Israeli attacks following the collapse of the ceasefire has been among the most lethal and intense of the conflict, impacting a weary population struggling to survive in the remnants of the enclave. In Jabalia, a community situated on Gazas northern outskirts, rescue workers clad in orange vests attempted to break through concrete with sledgehammers to retrieve bodies trapped beneath a building that collapsed due to an Israeli strike. Feet and a hand of a person were visible beneath a concrete slab, while men carried a body wrapped in a blanket. On-site workers indicated that as many as 25 individuals may have perished. The Israeli military stated that their actions targeted militants planning an ambush. In Khan Younis in the south, a camp composed of makeshift tents was reduced to heaps of rubble following an airstrike. Families returned to sift through the debris in search of personal belongings. We used to live in houses. They were destroyed. Now, our tents have been destroyed too. We dont know where to go, expressed Ismail al-Raqab, who returned to the area after his family evacuated ahead of the dawn raid. The leaders of the two Arab nations spearheading the ceasefire mediation efforts, Egypts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, convened in Doha yesterday. The Egyptian source stated that President Sisi called for further international guarantees for a truce agreement, beyond those already provided by Egypt and Qatar. Meanwhile, the European Union has announced a new three-year financial assistance package for the Palestinians amounting to 1.6 billion. We are enhancing our support to the Palestinian people. 1.6 billion until 2027 will aid in stabilizing the West Bank and Gaza, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated on X. US President Donald Trump, supportive of Israels decision to resume its military campaign and advocating for the evacuation of the Palestinian populace from Gaza, mentioned last week that progress was being made in the efforts to bring back the hostages. The ongoing conflict was ignited by Hamas attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in 1,200 casualties and 251 individuals taken hostage to Gaza, based on Israeli figures. Since that date, over 50,900 Palestinians have reportedly lost their lives in the Israeli offensive, as per local health authorities. Hungarian lawmakers have largely supported constitutional amendments aimed at the LGBTQ community and dual nationals, marking another move to bolster Prime Minister Viktor Orbans self-proclaimed illiberal model of democracy. Since regaining power in 2010, Hungarys leader has imposed significant restrictions on the rights of the LGBTQ community, as well as on the media, judiciary, and academia. In mid-March, he pledged to conduct an Easter cleanup targeting domestic adversaries, whom he has branded stink bugs. The constitutional amendment asserting that individuals can only be recognized as male or female mirrors similar gender policies championed by Mr. Orbans ally, former US President Donald Trump. Before the vote on the amendment which was approved by parliament with 140 votes in favor and 21 against several protesters briefly blocked an entrance to the parliament until police intervened. When we chained ourselves during the first overhaul of the constitution in 2011, we never thought that 14 years later, we would be forced to do the same, remarked opposition lawmaker Timea Szabo. Members of the liberal Momentum party displayed a banner in protest within parliament, while hundreds of demonstrators outside the building shouted, We will not allow ourselves to be transformed into Putins Russia. Ruby, a 19-year-old transgender woman who asked not to be named, told AFP that she participated in the rally to oppose a government that aims to eliminate transgender individuals and conceal what they dislike, just like in Russia. The opposition Momentum party showcased a banner within the parliament Array of changes In addition to the provision stating that individuals can only be recognized as either male or female, another amendment asserts that childrens rights to proper physical, mental and moral development take precedence over all other fundamental rights, with the exception of the right to life. This clause is perceived as a means to fortify the legal basis for banning Pride marches. Another significant provision allows the government to temporarily revoke Hungarian citizenship from dual or multiple nationals, even if they acquired such nationalities by birth. The ruling party claims this initiative targets speculators funding phony NGOs, corrupt politicians, and the so-called independent media from abroad. A related legislative proposal, which will be voted on at a later date, states that Hungarian citizenship may be suspended for a maximum of ten years, with the possibility of expulsion from the country for those affected. Nationals from other EU member nations would be exempt, along with citizens from a few other European countries, according to the proposal. Last week, over 30 prominent Hungarian legal experts condemned the measure as an unprecedented construction in international law that could conflict with binding human rights conventions. Soft Putinism Critics argue that these proposed legal changes further undermine democratic rights in the Central European nation, steering the EU member closer to the authoritarianism characteristic of Russias President Vladimir Putin. This could be described as soft Putinism, stated Szabolcs Pek, chief analyst at the think tank Iranytu Intezet. While people arent exactly falling out of windows, the government increasingly restricts the space for opposition politicians, journalists, and civil society, he added. Politically, these measures are viewed as efforts to bolster diminishing support for the ruling coalition, fragment the opposition along ideological lines, and appeal to the far-right ahead of next springs parliamentary elections. Mr. Orbans legislative boisterousness is an attempt to regain control of the public agenda, according to Mr. Pek. In this regard, he has succeeded, as public discourse is no longer focused on failing public services or the weak economy, Mr. Pek explained. Since last year, Mr. Orban has encountered an unprecedented challenge from Peter Magyar, a former government insider turned opposition leader, whose TISZA party has been diminishing Fideszs once-solid lead, as reflected in opinion polls. Mr. Pek emphasized that the Pride ban represents a trap for Mr. Magyar: advocating for LGBTQ rights could alienate conservative voters, while his current silence may drive left-leaning and liberal constituents to other opposition parties. Is Russia Undermining US Peace Initiatives in Ukraine? Civilians lost their lives, covered in sheets of foil, among burnt-out cars and obliterated buildings. This was the grim reality captured by news crews on Sunday in Sumy, a city located in northeastern Ukraine. Russia launched two ballistic missiles at the citys central district, resulting in the deaths of 35 civilians, including two children. Additionally, over 115 individuals were injured. In both instances, Russias defense ministry claimed it targeted meetings of Ukrainian military officials assertions that remain unverified independently. Russia targeted Sumys central district with two ballistic missiles, claiming the lives of 35 civilians. Moreover, Russia has failed to provide evidence bolstering its claims. Just two days prior to the attack on Sumy, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss potential steps towards ending the war. However, the sequence of these events raises suspicions. Mr. Witkoff engaged with Mr. Putin about peace on Friday, only for devastation to occur on the streets of Sumy due to Russian bombardment on Palm Sunday. This leads to a pressing question: Is Russia mocking US efforts for peace in Ukraine? Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski seems to hold that view. Yesterday, he expressed to reporters in Luxembourg that he hopes US President Donald Trump recognizes that Russias leader is mocking their goodwill. It is evident that Russian forces are launching large Iskander ballistic missiles, each weighing over 450kg, into the heart of Ukrainian urban areas. Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin have communicated through two official phone calls since February, yet little tangible progress has been observed towards halting the conflict. Utilizing such missiles in densely populated regions inherently carries a significant risk of inflicting civilian casualties on ordinary people, just as residents of Sumy were experiencing on Sunday morning. These lethal strikes imply that Russia feels empowered to persist with its three-year campaign rather than being compelled by the US to cease hostilities. While senior US officials negotiated an initial 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine last month to cease attacks on energy infrastructure, the agreement failed to take off, with both parties accusing each other of violating the US-mediated accord. This was followed, two weeks later, by a 30-day maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea. However, Russia quickly returned with additional demands to lift specific sanctions, leaving the energy aspect of the ceasefire agreement unresolved. Bringing Ukraine to the table was relatively straightforward, despite Mr. Trump claiming early last month that Ukraine posed a more significant challenge than Russia in negotiations. Two weeks ago, Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that the current US ceasefire proposal was unacceptable as, according to Russia, it fails to address the root causes of the conflict. The Kremlin defines root causes as NATOs expansion in Eastern Europe during the late 1990s. Mr. Ryabkovs remarks indicate that Russia had significant reservations about the US ceasefire proposal from the outset. Read more: Ukraine, US hold constructive talks on minerals deal official Interestingly, on March 11, Ukraine accepted an initial US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire across all fronts, including land, sea, and air. Contrarily, Russia rejected the same proposal, opting instead for a limited ceasefire, which it subsequently violated. The Kremlins strategy appears to be one of waging war while advancing its maximalist demands as a condition for ending hostilities. Yesterday, Mr. Trump described the attack on Sumy as horrible and a mistake. However, Russia makes too many of these mistakes, casting doubt on its genuine willingness to engage in a credible peace process. European leaders have vehemently condemned the attack on Sumy and are planning a fresh round of sanctions against Russia. The US may need to consider a similar course of action to compel a change in Russian tactics. Kim Kardashian to Testify at Trial for Paris Jewelry Heist, According to Lawyer US reality TV personality Kim Kardashian is set to testify in person at an upcoming French trial concerning the armed robbery of her jewelry in Paris in 2016, as confirmed by her US attorney Michael Rhodes. A French court is scheduled to start proceedings on 28 April, with six individuals facing trial for the gem heist that occurred in October 2016. During this incident, masked assailants left Ms. Kardashians lavish Paris apartment with millions of dollars worth of valuables, including a diamond ring given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West. The trial is expected to continue until 23 May, with Ms. Kardashian making her appearance on 13 May, according to a preliminary schedule. Dubbed the largest French robbery targeting an individual in two decades, Ms. Kardashian was stripped of jewelry valued at approximately six million euros while she was at a luxury lodging during Paris Fashion Week. Two investigating magistrates have mandated that the suspects face a jury trialtypically reserved in France for the most severe offenseson charges including armed robbery, kidnapping, and belonging to a criminal organization. Several men gained entry to the hotel where Ms. Kardashian was staying. On the night of 2-3 October 2016, a group of men, some pretending to be police officers, infiltrated the hotel where Ms. Kardashian was located. Two of the intruders pressed guns to her head, and one, as Ms. Kardashian recounted to investigators, spoke to her with a very strong French accent in English, demanding the ring she was wearing. They subsequently bound her, gagged her, and moved her into the bathroom. Meanwhile, three accomplices stood guard at the reception area, while one waited in a getaway vehicle. In addition to the ring, which was set with an 18.88-carat near-flawless diamond, the group made off with several other pieces of gold and diamond jewelry. One of the alleged robbers, Yunice Abbas, fled the scene on a bicycle but dropped a diamond-studded cross worth 30,000 euros, which a passerby discovered a few hours later. While the thieves abandoned a few more items during their escape, the majority of the stolen goods have yet to be recovered, with authorities believing they were sold in Belgium. One Death and Nine Injuries Reported in Ukrainian Drone Strike on Kursk, Officials Confirm An overnight drone strike by Ukraine resulted in the death of an 85-year-old woman, left nine individuals injured, and ignited fires in multiple buildings in the Russian city of Kursk, which is located near the Ukrainian border, according to regional officials. Kursk has endured a significant enemy assault overnight, stated the Kursk region administration in a message on the Telegram app. The drone attack caused damage to a multi-storey apartment building, with several apartments catching fire, as reported by Sergei Kotlyarov, the acting mayor of Kursk, on Telegram. Residents have been relocated to a nearby school, he mentioned. The extent of the attack remains unclear; however, Russias Baza and SHOT Telegram channels, known for sharing information sourced from security service and law enforcement channels, indicated that over 20 explosions rattled the city. Images were shared showing what appeared to be a multi-storey residential building engulfed in flames at night. Reuters has not independently verified these reports. Both parties claim they do not target civilians in the ongoing conflict, which began over three years ago when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have conducted cross-border operations into the Kursk region, of which the city of Kursk serves as the administrative center, although Russian troops have regained much of the territory initially lost. This drone strike comes in the wake of a Russian missile and bomb assault on the Ukrainian city of Sumy over the weekend, which resulted in 35 fatalities and left at least 119 injured. Yoon Suk Yeol, South Koreas former president, asserted that his brief declaration of martial law late last year was not a coup detat as he appeared in court to commence a criminal trial concerning allegations of leading an insurrection. The attempted martial law, which lasted roughly six hours before Mr. Yoon retreated in response to parliamentary opposition and public protests, plunged the nation into months of instability and resulted in the Constitutional Court removing him from the presidency this month for overstepping his constitutional powers. After leaving his residence in a motorcade, Mr. Yoon, who has denied all accusations against him, entered the Seoul Central District Court. At the commencement of the hearings, prosecutors presented their case, arguing that Mr. Yoon did not have the legal justification to impose martial law and accused him of attempting to incapacitate state institutions like parliament. Mr. Yoon, who previously served as the nations chief prosecutor before becoming president, spent about 40 minutes in the morning refuting the prosecutions claims. Martial law is not a coup detat, Mr. Yoon stated, emphasizing that he did not aim to disrupt the functioning of the country but believed martial law was necessary to alert citizens to the majority opposition partys obstruction of government through the impeachment of more than 20 officials, including the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, which he regarded as a dangerous precedent. This was a peaceful message martial law to the nation I anticipated this martial law would conclude within half a day, or a day, Mr. Yoon explained. He noted that, despite having communicated his intentions to former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, military officials executing the order appeared to have misinterpreted it due to their training under different martial law protocols. Two high-ranking military officers are expected to testify in the afternoon. One of them, Cho Sung-hyun from the armys capital defense command, already testified at the Constitutional Court in February that he was directed to mobilize troops to drag MPs out of parliament during Mr. Yoons martial law declaration. Mr. Yoon refuted this claim. The martial law declaration, which cited the imperative to eradicate anti-state elements, was rescinded six hours later after parliamentary staff utilized barricades and fire extinguishers to deter special operations soldiers attempting to enter parliament, where MPs voted to reject martial law. Mr. Yoon faces a charge of insurrection, which could result in life imprisonment or even death, although South Korea has not carried out executions in decades. The martial law declaration on December 3 shocked the South Korean public and caused disarray across various sectors, including society, the economy, and foreign policy, as noted by the Constitutional Court when it ruled to oust him from office. This turmoil has further revealed significant social divides between conservatives and liberals and increased pressure on institutions and the military, which found itself in a dilemma regarding the enforcement of martial law. The former president returned to his private residence on Friday from the official residence, with crowds of conservative supporters gathering to greet his motorcade. He remains resolute and has vowed to stand by his supporters. The opposition Democratic Party criticized Mr. Yoon today, branding him delusional for failing to issue a sincere apology. The country is set to hold a snap election on June 3. Questions linger as to whether Mr. Yoon may still play a role in the political landscape. Lee Jae-myung, the opposition leader currently leading in presidential polls, visited a startup that develops artificial intelligence chips, pledging to relax regulations while making aggressive investments in the AI sector. Spanish authorities have apprehended two individuals believed to be involved in the online sale of exotic felines, including protected species like white tigers and pumas, resulting in the confiscation of 19 cats during the operation. The couple was detained on the island of Majorca, where they are accused of breeding desert lynxes and servals, a wild cat indigenous to Africa, as well as hybrid breeds produced by crossing these species with domestic cats, according to a police statement. Ongoing investigations revealed that their operations may merely represent the tip of the iceberg in a broader international trafficking network of protected animals, including white tigers and black panthers, with connections to breeders, transporters, and veterinarians involved, authorities noted. The majority of the animals listed for sale originated from countries including Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine before being smuggled into the European Union, they added. In addition to white tigers and pumas, the couple promoted various other species for sale through their social media accounts, including European lynxes and hyenas. Police highlighted that the suspects had advertised a clouded leopard, one of the rarest and most elusive cats globally, at a hefty price of 60,000. Law enforcement also confiscated a caracal, a desert lynx noted for its distinctive long ear tufts, along with two servals and 16 hybrid felines. Additionally, authorities seized more than 40 animal passports originating from Russia, Belarus, and China as part of the operation. Ukraine and US Engage in Constructive Discussions on Minerals Agreement Official Statement Discussions that took place last week between the United States and Ukraine regarding a proposed minerals agreement were described as constructive by a senior official who is knowledgeable about the talks. The meeting was straightforward, with no issues; everyone stated that the discussions were productive, the official commented, requesting anonymity, following a meeting in Washington on April 11 that revived talks over a proposed arrangement for Ukraines mineral resources. The official noted that they could not provide specifics about the meeting due to Ukraines confidentiality promise, but mentioned that it was technical and primarily centered on legal matters concerning the wording and which conditions are more effective. The two nations had intended to finalize a deal last month concerning the extraction of Ukraines strategically significant minerals, but a highly publicized confrontation between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky interrupted the agreement. Ukraines Justice Minister, Olga Stefanishyna, indicated that the ongoing consultations were a positive sign in itself. Certain agreements have been reached, the Ukrainian justice minister remarked, highlighting her expectation for continued discussions, adding that this is clearly not the final round of negotiations. Mr. Trump seeks the deal, which would grant the US royalty payments on profits from Ukrainian mining of resources and rare minerals, in exchange for military and financial support extended to Ukraine by his predecessor, Joe Biden. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over the continuous influx of weapons and fighters into Sudan, which is entrenching a civil war that is nearing its third year. The conflict, which erupted on 15 April 2023, has resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities, driven parts of Sudan into famine, and divided the nation into territories controlled by warlords. The external support and flow of weapons must cease, Mr. Guterres stated in a release made a day prior to the third anniversary of the conflict involving Sudans army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, without specifying any particular nation. Those with the most influence over the parties involved must utilize it to improve the lives of the Sudanese peoplenot to prolong this calamity, added Mr. Guterres. In early 2024, UN experts tasked with monitoring sanctions against Sudan reported violations of the arms embargo, indicating that a supply route exists from Abu Dhabi to Darfur in western Sudan, passing through Chad. However, in their latest report earlier this year, the experts noted that they could not verify actual military material transfers along this route from Chad to Darfur. They did assert that arms had entered from Libya, although they could not determine the source. The UN experts further reported that fighters had been enlisted from neighboring nations such as Chad, Libya, and the Central African Republic and transported to South Sudan. Since the conflict began, tens of thousands have been displaced. They also mentioned credible allegations of Colombian mercenaries engaging alongside the paramilitary forces in Sudan. The only method to guarantee the safety of civilians is to bring an end to this senseless conflict, Mr. Guterres stated. Meanwhile, UNICEF reported a staggering 1,000% increase in significant violations against children in Sudan, including killings and abductions, amid two years of civil war, urging for greater global awareness. The UN childrens agency indicated that such incidentswhich also encompass maiming and assaults on schools and hospitalswere previously restricted to a limited number of regions. However, the ongoing conflict has caused these occurrences to spread to additional areas. Two years of violence and displacement have devastated the lives of millions of children across Sudan, commented UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement. The number of serious violations against children has surged by 1,000% over two years, the statement highlighted. For instance, verified cases of children killed or injured escalated drastically from 150 in 2022 to an estimated 2,776 across 2023 and 2024, according to figures shared with AFP by UNICEF, which are likely understated. People who fled the Zamzam camp for internally displaced individuals after it came under the control of the RSF are waiting in line for food rations in a makeshift encampment in an open field near Tawila in western Darfur. Incidents of attacks on schools and hospitals have also risen, from 33 verified cases in 2022 to approximately 181 in the last two years. Additionally, the number of children requiring humanitarian assistance has doubled in two years, increasing from 7.8 million at the beginning of 2023 to over 15 million today, according to UNICEF. Sudan is currently the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, yet it is not receiving the attention it deserves, Ms. Russell remarked, stating, we cannot abandon the children of Sudan. We possess the expertise and determination to enhance our support, but we require access and continuous funding, she emphasized. Famine has been declared in at least five locations, including the Zamzam displacement camp in Darfur, which is now under RSF control. With the onset of the rainy season and the potential for flooding, the situation in Sudan may deteriorate further. UNICEF warns that this years rainy season could lead to severe acute malnutrition in 462,000 children. By IMEMC | ( IMEMC ) The Israeli bombing of Gazas Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, especially on Palm Sunday, has ignited widespread condemnation from Arab nations, international figures, and Christian organizations, while some countries have notably refrained from addressing the incident. The attack targeted a vital healthcare facility, sparking outrage and calls for accountability. The bombing on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital occurred on Palm Sunday, a significant day for Christians marking the start of Holy Week. This tragic event not only caused severe damage to the hospital but also disrupted the spiritual observance of the day. Reports indicate that the Israeli military fired two missiles at the hospitals reception area, causing extensive damage to the emergency building, laboratory, and pharmacy wards. Media sources have described the attack as premeditated, adding that the Palestinians were given just 18 minutes to evacuate before the missiles struck. The bombing rendered the hospital non-operational, cutting off essential medical services for Gazas civilians. Although there were no injuries or fatalities caused by the strike itself, the rushed and chaotic evacuation tragically resulted in the death of a child who had been suffering from a prior head injury. Christian groups, including the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, issued strong statements condemning the bombing as a grave violation of human rights and international norms. These organizations underscored the hospitals critical role in providing humanitarian aid and called for immediate global intervention. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem of the Orthodox Church described the bombing of the Al-Ahli Arab (Baptist) Hospital, owned by the Anglican Church in Gaza City, as a blatant violation of the sanctity of life. It added that the attack occurred on one of Christianitys most sacred days, Palm Sunday, and was characterized as a painful blow to the core of the Christian humanitarian message. In a statement, the Patriarchate emphasized that the airstrike destroyed vital parts of the hospital, leaving it completely non-functional. Dozens of patients and wounded individuals, including children, were forced to leave their beds and face harsh conditions outdoors, amidst chaos, cold, and danger. The Patriarchate held the Israeli military accountable, asserting that the deliberate targeting of healthcare facilities in Gaza transcends mere infrastructure damageit strikes at the essence of humanitarian values rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ. The hospital was one of the last operational healthcare centers in Gaza, following the destruction of most medical facilities amid ongoing conflict. The Patriarchate also noted that St. Porphyrius Church in the Zeitoun neighborhoodone of Gazas oldest Christian landmarkshosted a Palm Sunday mass, symbolizing faith and resilience despite the grim circumstances. The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, responsible for overseeing al-Ahli Hospital, strongly condemned the attack, highlighting its occurrence on Palm Sundaythe beginning of Holy Week and the most sacred period in the Christian calendar. The Diocese reported that the twin missile strikes destroyed the hospitals two-story genetic laboratory and inflicted significant damage on the pharmacy and emergency department buildings. The Anglican Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East has strongly condemned the Israeli airstrike on the Baptist Hospital in Gaza, which led to its complete destruction and rendered it inoperable. In a statement issued on Sunday, the church detailed the extent of the damage caused by the attack. The airstrike destroyed the hospitals two-story genetic laboratory and significantly damaged the pharmacy and emergency department. Surrounding structures, including St. Philips Church, which is affiliated with the hospital, also sustained considerable damage. According to the statement, just twenty minutes before the assault, Israeli forces ordered the immediate evacuation of all patients, staff, and displaced individuals from the hospital. The church expressed deep shock at the repeated targeting of the hospital, emphasizing that this was the fifth such attack since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza. The latest strike occurred on Palm Sunday, a sacred occasion marking the start of Holy Week. In its statement, the Anglican Church urged the international community to take immediate action to stop all forms of aggression against medical and humanitarian facilities. The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, affiliated with the Anglican Church, described the assault as a severe breach of religious sanctity and a violation of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Ramzi Khoury, the committees head, emphasized that the attack represented a direct insult to Palestinian Christians and the broader global Christian community. Qatar condemned the bombing, calling it a gruesome massacre and a shocking crime against innocent civilians. Palm Sunday, Digital, Midjourney, 2025 The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged urgent international intervention to protect civilians and prevent further violations of humanitarian law. Similarly, Egypts President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi denounced the attack, labeling it a clear breach of international law. He called on global leaders to intervene, prevent further escalation, and safeguard Gazas vulnerable population. Egypt described the attacks as a grave violation of international humanitarian law and universally accepted norms. In an official statement released on Sunday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for an immediate cessation of all Israeli assaults on Gaza. The statement also urged the swift delivery of humanitarian aid and relief supplies to the residents of Gaza, warning that the current actions risk triggering a catastrophic humanitarian crisis for which Israel would bear full responsibility. Furthermore, Egypt appealed to the international community to fulfill its obligations by intervening promptly to halt the blatant violations in Gaza. It emphasized the need to activate mechanisms of international law and the United Nations Charter, ensuring decisive measures to put an end to the aggression. This plea was underscored in light of ongoing regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and the resumption of a ceasefire agreement Jordan echoed this sentiment, with its Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserting that the bombing violated international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention. Spokesperson Sufian Qudah condemned the targeting of civilian infrastructure and warned that such actions risk destabilizing regional security. The Palestinian Health Ministry expressed outrage, calling for global intervention to support Gazas struggling healthcare system. Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned, in the harshest terms, the horrific crime committed by Israeli occupation forces, targeting the Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Sunday. The Kingdom reaffirmed its unequivocal rejection of this assault, describing it as a blatant violation of international laws and norms, including humanitarian law. In a statement released by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia urged the international community to fulfill its responsibility by stopping the repeated violations against civilians. The statement also warned of a potential collapse of Gazas healthcare system, highlighting the ongoing disregard for international laws and norms by Israeli forces. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy also criticized the degradation of healthcare access in Gaza, urging an end to attacks that jeopardize civilian infrastructure. While numerous nations and organizations have condemned the bombing, others, including the United States, have remained silent. This has drawn criticism for perceived failures to uphold international humanitarian principles. The violation has intensified global calls for accountability and adherence to international law, with humanitarian organizations urging decisive action to protect civilians, safeguard essential services, and address the escalating crisis in Gaza. Via IMEMC Licensed under Creative Commons Attr-NonCom 4.0 International License. He came to this country hoping to be free to speak out about the atrocities he has witnessed, only to be punished for such speech, said Mohsen Mahdawis lawyer. ( Common Dreams ) A month after the international far-right pro-Israel group Betar named Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi as the next target in its campaign to push for the deportation of Palestinian rights defenders, Mahdawi was arrested Monday at an immigration office in Colchester, Vermont, where he had arrived to complete a test to be a naturalized U.S. citizen. Mahdawi, who had held a green card for 10 years, was a leader of protests at Columbia last year where students called for the school to divest from companies that benefit from Israels policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. As The Interceptreported, immigration authorities scheduled Mahdawis citizenship test around the time that Mahmoud Khalil, another leader of campus protests at Columbia, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March. The appointment, said media critic Sana Saeed, was a trap to abduct him. Vermonts three members of CongressDemocrats Sen. Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanderscalled the arrest of the White River Junction resident immoral, inhumane, and illegal. He was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plain-clothed, armed, individuals with their faces covered, said the lawmakers. These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention. Khalil, Mahdawi, and several other Columbia students have been targeted for deportation under President Donald Trumps executive orders that purport to be aimed at ridding U.S. college campuses of what the administration deems antisemitism, and Secretary of State Marco Rubios catch and revoke program. In an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS in December 2023, Mahdawi spoke about how campus protests the previous month in support of Palestinian rights had been infiltrated by someone who was not affiliated with Columbia and who shouted antisemitic chants. I was shocked, and I walked directly to the person, and I told him, You dont represent us, because this is not something that we agree with, he said. To be antisemitic is unjust. And the fight for the freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand in hand, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. After Betar began posting on social media about Mahdawi, he went into hiding and corresponded with Columbia asking officials to move him to a safe location. Mahdawis lawyer told The Intercept that the school said it could not move him to housing where he would be protected from ICE. Mahdawi suspected that an email last month from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), stating that his citizenship test was being moved up by several months, was a sign that immigration authorities were planning to trap him in order to detain him and try to deport him to the West Bank, where he is from. He called the three members of Congress from Vermont, and spoke to Welch personally, asking them to intervene if he was targeted by ICE. The three lawmakers and their offices said at the time that they would remain on standby pending news of Mahdawis status after the [immigration] interview, according to The Intercept. Chains, Digital, ChatGPT, 2025 We strongly condemn the Trump administration for abducting Mohsen Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident, because he exercised his constitutional right to criticize the Israeli governments war crimes, said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. By abducting and imprisoning college students for engaging in free speech, the Trump administration is acting like an arm of the Israeli government, which regularly censors free speech and imprisons its critics. We demand the release of Mohsen and every other student who has been wrongly abducted. All Americans should be alarmed at the speed of attacks on basic constitutional freedoms of lawful residents in the U.S., Mitchell added. Lawyers for Mahdawi filed a habeus corpus petition on Monday, saying the government had violated his statutory and due process rights by punishing him for speech. Mohsen Mahdawi was unlawfully detained today for no reason other than his Palestinian identity, Mahdawis attorney, Luna Droubi, told The Intercept. He came to this country hoping to be free to speak out about the atrocities he has witnessed, only to be punished for such speech. Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Julia Conley Highlights: Fully funded Phase 3 drill program underway, with approximately 20,000 metres at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit in 2025. at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit in 2025. Program designed to advance three key objectives: increase resource size and grade by targeting the expansion of high-grade zones and open-ended mineralized trends, while also unlocking regional potential for new discoveries. Previous drilling highlights include: 10.6 metres at 11.4% CuEq , within 61.3 metres at 2.5% CuEq ( 1274-24-294) , near surface among the highest-grade intercepts to date. near surface among the highest-grade intercepts to date. Drilling has commenced with one rig, with flexibility to mobilize additional rigs as the program progresses. CEO Jonathon Deluce stated: " This program represents a pivotal step in advancing our goal of developing an economic deposit with significant upside. Our key focus is expanding high-grade copper-gold mineralization within and beyond the current footprint of the deposit, while also testing new high-priority targets across the broader property." stated: This program represents a pivotal step in advancing our goal of developing an economic deposit with significant upside. Our key focus is expanding high-grade copper-gold mineralization within and beyond the current footprint of the deposit, while also testing new high-priority targets across the broader property." The Company is well funded with $18.0 million to complete the Phase 3 20,000 metres planned for the 2025 work program as well as an additional 20,000-25,000 metres in 2026, which will be incorporated into a Preliminary Economic Assessment to complete the B26 option. LONDON, ON, April 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Abitibi Metals Corp. (CSE: AMQ) (OTCQB: AMQFF) (FSE: FW0) ("Abitibi" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the commencement of its fully funded Phase 3 drill program, totaling approximately 20,000 metres at the B26 Polymetallic Deposit ("B26", the "Project" or the "Deposit") located in Quebec. This program follows the Company's recently announced mineral resource estimate of 11.3 million tonnes at 2.13% CuEq (Indicated) and 7.2 million tonnes at 2.21% CuEq (Inferred). On November 16, 2023, the Company entered into an option agreement on the B26 Deposit to earn up to 80% ownership over seven years from SOQUEM Inc. ("SOQUEM"), a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec (see news release dated November 16, 2023). The Phase 3 drill program is planned to further define and expand high-grade zones within the B26 Deposit, with a primary focus on increasing tonnage and grade in areas of limited drilling. This work builds upon the success of previous campaigns, which returned some of the highest-grade intercepts in the Project's history including 10.6 metres at 11.4% CuEq, within 61.3 metres at 2.5% CuEq (1274-24-294), near surface. An initial 2,500 metres across four drill holes of the 20,000-metre program is underway, targeting 300 to 500 metres depth continuity within interpreted high-grade mineralized lenses. Additionally, airborne and downhole EM geophysics are underway, with further details to be announced in a further press release. The remaining 17,500 metres of drilling will be strategically prioritized based on the success of these initial drill results, the new geophysical data and a complete geological re-evaluation and interpretation of the deposit. A key focus of the additional 17,500 metres in Phase 3 will be step-out drilling to test the large-scale expansion potential of the Deposit. The Company, upon completion of ongoing targeting work, will release a detailed outline of the Phase 3 drill program, which will encompass the targeted areas illustrated in Figure 1. Drilling has commenced with one rig, with the flexibility to deploy additional rigs as the program advances, depending on results and operational efficiencies. The Company intends to complete the initial four holes prior to spring breakup, after which a brief pause is anticipated. Drilling will then resume with the broader Phase 3 program, which is expected to continue throughout the remainder of the year. "We are very excited to launch our fully funded 2025 Phase 3 drill program at the high-grade B26 Polymetallic Deposit," said Jonathon Deluce, CEO of Abitibi Metals. "This program represents a pivotal step in advancing our goal of developing an economic deposit with significant upside. Our key focus is expanding high-grade copper-gold mineralization within and beyond the current footprint of the deposit, while also testing new high-priority targets across the broader property. Previous results have highlighted B26's exceptional grade profile, and with global demand for critical minerals accelerating, we believe this is a strategic time to advance one of Quebec's most promising emerging polymetallic deposits. With the recent closing of our $10 million no-warrant financing, we are fully funded through 2027 and well-positioned to deliver long-term value alongside a strong base of existing and new shareholders who believe in our long-term vision of establishing a significant metals company in the Abitibi greenstone belt." 2025 Phase 3 Drill Program Objectives: The Phase 3 program at B26 is structured around three strategic objectives: Increase Resource Grade by Expanding High-Grade Zone Targeted in-fill drilling will further define the continuity of previously underestimated high-grade zones and enhance confidence in the geological model. The focus will be on expanding areas with grades exceeding 3% CuEq, particularly within the central high-grade core of the deposit (Figure 2). Increase Resource Size by Extending Open-Ended Mineralized Trends Step-out drilling will test for extensions at depth and along strike to increase the overall tonnage and footprint of the deposit, while also targeting new high-grade zones. Target prioritization will be guided by ongoing expansion of the geological model, the integration of downhole EM vectorization, and interpretation of recently published gravimetric data. Notably, this data indicates an excess mass at a depth of approximately 800 metres on the eastern side of the B26 Depositan area outside the current resource footprint with strong potential for sulfide and copper-zinc mineralization (Figure 3). Unlock Regional Potential (Property-Wide) The program will explore for new discoveries within the 8km east-west trend and the 7km northwest-southwest corridor between B26 and the past-producing Selbaie Mine, leveraging the project's 3,328-hectare footprint. Target prioritization will be enhanced through the interpretation of the property's lithostructural and geological models, as well as recent gravity and airborne EM geophysics surveys. The program is designed to identify additional polymetallic systems similar to the B26 and Selbaie Deposits (Figure 4). Qualified Person The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Louis Gariepy, P.Eng (OIQ #107538), VP Exploration of Abitibi Metals, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Abitibi Metals Corp: Abitibi Metals Corp. (CSE: AMQ) is a Quebec-focused mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of quality base and precious metal properties that are drill-ready with high-upside and expansion potential. Abitibi's portfolio of strategic properties provides target-rich diversification and includes the option to earn 80% of the high-grade B26 Polymetallic Deposit, which hosts a resource estimate of 11.3MT @ 2.13% Cu Eq (Ind) & 7.2MT @ 2.21% Cu Eq (Inf), and the Beschefer Gold Project, where historical drilling has identified 4 historical intercepts with a metal factor of over 100 g/t gold highlighted by 55.63 g/t gold over 5.57 metres and 13.07 g/t gold over 8.75 metres amongst four modeled zones. About SOQUEM: SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec, is dedicated to promoting the exploration, discovery and development of mining properties in Quebec. SOQUEM also contributes to maintaining strong local economies. Proud partner and ambassador for the development of Quebec's mineral wealth, SOQUEM relies on innovation, research and strategic minerals to be well-positioned for the future. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Jonathon Deluce, Chief Executive Officer The Company also maintains an active presence on various social media platforms to keep stakeholders and the general public informed and encourages shareholders and interested parties to follow and engage with the Company through the following channels to stay updated with the latest news, industry insights, and corporate announcements: Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbitibiMetals LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abitibi-metals-corp-amq-c/ Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking statement: This news release contains certain statements, which may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that are not based on historical information but rather relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments on the B26 Project or otherwise. Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions, which are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company's control and many of which, regarding future business decisions, are subject to change. These uncertainties and contingencies can affect actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on the Company's behalf. Although Abitibi 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 to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. All factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on Abitibi's forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects," "estimates," "anticipates," or variations of such words and phrases (including negative and grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "might" or "occur. Mineral exploration and development are highly speculative and are characterized by a number of significant inherent risks, which may result in the inability of the Company to successfully develop current or proposed projects for commercial, technical, political, regulatory or financial reasons, or if successfully developed, may not remain economically viable for their mine life owing to any of the foregoing reasons, among others. There is no assurance that the Company will be successful in achieving commercial mineral production and the likelihood of success must be considered in light of the stage of operations. VANCOUVER, BC April 15, 2025 TheNewswire - Giant Mining Corp. (CSE: BFG | OTC: BFGFF | FWB: YW5) (Giant Mining or the Company) is pleased to announce that key members of Giants executive team visited the ongoing drill program at Majuba Hill Porphyry Copper-silver-Gold Deposit (Majuba Hill) located in Pershing County, Nevada. During the site visit, drilling surpassed 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) at Hole MHB-34 (MHB-34). MHB-34 is the third of five holes of the 2025 diamond core drilling program (the Core Program), currently underway. As previously stated, the primary objective of the Core Program is to expand the known zones of copper mineralization at Majuba Hill and advance the project toward a new Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). David Greenway, CEO of Giant Mining, commented: "The Company has now collectively drilled over 2,500 feet of development drilling in 2025 to adding to the drill database of over 80,000 feet of past drilling and over 100 historical holes of development and deposit understanding at Majuba Hill. This is another step toward advancing Majuba Hill toward our ultimate goal of a new NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate. The scale and potential of this system continue to impress and the entire team at Giant Mining has never had more conviction in advancing Majuba Hill toward its true potential. Big Sky Exploration, LLC (Big Sky) of Eureka, Nevada, successfully completed drilling of Hole MHB-33 and mobilized the drill rig to a new pad where Hole MHB-34 has commenced drilling. MHB-33 was quick-logged and tagged for sampling on-site by Giant Mining geologists (Figure 2), as part of the Companys efforts to efficiently advance the 2025 Core Program at Majuba Hill. Figure 2: Azurite, malachite, chalcocite in core from MHB-32: 527 to 537 ft (160.6-163.6 m) Figure 3: MHB-32 Prepped to Haul to Elko, Nevada Secured Facility The core samples from MHB-32 and MHB-33 have been securely transported to Giant Minings secured warehouse facility in Elko, Nevada. At this location, the cores are being sawn in half and sampled. Following this, the processed samples will be sent to ALS Group USA, Corp. ("ALS Labs") in Elko, Nevada. At ALS Labs, the samples will undergo analyses, including assays for copper, silver, gold, and other trace elements, to accurately assess the mineral content and support ongoing exploration efforts at Majuba Hill. As previously reported in the March 17, 2025 news release, the 2025 Core Program has been designed to follow up on high-grade copper mineralization intersected in breccias from the 2024 core holes MHB-30 (MHB-30) and MHB-31 (MHB-31) and extend the high-grade copper zones below the historic underground workings (Figure 3). Figure 4: Majuba Hill 2025 Actual and Proposed Drill Hole Locations The Company will provide regular updates as the drill program progresses, including assay results, geological observations, and any significant developments encountered during drilling. These updates will keep shareholders and stakeholders informed on the advancement of the Majuba Hill project and its potential to support a future resource estimate. Warrant Expiry The Company also wishes to advise shareholders that approximately 4,000,000 tradeable warrants (CSE:BFG.WT) are still outstanding and are expiring May 1st, 2025 (within the next three weeks). Investors who want to benefit from the warrants are encourages to exercise their warrants prior to expiry. Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Measures, Chain of Custody The Company utilizes a QA/QC program using best industry practices at the Majuba Hill Project. The samples are placed in cloth or plastic sample bags and are transported from the Majuba Hill to the Giant Mining secure warehouse for core sawing and processing and then samples are delivered to the ALS Labs sample prep facility in Elko, Nevada. ALS then transports the prepared pulps to their analytical lab in North Vancouver, B.C. Drill core samples are sawn in half lengthwise and one half is placed in labeled cloth sample bags. All samples are analyzed for copper, gold, silver, and 33 other elements. Gold is determined by ALS Labs method Au-AA23 which is a fire assay with an AAS finish on a 30-gram split. Copper, silver, and the remaining 31 elements are determined by ALS Labs method ME-ICP61 which is a four-acid digestion and ICP-AES assay. Approximately 5% of the submitted samples are drill duplicates and copper-gold-porphyry commercial standard reference material pulps. The remaining sample pulps are retrieved from ALS Minerals and retained by the Company for future metallurgical testing. Majuba Hills critically important characteristics are as follows: Location: Nevada, USA a globally top-ranked mining jurisdiction, ranked #1 in the Fraser Institutes 2022 Annual Survey of Mining Companies. Project Size: 9,684 Acres Infrastructure: The Majuba Hill property is 113 road km (70 miles) southwest of Winnemucca, Nevada, and 251 km (156 miles) northeast of Reno. Access is by well-maintained county roads from the Imlay, Nevada exit on U.S. Interstate 80, and traveling westward 23 miles. People, Roads, Power and Water are the basic elements when considering infrastructure and Majuba Hill already has a solid infrastructure foundation for building a large facility which will provide significant savings compared to more remote projects History: Historical Producer Drilling: 83,930 feet of drilling to date. Rough replacement value of drilling USD $10.4 Million in development costs. Mineralization: The project shows indications of a potentially large Cu Ag +/- Au mineralized body with many features in common with both large porphyry copper, silver, and gold projects. Expandability: The IP survey, deep drilling, and step-out drilling indicate significant expansion potential, with mineralization open in all directions. Fully Financed: Secured funding for 2025 Drilling Campaign Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by E.L. Buster Hunsaker III, CPG 8137, a non-independent consulting geologist who is a Qualified Person as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43- 101). About Giant Mining Corp. Giant Mining is focused on identifying, acquiring, and advancing late-stage copper and copper/silver/gold projects to meet the growing global demand for critical metals. This demand is driven by initiatives like the Green New Deal in the United States and similar climate-focused programs worldwide, which require substantial amounts of copper, silver, and gold for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and the modernization of clean and affordable energy systems. The Companys flagship asset is the Majuba Hill Copper, Silver, and Gold District, located 156 miles (251 km) from Reno, Nevada. Majuba Hill is situated in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with supportive regulations and has the potential to become one of the next major copper deposits, critical for meeting the increasing need for this red metal. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. On Behalf of the Board of Giant Mining Corp. David Greenway David C. Greenway President & CEO For further information, please contact: E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. P: 1 (236) 788-0643 VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS www.giantminingcorp.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forwardlooking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forwardlooking statements are based on the Companys current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forwardlooking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - Goldshore Resources Inc. (TSXV: GSHR) (OTCQB: GSHRF) (FSE: 8X00) ("Goldshore" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce its latest assay results from its ongoing 20,000-meter drill program and first results from Golden Gate, the gap between the Southwest and Moss Main conceptual open pits, from the ice drilling program of the Moss Gold Project in Northwest Ontario, Canada (the "Moss Gold Project"). Michael Henrichsen, CEO of Goldshore commented, "These results further validate our decision to expand the winter drill program by 5,000 meters with the objectives of deepening the Southwest conceptual open pit and to close the gap between the Southwest and Main pits. This winter's drill program has demonstrated the emerging nature of the Moss Gold Deposit and its growth potential. We look forward to continued drilling to realize the full ounce potential of the deposit in the coming months." Highlights: Results from two drill holes targeting the gap between the Main and Southwest Zones intersected new high-grade mineralization representing a combined true width mineralized corridor of 75m connecting the two zones with best intercepts of: 12.9m of 2.64 g/t Au from 243.4m in MMD-25-165 , including 4.4m of 6.59 g/t Au from 250m, and representing a with best intercepts of: 2.0m of 2.81 g/t Au from 98.0m in MMD-25-166, and 5.4m of 1.59 g/t Au from 143.6m, including 0.4m of 18.2 g/t Au from 143.6m Two holes drill testing the surface extension of deep mineralized shear zones in the Main zone successfully identified the continuation of these shears to surface with best intercepts of: 10.0m of 0.55 g/t Au from 147m in MMD-25-167, including 2.0m of 1.51 g/t Au from 151m, and 8.05m of 0.58 g/t Au from 185.95m, and 27m of 0.46 g/t Au from 154m in MMD-25-169 Technical Overview Figure 1 shows the location of the drill holes being reported with respect to the planned winter drill program, while Figure 2 illustrates a long section through drill hole MMD-25-165 that demonstrates the potential to join the Main and Southwest Zones as a single mineralized body. Tables 1 & 2 summarize significant intercepts and drill hole locations, respectively. Figure 1: Summarizes the ongoing winter 2025 drill program targeting resource expansion within the conceptual open pit outlined in grey. Drill holes being reported are highlighted in red. Figure 2: Long section through MMD-25-165 illustrating the existence of near surface mineralized shears and demonstrating the potential to join the Main and Southwest Zones as a single mineralized body. Drilling has targeted the Golden Gate prospect, a critical gap in drilling data between the Main and Southwest Zones, and the surface extension of deeper modelled mineralized shear zones along the southern boundary of the Main Zone. Both areas aim to identify sufficient near surface mineralization between the conceptual Main and Southwest pits to merge the two pits together. The shallow portion of these areas are only accessible for drilling from lake ice and can be infilled at depth from near shore drill sites. Hole MMD-25-165 targeted a drilling data gap between the Main and Southwest zones collared into a sequence of andesitic and dacitic volcanic rocks. Swarms of weak to moderately sheared, sericite-silica-hematite altered diorite and granodiorite dykes were encountered after 200m depth becoming increasingly mineralized with depth with intercepts of 3.2m of 0.63 g/t Au from 232.1m and 12.9m of 2.64 g/t Au from 243.4 including 9.45m of 3.46 g/t Au from 9.45m (Figure 3). Down hole orientation data does not align with either the Main or Southwest zone shears with the new mineralization likely part of a segmented lens along the Snodgrass Lake fault splay system. The hole was terminated in mineralized diorite due to depth limitations of the ice thickness. Hole MMD-25-166 was stepped ahead by 130m of MMD-24-165 and encountered an unexpected increase in overburden thickness increasing to approximately 80m from the 38m in MMD-25-165. This resulted in an approximately 20m gap in coverage between the two holes and the erratic erosional surface beneath overburden. The hole intersected a sequence locally sericite-silica altered andesitic and dacitic volcanics rocks with frequent swarms of weakly sheared and mineralized sericite-silica-hematite altered diorite and granodiorite dykes. Where more strongly sheared, the diorite and granodiorite mineralization increased with intercepts of 2.0m of 2.81 g/t Au from 98.0m, 3.2m of 0.93 g/t Au from 117m, and 5.4m of 1.59 g/t Au from 143.6m including 0.4m of 18.2 g/t Au from 143.6m. Combined with MMD-25-165, the holes have identified a new mineralized corridor with an estimated true width of 75m between the two zones. The corridor is accessible for additional drilling from the western shore of Snodgrass Lake. Holes MMD-25-167 and MMD-25-169 targeted the southern edge of the Main Zone aiming to extend existing shears modelled at depth to surface. Both holes collared into andesitic and dacitic volcanic rocks with frequent swarms of weakly sheared and mineralized sericite-silica-hematite altered diorite and granodiorite dykes. Both holes successfully extended existing mineralized shears towards surface at similar grades with intercepts such as 10.0m of 0.55 g/t Au from 147m including 2.0m of 1.51 g/t Au from 151m and 8.05m of 0.58 g/t Au from 185.95m in MMD-25-167 and 2m of 2.0 g/t from 61m and 27m of 0.46 g/t Au from 154m in MMD-25-169. Downhole core orientation measurements align with the expected orientation of the Main Zone shears. Figure 3: Hole MMD-25-165: Sheared and mineralized granodiorite returning 12.9m of 2.64 g/t Au from 243.4m between the Main and Southwest zones. Table 1: Significant intercepts HOLE ID FROM TO LENGTH (m) TRUE WIDTH (m) CUT GRADE (g/t Au) UNCUT GRADE (g/t Au) MMD-25-165 137.00 140.60 3.60 1.8 0.72 0.72 211.00 211.50 0.50 0.3 8.28 8.28 232.10 235.30 3.20 1.9 0.63 0.63 243.40 256.30 12.90 7.7 2.64 2.64 incl 250.00 254.40 4.40 2.6 6.59 6.59 incl 252.10 254.40 2.30 1.4 11.7 11.7 MMD-25-166 98.00 100.00 2.00 0.9 2.81 2.81 incl 98.00 99.00 1.00 1.0 5.10 5.10 117.00 120.20 3.20 1.4 0.93 0.93 143.60 149.00 5.40 2.5 1.59 1.59 incl 143.60 144.00 0.40 0.2 18.2 18.2 207.00 209.00 2.00 1.0 0.49 0.49 MMD-25-167 66.00 72.00 6.00 2.9 0.35 0.35 81.00 86.20 5.20 2.6 0.76 0.76 147.00 157.00 10.00 5.2 0.55 0.55 incl 151.00 153.00 2.00 1.0 1.51 1.51 185.95 194.00 8.05 4.3 0.58 0.58 221.00 223.00 2.00 1.1 1.01 1.01 MMD-25-169 61.00 63.00 2.00 0.8 2.01 2.01 133.00 141.00 8.00 3.2 0.45 0.45 incl 139.00 141.00 2.00 0.8 1.10 1.10 154.00 181.00 27.00 11.0 0.46 0.46 Intersections calculated above a 0.3 g/t Au cut off with a top cut of 30 g/t Au and a maximum internal waste interval of 5 metres. Shaded intervals are intersections calculated above a 1.0 g/t Au cut off. Intervals in bold are those with a grade thickness factor exceeding 20 gram x metres / tonne gold. True widths are approximate and assume a subvertical body. Table 2: Drill Collars HOLE EAST NORTH RL AZIMUTH DIP EOH MMD-25-165 668,768 5,378,491 426 311.7 -67.3 258.00 MMD-25-166 668,677 5,378,584 426 317.1 -67.1 252.00 MMD-25-167 668,768 5,378,570 426 319.4 -69.0 252.00 MMD-25-169 668,714 5,378,635 426 320.1 -67.0 252.00 Analytical and QA/QC Procedures All samples were sent to ALS Geochemistry in Thunder Bay for preparation and analysis was performed in the ALS Vancouver analytical facility. ALS is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) for the Accreditation of Mineral Analysis Testing Laboratories and CAN-P-4E ISO/IEC 17025. Samples were analysed for gold via fire assay with an AA finish ("Au-AA23") and 48 pathfinder elements via ICP-MS after four-acid digestion ("ME-MS61"). Samples that assayed over 10 ppm Au were re-run via fire assay with a gravimetric finish ("Au-GRA21"). In addition to ALS quality assurance / quality control ("QA/QC") protocols, Goldshore has implemented a quality control program for all samples collected through the drilling program. The quality control program was designed by a qualified and independent third party, with a focus on the quality of analytical results for gold. Analytical results are received, imported to our secure on-line database and evaluated to meet our established guidelines to ensure that all sample batches pass industry best practice for analytical quality control. Certified reference materials are considered acceptable if values returned are within three standard deviations of the certified value reported by the manufacture of the material. In addition to the certified reference material, certified blank material is included in the sample stream to monitor contamination during sample preparation. Blank material results are assessed based on the returned gold result being less than ten times the quoted lower detection limit of the analytical method. The results of the on-going analytical quality control program are evaluated and reported to Goldshore by Orix Geoscience Inc. Qualified Person Peter Flindell, PGeo, MAusIMM, MAIG, Vice-President, Exploration, of the Company, and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Flindell has verified the data disclosed. To verify the information related to the winter drill program at the Moss Gold Project, Mr. Flindell has visited the property several times; discussed and reviewed logging, sampling, bulk density, core cutting and sample shipping processes with responsible site staff; discussed and reviewed assay and QA/QC results with responsible personnel; and reviewed supporting documentation, including drill hole location and orientation and significant assay interval calculations. He has also overseen the Company's health and safety policies in the field to ensure full compliance, and consulted with the Project's host indigenous communities on the planning and implementation of the drill program, particularly with respect to its impact on the environment and the Company's remediation protocols. About Goldshore Goldshore is a growth-oriented gold company focused on delivering long-term shareholder and stakeholder value through the acquisition and advancement of primary gold assets in tier-one jurisdictions. It is led by the ex-global head of structural geology for the world's largest gold company and backed by one of Canada's pre-eminent private equity firms. The Company's current focus is the advanced stage 100% owned Moss Gold Project which is positioned in Ontario, Canada, with direct access from the Trans-Canada Highway, hydroelectric power near site, supportive local communities and skilled workforce. The Company has invested over $60 million of new capital and completed approximately 80,000 meters of drilling on the Moss Gold Project, which, in aggregate, has had over 235,000 meters of drilling. The 2024 updated NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate ("MRE") has expanded to 1.54 million ounces of Indicated gold resources at 1.23 g/t Au and 5.20 million ounces of Inferred gold resources at 1.11 g/t Au. The MRE only encompasses 3.6 kilometers of the 35+ kilometer mineralized trend, remains open at depth and along strike and is one of the few remaining major Canadian gold deposits positioned for development in this cycle. Please see NI 43-101 technical report titled: "Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Moss Gold Project, Ontario, Canada," dated March 20, 2024 with an effective date of January 31, 2024 available under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. For more information, please visit SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.goldshoreresources.com). Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements relating to expectations regarding the exploration and development of the Moss Gold Project; the potential mineralization at the Moss Gold Project based on the winter drill program, including the potential for additional mineral resources; the enhancement of the Moss Gold Project; statements regarding the Company's future drill plans, including the expected benefits and results thereof; that the Superion target has the potential to significantly add to the current mineral resource estimate within the top 200 meters from surface with continued drilling and to reduce the overall strip ratio of the deposit; the potential for resource growth at Moss and the fact that the results have the potential to significantly impact the economic performance of the deposit moving forward; the potential for a much larger mineralized system and that it will be pursued in the near future through additional drilling; and other statements that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, among others: uncertainty and variation in the estimation of mineral resources; risks related to exploration, development, and operation activities; exploration and development of the Moss Gold Project will not be undertaken as anticipated; the Company may require additional financing from time to time in order to continue its operations which may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; the economic performance of the deposit may not be consistent with management's expectations; the Company's exploration work may not deliver the results expected; the fluctuating price of gold; unknown liabilities in connection with acquisitions; compliance with extensive government regulation; delays in obtaining or failure to obtain governmental permits, or non-compliance with permits; environmental and other regulatory requirements; domestic and foreign laws and regulations could adversely affect the Company's business and results of operations; risks related to natural disasters, terrorist acts, health crises, and other disruptions and dislocations; global financial conditions; uninsured risks; climate change risks; competition from other companies and individuals; conflicts of interest; risks related to compliance with anti-corruption laws; the Company's limited operating history; intervention by non-governmental organizations; outside contractor risks; the stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and these fluctuations may adversely affect the price of the Company's securities, regardless of its operating performance; the Superion target may not add to the current mineral resource; and other risks associated with executing the Company's objectives and strategies as well as those risk factors discussed in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking information in this news release is based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this news release. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements were made, including without limitation, assumptions regarding: the future price of gold; anticipated costs and the Company's ability to fund its programs; the Company's ability to carry on exploration, development and mining activities; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services; the timing and results of drilling programs; mineral resource estimates and the assumptions on which they are based; the discovery of mineral resources and mineral reserves on the Company's mineral properties; the timely receipt of required approvals and permits; the costs of operating and exploration expenditures; the Company's ability to operate in a safe, efficient, and effective manner; the Company's ability to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that the Superion target will add to the current mineral resource; that the Company's exploration work will deliver the results expected; and that there will be no material adverse change or disruptions affecting the Company or its properties. The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. TORONTO, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Resources Inc. ("Churchill") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding letter of intent dated April 14, 2025 (the LOI) to acquire a 100% undivided interest in the Black Raven Antimony Property, located approximately 60 km northwest of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, from property owners Eddie and Roland Quinlan. The property encloses two small-scale past producing mines which operated between 1890 and 1918 exploiting stibnite, gold and arsenopyrite. These past producers and two related occurrences constitute gold, antimony, silver +/- copper, zinc and lead targets in veins and stockworks. The historical mines and other occurrences are located within close proximity to each other, in a larger-scale geological environment containing intense veining and alteration associated with felsic intrusions within a mafic volcanic domain. Antimony is a critical element for the energy, transportation, and military industries with China, Russia, Tajikstan, and Burma generating over 90% of world production. Since Chinas recent export ban (September 15, 2024), the price of antimony has increased roughly five-fold to >$50,000/tonne which is approximately 3x the current price of nickel. Churchills Taylor Brook Nickel-Copper-Cobalt-Vanadium-Titanium Property, and Florence Lake Nickel Property, are both in good standing for a number of years, such that further exploration and development can await improved market conditions sentiment while the Company focuses on high-grade antimony-gold and other critical minerals. The Beaver Brook Antimony Mine owned by China Minmetals, and currently on care and maintenance due to declining resources, is located ~100 km south of Black Raven. It is reported that the owners are actively exploring for more deposits to feed the mill. (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/antimony-mine-closure-1.6703205) The two past-producing mines, as well as the Taylors Room prospect and Western Head porphyry target, are described within the Government of Newfoundlands Mineral Occurrence Data System (MODS), and in assessment reports, as summarized below: Frost Cove Antimony Mine (MOD # 002E\10 SB001) sporadic production between 1890-1918 Two adits extend ~65m along Sb-Au veins, at 3m and 20m above sea-level and are still accessible Vein system/host felsic intrusion traced and sampled on surface for 800m Channel sample of 2.85% Sb, 0.05g/t Au, 1.6g/t Ag over 1.6m reported at adit entrance by Golden Hind Ventures along with 30% Sb, 28.27 g/t Au, 44.8g/t Ag over 0.43m, 800m along strike. (Sheppard, 1984, Assessment Report) Stewart Gold-Antimony Mine (MOD # 002E\10 AU001) sporadic production from 1890 to 1916 Shaft to ~30m depth and some development along main stockwork/vein trend Samples from the ore dump assayed up to 18 g/t Au, 7% zinc and 14g/t gold by Pleasant Ridge Resources Inc. (Kruse, 2014, Technical Report) 2014 due-diligence sample by Kruse graded 8.10g/t Au and 926ppm Cu. Taylors Room Gold Prospect (MOD # 002E\10 AU002) shaft to ~50m depth with some development reported Swarm of ~50 small qtz-asp-py-sb veins ~300m long by several metres wide Numerous trenches to be cleaned out and sampled Quinlan grab samples up to 32.2 g/t Au, 22opt Ag, 10% zinc and 1.4 % Cu (Quinlan 2013 Assessment Report). Western Head Cu-Mo Porphyry Target (MOD # 002E\10 CU005) porphyry body ranges over ~1000m in diameter Consistent soil/rock geochem anomalies in Cu, Mo, Au and Ag, no drilling Chip sampling in 1967 by Newmont (returned 0.13% Cu, 300ppb Au over 61m and 0.42% Cu, 600ppm Au over 13m (Fogwill, 1968, Report on Western Head Cu Prospect) Quinlan continuous channel of 57m assayed 0.22% Cu, 37 ppb Au & 37 ppm Mo incl 22m of 0.41% Cu, 59 ppb Au, 73 ppm Mo (Quinlan, 2013 Assessment Report) Quinlan 2024 Winkie 4 holes to 50-60m at 45o in four compass directions all hit mineralized Cu-Au-Ag stockwork in altered felsics (0.1-0.3% Cu, 50-350ppb Au plus Ag) (Quinlan, 2024 Assessment Report) Churchill intends to immediately conduct a re-sampling program on the surface showings and any accessible historical workings, and compilations of all historical data already in progress. The entire property requires modern, helicopter-borne geophysical and LiDAR surveys and Churchill has identified a leading contractor to do this work. Follow-up prospecting and systematic trenching, with channel sampling work as required, are being planned with initiation this coming Spring; the derived geological and geochemical data will used to outline targets along strike and at depth to the historical workings. The data reported in this News Release is historic in nature and has not yet been verified by a Qualified Person. Churchill has relied on the information supplied in the Government of Newfoundland filed assessment reports and from information found in MODS published by the Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources. The surface grab samples described in this news release are selective by nature and are unlikely to represent average grades of the property. Historical surface antimony and gold results are presented in the following figures. Black Raven Property The Black Raven Property is comprised of nine map-staked licenses constituting a single contiguous block of 125 claims that in total which cover 3,125ha or 31.25km2. Churchill and the vendors have agreed to a 4km wide area of interest around the property boundaries as part of this agreement. LOI Terms Under the terms of the LOI, the Company shall have the exclusive option for a period of 24 months to acquire an undivided 100% ownership interest in the Black Raven Antimony Property by: issuing an aggregate of 2,000,000 common shares in the capital of Churchill (Common Shares) to the Quinlans upon the execution date of a definitive option agreement (Option Agreement) and making a cash payment of $20,000; incurring a minimum of $1,200,000 in exploration expenditures within 24 months following the execution date of the Option Agreement, provided that a minimum of $400,000 in exploration expenditures is incurred on or prior to the date that is 12 months following the execution date of the Option Agreement issuing an aggregate of 4,000,000 Common Shares to the Quinlans on or prior to the date that is 12 months following the execution of the Option Agreement and making a cash payment of $40,000; and issuing an aggregate of 6,000,000 Common Shares to the Quinlans on or prior to the date that is 24 months following the execution of the Option Agreement and making a cash payment of $60,000. Following the date that the option is deemed to have been exercised in accordance with its terms, Churchill will issue and grant to the Quinlans a 2.0% net smelter royalty on any minerals produced from the claims comprising the Black Raven Antimony Property. If the option is exercised, Churchill will also make a one-time cash payment to the Quinlans in the amount of $100,000 on or prior to the date that is the sixth anniversary of the execution of the Option Agreement. The transaction, including the issuance of Common Shares to the Quinlans, is subject to all the necessary approvals from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). Any securities issued in connection with the transaction will be subject to applicable statutory hold periods. The technical and scientific information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Derek H.C Wilton, P.Geo., FGC, who is a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). Mr. Wilton is an honourary research professor of Economic Geology at Memorial University in St. Johns and is independent of the Company for the purposes of NI 43-101. References: Fogwill, W.D., 1968. Report on a copper prospect at Western Head, Moretons Harbour in the Notre Dame Bay Area, Newfoundland. Newfoundland and Labrador Geological Survey, Assessment File 2E/10/0350, 1968, 48 pages Kruse, Stefan, 2014. Technical Report on the Black Raven Property, Moretons Harbour Area Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada for Pleasant Ridge Resources Inc., May 14, 2014 Quinlan E, 2013. First Year Assessment Report for 019872M, Ninth Year Assessment Report for 015553M, and Third Year Assessment Report for 017787M for Exploration within the Black Raven Property, NTS Map Sheet 2E/10. Newfoundland and Labrador Geological Survey Assessment Report, 69 pages Sheppard, B., 1984. First Year Assessment Report on Geological, Geochemical and Geophyisical Exploration on License 2363 on Claim Blocks 3533-3534 in Moretons Harbour Area on New World Island, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador Assessment File 2E/10/0507, 1984, 28 pages. About Churchill Resources Churchill Resources Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on strategic, critical minerals in Canada, principally at its prospective Taylor Brook, Florence Lake, and Black Raven properties in Newfoundland & Labrador. The Churchill management team, board, and advisors have decades of combined experience in mineral exploration and in the establishment of successful publicly listed mining companies, both in Canada and around the world. Churchills Newfoundland and Labrador projects have the potential to benefit from the provinces large and diversified minerals industry, which includes world class nickel mines and processing facilities, and a well-developed mineral exploration sector with locally based drilling and geological expertise. Further Information For further information regarding Churchill, please contact: Churchill Resources Inc. Paul Sobie, Chief Executive Officer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel. 416.365.0930 (o) 647.988.0930 (m) Alec Rowlands, Business Development & IR This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel. 416.721.4732 (m) FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements about Churchills objectives, goals and exploration activities proposed to be conducted on its properties; future growth potential of Churchill, including whether any proposed exploration programs at any of its properties will be successful; exploration results; and future exploration plans and costs. Wherever possible, words such as may, will, should, could, expect, plan, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict or potential or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the entering into of a definitive Option Agreement and other ancillary transaction documents with respect to the Black Raven Antimony Property and the exercise of such option; the number of Common Shares that may be issued in connection with the transactions discussed herein, closing conditions and receive necessary regulatory approvals These statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof. Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: exploration results on the Black Raven Antimony Property; the expected benefits to Churchill relating to the exploration proposed to be conducted on its properties; receipt of all regulatory approvals in connection with the transaction contemplated herein; failure to identify any additional mineral resources or significant mineralization; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on the Churchills properties, if required; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining and mineral exploration; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); the unlikelihood that properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated; soil sampling results being preliminary in nature and are not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit; and title to properties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Churchill cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Churchill assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. VANCOUVER, BC, April 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Vizsla Copper Corp. (TSXV: VCU) (OTCQB: VCUFF) ("Vizsla Copper" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") consisting of: up to 30,000,000 hard dollar units of the Company (the " HD Units ") at a price of C$0.05 per HD Unit for gross proceeds of up to C$1,500,000 from the sale of HD Units; and ") at a price of per HD Unit for gross proceeds of up to from the sale of HD Units; and up to 18,181,818 flow-through units of the Company (the "FT Units", and together with the HD Units, the "Offered Units") at a price of C$0.055 per FT Unit for gross proceeds of up to approximately C$1,000,000 from the sale of FT Units. Each HD Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a "Unit Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each FT Unit will consist of one common share of the Company to be issued as a "flow-through share" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (each, a "FT Share") and one half of one Warrant. Each whole Warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of C$0.09 at any time on or before that date which is 24 months after the closing date of the Offering. The Offered Units will be offered by way of the "accredited investor" and "minimum amount investment" exemptions under National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions in all the provinces of Canada. The securities issuable pursuant to the sale of the Offered Units will be subject to a statutory hold period in Canada ending on the date that is four months plus one day following the closing date of the Offering. The HD Units may also be sold in offshore jurisdictions and in the United States on a private placement basis pursuant to one or more exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "U.S. Securities Act"), as amended. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of HD Units for working capital and general corporate purposes. The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's projects in British Columbia, Canada. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the FT Units effective December 31, 2025. The Offering is expected to close on or around May 15, 2025, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. In connection with the Offering, the Company may pay cash finder's fees and finder's options to eligible arm's length parties. The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, as amended, or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States or the US persons except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities in any jurisdiction. ABOUT VIZSLA COPPER Vizsla Copper is a Cu-Au-Mo focused mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The Company is primarily focused on its flagship Woodjam project, located within the prolific Quesnel Terrane, 55 kilometers east of the community of Williams Lake, British Columbia. It has three additional copper properties: Poplar, Copperview, and Redgold, all well situated amongst significant infrastructure in British Columbia. The Company's growth strategy is focused on the exploration and development of its copper properties within its portfolio in addition to value accretive acquisitions. Vizsla Copper's vision is to be a responsible copper explorer and developer in the stable mining jurisdiction of British Columbia, Canada and it is committed to socially responsible exploration and development, working safely, ethically and with integrity. Vizsla Copper is a spin-out of Vizsla Silver Corp. and is backed by Inventa Capital Corp., a premier investment group founded in 2017 with the goal of discovering and funding opportunities in the resource sector. Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.vizslacopper.com). Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, planned exploration activities. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements relating to: obtaining the required regulatory approvals for the Offering; the expected Closing Date; completion of the Offering; the intended use of proceeds of the Offering; the Company's growth and business strategies; and the exploration and development of the Company's properties. Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the anticipated cost of planned exploration activities, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct the Company's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, no known mineral reserves or resources, the limited operating history of the Company, the influence of a large shareholder, aboriginal title and consultation issues, reliance on key management and other personnel, actual results of exploration activities being different than anticipated, changes in exploration programs based upon results, availability of third party contractors, availability of equipment and supplies, failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry, environmental risks, changes in laws and regulations, community relations and delays in obtaining governmental or other approvals. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by 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 forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 15, 2025) - IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSXV: IPT) (OTCQB: ISVLF) (FSE: IKL) ("IMPACT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of $3.5 million of the Company (the "Units") with lead orders from strategic investors, Trafigura PTE LTD. ("Trafigura") and Palisades Goldcorp Ltd. ("Palisades"). The non-brokered private placement will consist of a LIFE offering for $1.75 million, which is being fully allocated to Trafigura, and a standard private placement for $1.75 million, of which Palisades is participating for $1.1 million. Trafigura is a major supplier of vital resources, including non-ferrous and precious metals, as a market leader in the global commodities industry. Trafigura was founded in 1993 and is active in more than 150 countries. Palisades is a publicly-listed investment company focused on the junior resource space. With a strong balance sheet and an experienced management team, Palisades provides investors with highly levered exposure to junior resource equities. Palisades is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the stock symbol PALI and holds a diversified portfolio of securities and derivatives, among which it holds a 21.64-per-cent interest in New Found Gold Corp. Fred Davidson, President and CEO of IMPACT Silver states "We are pleased to welcome two notable institutional investors into IMPACT Silver. Trafigura has collaborated with IMPACT for many years and this investment signifies their commitment to long-term support with us both at Guadalupe, Plomosas, and beyond. With Palisades Goldcorp, they have been instrumental in building multiple hundred-million-dollar-midcap gold companies and we are pleased to have them participating in this financing." The financing will be under the (LIFE) of National Instrument 45-106, Prospectus Exemptions, and other private placement exemptions under NI 45-106. The LIFE portion of the Offering is referred to in this news release as the "LIFE Offering". The Company intends to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,750,000 from the sale of up to 8,750,000 units (the "LIFE Units") at a price of $0.20 per LIFE Unit, and up to $1,750,000 from the sale of up to 9,722,222 standard private placement units (the "Standard PP Units") at $0.18 per Standard PP Unit. Each LIFE Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one half common share purchase warrant (each whole such warrant, a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company (a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.26 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months from its date of issue. Each Standard PP Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one full Warrant, with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one Warrant Share at a price of $0.24 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months from its date of issue. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering to accelerate exploration activity at its Plomosas high-grade zinc-lead-silver property located in Chihuahua, Mexico, further develop its prolific silver assets at its legacy Royal Mines of Zacualpan district, as well as invest in operational improvements to improve productivity and throughput as the price of silver nears 52-week highs. Exploration activities include sampling, target definition, and drilling with the intention of expanding the existing JORC mineral resource at Plomosas, where only 600m of the 6-kilometre-long structure has been tested. The region is known for hosting some of the largest carbonate replacement deposits in the world. As such, the Company intends to allocate a portion of the proceeds to continue development and grow production at the Plomosas high-grade zinc deposit as zinc prices continue to outperform on the back of forecasted supply deficits. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions, the LIFE Offering is being made pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). The securities offered under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. There is an offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the LIFE Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at www.impactsilver.com. Prospective investors should read this Offering Document before making an investment decision. The Offering is scheduled to close on or about the week of May 15, 2025 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). The Company may pay finder's fees or commissions on a portion of the Offering, subject to compliance with the policies of the Exchange and applicable securities legislation. All common shares and Warrants issued as part of the Standard PP Units will bear a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance. ABOUT IMPACT SILVER IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSXV: IPT) is a successful producer-explorer with two mining projects in Mexico. Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver-Gold District: IMPACT owns 100% of the 211 km2 Zacualpan project in central Mexico where four producing underground silver mines and one open pit mine feed the central 500 tpd Guadalupe processing plant. To the south, the Capire Project includes a 200 tpd processing pilot plant adjacent to an open pit silver mine with an NI 43-101 inferred mineral resource of over 4.5 million ozs silver, 48 million lbs zinc and 21 million lbs lead (see IMPACT news release dated January 18, 2016, for details and QP statement). Company engineers are reviewing Capire for a potential restart of operations to leverage improving commodity prices. Over the past 18 years, IMPACT has developed multiple exploration zones into commercial production and has produced over 13 million ounces of silver, generating revenue of more than $277 million, with no long-term debt. Plomosas Zinc-Lead-Silver District: Plomosas is a high-grade zinc producer in northern Mexico with exceptional exploration upside potential. The Company recently restarted mining operations and is ramping up production toward design capacity levels. Exploration potential at Plomosas is exceptional along the 6 km-long structure. This is in addition to other exploration targets on the 3,019-hectare property including untested copper-gold targets with indications of high-grade material at surface. Regionally, Plomosas lies in the same mineral belt as some of the largest carbonate replacement deposits in the world. Quality Control/Quality Assurance Samples reported in this news release were analyzed by ALS Group, an internationally recognized analytical services provider. Samples analyzed by ALS used a multielement ICP package for base metals and silver. Assays for base metals >1% used an overlimit ICP method. Certified Reference Materials and internal control samples are added to the sample stream at regular intervals to track accuracy of assays. Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure Jose Antonio Olmedo, P.Geol., a Director of IMPACT Silver Corp., is a "Qualified Person" within the meaning of NI 43-101 and has approved the technical information contained in this news release. Additional information about IMPACT and its operations can be found on the Company website at www.IMPACTSilver.com. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @IMPACT_Silver and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/impactsilver. On behalf of IMPACT Silver Corp. "Frederick W. Davidson" President & CEO 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. Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements This IMPACT News Release may contain certain "forward-looking" statements and information relating to IMPACT that is based on the beliefs of IMPACT management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to IMPACT management. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding interpretation of drill results, activity at the projects and estimated timing thereof, the potential for defining and extending the known mineralization, exploration potential on the properties, and plans for drilling and future operations at the Company's projects or plans for financing. Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and assumptions, including with respect to, without limitation, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, title matters, operating hazards, criminal activity, metal prices, political and economic factors, community relations, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, pandemics and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. IMPACT does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement or beliefs, opinions, projections or other factors, except as required by law. The Company's decision to place a mine into production, expand a mine, make other production related decisions or otherwise carry out mining and processing operations, is largely based on internal non-public Company data and reports based on exploration, development and mining work by the Company's geologists and engineers. The results of this work are evident in the discovery and building of multiple mines for the Company at Zacualpan and in the track record of mineral production and financial returns of the Company since 2006. Under NI 43-101, the Company is required to disclose that it has not based its production decisions on NI 43-101 mineral resources or reserve estimates, preliminary economic assessments or feasibility studies, and historically such projects have increased uncertainty and risk of failure. 303-543 Granville Street Telephone 604 664-7707 Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 1X8 www.impactsilver.com X (Twitter) LinkedIn VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marimaca Copper Corp. (Marimaca Copper or the Company (TSX: MARI) is pleased to announce results from the re-interpretation of data in the Pampa Medina Project Area (Pampa Medina) which incorporates the Pampa Medina and Madrugador deposits and the newly identified Pampa West oxide zone, and is located approximately 25km from the Companys flagship Marimaca Oxide Deposit (MOD). The Company also announces results from five broad reconnaissance exploration holes, which were designed to identify the limits of the mineralized horizon. This drilling, when combined with the full review and relogging of historical drilling, shows consistent broad zones of oxide copper mineralization of variable grades in the same stratigraphic horizon over an area of approximately 5km by 4km, which is the current defined extent of the manto horizon. Potential exists for further extensions in all directions, with ongoing step out programs. Based on the extensive work completed, including the new drilling results extending Pampa Medina, the Company believes that Pampa Medina may be the central part of a larger manto system, which genetically links the Madrugador, Pampa Medina, Sierra Valenzuela (Antofagasta Minerals) and Pampa Norte deposits. It was this interpretation which led to the discovery of the new, shallow, oxide opportunity at Pampa West. Based on these results, the Company will continue with its strategy of large-scale step-out holes from known mineralization, and deep sulphide-target drilling to try to identify the limits of the system. Marimaca is considering alternatives for a significantly expanded program for the balance of 2025 to include both reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling. The objectives of this program will be to continue to step out to identify the limits of the system, to test the deeper units for primary copper mineralization and to delineate areas for potential extensions of near-surface oxide mineralization. Sergio Rivera, VP Exploration, commented: Our extensive reviews of existing data, our geophysical campaigns and the results from our initial step out discovery campaign indicate Pampa Medina is likely to be part of a much larger manto system, which extends at least 5km east to west and more than 4km north and south. As with all large-scale mineralizing systems, there is zonation and variability of grade, but we are excited about both the continuity of mineralization in the productive sedimentary and tuff horizons and the large-scale mineralizing events which have impacted them across this area. The significant east-west step outs at Pampa Norte, either side of the fantastic drill hole at SMR-01, encountered offset faulting and a series of barren dykes, which are important controls of mineralization. However, we can now clearly see the potential for 1,000m of east-west extent of the mineralized envelope for Pampa Medina, which becomes important for resource growth potential in future programs. Our exploration model, which hypothesised that the majority of the historical drilling was not deep enough to targeting the productive sedimentary units, has been confirmed and we see numerous opportunities for further discovery and extension from our existing deposits. Hayden Locke, President and CEO, commented: With the Pampa Norte Extension we see a strong potential for additional leachable mineralisation in the short term, and we will move to a de-lineation program later this year. In the longer term, the potential for a large scale discovery is very much intact and we intend to test our exploration model thoroughly. This is the first time that the Pampa Medina system has been largely consolidated under one operator, and as such the first time that all available geological information has been consolidated and reviewed as one. While previous interpretations considered each of our identified zones as separate and distinct deposits, we are excited about the potential for Pampa Medina to rather represent a single, large scale mineralised system. Highlights Pampa Medina now defined by five core zones interpreted to be genetically linked (see Figure 2): Pampa Medina Main, Pampa Norte, Pampa Medina West, Sierra Valenzuela (Antofagasta Minerals) and Madrugador Relogging and reinterpretation of the consolidated historical data from Pampa Medina (41,000m of drilling) and Madrugador (36,373m of drilling) indicates continuity of the manto system across the five zones Manto-type mineralization now identified in key stratigraphic sequences across area of interest spanning 4km x 5km (see Figure 3) Prior to consolidation, each zone was assumed to be an independent deposit and genetically unrelated Key stratigraphy identified across each zone (see Figure 4) with mineralization dominated by oxide copper in the middle sedimentary unit, and transitioning to chalcopyrite-bornite mineralization in the lower basement tuff and metasedimentary units Upper volcanic units also mineralized in the case of Madrugador (see Figure 3) Intensity of mineralization across the various stratigraphy illustrated well in previously reported SMR-01 (400m at 0.49% CuT from 250m including 102m at 1.20% CuT from 250m and 18m at 5.11% from 296m) Six reconnaissance drill holes now complete (including SMR-01) SMR-05 (400m step out to the east from SMR-01) 32m at 0.81% CuT from 470m and 10m at 1.17% CuT from 482m within a broader intersection of 54m of 0.54% CuT from 470m 50m at 0.42% CuT from 240m SMR-02 (Pampa Medina West) 90m at 0.40% CuT from 206m including 6m at 1.72% CuT from 290m 10m at 0.73% CuT from 94m SMR-03 (Pampa Medina West area) 6m at 1.03% CuT from 226m Intersected a series of WNW trending barren dykes which are now understood to be important mineralization controls SMR-04 (400m step out to the west from SMR-01) which intercept fault uplifted mineralized sediments as compared with hole SMR-01, but significant post-mineral barren dykes which truncated mineralized zones In the down-dropped sedimentary block (see Figure 6): 116m at 0.32% CuT including 56m at 0.50% CuT from 440m and 16m at 1.03% CuT from 440m In the upper volcanic unit: 8m at 0.70% CuT from 210m 18m at 0.31% CuT from 258m SMR-06 (400m north stepout from SMR-01) intercepted low grade mineralized volcanics down-dropped by an interpreted WNW fault and dyke corridor which interrupted the favourable sediment unit extension toward the north 8m at 0.58% CuT from 302m including 2m at 1.30% CuT from 304m Further drilling in 2025 will focus on further step-out drilling, as well as infill drilling in the Madrugador, Pampa Medina West and Pampa Medina Main areas to support and validate historical drilling results, a sample set reported below*: Pampa Medina Main Historical Drilling 122m at 1.61% CuT from 199m from DDHSM-06 (Rayrock, 2012-2013) 117m at 1.15% CuT from 142.5m from DDHSM-04 (Rayrock, 2012-2013) 82m at 1.49% CuT from 258m from DDHSM-26 (Rayrock, 2012-2013) 102m at 1.14% CuT from 277m from DDHSM-35 (Rayrock, 2012-2013) 135m at 1.22% CuT from 285m from DDHSM-36 (Rayrock, 2012-2013) 36m at 2.75% CuT from 288m including 15m at 4.87% CuT from 309m from DDHSM-42 (Rayrock, 2012-2013) Madrugador Historical Drilling 139m at 1.32% CuT from 42m from RQM-014 (Apoquindo Minerals, 2007) 65.5m at 1.81% CuT from 46m from DQM-003 (Apoquindo Minerals, 2007) 45m at 2.16% CuT from 31m from RCV-57 (Apoquindo Minerals, 2007) Pampa Medina West (previously known as Brac) Historical Drilling 36m at 1.08% CuT from 57m from RQM-57 (Apoquindo Minerals, 2007) 21m at 0.91% CuT from 113m from RQM-75 (Apoquindo Minerals, 2007) 18m at 1.42% CuT from 229m and 51m at 0.51% CuT from 80m from DDH-SM-69 (Rayrock, 2012-2013) 15m at 0.75% CuT from 75m from RQM-71 (Apoquindo Minerals, 2007) 12m at 0.80% CuT from 130m from RQM-87 (Apoquindo Minerals, 2007) *Reporting of Historical Drilling Historical drilling results reported above are the results from drilling activities conducted by past operators and not Marimaca. Marimaca is not treating these drill results as current however the Qualified/Competent Person has reviewed, re-logged and digitized all historical drilling completed at Pampa Medina. Marimaca considers these historical results relevant to assist with target definition for future exploration programs, however readers are cautioned that there has been insufficient exploration to define any mineral resource and it is uncertain whether further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. Relevant information pertaining to the drill holes is listed in Table 1 annexed to this Announcement. Overview of Pampa Medina Pampa Medina is a manto-style copper deposit dominantly hosted in Lower Jurassic sedimentary units (sandstones and black shales) overlain by Jurassic andesitic volcanics and underlaying by a Paleozoic to Triassic complex of metasediments and intrusions, which are also an important host of mineralization. Copper is found predominantly in oxide species atacamite and chrysocolla and both secondary and primary chalcocite. Copper oxide mineralization has been dominant in the upper unit of sandstones and volcaniclastics and an underlying black shale unit at Pampa Medina Main. At Madrugador, mineralization is hosted in the upper unit of andesitic volcanics with the (presumably) underlying sediments remaining untested. In the basement, beneath the sediments, rhyolitic tuffs and metasediments are dominant and mineralization appears to transition to primary chalcopyrite and bornite mineralization as encountered in drill hole SMR-01. Historical drilling at Pampa Medina (across all zones) was generally limited to a depth of ~400m, potentially too shallow to intersect the chalcopyrite-bornite dominant manto mineralization found in SMR-01 in the lower tuff and metasediments & diorite unit at a depth of 550m+. Further RC and combined RC-DDH drilling in Q1 2025 will continue to target the productive sedimentary horizons for high grade leachable copper at Pampa Medina Main, West, North and stepping out from each. A first diamond drill rig will test the SMR-01 deep extension, and a diamond drill rig is also being added to test for primary extensions beneath the sediments at Pampa Medina Main, as well as for deeper mineralization at Madrugador where the historical drilling is limited to only the upper andesitic volcanics (see Figure 3). Figure 1: Regional Map Marimaca and Sierra de Medina Figure 2 Pampa Medina Deposit Zones Figure 3 Long Section Madrugador to Pampa Medina Main Figure 4 Exploration Model Stratigraphic Column with SMR-01 for Reference Figure 5 Reconnaissance Drilling: Pampa Medina West and Pampa Medina Norte Figure 6 Pampa Norte Cross Section 7,441,275N Hole Total Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Intersection (m) % CuT SMR-01 (previously released) 650 250 650 400 0.49 Including 250 466 216 0.70 Including 250 352 102 1.20 Including 276 352 76 1.57 Including 296 352 56 2.05 Including 320 338 18 5.11 And 618 650 32 0.62 Including 648 650 2 3.43 SMR-02 500 94 104 10 0.73 206 296 90 0.40 Including 290 296 6 1.72 SMR-03 500 226 232 6 1.03 SMR-04 556 210 218 8 0.70 258 276 18 0.31 440 454 14 1.14 490 494 4 1.04 538 544 6 0.77 SMR-05 700 240 290 50 0.42 470 524 54 0.54 Including 470 502 32 0.81 Including 482 492 10 1.17 SMR-06 614 302 310 8 0.58 Including 304 306 2 1.30 Table 1: Table of Intersections 2025 Reconnaissance Drilling Hole Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Depth Year Type SMR-01 407062.81 7441273.71 1270.17 270,19 -60,67 650.00 2025 RC SMR-02 405593.77 7439826.48 1297.09 270,78 -60,65 500.00 2025 RC SMR-03 405596.31 7440399.82 1300.53 268,84 -59,67 500.00 2025 RC SMR-04 406763.42 7441275.72 1276.67 268,59 -60,03 556.00 2025 RC SMR-05 407361.55 7441273.84 1268.80 270.00 -60.00 700.00 2025 RC SMR-06 407043.68 7441573.24 1272.27 270.00 -60.00 614.00 2025 RC Table 2: Drill Collars 2025 Reconnaissance Drilling Hole Total Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Intersection (m) % CuT DDHSM-06 400 199 321 122 1.61 DDHSM-04 402 142.5 259.5 117 1.15 DDHSM-26 420 258 340 82 1.49 DDHSM-35 418.55 277 379 102 1.14 DDHSM-36 440.05 285 420 135 1.22 DDHSM-42 420 288 324 36 2.75 including 309 324 15 4.87 Table 3: Table of intersections Pampa Medina Main Hole Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Depth Year Type DDHSM-04 406957.86 7440499.45 1270.61 292.50 -72.90 402.00 2012 DDH DDHSM-06 407081.32 7440500.45 1267.52 271.39 -46.04 400.00 2012 DDH DDHSM-26 407082.46 7440900.10 1268.44 266.73 -57.46 420.00 2013 DDH DDHSM-35 407053.83 7440540.16 1269.28 271.15 -55.26 418.55 2013 DDH DDHSM-36 407153.85 7440539.86 1267.62 263.67 -46.90 440.05 2013 DDH DDHSM-42 407120.09 7440752.99 1268.14 271.33 -70.88 420.00 2013 DDH Table 4: Drill Collars Pampa Medina Main Hole Total Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Intersection (m) % CuT RQM-57 150 57 93 36 1.08 RQM-75 180 113 134 21 0.91 RQM-71 150 75 90 15 0.76 RQM-87 160 130 142 12 0.80 DDM-SM-69 280.75 80 131 51 0.44 229 247 18 1.42 Table 5: Table of Intersections Pampa West/Brac Historical Drilling Hole Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Depth Year Type RQM-57 405897.47 7439123.65 1287.37 87.06 -60.04 150.00 2007 RC RQM-75 405847.59 7439097.78 1288.74 87.80 -60.16 180.00 2007 RC RQM-71 405874.36 7439048.47 1288.76 88.44 -59.63 150.00 2007 RC RQM-87 405827.15 7439070.85 1289.69 91.49 -59.38 160.00 2007 RC DDM-SM-69 405430.23 7439658.09 1300.53 20.97 -88.33 280.75 2014 DD DDH-SM-70 405578.52 7439725.49 1296.00 270.29 -79.56 277.00 2014 DD Table 6: Drill Collars Pampa West/Brac Historical Drilling Hole Total Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Intersection (m) % CuT RQM-014 200 42 181 139 1.32 DQM-003 208.4 46 111.5 65.5 1.81 RCV-57 138 31 76 45 2.16 Table 7: Table of Intersections Madrugador Historical Drilling Hole Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Depth Year Type RQM-014 403057.43 7439114.33 1325.32 350.65 -89.39 200.00 2007 RC DQM-003 403056.52 7439126.82 1323.88 64.91 -89.69 208.40 2007 DDH RCV-57 403067.89 7439051.19 1321.80 270.00 -60.00 138.00 2007 RC Table 8: Drill Collars Madrugador Historical Drilling Sampling and Assay Protocols True widths cannot be determined with the information available at this time. RC holes drilled by Marimaca were sampled on a 2m continuous basis, with dry samples riffle split on site and one quarter sent to the Andes Analytical Assay preparation laboratory in Copiapo and the pulps then sent to the same company laboratory in Santiago for assaying. A second quarter was stored on site for reference. Samples were prepared using the following standard protocol: drying; crushing to better than 85% passing -10#; homogenizing; splitting; pulverizing a 500-700g subsample to 95% passing -150#; and a 125g split of this sent for assaying. All samples were assayed for %CuT (total copper) and %CuS (acid soluble copper) by AAS. A full QA/QC program, involving insertion of appropriate blanks, standards and duplicates was employed with acceptable results for all current drilling. Pulps and sample rejects are stored by Marimaca Copper for future reference. Qualified Person / Competent Person The technical information in this news release, including the information that relates to geology, drilling and mineralization was prepared under the supervision of, or has been reviewed by Sergio Rivera, Vice President of Exploration, Marimaca Copper Corp, a geologist with more than 40 years of experience and a member of the Colegio de Geologos de Chile and of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Chile, and who is the Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101 responsible for the design and execution of the drilling program. The information in this announcement which relates to exploration results for the Pampa Medina Project is based on, and fairly reflects, information and supporting documentation prepared by Sergio Rivera, VP Exploration of Marimaca, a Competent Person who is a member of the Comision Minera (Chilean Mining Commission), Colegio de Geologos de Chile and of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Chile. Mr. Rivera has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Mr. Rivera consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. Contact Information For further information please visit www.marimaca.com or contact: Tavistock +44 (0) 207 920 3150 Emily Moss / Ruairi Millar This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Forward Looking Statements This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under (without limitation) applicable Canadian securities legislation, including, without limitation, statements regarding the development of activities at Pampa Medina, the potential growth of Pampa Medina, and the discoverys potential to complement the MOD. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Marimaca Copper, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: risks that the development activities at Pampa Medina will not progress as anticipated, or at all, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of project delays or cost overruns or unanticipated excessive operating costs and expenses, uncertainties related to the necessity of financing, uncertainties relating to regulatory procedure and timing for permitting submissions and reviews, the availability of and costs of financing needed in the future as well as those factors disclosed in the annual information form of the Company dated March 27, 2025 and other filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which may be viewed at www.sedar.com). Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Marimaca Copper undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. None of the TSX, ASX or the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This announcement was authorised for release to the ASX by the Board of Directors of the Company. Appendix 1 JORC Code 2012 Table 1 (ASX Listing Rule 5.7.1) Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling. Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used. Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report. In cases where industry standard work has been done this would be relatively simple (eg reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. Marimaca Drilling: All current drilling conducted at Sierra Medina (including Pampa Medina, Pampa Norte Extension and Pampa West) was completed under the supervision of a registered professional geologist as a Qualified Person (QP) who is responsible and accountable for the planning, execution, and supervision of all exploration activity as well as the implementation of quality assurance programs and reporting. All drilling reported is Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling Assay samples were prepared at a laboratory site in Copiapo and assayed by Andes Analytical Assay Ltd. (AAA) in Santiago. Marimaca RC holes are drilled and sampled on a continuous 2-meter basis and riffle split on site up to one-eighth (12.5%) of its volume, after which samples are sent for preparation and assaying. Marimaca staff supervised all the drilling and sampling. Recoveries were controlled by weighing samples and accurate control was extended toward the division process realized in the drill location. The recoveries were measured in weight percent as compared with a theoretical sample weight. Marimaca technical staff checked all data. Measured recoveries are over 95% for RC drilling, without significant variations and unrelated to copper grades. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling Apoquindos 2007 drilling consisted of RC and diamond drilling The RC holes were drilled using 6m rods and a 5.25 bit. Samples were taken at 1m intervals and the hole blown out at each rod change to minimize the risk of sample contamination. RC: the initial sample was split in a Jones riffle splitter, with one half being thrown away, and the other split weighed, as a check on recovery. Typical sample weights were in the 8 kg to 10 kg range. The sample was then split again, with one half being retained as the coarse reject. The other half, weighing in the order of 5 kg was again split, with one half being thrown away and the other half being bagged to send to the assay laboratory. Diamond: Diamond drill core is sampled by rotating the core perpendicular to the foliation and halving it longitudinally with a diamond saw into intervals selected by the geologist during core logging. One half of the core is collected in sample bags for analysis, and the other half is retained for a permanent record. Sample intervals are constrained by geology to aid the interpretation of copper distribution within and between lithological units. Within geologically consistent intervals, the sample lengths are 1.0m. Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling Limited information is available that discusses the laboratory preparation protocols or analytical methods that were used for the drill core and RC samples collected Rayrock samples were analyzed for total copper (TCu) and soluble copper (CuSol) at ACTLABS in 2013: multi-elements (ICP/OES, Digestion Total) y Cu Sec (CuS H2SO4 y NaCN) CuT >0.1%, and AlS Patagonia in 2014. Program 2013 10% control samples. No information regarding QA/QC program 2014 is available Drilling techniques Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc). Marimaca Drilling All drilling is Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling RC drilling and diamond drilling RC drilling was using 6m rods and 5.25 bit Diamond drilling was performed using a Longyear 44 Diamond holes were drilled to HQ size (63.5mm) Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling Diamond Drilling and RC Drilling Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed. Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples. Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. Marimaca Drilling Marimaca RC holes are drilled and sampled on a continuous 2-meter basis and riffle split on site up to one-eighth (12.5%) of its volume, after which samples are sent for preparation and assaying. Recoveries were controlled by weighing samples and accurate control was completed in the division process at the drill location. The recoveries were measured in weight percent as compared with a theoretical sample weight. Marimaca technical staff checked all data. Measured recoveries are over 95% for RC drilling, without significant variations and unrelated to copper grades. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling RC: the initial sample was split in a Jones riffle splitter, with one half being thrown away, and the other split weighed, as a check on recovery. Typical sample weights were in the 8 kg to 10 kg range. The sample was then split again, with one half being retained as the coarse reject. The other half, weighing in the order of 5 kg was again split, with one half being thrown away and the other half being bagged to send to the assay laboratory. Diamond: Diamond drill core is sampled by rotating the core perpendicular to the foliation and halving it longitudinally with a diamond saw into intervals selected by the geologist during core logging. One half of the core is collected in sample bags for analysis, and the other half is retained for a permanent record. Sample intervals are constrained by geology to aid the interpretation of copper distribution within and between lithological units. Within geologically consistent intervals, the sample lengths are 1.0m. Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling Information not known Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies. Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography. The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. Marimaca Drilling All holes were geologically logged on digital data capture. The data collected are rock, structure, alteration and mineralization based on drilling intervals, recoveries and analytical results. After validation, the mineral and alteration zones were defined. The results were entered in the database as a table with all mapped data and a consolidated log of the drill was prepared. Most of this work was done by experienced senior consultant geologist supported by consultant junior geologist. In addition to measuring deviations, most of the holes were surveyed using an optical tele viewer (OPTV or BHTV), with structures and orientation measurements, which continuously and thoroughly recorded the holes walls and measured structures. The structures were measured in ranks according to their width and the results were reported and plotted on stereographic networks and rosette diagrams. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling All holes were geologically logged by Apoquindo and data on lithology, structure and mineralization was recorded Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling All holes were geologically logged by Rayrock and data on lithology, and mineralization was digitalized Marimaca Copper re-logged all available half core samples, collecting through digital geologic logger all details on rock types, structures, mineralization and alteration. Mineralization and alteration were recorded based on each relevant mineral species on quantitative (abundance) and qualitative (textures, occurrence) methods Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken. If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry. For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique. Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples. Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling. Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. Marimaca Drilling Marimaca RC holes are drilled and sampled on a continuous 2-meter basis and its samples riffle split on site three times, up to one eighth (12.5%) of its volume. The last split yields sample A, which is sent for preparation and assaying, and sample B, which is used to obtain drill cuttings (1 kg) and coarse/preparation duplicates, and then stored in special facilities on site. For diamond drillholes (DDH), samples are obtained every 2 meters from a half-core, with the other half stored on site. Samples are transferred by laboratory personnel from the project to Calama, and then the preparation pulps are returned to generate the analysis batches. Upon receipt, sample details are logged and insertion points for quality control samples in the sample flow are determined. Samples are prepared following a standard protocol: Drying (<5% humidity), crushing up to 80% to -10#Ty, homogenizing, splitting and pulverizing a 400-gram subsample up to 95% to -150#Ty. All samples are assayed by AAA for total copper (CuT) and soluble copper (CuS). The latter was initially obtained from a specific CuS test and currently from a sequential copper (CuSec) routine. Laboratory results are loaded directly from digital assay certificates into the database, in order to minimize error sources. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling RC samples were prepared at ALSChemex preparation laboratory in Antofagasta and analyzed at ALSChemex Assay Laboratory in Santiago, Chile The samples are delivered to the Antofagasta preparation laboratory where they were received, issued with a unique bar code label and logged into a LIMS tracking system. The samples were then weighed and dried in a gasfired oven at ~105 for 4 hours, or longer depending on the humidity of the samples. The samples were finely crushed to better than 70% passing a 2 mm (Tyler 10 mesh) screen. Samples were split using a Jones riffle splitter. A 250 g split was taken and pulverized to better than 85% passing a 75 micrometer (Tyler 200 mesh) screen. Apoquindo requested that ALSChemex conduct fire assaying for oregrade Cu analysis (ALS code CuAA62), soluble Cu analysis (ALS code CuAA05) and a multielement analysis (ALS code MEICP41) on the samples. Apoquindo employs strict security procedures for the samples. All samples are only handled by Apoquindo personnel, where they are locked in a secure area while awaiting pickup for transportation to the laboratory. Apoquindo contracts out the secure transportation of the samples to the laboratory. The only personnel that have keys to cargo area of the truck are Apoquindo and ALSChemex personnel. Once the samples are loaded at site, and the padlock fastened, the lock can only be opened at the laboratory. Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling Information not known Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total. For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc. Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (ie lack of bias) and precision have been established. Marimaca Drilling Samples are prepared at a laboratory site in Calama and assayed by Andes Analytical Assay Ltd. (AAA) in Santiago. Samples are prepared following a standard protocol: Drying (<5% humidity), crushing up to 80% to -10#Ty, homogenizing, splitting and pulverizing a 400-gram subsample up to 95% to -150#Ty. All samples are assayed by AAA for total copper (CuT) and soluble copper (CuS). The latter was initially obtained from a specific CuS test and currently from a sequential copper (CuSec) routine. Laboratory results are loaded directly from digital assay certificates into the database, in order to minimize error sources. The analytical quality control programs implemented at Marimaca involve the use of coarse/preparation and pulp duplicates for precision analyses and standard reference materials (SRM). Marimaca has protocols in place for handling analytical results that exceed acceptable limits, which can ultimately trigger re-assays of entire or portions of sample batches. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling RC samples were prepared at ALSChemex preparation laboratory in Antofagasta and analyzed at ALSChemex Assay Laboratory in Santiago, Chile The samples are delivered to the Antofagasta preparation laboratory where they were received, issued with a unique bar code label and logged into a LIMS tracking system. The samples were then weighed and dried in a gasfired oven at ~105 for 4 hours, or longer depending on the humidity of the samples. The samples were finely crushed to better than 70% passing a 2 mm (Tyler 10 mesh) screen. Samples were split using a Jones riffle splitter. A 250 g split was taken and pulverized to better than 85% passing a 75 micrometer (Tyler 200 mesh) screen. Apoquindo requested that ALSChemex conduct fire assaying for oregrade Cu analysis (ALS code CuAA62), soluble Cu analysis (ALS code CuAA05) and a multielement analysis (ALS code MEICP41) on the samples. Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling No information is available that discusses the laboratory preparation protocols or analytical methods that were used for the drill core and RC samples collected Rayrock samples were analyzed for total copper (TCu) and soluble copper (CuSol) at ACTLABS in 2013: multi-elements (ICP/OES, Digestion Total) y Cu Sec (CuS H2SO4 y NaCN) CuT >0.1%, and AlS Patagonia in 2014. Program 2013 included 10% control samples. No information regarding QA/QC program in 2014 is available Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel. The use of twinned holes. Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols. Discuss any adjustment to assay data. Marimaca Drilling There are no twinned holes in the dataset All logging data was completed and logging data was entered directly into the deposit database. Laboratory results are loaded directly from digital assay certificates into the database to minimize error sources. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling No pulps or rejects sub-samples available for verification No twinned holes available Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling The full physical core database of Rayrock drilling is available and was entirely re-logged and digitized by the Marimaca geological team, overseen by the Competent Person No pulps or rejects sub-samples available for verification No twinned holes available Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drill holes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation. Specification of the grid system used. Quality and adequacy of topographic control. Marimaca Drilling Local contractors carried out the supervision of the drilling operation. An experienced topographer surveyed the collars. WGS84 UTM coordinates are used. Data Well Services carried out the downhole surveys for drill holes. Data collected is considered adequate for eventual use in mineral resource estimation. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling WGS84 UTM coordinated used Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling WGS84 UTM coordinates used Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results. Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied. Whether sample compositing has been applied. Marimaca Drilling Due to the nature of mineralisation and the type of exploration discovery drilling program the hole spacing is highly variable. Data spacing is not considered sufficient to establish geological and grade continuities for Mineral Resource Estimation at the Inferred and Indicated category. No sample compositing was applied. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling Drill hole spacing at Madrugador is approximately roughly 25m x 25m in plan view, and extends to approximately 200 m depth Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling 100m to 200m spaced DDH drilling is considered sufficient to establish geological and grade continuity Spacing at the Pampa Medina is highly variable with some areas drilled to 25x25m spacing Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type. If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material. Marimaca Drilling Drill hole orientation was generally oriented to be sub perpendicular to the mineralisation but variable in places given the nature of the exploration program being conducted True widths have not been reported but rather assays are reported on a downhole basis. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling Information not known Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling Information not known Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security. All drilling assay samples are collected by company personnel or under the direct supervision of company personnel. Samples from Marimaca were initially processed at the project site and shipped directly from the property to a laboratory facility for final preparation, and later, upon their return, to the laboratory for analysis. Appropriately qualified staff at the laboratories collect assay samples. Security protocols implemented maintain the chain of custody of samples to prevent unnoticed contamination or mixing of samples and to make active tampering as difficult as possible. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling Per the available historical 43-101 reports: Apoquindo employed strict security procedures for the samples. All samples were only handled by Apoquindo personnel, where they were locked in a secure area while awaiting pick-up for transportation to the laboratory. Apoquindo contracts out the secure transportation of the samples to the laboratory. The only personnel that had keys to cargo area of the truck are Apoquindo and ALS-Chemex personnel. Once the samples were loaded at site, and the padlock fastened, the lock could only be opened at the laboratory. Any tampering of the lock would be evident and immediately reported to Apoquindo, who would then determine whether the samples had been compromised. Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling Information not known Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data. It is the Competent Persons opinion that these processes met acceptable industry standards and that the information can be reported under both JORC and NI43-101 standards and, in the future, be used for geological and resource modelling. Apoquindo Minerals 2007 Drilling AMEC review, considered acceptable, of the Apoquindo drilling per the Mineral Resources Technical Report on the Madrugador Properties, Antofagasta, Chile dated September 17, 2008 Rayrock 2012-2013 Drilling 2024 geological re-log and digitization of the full physical Pampa Medina core database completed by the Marimaca geological team, overseen by Sergio Rivera. Results were compared to the original lithological and mineralogical logs and were consistent. Section 2: Reporting of Exploration Results Drill hole APC104-D6 extended the first high-grade sub-zone drill tested by the Company to date by up to 70 metres vertically by intersecting 114.50 metres @ 5.00 g/t gold equivalent within 263.85 metres at 3.10 g/t gold equivalent. Hole APC104-D6 was drilled below previously announced holes APC104-D2 and APC104-D5, which intercepted 181.35 metres @ 5.38 g/t AuEq** and 106.35 metres at 9.05 g/t AuEq**, respectively. Drill hole APC104-D7A clipped the eastern edge of the same sub-zone, intercepting 30.25 metres @ 5.10 g/t gold equivalent within 137.70 metres @ 2.94 g/t gold equivalent. Results to date from the new orthogonal drilling program into the first high grade sub-zone have now outlined dimensions of 180 metres of strike, 70 metres in thickness and over 70 metres vertical and is still open in most directions for future expansion. The Company has modeled eleven high-grade sub-zones target areas within the top 1,000 vertical metres of Apollo and plans to drill test each of them over the course of 2025. The high-grade sub-zones have the potential to boost the overall grade and mineral inventory of the Apollo system within the existing block model. Mother hole APC-106D was drilled outside the Apollo system to the north and intersected multiple, shallow and high-grade gold-silver veins with results including 1.65 metres @ 20.81 g/t gold equivalent and 1.90 metres @ 16.29 g/t gold equivalent. Drilling of the Northern Gold-Silver Vein Zone to the north of Apollo has now outlined a 350-metre-long zone of high-grade porphyry related veins ("CBM veins"). TORONTO, April 15, 2025 /CNW/ - Collective Mining Ltd. (NYSE: CNL) (TSX: CNL) ("Collective" or the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results for three holes drilled into the Apollo system ("Apollo"). Two of the holes were designed to test the potential extension of the recently discovered first high-grade sub-zone, while the third hole was drilled into the early-stage Northern Gold-Silver Vein Zone located above and to the north of the brecciated Apollo system. Apollo is the most advanced discovery made to date within the Company's multi-target Guayabales Project in Caldas, Colombia. The Company currently has eight drill rigs operating as part of its fully funded 70,000-metre drill program for 2025 with five rigs drilling at Apollo, one at the Tower target and two rigs at the San Antonio Project. The 2025 objectives for the portion of the drilling program targeting the Apollo system are: Drill test newly modeled high-grade sub-zone targets scattered throughout the top 1,000 vertical metres from surface to improve the grade profile (and size) of the system. Grow the overall dimensions of the system by expanding vertically and laterally the recently discovered high-grade Ramp Zone. Test the northern extension potential of Apollo at shallower elevations. Expand and define the area of outcropping/shallow mineralization and test many drilling gaps within the internal block model from surface to a depth of 150 metres. Approximately 115,000 metres of diamond drilling has been completed to date at the Guayabales Project, including 78,000 metres at Apollo. There are currently thirteen drill holes awaiting assays with results for most of these holes expected prior to the end of Q2 2025. Ari Sussman, Executive Chairman commented: "Drilling continues to successfully intercept high-grade gold in the first of eleven potential high-grade sub-zones modelled by our technical team within the top 1,000 vertical metres of the Apollo system. The bonus of drilling the sub-zones is that if successful in finding more gold than previous modeled, then it should raise the overall grade of the system within the existing modelled envelope. If drilling continues to intersect high grades as new sub-zone targets are tested, the impact on the block model grade and inventory could be materially significant. Additionally, drilling at the poorly drilled Northern Gold-Silver Vein Zone has expanded the system to 350 metres in an east-west direction and it remains open in all directions for growth. Any metal defined in this zone is a bonus as it is additional to the main Apollo system." To watch a video of David Reading, Special Advisor to the Company and QP under NI43-101 explain today's results please click on the link here. Details (see Table 1 and Figures 1-5) APC104-D6, collared from mother hole APC-104D, was drilled in a westerly direction below previously announced hole APC104-D2 and was designed to extend the first modelled, high-grade sub-zone by 70 metres vertically. The hole intercepted continuous mineralization over 263.85 metres which included the high-grade sub-zone and multiple zones of high-grade CBM veinlets with assay results as follows: 263.85 metres @ 3.10 g/t gold equivalent from 71.65 metres including: 114.50 metres @ 5.00 g/t gold equivalent from 82.00 metres 31.75 metres @ 3.10 g/t gold equivalent from 303.75 metres 21.95 metres @ 3.08 g/t gold equivalent from 373.55 metres 17.15 metres @ 2.60 g/t gold equivalent from 444.80 metres APC104-D7A, which is the final hole collared from mother hole APC-104D, was also drilled in a southwest direction on the edge of the Apollo system and clipped the eastern margin of the high-grade sub-zone with assay results as follows: 137.70 metres @ 2.94 g/t gold equivalent from 160.90 metres including: 30.25 metres @ 5.10 g/t gold equivalent from 172.15 metres The pilot drilling program designed to test the first modelled sub-zone has now defined an area of 180 metres of strike, by 70 metres in thickness and by 70 metres vertical with continuous high-grade mineralization. This sub-zone is still open in almost all directions and will be expanded as part of the current ongoing drill program. The Company also plans to drill at least eleven additional potential sub-zone targets in 2025 identified throughout top 1,000 vertical metres of the Apollo system. As a reminder, at a depth below 1,000 metres from surface, Apollo transitions in the Ramp Zone, which is a different deposit and style of mineralization. APC-106D was drilled to the south from newly constructed Pad19 located north and outside the Apollo system. At 350 metres downhole, the alteration began to markedly increase and then the hole cut a zone of east-west trending, high-grade CBM veins. These new intercepts are a material extension to the high-grade Northern Gold-Silver Vein Zone, which now measures approximately 350 metres in strike and remains open in all directions for expansion. Assay results for hole APC-106D are as follows: 1.65 metres @ 20.81 g/t gold equivalent from 353.20 metres 1.90 metres @ 16.29 g/t gold equivalent from 388.30 metres 18.25 metres @ 2.10 g/t gold equivalent from 732.95 metres including: 5.85 metres @ 4.88 g/t gold equivalent from 732.95 metres As a reminder, high-grade gold-silver veins intercepted previously in 2022 in the Northern Gold-Silver Vein Zone assayed as follows: 10.30 metres @ 10.83 g/t gold equivalent (OLCC-4)** 1.30 metres @ 74.91 g/t gold equivalent (OLCC-3)** 1.30 metres @ 42.31 g/t gold equivalent (OLCC-3)** The intersection of shallow CBM veins in the northern portion of the Apollo system has positive implications for the presence of brecciated porphyry at depth as this zoning of mineralization is seen further south at Apollo. Following completion of the mother hole, directional drilling is currently in progress to test for a northern extension of the Apollo system at depth where the system remains open for expansion. Table 1: Assays Results for Drill Holes APC104-D6, APC104-D7A and APC-106D Hole # From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Zn % AuEq g/t* APC104-D6 71.65 335.50 263.85 2.52 37 0.09 0.15 3.10 Incl. 82.00 196.50 114.50 4.19 53 0.15 0.15 5.00 & Incl- 303.75 335.50 31.75 2.24 58 0.06 0.33 3.10 and 373.55 395.50 21.95 2.96 10 0.03 0.11 3.08 and 444.80 461.95 17.15 2.29 22 0.06 0.04 2.60 APC104-D7A 160.90 298.60 137.70 1.87 61 0.22 0.14 2.94 Incl. 172.15 202.40 30.25 4.28 50 0.14 0.32 5.10 APC-106D 353.20 354.85 1.65 19.78 122 0.03 0.06 20.81 and 388.30 390.20 1.90 8.66 600 0.05 0.44 16.29 and 732.95 751.20 18.25 1.92 12 0.03 0.13 2.10 Incl. 732.95 738.80 5.85 4.50 27 0.04 0.35 4.88 *AuEq (g/t) is calculated as follows: (Au (g/t) x 0.97) + (Ag (g/t) x 0.015 x 0.85) + (Cu (%) x 1.44 x 0.95) + (Zn (%) x 0.43 x 0.85) utilizing metal prices of Ag US$30/oz, Zn US$1.25/lb, Cu US$4.2/lb and Au US$2,000/oz and recovery rates of 97% for Au, 85% for Ag, 95% for Cu and 85% for Zn. Recovery rate assumptions for metals are based on metallurgical results announced on October 17, 2023, April 11, 2024, and October 3, 2024. The recovery rate assumption for zinc is speculative as limited metallurgical work has been completed to date. True widths are unknown, and grades are uncut. ** See press release dated January 15, 2025, February 24, 2025, March 15, 2022 and May 9, 2022 for AuEq calculations. About Collective Mining Ltd. To see our latest corporate presentation and related information, please visit www.collectivemining.com. Founded by the team that developed and sold Continental Gold Inc. to Zijin Mining for approximately $2 billion in enterprise value, Collective is a gold, silver, copper and tungsten exploration company with projects in Caldas, Colombia. The Company has options to acquire 100% interests in two projects located directly within an established mining camp with ten fully permitted and operating mines. The Company's flagship project, Guayabales, is anchored by the Apollo system, which hosts the large-scale, bulk-tonnage and high-grade gold-silver-copper-tungsten Apollo system. The Company's objectives are to improve the overall grade of the Apollo system by systematically drill testing newly modeled potentially high-grade sub-zones, expand the Apollo system by stepping out along strike to the north and expanding the newly discovered high-grade Ramp Zone along strike and to depth, expand the Trap system and drill a series of newly generated targets including Tower and X. Management and insiders own approximately 33.4% of the outstanding shares of the Company and as a result, are fully aligned with shareholders. The Company is listed on the NYSE American and TSX under the trading symbol "CNL" and on the FSE under the trading symbol "GG1". Qualified Person (QP) and NI43-101 Disclosure David J Reading is the designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") and has reviewed and verified that the technical information contained herein is accurate and approves of the written disclosure of same. Mr. Reading has an MSc in Economic Geology and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and of the Society of Economic Geology (SEG). Technical Information Samples were cut by Company personnel at Collective Mining's core facility in Caldas, Colombia. Diamond drill core was sawed and then sampled in maximum 2 metres intervals, stopping at geological boundaries. Drill hole core diameter is a mix of PQ, HQ and NQ depending on the depth of the drill hole. Core samples have been prepared and analyzed at ALS laboratory facilities in Medellin, Colombia and Lima, Peru. Blanks, duplicates, and certified reference standards are inserted into the sample stream to monitor laboratory performance. Crush rejects and pulps are kept and stored in a secured storage facility for future assay verification. No capping has been applied to sample composites. The Company utilizes a rigorous, industry-standard QA/QC program. Information Contact: Follow Executive Chairman Ari Sussman (@Ariski73) on X Follow Collective Mining (@CollectiveMini1) on X, (Collective Mining) on LinkedIn, and (@collectivemining) on Instagram FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussion with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always using phrases such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: anticipated use of proceeds from the Offering and the exercise of Warrants; the anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs; future operations; future recovery metal recovery rates; future growth potential of Collective; and future development plans. These forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding future events including the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: planed use of proceeds from the Offering and the exercise of the Warrants; risks related to the speculative nature of the Company's business; the Company's formative stage of development; the Company's financial position; possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, precious and base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets; change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formation pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the annual information form of the Company dated March 24, 2025. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In the trial of Gambian Michael Sang Correa in Denver, United States, the prosecution on Thursday April 10 started to play an audio recording of his interview with federal agents soon after his arrest and detention. In the audio, Correa confessed to being part of the Junglers a hit-squad that operated under former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh and taking part in arrests after the March 2006 failed coup. I am sorry if I can reverse the situation I am sorry. Did I take pleasure in it? It is unfortunate. Could I stop it if I had the power? Yes, I would have. Did I witness some of my colleagues torturing people? Yes. But I never took part. Did I kill people? Never, said the defendant, who had a stammer, to US federal agents in September 2019. Although his defence is now saying Correa was coerced and under duress when participating in the alleged acts of torture, in the audio recording he had denied participating in torture. He explained that his role was only to arrest the suspects and take them to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). That was his only job, he emphasized. Correa came to the United States in September 2016, to attend a United Nations General Assembly meeting as former Gambian Vice-President Isatou Njie Saidys bodyguard. The stamps on his passport shows that the defendant entered the United States with his diplomatic visa in both September and December 2016. Jammeh had lost the elections on December 1 and, according to Correa, friends called to inform him and advised him against returning to The Gambia. Yahya Jammeh lost. I was scared because I would go to jail for things I have not done. That is why I decided to stay around, he claimed to the federal agents. In the ensuing years, the Gambias Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) found Correa responsible for at least 11 killings. How Correa was hunted down Last Wednesday, on April 9, Special Agent Mathew Gifford of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) testified before the Denver Court about how the United States was able to trace Correa, leading to his arrest in September 2019. Giffords office is in Dakar, and Gambia is one of the countries under his areas of responses. He explained to the court that they knew Correa overstayed his visa in the United States, but they did not know where he was living. Knowing that he would likely send money home, Gifford explained that they traced him through Western Union. Retired special agent Barton Garrison, who investigated and arrested him, testified on April 10, telling the court they also found out that Correa and his wife divorced and discovered that the phone number his wife used on the divorce papers matched the number Correa used on Western Union. The US authorities continued monitoring him and eventually arrested him on September 17, 2019, outside his Colorado apartment. Garrison told the court that there was an order for the defendants deportation from the United States and he [Correa] was fighting that in court. The witness added that he was closely monitoring that case to see how it could affect their investigations. If Correa had been deported, the US would no longer have had the jurisdiction to indict and try him. In the court proceedings on his immigration status, Correa said he did not run away from prosecution but he was on vacation to see his brother living in Tennessee who he had not seen for many years, and that he had plans to leave afterwards. The government that came in [in Gambia] started to go after some of the others. Thats why I decided to stay. Refusing Jammehs orders Michael Correa was equally beating me. When his stick was short and he could not beat me anymore, he made these gestures to his comrades that they should beat me and that they should kill me. He was very aggressive. He was not in a compromising position, said Pharing Sanyang, who is now retired from the army, in the Denver Court where Correa is on trial for torture. On the day of the failed coup, Sanyang was arrested because he had an earlier meeting with Ndure Cham, the then Chief of Defence Staff who spearheaded the coup. The witness said he did not agree to the coup, and stated that he had already got clearance to meet the former chief of defence staff, so that it was not a secret meeting. Asked how he recognized the defendant, who he said wore a mask at the time he was torturing him, he responded that he could recognize him from his walking gait. When he speaks, he stammers a bit, he added. Were you ever asked to commit an act of violence in President Jammehs government? the US prosecutor asked Sanyang. Yes, in 2006, to assassinate Deyda Hydara, Sanyang replied, adding that he refused the order and suggested that if Hydara, a veteran journalist, did something wrong, he should be brought to trial. What happened when you refused President Jammehs orders? inquired the US prosecutor. Sanyang stated that the issue was brought to his attention again, but he refused, and he eventually made it onto the assassination list. You would not oppose him openly but if you did not feel safe, you could leave the country, added Sanyang. If you are scared, you should leave the country. Is that what you said? the prosecution asked. Yes, that is what I said. And you left your family behind? Yes. Escaping to Senegal Several prosecution witnesses explained to the jury how when people feared for their lives in The Gambia, including those who did not want to follow orders from President Jammeh, they could flee to Senegal where he could not harm them. Lieutenant Colonel Sainey Bayo mentioned to the court the case of Major Kalipha Bajinkas escape. Balinka was a soldier, now deceased, who was one-time State Guards Commander. He fell out of favour with the former president and fled The Gambia. Bayo himself was detained at the Mile 2 prison and taken to the NIA, where he was tortured. Although his statement was taken, he was not prosecuted, unlike other suspects. Defence counsel Mathew Belcher put it to the witness that at least one brother of Major Bajinka were arrested following his escape. Bayo said he knew that he was released but did not know when. The Absent Victim One of the victims in the US trial, Pierre Mendy, was not present to face Correa in court. He is now deceased. Mendy was commander at the Fajara barracks. In his testimony before the TRRC, he said that he was told about the coup by a soldier, Alpha Bah, but did not take it seriously. This conversation eventually led to his torture, interrogation and imprisonment. Following Mendys torture at the NIA, in which Correa is alleged to have taken part, witness Yahya Darboe told the Denver court that he would walk Mendy to the bathroom and observed injuries on him, adding that he appeared in so much pain. During his testimony at the TRRC, Mendy described April 10, 2006, as the worst. It was bright daylight. It was just like when a welder man is welding an iron, that is how it sparks. He explained to the Commission that a plastic bag was melted on his head and that he was electrocuted four times. They dealt with me, and they left me. I saw Pierre being beaten, Sainey Bayo explained to the Denver court. He was handcuffed, hand behind the back. They poured water on his head, he put the head up. That was the time I knew that it was Pierre. And also, the screaming. Demba Dem was a member of parliament for former president Jammehs party. He was arrested at the National Assembly for his alleged involvement in the 2006 coup attempt. Dem eventually spent one year and three months at the Mile 2 prison. He explained also to the US Court that he himself witnessed how Mendy was tortured and how Correa was present. During his interview with the federal agents, Correa himself admitted to seeing Mendy and Darboe being tortured. The trial closed earlier than expected yesterday, on Monday April 14, before the Denver court, as the defence has called no witness and the defendant decided not to testify. The jury is now deliberating and is likely to deliver its verdict shortly. After a car accident in Calgary, prioritize safety by checking for injuries and contacting emergency services. If necessary, move to a safe location and gather information by exchanging contact and insurance details with other parties involved. Document the scene with photographs and note any witness statements. Notify your insurance company promptly and understand your rights under Albertas fault-based system. Consulting a local lawyer, such as those from Preszler Injury Lawyers, can provide essential legal guidance, ensuring you navigate the claims process effectively. For more information, visit the Calgary Car Accident Lawyers page. Ensure Safety First: Check for Injuries and Call Emergency Services After a car accident, your immediate priority should be safety; this involves checking for injuries and calling emergency services without delay. Begin your injury assessment by carefully evaluating yourself and others involved in the accident. Look for visible wounds, signs of distress, or unconsciousness. If anyone appears injured, avoid moving them unless theres an immediate danger, as this could exacerbate their injuries. Once youve assessed the situation, promptly contact emergency services. Provide clear, concise information about the accidents location, the number of people involved, and the nature of injuries observed. Quick and efficient emergency response can greatly impact the outcome for those injured. Throughout this process, remain calm and supportive, as your demeanor can help alleviate anxiety among those affected. Remember, your focus on ensuring safety can foster a sense of community and compassion in a moment of crisis. Move to a Safe Location: Protect Yourself and Others After a car accident, its essential to assess your surroundings for safety. If its possible and safe to do so, move your vehicle out of the way to prevent further incidents and protect yourself and others. Always prioritize safety by ensuring youre in a secure location before addressing any other concerns. Assess Surroundings for Safety Once youve secured your immediate safety, its essential to assess your surroundings for potential hazards. Look around for any obstacles that could pose a risk, such as oncoming traffic, fallen debris, or other vehicles. Guaranteeing road safety is critical not just for you but also for others involved in the accident. By identifying these hazards, you can help prevent further accidents and protect the well-being of everyone present. If its safe to do so, you might consider signaling oncoming drivers to warn them of the situation. Your awareness can be instrumental in accident prevention, protecting both yourself and others. Stay vigilant, and prioritize safety as you maneuver through this challenging situation. Move Vehicles if Possible Ensuring safety continues with the decision to move vehicles, if possible, to a safer location. After a collision, its vital to prioritize the well-being of all involved. If the vehicles are drivable, carefully reposition them to avoid obstructing traffic. This action not only protects you but also serves fellow road users, exemplifying proper collision etiquette. When positioning your vehicle, choose a spot away from active lanes, making sure to signal your intentions clearly. If necessary, place warning triangles or flares to alert other drivers. By taking these thoughtful measures, you contribute to a safer environment and minimize the risk of further accidents. Always assess the situation before moving, ensuring that everyone remains safe throughout the process. Gather Information: Document the Accident Scene After a car accident, its vital to gather necessary information to support any claims or investigations. Start by exchanging contact details with all parties involved, ensuring you have accurate names, phone numbers, and insurance information. Additionally, take thorough photographs of the scene, capturing vehicle damage, road conditions, and any relevant traffic signs to provide a clear account of the incident. Exchange Contact Details In the aftermath of a car accident, exchanging contact details with the other party involved is essential for ensuring a thorough record of the incident. You should gather important information, such as names, phone numbers, addresses, and insurance details. This exchange not only facilitates communication between all parties but also aids in any potential claims or legal actions that may arise later. If possible, write down the license plate numbers and vehicle descriptions as well. Remember, maintaining a respectful and calm demeanor during this process can help foster cooperation. The information you collect will be invaluable in resolving any disputes and ensuring all parties receive the necessary support and assistance. Prioritize this step for a smoother recovery process. Take Photographs Thoroughly Taking photographs thoroughly at the accident scene is vital for documenting the details of the incident. By capturing various photo angles, you can provide a detailed view of the circumstances surrounding the accident. Start with wide shots that show the overall scene, then focus on specific damage to vehicles and any relevant road conditions. Make sure you include close-ups of license plates, insurance details, and visible injuries, if applicable. This evidence collection can be significant for insurance claims and legal proceedings. Remember to document any skid marks, traffic signs, or signals that may have contributed to the accident. This thorough approach will not only serve your interests but also provide valuable information to others involved in the case. Take Photos: Capture Evidence of the Accident Photographs serve as vital evidence following a car accident, providing a clear visual record of the scene. Capturing these images is important for evidence preservation and accident documentation. Heres how you can effectively document the aftermath of an accident: Overall Scene: Take wide-angle shots that capture the entire accident scene, including all vehicles involved. Vehicle Damage: Focus on close-ups of the damage to your vehicle as well as the other parties vehicles. Road Conditions: Document the road conditions and any relevant traffic signs or signals that may have contributed to the accident. Injuries: If safe to do so, photograph any visible injuries sustained by you or passengers. Notify Your Insurance Company: Report the Incident How quickly should you notify your insurance company after a car accident? Prompt reporting is vital for a seamless insurance claim process. Ideally, you should notify your insurer as soon as possible, typically within 24 hours of the incident. This helps document the accident report accurately and expedites the claims process. Action Timeframe Importance Notify insurer Within 24 hours Guarantees timely claim processing Gather accident details Immediately after Provides accurate information Document witness statements As soon as possible Strengthens your claim Keep track of expenses Ongoing Supports your financial recovery Follow up on claims status Weekly Keeps you informed and proactive Seek Medical Attention: Prioritize Your Health After a car accident, seeking immediate medical attention is vital for your well-being. Its important to have a thorough health assessment to identify any injuries, even those that may not be immediately apparent. Additionally, documenting your injuries carefully and attending follow-up appointments can guarantee you receive the necessary care and support for your recovery. Immediate Health Assessment When you find yourself involved in a car accident, prioritizing your health is crucial, as injuries may not always be immediately apparent. A prompt health evaluation can greatly influence your recovery process. Heres what you should consider: Seek immediate medical attention: Even if you feel fine, some injuries manifest later. Undergo a thorough injury assessment: Medical professionals can identify hidden injuries. Document your symptoms: Clearly communicate any discomfort or changes to your healthcare provider. Follow-up care: Schedule and attend follow-up appointments to monitor your health. Taking these steps guarantees you address any potential injuries and supports your overall well-being. Remember, your health is the priority in the aftermath of an accident. Document Injuries Carefully Careful documentation of injuries sustained in a car accident is essential for both your health and any potential legal claims. After seeking immediate medical attention, confirm that you keep thorough records of your injuries. This includes documenting symptoms, treatments received, and any follow-up care. Your medical records serve as critical evidence should you pursue a legal claim. They provide a detailed account of your injuries and the medical professionals observations, which can greatly impact your case. Always request copies of your medical records and any treatment plans to maintain accurate injury documentation. By prioritizing this aspect, you support your recovery process and strengthen your position should you need to pursue compensation for your injuries. Follow Up Appointments Following your initial medical treatment, its imperative to schedule and attend follow-up appointments with healthcare providers. These appointments are vital for your recovery and play a significant role in documenting your medical records. Consistent follow-up care guarantees that any ongoing issues are addressed promptly. Here are some essential steps to follow: Stay organized: Keep track of all appointments and their purposes. Communicate openly: Discuss any symptoms or concerns with your healthcare provider. Document everything: Maintain thorough records of your visits, treatments, and medications. Prioritize self-care: Follow the advice of your medical team to facilitate your healing process. Understand Your Rights: Know Albertas Car Accident Laws Understanding your rights after a car accident in Alberta is vital, especially since the province operates under a unique set of laws governing motor vehicle incidents. Alberta follows a fault-based system, meaning that the party responsible for the accident is liable for damages. This can impact your car insurance, as it determines how claims are processed and compensation is awarded. You have the right to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Its important to document all aspects of the accident and any injuries sustained. In addition, obtaining legal representation can greatly assist in maneuvering the intricacies of Albertas car accident laws. A knowledgeable lawyer can advocate for your rights, ensuring you receive fair treatment from insurance companies and other involved parties. By understanding these legal parameters, you empower yourself to make informed decisions and pursue the support you rightfully earn. Consult a Local Lawyer: Get Professional Legal Advice Consulting a local lawyer after a car accident can greatly enhance your understanding of the legal landscape and your rights within it. Engaging professional legal representation is vital for maneuvering the intricacies of the claim process. A knowledgeable lawyer can provide you with invaluable insights, helping you make informed decisions. Here are four significant reasons to consult a local lawyer: Expertise in Local Laws: They understand Albertas specific regulations and can guide you accordingly. Claim Process Guidance: A lawyer can help simplify the often confusing claim process, ensuring you dont miss important deadlines. Assessment of Damages: They can accurately evaluate your situation, helping you determine fair compensation for your losses. Negotiation Skills: With their experience, lawyers can negotiate effectively with insurance companies, advocating for your rights and interests. Keep Records: Maintain Documentation of All Related Expenses After securing legal counsel, its crucial to focus on maintaining thorough documentation of all expenses related to the car accident. Effective expense tracking will provide critical support for your claim, helping you accurately capture the financial impact of the incident. Start by organizing all receipts and invoices, as these serve as concrete evidence of your expenditures. Utilize documentation methods such as spreadsheets or dedicated apps to log medical costs, repair bills, and any related transportation expenses. This organized approach guarantees you have a clear overview of how the accident has affected your finances. Additionally, note any out-of-pocket expenses that arise during your recovery, as these can also be claimed. By keeping detailed records, you not only bolster your case but also contribute to a smoother claims process, ultimately allowing for a more thorough understanding of the repercussions of the accident on your life. Follow Up: Stay Informed on Your Claim Status and Recovery Process How can you guarantee your recovery process and claim status remain on track? Staying informed is essential for maneuvering the aftermath of a car accident. Here are four vital steps to make certain youre updated on claim updates and recovery timelines: Regularly Communicate with Your Lawyer: Schedule consistent check-ins to discuss your case and clarify any questions you may have. Document Your Health Progress: Keep a detailed record of your recovery, including medical appointments and treatments, to support your claim effectively. Follow Up with Insurance Adjusters: Inquire about the status of your claim and any additional information needed to expedite the process. Stay Engaged with Healthcare Providers: Make sure your medical team is aware of your accident-related issues and recovery goals, as their insights may influence your claim. Conclusion In summary, maneuvering through the aftermath of a car accident in Calgary requires careful attention to detail and adherence to legal protocols. By prioritizing safety, collecting pertinent information, and consulting with a local lawyer, you can effectively manage the intricacies of the situation. Keeping thorough records and staying informed about your claim will further facilitate your recovery process. Remember, understanding your rights is crucial to ensuring fair compensation and protecting your interests during this challenging time. Over two decades, another 'Saihanba' has taken root 16:11, April 15, 2025 By Zhang Tengyang ( People's Daily Photo shows the Qiansongba forest farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China's Hebei province. (Photo/Wang Liqun) As spring breathes life into the land, the Qiansongba forest farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China's Hebei province, is beginning to show signs of green, adding a fresh hue to the rolling mountains and vast plains. Like its renowned counterpart, the Saihanba forest farm - the world's largest planted forest - Qiansongba occupies a strategic position between Beijing, Tianjin, and the Hunshandake sandy land. During the last century, rampant deforestation and overgrazing triggered severe desertification in this ecologically fragile region. To combat this crisis, Hebei province initiated a reforestation campaign in 1999, aiming to establish three more forest farms modeled after Saihanba. Qiansongba emerged as a flagship project of this ambitious endeavor. Over two decades, Qiansongba has achieved remarkable milestones: afforestation spanning 1.16 million mu (approximately 77,333 hectares) and the restoration of nearly 1.5 million mu of desertified and degraded land. The thriving forest has evolved into a cohesive ecosystem, establishing a robust green barrier that not only rehabilitates the local ecology but also fosters economic growth and prosperity for surrounding communities. In autumn 1999, a trailblazing team of 13 members arrived in Datan township in Fengning county, to initiate Qiansongba's first afforestation initiative. "The terrain was rugged, and early tree-planting required hauling supplies manually or by horse. Improved infrastructure now allows tractors and trucks to deliver saplings to mountain bases, significantly easing labor. In recent years, drones have even been deployed to airlift seedlings directly to planting sites," said Tao Shijie, head of Qiansongba forest farm's production department. People send seedlings onto a hill at the Qiansongba forest farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China's Hebei province. (Photo/Wang Liqun) Historically dependent on livestock due to harsh natural conditions, some locals initially resisted reforestation efforts that required converting individually or collectively contracted land into no-grazing zones. He Shuchen, director of Qiansongba forest farm, recalled how municipal, county, and township authorities collaborated to harmonize land policies while engaging communities through dialogue on long-term ecological and economic trade-offs. "The farm rolled out several initiatives to encourage villagers to participate in afforestation, forest protection, and forest management. Locals could earn income by planting trees, and were later entrusted with forest maintenance. Once trees matured, profits were shared proportionally. Gradually, public support grew," He noted. The farm later adopted a shareholding model integrating farmers, collectives, state-owned entities, and pastures as land contributors. Qiansongba secured funding and partnered with stakeholders to co-plant and manage forests, allocating some 20 percent of profits to itself and distributing the remainder among contributors. Over two decades, this approach has restored roughly 4,000 square kilometers across nine townships, achieving 1.16 million mu (approximately 77,333 hectares) of engineered afforestation. The farm established a collaborative conservation framework to rigorously regulate activities such as quarrying, land reclamation, and illegal grazing within the project zone. It enforced all-round, all-area, all-hours forest protection, fire prevention, and law enforcement systems. According to He, since the start of reforestation, the project area has restored nearly 1.5 million mu of desertified and eroded land. Driving through winding roads in the Qiansongba national forest park, one is greeted by orderly groves of spruce, birch, larch, and poplar trees. A local villager takes care of trees at the Qiansongba forest farm in Fengning Manchu autonomous county, Chengde, north China's Hebei province. (Photo from Hebei Daily) Since 2013, the Qiansongba forest farm has been rehabilitating barren hillsides in Xiaobeigou village, Datan township, through sustained tree-planting initiatives. As ecological conditions improved, tourism, dining, and homestay enterprises gradually flourished. Today, a hillside in Xiaobeigou hosts an innovative tent-hotel concept. Its modular, mobile tent units blend seamlessly with the surrounding forests, meadows, and lakes. "Reclining on the grassy slope, watching clouds glide overhead and endless forests unfurl - it's pure serenity," said Li Xueying, a tourist from Beijing. "We deliberately avoided extensive hardscapes or permanent infrastructure," explained hotel executive Zhou Hang. "Instead, we installed a temporary gravel pathway and fully mobile tent structures to minimize environmental disruption and preserve the original terrain." The eco-conscious design not only generates rental revenue for the village collective and residents but also provides employment opportunities for nearly 40 locals. "Rural tourism here thrives on the unique beauty of the native secondary forests, plantations, and grassland landscapes," said Yu Cunyong, a Xiaobeigou village official. "With proper development and use, we've protected the environment while fostering community development." Over the past decade, the number of the village's hotels, homestays, and agritainment businesses have grown from just four to 48, seeing over 100,000 visits annually. To date, the reforestation project of the Qiansongba forest farm has directly increased farmers' income by 210 million yuan ($28.72 million). The lush mountains and lucid waters have also accelerated the growth of rural tourism. Around the project area, five new large resorts have been developed and 10 tourism-focused villages have been supported. (Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun) Almost two years after she withdrew from public life following a high-profile scandal, Chinese actress Song Zu'er makes her acting comeback with the screening of her new TV series, The Demon Hunter's Romance. Song, also known as Lareina Song, debuted in 2005 as a child actress and has since gained popularity for roles in dramas such as Legally Romance (2022). In August 2023, her meteoric career hit a stumbling block as a former employee accused her of evading tax payments of 45 million yuan (around USD 6.5 million). The accusations cost Song endorsements and acting work, so she stepped away from the industry. In 2024, her agency announced that tax authorities had completed their investigation and found that Song had not committed any tax evasion. Now, Song is returning to television as the female lead in The Demon Hunter's Romance, a fantasy-romance series that premiered on April 12. In the series, Song plays a woman who can see through demons' disguises. Her character becomes entangled with a mysterious demon hunter whose past holds secrets of its own. The drama represents a significant return for the actress, whose reputation and career path came under fire in the wake of the allegations. While Song has not publicly commented on the case since the agency's announcement, her return has been met with mixed reactions on social media. The song previously made international headlines over a plagiarism controversy involving EXO's Baekhyun. Despite past controversies, fans remain hopeful that the actress's performance in the new series will signal a fresh start. Demon Hunter's Romance is currently airing on major Chinese streaming platforms. Tuesday, April 15, 2025 - Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has claimed that he is being targeted by unnamed individuals due to his continued criticism of President William Rutos administration. Speaking during an interview with Sulwe FM on Tuesday, Natembeya alleged that he is being followed and harassed for refusing to align himself with the Presidents supporters. The vocal County boss appeared to link the harassment to President Ruto, saying it was part of a broader effort to silence dissenting voices. If I have done any wrong, why not just face me? Following someone around is as if this country has no freedoms, he said. It is as if, if you are not part of the choir singing praises to the President, you are bad. I will not accept that. The Governor vowed to remain vocal on national issues, stating, you are born once and die just once; you cannot live in fear forever. I know he might send people to come kill me, but Mr President, I dont care. Natembeya has recently criticised the Government on key issues such as healthcare, drawing backlash from Rutos allies. Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has called for his impeachment. Natembeyas convoy has faced hostility, as his rivalry with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula intensifies in the battle for Western Kenyas political dominance. The Kenyan DAILY POST Tuesday, April 15, 2025 - Joy Karwitha has been nominated as the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Lands by newly-sworn-in Meru Governor Reverend Isaac Mutuma. Joy made headlines in 2023 after she faced charges of stealing a Range Rover Evoque valued at Sh 3.2 million from her employer. During the proceedings before Milimani Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Ms Dolphine Alego, it was revealed that she allegedly stole the high-end vehicle on September 30, 2023, from Crescent Business Center within Nairobi County. She denied the charges, and her defense lawyer sought lenient bond terms, citing her responsibilities as a mother. She has landed the top county job despite having a criminal record. See her photos below. The Kenyan DAILY POST Tuesday, April 15, 2025 - Veteran radio host, Maina Kageni, has revealed a deeply personal detail about his final wishes - he wants to be cremated. Speaking candidly during the Morning Conversation with co-host Mwalimu Kingangi, Maina said his preference for cremation is clearly stated in his will. I will be cremated when I die. Its even in my will, he said. The day after I die, Ill be in Kariokor. I dont even want a requiem mass. His remarks come after the Ministry of Health recommended immediate closure of Langata Cemetery due to overcrowding, with reports of bodies being buried in shallow graves atop others. Langata Cemetery, which has long been a preferred burial site, was declared full more than 20 years ago, Maina noted. Its time for us to move away from traditional burial practices. We need to let go of some of this Africanness. Maina also criticised modern funeral customs as overly elaborate and impersonal. Hundreds of people show up who didnt even know the deceased. Its just a formality now, he said. In a few years, therell be no land left in Kenya. And you cant even sell land with graves. Maina joins a growing list of high-profile Kenyans who chose cremation, including Ken Okoth (Former Kibra MP), Bob Collymore (Former Safaricom CEO), Wangari Maathai (Environmentalist and Nobel Laureate) and Kenneth Matiba (Former Politician). The Kenyan DAILY POST Tuesday, April 15, 2025 - The Standard Group PLC, the parent company of KTN, has alleged that the Government is attempting to silence it by revoking its broadcasting licence through the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). In a statement aired during its 9 pm news bulletin, the media house disclosed that it received a notice from the CA citing a failure to pay Ksh43 million in regulatory fees. However, the company insists it had already entered a repayment agreement with the Government in December 2023, following consultations. Under the agreement, Standard Group committed to pay Ksh10 million upfront, which it did on December 27th, and an additional Ksh24 million after the conclusion of a Rights Issue. The parties also agreed to monthly instalments of Ksh2.5 million starting January 2024, which the company says it increased to Ksh4 million and has been honoring. Despite this, a letter dated April 9th and signed by CA Director General David Mugonyi stated: The total outstanding regulatory fees currently is Ksh48, 729,488.10 The Authority required you to have either settled the amount or submitted a payment plan The Standard Group PLC has neither settled the amount nor submitted a payment plan to the Authority despite several meetings and reminders. Standard Groups Chief Executive Editor, Chacha Mwita, accused the Government of using the debt issue to intimidate the company for exposing alleged misconduct within President William Rutos administration. The government owes us over Ksh1.2 billion in advertising debt and what CA is asking from us is Ksh48 million, which we dispute, Mwita said. We wont distort reality to please anyone. The company has filed for an injunction to block the licence revocation. The Kenyan DAILY POST A planned trip to Kenya this summer by 12 local people marks the resumption of a volunteer programme by Kilcullen-based charity Maintain Hope. While the organisation founded in 2006 has for almost two decades continued vital work supporting families in poor circumstances in Ngong, outside Nairobi, especially by providing educational opportunities, bringing volunteers out had been paused for several years. In Maintain Hope's first five years, some 200 volunteers from the Kildare area had made self-funded summer trips to the shelter children's home in Ngong, providing services for 170 children orphaned by AIDS or ethnic conflict, put into care from abusive families, or rescued from the streets. They had helped to refurbish and construct buildings at the home, where the charity also funded teachers and educational equipment. At the time, that work was essential in trying to make a future for children orphaned to such homes. However, in the following decade, the growth of what was termed 'voluntourism' led to an expansion of 'orphanages' and the recruitment of children to feed a system that had become a business in many parts of the world. By that time Maintain Hope, in addition to calling out that exploitative practice locally, had changed focus to reuniting children in the shelter home with family members and supporting those families to allow the children to receive an education that would take them out of the poverty trap. One of those children was Julius Arega, today working in a senior position in a security company. He has been a persistent and successful advocate for changing the voluntourism operations, including six years ago bringing the Comhlamh 'Children First' report on the issue to the Dail Eireann Foreign Affairs Committee. This is the scene outside the home of one of the families supported by Maintain Hope in Mathare slum in Ngong Maintain Hope founder Gerry O'Donoghue, who personally visits Ngong a number of times each year, will be one of six Kilcullen people on the resumed volunteer trip this July. This time they're not putting up buildings in an orphanage, but working with the families and children the charity has been supporting in the area. "We aim to build capacity within the families, community and schools in Ngong and surrounding areas," said Gerry. "We will be gathering the younger children together for summer camp activities with music, drama, dancing and swimming on the timetable. As well as an important role in the rehabilitation and wellness of the children, the summer camp will be an opportunity to assess the health and nutritional needs of each child." The charity currently supports 82 children and young adults, many of the older ones who were former street children forced to survive on their own. "Some suffered physical and sexual abuse, some were unable to cope with school, some had alcoholic or otherwise addicted parents. Some were shunned because of HIV, while others were escaping from encounters with the police. Many ended up in gangs and others were trafficked into unregulated orphanages where their circumstances were exploited to attract donations for the orphanage directors." Maintain Hope has helped prevent family breakdowns by providing food, medicine and shelter so that children can grow up in their communities. "We provide counselling and mentoring for young adults. We currently support young adults who are studying computer science, nursing, business and marketing, catering and hotel management. We also have children in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools." Current fundraising initiatives for Maintain Hope include an adventurous sponsored walk planned for Saturday 25 May. Led by local hill-walking enthusiast Frank Mitchell the walk will traverse the Glenealough Horseshoe. While challenging, the walk is suitable for family groups and sponsorship cards can be had from Esther Reddy 087 9450634, David Dempsey on 086 0526762 or Gerry ODonoghue on 087 2642887. Support can also be given by attending the Gala Night of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, courtesy of Kilcullen Drama Group on Friday 25 April. Tributes have been paid following the passing of Martin (Lebbie) O'Brien of Bagenalstown, Carlow. As reported by Carlow Live. Martin (Lebbie) passed away in the care of St. James Hospital, Dublin surrounded by his loving family. READ NEXT: ALERT: Gardai launch major probe after man dies in stabbing incident in seaside town Beloved son of Martin and Pauline, brother of Nicole, Karina and Rachel, father of Corey and fiance of Karolina. Will be sadly missed by his heartbroken parents, loving sisters, adored son, beloved fiance, much loved nieces Callie and Kaycee and nephews Kyle, Logan, Kaiden, Cole and Daniel. As well as his brothers in law Keith, Alan and Chris, his aunties, uncles, cousins and his many loved friends and work colleagues. Cpl O Brien enlisted on the 16th of August 2001 and has served 23 years in the Defence Forces. He has completed seven overseas trips, travelling to Lebanon with UNIFIL, Kosovo with KFOR and Liberia with UNMIL. He was 41 years of age and is a native of Bagenalstown, County Carlow. The Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Sean Clancy, stated, "The men and woman of Oglaigh na hEireann extend their sympathies to the family of Cpl O Brien. The loss of a colleague and friend, with as vast an experience as his, is felt throughout his whole unit and the wider Defence Forces. He will be missed by his friends, family and colleagues but never forgotten. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis" Tributes have been paid in the condolences section of Rip.ie and read as follows: "Sincere condolences to his family and loved ones on their loss, he was an absolute gent, the barracks wont be the same without him, always made everyone laugh. He will be missed a lot." Another reads: "My deepest condolences to Martin, Pauline, Corey, Rachel, Karina, Nicole and Karolina for this untimely loss. Lebbie was an absolute gentlemen who enriched the lives of all who were lucky enough to know him. I am so glad I had the pleasure of spending time with him and will cherish the memories and laughs we all had together forever. Until we meet again, my friend. Rest easy Leb." Funeral Arrangements will be posted later HERE Agreement has been reached between the Omagh Bombing Inquiry and the Irish Government over cooperation. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was agreed by the Irish Cabinet in Dublin on Tuesday morning following months of back and forth between officials and inquiry staff. It comes ahead of the resumption of public hearings in the inquiry which is probing whether the Real IRA bomb attack in 1998 could have been prevented. The MoU has been welcomed as a significant step forward, and potentially the first such agreement between a UK public inquiry and a foreign state. However, DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said it falls well short of what is required, and has urged a full and independent inquiry to be set up in the Republic of Ireland. Omagh families deserve more than a contortion of state control https://t.co/O8fzuWddpA via @duponline @GRobinsonDUP DUP (@duponline) April 15, 2025 The Omagh bomb, which killed 29 people including a woman who was pregnant with twins, is the worst single atrocity in the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The bomb was prepared in the Republic of Ireland and transported from that state by the Real IRA members who then fled back across the border after planting the bomb in the heart of Omagh on a Saturday afternoon. The MoU is to allow the inquiry chairman Lord Turnbull and members of his team to access to material held by the Irish administration, and has been described as a significant step. It outlines the arrangements for the provision of information and materials from the Irish Government and its agencies to the inquiry, with a central point of contact to be established in the Department of Justice. The MoU also outlines the process of disclosure materials to the inquirys core participants. In a statement the inquiry said it will continue to discuss further cooperation with the Government of Ireland, such as taking evidence from witnesses from the Republic of Ireland. Secretary to the Inquiry Sam Hartley said such agreements are not commonplace in inquiries. This formal agreement between the inquiry and the Government of Ireland marks a significant step forward in allowing the Inquiry access to material, information and assistance from the Government and agencies in Ireland, he said. Agreements of this nature are not commonplace in inquiries. On behalf of the Inquiry, I express my gratitude to the Government of Ireland for its repeated commitment to assist the Inquiry. Irish Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan said that security sensitive information will be redacted and that legislation may be needed for witnesses such as gardai to appear before the inquiry. What will happen is a request will come in for documentation, if we have it, we provide it, he told RTE Radio. If there is any detail in that documentation, however, that is very security sensitive from the Irish States point of view, we will redact that. However, the inquiry will be able to come down and see the unredacted aspect of it and there will be engagement between the inquiry and the State in respect of it. The good news is the inquiry is satisfied with the memorandum of understanding. He added: Its my intention and the intention of government to ensure that witnesses from Ireland, be they gardai or former civil servants, or anyone with information, to provide evidence that can be used by the inquiry. That may require legislation, itll also require another memorandum and thats something that I will be bringing forward to Government in due course. Ireland had been under pressure to establish its own public inquiry into the 1998 outrage. Dublin has said it will fully co-operate with the UK inquiry into the bombing, which is operating out of Omagh, but stopped short of committing to a separate public inquiry. However, Mr Robinson described the MoU as a contortion of state control masquerading as co-operation. It provides no statutory powers, no ability to compel witnesses and no guarantee of full disclosure, he said. The Irish Governments continued refusal to establish its own parallel inquiry undermines the search for truth and leaves a significant blind spot in the pursuit of justice. I stand with the families in calling for a full and independent inquiry in the Republic of Ireland. Anything less is an abdication of responsibility and a disservice to the memory of those who were murdered on that tragic day in 1998. The path to justice must not be shaped by political convenience or constrained by jurisdictional limits. It must be complete and worthy of the lives that were lost. Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said he had written to the Irish Justice Minister in March about the Omagh bombing, but had not received a reply. Not only has the Irish Justice Minister not replied to my letter but now we have a hollow Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that goes nowhere close to meeting the Irish Governments responsibilities. It has nothing on witnesses, nothing allowing victims and their legal representatives to see unredacted material, and no legal duty to provide evidence. Its a staggering jumble of words and platitudes that centre around if, but or maybe. TUV leader and North Antrim MP Jim Allister said the MoU was an example of Irelands historic record of covering up its harbouring of terrorists. Instead of the parallel Dublin Inquiry that is needed, the Republic is fobbing the victims off with promises, but lacking enforceable obligations to open its books on what is known. All those who were killed were remembered during commemorative hearings at the inquiry earlier this year, and evidence was also heard from those injured and emergency workers who responded. The next phase of public hearings, due to start from June, will hear from core participants, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and former chief constable Ronnie Flanagan. Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn welcomed the agreement of the MoU. He said: This is a very positive step that will help enable the independent Inquiry to do its job and provide answers for families. The Omagh bombing was a heinous atrocity committed by the Real IRA at a time when communities in Northern Ireland were looking forward to peace and stability. It caused immense pain and suffering to the many families who lost loved ones and to those who were injured. They will always be in our thoughts. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Partly cloudy with late night showers or thunderstorms. Low 72F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy with late night showers or thunderstorms. Low 72F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%. BOONE COUNTY The Boone County Fire Protection District has contained a brush fire north of Columbia and is letting the fire burn itself out. The fire is off U.S. 63 on North Highway VV. Assistant Fire Chief Gale Blomenkamp said about between 10 and 15 acres have already burned, and firefighters are controlling the fire within the 25-acre using natural barriers. Blomenkamp said firefighters will let all 25 acres burn because it would be unproductive to try and save the rest of the grass. Boone County fire crews responded to the fire around 12:30 p.m. Blomenkamp said firefighters could be on the scene for another hour or two. Between 22 and 23 firefighters were on the scene around 2 p.m., Blomenkamp said. MU Health Care and Boone Electric Cooperative are now on scene. Firefighters are still actively trying to contain the fire @KOMUnews pic.twitter.com/NcrXiIyWW3 Channing Headlee (@ChanningHead1ee) April 15, 2025 MU Health Care and Boone Electric Cooperative were on the scene around 1:50 p.m. Blomenkamp said Boone Electric was called because the fire was sending heat up to power lines, causing sparks. The Columbia Fire Department originally offered to respond to protect structures but wasn't needed, Blomenkamp said. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. There were people baling dried miscanthus grass when the fire started, possibly from a spark from the baling equipment, Blomenkamp said. Blomenkamp said residents should be cautious when baling dry grasses because fires can start easily. "It's like baling gasoline, in essence," Blomenkamp said. Blomenkamp said the county is in the end of natural cover fire season as grasses like these, which are supposed to be dry, are baled and other grasses become green. Blomenkamp said firefighters could be on the scene for another hour or two. Between 22 and 23 firefighters were on the scene around 2 p.m., Blomenkamp said. MU Health Care and Boone Electric Cooperative were on the scene around 1:50 p.m. Blomenkamp said Boone Electric was called because the fire was sending heat up to power lines, causing sparks. This story has been updated with new details. Crown Linen will close its processing center in Mexico, Missouri, next week on Friday, April 25. According to a news release from Crown Linen, processing operations will be moved to Crown Linen's secondary location in Columbia, Illinois. Sales, service, administration and distribution operations will remain in Mexico. The processing center's closure follows a May 2024 fire that destroyed two of the eight buildings at the Mexico facility. Crown Linen cited high costs to maintain and rebuild the century old masonry buildings that "no longer meet the operational efficiency or safety standards required for a commercial laundry service in today's market." The linen service was founded more than 130 years ago in 1891 and has reportedly been at the Mexico facility since 1904. Tim Williams, the fourth generation owner of Crown Linen, said the company first looked at local options to rebuild before deciding to move processing operations away from Mexico. "We explored multiple options and sought assistance from local and state resources to facilitate the rebuilding and continued operation of our historic location," Williams said. Thirty-one of the 50 employees working at the Mexico location will be impacted by the changes, according to a spokesperson for Crown Linen. All of the impacted employees have reportedly been offered severance packages based on seniority, and all employee benefits will remain in place until at least May 31, 2025. Customers will not experience any changes to their service or product, according to the news release. A Holts Summit man was arrested for allegedly assaulting a Callaway County sheriff's deputy during an investigation into a fatal shooting Sunday night. Thomas G. Jones, 72, faces one count of assault for the incident. Jones sustained a graze wound to the head during the shooting. According to a probable cause statement, Callaway County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report of a disturbance involving a firearm around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Deputies found three gunshot victims, including Jones, according to a Saturday news release. One of the victims, a woman, was transported to a local hospital and was later pronounced dead, according to the news release. Court documents say Jones sustained a "minor graze wound to the head" and declined medical treatment. Jones also told deputies he was "highly trained to kill with his bare hands." Jones reportedly remained at the scene during the investigation. According to the probable cause statement, Jones later came up to a deputy and asked him why the deceased victim's boyfriend had been released, claiming the boyfriend had pistol-whipped Jones. Jones allegedly became "visibly upset," insisted on pressing charges, and told police he would shoot the boyfriend in the head if he came to Jones' house. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Deputies reportedly told Jones that would not be appropriate, since the boyfriend had just learned his girlfriend died. RELATED: One dead, two injured in Sunday shooting at Hunter Lane Apartments in Holts Summit One person is dead and two others are injured after a Sunday afternoon shooting at Hunter Lane Apartments in Holts Summit. Jones then walked toward the apartment where the boyfriend and the victim's family were and began to harass them, according to the probable cause statement. Family members reportedly yelled back at Jones, telling him to leave. Deputies reportedly felt that a "physical altercation was about to happen," and stepped in to de-escalate. After trying to deescalate the situation multiple times, Jones then reportedly swung toward a deputy. The first strike missed "by inches," but Jones then "square(d) up" to fight the officer. The deputy then pushed Jones to the ground and placed him in custody, according to the probable cause statement. Deputies said Jones does not live at Hunter Lane Apartments. COLUMBIA City leaders are speaking out after three separate shootings in Columbia over the weekend, leaving five people injured. KOMU 8 News spoke with Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and Office of Violence Prevention administrator DMarkus Thomas-Brown about the incidents. The Columbia Police Department did not respond to KOMU 8's requests for comment Monday. Buffaloe said her reaction to the shootings was disappointment. "Disappointment in the level of people responding to altercations with guns," Buffaloe said. "And obviously it's worry worry over our officers, hoping that none of them are injured." "When you have bullets flying in the general populous, that is tragic," Thomas-Brown said. "And it's tragic for our community as a whole." Thomas-Brown's work has just begun in the Office of Violence Prevention with the city. He is on his third week of the newly formed office, which Thomas-Brown said was created by city officials after a deadly shooting that left a 3-year-old dead in 2023. He said that solutions do not occur overnight, but the office can be involved in long-term solutions to violence in the city. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. "This is not new, and it is not a sign that we have a violent city," Thomas-Brown said. "It's just a sign that there are things that need to be prevented, there need to be interventions given." Buffaloe said an important step in decreasing the frequency of these shootings is community involvement. "If you are at an incident, you don't have to call the police but call CrimeStoppers and be anonymous," Buffaloe said. "But helping us, really, make sure that we are creating a safe community takes people being involved." The first shooting happened Friday night in the 2700 block of Maguire Boulevard, when a man allegedly opened fire with a weapon toward several people and a bullet ricocheted and struck one victim in the leg. A 20-year-old man has been arrested and charged. The second shooting occurred at Cosmopolitan Park on Saturday night. One person was critically injured and another person was seriously injured in the shooting. Police have not announced a suspect in custody. The third shooting occurred at 1:30 a.m. early Sunday near the corner of Ninth Street and Broadway. Two men were hospitalized, and two juvenile boys were detained, according to CPD. The Grow Hallsville Parks Foundation is sending Easter-themed toilets throughout the town as part of a fundraiser. Recipients can pay to have them removed or sent to another location and proceeds go to build a veteran's memorial. JEFFERSON CITY Rep. Wick Thomas, D-Kansas City, alongside members of the Intersectional Equality Caucus and allies, held a news conference at the Capitol Monday to discuss rights for marginalized communities in Missouri. The Missouri House of Representatives approved the Intersectional Equality Conference last month. "This new conference unites legislators from across the state with a unified mission: to advocate for the rights and protections of marginalized communities," a news release from Thomas' office said. Dozens of legislators are banding together to make up the conference and to advocate for the communities and rights of LGBTQ+ people and immigrants in Missouri. "The Equality Conference is much needed in the current state of Missouri legislature," Thomas said. "While Missourians are struggling to pay rents and mortgages, afford groceries and child care, the Missouri legislature is focused on spending countless hours and taxpayer dollars to control Missourians who are simply trying to live their lives without government interference. After many bills proposals last week, members of the Intersectional Equality Caucus and allies said they are preparing to hear more this week, such as Senate Bill 100, which would add restrictions for changing the sex on one's birth certificate. "Last week, we saw many unfortunate bills that will come to the floor this week," Thomas said. "We've seen hundreds of Missourians testify against these bills. Unfortunately, it has not changed a single Republican vote." Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. The conference said the identities of Missourians should not be up to Missouri government leaders. "We do not want our identities politicized," said Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, D-St. Louis. "We want to be left alone. However, because they keep filing bills about us, we have to call on community for action." Thomas also spoke on issues regarding the continued push to put abortion access back on the ballot of Missouri voters. "Missourians already decided abortion is a private, medical decision, and we have put it in the state constitution for a reason," Thomas said. "We are supposed to give ... the people of Missouri a chance to be a part of the legislative process. They deserve a right to be heard, and last week, they did not receive that." House Joint Resolution 54 proposes putting a constitutional amendment that would nearly outlaw abortion on the November 2026 ballot. The bill proposes a near-total ban on abortion except for cases of medical emergencies, rape and incest. The caucus also said it has seen some positive things within the last week. "SB 38, the CROWN Act, protects natural hair, and we have been continuing to negotiate the removal of the same sex marriage ban from state statutes," Thomas said. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Auburn, IN (46706) Today Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 68F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Drone show celebrates Bengali New Year, 50th anniversary of China-Bangladesh ties Xinhua) 16:39, April 15, 2025 DHAKA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- To celebrate the traditional Bengali New Year and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Bangladesh diplomatic ties, a grand drone light show was held in front of the National Parliament House in Dhaka on Monday. During the 15-minute show, drones lit up the dark sky with 12 creative patterns, including Bangladesh's national flower, the water lily, and symbolic representations of the China-Bangladesh friendship, such as the Chinese dragon and the Bengal tiger. The breathtaking display was visible from tens of kilometers away and captivated the audience of tens of thousands on-site. Speaking to Xinhua, Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, said the future of Bangladesh-China relations is very bright. "We look forward to working even more closely with China in the future, and that is what's happening. We held an investment summit where most investors came from China." "Bangladesh has a long-standing cultural relationship with China. We are now celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties. Today's drone show will be an unforgettable event. Cultural programs like this will further strengthen the relationship between our two countries." Arbi Akter came to the National Parliament area with a colleague to celebrate. "I hope the bond between our two countries grows even stronger. I believe we can achieve even greater things together. This relationship will bring positive outcomes in the future," she told Xinhua before the show. Jubayer Ahmed, a local student, watched the show in awe. "I've never seen such a breathtaking display before. This is a historic event. Thanks to China for gifting us such a show." "Our future will be brighter with China by our side. Many countries have progressed with China's support, we must move forward too. To do that, we need to strengthen our ties further," he added. Local Bangladeshi art troupes performed traditional music and dance, showcasing their rich cultural heritage and beautifully complementing the Chinese drone display. The large-scale drone performance, which was co-hosted by Bangladesh's Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, featured a 2,500-drone formation. Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen, Cultural Adviser of Bangladeshi Interim Government Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, several government advisers, and representatives from Chinese enterprises in Bangladesh and tens of thousands of local residents gathered to witness this stunning fusion of technology and culture. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Gordon Deegan Ali Hewson and other Killiney residents have won their planning battle to halt a luxury residential scheme for the grounds of Montebello House. This follows Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council refusing planning permission to Covelo Developments Ltd to construct four very large two-storey four-bedroom flat-roofed houses for Killiney Hill Road, Killiney. The Council refused planning permission after the wives of U2 band members, Bono and The Edge, Ali Hewson and Morleigh Steinberg lodged objections against the scheme. In total, 37 submissions were lodged by local residents with the Council. However, the objectors planning win comes with a sting in the tail. The Council has refused planning permission not due to objectors grounds over loss of privacy, overshadowing, negative visual impact and impact on the local character of the area. Instead, the Council has refused planning on the sole ground that Covelo Developments Ltd didnt plan more residential units for the site which leaves the door open for Covelo to lodge revised plans for a scheme in excess of four units. In its formal refusal the Council stated that notwithstanding the site sensitivities and constraints, it considers that the provision of four units on the site would represent underdevelopment of an accessible site with convenient access to frequent public transport services via Killiney DART Station and facilities in the nearby neighbourhood centre. The Council state that as a result, the proposal does not adhere with the requirements of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan 2022-2028s Compact Settlement Guidelines concerning density ranges applied to locations in Dublin classified as Urban Neighbourhoods'. The Council state that as such, the proposed development would therefore be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area The 26 page Council planners report which recommended refusal stated that the proposed density of four units for a 1.13 acre site constitutes an unsustainable use of land. The planners report stated that the Council also had significant concerns in relation to the layout of the scheme, the impact on the Protected Structure of Montebello House, impact on existing mature trees and lack of compensatory measures. The Council state in any future application that these issues be addressed. In her objection, Alison Hewson stated: The proposed very modern style of the four houses appears to be inconsistent with the existing architectural and historical fabric of the area." She told the council: We are concerned that this development, by way of its very modern style, flat roofs, and its use of materials could be significantly out of character with the prevailing architectural styles of the surrounding properties. Ms Hewson added: "We feel that this development, by introducing modern housing in such close proximity to Montebello House, would significantly alter the character of its setting, thereby contravening these guidelines. In addition, it is clearly the intention of the applicant to apply for further additional development in closer proximity to Montebello House and we are concerned that this is only a part of a wider scheme to tale over the site with an inappropriate housing density. Ms Hewson further stated: We feel it is highly questionable as to whether there is sufficient capacity in the current urban drainage network to accommodate the increase in residential use proposed. The systems historically in this area are subject to problems. We note that the houses each have six bathrooms which would amount to 24 bathrooms overall which is a significant increase in the loads into the system equivalent to about 12 houses as opposed to 4 applied for. Morleigh Steinberg objected on similar grounds and stated: We are concerned that the removal of mature trees will have a significant negative effect on the local environment and its biodiversity. On behalf of designer, John Rocha and his wife Odette Rocha, Luke Hickson from Meitheal Architects stated that a planned road upgrade indicate that this application is a Trojan Horse for further development of the site and possible consolidation with other surrounding properties. Tech entrepreneur, Philip Gannon called on the Council to reject the scheme. He said: This development, by introducing modern housing in such close proximity to Montebello House, would significantly alter the character of its setting, thereby contravening these guidelines. Killiney resident and former editor of The Economist, Bill Emmott also objected stating that as residents of the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA), we express our strong concern that a development of this sort will be in complete contradiction to the purpose of an ACA. Planning consultant for Covelo, Kevin Hughes of Hughes Planning and Development Consultants (HPDC) told the council that the proposed development comprises the development of four contemporary and modestly scaled residential units within the curtilage of the protected structure at Montebello. He said: We consider that the proposed development would deliver a high-quality residential scheme at an appropriate residential density, on a constrained site, would not detract from the visual or residential amenities of the area, would deliver a satisfactory level of private open space to future residents of the development, and will complement the built character of the area. Mr Hughes added: Finally, it must be reiterated that the proposal will have no impact on the residential amenity of the area, with the proposed houses appropriately orientated and positioned to have an almost entirely imperceptible impact on the public realm. A MAN on the sex offenders register was given a 12-month probation bond, for failing to inform the authorities of taking a four-day weekend away in England. The man appeared at a sitting of Naas District Court behind closed doors, charged with a single breach of the register rules after failing to notify gardai. However, his solicitor Tim Kennelly claimed it was an inadvertent mistake because there has been a change in the legislation since his release. If hes out of the jurisdiction, he should have given notification, but he didnt, said Mr Kennelly. Detective Sergeant Michael Murphy gave details of why the Co Kildare man was on the register, after he was convicted in 2015 on four counts of defilement of a child under 15. Was it a boy or a girl? asked Judge Desmond Zaidan. A girl, said DS Murphy in evidence. He was sentenced to eight years, seven years, seven years and six years concurrent. He pleaded guilty in the circuit court, was convicted in 2015 and put on the register. The Act changed in 2023, where mandatory notification went from seven days to three. He went to England for four days and never notified. Never any other difficulties? asked the judge. No, judge, said DS Murphy. He went to the UK and came back? asked Judge Zaidan. Yes, judge, his monitor notified us, confirmed DS Murphy. He didnt try to hide? asked the judge. No, said the garda. So not deliberate? asked the judge. Definitely not, said DG Murphy. Judge Zaidan ruled as outlined, but any breach of the law in the next year will see the man liable for his outstanding sentence. A TALENTED Laois student has won a top prize in the prestigious 2025 Texaco Childrens Art Competition. Nicholas Oiboh, a pupil at St. Mary's CBS in Portlaoise, won a Special Merit Award for his stunning artwork titled Self Portrait - The Power Of A Paintbrush. His work greatly impressed final adjudicator Pauline O'Connell, an Irish visual artist, curator and educator, who said the 12-year-olds art displayed high levels of skill and creativity. The famous Texaco art contest has an unbroken history dating back to 1955. Throughout those 70 years, it has been a platform for young artists from across the country to have their talents recognised and their creativity commended. On 14 April, during a meeting at the White House, El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele told US President Donald Trump that his government would not release a man deported in error last month and held in the countrys Terrorism Containment Centre (Cecot) mega-prison. End of preview - This article contains approximately 507 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options More than three years after developers proposed to build one of the largest warehouse projects ever planned for Somerset County, community opposition has not let up. Residents and activists have pushed back from the start against the nearly 90-acre development planned for Hillsborough Township, raising concerns about traffic, safety and the environment. Now, after more than a dozen public hearings, local officials are nearing a decision on the controversial project. In December 2021, Homestead Road LLC submitted plans to the Hillsborough Township Planning Board for a two-warehouse project totaling more than 537,000 square feet. The site, currently undeveloped farmland, is located east of the Route 206 bypass, according to township documents. Attorneys for Homestead Road LLC did not immediately respond to a request for comment last week. Hillsborough Township planning board members declined to comment on the proposal because it is still under review. Community members have shown up in droves to protest the application. A March 13 planning board meeting lasted more than three hours, with both residents and board members intensely questioning the developers representatives. Another meeting was held this month but cut short due to a lack of board members present. A decision on the application has been pushed back due to lengthy hearings and is now expected by June, township officials said. One issue that remained unclear at meetings is the type of businesses that would occupy the warehouses, further fueling concerns among residents. Scott Gross, an organizing member of Local Citizens Against Traffic, a local group opposing the project, said this information was needed to ensure the development serves the entire community, not just corporate developers. These mega-warehouses could forever change the character of our town, Gross said in a statement. Representatives for the developers were only able to disclose that the warehouses would store noncombustible materials, anything from beverages to tires. Spanning over 50 square miles, Hillsborough is the largest municipality in Somerset County by size. Nearly 40% of its land is protected open space. The site being eyed for the warehouses is one of the few remaining areas designated for low-density land use in the community, according to residents. A site map of the Hillsborough Township Homestead Road LLC proposed warehouse development. Hillsborough Township Planning Board Several groups, including Stop Warehouses and Trucks, or SWAT and Hillsborough Against Industrialization, have circulated an online petition opposing the sprawling project, which has garnered over 3,000 signatures. At planning board meetings, five formal objectors, including representatives from environmental groups such as The Watershed Institute and the Sourland Conservancy, have questioned the developers attorneys. According to The Watershed Institute, the Homestead development could increase flooding risks, worsening existing concerns in the region. Traffic is also a concern, with developers estimating more than 300 trips per day for a 24/7 warehouse operation that would include 87 docks and 137 parking spaces. This could mean trucks weighing up to 80,000 pounds would have to travel through residential streets or the downtown shopping district to reach the site, activists said. The traffic congestion, the noise and light pollution, and the safety risks associated with the trucks traveling on our roads, especially Homestead Road, will degrade our quality of life and harm the natural environment, said Suzanne Ochse, a member of SWAT said in a statement. According to, Ochse, who has been a Hillsborough resident for 44 years, more than 300 mature trees could be removed to make way for the development. There is also a risk of a warehouse fire harming the environment, similar to the 2016 blaze at Veterans Industrial Park, she added. This is not the first mega-warehouse development to face strong opposition in Somerset County. In 2023, a proposed warehouse project in Franklin Township was rejected after protests from residents. The two large buildings would have bordered Canal Walk, a community for residents aged 55 and older. Warehouse sprawl is a growing issue across New Jersey, with many towns working to protect their communities from large developments. In Hillsborough, efforts to block other warehouse plans have been taken. For instance, in 2023 the township voted to use nearly $10 million from its Open Space Trust Fund to purchase two vacant properties that were slated for warehouses. Editors Note: This story has been updated to correct the square mileage of Hillsborough. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nyah Marshall may be reached at nmarshall@njadvancemedia.com Cody Balmer arrives for his arraignment Monday evening, April 14, 2025, at Judge Dale Kleins office on Bretz Drive, Harrisburg. He's been accused of firebombing the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg with Josh Shapiro, his family and friends inside. (Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com) Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com The suspect in the firebombing of the Governors Residence missed his first scheduled arraignment Monday after being hospitalized but appeared in court at 5 p.m. to face arson and related charges. Magisterial District Judge Dale Klein read the charges against Cody Balmer and ordered him jailed without bond at the hearing, where Balmer denied a history of drug or alcohol abuse or mental health issues even though his ex-wife said he had been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment in 2023. Thats the rumor, but no maam, Balmer told Klein when asked about mental health issues. He told Klein he had a lot of children, but did not want to disclose more details. When asked additional questions about a job or home, Balmer, 38, said he has nothing. Two troopers accompanied Balmer to his arraignment. No prosecutor was present. A public defender appeared with Balmer, who had his hands cuffed in front of him. Balmer wore a tan long-sleeved shirt, baggy jeans, with high-top Converse shoes with the Captain America shield logo on them. Balmer did not enter a plea. In Pennsylvania, the purpose of an arraignment is simply for a judge to read the charges and set bail. On his way into and out of the small MDJ courthouse, Balmer stuck out his tongue and did not answer questions shouted by some reporters in a large group of journalists and photographers. Cody Balmer stuck out his tongue at reporters who gathered Monday April 14, 2025 for his arraignment. Jonathan Bergmueller Balmer was out on unsecured bail for three counts of simple assault filed against him in 2023 for an incident involving his ex-wife and children when police say he climbed into the security perimeter around the governors mansion early Sunday, broke into the home and set multiple fires using gasoline in glass bottles. Balmer originally was set to appear before a judge in Harrisburg at 8:30 a.m. But court officials sent notice about an hour later that instead of appearing before the judge, he was taken to a hospital for a medical incident that was unrelated to the arson or arrest. Details about his medical incident were not provided. But court officials announced shortly after 4 p.m. that Balmer would appear in person at Kleins office. In addition to attempted murder, Balmer was charged on Sunday with aggravated arson, terrorism, burglary, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and loitering/prowling at night. Pennsylvania State Police said Balmer admitted to pouring gasoline from a lawnmower into two Heineken beer bottles that he carried with him on an hour-long walk early Sunday from the Penbrook home he shared with his parents to the Governors mansion at 2035 Front St. in Harrisburg. Balmer climbed over a fence encircling the property, then broke two windows with a small sledgehammer, according to an affidavit of probable cause. He threw the beer bottles into the house, court documents said, starting fires that severely damaged the homes historic piano and dining rooms. Court documents said Balmer harbored a hatred against Governor Josh Shapiro and planned to beat Shapiro with the sledgehammer if he encountered him, but Shapiro, his wife and their houseguests were evacuated from the mansion without injury. A 15-year-old Palmer Township girl missing for nearly three months has been found, authorities announced Tuesday. Enci Aubrey Wu was found Monday in Jasper, Georgia, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta announced during a news conference Tuesday morning. Aubreys discovery follows months of vocal pleas from her family for help to find her. They campaigned with billboards, rallies and daily posts on social media calling for support. However, the family is now the subject of a probe by social service agencies to determine whether Aubrey can live at home safely, Baratta said. The district attorney said residents in Jasper recognized Aubrey and notified the Jasper Police Department. Aubrey is staying with child protective services in Georgia and will be transferred to Northampton County, Baratta said. Aubrey left her township home sometime after 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 10. Her parents told law enforcement they were concerned over emotional and behavioral issues and there was also tension in the house with parental restrictions possibly triggering her to run away, Baratta said. That was the reason they believed she left the house, he said. Baratta said authorities want to take a closer look at the tension in the home, and child protective services in Pennsylvania will determine where Aubrey will live when she returns to Pennsylvania. Social service workers want to assure she will be safe at home, Baratta said. Baratta said Aubreys parents restrictions may have been excessive and inappropriate. He declined to elaborate on the tension in the home. Enci deserves privacy, Baratta said. Baratta said Aubreys disappearance is not being investigated as a criminal matter. At this time, no charges have been contemplated, he said. Baratta said Aubrey was moving around and had no fixed residence in Georgia. He said police in Jasper, Georgia, continue to investigate her living arrangements and whether any crimes were committed. Some of the people she lived with were persons of interest to Georgia authorities, but Baratta declined to elaborate. Baratta said Aubrey dyed her hair blond to conceal her identity. She remained hidden despite continuing to post on social media. Baratta called her very intelligent and technologically savvy, but said her social media posts ultimately helped lead authorities to her. He wasnt sure how she wound up in Georgia. Only Enci can answer that, Baratta said. The status of a teen runaway isnt usually the purview of the district attorneys office, but this case has generated significant public interest, Baratta said. The case was profiled by TV journalist Nancy Grace and Dateline NBC. Aubreys mother, Jade Wu, and Wus husband, John Gehrmann, set up the social media account aubreysNOTfound to frequently post livestream updates, often rambling about Aubreys disappearance and the fractured efforts to find her. The posts galvanized commenters to either strongly support or spurn Gehrmann. We have been under an assault of misinformation and lies and character assassination, Gehrmann said during an hourlong video Tuesday. Gehrmann and Wu hosted search events to find Aubrey and hosted public protests questioning whether authorities were doing enough to find her. Wu and Gehrmann posted a video around noon Tuesday expressing their relief. Im just very happy knowing shes alive and unharmed. Very happy, Wu said. She thanked everyone who helped with the search. Gehrmann said in the video that Aubrey turned 15 on Monday. Neither Wu nor Gehrmann returned a message seeking comment. Wu said in a subsequent video on Tuesday that she communicated with Aubrey via a video chat. Social service agencies and police will continue to investigate the circumstances of Aubreys home life in Palmer Township and her living arrangements in Georgia. Baratta said its gratifying to have Aubrey found unhurt. This announcement, although were relieved, is not celebratory. There is a lot in front of us that needs to be done, Baratta said, adding, Everyone here along with her family are relieved that Enci is (safe and) without injury right now. Baratta praised the work of Palmer Township police during the search. The FBI last month joined what became a broad, multi-agency investigation into the whereabouts of Aubrey. Northampton County detectives also assisted. Police issued search warrants and posted numerous bulletins looking for clues. Gehrmann had said the family in early 2023 moved to the Easton area after living in California. Jade Wu, a native of China, raised Aubrey as a single mother before moving to the United States and marrying Gehrmann. Aubrey was a freshman honor student at Easton Area High School when she disappeared. Baratta said Gehrmann and Wu notified Palmer Township police that they retained a lawyer to help them in connection with Aubreys case. Allentown attorney Jenna Fliszar issued a statement Tuesday saying shes been retained to represent Aubrey. While I will have more to say when appropriate, my focus right now remains on ensuring that Aubrey is protected and supported, Fliszar said. She said she represents Aubrey alone and does not represent any other parties involved. I respectfully ask that her privacy be honored as we move forward, Fliszar said. Bethlehem-based attorney Alexandria Ally Crouthamel, previously represented Aubreys parents. I was honored to be a part of this child being found safe, she told lehighvalleylive.com. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Former Phillipsburg Council President Frank McVey at a council meeting Feb. 4, 2020. McVey on Friday, April 11, 2025 had all charges in an alleged misconduct cases dropped by a Somerset County Superior Court judge, sitting in Somerville. Steve Novak | For lehighvalleylive.com All charges have been dropped against a former Phillipsburg councilman accused of threatening then Mayor Todd Tersigni in an alleged blackmail scheme. Then Republican Council President Frank McVey, 59, was charged with second-degree official misconduct and fourth-degree criminal coercion, or blackmail. McVey initially was arrested in early August 2021 for alleged misuse of the countys 911 system. McVey later was indicted in November 2021 by a Warren County Grand Jury after investigators brought forward evidence of alleged misconduct. He resigned from Town Council prior to the indictment on Aug. 31, 2021. That ended his re-election campaign for a second, four-year term. McVey was exonerated Friday when Somerset County Superior Court Judge Reema Sethi Kareer, sitting in Somerville, dismissed the indictment. McVey previously turned down a plea arrangement that would have included an expungement of the charges. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in November 2021. Defense attorneys, Michael Critchley and Armando Suarez, representing McVey, said in a joint statement Monday afternoon the case reeked of a political persecution. This travesty went on for almost four years and was finally dismissed on April 11, 2025, the attorneys stated. This is a case study of what happens when cavalier, overly aggressive prosecutors bring baseless charges against innocent individuals. The politically motivated prosecution of innocent individuals not only devastates the lives of those directly targeted but also erodes public trust in legal institutions and threatens the principles of justice and equality, the attorneys said. The Warren County Prosecutors Office didnt immediately return repeated requests for comment this week. However, since former Warren County Prosecutor James Pfeiffer once represented Tersigni in a private legal matter, a Superior Court judge disqualified the entire prosecutors office from participating in the case against McVey. This included Warren County First Assistant Prosecutor Anthony J. Robinson, defense attorneys said. McVey is a retired New Jersey State Police captain, later employed as senior security manager at the Prudential Center in Newark. He initially was elected to council in 2017 and at the time of the case was planning on running for mayor in 2023. Critchley and Suarez said McVey was stripped of his retired officers right to carry a firearm, and removed from his then-employment. Defending against politically motivated criminal charges and the challenges to have the charges dismissed can be unbearable, the attorneys said. Even with this dismissal, the personal, professional, and public damage on Mr. McVey is irreversible. The case against McVey began on August 13, 2021 when investigators alleged McVey threatened to blackmail then Republican Tersigni so that the mayor would be unable to carry out his elected duties without first getting McVeys approval. Regarding the 911 system misuse allegations, McVey allegedly called 911 for a non-emergency, seeking a welfare check on Tersigni and Stettner after he had not heard from them in 12 hours following an Open Public Records Act request McVey made to the two officials. The law allows the town seven business days to respond, prosecutors noted. In a separate case, former Republican Councilman Robert W. Bobby Fulper in 2022 also was indicted by a Warren County Grand Jury on second-degree counts of official misconduct and trafficking in personal identifying information. Prosecutors alleged Fulper improperly possessed numerous documents containing personal identifying information of former Phillipsburg employees. Fulpers indictment was dismissed in September 2024. He was elected to town council in 2017 and lost his bid for a second term in 2021 The accusations were distinct from those that led to the November 2021 indictment against McVey. Fulper commented on both sets of indictments on Monday afternoon. He claimed the former police chief and former mayor abused their power in the incidents. Frank and I fought hard on behalf of the residents of this town for four straight years, never once increasing taxes nor sacrificing services to our residents, and because we chose to fight for the people instead of the political elite, we suffered greatly for it, Fulper told lehighvalleylive.com. Fulper added the pair would be leaving politics behind in the rearview mirror, but would fight for similar causes in the future. Former Phillipsburg Councilman Bobby Fulper at a council meeting Feb. 4, 2020. Fulper in 2022 was indicted by a Warren County Grand Jury on second-degree counts of official misconduct and trafficking in personal identifying information. Fulpers indictment was dismissed in September 2024. (File Photo) Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Bail applications were made for two men who were arrested in connection with the seizure of 22,500 in cash and drugs valued at 50,000 at a hotel in Portlaoise at the weekend. Arkadiusz Czarnohorski (48) with an address at Apartment 18, Deerpark Road, Kiltipper, Tallaght, Dublin 24 and Algimantas Mikstriunas (34) of No Fixed Abode, were arrested at the Midlands Park Hotel, Jessop Street, Portlaoise on Saturday, April 12, 2025. They each appeared before Portlaoise District Court charged with possession of amphetamines and cocaine for sale or supply at the Midlands Park Hotel, Jessop Street, Portlaoise on April 12. Objecting to bail, Detective Garda Neil Slevin said the first accused was arrested at 6.51pm and taken to Tullamore Garda Station where he subsequently made no reply to the charges. He said the DPP directions are awaited and there was an objection to bail. Det Slevin said he had observed the defendants talking to an international drug dealer who is a member of an eastern European criminal gang at around 6.30pm. He said gardai followed the two men to a black 131D Opel Insignia car which is registered to the first accused. Det Slevin said the defendant was stopped and found in possession of a small quantity of cocaine. He said a search of the car uncovered a kilogram of amphetamines and half a kilogram of cocaine worth 50,000 located in a purpose-built concealment behind the radio of the car. Det Slevin said the co-accused had a grey duffle bag containing 22,500 in cash. Det Slevin said the first accused had been caught red handed and had admitted to working as a drugs courier and placing the drugs in the car. He described the man that both defendants had been seen talking to prior to their arrest as a transnational drug dealer who he said is a member of an eastern European crime gang. Det Slevin said the accused had made admissions after caution and admitted in interview that he was operating as a drug courier and the drugs were for onward transmission. He said gardai had obtained CCTV footage putting the accused at the vehicle. He said the man had told gardai he had been forced to leave a fulltime job with UPS in order to work as a drugs courier to pay off a 35,000 drug debt which was now down to 7,000. Det Slevin said the man was forced to transport illegal drugs, cash and persons involved with the drugs trade due to the debt. He said the man was not in receipt of any social welfare. I do not believe he will answer bail, said Det Slevin. He told the court the defendant would now owe a debt for the drugs that were seized and said he believed the man would have no option but to commit offences in order to pay the debt. Solicitor Barry Fitzgerald described this suggestion as somewhat speculative. He said his client had an address in Tallaght which is within the jurisdiction. Det Slevin said the man was renting at that address in Tallaght but had a partner and child living in Belfast. Mr Fitzgerald noted that while the alleged value of the drugs was not "insignificant" the appraisal was subject to analysis. Det Slevin suggested the drugs could be far more valuable depending on analysis. Mr Fitzgerald said his client enjoyed the presumption of innocence. He said the man is willing to abide by whatever conditions the court deemed appropriate for bail including a daily sign on at a garda station, surrendering his passport and obeying a curfew. Garda Sergeant Colin OLeary said he would have concerns particularly in relation to the ease of travel between Ireland and the UK. Judge Susan Fay said the accused comes before the court an innocent man but she had to consider the totality of the evidence. She refused bail, granted legal aid and remanded the defendant in custody to appear at a later date. The second accused, Aligmantas Mikstriunas, also applied for bail at the sitting of Portlaoise District Court. Detective Garda Joe Fahy gave evidence of arrest and charge and said the defendant made no reply. He said there is an objection to bail. Det Fahy said gardai from the Laois Drugs Unit had followed the defendant and another man to a car at the Midlands Park Hotel and he had been stopped as he opened the rear passenger door. He said the accused was in possession of 22,500 in cash in a gear bag. He said the accused failed to provide any legitimate reason for having the cash. Det Fahy said he did not believe the accused would answer bail. He said the man had stated that he had no current address and he wasnt in receipt of social welfare. Paul Noctor BL asked why gardai felt his client was acting suspiciously. Det Fahy said the man was seen speaking to a male who is a known drug dealer and a member of an international criminal gang. He said the man was found with a large quantity of unexplained cash and that there were drugs valued at 50,000 in a sophisticated purpose built concealment within the vehicle. It is likely that he didnt know there were drugs in the car, said Mr Noctor. Det Fahy said he found the suggestion highly unlikely. Mr Noctor then asked about the cash which had been found. Det Fahy said the cash had been in two 10,000 bundles along with a 2,500 bundle. He said the defendant had said it was to do with the collection of empty beer kegs. This again raised concerns. Det Fahy said it raised concerns as it sounded like a known money laundering scam linked to the Russian mafia. There is no evidence of this scam, said Mr Noctor. He said his client was a Lithuanian national who vehemently denies the charges and enjoys the presumption of innocence. He had nothing to do with these drugs, said Mr Noctor. He said he had 22,500 and said it was money he used for beer kegs. He transports these kegs back to London, Lithuania and, believe it or not, Russia, he said. Mr Noctor said there was no evidence that his client would not appear in court. He said he was willing to sign on daily, provide an address and phone number, and abide by any other conditions the court deems necessary. Judge Susan Fay said after considering the totality of the evidence she was refusing bail. She granted legal aid and remanded the defendant to appear in custody to appear on a later date. Portlaoise woman Karina Kotlara who moved to Ireland when she was a tot, is ready to do the town and her parents proud at the Laois Rose Selection Night this Good Friday. Karina who is sponsored by Marum & Co, told the Leinster Express / Laois Live all about herself. "Im 24 and from Portlaoise, Co. Laois, where Ive lived since I was fourlong enough to pick up a thick Irish accent that often has people thinking Im native Irish. "I studied Marketing and Management (Level 8) at TUS and completed a Level 9 in Project Management at UL, along with a Level 9 in the LEAN Thinking module," Karina said. WATCH: Meet eight of the Laois Rose entrants She has chosen the busiest sector in Irish business to work in. "I currently work as a Site Administrator on a building site, driven by the goal of climbing up the ladder. My biggest motivation is to one day support my parents and give them everything they deserve for giving me a better life here," Karina said. The Laois Rose Selection Night takes place in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise on Friday, April 18. The winner will take part in the televised International Rose of Tralee in Kerry this August. The Leinster Express / Laois Live is the proud Media Sponsor for the Laois Rose Selection. A Laois Credit Union welcomed over 60 local volunteers into their office to recognise their hard work and dedication. Mountmellick Credit Union welcomed volunteers to its head office on Thursday April 10 for the 2025 Community Fund Awards evening. Pictured: Angela McKane, representing OMoores Camogie Club with Danielle Fitzsimons, Mountmellick CU Marketing Manager, at Mountmellick Credit Union Community Fund 2025 Awards, Thursday, April 10. Volunteers representing over 40 local clubs and organisations from Mountmellick, Clonaslee, Rosenallis, and Rathangan gathered between 78pm for light refreshments. Attendees also availed of a photo opportunity to mark their receipt of Community Fund support. The fund, approved by Mountmellick Credit Union's members at the most recent AGM, helps a wide range of social, cultural and sporting groups within the Credit Unions common bond. Each group received a modest donation to support projects, events, or ongoing upkeep. Tom Gorry, Michael Feely, Mountmellick Mens Shed, with Brenda Forde of Mountmellick CU. "This is part of Mountmellick Credit Unions commitment to supporting community life," a representative has said. "This years application process was fully online for the first time, streamlining the experience for both applicants and board members," they praised. Applications for the 2026 Community Fund will open again early in the year. Updates will be shared via the Credit Unions website and social channels. A Laois road that has claimed five lives in recent years has still received no safety improvement works. The Middlemount road from Rathdowney has claimed the lives of five locals in recent years. On Christmas Day in 2008, 18 year old Kevin Bergin lost his life on this road. In April of 2009, 35 year old Paddy White lost his life in a motorcycle accident on the Middlemount road. In July of 2015, Martin Brophy (20), Orla Curry (20) and Angela Kelly (35) sadly lost their lives driving on the Middlemount to Rathdowney road. Pictured: A memorial to Orla Curry, Angela Kelly and Martin Brophy, who sadly passed away in 2015. Fine Gael Cllr John King expressed his frustration at the lack of progress in improving safety measures on this road. "This is the fourth time I have brought this matter before the Council," Cllr King said. "I was under the impression that the carrying out of safety measures is a Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) project, but it is not. It is under the remit of Laois County Council," Cllr King highlighted. "Even though the Middlemount road is quite narrow, and there are hills and there are 'hallas', everyone is aware of the danger of it. We can't keep bringing this up month after month, and year after year. "I don't want to see the loss of more lives. I have been contacted by family members to see why the work hasn't been done. Now I know for certain that these works would be under the remit of Laois County Council," Cllr King said. Independent Cllr James Kelly gave his support to Cllr King's motion. Pictured: A memorial to Patrick (Paddy) White, who sadly lost his life on the Middlemount road. "I fully support, it is a very emotive issue. Cllr King has been raising these areas regularly in the Council," Cllr Kelly said. Cllr King also brought attention to the danger of the Donaghmore road from Rathdowney, calling for works to be carried out to improve safety for drivers. "We are doing works in Donaghmore at the minute, and I bring this up as we have been speaking with the owner of the field in Donaghmore, so we may be able to move some of the embankment," Cllr King said. "The road would meander the same way, but a little bit of the embankment moved would give it some more width. I know we soon resurface the road and I welcome that, but I would like to meet you on site," Cllr King asked the District Engineer, Mr Rory O'Callaghan. Cllr Kelly agreed with the danger on the Donaghmore road, discussing a dangerous incident he himself experienced on this road. "I was on that Donaghmore road recently and I met a truck on it, just going into the village. As Cllr King said, the landowner is in agreement," Cllr Kelly said. Pictured: A memorial to Kevin Bergin, who sadly lost his life at the young age of 18. "We don't want to take all of his field, we just want action. If we got one or two yards off it it would make a huge difference. There are stones falling out from the embankment and they will cause an accident," he said. Laois County Council's Road Design department replied that they will meet with Cllr King on site to review the location. "Proposed safety measures will be assessed," the Council concluded. This motion was tabled at an April sitting of Laois County Council's Borris-in-Ossory / Mountmellick Municipal District. One of the elected Kildare county councillors should be represented on large approved housing bodies. AHBs exist to be independent, not-for-profit organisations, which provide affordable rented housing for people who cannot afford to pay private sector rents or buy their own homes. READ NEXT First film festival will be launched at Kildare venues this week At a Kildare county Council meeting, Cllr Suzanne Doyle said any AHB which manages more than 500 properties should have a councillor on its board and this should be approved by the Minister for Housing. She also said that the nominated councillors should have experience around housing. A link with the public is needed, said Cllr Doyle, adding that KCC is represented on other bodies such as the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board. Cllr Doyle said the voice of the tenant is not being given the same weight and there is an imbalance of power. She said in some instances tenants use the Residential Tenancies Board in the event of disputes and they shouldnt have to do this. There was support for her call that there needs to be advocacy for tenants. KCC official Annette Aspell said that AHBs have properties all over Ireland and the people on the existing boards are very professional. Ms Aspell said that the taking on of this role is an onerous task. Two AHBS have 500 or more units in Kildare - Cluid (734 units) and Tuath (906 units). The harp is well-known for its elegant look and the various ear-pleasing tones it can produce, and many would consider it to be an honour to have it so closely associated with Irish culture. It is for this reason that harp music fans will likely be delighted to hear that a celebratory concert which will pay tribute to Irish harp music is scheduled to take place in Newbridge next month. According to the organisers of the event: "Some of Irelands most celebrated musicians in traditional, classical, and early music join forces with award-winning visual artists to present 'Ceol Arsa Clairsi' a concert experience that is both musically and visually immersive." "This unique event showcases Irish harp music by composers such as Turlough Carolan, Thomas Connellan, and Ruairi Dall O Cathain, with historically informed arrangements drawn from original Irish and Scottish sources. "Audiences will experience the rich sounds of gut-and wire-strung instruments of the period blended seamlessly with traditional instruments and, of course, the Irish harp." "Accompanied by striking and atmospheric video imagery, this concert is a true feast for the senses," the organisers concluded. The performers at this concert will include: Cormac Breatnach on susato whistles; Steve Cooney on guitars; Aisling Ennis on the Irish harp; Malachy Robinson on the viola da gamba; and Eamon Sweeney on early guitars, lute, and bandora. Visuals will be provided by Helen Barry and Cormac O'Connor. 'Ceol Arsa Clairsi' will take place inside the Riverbank Arts Centre on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 8pm. Tickets 18 to 20. For further information, you can visit https://www.riverbank.ie/event/ceol-arsa-clairsi/. READ NEXT: The latest LEINSTER LEADER is out across Kildare now! Co-founder of global payments company Stripe, John Collison, was the special guest at County Kildare Chamber business lunch on Friday. The event brought together more than 250 members of the business community for a discussion focused on entrepreneurship, global growth and the value of staying connected to local roots. The lunch was delivered in partnership with Straffan GAA, who worked closely with the Chamber to make the event a success. John Collison shared his journey from County Limerick to co-founding Stripe, now one of the worlds leading fintech companies. He spoke about the early days of the business, lessons learned along the way and the importance of embracing innovation. Chamber CEO Sinead Ronan addressed the audience, noting: In the current economic climate, our international connections are more important than ever. "Events like this remind us of the potential that exists here in Ireland and the value of learning from those who have built businesses on a global scale. The Chamber is here to support our members, advocate on their behalf and open doors to new opportunities. John Collison, Owner of Weston Airport said: It was fantastic to meet with leaders from across the county at the Kildare Chambers business lunch. "Kildare is home to a thriving business ecosystem and a vibrant local community; Ive long been a regular visitor and now get even more reason to do so with Weston Airport. "2025 is hugely important and exciting for Weston, and with Coast Guard Search and Rescue operations due to begin from the airport on July 1st, were working tirelessly with all stakeholders in preparation. The Chamber also thanked the team at the K Club for their support and the high level of service provided throughout the event. This Business Lunch is part of the Chambers ongoing programme of events aimed at supporting business growth, fostering strong networks and encouraging ambition across the county. About County Kildare Chamber: County Kildare Chamber represents over 400 businesses and more than 52,000 employees across the county. The Chamber provides support in areas including networking, policy advocacy and international trade, working to create a stronger economic environment for all members. More than 20,000 properties can be brought back into use through the short-term letting legislation, according to the Labour Party. New laws that will limit the use of short-term rentals across Ireland came before cabinet on Tuesday, as part a plan to free up housing stock nationwide. The Short-Term Letting Bill will restrict homeowners from renting properties for more than 90 days a year if they live in an area with a population of more than 10,000. The legislation will include short-term lets made available through Airbnb. The legislation was to go before last weeks cabinet but was dropped due to a disagreement between ministers. Labours housing spokesman Conor Sheehan welcomed that the legislation will go before government ministers. This is overdue. Its a very simple measure, he said on Tuesday. There are over 20,000 short-term lets that can be brought back into use. The fact of the matter is, Failte Ireland already has a framework by which to implement this, and we have an EU directive coming in next year. I cant understand what the delay was between last week and this week in relation to this coming before cabinet. Its very badly needed. He also called for a review of Rent Pressures Zones (RPZ) to be completed, saying the government needs to set out how it will regulate private rents in the future. On Monday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the review is imminent. Earlier this year, Mr Martin said the Government will assess proposals to phase out RPZ. Mr Sheehan said: I really, sincerely hope that that will not amount to allowing landlords to reset the rents in between tenancies as sort of a halfway house with current rent pressure zones. We know the Rent Pressure Zones havent worked. He also called on the Government to set out its new housing policy to deal with the crisis, adding that it needs to be a radical reset. The Government made much of a hoo-ha last year over getting the new Planning and Development Bill through. Thats true. It now needs to be commenced, he added. A lot of the issues that are there in planning are of the Governments own making, particularly the Fine Gael side of the Government. What we need to see now is for the minister to come up with a plan to deal with the issues that are there around the apartment viability, to deal with the issues that are there around the regulation of the rental market, and to deal with the issues that are there around the activation of brownfield sites. I really, sincerely hope that these will be dealt with by way of the Governments new housing plan, which we hope will not just be a version of Housing for All. Its very clear, vis a vis the Housing Commission report that what we need is a radical reset in terms of housing policy, because things are, literally by every available measurable metric, getting worse. A packed hall of concerned farmers gathered at the Landmark Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon on Thursday, April 11, despite the good weather, to discuss growing concerns surrounding new agricultural regulations on peatlands and wetlands. The meeting was organized by Sligo Councillor Michael Clarke, who also serves as the representative for the northwest on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Monitoring Committee. Clarke emphasized the urgent need to inform farmers about these imminent changes, stating: "The restrictions in GAEC 2 mean farmers can no longer plant trees or sell land for forestry, dramatically reducing land value." Key speakers included Shane Whelan, IFA policy executive, who addressed concerns about the new Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition 2 (GAEC 2), and Paul O'Brien from the IFA, who discussed the implications of the Nature Restoration Law. Colm O'Donnell from the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) also delivered an important presentation on the topic. Attendees included Liam Gilligan, chair of the Leitrim IFA, and Paddy O'Rourke, chair of Leitrim County Council, who were both present to support the farmers' concerns. Representatives from numerous other farming organizations, including the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), Macra, and others, also participated in the discussions. "Farmers weren't fully aware of these regulations, which will significantly affect their land-use options," Clarke said. "Land previously valued around 5,000 per acreoften bought by pension funds for forestryis now economically inaccessible. The land market value will plummet." He further explained the practical impacts, noting, "You'll need planning permission for everythingdraining land, building a sheep shed, or even ploughing and reseeding. These are basic farming practices being severely restricted." "The government and the EU want this land protected because of its carbon storage potential," Clarke added. "Carbon trades at around 70 per tonne, and there's no compensation for farmers for these new restrictions." Farmers at the meeting expressed significant frustration over the lack of consultation. Clarke further highlighted specific concerns around land re-wetting, stating: "You can opt in to wet your land, to wet this land, but if you have four or five farmers in an area where if one farmer wets their land, it affects all five... Any farmer that is going to abandon their land and re-wet it, should have to put in planning permission first, and then surrounding farmers can object to it if they want." Clarke underscored this sentiment, remarking, "Farmers are pretty annoyed that this has been imposed on them without any real input. We invited politicians from across the region, but the turnout from political representatives was disappointingly low." The farming organisations unanimously agreed to write directly to the Minister for Agriculture and the European Commission, firmly rejecting the proposed GAEC 2 regulations. Key demands included ensuring nature restoration projects remain voluntary and providing neighboring farmers with a right to object to land abandonment or re-wetting initiatives. "Our objective was to inform farmers," Clarke concluded. "The message was clear: this proposal has serious consequences, and the farming community will actively oppose it. We're at the 11th hour, and we need real political representation now more than ever." READ MORE Farrell family reject bizarre dog theory and call for justice five years after fathers death Sligo Councillor Michael Clarke, representative for the northwest on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Monitoring Committee. The Disability Minister has said she cannot second-guess a report into the neglect of a disabled woman which established no findings that she had experienced sexual or emotional abuse. The Farrelly Commission was set up in 2017 to examine the case of a woman, given the pseudonym Grace, who was in the care of the State for all her life. Grace was an extremely vulnerable child who was non-verbal and had profound intellectual disabilities. She was subjected to neglect while in the care of Family X between the ages of 10 and 30, a period spanning from 1989 up until when she was moved to residential care in 2009. Concern had been raised after allegations of sexual abuse were levelled against her foster father relating to another person who was in his care. The report of the Farrelly Commission, tasked with investigating disability services in the South East and the care of Grace, was published by Minister for Disability Norma Foley on Tuesday. The Commission, led by Marjorie Farrelly, gathered 312,000 pages of documentation and its final report runs to more than 2,000 pages in six volumes. The case has been the subject of significant attention and many questions have been raised about her care, including why she was not removed from the foster home after the allegation of sexual abuse and why her living situation was not regularly reviewed. The allegations relate to Graces time in the care of a foster couple known as Mr and Mrs X, with whom she came to live in 1989. She was not removed from the foster family even when a complaint of sexual abuse was made to the South Eastern Health Board against Mr X in 1996, in relation to another individual who was no longer in care of that family. In 2007, a social worker who became aware of the previous allegation warned that Grace was vulnerable to exploitation, sexual abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse and neglect. Grace was removed from Family X in 2009 and moved to a residential family. A series of probes have been initiated since, including the investigation of the Farrelly Commission. Ms Foley said the final report, which took eight years and has so far cost 13.6 million euro, made no finding of any evidence of physical abuse, emotional abuse or sexual abuse. It adds that it is not satisfied that the evidence establishes that marks or bruises sustained by Grace were as a result of physical abuse. However, it does find there was a fundamental failure in the duty of her care through a general absence of oversight and monitoring by the HSE and the South Eastern Health Board. It also finds Grace was neglected by Mrs X in relation to insufficient dental care, her poor attendance at a day centre, her clothing and hygiene, and financial mismanagement or abuse or misuse of disability allowance. Mr X died some time in the early 2000s, while Mrs X died last year. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said she is deeply shocked and disappointed that the report has no answers in it. Ms McDonald said she did not find the report credible and added: Im really shocked to hear that the report is so utterly anaemic, has no conclusions that tally in any way credibly with the information and complaints that was brought forward decades ago. Asked to explain how Grace had suffered injuries while in the foster home, Ms Foley said the Commission had examined incidents where she had bruising near her eye and around her body. She said: That was an an initial cause for extreme concern in relation to issues of abuse. Subsequently it was pointed out that when Grace moved to a residential facility, she continued to manifest at times bruising on different parts of her body. Indicating that she was a very active young person and she seemed to be susceptible to that. That is how the Commission addresses that. During a press conference in Dublin, Ms Foley was asked several times if she supported the findings of the report. She said: I cant second-guess the Commissioner, all the evidence was available to the Commissioner. Ms Foley added: Ms Farrelly was in possession of all of the facts, all of the information. This is what she is presenting. This is her report, these are her findings. Asked if she was satisfied that Grace was not a victim of sexual abuse, the minister said: I can only go on the evidence that is provided by the Commissioner. Meanwhile, Ms Foley said she had asked for the report to have an executive summary that was accessible for members of the public, but this request was not met. She also said the length of time it took to complete the report was frustrating. Asked if she had expressed those reservations to Ms Farrelly, the minister said: Yes, I have. Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan said he was not happy with the format of the report or the length of time it took, later telling RTE that the final bill would be closer to 20 million euro. The Commission was also tasked with examining whether further investigations were necessary regarding a total of 47 others who had been in the care of Family X. Ms Foley said: The Commission has concluded that of the 47, there were 40 where there were no allegations. In relation to the seven there were two specifically where there were very serious allegations around sexual abuse. One of those, the individual had moved to England and the family did not wish to pursue. The second one, the Commission is very clear it is their view that there wasnt a completed investigation, it should have been more thorough in relation to that. There is no additional evidence available from the Commission in relation to any of the outstanding cases. She added: There were no prosecutions pursued by An Garda Siochana. So, for those reasons there is the recommendation around the Commission coming to a conclusion. Ms Foley said she had asked Ms Farrelly to contact the individuals who had assisted the Commission to inform them about the publication of the report in advance of Tuesday, but this did not happen. Asked if she would appoint Ms Farrelly to conduct another inquiry of this kind, she said: I would hope I never had an opportunity in terms of something like this happening in the future. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said a demand for womens safety should become a constant hum right across Dublin city, as she launched a campaign calling for zero tolerance on gender-based violence. She said that public spaces, businesses and clubs in the city will be asked to become a space where womens safety will be expected and guaranteed. The campaign will see murals and posters across the north inner city declaring it a safe space for women. Speaking in north Dublin, Ms McDonald said the campaign is a result of months of conversation and tea. Its been a whole group of women from the north inner city, she told the audience. We want a consistency of message that places are safe for women, that there is zero tolerance. This is a visible campaign so that we want to create a consistent hum that Dublin central, shop by shop, business by business, club by club declares itself a place of zero tolerance for domestic and gender-based violence. I hope, with this powerful idea, that we announce ourselves as a community that has zero tolerance for violence, for coercive control, for aggression against women and girls. That we ask all of our spaces, businesses, clubs everywhere that people meet and gather, to make it clear that they are places where womens safety is expected and guaranteed. We figured out that its only when one of us dies or when a woman is brutalised that the conversation happens, and then the conversation stops. So this campaign is really about ensuring that the demand for our safety is a constant hum right across our community, that its not just on occasion, but constantly, there is that hum and that demand for our safety to be recognised. The message is the campaign, and the campaign is the message. Our job as women in the community is to put our badge, our brand, our demands and our expectation all across our community. We need allies, and we need our men and our boys to be our allies in this community. This event and this whole campaign is about celebrating the strength of our incredible community. She added: Our intention is to roll out this campaign across the city and beyond that. Rachel Fayne, who works at the Saol Project, which helps women who suffer from addiction, mental health issues and domestic violence, said that abusers use a womans addiction against them. She said that women are often blamed for their addictions. We know that in our community, the statistics show about one in four women have a lived experience of domestic abuse. But the latest figures say its roughly about one in three, she added. If you look around the room and think that one in three women have experienced gender based violence, you can understand the scale of the issue. What you might not be aware of is that for women in addiction, its actually two to five times more likely for them to experience gender based violence than the rest of the population. A number of studies have shown that upwards of 90% of women who access addiction services have actually been through domestic violence, and that totally changes their experience domestic violence. Their abuser will often use that against her, and hell use the drugs to control her or the drink to control he, or to tell everybody that you cant believe or you cant trust her. She added: I think the biggest message that I have, I suppose, with the zero tolerance, and the reason why we support this is because a lot of the time if youre somebody whos had mental health issues, addiction, homelessness and criminal background, you are looked upon as somebody whos brought this upon yourself. We need to say absolutely not that nobody, under any circumstances, deserves to be treated with any kind of disrespect or violence or abuse at any point in their lives. This is a human rights issue, and everybody who is human deserves their human right. Actress and writer Roxanna Nic Liam, who grew up in inner city Dublin, said: Its when your friends make sexist remarks. Its when your friends cat-call us. Thats when we need men. Thats where it starts, she told the crowd. Violence comes in many forms, and we have to nip it in the bud, and we have to make sure, as a community, none of it is acceptable. Bafflement and shock has been expressed at the outcome of the long-awaited report into the Grace case. A non-verbal child with profound intellectual disabilities, given the pseudonym Grace, was placed in the care of a foster family by the State when she was 11. In 2017, a commission of investigation was set up to examine her case after allegations of sexual abuse were levelled against her foster father. The Farrelly Commission report, published on Tuesday, made no findings that she had experienced sexual or emotional abuse while in the care of the foster family from 1989 until 2009. Minister @NormaFoleyTD1 today published the Final Substantive Report on the first phase of the Farrelly Commission following approval by the Government. Full PR: https://t.co/k4SypzlVcr pic.twitter.com/Oc27PNxGSu Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, Youth (@dcediy) April 15, 2025 It did find that Grace was subjected to neglect through insufficient dental care and financial mismanagement. In relation to seven other people in the care of the same foster family, the Commission said they should potentially be investigated further, while 40 others who had not made allegations should not. Politicians have expressed shock at the findings of the utterly anaemic 2,000-page report, which is expected to cost a total of 20 million euro and took years to complete. Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Irelands Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, said she was horrified by what the report contained, calling it quite impenetrable. She said that key questions she had around Graces care and disability services in the south east were not adequately addressed by the report. She added: It seems to me that this report does not give answers to many questions, does not provide accountability, and fundamentally, does not deal with the million dollar question of whether children and vulnerable adults will be safer going forward. Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness, who has raised the Grace case in the Dail, said he was stunned and baffled by the content of the report. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said she was deeply shocked and disappointed that the report is so lengthy and has no answers in it. I feel that Grace and the others are being let down all over again. To me, the passage of time, the delay, the prevarication, the failure to act when clearly there was evidence of abuse, that abuse had been reported, and yet Grace was left in a very, very dangerous and abusive situation. The hurt, the damage and the trauma of all of that, I think, is doubled today. We had hoped that after eight years, that this report would bring some answers, some clarity, but above all else, accountability. Somebody somewhere has to be answerable for this. I think its very disappointing, and as I say, shocking, that we now see this report which seems to have nothing to say about accountability. Mary Lou McDonald expresses profound shock following publication of Grace Report "Eight years after this investigation began, nobody is held to account for a child, later a young woman, being left in danger despite people voicing serious concerns."https://t.co/ZLCe5gA6v0 Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) April 15, 2025 Ms McDonald said she did not find the report credible and added: Im really shocked to hear that the report is so utterly anaemic, has no conclusions that tally in any way credibly with the information and complaints that was brought forward decades ago. Green Party leader Roderic OGorman, former childrens minister, said that much better care infrastructure for vulnerable children and adults had been put in place. I do think the steps that were announced today in terms of an analysis and examination of all our safeguarding laws are really important for both children and vulnerable adults. Asked if the government accepts the findings of the report, Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan said it would be inappropriate for him as a minister to reject the findings. In 2017, the Oireachtas set up a commission of investigation to inquire into and to reach findings of fact on issues, he told RTE Radio. The reason we set it up is because as Oireachtas members we didnt have access to the information, we didnt have the ability to compel witnesses to attend before us. People are perfectly entitled to say they dont agree with the report, but as a member of government I think it would be inappropriate of me as a government minister to reject the findings of the report, particularly as I havent read the report in detail yet. He said it was appropriate that the second phase of the inquiry, into 40 other cases, would not continue when there was no issue or raised no complaint about their care. He said it would be inappropriate to order inquiries into seven other people referenced in the report. I think it would be inappropriate to order another investigation into seven other individuals in circumstances where this inquiry into one has taken seven years to complete and an extra year to publish on top of that. Bahrain Steel Adopts Nanoprecise's Energy-Centered Maintenance to Tackle Energy Waste and Optimize Maintenance Costs AL HIDD, Bahrain, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a significant move towards sustainable industrial practices, Bahrain Steel, a leading manufacturer of high-quality iron-ore pellets, has partnered with Nanoprecise Sci Corp, a global pioneer in Energy-Centered Predictive Maintenance (ECM) solutions. Through this partnership, Bahrain Steel is set to elevate asset performance and its sustainability goals. Bahrain Steel has embarked on a digital transformation journey of its operations to meet evolving business and market demands. With prior experience in both wireless & wired condition monitoring technologies, Bahrain Steel has decided to adopt a transformative technology that aligns with its goal to sustain its leadership in manufacturing efficiency. Commenting on this strategic partnership, Bahrain Steel's General Manager of Operations, Mr. P.M. Edwin, said, "Integrating Nanoprecise's energy-focused maintenance has been a key milestone in our digital journey at Bahrain Steel. Their dashboard will give our teams clear, real-time insights into energy use and quickly identify anomalies related to machine health. By proactively tackling these machine health issues and energy inefficiencies, we're strengthening our commitment to operational excellence and sustainability." Nanoprecise Sci Corp brings a wealth of experience from serving some of the largest steel plants globally. Mr. Sunil Vedula, Founder and CEO, expressed his enthusiasm about this partnership "Our extensive experience in the steel and metals industry gives us a unique advantage in our collaboration with Bahrain Steel. The depth and breadth of our team's expertise across various steel plant assets enable us to implement advanced strategies that support Bahrain Steel's pursuit of great operational and energy excellence." At the heart of this partnership are the people driving Bahrain Steel's operations?now empowered with advanced tools that provide real-time insights for smarter, faster decision-making on the ground. Operating at peak capacity, Bahrain Steel is embracing this forward-thinking collaboration as a catalyst that can enhance equipment reliability, extend asset life, and reduce carbon emissions. This partnership supports the company's broader vision for a more efficient and environmentally responsible steel manufacturing sector - It's our commitment?to performance, people, and the planet. About Nanoprecise: Nanoprecise Sci Corp is an AI-powered energy centered predictive maintenance solution combining IoT sensor technology with artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve efficiency of machines and contribute to sustainability. About Bahrain Steel: Bahrain Steel is a global leader in pelletising and is a major contributor to the growth of the steel industry in the Middle East, meeting local and regional demand as well as exporting to international markets. Bahrain Steels commitment to safety, community, environment and sustainability always remain at the heart and forefront of the company. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2572136/Nanoprecise_Logo.jpg SOURCE Nanoprecise Sci Corp 15 april 2025 at 02:22 News published onand distributed by: Chairs donated by the former ESA members to their alma mater LAA and LEC officials appeared before the senate recently to answer inquiries over power outage at the RIA The site inspection took place at Foya Central High School, where the Digital Village will be established The FIA has uncovered a disturbing pattern of fraud and corruption involving key officials at the MCSS and Sky Insurance. The financial records indicate substantial kickbacks and fraudulent financial transactions that need to be thoroughly investigated, said Mohammed A. Nasser, Officer-in-Charge of the FIA. A SHOP in the heart of Limerick is now offering a popular gift card, exclusive to Limerick shoppers, for purchase. The popular Limerick Gift Card is now available to buy in-store at Franklins, OConnell Street. This is the first store the gift card can be purchased in, as it was only available to buy online or in Limerick Chamber up until this point. As a proud local business, were delighted to support this initiative, said Junior Franklin, owner of Franklins, OConnell Street. Offering the purchase of the Limerick Gift Card in store is our way of encouraging people to spend locally and invest in Limericks future. Backed by Limerick City and County Council, Limerick Chamber and Miconex, the Limerick Gift Card offers a convenient, flexible, and meaningful way to shop local. READ ALSO: Impressive programme for 41st EVA International in Limerick Limerick Chamber CEO, Michelle Gallagher, said 'initiatives like this are vital to sustaining our city centre'. By choosing the Limerick Gift Card, you're not just giving a thoughtful gift youre helping to build a stronger, more resilient local economy. Accepted in over 170 businesses in a wide range of retailers, restaurants, cafes, and service providers across the city and county, the card makes for an ideal gift while also directly boosting the local economy. Were delighted that Franklins, a local business in the heart of Limerick city, has come on board as an in-person purchase point for the gift card, said Brendan Troy, head of trade and investment for Limerick City and County Council. This partnership makes it even easier for people to support Limerick businesses and give the gift of choice. The gift card can be topped with any amount, giving customers the flexibility to spend as they wish while discovering or rediscovering what makes Limericks retail and hospitality scene so vibrant. Franklins are a family-owned business in the heart of OConnell Street. They are experts in all types of footwear and bag repairs, key cutting, etc. LIMERICK Pride is among pride events shortlisted to host EuroPride 2028. The European Pride Organisers Association announced on Friday, April 4 that The Outing, QuareClare, and Limerick Pride have been short-listed alongside Manchester Pride in their bid to host EuroPride 2028. Attracting over 100,000 people annually from around the world, EuroPride is hosted by a different European city each year. The event has previously been held in London, Thessaloniki, Cologne, Warsaw, Rome, Oslo, Madrid, and Zurich. This years event takes place over nine days this June in Lisbon, Portugal. The joint bid to host the prestigious event in Limerick and Clare has been submitted by The Outing Queer Arts Collective & Festival, QuareClare, and Limerick LGBTQ+ Pride, with the support of Failte Ireland, Blacknight, Visit Clare, Goudie Talent, and The George. The host location for EuroPride 2028 will be announced later this year. Speaking on behalf of the Clare/Limerick EuroPride bid, Eddie McGuinness, Co-Chair of The Outing, described the pan-European event as a unique opportunity for our international LGBTQIA+ family to immerse themselves in the richness of Irish culture, heritage, and community spirit. READ MORE: Big music chain to open at Limerick shopping centre "Ten years on since the marriage equality referendum, when Ireland was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage in a popular vote, Ireland continues to break new boundaries. Hosting EuroPride 2028 in Ireland for the very first time would be an extraordinary milestone, he explained. Though our island may be small, it is filled with love, diversity, inclusion, and acceptance, he added. With the breathtaking Wild Atlantic Way as our backdrop, we would create a truly one-of-a-kind EuroPride experiencecelebrating our vibrant community against the stunning landscape of the west of Ireland." Patrick Orth, President of the European Pride Organisers Association, which licenses EuroPride, stated, "The high velocity of political change across Europe is making EuroPride even more important for our community to come together and keep pressing for change. The political shifts in the UK and Ireland are no less profound and so it is exciting to have bids from both countries to centre their LGBTQIA+ communities in European consciousness. I look forward to seeing their ambitions in their full bid later this year. GARDAI have seized contraband worth more than 235,000 during a significant operation targeting the activities of a criminal group that is involved in an ongoing feud on the southside of Limerick city. They say 17 searches were carried out on Tuesday at various locations on the southside of the city which resulted in the seizure of cash, cars and other high-value goods. "This search operation forms part of an ongoing garda investigation aimed at disrupting a criminal group that is involved in an ongoing feud in this area which has resulted in pipe bomb and arson attacks, the discharge of firearms, drug dealing and other serious incidents," said a spokesperson. Co-ordinated by gardai attached to Roxboro Road garda station, the operation involved more than 100 gardai at divisional, regional and national level including the Garda Armed Support Unit, the Garda Dog Unit and the Garda Emergency Response Unit. READ ALSO: Builders move on site at former Debenhams building in Limerick "During the course of the searches, gardai seized five vehicles, a significant amount in cash, a quantity of suspected cannabis, a number of high value watches and a significant quantity of designer goods," said a spokesperson. The drugs seized are now subject to examination by Forensic Science Ireland. Investigating gardai have confirmed that a male juvenile was arrested in connection with the seizure of drugs. He has since been released pending referral to the Garda Youth Diversion Programme. This investigation remains ongoing. TWO LIMERICK secondary schools have received the LGBTQ+ Quality Mark award for the promotion of wellbeing for their students. Crescent College Comprehensive SJ, Dooradoyle, and Limerick Educate Together Secondary School, Castletroy, received the Belong To LGBTQ+ Quality Mark, recognising their work over an 18-month period to foster LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The schools were presented with their awards at an event in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, and was attended by over 350 school representatives, including those from Limerick and hosted by social media influencer and TV presenter James Kavanagh. READ ALSO: Triple triumph for ETB as awards honour local learners Speaking at the event was Aine Costelloe, teacher at Crescent College Comprehensive SJ, said: Crescent College Comprehensive S.J. incorporates the characteristics of Jesuit education. An important means of doing this is through Cura Personalis - the care of the individual. Crescent seeks in all it does to foster each pupils unique talents and qualities as people of competence, conscience and compassion. Our aim is to promote a positive school culture and climate which embraces difference and diversity and is based on inclusivity. We strive to build empathy, respect and resilience in our pupils. Our ethos is enhanced and further developed through our partnership with the Belong To LGBTQ+ Quality Mark. As part of this programme we are explicitly addressing the issues of bullying, cyberbullying and identity-based bullying in particular, homophobic and transphobic bullying. We have also achieved the Kindness Flag and have successfully completed the One Good School initiative. We continue to actively live out our mission and vision of Crescent as a welcoming community. In total, 44 schools were presented with their LGBTQ+ Quality Mark at the event, representing 17 counties and 26,000 post-primary school students across the country. The accreditation initiative was developed by Belong To LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland in 2022. That year, the School Climate Survey by Columbia University revealed that 76% of LGBTQ+ young people in Limerick and across Ireland do not feel safe in post-primary schools. Since the pilot programme, over 100 schools and Youthreach centres have embarked on the LGBTQ+ Quality Mark journey to improve the lives and experiences of their LGBTQ+ students. The initiative draws on national and international best practice to create an environment where students feel safe and welcome regardless of who they are. This is done through a host of practical, proactive actions such establishing an LGBTQ+ and Allies Club for students, training whole-staff teams on supporting LGBTQ+ students and promoting the representation of LGBTQ+ families and identities in classroom teaching. The School Climate Survey 2022, showed that an action as simple as including LGBTQ+ related topics in the curriculum resulted in young people: 22% more likely to feel like they belong at school, 11% more likely to feel accepted by the student body and 8% less likely to miss days of school due to feeling unsafe. Speaking about the awards, Moninne Griffith (she/her), CEO of Belong To, said: Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia remain a significant challenge for LGBTQ+ students in Limerick and across the country. The School Climate Survey 2022 has shown that in Ireland, compared to the general youth population, LGBTQ+ students are four times more likely to suffer verbal harassment and five times more likely to be physically harassed. Its no surprise then that 76% of LGBTQ+ second-level students feel unsafe at school. It is in this context that we say how proud we are at Belong To to have been working with this brilliant cohort of schools and Youthreach centres to make positive change and create safe spaces. Across the board, every principal, coordinator, teacher and staff member has shown a huge level of commitment to fostering a truly inclusive environment in their school and to supporting all students in their care. I want to congratulate all for the actions that they have taken throughout the process and hope that they feel extremely proud to stand with the students and young people from their school or centre today, knowing what a huge impact their work has had and will continue to have on the lives of so many Limerick young people. A 350,000 donation from the JP McManus Benevolent Fund has helped a housing and homelessness charity open a new centre in Limerick. Threshold has unveiled its new regional office at Steamboat Quay at the city centres riverside. It will serve as a central hub for its service team across the Mid-West providing support to tenants to give access to their rights. Mayor John Moran cut the ribbon at the new facility, with the opening also attended by Helen ODonnell, who is a member of the JP McManus Benevolent Funds board. READ MORE: Triple triumph for ETB as awards honour local learners The office will allow face-to-face appointments for people who may need the support of Threshold. Up to now, the charitys nearest office was in Cork. The money from the fund allowed the charity to purchase the unit. In addition to offering appointments at their new office, Threshold will also continue to hold their weekly outreach services in the Citizens Information Centre nearby in Henry Street. Ms ODonnell said: We are proud to contribute to the important advice and advocacy work that Threshold do in the area of renters rights to ensure families and individuals can remain in their homes - not only in Limerick, but across the Midwestern region. Threshold is unique in the services and supports that it provides for this sector, and by contributing to its footprint in the region, we can be sure that more renters will be able to access the support they need to stay in their homes. Threshold chief executive John-Mark McCafferty added: This office will allow us to provide even more direct support to tenants in Limerick and the wider MidWest region. The office formally opened to the public this Tuesday, with public consultations by appointment. New Delhi: Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS) has withdrawn its plea against the Union government in the Delhi high court, challenging the rejection of its import orders for metallurgical coke or met coke from Indonesia and Poland. A high court single bench led by justice Sachin Datta had on 6 March issued notice to the government and sought its response after the joint venture unit of the world's largest steelmaker moved a writ petition against the rejection of 168,300 metric tonnes of met coke imports. The company had sought relief against the rejection of these orders. A copy of the high court order, dated 8 April, seen by Mint, shows that the company decided to withdraw its plea after reportedly receiving the Centres approval to import the additional quantity. According to media reports, the government has allowed the import of 71,500 mt met coke from Poland and also approved the companys request to divert an existing quota of 88,000 mtearlier allocated for imports from Russiato Poland. The Indian government had initially rejected the import request, stating the company had sufficient quantities of met coke. But the company argued that the decision "militates against" Indias free trade policy, which allows import of already placed orders before any restrictions are imposed. In January, the Indian government imposed curbs on imports of low-ash metallurgical coke, or met coke, with country-specific quotas to support domestic suppliers. This move alarmed major players like ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, which raised concerns over quality issues with locally available met coke. Metallurgical coke (also known as met coke) is used in the steelmaking industry. It is produced by heating coking coal in the absence of air at high temperatures in coke ovensa process called carbonization. In its plea, AM/NS India argued that the restrictions would impact its production and expose it to significant financial harm (both on account of breach of contractual obligations to its suppliers and customers). It added that each consignment could cost the company $25 million, and it also faced vessel detention charges of $27,004 per day if permissions were delayed. Before AM/NS India, JSW Steel had also moved the Delhi high court against the import restrictions. JSW had challenged the governments decision to reject $90 million worth of imports placed before the January curbs. Trafiguras India unit too had filed a lawsuit seeking clearance for one of its rejected shipments. New Delhi: Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson continued to report a decline in its India business, marking the sixth straight quarter of falling sales. In the January-March quarter of this year, the company reported a nearly 28% year-on-year (y-o-y) fall in revenue from its India operations to 3.85 billion Swedish crowns (approximately 3,360 crore), according to the companys earnings statement. The gear maker has been witnessing a fall in sales as telecom operators Jio and Airtel have completed the 5G network rollout. Networks sales declined primarily reflecting more normalized operator investment levels in India, Ericsson said in its earnings statement. On a sequential basis, however, Ericsson reported a 32% increase in net sales owing to a deal win from Vodafone Idea for 4G network expansion and 5G rollout. During the preceding quarter, Bharti Airtel also awarded Ericsson a multi-year contract extension for 4G and 5G radio access network (RAN) in India. The company follows a January to December financial year. We sustained solid momentum in Q1, despite a challenging and fast changing macro backdrop, and our results highlight our competitiveness...Looking ahead, we remain confident of our strong position in mobile networks and expect enterprise to stabilize during 2025, said Borje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson. In the evolving global trade landscape and macro volatility, we continue to focus on controlling what we can control and delivering to our customers, Ekholm added. Despite India remaining Ericssons second-largest market, its share in the companys global sales dropped to 7% in the January-March quarter from 10% in the same period last year. Until the July-September quarter of 2023, Ericsson had experienced record sales in India due to increased investments by telecom operators in the rollout of 5G networks. MUMBAI : Private equity firm Wellington Management is likely to lead a $100 million funding round in new-age intra-city logistics services provider Porter alongside other existing investors, three people familiar with the matter told Mint . The round is expected to value the startup between $1.2-1.4 billion and will be a mix of primary and secondary share sale," one of the three people cited above said on the condition of anonymity. Responding to Mints query, a Porter spokesperson said, As per company policy, we do not respond to market speculations." Wellington Management did not immediately respond to requests for comment. To be sure, Wellington has made multiple bets on India's logistics sector, including investments in online trucking platform Blackbuck and food delivery firm Swiggy, both of which went public last year. Some of its other investments in startups include Go Digit, Urban Company, and Policy Bazaar. UK-based PE giant Apax Partners is also looking to invest in the company, according to a report by DealStreetAsia last month. In November, Mint reported that Porter received terms sheets from investors such as Kedaara Capital, Multiples, and existing investor Peak XV. However, it was not immediately clear if some of these conversations with the new investors materialised due to Porters high valuation ask, the person said. The company is justifying a premium from its last round as it has been able to bring down its burn significantly while growing its revenues." The development comes after the company entered the unicorn club after completing an internal round, where individuals bought shares from the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) pool at a valuation of $1 billion last year. To date, Porter has raised a total capital of $150 million from investors like Tiger Global, Peak XV Partners, the Mahindra Group and Lightrock, among others. It was last valued at $500 million in 2021 when it raised an external round by investors led by Tiger Global and Vitruvian Partners. Expansion plans Founded in 2014 by Uttam Digga, Pranav Goel, and Vikas Choudhary, Porter offers a logistics platform to help businesses with their last-mile delivery operations. The company is looking to double its domestic geographical presence in the next 3-4 years, even as it seeks to expand its international operations beyond Dubai, a market it entered in 2023. Porter, which is currently present in about 22 cities, including 7-8 metro cities, is looking to expand to nearly 40 cities in the coming years, Digga told Mint in an interview last year. The company saw a 56% increase in revenue to more than 2,700 crore in FY24, with its losses shrinking 45% to 96 crore. Around 10-15% of Porters revenue comes from newer initiatives, newer geographies, and 85% from mature businesses and geographies, according to Digga. The expansion to newer cities would lend tier-2 markets 10% more revenue share. Meanwhile, the logistics sector in India is growing at an annual rate of 1012%, contributing 14.4% to India's GDP and employing more than 20 million people, according to a latest Grant Thornton Bharat report. The intra-city logistics market in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 5% in the coming years. Some of the major companies in the Indian intra-city logistics market include FM Logistics India, Porter, Lets Transport, cityXfer, and Shadowfax. Also read: Data dive: Have startups really missed the innovation bus? Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a high-stakes Federal Trade Commission (FTC) antitrust trial that began on Monday, April 14, defending the company's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp against monopoly claims. He argued that Meta competes with various social media platforms and emphasised the company's focus on connecting users with friends and family while also learning about the world, according to a report by Bloomberg. FTC highlighted Mark Zuckerberg's emails from 2011 to 2012, in which he referred to competition from Instagram. The Meta founder acknowledged the emails cited by FTC. In September 2011, Mark Zuckerberg had said, If Instagram continues to kick a on mobile or if Google buys them, then over the next few years they could easily add pieces of their service that copy what were doing now and if they have a growing number of peoples photos, then thats a real issue for us. Also Read | Zuckerberg Says Meta Has More Competitors Than FTC Claims What did Mark Zuckerberg say? Allowing people to connect with friends and family remains one of our priorities, the report quoted Zuckerberg. However, weve always been a service that lets you discover and learn about whats going on in the world. While answering a question by the FTCs lead trial lawyer, Daniel Matheson, Zuckerberg referred to the creation of the Facebook news feed in 2006 as facilitating real connections to actual friends. He further claimed to buy Instagram because of its camera technology, not because of its social network. What did FTC claim? FTC raised the alarm about Meta's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014, stating that it has a monopoly in the market. However, Meta refused these allegations and claimed that his company had many competitors. For more than 100 years, American public policy has insisted firms must compete if they want to succeed, the report quoted Matheson. The reason we are here is that Meta broke the deal. If the FTC's claims remain, the integration of Instagram and WhatsApp may disrupt two of the world's most popular digital consumer products. It may also erase hundreds of billions of dollars in Metas market value, the report said. Meta's Killer Acquisitions The FTC claimed Meta's purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp were killer acquisitions that stopped these companies from competing. In 2010, Meta was faced with a sea change in competitive conditions, the report quoted Matheson, highlighting the growing mobile market. They decided that competition was too hard and it would be easier to buy out their rivals than to compete with them. Apart from WhatsApp and Instagram, Meta also considered buying Snap Inc in 2013 for $6 billion; however, the Snapchat owner did not accept the offer. Matheson also referred to smoking gun emails from Meta executives, including one from 2012 by Zuckerberg, where he called the Instagram deal a means to neutralize a competitor. He also claimed that following the acquisition of Instagram, Meta fundamentally manipulated the experience to protect Facebook. Even though this is a rational business decision, he said it offends the policy of the antitrust laws. Who are Meta's competitors? While refusing FTC allegations, Meta lawyer Mark Hansen said the company's competitors include TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, iMessage and X. He referred to TikTok's January 2025 ban, stating that both Facebook and Instagram saw a surge in usage while TikTok was down. Facebook saw 20 per cent more usage during that time, while Instagram usage increased 17 per cent, Hansen said. The FTCs entire case turns on convincing the court that Meta doesnt compete with TikTok, the report quoted Meta's lawyer. LONDON, - The former chief executive of an Austrian bank can be extradited to the United States on money laundering charges relating to Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, London's High Court ruled on Tuesday. Peter Weinzierl former chief executive of Meinl Bank, later renamed Anglo Austrian AAB Bank is accused of helping launder hundreds of millions of dollars in a scheme involving the use of slush funds to bribe public officials. The 59-year-old Austrian national denies the allegations and fought against his extradition on a number of grounds, including that he was "lured" to Britain in May 2021 by an alleged U.S. law enforcement agent in order to arrest him. But his challenge to his extradition was dismissed in June 2023 and an appeal against that decision was mostly rejected in February. The High Court had ruled that Weinzierl could not be extradited in relation to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, but approved Weinzierl's extradition on the other charges. Judge Jeremy Johnson on Tuesday ruled that Weinzierl's case did not raise a point of law of general public importance, blocking the path to take the case to the UK's Supreme Court. Weinzierl's lawyer David Pack said in a statement: "The judiciary have missed an opportunity to provide certainty on UK-U.S. extradition law." Weinzierl faces charges in New York for his alleged role in a massive fraud and bribery scheme involving Odebrecht, which changed its name in 2020 to Novonor SA after its name became synonymous with graft. Odebrecht has admitted it doled out bribes to governments across Latin America to help build its vast construction empire. In 2016, Odebrecht and affiliated petrochemical company Braskem, Brazil's largest petrochemicals company, agreed to pay at least $3.5 billion to settle charges brought by U.S., Brazilian and Swiss authorities. (Bloomberg) -- Most banks in the industrys biggest climate alliance endorsed a proposal that will refocus the group on providing financial support for the energy transition and also hold signatories to a less stringent standard for reducing the emissions enabled by their lending. Shargiil Bashir, chair of the steering group for the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, said in an interview that well above two-thirds of members voted on implementing a new strategy, and of those, more than 90% support the new direction. While he declined to provide a breakdown by region or disclose how specific banks voted, Bashir said the plan had overwhelming support from the groups approximately 130 members. The vote of confidence in NZBA follows a tumultuous few months for the group. While once claiming to represent more than 40% of global banking assets, the alliances asset base has contracted by about a third, or roughly $27 trillion, since the beginning of December, according to data from its website. What started as a Wall Street exodus, with US banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. leaving NZBA, became a bigger walkout, with the largest lenders in Canada and Japan also quitting the alliance. The next phase for NZBA is moving from a direction that was very much about net zero target-setting towards implementation, said Bashir, who is also the chief sustainability officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank. This means unlocking those opportunities to support and finance the transition, he said. The new approach is intended to offer greater flexibility to members. Requirements such as the need to set five-year goals for reducing the financed emissions from high-carbon sectors will now become recommendations, according to briefing documents that NZBA shared with its members. In addition, a prior mandate for signatories to align their portfolios with an aim of limiting global warming to 1.5C will be done away with. NZBA previously demanded members transition all greenhouse gas emissions from their lending and investment portfolios to align with pathways to net zero by 2050 at the latest consistent with a maximum temperature rise of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. Under the new proposal, the frameworks ambition will be broadened to include all net zero pathways aligned with Paris agreement temperature goals, including those aiming for well below 2C, according to the briefing documents. At the current pace of decarbonization, the United Nations has warned that the world is on course for closer to 3C of warming. And within that context, its particularly notable that more than 100 banks have set 1.5C-aligned sectoral emissions reductions goals, Bashir said. Still, greater flexibility on target-setting is needed because the pace of decarbonization varies widely across countries and industries, he said. The new look NZBA will put a greater emphasis on helping its members support their clients in the low-carbon transition. It also will offer technical guidance on issues such as avoided emissions and identify and develop strategies that address barriers to financing for certain green technologies, according to the briefing documents. Were halfway through the critical decade for action on climate, and we need all sectors, including banking and finance, to commit to moving the needle on emissions reductions, Bashir said. The biggest European banks, including BNP Paribas SA, HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS Group AG, are members of NZBA, and so are Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG and Standard Chartered Plc. Spokespeople for BNP, HSBC and StanChart declined to comment on whether they endorsed NZBAs proposal, while the other banks didnt respond to requests for comment. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com A federal judge has ordered Bank of America to pay more than $540 million to resolve long-running litigation from a U.S. regulator that alleged the company underpaid mandatory assessments for deposit insurance. The order, reached March 31 and published publicly on Monday, arrives over eight years after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation sued Bank of America in 2017. We are pleased the judge has ruled and have reserves reflecting the decision, Bank of America said in a statement to The Associated Press. The FDIC declined to comment when reached Tuesday. Back in 2017, the FDIC accused Bank of America of refusing to pay over $500 million in assessments a figure it later expanded to $1.12 billion alleging that the banking giant failed to honor a 2011 regulatory rule and unjustly enriched itself at the FDICs expense. The Bank of America later filed a motion to dismiss in part, strongly denying it acted with an intent to evade such payments. It also argued that some of quarters the FDIC targeted for assessments fell outside the statue of limitations. After a yearslong legal battle, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan in Washington, D.C. partially granted and denied motions for both Bank of America and the FDIC. She said that the nearly $540.3 million payment from Bank of America would cover its underpaid assessments spanning from the second quarter of 2013 through the end of 2014's fiscal year, plus interest but ruled that the FDIC waited too long to sue over earlier claims. Formed in 1933 during the Great Depression, the FDIC is one of several banking system regulators today. The agency is best known for running the nations deposit insurance program, which insures Americans deposits up to $250,000 in case their bank fails. New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday cleared the proposed merger of Aster DM Healthcare and Quality Care India, and the merged healthcare entity will be named Aster DM Quality Care. Aster is a healthcare service provider, operating in India through 19 hospitals. It is a part of the Aster Group. "The proposed transaction includes the proposed merger of Quality Care India Ltd (QCIL) into Aster DM Healthcare Ltd (Aster) by way of a scheme of amalgamation, post which Aster will be renamed as Aster DM Quality Care Ltd," CCI said in a release. Prior to the merger, Aster will acquire a 5 per cent stake in QCIL from BCP Asia II TopCo IV Pte Ltd (BCP Asia) and Centella Mauritius Holdings Limited (Centella) in consideration of a primary share issuance by Aster. The existing shareholders of QCIL -- Centella, BCP and certain minority shareholders are proposed to hold certain stakes in the merged entity with Centella holding less than 10 per cent stake, without any control rights, it added. BCP is owned by funds and affiliates of US-based Blackstone Inc and Centella is owned and controlled by the TPG group. "CCI approves proposed transaction involving Aster DM Healthcare, BCP Asia, Centella and Quality Care India Ltd," the regulator said. QCIL is an unlisted public limited company, owned and controlled by Centella, and BCP. It operates a network of multi-speciality hospitals under the brand name CARE Hospitals, KIMS Health and Evercare. It has a network of 26 healthcare centres operating over 5,150 beds across 14 cities. In a separate release, the competition watchdog has also approved the acquisition of shares of TKE Group by Alat Technologies and the formation of a joint venture by Alat Technologies and TKE Group. "The proposed combination relates to the indirect acquisition by Alat Technologies Company (ATC) of shareholding in Vertical Topco as a result of which ATC will acquire approximately 15 per cent in the TKE Group and the formation of a joint venture by ATC and the TKE Group," CCI said. ATC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It is active globally and specialises in the manufacturing of semiconductors, advanced industrial, electrification and artificial intelligence infrastructure. "The proposed KSA JV will be active in the manufacture, supply, installation, and maintenance of vertical and horizontal transportation units (elevators, escalators, etc.) primarily in Saudi Arabia, and potentially in other countries of the MENA region," it added. (Bloomberg) -- Creditors of Chinese developer Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd. are seeking to force the company into bankruptcy protection in New York in order to collect on bonds that were due last year, according to a court filing. The bondholders Cithara Global Multi-Strategy, Mars Partner Limited and Star Freight & Trading Co. are owed $65.8 million, the creditors said in an involuntary Chapter 11 petition filed Monday evening. Xinyuan is among the many Chinese developers rocked by financial turmoil in recent years. In 2022 the company missed an interest payment and later failed to pay off $170 million in bonds that came due in January, 2024, according to the bankruptcy filing. It did a dollar debt exchange in June 2023 and hired Alvarez and Marsal as its restructuring adviser. The company has assets in the US that could be used to help repay the bonds, creditors said in their filings. Last year, Xinyuan put a real estate subsidiary named Hudson 888 Owner into bankruptcy, saying it owed creditors between $100 million and $500 million. Under the US Bankruptcy Code, creditors can ask a judge to put a company under court supervision should the firm fail to pay its debts on time. The company can then either fight the petition, or accept the bankruptcy and attempt to restructure. A representative of the company did not immediately return an email seeking comment. The bankruptcy case is Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd, 25-10745, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Indore, Apr 15 (PTI) Sweden's Trade and Invest Commissioner to India Sofia Hogman on Tuesday said she expects the proposed free trade agreement between India and the European Union (EU) to come into force this year. Hogman stressed that this agreement will open new doors for increasing the bilateral partnership between India and Sweden. India and the EU are discussing the free trade agreement in a phased manner. Both sides completed the 10th round of talks for the proposed agreement in Brussels last month. The next round of talks is expected to be held in New Delhi in May. Trade experts believe that it is important to strengthen economic relations between India and the EU in view of US President Donald Trump's high tariff policy. Sweden is one of the 27 countries associated with the EU. Sweden's Trade Commissioner Hogman, speaking with reporters here on the sidelines of an event, said that a delegation led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited India at the end of February and dialogue between India and the EU on a free trade agreement has intensified this year. She said, If we talk about what is going on in the world today, of course, we have hopes and ambitions that the (proposed) free trade agreement between the EU and India will come into place during this year. The agreement would, of course, even more foster the great collaboration that we already have between Sweden and India. Japans antitrust regulator instructed Alphabets Google to stop what it said are anticompetitive practices involving mobile search services, its first order against a U.S. technology giant. The Japan Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday that Google had been preventing some smartphone makers and a mobile-services provider from making search functions offered by others readily available on Android phones since July 2020. Google said it is disappointed by the commissions findings, as it believes its agreements with Japanese partners help promote competition and have boosted their ability to invest in product innovations, leading to more choices for consumers. The U.S. tech giant said it will review the order thoroughly to determine its next steps. Japans FTC said Google required certain smartphone manufacturers to preinstall its search engine and browser on the default home screen. The commission also said Google required some smartphone makers and a mobile-services provider to use its search services as a condition for sharing a portion of the revenue generated by Googles search advertisements. The regulator ordered Google to appoint an independent third party to monitor the implementation of measures instructed. The independent party will report annually to the commission on the status for five years, it said. Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com Power trading company PTC India Ltd has hired Delhi-headquartered ABC Consultants to lead the search for a new chairman and managing director (CMD), according to two people familiar with the development. The move comes nearly a year after the ouster of former CMD Rajib Kumar Mishra following a directive from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Although the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) later overturned Sebis order, the PTC board in December chose not to reinstate Mishra either as CMD or as a director. Since then, director (operations) Manoj Kumar Jhawar has held additional charge as CMD. ABC Consultants has been contracted for the search and selection process. Typically, such appointments take three to six months, said one of the two people cited above. The leadership search also coincides with a potential ownership shake-up. State-run promoter NHPC Ltd is reportedly considering buying out the stakes of PTCs three other state-owned co-promotersNTPC Ltd, Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd, and Power Finance Corp. Ltd. Each currently holds 4.05% in PTC India, for a combined 16.2% stake. Emails sent to PTC India, ABC Consultants, and the power ministry remained unanswered at press time. Read this | NHPC eyes PTC buy sans financing arm In an interview to Mint in February, NHPC CMD Raj Kumar Chaudhary said discussions were underway to acquire the other public sector stakes, and that NHPC would soon inform the power ministry of its decision. The power ministry had earlier met officials from the four public sector undertakings (PSUs) in January to discuss the divestment. NHPC, however, does not intend to acquire PTC India Financial Services (PFS), the controversial financing arm of PTC India. Both PTC and PFS have faced regulatory scrutiny over allegations of corporate misgovernance, including evergreening of loans at PFS. The controversy erupted in February 2022 when several PFS directors resigned, citing governance concerns. In June 2024, Sebi barred Rajib Kumar Mishra and former PFS managing director Pawan Singh from holding board or management roles in any listed companyfor six months and two years, respectively. The regulator also imposed penalties of 10 lakh and 25 lakh. Mishra challenged the Sebi order before SAT, arguing that he had no operational oversight over PFS. In December 2024, SAT quashed the order against him. Despite this, PTCs board chose not to reinstate him in any leadership role. Following Mishras removal, PTCs board had named Jhawar as CMD in an interim capacity. In the December quarter of FY25, the company reported a consolidated net profit of 181.11 crorenearly double the 97.04 crore posted in the same period the previous year. Jhawar attributed the strong performance to growth across all electricity trading segments, particularly in the short-term bilateral and exchange markets. Also read | As India braces for hotter days, Railways to add more coal rakes to avert power crisis London, Apr 15 (AP) The UK government said on Tuesday it had bought enough raw materials to keep Britain's last steelmaking blast furnaces operating for the coming weeks. The announcement came amid fears that the government's decision to wrest control of British Steel from its Chinese owners would deepen tensions between the UK and China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday warned against politicising the issue as British officials raised concerns about Chinese investment in strategic industries. The issue has dominated British politics since Saturday, when Prime Minister Keir Starmer recalled lawmakers from their spring recess so Parliament could pass emergency legislation allowing the government to take operational control of British Steel. That move was spurred by reports that the company's owners, China's Jingye Group, were trying to shut down steelmaking operations in Scunthorpe, northern England, by starving the plant of the iron ore and coking coal needed to keep the blast furnaces operating. That raised the prospect that Britain would lose its last plant capable of making high-quality steel from scratch because once blast furnaces are shut down it is difficult and expensive to restart them. The Department for Business and Trade said shipments of the raw materials that had been waiting at the port of Immingham will be unloaded on Tuesday after the government agreed to pay for them. A separate shipment is on the way from Australia after the government resolved a legal dispute with Jingye. After intensive work over the weekend, the government has secured coke and iron ore pellets for the blast furnaces and is confident there will be enough materials to keep the furnaces burning, the department said in a statement. While Jingye remains the owner of British Steel, the government has said temporary nationalization is likely as it looks for other investors to rescue the company. April 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. House committee on Monday asked 23andMe's co-founder to testify next month as it launched an investigation into the risk of genetic data being transferred to potential buyers amid the DNA testing company's bankruptcy. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky and the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to 23andMe's Anne Wojcicki, seeking her testimony on May 6 as well as documents and information from the genomics firm. The genomics firm filed for bankruptcy protection last month after struggling with weak demand for its ancestry testing kits. Wojcicki made multiple failed takeover bids for the company and resigned as its CEO in March. She is still a board member of the company. The bankruptcy filing has raised concerns about where the genetic data it collected would go. The company has said the bankruptcy process will not affect how it stores, manages, or protects customer data. 23andMe collects saliva samples to provide insights into ancestry and health risks. There were concerns the data on 23AndMe's more than 15 million customers, if not protected sufficiently, could be accessed by countries such as China, or used for assessing higher insurance premiums, among other purposes, Comer said. "We need to ensure the safety of Americans' data," Comer said in the letter. The company was also the target of a hack in 2023, when personal data of nearly 7 million customers was exposed over five months. The company has also made at least 30 deals with pharmaceutical companies such as GSK, giving them access to its database. Most of its agreements remain undisclosed. 23andMe said in March any buyer will be required to comply with applicable laws about how customer data is treated. Indian conglomerate ITC Limited's Chairman Sanjiv Puri estimates that India is going to be better placed to deal with the Trump tariffs as several free trade agreements (FTAs) are likely to be negotiated between India and the United States, reported the news agency PTI on Tuesday, April 15. Puri also highlighted that the Indian industries have also been looking forward to the potential upcoming FTAs from the US, the European Union, or the United Kingdom. Also Read | US stocks slightly up on signs of tariff relief for auto sector It's difficult to say how it will evolve, but my own sense is that at the end of it, I think India is going to be much better placed, because we do see the possibility of several FTAs (free trade agreements) being inked, which industry has been looking forward to for some time, hopefully during the year, whether it's the EU, UK, and, of course, the US, where there is, I think discussions, dialogue happening at a faster rate said Sanjiv Puri, reported the news agency. India-US trade talks India and the United States have been engaged in discussions over a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) since March 2025, and both nations are eyeing the conclusion of the first phase of the talks by September to October this year. Both nations aim to more than double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by the year 2030. In a bilateral trade agreement, two nations or trading partners decide to either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Puri also said India's consumption-driven economy may face some short-term uncertainties, however, the nation's competitiveness, digitisation and future-ready portfolio has more to offer. So while short-term uncertainty, unpredictability may be causing some kind of impact on global growth also...a consequent little impact on India will be also there, said Puri in a fireside chat, reported the news agency. India's more domestic-focused industry is likely to face some impact due to the US tariffs. Trump Tariffs US President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on several nations, including India, on April 2, 2025. However, later, Trump decided to postpone the implementation of tariffs on all nations except for China. Trump imposed a total of 145 per cent tariffs on China in response to the Asian nation's retaliation against the US reciprocal tariffs. However, amid this tariff pause, 10 per cent additional import duty into the United States will continue to prevail. US vs China Trade War: In a significant escalation of the ongoing trade war between China and the United States, Beijing has directed its airlines to cease taking deliveries of Boeing aircraft in response to the US imposing steep tariffs of up to 145% on Chinese goods. Beijing has also asked that Chinese carriers halt purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from US companies, Bloomberg reported. Beijing has reacted furiously to what it calls unlawful "bullying" by Washington and dismissed further hikes as pointless. Boeing Shares Drop as China Freezes Orders This move, reported by Bloomberg, highlights the intensifying strain in bilateral relations and delivers a substantial blow to Boeing, which relies heavily on China as a key market. Boeing's shares - which look at China as one of its biggest growth markets and where rival Airbus holds a dominant position - were down 3 per cent in premarket trading. Juneyao Airlines Postpones Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Delivery Juneyao Airlines, a Shanghai-based carrier, was scheduled to receive a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner valued at approximately $120 million within three weeks but has postponed the delivery due to the tariff dispute. The airline had planned to use the aircraft for expanding its long-haul routes to European destinations such as Brussels and Athens this summer, but the delay now jeopardises these plans. Chinas Move Likely to Raise Maintenance Costs Chinas decision to halt purchases of aircraft-related components from US suppliers is expected to significantly increase maintenance costs for jets operating within the country. A halt on further purchase of Boeing jets by China will likely complicate upkeep and repairs, forcing airlines to seek alternative sources or face higher expenses. Additionally, the disruption may impact the operational efficiency and safety standards of the affected aircraft fleets. The US and China have been embroiled in a tariff war triggered by US President Donald Trump's trade policies. Last week, China hiked levies on US imports by 125 per cent in retaliation against US tariffs. Also Read | India has potential to overtake Brazil and China in iron ore production: Vedanta chairman China Mulls Assistance to Airlines The Chinese government is considering ways to provide assistance to airlines that lease Boeing jets and are facing higher costs, Bloomberg News reported. A 125 per cent tariff would substantially increase the cost of Boeing aircraft destined for Chinese carriers, rendering them financially burdensome and likely prompting airlines to explore alternatives such as Airbus and the domestic manufacturer COMAC. China's top three airlines - Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines - have plans to take delivery of 45, 53 and 81 Boeing planes, respectively, between 2025-2027, reported Reuters. US-China Trade War Intensifies: Goods Trade at Risk of Standstill According to analysts, the escalating reciprocal tariffs between the worlds two largest economies - United States and China- threaten to bring goods trade to a complete halt. In 2024, this trade was valued at over $650 billion. Trump Signals Possible Deal Amid Mounting Economic Tensions Donald Trump, who said on Friday that he was comfortable with the tariffs on China, also suggested that a deal with Beijing could be on the horizon, but no agreement has been reached yet. Cuban-American actor William Levy was arrested on Monday (April 14) in Weston, Florida, on charges of disorderly intoxication and trespassing, according to public records from the Broward County jail, CBS News reported. The 44-year-old actor was booked into the Broward Main Jail and remains in custody as of Tuesday. Jail records show the following pending charges: Disorderly intoxication in a public place Trespassing in an occupied structure or conveyance No bond amount has been set for either charge. No details yet on incident The arrest was carried out by Broward Sheriffs Office deputies, but specific circumstances surrounding the incident have not been disclosed. Authorities are yet to release a report or provide insight into what led to Levys detention. Jail status and legal proceedings Levy is currently awaiting trial at the Broward Main Jail. As of Tuesday: No projected release date has been posted No sentence or expected court appearance has been listed Background: Career in TV and films William Levy rose to fame through popular Spanish-language telenovelas like Cuidado con el angel and Sortilegio. He recently gained renewed international attention with his lead role in Cafe con aroma de mujer, which aired globally on streaming platforms. In addition to his work in Latin television, Levy has appeared in English-language films and series, including Addicted and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. He also participated in Dancing with the Stars in 2012, finishing in third place. Also Read | Lil Nas X hospitalized after he lost control of the right side of his face After Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered lawyer-nationalist C Sankaran Nair for his fight against Britishers after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hailed about Kesari 2. In a long post on X, formerly Twitter, Puri called Akshay Kumar-starrer powerful and deeply moving. Hardeep Singh Puri, Akshay, R Madhavan, Rekha Gupta at Kesari 2 screening He attacked Congress after the screening of Kesari 2 in Delhi which saw the attendance of Akshay and R Madhavan. CM Rekha Gupta was also present at the venue. Hardeep Singh Puri praises Akshay Kumar's film Puri wrote, "Kesari Chapter 2 is a powerful, deeply moving and evocative cinematic ode to India's freedom movement and to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh. This gripping narrative that transports you into the middle of the courtroom where Akshay Kumar essaying the role of lawyer Sir C. Sankaran Nair Ji, rips apart the web of deceit and lies to bring out the truth of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is a must watch for every Indian & champion of justice. This was one chapter of our history which waited long to unfold. The powerfully unifying message that this movie conveys must reach all Indians across the length and breadth of the country. Lakshmi and I were privileged to join brilliant actors @akshaykumar Ji and @ActorMadhavan Ji to watch a special premier of this cinematic gem with Delhi CM Smt @gupta_rekha Ji, ministers Sdr @mssirsa Ji, Sh @KapilMishra_IND Ji and Sh @ashishsood_bjp Ji, New Delhi MP Smt @BansuriSwaraj Ji, Moti Nagar MLA Sh @HarishKhuranna Ji, Kalkaji Councillor Smt @yogitasinghbjp Ji, senior leader Sh @ianuragthakur Ji, along with several party leaders, diplomats, former colleagues and friends. In cinemas 18th April 2025 worldwide, he added with a video from the screening event. Hardeep Singh Puri attacks Congress after Kesari 2 After the screening of the film in Delhi, Hardeep Singh Puri told ANI, I want the youth to go and watch this movie, draw inspiration from it, to show how in very difficult circumstances we had individuals who stood up and swam against the tide, and that is how we achieved independence. That is how what we are today and going to be one of the largest economies in the world. That's how we are reclaiming confidence. Talking about PM Modi's mention of the film during the recent public gathering in Haryana, he said, "The Prime Minister spoke about this movie in Hisar yesterday for a good four minutes... Congress has been so busy promoting their family that they have lost sight of the larger reality and what is really important in so far as the country's growth is concerned..." Kesari 2 also stars Ananya Panday and R Madhavan. Washington [US], April 15 (ANI): Actor Kevin Bacon recalled shooting for the 1998 film 'Wild Things' and shared an anecdote about how the movie's crew once found a dead body during filming. "We were out in the swamp one night -- a lot of mosquitoes, wow -- and we were shooting some scene, I don't remember what it was, by kind of a river," said Bacon, adding, "They had kind of floated a raft out there so that they could put a light," reported People. "All of a sudden I hear across the walkie-talkie: 'Hey, I think I just saw a floater.' And it was a body that was floating by," he recalled with a laugh before adding, "It was kind of indicative of the vibe of the movie." The film's director, John McNaughton also recalled the moment that occurred in a marsh in the Everglades. He said at the time that shooting had to be briefly halted on the film as they waited for authorities to get to the scene to investigate the incident, reported People. "We called the police, and they actually grabbed the body and kept it from getting into our shot," McNaughton said. 'Wild Things' followed a police detective Sergeant Ray Duquette (Bacon) who uncovers a conspiracy behind a case involving a high school guidance counselor when accusations of rape are made against him by two female students, according to a synopsis of the film. It stars Bacon, Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell and Denise Richards. "In the original script, we start making out," Bacon recalled. "Part of what was crazy about the movie was that there were all these twists ... you know, that was like the hook of the movie, so to me, [the kiss] was a great twist. That's all. I was like, 'That'd be an awesome twist,'" as per the outlet. New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Comedian-actor Vir Das on Tuesday said Air India didn't provide a wheelchair for his wife, recovering from a fractured foot, despite it being pre-booked on the airline's Pranaam service. Das criticised the airline in a long post on X, saying he paid 50,000 each for two seats in the Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi but faced multiple issues during the journey. After landing in Delhi, the actor said his wife, Shivani Mathur, had to exit the flight through a stepladder. "Dear @airindia, Please reclaim your wheelchair. Im a lifetime loyalist. I believe youve got the nicest cabin crew in the sky, this post pains me to write. "My wife and I book Pranaam and a wheelchair because shes got a foot fracture thats still healing. Were flying to delhi. 50grand a seat. Broken table, broken leg rests, her seat is stuck reclined, wont straighten fully. Were told the flight is newly refurbished," he began the post. Das said the flight was delayed by two hours and when it landed, they were asked to get down using a stepladder. "Again wheelchair and encalm pre-booked. I ask the air hostesses at the front of the plane to assist my wife while I carry four bags. Silence and a clueless look at each other. We step off the plane to the top of the ladder. I ask an air India male ground staff member to help us, looks at me, shrugs, and Ignores me. "My wife with a fracture makes it down the stepladder. I tell an Air India staff member at the bottom near the buses what happened. He says 'sir kya Kareinsorry'," he said. The actor's post received a reply from the official handle of Air India. "Dear Mr. Das, we understand and empathize with the experience. Please share us the booking details via DM for us to look into this on priority," Air India posted. In the post, Das also said that they faced difficulty in getting a wheelchair even at the terminal. "Encalm people inform wheelchair staff that we had pre booked a chair. Hes clueless. Theres wheelchairs everywhere. No staff because the flight is late. I grab a chair and wheel her to baggage claim, then out of the airport to the parking. Encalm lets Air India know this is happening. "No one shows. Anyway. One of your wheelchairs is on the second floor of the parking in Delhi. Do claim it. Cheers," he ended the post. Vadodara/Mumbai, Apr 15 (PTI) A man who allegedly issued a death threat to actor Salman Khan has been traced to a village in Gujarat's Vadodara district and found to be mentally unstable, police said on Tuesday. The Mumbai police on Monday apprehended the 26-year-old man, Mayank Pandya, and issued a notice to him, asking him to appear before them whenever required, they said. The accused, resident of a village in Waghodia taluka of Vadodara, has not been arrested, the police said. The Mumbai Traffic Police's WhatsApp helpline received a message on Sunday wherein the sender threatened to blow up Salman Khan's car with a bomb and assault the Y-Plus-protectee by entering his residence. The Worli police in Mumbai subsequently registered a case against the then unidentified person under section 351(2)(3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and tightened security outside Khan's residence in Bandra area. Following an investigation, the Mumbai police learnt the threat message was sent by a person living in Waghodia taluka of Vadodara, district Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand told reporters. "A team of Mumbai police, accompanied by Waghodia police, reached the suspect's house at a village in Waghodia on Monday. However, it turned out that the 26-year-old man, who had sent the message, is mentally unstable and undergoing treatment," Anand said. "The Mumbai police served him a notice for appearance and left," the official added. As per the notice, the man has to appear before the Mumbai police for investigation whenever required, another official said. In April last year, two motorbike-borne persons fired four rounds outside Khan's residence at the Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai's Bandra area. Khan previously faced threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which warned him of consequences if he did not apologise to the Bishnoi community over the alleged killing of a blackbuck. Following these threats, the Mumbai police provided him with Y-Plus security. Not since Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff has a president chosen to disregard a larger body of informed opinion than President Trump did when he instituted his protectionist trade policy. Based on a series of verifiably false grievanceswages havent grown in 50 years, manufacturing has been hollowed out by imports, countries with trade surpluses are ripping us off"Mr. Trump used constitutionally questionable powers to abrogate congressionally approved trade agreements and undermine the worlds trading system. Markets convulsed in anticipation of the massive wealth annihilation that would accompany the shredding of global supply chains and a transition to a more protectionist world. The continuation of current trade policies will likely produce a worldwide recession, and even if Mr. Trumps policies succeed in bringing back manufacturing jobs, the U.S. economy will be less efficient, economic growth will be stunted, and most Americans will be worse off. The logic of the Trump protectionist policy is that a nation can become richer by producing at home products that it could buy more cheaply abroad. Not only does this defy reason, but the administration has presented no evidence showing how the U.S. or any other nation has benefited economically from broad-based protectionist policies. Certainly there is no evidence that the protectionism of the first Trump administration benefited U.S. industrial production, which rose in 2017 and 2018 in response to deregulation and tax cuts, then fell by 2% under protectionist policies in 2019. Economic growth, which reached a 13-year high in 2018, slumped in 2019 under Mr. Trumps protectionist policies, and employment in manufacturing as a percentage of total employment continued to fall on a secular basis, as it had before Mr. Trumps tariffs. Given our disastrous experience with tariffs in the 20th century, the closest that protectionists come to providing an example of tariff policies generating positive results is their assertion that the U.S. prospered because of high tariffs during the 19th century. But economists and historians have repeatedly shown that the U.S. industrialized faster when tariff rates fell. By the end of the 19th century, it was clear even to President William McKinley, whose famous 1890 tariff proved disastrous economically and politically, that the period of exclusiveness is past. The expansion of our trade and commerce is the pressing problem. Commercial wars are unprofitable." Even if Mr. Trumps tariffs incite foreign companies to tariff jump" by building more factories and producing more manufacturing output in the U.S., it isnt clear that America will benefit. We dont have to speculate on how effective the Trump tariffs will be in creating new jobs, because we have evidence from the first Trump term. In 2018, Mr. Trump imposed tariffs on washing machines, raising the cost consumers paid for these appliances by more than $1.5 billion annually while bringing in only $82 million in customs revenue. Even after netting out the tax revenue, the average annual cost to American consumers of each job created by these tariffs was north of $815,000, roughly 19 times the average annual salary earned in 2018 by production-line workers employed in manufacturing appliances. The situation was similar with Trumps first-term steel tariffs. Gary Clyde Hufbauer and Euijin Jung at the Peterson Institute calculated that American consumers paid an additional $5.6 billion for steel, so that each job created by these tariffs cost consumers some $650,000, more than 10 times the average steelworker salary. These examples arent outliers. When the Cato Institutes Scott Lincicome surveyed Americas history with tariffs, he found that the average annual cost to American consumers per job saved or created by tariffs from 1950 to 1990 was, in 2025 dollars, nearly $810,000. The presidents trade policies focus exclusively on manufacturing, never mentioning Americas massive surplus in the services sector, where wages are now on average higher than in manufacturing. If Mr. Trumps across-the-board tariffs bring back jobs in manufacturing, where will the workers come from? Forty-three percent of U.S. manufacturers in the recent National Federation of Independent Businesses questionnaire said that they couldnt find employees to fill existing jobs. In the fictional world that guides trade policy in the Trump administration, real prosperity comes from working in manufacturing plants. Yet workers arent eager to do that, and for the past 60 years Americans have educated their children to enable them to work in the service industries, where wages are higher and opportunities greater. Only 8% of American workers are now employed in manufacturing, which is so mechanized that it produces 2.5 times the output value it did in 1975, when it accounted for 22% of the labor force. If putting high tariffs on clothing at Walmart brings back the cotton mills where our parents and grandparents toiled, who wants those jobs? Should the capital to build these mills be funded by cutting back on artificial-intelligence investment? The state-directed capitalism of President Bidens subsidies and Mr. Trumps tariffs might attract some investments and create hothouse jobs that require perpetual subsidies and protection, but they misallocate productive resources and make the nation poorer. Protectionism also raises consumer prices, dampens competition, and slows innovation and growth. A less efficient country with a lower growth rate and closed markets is less likely in the long run to attract foreign investment. As Elon Musk has wisely suggested, Mr. Trump can still save us from this bleak future with real reciprocal trade agreements in which we and our trading partners mutually lower our trade barriers. The presidents advisers and Republicans in Congress would serve him better by remembering Thomas Sowells advice: When you want to help people, you tell them the truth." Mr. Gramm, a former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Boudreaux is a professor of economics at George Mason University and the Mercatus Center. This article is adapted from their forthcoming book: The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism." U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said that the Trump administration is prepared to allow Iran to enrich uranium at a low level if it is subject to stringent verification, a significant shift from the White Houses initial demand that Tehrans nuclear program be dismantled. The position, if adopted during talks that are to resume Saturday following an initial meeting last weekend, would leave Iran with a toehold on a nuclear program and put the U.S. at odds with Israels goals on the question. They do not need to enrich past 3.67%," Witkoff said on Fox News Monday night. This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program and then ultimately verification on weaponization." The U.S. is seeking tight constraints on Irans nuclear activities and its missile program, while Tehran is hoping to ease economic sanctions that have battered its economy. Going into the Trump administrations first round of talks with Iran, which were held last weekend in Oman, Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal that the U.S.s initial position was that Irans nuclear program needs to be dismantled. But he also suggested the White House would be prepared to compromise to reach an agreement. Iran has always refused to negotiate away the ability to enrich uranium as part of what it says is a civil nuclear program that is used for electricity production and medical research. The Obama administrations acceptance of Iranian enrichment was key to paving the way to a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. That accord also set the enrichment cap at 3.67% but permitted Iran to eventually achieve enrichment levels that went well beyond that. Trump called the deal weak and pulled out of the agreement in his first term. An enrichment level of 3.67% is typical for fueling nuclear-power reactors, according to the Arms Control Association. Adhering to it would extend the time it would take Iran to purify the material to the 90% needed for nuclear weapons. At present, Iran could produce enough weapons-grade fissile material in a week or two, U.S. officials say. While the ideas Witkoff outlined in his Fox News interview were similar to the Obama administrations 2015 accord in allowing Iran to enrich uranium, they differed in other important respects. Witkoff appeared to suggest the Trump administration wants Iran to permanently keep its enrichment at levels that are no higher than 3.67%. The 2015 deal included a series of sunset" provisions that allowed the enrichment level to increase over time. By 2031, Iran would have been free to enrich to any purity level and to increase its stockpile of enrichment to any level. Witkoff also suggested a future accord should cover the missiles that Iran might use to carry a nuclear weapon. He said verification measures should cover the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb." Iran has balked at negotiating over its arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, which it sees as central to its status as a major regional power and a way to compensate for its relatively weak air force, which U.S. intelligence said in its annual threat assessment last month suffers from outdated equipment and limited training. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been calling for an agreement like a 2003 accord struck with Libya, whose nuclear program was taken apart. Under that so-called Libya model, Irans nuclear program would be eliminated, and its enrichment sites would be destroyed under American supervision. The course of the talks indicates a divergence of views between the U.S. and Israel, its main ally in the region, analysts say. Israel cant live with Iran on the threshold, but the U.S. canthats the major difference," said Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank based in Tel Aviv. Many in Israel initially hoped the new Trump administration would help Israel destroy Irans nuclear program by force, he added. The Israeli prime ministers office didnt respond to requests for comment. Trump has indicated that he strongly prefers a diplomatic solution to military action in which Iran might lash out at U.S. allies and American forces in the region and attack oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the worlds most important commercial-shipping waterways. But he has continued to threaten harsh consequences for Tehran if it doesnt agree to a new nuclear deal swiftly. On Monday, Trump said that could include a U.S. attack on Irans nuclear facilitiesa direct threat U.S. officials have generally shied away from. Its really simple," he said. They cant have a nuclear weapon, and theyve got to go fast, because theyre fairly close to having one, and theyre not going to have one." Asked if that includes the possibility of a strike on Irans nuclear facilities, the president replied, Of course, it does." Iran has always said it requires 20% enriched uranium to fuel its nuclear research reactor, well above the minimal level Witkoff suggested. It started producing material enriched to that level in 2010. Iran is currently producing 60% high-enriched uranium, and is the only country without nuclear weapons to do so. That material can be swiftly converted into the 90%-grade material needed for a bomb. Given the advances Iran has made in making and installing more advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, a limit of 3.67% could still allow Iran to amass enough fissile material for a bomb in several months unless its stockpile is moved out of the country. Under the 2015 deal, Tehran was kept 12 months away from this so-called breakout point for the first decade, but after that the breakout time shrunk substantially. Even if Iran had sufficient material for a weapon, it would still need to turn it into a nuclear device. U.S. officials say it would take Iran a few months to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran has been chipping away at the remaining hurdles. U.S. intelligence noted in its threat assessment that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hadnt authorized the development of a weapon but was probably under growing pressure to do so. There are currently United Nations atomic agency inspectors in Iran, but Tehran has placed significant constraints on their activities. Write to Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com, Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com and Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com Ditch the usual weekend hotel for a retreat tucked away near Chikhli town in Gujarat or the Choral dam in Madhya Pradesh or even the forests of Mukundara Hills in Rajasthan. Indias next wave of hospitality resort development is quietly taking shape in places most maps wouldnt show. Boutique resorts and companies that manage properties are chasing projects just outside big metros or within half a days drive, fuelled by a post-pandemic surge in domestic travel, investor appetite, and state-led infrastructure-building blitz. Tariffs, at times, can go as high as 12,000 for a day. While most such properties are still unbranded, affiliations are in the works as hospitality majors like Radisson Hotels and Wyndham eye the opportunity, besides smaller peers such as Araiya Hotels and Resorts, Brij Hotels, Evolve Back and Tamara Resorts. Many of these owners are looking for properties that are, in the future, going to become branded hotels," said Navneet Nagpal, principal consultant at Gurugram-based Spectra Hospitality Services. None of them want to develop these resorts and take the headache or risk of running them." Branded hotel supply is around 200,000 rooms, according to hospitality consultant Hotelivates Trends & Opportunities October report. Of this, around 70,000 roomsor roughly 39%were in the upscale to luxury category, including resorts. Also read | Boutique resorts with celebrity chefs: For the uber-rich bored with luxury stays Smaller independent and unbranded resorts haven't been captured yet. Industry estimates suggest there are more than 1,000 properties, and counting. It is betting that travel-hungry Indians will seek to explore lesser-known corners of the country as demand continues to surge after the pandemic. Over the last few years, weve seen a clear shift in traveller preferences, with growing interest in offbeat and lesser-explored destinations," said Nikhil Sharma, managing director and chief operating officer-South Asia at Radisson Hotel Group. The group has launched new properties in Khopoli and Pavna in Maharashtra, and Saputara in Gujarat, and is preparing to open another in Mansowal, Punjab. Sharma cited increased traction due to the unique combination of nature, cultural richness, and proximity to major urban centres" for choosing these places. For many travellers, the idea of a quick yet immersive escapewithout navigating the crowd and chaos of more commercial locationsis becoming more appealing." Infra, ROI draw investors Good roads and accessibility make them ideal weekend escapes, as they lie within a three- to five-hour drive from major metros. One of the primary drivers is the viability of these investments," Sharma said. With real estate and operational costs often being more favourable in tier II and III cities, the return on investment becomes highly attractive." Wyndham is now opening properties in places like Kainchi Dham in Uttarakhand, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh and Nakodar in Punjab, bringing these off-beast destinations on the hospitality map. Concept Hospitality, which operates The Fern brand of hotels, is opening a resort in Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. Read this | Luxury resorts increase rates up to 60% for long weekends in August; staycation in city to get cheaper Last year, Mint reported that smaller hotels were coming up in towns like Sivasaa, Rewa, and Mhow. That trend has now evolved. With full-scale resorts entering these markets, average room rates are rising to upwards of 10,000 12,000 at many of these locationsand in some cases, even twice that range, depending on the experience on offer. Spirituality and travel Delhi-based couple Ankita and Aditya Johari, who are in their late 30s, now prefer travelling to lesser-known locations. We like to hit the road whenever we can and we're now exploring towns at a 3-5 hour drive to be able to see new places," said Aditya. We've been to Jaipur, Agra and the other usual suspects in Himachal Pradesh. This is unexplored territory." The number of travellers like the Joharis is growing as Indias per capita income rises, prompting hospitality brands to tap into new customer bases beyond the traditional metro hubs. While travel spending nearly halved to $4 billion in 2020 during the pandemic, it has since bounced back. According to Statista, the figures climbed to $10 billion by 2022 and are projected to reach $11 billion in 2025. Domestic travel is being driven by the 35- to 45-year-olds, who want to combine spirituality and wellness while holidaying, said Amruda Nair, founder of Araiya Hotels and Resorts, told Mint. Meditation, sound healing, forest bathing are some of the themes we are seeing at our properties." Also read | Airport looks, resort styles goad retailers to stock up on vacation wear Araiya has planned a tented resort in Mount Abu in Rajasthan, which will open in 2026. Its other resorts are coming up in Ambardi, Gujarat; Tapola or new Mahabaleshwar in Satara; and Avas in Alibaug. Spectra is working on projects in Tehri, Uttarakhand; Mukundra, Rajasthan; Chikhli, Gujarat; and Choral near Indore and Tadoba, Maharashtra, besides the outskirts of Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Kolkata; Valpoi in Goa, and Gir forest near Junagadh (away from Sasan). Brand discussions for all these projects are on, said Nagpal of Spectra Hospitality. His firm is working on about a dozen such projects, and the work has tripled in the past year to not just scout for but help build boutique hotels in these locations. The growth is coming in the form of two locationsone is areas within a one to two hours driving distance of bigger metros; and another set of hotels that are 35 hours away," he said. Thol, for instance, outside Ahmedabad is one such area where activity is growing." New models This growth is driven by new constructions and the sale and leaseback model--where investors can back a property, offering quicker returns to the owner. Nagpal cited the example of a 28-villa property in Rishikesh, Narendra Nagar, where a luxury resort is coming up under this model. The development cycles are becoming better with some local state governments incentivising these properties to give better terms for infrastructure loans for up to 20 years," Nagpal said. Owners of these properties also now are confident that since there is a strong demand, they can look at a return of capital invested within 46 years and on the back of year-round occupancies of about 5060% with average room rates upwards of 8,0009,000 a night and that's giving them a lot of incentive to build." And read | Travel startups and indulgent Indians: A match made over dream destinations and luxury escapades Holiday service providers that put together bungalows and other similar listings have also seen a growing interest. Vacation rental brand StayVista tied up with Marriott International in 2023 to remarket its villa properties, while Indian Hotels Company Ltd-backed ama Stays & Trails now has a portfolio of 250 bungalows. JSW Steel chairman and managing director Sajjan Jindal said on Tuesday the company will invest over 50,000 crore over the next three-four years to create 10 million tonnes per annum of green steel capacity at a plant near Mumbai. The investment is necessitated because of a European mandate on green steel. "We will be investing 50,000-60,000 crore for the green steel capacity," Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai. He also said that this will be a brownfield investment at its plant in Raigad district's Salav. Last month, the steelmaker had announced plans to raise the green steel capacity at Salav to 4 MTPA in phases. Jindal further said that the 10 MTPA capacity will emit a fifth of the carbon as used by conventional plants currently. China & Vietnam trying to dump steel "China and Vietnam are trying to dump steel," Jindal said, adding that the government is working on putting safeguard duties which will be in place in "a few days". The strong steel demand on the back of high economic growth is attracting the world's attention, Jindal said. The Indian government is careful to ensure that there is no profiteering by steel companies, he said, explaining the reasons for having the safeguards. China is at its peak from a steel consumption perspective and scaling back production, he said, adding that it is looking at world markets to sell the excess steel, Jindal said. Last year, China exported 120 million tonnes of steel. Given the 10-12 per cent growth in demand every year, India needs to add 20 million tonnes of steel capacity per year which works out to an investment of $20 billion per year. The $24-billion group's arm JSW Steel is aiming to be the largest steel producer in the world with a capacity of 100 million tonnes per year from the present 34.2 MTPA. Bengaluru: Real estate developers have a bumper launch pipeline in 2025-26, as they enter new micro-markets, cities and even international markets. Housing sales and project launches have been sluggish in recent quarters, yet property firms are confident that overall demand remains strong for project launches. If the sluggishness in sales can be attributed to rising property prices over the last 3-4 years, the main factor behind slower launches in FY25 was approval delays. From luxury to mid-income, plotted developments to townships, most developers have a diversified profile of projects that are waiting to launch Chennai-based Casagrand is gearing up to launch residential projects on four land parcels in cities such as Bengaluru and its home market. This year, it will also launch its first project in Dubai, making its entry into an international market. Read more: Mint Primer: Why are PE investments in real estate falling in India? We will launch projects with a gross development value of 15,000-18,000 crore. In FY25, because of approval delays, we could only launch projects worth 8,000-9,000 crore GDV," said Arun Mn, founder and managing director Casagrand. He said there is a slight flattening in sales but nothing too stark or worrying. We are a long-term player," Mn said. Bengaluru developer Sattva Group is gearing up to enter Mumbai this year, with at least two residential launches. It will also launch Sattva City in north Bengaluru, a 5.5 million sq ft project, and several other projects in the southern city. In Hyderabad, it will launch a 6.2 million sq ft project, possibly its biggest, that will be developed in phases. We have continued to see steady demand and sales in our projects which gives us the confidence to launch more. Pricing of the projects will be decided based on demand and supply in a particular micro-market," said Sattva Group managing director Bijay Agarwal. As India's residential sector crossed multiple sales milestones after the pandemic, land transactions increased as developers expanded beyond their core markets and product categories. Hiranandani Group of Mumbai said it is strategically moving into the redevelopment space with three projects in the city's western suburbs. It will also launch a hospitality and tourism-driven mega township in Nagaon, Alibaug, a coastal town near Mumbai. Its launch pipeline also encompasses mid-income and plotted projects in Chennai, a mixed-use township in Pune, with joint venture partners. This diversification underlines our bullish outlook, fuelled by robust market sentiments and sustained demand for mid to luxury-housing solutions, including plots and villas for second-home purposes," said chairman Niranjan Hiranandani. The pricing factor The Ashwin Sheth Group plans to launch 6-7 projects across the super-luxury, premium, and mixed-use product categories in Mumbai, the country's most valuable property market. In South Mumbai, it has projects with homes priced at above 8-10 crore and 3-10 crore homes in upcoming developments. It has also signed term sheets for two projects in Bengaluru. There may be an overall flattening of sales, but if you have a good inventory mix, they can cater to varied customer profiles," said chief sales and marketing officer Bhavik Bhandari. Skyrocketing home prices slowed down sales in the January-March quarter. Sales dropped by 28% year-on-year to 93,280 units across seven cities, and launches fell by 10% to 1,00,020 units, as per Anarock data. Most developers realize that project pricing will play a key role going forward and needs to be realistic to continue selling well. Read more: Sobha disappoints in FY25; outlook depends on growth in new markets Casagrand's Mn says that with the market movement being a little weak, it doesn't want to push up pricing too much. A little less margin is okay for developers," he said. Last year, out of the 253 million sq. ft. to be launched by listed developers, only 35% happened due to delays in approvals. They have this huge pipeline of launches that will happen this year. Large developers may continue to demand a pricing premium. Mid-sized developers, however, would be more cautious," said Anuj Puri, founder and chairman, Anarock Group, a property advisory. The White House sought to give car companies a break on a hefty auto tariff enacted this month by offering a deduction for American-made parts. The problem is industry executives are puzzled over how to collect it. And that is in large part because it hinges on a simple yet loosely defined phrase they are struggling to interpret: U.S. content." When President Trump enacted the 25% tariff on all vehicle imports, he gave automakers some relief: They would be allowed to pay a lower tariff based on the percentage of U.S.-produced parts and materials used in a foreign-built vehicle. The White House, however, has yet to provide many details on what exactly constitutes U.S. content" or how it might be determined, for now leaving it up to the companies to figure it out on their own. Meanwhile, they have been left to pay the full tariff. Were all waiting to better understand how this is supposed to be done," said Jennifer Safavian, president and chief executive of Autos Drive America, an industry group representing foreign-based automakers. Its not really been clear to us." On Monday, Trump said he was considering some short-term tariff exemptions for car companies looking to relocate parts production to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico. He didnt offer further specifics, only saying they need a little bit of time because theyre going to make them here." New tariffs specifically targeting auto parts go into effect May 3. The lack of clarity on the U.S.-content provision has triggered frustration and confusion across the auto industry, which imports about 7.5 million vehicles into the U.S. each year. Automakers will need to trace the origin of a lot of components: Safavian noted that each vehicle typically has 20,000-30,000 parts. On the line are billions of dollars in potential savings for General Motors, Toyota Motor and other auto manufacturers that are now paying the tariff on foreign-built vehicles, including those made in Mexico and Canada. The 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs announced last week doesnt apply to automotive goods. Company executives say the U.S. content requirements are critical for shaping longer-term decisions, such as whether to raise prices or reroute production. A study published Thursday by the Center for Automotive Research, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based nonprofit, said the auto-import tariffs could increase costs for automakers by more than $100 billion. Misinterpreting the rules carries some risk: The Trump administration has warned that any company found to have provided inaccurate information on their U.S. content levels could be subject to retroactive tariffs. The carve-out for U.S. content was a bright spot in the [tariff] order," said Mark Tallo, an attorney with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, who is advising vehicle manufacturers on compliance with the new tariff. But he added the particular rules as to how this will be implemented are unknown." A White House spokesman said the Commerce Department was working on a process for automakers to seek approval and begin taking advantage of the U.S. content deduction. The administration is aiming to get the process in place as soon as possible, the spokesman said, but no timeline was available. As of now, U.S. content is only vaguely described as the value of a car attributable to parts wholly obtained, produced entirely or substantially transformed" in the country. Before a vehicle can be considered for a deduction, it must also meet the requirements of the current free-trade pact in North America, called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. For such a complex industry with manufacturing operations and supply chains that span borders, how the U.S. content definition is worded can leave much up to interpretation, analysts and industry groups say. There are many parts that cross the border multiple times as they are built into larger components and before they are installed into a finished vehicle. Some car companies are more exposed than others to the tariffs, but nearly all brands import at least some models for sale in the U.S. GM and Ram make their highly profitable pickup trucks in Mexico, while Toyota builds its popular RAV4 sport-utility vehicle in Canada. The Chrysler brand sells only two models, and both are built in Windsor, Canada, across the river from Detroit. In response to the import tariffs, Chrysler parent Stellantis said in early April that it would put that factory on pause for two weeks because of the tariffs. VW has also said it plans to add an import fee" to the sticker price of vehicles affected by the new import duties. With only one factory in the U.S., the German automaker imports many of its models, including from its factory in Puebla, Mexico. We dont have clear guidance from the government on how to calculate U.S. content," a VW spokesman said. The potential savings generated by the deduction could be significant, analysts and executives say. Take Toyotas RAV4. The Canadian-built SUV has a starting price tag of about $30,000, meaning a 25% tariff would cost the company about $7,500 to import it to the U.S. With about 60% of its content made in the U.S., a deduction would cut the tariff rate by almost half to about $3,000 a vehicle. Spread over about 290,000 vehiclesthe number of RAV4s Toyota imported last year to the U.S. from Canadathat could be a saving of roughly $1.3 billion a year. Automakers including Toyota could save billions in tariff-related costs if they can document the amount of U.S. content in the vehicles they sell. The scramble to figure out what vehicles have U.S. content has also triggered much back and forth between the car companies and their parts suppliers, many of which are also trying to figure out how to navigate the new tariff rules. While industry manufacturers typically know what is made in North Americainformation that is essential for meeting free-trade requirementsthe task of trying to parse what is specifically U.S.-built is more of a challenge, said Safavian, of the auto-industry lobbying group. Automakers dont necessarily have insight into every component and part that goes into a vehicle, so they would need to get that information from the suppliers," she said. Theres not just one supplier, theres many layers of suppliers." Write to Ryan Felton at ryan.felton@wsj.com Cao Lili, a Sichuan mother of three, once embraced products made around the world. Now she is shopping local. A few years ago, she traded her Honda for a Chinese electric vehicle made by Li Auto. She decided to turn in her iPhone for a model made by Chinas Huawei in light of the escalating trade war. And she saw the Chinese animated movie Ne Zha 2" in theaters twice earlier this year, tickets that helped power the film to a record-setting gross of $2.1 billion. From smartphones to fast food, major American brands are rapidly losing market share in China to domestic rivals. Cao is part of a population increasingly embracing Chinese brands, including Luckin Coffee, tech company Huawei, sportswear seller Anta and fast-food restaurant chain Mixue, that are eating away at American brands market dominance in the country. Its unnecessary to stick to foreign brands anymore," Cao said. President Trumps escalating tariff spat with China threatens to push Chinese consumers even further into the arms of domestic brands. After Trumps tariffs announcement, Fuzhou-based supermarket chain Yonghui Superstores released a statement calling for Chinese companies to take over its shelves. Lets gather the starlight of Made in China into a galaxy that illuminates the domestic market," the letter proclaimed. And Beijing said last week it would restrict American film imports, tightening the spigot just ahead of Hollywoods critical summer movie season in a market in which audiences were already gravitating toward Chinese releases. Stiff competition Many of Americas most popular brands around the worldNike, Starbucks, Tom Cruisehave run into competition in China from newer companies trying to beat them at their own game, eroding years of American dominance and soft power. In March, Nike said its quarterly sales in China had dropped 17% from the previous year. That month, domestic Tesla sales were down 12%. BMW, Porsche, Apple, Starbucks and LOreal have all warned investors that the China growth that was once a quarterly refrain had turned into slumping sales. Ne Zha 2" beating the global grosses of most of the worlds most popular movies was an exclamation point on the trend. The success of the movie was aided by a patriotic campaign that included collective watching" organized by the government for state employees. During one of the events, the audience were asked to sing the national anthem. Hollywood movies are part of the service trade between the U.S. and China, a new front in the trade war. Unlike goods, the U.S. sells more services to China than the other way around. Movies are a much smaller part of that trade than other sectors, such as the billions of dollars that Chinese families spend on a U.S. college education, but few sectors match their symbolic heft. A screening in Harbin, China, of the Chinese animated movie Ne Zha 2, which delivered a record-setting gross this year. Trump, who has frequently turned major studios such as Disney into political targets, had little sympathy for the studios eyeing an uncertain future. Asked Thursday about the restrictions on cultural imports such as American movies, Trump responded, Ive heard of worse things." Soon after word of the restriction on American films spread, Chinese film authorities backchanneled to American executives to tell them they didnt expect the policy to affect the studios most anticipated releases, according to people familiar with the conversations. Chinese movie theaters need those grosses to keep revenue up and generate foot traffic in the malls that house the cinemas. A window into Beijings calculus will come soon. Brad Pitts new movie, the big-budget racing drama F1," is scheduled to be submitted to Communist Party authorities for review this week. Losing soft power American movies began flowing into China with the release of Harrison Fords The Fugitive" in 1994, part of an opening up of the market to Western brands. By 2012, studios could count on nine-figure grosses out of Chinese theaters for top-performing films. In 2019, Avengers: Endgame" became the highest-grossing American movie in the markets history, with $603 million. The money came with a political cost: Studios had to agree to censor films with material deemed problematic by authorities, and the country often used the movies as political leverage. When the U.S. and China traded barbs during Trumps first administration, studio executives noticed a tightening of American releases into the market. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese authorities went months without letting in an American movie, driving the countrys moviegoers further toward their own filmmakers. This time, the impact from a worsening trade war could mean Chinese consumers tighten their belts, buying less of everything, even domestic brands, economists warn. Still, some consumers remain confident, at least for now. Chris Jia, a 29-year-old graphic designer in Fujian, sees the Chinese brands that have come to fill his life everywhere he looks: from the appliances he uses at home to the athleisure he wears when jogging. Jia grew up watching American and Japanese cartoons, and still keeps action figures of Transformers and Toy Story characters on his bookshelf. But he hasnt seen any Hollywood movies so far this year. My friends all say that our personal lives wont be affected by the trade war that much because we dont really rely on American products," Jia said. When I think about it, they have a good point." Write to Liyan Qi at Liyan.qi@wsj.com and Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com Gold prices could reach as high as $4,500 per ounce in an extreme risk case by the end of 2025, foreign investment bank Goldman Sachs said, citing escalating US-China trade war and fears of recession. However, Goldman Sachs raised gold price target to $3,700 an ounce by end-2025, its third such hike this year, reports said. Earlier in March, the investment bank had hiked its 2025 gold price target to $3,300 per ounce. Heightened concerns over the US economy, fueled by an escalation in the US-China trade war, have increased the appeal of gold as a recession hedge, according to an investment bank, reports said. Gold prices crossed the $3,200-per-ounce mark for the first time last week, reaching a record high of $3,245.69 per ounce, as rising geopolitical and economic uncertainty rattled global markets. Demand for the yellow metal remained robust across both physical purchases and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Goldman Sachs stated that it was positioning itself to hedge against the growing risk of a US recession through gold, citing increased investor interest in both physical bullion and ETFs in recent weeks. The surge in demand and prices comes amid intensifying trade tensions between the US and China. The US raised tariffs on Chinese imports to a cumulative 145%, prompting retaliatory tariffs from Beijing of up to 125% on American goods. Also Read | Investors rush to cash in on gold ETFs as volatile equities keep them on edge In addition, US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose steep reciprocal tariffs on key US trading partners. While implementation has been delayed by 90 days, a universal 10% tariff has already been enforced. The administration also indicated forthcoming targeted tariffs on electronics and pharmaceuticals. Several major global central banks, particularly in Asia, have ramped up their gold purchases in recent months. This trend reflects growing concerns over a potential U.S. recession, especially amid heightened economic uncertainty under the Trump administration. Gold Price Today Gold prices traded higher amid continued uncertainty over Trumps tariff plans and their impact on the global economy. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $3,211.49 an ounce. Bullion hit a record high of $3,245.42 in the previous session. US gold futures gained 0.1% to $3,227.90. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and thats what Tata Steel Ltd is doing. Last week, Tata Steel Nederland announced a crucial transformation programme aimed mainly at reducing costs in the backdrop of tightening spreads in the European steel market. High energy and carbon costs in recent years have put steel spot spreads under pressure in Europe. As a report by Axis Securities points out, steel spot spreads in Europe were at a multiyear low in Q3FY25 at 170 a tonne versus historical average of 240 a tonne. Tata Steels decision may also have been necessitated by the USs 25% tariff imposition on steel imports. The companys Netherlands plant exports about 670,000 tonnes annually out of a total production of 6.8 million tonnes to its downstream subsidiaries in the US, which could be affected by the tariff. The Indian and UK operations have miniscule exposure to the US. To protect the industry, the European Commission announced certain measures in March, including reducing the duty-free imports quota. Tata Steels Netherlands operations have reported negative Ebitda in seven out of the past 10 quarters. Ebitda stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The cost reduction plan focuses on improving production and supply chain efficiency, reducing other fixed costs and bringing down the head count by about 18% from the current base of 9,000 for the Ijmuiden plant. The total cost savings is projected at 500 million in FY26 and an additional 50-60 million in FY27. This includes savings of about 160-180 million from lower employee costs. Employee benefit expenses for the Netherlands plant stood at 17,000 per tonne of liquid steel production for 9MFY25 versus 3,900 for the domestic standalone business. Similarly, other expenses stood at 27,000 per tonne against 20,000 for standalone business, providing the headroom for cost control. However, the company said there could be a one-time cost associated with the separation. A long way to go Meanwhile, the tripartite discussion with the Dutch government and the European Commission for financial support to transition to green steel is underway, and Tata Steel hopes to issue a joint letter of intent in the next few months. The company plans to build a low-carbon direct reduced iron furnace and an electric arc furnace (EAF) to replace one of the two blast furnaces by the end of this decade. Recall that ArcelorMittal has received similar support for its plants in Europe. Also Read: Tata Steel investors may remain jittery amid delayed revival in European operations The UK plant, which has been making Ebitda losses for the past 10 quarters, is set to achieve cash break-even in Q2FY26, having achieved about 70 per tonne of cost savings by Q3FY25, out of the targeted 100 per tonne. Meanwhile, the company has closed both of its high-cost blast furnaces. The downstream units are running with semi-finished products sourced from the Netherlands until the expected commissioning of energy-efficient EAF by 2028. An Antique Stock Broking report projects Tata Steel Europe (the Netherlands and the UK together) to report an Ebitda per tonne of $33 and $41 in FY26 and FY27, as against a loss in 9MFY25. The companys domestic operations remain robust, generating standalone Ebitda of close to 21,000 crore for 9MFY25, which fell by 2,200 crore on consolidation. Tata Steels share price, which had gained 12% in 2025 until the reciprocal tariff was announced by the US, with an improving outlook for Q4, has corrected sharply by 14% since then. Investors would closely watch the cost optimization gains in the Netherlands and the turnaround of the UK operations for further cues. However, rising trade tensions may pose near-term challenges for commodities in general. Thus, investors must closely follow developments on tariffs. Mutual funds may be allowed to enter various business areas currently out of bounds for them, with the stock market regulator reviewing regulations that govern asset management companies. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is conducting a major review of mutual fund regulation, which is the lengthiest of all regulations, executive director Manoj Kumar said. The provision restricting business activities of asset management companies (AMCs) will be particularly in focus. Mutual funds, unbound Regulation 24(b) of Sebi's MF regulations, which limits permissible business activities, is the only clause with restriction in its title, Kumar said at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Mutual Fund Summit on Tuesday. While regulations generally try to facilitate things, this clause imposes a restriction, Kumar said. "We will remove as many restrictions as possible so that industry should have a clean playing ground." According to Kumar, the specific clause has prevented mutual funds from using their full expertise and expanding. Sebi identified certain areas and has been talking to the industry to remove the obstacles. At present, AMCs are restricted from managing offshore pooled assets or funds unless specific conditions are met. The move, initiated over a week ago, aligns with Sebi's stated focus on streamlining the regulatory landscape rather than expanding ithighlighted by Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey in his first media address. In a fireside chat at the Mint India Investment Summit, Pandey had affirmed Sebi's commitment to streamlining regulations, stating the regulator will weed out outdated policies and rationalize necessary ones to achieve optimal regulation, reduce compliance burdens, and lower the cost of doing business. Pandey reiterated during an interview with The Economic Times that Sebi intended to carry out the review in a more intensive manner. He said the regulator was planning to study the purpose of each regulation and assess whether the same objective could be achieved with lower compliance and cost. He also indicated that the regulator will work with stakeholders, hold discussions, and identify opportunities for simplification before preparing a plan. Pandeys move to optimize regulation aligns with the objectives outlined in the Economic Survey of 202425. Unleashing the potential of domestic-led growth in India via enhancement of investment and economic efficiency will entail a combination of efforts, viz., assessing the actual/true cost of regulation, undertaking systematic deregulation..., the Survey stated. Kumar also said that Sebi had asked for suggestions from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) to overhaul categorization and nomenclature. We have urged Amfi to streamline naming conventions to help boost mutual fund awareness and adoption, he added. He said the regulator was re-examining provisions like the institutional mechanism framework or a set of procedures and surveillance systems that AMCs are required to implement to prevent market abuse. This framework is overseen by Sebi and enforced by Amfi. "There are still some issues, and we are engaging with the industry to resolve them, he said. Dividend Stocks; Coal India, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) are among the top 5 PSU stocks with the highest dividend yields in FY25, suggests Axis Securities data. Other stocks are Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and REC Ltd. Significance of dividend yield The dividend yield is a financial metric that shows how much a company pays out in dividends each year in comparison to the price of its stock. A decent dividend yield is defined as three to five percent or more. Also Read | Mazagon Dock shares rise 10% ahead of record date for dividend payout tomorrow However, the market's condition also matters. The dividend yield is one of the most important factors that investors consider when buying dividend-paying stocks. Top dividend-paying PSU stocks The highest paying PSU dividend yield stock during FY25 was Coal India Ltd. Coal India's dividend yield of 7% was remarkable and Coal India during the last 12 months has paid a dividend of 26.35. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is also not far behind Coal India, having a handsome dividend yield of 6%. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) during the last 12 months has paid a dividend of 13.5 per equity share. Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) also has a dividend yield of 6% during the last 12 months, which is at par with that of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and also not far behind that of Coal India. Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has paid a dividend of 15.5 per equity share during the last 12 months. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is another state-owned Oil and Gas downstream company that has given a dividend yield of 5%, which is very close to that of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has paid a dividend of 7 per equity share during the last 12 months. REC Ltd is the fifth stock among the top 5 PSU stocks with high dividend yields. It has a 5% dividend yield, which is comparable to that of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. REC Ltd has paid a dividend of 20.4 per equity share during the last 12 months. When a company guides for more than 50% revenue growth, it grabs attention. But in a market, thats quick to price in the future, its not enough to chase growth blindly. What matters is how that growth is comingnew capacity, margin expansion, a rising order book, or tailwinds in a niche industry. Over the past few weeks, we've been tracking management commentaries, investor presentations and forward-looking guidance across sectors. A handful of companies stand outnot just for their bold projections, but for their strategic groundwork to achieve them. These five firms are not your usual index names. Theyre riding structural shifts, sectoral tailwinds, or executing sharply on turnaround strategies. Each has guided for over 50% revenue growth in the near term. Its worth understanding whats driving their confidenceand whether the market has caught up. #1 Transformers and Rectifiers (India) Transformers and Rectifiers is a leading manufacturer of transformers with a capacity to produce units up to the high voltage range of 1,200 kV. It's diverse product portfolio encompasses power and distribution transformers, furnace transformers, rectifier transformers and speciality transformers, catering to various applications across utilities, industries and renewables. Going forward, the company has guided for a revenue target of over 3,500 crore in FY26, up from the expected 2,000 crore in FY25. Thats a jump of over 75% in just one year. The management has also laid out a medium-term ambition to hit $1 billion in annual revenues within the next 3-4 years. To achieve this, the company made a recent acquisition which made it 100% backward integrated in CRGO processing, one of the costliest raw materials in transformers. This should enhance supply chain control and shave raw material costs by 4%, directly lifting profit margins. Its also setting up new capacity15,000 MVA expansion expected to go live by early FY26which will help support the new revenue targets. The FY26 revenue guidance of 35 bn is expected to be met largely from existing facilities with the new plant contributing thereafter. The order book of 36.8 crore and inquiries worth 19000 crore in the pipeline looks solid. The management is focusing on high-margin orders rather than chasing volumes. #2 Kaynes Technology India The electronics manufacturer has been riding the ESDM (electronics system design and manufacturing) wave, but its now preparing for liftoff. In FY25, Kaynes expects to clock over 2800 crore in revenue with a 15% operating margin. For FY26, it is guiding for over 4500 crore, a jump of more than 60% in just one year. The order book supports the guidance 6,047 crore at the end of Q3FY25, up from 5422 crore in Q2FY25. Monthly order inflows have risen from 318 crore to 428 crore. Growth is led by sectors like aerospace, medical, industrial IoT, EV and smart meters, with the latter alone expected to generate 1000 crore in the next 12 months. Despite some execution delays earlier in the year, Kaynes says the growth has only been deferred. The margin story is also intact. For FY25, the Ebitda margin is expected to exceed 15%. And with a better mix of high-margin orders (aerospace, medical, defence), the gross margin has returned to over 30%. The company has outlined two major capex projects a 3,300 crore OSAT (semiconductor assembly and testing) facility in Sanand and a 14 bn high-density PCB plant in Tamil Nadu. Both are expected to start commercial production in Q4 FY26. Most of this is being funded through central and state government subsidiesup to 70% in some casesmeaning minimal stress on the balance sheet. The company is also eyeing inorganic growth. It recently acquired Sensonic (railway safety tech) and has its eyes set on global targets. A QIP may be used to fund overseas acquisitions, particularly in the US, as Kaynes looks to expand its geographic footprint and enter the ODM (original design manufacturing) field. For FY26, Kaynes is targeting 1516% EBITDA margins. But once the OSAT and the PCB unit are fully operational, margins could expand further, with these verticals offering higher profitability. #3 Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services is shaping up to be more than just a rewards or card player. Its building an end-to-end spend management platform with fintech hooks across travel, expense, rewards, fleet and now, international payments. The shift from a pure product model to a platform-first approach is paying off. In 9MFY25, Zaggle's revenue jumped 77.4% YoY, making it the companys strongest nine-month performance to date. Adjusted Ebitda rose 48% and PAT zoomed 123% YoY. The company is now guiding for 5863% revenue growth for FY25, sharply up from its earlier band of 4550%. With Q4 being another strong seasonal quarter, Zaggle might well end the year ahead of its raised guidance. Zaggles revenue comes from three streams: SaaS fees, program fees, and the Propel platform. The revenue from Propel alone grew by 87% YoY. Customer traction is strong, with 3,300+ active corporates and churn under 1.5%. New wins include Blinkit, Zepto and BigBasket, with BROMEits branch-level expense toolgaining ground. The company is also launching fleet cards, the ZIP platform and an analytics dashboard. Its backed by major tie-ups with HDFC Bank and Mastercard. To fuel this growth, the company raised 500 crore through a QIP in December 2024. Funds will be deployed for inorganic expansion, with at least two M&A deals already in advanced stages. Its aiming for 1516% EBITDA margins over the next few years. While adjusted EBITDA margin currently stands at 9.4%, the mix is shifting toward higher-margin SaaS and program fee revenue. Apollo Micro Systems is a defence electronics company. The company focuses on mission-critical systems across land, naval and aerospace platforms. It provides end-to-end solutionsfrom design and development to production and integrationfor DRDO and other defence agencies. Its portfolio includes missile electronics, torpedo guidance, underwater mine systems and avionics. In 9MFY25, the company reported rose 69.5% YoY. For FY26, Apollo is guiding for 4550% revenue growth, while internally working toward a 100% increasea doubling of the topline in just one year. The company has capacity expansion plans underway. While Unit 2 is operational, Unit 3, a 350,000 sq. ft. weapons integration facility, is expected to be ready by Q2 FY26. The R&D investments are also to rise, with over 100 crore earmarked for new product development. A recent fundraising of 816 crore will support this scale-up. Of this, 550 crore is allocated to working capital, while the rest will go toward R&D, acquisitions and general corporate needs. Strategic partnerships are also being built. MoUs have been signed with GRSE and Redon Systems and the company is an approved R&D and production partner for BDL and BEL. While 7075% of revenues currently come from development-stage contracts, the share of production orders is expected to rise. Management sees EBITDA margins expanding from 2526% to 30% over the next 1218 months. With an order book of 500550 crore and large naval and missile defence orders expected, Apollo Micro Systems is gearing up for its next phase of growth. Balu Forge Industries (BFIL) is a precision engineering firm and a leading manufacturer of high-value forged and machined components. The company operates across critical sectors like defence, aerospace, railways, oil & gas, commercial vehicles and wind energy. Over 90% of its revenues come from exports and a customer base spread across 80+ countries, BFIL is well-positioned in global manufacturing supply chains. In 9MFY25, the company reported a 64% YoY jump in revenues. For FY25, the company has guided for 5560% revenue growth, with a view to scale EBITDA margins to 3032% by FY26, from the current 26.9%, as a new automated plant comes online. An integrated manufacturing campus in Belgaum is being phased into operations. It has a closed-die hydraulic hammer line, an 8,000-ton forging press and 7-axis CNC machining systems capable of processing components up to 1,000 kg and 3 meters in length. The capex has been internally funded. The new capacity will boost the companys footprint in high-margin segments like aerospace, defence and railway components. Strategic partnerships are key growth levers. The company has formed an SPV with Swan Energy to serve global industries, especially defence and nuclear. Some products are already in the commercialisation stages for critical components across railways and aerospace. The management is focused on customer and geography diversification. Europe+1 is a bigger tailwind than China+1 for BFIL, with traction in underserved global regions and new OEM tie-ups. Apart from this, the company is also leveraging contract manufacturing to deepen global penetration. Conclusion High-growth guidance from companies is always exciting. But as investors, we must learn to separate vision from execution. Its one thing to aim for 50%+ growth. Its another to deliver it consistently while protecting margins and returns on capital. These companies are setting ambitious targets and, in some cases, backing them with solid capacity expansion, niche positioning, or long-term contracts. But expectations can turn quickly. Watch for delivery. Track order conversions, margin sustainability and balance sheet stress. Also remember that real wealth is built not by reacting to flashy numbers, but by staying aligned with long-term fundamentals. In the end, its not the fastest growing company that wins. Its the one that grows well and wisely. 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 Over 90 citizens honored for contributions to China's national security Xinhua) 16:50, April 15, 2025 BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 90 individuals across China have been recognized for their significant contributions to national security, the Ministry of State Security announced Tuesday, the 10th National Security Education Day. The awards mark the seventh consecutive year since 2019 that state security authorities have honored citizens who played key roles in protecting national interests, particularly through reporting suspicious activities. Among those commended is a fisherman surnamed Lu from a coastal region, who received a major contribution award after retrieving a foreign espionage device from the sea. An office worker surnamed Liu, from Liaoning Province, northeast China, was recognized for reporting individuals covertly photographing military facilities. In Zhejiang Province, a scholar surnamed Shi was honored for identifying a foreign organization's illegal efforts to collect sensitive Chinese data. The honorees come from diverse backgrounds and professions, including soldiers, doctors, engineers, civil servants and farmers. They range in age from a 16-year-old high school student to a 70-year-old retired teacher. The ministry praised the recipients for their vigilance and dedication, saying citizens from all walks of life had made "extraordinary contributions from ordinary posts" by standing up to activities that threaten national security. National Security Education Day is observed annually on April 15 to raise public awareness of national security issues and encourage greater civic involvement in safeguarding the country. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) Multibagger Stock: Mercury EV Tech share price rose by more than 3% during Tuesday's trading after the company announced a business update highlighting its role in India's clean energy transformation through the establishment of a 3.2 GW Battery manufacturing facility in Vadodara. In a filing to the exchange, the company disclosed that Mercury EV Tech, via its fully owned subsidiary PowerMetz Energy Pvt Ltd, has revealed the launch of a 3.2 GW lithium-ion battery production facility at its site in Vadodara. With this declaration, Mercury EV Tech not only makes its debut in the battery sector, but does so with significant scale, high aspirations, and a determination to take the lead. We are not just building capacity; we are building a platform for long-term energy resilience. We have plans to initiate work on an additional 3.2 GW battery plant in South India, with the Vadodara facilitys performance and order pipeline providing the foundation for this expansion. Preliminary land evaluations have been conducted across four to five locations, and the final site will be selected in line with operational momentum and order book strength over the coming quarters, said Darshal Shah from Mercury EV Tech. Additionally, the company announced in its exchange filing that to align with global automation standards, Mercury EV-Tech has ordered a fully automated, high-capacity production line from one of the leading equipment suppliers in China. A technical team from India is scheduled to visit the facility in China on April 15, 2025, prior to the shipment of the machinery. The equipment is expected to arrive at the Vadodara campus by the end of April, with pilot production anticipated to commence in mid-May 2025. This strategic move goes beyond merely increasing capacity; it reflects a vision. Mercury EV-Tech is gearing up for a future characterized by cell innovation, domestic self-reliance, and vertical integration, which will shape the new industrial landscape. Mercury EV Tech share price today Mercury EV Tech share price today opened at 59 apiece on the BSE, the stock touched an intraday high of 61 per share and an intraday low of 58.15 apiece. According to data from Trendlyne, Mercury EV Tech share price decreased by 32.5%, significantly lagging behind its sector by 31.94% over the past year. The company experienced a 39.54% increase in annual revenue, amounting to 22.53 crore. In comparison, the average revenue growth within its sector for the last fiscal year was 18.52%. The annual net profit saw a rise of 54.48%, reaching 1.99 crore, while the sector's average net profit growth for the previous fiscal year was 88.68%. The Indian stock market benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open higher on Tuesday, tracking positive cues from global markets. The trends on Gift Nifty also indicates a gap-up start for the Indian stock market. Adani Ports & SEZ, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India (SBI), Vedanta, Tata Power, and ICICI Bank, are among the stocks that will be in focus today. Here is the full list of the top stocks to watch today. Stocks to watch Q4 Results Today: IREDA, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, GM Breweries and MRP Agro will announce their Q4 results today. Dixon Technologies: US President Donald Trump has exempted phones, computers, and chips from reciprocal tariffs. Adani Ports & SEZ: The companys board meeting is set for April 17, 2025, to consider fund raising through issuance of equity shares. Punjab National Bank: Fugitive Mehul Choksi, accused in 13,850 crore PNB scam, has been arrested in Belgium. Reliance Industries: The company has acquired additional stake in Nauyaan Shipyard for 51.72 crore. SBI: The state-run largest bank in India has reduced its lending rate by 25 basis points after the Reserve Bank of Indias policy repo rate cut. ICICI Bank: The companys board meeting to consider fundraising through issuance of debt securities and buyback of debt securities within authorized limits on 19th April. Tata Power: The company has signed a PPA with NTPC for 200 MW Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy Project. Tata Powers renewable energy portfolio has reacheed 10.9 GW capacity. HCL Technologies: The IT major has integrated Nvidia AI Enterprise with its GenAI-led service transformation platform, AI Force, and Nvidia Omniverse with its physical AI solution, SmartTwin. Vedanta: The company faces 71 crore fine over fly ash disposal. Vedanta said it will challenge the order. Ircon International: The PSU railway company has been awarded a contract of 127.8 crore by S&T (Construction), North Western Railway, Indian Railways. Indian Hotels Company: The Tata Group company has announced an increase in its footprint with 100 new locations in FY25, comprising 74 signings and 26 hotel openings, expanding its portfolio to 380 hotels. Ashoka Buildcon: The construction company has been declared L-1 bidder for a project worth 569 crore by Central Railway. Godrej Industries: The company has acquired the food additives business of Savannah Surfactants. Aurobindo Pharma: The pharma company announced the receipt of USFDA nod for generic Xarelto 2.5mg, and it eyes $447 million US market. NHPC: The company has commissioned a part of 300 MW Rajasthan solar project. Macrotech Developers: Lodha brothers have settled the dispute amicably under family mediation. Also Read | Stocks to buy under 100: Experts recommend five shares to buy today Transrail Lighting: The company has secured new orders worth 1,085 crore in the domestic market. Havells India: The company has announced a strategic investment in Goldi Solar to accelerate its growth in the renewable energy sector. Info Edge (India): The company has announced May 7 as a record date for stock split of 1 shares into 5 shares. JK Cement: Company board to consider fund raising of up to 500 crore via NCDs on 24th May, 2025. (Neutral) Shantai Industries: The company announced a record date of May 9, 2025, for a stock split. If you are a credit card user who is looking to subscribe to a new card which offers a number of benefits then it is vital to examine the benefits offered by different cards. Typically, credit cards offer upto 45-day interest free period to borrowers along with a myriad of discounts and offers such as low foreign exchange conversion fee, access to airport lounge and discount on online shopping, reward points on select merchants, among others. Here we list out some of the key benefits offered by some of the popular luxury credit cards offered. 5 luxury or premium credit cards offered by banks: I. HDFC Bank Infinia Credit Card (Metal Edition): This card charges 12,500 annual fee. The features of this card include the following: A. Complimentary Club Marriott membership for the first year that offers up to 20 per cent discounts for Dining and stay across AsiaPacific region. B. Book stay for 3-nights and pay for two at participating ITC hotels. C. Five reward points for every 150 spent D. Global Personal Concierge -24 X 7 E. Lowest markup fee of 2 percent on all foreign currency transactions. II. Axis Bank Reserve Credit Card: Complimentary priority pass membership with unlimited visits and unlimited domestic lounge visits. It also gives Club ITC Culinaire membership, Accorplus membership, EazyDiner Prime membership and complimentary tickets on BookMyShow. III. SBI Card Elite: Annual fee of this card is 4,999 plus taxes. This card offers two complimentary domestic airport lounge visits every quarter in India and six complimentary airport lounge visits per calendar year outside India with maximum two visits per quarter. The card also gives free movie tickets worth 6,000 every year. IV. ICICI Bank Emeralde Credit Card:To be eligible for this card, one should have a minimum monthly income of 1.5 lakh. This card gives unlimited access to international as well as domestic airport lounges. You can get a refund of up to 12,000 for a maximum of two transactions every year on any flight / hotel / movie booking cancellation. Also Read | These 5 credit cards give free access to airport lounges. Check list here V. Yes Private Credit Card: First Year's membership fee of 50,000 plus applicable taxes. There is a renewal membership fee 10,000 plus applicable taxes which can be reversed on spends of 25,00,000 within 12 months prior to the renewal. You are entitled to receive 20 reward points on domestic and 40 Reward Points on international spends for every 200. There is 0.50 percent foreign currency mark up charges on all international spends. There are annual benefits of 4 lakh plus for the card holder. In the last few years, the popularity of UPI payments has surged. Due to its ease of use and speed of payment, it has become the go-to payment mode for many people. According to the numbers released by NPCI, in March 2025, the UPI transaction volume for merchant payments reached a humongous 11.46 billion, and the transaction value reached Rs. 6.70 lakh crores. Looking at the popularity of UPI payments, banks are offering Rupay credit cards that support UPI transactions and offer rewards. Kiwi is one such platform that offers up to 5% cashback on UPI transactions for payments done through YES Bank Rupay Credit Card. In this article, we will look at the features and benefits of this credit card and whether you should take it. Features and benefits of Yes Bank Klick Rupay Credit Card on Kiwi The Yes Bank Klick Rupay Credit Card is designed to meet an individuals requirements for all UPI P2M payments. The UPI P2M payments are those that an individual makes to various merchants. The card offers the following features and benefits. 2% cashback on Scan and Pay UPI payments made using the Kiwi App for Kiwi Neon members and 1.5% for non-Neon members. Additionally, YES Bank also offers: 2% reward points for every Rs. 200 spent on non-UPI transactions i.e., online spends 1% fuel surcharge waiver Lifetime free credit card i.e., there is no joining fee or annual fee Please note that this is a 100% virtual credit card i.e., no physical credit card will be sent to you. If you hold any existing Yes Bank credit card, you will not be eligible for this credit card. Earn up to 5% cashback with the Kiwi Neon membership In the earlier section, we understood how an individual can earn up to 2% cashback on scan and pay UPI transactions. When you purchase the Kiwi Neon Membership from the Kiwi App, you can earn up to 5% cashback on your scan and pay UPI transactions done through the Kiwi App. The cashback can be earned through the following three milestones. 3% cashback: When the eligible spends reach Rs. 50,000 in a year, the customer gets 3% cashback. Eligible spends means total spends on the Kiwi App minus spends on excluded categories and refunds. On reaching the milestone of Rs. 50,000, the cardholder will get 3% cashback on eligible spends minus the cashback already earned under the Kiwi Neon subscription for the year. The calculation of the 3% cashback will be as follows. For example, out of the eligible Rs. 50,000 spent, let us assume the cardholder has spent Rs. 40,000 on scan and pay UPI transactions and Rs. 10,000 on online transactions. In this case, the customer has already earned 2% cashback on the Rs. 40,000 scan and pay UPI transactions i.e. Rs. 800. Also, the customer has already earned 0.5% cashback on the Rs. 10,000 online transactions i.e. Rs. 50. So, the customer has already earned a total cashback of Rs. 850 (Rs. 800 + Rs. 50). On reaching the milestone of Rs. 50,000 spent, at the rate of 3% cashback, the customer is eligible for a Rs. 1,500 cashback. The customer has already received a cashback of Rs. 850 as explained above. Thus, the customer will be eligible for the remaining Rs. 650 cashback (Rs. 1,500 Rs. 850) on reaching the Rs. 50,000 spends milestone. 4% cashback: When the eligible spends reach Rs. 1,00,000 in a year, the customer gets 4% cashback minus the cashback already earned under the Kiwi Neon subscription for the year. The calculation of the 4% cashback will be as follows. For example, out of the eligible Rs. 1,00,000 spent, let us assume the cardholder has spent Rs. 75,000 on scan and pay UPI transactions and Rs. 25,000 on online transactions. In this case, the customer has already earned 2% cashback on the Rs. 75,000 scan and pay UPI transactions i.e. Rs. 1,500. Also, the customer has already earned 0.5% cashback on the Rs. 25,000 online transactions i.e. Rs. 125. So, the customer has already earned a total cashback of Rs. 1,625 (Rs. 1,500 + Rs. 125). On reaching the milestone of Rs. 1,00,000 spent, at the rate of 4% cashback, the customer is eligible for a Rs. 4,000 cashback. The customer has already received a cashback of Rs. 1,625 as explained above. Thus, the customer will be eligible for the remaining Rs. 2,375 cashback (Rs. 4,000 Rs. 1,625) on reaching the Rs. 1,00,000 spends milestone. 5% cashback: When the eligible spends reach Rs. 1,50,000 in a year, the customer gets 5% cashback minus the cashback already earned under the Kiwi Neon subscription for the year. The calculation of the 5% cashback will be as follows. For example, out of the eligible Rs. 1,50,000 spent, let us assume the cardholder has spent Rs. 1,00,000 on scan and pay UPI transactions and Rs. 50,000 on online transactions. In this case, the customer has already earned 2% cashback on the Rs. 1,00,000 scan and pay UPI transactions i.e. Rs. 2,000. Also, the customer has already earned 0.5% cashback on the Rs. 50,000 online transactions i.e. Rs. 250. So, the customer has already earned a total cashback of Rs. 2,250 (Rs. 2,000 + Rs. 250). On reaching the milestone of Rs. 1,50,000 spent, at the rate of 5% cashback, the customer is eligible for a Rs. 7,500 cashback. The customer has already received a cashback of Rs. 2,250 as explained above. Thus, the customer will be eligible for the remaining Rs. 5,250 cashback (Rs. 7,500 Rs. 2,250) on reaching the Rs. 1,50,000 spends milestone. Complimentary domestic airport lounge access On achieving the milestone eligible spends, the customer unlocks complimentary domestic airport lounge access as follows. First complimentary domestic airport lounge access on achieving the milestone of Rs. 50,000 eligible spends in a year. Second complimentary domestic airport lounge access on achieving the milestone of Rs. 1,00,000 eligible spends in a year. Third complimentary domestic airport lounge access on achieving the milestone of Rs. 1,50,000 eligible spends in a year. Excluded categories Transactions done in the below categories will be excluded from earning rewards and milestone spend calculation. Agricultural services Horticultural and vet Business services Marketing & Advertising Government services Professional services & Membership Organisations Retail services Transportation Utilities Miscellaneous To know details and the merchant category codes of the excluded categories refer to the Kiwi website/App. Points to consider The milestone spends will be calculated from the date of subscription to the Kiwi Neon Membership. The milestone rewards will be credited on the last day of the subsequent month of achieving the milestone. For example, if a customer achieves the milestone in March 2025, the milestone rewards will be credited to the customers reward balance on 30th April 2025. The total cashback that a customer can earn in a month is capped at 1% of the credit limit of the customer. The cashback earned for milestone rewards is excluded from the 1% monthly limit cap. All cashbacks are earned in the form of Kiwis (Kiwis term for reward points). A cardholder can redeem a minimum of 500 Kiwis and in multiples. Kiwi Neon Membership fee Customers who have a Yes Bank Click Credit Card issued via the Kiwi App are eligible for the Kiwi Neon Membership. The subscription for the Kiwi Neon Membership is completely voluntary. The membership fee is Rs. 999 + Taxes and is valid for a year from the date of enrolment. The customer can renew their membership annually. Also Read | These 5 credit cards give free access to airport lounges. Check list here Should you take the Yes Bank Click Credit Card? There are a lot of merchants that dont accept credit cards directly, but allow UPI payments. At many of these merchants, you can do a scan and pay UPI transaction and pay through a linked RuPay credit card. If you make UPI transactions regularly, you may consider the Yes Bank Klick Credit Card. It will give you up to 5% cashback if your annual eligible spends reach Rs. 1.5 lakhs. Also, with every milestone spend of Rs. 50,000, you unlock a complimentary domestic airport lounge access (maximum 3 in a year). A combination of up to 5% cashback and complimentary domestic airport lounge access make this credit card worthy of consideration. In January, the market regulator introduced the concept of 250-a-month mutual fund investments akin to selling shampoo in sachets instead of bottles in a bid to bring Indias low-income earners into the financial mainstream. While the smaller ticket size addresses affordability, there are certain barriers that make gold jewellery and informal chit funds more attractive propositions for this category of savers. However, this means that low-income earners are left with low-growth savings or sometimes end up watching their lifetime savings disappear after investing them in fraudulent schemes. Mint talked to people who tried to get their house helps to invest in mutual funds. The problem starts from trying to convince them to opt for a mutual fund instead of buying a gold necklace. However, once theyre in, there are structural hurdles to cross and not all find it easy to complete the process. Trust and persuasion Its not easy to convince low-income earners who typically buy jewellery for savings to invest in a financial product such as a mutual fund. Many times, they are apprehensive and unable to grasp the concept. For Ratnama, a house help who cleaned floors, it all started when she told her employer Samit Singhs wife that they planned to set aside some money for their child. When Singh got to know this, he urged Ratnama to put part of it in equity mutual funds to get higher returns than fixed deposits. Singh told Mint that he spoke to Ratnamas husband, an electrician, about how mutual funds work, the various categories of investing and the concept of net asset value, but the husband didnt understand. Although I explained everything in Hindi, he zoned out," said Singh. Later, he told me that he hadnt understood much but still wanted to invest in it as they trusted me." After two months, Ratnama approached Singh, saying that some of her FDs were maturing and she wanted to invest 60,000 in mutual funds for her child. Singh decided to help them out. PAN-Aadhaar link However, the very first step towards opening a MF account turned out to be a roadblock. Ratnamas permanent account number (PAN) was not linked to her Aadhaar identity number. Both needed to be linked for the smooth buying and selling of mutual funds. Singh found out that nobody from Ratnamas community knew about linking PAN and Aadhaar. There was now a 1,000 penalty to link PAN and Aadhaar because the deadline to do it for free was over in June 2023. For people like Ratnama who earn 12,000-13,000 per month, this was a significant amount. Singh paid the fine, not wanting to discourage the couple, but the next step also turned out to be a speed breaker. Bank documents A copy of a bank cheque with the account holders name written on it was needed for KYC registration. Ratnama had an old cheque without her name on it. The other document was a bank passbook, which was also something she didnt have. Thats when she approached the bank and got the application written with the help of Singh. That took another 5-6 days. After that was done, Singh found out that Ratnama did not have an email ID. Singh helped create an email ID for her and she finally invested in a mutual fund after one and a half months, Singh said. She wanted to go fully aggressive. When I told her high risk can give high returns, like every first-time investor, she was super excited and wanted 100% in high-risk funds. But knowing that such people may need money sooner than planned due to emergencies, I split it as follows 30K in a flexicap fund, 20K in a balanced advantage fund, and 10K in an arbitrage fund," said Singh. Also Read | The state where Ponzi schemes thrive, but mutual funds barely exist For many people, the bottleneck starts right at the beginning. When Rachna Monga Koppikar tried to start a 500 SIP for her long-time cook, she found out that her PAN and Aadhaar werent linked. When she tried to link them by paying the fine, she found that the PAN and Aadhaar names did not match. Her middle name was Bhagwan in Aadhaar and Bhagvan in per PAN card," said Koppikar. She needs to go to the Aadhaar centre and get it changed herself, but I dont know when that will happen." Of SIPs and direct plans Gangadhar, a Bangalore-based techie, wanted to add a corporate touch to the salaries paid to his cook and maid. He and his wife convinced them that their yearly increment would come in the form of an SIP not as cash in hand. The duo readily agreed to the prospects of growing their money and having something set aside for retirement. The techie wanted to make sure that they didnt end up spending their salary before the money was debited from the MF account. To this end, he opened a zero-balance account for the cook, whereas the cleaner insisted on using her existing account. When he opened the zero-balance account for the cook, it was hit with 600 in debit card fees. After multiple back-and-forth exchanges with customer care using email, that money was refunded. We didnt want her to be hit with unexpected fees, and thats why we had opened a zero-balance account," said Gangadhar, who sounded frustrated. I had to send X (Twitter) DMs and emails to get the debit card fees reversed, which would have been impossible for our cook (Gouramma) if they were doing it on their own." He opened an account for the cleaning maid using PhonePe. The process was smooth, but she approached me after a few days, saying her name was spelled incorrectly," Gangadhar said. He also found out about one more mishap. He had purchased units of regular plans, which have inbuilt commissions, rather than units of direct plans. He approached some friends and found out about apps that offered direct MFs. However, when he tried opening the account, one of the apps told him that she had two bank accounts with the same bank. When email exchanges didnt lead to any solution, he tried setting it up with another app, and it was up and running. Also Read | Why do regular plans dominate some types of mutual funds and not others? When he tried to register for an SIP, he found out that he needed to submit a mandate using net banking or a debit card. A mandate is required if the investor wants the mutual fund operator to automatically deduct an amount and invest it in the scheme at regular intervals. Gangadhar managed to make an account for the cook using the UPI mandate and started investing 1,000 in a scheme. The whole process took six weeks. The account opening for Mala the cleaner is still in progress as the app shows her Aadhaar is not authenticated. What can be done? There is little incentive for mutual fund distributors to service clients who invest 250-500 a month. The average commission that an MF pays to a distributor is 0.5 to 1%. An investment of 6,000 a year would fetch a commission of 42 (at 0.7% commission) for the year. On the other hand, the 1,400-odd registered investment advisors cater mostly to white-collared workers or high net worth individuals and their services make sense only for those with relatively large sums of money. The few who end up investing in MFs do so with the help of someone. Gangadhar said the account-opening process could be more streamlined. He said apps should allow prospective investors to create a UPI account that can be given to their employers. This ID should be set up in these apps in such a way that when someone sends funds to that UPI handle, the funds get auto-invested into a mutual fund of her choice," he said. Another helpful step would be to conduct investor awareness sessions in local languages that low-income earners can understand. Singh said investment apps and their content should be made in local languages so that the lower strata can also get a chance to understand products in their own way. Otherwise, they might panic and sell when the markets go down, said Singh. As the trade war between the US and China continues to intensify, a Bloomberg report has indicated that the Chinese government has asked its airlines not to take any new deliveries from Boeing. The move would possibly hurt the American planemaker, which has been going from one crisis to another. No sooner did the news come out than the buzz shifted to who benefits from this move if this lasts long. The immediate eyes are definitely on India, with carriers hungry to add more capacity in what has long been a supply chain-constrained environment. Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa Air have orders with Boeing. Air India Express and Akasa Air are actively receiving planes, while SpiceJet awaits the status and fate of its order. Both Akasa Air and Air India Express have been beneficiaries of white-tail planes, industry parlance for planes that were produced and not taken up by the airlines that placed orders for them. Most of Akasa Air planes have been white-tails while all of Air India Express MAX deliveries are planes meant for other carriers, mainly Chinese. Passengers can notice the different seat types and covers, along with a dual-class layout in them. Data from Boeing shows that the Chinese carriers placed orders for 253 MAX aircraft between 2013 and 2017, with no orders placed since then. The carriers also placed orders for 82 Dreamliners since 2013. China has seen deliveries of 155 MAX aircraft and 105 Dreamliners. Some aircraft have come from leasing companies or have been leased out to other carriers later by lessors from China. There are 96 unfulfilled orders for Boeing in China for the MAX aircraft and 11 for the Dreamliners. These two types are in demand in India. What does this mean for Boeing? Boeing has been going from one crisis to another, starting with two deadly crashes of the MAX aircraft which led to a global grounding of the aircraft. This was followed by the pandemic when the Boeing team repeatedly set a deadline for the return of MAX to the air. Management changes and FAA scrutiny later, the company faced a strike from the machinists, delaying production and deliveries. When things seem to be on track, the trade war is opening up another challenge for the company and action by one country will set a precedent for either setting off tariffs or deliveries. Very few countries could be in a position to delay deliveries as airlines the world over have been scrambling for capacity, and most countries let their airlines negotiate and order on their own unlike China, where the government is involved in placing orders for the aircraft. What does this mean for Indian carriers? It is too early to tell if the Chinese announcement materialises into actual actions or is just a tool to renegotiate tariffs. However, any availability of additional aircraft will be good news for Indian carriers, especially Akasa Air and Air India Express, which have the financial means to lap up more planes and grow in a market that has been hungry for capacity. However, this does mean that white-tail aircraft would come with a seating configuration which is not what the airlines want, and so would the livery. Akasa Air got the deliveries after changing the livery at Boeing Field, while Air India Express has seen the livery changes happening in India and the airline taking delivery of planes in the original colours of Chinese carriers. Mehul Choksi, wanted in India for his involvement in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case, was arrested in Belgium on Saturday, April 12, on the extradition request of the Indian authorities. But before his arrest in Belgium, Mehul Choksi was held in Dominican Republic for illegal entry into the country. While many assumed it was his another attempt to flee the Indian justice system for the PNB scam but as the details emerged, a Raj, a Hungarian girlfriend, an abduction attempt, and honey-trap allegations came to the fore. Mehul Choksi was arrested in Dominican Republic in May 2021 for his illegal entry into the country. He then claimed that he was tortured by some Indian agents in Antigua and later abducted and taken to Dominica by boat. As more details emerged, an unfamiliar name surfaced in the case Barbara Jabarika. Mehul Choksi's wife, Preeti Choksi, alleged that Barbara Jabarika, who is a citizen of Hungary, honey-trapped the businessman into leaving with her. Preeti said the couple met Barbara Jabarika in 2020 and she was part of Mehul Choksi's abduction. According to the reports, Barbara Jabarika invited Mehul Choksi to meet her at an apartment where some people abducted the businessman and took him to Dominican Republic through boat. In his statements, Mehul Choksi claimed that Barbara Jabarika stood by while he was being assaulted, leading him to believe she was involved in the plot. When Mehul Choksi introduced himself as Raj As her name started to crop up in the abduction case, Barbara Jabarika denied allegations of honey-trapping Mehul Choksi or having any knowledge of his criminal past. She said Mehul Choksi had introduced himself as Raj when she met him in August 2020. Barbara said she was also Mehul Choksi's girlfriend. New Delhi: Former Finance Secretary to the Indian government and Chairperson of National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) Ajay Bhushan Pandey has joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as vice president, investment solutions, the Beijing-headquartered multilateral development bank said on its website. India is the second largest shareholder of the bank. In this capacity, Pandey provides leadership and oversees the institutions sectors, themes, and finance solutions department, sustainability and fiduciary solutions department and portfolio management department, AIIB said. Pandey will be based out of Beijing. Also read | Centre creates new SFC posts; clears thermal power projects worth 21,547 cr Pandey, who holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Minnesota and a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, was instrumental in several new initiatives of the Indian government including the faceless assessment and appeal scheme of the Income Tax department. Pandey had also played a key role in improving the efficiency of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), leading to improved reporting of transactions and revenue collections. Shaping digital infrastructure He had also played a key role in shaping Indias digital and financial infrastructure through initiatives such as Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), and the National Infrastructure Pipeline. Pandey contributed in integrating technology, policy, and infrastructure in different sectors. Also read | Court orders reset bankruptcy rules. Now, the govt is amending the law As the CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Pandey expanded the platform to cover 1.2 billion Indians, boosting financial inclusion and reducing leakages in government welfare programs. He also successfully defended Aadhaars legal and privacy frameworks before the Supreme Court of India. Awareness raised In his previous role as NFRA chairperson, Pandey raised awareness about the roles of statutory auditors, audit committees in companies and company executives who prepare financial statements in order to improve corporate governance. Pandey also initiated disciplinary proceedings against erring auditors and audit firms and defended the audit watchdogs regulatory powers in various judicial forums including the Supreme Court of India. Through its inspections, NFRA highlighted the areas where audit firms need to make improvements. Also read | Niti Aayog proposes incentives for boosting auto parts production, exports Audit firms should not fall prey to narrow interpretations of the law on what they are permitted to do and what they are prohibited from offering, Pandey told Mint in an interview published on 15 June 2023. Auditors have to be truly independent to show professional scepticism and challenge managements assertions, Pandey said then. A shocking incident has come to light in Davanagere city in Karnataka, where a 38-year-old woman was allegedly brutally assaulted by a group of men after her husband lodged a complaint against her at a local mosque over a domestic dispute, NDTV reported. The incident, which took place last week outside the mosque, was caught on camera and circulated on social media, sparking massive outrage among social media users. What happened? On April 7, the victim, Shabina Banu, a house help, along with her relative Nasreen and a man named Fayaz, went for a short outing and returned to Shabina's house. Later, when Shabina's husband, Jameel Ahmed, returned home, he found both Nasreen and Fayaz at the residence. Furious over their presence, he went to the Jama Masjid in Bengaluru's Tavarekere area to file a complaint against the three. On April 9, Shabina, Nasreen, and Fayaz were summoned by the mosque. When they arrived, a group of men began assaulting Shabina with sticks and pipes. She sustained severe injuries in the incident. After a video of the assault went viral on social media, a case was filed against the six accused, who are charged with conspiracy, assault, and attempted murder. The police have arrested six people in connection with the assault. The accused have been identified as Mohammad Niyaz (32), a driver; Mohammad Gauspeer (45), a scrap dealer; Chand Basha (35), a sugarcane juice vendor; Dastagir (24), a bike mechanic; Rasool TR (42), a fisherman at Bukkambudi Lake; and Inayat Ullah (51), a local resident. UP news: 6 arrested after burqa-clad woman assaulted in Muzaffarnagar In a separate incident, six men were arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman and forcibly stripping her of her burqa after she was seen with a non-Muslim man in Muzaffarnagar's Khalapar area. The incident occurred on Saturday evening when the woman, who works for a finance company, was returning from Sujru village with her colleague. The incident came to light after a video surfaced on social media showing a group of men thrashing a burqa-clad woman and abusing her in public. In her complaint, the victim stated that she was returning after collecting loan repayments on behalf of a small finance bank. She alleged that a group of youths stopped them in Khalapar locality, hurled abuses, beat her up and stripped her of her burqa. Hajj 2025: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has agreed to accommodate 10,000 Indian pilgrims after the Union government engaged with the Kingdom over the reported slashing of the private Hajj pilgrim quota for Indian pilgrims, the Ministry of Minority Affairs said on April 15. The Ministry blamed private tour operators for India losing over 52,500 slots for the annual Haj pilgrimage. The Ministry has now issued urgent directions to these private operators complete their process without delay. LiveMint reported earlier how the fate of about 52,000 Indian Hajj pilgrims was uncertain as Saudi Arabia cancelled the zones in Mina (a stop during Hajj in the Kingdom) that had been allotted to private tour operators. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti, among other political leaders, raised the issue. They urged the Union Ministry of External Affairs to immediately intervene and take up the matter with Saudi Authorities as it had caused distress for pilgrims. The Ministry said that the Union Government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gives high priority to Indian Muslims undertaking the annual Haj pilgrimage. As a result of its efforts, it said, the country allocation for India, which was 1,36,020 in 2014, gradually increased to 1,75,025 in 2025. When is Hajj 2025? Hajj is an annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities of Islam in Saudi Arabia. The pilgrimage is performed during a particular period that culminates with Eid-ul-Adha. This year, Hajj is expected to take place from June 4 to June 9, 2025, depending on the sighting of the moon, marking the beginning of Zil-Hajj, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Pilgrims will likely begin their journey to Saudi Arabia as early as the end of April. Also Read | Saudi Arabia arrests over 18,000 illegals The Ministry, through the Hajj Committee of India, manages arrangements for the bulk of the quota allotted to India, which is 1,22,518 in the current year. The balance of the quota (over 50,000 pilgrims) was allotted to Private Tour Operators. Due to changes in Saudi guidelines, the Ministry consolidated more than 800 Private Tour Operators into 26 legal entities termed Combined Haj Group Operators (CHGOs) this year. However, despite reminders, they failed to comply with the necessary timelines set by the Saudi authorities and failed to finalise the mandatory contracts, including for Mina camps, accommodation and transport of pilgrims, as required under the Saudi regulations, the ministry said. Modi government engaged with the concerned Saudi authorities, including at the Ministerial level. Due to the Governments intervention, the Saudi Hajj Ministry has agreed to re-open the Haj Portal (Nusuk Portal) to all CHGOs to complete their work in respect of 10,000 pilgrims based on the current space availability in Mina, the Ministry said. Directions have been issued by the Ministry to CHGOs to do so urgently. India would naturally appreciate any gesture by Saudi authorities to accommodate more pilgrims, it added. Saudi Visa Restrictions Saudi Arabia has taken many crowd control measures for Hajj this year. The Kingdom has imposed new travel restrictions, suspending the issuance of certain visas to people from 14 countries, including Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Due to the Governments intervention, the Saudi Haj Ministry has agreed to re-open the Haj Portal to all CHGOs to complete their work in respect of 10,000 pilgrims based on the current space availability in Mina. Amid the ongoing trade turmoil and talk of a global recession, there are positive reports from India. For the second year in a row, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has been forecasting above-normal rains during the coming monsoon season in the country. Good rainfall is important for India's agricultural production, which not only gives a fillip to the agrarian economy but also percolates down to building strong rural demand, which positively impacts a host of sectors, such as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and automobiles, and builds growth momentum in the economy. According to IMD, India is expected to receive an above-normal monsoon from June to September this year. The outlook, which comes amid reports of above-normal temperatures across several parts of the country, has come as a respite to farmers and policymakers. Also Read | Brace for hotter April-June as IMD warns of more heatwave days in many states "The southwest monsoon seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole during 2025 is most likely to be above normal (>104% of the Long Period Average (LPA)). The seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is likely to be 105% of LPA with a model error of 5%," IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mahapatra said. The LPA of the season rainfall over the country for 1971-2020 was 87 cm. The above-normal seasonal rainfall is very likely over most parts of the country except some areas in Northwest India, Northeast India, and South Peninsular India, where below-normal rain is expected. ENSO prevailing According to IMD, Neutral El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions are prevailing over the equatorial Pacific region. However, the atmospheric circulation features are similar to La Nina conditions. The latest Monsoon Mission Climate Forecast System (MMCFS) and other climate model forecasts indicate that the Neutral ENSO conditions will likely continue during the monsoon season. At present, neutral Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are present over the Indian Ocean and the latest climate models forecast indicate that the Neutral IOD conditions are likely to continue during the southwest monsoon season. The monsoon season is crucial for India as it delivers nearly 70% of its annual rainfall. However, the agriculture sector remains highly vulnerable to weather variability, with only about 55% of the net sowing area receiving water from the irrigation network, while the rest is dependent upon monsoon rains. A substantial portion of agricultural land relies on rain-fed systems, making it especially susceptible to fluctuations in precipitation. In such a scenario, above-normal monsoon rainfall will boost the sowing of kharif crops such as rice, pulses, maize and soybean. "Forecast of normal/above normal LPA of SW monsoon is good news for farmers & rural economy. The farmers suffered because of pre-monsoon weather conditionshigh temperatures, heavy rains with storms resulted in a loss of rabi crops, specifically wheat, mustard & gramsnormal monsoon is a great respite as it is the main driver of crop productivity and input costs in rainfed areas," said Prof. Sudhir Panwar, farm expert and ex-member of UP planning commission. Projected to rise As per official estimates from the statistics ministry released in February, farm output is projected to have grown by 4.6% in FY25, up from 2.7% in the year before, as the year benefited from normal monsoon showers and was marked by the absence of adverse weather. Pushan Sharma, director, research, Crisil Intelligence, said, "It would boost rural sentiments in the upcoming season. Rainfall is classified normal when it is in the range of 96% to 104% of normal, hence the current forecast is slightly above the normal mark. He further said that in the past, years with a slightly above normal monsoon tend to favour not just the kharif planting season but also bodes well for the reservoir level and, therefore, the rabi season as well. This is expected to have a positive bearing on rural consumption. Furthermore, higher prices for key crops like paddy, maize, and cotton, fuelled by eased export restrictions and ethanol industry demand, are likely to incentivize farmers to expand acreages under these crops," he said. Oilseeds such as soybean may also gain traction. In addition to these crops, the outlook is also favourable for horticulture crops, largely tomatoes and onions, where acreages are expected to increase, further contributing to the positive agricultural outlook for kharif 2025. However, the temporal distribution of rainfall remains a major monitorable. Any excessive rainfall during critical stages of the crop cycle, such as sowing, maturation, and harvesting, may cause crop damage and yield losses, particularly for crops like pulses, cotton, and maize, he added. Good rainfall will also help to bring down food inflation. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), during its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held from 7 to 9 April, said that adverse weather events and the rise in international agricultural commodity prices pose risks to food inflation. CPI (Consumer Price Index) headline inflation declined by a cumulative 1.6 percentage points during January-February 2025, from 5.2% in December 2024 to a low of 3.6% in February 2025, according to RBI. "Concerns on lingering global market uncertainties and recurrence of adverse weather-related supply disruptions pose upside risks to the inflation trajectory," stated RBI. Taking all these factors into consideration and assuming a normal monsoon, RBI has projected that CPI inflation for the financial year 2025-26 at 4.0%, with Q1 at 3.6%; Q2 at 3.9%; Q3 at 3.8%; and Q4 at 4.4%. India on Tuesday slammed Pakistan over its motivated and baseless remarks on the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, and said that the country should look at its own abysmal record when it comes to protecting minorities. Last week, commenting on the Waqf Amendment Act, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan condemned the changes in India's Waqf laws, calling them an infringement over the religious and economic rights of Indian Muslims. The passage of this discriminatory legislation is also reflective of the growing majoritarianism in India. There are serious apprehensions that it will contribute to further marginalization of Indian Muslims, said Shafqat Ali Khan, while responding to a query during his weekly press briefing. Reacting to Pakistan's remark, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Indian government strongly rejects Pakistan's "motivated and baseless" comments on the Waqf Amendment Act. Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on matter that is internal to India. Pakistan would do better to look at its own abysmal record when it comes to protecting minorities' rights, instead of preaching to others, said the MEA in a statement. The Waqf Bill, passed by the Parliament, received the assent of the President on April 5. The ruling NDA has strongly defended the legislation as beneficial for minorities, while the Opposition has described it as "anti-Muslim". Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear pleas on Wednesday, including of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, which challenge the constitutional validity of several provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Mohammad Jawed are other key petitioners. On Tuesday, slamming the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that if the party really has sympathy for Muslims, it should appoint a Muslim as its president and give 50 per cent of tickets to people from the community. "From Independence till 2013, there was a Waqf law. But to win elections, and in pursuing a politics of appeasement and vote bank, the Congress made amendments to the Waqf law hurriedly late in 2013 so that it can get votes in elections (a few months later in 2014)," said Modi. Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs, also said that the amendments to the Waqf Act were not targeted at the Muslim community and instead were meant to correct "past mistakes". Also Read | Misuse of Waqf land pushed Muslim youths into cycle puncture jobs: Modi Diamond merchant Mehul Choksi was arrested by Belgium police on Saturday, April 12. The government of Belgium confirmed that India had requested PNB scam-accuseds extradition to the country. He is being detained in anticipation of further judicial proceedings. Access to his legal counsel has been assured. The Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi, said the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice in a statement. Choksi, 65, wanted in India in connection with a 13,500-crore Punjab National Bank(PNB) loan fraud, has been evading authorities since 2018. What next for the fugitive? Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government is working towards a quick extradition of Choksi after his arrest, according to reports. NDTV quoted sources saying that the government will use every legal tool available to bring him back. Is Choksis extradition imminent? Law enforcement agencies in Belgium arrested Choksi at the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) the two Indian agencies probing the case against Choksi. The agencies booked Choksi, and others, in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged fraud in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai. So far, the ED has filed three charge sheets against Choksi, while the CBI has also submitted similar charges. As soon as the extradition process begins, the teams from the two central probing agencies will likely visit Belgium to prepare a case in accordance with the countrys laws. What is India-Belgium Extradition Treaty? In March 2020, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the signing and ratification of the extradition treaty between India and Belgium. Both countries agreed to extradite to the other any person found in their territory who is accused or convicted of an extraditable offence in the other country's territory. The treaty allows extradition based on dual criminality, including for financial crimes. This means that an individual can be extradited only if the offence is punishable in both the countries. The India- Belgium extradition treaty allows the transfer of fugitives accused of serious crimes such as murder, rape, manslaughter, bigamy, forgery, counterfeiting, embezzlement, and fraud. The extradition of nationals is discretionary. The nationality will be determined at the time the offence was committed. What are the hurdles? Under the Treaty, extradition shall be refused if, the offence involved is a political offence or the offence for which extradition is requested is a military offence. For now, it looks unlikely that Choksi will be in India soon. Even if the process is fast-tracked, the legal hurdles remain. Choksi is expected to resort to legal means to defy extradition. This may include a request for bail, citing his age and medical condition. Choski is a cancer patient. My client is not a flight risk. He is extremely sick and is undergoing treatment for cancer, Choksi's lawyer, Vijay Aggarwal, told reporters after the arrest. Choksi and his wife, Preeti Choksi, a Belgian citizen, had been living in Antwerp after he obtained a 'residency card'. The 2021 'excuse' In 2021, Indian authorities were in Roseau, the capital of Dominica in the Caribbean, to get Choksi back to India. His family and lawyers alleged Indian agents assaulted him there. Choksi was even threatened and asked to sign a consent form saying that he was going to India of his own will, they alleged, according to a report in the The Indian Express. Choksi was previously believed to have lived in Antigua and Barbuda before travelling to Belgium. After the controversy, Dominica withdrew the case against him and sent him back to Antigua and Barbuda, where he lived before. The Indian Express report says Choksi's lawyers might use this incident to suggest that he may not get due process in India. The allegations of human rights violations and poor prison conditions in the country may also prevent Choksi from returning to India. What's the case against Choksi? Choksi, the diamond trader and the owner of Gitanjali Group, is wanted in India in connection with a 13,500-crore PNB bank loan fraud case. Along with his nephew Nirav Modi, Choksi is accused in the PNB scam. Choksi, Modi, their family members and employees, bank officials and others were booked by the ED and CBI in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged fraud in the Brady House branch of the PNB in Mumbai. Choksi's nephew, Nirav Modi, is lodged in a London jail and contesting his extradition to India after courts repeatedly denied him bail. My client is not a flight risk. He is extremely sick and is undergoing treatment for cancer. Earlier, reports from Antiguan media suggested that Mehul and Preeti Choksi are considering settling in Geneva. Earlier this year, Choksi's legal counsel informed a special court in Mumbai that he is currently in Antwerp, Belgium, undergoing treatment for blood cancer. The Supreme Court will on Wednesday, April 16, hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of several provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi's petition is also among the 10 pleas listed before a three-judge bench comprising the CJI and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar took note of the submissions of advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain that a fresh plea was filed and the same be listed for hearing. "All matters where mentioning slips are given, we give dates mostly within a week, the CJI said. The fresh plea, mentioned by advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, was filed by Hari Shankar Jain and one Mani Munjal against the Union of India, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Central Waqf Council. The plea challenges the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995 as amended by Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 as those provisions violate Articles 14, 15, 21, 25,26,27 and 300A of the Constitution of India as it creates an "imbalance and disharmony in the Indian society" by offering "undue advantages" to the Muslim community. It said the Waqf Boards, through these legal provisions, have gained excessive powers leading to large-scale occupation of government and private lands across the country. Meanwhile, the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 has also sparked violence in parts of Bengal amid protests by various Muslim groups. Following that, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of "inciting violence" by her remarks asking people to protest against the Waqf Act and declaring that she will not implement it in her state. Rijiju also said that the amended Waqf Act was not aimed at the Muslim community but was intended to correct "past mistakes", and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of "inciting violence" in her state through her opposition to the implementation of the law. Also Read | Waqf Amendment Act comes into force from today, govt issues notification The Waqf Bill, passed by the Parliament, received the assent of the President on April 5. A fire broke out at Lokbandhu Hospital in Lucknow late Monday night, but it has now been put out. Officials said all patients from the affected wards were safely rescued and moved to other hospitals The incident took place on the second floor of the ICU building near the female ward. A total of 200 patients were inside the hospital who have been reffered to Civil Hospital, Balrampur Hospital, and King George's Medical University (KGMU) Hospital. Inside visuals from Lokbandhu Hospital went viral as firefighting operations and the SDRF team were trying to douse the fire. The fire has been doused, and all the patients of the three wards have been rescued and referred to other facilities. None of the patients are stuck inside, District Magistrate Visakh G Iyer said, while speaking to ANI. The Principal Secretary of Health, Partha Sarthi Sen Sharma, added, "No casualty or injury has been reported in the incident. All the patients have been shifted to another hospital. We have spoken to the management of those hospitals, too." What was the reason behind the fire? Speaking about what could have caused the fire, Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob said, "The reason behind this fire is not yet clear. However, all the patients have been shifted to other hospitals." "The fire has been doused. The reasons behind this will be investigated," Jacob said. Meanwhile, on Monday, Police Commissioner Amarendra Singh Sengar confirmed that the fire brigade were sent at the scene promptly. "We received information of a fire at the Lokbandhu Hospital. The fire brigade reached here. All the patients have been evacuated and shifted to nearby hospitals. There is no report of any injury," he told ANI. Smoke was first detected on the ground floor The fire was serious enough to draw the attention of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak visited the spot. The Chief Minister asked officials for a full report on the incident. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said, "Smoke was detected on the ground floor. The hospital staff immediately began shifting patients. About 200 patients have been moved. Serious patients were sent to KGMU, and some to the Civil Hospital. There is no cause for concern." India has made steady progress in strengthening the structural capacity of the justice delivery system, but the gap between policy and implementation remains, according to the latest edition of India Justice Report 2025 released on Tuesday. Over 50 million cases were pending in district and high courts in 2024, and a significant portion of these cases has been stuck for more than five years. This is further compounded by a shortage of judges, with 33% vacancies in high courts and 21% in subordinate courts. Womens representation in the justice system is minuscule and it will take over a century to fill the gap. While representation of other backward classes (OBCs) in the courts is satisfactory, several states are struggling to fill the quota for scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs). Moreover, the prison system is stretched with inmate overpopulation and a high share of undertrials waiting for their day in court. The study, which analysed 102 indicators across six themesbudget, infrastructure, human resource, workload, diversity and trends (or intention to improve)for police, prisons, the judiciary, and legal aid using government statistics, showed that the southern states are better at delivering justice even as some shortfalls are visible. The problems of overall capacity deficits, impossible arrears, overfull jails, and inadequate avenues of legal redress have culminated in creating a wicked problem multifaceted, deeply challenging, and inviting no single definite pathway to a complete solution," the report said. Indias ailing justice system will require policy reforms along with technological adoption and advancement, increased public awareness, sustained effort to increase awareness and a holistic approach to address the complex social and economic inequalities. The study was conducted by a group of civil society organizations comprising DAKSH, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Common Cause, Centre for Social Justice, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and TISS-Prayas. Also Read: Call of justice: India should reform its process for the removal of judges State of states Southern states led the overall justice rankings among 18 large and mid-sized states (population above 10 million), showcasing better performance in most segments. Karnataka delivered a balanced performance across all four pillars--police, judiciary, prisons, and legal aid--while Andhra Pradesh stood out for its strong police infrastructure. However, Telangana and Tamil Nadu struggled to provide adequate legal aid despite their high rankings. Kerala led the rankings in judicial performance but had the weakest police infrastructure among the top five states. West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were the worst performers. The scores and the rankings were measured on the basis of 102 indicators across six themesbudget, infrastructure, human resource, workload, diversity and trends (or intention to improve)for police, prisons, the judiciary, and legal aid. Also Read: A judiciary that refrains from judicial overreach can better serve the cause of justice Long way to go Women remain vastly underrepresented across the justice system, with a marginally higher share seen at the lower levels. In 17 of the 18 states analysed, women made up less than 10% of the police forcea gap that reflects a wider pattern across both police and judiciary. While some progress is visible, it is uneven and slow. At the current pace, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar may achieve 33% women representation in the police force (mandated by the Centre) in about three years. But for states like Karnataka and Jharkhand, it could take over 100 yearsmaking gender parity in justice a distant goal. Docket drain Delivery of justice may not be possible without efforts to reduce inequality based on caste, a system which has ailed the Indian society. Karnataka stands out as the only state to have fully met its quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the district courts. States like Tamil Nadu and Telangana have made partial progress, fulfilling some of their reserved category quotas, but many, including West Bengal, have failed to meet any. This lack of representation comes amid a broader capacity crisis in the judiciary. India currently has only about 16 judges per million peoplefar below the 1987 Law Commissions recommendation of 50 in district and high courts. The shortage is more pronounced in some regions: West Bengal fares the worst among subordinate courts, while Kerala has the weakest judge-to-population ratio among all states. Justice jitters As legal cases drag on for decades, hundreds of thousands of undertrials are left in limbodenied timely justice and the right to due process. One in four high court cases has been pending for over 20 years, a stark reflection of deep-rooted inefficiencies in the system. This crisis is mirrored in the countrys overcrowded prisons, where 76% of inmates are undertrialspeople who havent been convictedup from 66% in 2012. Even more troubling is the sharp rise in prolonged detentions, with the share of undertrials jailed for over five years more than tripled in the last decade. While there are deficits in the system in terms of vacancies, training budget, and overcrowding, some progress has also been made with CCTV cameras, womens helpdesks and the share of women in the district judiciary. However, India still has a long way to go. Also Read: Delays in justice delivery can and should be rooted out External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday reflected on the profound impact of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks on India's relationship with Pakistan, describing it as a pivotal moment when Indians collectively decided that such behaviour from a neighbouring country was intolerable. Speaking during an interactive session at Charotar University of Science and Technology, Jaishankar emphasised that India has undergone significant transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last decade, while Pakistan remains unchanged, continuing with what he termed as its bad habits. When asked why the Indian government seldom discusses Pakistan publicly, Jaishankar explained that there is no need to waste "precious time" on the neighbouring country. "India has changed. I wish I could say Pakistan has changed. They unfortunately, in many ways, are continuing their bad habits. I would say the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack was the turning point. I think that was when the Indian public, across political parties, said this is too much," he said, adding that "People felt that the country (India) cannot accept this behaviour from a neighbour". On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists launched attacks at multiple locations in Mumbai, killing 166 persons in the nearly 60-hour siege. In a veiled jibe at the Congress-led UPA government which was in power in 2008, Jaishankar said, "I think that the feeling was very very strong in society, but it may not have been entirely understood at that time by the government, which is a different matter". The Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat further said, that after 2014, when the government changed, Pakistan was given a firm message that there will be consequences if acts of terrorism are committed, he said. "During this period, we have grown economically and politically, and our standing in the world has improved. But, Pakistan continued the old playbook," he said. Jaishankar said Pakistan was also trying to gain something from the conflict in Afghanistan when the US and NATO were present there. "Pakistan was playing a double game. It was with both the Taliban and also with the other side. But, when the Americans left, the double game could not be sustained. Also Read | EAM Jaishankar says India-China relations moving in positive direction "Whatever benefits they were getting out of the double game that also went down. Moreover, the very terrorism industry they had promoted came back to bite them," he added. He said while India has gone up to a higher level, the terrorism brand has stuck to them (Pakistan). The Enforcement Directorate has summoned businessman Robert Vadra brother-in-law of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for questioning on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land deal, according to official sources. This is the second time Robert Vadra has been summoned by the ED in the land deal case. Robert Vadra was first summoned in this case on April 8 but he did not depose. Update: Robert Vadra has arrived at the ED office in Delhi for questioning in land deal linked money laundering case. Robert Vadra is husband of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi. The land deal investigation against Robert Vadra is linked to a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur. Once he appears before the ED, the agency will record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources quoted by PTI said. Robert Vadra was earlier questioned by the federal probe agency in a different money laundering case. How did Robert Vadra react to the summons? Robert Vadra called the ED summons as political vendetta. Whenever I talk for the people, they will try to suppress me. It's a political vendetta. They misuse the power of the probing agencies. I do not have any fear, as I have nothing to hide, he said, adding, We told the ED we were organising our documents, I am always ready to be here... I hope there's a conclusion today. There is nothing in the case. On Monday, April 14, Robert Vadra took potshots at the Central government after the arrest of Mehul Choksi in Belgium, hoping that businessman Gautam Adani, too, is questioned soon. The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday strongly criticised an Allahabad High Court order that granted bail to a man accused of raping a postgraduate student, while controversially suggesting that the survivor had herself invited trouble and was responsible for the alleged assault. Allahabad HC says rape survivor responsible for assault The survivor had alleged before the Allahabad High Court that the accused, whom she met at a bar, raped her twice at his relatives apartment after she agreed to go there to rest, being heavily intoxicated and in need of support. Despite these allegations, a Single Bench of the Allahabad High Court granted bail to the accused, observing, This court is of the view that even if the allegation of the victim is accepted as true, then it can also be concluded that she herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same. The Allahabad HC further noted that the rape survivor, an MA student, was competent enough to understand the morality and significance of her act as disclosed in the FIR. Also Read | Yashwant Varma takes oath as HC judge, barred from work amid cash row The Allahabad High Courts remarks sparked widespread outrage and concern over judicial sensitivity in cases involving sexual violence. During the Supreme Court hearing, Justice BR Gavai expressed deep unease over the language used by the Allahabad High Court, stating, Granting bail is one thing, but why must a Court make such remark? The Supreme Court judge emphasised the critical need for judges to exercise caution and sensitivity in their words and approach, especially in matters of sexual assault. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta echoed these sentiments, urging that justice should not only be done but must also be seen to have been done. He highlighted the importance of considering how such judicial observations might be perceived by the common public, who may not be familiar with legal nuances, and warned that victim-blaming remarks could erode public trust in the justice system. Grabbing breast of minor not rape: Allahabad HC's remark sparks ire The Supreme Courts intervention comes amid heightened scrutiny of judicial attitudes towards sexual violence cases, following another controversial Allahabad High Court decision. In that case, Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra ruled that actions such as grabbing the breasts of a minor girl, breaking the string of her pyjama, and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert did not constitute an offence of attempt to rape. The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing on that matter due to incomplete service. A resignation letter written on a strip of toilet paper by a female employee in Singapore has gone viral, drawing widespread attention to toxic workplace culture and the importance of employee appreciation. The unusual letter was shared on LinkedIn by Angela Yeoh, Director at Summit Talent, a talent acquisition firm based in Singapore. The letter read: I have chosen this type of paper for my resignation as a symbol of how this company has treated me. I QUIT." Yeoh revealed that the woman used the toilet paper to symbolize how she felt at her workplaceused and discarded. Yeohs post began with a direct quote from the former employee: I felt like toilet paper, used when needed, then discarded without a second thought." These were the exact words that stuck with me when a candidate explained why she was leaving her job, Yeoh wrote in the now-viral post. She went on to reflect on how vital appreciation is in the professional environment. Make your employees feel so genuinely appreciated that even when they decide to leave, they walk away with gratitude, not resentment. That kind of experience doesnt speak to a lack of loyalty, it speaks volumes about the companys culture," she added. Also Read | Who should pay for Ozempic is the next big workplace fight In a thoughtful conclusion, Yeoh wrote: Appreciation isnt just a tool for retention. Its a reflection of how much a person is valued, not just for what they do but for who they are. She ended with a call for introspection: If people leave feeling undervalued, its time to reflect. Small changes in appreciation make a big impact. Start today." The post has since gone viral, sparking debate across LinkedIn and other platforms. Many users resonated with the womans frustration and praised the symbolism. One commenter wrote, People mistreat other people; Companies are only as good at treating people as are those who direct the actions and people decisions of the company. Lead with intent AND empathy. Also Read | Glassdoor review costs boss job after sacked employee reveals workplace issues Christians across the globe observe Good Friday to mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. A day to reflect, pray and remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for humanity, Good Friday carries a message of love, hope and redemption. Good Friday 2025 Significance Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. It is observed on the Friday of Holy Week, ending with Easter on Sunday. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ Jesus Christ gave his life on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. When is Good Friday 2025? The date of Good Friday is determined according to Easter Sunday. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. This year, Easter is on April 20, 2025; therefore, Good Friday will be on April 18, 2025. Is Good Friday a government holiday? Good Friday is marked as a government holiday in India. Hence, banks, schools, colleges, the stock market and other public offices will be closed on this day. Why is Good Friday not celebrated? Good Friday is a day of mourning for Christians across the world due to the death of Jesus Christ on this day. It is a day to reflect on the suffering of Christ rather than celebration. How is Good Friday observed? The observance of Good Friday may vary across various denominations of Christianity. Special services to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ are held in churches. These include readings on crucifixion along with prayers of forgiveness. Some believers also reflect The Seven Last Words, which refers to the last statements of Jesus Christ before death. Some Christians observe fasts or abstain from certain foods as a mark of respect for the sacrifice of Christ. Comedian Vir Das took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise Air India after a disappointing travel experience with his injured wife. A loyal customer of the airline, Vir Das, said he was deeply upset about sharing his experience. He mentioned that he and his wife, having a fractured foot, had pre-booked Air Indias Pranaam service and a wheelchair for their flight to Delhi. Despite paying 50,000 per seat, they faced multiple issues on board: a broken table, broken leg rests and a seat that wouldnt fully straighten. The aircraft was, however, described as newly refurbished. The flight was delayed by two hours. On arrival in Delhi, they were shocked to find a stepladder instead of an aerobridge or proper assistance. Das wrote that the cabin crew looked confused when he requested help for his wife. A ground staff member reportedly shrugged and ignored him when asked for help. His wife, despite her injury, had to climb down the stepladder herself. On reaching the terminal, the promised wheelchair service was missing, and the staff appeared clueless. Vir Das had to find a wheelchair himself and push his wife through baggage claim and all the way to the parking area. Also Read | Vir Das takes dig at Elon Musk for bureaucracy chainsaw before US-Canada tour Vir Das ended the post in his signature sarcastic style. He informed Air India that one of their wheelchairs was now left on the second floor of the parking area at Delhi airport. He suggested they come and collect it. His post has gone viral, with many social media users expressing similar frustrations with the airline. Air India posted a standardised response, Dear Mr. Das, we understand and empathize with the experience. Please share us the booking details via DM for us to look into this on priority. AI816. Get your wheelchair bro, Das replied, to which the airline company responded, We're getting this checked on priority. Please allow us some time. Air India responds Air India Spokesperson said, On Vir Das, We have noted with concern a social media post by Mr Das about wheelchair not being provided to his co-passenger while travelling from Mumbai to Delhi on AI816 on 14 April 2025. We empathize with the guests, especially given the mobility concern involved, and recognize that this experience fell short of expectations. The operating cabin crew offered to assist the guest, including deplaning by using the 'ambulift' assigned to the aircraft as per SOP, but the delaynot denialin providing wheelchair assistance was due to unusually high demand for wheelchairs and staff at that time. Air India remains committed to improving the end-to-end travel experience for all its guests. Netizens slam Air India further Thousands of like complaints have happened already. No remorse. No intent to recover. But now that this bahubali of complaint. I hope they try to please you and try (atleast try) to fix problem, came from one social media user. One user quipped, Air India se jaane se acha hai aadmi paidal chala jaye (Its better to walk than to travel with Air India). Air India does not care about accessibility for people in need. I was made to wait for 25 minutes with my 1.5 years old daughter at the gate of the plane because the uninformed staff were not clear about the rules of carrying a foldable travel baby stroller on the plane, posted another user. There was high interest in Air India on Google India during April 14-15: In a major development on US border security, illegal crossings at the southwest border, the portion between the United States and Mexico, dropped to their lowest level in recorded history, according to preliminary data released by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on April 1. The figures reflect a dramatic turnaround since President Donald Trump returned to office, with officials crediting aggressive enforcement policies and renewed border wall construction. Sharpest drop on record In March 2025, Border Patrol encountered just 7,181 illegal immigrants at the southern border a staggering 95% drop compared to the same period in 2024 under President Biden, when 137,473 crossings were recorded. CBP said the daily average of illegal crossings in March was about 230 per day, compared to 5,100 per day under the Biden administration marking a 95% decline. The month of March recorded the lowest southwest border crossings in history, marking a pivotal achievement in our nations border security efforts, CBP stated. You will be prosecuted, and you will be deported CBP Acting Commissioner Pete Flores credited President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for empowering Border Patrol agents with strong enforcement tools. Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, the administration has taken bold, decisive action to restore control at the border, Flores said. The message is clear: the border is closed to illegal crossings, and for those still willing to test our resolve, know this you will be prosecuted, and you will be deported. Flores emphasised that operational control is becoming a reality and noted the signing of new border wall construction contracts in March to further bolster physical security infrastructure. Homan: The border patrol is finally allowed to do its job US Border Czar Tom Homan praised the record-setting drop in illegal entries in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying it reflects the effect of game-changing policies. I started as a Border Patrol Agent in 1984, and I cannot recall a single month since then that the numbers have been that low, Homan wrote. Thanks to President Trump and his game-changing policies, those days of mass releases are over. The men and women of the Border Patrol have proven what they can accomplish when they are allowed to do their job. Homan pointed to previous daily crossings of more than 11,000 under Biden, describing the new numbers as a "far cry" from the past administration's record. Also Read | Trump rules out China trade deal until $1 trillion deficit is fixed Political and operational shift The Trump administration has made border security a top-tier issue, promising to end what it called an invasion of illegal immigration. The March data suggests those policies are now delivering tangible outcomes. With enforcement up, crossings down, and physical barriers expanding again, the Trump administration is moving swiftly to deliver on its core campaign promise: to shut down unlawful entry and protect American lives. Also Read | Donald Trump threatens to strip Harvard of tax-exempt status Police responded on Tuesday afternoon to reports of a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in south Dallas, prompting a swift law enforcement response and lockdown of the campus. Details surrounding the incident remain limited, and authorities have not confirmed whether any injuries occurred. Aerial footage showed a heavy police presence with multiple emergency vehicles stationed around the school. The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) later announced that the campus had been secured, although officials did not clarify the nature or outcome of the incident. The school, which serves approximately 1,000 students, was placed under lockdown as a precaution. By mid-afternoon, DISD stated that parents could reunite with students at a nearby stadium. Counselors have also been made available to support students and staff affected by the incident. Authorities are expected to release more information as the investigation continues. US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on April 15 to announce what he called a very big and exciting commitment from tech giant NVIDIA a $500 billion investment to build AI supercomputers exclusively in the United States. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: NVIDIA COMMITS 500 BILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD A.I. SUPERCOMPUTERS, PLUS, IN THE UNITED STATES, EXCLUSIVELY. This is very big and exciting news. He added that his administration would ensure all necessary permits are fast-tracked: All necessary permits will be expedited and quickly delivered to NVIDIA, as they will to all companies committing to be part of the Golden Age of America! Golden age of America Trumps post ties the alleged investment into a broader campaign narrative about revitalising American manufacturing and tech supremacy. His use of the phrase Golden Age of America echoes his past promises to bring jobs and innovation back to US soil, especially in high-tech sectors like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and supercomputing. The company's will be carried out in partnership with global heavyweights like TSMC, Foxconn, and Wistron, the company said. Key projects across US States The plan includes: Production of Nvidias Blackwell AI chips at TSMCs Phoenix, Arizona factory. Supercomputer manufacturing at new plants in Texas, which Foxconn and Wistron aim to ramp up within 12 to 15 months. The announcement signals a deepening commitment to domestic chipmaking at a time when the US government is offering policy support and tariff threats to encourage local production. Huang: Boosting rupply chain resiliency In a statement, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the strategic benefits of domestic manufacturing: Adding American manufacturing helps us better meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chain and boosts our resiliency. The company said the initiative will lead to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the coming decades, boosting local economies and securing supply chains against global disruptions. Nvidias move echoes that of Apple, which in February committed to investing $500 billion in the US, including plans for an AI server plant in Texas. Also Read | Will the Trump funding freeze fight actually hurt Harvard? Explained Aligning with Washington Though most of Nvidias chips are currently made in Taiwan, the companys strategic pivot to US-based manufacturing aligns it with other tech firms seeking to avoid trade penalties while benefiting from federal incentives. A Chinese diplomat has criticised White House Press Secretary and the Donald Trump administration's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt for wearing a dress made with Chinese lace. The diplomat accused the Trump administration of using the tariffs against China for business, even while everyday practicalities remain different. Zhang Zhisheng, who identifies himself as the current Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Denpasar, Indonesia, and former CG in Zanzibar, Tanzania on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), called out Leavitt for wearing a dress reportedly made with Chinese lace. Accusing China is Business, Buying China is Life, Claims Diplomat Accusing China is business. Buying China is life. The beautiful lace on the dress was recognized by an employee of a Chinese company as its product, diplomat Zhang wrote on X. He attached a picture of the dress in question, and screenshots from netizens on Weibo (aka Chinese Twitter), including one who identified the lace on Leavitt's red outfit as being sourced from a factory in Mabu (China), where they are employed. One Weibo user said: The clothes are all made in China, and we shout boycott China every day. While another identified the source, saying: The lace on the collar and placket of this dress was woven in Mabu Town. It was dyed by our factory. How Did Netizens React? Enjoying Made in China Irony Bootleg Clothes One user on X, echoed Zhang statement, writing: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blames Made in China while wearing a beautiful lace dress Made in China. Blaming Made in China is her job, enjoying Made in China is her life. (sic) The comments of the post also pointed out that merchandise for Donald Trump's campaign slogan Make America Great Again, dubbed colloquially as MAGA, is also being made and sourced from China. Another user pointed out the double standards: How does Karoline Leavitt manage the crushing irony of slamming Made in China while strutting in a gorgeous Chinese-made lace dress at the White House podium? (sic) Others also defended Leavitt, saying: At this point we all have stuff made in China on (sic); and accused the Chinese product of being counterfeit: Chinese people are notorious for bootleg clothes. Its more likely that they copied a luxury brands jacket. (sic) Former US President Barack Obama and US Senator for Vermont Bernie Sanders have backed Harvard University for resisting the Donald Trump administration's decision to freeze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and contracts to the institution. The funding freeze was announced on April 14 by the Joint Task Force to combat anti-semitism, following Harvard Universitys refusal to comply with new federal demands related to campus protests. Harvard has set an example: Obama Sharing a Harvard University post on X, Obama, on April 15, wrote, Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Lets hope other institutions follow suit. Bernie Sanders also backed Harvard University, writing on X, Congratulations to Harvard for refusing to relinquish its constitutional rights to Trumps authoritarianism. Other universities should follow their lead. And instead of doing pro bono work for Trump, cowardly law firms should be defending those who believe in the rule of law. What is the matter? The decision of the Donald Trump administration's joint task force comes after Harvard University President Alan M Garber issued a statement on April 14, saying the university would not accept the administrations proposed demands despite the possibility of the Ivy League school losing federal funding. In response, the task force said, "Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges - that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws." It further said, The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. The task force announced a freeze on USD 2.2 billion in multi-year grants and USD 60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University. What did Harvard President Garber say? In his statement, Garber said the federal government has threatened its partnerships with several universities, including Harvard, due to accusations of anti-semitism on their campuses. He stated that the Trump administration issued an updated and expanded list of demands, saying if the school wants to maintain financial ties with the federal government, it must comply. Garber wrote, Late Friday night, the administration issued an updated and expanded list of demands, warning that Harvard must comply if we intend to 'maintain [our] financial relationship with the federal government'. It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner. Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard. Garber said they informed the administration that they would not accept their proposed agreement. We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, Garber wrote in the letter. Trump's crackdown on federal funding Donald Trump has halted federal funding for all Ivy League universities except for the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College. The decision is linked to an ongoing investigation into anti-Israel demonstrations that have occurred on these campuses since October 2023. Several other universities across the country have also seen their funding impacted as part of the same probe. Earlier this month, a federal task force focused on anti-semitism launched a review of Harvard University's federal funding, which includes grants and contracts valued at nearly $9 billion. Netizens say, we cant preach liberty while practicing control A user replied to Obama's post, And lets be realcutting funding doesnt punish the institution. It hurts students, research, innovation, and the very things that keep America competitive globally. We cant preach liberty while practicing control. Conservatives should lead with principlenot political theater. Another said, Harvards stand is more than institutional self-defense. Its a declaration that the pursuit of truth must remain untamed by politics. Academic freedom is not a privilege; it is a pillar of democracy. When universities teach without fear, society learns without limits. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. A user said, "Harvard just set the bar rejecting an unlawful attempt to muzzle academic freedom, while ensuring every student thrives in a space of intellectual honesty, debate, and respect. Heres hoping other universities have the spine to follow. #AcademicFreedom #Harvard." The US government cut over $2.2 billion funding to Harvard University after it snubbed President Donald Trump for its demands over campus protests and policy changes on diversity part of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the US that the new administration has abolished. A Department of Education task force on combating antisemitism said in a statement on Monday, April 14, that it was freezing $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University. Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges -- that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws, the federal government letter read. The development comes as the Trump administration moves to cut federal spending of dozens of university University of Pennsylvania, Brown, and Princeton accused of allowing protests against Israel and thereby, letting antisemitism go unchecked on the university campus, and letting DEI programs flourish. How did Harvard snub Trump? In a public letter, Harvard President Alan Garber wrote that if the university accepts the demands made by the Department of Education, it would allow the federal government to control the Harvard community and threaten values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge. Alan Garber said no federal government, irrespective of the party in power, should dictate private universities what they teach, admit or hire on the campus. Also Read | University of Michigan Scraps DEI Program Amid Trump Pressure He said, No government - regardless of which party is in power - should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, he said. New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) India has decided to follow the trade liberalisation path with the US, and both countries are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) for which in-person talks are expected to begin next month, senior government officials said on Tuesday. India and the US are starting negotiations in virtual mode from this week. They have also finalised and signed the terms of reference (ToRs) for the pact. India and the US have been engaged in negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) since March. Both sides have targeted to conclude the first phase of the pact by the fall (September-October) of this year, with an aim to more than double the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from about USD 191 billion currently. Negotiations of the various track groups for the pact will start virtually within this week. "We hope to get into physical mode of negotiations may be in the second half of May. So we are on schedule as far as the BTA and its negotiations are concerned," Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal told reporters here. He is also the chief negotiator of India for this pact. Speaking on the agreement, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the agreement, if finalised, will open huge opportunities for both India and US businesses. "...There are both concerns as well as opportunities for India in terms of the current tariffs (globally). India has already taken a path, where we will be going for trade liberalisation with the US. There is a clear pathway which we have decided at the leaders' level, and then subsequently meetings have been held. "Negotiations are going on and we have taken a path of trade liberalisation and BTA. So if we follow that path, then I think not only India's trade with the US will grow...that will also open up opportunities for India and for US as well, he said. Barthwal added that both countries will gain from this BTA and that is the assumption based on which such trade agreements are finalised and negotiated. Citing examples of India's trade pacts with Australia and the UAE, he said India's trade has improved with the countries. "So, I expect that a lot of opportunities will come, and there will be a higher trade with the US in case this BTA materialises," Barthwal said. India, he said, is also looking at non-tariff barriers as well as tariff barriers in the agreement. If these barriers are reduced by both sides, it will lead to higher trade growth for the US and India. He added that "we will try to see that negotiations close as quickly as possible with the US. That is the path we have taken. So I am very hopeful that we will be able to negotiate a good BTA with the US". In a trade pact, two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. They also ease norms to promote trade in services and boost investments. While the US is looking at duty concessions in sectors like certain industrial goods, automobiles (electric vehicles particularly), wines, petrochemical products, dairy, agriculture items such as apples, tree nuts, and alfalfa hay; India may look at duty cuts for labour-intensive sectors like apparels, textiles, gems and jewellery, leather, plastics, chemicals, oil seeds, shrimp, and horticulture products. From 2021-22 to 2023-24, the US was India's largest trading partner. The US accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total goods exports, 6.22 per cent in imports, and 10.73 per cent in bilateral trade. With America, India had a trade surplus (the difference between imports and exports) of USD 35.32 billion in goods in 2023-24. This was USD 27.7 billion in 2022-23, USD 32.85 billion in 2021-22, USD 22.73 billion in 2020-21, and USD 17.26 billion in 2019-20. In 2024, India's main exports to the US included drug formulations and biologicals (USD 8.1 billion), telecom instruments (USD 6.5 billion), precious and semi-precious stones (USD 5.3 billion), petroleum products (USD 4.1 billion), gold and other precious metal jewellery (USD 3.2 billion), ready-made garments of cotton, including accessories (USD 2.8 billion), and products of iron and steel (USD 2.7 billion). US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's senior adviser Dan Caldwell was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday (April 15) after being identified in an investigation into leaks within the Department of Defense, as per a report. Caldwell has been placed on administrative leave for what was described as "an unauthorised disclosure." "The investigation remains ongoing" Reuters citing a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the official declined to provide further details on the nature of the alleged disclosure or whether it involved contact with a journalist. "The investigation remains ongoing," the official was quoted as saying. The development marks the latest in a series of actions taken under the Trump administrations crackdown on unauthorised leaks, a campaign reportedly supported by Hegseth since taking the helm at the Pentagon in January. Memo sought investigation into unauthorised disclosures A memo dated March 21 and signed by Hegseths chief of staff Joe Kasper requested an investigation into recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications. The memo also left open the possibility of using polygraph tests in the inquiry, although it remains unclear if Caldwell underwent one, according to the news outlet. Key adviser in Yemen strike planning Though Caldwell has maintained a lower profile than other top officials, Reuters noted he played a crucial advisory role to Hegseth. A leaked Signal message chain published by The Atlantic last month highlighted Caldwells importanceHegseth reportedly identified him as the best staff point of contact for the National Security Council during planning for strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The US State Department is expected to propose an unprecedented scaling back of Washington's diplomatic reach, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday, shuttering programs and embassies worldwide to slash the budget by almost 50 percent. The proposals, contained in an internal departmental memo said to be under serious discussion by senior officials, would eliminate almost all funding for international organizations such as the United Nations and NATO. Financial support for international peacekeeping would be curtailed, along with funding for educational and cultural exchanges like the Fulbright Program, one of the most prestigious US scholarships. The plan comes with President Donald Trump pressing a broader assault on government spending, and a scaling back of America's leading role on the international stage. But the American Foreign Service Association called the proposed cuts "reckless and dangerous" while former US ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul decried a "giant gift to the Communist Party of China." The memo says the State Department will request a $28.4 billion budget in fiscal year 2026, beginning October 1 -- $26 billion less than the 2025 figure, according to The New York Times. Although it has little to say about humanitarian aid, programs tackling tropical disease, providing vaccines to children in developing nations and promoting maternal and child health would go, the Times reported. USAID -- the sprawling development agency eyed for closure by Trump and Musk -- is assumed by the memo's authors to have been fully absorbed into the State Department, said The Washington Post. Only the Republican-controlled Congress -- which needs Democratic votes to pass most laws -- has the authority to sign off on the cuts. But the proposals will likely loom large in lawmakers' negotiations over the 2026 budget. Government departments were facing a deadline of this week to send the White House their plans for cuts, but the State Department has yet to make any public announcements. It is not clear if Secretary of State Marco Rubio has endorsed the April 10 memo, but he would need to sign off on any cuts before they could be considered by Congress. The document earmarks 10 embassies and 17 consulates for closure, including missions in Eritrea, Luxembourg, South Sudan and Malta, according to politics outlet Punchbowl News. Five consulates earmarked for closure are in France while two are in Germany, Punchbowl reported. The list also includes missions in Scotland and Italy. Also Read | OPEC slashes 2025 global demand growth forecast on Trump tariff-impact In Canada, US consulates in Montreal and Halifax would be downsized to "provide 'last-mile' diplomacy with minimal local support," the website reported, citing the document. US missions to international bodies such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the UN's children's fund, UNICEF, would be merged with the diplomatic outposts in the city where they are located. Kilmar Abrego Garcias journey began in El Salvador like that of any ordinary man, and fate seemed to favour him when he illegally entered the United States. He went on to live there for 14 years, worked as a construction worker, built a life, got married, and raised childrenuntil the Trump administration deported him back to El Salvador, only to later realise the removal was an administrative error. Now, a new challenge has emerged: El Salvador is refusing to send him back. Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case--among the thousands of deportees--has caught attention of the world as he fights to return to his life in the United States. But fighting this war against the orders of two of the world's powerful men Donald Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is a battle that he has to face alone. Locked in a mega prison CECOT in El Salvador, Kilman Abrego Garcia is now caught between two nations unwilling to take responsibility for a mistake that has upended his life. Who is Kilmar Abrego Garcia and why is world talking about him? Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a 29-year-old man who has lived in the United States for roughly 14 years. He entered America illegally in 2011. For years, he worked in construction and started his life. In 2019, when his case was heard, an immigration judge ruled that he could not be sent back to El Salvador based on the evidence that he faced threats from some gang members. The judge found that a gang in El Salvador was targeting him and threatening him with death because of his familys pupusa business. But he could be deported to another country. In March this year, Trump officials arrested him based on a 2019 accusation that he was an MS-13 gang member after reliable sources confirmed this accusation. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was put on a plane and sent to El Salvador, despite the 2019 ruling. Now, the Trump administration has described his case as an administrative error. In late March, Kilmar Abrego Garcia and his family filed a lawsuit against several officials from the Trump administration, seeking his return. US District Judge Paula Xinis also ruled that his deportation to El Salvador was an illegal act, directing the Trump administration to have him returned by March 31. If the Supreme Court said bring somebody back, I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court," Donald Trump said. But El Salvador won't send him back: Here's why El Salvador President Bukele, who met Donald Trump at the White House, said he had no plans to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He suggested that if he is sent back to the US, it would be like smuggling a terrorist back into the country. The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I don't have the power to return him to the US, Bukele said. A top Chinese official issued a scathing warning of President Donald Trumps latest tariff escalation on Tuesday (April 15), warning that the extremely shameless trade war would ultimately harm "peasants in the United States". Xia Baolong, who oversees Hong Kong and Macao affairs for Beijing, in a nationally televised address, condemned the Trump administrations decision to impose a 145% levy on goods from the region, calling the move brutally unreasonable. The US isnt after our tariffs but our very survival, Xia declared. The US has repeatedly contained and suppressed Hong Kong and this will eventually backfire on itself. Let those peasants in the United States wail in front of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. China wont be bullied: Xia The fiery remarks mark one of the strongest public responses yet from Beijing as tensions between the two countries escalate again. The Chinese people do not cause trouble, nor are they afraid of trouble, Xia said. Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China. He argued that US attempts to use economic pressure would ultimately fail, just as they had in previous standoffs involving Hong Kong. The tit-for-tat measures have heightened fears of another full-blown trade war, with both sides digging in. JD Vance sparks diplomatic fury Tensions had already flared after US Vice President JD Vance sparked outrage in Beijing with controversial comments about Chinas role in US consumerism. The U.S. borrows from Chinese peasants to buy things those Chinese peasants manufacture, Vance had said. That remark drew immediate condemnation from Chinas foreign ministry. "To hear words that lack knowledge and respect like those uttered by this Vice President is both surprising and kind of lamentable," said spokesperson Lin Jian. Lin said the comments reflect a misunderstanding of modern China and demonstrate a lack of respect for the Chinese people. US President Donald Trump on Monday reaffirmed his intent to send American citizens who commit violent crimes to prisons in El Salvador. During a conversation with El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele, Trump remarked that Bukele might have to build five more places to accommodate the influx, as reported by the Associated Press. The Trump administration has already deported immigrants to El Salvadors infamous CECOT mega-prison, known for its severe conditions. Trump also mentioned that his team is actively exploring legal avenues to send US citizens to the Central American facility as well. Donald Trump on Monday insisted these would just be violent people, implying they would be those already convicted of crimes in the United States, though he's also floated it as a punishment for those who attack Tesla dealerships to protest his administration and its patron, billionaire Elon Musk. Here's a look at the notion of sending US citizens to prison in a foreign country, why it's likely not legal and possible legal loopholes. If it's legal to do to immigrants, why not citizens? Under immigration law, US immigrants can be deported, but US citizens cannotdeportation laws dont apply to them. One of the fundamental rights of citizenship is protection from being forcibly removed or sent to another country. In contrast, immigrantsboth documented and undocumentedcan be removed, which is whats currently happening in El Salvador. The country is accepting deported individuals not only from its own population but also from nations like Venezuela and potentially other countries that refuse to take their citizens back from the US. Notably, Venezuelans deported to El Salvador last month were reportedly denied due processthey werent given a chance to contest the evidence against them or appear before a judge. Why does the Trump administration want to send people to El Salvador? President Nayib Bukele, who famously refers to himself as the worlds coolest dictator, has drawn international attention for his heavy-handed approach to governance. While his administration has faced criticism for cracking down on human rights, he has also managed to transform El Salvador from one of the most violent countries in the world into a relatively safe one. That tough-on-crime model has earned praise from former President Donald Trump, who openly embraced Bukele's example during their Oval Office meeting on Monday. The US policy of sending immigrantsincluding those from Venezuelato El Salvador serves as a stark warning to potential migrants: making it or staying in the United States may come with serious consequences. It's a strategy seemingly aimed at deterrence, using El Salvadors harsh detention conditions to discourage unauthorised immigration. It's a potential legal loophole that led Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to issue a grim warning in her opinion in a 9-0 US Supreme Court finding that the administration could not fly alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador with no court hearing, even after Trump invoked an 18th-century law last used during World War II to claim wartime powers, AP reported. The implication of the Governments position is that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress, Sotomayor warned. Also Read: Venezuela Pledges to Free Citizens Deported to El Salvador Jail She was writing to dissent from the majority taking the case from the federal judge who had initially barred the administration from any deportations and had ordered planes en route to El Salvador turned around an order the administration apparently ignored. Can they send citizens to El Salvador? The United States does maintain extradition treaties with numerous countries, allowing it to send US citizens abroad to face trial if theyre formally accused of crimes committed in those countries. Under current law, this is the only legal mechanism through which a US citizen can be forcibly removed from the country. However, the idea of sending US citizens to prisons like El Salvadors CECOT raises serious legal and constitutional concerns. The US Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, and CECOTknown for its extreme conditionsoffers a level of harshness far beyond that found in American prisons. Moreover, individuals sent there would be outside the reach of US federal courts, potentially stripping them of constitutionally guaranteed rights like due process. Such actions would almost certainly face intense legal scrutiny and constitutional challenges. It is illegal to expatriate US citizens for a crime, wrote Lauren-Brooke Eisen of the Brennan Center for Social Justice in New York. One last loophole? The administration could use one potential loophole to send a small group of citizens to El Salvador. They can try to strip the citizenship of people who earned it after immigrating to the United States. Also Read: Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador and Honduras before court ruling could stop them The implication of the Governments position is that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress. People who were made US citizens after birth can lose that status for a handful of offences, like funding terrorist organisations or lying on naturalisation forms. They would then revert to green card holders and would be potentially eligible for deportation if convicted of other serious crimes. (Bloomberg) -- Jordan said it arrested 16 people for involvement in an alleged plot to undermine national security in an operation that also uncovered weapons factories inside the kingdom. The detainees are accused of manufacturing missiles and drones, concealing a ready-to-use rocket and recruiting and training individuals in Jordan and abroad, state-run Petra news agency reported Tuesday, citing the countrys intelligence agency. Petra said the agency has been closely monitoring the group since 2021. Jordan has been on edge since the start of the war between neighboring Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hamas, and has repeatedly said displacing Palestinians is a national security risk. The country is home to US bases and has maintained a peace treaty with Israel since 1994. Read: Israels Fight With Islamist Groups Puts Arab World in Dilemma In a televised briefing, the Jordanian governments spokesperson Mohammad Al Mawmouni said the group was manufacturing missiles with a range of up to 5 kilometers (3.1 miles), suggesting the rockets were intended to be used locally. He said the detainees belonged to a group that was unlicensed and dissolved in Jordan. In a video released by the government and broadcast on local television, some of the accused said they were recruited by the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational pan-Islamist movement banned in most Gulf and Arab states. Jordan dissolved the group in 2020. US President Donald Trumps suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza to nearby countries including Jordan has been rejected by Middle East governments. More than half the people in Jordan are Palestinian. (Updates with Trump Gaza plan in final paragraph.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has recently endorsed a smart crib developed by Indian-origin startup Cradlewise, revealing that he and his partner Oliver Mulherin have been using the product for their newborn son, who was born in February this year. In a post shared on social media platform X, Altman candidly reflected on the ups and downs of new parenthood, writing:We bought a lot of silly baby things that we havent needed but definitely I recommend a Cradlewise crib and a lot more burp rags than you think you could possibly need. The post quickly gained traction, especially among tech and parenting communities, prompting a heartfelt response from Cradlewises co-founder and CEO Radhika Patil. She wrote:Thanks for loving us Sam Altman. The AI gods trust in the smarts of Cradlewise means a lot to us. Cradlewise, co-founded in 2016 by Radhika and her husband Bharath Patil, operates out of both the United States and India. The startup is known for its innovative smart crib, which aims to improve infant sleep by automatically detecting signs of wakefulness and gently soothing the baby back to sleep using motion and sound. The idea for the product was born from the couples own parenting experience, after the birth of their first child. Since then, Cradlewise has gained popularity among modern parents seeking tech-assisted solutions to early childcare challenges. In terms of pricing, the smart crib retails for $1,999 in the United States and around 1.5 lakh in India. Radhika Patil, who currently resides in the US, holds a Masters degree in Electronic Design from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and a Bachelors degree from Stanford University. Her unique blend of global education and personal motivation has played a crucial role in shaping the Cradlewise brand. In what has passed into diplomatic lore, when Henry Kissinger asked Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972 for his thoughts on the French Revolution (1789), he replied that it was too early to say." The mis-translated reference was to French student riots in 1968, but before it could be corrected, the response became a byword for far-sighted leaders thinking in centuries rather than years. In considering the current frenzy over unilateral tariffs, looking back just a few decades is helpful. Let us recall the outcome of the Uruguay Round (1986-1994) of negotiations that led to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that underpins the multilateral trading system. A core feature of the Uruguay Round was its expanded coverage of services and intellectual property, as against the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 (GATT), which dealt only with goods. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which codified universal IP protection, was agreed upon after long and difficult negotiations. Many developing countries had contested the inclusion of intellectual property in these trade talks; they agreed only reluctantly in exchange for tariff concessions on textiles, agriculture and other goods. Another core feature was the single undertaking principle, which made certain agreements on goods, services, intellectual property and dispute settlement uniformly and indivisibly binding on all WTO members. This merged cross-sectoral benefits into a single package, in contrast to the balkanization of trade negotiations before the Uruguay Round. Crucially, this framework enables a game-theory dynamic to guide negotiations and repeat encounters among WTO members, allowing losses in one sector to be traded for wins in another. It also opens the possibility of cross-sectoral retaliation for uncorrected breaches of norms, such as by suspending intellectual property rights to retaliate against continuing violations by a member, via a mechanism provided for under the WTOs Dispute Settlement Understanding (Article 22). As an example, consider the US-gambling dispute that concerned the discriminatory blocking by the US of online gambling sites hosted in Antigua. When the US failed to correct that discriminatory measure (despite losing before a WTO panel in 2004), Antigua received approval to impose cross-retaliatory measures by suspending the intellectual property rights of American entities. In 2012, Antigua even announced a plan for a website that would sell American works to Antiguan citizens without compensation for American right-holders. However, that cross-retaliation proposal was never put into effect, and Antigua has continued to reject US settlement offers as being grossly inadequate. In another instance, the US-Subsidies on Upland Cotton dispute, Brazil challenged certain subsidies extended by the US to its cotton growers that were found to be prohibited. When the US failed to lift that measure (despite losing before a WTO panel in 2004), Brazil received approval to suspend TRIPS obligations and announced cross-retaliation aimed at American pharmaceutical patents. That was targeted retaliation, and while the US did not revoke the disputed measures, the parties nevertheless entered a monetary settlement in 2014. The threat of cross-retaliation involving intellectual property will likely become pronounced as countries assess possible responses to unilateral tariff impositions. The potential use of countermeasures is already prominent, given an ineffective WTO Appellate Body. For example, in 2021, the European Union adopted an amended Enforcement Regulation (Regulation 2021/167), enabling the use of countermeasuresincluding the suspension of TRIPS obligationsto enforce favourable rulings obtained at the WTO or under a free trade agreement, or against a party preventing effective dispute settlement. In 2023, the EU adopted an Anti-Coercion Regulation (Regulation 2023/2675), enabling direct countermeasures (without recourse to dispute settlement) to counter economic interference and coercion. It explicitly provides for the suspension of intellectual property rights of holders from the coercing country and corresponding suspensions of TRIPS obligations. Even without specific domestic enabling regulationand outside the WTO frameworkcountries might independently consider cross-retaliation as a countermeasure under international law (that is, under the law of state responsibility) to counteract unilateral tariffs that breach trade obligations. However, while intellectual property cross-retaliation has been used in the past, there exist practical limitations. First, the reputational and political stakes involved may be high, especially for developing countries. Second, under the WTO framework, the suspension of intellectual property protections must be calibrated to be equivalent to the level of the nullification or impairment" caused by the breaching party. Third, under general international law, countermeasures need to be based on specific parameters, temporary (to continue until the breach is addressed) and undertaken in a manner that permits an effective resumption of suspended obligations. As countries assess potential responses to unilateral tariffs, they might begin to carefully evaluate the underpinnings of a tautly negotiated multilateral trade equation. The authors are, respectively, a lawyer and founder of Sanan Law; and an associate professor at National Law University, Delhi. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched a sharp critique of the Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal following violent protests in Murshidabad over the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Addressing a gathering in Hardoi, Adityanath remarked, Danda (stick) is the only treatment for rioters. You can see, Bengal is burning. The Chief Minister is silent. She is calling rioters peace ambassadors. The UP CM and BJP leader further emphasised that unrest like that in Murshidabad must be controlled. Laton ke bhoot baaton se kahan manne wale hain (Those who understand only the language of beatings don't understand words). Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh witnessed riots every 2-3 days before 2017, when the BJP came to power, adding, In the name of secularism, they (TMC Govt in Bengal) have given freedom to rioters. The government is silent. Such anarchy should be controlled, he said. Adityanath criticised the Bengal administration for allegedly giving rioters free rein under the guise of secularism. He expressed gratitude to the judiciary for deploying central forces to Murshidabad to ensure the safety of Hindus in the area. I thank the judiciary there for deploying central forces to ensure the safety of the minority Hindus in the area, he said. The BJP has also criticised Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders for their handling of the situation, with accusations that TMC MP Bapi Halder made threatening remarks against those protesting Waqf properties. Murshidabad Violence Violence in Murshidabad over protests against the Waqf Amendment Act on April 12-13, 2025, resulted in three deaths, injuries and extensive property damage across areas like Suti, Dhulian, and Jangipur. An initial Ministry of Home Affairs probe suggests the involvement of alleged Bangladeshi miscreants in the unrest, which escalated from peaceful protests to violent clashes. Over 200 arrests have been made, and security forces including BSF and CRPF continue to patrol the region to maintain order. Despite the deployment of central forces following a Calcutta High Court order, displaced residents remain fearful, with many seeking shelter and uncertain about returning home. Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday avoided giving a direct answer when asked about the chief ministerial face for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, slated for later this year. What did Tejashwi Yadav say about the CM's face? Speaking after a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to discuss seat-sharing and election strategy, Tejashwi said, I dont know why you all are so worried about the CM face we will decide. Moreover, slamming the Bihar Chief Minister, Yadav said, We will discuss and unanimously decide the CM face. 'Nitish Ji to hijack ho chuke hain'. NDA is not forming the government in Bihar this time. In a post on X, Kharge posted a video of meeting Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and others in New Delhi to begin preparations for the Bihar Assembly polls, scheduled to be held later this year. "This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today, we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav and discussed the strengthening of the Mahagathbandhan. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from the BJP and its opportunistic alliance," Kharge said. "Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backwards, extremely backward and people of all other sections of the society want the Mahagathbandhan government," the Congress President said, according to an ANI report. How BJP reacted to the Tejashwi-Rahul meeting? Calling the Congress-RJD mismatch alliance, Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal said, Their agenda is to reduce each other's stature. RJD will never want Congress to increase its base again in Bihar, and Congress wants to remain bigger than RJD in Bihar. It is a game of hide-and-seek between the two. This is a mismatched alliance. Jaiswal was referring to the meeting between Tejashwi Yadav, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge. Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary said, There is no challenge. Even if the entire UPA, the entire INDI alliance fights, Nitish Kumar will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar The meeting between Tejashwi Yadav, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday comes just weeks after the Congress outlined its strategy for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections during a key meeting in Delhi. Last month, Congress reaffirmed its commitment to contesting the polls as part of the INDIA bloc. The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress, is aiming to unseat the NDA and regain power in Bihar in the elections scheduled for later this year. Earlier, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar brought the issue of migration in Bihar into sharp focus through his Naukri Do rally, urging the state government to address the ongoing exodus and prioritize job creation for the youth. This time, change is certain in Bihar. I dont know why you all are so worried about the CM face we will decide. The campaign, which highlights the lack of employment opportunities as a key concern in the state, received a major boost when Rahul Gandhi joined Kanhaiya in Begusarai on April 7 to support the cause and connect with local voters ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended wishes on Bengali New Year. In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, "Best wishes on Poila Boishakh! I hope all your wishes are fulfilled this year. I pray for everyone's success, happiness, prosperity and good health. Shubho Nabo Barsho!" PM Modi said. 'Poila Boishakh' is observed by Bengalis worldwide, irrespective of geographical location, but the occasion has a special significance for Bengalis in Bangladesh and in Bengali-speaking areas of India, including West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam. Poila Boishakh is a day of renewal, joy, and cultural pride. It brings communities together regardless of religious or regional differences and celebrates the shared heritage of the Bengali people. The word Poila means first and Boishakh is the name of the first month in the Bengali calendarhence, Poila Boishakh literally means the first of Boishakh. In West Bengal, it's deeply intertwined with art, music, food, and business traditions. How it is celebrated in West Bengal? Poila Boishakh marks the beginning of the Bengali calendar year and is observed by Bengali communities in various parts of India and abroad. The term 'Polia' means first, and 'Boishakh' is the first month of the lunisolar Bengali calendar. Today, the community celebrates the beginning of the year 1432. According to Bengali Sakabdi, the first day of the year is considered the most auspicious. In celebration of the 'Noboborsho' (New Year), homes are cleaned and decorated to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha. The front door is decorated with alpana, a painting made with a mixture of ground rice and flour with water. On the New Year, people wearing new dresses go to temples to pray and get blessings from God.Traditional Bengali cuisines are also prepared at home, and restaurants, especially in Kolkata, serve authentic Bengali cuisine that offers a gastronomic delight. Shopkeepers start the day by performing Lakshmi-Narayan and Ganesh pooja, wishing for a prosperous year ahead. They start new business account books in God's name. As a custom, priests draw a Swastik symbol with vermilion on the trader's account book to bring good fortune in business. Opposition leaders have slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent remarks that young Muslims wouldn't need to repair cycle punctures for a livelihood if Waqf properties had been used sincerely for the community's welfare. The leaders criticised the language used by PM Modi while asking what the prime minister has done for poor Hindus and Muslims all these years. Modi said that if the Waqf properties were used properly, Muslim youth would not have to repair punctures. If the thinking and property of the Sangh Parivar were used in the interest of the country, Modi would not have to sell tea. What has Modi done for poor Indians Hindus or Muslims in the last 11 years? asked AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a rally in Hisar, Haryana, on April 14, said that misuse of Waqf land in the past pushed young Muslims into fixing cycle puncture jobs. Modi's remark basically backed the recent amendment to the laws governing the management of Waqf properties across the country. 33 per cent of Indians are living without jobs and education. One of the major reasons for what has happened with Waqf properties is that the law and administration of Waqf was always kept weak. Modi's Waqf amendment will weaken it even more, Owaisi said in a post on X. Also Read | Misuse of Waqf land pushed Muslim youths into cycle puncture jobs: Modi Modi's remark came less than a week after the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, came into force. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the bill during the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament. President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the proposed law on April 5. Language like Muslims fix punctures is used by social media trolls. If the Prime Minister is using such superficial language, then he is insulting the dignity of the post, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Imran Pratapgarhi said. "You are saying you want to do good for Muslims through the Waqf Law, but you don't have one Muslim MP to present it in the Lok Sabha. You talk about the rights of Muslim women. You don't have a Muslim woman member in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or any state Assembly," Pratapgarhi said. The new law amended the Waqf Act, 1995, which governed the management and supervision of Waqf properties in India. The amendment introduces changes related to record maintenance, dispute resolution, and oversight mechanisms concerning Waqf properties. Puncture-wallah jibe Puncture-wallah (people who fix punctures) is a derogatory reference used against Muslims, mostly by BJP leaders. In 2019, Tejasvi Surya, the BJP MP drew criticism after he said that only puncture-wallahs and illiterates were protesting against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Taking a jibe at Suryas puncture-wala comment, Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had then said that eventually, the BJPs tyres are also going to be punctured. Language like Muslims fix punctures is used by social media trolls. If the Prime Minister is using such superficial language, then he is insulting the dignity of the post. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday voiced optimism about the restoration of the regions statehood, stating that the "appropriate time has come." Speaking to reporters after inaugurating a long-delayed bridge in Pulwama district, Abdullah expressed hope that the central government would soon fulfil its promise to reinstate statehood. "We think the appropriate time has come, six months have passed since the assembly elections. (Union Home Minister Amit) Shah came here, I had a separate meeting with him, a good one ... I am still hopeful that J&K will soon get its statehood back," he said. CM Omar Abdullah also addressed opposition criticism regarding the Waqf Amendment Act, explaining why an adjournment motion on the matter was not admitted in the assembly. "The Speaker made everything clear on the last day. Perhaps, the mistake by the members was that they brought an adjournment motion. An adjournment motion is only brought to discuss the works of the J&K government because the government has to respond. Tell me, had that adjournment motion been accepted, how would we have responded as the Waqf Bill was not brought by us? It was passed by the Centre in Parliament," he clarified. Omar Abdullah suggested that a resolution under different rules might have been more appropriate but noted that such opportunities had now passed. Also Read | Omar Abdullah gets unique visitor in office: Check photos Commenting on infrastructure development, CM Omar Abdullah inaugurated a bridge connecting Chrar-e-Sharief to south Kashmir, which had taken 11 years to rebuild after being washed away in the 2014 floods. "It is unfortunate that this took a long time to rebuild. New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Over 85 per cent students and educators in India believe the availability and volume of AI are overwhelming while over 90 per cent of them also feel positive about the impact of AI on education, according to a new survey. Commissioned by Turnitin, a global company working in area of ensuring integrity in education, and conducted by England-based market research firm Vanson Bourne, the survey includes data and insights from 3500 students, educators and academic administrators across six countries, including India, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Ireland and the US. According to the survey report, 93 per cent of survey respondents in India feel positive about the impacts AI is having on education. "This is the highest reported positive outlook on the impact of AI on education across the regions and countries surveyed. 85 pc of survey respondents in India say the availability and volume of AI is overwhelming. Interestingly, while respondents in India are the most positive about the impact of AI, they also reported being the most overwhelmed by its volume and availability," the survey report said. Fifty per cent of the respondents in India say they don't know how to get the most benefit from AI in their roles or studies. "The positivity around the impacts that AI is having on education in India presents an exciting opportunity for students, educators and academic administrators throughout the region to lean into new advancements in technology," said Chaitali Moitra, Regional Director, Turnitin South Asia. "It is important to focus on helping the education community feel supported and prepared to explore the benefits that AI can have on the learning environment," Moitra added. Sixty-four per cent of students reported being worried about the use of AI within education, compared to 50 per cent of educators and 41 per cent of academic administrators across Australia, New Zealand, India, Mexico, the UK/Ireland and the US. "Our research, across all countries and surveyed groups, highlights a pivotal moment in academia," said David Gallichan, Business Strategy and Partnerships Lead at Vanson Bourne. WASHINGTON (AP) Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once considered separating Instagram from its parent company due to worries about antitrust litigation, according to an email shown Tuesday on the second say of an antitrust trial alleging Meta illegally monopolized the social media market. In the 2018 email, Zuckerberg wrote that he was beginning to wonder if spinning Instagram out would be the only way to accomplish important goals, as big-tech companies grow. He also noted there is a non-trivial chance Meta could be forced to spin out Instagram and perhaps WhatsApp in five to 10 years anyway. He wrote that while most companies resist break ups, the corporate history is that most companies actually perform better after they've been split up. Asked Tuesday by attorney Daniel Matheson, who is leading the antitrust case for the Federal Trade Commission, which incidence in corporate history he had in mind, Zuckerberg responded: I'm not sure what I had in mind then. Zuckerberg, who was the first witness, testified for more than seven hours over two days in the trial that could force Meta to break off Instagram and WhatsApp, startups the tech giant bought more than a decade ago which have since grown into social media powerhouses. While questioning Zuckerberg on Tuesday morning, Matheson noted that he had referred to Instagram as being a rapidly growing, threatening, network. The attorney also pointed out Zuckerberg's referring to trying to neutralize a competitor by buying the company. But Zuckerberg said while Matheson was able to show documents in court that indicated his concern about Instagram's growth, he also had many conversations about how excited his company was to acquire Instagram to make a better product. Zuckerberg also said Facebook was in the process of building a camera app for sharing on mobile phones, and he thought Instagram was better at that, so I wanted to buy them. Zuckerberg also pushed back against Matheson's contention that the reason for buying the company was to neutralize a threat. I think that that mischaracterizes what the email was," Zuckerberg said. In his questioning of Zuckerberg, Matheson repeatedly brought up emails many of them more than a decade old written by Zuckerberg and his associates before and after the acquisition of Instagram. While acknowledging the documents, Zuckerberg has often sought to downplay the contents, saying he wrote them in the early stages of considering the acquisition and that what he wrote at the time didn't capture the full scope of his interest in the company. Matheson also brought up a February 2012 message in which Zuckerberg wrote to the former chief financial officer of Facebook that Instagram and Path, a social networking app, already had created meaningful networks that could be very disruptive to us. Zuckerberg testified that the message was written in the context of a broad discussion about whether they should buy companies to accelerate their own developments. Zuckerberg also testified that buying the company, taking it off the market and building their own version of it was a reasonable thing to do. Later Tuesday, Mark Hansen, an attorney for Meta, began his questioning of Zuckerberg. Hansen, in his opening statements Monday, emphasized that Meta's services are free and that the company, far from holding a monopoly, actually has a lot of competition. He made a point of bringing up those issues in just over an hour of questioning Zuckerberg, with more expected to come Wednesday. It's very competitive, Zuckerberg said, noting that charging for using services like Facebook would likely drive users away, since similar services are widely available elsewhere. The trial is one of the first big tests of President Donald Trumps FTCs ability to challenge Big Tech. The lawsuit was filed against Meta then called Facebook in 2020, during Trumps first term. It claims the company bought Instagram and WhatsApp to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market. Facebook bought Instagram which was a photo-sharing app with no ads for $1 billion in 2012. Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as a separate app. Until then, Facebook was known for smaller acqui-hires a popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers, then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for $22 billion. WhatsApp and Instagram helped Facebook move its business from desktop computers to mobile devices, and to remain popular with younger generations as rivals like Snapchat (which it also tried, but failed, to buy) and TikTok emerged. However, the FTC has a narrow definition of Metas competitive market, excluding companies like TikTok, YouTube and Apples messaging service from being considered rivals to Instagram and WhatsApp. Samsung's pause on the OneUI 7 update may be shorter than expected, as the Korean smartphone maker is rushing to bring the latest version of the update to its older Galaxy devices. Samsung had officially confirmed that the One UI 7 rollout had begun on April 7, but many Galaxy users have been waiting for the update in vain since then. Almost a week after the scheduled rollout date, several reports confirmed that Samsung had halted the One UI 7 update worldwide due to a serious bug found on some Galaxy S24 devices in Korea. However, if tipster Ice Universe on X (formerly Twitter) is to be believed, Samsung is planning to resume the global rollout of One UI 7 sooner than expected. The tipster claims that One UI 7 will be rolled out to Galaxy S24 users starting today, 15 April. We have no confirmation yet from Samsung on when the official rollout will begin again but the company told Android Authority on Monday that One UI 7 rollout schedule is being updated to ensure the best possible experience. Additionally, there is still no clarity on whether the One UI 7 rollout on the Galaxy S24 will be specific to certain markets or if it will be a global update. Why is One UI 7 rollout delayed? Again, Samsung hasn't officially clarified the issue that led to the One UI 7 rollout being halted, but multiple reports suggest that there was an issue with unlocking the phone on Exynos-powered Galaxy S24 devices in Korea, along with possible battery drain issues. Since then, the bug has been linked to an issue with the Samsung Secure Folder, but without an official explanation in sight, it's hard to pinpoint the exact problem at this stage. Why is One UI 7 significant? One UI 7 was first unveiled by Samsung during a conference in November, and finally rolled out with the Galaxy S25 devices in January. The new update has been hailed by many as the best software experience on smartphones, especially in light of Apple's recent AI struggles. One UI 7 brings a redesigned user interface, smoother animations, faster app launch times, a Now bar for controlling music and notifications from the lock screen, and many AI features such as AI Select, Writing Assist, and Audio Eraser. UPDATE: The family of Christopher Wright released a statement after a jury reached two guilty verdicts for Darryl Roberts, the man charged with killing Wright on Market St. in 2023. "We are deeply grateful to the Hamilton County District Attorneys Office for their unwavering dedication to justice. We especially want to thank Coty Wamp, Paul Moyle, Andrew Coyle, and their entire team for the outstanding work they did in prosecuting his murderer. Throughout this difficult journey, they showed us great compassion and ensured we were informed and supported at every stage of the process. Christopher was a kind, humble, and loving soul who lit up every room he entered. He never met a stranger. He was full of life, joy, and generosityalways ready to welcome someone new, lift others up, or share a solid handshake, winning smile, and a huge hug. He was a devoted husband, a proud and playful father of three young children, and a cherished son, brother, and friend. His absence leaves a profound void in our lives, and he is missed every single day by all who knew and loved him. While no verdict can bring Christopher back, we find some comfort in knowing that justice has been served. We will honor his memory by continuing to live with the same kindness and warmth he shared with the world." Roberts was found guilty of second degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Sentencing for Roberts will be held in July of 2025. PREVIOUS STORY: The jury has reached two guilty verdicts in the trials of Darryl Roberts, convicting him of the death of 38-year-old Christopher Wright on Tuesday. A jury found Roberts guilty of second degree murder in the death of the Baylor School alum on September 28, 2023. Roberts shot Wright on Market Street near Patten Towers. Roberts was originally charged with first-degree murder. The jury chose to convict him on a lesser charge. Roberts still faced a second verdict for the charge of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon over the shooting of Wright. Roberts' felony conviction was in 2009 for aggravated assault and he was given a suspended sentence of 11 months and 29 days. Roberts waived his right to testify in a second trial for the firearm charge before the first verdict was read. Following brief arguments from the prosecution and defense, Judge Boyd Patterson read instructions to the jury, which took only a few minutes to deliberate before finding Roberts guilty of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. During closing arguments, the state spent time trying to convince the jury that the death of Chris Wright was premeditated. For his actions to be intentional, he had to act with a desire to end Chris Wrights Life. Look at the video. Look at the intentional act of standing up, pulling his gun and raising it to someones forehead. That is proof of his desire, the state argued. The state went on to say there is nothing else that could have happened from Roberts pointing his gun at Wrights forehead besides killing him. Examples were presented to the jury of legally amounts to premeditation. If you remember we talked about this with the yellow light and running threw a yellow light. You know you need to get through it, or you know you need to stop at it and then you act to press the gas down or the brake. You can reflect what happens if you press the gas down you go through the yellow light, the state argued. The defense spent time trying to convince the jury that Roberts was on auto pilot. You got to experience a fight or flight, something we dont do all the time. I remember going to a Halloween haunted house and somebody jumped out and thats why you go, and I punched him right in the face. I didnt think about punching him in the face, the defense argued. The defense also argued that the worse Roberts should be charged with is voluntary manslaughter. All voluntary manslaughter has to do is provoke a reasonable person to act in an irrational manner. It doesnt have to cause a reasonable person to kill someone. It doesnt have to be that level of complication. It just has to be the provocation that takes this case out of the cool, calm collected, coldblooded planning, the defense argued said. Stay with Local 3 News for updates to this developing story. PREVIOUS STORY: Jury deliberations continue on Tuesday in the trial of Darryl Roberts, the man charged in the death of 38-year-old Christopher Wright. Roberts is accused of shooting and killing Wright on Market Street near Patten Towers on September 28, 2023. The prosecution rested its case during the third day of the trial. The defense began calling witnesses to the stand on the fourth day, including Roberts who admitted to shooting Wright during his testimony. Closing arguments were given on Monday, after Judge Boyd Patterson read instructions to the jury. We have a crew at the courthouse waiting for the jury to come back with its decision. Stay with Local 3 News for continuing coverage of this story. PREVIOUS STORY: The fate of Darryl Roberts, the man who is charged with murder in the death of a Baylor School graduate, is now in the hands of a jury on Monday. Roberts is charged in the death of 38-year-old Christopher Wright on September 28, 2023. Monday is the fifth day of the trial. The state rested its case on day three and the defense began its case on Thursday with Roberts taking the stand in his own trial. During Roberts' testimony, he admitted to shooting Wright after sharing his account of what led to the incident that night. Roberts said he became angry with himself after realizing what he'd done. The defense rested its case on Monday morning and now the fate of Roberts will be in the hands of the jury. Judge Boyd Patterson read instructions for the jurors before closing arguments from the prosecution and defense. Roberts is charged with first-degree murder. We have a crew in the courtroom to bring you the latest. Stay with Local 3 News for continuing coverage of this story. PREVIOUS STORY: The man accused of shooting and killing a Baylor School alum on Market Street in 2023, gave his account of what happened when he took the stand during the fourth day of his own trial on Thursday. Roberts is accused of killing Christopher Wright on September 28, 2023 near Patten Towers in downtown Chattanooga. The trial began on Monday, April 14 after a second jury was chosen. On Wednesday, the state rested its case and the defense presented its case, calling witnesses to the stand, including the suspect at the center of the trial. The first witness for the defense was James King, a homicide detective with the Chattanooga Police Department who led the investigation of the case. The defense asked Detective King if the District Attorney's Office either told or asked if there was video with audio of Wright's murder and King responded that he hadnt heard about it. After talking to Britton Hall-Brantley, Wright's best friend, King began searching for more cameras in the area to track the victim's activity and find video with audio. He was unable to find any video with sound that was close enough to crime scene. During the investigation, King spoke with the manager at Jack Browns about the incident to learn about the victim's behavior prior to the shooting. King also gathered video to see which bartender was working and if anyone else was with Wright that night. At one point during court, members of the jury were asked to leave before Detective King was shown a picture of himself along with other officials and Governor Bill Lee that was taken after Tennessee lawmakers passed the Chris Wright Crime Bill Act. King was asked if the power of the governor could make him alter his investigation and he said no. Also on day four, Roberts himself took the stand to testify in his own trial. At one point, Roberts admitted to shooting Wright. Roberts said Wright walked up and called him and another man a racial slur. Roberts said he repeatedly told Wright to keep walking but said Wright wouldn't leave. He claimed Wright said how much he didn't like Roberts and that he was a piece of crap. Roberts attorney asked, "What caused you to stand up? Because I told him again 'man get up the street' and I was like 'get yourself up the street' and then he turned around and said come say it to his face, boy, Roberts replied on the stand. "He said 'come say it to my face, boy. I bet you won't say it to my face, boy." Roberts said he then walked up and shot Wright once in the head. After shooting Wright, Roberts said he remembered thinking, I did not just do that. He said he thought it was a dream and was angry with himself. Stay with Local 3 News for continuing coverage of this story. PREVIOUS STORY: Day three of the murder trial for the man accused of killing a Baylor School alum on Market St. in 2023 ended after less than an hour. The state's final witness took the stand Wednesday morning. The state then rested. Day four of the trial will continue on Thursday and witnesses from the defense side will take the stand. Witness 10, Dylan Padgett of Ooltewah, was the final witness before the state rested. Padgett was with Julia Friedman at Pickle Barrel, which is across the street from Patten Towers the night of the murder. Friedman was the first witness that the state brought to the stand for this trial. The first thing I noticed was a couple sitting near us, the gentlemen with his back towards the street immediately got up and got the woman he was with and started making their way to the door, Padgett said. Padgett then looked around and down to the street and that when he saw Darryl Roberts standing over Chris Wright. I recall in the seconds I looked around that he had glanced up to where we were sitting, Padgett said. That is when Padgett headed for safety. By the time attention back to my family, everyone was up and moving and Julia was saying that we needed to get inside. And we went to the second floor and sat under the table and chairs with the rest of the guest, Padgett said. Medical Examiner Dr. Steven Cogswell, who testified on Tuesday, took the stand again. When he was asked if Wright had a chance to survive the shooting, Cogswell's answer was simply, no. Darryl Roberts is charged in the fatal shooting of Christopher Wright near Patten Towers in downtown Chattanooga on September 28, 2023. Witnesses for the defense will take the stand on Thursday. Stay with Local 3 News for updates to this developing story. PREVIOUS STORY: The trial for the man accused of killing a Baylor School graduate in September of 2023 entered its second day on Tuesday. Darryl Roberts is charged in the fatal shooting of Christopher Wright near Patten Towers in downtown Chattanooga on September 28, 2023. Surveillance video shows Wright talking with Roberts outside Patten Towers on the night of the incident. Wright can be seen walking away but appeared to still be talking to Roberts. Police say that's when Roberts walked up and shot Wright at point blank range. Roberts' trial was originally supposed to begin on April 1; however, after a jury was selected the morning of April 2, they were dismissed by Judge Boyd Patterson. Judge Patterson said the original jurors were dismissed because something was said in the courtroom that they were not supposed to hear. A second jury was chosen on Monday, April 14, with opening arguments running until the evening. Before breaking for lunch, a witness testified to hearing the gunshot the night of the incident. The witness was celebrating her father's birthday at Pickle Barrel when she said she heard a gunshot and then saw Roberts slowly walking away from the scene where another man was lying on the sidewalk. Neil Nappi, who works for Reliance Security, the company that maintains surveillance at Patten Towers, was the second witness to take the stand. Nappi testifies as video of the incident is shown in court. In the video, you can see Roberts getting on an elevator in Patten Towers to go outside, where he sat down and interacted with a few who were around him. The video then shows Wright walk by Roberts before back tracks and starts talking to Roberts. The two have a brief conversation and then the shooting happens. Roberts goes back inside Patten Towers, gets on the elevator, and punches the wall as he circles appearing frustrated. Later, the video shows a woman leaving Patten Towers with a yellow bag and what appears to be Roberts' clothing, but it is hard to make out. Roberts then comes back out of the apartment wearing different clothes and appeared to have the gun in his shorts. Chattanooga Police Department Detective Alvin Abbett is the third witness to take the stand after court resumes from a lunch break at around 1:15pm. Detective Abbett responded to scene shortly after midnight, where he recalled seeing the victim with a bullet wound to the forehead. Abbett said he was given a picture of Roberts to use for a description of the suspect who had the nickname Too Tall. The detective said when he went to Roberts apartment, no one was home at the time. Detective Abbett said two women were later seen leaving the apartment by police. He said one of the women was the one seen in the surveillance video with the yellow bag that appeared to have Roberts' clothes in it. The video shows the woman with the bag while taking the elevator from the sixth floor, where Roberts apartment is located, to the third floor. That same woman was later seen getting back on the elevator from the third floor without the bag. Detective Abbett said the womans apartment was never checked, because there was no reason to at the time since no one knew about the bag. Detective Abbett said the clothes Roberts was wearing at the time of the incident and the gun were not found when the suspects apartment was searched. Abbett was asked if any racial slurs were used that night in relation to the motive for the shooting. He replied that he was never made aware of any being used. We have a crew in the courtroom to bring you the latest. Stay with Local 3 News for updates to this developing story. PREVIOUS STORY: A new jury has been selected in the murder trial of Darryl Roberts on Monday, April 14. The new jury comes after the first jury was dismissed in early April for hearing information they were not supposed to hear. Chattanooga police say Roberts shot and killed Christopher Wright, a Baylor alum, husband, and father, on Sept. 28, 2023, near Patten Towers. This is a developing story. Stay with Local 3 News for the most reliable updates. Chattanooga attorney explains why a jury may be invalidated during a trial In the jury selection process for the Daryl Roberts murder trial, the jury was invalidated rather than a mistrial because they had not been sworn in. PREVIOUS STORY: The jury selected to serve on the murder trial of Darryl Roberts has been dismissed and a new jury will have to be reselected on April 14. A Local 3 News crew in the courtroom say the jury was dismissed after they heard a piece of information during the trial they were not supposed to hear. PREVIOUS STORY: The jury to serve on the murder trial of Darryl Roberts has been selected as of 11:00am on Wednesday, the second day of the trial. Roberts faces a first degree murder charge in connection to the fatal shooting of a Chattanooga man near Patten Towers in Sept. 2023. Court records show there will also be a motion hearing regarding the state's effort to exclude an expert testimony and report from Dr. Kimberly Brown. Chattanooga police say Roberts shot and killed Christopher Wright, a Baylor alum, husband, and father, on Sept. 28, 2023, near Patten Towers. PREVIOUS STORY: The murder trial for a Chattanooga man begins on Tuesday, April 1. Darryl Roberts is accused of fatally shooting Baylor School grad and father Christopher Wright near Patten Towers on September 28, 2023. The court will begin Tuesday with the selection of a jury. Court records show there will also be a motion hearing regarding the state's effort to exclude an expert testimony and report from Dr. Kimberly Brown. PREVIOUS STORY: The man accused of shooting a Chattanooga businessman last fall appeared in court on Wednesday. Darryl Roberts is accused of shooting and killing Christopher Wright on Market Street in September 2023. A judge set his next court date for June 4. Roberts remains in the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center on a $5 million bond. PREVIOUS STORY: A trail date has been set for the man who is accused of shooting and killing a Baylor School graduate on Market Street in September of 2023. According to the Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk's Office, the trial for 57-year-old Darryl Roberts has been scheduled for March 28. Newly proposed bill cracking down on repeat criminal offenders Tennessee State Senator Bo Watson and Representative Patsy Hazlewood introduced the law to crack down on repeated criminal offenders, making sure they don't walk away with just a slap on the wrist. Roberts is charged with First Degree Murder and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Police say Roberts shot and killed Christopher Wright near Patten Towers on September 28. Roberts is being held at the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center on a $5-million bond. PREVIOUS STORY: The man accused of shooting and killing another man on Market Street in September has been indicted by the Hamilton County grand jury. Daryl Roberts is charged with First Degree Murder and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Police say Roberts shot and killed Christopher Wright near Patten Towers on September 28. His arraignment hearing will be on January 5. PREVIOUS STORY: The case against the man charged in a deadly shooting on Market Street last month has been sent to a grand jury on Monday. According to the Hamilton County General Sessions Court Clerk, the case against 57-year-old Darryl Roberts was bound over to a grand jury during a court appearance on Monday morning. Roberts is accused of shooting and killing 38-year-old Chris Wright on Market Street on September 28. Roberts was arrested on September 29 and charged with first degree murder. He is being held at the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center on a $5-million bond. Stay with the Local 3 News app for updates to this developing story. PREVIOUS STORY: The man accused of a murder on Market Street last week appeared in court on Monday morning. Police say 57-year-old Darryl Roberts is accused of shooting and killing 38-year-old Chris Wright on Thursday night during an argument. Roberts was arrested on Friday and charged with first degree murder. During Mondays court appearance, Roberts was given a $5-million bond and was ordered to appear in court on October 16. A GoFundMe has been started to support the family of Chris Wright, who was a Baylor alum. The donations will support Wright's three children. Wright's family says they will welcome all to celebrate and remember Chris's life during a visitation on Tuesday from 4:30pm to 6:30pm at the Baylor School. Funeral services for Wright will also be held at the Baylor Chapel on Wednesday at 11:00am. Stay with the Local 3 News app for updates to this developing story. PREVIOUS STORY: Chattanooga police have arrested 57-year-old Darryl Roberts for the homicide of Christopher Wright. Chattanooga Police Department's Fugitive Unit, along with federal partners from the United States Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") observed Roberts in a vehicle in the Brainerd area. They followed him until marked police vehicles were able to assist with a traffic stop. CPD's Neighborhood Policing officers assisted with initiating a traffic stop in the 500 block of Tunnel Boulevard. Roberts was arrested for outstanding warrants related to the homicide. Roberts is in custody at the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center. He is charged with first degree murder. Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly released the following statement regarding Thursday nights Market St. shooting and the subsequent arrest of the suspect: An HQ for elite Irish soldiers is to be built in Co Kildare at a cost of 46 million euro. Tanaiste and Defence Minister Simon Harris is to bring a memo on the project to Cabinet on Tuesday. The Army Ranger Wings headquarters and training centre will be located at the Curragh Camp in Co Kildare. Construction on the project is expected to begin later this year. The Army Ranger unit carries out special operations such as the evacuation of Irish citizens from Afghanistan in August 2021. The Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces recommended developing the Army Ranger Wing so that it has organic selfsustainment capability, including combat helicopter assets to insert, operate and extract from mission areas. It recommended replacing the complex and opaque command structure of the unit and clarifying how it would interact with the Garda Emergency Response Unit when required. It also recommended renaming the Army Ranger Wing to Irelands Special Operations Force (IRL SOF) to align with international norms and include permanent Air and Maritime Task Groups in Casement Aerodrome and Haulbowline Naval Base. New controversial laws that will see limits on the use of AirBnb's and other short term rentals across Ireland will come to Cabinet today. In a bid to increase housing supply in the country, the Short-Term Lettings Bill will see restrictions put in place to prevent homeowners from renting their own properties for more than 90 days per year if they live in an area with a population larger than 10,000. This bill would directly affect owners from renting their properties in large towns and cities to tourists, from Ireland and abroad, and will see far reaching negative consequences for tourism dependent communities. The bill was due in Cabinet last week, but following a heated exchange between housing minister James Browne and enterprise minister Peter Bourke - who are leading the legislation - the debate was dropped. Leader of Independent Ireland, Michael Collins, has criticised the proposed move by Government warning that the new rules threaten the destabilise tourism for rural communities all across Ireland that depend on tourism "Short-term rentals are a vital part of the rural Irish economy. "We need them for accommodation for tourists and contract workers. The idea that 12,000 houses will go back to being long-term rentals is simply not true." Cabinet is set to discuss the new proposed legislation later today. READ NEXT: ALERT: Gardai launch major probe after man dies in stabbing incident in seaside town Local News By Chris Boyle Published: April 15 2025 The Freeport Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show features fine gold and silver jewelry, estate pieces, minerals and fossils from around the world, as well as exciting varieties of beads and much more. The countdown for Mothers Day that special occasion where people across the country spoil the woman who was kind enough to bring them into the world is officially on, and when that day finally hits this upcoming Sunday, May 11, you dont want to give her a present devoid of thought and consideration, do you? Of course not! Luckily for you, dear reader, the thrice-annual Freeport Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show presented by Kaleidoscope Gem Shows is returning yet again April 26 and 27 at its long-time venue, the Freeport Recreation Center, giving sons and daughters of any age the chance to do some last-minute shopping for dear old mom and deliver to her a lovely gift that you wont find in a shopping mall or Amazon.com. The Freeport Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show held three times a year, in April, August and October features a plethora of lovely items, ranging from fine gold and silver jewelry, to estate pieces, minerals and fossils from around the world, as well as exciting varieties of beads and much, much more. The April show will see the return of a number of long-time dealers that regular customers should be well familiar with, in addition to some relative newcomers as well, with all of them offering a diverse and fascinating array of items to choose from. As a result of this wide array of fine wares, the show has become a destination for rock hounds and gem buffs of all types, not only on Long Island but from out-of-state as well, according to event promoter Evelyn Gose. People are now coming to the show from a wider area, Gose said. We draw people from all over Long Island, New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Staten Island, and many other places. So we're really starting to attract a diverse array of people with different interests who are willing to travel a significant distance to attend the show. In addition to doing some Mothers Day shopping, the show also boasts a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, with the vendors being very approachable and willing to speak with attendees at length about the ins-and-outs of their craft and answer any questions that may arise. And considering the turmoil, stress and overall sense of unease plaguing the country these days, the ability to take a brief respite and enjoy some shopping in a friendly, welcoming environment is certainly an inviting proposition! Another fun part of the Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show are the big prize giveaways that take place throughout both days. When attendees first walk in through the door, they are presented with a white slip of paper that they need to fill out; that piece of paper is then put into a bag, and every hour two lucky winners are drawn from that bag and are each presented with a $10 gift certificate for use with any of the events vendors. But thats not all- there is also a grand prize drawing at the end of each day! Taking place on both Saturday and Sunday one-half hour before the show ends yet another white slip is drawn from the bag, and one very fortunate person each day is presented with a beautiful mineral from one of the events vendors; attendees who have won an hourly gift certificate earlier in the day are still eligible to claim the grand prize as well. Think about it- what better opportunity is there for an enjoyable, family-friendly event where you can forget about your troubles for a spell and browse all manner of lovely gifts for yourself, friends, familyand especially for mom! Imagine the joyous surprise on her face when you present that special lady with a unique and wonderful gift you picked up at the Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show! The Freeport Gem, Mineral, and Jewelry Show will be held this upcoming Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Freeport Recreation Center at 130 East Merrick Road in Freeport, NY. Admission is $6.00 for adults; children under 12 with an adult get in free. In addition, if you mention this article, youll get $1.00 off your admission fee! All admission proceeds go to the Recreation Center to support the various programs that they offer to the community throughout the year. To find out more, please visit http://www.kaleidoscopegemshows.com. Members of Jordans General Intelligence Directorate. On April 15, the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) announced that it foiled plans aimed at targeting national security, sowing chaos, and sabotage within Jordan. The GID further specified that it detained 16 suspects after close intelligence monitoring since 2021. In its statement, the GID reported that the thwarted plans included cases related to manufacturing rockets using local tools as well as tools imported for illegal purposes, possession of explosives and firearms, concealing a rocket ready to be deployed, planning to manufacture drones, and recruiting and training operatives in Jordan as well as training them abroad. The Jordanian government revealed that some of the individuals involved in the plot received training abroad, and a key planner, Ibrahim Mohammad, is a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Al Arabiya reported that the cells organizational leader is based in Beirut and the terrorists had established weapons storage sites and begun manufacturing rockets using both locally sourced materials and parts imported from abroad. The materials discovered with the cell could produce up to 300 rockets, and one rocket seized from the group was prepared for use within Jordan. The Jordanian intelligence agency released a video showing confessions by the accused and imagery of the storage facilities and their locations. In the video, the accused discuss the transfer and storage of approximately 30 kilograms of highly explosive materials, including TNT, C4, and SEMTEX-H. Mohammad, the cells leader, organized trips for two cell members, Abdullah Hisham and Muath al Ghanem, to Lebanon to meet with the groups organizational leader in Beirut for further planning and training. The task of transporting money from abroad was assigned to a third member, Mohsen al Ghanem. The video further explained that the cell operated in two locations across two governorates. In Zarqa, the plotters set up a manufacturing plant, while in Amman, they established a storage depot. Authorities discovered a range of metal pieces in the homes of those involved, including tube-like and conical shapes, as well as other parts. When assembled, these parts formed a short-range rocket structure inspired by the munitions used in a Russian BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher. The rockets were awaiting specialists to fit them with explosives, propulsion systems, and impact detonators. The video confirmed that the confiscated rockets had a range estimated between 35 kilometers, posing a serious threat to targets within Jordan. One member of the rocket-manufacturing cell, Abdullah Hisham, stated that his relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood began in 2002, during his time as a student. In 2021, he began working with a Brotherhood member named Ibrahim, who informed him of a plan to manufacture rockets in Jordan. Abdullah was tasked with identifying suitable locations for production and recruiting an assistant. He chose his cousin, Muath al Ghanem, to join the effort. Ibrahim later instructed them to travel to Lebanon to meet a man named Abu Ahmad, who was described as the groups leader. In Lebanon, Abdullah and Muath received training in rocket production. Upon returning to Jordan, they rented a warehouse to store the materials they had managed to procure. Muath al Ghanem, the second member of the cell, said his affiliation with the Brotherhood began in 2010 and that he remains an active member to this day. The third member, Mohsen al Ghanem, claimed he joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1994 and is still active. He said he met Ibrahimwho resides in Lebanonand received $20,000 from him to purchase the materials needed for rocket production. Jordanian intelligence later released a second video containing confessions from other cells, including one focused on drone manufacturing and another on recruitment. In the recruitment cell, an individual named Kheder Abdel Aziz stated he joined the Brotherhood after graduating high school in 1975. He currently serves as the administrative manager of both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front in Zarqa. Aziz admitted selecting two active Brotherhood members to join the terrorist cell. Another individual, Anas Abu Awad, said he joined the group in 2010. Awad claimed that a senior Brotherhood figure in his circle, Marwan Mabrouk, instructed him to recruit individuals for the terrorist plot and advised him to use Telegram for communication. He added that during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, he was directed to meet a Lebanese Brotherhood representative named Abu Saleh. Awad later traveled to a third, undisclosed country, where he underwent training and received assignments. One of these was to deliver a flash drive containing a list of names and scout hidden sites in Jordan capable of storing weaponsamong them, graveyards in Amman. In the drone-manufacturing cell, Ali Qasem stated that in November 2023, he met with two other membersAbdullah Saqer al Hadar and Ahmad Ibrahim Khalifehto discuss drone production. They decided to involve a fourth individual, Abdul Aziz Haroun, an aerospace engineer, who would provide technical studies and source the drones external frame. Khalifeh was assigned responsibility for electrical systems and programming. In his confession, Haroun said he found that foam board was effective in drone manufacturing and had been used by Ukrainian forces in the Russia-Ukraine war. He also recalled that Ahmad Khalifeh once asked him about gliders, noting that he had previously built one for personal use on his farm. Haroun added that he considered asking his father to help secure materials, given his fathers connections to weapons smugglers. The Islamic Action Front previously called for the release of some of the cell members, claiming that they were political prisoners, prior to the announcement by the GID that these were part of a terrorist plot. The demand included freeing Abdul Aziz Haroun and Ali Qasem from the drone manufacturing unit, Muath Ghanem and Abdullah Hisham from the rocket manufacturing unit, and Kheder Abdel Aziz and Ayman al Ajaoui from the recruitment cell. This shows a direct link between the Islamic Action Front and the cell. Over the past 18 months, particularly following the October 7 attacks in Israel, Jordan has faced significant internal challenges. Domestic voices, including the Islamic Action Front, have sharply criticized the kingdoms role in the conflict, organizing protests and openly supporting Hamas. However, recent revelations regarding the involvement of key figures from this organization in terrorist plots within Jordan could imperil the survival of the Islamic Action Front as a political entity. Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the levant. A delegation from Syrias transitional Ministry of Defense inspects Tishrin Dam. (SANA) The transitional Syrian government and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have reached an agreement regarding the handover of the strategic Tishrin Dam from SDFs control to Damascuss control. Local Kurdish media and Damascus state media reported the deal, which follows four months of clashes over the dam that pitted Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) factions against the SDF. The dam is located on the Euphrates River and is a key strategic and infrastructure site in central Syria. It also links areas controlled by the SDF with the SNA and Syrias new government forces. On April 14, according to the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), a delegation from the [Syrian] Ministry of Defense, headed by Brigadier General Awwad Mohammad, Commander of the 60th Division, paid a field tour to the Tishreen Dam axis in Aleppo Eastern countryside to inspect the security and military situation in the area. Mohammad told SANA that the Tishreen Dam will be handed over within a carefully considered timetable, which will be announced in the coming days, within the framework of full coordination between the relevant authorities. Kurdistan24, a Kurdish media channel located in Erbil, Iraq, reported on April 10 that the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) and the Syrian government have reached a significant agreement to jointly manage the Tishreen Dam, one of the largest hydropower facilities in northern Syria (Rojava). The report added that a source from DAANES, the civilian authority in eastern Syria, confirmed on Thursday that the agreement is part of a broader political understanding between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the transitional Syrian government. Under the terms of the deal, the SDF will withdraw from the dam area, transferring control to the general security forces operating under the authority of the new Damascus administration. The Kurdistan24 report characterized the deal as one result of the March 10 Damascus meeting between SDF leader Mazloum Abdi and Syrian interim President Ahmed al Sharaa. The agreement took some time to iron out. Recent clashes over the dam, largely the result of a power vacuum in Syria after the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime, had peaked in January as various forces vied to take areas where the regime had suddenly evaporated. For instance, on January 7, The New Arab reported that 280 people had been killed in battles between the Turkish-backed SNA and the US-backed SDF near the dam. Abdi said in an interview with Al Monitor that the clashes had ended around April 1 as the March 10 agreement began to pave the way for an agreement. There are two parts to the Tishreen accord. The first concerns the dam itself. We have agreed with Damascus for the administration and personnel of the dam to be preserved as is. The dams operational center is on the dam itself. Abdi added, Our sides are going to withdraw to our side, to the east, and hand over our positions to Damascus forces. We are currently positioned eight kilometers away from the dam. Reports portray the deal over the dam as a key to de-escalating tensions between the various factions, including the SDF and SNA. The agreement is complex because it involves not only the SDF and the new Syrian army but also the SNA. According to local Syrian reports, the deal is also backed by the US-led coalition, though the coalition has not commented on its role. Members of the coalition visited the dam on April 12, the same day that reports first emerged about a potential agreement over the area, according to several reports from the site. The pro-Iranian Al Mayadeen TV channel noted that North Syrias Tishreen Dam hosted a notable visit from a delegation of the US-led international coalition, accompanied by representatives from the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as intense helicopter activity from the international coalition covered the skies over the area. On April 14, Syrian state media noted that the visit by its delegation from the Syrian Ministry of Defense included a tour of the area as the central government attempts to restore security and stability and strengthen control in these areas. 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). A renowned gastropub based in New York City has brought its bold Korean/American creations to Massachusetts. Nowon opened in Bostons Seaport District on Tuesday, April 15, marking the brands first location in New England. The Boston restaurant is Nowons third overall, joining its sister spots in the East Village and Bushwick in New York. Were excited to bring Nowon to Boston Seaport, chef Jae Lee said in a press release. This vibrant neighborhood offers a unique opportunity to connect with a new community. We look forward to providing a welcoming space where people can share flavorful dishes and enjoy a great time together. Lee founded Nowon in 2019. Named after Lees hometown in Seoul, South Korea, Nowon has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Eater, as well as on CBS The Dish and NBCs Today Show. Nowons menu blends Korean cuisine with the diverse fare of NYC. The most popular items are the Legendary Cheeseburger a double smash burger made with kimchi-special sauce the Chopped Cheese Rice Cakes a reinterpretation of New Yorks iconic bodega chopped cheese sandwich and Jaes Chicken Bun a new take on a Korean fried chicken sandwich. Nowons cocktails include the Lychee Keen (rosemary vodka, tarragon and elderflower); Yin Yang (miso tequila, grapefruit and falernum); and Open Sesame (espresso vodka and creme de cacao). Non-alcoholic beverages and soft drinks are also available. Nowon Seaport will open with dinner for the first two weeks before lunch is introduced. Late-night and brunch offerings will debut this summer. In addition to food, diners can expect to hear nostalgic 90s and early 2000s hip-hop and R&B music in the vibrant space. Nowon is located at 119 Seaport Blvd., Boston. A Boston man is facing charges in connection with breaking into an apartment belonging to Boston University students and stealing their belongings last summer, the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office announced Tuesday. Dorchester resident James Williams, 62, is facing a charge of breaking and entering at nighttime to commit a felony and larceny over $1,200, the district attorneys office said in a press release. On July 17, 2024, police responded to a home on Bay State Road for a report of a theft, the district attorneys office said. A Boston University student told officers hed come back from taking a shower to find that his backpack which contained his iPad and laptop was missing from his bedroom. A former Massachusetts State Police trooper from Wareham pleaded guilty last week for his role in a conspiracy to falsify records to certain people who failed taking their Commercial Drivers License tests, United States Attorney Leah Foleys office said. On Friday, Perry Mendes, 64, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of falsifying records and two counts of making false statements, Foleys office said in a statement released Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled Mendes sentencing for July 15. Mendes was charged in a 74-count indictment in January 2024. Between May 2019 and January 2023, Mendes and three other members of the Commercial Drivers License unit gave preferential treatment to at least 17 CDL applicants, Foleys office said. Mendes and others gave passing scores to those applicants who took the CDL test regardless of whether they actually passed. The men used the code word golden to identify the applicants, the statement read. Butner texted comments to another co-conspirator: Golden mess, Total mess this guy[.] i think some time[s] we should just do what we can but not golden. Ill tell you about it later, among other messages. Mendes was among several retired or suspended state troopers previously indicted in connection with the scheme. Sgt. Gary Cederquist, 58, of Stoughton; retired Trooper Calvin Butner, 64, of Wareham; Trooper Joel Rogers, 54, of Bridgewater; civilian Scott Camara, 42, of Rehoboth; and Eric Mathison, 47, of Boston, were all named in the January 2024 indictment. Cederquist gave passing scores to several applicants who actually failed the CDL skills test, and others who only took a partial test, federal prosecutors said. He did this in exchange for bribes of free inventory from the water company. The free items included bottled Fiji, bottled Arizona Iced Tea and coffee and tea products. Mathison delivered these items to an office trailer at the CDL test site in Stoughton. Cederquist and Rogers were both suspended without pay. Federal prosecutors said in one case, Mathison admitted to getting texts from Cederquist that described one CDL applicant as an an idiot, who had no idea what hes doing, and should have failed about 10 times already. Cederquist gave this applicant a passing score. On March 21, Mathison pleaded guilty, as did Butner on April 7. The charge of conspiracy to commit extortion provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal judge dismissed a Boston judges contempt ruling against a federal immigration agent who arrested a man in the middle of his trial last month. The ruling was filed by Judge William G. Young on Monday, ending a weeks-long skirmish over Immigration Customs and Enforcements (ICE) actions that set off a very public rift between the Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden, Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville and U.S. Attorney of Massachusetts Leah Foley. Foleys office sought to dismiss the contempt charge by the Boston judge, and the states attorney generals office did not oppose, leading to the case being tossed on Monday. Attorney General Andrea Campbells Office represented the trial courts in the federal case. In light of the response of the Trial Court of Massachusetts, there no longer exists a case or controversy between those parties and this case is dismissed without prejudice as moot, Youngs court filing read. The Suffolk District Attorneys Office did not comment on their investigation into the ICE agent. Judge Summerville had found ICE agent Brian Sullivan in contempt of court on March 31, and said Sullivan committed intentional and egregious violations of Wilson Martell-Lebrons rights when he detained Martell-Lebron on the first day of his trial for false RMV information on March 27. Hayden, the district attorney, previously criticized the federal immigration agents actions as extraordinarily reckless. ICE routinely claims that their actions are improving public safety in Boston, and Im here today to tell you and to say that they are doing the exact opposite, Hayden said during a press conference. Hayden also said the agencys presence in Boston and the state as a whole has had an extremely jarring effect on criminal investigations. Were now finding witnesses reluctant to cooperate with investigators, due to fear of ICE ... We are seeing victims refuse to provide information about crimes against them, due to fear of ICE, Hayden said. This harms public safety, Hayden said. He acknowledged his offices long and successful history in federal agency partnerships to prosecute offenders and ensure public safety, but said it will not stand silent. Hours later, Foley issued a strongly worded letter to Judge Summerville after Hayden publicly criticized ICE. Foleys office works under the Department of Justice and worked to toss the case against the ICE agent from federal court. While you may disagree with the enforcement of our federal immigration laws, there is simply no legal basis for you to hold federal officers in criminal contempt for carrying out their sworn duties, Foley wrote. Any attempt or threat to interfere with the lawful functions of federal government agents will not be tolerated. And in a separate letter to Hayden, Foley called on him to cease from entertaining or pursuing any charges against the ICE officer or any other federal official. The fact that you disfavor ICE officers doing their jobs is not a basis for criminal charges, Foley wrote to the district attorney. She said there is no legal basis for such charges. Rather than attacking the brave men and women enforcing laws of the United States, I urge you to work with us to identify, prosecute, and remove the criminals who break them, Foley wrote. The Suffolk County District Attorneys Office said in a statement: No comment, other than that our primary concern, as voiced by DA Hayden, is that ICEs recent actions are making it more difficult for us to prosecute offenders and secure justice for victims. Murat Erkan, Martell-Lebrons defense attorney, argued that there was nothing necessary or proper about abducting somebody in the middle of their jury trial in a criminal case where theyve pleaded not guilty. When the Top 24 American Idol contestants were feeling the heat in Hawaii, Josh Groban delivered an uplifting message in the form of a new song. The multi-platinum artist appeared on Monday nights episode of the singing competition as a guest mentor, working behind the scenes to prepare 12 contestants for their next performance. But towards the middle of the episode, he also took the stage at Aulani, a Hawaiian Disney resort and spa, to sing his new tune Be Alright. Be Alright, which Groban released in March, will appear on his forthcoming best-of album Gems. I want to dedicate this song to the amazing finalists that I was lucky enough to work with, he said at the beginning of the performance. Whatever happens in their future, its very, very bright. After sharing the upbeat song in front of judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan, Groban also reflected on his time mentoring artists alongside Idol artist-in-residence Jelly Roll. Working with Jelly has been such an inspiration, Groban added. Hes such an incredible artist, got such an amazing heart, and gives such amazing advice. . . It was an awesome experience. Following Monday nights episode, Idol viewers will vote to determine which of the remaining 24 contestants will advance to the Top 20. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., left, greets President Donald Trump as he arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP President Donald Trumps tariffs sent the stock market into a tizzy when they were rolled out, then back into a surge as Trump announced there would be a 90-day pause. Among the people that profited off of those decisions are members of Congress, and in particular Marjorie Taylor Greene perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Greene, a Republican Congresswoman from Georgia and a staunch ally of Trump, purchased as much as $315,000 worth of stocks on the eve of Trumps announcement that he would pause the tariffs, according to public House filings. The filings show that Greene bought between $1,000 and $15,000 each of nearly two dozen stocks including Apple, Tesla, FedEx, Nike, Merck and J.P. Morgan Chase all between April 8 and 9. The New York Times reported that some of the stocks she purchased went up in value by 19% to 21%. In addition, Greene dumped between $50,000 and $100,000 of U.S. Treasury bills. Members of Congress are required to disclose stock trades they make within 30 days, but they only need to disclose amounts in wide ranges, meaning the exact numbers of Greenes trades have not been reported. On April 9, Trump bragged that he had made billionaire Charles Schwab a lot of money. Read more: Officials make explosive allegations as Trump brags about enriching billionaires This is Charles Schwab. Its not just a company; its actually an individual, Trump said in a video released on X by White House staffer Margo Martin. He made two-and-a-half billion today and he made $900 million. Thats not bad. Meanwhile, six U.S. Senators penned a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins accusing Trump of unconscionable market manipulation related to the tariffs. Before pausing the tariffs that threw markets into disarray, President Trump appears to have previewed his plans to do so on Truth Social: at 9:37 a.m., he announced, THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT. His official announcement of the tariff pause came roughly four hours later, the letter says. The letter implied Trumps actions resulted in market manipulation and insider trading and demanded the SEC investigate Trump, his donors, and other insiders. Read the full letter here. The letter was signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck delivers to the Rays during the first inning Monday. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) AP TAMPA Tanner Houcks ugly spring training performance has carried over into the regular season. The Red Sox starter recorded just seven outs Monday. He allowed 12 runs, 11 earned runs, 10 hits (two homers) and two walks while striking out one in a 16-1 loss to the Rays here at George M. Steinbrenner Field. He has a 9.16 ERA (18 innings, 19 earned runs) in four starts after posting an 11.20 ERA (13 innings, 17 earned runs) in four spring training starts. Just not good, Houck said. Come back tomorrow, figure it out. Houck clearly isnt pitching well. Even when he looked better in a win against the Blue Jays this past Wednesday, he induced only four swings-and-misses on his 90 pitches. His delivery has been inconsistent dating back to spring training. That said, could there be more to it with the Rays? Tampa has now shelled Houck, a 2024 All-Star, twice in the last month. In his final spring training start, Houck gave up 10 runs and 12 hits (one homer) in 3 innings to Tampa. Have the Rays identified something in Houcks delivery where hes tipping his pitches? Im not sure, Houck said. Well figure it out tonight and come back tomorrow and discuss. Manager Alex Cora said he doesnt think Houck is tipping. If you look at the balls they hit hard, they were in the middle of the plate, Cora said. Of course there were some balls that went by. We didnt play good defense behind him. So I dont know. Just good approach. And they put some good swings on him. Houck was very brief in his postgame responses. Im not going to overanalyze it tonight, Houck said. Come back tomorrow and talk it over. The Red Sox dropped to 8-10. They have lost six of their past eight games. Boston ranks 23rd in ERA (4.41). Not a good day all around, Houck said. Come back tomorrow and work through it. Protesters gathered outside Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton on Tuesday to demand the removal of Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet from the hospital's board of directors. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) NORTHAMPTON An ambulance pulled into Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton at noon without issue, a garden-variety occurence in daily health care that cant be guaranteed for your average Gazan, a group of protesters said Tuesday. Demonstrators gathered in front of the hospital to protest medicide, or killing of health care workers in Gaza, and how the Mass General Brigham hospital network is, in their view, contributing to those deaths. They spoke about how the scenes in health care scenes in Northampton and Gaza are in stark contrast. MAYO musician Kate Heneghan has described performing with traditional Irish music legend Frankie Gavin as an incredibly special moment. The former Mayo Rose of Tralee performed with the legendary fiddler at a gala concert in Dubai celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The ceremony took place at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai and was attended by prominent government officials, diplomats, and business leaders. It was super important for me that I got to perform at this event because it symbolised a very strong and ongoing bond between the UAE and Ireland, Ms Heneghan told The Mayo News. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kate Heneghan (@kateheneghan) There are so many Irish expats living over here, there is such a strong Irish community that that relationship is very important. The harp is, of course, the national symbol of Ireland, and we are the only country worldwide that has it as our national symbol. That cultural representation was really important to me as well. Getting the chance to share our wonderful music and our wonderful music over here in Dubai and play the harp as the national symbol of Ireland was a really proud moment for me and very special. The Castlebar woman began her performance with a solo set before being joined by her partner, Sean Gavin, for a number of songs, including Caledonia, Grace, and Black Is the Colour. They were joined at the end of the set by Frankie Gavin and De Dannan, a traditional Irish music group formed by Mr Gavin in 1975. Ms Heneghan said it was incredibly special to perform with Mr Gavin. Ive been listening to Frankie Gavin and De Dannan my entire life. My parents would have listened to his music before I was even here, she said. Hes actually my partner Shauns godfather and uncle, so it was particularly special on the night to share that family connection with them both. It was a really, really great night, and I was delighted to be involved with it. They concluded their set by singing My Lovely Rose of Clare, which they dedicated to the Ambassador of Ireland to UAE, Alison Milton. Seven Mayo islands have been immortalised in a series of paintings from Irish artist Pamela de Bri. The five paintings from the Kildare woman have captured the islands off the west coast, including Clare Island, Duvillaun, Inishkearagh, Inishglora, Eagle Island, Blackrock, and Stags of Broadhaven. READ MORE: New luxury Mayo hotel set to deliver 170 jobs Over the course of the last six years, Pamela captured 58 islands around the nation in her artwork. Thirty paintings will be exhibited at the launch of the project, titled Ar an Imeall - On The Edge in Kilcock Art Gallery, Kildare, on Saturday, April 26. Those travelling from the West passing by Kilcock, on the edge of the Kildare/Meath border, will have plenty of opportunity to view some of the iconic landscapes of Mayo in the art gallery until Wednesday, June 7. From 11 am - 4 pm from Tuesday to Saturday. The artist, Pamela de Bri, spoke of her love of the countrys topography, which takes centre stage in her work. This is a celebration of our islands, she stated. Their stories explore gloriously rich history, anchored in six years of comprehensive research but delivered with a sense of respect and appreciation. by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, April 15, 2025 Years before the Trump administration stripped the Associated Press of its access to the president and press events at the White House, Disney banned The Los Angeles Times for a brief period. In 2017, the House of Mouse, which maintains one of the worlds most influential and respected TV news brands -- ABC -- was angered by a Times investigative piece that reported on the way Disney conducted its business in Anaheim, California, home of Disneyland. So the company barred Times critics and reporters from screenings of upcoming movies, which represented an imposition for a newspaper known for its coverage of its biggest hometown industry, the movie business. The ban was short-lived, however, when other big newspapers -- among them The New York Times and The Boston Globe -- sided with the L.A. Times and announced they would ignore Disneys movies in advance of their premieres. advertisement advertisement This would have denied the company reviews of its movies -- and more crucially from a publicity point of view, the decidedly softer feature stories and interviews that customarily precede a movies release. As a result, Disney relented. It should go without saying, but companies and presidential administrations should not ban news organizations because they dont like how reporters cover them. Story subjects are entitled to call and yell at us, however. Bans are extreme actions that have no place in a country where freedom of the press is enshrined in its constitution. But negative stories are one thing. Disagreements on geographic nomenclature are another. Reportedly, APs offense had nothing to do with reporting at all, which makes the Trump administrations moves to diminish and silence this vital news source a lot worse than a Disney ban from movie screenings. Trumps anger stems from the trusted news services continued use of Gulf of Mexico to identify a sizable body of water whose shoreline runs roughly from south Florida to Cancun, Mexico. For no apparent reason that would make sense to anyone but Trump, one of his first acts at the onset of his new term was to declare that the Gulf of Mexico will now be known forevermore as the Gulf of America. Wasting no time, he did this in his inauguration speech on January 20. Trivia alert: The Gulf of Mexico got its name in the 16th century. The name first appeared on a map in 1550, according to Wikipedia. In any case, the AP refused to drop Gulf of Mexico and replace it with Gulf of America, and then Trumps communications team banned the AP -- an A-list news organization -- from briefings, Oval Office chats and ride-alongs on Air Force One. The banning took place on February 14. Before that, on January 23 -- three days after Trumps announcement on Inauguration Day, the AP clarified its position on the name change. The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years, said the AP. The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences. This was apparently unsatisfactory for the president and his minions. Earlier this month, however, a federal judge ruled in favor of the AP in a lawsuit the news service brought against members of the administrations communications staff. Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists -- be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere -- it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints, wrote U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden in what must count as one of the easiest decisions a judge ever made. Incredibly but not too surprisingly, the White House refused to honor the judges ruling and barred an AP reporter and photographer on Monday from an Oval Office news conference with Trump and Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. But wait, theres more. On Sunday, Trump sought to weaponize the FCC, again, when he called on FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who Trump appointed, to impose maximum fines and punishment on 60 Minutes. The outrageous request followed segments seen on Sunday nights show -- one an interview with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the other a story about the Trump administrations apparent desire to annex Greenland. In defiance of the Trump administration, the TV Blog hereby vows to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico with its traditional, 400-year-old name. by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, April 14, 2025 When U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive, isnt busy swinging a wrecking ball at public education, shes providing inadvertent laughs to Americas steak lovers. While speaking on a panel for educators last week, Secretary McMahon consistently said A.1. instead of AI. She waxed on about the virtues of early education in condiments, advocating school systems making sure that first graders, or even pre-Ks, have A.1. teaching in every year, she said. She added to the saucy gaffe: Kids are sponges. They just absorb everything. Skipping past the realization that McMahon is in charge of the education of roughly 115,000 schools covering some 55 million K- through-12 students, the internet was more inclined to be amused than horrified. And Kraft Heinzs adept social media teams didnt miss a beat. advertisement advertisement The brand took to Instagram with a doctored-up shot of the sauce, labeled For educational purposes only. The photo contains the slogan, Agree, best to start them early. The post is captioned: You heard her. Every school should have access to A.1. Commenters couldnt resist the obvious comebacks, with Well done, A.1., multiple chefs kisses, and even a few accusations that the post was fake and A.1. generated. Some invoked political suggestions like, MASA, Make America Sauce Again, Let them eat steak! and Only the best people. Welcome to the meritocracy. While Heinz has never been known for political commentary, the companys brand teams are used to generating laughs on social media, whether its launching portable Velveeta pouches, pink Barbie-cue sauce or fake ketchup heiresses. A.1. is one of the companys oldest brands, invented in the 1820s by the chef of King George IV and commercialized in 1862 for the masses. McMahon was confirmed as secretary in early March, vowing to dismantle the department and reorient efforts, especially aiming to end political indoctrination" in classrooms. She is the defendant in a lawsuit alleging that she and her husband, Vince McMahon, turned a blind eye to WWE practices that encouraged the sexual abuse of minors in the 1980s and 1990s. In February, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled that the case brought against the McMahons and the WWE by five anonymous ring boys could move forward. McMahons lawyers have said the suit is without merit. This civil lawsuit based upon thirty-plus-year-old allegations is filled with scurrilous lies, exaggerations and misrepresentations regarding Linda McMahon, a legal representative said in a recent CNN interview. Ms. McMahon will vigorously defend against this baseless lawsuit and without doubt ultimately succeed. Scientists complete world's first telomere-to-telomere wheat genome assembly Xinhua) 16:53, April 15, 2025 BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have successfully completed the world's first telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome assembly of hexaploid bread wheat, marking a major breakthrough in wheat genome research. Wheat has long been a focus for scientists seeking to improve its yield and quality. However, its exceptionally complex genome has posed persistent challenges for in-depth research and breeding efforts. Led by the Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences of Peking University, the scientists successfully assembled the T2T genome of hexaploid wheat using cutting-edge sequencing technologies and multiple algorithmic approaches. The findings were published in the journal Nature Genetics. Compared to previous versions, this genome assembly made significant progress in completeness, continuity and accuracy, establishing a solid foundation for functional genomics research. The achievement provides robust scientific support for national food security strategies, said the senior co-corresponding author Deng Xing Wang. The complete genome serves as a detailed map, allowing -- for the first time -- clear resolution of particularly complex regions in the wheat genome. In addition, the identification of 34,120 new high-confidence genes opens up new avenues for disease-resistant wheat breeding and a wide range of other research initiatives. This achievement not only deepens the understanding of wheat genome structure and evolutionary mechanisms, but also establishes a paradigm for analyzing other complex polyploid crop genomes, Deng noted. Leveraging this high-quality reference genome, scientists will be able to more precisely identify key genes related to yield, quality, and disease resistance, paving the way for revolutionary breakthroughs in wheat variety improvement, he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) by Danielle Oster , April 14, 2025 Leading dating app Tinder launched a new campaign setting fire to its recognizable flame logo. Burned Logo commemorates Ex-Spouse Day (April 14), with an invitation to let go and move on with Tinder. Created in collaboration with Gut Mexico City, the campaign reframes breakups as opportunities to build meaningful connections and pursue new relationships One of the first steps to moving on from an ex is getting rid of the objects they left behind. Many people do this by burning them. Its a cathartic act. Liberating. And in that very flame, we saw something more: Tinders flame logo, Gut Mexico City Creative Director Agustin Osman said in a statement. It often represents the next stepthe exploration, the search. Its the future. Thats why we transformed the flame that closes a cycle into the flame that opens new ones. advertisement advertisement Burned Logo is running across print and virtual platforms, using the imagery to highlight the brand positioning of Tinder as a means to reconnect with the dating world and pursue new possibilities. It marks the first Ex Day campaign from Tinder. The new campaign follows Tinder parent company Match Group itself moving on with a new executive leader. In February, Match Group appointed Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff as its new CEO, succeeding Bernard Kim, who resigned from both the CEO role and Match Group board. It also arrives amidst ongoing struggles for Tinder and Match Group, which is navigating revelations about user safety issues on its platforms, according to an Laist post. Match Group cited Tinders revenue decline last year, as a primary contributor to the companys financial challenges during a February investors call to discuss its Q4 2024 earnings. What you have to understand is Tinder's cost base is almost entirely in the U.S., incoming Tinder CFO Steve Bailey said during the call. And.a significant portion of its revenue comes from outside the U.S. We want to give ourselves the room to make the planned investments and product innovation at Tinder so that we can achieve our three-year revenue growth objectives, he added We have three areas that we've talked about at Tinder, where we need to see progress, Match Group CFO Gary Swidler explained. We've talked about fostering a cleaner ecosystem, improving user outcomes and bringing the fun back to dating. And we really need to make progress in all three areas. Obviously, the trust and safety area is critically important to Tinder, and so that's a major area of focus and emphasis. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, April 15, 2025 More than 250 Democrats in the House and Senate are urging a judge to rule that President Donald Trump lacked authority to fire Federal Trade Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. Trump's ouster of Bedoya and Slaughter flies in the face of binding Supreme Court precedent, established practice, and the Constitution's text and history, 41 Senators and 210 Representatives argue in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Monday with U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, D.C. Their papers come in a battle that began last month, when Trump expelled Bedoya and Slaughter from the FTC, leaving the agency without any Democratic commissioners. At the time, Trump told the duo via email: Your continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my Administrations priorities. Accordingly, I am removing you from office pursuant to my authority under Article II of the Constitution. Bedoya and Slaughter sued over the move, arguing that a president can only fire an FTC commissioner for three reasons -- inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. They are seeking a declaratory judgment that their firing was illegal, and an order reinstating them to the commission. advertisement advertisement The FTC was established by Congress as a five-member commission, with each member appointed for a term of seven years and removable only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Bedoya was confirmed by the Senate in 2022 and his term wasn't set to expire until September 25, 2026. Slaughter joined the FTC in 2018, and was confirmed for a second time in March 2024. Her term wasn't slated to expire until September 2029. Late last week, Bedoya and Slaughter sought summary judgment in their favor, arguing that the purported firings violate the Supreme Court's 1935 decision in a case called Humphrey's Executor, which also involved a president's attempt to oust an FTC commissioner. The Supreme Court said in that matter that Franklin Roosevelt lacked authority to fire an FTC member without cause. Humphreys Executor remains good law and controls here, Bedoya and Slaughter argue. It follows that the result must be the same for President Trump as it was for President Roosevelt: this court should hold that his attempt to terminate plaintiffs as FTC commissioners without cause is unlawful. The lawmakers supporting Bedoya and Slaughter argue that a president can't ignore Congress's determination that commissioners should serve for a fixed number of years. The FTC is a prototypical independent agency of the kind that has existed for 150 years, the lawmakers argue, adding that multimember independent agencies like the FTC are also fully consonant with the Constitution's original meaning. The elected officials add that existing structure of the agency enables the president to appoint the FTC's chair, which in itself gives the president at least some ability to shape the agency's leadership and agenda. The lawmakers signing the brief include Senate Democrats Cory Booker (New Jersey), Richard J. Durbin (Illinois), Chuck Schumer (New York), Maria Cantwell (Washington), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota). AliKhan plans to hold a hearing in the matter on May 20. by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, April 15, 2025 As concerns about technologys impact on mental health continue to grow globally, Vivo, Brazils leading telecommunications company, has partnered with Brazilian advertising agency Africa Creative to launch a campaign addressing smartphone addiction. The Toxic Relationship campaign uses Olivia Rodrigo's 2021 hit song jealousy, jealousy to draw attention to the psychological impact of excessive screen time, particularly among younger generations. advertisement advertisement Anchoring the campaign is a film that portrays a young woman so absorbed in her smartphone that she fails to notice how the digital world is consuming her life. The use of Rodrigos jealousy, jealousy was chosen specifically for its lyrics about social medias potential downsides in exacerbating emotional trauma as well as for the pop stars connection with Generation Z. According to the agency, the film serves as a metaphor for the unhealthy attachments many have developed with their devices. The campaign invites consumers to set boundaries with their smartphones and develop more mindful digital habits. Through this initiative, Vivo aims to spark conversations about technology's role in our lives and encourage users to take control of their screen time. The effort is underpinned by statistics from the 2024 Mental Health Panorama, conducted by Instituto Cactus and AtlasIntel, which found that 40% of respondents report that likes and comments on social media significantly affect their self-esteem. The study also found that 45% of Brazilians aged 15 to 29 feel intense social media use negatively impacts their mental health, contributing to increased anxiety and depression. Brazil currently leads Latin America in anxiety and depression cases, with the World Health Organization reporting that 5.8% of the country's populationapproximately 11.7 million peoplesuffer from depression. And research from Vivo research unit VTrends shows that 51% of people lose track of time while using mobile devices. Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan, and Ananya Panday are gearing up for the release of their upcoming period drama Kesari Chapter 2, which will narrate the aftermath of the bone-chilling Jallianwala Bagh massacre embroiled in a courtroom drama. But Kesari Chapter 2 will not be the first movie to showcase the British brutality during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Dharma Productions Before Kesari Chapter 2, these six movies showcased the massacre as one of their most prominent plot point. Films Based On The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 1. Sardar Udham Based on true events, Sardar Udham, starring Vicky Kaushal, narrates the powerful story of Indian freedom fighter Udham Singh. Amazon Prime The film follows his relentless quest for justice as he avenges the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacrewhere British troops brutally killed hundreds of unarmed civiliansby assassinating Michael O'Dwyer, the then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, who had endorsed the massacre. 2. Phillauri This quirky romantic comedy takes a dark turn when we discover that the lead character, Phillauri, is connected to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Fox Star Sudios Phillauri stars Anushka Sharma and Diljit Dosanjh in the lead roles and is one of the best underrated movies of Bollywood. 3. Jallian Wala Bagh This 1977 Bollywood movie was written and directed by Balraj Tah, with the screenplay by Gulzar. It stars Vinod Khanna, Parikshat Sahni, Shabana Azmi, Deepti Naval, and Om Shivpuri Five River Films In this movie, Vinod Khanna played Sardar Udham, the revolutionary who killed Michael O'Dwyer, the British officer responsible for the massacre. 4. The Legend Of Bhagat Singh Tips Industries This 2002 biographical drama was based on the legendary life of Bhagat Singh, who was inspired to wage war against the British Raj after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 5. Gandhi This 1982 epic biographical drama was based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, who is also known as the father of India. Goldcrest Films Ben Kingsley played the role of Mahatma Gandhi in this movie, who was deeply affected by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which comes as a major turning point in the movie. 6. Rang De Basanti This Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra movie has become a cult, which seamlessly blends coming-of-age drama with a period piece. This milestone marks the official return of Clarks headquarters to the United States Clark Material Handling, a leader in the material handling industry, announces the grand opening of its Global Headquarters in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. This milestone marks the official return of Clarks headquarters to the United States, solidifying the companys status as an iconic American brand and positioning it for global growth in the decades to come. Clarks new headquarters in Flower Mound, Texas, a facility owned by Clark, is designed to foster collaboration and serve as a central hub for Clarks continued innovations in forklift technology and material handling solutions. The 56,972 square foot building features a Product Showroom, Forklift Experience centre, Clark History Hall, Dealer Sales & Service Training Classes, Warehousing & Distribution centre, as well as the Global Administrative offices. This state-of-the-art facility is a testament to Clarks enduring commitment to its customers, employees, and dealer network. The location was strategically selected for its proximity to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, providing convenient access for global partners. I n March 2022, a temporary global office was established while plans for a permanent facility took shape. Following a yearlong construction process, the new headquarters officially opened in November 2024. The facility currently employs 36 associates, with plans to expand to 65 by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the U.S. factory in Lexington, Kentucky, will continue operations, supported by robust Research & Development, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Quality teams. This grand opening is not just the culmination of years of planning and hard work; it is the beginning of a new era for Clark. "By returning our headquarters to the United States, we honour our legacy while confidently building the future of the material handling industry, says Chuck Moratz, President & CEO of Clark Global and Clark Material Handling Company Bringing Clarks global headquarters to the United States reaffirms our commitment to delivering exceptional products and services. "This move strengthens our foundation as a global leader and ensures we remain close to the customers and markets that drive our success, explains Seung Soo Baik, Chairman of Clark Global Headquarters. We celebrate not just a building but a bold vision for Clarks future. This headquarters exemplifies our mission to innovate and lead while staying rooted in the values that have made us a trusted name for over a century. Clark Material Handling invited partners, dealers and the community to celebrate this momentous occasion as the company embarks on an exciting new chapter from its Dallas headquarters. The Honorary Chairman of YoungAn, Sung Hak Baik, was also in attendance to offer his congratulations. Since 2003, I envisioned a future where we would one day return our global headquarters to America, the birthplace of the forklift. "This new facility is the realization of that vision - a commitment to our heritage, our people, and our continued growth. "I am proud to see CLARK take this significant step forward, strengthening our ability to serve customers worldwide while honoring our legacy of innovation and excellence. says Sung Hak Baik, Honorary Chairman of YoungAn. Beneficiaries who live within 100 miles of a military hospital or clinic but at least 30 minutes away by car no longer need to request a waiver to stay with Tricare Prime, the Defense Department's managed-care health program. Under the next-generation Tricare contracts that went into effect Jan. 1, patients who move to a location outside that access standard for primary care can choose to receive care at the DoD facility or, if they already receive care there, keep their primary care manager without seeking a waiver. According to the Defense Health Agency, beneficiaries who meet the criteria will receive a letter notifying them that their homes are outside the access-standard measure, but if they don't respond, they will remain with their current primary care managers, or PCMs, at their military treatment facility. Read Next: Hampton VA Grapples with Staff Shortages, Watchdog Report Finds Those who want to change primary care managers, however, can do so by following instructions in the letter. "This new approach will help prevent unnecessary coverage gaps and ensure families keep access to their PCMs," said Shane Pham, a DHA management and program analyst, in a news release last week. The change was among the requirements of the new contracts, known as T-5, which were issued to TriWest Healthcare Alliance in the Tricare West Region and Humana Military in the Tricare East Region on Jan. 1. The allowance also coincides with an effort at the Defense Department to bring family members and military retirees back into military hospitals and clinics to ensure that the facilities have enough patients to maintain provider proficiency and curb the rising costs of private-sector care. According to a memo issued Dec. 6, 2023, by then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, the DoD hopes to increase the number of patients seen at military treatment facilities by 7% by the end of 2026, or a total of 3.3 million patients. In a speech to uniformed and civilian federal health officials in March, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Stephen Ferrara said the DoD is pursuing the efforts in order to create a high-functioning medical system. "The last thing that a family or that service member needs is to be worried about whether their family is getting adequate or high-quality care," Ferrara said. According to Tricare officials, the decision to drop the drive time waiver was made based on patient satisfaction surveys showing that many beneficiaries are willing to drive more than 30 minutes to keep their primary care doctors and would prefer not to switch physicians. If a Tricare Prime beneficiary moves more than 30 minutes from their PCM, their Tricare regional contract will contact all adult patients in the household by phone, text, mail and email to provide options for continuing their health coverage. Patients will have 90 days to decide what to do. If they now live more than 30 minutes but less than 100 miles away, they won't have to do anything to keep their Tricare Prime coverage and primary care manager. Or they can switch health plans -- to Tricare Select or the U.S. Family Health Program, if it is available in their region. If patients have moved more than 100 miles away from a Tricare Prime Service Area, they must decide within 90 days to switch to another plan. They will be dropped from Tricare Prime after 90 days and will be able to be seen at a military hospital or clinic only if space is available. Defense Health Agency officials urge all beneficiaries to ensure that their addresses are updated in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, or DEERS, and they also should check the email addresses and phone numbers the DoD has on file for accuracy. Since the contract changeover Jan. 1, Tricare providers and patients have experienced disruptions to patient care and payments, resulting in patients having to switch providers or delay care and prompting providers to take out loans to pay staff while they wait for reimbursements. The problems have caught the eye of lawmakers on Capitol Hill as well as military leadership, including the services' top enlisted leaders. During a hearing last week before the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees military construction, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea said he personally has received complaints from providers about the reimbursement delays. "The Defense Health Agency to their credit has worked diligently with me, with the contract, to have those bills paid as quickly as possible. But as we are continuing through this transformation, we are finding more and more places that we are challenged [to find] health care providers," Honea said. Last month, Republican Reps. John Rutherford and Aaron Bean of Florida wrote to David Smith, the acting DHA director, asking him to explain the delays and fix them. "It would be unacceptable for military families to lose access to critical care coverage. This crisis must be immediately rectified," they wrote. Related: Tricare Again Extends Deadlines for Beneficiaries in Western US After Contract Change WASHINGTON Air Force Gen. Dan Caine has been sworn in as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after a flurry of paperwork was finished to allow him to fill the job nearly two months after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor. A formal White House ceremony is expected to take place this week. Caine, a decorated F-16 fighter pilot and well-respected officer, took over on Saturday after Trump signed the necessary documents. He will serve the remainder of the four-year term of Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., who was fired by Trump as part of a broader purge of military officers believed to endorse diversity and equity programs. Brown, a history-making fighter pilot and just the second Black chairman, had served 16 months in the job when he was fired Feb. 21. Caine's term as chairman will run through Sept. 30, 2027. Because he has never served as a combatant commander or a service chief, Caine did not meet the basic prerequisites for the job set out in a 1986 law. As a result, Trump had to sign a waiver allowing him to serve as chairman. Under the law, the requirements can be waived by the president if there is a determination that such action is necessary in the national interest. Caine whose call sign is Raizin is the first officer to be called back from retirement and returned to active duty to take the chairmans job. He had an unusual path to the chairmans post, including his start in the military. Caine was commissioned as an officer in 1990 through the ROTC program at the Virginia Military Institute, but after pilot training, he got a waiver to move from active duty to the Air National Guard so that he could fly fighter jets. At the time, there weren't as many open slots for pilots in the active duty service. In 2001, while serving as a pilot with the 121st Fighter Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, he was in the second rotation of fighter jets that were patrolling the skies over Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11. Two months later, he deployed to Kuwait as an F-16 mission commander. Caine got his masters degree in 2005 from American Military University, in Charles Town, West Virginia. Much of his early military time was as a pilot and instructor, and he has 2,800 hours, including more than 100 in combat. During his career, Caine moved in and out of full-time active duty jobs. He served in leadership roles in multiple special operations commands, in some of the Pentagons most classified programs and at the CIA. He also worked on staff and as a fellow at the White House. His most recent job before he retired last year was as the associate director for military affairs at the CIA. He retired as a three-star lieutenant general. The Senate confirmed Caine after 2 a.m. Friday, by a bipartisan vote of 60-25, with 15 Democrats and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine voting in support of his nomination. Caine was in the Pentagon on Friday, but it was unclear when he would be sworn in because there appeared to be a delay in Trump signing the needed paperwork. Trump was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday for his annual physical and then went directly to Joint Base Andrews to fly to Florida. He signed the paperwork late that night. Caine was sworn in Saturday and was at the Pentagon over the weekend to start work. But as of Monday, the Joint Chiefs website still didnt have him listed. At his confirmation hearing early this month, Caine said he would be candid in his advice to Trump and vowed to be apolitical. Asked how he would react if ordered to direct the military to do something potentially illegal, such as being used against civilians in domestic law enforcement, he told senators that it is the duty and the job that I have to push back. Trumps relationship with Caine dates to his first administration. They met during a trip to Iraq, as Trump recounted in a 2019 speech. He has said Caine is a real general, not a television general. _____ Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. A narrow stretch of federal lands that runs along a major portion of the U.S.-Mexico border has been transferred to the military in hopes of increasing migrant apprehensions under a new memo signed by President Donald Trump. The Roosevelt Reservation, the 60-foot-wide strip of land that stretches across California, Arizona and New Mexico, will be treated as Department of Defense property, meaning those who walk on the land could be subject to detention and likely legal action. Trump's memo released publicly Friday stated the effort "will initially implement this memorandum on a limited sector of federal lands designated by the secretary of defense." A defense official told Military.com that the Department of the Interior will soon pass over jurisdiction of the land but had not as of Monday afternoon, adding that military apprehension efforts on the Roosevelt Reservation will initially take place near Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Read Next: Beneficiaries Outside Drive Time Standard No Longer Need Waiver to Stay in Tricare Prime Trump's ordered transfer of the federal land to the Department of Defense marks a new and unprecedented frontier in modern U.S. history for the use of the military in his crackdown on immigrants and efforts to seal America's southern border with Mexico. Military.com spoke with legal experts who expressed concern about the Roosevelt Reservation's militarization, and also recently visited the southern border of California to witness troops' operations firsthand just prior to the memo's release. The military is not legally allowed to take on law enforcement activities except in certain rare cases, and putting troops in charge of migrant apprehensions now conducted by police or immigration and border agents pushes the boundaries of the law, according to legal experts. Prior to Trump's memo last week, soldiers had already begun conducting patrols along the barrier wall separating the U.S. and Mexico in an effort to detect and track suspected illegal activity. A U.S. Northern Command order in late March gave troops the ability to patrol border routes, something that the command said would give them more "maneuverability" in support of their Customs and Border Protection counterparts. Those patrols included dedicated military assets, such as the Stryker, an armored vehicle largely meant to transport troops to and from missions. The inclusion of that equipment marks a significant shift from active-duty border missions of the past, in which service members were often limited to Border Patrol vehicles or optics without the ability to move from stationary observation posts along the border. The Roosevelt Reservation was first established in the early 1900s by then-President Theodore Roosevelt to stop smuggling efforts into the country. Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the nonprofit Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program, told Military.com in an interview that the latest memo takes the original purpose of the land and puts it into unchartered territory. "It's a quantum leap, because the original designation of the land did not come along with militarizing the zone and sort of bootstrapping a way for soldiers to arrest migrants or to enforce drug trafficking laws at the border," Goitein said. The move appears aimed at navigating around Posse Comitatus -- a federal act stopping the U.S. military from performing certain law enforcement duties -- and Goitein questioned the legality of the move as a whole. "This is not incidental; this is not because something unexpected happened," she said. "They are setting out to arrest and detain migrants by building this installation, and that is not consistent with Posse Comitatus. It just isn't." Detention Facility Under Construction A Military.com in-depth feature last month detailed that the plan for the Roosevelt Reservation was awaiting Trump's signature before being put into action. The report also said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the Army to assume control and management of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts for construction, maintenance and upkeep of the existing processing center at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas -- a sprawling military installation along the U.S.-Mexico border. Now, construction is underway for the Fort Bliss detention facility. The Army last week began prepping the site at Fort Bliss for the construction of the new migrant detention facility expected to hold as many as 5,000 people, according to two Army officials briefed on the matter. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans publicly. That preparation has included 1st Armored Division soldiers clearing rocks and flattening dirt with bulldozers. Details about the composition of the detainee population remain unclear, including whether the facility will hold both individuals deemed security risks and migrant families. Bliss was used to house thousands of Afghans during a major Biden administration resettlement effort after U.S. troops pulled out of the two-decade war in 2021. Goitein said that providing that detention space is not unprecedented, but how officials may use the military in future operations at the detention facility is where legal concerns may begin to appear. "This is part of an overall blurring of the line between military and law enforcement in the immigration space that we're seeing throughout the Trump administration's actions, and that line has to remain very clear under the Posse Comitatus Act," Goitein said. "This kind of blurring of that line is not legal, and it's dangerous." The Trump administration has already blurred the lines of legality in its nationwide deportations. On Monday, Trump and visiting El Salvador President Nayib Bukele met at the White House and said they would not return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father and legal resident who was mistakenly deported to a notorious Salvadoran prison by the administration, back to the U.S. despite an order by the Supreme Court. Although the new detention facility is being built on Fort Bliss, officials emphasized that uniformed service members will not oversee daily operations. Instead, the site will be jointly managed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Pro Publica reported the contract to build the camp has been awarded to Deployed Resources, a private company specializing in massive long-term-use tents. The company is known for erecting large-scale, tent-based infrastructure, which officials say allows for faster deployment compared to traditional infrastructure -- though it's unclear whether those structures could adequately house a large number of people and address sanitation and health needs. Changing Border Mission The Pentagon has deployed a force of roughly 10,000 troops to the border in an effort to secure it. That is only part -- albeit a significant part -- of the military's role in the immigration mission, which also has included deportation flights, migrant detention at Guantanamo Bay and now construction of facilities on U.S. soil, efforts that have come together rapidly in less than 90 days. Military.com recently spent time with soldiers belonging to a task force mostly made up of military police deployed near San Diego at California's border, where some service members described their foot patrols along the barrier wall prior to the president's most recent memo. They were not using Strykers. "When we first got here, we were pretty much static along the border," said Lt. Col. Phillip Mason, the commander of Task Force-716, a unit composed mostly of military police. "Since then, we have been able to do patrolling. We've been able to -- instead of just sitting behind a camera -- we can move back and forth along the border," adding that it allows his soldiers "a better ability to understand what's going on." Sgt. DeAndre Swinson, an acting squad leader assigned to the border and sergeant of the guard for soldiers manning observation posts, said that he had been on two patrols since Northern Command authorized units to do so, taking groups of about four armed soldiers at a time along the border barrier to report to CBP agents anything suspicious they might see. "If it's on the patrol, we report immediately through [our] radio, and you'll tell them exactly how you see it, what you see," he said. When asked what he is looking for on the patrols, Swinson said "anything that looks out of the ordinary," adding that reports to nearby Border Patrol agents include the "five Ws" -- who, what, when, where and why. Specifically, they are looking for border crossings and "spotters," a term commonly referring to individuals -- to include suspected cartel or smuggling groups -- monitoring law enforcement or military activity along the border in order to circumvent detection in an effort to cross people, drugs or contraband into the U.S. On these patrols, soldiers are required to abide by the standing rules for the use of force, also known as SRUF, which dictates what kinds of force they can and can't use if faced with a threatening situation. For Task Force-716, those rules did not change when they started doing the patrols, Mason said, adding that as of last Thursday, his troops had not had any direct contact with migrants crossing the border in the nearly three months they'd been in San Diego. "There's times where it's seen from anywhere from 500 meters to a mile away," he said Thursday. "But not eye-to-eye, face-to-face kind of contact, and a lot of that is by design. Our soldiers aren't in a capacity where they should be detaining, apprehending." He added that they are allowed to provide medical treatment to migrants should they hurt themselves attempting to traverse the barrier wall, for example. But operations along the border are now evolving rapidly as Trump and his administration move forward with plans to expand the military's role in immigration enforcement. By the time Military.com's coverage of the troops at San Diego ended Friday afternoon, the president had issued the memorandum authorizing the use of the Roosevelt Reservation. That order could now indeed put troops face-to-face with migrants in a way that has not happened in recent border missions -- and what that will mean or look like for those troops is still unclear. -- Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report. Related: Navy Plans to Deploy Second Destroyer to Patrol Waters Off US and Mexico This Week DUBAI, United Arab Emirates A second U.S. aircraft carrier is operating in Mideast waters ahead of the next round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program, satellite photos analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press showed. The operation of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group in the Arabian Sea comes as suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded parts of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overnight into Tuesday. American officials repeatedly have linked the U.S.' monthlong campaign against the Houthis under President Donald Trump as a means to pressure Iran in the negotiations. Questions remain over where the weekend talks between the countries will be held after officials initially identified Rome as hosting the negotiations, only for Iran to insist early Tuesday they would return to Oman. American officials so far haven't said where the talks will be held. The stakes of the negotiations couldnt be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Irans nuclear program if a deal isnt reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. But even Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly described the first round of talks as going well, even while still couching his remarks Tuesday. U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who represented America in last weekend's talks in Oman, separately signaled that the Trump administration may be looking at terms of the 2015 nuclear deal that the president unilaterally withdrew from in 2018 as a basis for these negotiations. He described the talks last weekend as positive, constructive, compelling. This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization, Witkoff told Fox News on Monday night. That includes missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there. And it includes the trigger for a bomb. He added: Were here to see if we can solve this situation diplomatically and with dialogue. Vinson joins Truman as second US aircraft carrier in Mideast Satellite photos taken Monday by the European Union's Copernicus program showed the Vinson, which is based out of San Diego, California, operating northeast of Socotra, an island off Yemen that sits near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden. The Vinson is accompanied by the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton and two Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the USS Sterett and the USS William P. Lawrence. The U.S. ordered the Vinson to the Mideast to back up the USS Harry S. Truman, which has been launching airstrikes against the Houthis since the American campaign started March 15. Footage released by the Navy showed the Vinson preparing ordinance and launching F-35 and F/A-18 fighter jets off its deck in recent days. The U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which oversees the Mideast, declined to discuss details of the Vinson's operations. However, hours after the AP's report, the U.S. military's Central Command posted videos from the two carriers on the social platform X saying there had been 24/7 strikes on the Houthis by the two carriers. Khamenei responds The Vinson's arrival came as Khamenei, while speaking to high-ranking government officials in Tehran on Tuesday, endorsed the progress of the talks. We shouldnt be overly optimistic about this dialogue, nor overly pessimistic," the 85-year-old Khamenei said. "The first steps have been taken well and executed properly. From here on, the process should be followed carefully. The red lines are clear both for the other side and for us. We may or may not reach a result, but either way, its worth pursuing. He also urged officials not to tie the countrys affairs to the talks, which are scheduled to have a second round on Saturday. Of course, we dont fully trust them we know who were dealing with, Khamenei added. But we are optimistic about our own capabilities. Witkoff suggests 3.67% uranium enrichment for Iran Meanwhile, Witkoff offered for the first time a specific enrichment level he'd like to see for Iran's nuclear program. Today, Tehran enriches uranium to up to 60% a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%. They do not need to enrich past 3.67%, Witkoff told Fox News. "In some circumstances, theyre at 60%, in other circumstances, 20%. That cannot be. And you do not need to run, as they claim, a civil nuclear program where youre enriching past 3.67%. So this is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization. The 2015 nuclear deal Iran agreed to with world powers under President Barack Obama saw Tehran agree to drastically reduce its stockpile of uranium and only enrich up to 3.67% enough for its nuclear power plant at Bushehr. Iran in exchange received access to frozen funds around the world, and sanctions were lifted on its crucial oil industry and other sectors. Iran's Javan newspaper, which is believed to be close to its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, suggested in an editorial Tuesday that Tehran would be open to reducing its enrichment. Something that we have done before, why should we not carry it again and reach a deal? the editorial asked. "This is not called a withdrawal by Islamic Republic from its ideals anywhere in the world. When Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, however, he pointed at Iran's ballistic missile stockpile as one reason to leave the deal. Witkoff said any deal with Iran would have to include missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there and it includes the trigger for a bomb. Iran relies on its ballistic missiles as a hedge against regional nations armed with advanced fighter jets and other American weaponry. Getting it to abandon its missile program likely will be difficult in negotiations. ___ Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Just weeks before World War I ended, the U.S. military established Fort Benning near Columbus. The first soldiers arrived there on Oct. 6, 1918. Later that month, officials held a ceremony for naming it after Confederate Brig. Gen. Henry Benning. More than a century later, the base was renamed Fort Moore in honor of the late Hal and Julie Moore, a husband-and-wife duo known for their fierce advocacy for military families. The base was among nine military installations that were renamed during the Biden administration so that they would no longer honor Confederate figures. The changes happened amid renewed protests for racial justice following the violent police killings of Black people. On Wednesday, the military will hold a ceremony for restoring the bases name. But this time, according to the Trump administration, it will honor Fred Benning, a modest World War I hero from Nebraska. His granddaughter is expected to attend the ceremony. The Pentagon said the name change honors the warfighter ethos and recognizes the heroes who have trained at the installation for decades and will continue to train on its storied ranges. Critics have called the move a calculated attempt at stoking division. In February, the Pentagon restored Fort Liberty in North Carolina back to its original name, Fort Bragg. The post was originally named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, who owned a plantation and slaves. The Pentagon says it is now named after the late Army Pfc. Roland Bragg, who received the Silver Star for gallantry and a Purple Heart for wounds sustained during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Here is some history about the four people whose names are now linked to the sprawling base in west Georgia. Henry Lewis Benning Born in Columbia County, Henry Lewis Benning worked as a lawyer in Columbus, where he eventually served as solicitor general, according to New Georgia Encyclopedia. He also served six years as a Georgia Supreme Court associate justice. Benning helped draft Georgias ordinance leading to secession from the Union in January of 1861. The following month, he traveled to Richmond and invited Virginia to join the Confederacy. Georgia, he told the Virginia State Convention, seceded because a separation from the North was the only thing that could prevent the abolition of her slavery. He also warned that if slavery were abolished, we will have black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything. Moments later, he added: we will be overpowered and our men will be compelled to wander like vagabonds all over the earth; and as for our women, the horrors of their state we cannot contemplate in imagination. Benning served as a colonel in the Confederate military and was later promoted to brigadier general. Nicknamed Old Rock for his steadfastness in combat, according to the encyclopedia, Benning had two horses shot from under him at the Battle of Chickamauga and was wounded at the bloody Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia. After recovering, Benning resumed command of Confederate troops in Virginia and was with them when they surrendered at Appomattox Court House in 1865. After the war, according to the encyclopedia, Benning, like so many other southern planters, returned home to a devastating economic situation. Much of his wealth had been invested in enslaved people and land, but the bondsmen were now gone, and much of his land was ruined. He died in 1875 and is buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus. Hal and Julie Moore Lt. Gen. Harold Hal Gregory Moore was born in rural Kentucky. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point near the end of World War II and rose through the Army ranks. In the Korean War, Moore commanded rifle and heavy mortar companies. In the Vietnam War, he led U.S. soldiers against the North Vietnamese army in the historic Battle of la Drang Valley in 1965. For days, Moores unit held off waves of enemy assaults, according to the National Museum of the United States Army. Based on his courageous actions in that battle, Moore received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nations second-highest medal for valor. The citation for his medal says he repeatedly exposed himself to intense hostile fire. By his constant movement and repeated exposure to this insurgent fire, the citation says, Moore set the standard for his combat troops by a courageous display of leadership by example, which characterized all his actions throughout the long and deadly battle. Moore cowrote a book about his experiences, We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam. His book was adapted into a 2002 film in which he was portrayed by actor Mel Gibson. Moores wife, Julie, was born at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The daughter of a WWII veteran, she volunteered for the Red Cross in Army hospitals and helped set up Army Community Service organizations, which offer education and counseling. She attended funerals for soldiers who were killed in combat and helped reform how military families are notified of their loved ones deaths. Pressed by this example, the Army instituted the practice of delivering compassionate notices through uniformed personnel, her obituary says, and built support networks for the families of slain soldiers. These practices have become standard throughout the military. She and her husband are buried at Fort Benning. Fred Benning Fred Benning was born in Norfolk, Nebraska, in 1900. At 17, he enlisted with the U.S. Army and served in the First Infantry Division during WWI. Benning received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in France in 1918. After the enemy killed his platoon commander and disabled two senior noncommissioned officers, according to the Pentagon, Benning led 20 others in his company through heavy fire to their assigned objective. In 1920, his Distinguished Service Cross was mailed to him after he declined to receive it with military honors, The Albion Argus in Nebraska reported that year. Officers attached to the recruiting office, the article says, commented on his request that the cross be mailed to him, stating that such modesty is typical of the spirit of soldiers who have merited such awards. After the war, Benning married, raised a family and operated a bakery in Neligh, Nebraska, where he served as mayor, according to an obituary published in The Norfolk Daily News. Serious and stoic, Benning never talked about his experiences in WWI, said his granddaughter, Sue Williams, a school principal in Neligh, Nebraska. That was something I was told early on do not ask, Williams said. It was never discussed. Benning died in 1974 at age 74. He is buried in his hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska. 2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A 24-year-old U.S. Army soldier was arrested Friday on murder charges after Fairbanks officers found a man with an execution-style gunshot wound in an apartment, police said. Adayus Robertson is facing charges of first-degree murder and evidence tampering as well as violating probation for two prior open criminal cases. He had his first court appearance Sunday. Robertson is an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Wainwright with the 11th Airborne Division. A judge on Sunday set his bail at $2.5 million. Police said their investigation began just before 10 a.m. Friday with a report of shots fired at an apartment on 27th Avenue. Officers found 37-year-old Fairbanks resident Joseph Casas with a gunshot wound to the head. Casas was pronounced dead at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, they said. Robertson and Casas knew each other, police said. Robertson was on pretrial ankle monitoring associated with a felony assault case filed last month. A detective requested GPS tracking data that showed him at the scene of the shooting and then walking away, according to a probable cause statement filed in the murder case. Officers found Robertson with two other people at the Big Dipper Ice Arena. Robertson had a handgun magazine on him, the statement said. An officer following tracks in the snow recovered a .40 caliber Glock from a trash bin near the scene of the shooting, it said. Witnesses told police the two men were in the same room when the shot was heard. Police learned the gun had been purchased by a relative of Robertson, according to the statement. Robertson, interviewed by the detective, said Casas had been "bouncing around and saying a lot of crazy stuff" but then asked to speak to an attorney and declined to provide any other information about what happened Friday, the statement said. One of the witnesses told a military criminal investigation agent that Casas "didn't deserve what happened to him," the statement said. The witness agreed when asked if the shooting was an execution, it said. Robertson is hiring an attorney, according to a filing in the case. He was facing prior charges of assault and escape at the time of Friday's shooting. The felony assault charge stems from accusations Robertson pistol-whipped a woman in January, according to a criminal complaint filed in that case. He was arrested on March 19. He paid a $10,000 cash bail in that case and was released from custody several days later, court records show. The escape case was filed on March 27 after authorities said Robertson left house arrest on base, violating the conditions of release in the assault case. A judge on April 1 agreed to allow Robertson to leave base, modifying the conditions of his release to remove house arrest. Robertson, whose rank is private first class, is a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialist who has been with the 11th Airborne since arriving at Fort Wainwright in October 2023, according to information provided by division spokesperson Lt. Col. Leah Ganoni. Fort Wainwright is Robertson's first and only duty station since enlisting in the Army in 2023, Ganoni said. 2025 the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska). Visit www.adn.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The Massachusetts Army National Guard has abruptly rescinded long-standing medical waivers that allowed certain soldiers to maintain facial hair -- a policy primarily affecting Black service members. According to an email to the state's troops, parts of which were posted to social media and confirmed as authentic to Military.com by Guard officials, the Massachusetts Guard informed soldiers that any shaving waivers issued before January 2023 are now considered expired. Those waivers, commonly granted for a chronic skin condition known as pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), are typically issued by medical professionals and are usually indefinite unless reassessed for medical reasons. Waivers are also granted for religious accommodations. PFB, which disproportionately affects Black men, causes painful inflammation due to tightly curled hair growing back into the skin after shaving. Facial hair waivers for those diagnosed with PFB have long been standard practice across the armed services, as clean-shaven grooming requirements can exacerbate the condition and result in significant discomfort or disfigurement. Read Next: Military to Take Over Federal Land Along Border Under New Trump Order "Massachusetts Army National Guard soldiers who believe they still need a shaving profile will be reevaluated," the memo noted. Massachusetts has a comparatively small Black population, with 9.6% of its residents identifying as Black, compared to making up 14% of the overall national population, according to the census. The memo goes on to direct troops to be reevaluated on whether they need shaving waivers, a move that can be time-consuming and logistically challenging for part-time troops and units, as training time in any given year is already extremely limited in the National Guard. The portion of the memo that was posted on Reddit did not note how the policy affects Air National Guardsmen in the state, if at all. Don Veitch, a spokesperson for the state, declined to provide the full memo or comment to Military.com. Army transparency rules dictate that nonclassified materials are public documents and must be provided to reporters when requested. The Massachusetts Guard's policy shift comes on the heels of a wider reckoning within the Department of Defense. In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a military-wide review of grooming standards, citing concerns over what he described as an erosion of military culture. "We kicked out good soldiers for having naked women tattooed on their arms," Hegseth said in a statement last month. "And today we are relaxing the standards on shaving, dreadlocks, man buns, and straight-up obesity. Piece by piece, the standard had to go -- because of equity." Meanwhile, the Marine Corps has initiated its own review of shaving waivers. In March, Military.com reported Marines were issued interim guidance directing those with saving waivers to be reevaluated within 90 days. The guidance added that Marines needing a waiver extending longer than a year may be separated from the service. Related: Marines with Skin Condition Affecting Mostly Black Men Could Now Be Booted Under New Policy More than three years after the Navy shut down two of its Oahu water wells in response to the Red Hill water crisis, the serv ice is now looking to reopen them. The state Department of Health has given the Navy conditional approval to work toward reopening its Aiea-Halawa Shaft. The Navy also has released a draft environmental impact statement on the possibility of building water treatment facilities that eventually would allow it to reactivate its fuel-contaminated Red Hill Shaft, and is soliciting public feedback until Sunday. The Navy is in the process of permanently shutting down the Red Hill facility, which sits just 100 feet above an aquifer most of Honolulu relies on for water. In 2021, fuel from the facility tainted the Red Hill Shaft and entered the Navys Oahu water system that serves 93, 000 people, including military families and civilians living in former military housing areas. Thousands of people on the Navy water line reported experiencing ailments ranging from rashes, digestive issues, neurological problems and others. Representatives of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply and the Red Hill Community Representation Initiative have raised concerns about the reactivation plansincluding the degree to which residents on the water line are being informed of plans to reactivate the wells. The Red Hill CRI is an elected board formed as part of a federal consent decree regarding the closure of the Navys Red Hill fuel facility whose membership includes residents affected by the contamination and local community members. On Tuesday, Mandy Feindta CRI member whose family lived on Ford Island and reported severe symptomsjoined a roundtable event in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill with several veterans discussing the federal governments response to military toxic exposures. Feindt told lawmakers this has been going on for a long time, and theres not been a lot of lessons learned. On May 6, 2021, jet fuel from the Red Hill tanks spilled and some of it entered a drain that was part of the facilitys fire suppression line. It sat there until Nov. 20, 2021, when a worker near the Red Hill water wellwhich is inside the fuel facility as wellaccidentally ruptured the line, spilling the fuel into a tunnel. Navy officers at the facility did not report the spill to regulators or the publicor that the worker had been hospitalizedand hoped that they had contained it. But fuel had entered the well and was being pumped into the water system. Within a week, residents began complaining about fuel and chemical odors. On Nov. 28, 2021, the Navy shut down the Red Hill as complaints rolled in, but still did not tell the public. The DOH put out an advisory for the water system, but Navy officials insisted publicly that the water was safe and asked the DOH to rescind the advisory. On Dec. 2, 2021, the Navy acknowledged that its waterline was tainted and also went on to shut down its Aiea-Halawa Shaft after finding traces of contamination. Ever since, the Navy has depended entirely on its Waiawa Shaft for water as the only source for its water linesomething the DOH has warned likely isnt safe. But as DOH and Navy move forward, representatives of both the BWS and CRI have expressed concern about how and when information gets released. The DOH granted the Navy conditional approval to pursue reactivating its Aiea-Halawa Shaft in a February letter, but didnt tell the CRI until March and did not put out a media release. Im very concerned that the Department of Health hasnt let anyone know, CRI member Ilima DeCosta said at the groups March meeting. So even if the Navy is not going to let it be known, Im concerned that the Department of Health is not letting customers know. Joyce Lin, a BWS engineer who attended the meeting, said that while it was sensible that the DOH and Navy want to make sure the system isnt dependent on just the Waiawa Shaft, they should really inform their customers about turning their water back on, specifically from Aiea-Halawa Shaft. In a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the DOH said that while state law does not require such an announcement, the Department of Health strongly encourages the Navy to share this information with the public. In an email, Navy Closure Task Force Red Hill told the Star-Advertiser that the task force is working closely with DOH to begin the reactivation process and that it received conditional approval from the regulator on Feb. 10. and that throughout April as part of this conditional approval, NCTF-RH will be undergoing a pilot study of the Granular Activated Carbon treatment system at this site to collect valuable data that will demonstrate the effectiveness of the treatment system. The task force also pledged in its statement that the public would be informed before the Aiea-Halawa Shaft is reconnected to the Navys drinking water system. 12 conditions needed DOH said in its statement that it had completed a forensic investigation of low-level concentrations total petroleum hydrocarbons in 2024, including intermittent detections at Navy Aiea-Halawa Shaft, and found that no fuel compounds were associated with the detections. TPH testing can indicate the presence of petroleum-related substances, but theyre not always directly linked to fuel, the DOH stated. In this case, the forensic testing was found to be a result of naturally occurring organic compounds in soil or water (like plant resins or humic substances ), which can mimic petroleum hydrocarbons in test results. But the DOHs conditional approval still requires the Navy to meet 12 conditions before its Aiea-Halawa Shaft can be reactivated as a drinking water source. Among them, the Navy has to report on the effectiveness of sampling results and of efforts to remove Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, contaminants known as forever chemicals that have been associated with firefighting foam the military uses to put out fuel fires. The DOH also will require the Navy to report any conditions that could contaminate the well within 24 hours and the Navy must provide at least 10 days notice to DOH of any plans to reactivate it. But the BWS is still concerned about it calls troubling unknowns. There is concern from the Board of Water Supply in terms of uncertainty on the impacts of the underground water flow, because (the Navys ) Aiea-Halawa Shaft is to the west of our Board of Water Supply Halawa Shaft (and ) the Red Hill Shaft is actually east of our Halawa Shaft, Lin said during the March CRI meeting. So in a sense, our Board of Water Supply Halawa Shaft is kind of sandwiched between the two sources. So turning on at Aiea-Halawa Shaft, would it draw contaminants across the valley from the Red Hill Shaft all the way over to Aiea-Halawa Shaft ? Were not sure. Lin said that she talked to DOH and Navy officials at a recent Red Hill open house who told her they thought that was unlikely, but Lin also told the CRI that she was worried the prospect wasnt ruled out entirely. When asked by the CRI to categorize her concern on a scale of 1 to 10, she replied I would say Im pretty concerned close to 10, if not 10, just because theres so much uncertainty. In its statement to the Star-Advertiser, the DOH insisted that the Navys groundwater flow model that referenced BWS is flawed. The model has since been retracted by the Navy and has never been accepted by regulatory agencies. While work on a revised groundwater flow model remains ongoing, there appear to be several factors that would naturally or by design prevent water from the vicinity of the Red Hill Shaft. The DOH argued that when the Aiea-Halawa Shaft is in operation it pulls in saltier water, not fresher water from the Red Hill region, that rock formations in the area that intrude into the water table form a barrier between the Navy Aiea-Halawa Shaft and the Red Hill region, and that a draw from the Bulk Fuel facility in the makai direction would pass through Red Hill Shaft where a capture zone through pump and treatment would intercept the contaminant. The DOH also said that both the Navy and BWS continue to install groundwater monitoring wells between Red Hill and the Navys Aiea-Halawa Shaft and that the monitoring well network will continue to be regularly tested for indications of contaminant migrationwhich have not been observed thus far. Interim facility More ambitious, but likely much further off, is the Navys plan to put its Red Hill Shaft back into service. Gallons of jet fuel poured into the shaft and Navy divers sent into the well itself reported encountering heavy contamination. The Navy has been using large granular activated carbonor GACfilters to remove contaminated water and dump it into the the nearby Halawa stream for years. The Navy has said that the water it has discharged is safe for the environment, but it has been unable to find a way to purify the well itself. The draft environmental assessment says that the plan is to construct and operate a new water treatment facility to reconnect water from the Navys Red Hill Shaft to the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH ) drinking water system and discontinue the discharge of water into Halawa Stream. The plan calls for an interim treatment facility, which would filter the water using GAC and is already under construction and expected to be completed in 2026 according to the Navys draft environmental assessment. No timeline was given for the completion of a permanent water treatment plant. The military is required by the National Environmental Policy Act to conduct an environmental assessment for any major project and to solicit public feedback. If the assessment that determines a project has the potential to significantly impact communities, it then has to craft a formal Environmental Impact Statement laying out those potential impacts and submit to another round of community comments and feedback. Last year the EPA slapped the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency with a $5, 000 a fine for violating the federal consent order for not attending the CRIs public December meeting. The military is required to show up at least once a quarter. But more recently the EPA agreed to rescind the fine if the military agreed to come back to the table with the CRI. The CRI has criticized the decision, asserting that the small fine was mostly symbolic and that rescinding it symbolically absolves military officials who knowingly violated the consent decree. In March the Trump administrations new EPAs Administrator, Lee Zeldin, toured the Red Hill facility and met with both Navy and DOH officials as part of a trip to Hawaii that also included a stop on Maui to discuss cleanup efforts in Lahaina after the deadly 2023 fire that destroyed the town. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told the Star-Advertiser that she sees Zeldins visit to Red Hill and meetings with DOH as a positive step. As we change administration I think its important that we not lose ground, and we understand that this is not just about draining out the fuel, Tokuda said. This is about everything that is required, to make sure that we are continuously monitoring with fidelity and that were treating and remediating the way the public expects us to. The Trump administration has vowed to roll back environmental regulations and projects, with the EPA announcing significant cuts. Meanwhile Trumps Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also has promised to shut down as many military environmental programs as possible, arguing they have distracted the military from its warfighting mission. That has led some in Hawaii to wonder what that could mean for Red Hill cleanup and environmental standards. Here in Congress that there is both awareness, concern and commitment when it comes to Red Hillthis is a bipartisan commitment, Tokuda said. In order to ensure readiness, we need to make sure that we are literally not poisoning our service members water, right ? Service members and their families were sickened by this. 2025 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Visit www.staradvertiser.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Kyle Spangler sank to the bottom of Lake Huron on Nov. 7, 1860, after a collision with the schooner Racine. The crew was taken aboard Racine. NOAA Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary ALPENA, MI - You dont have to get in the (currently) frigid Lake Huron waters to explore these Great Lakes shipwrecks. NOAA Thunder Bay Marine Sanctuary has recreated 3D models of nearly 30 shipwrecks within its boundaries. They can be viewed on the sanctuarys SketchFab page. The sanctuary shared one of the most recently built models via Facebook this week. The 3D model of the Lucinda Van Valkenburg, created in partnership with the NOAA Diving Program, was built from hundreds of underwater photos, the post said. The ship rests in Lake Huron, under 60 feet of water about two miles northeast of Thunder Bay Island. RELATED: Michigans shipwreck alley has 7 shallow sites perfect to snorkel, paddle The two-masted schooner sailed the Great Lakes in the mid-1800s. On May 31, 1887, it was carrying a load of coal to Chicago when it was struck by the steamer Lehigh. The steamer rescued the schooners crew as it went down. Last week, the sanctuary shared its 3D model of the Kyle Spangler, which required thousands of photos to build. The two-masted schooner wrecked on Nov. 7, 1860, after a collision with the schooner Racine off Presque Isle. It rests under 180 feet of water. RELATED: November is the deadliest month on the Great Lakes and its not just about the storms Not only does it help (maritime archaeologists) track changes over time it also gives you the chance to dive the wreck from anywhere," the post said. Zoom in, explore, and take control of your own virtual dive. Thunder Bays SketchFab page includes 33 models, however, five of them are from the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary. Most of them are of ships, while there are several of ship engines, and one of a Tuskegee P39Q Airacobra Door. Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, designated in 2000, is a 4,300-square-mile underwater preserve that protects wildlife and more than 100 historic shipwrecks in Lake Huron off the Michigan coast. It was the first marine sanctuary in the Great Lakes. The sanctuarys headquarters and museum are in Alpena. Shipwrecks, ranging from 1 foot to more than 300 feet below the surface, are available for recreation, including diving, snorkeling and paddling. An Ingham County 1-year-old girl has been infected with measles. Pictured is a vial of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon) AP An Ingham County 1-year-old girl has been infected with measles. Local health officials announced the confirmed case Monday evening, April 14. They noted the young girl recently traveled outside of the state. On Tuesday afternoon, officials clarified the girl was appropriately vaccinated shortly before traveling. Because of the recency of being vaccinated, there wasnt sufficient time for full immunity, though her illness has, as a result, been relatively mild. Measles is highly contagious. It can remain in the air for about two hours after an infected person leaves, and about 90% of people without immunity will become infected after coming into close contact with an infected person, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Michigan has reported five confirmed infections as of Tuesday, April 15. Ingham County joined Oakland, Kent, Macomb and Montcalm with a confirmed case this year. Residents may have been exposed to the highly infectious virus if they visited one of a handful of exposure sites in the Lansing and Okemos area. Those sites and times include: 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 4, at Tractor Supply on W. Grand River Avenue in Lansing. 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Okemos Farmers Market in Meridian Mall. 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at an Aldi in Okemos. 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at Towar Hart Baptist Church in East Lansing (went to infant room during service). 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at Toscana Restaurant in Lansing. 5:30 p.m. to 7:35 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at the Michigan State University Community Music School bathroom. 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow emergency department in Lansing. RELATED: When does my baby need a measles vaccine? Do I need a booster? Nationally, at least 712 confirmed cases have been reported across 25 states, with 79 requiring hospitalization and two confirmed deaths. Ninety-seven percent of infected people were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. Residents who visited the Lansing areas possible exposure sites during similar times should monitor for symptoms, including high fever, cough, runny nose, and red and watery eyes. They should also keep an eye out for tiny white spots on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of mouth about two to three days after symptoms begin, and a red, raised and blotchy rash that starts on the face and spreads to the torso, arms and legs three to five days after symptoms begin. Symptoms are most likely to begin 7-14 days after exposure, but can surface as late as 21 days, according to health officials. Complications like ear infections, pneumonia, brain swelling and even death can develop in up to 30% of people infected with measles. Ingham County health officials encourage residents to confirm their vaccination status. The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Children should get two doses before age 6. Teens and adults who werent vaccinated as children can get two doses of vaccine at least 28 days apart. One dose of MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles, while two doses is 97% effective, according to the CDC. The community goal for herd immunity is 95% vaccination uptake. As of December 2024, only 80.4% of Michigan children age 19 months to 35 months had received at least one dose of MMR vaccine, which trailed the national average (93.4%). Ingham Countys rate in February was slightly higher at 83.3%. The vaccine is available through the Ingham County Health Departments Immunization Clinic at 5303 S. Cedar St. in Lansing. For more information, call 517-887-4316 or email immunization@ingham.org. For more statewide vaccine information, visit Michigans webpage on immunization information, or visit ivaccinate.org, a resource founded by Veronica Valentine McNally, who advocates for vaccination after her daughter died of pertussis in 2012. A Michigan teen who reported a fake bomb threat to a Carnival cruise has been sentenced to prison. (MLive file) MLive file photo KALAMAZOO, MI A 19-year-old was sentenced to prison for reporting a fake bomb threat to a Carnival cruise last year, according to the Associated Press. Joshua Darrell Lowe, of Muskegon County, was sentenced to eight months in prison during an appearance in federal court in Kalamazoo, AP reported Monday, April 14. Prosecutors said Lowe called in the threat because he was upset that he had to watch pets while his girlfriends family went on a cruise, according to AP. Carnival Cruise Lines received an email in January 2024 warning, Hey, I think someone might have a bomb on your sunrise cruise ship, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a news release about the case last year. The cruise ship, Sunrise, had just departed Miami, Florida and was sailing toward Jamaica as part of a Caribbean cruise, the release said. The ships personnel individually searched over 1,000 rooms as a result of the email, prosecutors said. The U.S. Coast Guard and Jamaican authorities got involved, escorting the ship to port. FBI agents traced the email address to Lowe, who was living with his girlfriends family, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler said in a court filing reported by AP. Lowe admitted he sent the message because he was upset that the family went on the cruise, while leaving him behind to care for their pets, Kessler said. Anyone making a bomb threat should expect to be taken at his word. Fortunately, this particular hoax did not result in physical injury. Lowe reportedly apologized in a letter to U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney, according to AP. This is all my fault and take full responsibility, he said. Northern Michigan residents received a false alarm about an earthquake this morning. It was meant for California residents. Michigan State Police VANDERBILT, MI Temporary cell phone towers in Northern Michigan sent out an emergency alert this morning, warning of an earthquake. Residents of the Vanderbilt area in Otsego County received the alert: Emergency Alert: Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cover, Hold On. Protect Yourself. - USGS ShakeAlert, Michigan State Police said on X. It was a false alarm meant for California residents, the post said. After a late-March catastrophic ice storm, temporary cell phone towers were set up in this area, UpNorthLive reports. Those towers are registered to California. RELATED: Northern Michigan ice storm was orders of magnitude worse than Blizzard of 1978 When an 5.2 magnitude earthquake was detected in the San Diego area this morning, the alert went out via cell towers registered to that area, including the ones temporarily placed in Vanderbilt, MSP said. Otsego County is NOT under any type of emergency, MSP said. An official with Otsego County EMS told UpNorthLive that they are working to correct the geo-location related to the towers to prevent false alarms going forward. Michigan State Police in Traverse utilized funds from the MSP-DHHS Safety Net Partnership to purchase food, clothes, and diapers for a family in need. Michigan State Police TRAVERSE CITY, MI Michigan State Police troopers recently worked together to help a family in need. According to troopers in Traverse City, it began in early March after police responded to a grocery store after receiving a report from a concerned cashier that an eight-year-old was grocery shopping for their family alone. During the investigation, troopers learned the family was going through a difficult time. Concerned, they contacted a victim advocate in Traverse City who utilized funds from the MSP-DHHS Safety Net Partnership to purchase food, clothes, and diapers for the family. The program empowers troopers across the state to provide support and assistance in certain circumstances by providing $25 pre-paid Visa and Mastercard gift cards to individuals they encounter while on patrol when there is a clear and apparent need. The gift cards can be used for items and services such as groceries, diapers and formula, gas and car repairs. Troopers also have access to a supply of items that include child car seats, portable cribs, diapers, formula, adult briefs and cold weather outerwear, along with information to connect those in need to more permanent assistance programs through MDHHS. Due to the nature of our work, there are situations where our troopers interact with individuals who may not have access to basic essentials, whether that be gas, food, winter clothing or a child safety need, said Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP. Policing is a service industry and through this partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, our troopers now have an immediate way to provide stop-gap assistance to individuals we come across who are in need. Equipping troopers with resources like gift cards and supplies can divert residents away from involvement with the criminal justice system and potentially disrupt the cycle of poverty. Traverse City Metro Fire Department also donated a bicycle helmet to keep the child safe while riding their bike. Troopers went above and beyond to help them, a statement said. Excellent work troopers. Mayor Sheldon Neeley speaks with members of the media at City Hall in Flint in this MLive file photo. (Ayrton Breckenridge, MLive.com) Ayrton Breckenridge | MLive.com FLINT, MI -- Mayor Sheldon Neeley is asking the special master assigned to oversee the $626-million Flint water crisis settlement to step on the gas and expedite payments to thousands of city residents. Neeley wrote to special master Deborah Greenspan last week, urging her to act with the urgency and compassion that this situation demands and to take all necessary steps to expedite payments. Grass Lake Community Schools was one of two Jackson County school districts not to experience significant enrollment decline in the past few years. School officials credit the steady student population to the district's convenient location and "small town" charm. (J. Scott Park | jpark4@mlive.com) J. Scott Park | jpark4@mlive.com GRASS LAKE, MI In a time when many schools in Michigan are working to stem the tide of enrollment decline, Grass Lakes student count has been slowly on the rise. Grass Lake Community Schools along with its neighbor 10 miles to the west, the Michigan Center School District are exceptions to the trend of declining enrollment experienced by other schools in the Jackson County Intermediate School District, and the state at large. Gabriel Preston Dixion was bound over for trial proceedings after his preliminary examination before Jackson County District Judge Robert Gaecke. He is accused of slaying Arianna Reed, his girlfriend. Alyte Katilius file photo | For MLive.com A Muskegon man has been sent to federal prison for working with a mail carrier to import cocaine into West Michigan. MLive file photo MUSKEGON, MI A Muskegon man has been sent to federal prison for working with a mail carrier to import cocaine into West Michigan. Srecko Darnell Walker, 35, of Muskegon, was sentenced Monday, April 14, to serve 32 years in prison for his role coordinating cocaine shipments from Texas to Michigan with a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Walker faced a 30-year prison sentence after he was found guilty by a federal jury in November 2024 of conspiracy to distribute and possess 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, as well as possession and distribution of cocaine. The court added another two years to Walkers sentence for violations committed on supervised release following a previous federal cocaine trafficking conviction, the attorneys office said. RELATED: Muskegon man teamed up with mail carrier to bring pounds of cocaine into community Walker extensive criminal history now includes a total of seven drug-related convictions, prosecutors said. Before pronouncing its sentence, the court told Walker: Youve spent most of your life lying. Youve spent most of your life committing crimes . . . You have earned the sentence that youre going to get. Evidence showed that in 2021 and 2022, Walker worked with Steven Rasic, a Muskegon-based U.S. Postal Service mail carrier, to import kilograms of cocaine into West Michigan. The cocaine came from a Texas-based supplier named Hugo Benavides, according to the attorneys office. Rasic and Benavides both pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and have been sentenced separately. Walker coordinated the cocaine shipments, which were sent to vacant addresses on Rasics mail route, prosecutors said. Police caught onto the scheme and, in March 2022, investigators seized two pounds of cocaine. After the March 2022 seizure, Rasic tried to recover that package by saying he was acting on behalf of the postal service. Police later found text messages that Rasic sent to Walker, telling him that cocaine had been seized. In October 2022, police observed Walker distribute cocaine to a woman in Muskegon. They then conducted a search warrant on Walkers home and found more cocaine, a cutting agent and digital scale. After the search, Walker admitted to importing cocaine through the mail, prosecutors said. In total, police seizedfive kilograms of cocaine from the mail that Walker and his co-conspirators intended to distribute in West Michigan. The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Michigan State Police West Michigan Enforcement Team. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Austin Hakes and Stephanie Carowan. As the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service, the Postal Inspection Service prioritizes the safety and security of postal employees and customers above all else, said Detroit Division Acting Inspector in Charge Sean McStravick. Let the severity of this sentence be a warning to those who abuse the nations mail system to transport narcotics and other dangerous or illegal substances: We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will seek to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Relief Captain Sydney Bickerstaff and Captain Matthew Tkach pose for a photograph on the Appledore IV in Bay City, Michigan. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com BAY CITY, MI The 85-foot schooner Appledore IV serves not just as a workspace for Matthew Tkach and Sydney Bickerstaff. Its also a classroom. Its a link between people and the Great Lakes. And its their home. As Tkach jokesquoting a friend who likely meant it only half-facetiouslyabout living aboard a ship with someone: Every year on a boat is three years served. But Tkach and Bickerstaff are more than crewmates. Theyre co-captains of a floating ecosystem, tethered by the demands of education, maintenance, and Great Lakes stewardship. It can be a bit much at times, Bickerstaff said, but Ive found this ship is easier for us to work together on than others weve sailed, simply because of the educational component. His job is more maintenance and big projects. Mine is more the day-to-day. Mariners At first glance, Bickerstaff and Tkach seem perfectly in synca seamless pair molded by wind, water and shared routine. But the two arrived at this life from very different places. Bickerstaff, 30, grew up in central Illinois, surrounded by cornfields and wishing to live on the water. She moved to Florida for college but missed the change of seasons. Its funny, she said. You go away expecting to travel and visit a bunch of places. And then I found all the best friends Id made through different jobs and places were from the Midwest. Related: Bay Citys tall ship Appledore IV sets sail on 2025 season with new captains, crew and engine Tkach, 46, is from Ohio. His family spent summers on Kelleys Island, a four-square-mile island in Lake Erie. After high school, he started working on the ferryboats to and from the island. He later worked as a welder, mechanic and eventually a police officer on the island. In law enforcement, he led the departments marine division and founded outreach programs like Cops and Bobbers, which taught kids how to fish. But then Tkach was whisked away by a tall ship in need of crew. This boat keeps pulling me back, he said. In 2016, this ship was transiting to Kelleys Island, and they lost half their crew to strep. The captain and first mate basically shanghaied me off the island. Thats what got me started with tall ships. Tkach and Bickerstaff met while working aboard Appledore II in Key West, Florida, the largest in the Appledore fleet. That schooner sails between the island city and Camden, Maine. Eight months later, the couple brought their talents to Bay City and climbed aboard the Appledore IV. They worked aboard the vessel through 2021, briefly left to work on another ship, and recently returned after the vessel was on the hunt for a captain and crew after sitting out the 2024 season. They say theyre glad to be backaboard what they describe as the nicest ship theyve lived and worked on. This is the most supportive boat community, Bickerstaff said. Our volunteers and board of directors are like nothing else weve ever experienced. Captain Matthew Tkach and Relief Captain Sydney Bickerstaff pose for a photograph on the Appledore IV in Bay City, Mich. on Thursday, April 10, 2025. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com Educators Education isnt an obligation tacked onto their maritime dutiesits the soul of the voyage. As they guide Appledore IV through the Great Lakes, Tkach and Bickerstaff also steer something less visible but just as powerful: the transformation of young minds. Both are deeply involved in the ships educational programs. One standout initiative is the Windward Bound program, which Tkach describes as absolutely phenomenal. Its mentoring, self-discovery and adventure, he said. Windward Bound is an immersive sail training experience for teens ages 14 to 18. The weeklong summer course lets students live and learn aboard the schooner. Participants gain seamanship skillssail and line handling, emergency procedures, watchstandingand work as a team to run the ship by the end of the program, under close supervision. When you start seeing that light bulb come on, its amazing, Tkach said. Weve been blessed. Some of the kids have come back to work with us or pursued maritime careers they found a passion for through this industry. While Tkach often leads Windward Bound, Bickerstaff heads up the Science Under Sail programthree-hour trips for schools and large groups featuring hands-on science activities. We look for birds and talk about clouds, which I dont think kids get enough of these days, she said. Stewards For Tkach and Bickerstaff, the water is more than a workplace. Its a sanctuary. Theres a meditative rhythm to life at seaa clarity that comes from reading the wind, watching the waves and seeing the sun slip beneath the rigging at dusk. But their time aboard Appledore IV isnt just about peace and solitude. Its about responsibility. They see themselves not just as sailors, but as stewards of a fragile ecosystemand they know the work cant be done alone. A view of the new engine in the Appledore IV in Bay City, Mich. on Thursday, April 10, 2025. Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com In fact, their travels this season will be with the help of community assistance. The ship received a new engine, thanks to a donation from John Deere. No matter where we go, if you see the boat, you should come for a ride, Bickerstaff said. Its the easiest way to support the organization. The community supports this boat, and every person who joins us and learns something is helping to keep it going. All of Michigan could be part of the community that keeps this boat and tradition alive. For more information on the Appledore, or how to schedule a trip aboard the ship, visit the new Baysail website here. Want more Bay City- and Saginaw-area news? Bookmark the local Bay City and Saginaw news page or sign up for the free 3@3 daily newsletter for Bay City and Saginaw. Want to subscribe to our Hello, Bay City newsletter? Sign up for free here. LANSING, MI Bleeding from five gunshot wounds, a Saginaw woman began pounding on the door of a West Side house seeking help in the summer of 2021. Though someone called 911, it would take more than an hour for emergency personnel to arrive, by which time there was no saving the 23-year-old woman, Nala J. Wallace. A Saginaw County Central Dispatch employee filed a lawsuit against his employer, alleging the entitys gross negligence contributed to Wallaces death and that he was constructively discharged for pointing this out. The suit was dismissed by a local judge, but the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled the suit has merit and should continue. Akshay Kumar requests viewers not use their mobile phones while watch Kesari 2: 'It will be a humiliation for the film...' 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I Accept Sonam Kapoor proves her style is hard to beat in an all-black Dior ensemble Bobby John Varkey 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 Choti SIP is a chance for the industry to give back: Anthony Heredia on what could make the initiative a success Anishaa Kumar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Veer Sharma USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Paras Bisht USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Shiladitya Pandit 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. *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 Rakesh Patil USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Deblina Halder 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 Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years. Surabhi Pandey USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept CM Yogi Adityanath lashes out at Mamata Banerjee for Murshidabad violence: 'Dalit Hindus being targeted' Deblina Halder 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 Exchange 106 tower, a landmark of China-Malaysia BRI cooperation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 14:17, April 15, 2025 By Wang Jing, Zhang Rong ( People's Daily Online In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He pointed out that Belt and Road cooperation was proposed by China, but its benefits and opportunities are for the world to share. China and Malaysia are important developing countries and emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific. The two countries are neighbors with a millennium-old friendship, friends connected by heart, and partners for win-win cooperation. Since the launch of BRI, China and Malaysia have achieved fruitful results in Belt and Road cooperation. Recently, a People's Daily Online reporter visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to explore the on-site construction story of the Exchange 106 tower, one of the landmark projects under BRI cooperation between China and Malaysia. (Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Wu Chengliang) Seizing the assets of the National Herald is a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law. Filing chargesheets against Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but the politics of vendetta and intimidation by the PM and the HM gone completely 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. 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Armaan Bhatnagar 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 Sonalee Borgohain USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Stalins Tamil Nadu autonomy push not a first, DMK has a history of it Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept 'Why make such comments': Supreme Court pulls up Allahabad HC over 'she invited trouble' remark Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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Heres how much it costs 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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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 1/10 Segments only built-in stylus phone Motorola Edge 60 Stylus key highlight is its built-in stylus. It is also the first phone in its price segment to offer a built-in stylus. Users can sketch, sign documents, edit screenshots, annotate images, and use Air Command-style shortcuts. The stylus also enables precise navigation and app-specific actions. 2/10 Moto AI features for creativity Moto AI on the Edge 60 Stylus powers features like Sketch to Image, which turns hand-drawn sketches into AI-generated visuals. Another AI tool converts handwriting to text, allowing for quick note-taking and message drafting. AI is also integrated into image editing with tools like Magic Eraser and Style Sync. 3/10 Comes with 50MP main camera The rear camera uses the Sony LYTIA 700C sensor, capable of capturing detailed shots with enhanced light sensitivity. Optical image stabilization (OIS) reduces blur in low light, while the 13MP ultra-wide sensor doubles as a macro lens. The camera app also supports Auto Focus Tracking and AI enhancements. 4/10 Big pOLED display makes it a good choice The display is a flat 10-bit panel with 1220p resolution, HDR10+ certification, and 120Hz refresh rate. With a peak brightness of 3000 nits, it ensures good visibility in bright conditions. The pOLED tech contributes to a thin and lightweight form factor. 5/10 Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor The device runs on the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset built on 4nm architecture. It offers 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. Motorola has promised two years of Android updates (up to Android 16) and four years of security patches. 6/10 AI-powered Glance lock screen With Moto AI integration, the Glance lock screen serves news updates, shopping suggestions, and personalized content. Using Style Sync, users can upload a picture of an outfit and generate similar fashion suggestions through AI. 7/10 15W wireless charging support Unusual for this price segment, the Edge 60 Stylus supports wireless charging at 15W. It also comes with a 68W TurboPower charger in the box and a 5000mAh battery that promises all-day performance. 8/10 Dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos The audio setup includes stereo speakers tuned with Dolby Atmos and support for Hi-Res and spatial audio playback, enhancing multimedia consumption. 9/10 IP68-rated design At 8.2mm thickness and 179g weight, the phone features a Pantone-validated vegan leather finish and is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. Its also MIL-STD-810H tested for durability. Why was UPI down for a few hours over the weekend Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Anand J USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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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 Will Meta be forced to 'unfriend' Instagram? Zuckerberg testifies in FTC antitrust trial: All the details 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 Barack Obama lauds Harvard for rejecting Trump orders to limit campus activism: 'Set an example' 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. 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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. 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I Accept Business News Live Updates: European markets edge higher on hopes of tariff relief European stocks opened in the green on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes of a reprieve from U.S. auto tariffs after President Donald Trump signaled support for carmakers. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5%, with gains seen across nearly all sectors. Automakers led the rally, climbing 2.3%, following Trumps comments that he is looking to "help some of the car companies" amid the ongoing 25% auto tariff regime. Meanwhile, luxury giant LVMH slid 6% after reporting first-quarter sales that fell short of analyst expectations. God's Influencer Carlo Acutis set to become worlds first millennial saint, to be canonised by Pope Francis on April 27 Surabhi Pandey USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Harvard, again? Trumps $2.2B fund freeze follows a familiar script; heres how it all started 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. 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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 How Trump administration is redefining white-collar crimes and its enforcement in US 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. 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I Accept Philippines, China accuse each other of dangerous moves in disputed South China Sea shoal Sonalee Borgohain USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Trying to screw the US, I dont blame them: Trump lashes out as Xi woos Southeast Asia amid tariff tensions 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. 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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 In a fresh display of populist authoritarianism, Donald Trump has chosen to make Harvard his number one public enemy. His administration has frozen $2.2 billion earmarked for the prestigious university for refusing to bow to a series of ideological demands whose real aim is to subdue the independence of American academic institutions. This offensive, cloaked in the rhetoric of fighting antisemitism, is part of a broader and more dangerous crusade: to transform universities into instruments serving a reactionary political agenda. Harvard, like Columbia before it, has been pushed to the brink by a government that tolerates no dissenteven in the classroom. But unlike Columbia, which partially gave in to White House pressure, Harvard has chosen to defend its principles, even at the risk of losing not just the frozen $2.2 billion, but potentially nearly $9 billion in grants and contracts that could be at stake. The governments message couldnt be clearer: obey, or pay the price. Trumps demands include a series of measures that flirt withor outright crossthe line of legality: altering admission criteria, imposing a diversity of viewpoints overseen by third parties, eliminating inclusion policies, reporting international students for their political opinions, and limiting faculty autonomy. This last condition is not just an assault on academic freedomit is a deliberate attempt at ideological reeducation, eerily reminiscent of other times and regimes. Behind the veil of fighting antisemitism lies a systematic plan to dismantle university autonomy and purge campuses of any expression that contradicts the official narrative of Trumpism. It is evident that Trumps concern is not combating hate, but establishing a conservative hegemony in the spaces where knowledge is produced. Palestinian activism in the crosshairs The Harvard case is emblematic, but it is not isolated. Other universities are also in the governments crosshairs for allowingor failing to sufficiently suppressstudent protests in support of Palestine. Pro-Palestinian activism, so uncomfortable for certain sectors of American politics, is being criminalized, with students like Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmud Khalil arrested and turned into scapegoats for a campaign of intimidation. In both cases, they are legal residents detained for exercising rights protected by the Constitution: freedom of speech, assembly, and thought. Trumps authoritarian turn aims to turn universities into laboratories of ideological submission. But it also reveals a dangerous trend: if the institutions meant to educate future citizens are forced to bend to the will of the executive, what remains of the separation of powers? What remains of the right to dissent? The letter sent by the White House to Harvard demands denunciations, censorship, and indoctrination. There is no honest way to disguise that as a defense of democracy. What is at stake is not the funding of a wealthy universityit is the integrity of an educational system that, despite its flaws, has historically been a stronghold of critical thinking and intellectual freedom. Now that Trumps boldness has reached the point of attacking the prestigious Harvard University, it becomes clear that the occupant of the White House is not fighting antisemitism. He is using a legitimate concern as a pretext to destroy university autonomy, silence critical voices, and entrench a culture of fear. He does so in the name of a moralistic crusade that is nothing more than a political control operation. Harvard has said no. And that no is worth more than all the millions frozen: it is a statement of principle in a time when such declarations are increasingly rare. @mundiario Reporter Andrew Roberto was raised his whole life on Saipan. He graduated from Saipan Southern High School, holds a degree from Northern Marianas College, and a BA in English from the University of Guam. He once worked for KUAM, UNO Magazine, and the Guam Daily Post. From left, Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benny M. Paulino, GU-CNMI ESGR Vice Chair; Lt. Col. Victor Balajadia, Director of Staff, Guam Air National Guard; Captain Robert Kistner, U.S. Coast Guard; Lt. Col. Romeo Sanchez, 1st-294th Infantry Battalion, Guam Army National Guard: Acting Gov. Joshua Tenorio; Cathyann C. Gogue, GU-CNMI ESGR State Chair; Gregorio Castro, President & CEO, Pacific Engineering Group and Services, LLC. receiving award; U.S. Navy Captain Craig S. Der Ananian, Navy Readiness and Mobilization Command, San Diego; Col. Ernest Govea, Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, U.S. Marine Corp.; Lt. Col. Penny Sima, U.S. Army Reserve; Maj. Benjamin Guerrero, U.S. Air Force Reserve; and Lt. Commander Brian Matic, U.S. Navy Reserve. The photo was taken during the awarding of the 2024 Pro Patria Award - Small Business category to PEGS at the 16th Employers Awards luncheon on Aug. 29, 2024 at Hyatt Regency Guam. Contributed photo Visit CA Logo View Photo Sacramento, CA In response to recent trade tensions between the US and Canada, California is launching a new campaign inviting Canadians to visit the state. Visit California, in partnership with Governor Gavin Newsom, is targeting Canadians in a new campaign. Taking a swipe at President Donald Trump, Newsom says in a welcome message to Canadian visitors, Sure, you-know-who is trying to stir things up back in D.C., but dont let that ruin your beach plans. California is the ultimate playground over 2,000 miles from Washington and a world away in mindset, from our iconic beaches and national parks to world-class wine, food, and outdoor adventure theres something here for everyone. Canada, come experience our California Love. The Governors Office notes that tourism from Canada dropped 12% in February compared to the year prior. The upcoming campaign will extend Visit Californias $5.2 million annual marketing investment in Canada. California is committed to rolling out the red carpet for our Canadian visitors, whenever youre ready to visit, Visit California President & CEO Caroline Beteta said. California and Canada share so much in common. Our inclusive values, love of natural beauty and passion for innovation bind us, and we look forward to welcoming you back with the same community spirit youve always shown us. Visit California is a nonprofit corporation funded by private travel, tourism and hospitality businesses in the state. The Governors Office notes that no tax dollars will be used to fund this campaign. Sonora, CA Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil stopped by todays Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting to give a special honor to a Groveland woman. The Senator recognized Patti Beaulieu as her pick for Woman of the Year for Tuolumne County. The selections for each county are made annually as part of Womens History Month. Alvarado-Gil stated, For decades, Patti has been at the heart of local civic life. She is dedicated, she is determined, and deeply committed to her neighbors. Whether leading the Groveland Republican women, organizing community events, or simply lending a helping hand. Patti has embodied the very spirit of public service. It is not because she has had to, but because she believes in this community and what it stands for. Alvarado-Gil added that Beaulieu has been an active member of the non-profit Helping Hands Executive Board and manages the groups local thrift store. She is also a strong supporter of local schools and is active with the Pine Mountain Lake Association. Her nomination came from District Four Supervisor Steve Griefer. Beaulieu was on hand to accept a proclamation from the California Senate. Yves here. As regulars have likely noticed, Simon Watkins is a fire-breathing neocon and so what he says often has to be corrected as well as discounted. But with that, his piece often have interesting nugget and even when not, serve as expositions of hardline views. Here we have self-discrediting Watkins blather right at the top, depicting the talks in Oman as direct when they were indirect, but the principal negotiators encountered each other and exchanged brief pleasantries on the way out. The headline also depicts the terms below as if they were the inter-state analogue to a letter of intent (preliminary terms agreed by both sides) as opposed to the apparent US ask for the next meeting on Saturday the 19th. He shows his lack of knowledge of this beat by depicting Iran as having an incentive to run out the talks till the JCPOA snapback provisions expire in October. In fact, the runway is much shorter, since there is a not-trivial formal process to executing the snapback (for instance, Iran has a right to present its defense against the charges of violations). So the real drop dead date for the snapback is in June, not October. Even with these caveats. Watkins may have some intel on what the US is set to propose next weekor at least what the diehards want to present. Keep in mind that the outline below is radically at odds with the impression Iran seems to have gotten after the inaugural indirect meeting last week. Irans Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made very positive noises about the initial round. That has led the YouTubers who opine on the Middle East to view the negotiations as going in the direction of a JCPOA-like deal, as in restrictions on Irans nuclear weapons program in return for sanctions relief, with perhaps some tightening of certain elements so Trump could declare a win. By contrast, despite pretending to be a new and improved JCOPA the list below prominently features Iran giving up a key element of sovereignity, as in having Iran provide the US will full access to banking system records as well as 47 companies registered in other countries, and to restrict the development of new conventional missiles. The financial requirements are designed to cut of Iranian financing of members of the Resistance and to allow the US to impede foreign weapons purchases. I cant see any state, and certainly not Iran, agreeing to this. Since when to outsiders get full access to all of the personal and commercial transactions made within a country, and even by key entities operating in other nation. Notice that the article below depicts the financial terms (and another point, the indefinite presence of weapons inspectors in Iran.) as being in a new rough draft. Because the talks were indirect, it seems very unlikely any written documents were passed from room to room. The opening session would normally be to feel each other out and if that went well, to present positions and ideas at a very high level. So if my reading is correct, the Iranians will regard this new rough draft as so extreme as to amount to a retrade of the earlier weeks talks. Retrade = bad faith negotiating. * * * Shortly after this post went live, the Wall Street Journal published U.S. Softens Position on Iranian Uranium Enrichment. Key part: U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said that the Trump administration is prepared to allow Iran to enrich uranium at a low level if it is subject to stringent verification, a significant shift from the White Houses initial demand that Tehrans nuclear program be dismantled. The position, if adopted during talks that are to resume Saturday following an initial meeting last weekend, would leave Iran with a toehold on a nuclear program and put the U.S. at odds with Israels goals on the question. They do not need to enrich past 3.67%, Witkoff said on Fox News Monday night. This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program and then ultimately verification on weaponization. If the permitted level is effectively nil, inspectors are in Iran all the time, this sop does not matter in practice. In fact, it would be consistent with tougher terms elsewhere. But well know more in due course. By Simon Watkins, a former senior FX trader and salesman, financial journalist, and best-selling author. He was Head of Forex Institutional Sales and Trading for Credit Lyonnais, and later Director of Forex at Bank of Montreal. He was then Head of Weekly Publications and Chief Writer for Business Monitor International, Head of Fuel Oil Products for Platts, and Global Managing Editor of Research for Renaissance Capital in Moscow. Originally published at OilPrice High-level negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials in Muscat focused on a new nuclear deal. The deal includes several new provisions, such as indefinite weapons inspections in Iran and access to financial records of companies linked to the IRGC. Iran is pushing for more sanctions relief and guarantees regarding Israels military presence in the region. The temperature in downtown Muscat over the weekend was 35 degrees Celsius, but for the swarms of high-level officials from the U.S. and Iran buzzing around busily discussing a new nuclear deal it probably felt a lot hotter than that. On the one side was the delegation from the U.S. who found themselves in direct talks with their Iranian counterparts largely because their President threatened military action against the Islamic Republic if they did not attend. Washingtons core aim is to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons and to prevent Israel from launching a massive attack on the country which could ignite a war across the Middle East. On the other side were the Iranian negotiators whose presence attested to the depth of their countrys economic malaise, leaving the government facing increased public discontent and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) unable effectively spread Irans version of Islam around the world. Tehrans core aim is to avoid being gain sanctions relief to rebuild its economy and influence via the IRGC and its proxies, and to avoid a huge military assault by Israel, backed by the U.S. So, what was discussed and what will happen next? The deal on the table was and remains the same in essence as the deal [U.S. President Donald] Trump wanted to put in place after he withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or colloquially the nuclear deal] in May 2018, a senior source who works closely with the European Unions (E.U.) security complex exclusively told OilPrice.com over the weekend. However, the new rough draft includes two additional points which [Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin] Netanyahu managed to get DT [Donald Trump] agreeing to: first, the indefinite presence of weapons inspectors in Iran, and second, complete access to the banking and financial records of Iranian banks and 47 companies registered in 16 countries that are the most closely associated with the IRGC and related operations, he added. Over and above these two key new additions, three core concepts that underpinned the original 2015 JCPOA remain in the new rough draft. As analysed in full in my latest book on the new global oil market order, the first was the safety and security of U.S. troops from Iranian or Iranian-sponsored attacks around the globe; the second was the safety and security of Israel; and the third is that Iran will never seek to manufacture, acquire, deploy or use any nuclear weapons. Twelve specific clauses were geared towards these aims and remain broadly in place, although some have been toughened up, and one has been dropped (to withdraw all forces under Irans command throughout the entirety of Syria). Two dealing with activities connected to various of Irans proxies have been incorporated into other clauses. The first was to declare to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear programme and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity. The second is to stop enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing, including closing its heavy water reactor. The third is to provide the IAEA with unqualified access to all sites throughout the entire country. The fourth is to end its proliferation of ballistic missiles and halt further launching or development of nuclear-capable missile systems. The fifth is to release all U.S. citizens as well as citizens of U.S. partners and allies. The sixth is to end support to Middle East terrorist groups. The seventh is to respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and permit the disarming, demobilisation and reintegration of Shia militias. The eighth is to cease regular military support and support from the IRGC and related entities for terrorists and militant partners around the world. And the ninth is to end its threatening behaviour against its neighbours, including its threats to destroy Israel. For its part, Tehrans negotiators also began discussions over the weekend in Oman with elements discussed not just with Trumps team back in 2018 but also those which had been discussed with the team of Barack Obama that put together the original JCPOA in 2015. It is interesting to note here that Trumps original template for a harder line nuclear deal with Iran after the U.S.s withdrawal from its in 2018 was virtually identical to this original tough version that former President Obama wanted to implement, as also detailed in full in my latest book. At those points and now Iran wanted three main items considered. First, compensation by the U.S. for the damage done by sanctions to its economy. Second, immediate access to all of Irans frozen deposits in Europe, the Far East and everywhere else. Third, guarantees that Israel does not continue to increase its intelligence and military presence in the region to threaten the security of Iran. The first of these can be negotiated around easily enough by stressing that any substantive sanctions relief given from the U.S. to Iran once a new deal has been agreed will ultimately compensate for monies lost as a result of previous sanctions, the E.U. source told OilPrice.com over the weekend. The third one too should be easy enough to get around, as the U.S. can say it will do its best to ensure that Israel abides by the spirit of any new agreement, although ultimately it cannot dictate Israeli foreign policy on any country, he added. The second condition is more difficult, as Europe is not included in these talks [in Oman], which was a tactical mistake by the U.S., I think, he underlined. The reason for this is that the European members of the P5-plus-1 Group that signed the 2015 JCPOA on 14 July France, UK, plus Germany (the other signatories being the U.S., Russia and China) are the only ones capable of implementing the additional snapback sanctions on Iran ahead of their expiry date of 18 October this year. These comprise a comprehensive range of UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on Iran that were lifted from the Iranian economy when the 2015 JCPOA was signed. These would include multiple new financial sanctions on companies and individuals and increased surveillance by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF has 40 active criteria and mechanisms in place to prevent money laundering an activity that is vital to the IRGCs activities across the world. It also has nine criteria and mechanisms in place to do the same for the financing of terrorism and related activities again, a core of the IRGCs role in promoting Irans brand of Islam around the globe. The FATF also has swingeing powers to wield against individuals, companies, or countries who transgress any of its standards and is extremely aggressive in using them by degrees, depending on whether the sanctioned entity is on its grey or black list. The U.K. and France are tuned in to demand an immediate triggering after the [October] deadline, perhaps because they have more accurate information about the stockpile of Irans enriched material, increased number of Russian nuclear scientists sent to Iran between June 2024 and February 2025 and the three top missile experts from Pyongyang who have been in Iran for 140 days or so, said the E.U. source. We are told that the progress on weaponisation know-how has been expedited to critical levels, he underlined. It is clearly in Irans interests to have as many of the current sanctions against it removed. This would allow it time to rebuild its economy and to re-finance the activities of the IRGC and its proxies. However, during every previous round of direct and indirect talks on creating a new JCPOA, the sticking point has been the insistence of the U.S. and its allies for Iran to agree to adhering to the principles of the FATF. The underlying aim here was to erode the foundation of the regime established in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and its ongoing power as exercised through the guardians of that revolution the IRGC and Iran knows this. Consequently, said the Iran source, the negotiators from Tehran will push for any measures that threaten this scenario not to be present in any new JCPOA. Failing that, the Iranian team is likely to keep negotiations going until past the 18 October deadline for the snapback of UNSC sanctions by the European signatories of the original nuclear deal. This may also give them [the IRGC] some breathing space to reorganise and regroup ahead of any new major Israeli attacks against the nuclear facilities, the E.U. source said. Typically Iran thinks by delaying the negotiations they may be able to get more concessions from the U.S. a tried and tested approach that has failed for the past forty-five years or so, he concluded. Yves here. European NATO members, with few exceptions, have worked themselves into a frenzy over the belated recognition that Russia is winning the Ukraine war and the US is about to leave them to their own devices, defense-wise. That of course means the evil Putin will soon be in Paris! Hence militarism is now in vogue, even though, with UK and European economies already in a sorry state due to sanctions-induced energy cost increase, they are under budget stress. Big arms programs will only make that worse. So military Keynesianism is the way to square that circle, at least in theory . But how well will that work in practice? By George Georgiou, an economist who for many years worked at the Central Bank of Cyprus in various senior roles, including Head of Governors Office during the financial crisis By spending more on defence, we will deliver the stability that underpins economic growth, and will unlock prosperity through new jobs, skills and opportunity across the country Keir Starmer, press release, 25 February 2025 Introduction Europes commitment to rearm as a response to the perceived threat from Russia, has been partly justified on the grounds that an increase in military spending will stimulate economic growth. In other words, military expenditure is seen by policymakers as a form of Keynesian pump priming. This is a neat argument used by European policymakers desperate to persuade their electorates to accept large increases in defence spending at the expense of the welfare state. However, there is very little evidence that Keynesian militarism will actually provide the intended result. Indeed, the economic reality of military production and procurement undermines the implicit assumption that the defence spending multiplier is sufficiently large to generate a Keynesian type stimulus. Military Production and Procurement A significant proportion of military equipment in some European countries is sourced from overseas rather than domestically produced. Weapons systems are imported from America, Israel, South Korea, and elsewhere. Table 1 below has been adapted from a table in the 2024 edition of Trends in International Arms Transfers published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in March 2025. The most striking observation is the dominance of arms supplies from America. The share of imports from America varies from 45% (Poland) to 97% (Netherlands). As SIPRI states: Arms imports by the European NATO members more than doubled between 201519 and 202024 (+105 per cent). The USA supplied 64 per cent of these arms, a substantially larger share than in 201519 (52 per cent). Table 1- Selected European NATO importers of major arms and their main suppliers, 2020-24 Source: Table has been adapted from Table 2 in SIPRIs Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2024 Due to capacity constraints in the European arms industry and the dominance of American technical know-how, it is unlikely in the short to medium term that Europe will be able to replace American weaponry with domestically produced armaments. Hence, an increase in European military outlays will benefit the US economy significantly more than Europe. Even in those countries, like France for example, where weapons systems are sourced primarily from domestic producers, many of the components are often imported. Thus, the impact of military spending on the domestic economy is limited. Another factor that needs to be considered is the production process. The increasing sophistication of weapons systems involves capital intensive production methods rather than the labour-intensive methods that were common prior to the 1980s. The ever-increasing sophistication of fighter jets, tanks and war ships often results in long lead times and cost overruns. The post-WWII history of weapons systems is also replete with examples of armaments that are unreliable or unsuitable. This is particularly the case with tanks, fighter jets and ships, but similar problems have occurred with relatively simple products. For example, the UK government is currently having to replace 120.000 body armour plates due to cracks. Technological Spin-Off Advocates of Keynesian militarism argue that one of the ways in which military expenditure stimulates economic growth, is through technical innovation in the military sector which eventually spins-off into the civilian sector. The empirical evidence for technological spin-off is inconclusive. Some academic studies have found that during the cold war, when there was an arms race and military outlays were higher than the post-cold war period, there was some evidence of a technological spin-off. Other studies have found little or no evidence of spin-off. Indeed, the spin-off tends to be in the opposite direction, from the civilian to the military sector, sometimes referred to as spin-in. A 2005 research paper by Paul Dunne and Duncan Watson using panel data, concludes as follows: One of the problems of measuring the impact of spin-off is the long-time lag between the onset of military R&D and actual applications in the civilian sector. These time lags can stretch over several years thus overlapping both the economic dynamics of the civilian economy and the interplay between spin-off and spin-in. It thus becomes difficult to disentangle cause and effect. The Real Beneficiaries of Rearmament While politicians across Europe try to fool themselves and their electorates that increased military spending is a form of Keynesian stimulus, the real stimulus will be in the profits and stock price of the large arms manufacturers as well as the bank accounts of corrupt state officials. In an article published in Naked Capitalism on 31 January of this year, I argued that arms producers are the main beneficiaries of conflict. Although there is nothing new in this argument, it was useful to provide some numbers. Chart 1 below is taken from the January article and illustrates the stable performance of two large American arms manufacturers in relation to the instability of a non-arms manufacturer. As regards corrupt state officials, the history of arms contracts embroiled in corruption is long. The interested reader can find them on the Internet. For the purposes of our discussion, a pertinent example is the case of Ursula von der Leyens handling of military related contracts when she was Germanys minister of defence between 2013 and 2019. Allegations of impropriety and implicit corruption surrounding these contracts, still linger. This is the same von der Leyen who in March of this year proposed setting up a European Sales Mechanism that would allow the pooling of military procurement using an EU defence funds. Von der Leyens murky past as German defence minister, together with her controversial handling of the Covid vaccine contracts, should serve as a warning. Conclusion The economic narrative used by politicians in European NATO countries to justify increases in military spending, needs to be viewed with a dose of skepticism. Ultimately, any decision to increase military expenditure needs to be based on military and strategic considerations rather than perceived economic benefits which may or, more likely, may not materialise. Nor should the supposed economic benefits be used to deflect from the discredited austerity agenda that seems to be now firmly back on the table. Keynesian militarism is a poor substitute for Keynesianism. 6 Seemingly safe US states you should avoid when SHTF Traditionally "safe" states like Montana, North Dakota, Missouri, Arizona and Illinois are now facing new risks due to infrastructure decay and geopolitical tensions. These areas, once considered secure due to their isolation and smaller populations, are becoming increasingly vulnerable to threats that were previously overlooked. History shows that no region is immune to disaster. The Midwest, for example, has faced significant seismic activity (e.g., the 18111812 New Madrid earthquakes) and climate-induced crises (e.g., the 1930s Dust Bowl). These events highlight the region's susceptibility to natural disasters, which are now compounded by modern challenges like terrorism. Arizona faces severe water shortages due to drought and competition for the Colorado River, with potential for conflict and terrorism. Colorado suffers from recurring droughts, wildfires and political polarization that could lead to civil unrest. Illinois struggles with aging infrastructure and flood risks, leaving it unprepared for large-scale disasters. Missouri is at risk due to the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which could cause catastrophic damage to infrastructure. Montana and North Dakota, while remote, are vulnerable to attacks on critical infrastructure like nuclear silos and oil fields, with potential nationwide consequences. The concept of safety is being redefined by shifting environmental and political landscapes. Awareness and adaptation are crucial for mitigating risks. As natural disasters grow more severe and geopolitical tensions rise, even the most traditionally "safe" U.S. states could soon face unprecedented threats. States like Montana, North Dakota, Missouri, Arizona and Illinois, which have long been considered low-risk due to their modest populations and geographic isolation, are now vulnerable to threats like infrastructure decay and asymmetrical attacks. If you live in or plan to bug out to these areas, reassess your preparedness strategies as shifting environmental and political landscapes redefine safety in America. (h/t to AskAPrepper.com) Historical context: The illusion of safety Since the Cold War, Midwest and Mountain West states have been viewed as secure havens, far from coastal hurricanes and international conflict zones. Yet history proves that no region is immune to disaster. The New Madrid earthquakes of 18111812, which reshaped the Mississippi River, serve as a stark reminder of the Midwests seismic risks. Similarly, the Dust Bowl of the 1930s revealed how climate stressors could devastate agricultural heartlands. Today, similar threats, supercharged by modern challenges, are re-emerging. Arizona: water wars and border vulnerabilities Arizonas rapid growth hinges on the Colorado River, but severe droughts and upstream demand are straining supplies. The state's water infrastructure is a ticking time bomb and terrorism could trigger a crisis overnight. Meanwhile, proximity to Mexican cartels adds another layer of risk, with border towns like Nogales facing persistent security challenges. Colorado: droughts and social tensions Colorados idyllic mountain towns conceal mounting threats. Four severe droughts since 2002 have fueled wildfires and water shortages, while population growth exacerbates resource competition. Denvers political polarization, which was epitomized by urban-rural divides, also raises concerns about civil unrest. It's worth noting that water scarcity isnt just an environmental issue; its a potential flashpoint for conflict. Illinois: floods and failing infrastructure Chicagos skyline may symbolize resilience, but the city sits on aging sewers and flood-prone plains. A breach in the regions water systems, whether from neglect or sabotage, could paralyze the Midwest. Illinois isnt ready for another Katrina-scale disaster, especially due to the states lack of irrigation systems for farms during prolonged dry spells. Missouri: New Madrid Fault a sleeping giant The New Madrid Seismic Zone, quiet for over 200 years, could unleash earthquakes with magnitude of up to 8.0. Such an event would cripple Missouris brittle bridges and leave St. Louis cut off from aid. When these bridges rupture, the aftermath will make Hurricane Helene look minor. (Related: Prepper essentials: Why bucket food is a game-changer for emergency preparedness.) Montana and North Dakota: Remote but at risk Montanas solitude is both a blessing and a curse. Its nuclear silos and unpatrolled borders make it a potential target for attacks, while winter isolation could strand residents during grid failures. North Dakotas oil fields, which are critical to U.S. energy, are equally vulnerable. An EMP or sabotage here would ripple nationwide. Key aspects of the best bug-out locations Selecting the best bug-out location can spell the difference between life and death. And while it may be tempting to prioritize remote, uninhabited areas, legal considerations should be your priority. Trespassing on private land could land you in trouble, especially before disaster strikes. If you're still undecided on where to bug out when SHTF, here are some factors to keep in mind: Accessibility Your chosen location should be reachable in emergencies without being easily discovered. Your chosen location should be reachable in emergencies without being easily discovered. Natural protection Try to find a location that is safe from natural disasters like floods or wildfires. Try to find a location that is safe from natural disasters like floods or wildfires. Self-sufficiency When deciding on a location, find one with access to clean water, food sources and materials for shelter. Keeping these factors in mind can help you find a location that is both strategic and sustainable. While no state is without risk, awareness and adaptation can mitigate disaster. From storing water in Arizona to reinforcing homes near the New Madrid Fault, tailored preparedness is key. As a prepper, you should remember that safety isnt about location, its about foresight. Visit Survival.news for more tips on how to find the best bug-out locations before SHTF. You can also check out Health Ranger Store and Brighteon Store for clean food supplies for your survival stockpile. Watch this clip about why you should have Bucket Food in your survival stockpile. This video is from the Health Ranger Store channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Pantry refresh: How to organize storable foods for easy, nutritious meals. Foraging 101: Best US states to forage for food after SHTF. Survival-friendly locations: The 5 best (and worst) states for preppers. Prepping 101: What are the best states to live in during a pandemic? Sources include: AskAPrepper.com PremierBodyArmor.com Brighteon.com Astragalus: The ancient herb of vitality and resilience Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), known as huang qi in Chinese, has been a key herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over 2,000 years. It is revered for its adaptogenic and immune-boosting properties, documented in ancient texts like the Shennong Ben Cao Jing. The herb is rich in phytonutrients, including astragalosides, flavonoids, polysaccharides and cycloastragenol, that are responsible for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Astragalus is celebrated for its wide-ranging benefits, including immune system enhancement, cardiovascular health improvement, anti-aging properties, blood sugar regulation, cancer therapy support and stress adaptation. Traditionally consumed as tea or in soups, astragalus is now incorporated into modern wellness practices. Its mild, sweet flavor makes it versatile for both culinary and medicinal applications. Known by various names across cultures, astragalus is a symbol of vitality in TCM. It can be used in recipes like immune-boosting soups, herbal teas, energy bites, bone broths and smoothies, showcasing its adaptability in promoting health and wellness. Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), also known as Mongolian milkvetch, is a flowering plant in the legume family that has been revered for centuries in traditional medicine. Known as huang qi in Chinese, this herb has long been celebrated for its adaptogenic and immune-boosting properties. With a rich history, a wealth of phytonutrients and a reputation for promoting vitality, astragalus continues to captivate modern wellness enthusiasts and researchers alike. Brief history of astragalus Astragalus has been a cornerstone of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over 2,000 years. Its use was first documented in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing (The Divine Farmers Materia Medica), one of the oldest texts on herbal medicine, written around 200 AD. In TCM, astragalus is classified as a "qi-tonifying" herb, meaning it is believed to enhance the bodys vital energy, or qi. Historically, it was used to strengthen the bodys defenses, improve stamina and support recovery from illness. (Related: Astragalus shows amazing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects.) Native to the temperate regions of China, Mongolia and Korea, astragalus thrives in well-drained soils and sunny climates. The plant is characterized by its small, yellow flowers and feathery leaves, but its medicinal value lies primarily in its roots. These roots are harvested, dried and processed into powders, teas, tinctures or capsules for therapeutic use. In traditional practices, astragalus is often consumed as a tea or added to soups and broths. Its mild, slightly sweet flavor makes it a versatile ingredient in both culinary and medicinal preparations. Modern wellness enthusiasts incorporate astragalus into smoothies, tinctures or capsules for convenience. One popular anecdote involves a TCM practitioner who prescribed astragalus root tea to a patient recovering from a prolonged illness. The patient reported feeling a surge of energy and improved vitality within weeks, attributing the recovery to the herbs restorative properties. Phytonutrients and health benefits Astragalus is a treasure trove of bioactive compounds, such as polysaccharides, flavonoids and saponins. These phytonutrients contribute to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Key compounds in astragalus include: Astragalosides - A group of saponins known for their anti-aging and cardioprotective properties. - A group of saponins known for their anti-aging and cardioprotective properties. Flavonoids - Antioxidants that combat oxidative stress and support cellular health. - Antioxidants that combat oxidative stress and support cellular health. Polysaccharides - Immune-boosting compounds that enhance the activity of white blood cells. - Immune-boosting compounds that enhance the activity of white blood cells. Cycloastragenol - A compound believed to activate telomerase, an enzyme associated with cellular longevity. Astragalus is often referred to as a "superherb" due to its wide-ranging health benefits. Research suggests it can provide: Immune support - Astragalus is renowned for its ability to enhance immune function. Studies indicate that its polysaccharides can stimulate the production of immune cells, making it a popular remedy during cold and flu season. - Astragalus is renowned for its ability to enhance immune function. Studies indicate that its polysaccharides can stimulate the production of immune cells, making it a popular remedy during cold and flu season. Cardiovascular support - Astragalus has been shown to improve heart function by reducing blood pressure, lowering cholesterol levels and enhancing blood flow. - Astragalus has been shown to improve heart function by reducing blood pressure, lowering cholesterol levels and enhancing blood flow. Anti-aging effects and longevity - Astragalus is often touted as an anti-aging herb due to its potential to protect telomeres, the protective caps on chromosomes that shorten with age. - Astragalus is often touted as an anti-aging herb due to its potential to protect telomeres, the protective caps on chromosomes that shorten with age. Blood sugar support - Preliminary research suggests that astragalus may help regulate blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity. - Preliminary research suggests that astragalus may help regulate blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity. Cancer support - While not a cure, astragalus has been studied for its potential to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy and reduce side effects. - While not a cure, astragalus has been studied for its potential to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy and reduce side effects. Stress and adrenal support - As an adaptogen, astragalus can help the body adapt to stress and may support adrenal gland function. Culinary inspiration: recipes featuring astragalus Astragalus can be seamlessly incorporated into a variety of dishes. Here are a few recipe ideas: Astragalus immune-boosting soup - A nourishing broth made with chicken, ginger, garlic and astragalus root. - A nourishing broth made with chicken, ginger, garlic and astragalus root. Astragalus tea blend - A soothing herbal tea that combines astragalus, licorice root and goji berries. - A soothing herbal tea that combines astragalus, licorice root and goji berries. Astragalus energy bites - No-bake snacks made with oats, honey, almond butter and astragalus powder. - No-bake snacks made with oats, honey, almond butter and astragalus powder. Astragalus bone broth - A slow-cooked broth infused with astragalus root, turmeric and black pepper. - A slow-cooked broth infused with astragalus root, turmeric and black pepper. Astragalus smoothie - A vibrant blend of spinach, banana, almond milk and astragalus powder. Astragalus is more than just an herb its a testament to the enduring wisdom of traditional medicine. With its rich history, potent phytonutrients and versatile applications, it continues to inspire modern wellness practices. Whether consumed as a tea, added to soups or taken as a supplement, astragalus offers a natural way to support vitality, resilience and overall health. This story is not medical advice and is not intended to treat or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified naturopathic physician for personalized advice about your specific health situation or concern. Visit NaturalNews.com, a great article source where you can learn about superfoods and their health benefits. You can also try Brighteon.ai, an AI model created by Mike Adams, also known as the Health Ranger. This model is available as a free download to be run locally and is designed to help share and decentralize knowledge. By doing so, it aims to bypass censorship and empower people with knowledge. If you're looking for an uncensored video free speech website where you can openly discuss nutrition, natural medicine, ingredients and more, check out Brighteon.com and our two free speech social media sites, Brighteon.IO and Brighteon.social. Watch this video to learn why astragalus is one of the most important herbs to have at home. This video is from the HealthPetal channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Astragalus alleviates inflammation and side effects of chemotherapeutic agents. Astragalus membranaceus relieves inflammation and protects against gastrointestinal cancer: Review. Astragalus found to protect against drug-induced liver injury: Study. Chinese medicinal herb astragalus found to reduce inflammation and improve immunity in heart attack patients. How astragalus benefits people with cancer and low immunity. Sources include: Brighteon.ai Naturalnews.com Brighteon.com CDCs vaccine safety chief, Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, accused of record destruction, in desperate attempt to coverup vaccine damage Sen. Ron Johnson reveals HHSs inability to recover emails of CDCs vaccine safety chief, Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, raising suspicions of record destruction. Dr. David Morens, NIH advisor to Fauci, admitted using private email to evade FOIA requests, suggesting systemic evasion of transparency. Allegations highlight potential Federal Records Act violations and congressional contempt risks amid probes into vaccine safety data. Critics question suppressed evidence on vaccine risks in pregnant women, pointing to Shimabukuros history of promoting unsafe health policies. The vanishing emails: A pattern of evasion Sen. Ron Johnsons latest revelations have reignited concerns about systemic deception in federal health agencies. On April 9, Johnson publicly stated that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could not locate official communications of Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, who leads the CDCs vaccine safety division. Dr. Shimabukuros records remain lost and, potentially, removed from HHSs email system altogether, Johnson declared, alleging possible violations of the Federal Records Act. Shimabukuro, a central figure in promoting flu vaccines to pregnant women and overseeing mRNA vaccine safety analyses, has been criticized previously for allegedly misrepresenting vaccine risks. Despite red flagsincluding a 2022 study he co-authored acknowledging elevated miscarriage risks in pregnant women vaccinated early in their pregnanciesShimabukuro has consistently defended mass vaccination campaigns. His lost records, Johnson argues, now threaten to erase critical evidence of how the public could have been misled. In early 2023, Shimabukuro was captured on video, reporting that the CDC was aware of reports that COVID vaccines cause "debilitating illnesses" and "long term health problems." Gmail gambits and Dr. Morens shadowy tactics The controversy expands beyond Shimabukuro to include NIH senior advisor Dr. David Morens, known for his close ties to Anthony Fauci. Emails obtained through FOIA requests revealed Morens advised colleagues in 2021 to bypass official channels: Why not just shoot me at my Gmail? he suggested, Avoiding record-keeping obligations. Morens later admitted to retaining very few emails or documents on pandemic-related mattersa claim Johnson decried as evidence of complete disregard for transparency. This strategy mirrors tactics used by officials during Obama-era scandals like Fast and Furious, where documents were deliberately lost to evade scrutiny. The House Pandemic Select Subcommittee confirmed Morens sought legal advice from NIHs FOIA office on how to airbrush communications. As Johnson noted, If Dr. Morens is not the sole evader, what does that say about the entire system? Conspiracy of silence or systemic failure? The missing records cast doubt on decades of federal health policy assurances. The 1976 swine flu debacle, where rushed vaccines caused catastrophic Guillain-Barre syndrome cases, echoes eerily today. Yet, unlike past mistakes, critics argue todays secrecy shields officials from accountability for similar failures. Shimabukuros vanishing emails could hide connections to Operation Warp Speeds rushed vaccine approvals, potentially masking data cherry-picking or cover-ups of vaccine injuries. A January subpoena from Johnson already revealed discrepancies in CDC virology databases, with one HSS official admitting, We never found files for many key protocols. Johnsons zero-tolerance stance on obstruction carries weight: contempt of Congress charges could net violators a year in prison and $100k fines. But with HHSs Office of Inspector General (OIG) stonewalling external auditsand the FBI and DOJ circumventing public transparencyJohnson warned, We might never learn the truth unless whistleblowers finally spill it. Conclusion: How Much Longer Can We Trust the System? The missing emails arent just bureaucratic odditiestheyre KL paper trails for a potential pandemic cover-up. As Dr. Morens quipped in 2021, I think we are all safebut from what? A safety protocol loophole? A convenient memory? Or a calculated gamble with human lives? If the CDCs chief safety officer cant be accountable for his own records, what other corners have been cutand whose secrets remain locked in private Gmail accounts? Sources include: YourNews.com NYPost.com Pubmed.gov GreekRadioFL.com DOJ launches Second Amendment Task Force amid federal rollback of gun control measures The DOJ established the Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force, led by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, to reverse Biden-era gun regulations deemed unconstitutional. The task force includes representatives from multiple DOJ divisions and federal agencies, including the ATF and FBI. Key priorities include overturning Bidens "Zero Tolerance Policy" (which punished dealers for minor violations) and dismantling the stabilizing brace rule that reclassified pistols with braces as short-barreled rifles, threatening felony charges for millions of owners. Bondi declared the Second Amendment would no longer be treated as a "second-class right," emphasizing aggressive legal and policy efforts to protect gun owners from what the DOJ calls regulatory overreach. Gun rights groups like the CCRKBA and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners hailed the task force as a historic win, ending years of adversarial federal policies against lawful gun ownership. The move reflects the Trump administrations broader "constitutional fidelity" stance, contrasting Bidens firearm restrictions (framed as public safety measures) and reigniting debates over Second Amendment rights vs. gun control. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled a new Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force, signaling a dramatic pivot in federal policy under President Donald Trumps administration to combat what officials describe as an era of regulatory overreach affecting law-abiding gun owners. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced the initiative on Wednesday, declaring that the Second Amendment would no longer be treated as a second-class right and will instead be defended aggressively through litigation and policy reforms. The move follows Trumps Feb. 7 executive order demanding a full review of Biden-era firearms regulations deemed overly burdensome to constitutional rights. Task force formation and mandate The Second Amendment Task Force, chaired by Bondi, will bring together representatives from the DOJs Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI. This interagency body is tasked with dismantling rules implemented between 2021 and 2025 that the DOJ asserts violated Second Amendment protections. Key early actions include repealing former President Joe Bidens Zero Tolerance Policy, a 2021 initiative critics argued punished firearms dealers for minor compliance issues, and re-evaluating the controversial stabilizing brace rule that threatened to recategorize pistols with certain accessories as short-barreled rifles. The Department of Justice is fully mobilized to treat the Second Amendment as it is intended a first-class right, Bondi said in a memo to staff. The prior administrations policies unfairly targeted lawful gun owners and vendors, eroding public trust in the regulatory process. Immediate policy reversals The task forces immediate focus includes dismantling the stabilizing brace rule, which alarmed gun rights advocates by retroactively reclassifying pistols equipped with ergonomic stabilizers as short-barreled riflessubjecting millions of owners to potential felony charges overnight. The DOJ also targeted Bidens engaged in the business regulation, which expanded scrutiny of non-commercial firearm sellers, a move critics argued blurred the line between private hobbyists and dealers. ATF Acting Director Daniel P. Driscoll, overseeing the agency for the first time, called the changes pivotal to restoring clarity and fairness in federal gun laws. He emphasized the repeal of the Zero Tolerance Policy, which had led to the revocation of firearms dealer licenses over minor paperwork errors. Advocate reactions Gun rights groups swiftly praised the initiative as a historic reversal of federal anti-gun policies. Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), described AG Bondis task force as a bold step signaling an end to years of regulatory hostility toward gun owners. It looks like gloves-off time has arrived, Gottlieb said. This task force treats gun owners as allies, not antagonists. The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners advocacy group echoed this sentiment, calling the move a triumph for constitutional fidelity. Historical context on regulatory battles Federal gun policy has long been contentious, with interpretations of Second Amendment rights swinging with administrations. While the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in Heller affirmed an individuals right to bear arms, Democrats under Biden framed firearms restrictions as public safety measures. Their approach included gun-tracing programs, stricter licensing and proposals to restrict high-capacity magazines. By contrast, Trumps 2024 presidential campaign emphasized constitutional fidelity, pledging to combat Bidens anti-gun agenda. The task force represents the culmination of this strategy, reversing dozens of federal regulations, including those requiring states to share records for background checks a move Bondi called unwarranted overreach. Conclusion The DOJs Second Amendment Task Force marks a significant escalation in the federal governments defense of gun rights, positioning the nations capital directly against prior regulatory frameworks. As states and federal agencies brace for shifting enforcement priorities, the task forces long-term impact will hinge on its ability to reconcile constitutional principles with public safety concerns a delicate balance in a politically polarized era. For now, gun rights advocates see this as a defining moment in reclaiming what they argue is an endangered First Amendment-era right. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Justice.gov WhiteHouse.gov TheTruthAboutGuns.com Father speaks out: Challenging the mainstream narrative of his daughters unvaccinated measles death Peter Hildebrand, father of Daisy, disputes the media's claim that his daughter died from measles. Medical records and family testimony contradict the official narrative. Hildebrand criticizes the hospital for not providing proper care, including budesonide treatment. Alternative health advocates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have supported the family's stance. In a poignant and controversial interview, Peter Hildebrand, the father of eight-year-old Daisy, who was pronounced an "unvaccinated measles death" by the mainstream media, has come forward to challenge the official narrative. Hildebrand, along with his wife, firmly believes that Daisy did not die from measles, but rather from a lack of proper medical care. This case has reignited debates about the reliability of media reports and the treatment of patients in hospitals, especially those with alternative health beliefs. The interview, conducted by Polly Tommey of Childrens Health Defense, delves into the discrepancies between the media's portrayal and the family's account. Hildebrand's emotional testimony highlights the pain and anger he feels, not only over the loss of his daughter but also over the media's persistent misrepresentation of her death. The family's story vs. the media's narrative Peter Hildebrand is clear and resolute in his belief that Daisy did not die from measles. "No, absolutely not," he stated when asked if he and his wife believe Daisy's death was due to the disease. The family's stance is supported by medical records that contradict the media's claims. Hildebrand's frustration is palpable when he discusses the widespread reporting of Daisy's death as a measles case. "That hurts. It hurts very much. And that's exactly why I'm doing this interview. So hopefully people can understand that she did not die from measles," he said. Hildebrand's criticism extends to the hospital where Daisy was treated. He believes that the medical staff failed to provide the necessary care, particularly the budesonide breathing treatment that he and his family had requested. "They didnt give her the budesonide breathing treatment that wed been asking for. They were saying that the IV steroids they were giving her were better," Hildebrand explained. This omission, he argues, contributed to Daisy's deteriorating condition. The role of alternative health advocates The Hildebrand family sought advice from alternative health practitioners, including Dr. Ben Edwards and Dr. Richard Bartlett, who are known for their critical views on conventional medicine and the MMR vaccine. Hildebrand mentioned that Daisy was given vitamin A, which seemed to help initially. However, as her condition worsened, the family felt compelled to seek further medical assistance at a hospital. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent critic of the pharmaceutical industry and advocate for vaccine safety, attended Daisy's funeral and a subsequent meeting with the family. Kennedy, who has praised Edwards and Bartlett as "extraordinary healers," has been a vocal supporter of the family's stance. His presence at the funeral and the meeting underscores the broader debate about the safety and efficacy of conventional medical treatments versus alternative approaches. The broader implications The case of Daisy Hildebrand raises important questions about the reliability of media reporting, the standard of care in hospitals, and the role of alternative health practices. Hospitals have standards of care for treating children who present with breathing difficulties. If the hospital in question did not follow best practices for treating Daisy, the records should be obtained and a medical malpractice suit should ensue. Hildebrand's call for accountability in the medical system is echoed by many who feel that the current healthcare model often fails to prioritize patient well-being over profit. Hildebrand's message to other parents is clear: "It [doesn't] matter whether the hospital takes your insurance or not, just make sure you go to a hospital that takes care of the people. Because when they don't take care of the people, they just end up dying, just like in Lubbock, Texas." This warning is a stark reminder of the importance of patient advocacy and the need for transparency in medical care. As the debate over Daisy Hildebrand's death continues, the broader implications of this case cannot be ignored. The conflict between mainstream medical practices and alternative health approaches, the role of the media in shaping public perception, and the need for accountability in healthcare are all critical issues that demand attention. In the words of Peter Hildebrand, "Im willing to do any- and everything I can to make sure the hospitals start getting some act right in them so nobody else has to go through this." The story of Daisy Hildebrand is a call to action, a plea for change, and a reminder that the truth often lies beyond the sensationalist - vaccine dogma headlines. Source include: X.com Yahoo.com Atlantic.com Enigmatic Gate of the Gods in Peru revives debate over lost ancient civilization The Gate of the Gods (Aramu Muru), carved into a red sandstone cliff in Perus Andes, is a T-shaped structure (23 ft tall, 22 ft wide) with a central niche. It was discovered in 1996 by Jose Luis Delgado Mamani, who claimed to have seen visions of a "sacred portal" with marble doors. Locals report supernatural phenomena, though scientific studies found no evidence. Andean folklore describes it as a portal to the spirit world, linked to an Inca priest (Aramu Muru) who allegedly vanished through it using a golden disc. The niches recess aligns with disc legends, but no physical proof exists. Some consider it a cursed "Devils Doorway." Mainstream scholars attribute it to the Tiwanaku civilization (200 BCE1000 CE), known for advanced engineering. However, its differing carving style leaves dating uncertain. Archaeologist Dr. Khan suggests it reflects Tiwanakus ritual cosmology, blending architecture with spiritual symbolism. Shows like "Ancient Aliens" propose interdimensional travel theories, citing the structures precision and isolation. Theorists like Tsoukalos speculate the golden disc was a "technological device." No empirical evidence supports these claims, but they draw global intrigue. A massive T-shaped doorway carved into a red sandstone cliff in southern Perus Andes Mountains has reignited speculation about an advanced pre-Inca civilization, blending folklore, archaeology and modern theories about extraterrestrial influences. Known locally as the Gate of the Gods, the structures precision, mysterious origin and association with Andean legends have made it a site of global intrigue since its discovery nearly three decades ago. The structure and its legends Carved into a remote mountainside near Lake Titicaca, the Gate of the Gods (Aramu Muru) rises 23 feet tall and 22 feet wide, featuring a central niche (6.5 feet by 3 feet) flanked by vertical grooves. Discovered by local tour guide Jose Luis Delgado Mamani in 1996, the site gained notoriety through his claims of being guided by dreams of a sacred portal inhabited by pink marble doors with figures. Locals and travelers allege supernatural phenomena, such as strong energy fields, vibrations and visions, but scientific studies have found no electromagnetic anomalies. The structure is central to Andean oral traditions. Aymara and Quechua legends describe it as a path to the spirit world, where Inca priest Aramu Muru allegedly fled Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, using a golden disc from Cuscos Temple of the Sun to vanish into another dimension. Though the disc itself remains a myth, a recess in the niche aligns with descriptions of its placement. Theories compete: Ancient engineers vs. aliens? Mainstream archaeologists attribute the Gate to the Tiwanaku civilization (200 BCE1000 CE), which thrived near Lake Titicaca and pioneered monumental construction. Dr. Mohammad Firoz Khan, an independent archaeologist, notes the Tiwanakus engineering prowess, such as raised-field agriculture and hydraulic systems, could explain the structures precision, even without advanced tools. However, the carving style differs slightly from Tiwanakus typical designs, leaving uncertainty in dating. Despite the lack of organic material for carbon dating, the Tiwanakus grand scale and innovation make them plausible builders, said Dr. Khan in an X post. This remains an enigma tied to ancient Andean cosmology a place where the material and spiritual worlds intersected. Conspiracy theorists and pseudohistorical programs like Ancient Aliens have pushed an extraterrestrial angle. Giorgio Tsoukalos, a frequent guest on the show, argued: Something happened here. The disc might have been a technological device for interdimensional travel. David Childress, another host, highlighted the structures oddity: Its a gateway to nowhere carved into solid rock, and its literally in the middle of nowhere. Historical context: Tiwanakus legacy The Tiwanaku Empire, which preceded the Inca by centuries, dominated much of the Andes through innovation. Their mastery of agriculture on nutrient-rich raised fields, storage systems for surplus crops and complex urban planning extended their influence across 130,000 square miles. Their capital, near Lake Titicaca, rivaled contemporary cities globally and influenced later empires. Its no stretch to imagine Tiwanaku engineers creating such a site, said Dr. Khan. They had organizational capacity and ritualistic architectures that blurred the lines between human society and the divine. The Gates placement near a ceremonial center and its alignment with nearby landmarks, including a cross-shaped map across Lake Titicaca, further suggests ritual or astronomical significance. Mysteries endure Though legally protected as an archaeological site, the Gate lacks funding for modern excavations. Controversies linger over its purpose: a portal to another realm, a ritual space, or merely a misunderstood Tiwanaku monument. The Aymara long avoided the site, considering it a Devils Doorway, and some still conduct shamanic prayers there today. As debates rage, the site underscores broader trends in perceptions of pre-Columbian Americas. These stories reflect a need to explain lost knowledge, said archaeologist Alan Kolata, referencing pre-Hispanic advancements dismissed in colonial histories. Whether ancient astronaut theories are valid or not, they attract attention to the sophistication of indigenous cultures. Conclusion The Gate of the Gods stands as a testament to the enduring mysteries shaping Andean history. While mainstream science seeks empirical answers, the sites symbolism uniting myth and archaeology resonates in a world hungry for connections to the past. Whether it marks an interdimensional threshold or an overlooked Tiwanaku achievement, its allure endures, inviting thinkers, tourists and scholars alike to ponder humanitys forgotten milestones. As long as the Gate of the Gods remains unexplained, it embodies a dialogue between science and imagination, said Dr. Khan. Perhaps uncovering its secrets will force us to rethink what we define as advanced civilizations. For now, the mountains of Peru guard their secret, while the quest for truth continues. Sources include: DailyMail.com Ancient-code.com Medium.com Texas reports 541 measles cases, 2 deaths, but no reporting on vaccine injuries, MMR-induced autism, and vaccine-induced deaths The US is moving toward the post-vaccine era, where more parents are weighing the risks and opting not to vaccinate their children. In this post-vaccine era, unvaccinated children may contract and recover from basic illnesses that were commonplace decades ago, but there will be some complications along the way, especially if the unvaccinated are mistreated in the hospital and not given proper treatments. In this post-vaccine era, even vaccinated children are getting the infections that they were supposed to be vaccinated for, and they are spreading the infections -- an inconvenient truth for those who regularly shame the unvaccinated. Texas reports 541 measles cases as U.S. totals hit 712, with two child deaths sparking national alarm. The two measles deaths are roiled in controversy, as the children in those cases were dealing with other infections and medical errors. The MAHA movement argues that the mainstream media ignores vaccine risks, citing a 2002 study linking MMR shots to autism-linked autoimmunity. Democrats and Republicans alike push mandates, yet official narratives allegedly downplay critical questions about misdiagnosis and long-term harm. The 2025 US measles outbreak continues The surge in U.S. measles cases has ignited both alarm and skepticism, with Texas at the epicenter. Over 500 cases in the state as of April 11, and two pediatric deaths, have fueled urgent calls for vaccinationa narrative experts on both sides of the aisle now reinforce. But for many, the panic feels misplaced, especially for parents of vaccine injured kids who were harmed directly by the MMR vaccine. While state health officials blame falling vaccination rates, critics like Kevin Cahill, a former CDC whistleblower, suggest hysteria distracts from why this outbreak is so severe in 2025. The MMR vaccines own immune impacts could be amplifying risks were not measuring. The CDC claims measles was eliminated in 2000, with recent cases driven by international travelers. Yet a deeper look raises questions: Why are most outbreaks now domestic, and why, in an era of advanced medicine, have two unvaccinated children died from complications and medical errors? Anti-vaccine advocates point to inconsistencies in Texas data. The Gaines County outbreak, where most deaths occurred, hosted a population with 82% vaccination ratesfar above World Health Organization herd immunity thresholds of 95%. Combined with reports of PCR tests misclassifying patients, as cited by virologist Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg, the narrative becomes murkier. The science behind the MMR vaccines efficacy is clear: it prevents over 97% of cases when administered properly. However, its side effects, including autoimmune reactions, remain understudied. As the 2002 Journal of Biomedical Science study highlighted, some recipients develop antibodies that attack nervous system tissues, potentially linked to autism and seizures. Dr. David Paul, an autism researcher at AltMed Institute, explains, Vaccines trigger immune responses, but when they cross into brain tissue? Those pathways could explain why U.S. autism rates have quadrupled since the 90s. The double-edged sword of public health messaging Political leaders are caught in a precarious dance between science and optics. Health Secretary RFK Jr., once a vaccine skeptic, now publicly-endorses the MMR shot for preventing the spread of a rapidly replicating infectious diseasea reversal many view as careerist acrobatics. Some of RFK Jr.'s supporters believe that he has given in to the pressures around him, but others point out that he is being honest about the science regarding the rapid spread of measles and the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine. Simultaneously, mainstream outlets like the NY Times and CNN have amplified stories framing anti-vax sentiment as uniquely responsible, neglecting broader questions. Take Nebraska Governor Jim Pillens April 11 plea to vaccinate: a valid public health step, yet it ignores calls for transparency around vaccine injury compensation payouts or long-term neurological studies. The CDCs claim that 97% of cases involve unvaccinated individuals draws scrutiny. Critics note that unknown vaccination status accounts for hundreds of casesraising concerns about data collection accuracy. As PubMed databases show, MMR vaccine efficacy wanes in populations with vitamin A deficienciesa common issue in rural areas like West Texaspotentially mislabeling unvaccinated victims as non-compliant. Others, whose kids have received one of the MMR doses and had serious adverse events, may be considered unvaccinated still, because they did not receive a second dose. A crisis of trust and truth? The real stakes extend beyond disease control. When a 2023 CDC report revealed 92.7% national MMR coverageonly slightly below herd immunity thresholdsthe question remains: Why the spike in cases only now? NaturalNews readers, familiar with environmental health, link this paradox to growing toxin exposure. Mercury in dental amalgams, glyphosate in food, and heavy metals in vaccines may synergize, overwhelming immune systems. Were vaccinating children in communities swimming in toxic soup, insists Dr. Stephanie Seneff, warning that measles becomes a canary in a coal mine for system-wide immune collapse. The two fatalities in Texas draw particular scrutiny. Health officials attribute deaths to measles pneumonia, but without autopsy reports, many suspect underlying factorswhether genetic vulnerabilities or undiagnosed autoimmune disorders triggered by vaccines. As the debate rages, parents nationwide face impossible choices: inoculate and risk potential neurological harm, or refuse and face ostracism from medical systems. A parent advocating for her unvaccinated child, who chose homeopathic care via vitamin A and elderberry syrup, reflects, If Big Pharma and Big Government could just acknowledge the middle groundif they just admitted their solutions arent 100% safeit wouldnt feel like signing a death warrant for my kids. Sources include: Reuters.com WHO.int NaturalNews.com Pubmed.gov Pubmed.gov Trump administration proposes $998 daily fines on migrants defying deportation orders The Trump administration plans to impose daily fines of up to $998, potentially totaling over $1 million, on migrants with deportation orders who refuse to leave, retroactive for up to five years. Property seizures may also be enforced. The plan leverages a 1996 immigration law allowing penalties for migrants who obstruct their deportation, including failing to depart or not cooperating with removal procedures. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has publicly warned migrants to self-deport via the CBP One app or face severe consequences, including fines and forced removals. The Biden administration halted these fines in 2021, declaring them ineffective and canceled existing debts. Trump's second-term agenda includes stricter border policies, such as reviving deportation fines, completing the border wall and overturning Biden-era immigration reforms to enforce "law and order." The Trump administration is planning to impose steep fines of up to $998 per day, as well as property seizures if they refuse to pay, on migrants under deportation orders who fail to leave the United States. The move, which is rooted in a 1996 immigration law, allows fines for individuals who willfully delay or obstruct their own deportation. Under the proposed crackdown, fines will accrue daily and could apply retroactively for up to five years, potentially totaling over $1 million for some cases. Officials also plan to seize assets from those who refuse to comply. Moreover, the law stated that fines could be levied against any migrant who "conspires to or takes any action designed to prevent or hamper the alien's departure pursuant to the order, shall pay a civil penalty of not more than $500 to the Commissioner for each day the alien is in violation of this section." Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin warned illegal immigrants about this. "If they don't, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order," she said. The DHS also posted the same thought on Instagram on March 31, urging illegal migrants to self-deport through the CBP One app. "The CBP Home app gives illegal aliens the option to LEAVE NOW and self-deport," the post read. "If they don't, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return." (Related: POLL: Majority of Americans support the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.) However, the exact start date for the fines remains unclear. Trump intensifies migrant policies on his second term Trump already invoked the 1996 law during his first term in office, but the following administration under former President Joe Biden stopped the fines and rescinded the law when he took office in 2021. Under the leadership of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, ICE has shifted toward a more targeted enforcement approach, emphasizing discretion rather than broad punitive measures. In April 2021, DHS announced the cancellation of civil financial penalties for noncitizens who failed to depart the U.S., as these fines were deemed ineffective after a review of enforcement data. Additionally, due to sequestration-related budget constraints, ICE recently released hundreds of detained immigrants. But Trump issued orders to reintroduce and intensify migrant policies on his second term, including reinstating penalties and expanding border security measures. Trump aims to revive measures like the 1996 law and complete the border wall, vowing to restore "law and order" at the southern border. Follow InvasionUSA.news for more stories about illegal immigration in America. Watch new border czar Tom Homan telling Veronika Kyrylenko of the New American magazine that the U.S. border is broken by design. This video is from The New American channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Dallas protesters rally against Trump's mass deportation plan. Sheriffs gear up to join Trump's MASS DEPORTATION crusade. Republican sheriffs in Maryland and Ohio support Trump's mass deportation plan. Utah governor pledges to help Trump with mass deportation of illegals. Oklahoma governor pledges to help Trump with mass deportation of illegals. Sources include: Reuters.com MSN.com DHS.gov U.S. moves to block Chinese control of Panama Canal, citing national security threat The Trump administration is countering Chinas growing influence over the Panama Canal to protect U.S. trade and military interests. Defense Secretary Hegseth announced expanded U.S.-Panama military and economic deals to challenge Chinas strategic foothold. The canal is critical for U.S. shipping, with 75% of traffic linked to American ports, making it a geopolitical priority. New agreements ensure U.S. military priority passage and reopen Fort Sherman as a joint base to deter Chinese influence. The move is part of Trumps broader strategy to push back against Chinas expansion in Latin America. The Trump administration is taking aggressive steps to counter Chinas growing influence over the Panama Canal, a critical global shipping artery that serves as a lifeline for American trade. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced expanded military and economic agreements with Panama, signaling a direct challenge to what he called the maligned influence of the communist Chinese government in the Western Hemisphere. The move comes as Beijing increasingly invests in ports and infrastructure near the canal, raising alarms in Washington about strategic vulnerabilities. Speaking to media, Hegseth framed the initiative as a fulfillment of President Trumps longstanding promise to secure U.S. interests in the region. President Trump said at a State of the Union address, China has too much influence over the Panama Canal, and America is gonna take it back, said Hegseth. Thats exactly what I was charged to do. The administrations strategy hinges on strengthening Panamas ability to resist Chinese pressure while ensuring American military and commercial vessels maintain priority access. Strategic importance of the canal The Panama Canal serves as one of the worlds most vital maritime corridors, with roughly 75% of its shipping traffic involving vessels heading to or from U.S. ports. Any disruption could severely impact American supply chains, energy imports, and military logistics. Recognizing this, the Trump administration has prioritized blocking Chinese attempts to establish a strategic foothold in Panama, where Beijing has heavily invested in port operations and infrastructure projects in recent years. Chinese influence cannot control our own backyard, especially a critical waterway key terrain like the Panama Canal, Hegseth emphasized. If we cant use that waterway in a key contingency, China has an advantage. New agreements to secure U.S. interests To counter Beijings encroachment, the U.S. recently signed two major agreements with Panamanian officials. The first ensures American military and auxiliary ships receive free and prioritized passage through the canal, while the second a memorandum of understanding lays the groundwork for expanded U.S.-Panama defense cooperation. This includes reopening Fort Sherman, a former U.S. military base, as a joint training site to deter Chinese influence. Fort Sherman will reopen jointly with the Panamanians and is going to have a larger U.S. presence at the invitation of Panama, working with them to keep the communist Chinese out, Hegseth confirmed. The U.S. has already deployed two guided-missile cruisers, a Coast Guard cutter, four F-18 fighter jets, and over 1,000 troops to the region, signaling a firm commitment to regional security. A broader push against Chinese expansion The administrations actions align with President Trumps broader campaign to confront Chinas global ambitions, particularly in Latin America, where Beijing has expanded its economic and political reach. Some analysts argue that previous U.S. administrations neglected the strategic threat posed by Chinese investments in critical infrastructure. Weve been asleep at the wheel, Hegseth acknowledged. President Trump has said we need to be serious about our own backyard. Panamas government, led by President Enrique Molina, has welcomed the U.S. partnership. Hegseth praised Molina as a pro-Trump, pro-America leader willing to stand up to Chinese pressure. Still, skeptics question whether ownership of the canal would solve the issue of Chinese influence, especially since the U.S. already maintains a military presence nearby and controls significant shipping operations. The Trump administrations latest moves underscore a clear-eyed approach to countering Chinas ambitions in the Americas, ensuring that a critical waterway remains under stable, U.S.-aligned control. While critics debate whether reclaiming ownership of the canal is necessary, officials argue that reinforcing partnerships and military readiness is crucial to preventing China from gaining an upper hand. As Hegseth put it, President Trump says not on our watch, and we are fighting back. Whether these measures will fully neutralize Beijings influence remains to be seen, but it is clear that the Panama Canal is no longer just a trade route; its a geopolitical battleground where America is drawing the line. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com Defense.gov GlobalTradeMag.com Tariff war escalates: China retaliates with 125% tariffs on US goods, as Xi Jinping warns of self-isolation for America China raises retaliatory tariffs on US imports to 125% in response to Trump's 145% duties on Chinese goods. Chinese President Xi Jinping warns that the US risks isolating itself by pursuing unilateral trade restrictions. The trade dispute has disrupted global markets, sent oil prices to four-year lows, and raised concerns over global supply chains. The EU has adopted a "de-risking" policy towards Chinese imports, balancing protective measures with constructive economic relations. In a move that further intensifies the ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies, China has announced it will raise retaliatory tariffs on select US imports from 84% to 125%. This escalation comes in direct response to the United States' recent decision to impose a 145% duty on Chinese imports, marking a significant escalation in the trade dispute that has already disrupted global markets and supply chains. The announcement, made by Beijings State Council Tariff Commission, underscores the deepening tensions between the two nations. The trade war, which began under the Trump administration, has seen a series of tit-for-tat tariff increases, with each side attempting to leverage economic pressure to gain concessions from the other. In the dispute, Chinese President Xi Jingping believes the US will "isolate itself." A history of trade tensions The roots of the current trade conflict can be traced back to the early days of the Trump presidency, when the then-President frequently criticized China for what he described as unfair trade practices. Trump argued that China had been exploiting the United States through lopsided trade deals, leading to the erosion of American manufacturing jobs and a significant trade deficit. In a speech given in Pennsylvania in June 2016, Trump pledged to penalize China and renegotiate these unfavorable pacts, vowing to bring manufacturing back to the US. However, the reality of the situation is more complex. For decades, China has played a crucial role in the globalization of consumer products, providing the West with cheaply made goods that have fueled economic growth and consumer spending. American businesses have profited handsomely from this arrangement, and the low-cost labor in Chinese factories has kept prices down for consumers. The question remains: if these goods were to be manufactured in the US, would there be a workforce willing to work in these factories for the low pay? The answer, for many, is no. Xi Jinping's warning: self-isolation and unilateralism Chinese President Xi Jinping, speaking during a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Beijing, warned that the United States risks isolating itself by pursuing unilateral trade restrictions. "There are no winners in the tariff war and standing against the world ultimately results in self-isolation," Xi said, as cited by Xinhua news agency. He called on China and the European Union to "jointly resist unilateral bullying" in order to protect their legitimate rights and interests and uphold international rules and order. The EU, which has also been targeted by US tariffs, has adopted a policy of "de-risking" towards Chinese imports. This approach balances protective trade measures, such as tariffs on electric vehicles, with efforts to maintain constructive economic relations. The EU has warned of significant global economic repercussions and has vowed to take countermeasures, further complicating the international trade landscape. Xi Jinping's warning is a bit farfetched, considering that the US is reconnecting, re-engaging with other nations, and building mutually beneficial trade relationships. America's leaders have a duty and a right to pursue these goals - no matter the conflict. Economic consequences and global impact The trade dispute between the US and China has had far-reaching consequences. Global markets have been disrupted, with oil prices dropping to four-year lows. Supply chains have been thrown into disarray, and businesses around the world are grappling with the uncertainty of fluctuating tariffs and trade policies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the trade war could shave 0.5% off global GDP growth, a significant impact in an already fragile economic environment. Despite the tensions, there are those who argue that the US should not back down from its efforts to address trade imbalances. The challenge, however, is finding a way to achieve this balance without resorting to punitive tariffs that ultimately harm consumers and businesses on both sides. The US, under Trumps tariff renegotiation plan, could help bring some businesses and industries back to the US, but it is a complex and contentious path. As the trade war continues to escalate, the question remains: can the US and China find a way to coexist and trade peacefully, or will the cycle of retaliation and economic pressure continue to spiral out of control? The answer may lie in a willingness to engage in constructive dialogue and a recognition that, in a globalized world, the prosperity of one nation is often intertwined with the prosperity of others. Xi Jingping is in no position to dictate whether the US will be isolated, as American leaders debate the future of its economic relations. Source include: RT.com Enoch, Brighteon.ai RT.com Zelensky extends martial law again, delaying elections amid legitimacy concerns Zelenskys government extended martial law until August 11, delaying elections and raising democratic concerns. MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak confirmed Ukraines 10th martial law extension since Russias 2022 invasion, blocking feasible elections. Critics warn indefinite postponement risks normalizing rule by emergency decree amid aggressive conscription tactics. Western aid fatigue grows as Ukraine faces criticism over governance, corruption, and election delays. Zelensky insists elections cannot be held under martial law, but opponents see this as an excuse to prolong power. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys government has pushed through yet another extension of martial law, prolonging his rule beyond his constitutional mandate and indefinitely postponing elections. The extended measures, now in place until at least August 11, deepen concerns over the erosion of democratic norms in wartime Ukraine, even as the Kremlin exploits the delays to question Kyivs legitimacy. On Saturday, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak confirmed that Ukraines parliament would renew martial law from May 14 to August 11, marking the 10th such extension since Russias 2022 invasion. Yes, [martial law and general mobilization] will be extended, and this will happen pretty soon: April 1518, said Zheleznyak, a member of the Holos party. The move effectively bars elections, as Ukrainian law requires 60 to 90 days of preparations, which is unfeasible under current conditions. Zelenskys presidential term technically expired in May 2024, yet no vote has been scheduled. Parliamentary Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk defended the delays, citing wartime impracticalities. He acknowledged the difficulty of holding elections while 800,000 potential voters are serving and millions are displaced. Critics, however, argue the indefinite postponement risks normalizing rule by emergency decree. Ukraine has always been - historically, and it is now, and will remain - a democratic Ukraine, Stefanchuk insisted, framing the delays as a necessity. But with no clear timeline for restoring elections, skepticism grows about whether wartime measures serve national defenseor political preservation. Conscription crackdowns and Western fatigue The martial law extensions coincide with aggressive conscription efforts, including lowered draft ages (from 27 to 25) and reports of forcible enlistments. Videos circulate online showing civilians grabbed off streets for military servicetactics Kyiv justifies as necessary to replenish battlefield losses but that fuel domestic discontent. Meanwhile, Western allies face growing donor fatigue as aid packages stall. Some analysts suggest governance concernslike election delays and corruptionhave weakened Ukraines moral appeal to democratic backers. The Kremlin seizes on the narrative, dismissing Zelensky as an unelected leader. Though Russias criticism is self-servingits own elections are tightly controlledthe prolonged martial law lends Moscow propaganda fuel. Stefanchuk rebuffed such comparisons: We are on two banks of the civilization abyss [with Russia]. Yet critics note that Ukraines constitutional crisis is real: Article 83 permits legislative extensions during emergencies, but indefinite rule without elections tests democratic principles. Democracy deferred indefinitely? Zelensky has repeatedly emphasized the obstacles to voting, including safeguarding ballots for soldiers and 7 million Ukrainians abroad. In a March interview with Rai 1, he noted that holding elections under martial law requires legal overhaulsa justification opponents call a smokescreen. David Arakhamia, head of Zelenskys parliamentary faction, pledged elections six months after martial law ends, but with no end to the war in sight, that pledge rings hollow. The costfinancially and logisticallyis another hurdle. Pre-war elections cost $100 million; now, securing polling stations and preventing Russian interference would require far more. But as Stefanchuk admitted, planning is in early stages, with no draft legislation proposed. A wartime democracy in limbo Ukraines struggle against Russian aggression remains existential, and martial law extensions are not inherently undemocratic. Yet the absence of a clear path to restore electionscoupled with Zelenskys expired mandate and draconian conscriptionraises uneasy questions. Democracy, after all, is what Ukraine claims to defend. If emergency powers outlast their necessity, the line between defender and autocrat blurs. Western nations may tolerate delays now, but as the war drags on, patienceand Ukraines democratic credibilityare wearing thin. The longer elections are postponed, the harder it becomes to argue that Kyivs governance differs fundamentally from Moscows. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com Investing.com Reuters.com Arizona counties embark on sweeping voter roll purge amid legal mandate and election integrity debate Arizonas 15 counties are collaborating with DHS to remove nearly 50,000 "federal-only" voter registrants who lack proof of U.S. citizenship (DPOC) for state/local elections, following a lawsuit by conservative group America First Legal. A 2024 settlement requires counties including Maricopa to verify citizenship via DHS databases, enforcing Arizonas 2004 DPOC law. Critics argue this is voter suppression, while supporters call it necessary for election integrity. The move follows Arizonas history of voter fraud claims (largely unsubstantiated) and Republican-led election reforms, spurred by controversies like the 2020 election and Kari Lakes 2022 gubernatorial loss. Democrats and civil rights groups warn the purge could disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly lower-income and rural residents, due to logistical barriers in obtaining DPOC. The purge coincides with GOP-backed federal efforts like the SAFE Act (requiring citizenship proof for voting), though broader adoption faces Senate hurdles. The outcome may influence the 2024 election landscape. In a move reigniting national debates over voter eligibility and election integrity, Arizonas 15 counties have begun collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls following a lawsuit by conservative advocacy group America First Legal (AFL). The initiative, which targets nearly 50,000 federal-only registrants who failed to provide documentary proof of citizenship (DPOC) for state and local elections, answers longstanding Republican calls for stricter enforcement of voting laws. The dispute centers on Arizonas 2004 legal requirement mandating DPOC since upheld by the Supreme Court, and its monthly requirement for county recorders to verify voter eligibility. The process, finalized after a federal case led to a stipulation of dismissal in April, has divided political lines, with supporters lauding it as a necessary safeguard and critics calling it an unnecessary and suppressive overreach. Settlement prompts compliance with Arizonas citizenship requirements The purge stems from a lawsuit filed in August 2024 by AFLfounded by former Trump aidsincluding naturalized citizen Yvonne Cahill and nonprofit EZAZ.org, against counties for failing to enforce state laws requiring citizenship verification. The counties had not been following the law, AFL Senior Counsel James Rogers told Fox News, citing Arizonas mandate for monthly reviews of voter rolls to identify noncitizens. Under the settlement, counties, including Maricopa (the states most populous), must now request DHS verification of citizenship for the 50,000 U.S. citizens eligible only to vote in federal elections. According to Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap, the effort aims to clean up our voter rolls and restore trust in Maricopa County elections. He emphasized that citizenship verification is essential to upholding one citizen, one vote, aligning with Arizonas legal obligations. The process marks Arizonas first comprehensive use of federal databases like DHS since a 2013 Supreme Court ruling (Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council) curtailed state voter registration requirements. That decision held that while federal law requires voters only to attest to citizenship via a checkbox, states could impose additional proof requirements for in-state elections a balance Arizonas law preserved. Legal battle and historical context: Arizonas history of voter fraud claims The case unfolds amid Arizonas contentious political history surrounding immigration and voter fraud. In 2020, counties like Maricopa came under scrutiny after claims emerged unsubstantiated by evidence of widespread irregularities in mail-in voting following President Joe Bidens narrow win. Former President Donald Trumps November 2024 victory in the state, paired with Kari Lakes failed 2022 gubernatorial bid, amplified calls for election reforms. Its a pyrrhic victory knowing Arizona had to be sued to take [noncitizens] off the rolls, Lake said, while urging accountability for officials who delayed compliance. State Rep. Jake Hoffman, a sponsor of election integrity legislation, excoriated Democratic claims that the reforms are deceitful, arguing that opposing stricter ID laws risks repeating historical party failures like Green Party flaws in the early 20th century. Critics note the dearth of documented voter fraud cases: the National Priorities Project found only 422 credible fraud instances since 2000, less than 0.0001% of votes cast. Yet, conservative groups argue that even small numbers of ineligible voters undermine public trust. Opposition concerns: Barriers to voting and civil rights pushback The settlement faces backlash from Democrats and voting rights advocates, who warn that aggressive purges efforts disproportionately hinder eligible voters. The SAVE Act and state-level measures make voting harder for lower-income folks and rural residents, stressed Northeastern Universitys Costas Panagopoulos, citing higher costs and logistical hurdles for citizens lacking immediate access to birth certificates or passports. Brookings Institutions Darrell West added that rural voters may struggle with DPOC requirements, potentially depressing turnout. Critics also note that Arizonas DPOC policy already excludes noncitizens lawfully authorized to vote only in federal elections approximately 500 U.S. jurisdictions permit noncitizen local voting. Meanwhile, AFLs suit emphasized that counties ignored existing state permits to cooperate with DHS for citizenship checks. Counties like Coconino skipped steps Congress specifically authorized, Rogers said, referencing 8 U.S.C. 1644, which allows federal-state data sharing for election integrity. Next steps: The SAVE Act and the 2024 election landscape As Arizona grapples with implementation, conservative voter reform efforts gain momentum nationwide. The Republican-backed S. 925/H.R. 2674, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, recently passed the U.S. House, requiring federal voters nationwide to confirm citizenship via state databases or documents like passports. Yet its prospects in the Senate remain dim absent centrist GOP defectors. Meanwhile, Arizonas new registration changes and electoral board dominated by conservative voters have drawn scrutiny from national Democrats. In Arizona, the purge could reshape Septembers special election for a congressional seat, where nearly 100 days remain before the voting deadline. Civil rights groups vow to monitor the process, alleging indiscriminate removal of eligible citizens. This isnt about fraud its about making already marginalized communities scared to participate, said an uncredited defense source. Conclusion Arizonas voter roll purge underscores the clash between election integrity and voting access at the heart of American democracy. Conservative advocates frame the process as a protective measure against diluting electoral voice, while opponents see it as an exclusionary tactic. As the states 50,000 federal-only registrants await verification, the outcome will test not just legal mandates but the nations capacity to balance competing visions of equity and security in the electoral process. Sources include: 100percentfedup.com FoxNews.com Newsweek.com Chasteberry: The ancient hormone-balancing superfruit Chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus) has a rich history that can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was celebrated for its anti-inflammatory and hormonal benefits. Its name, which means "chaste lamb," reflects its historical association with promoting chastity and purity. Native to the Mediterranean, it thrives in temperate climates and is now cultivated globally. Chasteberry contains phytonutrients like flavonoids and iridoid glycosides, with notable compounds like agnuside and casticin contributing to its anti-inflammatory, hormone-regulating and menstrual discomfort-relieving properties. Chasteberry is said to influence the pituitary gland to regulate progesterone and estrogen levels. It is used to alleviate PMS symptoms, support lactation, reduce menopause symptoms and improve fertility. Its anti-inflammatory properties also make it an effective remedy for skin conditions like acne and eczema. Chasteberrys peppery flavor makes it suitable for teas, tinctures and culinary creations like salad dressings, energy bites and smoothies. Its versatility extends to both traditional remedies and modern wellness practices. Chasteberry remains a staple in herbal medicine, with ongoing research exploring its potential for stress relief, sleep improvement and migraine alleviation. Chasteberry, scientifically known as Vitex agnus-castus, is a fascinating plant with a rich history and a wide array of health benefits. Native to the Mediterranean region, this herb has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for various ailments, particularly those related to hormonal balance and reproductive health. Its unique properties have earned it a place in both traditional medicine and modern wellness practices. Brief history of chasteberry Chasteberry has a storied past that can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome. The plant was first documented by the Greek physician Hippocrates, often referred to as the "Father of Medicine," who noted its ability to reduce inflammation and support female reproductive health. The name agnus-castus translates to "chaste lamb," a nod to its historical use by monks who believed it could suppress libido and promote chastity. This association with purity and moderation gave rise to its common name, chasteberry. (Related: Chasteberry increases fertility in women suffering from premature ovarian aging.) Chasteberry thrives in the temperate climates of the Mediterranean, where it grows wild along riverbanks and in moist, well-drained soils. Today, it is cultivated in regions with similar climates, including parts of Europe, Asia and North America. Its hardy nature and ability to cross-pollinate or even self-pollinate have allowed it to spread and adapt to various environments. Chasteberry is known by several names across different cultures. It is often referred to as monks pepper, Abrahams balm or simply vitex. These names reflect its historical use and cultural significance. For example, "monks pepper" alludes to its use by monks to promote chastity, while "Abrahams balm" highlights its role in traditional healing practices. Phytonutrients and medicinal uses Chasteberry is a small, dark purple fruit that grows in clusters. The berries are roughly the size of peppercorns and have a slightly spicy, peppery taste with a hint of bitterness. This unique flavor profile makes it a versatile ingredient in both culinary and medicinal applications. Chasteberry is rich in powerful phytonutrients that contribute to its therapeutic properties. Its berries are a great source of flavonoids and iridoid glycosides which are responsible for the plant's many health benefits. One of the most notable compounds in chasteberry is agnuside, which has been studied for its anti-inflammatory and hormone-regulating effects. Chasteberry also contains casticin, a flavonoid that can help alleviate menstrual discomfort and support hormonal balance. Chasteberry is best known for its ability to regulate hormones, particularly in women. It is often used to address symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) such as bloating, mood swings and breast tenderness. Research suggests that chasteberry works by influencing the pituitary gland which, in turn, helps balance levels of progesterone and estrogen. This makes chasteberry a popular natural remedy for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and irregular menstrual cycles. Chasteberry is also used to support lactation in breastfeeding mothers, reduce symptoms of menopause and even improve fertility. Its anti-inflammatory properties make it useful for addressing skin conditions like acne and eczema. Some studies have explored its potential to alleviate migraines and improve sleep quality, though more research is needed in these areas. One notable anecdote about chasteberry comes from the Middle Ages, when people believed that placing the plant under ones pillow could ward off nightmares and promote restful sleep. While this may sound like folklore, modern research has begun to explore the calming effects of chasteberry, particularly in relation to stress and anxiety. Today, chasteberry is still widely used as an herbal medicine around the world. Its ability to address a wide range of health concerns, from hormonal imbalances to inflammation, makes it a valuable option for people seeking natural remedies. Culinary uses and recipe ideas While chasteberry is primarily used as a supplement or herbal remedy, it can also be incorporated into recipes. Its peppery flavor pairs well with savory dishes, and it can be used to make teas, tinctures or infused oils. Below are a few recipe ideas that feature chasteberry: Chasteberry tea blend - Combine dried chasteberries with chamomile and lemon balm for a soothing, hormone-balancing tea. - Combine dried chasteberries with chamomile and lemon balm for a soothing, hormone-balancing tea. Spiced chasteberry infusion - Infuse chasteberries with cinnamon, ginger and honey for a warming drink. - Infuse chasteberries with cinnamon, ginger and honey for a warming drink. Chasteberry salad dressing - Crush chasteberries and mix them with olive oil, lemon juice and herbs for a unique salad dressing. - Crush chasteberries and mix them with olive oil, lemon juice and herbs for a unique salad dressing. Chasteberry energy bites - Blend chasteberry powder with dates, nuts and cocoa for a nutrient-packed snack. - Blend chasteberry powder with dates, nuts and cocoa for a nutrient-packed snack. Chasteberry smoothie - Add a pinch of chasteberry powder to your favorite smoothie recipe for an extra health boost. Chasteberry is a testament to the enduring power of natures remedies. From its ancient roots in Traditional Mediterranean Medicine to its modern applications especially for supporting hormonal health, this humble berry has stood the test of time. Whether consumed as a tea, tincture or culinary ingredient, chasteberry offers a wealth of benefits for those looking to enhance their wellness naturally. This story is not medical advice and is not intended to treat or cure any disease. Always consult with a qualified naturopathic physician for personalized advice about your specific health situation or concern. For more fascinating insights into superfoods and their natural wonders, visit NaturalNews.com. Its a treasure trove of articles that will deepen your understanding of the healing power of foods. If youre into cutting-edge technology with a health twist, try Brighteon.ai. Created by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, this AI model is a free download that you can run on your own device. Its all about sharing knowledge freely and bypassing the filters of censorship. And if youre looking for a place to openly discuss everything from nutrition to natural remedies without any holds barred, Brighteon.com is your go-to spot. Dont forget to check out their free speech social media platforms, Brighteon.IO and Brighteon.social, where the conversation is always lively and uncensored. Watch this video to learn about the many benefits of chasteberry and how to grow them indoors. This video is from the Holistic Herbalist channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Herbal remedies for PCOS. Treating fibroid tumors with homeopathic treatments. Three herbs to effectively relieve your uncomfortable PMS symptoms. Women's pain and discomfort from premenstrual syndrome may be lessened by diet changes and natural health remedies. Women's pain and discomfort from premenstrual syndrome may be lessened by diet changes and natural health remedies. Sources include: Brighteon.ai NaturalNews.com Brighteon.com Conservative backlash forces Corona Brewer to dump DEI commitments The U.S. distributor of Corona, Modelo and Pacifico halted its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, banned employee activism and cut ties with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The move follows pressure from conservative activist Robby Starbuck and aligns with Trump-era policies cracking down on DEI. Over 30 major companies, including Walmart and Ford, have scaled back DEI efforts since Trumps executive order prohibiting federal contractors from using taxpayer funds for DEI training. Courts, including the Supreme Court, have weakened the legal foundation for race-based hiring practices. Firms like IBM and Goldman Sachs abandoned racial hiring quotas, while Disney rebranded DEI programs to avoid backlash. Investors like Bill Ackman pressured companies to abandon DEI, and declining sales of HRC-backed products (e.g., Constellations "Pride Pack") reinforced business concerns. HRC defends DEI as promoting inclusion, but critics like Starbuck call it "Marxist" social engineering. Companies like Constellation now focus on "market-driven values," banning paid activism while allowing voluntary employee groups. With 40% of S&P 500 firms removing DEI from earnings reports, the trend signals a broader shift away from corporate progressivism. Activists and shareholders now clash over whether profitability or ideological alignment should drive business decisions. In a sweeping reversal of corporate wokeism, Constellation Brands the U.S. distributor of Corona, Modelo and Pacifico beers has halted its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, banned employee activism and severed ties with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The move, announced April 10, 2025, follows aggressive pressure from conservative activist Robby Starbuck and reflects a broader retreat by Americas largest companies from DEI mandates after President Donald Trumps second-term executive orders cracked down on such policies. A conservative tide sweeps through Corporate America The decision by Constellation, revealed in an internal memo to employees, represents one of the most prominent corporate withdrawals from DEI to date. The company will eliminate its supplier diversity program, discontinue participation in the HRCs Corporate Equality Index, and revise its workplace culture initiatives to focus on inclusive but non-political practices. Starbuck, a former music video director turned free-market advocate, claimed direct credit for the shift. No woke company is safe, he declared. Were a new, energized movement using financial power to end the poisonous reign of wokeness. His campaign scrutinized Constellations HRC membership, transgender inclusion pledges and use of the term Latinx an HRC-sanctioned term many conservatives view as politically divisive. The backlash goes beyond Constellation. Over 30 major corporations, including Walmart, Harley-Davidson and Ford, have scaled back or abandoned DEI programs since Trumps January 20, 2025, executive order banning federal contractors from using taxpayer funds for DEI training. The order also directed agencies like the Justice Department to penalize private companies that discriminate in hiring via race or gender preferences. Trumps executive orders turn the tide The administrations push has been bolstered by court rulings that weakened DEIs legal foundation. In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a landmark decision that Trumps policies now seek to extend to corporate hiring practices. Merit-based hiring prevails under this administration, said Heritage Foundation senior fellow Salena Zughni, noting that Trumps crackdown has already spurred 47 states to introduce legislation banning government-backed DEI initiatives. Private companies, fearing legal liability, are heeding the warning. Constellations reversal aligns with broader industry trends. IBM scrapped racial/gender hiring targets in March 2025, citing inherent tensions between DEI and traditional business values. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs eliminated diversity requirements for IPO-bound companies, and Disney renamed its DEI initiatives to focus on talent strategies. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also vowed to investigate private-sector DEI programs receiving federal funds, citing violations of Title VII anti-discrimination laws. Behind the woke U-turn: Financial realities While Starbucks grassroots campaigns amplified pressure, many companies reversed policies to avoid financial penalties. Investors, fearing liability under new regulations, slashed funding for DEI-aligned firms. Constellations shift, for instance, comes amid record low sales of its HRC-endorsed Pride Pack six-packs, which fell 62% since 2023. Conservative investors like hedge fund manager Bill Ackman have weaponized shareholder proposals to dismantle DEI. In 2024, Ackmans firms pressured Harvard and Tiffany & Co. to overhaul DEI spending, arguing the initiatives prioritized ideology over profit. Yet DEIs undoing faces resistance. Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to audit its DEI programs, arguing inclusion drives customer loyalty. Apple CEO Tim Cook mocked critics, stating, If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock. A battle for corporate soul The fight over DEI has ideological stakes. HRC defends its Corporate Equality Index as a voluntary benchmark for LGBTQ inclusion, but critics call it a tool to socially engineer businesses. Starbuck called it a Marxist mafia leveraging corporate largesse to advance radical agendas like trans bathroom policies. Constellations withdrawal leaves the HRC with a weakened influence. Other defections the MLB, Coca-Cola and Bank of Americatook similar steps, slashing HRC partnerships to avoid backlash. For Constellation, the pivot signals a return to market-driven values. CEO Rick Sands stated in the memo, Our focus remains on producing quality beverages, not advancing social agendas. Employees may still form LGBTQ resource groups, but DEI-linked paid advocacy or political lobbying is prohibited. The woke recession deepens Constellations retreat underscores a seismic shift in corporate America: DEI is no longer a buzzword for progress but a liability. With 40% of S&P 500 firms eliminating DEI sections from 2024 earnings reports, the trend suggests lasting change. Starbuck and like-minded activists insist this is only the beginning. Were changing not just policies, but cultural norms, he said. For Constellations imbibers, however, the question remains: Will post-DEI Coronas still draw crowdsor will pleasure-seeking unwoke millennials flee to DEI-sponsoring breweries like MillerCoors? As shareholders weigh profit versus principle, one thing is clear: The era of corporate wokeism is ending, one frosty six-pack at a time. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com Forbes.com Bloomberg.com Millions of gun owners could be challenged in court and lose their firearms if DOJ doesnt step in to stop crazy ATF rule Millions of Americans face federal felony charges due to ATFs reclassification of pistol braces. The proposed rule, part of Bidens unilateral push for stricter gun laws, would subject stabilizing braces to the National Firearms Act. Gun rights groups urge the DOJ to drop charges in the U.S. v. Taranto case, which could set a dangerous precedent. The ATFs reclassification threatens to criminalize a widely used accessory, originally designed to assist disabled veterans. Bidens war on gun owners: the pistol brace crackdown of 40 millions guns On June 7th, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) posted a new proposed regulation notice on its website, titled "Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached 'Stabilizing Braces.'" This proposal, published in the Federal Register on June 10th, 2021, marks a significant shift in the ATF's stance on stabilizing braces, a device widely used by gun owners. The rule, part of President Joe Biden's unilateral push for stricter gun laws, threatens to subject nearly all firearms equipped with stabilizing braces to the stringent tax and registration requirements of the National Firearms Act (NFA). For years, the ATF acknowledged that stabilizing braces serve a valid purpose, particularly for disabled veterans, and that adding one to a pistol or similar firearm did not necessarily trigger NFA compliance. However, the Biden administration's decision to target these braces has sent shockwaves through the gun-owning community, potentially criminalizing millions of Americans who legally purchased and used these accessories. A dangerous precedent: The U.S. v. Taranto case The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently pursuing criminal charges in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against a man named Taranto, specifically for possession of a handgun equipped with a pistol stabilizing brace. This case, U.S. v. Taranto, could set a dangerous precedent for the millions of Americans who own up to 40 million such firearms. Gun Owners of America (GOA) and the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition (FRAC) have urged the DOJ to drop the charge, arguing that it sets a dangerous precedent. The groups are clear in their letter: "We express no opinion on any of the other unrelated charges levied against Mr. Taranto." Their focus is on the NFA charge, which, if upheld, could pave the way for widespread criminalization of gun owners. The history and purpose of stabilizing braces Stabilizing braces were originally designed to assist disabled gun owners, particularly veterans, in using larger-caliber pistols effectively with one hand. For years, the ATF approved these devices for use on pistols of all kinds, assuring gun owners that the mere attachment of a stabilizing brace did not transform a pistol into a short-barreled rifle (SBR) under the NFA. However, the Biden administration's decision to reclassify these braces as SBRs has upended this long-standing understanding. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, "Handguns, Stabilizing Braces, and Related Components," highlights the legal gray area surrounding these devices. The report notes that the defining characteristic of a long gun (shotgun or rifle) is its intention to be fired from the shoulder, which implies the presence of a shoulder stock. Stabilizing braces, which can be used to brace a firearm against the forearm, have been a point of contention. The ATF's 2012 determination that attaching a stabilizing brace to an AR-type pistol did not change its classification from a GCA-regulated handgun to an NFA-regulated SBR was a significant milestone. However, the Biden administration's recent actions have reversed this stance, creating legal uncertainty and potential criminal liability for gun owners. The legal and practical implications The ATF's reclassification of stabilizing braces as SBRs would subject gun owners to extensive paperwork, background checks, and registration requirements under the NFA. Failure to comply could result in severe penalties, including up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. This has led to widespread outrage among gun rights advocates, who argue that the rule is an overreach and a violation of the Second Amendment. Despite numerous lawsuits and court injunctions, the ATF and DOJ continue to enforce the underlying legal theories that inspired the rule. In a brief filed by the DOJ, lawyers stated, "ATF is not barred from continuing to enforce the underlying statute as it always has: by making case-by-case determinations about whether particular braced firearms constitute 'rifles' under the statute." This statement suggests that the ATF believes it can still charge gun owners with NFA violations, even though the rule itself is enjoined. Call to action Gun rights groups like GOA and FRAC are calling on the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., to investigate this federal government overreach and dismiss the pistol brace charge against Taranto. They argue that the charge is not only unjust but also sets a dangerous precedent that could affect millions of law-abiding gun owners. The case of U.S. v. Taranto is a critical test of the ATF's and DOJ's commitment to the rule of law and the rights of gun owners. If the DOJ pushes forward with this charge, it could signal a broader effort to criminalize the use of stabilizing braces, regardless of the legal challenges and court rulings. As the legal battle over stabilizing braces continues, the fate of millions of gun owners hangs in the balance. The Biden administration's efforts to reclassify these widely used accessories as SBRs have created a climate of fear and uncertainty among the gun-owning community. The U.S. v. Taranto case is a stark reminder that the fight for gun rights is far from over. Will the DOJ and ATF continue to pursue a course that criminalizes innocent Americans, or will they recognize the absurdity of their actions and stand down? The answer to this question will have far-reaching implications for the future of gun ownership in the United States. Sources include: Zerohedge.com Gunowners.org Congress.gov Trump administration engages 130 nations in trade talks to reshape global tariffs amid China tensions Over a hundred nations are engaging with the U.S. in talks to reduce tariffs reciprocally under the Reciprocal Trade Act. While allies like Japan and the EU are making progress, talks with China remain stalled, with U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods at 145%. The U.S. is pursuing a distinct approach diplomatic engagement with partners but escalating pressure on China, citing concerns over tech dominance and economic sovereignty. A 90-day tariff pause has eased immediate tensions with some nations. U.S. industries face challenges due to unpredictable tariffs and shifting deadlines. The administration defends its aggressive tactics as necessary to reduce foreign dependency, though critics warn of market instability. Trumps trade policy breaks from past multilateral frameworks (e.g., NAFTA), favoring unilateral action modeled after 1930s-era laws. The goal is to reshore supply chains and force compliance through reciprocal terms. The strategy risks fragmenting global trade, with success hinging on balancing alliances while isolating China. The administration frames the conflict as ideologicalabout sovereignty, not just commercebut long-term impacts remain uncertain. President Donald Trumps aggressive trade strategy is accelerating with over a hundred nations now actively negotiating reciprocal tariff reductions with the United States, according to White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Hassett confirmed that 130 countries have approached the administration, signaling a pivot from tariff threats to diplomatic engagement. The talks, driven by the Reciprocal Trade Act, aim to lower barriers for countries that reduce duties on U.S. exportsa policy shift that has drawn both praise and criticism as U.S. businesses grapple with heightened uncertainty. The two-pronged approach: Separating China and global partners Hassett emphasized a stark division in U.S. negotiations: While 130 countries have made progress toward lowering tariffs to 10%, talks with China remain very, very nascent, if at all. The administration has instead escalated tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, citing Beijings challenges to U.S. economic hegemony and its dominance in high-tech industries. Meanwhile, nations like Japan, South Korea and India have advanced talks rapidly, with Hassett describing their offers as great, great. A 90-day tariff pause for most countries, announced April 9, has temporarily alleviated pressures, allowing the EU to suspend retaliatory measures. The distinction underscores President Trumps America First doctrine, which Hassett framed as a response to a national emergency of over-reliance on foreign goods. This is a two-minute drill to restore Americas economic sovereignty, he said, defending the White Houses rapid-fire economic policies. Critics, however, argue the bifurcated strategy risks fragmenting global trade systems, even as allies express cautious optimism about negotiated compromises. Balancing chaos and clarity for businesses Despite Hassetts assurances of strategic intent, U.S. business leaders remain wary. Trade executives warn that tariff fluctuations and shifting deadlines complicate long-term planning, particularly in industries like manufacturing and agriculture. When pressed by CNN host Jake Tapper about these concerns, Hassett insisted the administrations decisive posture protects domestic interests, not productivity. Were doing something about that dependency, he said, echoing Trumps frequent warnings of supply chain vulnerabilities exposed during the pandemic. The White Houses Reciprocal Act has already yielded tangible results: as countries lower their tariffs, U.S. imports face reduced levies, while non-compliant nations face steeper costs. Hassett called this a two-world system, warning that the U.S. would no longer tolerate lopsided trade deals. However, the strategys sustainability hinges on resolving disputes before the September 8 deadline for current tariff pauses, with many stakes tied to Chinas unwillingness to comply on equal terms. Historical context: The evolution of America First trade policy The current push builds on decades of U.S. trade strategy under Trump, whose 2017 tariffs on steel and aluminum set precedents for unilateral action. Previous administrations prioritized multilateral frameworks like NAFTA, but Trumps two-minute offense abandons that patience in favor of abrupt, high-pressure negotiations. Hassett compared past foot-dragging to the current administrations urgency, arguing, Weve had enough of waiting. The Reciprocal Trade Act itself revives 1934-era statutes, granting presidential authority to match foreign tariffs. However, its modern application targets a far more interconnected global economy, where supply chains span continents and demand for U.S. tech and agricultural exports is high. The 130-nation outreach mirrors campaigns to resettle supply chains domestically, a priority after pandemic bottlenecks revealed systemic weaknesses. Looking ahead: The cost of tariff diplomacy As negotiations advance, the administration faces a balancing act: maintaining pressure on China while preserving alliances. With the EU and India signaling flexibility, the conflict is increasingly framed as ideological not just commercial. This is about more than dollars, Hassett said. Its about sovereignty in the Innovation Age. For businesses, the path remains rocky. The 90-day tariff pause buys time, but underpinning the strategy is a stark message: align reciprocally or risk being priced out of U.S. markets. The stakes, Hassett declared, are existential. If we were at a time of conflict, he warned, we cant afford to depend on adversaries. The worlds economic order now watches a redefined calibration of might and negotiation, where 130 countries and one recalcitrant superpower weigh influence against survival. A new era of trade calculus President Trumps tariff diplomacy has propelled global commerce into uncharted territory. With 130 nations tentatively onboard and China isolated in a higher-cost bracket, the U.S. seeks to reshape trade on its terms. The move reflects a historic shift from multilateralism to transactionalism, where economic sovereignty reigns supreme. For now, the question isnt whether countries will talkmany already arebut whether this hardball strategy can secure long-term gains without triggering a broader economic backlash. The answers, like the tariffs themselves, remain in flux. Sources include: YourNews.com M.AKIpress.com TheDailyWire.com Enterprise network infrastructures have evolved significantly alongside the rise of cloud computing, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and AI. As businesses transform and become more sophisticated, organizations today should expect no less than an always-on, high-performance network connectivity thats reliable across the globe. To solve new challenges, IT leaders need to look into their existing infrastructures to keep up with modern operations. Addressing performance gaps in the modern workplace The rise of AI, emerging technologies, and modern workflows has significantly increased the volume of data flowing through networks every second. This puts pressure on existing infrastructures, causing bottlenecks that may trigger a cascade of issues that hinder business productivity and innovation. As the volume of data generated, transferred, and processed grows exponentially, the surge in data flow demands much greater bandwidth, alongside more agile and resilient network architectures. To ease the strain on their networks, many enterprises are increasingly incorporating Internet connectivity alongside their private networks as part of a hybrid approach. However, even though it may sound like an easy fix on the surface, the reality is that this hybrid approach introduces new challenges, such as: Inconsistent performance across geographies: emerging markets may experience higher latency and packet losses due to slower Internet speeds, impacting workflow emerging markets may experience higher latency and packet losses due to slower Internet speeds, impacting workflow Complex multi-ISP environments : different ISPs have different service levels and network policies, which can lead to inconsistent user experiences, and an added layer of complexity when dealing with security matters : different ISPs have different service levels and network policies, which can lead to inconsistent user experiences, and an added layer of complexity when dealing with security matters Limited Quality of Service (QoS) guarantee: while private networks traditionally provide strong Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees, the Internet often does notplacing critical applications such as video calls and essential business tools at risk of degraded performance, especially during peak usage periods Maximizing IT efficiency with edge-to-cloud solutions Enterprises face several network challenges that hinder efficiency and competitiveness. These include network congestion, which slows down critical business applications; high latency, impacting real-time communication and cloud access; and security risks, exposing companies to data breaches and cyber threats. Additionally, inconsistent bandwidth management and a lack of network reliability can disrupt operations, especially during peak usage times. Singtel Algo-Routing solves these issues by intelligently routing traffic in real time, reducing congestion, improving speed, and ensuring secure, reliable network performance, even in the most demanding environments. With more than 30%* improvement in Internet performance, the solution enables consistent service levels even during peak demand. Its features include dynamic routing that leverages intelligent AI algorithms to adjust routing and prioritize critical traffic, site-to-site traffic optimization that enhances data transfer speeds and application performance, and site-to-cloud traffic optimization across multiple cloud providers with seamless integration and no vendor lock-ins. This helps enterprises deliver smarter, faster, and more resilient networks. This intelligent solution enhances the overall user experience and performance, with performance guarantees and a unified platform that delivers end-to-end visibility. With the capabilities of Singtel Algo-Routing, IT teams anywhere around the world can have full oversight to manage complex environments while delivering seamless, high-speed connectivity across multiple locations and cloud providers. Leveraging AI to transform the network infrastructure One example is a global provider of fresh and processed food, which transformed its network connectivity at its remote Sierra Leone site. The organization previously had experienced frequent delays and high latency in accessing its centralized SAP system, which interfered with its inventory management and operations. This disrupted productivity levels, and resulted in an increased reliance on manual tasks. After deploying Singtel Algo-Routing over its existing Internet connection, the business could resolve bottlenecks swiftly using intelligent AI algorithms to dynamically route traffic based on real-time network conditions. Despite being in a geographically remote area, Singtel Algo-Routing was able to bypass the limitations of the public Internet infrastructure, resulting in high availability and significantly reduced latency. Optimising network performance through unified service management It is often a significant challenge to manage a multi-vendor network environment due to multiple portals, fragmented visibility, and the different standards and processes across different service providers. Singtel addresses this through the Multi-Vendor Managed Services (MVMS) as part of the Singtel CUB portfolio. MVMS offers unified connectivity providers, proactive monitoring and support, integration with operations management systems like ServiceNow for automated ticket logging and faster resolution, and a comprehensive view of network performance across multiple subscribed ISPs. This centralized platform offers organizations a singular view of their network inventory, performance metrics, and incident management. Traditional WAN models are no longer sufficient in this new era of global connectivity. As enterprises continue to embrace AI, cloud computing, and modern workflows, having a high-performance network infrastructure becomes critical for long-term platform sustainability and scalability. Find out how Singtel Algo-Routing and Singtel CUB can future-proof your network infrastructure. *Dependent on the specific traffic path from source to destination 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. Download Now The News-Gazette mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the News-Gazette on your mobile device just as it appears in print. What started with 807 votes in a 2009 Ward 7 city council race will end early next month, when Diane Marlin signs off after two terms as Urbanas mayor. To mark the occasion, Editor Jeff DAlessio asked admirers, colleagues and others to finish this sentence: We say Diane Marlin, you say "The ultimate question is not only what sort of a University of Illinois do you want. The question is what sort of a local community do you want. If you want a university running at 75 or 50 percent of current capacity, then the local economy will run at 75 or 50 percent of current capacity," Professor Kiel Christianson writes. "If movie goers and community residents respond to all the publicity about the outstanding films Chaz Ebert and Nate Kohn have selected for Ebertfest 2025, the 1,500-seat Virginia Theatre will be full to the rafters from the evening of April 23 to the night of April 26." Pollutants and the blood-brain barrier Impact on children and adolescents Link to neurodegenerative conditions Regional case studies Mitigation technologies and policy responses Conclusion and key takeaways According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds recommended pollution limits, contributing to over 7 million premature deaths annually.1 Historically, the impacts of air pollution were largely associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. However, growing evidence from recent epidemiological and experimental studies now indicates that air pollution is a significant risk factor for adverse neurological outcomes. Studies have shown that air pollution exposure is associated with developmental neurotoxicity, neurodegenerative diseases, and mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety, as well as impaired decision-making and cognitive functioning.13 This article explores the multifaceted impact of air pollution on brain health across the human lifespan. It examines how pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) disrupt the blood-brain barrier, impair cognitive development in children, and increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Image Credit: Kichigin/Shutterstock.com Pollutants and the blood-brain barrier Airborne pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter below 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5 ) and 0.1 micrometers (PM 0.1 ) are being increasingly associated with neurotoxic effects. These pollutants have been shown to penetrate the central nervous system (CNS) and trigger processes such as neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, potentially leading to cognitive decline, dementia, and psychiatric conditions.35 One of the central mechanisms by which air pollution impacts brain health is through disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 0.1 , respectively) can bypass pulmonary defense mechanisms and reach the CNS through systemic circulation or olfactory pathways. Upon crossing the BBB, these particles initiate neuroinflammatory responses by activating microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain.4,5 Studies have demonstrated increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), and elevated markers of oxidative stress, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), in the brains of subjects exposed to high levels of PM 2.5 .6 These biochemical alterations contribute to neuronal injury and synaptic dysfunction, both precursors to neurodegenerative pathology. Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), a prominent urban pollutant, also contributes to oxidative stress and enhances BBB permeability. Furthermore, its role in increasing the transport of other neurotoxic pollutants into the CNS further aggravates inflammatory responses and accelerates neuropathological changes.2 Can Intermittent Fasting Help With Cognitive Function? Impact on children and adolescents The developing brain is uniquely vulnerable to environmental pollutants. During gestation and early childhood, the central nervous system undergoes rapid processes such as synaptogenesis, neuronal migration, and myelination. Exposure to air pollutants during these critical growth periods has been associated with structural brain alterations, neurobehavioral deficits, and increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders.7,8 The brains of young children are particularly susceptible to the toxic effects of airborne pollutants. Prenatal and postnatal exposures to PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and VOCs have been shown to interfere with neurodevelopmental trajectories, resulting in long-lasting cognitive and behavioral impairments.7 Research has consistently linked air pollution exposure in children to a range of adverse outcomes, including cognitive impairments such as decreased cognitive function, reduced attention and memory, and learning disabilities.8 Additionally, exposure to pollutants is also believed to increase the risk of behavioral issues such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).7 Furthermore, emerging evidence suggests a link between perinatal air pollution exposure and an elevated risk of autism spectrum disorder.2,4 Neuroimaging studies have also revealed structural changes in the brains of children exposed to air pollution, indicating disrupted brain development. Moreover, animal models corroborate these findings, demonstrating that gestational exposure to diesel exhaust or particulate matter leads to altered neurodevelopmental trajectories, increased anxiety-like behaviors, and microglial activation in offspring.4 Longitudinal cohort studies also show that the effects of early-life pollution exposure can persist into adolescence, adversely influencing academic performance, emotional regulation, and social cognition.9 These findings underscore the critical need to protect children from the harmful effects of air pollution, as early-life exposures can have enduring consequences on their neurological health and overall well-being. How air pollution affects mental health and cognition Play Link to neurodegenerative conditions Chronic exposure to air pollution has been strongly associated with elevated risks of Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, and stroke. A notable longitudinal study involving over 63 million Medicare beneficiaries found that each 5 g/m increase in PM 2.5 concentration was associated with a 13% increased risk of first hospital admission for Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease.9 Furthermore, mechanistic studies reveal that exposure to air pollutants induces the accumulation of hallmark proteins such as amyloid- (A) and -synuclein in vulnerable brain regions. These proteins form toxic aggregates that are central to the pathophysiology of Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease. Moreover, regions such as the olfactory bulb and substantia nigra, which are among the earliest affected areas in these diseases, are directly exposed to airborne pollutants through the nasal route.6 Additionally, neuroinflammation and microglial activation are also prominent features in post-mortem brain tissues of individuals from polluted urban areas. These inflammatory responses contribute to synaptic loss, demyelination, and neuronal death, which are key pathological features of neurodegeneration.5 Regional case studies Urban centers with severe air pollution, such as Delhi, Beijing, and Los Angeles, offer real-world insight into the neurological impacts of chronic exposure. In Mexico City, studies on children revealed early accumulation of amyloid plaques and neuroinflammation in the frontal cortex and olfactory bulb well before clinical signs of cognitive decline.10 In Delhi, air pollution levels frequently exceed the WHO guidelines by several folds, with PM 2.5 concentrations regularly surpassing 300 g/m during peak smog episodes. These conditions correlate with increased hospital admissions for stroke and a higher incidence of cognitive impairments in elderly populations.1 One study that examined cognition test scores of close to 32,000 participants across China found that individuals living in areas with high pollution, including cities like Beijing and Shanghai, showed impeded cognitive performance on verbal and math tests.11 Similarly, another study among children in Los Angeles found that the incidence of autism spectrum disorder was higher among those who were prenatally exposed to high levels of ozone, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides.12 The Science of Ultra-Processed Foods and Mental Health Mitigation technologies and policy responses In light of the growing evidence linking air pollution to brain health, multiple mitigation strategies are being developed and deployed. Technological interventions include high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, wearable air quality monitors, and urban greening initiatives that reduce pollutant load in densely populated areas.6 On the policy front, regulatory bodies in high-income countries have established stringent air quality standards and emission control regulations. The United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Environment Agency (EEA) have demonstrated success in reducing PM 2.5 levels through vehicle emission standards and industrial controls.13,14 At the global level, WHO has updated its air quality guidelines and continues its efforts to integrate environmental policies with public health objectives. Nonetheless, disparities persist, and low- and middle-income countries face greater challenges due to weaker regulatory frameworks and rapid urbanization.1 Additionally, community-level interventions, such as limiting outdoor exposure during high-pollution days, promoting clean cooking technologies, and improving public transportation, are vital for reducing individual exposure, especially among vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.4,6 Conclusion and key takeaways The evidence linking air pollution to neurological problems is robust and growing. From impairing cognitive development in children to accelerating neurodegenerative processes in older adults, pollutants such as PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and VOCs pose a significant threat to brain health. Neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and BBB disruption are central mechanisms underpinning these adverse effects. These findings have emphasized the urgent need to incorporate neurological health into environmental health frameworks linked to air pollution. Policies should prioritize emission reductions, expand monitoring networks, and ensure equitable access to clean air. Furthermore, interdisciplinary collaboration among neuroscientists, policymakers, environmental researchers, and public health practitioners will be critical to addressing this pressing public health issue. References World Health Organization. (2024). Air Pollution Data Portal. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/air-pollution on April 14, 2025 Alhussaini, A. R., Aljabri, M. R., Al-Harbi, Z. T., Abdulrahman Almohammadi, G., Al-Harbi, T. M., & Bashir, S. (2023). Air Pollution and Its Adverse Effects on the Central Nervous System. Cureus, 15(5), e38927. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.38927 Lu J. G. (2020). Air pollution: A systematic review of its psychological, economic, and social effects. Current Opinion in Psychology, 32, 5265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.06.024 Costa, L. G., Cole, T. B., Dao, K., Chang, Y. C., & Garrick, J. M. (2019). Developmental impact of air pollution on brain function. Neurochemistry International, 131, 104580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2019.104580 Roy, R., & D'Angiulli, A. (2024). Air pollution and neurological diseases, current state highlights. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 18, 1351721. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2024.1351721 Aderinto, N., Ajagbe, A.O., Olatunji, G. et al. (2025). The impact of air pollution on neurodegenerative diseases: a narrative review of current evidence. The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine 37, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43162-025-00403-2 Ha S. (2021). Air pollution and neurological development in children. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 63(4), 374381. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.14758 Brockmeyer, S., & D'Angiulli, A. (2016). How air pollution alters brain development: the role of neuroinflammation. Translational Neuroscience, 7(1), 2430. https://doi.org/10.1515/tnsci-2016-0005 Shi, L., Wu, X., Danesh Yazdi, M., Braun, D., Abu Awad, Y., Wei, Y., Liu, P., Di, Q., Wang, Y., Schwartz, J., Dominici, F., Kioumourtzoglou, M. A., & Zanobetti, A. (2020). Long-term effects of PM 25 on neurological disorders in the American Medicare population: a longitudinal cohort study. The Lancet. Planetary Health, 4(12), e557e565. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30227-8 Peeples, L. (2020). News Feature: How air pollution threatens brain health. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(25). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2008940117 Zhang, X., Chen, X., & Zhang, X. (2018). The impact of exposure to air pollution on cognitive performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(37), 91939197. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809474115 Becerra, T. A., Wilhelm, M., Olsen, J., Cockburn, M., & Ritz, B. (2013). Ambient air pollution and autism in Los Angeles county, California. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(3), 380386. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1205827 Environmental Protection Agency. (2019, February 15). Air Pollution: Current and Future Challenges. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview/air-pollution-current-and-future-challenges on April 14, 2025 European Environment Agency. (2024, January 25). Air pollution. Retrieved from: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-pollution on April 14, 2025 Further Reading A new multicenter study by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute-funded Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) and colleagues around the world, has discovered that the genes we are born with-known as germline genetic variants-play a powerful, underappreciated role in how cancer develops and behaves. Published in the April 14 online issue of Cell [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.026], the study is the first to detail how millions of inherited genetic differences influence the activity of thousands of proteins within tumors. Drawing on data from more than 1,000 patients across 10 different cancer types, the research illustrates how a person's unique genetic makeup can shape the biology of their cancer. The findings could have major implications for how doctors treat cancer in the future. While current treatments are largely guided by the genetic makeup of a patient's tumor, this research suggests that looking at a patient's inherited DNA could further refine diagnosis, risk prediction, and therapy selection. Every person carries a unique combination of genetic variants from birth, and these inherited differences quietly shape how our cells function throughout life. What we've shown is that these variants don't just sit in the background-they can play an active role in how tumors form, how they evolve, and even how they respond to treatment. This opens new possibilities for tailoring cancer care based not only on the tumor itself, but also on the patient's underlying genetic makeup." Zeynep H. Gumus, PhD, co-corresponding study author, Associate Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Until now, most cancer research has focused on somatic mutations-changes that occur in cells over a person's lifetime. But inherited germline variants outnumber somatic mutations by a wide margin, and their impact on cancer has remained poorly understood, say the investigators. To conduct the study, the researchers used an advanced technique known as precision peptidomics, which enabled them to examine how specific inherited mutations modulate the structure, stability, and function of proteins in cancer cells. By mapping more than 330,000 protein-coding germline variants, the team uncovered how these inherited differences can alter protein activity, impact gene expression, and even drive how tumors interact with the immune system. "Our study flips the script by showing that inherited DNA changes can influence how genes are expressed and how proteins-key drivers of cancer behavior-are produced and modified in tumors. In doing so, these variants help explain some of the wide variation doctors see in how cancer appears, progresses, and responds to therapies from one patient to another," says Dr. Gumus. The research adds to growing evidence that personalized cancer care should take into account not just the tumor's mutations, but the genetic background of the person, too. However, the investigators caution that the study's findings are based on data from a primarily European-ancestry cohort, and further research is needed to ensure these insights apply across multi-ancestry populations. "This is a major step toward precision medicine that considers the whole individual-not just the cancer," says Myvizhi Esai Selvan, PhD, co-first author of the study, who is an Instructor of Genetics and Genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "In the evolution of cancer, the inherited genome sets the stage. It helps determine which mutations matter, how aggressive a tumor might become, and how the body's immune system will respond." The team is now working on applying these insights in two major areas: Cancer immunotherapy : In partnership with the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Immune Monitoring and Analysis Centers, researchers are investigating why some patients respond well to immunotherapy while others do not, an area where inherited genetic differences could hold the key. : In partnership with the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Immune Monitoring and Analysis Centers, researchers are investigating why some patients respond well to immunotherapy while others do not, an area where inherited genetic differences could hold the key. Lung cancer risk prediction: Through the Mount Sinai Million Health Discoveries Program and the Million Veteran Program, the researchers are developing computational models to predict lung cancer risk based on a person's inherited genetic profile. These tools could help determine who would benefit most from early screening, improving outcomes through early detection. The study is titled "Precision Proteogenomics Reveals Pan-Cancer Impact of Germline Variants." London Lab Live 2025 will make its debut on 1415 May 2025 at ExCeL London, offering a major new platform for professionals across the laboratory sector. From pharmaceuticals and biotech to food and beverage, chemicals, and academia, the event is set to become the UKs central meeting point for scientific innovation and cross-industry collaboration. Expected to draw more than 3,000 attendees, 100+ expert speakers, and 150+ exhibitors, London Lab Live 2025 will spotlight the latest breakthroughs while encouraging new partnerships across disciplines. As the UK government moves forward with a 20 billion investment in the lab sector, the event arrives at a key moment to explore fresh opportunities and address shared challenges. A new national hub for the lab community As part of the internationally recognized Future Labs Live serieswhich has already brought together thousands of lab professionals across EuropeLondon Lab Live will highlight the UKs growing role in science and technology. The event will gather experts from leading research institutions, startups, established laboratories, and universities to exchange ideas, build networks, and explore how their work is evolving. What to expect London Lab Live 2025 will feature a dynamic mix of keynotes, panels, and breakout sessions covering pressing topics shaping the future of laboratories. The agenda will spotlight the UKs leadership in scientific research and delve into advancements in AI, machine learning, and quantum computing. Sustainability will also be a core focus, with sessions dedicated to balancing operational performance and environmental responsibility. Confirmed speakers include: Darren Logan, VP of Science Research, Corporate Science & Technology, Mars Andy Stanford-Clark, (former) CTO & Distinguished Engineer, IBM Lori Liu, Digital & Automation Director, Homecare R&D, Unilever Andrew King, SHE & Sustainability Director, AstraZeneca Ian Brotherston, Interim Deputy Director, Innovation Funding, Innovate UK Peter Clarke, Director, Global Analytical Sciences, Mondelez International Valentina Milanova, Founder & CEO, Daye Martin Redhead, Associate VP, Exscientia Juan Ignacio Pascual, Digital Transformation Lead, R&D Finance, Pfizer Ana Cavalcanti, Professor of Software Engineering for Robotics, University of York On the exhibition floor, attendees will explore cutting-edge solutions from across the lab value chain, with exhibitors showcasing new tools and technologies built to meet evolving industry needsand to inspire collaboration beyond traditional boundaries. Driving innovation through shared insight London Lab Live is designed for professionals across all lab-related sectors, offering practical insights into boosting efficiency, adopting sustainable practices, and integrating next-gen technologies. The event promotes peer-to-peer learning and encourages idea-sharing across disciplinesbreaking down silos to drive smarter science. Im excited to be a part of London Lab Live the 2025 conference themes are amazing, and Im looking forward to learning more and connecting with industry experts. Susan Weatherby, Senior Programme Manager at the Royal Society of Chemistry and member of the London Lab Live advisory board Registration now open Interested in attending or exhibiting? Visit https://www.terrapinn.com/LLL/NewsMedical2025 for details and registration. To book a stand, please contact Emma Hayre at [email protected]. About London Lab Live Part of the Future Labs Live series, London Lab Live builds on a legacy of connecting over 3,000 lab professionals annually across Europe. As the UKs newest addition to the series, its set to become a vital space for lab leaders to share knowledge, spark progress, and strengthen the scientific community. About Terrapinn Terrapinn has been curating innovation-focused events for more than 30 years, creating spaces where industries connect and ideas grow. With London Lab Live, Terrapinn invites the global lab community to help shape the futuretogether. Want to stay ahead of whats next in lab science? Explore related events and topics in the Future Labs Live series, and discover how your lab can lead in the era of rapid scientific progress. A high-level conference convened in Warsaw under the auspices of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union highlighted the importance of adopting a comprehensive Europe-wide policy framework on rare diseases. Image Credit: European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) The European Union needs a European Action Plan on Rare Diseases that complements existing legislation, promotes investment, and enhances cooperation at EU and national levels. Experts and policymakers gathered in Warsaw on 10 April 2025 for the conference Towards an EU action plan on rare diseases, to discuss the future direction of rare disease policy in Europe. The event, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the Polish Ministry of Health and the Medical University of Warsaw, highlighted the urgent need for a comprehensive European policy framework aimed at improving the lives of patients with rare diseases, setting clear and measurable objectives. To this end, it is crucial to continue driving forward the EUs political commitment in this area and to provide a platform where stakeholders can work together, share knowledge, and make progress towards a unified European response to rare diseases. Patients need urgent responses The European Commission and EU Member States should prioritise creating and implementing an EU-wide Action Plan that addresses the diverse needs of patients and healthcare providers. This initiative would significantly enhance the EUs response to rare diseases, close care gaps, and improve outcomes for those affected. Rare diseases affect more than 36 million people across Europe, yet access to timely diagnosis, treatment, and coordinated care remains uneven across Member States. National rare disease plans play a crucial role in addressing these challenges, but greater European cooperation is essential to make sustainable progress possible. Ensuring timely access to care for rare disease patients requires well-organised healthcare systems that integrate specialised expertise and resources. Effective collaboration between European Reference Networks (ERNs) and national healthcare systems is essential to improve patient pathways and referral mechanisms. Access to effective treatments remains challenging due to regulatory, economic, and research-related hurdles that delay innovation and availability. The war in Ukraine has created significant barriers to treatment and care for Ukrainian citizens with rare diseases. Poland and the EU have shown solidarity and mutual support in addressing these challenges. Another important point is early and accurate diagnosis, as timely identification of conditions enables better management, targeted treatments, and better long-term outcomes. Advances in genomics, screening programmes, and data-sharing initiatives such as the European Health Data Space (EHDS) offer new opportunities to reduce diagnostic delays and improve patient outcomes. High-level speakers look to the future The event saw the participation of leading experts and followed up on the EESC opinion Leaving No One Behind: European Commitment to Tackling Rare Diseases and previous conferences held by the EESC on the topic in Budapest and Brussels in 2024 and in Bilbao in 2023. In recent years, the EESC has been a steadfast advocate for a European Action Plan on Rare Diseases that addresses the diverse needs of patients and healthcare providers. We need to ensure equal opportunities for rare disease patients across all Member States and set additional measures to support health authorities at the national, regional, and local levels, as well as civil society organisations, in their efforts to provide high-quality and affordable care for rare disease patients." Baiba Miltovica, President of the Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society, EESC Following the impactful EESC conferences organised with the EU Council Presidencies in Bilbao, Brussels, and Budapest, I am grateful to the Polish and upcoming Danish Presidencies for advancing towards a European Action Plan on Rare Diseases and hope the Cyprus Presidency will follow. We must provide optimal support for patients with rare diseases, ensuring access to early diagnosis, prevention, and affordable treatment, regardless of their location within the EU." Agnes Cser, EESC member, rapporteur for the EESC opinion Leaving No One Behind: European Commitment to Tackling Rare Diseases Patients with rare diseases need rapid diagnosis and effective therapy. Reducing the time from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis, by improving access to genetic diagnostics and supporting research into new treatments, is a priority. Deepening cooperation in this area makes it possible to ensure effective help for people with rare diseases. A joint strategy by the Member States will enable better access to diagnostics and therapies throughout Europe." Izabela Leszczyna, Health Minister, Poland An important element of an efficient patient care system is the identification and establishment of Rare Disease Expertise Centres to ensure the best possible care for patients with rare diseases and close cooperation with European Reference Networks. For better monitoring of processes, we are developing IT tools the Polish Rare Disease Registry and the electronic Patient Card with a rare disease new information and data resources to improve care and increase patient safety." Urszula Demkow, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Health, Poland University of Virginia researcher Natasha D. Sheybani, PhD, has received $5.5 million from the federal Department of Defense to support her cutting-edge efforts to use focused sound waves to improve our immune system's ability to battle breast cancer. Sheybani, the research director of UVA's Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center, was the only scientist in the nation selected to receive a Breast Cancer Research Program Era of Hope Scholar Award in the latest funding round; she is UVA's first recipient of the award. She will use the grant to advance her research into the potential of focused ultrasound to improve the safety, effectiveness and precision of immunotherapy drugs for patients with breast cancer. She also plans to bring together cancer doctors, researchers and trainees with survivors, caregivers and patient advocates for important conversations about cancer research, cancer care and survivorship. These conversations have the potential to improve breast cancer research awareness and care not just at UVA Cancer Center but across Virginia and beyond. "My hope is that this work will catalyze a new era of personalized, non-invasive cancer care one where we can harness the power of sound to not only enhance the efficacy of treatment but also empower patients and providers with safer, more precise options," said Sheybani, of UVA's Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint program of UVA's School of Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Science. "There is often a disconnect between the worlds of basic science and patient advocacy. We are taking thoughtful steps to bridge those worlds in recognition of our ultimate goal, which is to do science that will translate into meaningful and desired outcomes for patients. The hard work is not done until we have achieved renewed hope for individuals and families facing breast cancer." Era of Hope Scholar Award The Era of Hope Scholar Award supports early career researchers who have demonstrated great potential to improve our ability to treat breast cancer and are emerging leaders in the battle against cancer. According to the Department of Defense, recipients must be "exceptionally talented scientists who have shown that they are the 'best and brightest' through extraordinary creativity, vision, innovation and productivity." Having served on the parent committee of the DOD BCRP for the last two years, I can say unequivocally that the Era of Hope Award is one of the most prestigious of all of the awards in the program's portfolio. In receiving this award, Dr. Sheybani has not only solidified her position as a rising star in the breast cancer research field, but she also brings significant distinction to UVA and [UVA] Cancer Center." Amy Bouton, PhD, a professor emerita at UVA's School of Medicine About focused ultrasound at UVA UVA Health was one of the earliest pioneers in the field of focused ultrasound. Research by UVA's Jeff Elias, MD, and colleagues has already paved the way for the federal Food and Drug Administration's approval of the technology to treat Parkinson's disease symptoms and essential tremor, a common movement disorder. UVA's expertise has led to a robust research program that is examining the use of focused ultrasound to treat many conditions, including cancer. The tremendous promise of focused ultrasound prompted UVA Health and the Charlottesville-based Focused Ultrasound Foundation to launch the Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center, the world's first center dedicated specifically to advancing a focused ultrasound and cancer immunotherapy treatment approach that could revolutionize cancer care for the 21st century. Sheybani was selected as the center's inaugural research director based on her exceptional work with the technology. This Billionaire Criticised China....And Lost $40 Billion | Viral Discussion On 'Chinese Jeff Bezos' Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 15:29 IST Did you know this Chinese billionaire also vanished from an African talent show he produced? It was a hint of the growing challenges he was encountering in his attempt to oppose Chinese President Xi Jinping. Jack Ma's public disappearance for nearly three months made headlines. (Photo Credits: X) Alibaba Group, which began as an online retailer before evolving into a global technology giant, was co-founded by Jack Ma. In 1999, Ma, a former English teacher and 17 other co-founders established Alibaba.com in a tiny apartment in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. Today, it serves almost 800 million people with services such as online commerce, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI). Did you know that Chinese billionaire Jack Ma mysteriously disappeared for a while? It was an early sign of the growing challenges he faced after speaking out against Chinese President Xi Jinping. Recommended Stories A user on X (previously Twitter) revealed how Jack Ma criticised the Chinese authorities before disappearing for three months. When he returned, he lost $40 billion His strong voice Control over his company, Alibaba. This billionaire criticized Chinas government.Then he vanished for 3 months. When he returned, he had lost: $40 billion His powerful voice Control of his company, Alibaba Heres the story of the strange disappearance of the Chinese Jeff Bezos: pic.twitter.com/0dOh5B54dH Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 Read more about the story of the strange disappearance of the Chinese billionaire Jack Ma. In 1999, Jack Ma started an internet marketplace from his apartment. He had been turned down for 30 jobs, including KFC. Twenty years later, he was Chinas richest man, at $61 billion. 1999: A former English teacher starts an online marketplace from his apartment.He had been rejected from 30 jobs, including KFC. His name was Jack Ma. Twenty years later, he would become China's richest man worth $61 billion. How? pic.twitter.com/Luu6Lh6XbW Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 Alibaba became Chinas Amazon, thanks to Jack Ma. In 2020, the total sales for a single day were $74 billion. He hung out with Hollywood celebrities and became a worldwide personality. China was filled with his face and for the Communist Party, that was acceptable. But suddenly, when he started sharing his opinion on challenging the government. Thats when his life turned upside down. Jack turned Alibaba into China's Amazon, but bigger.Singles' Day sales in 2020? $74 billion in 24 hours. He became a global celebrity, partying with Hollywood stars. His face was everywhere in China. The Communist Party was fine with it. Until he opened his mouth: pic.twitter.com/TGrsXLDFRh Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 On October 24, 2020, Jack Ma delivered a speech in Shanghai. He labelled the Chinese authorities out of date and slammed the financial sector. It represented a direct challenge to the government. October 24, 2020: Jack gives a speech in Shanghai.He calls Chinese regulators outdated and criticizes the banking system. It was a direct challenge to the government. What happened next shocked the world. pic.twitter.com/4iyW4dKd3K Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 The world was startled by what followed. The government quickly cancelled Ant Groups first public offering (IPO). Ant Group, originally Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese corporation Alibaba Group. This $37 billion IPO was intended to be the biggest in history. After the IPO was IPO, Jack Mas fortune plummeted overnight. Following this, he vanished. He could not be found no social media traces or any appearance. The government immediately cancels Ant Group's IPO.This was supposed to be the largest IPO in history $37 billion. Jack's fortune plummets overnight. Then, he himself vanished. No appearances. No social media. Nothing. pic.twitter.com/oq4ksg2oed Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 Rumours circulated that he had been detained or else had fled the country. Despite all of this, Chinese state media stayed silent. With this outbreak, Alibabas stock continued to plummet. Rumors spread globally: Was he detained? Was he even alive? Had he fled the country? Chinese state media stays silent. Alibaba's stock keeps falling. Everyone realized that no one is above Beijing. Not even Jack Ma. pic.twitter.com/HS6w1vl8co Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 In January 2021, Jack Ma resurfaced in a brief video. He appeared thinner, subdued and reading from a script. In the video, he lauded Chinas leadership and rural education. He made no mention of his disappearance, even on the disastrous IPO. January 2021: Jack finally reappears in a short video.But he completely changed: Thinner Subdued Reading from a script. He praises China's leadership and rural education. No mention of his disappearance. No mention of the failed IPO. A complete new human. pic.twitter.com/FGEvBvcHWr Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 Weeks later, Jack Ma was compelled to step down from his position as CEO of Alibaba. He also had to pay a $2.8 billion antitrust penalty and hand over power to state-backed enterprises. Everything was gone his life, after the 20-minute speech. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Behind the scenes, Jack is forced to: Step down from Alibaba Pay a $2.8 billion antitrust fine Hand control to state-backed entities His wealth falls to $25 billion. Half of his fortune was gone. All because of a 20-minute speech. pic.twitter.com/wEPtagw5T5 Zyan (@ZyanBizBoost) April 13, 2025 Today, Jack Ma is rarely seen in public. He has been spotted in Japan, Spain and Thailand. He has taken up art and philanthropy, with a concentration on agricultural ventures. 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 : Delhi, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 13:22 IST Auto Shares In Fast Lane: Tata Motors, Motherson, Sona BLW Rally Up To 8% On US Tariff Relief Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 09:41 IST Shares of Tata Motors, Samvardhana Motherson, and Sona BLW Precision Forgings surged up to 8%; What investors should know Tata Motors. (File photo) Shares of Tata Motors, Samvardhana Motherson, and Sona BLW Precision Forgings surged up to 8% on Tuesday, buoyed by US President Donald Trumps recent announcement of tariff exemptions on certain imported goods. Tata Motors emerged as the top gainer on the Nifty 50 index in early trade, rising over 4%, while shares of Samvardhana Motherson and Sona BLW jumped more than 7% each, buoyed by positive global cues following tariff-related comments from US President Donald Trump. Recommended Stories Trump said on Monday that he is considering measures to assist automobile companies that are in the process of shifting production to the United States. Im looking for something to help some of the car companies, where theyre switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places, and they need a little bit of time because theyre going to make them here," he stated, though he did not offer further details on any specific plans. The remarks sparked a rally in automotive stocks globally, with shares of U.S. carmakers like General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis (Chryslers parent company) climbing as much as 6%. Asian auto giants such as Toyota, Honda, and Kia also saw their stocks surge in Tuesdays session. Currently, Mexico and Canada account for about 30% to 60% of vehicles sold in the US. For automakers like General Motors and Toyota, roughly 30% to 40% of their US sales come from vehicles produced in Mexico and Canada. In the case of Volkswagen, that figure climbs to 60%. Among Indian auto component makers, Mexico contributes about 4% of Samvardhana Mothersons revenue and around 2% for Sona BLW. These exposures are under increased scrutiny as the US continues to maintain the 25% import tariffs on autos announced by the Trump administration. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In response to these tariffs, Tata Motors subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover, has suspended shipments to the US for the month of April. Shares of Tata Motors were up 4.3% in early trade at Rs 620.4, gaining nearly Rs 100 from its recent 52-week low of Rs 535. Samvardhana Motherson shares rose 7.2% to Rs 126.73, though still trading well below their 52-week high of Rs 217. Sona BLW also gained 7.1% to Rs 457.5, despite a notable correction from its peak levels. 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: April 15, 2025, 09:33 IST Stocks To Watch: IREDA, GAIL, Vedanta, SBI, GAIL, Delhivery, JK Cement, And Others Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 07:52 IST Stocks to watch: Shares of firms like IREDA, GAIL, Vedanta, SBI, GAIL, Delhivery, JK Cement, and others will be in focus on Tuesday's trade Stocks To Watch Stocks To Watch On April 15: Domestic markets wrapped up last week on a strong note, gaining nearly 2%, buoyed by positive global cues. In todays trade, shares of ICICI Lombard, ICICI Prudential Life, IREDA, Dr. Reddys, GAIL, among others, will be in focus due to various news developments and fourth-quarter results. ICICI Lombard, ICICI Pru Life, IREDA Recommended Stories Shares of ICICI Lombard, ICICI Prudential Life, and IREDA will be in focus in todays trade as all three companies are scheduled to announce their quarterly earnings. Investors will closely monitor the financials and management commentary for cues on the sectors outlook and company-specific performance. GAIL India GAIL India issued a tender on Friday to acquire up to a 26% stake in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the United States. This move comes with an associated 15-year gas import deal and is part of Indias broader strategy to reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. and strengthen long-term energy security. The development aligns with New Delhis efforts to diversify gas sources while deepening energy ties with Washington. Aurobindo Pharma Aurobindo Pharma has received final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Rivaroxaban Tablets USP, 2.5 mg the generic equivalent of Janssen Pharmaceuticalss blockbuster blood thinner drug, Xarelto 2.5 mg. The product is indicated to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events and is a significant addition to Aurobindos growing portfolio of cardiovascular generics in the U.S. market. Macrotech Developers The long-standing brand dispute between the Lodha brothers Abhishek and Abhinandan has officially come to an end. The two have reached a formal settlement. As per the agreement, Abhishek Lodha, who leads Macrotech Developers, will hold exclusive rights to the Lodha and Lodha Group brand names. Abhinandan Lodha will continue to use the House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) branding for his ventures. Dr. Reddys Laboratories Dr. Reddys Laboratories found itself at the center of workforce speculation after a media report suggested the company was cutting 25% of its employee-related costs. However, the pharmaceutical major swiftly denied the claims in a formal filing to the stock exchanges, stating that the report was factually incorrect." The company reiterated its commitment to its employees and its ongoing business strategy. Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has taken another step forward in expanding its shipping sector presence. Through one of its subsidiaries, the company has acquired an additional 10% stake in Nauyaan Shipyard Private Ltd. The stake, worth Rs 1.72 crore, strengthens Reliances long-term commitment to maritime and shipping infrastructure a strategic segment it has been gradually investing in. Vedanta Vedanta is again facing regulatory scrutiny, this time in the state of Odisha. The Odisha State Pollution Control Board has levied a hefty penalty of Rs 71.16 crore against the company, citing mismanagement of fly ash at one of its facilities. Vedanta has denied the allegations and plans to challenge the order legally, arguing that it has maintained a track record of environmental compliance and that the penalty is unjustified. Zydus Lifesciences Zydus Lifesciences has announced it has received final approval from the USFDA to market Jaythari (Deflazacort) Tablets in the United States. This medication is used in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare and progressive genetic disorder causing muscle weakness in children. Zydus will now be able to offer a generic version of Emflaza in four different strengths in the U.S. market. SBI Following the Reserve Bank of Indias policy rate cut, the State Bank of India has reduced its Repo Linked Lending Rate (RLLR) by 25 basis points, bringing it down to 8.25%. The move is expected to make borrowing cheaper for customers and further stimulate credit growth in the economy. Delhivery Sahil Barua, the co-founder and CEO of logistics major Delhivery, has resigned from the board of Swiggy. The development was formally recorded by Swiggy on April 11. Barua continues in his role at Delhivery, and his exit from the Swiggy board marks a notable shift in the foodtech companys board structure. JK Cement Cement manufacturer JK Cement is considering a fundraising proposal to raise Rs 500 crore through a private placement of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The companys board will meet on May 24 to discuss and potentially approve the plan. If cleared, the proposal will be presented to shareholders at the companys upcoming 31st annual general meeting. Persistent Systems IT firm Persistent Systems is merging its wholly-owned subsidiary, Capiot Software, into the parent company. The merger has received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and is part of Persistents efforts to consolidate operations and streamline its business structure for improved efficiency and synergy. HCL Tech top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all HCL Technologies continues to build momentum in the cloud space, having earned three new Google Cloud Partner specialisations. The certifications are in the domains of generative AI services, cloud migration, and infrastructure modernisation. These specialisations bolster HCL Techs digital transformation capabilities and strategic partnership with Google Cloud. 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: April 15, 2025, 07:52 IST Mehul Choksi Owes Rs 63 Lakh In Maintenance For Mumbai Flats; Details Here Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 12:01 IST Mehul Choksi, who faces extradition after arrest in Belgium, has not paid maintenance charges for over seven years for the three residential units he owns in the building, spread across the 9th, 10th, and 11th floors, says a society member. Mehul Choksi, 65, fled India on January 2, 2018, and is one of the prime accused in the massive Rs 13,850 crore PNB fraud, along with his nephew Nirav Modi. (IANS File Photo) Fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, wanted in the Rs 13,850 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, is now facing another issue back home unpaid dues worth around Rs 63 lakh for his flats at Gokul Apartments in Mumbais posh Malabar Hill locality, according to a report by news agency ANI. A society member told news agency ANI that Choksi has not paid maintenance charges for over seven years for the three residential units he owns in the building, spread across the 9th, 10th, and 11th floors. Recommended Stories He has seven years of maintenance due. He has three units 9th, 10th and 11th floors. The 11th floor is a terrace, he has illegally occupied it. There is maintenance dues of around Rs 63 lakh without interest," the member told ANI. #WATCH | Mumbai: Fugitive Mehul Choksi arrested in BelgiumVisuals from his residence at Gokul Apartments in Malabar Hill. The property was attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) A society member says, He has 7 years of maintenance dues. He has 3 units- 9th, 10th and pic.twitter.com/VBlyj154Z7 ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2025 The situation worsened in 2020, when the building underwent major renovation work. The cost per unit came to Rs 30-35 lakh, taking the overall dues to around Rs 95 lakh if Choksis share of the renovation expenses is included, the society member explained. Flat in Disrepair, Structural Concerns Raised The condition of Choksis flats has also become a concern for the society, with one member claiming that lack of maintenance has allowed wild vegetation to grow inside the premises. Big trees have started growing in the flat and the roots will definitely damage the structural integrity of the building. This is an additional burden that we have to bear without any fault of ours," the member added. The property in question has been attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of its ongoing investigation into the PNB scam. Arrested in Belgium, India Requests Extradition In a significant development, the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice confirmed Choksis arrest on April 12, 2025, and said he is being held in detention ahead of judicial proceedings. The Belgian federal public service of Justice can confirm that Mr. Mehul Choksi was arrested on Saturday, 12th of April 2025. He is being detained in anticipation of further judicial proceedings. Access to his legal counsel has been assured," the Belgian authorities told ANI. They also confirmed that India has filed a formal extradition request for Choksi. Finally, the Belgian federal public service of Justice can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Mr. Choksi. As is standard in individual cases, no further details can be released at this stage," they said. The PNB Fraud Case Choksi, 65, fled India on January 2, 2018, and is one of the prime accused in the massive Rs 13,850 crore PNB fraud, along with his nephew Nirav Modi. He is wanted by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the state-owned bank. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all According to investigators, Choksi, along with associates and some PNB officials, obtained fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) between 2014 and 2017, resulting in a loss of Rs 6,097.63 crore to the bank. (With Inputs From ANI) About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to markets, economy and companies. Having a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris has been previously asso... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 12:01 IST 'Stressed By City Life', This Haryana Man Left TCS Job. Now Earns Rs 30 Lakh From Moringa Farming Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 15:45 IST Tired of stressful city life, Jitendra Mann and wife Sarla returned to their village in Haryana, where they now enjoy a simple and healthy life through farming. The couple now earn Rs 650 from each 200-gram pack of moringa powder they sell. (Photo Credit: Instagram) Many individuals in India are finding success in farming, and Jitendra Mann from Sonipat, Haryana, is a perfect example. After working in the TCS for years, he decided to leave and explore farming. Along with his wife, Sarla, Jitendra started their brand, Husband Wife Farm, which had a turnover of Rs 30 lakh in FY24. His decision to move from cities like Chennai, Bengaluru and Delhi was due to the rising health concerns. In his early 40s, he was battling high blood pressure and joint pain. Tired of stressful city life, he and Sarla returned to their village, where they now enjoy a simple and healthy life through farming. Speaking with Better India, Jitendra explained, I was a workaholic during my early 20s, often being the last one to leave office at 1 am. By my early 40s, I was suffering from high blood pressure (BP) and extreme joint pains. I would commute via the metro and sit all day at a desk. I felt healthy, but once I started medication for high blood pressure, I realised I was not. My blood pressure was 160. It was a wake-up call for me. After starting the medication, I felt that this was going to be my new normal." Recommended Stories Jitendra Mann started an organic moringa farm from his terrace and made sure to use the right technology to preserve their full nutrition. He noticed that many farmers were using dirty or polluted water to grow crops. He felt concerned because a large number of people in Delhi eat food grown in those fields. He also observed how health problems, which were earlier common only among older people, are now affecting youngsters and children. Speaking about their process, Sarla shares, After plucking stems with leaves, we wash them twice and bundle seven to nine stems together so that each leaf is separated for easier drying. We dry the leaves under large fans and also in a controlled greenhouse setup, where energy gets trapped and the temperature is 8-10 degrees hotter than outside. After 12 hours, the leaves become crunchy and we separate them from the stems. We then make a coarse powder in a pulveriser and remove stalks before packaging." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The couple now earn Rs 650 from each 200 gram pack of moringa powder they sell. Every month, their total sales reach around Rs 3.5 lakh. In each season, they earn close to Rs 10 lakh from just one acre of land. Due to their focus on quality, Husband Wife Farms moringa powder became popular in big cities such as Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Thinking about their journey so far, Jitendra Mann feels that leaving city life and shifting to their village was a wise decision. He believes they are now living a better life, staying healthy and enjoying clean surroundings away from pollution. 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 : Sonipat, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 14:24 IST Dreaming Of A Career In Interior Design? Here's Who Can Apply, Fees & How To Choose The Right Institute Curated By : Translation Desk-Local18 Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 16:09 IST Fees vary based on the institute and course duration. A basic diploma course may cost between Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, while a bachelor's degree could range from Rs 3 to Rs 6 lakh Aspirants need to prepare for entrance exams for reputed institutes like NIFT, Pearl Academy, and INIFD. (AI Generated) If you have a creative mind and a passion for decorating homes, offices, or other spaces, interior designing could be an excellent career choice for you. Renowned interior designer from Agra, Mridul Sharma, shares key insights about pursuing a course in this field. How To Enrol Recommended Stories According to Mridul Sharma, students who have passed Class 12 are eligible to pursue interior design. You can opt for diploma, certificate, or bachelors degree courses, ranging from 6 months to 3 years in duration. Entrance exams are required for reputed institutes like the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Pearl Academy, and the International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD), while many private institutes offer direct admission. Scope Mridul says that interior designing is more than just a job its a creative and rewarding career. With the rise of the real estate and home decor industry, opportunities are constantly growing. After completing the course, one can work as a freelancer, consultant, or be employed as a designer with companies. Course Fee Fees vary based on the institute and course duration. A basic diploma course may cost between Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh, while a bachelors degree could range from Rs 3 to Rs 6 lakh. Choosing the Right Institute Mridul recommends evaluating an institutes recognition, faculty, placement record, and course structure before applying. She also suggests checking about the practical classes and internship opportunities at the institute. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Talking about interior designing colleges in Agra, she suggests looking for these: Gayatri Innere IIFT Agra Arena Animation Dayalbagh Educational Institute Location : Agra, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 16:09 IST Maharashtra Girl Fulfils Family's Army Dream After 2 Generations, Makes It To NDA Merit List Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 11:35 IST Jui Deshpande from the Girls Service Preparatory Institute (GSPI) made it to the NDA merit list, fulfilling her family's dreams of joining the army. Hansika Tillu from the institute also secured a place on the NDA merit list Both Hansika and Jui appeared for the NDA written examination in September 2024 and qualified for the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview held in December, ultimately being selected for the NDA. (News18) Many aspire to serve their country by joining the army. Sometimes this dream comes true, while other times it remains unfulfilled. In Maharashtra, a familys dream of joining the army spanned two generations. This dream was finally realised by a young girl in the family. She set her sights on joining the Indian Army, enrolled in a Maharashtra government institute, prepared for the National Defence Academy (NDA), and successfully made it to the merit list. Another girl from the same batch also achieved similar success, making their families immensely proud. Here is the story of these two daughters. Recommended Stories Empowering Women In Defence The government institute, named Girls Service Preparatory Institute (GSPI), was established in Nashik in 2023 to empower women in defence services. The institute saw two of its first batch of students make it to the NDA merit list Jui Deshpande from Kolhapur and Hansika Tillu from Thane. The first batch included 28 students who took the NDA written exam in September 2024. Out of these, three students qualified for the Service Selection Board (SSB) interview in December 2024, and Hansika and Jui were finally selected for the NDA. Fulfilling A Family Legacy Jui Deshpandes selection in the NDA fulfilled a dream that spanned two generations. Her mother, Usha Deshpande, a teacher, expressed immense joy and pride, stating that it had always been a family dream to have a member join the defence sector. When Jui decided to enrol in GSPI, the entire family was thrilled. Jui learned about GSPI while in school and decided to pursue admission, leading to her eventual selection in the NDA. Hansikas Journey Hansika Tillu, who also secured a place on the NDA merit list, had dreamt of joining the armed forces since she was nine. Her father, Mohan Tillu, shared that she always dreamt of joining the Indian Navy and continuously sought opportunities to achieve this goal. Both Hansika and Jui plan to retake the NDA exam to achieve higher ranks. About GSPI top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Girls Services Preparatory Institute (GSPI) in Nashik is a pioneering, government-backed institution established to prepare young women for careers in the Indian armed forces. It empowers girls with dedicated training for the NDA entrance exams, comprehensive interview training with mock sessions to enhance confidence, and physical as well as mental development programmes aimed at developing stamina, discipline, and resilience. GSPI was established to prepare girls for officer-level positions in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. It was modelled after the Service Preparatory Institute (SPI) in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, which has been preparing Marathi-speaking youth from Maharashtra for defence sector entrance exams since 1977. The main objective of these institutes is to provide pre-service training to students for admission in the NDA. Location : Maharashtra, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 11:35 IST UP Board 10th, 12th Results 2025 Soon At upmspresults.up.nic.in, Check Latest Update Here Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 10:05 IST UP Board Result 2025 for Class 10, 12 will not be released on April 15, confirms board. Official update regarding the date and time of results will be released soon at upmsp.edu.in. UP Board Result 2025 for Class 10 and 12 is expected in the last week of April. UP Board Result 2025 Date And Time Latest Update: Over 54 lakh students across Uttar Pradesh eagerly await the announcement of the UP Board Class 10 and 12 results. The wait, however, is likely to be over soon, as the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) is expected to release the results in the coming days. An official notification announcing the date and time of the result declaration is likely to be issued anytime soon. Last year, the UP Board results were declared on April 20. Based on trends and reports, the UP Board 10th and 12th Results 2025 are expected to be released in the last week of April. The evaluation process has been completed, and the board is currently finalising the results. Recommended Stories This year, around 51.37 lakh students appeared for the UP Board Class 10 and 12 examinations. The results for both classes are expected to be announced simultaneously like previous years. Once declared, students will be able to check their marks on the official website at upmsp.edu.in. Students will be able to check their results on news18.com from the below links: UP Board 10th Result 2025 UP Board 12th Result 2025 UP Board Result 2025 Not Releasing Today, Confirms Board Secretary Amid widespread speculation on social media regarding the UP Board result date, Board Secretary Bhagwat Singh has clarified that reports suggesting the declaration of results on April 15 are completely false. Calling the viral messages misleading, he urged students and parents not to believe in such rumours. According to Singh, no official announcement regarding the result date for UP Board Class 10 and 12 has been made yet. He confirmed that the results would not be released on April 15 under any circumstances. Students are advised to wait for an official notification from the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP), which will be issued soon on the boards official website. ALSO READ: CBSE Result 2025: When To Expect Class 10th, 12th Results? Check Latest Updates top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all UP Board 10th, 12th Result 2025: How To Check? Go to the official website: upmsp.edu.in or upresults.nic.in. Click on the link for UP Board Class 10 Result 2025" or UP Board Class 12 Result 2025". Enter your Roll Number and School Code (as per your admit card). Click on the Submit" or View Result" button. Your result will appear on the screen check your marks and overall result. Download the result and take a printout for future use. 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: April 15, 2025, 07:13 IST 'Zero Tolerance Policy': Delhi CM Rekha Gupta Issues Warning After Private School's Exorbitant Fee Hike Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 14:04 IST The Delhi CM on Tuesday informed that a group of parents told her their children were expelled from Queen Mary School in Model Town after they protested against illegal fee increases. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta said that schools cannot threaten students or increase fees excessively. (File Photo) The Delhi government has implemented a zero-tolerance policy towards arbitrary fee hikes in schools, and harassment of parents and students will not be tolerated. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday informed that during a public interaction, a group of parents told her their children were expelled from Queen Mary School in Model Town after they protested against illegal fee increases. A video shared by the Chief Minister on X shows her instructing an official to notify the school that its registration will be canceled. The CM stated that schools cannot threaten students or increase fees excessively. Recommended Stories Today, during the public dialogue programme, a case related to Queen Mary School, Model Town came up, in which parents of children lodged a complaint regarding wrong collection of fees and expulsion of children from the school. Taking immediate cognizance of this matter, the concerned officials have been instructed to conduct immediate investigation and take strict and necessary action," she posted on X. She emphasised the Delhi governments commitment to transparency, equal opportunity, and protecting childrens rights in education. The Delhi Government is fully committed to transparency, equal opportunity and protection of childrens rights in the field of education. A Zero Tolerance policy has been adopted towards any kind of injustice, exploitation or irregularity- no laxity will be tolerated in this. Our resolve is clearevery child should have access to justice, respect and quality education," she added. , , pic.twitter.com/gVThK6jFTn Rekha Gupta (@gupta_rekha) April 15, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all ALSO READ | Middle Class Cant Afford: Father On Daughters Rs 4.27 Lakh School Fees For Class 1 According to the Delhi education department, some private schools have increased fees by 25% to 30% every year in the last few years. This has put a heavy financial burden on parents, especially from the middle and low income groups. This situation has become even more serious after Covid-19. Complaints have been received that some schools did not issue admit cards to class 10 and 12 students for not paying the fees while in some cases, students were threatened they would be expelled. The department has said that under the Delhi School Education Act 1973, control over the fees of recognized private schools is mandatory. About the Author Sukanya Nandy Sukanya Nandy is a sub-editor at News18.com. She has been writing and reporting for the education and careers section of the website since 2021. She completed her graduation in English followed PG in Journalism... Read More Sukanya Nandy is a sub-editor at News18.com. She has been writing and reporting for the education and careers section of the website since 2021. She completed her graduation in English followed PG in Journalism... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 13:58 IST BJP, AIADMK To Jointly Decide Seat-Sharing Formula For TTV And OPS: Tamil Nadu BJP Chief Published By : PTI Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 11:45 IST Tamil Nadu BJP chief said the question of allotting seats to allies for the 2026 Assembly polls would be addressed together by the leadership of the AIADMK and his party Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagenthran | File Image/PTI Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagenthran has said that the question of allotting seats to allies Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam led by TTV Dhinakaran and former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) for the 2026 Assembly polls would be addressed together by the leadership of the AIADMK and his party. On the remark made by himwhen he took over as the BJP Tamil Nadu unit chief on April 12 that he could only be a breeze while K Annamalai worked like a storm; and against this background how he planned to take on the ruling DMK, Nagenthran said issues that warranted a discussion or debate must be taken up and there is no doubt about it. Recommended Stories Issues affecting the people had always been highlighted by him, including in the Assembly, and he would continue to do that, the newly elected BJP leader told PTI in an interview. Sixty four year-old Nagenthran represents the southern Tirunelveli constituency in the 234-member TN Assembly. Asked on his soft spoken image, including in the House and how he would be taking forward his partys agenda, especially when his predecessor Annamalai is popular for his assertive style, the leader said he had never failed to articulate BJPs policies in the Assembly, adding his "soft image" had never been an issue in batting for partys goals. He also said Annamalai has developed the party well in the state and credited him for his unique work style. Asked if the BJP would come forward to allot seats to Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam led by Dhinakaran (TTV) and Panneerselvam, out of the seats to be apportioned by the AIADMK to his party, Nagenthran said: "Only now, the alliance (with AIADMK) has been formed." "Seat sharing will be decided by our Parliamentary Board, our high command. The AIADMK may also set up a panel in this regard and our Parliamentary Board will deliberate." Edappadi K Palaniswami-led AIADMK returned to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on April 11 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had declared the bloc will face the 2026 state polls under the leadership of Palaniswami. When it was pointed out that Annamalai had, some time before the AIADMK rejoined the NDA, declared that allies like Dhinakaran, who had firmly stood behind the party could not be "let down," Nagenthran said: "Sure, what he had said was true. Already, those who were part of the NDA will continue to be part of the alliance." Earlier, when Palaniswami had indicated that he was not averse to joining the BJP to dethrone the DMK, Annamalai had, without naming anyone said that staunch allies like Dhinakaran could not be "let down," irrespective of whoever joins the NDA. Dhinakaran and OPS had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 general elections as NDA constituents. Asked if the BJP will accommodate such allies by sharing seats from its kitty with them, Nagenthran, referring to Annamalais remark, said they were with the BJP, and "our NDA (referring to BJP brass) leadership and the AIADMK leadership together will decide," on the matter. Both Dhinakaran and OPS, besides VK Sasiakala had been in the past, on different occasions, expelled from the AIADMK and Palaniswami has repeatedly asserted that they would not be re-inducted. Union minister Shah, at the time of the announcement of alliance with the Tamil Nadus main opposition party, had declared that his party would not interfere in the AIADMKs internal issues. Shah gave this answer when he was asked about the unification of the AIADMK vis-a-vis expelled leaders OPS and TTV. On CM M K Stalin dismissing the AIADMK-BJP alliance in Tamil Nadu as a "tholvi koottani," an alliance that is bound to fail, Nagenthran said: "I am saying, only they (DMK-led bloc) will be defeated in the polls." On actor-politician Vijays party saying that the poll fight would be between the DMK and TVK next year, the Saffron party leader, explaining the strengths of the BJP and AIADMK exuded confidence that only the NDA bloc would win in Tamil Nadu. Asked if he, as state unit chief, would take steps to rein in Vijays party into the NDA he said "they have to decide." Further, alliance has been firmed up only now with AIADMKs entry and bringing in parties such as Vijays Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) would be considered in the due course. When the issue of bitterness among the AIADMK cadres was brought to his attention due to some comments allegedly made by Annamalai in the past against late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa and Dravidian icon CN Annadurai, he claimed his predecessors speech was distorted. "It was not intended to hurt anyone." Dismissing scope for any bitterness, he said the cadres of both the parties had already joined hands and only later the leaders of the BJP and AIADMK have joined forces. To another question, he asserted that the NDAs goal is to capture power in Tamil Nadu, and "send home packing the anti-people DMK regime," and everything else may be taken up at a later stage. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Nagenthran was a minister during the AIADMK regime from 2001 to 2006 and had held the portfolios of transport, electricity and industries. His present stint as an MLA (2021 onwards) is his third term and the first as a BJP legislator. In 2001 and 2011, he won as an AIADMK candidate in Assembly polls. He joined the BJP on August 26, 2017 in New Delhi in the presence of Amit Shah. Location : Tamil Nadu, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 11:45 IST Why A Gangsters Murder In Tihar Jail Could Complicate Indias Case For Mehul Choksis Extradition Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Shilpy Bisht Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 13:37 IST Mehul Choksi has cited Sanjay Bhandaris case a defence middleman -- whose extradition was denied by the UK High Court in February due to unsafe conditions inside the Tihar Jail in Delhi Mehul Choksi, 65, fled India on January 2, 2018, and is one of the prime accused in the massive Rs 13,850 crore PNB fraud, along with his nephew Nirav Modi. (IANS File Photo) Mehul Choksi extradition case: The gruesome murder of a gangster inside the Tihar Jail in 2023 could complicate matters for India to extradite Mehul Choksi from Belgium, a country that has a strong stand on human rights matters just like the United Kingdom. Choksi has cited Sanjay Bhandaris case a defence middleman whose extradition was denied by the UK High Court in February due to unsafe conditions inside the Tihar Jail in Delhi. Recommended Stories Delhi was seeking Bhandaris extradition for wilfully evading taxes by not declaring foreign assets and foreign income amounting to Rs 665 crore on his Indian tax return and money laundering. A week ago, the UK High Court denied Indias appeal to go to UKs Supreme Court against the decision to deny Bhandaris extradition. This has complicated Indias extradition attempts for others in the UK and Europe. What UK Court Said In Sanjay Bhandari Extradition Bhandari is wanted in India on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. A key reason for the UK court to deny Indias plea was the murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya by other prisoners in the Tihar jail on May 2, 2023. Neither CCTV nor the oversight of senior officials afforded any protection to Tillu Tajpuriya," the UK court said. Tajpuriyas murder was captured on two videos. The second video showed at least eight prison guards stand back and watch as Tajpuriyas assailants took turns to repeatedly stab him and stamp on his head, the judgment noted. The prison guards, who significantly outnumbered the assailants, did nothing but watch until, eventually, they gently ushered the assailants away," the UK court said. India told the court that the murder was result of rival gang-wars between two notorious criminal gangs, and that eight prison officials were suspended. But that did not cut any ice with the court. The behaviour of not just one or two prison officials, but a large group of them, in standing by, casually and unconcernedly, while a prisoner was murdered by other prisoners mere feet away from them, renders implausible the contention that prison officials would intervene to protect the appellant (Bhandari) from the use of proscribed treatment by an investigating officer," the UK court said in its judgment. The court said that Bhandari would be at real risk of extortion, accompanied by threatened or actual violence, from other prisoners and/or prison officials. The nature of the allegations against him, and the publicity in relation to them in India, are such that he would be perceived (at least) to be a very rich man and therefore a prime target for extortion," the UK court said. It said the behaviour of prison officials when Tajpuriya was murdered seriously undermines Indias reliance on protection afforded by vigilance of officials or presence of CCTV. What Is Indias Appeal? India had given a long list of assurances to the UK High Court, saying Bhandari will be safely held alone at Ward No.4, Central Jail No.3, Tihar Jail Complex, in New Delhi, if extradited. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all India said Bhandari will be kept alone in a cell which is approximately 21x8x11 feet in dimension i.e. around 15.6 square meters, and is usually used to lodge four prisoners. India also assured that the proposed ward is guarded 247 by guarding staff and has proper CCTV surveillance for monitoring by senior officers of jail. The ward is under supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Prisons who takes rounds of the ward and ensures security and safety of all inmates of the ward, India had told the UK court. India also assured CCTV Cameras Surveillance and spoke of Body Worn Camera used by Prison Staff at the time of conducting search and dealing with unruly inmates. India also said that the concerns of Bhandari regarding his safety, arising from the fresh news reports on Tajpuriyas murder can be met by the assurances already provided. However, the UK court did not agree. 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: April 15, 2025, 11:57 IST Will Future Air Travel Not Require Boarding Pass, Check-In? New Rules For Airports Explained Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Shilpy Bisht Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 09:01 IST The journey pass will contain all the booking details and biometric passport details. Passengers will not have to take their phone or passport out of their pockets as their face will open the boarding gate New rules will require air travellers to upload their passports to their phones and pass through airports using only their face for verification. (AP Image) The days of standing in long check-in queues for a flight or frantically looking for your boarding pass will be over soon as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) plans to overhaul the aviation policies by introducing digital travel credentials". This means that air travellers will have to simply upload their passports or travel document to their phones and pass through airports using only their face for verification. Recommended Stories The changes could come into effect within three years, according to the Times. What Is A Digital Journey Pass? Currently, air travellers must check in either online or at the airport upon arrival. They are then issued with a boarding pass with a barcode. This is scanned by a passenger at various points throughout the airport, including at the gate before boarding. But with the new standards, boarding passes and the need to check in for flights will become redundant. Instead, flyers will download a journey pass" to their phone when they book a flight. The pass will be automatically updated if any changes are made to the booking. The journey pass will contain all the booking details and biometric passport details. Passengers will not have to take their phone or passport out of their pockets as their face will open the boarding gate. As per the report, passengers with luggage will drop them at bag drop and those with just hand baggage will be first scanned at the pre-security gates, which allows passengers access to the airports central search area. Valerie Viale, the director of product management at Amadeus, a travel technology company, told the Times that the changes were the biggest in 50 years". She said: The last upgrade of great scale was the adoption of e-ticketing in the early 2000s. The industry has now decided its time to upgrade to modern systems that are more like what Amazon would use." What Could Be The Challenges? The new technology could spark privacy concerns. But Amadeus said it had developed a system where passengers details are wiped within 15 seconds of each contact with a touchpoint" such as the pre-security gates, as reported by Guardian. Regarding delays and connecting flights, the new technology would automatically send a notification to the passengers who have missed their connecting flights due to delays on their phones with details of their new onward flight. Their journey pass would automatically update and they would be allowed to board the new flight. It should be noted that the airline industry will need to overcome challenges related to interoperability between different airline systems. Currently, many airline systems are siloed, with reservation systems only interacting with delivery systems once check-in opens. Viale points out that the future system will be more continuous, with the journey pass evolving dynamically as passengers move through the airport. Indias Air Traffic Set To Soar New government figures predict air passenger traffic will increase by 80% over the next five years, from 222 million passenger journeys in 2023-24 to nearly 400 million by 2028-29. Over the five years, the size of the commercial-aircraft fleet is likely to increase from 813 to 1,300. This means the overall airport handling capacity is expected to increase from 550 million passengers per annum to 800 million, stretching logistical capacity immensely in a short period of time. These projections suggest the rapid recovery and continuing expansion of Indias aviation market since the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. By the end of 2023, air travel worldwide had returned to 94.1% of pre-Covid pandemic levels, with international travel up 41.6% in 2022, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In India, Maharashtra will be among the states that will witness an increase in aircraft movements in the coming years. Aurangabad, Kolhapur and Pune airports are anticipated to cumulatively manage almost 130,000 aircraft movements a year by 2029, as per a report by the India Today. The Navi Mumbai International Airport is one of the most watched aviation infrastructure projects, and is being developed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO). 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: April 15, 2025, 08:30 IST Air Hostess On Ventilator Sexually Assaulted By Gurugram Hospital Staff Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 16, 2025, 11:21 IST In her complaint to the police, the woman said the incident took place on 6 April, a day after she was admitted to the hospital A Gurugram Police spokesperson confirmed that the victim's statement has been recorded before a magistrate and that an investigation is currently underway. (AI photo via X's Grok) A 46-year-old air hostess was allegedly sexually assaulted at a private hospital in Gurugram where she was undergoing treatment. In her complaint to the police, the woman alleged the incident took place when she was on a ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Medanta Hospital. On April 6, I was on a ventilator when some hospital staff sexually assaulted me," the womans complaint read. Recommended Stories The woman was admitted to the hospital on April 5 after falling ill following a swim in the pool of the hotel where she was staying. She remained under medical care until her discharge on April 9. After returning home, she informed her husband about the incident, and the couple then approached the police. A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed at the Sadar police station against unidentified hospital staff. A Gurugram Police spokesperson confirmed that the victims statement has been recorded before a magistrate and that an investigation is currently underway. CCTV footage from the hospital is being closely reviewed to identify the accused. The victims statement has been recorded before the magistrate in the court. The police team is examining the footage of the hospitals CCTV cameras and will soon identify the accused," the police spokesperson said. As per the FIR, the woman was not in a condition to speak or resist the mans advances because of her weakened condition. There were two nurses in the room, but they did not intervene," read the FIR. The police spokesperson assured that the accused would be arrested soon. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In a statement, Medanta Hospital said, We have been made aware of a complaint from a patient and have been fully cooperating with the investigations conducted by the relevant authorities. At this stage, no allegations have been substantiated, and all relevant documents, including CCTV footage from the hospital for the time period in question, have been handed over to the police." (With inputs from PTI) About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More Location : Haryana, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 23:12 IST Appropriate Time Has Come': Omar Abdullah On Restoration Of J&K's Statehood Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 18:11 IST Omar Abdullah said that he had a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and he is hopeful that Jammu and Kashmir will regain statehood soon. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. (PTI file photo) Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday that he was hopeful that statehood will be restored to Jammu and Kashmir very soon and the appropriate time has come". He was speaking to reporters after inaugurating a bridge in the Pulwama district. Recommended Stories We think the appropriate time has come; six months have passed since the assembly elections. (Union Home Minister Amit) Shah came here, I had a separate meeting with him, a good one I am still hopeful that JK will soon get its statehood back," Abdullah said. On the oppositions charge that the ruling party scuttled the discussion on the Waqf Amendment Act, he said the adjournment motion could not have been admitted as the bill was passed by Parliament. The Speaker made everything clear on the last day. Perhaps the mistake by the members was that they brought an adjournment motion. An adjournment motion is only brought to discuss the works of the JK government because the government has to respond. Tell me, had that adjournment motion been accepted, how would we have responded as the Waqf Bill was not brought by us. It was passed by the Centre in the Parliament," he said. Abdullah said a resolution under different rules in the assembly might have been admitted. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all However, that has passed now. Many parties, including the National Conference, have moved to the Supreme Court and put forth their views before the apex court. Now, we will see what the SC says," he added. Commenting on the inauguration of the bridge, Abdullah said it was unfortunate that the bridge connecting Chrar-e-Sharief to south Kashmir took 11 years to rebuild after being washed away in the 2014 floods. It is unfortunate that this took a long time to rebuild. This bridge was washed away in the 2014 floods, and it has taken 11 years to rebuild it. I think this bridge was destined to be thrown open by us only. This bridge plays an important role in connecting south Kashmir with Chrar-e-Sharief," he said. Location : Jammu and Kashmir, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 18:11 IST Assamese Language Declared Compulsory For All Official Work In State Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 23:13 IST The notification will come into effect from April 15 (Bohag-Assamese New Year). Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. (File Photo/PTI) Assamese language shall be used compulsorily in all official work across the state barring three districts in the Barak Valley and five districts under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), according to an official notification. However, issuance of all government notifications, office memoranda, acts, rules, regulations, scheme guidelines, transfer and posting orders shall be both in English and Assamese, it said. Recommended Stories The notification will come into effect from April 15 (Bohag-Assamese New Year). "Beginning this Bohag, Assamese will be the compulsory official language for all government notifications, orders, acts, etc, across Assam. In the districts of Barak Valley and BTRR, Bengali and Bodo languages shall be used, respectively," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X. In the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley, Bengali will be used in addition to English for official purposes, said the notification issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Political Departments) Ajay Tewari. Similarly, in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri and Tamulpur under the BTR, the Bodo language will be used in addition to English for official purposes, it said. A decision to this effect was taken at the cabinet meeting of the council of ministers, presided by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on April 4. All notifications, orders, acts, rules and guidelines issued by the central government shall be published by translating into Assamese language (Bodo and Bengali wherever applicable) within 30 days of its receipt by the department concerned, the official order said. Legacy documents comprising acts, rules, regulations and notifications shall also be translated into Assamese (Bengali and Bodo wherever applicable) in a phased manner over two years, it said. The translation work shall be done with the assistance of the language departments of universities. In the event of any ambiguity, discrepancy or requirement of legal interpretation, the English version of such laws, notifications, rules, regulations and ordinances shall prevail, it said. The English language shall continue to be used for communication with the central government, its offices and other state government establishments, the notification said. All enquiry reports, para-wise comments, instructions, affidavits and correspondences as required to be submitted before the courts shall be in the English language, it said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In case of interpretation of the provisions contained in any rules, acts, regulations, office order, court orders or judgements, the English version will prevail. According to the notification, the Anuvad Bhasini App may be used for the purpose of translation from the English language to Assamese, Bengali and Bodo, but the officers shall exercise discretion and carefully review the translated versions to ensure accuracy and correctness. Location : Assam, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 23:13 IST Bangladeshi Link In Murshidabad Violence? Cross-Border Angle Fans Political Storm Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Pragati Ratti Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 13:36 IST Intelligence agencies have informed News18 that some banned terror organisations are pressuring the Bangladesh government, aiming to radicalise young minds. Demonstrators during a protest against Waqf (Amendment) Act, in Murshidabad district, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Image: PTI) Whether there was presence of outsiders in the Murshidabad violence is a key question for investigators. Over 200 arrests have been made after Murshidabad witnessed violent protests against the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 last week, in which three people were killed while several, including police officials, were injured. The violence saw one group engaging the police on National Highway 12 with stone-pelting and attacks, while another group engaged in vandalism in Dhuliyan, Samsergunj, and Suti. Recommended Stories Also Read | After Murshidabad, Fresh Violence In Another Bengal District During Anti-Waqf Act Protest The attackers were mostly under 20 years of age. Manirul Islam, MLA of Farakka, told News18, Most of the boys who attacked, I dont know them. What I can clearly see is that they were all below 20 years of age." Given the areas proximity to the international border and the volatile situation there, this violence is a national security concern. A senior officer told News18, There is no doubt that some outsiders came in, whether from a different district or across the border. We are investigating this. Its too early to say what was behind this, but definitely, some outsiders were involved with the help of insiders." Intelligence agencies have informed News18 that some banned terror organisations are pressuring the Bangladesh government, aiming to radicalise young minds. These organisations are also believed to have a presence in Bengal. Experts emphasise the importance of this input, considering the attacks proximity to the border and the strategic chicken neck" area. The intensity of the violence suggests the involvement of miscreants beyond the border, which has added a new dimension to the incident. Central agencies are closely monitoring the situation due to its national security implications. Top intelligence sources indicate possible involvement of PFI and Jamaat. Political blame game over the violence The BJP has accused TMC leaders of orchestrating the violence with cross-border help. In a post on X, BJP leader and the partys West Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya shared a ABP report, saying, The Murshidabad riots were orchestrated by leaders of Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress, who hired Bangladeshis but later lost control over these elements. The BJP has consistently maintained that these are not spontaneous protests, but politically sponsored ones." The obvious has now been reported by Anandabazar Patrika, a leading Bengali newspaper. The Murshidabad riots were orchestrated by leaders of Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress, who hired Bangladeshis but later lost control over these elements.The BJP has consistently pic.twitter.com/svcpwUEc2l Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 15, 2025 On the other hand, TMCs Kunal Ghosh claims, This is a bigger plot, definitely planned to defame Bengal. Some agencies exploited gaps at the border, facilitated the incident, and helped perpetrators escape." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The TMC has, thus, criticised the BSF. State Police are investigating and will submit their report to the court on the April 16, with central agencies also keeping a watchful eye on the developments in Murshidabad. About the Author Kamalika Sengupta Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar... Read More Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 13:34 IST 'Hyderabad No. 1 Today: Chandrababu Naidu Highlights A Success Story, Then Makes A Vow For Andhra Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 14:17 IST Recalling his past success as CM of the undivided Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu pointed out that Hyderabad is now the top city in India in all parameters. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu | File Image/PTI Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday reflected on his time in office during the 1990s, when he said Hyderabadthen the capital of undivided Andhra Pradeshwas behind Bengaluru (then Bangalore) in terms of development. He said that Hyderabad was now the top city in India in all parameters, and pledged to use the same successful blueprint to elevate Andhra Pradesh to similar heights. Recommended Stories In my first tenure as CM of AP in the 1990s, I remember Hyderabad started out as second to Bangalore. Today Hyderabad is the No. 1 city in India in all parameters. Today is a fresh challenge and an opportunity, and we will live up to it. No. 2 means we work harder," said CM Naidu in an X post. In my first tenure as CM of AP in the 1990s, I remember Hyderabad started out as second to Bangalore. Today Hyderabad is the No. 1 city in India in all parameters.Today is a fresh challenge and an opportunity, and we will live up to it. No. 2 means we work harder. pic.twitter.com/2PHJkPbUxG N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) April 15, 2025 He also shared a graphic noting Hyderabads economic growth rate, ranking second among other states. This means we will work harder to build infrastructure and attract investments. Its a reminder that we will soon be number one," it reads. How CM Naidu Transformed Hyderabad Naidu first took the oath as CM of Andhra Pradesh in 1995, serving until 1999, during which he led the undivided state with Hyderabadnow part of Telanganaas its capital. During his tenure, he proved himself to be instrumental in transforming Hyderabad into a major IT hub, earning the city the nickname Cyberabad. His leadership during the 1990s is often credited with laying the foundation for the states tech-related advancements. Naidus focus on IT, infrastructure, and urban planning helped Hyderabad become a global tech hub, surpassing Bangalore in certain metrics over time. However, after Hyderabad became part of Telangana following the states formation in 2014, Andhra Pradesh faced several challenges such as constructing a new capital, Amaravati, and sustaining economic growth. Naidus post reflects his determination to tackle these challenges and restore Andhras prominence. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all 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 : Andhra Pradesh, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 14:00 IST Class 8 Student In Tamil Nadu Attacked By Friend With Machete In Fight Over Sharing Pencil Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 17:10 IST A class 8 student in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district was injured on Tuesday after his friend allegedly attacked him with a machete hidden in his school bag. The boy who attacked his classmate hid the weapon inside the school bag. (Representative image) In a shocking incident, a class 8 student in Tamil Nadus Tirunelveli district was injured on Tuesday after his friend allegedly attacked him with a machete hidden in his school bag. The attack was apparently motivated by a quarrel over sharing a pencil a couple of months ago, according to police. The student suffered multiple cut injuries in two to three places; however, his condition is reportedly stable. A teacher who tried to intervene also suffered a minor injury, police said. Both are receiving treatment at a private hospital. Recommended Stories A senior police official said the two boys had a quarrel over sharing a pencil a couple of months ago and had not been on speaking terms since. On Tuesday, the assailant brought the weapon hidden inside his school bag", and attacked the other student. The official added that the attacker would be handed over to the child welfare committee as per legal procedures. Reacting to the incident, Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagendran expressed shock over the attack and prayed for the swift recovery of the victims. He blamed the chaotic rule" of Chief Minister MK Stalin for the increase in murders, robberies, sexual crimes and caste-based attacks as well as the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Doubts are growing among the people of Tamil Nadu as to whether violence has taken root in the minds of our children to the point of them hiding a weapon in school for a pencil and attacking a fellow student," Nagendran said, urging Stalin to properly investigate the circumstances of this incident and take appropriate action. Senior BJP leader K Annamalai also condemned the incident, saying the emergence of such a culture of violence has shown how we have failed as a society" and that the responsibility lies with parents, teachers, society and the DMK government. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all School students grow up taking their surroundings as role models. In such an environment, the DMK government has tied the hands of the police by not allowing them to take action even against criminals who commit serious crimes. Moreover, due to the government selling alcohol with a maximum limit and the increasing circulation of drugs, the Tamil society is stagnating. The Chief Minister @mkstalin should at least realize the repercussions that have occurred in the student community," he said. (with PTI inputs) 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 : Tirunelveli, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 17:02 IST Caution, Ghibli Art Could Put You On Cyber Risks, Police Say Purposes May Be 'Beyond Original Intent' Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Vani Mehrotra Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 11:47 IST The Maharashtra Cyber Cell has warned users against uploading personal photos to AI apps generating Ghibli-style images. They caution that such platforms may collect and misuse sensitive biometric data. A representative Ghibli-style image (PTI) With the internet flooded with Ghibli-style images, the Maharashtra Cyber Cell has issued an advisory cautioning netizens about the growing use of the trend and the data privacy risks associated with it. In its warning, the Maharashtra Cyber Cell stated that AI applications, including ChatGPT, could potentially allow foreign entities to misuse sensitive data. Recommended Stories This comes as the Ghibli-style images require permission to the users photo gallery to convert images. There is a real risk that these platforms are building large-scale databases of user-submitted content," the advisory stated. This data could be used for training AI models or for purposes far beyond the original intent of the user," it added. Prior to the Maharashtra Cyber Cell, multiple experts had also warned about the risks associated with uploading personal pictures on the AI platform, in reference to OpenAIs free and easy access to thousands of personal photos, which, once uploaded, get stored in their database. One of the researchers flagged that the OpenAI was not just scraping images from the internet to use those in training AI models, theres much more to it. Goa Police too, in a warning advised social media users to consider the risk to privacy before uploading personal pictures for generating Ghibli Art through Artificial Intelligence apps. TAMIL NADU CYBER POLICE WARN AGAINST GHIBLI The Tamil Nadu Cyber Crime Wing also has issued a public advisory, warning citizens about the rising misuse of AI-generated Ghibli-style art. Officials have noted a growing number of cases where individuals unknowingly compromise their personal information by uploading selfies or personal photos to platforms that transform them into animations mimicking the iconic Ghibli aesthetic. While these AI tools may appear to offer harmless fun, authorities caution that they often pose serious threats to user privacy and data security. Cybersecurity experts revealed that several of these platforms collect and store users biometric data such as facial features without clear or informed consent. Once uploaded, users typically lose control over how their images are stored, shared, or potentially misused. People often fail to realise the magnitude of the risk involved," said an official from the Cyber Crime Wing. These images can be manipulated for deepfakes or other forms of synthetic media, leading to serious misuse." The department also flagged the growing number of unofficial websites and digital platforms distributing Ghibli-style AI images. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Many of these sites, often offering free artwork or custom animations, are believed to serve as fronts for cybercriminal activity. Users who access or download content from such sources risk exposing their devices to malware, ransomware, or viruses threats that could result in identity theft or severe data breaches. About the Author Yesha Kotak Yesha Kotak, Special Correspondent, CNN-News18, specialises in crime, court and investigative reporting. She describes herself as a print reporter in TV. With six years of experience in journalism, Yesha has ea... Read More Yesha Kotak, Special Correspondent, CNN-News18, specialises in crime, court and investigative reporting. She describes herself as a print reporter in TV. With six years of experience in journalism, Yesha has ea... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 09:38 IST PNB Case Probe: How Indian Agencies Put Diamantaire Mehul Choksi In The Rough | Exclusive Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Manjiri Joshi Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 13:19 IST The PMLA probe into the PNB scam was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI in 2018 against Mehul Choksi and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption Fugitive Indian businessman Mehul Choksi. (File photo/AFP) From the first information report in 2018 to the extradition request in 2024, Indian agencies carried out an extensive probe into the Rs 13,000-crore PNB scam involving absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi , according to the Enforcement Directorates (ED) status report exclusively accessed by CNN-News18. Choksi was arrested in Belgium on April 12. The Belgian Police took his custody in Antwerp based on an extradition request moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED. Recommended Stories Choksi, 65, was located in Belgium last year after he reached there to get medical treatment. He had been staying in Antigua after leaving India in 2018 and had taken citizenship of the Caribbean country even as his Indian citizenship is stated to be valid. FIRST FIR WAS FILED IN 2018 From 2014 to 2017, Choksi through his beneficially owned companies namely M/s. Gitanjali Gems Ltd., M/s Gili India Ltd. & M/s Nakshatra Brands Ltd, in connivance with bank officials of Punjab National Bank (PNB), got fraudulently issued Letters of Undertaking (LOUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs) aggregating to USD 952.76 million equivalent to Rs 6,097.63 crore from PNB, Mumbai. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) investigation was initiated on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the CBI, Mumbai on February 15, 2018, against Choksi and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating, corruption etc., which resulted in wrongful loss to the PNB. #BreakingNews | Antigua PM Gaston Browne reacts to Mehul Choksis arrest in Belgium; Says tried to extradite him before but it didnt happen@siddhantvm with more details @kritsween | #mehulchoksiarrested #mehulchoksi pic.twitter.com/JzravX8rmn News18 (@CNNnews18) April 14, 2025 SEARCHES TO EXTRADITION REQUEST After registration of the PMLA case in 2018, searches were conducted all over India, resulting in seizures of valuables/jewelleries worth Rs 598 crore. Choksi was summoned thrice to appear before the investigating authorities, but he did not appear before the ED. An open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) (OW. No. 20525/18 dated 08.08.2018) was issued against Choksi by the special PMLA court, Mumbai. His passport was revoked on EDs request. A red-corner notice was issued against Choksi, Rakesh Gajera, Sunil Varma, Jayeshkumar Indravadan Shah and Nehal Modi (all are accused in the case). Lookout notices against Choksi and his close associates were issued. A prosecution complaint (PMLA Spl. Case No. 09/2018 dated 28.06.2018) was filed against Choksi and 13 others before the special PMLA court, Mumbai. Further, two supplementary PCs (No. 1105/2020 dated 07.04.2020 and No: 410/2022 dated 14.03.2022) were filed against Choksi and five others. An application dated 10.07.2018, requesting to declare Choksi a Fugitive Economic Offender (FEO) and for confiscation of his properties worth Rs 2,345 crore already attached/seized was filed before a designated court in Mumbai under FEOA, 2018. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Extradition request (dated 09.08.2018) for Choksi was then sent to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. Choksi, while fleeing out of Antigua and illegally entering the Republic of Dominica, was arrested by the authorities in Dominica. In July 2024, information was received from NCB-Brussels that Choksi was undergoing medical treatment in Belgium. Based on that information, several documents related to the case were shared with NCB-Brussels. On deliberation and consultation with officials of CBI (NCB) & MEA, an extradition request dated October 25, 2024, as per the desired model of the Belgium Authorities, was sent to the Government of Kingdom of Belgium. About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 First Published: April 15, 2025, 12:30 IST If You Step Out: Cyber Criminals Arrest RJD Leader Digitally For Hours At His Residence In Patna Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 19:50 IST The RLD leader received calls from two phone numbers around 10:30 am on April 8, and the caller introduced himself as an officer from the Mumbai Police Cyber Crime Unit. Representative Image. (Shutterstock) Rashtriya Janata Dal MLC Mohammad Shoaib was allegedly arrested digitally" at his Patna residence for hours. Cyber criminals posed as law enforcement officials, extracted his personal information, and kept him under virtual detention for hours, police said. The FIR, registered on April 10, said that according to Mohammad Shoaib, the accused coerced and threatened him with legal action and even death" if he attempted to leave his home or seek any assistance. Recommended Stories The complaint said that the RJD leader received calls from two phone numbers around 10:30 am on April 8, and the caller introduced himself as an officer from the Mumbai Police Cyber Crime Unit. They said that I was involved in a money laundering case and had done fraudulent transactions and illegal online activities to the tune of crores through a Canara Bank account in Mumbai," The Indian Express reported, citing the FIR that quoted the MLC as saying. The RJD MLC added that the fraudsters also cited a fake case number and provided a mobile number linked to the MLC to lend credibility to their claims. The fraudsters virtually confined" Shoaib until midnight, repeatedly threatening him with legal consequences and forcing him to share personal details, including sensitive banking information, to resolve the situation". They even extracted my personal information, including Aadhaar number, details of assets such as gold and cash reserves, and a few records of my possessions. They also took my signature on blank paper," the MLC claimed in the complaint. They said that if you step out of your house or reach out to others for assistance, chances are that you might even be killed," Mohammad Shoaib further claimed. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all After suspecting something was off, Shoaib reached out to law enforcement and filed a complaint to investigate the matter further. Police have registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act in connection with the alleged digital arrest" of the politician. First Published: April 15, 2025, 19:50 IST DUSU President Smears Cow Dung On DU College Principal's Office Wall | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 21:47 IST The Principal shared a video of applying cow dung on a classroom wall and said that the act was part of a faculty-led project titled Study of Heat Stress Control by Using Traditional Indian Knowledge. Screengrab of a video shared by ANI. Days after the Principal of Delhi Universitys Lakshmibai College, Pratyush Vatsala, was seen applying cow dung on the walls of a classroom, calling it an attempt to beat the heat, Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president Ronak Khatri on Tuesday smeared cow dung on Vatsalas office walls in protest. In a video, Vatsala was seen applying cow dung on the walls of a classroom to combat the scorching heat in the national capital. Recommended Stories The Principal said that the act was part of a faculty-led project titled Study of Heat Stress Control by Using Traditional Indian Knowledge. #WATCH | Delhi: Days after the Principal of Delhi Universitys Lakshmibai College, Pratyush Vatsala was seen applying cow dung on the walls of a classroom in what she calls an attempt to beat the heat, DUSU president Ronak Khatri smeared cow dung on the walls of her office in pic.twitter.com/U5m6CcPWo3 ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025 It is under process. I will be able to share details of the full research after a week. The research is being carried out in porta cabins. I coated one of them myself because theres no harm in touching natural mud. Some people are spreading misinformation without knowing the full details," she said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Vatsala shared the video herself in the colleges teachers group, noting that indigenous methods are being adopted to cool classrooms in C Block. The video later surfaced on social media, sparking backlash from some students. Those who have classes here will soon get these rooms in a new look. Efforts are being made to make your teaching experience pleasant," she wrote in the message. First Published: April 15, 2025, 21:36 IST ISF Not Involved in Bhangar Violence, TMC To Blame: MLA Nawsad Siddique To News18 Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 19:47 IST Bengal unrest: Police have arrested nine people in connection with the Bhangar violence, most of whom are linked to the ISF Police vehicles set on fire during a protest march to Kolkata over the amended Waqf law, in Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district on April 14. (PTI) The Indian Secular Front is in no way involved in the violence in Bhangar, which came after the disturbance in Bengals Murshidabad, MLA from the constituency and ISF chief Nawsad Siddique told News18 in an exclusive interview. Police have arrested nine people in connection with the violence, most of whom are linked to the ISF. Recommended Stories Siddique said, The local administration and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) wanted this violence in Bhangar on Monday." When people were trying to come to Kolkata for our programme against the amended Waqf law, police did not allow them. When they were coming by car, they were stopped. They wanted to walk, but they were stopped again. They resorted to lathicharge. Our people got injured. Nobody got aggressive. In the evening, we wanted to hold a meeting in the bazaar, but the police disturbed it. The TMC people were there," he said. He demanded the CCTV footage of the incident. If the ISF has done this, we will not spare them. I demand that they show us the footage. TMCs Saokat Molla is behind this." Mollah, a TMC MLA and a known rival of Naushad, said the instigators were from the ISF. Siddique emphasised that if anyone claiming association with the ISF were involved in the ruckus, strong action would be taken. He also stated his intention to challenge the arrest of ISF workers in court. On the Murshidabad violence, Siddique said he was committed to fighting against the Waqf law democratically. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all We are forming a group and we have also filed a petition. This is anti-constitutional, but we will never resort to violence. The police and IB should see why such an incident took place. They have arrested ISF members because that is their political agenda. They did the same during the CAA protests. These arrests are illegal." Police sources, however, maintain that the current situation prevents them from granting permission for any anti-Waqf movement in Kolkata, citing it as the reason for stopping the ISF. About the Author Kamalika Sengupta Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar... Read More Kamalika Sengupta, Editor, Digital East of News18, is a multilingual journalist with 16 years of experience in covering the northeast, with specialisation in politics and defence. She has won UNICEF Laadli Awar... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 19:41 IST MUDA Land Case: Court Allows Lokayukta To Continue Probe Involving Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 17:06 IST The Lokayukta police is investigating alleged irregularities in site allotments by the MUDA The Courts latest ruling is likely to intensify scrutiny of the Congress-led state government. (PTI Photo) The Mysuru Lokayukta police, investigating alleged irregularities in the MUDA land allotment case involving Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was granted permission by a special court on Tuesday to continue its probe. The courts decision came after a division of the Lokayukta police submitted a preliminary report following its inquiry into allegations against Siddaramaiah and three others in the case. Recommended Stories Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and Devaraju from whom Swamy allegedly purchased a plot later gifted to Parvathi are all named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police on 27 September. In its ruling, the court noted that the investigation should not be limited to just four individuals, directing the police to probe all those involved and submit a detailed report. At the same hearing, the special court for peoples representatives deferred its decision on a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the B Report filed by the Lokayukta police in the case. The report had cleared Siddaramaiah of any wrongdoing. However, the ED and the complainant, activist Snehamaayi Krishna, raised objections and called for a more thorough investigation. Presiding judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat stated that a decision on the B Report would be made only after the Lokayukta police submitted a full investigation report. As a result, the court adjourned the proceedings and scheduled the next hearing for 7 May. The case involves alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), with accusations that CM Siddaramaiah misused his position. It is claimed that residential sites were allotted in violation of norms and procedures, possibly benefiting certain individuals, including members of Siddaramaiahs family. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all ALSO READ: 14 Sites Given To Parvathi Siddaramaiah Under 50:50 Scheme Illegal: News18 Accesses Lokayuktas MUDA Report (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 : Karnataka, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 16:13 IST Medical Device Makers Sound Alarm Over Export Decline, Import Surge Amid Trump-Led Tariff War Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 08:00 IST An analysis of export-import data of medical devices shows that exports of medical devices have fallen by half from 12% to 6%, and the growth of imports registered a small dip from 9% to 8.9% In a concerning trend, many medical device categories such as disinfectants, contact lens, gloves, spectacles, metal needles and gas analysis apparatus have registered a drop in exports. (Image for representation: AFP) The medical device industry has approached the central government to highlight a worrisome trend amid the Donald Trump-led tariff war a sharp rise in imports of medical devices coupled with a slowdown in export growth. In a concerning trend, many medical device categories such as disinfectants, contact lens, gloves, spectacles, metal needles and gas analysis apparatus have registered a drop in exports ranging between 12 per cent and 32 per cent. Recommended Stories According to an analysis of export-import data of medical devices conducted by the lobby of domestic device markers Association of Medical Device Industry (AIMED) exports of medical devices have fallen by half from 12 per cent to 6 per cent, and growth of imports registered a small dip from 9 per cent to 8.9 per cent. The AIMED has submitted the analysis to Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal. It states spike in import by over 15 percent in specific product of serious concern that need protection by safeguard duty or increase in basic duty". Medical device makers cited factors behind the plummeting figures, pointing toward Chinas aggressive product dumping in African markets, the impact of a weakened yen in Japan and regulatory restrictions in Germany, France, Netherlands, and Turkey. The lobby, represented by forum coordinator Rajiv Nath managing director of Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices has urged for the ministrys support. It believes that the ongoing trade discussions with the European Union and the US, for lowering duties, will only make matters worse" and the domestic industry will be negatively impacted and face further injury and under capacity". WHAT CATEGORIES ARE MOST IMPACTED? Under the subhead of analysis of country and product specific analysis of falling exports sales of high concern", dated April 9, the list mentions a drop in exports of disinfectants by 21 per cent from $44 million to $35 million. It showed that Indian medical devices have registered shrinking exports of contraceptives as well, which have dropped by 32 per cent from $66 million to $45 million. One of the reasons cited is sales lost in African countries. In the category of gloves, exports have fallen by 17 per cent due to sales lost in Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, UK etc". In contact lens, exports have fallen by 21 per cent and in spectacles, exports have fallen by 12 per cent due to sales lost in Netherlands, USA, Singapore, Germany etc". In tubular metal needles, exports have fallen by 78 per cent due to sales lost in the USA, China, Netherlands and Singapore". Similarly, the export category of gas analysis apparatus and chromatographs and electrophoresis instruments has fallen by 12 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, due to loss of sales to China, Russia, USA, Singapore and UAE. WHY ARE INDIAN EXPORTS GOING DOWN? Overall, the letter explained multiple reasons behind the falling exports and surging imports. For instance, under the category of Disposable & Consumables Electronic & IVD Reagents, the reasons for falling exports from 12 per cent to 6 per cent in Africa, Middle East and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) are that international prices are depressed and Chinese products are being dumped due to excess capacity (since USFDA and tariff restrictions) for Chinese products to the US markets. It also raised an issue where the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is questioning payments from third countries for bonafide exports to Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, CIS, and carrying out search operations. Exports being discontinued to avoid harassment. Regulatory restrictions of delays and higher costs for renewal of CE Mark in the European Union have impacted sales to Germany, France, Netherlands, Turkey etc. To Japan, due to stronger rupee than yen, its less competitive than earlier and Indonesia is giving preference in public procurement for Made in Indonesia products," the letter stated. WHY IS INDIA IMPORTING MORE? The letter highlighted a significant jump in imports from Singapore (13%), Hong Kong (28%), Malaysia (24%) as compared to previous levels of 5 per cent, 0.5 per cent, and 3 per cent, respectively. It said the possible cause could be the diversion of Chinese-origin goods via these countries to India, aiming to bypass Indian regulatory restrictions (CDSCO) and DPIIT trade restrictions on neighbouring countries. Also, the import from Japan has spiked to 19 per cent from 16 per cent. This, the letter said, could be driven by a sharp depreciation of the Japanese yen against the US dollar, euro, and Indian rupee, making Japanese products more price-competitive. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all It points out another trend where import from Switzerland increased to 55 per cent against the 8 per cent before, triggered by recent tariff concessions on items like IVD reagents/kits, surgical instruments, oxygen therapy equipment and joint implants. Other notable spikes in import are from Spain (current is 36 per cent and previous was 7 per cent), Taiwan (current is 32 per cent and previous was 10 per cent), and Israel (current is 30 per cent and previous was 2 per cent). About the Author Himani Chandna Himani Chandna, Associate Editor at CNN News18, specialises in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. With firsthand insights into India's COVID-19 battle, she brings a seasoned perspective. She is particularly pass... Read More Himani Chandna, Associate Editor at CNN News18, specialises in healthcare and pharmaceuticals. With firsthand insights into India's COVID-19 battle, she brings a seasoned perspective. She is particularly pass... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 08:00 IST MHA Keeping An Eye On Bengal Violence, Sources Say Probe Suggests Role Of Bangladeshi Infiltrators Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 14:55 IST West Bengal Violence: The preliminary investigation into the violence indicates the involvement of Bangladeshi miscreants. Demonstrators during a protest against Waqf (Amendment) Act, in Murshidabad district, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Image: PTI) West Bengal Violence: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday raised concerns over the recent violence in three border areas of West Bengals Murshidabad and has deployed additional paramilitary forces as a precautionary measure, sources informed. The preliminary investigation into the violence indicates the involvement of Bangladeshi miscreants, allegedly supported by local TMC leaders, who subsequently lost control over these elements. The violence displaced Hindu families, forcing many to flee to Malda, sparking fears of renewed infiltration and communal unrest. Recommended Stories Sources informed that the Centre sought clarification from the Mamata Banerjee-led state government regarding its failure to protect lives and property, the attack on railway assets, and police inaction during the initial stages of the violence. Meanwhile, BJP leaders have accused the TMC government of engineering communal tensions over the Waqf Bill to divert attention from the SSC recruitment scam, which has jeopardised the jobs of over 26,000 candidates. BJP leaders alleged that the violence highlights the deep-rooted insecurity of Hindus under TMC rule. Home Ministry Steps In The Union Home Ministry earlier held a video conference with West Bengal Chief Secretary and DGP to assess the situation and review law and order measures. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court on Saturday ordered the deployment of Central Armed Forces in West Bengals Murshidabad, where protests against the Waqf Amendment Act spiralled into violence. The unrest, which erupted on April 12 and 13, 2025, in several parts of Murshidabad, including Suti, Dhulian, and Jangipur, was triggered by protests against the amended Waqf Act. About the Author Arunima Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero ... Read More Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero ... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 14:03 IST They're Migrating Within Bengal: TMC Ministers Remark On Murshidabad Displacements Sparks Backlash Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 08:52 IST The West Bengal BJP unit claimed that more than "400 Hindus" were forced to flee their homes in Dhulian town of Murshidabad district following targeted violence against them. TMC Minister Firhad Hakim | Image/FIle West Bengal Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim sought to downplay the violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act in Murshidabadwhere hundreds were forced to flee their homes for safetysaying that they are migrating within Bengal," not leaving the state entirely. The West Bengal BJP unit claimed that more than 400 Hindus" were forced to flee their homes in Dhulian town of Murshidabad district following targeted violence against them. Recommended Stories People are relocating within Bengal, not fleeing the state. The administration is taking all possible steps to restore normalcy. The violence is unfortunate, and police are working to identify those responsible," CM Mamata Banerjees minister said. There was a much bigger incident that happened in Gujarat. Even after such an episode in Gujarat, the administration maintained absolute silence," Hakim added. #WATCH | Kolkata | On Murshidabad exodus, TMC leader and West Bengal Minister Firhad Hakim says, They are migrating within Bengal only Everything is alright The situation happened, it happened Though it is condemnable and police will uncover who was behind it" pic.twitter.com/4KH5A5hLmv ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2025 Three people were killed, over a dozen policemen were injured and over 200 miscreants were arrested as mob violence erupted across the district, including Dhuliyan, Samserganj, Suti and Jangipur. The violence, reportedly targeted against a community, forced many to flee their homes and move to the neighbouring Malda district. BJP Hits Back BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya quickly responded to Hakims remarks, pointing out that he is the same TMC minister who had previously described a part of Kolkata as mini Pakistan." SAB THEEK HAI (All is well), says Firhad Hakim, a senior cabinet minister and a trusted confidant of Mamata Banerjee, on the exodus of Hindus from Murshidabad," said Malviya in an X post, slamming the TMC minister. This is the same man who referred to a part of Kolkata as mini Pakistan" and has previously made provocative statements promoting religious conversion to Islam. He has openly supported initiatives like Dawat-E-Islam and labeled non-Muslims as unfortunate. He has even envisioned an India governed entirely by Islamic law and jurisprudence," he added. SAB THEEK HAI, says Firhad Hakim, a senior cabinet minister and a trusted confidant of Mamata Banerjee, on the exodus of Hindus from Murshidabad.This is the same man who referred to a part of Kolkata as mini Pakistan" and has previously made provocative statements promoting pic.twitter.com/sUc1QZFHyg Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 14, 2025 More Than 400 Hindus Displaced West Bengal LoP and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari claimed that more than 400 Hindus were forced to flee their homes in Dhulian town amid communal violence in the region. He slammed Trinamools appeasement politics" and blamed the party for promoting radical elements." He further highlighted that displaced migrants took shelter in Malda. More than 400 Hindus from Dhulian, Murshidabad, driven by fear of religiously driven bigots, were forced to flee across the river and take shelter at Par Lalpur High School, Deonapur-Sovapur GP, Baisnabnagar, Malda," Adhikari wrote on X. Jawed Shamim, Additional Director General (ADG) of Police, Law and Order, West Bengal, said on Monday that several residents have already returned to their villages in Murshidabad under police protection. He added that senior police officials, including the Director General of Police (DGP), are currently stationed in the district to monitor and manage the situation. No fresh reports of violence have been received from Murshidabad since Saturday afternoon," Shamim said, adding that the past 36 hours have remained peaceful. Bengal BJP Chief Meets Displaced Hindu Families West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on Monday met with several Hindu families who left the violence-hit Murshidabad to safeguard themselves. He further wrote a letter to Governor CV Ananda Bose, urging him to take immediate and decisive action to protect the lives of vulnerable Hindus." Today, I reached Malda and met several displaced, persecuted, and terrified Hindu families who were forced to flee Murshidabad due to barbaric persecution by fundamentalist miscreants. The stories they shared were horrifying and heartbreakingclear evidence of targeted violence and fear," Majumdar wrote in an X post. He referred to the situation in Murshidabad as a dire humanitarian crisis. Today, I reached Malda and met several displaced, persecuted, and terrified Hindu families who were forced to flee Murshidabad due to barbaric persecution by fundamentalist miscreants. The stories they shared were horrifying and heartbreakingclear evidence of targeted violence pic.twitter.com/1eOBmMGZI7 Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) April 14, 2025 Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for peace, accusing some political parties" of attempting to exploit religious sentiments for political gain. Violence Spreads In Bengal After Murshidabad, reported of violent clashes were reported from West Bengals South 24 Parganas amid protests against the amended Waqf Act. The anti-Waqf protesters clashed with the city police and set a police van and other vehicles on fire. So far, eight people have been arrested in connection with the fresh violence in Bhangar on Monday, which left many injured. Videos from the site showed police bikes being set on fire and a police bus turned over with its front glass broken. It also captured heavy police deployment in the area. VIDEO | West Bengal: Tension in South 24 Parganas Bhangar as Indian Secular Front (ISF) workers clashed with city police. They also set a van ablaze. More details awaited.(Full video available on PTI Videos https://t.co/bnF8OnGu37) pic.twitter.com/fk17Jufpl3 Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 14, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The police later stated that the situation in Bhangar was under control, adding that specific cases had been registered against those involved in damaging public property and that raids were underway to apprehend them. They also advised the public not to believe in rumours and warned that strict legal action would be taken against anyone found spreading misinformation. 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: April 15, 2025, 07:54 IST Dalit Groom 'Denied Entry' To Temple Near Ambedkars Birthplace In MP, Police Refute Claim Amid Tensions Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 13:18 IST A Dalit groom offered prayers at a Lord Ram temple near Ambedkars birthplace in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, amid police presence. The incident followed an argument between two communities in the area. A representative AI-generated image (News18) A groom from the Dalit community offered prayers in heavy police presence at a temple in Madhya Pradeshs Indore after the area witnessed an argument between two groups. The incident happened on Monday, when the country celebrated the birth anniversary of the Constitutions chief architect and social reformer Ambedkar, a revered figure among Dalits who was born on April 14, 1891 at Mhow in Madhya Pradeshs Indore district. Recommended Stories According to the details, the groom prayed at a Lord Ram temple, which was located near Dr BR Ambedkars birthplace in the city. News agency PTI quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the groom arrived at the temple in Sanghvi village, 25 km from Mhow, with his marriage procession and guests. He then offered prayers at the temple along with a few of his family members in the presence of police. However, the police denied claims that the Dalit man was prevented from entering the temple and asserted there was an argument between two groups over entering the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine, where only priests are allowed as per local traditions. After a controversy erupted, the police issued a statement clarifying the entire episode. A rumour that a Dalit groom was prevented from entering the temple in Sanghvi village in the Betma police station area is being circulated on social media, which is misleading. The groom and his family went to the temple and prayed. After this, the wedding procession was taken out peacefully," the police said in a statement. On receiving information about the argument between the wedding party members and the other group, a police team reached the spot and resolved the issue by convincing people of both sides regarding entering the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, it said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all After offering prayers at the temple, the wedding procession left for its destination, the statement said. Speaking to PTI, Betma police station in-charge Meena Karnawat said, In Sanghvi village, no one stopped the groom from a Scheduled Caste to enter the temple. The baraati side was talking about entering the temples sanctum sanctorum, where according to local traditions, only priests are allowed. No devotee goes inside the sanctum sanctorum of this temple." 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: April 15, 2025, 12:02 IST Mumbais Roads To Go 'Pothole-Free' By May 31: Eknath Shinde Sets Deadline Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 23:51 IST The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently working on nearly 400 kilometres of roads across the city, aiming to make them durable and pothole-free before the monsoon With a tight deadline and clear instructions, the citys administration is now under pressure to deliver smoother, safer roads in just over a month. (File pic: PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Mumbai City Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde has directed that all ongoing concrete road works under the pothole-free project must be completed by May 31, 2025. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently working on nearly 400 kilometres of roads across the city, aiming to make them durable and pothole-free before the monsoon. Shinde stressed that no compromise on quality will be tolerated. Any contractor found delivering substandard work will face strict action. So far, penalties worth Rs 3.5 crore have been imposed on errant contractors. From now on, poor-quality work will result in disqualification," he warned. Recommended Stories The inspection began at the Bombay Hospital junction and covered several areas, including RS Sapre Marg in C Ward, Jame Jamshed Road in Matunga, and Road No. 21 in Chembur. Accompanied by Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha and senior BMC officials, Shinde also interacted with local residents to understand ground-level issues. Highlighting that concrete roads are a permanent solution, Shinde said, Once built properly, these roads wont need digging or repairs. We are committed to making Mumbai truly pothole-free." To ensure high standards, IIT-Bombay has been roped in as a third-party quality checker. BMC engineers are also monitoring work directly on-site. Officials performing well will be recognised. Those delaying work will face action," Shinde added. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He instructed that junction-to-junction stretches must be completed on time, and roads should be made traffic-ready even if some finishing work remains. Advanced techniques like geopolymer filling, infrared tech, microsurfacing, and mastic use have been advised for fast and effective pothole repair. Shinde also emphasised environmental responsibilityno damage to trees, proper tree maintenance, protective fencing, and support for monsoon plantation drives with public participation. He directed immediate cleaning of manholes and drains to avoid waterlogging during rains. With a tight deadline and clear instructions, the citys administration is now under pressure to deliver smoother, safer roads in just over a month. About the Author Mayuresh Ganapatye Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. He previously worked with... Read More Mayuresh Ganapatye, News Editor at News18.com, writes on politics and civic issues, as well as human interests stories. He has been covering Maharashtra and Goa for more than a decade. He previously worked with... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 23:51 IST Murshidabad Violence: 2 Suspects Arrested For Murder Of Father-Son Duo, Over 40 FIRs Filed Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 15:39 IST To contain misinformation and inflammatory content, the authorities have blocked 1,093 social media accounts, while stringent legal action is expected to follow in case of repeat offenders, News18 has learnt Ravi Gandhi, ADG BSF Eastern Command, during a visit to the violence-hit areas in Malda and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal. (PTI) The West Bengal Police have arrested two men in connection with the murders of Hargobindo Das, 72, and his son Chandan Das, 40, in Dhulian, even as 40 first information reports (FIR) have been filed, as part of a crackdown following the recent violence in Murshidabads Jangipur and Shamshergunj areas. Miscreants allegedly hacked the father-son duo to death in Samserganj block of Murshidabad district. Recommended Stories To contain misinformation and inflammatory content, the authorities have also blocked 1,093 social media accounts over the past two days, while stringent legal action is expected to follow in case of repeat offenders, News18 has learnt. The two suspects brothers Kalu Nawab and Dildar Nawab are in police custody. They were arrested from two different locations on Monday night, said a senior police officer. Kalu was arrested from a village near the Indo-Bangla border in Suti, while Dildar was picked up from Murarai in Birbhum, which is near the Jharkhand border. Police sources said they were allegedly involved in instigating the unrest and are being interrogated to trace the wider network. They have already been produced before the local courts. SPECIAL INVESTIGATION TEAMS FORMED To intensify the probe into the incidents of murders, looting, arson and rioting, special investigation teams (SIT) have been constituted comprising officials from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Special Task Force (STF) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). These multi-agency teams are working in tandem to identify more culprits, verify the authenticity of viral content, and track the source of provocative rumours and social media posts that escalated tensions in the region. A senior police official told News18, We have extracted all relevant and related CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators. We can assure that nobody will be spared. We will use other technologies to identify the attackers. We are further focusing on intelligence gathering to trace any network of the banned PFI cadres and illegal Bangladeshi migrants." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The violence, which broke out in Bengals Murshidabad-Malda region, has left a trail of destruction and fear among residents. Hundreds of Hindus from villages fled to Malda and are now residing in temporary shelters or camps in the area. The local police, supported by central forces, have stepped up patrols in sensitive areas while keeping a close watch on digital platforms. Meanwhile, blocking over a thousand social media accounts is being seen as another proactive measure to prevent further incitement. Senior officials say that most of the blocked profiles were used to spread fake news, doctored videos, misinformation and communal propaganda. 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: April 15, 2025, 15:19 IST Railway Police Nab Lucknow Man Using Sleep' Trick To Steal From Passengers Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 11:35 IST The Railway Police arrested Sufiyan for stealing mobiles and valuables from passengers while pretending to sleep. He was caught with three stolen phones worth Rs 45,000 The man admitted to stealing one of the mobile phones about nine months ago from a moving train at Charbagh railway station. (Representative/Shutterstock) The Railway Police have arrested a man for stealing mobiles, purses, and other valuables from passengers while feigning sleep. The Government Railway Police (GRP) Charbagh apprehended the suspect, Sufiyan, who had devised this unusual method to rob fellow travellers. Sufiyan, a resident of Shaheed Nagar at Hussainganj in Lucknow, was arrested during a campaign to curb theft, robbery, poisoning, and drug smuggling on trains and at railway stations. He was found in possession of three stolen mobile phones, valued at approximately Rs 45,000. Recommended Stories During interrogation, Sufiyan revealed that he would board trains, sit or lie down near passengers, and pretend to be asleep. Once his targets fell asleep, he would steal their mobiles, purses, and other valuables. He admitted to stealing one of the mobile phones about nine months ago from a moving train at Charbagh railway station, on a route from Delhi to Chhapra. He had come to Charbagh to sell the stolen mobile. Another phone was stolen eight months ago from the Amarnath Superfast Express (15654) which had departed from Moradabad. Recently short of money, he had come to sell both devices. Additionally, he confessed to stealing a third phone two months ago from the 12391 Shramjeevi Express travelling towards Moradabad. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The GRP had been searching for Sufiyan for some time and finally apprehended him. Multiple cases have been registered against him, highlighting his notoriety. Indian Railways continues to run special campaigns to ensure the safety of passengers on trains, with the GRP and Railway Protection Force (RPF) actively participating. First Published: April 15, 2025, 11:35 IST Robert Vadra Gets ED Summons In Haryana Land Deal Case, Alleges BJP's Misuse Of Agencies Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 12:26 IST The ED issued a second summons to Robert Vadra in connection with a land scam case after he failed to appear on April 8. The businessman appeared for questioning today. Robert Vadra appears before ED (Video screengrabs/ANI) Businessman Robert Vardra on Tuesday arrived at the Enforcement Directorates office in Delhi after the probe agency issued him summons in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the Shikhopur land deal in Haryana. These were the second summons issued to him for questioning in the case. Outside the ED office, Vadra was seen waving at reporters. Recommended Stories #WATCH | Delhi: Businessman Robert Vadra reaches the ED office after being summoned in connection with a Gurugram land case. pic.twitter.com/aCw5wvOCsW ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025 Vadra was initially called for interrogations on April 8. However, he did not appear before the probe agency. As he appeared for questioning, talking to reporters, he said, We told the ED we were organising our documents, I am always ready to be here. I hope theres a conclusion today." There is nothing in the case. When I speak in favour of the country, I am stopped, Rahul is stopped from speaking in the Parliament. The BJP is doing it. This is a political vendetta," Vadra said. People love me and want me to join politics. When I express my willingness to join politics, they bring up old issues to bring me down and divert me from the real issues. I have been summoned 15 times and have been interrogated for more than 10 hours every time for the last 20 years. Organising 23,000 documents is not easy," he said. #WATCH | Delhi: Businessman Robert Vadra says, " We told the ED we were organising our documents, I am always ready to be here I hope theres a conclusion today. There is nothing in the case When I speak in favor of the country, I am stopped, Rahul is stopped from speaking pic.twitter.com/yndifxxBf6 ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025 Vadra also spoke to CNN-News18, alleging the agency was being misused, and that he was thinking of returning to politics. It is the misuse of the agencies. I am considering coming into politics thats why they are doing this. Will they take 20 years to get evidence in the case?" he asked. WHAT ED WANTS TO KNOW IN THE LAND CASE There have been allegations that Robert Vadra promoted skylight hospitality, bought 3.5 acres of land for Rs 7.5 crore in Gurugram in 2008. The land was later sold off to DLF at Rs 58 crore. In September 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a predicate case of corruption, alleging that public servants of the Haryana government, along with other accused, cheated landowners as part of a criminal conspiracy. Later, the ED registered a case, stating that the wealth was laundered. As it issued summons, the ED wanted Vadra to answer questions on his association with DLF, with Haryana government public servants, and his role in skylight hospitality. So far, the ED has attached properties worth Rs 281.42 crore in this case. THE DLF LAND GRAB CASE In October 2011, Arvind Kejriwal (then an activist) accused Vadra of taking an interest-free loan of Rs 65 crore and heavy bargains on land from DLF Limited in exchange for political favours. DLF responded that it had dealt with Vadra as a private entrepreneur and that the loan was Business Advance given in accordance with the practice of trade to make payments for land purchased from Vadra. The company also said that it did not sell him land at a discounted price and that no quid pro quo took place. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Robert Vadra, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DLF were also being investigated by the CBI over alleged irregularities in land deals. This is related to the 50-acre land grab in 2013 in the Amipur village of Haryana during the Congress Bhupinder Singh Hooda government. Vadra allegedly made illegal gains of over Rs 50 crore from this land deal within a few months in 2008. 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: April 15, 2025, 10:07 IST Robert Vadra Questioned For 5 Hours By ED In Haryana Land Case, Called Again Tomorrow Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 19:58 IST This case linked to a land deal in Haryana's Manesar-Shikohpur in Gurugram. Vadra allegedly made illegal gains of over Rs 50 crore from this land deal within a few months in 2008. Robert Vadra (PTI photo) Businessman Robert Vadra was questioned at the Enforcement Directorates office in Delhi in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the Shikhopur land deal in Haryana. Vadra has been called to the ED office again tomorrow. Vadra, the husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, was initially called for interrogations on April 8. However, he did not appear before the probe agency. Vadra called the agencys move to summon him as political vendetta" and said the ED has been raking up cases against him even after spending hours earlier during questioning. Recommended Stories The 56-year-old businessman walked from his residence at Sujan Singh Park in central Delhi to the ED headquarters at 11 am along with his lawyer. He said he will cooperate with the probe agency but there needed to be a closure. How can you be talking about something that happened in 2007?" he said while stepping out of the ED office for lunch at 1:30 pm. He also said he had been summoned 15 times and interrogated for over 10 hours every time for the last 20 hours. He also spoke to CNN-News18, alleging the agency was being misused, and that he was thinking of returning to politics. What Is The Case Against Vadra? The probe against Vadra pertains to a land deal in Haryanas Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) in Gurugram in 2008, when Bhupinder Singh Hoodas government was in power. The deal was made by Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, where Vadra was a director earlier, in which he purchased 3.5 acres of land for Rs 7.5 crore. Vadra allegedly made illegal gains of over Rs 50 crore from this land deal within a few months in 2008.T he company sold this 3.53-acre land to realty major DLF for Rs 58 crore in 2012. The controversy arose in 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as the director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum- Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the mutation of this deal, categorising the transaction as violative of the State Consolidation Act and some related procedures. The opposition Haryana BJP then had called this case an instance of corruption" in land deals and that of nepotism", referring to Vadras relations with the Congress party. The Haryana Police filed an FIR to probe the land deal in 2018. In September 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a predicate case of corruption, alleging that public servants of the Haryana government, along with other accused, cheated landowners as part of a criminal conspiracy. Later, the ED registered a case, stating that the wealth was laundered. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Vadra, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and DLF were also being investigated by the CBI over alleged irregularities in land deals. (with agency inputs) 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 First Published: April 15, 2025, 19:42 IST Saif Ali Khan Stabbing Case: When Did Shariful Islam Come To Mumbai? Here's What Police Said Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 18:43 IST Mumbai Police in its 1,000-page chargesheet said that 19 out of the 20 fingerprint samples collected from Saif Ali Khan's Mumbai residence did not match with those of accused Shariful Islam. Actor Saif Ali Khan was allegedly stabbed by accused Shariful at his Bandra residence in January. Saif Ali Khan Stabbing Case: The Saif Ali Khan stabbing case saw a new twist as the chargesheet filed by Mumbai Police revealed that the fingerprint samples collected from the Bollywood actors Bandra West flat did not match with those of the accused Shariful Islam, who is believed to be a Bangladeshi immigrant. 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. Recommended Stories Mohammad Shariful Islam has been accused of breaking into Saifs Mumbai residence with the intent of robbing. He has also been accused of attacking the actor and his staff member using a wooden weapon and a blade. He has called the case against him false" and appealed for bail. However, the Mumbai Police revealed that 19 out of 20 samples sent to the state CIDs Fingerprint Bureau did not match with those of the accused. Notably, the only fingerprint that matched with the accused was the one recovered from the eighth floor of the building. When Did Shariful Islam Reach Mumbai? The Mumbai Police last week filed a chargesheet in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in connection to the Saif Ali Khan stabbing case. The chargesheet, which is reportedly 1000 pages long, contains several pieces of evidence against the accused, Shariful Islam, including facial recognition test results, fingerprint reports, an identification parade report, and findings of the forensic lab. The Mumbai Police in its chargesheet said that Islam was a Bangladeshi immigrant and found screenshots of several Bangladeshi documents on his mobile phone. Earlier investigations revealed he migrated to India and worked odd jobs to pay for his mothers treatment back in Bangladesh. Islam entered India illegally without a passport or any relevant documents, alleged the Mumbai Police. He lived in Kolkata for 15 days, where his maternal step-uncle currently lives. His uncle came to India at a young age, married an Indian woman and lived with his children there. From Kolkata, Shariful Islam arrived in Mumbai via the Gitanjali Express about 8.5 months ago. The chargesheet revealed that Islam used to send money to his family in the neighbouring country illegally via his manager or supervisor Amit Pandey. How Did The Stabbing Take Place? Citing Kareena Kapoors statement, the chargesheet divulged details of the night when Saif Ali Khan was stabbed by an intruder, when her younger son Jehangir Khans nanny came screaming into their room at around 2 am, alerting them about a man in the childs room with a knife demanding money. As the couple rushed to his room, Saif held the man, but was stabbed multiple times in the neck, back and hands. Another nanny also suffered injuries while trying to help him. Meanwhile, Kareena asked the nanny to get Jeh out of the room quickly and ran to the 12th floor of their house with Taimur Khan, Jeh and the nanny. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Saif later came to the same floor with stabbing injuries and blood on his clothes. Kapoor asked the house help to rush him to the hospital. Saif and Taimur were taken to the Lilavati Hospital via an autorickshaw. Kareena then contacted her sister Karisma Kapoor and manager Poonam Damania for help. Poonams husband Tejas Damania informed the police of the incident. Saif underwent a five-hour surgery to remove a piece of knife near his spine. 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 First Published: April 15, 2025, 18:43 IST Saudi Hajj Portal Reopens To Accommodate 10,000 More Indian Pilgrims After Centre's Intervention Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 12:41 IST Hajj 2025: The Saudi Hajj Ministry has agreed to reopen the Hajj (Nusuk) Portal for Combined Hajj Group Operators (CHGOs) to accommodate 10,000 pilgrims. The ministry said that it has issued urgent directions to CHGOs to complete their process without delay. (AP File) Hajj 2025: The Ministry of Minority Affairs said that, following Centres intervention, the Saudi Hajj Ministry has agreed to reopen the Hajj (Nusuk) Portal for Combined Hajj Group Operators (CHGOs) to accommodate 10,000 pilgrims, based on current availability in Mina. The ministry said that it has issued urgent directions to CHGOs to complete their process without delay. Recommended Stories It said, " Thanks to the Governments intervention, the Saudi Hajj Ministry has agreed to reopen the Hajj (Nusuk) Portal for Combined Hajj Group Operators (CHGOs) to accommodate 10,000 pilgrims, based on current availability in Mina. MoMA has issued urgent directions to CHGOs to complete their process without delay." India remains appreciative of any further gestures from Saudi authorities to accommodate more pilgrims, the ministry added. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, Facilitating the Haj pilgrimage is more than policy, its a matter of responsibility. Under the leadership of PM Modi, we remain committed to ensuring a safe & dignified journey for every pilgrim. Deep gratitude to the Saudi authorities for their cooperation." Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti Urged Centre To Intervene On The Issue Earlier, leaders from Opposition parties expressed their concern over the cancellation of Hajj slots by Saudi Arabia for Indian pilgrims. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, The reported cancellation of Hajj slots for over 52,000 Indian pilgrims, many of whom have already completed payments, is deeply concerning. I urge Honble Minister of External Affairs @DrSJaishankar to engage with the Saudi authorities at the earliest to explore a resolution in the interest of all affected pilgrims. This measure is crucial to ease the distress of thousands hoping to undertake the sacred pilgrimage this year." PDP President Mehbooba Mufti had then said, Disturbing news emerging from Saudi Arabia. Reports indicate that 80% of Indias private Hajj quota has been cut abruptly. This sudden decision is causing immense distress for pilgrims and tour operators across the country. Urge the Ministry of External Affairs to immediately intervene by taking up this matter with the Saudi government to seek a resolution." 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?" First Published: April 15, 2025, 10:57 IST Supreme Court To Hear Petitions Against Waqf Amendment Act Today Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 16, 2025, 06:34 IST The petitioners argue that the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, will undermine the religious essence of waqfs and severely impact the democratic governance of waqf administration and boards The petitioners have sought a direction from the Supreme Court for a stay on the Act. (Photo: PTI File) The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. According to the cause list published on the website of the apex court, a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan, will take up the matter for hearing on April 16. Recommended Stories Some of the petitioners are Asaduddin Owaisi, Amanatullah Khan, Association for the Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), Maulana Arshad Madani, Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, Anjum Kadri and many others. The petitioners argue that the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, will undermine the religious essence of waqfs and severely impact the democratic governance of waqf administration and boards. The Centre also filed a caveat in the top court so that no order should be passed without hearing it. The petitioners have sought a direction from the Supreme Court for a stay on the Act. One of the petitioners, the President of the Islamic clerics body, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani, in his plea, claimed the amendments were destructive of Waqf administration and jurisprudence in India and an effort to redefine the very nature of waqfs as existing in the country. The batch of pleas challenged the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act) on the grounds that it violates the rights enshrined under Article 14 (Right to equality), 25 (Freedom to practise religion), 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs), 29 (Minority rights) and 300-A (Right to property) of the Constitution. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, an NGO, and the DMK party, represented by its deputy general secretary A Raja, have filed petitions challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all After the legislation was passed by the Parliament in the first week of April, the Congress announced it will challenge the Waqf (Amendment) Bill (now an Act after the Presidential assent) before the Supreme Court, claiming that it was an attack on the basic structure of the Constitution and was aimed at polarising" and dividing" the country on the basis of religion. The concept of Waqf, rooted in Islamic laws and traditions, refers to an endowment made by a Muslim for charitable or religious purposes, such as mosques, schools, hospitals, or other public institutions. First Published: April 15, 2025, 23:03 IST Tahawwur Rana 'Smiled, Laughed' Weeks Before 26/11 Mumbai Attack; Staffers Who Worked With Him Under Scanner Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 09:21 IST The NIA is looking for the men who prepared David Headley's documents on the order of Tahawwur Rana and worked in his travel agency. 26/11 plotter Tahawwur Hussain Rana with NIA officials after his extradition in New Delhi. (Image: Sourced) While the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is questioning Tahawwur Rana in a high security cell inside the agencys headquarters, he himself told the US court how he reacted when he was briefed on the 26/11 Mumbai terror plot by David Headley, the Pakistani-American operative who conducted surveillance for Lashkar-e-Taiba. The NIA is also looking for the men who prepared Headleys documents on the order of Rana and worked in his travel agency. The most disturbing detail came in May 2008, when Headley updated Rana on his boat trips around the Mumbai harbour. Rana said in the US court that he smiled and laughed when Headley told the petitioner about a potential plan for attackers to land by boat at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and described Lashkars model of the hotel." Recommended Stories According to the investigation, Rana agreed to create a false cover story for Headleys mission in India by expanding his immigration business to Mumbai. Rana asked a man to prepare Headleys documents to create a cover story. Now, this man is also under the NIA radar. Rana directed an individual associated with First World to prepare documents supporting Headleys cover story, and advised Headley how to obtain a visa for travel to India, according to Headleys testimony, as well as emails and other documents that corroborated his account," US investigation has revealed. To create a cover story for Headleys surveillance in Mumbai, petitioner agreed to open a Mumbai branch of his immigration business and to fraudulently designate Headley as Regional Manager of that office," the US investigation revealed. The NIA is also looking for persons who were working for Tahawwur Rana in his travel agencies. The agency doubts that Rana had accommodated others who had links to different terror outfits based in Pakistan. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Headley testified that he attended the training camps on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2005. In late 2005, Headley received instructions from members of Lashkar to travel to India to conduct surveillance, which he did five times leading up to the Mumbai attacks three years later that killed more than 160 people and wounded hundreds more," investigation by US agencies revealed. In the early summer of 2006, Headley and two Lashkar members discussed opening an immigration office in Mumbai as a cover for his surveillance activities. Headley testified that he traveled to Chicago and advised Rana, his long-time friend since the time they attended high school together in Pakistan, of his assignment to scout potential targets in India. Headley obtained approval from Rana, who owned First World Immigration Services in Chicago and elsewhere, to open a First World office in Mumbai as cover for his activities," it says. About the Author Ankur Sharma With over 15 years of journalistic experience, Ankur Sharma, Associate Editor, specializes in internal security and is tasked with providing comprehensive coverage from the Ministry of Home Affairs, paramilitar... Read More With over 15 years of journalistic experience, Ankur Sharma, Associate Editor, specializes in internal security and is tasked with providing comprehensive coverage from the Ministry of Home Affairs, paramilitar... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 09:15 IST 5 Home Remedies To Ensure You're Eating Naturally Ripened Mangoes Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 15:24 IST Mango Adulteration Test: Summer is back, and so are mangoes. However, many people are worried about artificially ripened mangoes. Here are five simple hacks to identify them. Artificially ripened mangoes might be bland in taste. Mango Adulteration Test: This King of Fruits, the mango, is back in the markets. However, farmers and producers frequently resort to the severe measure of artificially ripened mangoes to meet the demand. Fruit ripening can be accelerated artificially by using chemicals or other techniques. Although its frequently used to satisfy demand or extend shelf life, the chemicals used can be harmful to ones health and may result in long-term problems. Mangoes can be ripened naturally in a few ways, and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) says that, as long as producers use approved agents, artificially ripened fruits are safe to eat worldwide. Meanwhile, they often resort to using calcium carbide, which has been prohibited by FSSAI standards. The FSSAI emphasises that fruit ripening techniques should guarantee consumer safety and improve nutritional value. Recommended Stories Find out these 5 home remedies to ensure youre eating naturally ripened mangoes. Floating Test According to one of the most often used test methods, mangoes that have been artificially ripened are said to float on the waters surface. Although you can use this test, it may not be entirely accurate because even naturally occurring mangoes, which are less thick, will float in water. This has led to criticism of the test over the years. Colour Test Examining the mangos skin color is the simplest way to determine if it is pure. Artificially ripened mangoes are frequently uniformly coloured and more yellow or orange than naturally ripened fruits. They may also exhibit a faint sheen that is ascribed to the chemicals used in the ripening process. Aroma Test A natural mango can also be identified by its aroma. Fruit that has been chemically ripened may smell chemical or strange, whereas naturally ripened fruit will smell sweet and fruity. An odd or disagreeable smell indicates artificial ripening. You may also tell if a mango is natural by looking at how much juice it has. Mangoes that have undergone artificial ripening usually contain little or no juice. On the other hand, organic mangoes have a lot of natural juice, which is a clear sign of high quality. Evaluate The Firmness The fruit can be gently pressed between your palms to check for adulteration. Because of the chemical breakdown of the cell walls, artificially ripened mangoes have a tendency to feel softer or mushier. Mangoes that ripen naturally, on the other hand, keep their firmer texture. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Flavour Is Everything Mangoes that have been artificially ripened frequently lack the deep sweetness and unique flavour of their natural fruit. An unpleasant aftertaste and a bland or odd taste could be signs of artificial ripening. 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: April 15, 2025, 10:00 IST From Hill Stations To Coastal Charms, Here's Where Indians Are Heading For Good Friday Getaway Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 15:40 IST With the upcoming long weekend, here are some places that you can head to for a perfect mini vacation. With its colonial architecture, breezy weather, and views of the Doon Valley, Mussoorie is perfect for all age groups With the Good Friday weekend around the corner, Indian travellers are gearing up for a perfect mini vacation. A short getaway is a perfect time to unwind, relax, and rejuvenate in this hot weather. From opting for refreshing coastal destinations for a quick dip in the sea to opting for a chill holiday in the snowy hills, travellers are getting ready to make the most of this weekend. Amidst this, Booking.coms latest data reveals that travellers across the country are looking to flock to cooler hill stations, coastal towns, and nearby road trip spots to make the most of the break. Here are the top 10 most searched domestic destinations from April 18 to April 21, 2025, among all travellers. Recommended Stories Ooty Rishikesh Bengaluru Mumbai New Delhi Munnar Puducherry Kodaikanal Mussoorie Manali Talking about this trend, Santosh Kumar, Country Manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com said, Were also seeing a growing interest for destinations within drivable distance from major metros. Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala, perennial favourites for those within driving range of Mumbai and Pune, are experiencing a 73% and 25% increase in accommodation searches, compared to the same time last year, especially among families seeking ease of travel and convenient road journeys for short breaks. Similarly, Ooty (+35%), Munnar (+60%) and Kodaikanal (+35%), all conveniently located within drivable distance from Bengaluru and Chennai, as well as Rishikesh (+120%) and Mussoorie (+85%), key road trip destinations from Delhi NCR, are also among the top 10 most searched destinations for the Good Friday long weekend." In case you are also planning a short road trip this weekend, then here are the top five places around Delhi NCR that make for perfect choices. Rishikesh Nestled along the banks of the Ganga, Rishikesh offers a blend of thrill and tranquility. Whether youre into river rafting, yoga retreats, or just soaking in the riverside serenity, this town has something for every kind of traveller. Dont miss Ganga Aarti at Triveni Ghat and a walk across the iconic Laxman Jhula. Mussoorie With its colonial architecture, breezy weather, and views of the Doon Valley, Mussoorie is perfect for all age groups. Take a stroll along Camels Back Road, visit Kempty Falls, and grab coffee with a view at Landour. Jaipur If history, food, and vibrant energy is your vibe, then Jaipur delivers. Explore the grandeur of the forts in the city, shop for handicrafts, and dont forget to try iconic Rajasthani thalis. Lansdowne A hidden gem in the Garhwal Hills, Lansdowne is for those who want to unplug and unwind. With minimal tourist crowds, pine-covered trails, and charming colonial-era churches, its perfect for a quiet getaway. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Nainital Surrounded by lush hills and centered around a shimmering lake, Nainital is your picture-perfect mountain escape. Boating on Naini Lake, strolling through Mall Road, or catching panoramic views from Snow View Pointits all equal parts calming and adventurous. About the Author Lifestyle Desk Our life needs a bit of style to get the perfect zing in the daily routine. News18 Lifestyle is one-stop destination for everything you need to know about the world of fashion, food, health, travel, relationshi... Read More Our life needs a bit of style to get the perfect zing in the daily routine. News18 Lifestyle is one-stop destination for everything you need to know about the world of fashion, food, health, travel, relationshi... Read More fashion, travel, The News18 Lifestyle section brings you the latest on health food , and culture with wellness tips, celebrity style, travel inspiration, and recipes. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 15:40 IST Sonam Kapoor Incorporates The Beauty Of Sakura In Her Look Ahead Of Dior Fall 2025 Show In Japan Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 09:53 IST Sonam Kapoor is in Kyoto to attend the Dior Fall 2025 show. The actor was named as the ambassador of the French luxury fashion house last year. Sonam Kapoor was styled by Rhea Kapoor and Abhilasha Devnani. The Dior Fall 2025 show in Kyoto is one of the most anticipated events in fashion. Among the celebrities who would be attending the fashion show is Sonam Kapoor. The diva took to her social media to share pictures of her look ahead of the show. Dressed head to toe in Dior, she embraced the spirit of Japan in her outfit. Taking to her Instagram, Sonam Kapoor shared a series of pictures of her look for the Dior Fall show. The actor was dressed in an all-black ensemble. Sharing the pictures, she wrote, Namaste Japan. Looking forward to the show tomorrow @dior." Her all-black look was a beautiful amalgamation of feminine allure and power dressing. Recommended Stories Take a closer look at Sonams OOTD here. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonam A Kapoor (@sonamkapoor) Sonam opted for a black double-breasted jacket, a matching skirt, and a contrasting white shirt. The black Dior jacket came with a collared neckline, a double-breasted closure on the front, full-length sleeves, and padded shoulders. The flared design on the cuffs and the front patch pockets, along with a stunning tailored fitting, was all about power dressing at its finest. She added a matching black belt to cinch the waist and accentuate the silhouette. She paired the jacket with a classic white shirt. The shirt peeked out from the jacket, and one could see her stylish studded cufflinks. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The actor added a matching black skirt to her look. The midi length skirt came with a boxy A-line silhouette and a tailored fit. For the accessories she sported a white Lady Dior top handle bag, several gold rings, earrings, gold hoop earcuffs, a gold bun accessory, and chic black pumps. For the glam, Sonam incorporated the beauty of sakura. She went with a matte and flawless base. She added a bright pink blush on her cheeks for that flush of colour. She defined her eyes with a pink shade on her eyelids, winged eyeliner, and mascara. She added a highlighter to the highpoints of her face for some sheen. She sported ombre Sakura nails and tied her hair in a side-parted twisted bun. 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: April 15, 2025, 09:53 IST Amarnath Yatra 2025: Complete Guide To Registration, Routes, And Travel Options Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 10:13 IST The Amarnath Yatra attracts thousands each year to the snow-covered Amarnath Cave in the South Kashmir Himalayas. Registration for the Amarnath Yatra started on April 14, 2025. The Amarnath Yatra is one of the most revered spiritual journeys in Hinduism. It attracts thousands of devotees each year. This 52-day pilgrimage ends at the sacred Amarnath Cave, situated in the serene and snow-covered South Kashmir Himalayas. Located around 29 kilometers from Pahalgam, the cave remains inaccessible for most of the year due to snow. It opens during a short summer window. Pilgrims get the rare opportunity to witness the naturally formed ice Shivling, considered a divine symbol of Lord Shiva. Important Dates for 2025 Recommended Stories This year, registration for the Amarnath Yatra began on April 14, 2025. The yatra will officially start on July 3, and conclude on August 9, 2025. Registration Process Registration is mandatory for all pilgrims. Devotees can choose between two methods: Online: Through the official Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) website. Offline: Via designated centers such as Panchayat Bhawan, Vaishnavi Dham, and Mahajan Hall. A Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC), issued by an authorised medical body, is required to confirm fitness for the high-altitude trek. To manage the number of participants, only about 15,000 yatris will be allowed per day. The registration fee for each pilgrim is Rs 220. How to Reach Amarnath Pilgrims can reach the Amarnath Yatra base camps by air, train, or road: By Train: Jammu Tawi Railway Station is the closest stopover. Buses and taxis are available from Jammu to Srinagar, Pahalgam, or Baltal. By Road: All key towns, including Jammu, Srinagar, Pahalgam, and Baltal, are well-connected by roadways. By Air: The nearest airport is Srinagar International Airport. From there, you can travel by road to Pahalgam (90 km) or Baltal/Sonamarg (100 km). Routes for the Yatra There are two main trekking routes: Pahalgam Route (32 km) This longer but more scenic route begins at the town of Pahalgam. It offers a trek through lush meadows, riverbanks, and forested trails. Baltal Route (15 km) The shorter but steeper Baltal route is more physically demanding. It is ideal for those who prefer a quicker journey. Helicopter Services For those seeking a faster or less strenuous journey, helicopter services are expected to be available again in 2025. These services operated successfully in 2024 and are likely to continue along these routes: Pahalgam Route: Pahalgam to Panjtarni and back. Baltal Route: Neelgrath to Panjtarni and back. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Official schedules and booking details for helicopter services are yet to be announced. Pilgrims must monitor the SASB website for the latest updates. The Amarnath Yatra is not just a physical trek. It is a deeply spiritual experience for those who undertake it. Whether they walk the traditional trails or opt for air travel, the moment of standing inside the sacred cave before the ice Shivling is one that devotees cherish for a lifetime. 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: April 15, 2025, 10:13 IST Amarnath Yatra 2025 Registration Process: Step-by-Step Guide To Register Online And Offline Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 15:31 IST Amarnath Yatra Registration 2025: Planning a visit to Amarnath but wondering how to register for the sacred yatra? Here's a step-by-step process for online or offline registration. While the Amarnath Cave remains inaccessible for most of the year due to snow, it opens for a short period in summers. Amarnath Yatra Registration 2025: In delightful news, devotees can now plan a visit to one of Hinduisms most sacred pilgrimages, the Amarnath Yatra. The registrations for the holy visit have finally begun, prompting thousands of devotees to embark on the spiritual trek and seek blessings from Lord Shiva at the Amarnath Cave Temple in Jammu and Kashmir. The religious site is popular among Hindus for its naturally formed ice Shiva Lingam, which is worshipped with deep devotion. Wondering how to register for the sacred yatra? Fret not, as here we explain the process for both online and offline registration to get started on this divine journey. Recommended Stories Amarnath Yatra 2025: Important Dates Yatra start date: June 29, 2025 Yatra end date: August 19, 2025 (Shravan Purnima) Route options: Pahalgam Route (Traditional, longer) Baltal Route (Shorter but steeper) Amarnath Yatra Registration 2025 Online To register online, pilgrims should visit the official Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) website. They can also register offline through over 540 authorised bank branches across India. On the official website, click on Online Services in the top menu. Locate Yatra Permit Registration from the dropdown and click on it. Carefully go through all the guidelines, including dos and donts. Once done, select I Agree, followed by clicking on Register. In the next step, you are required to fill in your personal details like name, preferred yatra date, Aadhaar number and mobile number. Proceed with uploading a passport-size photo and a scanned copy of your Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC). The next step requires you to verify your mobile number via the OTP sent to your phone. Within two hours, you will receive a payment link. Follow the link to pay the registration fee (approximately Rs 220, but it can vary). Once the payment is done, you will be allowed to download your Yatra Registration Permit directly from the portal. Amarnath Yatra Registration 2025 Offline Moving on to registrations in offline mode, the Jammu and Kashmir government has allocated centers like Vaishnavi Dham, Panchayat Bhawan and Mahajan Hall to ease the process for devotees. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Visit one of the centres and collect a token slip. The slip is issued three days before your Yatra date. A day after getting your token slip, visit Saraswati Dham for your medical check-up and registration. Collect your RFID card from the designated center in Jammu on the same day and complete the formalities. It is mandatory to be careful while completing the process and make sure to wrap it in advance. Furthermore, ensure that you are carrying all necessary documents to avoid any hassles. These documents include a certificate and valid ID. 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: April 15, 2025, 13:54 IST Akshay Kumar Thanks PM Narendra Modi For Shoutout To Sankaran Nair Ahead Of Kesari 2 Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 08:26 IST PM Narendra Modi paid tribute to Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair during his visit to Haryana. Akshay Kumar thanked Modi for acknowledging Nair, whom he portrays in Kesari: Chapter 2. Akshay Kumar expresses gratitude to PM Narendra Modi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to lawyer and freedom fighter Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair during his recent visit to Haryana, just ahead of the release of Kesari: Chapter 2 starring Akshay Kumar. While he didnt directly mention the film, PM Modi highlighted Nairs fearless stand against British rule following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. His remarks came during the inauguration of several key projects, including the Hisar Airport. Now, Akshay Kumar has thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for acknowledging Chettur Sankaran Nair, the very historical figure hes set to portray in his upcoming film Kesari: Chapter 2. On Monday (April 14), Akshay Kumar took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account to share a video clip of PM Modis speech in Haryana, where the Prime Minister is seen remembering Chettur Sankaran Nair and his contributions. Recommended Stories Thank you Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji for remembering the great Chettur Sankaran Nair ji and his contribution to our freedom struggle. It is so important that we as a nation, especially the younger generation values the great women and men who fought valiantly to ensure that we breathe in a free country," Akshay wrote. He added, Our Kesari Chapter 2, is a humble effort to remind everyone that we must never take our freedom for granted." Take a look: Thank you Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji for remembering the great Chettur Sankaran Nair ji and his contribution to our freedom struggle. It is so important that we as a nation, especially the younger generation values the great women and men who fought valiantly to ensure pic.twitter.com/Na2Dr9ff5t Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) April 14, 2025 On April 14, PM Modi had praised Kerala-born lawyer Chettur Sankaran Nair for his courageous stand against the British following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He spoke about the Baisakhi celebrations in Punjab and noted that the day also marks 106 years since the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. There was Baisakhi in Punjab, but it was also the 106th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. One aspect of this massacre has remained in the dark it is a humanitarian issue. There was a man named Sankaran Nair, whose name many may not have heard. He was a prominent lawyer holding a high post in the British government. He could have enjoyed all the perks and luxuries, but he chose to give it all up," the Prime Minister said. He added how Nair, hailing from South, felt deeply for his fellow countrymen from Punjab and decided to stand up for them against the British empire. Though he was from Kerala and the incident happened in Punjab, he fought the case and moved the British. Sankaran Nair ensured that the British government was brought to the court of law. This is what makes India great one India, a united India," PM Modi added. During his speech, the Prime Minister hailed Nairs significant contributions and urged every citizen to remember his lasting legacy. He said, The people of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh should know about Sankaran Nair. Every adult and child should be aware of his contributions. We must remember him he is an inspiration and a symbol of our patriotic spirit." Meanwhile, Kesari 2 stars Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan and Ananya Panday. The film releases on April 18. First Published: April 15, 2025, 08:26 IST Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's 'Shaam Savera' Dish Saved Khana Khazana: 'Zee TV Was Shutting Down The Show' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 16, 2025, 02:21 IST Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's Shaam Savera dish saved Khana Khazana from being shut down and made him a household name. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor became a household name after Khana Khazana. Before he became an acclaimed filmmaker, Scam 1992 director Hansal Mehta was a computer programmer working in Fiji. But upon returning to India, his life took a surprising turn, one that would forever shape Indias food television history. Hansal recalled how he pitched the idea of a cookery show to the newly launched Zee TV in the early 90s. I went to Zee TV with a proposal of a cookery show and dropped it at the Zee TV reception in Worli. It was my idea. I said India needed a food show." He credits Tahir Raj Bhasins maasi Lakshmi for introducing him to the head of Zee TV, leading to his show Khana Khazana getting greenlit. They said well let you know. And in three weeks, I got two jobs. Zee TV okay-ed my show and I got Rs 36,000 cheque for my food show. It was a big amount in 1993," he told Pinkvilla. Recommended Stories But the big question remained, who would host it? While searching for chefs at Centaur Hotel in Juhu, Hansal met Sanjeev Kapoor. The general manager introduced me to five other chefs but not Sanjeev. While I was leaving, Sanjeev came and gave me his card and asked if I needed anything. I took his card and called him I said the GM didnt introduce me to you. Youre the guy! I want you to do the show." Zee, however, wasnt convinced. Zee TV rejected him over and over again for 8 to 10 weeks. We were forced to shoot with an anchor person and chef of their choice. But I kept fighting You need a credible person. The women, the men of this country must feel that I will be able to cook this food at home." One day, on the verge of cancellation, Hansal called Sanjeev Kapoor. I told him, palak hai, paneer hai, chicken, tamatar, pyaaz show band ho raha hai. Last shoot hai. Tu kuch karke jaa." Sanjeev created Shaam Savera, a spinach-paneer dish in makhani sauce. What followed changed everything. A full mail pack came in and all letters were for Sanjeev Kapoor. That dish became a nationwide rage. Sanjeev has to cook it wherever he goes, even for the Prime Minister or foreign dignitaries." 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: April 16, 2025, 02:21 IST Kesari Chapter 2 FIRST Review Out: Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan Are Brilliant; Film Deserves National Award Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 19:57 IST Kesari Chapter 2 review: The first reviews of Kesari Chapter 2 are looking good for Akshay Kumar and R Madhavans upcoming film. Kesari Chapter 2 stars Akshay Kumar in the lead. (Photo Credits: Instagram) Kesari Chapter 2 review: The first reviews of Kesari Chapter 2 are looking good for Akshay Kumars upcoming film. On Tuesday, political leaders praised the movie after a special screening in New Delhi. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri shared a detailed review, calling Kesari Chapter 2 a powerful and moving tribute to Indias freedom movement and the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh." Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, too, praised the film as did entrepreneur and former actress Asins husband, Rahul Sharma. Delhi CM Rekha Gupta took to X to share photos with Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan and wrote in Hindi, The film Kesari Chapter 2 presents the spirit of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice in a very impactful and emotional manner. Every scene is filled with pride and inspiration. Best wishes to Shri @akshaykumar, Shri @ActorMadhavan, and the entire team of #KesariChapter2. Thanks to Union Minister Shri @HardeepSPuri Ji for the invitation to the film screening." Recommended Stories Actress Asin Thottumkal, who worked with Akshay Kumar in Khiladi 786 and Housefull 2, shares a close bond with him and does her husband, entrepreneur Rahul Sharma. Rahul took to X to write, Weve all read about Jallianwala Bagh in history books, but nothing prepares you for the truth I witnessed today at the special screening of #Kesari2. Im short of words for how deeply moved I am. This is content, deserving of a National Award. Brilliant performances by @akshaykumar and @ActorMadhavan. Dont miss it." Weve all read about Jallianwala Bagh in history books, but nothing prepares you for the truth I witnessed today at the special screening of #Kesari2. I'm short of words for how deeply moved I am. This is content, deserving of a National Award. Brilliant performances by Rahul Sharma (@rahulsharma) April 15, 2025 Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, too, praised the film. He wrote, Kesari Chapter 2 is a powerful, deeply moving and evocative cinematic ode to Indias freedom movement and to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh. This gripping narrative that transports you into the middle of the courtroom where Akshay Kumar essaying the role of lawyer Sir C." Directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh is based on the book The Case That Shook The Empire by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat. It will hit the big screens on April 18, 2025. About the Author Shreyanka Mazumdar Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 19:32 IST New Twist In Saif Ali Khan Stabbing Case: Fingerprints Of Main Accused Not Found In Actor's Flat Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 13:10 IST Saif Ali Khan Stabbing Case: Nearly 20 samples were sent to the state CID's Fingerprint Bureau, of which 19 did not match with that of the accused. Actor Saif Ali Khan was allegedly stabbed by accused Shariful at his Bandra residence in January. In a big twist in the Saif Ali Khans stabbing case, the chargesheet filed by Mumbai Police has revealed that the crucial fingerprint samples collected from inside the actors Mumbai flat did not match with that of the accused Shariful Islam. Nearly 20 samples were sent to the state CIDs Fingerprint Bureau, of which 19 did not match with that of the accused. Recommended Stories According to details in the police chargesheet, the fingerprints found on the black bathroom door, the sliding door of the bedroom, and the cupboard door did not match with Shariful. Notably, the only fingerprint that matched with the accused was the one recovered from the eighth floor of the building. However, Mumbai police sources stated that the chances of fingerprints matching are one in 1000 as several people use and touch objects, which is why the fingerprint match is not foolproof evidence. Accused Shariful Sent Money Illegally To Family In Bangladesh The Mumbai Police chargesheet also revealed that the accused, who is reportedly from Bangladesh, used to sent money to his family in the neighbouring country illegally via a relative. The police in the chargesheet mentioned that Shariful would send money to Abdulla Alim via his manager or supervisor Amit Pandey. Alim was his sisters husband. Indian currency was being illegally sent out of India via a Bangalore-based account, the chargesheet revealed. Police File Over 1000-Page Chargesheet The Mumbai Police last week filed a chargesheet in the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in connection to the Saif Ali Khan stabbing case. The chargesheet, which is reportedly 1000 pages long, contains several pieces of evidence against the accused, Shariful Islam. The chargesheet reportedly included facial recognition test results, fingerprint reports, an identification parade report, and findings of the forensic lab. The police had also opposed the bail plea of the accused in the case and informed the Mumbai court that the knife fragment that got lodged near the spine of the actor and the one found at the scene of the crime matched with the weapon recovered from the accused, Mohammad Shariful Islam. The actor was stabbed by an intruder at his Mumbai residence in the wee hours of January 16. It was reported that the incident took place at around 2 am, when the actor heard noises after one of his female employees was attacked in Jehs room. This prompted Saif to intervene, which led to an altercation between the actor and the intruder, causing severe injuries to Khan. About the Author Yesha Kotak Yesha Kotak, Special Correspondent, CNN-News18, specialises in crime, court and investigative reporting. She describes herself as a print reporter in TV. With six years of experience in journalism, Yesha has ea... Read More Yesha Kotak, Special Correspondent, CNN-News18, specialises in crime, court and investigative reporting. She describes herself as a print reporter in TV. With six years of experience in journalism, Yesha has ea... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 10:25 IST Sara Ali Khan Shares Fresh Photos From Switzerland With Mom Amrita Singh, Ibrahim Ali Khan | See Here Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 11:43 IST Sara will appear in Anurag Basus highly anticipated anthology Metro In Dino, a romantic drama set to hit theatres on July 4. Sara Ali Khan shares photos with Amrita Singh and Ibrahim Ali Khan Sara Ali Khan is currently enjoying family time with mother Amrita Singh and brother Ibrahim Ali Khan, in Switzerland. The actress has been sharing a lot of photos on her social media handle and keeping fans updated about it. Sara was last seen in Sky Force with Veer Pahariya and Akshay Kumar. The film is currently streaming on the OTT platform. Taking to her Instagram stories, Sara shared photos in which she is seen posing with Amrita Singh and Ibrahim. In other photos, she is seen enjoying the beauty and weather of Switzerland. Recently, she treated her fans to a glimpse of her serene getaway to Interlaken, Switzerland. On Monday, the actress took to Instagram to share a series of scenic snapshots from her vacation, offering followers a virtual postcard of her time in the Swiss Alps. Recommended Stories Take a look here: The first image captured Sara Ali Khan alongside her mother, veteran actress Amrita Singh, set against the stunning backdrop of snow-covered mountains. The carousel then followed Sara through a series of adventurous and relaxed moments from soaring through the skies while paragliding to sipping coffee and taking a refreshing dip in the pool. Her brother, Ibrahim Ali Khan, also made a few appearances in the photo dump. He was spotted taking pictures of Sara from a bridge, while she soaked up the sun and admired the landscape. The carousel captured the peaceful charm of Interlaken through Saras lens. She captioned her post, My most green red flag," while using the romantic track Tere Bin from her film Simmba as the background audio. Her aunt, Saba Pataudi, responded with red heart emojis, while fans gushed over the post with comments like serving looks and landscapes" and so pinteresty oml." Sara will appear in Anurag Basus highly anticipated anthology Metro In Dino, a romantic drama set to hit theatres on July 4. The ensemble cast includes Aditya Roy Kapur, Anupam Kher, Pankaj Tripathi, Neena Gupta, Konkona Sen Sharma, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Ali Fazal. About the Author Akriti Anand Akriti Anand is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. A news writer with over a decade of experience, Akriti loves to keep a close watch on Bollywood celebrities and their social media. A post-g... Read More Akriti Anand is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. A news writer with over a decade of experience, Akriti loves to keep a close watch on Bollywood celebrities and their social media. A post-g... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 11:43 IST Why Are Netizens Questioning Kim Soo Hyuns Baeksang Award Amid Kim Sae Ron Dating Scandal? Know Here Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 09:43 IST This also comes at a time when Kim Soo Hyun has also been accused of dating the late actress Kim Sae Ron when she was just a minor. Kim Soo Hyun recently held a press conference and addressed allegations against him. (Photo: Instagram) When Kim Soo Hyun starred in the show Queen Of Tears last year, he impressed everyone. The Netflix show became one of the most-watched dramas of the year on the OTT platform and was widely loved by all. For his performance in the show, Soo Hyun had also received the Baeksang Award one of the most prestigious awards in South Korea. However, the award had also left many disappointed, with people claiming that the female lead of the show, Kim Ji Won, was snubbed. A year later, Kim Soo Hyuns Baeksang Award has once again raised questions. Recently, the judge for the award show and critic, Jeong Deok Hyeon, justified Kim Ji Wons snub at the mega show and shared that in the few episodes that had aired by the time of the award show, Kim Ji Won had not been able to show her acting skills to her fullest. Recommended Stories When the first round of judging started, it started pretty early. Queen of Tears hadnt even begun airing yet. So, there was a lot of debate over whether to include it or not. Since it barely made the cutoff, theres actually an original standard. If a certain percentage has aired, then it becomes eligible. But it was difficult for us to judge it properly without having seen the full content," Jeong explained, as quoted by The Statesman. At the point we were watching it, Kim Soo Hyuns performance stood out clearly, but Kim Jiwon hadnt really shined yet on the video. Thats why she didnt make it into the nominations and actually, we explained all this to Kim Jiwons agency and the actress also heard it and accepted it all. The public doesnt know, though, so they just criticize us," he added. This has left netizens disappointed, with many questioning Jeongs justification. This also comes at a time when Kim Soo Hyun has also been accused of dating the late actress Kim Sae Ron when she was just a minor. So far, the latters family has made several allegations against Soo Hyun. However, Kim Soo Hyun recently held a press conference and addressed allegations. He said, Ill address the biggest concernI did not date the deceased when she was a minor. We dated five years ago for about a year, long before Queen of Tears aired." The actor also explained why he denied dating Sae Ron earlier, saying, As the lead actor of Queen of Tears, I couldnt confirm the relationship publicly because of its potential impact on the cast and crew." Kim also denied accusations that his agency pressured Sae Ron over her debts, saying, Aside from the fact that we were both actors, we were simply an ordinary couple who broke up over time." 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: April 15, 2025, 09:43 IST You Season 5: Heres When And Where To Penn Badgley As Joe Goldberg One Last Time Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 18:09 IST The fifth season of You will focus on Joe Goldberg's (played by Penn Badgley) return to New York. The show will air on Netflix from April 24. Netflixs You is set to end with season 5. (Photo Credit: Instagram) Actor Penn Badgley is all set to return to the screen as the psychotic killer Joe Goldberg one last time in the fifth and final instalment of You. Earlier this year, the makers confirmed that the psychological thriller would end with its fifth season. The last season of the hit series that turned a charming bookstore manager into televisions most unsettling and notorious anti-hero is set to premiere this month. Netflix revealed that Yous fifth and final season will be available to the public on the streaming giant from April 24, 2025. Taking it to social media, Netflix shared a mysterious poster of Yous last season, teasing fans about what they can expect. They wrote in the caption: If those glass walls could talk Joe Goldberg returns for the fifth and final season of YOU, premiering April 24th." Recommended Stories View this post on Instagram A post shared by YOU (@younetflix) Inspired by Caroline Kepnes novel of the same name, You follows the story of Joe Goldberg, a seemingly ordinary bookstore manager with the extraordinary ability to manipulate, obsess, and destroy anything that interferes with his idea of love". With each season, Joe has moved to cities, embracing new identities and having complex relationships with various women. Last month, Netflix dropped the official trailer of season 5, which opens with Joe delivering his iconic dialogue: Hello, you." In the final season, Joe returns to New York City, where his twisted journey began. He returns to the city for a fresh start and tries to adjust to a life of fame and family. But as the trailer progresses, it is revealed that he just could not leave behind his dark past so easily, and it comes haunting him. According to the official synopsis, the new season will be about Joe Goldbergs return to New York City, where he tries to create a happy life with his new partner, Kate Galvin. However, his past and dark desires threaten his plans." Despite all his efforts to bury his past self, Joe finds familiar faces and old habits resurfacing in the final season, threatening the life he created for himself. With hints of a new love interest and some dangerous encounters from the past, the last season of You promises an intense and thrilling watch for the fans. Apart from Penn Badgley as Joe Goldberg, Yous season 5 will also feature Charlotte Ritchie, Madeline Brewer, Griffin Matthews, Natasha Behnam, and Tom Francis in key roles. About the Author Shreyanka Mazumdar Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More Shreyanka Mazumdar is Chief Sub Editor of the entertainment team at News18. With an unbridled passion for all things Bollywood, she loves deep-diving into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment world, bring... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 18:09 IST Write Mind | RSS And Ambedkar: When Two Doctors Meet Written By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 09:04 IST With one soul-stirring journey, PM Narendra Modi has lit a quiet lantern, blending Ambedkars azure dreams with the RSSs saffron glow. PM Modi is fusing the RSSs gentle cradle with Ambedkars wise counsel, crafting a Bharat less about yesterdays shadows and more about tomorrows shimmer. (Image: PTI) Picture two rivers carving through Indias heartland Dr BR Ambedkars fierce torrent of justice and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs (RSS) steady stream of unity. Ambedkar, an intrepid and unconventional nationalist, roared against the decayed caste system, his words echoing and piercing across generations. Then theres the RSS, which emerged from Nagpurs nurturing cradle in 1925 and patiently sewed together a vibrant patchwork of Hindu kinship. For decades, people reckoned these two couldnt share a meal one toppling ancient stones, the other laying bricks for a collective hearth. But alongside him strides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and with one soul-stirring journey, hes lit a quiet lantern, blending Ambedkars azure dreams with the RSSs saffron glow. This, dear readers, is the ever-growing and adapting New India. PM Modi ambled into Deekshabhoomi, where Dr Ambedkar stepped into Buddhisms fold in 1956, a bold leap toward dignity beyond castes jagged grip. Then, he paid homage at RSS founder KB Hedgewars resting place. Theyve seemed like fire and water before one breaking chains with a vengeance, the other binding hearts with care. But squint through the haze, and theres Modis wizardry: a vision where these two dont tussle but sit shoulder-to-shoulder, trading tales over steaming tea, hands linked, not dangling in some awkward standoff. The visuals, I tell you, have been etched in the history where Modi threaded Ambedkars battle for the downtrodden with the RSSs passion for a united Bharat. Recommended Stories Rewind the clock a bit. Lets take a moment to reflect on Ambedkars impact. Ambedkar was a storm, no doubt sweeping away castes cobwebs with a broom of intellect. I was born a Hindu, but I will not die one," he declared, shepherding millions to Buddhisms welcoming shade. And heres the gem he chose an Indic path, not some foreign faith or Semitic cult like Islam, hungry to convert souls door-to-door. In Buddha and His Dhamma, he mused, I want a religion that teaches liberty, equality, and fraternity" (Ambedkar, 1957) a nod to Buddhas gentle creed, born of this soil. US-born Dalit scholar Gail Omvedt, in Buddhism in India, writes that Ambedkar saw it as a rational, indigenous alternative to Hinduisms flaws" (Omvedt, 2003), sidestepping Abrahamic lures. The RSS, too, chants an Indic refrain Hindu pride, yes, but often misread by those quick to judge. Some slap a Brahminical" tag, but peek beneath: theyve cheered Dalit priests, shunned untouchability, and tried however imperfectly to widen the family circle. They are not impeccably clean, nor are they a snarling tyrant, but rather a steadfast elder who is both fumbling and full of heart. Now, heres the thread Modis spinning into gold: both Ambedkar and the RSS are torchbearers of our Indic essence our shared legacy, culture, and civilisation that stood like a rock against the blood-drenched horrors of foreign invaders bent on crushing us. Ambedkars Buddhism wasnt a farewell to Bharats spirit but an exposition to the idea that Bharat was; the RSSs unity song echoes that same ancient resilience think Mughal swords clashing against our roots or colonial boots trampling our pride. Modi skillfully incorporated this overlap into his grand plan, envisioning a Bharat that not only endures these challenging times but also rises to prominence on its own. Hes leveraging this bond, which is entirely reasonable. Invaders couldnt silence the pulse of defiance and dignity that ties these giants together. Modi steps forward nursed on RSS melodies of unity" and harmony." He dreams of a Bharat where every voice chimes, a tune plucked from those early mornings of discipline and devotion. Yet Ambedkars shadow trails him think of the Uniform Civil Code, Babasahebs old hope, or Ujjwala Yojana, kindling fires in homes long dimmed by neglect. Modis not just waving the RSS standard; hes pairing it with Ambedkars light, proving you can cherish your origins and lift the fallen in one sweeping breath. That Nagpur sojourn? A soft whisper: See, these two can rest on the same bench, no fuss." Of course, history is filled with complexities. Ambedkar once called Hindu Raj a calamity," and the RSS didnt always cheer his Hindu Code Bill with drumrolls. But with the perceived Uniform Civil Code facing us, time will reconcile a convergence of the two. Theyve had their spats, like siblings squabbling over the last piece of cake. But Modis not rifling through dusty journals; hes painting a fresh mural. By saluting both, hes nudging the RSS to cast its unity beam along Ambedkars justice path a future where the RSSs familial warmth and Ambedkars fairness charter clasp hands, not fists. This is New Indias rhythm sweeter than old quarrels. Weve been caught in this push-and-pullsecular versus saffron, caste versus oneness, Ambedkar versus RSSlike a record stuck on a mournful note. Modis flipped the script, asking, Why pick a side?" Hes fusing the RSSs gentle cradle with Ambedkars wise counsel, crafting a Bharat less about yesterdays shadows and more about tomorrows shimmer. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all So here we linger, peering at this new sunrise. Can Ambedkars blaze and the RSSs radiance share one lantern? Modi, with his RSS homeland and Ambedkar-lit heart, says yes. In this New India, Deekshabhoomi and Hedgewars shakhas might just swap stories over a warm brew, washing old grime with a downpour of hope. The confluence of the two outstanding doctors Dr Hedgewar and Dr Ambedkar is the harbinger of Naya Bharat." Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. He tweets with @iyuvrajpokharna. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. About the Author Yuvraj Pokharna Yuvraj Pokharna is a Surat-based author and media panelist who vociferously voices his opinions on issues of Hindutva, Islamist Jihad, politics, policies, and sometimes mules over books. He can be followed on I... Read More Yuvraj Pokharna is a Surat-based author and media panelist who vociferously voices his opinions on issues of Hindutva, Islamist Jihad, politics, policies, and sometimes mules over books. He can be followed on I... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 09:04 IST CNN name, logo and all associated elements and 2024 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. CNN and the CNN logo are registered marks of Cable News Network, LP LLLP, displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of NEWS18.com does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them. Copyright Network18 Media and Investments Ltd 2024. All rights reserved. Will Kesari 2 Boost Saff-Run In Kerala & Punjab? Decoding BJPs Attack On Congress Over Unsung Heroes Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 19:13 IST According to the BJP, the Congress ignores anyone who is not a Gandhi be it Sardar Patel, Savarkar, Subhash Chandra Bose, and now Sankaran Nair, on whom the Akshay Kumar-starrer Kesari 2 is based (Left) Hardeep Singh Puri hosted actor Akshay Kumar who plays the role of Sankaran Nair in the movie, Kesari 2. (X) The movie Kesari Chapter 2, starring Akshay Kumar as Sankaran Nair, opens with gruesome images from the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. While the actors avoid any controversy surrounding the film, the fact that Nair, the barrister who challenged the Crown, remains unknown to most is undeniable. Even Akshay Kumar had said, Before I was offered this movie, I didnt know of the role played by Nair. This, despite the fact that I come from Punjab and have been to Jallianwala Bagh many times." Recommended Stories Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri even advised Congress leaders to watch the film. Deeply honoured that you watched our film and hosted a special screening @HardeepSPuri sir. My entire team and I hope and pray that the nation gets to know about the valiant effort of C. Sankaran Nair. Rab raakha https://t.co/j5rIUr3BDR Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) April 15, 2025 The movie is not preachy and avoids making any political points. There is no mention of Nairs role as a Congress president. It makes no reference to his political moves; instead, it is portrayed as an intense, emotional courtroom drama. However, the movie has become a political battleground between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Even the Prime Minister has said that the Congress cannot see beyond the Nehru-Gandhi family. According to the BJP, anyone who is not a Gandhi is ignored like Sardar Patel, Sawarkar, Subhash Chandra Bose, and now Sankaran Nair. The Congress has so far remained silent, except for Shashi Tharoor, who hails from Kerala and acknowledged that Nair should be honoured in history. Ahead of the Kerala polls in 2026, and at the national level, the BJP will likely target the Congress for neglecting icons. Sankaran Nair Sir's due place was not given in the history : @RahulEaswar. ActivistThe Congress party has given C Sankaran Nair all respect, but the BJP's intention is not good : Rony K Baby, Congress @ShivaniGupta_5 | #Congress #BJP #PlianSpeak pic.twitter.com/Pu7mKeFnk1 News18 (@CNNnews18) April 15, 2025 The BJP has already accused the Gandhis of using Kerala as an entry point to Parliament. With Nair missing from the Congress narrative, this sentiment will be further highlighted by the BJP. The BJP will also likely capitalise on the Sikh and Punjabi sentiment in the movie. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all With an eye on Punjab and to challenge the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Jallianwala Bagh massacre will reignite emotions, which the BJP will utilise. With Kesari 2, the BJP hopes to reshape the political landscape. About the Author Pallavi Ghosh Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. She has als... Read More Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. She has als... Read More First Published: April 15, 2025, 18:46 IST 'Laton Ke Bhoot...': Yogi Adityanath Attacks Mamata Govt Over Murshidabad Violence, SP Reacts Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 15:03 IST Using the Hindi idiom, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said, "Laton ke bhoot baaton se kahan manne wale hain (Those who understand only force, won't understand words)." Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath (PTI Image) Amid the ongoing unrest in West Bengals Murshidabad during protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attacked the Mamata Banerjee government, saying, Bengal is burning" and its Chief Minister is silent". He further added that the only cure for rioters is a danda" (stick). Using the Hindi idiom, Adityanath said, Laton ke bhoot baaton se kahan manne wale hain (Those who understand only force, wont understand words)," Recommended Stories Addressing a gathering in Hardoi, Adityanath said, Bengal is burning. The Chief Minister of the state is silent. She calls rioters messengers of peace. In the name of secularism, they have given complete freedom to rioters to create unrest. The entire Murshidabad has been on fire for the last week, yet the government remains silent. Such anarchy must be brought under control." The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also thanked the Calcutta High Court for ordering the deployment of central forces immediately" in Murshidabad. I thank the judiciary there for deploying central forces to ensure the safety of the minority Hindus in the area. The Congress is silent on the riots in Murshidabad. The Samajwadi Party is also quiet," he added. Three people were killed at Murshidabad and homes of many families were destroyed as the protests against the Waqf law amendments turned violent. Yogi Adityanath also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for passing the Waqf Amendment Act. We are grateful to PM Modi and Amit Shah, who, by passing the Waqf Amendment Act, have put an end to the looting of poor peoples land. Now, the recovered land will be used to build hospitals, houses for the poor, schools, and universities. The looting of land has come to an end, and thats why these people are upset," he added. Samajwadi Party Reacts Responding to Yogi Adityanaths comments, SP leader IP Singh questioned the language of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and accused him of trying to divide the country. Taking to X, Singh said, This is the language of a Baba Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Those who understand the language of force wont understand words. Tell the Home Minister to deploy Central Security Forces in the violence-hit areas of Bengal and kill them by firing bullets. People like Yogi Adityanath want another partition of the country." They are unable to stop gangrapes and riots in UP and are now giving inflammatory statements against West Bengal," he added. Mamata Banerjee Urges Calm top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Meanwhile, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed for peace and asked people to refrain from any unrighteous behaviour in the name of religion." She said that the law in question has been brought by the Centre, and not the state government. Every human life is precious, do not incite riots for the sake of politics. Those who are inciting riots are harming society," said Banerjee in an X post. 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 : Uttar Pradesh, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 14:55 IST 'The Last Supper', Laddoos & Munambam: How BJP Has Come A Long Way In Kerala From 2023 Sneh Yatra Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 11:24 IST With both Congress and the Left being seen to be deserting the Christian victims of Munambam, now they see an ally in the prime minister who, regardless of political opposition and mass protests, amended the law they have so far called unfair BJPs new Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited Munambam and joined residents in their celebrations soon after the passage of the Bill in both Houses of Parliament. (News18) Hours after Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Kerala witnessed something novel as 50 people from Munambam where 400 acres of land have been at the centre of the Waqf debate in Kerala joined the BJP. These 50 were Christians and mostly members of the Munambam protesters action committee. Under normal circumstances, 50 people joining the BJP would not be significant. However, with the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) a powerful body representing the Syro-Malabar, Latin, and Syro-Malankara Catholic Churches making the fight of Christian residents of Munambam a focal point in their support to the historic amendment, it assumes huge significance. Recommended Stories WHY MUNAMBAM MATTERS In a state where Christians form 18.4 per cent of the population, the optics of Munambam siding with the BJP is crucial; more so after the Congress and the Left rejected the Churchs demand asking their MPs to vote in favour of amending anti-people sections" in the Waqf law. All of a sudden, the BJP, which is often portrayed as a political outfit espousing Hindutva and thus unfit for Keralas unique social fabric, emerged as the sole champion of the Christian community in the state. New state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited Munambam and joined residents in their celebrations soon after the passage of the Bill in both Houses of Parliament. As Chandrasekhar reached Munambam, he was greeted by a group of residents eager to welcome him and his colleagues. Sweets were exchanged and the residents presented him with a photo of Jesuss last supper. Now, Union minister for minority affairs Kiren Rijiju is scheduled to visit Munambam for an event titled Thank You, Modi on Tuesday and meet families there who were earlier affected. He will expose and shatter all the shameless lies and false narratives being spread by the Congress and Left parties in an attempt to mislead the families there," said Chandrasekhar. The Kerala State Waqf Board had claimed ownership of around 400 acres of land in Ernakulams Munambam, affecting over 600 families, predominantly Christians and some Hindus, who have lived there for generations. These residents, mainly fishermen, hold registered deeds and have paid land taxes, yet faced legal challenges due to provisions in the Waqf Act of 1995. The nature of the law allowed the Waqf Board to claim properties it deems as its own, even bypassing civil courts and relegating disputes to Waqf Tribunals. With both Congress and the Left being seen to be deserting the Christian victims of Munambam, now they see an ally in the prime minister who, regardless of political opposition and mass protests, amended the law they have so far called unfair. The Christians, the Hindus, the Muslims all have realised what the Congress has done. So, sleepless nights [are in store] for Sonia Gandhi and her team for having murdered the Constitution" said BJP spokesperson and another Kerala Christian face Tom Vadakkan. FROM SNEH YATRA IN 2023 TILL TODAY On Easter 2023, BJP in Kerala launched its Sneh Yatra, an outreach programme aimed at connecting with the Christian community in the state. Then Kerala BJP president K Surendran visited Cardinal George Alencherry, the former head of the prominent Syro Malabar Church, to convey Christmas greetings from PM Modi. Back then, he also reached out to Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparbil of the Latin Archdiocese of Verapoly with Modis greetings. Having scored nil in both the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the 2021 assembly polls in Kerala, the BJP decided to woo the Christian community with the programme. However, this initially didnt pay dividends, with Yuhanon Meletius, Metropolitan bishop of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Churchs Thrissur Diocese, casting aspersions. But with sustained outreach and a toned-down Hindutva pitch, BJP tasted victory in 2024 when the party had its first-ever MP from the state Suresh Gopi who was instrumental in reaching out to the Church along with former Union minister KJ Alphonse ahead of the Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament. The party has leveraged Christian leaders like George Kurian, a Union minister of state, and Suresh Gopi, Keralas first BJP Lok Sabha MP from Thrissur, to bridge the gap with the community. The appointment of Kurian to the Modi cabinet in 2024 and KJ Alphonse as a minister of state in Modi 1.0 were deliberate signals of intent, say party sources, which have now started yielding results. In fact, Gopis Thrissur win where a substantial Christian bloc exists is credited to the support he received from sections of the Syro-Malabar Church and Latin Catholics. Beyond Munambam, the BJP has tapped into Christian concerns like perceived Love Jihad" a term first used by the Kerala Church. Movies like The Kerala Story, depicting conversion, found massive support from top BJP leaders while the Left and the Congress opposed it. Even on issues like minority scholarship disparities and economic issues such as low rubber prices, the state BJP promised intervention of the Modi government to address them. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The BJP has also been trying to cater a subdued version of Hindutva that is acceptable to the Christian community. No wonder, the party suspended VV Vijeesh, a member of its Kerala unit, who moved the Kerala High Court seeking a ban on the Malayalam film L2: Empuraan over certain scenes of the film, including one where it resembles the 2002 Gujarat riots. The suspension letter was signed by BJPs Thrissur city district president Justin Jacob a Christianto send out the message that Kerala BJP does not tolerate a hard-line stance. The BJP sees Munambam as a way to erode the Congress-led UDFs traditional Christian base, especially among Latin Catholics. However, it has a long way to go in replicating many Thrissur-like victories before it can be a dominating player in Gods Own Country. About the Author Anindya Banerjee Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ... Read More Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ... Read More Location : Kerala, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 11:24 IST 'Felt Like Toilet Paper': Singapore Worker's Bold Resignation Note Sparks Toxic Workplace Debate Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 21:18 IST The resignation was shared on LinkedIn by Angela Yeoh, Director at Summit Talent, a Singapore-based talent acquisition firm The resignation letter was boldly penned on a strip of toilet paper. A resignation letter written on toilet paper by an employee of a Singapore-based company has gone viral on social media, sparking debate around toxic workplace culture. The letter, boldly penned on a strip of toilet paper, read: I have chosen this type of paper for my resignation as a symbol of this company has treated me. I QUIT." Recommended Stories The resignation was shared on LinkedIn by Angela Yeoh, Director at Summit Talent, a Singapore-based talent acquisition firm. In her now-viral post, Yeoh did not reveal the identity of the employee, but shared that it was written by a male staff member. Yeohs post began with a powerful quote from the employee, who said: I felt like toilet paper, used when needed, then discarded without a second thought." These were the exact words that stuck with me when a candidate explained why he was leaving his job," she wrote, explaining how those words had stayed with her since. In her post, Yeoh reflected on the importance of appreciation in the workplace: Make your employees feel so genuinely appreciated that even when they decide to leave, they walk away with gratitude, not resentment. That kind of experience doesnt speak to a lack of loyalty, it speaks volumes about the companys culture." Appreciation isnt just a tool for retention. Its a reflection of how much a person is valued, not just for what they do but for who they are," the businesswoman added. Yeoh concluded her post with a call for introspection, writing: If people leave feeling undervalued, its time to reflect. Small changes in appreciation make a big impact. Start today." The post quickly gained traction on LinkedIn, drawing hundreds of comments and reactions from users who empathised with the employees frustration. One user wrote: Well said! Having said that, a company culture may be unhealthy, it is down to the manager to help create a safe and thriving space for the team." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Another user remarked: Unique, I respect it. I did something very similar a long while ago." One user summed up the feelings of many, commenting: Your title just hit the nail on the head with my current experience. I should have used toilet paper instead of paper for my resignation letter." 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 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 : Singapore First Published: April 15, 2025, 21:12 IST This Is The 'Last Railway Station Of India', Passengers Once Included Gandhi And Bose Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 16:22 IST Singhabad Railway Station, on the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, is India's last station. Historically, it was used by Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose to travel to what is now Bangladesh Now nearly abandoned, the platforms lie rusting, ticket counters are in disrepair, and only a few staff remain after passenger services ceased. (News18) India boasts of the fourth largest railway system in the world. With over 8,000 railway stations and trains covering approximately 68,000 kilometres, Indian Railways spans the entirety of the country. However, one particular station stands out for its significant factor: it is the last railway station in India. Notably, both Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose travelled from this station. Do you know which one it is? Singhabad Railway Station Recommended Stories Located on the India-Bangladesh border, Singhabad is geographically the last railway station in India. It resides in the Habibpur area of Malda district, West Bengal. Once a train passes this station, it enters Bangladesh. Established during the British era, this station served as a transit route between Kolkata and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Historically, the route mainly facilitated goods trains between India and Bangladesh, with limited passenger services. Before Independence, prominent figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose used this route to travel to what is now Bangladesh. Eventually, the route became exclusive to goods transport, leaving the station devoid of passengers and marking its place in history. From Bustling Hub To A Quiet Junction Since the formation of Bangladesh in 1971, Singhabad has played a crucial role in trade between the two countries. In 1978, an agreement was signed to officially allow the movement of goods through this route. This agreement was further amended in 2011 to permit goods trains to and from Nepal, enhancing Singhabads strategic importance for regional trade. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all During the British era, Singhabad was a bustling station, but today it stands almost abandoned. The platforms are empty and rusting, and the ticket counters have fallen into disrepair. With the cessation of passenger services, only a few staff members remain to maintain the station. Despite its desolate appearance, the government recognises its historical significance and is working on its modernisation. 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 : West Bengal, India, India First Published: April 15, 2025, 16:22 IST Barack Obama Praises Alma Mater Harvard For Rejecting Trumps Demands: Sets An Example Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 14:52 IST Barack Obama praised Harvard University for defying Donald Trumps "ham-handed" attempt to stifle academic freedom. Former US President Barack Obama (Image Credit: Reuters) Former US President Barack Obama praised his alma mater Harvard for setting an example for other higher education institutions as the university rejected the Donald Trump administrations demands to limit campus activism. Donald Trump wrote to Harvard demanding that the university audit views on diversity on campus and stop recognising certain student clubs. Following this, Harvard university president Alan Garber wrote in an open letter to the Harvard community, No government-regardless of which party is in power-should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue." Recommended Stories Praising Harvard for defying Donald Trumps ham-handed" attempt to stifle academic freedom, Barack Obama posted on X (formerly Twitter), Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Lets hope other institutions follow suit." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Following Harvards rejection of the demands, the US government announced it would freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the university. Earlier, Columbia University was targeted by the Trump administration with similar demands to which the institution acquiesced. Federal funding has also been paused for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell and Northwestern as the Donald Trump administration said that universities allowed antisemitism to go unchecked during last years campus protests against Israels war in Gaza. 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: April 15, 2025, 14:52 IST China Tells Airlines To Suspend Boeing Jet Deliveries: Report Published By : AFP Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 14:59 IST Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the world's two biggest economies have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff war, with the US now charging levies of up to 145 percent on imports from China Beijing has reacted furiously to what it calls unlawful "bullying" by Washington and has imposed retaliatory duties of 125 percent on US imports, dismissing further hikes as pointless. China has told its airlines to stop taking deliveries of jets from American aviation giant Boeing, a report said Tuesday, as a trade war between Beijing and the United States deepens. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the worlds two biggest economies have been locked in a tit-for-tat tariff war, with the US now charging levies of up to 145 percent on imports from China. Recommended Stories Beijing has reacted furiously to what it calls unlawful bullying" by Washington and has imposed retaliatory duties of 125 percent on US imports, dismissing further hikes as pointless. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that China had also ordered airlines to halt deliveries of Boeing planes, citing people familiar with the matter. Beijing has also told its carriers to suspend purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from US companies, the financial news outlet reported the people as saying. AFP has contacted Boeing and Chinas foreign ministry for comment. Beijings reciprocal tariffs on US imports would likely have triggered significant rises in the cost of bringing in aircraft and components. Bloomberg said the Chinese government is mulling helping carriers that lease Boeing jets and face higher costs. Trumps fusillade of tariffs has roiled world markets and upended diplomacy with allies and adversaries alike. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The mercurial US leader announced an abrupt freeze on further hikes last week but gave Beijing no immediate reprieve. US officials on Friday announced exemptions from the latest duties against China and others for a range of high-end tech goods such as smartphones, semiconductors and computers. About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Location : Beijing, China First Published: April 15, 2025, 14:59 IST 'Coordinated Campaign': China Blames US 'Secret Agents' For Asian Winter Games Cyberattacks Published By : AFP Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 11:37 IST Police released a statement on Weibo accusing three US National Security Agency (NSA) agents of attacks on "key information infrastructure". China's computer virus watchdog said this month it had recorded more than 270,000 foreign cyberattacks on information systems related to the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin. Chinese security officials said Tuesday they had implicated three US secret agents" in cyberattacks during Februarys Asian Winter Games in the northeastern city of Harbin, offering a reward for information on the alleged spies. Harbin police released a statement on Weibo accusing three US National Security Agency (NSA) agents of attacks on key information infrastructure". Recommended Stories It named the individuals as Katheryn A. Wilson, Robert J. Snelling and Stephen W. Johnson", working in the NSAs Office of Tailored Access Operations, an intelligence-gathering unit on cyberwarfare. Chinas computer virus watchdog said this month it had recorded more than 270,000 foreign cyberattacks on information systems related to the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province, held from February 7 to 14. Attacks targeted the events information release and entry-exit management systems, as well as card payments and local infrastructure between January 26 and February 14, it said. Two-thirds of those attacks came from the United States, the watchdog said at the time. Tuesdays statement accused the NSA agents of targeting Chinese companies including Huawei, which has faced US sanctions since 2019 over national security concerns. And state news agency Xinhua reported that teams had uncovered evidence" implicating the University of California and Virginia Tech in the coordinated campaign" on the Asian Winter Games. Officials said they would reward any person that could provide clues about the three individuals and cooperate with public security organs in arresting" them. They vowed to seriously crack down on cyberattacks and the theft of state secrets against China by foreign forces". The statement did not specify what kind of reward it was offering, but China has for years offered residents cash for submitting tip-offs. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Those found guilty of espionage can face life in prison or execution under Chinese law. In March, Chinas ministry of state security said it had sentenced to death a former engineer for leaking state secrets to a foreign power. 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 : Beijing, China First Published: April 15, 2025, 11:37 IST Girlfriend Or Abductor? All About Barbara Jabarika Who Allegedly Honey-Trapped Mehul Choksi Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 08:20 IST The Mehul Choksi saga also mentions a 'honey-trap and abduction plot' involving a Hungarian woman, named Barbara Jabarika. In the aftermath of the alleged abduction, a mysterious womans name popped up -- Barbara Jabarika. (Image: X) Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi was arrested in Belgium on Indias extradition request for his role in the PNB bank loan fraud case on April 12. Choksi was arrested jointly by Indian and Belgian authorities when he was reportedly preparing to flee to Switzerland. The development comes weeks after media reports confirmed that the fugitive businessman is living in countrys Antwerp with his wife, Priti Choksi, after obtaining a residency card there. Recommended Stories However, the Mehul Choksi saga also mentions a honey-trap and abduction plot involving a Hungarian woman named Barbara Jabarika. Who Is Barbara Jabarika? In the aftermath of the alleged abduction, a mysterious womans name popped up Barbara Jabarika. Choksis wife Priti, who is also named as an accused by the Enforcement Directorate, alleged that they met Barbara Jabarika, a Hungarian national, in 2020 and alleged that she was part of a honeytrap plan. According to Choksi, he was allegedly abducted, tortured, and placed on a boat that took him from Antigua to Dominica. He claimed that Barbara was part of the plot. Barbaras LinkedIn profile describes her as a Property Investment Agent" from Bulgaria who is an Experienced Sales Negotiator with a demonstrated history of working in Direct Sales and the Real Estate Industry." She has over 10 years of sales experience, achieving management positions in property and retail. Choksis wife, Priti, claimed that they met Barbara in August 2020. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all According to reports, Barbara and Choksi became friends and invited him to an apartment to meet her on the day he disappeared. Upon reaching, a group of people abducted" Choksi and took him to Dominica, where he was held. However, Barbara trashed these allegations and claimed that she was Choksis girlfriend". She also said she had her own income and business, NDTV reported. 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 : Belgium First Published: April 15, 2025, 08:19 IST US Freezes $2.2 Billion Funding For Harvard After University Rejects Trump's Demands Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 08:17 IST A $2.2 billion funding freeze came after the university rejected a list of sweeping demands that the White House said was intended to crack down on campus anti-Semitism. Harvard President Garber said if federal funding is stopped, it will 'halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation'. (AP File Photo) Harvard, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, on Monday became the latest victim of President Donald Trumps policy of cutting federal funding of US varsities. A $2.2 billion funding freeze came after the Massachusetts-based university rejected a list of sweeping demands that the White House said was intended to crack down on campus anti-Semitism. Recommended Stories The set of directives, issued on April 3, instructed the university to overhaul its governance, hiring, and admissions procedures, shut down Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices, and comply with federal immigration screenings for international students. Responding to the directives, Harvard President Alan Garber said the university would not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights." Garber noted that while the university is committed to addressing discrimination, it rejects federal overreach into academic autonomy. Trumps Strong Response Trumps Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism responded with a statement announcing a $2.2 billion hold on multi-year grants, along with a freeze on $60 million in government contracts. Harvards statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws," it said. The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support." Whats Behind Trumps Move Campuses across the US witnessed widespread student protests last year opposing Israels war in Gaza, some of which escalated into violent confrontations involving police and pro-Israel counter-protesters. Trump and other Republican leaders accused the protesters of backing Hamas, a US-designated terrorist organisation whose deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel triggered the conflict. In March, the Department of Education announced it had launched investigations into 60 colleges and universities over allegations of anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Garbers letter followed the administrations decision to place $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard and its affiliates under review, marking the beginning of its demands. The government on Friday issued a more detailed request, calling for an audit" of the views held by students and faculty a document that Harvard later made public. 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 : New York, United States of America (USA) First Published: April 15, 2025, 07:23 IST Visas Of 9 MIT-Linked Students Revoked Without Notice Amid Trump's Crackdown: 'Extremely Concerned' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 22:27 IST At least nine students, recent graduates, and post-doctoral students at the Cambridge University have had their visas and immigration status unexpectedly revoked, said MIT's president. Since taking office, Trump has begun cracking down on college activism after anti-Israel protests last year. (Reuters) Amid the Donald Trump administrations crackdown on US campuses since the widespread pro-Palestinian protests last year, at least nine students connected to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have had their visas revoked in the last week without any prior notice, according to the schools president Sally Kornbluth. In a letter to the MIT community, Kornbluth said the threat of revocations amid Trumps crackdown on educational institutions and foreign students will have a chilling effect on top talent" worldwide that will damage American competitiveness and scientific leadership for years to come." Recommended Stories At least nine students, recent graduates, and post-doctoral students at the Cambridge University have had their visas and immigration status unexpectedly revoked, said Kornbluth in her letter. The MIT president said these government actions are interfering with the normal functioning of the school and diminishing its ability to serve the nation and attract the worlds finest talent. Alarmed By Possibility Of Future Actions One of the students has independently filed a lawsuit against the federal government. We are extremely concerned that there appears to have been no notice or explanation from the government for the revocation," said Kornbluth in her letter. Our concern extends to all the members of our community who face such unexpected revocations, and we know that our international community indeed our campus community broadly is alarmed by the possibility of future actions," she added. Separately, MIT has signed onto a federal lawsuit challenging the newly imposed 15% cap on indirect reimbursements in government-funded research by the Department of Energy, the president wrote. This came after the department said it would no longer cover indirect costs at previously agreed-to rates in grants to universities. MIT noted that nearly 1,000 members of its community rely on these grants, which were now at risk. Trumps Crackdown The move comes amid the Trump administrations sweeping crackdown on immigration as well as political activism that is perceived as hostile to conservatives. The government has cancelled the visas of nearly 530 students, faculty and researchers across 88 colleges and universities, according to reports. The government also froze $2.2 billion in funding for Harvard University after rejecting a list of sweeping demands that the White House said was intended to crack down on campus anti-Semitism. These steps included shutting down diversity offices and cooperating with the screenings of international students. In a letter to students and faculty, Harvard president Alan Garber vowed to defy the government, insisting that the school would not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Campuses across the country were rocked last year by student protests against Israels war in Gaza, with some resulting in violent clashes involving police and pro-Israel protests. Trump and other Republicans have accused the activists of supporting Hamas. (with agency inputs) 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: April 15, 2025, 22:27 IST Who Is Neela Rajendra? Why Did NASA Fire Her On Trump's Orders? Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: April 15, 2025, 16:48 IST Neela Rajendra, NASA's Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, has been dismissed following opposition to DEI initiatives by Trump and Musk. NASA dissolved its diversity division in March To preserve her job after Donald Trump's executive order, NASA rebranded Neela Rajendra's position to 'Head of Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success.' (News18 Hindi) Neela Rajendra, Chief of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at NASA, has been dismissed from her role. Rajendra, an American citizen of Indian origin, faced termination amidst opposition to DEI initiatives by US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. DEI initiatives aim to ensure equal opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds within workplaces or organisations. However, Trump and Musk argue that these initiatives promote unfair practices. Recommended Stories NASA dissolved its diversity division in March following an executive order from Trump that banned DEI programs in all government agencies. Back in 2024, around 900 DEI employees at NASA were laid off, but Rajendra managed to retain her position at that time. As a DEI officer at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), she worked on boosting workforce diversity, supporting initiatives like Space Workforce 2030 that focused on recruiting women and minorities. In 2022, she noted that tight deadlines were hindering inclusion goals. To preserve her job after Trumps executive order, NASA rebranded her position to Head of Office of Team Excellence and Employee Success. Despite the title change, her responsibilities remained largely the same, including overseeing groups such as the Black Excellence Strategic Team at JPL. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Rajendra updated her LinkedIn profile to reflect her new title. However, recent reports of her continued presence led to her removal. An internal email confirmed that Neela Rajendra no longer works at the lab. Rajendra holds a bachelors degree in political science and music from the University of North Carolina and completed an MBA from Wake Forest University School of Business in 2008. After her studies, she held various brief roles in different organisations, though detailed information about these positions is not publicly available. She joined NASA as Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer in 2021. Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: April 15, 2025, 16:48 IST Green card holders are not US citizens, but they're close to one. They're lawful permanent residents who have the right to live and work in the US. The New York Times reports there were 13 million of them in the US in 2023, and about 70% of them were eligible to become citizenswhich happens after being a permanent resident for five years or being married to a citizen for three. As the Times explains, many of the 70% will never convert. The application fee is high and the process is involved: paperwork, interviews, and a civics exam. The difference between the two states hadn't seemed starkbut under Trump, some green card holders are finding out that's no longer the case. The Times uses the story of Alfredo Orellana to drive home that point. The 31-year-old Virginia man has lived in the US since age 4 and is married to an American. In his early 20s, while struggling with drugs, he was convicted of trying to swindle a store out of $200. He was convicted, went to rehab, and discovered a passion for caring for people with developmental disabilities. For the past four years, he's had a transformative relationship with Luke Ferris, say the 28-year-old's mother. Ferris has severe autism, and Orellana cared for him 40 hours per week. But on his way back to the US in January after visiting his wife's relatives in El Salvador, Orellana was taken into custody by ICE at Dulles and ultimately flown in shackles to a Texas detention center, where he is still being held. According to a DHS document viewed by the Times, that $200 "moral turpitude" crime could lead to his deportation; his court case is set for April 25. Historically, the government has largely chosen only to deport green card holders who committed serious crimes. Read the full story for much more, including Ferris' mom's take; she has flown to Texas to see Orellana. "How could anyone support getting rid of an amazing person providing a vital service to an American?" she says. An invasive fish species is causing turmoil in Missouri and other states, and now the feds are imploring the public to help get rid of the pests. The Missouri Department of Conservation has been warning residents of the sharp-toothed northern snakehead, which the New York Times describes as a "horrifying hybrid of fish and snake" that's been wreaking havoc on native species in Missouri's southeast for about six years. Now, with angling season kicking off, the agency has issued a directive to "report any catches and sightings," and that if a catch is made, to not throw it back in the water. Two American college students were released Monday from a Copenhagen jail after a clash with an Uber driver, but their spring break in Denmark has been extended by authorities. Owen Ray, 19, and a friend were taken into custody at Copenhagen Airport as they were leaving the country on April 1, ABC News reports. Sara Buchen-Ray said that four hours before she was to pick up her son at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, CBS News reports, "I got a text from a foreign number saying, 'Mom, I'm in prison in Copenhagen.'" The night before, the students were in an Uber, on their way to visit friends, when they realized they had given the wrong address as their destination, a family lawyer said. All three got out of the car, and an argument began, per ABC News. Jordan Finfer said Ray told him that the driver kicked him in the groin and that Ray then pushed him, leading the driver to fall. The students then ran away. Their passports were taken away after police decided they were flight risks, and Copenhagen police said the students are charged with common assault. Buchen-Ray went to Copenhagen to try to win her son's release. A trial could take place before the month is out. A long sliver of federal land along the US-Mexico border that President Trump is turning over to the Department of Defense would be controlled by the Army as part of a base, which could allow troops to detain any trespassers, including migrants, US officials speaking on condition of anonymity tell the AP. The transfer of that border zone to military controland making it part of an Army installationis an attempt by the Trump administration to get around a federal law that prohibits US troops from being used in domestic law enforcement on American soil. But if the troops are providing security for land that is part of an Army base, they can perform that function. However, at least one presidential powers expert says the move is likely to be challenged in the courts. Minnesota police took a man into custody on Monday who parked outside UnitedHealthcare's headquarters and called the FBI with a gun sitting on his front passenger seat. A Minnetonka city spokesperson said the suspect called the FBI from the vehicle, and though he made no specific threats involving the company, he "exhibited threatening behavior," the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. No injuries were reported. A large police response preceded the arrest; the law enforcement presence at the campus has increased since CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death in December in New York. The Army's Best Ranger Competition had a female entrant for the first time this year. Her two-soldier team finished the grueling three-day event over the weekend and came in 14th overall, the AP reports. First Lt. Gabrielle White, and her teammate, Capt. Seth Deltenre, were among the 16 teams that made it through the final events, where Ranger teams compete for accolades as the best of the elite military force. All together, 52 teams competed, and all of the others were made up of only male soldiers. The two Rangers on the winning team were 1st Lt. Griff Hokanson and 1st Lt. Kevin Moore, both members of the 75th Ranger Regiment. White and Deltenre are based at the Army Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia. Female soldiers were not allowed to be Rangers until 2015, when the Army opened Ranger school to women. In August 2015, two female soldiers completed the Ranger course for the first time. Later that year, the Defense Department opened all combat jobs to women. Until this year, no female soldiers had entered the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning. Soldiers participating must all be Army Rangers, and they compete in more than 30 events. According to the competition, soldiers must move more than 60 miles during the three days, with little rest. Helicopter missions, physical fitness tests, land navigation, weapons qualification, obstacle course, and other tests are involved. While in previous years the Army would likely have noted the historic first in an announcement, that won't happen this time. Under the Trump administration, the department has prohibited anything that touts diversity, equity, and inclusion, per the AP. In the recent purge of the military's online websites and social media postings, mentions of historic firsts by women and minorities were largely eliminated. White, 25, is a Black infantry officer assigned to the maneuver captains career course. She graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in May 2021, then completed Ranger School, according to Christopher Surridge, an Army spokesman. Officials in three California cities are trying to work out how voices mocking President Trump, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg were added to crosswalks. The crosswalks appear to have been hacked with the sole purpose of mocking the billionaires with AI-generated voices, per Business Insider . The audio message, "Walk sign is on," is usually broadcast from crosswalks to assist people who are visually impaired. But residents in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Redwood City, instead heard AI-generated voices of Meta CEO Zuckerberg boasting of "undermining democracy" and "making the world less safe for trans people"; Tesla CEO Musk cursing and complaining that he has no friends; and Trump telling Musk , "Sweetie, come back to bed." In clips shared on social media, a Musk-esque voice says, "People keep saying cancer is bad, but have you ever tried being a cancer? It's f---ing awesome." A voice like Zuckerberg's says, "It's normal to feel uncomfortable or even violated as we forcefully insert AI into every, every facet of your conscious experience. And I just want to assure you, you don't need to worry, because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it. Anyway, see ya." "It's very cool protest art," one witness tells KTVU. "I have no idea how they did it." A Palo Alto city employee noticed the issue at one crosswalk on Saturday before officials discovered another 12 were affected, per BI. A city rep said the crosswalks' voice announcement feature was temporarily disabled in response to an apparent hack on Friday. As of Saturday evening, officials in Redwood City were also aware of odd audio messages coming from the city's crosswalks, with deputy city manager Jennifer Yamaguma noting staff were "actively working to investigate and resolve the issue as quickly as possible." Redwood City is home to Zuckerberg's philanthropic organization, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, while Palo Alto hosts global engineering and AI offices for Tesla. Menlo Park is home to Meta headquarters. It's a fairly mild inconvenience for the cities, which will now know to install anti-infiltration devices on crosswalk systems, a retired FBI agent tells CBS News. Antoni Gaudi just took his first official step toward becoming a saint. The Catalan architect who designed the still-in-progress Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, Spain, has been placed on the path to sainthood by Pope Francis, who in a Monday decree declared Gaudi "venerable" and full of "heroic virtues." CBS News notes this is the initial part of the process that leads to beatification and then, finally, to sainthood. Per the Guardian, this declaration was the pope's first official appointment since he left the hospital after a weekslong bout with pneumonia. More on the move on Gaudi: Criteria: To be beatified, candidates must be considered either a martyr, someone with a "clearly saintly reputation," or, as Gaudi is apparently viewed, as someone who's "lived a life of heroic values," per CBS. Those who pass that bar must also, after they've died, receive credit for two miracles (just one if you're a martyr) before achieving sainthooda process that can stretch for years, decades, or even centuries, notes the New York Times. When a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck Southern California on Monday morning, a herd of elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park acted quickly to form a protective circle around their young. The quake, which was felt from San Diego to Los Angeles 120 miles away, caused minor disruptions but no major damage or injuries. The elephants' reaction was caught on video, the AP reports. After initially scattering when the shaking began, the older elephantsNdlula, Umngani, and Khosiquickly encircled the 7-year-old calves, Zuli and Mkhaya, in an instinctive behavior known as an "alert circle." The older elephants faced outward, ears spread, for about four minutes, then dispersed but continued to stay close to each other, NBC 7 reports. Once the circle has been formed, "they sort of freeze as they gather information about where the danger is," says Mindy Albright, a curator at the park. The herd repeated the huddle about an hour later during an aftershock. The video shows the female calf seeking refuge among the adults while Zuli, a young male calf, remained on the edge of the circle. Khosi, a teenage female, appeared to reassure and guide him back into safety with repeated gentle taps. Albright noted: "It's so great to see them doing the thing we all should be doingthat any parent does, which is protect their children." Meanwhile, in the land of humans, many were praising California's early earthquake warning system, which alerted people up to 10 seconds before the shaking hit, the Los Angeles Times reports. Now that it's clear that El Salvador's president has no plans to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US and President Trump has no plans to force him to do so, despite a Supreme Court ruling demanding otherwise , some Democrat lawmakers are stepping up with demands of their own. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has requested a meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele while he's in the US, and if he doesn't get one, the senator says he will travel to El Salvador himself this week to check on Abrego Garcia, the Hill reports. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is similarly looking to meet with Bukele, and has formally requested he be allowed an official visit to the prison to see Abrego Garcia. The next hearing is set for Tuesday afternoon, reports CNN in an explainer on the case. In its own explainer, the Hill makes a prediction: The case will likely end up back before the Supreme Court, "to decide the matter of whether the government can be compelled to return Abrego Garcia." For further reading, a few reactions to the situation: At MSNBC, Jordan Rubin writes that the Trump administration's defiance was essentially predicted by high court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. "Had the Supreme Court taken a more direct stance last week against official attempts to avoid compliance, he could've been back by now," Rubin writes of Abrego Garcia. At the Hill, Kimberly Wehle writes that the Supreme Court gave Trump an "out" and the POTUS is using it. "The justices should have shouted from the rooftops that this practice must stop immediately," but they did not, Wehle writes. Jon Stewart also weighed in on the Daily Show on Monday, taking what Variety calls a "somber tone" midway through the segment as he played a clip of Trump's meeting with Bukele. "Can I honestly tell you? Like, they're f---ing enjoying this, like the two of them. Our president, their president, [they're like], 'I can't do it. I guess we'll just have to let him rot in f---ing prison, even though he didn't deserve to be there.'" Read These Next Doctor left her Alaskan cruise Actor Michael Madsen is Police shot a bank robber as a drone delivered some Extremely rare bat-borne virus claims (Trump also said Monday that "homegrown criminals are next" to be sent to El Salvador.) The subject line of the email that Nicole Micheroni received Friday from the Department of Homeland Security read "Notification of Termination of Parole," with one other line standing out most to her: "It is time for you to leave the United States." It was a surprising directive for Micheroni to receiveconsidering she's a 40-year-old Boston attorney who was born in Massachusetts, was raised and went to college there, and is and always has been a US citizen, reports the Boston Globe . Micheroni initially thought the email may have been meant for one of her clients, but there was no one else's name or ID number on the message, meaning the note to "self-deport" was apparently intended for her. "The only name on the email was mine," Micheroni tells NBC Boston, noting it looked like "sketchy spam," not official government correspondence. "It said my parole status had been terminated and I should leave the country within seven days." It also warned, "Do not attempt to remain in the United Statesthe federal government will find you," per the Globe. The Department of Homeland Security is chalking the email up to an error, noting in a statement that Customs and Border Protection had been issuing notices to terminate parole for individuals not allowed to stay in the US. The agency says that if the email for an American contact (for example, an attorney) had been provided at some point by an immigrant filling out paperwork, that email may have inadvertently found its way onto the list of those called to self-deport. "CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis," the DHS statement notes. story continues below But Micheroni says she knows other immigration attorneys who've received the same email, per WCVB. "It's a little concerning these are going out to US citizens," she tells NBC. "It says they're not being careful." Even though Micheroni feels secure in the knowledge that she's an American citizen, she worries about the effects of such letters disseminating, including the ones in error. "It's meant to be an intimidation tactic to get people to leave the country," she tells the Globe. "In some ways, I don't think they really care who they reach, as long as the message is being received." (President Trump has suggested he wants to deport US citizens, which legal experts say would be unconstitutional.) It's become one of the more high-profile cameos in Hollywood: Donald Trump makes a brief appearance in Home Alone 2 to give a young Macauley Culkin directions in his hotel. All these years later, director Chris Columbus tells the San Francisco Chronicle he wishes he had cut the scene. The problem stems from a public spat about Trump's role. A few years ago, after Columbus said during an interview that Trump demanded to be in the movie as payback for using his hotel, Trump shot back that the filmmaker "begged" him to be in it. In the new interview, Columbus refutes that. "He said I begged him to be in the movie, but there's no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie. But we were desperate to get the Plaza Hotel." Previously, as Movieweb notes, Columbus avoided getting into a back-and-forth about all this, on his wife's advice. Columbus also tells the Chronicle he always intended to cut the cameo, but was surprised when a test audience loved Trump's appearance. "I think I know a lot about comedy, but I don't, obviously, because I never thought that was going to be considered hilarious." He jokes that if he cut the scene now, he might get deported to his ancestral home of Italy, and some outlets were taking the line at face value. Another college student who led pro-Palestinian protests has been detained by immigration officers. Lawyers for Mohsen Mahdawi were scrambling on Tuesday to prevent him from being deported to the West Bank, where he was born. Details: Mahdawi was arrested Monday at an immigration office in Colchester, Vermont, when he showed up for a naturalization interview, reports the Intercept. Mahdawi was in the process of completing his undergraduate philosophy degree at Columbia, where he organized campus protests in 2023 against Israel's military operation, per the New York Times. However, he stepped back from the protests in early 2024, in part because of his Buddhism. He is friends with Mahmoud Khalil, another protest leader at Columbia who also has been detained. Mahdawi has been a big target of hard-line pro-Israeli groups. (See this social media post.) 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. OSAKA, Apr 15 (News On Japan) - An 80-year-old man who calls himself an Expo enthusiast was arrested on April 14th for obstructing operations at the entrance gate of the Osaka-Kansai Expo after falsely claiming that he had a bomb in his backpack. The man, an unemployed resident of Takatsuki City in Osaka Prefecture, reportedly made the remark shortly after 11 a.m. while undergoing a bag check at the western gate of the Expo. According to police, he said something to the effect of "Theres a bomb in my backpack," prompting an emergency response. Although no dangerous items were found in the backpack, the incident led authorities to cordon off part of the gate for approximately 30 minutes while they confirmed safety. Around 200 visitors in the area were temporarily evacuated as a precaution. During questioning, the man said, "I got excited because Im a fan of the Expo and said it half in jest. I didnt mean to disrupt the event," partially denying the charges. Source: YOMIURI 92% agree no one in Canada should have to go hungry 84% agree reducing hunger is a non-partisan priority for Canada TORONTO, April 15, 2025 /CNW/ - In the true North strong and free, 92% of adults agree that no one in Canada should ever have to go hungry and 84% agree that reducing hunger is a top non-partisan priority for Canada. Support for this priority is high across all political affiliations, age groups, genders and regions. Those are the key findings of Food Banks Canada's newly released Election Report,* which research leader Pollara fielded between April 1st and 6th, 2025. The new report confirms that 88% believe Canada should set clear targets to reduce hunger and food insecurity. Survey Highlights National (CNW Group/Food Banks Canada) Survey Highlights Regional (CNW Group/Food Banks Canada) Canada United on Goal to Cut Food Insecurity in Half by 2030 "This is a time when we're thinking about Canada's future, and federal election candidates are sharing their views on what it means to build a more resilient and compassionate nation," says Food Banks Canada Chief Executive Officer Kirstin Beardsley. "The data is clear that there is strong support for setting the goal of cutting hunger in half by 2030. People care about their neighbours' well-being, and they want action from their government. Most importantly, folks from every region across the country agree that, if we make the right choices, Canada has the resources to reverse soaring food bank visits." "The real catalyst to reducing hunger in Canada is all of us the voters, making our voices heard," says Beardsley. "No matter your party, make tackling hunger in Canada your voting priority. This election is about the kind of country we want to be, a Canada where no one goes hungry." "The data shows that people from all regions are with us. Help us urge our political parties not to overlook one of the most pressing challenges facing Canada today: a crisis level of food insecurity. Join our shared call for change at https://foodbankscanada.ca/election-2025/#elections-act ." *Election Report Methodology The survey was conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights as part of its 2025 Election Tracking study, between April 1st and April 6th, 2025. It was administered as a bilingual online survey to a randomly selected sample of 1,043 Canadian adults aged 18 and over. As a general guideline, a probability sample of this size carries a margin of error of 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. However, the margin of error is larger when analyzing sub-segments of the population. To ensure the results accurately reflect the demographic composition of the Canadian adult population, the data was weighted according to the most recent Census figures for language, gender, age, and region. About Food Banks Canada Food Banks Canada is the leader in addressing food insecurity in Canada. Our mission is to provide national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network from coast to coast to coast. For over 40 years, food banks have been dedicated to helping people in Canada living with food insecurity. Over 5,500 food banks and community organizations come together to serve our most vulnerable neighbours. Since 2010, Food Banks Canada has shared over $829 million in food supports and over $245 million in funding to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacitywhile, backed by leading research, advocating for meaningful actions from governments to counter hunger and its root causes. Our vision is clear: create a Canada where no one goes hungry. Visit foodbankscanada.ca Facebook Instagram Linkedin YouTube SOURCE Food Banks Canada For media inquiries and interviews: Food Banks Canada, [email protected], (647) 985-7162 Contractor engagement in damage prevention training is creating a significant decline in gas line strikes SURREY, BC, April 15, 2025 /CNW/ - FortisBC Energy Inc. (FortisBC) is celebrating a major safety milestone, with gas line damages in 2024 at their lowest level in more than 20 years. A total of 779 incidents were reported, continuing a downward trend that reflects the effectiveness of FortisBC's ongoing efforts to educate the public on safe digging practices. This significant achievement also comes as a direct result of the growing use of BC 1 Call, a free service that helps prevent damage to underground utilities before digging begins. With a record of nearly 170,000 BC 1 Call tickets processed in 2024, this surge in usage demonstrates heightened awareness of the importance of checking for buried utilities before disturbing the ground. Safe digging requirements include hand digging to expose buried utility lines before digging with powered excavation equipment. (CNW Group/FortisBC Energy Inc.) "The strong correlation between increased BC 1 Call usage and the decline in gas line damages is clear," said Ada Nadison, program manager, public safety at FortisBC. "While this progress is encouraging, we know there's still work to be done, particularly in Metro Vancouver. We continue to prioritize safety and raise awareness about the importance of calling or clicking before digging." When a gas line is damaged, it can pose serious safety risks, cause service interruptions and lead to costly repairs. FortisBC works year-round to provide training and support to contractors, landscapers and municipalities to ensure they understand safe excavation practices. In 2024 alone, the company conducted more than 30 safety training sessions across the province, engaging directly with contractors to further promote safe digging practices. "We've seen fantastic engagement from contractors at our training sessions," said Nadison. "These proactive measures are helping to keep damage incidents low. It's encouraging to see such strong participation, and we remain committed to providing more training and support across the province." British Columbians can help keep this positive trend going by following these simple steps: Click or call BC 1 Call at least three business days before digging to get free information on buried utility lines. Visit www.bc1c.ca or call 1-800-474-6886 . or call . Use hand tools to expose gas lines before using any mechanical equipment. A minimum one metre safety zone around the gas line is required. If you need help understanding your BC 1 Call maps, contact FortisBC at 1-888-822-6555 for support. If you smell rotten eggs or hear the sound of escaping gas, stop what you're doing, go outside and call 9-1-1 or FortisBC's Emergency Line at 1-800-663-9911. Visit fortisbc.com/digsafe for more information on safe digging practices. Quotes "Everyone across B.C. needs to hear this message. Just like clicking your seatbelt before you drive, no one should dig before clicking BC 1 Call. It's the critical first step in any project that disturbs the ground. Whether you're putting a fencepost in your yard or breaking ground for new construction, click or call BEFORE you dig!" Donna Grant, president, BC 1 Call "Digging in British Columbia? Don't gamble with safety! Always call or click BC 1 Call before you dig. Protect lives, prevent costly damage and ensure your project is built on a foundation of caution and care. Remember: informed digging is safe digginglet's keep our communities thriving!" Dr. Dave Baspaly, executive director and CEO, BC Common Ground Alliance "At Technical Safety BC, we have seen the consequences of gas line strikes firsthand, from equipment fires to explosions. It's encouraging to see the increased use of the BC 1 Call service, which can help prevent these types of incidents, and we encourage anyone digging to follow the regulations and remember to use safe digging practices before and after exposing gas lines." Ryan Hazlett, Leader, Incident Investigations, Technical Safety BC "Enhance job site safety and safeguard your businessunderstanding what lies beneath is essential. In recognition of April Safe Dig Month, join us to learn how FortisBC's click or call before you dig program can help landscape professionals protect personal and public safety and reduce business financial risk." Coreen Rodger Berrisford, executive director, BC Landscape & Nursery Association "As the weather warms up and construction activity increases, employers are reminded that worker safety must always come first when planning any excavation. Striking an underground utility line can cause serious injuries, disrupt essential services, and put entire worksites at risk. By calling or clicking before you dig, employers and workers can help ensure everyone goes home safely. Safe digging starts with smart planningalways check before you break ground." Michael Paine, manager of prevention programs & services, WorkSafeBC Backgrounder 2024 key findings FortisBC continues to see a downward trend in damage incidents to its gas lines year over year, with overall line hits decreasing from 1,034 in 2021, 896 in 2022 and 844 in 2023 to 779 in 2024. Nearly 60 per cent of gas line damages were caused by individuals who did not contact BC 1 Call before digging. Landscapers and contractors are responsible for most year-round damages, while homeowners tend to damage gas lines in the spring and summer during planting season. The top three communities with the highest number of gas line damages were: Surrey (77 incidents) (77 incidents) Vancouver (62 incidents) (62 incidents) Kelowna (32 incidents) (32 incidents) While Metro Vancouver saw an increase in damages, all other regions experienced an overall decline, demonstrating the effectiveness of education and awareness initiatives. FortisBC Energy Inc. is a regulated utility focused on providing safe, reliable and affordable energy, including natural gas, Renewable Natural Gas and propane. FortisBC Energy Inc. employs around 2,143 British Columbians and serves approximately 1,086,500 customers across British Columbia. FortisBC Energy Inc. owns and operates two liquefied natural gas storage facilities and approximately 51,600 kilometres of gas transmission and distribution lines. FortisBC Energy Inc. is a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electricity and gas utility industry. FortisBC Energy Inc. uses the FortisBC name and logo under license from Fortis Inc. For further information on FortisBC Energy Inc., visit fortisbc.com . For further information on Fortis Inc., visit fortisinc.com . SOURCE FortisBC Energy Inc. MEDIA CONTACT: Holly Harrison, Corporate communications advisor, FortisBC, Phone: 604-209-8031, Email: [email protected], fortisbc.com Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. arrives for his arraignment hearing in the Atlantic County Superior Court in Mays Landing, N.J. on Thursday, October 10, 2024. Jim Lowney | For NJ Advance Media Atlantic Citys mayor and its superintendent of public schools appeared before a judge Tuesday seeking to have charges in their ongoing child abuse case dropped. The couple is accused of abusing their teenage daughter between December of 2023 and January 2024. A grand jury in 2024 indicted both Mayor Marty Small Sr., 50, and LaQuetta Small, 47, the citys superintendent of public schools, on charges of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Small Sr. was also indicted for terroristic threats and aggravated assault. Jordan Barbone, attorney for Mayor Marty Small Sr., asked state Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury to dismiss the terroristic threats charge. Barbone also said the mayor did not consent to having conversations between himself and his daughter recorded by his daughters boyfriend, arguing the recorded conversations violate the states wiretapping laws. Michael Scheiber, LaQuetta Smalls attorney, motioned to dismiss the entire indictment against her, arguing the Grand Jury was tainted because it heard testimony from prosecution witnesses on the couples actions at the same time rather than separately. Scheiber said the jurors could not weigh the evidence properly to determine if charges were warranted against his client. Theres at least one or two instances where both the defendants were present and were partaking in the abuse of their daughter, Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Fischer countered. DeLury will announce a ruling on the motions at a later date. Tuesdays hearing was held several weeks after DeLury ruled digital evidence gathered outside a Dec. 1, 2023, and March 27, 2024, timeframe was inadmissible. The mayor appeared in court on Tuesday while his wife appeared remotely through a video livestream. The hearing lasted five hours. Both defense attorneys argued what prosecutors describe as abuse by the couple was appropriate parenting techniques intended to reprimand the couples daughter. Barbone also said prosecutors provided no evidence to show Marty Small Sr.s daughter had gotten consent to have their conversations recorded. Never once in any of those four statements (to investigators) does she say, I have given E.L. prior consent to record the interactions between myself and my father, Barbone said. Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Remy said the Smalls daughter did get consent when she asked if her boyfriend could hear the conservation between herself and her father. Prosecutors say the abuse lasted about a month, when their daughter was between the ages of 15 and 16, and centered around the couples disapproval of their daughters boyfriend, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The teenager suffered physical abuse from both her father and mother, prosecutors have previously said. Marty Small Sr. was also indicted in December for a witness tampering charge in the case after investigators said instructed his daughter to twist up a story about her injuries when questioned by detectives. The case has drawn calls for the mayor to resign, including from Gov. Phil Murphy. 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. An 86-year-old pizzeria that closed last month after being seized by the state for unpaid taxes is back in business, for now. DeLorenzos Pizza of Hamilton reopened its doors on April 1 after closing on March 11 when the state seized the building at 147 Sloan Ave. for failure to comply with New Jersey tax laws. Owner Rick DeLorenzo Jr. was able to reopen the restaurant after raising roughly $20,000 in funds, included over $14,000 from a GoFundMe along with loans from friends. I have customers that have moved all over the country and when they saw I was in trouble they helped out, DeLorenzo told NJ Advance Media on Monday. I really appreciate all the help that I got. DeLorenzo first announced the reopening plan in a Facebook post March 28 before resuming operations a few days later. DeLorenzo said he is ecstatic to be back in operation. But the Sloan Ave. pizzeria may not be completely in the clear. The owner says that a plan for joint-use of the building with a cannabis dispensary is still in the works. DeLorenzo is depending on that plan to cut down on costs and allow him to keep the pizzeria at its current location. I cant afford to stay there, the overhead is too much, DeLorenzo said. If this doesnt work out Im going to be relocating hopefully in Hamilton Township. A dispensary was approved for the building in a Hamilton Township Planning Board meeting before DeLorenzos was seized. The dispensary application claimed Vision Cannabis would only use part of the building. DeLorenzo is hopeful the dispensarys plans will be finalized soon so the two businesses share overhead costs and he can keep his restaurant exactly where its been for the last 12 years. The pizzeria originally opened in Trenton in 1938. The shops owner said patrons and locals are glad to have him back as his family has been in the pizza business for almost 90 years. While owned by members of the same family, DeLorenzos Pizza of Hamilton has no association with other famed eatery De Lorenzos Tomato Pies of Robbinsville and Yardley (previously of Trenton, as well). Im ecstatic to be back. I didnt know what to do with myself without making pizza, DeLorenzo said. Ive been doing it for like 50 years and I was like half a man without my work. More food coverage: Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.comon Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips/. Vos! is a world premiere play that explores the human urges for connection and care. Playwright Christina Pumariega weaves together two stories separated by decades but linked by themes of motherhood and the desire to protect the vulnerable. The play aspires to offer meaningful commentary on everything from political dissidence to reproductive technology, but its concept occludes its big ideas. Now running at Red Banks Two River Theater, Vos! unfolds parallel narratives that intersect at its conclusion. In the present-day United States, Annie (Pumariega) is nearing 40 and has struggled for years at great expense and emotional toll to get pregnant. Repeated IVF treatments have failed, and she has all but given up the effort. When she unexpectedly inherits an apartment in Argentina from her grandmother, Annie decides it might simply be a nice getaway until a friend points out an opportunity. Healthcare will be cheaper in Argentina, and perhaps the doctors there will have different fertilization techniques or maybe just better luck. Annie heads to South America where she meets Dr. Cossi (Alexandra Silber), a fertility expert who seems confident that she can help Annie achieve her dream of motherhood. Candidates for three seats on the Newark Board of Education face off in a forum sponsored by the Newark NAACP on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at Bethany Baptist Church. Michael Dempsey | For NJ Advance Editors note: This story was shared as part of a content-sharing agreement between Mosaic.NJ.com and Chalkbeat. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter (or X). Newark voters are headed to the polls on Tuesday to choose from a mix of 11 new and returning candidates who are running for three seats on the city Board of Education. Voters will choose among the largest set of first-time candidates in the Newark school board race, including one incumbent running to keep her board seat, three returning candidates, and seven newcomers. This years race also marks a historic moment as Newarks 16- and 17-year-olds will be the first in New Jersey to cast their votes in a school board election. The three winning candidates will serve a three-year term and are tasked with deciding policies, approving a budget, and overseeing New Jerseys largest school district. The 11 candidates are divided between two three-member slates Moving Newark Schools Forward, a city-backed group that has won every election since 2016, and Prioritizing Newarks Children, a new group formed by a former school board candidate and five candidates running independently. Incumbent Kanileah Anderson is running for reelection along with newcomers Louis Maisonave Jr. and David Daughety on the Moving Newark Schools Forward slate. Returning candidate AdeKamil Kelly is running alongside a duo of newcomers, Shana Melius and Nathanael Barthelemy, on the Prioritizing Newarks Children slate. The two slates are joined by returning candidates Latoya Jackson, a two-time school board candidate; Yolanda Johnson, a three-time candidate; and newcomers Elaine Asyah Aquil, Jordy Nivar, and DeWayne Bush. More than 90 churches, senior centers, and schools across the citys five wards will open their doors from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day to serve as polling places. Newark leaders have raised concerns about voter turnout in the annual school board election that has historically seen around 3% to 4% of registered voters participating. This year, city leaders have spent weeks working to get new teen voters registered and ready to vote. Nearly 1,800 teens have registered to vote in the election, but that number falls short of the 7,257 eligible to sign up, based on estimates from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Newark became the first city in New Jersey last year to lower the voting age to 16 for school board elections. But, the youth vote was delayed until the 2025 election due to voter registration issues, according to city officials in 2024. This years youth vote also sparked school and local efforts to ensure teens are ready for Tuesdays election. In February, Newark Public Schools launched the Vote 15+ voter registration campaign to get students registered. Nonprofit groups such as The Gem Project held civics trainings for new young voters, where they said they want to see younger school board members represent them, improve school lunches, and adopt a curriculum that reflects their experiences. The Newark branch of the NAACP also held a forum to hear about candidates positions on school policies, funding, and looming federal cuts. Newark Public Schools also welcomed Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, Mayor Ras Baraka, and other officials in March to the Newark School of Data Science and Information Technology to encourage youth to vote in the school board election. The winning candidates will decide policies for the district home to about 40,000 students across 64 schools. The new board members must also contend with recent criticism from the community over transparency in addressing racism in schools, the school boards attempt to remove one of its longest-serving members, the districts decision to roll back on paying board members attorneys fees in their fight against an ethics complaint initiated by a high school principal, and the boards approval of thousands of dollars for a Staff Fun Day that the states education department deemed an inappropriate use of funds. In Essex County, Newark joins Irvington in holding April school board elections. Residents can vote at their designated polling location or vote by mail if they registered for that option by April 8. Ballots must be postmarked no later than April 15 and must be received before polls close on election day. County officials will release results after polls close on Tuesday. Welcome to Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom and on YouTube at @MosaicNJcom. The number of koalas being euthanised is expected to climb and experts are urging the government change course. Around 600 to 700 koalas have been euthanised after a lightning strike sparked a devastating bushfire in Victorias southwest. Yahoo News understands decisions about wildlife welfare are being made by government experts assessing injuries and food shortages. Around 2,200 animals have been examined at the Budj Bim National Park, of which close to 90 per cent were koalas. The tragedy has prompted multiple calls for Victorias government to suspend the harvesting of blue gums in private plantations surrounding the burn zone so that food resources arent further reduced. The Department of Environment (DEECA) is certain the number of needed euthanasias will climb, and it was only able to confirm that one individual has been taken into care for treatment since its response began. Critics say the problem has been created by decades of government mismanagement of koala habitat in the region, which they argue is a key reason the animals are overpopulated and don't have enough food. Wildlife Victoria has been briefed on the situation at Budj Bim, and its CEO Lisa Palma believes euthanasia is appropriate when animals are suffering. Bushfires tend to have a fairly catastrophic impact on wildlife and it is not appropriate to have wildlife suffering for weeks. [We support] appropriate and humane action to kindly and safely euthanise them if there's no hope for those animals, she told Yahoo News. ADVERTISEMENT Related: New details emerge after 152 koalas killed on private property Around 2,200 hectares of Budj Bin was scorched by the fire. Source: DEECA The response inside the national park began on March 14 and has been led by DEECA, with assistance from Parks Victoria, the Wildlife Emergency Support Network and the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners. Over 2,200 hectares have been scorched, including a large manna gum canopy that acts as one of the main food sources for koalas. Teams undertaking the work claim euthanasia is only carried out as a last resort to reduce the suffering of animals. And the work has left many of the frontline wildlife rescuers upset. DEECA believes most fit and well koalas have relocated to other areas of the park, and most of the animals that remain in the burn zone are compromised. Crews are on the ground conducting health assessments of impacted wildlife and doing what they can to provide care to as much wildlife as possible. Animals are being assessed for their injuries and health, and where possible are being given care or rehabilitation so they can recover, DEECAs chief biodiversity officer James Todd told Yahoo News. ADVERTISEMENT However, due to direct impacts of the fire, the poor health and low likelihood of survival of many animals due to the ongoing drought conditions and lack of food post-fire, many of the animals are requiring euthanising. This is the humane action to take to prevent further suffering. Critics say the koala welfare problem in Victorias southwest has been created by the state governments ineffective management of blue gum plantations. Source: Supplied Why are there so many koalas in the national park? Separate from the bushfire response, for over 20 years, DEECA has regularly undertaken programs to manage "overpopulation" of koalas in Budj Bim, which is known to have high densities of around 1 to 1.5 animals per hectare. These are designed to improve koala welfare and habitat health, achieve sustainable koala populations and healthy native forest habitat in the long-term, Todd explained. The last health check was carried out between May and June last year and resulted in the assessment of 118 koalas. Of these, 55 females were given hormonal implants to reduce their chances of breeding, 93 were released, and 25 were euthanised due to health concerns. Around 700 koalas have been euthanised withing Budj Bim's bushfire zone and that number is expected to climb. Source: DEECA Unlike NSW, Queensland and the ACT, koala populations in Victoria arent listed as endangered, but they are a protected native species. Their management remains contentious, with critics arguing DEECA is often too quick to euthanise. ADVERTISEMENT Speaking generally about koalas in the southwest, wildlife rescuer Jess Robertson said the species is often treated like a pest. She labelled the situation in Budj Bim "sickening" and questioned why the public wasn't alerted to the situation earlier. I dont think koalas will be listed as endangered in Victoria until its too late. We are appalled about how koalas are being treated," she told Yahoo News. If DEECA had any interest in saving them, they would have reformed the blue gum harvesting industry years ago to ensure koalas weren't left to starve," she added. Robertson thinks the problem of koala overabundance was created because the government hasn't appropriately managed privately owned plantations. Hardwoods, many of them blue gums, cover around 110,000 hectares of land around the Victorian and South Australian border's Green Triangle region. "It's a government-made problem, and it's the koalas that are suffering," she said. When plantations are harvested, all trees are eventually cut down, forcing koalas to move across roads where they're at risk of being struck by cars, or onto private property where they're attacked by dogs, or into national parks where they're already overabundant. ADVERTISEMENT Locals with knowledge of the area, claim the area surrounding Budj Bim has been systematically logged since the 2019/2020 bushfires, likely leaving thousands of koalas homeless. Locals say harvesting of blue gums in the northwest has been relentless since 2020. Source: Supplied Euthanasia claims questioned by expert Dr Stephen Phillips is one of the worlds foremost experts in koala population management and the founder of Bio-Link. He is a critic of DEECAs methods used to assess the health of koalas, saying the end result is frequently passed off as euthanasia because it is an acceptable word to the community when its actually population control. A similar claim was raised last year after government contractors in Queensland shot a shark and described it as "euthanasia". The government has developed a triaging system which is very poor and very weak, and effectively gives them the license to kill animals if they want to, Phillips told Yahoo News. I use the word kill quite specifically. Theyll say that its euthanasia, but euthanasia means to end suffering and thats not what this is doing. Theyre just reducing the numbers. Its a pseudo-scientific cull. In my world you just be transparent. Because when youre transparent, you have a management system thats honest and scientifically informed. Call for plantation harvesting to be suspended to help koalas Phillips believes a suspension of the harvesting of blue gum plantations around Budj Bim would give koalas that have escaped the fires a better chance of survival. That's something Robertson agrees with, saying koalas dont understand the difference between native forest and a plantation. Its food. Its shelter. Without these two things, they die, she told Yahoo News. In general, Wildlife Victoria also believes there needs to be appropriate management and coordination between government, commercial interests and private landholders. For example if there is a blue gum plantation adjacent to a national park, it would be catastrophic for a species to have the national park burnt and blue gum plantations harvested at the same time, Palma said. Because youre suddenly leaving the wildlife with zero respite, zero food, zero habitat. Wildlife Victoria would like to see very robust coordination between government other landholders, with wildlife welfare at top of mind. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. A woman was seriously injured Monday evening after a train crashed into a car in Gloucester County, police said. The incident happened in the area of Catawba Avenue in Newfield Borough and involved a Conrail train, according to a statement from the Franklin Township Police Department. A woman inside the car was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for treatment, the department said. No other information about the incident was released Monday evening. Catawba Avenue was closed in both directions as of 6:30 p.m. and West Boulevard was closed from Catawba Avenue to Greenwood Avenue, police said. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Dina Finklestein (left) and her daughter Honey Meerzon own a multi-family home next to a tire shop owned by Luis Romero (right). Perth Amboy wants to take the properties by eminent domain. Ed Murray| For NJ Advance Media Take a ride over the Raritan River, north across the Victory Bridge. Once you get over the water, to the left, youll see the large storage tanks that hold up to four million barrels of gasoline, jet fuel and other petroleum products. To the right, youll see a lot of open space up to the waters edge. Its set to become a warehouse. Keep going. Before you hit the Taco Bell, hook a right on Smith Street. Thats where youll see, just across from the 7-Eleven, a tire shop thats been a fixture in the community for three decades. And a four-family home thats had $150,000 in upgrades to the property. Perth Amboy wants the properties. Its planning board said theyre blighted areas in need of redevelopment, in government-speak and the city council will vote on Wednesday whether it will take them. Six people are employed full-time at the tire shop, said Luis Romero, owner of Quick Tire & Auto Service. The building and property are kept clean daily and normal repair is made as needed, he said. We have never had any safety violations or issues of any kind. We never had issues with traffic. This is not only my livelihood, but my employees livelihood, Romero said. Honey Meerzon, who owns the multi-family home with her mother, Dina Finklestein, said three of their tenants have lived there since 2016 and the fourth, since 2018. They are quiet and keep clean homes and are just wonderful people overall, Meerzon said. This is their home. The two properties are on the edge of a 44-acre redevelopment area known as Gateway. It will include a 471,000-square-foot warehouse, the cleanup of contaminated parcels of land and create trails leading to a gazebo overlooking the Raritan River, a city press release said. Meerzons and Romeros properties are not included in the current redevelopment plan. The citys redevelopment agency, through a spokesman, told NJ Advance Media it has no plans for their properties. But once the properties are in the citys hands, that could change. This is wrong, Meerzon said. How can someone miraculously call this building condemned because they need to build a 500,000 square foot warehouse which already broke ground and Im in the way? DECAY TO REDEVELOPMENT The city started tearing down other properties on Smith Street, near the foot of the Victory Bridge, a year ago. When that work started, in April 2024, Mayor Helmin Caba praised the project, sitting in a hulking excavator ready to start demolition. This key entrance to our city, once tarnished by decay, is now the focal point of our redevelopment efforts, the mayor said, noting the project would generate more than 400 long-term jobs and more than $1 million in local tax revenue. Caba did not respond to requests for comment. Perth Amboy Mayor Helmin Caba sits on an excavator, poised to demolish a home as part of a redevelopment project, in April 2024. Courtesy Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency Part of the redevelopment site housed a roofing company that manufactured asbestos shingles, according to a press release from the city. It closed about 23 years ago, and in 2023, the new developer Denver-based Viridian Partners pledged $110 million to clean it up. In addition to the warehouse, more than nine acres of the land will be made pad ready for construction. Perth Amboy officials will decide how best to redevelop the land, the press release said. The city offered no further detail. I have operated my business faithfully and honestly. I have worked very hard in my life to fight for what they call the `American Dream, Romero said. Neither property has had complaints, the owners said. Why do they want to take my property away? Meerzon asked. It is just not right. We put our all into this property. Now, Meerzon said, the owners have launched what they feel is a fight for their lives against wealth and political power. The red arrow shows Meerzons and Romeros properties on Smith Street. They are a small cutout on the larger map showing the Gateway redevelopment plan. Courtesy Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency BLIGHT LITE? Is it really that easy for a town to gobble up somebodys private property? Its complicated. Eminent domain a governments ability to take someones property for public use in exchange for what it says is a fair market value was traditionally for transportation development, to provide drinking water or for public parks. In New Jersey, the state constitution says property can be taken for public purposes. But for redevelopment purposes, the focus is on the elimination of blight. The courts have further clarified that a town has to prove the property meets certain specific criteria and importantly that the criteria demonstrate that the property conditions are detrimental to the safety, health, morals, or welfare of the community. So exactly what constitutes something so detrimental that a property owner should be forced to give up their home or business? If its something you can go in and clean it up in a day, does that give a town the ability to take someones property against their will? asked Peter Steck, the land use planner representing Romero and Meerzon in their fight against Perth Amboy. I find that some planning boards tend to call out small defects because thats the only evidence they can find when a property is prejudged as being blighted. I call it blight lite and it shouldnt be the basis for taking someones property, said Steck, who has 44 years of experience. Perth Amboys redevelopment committee hired its own consultant to study Meerzons and Romeros properties. It found they do not meet current zoning requirements. They are too close together and fire could spread from one to the other too easily; the properties are too close to the road; there was litter and refuse on the properties; and Meerzons driveway had obscured vision, it said. They were ripe for redevelopment, the study said. But Steck called that study fatally flawed. It did not satisfy the standard of substantial credible evidence for the properties to be deemed an area in need of redevelopment, he said. The study relied on imprecise and incorrect property information apparently culled from satellite photos and faulty tax assessment records, and the photos showing litter and garbage alleged to be on the properties were actually located on a neighboring property, he said. Steck also argued Meerzons driveway was similar to others in the neighborhood and typical of older residential areas. The argument, makes no sense, he said. Meerzon took issue with the citys study citing 12 police incident reports in front of her home over 14 years, and 16 reports over five years outside the tire shop. Not one of the incidents was linked to a tire shop employee or a tenant, public records show. They may simply represent a police officer pulling over a driver who was traveling past the properties, Steck said. To drive home the point, Meerzon filed a public records request to see how many incidents were reported at the 7-Eleven across the street and the Dunkin Donuts down the block. There were more than 1,500 incident reports at the 7-Eleven over the last five years and more than 100 at the doughnut shop, public records show. The citys consultant did not respond to requests for comment about Stecks criticisms of the study. The city planning board voted 5-3 to recommend to the city council that the properties be deemed an area in need of development. Planning board member Hailey Cruz voted against the decision. She also sits on the city council, and she said she will vote no there, too. Ive been to that area, specifically to the tire shop. I dont think the business is detrimental to the safety, health or morals of the community. I dont think it was unsafe, she said. Even the multi-family homeowner, I see they did make improvements on the home. I feel for them. I am for redevelopment, but in this case, for the cost of a business? For the cost of that area? Cruz said. Perth Amboy wants to take a multi-family home and a tire shop on Smith Street using eminent domain powers. Ed Murray| For NJ Advance Media None of the other planning board or city council members responded to requests for comment. The Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency the town body that commissioned the study about Meerzons and Romeros properties did not respond to a detailed list of questions about the accuracy of the report. This has been a David vs. Goliath battle from the start, Meerzon said. It is heartbreaking. MORE WAREHOUSES Promises of jobs and tax revenue have turned warehouses into a booming business in New Jersey. Weve got more than 3,000 warehouses across the state now, about 17% more than we had 10 years ago, a 2024 report found. Its driven largely by online retailers, like Amazon, which is now New Jerseys largest private employer. But Perth Amboys redevelopment plan is a contradiction, said Clean Water Actions Tolani Taylor, who researched warehouse developments for the statewide report. It found warehouses, and air pollution from their distribution trucks, are disproportionately located in low-income areas and communities of color. More than 80% of Perth Amboys residents are of Latino descent, according to Census Bureau data. The median per person income is $26,848, and the median family income is $58,490 half of the statewide average. Taylor said she approved of the Perth Amboy redevelopment plans decontamination of land and the establishment of green spaces. What is concerning about this project is building a warehouse and anticipating the hundreds of diesel-powered trucks that will be used to aid in its business operations, she said, adding that the positives are undermined by pollution risks. While the warehouse plans are already in motion, the city council will vote on Meerzons and Romeros properties on Wednesday. The citys press release about the Gateway redevelopment project said it is creating lasting legacies. To that, Meerzon and Romero ask: What about their legacies? It is not just about a building, it is about our security, our dignity, and the promise that ordinary people still have a place in this country, Meerzon said. If they can do this to us, they can do it to anyone. Honey Meerzon, and her mother Dina Finklestein, stand in front of their multi-family home in Perth Amboy. The city wants to take it by eminent domain. Ed Murray| For NJ Advance Media Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on X at @KPMueller. A man who owned multiple businesses in New Jersey has admitted that he fraudulently obtained about $3.2 million in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Daniel Dadoun, 48, a former South Plainfield resident who now lives in Israel, pleaded guilty to the federal charges of bank fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorneys Office District of New Jersey said in a Tuesday statement. Dadoun lied on federal applications for PPP funding in early 2020 and later filed altered financial statements for loan forgiveness, federal prosecutors said. On the applications, he misrepresented payrolls and overstated the number of employees at several of his businesses, authorities said. Dadoun also falsified a lease agreement and submitted a false letter signed by a New Jersey accountant to have the loans forgiven, officials said. The federal PPP was intended to maintain employee wages while businesses were shut down during the COVID pandemic. Dadouns businesses listed a federal complaint include DG Distriservices of Perth Amboy, Seldat Distribution in South Plainfield and a redevelopment company, 200 South Pemberton Urban Renewal registered in Perth Amboy. Seldat Distribution was also associated with two other companies linked to Dadoun that received PPP money, Seldat Staffing and Seldat Fashion. Dadoun withdrew the loans from three banks and funneled money to personal and business accounts, at least two of which were overseas in Vietnam and Canada, authorities said. Prosecutors also said he inflated payroll figures in at least one case by nearly $700,000. On Seldat Distributions PPP loan application, Dadoun claimed that the business employed 400 people, officials said. IRS records indicated that the company only had 97 employees at the time. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Trenton federal court on Aug. 13. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com. Michelle Ramos of Belmar says she was in the right place at the right time when a fire broke out on the porch of a home over the weekend. Ramos lives in a house one block away from where a fire on Sunday destroyed three houses and damaged a fourth. The local resident not only witnessed the fire happen and call for help, but she rushed to try to wake up her neighbors. Its common for Ramos to be ready for the day before dawn. Her morning routine takes her to the nearby donut shop at 5 a.m. for a cup of coffee. On Sunday morning, Ramos said she felt the need to drive back for a donut after getting her morning coffee an hour earlier. Michelle Ramos of Belmar in front of the scene of homes that burned on 13th Avenue on Sunday. Ramos called 911 and banged on a door until a neighbor woke up. I kind of hesitated, but I wanted something to eat and something told me to go back out, Ramos said. I think God had a purpose for me that morning. Michelle Ramos I kind of hesitated, but I wanted something to eat and something told me to go back out, Ramos said. I think God had a purpose for me that morning. As she pulled her vehicle to a stop sign, she noticed a candle burning on a porch of a house in the 300 block of 13th Avenue. Ramos saw the candle tip over and the porch catch fire. She said she later shared that information with Belmar police. A spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said in a statement on Tuesday that the fire has been deemed to be accidental and non-criminal in nature. I parked my truck and called 911 at 6:01 a.m. Then I hopped out, said Ramos, the grandmother of three children. I ran up to the house next to the one with the burning porch and started banging on the door. Despite the banging and her screams to wake up and get out no one came to the door. I knew someone was in there because I saw a shadow in the house when I was stopped at the stop sign, Ramos said. Belmar police officers Sgt. Michael Yee, Patrolman David Burke and Patrolman James Groome arrived and they also started banging on doors and windows of houses behind the burning home. Ramos kept banging on the front door. A man finally opened the door and made it safely outside, she said. No one was inside the first house where the fire started, she said. Police officers were able to alert other neighbors in homes behind the fire. Two firefighters and a resident were injured in the blaze, according to Belmar Fire Chief Sean Pringle. Fire on Sunday damaged 4 homes in Belmar. All Hands Fire Ramos said that she can see the fire scene from her house. She tears up when she looks down the street at the burned houses. It could have been much worse. Lives could have been lost, she said. Ramos doesnt consider herself a hero. I would do that for anybody. If I see somebody that needs help, I am going to help them, she said. Ramos also said shes looked at the house where the fire started on more than one occasion. The house always catches my eye because theyre always leaving lights on. But this time when I looked, I saw a lit candle, Ramos said. I am not trying to be nosy, but this time it paid off, she said. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Monmouth County Fire Marshals Office and the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office. A local nonprofit leader warned that deporting Haitian migrants could create a "self-inflicted labor shortage" as many of those affected work in health care, retail and warehouse sectors across the state. AP Editors note: This story was shared as part of a content-sharing agreement between Mosaic.NJ.com and NJ Spotlight News. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter (or X). Many Haitians who fled to New Jersey fear deportation by the Trump administration after working here for years under special legal protection. The U.S. granted thousands of humanitarian parole and temporary protected status permits to people from Haiti after disaster and gang violence devastated the island nation. Haiti has since spiraled into a humanitarian crisis. Haitians who work in New Jersey health care, retail and warehouse jobs say they cant return. The Trump administration recently revoked the legal status of more than a half-million migrants, including Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, urging them to self-deport. Im feeling hopeless. I cant eat. I cant sleep. Im thinking about what can happen, whats going to happen to me? said a tearful Haitian who, fearful of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, wants to remain anonymous. Because I cant go back to my country that easily. Its not livable right now. Twenty-seven thousand Haitians came to New Jersey, and the vast majority of those were working-age people who came through these programs. So you start deporting folks, were talking about a self-inflicted labor shortage, and its going to come quickly, said Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale. He heads I-RISE, a nonprofit that has helped 2,000 clients from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua find homes and jobs in New Jersey. I-RISEs 750 Haitian clients work mostly in health care. Almost 8% of health care workers in the Northeast are noncitizens, according to a recent study in the JAMA that warns, Deportations could especially compromise long-term care, where immigrants play a large role. Dr. Steffie Woolhandler is a co-author of the study and professor at the City University of New Yorks Graduate Center. Theres 3.4 million immigrants working in American health care, and punishing them means punishing the American people who need to get access to care, Woolhandler said. Nursing home management the folks who manage home care agencies have no idea how theyre going to provide that direct hands-on care without access to Haitian workers, Woolhandler added. A spokesman for the lobby that represents New Jersey nursing homes said he didnt know whether deportations would have a major impact, or just a minor impact without more data. A federal judge in Massachusetts said Thursday she would issue a temporary stay on orders for humanitarian parolees to self-deport by April 24. Welcome to Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom and on YouTube at @MosaicNJcom. President Donald Trump departs after signing an executive order at an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP Russia on Monday claimed its deadly missile attack on Ukraines Sumy that killed and wounded scores including children had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops, while European leaders condemned the attack as a war crime. President Donald Trump and his administration, meanwhile, arent on the same page with European officials on the attack that killed at least dozens, including 15 children and wounded more than 100 others. According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration told the seven of the worlds most advanced economies (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) it would not support a joint statement condemning Russias deadly attack. Former GOP congressman turned never-Trumper Adam Kinzinger didnt hold back on the news. US blocks G7 statement condemning Sumy attack with 35 deads and 119 injured people. Trump is a straight traitor. Sorry, hes on Russias side. Reagan would slap him, he posted to X. US blocks G7 statement condemning Sumy attack with 35 deads and 119 injured people Trump is a straight traitor. Sorry, hes on Russias side. Reagan would slap him. Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) (@AdamKinzinger) April 15, 2025 Ukrainian officials have said two ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday morning hit the heart of Sumy, a city about 20 miles from Ukraines border with Russia. It was the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in Ukraine in just over a week. Asked about the attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russias military only strikes military targets. Russias Defense Ministry said the strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers and accused Kyiv of using civilians as shields by holding military meetings in the citys center. The ministry claimed to kill over 60 troops. Russia gave no evidence to back its claims. The attack on Sumy followed a deadly April 4 missile strike on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys hometown of Kryvyi Rih that killed some 20 people, including nine children. Zelenskyy called for a global response to the attack. Talks have never stopped ballistic missiles and aerial bombs. Whats needed is an attitude toward Russia that a terrorist deserves, he said. Other world leaders also condemned the attack, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying that it undermined Washington-led peace talks between the sides. Everyone knows: This war was initiated by Russia alone. And today, it is clear that Russia alone chooses to continue it with blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of Trump, he wrote in a statement. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The father of an unvaccinated girl who died of measles says Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told him that vaccines are not to be trusted. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak) The father of a West Texas girl who died of measles last week said he doesnt regret his choice of keeping the 8-year-old unvaccinated. Absolutely not, Peter Gildebrand told the Child Health Defense, an anti-vaccination nonprofit founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. And from here on out, if I have any other kids in the future, theyre not going to be vaccinated at all, Gildebrand said. He added that his daughter, Daisy, was always happy, always playing. ... She always cared about other other kids, too. You know its going to be hard moving forward. I know that for sure. But I guess thats our only option we got. Child Heath Defense leads a conspiracy-theory fueled movement that seeks to uncover the intricate web of scientific corruption and deceit woven by government and corporate entities, its website says. Its mission is ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure. Roughly one in 1,000 unvaccinated people who contract measles will die from the disease. Gildebrands seemingly lackadaisical reaction to his daughters death set social media ablaze with fiery comments from heartbroken Americans. Imagine caring so little about your children that youd rather see them in a coffin over admitting that your conspiracy theories were wrong, one user wrote. Thats a helluva take: i dont care that my child DIED, another wrote. Father of the year right there. No regrets? A preventable death isnt a parenting philosophy its a tragedy, wrote another. ... Vaccines arent politics theyre protection. Common sense says: protect your kids, not your pride." Commenters called it neglect and abuse: When does this become negligent homicide? asked a Twitter poster. He is responsible for protecting his family. He failed, was another comment, to which someone added, Please do not have any more kids. Last week, Gildebrand said he met with Kennedy, who insisted, You dont know whats in the vaccine anymore, Hildebrand told Yahoo! News just hours after the girls funeral. I actually asked him about it. He never said anything about the vaccine being helpful, Hildebrand added. His daughters death aside, Hildebrand claimed that children of another member of his family, who were vaccinated, got sicker than two of his own children who had gotten measles and recovered so the vaccine aint about sh-t, he said. More than 600 people in the U.S. have been infected with measles and three have died. Americas first deaths from the measles in a decade have been blamed on Kennedy, who for decades has been the worlds most prominent anti-vaccine activist. Americans have been misled by the pharmaceutical industry and their captured government agency allies into believing that measles is a deadly disease and that measles vaccines are necessary, safe, and effective, RFK Jr. wrote in a 2021 book. Since taking office, Kennedy has timidly endorsed the measles vaccines importance to public health. But those in the anti-vaccination movement believe he is only saying what he needs to say to remain in the job while he works behind the scenes to dismantle the nations vaccine infrastructure and sabotage the nations and the worlds wide acceptance of medical science. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. I guess its good to know that the next Democratic president can ship Trump and his cabinet off to a Central American prison without a trial and we wont ever have to worry about them coming back. Polls have shown a majority of people side with President Donald Trump on his strict immigration policy and plans to deport migrants especially among his base. But it turns out not all Trump supporters want to see all of the people in the U.S. without documents sent away. Latinos who are Christians are welcome, according to Jim Garlow, the conservative former pastor of an evangelical megachurch. Per the liberal Right Wing Watch, Garlow brought on immigration attorney Esther Valdes Clayton to sound the alarm over the prospect that tens of thousands of Latino Christians could be forcibly deported from the United States because of the Trump administrations policies. More from the report: I just want to reassure everybody ... that Latinos love God, she said. We have the same God. We have a monotheistic religion. Our tradition, our values; 97% of Latinos go to church. We believe in a male and female. No transgender. Our language is gendered. Everything ends in an O and an A, meaning that everything is masculine and feminine, and we go to church regularly. Right now, were experiencing a number of executive orders that are affecting the Latino church primarily, Valdes Clayton continued. Why? Because the bulk of a lot of the congregations are filled with people who enter here either unlawfully or legally and their permission to stay here is expired. Valdes Clayton warned that approximately 10 million Christians may be subject to mass deportations, which she said will have huge ramifications for churches all over the country. As many as four in five immigrants at risk of deportation from the United States are Christian, according to a new report that calls on their fellow believers to consider the impact of the Trump administrations aggressive deportation policies. The report says about 10 million Christians are vulnerable to deportation and 7 million U.S. citizens who are Christian live in households where someone is at risk of deportation. The report, under the auspices of major Catholic and evangelical organizations, draws on a range of data, including percentages of religious affiliation in various migrant and national populations and on an advocacy groups analysis of U.S. census data on migrants. Though were deeply concerned about fellow Christians, were not exclusively concerned with immigrants who happen to share our faith, said Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, an evangelical humanitarian organization that cosponsored the report. Other groups that helped produce the report include the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration and the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. While the report doesnt advocate any political positions, it mainly seeks to raise awareness of the issue among Christians, and some of its sponsoring groups have individually advocated for reforms that would give some categories of immigrants a path to legal status. Immigrants at risk of deportation range from those who crossed the border illegally to those who may have some sort of legal status that could be revoked. For example, the Trump administration has taken steps to end temporary protected status, held by many from Venezuela and Haiti, as well as humanitarian parole that had been granted for others from those troubled countries as well as Cuba and Nicaragua. Trump enjoyed wide support from certain Christian blocs in all three of his campaigns. In 2024, he was supported by about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christian voters, about 6 in 10 white Catholics and just over half of Latino evangelicals, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters. While the report doesnt directly refer to that support, it says it seeks to raise awareness of the potential impact of Trumps immigration crackdown. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Barack Obama campaigned hard against Donald Trump during election seasons. But as a former president, he mostly kept silent about Trump and the presidents agenda. But that stopped earlier this month when he called for resistance against Trumps policies against universities and asked an audience to imagine if he had pulled Fox News credentials from the White House press corps when he was in the White House. And now hes back at it again. Obama posted to X after Harvard University President Alan Garber said on Monday the university would not bend to the governments demands. Trump then froze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to the college. Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Lets hope other institutions follow suit," Obama posted to X. Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and https://t.co/gAu9UUqgjF Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 15, 2025 The hold on Harvards funding marks the seventh time Trumps administration has taken the step at one of the nations most elite colleges in an attempt to force compliance with his political agenda. Six of the seven schools are in the Ivy League. In a letter to Harvard Friday, Trumps administration had called for broad government and leadership reforms at the university, as well as changes to its admissions policies. It also demanded the university audit views of diversity on campus, and stop recognizing some student clubs. The federal government said almost $9 billion in grants and contracts in total were at risk if Harvard did not comply. The first university targeted by the Trump administration was Columbia, which acquiesced to the governments demands under the threat of billions of dollars in cuts. The administration also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell and Northwestern. Trumps administration has normalized the extraordinary step of withholding federal money to pressure major academic institutions to comply with the presidents political agenda and to influence campus policy. The administration has argued universities allowed antisemitism to go unchecked at campus protests last year against Israels war in Gaza. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Plus a body has been pulled from Sydney Harbour after a car struck a woman and lunged into the water on Monday afternoon. The prime minister has now addressed this very awkward moment. Source: NewsWire Yahoo's live news blog for Tuesday, April 15 has now concluded. Victoria Police have reportedly taken the man accused of killing Samantha Murphy to bushland in their ongoing search for the mother. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has downplayed the viral moment he appeared to snub cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek at Labor's election launch. Albanese insists the pair are friends but wouldn't go as far as saying she would remain in his cabinet if Labor wins the federal election. Aussies are being reminded of a little-known road rule, with drivers facing a fine of more than $700 if they fail to register their vehicles. See all of the day's updates below. LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER 13 updates Australia 'seeking clarification' over Russia reports Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government is "seeking proper clarification" from Indonesia after reports emerged Russia wants to base aircraft at a military airport in the province of Papua. The US military website Janes has reported that Moscow has lodged an official request with Indonesia to base long range aircraft at the Manuhua Air Force Base. Defence Minister Richard Marles has told reporters Australia has been engaged on the issue with Indonesia at a high level. We have a very close relationship with Indonesia, we have a growing defence relationship with Indonesia he said. We have already been engaged with Indonesia on this request Id note that Indonesia has not responded yet. Albanese stressed Australia would not "fly from the hip" and would wait for further information from Indonesia. With NCA NewsWire PM weighs in on Canada's Vegemite fight The US isn't the only North American country that's proving tricky for Aussie exports. An Australian cafe in Canada is having trouble getting Vegemite on its menu after authorities deemed the iconic spread did not meet local food regulations due to its Vitamin B levels. And now Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has had his say on the matter, calling it "rather odd" considering the UK's similar yeast spread Marmite escaped restrictions. "Let's be clear here, pro-Vegemite, anti-Marmite. That's my position," Albanese told reporters. Dutton uses Albo to finally answer question about son Peter Dutton has finally answered questions on whether he will fund his son's first venture into the property market. And what is probably no surprise to many, that answer was a yes. Dutton's tradie son Harry has been on the campaign trail with the Opposition Leader this week and has revealed how he's "saving like mad" just to get onto the property ladder. But after dodging questions yesterday, Dutton admitted he'd be giving Harry a helping hand. "Our household's no different to many households where we want our kids to work hard to save and we'll help them with the deposit at some stage," Dutton said. And not wanting to leave the prime minister out, he said Anthony Albanese would most likely do the same. "The prime minister and I might be able to help our kids, but it's not about us." But when pressed on Dutton's answer, Albanese appeared annoyed, saying he doesn't "talk about families". "And I don't go into my own person details," he told reporters. Peter Dutton and son Harry. Source: AAP Cops appeal for help despite admitting you won't recognise this person Now this isn't your usual appeal for help identifying someone. NSW Police admit you probably won't know who this is going by their face. That's because they believe they're wearing a latex mask. CCTV from a home in Sydney's Chipping Norton shows the man approach the home in a pair of sunglasses. Police allege 10 firearms were stolen from the home, worth a combined $11,000. Peter Dutton reiterates migration stance but will it fix the housing crisis? Peter Dutton has once again fired into Anthony Albanese's handling of migration as the housing crisis remains a key election battle, with the Opposition Leader saying he won't allow migrants to continue to fight Australians for vacant homes if he becomes prime minister. "Let's be clear. The government has brought in 1 million people every two years," he told reporters on Tuesday morning. "Let's think about that. Where do they live? They compete against Australians for those houses. "We will cut migration so we can get Australians into houses. Australians have lost the dream of home ownership under this government and that will change under the government I lead and we will not allow that situation to continue." So what do you think about Peter Dutton's claims? Is it as simple as slashing migration to fix the housing crisis? Have your say below. Major reveal in Samantha Murphy search The man accused of killing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy has reportedly been taken to the bushland area where police suspect her body remains. Patrick Orren Stephenson, who has been in custody since March last year, was taken from jail to bushland on the edge of Ballarat, the National News Network reports. The excursion to an area in and around the Canadian Forest in Ballarat was held late last year and investigators are eager for Mr Stephenson to revisit the area, the report states. Police continue to search for missing mum Samantha Murphy. Source: Facebook/ NewsWire The media report cites unnamed sources, and it is understood police and Corrections Victoria executives would have had to sign off on Mr Stephenson being taken outside jail. Mr Stephenson has pleaded not guilty to murder. It is not suggested that his visit to the bushland site indicates that Mr Stephenson, 23, knows where Ms Murphys body was left or that he was involved in her alleged murder. Patrick Orren Stephenson is expected to stand trial later this year. Picture: NewsWire / Paul Tyquin Victoria Police would not provide comment on the reports, saying the case remained before the courts. This investigation remains a significant priority for Victoria Police and again, we are incredibly mindful the matter is very much before the court, the statement read. Ms Murphy disappeared in early February 2024, while going for a run. She has not been seen since. Mr Stephenson was arrested and charged with murder a month later. He is expected to stand trial in the Supreme Court later in the year. In a court hearing last year, Mr Stephensons lawyer said there was an unprecedented amount of evidence to review. - NCA NewsWire Woman gets first holiday in over 20 years after lottery win Well this is a wholesome lottery win. A Sydney woman who hasn't been on holiday in more than 20 years can now afford one after she landed $100,000 in Monday's Lucky Lotteries draw. Its been a tough couple of years. Things have just seemed to go wrong. I tell you what, this has just made my day," she told lottery officials. I think I really deserve a relaxing holiday after the past couple of years. And how is she celebrating today? Well she's gone and bought herself a vanilla slice to have with a cup of tea. Just lovely. Woman killed in drive-by shooting A woman has been killed in a drive-by shooting at a home in Sydneys southwest overnight. The 65-year-old woman was shot in the leg when someone in an unknown vehicle sprayed bullets into a home on Dickens Rd, Ambarvale at about 11pm on Monday. The woman was treated by police and paramedics but died at the scene. Two other people - a 34-year-old man and 21-year-old woman - were also inside the home at the time, but they were uninjured. Homicide detectives have launched an investigation into the incident. Police at the scene of the shooting. Source: NewsWire - NCA NewsWire Bride's wild wedding photo A fishing-mad bride has seized the opportunity on her wedding day and reeled in a shark after spotting one in the shallows. Miccala Toms was having her wedding photos at Dundee Beach near Darwin when she thought reeling in a shark in her wedding dress would be the perfect way to remember their day. There was actually a baby shark sitting on the bank so we thought wed take photos of that, the newlywed said, NT News reported. Then a kid caught on to another one and I thought, that would be great wedding photos, because we love fishing. We were standing there talking to his parents, and then he hooked up, and he gave the rod to me. After reeling it in, and even decking it at one point, the newlyweds managed to get a photo with the shark before it was released back into the water. Well this is certainly one way to celebrate your marriage. Source: NT News Rego mistake you don't want to make Did you know you could get stung for this? If your car isn't registered, it needs to be left on private property. If caught leaving an unregistered vehicle in the street, you could cop fines of more than $700. NSW MP Ron Hoenig reminded drivers not to let their registrations expire. "We all get busy, and sometimes rego renewal slips through the cracks. But keeping your car registered isnt just about avoiding finesit ensures your vehicle is roadworthy and covered by insurance," he said. Read more about it here. Body found after car drives into Sydney Harbour The body of a man has been pulled from the water after his car rolled down a boat ramp and struck a woman before plunging into the water at Sydney Harbour. Emergency services were called to OConnell St in Greenwich about 4.15pm on Monday following reports a car had plunged into the Parramatta River near the boat ramp. A woman had reportedly been pulled from the water by two onlookers who jumped 5m off a ledge to rescue her and took her to a nearby boat. A police spokesman confirmed the woman was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital suffering a suspected broken ankle, bruises, abrasions and shock. Police rushed to the scene on Monday afternoon. Source: NewsWire Following an intensive search for the 86-year-old man, police recovered his body from the river. Police were told the man is known to the woman, a statement from NSW Police read. A crime scene has been established and police have launched an investigation into the incident. - NCA NewsWire Australia Post launches two new Anzac stamps Australia Post is launching two new stamps to mark this year's Anzac Day. The stamps honour the Australians who served during World War I, who relied on the postal service to stay connected to home. "The letters and postcards written during the first Word War served as a crucial connection point between loved ones and the thousands of Australians who served overseas. Many of these items of correspondence later became treasured keepsakes," Australia Post said. The two stamps, The Glory of Anzac and Souvenir from France, are priced at $1.50 and $2.85 respectively and are available nationwide now. Source: Australia Post Source: Australia Post Albo dismisses rift after awkward moment Anthony Albanese has dismissed a rift with Tanya Plibersek after awkward vision showed the prime minister appearing to knock back a hug and kiss from the cabinet minister. Reports of friction between Albanese and the environment minister have followed the pair since Albanese beat out his left faction comrade and electoral neighbour for the Labor leadership in 2019. The relationship hasn't been helped by the prime minister overruling Ms Plibersek to scupper a deal with the Greens to implement a federal environmental protection agency and again to introduce legislation protecting the salmon farming industry in Tasmania. But Plibersek insisted it was a mistake for her to lean in for a kiss, suggesting it was a big no-no with viruses floating about. And now Albanese has addressed the moment. "Tanya Plibersek has been a friend of mine for a long period of time," he told reporters. "We live in neighbouring seats, we're good mates, and she's doing a fantastic job." While she may be doing a fantastic job, Albanese would not commit to revealing if Plibersek would remain in his cabinet if Labor wins the election. If you haven't seen the video of the awkward snub, see it below. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Home Alone director Chris Columbus has some regrets. He says Donald Trumps cameo appearance in Home Alone 2 has been an albatross for him and that he wishes it was gone, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. I cant cut it, he recently told the newspaper. If I cut it, Ill probably be sent out of the country. Ill be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States, so Ill have to go back to Italy or something. He added: ... Its become this curse. Its become this thing that I wish it was not there. Its been more than three decades since the release of the film. Trump had a seven-second spot in the movie. Columbus has said Trump made his appearance in the film a condition if they wanted to shoot a scene in the Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time. We paid the (filming) fee but he also said, The only way you can use the Plaza is if Im in the movie. So we agreed to put him in the movie, Columbus told Business Insider in December 2023. Columbus added that he felt Trump bullied his way into the movie. Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin has also said he supports scrubbing Trump from the movie. In 2021, Culkin replied sold to a tweet that read: Petition to digitally replace Trump in Home Alone 2. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP President Donald Trumps top spokesperson said the administration is looking into whether U.S. citizens can be sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Fox Newss senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday whether it was legal for the Trump administration to send U.S. citizens to Central American prisons. This comes after Trump floated sending U.S. citizens convicted of violent crimes to El Salvador earlier this week. Leavitt told Doocy that Trump is investigating whether it is legal to do so. Well, its another question that the President has raised, she said. Its a legal question that the President is looking into, and he talked about this yesterday with his meeting with [El Salvador President Nayib Bukele] in the Oval Office. He would only consider this, if legal, for Americans who are the most violent, egregious repeat offenders of crime who nobody in this room wants living in their communities, she added. .@pdoocy: "Deporting American citizens to Central American prisons; is it legal or do you need to change the law?"@PressSec: "It's a legal question that the president is looking into...he would only consider this, if legal, for Americans who are the most violent, egregious..." pic.twitter.com/HIXbcxXlVw CSPAN (@cspan) April 15, 2025 This comes as the White House refuses to help facilitate the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvadors notorious prison last month despite an order from the Supreme Court instructing the administration to do so. In a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said that he would not be returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump said he would love to deport some U.S. citizens to the prison in El Salvador. I call them homegrown criminals...We are looking into it. We want to do it. I would love to do that, he said in the interview clip. Trump to Fox on deporting Americans to a gulag in El Salvador: "We want to do it. I would love to do that." pic.twitter.com/ZOea5UzCwj Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 15, 2025 Immigrants can be deported from the United States, while citizens cannot. Deportation is covered by immigration law, which does not apply to U.S. citizens. Part of being a citizen means you cannot be forcibly sent to another country. Immigrants can be removed, and thats whats been happening in El Salvador. The country is taking both its own citizens that the United States is sending as well as those from Venezuela and potentially other countries that will not take their own citizens back from the U.S. The Venezuelans sent there last month had no opportunity to respond to evidence against them or appear before a judge. Thats the deal the Trump administration signed with Bukele. The U.S. has sent people to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and elsewhere even when they are not citizens of those countries. But, under international agreements, people cannot be sent to countries where they are likely to be persecuted or tortured. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. The six bedroom, seven full and one half bathroom home sold for $6.43 million. Courtesy of Emily Wilkins of Goldcoast Sothebys International Realty Oceanfront single family homes are rare in Sea Isle City. So when Emily Wilkins of Goldcoast Sothebys International Realty got the listing for this house on Pleasure Avenue she knew she had something special. Most of the properties on the beach are duplexes, she said. There are only a handful of single families. When the 10-year-old, three-story, six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half bathroom home went on the market January 14, it got a lot of interest -- even though it was the dead of winter. Many of those people who looked at it already had homes in Sea Isle City. Its like Monopoly. First they get a condo, then they work themselves toward the beach or the bay, Wilkins said. The home, priced at $6.7 million, was under contract within a week. It closed April 9 for $6.43 million, making it the highest price home ever to sell in Sea Isle City. Sea Isle City is a 2.75 square mile town on Ludlam Island. It neighbors Avalon and the Strathmere section of Upper Township. The median sales price of a home there was $2,732,000 in February, according to the most recent data available from New Jersey Realtors. Many of the homeowners in Sea Isle City start their search in Avalon and Stone Harbor and realize they can get more for their money in Sea Isle City, Wilkins said. When we listed, she said, there were people looking to upgrade. The home is located in the south end of Sea Isle City. Its in a very quiet neighborhood, Wilkins said. You have proximity to downtown Sea Isle and its just across the bridge into Avalon, which has restaurants, bars and boutiques. The buyer made the first and only offer on the property. It just felt like the right buyer, she said. It was a cash offer and when there arent a lot of comps, thats an important piece. Only five properties have sold for more than $5 million in Sea Isle City in the past three years. The most expensive home to sell there before this one was a five bedroom, four full and one half bathroom home on the bay that sold for $6.15 million in December 2022. Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jerseys real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. 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. Holly Petricevich was shocked to pay $1,199 for her car service at the MG Wangara service centre. Source: Supplied & TikTok/hollypetricevich0 A driver who alleges she was duped after paying $1,199 for a recent car service is the latest Aussie to grow suspicious of high repair and maintenance fees associated with car ownership. Holly Petricevich told Yahoo News she dropped her 2022 MG HS off for its standard 60,000 kilometre service at the MG dealer in Wangara in Perth's north on April 3. She was under the impression it would cost her roughly $500 and she would be notified if any additional work was needed. However, when she arrived back to collect her car, she was instructed to pay $1,199. The dealership has since claimed to Yahoo that was the amount she was quoted. "They said they'd call me if they needed to do anything different, which I was fine with. But then they were like, oh, that'll be $1,199 please. They said they had to do a little bit to the car but they never consulted me," Holly claimed. "I was shocked, and I was a bit upset actually." ADVERTISEMENT After questioning why the service was costing so much, the worker allegedly explained to Holly the service "was a big one" and included making changes to the spark plugs and transmission fluid. "I just thought, oh gosh, what if I didn't have the money? I think it's important to let customers know so they can say yes or no to these things being done to their car," she said. Driver questions car service price MG Wangara provided Holly with a detailed breakdown of the service cost which included $496.49 for parts, $51.60 for petrol, oil and lubricant supplies (POL), $18.01 for miscellaneous, $109 for tax and $523.90 for labour. Holly explained she was happy to pay the necessary amount for a thorough service but is sceptical about taking her car there again as she felt the cost was much higher than she first expected. "For my next service I'll be taking my car somewhere else," she said. The MG service centre provided a detailed list of Holly's cost. Source: Supplied ADVERTISEMENT Yahoo News enquired about the price of a 60,000 kilometres service for the same car at the MG service centre on April 10 and was quoted at $1,015 $194 cheaper than what Holly paid one week earlier. When the price discrepancy was queried, a worker at the service centre said he "just bashed the numbers in the computer" and $1,015 is what appeared on his screen. The worker claimed Holly was quoted $1,199 prior to her service. However, in response, Holly told Yahoo "they absolutely did not". "I never got quoted hence why I was so shocked... They also were meant to return my call four times and never once did, I think that speaks volumes," she alleged. Dealership apologises for 'genuine mistake', reimburses customer The Dealer Principal, Vanel Ram, told Yahoo News that Hollys interaction occurred during a transition period with some staff involved being inexperienced at the business. ADVERTISEMENT Instead of selecting the correct 60,000 km service, she was charged for the more expensive 80,000 km service, which was "a genuine and honest mistake". "I've spoken with Holly personally and offered a full apology," he said. "We have reimbursed her $200 and offered her next full service for free ... she was over the moon about that." He added that the expectation of a $500 cost was "an assumption" based on what she'd previously paid for a car service, and said staff will do a better job in explaining the costs involved. Holly was concerned she had been taken advantage of by the mechanics. Source: TikTok/hollypetricevich0 Drivers warned over 'rise in labour and parts costs' for cars Henry Man, from Compare the Market, confirmed drivers should always be updated when changes need to be made to a car and given an outline of what the subsequent cost will be. ADVERTISEMENT "Before the dealer even touches your car, you should know the price. They should quote the price for you and outline how much it will cost and consent before they even get the keys to your car," he said. While he couldn't speak to Holly's specific situation, he did warn that the price of car services have increased in recent years and drivers should ready themselves to dig deeper into their pockets. "In recent times, we've seen a rise in the cost of labour and parts, plus the inclusion of more advanced technologies in some new models," he told Yahoo. This has had a knock-on effect to driver behaviour, with recent Compare the Market research finding that one quarter of Aussies admit to servicing their car less due to cost-of-living pressures. This story was updated after the dealership reimbursed Holly and offered her a free car service. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. On the map it looks like a hub, and in practice it acts like a prism. New Orleans streets that begin in neighborhoods miles away converge around the end of South Broad Street and shoot back out at different trajectories. Through the lens of food and drink, this little nook in the middle of New Orleans has also been growing into a delicious destination for small, hands-on makers and purveyors. They join a few other long-running spots here, like Cajun Seafood, the first of a local family-run chain, good for plate lunches, game day trays of wings and seasonal boiled seafood. Weve been watching this take shape for a few years, as a critical mass of separate but complementary businesses took root. Im revisiting it now because a few changes and additions have been bringing me back lately. Plus, holiday shopping time is upon us, and this hub is a score for the indie-minded epicureans on your list. After reviewing the the video multiple times, it was determined that while playing outside, Gracelynn went inside the barrel herself and closed the lid from inside. the sheriff said. Jayden Mark, the second alleged gunman booked in the French Quarter Fest shooting, will be held on a $2.3 million bond. He allegedly returned to the shooting scene after ditching his gun and flagged down police to aid his injured partner in the shooting that injured five, but days later fled officers in a stolen car. I did not need a report to tell me about the health impacts of polluting projects and the inherent racism behind the decisions about where to Tourist Emily was minding her own business at the beach when she witnessed something disturbing. A holidaymaker has made a sad admission about wearing a bikini at the beach after witnessing a man perform a disturbing act at a popular tourist beach. 26-year-old Emily Marzilli was minding her own business filming crabs with her new iPhone when she looked behind her to see a man allegedly masturbating just metres away from where she was. After calling out the disturbing scene while on holiday with a friend in Mexico, dive instructor Emily was inundated with responses from other women who've experienced something similar. Wearing a bikini at the time, she's said she's been left feeling she should dress more modestly while travelling. "I was just enjoying my time on the beach," she told Yahoo News of the incident, asking, "Does my bikini suddenly make me an object of desire?" ADVERTISEMENT Swimwear brand owner Rebecca Pask, who saw Emily's story on social media, described the situation as "disgraceful" and called on men to do better. "No one should have to experience that," Rebecca told Yahoo, adding, "Women should be able to wear what they want and not face the backlash of mens actions." Diving instructor Emily said she's left feeling she needs to dress more modestly while travelling after the incident. Source: Supplied Man's disturbing beach act towards woman in bikini Speaking of the incident earlier this month, Canadian Emily explained she was exploring the beach when the man approached her. He told Emily he was "going to be naked" behind some rocks, telling her "I'm not going to bother you," she explained. After the brief exchange, Emily moved to the other side of the beach, far away from the man. Half an hour later, Emily was taking videos of crabs, when she turned around to see the man 10 metres away from her and pleasuring himself. ADVERTISEMENT "I got a new iPhone and was testing out the camera and taking videos of little shells and crabs," she told Yahoo News, adding, "it wasn't sexy". "I wasn't on the beach twerking, I'm in like a Gollum from Lord of the Rings position with my phone," she said. Horrified, she quickly stopped what she was doing and went to find her friend before leaving the beach as quickly as possible. Back at her hostel, she said she "broke down" in shock as she shared her experience with other guests. "I was starting to question myself and my behaviour and if I made myself vulnerable," she said. "I was asking what I did to put myself in that situation. As I said those things, my friend looked at me and said, 'You were a girl in a bikini on the beach'." After calling out the disgusting act online, she was inundated with messages from other women who've had similar experiences. Emily said it was "shocking and alarming" just how many other people have had similar experiences. "One girl told me she was in Greece, lying on her towel in the sun and felt rain drops from where a man had ejaculated on her," she said, adding "even men" reached out to her about their experience with flashers. ADVERTISEMENT "I realised that it's common, but it shouldn't be normalised," she said. "Just because it happens a lot doesn't mean that it should." Other followers questioned why she didn't say anything to the man, with some saying they'd have gone to "punch him" or "throw sand in his face". Responding, Emily said she was in shock in the moment and, "there's no way in hell I am approaching someone insane enough to do that in public," she said. "We were out as fast as we could." Discussing reporting the incident to the police, other women warned that they had been "laughed at" and asked to undergo psychological testing to prove they were "harmed" by similar incidents. Since she was making her way back home to Baja California, where she runs a dive school, she decided not to report it to the police. Woman's message to tourists to 'be aware' while travelling Following the traumatic ordeal, Emily said she's felt the need to dress more modestly while travelling to avoid putting herself in another unsafe situation. She said she's been left feeling "humbled" by the experience and to consider her safety in the future. ADVERTISEMENT "I think it's sad. I love to be expressive, and part of that is the way that I dress. But I value safety and not having another experience like that," she said. "My warning to other women is to always be aware, and have a safety backup plan," she said. "I think that the best way that we can learn how to not be in these situations is to just always be observant and have people to contact in case s**t hits the fan," she said. Perpetrators must be 'held accountable' Rebecca, who founded Gold Coast swimwear brand Barr Body and Swim, campaigned for the rights of Aussie women after a community leaders proposal for a ban on G-string bikini bottoms on local beaches. She said that while we cannot stop how others act, we can control how we react and what we do to hold them accountable. She believes that women deserve to feel empowered in whatever makes them feel confident at the beach, and that in this instance it was definitely appropriate to be wearing a bikini. "The solution is just be aware of where youre wearing skimpy bikinis and let's educate our males on whats acceptable and whats not. That is a hard line, its harassment and indecent exposure is not okay." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. A North Devon animal champion and founder of the K9 Focus charity Lynne Hall has been named as a finalist in the prestigious Petplan & ADCH Animal Charity Awards. Lynne, from Great Torrington, is one of three finalists in the Volunteer of the Year category for the 2025 awards, which will be held on Thursday, May 8 at the ICC in Telford, hosted by TV presenter Fern Britton. Lynne set up K9 Focus with her husband Nick to rescue and rehome unwanted and abandoned dogs, some of which were days away from being killed after being dumped in pounds. The charity is run entirely by volunteers and in more recent times has expanded to include a rescue and adoption service for cats too, as well as a free pet bereavement service. Now in their 13th year, the Petplan & ADCH Animal Charity Awards highlight the outstanding contributions of animal charities and non-profit organisations throughout the UK, Ireland, and Channel Islands. In collaboration with the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH), the awards acknowledge the dedication of individuals and teams involved in animal rescue and rehoming efforts. It features three categories - Volunteer of the Year, Team of the Year, and Employee of the Year. Commenting on her nomination, Lynne said: It is a true honour and privilege to have been nominated for this award especially when you consider the thousands of volunteers nationwide that do such incredible work. To win this award would simply be amazing - not just for me but to recognise the dedication of the whole team and the time they give to helping animals in need. Petplans director of trading, Jo Maclennan, added: Our partnership with more than 1,200 animal charities allows us to see daily the hard work and dedication of the staff and volunteers who do so much to help the animals in their care. The Petplan & ADCH Animal Charity Awards are our way of expressing gratitude and recognising the exceptional contributions of all the nominees and finalists. You can find out more about K9 Focus at https://www.k9focus.co.uk or visit https://www.petplan.co.uk//about-petplan/charityawards to read more about the awards. The woman says she was accused by a staff member of identity theft while buying a handful of groceries. An unexpected dispute at a Woolworths checkout has revealed a little-known rule about using Everyday Rewards membership cards and it's very likely you may have done the wrong thing as well. Caterina Tan told Yahoo News she was buying some groceries at Perth's Murray Street store and called over a worker for assistance when she was having difficulty scanning her partner's Rewards card. But things then escalated with the supermarket worker allegedly accusing her of identity theft for using her partner's card. "When I said it was my boyfriend's card she went on a big rant about how I'm not allowed to use his card... She said that I was committing fraud by using another person's card and Im supposed to use my own Rewards card," Caterina told Yahoo News. "She wanted to report me to the police." As a tourist visiting her partner in Australia, Caterina was confused by the accusation and admitted she was apologetic, but confirmed her partner had given her permission to use his card. ADVERTISEMENT Rather than his actual card, she was trying to scan a screenshot of the card sent to her phone. "I was confused and called my boyfriend but he said it's ok," she said, adding that her boyfriend pointed out over the phone he has used other family member's Rewards cards in the past. After a continued confrontation, the worker eventually helped Caterina apply the Rewards card to her shop and she paid before swiftly leaving the store. The incident happened last June and it's only now Caterina feels comfortable sharing her story, admitting she is "still upset about what happened". "I felt she was picking on me," she said. Woolworths confirms using another person's card is not permitted Woolworths confirmed to Yahoo News that it is not permitted for shoppers to use other people's everyday rewards cards, regardless if the other person is their partner, family or friend. ADVERTISEMENT "Everyday Reward cards should only be scanned by the individual member making the transaction," a Woolworths spokesperson told Yahoo News. The terms and conditions of the membership scheme details that members should only have one card per person, and shoppers can gift their points to other members if desired. The Rewards scheme is an immense data harvesting operation by the supermarket giant. The program collects huge amounts of customer data to track shopping habits and even personalise sales. The information Woolworths gathers are the checkout is linked to shopper profiles and used to inform other targeting and marketing efforts. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Montana writer Lynne Spriggs O'Connor will celebrate her new memoir "Elk Love: A Montana Memoir" with a reading at Paulina Springs Books on Thursday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. "Elk Love" is the grand prize winner of 2025 Chanticleer International Book Award and the 2025 Hearten Award for Uplifting and Inspiring Nonfiction. Photo provided "Elk Love: A Montana Memoir" tells the story of a world-weary museum curator and a bereaved rancher coming together amidst the dazzling beauty and seasonal rhythms of a cattle ranch in a hidden Montana mountain valley - a wide-open, wind-filled place where words give way to the wisdom of nature. Having spent ten summers on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation near Glacier National Park - part of her fieldwork for a PhD in Native American Art History - Spriggs thinks of Montana as her healing place. When she moved to "Big Sky Country" from the East Coast in a quest to reset her life, she arrived with high hopes. Her new start in Great Falls, a farming and military town in central Montana, was not what she imagined. Her dream of being more connected to nature in the American West comes alive when she meets Harrison, a handsome but cantankerous rancher. With her dog Willow by her side, visits to his hidden valley lead her to bugling elk, dancing birds, and night-calving in blizzards. In a modern world where listening is rare, "Elk Love" explores an intimate place where loneliness gives way to wonder, where the natural world speaks of what matters most. Before moving to the rural West, Spriggs curated exhibitions of folk and self-taught art at the High Museum in Atlanta. She also worked in the film industry as Production Coordinator for Spalding Gray and Jonathan Demme on the iconic Swimming to Cambodia. After landing in Montana, she curated "Bison: American Icon," a major permanent exhibit for the Charlie Russell Museum on bison in the Northern Plains. For the past 15 years, she and her husband have lived on a cattle ranch in an isolated Montana mountain valley, where her life centers on writing, animals, and family. A wheat field gently waving in the wind is a beautiful sight - but few of us know that wheat can be turned into exquisite works of art. Rita Weber, a Sisters straw artist, will be hosting a free special event "Explore the Art of Wheat" on Wednesday, April 23, at the meeting room in the Sisters Best Western Ponderosa Lodge. The event is on a drop-in basis from 4:30 to 7 p.m. She will be joined by members of The National Association of Wheat Weavers (NAWW) who will demonstrate spinning straw, weaving techniques, and simple plaiting instructions for the public. All ages are welcome to attend. Photo by Jim Cornelius Weber grew up on a farm outside of Condon. She learned early about growing and harvesting wheat, driving tractors, and harvesting the crop. It wasn't until years later that she learned how to plait the straws, making beautiful pieces of art. She told The Nugget that in the early 1990s, she saw a piece made by Alene Rucker of Arlington, and was entranced. "It was intricate," she recalled. "I just remember that I was awestruck. I didn't know you could do that with wheat." She asked Rucker to teach her, and she and her mother Marva Erickson both took up the craft. "We self-taught after that for five or six years," Weber said. Straw can be spun into beautiful threads, first produced in Switzerland in the 18th century. The straw was used to adorn hats of the rich and famous around the world. Straw can also be split open, smoothed flat, then glued side by side to form marquetry. Wheat/straw paper is made by soaking small pieces of straw into a mash, straining thin amounts of straw fibers, then allowing it to dry. Hundreds of plaits have been used by wheat weavers around the world. Straw is beautiful when dyed a variety of colors, then worked into designs. Care must be taken to hand cut the wheat, remove the leaf from each straw, and sort straws according to size. All straw must be soaked until pliable before plaiting. Black-bearded wheat, having a thick straw wall, must be soaked in hot water for a few hours. Other varieties of wheat may only need to be soaked for 20 minutes. Weber has taught multiple classes from kindergarten-aged children to adults, has taught classes at their national conventions, and has been an Artist in Residence for several elementary schools. She has held national offices in NAWW and is currently the editor of Gleanings, the association's magazine. Weber and her husband Garry became so deeply involved in NAWW in an effort to maintain and build enthusiasm for this form of folk art. "It's really important to keep the craft and the art alive," she said. The couple chaired conventions in Portland and Idaho, and decided to take on leading the event again this year. "We said, 'Why not Sisters?" she said. "This is a great place." The Webers discovered Sisters driving many times between their home in Eugene and Rita's home place near Condon. "We would do that many times a year," she said. "I said, 'you know, I'd like to live there.'" The couple bought property in 2013 and built here in 2019. Now they're hosting a major arts event in their home town. The title of this year's gathering is "Weaving Out West." NAWW is a nonprofit organization whose primary objective is to preserve and promote the ancient folk art of wheat weaving and various forms of straw artistry. The organization was formally organized in 1987 and has grown in membership including wheat weavers from Canada, United Kingdom, Scotland, Belarus, Ukraine, Netherlands, Australia, and Italy, as well as across the United States. Wheat weavers from multiple states will be gathering in Sisters April 24-26. Members can attend a variety of classes and will learn new techniques from master straw artists, including a teacher formerly from Ukraine. For more information, email: [email protected]. A free film screening and panel discussion at Sisters Elementary School on Thursday, April 17, will explore how digital life is shaping youth development, relationships, and mental health. Local nonprofit Citizens4Community (C4C), in partnership with Well Wired, a regional parent-led healthy tech advocacy group, will host a free viewing of Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age Elementary Edition. This modified version of the acclaimed Screenagers documentary series zeroes in on tech wellbeing issues faced by elementary school-age kids, their families, and educators. Doors to the event at Sisters Elementary School Commons open at 5:30 p.m., and the film will begin at 6 p.m.. The film is appropriate for anyone aged 10 and over. Free childcare is available from Starshine for kids nine and under, and concessions will be for sale courtesy of the Sisters Parent Teacher Committee (SPTC). Free registration is requested at citizens4community.com/events/screenagers. Following the event, representatives from C4C and Well Wired will be joined on stage by SES fourth grade teacher Clay Warburton and pediatric neuropsychologist Wendy Laakmann for a discussion of the film and healthy tech best-practices. Audience members will also have an opportunity to pose questions to the speakers. At our youth wellbeing-focused Community Forum last fall, the most talked-about topic was the impact of tech and social media on kids, said C4C Executive Director Kellen Klein. This event is part of our commitment to catalyze thoughtful public discourse about the issues that community members have told us matter to them. Through expert insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, Screenagers explores how tech time impacts kids cognitive, emotional, and social development. It also offers research-based solutions to help children build healthy screen habits and navigate a rapidly changing digital world with confidence and balance. Well Wired has screened this film at schools throughout Bend, and we are looking forward to connecting with families in Sisters Country, said Ami Formica, co-founder of Well Wired. The issue of kids and addictive technology is something many parents struggle with. Our goal is to build community with each other so that no family feels they lack support or has to navigate tech challenges in isolation. The community event is intended to spark reflection, dialogue, and shared learning about how technology is impacting our most vulnerable community members. Learn more and RSVP at http://www.citizens4community.com/events/screenagers. The owners of McKenzie Meadow Village (MMV), LLC, got their first hearing on April 7, on a zone change that could allow the property to be brought into the Sisters Urban Growth Boundary for residential development. The property owners the Reed family, Bill Willitts and Curt Kallberg had submitted an application at the end of last year requesting a Deschutes County Comprehensive Plan (DCCP) amendment from Forest to Rural Residential Exception Area (RR10), a DCCP Goal 4 exception (a goal to conserve forest lands), and a zone change from Forest Use 2 (F2) to Multiple-Use Agricultural (MUA10). On April 7, Deschutes County Senior Planner Haleigh King opened the initial hearing of the MMV application. Hearings Officer Tommy Brooks was there to consider the application and review all written and oral testimony and would later make an impartial recommendation to the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. The commissioners will subsequently have a public hearing and make the final local decision. King shared a few for the record statements including receiving, just before the hearing, a written comment from the Department of Land Conservation and Development, . . . alluding to some criteria that they did not see was included in the burden of proof. Although the ultimate goal might be to have the MMV property considered during the UGB expansion process, that was not what was under the consideration by the Hearings Officer. Of the approximately 170 written testimonies on file, King reported that those in support mostly concerned the City of Sisters UGB expansion and therefore were not germane to the requests before the county. She added that those in opposition cited adverse impacts to wildlife, sensitive plant species, and the Trout Creek corridor, and various other adverse impacts, if developed. MMV representative Christopher Koback gave a summary of the application requests, and the various required goals to which they complied. Koback argued that if the property zoned as MUA10, all the environmental and other concerns voiced by the public would not materialize; MAU10 is a rural and forest-friendly zoning. Nothing will change unless and until the property comes under consideration for UGB expansion in Sisters. According to Koback, if that happens MMV would follow all the standard development procedures to include the public, ensure that the property would be developed responsibly, address home hardening concerns, preserving the perennial creek (Trout Creek), etc. He went on to make the case that among current expansion options under consideration by UGB Steering Committee (UGB-SC,) all of the options are either too parcellated, too far from public utilities, have topographic limitations, and/or are burdened by covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs). Hearings Officer Brooks asked, to accommodate the goal exception request, What is the actual proposed use? He offered that although a use is not required, it makes the decision easier if the use is shown to be compatible with surrounding natural resources. Koback replied that, it is two-fold. . . we do think it is a valid use to say we want this property to be available for consideration in the city process, but also there are no MUA10 options available and would be a Deschutes County transition zone to go from rural to urban like they have done in Bend. At this first hearing, 40 people were present and 41 were on Zoom. During the course of the public testimony, 20 people presented two of which were the applicants Koback and, sitting with him, Bill Willitts. Two others were in support of the applicants requests: Curt Kallberg and Morgan Greenwood. Kallberg is an owner of the property and emphasized it is private property, and that . . . people walking on it are trespassing. Greenwood, who is a member of the Sisters UGB-SC and resides in Sisters near the subject property, shared that, Sisters is in a housing-crisis, and there is little time to address forthcoming growth concerns. Public comments in opposition came from 16 individuals and two representatives of two nonprofits who stuck to the purpose of the hearing. One from Oregon Land Watch, the Rural Lands Program Director & Staff Attorney Rory Isbell, asserted that a market demand is not an allowed exception to Goal 4 and that the property has scenic views and riparian resources and thus the Deschutes Comprehensive Plan should not be amended. The other, Oregon Land and Water Alliance, First Vice President Eva Eagle, declared that F2 is the appropriate zoning code for the MMV property because it is embraced by the Trout Creek Conservation area (161-acre pine forest owned by the Sisters School District) to the west and also forests to the north and east of the property and that Trout Creek crosses the subject property. Very few testimonies in opposition addressed the criteria under consideration before the county. Of those that did, one implied the Deschutes County Comprehensive plan goals were being skipped or intentionally ignored by the applicant, and others proposed MMV representatives were not complying with the countys comprehensive plan goals to conserve and preserve forest or riparian and ecological lands. At the request of the MMV applicants, written testimony will remain open for new evidence and testimony to April 21, and can be emailed to the Senior Planner ([email protected]). After that, rebuttal evidence and testimony will be accepted to May 5. The final legal argument by the applicant is due by May 12. Research into the application, supporting documentation, written public testimony, initial hearing video, and the Hearings Officers recommendations (when completed) can be found at https://deschutescounty.gov/mckenziemeadowvillage. Deschutes National Forest (DNF) firefighters plan to start spring prescribed burning season as soon as conditions become favorable. DNF is shooting for an estimated 8,860 acres of prescribed burning, including up to an estimated 7,000 acres on the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, 360 acres on the Crescent Ranger District, and 1,500 acres on the Sisters Ranger District. Prescribed burns are slated for Camp Sherman, along FSR 14 south of Camp Sherman, along FSR 800 south of the Camp Sherman Store, and west of Camp Sherman along FSR 1216; and south and west of Sisters and both sides of Highway 20 near the Indian Ford Campground area. According to DNF firefighters implement understory prescribed burning to reduce wildfire risk to communities. Prescribed burning reintroduces and maintains fire within a fire-dependent ecosystem by removing concentrations of vegetation and restoring forest health while increasing public and firefighter safety. Once firefighters ignite prescribed burns, they monitor and patrol the units until they declare the burn out. Prescribed burns, which are primarily conducted in spring and fall, are planned and implemented under specific conditions of temperature, wind, humidity, and vegetation moisture. Firefighters work with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Department of Forestry smoke forecasters to identify conditions that will minimize smoke impacts on people and communities. While prescribed fire managers take significant preventive measures, its likely that communities may experience some smoke during or immediately after a prescribed burn. Most smoke impacts occur during the night and early morning hours. Public Health officials from Deschutes, Jefferson, and Klamath Counties encourage community members to prepare for smoke. For tips on how to get Smoke Ready, visit the Deschutes County website. For more information on prescribed burning and smoke preparedness in Central Oregon, visit http://www.centraloregonfire.org/ and http://www.fs.usda.gov/deschutes. The weather forecast was horrible. High winds - 20 mph, with snow and rain - was the story on the National Weather Service website. This was bad, mostly because of wind. Rain and snow can spark good fly fishing for trout on the Metolius River, but high winds shut everything down. So... go or no go? The National Weather Service is usually very accurate when it comes to predicting the unpredictable weather here in Sisters Country, but a forecast doesn't always come completely true. What if there is snow - but no wind at all? A gentle snow - flakes drifting vertically onto the water - often gets a great Blue Wing Olive mayfly hatch going on the Metolius and other local rivers. It's tempting to rely on the handy Internet forecast, but I wouldn't know for sure unless I made the 25-minute drive to the river. And I wanted to know for sure. What's more, I knew for sure that few anglers would be on the river on this wintery March 15. Changing conditions When I got to the Metolius, I parked at Allen Springs Campground and hiked downstream to a favorite spot - one that can be great this time of year. But it was cold, windy and snowing - hard. I didn't see any hatching mayflies, and the gusts of wind made it hard to get a good euro nymphing drift, mostly because a strong wind pushes around the neon-colored section of leader - called a sighter - and it's almost impossible to tell when a trout four feet under water has eaten the fly. It's kind of like trying to do a puzzle in the dark. After a couple of hours, I gave up and headed to the Camp Sherman Store for one of their great sandwiches. As I ate - ham and Swiss on wheat bread with all the trimmings - the wind just stopped. I finished my lunch while I was driving downstream to Allingham Bridge. The smooth, clear water just downstream of the bridge is one of the toughest places to fish a dry fly in Oregon. The wild trout see tons of flies all year long, and they are very, very picky. I once saw a guy thrash his fly rod on the smooth currents in frustration as many trout fed on a mixed hatch of caddis and mayflies. "I've shown those $@%&* trout every fly in my box," he said. "And nothing!" Yeah, I've been there too - more than once - but I didn't beat the river into a froth. I just found another spot. Yet on this day, several trout were rising to a nice hatch of size 20 Blue Wing Olives - a tiny, grayish fly that is almost invisible on a gray day. Fluffy snowflakes drifted down to the mirror-like water - it looked like the flakes were drifting up from the bottom of the river and kissing with an identical flake falling toward the surface. I almost got vertigo - the sensation of not knowing what was up and what was down - but the rings of rising trout grounded me. As they always do. Photo by Chester Allen I inched into position and tied on a size 20 Sparkle Dun on a long 6X tippet. I made a downstream reach cast, and the fly drifted right over the trout. I could see the fish react - or ignore my fly. Five casts showed that the trout didn't want the Sparkle Dun. In fact, it looked like the trout was rising to an invisible fly, as it didn't eat any of the winged natural mayflies on the water. I watched this fish - and a few others - for 10 minutes, and not one trout rose to a winged natural. I tied on a size 20 Almost There Baetis -a pattern by Bucky McCormick that imitates a mayfly that couldn't get out of its nymphal skin when it swam to the surface. Metolius fish really like flies that match bugs trapped in the surface film. The trout was rising next to a bed of green water weeds- the weeds in the Metolius, a spring creek, are always green. On the second cast, the trout rose and ate my fly. A couple of minutes later, I snapped a quick photo of the fish. Then the wind roared back to life. U.S. Vice President Charles G. Dawes raised a rippling American flag, buffeted by lake winds, high over Buffington Harbor in Gary when it opened as the deepest port on Lake Michigan in 1927. Lake freighters long brought cargo to what was once the most modern port on the Great Lakes. Buffington Harbor had a mile-long electric conveyor that moved cargo from the dock to nearby plants, a 2,000-foot pier and one of the few lighthouses in Indiana, which has the smallest shoreline of any coastal or Great Lakes state in the country. A steel mill and two cement plants, one that was the largest in the world by production volume at the time, operated for decades at Buffington Harbor. But in the 1990s, the Majestic Star and Trump Casino gambling boats arrived after Indiana legalized riverboat gambling, allowing casinos throughout the state as long as they operated on sea instead of land. Buffington Harbor underwent a transformation and became known as a destination for gambling and dining instead of a relatively isolated industrial site on Gary's west side where workers made the steel and cement that built the country in the 20th century. But then the Majestic Star Casino closed in 2021 after it was replaced by the Hard Rock Casino on Interstate 80/94, which swiftly became the state's most profitable casino and has not relinquished the crown since as a result of its more accessible location just off one of the busiest interstates in Chicagoland. Now Gary is looking to reimagine Buffington Harbor and return it to its roots as an industrial site by bringing in logistics. Carmeuse already manufactures lime that local steel mills use to remove impurities from steel at its plant in Buffington Harbor. Indiana Sugars, Inc., a supplier of sugar, artificial sweetener, corn syrup and other sweeteners, plans to relocate its century-old operation to the former casino site. A $40 million warehouse with a light manufacturing component is coming. More projects could follow what's now in the pipeline, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said. "I see it as a unique opportunity with the airport, with the port and with the rail," Melton said. "Every year, we're building on the success and looking to bring more industry that's conducive to jobs and that the residents want to see in Gary." Indiana Sugars, which supplies sugar and other sweeteners to manufacturers of baked goods, chocolates, candy, cotton candy, ice cream, fruit products, health supplements, sauces, beverages, wine and animal feed nationwide, is going through the permitting process and should be able to start construction soon, Melton said. "They're moving impressively right now," he said. Transport Properties bought 132 acres of land from Majestic Star Casino in 2023 and brought in Indiana Sugars, which needed room to expand its operations and had been considering leaving Gary, where it was landlocked. SP TP Gary Development LLC, which is affiliated with Transport Properties, just bought a 78-acre site at 6200 Industrial Highway at Buffington Harbor from the Gary Redevelopment Commission for $4.7 million. The developer has previously done projects for FedEx but has not indicated to the city what logistics company it plans to bring to the site. "The organization that purchased the property is still courting a permanent suitor," Melton said. "It's too early to determine what it will be right now. We don't know yet what it will be." Gary also had talks with U.S. Steel about donating 500 acres of land by Buffington Harbor that's now a slag pile that would have to be remediated. The city envisions an industrial park for transportation and logistics that would be close to the Canadian National, Norfolk Southern and CSX Class 1 rail lines and across from the Gary/Chicago International Airport. It's also had talks with other property owners about redeveloping the area, which it hopes will become a logistics hub. "There's a lot of private landowners that we're looking to partner with to figure out what the future holds," he said. "The city of Gary does not own a lot of property there, but we're looking to collaborate and partner with a lot of the industry that currently exists." More projects are expected in the future as the new distribution centers transform Buffington Harbor, Melton said. "Right now, we're trying to execute what we have in the pipeline," he said. "That will help us tell our story on the national and international scale." The hope is that the new investments will spur more redevelopment projects, he said. "The hope, the goal is the halo effect," he said. "We're trying to grow our tax base. We're trying to grow more job opportunities for residents. It's going to be good for Gary. It's going to be good for the space that we have." Mercury has signed on to provide strategic communications and media relations to Armenia. The one-year pact, which went into effect April 1, is worth $600K for the Omnicom unit. Mercury is to advocate on Armenias behalf before the Trump administration and Congress, and highlight its geopolitical and strategic significance and role as essential partner in the South Caucuses for US regional and global interests, according to the agreement. The firm will advance Armenia-US economic, trade, investment and technological cooperation, and engage the thought community on issues of interest to the client. Former Minnesota Republican Congressman Vin Weber heads Mercurys Armenia team. Hes joined by SVPs Patrick Costello and Trent Lefkowitz, and managing director Dan Wilson. Armenia and neighboring Azerbaijan agreed to a still unsigned peace treaty in March, ending about 40 years of conflict. Both sides have reported violations of the ceasefire pact. Not a Subscriber? Join O'Dwyer's & Get RFP Access Stop wasting time tracking down RFPs. O'Dwyer's connects you with organizations looking for PR firms & services. Get new business with O'Dwyer's! Join O'Dwyer's 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 Fatigue crack failures are prompted by repetitive loads, or vibrations, over and over. Helicopters are massive vibration machines. Therefore, fatigue was a probable cause for this Hudson River helicopter crash. The Crash In a terrible accident, a helicopter broke into pieces, the helicopter dove into the Hudson River upside down, and all passengers were killed. From videos, the tail section with smaller rotor for control looks to have broken off of the helicopter before the main rotor for lift broke from the helicopter ("Rotor from deadly NYC helicopter crash found in Hudson River", click here). Some people were claiming that helicopters are safe since so few people are killed, i.e., 37 people have died in New York helicopter crashes since 1977 (Figure 1, "What went wrong before helicopter crashed into Hudson River", .youtube.com/watch?v=cSbDjcNlrok). That is, on April 11, 2025, claims were made that helicopters are safe in spite of this accident. If we do not know the cause, how can we claim that safety is protected? Later on April 14, 2025, the affected helicopter tour company shut down, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded helicopters from that company. Safety was no longer stated to be protected, where people also drowned on an earlier tour with this company ("FAA says helicopter company in deadly Hudson River crash is shutting down", click here). When this Op Ed was written, a request to the Federal Aviation Administration was included to consider grounding helicopters of the same design. Given this new information, such a request is no longer required for the closed helicopter tour company, but there may be similar concerns for other operating helicopters. The FAA will consider helicopter safety in a meeting on April 22, 2025. NTSB Investigation The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) will investigate this crash in competent detail. If fatigue cracking was a possible problem, more crashes are possible. Since this crash has not yet been evaluated, let's look at fatigue cracks in other industries and the applicable theory to explain such cracks. Fatigue Theory and Fracture Mechanics Theory Fatigue theory proves that cracks are directly related to the magnitude of an applied vibration and the number of cycles to failure. That is, the more that a structure or machine is bent back and forth the more likely that structure is to crack, and the greater the applied force for that cyclic load, the more likely the structure will crack. More cycles or more force accelerate failure. Fatigue theory is far more complicated. Fatigue cracks start at microscopic defects that are inherent in all materials, and therefore structures of the same design crack at different times. In fact, the cracks form due to cycles to failure over a range of plus or minus approximately 16%, or more, cycles for some structures, which means that if the first cracks start 20 years after one structure is first built, half of the identical structures will fail in 23.2 years after they are built (bridges in this example). Another important fact about fatigue is the concept of a fatigue limit, where this concept claimed that there was a number of cycles beyond which fatigue cracks could not form. These statements are based on data for bridges, which may vary for the number of cycles to failure for helicopters, which is unavailable to date (Figure 2). Even so, the principles are the same; if helicopters initially fail in fatigue, more failures will follow. Also, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers has shown that fatigue cracks will start beyond this so-called fatigue limit (ASME B31.3). Accordingly, some engineers who have not kept up with these new developments still believe that once the fatigue limit has been reached a structure cannot fail, which of course is incorrect. Additionally, a little known and little investigated aspect of fatigue is that metals get harder when fatigue cracks form. In fact, I used a hardness tester in the 1990s to show that the steel surrounding a fatigue crack on a pressure vessel was harder than the steel on the rest of that vessel. In other words, hardness testing may be a means to inspect for fatigue cracks before they form. This method could be added to the available methods for crack detection that are used in aircraft today, i.e., visual dye penetrant, eddy current and sonic testing. Fracture mechanics theory proves that once a crack has formed in a structure, the rate of crack growth can be predicted. That is, if a crack is found on a structure subjected to cyclic stresses, the time for that crack to rip apart that structure can be predicted. Fracture Mechanics Theory in Use Let's look at the application of fracture mechanics theory. Although fracture mechanics theory was invented in the early 1900s, it's first major uses were to investigate the breakups of Liberty ships in World War II and investigate the crashes of Comet jets in the 1950s. The investigation of the Comets advanced this theory significantly. Two different Comet jets crashed before the Comet fleet was grounded for investigation. With frequent flights, the jets were subjected to frequent expansions of the fuselage, or jet body, which in turn increased the forces on the fuselage. That is, when jets reach altitude, the pressure inside the cabin expands the fuselage slightly as if it was an aluminum balloon. The fuselage expansion caused fatigue cracks. When the cracks grew large enough, the cracks tore apart the jets and the jets crashed. An important finding of this accident was that two jets crashed, killing all passengers and crew, before these jets were grounded, since the first crash was considered to be an anomaly. 'Sadly, the Comet, even after the cause of its mystery woes was diagnosed, had a terrible safety record, with 26 hull losses during its short operational life, resulting in more than 400 fatalities (Figure 3, "Why Did The de Havilland Comet Jet Airliner Keep Crashing", click here)'. Fracture mechanics theory is in widespread use today. As an example, this theory has been used to evaluate cracks on in-service aircraft to allow jets to fly when cracks are too short to grow by themselves. Yes, jets have been allowed to fly with known cracks, based on competent engineering theory. Fracture mechanics is used in many industries to assess actions required during service when cracks are identified ("ASME FFS1, Fitness for Service" for piping and pressurized equipment). I have personally used ASME-FFS1 to permit cracked piping to remain in service in nuclear facilities, once the cause of the cracks was reduced to a safe level. Fatigue, Fracture Mechanics, and Helicopters In short, fatigue theory predicts when small cracks will start, and fracture mechanics predicts if those cracks will grow into major cracks that can be catastrophic. Together these theories are used to improve initial designs and troubleshoot in-service failures. An important implication of the facts about fatigue and fracture mechanics theory is that cracks will eventually form in helicopter components. An important question is how many years before cracks are first seen, and whether, or not, those cracks are dangerous. This question overshadows any ongoing investigation of this crash. A Safety Question When cracks form in structures or machines after initially being placed in service, the typical failure mechanism is fatigue. There were obviously cracks in the helicopter, and fatigue failure is a probable cause of cracks. Since the affected helicopter tour shut down, the question becomes, 'are there other similarly affected helicopters in service, and should those helicopters be grounded?' 'The [FAA] said it is analyzing airplane and helicopter hotspots nationwide and will be hosting a helicopter safety panel on April 22 to discuss the findings, risks and additional mitigation options.' Addendum, 4/15/2025 The following email was sent to the FAA, and a response was not received. I suspect that fatigue failure will be considered during this FAA crash investigation. I have expressed this opinion in an Op Ed, titled, "The Hudson River helicopter crash and future crash dangers from fatigue crack failures?". A partial grounding of helicopters seemed warranted, but perhaps the response should be widened to other helicopters. Thank you. Robert A. Leishear, PhD, PE, PMP ASME Fellow Doctor of Mechanical Engineering, U of S Carolina (Water Hammer and Explosion Failure Analysis) Master of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering, U. of S. Carolina (Explosions in Piping and Nuclear Reactor Systems) Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, U of S Carolina (Fluid and Piping System Failure Analysis) Expert in Numerical Analysis with Ansys, Technological University of Madrid Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University Combustion Institute, Princeton University Nuclear Reactor Design, Oak Ridge National Laboratory International Radiological Protection, NEA, U. of Stockholm International Nuclear Law, NEA, U. of Singapore NACE Senior Corrosion Technologist NACE Senior Internal (Piping) Corrosion Technologist NACE Cathodic Protection Tester AMPP Certified Coatings Inspector NACE Corrosion Under Insulation Shift Technical Engineer Metrologist / instrumentation Engineer Structural Steel Fitter and Welder Instrumentation / HVAC / Electronics Technician Journeyman Sheet Metal Mechanic Who's Who in America, Top Engineers Mensa, Copper Black Award for Creative Achievement Leishear Engineering, LLC Engineering Consulting and Research 205 Longleaf Court, Aiken, SC, 29803 Website - leishearengineeringllc.com (Article changed on Apr 16, 2025 at 9:47 AM EDT) This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. Hey, in case you didn't know it, there's no such thing as homelessness in America. And I have a distinctive authority to cite on the subject: Elon Musk. Yes, Elon, the man (except, of course, for The Man, aka Donald J. Trump). I mean, who should know better than Elon, the richest man on planet Earth (even though his Tesla brand is now losing popularity and its stock price sinking through the floor)? I mean, who should know better than the fellow who actually sold his seven mansions for more than $100 million and now lives in a $50,000 three-bedroom ranch-style rental home in Boca Chica, Texas, right next to his SpaceX Starbase? That, in other words, is about as close as the richest man on Earth could get to homelessness and no one would call him "homeless," would they? So why should anyone conceivably be considered homeless? And who better to listen to than him when it comes to homelessness? The very word "homeless," he believes, is a "lie." As he told former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, "Homeless is a misnomer. It implies that someone got a little bit behind on their mortgage, and if you just gave them a job, they'd be back on their feet." And then he added, "What you actually have are violent drug zombies with dead eyes, and needles and human feces on the street." Homeless, them? Not a chance! Or thought of another way, Musk and Trump give the very word "homeless" a new meaning as they create a wildly-tariffed world in which if, in the end, the global economy crashes, nothing much could belong to anyone (other than a few billionaires) and then we'll all have no choice but to move into $50,000 three-bedroom, ranch-style homes. But homeless? Never! In the meantime, let TomDispatch regular Liz Theoharis and TomDispatch first-timer Noam Sandweiss-Back, both of them authors of the new book You Only Get What You're Organized to Take: Lessons from the Movement to End Poverty, consider the power of the poor in Trump's America, a land where the "less" in that word "homeless" should now be coming into ever more striking focus. Tom You Only Get What You're Organized to Take The Power of the Poor in Trump's America By Liz Theoharis and Noam Sandweiss-Back The day after Donald Trump won the 2024 election, the 10 richest people in the world -- including nine Americans -- expanded their wealth by nearly $64 billion, the greatest single-day increase in recorded history. Since then, an unholy marriage of billionaire investors, tech bros, Christian nationalists, and, of course, Donald Trump has staged an oligarchic assault on our democracy. If the nation's corporate elite once leveraged their relationships within government to enrich themselves, they've now cut out the middleman. We're living in a new Gilded Age, with a proto-fascistic and religiously regressive administration of, by, and for the billionaires. With the wind at their backs, leading elements in the Republican Party have rapidly eschewed euphemisms and political correctness altogether, airing their anti-immigrant, anti-Black, and anti-poor prejudices in unapologetically broad and brazen terms. The effect of this, especially for the most vulnerable among us, is seismic. During the first two months of the second Trump administration, we've witnessed nothing less than an escalatory war on the poor. The attacks are many-pronged. Rural development grants, food banks, and environmental protection measures have all been slashed in the name of "ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs." Planned Parenthood and other life-saving healthcare services for poor and marginalized communities have been defunded. Homelessness has been ever more intensely criminalized and Housing First policies vilified. The Department of Education, which has historically provided critical resources for low-income and disabled students, has been gutted, while the barbaric conditions in overcrowded immigrant detention centers have only worsened. Billions of dollars in funding for mental health and addiction services have been revoked. Worse yet, these and other mercenary actions may prove to be just the tip of the spear. Tariff wars and potential cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP could leave both the lives of the poor and the global economy in shambles. This volatile moment may represent an unprecedented, even existential, threat to the health of our democracy, but it is building on decades of neoliberal plunder and economic austerity, authored by both conservative and liberal politicians. Before the 2024 elections, there were more than 140 million people living in poverty or one crisis away -- one job loss, eviction, medical issue, or debt collection -- from economic ruin. In this rich land, 45 million people regularly experience hunger and food insecurity, while more than 80 million people are uninsured or underinsured, ten million people live without housing or experience chronic housing insecurity, and the American education system has regularly scored below average compared to those of other nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Amid tremendous social and economic dislocation, traditional American institutions and political alignments have steadily lost their meaning for tens of millions of people. The majority of us know things aren't well in this country. We can feel it, thanks not just to the violent and vitriolic political environment in which we live, but to our bank statements and debt sheets, our rising rent and utility bills. As the hull of our democracy splinters and floods, the question remains: How do we chart a more just and humane path forward? There are no easy answers, but there are profound lessons to be learned from the past, especially from movements of poor and dispossessed people that have inspired many of this country's most important moments of democratic awakening. This is the focus of our new book, You Only Get What You're Organized to Take: Lessons from the Movement to End Poverty. Drawing on Liz's 30 years of anti-poverty organizing, we poured over old pamphlets and documents, memories and mementos to gather evidence that social transformation at the hands of the poor remains an ever-present possibility and to summarize some of the most significant ideas that, even today, continue to animate their organized struggles. Homeless, Not Helpless In the late spring of 1990, hundreds of unhoused people across the country broke locks and chains off dozens of empty federally owned houses and moved in. Bedrooms and kitchens carpeted with layers of dust suddenly whirled with activity. Mattresses were carried in and bags of food unpacked. Within hours, the new occupants made calls to the city's energy companies, requesting that the utilities be turned on. They were remarkably disciplined and efficient -- single moms who had been living in their cars, veterans, students, and low-wage or recently laid-off workers, and people battling illness without healthcare. They were Black, Latino, Asian, Indigenous, and White, and although they came from radically different slices of society, one simple fact bound them together: they were poor, in need of housing, and fed up. That wave of takeovers was led by the National Union of the Homeless (NUH), one among many carried out by the group in those years. The NUH was not a charity, a service provider, or a professional advocacy group but a political organization led by and for unhoused people, with close to 30,000 members in 25 cities. Liz was introduced to it on her first day of college. Within a few months, she had joined the movement and never left. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Berlin, 01.04.2025 The innovative collaboration between two key companies can redefine transformation and efficiency in the Berlin-Brandenburg commercial kitchen technology industry. KCCindustries GmbH, an established service provider for commercial kitchen technology for 20 years, specializing in Halton Foodservice exhaust and supply air systems for commercial kitchens, ANSUL fire protection concepts and commercial kitchen equipment, has signed a new service contract with the renowned Franke Foodservice Systems GmbH. New partnership for better The Cowles family intends to donate The Spokesman-Review to a recently formed Spokane-based community nonprofit organization that plans to continue publishing the newspaper amid the changes and challenges roiling legacy media. The plan calls for Publisher Stacey Cowles and his familys Cowles Co. to transfer ownership of the newspaper and award a $2 million matching grant to the nonprofit, called the Comma community journalism lab, which was founded by current Spokesman-Review Executive Editor Rob Curley. Its been a great venture for 132 years, but if you had the chance to extend its viability, as people know and love it, why would you not do that? Cowles said. He is among the fourth generation of the Cowles family to publish the citys daily paper. Cowles will stay involved with the newspaper as a member of Commas board of directors. Curley also will serve on the board of 11 and lead the nonprofit as founder and president. We firmly believe this is a great plan and the community and Comma have the resources to carry it off, Cowles said. Of course, were going to be helping to whatever extent we can. Were super excited to see this go. The Spokesman-Review, founded in 1893, will continue to publish as it does currently: six days a week in print and always online behind a paywall, though stories reported and written by reporters whose positions are funded at least partially by outside grants will remain free. When the nonprofit reaches its fundraising goal and takes over the newspaper potentially by midsummer readers will be offered subscription plans with different ways to engage with the newspaper content and process. We believe a community should own its narrative, and the local newspaper must be created with and for its communities, Curley said, especially in todays climate, that starts with putting power back into the hands of readers and citizens. The agreement includes a stipulation that current employees of The Spokesman-Review keep at least the same pay and benefits, Cowles said. He noted there are some details that needs to be ironed out as Comma works to raise the initial $2 million to trigger the Cowles $2 million match. There wont be any positions cut as a result of this move, per se, Cowles said. But were always looking for efficiencies, so well have retirements, well have restructuring, but that wont be contingent on the nonprofit. Commas business model, developed with help and guidance from nonprofit consulting firm the Bridgespan Group, calls for donations from individuals and major local companies and institutions such as Avista Corp. or Gonzaga, for example. Curley said what sets it apart from similar ventures is a hybrid revenue stream called the Spokane model. The newspaper would shift from a reliance on advertising and subscription revenue under a for-profit structure to a hybrid model that continues gathering these forms of revenue with added philanthropy. Conversations around this model have been underway for years as Curley weaved elements of philanthropy through his eight years as editor. He started fundraising efforts through the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund, which includes Northwest Passages book club events and collecting corporate sponsors for coverage, such as the annual Difference Makers series. Last year, the newspaper collected about $300,000 from nonprofit ventures, Cowles said. Now its going a step further under a model that could bring in between $800,000 to $3 million each year. Its an effort to move from a community newspaper to the communitys newspaper, Curley said. Cowles said the newspapers focus on a community-style of journalism has better resonated with readers, who felt they were more represented in the stories on the front page. Cowles described the style as the way of the future. (Curleys) brand of community journalism is really what has driven this and the response he got when in the first two months, we went from 10 complaint letters to 200 love letters, Cowles said. What more do you need to say, Well, this looks like the right formula. Then the question is, Well, how can we sustain it over a long, long period? The added revenue stream is necessary to the function of the newspaper as readers know it today, Cowles said. The Spokesman-Review is not immune to woes of the newspaper industry struggling with profitability and survivability. Were losing two newspapers a week across the country. And we have been for three years now. The industry is in a crisis; theres no question, Cowles said. Thats why youve got people like us coming up with solutions like this because of necessity. If we dont figure something out, were going to end up on the junk heap. Its the societal shift toward digitization that has made it difficult for most newspapers. The Spokesman-Review is generating 70% less revenue than it was in 2007, largely due to the shift from print to digital advertising, Cowles said. Revenue from subscriptions isnt enough to compensate for this drag, even with hikes in subscription fees and value-added pricing for delivery that grew subscription revenue over the past five years, Cowles said, but even that is now leveling off. How do we fill the gap if were going to stay at some semblance of the size newsroom we have, Cowles said. Philanthropy, future Comma executives hope, is how to fill the gap, and for more than just The Spokesman-Review. Its a way for people that are subscribers to grow into being supportive philanthropists within the community, said Comma principal and board member Scott de Rozic, who has worked with Curley to make Comma ready for the transfer. Once finalized, Commas business plans, financial models, legal documents and other details will be open source, available for the reference of other newspapers, which de Rozic hopes could help keep other publications afloat. We also want to deeply inform through sharing and an open source model, all of our learnings here with the rest of the country, de Rozic said. Because geographically we know we cant fix all the problems in the country, but we want the lessons that we learned and invested money in to be available, freely available, for the rest of the industry. The decision to transfer Cowles familys long-standing asset wasnt easy for him or his family, who all weighed in on this deal. In his sixth-floor office of the iconic Spokesman-Review Tower at the corner at southeast corner of Monroe Street and Riverside Avenue, black-and-white photos of his family offer reassurance. I think all my ancestors would agree this is a good move, Cowles said. Elena Perrys work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. 2025 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.). Visit www.spokesman.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. An unprecedented rift between Deschutes Countys top prosecutor and law enforcement agent burst into public view Monday as District Attorney Steve Gunnels placed Sheriff Kent van der Kamp on the sheet of distrusted officers known as a Brady list. Gunnels decision, reported earlier by Oregon Public Broadcasting, means the district attorney in Bend considers van der Kamp so unreliable that he cant be called to testify in court. Gunnels told The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday night that members of his office found discrepancies between information the sheriff provided in at least two driving under the influence of intoxicant cases. It was determined that he had been dishonest in his trial testimony and some of the information he provided, Gunnels said. Were still trying to determine the scope and number of cases. The district attorneys office began its review in November and is still going through several dozen cases between 2012 to 2018, when van der Kamp served as a Deschutes County deputy sheriff. The cases that have been found involving false testimony, so far did not result in convictions, Gunnels told The Oregonian/OregonLive. An assistant for the sheriff initially said he was not physically in the office and declined to comment, though by mid-afternoon van der Kamp had replied in a public letter, saying he was deeply disappointed in the DAs ruling. While I respectfully dispute the decision, I understand the seriousness of the situation and its impact on the Sheriffs Office and the publics trust, van der Kamp said, according to a statement from his office posted to Facebook. The sheriff made no mention of resigning his post, instead saying he was committed to the job, and was consulting with his command staff and legal counsel. I ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this moment, he said. Van der Kamp took office in January after a hotly contested November race that included the then-sergeant suing OPB in a bid to keep his decades-old employment records secret. The records came out anyway and showed that the La Mesa, California police department had concerns that van der Kamp had engaged in serious incidents of misconduct in the late 1990s, OPB reported. While he prevailed at the ballot box, OPB reported in March that van der Kamp was under investigation by the state police certification board over his employment history. Gunnels said he placed van der Kamp on the Brady List last Monday, and sent the sheriffs attorney his offices investigative report. He said he invited the sheriff to provide his office with any information that he would like to have considered. He also provided the investigative report to the state Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, Gunnels said. The certification agency has had a separate review underway of the sheriff since receiving a complaint against him in February, according to state records. Because its an open case, further information is exempt from disclosure, said Department of Public Safety Standards and Training spokesperson Sam Tenney. A spokesperson for the county was not immediately available to provide van der Kamps salary. The Brady list refers to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling determining that criminal cases should be dismissed when a prosecutor fails to turn over evidence that would be helpful to a defense attorney, such as when a police officer has a known history of lying. Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane. Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, on Bluesky @maxbernstein.bsky.social or on LinkedIn. Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe. Officers used a police K-9 to take Justin Franklin, 36, into custody. Dan Gleiter | PennLive An Oklahoma man stands accused of illegally shooting at a deer with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, driving at more than 100 mph, hitting another car and fleeing police in rural Linn County on Saturday, all with his teenage son and a 20-year-old in the car with him. Justin Franklin, 36, faces charges of felon in possession of a firearm, fleeing police, reckless driving, two counts of reckless endangerment, failure to perform the duties of a driver after property damage, second-degree criminal mischief and illegally hunting wildlife, court records state. The Linn County Sheriffs Office said that Franklins 19-year-old son, William Franklin, also from Oklahoma, and Mason Guidry, of Louisiana, were in the car with Justin Franklin. The first 911 call about the wild rural escapade came in at 7:07 p.m., with a report that someone had shot at a deer out the window of a black Mustang near Honey Sign Drive near Lebanon, officials said. The same car also was reported racing through the area after the shooting and doing burnouts when a driver spins the wheels of a car fast enough that they begin smoking. Deputies in the area saw the Mustang speed past them at 117 mph, headed towards Albany, driving recklessly and careening around cars in no-passing zones, sheriffs officials said. The deputies lost sight of the car, but more calls soon came in including a report that the driver of the Mustang had sideswiped a 2018 Mercedes and then sped away, officials said. Linn County deputies and officers from other law-enforcement agencies as well as the driver of the Mercedes that got hit joined in the search, and the driver of the Mercedes found the empty black Mustang in a driveway on Goldfish Farm Road near Albany. Deputies learned that three people had fled the car, and police used drones and tracker dogs to scour the area, officials said. William Franklin surrendered without incident when he was found near the car, and Justin Franklin and Mason Guidry were found hiding in a nearby field. Officers unleashed a police dog on Justin Franklin to gain compliance after he refused to cooperate with their demands, according to officials. Justin Franklin was taken to a hospital after being bitten by the dog and was later booked into jail. Officers found an AR-15 hidden in a thicket of blackberries, and they determined that Franklin had been the driver of the black Mustang. The deer Franklin is accused of shooting at was nowhere to be found. Sheriffs officials said they dont know if it was injured or killed in the shooting. Tatum Todd is a breaking news reporter who covers public safety, crime and community news. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com or 503-221-4313. Oen Nicholson, 34, (on right in stripes) is led out of a Coos County courtroom on Monday, April, 14, 2025, after he was sentenced to the Oregon State Hospital for killing his father and three other people in 2021. Retired Coos County District Attorney Paul Frasier, District Attorney Jody Newby, defense lawyers Stephen Eberlein and Gregory Scholl are at the table before Judge Martin Stone. Noelle Crombie/The Oregonian A Coos County man whose violent rampage left his father and three other people dead in 2021 was sentenced Monday to the Oregon State Hospital after a judge found him guilty except for insanity. The ruling brings to a close the complex and long-running case of Oen Nicholson who was accused of killing his 83-year-old father, Charles Nicholson, a retired couple, Anthony and Linda Oyster, and a marijuana store employee, Jennifer Davison. Police said an armed suspect prompted evacuations from Northwest Portland businesses on Monday evening, and people in the area of Northwest 21st Avenue and Irving Street were being told to shelter in their homes. After about four hours, however, police backed away. Events unfolded around 6 p.m. when police said they spotted a person who had an arrest warrant. The suspect immediately used pepper spray on the officers and lunged at them with a knife before running off, police said. Officers then used a Taser on the unidentified suspect and less-lethal munitions, but that didnt stop the person from escaping to a restaurant near Northwest 21st Avenue and Irving Street. Police said around 8:30 p.m. that the suspect was contained to the restaurant. Officers trained in enhanced crisis intervention are on scene and attempting to work with the suspect, who is still armed, police said. By 10 p.m., the Police Bureau said officers decided to disengage. Although the suspect was armed with two large knives and a large can of pepper spray, the incident commander determined that the threat to the public had dissipated, and the suspects aggression was only towards officers on scene, police wrote in a news release. After officers backed away, community members checked on the suspect and have given him food and money. Beth Slovic is an editor on the public safety and breaking news team. Reach her at 503-221-8551 or bslovic@oregonian.com. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com/subscribe. Reed College will offer free tuition to students from families that make less than 100,000 starting in 2026, it announced last week. Lauren LaBarre Reed College is promising free tuition nationwide to any student whose family earns less than $100,000 a year. Reed announced in December that students in Oregon and Washington whose family income falls under that cap wouldnt have to pay the hefty tuition at the private Portland liberal arts college. Tuition alone is estimated at $71,460 for next school year, and the total cost including room and board is about $90,000. Starting in the fall of 2026, Reed plans to offer the same tuition waiver to eligible families nationwide, the college announced last week. About 8% of Reed students qualify for the promise in its first year and Dean of Admissions Milyon Trulove expects that could climb to 25% when the program is expanded for students in other states. We believe in the power of higher education to change lives, Reed College president Audrey Bilger said in a news release. By expanding the Reed Promise nationwide, we will be able to transform even more lives and provide greater access to our vibrant academic program and to our intellectually curious and creative community. According to the fine print, the tuition waiver is for new students though existing students who meet the threshold for the Reed Promise could still be getting similar funding through other grants. Students will have to verify that their family qualifies for the promise program each year and must stay enrolled continuously to keep it. Families also have to have typical assets to qualify, meaning that they dont have tons of wealth in cash or investments. Typical assets generally ring in under $60,000, Trulove said, but that doesnt include retirement accounts. Reed says that students who qualify for the promise might also qualify for additional help toward room and board and other expenses if they demonstrate enough need. The college also plans to offer some aid to students outside of that group. It estimates that 90% of students from families earning $125,000 will receive free tuition and that students whose families make less than $200,000 will receive at least some financial assistance to cover room and board. According to a federal database, about 61% of all Reed students received financial aid in the 2022-23 school year. The college has a generous endowment, Trulove said, and has always tried to give accepted students whatever financial support they need to attend Reed. Last year the college offered more than $46 million in financial aid, Trulove said. Our goal has always been to draw bright and curious students to our community, and this is a way to accomplish that, he said. Sami Edge covers higher education and politics for The Oregonian. You can reach her at sedge@oregonian.com or (503) 260-3430. Dear Eric: A woman who works for me dresses in a provocative fashion. We work in a formal professional setting. She wore a black lace dress with cleavage on a Monday and I blurted out boy, youre dressed up for a Monday! Her response was that she had a date that night. I get complaints from coworkers that her flesh-baring outfits are distracting and unprofessional. I contacted HR and their response was for me to handle it. I know youre not meant to comment on appearances, and this is a touchy sensitive topic. Help! Work Attire Dear Attire: Ask your HR department for clarification about what they mean when they say you should handle it. What does handling it look like? Is there a dress code that you can cite? And, most importantly, by engaging with your coworker about her attire, could you potentially create liability issues for yourself or the company? Ultimately, unless your company has an applicable policy that HR can point you toward, and that is enforced consistently, youd do best to focus your feedback on her job performance. If other coworkers have an issue with her style of dress, direct them to talk to HR. Your coworkers may feel that her style of dress creates a hostile work environment. HR needs this feedback to help create or clarify applicable policies that keep everyone safe. Remember that workplace standards should be applied equally to all employees. Document any guidance you receive from HR before taking action to protect yourself and your employee. Dear Eric: In the letter from Frustrated Sister-in-Law, the writer wanted to know what to do with her brother-in-law constantly asking for her share of the inheritance left to her by her father. What she should do is tell him she considered his point-of-view and that she agrees with him that it was not fair that she and her husband received as much as the less wealthy sisters. In that light, she has donated the entire sum she received to her dads favorite charity. And then thank him for helping her realize the best use of the money that he felt she didnt need or deserve. That may quiet him down. Regifting Dear Regifting: This gave me a good chuckle. Its a creative solution that may not stop his ire but will certainly put the money to better use. (And I hope the letter writer does consider spreading some goodness around via donation to worthy causes.) Another reader pointed out that, were the letter writer to acquiesce to her brother-in-laws unreasonable demands, the money would be considered a gift and thereby subject to taxes. Thats not what her father intended, either. Lastly, to the letter writer, I want to underscore that your brother-in-laws aggressive behavior is not only an inappropriate intrusion but could indicate an unhealthy dynamic in his marriage to your sister. Consider talking with her away from him about the risk of emotional abuse through isolation (or even coercive control of finances). Remind her that shes not alone and she doesnt have to accept this. 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. Ash from the eruption of Mount St. Helens choked Portlanders in 1980. (The Oregonian) LC- THE OREGONIAN By David Kitchen, Associate Professor of Geology, University of Richmond Volcanoes inspire awe with spectacular eruptions and incandescent rivers of lava, but often their deadliest hazard is what quietly falls from the sky. When a large volcano erupts, as Mount Spurr appears close to doing about 80 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, it can release enormous volumes of ash. Fine ash can infiltrate the lungs of people and animals who breathe it in, poison crops and disrupt aquatic life. Thick deposits of ash can collapse roofs, cripple utilities and disrupt transport networks. Ash may lack the visual impact of flowing lava, but as a geologist who studies disasters, Im aware that ash travels farther, lasts longer and leaves deep scars. Volcanic ash: What it is, and why it matters Volcanic ash forms when viscous magma molten rock from deep beneath Earths surface erupts, exploding into shards of rock, mineral and glass carried in a near-supersonic stream of hot gas. Towering clouds of ash rise several miles into the atmosphere, where the ash is captured by high-altitude winds that can carry it hundreds or even thousands of miles. As the volcanic ash settles back to Earth, it accumulates in layers that typically decrease in thickness with distance from the eruption source. Near the vent, the ash may be several feet deep, but communities farther away may see only a dusting. When Mount Spurr erupted in 1992, a dark column of ash and gas shot into the atmosphere from the volcanos Crater Peak vent. Wind patterns determine where the ash will fall. U.S. Geological Survey Breathing danger: Health risks from ash Breathing volcanic ash can irritate the throat and lungs, trigger asthma attacks and aggravate chronic respiratory conditions such as COPD. The finest particles pose the greatest risk because they can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause death by asphyxiation in the worst cases. Mild, short-term symptoms often resolve with rest. However, the long-term consequences of ash exposure can include silicosis, a lung disease and a possible cause of cancer. The danger increases in dry regions where fallen ash can be kicked up into the air again by wind or human activity. Risks to pets and livestock Humans arent the only ones at risk. Animals experience similar respiratory symptoms to humans. Domestic pets can develop respiratory distress, eye inflammation and paw irritation from exposure to ash. Livestock face greater dangers. If grazing animals eat volcanic ash, it can damage their teeth, block their intestines and poison them. During the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland, farmers were advised to shelter sheep and cattle because the ash contained fluoride concentrations above the recognized safety threshold of 400 parts per million. Animals that remained exposed became sick and some died. Harm to crops, soil and water Soil and crops can also be damaged. Volcanic ash alters the acidity of soil and introduces harmful elements such as arsenic and sulfur into the environment. While the ash can add nutrients such as potassium and phosphorus that enhance fertility, the immediate impact is mostly harmful. Ash can smother crops, block sunlight and clog the tiny stomata, or pores, in leaves that allow plants to exchange gases with the atmosphere. It can also introduce toxins that render food unmarketable. Vegetables, fruit trees and vines are particularly vulnerable, but even sturdy cereals and grasses can die if ash remains on leaves or poisons emerging shoots. Following the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, vast tracts of farmland in central Luzon in the Philippines were rendered unproductive for years due to acidic ash and buried topsoil. If multiple ashfalls occur in a growing season, crop failure becomes a near certainty. It was the cause of a historic famine that followed the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. Ash can also contaminate surface water by introducing toxins and increasing the waters acidity. The toxins can leach into groundwater, contaminating wells. Fine ash particles can also settle in waterways and smother aquatic plants and animals. During the 2008 Chaiten eruption in Chile, ash contamination led to widespread fish deaths in the Rio Blanco. Ash can ground airplanes, gum up infrastructure Ash clouds are extremely dangerous to aircraft. The glassy ash particles melt when sucked into jet turbines, clog fuel systems and can stall engines in midair. In 1982, British Airways Flight 9 lost power in all four engines after flying through an ash cloud. A similar incident occurred in 1989 to KLM Flight 867 over Alaska. In 2010, Icelands Eyjafjallajokull eruption grounded more than 100,000 flights across Europe, disrupting travel for over 10 million passengers and costing the global economy billions of dollars. Volcanic ash can also wreak havoc on infrastructure by clogging water supplies, short-circuiting electrical systems and collapsing roofs under its weight. It can disrupt transportation, communication, rescue and power networks, as the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines dramatically demonstrated. What to do during ashfall During an ashfall event, the most effective strategy to stay safe is to stay indoors as much as possible and avoid inhaling ash particles. Anyone who must go outside should wear a properly fitted N95 or P2 mask. Cloth masks provide little protection against fine ash. Rainwater tanks, troughs and open wells should be covered and monitored for contamination. Livestock should be moved to clean pastures or given uncontaminated fodder. To reduce structural damage, ash should be cleared from roofs and gutters promptly, especially before rainfall. Older adults, children and people who are sick are at greatest risk, particularly those living in poorly ventilated homes. Rural communities that are dependent on agriculture and livestock are disproportionately affected by ashfall, as are low-income people who lack access to clean water, protective masks or safe shelter. Communities can stay informed about ash risks through official alerts, including those from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers, which monitor ash dispersion and issue timely warnings. The International Volcanic Health Hazard Network also offers guidelines on personal protection, emergency planning and ash cleanup. Volcanic ash may fall quietly, but its effects are widespread, persistent and potentially deadly. It poses a chronic threat to health, agriculture, infrastructure and aquatic systems. Recognizing the risk is a crucial first step to protecting lives. Effective planning and public awareness can further help reduce the damage. For the seventh time in less than a decade, Oregons commercial fishermen, governor and congressional delegation are asking for federal aid to soften the blow of climate change on the states ocean salmon fisheries. Members of the Oregon Salmon Commission in January asked Gov. Tina Kotek to request a federal fishery resource disaster declaration from the U.S. Department of Commerce, over Oregons poor 2024 coastal chinook salmon season the seventh disaster-worthy season since 2016. The impacts of drought, wildfires, changing ocean conditions and loss of freshwater habitat for salmon spawning, rearing and migration have all deeply impacted the health of our salmon populations, Jeff Reeves, chairman of the Oregon Salmon Commission, said in his letter to the governor. The commission is an industry-funded group thats legally part of the Oregon Department of Agriculture and represents Oregons commercial salmon fishermen. Kotek requested a disaster declaration from U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick April 1, and Oregons congressional Democrats followed up with a letter to Lutnick on Friday urging him to fulfill the request. A disaster request allows crews of commercial fishing vessels and related businesses to be eligible for federal loans and financial assistance to keep them operating and to prevent future losses. Similar disaster declarations were declared each year from 2016 to 2020 due to poor ocean conditions and drought that caused the economic value of chinook catches to the states commercial ocean fisheries to drop nearly two-thirds, from about $6.3 million per year to less than $2 million per year. The Commerce Department provided about $9 million in aid to Oregon and California fishermen for the 2016 and 2017 seasons and more than $7 million to fishermen and related businesses for the 2018 through 2020 seasons. Kotek asked for and received in 2024 an official disaster declaration from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the bad 2023 chinook season, but Congress has not yet appropriated funding, according to Anca Matica, a Kotek spokesperson. Oregons commercial ocean salmon fishermen caught about 18,000 chinook between March and October of 2024 about 40% of the 10-year average. From 2011 to 2015, the average catch was closer to 75,000 per year, according to John North, an assistant fish division administrator with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. More than 50% of chinook were caught in Newport in 2024, while southern Oregon fisheries struggled with low returns due to drought and warming waters in the Sacramento and Klamath rivers. Salmon are heavily dependent on cool, clean water for their survival, North said. Chinook salmon is Oregons official state fish and is of high cultural value to Northwest tribes and high economic value to Oregons coastal economies. Although there are 800 licensed, commercial salmon vessels operating in 17 ports along the Oregon coast, only 163 vessels registered a catch in 2024, according to Reeves letter to Kotek. Each of the last five years, those vessels have brought in an average of $20,000 worth of catch, and the top 20 vessels have made less than $62,000 each year for the last three years, he wrote. Oregons coastal communities are hurting from the decline in salmon landings over the past five years. With timely assistance, we can mitigate what will otherwise have severe ramifications for many businesses in our rural economies and keep building toward the future, Reeves wrote. North, of Oregons Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the states ocean salmon outlook is not all doom and gloom. Chinook coming from the Columbia River have been steady, he said, and coastal coho salmon numbers seem to be improving since the late 90s, when numbers got so low they received protections under the Endangered Species Act. Salmon have also returned to the upper tributaries of the Klamath River for the first time in decades following the removal of four dams on the river, North said, giving the fish the chance to bounce back. -- Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy. Zachary Stocks discussing the history of Fort Clatsop in the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. Photo courtesy of Oregon Black Pioneers. Oregon Black Pioneers When Kimberly Moreland, president of the Oregon Black Pioneers board of directors, presents the stories of Oregons early Black residents, she often hears the same response: I grew up in Oregon, and I never knew this history. That reaction is exactly why Oregon Black Pioneers exists. Our hope is that by letting people know that there is Black history in places that they live, that theyll come to see these people as one of their own, whether or not they have the same race as them, said Zachary Stocks, executive director of Oregon Black Pioneers. The nonprofit, founded by a group of Black Salem residents in 1993, is dedicated to preserving and presenting Oregons Black history through exhibitions, public programs, research and education. One of their most popular programs, annual walking tours throughout Oregon, will be returning from May through September in Portland, Jacksonville, Oregon City, Astoria, Eugene and Salem. The tours in Jacksonville, Oregon City, Astoria, Eugene and Salem will be offered only once, at a different city each month at $32 per ticket, while Portland tours will be offered twice a month from May through September at $10 per ticket. Tickets can be purchased online at oregonblackpioneers.org/tours. The tours are an opportunity for people to gain a different perspective on some of the places they drive past every day, or, a way to learn new stories about communities where Black history is rarely discussed, Stocks said. Walking tours are returning to six cities in Oregon from May through September. Photo courtesy of Oregon Black Pioneers. Oregon Black Pioneers The walking tours, which debuted last year, are just one of the many programs that Oregon Black Pioneers offers throughout the year to engage with Oregons Black history. As Oregons only historical society dedicated to preserving and presenting the experiences of African Americans statewide, the organization has taken on the roles of educator, advocate and memory keeper to ensure that Black Oregonians see themselves in the past, present and future of the state. Beyond walking tours, the organization hosts discussions, educational programming, traveling exhibitions and offers free lesson plans for educators on their website, which doubles as an information hub about Oregons Black history. Theres hardly any city in Oregon that we havent had an exhibit at this point, Stocks said. Were always going to have a statewide focus, and well continue to do our work to bring stories of Oregons Black history to people in the places where that history was made. Beyond the fulfilling reactions to their programming, Moreland described the work as chilling. Moreland, who has worked with the nonprofit since 2007, said she has seen the profound influence of their work across the state. I think weve been really helping to illuminate Oregon history by adding this missing history, Moreland said. Its our history, its American history. Were not getting the full story and sometimes when unknown history is intentionally left out or hidden, you dont really get a full understanding of the political and social and economic realities of the state. Oregon Black Pioneers is Oregon's only historical society dedicated to preserving and presenting the experiences of African Americans. Photo courtesy of Oregon Black Pioneers. Oregon Black Pioneers With the growth of digital and social media, that history is even more accessible. LC Miller, vice president of the Oregon Black Pioneers board of directors, has helped guide the work of the organization on social media to bridge the gap between the past and present. I have people walk up to me and tell me how much they love our social media and being able to take in these small bits of history in a way that resonates with them, Miller said. Infusing small pieces of Black history into everyday life is one small way Oregon Black Pioneers can continue to educate and inform the public. Beyond digital, however, the organization hopes to one day open their own permanent museum. We want people to have a place to come to see all of the artifacts, all of the stories that weve gathered and told across the state into a single place, Miller said. I think thats one of our biggest endeavors to bring us into the new age. In the meantime, the organization will continue to preserve and tell Black history in any way they can. The work that we do is rooted in love, were not here to push any agendas, Stocks said. Were invested in trying to make people feel like they belong here by sharing the stories of our inspiring ancestors who came before us. And to me, thats not political, thats just being a good neighbor. Chiara Profenna covers religion, faith and cultural connections. Reach her at 503-221-4327; cprofenna@oregonian.com or @chiaraprofenna. The Oregonian/OregonLive receives support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to bring readers stories on religion, faith and cultural connections in Oregon. The Oregonian/OregonLive is solely responsible for all content. It was heartening to see the renewed push for a proposed environmental rights amendment to the Oregon Bill of Rights, (Movement launched to add environmental rights amendment to Oregon Constitution, March 26). There was a serious effort in Oregon in the 1990s to establish a such constitutional amendment, led by William Boyer, a retired professor living near Bend. The amendment was to ensure a sustainable and healthy environment for future generations. It was a group effort that I helped with. Boyer spoke to the Portland City Club and had op-eds published in The Oregonian. The proposed amendment went before the Oregon Senate in 1993. If Boyer had succeeded, there would be a Ken Burns documentary of this project, but we are not so blessed. John Miller, Portland To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion. If you are among the small minority of taxpayers whove waited until April 15 to mail your tax returns rather than e-file them dont wait until Tuesday night to execute your eleventh-hour plan. Long gone are the days when a few post offices in some of Oregons most populous areas including Portland would collect and postmark federal and state tax returns as late as 11:59 p.m. on Tax Day. I remember the people in the TV news used to have a crew out there for the 10 oclock news, said Robin Maxey, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Revenue. On Tax Day, people lined up in their cars and handed over their paper returns to a postal employee. These days, most post offices in the Portland area and across the state close at 5 p.m. But If you find you must wait until past 5 p.m. Tuesday to mail your returns, dont fret. A few area post offices are open later. If you need to make a last-minute mail run, take heed of these locations with closing times listed as 6 p.m. on the United States Postal Services website: Handing your tax returns to a postal employee inside on Tuesday before closing time at any postal location will guarantee a postmarked date of April 15, according to the U.S. Postal Service. So what happens if its after 6:30 p.m. and the last post office in the Portland area is closed? Youre not out of options, at least for your Oregon tax returns. The Oregon Department of Revenue will accept returns as late as 11:59 p.m. at its blue-and-white collection boxes that look similar to mailboxes outside its offices in Portland, Salem, Eugene, Medford and Bend. The Gresham offices collection box isnt open late because its inside the building. The one in Portland is outside the Portland State Office Building at 800 N.E. Oregon St. in the Lloyd District. No stamp is needed. That, however, wont solve the problem of submitting your federal tax returns. The Oregon Department of Revenues drop boxes wont forward those to the IRS. And there are no after-hours drop-off sites run by the IRS, said agency spokesperson Raphael Tulino. Tulino notes that at least 90% of filers today submit their returns electronically. The IRS lists multiple ways to do this on its File your tax return page, including Direct File, which is free but isnt applicable to all tax filers, depending on their circumstances. Certainly we do accept paper, no question about it, Tulino said. Its just kind of discouraged, Im not going to lie to you, because it takes a lot longer to process The Oregon Department of Revenue also explains on its website how to file electronically, including through Direct File Oregon. Oregon and federal tax officials note that anyone who cant submit their tax returns on time Tuesday should file an extension with the state and federal governments, though a federal extension will suffice in Oregon for people who dont owe Oregon taxes. An extension gives a tax filer until Oct. 15 to turn in their taxes, though payment is still due by April 15. Finally, if you are due a tax refund, as about 70% of tax filers are, you dont need to submit your tax returns by April 15, though tax officers prefer that you do. Aimee Green is covering the Oregon Legislature this session. Reach her at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or on Bluesky. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. A 103-year-old, single-lane bridge that provides access to Mount Rainier National Park and the Carbon River Ranger Station has been closed indefinitely due to its deterioration, the Washington State Department of Transportation said in a news release Monday. The State Route 165 Carbon River Fairfax Bridge is closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic effective immediately, according to WSDOT. The 494-foot-long bridge is at milepost 11.5, three miles south of Carbonado in Pierce County. The bridge provided access to Mount Rainier National Parks Mowich Lake entrance and other outdoor recreation areas. A recent inspection revealed new deterioration of the steel supports of the arched bridge, which goes over the Carbon River, according to WSDOT. In the coming weeks, WSDOT bridge engineers will perform further analysis on the bridge. Until those results are final, WSDOT is closing the bridge as a safety precaution, the news release said. The 103-year-old Fairfax Bridge is closed. Inspection revealed new deterioration of steel supports on the structure. Further analysis is planned in the coming weeks. Until those are final, the bridge is closed as a safety precaution. Last year WSDOT signed an emergency declaration that expedited work for an emergency detour route for first responders and local property owners south of the bridge, which is not open to the public. In July 2024, the bridges load rating was reduced to 16,000 pounds, the third restriction imposed on the bridge since 2008, according to WSDOT. In 2013, commercial vehicles were restricted from crossing the bridge. There is no funding available to replace the bridge at this point. Years of deferred preservation work due to limited preservation funding resulted in the updated weight restrictions and now the indefinite closure, WSDOT said. The bridge first opened to travelers in 1921 and the average life of a state-owned vehicle bridge is 51 years, according to WSDOT, which regularly monitors the conditions of all the states approximate 3,600 bridges. 2025 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.). Visit www.TheNewsTribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Mannequins illustrate a traditional marriage ceremony at the Museum at Warm Springs, a home base to local art, history and community for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian A single word is inscribed above the entrance to the Museum at Warm Springs: twanat. Twanat means to follow in the Ichishkiin or Sahaptin language, and is used to mean the act of following practices, teachings and the ways of ancestors. And while traditions are timeless, the ways in which they are taught is bound to change. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is following its traditions into the future, as it looks to update its central Oregon museum for the 21st century. And while most of those changes will be welcome, theres still something charming about the 90s-era exhibit at the center of the museum. Found just off U.S. 26 on the east side of Mount Hood, the Museum at Warm Springs is one of the main tourist attractions on the Warm Springs Reservation, along with Kah-Nee-Ta Hot Springs Resort and the Indian Head Casino. Built in 1993, the museum houses a permanent exhibit hall as well as rotating exhibits. Theres also a short walking trail and community gathering spaces, where tribal members can learn traditional crafts and languages. Elizabeth Woody, executive director of the museum, said while the building was now an attraction and community hub, it was first conceived as a place to store objects returned to the tribe following the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. Prior to the federal legislation, the tribe had no ceremonial or reinternment process, Woody said. We figured once we buried our people they would remain buried, she said. And while the museum has received repatriated objects, thats far from its primary purpose. Today, the museum is focused on putting local Indigenous history and culture on display for both tribal members and the general public, telling the Warm Springs story through history, art, science and other lenses. The word twanat, which means to follow, welcomes visitors at the front door. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Inside the sunlit lobby of the museum, which is filled with works from Warm Springs artists. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian A headdress is displayed in a case at the start of the main exhibit hall. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Inside the main exhibit hall (the only one open this spring), visitors are greeted by an old video that offers an introduction to the people and the place of Warm Springs. Flanking the large screen are glass cases filled with artifacts and ceremonial regalia. A hallway leads to exhibits on petroglyphs, traditional gathering practices and tribal history. Two traditional lodgings, a wickiup and a tule mat lodge, serve as gateways that lead deeper into the cultural traditions of the Warm Springs tribes. Long, painted scenery on the walls behind the lodgings illustrate what life was like for the Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute people before European settlers arrived. Just behind the wickiup is a large display that teaches visitors about the tribes marital customs. Press a button and a voice will begin narrating as lights illuminate a group of costumed mannequins, highlighting different objects, clothing or practices. From there, the pathways of the exhibit hall run through a fairly straightforward telling of colonial history, covering trade, treaties and, ultimately, the forced removal of Indigenous people from their communities to the Warm Springs Reservation, where they made a new life as confederated tribes. Woody said all of this was bound to get a renovation sometime soon. Outdated features like handheld phones that allow people to hear traditional languages, for example, or big displays of printed text, could be replaced with more modern technology. I didnt realize that those things are old fashioned, she said. It was a state-of-the-art permanent exhibit at that time, but things have changed a lot. The tribe is currently eyeing a $3 million upgrade, she said, half of which could come from public funding. A bill currently working its way through the Oregon House of Representatives would provide $1.5 million to the Museum at Warm Springs, along with money to other arts and culture organizations. The rest of the money will need to come from private donors, Woody said. Traditional lodgings are recreated inside the main exhibit. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian Life-size cutouts of community members fill a stage at the end of the main exhibit hall called "Warm Springs Today." Jamie Hale/The Oregonian The architecture and design of the museum building reflects traditional lodgings and patterns of woven baskets. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian No matter how the message is told, the Museum at Warm Springs aims to get the same story across to its visitors: of a resilient people who have not only survived but thrived through the generations. Youre more or less understanding that the cultures have survived, that the people have survived, and despite the real U.S. policy to eradicate the American Indian and our rights and our sovereignty, it wasnt successful, Woody said. When you come in you dont feel guilt tripped, you just say this is our history, this is what we live through together, what our ancestors lived through together. The pathways in the exhibit hall lead to a final section called Warm Springs Today, where a video once again plays on a large screen, this one showing interviews with tribal elders offering their hopes for the future. Surrounding the screen are life size cutouts of tribal members young and old, giving the display a real sense of community. Both the video and the cutouts are clearly dated, apparently original to the 1993 exhibit hall. At this point, Warm Springs Today is 32 years old. That fact might make a decent argument for the update, but it also makes the end of the exhibit feel more impactful. At one point, a woman on the video says that she sincerely hopes her grandchildren will carry on their peoples traditions, their language and their culture. Standing in a building where those traditions are not just on display, but are actively taught to new generations, its clear her dream has come true. Woody said people, especially children, just want to learn if you provide them the opportunity, theyll take it. The same could be said about teaching: There is something so natural about the process of coming together as a community and passing down your traditions. I believe people are that way, Woody said. It doesnt just happen in a museum, it happens because of the energy people have about connection. -- Jamie Hale covers travel and the outdoors and co-hosts the Peak Northwest podcast. Reach him at 503-294-4077, jhale@oregonian.com or @HaleJamesB. Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com. The federal government has denied Washingtons request for disaster relief after Novembers bomb cyclone that killed two people and caused $34 million in damage, Gov. Bob Ferguson said Monday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency did not offer an explanation for why it declined to issue a major disaster declaration for the bomb cyclone in its letter to the state, only saying the assistance is not warranted. The letter was addressed to former Gov. Jay Inslee, who first requested the declaration and aid in January. The denial comes after President Donald Trump has talked of reshaping or even eliminating FEMA, and threatened to withhold disaster aid for those he sees as opposing him. Washington is also among 22 Democratic-leaning states and Washington, D.C. that earlier this year sued the Trump administration over federal FEMA money that states said were being held up. There are very clear criteria to qualify for these emergency relief funds. Washingtons application met all of them, Ferguson said. This is another troubling example of the federal government withholding funding. The bomb cyclone in November generated wind gusts up to 74 mph in places throughout Western Washington and led to the most severe power outage in Seattle since 2006, with hundreds of thousands across the region losing electricity, some for days. Two women, both 65, died in the storm. In Lynnwood, Deborah OConnor died after a tree fell on her tent in a homeless encampment. A Bellevue resident was killed when a tree smashed into her home while she was showering. Inslee had asked for public assistance for six counties King, Snohomish, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Wahkiakum and Walla Walla and hazard mitigation across the state. The former governor declared a state of emergency in January that unlocked $1 million in state funding for recovery efforts. Ferguson said the state will appeal the denial. Emails and voicemails left with FEMAs Region 10 office in Bothell were not immediately returned Monday afternoon. The letter added that FEMA will communicate to the state whether there are other federal resources available. King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn called the news disappointing given the overwhelming bipartisan support for the disaster relief. Helping citizens recover from a natural disaster like last falls bomb cyclone is the reason FEMA exists as an agency, Dunn said in a statement. ... I am confident that the criteria to qualify for federal funds were met, and I support the decision to appeal. This is the first time in recent memory that Washingtons request for public assistance was denied after a disaster, according to Washington Military Department spokesperson Karina Shagren. The public assistance program has a clearly defined set of requirements to merit aid, whereas requests for individual assistance are more subjective. FEMA considers several factors in evaluating requests for major disaster declarations, according to the agency. These factors include the estimated cost of the assistance; the localized impact of the disaster; insurance coverage; hazard mitigation; disaster history; and whether other federal agency programs are better suited to address the needs. FEMA also denied North Carolinas request for an extension on a 100% match for disaster recovery from Hurricane Helene, a tropical cyclone that killed hundreds of people in September 2024. Six months later, the people of western North Carolina are working hard to get back on their feet; they need FEMA to help them get the job done, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said in a statement. Washington has had 19 major disaster declarations over the past decade, according to FEMA data. The most recent was issued in November, when then-President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation for recovery efforts in areas affected by summer wildfires. 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Organized by the Student Government Association, Higher Education Day is an annual event dedicated to advocating for the future of higher education in Oklahoma. Student representatives from colleges and universities come together at the State Capitol to meet with state leaders, sharing their stories and giving insight on how higher education has impacted their lives and futures. Higher Education Day serves as an opportunity to highlight the critical role higher education plays in shaping Oklahoma's communities and workforce, while opening a dialogue about continued support and investment in students' academic and professional success. Hosted by: Additional Information can be found at: https://ou.campuslabs.com/engage/event/10944670 Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:37 a.m. on April 15 to remove incorrect information stating George Henderson received his Ph.D. from Langston University. About 200 people filled the seats of Holmberg Hall to commemorate the legacy of civil rights activist and OU professor George Henderson. NEWSLETTERS * required Thank you for subscribing! Email * Please enter a valid email address First Name Last Name When major news breaks + a few times a week FREE SIGN UP Subscribing... In March, Henderson announced his retirement after a 58-year career with the university. Dr. George Hendersons Legacy Lecture An Evening of Reflection, Wisdom, and Inspiration was held Monday night by OU Student Affairs where Henderson reflected on his personal journey at OU and shared lessons about leadership, justice and humanity. Henderson began the evening by expressing his gratitude to the OU community for years of service and activism in the OU community. Thank you is inadequate, Henderson said. Henderson joined the OU faculty as the third full-time Black professor in 1967. However, Henderson said he had no intention of accepting a job in Oklahoma when he first visited. I was the 13th African American in the United States with that degree, Henderson said. I could have gone anywhere and I had offers from everywhere. Before his move to Oklahoma, Henderson was an advocate of racial equality in Detroit. He worked with civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, but when Henderson visited Oklahoma for the first time, he said he felt he was chosen by God to be there. I needed Oklahoma like I needed air and water and food because I had to prove to myself and to my children that I was an authentic civil rights leader, activist and teacher, Henderson said. Henderson said he was focused on theory rather than action when he was younger. He said he needed Oklahoma to remind him to live what he was teaching. Henderson told a story about his daughters white boyfriend coming to his house to pick his daughter up for a date. Henderson told the boy I teach that stuff at the university, we dont live it in this house. Henderson said his daughter reminded him that he taught not to judge people by the color of their skin but by their character. They integrated before I did, Henderson said. I was a phony. I was a pretender. Henderson said he was reborn as a teacher after that. He decided to live what he was teaching. Henderson said because of the OU community, he is no longer a hypocrite. Im a slow learner, Henderson said. I did a lot of things when I was younger. I was a racist, I was a homophobe, I was a xenophobe, you name it. One by one they were peeled away, and I began to do better. 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 Henderson said he has earned more honors than any other professor at OU, been interviewed by more media sources than any other professor at OU and has more awards than any other professor at OU. When (people) ask What are you most proud of? I say none of these things on the wall, these awards or honors, Henderson said. The greatest honor that I have ever had was to have the privilege of teaching the children of Oklahoma and to know what love truly meant. David Surratt, vice president of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, hosted a Q&A session following Hendersons speech. Like many of you, I've benefited from your teaching, from your mentorship and your support, Surratt said to Henderson. Surratt asked what valuable lessons Henderson has taken away from his years of teaching. Henderson replied that he has always viewed his students as his children. Children are always listening and learning, so I have to be authentic, Henderson said. I want to be authentic and I want to be honest. Audience member Jeremiah McBurrows, a freshman journalism major, asked where Henderson first gained the inspiration to teach. I was born with it, Henderson said. He attributed his sensitivity hes practiced throughout his career to his mother who died months before Hendersons induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2003. My mother loved, Henderson said. She loved me, she loved other people and she taught me to share that love we had with other people. Kaleb Wallace, a freshman engineering major, asked when in his life Henderson found contentment after years of activism and teaching. I am most content with myself when I know Ive done the best I can, Henderson said. If tomorrow I am not here, I can say You did the best you could George. After questions, Henderson was honored by his fraternity brothers at Kappa Alpha Psi with a plaque to congratulate Henderson on 58 years of commitment to the university. Henderson scholars and audience members flooded the stage to speak with and take pictures with Henderson at the conclusion of his farewell speech. When students ask me Why did you come to OU? I tell them I came for you, Henderson said. I stay for you. I love you. So I thank you for who you are, what you are and what youve helped me to become. This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Ismael Lele. Pixelle Specialty Solutions to Close Specialty Papers Mill in Chillicothe, Ohio April 15, 2025 - Pixelle Specialty Solutions today announced the planned closure of its Chillicothe, Ohio, pulp and paper mill as part of an effort to align its operational footprint with long-term business objectives. "This was an extremely difficult decision. We value our Chillicothe team and the contributions they have made to Pixelle," said Ross Bushnell, Pixelle's president and CEO. "While this step is necessary for our long-term strategic goals, our priority at the moment is to support our employees with care and transparency throughout this transition. We are committed to providing the resources and assistance they need while also ensuring continuity for our customers until the closure is complete." The Chillicothe mill closure will allow Pixelle to strengthen its remaining operations in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania (paper mill) and Fremont, Ohio (converting facility) and maintain its competitive position in the specialty paper market. The company is taking steps to provide a smooth transition for employees, including job placement assistance and access to workforce resources. Pixelle will engage with represented employees' union leadership on the impact this will have on them under their collective bargaining agreement. Pixelle will also work closely with its customers and suppliers to navigate this transition as efficiently as possible. Where possible, as with the carbonless sheet and Defensa paper franchises, production will be strategically relocated to Pixelle's Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, facility as the company looks to continue to deliver to its high standards for quality specialty paper solutions for its customers. "We are confident that this decision, while difficult, allows us to better align our resources and focus on future growth opportunities that pair with our operational goals and competitive solutions," said Bushnell. "Our focus remains on delivering high-quality specialty paper products while ensuring a responsible transition for our workforce and operations in Chillicothe." Headquartered in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC is a leading manufacturer of specialty papers, with operations in North America. SOURCE: Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Pixel-packed 18-inch 4K Mini-LED display Two Thunderbolt 5 ports Top-tier multi-threaded CPU performance Excellent GPU performance PCIe 5 solid state drives Cons Heavy and thick Mediocre keyboard, touchpad Very loud under load at high performance profiles Our Verdict The MSI Raider 18 HX AI isnt a looker, but it packs incredible CPU and GPU performance. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: MSI Raider 18 HX AI Retailer Price Check Product Price The MSI Raider 18 HX AI is the very model of a desktop replacement laptop. Its big, its not much to look at, and it has a mediocre touchpad that implies users are really expected to connect a mouse. That might leave some shoppers asking, Whats the point? That question is answered once the laptop is tossed into a demanding game or application. It might be thick, but the MSI Raider 18 HX delivers top-tier CPU and GPU performance. It even has gobs of RAM and a PCIe 5.0 solid state drive. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Specs and features The highlight of the MSI Raider 18 HX AIs spec sheet is undoubtedly the Nvidia RTX 5080. This new mobile GPU is destined to become the new go-to choice for gamers on the go, and here it has access to an impressive 175 watts of graphics power. But the story doesnt end there. The Raider 18 also has Intels new Core Ultra 9 285HX, which packs 24 CPU cores, and the model I reviewed had 64GB of RAM alongside a 4TB PCIe 5.0 solid state drive. It has a Mini-LED display, too. Model number: A2XWIG-418US CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX Memory: 64GB DDR5-6400 RAM Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 5080 16GB NPU: Intel AI Boost up to 13 TOPS (Int8) Display: 18-inch 3,840 x 2,400 120Hz IPS Mini-LED Storage: 4TB M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD Webcam: 1080p 30fps camera with physical privacy shutter, dual array microphone Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 5, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm combo jack, SD card reader Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Fingerprint reader, Facial Recognition Battery capacity: 99 watt-hours Dimensions: 15.91 x 12.09 x 1.26 inches Weight: 7.94 pounds Operating System: Windows 11 Pro Price: $4,499 MSRP Cutting-edge hardware doesnt come cheap, and the Raider 18 I tested rings up at an intimidating $4,499. Thats a lot, but if you glanced at the spec sheet and thought, Eh, could be better, MSI also offers a more extravagant configuration with Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics at $4,899. The MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a hardware showcase. It has an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX that sets new records in several benchmarks, and an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU with performance close to RTX 4090, and a pair of PCIe 5.0 solid state drives that hit blistering read speeds of just over 13,000 MB/s. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Design and build quality IDG / Matthew Smith The MSI Raider 18 HX AI isnt the companys largest and most powerful laptopthats the MSI Titanbut its still a beefy boy. Were talking nearly 8 pounds of heft and a profile thats about 1.25 inches thick. Thats not unusual for a big, high-performance gaming laptop like the Raider 18, but its important to note. Youre going to notice when this laptop is in your bag, and it wont even fit in many mid-sized backpacks. Size aside, the Raider 18s design is cohesive but not remarkable. Its clad in black plastics with red accents, and while the materials look fine, theyre certainly not as luxurious as laptops that aim for a more professional look, such as Razers Blade 18. Its also noticeably less extravagant than MSIs Titan, which is more of a showpiece. While it doesnt make a strong first impression, the Raider 18s build quality is solid. The plastics dont provide the sense of solidity aluminum would offer, but the chassis is rigid when the laptop is handled, and the display doesnt significantly warp as its opened and closed. Pressing hard on the keyboard reveals some flex, but thats common for laptops of this size, and it didnt stand out in normal use. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Keyboard, trackpad IDG / Matthew Smith A spacious keyboard with a numpad stretches across the MSI Raider 18 HX AIs interior. While a few keys, like Caps Lock, are still ever-so-slightly smaller than typical, most keys are large. This includes the numpad keys, which, unlike so many laptops keyboards, are the same size as the primary alphanumeric keys. So, while the Raider 18 is targeted at gamers, it might also appeal to accountants (thats a joke). Key feel, however, is a miss. Although it has a SteelSeries-branded keyboard, the typing experience doesnt feel much different than with any number of competitive gaming keyboards. Thats not to say its bad. A large laptop like the Raider 18 has enough space to provide good key travel. However, its not remarkable. Ive used far less expensive gaming laptops with keyboards at least as good (Lenovos Legion 5 line comes to mind). The keyboard does offer RGB-LED backlighting, however, which can be customized per-key. This is where the SteelSeries branding is most relevant, as RGB-LED customization is handled through the SteelSeries GG app. I like it. The app looks nice, is easy to use, and provides the ability to save both RGB-LED customization profiles and macro key configurations. These features arent unique, but some competitors (like Gigabyte and Acer) are a bit behind the curve when it comes to the software used to control these features. The touchpad has its ups and downs. Its reasonably large at about 5 inches wide and 3 inches deep, but thats only about as large as the touchpad on a typical 14-inch consumer laptop. The touchpad didnt feel especially responsive, and the physical button action struck me as springy yet hollow. It works, but the laptop is best used with a mouse. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Display, audio IDG / Matthew Smith The MSI Raider 18 HX AI has a rare 18-inch Mini-LED display. This type of display combines an IPS-LCD panel with an array of LEDs that can change brightness independently. That allows the display to achieve an effectively infinite contrast ratio like OLED competitors. Its not quite as good as OLED, as Mini-LED can suffer blooming, an issue that can cause a halo effect around small, bright objects on dark scenes. Still, its almost as good. Contrast aside, the Raider 18 looks great in games and day-to-day productivity apps. Sharpness is a perk, as the displays 3,840 x 2,400 resolution works out to about 252 pixels per inch (ppi). Thats extremely high (for comparison, a 27-inch 4K monitor typically has 163 ppi). The display also has a wide color gamut and can become extremely bright, which makes the Raider 18 a decent choice for HDR. Note, however, that HDR is not supported when the laptop is on battery power. Listening to music on the Raider 18 isnt as pleasant as watching movies, though its still decent. The built-in speakers are upwards-firing and deliver good volume, while a pair of 2-watt woofers offer some low-end oomph. I found the treble rather grating, however, and the sound is muddy with the volume cranked all the way up. Still, its good for laptop audio. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Webcam, microphone, biometrics MSI ships the Raider 18 with a 1080p webcam. It provides good video quality in a well-lit to moderately lit room. Viewing the webcams output on the Raider 18 itself sells it short, as 1080p is so far below the displays 3,840 x 2,400 resolution. On Zoom calls, however, the webcam looks good. As a bonus, the webcam provides a physical privacy shutter. Microphone quality is respectable, as well, with good voice pick-up and decent noise cancellation from the dual microphone array. The Raider 18 also supports Windows AI-driven Studio Effects, so its easy to blur your background. Biometric login is supported through Windows Hello. Both facial recognition and fingerprint recognition are available and work well. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Connectivity Connectivity is among the MSI Raider 18 HX AIs strengths. It has two Thunderbolt 5 ports, each supporting USB-C, DisplayPort, and Power Delivery. Their high data bandwidth (80 Gbps bi-directional) and versatile feature set make them ideal for connecting to a Thunderbolt dock or Thunderbolt-compatible monitor. From there, these ports can handle multiple downstream peripherals or displays. The laptop also has three USB-A ports, all supporting USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds (10 Gbps). In addition to the Thunderbolt 5 ports, the Raider 18 also has an HDMI 2.1 port. Its rated for 8K output up to 60Hz and 4K output up to 120Hz. A 3.5mm combo audio jack and 2.5G Ethernet port round out the options. I do have a nitpick. While the dual Thunderbolt 5 ports are excellent to see, theyre both on the same side of the laptop (the right flank). Id prefer to see one of the ports on the rear, as it would help minimize cable clutter when connecting the laptop to a dock. Wireless connectivity is strong, too. The laptop supports Wi-Fi 7E and Bluetooth 5.4, which are the latest versions of each standard. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: CPU Performance While the Raider 18 HX AI offers many notable features, including a Mini-LED display and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, performance is the reason to buy the laptop. It has an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor with a total of 24 CPU cores (8 performance and 16 efficient cores) with a maximum turbo clock of 5.5GHz. Thats paired with Nvidias new RTX 5080, which has a total of 7,680 shader cores, 240 tensor units, and 16GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit memory bus. Thats not all. The Raider 18 HX AI supports gobs of RAM; the model I tested had 64GB of DDR5-6400 memory. It also shipped with a 4TB PCIe Gen 5 solid state drive. Unless otherwise noted, the results shown below represent the Extreme Performance and Discrete Graphics mode, which were the default when the laptop arrived. So, how does it perform? IDG / Matthew Smith PCMark 10 puts the Raider 18 off to a modest start with an incredible yet slightly underwhelming score of 8,538. This is an extremely high result thats about 1,000 points higher than similar high-end laptops sold last year. However, several older laptops, like the Lenovo Legion 9i, achieved a higher score. IDG / Matthew Smith The MSI Raider 18 HX AI absolutely buzzsaws through our Handbrake, a long-duration test that transcodes a feature-length movie. Well, its usually a long duration. The Raider 18 destroyed the test in just over six minutes, a truly incredible result. Intel Core i9-14900HX systems, the quickest wed tested up until this point, required more than 8 minutes to complete the same task. IDG / Matthew Smith Cinebench R24, a heavily multi-threaded benchmark, proved that Handbrake wasnt just a fluke. The Raider 18 achieved a score of 2,195, which is several hundred points better than Intel Core i9-14900HX laptops. As the graph shows, the Raider 18 is roughly twice as fast as laptops like the Asus ProArt P16 and MSI Stealth 16 AI, neither of which Id call slow. In summary, the Raider 18s general performance is excellent and led by an incredibly quick CPU. The laptop will crank through multi-threaded, CPU-heavy tasks with ease. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: GPU performance Clearly, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX is a bit of a monster. It slams through multi-core benchmarks to deliver record-setting results. Despite that, it arguably plays second fiddle to the real star of the show: Nvidias new RTX 5080 mobile, which, in this laptop, can tap into a maximum of 175 watts of graphics power. IDG / Matthew Smith The RTX 5080 gets the Raider 18 off to a great start with a 3DMark Time Spy score of 21,152. That squeezes by older RTX 4090 laptops, like the Lenovo Legion 9i, to set a record among laptops weve tested. 3DMark Port Royal, a ray-traced benchmark, is nearly as favorable to the Raider 18. Here the laptop scored 14,044. While thats slightly behind the Lenovo Legion 9i, which scored 14,485, its an improvement over laptops with Nvidia RTX 4080 mobile, which typically scored 11,000 to 12,000 in this benchmark. IDG / Matthew Smith Moving on to real games, I fired up Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Though an older title, its representative of the best of the PS4/Xbox One console generation and still looks excellent on modern hardware. Unsurprisingly, the RTX 5080 can really crank through this title even without DLSS enabled. It achieved 194 frames per second at 1080p and Highest detail with ray tracing turned off. Thats not quite as good as an RTX 4090, but its a bit of an upgrade over the RTX 4080 (how much so depends on the wattage of the GPU). The RTX 5080s performance gives the MSI Raider 18 AI a lot of headroom for improved settings (for example, playing at 4K and Highest detail resulted in an average of 100 FPS). IDG / Matthew Smith Next up is Metro Exodus which, though also getting on in years, is notoriously difficult to run at its higher detail settings. As the graph shows, however, the Raider 18 with RTX 5080 provides a top-flight result, averaging 94 FPS at 1080p and Extreme detail. That basically ties the Lenovo Legion 9i with RTX 4090, and its a great result. Lets wrap up with a more modern graphical showcase: Cyberpunk 2077. Though its now several years old, CD Projekt Red has released numerous updates that embrace the latest graphics features from AMD and Nvidia, and it remains a tough game to handle at 4K resolution with ray tracing turned on. I began by testing Cyberpunk 2077 with DLSS turned off at 1080p resolution. The Raider 18 spat out an average of 149 frames per second (FPS) at the Ultra preset (without ray tracing). That was drastically slashed to a lower, but still playable, 42 FPS in the Overdrive ray-traced preset. While 42 might seem low, the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio with RTX 4080 only hit 32 FPS at the same settings. With that out of the way, I changed the resolution to 4K (3,840 x 2,160) and tried the benchmarks with DLSS 3 (including 3x frame generation and the new DLSS Transformer Model) turned on. In this situation, Cyberpunk 2077 averaged 172 FPS with the Ultra preset and 129 FPS with the Overdrive ray-traced preset. Overall, the RTX 5080 mobile looks strong, though exactly how strong depends on your perspective on DLSS and expectations for gen-on-gen performance gains. Without DLSS, the RTX 5080 in the MSI Raider 18 is about 10 to 20 percent quicker than similar RTX 4080 laptops. With it, the RTX 5080 can boost performance significantly. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: AI performance I loaded LM Studio to give some common AI large language models a spin. Here, you face two possibilities. The large amount of system memory (64GB) means you can load rather large models, like Googles Gemma 3 27B or even Llama 3 70B, though this requires that they run on the CPU. This will give you access to some capable models, but the per-token performance wont be great. Gemma-3-27B averaged 6.29 tokens per second. Alternatively, you can load models on the RTX 5080. This route will provide much faster responses, but its only possible to load smaller models since the RTX 5080 only has 16GB of memory. Deepseek-R1-Distill-Qwen-7B blazed away at a remarkable 100.21 tokens per second and had a time to first token of .22 seconds, which is a very smooth experience. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: PCIe 5.0 solid state drive performance The MSI Raider 18 is among the first laptops to provide a PCIe 5.0 solid state drive. In fact, the Raider 18 I tested had a pair of 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration. And wow, its fast. CrystalDiskMarks SEQ1M QT1 test reported read speeds of 13,031 MB/s and write speeds of 9,140 MB/s. For reference, most laptops with a PCIe Gen 4 drive will achieve about 4,000 to 7,000 MB/s, depending on the drive used. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Its loud and hot Clearly, the MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a performer. It absolutely demolished CPU benchmarks and scored well in GPU benchmarks. However, this also results in a lot of fan noise and hot surface temperatures. If you plan to play demanding games, like Cyberpunk 2077, youre going to want noise-canceling headphones. This isnt MSIs fault. Modern hardware is more power-hungry than it once was, so increased fan noise and hotter surface temps are inevitable. And, to MSIs credit, I think the cooling system in the Raider 18 has an inoffensive acoustic profile. Its not grating or high-pitchedbut its certainly loud. Choosing a less aggressive performance profile, like Balanced, will reduce fan noise a bit, but its still noisy when the CPU and GPU are getting hammered. Shoppers who plan to fully use the Raider 18s impressive performance should invest in noise-canceling headphones. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Battery life The MSI Raider 18 HX AI tries to offer passable battery life with a huge 99 watt-hour battery, the largest capacity available in modern laptops (due to FAA restrictions on battery size for carry-on items). However, the laptop ships with a 400-watt power adapter, and MSI says it can utilize a total power of 260 watts. It wont use that much power when on battery, but still, you can begin to see the problem. 260 watts is a lot more than 99. IDG / Matthew Smith And, well, the results are obvious. I measured a bit less than four hours of battery life in our standard battery test, which loops a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel. I tested the laptop in the Hybrid Graphics mode. This is not a demanding test, but it still put the Raider 18s battery life well into the single digits and behind most similar laptops. MSI Raider 18 HX AI: Conclusion The MSI Raider 18 HX AI is a hardware showcase. It has an Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX that sets new records in several benchmarks, and an Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU with performance close to RTX 4090, and a pair of PCIe 5.0 solid state drives that hit blistering read speeds of just over 13,000 MB/s. It also has a bright Mini-LED display. These advantages come alongside practical downsides. The Raider 18 is heavy, and the battery doesnt last long. I wasnt a fan of the keyboard or touchpad, either. The MSI Raider 18 HX is a decent value. That might be hard to believe given the laptops nearly $4,500 MSRP, but if you take a tour through Newegg or Best Buy product listings, youll find most comparable 18-inch systems with RTX 50-series graphics have less RAM, smaller solid state drives, and often a less capable version of the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. The Raider 18 HX feels built to provide top-tier performance across as many tasks as possible, while its competitors (such as the Gigabyte Aorus Master 18 and Asus ROG Strix 18) are more focused on gaming performance. Of course, not everyone needs top-tier CPU performance, 64GB of RAM, or 4TB of PCIe 5 storage. But if you want a laptop that pushes the limits of performance across CPU, GPU, and storage, the Raider 18 HX is a great choice. In addition to the GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti desktop graphics card announcements today, Nvidia has pulled the curtain off the RTX 5060 for gaming laptops. According to Nvidias promotional materials, models packing the discrete card will be available from every major OEM, including Acer, Asus, Dell/Alienware, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and Razer. Nvidia says that models packing the mid-range Blackwell GPU will start at $1099 and be as thin as 14.9mm, or .59 inches, with availability beginning as soon as May. Though Nvidia didnt specify how much video RAM will be packed into the RTX 5060 laptop card, 8GB seems like a safe bet, considering thats whats going into the base model RTX 5060 card on desktops, and the laptop 5070 already offers 8GB of VRAM. How much performance can you expect? Thatll depend on the other components of your laptop, of course, not to mention variables in game design and settings. But directly comparing the new 5060 to the laptop 4060 and 3060 cards, Nvidia made a stunning claim: 146 frames per second for the 5060, versus 60 on the 4060 and just 21 on the 3060. Thats running a benchmark in Cyberpunk 2077 with Max Settings (presumably path tracing), DLSS quality mode, and max frame gen. Nvidia Max frame gen is, presumably, how the newer card managed such a huge increase. DLSS 4 can create three AI-generated frames for every one fully rendered frame, which would largely account for the doubled framerate versus the 4060 card (which can only generate one AI frame for every rendered frame). Some critics call these fake frames, though the take from PCWorld reviewers Brad Chacos and Adam Patrick Murray is a little more nuanced. In short: it looks pretty amazing in games that support it, though it might not be relevant to you if you demand pure rendered performance. Nvidia gave other examples of performance in popular games, without directly comparing to previous laptop cards. The quoted framerates were shown with the same setup: 100-watt TGP on the GPU, paired with a Core 9 Ultra, 1080p, maximum settings, and maximum frame generation. Nvidia Its not surprising that every big gaming laptop manufacturer is on board, considering Nvidias domination of the graphics card industry even as end users yearn for more affordable hardware. An xx60 laptop that starts at $1100 is still pretty dang pricey laptops with RTX 4060 cards can regularly be found on sale in the $700 range, albeit years after they debuted. And who knows how the prices will fluctuate as the Trump tariff situation in the US shifts, making a pigs ear of any kind of pricing predictions that go beyond a single day. People trying to intimidate federal judges have had pizzas delivered to their homes using the name of the murdered son of a federal judge from New Jersey, she said. In an appearance on NBC News, Judge Esther Salas said she and some colleagues, as well as their adult children, have received the pizzas, following comments by President Donald Trump heavily criticizing members of the judiciary. FILE - This image provided by Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office shows video camera footage of the police encounter with Christian Glass on June 10, 2022, in Silver Plume, Colo. Former Colorado sheriffs deputy Andrew Buen was convicted in the shooting death of Glass, who was in distress and called 911 for help. (Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) AP By COLLEEN SLEVIN, The Associated Press DENVER (AP) A former Colorado sheriffs deputy convicted of killing a 22-year-old man in distress who called 911 for help was sentenced Monday to three years in prison, the maximum sentence, by a judge who said the shooting was about power. Andrew Buen was convicted in February of criminally negligent homicide in the 2022 death of Christian Glass, which drew national attention and prompted calls to reform how authorities respond to people with mental health problems. Prosecutors alleged that Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with Glass, who showed signs of a mental health crisis and refused orders to get out of his SUV near Silver Plume, a small, former mining town along Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. His parents and the agencies involved reached a $19 million settlement that included crisis intervention training for officers responding to people in distress. Judge Catherine Cheroutes said Buens sentence needed to address both the loss of Glass and the damage done to the community by the shooting. I think this was about power. It wasnt a mistake. It was about, you need to listen to me because Im in charge, she said. She said she believed Buens family and supporters that he was a shirt-off-your-back kind of guy but said he acted differently when he put on a uniform and had a gun. Buen, wearing an orange jail uniform, apologized to the Glass family, dabbing his eyes with a tissue with his handcuffed hands as he spoke at a podium. FILE - Simon and Sally Glass comfort each other during an emotional news conference about the death of their son, Christian Glass, in Denver, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert, File) AP Glasss family had questioned whether any remorse Buen might show would be sincere. Buen, his voice shaking, said they had every right to feel the way they do. He said his actions had escalated the standoff and told the judge he wasnt owed anything. There are a million things I should have done better that night, he said before he was sentenced. Sally Glass told Cheroutes that Buen had acted like a bully toward her son, a creative and gentle artist who was born in his fathers native New Zealand. He met evil that night and there was no compassion, she said. Simon Glass said his familys grief was compounded at first by authorities initially describing his son as the aggressor in the standoff, which the sheriffs office later apologized for. He said he struggles with anxiety and has trouble referring to his son in the past tense, but takes comfort that his sons name has been cleared, in part because of body camera footage. Katie Glass said she and her mother try to always drive below the speed limit to avoid being pulled over by the police. She said she regrets watching the body camera footage showing her older brothers final moments. He died terrified, in pain and all alone. That is what hurts me the most, she said. Buen, a former deputy in Clear Creek County, was convicted after a second trial. President-elect Donald Trump smiles after a fireworks show at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va., Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) AP Donald Trump cannot run for a third term according to the Constitution, and as significant as that might seem, it has not stopped the president or those in his orbit from talking about the possibility. Steve Bannon has particularly been pushing the idea that Trump will seek and win a third term. That talk, of course, has led some to fantasize about former president Barack Obama returning to run against Trump in a battle for a third term. That was something that was pitched to Bannon during his stop in on Real Time with Bill Maher recently. Maher asked Bannon if there would be any Democrat who would scare him if Trump runs for a third term. Because I guess if we allow that, it could be Obama, Maher said. Absolutely, I think that would be great, Bannon said. Alien versus Predator. Lets do it. Thats kind of a worse insult to Trump, Maher said. The two spent most of their time though with Maher pressing Bannon to explain how it would be possible for Trump to run for a third term. Bannon told Maher that Trump was going to run for a third term. That is when Maher read the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution to Bannon. Amendment 22, Maher said. No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice. And yet you keep talking about Trumps maybe you should have this, Maher said handing Bannon the Constitution. President Trump is going to run for a third term, and President Trump is going to be elected again on the afternoon of January 20th of 2029, Bannon said. Hes going to be President of the United States. OK, but the thing I just read in there, Maher said pointing to the Constitution. It seemed like there was no wiggle room there. It seemed like it was just, you know, eight or 10 words that said only two times. Bannon told Maher that there was a team of people working on finding a way around that amendment. How can a team do something about that? Maher asked. I dont care if the team is twelve trillion people, the words are still the words. Bannon then said, The interpretation of this (U.S. Constitution) is open for interpretation. Maher then took the time to go through each word of the amendment with Bannon. I dont see what the team is finding, Maher said. Bannon has been trumpeting that Trump will run for a third term for some time now. Im a firm believer that President Trump will run and win again in 2028, so Ive already endorsed President Trump, Bannon said during an interview with NewsNations Chris Cuomo recently. A man like this comes along once every century if were a little lucky. Weve got him now. Hes on fire, and Im a huge supporter. I wanna see him again in 2028. Cuomo, of course, also pointed out that Trump was term-limited and asked how Trump could get another term. We are working on it, Bannon said. I think well have a couple of alternatives. Lets say that. Well see what the definition of term-limit is. Because I dont want people to listen to our interview and say, Bannon is cooking up an insurrection, Cuomo said. You know what I mean? I want people to get a straight take on where you head is. Bannon said he has had greater longshots. We supported President Trump after the election, Bannon said. I realize you dont think the election of 2020 was stolen. We do. We fervently believe that. When President Trump went back to Mar-a-Lago on January 20, 2021, he was the longest of longshots to return to the White House. We said that day on our podcast, having President Trumps back that he was coming back not just to win the primary but to win the White House. A Gloucester County, New Jersey, man faces a criminal trial over a 2023 incident in which police say he stormed into a mans house, threatened the man with a knife, and repeatedly stabbed a dog that had bitten his son. Anthony M. Botte, 44, of South Harrison Township, was indicted on five counts last year, including second-degree burglary, third-degree counts of aggravated assault, terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree cruelty to animals. Botte and his lawyer did not respond to calls seeking comment about the charges. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has announced that a resurfacing project on Interstate 81 in Antrim Township, Franklin County, is scheduled to begin Tuesday, April 22. This project extends from the Maryland state line to Mile 6 in the Greencastle area, a news release said. Weather permitting, work will begin Tuesday, April 22. The contractor will work from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, then nightly from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning the following night. Work will begin in the southbound direction. There will be lane restrictions during work hours. This project consists of milling, concrete patching, asphalt resurfacing, guide rail updates, signage, and pavement markings on northbound and southbound I-81 from the Maryland State Line to Milepost 6, including ramps located within the project limits. Travelers are reminded to be alert for these operations, to obey work zone signs, and to use caution when driving through work zones for their safety, as well as for the safety of the road crews. New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co., Inc. of New Enterprise, PA, is the contractor on this $17.8 million project. All work is expected to be completed by July 16, 2027. Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following local alerts on X. Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties at PennDOT District 8. Information about infrastructure in District 8, including completed work and significant projects, is available at District 8 Results. Find PennDOTs planned and active construction projects at PennDOT Projects. A tree landed on a passing car Sunday, April 13, 2025 along Route 22 in Bethlehem Township with the occupants narrowly escaping serious injury, state police said. Mike Nester | lehighvalleylive.com contributor A tree landed on a car Sunday afternoon along Route 22 in Bethlehem Township, and the occupants narrowly escaped serious injury, state police said. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Nathan Branosky, a spokesman for the Troop M barracks, told lehighvalleylive.com the incident began just before 3 p.m. in the westbound lanes of the highway. The 2013 Kia Optima was being driven by a 22-year-old man from Boiling Springs, who had a 21-year-old Carlisle man as a passenger, Branosky said. A tree landed on a passing car Sunday, April 13, 2025 along Route 22 in Bethlehem Township with the occupants narrowly escaping serious injury, state police said. Mike Nester | lehighvalleylive.com contributor The tree smashed the front of the car. The men were not seriously hurt, police said. Both were wearing seat belts. The tree blocked the westbound lanes, shutting down a portion of Route 22 for about a half hour. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw he received from Argentina's President Javier Milei, right, as they arrive to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) Education bottlenecks, burnout and an aging workforce are straining the system. Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Author: Kymberlee Montgomery, Drexel University and Mary Ellen Smith Glasgow, Duquesne University Imagine nearly every seat in Philadelphias Wells Fargo Center over 20,000 seats are empty. Thats the scale of Pennsylvanias projected shortfall of registered nurses by 2026, according to the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. Hospitals in the state report an average 14% vacancy rate for registered nurses. In rural areas it is much higher. This shortage, of course, is not just in hospitals. It also affects long-term care facilities, outpatient clinics and home health agencies, which compete with hospitals for a limited pool of registered nurses, licensed nursing professionals and nursing support staff. We are a senior associate dean of nursing and clinical professor of nursing at Drexel Universitys College of Nursing and Health Professions in Philadelphia, and a dean and professor of nursing at Duquesne Universitys School of Nursing in Pittsburgh. We know that the nursing shortage in Pennsylvania, while not the worst in the U.S., is severe and jeopardizes the health care that patients receive. What caused the shortage? Pennsylvanias nursing shortage is the result of long-standing issues in education, workforce retention and health care delivery. Education bottlenecks: Nursing schools in Pennsylvania and nationwide turn away thousands of qualified applicants each year due to faculty shortages, limited classroom space and scarce clinical placements. More than 65,000 qualified applications were turned away from U.S. nursing programs in 2023 alone, according to a report from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. A key issue is the lack of preceptors. Preceptors are experienced nurses who teach students in real-world settings. A shortage of preceptors directly limits how many students can complete their education. Aging workforce: More than a third of Pennsylvanias registered nurses are 55 or older. This demographic reality means many are nearing retirement. Burnout and attrition: The COVID-19 pandemic worsened already high levels of stress, burnout and mental health strain for nurses. Many left the profession early due to emotional exhaustion, family and personal health concerns, unsafe staffing ratios, moral injury and lack of institutional support. Uneven distribution: While Pennsylvania may have a sufficient number of licensed nurses on paper, those nurses dont all still work in the profession. And among those that do, they are not evenly spread across roles or locations. Rural hospitals, long-term care centers, behavioral health settings and maternal-child health units are experiencing acute shortages. One issue is the shortage of preceptors who train nursing students in real-world settings. Naville J. Oubre III/Southern University and A&M College via Getty Images Naville J. Oubre III/Southern University and A&M College via Getty Images Cost to patients For patients and their families, the consequences of the nursing shortage are delayed care, fewer interactions with providers and less time for compassionate, personalized support. Overextended nurses face increased workloads, raising the likelihood of delayed interventions, medication errors and inadequate patient education. These factors undermine quality of care. Limited access to nursing care can increase hospital deaths, infections and readmissions, reduce early detection of health issues, and slow the response to life-threatening conditions such as stroke, sepsis and cardiac arrest. In Pennsylvania, patients may experience longer emergency room wait times, delayed discharges or transfers to nursing homes or rehabilitation centers, and service disruptions in rural and underserved areas. Effect on nurses Over 600,000 registered nurses across the U.S. plan to leave the workforce by 2027, according to a 2023 analysis by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Many cite stress as their reason for leaving the profession. New graduates often leave within their first two years, feeling unprepared for the emotional and operational realities of practice. In Pennsylvania, the shortage has created a feedback loop. Understaffing increases pressure on those who remain. A 2023 National Council of State Boards of Nursing survey found that 41% of nurses under age 35 reported feeling emotionally drained. Meanwhile, some experienced nurses choose to retire early or shift into nonclinical roles for better schedules, slower pace and improved quality of life. This turnover erodes institutional knowledge, increases costs for onboarding and overtime, and limits the capacity to mentor incoming staff. Whats being done To help address the problem, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in March 2025 proposed a US$5 million Nurse Shortage Assistance Program. If approved by the General Assembly, the program would cover tuition costs for nursing students who commit to working in Pennsylvania hospitals for three years after graduation. HB 390 is also currently under review in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It aims to establish a $1,000 tax deduction for licensed nurses who serve as clinical preceptors. To meet the growing demand for nurses, Pennsylvania hospitals are partnering with colleges and universities to expand clinical training capacity, streamline pathways into nursing and develop innovative education models such as hybrid and accelerated programs. Hospitals statewide are also offering substantial sign-on bonuses, loan forgiveness programs, housing stipends and flexible scheduling to attract nurses. To improve nurse retention, health care organizations have introduced structured residency programs, mentorship networks and clear career advancement pathways designed to reduce burnout and enhance professional satisfaction. They are also increasingly using virtual nursing, telehealth services and AI-driven administrative tools to reduce nurses workloads, enhance patient interactions and address staffing gaps. And some Philadelphia and Pennsylvania colleges offer refresher and license reactivation programs for retired or inactive nurses who want to rejoin the workforce. Duquesne offers a nurse faculty residency to increase the number of high-quality nursing faculty. What more could be done? Continuing Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs are another solution. These federal grants, reauthorized under the March 2020 CARES Act, help fund nursing pathways and the availability of high-quality nursing care for patients nationwide. On April 1, 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to restructure the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the future status of these programs is not yet known. Research consistently demonstrates that care provided by nurses who have earned a bachelors degree or higher directly leads to better patient outcomes, improved safety and overall health. A commitment to shoring up the nurse pipeline in Pennsylvania is a commitment to improving the well-being of individuals and communities across the state. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/pennsylvania-may-be-short-20-000-nurses-by-2026-252274. When the Poker Gods Struck: Donnacha O'Dea and the Unforgettable Slowroll Matthew Pitt Senior Editor Copy link Imagine navigating to the final table of the Irish Open Main Event, finding yourself short-stacked, flopping the nuts, and having an opponent set you all-in. You'd snap-call, right? Right? Surely you would not be inclined to go into the tank and slowroll your opponent, especially when your opponent is Donnacha O'Dea, an Irish poker legend and arguably the most respected and loved man in the tournament room. You can probably tell that this is not a hypothetical scenario but one that actually happened. Ten years ago, the 2015 Irish Open Main Event had reached its final table when one of the most (in)famous hands in the tournament's history went down. David Lappin dug the video footage from the archives and posted it on his X account, which you can see below. Donnacha O'Dea, affectionately known as "The Don," rightly holds legendary status within the Irish poker community and further afield. O'Dea opened the betting with a min-raise to 100,000 with ace-six of clubs. Andreas Gann, a German player with no previous cashes on his Hendon Mob profile at the time, called with king-queen of diamonds in the small blind, leaving himself around 3.5 big blinds behind. The big blind folded, and the dealer fanned a six-ace-eight all-diamond flop, gifting Gann the nuts and O'Dea two pair. Gann checked, and O'Dea moved a stack of chips over the betting line, enough to put Gann all in if he called, which you'd expect him to do in a heartbeat. But Gann had other plans. Those plans mainly revolved around going into the tank for more than a minute. Slow-rolling is frowned upon at the best of times, never mind at the final table of a major tournament and against a poker icon playing in his own backyard. Once Gann called and flipped over the stone cold nuts, you can imagine the reactions of his tablemates; they looked on in disbelief. Kevin Killeen, who went on to finish second, gave Gann a piece of his mind, while the commentary team of Emmet Kennedy, David Lappin, and Fergal Nealon couldn't believe their eyes. Follow PokerNews' 2025 Irish Open Updates Live updates here "Horrific," "horrendous," and "disgraceful" were just three of the words the commentators used while describing what was unfolding at the table. O'Dea remained silent and motionless throughout the drama, like the gentleman he is. Everyone except Gann hoped the Poker Gods would serve some justice by improving O'Dea to a full house, but only having four outs made that unlikely at best. After burning a card, the dealer put in seven on the turn, which was no help to O'Dea. A burn card later, and a six landed on the river, improving O'Dea to a full house and, much to the delight of the baying crowd, eliminating Gann in eighth place. Justice was served, or was it? It Wasn't Gann's Intention to Disrespect Anyone Accidental slow-roller Andreas Gann According to former PokerNews Editor Rich Ryan, after the boos had quietened and the furore had dissipated, Nealon of the commentary team spoke with Gann and asked why he thought it was a good idea to run a slowroll on O'Dea. To Nealon's surprise, Gann didn't know he'd done anything wrong and was perplexed by the crowd's reaction. As previously mentioned, Gann had no prior live results, so it is fair to assume he lacked experience and genuinely thought he was not doing anything untoward. Gann revealed to Nealon that he knew his family and friends were watching at home and he wanted to increase the drama and tension for them, but it wasn't his intention to disrespect others. Nealon told Gann it would be a good idea to apologize to O'Dea, which, to his credit, he did, returning to the stage where he'd been booed off earlier to shake O'Dea's hand. O'Dea ultimately finished sixth for 61,850, with Greece's Ioannis Triantafyllakis emerging victorious for 209,500 after a heads-up deal with the aforementioned Killeen. 2025 Irish Open Main Event Has 2.5 Million Guaranteed 2025 Irish Open Main Event Day 1a leader Martin Ilavsky The 2025 edition of the Irish Open Main Event is underway, with Day 1a in the books. The 1,150 buy-in, 2.5 million guaranteed spectacular saw 114 of the 463 Day 1a entrants progress to Day 2 at the first attempt. Slovakia's Martin Ilavsky (529,000 chips) claimed an early lead, although Andrii Nikitin (526,000), Philip Carroll (523,500), and Michael Prendergast (520,000) are hot on the leader's heels. Others safely through include Stuart Taylor (270,500), Jack Hardcastle (252,000), Matthew Davenport (222,000), Irish legend Andy Black (219,500), Cathal Shine (114,000), and Team PokerStars' Caitlin Comeskey (107,000), Marle Spragg (95,000) and Alejandro Romero (46,000). Day 1b shuffles up and deals at 12:00 p.m. BST on April 16, and you can follow all of the updates via the PokerNews Live Reporting pages. Here's hoping there's plenty of drama minus slowrolls! Share this article Chun Lung Wong Takes Down Korea Poker Cup Main Event for Career-Best $141,255 Matthew Pitt Senior Editor Copy link The Landing Casino Jeju in South Korea hosted the Korea Poker Cup Series between April 6 and 13. The KRW 1,240,000 ($850) buy-in Main Event was the tournament everyone wanted to win. Over the course of five starting flights, 1,228 players bought in, creating a prize pool worth more than $914,000, obliterating the Main Event's $550,000 guarantee. Chun Lung Wong was the last player standing. He reeled in his first six-figure score, one worth $141,255 plus the winner's trophy. Wong's previous largest haul weighed in at $17,723, his reward for taking down a $400 PokerNews Daily Deepstacks tournament at the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The impressive Main Event turnout meant the top 149 finishers saw a return on their investment. Seasoned American pro Christian Harder navigated to a 91st-place finish, with Sheng Ye heading for the exits in 53rd place. Harder had previously finished as runner-up to Meng Ling Li in the $25,000 Super High Roller for $320,000. The reigning WSOP Ladies champion Shiina Okamoto, Tony Lin, and Weiran Pu also cashed, the latter falling in 11th place and narrowly missing out on another final table appearance. Korea Poker Cup Main Event Final Table Results Rank Player Country Prize (USD) 1 Chun Lung Wong United States $141,255* 2 Weiwei Tang China $112,590* 3 Chen Yu Sung Taiwan $71,070 4 Yao Zhao China $50,315 5 Qin Yuan China $36,240 6 Daqiao Jiang China $26,530 7 Sin Lan Chen Taiwan $19,915 8 Yirui Zhang China $15,060 *reflects a heads-up deal Chen Yu Sung sat down at the eight-handed final table as the chip leader, with the eventual champion Wong a couple of big blinds behind. Yirui Zhang was the shortest stack, which meant it was unsurprising when Zhang was the first finalist heading to the cashier's desk. With blinds of 60,000/120,000/120,000a, Zhang open-shoved for 600,000 with ace-nine, Qin Yuan re-shoved from the small blind with king-queen, and Yao Zheng instantly called all-in with pocket aces from the big blind. The king-high board provided little in the way of drama, busting Zhang in eighth place, leaving Yuan with a meagre three big blinds, and giving Zhao some much-needed breathing room. Yuan doubled through Sin Lan Chen and then took the rest of her stack a hand later. Yuan jammed all-in with pocket jacks from early position, and Chen called all-in from the small blind with ace-nine. The jacks remained the best hand, reducing the player count to six and leaving the Korea Poker Cup Main Event an all-male affair. Everything You Need to Know: Your One-Stop Guide to APT Taipei 2025 Learn more Wong rode something of a heater where he bolstered his stack to more than 100 big blinds. The rich became richer when Wong opened with ace-queen in the cutoff and then called Daqiao Jiang's eight big blind shove, which he made with pocket sixes in the big blind. Jiang turned a full house and looked like doubling his stack, but a queen on the river gave Wong a stronger full house, and Jiang was eliminated. Yuan's attempts to rebuild were thwarted by Wong a couple of hands after Jiang bowed out. Yuan's last ten big blinds went into the middle with ace-seven of hearts from the button, and Wong had an obligatory call with ace-jack in the big blind. Wong's jack-kicker played, and the final table was down to four players after only 25 hands had been played. It took another 104 hands before the remaining finalists enjoyed a little more elbow room. Down to a shade under 15 big blinds, Yao Zhao open-shoved from the small blind with queen-ten in an attempt to steal the ample blinds and antes. Wong looked down at king-seven and decided it was strong enough to call with. Wong flopped a seven but fell behind courtesy of a queen also landing on the flop. Another seven on the turn propelled Wong into the lead, and Zhao busted after the river missed him. That hand put Wong in a commanding position, with his stack containing almost three times more big blinds than either of his opponents. However, it was a clash between the two shorter stacks that resulted in the Main Event progressing to heads-up. Chen Yu Sung raised from the small blind with king-jack, Weiwi Tang called in the big blind with nine-eight of clubs, and the flop came down king-nine-four. Sung continued with a quarter-pot-sized bet, which Tang called. A ten on the turn was met with a chunkier pot-sized bet from Sung and a jam from Tang. Getting almost three-to-one on his money and having top-pair, Sung quickly called. Tang was in deep trouble but hit one of his five outs, an eight, in the river to win the pot. Wong and Tang struck an ICM deal before the start of their heads-up clash, which lessened the pay jumps and left approximately $13,500 to play for. The final pair also agreed to shorten the blind levels to 15 minutes. The now-rapidly increasing blinds started to bite into both players' stacks, and something had to give. On the 171st hand of the final table, with Wong's stack containing less than a small blind more than Tang's, Wong moved all-in and Tang called. Wong showed ace-eight, which was ahead of Tang's king-queen of diamonds. The jack-high flop missed both players, but the turn gave Tang outs to a flush and a gutshot straight draw in addition to being able to win by pairing either of his hole cards. It seems Tang had too many outs because an offsuit seven completed the board and confirmed his demise. Tang took home a career-best $112,590, leaving Wong to scoop a $141,255 top prize and the title of Korea Poker Cup Series Main Event champion. Lead image courtesy of SoMuchPoker Share this article How Black Friday Cost Players Millions & Changed Online Poker Forever Connor Richards Senior Editor U.S. Copy link Video credit: Milko van Winden (production), Brad Whitehouse (production), Elliott Johnson (production & editing), Keith Becker (narration) & Connor Richards (script) Poker suffered its darkest day in history on April 15, 2011 when the US government seized hundreds of millions of dollars in player funds and shut down the biggest online poker sites worldwide. The incident, known as Black Friday, drastically changed the poker industry forever and led to tens of thousands of players being put out of work overnight and forced to find other sources of income. Many left poker altogether and never returned. Black Friday also revealed mismanagement of funds by the leading poker site Full Tilt Poker and its executives Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson, who at the time were among the most recognizable and respected faces in poker. It took several years for players to be paid back in full the money that had been deposited on their accounts. More than a decade later, the impacts of Black Friday are still felt by poker players worldwide. Pokers popularity had been at an all-time high and patches of online poker companies like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker could be seen on players everywhere. Its a much different landscape today, with poker largely out of the mainstream, much fewer sponsorships and limited televised coverage. In a new PokerNews video essay, we take a look at Black Friday, the darkest day in poker history that forever altered the online poker landscape and uncovered widespread mismanagement by some of pokers biggest names. Full Tilt Poker Scandal: The Darkest Days in Poker History Lead-Up to Black Friday Poker hit its peak in popularity during the Poker Boom of the early and mid-2000s. Following Chris Moneymakers iconic victory in the 2003 Main Event, poker sponsorships were going around like crazy and ads for big online poker brands like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker couldnt be avoided. The Full Tilt roster at this time included poker heavyweights like Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Mike Matusow, John Juanda, Gus Hansen, Jen Harman, Erik Seidel and Patrik Antonius. Full Tilt Poker Logo While poker was booming, a piece of legislation was about to question the legality of online poker in the United States. In 2006, the US federal government enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, or UIGEA, which prohibited gambling businesses from "knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law." The UIGEA went into full effect in 2010 and did not exclude games of skill like poker despite lobbying efforts from the Poker Players Alliance (PPA). It was clear there was trouble brewing in the US online poker landscape, but sites continued to operate and players continued to deposit. "This Domain Name Has Been Seized" On April 15, 2011, US poker players awoke to see a US Department of Justice emblem when they tried logging into their online poker accounts. This domain name has been seized by the FBI pursuant to an Arrest Warrent obtained by the United States Attorneys Office, the statement read in part, continuing that Conducting, financing, managing, supervising, directing, or owning all or part of an illegal gambling business is a federal crime and that For persons engaged in the business of betting or wagering, it is also a federal crime to knowingly accept (funds) in connection with the participation of another person in unlawful Internet gambling. A federal indictment filed against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker named 11 defendants, including PokerStars executive Isai Scheinberg, Full Tilt Pokers Raymond Bitar and Nelson Burtnick; Absolute Pokers Scott Tom and Brent Beckley and several payment processors. The impacts of Black Friday were immediate. Overnight, thousands of US poker players were suddenly out of work. Countless poker players lost their sponsorships, including Prahlad Friedman, Maria Ho and heavy metal guitarist Scott Ian of the band Anthrax. On April 20th, both Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars reached an agreement with the Department of Justice that allowed them to regain the use of their dot-com sites to help distribute player funds. But the money at Full Tilt was gone. It was about to be revealed just how bad things were over at Full Tilt. 10 Years After Black Friday: Where Poker's Been and Where it's Going Full Tilt Fallout In September 2011, six months after Black Friday, it was revealed that Full Tilt Poker had paid out tens of millions to its executives using player funds and did not have the money to pay back players. The US Attorney's Office amended its complaint to allege that Full Tilt Poker was a Ponzi scheme that Raymond Bitar, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson and Rafe Furst used to defraud players. Howard Lederer The complaint alleged that, as of March 2011, Full Tilt Poker owed approximately $390 million in player funds around the world, including $150 million to US players. However, Full Tilt only had $60 million on deposit in its bank accounts, meaning over $300 million was still owed to players worldwide. The complaint further alleged that between April 2007 and April 2011, Bitar, Lederer, Ferguson and Furst lined their own pockets with approximately $443 million in players money. After a year and a half of silence, Lederer spoke to PokerNews in a lengthy interview published as the seven-part series The Lederer Files in 2012. In 2012, PokerStars purchased Full Tilt Poker, taking hold of all Full Tilt assets and agreeing to forfeit $547 million to the US government over three years. But it would take several years for millions of dollars to be paid back to Full Tilt players. Not knowing if they would ever see the money, many left poker and never returned. Watch the Lederer Files Here Where Are We Now? While a few online poker executives served jail time, most got away with financial penalties and what many considered to be a slap on the wrist. Howard Lederer and Chris Ferguson of Full Tilt Poker are considered pariahs in the poker community to this day, though Ferguson appeared at the 2017 World Series of Poker and wound up winning the Player of the Year distinction to the dismay of the community. Chris Ferguson In March 2020, PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg pleaded guilty to running an unlawful internet gambling business. Scheinberg avoided prison time and had to pay a fine of just $30,000, bringing the Black Friday saga to a close nearly a decade later. So, what is the state of online poker in the US? Black Friday provided an opportunity for state-regulated online poker sites after several rulings that the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 did not apply to online poker. Nevada and Delaware both passed legislation legalizing online poker in 2013 and other states followed suit over the next decade including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan. Several states have introduced online poker bills in recent years, including New York, Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts. Meanwhile, states with legalized online poker have combined player pools through the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), creating much-needed liquidity for US players. Online poker will never be the same in the US, and Black Friday remains a cautionary reminder of the devastating consequences of skirting government regulations, ignoring warning signs and improperly managing player funds. Pennsylvania Gaming Board Says Multi-State Poker is Just Weeks Away Share this article Higher education institutions face cybersecurity challenges, with 97% experiencing breaches. Universities are targets due to valuable research, sensitive data, and economic significance, meaning they are challenged with: Protecting research from nation-state actors Maintaining reputation amid ransomware threats Managing complex networks with many access points Addressing skills shortages and budget constraints Read this white paper to learn how to secure your institution's network with Trend Vision One, including features like AI-powered threat detection, network monitoring for complex environments, and attack surface risk management. WSOP Bracelet Winner Pleads Guilty to Brutally Beating His Wife While Impaired Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S. Copy link Rudy Gavaldon, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, has pleaded guilty to brutally assaulting his wife while on hallucinogens in 2022. The Michigan poker player was initially charged with assault with intent to commit murder nearly three years ago. Gavaldon, while awaiting trial, went on to win his first and still only WSOP bracelet in July 2023 on WSOP.com (now WSOP Online). Bracelet Winner Awaiting Trial for Attempted Murder Violates Bond; Trial Date Set Poker Champ Admits to Horrific Act Gavaldon, 38 years old from Traverse City, Michigan, had been scheduled for trial in January. The date was pushed back to April 22, but he agreed to a guilty plea for assault with intent to commit murder on March 21, a felony punishable up to life in prison. Sentencing details of the plea agreement werent publicly available. The second charge, habitual offender, was dropped as part of the plea agreement. Gavaldon spent time in jail following a 2011 conviction for third-degree home invasion and larceny. Gavaldon's most recent crime involved a violent attack on his now ex-wife, Lara Gavaldon. According to the police report, Gavaldon told officers upon their arrival at the crime scene at 12:05 a.m. on July 30, 2022, that his wife was dying and needed medical attention. Authorities spotted Galvadon walking in the roadway while carrying his child. His 28-year-old wife was discovered in their home and transported to a nearby hospital, and eventually med flighted downstate to Grand Rapids Hospital, with life-threatening injuries while he was taken into custody. Victim Speaks Lara Gavaldon has 24,000 Instagram followers, and she uses the social media platform to share information about her recovery. She also recorded a three-part video in which she explained the graphic details about the violent crime her ex-husband admitted to committing. "I lost my right eye after being attacked by my ex-husband, Rudy, in July of 2022," Ms. Gavaldon said. "At that point, we had been together for over 10 years, and married for over nine." Gavaldon's injuries were so severe that her right eye is now a prosthetic eye. She explained in the first video that her now ex-husband had dealt with drug addiction but didn't have a violent past. "After some time, he woke me up in a panic and frantically told me that he'd taken a large amount of magic mushrooms, and that he was dying," the domestic assault victim said, referring to the day of the incident. "He told me that I needed to call 911 for help. His behavior did catch me off guard. Usually, he was calm and collected, and he was in a state of panic." Ms. Gavaldon then said her panicked husband asked her to call 911 for emergency, which she did. But the 911 operator told her there were no medics available. She then, as she explained in one of three Instagram videos, attempted to comfort her husband, but had to give him the bad news that help wasn't on the way. "And that is the last thing that I remember," Lara Gavaldon said. She then said she blacked out following the attack, and the next thing she recalled was waking up in a hospital "a few hours from our home." "It took several days of being there before I could even begin to comprehend what had happened," she said about her lengthy hospital stay. The poker player's ex-spouse shared images of cuts on her face and both eyes swollen shut. She said she initially couldn't see out of either eye, but vision gradually returned to her left eye. But doctors informed her that vision in her right eye would never return. Rudy Gavaldon, 11 months after attacking his wife, won Michigan WSOP Online Event #3: $500 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo 6-Max for $20,193. He finished 10th in a separate WSOP Online event that same month, and finished third in a $215 buy-in World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) tournament six days before he won a bracelet. He is scheduled for sentencing June 6. If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-790-SAFE (7233) immediately for help. Share this article Aiken, SC (29801) Today A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 71F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 71F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Watching the tropics. Partly cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 76F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Watching the tropics. Partly cloudy skies this evening. A few showers developing late. Low 76F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%. Georgetown, SC (29440) Today Watching the tropics. Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 73F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Watching the tropics. Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. Low 73F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Watching the tropics. Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 76F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Watching the tropics. Partly cloudy this evening followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers after midnight. Low 76F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%. On March 30, we published an exclusive special report called 41 Seconds by Tony Bartelme, a senior projects reporter. It quickly grew into one of the most-read stories weve ever published and attracted widespread attention. Tony spent time in a rare, on-the-record interview with the highly decorated Marine colonel who made the split-second decision to eject from his malfunctioning F-35B stealth fighter jet in September 2023 as the plane streaked over North Charleston. The story provided answers that have been kept from the public since that mysterious day when the F-35B flew off without its pilot after Col. Charles Tre Del Pizzo ejected and disappeared from contact before crashing in a field near Kingstree. Tonys story shed important light on the militarys post-crash investigation, explored questions surrounding the planes history of malfunctions and revealed how the pilot felt betrayed by the corps he dedicated his life to serving. Other Marine aviators interviewed by Tony expressed concerns about the repercussions from the Marine Corps decision to essentially force the pilot into retirement, and whether it created a dangerous precedent that could make pilots hesitate to follow procedures in the future. In addition to the interviews, Tony obtained extensive documents that provided never-disclosed details. Tony worked with Robert Scheer, deputy managing editor for visuals, and Glenn Smith, our deputy managing editor for investigations and public service, to complete the story. I hope you had the opportunity to read the package. If not, you can find it online at https://bit.ly/41Seconds. It also is available in three parts, beginning on March 30, in the E-Paper. I asked Tony to take us inside the reporting for the project. Heres what he had to say: How did you end up talking to the pilot in the first place? Lets go back in time a bit. The pilot ejected in September 2023, and six months later we still didnt have an answer to one of the biggest questions: Why did the pilot eject? The Pentagon wasnt saying anything, even though mishap investigations typically take just a few months. Why the delay? Last August, we did a deep dive into those unanswered questions in a story we called Eject! But we still didnt know who the pilot was. Then last fall the Marines sent out a press release with the results of whats known as a Command Investigation. This investigation blamed the pilot. But some things didnt add up. What didnt add up? The Command Investigation said the pilot ejected after an electrical malfunction, but we didnt know the cause of the that malfunction. Was it lightning? Water intrusion? A software failure? And the pilot's identity still wasn't public. But at about the same time the press release came out, the commandant of the Marines relieved Del Pizzo from his command of a squadron in Yuma, Ariz. A couple of military beat reporters put two and two together. Then one evening my phone rang. It was Del Pizzo calling to say that wed gotten most everything right in our coverage, and that he appreciated our work. Were you surprised that he called? Definitely! What did Del Pizzo tell you that we needed to know? In Eject!, I wrote about how the plane was flying close to lightning, noting that one version of the F-35 had been restricted in the past from flying near lightning. Del Pizzo told me that lightning wasnt the cause, and other investigations later confirmed that. More important, he told us we didnt have the full story. In addition to the Command Investigation, there were two other mishap probes, one by the Aviation Mishap Board and another by the Field Flight Performance Board. These investigations are typically the most thorough reviews of what happened. Both said Del Pizzos decision to punch out was sound, and that he was following established procedures. But the results of those reviews werent public. I kept in touch with Del Pizzo over the following months. He couldnt talk about details because he was still active duty. After he retired from the Marines in late February, he felt freer to describe what happened. It became clear to me that his story was about more than a mishap. It was about aviation culture, loyalty and leadership. So, to tell this deeper story, we flew to Washington, D.C., in early March to talk to him in person. How did that go? Del Pizzo was very transparent about what happened to him and why he wanted to tell his story. When we asked for proof of his medals and military record, he provided it to us. He clearly felt betrayed but also was concerned about the long-term implications for other aviators. How so? One of his concerns was that military aviators might not punch out of a failing aircraft in time if they know their careers will be over, even if theyre following procedures. He talked a lot about the importance of good procedures and how they make aviators more confident and effective in combat. If you follow procedures and theres a mishap, youre good. At least thats the way its supposed to go. That transparency about errors and learning lessons is foundational to aviation's culture, and one reason why it's so safe. In Del Pizzos case, the F-35s procedures call for a pilot to eject when the plane is below 6,000 feet and doesnt properly respond to a pilots controls. He was at about 1,000 feet in the clouds with the planes electronics were going haywire. But the Command Investigation said he was to blame because the plane kept flying another 64 miles before it crashed. Del Pizzo told me that shifting blame to the pilot set a dangerous precedent. But, for sure, he also was frustrated with his treatment by the commandant. Right, the commandant relieved Del Pizzo for a loss of trust and confidence related to his ejection nearly a year after the mishap. What did you learn about that? The timing of the commandants decision was odd, to say the least. The two main safety investigations cleared Del Pizzo in early 2024, and despite the Command Investigations finding, top Marine leaders gave Del Pizzo a green light to command a squadron in Yuma. That meant Del Pizzo and his family had to move across the country. According to records I saw, Del Pizzo did a great job in Yuma for six months, but then the commandant, Gen. Eric Smith, suddenly relieved him of command last fall. This happened at the same time the Marines publicly released the results of its Command Investigation. Why give Del Pizzo an important command job in early 2024, and then take it away six months later? All this points to the commandant, Smith, overruling his deputy generals for reasons that remain unclear. Your story is very long, and I know you've written some long ones over the years. But was there something you wished you could have added? Yes, there were a lot of things. One involved an incident in 1970 that had some loose parallels. It's known as the "Cornfield Bomber." An Air Force Convair Bomber was flying over Montana when the jet began to spin out of control. The pilot ejected at 15,000 feet. But the ejection actually made the jet regain its stability, and it landed intact in a field. Another pilot in the mission reportedly radioed the pilot while he was in his parachute, Youd better get back in it. Lightness aside, the pilot got slammed at first for ejecting, until the investigation showed what happened. I'm sure readers are wondering: Have the Marines responded to our story? Only with silence. At least to The Post and Courier. We gave Marine headquarters ample time to respond to our questions, but they declined to tell us anything. A popular military news site, The War Zone, however, got this statement in response to our story. Here it is, and Ill leave it to our readers to decide whether it says anything: The Commandant of the Marine Corps continually assesses matters associated with commanders and their units. Following his detailed review last August of the command investigation into the 17 September 2023 F-35 mishap, he made the decision to relieve the Commanding Officer of Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1) at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, due to the unique mission of VMX-1. PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 16:05:08 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 623 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 ATLANTA, GEORGIA / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Ascend Aesthetic Partners, a national network of leading aesthetic surgeons, has announced its 2025-2026 fellowship matches-an initiative designed to advance the next generation of aesthetic specialists through immersive, practice-based training. Ascend Aesthetic PartnersThe 2026 Ascend fellows have been matched with two of the network's leading practices.Hedden , Gunn & Halka Plastic Surgery of Birmingham, Alabama, welcomes Timothy Stoddard, M.D., from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Courtney Leonard, M.D., from Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, Texas. Dr. Stoddard and Dr. Leonard will be joining the practice in 2026. Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, welcomes Evan Childers, M.D., from Marshall University, who will join the practice in July 2026. These placements reflect Ascend's commitment to fostering talent at highly regarded aesthetic practices recognized for their excellence.Both fellowship programs are endorsed by The Aesthetic Society and exemplify excellence in surgical quality standards and aesthetic medicine. Fellows gain hands-on experience through mentorship on both surgical techniques and the business aspects of aesthetic practice. The program also offers opportunities for independent clinical practice, monthly didactic sessions, and participation in research presented at The Aesthetic Society's Fellows Forum.Introducing 2025 Fellows:William Rifkin, M.D., will join Hedden, Gunn & Halka Plastic Surgery in July 2025. Dr. Rifkin completed a two-year plastic surgery research fellowship at NYU before earning his medical degree from New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He completed his residency at NYU Langone Health in New York, New York. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Tufts University. He specializes in facial aesthetics, body contouring, and reconstructive techniques.Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery welcomes Aaron Jacobs, M.D., who is trained in both cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. Dr. Jacobs is joining PVPS to expand his knowledge and hone his skills during his one-year aesthetic fellowship. He is a recent graduate of Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a Level 1 trauma center and regional burn center, where he gained extensive experience in reconstructive procedures and cosmetic surgery. Dr. Jacobs earned his medical degree from Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and completed his residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital, where he was inducted into both the Gold Humanism Honor Society and the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society."At Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery, we're excited to work alongside our fellows and mentor them during this pivotal year," said Christopher Bates, M.D., who oversees the fellowship program at PVPS.What Current Fellows Are Saying About the Ascend Fellowship Program"I am deeply honored to be part of the Ascend Fellowship Program and to work with the exceptional team at Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery," said Abby Threet, M.D. "Being able to collaborate with such a distinguished group of surgeons is invaluable to my growth as a surgeon and to the care I provide." "Joining the fellowship program at Hedden, Gunn & Halka Plastic Surgery offers a unique opportunity to refine my skills while contributing to a team that values excellence in patient care," said Hannah England, M.D.About Ascend Aesthetic PartnersAscend Aesthetic Partners is a collaborative alliance of leading surgeons dedicated to redefining excellence in plastic surgery and aesthetic care. Through clinical leadership and strategic growth, Ascend provides comprehensive support to its network of surgeons. Ascend continues expanding its network of premier aesthetic practices across the nation and invites you to connect if you are interested in learning more. For more information about Ascend Aesthetic Partners and its services, visit AscendAestheticPartners.com For more information about the fellowship program, contact Beth Guerin, Director of Physician Recruitment and Engagement, at beth.guerin@ascendpsp.com Contact InformationLori MoonenMarketing Agencylori@ creativesparkjax.com 9042287318SOURCE: Ascend Aesthetic Partners PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 08:00:14 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 854 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Formation Metals ("Formation" or the "Company") (CSE:FOMO)(FSE:VF1)(OTC PINK:FOMTF), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company, is pleased to announce to announce that CEO Deepak Varshney will be featured on an upcoming Radius Research "Pitch, Deep Dive, and Q&A" webinar hosted by respected analyst Martin Gagel.The live, interactive webinar will provide insight into Formation's ongoing exploration initiatives, including the Company's current work plan to develop the N2 Gold Project, an advanced gold deposit with a global historic resource of 87,000 ounces and six mineralized zones, each open for expansion along strike and at depth including the "A" zone, of which only ~35% of strike has been drilled (>3.1 km open), and the "RJ" zone, host to bonanza intercepts as high as 51 gpt Au over 0.8 metres.Investors and interested parties are encouraged to register and attend the session, where they will have the opportunity to engage directly and submit questions in real time. A recording will also be made available for those unable to attend live.Formation's CEO, Deepak Varshney, commented: "2025 has had an exceptional start for Formation Metals following the transformational option agreement to acquire the N2 Gold Property from Wallbridge Mining. With a proven gold system containing almost 900,000 ounces of gold historically, and numerous areas with a high exploration upside, I look forward to engaging with existing and potential investors to explain why we believe N2 is in the perfect position to support immediate and sustained increases in value." Webinar Details:Event: Radius Research Pitch, Deep Dive, and Q&A - Formation Metals Inc.Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025Time: 1:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM PTRegistration: Click here to registerAbout Radius Research: Radius Research connects investors to insightful, institutional-grade interviews with public company executives. Hosted by veteran analyst Martin Gagel, the platform provides comprehensive CEO Q&A sessions designed to unpack business models, catalysts, and value drivers. Viewers are advised that participation involves receiving email updates from Market Radius Capital, Inc. and the presenting company. This is not investment advice. Full disclaimers are available during the broadcast.About Formation Metals Inc. Formation Metals Inc. is a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of quality properties that are drill-ready with high-upside and expansion potential. Formation's flagship asset is the N2 Gold Project, an advanced gold project with a global historic resource of 877,000 ounces and six mineralized zones, each open for expansion along strike and at depth including the "A" zone, of which only ~35% of strike has been drilled (>3.1 km open), and the "RJ" zone, host to bonanza intercepts as high as 51 gpt Au over 0.8 metres.Qualified person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Deepak Varshney, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Historical reports provided by the optionor of N2 were reviewed by the qualified person. The information provided has not been verified and is being treated as historic non-compliant intercepts and resource.FORMATION METALS INC. Deepak Varshney, CEO and DirectorFor more information, please call 778-899-1780, email info@ formationmetalsinc.com or visit www.formationmetalsinc.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Note 1:A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.Note 2:Readers are cautioned that the geology of nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of the geology of the Property.Forward-looking statements:This news release includes "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on a number of estimates and/or assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, uncertain and volatile equity and capital markets, lack of available capital, actual results of exploration activities, environmental risks, future prices of base and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labour issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry.The Company is presently an exploration stage company. Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks, requires substantial expenditures, and may not result in the discovery of mineral deposits that can be mined profitably. Furthermore, the Company currently has no reserves on any of its properties. As a result, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.SOURCE: Formation Metals PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 23:01:15 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 843 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Fortitude Gold Corp. (OTCQB:FTCO) (the "Company") today announced preliminary first quarter gold production of 1,780 ounces. The Company also announced a modification to its monthly dividend from $0.04 per share per month to $0.01 per share per month starting in May 2025. Reasons for the dividend modification include cash conservation while the Company waits for permit approval to build and operate its County Line project, and allocation of capital towards mining deeper in the Isabella Pearl pit having recently completed an analysis and modeling of oxide gold mineralization deeper in the pit. Fortitude Gold is a gold producer, developer, and explorer with operations in Nevada, U.S.A. offering investors exposure to both gold production and dividend yield.First quarter gold production of 1,780 ounces was a combination of mining of lower grade ore from the Civic Cat portion of the Isabella Pearl mine and residual leach during the quarter.The Company's management recently completed an analysis of the potential to develop and mine a mineralized gold zone trending southeast deep from the bottom of the Isabella Pearl pit. To access this oxide gold mineralization, construction of a modified pit ramp and a southeast pit wall layback is required. This opportunity requires both a capital and time investment over approximately six months to reach the top of the mineralized zone and is estimated to extend mine operations into the first half of 2026. This area of the Isabella Pearl deposit lies outside of the Company's original reserve and was previously not targeted for gold extraction; however, the significant recent increase in the gold price has given the Company an opportunity to extract this gold zone located within the permitted pit. The Company has begun operations to access this deep gold mineralization and is advancing both the modified access ramp and pit layback."While we are ready and anxious for the Trump Administration to fully address and rectify the permit backlog created by the past Biden Administration, Biden's legacy of anti-resources unfortunately continues to weigh on our Company's original business plan by prohibiting and delaying the layering of multiple mining operations and associated production on top of one another," stated Mr. Jason Reid, CEO and President of Fortitude Gold. "Although we are confident we will receive our County Line project permits under Trump's pro-business and pro-resource Administration, it is unknown how long it will take the new Administration to unravel the legacy permit backlog which elevates the need for the Company to conserve cash at this time." Mr. Reid continued, "The Company ended the first quarter of 2025 with a strong cash and cash equivalent balance, but both the Isabella Pearl pit wall layback and the legacy permit backlog delays impacting our County Line project require strategic deployment of capital. While gold production continues from our Isabella Pearl's heap leach pad, residual leaching is variable and challenging to forecast. These drivers necessitate the decrease in monthly dividends to shareholders. We continue to defensively position the Company to overcome the challenges created by the prior Biden Administration while targeting to offensively position the Company to permit and build our next mines.About Fortitude Gold Corp.:Fortitude Gold is a U.S. based gold producer targeting projects with low operating costs, high margins, and strong returns on capital. The Company's strategy is to grow organically, remain debt-free, and distribute substantial dividends. The Company's Nevada Mining Unit consists of seven high-grade gold properties located in the Walker Lane Mineral Belt and an eighth high-grade gold property in west central Nevada. The Isabella Pearl gold mine, located on the Isabella Pearl mineralized trend, is currently in production. Nevada, U.S.A. is among the world's premier mining friendly jurisdictions.Cautionary Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. If you are risk-averse you should NOT buy shares in Fortitude Gold Corp. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "target", "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding the Company's strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to the Company on the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release.Contact:Greg Patterson719-717-9825 greg.patterson@fortitudegold.com SOURCE: Fortitude Gold Corp PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 14:30:51 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 989 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Galway Metals Inc. (TSX-V:GWM)(OTCQB:GAYMF) (the "Company" or "Galway") is pleased to report results from its diamond drilling program at the Southwest Deposit in the Company's 100%-owned flagship Clarence Stream high-grade gold project in New Brunswick, Canada. The Clarence Stream Gold Project has district-scale potential with approximately 65-kilometre strike length of highly prospective gold showings and anomalies; and a 2022 MRE of 12.4 Mt @ 2.3 g/t Au Indicated for 922,000 oz., and 16.0 Mt @ 2.6 g/t Au Inferred for 1.334 M oz. gold from the NI 43-101 technical report titled "Technical Report on the Clarence Stream Mineral Resource Project, New Brunswick, Canada" dated March 31, 2022, by SLR Consulting Ltd.Rob Hincliffe, President and CEO of Galway, said, "We are excited to see gold mineralization continuing 300 meters north, which significantly opens the resource expansion potential of the Southwest Deposit. We have an additional 12 holes with pending assays from this area, which should continue to prove gold continuity and add near surface ounces. The second drill rig has been drilling shallow high-grade gold and antimony mineralization at the North Deposit since January with 23 drillholes currently pending assays. With gold reaching record prices, Galway is positioned to take advantage because we will have drillhole assays, metallurgical results and additional news in the coming weeks and months." HighlightsCL-206 intersected 3.4 g/t gold over 5.0m including 11.1 g/t gold over 1.0m (Section 1)CL-211 intersected 3.1 g/t gold over 2.9m including 13.2 g/t over 0.5m-Extending SW Deposit over 300m to the N-NE from the 2022 MRE models (Section 2)CL-209 intersected 0.92 g/t gold over 14.0mTwelve additional follow-up drill holes are pending assays for this areaDrill Results Confirm Northern expansion of SW DepositThe drill holes in this release are located on the northeastern area of the Southwest Deposit (Figure 1) with the purpose of following up on shallow, wide mineralized zones and extending mineralization to the north. The results (Assay and Coordinate Table) now extend the mineralization approximately 300-metres from the 2022 Clarence Stream Resource Estimate. There are an additional 12 holes with pending assay from this area, with the purpose of connecting mineralization along strike and dip with 25-to-50-meter centers. The Southwest Deposit is open for expansion in both directions along strike and at depth.North Zone drilling expanding mineralizationSince acquiring Clarence Stream in 2016, Galway has increased the North Deposit resource by >240% from 93,000 ounces to 226,000 ounces with under 10,000m drilled. The second rig has been drilling off the North Deposit since January, with the purpose of extending the shallow, flat lying gold-antimony mineralization beyond the current resource pits. There are currently 23 drill holes with pending assays ( Figure 2 ), including hole ND-21 with visible gold at 43.4 meters ( Photo ). Most of the holes are located outside the 2022 resource, expanding the deposit approximately 350m to the North and East.Geology and MineralizationThe Clarence Stream deposits can be characterized as intrusion-related, structurally controlled, quartz-vein hosted gold deposits. These deposits consist of quartz veins and quartz stockwork within brittle-ductile fault zones that include adjacent crushed, altered wall rocks and veinlet material. The mineralized systems are hosted in intrusive and metasedimentary rocks within high strain zones controlled by regional fault systems. Pyrite, base metal sulphides, and stibnite occur in these deposits along with anomalous concentrations of bismuth, arsenic, antimony and tungsten. Alteration in the host rocks is confined within a few metres of quartz veins and occurs mainly in the form of sericitization and chloritization. A more complete description of Clarence Stream's geology and mineralization can be found at www.galwaymetalsinc.com New Brunswick Junior Mining Assistance ProgramGalway would like to acknowledge financial support from the New Brunswick Junior Mining Assistance Program, which will contribute up to $50,000 towards exploration drilling in 2024.Review by Qualified PersonJesse Fisher, P.Geo., Project Manager for Galway Metals, is the Qualified Person who supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release on behalf of Galway Metals Inc.Quality Control and ReportsAll core, chip/boulder samples, and soil samples are assayed by Activation Laboratories, located at 41 Bittern Street, Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, Agat Laboratories, located at 5623 McAdam Road, Mississauga Ontario, Canada L4Z 1N9 and 35 General Aviation Road, Timmins, ON P4P 7C3, and/or Swastika Laboratories situated in Swastika, ON. All four labs have ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. All core is under watch from the drill site to the core processing facility. Drill core is NQ size and sample intervals range from 0.5 meters to 1.5 meters in length. All samples are assayed for gold by Fire Assay, with gravimetric finish, and other elements assayed using ICP. The Company's QA/QC program includes the regular insertion of blanks and standards into the sample shipments, as well as instructions for duplication. Standards, blanks and duplicates are inserted at one per 20 samples. Approximately five percent (5%) of the pulps and rejects are sent for check assaying at a second lab with the results averaged and intersections updated when received. Core recovery in the mineralized zones has averaged 99%.About Galway Metals Inc.Galway Metals is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its 100%-owned, high-grade, open-pitable flagship Clarence Stream gold project in southwest New Brunswick. Clarence Stream is an emerging gold district with an exploration strike length of approximately 65 kilometres and widths of up to 28 kilometres in certain areas. Galway Metals also has 100%-ownership in the Estrades project, a former producing high-grade, gold-rich polymetallic VMS mine in the northern Abitibi of western Quebec. Led by a management team with a proven track-record of creating shareholder value having sold Galway Resources for US$340 million, Galway Metals is focused on creating value for all its stakeholders.For additional Information on Galway Metals Inc., Please contact:Robert Hinchcliffe President & Chief Executive OfficerTelephone: 1-800-771-0680Email: info@ galwaymetalsinc.co Website: www.galwaymetalsinc.com Look us up on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedInCautionary StatementNeither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provide PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-16 00:16:12 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 922 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 RYE BROOK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Medical practices face increasing challenges when it comes to building trust, growing their patient base, and standing out in a competitive healthcare industry. Illumination PR, led by CEORobyn Bordesand Managing PartnerDeven Turner , is helping healthcare professionals overcome these challenges through innovative, results-driven business development solutions.The firm combines Robyn's entrepreneurial leadership with Deven's expertise in media relations and brand strategy to offer tailored solutions for medical professionals. Together, they lead a team of publicity experts who specialize in healthcare public relations, strategic media placement, and physician brand management. This cohesive approach allows Illumination PR to create measurable growth opportunities for medical practices and healthcare organizations nationwide."Medical practices are more than businesses-they're essential to their communities. Patients need to know they can trust their providers, and building that trust starts with how a practice positions itself. That's what we do best," explains Robyn Bordes.Strategic Media Placement Drives ResultsVisibility is critical for healthcare professionals. Patients often rely on trusted media outlets when choosing providers, making strategic media placement a key factor in building credibility. Illumination PR secures features in Tier 1 publications, helping medical practices amplify their expertise and connect with their target audiences.This approach reflects the belief shared by Oprah Winfrey: "Your brand is your calling card to the world." Robyn and her team ensure that their clients don't just build businesses-they build lasting reputations that resonate with patients and peers alike.One recent success story involved a medical practice struggling to attract new patients. Illumination PR created a targeted media strategy that showcased the practice's expertise and values. Within six months, the practice saw a 30% increase in patient inquiries and a significant improvement in community reputation.Physician Brand Management and Social Media GrowthIn addition to media placements, Illumination PR offers specialized physician brand management services. These services include negotiating and managing brand partnerships for physicians, turning their professional expertise into opportunities for additional revenue and visibility.Robyn highlights the importance of this strategy: "We help physicians go beyond their practice by building their personal brands. Whether it's through social media growth or brand deals, our physician management team ensures our clients see tangible ROI from their efforts." A recent campaign for a physician client resulted in a 40% increase in social media engagement, leading to lucrative brand partnerships with healthcare and wellness companies. These additional revenue streams have become an integral part of Illumination PR's value to its clients.A Team Effort at Illumination PRWhile Robyn Bordes is the driving force behind Illumination PR, she emphasizes the importance of collaboration and teamwork in achieving success. Her partnership with Deven Turner has elevated the firm's capabilities, blending Robyn's business development expertise with Deven's innovative media strategies.Deven, who has been with Illumination PR for nearly a decade, was named Managing Partner in 2024. Her proven track record includes securing high-profile placements on Good Morning America, Forbes, and People Magazine, as well as orchestrating press tours and events at prestigious occasions like the Grammys and Emmys."Deven brings a fresh perspective and a relentless commitment to our clients' success," Robyn says. "Her leadership has been instrumental in shaping the future of Illumination PR." Deven's philosophy mirrors the sentiment of Simon Sinek: "Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge." Her ability to build meaningful connections with clients and media partners has been transformative for the agency.Success StoriesRobyn and Deven's collaborative leadership has driven measurable results for healthcare clients. One hospital group partnered with Illumination PR to attract new patients and recruit top-tier physicians. Through strategic media placements, a refreshed branding campaign, and digital outreach, the group experienced:A 40% increase in patient retention.A 25% rise in qualified physician applications.Greater engagement and visibility across social media platforms.Another campaign focused on building a physician's personal brand through digital media and brand partnerships. Illumination PR's physician management team secured multiple paid brand deals, helping the client grow their social media following by 50% and generating additional revenue streams for their practice.Building a Legacy Through LeadershipRobyn Bordes' journey from a young entrepreneur to the CEO of a multi-million-dollar firm reflects her resilience and dedication to helping others succeed. Starting work at age 13, she developed a relentless work ethic that continues to inspire her team and clients.Deven Turner's rise to Managing Partner marks a new chapter in the firm's evolution. Her innovative strategies and ability to navigate the modern media landscape have established Illumination PR as a leader in healthcare public relations."Robyn and I share a vision for what this agency can achieve," Deven explains. "We're not just helping clients grow their businesses-we're shaping how they're seen and trusted by their communities." This focus on collaboration and innovation has set Illumination PR apart in the competitive PR industry, creating lasting value for its clients and their communities.About Illumination PRIllumination PR is a full-service public relations and business development firm specializing in strategic media placement, healthcare public relations, and physician brand management. Led by CEO Robyn Bordes and Managing Partner Deven Turner, the firm works with clients across industries, with a focus on healthcare, lifestyle, and beauty. Illumination PR's mission is to deliver creative, tailored solutions that help clients grow their brands and achieve measurable success.For more information, visit Illumination PR's websiteDeven Turner DM@ illuminationpr.com IlluminationPRRye Brook, NY https://www.illuminationpr.com/ SOURCE: Deven Turner PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 19:00:28 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 435 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Harcourts Prime Properties, 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 Harcourts.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On March 20, 2025, Harcourts Prime Properties was notified that a ransom demand had been issued on the Dark Web with sample documents of Agent Information sheets. Upon discovery, Harcourts launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation confirmed that an unauthorized third party accessed sensitive personal information on March 18, 2025. Harcourts conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine what information was compromised and to identify affected individuals.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personal information may have been compromised: name, contact information, and Social Security number (in some cases). On April 3, 2025, Harcourts filed a notice with the Attorney General of California and began sending out notice letters to 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 Harcourts, 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: 2025-04-16 01:00:50 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1014 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 In a heartfelt demonstration of its enduring commitment to the local community, Verdun Windows has donated $5,000 to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)OTTAWA, ON / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / In a heartfelt demonstration of its enduring commitment to the local community, Verdun Windows has donated $5,000 to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), reaffirming its dedication to family values, regional support, and making a tangible difference in the lives of Ottawa families.This donation marks the latest chapter in Verdun Windows' long-standing relationship with CHEO, a partnership that has spanned years and underscores the company's identity as more than just a home improvement provider-it's a local institution with a deep-rooted investment in the well-being of its neighbors."We're a company built on family values," said a Verdun Windows spokesperson. "And for us, there's no better way to reflect those values than by supporting an organization like CHEO, which stands as a pillar of care and hope for so many families in our community." More Than Just Windows: A Legacy of Local ImpactFor over four decades, Verdun Windows has served Ottawa and the surrounding regions with high-quality, energy-efficient windows and doors. Established in the early 1980s, Verdun has grown from a modest family operation into one of Ontario's most respected window and door manufacturers. But even as the company has expanded in scale and scope, it has never lost sight of its local roots.Giving back has always been part of Verdun's core philosophy. Whether it's through sponsoring local events, supporting charitable organizations, or simply investing in people through meaningful employment and craftsmanship, Verdun has consistently prioritized community.The relationship with CHEO is a particularly meaningful one. In addition to the recent $5,000 donation, Verdun has been a proud supporter of the annual CHEO BBQ-an event that brings the community together to raise funds and awareness for the hospital's many vital programs. This recurring involvement has helped build a relationship grounded in mutual respect and shared values."CHEO holds a special place in our hearts," the spokesperson added. "Their work touches thousands of lives, and we're honored to play even a small part in supporting their mission." Supporting CHEO: A Community CornerstoneThe Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario is one of Canada's premier pediatric health-care institutions, serving children, youth, and families from across Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Nunavut, and parts of Northern Ontario. CHEO provides a comprehensive range of services-from emergency and surgical care to mental health services and chronic disease management.As a teaching and research hospital, CHEO is also at the forefront of innovation in pediatric medicine. It consistently ranks among the top hospitals in patient satisfaction, clinical care, and research breakthroughs. However, this excellence comes at a cost-one that relies heavily on donor support."Community donations like the one from Verdun Windows are essential," said a CHEO Foundation representative. "They help us invest in life-saving equipment, fund innovative research, and ensure our young patients receive the best possible care, when they need it most." Tthe $5,000 donation will go toward critical areas of need within the hospital, potentially supporting pediatric research, patient programs, or infrastructure upgrades designed to enhance comfort and care for children and their families.Craftsmanship and Care Go Hand in HandWhile Verdun Windows is best known for its exceptional products-especially its proprietary RevoCell windows-the heart of the company lies in its people. All of Verdun's products are manufactured in-house at their Ottawa facility, allowing for unparalleled quality control, faster turnaround times, and greater flexibility in customization.The RevoCell window line exemplifies Verdun's commitment to sustainable innovation. Using microcellular PVC (mPVC), RevoCell windows provide superior insulation, structural integrity, and energy efficiency-key traits for Canadian homeowners facing long winters and rising energy costs. These windows are not only built to last, but also to reduce the carbon footprint of every home they serve.This focus on sustainability has not gone unnoticed. Verdun Windows has earned Special Recognition Awards from ENERGY STAR in both 2023 and 2024 for its leadership in environmental stewardship and product innovation."Our team is proud to create products that help homeowners save energy and protect the environment," said the spokesperson. "But we're equally proud of the culture we've built-a culture that values people, relationships, and doing the right thing." A Culture of Giving, A Future of GrowthAs Verdun celebrates over 40 years in business, the company remains as committed as ever to its founding principles: quality, integrity, and community. Over the decades, Verdun has navigated industry changes, economic cycles, and evolving customer expectations-not by chasing trends, but by staying true to its values.One of those values is giving back. Whether it's through financial donations, event sponsorships, or simply showing up to support a local cause, Verdun has always believed that businesses have a role to play beyond the bottom line.The donation to CHEO is a reflection of this philosophy. It's not just a financial gesture-it's a symbol of what Verdun stands for and who they serve. "We believe that real success is about more than numbers," said the company spokesperson. "It's about the impact you have on the people around you. This community has supported us for over 40 years. Supporting CHEO is one way we say thank you." Looking AheadWith the housing market in transition and sustainability at the forefront of consumer concerns, Verdun Windows is uniquely positioned for continued growth. The company's in-house manufacturing model, high-performance product line, and efficient installation services set it apart from competitors, particularly in a market where timelines and quality are critical.But perhaps more importantly, Verdun's customer-first approach and deep community ties give it a rare kind of brand loyalty-one built on trust, reliability, and mutual respect. As Verdun Windows looks to the future, their focus remains on serving the Ottawa community with excellence, and leading by example-whether it's in manufacturing innovation or making a difference where it matters most."We're proud of what we've accomplished over the past four decades," the spokesperson concluded. "But we'r PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 11:30:50 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 / April 15, 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=143074&wire=1 to learn about your rights to seek a recovery. There is no cost or obligation to participate.WHY LEVI & KORSINSKY: Over the past 20 years, Levi & Korsinsky LLP has established itself as a nationally-recognized securities litigation firm that has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders and built a track record of winning high-stakes cases. The firm has extensive expertise representing investors in complex securities litigation and a team of over 70 employees to serve our clients. For seven years in a row, Levi & Korsinsky has ranked in ISS Securities Class Action Services' Top 50 Report as one of the top securities litigation firms in the United States. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 19:00:54 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 544 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Lyon Management Group, Inc. which does business as Lyon Living, recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal and protected health data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal and protected health information entrusted to Lyon Living.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?Lyon Living recently became aware of a security incident on its IT network. Upon detection, Lyon Living launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized third party gained access to sensitive personal information between March 14 and March 15, 2024. Lyon Living conducted a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine what information was compromised and identified affected individuals. Lyon Living identified persons whose sensitive data was included in the impacted data.Upon information and belief, the following types of sensitive personaland protected health information may have been compromised:name, Social Security number, driver's license number, california id card number, tax identification number, passport number, military id number, or other unique id number issued on a government document, account number or credit or debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code, or password that would permit access to an individual's financial account, medical information, health insurance information, unique biometric data generated from measurements or technical analysis of human body characteristics, such as a fingerprint, retina, or iris image, used to authenticate a specific individual, and genetic data.On March 28, 2025, Lyon Living filed a notice with the Attorney General of California 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 Lyon Living, 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: 2025-04-16 00:16:06 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 698 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Petroff Amshen LLP's foreclosure defense attorneys secured a major legal victory after a New York court dismissed a time-barred foreclosure case. The ruling confirms that the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act ("FAPA") applies retroactively and blocks financial entities from manipulating timelines. This decision protects homeowners and strengthens legal defenses against long-standing foreclosure threats.NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / A Brooklyn homeowner has won a major legal battle after a New York court dismissed a foreclosure case brought by a financial entity. The court ruled that the foreclosure was filed late-and that the bank couldn't legally restart the process after the deadline had already passed. The case was handled by Petroff Amshen LLP, a New York law firm that fights for homeowners facing unfair or prolonged foreclosure threats with legal advocacy for its clients.The foreclosure in question was tied to a mortgage that had been the subject of a previous foreclosure case years ago. That earlier case had been dismissed, but the financial entity later tried to bring it back to court by sending a letter in 2018-claiming the mortgage was no longer accelerated. That move was meant to restart the clock and give them more time to file a new foreclosure.Thanks to the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act ("FAPA")-designed to stop financial institutions from dragging out foreclosure cases for years-banks can no longer restart the timeline just by sending a letter. The law protects homeowners from being stuck in legal limbo and applies to cases that were already in progress before the law was passed.Importantly, the court confirmed that FAPA can be applied retroactively, even to foreclosure actions that started before the law existed. The court rejected arguments that this violates constitutional rights like due process or contract protections, stating that the law was created to fix a confusing and unsettled area of foreclosure litigation. Because the rules around deacceleration weren't clear in 2018, the court determined that applying FAPA retroactively does not unfairly harm financial institutions, and instead accurately protects homeowners' rights."This case represents more than just a legal victory-it's a critical moment for homeowners who have been left in limbo by the banking industry's inconsistent and self-serving tactics," said Steven Amshen, founding partner of Petroff Amshen LLP. "The court sent a clear message: you cannot manipulate time and law to trap people in endless foreclosure cycles. FAPA exists to level the playing field, and we're here to enforce it." The judge agreed that the six-year deadline to start a foreclosure had already passed, and that the attempt to reset the clock wasn't valid under the law. As a result, the court dismissed the foreclosure case entirely and denied all of the financial entity's requests, including its efforts to move forward with the process.This ruling is part of a growing number of decisions that show how FAPA is helping New Yorkers stand up to unfair foreclosure attempts. It sends a strong message: homeowners deserve clear answers, legal protection, and finality-not years of stress caused by repeated filings.Key highlights from the court's decision:The six-year deadline to bring a foreclosure action had expired.The 2018 letter attempting to undo acceleration was not valid under the law.FAPA blocks financial entities from restarting the foreclosure process.FAPA applies retrospectively, even for situations that began before the statute was passed.The court emphasized that the law around deacceleration was unclear in 2018, justifying retroactive enforcement.The ruling protects homeowners from indefinite foreclosure threats and legal uncertainty.Petroff Amshen LLP, a New York based law firm, has been advocating for New Yorkers' to keep their home since the 2008 recession, helping people fight back against foreclosures, mortgage abuse, and credit damage. Their foreclosure defense attorneys work directly with homeowners to challenge illegal practices and defend their rights in and out of court."As long as financial entities continue to use delay tactics and stretch the law to their advantage, we will be in court fighting back," added Mr. Amshen. "Our clients deserve finality, dignity, and protection-and we won't stop until they get it." Contact InformationGabriel BoteroMedia Relationsmedia@ petroffamshen.com (718) 336-4200SOURCE: Petroff Amshen LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 11:00:22 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 635 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Duane Boise CEO of MMJ stated "Let's be clear: this isn't just administrative overreach. This is defiance of the Supreme Court by a law enforcement agency. The DEA, tasked with upholding the law, is now actively undermining it".WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / The Supreme Court has spoken. In itslandmark Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. FTC decision , the Court affirmed that Americans have the right to challenge unconstitutional agency structures in federal court before enduring prolonged and potentiallyunlawful administrative proceedings . This ruling was meant to be a shield - protecting individuals and companies from bureaucratic abuse.But the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has decided it doesn't care.In its ongoing battle with MMJ BioPharma Cultivation,the DEA has done more than ignore Axon - it's practically dared the judiciary and the public to hold it accountable. Despite conceding that its own administrative law judges (ALJs) are unconstitutionally insulated from removal , the DEA continues to force MMJ through a regulatory meat grinder.Duane Boise CEO of MMJ stated"Let's be clear: this isn't just administrative overreach. This is defiance of the Supreme Court by a law enforcement agency. The DEA, tasked with upholding the law, is now actively undermining it".In Axon, the Court declaredthat when an agency's structure is alleged to be unconstitutional, federal courts can and should intervene immediately - no need to wait years while the flawed process grinds forward. Yet in MMJ's case, the DEA has done precisely the opposite: dismissing MMJ's federal constitutional challenge by arguing that no "irreparable harm" was done.This argument is a slap in the face not only to MMJ but to the judiciary itself. Axon wasn't about requiring proof of harm - it was about protecting rights from being violated in the first place. The DEA's continued reliance on the Administrative Law Judge hearing process admits that the judges are improperly shielded from removal renders its entire process suspect.And it gets worse .MMJ Biopharma Cultivation's application to grow and research cannabis to manufacture cannabis-derived medicines for debilitating diseases likeHuntington's and Multiple Sclerosis has been sitting idle since 2018 . This is despite Congress mandating in theMedical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (MCREA) that DEA respond within 60 days. The DEA didn't just miss a deadline - it ignored federal law.Add to that the stunning revelation thatDEA's lead counsel, Aarathi Haig , is ineligible to practice law in New Jersey - a breach of 28 U.S.C. 530B - and what emerges is a pattern of disregard for legality, ethics, and public duty. This situation has even prompted scrutiny from legal ethics experts and calls for audits and congressional hearings.The agency's failure to follow Axon is not a bureaucratic oversight.It is a boldfaced assertion that the rules don't apply when the DEA doesn't want them to . This is not just about MMJ - it is about the legitimacy of every administrative action the DEA takes under structurally unconstitutional authority.If the courts allow this to stand, the Supreme Court's ruling in Axon becomes meaningless. And if Congress stays silent, it signals that executive agencies can defy judicial authority without consequence.America is watching. Patients are watching. The courts are watching.And the DEA must be held to account.For MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, this is a fight for justice. For the rest of us, it's a fight for the Constitution.The question now is: Will the law enforcement agency charged with enforcing justice finally submit to it? The DEA's alleged obstruction, involving officials likeThomas Prevoznik,Matthew StraitandAarathi Haigraises serious concerns about whether the agency isacting as a rogue entity, prioritizing its own agenda over the rule of law and the needs of patients.MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan.CONTACT:Madison Hisey mhisey@ mmjih.com 203-231-8583SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings Dr. Myron Glick, the founder of Jericho Road Community Health Center, plans to step down as the organizations CEO later this year, the organization announced Tuesday. Glick will continue work as a physician and public health advocate with Jericho Road, the organization said. Jericho Roads board of directors has formed a search committee, which is conducting a national search for a new CEO. Glick will stay in that role until a successor is named. Glick and his wife, Joyce, opened Jericho Road Family Practice on Buffalos West Side in 1997. That small family practice would eventually grow into a $42 million organization that serves more than 24,000 patients annually, with a particular focus on addressing the issues of health and poverty in some of Buffalos most underserved communities. Glick said he made the bittersweet decision to step down as CEO to spend more time with his family. Last year, the Glicks took a four-month sabbatical to spend time with their four children and new grandchild. We love Jericho, Glick said Tuesday in an interview with The Buffalo News. Buffalos our home. We want to be with Jericho and stay in Buffalo for a long time yet. But the weight of being the CEO and also doing everything else that I did, I just recognized that as Im approaching 60, I should be starting to give up power and give up things instead of taking on more and more. The couple established Jericho Road Ministries, a faith-based organization, in 2003. A decade later, Jericho Road Family Practice and Jericho Road Ministries merged to form Jericho Road Community Health Center, which received designation as a federally qualified health care center. Its been awesome to lead Jericho for almost 30 years, but its time to start easing up that weight and also to transition the organization long term for success, where it outlives its founders, Glick said. Mark Herskind, chair of Jericho Roads board of directors, called Glicks decision to step down a bittersweet moment. From a tiny beginning on the West Side of Buffalo, Myron and Joyce Glick have led the development of a truly amazing ministry serving some of the most vulnerable people in Buffalo and beyond, Herskind said in a statement. Dr. Glick will leave enormous shoes to fill, so we are grateful that he will continue with JRCHC in a new role. I speak for the Board, the staff and the patients of JRCHC in expressing our profound admiration and gratitude for what he has accomplished over the past 28 years. Jericho Road now operates five health centers in Buffalo and offers programs to help refugees, asylum-seekers and pregnant women from underserved communities. It also runs Vive Shelter. In March 2015, the organization assumed the assets and programming of Vive Shelter, which provides temporary shelter, legal assistance and emergency services to homeless asylum-seekers and their families. Last year, Jericho Road acquired a new home for Vive at 1500 Main St., after a $6 million capital campaign. The organization also operates five global health centers: three in Sierra Leone and one each in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nepal. At those five clinics, Jericho Road serves more than 5,300 patients and delivers more than 200 babies per month. Looking back over the past 28 years, Glick said he is proud that Jericho Road has shown how to treat the most vulnerable well and to provide excellent health care. And thats saying a lot given the brokenness of our health care system. I hope that we continue to grow, because the need is great, Glick said. I hope that we continue to advocate for a more just health care system. I hope that we continue to advocate for the people that are most vulnerable and not shy away from that. I have no reason to believe that we will. The DNA of Jericho is not just in Joyce and I. Its in many people who do the daily work. Born in Lancaster, Pa., and raised in Belize, Glick received a bachelors degree in biology from Houghton College in 1988 and his medical degree from the University at Buffalo in 1993. He then completed his family practice residency at Lancaster General Hospital in 1996. PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 17:00:47 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 932 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Universal Consulting Opportunities (UCO), a subsidiary of Stellar MLS, was invited recently to join nearly 1,000 real estate professionals from across India to provide expert guidance on introducing the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) model as part of a prestigious conference hosted by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) India."NARVIGATE 2025," held March 21-22 in Delhi, brought together influential industry leaders, top government officials and global experts to reshape the future of real estate, business, policy, and innovation. Under the theme "Navigating Change, Inspiring Growth," the convention offered a powerful platform for thought-provoking discussions, high-level networking, and bold, transformative ideas. The event, now in its 17th year, was co-hosted by the Association of Property Professionals (APP), Delhi NCR.The UCO leadership team was honored by the invitation to participate in the conference. They played a key role in educating and inspiring NAR India and its members-from headlining press conferences to leading dynamic panel discussions on unlocking MLS opportunities, leveraging cutting-edge technologies, and elevating personal branding. UCO also delivered live MLS demonstrations, and its leadership was spotlighted in exclusive media interviews, showcasing their expertise and forward-thinking approach."UCO is among the world's leading MLS consultants and solution providers, and their presence at NARVIGATE 2025-India's most prestigious real estate convention-marks a significant milestone in NAR India's journey towards MLS adoption," said Tarun Bhatia, Vice Chairman and Chair-Global, NAR India. "Their insightful participation across multiple panels and a dedicated breakout session played a pivotal role in advancing one of NAR India's most important initiatives." "We are delighted to bring our expertise and experience to key decision-makers in India's real estate markets, and take important steps toward creating an efficient, interconnected marketplace that bridges the gap between national and international real estate professionals," said Shayne Fairley, COO of UCO and Stellar MLS.Marion Weiler, VP of Global Markets for UCO and Stellar MLS VP of Marketing and Communications, and Sam DeBord, CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), were featured on an international real estate panel titled "The Global Real Estate Exchange-Unlocking Opportunities with MLS" that explored how the MLS enhances trust and transparency, as well as collaboration in cross-border transactions. Key takeaways from the panel included emphasis on the high level of trust and standardization within the MLS and ultimately the collaboration that drives success through connections with global partnerships and real estate professionals."The MLS plays a key role in fostering trust, transparency, and efficiency in real estate markets worldwide. Through open data standards and global collaboration, we can unlock new opportunities for professionals and consumers alike. It was an honor to be invited by UCO to this event and demonstrate how the MLS model and data standards are shaping the future of international real estate," said DeBord.The conference marked significant progress in UCO's international initiatives, further solidified by the company's strategic partnership with NAR India to enhance real estate practices across the country. Last fall, UCO signed an agreement with NAR India focusing on the transformative impact of implementing a successful MLS in the Indian market and beyond."This milestone event was a pivotal moment in our journey with NAR India. It provided an opportunity to deepen our understanding, assess our impact in India, and gather valuable insights to develop a tailored solution that meets the country's unique needs. UCO is honored and proud to contribute to shaping the future of the vast opportunities within Indian real estate," said Dr. Mathew Kallumadil, VP of Global Markets for UCO and Stellar MLS VP of Technology and Innovation.For more information on UCO's global MLS initiatives, visit stellarmls.com/global Photo credit: Prateek StudioShayne Fairley, COO of UCO & Stellar MLS, speaks on the MLS, a milestone for the future of Indian real estate, at the NARVIGATE 2025 conference in March, in Delhi.Photo credit: Prateek StudioAttending NARVIGATE 2025 in March, in Delhi, were, (from left): Nick Verma, Jt. Treasurer, Association of South Asian Real Estate Professionals (ASARP); Dr. Mathew Kallumadil, UCO VP of Global Markets & Stellar MLS VP of Technology & Innovation; Ayres DCunha, NAR Global Ambassador to India & Thailand, 2023-2026; Marion Weiler, UCO VP of Global Markets & Stellar MLS VP of Marketing & Communications; Sam DeBord, CEO, Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO); Shayne Fairley, COO of UCO & Stellar MLS; Tarun Bhatia, Vice Chairman & Chair-Global, NAR India; Pradeep Shukla, Chairman, NAR Global Alliances Advisory Board, 2024; Trisha Roy, Global Real Estate Consultant; Harsha Shukla, Owner, American Star Realty; Sunita Kakarlapudi, President, ASARP; Priya Deshmukh, Real Estate Investor; Sonia Sachdeva, Secretary, APP Delhi NCR; and Sonali Mahant, Governing Board Member, APP Delhi NCR.Photo credit: Prateek StudioAt NARVIGATE 2025 in March, in Delhi, were (from left): Sam DeBord, CEO, Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO); Marion Weiler, UCO VP of Global Markets & Stellar MLS VP of Marketing & Communications; Pradeep Shukla, Chairman, NAR Global Alliances Advisory Board, 2024; Tarun Bhatia, Vice Chairman & Chair-Global, NAR India; Ayres DCunha, NAR Global Ambassador to India & Thailand, 2023-2026; Trisha Roy, Global Real Estate Consultant; and Raj Rajpal, International Real Estate Consultant.Photo credit: Prateek StudioSpeaking at the NARVIGATE 2025 conference in March, in Delhi were (from left ): Tarun Bhatia, Vice Chairman & Chair-Global, NAR India; Abhishek Jain, Chairman, APP-Delhi NCR; Sam DeBord, CEO, Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO); Mitesh Poddar, NARVIGATE Convention Co-Chairman; Gaganpal Singh, President, APP, and Co-Chairman, NAR India Convention; Sumanth Reddy Arani, Chairman, NAR India; Amit Chopra, President, NAR India; Chandresh Vithalani, President-Elect, NAR India; Samir Arora, CEO, NAR India; Vikas Agrawal, Secretary, NAR India; and Dr. Mathew Kallumadil, UCO VP PR-Inside.com: 2025-04-15 18:00:44 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 287 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 A Premier Multifamily Development in the Heart of Peoria, AZPEORIA, ARIZONA / ACCESS Newswire / April 15, 2025 / Viking Capital, in partnership with Overland Group, is pleased to announce the official groundbreaking ceremony for Peoria Gateway. This dynamic new multifamily development will elevate luxury living in the fast-growing West Valley region.Scheduled for May 28, 2025, the event will welcome city officials, community leaders, and project partners to the future site of this thoughtfully designed 336-unit luxury apartment community. With sleek modern architecture, resort-style amenities, and smart home technology, Peoria Gateway is positioned to meet the growing demand for high-quality housing in the Phoenix metropolitan area."Breaking ground on Peoria Gateway marks more than the start of construction-it represents our shared vision for building vibrant, future-forward communities," said Vikram Raya, CEO and Co-Founder of Viking Capital. "We're proud to collaborate with Overland Group on this transformative project and to support the continued growth of Peoria." Strategically located near Loop 101 and significant retail, healthcare, and employment hubs, Peoria Gateway will offer residents convenience and lifestyle excellence. Construction is slated for completion in 20 months, with pre-leasing expected to begin in month 14.The project is a key milestone in Viking Capital's mission to create investment opportunities that deliver strong, risk-adjusted returns while positively impacting local communities."This isn't just about developing apartments-it's about designing a place where people truly want to live," added Michael Holeman, Development and Finance Lead at Overland Group. "Peoria Gateway will set a new standard for multifamily living in the West Valley." For media inquiries, event attendance, development updates, or investment information, please visit: https://go.vikingcapllc.com/org-peoria Contact InformationAshley Penro Director of Marketingapenrod@ vikingcapllc.com 2088599720SOURCE: Viking Capital Investments LLC ALBANY For months, advocates urged the Hochul administration to delay its April 1 deadline for patients and workers in a Medicaid-funded home care program to register with Public Partnerships LLC. PPL had won a state contract to manage finances for the states Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), an alternative to nursing home care that allows New Yorkers without nursing licenses to be paid for the care of their loved ones. Advocates warned that without more time, many of the patients and workers would miss the deadline and fall into limbo unsure of their care status or next paycheck. The administration stood firm until last week. Facing a federal lawsuit from six patients in dire need of the CDPAP, attorneys representing the state Department of Health agreed to a stipulation Thursday in Brooklyn federal court. Under new deadlines, patients now have until May 15 to sign up with PPL. Caregivers have until June 6. The extension is important, but this legal action has also finally centered the issue around people with disabilities who rely on these services, said Lindsay Miller, executive director of the New York Association on Independent Living. Frankly, while we appreciate this major step forward, it is very disappointing that disabled people needed to go to court to make that happen. Change in Medicaid home care plan draws fire, support as April 1 deadline looms Starting April 1, Public Partnerships LLC will become the state's single entity to handle payments to Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (or CDPAP) caregivers. Consumers and their caregivers must register with PPL by that date to continue receiving services. CDPAP, which as recently as last year served roughly 280,000 people, now serves around 220,000. As of Friday, 93% of consumers 10,400 patients in Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties had started or finished their registration with PPL. About 11,000 CDPAP workers had started or completed registration, state DOH spokesperson Marissa Crary said. The spokesperson said 99% of consumers 8,700 patients in the counties of Genesee, Wyoming, Orleans, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates had registered with PPL. Another 11,300 workers have started or finished registration as of Friday, Crary said. Attorneys for the patients sought a preliminary injunction to keep the state from implementing the transition to PPL until Sept. 30. An assistant attorney general representing the state asked U.S. Judge Frederic Block to reject the suit. Last Tuesday, the parties met for 13 hours. They reached the stipulation approved by the judge Thursday. The new deadlines mark the latest development since state leaders altered the CDPAP vendor program in last years budget. Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature agreed to move away from CDPAPs former system in which some 600 fiscal intermediaries (FIs) handled payments to caregivers to a sole vendor. Hochul has said the prior system was rife with fraud and needed to be replaced. This order is the latest positive development that allows the states CDPAP transition to continue, preserving care for those who need it and eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic spending, said Sam Spokony, a spokesperson for the governor. Caregivers, patients now have until April 30 to register for state program Caregivers and patients in a Medicaid-funded program that allows New Yorkers to be paid for the home care of their loved ones now have until April 30 to register with the states new fiscal vendor for the program. The stipulation will allow many workers who have not been able to register with PPL to be employed by their prior fiscal intermediary during this transition, said Elizabeth Jois, supervising attorney for the New York Legal Assistance Groups Special Litigation Unit. It, along with attorneys for the Manhattan-based firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, represented patients. Nicole Demme, a Marilla woman who cares for her 21-year-old son, Nathaniel, a CDPAP consumer who has developmental disabilities, remained skeptical that the additional time allowed by the stipulation would help many workers and patients. She said many former fiscal intermediaries already have moved on. The order extends the registration dates, but for the thousands of consumers and PAs who cannot return to their previous FIs, they are still left with nothing but fear and confusion, Demme said. As for our family, our enrollment was finalized just two days before April 1. Even though we are some of (the) lucky ones who have been able to complete the transition, the process is still riddled with errors, misinformation and mismanagement. Caring Majority Rising, a group representing people with disabilities, older adults, family caregivers and home care workers, said hundreds of thousands of CDPAP workers went without payment for their work last week, adding, For many workers who depend on CDPAP for their wages, even one missed paycheck means losing the ability to pay rent, buy groceries or cover transportation costs to continue providing care. The group was planning protests around the state Monday. On Jan. 7, Hochuls news release touting PPL as the states sole vendor for CDPAP promised a smooth transition to April 1. The next month, several lawmakers, including the health committee chairs of the Assembly and Senate, questioned the states timeframe, noting low numbers of registrations. A week before April 1 arrived, State Department of Health Commissioner James McDonald announced that the DOH would allow patients an extra 30-day window to register. The department allowed workers to be retroactively paid for work performed in April, but insisted it was neither a delay nor an extension. And they said those caregivers would not be allowed to be paid by their former fiscal intermediaries. On March 27, six CDPAP patients, as well as the Brooklyn Center for the Disabled and the Regional Center for Independent Living, sued McDonald in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York. The patients included four women between the ages of 36 and 54, a 12-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy. They lived in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County. They required care ranging between 20 hours a week to around the clock. Personal assistants are low-wage workers who literally cannot afford to go without pay, stated the lawsuit. As a result, many assistants will be forced to seek other employment, in turn, forcing consumers out of their homes and into hospitals or institutions to avoid serious and often life-threatening harm. Court exhibits included a sworn statement from Lillian Chotkowski, the mother of a 23-year-old Erie County man in the CDPAP program. She said both of her sons assistants experienced issues registering with PPL, even after one of them thought she was set up. My son needs 40 hours of CDPAP care per week, the mother said. It will be a major hardship for our family if his personal assistants are not paid, because we rely on that care for my sons needs. His personal assistants will not be able to continue coming to work if they are not paid. WNY senators ask feds to review state plan to alter a Medicaid program Sens. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo and Patrick Gallivan, R-Elma, signed their names to an Aug. 20 letter, which questioned the changes to the state's Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program or CDPAP. The NAACP New York State Conference, Center for Disability Rights and National Employment Law Project all sent letters to Block in support of the plaintiffs, as did Sen. Leroy Comrie, D-Queens, whose letter was signed by several legislators, including Sens. Gustavo Rivera, D-Bronx, who chairs the Senate Health Committee, and Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee. Another letter later came from the U.S. Department of Justices Consumer Protection Branch, part of the Trump administration. The United States has a significant interest in ensuring fair treatment and continued, uninterrupted, and critical care for the thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers in the CDPAP program affected by this transition, it stated. The United States will monitor this litigation to ensure that this interest is served by the CDPAP program. In a sworn court declaration, PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Perrin said that since PPL won the bid to be the sole fiscal intermediary last fall, outgoing fiscal intermediaries had engaged in a relentless campaign to sabotage the transition to the statewide FI. Hochul administration aides have frequently said that the transition to PPL was under siege by a fierce lobbying effort. Earlier this month, the states Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government disclosed that the Alliance to Protect Home Care spent nearly $10.6 million on lobbying expenses in 2024, the second-highest amount statewide (at the top was 1199SEIUs Labor Management Initiatives, Healthcare Education Project). Aitech A230 Vortex Supercomputer Named Winner in Innovative 'AI Products Defense' Category CHATSWORTH, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aitech, a leading provider of rugged embedded systems for use in military, aerospace and space platforms, today announced it has been named a winner in the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards, presented by the Business Intelligence Group. Designed to meet growing demands for higher computational power, enhanced efficiency and increased flexibility, the award-winning A230 Vortex rugged AI supercomputer has been recognized in the "Innovative AI Products Defense" category. It is the most advanced embedded computer for AI, deep learning and video and signal processing in distributed systems that need to reliably operate in remote, harsh conditions. "The A230 Vortex represents a leap forward in rugged AI supercomputing, delivering enhanced performance and adaptability for next-generation edge and AI-driven systems," said Dan Mor, director of customer solutions, Aitech. "This recognition from the Business Intelligence Group is a testament to Aitech's 40 years of expertise in building electronics designed to meet evolving customer requirements, ensuring future-proof performance and value." "The AI industry is evolving rapidly, and it is through the efforts of companies like Aitech that we see real-world applications driving change," said Russ Fordyce, CEO of the Business Intelligence Group. "Aitech responds to demanding market trends and sets new standards in rugged AI supercomputing solutions. Their work exemplifies the kind of innovation and leadership that is shaping the future of artificial intelligence." Powered by NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin, the compact, energy-efficient and powerful A230 Vortex increases rugged AI processing in military applications and is the most advanced embedded computer for AI-driven autonomy, deep learning, surveillance and electronic warfare. The A230 leverages NVIDIA AGX Orin's Ampere GPU architecture, delivering up to 248 TOPS, nearly tripling the performance. It offers unmatched capabilities for AI workloads, deep learning and real-time processing. The A230 has revolutionized AI processing in edge applications, enabling unmatched performance and efficiency for autonomous vehicles, UAVs, defense systems and next-generation deep learning deployments worldwide. For more information about Aitech and its award-winning AI solutions, visit www.aitechsystems.com. For more details on the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards and a complete list of winners and finalists, visit https://www.bintelligence.com/awards/artificial-intelligence-excellence-awards 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 Aitech Leveraging four decades of experience providing reliable, rugged embedded solutions for use in military, aerospace, and space platforms, Aitech is the world's first independent, open systems architecture, COTS/MOTS innovator offering customized boards as building blocks for integrated computing and networking subsystems. Offering customization services for rugged and severe environment military, aerospace, and space applications, Aitech delivers mission-optimized and proven system solutions across Sea, Land, Air, and Space domains. Aitech solutions are used by industry leaders like Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Rafael, and Virgin Galactic. Aitech is supporting a better tomorrow with highly reliable, cost-effective, and proven rugged embedded solutions designed to meet your mission and platform requirements. For more information, please visit www.aitechsystems.com. SOURCE Aitech NEWPORT NEWS, Va., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BayPort Credit Union is pleased to announce that Jonathan Harrell has been appointed Chief Information Officer. In this role, Harrell will oversee BayPort's IT strategy, ensuring its technology infrastructure supports the credit union's goals and drives innovation. "We are thrilled to welcome Jonathan to our team. His passion for technology and his innovative approach to problem solving and efficiency make him the perfect fit to lead us into BayPort's next chapter of growth and success," said Jim Mears, President/Chief Executive Officer. Harrell's appointment to Chief Information Officer follows the recent retirement of Denise McRoberts, after 16 years of distinguished service and faithful dedication to BayPort. Harrell has more than 30 years of IT experience with specific expertise in operations, project management, software development, security management, call centers, disaster recovery, infrastructure design, and virtualization. Prior to joining BayPort, Harrell most recently served as Vice President of IT with Langley Federal Credit Union. Prior to this role, he spent a distinguished 23 years with Regent University serving in various roles including Chief Information Officer, Associate Vice President of IT; Director of Network Engineering and Media Services; and Manager of Networking Engineering. Harrell holds a Master of Business Administration from Regent University and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Old Dominion University. In his free time, Harrell serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Volunteer Hampton Roads and is a member of 757CIO. About BayPort In 1928, 12 shipyard workers from Newport News Shipbuilding formed an organization with a specific purpose as a low-interest source of loans and a trusted place to deposit money. Today, BayPort Credit Union is rated a Superior 5-Star Credit Union by Bauer Financial, managing $2.6 billion in assets and servicing over 154,000 individuals and businesses with 29 branch locations across the Virginia Peninsula and Southside communities. SOURCE BayPort Credit Union NEW YORK, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Bakkt Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BKKT) between March 25, 2024 and March 17, 2025, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important June 2, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline. So what: If you purchased Bakkt securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. What to do next: To join the Bakkt class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=5546 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 2, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Details of the case: According to the lawsuit, during the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) misrepresented the stability and/or diversity of its crypto services revenue; (2) failed to disclose Bakkt's Crypto services revenue was substantially dependent on a single contract with Webull; (3) misrepresented its ability to maintain key client relationships; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about Bakkt's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Bakkt class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=5546 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 [email protected] www.rosenlegal.com SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A. The Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service are among the top honors for customer service OAKLAND, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service honors Blue Shield of California with the Bronze Award for Customer Service Employer of the Year. The 800-person Customer Experience team at Blue Shield of California fields 4.5 million calls every year, providing personalized and informed support for members during critical moments in their lives. As a member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Blue Shield of California shares best practices across customer service measures with peers nationwide. Blue Shield of California Receives Stevie Bronze Award for Customer Service Employer of the Year "At Blue Shield of California, our members are at the center of all we do," said Millie Virgil, senior vice president, Transformation and Customer Experience. "This recognition reaffirms the passion and skill of our customer service team. They are often the face and voice of our company, and their commitment is unmatched, meeting our members' needs with helpful and empathetic service." The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world's top honors for customer service, contact center, business development and sales professionals. The Stevie Awards organizes nine of the world's leading business awards programs, also including the prestigious American Business Awards and International Business Awards. "We are proud to see Blue Shield of California honored in this way. As a nonprofit health plan that strives to create a healthcare system that is worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable, our customer service team is truly helping us bring our mission to life," Virgil said. About Blue Shield of California Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. The health plan is a taxpaying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with nearly 6 million members, over 7,500 employees and more than $25 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $60 million to the Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last three years to have an impact on California communities. For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook. CONTACT: Mark Seelig Blue Shield of California 510-607-2359 [email protected] SOURCE Blue Shield of California Lucas Bols Unveils Super Premium Blue Curacao, Combining Rich History with Modern Innovation for a New Era of Cocktail Creativity NEW YORK, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucas Bols , the world's oldest distilled spirits brand still in operation, proudly unveils Bols Blue 1575 a bold, super-premium Blue Curacao created to celebrate 450 years of cocktail innovation. This vibrant new release reimagines a timeless classic with a contemporary edge, designed to elevate modern mixology and honor the brand's unparalleled legacy. Bols Blue 1575 In celebration of 450 years of distilling excellence, Lucas Bolsthe globally renowned spirits producer and one of the oldest Dutch companies dedicated to crafting premium cocktail experiencesis proud to launch Bols Blue 1575. More than just eye-catchingit's a modern mixology tool for elevated flavor-forward, visually striking cocktails. A bold expression of the artistry and innovation that have defined Bols for centuries, this liqueur pushes the boundaries of flavor while paying homage to its storied legacy. "Bols Blue 1575 is a tribute to the original Blue Curacao Liqueur and a celebration of our 450 years of distilling expertise," said Monique ten Kortenaar, Master Distiller & Distillery Manager at The Lucas Bols Distillery in Amsterdam. "With this release, we honor our heritage while pushing the possibilities of modern mixology forward." Crafted with Heritage: Ingredients & Tasting Notes Crafted using a century-old recipe, Bols Blue 1575 is made with the finest ingredients, including distilled orange peels and a botanical spiced rum base. A unique blend of island-inspired botanicals, including vanilla, grains of paradise, and cardamom, adds tropical spice and complexity to the rich, full-bodied flavor profile. The result is a bold and vibrant liqueur, ideal for mixologists seeking to explore new horizons in flavor. "Blue cocktails are backand they're bolder, brighter, and more sophisticated than ever," says Ivar de Langue, Global Education Manager and Master Bartender at Lucas Bols. "With Bols Blue 1575, we've involved bartenders in the process and created a unique expression that gives today's bartenders the tools to reinvent classic blue cocktails with a modern super premium flavor. We're excited to see how mixologists around the world will experiment, elevate, and surprise with vibrant cocktails that don't just look incrediblethey taste extraordinary too." Blue Curacao, known for its vibrant blue color and bright citrus flavor, is a beloved staple in tropical cocktails. Originating from the Caribbean Island of Curacao, Blue Curacao is traditionally made from the dried peels of the Laraha fruit, a bitter citrus native to the region. These peels are steeped in alcohol to extract their signature citrus aroma and flavor, complemented by a blend of herbs and spices. The result is a refreshing, layered taste experience. Bottled at 29.5% ABV, Bols Blue 1575 is presented in a beautifully designed 700ml bottle inspired by the vibrant island origins of Blue Curacao. Priced at $35, this unique release will be available on shelves at select retailers, and on cocktail menus at bars, restaurants, and hotels across the United States beginning Spring 2025. For more information about Bols Blue 1575, visit: https://bols.com/products/bols-blue-1575 About The Lucas Bols Company Lucas Bols is a global spirits company and one of the oldest active Dutch businesses, with a mission to create exceptional cocktail experiences worldwide. Present in over 110 countries, the company's portfolio includes three global cocktail brands and more than 20 regional and international liqueurs and spirits. Bolsthe world's first cocktail brandfeatures the #1 global liqueur range (excluding the USA), as well as Passoa (the leading passion fruit liqueur), Galliano, and ultra-premium Partida Tequila. Lucas Bols is also the global leader in genever and showcases its expertise through the Bols Cocktail Experience and the Bols Cocktail Academy. With nearly 450 years of innovation rooted in Amsterdam, Lucas Bols continues to inspire bartenders and cocktail lovers around the world as true Masters of Taste. SOURCE Lucas Bols CLAYMONT, Del., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vital, an AI-powered patient experience company, proudly announces the appointment of Bridget Duffy, MD, to its board of directors. A pioneer in the movement to humanize healthcare, Dr. Duffy brings decades of clinical, operational, and executive leadership experience focused on improving the care experience for patients, families, and healthcare workers. To download a headshot, click here. Empowered by professional experiences and personal stories, Dr. Duffy inspires industry leaders to reimagine the future of healthcare with digital and AI solutions. Dr. Duffy, widely regarded as the nation's first chief experience officer (CXO) in healthcare, is internationally recognized for her transformative work in experience innovation. As the former CXO of the Cleveland Clinic, she helped define a new era in healthcare where empathy, trust, and connection are as critical to quality outcomes as clinical excellence. She later co-founded ExperiaHealth, a company devoted to restoring humanity to healthcare, which was acquired by Vocera Communications, where she served as chief medical officer until its acquisition by Stryker in 2022. "Dr. Duffy's deep commitment to human-centered design and her visionary leadership will be a tremendous asset to our company," said Aaron Patzer, CEO and founder of Vital.io. "Her expertise in clinician engagement, patient experience, and system transformation aligns perfectly with our mission to simplify hospital workflows and reduce burnout while improving patient outcomes. We're honored to welcome her to the Vital team." Vital leverages smart, intuitive technology to deliver real-time updates, education, and actionable next steps directly to patients and their families during hospital visitswithout requiring them to download an app or create a login. Used by leading health systems across the United States, Vital's platform is proven to enhance operational efficiency, reduce emergency department length-of-stay, and dramatically improve patient satisfaction scores. "Healthcare is at a critical inflection point, and we need technology partners who lead with empathy and innovation," said Dr. Duffy. "Vital is uniquely positioned to reimagine how hospitals communicate with patients, reduce cognitive overload for clinicians, and build trust through transparency and personalized care experiences. I'm excited to support this extraordinary team as they shape the future of digital health." Dr. Duffy also co-founded the CEO Coalition, a national movement advocating for healthcare workforce well-being and safety. Throughout her career, she has received numerous accolades, including being named one of the "Top 50 in Digital Health" by Rock Health in 2014 and recognized as one of the "Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business" by the San Francisco Business Times in 2015. With Dr. Duffy's addition to the board, Vital strengthens its commitment to building healthcare technology that is not only intelligent but also deeply human. Vital also announced two executive promotions. Nicholas Sterling, MD, PhD, former director of clinical innovation and research, has been promoted to chief medical informatics officer (CMIO) and Michael Rogozinski, former director of clinical quality and innovation, is now chief nursing officer (CNO). About Vital Vital (Vital.io) is an AI-powered patient experience company on a mission to make the patient journey betterfor everyone. Real-time updates, predictive wait times, plain-language explanations of test results, and simplified discharge instructions all help patients feel valued and reassured. Because, the experience matters as much as the medicine. Ranked by KLAS as #1 in patient experience, Vital achieves concrete results: 3050% fewer LWOBS/AMA, 1015% higher NPS, stronger HCAHPS scores, reduced ED returns, and 57% lower 30-day readmissions. Designed to integrate seamlessly with existing EHR systems, Vital provides a user-friendly interface that engages patients, resulting in 60%+ adoption rates, 5-10x higher than the competition. View our product overview. Media Contact: Marcia Rhodes Amendola Communications for Vital [email protected] SOURCE Vital PLYMOUTH, Wis., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Carbliss , the pioneering ready-to-drink cocktail company that has revolutionized the ready-to-drink (RTD) category, has been awarded the prestigious Wine & Spirits Hot Brand Award for 2024. The recognition comes as the company projects sales of 108 million cans this year, marking an extraordinary journey from its modest beginnings of 52,000 cans in 2019. This achievement reflects the company's explosive growth trajectory and its emergence as a dominant force in the premium beverage market. The prestigious recognition comes as Carbliss demonstrates unprecedented market performance, shattering the Wine & Spirits Hot Brand Award's stringent criteria for double-digit growth over three consecutive years. The company's meteoric rise has resulted in a staggering 27,000 percent growth rate over three years, cementing its position as the #5 canned RTD brand in total US Food retail scans in the past 13 weeks. This remarkable achievement is further underscored by an impressive 137% growth rate in the past 52 weeks in retail scan data. "When we first tried seltzers they had a good nutrition panel, but not much flavor," recalls Adam Kroener, CEO and Co-founder of Carbliss. "Over the next few months, as we began making vodka lemonades that didn't have carbs or sugar, we discovered that consumers drinking a lot of these seltzers didn't enjoy the taste either and drank them to avoid feeling guilty about the nutritional aspects of conventional drinks. That's when we realized there could really be a market for this." In Wisconsin alone, Carbliss has achieved unprecedented market dominance, generating over $13 million + in retail sales and outperforming the national leader who sold $7.8 million in retail sales in WI in the last year. This remarkable success extends across both on- and off-premise channels, with the brand consistently adding between 1,000 to 1,500 new accounts monthly. The company's methodical expansion has resulted in strong market penetration across 15 states, with particularly notable performance in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota & South Dakota where Carbliss ranks as the number one RTD brand. Carbliss has revolutionized the RTD category with a distinctive dual-line approach to premium beverages. "We have two product lines, flavors and cocktails," explains Kroener. "The cocktails include Moscow mule, mojitos, palomas, and margaritas." Each offering maintains the brand's commitment to zero carbohydrates, zero sugar, and only 100 calories, while delivering full flavored experiences at 5% ABV. The company's dedication to natural flavors and singular flavor profiles ensures broad consumer appeal while maintaining the sophisticated taste profile of a hand crafted cocktail. The company's remarkable success stems from a distinctive market approach. "We have a backyard to backyard strategy," Kroener explains. "While many businesses launch in the beverage space wide and shallow, we do the opposite. We roll out in a narrow and deep way, becoming ingrained in local communities through local representatives and maximum engagement. This strategy has proven so effective that in states where we operate, we've outperformed even the largest RTD as well as largest spirits brands in America in dollar sales." Looking ahead to 2025, Carbliss plans to strategically expand into a few additional states, maintaining its proven methodical market by market rollout approach. This calculated expansion comes at a time when the company's existing markets continue to show remarkable growth potential, with current distribution reaching only 20% of the U.S. population. The company's robust financial health, supported by a strategic financial partnership with Bank of America, positions Carbliss for sustainable expansion without compromising its successful business model. Founded in 2019 by Adam and Amanda Kroener, Carbliss has transformed from a home-kitchen experiment into America's fastest-growing food and beverage company. The Plymouth, Wisconsin-based company, recognized as #1 on Inc.'s 2024 list of 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the food and beverage category, exemplifies the region's rich tradition of successful consumer brands. As a veteran and woman-owned business, Carbliss has grown from selling 52,000 cans in its first year to a projected 108 million cans in 2025, all while maintaining its commitment to quality and innovation. "Carbliss is a bartender's hand-crafted cocktail in a can, with all the benefits of what people liked in a seltzer," reflects Kroener. "Our success in markets like Wisconsin, where we've achieved over $13 million in retail sales, demonstrates that consumers are ready for premium, full flavored experiences without compromise. As we look toward expanding our footprint, we remain committed to our founding principles of quality, innovation, and deep community engagement." About Carbliss Carbliss is America's fastest growing food and beverage company, producing premium ready to drink cocktails that combine full flavor with zero carbs and zero sugar. Founded in 2019 by Adam and Amanda Kroener in Plymouth, Wisconsin, the company has grown from a home-kitchen experiment to a national brand available in 15 states. Under the leadership of CEO Adam Kroener, an award-winning 9 figure CEO and U.S. Army veteran, Carbliss continues to revolutionize the RTD category through innovation and community-focused growth. For more information, visit drinkcarbliss.com . SOURCE Carbliss Premium Hand Crafted Cocktails KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from Xinhuanet: Representatives of major media and think tanks from China and the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in the Malaysian capital here on Friday for the China-ASEAN Media and Think Tank Forum to discuss and promote common development. Under the theme "Strengthening ASEAN-China Cooperation," participants called for joint efforts to tell the success stories of cooperation between China and ASEAN. In his opening speech, Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof reaffirmed his country's unwavering commitment to "a cohesive ASEAN-China partnership that will contribute to regional stability and global economic resilience." He spoke highly of the forum as an invaluable platform for the exchange of ideas among the media and think tanks, noting their pivotal role in bridging perspectives, informing policy and promoting regional harmony in this complex era. "Good neighbors wish each other well," Lyu Yansong, editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency, quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping as saying in his keynote remarks. It is the shared aspiration of the people of China and ASEAN countries to work together as partners and move forward together, he said. "China and ASEAN countries are vital forces in the Global South. China-ASEAN relations have, in recent years, transcended the bilateral sphere, gaining profound significance in Asia and exerting a global impact," said Lyu. He added that media and think tanks must amplify the call for jointly building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home and generate new momentum for building an even closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. In his video remarks, Ouyang Yujing, Chinese ambassador to Malaysia, said President Xi's vision of building a community with a shared future for humankind offers a Chinese solution to addressing global challenges and creating a better future for humanity. "I hope our friends from the media and think tanks will actively share the stories of China-Malaysia and China-ASEAN cooperation, and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," he said. Wong Chun Wai, chairman of Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), said strengthening civilizational exchanges between ASEAN and China, which share a vibrant cultural landscape, would help set an example for unity and cooperation among Global South countries, and strengthen the connection and mutual respect among them. Wong also called for greater media and think tank cooperation between ASEAN and China in areas such as the use of artificial intelligence in mass media practices. During the forum, participants called on the media and think tanks of China and ASEAN to strengthen coordination, embrace the technological revolution, seize new opportunities and address emerging challenges in jointly striving for shared prosperity and development. Co-hosted by China's Xinhua News Agency and Bernama, the forum brought together approximately 260 representatives from more than 160 media outlets, think tanks, government agencies and enterprises across ASEAN countries and China. The Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, presented a report titled "RCEP and the Vision of the Maritime Silk Road: New Frontiers for China-ASEAN Cooperation" at the forum. SOURCE Xinhuanet September 2025 is only 5 months away. OTTAWA, ON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - On April 23, Claigan will host a webinar to discuss the fine details for the mandatory September reporting to the Canada Plastics Registry. How do you tell linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) from low density polyethylene - since both use the #4 triangle symbol but are reported separately in the plastics registry? What about common cross linked polyethylene (XPLE) wiring which is something different and is reported separately? And, there is no category for polycarbonate, so how do you report it? Starting September 29, 2025, importers and manufacturers will need to report the plastics used in their products imported, manufactured, and/or sold in Canada during 2024. Phase 1 includes all product packaging, plus plastics in consumer electronics. Claigan's webinar will break down these details with a touch of humour, offering clear, practical, technical details regarding the plastics registry. Key topics will include: Scope of Phase 1 What are the different plastics categories? Practical examples of different plastics Listing of what technical data is needed Listing of what sales data is needed How to handle poor or missing supplier data How to merge technical and sales data together Note - due to the expected demand, there will be two (2) webinars scheduled on April 23. Webinars - The Fine Details of the Canadian Federal Plastics Registry Date: 23 April 2025 Time: 10am and 2pm Duration: 1 hour including Q&A To Register: 10am - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Knabi42-Rym0xa9XCEqcnA 2pm - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J2iCSbCgQza5j67JXbah3w or on Claigan's Website at www.claigan.com/webinars About Claigan Environmental (www.claigan.com) Claigan is the leading provider in restricted materials compliance (consulting and testing). Claigan has tested thousands of products for PFAS, Section 71, REACH, POP, TSCA, Prop 65, and related global compliance. Claigan is an ISO 17025 certified laboratory, expert consultancy, and is dedicated to providing practical solutions for supply chain due diligence and social responsibility. At Claigan, our philosophy is simple: More Results, Less Journey. SOURCE Claigan Environmental Inc. LOS ANGELES, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog sued the California Department of Insurance and Commissioner Ricardo Lara to protect California homeowners from hundreds of millions in surcharges that could soon appear on their insurance bills. The surcharges result from a decision reached by the Commissioner last summer to allow the insurance companies that comprise and operate the California FAIR Plan, the state's "insurer of last resort," to pass-through costs to their policyholders when the FAIR Plan is forced to "assess" those companies for funds after a catastrophe. Because of that decision, homeowners across California are currently on the hook to pay up to $500 million worth of the $1 billion FAIR Plan assessment approved on February 11, 2025 after the Palisades and Eaton Canyon wildfires. There is no upward limit on the amounts that can be passed-through to homeowners in the future, and the next wildfires could see homeowners responsible for billions more in assessment costs. Consumer Watchdog's Petition for a Writ of Mandate asks the court to order the Commissioner to not approve any pass-throughs. Download Consumer Watchdog's Petition/Complaint here. "The Commissioner's decision to allow pass-throughs is unjustified on multiple levels" said Consumer Watchdog staff attorney Ryan Mellino. "Homeowners and renters across the state will be charged more and the FAIR Plan won't be depopulated. The real beneficiaries of this decision are the insurance companies that make up the FAIR Plan. We look forward to defending the rights and pocketbooks of Californians and stopping this socialization of FAIR Plan losses at the public's expense, while the FAIR Plan's profits will wholly remain with the insurance companies." Consumer Watchdog is challenging the pass-throughs on multiple grounds. The Petition alleges the Commissioner's decision to allow insurance companies to shift potentially billions of dollars in costs to homeowners was reached without any public input or participation, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. According to the Petition, rather than taking the time to weigh public comment on the merits of the proposal, the pass-throughs were announced as a done deal without prior notice and implemented through informal "bulletins" posted on the Department's website despite the potentially enormous economic impact. Additionally, the Petition alleges that the pass-throughs directly violate the FAIR Plan statutes, which contain no authorization for pass-throughs and require insurance companies to proportionally share in both the profits and losses of the FAIR Plan, and that the Commissioner lacks any discretion to permit insurance companies to shift assessment costs onto homeowners. "It is palpably unfair to allow companies that for decades have privately enjoyed the profits of the FAIR Plan to now foist its losses onto their policyholders," commented Mr. Mellino. As stated in the Petition: "In violation of the Insurance Code, Respondent [Lara] has claimed the power to shift the potentially unlimited financial burdens of FAIR Plan assessments from insurers to their policyholders through administrative fiat what Respondent misleadingly characterizes as 'democratizing [the] rates.' But it is not 'democratizing the rates' to make policyholders pay for insurers' participation in the FAIR Plan while ignoring that policyholders did not participate in the decades of profits that insurers enjoyed from the FAIR Plan (and have no right to any future profits). For insurers, that is 'heads, you win, tails, policyholders lose.'" While the Commissioner has often stated his desire to keep homeowners off the FAIR Plan, the Petition claims that allowing pass-throughs neither addresses the underlying causes of the FAIR Plan's rapid expansion nor encourages insurance companies to stop their non-renewal programs. If anything, relieving insurance companies of some or all of their potential financial burdens will further incentivize the FAIR Plan's continued growth. "We recognize that the FAIR Plan has dramatically grown in recent years and agree with the Commissioner that something must be done to address the situation," stated Mr. Mellino. "But the answer is not a unilateral bailout of hundreds of millions and in the future, potentially billions of dollars for insurance companies at the expense of their policyholders. California homeowners have suffered enough, and unlawful pass-throughs are just another insult on top of the significant injuries they've already faced." The Petition was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The case number is 25STCP01367. SOURCE Consumer Watchdog NORTHVILLE, Mich., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CPS) expects to release its financial results for the first quarter 2025 on Thursday, May 1 after market close. The Company's earnings results will be posted to the Cooper Standard website (https://ir.cooperstandard.com/) once released. Cooper Standard will host a conference call on Friday, May 2 at 9 a.m. ET. The Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Edwards and Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Banas will discuss the financial results, provide a general business update and respond to investor questions. Investors and other interested parties may listen to the call by accessing the online, real-time webcast at https://ir.cooperstandard.com/events. To participate by phone, callers in the United States and Canada can dial toll-free at 800-836-8184 (international callers dial 646-357-8785) and ask to be connected to the Cooper Standard conference call. Representatives of the investment community will have the opportunity to ask questions during Q&A. Participants should dial-in at least five minutes prior to the start of the call. A replay of the webcast will be available on the investors' portion of the Cooper Standard website (https://ir.cooperstandard.com/) shortly after the live event. About Cooper Standard Cooper Standard, headquartered in Northville, Mich., with locations in 20 countries, is a leading global supplier of sealing and fluid handling systems and components. Utilizing our materials science and manufacturing expertise, we create innovative and sustainable engineered solutions for diverse transportation and industrial markets. Cooper Standard's team of more than 22,000 team members (including contingent workers) are at the heart of our success, continuously improving our business and surrounding communities. Learn more at www.cooperstandard.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. Contact for Analysts: Contact for Media: Roger Hendriksen Chris Andrews Cooper Standard Cooper Standard (248) 596-6465 (248) 596-6217 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE Cooper Standard JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ Currency.com , a global provider of digital financial services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Konstantin Anissimov as its new CEO, marking a pivotal step in the company's growth strategy. This leadership change follows a recent acquisition of Currency.com. Currency.com offers an all-in-one solution for trading, secure storage, and a digital-first investment experience. It is a one-stop shop for premium financial services, delivering secure digital asset custody and advanced payment solutions. Mr Anissimov brings over 20 years of leadership experience in technology and finance, with a track record of driving business expansion, institutional partnerships, and product development in global fintech and crypto markets. He previously held executive roles at a top-tier crypto exchange with over 15 million users and 30+ regulatory licenses worldwide, as well as a board position at a traditional financial institution, where he led digital transformation initiatives. Konstantin Anissimov graduated from the Executive MBA program at the University of Cambridge. Mr Anissimov made a notable progression from hands-on engineer to CTO at an LSE AIM-listed company, followed by 5 years of C-suite and board-level experience in digital assets and fintech. He has a strong technical background in blockchain along with a deep expertise in leading business expansions to markets worldwide, including the UK and EU, USA, Australia, South Africa, China, South East Asia, and others. With Konstantin's appointment as CEO at Currency.com, the company is poised to expand its suite of services, enhance technological capabilities, and contribute to the expansion of the digital asset industry. This transition brings an updated management team comprising seasoned professionals with extensive experience in blockchain, fintech, and financial services. The new leadership is committed to reinforcing Currency.com's regulatory framework and enhancing service offerings to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients. Currency.com is ready to become a strong market leader in the USA, EU and the Middle East. "I am honored to join Currency.com at such a transitional period," said Konstantin Anissimov, CEO of Currency.com. "I'm passionate about driving the growth of Currency.com and advocating for the adoption of digital assets. With the commitment to making the company a leading force in the industry, the team and I look forward to shaping a stronger and more innovative future for digital finance together." SOURCE Currency.com ORLANDO, Fla., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Demetree Global is pleased to announce the acquisition of a 44,478-square-foot office building located at 4798 New Broad Street in the heart of Orlando's Baldwin Park neighborhood. The property was purchased for $11.3 million from Owens Realty Services on April 4, 2025. This acquisition marks Demetree Global's first fully owned building in Baldwin Park, a neighborhood known for its walkability, well-established retail and office community, and central location near both Winter Park and downtown Orlando. The purchase reflects the company's ongoing commitment to investing in high-quality assets in prime Central Florida locations. Baldwin Park office building at 4798 New Broad Street, a newly acquired asset in Demetree Globals growing Central Florida portfolio. "The extraordinary can be found in the ordinary, close to home," said Mary Demetree, Chairwoman of the Board. "Recognized as one of Orlando's premier thoughtfully planned communities, Baldwin Park features a distinctive infrastructure and road network that accommodates a diverse array of residents," said Seth Heller, Managing Director of Demetree Global. "Demetree is honored to play a role in shaping its continued growth. This office enhances our presence within the region and strategically aligns with our commitment to building value through real estate investments." The Baldwin Park office building is home to a diverse tenant mix with high occupancy. Notably, Planet Fitness occupies 8,125 square feet, while Stantec Consulting holds 11,552 square feet within the property. The building's stable tenancy and desirable location made it an ideal fit for Demetree Global's growing Central Florida portfolio. The acquisition supports Demetree Global's broader strategy of targeting high-growth markets and assets that combine strong fundamentals with long-term community impact. As the company continues to expand its footprint across Central Florida, its focus remains on acquiring properties that align with its investment vision prioritizing quality, stability, and the opportunity to strengthen the surrounding community. "This acquisition underscores Demetree Global's commitment to investing in high-quality, well-located assets that serve as catalysts for long-term growth," said Corey Dean, Director of Development & Acquisitions. "This property presented a unique opportunity due to its prime location, strong tenant mix, and the overall vitality of the Baldwin Park neighborhood. We saw both stability and upside in this asset, which aligns perfectly with our investment approach." Press Contact: Jessica Santoli Marketing and Communications Director Demetree Global Direct: (407) 422-8191 [email protected] SOURCE Demetree Global Dr. Rod J. Rohrich delivered a keynote address and delivered multiple expert lectures, and performs live surgery at the Emirates Rhinology and Otology Conference in Dubai, UAE. DUBAI, UAE, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Renowned Dallas plastic surgeon and internationally respected rhinoplasty expert, Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, participated as a keynote speaker and surgical faculty member at the Emirates Rhinology and Otology Conference held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The event brought together leading global experts in rhinology and facial plastic surgery to share the latest innovations and best practices in nasal and otologic procedures. Dr. Rohrich at a recent speaking event Dr. Rohrich, widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities in rhinoplasty, delivered a keynote lecture titled, "Developing Excellence and Consistency in Rhinoplasty." In his address, he emphasized the need for precision, long-term predictability, and a systematic approach to nasal surgery that balances functional restoration with aesthetic harmony. "Rhinoplasty is the most complex operation in all of aesthetic plastic surgery," Dr. Rohrich explained. "It requires not only a deep anatomical understanding but also years of dedicated practice to achieve safe, predictable, and natural-looking results." In addition to the keynote, Dr. Rohrich gave several specialized talks focused on the technical aspects and decision-making processes that define expert-level rhinoplasty. These included: "The Role of Septal Extension Graft in Tip Shaping" "The Role of Preservation Rhinoplasty" "Component Dorsum Shaping Finesse" "Preventing the Failed Rhinoplasty" Through these presentations, Dr. Rohrich underscored the importance of customizing the surgical plan to each patient's anatomy and goals, while incorporating both structural and preservation-based techniques to optimize long-term outcomes. "Preservation rhinoplasty has added a new dimension to how we approach the nasal dorsum," Dr. Rohrich noted. "When applied appropriately, it can minimize trauma, improve outcomes, and shorten recovery time. But like any technique, it must be selected judiciously and executed precisely." A key highlight of Dr. Rohrich's participation was the demonstration of a live rhinoplasty surgery on a male patient in front of conference attendees. The case served as a practicum of Dr. Rohrich's precision, structural technique, and surgical finesse all elements central to achieving safe and consistent rhinoplasty outcomes. Attendees were given a rare opportunity to observe in real time how these principles translate from planning to execution in the operating room by a renowned global expert in rhinoplasty. Dr. Rohrich also led a guided anatomy lab session titled "Step-by-Step Rhinoplasty and Septoplasty." During this demonstration, he performed a rhinoplasty procedure on a cadaver, providing attendees with real-time insights into anatomical dissection, surgical planning, graft placement, and finesse maneuvers that distinguish expert-level surgery. Dr. Rohrich's commitment to education and patient safety has earned him numerous accolades, including being named the top rhinoplasty surgeon in the United States by Newsweek for four consecutive years. He is also Chair of the Dallas Rhinoplasty Meeting, one of the world's most recognized symposia dedicated to the advancement of rhinoplasty education. "Events like this are essential," said Dr. Rohrich. "They allow surgeons to learn from one another, refine their techniques, and continue the pursuit of excellence. That's how we improve outcomes for our patients." About Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., F.A.C.S. Dr. Rod J. Rohrich is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Dallas, Texas, and a Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. He served as a Distinguished Teaching Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He trained at Baylor, the University of Michigan, Harvard/Mass General, and Oxford. A leader in the field, Dr. Rohrich chairs the Dallas Rhinoplasty Meeting, founded the Dallas Cosmetic Surgery Meeting, and is a founding partner of the Dallas Plastic Surgery Institute. He has been named Newsweek's top U.S. plastic surgeon in rhinoplasty and facelift surgery four years straight. He is the emeritus Editor-in-Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal, has published 1,000+ peer-reviewed articles and authored eight textbooks. He is a past president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (largest global society of plastic surgeons) and has received multiple Plastic Surgery Foundation Distinguished Service Awards for his contributions to education and research. SOURCE Dr. Rod J. Rohrich Five external experts with a wide range of experience and expertise named as initial members of the added resource for the Group's continued growth BLAINVILLE, QC, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group (DPG), winner of the 2024 Life Sciences Innovation Award from ADRIQ, is pleased to announce the creation of an Advisory Board of experts to strengthen the Group's local presence and to support its global growth and international expansion. The Advisory Board will provide privately-held DPG with the type of expertise and guidance publicly owned companies receive from their external board of directors. However, unlike a board of directors, the Advisory Board has no legal power or responsibility for fiscal oversight. DPG Advisory Board and DPG President (CNW Group/Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group (DPG)) The Advisory Board, which recently held its first meeting, will be kept informed about DPG activities and performance so it can advise about the Group's continued growth and strategic direction. "The creation of our new Advisory Board is an important step in the development and growth of DPG. It reflects our commitment to collaboration and excellence, ensuring we remain at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation with informed, strategic decision-making that drive our global growth and diversification," said Eric Gervais, President of DPG. "The best leaders have been brought together to maintain the company's sound governance and help us get through the current tumultuous environment. We are very pleased to be able to learn from the broad and diverse experience of the Advisory Board members and benefit from their guidance." The Advisory Board has four members who were chosen by DPG from among many possible candidates. They are: Fran c ois Lecavalier: Business leader and consultant in cleantech and infrastructure, who will serve as the first Chairman of the Advisory Board. Mr. Lecavalier worked with the Canadian Department of Finance and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He has also served as Senior Vice President at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and as Head, Project Development at the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB). Business leader and consultant in cleantech and infrastructure, who will serve as the first Chairman of the Advisory Board. Mr. Lecavalier worked with the Canadian Department of Finance and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He has also served as Senior Vice President at the Business Development Bank of (BDC) and as Head, Project Development at the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB). Ela Borenstein : Vice President Venture Capital Incentivized Programs, Business Development Bank of Canada , and Kauffman Fellow. In addition to financial programs designed to develop the Venture Capital industry in Canada , Ms. Borenstein designed and teaches a course at McGill University for future healthcare start-up entrepreneurs. Vice President Venture Capital Incentivized Programs, Business Development Bank of , and Kauffman Fellow. In addition to financial programs designed to develop the Venture Capital industry in , Ms. Borenstein designed and teaches a course at for future healthcare start-up entrepreneurs. Bertrand Bolduc : Chairman & Partner, Galenova - Gentes & Bolduc pharmacists; President & CEO, PharmaLube Technologies Inc. Mr. Bolduc served as President of the Ordre des Pharmaciens du Quebec for 9 years. He is a member of many boards and committees in the life science and healthcare sectors. Chairman & Partner, Galenova - Gentes & Bolduc pharmacists; President & CEO, PharmaLube Technologies Inc. Mr. Bolduc served as President of the Ordre des Pharmaciens du Quebec for 9 years. He is a member of many boards and committees in the life science and healthcare sectors. Dr. C e line Desjardins: Obstetrician and gynecologist and member of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Committee of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC). Dr. Desjardins held positions as Head of teaching, Director of the obstetrics service, Chair of the Council of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists, civil servant and then manager at Health Canada in the Office of Metabolism, Oncology and Reproduction. Obstetrician and gynecologist and member of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Committee of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of (SOGC). Dr. Desjardins held positions as Head of teaching, Director of the obstetrics service, Chair of the Council of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists, civil servant and then manager at Health Canada in the Office of Metabolism, Oncology and Reproduction. Michelle Keefe: Healthcare C-Suite executive, Senior Advisor, Warburg Pincus LLC. Ms. Keefe held leadership positions in major U.S. pharmaceutical organizations such as Pfizer, Publicis Groupe and Syneos Health. "I am very pleased to be a member and first Chairman of Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group's Advisory Board," said Mr. Lecavalier. "DPG is a dynamic company with a forward-looking president and management team. The Advisory Board's mission is to ensure the continued growth and success of this important home-grown international life sciences success story, benefiting patients and the global healthcare community." It is expected that the Advisory Board will meet at least four times a year. ABOUT DUCHESNAY PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group (DPG), with its affiliated companies, is headquartered in Blainville, Quebec. The Group consists of six pharmaceutical companies to meet the needs of patients in Canada, the U.S. and abroad. The companies are Duchesnay (Canada) and Duchesnay USA, both dedicated to women's health; Medunik Canada and Medunik USA, which provide treatments for rare and debilitating diseases; and Analog Pharma Canada and Analog Pharma, specializing in orphan generic medications. From its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, DPG exports its innovative treatments to more than 50 countries. DPG is one of the eight companies across the country chosen to participate in the Government of Canada's Global Hypergrowth Project. This appointment offers exclusive and personalized support for at least two years, in order to accelerate its growth to become an anchor firm in the Canadian economy. DPG is the winner of the 2024 Life Sciences Innovation Award by ADRIQ, the Association for the Development of Research and Innovation of Quebec, which recognizes DPG's healthy workplace culture and commitment to pharmaceutical innovation, while DPG president Eric Gervais is the recipient of the 2024 Bernard-Landry Award by ADRIQ which acknowledges his impactful leadership on Quebec's research and innovation ecosystem. DPG, through its proprietary research and development, and through exclusive partnerships, offers innovative treatments for a variety of medical conditions in women's health, urology, oncology and for rare diseases, plus lower-cost generic medications. DPG recognizes the dedication and professionalism of its employees and promotes a positive culture and flexible work environment. It is deeply committed to environmental responsibility and to giving back to the community through the support of various charitable organizations. For more information, please visit https://duchesnaypharmaceuticalgroup.com/en. Follow us on LinkedIn. SOURCE Duchesnay Pharmaceutical Group (DPG) The Employee Retention Index is key tool for businesses evaluating changes to their workforce amid economic headwinds. Post this "The Eagle Hill Employee Retention Index comes at an important moment for the U.S. economy and businesses," said Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. "We're now in an environment where caution has overtaken confidence, and many companies already are making tough decisions about their workforce." "The Index data indicate that employees are more likely to stay put in the coming months, and there's a rising sense of unease among workers regarding their job prospects. While this is good news for employers facing chronic labor shortages, it's a tough situation for employers who now must reduce their labor costs. The Index is key tool for businesses evaluating changes to their workforce makeup amid these economic headwinds," Jezior said. Looking across various age demographics, the Index found that Gen Z workers are least likely to leave their jobs, more so than ever before. Millennials, however, pose a retention risk. Notably, the gender retention gap continues to widen, with the largest gap measured to date at 19 points. This signals that it will be increasingly difficult to retain female workers, with women increasingly less confident about their compensation. The Employee Retention Index follows two key U.S. economic reports, and the Index results are largely aligned with this new jobs data. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data found the number of employee quits in in February was little changed at 3.2 million but was down by 273,000 over the year. Meanwhile, the U.S Department of Labor reported earlier this month that the labor market picked up 228,000 jobs in March, a larger-than-expected increase in the face of new worries that tariffs, job cuts, and declining consumer confidence pose risks to the economy. The Eagle Hill Employee Retention Index is a first-of-a-kind market indicator that tracks worker sentiment across four proven drivers of retention: organizational confidence, culture, compensation, and job market opportunity. The data for across the four drivers for the first quarter of 2025 is as follows: The Organizational Confidence Indicator measures how confident employees are in their organization's future and leadership. This indicator increased 2.7 points to 102.6. Gen Z and men feel the most confident in their organization while women feel the least confident. The Culture Indicator looks at employee sentiment about their workplace culture, connections, and whether they feel valued and recognized. This measure increased 2.6 points to 101.4, following a decline from the previous period. It continues to be the weakest indicator of the three internal-focused indicators, with women and Gen X feeling the worst about organizational culture. The Compensation Indicator measures how employees view their compensation, benefits, and ability to grow their compensation at their organization. This indicator increased 3.3 points to 102.3. This was the largest shift across the four indicators. Millennials were the only population to be less satisfied/optimistic about compensation (-10.8 pts). The gender compensation gap is at its widest level at 33.2 points, indicating that women continue to be substantially less satisfied with their compensation. The Job Market Opportunity Indicator measures how employees perceive external prospects for employment and job security in the near term. This indicator was the only one to dip, decreasing 2.4 points to 99.6, meaning workers are feeling less confident about the job market and their external opportunities. The indicator continues to experience the volatility seen throughout 2024 as compared to stability in 2023. Read more about the Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index findings. Understanding employee sentiment at a deep level has evolved into a competitive asset. With this new proprietary market indicator, employers have forward-looking insights to help proactively implement strategies to manage their workforce. While the Eagle Hill Employee Index isn't a one-size-fits all for employers, organizations can use it to benchmark their organization and pinpoint their strengths and weakness. In doing so, employers can assess and make changes to ensure their workforce is motivated, engaged, and aligned with the organizational mission. Each month, the Eagle Hill Consulting Employee Retention Index measure shifts in workforce retention based upon ongoing employee opinion surveys on factors related to worker intentions to change jobs. As the Employee Retention Index increases, it signals an increase in retention in the next six months. As the Employee Retention Index decreases, it signals to employers that workers are more likely to leave their jobs, and organizations can expect more turnover in the next six months. Results are released on a quarterly basis, including an annual summary report. Conducted by Ipsos, the Eagle Hill Employee Retention Index is a nationally representative sample of adults ages 18 and older who are employed full-time or part-time on a range of workforce topics. Survey data is collected on a monthly basis, which commenced in December 2022. The most recent data was collected from March 3 - 4, 2025. Eagle Hill Consulting LLC is an award-winning business that provides unconventional management consulting services in the areas of Organizational Performance, Business Intelligence, Technology Enablement, Talent, and Change Management. The company's expertise in delivering innovative solutions to unique challenges spans across Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and global nonprofits. Eagle Hill has offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Boston, MA, and Seattle, WA. More information is available at www.eaglehillconsulting.com. SOURCE Eagle Hill Consulting LLC Clinicians across the United Kingdom can now access Eko's advanced digital stethoscopes, auscultation accessories, and AI-supported tools via EkoHealth.com and Amazon UK. SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eko Health , a global leader in AI-enabled cardiopulmonary care, today announced its launch in the United Kingdomone of the world's largest healthcare markets. UK clinicians can now purchase Eko's CORE 500 Digital Stethoscope, Eko+ Membership, and accessories through EkoHealth.com and Amazon UK, expanding access to AI-powered tools designed to support earlier detection of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Clinicians across the United Kingdom can now access Ekos advanced digital stethoscopes, auscultation accessories, and AI-supported tools via EkoHealth.com and Amazon UK. This expansion builds on Eko's international momentum and collaborations with UK institutions, including Imperial College London , where Eko's technology supports earlier detection of heart disease in frontline care. "Bringing Eko's AI-powered technology directly to UK healthcare professionals represents an exciting step forward in expanding access to high-quality digital auscultation tools," said David Bakey, General Manager of Consumer at Eko Health. "With CORE 500, Eko+, and a full range of accessories now available through EkoHealth.com, we're making it easier than ever for providers to integrate advanced stethoscope technology into their practice." The CORE 500 Digital Stethoscope is Eko's most advanced auscultation device, designed to support both in-person and remote care through a suite of integrated features including three listening modes: wide, cardiac, and pulmonary, simultaneous visualisation of ECG and heart sounds, active noise cancellation for clarity in busy clinics and wards, and integration with Eko's mobile application for secure data capture and sharing The Eko+ Membership enhances the capabilities of Eko's stethoscopes with powerful AI features, now available to UK users through EkoHealth.com, the Apple App Store, and Google Play. Eko+ includes AI-guided detection of heart murmurs and atrial fibrillation, tachycardia and bradycardia identification, waveform visualisation and guided multi-point auscultation, and secure recording and sharing to support collaborative or remote care. Eko's UK launch reflects rising demand for digital and AI-supported tools in general practice, urgent care, cardiology, and community settings. With over 600,000 users globally, Eko's platform is helping clinicians detect heart and lung conditions earlier and with greater confidence. UK clinicians can now purchase the CORE 500, accessories, and Eko+ Membership through EkoHealth.com. For more information on Eko Health and its cardiopulmonary solutions, visit www.ekohealth.com . About Eko Health Eko Health is a leading digital health company advancing how healthcare professionals detect and monitor heart and lung disease with its portfolio of digital stethoscopes, patient and provider software, and AI-powered analysis. Its FDA-cleared platform, used by over 600,000 healthcare professionals worldwide, allows them to detect earlier and with higher accuracy, manage treatment effectively, and ultimately give their patients the best care possible. Eko Health is headquartered in Emeryville, California, with over $165 million in funding from ARTIS Ventures, DigiTx Partners, Double Point Ventures, EDBI, Highland Capital Partners, LG Technology Ventures, Mayo Clinic, Morningside Technology Ventures Limited, NTTVC, Questa Capital, and others. Media Contact: Sam Moore [email protected] 2025 Eko Health, Inc. All rights reserved. MKT-0003680 SOURCE Eko Health STRATHAM, N.H., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ElectroCraft, a global leader in dependable, application-engineered fractional horsepower motor and motion products, reaffirms its long-standing commitment to serving the American market with a renewed focus on U.S.-based manufacturing, research, and development. Manufactured in the USA, Trusted Worldwide ElectroCraft ElectroCraft Motors and Drives Headquartered in the United States, ElectroCraft is expanding production facilities in Gallipolis, Ohio; Princeton, Indiana; and Ann Arbor, Michigan to support its portfolio of Brushless DC motors, PMDC brush motors, AC motors, stepper linear actuators, speed controllers and servo drive systems. These centers of excellence are at the core of ElectroCraft's U.S. manufacturing strategy, producing high-quality, precision-engineered motion control products for customers both domestic and global. ElectroCraft also operates R&D centers in Stratham, New Hampshire and Ann Arbor, Michigan, further driving US-based innovation and product development. ElectroCraft recently expanded operations in its Ann Arbor, Michigan facility to bring drive production in-house, while also making investments in its Gallipolis, Ohio facility to produce two new brushless DC motor platforms that will be released to the global market in the coming months. ElectroCraft's CEO, Don Kaufman explains: "At ElectroCraft we take pride in the decades of manufacturing and design in the U.S., ensuring top-notch quality and innovation. While our roots are firmly planted in the U.S., our commitment to excellence extends globally, with an international manufacturing footprint fostering strong partnerships and delivering exceptional value worldwide." Built on a Legacy of Innovation With over five decades of experience, ElectroCraft is much more than a motion product supplier. The company published the seminal engineering handbook DC Motors, Speed Controls and Servo Systems more than 50 years ago, establishing itself early on as a motion control authority. Today, ElectroCraft continues to build on this legacy, offering custom OEM solutions designed to meet the precise performance, cost, and quality requirements of customers across a wide range of industries. About ElectroCraft ElectroCraft designs, manufactures, and delivers reliable motion control solutions backed by decades of engineering experience. With a global footprint and a strong emphasis on U.S.-based R&D and manufacturing, ElectroCraft helps OEMs across industries bring innovative, high-performance products to market faster and more cost-effectively. www.electrocraft.com Media Contact: Scott Sizemore Director of Marketing 310.374.6058 [email protected] SOURCE ElectroCraft SYDNEY, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellucian, the leading tertiary education technology solutions provider, today announced a new alliance with KPMG Australia. This alliance will help Australian institutions streamline operations and adopt innovative Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions designed to enhance their efficiency and ultimately support student success. "Combining KPMG Australia's advisory and enablement expertise with our innovative technology strengthens our offerings in the sector," said Jeff Dinski, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, Ellucian. "We want to empower institutions and give them the confidence to embrace transformation for improved student outcomes." KPMG's Global Student Success Practice gives institutions access to specialist student engagement and management capabilities, delivering bespoke solutions and designing contemporary operating models. The Australian team provides advisory and SI services to several Australian universities and has a strong track record of delivering large-scale digital transformation programs in the education sector. Ellucian's Banner SaaS Student Information System simplifies administration while offering high availability, resilience, security and enhanced user experiences. As a core system for over 1,400 institutions worldwide, it empowers tertiary education providers to operate more efficiently and focus on student success. Bringing together the strengths of both organisations, Ellucian and KPMG Australia are committed to helping institutions achieve faster time to value from their technology investments, helping them thrive in a student-first, digital and cost-conscious environment. Through this alliance, KPMG Australia joins the global Ellucian Partner Network (EPN), an ecosystem that fosters the growth, learning, and support necessary for Ellucian and partners to effectively cater to the needs of tertiary education institutions worldwide. "How institutions engage and manage their students can have a significant effect on their local and global brand and their current and future revenues. We want to help Institutions meet the expectations of their diverse student cohort and operate more efficiently, enabled by innovative technology," said Morgan McCullough, National & Global Education Lead Partner, KPMG Australia. To learn more about KPMG Australia, visit: Education sector | Higher education and universities - KPMG Australia. For more information on Ellucian solutions, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/emea-ap/solutions/all-products (for Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific) or https://www.ellucian.com/solutions/all-products. ABOUT ELLUCIAN Ellucian powers innovation for tertiary education, partnering with more than 2,900 customers across 50 countries, serving 20 million students. Ellucian's AI-powered platform, trained on the richest dataset available in tertiary education, drives efficiency, personalised experiences, and strengthened engagement for students, faculty and staff. Fuelled by decades of experience with a singular focus on the unique needs of learning institutions, the Ellucian platform features best-in-class SaaS capabilities and delivers insights needed now and into the future. These solutions and services span the entire student lifecycle, including data-rich tools for student recruitment, enrolment, and retention to workforce analytics, fundraising, and alumni engagement. Ellucian's innovative solutions, vast ecosystem of partners and user community of more than 45,000 provides best practices leading to greater institutional success and achieving better student outcomes. Media Contacts: Jess Weston [email protected] Ashford Pritchard 0411 020 680 [email protected] SOURCE Ellucian STOCKHOLM, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Strategic highlights solid momentum in technology leadership and programmable networks Extending technology leadership with expanded high-performing and energy-efficient product portfolio. First high-performing programmable networks partnership for Asia Pacific with Telstra announced. with Telstra announced. Announced network API fraud detection deployment by all three USA operators and further Aduna partnerships. First quarter highlights strong growth in gross income and margins Organic sales were stable, with strong growth in market area Americas offset by declines in other market areas. Reported sales were SEK 55.0 (53.3) b . . Adjusted[1] gross income increased to SEK 26.7 (22.8) b . driven by sales growth and strong gross margin expansion. Reported gross income was SEK 26.5 (22.7) b . . driven by sales growth and strong gross margin expansion. Reported gross income was . Adjusted[1] gross margin was 48.5% (42.7%) supported by improvements in all segments with strong operational execution. Reported gross margin was 48.2% (42.5%). Adjusted[1] EBITA was SEK 6.9 (5.1) b . with a 12.6% (9.6%) margin, benefiting from higher gross income. EBITA was SEK 6.7 (4.9) b . Q1 2024 included a one-time gain of SEK 1.9 b . . with a 12.6% (9.6%) margin, benefiting from higher gross income. EBITA was . Q1 2024 included a one-time gain of . Net income was SEK 4.2 (2.6) b . EPS diluted was SEK 1.24 (0.77). . EPS diluted was (0.77). Free cash flow before M&A was SEK 2.7 (3.7) b . Borje Ekholm, President and CEO, said: "We sustained solid momentum in Q1, despite a challenging and fast changing macro backdrop, and our results highlight our competitiveness. Our solid execution contributed to a strong 48.5% adjusted gross margin and 12.6% adjusted EBITA margin. We extended our technology leadership position further and are on track to offer a portfolio of 130 radios this year that support programmable networks. In Q1, we announced the first Asia Pacific programmable network, including deployment of 5G Advanced, with Telstra. Looking ahead, we remain confident of our strong position in Mobile Networks and expect Enterprise to stabilize during 2025. In the evolving global trade landscape and macro volatility, we continue to focus on controlling what we can control and delivering to our customers. We are not immune, but we are resilient, with well diversified production close to the customer and the flexibility to adapt to changing conditions over time." SEK b. Q1 2025 Q1 2024 YoY change Q4 2024 QoQ change Net sales 55.025 53.325 3 % 72.913 -25 % Organic sales growth *[2] - - 0 % - - Gross margin[2] 48.2 % 42.5 % - 44.9 % - EBIT 5.931 4.100 45 % 7.958 -25 % EBIT margin[2] 10.8 % 7.7 % - 10.9 % - EBITA[2] 6.652 4.893 36 % 8.623 -23 % EBITA margin[2] 12.1 % 9.2 % - 11.8 % - Net income 4.217 2.613 61 % 4.879 -14 % EPS diluted, SEK 1.24 0.77 61 % 1.44 -14 % Free cash flow before M&A[2] 2.704 3.671 -26 % 15.824 -83 % Net cash, end of period[2] 38.647 10.807 258 % 37.830 2 % Adjusted financial measures[1][2] Adjusted gross margin 48.5 % 42.7 % - 46.3 % - Adjusted EBIT 6.212 4.305 44 % 9.584 -35 % Adjusted EBIT margin 11.3 % 8.1 % - 13.1 % - Adjusted EBITA 6.933 5.098 36 % 10.25 -32 % Adjusted EBITA margin 12.6 % 9.6 % - 14.1 % - * Sales adjusted for the impact of acquisitions and divestments and effects of foreign currency fluctuations. [1] Adjusted metrics exclude restructuring charges. This is a change in nomenclature only, compared with previous reports. [2] Non-IFRS financial measures are reconciled at the end of this report to the most directly reconcilable line items in the financial statement. NOTES TO EDITORS You find the complete report with tables in the attached PDF or on www.ericsson.com/investors Video webcast for analysts, investors and journalists President and CEO Borje Ekholm and CFO Lars Sandstrom will comment on the report and take questions at a video webcast at 9:00 AM CEST (8:00 AM GMT London, 3:00 AM EST New York). Join the webcast or please go to www.ericsson.com/investors To ask a question: Access dial-in information here The webcast will be available on-demand after the event and can be viewed at www.ericsson.com/investors. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Contact person Daniel Morris, Head of Investor Relations Phone: +44 7386657217 E-mail: [email protected] Additional contacts Stella Medlicott, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Relations Phone: +46 730 95 65 39 E-mail: [email protected] Investors Lena Haggblom, Director, Investor Relations Phone: +46 72 593 27 78 E-mail: [email protected] Alan Ganson, Director, Investor Relations Phone: +46 70 267 27 30 E-mail: [email protected] Media Ralf Bagner, Head of Media Relations Phone: +46 76 128 47 89 E-mail: [email protected] Media relations Phone: +46 10 719 69 92 E-mail: [email protected] This is information that Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 07:00 CEST on April 15, 2025. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/ericsson/r/ericsson-reports-first-quarter-results-2025,c4136005 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/15448/4136005/3390844.pdf Q1 2025 GB https://mb.cision.com/Public/15448/4136005/bf50c50a80eaf8e8.xlsx Q1 2025 SOURCE Ericsson Latest report celebrates a decade of influence with in-depth analysis, detailed financial data, and long-term trends. ARLINGTON, Va., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg Government hit a milestone last week with the release of its 10th Annual analysis of the top-performing lobbying firms. For the past ten years, Bloomberg Government has provided valuable market intelligence for strategic planning, partnering opportunities, and benchmarking. A decade of influence industry growth This in-depth analysis draws from a decade of data under the Lobbying Disclosure Act and analysis from Bloomberg Government experts, highlighting top-performing firms and forecasting key trends. For the past decade, only Bloomberg Government has delivered the unmatched combination of data and reporting expertise that drives industry insight and decision-making. The report finds that federal lobbying reached a new high in 2024, topping $4.5 billion. This marks an increase from the previous year's $4.35 billion and reflects continued industry growth, driven by pressing issues like tax policy, health care, artificial intelligence (AI), and cryptocurrency. This increase outpaced the 2.9% jump in the Consumer Price Index, reflecting a true expansion of overall lobbying income. The report, based on Bloomberg Government's analysis of Lobbying Disclosure Act data, focuses on the 394 firms generating $1 million or more in annual revenue. By benchmarking revenue growth, client retention, and average revenue per lobbyist, the study identifies the firms that excelled in Washington's increasingly dynamic influence ecosystem. The lobbying firms reporting the most revenue remained unchanged in 2024: Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, tops the list with $67.9 million, followed by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Holland & Knight, and BGR Government Affairs. Rounding out the top 10 are Invariant, Thorn Run Partners, Forbes Tate Partners, Mehlman Consulting, and Cassidy & Associates. The report includes detailed rankings of firms by revenue, highlighting both large and small firms with significant growth over the past decade. "For ten years, Bloomberg Government's annual report has stood out as a trusted resource for government affairs professionals seeking to understand the evolving lobbying industry," said Mike MacKay, Head of Bloomberg Government. "By delivering actionable insights, our platform enables professionals to stay ahead of trends and leverage data-driven tools to succeed in this complex environment." Bloomberg Government's Top-Performing Lobbying Firms Report also highlights legislative trends that contributed to the surge in lobbying revenue, including the impact of policy changes under the Biden administration, regulatory advancements, and ongoing debates around emerging technologies like AI and blockchain. Celebrate a decade of insights and growth with Bloomberg Government and this milestone in industry reporting. To access the full report, please visit https://aboutbgov.com/bhPG. About Bloomberg Government Bloomberg Government is a premium, subscription-based service that provides comprehensive information and analytics for professionals who interact with or are affected by the government. Delivering news, analytics, and data-driven decision tools, Bloomberg Government's digital workspace gives an intelligent edge to government affairs and contracting professionals. For more information or a demo, visit Bloomberg Government. SOURCE Bloomberg Government Supporting Performance Engineering for AI Training and Inference on Cutting-edge GPU Infrastructure IRVINE, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fixstars Corporation (TSE Prime: 3687, US Headquarters: Irvine, USA), a company dedicated to advancing AI technologies through world-class performance engineering, today announced its participation as an AI software technical advisor in the strategic partnership between Optage Inc. (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan) and GMI Cloud, Inc. (Headquarters: San Jose, USA). Overview of this collaboration The partnership between Optage and GMI Cloud aims to leverage GMI Cloud's proprietary GPU virtualization technology, "GMI Cluster Engine," to build and offer a state-of-the-art AI cloud platform equipped with NVIDIA B200 Tensor Core GPUs [1] in Japan (GMI Cloud Japan region). This initiative is expected to significantly accelerate the adoption of advanced AI applications, including generative AI, among Japanese enterprises. Fixstars will provide its expertise as a software technical advisor, enhancing the performance of customers' AI workloads running on this advanced AI infrastructure. With extensive experience in performance engineering leveraging multi-core CPUs, GPUs, and high-speed storage, Fixstars' technology is indispensable for AI workloads demanding massive computational capabilities, such as large language model (LLM) training, inference, and fine-tuning. In this collaboration, Fixstars will contribute in the following areas: Analysis and engineering of AI workloads: Using Fixstars AI Booster [2], Fixstars will help customers identify bottlenecks and provide technical advice to ensure the efficient execution of AI applications on the latest GPU environments provided by Optage and GMI Cloud. Adaptation to cutting-edge technologies: Fixstars will share know-how on software development and tuning optimized for new hardware architectures like NVIDIA B200 GPUs. Support efficient AI development and operations: Fixstars will help streamline the entire AI model development, training, and inference pipelines from a software perspective. Through these efforts, Fixstars aims to maximize the value of the innovative AI cloud services developed by Optage and GMI Cloud and strengthen the competitive edge of Japanese enterprises in the AI sector. [1] NVIDIA B200 Tensor Core GPU: NVIDIA's next-generation GPU utilizing the latest Blackwell architecture. For more details, please visit: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/data-center/technologies/blackwell-architecture/ [2] Fixstars AI Booster: A performance engineering platform for AI development and operations. It continuously monitors AI workloads to identify and optimize unseen bottlenecks, significantly improving AI processing speeds and reducing GPU/cloud utilization costs. For more details, please visit: https://www.fixstars.com/en/ai/booster Comment from Satoshi Miki, CEO, Fixstars Corporation: "We are delighted to participate as an AI software technical advisor in this ambitious collaboration between Optage and GMI Cloud. While cutting-edge hardware continues to emerge, software remains the critical key to unlocking its full potential. Leveraging our proven performance engineering technology, we look forward to accelerating AI development in Japan and contributing to our customers' innovation." About Fixstars Corporation Fixstars is a technology company dedicated to accelerating AI inference and training through advanced software optimization solutions. It supports innovation in healthcare, manufacturing, finance, mobility, and other industries. For more information, visit: https://www.fixstars.com/ About Optage Inc. OPTAGE is an information and communication company wholly owned by Kansai Electric Power, based on its own proprietary fiber optic network. It provides corporate customers with integrated information and communication network solution services. For individual customers, it offers "eo Hikari Net," a high-speed, high-quality internet service, as well as "mineo," a mobile phone service compatible with three major carriers. For more information, please visit https://optage.co.jp/en/ About GMI Cloud, Inc. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, GMI Cloud is a venture-backed digital infrastructure company with the mission of empowering anyone to deploy AI effortlessly and simplifying how businesses build, deploy, and scale AI through integrated hardware and software solutions. To learn more, visit https://www.gmicloud.ai/ Media Contact Aki Asahara Public Relations, Fixstars Corporation Email: [email protected] Tel: +81-3-6420-0751 SOURCE Fixstars News / National by Staff reporter South Africa's new Ambassador to the US @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/0xwPRPuffr Bulawayo24 News (@Bulawayo24News) April 14, 2025 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as his special envoy to the United States, in an effort to try to rebuild a relationship that has soured badly under President Donald Trump.Since Trump's return to the White House in January the U.S. has expelled South Africa's ambassador and cut financial aid, citing disapproval of its approach to land reform and its genocide case against Washington's ally Israel at the World Court.Trump has said, without citing evidence, that "South Africa is confiscating land" and that "certain classes of people" are being treated "very badly."Jonas, who was deputy finance minister between 2014 and 2017, is currently chairman of telecoms group MTN, a role he will continue to hold alongside the envoy position. PSEG Long Island and Suffolk County join forces for the popular Energy-Saving Trees giveaway UNIONDALE, N.Y., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Earth Day, PSEG Long Island and Suffolk County, in partnership with the PSEG Foundation and the Arbor Day Foundation, will provide more than 230 customers in Suffolk County with a free tree through the Energy-Saving Trees program. The program showcases how planting the right trees in the right location can reduce utility bills and promote ongoing system reliability. "Earth Day is a time for all of us to remember that we have a part to play in building a greener future," said David Lyons, PSEG Long Island's interim president and COO. "Strategically planting trees helps save up to 20% on a home's summer energy bills once the trees are fully grown, while also improving air quality and reducing storm water runoff for all residents across Long Island and the Rockaways." The free energy-saving trees can be reserved at https://get.arborday.org/pseg starting Monday, April 14, until all trees are claimed. The reserved trees will then be available for pick-up on Tuesday, April 22, at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge, from 9 AM 12:30 PM. All reserved trees will be held until noon, when they will become available on a first come, first served basis. "We continue to identify opportunities to make Suffolk County environmentally sustainable, and planting just one tree can make a difference," said Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine. "We encourage our residents to take part in the PSEG Long Island Energy Saving Trees program and work collaboratively to embrace clean energy and innovative solutions to improve our region's air quality. Together we will continue to raise awareness and make a difference in Suffolk County." "Trees add beauty to neighborhoods, help reduce energy consumption, filter pollutants that negatively affect community health and wellbeing, and provide places of respite, along with many other benefits," said Calvin Ledford, president of the PSEG Foundation. "The PSEG Foundation is proud to support the Energy-Saving Trees program, which will help provide more than 230 trees to the Suffolk County community. We are excited that our employees can volunteer to be part of this initiative distributing the trees and sharing energy efficiency information and help create a more environmentally sustainable ecosystem across Long Island and the Rockaways." The Energy-Saving Trees online tool helps customers estimate the annual energy savings that will result from planting trees in the most strategic location near their homes or businesses. All customers who participate will receive one tree and are expected to care for and plant them in the location provided by the online tool, taking into account utility wires and obstructions. The types of trees offered include red maple, river birch, scarlet oak, flowering dogwood, eastern red cedar and sweetbay magnolia. PSEG Long Island will also be on site at the H. Lee Dennison Building on April 22 to share information about energy saving and financial assistance programs. In addition, they will distribute reusable shopping bags and free LED lightbulbs to save customers money and energy, and to support the environment. Information, shopping bags and lightbulbs are available to all customers. The Energy-Saving Trees must be reserved ahead of time. PSEG Long Island will host a similar event in Nassau County on Saturday, April 26. The free energy-saving trees can be reserved by Nassau County residents at https://get.arborday.org/pseg starting Thursday, April 17, until all trees are claimed. Nassau residents' reserved trees will then be available for pick-up on April 26 at the PSEG Long Island Customer Service Center at 175 East Old Country Road in Hicksville, from 9 AM 12:30 PM. All reserved trees will be held until noon, when they will become available on a first come, first served basis. PSEG Long Island is also proud to be a sponsor of the RISE Earth Day event in the Rockaways on Saturday, May 3, where the company will be giving away 35 trees on a first-come, first-served basis. The event takes place from noon to 3 PM at 58-03 Rockaway Beach Blvd. in Far Rockaway. In honor of Earth Day, PSEG Long Island is also offering free Google Nest smart thermostats to customers on its Online Marketplace through April 29. Serving the community PSEG Long Island is committed to giving back to the people and communities it serves by actively supporting hundreds of local charity events each year through the company's Community Partnership Program. For more information on how PSEG Long Island supports the communities it serves, visit psegliny.com/inthecommunity/communitypartnership . PSEG Long Island PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority's transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company. Visit PSEG Long Island at: psegliny.com PSEG Long Island on Facebook PSEG Long Island on Instagram PSEG Long Island on X (formerly Twitter) PSEG Long Island on LinkedIn PSEG Long Island on YouTube PSEG Long Island on Flickr Contact: Media Relations Pager 516.229.7248 [email protected] SOURCE PSEG Long Island MINNEAPOLIS, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- goGLOW, the preferred brand in sunless tanning experience, is thrilled to welcome Adam Ross, a renowned entrepreneur, founder and former CEO of Heyday Skincare, as a Strategic Advisor. With a dynamic background in mergers and acquisitions, business strategy, and scaling consumer brands, Ross brings invaluable expertise to help propel goGLOW 's growth and strategic vision. With over two decades of experience spanning high-stakes mergers, acquisitions, and entrepreneurial leadership, Ross has been at the forefront of building, advising, and investing in transformative businesses. Having worked with Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms, and high-growth startups, he understands what it takes to elevate a brand and maximize enterprise value. His track record includes founding, leading, and advising numerous companies, always with a focus on growth, leadership, and building exceptional customer experiences. Melanie Richards, Founder and CEO of goGLOW, shares Ross' focus on creating an exceptional customer experience, making this a partnership to watch. "Having Adam Ross on our advisory board is a game-changer for goGLOW. His track record of building and scaling brands is unparalleled, and his ability to see the bigger picture while executing with precision is exactly what we need at this stage of our growth. I couldn't be more thrilled to have him as part of our journey," said Richards. Ross also expressed his enthusiasm about joining the advisory board, emphasizing his alignment with goGLOW's mission and the team's potential: "goGLOW represents exactly the kind of brand I love working withone that creates meaningful experiences beyond the transactional. I thrive in environments where talented, ambitious people come together to build something extraordinary, and this team has that energy in spades. With my background in skincare, consumer products, and retail M&A, I see immense opportunities to accelerate goGLOW's expansion and position it for long-term success in collaboration with Melanie Richards' visionary leadership. Together, we have a playbook to scale the business rapidly and strategically while ensuring we navigate challenges with confidence." With Ross's deep expertise in consumer products, retail strategy, and brand monetization, goGLOW is positioned to continue capitalizing on key growth opportunities while enhancing its overall market impact. His involvement will be instrumental in shaping goGLOW's strategic roadmap and executing initiatives that drive sustained success across franchise and retail expansion. About goGLOW At goGLOW, our mission is to empower individuals to radiate confidence, inside and out. We're transforming how people achieve a sunless glow with innovative, patented, state-of-the-art air filtration sunless tanning equipment and a line of vegan, plant-based skincare products that deliver confidence and measurable results. By prioritizing strong relationships, education and purposeful franchise expansion, we're building a trusted brand making a lasting impact and providing opportunities across communities in the US. Meet the goGLOW Brand Shop goGLOW Products Follow goGLOW on Instagram Listen to Adam's latest Podcast Episode SOURCE goGLOW Fremont Township in Saginaw County wins funding through Renewables Ready Communities Award by developing Eagle Creek Solar Project in partnership with EDP Renewables North America FREMONT TOWNSHIP, Mich. , April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA) today celebrates Fremont Township, Michigan, being awarded $600,000 through the "Renewables Ready Communities Award (RRCA)" from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). The RRCA Awards Program provides flexible funding to local community governments to help fund improvements and additional services for their residents. The 120 MW Eagle Creek Solar Park (Eagle Creek) serves as an economic windfall for Saginaw County while creating reliable clean energy to power the equivalent of 33,500 average Michigan homes. The solar project will pay over $41 million in taxes to local governments, $68 million to participating landowners through land lease and neighbor agreements, and millions spent locally on restaurants, contractors, hotels, and small businesses. Eagle Creek is expected to create upwards of 250 construction jobs during development. Once completed, numerous permanent positions focused on project operation and maintenance will be established. "EDPR NA is proud to be able to work with Fremont Township and Saginaw County on this state-of-the-art solar park. Fremont Township more than deserves this award from EGLE. This funding is yet another testament to the economic boost that renewable energy brings to local communities throughout Michigan, and we are committed to ensuring those benefits are available to residents now and in the future," said Tom LoTurco, Executive Vice President, Eastern Region, Canada & Government Affairs, EDP Renewables North America. Multimedia resources include: About EDPR NA: Fact Sheet Eagle Creek Solar Park: Website Eagle Creek Solar Park: Fact Sheet About EDP Renewables North America EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), its affiliates, and its subsidiaries develop, construct, own, and operate wind farms, solar parks, and energy storage systems throughout North America. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with 61 wind farms, 26 solar parks, and eight regional offices across North America, EDPR NA has developed more than 12,000 megawatts (MW) and operates more than 11,400 MW of onshore utility-scale renewable energy projects. With more than 1,000 employees, EDPR NA's highly qualified team has a proven capacity to execute projects across the continent. For more information, visit www.edpr.com/north-america and follow us on LinkedIn. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2592695/5267705/EDP_Logo.jpg SOURCE EDP BEIJING, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, said on Monday that China and Vietnam should carry forward the profound traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood." China will continue to support Vietnam taking socialist path suited to its national conditions, Xi said. Xi made the remarks while meeting with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, during his state visit to Vietnam. During the meeting, Xi proposed six measures to deepen the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic focus and jointly oppose unilateral bullying, Xi said. Xi also called on the two sides to maintain the stability of the global free trade system and industrial and supply chains. Xi said leaders of China and Vietnam should exchange visits frequently like relatives. Building China-Vietnam community with shared future carries great global significance and China's mega market is always open to Vietnam, said Xi. Xi also urged China and Vietnam to jointly tackle online gambling, telecom fraud and other cross-border crimes. China and Vietnam should achieve more positive maritime interaction, Xi said. In meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Monday, Xi said that China and Vietnam should firmly uphold the multilateral trading system. Xi also urged the two countries to work together to push for an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. Xi arrived in Hanoi on Monday. In a written statement upon his arrival at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Xi said he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with Vietnamese leaders on issues concerning ties between the two parties and countries that have a global impact, determine future direction, and possess strategic significance, as well as on international and regional issues of common concern. To a new height Upon arrival, Xi was warmly welcomed by enthusiastic crowds in Hanoi. On Monday morning, enthusiastic crowds lined the streets Vietnamese locals, overseas Chinese, students and employees of Chinese enterprises all gathered together holding Chinese and Vietnamese national flags. Some held up red banners reading "Deep China-Vietnam Friendship, Comrades Plus Brothers." According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the Chinese leader and his entourage were greeted at the airport with exciting drum performances by 200 artists, along with dance performances by 54 young girls dressed in the traditional costumes of 54 ethnic groups from across Vietnam. Later on Monday, Xi attended a welcome ceremony held by To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said head-of-state diplomacy is crucial in the relations between the two parties and countries of China and Vietnam, steering and setting the course for bilateral ties, especially amid rising global economic uncertainties. During Xi's visit to Vietnam in December 2023, bilateral ties were elevated to a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. In August 2024, then Vietnamese President To Lam chose China as the destination for his first overseas visit only two weeks after being elected general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. Xi's visit is taking place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations. A VNA article said Xi's visit is significant and symbolic for the bilateral relationship, thereby continuing to maintain the positive development trend, spreading strongly to all levels, sectors, and people, creating a vibrant, effective, and practical atmosphere of cooperation. Xu believes the state visit by the Chinese leader provides a valuable opportunity to elevate bilateral relations to a new height and enhance the strategic nature of China-Vietnam ties. The expert commented that the prospects for cooperation in areas such as infrastructure connectivity, trade of agricultural products, digital and green economy, as well as people-to-people exchanges and education are broad, contributing to creating new highlights in pragmatic cooperation. Commenting on the development of China-Vietnam bilateral trade ties, He Yongqian, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, said on April 10 that China has been Vietnam's largest trading partner since 2004, and Vietnam has been China's largest trading partner in ASEAN since 2016. China-Vietnam bilateral trade has exceeded $200 billion for four consecutive years, reaching $260.65 billion in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 13.5 percent, said He, adding that Vietnam is an important overseas investment destination for China, with Chinese enterprises investing over $2.5 billion directly in Vietnam in 2024, maintaining rapid growth. "Infrastructure links from rail to ports are expanding fast. Fruits from Vietnam frequent Chinese tables while Chinese raw materials and machinery fuel Vietnamese industry," Xinhua said in a report. A reliable partner President Xi's visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia are his first trips abroad this year, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. In a signed article titled "Building on past achievements and making new advances in pursuit of shared goals" published on Monday by the Nhan Dan Newspaper of Vietnam ahead of his state visit, Xi said China will deepen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries and jointly advance Asia's modernization, according to the Xinhua News Agency. "China will ensure continuity and stability of its neighborhood diplomacy. We will stay committed to the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness," he wrote, adding that "we will continue to pursue the policy of forging friendships and partnerships with our neighbors." Some Western media have claimed that the Chinese leader's visit comes amid the tariff turbulence. According to Xu, trade issues may not be the primary focus of the leader's visit as Chinese diplomacy places greater emphasis on strategic, long-term, and fundamental issues and cooperation. However, the visits to the Southeast Asian neighbors show that amid global trade turbulence, China remains as a trustworthy partner for Southeast Asian countries, and deepening regional cooperation is mutually beneficial for all parties, Xu said. "It adds more certainty to not only bilateral relations but also regional stability, contributing to the recovery and growth of Asia-Pacific regional and global economies,'' Xu added. According to Chinese official customs data, China's exports to ASEAN jumped 8.1 percent in March, particularly outbound shipments to Vietnam surged nearly 16.5 percent, while imports from the region grew 2.8 percent. Nguyen Tang Nghi, dean of the School of International Relations, University of Social Sciences & Humanities under the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, told the Global Times that Vietnam, China and other countries in the Southeast Asian region may face similar challenges. Therefore, we need to further open our economies and strengthen mutual trade and investment cooperation. Vietnam and China, in particular, need to be more proactive and decisive in promoting trade and investment, leveraging each other's strengths as the tariff row becomes more intense and unpredictable, he said. This article first appeared in Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202504/1332099.shtml SOURCE Global Times SEATTLE, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) announced GoWest Credit Union Association and member credit unions received the 2025 Event of the Year for its annual MAXX CU4Kids Benefit Auction. This national recognition celebrates the legacy and impact of GoWest's signature fundraising event and the generosity of credit unions throughout the region. Each year, CMN Hospitals recognizes one fundraising event that exemplifies excellence in planning, engagement, and impact. In 2025, GoWest is being recognized specifically for the 2024 "Diamond Round-Up" edition of the Benefit Auction, which raised an impressive $1.2 million for CMN Hospitals across the six-state GoWest regionArizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. "Each year, CMN Hospitals is the beneficiary of thousands of outstanding events, from both the credit union industry and our other partners. Yet, the GoWest MAXX Benefit Auction has stood out among the rest for the impressive fundraising impact, the example of cooperation that has been established, and the long-term dedication to support our mission. We are extremely grateful to the many people that have contributed to this event's success over the years. Thank you, GoWest Credit Union Association, and credit union members. Congratulations!" said Kristen Schavemaker, Chief Programs Officer at Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. "It's an honor to accept this award on behalf of the incredible credit unions and business partners across our region and the broader industry," said Troy Stang at GoWest Credit Union Association. "This recognition is a celebration of the heart and spirit of the credit union movementthe collective credit union commitment to serving the kids, families, and hospitals in our communities, and the creative, joyful ways our credit union family continues to give back." The 2024 "YeeHaw" theme Diamond Roundup was complete with a lasso competition and a high-stakes "Crack the Safe" game, where one lucky attendee walked away with a sparkling diamond bracelet. This award represents the ongoing legacy of the CU4Kids Benefit Auction, which has raised more than $11.2 million nationally since 2002. Central to the event are the symbolic red wagons, purchased and donated each year by participating credit unions and gifted to the 11 children's hospitals that benefit from the event's proceeds. The Benefit Auction takes place during the annual GoWest MAXX Conference, which brings together credit union leaders to network, learn, and celebrate the credit union difference. With each year's unique theme, from '80s Prom to Diamond Round-Up, the event has become one of the most spirited and impactful fundraisers in the credit union movement. GoWest thanks all the credit unions and partners who have made this recognition possible and looks ahead to continuing the tradition in 2025 and beyond. About GoWest Credit Union Association GoWest Credit Union Association is the trade association representing credit unions in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. GoWest advocates on behalf of nearly 300-member credit unions, and their 17.4 million consumer members. Contact: Madlynn Schreibvogel, Vice President, Public Relations 303.513.3765 [email protected] SOURCE GoWest Credit Union Association Lineworkers are helping build a smarter, stronger grid Duke Energy lineworkers restored more than 3.1 million customer outages after Hurricane Helene CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 18, Duke Energy celebrates National Lineworker Appreciation Day a day to recognize the service, commitment and sacrifices of lineworkers, team members who are critical to ensuring customers have access to safe and reliable electricity. Why it matters: Lineworkers provide an invaluable service to communities. Among the first to respond after storms to help ensure public safety, they frequently work in challenging conditions including extreme weather and heights to restore power and keep the lights on. Lineworkers support the growth of industries and businesses in Duke Energy's service areas across the Carolinas, Florida and the Midwest by helping build and expand power infrastructure. Line technicians install new power lines, transformers and other equipment to reliably accommodate growth. This work is increasingly important as communities continue to grow and new and existing businesses expand. A historic year: Hurricane Helene (Sept. 26, 2024) was one of the most impactful storms in Duke Energy's history, requiring an unprecedented response. Duke Energy lineworkers many of whom were personally impacted by the storm restored more than 3.1 million customer outages in the Carolinas, Florida and Midwest after Helene hit. By the numbers In the Carolinas, Hurricane Helene response involved 23,000 field personnel from more than 19 states and Canada . . Lineworkers replaced 14,000 power poles and 9 million feet of wire as part of the restoration. In total, more than 10,000 Duke Energy and contract lineworkers, including substation and relay technicians, make up Duke Energy's lineworker team. Substation technicians manage energy distribution at substations, while relay technicians test electrical equipment to ensure reliable power distribution. Since 2020, the Duke Energy Foundation has committed more than $3.3 million in grant funding to support lineworker programs and participants. A fast-growing occupation: The demand for lineworkers continues to grow as Duke Energy engages in more grid and infrastructure improvement projects. The company works with and recruits from 22 community college lineworker training programs throughout its service areas that have lineworker training programs. What they're saying Scott Batson, senior vice president and chief power grid officer for Duke Energy: "Our customers live and work in some of the most vibrant, fastest-growing areas of the country. Duke Energy can efficiently meet current and future energy needs in large part due to our trusted line teams' commitment to safety and excellence, and we value their work immensely." Harrison Cochran, apprentice lineworker, Duke Energy (North Carolina): "Working for Duke Energy is really rewarding and has given my colleagues and I so much gratitude to be able to help our customers and get the power back on. Our Greensboro-based line team is proud to always be willing to sacrifice time whenever needed, whether it's getting the power back on for our customers or taking time to teach the apprentices essential skills that are important to have as we continue to build a stronger grid." Go deeper: Additional media is available online. Lineworker b-roll and photography: Lineworkers brighten our communities Multimedia Gallery | Duke Energy | News Center (duke-energy.com) (Photos) Hurricane Helene - Carolinas | Duke Energy | News Center (Video) Hurricane Helene Carolinas | Duke Energy | News Center Duke Energy Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 55,100 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. Duke Energy is executing an ambitious energy transition, keeping customer reliability and value at the forefront as it builds a smarter energy future. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including natural gas, nuclear, renewables and energy storage. More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition. Contact: Logan Stewart 24-Hour: 800.559.3853 Twitter: @DukeEnergyNC SOURCE Duke Energy HANGZHOU, China, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In April 2025, Guozi Robotics and U.S.-based Staples celebrate the ninth year of their strategic partnership. Over the course of this collaboration, the two companies have signed two strategic cooperation agreements. Guozi has supplied Staples with over 1,000 robotsincluding a wide range of Picking AGVsdeployed in key warehouse locations such as Charlotte, Pennsylvania, Denver, and New York. Staples Project Case Many of these robots, still operating reliably after nearly a decade, continue to play a vital role in Staples' distribution centers. They have helped reduce picking labor by 60% and cut picking staff workload by 50%, significantly improving both picking efficiency and accuracy, and delivering measurable operational gains. Currently, Guozi Robotics has developed a comprehensive series of Picking AGV products, including double-deep reach, adaptive, and dual-mast models. Its self-developed integrated software, GRACE Xpress, delivers powerful functionalitiessuch as full-process simulation, which significantly shortens on-site deployment cycles, and AI-powered adaptive location calibration, leveraging deep learning algorithms to rapidly improve storage positioning accuracy during AGV operation. Additionally, Guozi's robotic systems enable seamless customized integration with users' upper-level business systems. Guozi has also established a deep partnership with Staples to co-develop intelligent picking stations, where robotic arms replace manual picking. AI algorithms continuously optimize picking efficiency and accuracy. *In the next phase, the collaboration will focus on: Integrating humanoid robots and dexterous hands to upgrade station picking methods, advancing toward fully unmanned operations across all stations. to upgrade station picking methods, advancing toward fully unmanned operations across all stations. Automating packaging and sorting processes, targeting contactless verification and autonomous packing to achieve a completely unmanned warehouse ecosystem. The Staples Pennsylvania Warehouse Equipment Manager stated: "The robots have been reliable partners in my workthey are efficient, stable, easy to use, and simple to maintain. They have boosted our productivity, and Guozi's service is excellent. I look forward to continuing to work with these robots in the future." Today, Guozi's global business is rapidly expanding, offering robotic products to customers worldwide and supporting more Chinese enterprises in their international ventures. SOURCE Zhejiang Guozi Robotics Co., Ltd DALLAS, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hitachi Digital Services today introduced Hitachi Application Reliability Centers (HARC) for AI, a powerful new service designed to help enterprises run AI and Generative AI (Gen AI) applications with greater reliability, efficiency, and governance. Building on the broader HARC platform launched in 2022, HARC for AI addresses key challenges companies face when scaling AI: unpredictable costs, performance degradation over time, and limited oversight of complex models like LLMs. Hitachi Digital Services introduced Hitachi Application Reliability Centers (HARC) for AI, a powerful new service designed to help enterprises run AI and Generative AI (Gen AI) applications with greater reliability, efficiency, and governance. (PRNewsfoto/Hitachi Digital Services) Key Capabilities AI Resilience & Performance Management Ensures stable, available AI applications by monitoring reliability metrics and implementing recovery strategies. Ensures stable, available AI applications by monitoring reliability metrics and implementing recovery strategies. Data Drift Detection Tracks and corrects shifts in input and output data patterns to keep AI accurate over time. Tracks and corrects shifts in input and output data patterns to keep AI accurate over time. Cost Optimization Dynamically adjusts workloads to minimize compute waste and reduce cloud costs. Dynamically adjusts workloads to minimize compute waste and reduce cloud costs. AI Observability Continuously monitors AI behavior and performance using advanced tools and dashboards. Continuously monitors AI behavior and performance using advanced tools and dashboards. Security & Governance Protects systems from attacks and enforces compliance through automated controls. Protects systems from attacks and enforces compliance through automated controls. Agent Lifecycle Management Supports AI agents throughout their lifecyclefrom deployment to continuous improvement. "Just as we brought structure and rigor to cloud and enterprise operations, we're now doing the same for AI," said Premkumar Balasubramanian, Chief Technology Officer at Hitachi Digital Services. "HARC for AI helps organizations monitor, govern, and optimize AI systems so they stay reliable, responsible, and cost-effective." HARC for AI builds on Hitachi's proven track record in cloud and data reliability. It now spans FinOps, SecOps, and AI operationsincluding observability, security, and cost control for Gen AI in production environments. Along with the R2O2.ai framework, which was introduced in 2024, HARC guides responsible AI development, deployment and operations. While R2O2 defines the framework for development and deployment of AI workloads, HARC operationalizes itbringing AI observability, lifecycle management, and performance tuning into real-world use. "As AI rapidly moves from experimentation to enterprise-wide deployment, organizations need more than innovationthey need operational excellence. With HARC for AI, we're giving enterprises the foundation to run AI and GenAI systems reliably, securely, and at scale. This is about turning AI into a trusted, efficient engine for transformation across every industry," said Roger Lvin, President and CEO, Hitachi Digital Services. To date, HARC has helped more than 40 Fortune 500 companies run reliable, secure, and cost-effective operations across industries like finance, healthcare, defense, and automotive. Notably, HARC has helped a global building management firm maintain a consistent 99.9% uptime and save over $3 million a year just in infrastructure costs. Additionally, a U.S. travel tech company used HARC to cut revenue losses by 67% in one year. Altogether, since inception HARC has saved clients over $150 million by boosting efficiency, reducing outages, and optimizing cloud costs. It also helped strengthen security by fixing more than 150 high-risk vulnerabilities and building cloud environments that meet top compliance standards like FedRAMP High and DORA. To learn more about our AI and Gen AI Services, visit https://hitachids.com/service/ai-genai-services/. About Hitachi Digital Services Hitachi Digital Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., is a global systems integrator powering mission-critical platforms with people and technology. We help enterprises build, integrate, and run physical and digital systems with tailored solutions in cloud, data, IoT, and ERP modernization, underpinned by advanced AI. By combining Information Technology and Operational Technology (ITxOT), we drive efficiency, innovation, and growth across industries. With over 110 years of Hitachi Group's engineering and technology leadership, Hitachi Digital Services is powering smarter platforms for a safer, more sustainable future. For more information on Hitachi Digital Services, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachids.com About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the 3 business sectors of "Digital Systems & Services" - supporting our customers' digital transformation; "Green Energy & Mobility" - contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and "Connective Industries" - connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company's revenues as 3 sectors for fiscal year 2023 (ended March 31, 2024) totaled 8,564.3 billion yen, with 573 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 270,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com Contacts: Hitachi Digital Services, Menaka Thillaiampalam, Chief Marketing Officer, [email protected] HAVAS Red, Melanie Klausner, Executive Vice President, [email protected] SOURCE Hitachi Digital Services Cassandra Williams named President of Hope Credit Union Ed Sivak named President of Hope Enterprise Corporation JACKSON, Miss., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation / Hope Credit Union) has announced the appointment of Cassandra Williams as President of Hope Credit Union and Ed Sivak as President of Hope Enterprise Corporation. Williams and Sivak's appointments follow one of the most impactful years in HOPE's history. Bill Bynum will continue to serve as HOPE's Chief Executive Officer. This leadership builds on years of working to catalyze a thriving economic ecosystem in the Deep South- Bill Bynum, CEO Post this Cassandra Williams, President of Hope Credit Union Ed Sivak, President of Hope Enterprise Corporation In 2024, HOPE deployed more than $210 million to finance community development across the Deep South, exceeding its previous high mark by $40 million. As a result, Hope Credit Union led the nation in the rate of loan growth among its peer group of credit unions with assets between $500 million and $1 billion. HOPE's net worth ratio ranked third nationally, an indicator of strong financial stability. "These leadership appointments build on three decades of working to catalyze a thriving economic ecosystem in the Deep South that advances prosperity for families, communities and everyday people," said Bill Bynum, HOPE CEO. "Over the past twenty years, Cassandra's and Ed's expertise, experience, and vision helped forge HOPE into a widely respected leader in driving investments that improve lives across the Deep South, and are uniquely equipped to lead the organization into our next era of impact." As President of Hope Credit Union, Williams will oversee HOPE's retail, mortgage, commercial and community and economic development operations. Williams joined HOPE in 1999 as a commercial loan officer in the Mississippi Delta. Since then, she has served in several key roles, stewarding HOPE's entry into Memphis, ultimately becoming regional administrator for HOPE's largest retail market. Most recently, as Chief Lending Officer, Williams provided executive guidance for commercial, small business and community facilities lending, and New Markets Tax Credits financing, leading HOPE to the highest levels of production and impact in the organization's history. A native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, Williams has represented HOPE on several boards and committees, including the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Community Advisory Committee. She holds a Master's in Business Administration from Delta State University. "In 2024, HOPE launched an ambitious strategy to increase the rates of Deep South banking access, homeownership and business ownership to national levels," said Williams. "With that plan as our roadmap, I look forward to ensuring that people throughout the Deep South, particularly those on the margins, have the resources needed to realize their potential." In his role as President of Hope Enterprise Corporation, Sivak will lead teams responsible for investor relations, human assets, communications, advocacy and corporate administration. Sivak joined HOPE in 2001, after serving as a summer intern. In his early years, Sivak provided project management for several important initiatives, including a collaborative that generated $125 million for community development in the Delta, and another project that supported post-hurricane Katrina business recovery in New Orleans. Sivak organized the Hope Policy Institute, reinforcing HOPE's ability to extract data from its programs to influence policies and practices that affect Deep South residents. In addition to representing HOPE on local, state and federal policy matters, Ed serves on the board of Inclusiv (the national network of Community Development Credit Unions) and is president of the Jackson Public School Board. A former member of the Federal Reserve Board Consumer Advisory Council, Ed holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University and a Master's in Public Policy from Georgetown University. "Throughout its history, HOPE has achieved its greatest impact when it collaborated with private industry, philanthropy and nonprofit organizations, helping our neighbors navigate the most difficult of circumstances," said Ed Sivak, President of the Hope Enterprise Corporation. "I look forward to serving in this new role and continuing HOPE's legacy of importing resources into the region's communities most in need, ensuring all people have the opportunity to thrive." About HOPE HOPE (Hope Enterprise Corporation, Hope Credit Union and Hope Policy Institute) provides financial services; leverages resources; and engages in advocacy that strengthens the financial health of people in under-resourced Deep South communities. Since 1994, these efforts have benefited more than three million people in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, and influenced billions in investments in persistent poverty communities nationwide. Learn more at www.hopecu.org Media Contact: Holly Cooper, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications [email protected] (601) 760-7998 SOURCE Hope Enterprise Corporation LONDON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Growth Commission today sets out how the developing Trump Trade Doctrine can be pursued to boost economic growth both in the United States and across the globe. The measures are included in the new paper, How to foster growth by advancing Anti-Competitive Market Distortion-focused trade policy reform in the United States, written by Shanker Singham, Chairman of The Growth Commission, which comprises twelve leading international economists. As the Trump administration has noted, key to the proposals is tackling government actions that create artificial advantages for overseas firms which have been allowed to proliferate. These actions are classified as 'Anti-Competitive Market Distortions' (ACMDs) and include: excessively high or discriminatory tariffs regulations that reduce cost for domestic producers or act as regulatory barriers that exclude foreign competitors weak protection of property rights and intellectual property systematic industrial favoritism through state-owned enterprises or implicit subsidies Such actions distort comparative advantage, lower global GDP per capita and rob U.S. firms of fair market access. Now that President Trump has started a long overdue debate about how to tackle behavior by foreign governments that harms American interests, we recommend that these ACMDs be evaluated using the methodology The Growth Commission has developed. The paper provides estimates for G20 nations as an example, but this could be extended to all countries of the world. We further recommend that the new 'Trump Trade Doctrine' could benefit from a legal and economic framework covering: An economically robust calibration of U.S. tariffs to ACMDs in other countries. A reduction in U.S. ACMDs which can be achieved through action emanating from the recent Executive Order on reducing anti-competitive regulatory barriers. This highlights that the Trump administration recognizes that ACMDs in the U.S. damage U.S. GDP per capita, and that he is prepared to do in the U.S. what he is asking other countries to do. For the flow of future ACMDs, a chapter in a trade agreement that disciplines them. For the flow of future ACMDs, a mechanism or enhanced trade remedy for affected producers to use. Shanker Singham, Chairman of The Growth Commission and previously a cleared advisor to the U.S. Trade Representative and to the UK Trade Secretary, said: "President Trump is correct to focus on what we have long called Anti-Competitive Market Distortions that artificially suppress US exports and artificially inflate imports into the US. These ACMDs are economic weapons of mass destruction that have been allowed to proliferate and destroy wealth from both the US economy and also from the economy that chooses to deploy them. "Our models suggest the losses from behind the border measures are far more impactful than traditional border measures. This metastasizing cancer in the international trade and domestic regulatory system must be eradicated now. "For far too long nothing has been done to curb this problem as proven by the virtually unchanged entries in the annual National Trade Estimate report year after year. Continuing to do nothing is no longer an option. "President Trump is trying to do something new and he is to be commended for his approach. It is up to other countries now to reduce their distortions so that we move ever closer to a world of no tariffs and no distortions." SOURCE The Growth Commission News / National by Staff reporter Growing fears of a potential impeachment plot are reportedly unsettling President Emmerson Mnangagwa's inner circle, as deepening cracks within the ruling Zanu-PF party threaten to erupt into a full-blown succession crisis.Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, one of Mnangagwa's most ardent defenders and a chief architect of the "Vision 2030" economic agenda, appeared visibly shaken during a Zanu-PF Mashonaland West Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting in Chegutu on Saturday. In a fiery address, he warned party members against entertaining "hallucinating factions" and "outside forces" allegedly seeking to unseat the President through parliamentary impeachment."This talk of impeachment is nothing more than a continuation of failed protests," Ziyambi said, referencing the aborted March 31 demonstrations reportedly planned by expelled party member Blessed Geza. "Now they are panicking and fantasising about Parliament initiating impeachment. But in Zimbabwe, we have a party-based system. There is no space for individual grandstanding in Parliament - members follow the party line."Ziyambi underscored that without the full support of the Zanu-PF parliamentary caucus, any attempt to impeach Mnangagwa is doomed to fail. He reiterated that MPs operate under a strict whipping system that enforces adherence to party directives from its key organs - the People's Conference, Congress, and Central Committee."Anyone who thinks they are bigger than the party will be thrown out," he warned. "Zanu-PF is a pocket big enough to fit everyone, but you can't fit it into your pocket - it will burn you."Joining the defensive front, former Senate President and Council of Elders member Edna Madzongwe echoed Ziyambi's sentiments, warning against internal dissent. "If you are a Zanu-PF member, you cannot act against Zanu-PF," she said.Behind the scenes, however, party insiders describe a deepening climate of uncertainty and distrust, exacerbated by the long-standing but increasingly fraught relationship between Mnangagwa and his deputy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. Their alliance, forged during the 2017 military coup that ousted Robert Mugabe, has become increasingly strained amid subtle policy clashes, Chiwenga's absences from key events, and growing factionalism.Analysts believe talk of impeachment may be linked to renewed efforts by Chiwenga's camp to force a resolution to Zanu-PF's unresolved succession question. With strong backing from war veterans and segments of the military, Chiwenga is widely believed to be positioning himself as an alternative to Mnangagwa's controversial ambitions to remain in power until 2030.Critics have described Mnangagwa's attempts to extend his tenure as unconstitutional and destabilizing, warning that the ruling party risks imploding under the weight of its own unresolved leadership battles.Sources close to Zanu-PF say the anxiety expressed by top loyalists like Ziyambi signals more than just a political smokescreen. It reflects genuine alarm within Mnangagwa's camp as economic hardships mount, public confidence erodes, and international pressure intensifies over allegations of repression and high-level corruption.Although Zimbabwe's parliamentary structure - dominated by Zanu-PF - makes it structurally difficult to impeach a sitting president, the very notion of such a move being discussed openly suggests a party increasingly at war with itself.As the political temperature rises, all eyes are now on how Mnangagwa navigates the growing unrest within his party - and whether his long-time ally-turned-rival, Chiwenga, will make a decisive move in what is shaping up to be Zanu-PF's most significant leadership showdown since 2017. All Other Terms and Conditions for Tender Offers Remain Unchanged LIMA, Peru, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunt Oil Company of Peru L.L.C., Sucursal del Peru ("HOCP") announced today that it has extended the Expiration Time (as defined below) with respect to its previously announced tender offers for cash (the "Offers") for any and all of its outstanding 6.375% Trust Enhanced Senior Notes due 2028 (CUSIP Nos.: Rule 144A: 445640 AB1, Regulation S: P5300P AB9), (ISINs: Rule 144A: US445640AB18, Regulation S: USP5300PAB96) (the "2028 Notes") and 8.550% Trust Enhanced Senior Notes due 2033 (CUSIP Nos.: Rule 144A: 445640 AC9, Regulation S: P5300P AC7), (ISINs: Rule 144A: US445640AC90, Regulation S: USP5300PAC79) (the "2033 Notes" and together with the 2028 Notes, the "Notes"), in each case in the manner described below. The Offers will now expire at 8:00 a.m., New York City time (7:00 a.m., Lima time) on April 22, 2025 (as extended, and as may be further extended, the "Expiration Time"). The Offers were made pursuant to the Offer to Purchase, dated March 31, 2025 (the "Offer to Purchase"), and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (as these terms are defined in the Offer to Purchase and, collectively, the "Offer Documents"), which set forth the terms and conditions of the Offers. In order to be eligible to receive the Consideration set forth in the table below, Holders of each series of Notes must validly tender their Notes at or prior to the Expiration Time, and such tender or delivery must not be validly withdrawn at or before 8:00 a.m., New York City time (7:00 a.m., Lima time) on April 22, 2025 (the "Withdrawal Date") unless the applicable offer is extended or earlier terminated by HOCP in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law. Tenders of Notes may be withdrawn at any time at or prior to the Withdrawal Date. Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase will be paid for on April 28, 2025 (the "Settlement Date"), which is the fourth business day after the Expiration Time, plus accrued and unpaid interest from the last interest payment date for each series of Notes to, but not including, the Settlement Date. The complete terms and conditions of the Offers are described in the Offer to Purchase, as amended or supplemented from time to time, and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery. Except as set forth herein, all other terms and conditions of the Offers remain unchanged. All capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the same meaning ascribed to them in the Offer to Purchase. As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 14, 2025, according to information provided by Global Bondholders Services Corporation, the information and tender agent for the Offers, the original principal amounts of the Notes listed in the table below have been tendered and not withdrawn, representing 65.01% of the 2028 Notes and 65.33% of the 2033 Notes. Description of Security CUSIP No. ISIN Aggregate Original Principal Amount Aggregate Current Principal Amount Original Principal Amount Tendered(1) Consideration per U.S.$1,000 Original Principal Amount(2) Scaling Factor 6.375% Trust Enhanced Senior Notes due 2028 144A: 445640-AB1 Reg S: P5300P-AB9 144A: US445640AB18 Reg S: USP5300PAB96 U.S.$261,492,000 U.S.$184,613,352 U.S.$169,986,000 U.S.$1,025.00 70.60 % 8.550% Trust Enhanced Senior Notes due 2033 144A: 445640-AC9 Reg S: P5300P-AC7 144A: US445640AC90 Reg S: USP5300PAC79 U.S.$500,000,000 U.S.$500,000,000 U.S.$326,674,000 U.S.$1,132.50 N/A (1) Excludes U.S.$200,000 aggregate original principal amount of 2033 Notes tendered pursuant to guaranteed delivery procedures described in the Offer Documents. (2) The Consideration for the 2028 Notes will be the amount set forth in the table above multiplied by the current scaling factor of 70.60% (the "Scaling Factor"). The Scaling Factor results from the fact that the 2028 Notes have been partially amortized. HOCP has engaged BofA Securities, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credicorp Capital Sociedad Agente de Bolsa S.A. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as the Dealer Managers for the Offers. Persons with questions regarding the Offers should contact BofA Securities, Inc. at +1 (888) 292-0070 (toll-free), +1 (646) 855-8988 (collect), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at +1 800-558-3745 (toll-free), +1 212-723-6106 (collect), Credicorp Capital Sociedad Agente de Bolsa S.A. at +51 (1) 416-3333 (Ext. 36099) (collect) and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC at +1 (866) 846-2874 (toll-free), +1 (212) 834-7279 (collect). Copies of the Offer Documents are available at the following web address: https://www.gbsc-usa.com/huntoil, or may also be obtained from Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the Information and Tender Agent for the Offers, by contacting Global Bondholder Services Corporation at +1 (855) 654-2015 (toll-free) or +1 (212) 430-3774 (collect), or email [email protected]. No Offer or Solicitation This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase the Notes or any securities and it is not soliciting an offer to sell the Notes or any securities of HOCP. HOCP has neither obtained any commitments to purchase, nor entered into any agreements, to sell any securities. The Offers are being made solely by means of, and pursuant to the terms of, the Offer to Purchase and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery. The Offer to Purchase has not been filed with, and has not been approved or reviewed by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority of any country. No authority has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the Offer to Purchase or any other documents related to the Offers, and it is unlawful and may be a criminal offense to make any representation to the contrary. In those jurisdictions where the securities, blue sky or other laws require any tender offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Offers will be deemed to be made on behalf of HOCP by one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction. None of HOCP, the Dealer Managers, the Information and Tender Agent or the Trustee for the Notes, or any of their respective affiliates, makes any recommendation in connection with the Offers. Holders must make their own decisions as to whether to tender their Notes, and, if so, the principal amount of Notes to tender. None of HOCP, the Dealer Managers, the Information and Tender Agent or the Trustee for the Notes, or any of their respective affiliates, has authorized any person to give any information or to make any representation in connection with the Tender Offers other than the information and representations contained in the Offer to Purchase. Please refer to the Offer Documents for a description of offer terms, conditions, disclaimers and other information applicable to the Offers. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this release constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to: statements regarding the timing of the payment for the tendered Notes; and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "driving," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions are intended to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, are based on judgments, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to us on the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About HOCP HOCP is part of the Camisea Consortium and holds a 25.2% interest in the License Contracts related to one of the largest natural gas producing fields in Peru, the Camisea Fields, which include Block 88 and Block 56 in the Ucayali Basin of Peru. Block 88 is the largest source of natural gas production in Peru and also contains the largest number of Proved Reserves and Probable Reserves in Peru, while Block 56 is the second largest in Peru in terms of natural gas production and third in terms of Proved and Probable Reserves levels. As a result of its 25.2% interest in the Camisea Consortium, HOCP also holds a 25.2% interest in each of the facilities related to the Camisea Fields, including the Malvinas Plant, a natural gas processing plant near the Camisea Fields and the Pisco Plant, a liquids fractionation facility near Pisco, Peru on the Pacific coast. SOURCE Hunt Oil Company of Peru L.L.C. Hyundai Motor Group to collaborate with Pertamina and West Java Province to build a waste-to-hydrogen ecosystem, advancing sustainable hydrogen solutions to build a waste-to-hydrogen ecosystem, advancing sustainable hydrogen solutions By 2027, the Group plans to launch an on-site hydrogen refueling station utilizing Pertamina's CNG infrastructure Building on its successful W2H model in Korea, the Group plans to expand the ecosystem in Indonesia as its first overseas initiative as its first overseas initiative The April 2025 summit in Jakarta featured Indonesia's national hydrogen roadmap, with major contributions from Hyundai and government ministries SEOUL, South Korea and JAKARTA, Indonesia, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) today outlined action plans to establish a waste-to-hydrogen (W2H) ecosystem in West Java Province, Indonesia, during the Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit held in Jakarta. At the summit, the Group unveiled comprehensive plans for the initiative in partnership with Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS), and PT Pertamina (Persero), an Indonesian state-owned energy company. (from left) Fransiscus Soerjopranoto, COO at PT Hyundai Motors Indonesia; Nur Lalia Widyastuti, Coordinator at BAPPENAS; Jaeha Park, Vice President and Head of Global Hydrogen Business Sub-Division at Hyundai Motor Group; Eniya Listiani Dewi, Director General of New and Renewable Energy at ESDM; Ary Kurniawan, Project Director at PT Pertamina; H. Sumasna, Regional Secretary of West Java Province; Ai Saadiyah Dwidaningsih, Head of West Java Environmental Management Agency View PDF Hosted by the Indonesia Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association (IFHE), the event was attended by key stakeholders, including the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), representatives from the Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS), and executives from Pertamina and Hyundai Motor Group. During the event, ESDM presented Indonesia's national hydrogen roadmap, while BAPPENAS outlined hydrogen policies for Nusantara, the country's new capital city. As part of the initiative, the Group will establish an on-site hydrogen refueling station using Pertamina's existing compressed natural gas (CNG) infrastructure, targeting operational launch by 2027. The station will be supplied with low-carbon hydrogen produced from biogas sourced at the Sarimukti landfill near Bandung, the capital of West Java Province. Following the completion of a technical feasibility study on Sarimukti landfill development, the Group plans to commence construction this year. To bring Korea's advanced hydrogen policies and technologies into the project, the Group is supporting the effort through a consortium of leading Korean organizations and companies. The roadmap underscores significant advancements in the Group's commitment to sustainable hydrogen solutions, as highlighted by its senior management at events in Indonesia and abroad. It also aligns with the objectives of Indonesia's central government ministries and is reflected in the country's National Hydrogen and Ammonia Roadmap. Indonesia Marks First Overseas Milestone in W2H Initiative The Sarimukti landfill in Indonesia handles about 80 percent of the 1,500 tons of waste generated daily in Bandung. In recent years, neighboring communities have faced repeated natural disasters including large-scale fires, floods, and landslides driven by the ongoing effects of global warming and increasingly extreme weather conditions. Reaffirming its corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, the Group has partnered with Good Neighbors to improve local access to drinking water and healthcare. Collaborating with Sejin G&E, the Group plans to secure the Sarimukti landfill, preventing disasters and ensuring safety, while extracting biogas for low-carbon hydrogen production via Hyundai Rotem's steam methane reformer. The robust partnership between the Group and Pertamina has paved the way for the development of a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem covering land provision for refueling stations, hydrogen production and transport, and vehicle utilization. With strong support from key Indonesian government bodies, this collaboration not only addresses urgent waste management challenges but also lays the groundwork for low carbon hydrogen production. About Hyundai Motor Group More information about Hyundai Motor Group can be found at: http://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com or Newsroom: Media Hub by Hyundai, Kia Global Media Center (kianewscenter.com), Genesis Newsroom SOURCE Hyundai Motor Group A diverse collection of patient stories, community events, advocacy resources, and a limited-time initial consultation discount are designed to empower those navigating infertility NORWALK, Conn., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Illume Fertility, an award-winning fertility practice in the tri-state area known for its exceptional success rates and best-in-class patient experience, has announced the launch of its annual campaign for National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW). From April 2026, 2025, Illume's week-long campaign aims to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and amplify the voices of those impacted by infertility. The campaign will feature five unique patient stories, shared daily on Illume Fertility's Learning Center and social media platforms. Each story offers an honest, deeply personal look at the many paths to parenthood including IVF, IUI, surrogacy, and donor conception, as well as the emotional difficulties of navigating fertility challenges. "National Infertility Awareness Week serves as an important reminder that 1 in 6 couples face infertility," says Dr. Mark Leondires, Medical Director and Founder of Illume Fertility. "At Illume, we're dedicated to making expert care and supportive resources accessible to everyone on their family-building journey. Through innovative offerings like our Sunfish IVF Success Program, discounted new patient consultations, special financing options, and personalized guidance on grants and other resources, we help empower individuals and couples to take the next step with confidence." In honor of NIAW, Illume is offering $100 off each initial consultation with a fertility doctor for new, self-pay patients who book by May 15, 2025, and complete their appointment by June 15, 2025. Virtual and in-person appointments are available, allowing for greater accessibility to care. As part of its 2025 NIAW campaign, Illume Fertility has announced the following events: Fertility 101: Facts, Myths, and Your Next Steps | A Special NIAW Event Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET In recognition of National Infertility Awareness Week, reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Alexander Kucherov will host an informative virtual event covering everything from fertility basics to advanced treatment pathways, common misconceptions about infertility, and more. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights from a fertility expert, including during a live Q&A. Register here . Meet Illume's IVF Success Program with Sunfish Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET IVF helps millions of families grow each year, but affording treatment can be challenging. We encourage you to join us for this empowering webinar to explore all of your options, including Illume Fertility's new IVF Success Program with Sunfish. This virtual event includes a comprehensive overview of the program, which includes an all-inclusive, money-back guarantee package designed to support patients throughout each step of their IVF journey. Register here . Egg Freezing 101: Taking Control of Your Fertility Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM ET Join reproductive endocrinologist Dr. Spencer Richlin at Illume's Stamford location for an in-depth discussion on egg freezing and how to navigate the process with an expert team. Hear from a former Illume patient, an IVF nurse, and a financial counselor who will help demystify all aspects of treatment. Register here . Optimizing Your Fertility Through Nutrition Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM ET Grab your lunch and join Illume Fertility's in-house Nutrition Team, Jill Hickey, RDN, and Jennifer Walsh, RDN, for an insightful midday webinar all about fertility nutrition. In this special session, they'll cover the connection between fertility and nutrition, fertility-friendly foods and supplements to support your journey, and end with a live Q&A. Register here . "We're committed to building a culture of compassion and openness around infertility," says Dr. Spencer Richlin, Surgical Director at Illume Fertility. "Infertility can be such an isolating experience, and too many people still suffer in silence. This week is about changing that." To explore stories, register for events, or learn how to get involved, visit illumefertility.com/NIAW . About Illume Fertility Illume Fertility is a leading fertility practice in the tri-state area providing a best-in-class patient experience and cutting-edge treatments by award-winning physicians to help patients achieve their fertility and family-building goals. Led by an expert team of nine highly credentialed, board-certified reproductive endocrinologists many of whom have received Castle Connolly's prestigious Top Doc award Illume Fertility specializes in a complete range of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), including intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), and egg, sperm, and embryo cryopreservation. Recognized as a Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign for seven consecutive years, Illume Fertility's commitment to inclusive care includes a world-renowned egg donation and gestational surrogacy program, a dedicated team of third-party reproduction experts, and Gay Parents To Be, an award-winning resource hub offering tailored support for LGBTQ+ family building. Illume Fertility is the only regional fertility clinic with offices in both Connecticut and New York offering comprehensive holistic support services, including in-house nutrition counseling, onsite genetic counselors, fertility acupuncture, yoga for fertility, community events, and a network of mental health providers specializing in fertility and family-building. Proud of its exceptional success rates, Illume Fertility remains a leader in patient-centered care, providing compassionate, expert guidance to every individual and couple we serve. Media Contact Stacy Callahan, Astonish Media Group, 917-972-1101, [email protected], astonishmediagroup.com Victoria Andretta, Illume Fertility, 845-494-7229, [email protected], illumefertility.com SOURCE Illume Fertility One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, experts in HVAC maintenance and care, are helping homeowners spring into savings through the addition of smart thermostats and upgrading their HVAC units. COLUMBIA, Md., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As temperatures begin to rise, homeowners everywhere are looking for ways to stay cool this summer. If you're thinking about a new AC unit, don't stress financing options are available to make the upgrade more affordable. At One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, we're here to remind you that now is the ideal time to get your air conditioning system ready before the heat really kicks in. Whether it's revitalization or a replacement, avoid the rush and the stress make sure your AC is prepared to keep your home cool, energy-efficient, and comfortable all season long. "Many homeowners don't think about their HVAC units until they run into a problem and that's when they need it most," said Richie Drew, vice president of operations for One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning. "Scheduling regular maintenance with our expert technicians or upgrading your cooling systems are smart ways to proactively care for both your family's comfort and your appliances." One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning recommends the following for homeowners who are looking to be proactive this spring to ensure a smooth transition into summer: Schedule a maintenance checkup to ensure your air conditioning system is operating efficiently to help prevent unexpected breakdowns during the summer heat. Consider replacing outdated air conditioning systems with modern, energy-efficient models to reduce energy consumption and save on cooling costs throughout the summer. Experience comfort and efficiency with the Nuve Smart Thermostat. This innovative device revolutionizes home climate control through its user-friendly mobile app, allowing temperature adjustments from anywhere. Its standout features include direct messaging for personalized advice, smart scheduling that learns your routines, and remote management capabilities. This innovative device revolutionizes home climate control through its user-friendly mobile app, allowing temperature adjustments from anywhere. Its standout features include direct messaging for personalized advice, smart scheduling that learns your routines, and remote management capabilities. Test run your air conditioner for a short period to ensure it's cooling properly and that there are no strange noises or smells. Catching issues early can prevent bigger problems later. Being proactive now means a cool, comfortable summer without the stress of last-minute repairs or skyrocketing energy bills! One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning makes it easy for homeowners to invest in systems that not only keep homeowners cool but also save money in the long run. If you're considering an upgrade, their experts can guide you in selecting the best system for your needs, whether that's a higher efficiency HVAC unit or smart thermostat technology. To learn more about the benefits of upgrading your HVAC systemclick here. About One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning With more than 400 locations, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning is the #1 HVAC service provider in the United States. With comfort and convenience a top priority, the company offers an extensive line of products and services, including maintenance, installation and repair, that keeps HVAC units running at peak performance year-round. One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning is part of Authority Brands, the parent company to leading home service brands across the plumbing, HVAC, electrical services, residential cleaning, at-home care, swimming pool repair and maintenance, tree care, restoration, pet waste removal, and pest control services sectors. For more information, visit www.onehourheatandair.com and www.authoritybrands.com. About Authority Brands Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, Authority Brands' companies include 15 leading home service franchise brands: America's Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, DoodyCalls, DRYmedic Restoration Services, Homewatch CareGivers, The Junkluggers, Lawn Squad, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Screenmobile, STOP Restoration, and Woofie's. Together, these brands provide home services through more than 2,000 territories operated by more than 1,000 franchise owners. Authority Brands is dedicated to supporting individual franchise owner growth by providing strong marketing, technology, and operational support. See www.authoritybrands.com for more information. CONTACT: Emily Muller Fish Consulting [email protected] (954) 893-9150 SOURCE One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning LEXINGTON, Ky., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Jones Walker LLP is pleased to welcome Laura D'Angelo as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and a member of the Gaming Industry Team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Laura's addition to the firm expands the firm's reach into the Kentucky market. Jones Walker welcomes Laura DAngelo as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and a member of the Gaming Industry Team based in Lexington, Kentucky. "We are thrilled to welcome Laura to Jones Walker," said Bill Hines, the firm's managing partner. "Her extensive corporate, equine, and gaming law knowledge will further extend the reach of our Gaming Industry Team to new clients in Kentucky, as well as offer further value to clients throughout the firm's footprint, both nationally and internationally." Over the course of her career, Laura has developed a significant practice in equine, racing, and gaming law. She has represented horse show and competition organizers, racetracks, riders, owners, trainers, breeders, trade associations, commercial lenders, and private equity firms and provided advice on every aspect of the horse business, including purchases and sales, formation of syndicates and partnerships, licensing of United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) competitions and resolution of USEF competition date disputes, establishment of nonprofits, real estate transactions, and issues involving the operations of commercial horse farms of all sizes. "I am excited to join Jones Walker and have the opportunity to grow both my own practice and the firm's renowned Gaming Industry Team with my experience in equine and gaming law," Laura said. "I look forward to collaborating with the talented team here and contributing to the firm's continued success." Laura is also an accomplished corporate attorney who advises clients on a range of issues across industries. She regularly represents multinational corporations, privately held companies, and high-net-worth individuals and family offices across the United States and internationally, helping them identify and maximize opportunities while addressing ever-evolving areas of risk. She also has more than two decades of experience serving as lender's counsel for national and regional banks and private equity funds. With her extensive business background and extensive background in corporate law, commercial lending, and equine and gaming law, Laura can craft comprehensive solutions for clients of all sizes and levels of sophistication. About Jones Walker Jones Walker LLP (joneswalker.com) is among the largest 145 law firms in the United States. With offices in Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, and Texas, we serve local, regional, national, and international business interests. The firm is committed to providing a comprehensive range of legal services to major multinational public and private corporations, Fortune 500 companies, money center banks, worldwide insurers, and emerging companies doing business in the United States and abroad. Contact : Savannah Kirk 225.248.3435 [email protected] SOURCE Jones Walker LLP LOS ANGELES, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of CarMax, Inc. ("CarMax" or "the Company") (NYSE: KMX) for violations of the securities laws. The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. CarMax released its Q4 and full year financial results on April 10, 2025. The Company missed analyst estimates and admitted it would be "removing the timeframes" it had previously assigned to long-term revenue, unit sales, and market share goals. The Company claimed this decision was driven by "the potential impact o broader macro factors." Based on this news, shares of CarMax fell by 17% on the same day. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at [email protected]. The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics. CONTACT: The Schall Law Firm Brian Schall, Esq. 310-301-3335 [email protected] www.schallfirm.com SOURCE The Schall Law Firm PERKIOMENVILLE, Pa., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lennar, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, today announced the grand opening of Farm View, a brand-new community of single-family homes in Perkiomenville. Located in the top-rated Perkiomen Valley School District, Farm View offers spacious, modern floorplans with finished basements and outdoor amenities all ages can enjoy, making it the ideal place for family-friendly living. Lennar's Farm View community offers modern single-family homes and outdoor amenities suited for all ages. Now selling! "Farm View offers the perfect balance of private living and convenient access to the shopping and dining options in nearby Skippack Village and Collegeville," said Tench Tilghman, Division President for Lennar in the Greater Philadelphia Area. "With top-rated schools, abundant outdoor recreation, and beautifully designed homes, Farm View is an ideal community for families in Perkiomenville to call home." Farm View features six versatile home designs with Traditional, Farmhouse, and Craftsman elevations, featuring modern open layouts and finished basements for additional flexible living space. Homes in Farm View range from 3,211 to 4,207 square feet, with four bedrooms and three to fourth bathroom floorplans. Pricing starts in the $700,000s. Every home features Lennar's signature Everything's Included program, where the homebuilder's most popular features and finishes are built into the base price of the home. For Farm View, this includes high-end finishes that elevate the interior and exterior of each home. Farm View homeowners enjoy onsite amenities, including walking paths and a tot lot playground, which bring outdoor recreation suited for all ages. Farm View boasts an ideal location near ample shopping, dining and local attractions, including Spring Mountain Adventure and Upper Salford Park. For more information on new home opportunities in Farm View, call (484) 561-5870 or visit the community website. About Lennar Corporation Lennar Corporation, founded in 1954, is one of the nation's leading builders of quality homes for all generations. Lennar builds affordable, move-up and active adult homes primarily under the Lennar brand name. Lennar's Financial Services segment provides mortgage financing, title and closing services primarily for buyers of Lennar's homes and, through LMF Commercial, originates mortgage loans secured primarily by commercial real estate properties throughout the United States. Lennar's Multifamily segment is a nationwide developer of high-quality multifamily rental properties. LENx drives Lennar's technology, innovation and strategic investments. For more information about Lennar, please visit www.lennar.com. Contact: Danielle Tocco Vice President Communications Lennar Corporation [email protected] Direct Line: 949.789.1633 SOURCE Lennar Corporation Data Center World 2025 will feature LG's direct-to-chip, room, and chiller plant cooling capabilities to increase efficiency WASHINGTON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global HVAC technology leader LG Electronics is debuting a full suite of data center cooling solutions at Data Center World 2025. Designed to address the increasing demands of high-capacity data centers, LG's innovative portfolio offers an end-to-end cooling solution, effectively managing heat from data center chips to external heat rejection while also optimizing room cooling. These solutions aim to enhance efficiency and help reduce downtime in this mission-critical industry. Attendees can explore these innovations at LG's booth (#633). LG Electronics debuts a full suite of data center cooling solutions at Data Center World 2025. Data Center World 2025, held April 14-17 in Washington, D.C., comes as the global demand for data center capacity is expected to grow between 19 and 22 percent annually through 2030.1 As data center capacity expands, so does the challenge of managing the heat generated by high-performance chips. LG's cutting-edge cooling technologies are intended to meet this challenge head-on, helping provide reliable, energy-efficient solutions, according to LG Electronics USA Senior Vice President Steve Scarbrough, general manager of LG Air Conditioning Technologies. "Between the data for our phones on the go, our laptops at work and our smart TVs at home, data centers play a crucial role in our day-to-day lives, and cooling solutions are a critical component for equipment to run as expected," said Scarbrough. "LG aims to be a unique player in the market, helping to meet demands of future data center projects and make specifying and development easier with our efficient end-to-end cooling solution offerings." Data Center World 2025 marks the official launch of LG's proven cooling technologies for the U.S. data center market. Highlights of LG's data center cooling solutions on display include: Cold Plate This cooling solution for high-powered chips in data centers can provide enhanced leak protection and can be optimized for a customer's specific needs, including chip length and height and with machine learning software. This cooling solution for high-powered chips in data centers can provide enhanced leak protection and can be optimized for a customer's specific needs, including chip length and height and with machine learning software. Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) With a compact design, LG's CDU can provide high efficiency and reliability with LG Virtual Sensor technology that enables continuous operation and helps diagnose sensor failure prediction. With a compact design, LG's CDU can provide high efficiency and reliability with LG Virtual Sensor technology that enables continuous operation and helps diagnose sensor failure prediction. Computer Room Air Handler (CRAH) LG's solution offers convenient installation, maintenance, high-efficiency LG 3D Blade EC Fans and low static pressure oval coils. Features are applied for efficiency. Leveraging its HVAC cooling innovations unveiled at Data Center World, LG is joining forces with Microsoft on AI data centers. With LG's thermal management systems and advanced chiller technologies optimized for AI data centers, this new alliance aims to enhance energy efficiency in these critical backbones of AI infrastructure. Together, Microsoft and LG plan to create next-generation data centers that are more efficient and sustainable. Mission-critical cooling technologies to support the explosive growth of U.S. AI data centers will be discussed during a special Data Center World "Solution Spotlight" session at noon on Wed., April 16. Taking the Expo Hall Stage, LG's Jae Yoon Koh will explain the importance of Cutting Down Carbon Footprints by Optimization of Energy and Water Consumption. For more information about LG's HVAC solutions, visit www.lghvac.com. Photos are available here. About LG Air Conditioning Technologies USA LG Electronics USA's Air Conditioning Technologies business is based in Alpharetta, Ga. LG is a leading player in the air conditioning market, manufacturing both commercial and residential air conditioners and building management solutions. From consumer and individual units to industrial and specialized air conditioning systems, LG provides a wide range of products for heating, ventilating, air conditioning, water heating, and building controls. Eleven-time ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year, LG Electronics USA (based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics Inc., a smart life solutions company with annual revenues of more than $60 billion. For more information, please visit lghvac.com. Media Contacts: LG Electronics North America LG Air Conditioning Technologies USA John I. Taylor Joslyn Fagan +1 847 941 8181 + 1 404 388 3687 [email protected] [email protected] LG Electronics USA Kim Regillio +1 815 355 0509 [email protected] 1 McKinsey & Company, AI power: Expanding data center capacity to meet growing demand: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/ai-power-expanding-data-center-capacity-to-meet-growing-demand SOURCE LG Electronics USA Sponsorship will enhance, strengthen resources for the Northern Kentucky-based life sciences and entrepreneurship lab incubator COVINGTON, Ky., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeSciKY has announced that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., will become the founding sponsor of the Covington-based nonprofit lab incubator, an investment that will play a key role in supporting LifeSciKY's mission and enhancing the resources available to Lab Residents. "As our founding sponsor, Thermo Fisher Scientific's support will enhance our lab infrastructure and strengthen our ability to support early-stage life sciences companies," said Dr. Christin Godale, Executive Director of LifeSciKY. "We want to thank Thermo Fisher Scientific for their commitment to increasing life sciences innovation in Northern Kentucky." LifeSciKY aims to position Northern Kentucky as a nationally recognized hub for life sciences. Post this By providing entrepreneurs with a place to innovate, grow, and succeed and by working with national partners like Thermo Fisher Scientific, LifeSciKY aims to position Northern Kentucky as a nationally recognized hub for life sciences. Funded by the state with bipartisan support from leaders such as Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Kentucky State Senator Chris McDaniel, LifeSciKY and its new lab will be an asset for the Commonwealth as well as aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators. "This announcement represents the type of partnership we knew was possible when we allocated $15 million to support a research lab in Covington," Governor Beshear said. "As Thermo Fisher Scientific continues to grow in our state, this partnership with LifeSciKY is yet another incredible addition to Kentucky's growing life sciences sector. I want to congratulate both LifeSciKY and Thermo Fisher and look forward to what it brings to the Commonwealth." According to Kenton County Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann, "This partnership provides critical resources to support innovation, attract top talent and drive economic growth while building a collaborative ecosystem that fosters breakthrough discoveries and accelerates success." This partnership is designed to lower operational barriers for startups, providing them with the tools and support needed to accelerate their research and commercialization efforts. Additionally, lab residents will have access to Thermo Fisher's industry expertise, technical support, and potential collaboration opportunities, further integrating them into a global life sciences network. "We're incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a partner with LifeSciKY and continue to support the growth of the life science sector in Kentucky," said Kim Baltier, vice president of global commercial operations, biosciences at Thermo Fisher. LifeSciKY's 15,000-square-foot facility is set to open in late summer 2025 in the OneNKY Center in Covington with affordable lab space, state-of-the-art equipment, and essential resources to early-stage life sciences companies including biotech startups and academic spinouts that need specialized lab space and resources. To learn more about LifeSciKY or to apply for Lab Residency, visit LifeSciKY.com. Click here for visual assets. Photo credits in file names. About LifeSciKY LifeSciKY is a nonprofit corporation founded in November 2022, accelerating science, entrepreneurship, education, and economic development in Covington, Kentucky. LifeSciKY provides affordable lab space, state-of-the-art equipment, and essential resources to empower innovators and advance groundbreaking work. To learn more, visit LifeSciKY.com. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, visit www.thermofisher.com. MEDIA CONTACT Sarah Brookbank Scooter Media On Behalf of LifeSciKY [email protected] 859-446-2967 (cell) SOURCE LifeSciKY Marco's Pizza Rolls Out Latest Limited Time Offer: Aims to Elevate Mealtime Across the Country TOLEDO, Ohio, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, brings bold new flavor to its menu with the introduction of Pepperoni Bread. This craveable side features a Marco's twist on America's favorite pizza topping with crispy, shredded pepperoni. For a limited time, pepperoni lovers can indulge in the bold new side for just $5* at participating Marco's locations. This tasty side features crispy shredded pepperoni layered underneath three fresh cheeses, and finished with garlic sauce and Marcos signature Romesan seasoning. Complimenting Marco's signature CheezyBread, the all-new Pepperoni Bread takes flavor to the next level with bold crispy, shredded pepperoni. Created by Marco's Italian founder Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco, this tasty side features crispy shredded pepperoni layered underneath three fresh cheeses, and finished with garlic sauce and Marco's signature Romesan seasoning, delivering an irresistibly rich, pepperoni-forward taste in every bite. Pepperoni Bread showcases Marco's commitment to crave-worthy flavors, spotlighting the brand's pepperoni variety, including classic, Old World, and crispy shredded pepperoni. Fans of the Triple Pepperoni Magnificowhich also highlights the crispy, shredded varietywill recognize the satisfying crunch and deep flavor that turns America's favorite pizza topping into a must-have companion to any pizza meal. For pizza lovers who want more, the all-new Pepperoni Bread joins the Marco's More Menu**, giving customers another delicious way to indulge at an unbeatable value. With over 30 crave-worthy menu items, including pizza, wings, sides, and desserts, the Marco's More Menu makes it easy to mix, match, and maximize every order. Now, for just $5* customers can enjoy the bold, crispy goodness of Pepperoni Bread alongside other mouthwatering Marco's favorites, making it the perfect addition for any occasion. "At Marco's Pizza, we know that the perfect side can take pizza night to the next level, and our new Pepperoni Bread is here to steal the spotlight," said Chief Marketing Officer Denise Lauer of Marco's Pizza. "With layers of crispy, shredded pepperoni and gooey cheese, we've taken a beloved side and made it the ultimate sidekick to our delicious menu items at a value-forward price." For more information about these offers and Marco's Pizza, and to find your nearest location, please visit www.marcos.com or download our mobile app available on the App Store or Google Play. ABOUT MARCO'S PIZZA Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Marco's Pizza is one of the fastest-growing pizza brands in the United States. Marco's was founded in 1978 by Italian-born Pasquale ("Pat") Giammarco and thrives to deliver a high-quality pizza experience, known for its dough made from scratch and its three fresh signature cheeses. The company has grown from its roots as a beloved Ohio brand to operate over 1,200 stores in 35 states with locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Most recently, Marco's was recognized as America's Favorite Restaurant in the Limited-Service Pizza category by Nation's Restaurant News using Technomic Ignite Consumer 2024 data. Other recent accolades include ranking No. 48 on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2024 "Franchise 500" ranking, earning a coveted spot as the only top 5 pizza chain to rank on Newsweek's 2025 "America's Best Customer Service" in pizza chains list, earning a spot on QSR's Top 50, and being featured on Nation's Restaurant News' prestigious "Top 500" ranking. * California prices higher. Delivery fee/tax extra (varies by store). Delivery orders must meet stated minimum. Other restrictions may apply see store or marcos.com for details. ** MINIMUM SPEND AND TIERED PRICES HIGHER AT CERTAIN LOCATIONS. Use code MOREMENU. Valid on the Marco's More Menu only with minimum $7.99 spend (min. $8.99 spend required at some locations - use code GETMORE). For a limited time at participating stores. Order must include all required items. Not valid on catering, with other offers or discounts, or through 3rd-party delivery apps. Price, product availability, and delivery fee may vary. Lowest price of menu or MMM tier price prevails. Other restrictions may apply. See store or marcos.com for details. According to Technomic's 2024 America's Favorite Restaurants data, Marco's Pizza secured the top spot in the Limited-Service Pizza category with a 53.4% composite top-box rating, indicating the share of recent guests who gave the brand the highest possible rating for each of the guest experience attributes. Data for America's Favorite Chains comes from Technomic Ignite Consumer, which collects information about how brands impact consumers and how consumers interact with those brands, via online surveys. See here for more information: www.technomic.com/ignite-consumer. SOURCE Marco's Pizza By Maki Shiraki TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan will cut Japanese production of its top-selling U.S. model, the Rogue SUV, over May-July, said a person familiar with the matter, becoming the latest global automaker to alter manufacturing plans in response to new U.S. import tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to slap a 25% levy on cars built overseas has upended the global automotive supply chain. Nissan, Japan's third-largest carmaker, is more exposed than some rivals. The United States is its top market, accounting for more than a quarter of the vehicles it sold last year, with many of those made in Japan or Mexico. Nissan plans to reduce output of the Rogue by 13,000 vehicles at its plant in Kyushu, southwest Japan, during the three-month period, said the person, declining to be identified because the information is not public. The planned cut is equal to more than a fifth of the 62,000 Rogues sold in the United States in the first three months of this year. Workers at the Kyushu plant, Nissan's largest, will work fewer hours from May through July, with production halted on some days, the person said. The plant will continue to operate on two shifts a day, the person added. The automaker will reassess the production situation at a later date depending on the outlook for tariffs, the person said. On Monday, Trump said he was considering modifying the auto levy because automakers "need a little bit of time". Nissan said in a statement it was reviewing its production and supply chain operations to identify optimal solutions for efficiency and sustainability. It said it was committed to adapting to market changes while prioritising workforce and production capabilities. "Our approach will be thoughtful and deliberate as we navigate both immediate and long-term effects," it said. BACKTRACK The Rogue was Nissan's best-selling model in the U.S. last year, at almost 246,000 vehicles, accounting for more than a quarter of the carmaker's total U.S. vehicle sales. Nissan also makes Rogue models in Smyrna, Tennessee. The latest move comes after Nissan this month backtracked on a separate plan to cut output at Smyrna, saying it would maintain two shifts for the Rogue, rather than cutting to one as had been scheduled for April. Other automakers are also scrambling to navigate the tariffs, which Trump has said will boost U.S. manufacturing and jobs. Chrysler parent Stellantis has said it was pausing production at one plant in Mexico and one in Canada, impacting five connected U.S. facilities and temporarily laying off 900 U.S. workers. HOUSTON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- McGinnis Lochridge partners Jonathan Baughman and William Grubb delivered a resounding victory on April 11, securing a $5.9 million jury verdict for their client and a co-plaintiff in a complex fiduciary duty and fraud case. The Harris County jury awarded $5.7 million for breaches of fiduciary duty and $234,000 for fraud after an eventful four-day trial in the 129th District Court of Harris County, Texas. The case centered on a disputed transfer of 45 acres near Seabrook, Texas, with plaintiffsshareholders in the closely held corporationalleging self-dealing by corporate officers. "The jury was focused and engaged," said Baughman, who also chairs the firm's Oil & Gas Practice Group . "They saw through the complexity to deliver justice." McGinnis Lochridge represented one of the plaintiff shareholders, while the other plaintiff shareholder was represented by Wright & Greenhill. "Helping an individual shareholder stand up to corporate misconduct was important. Our client trusted us, and we delivered." Grubb said. He also credited teamwork for their success, "From Michael Kabat's briefing support to Nicholas Bruno's jury charge expertise from Beck Redden, everyone brought their A-game." About McGinnis Lochridge With offices in Austin, Houston, Dallas and Decatur, Texas, McGinnis Lochridge provides legal counsel on business and financial matters, as well as advocates for clients before administrative agencies, at the State Capitol and in courthouses across Texas and throughout the Southwest. For almost 100 years, the firm has been serving clients in many areas, including oil and gas, electric energy, employment and labor, trust and estate planning, land use, water, environmental and real estate, among others. The firm has received top-tier rankings in Chambers USA, Texas Lawyer, Martindale-Hubbell and others. For more information about the firm, please visit www.mcginnislaw.com. Contact: Rachel Mershon Marketing Manager [email protected] 512-495-6020 SOURCE McGinnis Lochridge LLP With Finastra Essence, the bank will fast-track its digital transformation strategy and offer a comprehensive range of innovative retail and corporate banking services LONDON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications, today announced that Mediterranean Bank, a provider of retail and corporate banking services in Libya, has selected its core banking solution, Finastra Essence, to deliver advanced digital banking services to its customers. The next-generation solution, which comprehensively covers conventional and Islamic banking requirements, will enable the bank to streamline core processes while offering personalized services and robust customer support. Once the implementation is complete, Mediterranean Bank will also benefit from increased agility to adapt quickly to new demands, drive ongoing innovation and rapidly bring new products to market. EVO Digital Solutions Co., a local fintech company and partner of Finastra, is supporting the project by providing specialized services to Mediterranean Bank under Finastra's supervision, including hands-on technical and operational support. With Evo's local expertise and Finastra's global delivery framework, the collaboration aims to provide Mediterranean Bank with a smooth transition to Essence. "We are currently on a digital transformation journey to ensure we continue to deliver the best services to our customers through cutting-edge technology," said Emad Alaakili, Chairman at Mediterranean Bank. "By implementing Finastra's core banking solution, we are transforming our operations to drive greater efficiencies and provide our customers with the personalized banking services they expect. By increasing the robustness of our offering, this move also aligns with our goal to drive sustainable growth by balancing both profitability with social responsibility, and economic development with financial stability." Finastra Essence is a cloud-first, next-generation core banking solution that combines deep functionality and advanced technology to increase enterprise agility, reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. Powered by an open, microservices architecture, Essence's rich, broad and deep banking functionality enables institutions to rapidly deploy market-leading products and services. The solution will provide Mediterranean Bank with a comprehensive suite of services, including core operations, teller, payments and signature verification. "We are pleased to help Mediterranean Bank achieve its objectives around customer-centricity and increasing its market penetration in Libya," said Siobhan Byron, EVP, Universal Banking at Finastra. "Essence's modular architecture and a microservices approach will enable the bank to seamlessly innovate and scale as it grows. Ultimately, we're empowering Mediterranean Bank to reimagine banking and keep pace with change, as it seeks to bring modern, digital financial services to customers." Finastra.com About Finastra Finastra is a global provider of financial services software applications across Lending, Payments, Treasury and Capital Markets, and Universal (retail and digital) Banking. Committed to unlocking the potential of people, businesses and communities everywhere, its vision is to accelerate the future of finance through technology and collaboration, and its pioneering approach is why it is trusted by ~8,100 financial institutions, including 45 of the world's top 50 banks. For more information, visit finastra.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1916021/5265678/FINASTRA_Logo.jpg SOURCE Finastra LONDON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new, mid-size Contract Development Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO), Meribel Pharma Solutions has launched today with an extensive integrated network across Europe, led by a team of industry experts on a mission to deliver the highest quality solutions and services to enable customers to scale to new heights and improve patient health. The firm has ten manufacturing sites and three drug development services sites, situated across France, Spain and Sweden, following the acquisition of CDMO, Synerlab Group and seven European manufacturing facilities from Recipharm last year. Meribel Pharma Solutions is headed up by an experienced team including CEO, Bruce Vielle, formerly President, CEO of Synerlab, and COO, Steve Leonard, who joins the firm from Integra Life Sciences where he was Corporate VP, Global Operations & Supply Chain. Prior to that, he was SVP, Head of Global Operations at Catalent. Built on a strong legacy of expertise in oral solid dose (OSD) manufacturing, semi-solid dosage formulations, and sterile drug products, the firm has established centers of excellence in drug development, lyophilisation, preservative-free multidose technologies, and flexible stick-pack and sachet production. From concept to commercialisation, Meribel Pharma Solutions can deliver niche technical expertise at every stage of the drug development journey. Operating under stringent global regulatory certifications, the company supports both human and veterinary health products. Meribel Pharma Solutions CEO, Bruce Vielle said: "There is a gap in the market for a niche-player, mid-sized CDMO that's focused, agile, and dedicated to solving complex challenges, and we are well positioned to fulfill this unmet need." "We have invested heavily in the latest technologies and expanded our capacity to meet the evolving needs of our customers. As a unified organisation, our foundations are built on quality and reliability. We bring together greater resources, deeper expertise, and enhanced agility, enabling us to meet our customers' requirements better than ever before." "We're deeply committed to delivering the highest quality in everything we do. Our regulatory and quality experts work with our clients to help ensure their products exceed the most stringent standards. With certified sites and a shared focus on continuous improvement, we are set up to deliver exceptional results." The name Meribel Pharma Solutions is inspired by the Meribel mountain range in the Alps. Located in the Three Valleys in France, the name symbolises the firm bringing together manufacturing excellence from across three countries, France, Spain and Sweden. It is also a nod to the firm's commitment to helping customers navigate complex challenges and reach new heights in drug development and manufacturing. About Meribel Pharma Solutions Meribel Pharma Solutions is a mid-sized CDMO, headquartered in the UK, and with 13 sites for manufacturing and drug development services located across France, Spain and Sweden. The company is backed by Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC ("Blue Wolf"), a middle-market private equity firm specialising in the industrial and healthcare sectors. Providing specialist expertise in sterile multidose, lyophilization, sachets and stick packs, and development services, the firm supports drug development from concept through to commercialisation, alongside OSD, semi solid dosage manufacturing services. meribelpharma.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664024/Meribel_Pharma_Solutions_Logo.jpg SOURCE Meribel Pharma Solutions Fresh, Organic Bar-Quality Cocktails Anywhere: The Ultimate Drink Solution for Adventurers BOSTON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MIXXERS, the clear leader in the organic cocktail space just announced something wild: Organic bar-quality cocktailsanywhere. Mixxers brings premium flavor to every adventure, no fridge required. Post this Mixxers cocktails and mocktails at the beach "One of the main problems our customers face is the fact that when they want to chill, whether camping, hiking, beach-bumming, boating, or traveling; they rarely have good drink options. They are settling for second best. We don't want them to settle anymore. We've optimized our mixes for two things - portability and organic ingredients", says Mixxers Founder, Kara Potter. "It takes up no space at all. You literally have to DIG through your backpack to find your Mixxers packet. We are super excited that a fan of Mixxers can truly enjoy their favorite cocktail or mocktail anywhere they want, without sacrificing the quality their chill-time deserves." MIXXERS' portable cocktail packets feature: Bar-authentic taste profiles crafted from organic ingredients that perfectly replicate freshly made cocktails without ANY chemicals crafted from organic ingredients that perfectly replicate freshly made cocktails without ANY chemicals Ultra-portable design that takes up minimal space in backpacks, coolers, boats, or beach bags (or even pockets!) that takes up minimal space in backpacks, coolers, boats, or beach bags (or even pockets!) Simple preparation requiring only water and your choice of spirit or non-alcoholic alternative and stir The outdoor recreational market represents a significant opportunity for portable, high-quality food and beverage solutions. MIXXERS is positioned at the intersection of two major consumer trends: the growing demand for premium, organic cocktail experiences and the increasing emphasis on portability for active lifestyles. "Today's consumers desire high-quality cocktails wherever they go, whether that's camping in Yosemite or relaxing at a neighborhood beach," notes Potter. "MIXXERS delivers that authentic cocktail experience without the bulk, waste, or compromise that usually comes with outdoor drinking options. Just bring the packet and a mini liquor bottled, or "nip" and you've got a premium cocktail." Popular MIXXERS flavors include Margarita, Spicy Margarita, Mai Tai, and Palomaall made with Certified Organic ingredients and containing 50% fewer calories than traditional mixers. "Our customers tell us they love how MIXXERS enhances their outdoor experiences," adds Potter. "Whether they're hiking, camping, traveling, or just enjoying a day at the beach, having a fresh, delicious cocktail option that doesn't weigh them down makes all the difference." MIXXERS plans to partner with outdoor retailers and adventure companies throughout 2025 to bring their portable cocktail solutions to more adventure enthusiasts. The company's products are currently available direct-to-consumer through their website, on Amazon, Bubble Goods, and at other specialty retailers. For more information about MIXXERS' portable cocktail packets or to request product samples, please visit www.mixxers.com or contact [email protected]. About MIXXERS Founded by entrepreneur Kara Potter, MIXXERS revolutionizes the cocktail industry with premium organic powder formulations that create fresher cocktails that can be crafted anywhere. MIXXERS drinks have 50% fewer calories in each serving and use 95% less plastic than traditional liquid mixers, combining quality, convenience, and sustainability in every sip. The company's mission is to make authentic bar-quality cocktails accessible to everyone, everywhere, without sacrificing one drop of quality. We love Mixxers, and we know you will too. Contact Information: Kara Potter MIXXERS [email protected] (413) 240-5608 www.mixxers.com SOURCE Mixxers Netsurit Expands US Presence with the Addition of OMNIPOTECH, Growing its Position as a Leading Managed Service Provider across South Central US. NEW YORK, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Netsurit , an industry-leading managed service provider (MSP), announced its acquisition of OMNIPOTECH, a leading MSP company offering top-tier technical services to small and medium businesses in South Central US. OMNIPOTECH, led by CEO Robert Kyslinger and headquartered in Houston, Texas, brings a strong team of experienced and culturally aligned leaders to the Netsurit family. The addition of OMNIPOTECH is part of Netsurit's ongoing U.S. market expansion strategy, further expanding its footprint in the South Central region and building on exciting opportunities for accelerated growth, strengthened market position, and the ability to deliver top-notch service across multiple time zones. "The acquisition process with Netsurit was thorough and thoughtful. I truly believe the Netsurit Innovate solution will set a new standard for MSPs moving forward. We are excited to join the Netsurit journey and proud to help support the dreams of the doers," said Kyslinger. Recognized as a top managed service provider globally, Netsurit generated over $68 million in revenue, with nearly 70% coming from recurring sources in 2024. Robert and his team, now part of Netsurit, will continue to ensure businesses have the most reliable and professional IT services. Orrin Klopper, CEO of Netsurit, shared his excitement: "We're so happy to welcome Robert Kyslinger and his team to the Netsurit family. Their expertise and shared values make this partnership a perfect fit. This move helps us take our managed services to the next level in the South Central region." At Netsurit, acquisitions are about more than just growing Netsuritthey're about bringing together organizations that share the same vision and values. Together, we'll stay true to our Cause of "Supporting the Dreams of the Doers" as we embark on this exciting chapter. Netsurit holds five Microsoft Solution Partner designations and is on a mission to continue developing and strengthening its Microsoft partnership to empower its clients and support business success. For more information, visit www.netsurit.com. About Netsurit: With locations across the US and South Africa, Netsurit provides managed services for organizations of all sizes. For organizations battling the nonstop challenges of the modern workplace but lacking end-to-end IT expertise, Netsurit ensures that their business-critical apps and infrastructure are always on, secure, and resilient. MEDIA CONTACT: Jolandi Marais [email protected] SOURCE Netsurit OAKLAND, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- RGym, a premier independent fitness center, is excited to announce its New Member Special, offering unbeatable deals to empower the Oakland community to take control of their fitness journey. New members who sign up for a three-month membership will receive the fourth month free, while those who commit to a six-month plan will enjoy the seventh month free. This limited-time offer invites individuals to experience the freedom and flexibility of working out on their own terms in an intimate, community-focused gym. RGym At RGym, members are more than just a numberthey're part of a supportive, close-knit community. Unlike large corporate gyms, RGym provides a welcoming space where you can tackle your workouts your way. With an open gym format and no appointment requirements, members have the freedom to train when and how they want, using state-of-the-art equipment and enjoying a clean, comfortable environment. "We believe fitness should be empowering and adaptable to your lifestyle," says the RGym team. "Our open gym format means you set the pacewhether you want to lift heavy, focus on functional training, or get in a quick cardio session, we provide the tools and support you need." In addition to flexible workout options, RGym offers access to cutting-edge technology like the Evolt 360 body scan machines, delivering precise body composition analysis to help members track progress and refine their goals. For those seeking personalized guidance, expert personal training services are also available to help members of all fitness levels achieve lasting results. New members can take advantage of the New Member Special by mentioning the offer during sign-up. RGym encourages interested individuals to call their team or visit their website to learn more and start their fitness journey today. Don't waitsummer is around the corner! Take advantage of our New Member Special and start your fitness journey today. Call or visit https://rgym4fitness.com to join now and get in shape for summer! About RGym RGym is an independently owned open-gym in North Oakland near Piedmont that is walking distance from BART. With a focus on community, freedom, and personalized fitness experiences, RGym empowers members to train on their terms. Their commitment to providing clean facilities, top-tier equipment, and advanced fitness technology ensures every workout is productive and enjoyable. Learn more and claim your New Member Special at https://rgym4fitness.com . Contact Information Asano-Brooks [email protected] (510) 216-4364 SOURCE RGym PLANO, Texas, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Oil and Gas Asset Clearinghouse (OGAC), a recognized leader in the sale of oil and gas properties, is excited to formally announce Allen Gilmer as Principal Partner and advisory board member. Gilmer, a highly respected figure in the energy sector, brings more than two decades of entrepreneurial expertise and strategic insight that have significantly influenced the oil and gas landscape. As the co-founder of Drillinginfo (now Enverus), Gilmer played a pivotal role in transforming the company into a global provider of data and insights for the energy industry. His visionary leadership allowed Enverus to redefine industry standards, shaping the future of energy analytics and investment. "I'm excited to leverage my experience and contribute to the development of innovative solutions that will help shape the future of the energy asset marketplace. My journey in the oil and gas industry has been one of continuous growth, and OGAC's legacy of trust and excellence aligns perfectly with my vision moving forward. I'm excited to contribute to the ongoing success of this exceptional company," said Gilmer. In addition to his work in the energy sector, Gilmer has ventured into film production over the past six years, co-founding Tiki Tane Pictures with his wife, Riki Rushing, and industry veterans William Shockley and Tom Brady. The company's new film fund has an impressive slate of projects including sci-fi thriller "The Assessment" (starring Elizabeth Olsen and Oscar winner Alicia Vikander); the gripping Western "Long Shadows" (featuring Jacqueline Bisset, Dermot Mulroney, and Dominic Monaghan); upcoming true crime drama "Belly of the Beast" (with Colin Farrell and Ben Stiller); and an untitled Tim Burton documentary (featuring Johnny Depp, Michael Keaton, Helena Bonham Carter, and others). Gilmer's success in both industries reflects his visionary leadership and strategic acumen, which continue to be invaluable assets to Oil and Gas Asset Clearinghouse, ensuring that clients consistently receive exceptional value in every transaction. "Allen has been a gamechanger for Clearinghouse," said Cody Davis, CEO of OGAC. "His ingenuity and leadership have been, and will continue to be, invaluable as we work to redefine the oil and gas asset marketplace." About Oil and Gas Asset Clearinghouse Oil and Gas Asset Clearinghouse, headquartered in Plano, Texas, has been a recognized leader in the energy sector since 1992. With over 32,000 transactions, $13.4 billion in sales, and 500,000 properties brokered, the company is known for its industry expertise and longstanding relationships. OGAC combines oil and gas knowledge with a team of skilled professionals to deliver innovative, data-driven marketing strategies, including virtual data rooms, to effectively match buyers with assets. For over three decades, OGAC has remained a trusted partner in the energy marketplace. For more information, please visit ogclearinghouse.com. SOURCE Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse, LLC SYDNEY, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Omni Bridgeway (ASX: OBL) and funds managed by Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) have completed a strategic transaction establishing a continuation fund (Omni Bridgeway Fund 9). Omni Bridgeway Fund 9 purchased Omni Bridgeway's co-investment interest across a diversified global portfolio of more than 150 legal assets, originated and managed by Omni Bridgeway. Ares has acquired a 70% interest in Omni Bridgeway Fund 9 for a total cash investment of approximately A$320m, resulting in a day-1 cash multiple on invested capital exceeding 3x for Omni Bridgeway. This is the first continuation fund and one of the largest secondary markets transactions in both scope and size in the legal finance industry. This transaction showcases the value of Omni Bridgeway's institutional-grade asset management platform. Post this Proceeds from the transaction have been used to fully deleverage Omni Bridgeway's balance sheet while delivering significant added working capital. In addition to the investment in Omni Bridgeway Fund 9, Ares has taken an equity interest through warrants in Omni Bridgeway as an ASX listed global fund manager for legal assets. In the current volatile capital markets environment, the transaction highlights the increasing interest of institutional investors in legal assets given their attractive, asymmetrical and uncorrelated return profile. The selection by Ares of Omni Bridgeway in this transaction, reflects the global scale, diversification, and long-term track record of Omni Bridgeway's portfolio and fund management platform for this specialized asset class. The transaction involved extensive due diligence by Ares and its legal and financial advisors on Omni Bridgeway's asset management operations, fair value methodology, and the resulting fair value for a significant part of the legal assets in its portfolio. The external market validation of its fair value framework and portfolio for legal assets was a core strategic objective for Omni Bridgeway. "We are pleased to support Omni Bridgeway with this substantial transaction which underscores Ares' ability to deliver bespoke capital solutions at scale," said Jan-Paul Kobarg, Partner at Ares Management. "We look forward to working with Raymond and the Omni Bridgeway team as they build on their leadership in an asset class which we believe will be increasingly targeted by institutional investors due to its attractive, uncorrelated returns." "We are proud to lead the field again with this innovative transaction, and we welcome Ares to our portfolio of blue-chip fund capital providers," said Raymond van Hulst, Chief Executive Officer of Omni Bridgeway. "It is the first continuation fund for legal assets and is highly significant in its scope and size as a secondary market transaction. It also showcases the value of Omni Bridgeway's institutional-grade asset management platform. It demonstrates that deep pools of institutional secondary capital are available to increase liquidity and mitigate duration risk for good quality and well managed portfolios of legal assets. Our fund investors and shareholders will benefit from the increased liquidity, allowing us to reinvest in new investment-stage funds series that further diversify and grow our portfolio." Additional details on the structure and terms of the transaction can be found here. ABOUT OMNI BRIDGEWAY Omni Bridgeway is a global alternative asset manager specializing in legal assets, with approximately A$3.5b in cumulative capital raised across 11 funds. Listed on the ASX since 2001, and with a unique track record of 35+ years, Omni Bridgeway has pioneered the industry and consistently delivered uncorrelated returns across multiple economic cycles. With a team of 175 professionals, operating from over 20 locations in 15 countries, Omni Bridgeway is the largest and most diversified fund platform for originating and managing legal assets across all relevant jurisdictions and areas of law. www.omnibridgeway.com ABOUT ARES Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of December 31, 2024, including the acquisition of GCP International which closed on March 1, 2025, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had over $525 billion of assets under management, with operations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com. CONTACT Anna Bernardis | Director, Marketing and Business Development Americas | +1 212 488 5331 | [email protected] SOURCE Omni Bridgeway In celebration of the Month of the Military Child, 14 military children are awarded as leaders in their communities, families, schools, and activities. OAKTON, Va., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Our Military Kids (OMK), a national nonprofit providing extracurricular activity awards to military children and teens, is honoring 14 winners of the 5th Annual Our Military Kids Courageous Kids Contest in celebration of the Month of the Military Child. Each winner has served as a leader and role model in their communities, schools, homes, and activities while a parent deployed with the National Guard or Reserve, or received treatment for combat-related injuries in 2024. Honoring 14 winners of the 5th Annual Our Military Kids Courageous Kids Contest for the Month of the Military Child. Post this Our Military Kids (OMK), a national nonprofit providing extracurricular activity awards to military children and teens, is honoring 14 winners of the 5th Annual Our Military Kids Courageous Kids Contest in celebration of the Month of the Military Child. Our Military Kids is also recognizing three children who have assisted in caregiving duties for a parent with combat-related injuries as this year's Hidden Helper Hero Award recipients. The 5th Annual Courageous Kids Contest was made possible by Presenting Sponsors Navy Federal Credit Union and HII. "It is an honor for Navy Federal to be a presenting sponsor for Our Military Kids' Courageous Kids Contest," said Jerome Tennille, Manager of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging and Corporate Social Responsibility Programs and Partnerships at Navy Federal. "Our mission is to support our members, military families and their communities. This philanthropic partnership with Our Military Kids aligns with our shared commitment to enhancing the wellness and community of military children." MEET OUR CONTEST WINNERS Each winner will receive a $300 cash stipend, award certificate, and have their story shared on OMK's digital platforms throughout April at: www.ourmilitarykids.org/contest-winners/ About Our Military Kids Our Military Kids is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering extracurricular activity awards to children of deployed National Guard, deployed Reserve, or Veterans in treatment for post-9/11, combat-related injuries. Learn more: https://www.ourmilitarykids.org About Navy Federal Credit Union Established in 1933 with only seven members, Navy Federal now has the distinct honor of serving more than 14 million members globally and is the world's largest credit union. As a member-owned and not-for-profit organization, Navy Federal always puts the financial needs of its members first. Membership is open to all Department of Defense and Coast Guard Active Duty, Veterans, civilian and contractor personnel, and their families. Navy Federal employs a workforce of over 25,000 and has a global network of more than 365 branches. For more information about Navy Federal Credit Union, visit navyfederal.org. Federally insured by NCUA. Equal Opportunity Employer. Media Contact: Michelle Criqui [email protected] SOURCE Our Military Kids PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker Waichman LLP, a nationally recognized law firm dedicated to representing victims of defective drugs and devices, recently filed a lawsuit against Novo Nordisk on behalf of a New Jersey based Plaintiff diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). NAION, a debilitating eye condition, is linked to the active ingredient, semaglutide, in Ozempic and Wegovy. The case is now pending in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County. Parker Waichman LLP is urging individuals who have suffered serious eye injuries after taking these widely prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonist medications to contact the firm for a free case review. These medications, originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, have surged in popularity for weight loss. However, recent studies have uncovered a disturbing link between semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and NAION, a condition that causes permanent vision loss by cutting off blood flow to the optic nerve. Patients who took these drugs have reported sudden blindness, optic nerve damage, and other irreversible complications, raising concerns about the failure of drug manufacturers to warn consumers and medical professionals about these risks. A 2025 study published in JAMA Ophthalmology examined nine patients who developed optic nerve disorders after using GLP-1 medications, with the majority suffering from NAION-like symptoms. Additional research from Harvard's Mass Eye and Ear Institute found that diabetic users of semaglutide were four times more likely to develop NAION, while non-diabetic users taking the drug for weight loss faced a sevenfold increased risk. Despite growing scientific evidence, Novo Nordisk continues to downplay the dangers associated with these medications, failing to include adequate warnings about the risk of permanent blindness. Parker Waichman LLP Fighting for Victims Nationwide "NAION is a devastating, permanent eye injury. Studies from multiple, reputable institutions, have shown a statistically significant relationship between semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic) and NAION. Despite this evidence, Novo Nordisk continues to deny reality by failing to warn consumers and medical professionals about this horrific injury and must be held accountable," said Jason S. Goldstein, Senior Litigation Counsel at Parker Waichman LLP. Parker Waichman LLP is currently accepting cases nationwide for individuals who have suffered vision loss, blindness, or serious optic nerve damage after taking Ozempic or Wegovy. Victims may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. Free Case Review for Affected Individuals If you or a loved one experienced sudden vision loss, blindness, or optic nerve damage after using Ozempic or Wegovy, you may have a legal claim against the drug manufacturers. Parker Waichman LLP is offering free, no-obligation case evaluations to help victims understand their rights and pursue justice. Contact Parker Waichman LLP Today For a free consultation, call 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529) or visit YourLawyer.com to learn more about your legal options and how to protect your rights. About Parker Waichman LLP Parker Waichman LLP is a nationally recognized law firm dedicated to fighting for victims of defective drugs, dangerous products, accidents, and corporate negligence. With a proven track record of holding pharmaceutical companies accountable, the firm has secured billions in settlements and verdicts for injured clients. Media Contact: Parker Waichman LLP Phone: 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529) Website: www.yourlawyer.com SOURCE Parker Waichman LLP Mark Carney says stalled F-35 review will happen as 'rapidly as possible' SAINT-EUSTACHE, QUE. Liberal Leader Mark Carney said Tuesday he wants a speedy review of the F-35 contracts, and downplayed reports that the review has not yet begun. Carney pointed out he only issued the order a few weeks ago and he's only been prime minister for about a month. That instruction will be carried out," Carney told reporters at an election campaign stop in the Montreal area. "We're in caretaker mode as a government. Our expectation of the civil service is that they are proceeding on these fronts. We'll do it as rapidly as possible, as necessary. The Department of National Defence confirmed that the F-35 review has not yet started in an email response to The Canadian Press Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT "Discussions are ongoing to establish the scope of the review to ensure it is efficient and thorough, and determine timelines for the completion," said Department of National Defence spokesperson Andree-Anne Poulin. After U.S. President Donald Trump began his trade war with Canada and much of the world, Carney ordered a review of Canada's planned purchase of dozens of F-35 fighter jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas and threatened that Ottawa could turn to other manufacturers. The previous Liberal government announced plans to purchase 88 F-35s for a total of $19 billion, although Ottawa has only committed itself financially to the first 16 jets. We're taking delivery of a number of F-35s already under the existing contract," Carney said. "What we're reviewing, in effect, is the back end of the contract to ensure that we're getting value for money, that we're sure that we're maximizing not just our ability to protect Canada, but the economic benefits here in Canada and we are considering it in the context of alternatives. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in French on March 20 that he would review the contract very carefully to ensure Canada's "independence and sovereignty" is not at stake, but he would not want to make a decision that would simply delay purchasing the jets. ADVERTISEMENT NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh vowed on March 16 in Iqaluit, to scrap the F-35 contract and look to build fighter jets domestically. Carney's first trip abroad after becoming prime minister was to Europe, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron who has been shopping around a buy-European defence pitch and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He also has spoken with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and remarked at a press conference in London on March 17 that Canada is interested in the new EU defence procurement pact. "That is of interest to us as Canada, as a potential alternative supplier," Carney said at the time. "It creates the potential to create supply chains that meant that Canadian companies are participating in the development of these defence systems and we are actively exploring ... potential participation." The Swedish company Saab, which finished second in the competition for Canada's jet contract, proposed assembling at least part of its Gripen E-series jets in Canada. Dassault, based in France, is also ready to pitch its Rafale fighter jets to any country looking to part with the American F-35s. ADVERTISEMENT Carney said Tuesday it would be "exceptionally ill-advised" for the U.S. to sell its F-35 fighter jets with a mechanism that could allow the Pentagon to deactivate their functions remotely. He pushed back on the widespread rumour that the manufacturer put something like a kill switch in the jets a rumour the Pentagon was forced to officially deny. With files from Kyle Duggan in Ottawa This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025. Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press DUBAI, UAE, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- PayPal, a global digital payments and commerce platform, today announced a strategic partnership with TerraPay, a leading global money movement company, to enable real-time fund transfers for PayPal customers across the Middle East and Africa. This partnership aims to drive economic growth by making cross-border transactions faster, easy to use and more accessible by connecting banks, mobile wallets, and financial institutions. According to Mordor Intelligence1, the MENA digital payments market is estimated at $251.34 billion USD in 2025, and is expected to reach $422.56 billion USD by 2030. With rising demand for fast, secure, and efficient payment solutions, this partnership bridges key gaps in financial connectivity and infrastructure readiness, enabling millions of individuals and businesses to engage more fully in the global economy. Through secure PayPal account linking, TerraPay will serve as an enabler, allowing mobile wallet and bank users across the Middle East and Africa to seamlessly transfer funds to their PayPal accounts. "The Middle East and Africa are at the forefront of the digital transformation, yet financial barriers still limit growth for many," said Otto Williams, Senior Vice President, Regional Head and General Manager, Middle East and Africa, at PayPal. "At PayPal, we're committed to changing that. By partnering with TerraPay, we're making it easier for businesses and individuals to make cross-border transactions, quickly, securely, and without friction. Together, we're helping unlock economic opportunity and build a more connected, inclusive financial future for the Middle East and Africa region." This collaboration will provide enhanced accessibility for customers by facilitating: Secure account linking and seamless fund transfers from mobile wallets and bank accounts with PayPal. Expanded financial connectivity, empowering millions of customers to transact internationally with ease. Greater financial inclusion, enabling businesses and individuals to participate more effectively in the global digital economy. "Our mission at TerraPay is to create a world where digital transactions are effortless, secure, and accessible to all," said Ani Sane, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer at TerraPay. "This partnership with PayPal marks a major milestone in expanding financial access across the Middle East and Africa, where our strong global infrastructure, helps overcome the limitations of traditional banking. With built-in interoperability, TerraPay connects various financial systems, from banks to mobile wallets, making it easier for businesses to scale and users to transact seamlessly on a global scale. Together, we are driving a new era of digital payments." As the demand for cross-border payments continues to grow across the region, PayPal and TerraPay remain committed to delivering innovative, secure, and convenient financial solutions that empower businesses and individuals to thrive in an increasingly connected world. About PayPal PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. The company creates innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure. PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. For more information, visit https://www.paypal.com, https://about.pypl.com/ and https://investor.pypl.com/. About TerraPay TerraPay simplifies global money movement, providing a single connection to one of the most expansive cross-border payment networks regulated in over 30 global markets. The platform enables payments to 144+ receiving countries, 210+ sending countries, over 3.7 billion mobile wallets, 7.5 billion bank accounts, and more than 12 billion cards. TerraPay is on a mission to create a borderless financial world, making money transfers instant, reliable, transparent, and fully compliant. 1 https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/middle-east-and-north-africa-digital-payments-market Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1222771/TerraPay_Logo.jpg SOURCE TerraPay Peerspace Announces 2025 Open Door Awards Showcasing the Most Extraordinary Venues for Rent in the World Post this The 2025 awards recognize nearly 800 exceptional spaces across 23 cities in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France. The expanded category list includes 10 creative distinctions: Architectural, Baby Shower, Birthday Party, Dinner Party, DIY Wedding, Global, Outdoor Event, Photoshoot, Podcast, and Team Offsite. "This year's Open Door Award winners show the power of great spaces to make life's most memorable moments possible," says Peerspace CMO Luke Tarbi. "From birthdays and baby showers to brand launches and creative shoots, these venues have hosted some of life's most meaningful experiences for thousands of guests around the world. The 2025 winners reflect the incredible variety of spaces on our platformand the many ways guests bring them to life, one unique moment at a time." The award-winning spaces represent the most inspiring locations within the Peerspace marketplace, ranging from architectural gems to cozy spaces for intimate gatherings. A few highlights include: Open Door Award winners are selected using full-year data from 2024, taking into account factors such as bookings, listing views, host response time, and guest reviews. These awards honor venues that have served as catalysts for creativity, hosting everything from private celebrations to professional productions. The categories recognize the top 10 spaces for events, meetings, and productions across 23 global cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, London, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York City, Paris, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington D.C. The category lists celebrate the 10 best spaces in each of the following categories: Architectural, Baby Shower, Birthday Party, Dinner Party, DIY Wedding, Global, Outdoor Event, Photoshoot, Podcast, and Team Offsite. For the full list of award winners and top spaces, visit madein.peerspace.com/awards . For more information about booking or listing a space on Peerspace, visit www.peerspace.com . About Peerspace Peerspace is the leading marketplace for hourly venue rentals for meetings, productions, and events. By opening doors to the most inspiring spaces worldwide, Peerspace empowers creativity while enabling hosts to earn additional income. The company connects guests with 45,000+ unique spaces, ranging from lofts and mansions to storefronts and studios. Founded in San Francisco in 2014, Peerspace is backed by investors including GV (Google Ventures) and Foundation Capital. Discover inspiring spaces to meet, create, and celebrate at www.peerspace.com . Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Peerspace Investment will accelerate clinical trials and commercialization of Phantom X, with Ottobock joining Phantom Neuro's Board of Directors AUSTIN, Texas, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Phantom Neuro , the neurotech company advancing human-machine interfaces, today announced an oversubscribed $19 million Series A funding round led by Ottobock, a global leader in the fields of prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton technology. The round includes participation from existing investors, including Breakout Ventures, Draper Associates, LionBird Ventures, Time BioVentures, and Risk and Return, as well as new investors Actual VC, METIS Innovative, e1 Ventures, Jumpspace, MainSheet Ventures, and Brown Advisory. This investment brings Phantom Neuro's total funding to $28 million and represents a milestone in the company's mission to bring its Phantom X robotic control platform to patients. Funding will support preclinical testing, completion of first-in-human trials, regulatory submissions, and expanded research and development for broader control applications beyond prosthetic limbs. "Ottobock's backing underscores the growing convergence of neurotechnology, prosthetics, and robotics," said Dr. Connor Glass, Founder and CEO of Phantom Neuro. "For decades, Ottobock has been at the forefront of restoring mobility for millions of people. By partnering with them, we're accelerating Phantom X's path to market and laying the groundwork for the future we all desire where assistive devices truly function as natural extensions of the human body." As part of the investment, Ottobock will join Phantom Neuro's Board of Directors, bringing expertise in global prosthetics and exoskeleton markets to support Phantom's commercialization efforts. "Phantom Neuro is transforming the way people interact with assistive devices, and their minimally invasive neural interface technology represents an exciting step forward for the field," said Ottobock CEO, Oliver Jakobi. "Our investment reflects our ambition as a MedTech champion to lead the prosthetics market, ensuring that patients have access to the most effective solutions possible. We look forward to working with Phantom Neuro to expand access to this groundbreaking technology." This funding follows Phantom Neuro's recent Breakthrough Device Designation and TAP (Targeted Acceleration Pathway) Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Phantom X. These designations validate the platform's potential to improve patient outcomes by providing lifelike control of prosthetic limbs and assistive devices and help expedite regulatory approvals. Additionally, Phantom Neuro's ASCENT study demonstrated that Phantom X achieved 94% accuracy in decoding real-time gestures across 11 essential hand and wrist movements, further supporting its potential to restore function and independence for individuals with mobility impairments. About Phantom Neuro Phantom Neuro is a neurotechnology company developing a minimally invasive interface that enables intuitive control of prosthetic limbs and robotic exoskeletons. Its core platform, Phantom X, is designed to restore natural movement and functionality for amputees and individuals with mobility impairments, allowing robotic devices to function as seamless extensions of the human body. Originally developed at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Phantom Neuro has received funding support from investors including Blackrock Neurotech, Breakout Ventures, Draper Associates, LionBird Ventures, and Time BioVentures. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Phantom Neuro is backed by a globally recognized advisory board of experts from CTRL-Labs, D.A.R.P.A., Johns Hopkins University, and Precision Neuro. Learn more at www.phantomneuro.com . About Ottobock For more than 100 years, Ottobock has been developing innovative fitting solutions for people with reduced mobility. As a Human Empowerment Company, Ottobock promotes freedom of movement, quality of life, and independence. This is supported by more than 10,000 employees worldwide. With expertise in prosthetics, orthotics, neuromobility, and patient care, Ottobock enables people in 135 countries to live life on their terms. As a market leader in wearable human bionics, Ottobock continues to set new industry standards and drive digitalization. Since 2018, the company has applied its biomechanics expertise to exoskeletons for ergonomic workplaces. Headquartered in Duderstadt, Germany, Ottobock has been an official partner of the Paralympic Games since 1988. For more information, visit Ottobock.com , and connect with us on LinkedIn and YouTube . Press Contact John Kuch | Phantom Neuro [email protected] 415.823.0480 SOURCE Phantom Neuro Inc. LONDON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The MLA College Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Mohammad Dastbaz as its new Chief Executive Officer and Principal. Professor Dastbaz joins MLA College from the University of Suffolk, where he held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor. With a distinguished career in higher education leadership, he brings a wealth of experience and a strong track record of advancing academic innovation, digital learning, and internationalisation. Professor Mohammad Dastbaz His academic expertise lies in computing, and he holds a PhD in the Design, Development and Evaluation of Multimedia Systems. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for IT (The British Computer Society) and has consistently demonstrated a passion for the integration of technology, sustainability and education throughout his career. Prior to his role at the University of Suffolk, he served as Dean of the School of Computing, Information Technology and Engineering at the University of East London, and later as Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor at Leeds Beckett University. Commenting on his appointment, Professor Dastbaz said: "I am delighted to be joining MLA College, a unique and prestigious higher education institution, a key partner of United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and CIFAL City of London, at such an exciting time in its journey. MLA has a strong reputation for innovation in education, particularly in the maritime and environmental sustainability sectors. I look forward to working with staff, students, and partners to further strengthen that reputation and guide MLA College into its next chapter." In addition to his academic leadership, Professor Dastbaz is a widely published author. His publications reflect his commitment to sustainable innovation and include titles such as Green Information Technology: A Sustainable Approach, Industry 4.0 and Engineering for a Sustainable Future, Technology for Smart Futures, Challenges of Urbanisation, and Social Sustainability. Professor John Chudley, Rector of MLA College and Chair of the UK Engineering Council, offered a warm welcome: "Professor Dastbaz's appointment marks a significant milestone in the evolution of MLA College. His leadership experience and academic vision will play a vital role in shaping our future; especially as we work toward university status. I am personally delighted to welcome him on board and look forward to the contributions he will undoubtedly make to our community." Mr Chris Gaunt OBE, Chair of the MLA College Board, added a strategic perspective: "On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to welcome Professor Dastbaz to MLA College. His broad expertise in education, innovation, and sustainability aligns perfectly with our long-term goals. We are confident that his leadership will guide us with clarity and purpose as we embark on this next exciting chapter." With this appointment, MLA College reinforces its commitment to innovation, sustainability, and academic excellence as it continues its mission to deliver high-quality, flexible education to learners around the world. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2664091/MLA_College_Prof_Mohammad_Dastbaz.jpg SOURCE MLA College SAN DIEGO, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pure Financial Advisors, LLC ("Pure"), a San Diego, CA-based financial education, planning and investment advice company, announced it has acquired Fairhaven Wealth Management, LLC ("Fairhaven"), located in the Chicago suburb of Wheaton, Illinois. Fairhaven is a financial planning and investment management firm with nearly $900 million in client assets1. The deal marks Pure's second acquisition of 2025 its sixth overall and significantly increases its presence in Chicago and the broader Midwest market. "We're excited to welcome the Fairhaven team to the Pure family," said Brian Perry, Chief Investment Officer of Pure. "Both teams are grounded in financial planning, tax-efficiency, prudent investment advice and share a passion for financial education. But what really sets this partnership apart is the cultural fit it's a strong foundation for long-term success for both our clients and team." For Fairhaven, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, joining Pure brings an even broader level of service to their clients. "As we approached our 10-year milestone, we stepped back to explore what it would take to accelerate our impact without losing the fun and personality that defines us," said Marc Horner, Founder of Fairhaven. "In Pure, we found a kindred spirit. Together we can continue to elevate the client experience and bring high-quality, fee-only advice to more families. We can't wait to see what the next 10 years bring." The deal also enhances Pure's capabilities in several strategic areas, particularly in retirement consulting. "We're purposeful about growth, both organic and inorganic, which ensures we are highly selective with whom we partner," said Jason Carver, CFO & Managing Partner of Pure. "Among other things, Fairhaven has established a strong foundation in the retirement consulting business on which we're looking to build. We're excited for the partnership and what this means for our clients and employees." Pure is backed by funds managed by Lee Equity Partners LLC and Emigrant Partners, LLC, the latter of which played a vital role in connecting the two organizations. "We were thrilled to help bring these two like-minded firms together," said Liz Nesvold, Chair of Emigrant Partners. "Pure continues to chart one of the most dynamic organic growth stories in the RIA space thoughtful, client-centric, and intentional. It's a great fit, and we're excited to support what comes next." Hue Partners, alongside the law firm Brightstar Law Group, represented Fairhaven in the transaction. The law firm of Katz Teller represented Pure in the transaction. About Pure Financial Advisors, LLC Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Diego, CA, Pure Financial Advisors, LLC is a registered investment advisor offering independent, fee-only financial education, planning, and investment advice to clients nationwide. Pure has 11 eleven offices throughout the Western and Central United States and, as of March 27, 2025, manages over $8.02 billion in client assets. Pure is driven by its mission of providing fee-only, credentialed financial education, planning, and investment advice to all those in need of it, which currently translates to serving over 6,253 families and clients. Pure grows predominately organically through its marketing efforts, including its media channel (featuring Your Money, Your Wealth , TV and Podcast shows), its Education Channel, and its Digital Channel. Pure has been named to many industry awards and rankings including most recently listed in Inc. Magazine's Top 5,000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America (2024), ranked #56 on Barron's Top 100 RIAs (2024), #34 on Financial Advisor Magazine's Top 50 Fastest Growing RIAs (2024), #162 on Forbes Top RIA Firms (2024), Best Places to Work in San Diego by San Diego Business Journal (2024), and ranked in America's Top Financial Advisory Firms by Newsweek (2025). If you have any questions about the awards listed or designations mentioned, please visit www.purefinancial.com. About Lee Equity Partners Lee Equity Partners, LLC is a middle-market private equity firm that partners with businesses in the financial and healthcare services sectors. Over nearly two decades, the firm has utilized its thematic-based investment strategy and deep sector knowledge to identify and partner with talented management teams to accelerate growth and build market-leading businesses. Additional information is available at www.leeequity.com. About Emigrant Partners Emigrant Partners is a specialist capital and advice partner that makes minority, non-voting investments into wealth and alternative asset management businesses. EP has partnered with 20 firms overseeing $120 billion in combined AUM/AUA. EP crafts tailored, flexible investments to allow its partner firms to retain control over their strategy, investment decisions, and day-to-day operations. More information is available at www.emigrantpartners.com. 1 Total assets includes $783.1 million in regulatory assets under management ("AUM") and $98.8 million in assets under advisement ("AUA"). AUA represents assets for which we are compensated to provide advice, but over which do not have discretionary authority or continuous management responsibility. AUA is not reported as AUM on the Form ADV. Media Inquiries: Alyssa Madruga Pure Financial Advisors, LLC [email protected] SOURCE Pure Financial Advisors, LLC FOREST CITY, Iowa, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rural Development Partners (RDP) awarded $17.5 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financing to MagPro, LLC, a Nonferrous Metal Production and Processing corporation located in Camden, Tennessee. Funding will enable the purchase of parts necessary to construct 5-7 vacuum furnaces, driving expansion and growth for the company while creating an additional 150 quality jobs in rural Benton County. RDP allocation is the second in a two-phase business plan utilizing NMTCs, the first enabling MagPro to increase production by nearly 100% while creating over 50 new jobs. Employees receive specialized in-house training and workforce development opportunities unique to the industry, presenting a great opportunity for rural workers to economically further their skillsets. Benton County Mayor Mark Ward stated, "The expansion will significantly benefit our local and nearby rural communities. MagPro's understanding of the value of meaningful contributions has made it an integral part of our economic development efforts, and we greatly appreciate their continued partnership and support." New Markets Tax Credits - An integral part of Economic Development in Rural and Underserved Communities across America. Post this The United States magnesium industry consumed $4.35 billion worth of magnesium in 2021, $4.58 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach $7.6 billion in sales by 2032. MagPro is building its cash reserves so it can undertake substantial increases in the purchasing of raw materials and inventory. There is, effectively, an unlimited amount of raw material available, but shortfall of those who can manufacture and recycle magnesium the way MagPro can. The company's immediate goal is to promote their current product line while extending its portfolio of products and services. Magnesium is primarily used in the aluminum and steel industries, also by die casters who make parts for the aerospace, automotive and medical industries, the military, and so much more. MagPro's business plan projects a 25% increase in the purchase of inventory and raw materials, resulting in a 40-50% increase in sales volume over the next five years. Their ultimate goal within the next 10 years is to become the largest primary magnesium producer in the United States, bringing jobs to America and substantially decreasing U.S. industry dependence on imports. "RDP is proud to partner with MagPro on this very impactful project to enable them to strengthen their efforts in providing high-quality jobs in Camden and the surrounding area. China is currently the world leader in magnesium manufacturing and MagPro's expansion will greatly help reduce the USA's industry reliance on them." Dan Helgeson, CEO of Rural Development Partners MagPro MagPro LLC was founded in 2003 and is one of the world's largest magnesium recyclers, and second largest producer of Primary Magnesium in the United States. MagPro is the only magnesium manufacturer in the world that recycles low grade magnesium scraps, offering a number of tolling conversion programs for specification as well as specialty alloys tailored to meet individual customer needs. Rural Development Partners LLC Rural Development Partners is a Community Development Entity with a national service area eligible to apply for an annual allocation of Federal New Markets Tax Credits. From 2004 through 2024, RDP has won thirteen NMTC awards from the US Treasury totaling $816.7 million. Funding has helped over 50 businesses and nonprofits expand to provide quality jobs, economic impacts, and healthy food access in underserved communities. RDP seeks to serve and partner with businesses, non-profits, communities, and government entities that share its mission to build public-private partnerships for catalytic job growth in rural America. Learn more about RDP and the NMTC program by visiting our website or social media platforms at Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Media Contact: Rural Development Partners [email protected] SOURCE Rural Development Partners LOS ANGELES, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Reolink, an innovative leader in intelligent visual technology for the home, celebrates Earth Day 2025 by merging technology with conservation. Over the past five years, Reolink has provided nearly 1,000 cameras to NGO partners worldwide, whose lenses have transformed quiet observations into powerful tools for preserving ecosystems and safeguarding biodiversity. Bridging Technology and Wildlife Conservation In 2024, Reolink partnered with 13 new NGOs across multiple continents, equipping them with advanced camera technology for remote wildlife observation and data collection without disturbing natural habitats. Long-term collaborations with organizations such as the sea-turtle-focused Olive Ridley Project in the Maldives and the bee protection initiative BCN Honey Fest in Spain continue to make a tangible impact. Reolink cameras play a crucial role in protecting species and reducing human-wildlife conflicts. In Italy, Salviamo l'Orso uses Reolink Go Ranger PT camerasthe world-first 4K 4G pan & tilt trail cameraas part of its AI-powered Wild Animal Detection and Alert System (WADAS) to protect the critically endangered Marsican brown bear. "We were amazed to see how the cameras continually send images and videos, providing invaluable data for our conservation efforts," said Stefano Dell'Osa, WADAS Project Team Lead. In Canada, Gates' Wildlife Control, a leader in humane wildlife removal, has deployed nearly 50 Reolink Go Ultra camerasa 4K 8MP 4G battery-powered model with pan & tiltto monitor urban wildlife. "Reolink's cellular cameras allow us to remotely monitor the removal process 24/7," noted Cassandra Gates, Technician at Gates' Wildlife Control. "The continuous footage enables us to observe and learn from animal behavior." Small Actions, Global Impact As Earth Day 2025 inspires global action, Reolink underscores that protecting biodiversity begins with seeing nature in its purest form. Designed specifically for outdoor environments, Reolink's Go PT Ultra, Go Ranger PT, and TrackMix LTE have become trusted choices for NGOs, empowering conservationists with 4G connectivity, AI-powered detection, and remote monitoring capabilities. From AI-powered bear conservation to urban wildlife coexistence, small technological interventions ripple into transformative outcomes. Learn more about Reolink's Earth Day campaign and conservation partnerships. About Reolink Reolink offers smart security solutions for homes and businesses, aiming for a seamless security experience with its wide range of products. Serving millions globally, it provides video surveillance and protection, standing out for its commitment to security technology innovation. Learn more about Reolink's offerings at Reolink.com. SOURCE Reolink Innovation Inc. Orion Financial Sponsors Main Stage MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mempho Presents has announced the complete lineup and schedule for this year's RiverBeat Music Festival, May 2-4, 2025, at Tom Lee Park. Festival attendees can now plan their weekend to catch all their favorite acts across multiple stages. The organization is especially thrilled to welcome Orion Financial as the main stage sponsor for this year's event. RiverBeat 2025 Schedule and Lineup Signed guitar for Positive Legacy Auction at RiverBeat Other stage sponsors include Bud Light, Tito's, Orbit and additional festival sponsors include Roadshow BMW VIP, White Claw, Cayman Jack, Casamigos, Memphis Tourism, Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous, Wiseacre, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, and others. "Orion Financial is proud to sponsor the Main Stage at RiverBeat Music Festival! There's nothing like the energy of Memphis coming together in Tom Lee Park to celebrate the music that moves us and reflect on how deeply music has shaped our city's soul over the years," stated Ashley McDurmon, Orion Financial CEO. This year's food lineup features an impressive array of vendors, headlined by hometown favorite MemPops and Memphis festival staple Pronto Pups. While FreeWheelin Pizzeria and Hebros Gyros add variety to the offerings, the majority of food vendors proudly represent Tennessee's rich culinary traditions. "The festival brings together a dynamic mix of local food vendors, live performances, and community spirit," said Jeff Bransford, Producer, Mempho Presents. "This year, the event will showcase iconic Memphis flavors, including Corky's BBQ and Gus's Fried Chicken, alongside a variety of delicious offerings from both local and out-of-state vendors. RiverBeat Festival is the ultimate destination for food lovers and music fans to experience the heart and soul of Memphis." After a successful fundraiser last year, Riverbeat again partnered with Positive Legacy, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit that integrates music and service to benefit 'people and the planet.' The partnership will feature an auction including a guitar and drumhead signed by festival artists, concert tickets, posters, and one-of-a-kind experiences. The proceeds of the auction, taking place online and in-person May 3-5, will benefit Positive Legacy as well as Soulsville Foundation which benefits Stax Music Academy and inspires young people by utilizing music with an intense focus on the rich legacy and tradition of Stax Records. "Positive Legacy is excited to be working alongside Mempho Presents again at this year's RiverBeat Music Festival. We are thrilled to be helping to make a difference in the lives of the young people of Memphis, channeling the power of music for good" said Carrie Reppert, Positive Legacy Executive Director. In a commitment to improving the festival experience, Mempho Presents has implemented significant changes to enhance safety and accessibility at Tom Lee Park. New entrances have been added for both RiverBeat Music Festival and Smokeslam BBQ Festival, ensuring a smoother and more secure experience for all attendees. While the main entrance remains at Beale and Riverside, festival-goers can now access the venue through additional entry points at the Butler Street entrance and the Bluff Walk entrance near Vance Ave. To optimize security and traffic flow, the Riverside Drive and W Georgia Avenue entrance will be closed to the public. "In response to community feedback, we have worked diligently to address previous security concerns and implement measures that allow these additional entrances to open safely. Our top priority remains the safety of our guests, staff, and surrounding businesses, while also improving accessibility to downtown parking and local establishments," said Scott King, Head of Security for Mempho Presents. RiverBeat is a fully cashless event. Attendees are encouraged to link a credit card to buy food, drinks, and merchandise with the tap of their wristband. Fans can log onto RiverBeat.com or follow RiverBeatFest on Instagram, Facebook, and X. About Mempho Presents Proudly independent, Mempho Presents curates world-class music festivals and cultural events that draw on the rich legacy of Memphis to inspire immersive and authentic fan experiences, connecting people through the universal language of music, performance, and culture to create lasting memories. Mempho Presents is a division of Forward Momentum. For more information, visit https://memphopresents.com Media Contact: Lindsay Stevens [email protected] 213-200-9638 SOURCE Mempho Presents SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- RSA Conference LLC ("RSAC"), the company behind the world's largest and most influential cybersecurity conference, today announced the recipients of the RSAC 2025 Conference Lifetime Achievement Awards: Burt Kaliski, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Verisign, and Amit Yoran (posthumously), former Chairman and CEO at Tenable. The recipients of the Award for Excellence in the Field of Mathematics are Shai Halevi, Senior Principal Applied Scientist at AWS Cryptography, and Victor Shoup, Principal Research Scientist at Offchain Labs. All awards will be presented during the West Stage Keynote program. "We are deeply honored to recognize this year's award winners ahead of RSAC Conference and hope our attendees get the opportunity to celebrate their achievements on stage later this month," said Linda Gray Martin, Senior Vice President, RSAC Conference. "All four of our 2025 award winners have demonstrated long-standing dedication to their fields and have had an enduring impact on the cybersecurity industry." RSAC 2025 Conference announces Lifetime Achievement Awards and Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Awards Post this Lifetime Achievement Awards The Lifetime Achievement Award honors outstanding leaders who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the cybersecurity industry over their lifetime. Past recipients represent several of the most influential minds in the field whose work continues to have a lasting impact. The RSAC 2025 Conference Lifetime Achievement Awards are set to be awarded to: Burt Kaliski Monday, April 28, West Stage Keynote, 4:35 PM Dr. Burt Kaliski Jr. is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Verisign. He leads Verisign's long-term research program and is responsible for the company's industry standards engagements, university collaborations, and technical community programs. He previously served as the founding director of the EMC Innovation Network, as vice president of research at RSA Security, and as the founding chief scientist of RSA Laboratories, where his contributions included the development of the Public-Key Cryptography Standards (PKCS). He received a doctorate, master's degree, and bachelor's degree in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Amit Yoran (posthumously) Wednesday, April 30, West Stage Keynote, 3:30 PM Amit Yoran was the chairman and CEO of Tenable, leading its vision to empower organizations to understand and reduce their cybersecurity risk. Amit brought a unique blend of leadership in the private and public sectors to Tenable. He previously served as RSA's president after joining the company through its acquisition of NetWitness, the network forensics company he founded and led as CEO. Prior to NetWitness, Amit served as founding director of the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) program in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He was also founder and CEO of Riptech, one of the first managed security service providers (MSSP), which Symantec acquired in 2002. Amit served on the board of directors for BlackLine, Inc. and the Center for Internet Security (CIS) and was recognized as a security industry thought leader and influencer. He was a proud graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he excelled in the field of Computer Science. Award for Excellence in the Field of Mathematics, Co-Sponsored by IACR First presented in 1998, the RSAC Conference Award for Excellence in the Field of Mathematics acknowledges the outstanding contributions of individuals and/or organizations whose work in cryptography and mathematics helps to advance the cybersecurity industry. Award recipients are determined by an esteemed judging committee which seeks to recognize innovation and ongoing contributions to the industry. For the fourth consecutive year, the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) co-sponsored the Mathematics Award with RSAC Conference. The recipients of the RSAC 2025 Conference Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Award are set to be awarded to: Shai Halevi Tuesday, April 29, West Stage Keynote at 11:30 AM Dr. Shai Halevi has made remarkable contributions to many areas of cryptography, including fundamental theory, advanced cryptographic primitives, secure multi-party computations, homomorphic encryption, and cryptographic code obfuscation. He also initiated and co-developed the HElib software library for homomorphic encryption, and contributed to the cryptography community through IACR service, steering and program committees, development of conference software, and more. Shai is a Senior Principal Applied Scientist at AWS Cryptography. Before that, he was a research fellow in the Algorand Foundation and a principal researcher in the Cryptography Research Group in IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. Shai received his PhD in Computer Science from MIT. Victor Shoup Tuesday, April 29, West Stage Keynote at 11:30 AM Dr. Victor Shoup has made multiple influential contributions to cryptography, spanning both theoretical and practical aspects. He is widely known for his work on the Cramer-Shoup cryptosystem, the first practical public-key encryption scheme proven secure against adaptive chosen ciphertext attacks, which has had lasting influence on both academia and industry. Other areas where Victor made significant contributions include secure multi-party computation and distributed systems, and homomorphic encryption. He also advanced the field of computational algebra via his celebrated work on factoring polynomials over finite fields and the development of the widely used NTL software library. Victor is currently a Principal Research Scientist at Offchain Labs and Professor Emeritus at NYU. Before that, he was a professor at NYU and a research scientist at the IBM Zurich Research Laboratory. He received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of WisconsinMadison. "The IACR is proud to be co-sponsoring the Excellence in the Field of Mathematics Award again in 2025," said Michel Abdalla, President, IACR. "The award winners this year made significant contributions to the cryptography field, including multilinear maps and obfuscation (Halevi) and chosen-ciphertext security and hash proof systems (Shoup). Their incredible efforts in the field of mathematics and cryptography have been instrumental in the continued advancement of cybersecurity." RSAC 2025 Conference will take place April 28 - May 1, 2025, in San Francisco at the Moscone Center. About RSAC As the cybersecurity industry's convening authority, RSAC brings together diverse minds to exchange perspectives, knowledge, and ideas. RSAC provides the world's leading platform for uniting and advancing the cybersecurity community to create a safer society. RSAC is at the cutting edge of cybersecurity innovation and education. The company's flagship event, RSAC Conference, is the largest and most influential global gathering in cybersecurity. RSAC gives cybersecurity professionals a platform to connect and grow. To learn more, visit www.OneRSAC.com. About RSAC Conference RSAC Conference is the largest and most influential Conference in the cybersecurity industry. Today, under the expanded RSAC brand, the Conference is central to a larger mission that unites the cybersecurity community to create a safer society. To learn more, visit www.rsaconference.com/usa. About the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) is a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the promotion of the science of cryptology. The IACR organizes a series of conferences and workshops and publishes several proceedings and journals. The IACR also maintains the Cryptology ePrint Archive, an online repository of cryptologic research papers aimed at providing rapid dissemination of results. For more information, please visit www.iacr.org. SOURCE RSAC BLAUVELT, N.Y., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Saint Dominic's Family Services proudly announces the appointment of Ann Marie Tromer as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With a distinguished career in finance, business operations, and nonprofit leadership, Tromer steps into the role with a deep commitment to advancing the agency's mission of empowering individuals and families across the Hudson Valley and the Bronx. Tromer brings extensive leadership experience to her new role. Prior to her appointment, she served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Saint Dominic's, overseeing fiscal operations, technology, and educational programs such as the 853 School and Bronx Preschool. Her career also includes leadership positions in the Pearl River Union Free School District, where she managed the annual school budget and led capital projects, and the Clarkstown Central School District, where she played a key role in financial management and operational strategy. Additionally, at ARC of Rockland, she spearheaded efforts to modernize revenue reporting and Medicaid reimbursement processes, ensuring the financial stability of essential services. "I'm honored to lead this incredible agency and build on its legacy of impact. Together with our dedicated team, I look forward to expanding our reach and deepening our support for the communities we serve," said Tromer. Bonni Raab, President of the Board of Directors: "The Board is delighted to have appointed Ann Marie Tromer as Chief Executive Officer, a role in which the agency will thrive with her demonstrated leadership qualities, vision, and commitment to the mission of Saint Dominic's Family Services." Raab, who has been a dedicated member of the Board of Directors since 2013, assumed the role of Board President in February 2025. Her steadfast commitment to the agency has been instrumental in driving its mission forward. For 147 years, Saint Dominic's Family Services has been a cornerstone of support for children, adults, and families in need. The agency provides comprehensive programs, including foster care, mental health services, developmental disabilities support, and education. Saint Dominic's serves approximately 2,000 individuals annually, offering compassionate and innovative services that enhance lives and strengthen communities. Tromer holds an MBA in Finance from Fordham University, a Master's in Educational Leadership from Pace University, and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York. Her strategic vision, financial acumen, and passion for service make her a strong advocate for the individuals and families served by Saint Dominic's Family Services. For more information, visit www.sdfs.org. For press information contact Katharine Cleary Rodriguez at [email protected] SOURCE Saint Dominic's Family Services SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a fitting nod to their reputation as "Silicon Beach," there's a new tech-forward tool available for travelers heading to Santa Monica. Visitors can now receive travel planning assistance with Santa Monica Guide, an AI travel genius. Santa Monica Travel & Tourism recently launched the new feature on santamonica.com using GuideGeek artificial intelligence technology from Matador Network . GuideGeek logo (PRNewsfoto/Matador Network) Santa Monica Guide. Credit: Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (PRNewsfoto/Matador Network) Santa Monica Guide is designed to supplement the destination's three in-person Visitor Information Centers, dedicated travel specialists and the greater team. The AI tool can instantly plan an entire itinerary or answer specific questions about the best wellness experiences, beach activities, restaurants, neighborhood hot spots, hotels and more. The personalized, real-time responses are generated by AI trained on extensive data from Santa Monica Travel & Tourism and enhanced by over 1,000 integrations for travel information from GuideGeek's award-winning technology . To access Santa Monica Guide, travelers can simply visit santamonica.com and click the chat box in the bottom-left corner of the site. This opens a chat window with the AI tool, which gives tailored responses based on the information users share, such as their interests, preferences, size of their group, ages and more. "Innovation has long been part of our destination's DNA and this tool is the next step in meeting the future," says Misti Kerns, President and CEO of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism. "Santa Monica Guide is the perfect way to help prospective visitors from near and far discover all our city has to offer, from our incredible year-round farmers markets, arts and culture landscape and shopping destinations to our burgeoning wellness and tech industries." Santa Monica is the first city in California to leverage GuideGeek technology to assist visitors of all types in trip planning and building a relationship with the destination both before arrival and during their stay. Destination marketing organizations (DMOs or tourism boards) representing larger regions in California such as the Inland Empire and Lake Tahoe, as well as international destinations from Aruba to New Zealand, have already seen success with GuideGeek AI to engage visitors on a deeper, more personalized level. "Santa Monica has a beautiful landscape and luxury resorts, of course, but it's also an innovative tech hub with a ton of startups," says Matador Network CEO Ross Borden. "It makes total sense that Santa Monica in the heart of Silicon Beach is the first city in California to launch a custom AI with our GuideGeek technology. And it's a tool that's equally useful for business travelers attending Los Angeles Tech Week, as well as those in town for a wedding or planning a weekend getaway." About Santa Monica Travel & Tourism Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT) is a non-profit organization designed to increase visitor expenditures, tourism revenues and local employment opportunities through the promotion of Santa Monica as a travel destination. For more information visit santamonica.com , email [email protected] , or follow SMTT on Instagram ( @SeeSantaMonica ), X ( @GoSantaMonica ) or Facebook ( @VisitSantaMonica ). About Matador Network Matador Network is the world's No. 1 media brand for modern adventurers. With more than 16 million followers across social media, Matador has become a leading travel brand through its production of article features, city guides, creator-first content and original videos. Matador is the top-ranking travel brand on TikTok and its videos are viewed more than 140 million times per month. It has content distribution deals with destinations throughout the world and major brands in the travel industry and beyond. http://matadornetwork.com. Media Contact: Jason Simms [email protected] 860-526-1555 SOURCE Matador Network The free event will provide useful resources and expert insights for America's small business owners. WASHINGTON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Small business owners and entrepreneurs are invited to attend the National Small Business Week Virtual Summit on May 6-7, co-hosted by SCORE the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). This free, two-day event, designed to connect entrepreneurs with resources, knowledge and community, will offer: Educational sessions for entrepreneurs and small business owners will focus on timely topics such as AI, finance and e-commerce. Expert-led webinars covering vital business topics to help you stay competitive Direct access to business experts for personalized guidance and advice Networking opportunities with fellow entrepreneurs and industry leaders Free business tools you can implement immediately Innovative solutions from leading sponsors to streamline your operations A government resource guide to funding, contracts and support programs Inspiring success stories from business owners who have overcome similar challenges "Fostering small business growth is at the heart of what we do, and the National Small Business Week Virtual Summit embodies that commitment," said SCORE CEO Bridget Weston. "SCORE is proud to once again co-host this event with the SBA. We're looking forward to this opportunity to empower entrepreneurs with the timely, useful resources and information they need to launch and grow their businesses." Every session at the Virtual Summit will deliver practical strategies that can be implemented right away to boost your business performance, increase efficiency and drive growth. Topics include AI, finance, e-commerce, marketing, mobile and tech security, hiring and other essential resources for business success. In a celebration of America's small businesses, the winners of the 2025 Small Business Persons of the Year Award will also be honored at the Virtual Summit. These small business owners were selected as successful representatives of the American dream for their innovation, ingenuity, resilience and economic contributions to their community and country. "The National Small Business Week Virtual Summit is a powerful opportunity for job creators to connect, learn and access valuable resources as we honor the entrepreneurs who drive innovation and economic growth across the country," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "Together we're building a future where every small business has the tools to thrive, powered by the America First agenda." Here's what past attendees had to say about the summit: "Extremely convenient and full of useful, relevant information. Easy to navigate from the comfort of wherever you may be." "I think this is a great place to get loads of information from and if you still can't find it, you can chat with someone who knows the answer right here." "[This conference] gave me access to good information, introduced me to new companies and opened my eyes to companies that make running my business much easier." To learn more and register for the virtual summit, visit the event registration page. About SCORE Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow or successfully exit a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories. About the U.S. Small Business Administration: The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov . Cosponsorship Authorization # 24-44-C. SBA's participation in this Cosponsored Activity is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any Cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Funded [in part] through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. CONTACT: SCORE 202-968-6428 [email protected] Visit SCORE's media resources to connect with expert small business interview sources and news updates. SOURCE SCORE Study Highlights Top Challenges in Megaprojects, From Budget Overruns to Jobsite Risks, and the Role of Shop-Applied Steel Protective Coatings in Improving Timelines CLEVELAND, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The new Sherwin-Williams research report, Construction Insights, reveals the most pressing challenges facing leaders in advanced manufacturing construction, including widespread project delays, budget pressures and jobsite safety concerns. Surveying 194 general contractors, architects, engineers and designers working on projects exceeding $30 million, the research conducted by Endeavor Business Intelligence underscores the industry's biggest pain points and highlights opportunities for safer, faster, simpler and more effective construction practices. Study Highlights Top Challenges in Megaprojects, From Budget Overruns to Jobsite Risks Post this Delays remain the top concern in the construction industry, with 87% of professionals experiencing setbacks in their mega projects, primarily due to weather conditions and material shortages. Project Delays Are Widespread Weather and Materials to Blame Nearly nine in 10 (87%) survey respondents, all working on projects larger than $30 million, have experienced project delays, with most attributing materials (71%) and weather (65%) as the primary drivers of those delays. Unpredictable weather, which can halt work completely, and supply chain disruptions, making critical materials delayed or unavailable, frequently prevent construction from progressing as planned. The Sherwin-Williams Construction Solutions team can help accelerate schedules and streamline construction processes and material delays with its leading epoxy intumescent fire protective coatings and a network of applicators specialized in off-site, shop-applied coatings processes. When specified, shop-applied coatings allow protected steel to arrive at jobsites weather resistant and ready for construction. "Our new research confirms what we hear from construction leaders every day," says Joseph Windover, Sherwin-Williams Construction Solutions Executive. "Our shop-applied fireproofing can overcome common delays whether from weather, materials or labor helping contractors save time, reduce costs and accelerate project completions." Safety Risks Remain a Major Concern The Construction Insights report also provides key insights into jobsite safety, which remains a top concern for many in the industry. Nearly half (45%) of respondents identified "maintaining a safe jobsite" as a primary challenge. More than two in five (43%) reported incidents where someone working at a significant height was injured or fatally harmed on a project, highlighting the risks associated with advanced manufacturing construction. "Shop-applied fireproofing significantly enhances jobsite safety by eliminating the need for workers to perform at heights and reducing the presence of risk-prone equipment, lines and hoses," says Windover. "By moving fireproofing to a controlled off-site environment, we not only ensure quality compliance but also create a safer, more efficient worksite." Additional Key Findings The survey uncovered additional trends shaping megaproject construction: Budget Management Is a Top Challenge: A majority (53%) of respondents cited staying within budget as their biggest challenge, underscoring the need for cost effective solutions that maintain quality without driving up project costs. A majority (53%) of respondents cited staying within budget as their biggest challenge, underscoring the need for cost effective solutions that maintain quality without driving up project costs. Speed Over Price in Coatings Selection: When selecting passive fire protection coatings, cure time (27%) was the top priority, followed by durability/longevity and price (both 18%). This signals that construction decision-makers prioritize coating performance over cost savings alone. When selecting passive fire protection coatings, cure time (27%) was the top priority, followed by durability/longevity and price (both 18%). This signals that construction decision-makers prioritize coating performance over cost savings alone. Field-Applied Coatings Cause Months-Long Delays: The survey showed that most respondents (60%) agreed or strongly agreed that weather, temperature and humidity have created delays specifically in the fireproofing process for their megaprojects. Additionally, 66% reported a 3.4-month average delay when using field-applied coatings. These are key problems that are directly addressed using shop-applied coatings. Sherwin-Williams Delivers Smarter, Safer, and Faster Solutions The survey findings highlight key challenges in advanced manufacturing construction, prompting general contractors, designers, and engineers to seek more efficient, reliable solutions. Sherwin-Williams provides proven coatings systems and industry expertise, helping construction professionals navigate these challenges with innovative approaches that improve jobsite efficiency, enhance safety, and streamline workflows. The online survey, conducted over a three-week period, had a margin of error of +/- 7% providing a statistically relevant snapshot of industry perspectives. For more information about the report and to access the full findings, please contact the media contacts below. About Sherwin-Williams Construction Solutions Sherwin-Williams Construction Solutions, part of the Company's Protective & Marine Coatings division, delivers world-class industry subject matter expertise, unparalleled technical and specification service, and unmatched regional commercial team support to customers around the globe. The company's broad portfolio of high-performance coatings and systems including protective liquid and powder, fire protection, and resinous flooring excel at combating corrosion and help customers achieve smarter, time-tested asset protection. The Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine division serves a wide array of markets across a rapidly growing international distribution footprint that includes Bridge & Highway, Energy, High Value Infrastructure, Manufacturing & Processing, Marine, Rail, Power, and Water & Wastewater. For more information, visit protective.sherwin.com. About Endeavor Business Media Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Endeavor Business Media was formed in 2017 to acquire and operate business media brands, events and marketing solutions. Today the Company is one of the largest B2B Media companies in the U.S., with over 700 employees, 10,000 customers and a database of over 12 million business professionals. The Company serves business professionals and marketers in key business sectors such as aviation, buildings, electronics, energy, healthcare, infrastructure, manufacturing, networking systems, public safety, transportation and water. To learn more, visit www.endeavorbusinessmedia.com. Media Contacts: SOURCE Sherwin-Williams MCLEAN, Va., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sierra7, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) technology solutions company providing services such as IT modernization and healthcare systems innovation to help federal agencies optimize resources, streamline processes, and implement commercial best practices, is proud to announce a new partnership with Syracuse University's D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF). This collaboration will offer Sierra7's military community employees and their family members access to training in Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certifications. As a SDVOSB, Sierra7 is deeply committed to supporting Veterans in their post-military careers, as well as their families. This partnership with the D'Aniello Institute strengthens that commitment by providing world-class training opportunities that help Veterans and their spouses advance in project management, cybersecurity, and IT service management. Opportunities to help Veterans and spouses advance in project management, cybersecurity, and IT service management. Post this "At Sierra7, we recognize the immense value that Veterans and the military community as a whole brings to the workforce, and we are dedicated to empowering them with the skills and certifications needed to excel in their careers," said Laurie Winglass, Sierra7 Chief People and Talent Officer. "By partnering with Syracuse University's D'Aniello Institute, we are ensuring that our military community employees have access to the best training resources availableat no cost to them." Syracuse University's D'Aniello Institute is nationally recognized for its programs supporting military service members, Veterans, and their families. Through this partnership, Sierra7 employees who have served or are currently serving in the Reserves, will benefit from flexible, high-quality training programs designed specifically for military community members transitioning to or advancing in civilian careers. "We are proud to partner with Sierra7 on this pilot workforce development initiative. Their commitment to supporting Veterans and military spouses aligns perfectly with our mission to provide meaningful post-service career pathways through the IVMF's Onward to Opportunity training program. By equipping Sierra7 employees with in-demand skills through these specialized learning pathways, we are not only investing in individual career growth but also strengthening the broader Veteran workforce and ensuring success after military service," said Barb Carson, Managing Director Programs and Services, Syracuse University's D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families. This initiative is part of Sierra7's broader commitment to workforce development, professional growth, and Veteran empowerment. By investing in its employees' education and training, Sierra7 continues to create opportunities for career advancement and success in the federal contracting industry. For more information about Sierra7 and its Veteran-focused initiatives, please visit our website. About Sierra7 Sierra7, Inc. is a leading technology solutions company providing services such as IT modernization and healthcare systems innovation to help federal agencies optimize resources, streamline processes, and implement commercial best practices. As a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and CMMI-SVC Level 3-appraised member of the government technology and services industry, Sierra7 holds critical federal government prime contracts, including T4NG, VHA-IHT, GSA VETS 2, NIH CIO-SP3, NASA SEWP V, VA TeleCare Companion, and several GSA schedules. Sierra7 is certified in ISO 9001-2015, ISO/IEC 2000-1:2018, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, and ISO/IEC 20243:2018. In 2023, Sierra7 ranked No. 459 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America and was recognized as a Vet100 honoree. Sierra7 is a proud member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). This membership enables Sierra7 to integrate the highest standards of accessibility into its offerings, ensuring that its solutions are compliant with the latest accessibility guidelines and regulations. About Syracuse University's D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families The D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University is dedicated to advancing the lives of military service members, Veterans, and their families through career training, education, and entrepreneurship programs. The institute provides industry-leading professional development opportunities tailored to the unique skills and experiences of Veterans. SOURCE Sierra7, Inc Growth Equity and Late-stage Venture Capital Firm is Dedicated to Improving Patient Outcomes Through Partnerships with Best-in-Class Teams and Medical Technologies CHICAGO, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SPRIG Equity, a growth equity and late-stage venture capital firm focused on advancing patient care through investment in transformative medical technologies, today announced the final close of its inaugural fund, SPRIG Equity Fund I, with $50M in assets under management (AUM). With offices in the Chicago area and Orange County, CA, SPRIG Equity invests in breakthrough innovations across the medical technology sector, including medical devices, diagnostics, and tech-enabled services. "We are incredibly proud to have successfully closed our inaugural fund, especially in a year when first-time funds accounted for just 6% of total fund closures," said Evan Norton, Managing Partner and Co-Founder. "This achievement reflects the strength of our investment strategy, proprietary deal sourcing, and our team's expertise in identifying and building great companies that can transform patient care while delivering exceptional returns." SPRIG Equity is led by Managing Partner Evan Norton, whose proven investing track record includes leading Abbott's corporate venture group for almost a decade. He co-founded the fund alongside Rebecca Raabe, an experienced MedTech investor and operator, and Katie Arnold, the CEO and founder of SPRIG Consulting, a leading medical technology strategy and commercialization consulting firm. The team is further supported by an accomplished advisory board of industry entrepreneurs, senior executives, and thought leaders. A key differentiator for SPRIG Equity is its off-market deal flow from its exclusive relationship with SPRIG Consulting. SPRIG Equity has already demonstrated strong momentum with four portfolio investments to date: SetPoint Medical: medical device company with a first-of-its-kind neuromodulation therapy for patients living with chronic autoimmune conditions Conformal Medical: clinical-stage company developing next-generation left atrial appendage occlusion technology for stroke prevention Pi-Cardia: commercial-stage company focused on leaflet modification technologies in the structural heart market Cytovale: commercial-stage company offering rapid sepsis diagnostic technology for hospital emergency departments About SPRIG Equity SPRIG Equity is a growth equity and late-stage venture capital firm dedicated to improving patient outcomes by partnering with best-in-class teams and medical technologies. Launched in 2023, SPRIG Equity actively invests in late-stage opportunities across the medical technology sector. The team has a history of successfully backing market-shaping companies, including Affera, NeuroPace, Vertos, Endosense, Tendyne, and more. For more information, visit https://sprigequity.com. SOURCE SPRIG Equity CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SPX FLOW, in partnership with the Danish Agricultural Agency, is proud to announce its participation in the country's newly funded plant-based consortium. Recently launched, the Green Development and Demonstration Program's (GUDP) LinkingOat project will span three years focused on advancing knowledge and technology in oat-based product development. SPX FLOW is contributing pilot-scale oat fractionation expertise to help obtain key oat fractions for further processing in downstream product testing. The project is designed to support the development of healthier, more sustainable plant-based food systemsaligning with the company's sustainability mantra, "Earth Day, Every Day." Explore the membrane fractionation systems behind the project: https://www.spxflow.com/product-types/membrane-filtration-systems "This partnership represents a meaningful step in our ongoing commitment to innovation and sustainability in the food and beverage industry," says Pranav Shah, Global Market Director at SPX FLOW. "We look forward to collaborating with leading researchers and industry players to unlock the full potential of oats as a high-value, functional plant-based ingredient." In addition to technical support and pilot production, SPX FLOW will also provide knowledge-sharing support during lab-scale testing and participate in workshops, trials, knowledge development and collaboration with other consortium members. These members include: Teknologisk Institut, Aarhus Universitet, Dragsbk A/S, Skar Is and TRAITOMIC. "We are excited to build a dynamic partnership with SPX FLOW, where we can combine our expertise with their technological capabilities," says Karin Loft Eybye, Project Manager at the Danish Technological Institute. "Together, we believe we can set new standards in fractionation technologies and provide insights into how individual protein fractions contribute to the final food product's functionality." The project reinforces SPX FLOW's continued investment in plant-based innovation and builds on its global efforts to develop efficient, scalable and sustainable food processing technologies. About SPX FLOW, Inc. Based in Charlotte, N.C., SPX FLOW, Inc. improves the world through innovative and sustainable solutions. The company's product offering is concentrated in process technologies that perform mixing, blending, fluid handling, separation, thermal heat transfer and other activities that are integral to processes performed across a wide variety of nutrition, health, and industrial markets. SPX FLOW has operations in more than 25 countries and sales in more than 140 countries. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit www.spxflow.com . Media Contact: Melissa Buscher, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer [email protected] SOURCE SPX FLOW, INC. NEW YORK, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, STARK , the go-to source for luxury rugs and carpets since 1938, has announced the launch of a new initiative designed to celebrate and amplify the next generation of interior designers: The STARK Rising Stars Design Grant. In partnership with LUXE Interiors + Design, this program offers emerging designers with unparalleled access to industry recognition, national exposure, and transformative opportunitiesempowering the future of design. The STARK Rising Stars Design Grant will consist of one National award recipient with $20,000 to grow their design business and a $5,000 STARK product credit, while six Regional winners will each receive $5,000 and a $2,500 product credit. Additionally, a $2,500 award and a $2,500 product credit will be determined by public vote as the STARK Community Choice Award. All award recipients will be featured in the STARK Rising Stars digital magazine, gain exposure on STARK's website and social media, and have the chance to collaborate on high-profile marketing campaigns. "STARK Rising Stars represents our unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation of design visionaries," said Chad Stark, CEO of STARK. "We believe that by providing emerging talent with not just financial support, but also mentorship, visibility, and professional connections, we're investing in the future of design excellence. This initiative reflects our core belief that fresh perspectives drive innovation, and that by elevating diverse voices early in their careers, we strengthen the entire creative ecosystem. I'm personally thrilled to see the transformative journey these Rising Stars will undertake and the lasting impact they'll make on our industry." Applications are now open for the STARK Rising Stars Program, inviting Interior Design Business Owners or Principals with businesses founded after 2018 to apply. Designers based in the US or UK/Europe, with a portfolio of at least three projects featuring permissioned imagery, are encouraged to submit. This is a unique opportunity to gain national recognition, collaborate with industry leaders, and advance your career in the design world. Apply today or nominate a rising talent you know! About STARK: For more than 85 years, STARK has built a legacy on quality, service and the art of creating custom carpets and rugs. As the first importers of patterned, luxury, handmade carpet into America, STARK and its third-generation owners and cousins, Ashley Stark Kenner and Chad Stark, working with their fathers, continue to build on the company's founding principles. CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE STARK Names Geoff Anderman Chief Executive Officer and Paul Svindland Chairman CHICAGO, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- STG Logistics ("STG") announced today it is taking the next step in the evolution of its leadership team with the execution of its long-term succession plan. Geoff Anderman has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of STG, after serving as the company's President and Chief Operating Officer since January of 2023. STG Logistics Names Geoff Anderman Chief Executive Officer and Paul Svindland Chairman Additionally, as part of STG's succession plan, Paul Svindland, who has served as the company's Chief Executive Officer since February of 2020, is moving into the role of Chairman. Svindland will lead STG's Board of Directors and continue to assist in the company's strategic initiatives and commercial development. "Geoff has long been a high-performing and respected leader of STG and I am excited to see him take this next step as STG's CEO," said Svindland. "He's a proven leader able to develop talent and strategy to deliver excellence in day-to-day solutions and we are confident he is the right person to lead STG into its next chapter. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as STG's CEO for the past five years and am looking forward to continuing to serve this great business and team as I move into the Chairman role." "STG is an industry leader poised to reach great heights and I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead as its CEO," said Anderman. "It has been an honor working alongside Paul for the past five years and STG is fortunate to continue to have him serve as our Chairman." As a result of Svindland's move to Chairman, Farrukh Bezar will move into the role of Vice Chairman. "I've had the opportunity to work closely with both Paul and Geoff for years and am confident in the leadership of STG," said Bezar. "The executive team has seamlessly executed their succession plan over the past few months and STG will continue its evolution as a leading integrated multimodal transportation and logistics provider." About STG Logistics STG is a fully integrated, port-to-door containerized freight solutions provider, delivering end-to-end logistics services nationwide. As a leading provider of containerized logistics, STG offers asset-based intermodal transportation, marine and rail drayage, warehousing and distribution, transloading, and over-the-road FTL and LTL services. With over 40 years of experience in domestic logistics, STG provides seamless access to every major rail ramp and port across the country. STG Is a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, Duration Capital Partners, and Oaktree Capital Management. Contact: Courtney McCrimmon [email protected] 412-225-6899 SOURCE STG Logistics New RFP requests submissions by June 6, 2025 for website redesign COLUMBIA, Md., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- TEDCO, Maryland's economic engine for technology companies, released a recent Request for Proposals (RFP) for the redesign of its website. Recognizing TEDCO's commitment to fostering an inclusive and entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem, the organization is looking for innovative and experienced web design firms to redesign and enhance TEDCO's website. Laptop image "The continued growth of TEDCO exemplifies the dedication we have to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem," TEDCO CEO, Troy LeMaile-Stovall, said. "This growth that has resulted in TEDCO being recognized as one of the top 20 Venture Capital investors in the Mid-Atlantic region by Pitchbook. And we are excited to see this trajectory continue." The selected firm will conduct a focus group of local ecosystem entrepreneurs and stakeholders to ensure user experience, design and overall functionality match their needs. The final product will create an efficient tool for Maryland entrepreneurs, with a more condensed and visually appealing directory that allows TEDCO to further support the state's economic growth. "Just as technology continues to evolve, so too does our tools and resources for entrepreneurs," said Tammi Thomas, chief development and marketing officer for TEDCO. "We are excited to embark on a website redesign project, one that will engage various entrepreneurial stakeholders as we stay true to our commitment of supporting Maryland's innovation ecosystem." Interested applicants will respond to the detailed RFP, published here. The goal of this RFP is to receive proposals from potential firms, evaluate those submittals and select the one best suited to provide the requested services listed throughout the RFP. All applicants must submit a complete response by 4:00 pm, Friday, June 6, 2025. TEDCO will contact the selected company by Friday, June 27, 2025. Minority business enterprises, as defined in Section 14-301(f) of the State Finance and Procurement Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, are encouraged to respond to this RFP. TEDCO's Commitment to Maryland TEDCO was created in 1998 by the Maryland State Legislature to facilitate the creation of businesses and support their growth in all regions of the State. TEDCO's role is to be Maryland's leading source of funding for early-stage, technology-based businesses; to provide other business assistance to entrepreneurs throughout the State; and to foster technology transfer and commercialization from the State's universities and Federal labs. TEDCO is leading innovation to market in Maryland and contributing to a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in the State through its various programs and funds. The organization has an ambitious vision: TEDCO will be the recognized national leader for supporting translational research, and technology-based, economic, and entrepreneurial development while being the hub of Maryland's innovation ecosystem. Working towards this vision, the organization has been leading innovation to market for close to 27 years, creating nearly $2.7 billion in statewide economic activity, as of 2023. To be a part of the continued journey, learn more about the RFP and how to apply here. About TEDCO TEDCO, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, enhances economic empowerment growth through the fostering of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. TEDCO identifies, invests in, and helps grow technology and life science-based companies in Maryland. Learn more at www.tedcomd.com. Media Contact Tammi Thomas, Chief Development & Marketing Officer, TEDCO, [email protected] Rachael Kalinyak, Associate Director, Marketing & Communications, TEDCO, [email protected] SOURCE TEDCO New facility will enhance access to specialized orthopaedic care throughout D.C. region BETHESDA, Md., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (CAO), one of the nation's largest orthopaedic care providers, today announced the grand opening of a new Summit Orthopedics location in Bethesda, Md. This expansion follows the debut of Summit Orthopedics' state-of-the-art facility in Washington, D.C., last October, reinforcing CAO's commitment to delivering world-class orthopaedic care throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia region. A division of CAO, Summit Orthopedics brings together a multidisciplinary team of surgeons and nonoperative specialists dedicated to high-quality, patient-centered care. The practice provides expert treatment for musculoskeletal conditions including fractures, tendon and ligament injuries, bursitis, sprains, strains, tendonitis, back pain and arthritis. By combining advanced treatment options with the personalized approach of a private practice, Summit Orthopedics ensures every patient receives tailored, comprehensive care. "Our expansion strengthens access to top-tier orthopaedic care in the region, helping us better serve our patients and improve community health," said Dr. Michael Goldsmith, a leading surgeon at Summit Orthopedics. "This new location allows us to bring our expertise closer to patients in downtown Bethesda and the greater D.C. metro area." The new facility is located at 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 301, Bethesda, MD 20814. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit CFAOrtho.com. To learn more about Summit Orthopedics, visit Summit-Orthopedics.com. About The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (CAO) is one of the largest providers of orthopaedic care in the country. The organization was formed in 2013 to provide patients with the same personalized service and superior care they have come to expect from a private practice, while benefitting from the efficiencies, resources, accessibility and broader insurance options of one of the country's largest orthopaedic practices. CAO is evolving to offer patients the full spectrum of musculoskeletal care. Through empowering the private practice model, CAO delivers the most efficient, compassionate and highest-quality care to the communities it serves. For more information, please visit CFAOrtho.com. CONTACT: Marielle Luke [email protected] 484.385.2927 SOURCE The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics This long-term plan seeks to make these hidden gems more accessible to visitors from around the world by opening up new pathways for tourism in Colombia. The campaign will appear in media outlets and on social media, promoted with the hashtags #HiddenBeauty and #BellezaEscondida to invite people to discover and share these unique destinations. Among the destinations featured in the campaign are Tolu and Bahia Solano, two places with immense natural wealth and tourism potential, where the Civil Aviation Authority has led the improvement of air infrastructure to strengthen connectivity and facilitate access for travelers arriving at airstrips that are transforming the tourism offering. Tolu, for example, was prioritized due to its natural richness, tourism potential, and privileged location in the Colombian Caribbean. Inspired by these two cases, other areas with similar characteristics have been identified and will be included in this effort to boost tourism, enhance regional connectivity, and breathe new life into lesser-known destinations in the country. In addition, the campaign targets strategic markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Argentina, and Germany, as well as emerging markets like the Netherlands and Italy, giving Colombian tourism new momentum. "Runways of Hidden Beauty brings value to Colombia's natural and cultural richness, promoting authentic experiences that cater to the new motivations of travelers. This initiative is expected to attract a wide range of touristsfrom those seeking nature and cultural connections to others interested in community-based tourism or beach vacations," said Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia. What kind of experiences can be found in these destinations? Tourists from these markets can enjoy a variety of experiences and help rewrite the history of Colombia's most disconnected regions, thanks to the collaboration with tour operators who have applied their knowledge and infrastructure to serve the thousands of tourists now arriving in these areasmarking a before-and-after in the unveiling of Colombia's natural beauty. Tolu, located in the department of Sucre, is one of the most representative destinations of the Colombian Greater Caribbean, known for its peaceful beaches, local culture, and nature-based experiences. Beyond its coastal appeal, Tolu is a launching point for exploring places such as Cienaga de la Leche, San Bernardo Islands, and the mangroves of Covenas, ideal for wildlife and flora watching. Nearby, travelers can also find destinations like Altamira Nature Refuge in Chalan, Toluviejo Caves, Wapiti Forest Reserve, and Sanguare Nature Reserve in San Onofre. The area is also connected to routes leading to Montes de Maria, known for their springs, wells, and caves, and the Paramillo National Natural Park. This variety makes Tolu a great spot for nature, cultural, and adventure tourism. Bahia Solano, on the other hand, is perfect for travelers seeking nature, biodiversity, and authentic experiences. It is known for humpback whale watching, as these majestic animals visit the warm waters of Nuqui and surrounding areas each year to reproduce, along with sea turtles and a vast array of species in its jungles and rivers. In addition to the Utria National Natural Park and El Almejal Beach, visitors can enjoy must-see spots like Tigre Waterfall, hikes to Termales and Jurubira, and eco-trails guided by Indigenous Embera communities in Mecana. Travelers can also visit beaches such as Guachalito, Punta Brava, and Termales, as well as rivers like Jovi and Tundo, which hide waterfalls and natural pools. The destination is also seeing a rise in sustainable accommodation, like Posada Chachita, Hotel Mecana, and MorroMico. All of this makes Bahia Solano a unique destination for nature tourism, relaxation, and connecting with local communities. "With this initiative, we hope the impact goes beyond tourism and becomes a true transformation for the well-being of thousands of communities. If we succeed in attracting more travelers to these destinations thanks to better connectivity, their presence could become an unprecedented boost to local economies. In addition, working closely with Military Engineers on infrastructure projects allows us to send a message of trust and closeness to both communities and visitors," concluded the president of ProColombia. For more information visit Colombia.Travel, Colombia's official tourism website. SOURCE PROCOLOMBIA West Coast veteran packaging executive to lead the next chapter of Yebo's growth TUSTIN, Calif., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Yebo Group, LLC ("Yebo"), a leading provider of premium fiber-based packaging solutions and portfolio company of Exeter Street Capital Partners, announced today the hiring of Scott Jones as its new Chief Executive Officer. With over 30 years of leadership experience in the packaging industry and a proven track record of driving successful results, Jones will spearhead the next phase of Yebo's growth. "Scott's exceptional packaging industry expertise and strategic vision make him the ideal fit to guide Yebo as we invest in expanding our capabilities," stated Franklin Staley, Managing Director of Exeter Street Capital Partners. "His demonstrated ability to drive successful growth strategies while improving customer outcomes aligns perfectly with Yebo's commitment to being our customers' first call for all of their packaging requirements." Jones joins Yebo from Malnove Packaging, where as Executive Vice President of Sales & Customer Success he successfully drove customer growth while improving margins. He also brings deep prior experience from diverse leadership roles at InBold, Pacific Southwest Container, Graphic Packaging International, and Sierra Pacific Packaging. This blend of perspectives has shaped his ability to create accretive new business and scale organizations with a focus on long-term value creation. Jones earned a business degree from Cal State University of Chico and an MBA from Pepperdine University. "We are delighted to welcome Scott into the Yebo family. I am very proud of what our team has accomplished and built over these past 14 years, and am extremely excited for what Scott will add to our team and where we believe he can lead us," said Andrew Tosh, founder and outgoing CEO of Yebo. Tosh will remain on the board of directors and move into the role of Executive Vice President of Sales managing key accounts. "I am honored by the opportunity to lead Yebo during this pivotal time in the Company's growth," stated Jones. "I look forward to working with Yebo's talented team to continue to expand and deliver innovative and impactful packaging solutions that enable our customers' products to win in increasingly competitive markets." Under Jones's leadership, Yebo will grow its sustainable packaging options by investing in expanded capabilities, enhance its technology infrastructure, and pursue accretive add-on acquisitions. About The Yebo Group Based in southern California, Yebo has established itself as a premium provider of folding carton, rigid and promotional boxes, specialty corrugated, and custom fulfillment solutions for customers in the retail, cosmetics, technology, medical device, nutraceutical, and food & beverage industries. The Company distinguishes itself with unmatched creative design capabilities and structural engineering solutions, rapid turnaround times, and its ability to execute complex packaging concepts within extremely high-quality tolerances. For more information about Yebo's premium packaging solutions, please visit their website. About Exeter Street Capital Partners Exeter Street Capital Partners is the independent sponsor affiliate of the Patriot Capital Group. We invest in promising small-cap companies within the specialty industrial and services sectors, then pursue strategies that can build them into market leaders: national, regional, or sector; and we have a demonstrated track record of success doing so. Exeter has raised and deployed over $1 billion across 11 investments since 2014, and over $400 million since 2021. We take a long-term, partnership-first approach to investing, and are under no pre-determined timeline to exit or monetize our investments. For more information about Exeter's investment strategy and portfolio, please visit their website. SOURCE Exeter Street Capital Partners NORMAL, Ill., April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tricoci University of Beauty Culture will celebrate the grand opening of its expanded and relocated Normal campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 17 at its new location: 1503 E. College Ave., Normal, IL 61761, conveniently located next to Illinois State University. Tricoci University's Normal campus , which first opened in 2018 at 755 W. Rabb Road in Normal, underwent a major transformation following the closure of the Paul Mitchell School in September 2024. Tricoci assumed operations of the Paul Mitchell School following the closure, providing a pathway for students and staff to complete their education and continue their careers as part of the Tricoci community. Tricoci then relocated all of its existing students, staff and operations to the Paul Mitchell facility in January 2025. "This grand opening is a proud moment for all of us at Tricoci University," said Nate Swanson, CEO of Tricoci University of Beauty Culture. "It represents not just a new facility, but a new chapter built on passion, creativity, and community. We're honored to welcome students, staff, and guests to celebrate the beginning of something truly special in McLean County." The ribbon-cutting will celebrate not only the physical move but also the legacy of the late John Kanski, former owner of Paul Mitchell The School Normal, who opened the school with his wife Jenni in 2007. The April 17 event will be a moment to honor his contributions and the future of beauty education in McLean County. Tricoci University's Normal campus continues to lead with a curriculum rooted in hands-on learning, professional development, and community engagement. The integration reflects Tricoci University's mission to make quality beauty education more accessible, serving a greater number of students and clients across Central Illinois. For more information about Tricoci University of Beauty Culture and its programs, please visit https://www.tricociuniversity.edu/ or connect with us on social media: Instagram: @tricociuniversity Facebook: @TricociUniversity, TikTok: @tricociuniversity and YouTube: @TricociU . About Tricoci University of Beauty Culture Tricoci University of Beauty Culture is a premier beauty education provider with 15 campuses throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Tricoci University is focused on producing salon-ready graduates who are prepared for successful careers in the beauty industry. Founded by international beauty industry leader Mario Tricoci, Tricoci University is developing a new type of beauty professional by using innovative teaching methods, an interactive learning platform, and upscale facilities. All guest services are provided by students under the supervision of licensed instructors. For more information about Tricoci University of Beauty Culture please visit https://www.tricociuniversity.edu/ SOURCE Tricoci University of Beauty Culture Community Event to Honor Legacy, Celebrate New Services, and Strengthen Campus Connections ABILENE, Texas, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- University Credit Union (UCU) is pleased to invite students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to a week-long Open House Celebration from April 2225, 2025 at the newly rebranded "ACU Credit Union Powered by UCU" banking hub. The event will honor the legacy of Abilene Christian University Credit Union and officially welcome the Abilene Christian University (ACU) community into the UCU family with food, music, giveaways, and more. This celebration marks the next chapter following the successful merger of University Credit Union and Abilene Christian University Credit Union , which was officially completed on February 1, 2025. With core system integration finalized in early March, UCU now offers enhanced services, expanded digital tools, and a robust nationwide banking networkall while maintaining the personalized service and community commitment members have always known. "We're excited to celebrate this partnership with the people who make the ACU community so special," said Estela Nagahashi, Interim CEO of University Credit Union. "This Open House is a chance to honor the rich history of ACU Credit Union while introducing all the new possibilities and resources now available to the ACU community through UCU's expertise." Open House Highlights Include: Kickoff Celebration ( Tuesday, April 22 | 11 AM 3 PM ) | ) Food trucks, cornhole, games, music, and giveaways Unveiling of a commemorative safe deposit box honoring ACU CU's legacy Remarks from ACU leadership and UCU executives Appearances by ACU's Willie the Wildcat for photo ops Raffle entry and networking opportunities Daily Giveaways: Wednesday ( April 23 ): Free Summermoon Coffee ( 10 AM 12 PM ) ): Free Summermoon Coffee ( ) Thursday (April 24): Tacolote Tacos Giveaway ( 11 AM 1 PM ) ) Friday ( April 25 ): Raffle prize winners announced This event coincides with Sustainability Week and Purple Friday at ACU, adding even more Wildcat spirit to the festivities. UCU is also offering a special $300 new member promotion exclusively for eligible ACU community members and all Texas residents who open an account and meet the offer criteria. This limited-time offer is designed to welcome new members and introduce them to the full benefits of UCU's innovative financial services. For more information about the merger or the event, visit ucu.org/acucreditunionmerger or contact Derek Knowlton, Chief Marketing Officer at University Credit Union. About Abilene Christian University: Abilene Christian University serves a diverse student population of about 6,700 with world-class teaching in a Christ-centered community. Founded in 1906, this national research university offers online and residential undergraduate and graduate programs. Students choose from 87 baccalaureate majors that include more than 171 areas of study, as well as 71 areas of study in master's degree and specialist programs and four doctoral programs. ACU's mission is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. Learn more at acu.edu. About University Credit Union: University Credit Union , a federally insured financial cooperative, was founded in 1951 on UCLA's campus by faculty and staff. Serving more than 50,000 members, UCU has become a leading credit union in the United States. UCU is guided by a board of directors comprised only of faculty, staff, and alumni of the university community. UCU's core purpose is to give members a financial advantage in life. With its commitment to advocate, educate, and innovate, UCU is an industry-leading financial partner serving university communities in various locations across the US. SOURCE University Credit Union YUFLYMA (adalimumab-aaty) is a high-concentration (100mg/mL) and citrate-free formulation of Humira (adalimumab) biosimilar, that is now interchangeable [1] Interchangeable designation of YUFLYMA is supported by positive data from the Phase III interchangeability study in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis INCHEON, South Korea, April 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Celltrion, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated YUFLYMA (adalimumab-aaty), as an interchangeable biosimilar to Humira (adalimumab). YUFLYMA is an FDA-approved, high-concentration (100mg/mL) and citrate-free formulation of Humira biosimilar, approved for multiple inflammatory indications.[1] "With this new designation, YUFLYMA is further positioned to help more patients gain access to and afford the therapy they need," said Thomas Nusbickel, Chief Commercial Officer at Celltrion USA. "YUFLYMA has the same dosage form, route of administration, and dosing regimen as the reference product. The pharmacist's ability to substitute the biosimilar directly at the pharmacy without the hassle of a new prescription and without the patient having to learn a new method of administration can be a game changer in increasing patient access to adalimumab." The interchangeable designation was supported by data from the Phase III interchangeability study, which demonstrated similar outcomes in terms of pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety and immunogenicity in patients with moderately to severely active plaque psoriasis who received reference adalimumab (ADA) continuously and those who alternated between reference ADA and YUFLYMA during the dosing interval of Week 25-27. The result of the interchangeability study was presented at the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology (EADV) 2024.[2] FDA-approved interchangeable biosimilars may be substituted for the reference product at the pharmacy without the intervention of the prescribing health care provider, subject to state laws.[3] The high-concentration form of YUFLYMA was FDA-approved in May 2023 and is currently available as 20mg, 40 mg and 80mg solution for injection in a prefilled syringe and in an autoinjector pen. YUFLYMA was introduced into the US commercial market on July 2, 2023. YUFLYMA is available in two pricing options to help provide more affordable options for patients. Adalimumab-aaty, the unbranded version, is priced at an 85% discount to the current wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) list price of Humira (adalimumab), providing economic benefits for patients and overall healthcare system. The branded version is priced at a 5% discount to the current WAC of Humira (adalimumab). Notes to Editors: About YUFLYMA (CT-P17, biosimilar adalimumab-aaty)[1] YUFLYMA is the world's first proposed high-concentration, low-volume and citrate-free adalimumab biosimilar to receive European Commission approval. YUFLYMA is FDA approved for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa and uveitis. YUFLYMA has been designated by the FDA as an interchangeable biosimilar in a prefilled syringe. YUFLYMA is a recombinant fully human antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) monoclonal antibody. YUFLYMA is available in 20mg/0.2mL, 40mg/0.4mL and 80mg/0.8mL. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION[1] This important safety information also applies to YUFLYMA (adalimumab-aaty) SERIOUS INFECTIONS Patients treated with adalimumab-aaty are at increased risk for developing serious infections that may lead to hospitalization or death. Most patients who developed these infections were taking concomitant immunosuppressants such as methotrexate or corticosteroids. Discontinue adalimumab-aaty if a patient develops a serious infection or sepsis. Reported infections include: Active tuberculosis (TB), including reactivation of latent TB. Patients with TB have frequently presented with disseminated or extrapulmonary disease. Test patients for latent TB before adalimumab-aaty use and during therapy. Initiate treatment for latent TB prior to adalimumab-aaty use. Invasive fungal infections, including histoplasmosis, coccidioidomycosis, candidiasis, aspergillosis, blastomycosis, and pneumocystosis. Patients with histoplasmosis or other invasive fungal infections may present with disseminated, rather than localized, disease. Antigen and antibody testing for histoplasmosis may be negative in some patients with active infection. Consider empiric antifungal therapy in patients at risk for invasive fungal infections who develop severe systemic illness. Bacterial, viral, and other infections due to opportunistic pathogens, including Legionella and Listeria. Carefully consider the risks and benefits of treatment with adalimumab-aaty prior to initiating therapy in patients with chronic or recurrent infection. Monitor patients closely for the development of signs and symptoms of infection during and after treatment with adalimumab-aaty, including the possible development of TB in patients who tested negative for latent TB infection prior to initiating therapy. Treatment with adalimumab-aaty should not be initiated in patients with an active infection, including localized infections. Patients over 65 years of age, patients with co-morbid conditions and/or patients taking concomitant immunosuppressants (such as corticosteroids or methotrexate), may be at greater risk of infection. Discontinue adalimumab-aaty if a patient develops a serious infection or sepsis. For a patient who develops a new infection during treatment with adalimumab-aaty, closely monitor them, perform a prompt and complete diagnostic workup appropriate for an immunocompromised patient, and initiate appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Drug interactions with biologic products: In clinical studies in patients with RA, an increased risk of serious infections has been observed with the combination of TNF blockers with anakinra or abatacept, with no added benefit; therefore, use of adalimumab-aaty with abatacept or anakinra is not recommended in patients with RA. A higher rate of serious infections has also been observed in patients with RA treated with rituximab who received subsequent treatment with a TNF blocker. There is insufficient information regarding the concomitant use of adalimumab-aaty and other biologic products for the treatment of RA, PsA, AS, CD, UC, PS, and HS. Concomitant administration of adalimumab-aaty with other biologic DMARDs (e.g., anakinra and abatacept) or other TNF blockers is not recommended based upon the possible increased risk for infections and other potential pharmacological interactions. A higher rate of serious infections has been observed in RA patients treated with rituximab who received subsequent treatment with a TNF blocker. MALIGNANCY Lymphoma and other malignancies, some fatal, have been reported in children and adolescent patients treated with TNF blockers, including adalimumab products. Postmarketing cases of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL), a rare type of T-cell lymphoma, have been reported in patients treated with TNF blockers, including adalimumab products. These cases have had a very aggressive disease course and have been fatal. The majority of reported TNF blocker cases have occurred in patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis and the majority were in adolescent and young adult males. Almost all of these patients had received treatment with azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine concomitantly with a TNF blocker at or prior to diagnosis. It is uncertain whether the occurrence of HSTCL is related to the use of a TNF blocker or a TNF blocker in combination with these other immunosuppressants. Consider the risks and benefits of TNF blocker treatment including adalimumab-aaty prior to initiating therapy in patients with a known malignancy other than a successfully treated non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), or when considering continuing a TNF blocker in patients who develop a malignancy. In controlled portions of clinical trials of some adalimumab products, more cases of malignancies have been observed compared to control-treated adult patients. Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) was reported during clinical trials for patients treated with adalimumab products. During the controlled portions of 39 global adalimumab clinical trials in adult patients with RA, PsA, AS, CD, UC, PS, HS and UV, the rate (95% confidence interval) of NMSC was 0.8 (0.52, 1.09) per 100 patient-years among adalimumab-treated patients and 0.2 (0.10, 0.59) per 100 patient-years among control-treated patients. Examine all patients, particularly those with a medical history of prior prolonged immunosuppressant therapy or psoriasis patients with a history of PUVA treatment, for the presence of NMSC prior to and during treatment with adalimumab-aaty. In clinical trials of some adalimumab products, there was an approximately threefold higher rate of lymphoma than expected in the general U.S. population. Patients with RA and other chronic inflammatory diseases, particularly those with highly active disease and/or chronic exposure to immunosuppressant therapies, may be at a higher risk (up to severalfold) than the general population for the development of lymphoma, even in the absence of TNF blockers. Postmarketing cases of acute and chronic leukemia were reported with the use of a TNF blocker in RA and other indications. Approximately half of the postmarketing cases of malignancies in children, adolescents, and young adults receiving adalimumab were lymphomas; other cases represented a variety of different malignancies and included rare malignancies usually associated with immunosuppression and malignancies that are not usually observed in children and adolescents. HYPERSENSITIVITY Anaphylaxis and angioneurotic edema have been reported following administration of adalimumab products. If an anaphylactic or other serious allergic reaction occurs, immediately discontinue administration of adalimumab-aaty and institute appropriate therapy. HEPATITIS B VIRUS REACTIVATION Use of TNF blockers, including adalimumab-aaty, may increase the risk of reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in patients who are chronic carriers. In some instances, HBV reactivation occurring in conjunction with TNF blocker therapy has been fatal. Evaluate patients at risk for HBV infection for prior evidence of HBV infection before initiating TNF blocker therapy. Exercise caution in prescribing TNF blockers for patients identified as carriers of HBV and closely monitor such patients for clinical and laboratory signs of active HBV infection throughout therapy and for several months following termination of therapy. In patients who develop HBV reactivation, stop adalimumab-aaty and initiate effective antiviral therapy with appropriate supportive treatment. The safety of resuming TNF blocker therapy after HBV reactivation is controlled is not known. Therefore, exercise caution when considering resumption of adalimumab-aaty therapy in this situation and monitor patients closely. NEUROLOGIC REACTIONS Use of TNF blocking agents, including adalimumab products, has been associated with rare cases of new onset or exacerbation of clinical symptoms and/or radiographic evidence of central nervous system demyelinating disease, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and optic neuritis, and peripheral demyelinating disease, including Guillain-Barre syndrome. Exercise caution in considering the use of adalimumab-aaty in patients with preexisting or recent-onset central or peripheral nervous system demyelinating disorders; discontinuation of adalimumab-aaty should be considered if any of these disorders develop. There is a known association between intermediate uveitis and central demyelinating disorders. HEMATOLOGIC REACTIONS Rare reports of pancytopenia including aplastic anemia have been reported with TNF blocking agents. Adverse reactions of the hematologic system, including medically significant cytopenia, have been infrequently reported with adalimumab products. Consider discontinuation of adalimumab-aaty therapy in patients with confirmed significant hematologic abnormalities. HEART FAILURE Cases of worsening congestive heart failure (CHF) and new-onset CHF have been reported with TNF blockers. Cases of worsening CHF have also been observed with adalimumab products. Exercise caution when using adalimumab-aaty in patients who have heart failure and monitor them carefully. AUTOIMMUNITY Treatment with adalimumab products may result in the formation of autoantibodies and, rarely, in the development of a lupus-like syndrome. If a patient develops symptoms suggestive of a lupus-like syndrome following treatment with adalimumab-aaty, discontinue treatment. IMMUNIZATIONS Patients on adalimumab-aaty may receive concurrent vaccinations, except for live vaccines. It is recommended that pediatric patients, if possible, be brought up to date with all immunizations in agreement with current immunization guidelines prior to initiating adalimumab-aaty therapy. No data are available on the secondary transmission of infection by live vaccines in patients receiving adalimumab products. The safety of administering live or live-attenuated vaccines in infants exposed to adalimumab in utero is unknown. Risks and benefits should be considered prior to vaccinating (live or live-attenuated) exposed infants. ADVERSE REACTIONS The most common adverse reactions in adalimumab clinical trials (>10%) were: infections (e.g., upper respiratory, sinusitis), injection site reactions, headache, and rash. INDICATIONS Adalimumab-aaty is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker indicated for: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): reducing signs and symptoms, inducing major clinical response, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients with moderately to severely active RA Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA): reducing signs and symptoms of moderately to severely active polyarticular JIA in patients 2 years of age and older Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA): reducing signs and symptoms, inhibiting the progression of structural damage, and improving physical function in adult patients with active PsA Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS): reducing signs and symptoms in adult patients with active AS Crohn's Disease (CD): treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn's disease in adults and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older Ulcerative Colitis (UC): treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adults Limitations of Use: Effectiveness has not been established in patients who have lost response to or were intolerant to TNF blockers Effectiveness has not been established in patients who have lost response to or were intolerant to TNF blockers Plaque Psoriasis (Ps): treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy, and when other systemic therapies are medically less appropriate Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS): treatment of adult patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa Uveitis (UV): treatment of non-infectious intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis in adult patients For Yuflyma (adalimumab-aaty): Please click for Full U.S. Prescribing Information. For adalimumab-aaty: Please see Full U.S. Prescribing Information. Globally, prescribing information varies; refer to the individual country product label for complete information. About Celltrion, Inc. Celltrion is a leading biopharmaceutical company that specializes in researching, developing, manufacturing, marketing and sales of innovative therapeutics that improve people's lives worldwide. Celltrion is a pioneer in the biosimilar space, having launched the world's first monoclonal antibody biosimilar. Our global pharmaceutical portfolio addresses a range of therapeutic areas including immunology, oncology, hematology, ophthalmology and endocrinology. Beyond biosimilar products, we are committed to advancing our pipeline with novel drugs to push the boundaries of scientific innovation and deliver quality medicines. For more information, please visit our website www.celltrion.com/en-us and stay updated with our latest news and events on our social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and Facebook. About Celltrion USA Celltrion USA is Celltrion's U.S. subsidiary established in 2018. Headquartered in New Jersey, Celltrion USA is committed to expanding access to innovative biologics to improve care for U.S. patients. Celltrion's FDA-approved biosimilar products in immunology, oncology, hematology, and endocrinology include: INFLECTRA (infliximab-dyyb), TRUXIMA (rituximab-abbs), HERZUMA (trastuzumab-pkrb), VEGZELMA (bevacizumab-adcd), YUFLYMA(adalimumab-aaty), AVTOZMA (tocilizumab-anho), STEQEYMA (ustekinumab-stba), STOBOCLO (denosumab-bmwo), OSENVELT (denosumab-bmwo) and OMLYCLO (omalizumab-igec), as well as the novel biologic ZYMFENTRA (infliximab-dyyb). Celltrion USA will continue to leverage Celltrion's unique heritage in biotechnology, supply chain excellence and best-in-class sales capabilities to improve access to high-quality biopharmaceuticals for U.S. patients. For more information, please visit www.celltrionusa.com and stay updated with our latest news and events on our social media: LinkedIn. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT Certain information set forth in this press release contains statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Celltrion, Inc. and its subsidiaries that may constitute forward-looking statements under pertinent securities laws. This press release contains forward looking statements. These statements may be also identified by words such as "prepares", "hopes to", "upcoming", "plans to", "aims to", "to be launched", "is preparing", "once gained", "could", "with the aim of", "may", "once identified", "will", "working towards", "is due", "become available", "has potential to", "anticipate" the negative of these words or such other variations thereon or comparable terminology. In addition, our representatives may make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Celltrion, Inc. and its subsidiaries' management, of which many are beyond its control. Forward-looking statements are provided to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand management's beliefs and opinions in respect of the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor in evaluating an investment. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties associated with the company's business, including the risk factors disclosed in its Annual Report and/or Quarterly Reports, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such statements. Celltrion, Inc. and its subsidiaries undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. Trademarks Humira is a registered trademark of AbbVie. YUFLYMA is a registered trademark of Celltrion, Inc., used under license. References [1] YUFLYMA US prescribing information (2023) [2] Lebwohl M et al., Pharmacokinetics, Efficacy and Safety after Multiple Switches from Reference Adalimumab to Adalimumab Biosimilar (CT-P17) in comparison with the Maintenance Group (Reference Adalimumab) in Patients with Moderate-toSevere Plaque Psoriasis: Week 27 Results from the Phase III Interchangeability Study. [EADV 2024, Poster number P0931]. Available at: https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/m-anage.com.storage.eadv/abstracts_congress_2024/41489.pdf [3] 9 Things to Know About Biosimilars and Interchangeable Biosimilars. Available at : https://www.fda.gov/drugs/things-know-about/9-things-know-about-biosimilars-and-interchangeable-biosimilars For further information please contact: Andria Arena [email protected] +1 516-578-0057 SOURCE Celltrion Latest edition recognizes nearly 1,900 communities as "best." WASHINGTON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in health care rankings and consumer advice, today announced the 2025 Best Senior Living ratings . The 2025 edition names 1,894 Best Senior Living communities. Now in its fourth year, the Best Senior Living ratings from U.S. News assist seniors and their families in their search for the independent living, assisted living, memory care or continuing care retirement community that best meets their individual and family needs. The ratings are based on a national survey of residents and their family members. In 2025, U.S. News analyzed data from nearly 450,000 resident and family survey responses at more than 3,800 senior living communities nationwide. The survey asked residents and family members about their satisfaction with community safety, caregiving, activities, management, staff, food and value, and other aspects of community life. "Choosing a senior living community is a major life decision for older adults and their families. U.S. News' Best Senior Living ratings provide data-driven decision support, offering an unbiased evaluation of resident and family satisfaction in senior living communities," said Liz Pearce, director, senior living at U.S. News. "Notably, a separate U.S. News survey of older Americans on their experiences with loneliness found that moving into senior living communities significantly improves residents' social well-being: 61% reported reduced loneliness, and 85% made new friends," Pearce added. The following 20 metropolitan areas, listed in alphabetical order, have the greatest number of Best Senior Living communities in the United States: Atlanta (31) (31) Austin (21) (21) Baltimore (21) (21) Boston (60) (60) Chicago (71) (71) Dallas-Fort Worth (48) (48) Detroit (20) (20) Houston (31) (31) Kansas City (28) (28) Los Angeles (53) (53) Miami - Fort Lauderdale (19) - (19) Minneapolis-St. Paul (32) (32) New York (71) (71) Philadelphia (33) (33) Phoenix (32) (32) Riverside - San Bernardino (21) - (21) San Francisco (23) (23) Seattle (46) (46) St. Louis (35) (35) Washington, D.C. (56) U.S. News awards the designation of "Best Senior Living" only to those communities that satisfy U.S. News' rigorous, data-driven standard , reflecting the viewpoints from more than 450,000 consumer surveys. Only the highest-rated communities in each care level earned a "Best" rating. U.S. News also recognizes outstanding performance in several key areas with a High Performing accolade. These accolades are awarded to communities that scored in the top 25% of evaluated communities nationwide for caregiving, activities & enrichment, management & staff, food and home-like environment and met certain other criteria. The U.S. News Best Senior Living finder features each community's ratings on independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care retirement. For more information on the U.S. News Best Senior Living ratings, explore Facebook , Instagram , TikTok and X using #BestSeniorLiving. About U.S. News & World Report U.S. News & World Report is the global leader for journalism that empowers consumers, citizens, business leaders and policy officials to make confident decisions in all aspects of their lives and communities. A multifaceted media company, U.S. News provides unbiased rankings, independent reporting and analysis, and consumer advice to millions of people on USNews.com each month. A pillar in Washington for more than 90 years, U.S. News is the trusted home for in-depth and exclusive insights on education, health, politics, the economy, personal finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers and consumer products and services. SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P. The U.S. Virgin Islands delegation began the week with a warm and energetic welcome receptiona Caribbean BBQ hosted by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. at the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) headquarters. The event, proudly sponsored by the Department of Tourism, set the tone for a week of connection and collaboration. Cruise executives, partners, and media were treated to authentic Virgin Islands hospitality and cuisine in a festive atmosphere that celebrated the territory's vibrant culture and growing role in the global cruise industry. Throughout the conference, Governor Bryan and Commissioner Boschulte held a series of high-level, productive meetings with leading cruise lines, including Disney Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean International. Discussions centered around itinerary planning, infrastructure improvements, guest experience enhancements, and sustainability effortsall aimed at expanding cruise offerings and increasing calls to St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. Cruise tourism to the U.S. Virgin Islands continues to grow, with passenger arrivals reaching 1.7 million in 2024up 90,000 from the previous year. Projections indicate 1.8 million arrivals in 2025 and 1.9 million in 2026. St. Thomas and St. John led the way with 542,071 passengers at Crown Bay and 983,862 at WICO, while St. Croix welcomed 169,228 at the AAMF port. The Department of Tourism remains focused on sustaining this momentum through strategic planning and strong industry partnerships. "Seatrade Cruise Global provides an unmatched platform for dialogue with our cruise partners," said Commissioner Boschulte. "We came to the table with a clear vision for growth and innovation in cruise tourism, and the interest and enthusiasm from our partners have been extremely encouraging." In addition to leadership meetings, the Department of Tourism team was active on the tradeshow floor, where they conducted dozens of industry engagements and introduced attendees to the authentic spirit of the USVI. The USVI booth became a standout attraction, buzzing with cultural energy thanks to live performances from steel pan musicians, moko jumbies, and traditional dancers. Staff also distributed branded giveaways that kept the USVI top of mind for potential visitors and industry representatives alike. The USVI's presence at Seatrade underscored its commitment to balancing economic development with cultural integrity. From infrastructure investment to community-based tourism experiences, the territory is focused on delivering a cruise product that is both competitive and uniquely Virgin Islands. "We're not just selling a destinationwe're sharing our story," adds Commissioner Boschulte. "Our islands offer unmatched beauty, but it's our people, culture, and authenticity that truly make us a world-class destination for cruise travelers." With momentum from Seatrade Cruise Global 2025, the USVI is poised for continued growth in cruise tourism, fueled by cross-industry thought strategy, strong partnerships, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. For more information on visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands and experiencing these award-winning beaches, please visit www.visitusvi.com. About the U.S. Virgin Islands About 40 miles east of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands comprise a United States territory located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. The three islands are St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas, where the capital of Charlotte Amalie is located. Perfect for leisure or business travel, the U.S. Virgin Islands features breathtaking, world-renowned beaches, an international marine industry, European architecture, and a burgeoning restaurant industry. No passports are required from U.S. citizens traveling from the U.S. mainland or Puerto Rico. Entry requirements for non-U.S. citizens are equivalent to entering the United States from any international country. Upon departure, a passport is required for non-U.S. citizens. For more information about the United States Virgin Islands, go to www.VisitUSVI.com, follow us @VisitUSVI on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Pinterest, and @USVITourism on TikTok, X and LinkedIn. SOURCE U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism Nationally Recognized Physician to Enhance Ventra's Deep RCM Capabilities in Radiology DALLAS, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventra Health ("Ventra"), a leading business solutions provider for facility-based physicians, announced today that it has named Richard R. Saxon, MD, Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology, as a Strategic Advisor for Radiology. He joins a team led by Sarah Herzog, President of Radiology and a respected Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) executive, as Ventra continues to invest in and grow and expand its Radiology business services. As a reimbursement advocate, Dr. Saxon will represent radiologists as Ventra works to navigate a challenging and dynamic payer landscape and address the specific needs of radiology practices. Ventra is one of the nation's largest, most sophisticated technology-enabled providers of end-to-end RCM services, offering clients access to industry-leading technology, data and analytics, provider education, and payer strategy and contracting. Steven Huddleston, CEO of Ventra, said, "Dr. Saxon brings a unique combination of physician and payer knowledge and has a detailed understanding of the challenges facing radiologists today. His skills and experience provide critical insights as we continue to build out our Client Success engagement structure with advanced technology and performance surveillance features, making it a valuable touchpoint for clients who need help negotiating market forces. We are excited to welcome Richard and are confident he will enhance the national advocacy and white-glove service we are proud to provide to our clients." Dr. Saxon has been a clinician, researcher, teacher, and innovator in the field of Interventional Radiology. Having lectured extensively worldwide, he will continue to practice medicine alongside his Ventra strategic advisor role, in which he will act as a trusted advocate and resource for radiologists. "I am looking forward to working with Ventra's radiology physician providers to create more predictable outcomes and help improve their practices' financial results so they can focus on what matters providing high-quality patient care," commented Dr. Saxon. Ventra is a portfolio company of Varsity Healthcare Partners, a leading healthcare-focused private equity firm. More on Dr. Richard Saxon Dr. Saxon holds an AB in Molecular Biology from the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with distinction, and an MD from UCLA School of Medicine, graduating AOA. After completing his Radiology residency at UCSF, Dr. Saxon started his career in Academics at the Dotter Institute at OHSU in Portland, Oregon, where he stayed for five years pioneering new IR techniques (such as TIPS stent-grafting). He then left for the challenging private practice environment of San Diego over 25 years ago, practicing at hospital systems throughout the county and teaching as a Clinical Associate Professor at UCSD. He helped found and served as the Director of Research at San Diego Cardiac and Vascular Institute, performing pioneering peripheral arterial device research in his clinical practice from 1997 until 2014. He and his colleagues developed an endovascular stroke treatment program that performs over one-third of the stroke thrombectomies in San Diego County, obtaining respected JCAHO thrombectomy designations for both health care districts in the North County. Dr. Saxon has experienced practice mergers and dissolutions with in-house billing as well as RCM outsourcing. He served as CFO of North County Radiology Medical Group, starting at Tri City Medical Center in Oceanside, CA, having joined the group when it employed only 10 radiologists. The practice expanded over the years to cover the Palomar health care district in Escondido and Poway, CA. His group merged with San Diego Imaging Medical Group in 2011, creating a practice of over 55 Radiologists with five imaging centers (the largest private group in San Diego for 12 years). The Covid health crisis and its financial stresses led to the dissolution of the large group in 2023, and Dr. Saxon once again served as CFO during the re-creation of his previous medical group (North County Radiology Associates) in 2024. He helped develop entirely new models of radiology reimbursement with the health care districts in the North County that have successfully stabilized the provision of both diagnostic and interventional Radiology services in the area. About Ventra Health Ventra is a leading business solutions provider for facility-based physicians practicing anesthesia, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, pathology, and radiology. Focused on Revenue Cycle Management, Ventra partners with private practices, hospitals, health systems, and ambulatory surgery centers to deliver transparent and data-driven solutions that solve the most complex revenue and reimbursement issues, enabling clinicians to focus on providing outstanding care to their patients and communities. Media Contact Jenifer Bush Senior Vice President, Marketing Ventra Health [email protected] SOURCE Ventra Health HOUSTON, April 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- VLS Environmental Solutions has unveiled plans for an Alternative Engineered Fuel (AEF) waste processing facility in New Braunfels, Texas. This greenfield project advances the company's strategic expansion goals, strengthening its role as a leader in sustainable waste management and increasing its capacity to manage the increasing need for sustainable waste processing solutions from industrial partners. Strategically situated between Austin and San Antonio, the new facility is set to begin operations by mid-2026. It will support Zero Landfill initiatives for manufacturing by converting hard to recycle industrial byproducts into carefully engineered AEF products, a cleaner, more sustainable fuel source designed to reduce landfill reliance and replace carbon and natural gas fuels used by cement kilns and gasifiers. The company's Zero Landfill programs have already been responsible for diverting over one million tons of industrial waste annually. "This facility is about fostering partnerships for sustainable solutions... setting the benchmark for the region." Post this VLS' President, Keith Cordesman, highlighted the significance of this expansion. "This greenfield facility is about fostering partnerships for sustainable solutions. Establishing our presence in New Braunfels puts us in a strong position to deepen our relationships with local manufacturers, particularly cement kilns, and sets the benchmark for sustainability in the region." As part of its growth initiative, the company also announced two senior-level hires who will help drive its ambitious capital project and greenfield strategy. Jim Waisanen has joined as Senior Vice President of Capital Projects and brings over 20 years in the Specialty and Hazardous Waste sectors. Monica Johnson has joined as Vice President of Project Management with a background that includes managing more than 300 projects while at Vopak North America. Both hires bring decades of expertise and a shared commitment to sustainable innovation. Jim and Monica will be instrumental in accelerating our greenfield and large growth capital investments. Rob Wheatley, Chief Strategy Officer, emphasized this vision. "Our goal is to lead the next era of environmental innovation. The New Braunfels facility not only signifies the expansion of our capacity but serves as a testament to our long-term commitment to scalable, impactful sustainability solutions. Leading the market in this region demonstrates our proactive approach to driving change." With a robust capital project infrastructure and valued client partnerships, VLS will continue to invest in AEF and Waste-to-Energy facilities to support clients' sustainability goals, further empowering manufacturers to adopt Zero Landfill practices and advancing the industry's shift toward sustainable waste management. About VLS Environmental Solutions VLS Environmental Solutions is a leader in sustainability solutions, with three divisions providing industry-leading services. The company's Waste Services division provides customized waste processing solutions for hazardous and non-hazardous industrial and commercial waste, including landfill diversion and sustainability programs, solidification of liquid waste, recycling, wastewater treatment, and waste sequestration. The company's Railcar Cleaning and Repair Services division provides specialty cleaning services for difficult-to-clean products, including chemicals, hardened materials, and pressurized gases, and comprehensive repair services for certified full-service repairs, tank car qualifications, and maintenance. The company's Marine Services division offers state-of-the-art barge cleaning, repair, and gas-free facilities for various chemical solvents and downstream petroleum products. VLS has over 1,500 employees in 50+ locations across North America. For more information about VLS, visit https://www.vlses.com/. SOURCE VLS Environmental Solutions 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 Beirut, April 15 : Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reaffirmed that the Lebanese army is fully carrying out its duties in areas vacated by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Aoun made the remarks during his meeting with Paul Grove, senior staff at the US Senate Appropriations Committee, according to a presidential statement. "The Lebanese army is fully engaged in the villages and towns from which Israeli forces have withdrawn, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701," Aoun said. He added that the army is actively confiscating all types of weapons and ammunition -- "a clear indication of its capacity to ensure citizens' safety." Resolution 1701, passed in 2006, ended a 33-day war between Hezbollah and Israel, and called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, the deployment of the Lebanese army along the southern border, and a ban on weapons and armed groups south of the Litani River, Xinhua news agency reported. Aoun also thanked the United States for "its continued assistance to the Lebanese army and various public institutions," and urged the US Senate to "respond to Lebanon's needs in general, and to those of the army and security forces in particular." For his part, Grove reaffirmed the United States' commitment to supporting Lebanon and providing aid across various sectors, including military, educational, and social fields. On April 7, a delegation from the "American Task Force for Lebanon," headed by Edward Gabriel, informed Aoun that it carried a message from Washington emphasising the need to disarm Hezbollah and implement essential reforms for Lebanon to receive financial assistance. Similarly, US Deputy Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus reiterated the importance of disarming Hezbollah and enacting reforms during a recent visit to Beirut. Since November 27, 2024, a ceasefire brokered by the US and France has been in effect between Hezbollah and Israel, bringing an end to more than a year of clashes triggered by the conflict in Gaza. Despite the truce, the Israeli army continues to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon, claiming to be targeting "threats" from Hezbollah. It has also maintained its presence on five hilltops along the Lebanese border, in violation of the agreement. Abuja, April 15 : Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed that over 40 people were killed in an attack by a group of unknown gunmen who wreaked havoc in a local community in the country's north-central Plateau State. The attack occurred late Sunday night when the gunmen stormed the Zike community in the Bassa local government area of Plateau State, shooting indiscriminately at residents, local authorities said. In a statement Monday night, Tinubu expressed "profound sorrow" over the deaths and instructed security agencies to thoroughly investigate the crisis and identify those responsible for orchestrating the violent acts in Plateau State, Xinhua news agency reported. "We cannot allow this devastation and the tit-for-tat attacks to continue. Enough is enough," the president said. "These problems have been with us for more than two decades. We can no longer ignore the underlying issues. It is time to tackle them fairly and find a lasting solution. I have discussed these problems with the governor and offered suggestions for lasting peace." Located in Nigeria's central belt between the Muslim-dominated north and the Christian-majority south, Plateau State has witnessed a series of attacks in recent years. Over a week ago, at least 52 people were killed in an attack on local communities in the state's Bokkos local government area. The motive for the latest bloodshed is unknown. Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria's northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months. United Nations, April 15 : Local sources reported more than 300 civilians were killed in attacks on Sudan's famine-distressed Zamzam displacement camp, UN humanitarians said. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on Monday, said it is gravely concerned by reports of mass casualties and large-scale displacement following intense fighting on Friday and Saturday in and around Zamzam and Abu Shouk displacement camps and the town of El Fasher in North Darfur. "Preliminary figures from local sources indicate that more than 300 civilians have been killed, including 10 humanitarian personnel from the NGO Relief International who lost their lives while operating one of the last functioning health centers in Zamzam camp," OCHA said. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said at least 23 children were killed in the attacks, Xinhua news agency reported. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the killings, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday. "Our Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, also condemned the violence in the strongest terms and called for an immediate end to the hostilities and the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers," said Dujarric. "The perpetrators of these attacks must be brought to justice." The sprawling Zamzam camp is about 15 km south of El Fasher, North Darfur state's capital and economic hub. Abu Shouk camp is on the edge of the city. In February, the United Nations said famine existed in Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said at least 16,000 people were displaced from the Zamzam camp, with many fleeing to El Fasher and, to the west, Tawila. However, OCHA said local partners reported that the humanitarian and security situation in El Fasher is rapidly deteriorating due to continued violence and a growing influx of displaced people. IOM said that east of El Fasher in the town of Um Kadadah in North Darfur, local sources reported more than 50 people killed and 900 homes destroyed in recent fighting. The agency estimated that about 19,000 people had been displaced from the area since Thursday. OCHA said residents and displaced people in Zamzam and El Fasher face severe shortages of essential supplies, including food, fuel and health items. Diesel fuel prices surged fivefold in the past three months, significantly limiting access to safe drinking water and forcing the suspension of some water trucking services. OCHA said some relief supplies were pre-positioned in nearby locations such as Tawila and Al Kuma. Humanitarian partners mobilised additional relief items, including 1,800 metric tonnes of food assistance, to Tawila to help meet the urgent needs of displaced families. The World Health Organization said there have been about 160 attacks on healthcare since the onset of the conflict two years ago, resulting in more than 300 deaths. One-third of hospitals are non-functional, and recent funding cuts forced health partners to scale down support to more than 300 health facilities nationwide. Civil war erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, with attacks by the Rapid Support Forces militia on the capital of Khartoum. Amman, April 15 : King Abdullah II of Jordan and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto condemned Israeli violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and attempts to divide it both "temporally and spatially," according to a statement by Jordan's Royal Court. During their talks in Amman, the capital of Jordan, the two leaders warned against any attempts to alter the historical and legal status quo at the holy sites of Jerusalem. The king also reaffirmed Jordan's custodianship of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Xinhua news agency reported. On Monday, hundreds of Israelis stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, a site revered by both Muslims and Jews in East Jerusalem, performing religious rituals to mark the Jewish Passover holiday. While non-Muslim visitors are permitted at the compound under the current arrangements, they are not allowed to pray there. This incident marks the latest episode in a series of confrontations between Muslims and Jews that have repeatedly tested the fragile status quo at the site. The leaders also discussed efforts to end the war in the Gaza Strip, restore the ceasefire, resume the flow of humanitarian aid, and support the steadfastness of Palestinians on their land. They emphasised the importance of creating a political horizon to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution. Subianto emphasised that Jordan and Indonesia have been long-standing friends, expressing his country's solidarity with Jordan in defending the rights of the Palestinian people to independence and the establishment of their own state. The two sides also discussed expanding cooperation in sectors such as defence, education, agriculture, and religion. Subianto arrived in Jordan on Sunday for a two-day visit following his trip to Qatar. Baghdad, April 15 : Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi, during which he affirmed Iraq's support for all effort that contributes to enhancing regional security and stability. A statement by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said that Araghchi briefed Hussein on the latest developments in the Iran-US negotiations, describing the talks as proceeding "well." He also confirmed that a second round of talks would be held soon under the auspices of Oman, Xinhua news agency reported. Hussein welcomed the progress of the dialogue and the positive role played by Oman in facilitating the negotiations, according to the statement. Araghchi also officially invited Hussein to visit Iran to promote bilateral dialogue and strengthen ties between the two countries, said the statement. Iran and the United States concluded "indirect" talks on Saturday over Iran's nuclear program in the Omani capital of Muscat. Both countries described the meeting as "constructive" and confirmed a second round of discussions the following week. A new round of talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran's nuclear programme will be held in Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday. He noted that Italy agreed to host the meeting following requests from the negotiating parties and Oman, which is serving as a mediator. Tajani made the remarks while visiting the Italian pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Ansa news agency reported. He added that the Italian government is "prepared to do everything necessary to support negotiations that could lead to resolving the nuclear issue and building peace." Washington, April 15 : The United States will engage in trade negotiations with South Korea next week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, stressing the "first mover advantage," as countries are striving to strike deals with the US to minimise the impact of President Donald Trump's tariff policy on their economies. In a Bloomberg interview, Bessent touched on plans for upcoming negotiations with South Korea and Japan. Earlier this month, Trump imposed steep "reciprocal" tariffs on the two allies and dozens of other countries but later placed a 90-day pause on the new tariffs, Yonhap news agency reported. "We had Vietnam in last week. We (have) Japanese in on Wednesday. ... South Korea next week," he said. "So it's going to move fast." The secretary underscored there will be a "first mover" advantage as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told parliament Monday (Tokyo time) that Japan will not make compromises for the sake of quickly wrapping up tariff talks with the US. "I think there will be advantage to our allies, especially a first mover advantage," he said. "Usually, the first person who makes a deal gets the best deal." Asked which country will be the first, Bessent said, "It's their choice." Regarding a question over whether there are a handful of countries he expects to have a deal with before the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs is up, he said there could be "numerous" countries. "It may not be the actual trade document, but we will have an agreement in principle and be able to move forward from there," Bessent said. His remarks added to media speculation that given time and logistical constraints, the Trump administration might try to negotiate ad hoc deals or written commitments on what it calls fair and reciprocal trade, which would fall short of full-fledged trade agreements. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bessent is prioritizing South Korea, Britain, Australia, India and Japan as among his "top targets" for new trade deals. Citing people familiar with the issue, the newspaper said that those countries are on his priority list and that he has been in contact with officials from those trading partners. Seoul, April 15 : South Korea and the US have discussed efforts to expand space cooperation, including lunar exploration, satellite navigation and maritime domain awareness, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday. The fourth Civil Space Dialogue took place in Washington on Monday (local time), the first high-level talks on space cooperation since the launch of the Donald Trump administration's second term, Yonhap news agency reported. The allies discussed expanding South Korea's participation in the US Artemis lunar exploration program and potential avenues for Seoul's involvement in ongoing US space missions led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the ministry said. The two countries also discussed ways to strengthen interoperability between South Korea's Korea Positioning System currently under development, and the US Global Positioning System. They agreed to continue cooperation to ensure safe space operations and promote the long-term sustainability of outer space. Recognising the growing importance of maritime domain awareness through the use of space-based assets, the two countries explored ways for related authorities to work together to enhance cooperation on information and infrastructure. They also discussed ways to build a resilient space industry supply chain, including the sharing of component testing and radiation test data. They reaffirmed their commitment to promoting peaceful space exploration and agreed to seek trilateral space cooperation with Japan in the private and commercial sectors, the ministry said. New Delhi, April 15 : A major fire broke out at Lokbandhu Hospital in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh late Monday night, prompting an emergency evacuation of over 200 patients to various other hospitals in the city. The fire reportedly started on the second floor of the building and spread quickly before patients and staff could fully comprehend the situation. One patient among the 24 shifted to Civil Hospital was reported dead, though the rest were said to be in stable condition, according to a Civil Hospital doctor. As soon as the incident was reported, multiple fire brigade units rushed to the hospital along with local police from the Krishna Nagar police station. The fire was brought under control after several hours of effort. The cause of the fire is initially suspected to be a short circuit, according to hospital officials. Electricity supply to the hospital was immediately cut off, and firefighting operations were carried out using generators for power and lighting. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak visited the site and provided an update on the rescue and relief efforts. He stated that 200 patients were shifted to other hospitals, including King Georgeas Medical University (KGMU), Balrampur Hospital, and Civil Hospital. Critical patients were admitted to the ICU at KGMU, while others were placed under care at Balrampur and Civil hospitals. Medical Superintendent of Lokbandhu Hospital, Dr. Ajay Shankar Tripathi, stated that the fire started around 10 p.m. and that the situation is now fully under control. All patients inside the hospital were safely evacuated with the help of medical staff, security personnel, and rescue teams. The hospital staff, including doctors, nurses, and attendants, acted swiftly, despite the panic and chaos caused by the sudden blaze. Information Director Shishir Singh confirmed that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took immediate cognizance of the incident. He was briefed over the phone and instructed senior officials to reach the hospital and ensure complete safety and medical care for all affected. Bhopal, April 15 : A rally to mark the birth anniversary of the father of the Indian Constitution Dr B.R. Ambedkar took a tragic turn late on Monday night in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district. Bhopal, April 15 (IANS) A rally to mark the birth anniversary of the father of the Indian Constitution Dr B.R. Ambedkar took a tragic turn late on Monday night in Madhya Pradeshas Morena district. What began as a dispute over music being played by a DJ escalated into a violent confrontation, leaving one young man dead and two others injured in Hingona Khurd area under Civil Lines Police station in Morena district. The altercation involved members of the Jatav and Gurjar communities, who are neighbours in the area. Members of the Jatav community were celebrating Ambedkar Jayanti with a rally and DJ music. However, their plans were disrupted when members of the Gurjar community objected to the loud music, citing a birthday celebration for a child in their household. What started as a disagreement over noise levels soon descended into verbal abuse and then went out of control. According to police sources, the situation reached its boiling point and some youths from the Gurjar community resorted to gun firing during the heated exchange. Tragically, a young man from the Jatav community was struck by a bullet and died on the spot. Another victim suffered a gunshot wound to his right hand. After initial treatment at District Hospital Morena, he was later referred to Gwalior for further treatment. A third individual also sustained injuries in the confrontation. Police have yet not disclosed the names of the victims as the situation is very tense in the area and the violent incident escalated tensions in the village. Sources said additional police forces from Morena have been dispatched to restore order and ensure the safety of residents. Heavy security has been put in place to prevent further escalation, and the police have assured strict action against those responsible for the violence, said the sources. Also on Sunday, in Dwarkapura village of Dimni, Morena district, a heated dispute over water escalated into a violent clash. Both sides armed themselves with sticks and fought for at least 20 minutes. The altercation left several people injured, including women. A video of the incident has gone viral. Chennai, April 15 : The Tamil Nadu government has ordered the transfer of 1.4 crore tonnes of beach sand minerals, allegedly hoarded illegally by private companies, to the PSU Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL). This marks a significant step in enforcing accountability following years of controversy over illegal mining operations along the stateas southern coastline. An official directive issued by Additional Chief Secretary of the Natural Resources Department, K. Phanindra Reddy, on April 8, 2025, outlines the process. The transfer will encompass beach sand mineral stocks currently held across godowns, factories, stockyards, and mining sites in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Kanniyakumari districts. The handover will proceed once tentative pricing details a" including transportation and security costs a" are finalised. This action follows a Madras High Court directive that ordered the confiscation of illegally mined beach sand minerals. The court had authorised the state to take possession of all raw, processed, or semi-processed minerals held by private players after validating the findings of multiple investigative reports, including those submitted by IAS officers Gagandeep Singh Bedi and Satyabrata Sahoo, as well as the Amicus Curiae and reassessment reports. The Union Government had already cancelled private mining licences in 2019, in light of extensive violations and a complete ban on beach mineral mining imposed in September 2013. According to the Satyabrata Sahoo Committee, over 1.5 crore tonnes of minerals a" including garnet, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, sillimanite, and leucoxene a" were found in the possession of private companies. However, a 2023 reassessment revealed that only 1.4 crore tonnes remained, indicating that a significant portion may have been illicitly removed. In 2017-18, as part of court-ordered investigations, 49 godowns in the three districts were sealed by the authorities to prevent further tampering or transportation of the minerals. To oversee the transfer to IREL, the state government has formed a high-level committee comprising the Commissioner of Geology and Mining, CEO of the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board, and the Special Secretary of the Finance Department. This committee will determine the fair value of the seized minerals. Furthermore, the District Collectors of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Kanniyakumari have been tasked with forming multidisciplinary monitoring teams. These teams will include officials from the Revenue, Survey, Geology and Mining Departments, the Atomic Minerals Directorate, and IREL. The teams will supervise the secure transportation of the stock and ensure round-the-clock police protection at storage sites. The government has also directed these district administrations to initiate proceedings to recover the assessed mineral value and royalty a" amounting to Rs 5,832 crore a" from the lessees responsible for illegal mining, transport, and export between 2000 and 2017. In parallel, the Madras High Court has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to constitute Special Investigation Teams comprising officers of proven integrity and technical expertise. The teams are expected to probe the modus operandi of the illegal mining operations, the involvement of government officials, and the financial loss to the state. The court also instructed the Union Government to review the financial and commercial transactions of the implicated companies and, if necessary, involve agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax Department, Customs and Excise, and the Commercial Taxes Department. Notably, on April 6, the CBI conducted raids at properties associated with V.V. Minerals and its promoter S. Vaikundarajan in Keeraikkaaranthattu near Thisaiyanvilai, as part of the ongoing investigation into the Rs 5,832 crore beach sand mining scam. New Delhi, April 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended greetings on 'Poila Boishakh', which marks the beginning of the Bengali New Year. PM Modi took to social media to wish the people and prayed for everyone's success. "Greetings on Poila Boishakh! Best wishes on Poila Boishakh! I hope all your wishes are fulfilled in this year. I pray for everyone's success, happiness, prosperity and good health. Shubho Nabo Barsho!" he wrote on X. Poila Baisakh, also known as Pohela Boishakh, marks the beginning of the Bengali New Year. The day is celebrated with joy, cultural pride and enthusiasm by Bengalis worldwide. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in her greetings on the occasion, posted on her X handle that it is the 'Bangla Day' and prayed for strengthening the bonds of brotherhood. "I sing in Bengali...' 'Bangla Day' - Greetings to all citizens and best wishes to our younger brothers and sisters. May the traditional culture of the state be further developed, and may the bonds of brotherhood among the people of the state be further strengthened." Her message is significant given the fact that the state has witnessed violent protests over the Waqf Amendment Act, which have largely targeted the Hindu community. Hundreds of Hindus have fled their homes in the Murshidbad district, where their properties were looted, burnt, and temples desecrated. Two have died in the violence so far. West Bengal Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari also called for unity in his New Year message. He wrote on X, "Happy New Year! May the scorching summer heat of the month of Baishakh (1st month of the Bengali New year) purify the soul, In the interest of preserving the culture of reform, I call for unity, In the fight against injustice, truth will triumph, My greetings to everyone on the first day of the Bengali new year, Poyala Baishakh. At the beginning of the new year, I pray to Mother Bhavatarini for everyone's well-being." Adhikari has been the leading voice for the affected Hindus in the violence-hit parts of the state. It was on his petition that the Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of Central forces in the violence-affected areas. Generally, Poila Baisakh 2025 is synonymous with happiness and a new beginning. Homes are beautifully decorated, new clothes are worn, markets are visited, and families come together over feasts. The day typically starts with devotees offering prayers at temples, seeking blessings for a prosperous year ahead. For business owners, it's a time to inaugurate new ventures and begin fresh account books, symbolising growth and renewal. Farmers regard the day as the onset of a new agricultural season. Itas a day for people to celebrate, connect and exchange warm 'Noboborsho' greetings. But this year, the day comes amid a wave of fear and apprehension, particularly among the Hindus living in Muslim majority pockets after the violent targeting during the protests against the new Waqf Law. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed Mumbai, April 15 : Actress Rashmika Mandanna shared a "super random" video filled with positivity after she shot for the entire night for her upcoming film "Thama." Mumbai, April 15 (IANS) Actress Rashmika Mandanna shared a "super random" video filled with positivity after she shot for the entire night for her upcoming film "Thama." Rashmika took to her Instagram, where she shared the video. In the clip, the actress is heard saying, "Hi guys, good morning. I know it's super random. I just shot for the entire night, hence the red eyes, but I just wanted to randomly drop this message saying, a very, very good morning to you." "I hope you have a wonderful day, and here's me throwing a bit of positivity your way if at all you need it, and even if you don't need it, you just got it. Biggest love, biggest hugs, and big, big, big kisses (sic)," she added. In the caption section, the actress said it is a reminder to smile. She added, "A random reminder for you to smile and have a freaking awesome day! EVERYDAY!" A few days ago, on April 9, the "Chhaava" actress revealed that she has joined back at work after ringing in her 29th birthday in Oman. Posting a glimpse of the night sky on her Instagram stories, she wrote, "Shooting nights for the next couple of days..So the only posts and stories you'll get of us is of either the moon or the camera lights or the stars (which in our city is impossible to see) Agreed?" Back in March, Rashmika revealed who's keeping her busy with late-night shoots. She took to her Instagram stories to share a candid photo of 'Thama' director Aditya A. Sarpotdar sitting on a plastic chair and closely monitoring the shoot on a screen. "Thama" tells the tale of a determined historian who immerses himself in ancient manuscripts, uncovering dark secrets about local vampire myths as supernatural forces begin to stir. His journey not only reveals long-forgotten history but also sparks a fierce battle for the soul of the town. The project marks the 'Munjya' fame director Aditya Sarpotdar's primary association with both Rashmika and Ayushmann. Produced by Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik, "Thama" has been written by Niren Bhatt, Suresh Mathew, and Arun Fulara. Presented by Maddock Films, the drama will also feature Paresh Rawal and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in pivotal roles. Part of Maddock's blockbuster horror comedy universe, "Thama" promises to be a gripping love story set against a bloody backdrop. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Mumbai, April 15 : On the auspicious occasion of Pohela Boishakh, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri offered prayers to Maa Kali, seeking blessings for the restoration of peace and harmony in Bengal. Marking the Bengali New Year with a heartfelt gesture, Agnihotri shared his devotion and hopes for unity, love, and healing in the region. Taking to his Instagram handle, the director shared a couple of images of him and wrote, "On this #PoilaBoishakh, I bow to Maa Kali and pray that peace and harmony are restored in Bengal. I urge the youth to rise with courage and wisdom and lead the Indic renaissance. Bengal must never become another Kashmir. Shubho Nobo Borsho. Jai Maa Kali. Jai Hind. Pic courtesy: The sets of #TheDelhiFiles Bengal Chapter." In the first image, Vivek is seen standing in front of a striking backdrop featuring a photo of Goddess Kali. In another image, the powerful picture of Goddess Kali is prominently displayed, symbolizing strength and devotion. Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year, marks the start of the traditional Bengali calendar. It marks the vibrant beginning of the Bengali New Year. Pohela Boishakh is a day filled with immense joy, cultural pride, and vibrant enthusiasm, celebrated by Bengalis worldwide. This year, the festivities will take place on Tuesday, April 15. Speaking of Vivek Agnihotri, on April 14, the filmmaker offered a sneak peek into the editing room of his latest project, "The Delhi Files: The Bengal Chapter." Agnihotri shared a photo from the edit room, which includes a shot of a newspaper with the headline: "Riots in Murshidabad!" He captioned the post, #TheDelhiFiles: Bengal Chapter. Coming Soon. This photo is from the edit room. The scene was written a year ago and filmed last November. I never imagined it would mirror reality so soon. #TheDelhiFiles is set to uncover truths long buriedpast, and present. GET READY." Kolkata, April 15 : On the auspicious occasion of Poila Boishakh i.e. Bengali New Year's Day on Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of trying to mislead people. He accused her of trying to distort history by equating Poila Boishakh with Bangla Dibos or Bangla Day, which signifies the foundation day of West Bengal. His remarks came after the Chief Minister, through a message posted on the wall of her official X handle, greeted the people of West Bengal on the occasion. However, instead of 'Subho Nababarsha (Happy Bengali New Year's Day)', she wrote, "on this occasion of Bangla Dibos (Bangla Day)," and conveyed greetings to all citizens and best wishes to her "younger brothers and sisters." In her message, she quoted the first line of the song "Ami Banglai Gan Gai (I sing in Bengali)" and said, "May the traditional culture of the state be further developed, and may the bonds of brotherhood among the people of the state be further strengthened." Her message is significant given the fact that the state has witnessed violent protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Hundreds of Hindus have fled their homes in the Murshidabad district, where their properties were looted, burnt, and temples desecrated. Two have died in the violence so far. In his message on X, the LoP ridiculed the Chief Minister both on the issues of Murshidabad violence as well her description of Bengali New Year's Day as Bangla Day. "While Rome was burning, Emperor Nero was playing the fiddle! When communal violence is blazing in the state, it is natural for you to sing... But the melody of the song is out of tune!" the statement by Adhikari read. Adhikari had also claimed that the people of West Bengal would have felt safer had action been initiated by the state government against those who were "rioting, burning government property, and killing people." The LoP had also commented on the Chief Minister's message equating Bengali New Year's Day with Bangla Day. Adhikari pointed out that June 20 is historically considered the foundation day of West Bengal, since on that day in 1947, the decision to establish the state was sealed by a vote in the Bengal Provincial Legislative Assembly. "So 'West Bengal Day' will be celebrated on June 20. And your intention to erase history will never be fulfilled, the name of the state will remain West Bengal because the word 'West' carries memories of a bloody history, which you want to forget, but ironically your political activities are making the memories of that painful chapter even more relevant today," Adhikari's message read. On the occasion, he also mentioned the contribution of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee behind the inclusion of West Bengal into India. Guwahati, April 15 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that people across the state have been celebrating the Bihu and welcoming the New Year. Taking to X, CM Sarma wrote, "Today, from Kamakhya to Kachakanti, people across Assam are welcoming the new year and celebrating Assam's success in the year gone by." The CM also reiterated the state government's efforts to make Assam one of the top five states in the country. "On this special day, our Govt renews its commitment to make Assam one of Bharat's Top 5 States and ensure the welfare of every citizen," he mentioned. Assam is celebrating Bohag Bihu and the Assamese New Year today. Across the state, Bihu committees are busy organising grand functions ranging from traditional dance competitions to musical nights where local artists and cultural icons will take the centre stage. Youth groups are rehearsing tirelessly, ready to set the stage on fire with their energy and pride. In the villages, the celebration remains close to its roots - rustic, warm, and full of life. The sound of laughter mixes with the music as people unite to celebrate nature's bounty, community spirit, and the timeless bond between humans and the land they call home. But even in cities, where modern life races ahead, Bihu brings everyone back to their roots. Offices and schools are closed for the festivities, and people return to their hometowns, drawn by the irresistible call of tradition, family, and celebration. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended warm wishes on the occasion of Bohag Bihu in Assam. Taking to X, PM Modi wrote, "Bohag Bihu wishes to you all!" As Bohag or Rongali Bihu marks the beginning of the Assamese new year, PM Modi also wrote, "May the new year bring new beginnings, happiness and prosperity in all you do. Praying for everyone's good health and fulfilment of all aspirations. New Delhi, April 15 : BJP Bihar President Dilip Jaiswal on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the alliance between the RJD and the Congress, calling it "incompatible" and destined to fail. He claimed that the RJD would never want the Congress to regain a stronghold in Bihar. His comments came in response to a scheduled meeting between RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi as part of efforts to consolidate Opposition unity ahead of the state elections. Speaking to reporters, Jaiswal remarked, "This alliance between the Congress and RJD is an incompatible one. Both parties are focussed on undermining each other. RJD will never want Congress to regain a stronghold in Bihar, and the Congress wants to become the dominant force, overshadowing RJD in the state." Tejashwi Yadav arrived at the Delhi airport early on Tuesday for an official meeting with Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss seat-sharing and a poll strategy for Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, Yadav said, "Today is our official meeting. We will discuss the strategies for Bihar (elections). " Dilip Jaiswal also criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her scheduled meeting with Muslim religious leaders on April 16 to discuss the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. Accusing her of divisive politics, he said, "Mamata Banerjee should improve her habits. Until there is harmony and a peaceful environment among all people, society will not function properly. But she is not meeting the families of the Hindus who have died." After repeated violent protests in West Bengal against the amended Waqf Act passed in Parliament, Chief Minister Banerjee has decided to meet with the Imams, Muslim clerics and thought leaders to discuss the protest and the ramifications of the Act for Muslims. Mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Firhad Hakim on Friday stated that the chief minister will hold a meeting with the Imams where she will present her views. Mumbai, April 15 : The man who allegedly issued a death threat to Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been traced to a village in Gujarat's Vadodara district and is mentally unstable, Mumbai Police said on Tuesday. The 26-year-old man, a resident of a village in Waghodia taluka of Vadodara, has been served a notice to appear before the Mumbai Police for questioning. On Sunday, Khan received a death threat via a message sent to the official WhatsApp number of the Worli Transport Department. The threat came exactly a year after two unidentified men on a motorcycle fired four shots outside his Bandra residence. Following the latest threat, Worli police registered a case and upgraded security arrangements at the actor's home in Galaxy Apartments. According to the message, the sender threatened to either storm Khan's residence or target his vehicle with explosives. Within 24 hours of registering the FIR, police identified the sender as Mayank Pandya, 25, and detained him at his residence in Vadodara. "Using technical intelligence, we tracked Pandya to his home. As he is undergoing treatment for mental illness, we have served him a notice and asked him to join the investigation," said a police officer. This is the latest in a series of threats against the actor, who has been under heightened security since his conviction in the 1998 Blackbuck poaching case. On April 14 last year, two men on a motorbike fired four rounds outside his residence, prompting Khan to stop his routine of greeting fans from his balcony. He later installed bulletproof glass at his apartment. In 2004, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang had claimed responsibility for the firing, with a Facebook message attributed to Bishnoi taking credit for the attack. Sanaa, April 15 : A total of 123 civilians have been killed and 247 others injured, mostly women and children, since the US military resumed airstrikes across Yemen in mid-March, Houthi-run health authorities said in an statement. The statement was issued following US airstrikes against a ceramic factory on the western outskirts of Yemen's capital Sanaa late on Sunday night, which killed seven people and injured 29 others. The health authorities' previous statement on April 9 put the death toll from the renewed US air raids at 107 and the number of injuries at 223. The Houthi group rarely discloses casualties among its fighters. However, the US military has repeatedly said the strikes have killed dozens of Houthi leaders, which the group has denied, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier on Sunday, Yemen's Houthi group announced that it had shot down another US MQ-9 drone, the 19th it has downed since November 2023. "A US MQ-9 drone was shot down while carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah province" in northwestern Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement aired by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV. Sarea added that the drone was downed by a locally manufactured surface-to-air missile, stressing "the ongoing US aggression" has not crippled the group's military capabilities. The statement affirmed the group's support for the Palestinian people, saying its operations will continue "until the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and the siege on it is lifted." The US resumed its air campaign against Houthi forces on March 15, stating that its strikes were aimed at deterring the group from launching attacks against Israeli and US naval assets in the Red Sea. The Houthis, who control vast areas of northern Yemen, have been attacking Israeli targets since November 2023 to show solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip. New Delhi, April 15 : Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan is leading the Indian delegation to the 15th BRICS agriculture ministers' meeting, scheduled to be held on Thursday in Brasilia, Brazil. The theme of the meeting is 'Promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Agriculture through Cooperation, Innovation, and Equitable Trade' among BRICS countries. Agriculture Ministers and senior officials from BRICS member countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran, are expected to attend the meeting. According to an official statement issued on Tuesday, during the visit, Union Minister Chouhan will also hold bilateral meetings with his Brazilian counterparts, including Carlos Henrique Baqueta Favaro, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, and Luiz Paulo Teixeira, Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming. These meetings will focus on enhancing collaboration between India and Brazil in various areas of agriculture, agri-technology, rural development, and food security, it said. Chouhan, the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, will interact with leaders of major Brazilian agribusiness companies and representatives of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries in Sao Paulo, exploring avenues for partnership and investment in the agriculture value chain. As part of his visit, the minister will also participate in a tree plantation drive at the Embassy of India in Brasilia, under the initiative 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam', aimed at raising environmental consciousness and honouring motherhood, the statement said. In addition, the Minister will interact with the vibrant Indian diaspora in Sao Paulo, acknowledging their role as cultural ambassadors and contributors to bilateral ties. The visit reaffirms India's commitment to deepen cooperation with BRICS nations and advance South-South cooperation in agricultural innovation, resilience, and sustainability, the statement added. Chennai, April 15 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday announced the formation of a high-level committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph to study and recommend measures to strengthen Centre-State relations, including the proposal to return education to the State List of the Constitution. Making the announcement in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, CM Stalin said the committee would submit its interim report by January 2026 and a final report within two years. The three-member panel will also include former IAS officer Ashok Vardhan Shetty and Professor Naganathan, the former Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Commission. The committee will undertake a comprehensive review of the Indian Constitution and previous recommendations made by various expert panels on Centre-State dynamics -- beginning with the Rajamannar Committee Report of 1971 to the M.M. Punchhi Commission report of 2004. Stating that Tamil Nadu has historically been at the forefront of defending constitutional values and federal principles, CM Stalin said the committeeas work will not only serve the state but also benefit all states -- from Gujarat to the Northeast and from Kashmir to Kerala. The Chief Minister cited the views of Dr R. Ambedkar and the US Constitution framer James Madison to stress the importance of robust federalism and the need for strong, autonomous state governments within a unified national framework. The move is particularly significant given the ongoing friction between the DMK-led state government and the BJP-led Central government -- especially over contentious issues like the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which the Tamil Nadu government has consistently opposed. It also follows recent tensions between the Chief Minister and Governor R.N. Ravi, who was recently admonished by the Supreme Court for unduly delaying his assent to several state bills -- some of which had been pending for over five years. Among them were 10 crucial university-related legislations, which were eventually deemed to have received assent under the Constitutional provisions after a recent Supreme Court ruling. Mumbai, April 15 : Model-turned-actress Alankrita Sahai, who has worked on projects such as 'Band Of Maharajas,' 'Love Per Square Foot,' and 'Namaste England', is experiencing the feeling of 'homecoming' once again as she has finally returned to Mumbai once again. Mumbai, April 15 (IANS) Model-turned-actress Alankrita Sahai, who has worked on projects such as 'Band Of Maharajas,' 'Love Per Square Foot,' and 'Namaste England', is experiencing the feeling of 'homecoming' once again as she has finally returned to Mumbai once again. For the unversed, the actress was earlier living in Mumbai and then left the city in between owing to "personal reasons." "Well, I had left Mumbai in between for a while due to some personal reasons. Unfortunately, I lost my dad later, and that's when I decided to stay back in Chandigarh and work from there itself," said Alankrita, who was crowned Miss India in 2014-2015. She added, "At that point in time, to be honest, choosing my family and my peace of mind was the top priority, and I did exactly that." The 31-year-old actress said she wasn't "mentally" ready to return to Mumbai. "Even though I was working continuously, I hadn't fully recovered, and henceforth, I wasn't emotionally or mentally prepared to return to Mumbai, where I lived and built everything with my dad. By God's grace and the blessings of the universe, I am now ready, and that's why I have moved back," said Alankrita, whose first project was with Himesh Reshammiya in a music album launched by Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan. Tagging it as "homecoming," the actress said, "Besides the personal reasons, professionally too it will be beneficial as it will save a lot of my traveling time, which I can instead use for more productive work. So yes, this is a homecoming for me, and I am delighted." Talking about "Band Of Maharajas," the film told the story of three aspiring musicians from a small border village in Punjab. Driven by their passion for music, they venture into Pakistan, a country where artistic expression often faces resistance from radical elements. Bengaluru, April 15 : Karnataka BJP leader R. Ashoka has slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the caste census report, stating that the party will strongly oppose his using the marginalised communities as pawns. The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, Ashoka, said on Tuesday, "...Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to conveniently throw the caste census report like a smokescreen to divert public attention every time his position is threatened. This manipulative tactic is no longer a secret." "During the recent AICC plenary session in Delhi, CM Siddaramaiah faced a major setback. The high command pulled up his faction over multiple failures of the government, including issues like the honeytrap scandal. As a result, there is now a growing buzz within Congress circles that Siddaramaiah has suddenly begun chanting the caste census mantra. As Iave said many times before, our party supports any genuine steps taken for the upliftment of backward communities in our society." "However, we strongly oppose using marginalised communities as pawns in a political game whenever someone falls behind in the snakes-and-ladders of politics or stumbles in the chessboard of power," he emphasised. "The Kantharaj Commission report is widely seen as unscientific, incomplete, inaccurate, and irrelevant. There are several reasons for this. In this context, I am putting forth a few serious questions to CM Siddaramaiah on behalf of the people of the state," Ashoka stated. Ashoka's questions are: "There are suspicions that the Commission Secretary did not sign the caste census report. Is this true? If so, why was it not signed?" "Jayaprakash Hegde, former chairperson of the Permanent Backward Classes Commission, stated that the original or handwritten copy kept in a sealed box is missing. What is the truth behind this?" "If you were genuinely committed to the caste census, why didnat you accept and implement the Kantharaj report in 2018?" "There are complaints that the caste census conducted 10 years ago was not done scientifically, and many households were not even surveyed. Given this, why is there such a sudden rush to bring this report to the forefront now?" "What is your response to the claim that this decade-old survey is no longer relevant in the present context?" The LoP has demanded answers to his questions from the Congress government. Ashoka said, "The Veerashaiva-Lingayat community has submitted a request not to accept this unscientific caste census report. Notably, the Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar himself has signed in support of this demand. Even senior leaders of your own party, like Shamanur Shivashankarappa, have opposed it. Many pontiffs and religious leaders have also voiced their opposition. In light of all this, why didnat the government take everyone into confidence and work toward a consensus over the last 22 months? Why bring the report to the cabinet all of a sudden?" "Is the caste census report being strategically used to delay or escape the power-sharing agreement allegedly made with Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar?" Ashoka questioned. "There is talk within the Congress party that youave fired this 'caste census arrow' to corner Dy CM D.K. Shivakumar. What do you have to say about this?" Ashoka asked CM Siddaramaiah. "Isnat using the caste census as a political weapon an insult to Dalits, backward classes, and marginalised communities? Isnat using the sacred concept of social justice for political gain a betrayal of conscience?" Ashoka charged. "How did the caste census data get leaked to the media? Was it a lapse by the government, or was the information deliberately leaked?" Ashoka asked. "Sub-castes within the Veerashaiva-Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities have been separated. Why was this same approach not applied to Muslim and Christian communities? What is the motive behind this? What is your objection to conducting a fresh, scientific survey that would be acceptable to all?" Ashoka said. "These are the concerns and doubts the people of the state have about the Kantharaj report. I urge CM Siddaramaiah to set aside personal pride and self-interest and make an honest and transparent decision," he concluded. New Delhi, April 15 : The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-Delhi) on Tuesday announced that it has partnered with Micron Technology, Inc. to promote advanced research in electronic materials and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven modelling. This collaboration, formed through IIT Delhi's Corporate Relations office, aims to strengthen the link between academic research and real-world industrial needs, especially in the fast-evolving semiconductor sector. The joint effort will focus on developing new solutions using modern technology and scientific knowledge to tackle major challenges in semiconductor manufacturing. Researchers will work on electronic materials and use AI-powered neural models to predict and prevent fatigue and fracture in copper-based electronic components. These efforts are expected to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor devices. Professor Preeti Ranjan Panda, Dean of Corporate Relations at IIT Delhi, expressed pride in the collaboration. "At IIT Delhi, we are committed to fostering industry-academia collaborations that drive impactful research and innovation," he said. "Our association with Micron Technology is a perfect confluence of academic rigor and industrial expertise, propelling advancements in electronic materials and AI-driven modeling and addressing critical challenges in the semiconductor industry," Panda mentioned. Gurtej S. Sandhu, Vice President at Micron Technology, said, "Micron's partnership with IIT Delhi will drive our joint efforts in developing cutting-edge AI models and crystal plasticity frameworks, strengthening our commitment to innovation and the future of semiconductor technology." Meanwhile, according to the government last month, about 20 per cent of the global workforce in semiconductor design is based in India, and the country's chip demand -- currently estimated at $45-50 billion -- is expected to more than double, reaching $100-110 billion by 2030. S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), on March 28 highlighted the importance of Nano Centres in nurturing innovation and developing skilled talent to support the goal of building a semiconductor-ready workforce of 85,000 professionals. Seoul, April 15 : South Korea and the United States on Tuesday staged joint air drills, involving at least one US B-1B bomber, over the Korean Peninsula, the defence ministry said, in a show of force against North Korean military threats. The drills, which also mobilised South Korean F-35A and F-16 fighter jets and US F-16s, were designed to demonstrate the allies' capabilities to respond to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, according to the ministry. The drills coincided with the 113th birth anniversary of North Korea's late state founder Kim Il-sung, a major national holiday in the North, called the "Day of the Sun." "In order to deter and respond to North Korea's threats, South Korea and the US will continue to expand combined exercises and strengthen the level of cooperation of the South Korea-US alliance," the ministry said. It did not specify the number of B-1Bs deployed or the exact location of the drills, Yonhap news agency reported. The exercise marked the second one of its kind this year after the allies staged similar drills, involving the US heavy bomber, on February 20. North Korea has often reacted angrily to the deployment of US strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula, accusing Washington of raising tensions. Pyongyang threatened to use "strategic means" to counter threats from the US after the allies' February drills. The allies' latest exercise also took place after the ouster of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this month when the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. Separately, South Korea is continuing to "actively" engage in negotiations with the United States to resolve the issue of its placement on the US Department of Energy (DOE)'s Sensitive and Other Designated Countries List (SCL), the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry issued the statement as the SCL came into force on Tuesday. The DOE's inclusion of South Korea in the list's lowest category has emerged as a hot button issue in bilateral relations. New Delhi, April 15 : As Opposition unity gains momentum ahead of Bihar Assembly elections, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday expressed strong optimism about a political shift in the state and said that the state will vote for change this time. His remarks came after crucial meeting with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, where the two parties are understood to have discussed seat-sharing ahead of elections, slater later this year. Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Kharge posted, "This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr Tejashwi Yadav, and discussed the strengthening of the Grand Alliance. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from BJP and its opportunistic alliance. Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backward, extremely backward and people of all other sections of society want the Grand Alliance government." The meeting, which took place in Delhi, in the presence of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, focused on strategy, seat-sharing, and presenting a united front in Bihar under the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) banner. Tejashwi Yadav, while interacting with reporters after the meeting, echoed the Congress presidentas sentiment and confirmed further coordination between alliance partners. "Todayas meeting was very positive. On April 17, Congress and RJD will hold another round of talks with other parties in Patna," Tejashwi said. "We donat reveal strategy in the media, but one thing is certain, we are committed to taking Bihar forward. For 11 years, Narendra Modi has been the Prime Minister. During this period, Bihar has been treated unfairly. In these 20 years of rule, Bihar remains the poorest, with the lowest per capita income and migration is at its peak. You all know weave always taken the responsibility to bring public issues to the forefront." When asked whether he would be projected as the chief ministerial face of the alliance, Tejashwi responded, "Why are you all so worried about it? Thatas our matter to decide. Ultimately, the people are the real rulers. An INDIA alliance government will be formed." New Delhi, April 15 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday warned private schools of harsh consequences if they increase fee arbitrarily and vowed to issue notices to managements of all institutions which have allegedly hiked fee in violation of rules. "Schools indulging in illegal activities will have to face the music," said CM Gupta, confirming that parents have been complaining about some schools' high-handedness. "We have been getting complaints from parents. This is for sure that no school has a right to harass students or effect an enormous fee hike," she said, adding that there were rules and regulations for increasing fees. Schools will have to respond to our notices and, if found guilty of irregularities, they will have to face the consequences, she said. CM Gupta's warning to Delhi's private schools comes close on the heels of Education Minister Ashish Sood ordering an audit of 1,677 institutions in the city. Sood criticised the previous AAP-led administration in Delhi for alleged irregularities in auditing private schools and not acting against them for extraneous reasons. He also released an email ID ddeact1@gmail.com on which parents will be able to lodge their complaints against arbitrary fee hikes by schools. Slamming the previous government's inaction against errant schools, Sood asked: "Why did the AAP government not lodge any complaint against errant schools?" "The education department has no record of audit reports of any school related to the past 10 years," he said. "We will get cases registered and within 10 days we will upload information on our website about fee hikes allowed by the AAP government in the last 10 years," said Sood. He claimed a school caught committing an alleged fraud of Rs 15 crore was allowed to raise fees by 15 per cent and 13 per cent in two phases by the previous AAP government. Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva also assured parents that the Delhi government will strictly curb unfair fee hikes by private schools and order audits for all 1,650-plus private schools. He alleged that former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and ex-CM Atishi have been using social media to spread confusion and lies about fee hikes by private schools. "The AAP leaders are relentlessly trying to build a false political narrative against the BJP in Delhi. When their propaganda failed on issues like the Women's Prosperity Scheme, Ayushman Bharat, and power cuts, they have now taken up the school fee hike issue for political mileage - but they will not succeed," he said. Mumbai, April 15 : Akshay Kumar made a heartfelt appeal to the audience during his film 'Kesari: Chapter 2' premiere in Delhi. The actor humbly requested everyone to keep their phones in their pockets, emphasizing the importance of experiencing the film without distractions. Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Kumar appealed to everyone not to use their phones and to carefully listen to the dialogues of the film. He stated, "I humbly request you all to please keep your phones in your pockets and listen to every dialogue of this film. It will mean a lot. If you try to check your Instagram during the movie, it will be a humiliation for the film. So I request everyone to keep their phones away." On April 15, ahead of its release, the much-anticipated film "Kesari: Chapter 2" had its grand premiere in Delhi. The special screening was attended by several prominent political leaders and dignitaries. The event saw Akshay Kumar and R. Madhavan present at a theatre in Chanakyapuri, Delhi, where they welcomed several prominent guests for an exclusive viewing. Among the attendees were Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and Minister Anurag Thakur. A source revealed that Akshay, upon arriving in the capital, first met with CM Rekha Gupta before heading to the screening. The Delhi Chief Minister also joined for the special presentation of the film. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Minister for Environment, Forest, and Wildlife, also shared photos and videos from the event on his X handle and wrote, "It's an honour to attend the screening of Kesari Chapter 2 with S. @HardeepSPuriji, CM @gupta_rekha ji, @BansuriSwaraj Ji & @Anurag_Thakur ji. The film is a powerful tribute to the heroes of Jallianwala Bagh." "Kudos to @akshaykumar & @ActorMadhavan for bringing to life the courage of Adv. Sankaran Nair who fearlessly stood up for the truth in the face of British oppression. Kesari Chapter 2 not only honours his legacy but also dares to expose the dark chapters of Congress's past; when they chose to side with British tyrants and silence the real heroes of our freedom struggle. That same mindset of cruelty resurfaced in 1984, when Congress unleashed terror on Sikhs, echoing the very brutality of the British they once served. Grateful to @neelkantbakshi Ji for the invite," (sic) he added. In the next follow-up post, Manjinder Singh Sirsa added, "Watching Kesari Chapter 2 makes it clear Congress mirrored the British: suppressing truth, silencing heroes, protecting tyranny. In 1984, the same mindset led mobs, burnt homes, violated women and butchered thousands of Sikhs. Evidence was erased, perpetrators rewarded. A state-backed genocide, no less than colonial horrors!!" (sic) Set against the backdrop of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, the film is set to release in theatres on April 18. Kolkata, April 15 : The leader of Opposition (LoP)in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Tuesday, launched a scathing attack against CPI(M) on the issue of Murshidabad violence, saying that the compulsion of opposition INDIA bloc was preventing it from criticizing Trinamool Congress even though two CPI(M) activists have been killed. Adhikari referred to the killing of Hargobindo Das and Chandan Das, the father and the son at Samserganj in the Murshidabad district last week, whom CPI(M) state secretary in West Bengal and politburo member Md Salim had identified as active party workers. The LoP accused the CPI(M) politburo member of giving misleading statements about the circumstances under which the father and the son were killed. "Salim had claimed that the father and the son were killed during their attempts to prevent riots in the Murshidabad district. However, as per the official complaint registered by the widow of Hargobindo Das, her husband and son were killed by a group of miscreants within their residence at 10.30 a.m. April 12, 2025. Is it possible that the two deceased persons were trying to prevent riots from within their homes? Surely, they were not killed because they were Leftists or because of any political rivalry. They were killed because their names were Hargobindo Das and Chandan Das," the LoP claimed on Tuesday morning. He also questioned Salim's silence on the names of the assassins, all of whom belonged to a particular religious community, which were mentioned in the complaint letter by Hargobindo Das's widow. "Mr Salim! Being an intelligent man, you can surely understand what I mean. You cannot admit the truth openly because of the compulsions of the opposition INDIA block, where your party and Trinamool Congress are partners. You are unable to criticize the state government, despite assassins enjoying the shelter of the state's ruling party. Secondly, you have used your religion as a crutch to sail through election contests in 2019, 2021, and finally in 2024, though each time you were defeated," the LoP said in a statement on X. Hundreds of Hindus were forced to flee Murshidabad pockets after protests against the Waqf Act turned violent. The Hindus were targeted and had to take refuge in a school after crossing rivers. Their properties were looted, and some temples were desecrated. On Calcutta High Court orders, Central forces have been deployed in the violence-hit areas after Adhikari petitioned the court. Hazaribagh, April 15 : A petrol pump manager was shot dead by unidentified criminals while he was on his way to deposit cash at a bank in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district on Tuesday, police officials said. Hazaribagh, April 15 (IANS) A petrol pump manager was shot dead by unidentified criminals while he was on his way to deposit cash at a bank in Jharkhandas Hazaribagh district on Tuesday, police officials said. The incident occurred in the Ichak police station area, highlighting the deteriorating law and order situation in the region. The victim has been identified as Shankar Kumar, a resident of the Hazaribagh district. According to the police, Shankar was carrying the cash collection of the last four days from the petrol pump located at Salparni on the busy Ranchi-Patna Road. He left the premises around 11 a.m. on Tuesday when he was intercepted by the assailants, who attempted to rob him. Eyewitnesses said that when Shankar resisted the robbery attempt, the attackers opened fire at him. He sustained fatal gunshot wounds and died on the spot. The assailants fled the scene with the money. Upon receiving information about the incident, a police team from Ichak police station reached the spot and launched an investigation. Forensic experts were also called in, and CCTV footage from nearby areas is being scanned to identify the attackers. This incident is the latest in a string of violent crimes reported from Hazaribagh in recent months. Five days ago, on April 10, a 25-year-old youth named Prabhat Kumar was brutally murdered with a sharp weapon in the Khirgaon locality of the city. The killing had sparked public outrage, with local residents blocking the Hazaribagh-Simaria road for nearly six hours in protest against the rising crime. On March 8, Kumar Gaurav, Deputy General Manager (Dispatch and Billing) at NTPCas Keredari mining project, was gunned down by criminals while he was on his way in a company vehicle to his workplace. That murder also led to widespread protests and a three-day halt in operations at NTPCas mining projects. Seoul, April 15 : Syria extended South Korea's top diplomat the highest diplomatic courtesies during his visit last week to forge formal ties, signalling a strong commitment to deepening cooperation in the economy, reconstruction and other fields, a Seoul official said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul travelled to Damascus last Thursday to formalise the diplomatic relations, a milestone that completed Seoul's endeavours to have formal ties with every UN member state except North Korea. Cho's trip was conducted discreetly due to the security situation in Syria, where an interim government has taken power following the overthrow of former leader Bashar al-Assad's half-century dictatorship. During his brief visit, Cho was accorded top-level diplomatic protocol, including security three times the scale usually provided for a foreign minister, a Seoul official said on background. "Minister Cho was welcomed with full honours and escorted by a full security convoy from the moment he arrived at the airport until we crossed the Lebanese border," the official said. Following the bilateral talks, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani surprised Cho and his delegation by personally driving him to the presidential palace for a courtesy call on Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. "It is considered the highest form of courtesy in the Arab world for a dignitary to personally take the wheel and escort a guest. It was an exceptional gesture of hospitality," the official said. Cho returned via land through Lebanon and flew back home from Istanbul. He was in Damascus for five hours, Yonhap news agency reported. During the talks, Syria expressed strong interest in adopting South Korea's model of rapid economic growth and a willingness to send a government delegation to Seoul in the near future to advance bilateral cooperation in development assistance, energy, information technology and the reconstruction of the country torn by years of civil war. Syria also expressed hope to form a "strategic partnership" with South Korea in the bilateral relations and that Seoul will support its efforts toward easing the international sanctions. "It is the first establishment of diplomatic relations for the new Syrian government," the official said. "Syria views South Korea as a key partner in advancing its reconstruction efforts, and both sides believe there will be many opportunities for South Korean companies to take part." The establishment of ties with Syria is significant as it also signals a shift in the Arab nation's foreign policy away from its traditionally closer relations with North Korea, the official noted. "Both sides have shared understanding that the new Syria and its cooperation through its formal ties with South Korea will and can contribute to promoting regional peace and stability, as opposed to the ties the Assad government had with North Korea," she said. The two countries have yet to begin discussions on opening embassies, but both sides expect to address the matter going forward, the official added. For now, the South Korean Embassy in Lebanon will temporarily serve as the mission handling Syrian affairs. Bengaluru, April 15 : In a shocking case of moral policing, a young Muslim woman was harassed in a park in Bengaluru by a group of individuals for being seen with a Hindu male companion. The incident came to light after a 2-minute-14-second video went viral on social media on Tuesday. The police are currently verifying the details of the incident. In the video, one of the men, who appears to be recording the couple, authoritatively asks the young woman to hand over her burqa and is seen threatening her. The video shows the group approaching the couple and asking the young woman her name. When she tries to hide behind the youth, they question him, saying she is a Muslim and he is a Hindu -- how can they be sitting together? The youth responds that they are friends. One of the men in the group claims that they are more than friends and says he has the full video as evidence. The man continues to heckle the young woman, demanding that she come to him and reveal her name as he is calling other members of his group to come to the spot. He repeatedly insists that she state her name. He further says, "If you want to do all this, do it without wearing the burqa. She belongs to our (Muslim) community. Give me my burqa," he demands. When the young woman holds her friend's hand and tries to leave, the man follows them and insists she hand over the burqa before leaving. He continues to torment her, saying, "What antics are you up to? You want to hold his hand? Do you have any respect for the burqa? I want you to hand it over," he insists. "You go to hell -- we don't care. First take off the burqa, then go," the man is heard telling her. The woman pleads with them not to create an issue. However, the man accuses her, claiming they had been watching her since she entered a hotel. He questions her, asking how she can behave like that as a Muslim. On April 11, the Karnataka Police arrested four individuals, including a minor, in connection with a case of moral policing reported under the Chandra Layout police station limits in Bengaluru. The accused allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for speaking with a youth from another community. They verbally abused her and attempted to assault her. DCP (West) S. Girish s, "Within the limits of Chandra Layout police station, a boy and a girl were sitting on a bike in front of a park. Upon seeing them, a group of four to five men approached and began questioning them. The woman was wearing a burqa." "The accused questioned her about why she was at the location and whether she had informed her family. Based on the young woman's complaint, we registered a case and arrested the four accused. We have also taken the minor involved into custody," the DCP said. Police sources stated that the young Muslim female stood her ground and confronted the group, questioning their interference in her personal matters. She reportedly told them that the person she was speaking to was her classmate and asked why she should give out her family's contact information. Her family lodged a police complaint later. Lucknow, April 15 : Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister and BJP leader Jaiveer Singh on Tuesday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for planning to meet Muslim religious leaders regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, accusing her of stoking tensions for political gain. Speaking to IANS, Jaiveer Singh said, "She is setting the fire herself and then trying to extinguish it." "Why is it that incidents of violence or protests around the Waqf Act only arise in states ruled by INDIA Bloc leaders or the Opposition," he added. CM Banerjee is scheduled to meet imams, muezzins, and Muslim intellectuals from across West Bengal on April 16 to discuss concerns related to the Waqf Act. The meeting has sparked political backlash, with BJP leaders accusing her of minority appeasement. Singh also reacted to a recent comment made by Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Digvijaya Singh, who questioned the administration's decision to allow religious processions with DJ systems near mosques, citing the recent stone-pelting incident in Guna, Madhya Pradesh. "There are traditional ways of conducting processions," Jaiveer Singh said. "The administration's approval must be given after seeing all the arrangements. But, whatever is happening is the result of the politics of Muslim appeasement in West Bengal." He further slammed Samajwadi Party's Rajya Sabha MP, Ramji Lal Suman, for making inflammatory remarks during a gathering in Agra. Suman warned the Karni Sena ahead of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's visit to Agra on April 19, claiming a "battlefield" would be ready. He also referred to the Karni Sena as a "fake army" and questioned their lineage in provocative terms. He further said that when you say that Muslims have Babar's DNA, then whose DNA is in you? "Where is Agra Pakistan or China?" Singh responded. "Akhilesh Yadav is welcome to visit any place, but such statements reveal a deliberate political conspiracy." He accused Yadav of using leaders like Suman to polarise voters. "Akhilesh knows Muslims are leaning towards the Congress, and with no alliance in sight in Uttar Pradesh, he's resorting to such tactics. He also sees Mayawati losing Dalit support and is trying to win them over by targeting Sanatan Dharma through these controversial remarks," he concluded. New Delhi, April 15 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended, till next week, its earlier order directing that no coercive action be taken against sacked Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, who allegedly submitted false OBC and PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) certificates and fraudulently availed attempts beyond the permissible limits provided for the civil services examination by faking her identity. A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and S.C. Sharma decided to adjourn the proceedings after Khedkaras counsel submitted that the reply to the counter affidavit filed by the Delhi Police has been filed but has not yet come on record. Posting the matter for hearing on April 21, the Justice Nagarathna-led Bench asked the apex court registry to verify the status of the rejoinder affidavit filed on Khedkaras behalf and, in the meantime, ordered extension of the interim relief. In an earlier hearing, the top court questioned Delhi Police over the slow pace of the investigation in the matter. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, who appeared on behalf of the Delhi Police, had submitted that Khedkaras custodial interrogation was necessary to probe the "larger scam" and find out the names of the middlemen involved. "We want to investigate whether this (Puja Khedkaras) is an isolated case or there is a larger number of cases," he said. At this, the apex court remarked that the Delhi Police could widen the scope of the investigation but questioned the need for Khedkaras custodial interrogation. "You must track up this investigation steadfastly," it told the Delhi Police as it had asked Puja Khedkar to continue her cooperation in the ongoing investigation. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing on Puja Khedkaras behalf, submitted that she is "willing and available" to attend the probe launched by the Delhi Police. On January 15, the apex court asked the Delhi Police and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to file their replies to Khedkaras anticipatory bail plea as it passed an ad interim protection from arrest in her favour. Previously, the Delhi High Court had dismissed Khedkaras pre-arrest bail petition and vacated its earlier order shielding her from arrest. In its judgment delivered on December 15, 2024, a Bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh opined that prima facie, a strong case was made out against Khedkar, adding that custodial interrogation of a person accused of an offence of such nature is required to unearth the facts. The bench, on November 28, 2024, reserved its decision on her anticipatory bail plea after hearing both sides. It was then clarified that till the judgment is delivered, the interim relief granted earlier on August 12, shielding Khedkar from arrest, will continue. Before this, a trial court here had turned down her anticipatory bail plea and asked the investigating agency to find out if anyone from inside the UPSC had helped Khedkar. Widening the scope of the probe, Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala had asked Delhi Police to investigate if other people recommended by the UPSC have availed quota benefits without entitlement. The Centre, on September 7, 2024, sacked Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection in government service. Khedkar has been found guilty of faking and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits. After cancelling her selection, the UPSC also barred her for life from taking the entrance exam after finding her guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times. Chennai, April 15 : Goods transportation between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka came to a grinding halt on Tuesday following an indefinite strike by truck operators in Karnataka. The strike, launched at midnight on Monday, has been called to protest against the recent hike in diesel prices and demand a reduction in toll charges. It has significantly affected the movement of lorries along National Highway 948 (Dindigul- Mysuru), particularly the busy Sathyamangalam-Bannari-Dhimbam-Hasanur stretch. This critical route, spanning 29 km through the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) -- from the Bannari checkpost to the Karapallam forest checkpoint near the Karnataka border -- typically witnesses heavy lorry traffic from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. On Tuesday, however, most lorries, except those carrying essential commodities, remained off the road. Hundreds of trucks loaded with vegetables, fruits, milk, poultry, sugarcane, coir, and other agricultural and industrial goods were parked along roadsides in Sathyamangalam and its surrounding areas. Truck operators from Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, and other nearby districts -- who routinely use this corridor for trade between the two states -- refused to resume operations until the strike is withdrawn. Checkposts at Bannari and Karapallam, usually bustling with activity, wore a deserted look, with only a few private vehicles making their way through. A Forest Department official noted that more than 1,200 lorries typically pass through the Karapallam checkpost daily, transporting goods between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. "On Monday, lorry movement had already dropped by 50 per cent. On Tuesday, it was minimal," the official said. Lorry owners confirmed that vehicle loading and dispatch would resume only after the strike is officially called off. Truckers affiliated with the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents Association (FKSLOA) are protesting against rising diesel prices and unresolved toll-related grievances. The strike comes in response to the Karnataka government's decision to raise diesel sales tax from 18.44 per cent to 21.17 per cent, starting April 1. This hike has caused diesel prices to rise by Rs 2.05 per litre, escalating operational costs for transporters The strike is indefinite and involves approximately six lakh truckers, including drivers, agents, and truck owners. The strike has started impacting the movement of goods into Tamil Nadu, as truckers from that state are being advised to avoid entering Karnataka. New Delhi, April 15 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing a case of digital arrests, nabbed four persons over their involvement in the cybercrime. The CBI team conducted extensive searches at multiple locations and arrested four 'kingpins', including two each from Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad. The CBI arrests were made as part of its Operation Chakra-V initiative, which seeks to dismantle the infrastructure behind such cyber offences. Notably, the investigative agency has been at the forefront of a crackdown on cybercrimes like digital arrests, adopting a multi-pronged approach in investigating such cases as well as dismantling the entire infrastructure. The latest arrests were made in connection with a digital arrest case in Rajasthan. The case was earlier registered at Cyber Police Station Jhunjhunu. The victim was digitally detained for over three months by cybercriminals impersonating personnel of law enforcement agencies and was extorted 42 times, amounting to Rs 7.67 crore. The CBI, upon taking over the case, conducted an in-depth investigation involving data analysis and profiling. It employed advanced investigative techniques to identify the perpetrators. The investigative agency conducted extensive searches across 12 locations in Moradabad and Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai, Jaipur, and West Bengal's Krishnanagar, leading to the arrest of four individuals involved in this highly organised crime syndicate. "Bank account details, debit cards, cheque books, deposit slips, and digital devices evidence were recovered from their possession," said one of the CBI officials. "The arrested individuals were produced before the competent court and have been remanded to five days of police custody," the agency said in a statement. Notably, the digital arrest scams have taken the nation by storm lately, with scamsters making video calls to the prospective targets. Their common modus operandi is to pose as officials from any law enforcement agency or any regulating agency and confront the victim over some offence they didn't even commit. The cyber syndicate seeks to create psychological pressure on the victims that they have been 'digitally arrested' for some crime and then go on to extort money before 'releasing' them from digital custody. New Delhi, April 15 : Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who was in the capital for the premiere of his upcoming film "Kesari Chapter 2" for Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and other politicians, said that he only knew what the history book taught him when it came to the topic of Jallianwala Bagh. New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who was in the capital for the premiere of his upcoming film "Kesari Chapter 2" for Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and other politicians, said that he only knew what the history book taught him when it came to the topic of Jallianwala Bagh. On April 15, ahead of its release, "Kesari: Chapter 2" had its grand premiere in Delhi. The special screening was attended by several prominent political leaders and dignitaries. The event saw Akshay Kumar, R. Madhavan, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, and Minister Anurag Thakur. Talking about the premiere, Akshay said, "We are very grateful that sir has organized and hosted this whole thing, the whole premiere, whatever you may call it, and I just hope that people have loved it, or whoever, all the friends who have come here, and they must have seen the movie, but I would say, it's better you ask me what you thought about it." Akshay said he is very grateful and happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged lawyer-nationalist C. Sankaran Nair. "I would say that I'm very, very grateful and happy that he has seen this and acknowledged it But he knows about it, and he knew it from the beginning, and that's very kind of him to say, and it happened when the movie was getting released," said Akshay. A spiritual sequel to Kesari, the plot of "Kesari Chapter 2" is based on the book The Case That Shook The Empire by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, centered around C. Sankaran Nair and the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Akshay agreed that he only knew a bit about the massacre, which he read in history books. "I didn't know about it, I didn't know about it, I had no idea about it, I just only know what happened in Jallianwala Bagh and till there only, I only know what the history book taught me, but history books never taught us about what happened after that," he said. Akshay hopes that the British government watches "Kesari Chapter 2". The actor said, "I just know about what happened in Jallianwala Bagh. Well, I just hope and I pray that he and the British government watch the movie and they realize what has gone wrong and they acknowledge it, and that's all. With folded hands, I say this." The film is set to release in theaters on April 18. New Delhi, April 15 : India's total exports of goods and services increased by 5.5 per cent to a record $820.93 billion during the financial year ended March 31, 2025, compared to $773 billion in the previous fiscal year, despite the uncertainties in the global market, according to Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal. Merchandise exports have touched $437.4 billion, with non-petroleum exports rising 6 per cent year-on-year at $374.08 billion in FY25. Indiaas trade deficit expanded to $21.54 billion in March, from $14.05 billion in February, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Merchandise exports went up marginally by 0.7 per cent to $41.97 billion during the month. However, merchandise imports shot by a double-digit 11.3 per cent to $63.51 billion, leading to a wider trade deficit. As compared to the previous month, exports clocked a 13.75 per cent increase while imports went up by 24.6 per cent. The figures come amid the chaos in global markets triggered by the hike in US tariffs. India is in talks with the US for a bilateral trade agreement while the US has agreed to pause the duty hike for a period of 90 days. The first phase of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be concluded within the tariff-pause period of 90 days fixed by the Donald Trump administration, according to official sources. The terms of reference for the agreement have been finalised and further negotiations are scheduled to take place primarily through video conferencing, although if required Indian negotiators may visit Washington or US officials can come to Delhi, senior officials said. At the same time, a close watch is being kept to ensure that other countries do not route their exports through India to circumvent the higher tariffs imposed on them. Similarly, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has also been alerted to ensure that Indian exporters do not use other countries as a conduit for re-routing. The officials said that India has been a trusted partner to the US, and such manoeuvres could negatively impact its image. Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told journalists last week that "very good negotiations" with the US were underway. He said that India presents a compelling case to the United States for a bilateral trade deal, given the outlook on growth and demography. "Looking at the growth, India offers in the next 25-30 years with a large, aspirational, young population who will add to the demand for goods and services, we believe India will be a compelling case to enter into a good agreement with the US," Goyal said at a press conference. Two Lynchburg college students who ate some bitter-tasting chocolate provided by two men they met online fell so ill that they spent four days in a Charlottesville hospital recovering from the symptoms they say were the result of an attempted date rape. They tried to rape us, one of the women reportedly told an emergency dispatcher. In her account to investigators, one of the students recovering at University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville said she and her friend, freshmen at the University of Lynchburg, first made contact with two New York men on Facebook. On the day of the meetup, Nov. 27, the men allegedly showed up in Lynchburg in a Nissan. The narrative by Sgt. Mark Foster, a Louisa County detective, indicates that the women climbed into the Nissan and were driven to a short-term rental house in Louisa. There, Foster wrote, the student said she and her friend were fed strange-tasting chocolate candy and given water from bottles that had already been opened. They started to feel dizzy and asked to be taken back to Lynchburg, according to a search warrant affidavit. The guys ignored their request. Instead, the men reportedly fled the homestay in the Nissan, which according to the affidavit bore a temporary Georgia license plate. When she called 911, [the men] started loading their suitcases into the car, the document says. The young woman placing the emergency call asserted that the chocolate tasted minty and bitter, according to Foster. Foster reported that he visited UVa Medical Center after his office heard from a doctor who voiced suspicion about ketamine and also opined that chocolate would be an easy food to doctor. An anesthetic frequently used by veterinarians for surgery on horses, ketamine is widely known to cause hallucinations and delirium when recreationally misused by humans. The drug was blamed for the 2023 death of actor and Friends star Matthew Perry. Ketamine was implicated that same year for precipitating a mental break in the young Maryland man who took off his clothes and murdered a Wintergreen police officer. The house in question is a three-bedroom dwelling located in a rural area east of Zion Crossroads. According to its current listing on Airbnb, renters get a portion of the building, a one-bedroom suite with a double bed and pullout sofa, for $72 a night. As the college women fell dizzy inside the suite, one of them said they noticed something else concerning about the men. One of the guys had a condom fall out of his pocket, Foster wrote. While the woman providing the account to law enforcement consented to having her blood and urine drawn for testing, Foster wrote that the other woman was too groggy to be interviewed. Five detectives converged on the homestay. With the permission of the homeowner, an hour after the contracted check-out time, the detectives found several mostly empty water bottles and a half-eaten Hershey bar, items they photographed and seized as possible evidence. Surprisingly, one of the men later posted a one-star review of the house on Airbnb, along with his first name and photograph. It wasnt a good stay at all, wrote the man. The room is too small and very lack of electricity. I prefer not to book this airbnb. Such a piece of st. Amid the glowing reviews from other guests, that was too much for the homestay host. To set the record straight, the host replied, this guest booked for one and arrived with four guests. They overloaded the circuit, which we reset right away. Later when he stepped out, the host continued, the two women he left behind called 911, and were taken by ambulance to the hospital with suspicions they had been drugged. He is angry with us as hosts because we reported him to Airbnb, denied him access back to the unit, and with the backing of Airbnb we denied him a refund, since the police requested we leave the unit undisturbed until their team of investigators could come to take samples and photos. A check of state and federal logs of criminal charges did not show a charge against either of the two men. The Daily Progress is withholding their names since they do not appear to have been charged with any crime. Authorities have not provided the results of any drug-testing, and the Louisa County commonwealths attorney referred The Daily Progress to the sheriffs office, which did not disclose the status of the investigation. However, the Airbnb host closed her response to her guest with this short summation of the situation: A hosts nightmare. Tehran, April 15 : Iran has confirmed that Muscat, the capital of Oman, will remain the venue for the second round of "indirect" negotiations between Tehran and Washington. "Following consultations, it was decided that Muscat continues to be the host of the second round of the negotiations, which are scheduled to be held on Saturday," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei as saying on Tuesday. In the first round of Muscat talks on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi engaged in "indirect" discussions with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, facilitated by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi. These talks focused on Iran's nuclear programme and the potential removal of US sanctions. The talks in Muscat followed US President Donald Trump's statement in early March that he had sent a letter to Iranian leaders, delivered through the United Arab Emirates, proposing negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, Xinhua news agency reported. Iran later agreed on indirect talks. Iran signed a nuclear deal in July 2015 with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. However, Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the deal in May 2018 during his first term, and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to scale back its commitments under the deal. Since then, efforts to revive the nuclear agreement have made little progress. On Monday, Italy had signalled that the new round of talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran's nuclear programme will be held in Rome. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani noted that Italy has agreed to host the meeting following requests from the negotiating parties and Oman, which is serving as a mediator. Tajani made the remarks while visiting the Italian pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Ansa news agency reported. He added that the Italian government is "prepared to do everything necessary to support negotiations that could lead to resolving the nuclear issue and building peace." Earlier in the day, Iran said that the next round of "indirect" talks with the United States over its nuclear programme will take place outside Oman, though the structure and mediation of the negotiations will remain unchanged. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, Tehran does not consider the location of the talks to be as significant as the framework in which they are held. He indicated that the discussions will continue to be conducted indirectly, with Oman maintaining its mediating role. Baghaei said Muscat will coordinate the new venue for the upcoming round and expressed appreciation for Oman's role in hosting the initial phase of negotiations. Baghaei also dismissed the possibility of direct engagement with Washington, saying Iran does not view that format as effective. He said indirect talks are not unusual, and have been used previously in dealings between the two countries. Jaipur, April 15 : Rajasthan Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tika Ram Jully on Tuesday slammed the BJP after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on former state minister Pratap Singh Khachriyawas. "He (Khachariyawas) is openly raising his voice against the BJP government. Out of fear, the BJP has once again resorted to misusing central agencies. Such actions, driven by political vendetta, are highly condemnable," said Rajasthan LoP. The case is related to alleged investment fraud involving PACL, a company that operated in the real estate sector across Rajasthan for 17 years. Around 28 lakh people in Rajasthan have invested nearly Rs 2,850 crore in the company. Nationally, over 5.85 crore investors poured in approximately Rs 49,100 crore. Multiple FIRs have been filed against PACL in more than half a dozen states. The first complaint was registered in Jaipur. Sources said that Khachariyawas's alleged involvement in the case is linked to financial dealings in this case. Rajasthan LoP said that this is not the first time that the opposition is witnessing such tactics. "In 2020, a similar attempt was made to intimidate Khachariyawas," he said. Meanwhile, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said that the BJP people did the gravel scam, the IIFA scam and the mining scam, but the central agencies have not taken any action against them. "I will never be scared by such tactics," Khachariyawas told media persons. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also slammed the BJP, saying that the raid at the residence of the former minister is condemnable. "During the attempt to topple the Congress government in Rajasthan, Khachariyawas was interrogated for 7-8 hours on 12 August 2020 by the ED, only to harass him for openly opposing the BJP. Because he is vocal against the BJP government of Rajasthan, ED has knocked on his door again," the former Chief Minister said. Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra also attacked the BJP government, saying, "Because Pratap Singh Khachariyawas is asking sharp questions on the 100 crore rupees spent by the BJP government on the IIFA function, which the Congress government had declared for the temple corridor and grandeur of the revered deity Govind Dev ji, that is why he had to face the ED raid again," he said. He added that Pratap Singh Khachariyawas is fighting the people's battle and showing the mirror to the government on every issue. "Khachariyawas ji is the lion of Congress. He will not be afraid, he will fight bravely and win. BJP has made ED its frontal organisation," the Congress state chief said. Former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot also voiced strong criticism over the ED raid, saying that the action raises serious questions about the priorities of the Central government. "The manner in which investigative agencies are being misused against opposition leaders clearly reflects an agenda of political revenge. We firmly believe in democratic values and remain committed to upholding the Constitution. The Congress will continue to stand strong in defense of people's rights and voices," he said. Amaravati, April 15 : The Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing the alleged liquor scam in Andhra Pradesh during the YSR Congress Party regime, has served notice to former MP V. Vijayasai Reddy, directing him to appear before it. The former MP has been asked to appear before the SIT at its office in Vijayawada on April 18. Vijayasai Reddy resigned from the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and also quit as an MP in January. The TDP-led NDA government constituted the SIT in November last year to investigate the allegations of irregularities and corruption in Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) under the YSRCP tenure. Vijayasai Reddy last month distanced himself from the scam and alleged that Kasireddy Rajasekhar Reddy, the IT advisor to then Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, was behind the liquor scam. The SIT on Monday conducted searches in the house and other properties of Rajashekar Reddy in Hyderabad. Multiple teams conducted searches on the properties of Rajashekar Reddy, located at various places in and around Hyderabad. The SIT has already served notices to Rajasekhar Reddy, directing him to appear before it. He, however, failed to appear. The TDP leaders alleged that some YSRCP leaders had links with the liquor manufacturers, floated many local brands, conducted cash payments and made illegal money. The SIT reportedly identified the involvement of some political leaders, private persons and others in the scam. Having recorded statements from liquor manufacturers, it has allegedly established the existence of a scam estimated at Rs 4,000 crore. The investigating officers reportedly traced the money trail of kickbacks involving a sitting Lok Sabha member and a former Rajya Sabha member from the YSRCP. Last month, TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayulu urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to investigate the liquor scam in Andhra Pradesh, claiming that it is larger than the Delhi liquor scandal. He alleged that the scam resulted in a loss of Rs 18,860 crore to the state exchequer from 2019 to 2024 and requested Amit Shah to order a probe by the Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies. Devarayulu also stated in the Lok Sabha that the YSRCP misled people by initially promising prohibition but later facilitated a monopolised liquor industry under their control. New Delhi, April 15 : In fresh trouble for the Sahara group, the Enforcement Directorate, Kolkata, attached 707 acres of land in Aamby Valley City, Lonavala, Maharashtra, worth Rs 1,460 crore in a money laundering case, an official said on Tuesday. The land was purchased in benani names with funds diverted from Sahara group entities, said the official, adding that the action was taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Also, searches were conducted under section 17 of PMLA wherein unexplained Rs 2.98 crore cash was seized, said the ED. The ED launched an investigation based on three FIRs registered for cheating and conspiracy against Humara India Credit Co-operative Society Ltd (HICCSL) and others by Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan Police. Another 500 FIRs have been filed against the Sahara Group entities and related persons, with more than 300 of them registered for offences that are scheduled under the PMLA, said the official. The depositors alleged that they were cheated into depositing funds, forced to redeposit funds without their consent and were denied their maturity payments despite demanding maturity payouts several times. The ED investigation revealed that the Sahara Group was running a Ponzi scheme through various entities such as HICCSL, Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited (SCCSL), Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Cooperative Society (SUMCS), Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (SMCSL), Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL), Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL), Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) and other Sahara group entities. The group has cheated the depositors and agents by luring them with high returns and commissions, respectively and utilised the funds collected in a non-regulated manner without any information or control of the depositors. The investigation indicated that the group manipulated the books of accounts to show repayment in a scheme, treating reinvestment as fresh investment in another scheme. In order to perpetuate the Ponzi scheme, they continued to accept fresh deposits despite not being able to repay the existing maturity amount. A part of the collected money was diverted for creating benami assets, for their personal expenses and lavish lifestyle, the ED said. During investigations, statements of various persons, including depositors, agents, employees of Sahara Group and other related persons have been recorded under Section 50 of PMLA. Singapore, April 15 : As Singaporeans prepare to head to the polls on May 3, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday that "Singaporeans should decide on the team to lead our nation" at this critical juncture. "The global conditions that enabled Singapore's success over the past decades may no longer hold," Wong said in a Facebook post, adding that this is why he has called the general election. Earlier on Tuesday, Wong advised President Tharman Shanmugaratnam to dissolve the parliament, officially triggering the election process, Xinhua news agency reported. The Nomination Day will take place on April 23, when political parties will announce their final slate of candidates contesting across Singapore's 33 constituencies. Voters will cast ballots for individual candidates or groups of candidates running to represent their constituency in the parliament. Following the Nomination Day, nine days of campaigning will be permitted, including rallies, house visits, pamphlet distribution, poster and banner displays, and online political advertising. Campaigning will be prohibited on May 2, a designated cooling-off day for voters to reflect on the issues raised. Wong, who succeeded Lee Hsien Loong as Prime Minister in May 2024 after Lee's two-decade tenure, will lead the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) into the upcoming general election. The PAP, which has governed Singapore for over 60 years, secured 61.24 per cent of the vote in the 2020 general election, compared to 69.86 per cent in 2015. The Workers' Party, the only opposition party to win seats in 2020, increased its parliamentary representation from six seats in 2015 to 10 in 2020. The election comes amid growing concerns over global trade tensions. Senior Singaporean leaders, including Wong and Senior Minister Lee, have recently warned that new US tariffs could undermine global free trade and threaten small, open economies like Singapore. While a proposed 10-per cent tariff on Singapore may have a limited direct impact for now, Wong cautioned in an April 4 video message that the broader consequences could be significant. "International trade and investments will suffer, and global growth will slow," he said, adding that Singapore, given its high dependence on trade, stands to take a harder hit than others. Kochi, April 15 : Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday assured that Munambam-like incidents in the country will not happen again with the passing of the Waqf (Amendment) Act. "I have come here for an important and sensitive issue. Land is the most precious thing for us. If you lose your land, you lose everything. That is why we have considered that in India, there should not be any provision for anybody to forcefully and unilaterally take away someone's land. We must make laws to protect every inch of land for its rightful owner. We brought amendments to this law as earlier there were unprecedented powers given to Waqf," said the Union Minister while addressing a press conference for more than an hour. He added that there is a narrative that the Central government is against Muslims, but that is not true, while claiming that the BJP government is correcting the mistakes committed in the past and providing justice to people. Rijiju was in the commercial capital of Kerala at Kochi, to inaugurate the BJP-led NDA's 'Thank You Modi' meet at Munambam to thank PM Modi and the Centre for the Waqf Act that has been passed in both houses of the parliament early this month. The Munambam land dispute pertains to the Kerala State Waqf Board laying claim to approximately 404 acres of land. This land is home to over 600 families - primarily Christians from the Latin Catholic community and Hindus from backward sections - who say they have lived there for decades and legally purchased the land from Farook College. Farook College, which once managed the land, has confirmed that it received the property as a gift and subsequently sold it. Despite this, the Waqf Board has contested the ownership, citing provisions in the current Waqf Act. The Union Minister explained that the amendments were necessary as certain provisions in the Waqf Bill had granted unprecedented power and authority to the Waqf Boards. "Unprecedented powers and authority were given to the Waqf Boards. They could declare any property as the Waqf. So we thought we should give justice to thousands of people who lost their land. Not targeted at Muslims, it's just to provide justice. India has the largest Waqf property in the world, despite that the majority of Muslims do not get the benefits. This is not targeting any particular community," he said. He added that the Munambam case is one of them, and it came to the government's notice when the BJP leaders in Kerala brought this to us. "I was deeply upset when I heard that these 600 families who paid for the land and found they are going to lose it. From now on, there will be no arbitrary declaration of any property as Waqf," he said. The minister added that the survey commissioner has been replaced with the district collector, adding that from 2013 to 2025, more than 18 lakhs properties have been claimed. "As a responsible government, we passed this Act, and in the future, we will not see a case like Munambam. We removed a provision if anyone just orally says this was a place where Nimaz was offered, and the Waqf can take over. Henceforth, if any property has to be declared Waqf, an oral declaration won't work now. There must be a deed and a registered document," he said. He added that any property under dispute or sub-judice cannot be named as Waqf property, adding that the court will decide it, and the verification of the property has to be done by the district collector. "Survey Commissioners in the past did it and they had their interest, while a Collector is a revenue official and does not belong to any political party," he said. The minister said that the government has made another provision in the new law that, in setting up a Waqf, a person has to be a practicing Muslim for five years. "There were no checks and balances in the law before. Now, if a land is owned by a Muslim, such land can be declared Waqf. If there are issues with the Tribunals, one can file a petition before the High Court. We have also changed the composition of the Waqf Boards and tribunals. Even non-Muslims can be made members, but the majority will be Muslims," he said. The Union Minister also said that he pointed to the Congress and the Left MPs to cooperate. "But they are very difficult people and they twist things as they are playing vote bank politics," he said. He added that very soon, the district collector has to re-examine the entire matter in the Munambam case, and the Kerala government has to give support. Meanwhile, the Indian Union Muslim League said it will lead a protest against the new Wafq Act. "We will protest against the Act with like-minded parties," said IUML General Secretary P.M.A. Salam. Chennai, April 15 : Legislators of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staged a walkout from the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday, accusing Speaker M. Appavu of repeatedly denying the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, R.B. Udhayakumar, the opportunity to raise critical issues during the Zero Hour. Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Udhayakumar alleged that the Speaker has been systematically refusing to allow the principal opposition party to voice concerns in the House. He further stated that AIADMK MLAs had given notice to move a no-confidence motion against three cabinet ministers -- K.N. Nehru (Municipal Administration and Water Supply), K. Ponmudy (Forests and Khadi) and V. Senthilbalaji (Electricity, Prohibition and Excise). Udhayakumar pointed out that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted searches at premises linked to Nehru and his family members, reportedly uncovering financial irregularities. He also noted that the ED had searched the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) office a month ago and unearthed alleged financial misconduct amounting to Rs 1,000 crore. The deputy LoP further criticised Minister Ponmudy for making derogatory remarks against Hinduism and women, claiming that such statements violated the oath of office taken by a minister. "I strongly condemn the Chief Minister for not removing Minister Ponmudy from the Cabinet," he added. Udhayakumar said the Speaker justified the denial of speaking time by citing that the Chief Minister would make a suo motu statement under Rule 110 of the Assembly during the Zero Hour. "The Assembly is a forum to discuss people's issues. Even after the opposition raises matters during Zero Hour, the Chief Minister is free to make announcements. However, we are repeatedly being denied opportunities to speak," he alleged. Commenting on the Chief Minister's recent announcement regarding the formation of a high-level committee to study Centre-State relations, Udhayakumar said, "The DMK was in alliance with the Centre for nearly 16 years. Why didn't it take any steps then? When Education was moved from the State List to the Concurrent List, the DMK remained silent." He alleged that the announcement was a diversionary tactic to shift public attention from pressing issues. New Delhi, April 15 : The Federation of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO) on Tuesday urged the Centre for strategic support to sustain trade growth momentum, as overall exports grew by a healthy 5.5 per cent in FY25, reaching $820.93 billion. This reflects the resilience of the export sector amid rising global geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions. FIEO President S.C. Ralhan welcomed the growth, highlighting the strong performance of the services sector, which played a key role in offsetting the modest growth in merchandise exports. Merchandise exports for FY 2024-25 rose slightly by 0.08 per cent to $437.42 billion, while imports increased by 6.62 per cent to $720.24 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $282.82 billion. In March 2025 alone, exports grew 0.7 per cent year-on-year to $41.97 billion, with imports rising 11.3 per cent to $63.51 billion -- leading to a monthly trade deficit of $21.54 billion. Ralhan called for strategic support to sustain export momentum, including enhancing export competitiveness, diversifying products and markets, addressing logistics and infrastructure gaps and easing regulatory burdens and improving access to affordable credit. He reaffirmed FIEOas commitment to working closely with the government and industry to ensure sustained growth in the face of global challenges. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as compared to the previous month, exports clocked a 13.75 per cent increase in March while imports went up by 24.6 per cent. The figures come amid the chaos in global markets triggered by the hike in US tariffs. India is in talks with the US for a bilateral trade agreement while the US has agreed to pause the duty hike for a period of 90 days. The first phase of the bilateral trade agreement between India and the US is likely to be concluded within the tariff-pause period of 90 days fixed by the Donald Trump administration, according to official sources. Geneva/Port Sudan, April 15 : As the brutal war in Sudan entered its third year on Tuesday, the International Organization of Migration (IOM) has called for an immediate, coordinated international action to help alleviate the "unimaginable scale" of human suffering caused by the conflict and to prevent even greater instability across the region. The conflict has triggered the world's largest displacement crisis and one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies. According to the IOM, more than 11.3 million people are now internally displaced a" 8.6 million of them uprooted by the current conflict a" while an additional 3.9 million have fled across borders into neighbouring countries in the past two years alone, desperately seeking safety, food, and shelter. The organisation said that over 30 million people a" two-thirds of Sudan's population a" are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including 16 million children. "The war has pushed Sudan to the brink. Thousands of lives have been lost to violence, families torn apart, and the hopes and aspirations of millions shattered in the face of starvation, disease, and the complete collapse of the economy," said IOM Director General Amy Pope. "And even with the violence, many displaced people are attempting to return to their homes, only to find total devastation. Sudan desperately needs humanitarian aid, and equally important, longer-term investment to ensure people can return safely, and that they, and their communities, can recover and rebuild their lives." Concurrently, as thousands struggle to survive in the ravaged Darfur region, humanitarians have a rapidly shrinking window to scale cross-border operations from Chad before the incoming rains disrupt this critical humanitarian lifeline. With continued cross-border displacement and fragile situations in neighbouring countries like South Sudan and Chad, the risk of regional destabilization is growing. Humanitarian response must be complemented with durable and sustainable solutions for returnees, refugees, their host communities and governments, the IOM said. Since the outbreak of the conflict, IOM has provided lifesaving assistance and protection a" including emergency shelter, water, sanitation, and health services a" to nearly four million people across Sudan and neighbouring countries. Through its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), IOM is also providing vital data to guide the entire humanitarian response plans. In Chad, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, IOM is assisting newly arrived refugees and returnees through border reception, onward transportation, health screenings, and basic relief. It also works with host communities to promote social cohesion and resilience a" key to preventing further instability. Despite the scale of need, IOM's response plan is only ten percent funded as of April 2025. Without immediate funding, operations will be severely disrupted. Data collection will halt. Over 100 humanitarian partners will lose access to essential supplies. Millions will be left without life-saving support. IOM urgently appealed to the international community for immediate and sustained funding to scale up operations; these include life-saving services under health, protection, movement assistance, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene support, as well as support to key enabling services for the broader humanitarian response. Humanitarian partners must not be left without the tools to respond, the organisation mentioned. "The people of Sudan cannot afford to be kept waiting. The international community must deliver a clear and united message: the people of Sudan are not forgotten," Director General Pope said. Established in 1951, IOM is part of the United Nations System and stands as the leading intergovernmental organisation in the field of migration. Bengaluru, April 15 : The Special Court for MLAs and MPs on Tuesday said that the decision on the closure report against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be taken only after the completion of the Lokayukta probe. The court's order came on the Enforcement Directorate's objection to the closure report in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case involving CM Siddaramaiah, his wife and others. The court stated that Lokayukta has not completed the probe. The court further directed the Lokayukta to submit its final report after completing the investigation on May 7. "On one hand, the Lokayukta has filed a closure report, while on the other hand, it states that the investigation has to be continued. Hence, let the investigation be completed," the court said. "It is appropriate to consider the objection plea once the investigation is completed," the court stated. The court further ruled that the ED can file an objection plea in the case challenging the Lokayukta investigation. The counsel for the Lokayukta had maintained that the ED cannot be an aggrieved party in the case. Earlier, following the conclusion of arguments and counterarguments, Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat on April 9 had reserved the matter for judgment for today. The ED had challenged the Karnataka Lokayukta's closure report by filing a petition in the Special Court. The ED urged the court not to accept the closure report filed by Karnataka Lokayukta, and issue necessary directions as deemed fit for investigation in the case. The ED, while presenting its arguments in connection with the MUDA case at the Special Court for MLAs and MPs in Bengaluru, appealed to the court that the accused involved in money laundering should not be let off easily. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been named the prime accused in the MUDA case, his wife, Parvati, is the second accused, and his brother-in-law, Mallikarjunaswamy, is the third. The Karnataka Lokayukta had earlier submitted a closure report citing a lack of evidence against them. Senior counsel Madhukar Deshpande, appearing for the ED in the court, had said: "The Karnataka Lokayukta has submitted a 'B Report' against the four accused in the MUDA scam. Therefore, the ED has the right to question this closure report. The Supreme Court has stated that those involved in money laundering should not be let off easily." The counsel said the ED had shared all the details of its investigation into the MUDA case with the Lokayukta Police, but those findings were not taken into consideration, adding that the report shared by the ED will also be submitted to the court. New Delhi, April 15 : Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, along with prominent political leaders including Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa attended the grand premiere of 'Kesari: Chapter 2' in the national capital ahead of its theatrical release. Akshay Kumar, who portrays lawyer C. Sankaran Nair in the film, said he initially knew only what history books taught about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but the film offered him a deeper understanding of that dark chapter in India's freedom struggle. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri praised the film for its historical resonance and emotional impact. "This powerful and moving film sheds light on a forgotten chapter of our history. It is a cinematic ode to India's freedom movement and the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh," Puri said. In a post on social media platform X, Puri called Kesari: Chapter 2 "a gripping narrative" that transports viewers into the courtroom where Kumar's character, Nair, "rips apart the web of deceit and lies to bring out the truth of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre." "This is a must-watch for every Indian and champion of justice," he wrote, adding, "The unifying message of this movie must reach people across the length and breadth of the country." Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa took a pointed swipe at the Congress, urging its leaders to watch the film. Speaking to IANS, he said, "Before the youth, this message is for the Congress. They erased the name of C. Sankaran Nair from history -- the man who fought for justice after Jallianwala Bagh. This film shows what the Congress tried to hide. They should watch and reflect on their legacy." The film features a dramatic courtroom face-off between Akshay Kumar's Nair and R. Madhavan's character, Neville McKinley, a lawyer defending the British Crown. Directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, Kesari: Chapter 2 is a spiritual sequel to the critically acclaimed Kesari (2019), which portrayed the Battle of Saragarhi. While the original celebrated the valour of Sikh soldiers, the sequel shifts focus to legal resistance in the wake of one of colonial India's most horrific massacres. The film also stars Ananya Panday in a pivotal role and is slated for nationwide release on April 18. Islamabad, April 15 : Two health workers affiliated with Pakistan's anti-polio campaign were abducted by unidentified gunmen in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said Tuesday. The incident occurred in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district, where armed men intercepted a passenger bus en route to Dera Ismail Khan and forcibly took the two workers -- Raz Muhammad and Muhammad Asif -- to an unknown location, a local police official said. The victims were returning from official duties related to the country's polio eradication campaign, police said. Law enforcement agencies have launched a search and rescue operation in the area. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the abduction, Xinhua news agency reported. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where wild poliovirus remains endemic. Polio workers have frequently been targeted in attacks, particularly in the northwest and southwest regions. One of the reasons for the presence of the virus is the refusal of the majority of the people to have their children vaccinated. Polio health workers have been victims of targetted killings and attacks by militant groups, who have opposed anti-polio campaigns in the country. On Sunday, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme said in a statement that Poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples from 20 districts across Pakistan following test results from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH). The environmental samples were collected between March 5 and March 19, confirming the presence of Wild Poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in multiple areas. "A total of 60 environmental samples were collected from 51 districts during this period. Of these, 25 samples tested positive for poliovirus, while 35 were declared negative," the statement said. The statement added that while the detection of poliovirus in sewage remains a concern, the number of positive samples has declined, indicating a reduction in virus circulation in several areas. The samples that confirmed the presence of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) came from districts including Dukki, Kech, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Loralai, Nasirabad, Pishin, Quetta, Usta Muhammad, Bannu, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Peshawar, South Waziristan Lower, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Lahore, Multan, and Rahim Yar Khan. Bhubaneswar, April 15 : Odisha Commissionerate Police has succeeded in rescuing the two-year-old child of a Person with Disability (PwD) woman who was abducted by a 27-year-old kidnapper near the Ram Mandir in Unit-III area under Kharavela Nagar police limits of the city in the intervening night of April 12 and 13. The cops also arrested the accused kidnapper and detained another woman in the case. Talking to media persons, the Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said that the child of a visually impaired woman has been rescued and the toddler will be handed over to the mother. "The accused involved in the abduction has also been arrested. The abduction of a poor, visually impaired woman's son has shocked everyone. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed the police to rescue the child at the earliest and bring the accused persons under the purview of the law. The Chief Minister's Office also allowed the cops to seek any help required to rescue the abducted child," said Singh. He added that the rescue operation was a difficult one due to the paucity of clues, and it was also suspected that the toddler could be trafficked outside. He said that they constituted four teams to rescue the toddler and nab the accused kidnappers, adding that the child was rescued from another woman in the Khantapada area of Balasore district on Monday night after a successful and articulated operation by the cops. "Later, a team of Commissionerate police arrested the accused kidnapper Kedarsan Panda from Puri. The woman, Jhelam Rani Panda, from whom the toddler was rescued, is being interrogated to ascertain whether she had taken the child to adopt or to sell him," he said. He added that Jhelam has two daughters and one son (9-year-old), and her son is reportedly suffering from a serious illness. "She claimed during interrogation that she wanted to adopt an orphan child as she believed that due to the noble work and blessings, her son would get cured. Her claim is under verification and her role in the case is under investigation," said Singh. He added that the police also found out that the accused kidnapper is involved in three bike theft cases in Bhubaneswar and in Jajpur district. Singh said that the accused Kedarsan used to work in Bengaluru as a delivery boy in Zomato and Swiggy, adding that the husband of the Jhelam also worked as a security guard in Bengaluru. "One month back, Kedarsan developed an acquaintance with Jhelam from there over the phone, and later Kedarsan met her after coming back to Odisha," he said. He added that Janati Mallick alias Laxmi, a visually challenged woman, along with her seven-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, resides in a Kanyaashram at Niladri Vihar in Chandrasekharpur area of Bhubaneswar. "She used to meet her ends by begging before the Ram Mandir in Unit-III area of the city. On April 12, she could not return to the Kanyaashram due to heavy rain in the evening and slept before the temple. The accused Kedarsan reached there and played with the children and later kidnapped the toddler," Singh said. Chandigarh, April 15 : Lashing out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over political vendetta, Congress leaders accompanied Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa to Mohali police station where he was summonned in connection with a case registered against him over his remark that 50 bombs had been sneaked into the state, out of which 18 had exploded and 32 are still there. The leaders included state Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former Speaker Rana K.P. Singh, and former minister Brahm Mohindra. Before leaving for Mohali, the Congress leaders and activists gathered at the Punjab Congress Bhawan here and held a meeting where they reaffirmed and reiterated that what Bajwa had said in an interview was very much true and the party stood by what he said. Amarinder Singh Raja Warring cautioned the police officials to ensure that they do not succumb to the political pressure of AAP and breach their brief. He said the Congress does not forget and will remember each official who has intimidated and persecuted the Congress leaders and workers. He said what Bajwa told a news channel had already been reported by a leading Hindi daily. "Bajwa gave a detailed list of grenade attacks, which were reported from different parts of the state, which were initially dismissed by the police as tyre bursts and cylinder blasts," said Warring. Former Chief Minister Channi said Chief Minister Mann should have shown some grace and called up Bajwa and discussed with him the situation of the state. "Instead, he ordered a first information report (FIR). Mann is no longer holding a stage show but was holding a responsible position as the Chief Minister. Dark clouds are hovering over the horizon of Punjab and the time had come when everyone had to sit together. But, instead, the Chief Minister decided to slap an FIR against the Leader of Opposition," the former Chief Minister said. Former Deputy Chief Minister Randhawa cornered the Chief Minister, asking him if he was so alert in registering FIRs, why he had not ordered any inquiry so far in the pro-Khalistan activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu's revelations that he had financed the AAP campaign in 2017 and 2022. Reiterating that what Bajwa told a television channel in an interview was the stand of the entire Congress, Randhawa challenged Chief Minister Mann to reveal where those grenades had come, which were lobbed on various police stations and other places in the state. He said while on the one hand the police claimed that these were tyre bursts and cylinder blasts, on the other they claimed to have killed one suspect in an encounter. Speaking on the occasion, Leader of Opposition Bajwa said had Chief Minister Mann had any idea of what happened in Punjab till 1992-93, he would be able to realise the seriousness of the situation. "He must not have heard a gunshot in his entire life, how would he know what happened in Punjab?" he said. Taking a jibe at the Chief Minister over his remarks that he was searching for lawyers, Bajwa asked him whether his colleagues like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia had come out of Tihar without any lawyers. Moreover, he said the Mohali Police was not even providing a copy of the FIR to him, and he managed to get it only after the directions from a court. Referring to the police serving him a summons at his home, he asked the Chief Minister whether he had issued similar summons to those dismissed in drug cases and those found guilty in facilitating Lawrence Bishnoi's interview to television channels. Kohima, April 15 : Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday asserted that the eastern part of the state is called backward because these regions were left unadministered by the British. The Chief Minister said that only in the year 1957, its headquarters were established at Tuensang as Naga Hills Tuensang Area, while in the mainland of Nagaland, Christianity came early, followed by education, which is why the eastern Naga areas started very late in education. Rio graced the 8th Eastern Naga Student Federation (ENSF) cultural dfiesta cum general conference on the theme 'Deliverance through Ethnicity Concord' held at Parade Ground, Tuensang on Tuesday as Chief Guest. He highlighted that the Union government has declared the Right to Education for all ages, and Nagaland is in the process of providing quality education, which can enable the students to compete with others. The Chief Minister also asserted that there is so much to be done in the field of education, health care, improvement in roads, communication and infrastructure development in the eastern part of Nagaland, and his government is committed to doing everything for the upliftment of Eastern Nagaland. He strongly urged every Hohos (a federation of Naga tribes), tribal leaders and national workers to unite and form a strong bond between them for the successful conclusion of the peace talks. Rio also acknowledged that his government is strongly opposed to the restriction of Free Movement (between India and Myanmar) at the bordering areas (of both sides of the frontiers) inhabited by the Nagas. He urged the studentsa communities, administration and Police to be very careful in issuing the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Indigenous Certificate to the illegal migrants. Asserting that Nagas are very lucky because the British have passed an act to safeguard the unique Cultural and Customary law of Nagas, which is being followed till now, Rio urged the student community to protect and uphold the rich historical, cultural and traditional values of the people in the days to come. The Chief Minister was accompanied by the Minister of Power and Parliamentary Affairs, K.G. Kenye, Minister for Housing and Mechanical, P. Bashangmongba Chang and President of Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) A. Chingmak Chan, among others. Since 2010, the ENPO has been agitating for a separate 'Frontier Nagaland Territory' or separate state comprising six eastern Nagaland districts -- Kiphire, Longleng, Mon, Noklak, Shamator, and Tuensang, inhabited by seven backward tribes -- Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Tikhir, Sangtam and Yimkhiung. Officials said that the state government has also submitted their comments on the third draft of the Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) in respect of the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on November 6 last year. Noting that two rounds of discussions have already been held, one in New Delhi and the other in Chumoukedima in Nagaland, a senior official said that substantial progress has been made and the government is hopeful that any remaining concerns of the ENPO will be addressed. Seoul, April 15 : Eleven candidates have registered to compete in the conservative People Power Party's (PPP) primary for the June 3 South Korean presidential election, the party said on Tuesday, as the two-day registration period came to a close. Notable contenders include former Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo, former PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon, PPP lawmakers Ahn Cheol-soo and Na Kyung-won, and former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo also entered the race. South Korean Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo did not register, as previously confirmed by the party's floor leader, despite ongoing speculation about his possible bid. The PPP's election committee will review the applications and announce the list of candidates advancing to the first round of the primary on Wednesday. The party plans to finalise its nominee on May 3. Meanwhile, three candidates registered for the liberal Democratic Party's (DP) primary during its one-day registration Tuesday, Yonhap news agency reported. The DP said the three are the former DP leader Lee Jae-myung, former South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Kyoung-soo and Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon. The party plans to finalise its presidential nominee on April 27. The South Korean government designated June 3 as the date of the next presidential election following the ouster of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. The designation was made at a Cabinet meeting four days after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. Under the Constitution, the country is required to hold a new election within 60 days after a vacancy arises in the presidency. The government also designated June 3 as a temporary public holiday. The National Election Commission began early candidate registration shortly after the Constitutional Court dismissed Yoon last Friday. Candidates will be required to register by May 11 and the official campaign period will kick off on May 12. The law also requires a public servant running for President to resign at least 30 days before an election, making May 4 the deadline. The new President will assume office immediately after the election without a transition team. Latehar : , April 15 (IANS) Two hardcore Maoists affiliated with the banned CPI-Maoist surrendered before police and security forces in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Tuesday, officials said. The surrendered Maoists have been identified as Amarjeet Birjia and Mithilesh Korba, both residents of Balrampur district in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. According to the police, the duo was actively involved in Maoist activities in the Latehar region and were considered key operatives of the squad led by notorious Maoist commander Chhotu Kharwar. The surrender took place in the presence of Latehar Superintendent of Police Kumar Gaurav and CRPF Commandant Yadaram Bunkar, who welcomed the rebels into the mainstream by garlanding them. The SP used the occasion to issue a stern warning to other Maoists still operating in the region -- surrender and return to the mainstream of society, or face arrest or elimination in security operations. Both Birjia and Korba are wanted in several cases, including one registered at the Chhipadohar police station in Latehar. Their decision to surrender is being seen as a fallout of sustained pressure from ongoing anti-Maoist offensives. Over the past few months, more than 50 Maoists have been killed in encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh alone. The intensified crackdown appears to be having a psychological impact, prompting several cadres to lay down arms. Just a day before, Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta, while reviewing anti-Maoist operations in Chaibasa, had asserted that the days of Maoists in the state are numbered. "Their end is near, and soon Jharkhand will be free of the Maoist menace," he had said. As per police records, 13 prominent Maoist leaders are currently on Jharkhand Policeas most-wanted list. These include three top operatives -- Misir Besra, Patiram Manjhi, and Asim Mandal -- each carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore on their heads. Other notorious figures on the list include Anmol, Mochhu, Ajay Mahato, Sagen Angaria, Ashwin, Pintu Lohra, Chandan Lohra, Amit Hansda alias Uptan, Jaikant, and Rapa Munda. The Centre has also taken a firm stance on the issue. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated the governmentas resolve to eliminate the Maoist threat entirely by March 31, 2026. Security forces across affected states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have ramped up coordinated operations, keeping up the heat on the insurgents. New Delhi, April 15 : India is rapidly emerging as a global force in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), and the credit goes to the focused efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Sameer Nagpal, President and CEO of JK Tech, on Tuesday. Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of an event in the national capital, Nagpal highlighted how the government's initiatives have created an encouraging environment for innovation, research, and technology-driven growth in the field of AI. "India is moving swiftly in the AI space under PM Modi's leadership. The government is not only supporting AI development but is also focusing on its implementation across various sectors such as healthcare, governance and digital infrastructure," Nagpal mentioned. According to him, this momentum will lead to significant innovations in the near future. He explained that in today's digital age, data is the new oil. "If companies can ensure they are working with quality data, they will be able to generate better insights and make more informed decisions," he noted. "Right insights come from right data," he told IANS, adding that the government's push for AI will enable both large and small companies to grow by using cutting-edge technologies. Nagpal further stated that India is already a major player in the global IT industry. With the launch of a national-level large language model (LLM) backed by the government, India is poised to make a mark in global AI development as well. "This will help India take a leadership position in the AI revolution," he emphasised. Echoing similar sentiments, JK Tech's Founder and Director, Abhishek Singhania, told IANS that Indian engineers -- both in India and abroad -- are doing remarkable work in the field of AI. He appreciated PM Modi government's decision to allocate Rs 10,000 crore for AI research and development, calling it a major step in building India's AI ecosystem. Meanwhile, JK Tech announced on Tuesday that it has partnered Inveniam, a data integrity platform for private market assets, to revolutionise the alternative investment landscape. "The collaboration will focus on transforming the global private markets through the development of Inveniam's next-generation platform for Alternative investments leveraging blockchain and AI," the company said. New Delhi, April 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke with Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen, emphasising that both countries continue to work extensively together in several fields, including the Green Strategic Partnership. "Glad to speak with PM Mette Frederiksen today. Reaffirmed our strong support for the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership and enhancing cooperation across sectors for the benefit of our people. We also discussed regional and global developments of mutual interest," PM Modi posted on X after the phone call. Recalling high-level exchanges between both countries ever since the launch of the Green Strategic Partnership in 2020, the leaders noted the expansion of the Green Strategic Partnership in various fields which have created favourable conditions for Danish investments in India to contribute to green transition. The leaders also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest. Prime Minister Modi said that he was looking forward to the 3rd India-Nordic Summit scheduled to be held later this year in Norway, and his meeting with Prime Minister Frederiksen at that time. Denmark is also the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership. Both leaders had co-chaired a Virtual Summit between India and Denmark in September 2020 and launched a Green Strategic Partnership between the two countries that envisioned co-operation in the field of environment/water and circular economy and sustainable urban development including Smart Cities. Frederiksen has in the past hailed Prime Minister Modi as "an inspiration for the rest of the world" for having set some very ambitious targets when it comes to providing clean water and renewable energy to millions of households. PM Modi has also spotlighted the role that Danish expertise and Danish technology can play in the scale and speed at which India wants to move forward. During his visit to Copenhagen in May 2022, PM Modi had appreciated Frederiksen's warmth and respect for Indians and emphasised that both countries can work together in finding innovative solutions for green growth. He had lauded the positive role played by the Indian community in Denmark and also highlighted India's economic potential, inviting more India-Denmark collaborations. Last year, PM Modi was amongst the first world leaders to express his concern after the attack on Frederiksen in Copenhagen. "Deeply concerned by the news of the attack on Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister. We condemn the attack. Wishing good health to my friend," PM Modi posted on X after Frederiksen was attacked by a man hit in central Copenhagen. Bhopal, April 15 : Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday alleged that the BJP-led state government failed to comply with the Supreme Court's guidelines regarding the communal violence. Referring to the back-to-back communal incidents occurred in different parts of the state in the past few months, Congress leader alleged that the state's law and order has been destroyed as the communal violence continues. He said that in the following communal violence that occurred in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone and other districts in 2021, the SC had then issued detailed guidelines to the state governments. "However, the BJP-led government failed to comply with those guidelines. Following the Khargone communal violence in 2021, I filed a petition in the SC. The apex court had then issued detailed guidelines to prevent such incidents. The statement administration was asked to declare the violence-hit area as a designated disturbed zone. There are some other key points the SC has mentioned in its guidelines," he added. Citing a recent incident of communal violence in Guna where two communities (Hindu and Muslim) indulged in a clash on Saturday night during a Hanuman Jayanti procession, Digvijaya Singh alleged that these incidents are being planned by the BJP. "A new pattern has started wherein people from the Hindu community organise religious procession and play objectionable songs against other religious communities, which led to communal violence. However, the police take action against only one particular community. This is what is happening in Madhya Pradesh," the former Chief Minister told media persons. The communal violence that occurred in the Colonelganj area in Guna district has left 13 people with minor injuries. The incident unfolded near a mosque when members of two communities confronted each other as the procession passed through, leading to a violent exchange. Guna Additional Superintendent of Police Maan Singh Thakur said an altercation broke out between members of the two communities over loud music, which led to sloganeering and stone-pelting. Police said when the procession reached near a place of worship, some people objected to the loud DJ music and offensive religious slogans. "The heated exchange between the groups suddenly turned violent. At least 16 people have been arrested so far in connection with communal clashes, and further investigation was underway," he said. Mumbai, April 15 : Actress Samridhii Shukla, who plays Abhira in the popular show "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai", believes that growth is an ongoing process. Reflecting on her journey in the television industry, she shared, "I would like to believe that I have evolved. But I don't know if that's for me to decide. I can see many changes in myself, but I also know there's a long way to go." Samridhii constantly strives to improve her craft. "Even with Abhira, I am always looking for ways to reinvent. I keep asking myselfhow can I perceive this emotion differently?" she said. On the evolution of content in television, she emphasized that change is inevitable. Samridhii explained, "Art imitates life. If television wants to stay relevant, it has to reflect society's shifts. In 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai', the women of different generations reflect these changes. Akshara (from the first generation) was a homemaker, as many women were then. Today, audiences want to see women who work, multitask, have ambitions, and take a stand for themselves." Talking about the audience's deep connection with television characters, the actress added, "Daily soaps become a part of people's routine. Viewers build a bond with us, which is why when they meet us, their excitement is overwhelming. Even though we don't see them every day, their love reaches us through messages, gifts, and interactions." Praising Rajan Shahi's Director's Kut Productions, she highlighted its efficiency and creative strength. "It's a well-organized team that values time, finances, and artist management. Rajan sir's passion reflects in the work, which ultimately impacts performances and storytelling," Samridhii noted. Describing the work atmosphere on the set of "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai", she revealed, "We all share a great wavelength, which helps in creating authentic scenes. Positivity off-screen translates into chemistry on-screen." A self-proclaimed coffee lover, she also revealed her typical day on set saying, "My day starts with good vibes, coffee, rehearsals, and a lot of fun in between. Laughter keeps our energies high." For Samridhii, work is her escape. "I feel most relaxed on set. All my worries stay at home, and here, I know what to expectit's my comfort zone," she concluded. Mumbai, April 15 : Sonam Kapoor's name is synonymous with fashion with the diva making heads turn with every attire she chooses to wear. Sonam delivered another sleek look in a monotone attire which made her look absolutely boardroom-ready. Her classy look has been styled by her sister, Rhea Kapoor, along with Abhilasha Devnani. Sonam looked extremely elegant in a tailored black double-breasted jacket along with side buttons, and flap pockets on either side. The diva added a belt over the blazer, to enhance the appeal. She paired the blazer with a white shirt with cuffs visible from the blazer's sleeves. These cuffs were further styled with cufflinks. The three-piece attire was tied up with a sleek, structured midi skirt with a minimal sharp cut. In contrast to the monochrome outfit, Sonam chose a black and white handbag to go with her outfit. She also posed in black pointed-toe stilettos. Keeping in tune with the Sakura aesthetics, Sonam's makeup included a sculpted base, along with defined eyebrows, neat eyeliner, pink-toned eyeshadow, pink blush, and lipstick. As for hair, Sonam styled them in a sleek center-parted bun. She completed the look with statement dangler earrings that perfectly complemented the attire, along with some matching rings. Sharing the pictures on her IG, the 'Neerje' actress wrote, "Namaste Japan! Looking forward to the show tomorrow @dior," while her sister captioned, "Sakura Season with @sonamkapoor in Kyoto with @dior." Shifting our focus to Sonam's work commitments, post her maternity leave, she made her acting comeback with the 2023 crime-thriller "Blind." Up next, Sonam will be seen in the "Battle of Bittora." It is based on Anuja Chauhan's 2010 novel of the same name that shares the love story between two upcoming politicians who despite being in love are contesting elections against each other. The drama will be produced under the banner of Anil Kapoor Film, in collaboration with Communication Network. New Delhi, April 15 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday charge-sheeted four more accused, three of whom are absconding, in the 2022 murder of Praveen Nettaru, BJP Yuva Morcha member from Karnataka, by cadres of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). Nettaru was murdered on July 26, 2022, in Bellare village, Sullia Taluk, located in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. The crime was allegedly orchestrated by cadres and members of the PFI. In its second supplementary chargesheet, NIA has charged Abdul Nasir, Naushad, Abdul Rahaman and Ateeq Ahmed under relevant sections of IPC and UA (P) Act, 1967, taking the total number of charge-sheeted accused in the case to 27, including six absconders. Three of the four charge-sheeted on Tuesday are absconding. They have been identified as Abdul Nasir, Naushad and Abdul Rahaman. As per NIA investigations, the trio had provided shelter to the three main assailants in Mysore and Chamarajanagara districts of Karnataka and Erode district of Tamil Nadu. Abdul Nasir and Abdul Rahaman were also involved in harbouring the accused Thufail in Bengaluru. After the fatal attack on Nettaru, the accused Ateeq and deceased Kalandar had conspired and harboured Mustafa Paichar in Chennai in 2022-23. Accused Abdul Rahaman had escaped to a foreign country and guided accused Riyaz in harbouring Mustafa Paichar subsequently, in 2024. NIA, which had taken over the probe from the state police, is trying to track down the absconding accused as part of its ongoing investigation in the case. In December last year, the NIA arrested Kodaje Mohammed Sherif, a fugitive linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), in connection with the Nettaru murder. He was detained upon his arrival from Bahrain at Delhias Indira Gandhi International Airport. A lookout circular had been issued against him following evidence of his involvement in Nettaruas killing. Mumbai, April 15 : The Maharashtra Cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved the amendment to the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Municipal Panchayats and Industrial Towns Act, 1965, empowering the members to remove the presidents of Municipal Councils, Municipal Panchayats and Industrial Towns. As the state legislature is not in session, the state government will issue an ordinance. Earlier, for the removal of the president from office, a proposal with the signatures of fifty percent of the elected members needed to be sent to the District Collector. After that, action was taken at the government level to remove the president from office. Instead, now the elected members will be given the power to remove the president from office. Accordingly, a proposal with the signatures of two-thirds of the elected members will be sent and based on which the District Collector will have to hold a special meeting within ten days and take a decision through voting. In a related development, the Cabinet also approved to harmonise the rules for leasing real estate of municipal corporations and properties in municipal councils, municipal panchayats and industrial towns. It was also decided to issue a notification regarding new rates, Rules were framed on November 6, 2023, regarding the lease, renewal and transfer of immovable property of Municipal Corporations in the state. Accordingly, uniformity will be brought in the transfer of properties in all urban local bodies in the state. For this, Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Towns (Transfer of Immovable Property) (Amendment) Rules 2025 will be framed on the lines of the Municipal Property Transfer Rules. The properties of the Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat, and Industrial Town have been classified as residential, educational, charitable, and public, commercial, and industrial. According to the revised rules, the lease rate of properties for residential, educational, charitable, and public use will not be less than 0.5 percent of the current market value (ready reckoner). The Cabinet also approved the provision for the lease rate for properties for commercial and industrial use, which will be less than 0.7 per cent of the market value. The valuation, lease rate and security deposit of these properties will be determined by a five-member committee headed by the District Collector of the respective districts. Objections and suggestions will be invited regarding these rules, and then a final notification will be published. Meanwhile, the Cabinet also cleared the Abhay Yojana for property tax dues in Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat, Industrial Township areas by waiving penalties. The government release said that there is a provision to impose a penalty of 2 per cent per month on the arrears of property taxes in the municipal council, municipal panchayat and industrial town areas. Due to this, the total arrears of the property holders increase, and the amount of the penalty often exceeds the original tax amount. Since the penalty amount is more than the original tax amount, property holders are reluctant to pay the tax. As a solution to this, the Abhay Yojana will be implemented by waiving the penalty on the arrears of property tax. There is no provision for such a penalty waiver in the previous Act. The Cabinet approved the inclusion of such a provision in the Act. Mumbai, April 15 : Maharashtra cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved the policy to provide compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the heirs of prisoners who die under unnatural circumstances while in custody in the state's jails. The policy was cleared as per the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission. According to this policy, the compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be provided in case of death due to an accident while working in a prison, negligence of medical officers, beating by prison staff or due to a fight between prisoners. The compensation will also be paid if the negligence of the administration in the relevant case is proven through investigation. In case of suicide in prison, the heirs of the prisoner will be given a compensation of Rs 1 lakh. According to the government release, the policy will be applicable in all prisons in the state. No compensation will be paid if the death of a prisoner occurs due to old age, chronic illness, an accident while escaping from prison, while on bail, or due to refusal of treatment. However, in case of death due to natural disasters, compensation will be provided as per the existing government policy. For compensation, the concerned prison superintendents will have to submit a report along with documents like preliminary inquiry, autopsy, panchnama, medical report, judicial and district collector's investigation to the regional division heads. After a thorough investigation of the case, the final proposal will be submitted to the Additional Director General of Police and Inspector General, Prisons and Correctional Services, Maharashtra State, Pune. After their recommendations, a decision will be taken at the government level, and compensation will be given. It has also been decided to take action against the officers found guilty in death cases. Meanwhile, the state cabinet also cleared the establishment of a Civil Court Junior Level and a Judicial Magistrate First Class Court at Chikhloli-Ambernath in Thane district. The cabinet also approved the necessary posts. A total of 15,569 cases, including 14,134 criminal and 1,35 civil, will be transferred to this newly established court from Ulhasnagar. This will speed up the disposal of pending cases. Approval was given to recruit 12 regular posts and 4 posts through an external mechanism for this court. These include the posts of Civil Judge Junior Level and Judicial Magistrate First Class, Assistant Superintendent, Stenographer (one each), Senior Clerk (2), Junior Clerk (4) and Bailiff (3). The total estimated expenditure required for this court, amounting to Rs 84,40,332 was also approved. Chennai, April 15 : Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) president G.K. Vasan on Tuesday criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's decision to form a high-level committee to examine Centre-State relations, calling it 'unnecessary and inappropriate'. Vasan said the Union government has consistently safeguarded the rights of all states in the interest of national unity and has implemented several welfare schemes that have contributed to the development of Tamil Nadu. "As a result, the state has witnessed progress, and its people are benefiting from the initiatives of the Union government," and accused the Chief Minister of politicising the Centre's role in Tamil Nadu's development. "At a time when the Centre is supporting the state's growth, the Chief Minister is unfairly criticising the Union government, ignoring its contributions, and treating it as if it were a political opponent," he remarked. Vasan was reacting to Chief Minister Stalin's announcement in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly regarding the formation of a three-member expert committee to study and propose measures to improve centre-state relations. The panel is also expected to explore the possibility of moving certain subjects, such as education, from the Union List back to the State List of the Constitution. The committee will be chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph and will include former IAS officer Ashok Vardhan Shetty and Professor Naganathan, the former Deputy Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission. It is scheduled to submit an interim report by January 2026 and a final report within two years. The panel will conduct an in-depth study of the Constitution of India and review recommendations from previous expert bodies, including the Rajamannar Committee of 1971 and the M.M. Punchhi Commission of 2004, which examined Centre-State dynamics. Defending the decision, Stalin said Tamil Nadu has always led the charge in upholding constitutional values and federal principles. "This committee's work is not only intended for Tamil Nadu but will also benefit all states - from Gujarat to the Northeast and from Kashmir to Kerala," he said. The Chief Minister also cited the thoughts of B.R. Ambedkar and U.S. Constitution framer James Madison to emphasise the need for strong, autonomous state governments within a united national framework, highlighting the importance of true federalism in a diverse democracy like India. --IANS aal/dan New Delhi, April 15 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charge sheeted three accused, including a Pakistani handler, in a terror conspiracy case involving seizure of arms and ammunition in the Poonch region of Jammu and Kashmir, an official said on Tuesday. The accused, identified as Abdul Aziz, Munawar Hussain and Nazir Hussain alias Nazir Ahmed alias Ali Khan alias Nazir alias Ali alias Naziru alias Shaheen, have been charged under provisions of criminal conspiracy under section 61(2) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). They have also been booked under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act that deal with raising funds for terror and attempting a terrorist activity, among others. Nazir Hussain, currently active in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), is an operative of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Gazanavi Force (JKGF) terrorist organisation. As per NIA investigations, he was involved in motivating Kashmir youth to engage in acts of violence as part of the larger conspiracy hatched by various proscribed terrorist organisations and their associates to carry out terrorist acts and activities in the region. Nazir would share inflammatory audio clips and video notes with local sympathisers of the terror outfits, inciting them to pursue Jihad and wage a war against India. The NIA chargesheet said that he also provided them with arms, ammunition and hand grenades to carry out the violent agenda of the terrorist organisations seeking to spread terror among the people. The case was registered by NIA on the basis of the police FIR of October 2024, when a police party at Surankote, Poonch, had apprehended Abdul Aziz and seized two grenades from his bag. His interrogation had led to the arrest of Munawar Hussain, from whom 1 pistol with 1 magazine and 9 rounds was seized. The NIA said that both the accused were in contact with handler Nazir alias Ali. Investigations revealed a conspiracy from across the border to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir through acts of violence and terror. Bhopal, April 15 : In alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata, and Nari (Poor, Youth, Farmer, and Woman), the Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday launched 'Annadata Kalyan Mission' (Farmers' welfare mission) in a "Policy frame". Bhopal, April 15 (IANS) In alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata, and Nari (Poor, Youth, Farmer, and Woman), the Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday launched 'Annadata Kalyan Mission' (Farmers' welfare mission) in a "Policy frame". The state cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has approved the policy. The state government is aiming to implement a comprehensive policy to increase farmers' income through diverse activities beyond traditional agriculture. "The policy has been designed to augment farmers' earnings through allied sectors, adopting a multidimensional approach to their growth and prosperity. Over the years, agricultural productivity has shown remarkable progress, with yields per hectare rising from 1,195 kg in 2003 to 2,393 kg in 2024 -- a significant increase of nearly 200 per cent," said Kailash Vijayvargiya, the State Urban Development Minister. The mission aspires to transform farmers into progressive entrepreneurs, promoting practices such as organic farming to boost productivity while safeguarding environmental health, the minister said. Support will also be extended to farmers cultivating high-value horticultural crops, offering them better market returns. Programmes from horticulture, veterinary, and fisheries departments, among others, will be integrated to provide holistic assistance to the farming community, he said. "We have already launched policies for the poor, youth, and women in mission mode, as envisioned in the Prime Minister's GYAN concept. The Annadata initiative will also operate in mission mode," he added. Emphasising the state government's commitment to farmers, the minister pointed out that the agricultural budget has witnessed an exponential rise -- from Rs 600 crore during the previous administration to Rs 27,000 crore under the current regime. Furthermore, through the Nadi Jodo Abhiyan (river linking project), Rs 1,00,000 crore has been allocated to enhance irrigation infrastructure, with plans to expand irrigated land across the state. Agriculture now constitutes 39 per cent of the state's GDP, he said. "A high-level committee has been established under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, while another will be formed under the Chief Secretary's leadership. Similar committees will be constituted at the district level to ensure streamlined implementation," the Minister elaborated. Highlighting the impressive growth in the agricultural sector, the Minister noted that the agriculture growth rate has surged from 3 per cent in 2003 to the current rate of 9.1 per cent, reflecting an extraordinary increase of over 327 per cent. He attributed this achievement to consistent hikes in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farm yields and the implementation of various welfare initiatives aimed at bolstering the farming community. Acknowledging the challenges posed by climate change, the Minister underscored the need to adapt farming practices accordingly. "Sustainable agriculture and biodiversity are being prioritised to ensure resilience and sustained productivity," he said. To promote millet cultivation on a large scale, the government has launched schemes focusing on Shree Anna. Sharing an example from Rourkela, the Minister remarked, "When I visited the town, I saw women who were well-dressed and adorned with gold jewelry -- a testament to the success of Shree Anna cultivation, which has significantly enhanced their family incomes," Vijayvargiya said. "They sell millet at Rs 60 per kg, compared to the previous Rs 1-2 per kg, illustrating the transformative impact of this initiative. Ensuring farmers receive the right price for their produce remains a priority," the Minister said. The Farmers Welfare Department of Madhya Pradesh and the Horticulture Cooperative Department will collaborate to drive farmer development. Complementary measures such as interventions in public health and medical education, are being introduced to support rural communities. Collectively, these policies aim to revolutionize the agricultural sector, empowering farmers to achieve sustainable and profitable livelihoods. Financial assistance under the mission is designed to alleviate farmers' economic burdens by offering affordable loans tailored to their needs, the Minister added. Patna, April 15 : In response to Tejashwi Yadav's meeting with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Union MSME Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi accused the opposition alliance of plotting to bring back "Jungle Raj" in Bihar. Patna, April 15 (IANS) In response to Tejashwi Yadav's meeting with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Union MSME Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi accused the opposition alliance of plotting to bring back "Jungle Raj" in Bihar. "Some selfish people held a meeting in Delhi today and discussed how to re-establish Jungle Raj in Bihar," Manjhi alleged, taking a sharp dig at the Congress-RJD leadership. He claimed the leaders of the INDIA alliance were desperate to regain power and could not tolerate the development and fear-free environment currently prevailing in Bihar under the NDA government. "The people of Bihar have tasted development. The opposition cannot fool them now with hollow promises," he added. Manjhi, a prominent Dalit leader, also targeted Tejashwi Yadav's recent outreach in Raghopur, where the RJD leader appealed for Dalit respect while eating sattu with locals. "Why this sudden change of heart? If Dalits are being promised to be respected now, does it mean they were not respected during his parents' regime?" alleged Manjhi. He asserted that Dalit voters in Bihar still remember the "tortures" they faced during the tenure of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi and warned that no assurances from Tejashwi could erase that past. "Who will guarantee Dalits won't be harassed again if RJD comes to power?" he said. Earlier in the day, Tejashwi Yadav described his meeting with Congress top brass as 'positive' and revealed that a wider alliance meeting with CPI, CPI-ML, and CPM will take place on April 17 in Patna to finalise the Mahagathbandhan's strategy for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. Imphal, April 15 : In a series of joint operations, the security forces have recovered illegally held 77 arms, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), grenades, various ammunition and war-like stores, officials said on Tuesday. The security forces also arrested nine militants of different outfits. A Defence spokesperson said that the Army, Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF, ITBP and Manipur Police during the past few days recovered the 77 arms, several IEDs, grenades, different types of ammunition and war-like stores from seven districts -- Churachandpur, Bishnupur, Imphal East, Kakching, Jiribam, Kangpokpi and Imphal West. He said that the recovered arms include Carbines, Self-Loading Rifles (SLR), AK series rifles, AK series rifles, .303 Light Machine Guns (LMGs), Carbine Machine Guns, .303 Rifles, INSAS rifles, Snipers rifles, Double-barrelled Rifles, Single-barrelled Bolt Action Rifles and pistols. He said that the joint operations by security forces have also resulted in the apprehension of six cadres from various extremist groups, adding that the apprehended extremists and the recovered arms and ammunition have been handed over to the Manipur Police. "These coordinated efforts by security forces highlight their unwavering commitment to maintaining peace and security in Manipur," the defence official said. In separate operations, Manipur Police arrested two militants of the PREPAK outfit and a cadre of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) group from Bishnupur, Jiribam and Imphal East districts and recovered a few arms and ammunition from their possession. An official said that extortion money of Rs 21.50 lakh was recovered from the UNLF militant. He said that the search operations and area domination were conducted by security forces in the fringe and vulnerable areas of hill and valley districts. During these operations, temporary shelters of a training camp for Village Volunteers were dismantled at Gelmol village in Churachandpur District. --IANS sc/dan Bhopal, April 15 : Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday accused Yoga guru Baba Ramdev of "inciting religious sentiments" in an attempt to increase the sale of his products by "misleading" the people. In a written complaint submitted at T. T. Nagar police station in Bhopal, veteran Congress leader alleged that in a video shared from Ramdev's official social media handle (X), he has used the term "Sharbat Jihad" for promoting Patanjalias latest rose-flavoured sharbat. "Ramdev has hurt the religious sentiments, and the way he has targeted a particular community may lead to communal violence. He has deliberately tried to create disturbances among the people of different religious communities, and this is an offence under Article 199 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS)," Singh said. He added, "Therefore, I would request T. T. police to lodge an FIR against Ramdev and take an appropriate action against him," Digvijaya Singh said in his written complaint filed on Tuesday. Calling Ramdev as "vyapari" baba, Congress leader said the latter has deliberately opposed 'Rooh Afza' sarbat, because its maker belongs to the Muslim community. "Hamdard company, which produces aRooh Afza', is around 100 years old and a trusted brand in the country. Using the religious sentiments for business purposes is an offence," he added. Meanwhile, Digvijaya Singh also hit out at the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government for being biased in allotting lands for Ramdev's companies in the state. He alleged that the state government has allotted lands worth more than Rs 1000 crore. "Madhya Pradesh government has allocated lands for investment purposes, several years have passed, and no industry has been set up on these lands, which includes 500 acres in Satna, 200 acres in Shivpuri, 150 acres in Jhabua and many other parts of the state. Why BJP government not cancelled the lease of lands allotted to Ramdev's company?" Singh questioned during a press conference here in Bhopal on Tuesday. Notably, in the video, Baba Ramdev was heard slamming 'Rooh Afzaa, claiming that a company selling sharbat is using the money earned from it to build mosques and madrasas. He further warned that consuming such products could promote "Sharbat Jihad." "Thereas a company that gives you sharbat, but the money it earns is used to construct madrasas and mosques," said Baba Ramdev in a video, warning people that, "If you drink that sharbat, madrasas and mosques will be built. But if you drink this (Patanjalias rose sharbat), gurukuls and Acharya Kulam will be built and developed, and Patanjali University will expand." Kolkata, April 15 : As many as 24 Bangladeshi infiltrators, including women and children, have been arrested from a village close to the coastal border with Bangladesh in the Sundarbans area of West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district during the last 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday. Kolkata, April 15 (IANS) As many as 24 Bangladeshi infiltrators, including women and children, have been arrested from a village close to the coastal border with Bangladesh in the Sundarbans area of West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district during the last 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday. Of the 24 infiltrators, 11 are women, nine are men, and the remaining four are children. They were arrested from a village located within the Chilmari forest in the Sundarbans area. According to the Superintendent of Baruipur police district, Palash Chandra Dhali, a police team conducted a raid on the village, based on specific information from their sources of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators hiding at the village within the Chilmari forest. "None of them has any valid document of permission to enter India. In the face of interrogation, they admitted that they entered the Indian side through the coastal route," Dhali said. The arrested Bangladeshi citizens will be presented to a district court on Wednesday. It is learnt that none of the 24 Bangladeshi residents were even carrying any document that could prove their identities as Bangladeshi citizens. The police are now interrogating them to know their real intention to enter the Indian territory. Some of them had admitted that they had come to India in search of a livelihood. The investigating officials are not ruling out the possibility of the involvement of an international human trafficking racket behind this development. Already, security agencies, both of the central and state, have identified certain remote islands in the Sundarbans area as the probable safe shelters for Bangladeshis illegally crossing over to the Indian side through the coastal borders. The most vulnerable islands identified on this count are the 13 in the Gosaba block in the district, considering the lack of security arrangements there because of their remote nature. As per reports, the Border Security Force (BSF) has its camp in just one of these 13 islands, which are often used as temporary shelters by the fishermen from the district, who frequently venture out to the deep seas. Bhubaneswar, April 15 : Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday strongly condemned the incident of setting ablaze former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik's statue in Patnagarh area of Balangir district. One person has been arrested in connection with the incident that reportedly took place early Tuesday morning. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said that CM Majhi further asserted that the person involved in this incident must have been a despicable and mentally ill person. The Chief Minister has also directed the district police to take stringent action against the culprits involved in the incident. "So far, one person has been arrested in connection with this incident. The Chief Minister has also issued strict instructions to bring to light if there is any conspiracy behind this incident," informed the CMO. The Chief Minister stated that the state government believes in respecting all the great sons of Odisha and taking all the steps to accord them due respect. Expressing his deep respect towards Biju Babu, the Chief Minister said that the former Chief Minister's birth anniversary was recently celebrated with great enthusiasm at the state level on March 5. The Chief Minister also participated in celebrations and remembered Biju Babu. The CMO said that Biju Babu's Shraddha Diwas will also be celebrated with grandeur on April 17. The opposition Biju Janata Dal on Tuesday also condemned the incident, calling it a heinous crime which tarnished the pride and dignity of Odisha. The party stated that Biju Babu is the symbol of Odia pride. The BJD leader Sanjay Das Burma stated that Biju Patnaik doesn't belong to any party or group but is the most respected leader of Odisha. "The burning of Biju Babu's statue is not only a heinous crime but also an unfortunate incident that has shaken the self-respect and identity of Odisha. Incidents insulting the glorious memory of Biju Babu have repeatedly been occurring under this government. The government's silence is mysterious. This insult to late Biju Babu has deeply hurt the people of the state," said BJD leader Das Burma. He demanded the immediate arrest of all the culprits involved in this heinous and unfortunate act. The BJD on Tuesday also staged a massive protest condemning the desecration and burning of the statue of legendary leader Biju Patnaik at Patnagarh in Balangir district. Senior BJD leaders, including Party Media Affairs Head and former Minister Pratap Jena, Vice President Debi Prasad Mishra, National Spokesperson Santrupta Mishra, Chief Whip Pramila Mallick, and a large number of senior and youth leaders, gathered near the Biju Patnaik statue at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar to register their protest. New Delhi, April 15 : The launch of the maiden Hisar to Ayodhya flight on Tuesday sent the locals into a euphoric and jubilant mood. Many of the fliers, who boarded the first flight to the birthplace of Lord Ram, praised the government for establishing direct air connectivity between the two cities. A day ago, PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the Rs 410 new Terminal Building of Maharaja Agrasen airport in Haryana's Hisar and also flagged off the first commercial Hisar-Ayodhya flight. Local residents were elated and excited for their first air journey, directly from Hisar to Ayodhya. Many passengers said that today is a very big day for them and nothing less than a celebration. "Today we are joining this celebration with our family," said one of the passengers. Some of the fliers said that today is a day of great pride and glory for Hisar city. They also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini for launching air service between the two cities. Some said the flight service has given him a chance to visit the birthplace of Lord Ram, directly from their hometown. Some women fliers said that they were highly excited for the first trip to Ayodhyadham. Divya, boarding the maiden flight, said that it is her good fortune to travel by air for the first time from Hisar. "Today we are going from Hisar to Ayodhya to visit Ram Lalla. We are very grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Naib Singh for making our Ayodhya visit memorable," she said. Haryana Airport Development Corporation CEO Jaideep Singh Balhara also shared his happiness over the development. "This is the first phase, after this, we will start 24-hour air services from the Hisar airport," he told IANS. He also stated that after Ayodhya and Delhi, air services to Chandigarh and Jaipur will be started, and air connectivity to Ahmedabad and Jammu is also in the works. "Night landing facility on the airport is expected to start within 6 months," he further informed. Chennai, April 15 : The makers of director Sekhar Kammula's highly anticipated pan-Indian movie 'Kubera' featuring actors Dhanush and Nagarjuna in the lead, on Tuesday released a promo for the first single from the film, much to the delight of fans and film buffs. Chennai, April 15 (IANS) The makers of director Sekhar Kammula's highly anticipated pan-Indian movie aKuberaa featuring actors Dhanush and Nagarjuna in the lead, on Tuesday released a promo for the first single from the film, much to the delight of fans and film buffs. The first single, which is called aPoyivaa Nanbaa in Tamil, aPoyiraa Mamaa in Telugu, aPoyivaa Nanbaa in Malayalam, aHogiBaa Geleyaa in Kannada and aJaake Aana Yaaraa in Hindi, is to release on April 20 this year. The promo gives away the fact that the foot-tapping number is actually a funeral song in which Dhanush bids adieu to his friend, who has passed away. The song has been set to tune by Devi Sri Prasad, who is riding high on the success of his recently released blockbuster aThandela. Apart from Nagarjuna and Dhanush, the film also features Jim Sarbh and Rashmika Mandanna in pivotal roles. The film, which is to hit screens on June 20 this year, is keenly awaited as this is the first time that National-award winning actor Dhanush is joining hands with ace filmmaker Sekhar Kammula. Rumours doing the rounds in the industry suggest that Dhanush plays the role of a beggar who later rises to become a mafia king in the film. There is also speculation that Nagarjuna will portray the role of an investigating officer. However, there has been no official confirmation with regard to either of these speculations. On the technical front, aKuberaa has cinematography by Niketh Bommi. Ramakrishna Sabbani and Monika Nigotre are the production designers of the film. The film has been co-written by Chaithanya Pingali. Costumes for the film have been designed by Kavya Sriram and Poorvaa Jain. Kubera is being bankrolled by Suniel Naran and Puskur Ram Mohan Rao under the banner of Sree Venkateswara Cinemas. New Delhi, Apr 15 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to former IAS officer Anil Tuteja in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had termed retired bureaucrat Tuteja, known to be close to then Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, as the mastermind behind the alleged liquor scam. Granting bail, a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan took note of the fact that Tuteja has undergone incarceration for more than a year, and in the trial proceedings, more than 30 witnesses are required to be examined. Further, the Justice Oka-led Bench noted that the Chhattisgarh High Court recently set aside the special courtas order taking cognisance since no sanction was obtained by the ED as required under the law. The apex court ordered the jurisdictional sessions court to enlarge Tuteja on bail with stringent conditions to be fixed after hearing the ED. The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Chhattisgarh under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The ED had claimed that a criminal syndicate -- comprising high-level state government officials, private individuals, and politicians -- was operating in Chhattisgarh, which was involved in illegal bribe collection by exerting control over government departments. Its investigation has identified several mechanisms by which the scam operated between 2019 and 2022. First, according to ED, bribes were collected from various distillers for each case of liquor procured by the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL). Second, illegal sales of unaccounted "kacha" liquor generated significant revenue for the syndicate, with no proceeds reaching the state exchequer. This illegal liquor was sold through state-run shops. Third, bribes were accepted from distillers to facilitate cartelisation and allocate fixed market shares. Also, commissions were taken from license holders introduced in the foreign liquor segment. The ED estimates that the scam caused a massive loss to the state exchequer, amounting to over Rs 2,100 crore, which was siphoned off by the syndicate. In April last year, the Supreme Court had quashed a money laundering complaint filed by the ED against Tuteja, Yash Tuteja, Anwar Dhebar, and others based on a charge sheet filed by the Income Tax Department. It had ruled that the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) could not be attracted since there exists no prima facie scheduled offence under the PMLA. Bhubaneswar, April 15 : Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta, along with a team, arrived in Bhubaneswar to learn more about the implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) that has helped Odisha Assembly adopt a paperless legislative process, an official said on Tuesday. The three-day study tour from April 15 to April 17 will offer Speaker Gupta an opportunity to study the Odisha Assemblyas digital processes. An official of the Delhi Assembly Secretariat said the objective of the tour is to study best practices, technological frameworks, and operational models adopted by Odisha in implementing NeVA effectively. After reaching Bhubaneswar, the delegation from the Delhi Legislative Assembly met Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Odisha Assembly Speaker Surma Padhi and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi. The team from Delhi includes Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht, senior officials of the Delhi Assembly, and key officers associated with the E-Vidhan project. Odisha CM Manjhi presented before the Delhi team an overview of the stateas innovative digital attendance system. This system allows Members of the Legislative Assembly to mark attendance and access daily proceedings via digital dashboards, further contributing to the goal of a paperless Assembly. During a meeting with Odisha Assembly Speaker Padhi, Delhi Speaker Gupta engaged in in-depth discussions on the implementation of the E-Vidhan system in Delhi. Speaker Padhi assured full cooperation and shared valuable insights from Odishaas recent transition to a paperless legislative process. In a separate interaction with Odisha Governor, Speaker Gupta outlined the Delhi Assemblyas initiative to become fully solar-powered. He informed him that the Assembly will soon generate 550 kw of solar power, resulting in estimated monthly savings of Rs 15 lakh in electricity costs. Inspired by this model, Odisha Governor Dr Kambhampati expressed interest in adopting a similar solar energy system at the Raj Bhavan. He commended Delhias progressive steps toward integrating technology with environmental sustainability, highlighting its potential to serve as a model for legislative bodies across the country. Patna, April 15 : After a high-profile meeting with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Bihar Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, alleging that the BJP has 'hijacked' him and is using him as a face for electoral gains. "Nitish Kumar is unconscious at the moment. BJP has completely hijacked him. Amit Shah said NDA will contest under Nitish Kumar but never said he would be Chief Minister again after 2025," the LoP said. Tejashwi further mocked the NDA's internal dynamics, stating that everyone in the NDA wants to become the Chief Minister of Bihar and also recalled Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini's endorsement of Samrat Choudhary for the top post. Union MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has also claimed that the Chief Minister will decide after the Assembly election. Meanwhile, Nishant Kumar, son of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, strongly reacted to Tejashwi's remarks, saying, "Why can't my father become Chief Minister again? Amit Shah has spoken about it. Samrat Choudhary also reiterated it. NDA will fight under Nitish Kumar's leadership." When asked about Tejashwi's claims regarding the Chief Minister's health, Nishant said: "My father is absolutely fine. Don't go by their false claims." On being questioned whether he has political ambitions, Nishant deflected with a jibe. "Forget about me joining politics, you just make sure the NDA forms the government. Bring my father to leadership again," Nishant Kumar said. When reminded of the NDA's 225-seat target, he confidently replied: "Why only 225? The public should give my father a mandate like 2010 again when the party of Nitish Kumar won 118 seats in the Bihar assembly." He concluded by dismissing Mahagathbandhan's claims, saying: "Let them say what they want. The people are watching. My father will be Chief Minister once more." New Delhi, April 15 : The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday decided to send a team to West Bengal's Murshidabad to inquire into rights violation in the troubled district due to violent protests against the Waqf Act, 2025. Taking note of a complaint received by the Commission, an NHRC Bench presided over by its member Priyank Kanoongo took cognisance, in terms of Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, in the matter. "Given the seriousness of the matter, the Director General (Investigation), NHRC, is directed to assign a team of officers from the Investigation Division of the Commission to conduct an on-spot inquiry at Murshidabad, West Bengal. The inquiry report should be submitted to the Commission within a period of three weeks," Kanoongo said, expressing his intention to accompany the team. The NHRC Bench's order said the present complaint pertains to various social media news articles highlighting the alleged murder of two named victims (father and son) due to the ongoing protest against the Waqf Act. The complainant alleged that goons from the Muslim community have been on an attacking spree, targeting men and women from the Hindu community and their properties. The complaint accused lack of action by the police of Murshidabad District, leading to the mass exodus of Hindu people from the region. The complainant also alleged that Muslim individuals were further seen chasing trucks that were carrying members of the Hindu community, who were trying to escape the violence. Furthermore, Hindu shops were looted and vandalised by the goons, and they were seen shouting and attacking people escaping in their private vehicles. In another development earlier in the day, two persons were arrested in connection with the murder of Hargobindo Das and his son Chandan Das, at Samserganj in Murshidabad district of West Bengal last week. The murder of the father and son took place when the entire district was on the boil after protests against the newly promulgated Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent. The personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces and the state police have continued with their route marches, aiming to instil confidence among the people. Internet services continued to be suspended in the troubled pockets of Murshidabad as well as in certain pockets of neighbouring Malda and Birbhum districts. The total number of arrests in connection with the violence and vandalism at Murshidabad has already crossed 200. New Delhi, April 15 : The Ministry of Labour and Employment has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swiggy, one of India's largest food delivery platforms, as part of a broader initiative to strengthen employment opportunities through public-private partnerships. Swiggy, which currently operates in over 500 cities, has been instrumental in generating employment across various sectors. With nearly 5 crore job opportunities listed on its platform, the collaboration is expected to enhance access to skilled manpower for both employers and job seekers. The MoU is part of a series of agreements the Ministry is forging with private agencies to bridge the gap between demand and supply in the labour market. Highlighting the significance of the partnership, Union Labour and Environment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: "The National Career Service (NCS) portal is emerging as a single-window system for job seekers. It currently holds data on over 31 crore individuals registered on the Shram portal. This integration will allow employers to efficiently search for specific manpower, such as 50 civil engineers in a 50-km radius of Noida, without the need to advertise externally." Mandaviya emphasised that the NCS portal will streamline the hiring process and serve as a comprehensive platform for both skill development and employment opportunities. "Employers can access the NCS portal, input their manpower requirements, and instantly identify qualified candidates. This will revolutionise job matching in India," he added. He also expressed optimism about the future, noting that Swiggy alone is expected to create 10 to 12 lakh new job opportunities in the next two to three years. "Many more institutions are lined up to sign similar MoUs. I believe the NCS portal will become the premier platform not only in India but globally, helping employers fulfil their workforce needs while offering dignified employment to millions," Mandaviya said. Salbh Srivastava, Operations In-Charge at Swiggy, said: "Today, I feel fortunate to be part of this collaboration with the NCS. Swiggy has created lakhs of jobs over the past decade, and through this partnership, we will be able to connect with more skilled individuals. The NCS will certainly help us scale our hiring efforts and enhance employment generation across the country." Srivastava confirmed that Swiggy plans to integrate more skilled workers through the NCS platform, with an estimated 10 to 12 lakh new jobs projected over the next few years. "We are excited about the opportunities this partnership will bring and thank everyone involved for making this happen," he added. The collaboration marks a significant step towards integrating technology with employment services, aiming to make India's labour ecosystem more efficient, accessible, and inclusive. New Delhi, April 15 : Kerala Police could soon become the second Indian security agency to get domestically produced Kalashnikov assault rifles after the Indian-Russian joint venture Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), registered and located in India, announced its decision to participate in a tender for the supply of AK-203 assault rifles for the local outfit. The IRRPL, a joint-venture of the Indian DPSUs along with Concern Kalashnikov and Rosoboronexport from Russia, assault rifle-manufacturing facility in Korwa in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district has been manufacturing the AK-203 assault rifle from the Kalashnikov family of rifles. "The capacities of the Korwa Ordnance Factory make it possible to equip the personnel of the Ministry of Defence and other law enforcement agencies of India with AK-203 assault rifles, which, due to their high adaptability, are suitable for various operators. In addition, the joint venture will be able to export its products to third countries in the future," said Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheev. The Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifle is a version of the AK-200 assault rifle for the Indian Army's replacement cartridge, 7.62A39 mm. The weapon has the advantages of Kalashnikov assault rifles: reliability and ease of maintenance. The AK-203 is manufactured in India using exclusive Russian technologies on certified equipment. This ensures high product quality and compliance with the declared characteristics. At the same time, the principles of the 'Make In India' initiative and the concept of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' or a self-reliant India, are observed. The founders of IRRPL from the Russian side are Rosoboronexport and the Kalashnikov Concern of the Rostec State Corporation. It was in March 2019 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Amethi and dedicated to the nation the Joint Venture of Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt Ltd, for Kalashnikov assault rifle production. In his special message on the occasion, which was read out by then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "the new joint venture will manufacture world famous Kalashnikov assault rifles of the newest 200 series and eventually will reach full localization of production. Thus, the Indian defence-industrial sector will have the opportunity to fulfill the needs of national security agencies in this category of small arms, resting upon advanced Russian technologies". Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Modi thanked President Putin for this partnership and said that lakhs of rifles will be made from the facility in Amethi that will strengthen Indian security forces. He also said that this development in the production of modern rifles for soldiers was long delayed which amounted to an injustice to the jawans. PM Modi had recalled that despite projecting a requirement for bullet-proof jackets in 2009, no such jackets were procured till 2014. The requirement was eventually fulfilled by the government led by Prime Minister Modi. Aizawl, April 15 : Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma on Tuesday said that there is a deep interconnection between art and culture, as art serves as a powerful expression of identity, heritage, and community values. "Before we had writing systems, we told our stories through drawings. Among the Mizos, too, art has long been used to reflect our thoughts, beliefs, and traditions," he said. The Chief Minister, who also serves as the Chief Patron of the International Association of Art (IAA) Mizoram, on Tuesday inaugurated the World Art Day 2025 celebration, National Art Exhibition and Seminar on Art at the Information and Public Relations (IPR) departmentas mini theatre here. The event was organised by the Mizoram government in collaboration with IAA India. Lalduhoma praised UNESCOas recognition of art as a tool for peace, healing, and education, noting that Mizoramas unique culture and beauty must be documented and promoted through visual art. "Our artists, filmmakers, writers, photographers, and performers are ambassadors of our heritage," he remarked, urging continued support for the creative community. The Chief Minister emphasised that art transcends boundaries of language, religion, and ethnicity. "Art enables us to communicate universally. It is not just about expressiona"it is about preserving and honouring who we are," he added. Art and Culture Minister C. Lalsawivunga and IPR Minister Vanlalthlana also addressed the gathering, alongside IAA India President Manaj Saha, Goodwill Ambassador Biblad Roy, and National Convener Lubna Hassan (via video conferencing). World Art Day, celebrated globally on April 15 to commemorate the birthday of Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci, was officially endorsed by UNESCO in 2019. Following the ceremony, the Chief Minister visited the Art Gallery at the IPR auditorium. The theme of the seminar, held in the afternoon session, was "Rich Folk Culture of Resilient Mizos". Munambam, April 15 : Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday assured the Munambam residents that the solution to all their problems lies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Arriving at Munambam, he first visited the protest venue where the residents have been on protest for 185th days, demanding ownership rights to their land. "I want to remind you that India, which is the largest democracy, has a leader who understands the problems, situations, and difficulties. I can assure you that the solution to all of your problems lies with PM Modi," said Rijiju amid thunderous applause. "We are a secular nation. We must have laws that are equal and take care of all. Unfortunately, we had the Waqf Act, which we have changed now, as it gave unprecedented powers to the Waqf to take over land. We have changed it now," he said. The Union Minister said that when the government was changing the "draconian provisions" in the Act, the BJP government was accused of being anti-Muslims. "We are not against Islam, but we will give justice to people. When we brought the Waqf Amendment Act, I told all the MPs that people are suffering due to the arbitrary rules of the Waqf. We will not rest until you get back your land," he said. He claimed that for CPI-M and Congress, Waqf is for political interest, but for the BJP, everyone is equal. "You can donate your property, but not someone else's property. We are not interfering with Muslims. We are only streamlining the Waqf properties," claimed the minister. He said that the new Act will take care of Munambam people, and the government will soon frame the rules, and once the legislative process is over, the government will issue directions to the state government to take necessary steps to provide protection to Munambam people and their property. "All of you can get back your ancestral land. The long sufferings faced by you can be brought to a logical conclusion. I share your difficulties. Due to certain situations, you had to struggle for all these days. On behalf of India and PM Modi, I have come here to help you and ensure you will not have to face such problems again," he said. Before arriving at Munambam, the Union Minister also paid a visit to the Archbishop of Varapuzha Joseph Kalathiparambil at the archdiocese headquarters, and assured all the help and support to resolve the vexed Munambam issue. "We are happy that the Union Minister came and assured us of finding a permanent solution to the problems that have been troubling the people at Munambam for long," said Kalathiparambil. Chandigarh, April 15 : Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday castigated Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Congress leader Partap Bajwa for pushing the state to the brink of chaos by exhibiting cheap politics over a sensitive issue. Jakhar also assured residents of the Modi government's resolute intent and commitment to not let anyone vitiate Punjab's hard-won peace at any cost. Jakhar also appealed to Punjabis to weed out the incompetent and insensitive AAP regime by teaching it a lesson in the ensuing Ludhiana (West) Assembly bypoll. "Both CM Mann and Bajwa know there is no honest reason for the statement made by the Leader of Opposition and the sole intent of making this outlandish remark was to hog headlines in desperation to prop his name as CM candidate in the eyes of the Congress high command," he said in a statement. "The CM too has shamelessly latched on to this otherwise deliberate statement of the Leader of Opposition to divert public attention from utter failures of the AAP regime and a series of dire issues being faced by Punjab. Bhagwant Mann has suddenly woken up to realise that he is the CM and not Kejriwal or Sisodia. That CM himself by playing politics over this otherwise sensitive issue of law and order is fuelling the sense of uncertainty and terror amongst people is most damning," Jakhar said. Coming down heavily on both leaders, Jakhar said the sheer insensitivity to drag Punjab, a border state, towards tumult and disarray by creating a sense of terror in the minds of Punjabis is profoundly unacceptable and must be condemned by every sane-minded Punjabi. Referring to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent statement in Parliament, Jakhar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government won't let anyone play with Punjab's peace, which is also equally crucial to the paradigm of national security. Lashing out at the Congress leadership, including Bajwa, the BJP leader said their infighting and desperation for gimmickry to keep their political careers afloat have led to an ineffectual opposition in the state but underlined that the BJP "is fully capable to ensure Punjab does not suffer for grave incompetence of AAP and the Congress". Islamabad, April 15 : The Pakistan government is planning high-level visits and engagements with Afghanistan to de-escalate tensions and work towards mutual understanding through some confidence-building measures. The plan was discussed during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in Islamabad during which the committee members were briefed about the plan to ease apprehensions between the two neighbouring countries. Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, Pakistan's Special Envoy for Afghanistan briefed the committee and shared details about the developments after his recent visit to Kabul in March. He mentioned that the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is expected to improve as high-level visits from both sides are being planned. Sadiq informed during the closed-door session of the committee that efforts were being made to reset the "troubled relationship" between the two countries and find ways to a solution which includes the long standing issue of terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan. "Just briefed the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in an in-camera session on the situation in Afghanistan and the challenges facing our bilateral relations. A candid and constructive discussion on regional developments and the path ahead for Pakistan-Afghanistan relations was a great learning experience," said Sadiq. The plan for high-level visits was also confirmed by Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Irfan Siddiqui, who expressed optimism about positive outcomes in the near future. "The visits will help revive the process of bilateral talks. Ambassador Sadiq shared with the committee that the issue of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was being taken forcefully with the Afghan authorities," said Siddiqui. The engagements are being planned at a time when thousands of illegal and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders are being repatriated from Pakistan to Afghanistan. In the past 10 days, over 45,000 Afghans have crossed over the Torkham border and reached Afghanistan. Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi expressed regret over what he termed as a forced deportation of Afghan refugees and the reported inappropriate treatment with the deportees, terming them as harmful to bilateral relations between the two countries. The Afghan Foreign Ministry also confirmed that both sides have agreed to engage with each other through high-level delegation visits. "There is a need for effective mutual measures and the exchange of high-level delegations," read a statement issued by the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry. Thiruvananthapuram, April 15 : Kerala's General Education Minister V. Sivankutty has called for a united stand from other states on the National Council of Educational Research and Training's (NCERT) reported decision to use Hindi titles for English-medium textbooks. "This is a serious irrationality and a cultural imposition that undermines India's linguistic diversity. Replacing long-standing English titles, which foster sensitivity and understanding among students, with Hindi titles such as 'Mridang' and 'Santoor' is inappropriate. This change contended, contradicts Kerala's commitment to preserving linguistic diversity and prioritising regional-cultural autonomy," Sivankutty said. The minister went on to point out that Kerala, like other non-Hindi-speaking states, is committed to protecting linguistic diversity and giving priority to regional cultural freedom. "The titles of the textbooks are not mere names, instead, they shape the perception and imagination of children. English medium students deserve English titles. Education should not be an instrument of imposition but of empowerment and consensus," he added. Incidentally, Sivankuttyas opposition to this reported step comes a few days after he slammed the CPI state Secretary Binoy Viswam and his party after they expressed their reservation on the implementation of the PM Schools for Rising India scheme, forcing the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet meeting on April 9 to defer it. "Whatas wrong with an infrastructure project of the Centre? Viswam has opposed it, and things have come to a stage where he speaks like the Leader of Opposition," Sivankutty had said. Sivankutty, who rose from the ranks starting as a student leader, gained his first big post when he became the Mayor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. After that, he won the Nemom Assembly constituency two times, but lost to BJP veteran O. Rajagopal in the 2016 polls, before regaining it in the 2021 polls and being made a minister. Visakhapatnam, April 15 : Family members of K. Anusha, a nine-month-pregnant woman who was allegedly murdered by her husband, and women's groups on Tuesday demanded the harshest punishment for the culprit. Womenas groups demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government set up a fast-track court for an expeditious trial in the sensational case. Members of womenas groups staged a protest near King George Hospital, where an autopsy was conducted on the body of 27-year-old Anusha. Leaders of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIU) raised slogans demanding the setting up of a fast-track court and justice for the family of the victim. They demanded stringent punishment for Gnaneswara Rao and vowed to continue their fight till justice is done. They said the police should ensure that the accused do not come out on bail. The women activists also appealed to lawyers not to argue his case. Family members and friends of Anusha alleged that Gnaneswara Rao murdered her in a pre-planned manner. They claimed that he delayed taking her to the hospital and strangled her to death while she was asleep. Gnaneswara Rao committed the crime at their residence at Madhurawada under the PM Palem police station limits early Monday. According to police, the accused had a love marriage with Anusha in December 2022 and were living in a house near the RTC Depot at Madhurawada. Gnaneswara Rao runs two fast-food centres, while Anusha had done a hotel management course. She was supposed to be admitted to the hospital for delivery on Monday morning. However, he informed her relatives that she had collapsed in the house and fallen unconscious. He, along with her relatives, shifted her to a hospital, where she was declared dead. After Anushaas family raised doubts about the cause of her death, police interrogated Gnaneswara Rao, and he admitted to the crime. Police found during the preliminary investigation that Gnaneswara Rao had strangled her to death using a cloth while she was sleeping. The family members of the Anusha told police that Gnaneswara Rao had been trying to distance himself from Anusha for quite some time. According to them, he had once told her that he was suffering from cancer and advised her to get a divorce and marry another man. Anusha, however, had refused to leave him. Though nearly three years had passed since their marriage, Gnaneswara Rao had not introduced his wife to his parents. He was always making an excuse whenever Anusha asked him to take her to his parents. Anusha had lost her mother during childhood, while her father died four years ago. She had recently called her grandmother to the house to help her. The deceasedas relatives said Gnaneswara Rao cheated Anusha in the name of love and marriage, and when his plans to abandon her failed, he murdered her. Hyderabad, April 15 : Two workers from Telangana have been murdered by a Pakistani national in Dubai, said Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday. Ashtapu Prem Sagar and Srinivas were attacked by a Pakistani national at Modern Bakery LLC in Dubai during working hours on April 11. Bandi Sanjay posted on 'X' that he was deeply saddened by the tragic killings. "Spoke to Ministry of External Affairs officials today and our MHA office remains in constant touch with them," he said. The minister said that he spoke to Ashtapu Sandeep, brother of Prem Sagar, and assured full support as the family awaits the return of his mortal remains. Through the Indian Consulate, Dubai Police have been urged to expedite the process. "Grateful to the Ministry of External Affairs for their swift response and for pursuing the matter with urgency. We are extending all necessary support for the early repatriation of the victims and stand firmly with their families in this hour of grief," said Bandi Sanjay. Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy also posted that he was deeply shocked by the brutal killing of two Telugu youth from Telangana in Dubai. Ashtapu Prem Sagar was from Nirmal district while Srinivas hailed from Nizamabad district. Kishan Reddy said he spoke to External Affairs Minister S. Jai Shankar, who assured full support to the bereaved families, and the urgent repatriation of the mortal remains. "The MEA will also work towards ensuring the delivery of speedy justice in the matter. I thank Shri Jaishankar ji for his support and assistance in this matter," stated Kishan Reddy. The Telangana youth were reportedly killed by their co-worker during work hours. Two others were injured in the attack. The attack was allegedly driven by workplace stress and communal tension. Bengaluru, April 15 : In three separate cases, Bengaluru Police arrested 10 persons, including a foreign national, for drug peddling in the city. Narcotic substances and other materials worth Rs 6.77 crore have also been seized from their possession. The Anti-Narcotics team arrested one person from Kerala and seized 3.5 kilograms of hydroponic ganja, Rs 26 lakh in cash, and a mobile phone. The police stated that the total estimated value of the seized drugs and other materials is Rs 4.52 crore. The accused, originally from Kerala, had procured the hydroponic ganja from there and was attempting to distribute it in Bengaluru. In a separate case, a foreign national was arrested, and the police seized one kilogram of MDMA crystals, a mobile phone, and a two-wheeler -- altogether valued at Rs 2 crore. According to the preliminary investigation, the accused, who entered India on a business visa in 2012, was procuring MDMA crystals at a lower price from a contact in Bengaluru. He then allegedly targeted college students and professionals in the city's IT and BT sectors, selling the narcotics at prices of up to Rs 20,000 per gram. In another case, a police team arrested eight individuals from Kerala in connection with a drug-related case. The police seized 110 grams of MDMA, 10 mobile phones, and one tablet. Police had gathered intelligence on the eight drug peddlers from Kerala. Based on credible information, authorities learned that drugs were being sold at a lodge in Attur Layout, Yelahanka New Town. Following this tip-off, a raid was conducted, and eight drug peddlers were arrested. The accused, originally from Kerala, had come to Bengaluru for work, according to police. To fund a lavish lifestyle, they became involved in drug peddling. They were selling drugs to college students and IT/BT employees. MDMA tablets were being sold for Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 each, police said. Currently, the accused are in custody and are being intensively interrogated. Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayanand stated on Tuesday that the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the City Crime Branch (CCB) has done commendable work in arresting individuals involved in drug peddling activities in Bengaluru. Regarding the arrest in the BTM Layout molestation case reported from Sudduguntepalya in Bengaluru, he said, the police, under the leadership of the South East DCP, have successfully apprehended the accused. Interrogation is currently underway, and a detailed investigation is in progress. Islamabad, April 15 : The delegation of US lawmakers, which visited Pakistan recently and held multiple meetings with top officials in the government and military establishment, did not mention or even address the case of former Prime Minister Imran Khan who continues to serve a jail term in multiple cases at the Adiala Jail. Asserting that the new US administration led by President Donald Trump may not come to the rescue of Khan or use its influence to have Khan released from the jail, Pakistan National Assembly's Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who had a brief meeting with the visiting US delegation, said that the lawmakers made no mention of PTI founding chairman during their engagements in Islamabad. "US congressional delegation, which held a series of meetings with government officials and politicians on the sidelines of the Pakistan Minerals Forum 2025, made it clear that they had no interest or role in Pakistan's internal political affairs," said Sadiq. Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been lobbying to raise the issue of "illegal arrest" of their leader in concocted fake cases against the former premier, along with the ongoing crackdown by the government and the military establishment against party leadership. The PTI was looking at the Trump administration with a hope that it would raise the issue with the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government in Pakistan and use its influence to ensure release of Khan from jail. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan alleged that his party leaders were deliberately omitted from any interaction with the US delegation. "I was not notified of any meetings and received no formal or informal invitation," claimed Gohar Ali Khan. However, his claims were rejected by Ayaz Sadiq, who said that Gohar Ali Khan and Amir Dogar were invited to a dinner hosted for the US delegation, but they chose not to attend. "It was an opportunity for the PTI leaders to speak directly with the Americans a" the same people they often appeal to for support," said Sadiq. PTI leaders kept on tagging the visiting US lawmakers in their social media posts while the delegation was in Islamabad in an attempt to notify them of the government's deliberate attempt to exclude its leadership from meetings. It has been seen in the past that the White House has refrained from commenting on Khan's arrest and has preferred to maintain that it would not interfere in Pakistan's internal matters. The Trump administration not raising the Imran Khan issue has given a chance to the Shehbaz Sharif-led government and its leaders to criticise PTI leadership for failing to influence the US government against them. Bhopal, April 15 : Veteran BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday warned the state government over the allocation of liquor shops amid daily protests by women in many parts of the state, saying that 'watchman is still alive'. She said that two years ago, a massive campaign was launched in Madhya Pradesh regarding the prohibition of liquor, as a result of which a new liquor policy was announced in early January 2023. The former Chief Minister said that it was an excise policy made after extensive consultations, which was taking us towards complete prohibition in a couple of years. "I was waiting for two years for the same policy to be implemented effectively. In the last one and a half years, I have had continuous discussions on this subject with the new government. Whether it is our government or our Chief Minister, many times we do not make our conversations public," she said. Bharti added that people think that I have become neutral on the issue of liquor shops, but that is not true. "My mind has been in turmoil for the last four months due to this issue," she said. She said that due to this pressing issue, there is widespread public protest, especially from women, over the allotment of shops. "Have we become careless about the liquor distribution policy? The watchman is still alive. There is no need for stones, the blows of cow dung will be more severe," the former Chief Minister said. Since April 1, protests against liquor shops have been witnessed in several parts of the state, including Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur etc. Most of these protests are being led by a group of women who are demanding the relocation of liquor shops, claiming that existing liquor shops have become a main source of nuisance in their respective areas. In 2022, Bharti, in a novel campaign, tied two cows in front of a liquor shop in Orchha town of Niwari district, famous for its temples and palaces and exhorted people to drink milk and not alcohol. In 2023, she camped at a temple in Bhopal for two days demanding that the excise policy of the state be made more stringent. Before these symbolic protests, she had also pelted stones at a liquor shop located in the Barkhedi Pathani area. Ironically, that liquor shop is still operational. --IANS pd/dan Bhopal, April 15 : Following the advice of Union Home Minister Amit Shah extending milk producers' reach to more primary cooperative societies (PACs) - at least 50 per cent of the state - the government on Tuesday decided to offer Rs 5 per litre incentives to milk producers. "The Chief Minister has also asked to promote 'Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Kamdhenu Yojana' and do the extensive marketing of the milk produced in the state," an official said. On Monday, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah had pointed out that despite pretty fair production of milk in Madhya Pradesh, it reaches only 7,000 functional cooperatives. He had advised the state government in a programme organised in Bhopal to seek guidance from NDDB (National Dairy Development Board). Madhya Pradesh and NDDB entered into a pact to augment milk production from the existing 9 per cent of the country to 20 per cent in the coming few years. At present, only 10 lakh litres of milk are collected per day by the milk cooperatives of the state. The Chief Minister, while chairing a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, instructed to rapidly facilitate milk producers so that the production could be increased in the state. Though the Home Minister lauded the efforts of the state as it had inked the deal with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for improving milk cooperatives' performance, he had pointed out that only 17 per cent of villages have milk cooperatives in Madhya Pradesh, while marketable milk is available at 3.3 crore litres. He said, of this, only 2.5 per cent reaches milk cooperatives. Under the pack, now NDDB will procure milk and oversee the processing of the milk and other related products. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also asked the state government to ensure revival of "defunct cooperatives" and diversify activities in milk processing. Tehran, April 15 : Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday warned against "extreme optimism or pessimism" in the country about the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington. He made the remarks in a meeting with senior government officials in Iran's capital Tehran while pointing to the talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Tehran's nuclear programme and removing sanctions, the first round of which was held in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday, according to a statement published on his website. "We should not be extremely optimistic or extremely pessimistic about these talks," he said, adding that the negotiations may or may not yield results. He stressed, "We are, of course, very distrustful of the other side. However, we are optimistic about our capabilities." The Iranian leader also cautioned against "tying the country's affairs to the talks," emphasizing that activities in industrial, economic, construction, and cultural sectors, as well as the implementation of major projects, should proceed uninterrupted, as they are unrelated to the talks in Oman, Xinhua news agency reported. The second round of the indirect talks between Iran and the United States is scheduled to be held on Saturday in Muscat. The talks were proposed by US President Donald Trump, who threatened Iran with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear programme. Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States -- in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress. Gurugram, April 15 : An air hostess alleged that she was sexually assaulted when she was on ventilator support in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a private hospital in Gurugram on April 6, police said. According to the police, the matter came to light on April 13 when she told her husband about the sexual assault after her discharge, and he alerted the police. Based on the 46-year-old woman's complaint, a case was registered at the Sadar Police Station, and police are investigating the matter. According to her police complaint, she had come to Gurugram for training on behalf of the company and was staying in a hotel. During this time, her health deteriorated due to a drowning incident, after which she was admitted to a private hospital for treatment. After that, on April 5, her husband admitted her to another hospital in Gurugram for treatment. She was discharged from the hospital on April 13. "During the treatment, on April 6, she was on a ventilator, during which some staff of the hospital sexually assaulted her. At that time, she was on a ventilator and could not speak and was very scared. She was also unconscious at the time of the incident, and two nurses were also around her," the victim alleged in her complaint. After being discharged, she told her husband about the sexual assault, and he informed the 112 police and then also complained to the police in front of the legal advisor. "Following a complaint filed by the victim, a case has been registered at the Sadar Police Station, Gurugram. A police team was rushed to the hospital to scan the duty chart and analyse the CCTV footage to identify the accused," Gurugram police spokesman Sandeep Kumar said. The police team has taken further action in the case, and the statement of the accused has been recorded before the magistrate. The police team will soon identify the accused and arrest him accordingly," he said. The hospital authorities refused to comment on the matter. When the hospital's security staff was contacted, they denied having any knowledge of the incident. Bengaluru, April 15 : In a major development, the Karnataka Vokkaliga Association has announced that the community will oppose the caste census report, along with the Lingayat and other aggrieved communities. Speaking to the media on Tuesday in Bengaluru, Kenchappa Gowda, the state President of the Vokkaliga community, stated that if the caste census report is implemented, the Vokkaliga community will face injustice. "We will launch a joint struggle along with other aggrieved communities. We will fight in unity with the Lingayats," he announced. "The struggle will be carried out across the state. Farmers, businessmen, and officers will take to the streets. People are deeply disappointed. We had earlier submitted a representation to the Chief Minister regarding the caste census report. All ministers from the Vokkaliga community, including Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, had signed that submission," Gowda stated. He further added that Shivakumar is not opposing the census report now because he is part of the government. "We have confidence that he will oppose the report in the Cabinet," Gowda said. Elaborating on the nature of the protest, Gowda stated that Karnataka has witnessed the impact when the Vokkaliga community protests with full force. He warned that the government might even collapse as a result. The state government is preparing to implement the H. Kantharaju Commission report. However, Gowda criticised the findings as inappropriate, pointing out that the report was released after 10 years and estimates the population of the Vokkaliga community to be only 60 lakh. "We have seen population surveys conducted in each taluk during elections. Caste-wise data can provide accurate statistics on the population of various communities. Are there only 60 to 61 lakh Vokkaligas in all 224 assembly constituencies?" Gowda said. He added that the Vokkaliga community has been shown in the sixth position in terms of population, which he alleged was done to increase reservation benefits for other communities. "We will launch a joint struggle with other communities. The Vokkaliga Association strongly opposes the caste census report," he said. Nelligere Babu, Director of the Vokkaligara Sangha, also stated that if the report is implemented, the Congress-led government in Karnataka will collapse. Responding to these developments, Shivakumar said that he will attend the special Cabinet meeting as a representative of the community. Commenting on the idea of organising a meeting of Vokkaliga MLAs, he said the opinions of community leaders and ministers would be taken into consideration. "I have to present the community's opinion in the cabinet meeting. I am not an expert. I come from a village background. I collect information and present my views in the Cabinet," Shivakumar said. The caste census report submitted by the Backwards Classes Commission to the Congress-led government in Karnataka has pegged the Muslim population in the state at 18.08 per cent and recommends 8 per cent reservation for the community, sources stated. The caste census report was submitted to the state cabinet on April 10, and the state government is convening a special Cabinet meeting on April 17 to decide on the reportas recommendations. However, no official statement has been issued to the media regarding the reportas contents. Nonetheless, details presented in the cabinet meeting have surfaced in the public domain. As per sources, the report places the Muslim population under Category 2B at 18.08 per cent, with a total population of 75.25 lakh. The report recommends increasing their reservation from 4 per cent to 8 per cent. This is higher than the Vokkaliga community, which is currently considered the second-largest population group in the state. The Vokkaliga population is recorded at 61.68 lakh, comprising 10.31 per cent of the total. The report suggests increasing their reservation to 7 per cent, according to sources. The census report lists the Lingayat community population at 66.35 lakh, comprising 11.09 per cent -- lower than the Muslim population. The report recommends increasing their reservation to 8 per cent. Currently, the Lingayat community is considered the largest in the state. Furthermore, sources confirmed that the caste census report recommends increasing the total reservation to more than 75 per cent in Karnataka. The survey estimates the population of Other Backwards Classes (OBCs) at 4.18 crore, Scheduled Castes (SCs) at 1.09 crore, and Scheduled Tribes (STs) at 42.81 lakh. According to sources, the report indicates that OBC groups constitute about 70 per cent of the stateas population. Bhagalpur : , April 15 (IANS) As India marches towards the vision of 'Viksit Bharat@2047,' a silent but powerful agricultural transformation is taking root in Bihar under the banner of 'Mission Purvodaya.' From the fertile plains of the Ganga to the organic farmlands of its 16 districts, Bihar is fast becoming the epicentre of the Second Green Revolution - one driven by smart farming, innovation, and empowerment. Bhagalpur (Bihar), April 15 (IANS) As India marches towards the vision of 'Viksit Bharat@2047,' a silent but powerful agricultural transformation is taking root in Bihar under the banner of 'Mission Purvodaya.' From the fertile plains of the Ganga to the organic farmlands of its 16 districts, Bihar is fast becoming the epicentre of the Second Green Revolution one driven by smart farming, innovation, and empowerment. At the forefront of this mission is Bihar Agricultural University (BAU), whose Vice Chancellor, D.R. Singh, envisions Bihar as a key player in India's journey to becoming a global economic powerhouse. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Singh detailed the roadmap that could turn Bihar's agriculture-led economy into a $1 trillion success story by 2047. "Bihar has everything fertile land, abundant water, a hardworking population, and the will to innovate. If India is to achieve the Prime Minister's dream of 'Viksit Bharat,' then the second green revolution must begin in Purvodaya, and Bihar is ready,: Singh told IANS. The numbers are already painting a promising picture. Organic farming has taken off in 16 districts along the nutrient-rich banks of the Ganga. With over 2.65 lakh farmers trained in modern techniques, the transition from traditional to smart agriculture is underway. The focus is now on high-value crops, value addition, and sustainable practices. Bihar's agricultural diversity adds to its advantage. The state now accounts for 40 per cent of India's litchi production and 80 per cent of Makhana both recognised with GI tags. Millet cultivation has expanded, fish exports have begun, and dairy development is gaining momentum. The creation of the 'Makhana Board' by the Centre further underscores the region's potential. "Bihar isn't just growing crops, we're cultivating innovation," Singh said. "Our university has already fostered 37 agri-startups, contributing to the state and nation's entrepreneurial ecosystem. We're not job seekers we are job providers." The BAU is preparing a comprehensive vision document to be released in 2026. It will chart the course for agriculture in Bihar with a focus on climate-resilient crop varieties, integrated fisheries, dairy farming, and advanced agri-tech. Scientists from 19 Indian states are already contributing to this project. Singh emphasises the need for a shift in mindset. "We must move from production-centric farming to value-centric farming. Our farmers should think beyond just growing food they should think about food innovation." Bihar's agriculture roadmap, last updated in 2023, is already showing results record yields in paddy and maize, increased vegetable cultivation, and expanding agricultural clusters. These achievements have earned Bihar multiple Krishi Karman Awards from the Centre. With fertile land, an eager workforce, and an academic institution driving real-world innovation, Bihar is poised to not just witness but lead India's agricultural renaissance. "The seeds of the Second Green Revolution have been sown," he added. "And they're beginning to bloom - right here, in Bihar." New Delhi, April 15 : The NITI Aayog's $25 billion export roadmap to boost India's hand and power tools sector is not just about tapping global opportunities, but about creating the right conditions at home for Indian businesses to thrive, the government think tank's Vice Chairman Suman Bery said on Tuesday. New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) The NITI Aayogas $25 billion export roadmap to boost India's hand and power tools sector is not just about tapping global opportunities, but about creating the right conditions at home for Indian businesses to thrive, the government think tank's Vice Chairman Suman Bery said on Tuesday. "Our competitiveness in this field is not just about avoiding tariffs," Bery said at a press conference. Later, talking to IANS, the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman said: "Itas about making sure that our domestic manufacturers receive the protection and ecosystem they need to compete globally." He added that India is closer than ever to becoming a key global supplier in this category, and the report outlines a practical path to reach that goal. The roadmap includes critical reforms such as enhancing testing and certification infrastructure - simplifying export compliance procedures, improving access to finance, and integrating micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into global supply chains. These steps are designed to build long-term resilience and reduce friction in the growth path of Indian manufacturers. "Currently, India holds just over 1 per cent of the global hardware exports market. But with targeted reforms, this figure could grow substantially," he added. The roadmap aims to unlock over $25 billion in exports in the coming years and is part of NITI Aayogas larger initiative to identify aGlobal Business Championsa across sectors and strengthen Indiaas role in global supply chains. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwani Kumar said the hand and power tools sector could become one of the biggest contributors to exports in the next decade. "This roadmap will have a significant impact on Indiaas journey towards becoming a developed nation," he told IANS. NITI Aayog Programme Director Sanjeet Singh told IANS that the next 5-10 years are crucial for Indiaas transformation. With the MSME sector evolving rapidly, India has already secured 35 per cent of the export market share in this category. "The roadmap will make it easier for Indian companies to scale further in global markets," Singh told IANS. Lucknow, April 15 : In the wake of violent unrest in West Bengal's Murshidabad district over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, the Mamata Banerjee-led government is under fierce attack from the BJP. The party MP Jagdambika Pal has accused the West Bengal government of actively sheltering those responsible for the violence, labelling the clashes as "state-sponsored." Speaking to IANS on Tuesday, Pal asserted: "The violence in Murshidabad is a direct consequence of the Mamata government's protection of rioters. Ministers in her Cabinet are openly making inflammatory statements, encouraging communal discord. One minister even declared that the Waqf law will not be honoured, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself has vowed not to implement the act in the state." Pal said that the Waqf Amendment Bill was passed by a clear majority in Parliament and is constitutionally binding on all states. "No state has the authority to reject a law duly enacted by Parliament. This kind of defiance undermines the federal structure and rule of law," he stated. Drawing parallels with Mamata Banerjee's earlier opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Pal said, "She once claimed she wouldn't allow CAA in Bengal. Yet today, it's enforced. Similarly, her resistance to the Waqf Act is a political charade." The BJP MP alleged that the law-and-order situation in Murshidabad has deteriorated to the point where Hindu families have been forced to flee, with many taking refuge in neighbouring Malda district. "A father and son were brutally assaulted. It is evident that the administration has failed, and the police have been reduced to mute spectators. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister continues her politics of appeasement," he remarked. Pal also slammed the alleged issuance of ration cards to illegal immigrants, stating, "Mamata Banerjee is blatantly providing government resources to Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals, turning them into a vote bank. This endangers national security and provokes social unrest." On the Waqf (Amendment) Act itself, Pal defended the law, saying it aims to rectify past injustices and ensure that underprivileged Muslims receive the benefits previously denied to them. "This amendment is pro-poor and pro-minority. No one should oppose a law that ensures justice and transparency." Referring to amendments made during the Congress-led UPA regime in 2013, Pal flayed the addition of Section 40 to the Waqf Act, which allowed Waqf boards to claim ownership of any land, often without legal scrutiny or recourse. "Congress MPs now claim they'll scrap the amendment if they return to power. But these are empty boastsconsidering they haven't even reached the 100-seat mark in years," he said. He also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, stating, "When the Waqf Bill was passed in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi was notably absent. If he truly believed the law was unconstitutional, why didn't he participate in the debate?" Pal further questioned the need for street-level agitation when the matter is already sub judice. "The case is pending before the Supreme Court. Resorting to violence only reinforces the suspicion that the unrest in Bengal is being orchestrated by the state government." Pal warned that the unchecked infiltration of Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants into West Bengal remains a serious concern. "Despite multiple advisories from the Centre, Mamata Banerjee continues to provide them protection and even grants them voter identity cards. This is bound to inflame tensions," he said. He noted that paramilitary forces have been deployed in the region following High Court orders, but large-scale displacement of Hindu families continues, raising questions over the state's abilityor willingnessto restore normalcy. Mumbai, April 15 : Actor Jay Thakkar feels like the universe is aligning in his favor as he gets ready for two exciting releases- "Bhool Chuk Maaf" and "Kapkapiii". Mumbai, April 15 (IANS) Actor Jay Thakkar feels like the universe is aligning in his favor as he gets ready for two exciting releases "Bhool Chuk Maaf" and "Kapkapiii". Reflecting on his dual releases, Jay shared, "Having two films hit theatres in the same monthwhere I'm a primary cast member and in the posters of bothfeels surreal. It's a dream I've been chasing for 20 years, and to finally see it take shape is incredibly emotional." What makes things more exciting is the contrast between his characters in the two films. In "Bhool Chuk Maaf", Jay plays a 25-year-old charming, slightly mischievous boyfriend with rugged stubble and a knack for witty one-liners in the Banarasi dialect. "I spent time with the local community to get the dialect and slang just right. My character is quirky and adds unexpected humor to the storyline. Working with Rajkummar Rao, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sanjay Mishra ji, Seema Pahwa ji, and Raghubir Yadav ji was a masterclass in itself," he stated. In "Kapkapiii", however, Jay undergoes a complete transformationclean-shaven, younger-looking, and full of innocent ambition. Talking about this, he revealed, "I play an 18-year-old chaiwala who dreams of becoming the Prime Minister someday," he laughed. "It's a horror-comedy, so there's plenty of laughter along with some spooky surprises. Sharing screen space with Shreyas Talpade and Tusshar Kapoor was a riot!," he added. Despite both films releasing in the same month, they were shot at different times. Jay explained, "Kapkapiii was shot in Delhi back in October-November two years ago, while Bhool Chuk Maaf was filmed just last year. That gap really helped me dive into each character fully and shape their journeys with more detail and authenticity." When asked about preparing for such diverse roles, he said, "Preparation is everything. Whether I'm playing a chaiwala with big dreams or a city guy with charm and quirks, I start by understanding their worldtheir hopes, fears, and history. I draw from personal experiences, research, and improvisation to build something real." "Bhool Chuf Maaf" is directed and written by Karan Sharma and stars Rajkumar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi. On the other hand "Kapkapiii", helmed by late Sangeeth Sivan features Shreyas Talpade and Tusshar Kapoor. Bhubaneswar, April 15 : The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday condemned the burning of Biju Patnaik's statue at Block Chowk of Patnagarh in Balangir district. Speaking to media persons, senior BJP leader Sajjan Sharma said that the incident of burning of Biju Patnaik's statue is condemnable and unpardonable. He said the BJP has immense respect for former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and the party will never tolerate such heinous incidents. He said that following the orders of the government, the local administration had decided to install the statues of Lord Parshuram and Biju Babu. "But burning the statue before its unveiling is highly condemnable. As an example of swift action, the youth involved in the incident, Jugal Kumar Sahu (Hiru), has been immediately arrested, and a thorough investigation is being carried out by the government and the administration," said Sharma. The senior BJP leader also stated that the arrested accused is a mentally challenged person and is clearly seen standing at the spot during the incident. Sharma informed that the accused, Jugal Kumar, had climbed atop an electric pole a few months ago and was rescued after switching off the electric supply. As per the information shared by the Patnagarh police, the accused Jugal Kishor set fire to the polythene covering the statue of Biju Patnaik located at Block Chowk, Patnagarh, at around 6 am on Tuesday morning. On getting this information, Patnagarh Police immediately rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire. The Patnagarh police arrested the accused following verification of CCTV and eyewitness accounts by registering a case in this regard. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has also strongly condemned the incident and directed the police to take strict action against persons involved in the crime. The BJD on Tuesday also staged a massive protest condemning the desecration and burning of the statue of legendary leader Biju Patnaik at Patnagarh in Balangir district. Senior BJD leaders, including Party Media Affairs Head and former Minister Pratap Jena, Vice President Debi Prasad Mishra, National Spokesperson Santrupta Mishra, Chief Whip Pramila Mallick, and a large number of senior and youth leaders, gathered near the Biju Patnaik statue at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar to register their protest. Notably, some miscreants were arrested by the police last week for vandalising the statue of Biju Patnaik in the Mahanga area of the Cuttack district. Kolkata, April 15 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Tuesday, have arrested the kingpin of a racket operating from West Bengal and engaged in arranging fake Indian passports for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators. The arrested person has been identified as Alok Nath. He has been arrested by the ED officials near the international borders of Gede in the Nadia district of West Bengal. Nath was brought to the EDas office at the central government office (CGO) complex at Salt Lake in Kolkata on Tuesday following his arrest. The ED officials conducted raid and search operations at multiple locations in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, and Nadia districts in connection with the central agencyas investigation of the money-laundering in the fake passport case. Sources said the ED officials interrogated Nath for around 13 hours, and he was formally arrested and brought to the ED office at Salt Lake. Sources added that the investigating officials also seized several incriminating papers and digital documents from the office of Nath, including his laptop and two of his mobile phones. Last month, Kolkata Police filed a charge sheet in the case at a lower court in Kolkata, where it was mentioned that of the 130 individuals mentioned in the document, 120 are Bangladeshi residents and the remaining are Indian nationals. The main charges against the Bangladeshi nationals are that they paid huge money to secure fake Indian passports. The charges against the accused Indian nationals are that they played the roles of facilitators for arranging fake Indian identity documents, including Indian passports, for these illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators. Earlier, Kolkata Police arrested Abdul Hai, a retired Assistant Sub-Inspector of the city police. The details of Hai's involvement in the matter were also mentioned in the charge sheet. It contained details of Hai's financial gain through these 52 police verification clearances, where he was the on-ground inquiry or verification officer. Mumbai, April 15 : In a major policy decision, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to increase the commission of ration shopkeepers distributing food grains to 7 crore beneficiaries across rural Maharashtra by Rs 20 per quintal - from Rs 150 to Rs 170. Another key decision was to allow ration shops to sell 10 essential commodities approved by the Central government and supplied through NAFED. These decisions were taken at the meeting chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Ajit Pawar. "Today's decision has fulfilled a long-pending demand of ration shopkeepers. Ration shops serve as the medium to distribute affordable food grains to over 80 crore people across the country, including 7 crore in Maharashtra. A robust system is in place to transport foodgrains from FCI godowns under the Central Government to ration shops in urban and rural Maharashtra," said the Deputy Chief Minister. He added that to achieve this, a new mechanism for procurement, distribution, control, and maintenance using technologies like smart ration cards, electronic weighing machines, GPS tracking, and live monitoring will be implemented in Maharashtra. "The system currently used in Gujarat will also be studied for reference," he added. Pawar also informed that pending issues related to the rationing system will be resolved promptly. He directed officials to ensure timely and systematic food grain distribution to every ration cardholder in villages and to take action against negligent officers. Further, Pawar also announced a major decision to restructure rationing offices in Mumbai and Thane, ensuring at least one office per assembly constituency. "The last such restructuring was done in 1980. After the new restructuring, one zonal office and five new rationing offices will be created in Mumbai and Thane, which is expected to strengthen the civil supply system in the region," said the Deputy Chief Minister. Hyderabad, April 15 : After Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Nara Lokesh's 'Red Book' in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, it will be the 'Pink Book' of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K. Kavitha in Telangana. She warned leaders of ruling Congress and officials harassing BRS workers, saying their names would be written in the 'Pink Book' . "Those who are harassing will not be spared. Their names will be noted in the Pink Book," she said at a meeting of BRS workers in Banswada in Nizamabad district on Tuesday. Kavitha, who is the daughter of BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), also remarked that she is a 'rowdy type'. "KCR may be a good person, but I am a rowdy type," she said amid cheers by party cadres. The member of Telangana Legislative Council made it clear that there is no question of sparing anyone harassing the party workers. "I will not forgive those who troubled you and took you to police stations. There will be a Pink Book. Names will be written in that book. They may be leaders or officials. We will not let go of anyone," she said. Kavitha claimed that when BRS was in power, it did not commit any excesses. She made it clear that BRS leaders will not be cowed down by those threatening them. The BRS leader's 'Pink Book' warning is akin to the 'Red Book' of TDP leader and present Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh. During the campaign for last year's elections in Andhra Pradesh, Lokesh was seen displaying 'Red Book' at every public meeting, claiming that it had the names of all the police officials who were following then Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's direction to target him, his father Chandrababu Naidu and other TDP leaders. He had stated that once the TDP comes to power, it will give back to the officials what they did to the TDP leaders over the last five years. YSR Congress Party, which lost power to TDP-led NDA, is now accusing the ruling coalition of targeting those named in the 'Red Book'. Jagan Mohan Reddy has remarked that the coalition government is following the 'Red Book' constitution. Kolkata, April 15 : With the Union Home Ministry having received initial information about some role of illegal Bangladesh intruders behind the violence at Murshidabad, intelligence agencies are trying to track the exact Bangladesh-based fundamentalist groups which might have played a role behind the entire issue. Sources aware of the development said that the names of three Bangladesh-based fundamentalist groups are possible since these three groups had been quite active for some time in this district that has international borders with Bangladesh. These three groups are Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HUT), and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). However, considering the geographical locations of the pockets where the tension and violence had been maximum this time, especially Samserganj, the possibility of ABT playing some role behind the latest violence sounds more logical. On the eastern side of the international borders at Samserganj and Dhulian, is the Bangladeshi district of Chapai-Nawabganj, which is considered the stronghold of ABT. Sources added that because of this geographical proximity, the chances of ABT's involvement in the latest developments at Murshidabad are most likely. To recall, in December last year, Sajidul Islam, the most-wanted activist of ABT, was also arrested from Murshidabad following joint operations by the cops of the special task force of West Bengal Police and Assam Police. Islam is also the cousin brother of another most-wanted ABT activist, Shad Radi aka Shab Sheikh, who was also arrested earlier last year from Kerala. Then, there were inputs from central intelligence agencies about ABT activists trying to be active in the two districts in West Bengal that have porous international borders with Bangladesh, namely Murshidabad and adjacent Nadia. It is learnt that the inputs from the central intelligence agencies, as well as from the higher officials of the central armed police forces posts in the region, the Union Home Ministry is currently assessing the situation at Murshidabad, which has started getting back to normalcy from Tuesday. The CAPF was deployed at Murshidabad following an order from a special division bench of the Calcutta High Court on April 12. In the order copy, the special division bench observed that measures taken by the West Bengal government initially to control communal unrest in Murshidabad over protests against the newly promulgated Waqf (Amendment) Act were inadequate. The special division bench also observed that had the CAPF deployment been done earlier, the situation would not have been so "grave" and "volatile". Raipur April 15 : The main opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh has constituted a seven-member investigative panel to address a harrowing incident involving the sexual assault of a three-year-old girl by her thirteen-year-old neighbour in Raipur's Civil Lines police station (Pandari) area. The child, discovered in critical condition, was rushed to the hospital by her family, where she remains under intensive care. A Congress state unit representative confirmed her condition is still precarious. State Congress President Deepak Baij has taken swift action by forming a committee composed entirely of women leaders to probe the matter thoroughly by digging into the facts through discussions with family members and neighbours. Chhaya Verma, a former Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) member, has been appointed as the coordinating member of the panel. Other members include; Anita Sharma, a former legislator from Dharsiwa; Deepti Dubey, ex-Mayor of Raipur; Sangita Dubey, Secretary of the State Congress Unit; Vandana Rajput, State Congress Spokesperson; Pragati Vajpayee, General Secretary of the State Congress Unit; and Mamata Rai, President of the Women Congress Unit (Urban). Baij has directed the committee to compile a detailed report on the incident and submit their findings promptly. The accused, a thirteen-year-old boy, is currently in police custody. According to preliminary reports, the victim and the perpetrator were acquainted, as their families are neighbours and belong to the same community. The alleged "sexual assault" occurred when the child, who had been sleeping beside her mother, woke up and stepped outside. She was later found crying, with visible signs of distress and stained clothing. Her mother and neighbours alerted the police, ultimately handing the accused over to the authorities. This incident follows another tragic case during the Navratri festivities, where a six-year-old girl was brutally assaulted and murdered, allegedly by her uncle. The child had attended a ceremonial feast known as 'Kanya Bhoj' with other children. Reports suggest the accused not only sexually assaulted her but also electrocuted her to death before disposing of her body in a neighbour's car to misdirect suspicion. The case sparked widespread protests across the state, with the victim's parents expressing doubts about the police's narrative implicating the uncle. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) paints a grim picture of Chhattisgarh, where sexual violence against minors remains alarmingly prevalent. Many of these cases involve perpetrators who are either relatives or acquaintances of the victims. Raipur, along with other districts, has been identified as particularly unsafe for young girls. Bengaluru, April 15 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar held a meeting on Tuesday night at his official residence in Kumara Park regarding the caste census report, along with ministers, MLAs, Rajya Sabha members, and leaders from the Vokkaliga community. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Shivakumar claimed that the media reports projecting Muslims as the largest population group in the caste census are false. "It's all false, and I am not ready to answer any questions in this regard. Some media outlets have presented incorrect news. I won't name them. Except for the reality, they have published everything else. The news claims that Muslims are in large numbers. We need to provide accurate information to the public," he said. When asked about the projected population of the Vokkaliga community, Shivakumar said: "I am not concerned about any one community. I am the president of the Congress party. The ministers and I are responsible for ensuring the security of all communities, and we will do exactly that. We are not ready to point out any mistakes in the caste census. A detailed survey has been conducted. Lakhs of people were involved in the process. A few media outlets are creating confusion. We will respond to that appropriately." Shivakumar stated that the 11th Backward Classes Commission's report has already been presented in a cabinet meeting and has been shared with all ministers. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has scheduled a meeting on April 17 to discuss the issue. "In this backdrop, media outlets are publishing various reports, and leaders are giving their own interpretations," Shivakumar said. "It is our duty to provide the public with accurate information. I have tried to convey the essence of the caste census report to some extent. Myself, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy, Higher Education Minister M. C. Sudhakar, former Backwards Classes Commission Chairman Jayaprakash Hegde, and others have shared their views on the caste census report," Shivakumar said. He said that the Congress government ordered the socio-economic survey, adding that crores of rupees were spent, and lakhs of people were involved in data collection. "Now that the report is ready, MLAs have sought detailed information. Therefore, the copy we have received will be made available to them. MLAs have expressed their views. In the special cabinet meeting, we will convey the message and the facts. We have collectively decided on what to communicate regarding this issue," Shivakumar said. He added that all MLAs have authorised five of us to present their opinions. When asked about several ministers expressing dissent earlier over the census report, he clarified that they did not have access to the information back then. "The information was shared only three days ago. We received the details only after it was presented in the meeting," he said. The controversial caste census report submitted by the Backwards Classes Commission to the Congress-led government in Karnataka has pegged the Muslim population in the state at 18.08 per cent and recommends 8 per cent reservation for the community, sources stated. In a major development, the Karnataka Vokkaliga Association has announced that the community will oppose the caste census report, along with the Lingayat and other aggrieved communities. New Delhi, April 16 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first chargesheet in the high-profile National Herald money laundering case, naming senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Sam Pitroda, among others. The chargesheet has been submitted to the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi, which is scheduled to hear arguments on April 25. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, responding to the case, alleged that the government is misusing central agencies for political gain. Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi described the National Herald case as afakea, slamming the alleged misuse of enforcement agencies for political vendetta. Reacting to the development, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi has said that Congress should keep this point in mind that this case was filed before the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre. On ED's chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, Sudhanshu Trivedi, while talking to IANS, stated, "Today ED has included the names of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the chargesheet in the National Herald case. This is a completely technical matter. The Congress party should note that this case started in 2012, and through a PIL, the Delhi High Court started this case in October 2013. This means that this case was filed even before the Narendra Modi government came to power. There is no basis for the Congress party to do politics on this issue." He further said, "This is a strange case in the history of India, in which a company which had assets worth thousands of crores was sold for a liability of Rs 90 crore. Apart from this, 76 per cent of the shares were owned by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi alone. I want to ask the Congress that it was established by Pandit Nehru, and Associate General Limited (AJL) was established by freedom fighters. Many people had also raised objections that the shareholders had shares, yet it was given without asking them. I want to ask that even after the Congress ruled for five-six decades, how did the three newspapers established by Pandit Nehru go into losses, due to which they had to be closed. Did the Congress governments not support it at all?" Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "The claims of Congress officials and workers that freedom fighters and Congress had an emotional attachment to it. This case is proving how true this emotional attachment was. Congress' claims on both moral and technical grounds seem very hollow, baseless and motivated by malice." The BJP MP also praised PM Modi's leadership. He said, "When our government was formed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, its goal was how the country can take a significant leap in the field of technology and create a broad base for the economic development of the nation. For example, promoting solar energy and establishing the International Solar Alliance and promoting defence production. A strong base and path for India's development has been created under the leadership of PM Modi." Los Angeles, April 16 : Hollywood actor Jesse Eisenberg's upcoming movie has added new cast members. The film is a follow-up to the Oscar-winning 'A Real Pain'. The makers of the film have now signed Halle Bailey, Havana Rose Liu and Bernadette Peters. The yet-to-be-titled musical comedy also stars Julianne Moore, and Paul Giamatti, reports 'Variety'. The film, which started production in April, also features Bonnie Milligan, Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper and Maulik Pancholy. Moore plays a "shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a community theater musical production, going to extremes as she loses herself in the role", according to the logline. A24 has boarded the film, which hails from Topic Studios and Emma Stone's Fruit Tree. As per 'Variety', Eisenberg wrote the original music and lyrics for the film's musical. Steven Gizicki ('A Complete Unknown', 'La La Land') is the music supervisor, and Bill Sherman ('In the Heights') is the executive music producer. Choreography is by Andy Blankenbuehler ('Hamilton'), and Drew Daniels ('Anora') is the cinematographer. Fruit Tree's Emma Stone, Dave McCary and Ali Herting will produce with Topic Studios serving as executive producers. The upcoming film marks a reunion between Eisenberg and Fruit Tree and A24 following his 2023 directorial debut 'When You Finish Saving the World'. Fruit Tree and A24 previously teamed on 'I Saw the TV Glow' and 'The Curse'. Eisenberg's most recent film, 'A Real Pain' landed him an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay, and earned Kieran Culkin an Academy Award for best supporting actor. Carbon neutrality has long been a priority for telcos, and despite the surge in AI innovation sweeping through the mobile industry, sustainability remains firmly on the agenda. Sustainability is no longer just a responsibility operators uphold to maintain their brand image with an increasingly environmentally conscious public. It also delivers long-term benefits, including reduced operating costs, enhanced service consistency, and new revenue opportunities. Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Li Shaolong (pictured, second), President of Huawei Site Power Facility Domain, noted that telecom operators have traditionally focused on three key performance indicators for mobile sites: efficiency, capacity, and reliability. However, as operators transition from telcos to so-called "tech cos"modern, technology-driven telecom companies with a strong focus on digital transformation and customer experiencethese KPIs no longer fully meet their needs. As operators develop new use cases and expand their business portfolios, their expectations of mobile sites evolve, Li explained. That is why Huawei introduced AI to innovate our site energy solutions. For example, site energy solutions today can exchange information with the power grid, enabling telecom operators to participate in the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) business. Mobile sites can contribute to the national grid by adjusting their energy usage based on demand, acting as distributed energy sources within a VPP network. In essence, operators can sell excess battery capacity and generate additional revenue, Li said. Huawei collaborated with a Finnish telco operator to develop a solution allowing operators to engage in the VPP business. With this innovation, cell sites can transform from cost centres into profit centres, all powered by AI. Huawei enhances the power source, battery, cabinet, and cooling equipment within a telecom site with intelligent features. These innovations improve site efficiency and resilience, reduce costs, and better position telecom operators to meet diverse business needs, Li added. The Mobile AI era Artificial intelligence is becoming central to consumer technology, embedded in smartphones and set to expand into autonomous cars, AI glasses, and robots over the next two years. These advancements will require greater connectivity and, in turn, improve site resiliency requirements from operators, Li predicted. To strengthen its position in the mobile AI era, Huawei unveiled its Single SitePower Solution a next generation intelligent architecture that optimises power management for sites. Through integration of AI, and renewable energy, it enables operators to produce, store and manage energy to reduce reliance on national grids and costs. AI will enhance site performance, making sites digital and intelligent. As a result, overall performance resiliency and efficiency will improve, allowing telecom sites to better support diverse service needs, said Fred Wang (pictured, first), Huaweis VP of SRAN and Site Domain. Zain Groups Climate Change Senior Manager, Ali AlGharabally (pictured, middle), acknowledged that resilience and reliability of site energy is rising up agendas as operators diversify their businesses. Most of our sites are in harsh environments, located in deserts and running on diesel. This results in a significant need for energy to cool these sites, especially as demand for connectivity surges with the rise of 5G-A. Zain Group set ambitious sustainability goals in 2020, aiming to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050a target AlGharabally admitted is tough. In February, Zain announced its carbon neutrality target had been officially approved by climate action organisation, the Science Based Targets Initiative. Energy consumption for Zain Group has increased by 40% over the past five years due to 5G deployment, AlGharabally noted. Addressing this challenge will require upgrading sites with new solutions. AI-driven software and hardware are playing a crucial role in this transformation. In the past, power supply and battery systems at telecom sites were dumb devices, Li said. Now, all components must be digital and intelligent. Huawei has partnered with Chinese operators to develop smart battery and power supply solutions that are future-proof, eliminating the need for mains or cable upgrades. Additionally, Huaweis solutions feature anti-theft mechanisms to prevent revenue lossan essential requirement for operators with sites in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Wang added: By digitalising power supply systemsincluding distribution parameters, battery health, and load informationwe enable predictive analysis and full system digitisation to improve site resilience and network availability. Our Single SitePower solution also introduces a unified management system (MMS) for both wireless equipment and site energy. Previously, these elements required separate maintenance teams. Now, one MMS is sufficient for their management, improving O&M efficiency and enabling faster fault identification. Wang also revealed that Huawei will roll out an adaptive power backup feature that increases power duration at Zain Groups mobile sites. This new Huawei solution will strengthen Zain Groups mobile sites, helping reduce operating expenditure while maintaining the high service quality that subscribers expect, AlGharabally noted. Huawei PanGu integration Huaweis product development strategy will continue to focus on AI, ensuring all components and software are intelligent, Li said. This approach drives efficiency, resilience and reduces operators' operating expenses. Cost savings and operational efficiency are key concerns for operators worldwide, as revenues remain flat. Looking ahead, Huawei is exploring the integration of Huawei PanGu model into its site power infrastructure management system, Huawei NetEco. Li believes this will further enhance the efficiency of mobile site operations and management. Huawei is also developing an upgraded version of its VPP solution, dubbed VPP 2.0, with deeper power grid integration for increased efficiency. Meanwhile, its solar access product, PV, is set to incorporate weather forecasting capabilities, allowing operators to predict daily electricity yields and further reduce the total cost of ownership for mobile sites. Another AI-driven development involves making devices, including smartphones, voice-controlleda trend gaining momentum among smartphone vendors. Wang revealed that Huaweis AI feature, FME Mate, will extend this capability to mobile sites, enabling fluid voice interaction between people and machines. FME Mate can identify faults in advance and conduct precise fault demarcation, leading to higher operational efficiency, Wang said. Other upcoming innovations include more sustainable power supply units, upgraded lithium batteries, and improved resilience. AlGharabally emphasised the importance of AI in energy supply: Moving forward, introducing AI to energy supply is essential for sustaining our network operations while working towards our emissions reduction goals. Zain Group has already deployed Huawei hybrid solar solutions across 1,800 sites, cutting carbon emissions by 150,000 tons annually. However, AlGharabally noted that sustainability is still a relatively new concept in the Middle East, making it challenging to convince regulators to cut red tape and facilitate sustainable projects such as solar farms. In some markets, Zain must inject energy produced by its solar farms and mobile sites into the national grid before reclaiming itan added layer of complexity in operations. AlGharabally attributes this to a general lack of education on sustainability in the region. Climate change is already impacting the MENA region, with rising temperatures increasing the frequency of droughts and floods. For Huawei, this presents an opportunity. Wang and Li pointed out that most operators worldwide have yet to adopt intelligent, future-proof solutions like Zain Group. Publishing professionals from around the globe gathered for the 62nd Bologna Childrens Book Fair from March 31 through April 3where pasta, prosecco, and picture books offered a brief respite from world politics. PW takes you on a photo tour with highlights from the event, featuring internationally renowned authors and illustrators, award announcements, after-hour publisher parties, and more. On Sunday night before the fair kicked off, Penguin Random House hosted its traditional cocktail reception at the Royal Hotel Carlton. Nihar Malaviya (l.), CEO of Penguin Random House, gave a toast to Barbara Marcus, who will be stepping down on May 1 as president and publisher of Random House Childrens Books. Marcus said later of attending her final Bologna, When I look at people and think, I may never see you again, I get a little weepy. What makes it so special is the relationships, the conversations, the shared love of childrens books. The winners for the 13th edition of the BOP Bologna Prize for the Best Childrens Publishers of the Year were announced on Monday evening at a ceremony at Palazzo Re Enzo, in Bolognas historic Piazza Maggiore. The event included the presentation of the BolognaRagazzi Awards. A line stretched across the piazza for entry to the after-party. Author-illustrator Sydney Smith, winner of the 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, which was announced last year at Bologna, attended this years fair and participated in a number of panels and programs. A solo exhibition of his work on display in the Illustrators Cafe featured original artwork from several of his books and a selection of unpublished pieces created especially for the exhibit. Here Smith (l.) is joined onstage by his longtime editor, Neal Porter, now publisher emeritus of Neal Porter Books at Holiday House. Estonia was this years guest of honor, marking the Baltic nations first time in the role. A comprehensive program showcased Estonian childrens literature and illustration through exhibitions, panels, and author presentations. Mo Willems (r.) chatted with fairgoers who attended the stand party that Hidden Pigeon threw for him on Tuesday. Here he greets the Bent Agencys Molly Ker Hawn (in black). It was back-to-back meetings for Dog Man on the Scholastic stand. Simon de Jocas of Quebecs Editions Les 400 Coups, in orange, cutting the cake at the fifth-anniversary party for Publishers Without Borders on Thursday night. The event attracted more than 200 people. Rights & Brands, the global master licensee of the Moomins, commemorated 80 years of Tove Janssons beloved characters. Saying hello in the aisles: Jean Christophe Boule-van Hensbroek (l.) of Lemniscaat and the Walker Books Groups Karen Coeman. Nancy Traversy (r.), CEO and co-founder of Barefoot Books, and executive editor Kate de Palma (l.) were celebrating the March release of Rise Up!: Powerful Protests in American History by Rachel C. Katz, illustrated by Sophie Bass, a nonfiction title about social activism tied to the 250th anniversary of American independence on July 4, 2026. Barefoot will be teaming up with the nearby Concord Museum in Massachusetts for a number of events around the anniversary, beginning with April 19, the day of the shot heard round the world, which marked the start of the American Revolutionary War. On the Simon & Schuster stand, Rachel Denwood (l.), managing director of S&S UKs childrens division, met with Alessandra Balzer (c.) and Donna Bray (r.) of Macmillans Balzer + Bray imprint. Wimpy Kid creator Jeff Kinney signing books for fans. During an event with fellow author-illustrator Davide Cali on Finding Funny Around the World, Kinney said of his global success and international book tours, The different translations are like a passport for me. I keep getting to level up as a person. Venetian author Paola Myriam Visconti attended BCBF in celebration of the fourth title in her middle grade fantasy series Dynowish, the Protector of Dreams, published in her native Italy in both English and Italian by Giunti Editore. In honor of the new book, The Moon Lily (Il giglio lunare), her husband, artist Antonio Signorini, designed a bronze sculpture of a winged dinosaur-unicorn which was unveiled on the fairgrounds on Monday, March 31. Visconti hosted an event with 300 children in Bologna as part of the book fair, leading them in artmaking and storytelling workshops. She also appeared on two panels about licensing and the evolution of books into global franchises, along with Beatrice Fini, director of childrens and YA editorial at Giunti. The springtime weather invited many to hold meetings al fresco in the warm sunshine. At the DK stand, Rosaria Munda signed galleys of Fireborne, the first book in her YA fantasy trilogy The Aurelian Cycle. Originally published in the U.S. by Putnam, the book will feature on the launch list of DKs inaugural fiction imprint, DK flip. Fireborne is due in paperback in May in the U.K., followed by Flamefall in July and Furysong in September. Astrid Lindgrens irrepressible heroine Pippi Longstocking turns 80 this year, with a number of celebrations and panels marking the occasion in Bologna and beyond. During the fair, French author Marion Brunet was announced as the winner of the 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the worlds largest childrens book prize. Author Matteo Razzini (l.) and illustrator Giovanna Marin signing their picture book Che coraggio, papa! (Zoolibri). On Wednesday, April 2, local bookstore/cafe Zoo hosted Out of the Cage, an exhibit of published and unpublished picture book art. The showcase featured some of the many international artists selected over the years for the Unpublished Picturebook Showcase organized by the creative collective Dpictus. Next years fair will take place April 1316, 2026. Alla prossima! Julia Callahan has worked as a field rep for Hachette for only two years, but shes certainly made her mark on her roughly 90 accounts, which are primarily indies with a sprinkling of university bookstores and museum gift shops. Several California booksellers nominated Callahanwho covers Southern California, Arizona, Colorado, and Utahas rep of the year, including Mallory Groff, a buyer at Warwicks in La Jolla, who describes Callahan as the perfect example of a publishers rep. She knows our store, our staff, and our customers, Groff wrote in her nomination, better than some staff do. Mary Williams, general manager of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, also supported Callahan, writing that she is always there when we need her, and her follow-through is second to none. Skylights assistant events manager, Mick Kowaleski, called Callahan an incredible, thoughtful rep with a knack for problem-solving when he, too, nominated her for rep of the year. Callahans journey to becoming a Hachette field rep was somewhat circuitous. Ive done it all, Callahan says. When I was younger, I worked on the docks in San Francisco and trained with my dads catering business. After graduating from UC-Santa Cruz in 2005 Callahan worked for a year at Paramount Pictures, leading studio tours and working on Dr. Phil McGraws television talk show. She also worked weekends at Book Soup, as part of the events planning team coordinated by Tyson Cornell. I realized that I didnt like film production, and that I liked bookselling, she recalls. So, she quit her job at Paramount to work full-time at Book Soup. When Cornell left Book Soup in 2009 to launch an indie press, Rare Bird Books, she followed him and stayed there for more than 10 years, first as an editor and then working in marketing and sales. But I needed something different at the tail end of the lockdown era of the pandemic, she says. In 2021, she applied for a job at IPG, when it launched its first in-house field sales team. I absolutely loved repping, she says. And after two years at IPG, she moved on to Hachette. Pointing out that Hachette has always published the kinds of books that are targeted by right-wing extremists, Callahan praises indie booksellers for countering book bans by selling such books. Whatever small part I get to play in that is an honor, she says, noting that she keeps a small stack of queer books next to her computer, to remind me of why I do the work that I do, and that I play a small part in getting these books into the hands of queer kids. Thats what keeps me going in these dark times. Dan Simon, the publisher of Seven Stories Press in New York City, and Eric Obenauf, the publisher of Two Dollar Radio in Columbus, Ohio, have announced that Seven Stories has acquired Two Dollar Radio. The acquisition was finalized on April 1. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Two Dollar Radio, which releases four to six frontlist titles each year and has approximately 80 titles in print, becomes Seven Stories fourth imprint, joining its Spanish-language imprints, Siete Cuentos and Ocean Sur, and childrens imprint, Triangle Square Books for Young Readers. Obenauf remains publisher and editorial director, while his spouse, Eliza Wood-Obenauf, remains consulting editor. Brett Gregory will continue to coordinate marketing and publicity for Two Dollar Radio, and also serve as marketing and publicity manager for Seven Stories. The trio will work remotely from Columbus. Obenauf and Wood-Obenauf retain ownership of Two Dollar Radio Headquarters, the bookstore/cafe/bar they have operated in Columbus since 2017. With the deal, Simon remains the majority owner of Seven Stories, while Obenauf and Wood-Obenauf have become minority partners, as have Seven Stories national sales director Bill Rusin and co-publisher/publicity director Ruth Weiner. Its an acquisition, Simon told PW in an interview conducted with him and Obenauf. At the same time, its an initial step toward there being multiple stakeholders here and minority partners. Obenauf said he and Wood-Obenauf regard the transition as sort of the next generation of Two Dollar Radio. He noted that while operating a small indie press is incredibly rewarding, it "can also be incredibly mentally exhausting, [especially] if you don't have access to gobs of capital. He and Wood-Obenauf launched Two Dollar Radio in 2005 because, he said, we just wanted to work on books; we just wanted to edit books and work with authors, and that sort of thing. Our authors and our books aren't benefiting when we're spending all of our time poring over spreadsheets and just trying to exist on a day to day basis, he said. So we see this as the next iteration of Two Dollar Radio that doesnt just benefit our books and authors, but also sustains Two Dollar Radio into the future for the next 20 years and beyond. Two years in the making Obenauf reached out to Simon two years ago to discuss the possibility of Seven Stories acquiring Two Dollar Radio. The two first met in 2009 at BookExpo America, and Simon was instrumental in helping Two Dollar Radio obtain U.K. distribution with Turnaround Publisher Services. Obenauf noted that there is a great confluence between Seven Stories and Two Dollar Radio, both in their approaches to publishing and in their lists. Seven Stories is known for its mix of literature and politics with a decidedly left-wing bent, while Two Dollar Radio is renowned for its quirky, edgy list of primarily fiction and essay collections. It was incredibly important that Two Dollar Radio remain independent, Obenauf said. Being acquired by one of the multinational corporations wasnt ever something that we considered. We wanted to feel invested continuing forward, not just with Two Dollar Radio, but with Seven Stories as well. "Eric and I really are true believer publishers in exactly the same way, Simon added. "It's so personal for him, and that's like looking in the mirror for me; it's so personal to me. I think it strengthens our ability to be really good editors and publishers, and I think that the loyalty of our authors to Seven Stories and to Two Dollar Radio reflects this." Simon praised Two Dollar Radio for punching way above its weight by publishing such authors as Hanif Abdurraqib, Nora Lange, Bennett Sims, and many other critically-acclaimed writers. At the same time, he said, its a manageable entity, in relationship to our size. Two Dollar Radio will continue to be distributed by PGW through the fall, and then will switch to Seven Stories distributor, Penguin Random House Distribution Services, on January 1, 2026. Turnaround will continue to distribute Two Dollar Radio in the U.K. Reflecting upon the acquisitionthe first in Seven Stories 30-year historySimon said both presses "are kind of alternative in the best sense: were not part of the club. We're most excited when we want to publish something that nobody else wants to publish. You know, we're very rarely in an auction situation. I have so much respect for so many independent publishers, but at the same time, I don't want to be part of the club. And Two Dollar Radio is certainly not part of the club; after all, they're in Columbus, Ohio. With the addition of Two Dollar Radio, Simon said, Seven Stories has an extraordinary brain trust now, including Eric, Eliza Jane, and Brett. We, I think, are positioned for success and growthit's the only way to survive in this pretty merciless marketplace that we're in. DAR ES SALAAM, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The 34th Chinese medical team in Tanzania's Zanzibar has recently completed five cleft lip surgeries and 19 cleft palate surgeries on children within just five days -- each procedure carried out without complications -- restoring health and granting them the gift of smiles. The surgeries were part of a five-day "Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery Week," themed "Smile Journey," organized by the Chinese medical team to improve health outcomes, share medical expertise, and strengthen cooperation with Tanzanian counterparts. Among the young patients was Ibrahim Abdulnassir Ramadhan, a one-year-old baby boy from Zanzibar. Born with a cleft lip, Ramadhan faced difficulties feeding and frequently cried due to discomfort. His parents had been desperately seeking help but feared they could never afford the treatment. "When I first held him, I cried. Not because of his condition, but because I feared the world would not be kind to him," said Raya Rashid Omar, the mother. "People stared. Some even told me to hide him. I didn't want pity. I just wanted help." Their hopes turned into reality when they learned about the Chinese-led "Smile Journey." After an initial screening, the baby was selected for surgery at Lumumba Hospital. "I was nervous. He's so small," said Abdulnassir Ramadhan Suleiman, the father, as he watched the medical team carry his son into the operating room. "But the doctors looked at him the way we do. They saw a child who deserves a future." Led by Fang Jin, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon from the Chinese medical team, the surgery proceeded smoothly. Fang worked alongside three Tanzanian doctors hailing from the capital, Dodoma. Together, they formed a well-coordinated professional team. Throughout the intense five-day period, the team worked seamlessly, performing each surgery with precision and care. Post-operation, they conducted daily check-ups to monitor recovery and ensure the best possible outcomes. When Ramadhan awoke from surgery, his parents could not contain their emotions. "For the first time, I saw his smile without pain," the mother said, holding back tears. "He looked like he had always been waiting to become this version of himself." The transformation moved not only the medical staff but also the volunteers at Lumumba Hospital. Many children, once shy or silent, began playing and laughing freely with their newly healed faces. Fang recalled the moment when the mother grasped his hand tightly after the procedure. "She didn't say much. Just 'Chinese doctor, thank you.' But her eyes said everything," he said. Local medical professionals also reflected on the experience. "This collaboration with the Chinese team has been eye-opening. We not only learned advanced techniques but saw what compassion looks like in practice," said Seseja, one of the three Tanzanian doctors. "Chinese doctors brought not only expertise but also trust and hope," said Sumaiya from Lumumba Hospital's dental department. "This cross-border goodwill is truly touching." By the end of the surgery week, 24 children had received transformative procedures. For families like Ramadhan's, the impact extended beyond medical treatment. "You didn't just fix a lip," said Suleiman, looking at his son asleep in his arms. "You gave him a chance to face the world with confidence. That's a gift we'll never forget." Globe Telecom has moved forward with its acquisition of a 50% stake in AB Capital Securities Inc (ABCSI), aiming to strengthen the stock brokerage capabilities of its fintech unit, Mynt, which operates the widely used GCash mobile wallet. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the companies signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition in 2023. Globe currently holds a 23.5% indirect stake in ABCSI through Mynt. It increased its shareholding in the brokerage firm to 16% last year after acquiring an additional 7.5%. Notably, Globe independent director Antonio Periquet also serves as executive chair of ABCSI, a connection that could smooth the path for the acquisition. This partnership will bolster our shared mission of promoting financial inclusion by expanding stock ownership among Filipinos, Periquet told the Inquirer. He pointed out that while only 2% of Filipinos currently own stocks, a higher percentage already hold cryptocurrency - highlighting the opportunity for growth in retail investment. The Inquirer also reported that the Philippine Stock Exchange credited GCashs stock trading service with helping drive a 21% year-on-year increase in online stock market accounts in 2023, rising to 1.5 million, now accounting for 80% of total stock market accounts. While limiting strings-attached grants and curbing federal regulation, President Trumps efforts to dismantle the Department of Education also take aim at a key tool bureaucrats use to oversee schools in all 50 states: civil rights investigations. Selene Almazan, advocate for the disabled: Trump administration changes have left clients "in limbo, or distraught, thinking there will be no accountability, Probes handled by the departments Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against public schools, colleges and universities roughly doubled during the Biden administration, topping 20,000 last year. Investigations by hundreds of OCR lawyers and staff members and responses to them by untold numbers of school officials and administrators touched on everything from allegations of sexual violence and disability accommodations to website compatibility. Defenders of the office say it has been an invaluable protector of civil rights for Americas nearly 70 million students. They say eliminating or even downsizing the office, which has already begun, would kneecap thousands of ongoing investigations while abolishing a prime instrument of justice. This reckless action strips students of vital resources and tears down statutorily mandated functions that are essential to addressing racial and economic inequality in education, the ACLU declared last month. Trump, it said, has put millions of students education and civil rights at risk. Advocates for handicapped students, who until recent years accounted for half of all complaints, are concerned they might get short shrift in the Trump administration and have gone to court to block cuts. We have many members who file complaints, and it has left many of them in limbo, or distraught, thinking there will be no accountability, said Selene A. Almazan, legal director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, plaintiffs in a suit filed March 14. Alongside Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, President Trump on March 20 holds his signed executive order aiming to eliminate the Department of Education. But backers of Trumps effort to eliminate the Department of Education counter that the Office for Civil Rights is a symbol of how the federal government has expanded its reach into what they describe as chiefly local matters. They say its investigative arm has been designed to make it as easy as possible for the department to maximize its influence and oversight through investigations. Teresa R. Manning: "If they didnt have complaints, they wouldnt have jobs. A complainant does not need a personal connection to a school. Indeed, petitioners dont even have to live in the same state, and legal standing is not a factor. They do not even need to identify themselves. They are not required to try to resolve their problems at the local level before notifying the feds though many do. Consequently, the offices operations sometimes function as a nationwide anonymous sounding board rather than a source of last resort, a place where anyone can make a federal case out of any slight, real or perceived. Although OCR probes include many serious allegations, the systems structure means the number of cases can be inflated through duplication, serial filers and ambitious bureaucrats. The numbers arent really what they first appear, said Teresa R. Manning, policy director at the National Association of Scholars, a conservative counterweight in higher education to the liberal American Association of University Professors. A lot of this was by design. If they didnt have complaints, they wouldnt have jobs, so a lot of federal bureaucrats and campus officers want any grievance to become a federal case. The numbers themselves are unclear. Neither the Department of Education nor its Office for Civil Rights responded to multiple requests for comment, and a listed phone number is no longer manned daily; voice messages left there were not returned. But it appears the administration has laid off some 240 people in the OCR, shuttering at least six of its 12 regional offices. Currently, eight of 22 key staff positions there are vacant, according to its website. When Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon first announced layoffs in February, reports mentioned 12,000 active investigations listed on the OCR database, which was last updated on Jan. 14. Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced his own report on the office, claiming 6,800 cases would be shortchanged by the layoffs. But no matter which total is used, the claim that U.S. schools are teeming with incidents of overt racism or sexism, or bias against handicapped students, is misleading, according to experts familiar with the OCR and its work. Jim Blew: Making allegations of systemic violations" can prompt much broader investigations. In theory, every complaint is reviewed to determine if it constitutes discrimination on the basis of race (Title VI), sex (Title IX), or disability. If so, the Office for Civil Rights can open an investigation, or its attorneys can allege that there are systemic violations and trigger much broader investigations. Such initiatives were highlighted in a glossy report the office released on Jan. 16, four days before Trumps inauguration. The office appears to have published six such special reports since 2016, with half of those during Bidens term. Two of them the first and another in 2021 dealt with alleged racial disparities or equity in school discipline. This looks like a more proactive OCR following the age-old practice of boosting the cases on its books and then insisting it needs more funding, said Jim Blew, a co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute and a former assistant secretary of education in Trumps first term. Skepticism is legitimate, because by declaring something is systemic, then rather than resolve that one issue they can turn it into a federal case, Blew said. And if youre going to interpret the discrimination on much different and broader levels than ever before, thats going to increase the number of complaints, too. RealClearInvestigations found that, despite claims that cuts to OCR will impede prompt action or justice for filers, the office did not always handle complaints promptly. Among the 12,000 ongoing investigations listed in the OCR database half of which involved disability complaints RCI found active investigations into alleged incidents that occurred in 2016 or 2017, long after any students at the schools in question would have departed. Many alleged incidents also triggered more than one investigation, meaning the thousands are fewer than they first appear. The investigations can take years. Alabama A&M University, for example, is under investigation for sexual violence that allegedly occurred on Aug. 24, 2016. The university did not respond to requests for comments on this alleged incident or general compliance with OCR. Similarly, on Aug. 2, 2017, an alleged incident in Mississippis Greene County School District sparked two investigations, one for racial harassment and another for retaliation that remain active, according to OCRs website. Also, totals were swollen by one unnamed individual. For example, in 2022 when OCR received 9,948 complaints of Title IX violations, nearly three out of four 7,339 came from this person. That same individual slipped a bit the following year, accounting for only 69% of the 5,590 complaints. RCI asked several people familiar with Office of Civil Rights work who this person might be, but none said they knew. Catherine Lhamon, head of the Office for Civil Rights under Obama: She issued a notable "Dear Colleague" letter on sexual assault, making it easier for accusers to level charges. The number of complaints skyrocketed during the Biden administration, doubling the average that had held for more than a decade, records show. Last April, Biden regulators sought a radical expansion of Title IX sex discrimination protection to cover things like gender identity. That attempt was later blocked by the courts. Through President Obamas two terms and Trumps first term, the office received just under 10,000 complaints annually. In 2022, however, that figure shot up to a record 18,804 and did not stop climbing. It jumped 18% in 2023 before topping 20,000 complaints for the first time in 2024, according to OCR. Its not exactly clear what accounted for the big increases, according to experts. But the usual breakdown of classification of complaints changed. Instead of disability complaints comprising more than half of the total OCR received, 42% of those filed in 2023 concerned sexual discrimination, while disability complaints fell to a bit more than a third, according to the offices figures. Office for Civil Rights attorneys can launch investigations, or encourage schools to do so, via the well-known Dear Colleague letter that alerts administrators to how regulators plan to interpret federal laws. It was just such a Dear Colleague letter in 2011 from Catherine Lhamon, who headed the Office for Civil Rights under Obama and Biden, that urged schools to use the lowest possible level of evidence in sexual harassment or assault cases, to make it easier for people to request a remedy to perceived injustice. If youre going to interpret the discrimination in much different and broader terms than ever before then youre going to increase complaints, Blew said. It should be obvious there are certain interests that care about padding their Office of Civil Rights numbers. 'Administrative Bloat' In the face of rising Office for Civil Rights investigations, letters and complaints, schools have been forced to add more layers of administrators and attorneys. Those offices also grew during Bidens term, when an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion departments and offices swelled higher education payrolls. It has led to administrative bloat, too, as tuition goes to deanlets and bureaucrats, Manning said. They often partner together with other entities on campus, and you have many bureaucrats who feed complaints. In its January report, OCR reported that it had received 71,385 complaints during Bidens term and had resolved 56,383 of them. But the backlog of complaints has grown, and in the 13 years covered by the report it was only during Trumps first term that the office reported resolving more complaints than it received. At least one person who has filed numerous complaints with the OCR suspects that some of the backlog results from an unwillingness to tackle cases that do not fit progressive orthodoxy. Mark Perry, a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan, who specializes in complaints challenging race- and gender-based scholarships, fellowships and other programs, said OCR has opened 423 investigations into his complaints since he started filing them in 2019. I currently have nearly 300 complaints backlogged at OCR, some going back to 2019 and 2020 that have either never made it through the evaluation stage to being opened for investigation and others opened for investigation back in 2019, 2020, and 2021, etc. that have never been resolved, he said. Now it's possible I'm being targeted and slow-walked for being a repeat filer for complaints alleging discrimination against men and whites. Perry based that belief, in part, on a handwritten letter he received from an OCR employee in its Chicago branch in September 2023 in response to a Chronicle of Higher Education article about Perrys filings. OCR has no impetus, sadly, to advance your cases, total failure in HQ, the letter said. Your cases just sit with no activity. The delays are especially odd, in Perrys opinion, given that he is a professional who accompanies his complaints with printed evidence of the specific grant or program he thinks should be curtailed or made available to all students. My complaints are simple; they should only take a couple of months, he told RCI. Another more recent, consistent filer is the Equal Protection Project, launched by conservative Cornell Law School Professor William Jacobson, who runs the Legal Insurrection website. In 2025, the project has averaged an OCR complaint a week, and has filed 70 complaints since it began in February 2023. Like Perry's, the projects focus is on clear violations of the plain language of statues, Jacobson said. On April 1, the project filed a complaint against the Pennsylvania College of Technology, an affiliate of Pennsylvania State University, for 12 scholarships that allegedly discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, and/or sex in violation of Title VI and Title IX, respectively. For now, its unclear what will happen to the thousands of investigations on the offices books, or to future complaints like disability grievances filed by Almazans group. The laws require a direct interference with a students education to validate a complaint, a distinction drawn more by the courts than administrators and bureaucrats who give themselves wide latitude to pursue their own enforcement goals, experts said. Biden and the Democrats tend to tinker with the language, creating subjective offenses that are a moving target and raise due-process concerns, Manning said. The courts have tried to rein it in. Even as it appears intent on limiting the Education Department's reach, the Trump administration has also signaled that it will not completely surrender the use of federal power to influence local schools. It has vowed to root out antisemitism on college campuses, biological men competing against women in sports, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs the administration says violate the clear letter of discrimination laws. On April 7, McMahon announced a special investigative office, staffed by the Education and Justice departments, to enforce Title IX to protect female students and athletes. Correction April 15, 2025, 2:58 P.M. Eastern This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Because of an editing error, a photo caption misspelled the first name of an advocate for the disabled. She is Selene Almazon, not Celine. We first got word of the HS Produkt Kuna on a factory visit to Croatia, just before the world lost its collective marbles due to a Chinese lab leak. Since then, the design has been refined, and Springfield has added it to their considerable list of SKUs, importing it for the general public as a large format handgun. Why then, should you consider this particular wannabe subgun, versus anything else out there? Glad you asked. SPECS: HS Produkt, imported by Springfield Armory Kuna Caliber: 9mm Luger Capacity: 30 rounds Barrel length: 6 inches Overall length (as pictured, stock folded): 19 inches Weight (as pictured): 7.1 pounds MSRP: $1,000 to $1,150 PROS: Roller-delay reliability and recoil management Reasonable price Ambi controls Extremely smooth shooting CONS: Proprietary magazines ($25 MSRP) UNDER THE HOOD There are essentially three operating systems available to the end user, when looking at the 9mm carbine scene. The most basic straight blowback has the advantage of being inexpensive to manufacture, but comes with the downside of a heavy bolt and more recoil than the 9mm Luger cartridge has any right to generate. Field stripping is simplicity itself. Just push out two captive takedown pins and the rest is very intuitive. Note the single roller on bolt that engages barrel trunnion, and the soft recoil buffer. Gas piston operation is a comparative rarity, exemplified by SIGs MPX line, but it sacrifices simplicity for low reciprocating mass. Then, there are the various flavors of roller-delayed carbines, ranging from the iconic MP5 and its clones, to newcomers such as Angstadt Arms UDP9 and the Stribog. The Kuna uses a version of the roller-delayed blowback system, but its a clean-sheet design incorporating a lot of refinements. Rather than start with a rifle-caliber carbine and then adapt it to a pistol cartridge like most AR-15 designs, the Kuna is wrapped around a magwell dimensioned for the 9mm and 40 S&W. Why the latter, which has largely slipped into the collective memory hole? Because certain South American police forces still have a fondness for it, and theres a whole lot of them. Casting a jaundiced eye at the area immediately in front of the mag catch, there appears to be more than enough space to accommodate the extra 4mm length of a 10mm versus 40 S&W round, and the operating stroke is also plenty long enough. Wed like to see a 20-round mag for messenger bag duties, but overall, the Kuna is impressive. Dont be too surprised too if theres a line extension in the future, just to service the shouty nerds in the comments section who whine for a 10mm version, then purchase enough for all of their friends i.e., zero. Its easy to go bust in the gun biz listening to your customers. The Kunas magazines are a proprietary, double column, two-position feed design and appear both well thought out and executed with curved, translucent polymer bodies and reinforced steel feed lips. Unlike SIGs MPX mags, these dont appear to have been lovingly crafted from gossamer spun by elves and blessed by the Pope himself, so you wont need a second mortgage in order to stock up. Wed like to see a 20-round version for use in messenger bags and backpacks, but as it stands, the two 30 rounders that ship with the gun are a good start. All controls can be operated with either hand, including the bolt hold open, and the bolt release is positioned so that it can be hit with either the index finger of the master hand, or the support thumb during a reload. As this is a European design, the safety can be engaged regardless of whether the hammer is cocked, and the levers fall naturally under the thumb. Sweeping the safety off is easy, but we found its better to use the trigger fingers knuckle to reapply it. Shooters are never happy with their purchase, and most will find some way to make it their own; one of the quickest and easiest mods is to switch in your favorite pistol grip. In this case, the process is simplified by using an AR-15 fitment, so unscrew the bolt and Bobs your uncle. The one that comes from the factory has the same texture as the Echelon handgun and is fairly vertical. The polymer lower is attached to the aluminum upper by means of two captive takedown pins, the rear of which locks the Pic-railed endcap in place. Field stripping is as simple as it gets. Push out the pins and remove the lower. Slide the endcap downward about a inch and pull it free. Then, use the charging handle to slide out the recoil spring, bolt, and carrier. Thats about as far as youll need to go to keep the gun running hose it off with brake cleaner, then spray everything with oil but further disassembly isnt at all complicated. Fire control components are unique to the Kuna, though the hammer, trigger, and disconnector will look familiar to AR owners, and like the MP5, theyre held inside a chassis to form a trigger pack, which can be removed by first pulling out the safety selectors. Critical components are silver and appear to be nickel boron coated for wear resistance and lubricity. Our sample started out with a 6-pound single-stage trigger with some creep, but as time and bearing surfaces worn on, it worked its way down to 5.2 pounds, and more of a rollover feel theres enough bearing surface to work with, should anyone want to attempt a trigger job. The fire control group looks kinda AR-ish, with the mainspring offset to the left of the hammer, driving it via a plunger like the MP5. The left and right side bolt hold open is a nice touch. The Kunas serialized upper receiver starts out as an aluminum extrusion. Its full length Picatinny top rail provides a recess for some of the best backup iron sights weve seen on a subgun, though, when folded, theyre a bit too low to use with a stock thats been set up for optics. Once flipped up, theyre more than usable, and provide both windage and elevation adjustment. The folding, non-reciprocating charging handle can be swapped without tools from left to right side, and theres a replaceable, fixed ejector bolted to the receiver wall, opposite the ejection port. The bolt is where things get interesting. Its a serious chunk of steel, tipping the scales at over 19 ounces (as compared to a 9mm AR, which typically weigh in at around 22 to 25 ounces for carrier and buffer). In order to cram everything into a small space, the gun relies not on a powerful recoil spring, but a single roller at the 12 oclock position, which locks the bolt to the barrel trunnion when in battery. Theres a separate, spring-loaded weight forward of the main bolt and at rest, the spring pushes the weight forward, camming the roller into engagement. On firing, recoil compresses the spring, allowing the weight to travel about 3/16 of an inch to the rear, freeing up the roller and unlocking the bolt. At the end of its stroke, the bolt runs into a squishy polymer buffer, cushioning its impact. Due to being designed around the 40 S&W cartridge, wed be interested in playing around with lightening the bolt and seeing what that did to both recoil impulse and bolt speed theres certainly plenty of steel available to mill out. OUTFITTING THE KUNA One of the first things we did to our sample Kuna, even before sending the first rounds downrange, was to file a Form 1 and turn it into a legal short-barreled rifle. That done, it was time to replace the Strike Industries folding brace it arrived with and add a stock, because while braces are a useful thumb in the eye to the ATF, theyre not as useful as a proper stock. In keeping with its compact nature, we chose an A3 Industries folder, which offers a solid lockup and adjustments for both length of pull and comb height. From the same company came a handstop and stubby vertical foregrip, and an M-LOK panel to insulate the right side of the handguard area. The left side received a remote pressure switch, wired to a SureFire Turbo Mini Scout light, while aiming was handled by means of a Trijicon MRO. A Dead Air Mojave 9 rounded out the ensemble, replacing the factory muzzle brake. ROUNDS DOWNRANGE We shot the Kuna initially with its muzzle brake installed, thinking that, while cute, it probably wasnt going to have much of an effect. 9mm Luger simply doesnt have the gas volume or pressure to work a comp very effectively compared to a centerfire rifle round, and on a 5-pound carbine, the effects would be negligible. It wasnt until we started pushing the pace, firing multiple double taps on B/C-sized steel, that we noticed the dot was actually being pushed down on recoil, then would jiggle to the right as the action cycled. Investigating further, the Mojave 9 was installed. The dot still jumped downward slightly, but it never left the confines of the target at 40 yards, allowing for some of the fastest, most consistent hammers weve seen on a subgun-sized carbine. In terms of recoil impulse, the closest we can recall is an MP7, which doesnt recoil so much as vibrate, courtesy of its tiny projectile. If you can press the trigger without disturbing your sight picture, the Kuna will keep pace with full-sized guns like the MP5 when it comes to speed and placing multiple rounds on target. Unlike the MP5, this has ambi controls placed where a normal human can reach them, a bolt hold open, and a magwell that doesnt require the accuracy of a laser-guided anti-tank weapon to hit. Its fixed, hammer-forged barrel proved to be capable of the kind of accuracy youd expect, and we had no trouble shooting 2-inch groups at 50 yards with both S&B 124-grain ball and Federal Hydrashock Deep. In conclusion, this seems like another winner from HS Produkt. If youre looking for a compact and effective backpack or vehicle gun, the Kuna delivers a lot of controllable firepower in a very compact package thats easy to shoot well. Those in the market for a PDW would be well advised to consider it, as would anyone looking for a fun recreational shooter that would perform in PCC matches. Its initially offered in two models, one with a Strike Industries brace and one without for 150 bucks less, which by happy coincidence is almost the cost of a tax stamp Athens-Clarke County Police Department officers responded to a call of a woman who found her husbands body dead in the couples basement on Wednesday, April 9. She told officers that they had gotten into a verbal altercation about a month prior, where she accused her husband of cheating and went to bed. When she woke up, he was not in the room or the house, where they had lived together for five years, so she assumed that he had left, which he had done before. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia voted to increase tuition rates for the 2025-26 school year by 2% for out-of-state students and 3% for out-of-country students at the 26 public colleges and universities in Georgia in a meeting on Tuesday, April 15. The tuition increases will not affect most in-state students. In the hottest sector of AI, where most global VC funding is going currently, the country's record has not been anything to write home about. IMAGE: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at Startup Mahakumbh, April 6, 2025. Photograph: Sanjay Sharma/ANI Photo Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's critique of startups at the second Startup Mahakumbh, asking them to focus on high-tech areas like artificial intelligence (AI), electric mobility, robotics, and deep tech, like China, rather than on quick commerce and selling 'healthy' ice creams, is reflected by the reality of numbers. For venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) investments in high-tech startups, which include AI, electric vehicles, drones, deep tech, semiconductors, and robotics, collectively have seen a fall in 2024 over the previous year. At a macro level VC/PE investments in these high-tech startups fell from $4.06 billion in 2023 to $3.45 billion in 2024 -- a drop of 15 per cent collectively -- according to data from Tracxn. In the hottest sector of AI, where most global VC funding is going currently, the country's record has not been anything to write home about. VC investments in this sector, which peaked in 2022 to $5.9 billion, fell sharply to $1.3 billion in 2023, and further to $1.2 billion in 2024. This is despite the government's AI Mission, which is pushing the pedal by creating computing power at one of the lowest usage cost per hour in the world for Indian startups to use. In the semiconductor/design space, VC investments have fallen sharply from $134.4 million in 2023 to a fifth at only $28 million in 2024. And, in the deep-tech sector, which has caught on across the world, VC investments in India has seen a sharp fall from the peak of 2022 ($2.61 billion) to nearly a third at only $948.1 million in 2024. In 2023, the total investments to startups in this sector was $998.4 million. Even in the more consumer-centric and high-profile electric vehicle (EV) space, funding to startups is getting reigned in. In 2022, EV companies, including Ola and Ather, raised over $2 billion, and in 2023 another $1.5 billion as they moved towards going for their IPOs. But with Ola going public in 2024 and its shares getting beaten down and sales falling due to quality and maintenance issues, and Ather still awaiting final clearance from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for its public issue, VCs put in only $1.2 billion in this sector. Also in drones, which is supported by a production linked incentive scheme, VC funding is going down -- in 2023, it peaked at $103.5 million but fell by 11 per cent to $92.4 million in 2024. The only high-tech segment that has bucked the trend is robotics, which saw the highest investment in 2024 at $83.6 million, registering an over three-fold growth over 2023 when it was at only $25.5 million. Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com Zimbabwe mobile operator NetOne has reportedly struck a deal with direct-to-device (D2D) LEO satellite operator AST SpaceMobile to expand the reach of its 5G services once the satellite network is available in Africa. According to the Zimbabwe Independent, NetOne will use AST SpaceMobiles network to enhance connectivity in remote and hard-to-reach regions. We do not segregate those that are in the marginalised areas. We want to make sure that everybody has the same experience as our customers, NetOne group CEO Raphael Mushanawani told the newspaper. So, what that means is that we will be able to offer communication without building base stations in rugged areas. NetOne launched terrestrial 5G in October 2024, over two years after rival telco Econet launched 5G services in February 2022. How long NetOne will have to wait to be able to offer AST SpaceMobiles D2D service remains an open question. AST SpaceMobile launched its first block of five BlueBird satellites in October 2024. According to Space Intel Report, AST SpaceMobile said the satellites which only provide coverage for the US are performing as expected. The next block of BlueBird satellites are slated for launch sometime next month. AST SpaceMobile plans to have 60 LEO satellites in orbit by the end of 2026. AST SpaceMobile has signed over 45 agreements and understandings with mobile network operators, including Globe Telecom and Smart Communications in the Philippines, TIM in Brazil, Zain KSA in Saudi Arabia, Safaricom in Kenya, and Uganda Telecom, among others. In December 2024 it signed a definitive ten-year commercial agreement with Vodafone Group to roll out its services in Vodafones markets worldwide, including Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, India and Turkey. India's exports turned positive after four months recording a marginal 0.7 per cent increase to $41.97 billion in March, while the trade deficit widened to $21.54 billion, the government data showed on Tuesday. Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Imports increased by 11.3 per cent year-on-year to $63.51 billion in March, according to the data released by the commerce ministry data. Cumulatively, during the 2024-25 financial year (April-March), the country's exports moved up a tad by 0.08 per cent to $437.42 billion, whereas imports climbed by 6.62 per cent to $720.24 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $282.82 billion. The trade deficit in February this year was $14.05 billion. In March last year, the difference between exports and imports stood at $15.33 billion. During 2023-24, it was $241.14 billion. As regards imports, the growth rose to a four-month high of 11.3 per cent year-on-year to $63.51 billion in March. The country's overall exports of goods and services are estimated to reach a "record" of $820.93 billion in 2024-25, an increase of 5.5 per cent over 2023-24 when these outbound shipments stood at $778.13 billion. Services exports are estimated at $383.51 billion last fiscal against $341.06 billion in 2023-24. The imports stood at $194.95 billion in 2024-25 against $178.31 billion in 2023-24. Commenting on the data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said despite global challenges, the merchandise exports touched the "highest" ever figures in 2024-25. The overall shipments were also "highest" ever, he told reporters in New Delhi. The major drivers of growth include engineering, electronics, pharma, ready-made garments of all textiles, rice, cotton yarn/fabrics, plastics, coffee, spices, tea and tobacco. In 2024-25, engineering exports touched a maximum of $116.67 billion against $109.3 billion in 2023-24. It was followed by electronics ($38.38 billion against $29.12 billion), pharma ($30.47 billion against $27.85 billion), ready-made garments of all textiles ($15.99 billion against $14.53 billion), rice ($12.47 billion against $10.42 billion), cotton yarn/fabrics ($12.06 billion against $11.68 billion), plastics ($8.92 billion against $8.09 billion). Sectors which recorded negative growth last fiscal include petroleum products ($63.34 billion against $84.16 billion), gems and jewellery ($29.81 billion against $32.17 billion), and chemicals ($28.7 billion against $29.38 billion). According to the data, gold imports have increased to $58.01 billion last fiscal against $45.54 billion. In volume terms, the imports dipped to 757.15 tonnes in 2024-25 against 795.32 tonnes in 2023-24. Other import sectors that recorded positive growth last fiscal include crude oil ($185.78 billion against $178.73 billion), and electronic goods ($98.73 billion against $87.86 billion). Coal, and coke imports, however, dipped to $31.09 billion in 2024-25 against $38.88 billion in 2023-24. Over the medium and long term, the BJP hopes to devour the AIADMK, they having identified the party as 'ideologically not as sound as the DMK', predicts N Sathiya Moorthy. IMAGE: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah joins hands with outgoing Tamil Nadu BJP president Kuppusamy Annamalai, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and others during a media interaction in Chennai, April 11, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo In negotiations for alliance-revival for next year's assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK's Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) showed the tough streak of his political mentor, the late Jayalalithaa Jayaram. But on substantive matters that are all in the future, the Bharatiya Janata Party's strategist par excellence Amit Shah seemed to have had the last laugh. Yet, in playing tactical one-upmanship both might have left a lot uncovered in a high stakes drama, whose other elements would take time to unfold in full. On alliance-revival, EPS won on three major counts -- that he would be the chief ministerial candidate, the BJP would not 'interfere' in AIADMK's 'internal affairs' and yet would yield to his demand and replace state party chief K Annamalai. But Amit Shah possibly won the future for all time to come when he declared that it would still be an 'NDA government' under EPS, if they won. In simple terms, it means that the BJP and possibly other allies would have a share in power -- the first time that the state would have a multi-party dispensation. But over the medium and long term, the BJP hopes to devour the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, they having identified the party as 'ideologically not as sound as the DMK' even when Jaya was around, to be able to resist poaching of any kind and every kind. Between the AIADMK and the DMK, only the former has mutually-transferrable votes for the BJP, indicating a mindset that is amenable and agreeable. Of course, when the BJP and the DMK were allies in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls and the 2001 assembly elections, there was transferability of DMK votes to the BJP, but not the other way round. There is, however, no denying the fact that the BJP's traditional three per cent vote share went up to eight under Atal Bihari Vajpayee but only in the Lok Sabha polls and now under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but only less not more under the latter. The BJP leadership, after hoping to win over the DMK, gave up, acknowledging that the party could not align without 'reverse transferability', not especially when it stood to lose the 15-per cent 'minority vote bank', more so because of MoShah duo's 'hard-line Hindutva politics'. In context, AIADMK insiders are upset that EPS's 'unthinking' decision without adequate consultations will reverse the minimal return of the minorities to the party's side when the party contested last year's Lok Sabha polls sans the BJP. Actor-politician Vijay with his infant Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam sees an opportunity where none other now exists for him after the alliance-revival, by deciding to move the Supreme Court on the Waqf Act. Like when EPS met Shah in Delhi a few weeks ago, Vijay has once again come up with a delayed reaction that the assembly polls would only be between the DMK and the TVK. It's something that even his cadres find hard to stomach, especially after the BJP-AIADMK alliance-revival. IMAGE: Amit Shah and Edappadi Palaniswami at a meal in Chennai, April 11, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo Some AIADMK second-liners hope if between them Shah and Modi could ensure that the Hindutva streak of their party and government is not on display at least for another year. Such developments, either at the national level or by 'errant' elements in BJP-ruled states, starting with Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, could put the AIADMK on the defensive when it could ill afford it. The reasons are not far to seek. From before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, EPS himself has been feeding on and also feeding in turn, the anti-Hindutva, anti-BJP thinking among AIADMK cadres. The latter attributed past alliance defeats in 2019 and 2021 and also the unlikely consolidation of the rival DMK in 2024, to the anti-Hindutva, anti-Modi mood of Tamil voters and AIADMK cadres in that order. Throughout this period, and more so in the past month or so, EPS added fuel to the fire, by the party backing the DMK state government's assembly resolutions against the Waqf Bill and delimitation in particular, and the Kachchatheevu issue otherwise. In the days after his Delhi meeting with Shah, he went overboard by declaring to party cadres that there would be 'no alliance with the BJP now or ever'. Yet, some in the state BJP and also the AIADMK feel that they would have to rope in the TVK, to make theirs a 'victorious alliance', as the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had conceptualised one for the Lok Sabha polls of 2004. For such a possibility, all NDA partners should agree to contest few seats and win the most, rather than contest more and lose all. Neither side believes that Vijay has an 18 per cent voter pull, as predicted by some pollsters not very long ago. With alliance-revival now, whatever little vote share he could have hoped for might shrink as the election is becoming increasingly polarised 'between alliances led by the DMK and the AIADMK', as always. There is equal concern if EPS would be ready to accept his detractors like OPS, T T V Dhinakaran and Sasikala Natarajan in the NDA fold without re-admitting them into the AIADMK. Or, if he would be willing to accommodate recent dissenters like K A Sengottiyan, with whom Amit Shah had opened a separate line of communication. If anything, EPS will be uncomfortable with the likes of OPS and TTV in a ministry under his care. He would also be eternally suspicious of Sengottiyan and others as 'Trojan horses' of the Ajit Pawar kind. Against this, his loyalists like former ministers D Jayakumar and C V Shanmugam are upset with alliance-revival and more so with EPS' 'unilateral decision', unlike the MGR-Jaya duo, who always entertained and encouraged broad-based consultations at all levels. IMAGE: Movie superstar Vijay, founder of the Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam, arrives at the TVK's first-anniversary celebrations in Mamallapuram. Photograph: ANI Photo Independent of the BJP national leadership's assessment, the new state BJP president Nainar Nagendran may not be a vote-catcher, more so among the traditional Mukkulathore community stronghold of the AIADMK ally. Nagendran, from the Thevar sub-sect of the influential Mukkulathore community in southern Tirunelveli district, does not belong to the self-styled 'blue-blooded' grouping spread across half a dozen districts in the Cauvery delta. Though they might have lost much of the clout, OPS, TTV and Sasikala still may have a greater sway in the region than Nagendran or the BJP otherwise. If nothing else, any or all of these three contesting alone or together might make it that much more difficult for the NDA, despite the claims that together the BJP and the AIADMK are strong in this belt. Recent election results do not prove the point, which was true only of the MGR-Jaya era, even then with a few exceptions, as in 1996 and 2004. There is also an added concern that if the BJP were to contest more seats under the alliance, those constituencies could well become a cakewalk for the DMK in particular, and the party could focus more on other constituencies and those of its allies. The reverse is equally true for the AIADMK in constituencies contested by the DMK's allies, and not the party per se. IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin. Photograph: Kind courtesy DMK/X All this does not mean that the ruling DMK under Chief Minister M K Stalin will have a fourth electoral victory in a row since 2019. Going by simple arithmetic, the rival alliance-revival has made it visibly tough even without their old allies like the PMK, DMDK and the TMC, of whom the former is caught in the throes of a father-son duel for supremacy within. The DMK has the Congress, two Communist parties, the IUML and the VCK as partners since 2016. In the immediate context, following Shah's declaration of an 'NDA government' if the alliance won, there would be separate internal churning, especially within the Congress and the VCK, for an 'INDIA combine government' of the DMK under Stalin 'if/when' they won the assembly polls next year. However, alliance-revival has actually made those claims sound weaker as the leaderships of those parties are well aware that they need the DMK cadres more than the other way round, especially in a 'tough election' as it promises to be. In electoral terms, Amit Shah has begun well by naming Stalin and his son and heir-apparent Udhayanidhi Stalin, at present the deputy chief minister, as their main electoral targets. At the news conference, where EPS sat meekly by his side, Shah also rolled out corruption figures in independent departments of the state government, indicating where his dispensation's interest now lies. The DMK's immediate attempt is to continue to keep the BJP, Modi and Hindutva in electoral focus for one more time -- and still hope to win. That is still a tall order, but then alliance-revival across the aisle has meant that most, if not all of the 15-per cent minority votes would go with the party all over again, rather than partly going to the TVK, which the DMK claims has lost the initial drive. The DMK, instead, seems to hope that in the light of the 'pan-Tamil' ideological revival under Stalin's 'Dravidian model' they could still convince that all the ED-IT-CBI raids and arrests, past, present and future, were all a part of the BJP's electoral frustration taking the shape of 'political vendetta'. Such a construct is arguable, yes, but Tamil Nadu has the dubious history of political corruption -- big and small -- not becoming an election issue anytime in the past. For all such arguments, the DMK still cannot live down 'anti-incumbency', which has become unpredictable after close to half the state's electorate became 'non-committed, swing' voters, a couple of decades ago -- and remain so ever since. Apart from perception of political corruption across the board, the government suffers from a widespread social media image of 'lawlessness', ineffective leadership, undisciplined ministers and uncooperative bureaucracy. IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin distributes chocolates to Lady Willingdon High School students on the occasion of his birthday at Triplicane in Chennai, March 1, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo The recent controversies involving senior ministers S Duraimurgan and K Ponmudy, respectively the party general secretary and deputy general secretary (since sacked), became muted not because they apologised in public before long, but because Amit Shah made even bigger headlines. Yet, there was no denying Ponmudy's patently obscene references to the religious marks that Saivite and Vaishnative Hindus apply on their foreheads, and Duraimurugan's disparaging remarks on the disabled. An enraged Stalin sacked Ponmudy from the party post but there is still widespread demands, both outside the party and less so inside, for his instant removal. Already, controversial state Governor R N Ravi, who was supposed to have been 'chastened' by a recent Supreme Court verdict, has used the Ponmudy controversy to re-launch himself. Apart from the possibility of police complaints against Ponmudy in some BJP-ruled state(s), DMK cadres want the chief minister to use the opportunity to drop deadwood and induct fresh blood in the government well in time for the assembly polls. In a party of the saamaniyan, or 'common man', the cadres are hurt that only moneyed people with father-son connections to ageing party bigwigs are filling every vacancy -- and are also bringing a bad name to the party by facing IT/ED raids, along with their parents. Incidentally, they are all clear that they have no issues with Udhayanidhi becoming the party's mascot of the future, but want it to end there. N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and author, is a Chennai-based policy analyst and political commentator. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com The Pakistan army's Bahawalpur Corps has always had a special significance for India as it keeps an eye on the Jaish e Mohammed, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W. IMAGE: February 4, 2000: Masood Azhar leaves the Karachi press club after a news conference where he announced the founding of the Jaish e Mohammad. He had been freed from an Indian prison along with two other terrorists in exchange for the passengers and crew of the hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC-814. Photograph: Reuters Lieutenant General Saqib Mehmood Malik, 14 Punjab (79th PMA course, Kakul) was due to retire on April 3, 2025 as the 24th corps commander of the XXXI Corps, Bahawalpur, having taken over on December 4, 2022 from his now rather 'infamous' predecessor, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed. In a pattern familiar to Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir's style of managing reshuffles of his senior generals, no decision on filling up the vacancy has been made public so far. Saqib Mehmood served as a brigadier in the Northern Areas during the Gyari avalanche in April 2012 when 140 soldiers at an army base in the Gyari sector, Ghianche district, Gilgit Baltistan, opposite Siachen in Jammu and Kashmir, were trapped under heavy snow, leading ultimately to 129 soldiers killed along with 11 civilians (contractors and labour). He was thereafter posted as the defence attache in Pakistan's high commission in New Delhi (2013 to 2016). Picking up two star rank on return (major general), he served as Force Commander, Northern Areas under X Corps, Rawalpindi, taking over from General Asim Munir there, when the latter was appointed director general military intelligence. Promoted to three star rank in April 2021, Lieutenant General Saqib became chief of logistics at General Headquarters before being posted to the Bahawalpur Corps command. The Bahawalpur Corps was set up in 1986, bifurcating assets and responsibilities earlier part of II Corps, Multan. It presently oversees three Infantry Divisions (35 and 14 Infantry, 26th Mechanised Infantry) and five independent brigades (one each of infantry, artillery, armoured corps, signals and engineering) with responsibilities of defensive and offensive warfare covering he desert regions of southern Punjab, where it can also have a role to assist civilian authority in anti-dacoity operations, in the 'kutcha' areas of Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur. Though considered a somewhat 'backwater' assignment in the peer parlance of military professionals in Pakistan, the Bahawalpur corps assignment has always had a special significance for India as it keeps an eye on the sprawling, indeed ever burgeoning, headquarters of the Jaish e Mohammed whose campus in Bahawalpur has served as home for the terrorist Masood Azhar and his brothers, focusing on State sponsored terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. After his health failed, Masood Azhar may have been whisked away to army guarded safer confines closer to Rawalpindi but his brother Abdul Rauf Azhar and other family members/senior Jaish leaders continue to frequent the Bahawalpur premises under the military's benevolently watchful eye. IMAGE: General Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief. Photograph: Kind courtesy DG ISPR/X Lieutenant General Saqib could be replaced on promotion by either Major General Akim Iqbal, 37 Punjab, 84th PMA, currently director general, counter-terrorism at the Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) or Major General Muhammed Irfan, 39 Punjab, GOC 12 Division, Muree, both straining to pick up rank in the seniority pecking order of two star generals. Akim's placement there, with his recent ISI experience, could certainly be worrisome from the point of view of India's concerns. If newly promoted officers are not to be sent straight away to a corps command, General Munir could consider placing one of the more senior lieutenant generals from the 82 PMA long course like Lieutenant General Amer Ahsan Nawaz, 3 Baloch Regiment, currently military secretary or Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ahmed, Air Defence, currently inspector general, Arms at GHQ, to the vacant Bahawalpur Corps Command. However, a military secretary is usually a close and trusted aide of the army ghief and if General Asim Munir considers going for a larger reshuffle at this stage, Lieutenant General Amer Ahsan Nawaz could well be considered for posting to XII Corps, Quetta, Baluchistan, where Lieutenant General Rahat Naseem Ahmed Khan, 1 Frontier Force Regiment, has been corps commander for nearly two-and-a-half years. After the recent uptick in terrorist activity in the province, Baluchistan needs perhaps renewed energy and new leadership initiatives at the operational level. No other retirements of lieutenant generals are immediately due in Pakistan after this change. The next set is slated to occur in late November 2025 if at all. After the November 2024 amendment to the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, General Munir is likely to continue as army chief for a five year term, which will now end in November, 2027. However, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza's term as chairman, joint chiefs of staff committee, will conclude in November 2025, leaving scope for elevation of one three star general to the vacant four star slot. Lieutenant General Asim Malik, currently director general ISI, was promoted as lieutenant general in 2021, almost a year ahead of his 80th PMA Kakul course-mates. He will complete four years in the rank of lieutenant general in October 2025 thus becoming due for retirement. Whether that happens or not is a different question as by all accounts, he seems to have made himself indispensible in loyal service of his master, General Munir. He could emerge as a major contender for elevation then to the other, albeit largely ceremonial, four star slot of general. He may have to compete with another loyalist, Lieutenant General Shahid Imtiaz, 19 Azad Kashmir Regiment, an officer from the Officer Training School stream, whom General Munir brought in as X Corps Commander, Rawalpindi immediately after becoming army chief in November, 2022, reversing overnight General Qamar Javed Bajwa's decision to appoint Lieutenant General Nauman Zakaria, now corps commander, 1 Corps, Mangla to that post. Lieutenant General Shahid Imtiaz has remained in the crucial Rawalpindi slot ever since. Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff 'Parents are forced to provide their children to Russian re-education camps in occupied territories and in different parts of Russia, for example, in Chechnya, where Ukrainian children wearing military uniform are taught to use weapons.' IMAGE: A person mourns at the site of a deadly Russian missile strike on a residential area where multiple children were killed in Kryvyi Rih. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters Nobel Prize-winning human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk, who heads the Center for Civil Liberties in Kyiv, Ukraine, has documented 84,000 instances of war crimes -- abductions, rape, torture, forced deportations of children, bombing of hospitals, homes and schools, killing of children and civilians -- apart from the unspeakable horror of its concentration camps. And these, she says, are just the tip of the iceberg. Russia, she says, is using pain as a tool of warfare to break people's resistance and occupy her country and is creating a 'Russian world' in Ukraine by eroding Ukrainian identity. "They aren't just seeking territory," she says, and reveals the dystopian, bizarre and frightening reality that Ukrainians are going through as the war enters its fourth year. "Occupation is not just a change of governance, it is enforced disappearances, torture, rapes, denial of your identity, forcible adoption of your own children, filtration camps and mass graves," Oleksandra tells Swarupa Dutt/Rediff.com in the second part of a must-read interview. Part I of the Interview: 'Putin is a liar' IMAGE: A woman reacts at the site of a deadly Russian missile strike on a residential area that killed multiple children, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, April 5, 2025. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters You have described the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine as 'different in their scale and brutality'. Please elaborate. The Center for Civil Liberties was the first human rights group in the world to send mobile monitoring groups to Crimea and the Donbas region in 2014 to document war crimes, and continues to do so in areas where Russian troops are present. These mobile groups document how Russians use terror as a war tactic against civilians in the occupied territories. Russians exterminated ordinary people -- teachers, journalists, priests, environmentalists, musicians, children, writers -- people who are active in a community. They banned the Ukrainian language and our culture and robbed and destroyed our heritage. They took Ukrainian children to Russia, separating them from their families so as to bring them up as Russians. This happened in the first years of the war, in 2014, and we sent numerous reports to all international organisations. I spoke at the UN several times and at different hearings of UN committees but nothing changed. When large-scale war started in 2022, the evil multiplied and became more intense. We have documented 84,000 individual instances of Russian war crimes in Ukraine since 2022. We are documenting how Russian troops deliberately hit residential buildings, schools, churches, museums and hospitals; how they attacked evacuation corridors; the inhuman conditions in prisons, child labour in OTs, how they tortured people and illegally deported Ukrainian children to Russia. We have documented thousands of instances of abductions, robbery, rape and killing of civilians in the occupied territories in filtration camps. (Filtration camps, also called concentration camps, are used by Russian forces in Ukraine to register, interrogate, and detain Ukrainian citizens in regions under Russian occupation before transferring them into Russia. This is part of forced population transfers). Yet, the entire system that is the United Nations cannot stop them. The main lessons we have learned from this is that Russia uses pain as a tool of war, which means that they are deliberately inflicting pain and suffering to civilians in order to break people's resistance and occupy this country. Do you have figures for each and every of these war crimes you mentioned? Yes, but when I mentioned the documentation of 84,000 war crimes, it's actually just the tip of the iceberg. This is the documentation over the last three years only. We can't record each individual episode, so the real scale of horror is much, much larger. IMAGE: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of his security council via a video link in Moscow, April 1, 2025. Photograph: Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via Reuters You spoke about the mass abductions of Ukrainian children to Russia. Please explain. A man lived in Mariupol with his three children, and when the city was occupied by Russian forces, he was forcibly taken to Russia. But instead of putting him in a filtration camp, he was imprisoned and therefore separated from his children. These three children were put in Russian re-education camps. (A report funded by the US state department says that since 2022, children as young as four months living in the occupied areas have been taken to 43 re-education camps across Russia, including in Crimea and Siberia. At these camps they are given pro-Russia patriotic and military-related education. In the first year of the war, over 6,000 children went to these camps, some never to return. Ukraine's government in 2025 claimed that more than 19,500 children had been deported to Russia, where some had been sexually exploited.) At the camps, the children were told they are not Ukrainian; they are Russian, and that their father did not want them and they would be adopted by different Russian families. I won't describe the horror and ill-treatment which the father experienced at the filtration camp, but by a miracle he was released. One of his children at the re-education camp got a message through to his father saying that in five days Russian families would separate the siblings, adopt and transfer them to different parts of Russia. Without documents or money, his body broken by the torture at the filtration camp, the father managed to find his children and get them back. This happy ending is an exception. The vast majority of children from the occupied territories are still in Russia, and the problem is when you have children as young as three or five year sold, the Russian adoptive family can easily change their identity by giving them a new name, a birth date and birth place, and after a while the children forget who they were. When parents released after months or years in filtration camps are released and set about trying to find their abducted children, it's impossible to do so because young children have forgotten their real name, their real parents. IMAGE: A man reacts next to a body at the site of a Russian missile strike in a residential area, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, April 4, 2025. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters How many such cases of forced deportations and abductions of children have happened since 2022? As a human rights organisation, we can't track each of these cases, but what we see is systematic practice and that is why the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova. When I say that Vladimir Putin is the biggest child kidnapper in the world, it's not metaphorical; it is based on this legal indictment of the court. We have the names of these 19,500 children and the names of their parents. (Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March 2025 has said that Russia's ombudsman in 2023, reported that Russia was holding 700,000 Ukrainian children). The United Nations high commissioner for human rights has said that at least 669 children were killed and 1,800 injured in Ukraine from 2022 to December 31, 2024. Do your figures match? UN representatives record cases for which they have access to proof. They have no access to the occupied territories and that's why they don't know or even understand the real scope of death which Ukrainians are facing because information from the occupied territories is blocked by Russians and evidence of deaths destroyed. [For clarity, Russia occupies 20 per cent of Ukraine and millions of Ukrainians live in occupied territories like Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and the Luhansk regions. However, Russia controls only 70 per cent of these occupied territories.] Let me explain this with the story of Ilya Matvienko, a10-year-old-boy from Mariupol. When Russians seized the city, they didn't allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to open a green corridor for evacuation of civilians. So Ilya and his mother, like thousands of other people in Mariupol, had to hide in the basement of their building from Russian shelling. They melted snow for water and used firewood to cook whatever food they had. But supplies ran out and they were forced to go out on to the streets where they were caught in the middle of Russian shelling. Ilya's mother was hit in the head and the boy's legs were shred by shrapnel. His mother somehow managed to drag her son to a friend's apartment. There was no medical assistance at any hospital because Russians had deliberately destroyed the entire medical infrastructure in Mariupol including a maternity hospital. It was winter and the mother and son lay on a couch hugging each other for warmth. Ilya told my colleague that he could feel his mother's heartbeat stop and she died in his arms. This unimaginable horror is what Russians bring to the life of Ukrainian children. Every child who is dead or was injured because of the Russian war is a case, not a number. After the occupation of Mariupol, Russians didn't allow international organisations or independent media to work there. They began reconstruction of the bombed city quickly to hide from history the excesses and murders they had committed. IMAGE: A drone view of the site of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv. Photograph: Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv/Handout via Reuters These horrific cases -- are they only from the occupied territories? Yes. We have approximately 1.6 million children in the occupied territories where Russia is conducting an unbelievable experiment, as we speak, to prepare the next generation of Putin's soldiers. Russia is building a Soviet Union in the occupied territories. They are closed, dysfunctional worlds where fear rules and people face severe repression, erasure of local identity, and systematic destruction of culture and infrastructure. Russians are creating a 'Russian world' in our country. Erosion of identity means that Ukrainians in these OTs are prohibited to speak Ukrainian and can be severely punished. Russian textbooks replace Ukrainian ones in school -- all Ukrainians books were burned. Libraries are purged of Ukrainian books. Russians are not just seeking territory; they are trying to destroy our identity. Children in OTs go through rigorous militarisation which begins in kindergarten. Parents are forced to provide their children to Russian re-education camps in occupied territories and in different parts of Russia, for example, in Chechnya, where Ukrainian children wearing military uniform are taught to use weapons. Russians raise their children in unquestionable obedience and that is what is being done in the OTs. When these children turn 14, they will receive a Russian passport, and at 18 the boys are conscripted in the Russian army. They are reprogramming Ukrainian children using an authoritarian software which when the time is right, will be used against us. Every human being needs space -- mental spaces but there is no concept of personal space for Russians. I want to say that if this war is about land, then give the land to Russia, give them the territories and give us our people back. Occupation is not just a change of governance from one State to another. It is enforced disappearances, torture, rapes, denial of your identity, forcible adoption of your own children, filtration camps and mass graves. Over 3 million Ukrainians live in occupied territories. We have no moral right to leave them battling torture and the death of their loved ones. These are our families, our relatives, our communities, our people and we will get them back. IMAGE: People clean up a house that was damaged by a Russian missile strike on a residential area, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, April 4, 2025. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters How do the abductions of civilians happen? Let me tell you the story of Stephan Podolchak. He was a priest in a village in Kalanchak (in Kherson oblast or province) under Russian occupation. Russians came to his house and picked up Father Stephan -- barefoot with a bag over his head. They upturned and destroyed everything in his house. Two days later they told his wife that Father Stephan had died of a heart attack. We know the Russians tortured him to death because they had repeatedly told him earlier to transfer his church and its congregation to the Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarch. Father Stephan had refused insisting that he would not betray his oath to his congregation. So, he was picked up and killed. The famous Ukrainian musician and conductor, Yuriy Kerpatenko, was shot dead by Russian soldiers because the Russians asked him to play in a concert, and he refused. [According to the culture ministry in Kyiv, 'Conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko declined to take part in a concert intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called 'improvement of peaceful life' in Kherson.'] We have documentation of at least 61,000 people who have gone missing since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, who include both soldiers and civilians. When soldiers are abducted or go missing in action there is at least some chance they might return home in a prisoner-of-war swap, but civilians simply disappear because they are killed as Russians don't admit to taking them in the first place. IMAGE: Oleksandra Matviichuk. Photograph: Kind courtesy Oleksandra Matviichuk How are orphans coping? Is there a government body which looks after them? We have a lot of problems with rehabilitation, medical, assistance, psychological care and providing them security. Our government bodies are not very efficient, frankly speaking, and that's why a lot of civil society initiatives are on. The Voice of Ukraine Foundation, run by my friend, for instance, provides medical and psychological support for children who are affected by the war, or those raped by Russian soldiers, or illegally deported to Russia. If you ask me why the Russians do not leave children alone, it's because they are inherently cruel. These civil society organisations do help, but the problem is with the numbers. Millions of people are suffering -- children, men, women even those far away from the frontline. It is difficult to live among such horror every day. It is impossible to counsel the millions who have been affected. We have to find another way to transfer this pain into energy which enables people survive. I think that Ukrainians have much more resilience than we give ourselves credit for. Part III of the Interview: 'I Want To Forget The Horror Of This War' Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com Comedian-actor Vir Das on Tuesday said Air India didn't provide a wheelchair for his wife, recovering from a fractured foot, despite it being pre-booked on the airline's Pranaam service. IMAGE: File image of comedian-actor Vir Das. Photograph: ANI Photo In response, a spokesperson of the Tata-owned carrier admitted that the comedian's experience fell "short of expectations" and noted that there was a delay, not a denial, in providing the wheelchair to his wife, Shivani Mathur. Das criticised the airline in a long post on X, saying he paid Rs 50,000 each for two seats in the Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi on Monday evening but faced multiple issues during the journey. "Dear @airindia, Please reclaim your wheelchair. I'm a lifetime loyalist. I believe you've got the nicest cabin crew in the sky, this post pains me to write. "My wife and I book Pranaam and a wheelchair because she's got a foot fracture that's still healing. We're flying to delhi. 50grand a seat. Broken table, broken leg rests, her seat is stuck reclined, won't straighten fully. Were told the flight is 'newly refurbished'," he began the post. Das said the flight was delayed by two hours and when it landed, they were asked to get down using a stepladder. "Again wheelchair and encalm pre-booked. I ask the air hostesses at the front of the plane to assist my wife while I carry four bags. Silence and a clueless look at each other. We step off the plane to the top of the ladder. I ask an air India male ground staff member to help us, looks at me, shrugs, and ignores me. "My wife with a fracture makes it down the stepladder. I tell an Air India staff member at the bottom near the buses what happened. He says 'sir kya Karein sorry'," he said. In the post, Das also said that they faced difficulty in getting a wheelchair even at the terminal. "Encalm people inform wheelchair staff that we had pre booked a chair. He's clueless. There's wheelchairs everywhere. No staff because the flight is late. I grab a chair and wheel her to baggage claim, then out of the airport to the parking. Encalm lets Air India know this is happening. "No one shows. Anyway. One of your wheelchairs is on the second floor of the parking in Delhi. Do claim it. Cheers," he ended the post. The actor's post received a reply from the official handle of Air India. "Dear Mr. Das, we understand and empathize with the experience. Please share us the booking details via DM for us to look into this on priority," Air India posted. Hours after Das' post, the airline released a statement, saying that they have taken note of the matter with concern. "We empathise with the guests, especially given the mobility concern involved, and recognize that this experience fell short of expectations. The operating cabin crew offered to assist the guest, including deplaning by using the 'ambulift' assigned to the aircraft as per SOP, but the delay not denial in providing wheelchair assistance was due to unusually high demand for wheelchairs and staff at that time. "Air India remains committed to improving the end-to-end travel experience for all its guests," the Air India spokesperson said. A court in Bangladesh on Tuesday issued fresh arrest warrants against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, her son Sajeeb Wajed and 16 others in two cases related to alleged irregularities in allocating residential plots on the outskirts of the capital. IMAGE: Deposed prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina. Photograph: ANI Photo "Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge's court issued the warrants in two cases over the irregularities in acquiring plots in Purbachal New Town, taking into consideration the Anti-Corruption Commission chargesheets,a court official said. According to a prosecution lawyer, most of those accused were government officials. The court ordered the police to submit a report on April 29 if the now self-exiled ex-premier and other accused were arrested. Judge Zakir Hossain directed officers-in-charge of over a dozen police stations in Dhaka and other parts of the country to submit progress reports on executing his order by that date as the ACC said all of them were fugitives, the official added. The same court earlier issued arrest warrants against Hasina, her daughter Saima Wajed Putul, her sister Sheikh Rehana, British MP Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, Rehana's son Radwan Mujib Siddiq and 48 others in connection with the alleged illegal acquisition of land by abusing political power. The ACC in December launched an inquiry against Hasina and her relatives over allegations of illegally acquiring 60 kathas (1.86 acres) of government plots in Purbachal, abusing state power. ACC director general Akhtar Hossain said the Hasina family members secretly and illegally acquired six 10-katha plots on Road 203 under now developing Purbachal's Sector 27, which was the proposed Diplomatic Zone of the land development project of state-run Rajdhani Unyan Kartripakkha. Earlier, the high court had formed a three-member committee headed by a former judge of the same court to investigate irregularities in the allocation of the plots. In a related development, Hasina's niece British lawmaker Tulip Siddiq claimed that the arrest warrant against her was politically motivated" and there is no evidence that I've done anything wrong". "No one from the Bangladeshi authorities has contacted me. The entire time, they've done trial by media," she told the Sky TV network in the UK. Tulip resigned as the minister responsible for financial services and fighting corruption in January after weeks of questions over her financial ties to her aunt, saying the focus on her risked diverting attention from the government's political agenda. Britain does not currently have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal earlier issued two identical arrest warrants against Hasina, her political colleagues and senior civil and military officials on charges like crimes against humanity and enforced disappearance. The tribunal was formed originally to try hardened collaborators of Pakistan troops during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War and several of them were tried there and executed as well subsequently after exhausting the appeal process. A Dhaka court recently ordered the arrest of Hasina and Rehana in line with an ACC charge accusing them of allegedly wasting Taka 4,000 crore for Mujib Centenary celebrations. ACC alleged that the amount was spent from the national exchequer. Bangladesh observed the yearlong celebration coinciding with the 100th birthday of Bangladesh's founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020 while Hasina's Awami League was in power. Rehana did not hold any official position in the past regime. ACC chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen earlier this week said there was no difference between the former premier and a typical corrupt individual and the process to bring back a corrupt fugitive is the same, whether it's Hasina or anyone else. Hasina is also accused of numerous charges like mass murders and crimes against humanity, enforced disappearances while these cases were being filed with Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal. Hasina's 16-year-long Awami League regime was toppled on August 5 last year in a student-led violent mass uprising. Since then, 77-year-old Hasina has been living in India. The Congress on Tuesday condemned the Narendra Modi-led government for seizing assets of the National Herald and announced nationwide protests against the "draconian" action. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo AICC general secretary KC Venugopal also said the National Herald, founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938, played a vital role in India's freedom struggle, serving as a powerful voice against British colonial rule. Describing the action as "draconian", he said the government had, in an "arbitrary and unjust" manner, seized the National Herald's assets. He also called the chargesheet against the senior party leadership, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, "politically motivated". Venugopal said in a statement, "It (National Herald) stood for justice, liberty and democratic ideals -- values that continue to guide the Indian National Congress to this day." "The so-called action is not a routine legal procedure. It is a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law -- an egregious misuse of state institutions aimed at silencing the democratic opposition," he added. Venugopal alleged that the ruling regime had crossed all limits in its pursuit of vendetta politics, weaponising investigative agencies to intimidate and harass the Congress leadership. He claimed there was widespread anger among the people of India over such a "blatant abuse of power" and the Congress would give voice to this public outrage through democratic means. "The party will organise nationwide protests on Wednesday in front of Enforcement Directorate offices at state headquarters and central government offices at the district level," Venugopal said. "All senior state leaders, MLAs, MPs, office-bearers of frontal organisations, and Congress workers will participate in these state-level protests being coordinated by the respective Pradesh Congress Committees. These demonstrations will be a powerful expression of our collective resolve to stand against the politics of fear and oppression," he said. The ED has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others on charges of money laundering in the case. Special judge Vishal Gogne examined the chargesheet, which was filed on April 9, on the point of cognisance and posted the matter for further proceedings on April 25. The chargesheet also names Suman Dubey and Congress leader Sam Pitroda as accused. It was filed under sections 3 (money laundering) and 4 (punishment for money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act by the ED's special public prosecutor NK Matta. Venugopal said, "This is a decisive moment to stand united -- to defend our democracy, uphold constitutional values, and confront tyranny with courage." "We reiterate that the Indian National Congress and its leadership will not be silenced by such unlawful actions. We have fought to uphold the soul of India before and we are prepared to do so again. Our commitment to truth, justice and constitutional democracy is unwavering. Satyameva Jayate is not merely a slogan -- it is our conviction," he added. The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided the premises of Rajasthan Congress leader and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Punjab Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kulwant Singh as part of a Rs 48,000-crore PACL Ponzi "fraud"-linked money laundering probe, official sources said. IMAGE: Rajasthan Congress leader and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas (second from right) reacts during an ED raid in Jaipur, April 15, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo About 15 premises including Khachariyawas' house in Jaipur and Singh's premises in Punjab's Mohali apart from some others are being searched by the federal probe agency. A security team of the Central Reserve Police Force has also been deployed with the ED teams at both the locations linked to the politicians. The 55-year-old Congress leader served as minister for transport, food and civil supplies in the cabinet of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot. He has represented the Civil Lines (Jaipur) seat in the Rajasthan Assembly. Singh, 63, is the promoter of a real estate firm named Janta Land Promoters Limited. He is reported to be Punjab's richest MLA with assets reportedly worth Rs 1,000 crore. Addressing reporters outside his ancestral house in Jaipur, Khachariyawas, nephew of former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, said the ED action was "politically motivated" because he has been speaking against the government. He asserted he had done nothing wrong and that he was "not afraid" of the ED. There was no response till evening hours from Singh or his family on the ED action. The money laundering investigation of 2015 stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR against PACL India Limited, PGF Limited, the late PACL promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and others for operating "fraudulent" investment schemes to deceive investors. Through these schemes, PACL and its directors "defrauded" the investors of about Rs 48,000 crore, according to the ED. Alleged "proceeds of crime" are suspected to have been diverted to various entities including those linked to Khachariyawas, the sources claimed. As the news about the ED raids broke, supporters of Khachariyawas gathered outside his residence and raised slogans. "They have brought a notice to search the premises. They have not given notice linking it to any company. Premises can be searched anywhere in the country, it is their right. I am neither afraid nor nervous," Khachariyawas told reporters. "If there is any issue, I will respond. There are six lawyers from my side," he said. The ED had carried out raids in this case in March against Bhangoo's daughter Barinder Kaur, her husband Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer and her "close associate" Manoj Kumar. Before these searches, it arrested Hayer. Bhangoo died in August last year. The agency has attached assets worth Rs 706 crore, including two immovable properties worth Rs 462 crore in Australia, and filed two charge sheets against PACL, Bhangoo and others. Khachariyawas claimed that the ED had come to search his house to scare him. "The BJP is arrogant. It has been in power at the Centre for 11 years and it is also in power in Rajasthan. I have been speaking against them and therefore they have taken this action, but I am not going to get scared," he said, adding that he will continue raising his voice against the government. Khachariyawas alleged the ED takes action without any reason. "They called our leader Rahul Gandhi. When they give a reason, I will respond. So far, the ED has not given any reason for the search," he said. He said the BJP government should not do politics through the ED. The former minister also said he has nothing to do with any company. Khachariyawas said he lives in a joint family and such actions disturb the entire family. "I will now build a new house, name it 'Kranti House' and start a revolt from there so that my family is not disturbed," he said. Condemning the raids, Gehlot claimed the action is because Khachariyawas remains vocal against the BJP government. Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan assembly Tikaram Jully termed the action against Khachariyawas "political revenge". "Former minister and senior Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas has been raising his voice against the BJP government. Fearing this, the BJP government has sent central agencies to his house," Jully posted on X. "In 2020 also, an attempt was made to harass him in a similar manner. This action being taken against Pratap Singh Khachariyawas in the spirit of political revenge is condemnable," he said. The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday recorded the statement of Robert Vadra, businessman and brother-in-law of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, for about five hours in a 2008 Haryana land deal-linked money laundering case, official sources said. IMAGE: Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, offers prayers at the Banke Bihari temple, Vrindavan in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, April 15, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo He has been asked to depose again on Wednesday for continuing the grilling session, the sources said. Terming the agency's move to summon him as "political vendetta", Vadra said he has spent hours with the ED earlier during questioning (in separate money laundering cases), sharing thousands of pages but still the agency has been raking up cases against him. The 56-year-old walked down from his residence at Sujan Singh Park in central Delhi to the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road, a two-km stretch. He entered the ED office at 11 am along with his lawyer while his security team stayed out. Speaking to reporters on the way to the ED office, he alleged, "This is nothing but political vendetta. Whenever I speak for minorities they try to stop me, crush us... they tried to stop Rahul (Gandhi) in Parliament too. This is misuse of agencies and this is political vendetta,", adding "I will cooperate with them like in the past." Sources said the ED recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for about two hours. After coming out of the ED office for lunch around 1:30 pm, Vadra told reporters that while he was ready to cooperate with the investigation there needed to be a closure. "How can you be talking about something that happened in 2007?" he asked. He left the ED office around 6:30 pm. He was first summoned in this case on April 8 but he did not depose and sought a fresh date, the sources said. The probe against Vadra, whose wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the Congress MP from Kerala's Wayanad, is linked to a land deal in Haryana's Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) in Gurugram. The land deal of February 2008 was done by a company named Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, where Vadra was a director earlier, as it purchased a 3.5 acre land in Shikohpur from a firm named Onkareshwar Properties at a price of Rs 7.5 crore. A Congress government led by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was in power that time. Four years later, in September, 2012, the company sold this 3.53 acre land to realty major DLF for Rs 58 crore. The land deal got into controversy in October, 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as the director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum- Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the mutation of this categorising the transaction as violative of state consolidation Act and some related procedures. The opposition Haryana BJP then had called this case an instance of "corruption" in land deals and that of "nepotism" hinting at Vadra's kinship with the first family of the Congress party. The Haryana police had filed an FIR to probe this deal in 2018. Vadra has been questioned multiple times by the federal probe agency in two different money laundering cases. The ED had filed a charge sheet in December 2023 against UAE-based NRI businessman CC Thampi, who is allegedly linked to Vadra, and Sumit Chadha, a relative of UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari, saying it was investigating the purchase of three plots of land in Haryana during 2005-06 by Vadra from a real estate agent along with a land deal made by his wife Priyanka. Neither Vadra or Priyanka Gandhi were named as accused in the charge sheet. Thampi, the ED had said, had purchased about 486 acres of land between 2005 and 2008 in Amirpur village in Faridabad in Haryana through HL Pahwa, a Delhi-NCR based real estate agent. "It is imperative to mention that Robert Vadra also purchased three pieces of land measuring 334 kanals (40.08 acres) in Amirpur from HL Pahwa from 2005-2006 and sold the same land to H L Pahwa in December 2010," it said in the charge sheet. "Further, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wife of Robert Vadra also purchased agricultural land measuring 40 kanal (05 acres) in village Amirpur, district Faridabad, Haryana, from H L Pahwa in April 2006 and sold the same land to H L Pahwa in February 2010," the ED stated. It said that "Pahwa was receiving cash out of the books for the purpose of acquisition of land." "It was also noticed that Robert Vadra did not pay the entire consideration to Pahwa. The investigation in this regard is still ongoing," the ED had said. The Trump administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism said it is freezing more than USD 2 billion in multi-year grants and contracts to Harvard University in Massachusetts, Fox News reported. IMAGE: Harvard University president Alan M Garber said the school would not follow the administration's demands regarding antisemitism. Photograph: Harvard University on Facebook The decision comes after the Harvard University president issued a statement saying the school would not follow the administration's demands regarding antisemitism. The task force said, "Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's most prestigious universities and colleges - that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws." "The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable," it further said. The task force announced a freeze on USD 2.2 billion in multi-year grants and USD 60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University, Fox News reported. The statement said, "It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support." "The Joint Task Force to combat anti-Semitism is announcing a freeze on USD 2.2 billion in multi-year grants and USD 60M in multi-year contract value to Harvard University," the Joint Task Force said. The Trump administration's decision follows Harvard University President Alan M Garber's statement that the school would not follow the administration's demands despite the possibility of the Ivy League school losing federal funding. In his letter, Garber said the federal government has threatened its partnerships with several universities, including Harvard, due to accusations of anti-semitism on their campuses. He stated that the Trump administration issued an updated and expanded list of demands, saying if the school wants to maintain financial ties with the federal government, it must comply. In his letter, Garber wrote, "Late Friday night, the administration issued an updated and expanded list of demands, warning that Harvard must comply if we intend to 'maintain [our] financial relationship with the federal government'. It makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner. Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard." Alan M Garber said that they have informed the administration that they will not accept their proposed agreement. "We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," Garber wrote in the letter. Trump has suspended federal funding to every Ivy League school, apart from Penn and Dartmouth, over a probe into anti-Israel protests that have taken place on their campuses since October 2023, Fox News reported. Funding of dozens of other universities has been affected by the probe for the same reason. Earlier this month, a federal antisemitism task force announced a review of Harvard's federal grants and contracts, worth nearly USD 9 billion. The Trump administration has vowed to be more aggressive in ending antisemitism on campuses in the US after saying that former US President Joe Biden did not hold universities accountable for their violent protests. The Trump administration also plans to detain and deport foreign students who were part of or orchestrated anti-Israel protests at universities in the US. China's leader-for-life Xi Jinping arrived in Communist-ruled Vietnam, a nation his country had gone to war with in 1979. Xi is on a Southeast Asia tour -- he will also visit Malaysia and Cambodia this week -- to drum up support against Donald Trump's tariffs regime. The Chinese leader's visit to Hanoi coincided with Trump's 90-day pause on tariffs for countries like Vietnam while the bitter trade war between Beijing and Washington shows no sign of easing. 'A small boat with a single sail cannot withstand the stormy waves, and only by working together can we sail steadily and far,' Xi told the Vietnamese leadership. IMAGE: Vietnam's Communist party General Secretary To Lam and Xi review a guard of honour at the presidential palace in Hanoi, here and below. Photograph: Luong Thai Linh/Pool/Reuters Photograph: Luong Thai Linh/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: To Lam and Xi at the welcome ceremony at the presidential palace in Hanoi. Photograph: Luong Thai Linh/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: Xi participates in a wreath laying ceremony at the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Hanoi. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: Xi meets with To Lam. Photograph: Nhac Nguyen/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: To Lam and Xi at their meeting. Photograph: Nhac Nguyen/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: To Lam and Xi view copies of agreements signed between China and Vietnam following their meeting. Photograph: Nhac Nguyen/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, left, and Xi at the party central committee office. Photograph: Minh Hoang/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: Xi speaks to Pham Minh Chinh, not in picture. Photograph: Minh Hoang/Pool/Reuters IMAGE: Xi greets Vietnam's National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man in Hanoi. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Pool/Reuters Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff With just two days left for the Karnataka cabinet to discuss the socio-economic and education survey report, popularly known as the 'caste census', opposition to its implementation has gained momentum. IMAGE:Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Photograph: @siddaramaiah/Xm Opposition to the survey report, contents of which have not been released yet, has grown from various communities -- especially the dominant ones. Political parties, including sections of the ruling Congress, have joined the chorus of criticism, terming it as "unscientific", and demanding a fresh survey. The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes' report was placed before the cabinet on Friday, and it will be discussed at a special cabinet meeting scheduled on April 17. Findings of the survey appear to contradict the "traditional perception" regarding the numerical strength of various castes, especially the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayats and Vokkaligas. This has rendered the issue "politically sensitive", with ministers from these communities preparing to place their objections during the next cabinet, sources said. The Vokkaligara Sangha, the apex body of the influential Vokkaliga community, on Tuesday officially registered its strong protest to the survey report. Vokkaligas will unite with other communities like Veerashaiva-Lingayats, Brahmins among others, who have felt the "injustice", and plan for mega agitation if the government goes ahead with implementation of the caste census report, the Sangha's President Kenchappa Gowda and other office bearers said. Calling on the Vokkaliga Ministers and legislators, especially from the ruling Congress to voice their opposition to the report, they said the Sangha has also planned to conduct its own survey of the community to determine its population, and has even prepared a software for it. Sangha's Director Nelligere Babu said that they would like to send a message to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that his government will collapse if it implemented the caste census report. The survey report, reportedly estimates the population of the Lingayat community at 66.35 lakh and the Vokkaliga community population is said to be at 61.58 lakh. Veerashaiva-Lingayats too through their apex body, the All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, have expressed similar reservations about the report and are contemplating similar measures. Both communities have alleged that various sub-castes have been divided among different categories of OBC, resulting in a decrease in their respective populations. They have alleged that many households were left out from the survey. Earlier, deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president and a Vokkaliga, was a signatory along with a couple of other ministers to a memorandum submitted by the community to the CM, requesting that the report and the data be rejected. The All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, which has also expressed its disapproval vis-a-vis the survey and demanded the conduct of a fresh survey, is headed by veteran Congress leader and MLA Shamanuru Shivashankarappa. Several Lingayat ministers and MLAs too have raised objections. Congress MLC Nagraj Yadav too expressed his reservation, saying that Yadava or Golla community has been divided under various categories of OBC, bringing down the community's population to 10 lakhs, which according to him should be about 25-30 lakhs. However, not everyone is opposed to the survey report. Leaders and organisations representing Dalits and OBCs among others are defending it and wondering how it can be called "unscientific" without any discussion and deliberation at the cabinet. According to the survey report, out of the total 5.98 crore citizens covered under the survey carried out in 2015, about 70 percent or 4.16 crore come under various OBC categories. The Commission has recommended increasing the OBC quota from the current 32 percent to 51 percent, according to official sources. By providing OBCs a 51 percent reservation, along with the existing 17 percent for SCs and 7 percent for STs, it will take the state's total reservation to 75 percent. As per the report, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe together seem to form the largest social block in the state with their population at 1.52 crore, official sources said. As per the report, the population of Muslims, who alone come under Category-2B of OBC, is 75.25 lakh, and they have been recommended 8 percent reservation from existing 4. The general category population stood at 29.74 lakh, they said. Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was trying to create division in society with the caste census, aimed at protecting his own "political interests", as the time had come for him to resign. Criticising the report, Union minister HD Kumaraswamy said, "What is it really a caste census or a census of hate? Is this so-called census a conspiracy designed to deliberately provoke unrest in the state? Or is it merely a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from the embarrassment caused by relentless price hikes and a series of corruption scandals?" The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government (2013-2018) had in 2015 commissioned the survey in the state. The report was submitted on February 29 last year. The Opposition has slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'Muslims repair punctures' remark at a rally in Haryna. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering at the foundation stone laying of the new terminal building of Maharaja Agrasen airport, in Hisar on April 14, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo Addressing a gathering on Monday after laying the foundation stone of a new terminal building AT Hisar's Maharaja Agrasen Airport and flagging off a commercial flight to Ayodhya, Modi said lakhs of hectares of land are Waqf property but they were misused. "If Waqf properties had been used honestly, Muslim youths wouldn't need to earn a livelihood from repairing bicycle punctures. But only a few land mafia benefited from these properties. This mafia was looting lands belonging to Dalit, backward sections and widows," he said, adding that the amended Waqf law will address these issues. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi hit back at the comment, saying that if the Sangh had used its ideology and resources in the country's interest, the Prime Minister "would not need to sell tea" in his childhood. Owaisi asked what Modi had done for the poor -- Hindus or Muslims -- in the 11 years that his government has been in power. "The biggest reason for what happened with Waqf properties is that Waqf laws were always weak. Modi's Waqf amendments will weaken them further," he said on X. Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi said 'Muslims fix punctures' is the kind of language trolls use on social media. "Such a remark does not behove the Prime Minister. Also, you have brought the country's youth to this point. There are no jobs. The only option is to fix punctures or sell fritters. Muslims don't just make punctures. I can list what Muslims have made. But this is not the time," Pratapgarhi said. "You are saying Congress sympathisers (with Muslims). Do you hate them? If you don't, why did you throw Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Shahnawaz Hussain, MJ Akbar and Zafar Islam in the dustbin? You are saying you want to do good for Muslims through the Waqf Bill, but you don't have one Muslim MP to present it in the Lok Sabha. You talk about the rights of Muslim women. You don't have a Muslim woman member in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or any state assembly," he added. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also questioned why the Prime Minister did not pay tribute to BR Ambedkar, the Constitution's architect, at a Parliament function to mark his birth anniversary. Responding to the Prime Minister's question on why the Congress doesn't name a Muslim party chief, she asked why the BJP does not have a Dalit Chief Minister. Samajwadi Partys Abu Azmi also questioned, If Muslims are poor and fixing punctures, which Muslim have you made MP/MLA or minister? A 75-year-old woman was murdered by a migrant worker at her house in Hyderabad, who later recorded a video of himself jumping on her body, the police said on Tuesday. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo The incident occurred in Kushaiguda on April 11 and came to light after the teenager shared the video with a relative of the victim, and the police were subsequently informed about it on Monday, they said. The teen, who worked at one of the shops owned by the woman, allegedly killed her by bludgeoning her head with an iron rod, the police said. After murdering her, he put a sari around her neck and tied it to a ceiling fan. He then recorded a video of him jumping on the septuagenarian's body on his phone, a senior police official said. He then went away after locking the house and later shared the video with a relative of the deceased woman. After being informed about the video on Monday, the police went to the house and broke open the locks and found the decomposed body of the woman. The teenager seems to have borne a grudge on the woman, a native of Rajasthan, for allegedly abusing him. However, the police said they were verifying all angles. The official added that they were ascertaining whether the teenager was a minor and evaluating his mental condition. Life was limping back to normal in riot-hit parts of West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Tuesday, as security forces kept a strict vigil to prevent any fresh episode of violence over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, officials said. Photograph: / Rediff.com IMAGE: Security personnel hold a flag march at Dhuliyan of Jangipur subdivision in violence-hit Murshidabad. Personnel of the BSF, CRPF, State Armed Police and RAF have been deployed in large numbers in Jangipur, Dhuliyan, Suti and Shamsherganj, where no new incident of violence was reported in the past 48 hours, they said. The state police said the situation in Murshidabad is gradually returning to normal, with shops reopening and displaced families starting to come back. Trinamool Congress MP from Jangipur, Khalilur Rahman, said, "Many among those having left their homes are returning and life is getting back to normal in all the violence-hit pockets. The state government is assisting the affected people. Rahman also said people should guard against heeding to rumours to ensure that we should not do anything to prevent normalcy from returning". He also said the district administration is compiling a list of the affected people who will be provided compensation for damage to their properties. Violent protests erupted on Friday and Saturday in parts of Murshidabad, including Suti, Dhulian and Jangipur, following anger over the amended Waqf Act. The demonstrations soon escalated into clashes, leaving at least three people dead and several injured, police had said. On Monday, a BSF delegation led by Additional Director General (East) Ravi Gandhi visited Suti, Samserganj and Dhulian, some of the worst-affected pockets in the Muslim-majority district, which witnessed widespread unrest over the weekend. "A joint strategy has been chalked out with senior police officers to increase patrolling in the area. We are working in close coordination with the state police to ensure the return of normalcy," he said. A total of 210 people have so far been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said. Meanwhile, vehicular traffic movement was normal along the Basanti Highway in Bhangar area in South 24 Parganas district, which witnessed fresh episodes of Waqf Act-related violence on Monday, they said. Supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF) had clashed with the police at Bhangar on Monday, leading to several injuries, vandalising of public properties and the torching of multiple police vehicles. The clashes erupted when police stopped ISF supporters from heading towards Ramlila Maidan in central Kolkata to attend an anti-Waqf Act rally addressed by party leader and Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddique. The West Bengal police on Tuesday arrested two brothers for their alleged involvement in the brutal murder of a father-son duo during communal violence in Murshidabad district, a senior officer said. IMAGE: Murshidabad refugees affected by violence take shelter at a high school following violence during protests against Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, in Malda, West Bengal, April 14, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo With the fresh arrests, a total of 221 people have been apprehended so far in connection with the recent violence in the Muslim-majority district during anti-Waqf (Amendment) Act protests. The two accused, identified as Kalu Nadar and Dildar Nadar, were residents of the same Jafrabad area where the father-son duo used to live, he said, adding that a special investigation team has been formed to probe into the murders. Kalu Nadar was arrested from Murarai in Birbhum district, while his brother Dildar was nabbed from near the India-Bangladesh border in Suti in Murshidabad district, the IPS officer said. "We have collected the CCTV footage from the area and identified several people involved in the incident. Among them, we have arrested two persons," he said. So far, a total of 221 people have been arrested in connection with communal violence in the district, he said. The bodies of the father-son duo, identified as Harogobindo Das and Chandan Das, were found in their house in Jafrabad locality in violence-hit Samserganj with multiple stab wounds. Apart from these two deaths, 21-year-old Ijaz Momin, who sustained bullet wounds during clashes at Sajur More in Suti on Friday, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital the next day. Around 18 police personnel were injured in the clashes that broke out in several areas of Murshidabad during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Following the clashes, prohibitory orders were imposed and internet services were suspended, while police promised strictest action against those behind the riots. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has proclaimed April 14, 2025, as Dr B R Ambedkar Day in New York City, with its 8.5 million residents celebrating the day, a top official in the mayor's office said in New York. IMAGE: Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Ramdas Athawale and New York City Mayor Eric Adams hold the proclamation declaring April 14 as Dr BR Ambedkar Day, New York City, April 14, 2025. Photograph: Courtesy, Dr Ramdas Athawale/X Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Mayor's Office for International Affairs Dilip Chauhan made the announcement in the presence of Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr Ramdas Athawale, who delivered the keynote address at a special event organised at the UN headquarters on Monday to commemorate Dr Ambedkar's 134th birth anniversary. A historic moment at the UN Headquarters in New York as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's birth anniversary is officially proclaimed by the NYC Mayor's Office. My heartfelt thanks to Mayor @NYCMayor and Deputy Commissioner Dilip Chauhan for honouring Babasaheb's global legacy of justice and equality, Athawale posted on X along with photos and a video. Born on April 14, 1891, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar -- popular among his followers as Babasaheb -- was the chairman of the Constituent Assembly's most crucial drafting committee that earned him the moniker Architect of the Indian Constitution. He was also the minister of law and justice in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's first Cabinet post-Independence. Ambedkar, who played a key role in social movements that fought for the rights of Dalits and untouchables, had received his PhD in Economics from Columbia University in 1927 and an honorary degree in 1952. Chauhan said Dr Ambedkar's ideals go beyond borders and time, finding strong connections in the halls of the United Nations and New York -- a city built by immigrants, energised by its diversity and united by its shared belief in opportunity and inclusion. Foundation for Human Horizon President Deelip Mhaske said it is a profound recognition of one of the world's most transformative champions of equality and civil rights that April 14 has been proclaimed as Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Day'. The proclamation acknowledges Dr Ambedkar's towering legacy in advancing democracy, dignity, women's empowerment and justice for historically marginalised communities, Mhaske said. Mhaske expressed gratitude to Adams noting that this proclamation is more than symbolic -- it is a moral declaration that positions New York as a global capital for human rights and justice. Earlier at the event organised by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, Athawale said the principles that Dr B R Ambedkar fought for -- equity, representation and human rights -- are more relevant than ever in the international community's collective efforts to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Dr Ambedkar's life is not merely a chapter in Indian history -- it is a beacon for all humanity. Born into adversity, he transcended every barrier imposed by caste, poverty and colonial oppression to become a global advocate for equality, dignity and democracy. His advocacy resonates far beyond the borders of India, making him an icon for the modern human rights movement, Athawale said. Prior to the event at the UN, Athawale also paid his homage at the statue of Dr Ambedkar in the Lehman Library at Columbia University, which he said in a post on X, was erected as a symbol of knowledge. Launching a scathing attack on Mamata Banerjee over the violence during protests in West Bengal against the Waqf law, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said "Bengal is burning" but its chief minister is "silent" and even calling the rioters "messengers of peace". IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addresses a public meeting in Hardoi, April 15, 2025. Photograph: ANI/X Adityanath also said that stick is the only treatment for rioters, as "Laaton ke bhoot baaton se kahan maanne waale hain (Those who respond only to thrashing don't understand words)." Speaking in Hardoi after inaugurating and laying the foundation for 729 developmental schemes worth Rs 650 crore, Adityanath said, "You all can see how Bengal is burning, but the chief minister of the state is silent. She even calls the rioters messengers of peace. They have given a complete free hand to the rioters in the name of secularism. "This type of anarchy must be controlled. The entire Murshidabad has been burning for the past week. I would like to thank the court there for ordering the deployment of central forces and taking steps for the safety of the minority Hindus in the district," he said. Hailing the enactment of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, Adityanath said, "We are thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, who got the Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed (in Parliament), thereby reining in the loot of poor people's land. "Now, hospitals, schools and universities will come up on those lands, and no one will be allowed to grab them. That's why these people are worried, because the loot will stop now, and their goons will be rendered jobless." Adityanath's remarks came after violent protests erupted on Friday and Saturday in pockets of Murshidabad district, including Suti, Dhulian and Jangipur, triggered by anger over the Waqf law. The demonstrations soon escalated into clashes, leaving at least three people dead and several injured. "The Congress, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress are silent on the Murshidabad riots. The rioters are making threats and supporting what happened in Bangladesh. If they like Bangladesh so much, they should go there. Why are they becoming a burden on our land," Adityanath asked. Security forces are keeping a strict vigil to prevent any fresh episode of violence in Murshidabad district, officials said on Tuesday. Personnel of the BSF, CRPF, state police and RAF have been deployed in large numbers in Jangipur, Dhuliyan, Suti and Shamsherganj, where no new incident of violence was reported in the past 48 hours, the officials said. "When the security situation improves, investments come in, employment generation takes place, and exodus of youths comes down. Before 2017, riots used to take place every second-third day (in Uttar Pradesh). The only treatment for these rioters is stick, without which they can't be reined in," Adityanath said. Talking about the development schemes, the chief minister said, "The PM Mitra Textile Park is going to come up on the borders of Hardoi district, which will benefit lakhs of youth. I was looking at the textile work of Mallawan town. Its craftsmanship and weaving work are beautiful. "Once the textile park comes up, the talented weavers will find more work. Also, the youth will no longer have to go to Punjab and Surat for work. Rather, people from other states will come to Hardoi for work." In March 2023, the Government of India announced sites for setting up seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks for the textile industry. The parks will come up in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras on Monday announced that his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party was no longer with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, which has chosen to back his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan. IMAGE: Lok Janshakti Party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras. Photograph: @PashupatiParas/X Paras, whose party came into being in 2021 as a result of the split he engineered in the Lok Janshakti Party, founded by his late brother Ram Vilas Paswan, made the declaration at a function organised in Patna on the occasion of BR Ambedkar's birth anniversary. He also raised the demand for conferring Bharat Ratna on Ram Vilas Paswan, calling him the "second Ambedkar". "I have been with the NDA since 2014. Today I announce that henceforth my party shall have no links with the NDA," said Paras, who gave up his cabinet berth ahead of last year's Lok Sabha polls, when his nephew's Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas got five seats to contest as an NDA constituent. Among the seats contested by LJP-RV, all of which it won, was late Paswan's pocket borough of Hajipur, which Paras had bagged in 2019 and is now represented by Chirag Paswan, a Union minister. Notably, despite having been passed over by the coalition, Paras had tried, for some time, to have a toehold in the NDA by meeting top leaders like BJP president JP Nadda. In the bypolls to the five assembly constituencies held last year, his claim on one of the seats was ignored, and his proposed candidate joined the BJP, which gave a ticket to the latter's son. He was also mortified when the state government made him vacate the bungalow from where he ran his party and allotted it to Chirag. Paras had parted ways with his nephew, voicing disapproval of his rebellion against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the 2020 assembly polls. At the RLJP function, Paras, who formerly served in the Nitish Kumar government, also accused the JD-U supremo of being "anti-Dalit" and claimed to have got a sense, "upon having toured 22 out of 38 districts", that "Bihar wants to elect a new government". "In Nitish Kumar's 20-year-long rule, the education system has been ruined in the state, no new industries have been set up, and rampant corruption affects the implementation of all welfare schemes," he alleged. Paras, who has of late been meeting RJD president Lalu Prasad, however, chose to keep his cards close to the chest and said, "I wish to soon complete the tour of the remaining 16 districts and strengthen the party in all 243 assembly segments of the state." Reacting to the development, Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, another prominent Dalit leader from Bihar, asserted "there will be no adverse impact on the NDA". "He (Paras) may have made a formal announcement only today. But the writing has been on the wall since he began hobnobbing with Lalu Prasad," said Manjhi, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha. Two petitions in the Supreme Court have sought a court-monitored probe into the violence in West Bengal over the newly-enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act. IMAGE: Charred remains of vehicles after violence erupted during a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act, in West Bengal's Murshidabad. Photograph: ANI Photo Fresh incidents of Waqf law-related violence rocked Bhangar area in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on April 14, even as police claimed the law and order situation in the previous riot epicentre of Murshidabad remained largely under control. One PIL was filed by lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha seeking the court to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the cases of violence. Another plea was filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari seeking the constitution of a five-member judicial enquiry commission headed by a former apex court judge to investigate the violence in the state. One of the pleas sought a direction to the state government to file a report in the top court on the violence aside from the directions for protecting people's lives and properties. The Calcutta High Court recently ordered the deployment of central forces in violence-hit Murshidabad district. At least three people were killed and hundreds were rendered homeless in communal violence in parts of Murshidabad district, mainly Suti, Samserganj, Dhulian and Jangipur, on April 11 and 12 during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Tycoon Ong Beng Seng to step down as managing director of Singapore hotel chain Property magnate Ong Beng Seng will step down as managing director of Hotel Properties Limited, which has a portfolio of luxury hotels across 17 countries. Ong, 79, "wishes to devote more time to managing his medical conditions," according to The Straits Times. Seng, embroiled in a corruption case linked to former transport minister S. Iswaran, is reportedly fighting bone marrow cancer, Channel News Asia reported in February, citing two individuals close to the billionaire. He is scheduled to plead guilty next week to charges related to the offences of former transport minister S. Iswaran, who was convicted in October for accepting gifts from Ong, Business Times reported. The Singapore-based Malaysian businessman, along with his wife Christina Ong, owns a range of hotel, fashion, and lifestyle brands. They are among the wealthiest in Singapore, with a combined net worth of $1.7 billion, according to the list of Singapore's 50 richest published by Forbes in September last year. As of December 2024, Hotel Properties has interests in 41 hotels under prestigious hospitality brands such as Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, COMO Hotels & Resorts, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Six Senses Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International, according to its website. For the first time in over five decades, Poila Baisakh -- the first day of the Bengali New Year - passed without any celebration on Tuesday in Dhulian, a bustling trade town in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, as fear gripped the area following last week's violence over the Waqf (Amendment) Act. IMAGE: Displaced people eat food at the violence-affected Beldona area in Murshidabad, West Bengal, April 15, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo Despite printing invitation cards and making elaborate preparations, traders called off their traditional puja and festivities. In 50 years, we have never skipped this ritual. We close the previous year's accounts and start afresh with blessings from the gods. But this year, our priest declined to come, and clients are too scared to visit the shops. Everyone is in panic, a local businessman told a vernacular news channel. Another trader said their shops have been looted and burnt and there is no question of any celebration. Poila Baisakh usually marks a symbolic new beginning for Bengali business owners who perform puja, distribute sweets, and invite clients to clear dues and start new accounts. Dhulian and Samsergunj were among the worst impacted areas of Murshidabad of violence. Violence began on April 8 after protests in several Muslim-majority areas of Murshidabad, including Dhulian and Samserganj, over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025. A man and his son were among three people killed, and over ten others were injured in the violence. Protesters blocked National Highway 12, torched police vehicles, and disrupted train services. In response, the district authorities clamped prohibitory orders, suspended internet services, and deployed central forces following the Calcutta High Court's directive. Yet, locals are not satisfied. We want central forces to stay permanently. We are still living in fear," said a businessman. In nearby Samserganj, where a large sweetmeat shop was ransacked and set ablaze during the violence, a glimmer of resilience emerged. On Tuesday, the shop reopened with a few sweetmeat varieties, even as workers continued to clear debris. However, signs of devastation still linger. Many families have returned to find their homes looted or torched. A woman who came back on Poila Baisakh stood beside her charred house, weeping. "We have lost everything," she said in a choked voice. According to BJP leaders, around 400 families were forced to flee to a relief camp in Malda during the peak of the violence. Bharat Sevasram Sangha distributed new traditional towels ('gamchha') in the Malda relief camp where some 70-75 families are staying. Even as the police claimed that adequate measures have been taken to restore peace, the mood on the ground remains grim. Taking a stern view of inter-state child trafficking rackets in the country, the Supreme Court on Monday cancelled the bail granted to 13 accused and said the "cry of the collective for justice, its desire for peace and harmony" couldn't be trivialised. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo "We direct the state government to ensure that the trafficked children are admitted in schools in accordance with the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and continue to provide support for their education," a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said. The top court noted trafficking in India had taken diverse forms -- each prevailing across states. "An overall analysis of trafficking patterns across states reiterates the prevalence of trafficking in large numbers with the number of cases sharply rising with time. What is of concern is the rapid spread of the problem with previously unknown factors getting embedded in the web of traffickers," it said. The bench said the changing trafficking patterns also brought "changes in the traffickers, their modus operandi, their manipulation of the victims and their understanding of the limitations in the criminal justice system". It found fault with the Allahabad high court orders releasing the accused persons on bail. Considering the serious nature of the crime, the bench said the high court should not have ruled in favour of the accused persons. "We are sorry to say but the high court dealt with all the bail applications in a very callous manner. The outcome of this callous approach on the part of the high court has ultimately paved the way for many accused persons to abscond and thereby put the trial in jeopardy," it said. The "least" the high court could have done was to impose a condition on each of the accused to mark their presence once a week at the police station concerned, the bench added. The bench said the life of an individual living in a society governed by the rule of the law had to be regulated. Such regulations which were the source in law, subserve the social balance and function as a significant instrument to protect human rights and security of the collective, it added. Laws, the top court said, were enacted for the collective's obedience so that the society's members lived peacefully. The accused were stated to be a "big threat to the society" for exhibiting a tendency of committing child trafficking wherever they went in the country. The top court was critical of the Uttar Pradesh government conduct saying, it was "thoroughly disappointed" with the manner in which the situation was handled. "Why did the state not do anything for all this period of time? Why did the State not deem it fit to challenge the orders of bail passed by the high court? The state unfortunately has exhibited no seriousness worth the name." The top court directed the accused persons to surrender and expedited the trial against them in three FIRs registered against them in Varanasi. "We direct the chief judicial magistrate district Varanasi and the additional chief judicial magistrate court number 5, district Varanasi to commit all the three criminal cases of this judgment to the sessions court, within a period of two weeks from today without fail," it said. The bench said that as all the criminal cases were being committed to the sessions court, the trial court concerned should proceed to frame charges within a week from then on. The trial court was ordered to take immediate steps to secure the presence of the accused in case it found that the accused persons had absconded or there whereabouts were not known. The 95-page verdict was authored by Justice Pardiwala, who said once charges were framed by the trial court in individual cases, the trial court should proceed with the recording of the evidence, preferably on a day-to-day basis and complete the trial within six months. The bench directed the state to appoint three special public prosecutors for conducting trials and said police protection should provided to the victims and their families. The police were granted two months to trace the absconding accused persons and produce them before the court concerned at the earliest. The bench said at trial's end, the trial court concerned should pass appropriate orders on compensation to the victims under the provisions of the BNSS 2023 including under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Laxmi Bai Mahila Evam Bal Samman Kosh managed by the Land Welfare Committee. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday announced the constitution of a panel on state autonomy that will be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, as he made a strong pitch for empowering states, alleging that their rights were gradually being snatched by the central government. IMAGE: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin announces the setting up of a 3-member panel on states autonomy, Chennai, April 15, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo The establishment of the high-level panel, marking half-a-century of DMK government's 'historic' state autonomy resolution moved in the Tamil Nadu Assembly by then chief minister M Karunanidhi, was aimed at re-asserting the principles of state autonomy in today's context, he said while making a statement in the Tamil Nadu assembly. The move was meant to protect the 'legitimate rights' of states and to improve relations between the Union and the state governments, he claimed in the assembly. He utilised the occasion to flay the present All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leadership, after the party MLAs staged a walkout over a different issue. Despite their differences with the DMK, AIADMK stalwarts and late chief ministers M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa never compromised on state rights. "But now they (AIADMK) say that principles and alliance are different...the question is what is their stand," Stalin asked, apparently referring to the opposition party stitching up an alliance with the BJP recently. He stressed that there was a need to strengthen cooperative federalism, laws, and policies related to Centre-state ties by reviewing the provisions of the Constitution when the states' rights were under siege. He said B R Ambedkar unequivocally stated that "both the Union and the States are created by the Constitution...the one is not subordinate to the other in its own field and the authority of one is co-ordinate with that of the other. "Yet, the steady encroachment of the Union into the rightful domains of the States has disrupted the delicate constitutional balance...a strong Union is not built by weakening States. It is built by empowering them," Stalin emphasised. Opposition AIADMK slammed the CM over the announcement, asking what was his DMK that shared power with the Congress-led UPA earlier, did all these years. The move was aimed at "diverting" public attention, the principal opposition party charged. Stepping up the attack on the BJP-led NDA at the Centre, Stalin said the high-level committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph will examine in detail the relationship between the Union and state governments to ensure state autonomy. It will submit its interim report in January 2026. The final report with recommendations will be submitted in two years. The panel will have former bureaucrat, Ashok Vardhan Shetty and former vice-chairman of the State Planning Commission M Naganathan as its members. "The committee will study, as per the law, to transfer those subjects that went from the State List to the Concurrent List," the Chief Minister said and pointed out that the National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test (NEET) was out of the purview of states. The state has been demanding exemption from the NEET ambit. A number of medical aspirants have died by suicide over the years, either over unable to clear the entrance test or over apprehensions of cracking it. "We are not stressing for devolution of power and funds merely considering Tamil Nadu's welfare but are keeping in mind the interests of the people of the vast expanse of the country stretching from Gujarat to the northeastern parts; from Kashmir to Kerala," Stalin said. "Tamil Nadu's will be the first voice vis-a-vis discussions on state autonomy," he added. The motive behind setting up the said panel is to protect the rights of all Indian states that work on the basis of "unity in diversity," Stalin added. "While Tamils world over showed their opposition when cultural identities like Eruthazhvudal (similar to jallikattu) were attempted to be destroyed, our request is that the cultural ethos of the northeastern states like Manipur and Nagaland should also be given due respect," he said. "It is a fact that while we take all steps to protect our Mother Tamil, we are equally concerned about languages in other parts of India losing their nature," the CM said. The four BJP legislators in the assembly protested any such move that encouraged state autonomy and walked out. The Opposition AIADMK, which also staged a walkout from the assembly sought to know what the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which shared power with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, had done all these years on the matter. "This is merely to divert the people's attention. Half a century ago, Stalin's father Karunanidhi made a similar plea. But the DMK has done precious little on state autonomy. This is a mere diversionary tactic of the DMK ahead of the 2026 Assembly election," AIADMK deputy leader of the Opposition R B Udayakumar told reporters outside the assembly. Law minister S Regupathy slammed the AIADMK for 'intentionally' walking out of the House in a bid to prevent the chief minister from making a speech. Speaking to reporters, Regupathy said the state government wanted education to be brought under the state list. On the BJP criticism that the announcement was made with an eye on the 2026 assembly polls, the Minister replied the DMK would come to power again under Stalin's leadership in the elections. On NEET exemption, he said "there is no need for us to deceive anyone. We are clear that we can get the Court's nod because the TN assembly has already passed resolutions. We are confident that we can get exemption from NEET for the state through legal battle." Immigration officials on Monday detained Mohsen Mahdawi, an organiser of pro-Palestinian protests last year at Columbia University, after he arrived at the Vermont immigration office, hoping to begin the final step to becoming a US citizen, CNN reported. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo Instead of having an interview, Mohsen Mahdawi, who has been in the United States for 10 years, was taken away in handcuffs. Speaking to CNN, Mahdawi's lawyer said that immigration officials detained Mahdawi at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services facility in Colchester, Vermont, where he lives. His detention seems to be part of an effort by the Trump administration to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters. Since then, a temporary restraining order issued by a Vermont District judge has prevented his removal from either Vermont or the US. In a written statement given to CNN, Mahdawi's attorney Luna Droubi, said, "The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian." She called his detention an attempt to silence those who speak against atrocities in Gaza. She said, "His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional." Mahdawi stepped back from his pro-Palestinian activities in March 2024 before students began establishing an encampment and occupied university buildings, attracting national scrutiny and a large police presence on campus. According to his attorneys, Mahdawi plans to take admission in the master's programme at the school this fall. According to his lawyer, he started his citizenship process in 2024. According to a habeas corpus petition filed on his behalf, Mahdawi grew up in a refugee camp in the West Bank and has been a lawful permanent resident for the past 10 years. His family continues to reside in the West Bank, CNN reported. Mahdawi's attorneys filed the motion in Vermont's federal district court, demanding his release on bail pending adjudication. Vermont District Court Judge William Sessions has issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting his removal from Vermont and the US. Mohsen Mahdawi is the second Palestinian student at Columbia who holds a green card and has been detained by immigration authorities for removal from the US. Mahmoud Khalil, one of the lead negotiators of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia, was arrested in March. According to a statement from his lawyers and attorneys, Mahdawi remains in Vermont. "One of his lawyers was able to speak to him. If they now choose to move him from Vermont, it will have been with full knowledge of the court's order telling them not to," Droubi told CNN. Other students detained in similar situations have been taken to detention facilities in Texas and Louisiana before a judge could order that they remain in the place where they were originally detained. Such transfers demonstrate ICE's power in deciding where to house detained migrants. Vermont's congressional delegation, Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Representative Becca Balint, issued a joint statement against his detention, terming it "immoral, inhumane and illegal." They wrote, "Earlier today, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process." The lawmakers further stated, "Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered. ... This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention." On Monday Narendra Modi met Rampal Kashyap from Kaithal, Haryana, who had vowed 14 years ago not to wear footwear until Modi became prime minister and he met PM Modi. Modi made Kashyap wear footwear and told him never to make such a vow again. "Aaj hum tumko joota pehna rahe hai par baad mai aaisa kuch karna nahi, kahbhi nahi. (I am making you wear shoes, but do not do it again). You should work, why you have done such a thing..giving yourself pain," Modi told Kashyap. Photographs: ANI Photo Later Modi referred to meeting Kashyap in a post on X and said while he accepts such affection, the focus should be on working on matters linked to social work and nation building. 'At today's public meeting in Yamunanagar, I met Shri Rampal Kashyap Ji from Kaithal. He had taken a vow 14 years ago that he will only wear footwear after I became PM and he got to meet me. I am humbled by people like Rampal Ji and also accept their affection but I want to request everyone who takes up such vows -- I cherish your love...please focus on something that is linked to social work and nation building!' Modi tweeted. Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., talks with Carol Maniscalchi of Putney before the start of a town hall forum at the Bellows Falls Opera House on Monday, April 14, 2025. Kazakh women's rights activist Dinara Smailova was released by Montenegro's Higher Court in Podgorica on April 15, a day after she was arrested in the coastal town of Budva at the request of Kazakh authorities. The court ruled that she may remain free while the extradition case proceeds, but ordered the confiscation of her passport to prevent her from leaving the country. Authorities in Podgorica said on April 14 that Smailova's arrest was carried out "in accordance with an order by the investigative judge of the Higher Court," pending a review of the extradition request. She is the founder of NeMolchiKZ (Dont Be Silent KZ), a leading advocacy group fighting domestic and sexual violence in Kazakhstan. Smailova applied for asylum in Montenegro in October 2023 and the decision is expected in the following months, her lawyer Dalibor Tomovic said on April 15. "The request for asylum was submitted before the Kazakh government submitted a request for her extradition and the detention. So in the case that she is extradited to Kazakhstan, the fear of persecution is justified." After leaving the court in Podgorica, Smailova thanked the supporters of NeMolchiKZ. "You've been supporting us for about nine years, and that led to a women's revolution in Kazakhstan, where both men and women support our fight against domestic violence. Don't give up," Smailova said. In December 2023, a Kazakh court issued a warrant for Smailova's arrest on charges of fraud, violating privacy, and spreading false information -- allegations that could carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Human Rights Watch had earlier described the charges as "dubious" and part of a broader campaign to discredit her activism. "Kazakh authorities appear to be on a fishing expedition, aggressively targeting Smailova in an effort to undermine her legitimate work defending victims of abuse," the group warned in February 2024. Domestic violence remains a serious issue in Kazakhstan. According to local and international organizations, hundreds of women die every year as a result of domestic violence, and thousands more suffer abuse in silence due to societal stigma and institutional indifference. In 2017, Kazakhstan decriminalized beatings and other acts causing "minor" physical harm, with the punishment reduced to an arrest, fine, or warning. During a high-profile trial of a former government official who beat his wife to death, a law was introduced in April 2024 to close gaps in legal protections against domestic violence by criminalizing battery and intentional harm to health. However, several human rights groups, including Smailova's organization, expressed concerns, saying the amendments do not go far enough. Smailova's organization has provided critical support to survivors, including legal aid and public advocacy. Her outspoken criticism of the government's failure to protect women and children has drawn both praise and political backlash. Montenegro's Council for Civilian Oversight of Police Work had cautioned Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic that Smailova would face persecution if returned to Kazakhstan. The council likened Kazakhstan's increasing pressure on human rights defenders to similar tactics used by the Russian government and stressed that extraditing Smailova would contradict Montenegro's commitment to protecting human dignity and democratic values. Smailova and her husband, fellow rights activist Almat Mukhamezhanov, have lived in self-imposed exile for several years and moved to Montenegro in 2023. Unlike traditional schools adorned with colorful posters and murals, the classrooms maintain a simple aesthetic to foster concentration Beyond the primary stage, the school has further refined its elementary curriculum into two segments, namely Junior Elementary (Grades 1 to 4) and Advanced Elementary (Grades 5 to 8). This progression supports students in expanding their cognitive abilities while preserving the Montessori philosophy of self-paced learning.In Shriram Montessoris multi-age classroom structure, children within a three-year age range learn together in the same environment. Each classroom operates as a dynamic, multi-level learning space, accommodating 20 students who engage in individualized learning paths. While one child may be working on single-digit addition, another may be exploring multi-digit operations, ensuring that every student progresses at their own pace. With this highly personalized approach, students simultaneously engage in 20 different academic tracks, guided by Montessori-trained educators who provide tailored instruction to support each childs development.The schools emphasis on stress-free learning is reflected in students eagerness to attend classes. There are instances where the parents informed that they have been advising their mildly ill child not to go to school but the child wants to attend the classes, says Babitha Srikumar, Principal, Shriram Montessori. Parents are encouraged to allow the learning process to unfold organically, intervening only when requested by educators. Any work that comes home is meant to be completed independently, reinforcing the schools philosophy that learning should be self-directed. Mistakes are viewed as an essential part of growth, providing valuable feedback for both students and teachers to refine the learning journey.Unlike traditional schools adorned with colorful posters and murals, the classrooms maintain a simple aesthetic to foster concentration. The focus is on well-organized, child-friendly shelves stocked with educational materials, adjusted in height as students grow. There are no conventional desks, chairs, blackboards, or projectors.Instead, students work directly with Montessori materials, consolidating their learning through exploration and experimentation.While the school adheres to classic Montessori principles, it also recognizes the evolving demands of contemporary education. To equip students with essential 21st-century skills, the curriculum includes computer-led classes with a strong emphasis on typing proficiency. In addition, students benefit from a well-equipped basketball court, a dedicated free-play gym for the pre-primary segment, and vocal music classes.One of the schools signature offerings is the Spring Up leadership program, designed to nurture emotional intelligence and leadership skills through storytelling. This highly popular initiative encourages students to develop resilience, communication skills, and selfawareness in an engaging and interactive format. The program is strategically scheduled for high attendance days to maximize participation.In a market where many preschools struggle with sustainability and quality consistency, Shriram Montessori has not only withstood external challenges, including the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but has continued to thrive. As Hyderabads preschool sector evolves, the school remains a trusted institution that prepares students for the next grade level as well as a lifetime of intellectual curiosity and self sufficiency. With its unwavering dedication to authentic Montessori principles, experienced educators, and a curriculum designed for long-term academic and personal success, it can redefine early childhood education in the region. Welcome to Wider Europe, RFE/RL's newsletter focusing on the key issues concerning the European Union, NATO, and other institutions and their relationships with the Western Balkans and Europe's Eastern neighborhoods. I'm RFE/RL Europe Editor Rikard Jozwiak, and this week I am drilling down on two issues: the EU getting legally creative on Russia sanctions, and widening the scope of its visa liberalization suspension mechanism. Briefing #1: The EU's Creative Plan To Circumvent Hungary's Sanctions Veto What You Need To Know: Extending sanctions against Russia has been one of the most pressing issues for the European Union, especially this year. These rollovers happen every six months and are split into two groups: sectoral sanctions -- such as import bans on various Russian goods -- and listings, meaning visa bans and asset freezes on more than 2,500 Russian individuals and firms. The sectoral sanctions come up for renewal in January and July, while the listings are reviewed for prolongation in March and September. That adds up to four decisions each calendar year, all of which must be taken unanimously by the 27 EU member states. In both the January sectoral renewal and the March listings rollover, Hungary -- long critical of EU sanctions on the Kremlin -- toyed with the idea of withholding approval. In the end, Budapest gave the green light, but not without securing some concessions from Brussels. EU officials in Brussels told me there is already concern about the upcoming extension of sectoral sanctions in July and what Budapest might demand. The issue is further compounded by a broader question about the West's sanctions policy toward Moscow and the ongoing cease-fire talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Sanctions relief, in some form, has been dangled as a potential carrot in front of the Kremlin -- at least from Washington's side -- even though the Europeans, who are not involved in the talks, have dismissed the idea for now. The question is if that will still hold in the summer. "Three months is a lifetime in politics, and by that time Trump might be tired of Russia and ramping up sanctions instead," said one EU official I spoke to, though they also admitted more EU capitals could be tempted to scale down. The ever-present threat of a transatlantic trade war hitting EU economies might, according to diplomats, reignite calls to ease sanctions on things like Russian gas, aluminum, steel, and broader trade with Moscow. Deep Background: In order to circumvent a potential Hungarian veto this summer or to prevent other member states from cherry-picking elements they want removed, Brussels' brightest legal minds are now poring over legal texts to come up with a Plan B, in case Plan A -- a "clean" prolongation -- proves impossible in July. And they might have found one. The idea was already floated during the height of the listings rollover process in March. It remains untested, and it's questionable whether it's fully legal. It's also complicated, at least for those outside the "Brussels bubble." But it looks like this: EU sanctions consist of two legal documents, a decision and a regulation. These texts are essentially identical and function together; member states agree and adopt a decision, which is then implemented via a regulation. The regulation must be extended every six months by unanimity, the decision does not. In fact, the decision remains in force unless a qualified majority votes to repeal it. That would mean sanctions could stay in place without needing a formal extension, and it would sidestep Hungary's big opportunity to blackmail" the rest of the club on this. Drilling Down This is very much a fallback option, and a temporary one, according to diplomats I've spoken with. Hungary, and potentially others, would likely take the EU to court over it, as the approach would be unprecedented. As one diplomat put it: Happening on very shaky legal grounds, as we always have used unanimity to prolong sanctions -- that's just the way this has always worked." But there are other Plan Bs in the works as well. Perhaps the most obvious involves the European Commission proposing more sanctions in the coming weeks, which would mark the 17th sanctions package since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. But the trick is that these new sanctions wouldn't actually be adopted. Instead, they'd be "horse-traded" in exchange for Hungary agreeing to the general sanctions rollover. In that scenario, Budapest could claim a win in that no new sanctions would be approved, while others would at least secure a prolongation of existing sanctions until the end of the year. Another potential avenue would be to let the sanctions lapse, but to compensate for this by raising tariffs on Russia across all equivalent economic sectors. This type of decision wouldn't require unanimity, so it could fly, but what would the bloc do, for example, with all the export restrictions it has already imposed on Russia? One option would be to let EU sanctions expire but replicate the same measures at the national level. However, far from all member states have national sanctions legislation and instead rely on a European framework. As a result, implementation would very soon become patchy and inconsistent across the bloc. There is also another potential dilemma. Apart from sanctions extensions, most EU member states want the bloc to open accession talks with Ukraine in June at the very latest. This means that another potential Hungarian veto would need to be overcome around the same time as the sanctions one. It's possible that some frozen EU funds withheld from Budapest over rule-of-law concerns may need to be heated up and sent its way to get both issues across the line. Briefing #2: Suspending EU Visa Liberalization To Become Easier What You Need To Know: The European Union looks set to sharpen its visa suspension mechanism later this year, making it easier for Brussels to revoke visa-free travel for citizens of the 61 countries that currently enjoy it -- including all the EU hopefuls in the Western Balkans, as well as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The proposal to list more reasons for suspending visa-free travel was initiated by the European Commission back in 2023, and the Council of the EU -- which represents the 27 member states - already adopted its position on the matter a year ago. However, due to the European Parliamentary elections in June 2024 and a heavy backlog of legislation, the European Parliament only recently obtained its negotiation mandate. Last week, the first trialogue between the three institutions took place on the proposed legislation, with the goal of reaching an agreement during the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, which runs until the end of June. If all goes well, the new legislation should be up and running in early autumn. Deep Background: So why is this happening now? Essentially, the bloc is becoming much more hard-nosed about visa liberalization, reflecting a broader shift: first, to combat any form of illegal migration into the EU; and second, to potentially use visa policy as a political tool to pressure third countries. Visa liberalization -- which in this case includes all EU member states except Ireland, as well as non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland -- has long been one of Brussels' most significant political carrots, particularly for countries in its neighborhood. It allows nationals from third countries to visit the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. Kosovo was included on the list in early 2024 and Georgia and Ukraine in 2017 -- moves that were celebrated in all these countries. To threaten to withdraw the privilege can therefore be seen as a real stick. The current suspension mechanism, in place since 2018, can be triggered in cases of clear abuse -- for example, a surge in third-country nationals overstaying the 90-day limit or using the liberalization of travel to seek asylum in the EU. So far, the bloc has only suspended visa liberalization once: first temporarily, then permanently, for the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Drilling Down So, what changes are likely in store? Broadly speaking, there are four key areas of change, as Brussels aims to make the visa suspension mechanism a more credible deterrent. First, visa liberalization could be suspended if there is a perceived lack of alignment between a visa-free third country and the EU's general visa policy. This was the case in 2022, for example, when Serbia allowed visa-free travel for citizens of countries such as Burundi, India, and Cuba. Brussels suggested that many of those individuals were using Serbia as a backdoor into the EU. After pressure from the European Commission, Belgrade dropped some of these arrangements. Under the proposed legislation, however, such behavior could be punished more readily. Another reason for suspending visas is so-called hybrid threats. While still rather theoretical, this provision is inspired by cases such as Russia and Belarus, which the EU has accused of transporting migrants from Africa and Asia to EU frontiers, like Poland and Lithuania's borders. Now, the EU's visa facilitation agreements with both Moscow and Minsk have already been suspended for several years, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko's crackdown on the opposition. However, if another visa-free country attempts a similar tactic, the new mechanism could be triggered in response. Thirdly, if a country operates an investor citizenship scheme -- allowing individuals to buy citizenship without any genuine link to that country -- then visa liberalization with the EU could also be halted in the future. However, the fourth new ground for suspension is perhaps the most interesting one, as it relates to the EU's political relations with third countries. The draft legislation states that the suspension mechanism can be triggered in cases of serious human rights violations and abuses" or serious breaches of international law and standards, including human rights law and noncompliance with international court decisions and rulings." If you ask EU officials, their reading has always been that a democracy criterion" exists when it comes to visa liberalization -- but it has never been clearly spelled out what exactly this entails. Another interesting and new aspect is that triggering the mechanism in this case should be the exclusive prerogative of the European Commission, after consultation with EU member states, as it deals with the external relations of the bloc. Ultimately, however, it would still be up to the member states -- via a qualified majority -- to suspend visa liberalization with a third country. As EU officials put it, this remains the nuclear option when all others have been exhausted," since the bloc is generally reluctant to penalize a country's entire population rather than its government. That's why, earlier this year, the EU chose to suspend visa liberalization for Georgian diplomatic passport holders only, following democratic backsliding in the Caucasus country. Still, the option of targeting the entire population remains on the table -- and with the future expanded scope of the suspension mechanism, the bloc is clearly sharpening its toolbox. Looking Ahead This week is less eventful in Brussels as we are approaching Easter, but look out for the meeting in the White House on April 17 between US President Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Meloni is often considered to be one of Europe's Trump whisperers," meaning that she has the American president's ear, but this has not prevented transatlantic tensions over trade or differing views on Russia's war in Ukraine. That's all for this week! Feel free to reach out to me on any of these issues on X @RikardJozwiak, or on e-mail at jozwiakr@rferl.org. Until next time, Rikard Jozwiak If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition subscribe here. The European Union looks set to sharpen its visa suspension mechanism later this year, making it easier for Brussels to revoke visa-free travel for citizens of the 61 countries that currently enjoy it -- including all the EU hopefuls in the Western Balkans, as well as Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The proposal to list more reasons for suspending visa-free travel was initiated by the European Commission back in 2023, and the Council of the EU -- which represents the 27 member states - already adopted its position on the matter a year ago. However, due to the European Parliamentary elections in June 2024 and a heavy backlog of legislation, the European Parliament only recently obtained its negotiation mandate. Last week, the first trialogue between the three institutions took place on the proposed legislation, with the goal of reaching an agreement during the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, which runs until the end of June. If all goes well, the new legislation should be up and running in early autumn. Why Is This Happening Now? Essentially, the bloc is becoming much more hard-nosed about visa liberalization, reflecting a broader shift: first, to combat any form of illegal migration into the EU; and second, to potentially use visa policy as a political tool to pressure third countries. Visa liberalization -- which in this case includes all EU member states except Ireland, as well as non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland -- has long been one of Brussels' most significant political carrots, particularly for countries in its neighborhood. It allows nationals from third countries to visit the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. Kosovo was included on the list in early 2024 and Georgia and Ukraine in 2017 -- moves that were celebrated in all these countries. To threaten to withdraw the privilege can therefore be seen as a real stick. The current suspension mechanism, in place since 2018, can be triggered in cases of clear abuse -- for example, a surge in third-country nationals overstaying the 90-day limit or using the liberalization of travel to seek asylum in the EU. So far, the bloc has only suspended visa liberalization once: first temporarily, then permanently, for the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. So, what changes are likely in store? Broadly speaking, there are four key areas of change, as Brussels aims to make the visa suspension mechanism a more credible deterrent. First, visa liberalization could be suspended if there is a perceived lack of alignment between a visa-free third country and the EU's general visa policy. This was the case in 2022, for example, when Serbia allowed visa-free travel for citizens of countries such as Burundi, India, and Cuba. Brussels suggested that many of those individuals were using Serbia as a backdoor into the EU. After pressure from the European Commission, Belgrade dropped some of these arrangements. Under the proposed legislation, however, such behavior could be punished more readily. Hybrid Threats Another reason for suspending visas is so-called hybrid threats. While still rather theoretical, this provision is inspired by cases such as Russia and Belarus, which the EU has accused of transporting migrants from Africa and Asia to EU frontiers, like Poland and Lithuania's borders. Now, the EU's visa facilitation agreements with both Moscow and Minsk have already been suspended for several years, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko's crackdown on the opposition. However, if another visa-free country attempts a similar tactic, the new mechanism could be triggered in response. Thirdly, if a country operates an investor citizenship scheme -- allowing individuals to buy citizenship without any genuine link to that country -- then visa liberalization with the EU could also be halted in the future. However, the fourth new ground for suspension is perhaps the most interesting one, as it relates to the EU's political relations with third countries. The draft legislation states that the suspension mechanism can be triggered in cases of serious human rights violations and abuses" or serious breaches of international law and standards, including human rights law and noncompliance with international court decisions and rulings." 'Democracy Criterion' If you ask EU officials, their reading has always been that a democracy criterion" exists when it comes to visa liberalization -- but it has never been clearly spelled out what exactly this entails. Another interesting and new aspect is that triggering the mechanism in this case should be the exclusive prerogative of the European Commission, after consultation with EU member states, as it deals with the external relations of the bloc. Ultimately, however, it would still be up to the member states -- via a qualified majority -- to suspend visa liberalization with a third country. As EU officials put it, this remains the nuclear option when all others have been exhausted," since the bloc is generally reluctant to penalize a country's entire population rather than its government. That's why, earlier this year, the EU chose to suspend visa liberalization for Georgian diplomatic passport holders only, following democratic backsliding in the Caucasus country. Still, the option of targeting the entire population remains on the table -- and with the future expanded scope of the suspension mechanism, the bloc is clearly sharpening its toolbox. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Hungary's growing crackdown on public LGBTQ events will not prevent this year's pride march, scheduled for June 28, say organizers. But demonstrations of this kind are facing growing pressure from Viktor Orban's government, which has passed a constitutional amendment saying they are banned. Extending sanctions against Russia has been one of the most pressing issues for the European Union -- especially this year. And Hungary's record of holding out against such sanctions has officials in Brussels worried about what will happen when the next extension deadline comes around, this time in July. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has for a long time voiced opposition to the EU's sanctions on the Kremlin and refused to agree on any new measures that target energy imports into the bloc from Russia. These rollovers happen every six months and are split into two groups: sectoral sanctions -- such as import bans on various Russian goods -- and listings, meaning visa bans and asset freezes on more than 2,500 Russian individuals and firms. The sectoral sanctions come up for renewal in January and July, while the listings are reviewed for prolongation in March and September. That adds up to four decisions each calendar year, all of which must be taken unanimously by the 27 EU member states. In both the January sectoral renewal and the March listings rollover, Hungary -- long critical of EU sanctions on the Kremlin -- toyed with the idea of withholding approval. In the end, Budapest gave the green light, but not without securing some concessions from Brussels. EU officials in Brussels told me that there is already concern about the upcoming extension of sectoral sanctions in July -- and what Budapest might demand. The issue is further compounded by a broader question about the West's sanctions policy toward Moscow and the ongoing cease-fire talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. Sanctions relief, in some form, has been dangled as a potential carrot in front of the Kremlin -- at least from Washington's side -- even though the Europeans, who are not involved in the talks, have dismissed the idea for now. The question is if that will still hold in the summer. "Three months is a lifetime in politics, and by that time [US President Donald] Trump might be tired of Russia and ramping up sanctions instead," said one EU official I spoke to, though the official also admitted more EU capitals could be tempted to scale down. The ever-present threat of a transatlantic trade war hitting EU economies might, according to diplomats, reignite calls to ease sanctions on things like Russian gas, aluminum, steel, and broader trade with Moscow. What Is Europe's Plan B For Sanctions? In order to circumvent a potential Hungarian veto this summer or prevent other member states from cherry-picking elements they want removed, the brightest legal minds in Brussels are now poring over legal texts to come up with a Plan B, in case Plan A -- a "clean" prolongation -- proves impossible in July. And they might have found one. The idea was already floated during the height of the listings rollover process in March. It remains untested, and it's questionable whether its fully legal. It's also complicated, at least for those outside the "Brussels bubble." But it looks like this: EU sanctions consist of two legal documents, a decision and a regulation. These texts are essentially identical and function together; member states agree and adopt a decision, which is then implemented as a regulation. The regulation must be extended every six months by unanimity, while the decision does not. In fact, the decision remains in force unless a qualified majority votes to repeal it. That would mean sanctions could stay in place without needing a formal extension, and it would sidestep Hungary's big opportunity to "blackmail" the rest of the club on this. This is very much a fallback option -- and a temporary one, according to diplomats I've spoken with. Hungary, and potentially others, would likely take the EU to court over it, as the approach would be unprecedented. As one diplomat put it: "Happening on very shaky legal grounds, as we always have used unanimity to prolong sanctions -- that's just the way this has always worked." But there are other Plan Bs in the works as well. Perhaps the most obvious involves the European Commission proposing more sanctions in the coming weeks, which would mark the 17th sanctions package since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. But the trick is that these new sanctions wouldn't actually be adopted. Instead, they'd be "horse-traded" in exchange for Hungary agreeing to the general sanctions rollover. In that scenario, Budapest could claim a win in that no new sanctions would be approved, while others would at least secure a prolongation of existing sanctions until the end of the year. Another potential avenue would be to let the sanctions lapse, but to compensate for this by raising tariffs on Russia across all equivalent economic sectors. This type of decision wouldn't require unanimity, so it could fly, but what would the bloc do, for example, with all the export restrictions it has already imposed on Russia? One option would be to let EU sanctions expire but replicate the same measures at the national level. However, far from all member states have national sanctions legislation and instead rely on a European framework. As a result, implementation would very soon become patchy and inconsistent across the bloc. There is also another potential dilemma. Apart from sanctions extensions, most EU member states want the bloc to open accession talks with Ukraine in June at the very latest. This means that another potential Hungarian veto would need to be overcome around the same time as the sanctions one. It's possible some frozen EU funds that were withheld from Budapest over rule-of-law concerns may need to be heated up and sent its way to get both issues across the line. Hungary's LGBTQ community will not be sidelined, members say, by a new amendment to the constitution threatening criminal prosecution for those who attend public events. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's rightwing populist party, Fidesz, backed the legal change -- one of more than a dozen targeting dissent, free expression and education in recent years -- prompting protests for weeks. The amendment, passed on April 14 along party lines, officially bans the public display of homosexuality and gender diversity and approves police powers to use facial recognition technology. The law was promoted by its backers as necessary for the protection of children's "physical, mental and moral development," but international human rights groups say it violates basic civil rights to freedom of expression. The amendment also enshrines into law the recognition of only two genders, providing a constitutional basis for denying the gender identities of some in Hungary. Meanwhile, backing for the LGBTQ community from the public in Hungary has only grown, according to attorney Eszter Polgari of the Hatter Society, an NGO that represents victims of discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. "I think it got broader support from the society itself," she told RFE/RL. "It also has to do with a lot of discontent among the people. So they are not happy with how things are going." In response to the new restrictions, protests in Budapest got creative, launching a satirical march calling for more conformity. Demonstrators wore gray instead of the rainbow colors of past Pride marches in the city. The 30th anniversary of Budapest Pride is still scheduled for June 28, when international supporters are expected to march alongside locals. The new amendment has yet to have a practical effect on free expression in Hungary, said Polgari, adding it will be difficult to enforce, based on its vague wording. "Nobody understands and I, as a lawyer, can't define what would constitute displaying or promoting homosexuality and gender diversity," she said. RFE/RL journalist Pablo Gorondi said the amendment is part of a steady progression of measures restricting dissent and public gatherings. "This is actually one of several steps, it's the latest step," Gorondi said, "of the Orban government's, you could say, campaign against homosexuals and gays, the LGBTQ community." The new crackdown could have implications far beyond the organizers of Budapest Pride, Gorondi said. "This amendment is actually a step against the right of assembly. So not only for the gay community, but it could be extended to anyone whom the government may oppose or who [they] may think has a message that the government doesn't approve of, or for some reason doesn't want to see publicly promoted." The right group Hungarian Helsinki Committee described the amendment as a means of "legislating fear" in the country. A statement from the group said, "These laws represent a significant escalation in the government's efforts to suppress dissent, weaken human rights protection and consolidate its grip on power." Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to back the continuation of nuclear discussions between Tehran and Washington, though he said he is neither "overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic" about the talks as they head toward a second round this weekend. In his first public comments on the initiation of talks between Iran and the United States last weekend, Khamenei on April 15 said Iranian negotiators need to proceed with caution. "A decision was made [to enter the talks] and has been carried out well in the initial steps. Going forward, we need to move carefully. Our red lines -- and the other side's -- are clearly defined," Khamenei said at a gathering of the senior members of the three branches of power. "The negotiations may or may not lead to a result. We are neither very optimistic nor very pessimistic about these talks. Of course, we are very pessimistic about the other side, but we are optimistic about our own capabilities," he added. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, urged officials "not to tie the country's affairs" to the negotiations. The first round of talks, which were mostly carried out indirectly, were held in Muscat on April 12, with the next round scheduled for April 19. Italy was initially set to host the second round, but Iran later said Oman would continue to host the talks. None of the parties involved have elaborated on why the venue was changed. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Kyrgyz migrants living in Russia say they were beaten, forced to crawl, and humiliated during a Moscow police raid. The Kyrgyz government is facing criticism for its muted response, as Moscow denies any wrongdoing. Serbian students staged demonstrations late on April 14 in front of the buildings of public broadcasters in Belgrade and Novi Sad to express their dissatisfaction with their reporting of protests that have taken place almost daily since the fatal collapse of a concrete at train station in November. The students accused the national broadcasters -- Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in Belgrade and Radio Television of Vojvodina (RTV) in Novi Sad -- of ignoring their movement and the protests. "The public broadcaster is working against all of us," the students wrote on Instagram. They pitched tents outside RTS and RTV and vowed a prolonged blockade. Police officers were deployed in Belgrade, but no incidents were reported. Belgrade students took to social media without notice earlier on April 14 to call for a blockade of RTS at two locations in Belgrade. There has been criticism that the broadcasters failed to cover dozens of Serbian cyclists who earlier this month traveled some 1,300 kilometers to the European Parliament in Strasbourg to draw attention to their country's ongoing anti-corruption campaign. The protests started after the collapse of a concrete canopy at Novi Sad train station killed 16 people. The deadly collapse triggered nationwide demonstrations in Serbia by people who blamed the government for corruption and poor oversight. Gatherings have taken place almost daily, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants in major cities. The broader movement is drawing attention to what they says is the crumbling rule of law and systemic corruption under President Aleksandar Vucic. The pressure led to the resignation of the prime minister and the collapse of the government. The President of the National Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, has scheduled a special session of the parliament for April 15 at which members of the new government are expected to be elected, according to the website of the assembly. Aleksandar Vulin, who held the position of vice president in the previous government, is not on the proposed list of new ministers. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vulin has visited Russia and met with high Russian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vulin has been under US sanctions since 2023 for allegedly facilitating Russian activities in the Balkans. Vucic on April 12 rallied his supporters in Belgrade, announcing that he will form a new political movement in the face of the growing wave of protests. Vucic insists the student-led protests are threatening peace and stability in the country and accuses organizers of being paid by "foreign intelligence agencies." He told thousands of supporters during the April 12 rally that authorities must begin procedures "to restore order in the country" and that "full respect for the Constitution [must take place] to ensure the security of Serbia." He said a new movement for the people and the state is required "because we need new energy and new strength, a new plan, not a plan until 2027, but until 2035." With reporting by AFP LVIV - Pavlo Martsenyuk, a 34-year-old soldier from Ukraine's Khmelnytskiy region, suffered a severe injury in a mine blast last year near Pokrovsk. Martsenyuk's unit was preparing to head to combat positions when a mine exploded. It was his third injury, but the most serious -- he completely lost his sight, and doctors had to reconstruct his face and right leg. In May, American doctors will operate on the veteran for a second time, reconstructing the left side of his face and implanting a second ocular prosthesis. This veteran is learning to live in a world where he "sees" with his hands. He recognizes the winding corridors of the rehabilitation center and is able to attend his sessions without using the elevator. Recently, Martsenyuk was home on leave in the Khmelnytskiy region. He felt good there, as his familiarity with his native village allows him to navigate it easily. He managed to go for walks with his dog, a German shepherd named Alpha. "She can't be a guide dog in the full sense of the word. But she's a very smart dog. Always right next to me; she'll sit and stay still, won't move until I call her. Then she comes over and starts cuddling. I could take her for walks because I know the area -- it's my friend, my little buddy," Pavlo says, laughing. "But to train a dog to be a proper guide, you really need to start from a young age with special training." Family Is Everything His main support and joy come from his family, Martsenyuk says. His wife and their three children -- Anastasia (5), Roman (11), and Viktoria (12) -- visit him often at the rehabilitation center, which brings him comfort and motivates him to adapt to this new reality. "I used to do everything myself. I need to get used to the fact that I now need help from others. I have to learn a new way of living. That means not being completely passive, but stepping back a little. "I have to accept my situation with dignity. I'm glad to be alive, and as for not being able to seeI've already seen a lot in my life," says the veteran. Martsenyuk certainly saw a lot in the past four years of war. His dream was always to join the army. In 2021, he signed a contract with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Previously, he worked as a driver and also repaired and sold cars. "I joined the 95th Separate Air Assault Brigade, served in Zhytomyr, spent three months at the training ground, and then we were deployed to the eastern region," the veteran says. The full-scale war caught up with him and his comrades in Zhytomyr shortly after they had returned from Toretsk in the Donbas. From there, they faced intense fighting in the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv regions. He says that during this time, he fully understood the brutality of the war. He was first injured in June 2022 in Donetsk, underwent treatment, and took a month's leave. After recovering from a closed chest fracture, he put on his bulletproof vest and returned to the army. He did the same after his second injury at the end of 2022, which included a spinal injury, a shrapnel wound to his leg, and a torn meniscus. But this time, he transferred to another brigade, the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade. "After my second injury, I went to serve in the 25th brigade, to hold the line. Unfortunately, I didnt make it to the combat positions -- in June 2024, an anti-tank mine exploded under my feet. I only remember the explosion, and then I screamed, touched my face, and couldn't feel anything. "Then I heard that they were giving me medical help. Among the 16 wounded, my case was the most serious. I lost my sight completely, and my leg was shattered," Martsenyuk tells RFE/RL. Martsenyuk adds that he is grateful to be alive, to be able to talk to and hug his children, and to tell fairytales to Anastasia, his youngest daughter. Cover Story Early education is crucial for a childs cognitive, social, and emotional growth. With Hyderabads rapid urbanization and an increase in nuclear families, preschools play a vital role in providing structured learning environments, fostering creativity, communication, and independence while supporting working parents. However, the sector faces multiple challenges, including high operational costs for infrastructure and staff, complex regulatory compliance, and difficulty in retaining skilled educators due to limited career advancement. Rising parental expectations demand innovative teaching methodologies while growing competition forces preschools to differentiate themselves. The Red Maple School is designed around the child in an earnest effort to create a world of happiness not... Cate McCurry, PA The gap in economic performance and well-being indicators between Ireland and Northern Ireland is widening, a report has found. The research found that Ireland is outperforming Northern Ireland in most areas, including labour market trends, living standards, economic structures, education, health and overall well-being. New research, published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and commissioned as part of the Institutes research programme with the Shared Island Unit, Department of the Taoiseach, provides a high-level comparison of the economies of Ireland and Northern Ireland in recent years. The research recognises that the economies north and south on the island are distinct in important structural respects. Northern Ireland is part of the wider UK economy, with significant implications for trade and public policy. Ireland, on the other hand, is a national-level economy and an EU member state, so direct comparisons between the two will not always be on a like-for-like basis. Nevertheless, the research provides a range of insights on the relative performance of both economies over recent years. The report found that Irelands population is growing faster than Northern Irelands, largely due to strong net migration in recent years. This has resulted in Ireland having a younger population, with a lower old-age dependency rate. There have also been shifts in the labour market over time. Labour market participation in Ireland has increased significantly since 2010, widening the gap with Northern Ireland. In 2022, the participation rate of those aged 16 to 64 was 76.8 per cent in Ireland compared with 72.4 per cent north of the border. Employment rates in Ireland overtook Northern Ireland in the period after the financial crisis, reflecting Irelands strong recovery. But due to the Irish economys highly open nature, the countrys labour market is more volatile than Northern Irelands, and experiences larger swings in unemployment, migration, and NEET (not in employment, education, or training) rates. Turning to living standards and income, the report found widening gaps in all commonly used measures of living standards and these gaps favour Ireland. It focuses on reliable measures of living standards that are not distorted by globalisation effects, which is important for Ireland. Household disposable income in Ireland is 18.3 per cent higher than in Northern Ireland and the gap has widened over time. Irelands Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in 2022 was 57 per cent higher than Northern Irelands Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, reflecting stronger economic growth. In terms of wages, the data show a positive gap favouring Ireland, with hourly earnings 36 per cent higher than in Northern Ireland in 2022. While Great Britain remains Northern Irelands largest trading partner, the norths trade with Great Britain has declined since 2015, while trade with Ireland has increased. On a per capita basis, Northern Ireland residents pay significantly lower personal income tax than those in Ireland, which is 2,980 in Northern Ireland compared with 6,725 per capita in Ireland. Corporate tax receipts per capita in Ireland, which is sitting at 5,760 euro, are more than five times those in Northern Ireland, reflecting the dominance of multinationals. Ireland allocates a higher share of government expenditure to health, with 26.3 per cent in Ireland compared with 17.3 per cent in Northern Ireland in 2022/23, and education, with 10.7 per cent in Ireland compared with 9.5 per cent in Northern Ireland in the same period. Northern Ireland has a higher share of pubic sector employment, while employment in Ireland is more heavily concentrated in high-value-added sectors such as ICT and financial services. Manufacturing in Ireland accounts for 44 per cent of gross value added, more than 2.5 times Northern Irelands share. Labour productivity in Northern Ireland lags behind that of Ireland in most sectors. The report found that Northern Ireland is more productive in construction, agriculture, forestry and fishing. Labour productivity in Ireland is more than 2.5 times compared with north of the border, with the gap particularly influenced by the role of foreign-owned firms in Ireland. Across all age groups in 2022, education enrolment rates are higher in Ireland than in Northern Ireland. The report shows that some 71 per cent of 15 to 19-year-olds in Northern Ireland are in education compared with 94 per cent in Ireland, a gap of more than 20 percentage points. Early-school-leaving rates have dropped in Ireland, from five per cent to 2.7 per cent between 2018 and 2022, but increased in Northern Ireland, from 9.4 per cent to 10 per cent between 2018 and 2022. Overall, early-school-leaving rates are three times higher in Northern Ireland than in Ireland. Inpatient and outpatient waiting lists were similar for those waiting between zero and six months for treatment in 2024, but the rates for longer durations are much higher in Northern Ireland. Some 86 per 1,000 people in Northern Ireland are on waiting lists for 18-plus months, compared with 12 per 1,000 in Ireland. Life expectancy is an important indicator that tends to encapsulate the impacts of multiple well-being determinants across a range of areas, including income levels, educational attainment and access to health services. In 2021, life expectancy for children aged below one in Ireland was 82.4 years compared with 80.4 years in Northern Ireland, a gap of two years. As was the case with many other key metrics, the gap between Ireland and Northern Ireland in life expectancy has also been widening over recent years. Adele Bergin, an author of the report and an associate research professor at the ESRI, said: Ireland has experienced stronger economic growth, higher wages, and higher living standards in recent years. The gap in economic performance and well-being indicators between Ireland and Northern Ireland is widening. Seamus McGuinness, an author of the report and a research professor at the ESRI, said: The report provides a contemporary analysis of relative economic performance of both economies and allows for differences, in both the levels and evolution of key performance metrics, between Ireland and Northern Ireland to be better understood. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the Irish government will assess and absorb the report. Asked for his reaction to the report, Mr Martin said: It illustrates similarities, complementarities, difference, and we just should take the material as it is. I think the Northern Ireland Executive will take the material in terms of its plans for economic development in the north and so forth. We, likewise, will assess it and absorb it. But I think its good work by the ESRI and theres pluses and minuses within the report, some of it is not a surprise, but I think some of it, insofar as it applies to the post-Brexit era, is interesting in terms of the exports and imports both ways. But suffice to say, the British market is still extremely important, and I think the relationship between Ireland and Great Britain is very important, north-south is very important. That tripartite relationship is key, and research of this kind shines a light, and also indicates where we can co-operate and work together to deal with the challenges facing citizens. A young Castleplunkett woman has this evening been selected to fill the vacant Fine Gael seat for Roscommon Municipal District on Roscommon County Council. Ruth Connolly-Conboy has pledged to "build relationships" with all representatives and to work as hard as she can for the Roscommon Municipal District and for the county. Ms Connolly-Conboy a "fresh face" for the MD said that she would be meeting with as many people as possible to get different perspectives and increase engagement. Ruth Connolly-Conboy who is set to become the new Fine Gael councillor for the Roscommon Municipal District. Pic: Liam Reynolds The selection convention was held in Tullys Hotel, Castlerea this evening where former councillor Michael McGreal, from Ballinlough, Castleplunkett's Ruth Connolly-Conboy, Ballintubber's Maria McCahill and Roscommon Town's Robbie McConn all put their names before the delegates. A graduate of DCU, Ruth studied International Relations, Law and Government and following her graduation took up a position with Real Nation, a behavioural change agency. She became the chief strategy officer for Real Nation in 2021. An increased opportunity to work remotely allowed her to move back to County Roscommon with her husband, Damien Conboy who runs a sheep farm at Caran, Castleplunkett She comes from a family with deep ties to the party. Fellow Castleplunkett native and Fine Gael councillor Liam Callaghan described her late grandmother, Bebe, as a "stalwart" of the party in the 1970s and 80s in his proposal speech. Her parents are well known in the community, with her father Martin a farmer and a retired contractor, and her mother Geraldine a former principal of St. Michaels National School, Castlerea. Ruth is now set to fill the seat left vacant by the Gareth Scahill after he was appointed to the Senate two months ago. Speaking this evening Senator Scahill said that Ms Connolly-Conboy was "an excellent candidate". He added that her selection was very reflective of the electorate at the moment with the party now having two new female candidates on Roscommon County Council, "very strong able women who are very active in their communities". Senator Scahill spoke of a "new energy" in Fine Gael and added that it was "a very exciting time" to be involved in Fine Gael. * Watch as the announcement was made this evening in Tully's Hotel, Castlerea by MEP Maria Walsh. James Cox Here, we have a look at the topics likely to dominate political discourse in the week to come. Triple lock changes in spotlight The Government has a clear intention to dismantle provisions of the triple lock, the Sinn Fein leader said, after it was confirmed that Ireland will join an alliance of European nations that shares intelligence on potential threats in EU sea waters. Tanaiste Simon Harris announced on Monday that he has approved plans to join the Common Information Sharing Environment to allow for more effective operations at sea and deal with maritime threats. The Fine Gael leader, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, said he is confident of the benefits of joining the alliance. CISE shares maritime surveillance information among EU and EEA countries, and aims to respond to threats at sea, including physical and cyber-attacks on infrastructure and drug trafficking. It allows agencies from different countries to share data securely. Mary Lou McDonald said she is deeply concerned by the Governments direction of travel. She said Sinn Fein will go toe-to-toe in defending the triple lock. Speaking in Belfast on Monday, Ms McDonald called on the Tanaiste to provide clarity as to the mechanics of the alliance and the extent of information exchanged. I absolutely accept that we have an issue around the surveillance of our seas, she added. There is no question about that. Very disgracefully, successive governments have allowed that to slip. We need active surveillance of our seas, and thats a very important element, by the way, of protecting our position as a non-aligned and a military neutral. I want to hear more about this arrangement. The Dail isnt in session for the next couple of weeks, but I have no doubt that the Tanaiste will face, and the Taoiseach will face, questioning on these matters, and they have to set out very clearly for the Irish people what is envisaged, what commitments will be made. Let me say this, anything that impinges on our status, on our role as non-aligned, as military neutrals, cannot and should not be countenanced. The Government has insisted changes to the triple lock will not affect Ireland's neutrality. In an interview with BreakingNews.ie on Sunday, Minister of State Neale Richmond said: "Irelands triple lock mechanism for deploying troops abroad is an archaic tool that is hindering our ability to be a global force for good whilst surrendering our sovereign decision making to the veto powers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. "Given a UN mandate can be vetoed by any of the five permanent security council members, we are effectively giving the likes of Russia and China and a veto of where and when we send our own troops." Mr Richmond added: "Irelands military neutrality is completely unaffected by any proposed changes to the triple lock, it is perverse to equate being able to participate in more peacekeeping missions as undermining our long held tradition of military neutrality. "As it stands, Ireland could not send 13 members of our defence forces to Ukraine to help train Ukrainians on land mine removal, the very same land mines that are killing and maiming so many." Trump mentions Ireland again while discussing pharmaceutical tariffs US president Donald Trump has said he is considering imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports in the "not too distant future". Speaking in the Oval Office, he suggested they would be similar to the 25 per cent rate imposed on the motor industry and steel and aluminium. Mr Trump referenced Ireland and China as countries which produce drugs and said it is time America started doing so. He claimed companies are investing trillions of dollars in the US since his tariff announcements, without providing specific figures. "We don't make our own drugs, our own pharmaceuticals anymore. The drug companies are in Ireland and theyre in lots of other places China. "All I have to do is impose a tariff.Were going to be doing that. He added: "I have a timeline, yeah... in the not too distant future. We're doing it because we want to make our own drugs, we want our own steel and aluminium, lumber, other things, and they're all coming in." Mr Trump has mentioned US pharmaceutical companies based in Ireland on several occasions. Abroad In the UK, Rishi Sunak's closest parliamentary aide when he was prime minister has been charged along with 14 others with election betting offences. Donald Trumps top advisers and the president of El Salvador have said they have no basis for the Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. On Monday, Mr Trump also suggested that he might temporarily exempt the motor industry from tariffs he previously imposed on the sector, to give car makers time to adjust their supply chains. James Cox US president Donald Trump has said he is considering imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports in the "not too distant future". Speaking in the Oval Office, he suggested they would be similar to the 25 per cent rate imposed on the motor industry and steel and aluminium. Mr Trump referenced Ireland and China as countries which produce drugs and said it is time America started doing so. He claimed companies are investing trillions of dollars in the US since his tariff announcements, without providing specific figures. The drug companies are in Ireland. "We don't make our own drugs, our own pharmaceuticals anymore. The drug companies are in Ireland and theyre in lots of other places China. "All I have to do is impose a tariff.Were going to be doing that. He added: "I have a timeline, yeah... in the not too distant future. We're doing it because we want to make our own drugs, we want our own steel and aluminium, lumber, other things, and they're all coming in." Mr Trump has mentioned US pharmaceutical companies based in Ireland on several occasions. Speaking earlier, the Tanaiste said Ireland will continue to prepare for the worst when it comes to US tariffs. The Foreign Affairs Minister said he hopes progress can be made this week by the EU trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic. Mr Harris met Mr Trump's commerce secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington DC last week. "Well we'd be foolish not to prepare for an environment in which tariffs exist. Certainly the Irish Government is preparing for that and all of the various eventualities and outcomes. "Whilst preparing for the worst, we need to continue to try to bring about the best. That's why I very much welcome that Commissioner Sefcovic is in Washington today and is engaging with his counterparts and interlocutors there." Taoiseach Micheal Martin also discussed pharmaceuticals and negotiations with the US today. Medicine is key to life and tariffs will increase the costs and thats the key point, both in America and around the world. Speaking in Cork on Monday, Mr Martin said the tariffs have brought a lot of uncertainty. There is an opportunity now for negotiation and I would hope, in that opportunity, that the sectoral issues in pharma and also in semiconductors would form part of that, the Fianna Fail leader added. In other words, that it would form part of the wider negotiation and the European Commission is also of that mindset, so that they would have a comprehensive settlement between the European Union and the United States. It is the largest trading relationship in the world, hugely impactful and it is important that we dont end up in a situation where undue harm would be caused to people or indeed to the world economy or those specifics sectors. Medicine is key to life and tariffs will increase the costs and thats the key point, both in America and around the world. The Sidney City Council meeting was held Monday, April 7. As the weather warms, phase 4.1 of the North Park Water Tower Replacement Project is getting underway. A few residents will have temporary water service, while water mains are replaced from 4th Ave. NE to 6th Ave NE. This portion of the project is expected to be completed by the end of May or beginning of June. The Authorization to Advertise for bids for phase 4.2, which is the purchase and set up of the new water tower, was approved. Facebook voting on the style for the logo on the future water tower determined option two as the winner, with 51% of votes. The logo will be maroon with white lettering. April 17- June 17 are the open dates for filing on the November election ballot. Alderman Ken Koffler will not file for re-election for his Ward 1 seat. The Meadow Village Storm Water Project was also approved. The project has been ongoing for several years in order to remedy flooding in North Meadow. It was funded through a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant, which comes from FEMA, and is facilitated by the Montana Disaster and Emergency Services office, requiring 25% matching funds. Those matching funds were received from the state, allowing the $3.5 million project to be paid for entirely through grant money. A 36" storm sewer pipe will be installed at Crocus Drive and Sunflower Lane, and will follow the canal and be dumped into the siphon below the canal to prevent flooding like what was seen earlier this year. City council approved the Anderson Drainage Improvements Proposal to divert storm water to Anderson Park. They also approved the Downtown Master Planning Services RFP from Interstate Engineering. Decisions were made regarding future snow removal. When snow is pushed into the street, other debris is often pushed into the street with it, causing damage to city equipment, man holes, and gate valves. Ordinance 601 will no longer allow anyone except businesses to move snow into the street. There was also a snow route designated for emergency vehicles, and parking will not be allowed along said route when there is four inches of snow or more. More information about the streets that make up this emergency route will be made available at a later date. Police Chief Kraft announced that a new officer position has been accepted. He was in Helena Friday, April 11 for a senate confirmation hearing and appointment. Belgium's Department of Justice Confirms Choksis Arrest, India Submits Extradition Request Defense team would challenge the extradition on two primary grounds: the political nature of the case and concerns about Choksis health. Belgium's Department of Justice Confirms Choksis Arrest, India Submits Extradition Request, Latest News: Belgium's Department of Justice confirmed the arrest of absconder Mehul Choksi on April 12, 2025, in a statement to NDTV. Choksi is currently under detention, and India has formally submitted an extradition request for him. "The Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice can confirm that Mr. Mehul Choksi was arrested on Saturday, April 12, 2025. He is being detained in anticipation of further judicial proceedings. Access to his legal counsel has been assured," said the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice to NDTV. Advertisement However, they declined to provide further details, citing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for The 65-year-old is wanted for allegedly defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over Rs. 13,850 crore through fake letters of credit and Foreign Letters of Credit from PNB. His nephew, Nirav Modi, is also allegedly involved in the fraud. Choksi allegedly conspired with his associates, including other PNB officials, from 2014 to 2017. He is accused of fraudulently obtaining Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit from PNB, leading to an alleged loss of Rs. 6,097.63 crore to the bank, according to NDTV. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal described the arrest as "a matter of pride for India." Advertisement While Choksi has been arrested, experts believe the extradition process could take up to a year. There is also the possibility that the Belgian court may deny his extradition, citing human rights concerns, his health condition, and the poor conditions in Indian jails. Choksi is reported to be suffering from blood cancer. There have been instances where extradition has been rejected on similar grounds. Former diplomat KP Fabian cited the recent example of the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror accused Tahawur Rana, which took 17 years. Advertisement Vijay Aggarwal, the business lawyer representing Choksi in the PNB fraud case, stated that his client's human rights would be significantly impacted if he were extradited to India. Aggarwal made it clear that the defense team would challenge the extradition on two primary grounds: the political nature of the case and concerns about Choksis health and treatment conditions in India. "That's a procedure. Basically, we will be defending it on two grounds: it is a political case, and secondly, because of the human condition in India," Mr. Aggarwal said. ( For more news apart from, "Belgium's Department of Justice Confirms Choksis Arrest, India Submits Extradition Request, Stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Delhi To Implement Ban On Fuel Sales To Vehicles Exceeding Permissible Age Within Two Weeks 15 out of the citys 500 fuel stations are yet to be equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, a key tracking system. Delhi To Implement Ban On Fuel Sales To Vehicles Exceeding Permissible Age Within Two Weeks In an attempt to curb vehicular emissions, the Delhi government is likely to execute its plan to halt the sale of fuel to old cars classified as end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) within the next two weeks, officials familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times. Advertisement In addition, only 15 out of the citys 500 fuel stations are yet to be equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, a key tracking system. The restrictions will apply to all vehicles, regardless of their registration state, once they enter any fuel station within Delhi. This equipment will help the Delhi government in rolling out the scheme. The initiative was announced earlier this year, but experts have raised concerns about potential confusion and enforcement challenges. Only about 15 fuel stations out of the 500 in the city still need to install the necessary systems, such as cameras to identify ELVs as soon as they enter for refueling. Around 485 stations, including CNG stations, have already completed the installation. Once all stations are equipped, the rollout will begin, an anonymous source told HT. Advertisement The official also added that the government is expecting approval from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) shortly. The plan, initially set for rollout on April 1, was delayed due to incomplete installation of tracking systems. Under the new system, CCTV cameras with ANPR technology will scan vehicle number plates at fuel stations. These cameras, linked to the mParivahan database, will identify vehicles exceeding age limits and notify fuel station operators to deny them fuel. Advertisement The restrictions will apply to all vehicles, irrespective of their registration state, when they enter any fuel station in Delhi. Under 2015 National Green Tribunal regulations, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018, petrol vehicles over 15 years old and diesel vehicles over 10 years old are banned from operating in Delhi as ELVs. The scheme is part of the governments effort to curb pollution by removing older vehicles that dont meet emission standards. As of September 2024, Delhi had over 6 million ELVs. While many have been removed, thousands still contribute to pollution across NCR. In 2023, 22,397 vehicles were impounded, with 2,310 in the first nine months of 2024. Over 20,000 ELVs were impounded for scrapping between 2024 and 2025, though Delhi lacks its own scrapping facility. Advertisement While most impounded vehicles are scrapped, no consolidated data on scrappage exists. The Delhi government sought CAQM clearance for the policy in April, and enforcement will begin once cameras are fully installed. Experts urge clear communication on legal exemptions, such as for vintage vehicles. "Like Another Nirbhaya": Judge Pens Poem in Death Penalty Verdict for Child's Rape and Murder The judge delivered the judgment within three months. "Like Another Nirbhaya": Judge Pens Poem in Death Penalty Verdict for Child's Rape and Murder A judge of a session court in Seoni Malwa, in Madhya Pradesh's Narmadapuram district, on Saturday, while awarding the death penalty to a man convicted of raping and murdering a six-year-old girl, wrote a poem in the judgment to express the agony and injustice endured by the child victim. The girl was kidnapped in her sleep on the night of January 2nd by Ajay Vadiba, the convict, who later raped and murdered her, as reported by TOI. The judge delivered the judgment within three months. Advertisement Tabassum Khan was the judge who wrote the poem, currently serving as an Additional Sessions Judge at the District Court in Narmadapuram, Madhya Pradesh. Speaking as the victim herself, Special Judge Tabsum Khan wrote, "Han, main hun Nirbhaya, phir ek Nirbhaya...," as TOI quoted the poem from the judgment. The poem ends with, "Ek chhota sa prashn utha rahi hun, jo nari ka apman kare, kya woh mard ho sakta hai? (I have a small question: can one who insults women ever truly be a man?)" The judge Tabsum Khan further wrote in the poem within the judgment, "He took me away in my sleep, like the dark shroud of death... I was alone and very scared... I sobbed and called out for my parents. I cried and screamed for help, but no one heard... He, too, was the father of three children, so why did he do this to me?" Advertisement During interrogation, he confessed to the crime. In a shocking revelation, he admitted to asking the victims father to exchange the victim for the convicts son. However, the father dismissed it as a joke. According to the TOI report, she was taken to a remote area, where he raped and murdered her, and disposed of her body near a canal. ( For more news apart from, ""Like Another Nirbhaya": Judge Pens Poem in Death Penalty Verdict for Child's Rape and Murder, Stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) April 15, 2025 UPDATE (1) A roundup of local and world news Newsflash Newsroom, 15.04.2025, 17:09 US DELEGATION A delegation of eight members of US Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, met with Romanian senators and deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday. The US delegation was accompanied by the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec. Talks focused on aspects specific to parliamentary diplomacy, whereas the annulment of last years presidential election was approached as a free discussion about the political situation in Romania, the Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Daniel Suciu, said. Previously, US congressmen held talks with interim president Ilie Bolojan and expressed satisfaction with his clarifications regarding the annulment of the 2024 presidential election. According to political sources, talks were extremely good, friendly, beyond classic diplomacy, and Washington representatives showed a warm and open attitude. The eight representatives of the American Congress emphasized that the US strategic military policy remains unchanged. American officials said they want to continue to strengthen the strategic partnership between the USA and Romania, political sources also say. At the same time, American officials said they will support the inclusion of Romania in the Visa Waiver Program. With regard to Ukraine, US congressmen hailed Romanias position and showed that they understand the sensitive topics specific to the Eastern Flank. EUROSTAT Around 197.6 million people of working age (20-64 years) in the European Union were employed in 2024, accounting for an employment rate of 75.8%, the highest level recorded since statistical data has been collected, Eurostat reports. In the case of the EU, the employment rate increased by 0.5% compared to 2023. Among member states, the highest employment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (83.5%), Malta (83%) and Czechia (82.3%). At the opposite pole, the lowest employment rates among the working-age population were recorded in Italy (67.1%), Greece (69.3%) and Romania (69.5%), according to data published on Tuesday. (VP) Vulnerable energy consumers in Romania Vulnerable energy consumers in Romania will be protected after July 1st as well Sebastian Burduja / Photo: gov.ro Leyla Cheamil, 15.04.2025, 13:50 The Ministry of Energy, together with the Ministry of Labor, will establish a support mechanism for vulnerable consumers, to be implemented as of July 1st, said on Monday, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja, during an energy forum organized in Bucharest. He added that an update of the ceilings establishing the vulnerability threshold was also necessary to widen the range of beneficiaries, so as to cover all possible cases. Sebastian Burduja has stated that three very applied technical meetings have already taken place in order to prepare this plan for vulnerable consumers, for whom paying utility bills is a burden. Also, in this time frame, we want to increase this liquidity in the market, so that producers can sell more, suppliers can buy more, maybe even traders can trade more electricity, so that, in the end, prices have a correct evolution, Sebastian Burduja said. He has also stressed that prices on the electricity and gas markets have experienced significant increases since the beginning of this year, with the halt of Russian gas transit through Ukraine. The current natural gas price compensation scheme has been extended until April 1 next year. The continuation of the compensation-capping scheme until July 1 for electricity and until April 1 next year for gas aims to protect Romanians, Sebastian Burduja also said. On the other hand, the President of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chiritoiu, has drawn attention to the fact that the capping-compensation scheme for energy prices was introduced early, which was a positive thing, but the fact that the capping was established for everyone was excessive. Certain problems in the market, Bogdan Chiritoiu explained, have allowed some to earn a lot of money, probably legal gains, but unjustified from the point of view of opportunity. He added that the capping should not be continued, but measures should be formulated to protect vulnerable consumers, while at the same time supporting large energy-consuming companies. In turn, the president of the National Energy Regulatory Authority, George Niculescu, has stated that, regarding the period after the end of the energy price cap, he recommends that all consumers, including companies, check their supply contracts, so as not to find that they have been charged very high prices. He has also announced that an information campaign is being prepared for the period starting on July 1st, so that energy consumers know their rights. Representatives of the Federation of Energy Utility Companies Associations say that, until the moment of the elimination of the electricity price cap, the state should pay all outstanding amounts related to the compensation scheme. (MI) The photo shows people waiting in line in front of a Mixue store in Sydney, Australia. (Xinhua) CHENGDU, April 10 (Xinhua) -- In a bustling exhibition hall in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Gregory Cattin, a French beverage industry veteran, savored a cup of osmanthus-scented oolong, his expression shifting from curiosity to delight. "This is not just tea; it's an evolution," he said. Having traversed global markets for over three decades, Cattin is now among the numerous international buyers captivated by a new wave of Chinese tea culture. He traveled from Hong Kong to Chengdu to attend the 112th China Food and Drinks Fair held in late March. "I came specifically to seek out good brands and products, hoping to establish partnerships and bring some high-quality products abroad," he said. From creamy black sugar bubble tea tailored for the Southeast Asian market to zero-sugar fruit infusions appealing to European palates, Chinese tea drink brands are redefining global beverage trends. Once confined to traditional ceremonies, Chinese tea is now a canvas for innovation, blending millennia-old heritage with cosmopolitan flair. Cattin's journey mirrors a broader shift. As Chinese chains expand globally, like ChaPanda in Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur and Barcelona, and HEYTEA in London, Melbourne and New York, they're not just selling drinks -- they're shaping cultural conversations through modern tea experiences. ChaPanda has sold over 140,000 cups of its sought-after drink "Yangzhiganlu" (mango pomelo sago) overseas, while Grass Jelly &Tea stores in the North American market have seen their daily revenue reach as high as north of 50,000 yuan (about 7,000 U.S. dollars). The key lies in hyper-localized innovation. In Barcelona, ChaPanda's matcha brown sugar pearl milk tea became an instant hit, while in Kuala Lumpur, rich milky flavors cater to local preferences. "It's about honoring regional tastes while keeping our Chinese soul," said Wang Huan, head of ChaPanda's global operations. Behind the scenes, robust logistics networks fuel this expansion. Brands like Grass Jelly &Tea have established overseas hubs in Vietnam and Indonesia, integrating localized sourcing with cross-border delivery of core ingredients -- a hybrid model ensuring both freshness and authenticity. The revolution extends beyond taste buds. HEYTEA's New York Lab store merges bamboo-weave walls with meditation spaces, transforming stores into cultural pop-ups. Limited-edition drinks wrapped in Peking opera motifs or inspired by ancient Chinese legends turn each order into a storytelling session. Even store formats adapt philosophically: ChaPanda's spacious Seoul outlet, mirroring the "third space" culture in the Republic of Korea, invites customers to linger -- a deliberate contrast to grab-and-go norms. As Cattin negotiated partnerships to bring these blends to Europe, he reflected that "China didn't just invent tea; they've reimagined it for the world." With the global new-style tea market soaring past 350 billion yuan, up 6.4 percent year on year, and brands expanding their overseas footprints, the leaves of change are steeping worldwide. From Parisian patisseries to Bangkok street markets, the ancient art of Chinese tea has never tasted better. Editor: WXY Energy ministers and key energy sector decision makers from around the world will convene at the Summit on the Future of Energy Security, hosted by the UK Government and the International Energy Agency. Ministers and industry leaders will discuss the future of energy security, co-hosted by UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol, at Lancaster House in London on April 24 and 25. In recent years, energy security has risen up the global agenda as countries act to respond to today's challenges and protect themselves from future energy shocks, the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said in a statement. "The summit is an opportunity to cooperate on rising to the challenges the world faces on energy security and seizing the opportunities to act." The UK has set a goal of accelerating to a new era of clean electricity by 2030. Iberdrola/ScottishPower, National Grid, SSE and Urenco are sponsoring the summit as official partners. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The United States and South Korea have agreed to strengthen their space cooperation, including joint research in space exploration and science, Earth observation, and enhanced regulatory cooperation. This was decided by the Governments of the two countries at the Fourth United States-Republic of Korea Civil Space Dialogue, held in Washington. U.S., Korean space officials discussed enhancing space exploration cooperation in Artemis and other missions and noted the completion of a study agreement on future Artemis cooperation by the space agencies of the two countries in October. The two sides shared progress on the implementation of the study agreement and noted ongoing discussions on the use of the Korean Deep Space Antennae to support Artemis and other missions. The two sides plan to continue discussing how to boost Korea's investment in capabilities that support shared goals in Moon and Mars exploration, the State Department said in a press release. The two sides also discussed South Korea's activities to develop Korean human spaceflight capabilities and explore potential opportunities to send its citizens to low Earth orbit. The U.S., Koran delegations discussed continued collaboration on future next-generation meteorological geostationary satellites, and Korea's potential participation in the U.S. Landsat 2030 International Partnership Initiative. The two sides also plan to expand cooperation in exchanging satellite data, including from Compact Advanced Satellite 4 (CAS500-4) scheduled for launch in 2026, to enhance the usability of satellite data, increase the interoperability of satellites of both countries, and strengthen agricultural monitoring and real-time response capabilities to disasters and emergencies. The governments also highlighted the successful Airborne and Satellite Investigation of the Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) mission from 2024 and the soon to be released joint Rapid Science Synthesis Report. The United States pledged to continue support for the development of the Korean Positioning System (KPS) as an interoperable regional system that complements the U.S. Global Positioning System, or GPS, including potentially hosting KPS ground monitor stations on U.S. territory. To further bilateral civil and commercial space cooperation, the two sides plan to hold the U.S.-ROK Civil Space Dialogue every two years, says a joint statement issued after the Civil Space Dialogue in Washington. South Korea will host the next dialogue in 2027. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Mercury Systems, Inc. (MRCY), a company, announced on Tuesday that it has inked a strategic agreement through which Cicor Group (CICN.SW), a Swiss provider of full-cycle electronic solutions, will acquire its manufacturing operation in Plan-Les-Ouates, Switzerland. Further, Cicor will supply Mercury with electronic products over the next five years to support European Defense. With an expectation for increased demand for commercial defense products, Mercury will transition its Swiss electronic board manufacturing operations to Cicor. This will allow Mercury's facilities in Switzerland, Spain, and the UK to focus on their core competencies of engineering design and systems integration, which is expected to drive the company's next phase of growth in the international market. The transaction is expected to be completed within around one month. Mercury and Cicor have jointly decided to relocate production to the Cicor sites in Newport, the UK, and Bronschhofen, Switzerland, within the next 18 months. Mercury will purchase boards from Cicor, as well continue to source boards from Mercury's U.S. operations, to ensure a robust supply chain. Both companies plan to further expand the strategic relationship in the coming years. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Import prices in the U.S. edged slightly lower in the month of March, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday. The Labor Department said import prices slipped by 0.1 percent in March after rising by a downwardly revised 0.2 percent in February. Economists had expected import prices to come in unchanged compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the report said export prices were flat in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.5 percent in February. Economists had expected export prices to come in unchanged compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Google LLC, affiliated to Alphabet Inc., has received a Cease and Desist Order from Japan's competition Commission for its anticompetitive practices. The Japan Fair Trade Commission or JFTC issued such an order for the first time against any of the major U.S. companies. In a statement, The JFTC said it has issued the order against Google, for allegedly violating the country's anti-monopoly law by forcing manufacturers to preinstall its apps on their Android smartphones. As per the Commission, Google, since July 2020 at the latest, has been preventing Search Functionality of other General Search Service providers from being implemented on Specified Android Smartphones. Google allegedly had forced Android smartphone makers to install Google Play and Google Chrome apps on their phones. They were also required to place them in a location on the home screen that is easy for users to access. This restricted competition from other search engine apps, thus violating the anti-monopoly law. The competition watchdog had commenced the investigation on October 23, 2023. In the process of the investigation, the JFTC had also contacted overseas competition authorities that investigated Google's act similar to this case. Saiko Nakajima, a senior investigator for digital platform operators at the commission, reportedly said, "By binding smartphone manufacturers and telecommunication carriers, Google has made it difficult for other competing search engine applications to be used on Android phones. Google's conduct in this case has created a risk of impeding fair competition concerning transactions thus, we have determined that this is an act in violation of the Antimonopoly Act." The cease-and-desist order has now instructed Google to stop committing acts that violate the anti-monopoly law and has barred it from asking manufacturers to preinstall its apps, as well as to compile action guidelines for compliance with the law. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Tuesday rose 4% driven by a report that hedge fund Elliott Investment Management has built over $1.5 billion stake in the server company. HPE is currently trading at $14.89, up $0.61 or 4.24%, on the NYSE. The stock opened its trading at $14.28 after closing Monday at $14.28. The stock has traded between $11.97 and $24.66 in the past 52-week period. The activist investor hopes to engage the company in discussions on how to improve shareholder value, according to a CNBC report. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News GADRA Education primary education program manager Kelly Long speaking at the Eastern Cape Literacy Association of South Africa AGM in Makhanda in March 2025. Long has spearheaded comprehensive literacy tests of all local Grade 4 learners over the past three years. Photo: Rod Amner By Lufuno Masindi In a country battling a literacy crisis, Makhanda is witnessing an exceptional spike in literacy rates. According to the latest citywide Makhanda Reading Comprehension Study by GADRA Education and the Rhodes University Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, 45% of Grade 4s in our city can read for meaning, more than double the national average of 19.19% found in the Progress in Reading and Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2021. GADRA Education primary education programme manager Kelly Long said the February study measured the comprehension skills and reading fluency of 1097 children in all 23 schools in the city, including all 19 public schools, the private schools and two low-fee independent schools. Fourth-year Rhodes University BEd students administered the tests at the end of February. In 2024, the same study revealed that 37% of local Grade 4s could read for meaning. Language of learning and teaching Performance by Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) continues to show marked disparities. Learners taught in English LoLT settings achieved the highest results (68%), while those in Afrikaans (26%) and isiXhosa (25%) lagged. A focused comparison within quintile 14 schools revealed that 51% of learners attending English quintile 1-4 schools were able to read for meaning. In contrast, just 25% of learners attending isiXhosa LoLT schools achieved the benchmark. Learners in Quintile 5 and Independent schools continue to perform exceptionally well (92%). In comparison, Quintile 14 public schools (33%) and low-fee independent schools (48%) showed much lower reading comprehension proficiency, although still much higher than national averages. Long said the findings underscore the success of targeted literacy interventions and highlight the urgent need for continued support in underperforming schools, particularly those offering isiXhosa as LoLT. The study calls for deeper qualitative research, particularly in African-language contexts, to ensure that all learners in Makhanda are equipped with the foundational literacy skills they need to thrive, Long said. The reasons for underperformance in isiXhosa are not fully understood, but African languages do not have the same structure as English. The way children are taught to read in African languages might be flawed and inappropriate for the structure of these languages. Research suggests that we have been teaching our teachers how to teach children to read in African languages incorrectly, and we are seeing that our children are learning how to read but do not understand anything they are reading, Long said. Socio-economic factors, such as poverty and a lack of resources, also substantially affect literacy rates. Learners from poor backgrounds are less likely to receive adequate resources to equip themselves for literacy development. They often have challenges with a shortage of books, especially those that represent the identities of most of the learners. There are insufficient isiXhosa books. We need to prioritise the research and change the curriculum for the teaching of African languages. We need to look at it carefully, and we might need to take a careful look at our language and education policy, she said. Long also said isiXhosa needed to be treated like an academic language to prioritise multilingualism in the classroom. Partnerships improve reading However, Long said the outstanding and improving results can be accredited to a tight-knit partnership of stakeholders in the city who are determined to solve the literacy crisis. Twelve years ago, when there was an evident reading crisis among Grade 4 learners in Makhanda, a group of stakeholders came together to form a cooperative umbrella that identified the pressing issues in different schools and crafted several strategic responses. School-based learner support interventions included maths interventions and an isiXhosa spelling bee for Grade 3 learners that began five to six years ago and made history as the first of its kind in the country. Some programs operated during school hours, and extra-curricular learning happened after school hours. Other notable programmes are in-service teacher and school leadership support interventions and parental and community support services. Long said one of the leading factors in the substantial increase in literacy levels is the focus on teaching children how to read for meaning and understanding. All the second-year Rhodes BEd students work weekly in three schools with groups of four to five Grade 3 learners at a time, focusing on English First Additional Language to help learners smooth transition to English when they arrive in Grade 4. GADRA Education also started the Whistle Stop School nine years ago in collaboration with St Marys School and Tantyi Lower Primary. This program gives qualified teachers space in their classrooms to work with learners in small groups on literacy remediation and extension. This pull-out program takes learners in small groups for 45 minutes daily. Makhanda-based Education NGOs and education institutions have been working tirelessly with various schools in Makhanda to develop a reading culture and literacy development. All fee-exempt schools where English is the Language of Learning and Teaching have received the English Phonics and Graded Reader Programmes developed by the Whistle Stop School. These schools include George Dickerson, St Marys, Good Shepherd, and Ntaba Maria. The three schools that are benefiting from service learning and the First Additional Language English programme are Makana Primary School, Makana Primary School, NV Cewu Primary School and Samuel Ntlebi. Also, the ICDP Trust has worked to ensure that almost every Foundation Phase school in Makhanda has at least one or two classroom libraries. The role of technology Long emphasised the significance of using technology to enhance and promote literacy. Classrooms can adopt the AI tutors model that has been implemented in the USA to assist learners in comprehending their school work. However, she cautions that it should not be a replacement for the human connection between teachers and learners but should be used to equalise access to quality information and resources, especially in areas that lack access to the internet. We need universal internet access as our first step, and our second step is not to be scared of technology; its not going to take over jobs but make us way more effective, she said. [Original] https://grocotts.ru.ac.za/2025/03/28/makhandas-outlier-literacy-rates-rise-again/ CM Vellem Primary School Teachers at the My Maths Buddy Workshop with the My Maths Buddy Presenter Brandin Prolad and Mr Sharkay Izally from The Department of Statistics at Rhodes University. A recent report from the Fourth Edition of the 2030 Reading Panel shows only 32% of teachers currently demonstrate high levels of mathematics proficiency. Coupled with recent reports showing South African learner maths proficiency being amongst the lowest in the world. Into this dire situation, SAS stepped in to assist CM Vellem Primary School, in Makhanda (Grahamstown) to raise their own statistics in maths, both for their maths teachers and a contingent of learners. The My Maths Buddy 1 Book 1 Learner Project under the SA Maths Foundation was chosen as the solution to help both teachers and a contingent of Grade 6 learners. The Statistics Department of Rhodes University, under the leadership of Mr. Sharkay Izally was also brought in for assistance in organising the project. The Principal, Mr Mfecane, and Miss Sposethu Twani, the chosen team leader for the teacher team to be trained helped with the setups for a series of workshops scheduled across three days. Nine of the teachers teaching maths attended the four-part Effective Maths Teaching Programme, the programme being accredited by the SA Council of Educators. Each teacher received a Teacher Kit containing the highly effective My Maths Buddy maths dictionary, a teacher manual, a workbook and a manual on effective use of dictionaries as well as cards for identification of misunderstanding. Teachers were thrilled with these materials. Sposethu Twani, one of the teachers attending, had this to say: I will definitely be using the dictionary when teaching. Misunderstood words really stuck out. I really liked the visual representation of the manifestations of the barriers (to study). I mostly interpreted them as being bored/silly now I can identify and link a manifestation to a barrier and use the solutions. Learner workshops were held, and each learner received a Learner Kit consisting of the My Maths Buddy, a learner workbook and various other items needed for their success. All were ecstatic with the kits. Overall, the Teacher Programme and learner workshops were very well received and, from all feedback received so far, have made a significant difference in both teachers' confidence in better maths teaching and learners' confidence in application and improving results. On the final day, training was done with the teachers on demonstration techniques which really caught the attention of the teachers as they observed first-hand how this works with a group of learners. Many eyebrows raised positively as teachers smiled in acknowledgement, particularly when they saw how their learner's confidence and communication grew right before their eyes once the outcome was achieved. Mr Sharkay Izally from Rhodes University attended the events and spoke about how he is very positive about the project: This is the kind of thing which I love to support, he said. I thoroughly enjoyed the sessions. The idea of using a mathematics dictionary to reinforce the idea that mathematics is a language is very fascinating, and I think that this could add lots of value to students from primary school level up to high school as well as university level. He went on to say: I believe that if every school could have access to this maths dictionary and teachers make use of it in their lessons, it would vastly improve all learner's understanding of mathematics. I hope that we can do this with more schools in Makhanda. The My Maths Buddy Project team will return to the school for a reinforcement of the project in the next term. For more information: www.1book1learner.org [SOURCE] My Maths Buddy Hyundai Motor India reported total sales of 51,820 units in March 2025, a marginal YoY decline of 2.23% compared to 53,001 units sold in March 2024. Despite mixed performances across the lineup, Hyundais core SUV range continued to show strong demand, while the EV segment and some hatchback models saw a slowdown in March 2025. Hyundai Sales Breakup March 2025 YoY Comparison Among Hyundais models, the Creta (including Creta EV) maintained its position as the top-selling vehicle with 18,059 units, showing a healthy 9.73% growth over 16,458 units sold last year. Creta was also the highest selling car in India for March 2025. Venue followed next with 10,441 units sold, up by 8.60% compared to 9,614 units in March 2024. Exter witnessed a dip, registering 5,901 units, down by 30.37% from 8,475 units in the same period last year. Hyundai Aura saw a slight improvement with 5,074 units sold in March 2025, up 3.91% from 4,883 units YoY. Grand i10 Nios, however, remained almost flat with 4,990 units sold as against 5,034 units in March 2024, marking a marginal 0.87% decline. i20 recorded a decline of 13.64%, selling 4,452 units compared to 5,155 units YoY. Alcazar SUV held steady with 1,431 units sold, just 11 units more than the 1,420 units in the previous year. Verna sales dropped 20.51% to 1,364 units from 1,716 units. Tucson premium SUV also dipped by 19.09% with 89 units sold compared to 110 units in March 2024. Among electric vehicles, the flagship IONIQ 5 recorded just 19 units in March 2025, a sharp 70.77% drop from 65 units sold in the same month last year. Kona EV has long been discontinued. Hyundai Sales Breakup March 2025 MoM Comparison Hyundai Motor India posted an 8.58% month-on-month growth in March 2025 with total domestic sales reaching 51,820 units. Leading this growth was the Creta, which saw a healthy 10.68% increase in sales, moving from 16,317 units in February to 18,059 units in March. Venue also posted modest growth with 10,441 units sold in March, up by 3.12% from 10,125 units in February. Exter saw a 10.07% jump in numbers, registering 5,901 units against 5,361 units in the previous month. Aura, Hyundais compact sedan, gained 5.77% MoM with 5,074 units sold. Grand i10 Nios saw a marginal increase of 1.01%, selling 4,990 units in March versus 4,940 units in February. The i20 premium hatchback showed a notable 22.75% jump, going from 3,627 units in February to 4,452 units in March, marking one of the stronger performers for the month. Alcazar sales improved 13.21% MoM, rising from 1,264 to 1,431 units. Verna midsize sedan also witnessed a 13.01% growth, increasing from 1,207 units in February to 1,364 in March. Tucson registered 89 units, marking a 21.92% MoM growth over Februarys 73 units. Electric vehicle sales remained steady, with the IONIQ 5 recording a slight increase from 16 to 19 units. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on China and Vietnam to march toward modernization hand in hand. In his meeting with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man, Xi also urged the two sides to inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi pointed out that his state visit to Vietnam once again allowed him to witness the new achievements in Vietnam's cause of Doi Moi (reform) and personally experience the profound foundation of China-Vietnam friendship. At present, China is comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization, and Vietnam will usher in a new era of national rise, Xi said, adding that both sides are at a crucial stage of their respective development and rejuvenation. Facing an international landscape fraught with changes and turbulence, Xi said, China and Vietnam should strengthen confidence in their paths and systems, enhance solidarity and coordination, continue to build the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, join hands to march toward modernization, and inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi stressed that both China and Vietnam are socialist countries led by a communist party, and the political direction is crucial to the future of the parties and countries, as well as the success of their causes. Xi said the top leaders of the two parties and countries should exchange views on bilateral relations and major issues of common concern in a timely manner, continue to build consensus, enhance mutual trust and steer the course steadily, so as to ensure the steady progress of China-Vietnam relations. It is necessary to maintain exchanges and cooperation between the two parties, legislative bodies and political consultative organizations, and to keep sharing governance experiences, Xi added. The two sides should take the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity to carry forward the "red gene" and make good use of the revolutionary resources to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially the young generation, and strengthen the friendly bond between the two countries, Xi added. Recognizing the frequent exchanges and fruitful cooperation between China's National People's Congress and Vietnam's National Assembly, Xi said the two countries' legislatures should do more to strengthen traditional friendship, ensure practical cooperation and strengthen multilateral coordination, carry out exchanges on the development of socialist democracy and rule of law, and continuously enrich the substance of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. For his part, Tran Thanh Man said that Vietnam and China, connected by mountains and rivers, have forged a sincere friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood" under the careful nurturing of successive leaders of the two parties and countries, and the two sides have maintained long-standing friendly relations. He said the visit of Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, fully demonstrates the importance attached by the CPC, the country and the Chinese people to Vietnam-China ties. He said the two general secretaries have provided important strategic guidance on advancing the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, which will open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The Vietnamese National Assembly congratulated China for successfully convening the "two sessions" and looked forward to conducting close communication and cooperation with China's National People's Congress, implementing the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, and contributing to the common prosperity and development of the two countries and friendship between the peoples, Tran Thanh Man said. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Editor: WXY Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged China and Vietnam to jointly oppose hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism. In his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Xi said that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese government, the country has achieved political and social stability, and made impressive achievements in its cause of Doi Moi (reform), while its international status is increasing, for which China feels rejoiced. Both sides shoulder the historical mission of realizing national rejuvenation and accelerating national development, Xi noted. He called on the two countries to forge a strong sense of a community with a shared future, and deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation, so as to serve their respective modernization processes, and better benefit the two peoples. The two sides, Xi said, should strengthen the strategic coordination and consolidate the political foundation for building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. He urged the two sides to intensify high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication, and jointly oppose hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism. Xi also called on the two sides to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, so as to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, and safeguard peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia and beyond. Xi said the two sides should promote high-quality development to provide solid strategic support for the two countries' joint march toward modernization. China and Vietnam, Xi said, should give full play to their geographical advantages of being connected by land and sea, strengthen the alignment of development strategies and tap the potential of industrial cooperation. He also called on the two countries to steadily advance cooperation in infrastructure development, enhance connectivity and ensure a smooth flow of trade. The two countries should expand cooperation in traditional areas such as trade and investment, and expand cooperation in emerging industries such as 5G, artificial intelligence, clean energy and digital economy. Xi also said China and Vietnam should firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, and work together to push for economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. The two sides should deepen cultural cooperation and promote the main theme of China-Vietnam friendship, Xi said. He urged the two sides to ensure a series of activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges a success, so as to tell stories well of friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as their joint pursuit of modernization. Xi also urged the two sides to carry out more projects to win the hearts and minds of the people and improve their lives. For his part, Pham Minh Chinh said that Xi's state visit to Vietnam is the most important high-level exchange between the two countries this year, adding that this is a great, joyous event in Vietnam-China relations and of historic significance, and will surely lead Vietnam-China relations to greater development and inject strong impetus into bilateral cooperation. Since Xi's visit to Vietnam in 2023, the strategic mutual trust between the two countries has been further enhanced, practical cooperation has witnessed significant progress and the friendship of the two peoples has deepened, he said. Vietnam attaches great importance to its relations with China and is determined to firmly promote the building of a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, said the Vietnamese prime minister. Noting that Vietnam sincerely congratulates China on its tremendous development achievements, he said Vietnam supports China's sustained development and growth, and hopes to learn from China's experience in the governance of the party and the country, its spirit of self-reliance and its development philosophy and model. The Vietnamese leader noted that his country looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in areas including economy and trade, investment, connectivity, science and technology, as well as finance to enhance economic vitality and growth drivers so as to jointly cope with risks and challenges. He also said that Vietnam looks forward to the successful hosting of the Vietnam-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges and expects more robust personnel exchanges and sub-national cooperation, and closer bond of the two peoples. He said that his country also looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in international and regional affairs, so as to maintain strategic focus in the complex and volatile international situation, and jointly safeguard multilateralism and the international order. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) Editor: WXY A new study demonstrates how artificial intelligence can predict the success of heart procedures without relying solely on real patient data. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have developed an AI tool that creates synthetic yet medically accurate models of fibrotic heart tissue (heart scarring), aiding treatment planning for atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. The study, published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, could lead to more personalised care for patients affected by this common heart rhythm disorder. Fibrosis refers to scar tissue that develops in the heart, often as a result of ageing, long-term stress or the AF condition itself. These patches of stiff, fibrous tissue disrupt the heart's electrical system potentially causing the irregular heartbeat characteristic of AF. Currently assessed through specialised MRI scans (LGE-MRI), the pattern and distribution of this scarring significantly influences treatment outcomes. Atrial fibrillation is frequently treated with ablation -- a procedure where doctors create small, controlled scars to block erratic electrical signals. However, success rates vary considerably, and predicting which approach will work best for individual patients remains challenging. While AI has shown promise in forecasting outcomes, its development has been hampered by limited access to high-quality patient imaging data. "LGE-MRI provides vital information about heart fibrosis, but obtaining enough scans for comprehensive AI training is challenging," explains first author Dr Alexander Zolotarev of Queen Mary University of London. "We trained an AI model on just 100 real LGE-MRI scans from AF patients. The system then generated 100 additional synthetic fibrosis patterns that accurately mimic real heart scarring. These virtual models were used to simulate how different ablation strategies might perform across varied patient anatomies." The team's advanced diffusion model produced synthetic fibrosis distributions that matched real patient data with exceptional accuracy. When these AI-created patterns were applied to 3D heart models and tested against various ablation approaches, the resulting predictions proved nearly as reliable as those using genuine patient data. Crucially, this method protects patient privacy while enabling researchers to study a much broader range of cardiac scenarios than conventional methods allow. The research highlights AI's emerging role as a clinical support tool rather than a decision-maker. "This isn't about replacing doctors' judgement," Dr Zolotarev emphasises. "It's about providing clinicians with a sophisticated simulator -- allowing them to test different treatment approaches on a digital model of each patient's unique heart structure before performing the actual procedure." This work forms part of Dr Caroline Roney's UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project, which aims to develop personalised 'digital twin' heart models for AF patients. Dr Caroline Roney of Queen Mary University of London, lead author of the study, said: " We're very excited about this research as it addresses the challenge of limited clinical data for cardiac digital twin models. Our key development enables large scale in silico trials and patient-specific modelling aimed at creating more personalised treatments for atrial fibrillation patients." With atrial fibrillation affecting 1.4 million people in UK and ablation failing in half of cases, the technology could significantly reduce repeat procedures. Importantly, the AI approach addresses two critical healthcare challenges: limited patient data availability and the ethical need to protect sensitive medical information. The powerful potential of nano technologies and AI to detect oral cancer earlier and more accurately have been revealed by a University of Otago -- Otakou Whakaihu Waka study. Researchers from the Faculty of Dentistry combined atomic force microscopy (AFM) with artificial intelligence (AI) to detect changes in cancer cells at a very small scale. Senior author Associate Professor Peter Mei says the pioneering method is a substantial advancement in cancer diagnostics. "Combining the two technologies enabled us to detect nanoscale changes on the surface of cancer cells that may not be visible using traditional methods. "This enhances the accuracy and reliability of cancer diagnosis, potentially enabling earlier detection, which is critical for improving patient treatment outcomes and advancing precision medicine." For the study, published in the journal ACS Nano, the researchers were driven by the crucial need to find better, more reliable ways to detect cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund reported about 390,000 new cases of mouth and oral cancer globally, resulting in more than 188,000 deaths, in 2022. Lead author Dr Simon Guan hopes to see more widespread use of this diagnostic method, which could become a key tool for doctors in the future. "We would like to see efforts to make AFM technology more suitable for routine clinical testing. We hope it will lead to quicker, more accurate cancer diagnoses, for a variety of cancers, and better treatment options for patients. "Furthermore, our findings may pave the way for a new cancer therapy based on the nanophysical properties of cancer cells," he says. Associate Professor Mei saysthe study highlights the importance of innovation and collaboration across different fields, including dentistry, nanoscience, and AI. "Bringing together expertise from various disciplines can lead to groundbreaking discoveries that can improve health outcomes for people worldwide. "This research shows how innovation in science can lead to better healthcare, particularly for detecting and treating cancer more effectively." * The project was supported by a University of Otago Research Grant, the New Zealand Dental Research Foundation, the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust, the Sir John Walsh Research Institute PhD Research Grant, and Otago's world-class research facilities at the Faculty of Dentistry and the Otago Micro and Nanoscale Imaging Centre. A University of Florida researcher has developed a groundbreaking open-source computer program that uses artificial intelligence to analyze videos of patients with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. The tool, called VisionMD, helps doctors more accurately monitor subtle motor changes, improving patient care and advancing clinical research. Diego Guarin, Ph.D., an assistant professor of applied physiology and kinesiology in UF's College of Health and Human Performance, created the software to address the potential risk of inconsistency and subjectivity in traditional clinical assessments. "Over the years, we have shown through our research that video analysis of patients performing finger-tapping and other movements provides valuable information about how the disease is progressing and responding to medications or deep brain stimulation," Guarin said. "However, clinicians don't have the time and personnel to analyze their videos. To address this, we developed software that can deliver useful results with just a few clicks." Guarin, a member of the Fixel Institute for Neurological Disease at UF Health, worked closely with neurologists and other clinician-scientists from the Fixel Institute to refine the tool. VisionMD analyzes standard videos -- whether recorded on a smartphone, laptop or over Zoom -- and automatically extracts precise motion metrics. The software runs entirely on local computers, ensuring data privacy. "It's not cloud-based, so there is no risk of data leaving the network. You can even unplug from the internet, and it still runs," Guarin said. The tool is already in use globally, with researchers in Germany, Spain and Italy using it to analyze thousands of patient videos as they explore how computer vision can improve movement disorder care. Florian Lange, a neurologist at University Hospital Wurzburg, praised the software's ability to provide consistent, objective measurements. He and Martin Reich, a neuroimaging professor at University of Wurzburg, adapted VisionMD to help them optimize treatment for patients with tremor, particularly those using deep brain stimulation, or DBS, implants. "A big challenge with many aspects of medicine today is how difficult it is to get objective data, especially with movement disorders like Parkinson's disease or tremor," Lange said from his office in Germany. "If the three of us watched the same video of a patient, we might rate the severity at three different levels. But the software gives us precise, unbiased data." By recording videos of patients at a variety of stimulator settings, the software identifies which DBS configuration offers the best symptom relief. "There are millions of possible programming options, but this tool helps us narrow it down quickly and accurately," Reich said. As open-source software, the program is freely available to improve and customize. The team is also working to expand the tool's capabilities by adding more motor assessment tasks frequently used in clinical settings. Early adopters say VisionMD's accessibility and ease of use have the potential to transform movement disorder research and care. "It takes only a few seconds to process each video," Guarin said. "We are confident most clinicians will be able to use it, regardless of their technical expertise." If you think doomscrolling leads to sleepless nights, imagine waking up in bed with a blood-sucking monster the size of a basset hound. That's the waking nightmare one species of Australian fruit fly must contend with each night as hungry mites stalk and attach themselves like a tick while the fly is sleeping in the fruit orchards and rainforests of Queensland. Biologists at the University of Cincinnati examined the benefits and costs of avoiding these parasites in a study published in the Nature journal Biological Timing and Sleep. It may sound trivial, but the parasite Gamasodes queenslandicus poses a potentially deadly threat to fruit flies, UC professor and study co-author Michal Polak said. "If they have too many mites, they can get ripped apart. It's very detrimental to them," Polak said. He captured wild flies in Queensland and bred 16 generations in his UC biology lab, selecting only males that were able to survive a night's close exposure to the mites unscathed. "At night when the flies are quiet and sleeping, they become a good target for the mites," Polak said. But the flies that were adroit at evading the mites' efforts to latch on at night did so at the expense of losing valuable sleep. The energy and sleeplessness this effort requires has consequences of its own, said UC Professor Joshua Benoit, the study's lead author. This is not the first study to observe behavioral adjustments in animals exposed to external parasites. Researchers have found that parasitism also affects the sleep patterns of bats and birds. UC biologists examined changes in gene expression relating to the flies' metabolism in the mite-resistance population. Mite-resistant flies were more prone to starvation and leaned more on their nutrient reserves than other flies, they found. These hypervigilant flies were more active, slept less and consumed more oxygen at night. "When we measured it, we found that more than 30 metabolism genes were differently expressed in these flies suggesting they were burning their energy a little faster than you'd expect," Benoit said. "Sleep in all higher animals is important," Benoit said. "Usually, over a long period of time, you can observe detrimental effects where sleep-deprived animals are not as healthy and start making poor choices. Their behavior is impacted." Ironically, Benoit said, sleep is usually beneficial to animals infected with internal parasites such as those that cause malaria. Polak said once fruit flies are bitten by mites, their immune system kicks into high gear. Parasitized flies often have less mating success and quickly deplete their fat reserves. "The mites cause a massive up-regulation or down-regulation of hundreds of genes. These defense mechanisms can be very costly to the fly," he said. "So it behooves the fly to avoid getting parasitized in the first place." An international team of researchers at the University of Manchester, Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions has discovered a natural mechanism that protects the heart from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a serious condition in need of effective treatment. The team reports in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, that when the cardioprotective mechanism fails, it promotes the development of HFpEF. Importantly, restoring the mechanism prevents the progression of the condition. The findings provide a promising therapeutic target to prevent and treat this life-threatening disease. "HFpEF is a complex, multifactorial disease associated with metabolic stress. One of the factors involved is the toxic accumulation of lipids in heart cells," said co-author Dr. Tamer Mohamed, associate professor of surgery and director of the Laboratory for Cardiac Regeneration at Baylor. "This study was the result of a productive multidisciplinary collaboration. We worked with slices of human hearts affected by HFpEF, a method developed in my lab at Baylor, integrating the findings with the results from studies in mouse and rat models of the condition to better understand what drives this lipid overload." The team began by assessing gene changes in hearts from people diagnosed with metabolic stress along with various cardiovascular complications and found alterations in the expression of 488 genes. "We found particularly relevant the simultaneous reduction of the expression of genes XBP1 and EDEM2 in human HFpEF hearts," Mohamed said. The link between EDEM2 and other conditions has been studied, but its role in the heart remains unexplored. "We discovered that the XBP1 protein regulates the Edem2 gene in animal models and that EDEM2 was downregulated in hearts from individuals with metabolic disorders and in mouse models," Mohamed said. "Further evidence supported the involvement of EDEM2 and XBP1 in cardiovascular diseases and lipid regulation." To investigate whether XBP1 and EDEM2 were directly involved in lipid toxicity and HFpEF, the researchers removed the Xbp1 or the Edem2 gene in mice. Consequently, these mice became more vulnerable to metabolic stress-induced heart lipid toxicity and cardiac dysfunction. "It was exciting to see that restoring XBP1 or EDEM2 alleviated lipid overload in the heart and reversed HFpEF," Mohamed said. This comprehensive study uncovered that XBP1 and EDEM2 work together to maintain a healthy lipid balance in heart cells. The findings provide molecular and functional evidence that deficiency of XBP1-EDEM2 leads to lipid toxicity in the heart, accelerating the onset and development of heart failure in metabolic disorders. "Our findings support further study of the XBP1s and EDEM2 pathway as a promising therapeutic target for mitigating cardiac lipotoxicity and progression of HFpEF," Mohamed said. For a complete list of the contributors to this work and their affiliations, see the publication. This work was supported by the British Heart Foundation (FS/15/16/31477, FS/18/73/33973, FS/19/70/34650, PG/19/66/34600, FS/PhD/22/29307, PG/22/10904 and PG/22/11075), a BHF Accelerator award (AA/18/4/34221), and grants FS/18/4/33310 and PG/23/11662. Further support was provided by a professorship and grant (81Z0700201) from the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research and the German Research Foundation (SFB-1470-A02). Additional support included NIH grants (R01HL147921, P30GM127607 and F32HL149140), Department of Defense grant (W81XWH-20-1-0419), American Heart Association grant (16SDG29950012) and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre grant (NIHR203308). Surround-sound speakers can immerse you in a multimedia experience, but what if there was a speaker that could completely re-create a three-dimensional soundscape? The AudioDome is more than just a loudspeaker arrangement -- it's a dome of speakers that can create an immersive sound experience that reproduces sound sources at any location when the listener is placed in the middle. In JASA, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, researchers from Western University in London, Ontario, decided to test the limits of ambisonic sound reproduction through their "AudioDome" loudspeaker array. Ambisonic rendering is a way to simulate the precise locations of sounds in 3D, using an array of loudspeakers. The ambisonics algorithm has allowed researchers to create rich virtual "soundscapes," with each sound appearing to come from precisely the location it occurred in the recording. "The ambisonics technology promises highly focal sound source reproduction which is enormously valuable to researchers wishing to maintain tight experimental control while also studying human auditory spatial perception in the type of complex, dynamic, three-dimensional soundscapes that the auditory system evolved to handle," said researcher Nima Zargarnezhad. However, whether the ambisonics algorithm that the AudioDome uses to simulate soundscapes is appropriate for studying human perception is unknown. It depends on how precisely and focally it can simulate sound location, and how well it can reproduce the energy composition of sounds. Since Zargarnezhad's team is interested in performing human experiments using the setup, they wanted to validate the effectiveness of the AudioDome's ambisonics technology to simulate real life. "We already knew that some reconstruction errors were theoretically predicted and confirmed with simulations, but we did not know how and to what extent they would affect human perception of sound location and identity," Zargarnezhad said. Our ability to distinguish between stimuli in different locations, known as spatial acuity, is high in front of our faces but decreases around the sides of our head. The researchers' experiments obtained very similar results from listeners in the AudioDome, proving that the loudspeaker array can reproduce sound locations at a spatial scale beyond the human limits of perception. They also found that the accuracy and precision of a sound's simulated location doesn't depend on how far it is from an actual speaker location, which suggests that the spatial resolution of the ambisonics algorithm is appropriate for studying human perception nearly everywhere in three-dimensional space. However, they also observed that the ambisonics algorithm accurately reproduced sound energy up to about 4 kilohertz in frequency, sufficient to reproduce speech although it would sound somewhat degraded, as though heard over a telephone. They showed that the erroneous reproduction of higher frequencies fakes localization cues related to the perception of sound sources' elevation, and sound sources with high frequency components are perceived from an unexpected altitude. "We conclude that the ambisonics algorithm can accurately reproduce the identity and location of many common sounds, including speech, at a spatial resolution that is at the level of human spatial acuity, if not better," said Zargarnezhad. "This is sufficient to ensure the reproduced soundscapes are accurately simulating the real world." The event features dozens of exhibitions and activities focused on industrial cooperation, brand localization, and community integration. MILAN, Italy, April 14 (Xinhua) -- As one of the most anticipated fixtures in the global design calendar, the 2025 Milan Design Week, which closed on Sunday, brought a vibrant burst of color and creativity, drawing designers and enthusiasts from around the world. Among the kaleidoscope of international exhibits, a splash of Chinese red has stood out, symbolizing the rising global presence of Chinese design. CHINA WEEK OF CREATIVITY On April 7, the second edition of the China and Design exhibition opened in Milan's Paolo Sarpi district - often dubbed the city's Chinatown. Known as "China Week," the event features dozens of exhibitions and activities focused on industrial cooperation, brand localization, and community integration, aiming at fostering deeper cultural exchange and helping Chinese design concepts take root and flourish overseas. At the heart of China Week is the Chinese cultural and creative design exhibition, which showcases a range of creative works, including a limited-edition "Snake Dwen Dwen" mascot for the Year of the Snake (a spin-off of the beloved Beijing Winter Olympics figure), a specially crafted bronze wine vessel inspired by the ancient Sanxingdui archaeological site in southwest China, and an intricately carved statue of the legendary "Monkey King" from Journey to the West. These exhibits have captivated large crowds of international visitors. To complement the main displays, the streets of the Paolo Sarpi district have been transformed into a festive cultural landscape. Arches themed around the Year of the Snake - decorated with traditional symbols such as dragons, dumplings, and serpentine patterns - have been erected along the streets. "Through both its immersive exhibits and the festive street atmosphere, China Week brought Chinese design vividly to life in Milan - not only as a showcase of creativity but as a celebration of cultural dialogue, urban engagement, and global visibility," said Michele Brunello, director of the China Design Centre in Milan. China Week has hosted a series of high-level dialogues featuring professors and scholars from top Chinese institutions and Italian design leaders to explore the localization of Chinese design in international markets. Lin Cunzhen, curator of the exhibition, described the event as a bridge connecting Eastern and Western design philosophies. "On the other side of the bridge stands a new generation of Chinese designers - confident, open and globally minded." INNOVATION ON WHEELS During the opening ceremony of China Week, the Turin Automotive Design Award was launched for the first time. Jointly initiated by the Turin Auto Show and the China Design Centre in Milan, the award aims to spotlight outstanding Chinese automotive designs already present in the European market. The winners will be announced in September at the Turin Auto Show. "We hope this award will strengthen cooperation between the European and Chinese automotive industries and foster cross-cultural synergy," said Barbara Santise, press officer for the Turin Auto Show. Santise added that Chinese vehicles are not only technically advanced but also competitively priced, making them strong contenders in the European market. Just a few kilometers away, in Milan's Brera district, the Z9GT, a flagship luxury electric sedan by Chinese automaker DENZA under BYD, made its European debut. With flowing curves inspired by Eastern aesthetics, the vehicle stood in poetic harmony with the surrounding Baroque architecture. Lines of international visitors queued for test drives, offering enthusiastic praise. Across Milan, Chinese auto brands such as XPeng, GAC, and Geely have launched their own showcases, drawing attention from passersby. Once the stronghold of Western luxury brands, the high-end auto market is undergoing a transformation - one where Chinese firms are competing not on cost, but with cutting-edge design, innovation, and bold vision. DESIGN AS CULTURAL FUSION Chinese design also found an artistic expression at the University of Milan. In the university's central courtyard, a circular mirror installation titled Gift, created by Hangzhou-based designer Chen Yaoguang, reflected the surrounding Renaissance architecture like a shimmering slice of modernity. The sculpture bore the word "Gift" in Latin, Italian, and Chinese-symbolizing the fusion of two rich cultures. "It looks like a pizza sliced from above. It's really fun," said an Italian visitor who only gave his first name as Stefano. "It blends perfectly into the environment. I'm truly impressed by the level of Chinese design." The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is further supporting energy security in Ukraine by extending an unfunded portfolio-risk-sharing facility to Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine (RBU), to enable EUR 100 million worth of energy investments. "Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine joins Ukrgasbank, Privatbank and Oschadbank to participate in the EBRD's Energy Security Support Facility (ESSF) a landmark programme that enables the country's financial sector to enhance access to financing for critical energy security investments in Ukraine," the EBRD said in a press release on its website. Under the ESSF, EBRD's portfolio guarantee will partially cover the risk on a total of EUR 100 million of sub-loans extended by RBU to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and eligible corporate and household clients for the implementation of decentralised energy generation, storage and energy efficiency measures critical for Ukraine's energy security. All ESSF sub-borrowers will receive technical assistance with structuring and implementation of their investments. At least 70% of sub-loans will support green economy transition (GET) eligible projects. Up to 20% of the total sub-loans will support financing of the long-term capital investments of MSMEs to upgrade their technologies and equipment to European Union (EU) standards under the EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line. Eligible sub-borrowers will receive EU-funded technical assistance and grant support. Residential sub-borrowers (households and housing associations) will receive up to 2% of the total investments under this project, and will also benefit from grant support funded by the EBRD Crisis Response Special Fund (CRSF). Grant support for eligible sub-borrowers will cover 10-30% of their investment costs financed under the ESSF. Higher incentives will be provided for businesses and households most affected by the war on Ukraine, including those impacted by asset destruction, loss, or relocation due to the war, as well as sub-borrowers facilitating the reintegration of war veterans, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons, and/or those located in the acutely war-affected territories of Ukraine, according to the press release. The EBRD facility will be supported by partial first-loss risk cover guarantees extended by France and the European Union's Ukraine Investment Framework (UIF). "This is the third portfolio-based risk sharing agreement between Raiffeisen Bank and the EBRD since February 2022. These agreements have enabled us to provide over EUR 220 million in financing to Ukrainian clients, along with up to EUR 2 million in incentives for successfully completed investment projects," said Oleksandr Pysaruk, CEO of Raiffeisen Bank Ukraine. Raiffeisen Bank is Ukraine's largest private bank and fourth largest bank overall. Through its vast branch network, it serves 2.6 million active clients, offering conventional banking products to corporate, SME and retail customers. The EBRD has already allocated EUR 74 million of EU grant support for Ukrainian MSMEs under the EBRD-EU4Business Credit Line, including EUR 5.5 million to projects through RBU. Two people injured as result of drone attack on car in Kherson region authorities Two civilians were wounded by an enemy drone that attacked a car in Beryslav on Tuesday morning, Kherson Regional Military Administration reported on its Telegram channel. "A 59-year-old man was diagnosed with a blast injury, concussion, shrapnel wounds to the face and arms. His condition is moderate. Another woman is in serious condition. She received a blast injury, concussion and shrapnel wounds to the forearm. The victims are under the supervision of doctors," the Administration said. The UK has transferred the second tranche of GBP 752 million (EUR 873 million) to Ukraine as part of the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced. "These funds, secured by income from frozen Russian assets, will be used to strengthen Ukraine's defense capability," the prime minister wrote on Telegram. Shmyhal specified that the first tranche for the same amount was received by Ukraine in March; in total, the UK will pay Ukraine GBP 2.26 billion (EUR 2.62 billion) within the framework of this mechanism. "I am grateful to the UK government and our partners from the G7 for their clear and consistent position Russian funds must work for Ukraine. Together with our partners, we are carrying out systematic work to ensure that all Russian funds are confiscated and transferred to our state," Shmyhal emphasized. As reported, in early April the European Union transferred EUR 1 billion to Ukraine within the framework of the ERA initiative. Robert Sheehan Collaborations help child welfare staff to connect children to needed services. Summit Pointe South provides services to children. Angela Deal leads the children and youth services team at Summit Pointe. CMHs like Summit Pointe provide spaces where children feel comfortable. Kooth shares were surging on Tuesday morning, after it reported a doubling of annual revenue to 66.7m for 2024, driven by rapid growth in its US operations, particularly the rollout of its Soluna digital mental health platform across California. The AIM-traded mental health platform operator said the strong performance helped lift adjusted EBITDA to 15.8m, a near sevenfold increase from the prior year. Soluna had reached 75,000 young people across all 58 California counties by the end of February, with daily usage rates in the first quarter quadrupling those of 2024. The company said it also expanded its US footprint with a new pilot contract in New Jersey and the launch of a Medicaid-funded pilot with Aetna Better Health in Illinois. Annual recurring revenue matched total revenue at 66.4m, reflecting the subscription-based model of its core services. In the UK, Kooth said it maintained its position as the largest single access provider of youth mental health support for NHS England, renewing key contracts in Cornwall and the Isle of Man despite challenging macroeconomic conditions. Group net revenue retention rose to 100%, up from 85% in 2023. The group closed the year with 21.8m in net cash, up from 11m a year earlier, following strong operational cash generation and prudent cost management. A 1.5m share buyback was completed after the year-end. Looking ahead, Kooth said it expected continued growth in the US, particularly in California, where user numbers and engagement continued to rise. It was also planning further investment in its proprietary technologies, and aimed to bring the Soluna platform to the UK market. While the UK operating environment remained complex due to policy uncertainty, Kooth said its business model and international momentum positioned it well for further growth in 2025. The company also announced that Kate Newhouse would succeed Tim Barker as chief executive officer following the 2025 annual general meeting, with both serving as co-CEOs in the interim. As we reflect on 2024, we can be clear that Kooth has had an exceptional year, said co-chief executive officer Kate Newhouse. This has been achieved with a particular focus on delivering, building, launching and growing services for people across the UK and US, founded on our key purpose of building mentally healthier populations, leaving no one behind. Following the launch of Soluna in California we have made great strides, reaching 75,000 young people across all 58 counties by the end of February 2025. Newhouse said that in the UK, despite persistent macroeconomic headwinds, Kooth successfully retained the majority of its contracts, grew several services and demonstrated our credibility in clinical efficacy and safety. The strength of Kooth's strategy and service delivery model have created the strong foundations which stand us in good stead to meet the increasing international demand for digital mental health services. At 1145 BST, shares in Kooth were up 14.89% at 150.5p. Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. Photo: https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/ Since the beginning of the day, 82 combat clashes have occurred, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports in operational information as of 22:00 on Monday. "Today, the Russian invaders carried out 86 air strikes on the positions of our troops and populated areas, dropping 117 guided aerial bombs. In addition, they used 1,114 kamikaze drones to destroy them and carried out almost five thousand attacks," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. According to the General Staff, the situation was hot today in Lymany (20 attacks), Kursk (17), and Pokrovsk directions, where the aggressor carried out 26 assault and offensive actions. Two enemy attacks are still ongoing. China has instructed its domestic airlines to halt deliveries of Boeing aircraft and suspend purchases of US-made aviation equipment and parts, it emerged on Tuesday, deepening a widening trade dispute with the United States. The move followed Beijings announcement of new retaliatory tariffs, raising the total levy on US goods to 145%, in response to recent tariffs imposed by Washington. According to Bloomberg, the latest measures targeted Boeing directly, with the new Chinese tariffs - 125% announced last weekend - rendering deliveries of US-built aircraft and components economically unviable. Chinese authorities were reportedly exploring financial support options for domestic airlines leasing Boeing planes, which were now subject to higher operating costs. About 10 Boeing 737 MAX jets were currently awaiting entry into Chinese airline fleets, including units for China Southern Airlines, Air China, and Xiamen Airlines. Some of the aircraft were stationed in Seattle or at Boeings completion center in Zhoushan, eastern China. Jets for which delivery procedures were finalised before the 12 April tariff implementation could still be allowed into the country on a case-by-case basis. Boeing, along with the Civil Aviation Administration of China and major Chinese carriers, were not commenting on the developments as of Tuesday morning London time. Separately, Juneyao Airlines recently postponed the delivery of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, signaling growing operational caution among Chinese airlines. The freeze would compound Boeings challenges in China - a market expected to account for 20% of global aircraft demand over the next 20 years. Although nearly a quarter of Boeings aircraft were delivered to China in 2018, new orders from the country had since largely dried up due to trade tensions and safety issues. Boeings standing was weakened by the lengthy 737 MAX grounding, ongoing regulatory scrutiny, and a recent quality control failure involving a detached door plug. Despite increasing reliance on Airbus and the emergence of Chinas domestically built Comac C919, Chinese carriers still operate large Boeing fleets. The maintenance and replacement needs of the aircraft meant Chinas aviation sector remained vulnerable to continued supply chain disruptions - an area Boeing has already flagged as a risk due to ongoing geopolitical friction and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. At 0448 EDT (0948 BST), shares in the Boeing Company were down 2.76% in premarket trading in New York, at $154.88. Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. In a major breakthrough for India's electronics manufacturing sector, Taiwanese technology behemoth Foxconn, the biggest supplier to Apple, is set to open its first factory in North India. According to a report by The Economic Times, the company is mulling taking over 300 acres of land on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, for the new factory. The planned factory would likely be bigger than Foxconn's new Bengaluru plant, which will be the company's second-largest in the world. While talks are preliminary, the move indicates Foxconn's plans to increase its footprint in India as the world's supply chains realign and tariffs on Chinese imports rise. Although it is not yet known what products will be produced at the planned factory, the company is in constant negotiations with the Indian government. The project is one of a series of moves by both Foxconn and Apple to diversify their supply chains and cut reliance on China. The land in question falls under the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) area, which is quickly developing as the center for electronics and semiconductor units. Significantly, a 50-acre zone in the same area has already been leased out to a joint venture between HCL and Foxconn for a semiconductor test and assembly plant, which awaits government sanction. The Indian government had suggested last year the possibility of a 300-acre Foxconn Industrial Park in the area. A source in the report stressed that talks are still in preliminary stages, with no firm decisions yet taken on production lines or target customers. global manufacturing strategies. The U.S. has slapped high tariffs on Chinese imports up to 145 percent in some cases causing companies to seek alternative production bases. While India has a 26 percent tariff on its exports, a temporary 90-day tariff holiday has been announced for a number of countries. Foxconn's action is at a time when geopolitical tensions and trade policies are redefining. The U.S. has slapped high tariffs on Chinese imports up to 145 percent in some cases causing companies to seek alternative production bases. While India has a 26 percent tariff on its exports, a temporary 90-day tariff holiday has been announced for a number of countries. Foxconn has already set up manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana. It just shut down its Sri City unit in Andhra Pradesh, highlighting its new focus on high-potential states such as Uttar Pradesh. India is planning to bring in another 200 to 300 million users on its revolutionary Unified Payments Interface (UPI), aiming to decrease further the use of cash and take more citizens on board under the umbrella of digital finance. The effort, being spearheaded by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), entails targeted efforts to get underserved populations, including children and domestic help, who do not have access to regular banking services. NPCI Managing Director and CEO Dilip Asbe said the company is formulating a plan to 'break the cash memory' of millions by providing delegated accounts and adding multilingual and chat-based capabilities to bring UPI to the masses. "The concept is to enable payments to become seamless for all, irrespective of their digital or financial literacy levels", he added. In the last five years, UPI has revolutionized India's retail payments scene, allowing over 450 million users to pay for anything ranging from small routine transactions to large-ticket transactions using their mobile phones. With just a quick QR code scan, users can instantly make payments directly from their bank accounts, with the transaction limit up to Rs 500,000 ($5,817) and all of this largely free of cost. India presently handles almost 46% of global digital payments, having registered a 90-fold increase in digital retail payment volumes in the last 12 years, per a PwC report. This achievement isn't just being leveraged towards greater domestic integration but is also driving the ambition of the government to go international with UPI. "The vision is to make remittances extremely cheap and real-time to all the diaspora", Asbe said, adding that India's diplomatic missions and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are encouraging UPI strongly to foreign governments. India attracted a record $129 billion in remittances in 2024, its highest ever incoming remittance-incoming country in history, according to World Bank data. NPCIs global aspirations have already seen UPI partnerships with countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. However, progress with Western nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia has been slower, due to differences in the maturity of real-time payment infrastructure. Locally, NPCI is also testing vision recognition technology to enable UPI payments at parking lots and public places, so that convenience and ease of use can be enhanced in day-to-day situations. The platform is also looking at opportunities in credit offerings. While small-ticket loans are already possible through UPI, Asbe opines that the architecture could be transformed into a 'credit-as-a-service' model where credit ratings are a function of real-time repayment data, which may enhance disbursement as well as recovery. "Credit-as-a-service is going to shift and get some scale over the next three to five years", Asbe predicted. In spite of the exponential growth in adoption, UPI has a significant hurdle in its monetization strategy. The government has since waived the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) a merchant-paid transaction fee since 2020 to incentivize use. While the step hastened adoption, it has caused banks and service providers to contend with sustainability issues. Government subsidies aimed at making up for the loss in merchant charges plummeted from Rs 36 billion in 2024 to only Rs 15 billion in 2025. Industry associations have since approached the government requesting that it bring back MDR, if not for everyone, then for bigger businesses. UPI if a transaction charge was imposed. But sentiment of the public seems strongly against any such move. The recent LocalCircles poll of 32,000 users said 73% would definitely discontinue usingcharge was imposed. Recognizing this, Asbe said that the NPCI is in collaboration with the government and RBI to develop a balanced model. "We are attempting to make UPI feasible by making a small charge for the big merchants, so that most of the users can keep using it for free", he said. While India readies to take UPI to its next milestone domestically as well as internationally the spotlight is on inclusivity, innovation, and long-term sustainability of the platform. WW International, the health and wellness company best known as WeightWatchers, is preparing to file for bankruptcy in the next few months, according to a recent report. (AP Photo | Patrick Sison) AP WW International, the health and wellness company best known as WeightWatchers, is preparing to file for bankruptcy in the next few months, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing sources familiar to the matter. The move is part of a plan to hand control of the business to its creditors, the publication noted. The company, which faces financial pressure and disruption from the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, is still negotiating with a key group of lenders and bondholders, the media outlet noted, attributing the info to several sources. While WeightWatchers would prefer to restructure its balance sheet out of court, a Chapter 11 process is more realistic, because the company is publicly traded. Founded in 1962, the company was launched in the Queens, New York, apartment of Jean Nidetch, who gathered with friends to discuss weight loss. By 1968, the meeting-based business model became a franchised system with more than 1 million members. The company has experienced much change over the past 60+ years, including the introduction of the Points system aimed at taking the guesswork out of nutrition in 1998 and a complete rebrand to WW in 2009, when the company shifted to a mostly app-based program. But the weight management firm has been struggling to stay relevant in recent years, as weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have soared in popularity, offering a quicker weight loss fix. WW incorporated Ozempic and other GLP-1 weight loss medications into their program in March 2023, but in early 2024, Oprah Winfrey, a longtime face of the company, stepped down from the board, citing her desire to avoid a conflict of interest over a TV special she was making about weight-loss drugs. The company is now negotiating with lenders and bondholders, the The Wall Street Journal report said. Weight Watchers did not immediately respond to a request for comment about potential bankruptcy plans. A panel of experts and advocates speak at Northwell Staten Island University Hospitals Regina McGinn Education Center in Ocean Breeze about the Hotspotting the Overdose Epidemic Program in 2023. (Advance/SILive.com | Joseph Ostapiuk) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. The Hotspotting the Overdose Epidemic program, a Staten Island-based initiative that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to treat people suffering from drug addiction, will be implemented by NYC Health + Hospitals as a pilot program in the Bronx. The initiative is expanding to Lincoln Hospital in a partnership with the Staten Island Performing Provider System and the Robin Hood foundation, according to a news release from NYC Health + Hospitals. The pilot program at Lincoln Hospital is intended to support people living with opioid use disorder and reduce overdose deaths, nonfatal overdoses, and use of the emergency department, according to the release. Staten Island providers of the Hotspotting the Overdose Epidemic program recently touted an astounding 77% drop in fatal drug overdoses for participants in our borough and revealed their plans to take the initiative nationwide. Launched three years ago in our borough by the Staten Island Performing Provider System, the program uses artificial intelligence in its efforts to identify, engage and provide services to individuals at the highest risk for drug overdoses. Dr. Joseph Conte, executive director of the Staten Island Performing Provider System, praised the collaboration and expansion of the program to Lincoln Hospital amid an urgent need for treatment services citywide. While this epidemic is a national crisis, locally over 4,000 New York City residents died from an overdose in 2024, a rate far higher than national trends, Conte said. More troubling is the shift in the overdose burden to the Black and brown communities where health equity and disparities contribute to these outcomes. There remains a critical need for more innovation and proactive approaches to save lives; that is the essence of the Hotspotting approach. Plans for Lincoln Hospital incorporate the programs successful high-tech, high-touch aspects pioneered in our borough. Under the Hotspotting model, patients in the Lincoln Hospital emergency department for opioid use or nonfatal overdose will be connected to a dedicated team, including community health workers and peer counselors, according to the release. For up to a year following the discharge from the hospital, the team will reach out to patients biweekly to offer support and connection to addiction services, medical care, as well as community-based resources, public benefits, and housing as needed. The program will offer patients a cell phone and a service contract to help them stay connected to care. Robin Hood has provided $600,000 in funding to help finance the program, which is expected to launch later this year, and assist about 150 people with substance-use disorders. NYC Health + Hospitals will join the national Hotspotting Advisory Board that already includes the Staten Island Performing Provider System and Robin Hood. The increasing potency of opioids in New York City requires new and innovative support for our care for patients with opioid use disorder, said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz. The Hotspotting program will give our patients at Lincoln Hospital up to a year of follow-up care after they leave the hospital for opioid treatment. We are deeply grateful to Robin Hood and the Staten Island Performing Provider System for their support in launching this new model at NYC Health + Hospitals. The average tax refund issued by the Internal Revenue Service so far this year is roughly 3.5% higher than in 2024. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- More than 67 million Americans have already received their annual tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with the average refund totaling thousands of dollars. Through April 4 the latest date currently available the agency has issued 67,745,000 refunds, roughly 1.4% more than the 66,799,000 that had been issued by that time last year. In total, the agency has issued roughly $211.1 billion in refunds, up 5% from the $201.1 billion issued at that time in 2024. The average refund amount through April 4 was $3,116, roughly 3.5% higher than the average refund of $3,011 at that time last year. Through Feb. 14, the average had been just $2,169, but has increased dramatically now that the IRS has begun issuing refunds to taxpayers who claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. Due to the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act, or PATH Act, which took effect during the 2017 filing season, the IRS legally cannot issue refunds or credits to anyone who claimed an Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit before Feb. 15. The policy was implemented to help prevent revenue loss due to identity theft and refund fraud related to fabricated wages and withholdings, according to the IRS. Tracking your refund If youre one of the millions of Americans who have already sent in their tax returns, there are online portals that will allow you to monitor the status of your refund. For federal taxes, residents can use the IRS Wheres My Refund tool or the IRS2Go mobile app to see when their refunds have been received, processed and sent. Refund status will appear roughly 24 hours after you e-file a current-year return, three or four days after you e-file a prior-year return, or four weeks after you file a paper return. To access the information, which is updated overnight each day, residents must provide their Social Security or individual taxpayer ID number, filing status and exact refund amount on their return. Once refunds are sent, those using direct deposit should receive their refund within five days, while those expecting checks in the mail may have to wait several weeks. For state taxes, New Yorkers can visit the Department of Taxation and Finance website and click Check refund status. This allows residents to see if their return has been received; when its being processed; if the return requires additional review; if the state requires additional information; if a requested refund amount has been adjusted and when a refund has been issued. New income tax brackets While tax rates have remained the same, ranging from 10% to 37% depending on an individuals total taxable income, the IRS has announced new brackets with adjusted thresholds for tax year 2024. In addition to the new tax brackets, the standard deduction, the amount you can deduct to adjust the amount of income on which youre taxed, will also increase from $13,850 to $14,600 for single filers and from $27,700 to $29,200 for married couples filing jointly. Heres a look at the new tax brackets that will be used when filing in 2025. Tax brackets for single filers: $11,600 or less in taxable income 10% of taxable income $11,600 to $47,150 in taxable income - $1,160 plus 12% of the excess over $11,600 $47,150 to $100,525 in taxable income - $5,426 plus 22% of the excess over $47,150 $100,525 to $191,950 in taxable income - $17,168.50 plus 24% of the excess over $100,525 $191,950 to $243,725 in taxable income - $39,110.50 plus 32% of the excess over $191,150 $243,725 to $609,350 in taxable income - $55,678.50 plus 35% of the excess over $243,725 $609,350 or more in taxable income - $183,647.25 plus 37% of the excess over $609,350 Tax brackets for married couples filing jointly: A group of 20 people from "Protect Our Children" demonstrated at a lithium ion battery construction site located at 15 Tillman St. in Castleton Corners on April 15, 2025. (Steve White for the Advance/SILive.com) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A man handcuffed himself to the entrance of a proposed battery energy storage site in Castleton Corners as about 20 demonstrators rallied against the controversial project Tuesday morning. The protesters banded together around 6:30 a.m. before electricians could access the site at Tillman Street and Manor Road at 7 a.m. Some of the demonstrators displayed signs calling lithium battery storage stations toxic, with the claim accompanied by the depiction of a young girl in distress, surrounded by flames. At the core of the demonstration was Peter DiMiceli, 51, a Westerleigh resident and founder of Protect Our Children, a volunteer organization committed to ensuring youth safety. In a show of opposition, DiMiceli handcuffed himself to the entrance of the construction site, a move which ultimately landed him in police custody. 30 1 / 30 Battery Energy Storage Site protest This is the borough of no, DiMiceli said in a video from the scene posted to Instagram. The City of Yes? Staten Island is the borough of no. And Ill continue to do this every day. Theres too many parks, theres too many children, residential areas. Everything within a four-mile radius is going to be polluted, its going to be contaminated. Around 7:30 a.m., DiMiceli was arrested by members of the NYPD and charged by police with criminal tampering in the third degree and disorderly conduct, according to a spokesperson with the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Informations Office. In speaking with the Advance/SILive.com, DiMiceli emphasized the proximity of this site to homes and various schools. He also noted the resilience these flames have to water in the event of a fire. In one high-profile incident, a days-long fire at a battery energy storage site in Moss Landing, California, forced a mass evacuation and a call for residents in neighboring towns to shut their windows and stay indoors to avoid the toxic smoke. Incidents such as that have driven the concern of many Staten Islanders. They have to burn out, it takes about 6 to 12 hours for these things to burn out and in that time, everything within a four mile radius is going to become contaminated, including our childrens lungs, the places where they play, the places where they go to school, he said. It isnt that we dont want these things in Staten Island, we just dont want them next to our children; we just dont want them in residential areas, added DiMiceli. An ongoing battle against batteries Valerie Vislocky, 34, woke up to the blare of a megaphone from the demonstration early Tuesday morning. While it may have been a rude awakening, Vislocky shares these concerns and is staunchly opposed to the development of the lithium-ion facility. Vislocky, a mother of two young children ages 9 and 6 lives directly next to the site; the fence only a few feet from her home. A battery energy storage system is set for development at the corner of Manor Rd. and Tillman St., across the street from The Manor Restaurant and A&C Superette and Salumeria in Manor Heights. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma Back in December, she received a care package on her doorstep filled with a few bottles of water and a towel, each emblazoned with the logo of NineDot Energy. Tucked inside the package was a handwritten note. Our company strives to create a sustainable energy future in the NYC metro area, the memo, penned on NineDot letterhead, read. We are building an energy storage site at 15-21 Tillman St. to support a more resilient grid in your community. You will receive a notice about the start of construction in the next several weeks. Immediately, Vislocky educated herself on battery energy storage systems and took up a campaign against the development of such energy sites. In doing her best to stop the development of this site, the mother has spoken with elected officials, attended community boards and even created a petition on Change.org. The petition, posted in early February, has 1,630 verified signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. A group from 'Protect Our Children' demonstrated at a battery energy storage site that is under construction located at 15 Tillman St on April 15, 2025. (Steve White for the Advance/SILive.com) Its been a nightmare, its very aggravating, because you know I live there, Im right next to the site and I have two kids, Vislocky said. We just moved in not too long ago and now the conversation is going to come up if they do actually succeed with building it, were going to probably want to move. Vislocky added that it feels as though the residents are being treated like a guinea pig project as she feels there is a lack of data and confidence that confirms this is a safe undertaking for a residential area with children. Battery sites on Staten Island Developers and green energy proponents tout the lithium-ion structures which began sprouting up in several New York City neighborhoods in 2022 as quiet neighbors that are a necessary agent for renewable change. They claim that they are designed to remove pressure from the citys stressed grid, using rechargeable batteries to store electrical energy from various sources and then releasing that stored energy when needed. There are currently more than a dozen of these sites located on Staten Island with more on the way. While some are pushing for the battery energy storage system sites, many more have expressed outrage over the past two years. Borough residents and local officials alike have voiced their concerns about the structures. Community Boards voted against their proximity to bakeries and storefronts; elected officials issued a moratorium on applications filed within residential districts; and in one instance, an energy developer retracted plans to place batteries in a Bulls Head church parking lot. A representative from NineDot Energy, which has several battery energy storage systems projects on Staten Island, previously said the company does not minimize neighbor concerns, and offered the following statement to clarify which safety measures have already been taken: The FDNY has examined the site and has no safety concerns. The City and the International Fire Code require a distance of 10 feet between any battery and a building which this project abides by. NineDot also noted that the FDNY has examined and tested the BESS technology used on this site [Tesla Megapacks] and determined the technology is safe for use in NYC, in large part because of the several layers of safety redundancy, which prevent so-called thermal runaway [i.e., a fire spreading from one cell or module to another]. Referencing the Change.org petition, the representative previously said that the FDNYs warnings regarding lithium-ion batteries that are referenced in a petition were with regard to e-mobility devices, a different technology which, sadly, in New York has been completely unregulated until recently. The occupiers lost 350 servicemen and 67 units of equipment in Pokrovsk direction alone, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in operational information as of 22:00 Monday. "Today, in this direction, according to preliminary data, 350 occupiers were neutralized, 166 of them irretrievably. Also destroyed were two tanks, one artillery system, one MLRS unit, 34 units of automotive equipment, 14 UAVs, two UAV control points and two ammunition depots. In addition, six guns and seven Russian vehicles were damaged," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. Signs along Second Avenue, between 61st and 62nd streets in Midtown Manhattan, warn of the approaching congestion pricing zone. A local graduate student wants to hear how Staten Island residents have been affected by the tolling program. (Advance/SILive.com | Steve Zaffarano) Steve Zaffarano/Staten Island Advance STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island student wants to hear from the boroughs residents about the impact of New York Citys congestion pricing plan. Iryna Timofeeva, a graduate student at Hunter College, created a brief survey asking Staten Islanders how they have been affected by congestion pricing especially in the areas of cost, time and commute. Im a Staten Island resident for 20 years now. I fell in love with it when I moved, and since then I dont want to move anywhere else, said Timofeeva, who lives in New Dorp. As part of the project, Timofeeva said she has been looking at traffic volume over Staten Islands bridges and transit ridership numbers. And while finding this data has been an ongoing process, Timofeeva said she is hoping to hear about the personal impact that congestion pricing has had on Staten Island residents. When my capstone project opened up, I started thinking this may be a good way to do something for the borough I live in, she explained. A flyer that leads to the survey about how congestion pricing has affected Staten Island residents. The survey is part of a research project for a graduate student at Hunter College (Courtesy Iryna Timofeeva) Iryna Timofeeva Those interested in participating are encouraged to visit the anonymous surveys website at bit.ly/3R0S0Pd. From there, respondents should read through the introduction and click to agree to the survey at the bottom of the web page. The survey can also be accessed by scanning the QR code provided by Timofeeva with a mobile phone camera. Respondents must be at least 18 years old, and currently living on Staten Island, according to the survey parameters. TV host Bill Maher has been a longtime critic of President Donald Trump. Until having dinner with Trump in the White House, that is. The left-leaning Real Time with Bill Maher host said that the president was gracious and measured and able to laugh at himself during the meal, the Washington Post reported. Trump also gave Maher a personal tour of the White House. Maher on his show said that the president gave him a very generous amount of time, and a willingness to listen and accept me as a possible friend. Longtime fans of Maher were quick to pounce. One Reddit thread was titled, I think Im out, with fans saying they planned to stop watching his program. Others wondered why Maher highlighted the dinner at the White House amid Trumps mass deportations and the presidents musings about a potential third term, a possibility which is currently barred by the U.S. Constitution I didnt think Bill was this naive, one longtime fan posted to Reddit. Longtime Maher viewer Courtney Masella-OBrien, a lawyer in Oakland, California, told The Washington Post that she had had grown frustrated with Mahers lack of empathy for people affected by Trumps policies. She also said that Mahers revelation that Trump could be privately nice and funny distracted from bigger issues. Trumps a human being. We know that. But he doesnt demonstrate that hes a very good one most of the time, Masella-OBrien said. Maher acknowledged that his comments would unsettle his viewers, joking in his monologue about liberal sphincters tightening as he spoke glowingly of Trump. Maher vowed to remain critical of Trump for disappearing people, ruling by decree, threatening judges, gutting the government with glee. Rapper Kid Rock and UFC CEO Dana White joined Trump and Maher at the dinner. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, speaks with supporters at the New York City District Council of Carpenters while campaigning for mayor of New York City, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo remained the favored candidate to be the citys next mayor in a poll released Tuesday. The Siena College poll, sponsored by AARP, asked 556 registered Democrat voters in the five boroughs, about a dozen of whom were from Staten Island, who their preferred mayoral candidate would be in the upcoming June primaries. In this file photo, a carton of eggs sit on a counter in the kitchen in Chicago on Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File) AP President Donald Trump will continue to use real eggs during the White Houses annual Easter Egg Roll despite the ongoing egg price crisis rocking grocery stores around the nation. In a discussion from the beginning of April, Trump said the following: They were saying that for Easter please dont use eggs. Could you use plastic eggs? I say we dont want to do that. The 30,000 eggs or 2,500 dozen cartons are coming from donations to the American Egg Board, who facilitates the eggy logistics of the event, which will be held on April 21. The heart of this event is about bringing joy to children and families, and in these difficult times for egg farmers, its important to celebrate wherever we can, The boards CEO and President Emily Metz said in a statement. Its important to know that continuing the celebration of the White House Easter Egg Roll will not create additional strain on the nations egg supply or egg prices. The eggs, Metz said, are going to be in sizes small and medium, which are not meant for the retail and grocery channels. Nevertheless, egg prices continued to skyrocket for the average American in March. Prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trumps predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks. The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs might not get much immediate relief. Demand for eggs is typically elevated until after Easter, which falls on April 20. Industry experts were expecting the index to reflect a drop in retail egg prices because wholesale egg prices fell significantly in March. University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, so there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices. The Associated Press contributed to this piece. 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! Photo: https://www.facebook.com/kallaskaja/ The European Unions top diplomat Kaja Kallas warned European leaders on Monday against participating in Moscows military celebrations on May 9, Politico said Monday. According to Russian media, Russian President Vladimir Putins government has extended invitations to the leaders of China, India and Brazil as well as to EU country Slovakia and to Serbia, which aspires to join the 27-member bloc, Politico said. What was also discussed very clearly, and said by different member states, is that any participation in the 9th May parades or celebrations in Moscow will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe, the ezine quoted Kallas as saying, who told journalists in Luxembourg after a gathering of foreign ministers. Kallas added the EU does not want to see any potential member of the bloc joining Putins celebrations in Moscow. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of colourful Sydney criminal lawyer Ahmed Dib, a descriptor that is almost a professional requirement for anyone hoping to represent the best and brightest of the citys underworld. A semi-professional boxer, whose ringside life helped introduce him to a client list of bikie types, Dib is a fighter in and out of the courtroom, according to his official work bio, which also reminds prospective clients that hes undefeated in 20 bouts. Lawyer Ahmed Dib received a slap on the wrist from the law society. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos Dib last graced these pages when he bought a $1.7 million property outside of Mudgee, which he then rented to family member Yasser Nour, who then turned it into a private rehabilitation centre for men accused of serious crimes, to the chagrin of locals. Dib had nothing to do with the centre itself. Now, Dib has landed in a bit of hot water with the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner, who found him to have engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct after he failed to comply with court orders requiring him to file an affidavit and failed to ensure other solicitors at his practice complied with those orders. Thom Roberts is in his element as he weaves through the crowd, greeting friends and well-wishers with a hug, a tap on their head or by gently placing two fingers across their brow. It is the opening night of The Immersive World of Thom Roberts at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. With 100 works from across the past decade of Roberts professional art-making career, the exhibition is a joyous and expansive show for an artist with lived experience of intellectual disability. Roberts, 49, can be shy and a little reserved, but tonight he is exuberant. Faces can be trains, buses, mountains, the stone rock and the same the other way around: Thom Roberts Credit: Martin Ollman Governor-General Sam Mostyn is here to officially open the show. Roberts has dubbed her the Excellent Antonio, and she gets a tap on the head, too. Later, when the crowd cheers its approval at Roberts, he raises both arms above his head in a show of victory. The exhibition brings together Roberts paintings and works on paper, painted sculptures, installations and animations. The subjects are people but also trains, skyscrapers, fast-food motifs and Muppets. Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses comment on Monday that he could not think of a better place to hold United Nations climate talks than Adelaide might have startled some observers from, say, Sydney and Brisbane. If Australia is to co-host the COP (Conference of the Parties) talks with our Pacific neighbours next year as Albanese plans an event that would be the largest diplomatic event ever held in this country why not host them in a major capital city on the Pacific Ocean rather than a small one on the Southern Ocean? Peter Malinauskas speaks alongside Clare ONeil and Anthony Albanese. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen There are practicalities worth considering. The first is that South Australia really wants to host the talks and is willing to contribute to the cost. This is bigger than Ben Hur, said SA Premier Peter Malinauskas, the AFR reported. COP is Gather Round, plus LIV Golf, plus WOMAD, plus the [Adelaide] Festival, plus Tour Down Under all together, he added, rattling off a string of Adelaides major events. Advertisement Eating outSandwich watch This hole-in-a-wall shop sells 200 mammoth chicken caesar wraps daily The first wrap to be inducted into Sandwich Watch, this rock star of a sanger delivers a satisfying crunch and proves size does matter. Howard Chen April 16, 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 Youll be greeted by a clang of croutons and the swishing of salad leaves in mixing bowls when you step into this tiny and busy sandwich shop in the backstreets of Darlinghurst. Thats the sound of a rock star sandwich being made fresh to order: Cross Sections hefty chicken caesar wrap. Cross Section decided on fresh Lebanese bread delivered daily. Dominic Lorrimer Theres no shortage of wraps in Sydney (even Woolies has a chicken caesar wrap), but no one is making one quite like Cross Section. Theyre incredibly balanced, and each bite delivers a salty burst of satisfying crunch offset by a creamy yet bright dressing. This is the first wrap inducted into Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to essential Sydney sandwiches you need to know about. Tell me more Cross Section landed in Sydney almost a year ago and is the handiwork of best friends Josh Said and Brent Wasserman. They introduced the wrap as a one-off special late October after a month of recipe experimentation. It was their take on the chicken caesar wrap ubiquitous in New York City, and which went viral a couple of years ago. Advertisement The first day we did the special we had enough to make 40, and we sold out by 12 oclock, says Said. Then for three weeks straight, we were more than doubling our prep, and every day we were selling out by like 11, 12 oclock. The hole-in-the-wall makes between 150 and 200 of these wraps a day, so youll probably need to wait. Its worth it. Get there early to avoid the rush, or you can pre-order via their website. Cross Section owners Brent Wasserman and Josh Said. Dominic Lorrimer What makes it worth your attention Firstly, their croutons are cornerstones of the wrap. Theyre made from leftover bread (Cross Sections bread is custom-made, a combo of ciabatta and Turkish), which is prepared each afternoon for the following day. We chop [the bread] into small pieces and then mix it with Italian herbs, salt, olive oil, and we air-fry it, says Said. Advertisement The fried hunks are then dispersed throughout the chicken-salad mix to deliver a fun, savoury crunch. The chicken is poached, shredded and marinated overnight in a house-made lemon-pepper mayo. This locks in the moisture and marries well with the caesar dressing that coats everything (Cross Section is tight-lipped on which dressing brand they use). Also in the mix is iceberg lettuce and parmesan. Cross Sections hefty chicken caesar wrap in all its glory. Dominic Lorrimer If you want more punch to your wrap which you absolutely should you can add bacon for $2 and also make it spicy. If so they add Franks Buffalo Wings hot sauce to the caesar dressing as a free add-on, giving it a markedly sharp and tangy creaminess. The bacon is diced and pan-fried each morning, giving the wrap bursts of smokiness. You can also add chopped boiled eggs for $2, or you can sub out the chicken for eggs and make it a vegetarian-friendly wrap. Advertisement Thats a wrap Rather than use a flour tortilla as most wrap-makers do, Cross Section decided on fresh Lebanese bread, delivered daily by their supplier. It makes for a durable wrap that stands firmly when cut in half. Parmesan is grated on top. Its the calm before the storm. Good Food visited Cross Section before the mad lunchtime rush. Dominic Lorrimer Where to get one Cross Sections chicken caesar wrap is $18, and you can get it at 84-90 McLachlan Avenue, Darlinghurst. Its open 8am to 3pm Monday to Friday and 9am-2pm on Saturday. For more details see here. Advertisement This is the latest instalment of Sandwich Watch, a column dedicated to the Sydney sandwiches you need to know about. 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 Zeke Dumbleton has only ever been taught in demountables. The 10-year-old has attended Parramatta East Public School his whole life, and, apart from his kindergarten year, he has never had a classroom within the walls of the overcrowded western Sydney school. Zeke Dumbleton, 10, and his mum, Greta, at Parramatta East Public School. Credit: Nick Moir Demountables are pretty much all he knows. He doesnt really have anything to compare it to. Its all hes experienced, his mother, Greta Dumbleton, said. It wasnt obvious when the school started getting overcrowded, but there came a point where all the students couldnt fit into the school hall. And that was when we realised the numbers had outgrown the infrastructure. A 45-year-old man has been charged with murder after his wifes body was found in the charred remains of their family home west of Brisbane. Firefighters were called to a fire about 3am on Tuesday at the rural home on Strack Road in Geham, north of Toowoomba, to find it fully engulfed. It took crews more than two hours to bring the inferno under control. After initial searches of the house, police and fire investigators found the body of Louise Hunt. The board of Victorias curriculum authority has been dismissed after a review of the 2024 VCE scandal that advantaged thousands of students over their peers found sustained failures by the agency. The report published on Tuesday found sample cover pages containing real exam questions were viewed online about 6000 times before tens of thousands of students sat their final exams last year. The exam material was accidentally published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). Education Minister Ben Carroll ordered the review after questions on 65 VCE exams were leaked. Credit: Chris Hopkins Some students saved the sample cover pages to their hard drives, internet forum activity revealed, but the review could not determine how many students had done so. The Victorian government has accepted all eight recommendations of the report, including installing a new VCAA board. An interim board has been appointed, led by Andrew Smith, who will start as chief executive on June 1. Over the past 24 hours, aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Defense Forces hit five areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, two air defense systems, four command posts, eight artillery systems, three radar/reconnaissance stations and two other important enemy targets. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on the Telegram channel in operational information about the Russian invasion as of 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday. A second man has been charged over the alleged murder of notorious bikie Mohammed Akbar Keshtiar, known as Afghan Ali, after he was shot dead outside his apartment building almost two years ago. Keshtiar died in hospital after being shot several times while walking along Almeida Crescent in South Yarra, in Melbournes inner south-east, at about 11.40pm on August 4, 2023. Mohammed Akbar Keshtiar was gunned down outside his apartment building in South Yarra. Earlier this month, detectives charged 23-year-old Narre Warren man Adris Kheyali with murder and conduct endangering life. On Tuesday afternoon, police revealed they have charged a second man 25-year-old Abdalla Abdullay, from Hampton Park with the same offences as Kheyali. A 20-year-old Hamilton Hill man who was arrested in relation to a spate of western suburbs vehicle break ins last week, has been granted bail after saying he needed to be home to look after his sick grandfather. Matthew Ronald Brian Ryder appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday via video link after he was arrested and charged over an alleged crime spree in which police claim 87 vehicles were broken into in the suburbs of Mosman Park, Peppermint Grove, Wembley, Crawley, Dalkeith and Fremantle on April 9. A 20-year-old man has been released on bail. Credit: 9 News Perth Magistrate Adam Hills-Wright asked what evidence there was against the father of two, with prosecutors telling him it was circumstantial. Automatic number plate recognition showed the car registration - which the accused was arrested in the vehicle is shown to be travelling in the direction of Dalkeith on Mounts Bay Road only four minutes prior to the alleged offences of the criminal damage to the vehicles, the prosecutor said. That will be it from us today. Thank you for following us for the latest Western Australian, Australian and international news. Before you go, lets take a quick look at the federal election campaign in WA. Former Prime Minister John Howard has made the pilgrimage west, where he will be wheeled out in must-win seats of Tangney, Pearce, Bullwinkel and Curtin over the course of the next 30 hours. Our pals at 9 News Perth caught Howard after his flight into the state where he said he always gets called up to do this campaign stuff, and he is always happy to oblige. Howard has been very public about his disdain for the teal movement in recent weeks. He was keen to offer up some further criticism of WAs only teal independent Kate Chaney, saying the Liberals were the only real alternative government. The local level announcements are coming through thick and fast now. Labor committed $1 million to build new classrooms and a multipurpose hall at the Perth Hindu Temple in Tangney, as well as $1.75 million to upgrade change room facilities at Maniana Reserve in Queens Park. In the hills, Nationals Bullwinkel candidate Mia Davies pledged $1.96 million to help fund upgrades to the Mundaring Sporting Club. London: Australians living in Russia have been told to consider flying to Serbia or Turkey if they wish to cast a ballot in next months federal election after Australias embassy in Moscow confirmed it would not provide voting services. Expats were told on the embassys Telegram channel last week that because of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trades do not travel advice for Russia, it had again suspended in-person and postal vote collection services. Instead, they were told that the closest in-person voting locations with direct flights from Russia were the Belgrade and Ankara posts or the consulate-general in Istanbul. People walk in a snowy Red Square in front of St Basils Cathedral in Moscow. Credit: AP Citizens living in Lebanon, where more than 120 voted three years ago, have also been told they wont be able to vote in person because of the security situation. Voters could apply for postal votes, but they would have to be sent back to Australia at their own cost, the embassy in Beirut said. PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- The Fire Department is asking the community to be safe this Easter holiday weekend, which runs from Friday, April 18, until and including Monday, April 21. Many people will be heading to the beach for various watersports activities and having a funday with family and friends. Safety should always be a concern. Keep a watchful eye on young children who cannot swim; make sure that their flotation devices are in proper working condition. Tragic water events can happen quickly. Pay attention to senior family members who are swimming. The beach can be fun and an enjoyable experience, so its up to you to stay safe. Watch out for strong water currents. Stay in shallow water. Exercise safe cooking practices in the kitchen to prevent kitchen fires and burn injuries. While at the beach barbecuing, pay keen attention that young children are not close by. After a successful BBQ, dont forget to clean up all utensils from your family/friend Easter holiday beach experience and properly dispose of them in a garbage bin. Once coals have been completely extinguished, remove them so the beach environment is returned to its original state. Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children this Easter holiday weekend. The Fire Department wishes all a safe and happy Easter holiday weekend. The Fire Department falls under the Ministry of General Affairs. In the event of a fire emergency, call 919. Future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planning an immediate trip to Ukraine if he is elected in time, Die Welt reported on Monday. "Newly appointed Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planning an immediate trip to Ukraine, whose President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited heads of state and government to the summit of the Coalition of the Willing on May 9, if he is elected in time," Die Welt said, citing information from Politico (both media outlets are owned by Axel Springer SE). "On May 9, we would like to hold a meeting of the coalition of the willing at the level of heads of state and government with the participation of President Zelenskyy to establish security guarantees for Ukraine," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said via video link at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday," the publication reports. "The German Chancellor is also expected to attend the meeting - and most likely it will be Merz. Politico, citing informed sources in Berlin and Brussels, reports that a possible trip by Merz to Ukraine is being prepared for early May. In addition to Merz, other high-ranking heads of government are also expected to attend, such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. A representative for Merz declined to comment on the reports," Die Welt said. Iran's top diplomat to head to Russia after US nuclear talks Tehran, April 14 (AFP) Apr 14, 2025 Iran's foreign minister is to visit ally Russia this week to discuss nuclear negotiations with the United States, ahead of a new round of talks between the foes planned for Rome. On Saturday, Abbas Araghchi held talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman -- the highest-level negotiations since the 2015 nuclear accord collapsed. US President Donald Trump, who withdrew from the deal, has brought Iran back into the spotlight since returning to office in January. In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for nuclear talks and warning of possible military action if Tehran refused. Western countries, including the United States, have long suspected Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting its programme is for peaceful purposes. Russia, a close ally of Iran and party to the 2015 deal, and China have engaged with Tehran in recent weeks over its nuclear programme. "Dr Araghchi will travel to Moscow at the end of the week," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, adding that the pre-planned trip would be "an opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to the Muscat talks". Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Araghchi would meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and other officials. Iran and the United States have both described Saturday's discussions as "constructive". Moscow welcomed the Iran-US talks as it pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned that military confrontation would be a "global catastrophe". Another round of talks between Iran and the United States is to be held in Oman on Saturday, the foreign ministry spokesman told the official IRNA news agency. Rome had earlier been cited as a possible venue. - 'Red lines' - Baqaei said the next set of talks would continue to be indirect with Omani mediation, adding that direct talks were "not effective" and "not useful". Oman's foreign minister shuttled between the two delegations at the last talks. Baqaei had previously said the only focus of the next talks would be "the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions", and that Iran "will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue". Late Sunday, IRNA reported that Tehran's regional influence and its missile capabilities were among its "red lines" in the talks. Washington reinstated biting sanctions on Tehran following its withdrawal from the 2015 deal three years later. Iran continued to adhere to the agreement for a year after Trump's withdrawal but later began rolling back its compliance. Iran has consistently denied it is seeking nuclear weapons. Trump addressed reporters on Monday regarding Iran, saying "I'll solve that problem" and "That's almost an easy one." However, it remains unclear whether his remarks referred specifically to nuclear negotiations or broader issues involving the Islamic republic. Baqaei reiterated that Iran would host United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi in the coming days but noted that the details of his trip were still "to be decided on". In a post on X, Grossi confirmed that he would be heading to Tehran "later this week". "Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed," he said. IRNA later reported that Grossi would arrive on Wednesday and meet Araghchi and Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran's nuclear energy agency. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency last visited Iran in November when he held talks with top officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian. In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent, which far exceeds the 3.67 percent limit set under the 2015 deal and is much closer to the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material. rkh-mz-pdm/dv Iran Guards say military capabilities 'red lines' in US talks Tehran, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday the country's military capabilities were off limits, ahead of a second round of talks with the United States on its nuclear programme. "National security and defence and military power are among the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which cannot be discussed or negotiated under any circumstances," Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said, quoted by state broadcaster IRIB. Iran and the United States will hold another round of talks in Muscat on Saturday, a week after top officials met in the Omani capital for the highest-level discussions since the 2015 nuclear deal collapsed. US President Donald Trump, who withdrew the United States from the 2015 deal during his first term, has reinstated his "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran since returning to office in January. In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for nuclear talks and warning of possible military action if Tehran refused. Trump addressed reporters on Monday regarding Iran, saying "I'll solve that problem" and "That's almost an easy one". The US leader also threatened to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and called Iranian authorities "radicals" who should not possess nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly denied seeking an atomic bomb, insisting its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, especially the provision of energy. - 'Axis of resistance' - Late Sunday, Iran's official IRNA news agency said the country's regional influence and its missile capabilities were among its "red lines" in the talks. Tehran supports the "axis of resistance" -- a network of militant groups opposed to Israel, including Yemen's Huthi rebels, the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Shiite militia groups in Iraq. On April 12, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, met with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman for "indirect" talks, according to Iranian officials and media. The talks were the highest-level Iran-US nuclear negotiations since the collapse of the 2015 accord, formally known is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The accord offered Iran relief from international sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. Both Tehran and Washington, enemies who have had no diplomatic relations since shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, have called the latest round of negotiations "constructive". Araghchi's office has said he will travel to Moscow at the end of this week for talks with Russia, a close ally of Iran and party to the 2015 nuclear deal. Moscow welcomed the Iran-US talks as it pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned any military confrontation would be a "global catastrophe". pdm/dv Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Andriy Kovalenko reported the destruction of an ammunition depot of Russian occupiers in the city of Kursk. "In Kursk, unknown drones hit a Russian ammunition depot," Kovalenko wrote on Telegram on Tuesday. Before that, he reported on "an attack by unknown UAVs on the city of Kursk," and also that the Russians "do not plan to abandon their plans for offensive actions during the summer." In turn, military correspondent Andriy Tsaplienko reported that on Tuesday night, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck military unit No. 35535 in the village of Klyukva in Kursk region, where the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers is stationed, which struck the city of Sumy with Iskander systems. "How serious it is - there is no detailed information yet," he wrote on Telegram. The Interfax-Ukraine agency has no confirmation of this information, nor of whether these reports are talking about the same object or different ones. Ukrainian drone strike kills one in Russia's Kursk: authorities Moscow, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 A Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian city of Kursk on Tuesday killed an elderly woman and wounded nine others, local authorities said. The hit on the regional capital, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the Ukrainian border, comes two days after a Russian ballistic missile killed at least 35 people in the Ukrainian city of Sumy. Aerial attacks have escalated despite calls by US President Donald Trump for a ceasefire to halt three years of fighting. Kursk Governor Alexander Khinsthein called the strike a "crime of unprecedented cruelty," in a post on Telegram, and said an 85-year-old woman had died. Six of the nine injured were hospitalised for shrapnel wounds, burns, and head injuries, the Kursk authorities said. Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine fired 115 drones at its territory overnight, with 109 shot down over the Kursk region. Strikes on villages either side of the Russia-Ukraine border have become a daily occurrence in the conflict, though deaths as a result of Ukrainian hits on Russian cities and areas further from the front lines are less frequent. Russian investigators said the drones had been packed with metal shrapnel "to cause maximum damage to civilians and infrastructure". The regional government posted photos on social media showing damage to an apartment block and debris strewn on the ground. A Kyiv official alluded to the attack on social media but claimed a military target had been hit. "Unknown drones hit a Russian ammunition depot in Kursk," the head of disinformation countering centre Andriy Kovalenko said on Telegram. Russia has pushed Ukraine out of all but 50 square kilometres of the Kursk region, according to an AFP analysis of Institute for the Study of War data. And Moscow's army has stepped up pressure on the regions of Sumy and Kharkiv this year, claiming several border villages amid warnings from Ukraine's army of a fresh Russian offensive there. Czech nuclear plants to get uranium from Kazakhstan Prague, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 The Czech Republic has signed a deal to buy uranium from Kazakhstan as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian fuel supplies for its nuclear power plants, state-owned utility CEZ said Tuesday. The Czech Republic -- which controls about 70 percent of CEZ -- relies on two nuclear power stations in the southern villages of Temelin and Dukovany for 40 percent of electricity consumption. CEZ stated that supplies from Kazakhstan's national uranium mining company, Kazatomprom, would cover about one-third of the uranium needed for fuel assemblies provided by US-based Westinghouse to the Temelin nuclear plant. Temelin has been running on Westinghouse fuel since 2010. CEZ spokesman Ladislav Kriz refused to give details of the deal including the price and timing. He said Westinghouse would also replace TVEL as fuel supplier to Dukovany this year based on a 2023 contract. "The switch is gradual. Westinghouse will begin to supply fuel from this year, but Dukovany is still getting Russian fuel now," he added. CEZ also has a deal on fuel supplies for Temelin with France's Framatome. The Czech Republic, an EU member of 10.9 million people, promotes nuclear energy as it shifts from burning fossil fuels to greener technologies. The Czech government is expected to sign a deal on the construction of at least two new nuclear units at Dukovany with South Korea's KHNP in the coming weeks. With the two new units and small modular reactors due to be built by 2050, nuclear energy is expected to account for 50 percent of the Czech energy mix. Kazatomprom has also recently signed a deal on nuclear fuel supplies with Switzerland which is seeking to relaunch its nuclear power industry. frj/kym/lth CEZ Russia jails woman whose neighbour alleged army criticism Moscow, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 A Russian court on Tuesday jailed a woman for more than five years for criticising the army on social media, allegedly after she was denounced by her neighbour. Anna Aleksandrova, a 47-year-old hairdresser, was arrested in November 2023 over posts she made under a pseudonym on VKontakte, Russia's largest social network. Prosecutors accused her of giving information about how to avoid military mobilisation, and of posting information critical of Moscow's Ukraine offensive. Russia has opened hundreds of criminal cases against its citizens for spreading "fake news" about the army since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Saint Petersburg's Pushkinsky District Court gave her a prison sentence of five years and two months, and banned her from using social media for three years afterwards, the court's press service said on Telegram. Aleksandrova pleaded not guilty at the trial, saying she was set up by a neighbour with whom she was embroiled in a land dispute, according to the Mediazona news outlet. She has a son and daughter and had been in pre-trial detention for over a year. She told the Current Time news outlet that investigators broke down the front door to her apartment during her arrest, and that one of them threatened to "destroy" her and her son. Her health has deteriorated since her incarceration, Mediazona reported. Since launching its offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that rights groups have likened to Soviet-era mass repression. NATO's Rutte says US-led Ukraine peace talks 'not easy' Odesa, Ukraine, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's push for a ceasefire and lasting peace in Ukraine was "not easy" and condemned Russia's "terrible pattern" of attacks on Ukrainian civilians. "These discussions are not easy, not least in the wake of this horrific violence. But we all support President Trump's push for peace," Rutte said of US-led talks during a surprise visit to the port city of Odesa, where he met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. Rutte's comments contrast with an assessment from Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who said he sees a peace deal "emerging" after talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Russia. Despite a flurry of diplomacy, there has been little meaningful progress on Trump's main aim of achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine. The Kremlin, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, rejected a US and Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional pause in the fighting last month. Zelensky meanwhile called for the effective preparation of a contingent of foreign troops to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again, should a peace deal be secured. - 'Acute' need for air defences - "Britain, France and other NATO countries are already actively preparing the ground for a security contingent in Ukraine. It is important that we all be fast enough and efficient in this process," he said. Zelensky also told Rutte that Ukraine urgently needed air defence systems after recent Russian missile strikes killed dozens of civilians. "Absolutely everyone sees how acute Ukraine's need for air defence systems and missiles is. We talked about this a lot today," the Ukrainian leader said. Zelensky's renewed call for more air defence systems comes after recent Russian attacks killed 35 people in north-eastern Sumy region and 19 -- including nine children -- in his hometown of Kryvyi Rig. The Ukrainian leader earlier said that his country needs 10 more Patriot batteries to defend civilians and infrastructure from Russian attack. The Ukrainian army meanwhile said it had hit back at a Russian missile unit deployed in the western Kursk region that was responsible for launching Sunday's attack on Sumy. "Every Russian military unit, subdivision and their servicemen who shell peaceful cities and civilians of Ukraine will be identified and will definitely receive retribution," it said in a statement. Russian officials earlier in the day said an 85-year-old woman had been killed in a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack. Ukraine meanwhile said that overnight its air defence systems had downed 26 Russian drones. Trump envoy says Iran must 'eliminate' enrichment program Washington, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 Iran must completely halt its uranium enrichment as part of any nuclear deal, US envoy Steve Witkoff said Tuesday, after suggesting it could continue doing so at a low level. "Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East -- meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program," Witkoff said on X. The previous day, he appeared to stop short of calling for a complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear program, saying in a Fox News interview that "this is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program." "They do not need to enrich past 3.67 percent," the real estate magnate said, referencing the maximum level allowed under the prior nuclear agreement that Trump exited during his first term, in 2018. The multi-party 2015 deal that Trump abandoned aimed to make it practically impossible for Iran to build an atomic bomb, while at the same time allowing it to pursue a civil nuclear program. The latest International Atomic Energy Agency report said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, nearing the weapons grade of 90 percent. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt meanwhile told journalists Tuesday that President Donald Trump had spoken with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, thanking him for hosting talks on a deal with Tehran. Trump has threatened to strike Iran's nuclear facilities if no deal was reached, calling Iranian authorities "radicals" who should not possess nuclear weapons. Tehran denies seeking an atomic bomb, saying its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, especially energy production. US approves $825 mn Stinger missile sale to Morocco Washington, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 The United States on Tuesday announced the approval of an $825 million sale of up to 600 Stinger anti-air missiles and related equipment to Morocco. "The proposed sale will improve Morocco's capability to meet current and future threats. Morocco intends to use these defense articles and services to modernize its armed forces and expand its existing army short range air defense options," the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. "This will contribute to the Moroccan Army's goals of updating capability and further enhancing interoperability with the US and other allies," it said. The State Department approved the possible sale and the DSCA on Tuesday provided the required notification to the US Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transaction. Trump resurrects ghost of US military bases in Panama Panama City, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 US President Donald Trump's bid to take back control of the Panama Canal has put his counterpart Jose Raul Mulino in a difficult position and revived fears in the Central American country that US military bases will return. After Trump vowed to reclaim the interoceanic waterway from Chinese influence, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed an agreement with the Mulino administration last week for the United States to deploy troops in areas adjacent to the canal. For more than two decades, after handing over control of the strategically vital waterway to Panama in 1999 and dismantling the bases that protected it, Washington has regularly conducted maneuvers in the country. So what is changing and why is the new agreement causing controversy? - Will US military bases return? - Although the agreement does not allow the United States to build its own permanent bases, Washington will be able to maintain a long-term rotational force in Panama, similar to the one it has in Australia and other countries, for training, exercises and "other activities." The United States will be able to deploy an unspecified number of personnel to three bases that Washington built when it previously had an enclave in the canal zone. That is a "flagrant violation" of the constitution, which prohibits foreign bases, and the 1977 handover treaties that establish the "neutrality" of the canal and permit only Panama to have military forces on national territory, Euclides Tapia, a Panamanian professor of international relations, told AFP. But there is a loophole: one of the treaties "allows the US to defend the canal when it feels the neutrality is jeopardized," said Will Freeman, an expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, a US-based think tank. Benjamin Gedan, former director for South America on the US National Security Council, argues that Panama has cooperated with the United States in securing the canal. Panamanian lawyer Arturo Hoyos sees no violation of laws or treaties, as the new agreement allows "joint" operations. - Is Mulino in trouble? - Mulino's government says that the facilities and land belong to Panama and will be for "joint use" by US and Panamanian security forces. He maintains that he has not ceded an inch of sovereignty to Trump, a natural right-wing ally. The agreement is a "trade-off" because it "limits the Trump administration's pressure tactics and hostility and maybe the scope of the concessions" by Panama, Freeman said. "The risk that nobody's pricing in, at least on the US side, is that they make Mulino a lame duck" by humiliating him, leaving the Panamanian leader "unable to govern," he added. Former presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana accused Mulino of "camouflaging" military bases and disguising "surrender" as "cooperation." "The United States is recolonizing and reoccupying us," said Julio Yao, who advised the Panamanian government in the 1977 negotiations. Gedan, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, believes Panamanians "are not willing" to allow the return of US bases due to the trauma of the past occupation of the canal zone and the 1989 US invasion to overthrow dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega. - What does Trump really want? - The United States considers a Hong Kong company's operation of ports at both ends of the canal to be a threat to its national security. "Trump wants to minimize the risk of Beijing blocking the canal to prevent the passage of military vessels in a potential conflict," Gedan said. Natasha Lindstaedt, an expert at Britain's University of Essex, sees the US moves as "part of a larger conflict with China as the US is trying to curb China's influence in Panama and the region more generally." Freeman said that the Trump administration "most likely is trying to show that if it wanted to, it could close the canal to Chinese commerce as a way of exerting pressure on China, either not to invade Taiwan or in the event of a conflict over Taiwan." "What we're seeing in Panama is also about Trump's doctrine of peace through strength," he said. But Tapia was skeptical that China really poses a threat, suggesting the threats were aimed at boosting Trump's domestic support. "Canada becoming part of the United States or saying that they will take over the canal and Greenland is just a gimmick aimed at the American public," he said. Photo: National Guard The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) has created two corps, which are headed by commander of the 12th special forces brigade Azov, Colonel Denys Prokopenko (Redis), and commander of the 13th operational brigade of the NGU Khartiia (Charter), Colonel Ihor Obolensky (Kornet), commander of the National Guard Oleksandr Pivnenko said in an exclusive comment to the Interfax-Ukraine agency. "The National Guard has created two corps; this is part of a general reform, within the framework of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are moving from temporary troop command bodies - operational-tactical groups and tactical groups - to a corps system," Pivnenko noted. According to him, for more effective execution of tasks it is necessary for the corps commander to be the immediate leader of his units, to know the brigade commanders, and they - him. He knew and understood the state of affairs and the specifics of his units, the available forces and means. "That is, so that the corps commander, at the expense of his units subordinate to him, acts on the front line as a united front. Indivisible. This was often one of the problems and main challenges in the matter of establishing interaction. Because when one brigade is in one place, the second in another, it is very difficult to exercise control," the National Guard commander noted. Answering the question of who was appointed as corps commanders, Pivnenko said that they were Redis and Kornet. "Our brigades have significant experience, the commanders are experienced and enjoy authority not only in the National Guard, but also in the Armed Forces," he emphasized. According to Pivnenko, the corps system will significantly improve communication between the military and make the army more effective. The reform takes into account the experience of the war with the Russian Federation, in particular the need for rapid maneuvering, resistance to enemy attacks and the ability to hold large territories, conduct counterattacks. The corps structure should increase the flexibility and resilience of the troops and units of the NGU, including those involved in performing tasks at the front. "In particular, it will be much easier to carry out both defensive and offensive actions. In addition, information about planning operations will be more limited - only those who will be responsible for planning will know, and accordingly, there is less likelihood of such information leaking. The corps structure itself has already been partially tested in combat zones, in particular in Donbas, where large groups have shown better coordination compared to disparate groups," he explained. Pivnenko noted that the decision to create corps in the National Guard was supported by Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko, as well as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky, with whom all processes were agreed upon. "The processes are ongoing. All the staffing levels have been agreed upon, all the distributions have been completed. The army corps will have their own headquarters, intelligence, artillery and logistics units, which will increase their independence in carrying out combat missions without the need for constant involvement of the high command at such stages. The corps structure distributes the workload between commands of different levels," he added, noting that, given the active combat operations, the reform cannot happen quickly. "The corps envisage the unification of several NGU brigades and auxiliary units under a single command. This allows for more effective coordination of actions on large sections of the front, optimization of logistics and resource management," Pivnenko noted. BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on Monday pledged efforts to fully support the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) in achieving new progress in its high-quality development. The spokesperson made the remarks following a speech that Sam Hou Fai, the sixth-term chief executive of the Macao SAR, delivered on Monday, which was Sam's first policy speech since taking office. Noting that the chief executive's speech fully demonstrated the reform-minded, innovative, responsible and enterprising spirit of the SAR's new-term government, the spokesperson said that the central government will spare no effort in backing the SAR government and various sectors of Macao to complete the significant mission of advancing the "one country, two systems" practice. The speech outlined a vision for -- as well as pathways to build -- a Macao that is ruled by law, and that is dynamic and brimming with culture and happiness. It also highlighted issues and challenges facing the SAR, and put forward a raft of new approaches and response measures to tackle them, the spokesperson said. With the strong support of the central government and the mainland, the Macao SAR government and all sectors of Macao's society will surely give full play to the advantages of the "one country, two systems" policy, proactively seize opportunities, and continuously create new achievements, the spokesperson said. Thus they will also make new and greater contributions to building a great modern socialist country and achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by pursuing Chinese modernization, the spokesperson added. Foreign partners noted the significant progress of the Ukrainian military education system and its compliance with the strategic course for obtaining full membership in the EU and NATO during the annual assessment meeting of experts of the NATO Defense Education Enhancement Program (DEEP) with the leadership of Ukrainian military universities. Director of NATO DEEP Mariusz Solis said that the Alliance would continue to promote the implementation of reforms to develop an interoperable multi-level system of military education and training, the main elements of which are the introduction of the systemic approach to training (SAT) methodology into the educational process, planning procedures and military decision-making according to NATO standards in combination with Ukrainian experience in conducting combat operations. According to him, the key indicator of successful transformation will be the institutional audit of the military education system. This will allow assessing the implementation of the recommendations of the previous audit in 2020 regarding compliance with NATO standards and criteria. At the same time, Director of the Department of Military Education and Science of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Volodymyr Myrnenko emphasized that now both the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are actively preparing to conduct an institutional audit of the military education system this fall in order to demonstrate readiness to ensure operational compatibility with NATO forces. "Despite the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation, we have managed to build an internal system of quality assurance of military education in military universities and colleges in accordance with the NATO standard Education and Training," he emphasized. Myrnenko also stressed the need to build up the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the comprehensive support of the NATO DEEP program and the alliances military training institutions. The event traditionally took place in Lublin (Republic of Poland) at the base of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade named after Grand Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski (LitPolUkrbrig). It was attended by representatives of the Department of Military Education and Science of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Central Directorate of Military Education and Science of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Main Inspectorate of the Ministry of Defense, the Directorate for Work with NCOs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as a delegation of experts from the NATO DEEP program headed by Mariusz Solis. There are about 40 that havent, and I urge those 40 to look again at whether or not they want progression, to look again at whether or not they want to stay on the same pay grade and remain within city operations, because thats a key part of the offer. Who's in the Royal Box at Wimbledon? Gary Lineker, Mary Berry and Anthony Joshua among famous faces on Centre Court on day five Who's in the Royal Box at Wimbledon Centre Court on day five? I just feel like he never really took time out to get to know me as a person, which is fine, because I might not have been his person to get to know, she said. But at the same time, I thought were all equal in the house, and it should be fair on us all. The Home Office is said to be concerned that a separate extradition request by the UK to the US would be seen as subverting the Romanian court process, and would potentially put at risk the agreement by the Romanians to surrender the Tates to the UK after that process is concluded. This then came to the attention of Khan, who posted a further video and confirmed he would come to England, where he states he will find Mr Farage to make him stop talking about him and that he was going to pop pop, while making as if his fingers were a gun. Very simply, we have got to persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, to let aid in, and across the country, and to put peace first. And so we do need patient diplomacy. In his email, Sir Alan said: There may be other options but the one which is repeatedly mentioned is a judicial review, not just for the GLO scheme but to include all of the schemes to ensure there is parity in the way victims have, and are, being treated. Its against the rights of (the) family, and it actually should worry anyone in any part of the political sphere in Britain. This is not the way to expect MPs to be treated by China. The hearing room at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh, Co Tyrone, ahead of the first substantive hearing in the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, which will examine whether the atrocity could reasonably have been prevented by UK authorities. Commemorative and personal statement hearings will be held over the next four weeks for victims of the dissident republican bomb attack, which killed 29 people and devastated the Co Tyrone town on August 15 1998. Picture date: Tuesday January 28, 2025. PA Wire The United States has told its Group of Seven (G7) allies it would not back a statement condemning Russia's Palm Sunday missile strike on the city of Sumy because it wanted to "continue negotiations with Moscow," Bloomberg reported Tuesday. "President Donald Trumps administration told allies it couldnt sign the statement denouncing the attack as it is working to preserve the space to negotiate peace, according to people familiar with diplomatic correspondence, as meetings continue between the White House and the Kremlin," the agency reported. Canada, which holds the G-7 presidency this year, told allies it would be impossible to move forward with the statement without U.S. approval, the people said. The G7 statement was planned to say the Sumy attack was proof that Russia was "determined to continue the war," according to drafts seen by Bloomberg. Earlier it was reported that the Russian missile strike on the city of Sumy on Sunday took the lives of 35 civilians, including two children, 125 people were injured, including 15 children, 44 people are currently in hospitals, seven are in serious condition. The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has applied a preventive measure to the former head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry department in the "golden eggs" case, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported. "On April 15, 2025, the HACC investigating judge applied a preventive measure in the form of night house arrest to the former head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry department," the Telegram channel reported on Tuesday. The person is also subject to procedural obligations to appear before the detective, prosecutor, or court upon the first call, not to leave the territory of the settlement in which he is registered or resides without the permission of the investigator, prosecutor, or court. In addition, he must inform the investigator, prosecutor, and court about changes in his place of residence and work, refrain from communicating with other suspects in the case and witnesses regarding the circumstances set out in the notice of suspicion, submit passport(s) for travel abroad and other documents to the relevant government authorities for safekeeping. The preventive measure is in effect until June 15, 2025. The message does not indicate the name of the person involved, however, according to the NGO Transparency International Ukraine, the individual in question is former head of the Ministry of Defense Department for clothing supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Bohdan Khmelnytsky. "According to the investigation, it was Bohdan Khmelnytsky who signed all the contracts for the supply of products for the Armed Forces of Ukraine at inflated prices. He also negotiated with another person involved in the case, the former director of one of the supplier companies, Mykola Deshpetko," the message says. As reported, during 2022-2023, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine provided the military with food by purchasing catering services from business entities. The essence of this service is the purchase of a set of products according to the catalog, which contained 409 items. The criminal scheme consisted of setting inflated prices for the most popular products and understated prices for less popular ones. Its implementation led to the fact that during August-December 2022, two supplier companies illegally received more than UAH 733 million from the budget. On April 2, law enforcement officers reported suspicion to the former head of the Ministry of Defense department, the owner of related supplier companies, two heads of supplier companies and an individual. They are charged under Part 5 of Art. 191 (embezzlement), Part 2 of Art. 15 and Part 15 of Art. 191 (attempted embezzlement) and Part 3 of Art. 209 (legalization of ill-gotten gains) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Zelenskyy on Witkoff's statement: For us it is red line to recognize any occupied territories as Russian Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/ Ukraine is a sovereign state, and only the Ukrainian people can speak about its territories, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "Regarding the territory. Ukraine is a sovereign state, and all territories belong to the unitary state of Ukraine. Therefore, once again, only the people of Ukraine can speak about the territories of our state. And you know that for us it is a red line to recognize any temporarily occupied territories as not Ukrainian, but Russian. Therefore, once again, the relevant representatives are discussing issues beyond their competence," Zelenskyy said during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odesa. Earlier, U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Monday that the peace deal would include resolving the "so-called five territories," without elaborating on what exactly was being discussed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the meetings of the technical teams of Ukraine and the United States regarding the agreement on minerals positive and announced new meetings. "This was a meeting of the technical team, and meetings at this level in various formats both offline and online will continue throughout this week. After all these consultations, when the teams are ready, they will show what they have worked on," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odesa. "So far, both sides have concluded the meetings positively," he said. It was previously reported that last Friday, April 11, technical consultations on the minerals agreement were held in Washington, during which the Ukrainian delegation presented the proposals prepared by Kyiv to the U.S. side. A meeting of the "Coalition of the willing" on security in the Black Sea is taking place in Turkey, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "A military meeting is taking place in Turkey on the issue of security in the Black Sea. And this concerns, first of all, 'Coalition of the willing' and the corresponding steps. There have already been quite a few such meetings, various formats of the coalition of the willing and able on security in the Black Sea are being discussed. In these two days, this is being discussed at the site of our Turkish colleagues, they invited us," Zelenskyy said during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odesa. "There [at the meeting] there will be representatives of Europe, as was the case at the summit in Paris. These are Britain, France, necessarily Ukraine, and the host party Turkey. They are discussing the issue of security in the Black Sea," he said. Bulgarian Minister of Economy and Industry Peter Dilov met on Tuesday in Sofia with the president of the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce Victor Gugushev, with the two officials discussing bilateral economic relations and opportunities for improving connectivity between Bulgaria and Romania, which would benefit business, tourism and inter-company cooperation, news agency BTA reports. Minister Dilov said that Romania is among Bulgaria's leading foreign economic partners, as bilateral trade amounted to 7.35 billion euros in 2024. Bulgarian exports to Romania stood at 3.8 billion euros, placing Bulgaria's trade balance on a surplus of 261.8 million euros. The Bulgarian official highlighted the opportunities for expanding the bilateral partnership through the participation of companies in trade fairs and missions, joint access to third markets in various economic sectors, the promotion of innovation and start-ups, as well as the joint implementation of cross-border projects. In his turn, Victor Gugushev highlighted the over 20-year history of the Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and the fact that it brings together over 150 companies from almost all sectors of the economy: logistics, tourism, construction and services etc. "About 70% of our members are Bulgarian companies, which are also active on the Romanian market," said Gugushev. He went on to say that a key priority for the Chamber is to improve connectivity between the two countries - both by land and by air. "The development of new and modern road links, as well as the increase in the number of direct flights between Bulgarian and Romanian cities will facilitate business, tourism and cooperation between companies. The Chamber actively supports efforts in this direction and is ready to help with expertise and partnerships," Gugushev noted. Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Angel Zaburtov also participated in Tuesday's meeting. The head of Romanian diplomacy, Emil Hurezeanu, took part in the meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers (FAC) in Luxembourg on Monday, where he called for both continued pressure on Russia through the adoption of a new package of restrictive measures and for the strengthening of the sanctions regime on Russia's hybrid actions. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), EU officials discussed Russia's aggression against Ukraine, developments in the Middle East and Syria, EU-Africa relations and the Western Balkans. Under current affairs, Armenia-Azerbaijan relations were discussed, conform Agerpres. Regarding Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the Romanian foreign affairs minister reiterated "the firm support for a just and lasting peace, backed by solid security guarantees, with the support of the US and the involvement of European states" and "emphasized the need to continue and strengthen multidimensional support for Ukraine, expressing support for High Representative Kallas' initiative of military support for Ukraine". "The head of Romanian diplomacy called both for continued pressure on Russia through the adoption of a new package of restrictive measures and for the strengthening of the sanctions regime on Russia's hybrid actions. He also reiterated his support for the advancement of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova during the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union," the MAE press release states. With regard to the situation in the Middle East, minister Emil Hurezeanu expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and emphasized the importance of continuing negotiations for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. He also mentioned Romania's important role in the medical evacuation operations in Gaza, within the framework of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and the treatment of Palestinian pediatric patients in Romanian hospitals. The Romanian official reiterated the support for the two-state solution as the only sustainable option for resolving the conflict and welcomed the Arab initiative regarding reconstruction in the Gaza Strip and the identification of a regional security solution. "The discussion on EU-Africa relations took place in the run-up to the European Union-African Union Ministerial Meeting in Brussels on May 21, 2025. Foreign ministers emphasized the importance of the EU-Africa partnership, considering that the upcoming ministerial meeting will provide an opportunity for the EU to be perceived as a reliable and predictable partner in the current political context. At the same time, it will be a good opportunity to reaffirm the common commitment to multilateralism and the international order based on rules, the UN Charter and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity," the MAE press release further informs. With respect to the Western Balkans, EU foreign ministers expressed concern about the unstable regional context and underlined the need for a coherent message from the EU and international partners. The strategic importance of the EU's enlargement policy was emphasized, as well as the need to strengthen strategic communication to combat hybrid threats and disinformation in the region. Ministers also emphasized the importance of full alignment of the Balkan partners with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union in order to put European values into practice. On the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, the Romanian minister of foreign affairs also participated in the EU-Palestine High-Level Political Dialogue in Luxembourg. "During his intervention, Minister Emil Hurezeanu emphasized Romania's support for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the immediate release of all hostages and the rapid resumption of humanitarian access for the civilian population. The Romanian minister reiterated our country's readiness to continue medical evacuations from the Gaza Strip in order to ensure adequate treatment for civilians in critical situations. At the regional level, was reiterated Romania's firm commitment to support a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the two-state solution, which would coexist in peace and security," the press release shows. Also, on Sunday, April 13, the Romanian foreign minister participated in the informal meeting organized by High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas with partners from the Western Balkans. The discussions centered on ways to strengthen cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans, in particular in the field of security, especially in the current complex geopolitical context, both regional and global. In this context, Minister Hurezeanu reiterated Romania's strong commitment to the European perspective of the Western Balkans, together with that of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, and reiterated Romania's readiness to offer expertise in the preparation process. At the same time, the Romanian minister referred to the importance of maintaining a stable security environment in the region and recalled Romania's consistent contribution in this context, through participation with troops and military technology in the KFOR and EUFOR-Althea missions, the latter with Romania in command of the forces from January 2025, further reads the MAE press release. Romania has learned the necessary lessons and the government is committed to ensuring the fair and transparent conduct of elections, in full accordance with democratic standards, said interim President Ilie Bolojan on Tuesday, at a meeting with eight members of the U.S. Congress he welcomed at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. According to the Presidential Administration, the meeting addressed the main areas of the strategic partnership between Romania and the U.S., with emphasis on the security component, economic cooperation and development prospects of the bilateral relationship. Bolojan reconfirmed Romania's firm commitment to the strategic partnership, calling it a key component of the country's foreign affairs and national security architecture. He highlighted the importance of strengthening the U.S. presence in Romania, especially amid the current security challenges in the Black Sea region. He added that Romania actively contributes to the security of NATO's eastern flank, and close cooperation with the U.S.is essential to effective deterrence. Another priority subject of the discussions was the latest developments in the process of Romania's inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program. The interim president said that this objective is a priority on the bilateral agenda and an expectation of the Romanian citizens. "Romania expresses its full willingness to collaborate with the American authorities to complete this process within a reasonable period of time and with a positive result." The common interest in developing the economic dimension of the strategic partnership was also emphasised, by attracting American investment and expanding trade cooperation. In the current context of the Romanian economy, there is a significant potential for deepening bilateral economic ties. "At the same time, issues of regional interest were also addressed. Bolojan spoke about the importance of strengthening security on NATO's eastern flank as an essential component in maintaining stability in the region. In this context, they discussed the support offered to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and firm support for the European path of Moldova. Romania remains a responsible partner within the Euro-Atlantic community, committed to defending democratic values and promoting stability and security in the region," according to the Presidential Administration. The visiting U.S.delegation comprised eight members of the U.S. Congress, representing both political parties: Vern Buchanan (Republican - Florida), Dina Titus (Democrat - Nevada), Lloyd Doggett (Democrat - Texas), Ted Lieu (Democrat - California), Neal Dunn (Republican - Florida), Ilhan Omar (Democrat - Minnesota), Anna Paulina Luna (Republican - Florida) and Andy Ogles (Republican - Tennessee). Agerpres. Dr. Nawaf Salameh, Founder & Chairman of Nawaf Salameh Family Office, emphasizes the unique opportunity Romania has to deepen its strategic and commercial ties with the United States. Some important visitors from the United States will be arriving in Bucharest this month, which, I hope, will allow our leaders to have a better picture of America than the largely self-generated, speculative and indeed vitriolic and panic-stricken one that some prefer to have dominating the news these days. First, a bipartisan (majority Republican and opposition Democrat) coalition will be arriving 15 April for meetings with Romanian officials. A few weeks later, Donald J. Trump Jr., businessman and son of the President of the United States, will also make a short visit. For Romania, these visits are also a chance to provide our perspective on recent security-related and economic developments. In doing so, it is vitally important that we listen carefully to the Americans as well. Indeed, we need to get better at this, for the simple reason that, at a time of momentous change in the world, the United States remains by far both the worlds most powerful and important country, and our best ally. Now, more than ever, with people from Moscow, China, and yes, from Brussels and Paris giving vent to their own unrealistic and potentially dangerous ambitions, we must think clearly and cooly, and put aside our personal, individual interests for the sake of our country. Such opportunities for dialogue with the US have been all too rare of late, particularly since the cancellation of the Romanian presidential election in December - which, however one looks at it, revealed to the world some deep problems in our bureaucracy. We all know the problems we face in this respect, and that in some sense we still have not completely shaken the psychological legacy of the Ceausescu era. This is understandable, even to outsiders. The key is what we do now, moving forward, and to recognize that progress means undertaking comprehensive and sometimes challenging reforms. This is not easy. We know this. America, too, faces serious and by now well-documented problems in this regard. But rather than retreat from the task, President Trump, as is his way, is dealing with them head-on, with the kind of courage Americans and indeed any free people have the right to expect from their elected leaders. We can learn much by, finally, paying attention, using our own eyes, and learning the new American grammar, as some have noted. We should also discard the comfortable but blinkered prisms of earlier eras, which were provided by circles pursuing their own narrow agendas, not that of our people. Indeed, our own experiences in this regard will, I trust, be informative and, to the extent they are offered honestly and freely, can serve as the basis of a dialogue and cooperation on the civilizational issues that confront us all, and about which American Vice President JD Vance spoke so eloquently at the recent Munich Security Conference. I am a businessman. I understand that, as important as interstate security relations are, it is in fact in the commercial realm that the most enduring ties between peoples are forged, where common interests are given expression in the most concrete form, shorn of the illusions that are often an inescapable element of diplomacy. In the commercial realm, reality and the bottom line must, and do, prevail. Consequently, I strongly believe that the key to the future of Romania is to develop strong, comprehensive commercial ties with the United States, because these tiesreflected in myriads of ground-truth decisions and deep cultural relationships among peoplesare the most beneficial and stable. Moreover, they can help insulate our US-Romania bilateral relationship from the ups and downs of the current moment. This is why I have created the American - Romanian Business Roundtable, in cooperation with the Jones Group in the United States, to promote strategic, long-term cooperation among US and Romanian businesses in critical areas of vital interest to our country, including the energy and defense industrial sectors. Developing our Romanian capacity in these and other industries, in tandem with the unique creative capabilities and know-how of American business, will be key to Romanias modernization and enhancing its economic capacity. Moreover, I believe that US-Romanian commercial ties, if fully developed, will have precisely the reformative effect we need to exert on our own bureaucracy. They will do this by demonstrating the need for, and benefits of, responsiveness and cooperation in public-private relations, to the benefit not only of consumers, but of producers and workers in our own country, providing jobs and enhancing the stability of our communities. To this end, we must consider how to make our country more attractive to US investment. One way to do this is, of course, to take on our full share of the defense burden. Rather than trying to short-change our security, we should increase defense spending, in tandem with our US partner, to a level commensurate with the actual threats we face. This will also encourage us and our NATO partners to make realistic appraisals of the emerging strategic situation. We should also adapt an idea promoted by some of our NATO Allies in their own countries regarding financing of military bases. That is, we should ensure that our own MK military base is completely financed and therefore make it easier for the United Stateswhich has for decades shouldered the burden of the defense of Europe yet now confronts newer, emerging strategic challenges in the far Eastto commit to a long-term presence there. We should also repeat more forcefully in this respect that the goal of our commitment to MK is the defense of actually existing NATO territory, and not to have the base serve as a means to expand it or project power into non-NATO areasa counterproductive fantasy that too many in Western Europe continue inexplicably to promote in Ukraine. And we should unambiguously support the United States in its effort to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. We will soon hold our rescheduled Presidential elections. It is my fervent hope that by remembering who we are as Romanians and thinking clearly about the world, we will be in a better position to pursue closer strategic commercial and broader ties to the United States - because, at the end of the day, it is in the vital national interest of Romania to do so. The trade union federation in healthcare "Solidaritatea Sanitara" supports the principle of performance-based bonuses in the medical field but considers that the form proposed by the Ministry of Health is erroneous. "The "Solidaritatea Sanitara" federation of Romania (FSSR) supports the principle of performance-based bonuses in the medical field, this being a request constantly addressed to all governments in recent decades. Support for this principle is also demonstrated by the draft of the new salary law, developed together with the representatives of the Ministry of Health and those of the other representative social dialogue partners at the health sector level, which includes an important dimension of additional remuneration based on performance, targeting all categories of healthcare employees. The federation does not support the draft law launched for public debate by the Ministry of Health these days because it was developed in flagrant violation of the legal and contractual provisions on remuneration and does not meet the minimum conditions of the principle of performance-based bonuses," reads a press release of the federation on Tuesday. According to the same source, from the perspective of formal requirements, the procedure used by the Ministry of Health in the development of this draft law violates the rules of social dialogue, a series of legal provisions and express and imperative provisions of the collective labour contract. "The federation did not participate in any negotiations on this legislative initiative, which makes it voidable from the perspective of the violation of express legal and contractual provisions," the press release also states. According to the same source, the trade union federation initiated a working group to develop an alternative draft normative act, which would respect the principles of performance-based bonuses and be coherent with the normative acts in force. "Given the intention of the Ministry of Health to use a series of additional professional criteria in evaluating performance compared to those specific to the salary legislation, we consider relevant the expertise of professional bodies in the field of selecting these categories of additional criteria and their evaluation procedures. To this end, the "federation publicly invites professional bodies to a joint action, aimed at generating a performance evaluation system based on relevant criteria and objective procedures, which should be the reference in the matter of performance-based bonuses," the press release states. A delegation of eight members of the US Congress, Democrats and Republicans, led by Vern Buchanan, will meet on Tuesday in Bucharest with interim president Ilie Bolojan, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, and Romanian parliamentarians. The US delegation arrived in Romania on Monday evening. According to the officially announced program, the representatives of the US Congress will be received by the interim president, Ilie Bolojan, at 11:00 at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. At 16:00 they will have talks with prime minister Marcel Ciolacu at the Victoria Palace of Government. The members of the US Congress will also meet Romanian parliamentarians. Vice-President of the Romanian Senate Robert Cazanciuc said on Monday that the visit to Romania of a delegation from the US Congress represents a message of "strategic partnership" between the two countries. "I will also attend this meeting tomorrow [April 15], it is a mixed delegation of Republicans and Democrats. I went a year ago, two years ago, on several visits to the United States, I went to Congress, I went to the Senate. Each time, the meeting was with Republicans and Democrats. I never went only to Republicans or only to Democrats. We sought to keep that balance because that's the way it is in the United States. It's a message of strategic partnership between Romania and the United States. There are two pillars in Europe on which the United States have always relied - one in the north, which is called Poland, and one in the south, which is called Romania," said the social-democrat senator at the Palace of Parliament. The leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL) senators, Daniel Fenechiu, emphasized the "very good" relations of the Romanian parliamentarians with members of the US Congress. "The world believes Romanian-American relations strictly come down to entrance to [president, editor's note] Trump. This is incorrect. Many parliamentarians from Romania have very good relations with congressmen from the United States, there are bilateral relations, there are friendly relations. I believe that, ultimately, Romanian-American relations are on an upward trend, the things that interest them in principle will be discussed with the US delegation. We will all lobby in the sense that Romania is a democratic state and that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are respected. They will probably be curious, they will ask us questions, we will ask them, and this dialogue will certainly result in a better position for Romania in the region," Daniel Fenechiu said. A U.S. Congress delegation of eight members, both Democrats and Republicans, led by Vern Buchanan, is meeting with Romanian senators and deputies at the Palace of Parliament. Among the Romanian officials present are Parliament members Daniel Suciu (Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies), Mihai Weber, Titus Corlatean, Robert Cazanciuc, Ionut Mosteanu, Cosmin Corendea and Ramona Bruynseels. The U.S. delegation, led by Vern Buchanan, is accompanied by U.S. Ambassador in Bucharest Kathleen Kavalec. We had a very good visit with the embassy and then with the interim president today. It was about an hour-long meeting. Now we're meeting with members of Parliament. We have eight members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, and we're here to build our relationship and take it to the next level, said Vern Buchanan He underscored that the delegation includes representatives of companies that create jobs. We want more well-paid jobs here and more companies. That's why we are here. As I said, we have eight members of Congress - usually, you don't get such a large delegation. This country is important to us and we want to work together. There are a lot of things we'll be working on (...) We are seeking to take this partnership to the next level. I'm very excited about that potential. (...) I'm very optimistic about our relationship, the U.S. official added. According to the official schedule, the U.S. Congress representatives are also set to meet with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu at Victoria Palace at 4:00 PM. Senate Vice President Robert Cazanciuc said on Monday that the visit of a U.S. Congress delegation to Romania sends a message of "strategic partnership" between the two countries. Similarly, the leader of the Liberal senators, Daniel Fenechiu, highlighted the "very good" relationship Romanian lawmakers have with U.S. congressmen. The Visa Waiver Program remains "a priority" for Romania, said Save Romania Union (USR) Lower House floor leader Ionut Mosteanu on Tuesday during talks with representatives of the US Congress delegation currently on an official visit to Romania. "The Visa Waiver Program remains a priority for the USR and Romania. We conveyed the message of millions of Romanians in the country and in the diaspora. It's time for Romanians to be able to travel freely to the US, as equal partners. Based on the strategic partnership, Romania and the United States will continue to collaborate for a safer and more prosperous world," Mosteanu wrote on Facebook. He mentioned that talks with the delegation representatives tackled strengthening bilateral relations and the need to continue military cooperation between Romania and the US, referencing in this regard the "consistent" presence of the US military on NATO's eastern flank, and Romania and its European partners increasing security and defense allocations. "We expressed our support for the efforts made by the United States in mediating a just peace that would put an end to Russia's illegal war in Ukraine and for establishing a system of regional security guarantees. We also emphasized how important it is to seek a solution to de-escalate the economic tensions that affect the whole of Europe. A tariff war would also harm entrepreneurs in Romania, especially the automotive industry, which must be defended," the post also states. Ionut Mosteanu and USR Senator Simona Spataru participated on Tuesday in an official meeting with a bipartisan delegation of the US Congress, which is on a visit to Romania, USR informs. When the Beatles came to America for the first time in 1964, about 4,000 people met them at the airport. When the Marquis de Lafayette came to America for the last time in 1824, he was met by 80,000 people. He really was Americas first rock star, says Chuck Schwam, executive director of the American Friends of Lafayette. President James Monroe invited Lafayette to come to the United States to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution. He was the last surviving general of that war, and his tour was so successful that it was extended from a planned three months to 13 months. Celebrated even today as Americas favorite fighting Frenchman in the musical Hamilton, Lafayette ended up visiting all 24 of the then-existing states, including Illinois and Missouri, traveling a total of 6,000 miles. Everywhere he went, he was cheered and feted. Now, on the 200th anniversary of that journey, the places he visited are holding bicentennial events to commemorate the man and his legacy. His April 28, 1825, visit to Carondelet and April 29, 1825, visit to St. Louis will be celebrated here on April 23-26 with a host of lectures, dinners, exhibits and an 1820s-style ball. Michael Halbert, a historical interpreter, will appear in costume at the events in the person of Lafayette. Like all four of the interpreters who are playing the role of Lafayette in these celebrations across the eastern half of the United States, Halbert speaks fluent French and is well versed in the man and his times. Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, gained fame both in the fledgling United States and also his native France. A true believer in the Age of Enlightenment principles of freedom and equality, he came to this country when was just 19 to fight in the Revolution. Commissioned in the Continental Army as a major general, he was wounded in the leg in his first action, the Battle of Brandywine. Gen. George Washington was so impressed by his heroism at that battle that he gave Lafayette command of a division. The soldiers led by Lafayette from the north and a force of French soldiers commanded by the Comte de Rochambeau from the south trapped the British forces at Yorktown, Virginia. They sent word to Washington in New York, who moved his army to Yorktown to take the British army and win the war. In the Battle of Yorktown, the last major battle in the war that gave us our independence, there were more French military personnel there than American, Schwam says. After the war, Lafayette headed back to France, where he continued to fight for human rights. With help from Thomas Jefferson, he wrote a draft of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, the French Revolutions equivalent of the Declaration of Independence. Among other things, that document states that all men are born free and equal, and that everyone has the right to liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression. But he also wanted the constitutional monarchy. Lafayette wanted to keep both sides happy, the people and the royals. And you know what happens when you try to keep both sides happy, Schwam says. He fled France, but was captured by Austrian soldiers and spent what Schwam calls five dismal years in a terrible prison in what is now Czechoslovakia. Napoleon, who by then had become emperor, arranged to have him freed, even though Lafayette did not support him. Lafayette then continued to fight for equality and human rights. He fought against slavery, which was not as polarizing an issue in France as it was here, Schwam says. And he made his views known on his famous trip to America. What I love about what Lafayette did is that he didnt lecture us. He was very disappointed in what was going on in our country at the time, but he didnt lecture us. He did things differently. He did things with action, Schwam says. If he saw an African-American man he was friends with or served with him, if he saw him in the street he would hug him in front of all kinds of people. Nobody had really ever seen that before. Lafayette also spoke out for the rights of women. Women in France were not permitted to inherit any property from their husbands after they died, until Lafayette worked to get that law changed. One result is that we have Veuve Clicquot champagne to this day, Schwam says. The iconic champagne house was run and expanded by a woman after the death of her husband, who had started it. Veuve means widow. He treated women as equals, to the point that they followed him around (this) country because they loved the fact that he thought they had the wherewithal to be able to do anything a man could do, Schwam says. Lafayettes 1824-1825 victory lap around the United States was a huge success. An estimated 4 million people throughout the country saw him, with balls held in his honor everywhere he went. And his influence is still felt today, in some respects. Before he came back, only one city was named for him, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Today, nearly 80 towns bear his name in one form or another, along with innumerable other locations such as St. Louis Lafayette Park, Lafayette Square neighborhood and Lafayette Avenue. The local celebration will begin April 23, with an all-day colloquium at Washington University about Creole Culture in Upper Louisiana, hosted by the schools French Connexions Center of Excellence. Beginning at 10 a.m. April 24, the French Heritage Corridor will hold its fifth annual conference, also at Washington University. Schwam will be on hand for this event to discuss the importance of Lafayettes return to America. The program includes lunch and a 5:30 p.m. cocktail reception at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum on the Washington University campus. Virtual attendance is also available through Zoom. A sortir de classe (get out of the classroom) event will take place April 25 with a road trip to Ste. Genevieve to see French heritage sites, followed by a dinner at the St. Louis Mercantile Library. The main part of the celebration takes place April 26, beginning at 9:30 a.m. with a re-creation of Lafayettes visit to the home of Pierre Chouteau. Because that building is no longer standing, this event will take place at the Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion, 3352 DeMenil Place, which was the home of Pierre Chouteaus granddaughter and Auguste Chouteaus daughter. A one-hour riverboat cruise commemorating Lafayettes 1825 arrival in St. Louis will set off from the riverfront beginning at noon. At 1 p.m. St. Louis will welcome Lafayette or Halbert, the interpreter portraying him at the Gateway Arch. That is the spot where crowds of St. Louisans came to greet him in 1825. This event is free, and will include speeches from dignitaries and members of patriotic and historical societies. The Lafayette Bicentennial Ball will be held from 6-10 p.m. at the Rose of the Hill, 2300 Edwards Street. Dinner will feature the same toasts made to honor Lafayette at a ball here in 1825, followed by period music and dancing led by a dance caller. Attendees are asked to wear period costumes or cocktail or business attire. If you go CREOLE CULTURE IN UPPER LOUISIANA When: 8 a.m. April 23 (the event lasts through dinner) Where: Holmes Lounge, Ridley Hall, Washington University How much: Free More info: https://rll.wustl.edu/events/culture-and-identity-upper-louisiana-defining-creole-corridor?d=2025-04-23 * FRENCH HERITAGE CORRIDOR CONFERENCE When: April 24-25 Where: Washington University How much: April 25 conference only: $100, $75 French Historical Society members, $10 to attend conference by Zoom. April 25 conference and April 26 trip to Ste. Genevieve: $150, $125 French Historical Society members More info: lafayette200.org/event/french-heritage-corridor-5th-annual-conference * LAFAYETTE VISITS THE CHATILLON-DEMENIL MANSION When: 9:30-11 a.m. April 26 Where: Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion How much: $45 More info: lafayette200.org/event/bicentennial-of-lafayettes-farewell-tour-visits-st-louis-mo-2/ * RIVERBOAT CRUISE When: Noon April 26 Where: Riverfront at the Arch, 50 South Leonor K. Sullivan Boulevard How much: $26, $60 over 60, $16 3-15, free 2 and under More info: https://tickets.gatewayarch.com/webstore/shop/viewitems.aspx?cg=cat&c=ssrbc * WELCOME LAFAYETTE TO ST. LOUIS When: 1-2:30 p.m. April 26 Where: Grand Staircase, Gateway Arch National Park How much: Free (registration is requested) More info: friendsoflafayette.wildapricot.org/event-6060021 * LAFAYETTE BICENTENNIAL BALL When: 6-10 p.m. April 26 Where: Rose of the Hill, 2300 Edwards Street How much: $75 More info: friendsoflafayette.wildapricot.org/event-6056542 Part of the security guarantees for Ukraine is a contingent, the issue of the presence of these military personnel in the Black Sea is being discussed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "We believe that Turkey can occupy a serious place in future security guarantees regarding the sea. This is not about ending the war, unfortunately. This is about what will happen after the ceasefire. Part of these security guarantees is a contingent. The presence of military personnel. The issue of the presence of these military personnel in the Black Sea is being discussed now," Zelenskyy said at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Odesa. After four seasons on the Golden Globe and Emmy Awardwinning television series Abbott Elementary, actress and comedian Lisa Ann Walter is returning to the stand-up stage and stopping at Helium Comedy Club in St. Louis from April 18-19. All of us need to laugh right now more than ever, and thats what I aim to do, she says. While younger audiences may know Walter as the Sicilian school teacher Melissa Schemmenti on ABCs hit show Abbott Elementary, the Maryland native is not a Hollywood newbie. Shes graced both the big and small screen throughout her career. She was Chessy, the housekeeping nanny, in 1998s The Parent Trap remake and Sheryl in War of the Worlds alongside Tom Cruise. She even made a few cameos in other hit shows, like portraying a cancer patient on Season 16 of Greys Anatomy. In 2023, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series alongside the rest of the Abbott Elementary cast. However, for Walter, performing as a stand-up comic creates a different type of funny. She likes the intimacy and shared experience of comedy clubs. Whats going on that night, its never going to happen exactly that way again, she says. That is just for you. Although fans fell in love with Walter on stage and screen, the actress says she was funny long before her name was in lights. She was a chubby kid growing up, and was often teased at school. Humor became a way to protect herself at a young age: a comedic shield to keep the bullies at bay. I figured a way to be safe was to be funny, she says. And thats how it happened. I came up funny. She grew up listening to comedy albums from greats such as George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. With a mother who was deeply Catholic, Walter realized she could get away with saying inappropriate things so long as it made her mom laugh. Walter says she also recognized the immense pressures that plagued her mother. As a divorced woman raising children on her own, Walters mom went through rough patches during a time when divorce was still taboo. Walter tried to soothe her moms emotional pain with comedy. It was so hard to be at home that I needed to be funny to make her laugh and to make her less sad, she says. Although Walters mother died before Abbott Elementary aired in 2021, Walter credits her with being the inspiration for her character. Her mother worked as a schoolteacher in a predominantly Black school in Washington, D.C., for years, similar to Walters character, Melissa. Walter says show creator and star Quinta Brunson wrote the character with Walters mother in mind. I wish she could have seen the success of not just me in Abbott, but I wish she could have seen Abbott because that was her life, she says. Long before starring in Abbott Elementary, Walter found refuge on the stand-up stage. She got pregnant shortly after college, where she studied acting, and had to ditch the auditions for the comedy club circuit to make sure the bills were paid. She eventually made her way back to acting, but not before shaking up the boys club comedy scene with observational stories about everything from pregnancy to the frustrations of midday grocery-store runs. Walter says she loves being on stage. I get to go into work and do the thing I love more than anything in the world, which is to be funny, Walter says. And shes happy to see a wider array of comics, including female ones. Diversity is needed as women continue to make strides in the comedy space because their experiences resonate differently with audiences. She knows her jokes wont be the same as Nikki Glasers, just as Glasers style of funny will differ from Wanda Sykes. For Walter, all of their voices are necessary. The representation is important because it makes for more funny, she says. If you go What: Lisa Ann Walter When: 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. April 18-19 Where: Helium Comedy Club, 1151 St. Louis Galleria Street, Richmond Heights How much: $30-$42 More info: st-louis.heliumcomedy.com ST. LOUIS COUNTY Historic stained glass windows at the heart of a federal lawsuit will be allowed to stay at a north St. Louis County seminary at least for now. But a judge ruled that the seminarys owner, an Evangelical organization called Urshan University, must safeguard the windows before the months end. The public has an interest in preserving historically significant buildings and art, U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey said in the order. Requiring protection of the windows ensures the windows will be preserved. The 13 windows, crafted by renowned St. Louis artisan Emil Frei, depict pivotal moments in the history of the Jesuits and were added to the St. Stanislaus Seminary about a century ago. But theyre now in precarious shape and are in danger of being vandalized or destroyed by the elements. Jesuit-run Boston College sued Urshan late last year for possession of the windows, arguing they should be removed to a safer location and accusing Urshan of reneging on a deal to sell the windows for $27,000. Sign up for the Brick City newsletter Steph Kukuljan and other business reporters bring you insights into St. Louis-area real estate and development. Last week, Autrey ruled that the windows should for now remain at the seminary, at 700 Howdershell Road on the Hazelwood and Florissant border. A Boston College attorney declined to comment. Urshans attorney did not respond to a request for comment. The windows consist of a rose on the chapels facade and 12 on its side depicting Jesuit history: the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus; the call to holy orders of St. Stanislaus Kostka; and the martyrdom of three Jesuits, victims of religious persecution in 16th century Japan, according to the university. They were created by Frei, who designed and crafted some of the best-loved stained-glass and mosaic artistry in the region. The family continues to operate a studio in Kirkwood. Boston College had contracted with the studio to help preserve the St. Stanislaus windows before Urshan backed out of the agreement last year. Urshan, meanwhile, had said it had a right to rescind the agreement. Urshan left the former seminary several years ago for a new location in Wentzville and has been trying to find a buyer for the property. The organization said a developer stepped forward but said the windows had to stay theyre crucial to getting the seminary in the National Register of Historic Places, which would make it eligible for historic tax credits, according to court documents. Boston College asked the judge for an injunction to allow the Frei studio to remove the windows and store them in a safe place while the lawsuit is pending. Urshan argued that the windows could be preserved without being removed. Judge Autrey agreed. The current state of the windows is that they are in jeopardy of being destroyed through deterioration, vandals, water, etc., Autrey said in the order. But Autrey also noted that Boston College is likely to win its suit against Urshan, saying the two organizations had an enforceable contract. Urshan, the judge ruled, is prohibited from selling the property while the case is still pending. TROY The woman accused of abusing a 16-year-old in her care and abandoning her in Texas was in court on Tuesday seeking to reduce her $250,000 cash-only bond. I just want to go home and get this taken care of, Brenda Deutsch said. Prosecutors objected, saying Deutsch could flee the state, potentially going to Texas, where the teen victim is now living. The victim did not testify at the hearing, but submitted a letter to Lincoln County Judge Michael Jacobs. A friend of Deutsch's said after the hearing that prosecutors have the case all wrong. Brenda is wrongly accused. Shes the victim, said Bryan Hargis, who said he attends church with Deutsch. She had a lot of trouble with her children and her adopted children. He described Deutsch, 70, as a deeply caring person who recently returned from a missionary trip overseas to combat poverty in Africa and had also started a small animal sanctuary on her property. Deutsch has been described as an exotic animal collector in court papers. Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood said after the hearing that his office has been contacted by multiple former foster children who say Deutsch abused them. No additional charges have yet been filed, he said. The judge did not lower Deutsch's bond. ST. LOUIS Federal officials have targeted the immigration status of several international students studying in the St. Louis area as hundreds of student visas are being revoked across the country. Webster University said 18 international students at its campus in Webster Groves have had their visas revoked or their records terminated in the federal system used to track students immigration status. Three undergraduates and six former Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville graduate students working in the U.S. have had their visas revoked since early April. St. Louis University spokesperson Clayton Berry said a small number of international students have been affected by federal officials recent visa crackdowns, but he would not share specifics for privacy reasons. A small number of Lindenwood University students have also seen their visas revoked in recent days. Washington University spokesperson Julie Flory declined to provide details but said an unspecified number of the private universitys students have seen their immigration records terminated. Federal authorities have changed the legal statuses of hundreds of international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities in recent weeks as President Donald Trumps second administration heightens scrutiny on immigration. As of Monday, over 170 colleges and universities have identified over 1,000 international students and recent graduates who have seen their legal status changed by the State Department, Inside Higher Ed reports. SIUE told international students in an April 7 email to carry copies of their immigration documents at all times. They cautioned students to be mindful about what they post on social media and exercise discretion when participating in political demonstrations or protests, according to the email, first reported by the Edwardsville Intelligencer. We respect their privacy in this sensitive situation and will not release more specific details on these students, SIUE said in a statement to the Post-Dispatch on Monday. University of Missouri-St. Louis said none of their international students had been affected by federal changes. Maryville University declined to comment, citing confidentiality and safety concerns. In a statement, Washington University officials said they will assist international students to a legally permitted extent. We greatly value our international students, faculty and staff who are in the U.S. for work or study, and it is our strong hope that they will be allowed to remain here to pursue their academic and professional goals at WashU, university officials said. The past few months have been an increasingly perilous time for higher education. Universities were already bracing for significant drops in enrollment caused by declining birth rates. But recent federal policy changes and cuts have added additional turbulence. Washington U. whose medical school ranks second in the amount of funding it receives from the National Institutes of Health is bracing for a potentially significant loss of federal research funding. Chancellor Andrew Martin said last month that the university will pause some construction projects and reduce graduate student admissions in some programs in anticipation of federal cuts. On Monday, university officials announced they were pausing construction on a building for its school of Arts and Sciences. The private university also raised its tuition by over 5% for next school year to compensate for the potential funding loss and proposed increase to the federal endowment tax. In March, the U.S. Department of Education said Washington University was one of dozens of universities its Office for Civil Rights was investigating for alleged race exclusionary practices. Continued blows to international student recruitment and retention could sink a life raft that universities have used to buoy themselves amid rising competition for students. Webster University had padded its declining enrollment by recruiting overseas, largely from Nepal and India. In addition to the 18 international students in St. Louis, Webster University spokesperson Patrick Giblin said six students at Websters San Antonio campus also saw their visas revoked or immigration records terminated. Nearly 6% of SLU students come from outside of the U.S. International students made up nearly a quarter of Washington Universitys enrollment this spring. ST. LOUIS Washington University is pausing capital projects on its Danforth campus as it braces for federal funding cuts. University officials said Monday theyre delaying construction of a new 110,000-square-foot Arts and Sciences building announced last fall. Improvements to Mudd Field located in the western side of WashUs Danforth campus are also on hold. We regret that its necessary to take these actions, but in our current climate, it is simply not prudent to continue with these projects as scheduled, Chancellor Andrew Martin said in a statement. WashU whose medical school ranks second nationally in the amount of funding it receives from the National Institutes of Health could face a potentially significant loss of federal research funding as the Trump administration works to slash federal spending. Several grant-funding agencies, including the NIH, National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, have either faced steep cuts or said they will limit support of overhead costs of research. The Trump administration has also threatened funding from educational institutions that fail to comply with its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. In March, the U.S. Department of Education said Washington University was one of dozens of universities its Office for Civil Rights was investigating for alleged race exclusionary practices in graduate programs. Republican congressmen have also proposed a substantial increases to a tax on university endowments. Martin said last month that WashU planned to reduce graduate student admissions in some programs and reevaluate the need to fill some high-level positions in anticipation of federal cuts. The private university also raised its tuition by over 5% for next school year to compensate for the potential loss in funding and proposed increase to the federal endowment tax. Tuition will be $68,240 a year, an increase of $3,740. That doesnt include housing and student fees. Its difficult to take these steps, but we must carefully weigh a number of competing priorities and determine when the time is right for large capital projects, Martin said in a statement Monday. JEFFERSON CITY A year after the effort fizzled in the Missouri House, lawmakers moved Tuesday to try again to end child marriage in the state. Members of the House Children and Families Committee voted unanimously to advance legislation barring anyone under age 18 from getting married. Currently, 16- and 17-year-olds can get married with parental approval. Minors cannot get married to someone over 21. Sen. Tracy McCreery, the bills sponsor, has pushed for the policy change, saying it is important to prevent parents from allowing their children to be married to noncitizens to create a pathway to citizenship. During earlier Senate debate, McCreery, D-Olivette, called ending child marriage a moral imperative, citing the poor track record underage marriages have. Efforts to end child marriage have sputtered in prior years amid conservative pushback. Last year, after the Senate approved a nearly identical bill, it did not receive a vote in the House. This time around, the legislation includes other provisions that could convince doubters to back the measure. During the House committee hearing, chairwoman Holly Jones, R-Eureka, added a handful of amendments, including a plan to fund newborn safety incubators that provide a protected space for a parent to relinquish their infant. The revamped child marriage bill also now includes language clarifying that a judge cannot prevent a divorce from being finalized just because a woman is pregnant. Currently, divorce cases can be initiated when a woman is pregnant, but if the woman is pregnant as the divorce is finalized, a judge may not conclude the case until a custody agreement is in place. An additional amendment takes aim at child sexual abuse. It also creates a 20-year statute of limitation for prosecution of certain sex and labor trafficking offenses. Those additions could be enough to entice opponents of the marriage age measure to back the proposal. Rep. Dean VanSchoiack, R-Savannah, last year told the Kansas City Star that he knows people who got married as minors, including a woman at roughly age 17. The couple, he said at the time, is still madly in love with each other. Another marriage age opponent, Rep. Hardy Billington, R-Poplar Bluff, said the change could cause pregnant teenagers to have abortions when they cant get married. Unchained At Last, a nonprofit dedicated to ending child marriage, ranked Missouri 16th out of all 50 states in the amount of child marriages per capita. The organization also found that nearly 9,000 marriages between a child and a noncitizen were approved in the U.S. from 2007 to 2017. In 95% of those cases, the minor was a girl. From 2011 to 2018, 78% of child marriages were between a minor girl and an adult man. The legislation is Senate Bill 66. JEFFERSON CITY Budget writers in the Missouri Senate began a four-week slog Tuesday aimed at hammering out a deal on the states $52 billion proposed budget. With a month to go before it is due on Republican Gov. Mike Kehoes desk, the Senate Appropriations Committee launched a series of hearings that could result in some changes to the blueprint approved earlier by the House. Among changes on tap in the upper chamber is a plan to fully fund the school foundation formula, which Kehoe has acknowledged his plan falls about $300 million short of projections made by state school officials. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, said the increased cost is due to last years passage of a sweeping education measure. If were going to pass legislation ... we should probably pay the bill when it comes due, Hough said. None of the committee members objected to the change. The Senate plan also restores a salary increase for state workers. The governor had sought up to 10% wage hikes for employees with 20 years of experience to entice workers to stay on the job. The House version cut the request in half. If Kehoes plan is adopted, it will cost an additional $129.9 million. The Senate also will consider whether to fund Kehoes controversial plan to spend $50 million to jump-start the states private school voucher program, a Republican-backed school choice initiative originally designed to run on volunteer contributions and tax credits, not general revenue. The move to address spending in the fiscal year beginning July 1 comes against a backdrop of flattening tax revenues. A surplus built up to more than $6 billion by several years of a massive infusion of federal pandemic aid will drop to about $2 billion under the House plan. Also looming over the package are possible tax cuts being mulled by Republicans who control the Missouri Legislature, potentially lowering state revenues by an additional $300 million. And, lawmakers must account for the possibility of federal budget cuts by the GOP-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump. Federal dollars for Missouris Medicaid and food programs could drop by $2 billion under a budget resolution approved by congressional Republicans in February, according to a report from the Commonwealth Fund and George Washington University. Any type of decrease in the MO HealthNet health insurance program would have to be filled with revenue destined for other state programs because voters enshrined the program in the state Constitution. Other groups affected by federal funding cuts, including Missouri Citizens for the Arts, are asking for the state to step up. The MCA asked for a $1.9 million increase for the Missouri Arts Council after the Trump administration moved to dissolve the National Endowment for the Humanities and other funding for the arts. Cuts to American cultural institutions at the federal level means that Missouri is on its own to preserve its heritage, knowledge, businesses, and jobs, said MCA lobbyist Kyna Iman. Missouri elected officials know this funding makes sense to help communities thrive and Missouri voters lives meaningful. Overall, the Houses proposed spending plan includes a 1.5% funding bump for public colleges and universities and $28 million to help the institutions with ongoing maintenance costs. Under the tentative plan in the Senate, St. Louis Lambert International Airport will receive $7 million to help pay for demolition work related to a $2.8 billion overhaul of the passenger terminal. Former Gov. Mike Parson vetoed the money last year. Hough added $4 million to the budget for the Missouri Economic Development Department for demolition and cleanup costs for abandoned buildings in Kinloch in north St. Louis County. The budget for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources includes $1 million to study flooding risks in the River Des Peres. The House version also alters the governors plan to change how child care subsidy payments are made to day care facilities, saving an estimated $107 million. Under the current system, the state pays after a child care provider submits attendance-based reports for reimbursement. Kehoe wants those payments upfront to ease a paperwork logjam that has resulted in some day care facilities closing. Democrats sided with Kehoe, saying that stabilizing and expanding child care offerings will help Missouris economy. The budget package also includes roadbuilding plans, including $40 million for a a highway interchange on Interstate 70 to address increased truck traffic associated with a new beef processing facility in Warren County. The plan also includes $150 million to extend Interstate 57 through Poplar Bluff to the Arkansas state line. The committee could wrap up its work this week, putting the spending plan on track to hit the full Senate in the final week of April. The legislation is House Bills 2-20. ST. LOUIS As a new comptroller was sworn in for the first time in 30 years, the sound of bagpipes echoed through the City Hall rotunda. It was a nod to new Comptroller Donna Baringers Irish heritage in St. Louis, which she said stretches back to the Kerry Patch neighborhood north of downtown where refugees from the famine settled in the mid-19th century. My roots run deep in this city, Baringer told the audience gathered in the rotunda of City Hall for her inauguration and that of Mayor-elect Cara Spencer. Baringer defeated Darlene Green a week ago, ousting an incumbent who had held the job since 1995 and faced few serious challengers for the office in that time. The comptroller runs the citys finance division, internal audit section and has one of three votes, along with the mayor and board of aldermen president, on the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which approves all city spending. In the wake of a troubled rollout of a new accounting system and reports that Green often was absent from the office, Baringer ran on a promise to run the office more efficiently and energetically. I became very upset with what was happening in the city of St. Louis, so upset that I said Im too frustrated, I need to run for comptroller, Baringer said. Baringer, 62, said she has spent the past 20 years first as an alderman and then as a state representative representing southwest St. Louis learning everything I could about how I could best represent this city. Flanked by her husband of 34 years and one of her two sons, Baringer told the audience she wanted to make her ancestors, many of them buried in Calvary Cemetry, proud. And in a nod to an election marked by a stark divide between residents of north St. Louis who largely supported Green, who is Black, and south St. Louisans who supported Baringer, who is white, the new comptroller called for unity. I want to make it the best it can be, from the east to the west to the north to the south, Baringer said. We are one St. Louis. After her speech, an entourage of Hibernians playing bagpipes marched her to a reception, where dozens of supporters spent the afternoon waiting to congratulate Baringer and take a picture with the new comptroller. Unlike the mayor, who can make immediate hires of department heads, the comptrollers office is staffed by civil servants, limiting how quickly it can staff up or rearrange top leaders. Baringer said former deputy comptroller Jim Garavaglia, fired by Green in 2019, would help oversee the transition, and she has also brought on her former legislative aide from Jefferson City. Baringer said she plans to quickly meet with existing staff, many of whom have had one boss for decades. She said she expects most employees should stay on, and she plans to do what she can to help. I dont think its about loyalty, Baringer said. Were talking about people who do finance. So, I think its more about do they like their job? Have they been trained? Do they have what they need to do their job? How can I help them do their job? The long-awaited excavation of radioactive contamination at the West Lake Landfill Superfund site is targeted to begin in 2027, roughly two years ahead of schedule, the Environmental Protection Agency said Monday. The announcement comes after years of delays in the cleanup timeline for the eventual removal of illegally dumped radioactive waste that traces back to local uranium processing for the Manhattan Projects creation of the nations first nuclear weapons. A draft timeline from the entities on the hook to pay for the sites cleanup, from landfill operators to the U.S. Department of Energy, had called for excavation to begin in May 2029, the EPA said, more than a decade after it had approved a plan to unearth the bulk of the landfills radioactivity and dispose of it off-site. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who visited West Lake last month after an invitation from Missouris senior Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, called for urgent progress in a news release detailing the revised plan for the sites cleanup. Meeting and speaking with the St. Louis community members who have long endured radioactive waste in the community was beyond moving, he said in the release. This moment requires an unprecedented effort to clean up the West Lake Landfill and impacted sites in the area. The EPAs announcement did not specify targeted completion dates for the cleanup work, but the agency has long sought for its planning process and additional sampling to expedite the removal of contaminants, once it finally begins. Meanwhile, the new cleanup goals are tentative and subject to change, the EPA said. For instance, the accelerated plan relies on certain assumptions about progress and time savings that can be achieved in the back-and-forth reviews and meetings between the agency and the parties tasked with funding the work. Other needs exist, too, such hiring technical staff members, the EPA said. The news Monday, though, was greeted with delight by Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, a local volunteer group that closely follows West Lake. This site doesnt give us good news very often, Chapman said. But Monday, she added, offered one of the rare moments when updates about West Lake offered some thrilling excitement and a sense of relief. She said she was reassured by an accompanying timeline that included targeted dates for a variety of steps leading up to the start of excavation. To see all of these written down here, its like, OK, they mean it, she said. Theyre not just dropping this document and then walking away for a while. Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/news/all NATO's support for Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression remains unwavering, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Odesa. "NATO stands with Ukraine. You and I know that this has been true all along. I also know that some have called NATOs support into question in the last couple of months. But let there be no doubt. Our support is unwavering. NATO continues to provide political and practical support for Ukraine by delivering security assistance and training through our command in Wiesbaden. And we work closely together in Kyiv and in Brussels," Rutte said. He said that in the first three months of 2025, NATO partners have already provided more than EUR 20 billion to help Ukraine. "Our commitment is clear and concrete. We saw further contributions as you rightly said from Allies during the latest Ramstein meeting that was held in Brussels on Friday. Our support to Ukraine is designed to ensure that your country is strong and sovereign. Able to defend today and to deter any future aggression. All of this to underpin the efforts towards a just and lasting peace," Rutte stressed. He said NATO member states support U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to hold talks with Ukraine and Russia for a ceasefire. "Other Allies including through efforts led by France and the United Kingdom are ready, willing and able to shoulder more responsibility in helping to secure a peace when the time comes. So let me say again to the people of Ukraine. We stand with you. And look forward to a day that the brave men and women of this incredible country can enjoy freedom without fear," Rutte said. Missourians by now are used to the Legislatures bottomless contempt for the states voters, which the GOP supermajority regularly expresses by immediately attempting to overturn decisions the public has made via ballot referendum. The latest example of this shameless phenomenon, unfolding this week in Jefferson City, merits especially close scrutiny because lawmakers are not only trying to spurn the expressed will of the voters regarding reproductive rights, but theyre doing it in a fundamentally dishonest way. It clearly means little to these lawmakers to point out that the people of Missouri have already spoken loud and clear on this issue but it wouldnt hurt for them to hear it directly from their constituents. The House this week is expected to approve a measure that would ask the voters for a do-over on the landmark abortion-rights constitutional amendment they passed less than six months ago. That measure, Amendment 3, came in response to the draconian near-total ban on all abortion that the state put in place immediately following the U.S. Supreme Courts 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Amendment 3 added to Missouris constitution a provision effectively restoring reproductive rights as they existed under Roe, including protecting a womans right to end a pregnancy at any point before fetal viability. Among the tricks that anti-choice forces used in trying to prevent its passage was to claim the amendment would create a right to transgender treatment for minors. The amendment does nothing of the sort. Its entirely about reproductive rights; whatever other debate there is about transgender procedures, they obviously dont create the capacity for reproduction where it didnt previously exist. The voters on Nov. 5 wisely ignored the right-wing smoke screen and approved the amendment with about 51.6% of the vote. The measure now moving through the House repeats that deception, this time in the language of the resolution itself. In addition to throwing up all sorts of roadblocks against abortion rights, the measure declares that, No gender transition surgeries shall be knowingly performed on children. Such surgery is, first, already illegal under Missouri state law, and second, (again) irrelevant to the issue of reproductive rights. Its clearly included in the measure as ballot candy that is, an irrelevant but popular statement designed to lure voters who might not otherwise approve of the underlying legislation. The measure itself is presented as being somewhat more permissive than the previous abortion ban in that it does allow exemptions for victims of rape or incest during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. But would that require a police report confirming the crime? Its an important question, as rape and incest are notoriously underreported to police. Other potential questions about the issue werent allowed to be aired in a House committee hearing on the topic last week because the Republican committee chair shut down testimony in response to abortion-rights supporters protesting at the hearing. But that doesnt mean Missourians who understand the urgency of this right must remain silent. In fact, they mustnt. Contact information for Missouri lawmakers is available at house.mo.gov and senate.mo.gov. The 88th Air Base Wing headquarters is located in Building 10 on Area A, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, May 17, 2022. (Matthew Clouse/U.S. Air Force) The former installation commander of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base pleaded guilty Tuesday to willfully disobeying an order from a superior officer and fraternizing with an enlisted member of the Air Force. Being tried in a court-martial at the headquarters of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson, where he once served as commander, Col. Christopher Meeker offered guilty pleas to one charge and a specification of a second charge in exchange for a second specification of that second charge engaging in extramarital sexual conduct being withdrawn. Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton, commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson, testified during the trials sentencing phase that she had ordered Meeker to have no personal or electronic contact with an Air Force staff sergeant who also worked at Wright-Patterson, at Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) headquarters as an aide to Gen. Duke Richardson, AFMC commander. Shipton described meeting with Meeker after she learned that he had violated that order. It was his opinion that (the staff sergeant) was spiraling, Shipton said. He felt she would not be here if he hadnt taken action against the no-contact order. Under questioning by military Judge Col. Matthew Stoffel, Meeker said that, after the staff sergeant had been hospitalized for treatment of her mental health, she went to the back door of Meekers residence, then on Wright-Patterson. She felt I was her last resort, Meeker told the judge. But he also acknowledged I willfully disobeyed the order through a lack of discipline and selfishly for my own personal happiness. He described meeting her at a public food hall in the Dayton area. I violated fraternization rules in a public setting to the extent that everybody at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base now knows about it, Meeker said. Meeker, an Air Force Academy graduate and a career civil engineer, faced a maximum sentence of up to seven years, among other penalties. He now lives off base and has been separated from his wife. The violations of the no-contact order, including more than two instances of sexual relations with the enlisted member, happened after Shipton had fired Meeker from command of the 88th Air Base Wing in December 2023. But a plea agreement worked out with military prosecutors recommended that Meeker be sentenced to no more than a term of 21 days, for both a charge and a specification of another charge, to be served concurrently. In other words, the colonel would serve no more than 21 days total. He could also face dismissal from the service and forfeiture of pay. Stoffel has accepted both the guilty pleas and the plea agreement. As of noon Tuesday, sentencing had not yet occurred. Meeker assumed command of the the 88th Air Base Wing in July 2022. Since the inception of the 88th in October 1994, no prior commander of the wing had been relieved of command. Col. Dustin Richards assumed command of the wing about a year ago. 2025 Springfield News-Sun. Visit www.springfieldnewssun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. An entrance sign at Fort Wainwright in Alaska. (U.S. Army) (Tribune News Service) A 24-year-old U.S. Army soldier was arrested Friday on murder charges after Fairbanks officers found a man with an execution-style gunshot wound in an apartment, police said. Adayus Robertson is facing charges of first-degree murder and evidence tampering, as well as violating probation for two prior open criminal cases. He had his first court appearance Sunday. Robertson is an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Wainwright with the 11th Airborne Division. A judge on Sunday set his bail at $2.5 million. Police said their investigation began just before 10 a.m. Friday with a report of shots fired at an apartment on 27th Avenue. Officers found 37-year-old Fairbanks resident Joseph Casas with a gunshot wound to the head. Casas was pronounced dead at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, they said. Robertson and Casas knew each other, police said. Robertson was on pretrial ankle monitoring associated with a felony assault case filed last month. A detective requested GPS tracking data that showed him at the scene of the shooting and then walking away, according to a probable cause statement filed in the murder case. Officers found Robertson with two other people at the Big Dipper Ice Arena. Robertson had a handgun magazine on him, the statement said. An officer following tracks in the snow recovered a .40 caliber Glock from a trash bin near the scene of the shooting, it said. Witnesses told police the two men were in the same room when the shot was heard. Police learned the gun had been purchased by a relative of Robertson, according to the statement. Robertson, interviewed by the detective, said Casas had been bouncing around and saying a lot of crazy stuff but then asked to speak to an attorney and declined to provide any other information about what happened Friday, the statement said. One of the witnesses told a military criminal investigation agent that Casas didnt deserve what happened to him, the statement said. The witness agreed when asked if the shooting was an execution, it said. Robertson is hiring an attorney, according to a filing in the case. He was facing prior charges of assault and escape at the time of Fridays shooting. The felony assault charge stems from accusations Robertson pistol-whipped a woman in January, according to a criminal complaint filed in that case. He was arrested on March 19. He paid a $10,000 cash bail in that case and was released from custody several days later, court records show. The escape case was filed on March 27 after authorities said Robertson left house arrest on base, violating the conditions of release in the assault case. A judge on April 1 agreed to allow Robertson to leave base, modifying the conditions of his release to remove house arrest. Robertson, whose rank is private first class, is a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialist who has been with the 11th Airborne since arriving at Fort Wainwright in October 2023, according to information provided by division spokesperson Lt. Col. Leah Ganoni. Fort Wainwright is Robertsons first and only duty station since enlisting in the Army in 2023, Ganoni said. 2025 Alaska Dispatch News Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC Capt. James Spitler, left, and Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Dioquino, formerly the top officer and top enlisted leader, respectively, at Coast Guard Sector San Diego. (U.S. Coast Guard) The commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego has been fired more than five months after service leaders temporarily removed the officer from his post amid an investigation into unfair treatment of individuals under his command. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joseph Buzzella on Oct. 24 temporarily removed Capt. James Spitler and Master Chief Petty Officer Michael Dioquino, the sectors top enlisted leader, citing a loss of confidence due to failures in leadership, judgment, and integrity. Buzzella has now permanently dismissed Spitler and Dioquino from their posts. Spitlers removal was made permanent on April 8. Dioquino was fired in January, the service said. We will not tolerate behavior that goes against our core values of honor, respect and devotion to duty, Buzzella said in October. Sector San Diego is part of the Eleventh Coast Guard District, which includes thousands of miles of coastal and ocean waters from California to South America and operations in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. The district is based in Alameda, Calif., on the east side of San Francisco Bay. Capt. Patrick Dill, chief of incident management for the services District Eleven, has been acting commander of the San Diego sector, the service said. The Coast Guard has said it would release no additional information on what led to the dismissal of Spitler and Dioquino. Coast Guard records show no charges have been filed against either man. Spitler was the highest-ranking Coast Guard officer for the San Diego sector, which covers about 165,000 square miles, including 120 miles of California coastline, 750 miles of the Colorado River and the U.S.-Mexico southwest maritime border. The sector has been a focus point of increased activity since President Donald Trump took office in January and ordered a surge of military and homeland security personnel to the U.S. border with Mexico. The Coast Guard has surged assets and tripled the number of deployed forces to include cutters, aircraft, and tactical teams along the U.S. southern border and maritime approaches, said Lt. SondraKay Kneen, a spokeswoman for District Eleven. Coast Guard C-130 Hercules transports have flown people detained by law enforcement on suspected immigration violations from San Diego to centers in Texas overseen by the Department of Homeland Security. The destroyer USS Spruance was deployed to the area with Coast Guard law enforcement officers on board. The USS Stockdale is relieving the Spruance and carries a Coast Guard detachment. Spitler served at U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Space Force Base, Colo., where he flew fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, according to his Coast Guard biography. He was also the commanding officer of Coast Guard Air Station Houston from 2017 to 2019. He led the Coast Guard aviation response to Hurricane Harvey in 2017, a storm that killed more than 100 people in Texas and Louisiana. Dioquino enlisted in California in 1995, according to his official biography. Before serving in San Diego, Dioquino carried out special assignments as a regional supervisor at the Coast Guard Recruiting Command in Washington, D.C. Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/news/all President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte held a meeting in Odesa on Tuesday, at which, in particular, they discussed the security of Ukraine, the Euro-Atlantic region and relations with partners in Europe and America, the presidential press service said. The Head of State thanked for the unwavering support of Ukraine from the first days of full-scale Russian aggression, when Rutte was still the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. "Absolutely everyone sees how urgent Ukraine's need is for air defense systems and missiles for them. We talked a lot about this today. Everyone sees how important it is to maintain pressure on Russia for this war and in order to pressure Russia to be ready to make real progress in diplomacy," Zelenskyy said. In addition, during the meeting, various formats of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO member countries were discussed. Zelenskyy and Rutte devoted a significant part of the conversation to relations with the United States and the efforts of the American side in negotiations with Russia. "For 35 days now, Putin has been ignoring the American proposal for a complete ceasefire. Recent Russian strikes on Kryvy Rih, Sumy, and other our cities demonstrate that the Russians are not only determined to continue the war, but are also putting pressure on the West themselves rather than feeling the pressure on themselves," the president said. He also said Ukraine expects all agreements with partners in Europe and the United States on air defense to be implemented. "It is also important that we continue to work together within the coalition of those willing and able to guarantee security. Great Britain, France, and other NATO countries are already actively preparing the basis for a security contingent in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. Rutte condemned Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the shelling of Sumy with two ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday. "I am here today because I believe Ukraine's people deserve real peace real safety and security in their country. In their homes. My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine. Those who lost loved ones in these recent strikes. And so many over the years. Those who have been injured. Or lost their homes. Or had their dreams shattered by this unjust and unlawful war," the NATO Secretary General said. He also said the North Atlantic Alliance will stand with Ukraine. According to him, in the first three months of this year, NATO member states have pledged to allocate more than EUR 20 billion in security assistance to Ukraine by 2025. North Korea making what could be its largest, most advanced warship ever, new satellite photos show. (Maxar Technologies via CNN) (Tribune News Service) North Korea is building its largest warship ever. New satellite images analyzed by CNN show a vessel in an advanced stage of assembly at the Nampo shipyard, on the countrys west coast, about 60 kilometers from Pyongyang. According to analysts, it would be a missile frigate about 140 meters long, more than twice the size of the current units in service in the North Korean fleet. The project comes as no surprise to international observers. Kim Jong-uns regime has been engaged for years in a rapid modernization of its armed forces, developing new weapon systems and testing intercontinental ballistic missiles despite sanctions imposed by the United Nations. According to some analysts cited by CNN, increasingly close ties with Russia, strengthened after the start of the war in Ukraine, may have helped Pyongyang circumvent some of these restrictions. The ship, similar in size to the U.S. Navys Constellation frigates, appear to be designed to accommodate vertical missile launchers and active electronically scanned array radars, technologies never before seen in the North Korean navy. However, experts urge caution: building the hull is only the first step, but integrating communication systems, sensors, weapons and propulsion represents a complex technological challenge. According to Carl Schuster, a former U.S. Navy captain, it will be at least another year before the North Korean frigate is ready for sea trials. Fundamental superstructures and various electronic and weapon systems are still missing. In addition to the technical difficulties, there is also the unknown factor of resources. Operating a ship of this size involves high costs, from personnel to fuel, and a single warship cannot operate alone, South Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-kee pointed out. Although the South Korean navy has about 400 patrol boats and 70 submarines, most of the vessels are obsolete and intended for simple coastal duties in the event of conflict. However, the North Korean leader seems determined to change course: new shipyards have emerged in Sinpo and Chongjin, where a nuclear-powered submarine and another frigate or destroyer are reportedly under construction. The design of the new ship also appeared in a video released by North Korean state television in late 2023, during a plenary session of the Workers Party. Kim Jong-un was filmed personally inspecting the work. A sign, according to analysts, of the strategic importance attached by the regime to this new naval platform. 2025 GMC S.A.P.A. di G. P. Marra. Visit at adnkronos.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. An F-16C Fighting Falcon assigned to the 85th Test Evaluation Squadron shoots an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM over ranges near Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., March 19, 2019. (Joshua Hoskins/U.S. Air Force) The United States has tentatively approved a $1.04 billion sale of air-to-air missiles to Australia, a key Indo-Pacific ally preparing to test its first domestically built guided weapons. The State Department notified Congress of the proposed sale of up to 200 AIM-120C and 200 AIM-120D Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs, along with associated equipment, according to an April 9 notice posted on the Defense Security Cooperation Agencys website. The deal comes as the U.S. and its allies respond to Chinas expanding military capabilities, including the worlds largest missile arsenal and Beijings repeated pledges to reunify Taiwan, by force if necessary. The sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States, the notice stated, adding that the weapons would protect and increase the survivability of Australian aircraft. The AIM-120C and AIM-120D missiles are produced by aerospace contractor RTX, formerly Raytheon, based in Arlington, Va. The AMRAAM missile is the air-to-air weapon of choice for U.S. and allied militaries, the company says on its website. The AMRAAM missile has been test fired more than 5,000 times and used in combat all over the world. The missiles are compatible with multiple aircraft, including the F-35 Lightning II, F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet, and F-22 Raptor. The Royal Australian Air Force operates both Super Hornets and F-35As. While the range of the AIM-120D remains classified, it is believed to reach approximately 100 miles, according to FlightGlobal, an aviation news site. The proposed package includes containers, support equipment, spare parts, accessories, software, technical documents and support services. Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific, the notice states. Australia has deepened its military partnerships in recent years, hosting U.S. Marines and conducting regular joint training with Japan and the Philippines. Meanwhile, China has increased its presence in the region, conducting live-fire naval drills earlier this year in southern Australian waters that disrupted commercial flights. The missile sale coincides with Australias efforts to establish a domestic missile production capability through its partnership with Lockheed Martin under the AUKUS defense pact with the U.S. and the United Kingdom. Australia is expected to test its first locally assembled Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System missiles this year, according to The Australian newspaper. Humphreys High School students demonstrate against new rules eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at their school in South Korea on April 10, 2025. (Fiona Yang) PYEONGTAEK, South Korea At least two Department of Defense Education Activity schools gave detentions to students who joined a recent coordinated walkout over efforts to scale back diversity, equity and inclusion programs, according to school communications and student accounts. The 35 students who participated in the walkout at Lakenheath High School in England last week were given one lunch detention, said Payton, a sophomore at the school and one of the organizers of the April 10 multi-school walkout. The detentions were spread out over three days. But Payton said Tuesday that students plan to all go together each of the days this week to show support for wrongful detentions. Students who spoke to Stars and Stripes about the detentions asked to go by their first name or requested anonymity to protect themselves or family members from potential retribution. Other walkout organizers, who had previously spoken with their parents permission, did not respond to requests for comment this week. The students were speaking out against White House and Pentagon orders that have spurred the removal of books and curriculum from DODEA schools, ended activities and themed programs such as Black History Month, and canceled or reorganized clubs centered on gender or cultural affiliation. The White House has argued that the school material and organizations in question sowed division and promoted discrimination, which hundreds of students disputed last week at walkouts around the world. Students at Vilseck High School, on a U.S. Army base in Germany, were told they must serve detention for walking out of class, according to an administration email sent Friday. Stars and Stripes obtained a screenshot of the message. In South Korea, Humphreys High School principal Amanda Schwerdt-Johnson did not issue detentions following the 40-minute lunchtime walkout on Thursday, two students said via email. Some schools issued disciplinary actions because the cumulative disruption to the DoDEA school system negatively impacted classroom instruction and pulled resources away from normal school operations to ensure student safety, DODEA-Pacific spokeswoman Miranda Ferguson said in an email Tuesday. Ferguson declined to identify which schools issued detentions or how many students were affected. Many of the demonstrations took place during lunch periods, though some students only briefly walked out of class. Before Thursdays walkout, DODEA announced that students could receive unexcused absences for missed classes, though such absences do not automatically mean getting a detention under school rules. DoDEA reminded all students in advance that a failure to be present in their scheduled class or activity during the school day would be handled the same as any other unexcused absence, in accordance with existing DoDEA attendance and student discipline policies, Ferguson said. At Vilseck High, principal Quintin Davis informed students who walked out that they would serve detention during lunch on April 17. As outlined in our regional guidance, any time missed from the instructional day must be made up, he wrote. At Netzaberg Middle School in Germany, some parents and students said administrators initiated an unannounced lockdown drill Thursday in an effort to stop a planned demonstration. School officials confirmed the drill occurred but disputed that it was intended to interrupt the walkout. Stars and Stripes reporter Jennifer H. Svan contributed to this report from Kaiserslautern, Germany. A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 taxis on a runway at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Jan. 26, 2025. (Johnny Diaz/U.S. Air Force) A Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II that made a precautionary landing at a Japanese airport more than three weeks ago is still undergoing maintenance, the service said Tuesday. The stealth jet, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, landed at Kochi Airport on the afternoon of March 25 after the pilot received a warning indication during a routine training flight, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing spokesman Maj. Joseph Butterfield said at the time. As of Tuesday morning, the jet remained parked at the airport in Kochi prefecture, where it is undergoing parts replacement and maintenance, Butterfield told Stars and Stripes by email that day. No timeline has been set for its return to MCAS Iwakuni, said Butterfield, who declined to provide further details, citing security concerns. The aircrafts onboard systems worked as designed and alerted the pilot to a potential issue, and the pilot responded as trained to ensure safe flight operations, he wrote. We will continue thorough inspections of the aircraft to ensure its safe return to home station. Kochi prefecture is on Shikoku, the smallest of Japans four main islands. Commercial flights at Kochi Airport have not been affected by the F-35Bs presence, a spokesman for the airport said by phone Tuesday. The aircraft will depart the airport once it is safe to do so, a spokesman for the Chugoku-Shikoku Defense Bureau said by phone. He did not provide additional information. Some Japanese government officials customarily speak to the press on condition of anonymity. (Tribune News Service) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparred with Emmanuel Macron over the French presidents plan to recognize a Palestinian state and encourage other countries to do the same. A Palestinian state would be a bastion of Iranian terrorism, Netanyahu said on a call with Macron on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Israeli leader. The prime minister expressed fierce opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and said that this would constitute a huge prize for terrorism. Macron has said France could recognize Palestinian statehood as early as June at a United Nations conference meant to help end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The dispute exemplifies the growing tension between Israel and some of its closest allies over the 18-month war, which has destroyed much of Gaza. France would be the first Group of Seven member to make such a move. The likes of the U.K. and U.S. formally support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but only after negotiations between the sides. I have made my position very clear, Macron said in a statement following the call. He told Netanyahu that the security interests of Israel and of everyone else in the region were paramount, and that it was an absolute priority for Hamas to demilitarize and release all the hostages it holds. In an X post last week, Macron said France wants a Palestinian state without Hamas. Palestinians hope to eventually form a nation comprising Gaza and the larger territory of the West Bank, which together have more than 5 million people. Decades of international peacemaking efforts have hinged on the idea of Palestinian statehood in those areas, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day war. The last major talks stalled in 2014. Netanyahus ruling coalition, the most right-wing in Israels history, is firmly against a Palestinian state and polls suggest most of the Israeli public is too. Opposition within Israel has grown since Hamass attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza. The Iran-backed group killed 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage. More than 51,000 people have been killed since Israel began its retaliatory offensive, according to Gazas Hamas-run health ministry. In July last year, the Israeli parliament passed a resolution opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state, warning that it could serve as a base for terrorist groups. Some 68 of the Knessets 120 members backed the measure. About three quarters of U.N. members recognize Palestinian statehood. Spain, Norway and Ireland did so last year, prompting Israel to recall its ambassadors to all three countries. Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization in much of the West, including the U.S., calls for Israels destruction. It took over Gaza after Israel quit that territory in 2005. The Palestinian Authority, a more moderate group, governs Palestinians in the West Bank. Israels government has long exercised widespread military and security control over the West Bank and Gaza. With assistance from Ania Nussbaum. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in 2003. (Ray Lustig/The Washington Post) Richard Armitage, who as deputy to Secretary of State Colin Powell helped guide U.S. foreign policy during President George W. Bushs tumultuous first term and was a central figure in chapters of American national security from the Vietnam War era to the post-Sept. 11, 2001, war on terror, died April 13 at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia. He was 79. The cause was a pulmonary embolism, said his wife, Laura. Barrel-chested and with a vocabulary often closer to a sailors than a diplomats, Mr. Armitage was little known to the wider public until 2006 more than a year after he retired as deputy secretary of state when he publicly admitted his role three years earlier in events that led to the unmasking of a serving CIA officer, Valerie Plame. Mr. Armitage apologized for what he said was his inadvertent role in the Plame affair, which was widely seen as an attempt by high-ranking White House officials in the Bush Administration to punish Plames husband, retired ambassador Joseph C. Wilson, for publicly contradicting a key piece of the White Houses rationale for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Wilson, who had undertaken a fact-finding mission for the CIA, said there was no evidence Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was pursuing a nuclear weapons program undercutting one of Bushs key messages during his 2003 State of the Union address. Mr. Armitage said his disclosure to a columnist that Wilsons wife worked for the CIA was made in error and that he had not realized she was working undercover. He apologized publicly, cooperated with a federal investigation and was not charged with wrongdoing. Without cover, Plame was forced to retire from the spy agency. After leaving government service in 2005, Mr. Armitage ran his own consulting firm and traveled frequently to East Asia, where he maintained contacts with the highest echelons of governments in Japan, South Korea and other countries allied to Washington. It was in Asia where Mr. Armitage began his career after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967. He served three combat tours, including as an adviser to South Vietnams riverine forces. He left military service in 1973, but the Pentagon asked him to return to Vietnam in early 1975 to report on the deteriorating situation for the U.S. military and the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government. He was soon asked to organize a mission to deny communist North Vietnam the use of American military machinery, including ships and planes, by destroying it if necessary. Mr. Armitage, who had little patience for bureaucratic niceties, developed his own ideas about how to proceed, especially after coming under air attack at Saigons airport. Working with a South Vietnamese navy captain, he hatched a plan to evacuate South Vietnams navy, along with sailors and their families, rather than destroy the vessels. As many as 31 ships, and between 28,000 and 30,000 people, sailed to the U.S. naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines, Mr. Armitage said in a 2018 oral history. He and his South Vietnamese partner acted without explicit authority from the governments either in Washington and Saigon. My government was quite angry, Mr. Armitage said. It was my plan. It wasnt their plan. During Republican presidential administrations in the 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Armitage served in senior defense and diplomatic posts. In 2001, he and Powell, a retired Army general who had been the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took the helm at the State Department after Bushs election victory. While it was Powell who was the secretary of state and Cabinet member, the two men, both Vietnam veterans who had bonded during Ronald Reagans first term, ran Foggy Bottom more as pilot and wingman than as principal and deputy. When Powell died in 2021, Mr. Armitage was the first guest speaker at his funeral. Mr. Armitage had joked in his confirmation hearing to be deputy secretary of state that the art of diplomacy involved saying, Nice doggy, nice doggy, until you can find a big stick. As States No. 2, he often acted as a troubleshooter in tense situations that required blunt talk. He helped negotiate the release of 24 American airmen whose U.S. Navy electronic spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet in April 2001 and was forced to land on Chinas Hainan island. After the September 2001 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the United States, Mr. Armitage flew to Pakistan which the United States knew to be covertly supporting Islamist militants and presented an ultimatum: Islamabad had to decide whether it was with us or against us in the coming fight against al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other violent extremists. He denied telling Pakistani officials they risked being bombed back into the Stone Age if they did not cooperate, as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf later claimed. It would be completely out of character for me to threaten the use of military force when I was not authorized to do so, Mr. Armitage told NPR in 2006. I dont command aircraft and could not make good on such a threat. In 2002, as the Bush White House stepped up its efforts to make the case for invading Iraq, often deploying cherry-picked or misleading examples of Husseins ties to terrorism and his supposed nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs, Powell and Mr. Armitage increasingly found themselves outside the inner circle of policymaking, eclipsed by hawks such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. Neither Powell nor Mr. Armitage argued directly against invading Iraq. But both men counseled the White House that the United States should assemble a large international coalition behind its efforts and plan carefully for what was likely to be a messy aftermath following Husseins ouster. It was the debate over Iraqs weapons programs, and Mr. Armitages penchant for trading gossip, that tripped him up in what arguably was the biggest mistake of his government career. In his January 2003 State of the Union address, Bush had cited a British intelligence finding that Hussein had been seeking significant quantities of uranium in Africa for his presumed nuclear weapons program. Bush made his statement despite deep doubts at the CIA and State Department about the intelligence. The country at issue was Niger, which had a significant uranium mining industry. In July 2003, Wilson revealed in a New York Times op-ed that he had traveled to Niger in February 2002 at the request of the CIA to investigate the purported British intelligence findings. His piece, titled What I Didnt Find in Africa, largely debunked the Iraq-Niger claims. Eight days later, columnist Robert Novak wrote that Wilsons wife was Plame, a CIA officer who specialized in weapons of mass destruction programs. Mr. Armitage was one of the sources for Novaks report, and separately had shared information about Wilsons wifes employer with Washington Post editor Bob Woodward. In a 2006 interview with McClatchy Newspapers, Mr. Armitage expressed regret for his actions and said he contacted the Justice Department in October 2003 as soon as he realized he was a source for Novaks column. There wasnt a day that went by that I didnt feel that I let down the president, the secretary of state, the Department of State, my family and friends and for that matter, the Wilsons, he said. He added that he did not know Wilsons wife by the name Valerie Plame or that she was working undercover. Mr. Armitage said he delayed making public his role at the request of the federal prosecutor in the case, Patrick Fitzgerald. Fitzgeralds probe led to the conviction of Cheneys chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., for lying during the investigation. Bush commuted Libbys 30-month prison sentence and, in 2018, President Donald Trump pardoned him. Richard Lee Armitage, the son of a businessman and a nurse, was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts, on April 26, 1945, and grew up in Atlanta, where he graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School in 1963. In 1968, he married Laura Samford. In addition to his wife of Pooler, Georgia, survivors include eight children; a brother; a sister; and 12 grandchildren. He and his wife also served as foster parents for dozens of children. Throughout his career, Mr. Armitage made it a point to spot and nurture promising young military and diplomatic officers, in the process building a network of confidants in government long after he had left. His example shaped and inspired generations of public servants. I was deeply fortunate to be one of them, and equally fortunate to be his friend, said William J. Burns, the former CIA director who worked for Mr. Armitage and Powell at the State Department. Mr. Armitage was a lifelong Republican, but his belief in a robust American role in the world and the importance of global alliances left him and many of his generation on the periphery in a political party that, in the Trump years, became increasingly nationalistic and isolationist. In the 2016 presidential campaign, he endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton over Trump. Soldiers from the 41st Infantry Regiment stop during a southern border patrol near Ysleta, Texas, April 3, 2025. Since late January, the Pentagon has deployed several thousand troops to the southern border to counter illegal migration and narcotics trafficking. (Michael Graf/U.S. Army) Fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses among troops dropped by more than 40% over a two-year span, the Defense Department said this week in a new report that found fentanyl-related deaths at a seven-year low. The findings, part of a mandated report to Congress, also showed that military overdoses were significantly lower than among the general population, the Pentagon said Monday. Overall active-duty fatal drug overdoses reached an eight-year low in 2023, the most recent year recorded in the study. Fatal overdoses involving fentanyl reached a seven-year low, the Defense Department said. The Pentagon did not release the full report and all the data associated with it, but rather a summary of the findings that were submitted to Congress. Still, the findings that were publicly released Monday point to improvement when it comes to curbing overdoses in the ranks. In a similar report to Congress in 2023, DOD reported that fentanyl was involved in 88% of the deaths of service members who overdosed on illicit drugs in 2021, a steep increase from 36% five years earlier. Overall active-duty fatal drug overdoses reached an eight-year low in 2023, according to a new Defense Department report. Fatal overdoses involving fentanyl reached a seven-year low. (Graham Snodgrass/Defense Centers for Public Health) During the 2019-2023 period, the fatal overdose rate for service members averaged about 4.4 out of 100,000 service members. Among the general American population, that number was about 29.2 out of 100,000 people. Any drug overdose or drug use remains unacceptable, as the Defense Department and the military services maintain a zero-tolerance policy regarding drug use, the department said in a statement. Congress began requiring the Pentagon to report data on overdose deaths in 2022. The mandate came amid broader national concerns about an opioid crisis in the United States. A flurry of overdoses at Fort Bragg, N.C., that year spotlighted problems with fentanyl abuse in the ranks. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, is a particular focus of the DOD report. The drug threat is ever-changing, and fentanyl, with its high risk for overdose and addiction, remains a concern both nationally and for the Department of Defense, the report stated. Fentanyl, and its movement across the United States southern border, has become a focal point for President Donald Trump. The situation has been a point of contention between the United States and Mexico. In February, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to deploy 10,000 soldiers to the countrys border to as part of security measures. Since late January, the Pentagon has deployed several thousand troops to the southern border to counter illegal migration and narcotics trafficking. NATO is monitoring the negotiation process on a ceasefire in the Black Sea and continues initiatives to further protect Ukraine after a ceasefire is reached, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Odesa. Answering a journalist's question about the talks in Turkey, Rutte said that NATO is involved and they are monitoring what is happening, they are also communicating with American counterparts and following Mr. Trump's initiatives to bring Ukraine and Russia to a ceasefire. NATO supports these demands, he said. He said he was convinced of the successful course of the negotiations. Rutte said Turkey has already successfully agreed to a ceasefire in 2022, when it was about the grain initiative in 2022. He assumed that Turkey will also succeed this time. At the same time, he said, initiatives by partners to plan further actions are continuing. In particular, work is underway with the military commands of Great Britain and France on long-term security. Rutte said there is a fight against Russia right now, but it is about a long-term period, because it is important to understand that a ceasefire is good, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine are the first line of defense, which must always stand on the border of Ukraine. He said these initiatives are ongoing and France and Great Britain are working on this as a coalition. NATO officials are very grateful to them for this and they are trying to recommend, to provide recommendations. Rutte said he is very glad that their partners are participating in these initiatives, but first, they need to protect Ukraine and make sure that they have a ceasefire, and then make sure that Putin never repeats his attempts. He also mentioned about the Minsk agreements of 2014, when they thought everything worked, but these agreements were not strong enough: and Putin tried again; and so they, as soon as the war is over, must do everything possible so that Putin never even tries to advance or conquer a single kilometer of Ukrainian territory. That is why the British and the French are helping now and working together with the Ukrainians to organize initiatives. It is a lot of negotiations at the moment, Rutte added. Alaska Air National Guard Senior Airman David Warren monitors Alaska airspace Jan. 24, 2024, at Joint Base Elmendord-Richardson, Alaska. (David Bedard/Alaska National Guard) Six Russian military aircraft were tracked operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone for about 2 hours Monday, according to North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD on Tuesday identified the Russians as two TU-95 Bear H strategic bombers, one TU-142 F/J reconnaissance and anti-submarine plane, one A-50 Mainstay early warning plane, and two Su-35 Flanker fighters, according to an email from command spokeswoman Capt. Rebecca Garand of the Canadian Armed Forces. This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, the command, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., said in a news release Monday. The route flown by the Russians is classified, Garand said. But the incursion took place in the Bering Sea, which separates Siberia from Alaska, about 290 miles northeast of Shemya, a small island near the western tip of the Aleutian Island chain, according to her email. Unlike a September incident in which a Russia fighter passed close to an American interceptor, no incidents occurred Monday between the Russian aircraft and NORAD interceptors, according to Garand. There were no indications of unsafe/unprofessional flying, she said. NORAD launched aircraft from its Alaska region, but Garand did not share information about specific aircraft and origin bases, citing operational security concerns. The U.S. bases fighter aircraft in Alaska at Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Canada is part of NORAD and its air force also responds to defense zone incursions. An air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, begins where sovereign airspace ends. While not universally recognized, it serves as a buffer area where aircraft are expected to identify themselves for national security purposes. Russian military flights in the region have increased in recent years. On Sept. 23, a Russian Su-35 fighter flew dangerously close to a U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon that was shadowing a Russian bomber in the Alaskan ADIZ. Cockpit footage from the incident showed the Su-35 passing closely along the left side of the F-16, its underside visible as it banked away. On Sept. 14, NORAD tracked a pair of IL-38 surveillance aircraft crossing into the Alaskan zone. In July, U.S. and Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers and two Chinese bombers about 200 miles off the coast of Alaska, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a July 25 press briefing. NORAD uses a network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radar, and fighter aircraft to detect and track potential aerial threats and coordinate responses, according to the command. The Veterans Affairs Building in Washington, D.C. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON Senior executives at the Department of Veterans Affairs would be banned from ever again taking bonuses that Congress established for rank-and-file workers including police, housekeepers and claims processors under legislation adopted by the Senate. Sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., the legislation stops funds in the Critical Skills Incentives Program from going to executives at VA headquarters who werent eligible to receive them. About $11 million from the program, which was authorized under the PACT Act, was erroneously paid out as year-end bonuses to VA executives at the agencys central office in late 2023. Payments to individuals ranged from $39,000 to more than $100,000. The VA also has pledged to examine the improperly awarded bonuses and recoupment efforts, according to Peter Kasperowicz, the VA press secretary. Moran, who is chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, described the improper payouts as a gross misuse of funds. This legislation will make certain these funds will not be used to enrich VA bureaucrats, he said. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, speaks in January 2025 during a committee meeting. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) Air Force veteran Nicholas Marino of South Carolina, who is 100% disabled and medically retired, said he welcomes the legislation but worries its impact will be limited. He said he often is frustrated by VA decisions over the delivery of services and benefits. I see the VA bureaucracy as a big part of the problem, said Marino, a former staff sergeant who served from 1997 to 2008, including in the Middle East. Incentive bonuses will only be helpful with those VA employees already dedicated and trying to do a good job. But there will always be bad actors workers who just show up for the paycheck and little else. Morans legislation, passed by unanimous consent, was offered as an amendment to the Protecting Regular Order for Veterans Act, which seeks to bring more financial accountability and transparency to VA spending. Sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, the PRO Act requires the VA secretary to give Congress a quarterly budget briefing on the agencys spending plan that includes projections about shortfalls and the reasons for them. Sullivan said his goal is to bring greater oversight to the VAs $369 billion budget and prevent mismanagement of VA funds. The bill, which collected more than a dozen Republican co-sponsors, has been forwarded to the House for consideration, after its adoption last week in the Senate. The improper award of critical skill incentive payments to senior VA executives lacked adequate justification and was inconsistent with the PACT Act and VA policy, according to the VA Office of Inspector General, which published an audit of the program in May 2024. This was due, in part, to breakdowns in leadership and controls at multiple levels. More than 80% of the improperly paid bonuses went to members of the senior executive service at the Veterans Health Administration, with the remainder to senior executives at the Veterans Benefits Administration. The extra pay was set up, in part, as a tool to recruit and retain VA employees in jobs with a high number of vacancies, including for housekeepers, police officers and human resource coordinators, according to lawmakers. A critical skill incentive may not be provided to an employee of the department employed in a senior executive service position, or a position in another comparable system for senior-level government employees, according to the amendment. Morans amendment was based on other legislation the Stop Government Rewards Enriching Executives in the District, or GREED Act that he introduced with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Sen. Thom Tillis, R.-N.C., after the IG findings were published. The bill did not advance to a final vote. Executives who received bonuses were ordered to pay them back, the VA said. Most of the payments have been recouped, according to Morans office. The program correctly paid a total of $230 million in bonuses to rank-and-file workers by May 2024, according to the VA. But the VA also has identified 22 senior executives who did fully repay the bonuses that they received, according to Kasperowicz. Congress had authorized the bonuses for rank-and-file workers under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, also known as the PACT Act. Under the PACT Act, the Critical Skills Incentives Program was created as a tool to hire and keep VA workers who are essential to the operations and maintenance of VA hospitals and clinics, according to the VA. We know things arent as they should be at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Moran said last week on the Senate floor. The Department of Veterans Affairs does need reform. The status quo is not acceptable. Kirstie McGrath, (34) and Niamh Mulreany (29) were arrested at Dublin Airport in 2021 after flying back from the United Arab Emirates TWO women who went on a boob job trip to Dubai during the pandemic have been acquitted of breaching Covid regulations by refusing to quarantine in a hotel when they returned. Kirstie McGrath, (34) and Niamh Mulreany (29) were arrested at Dublin Airport in 2021 after flying back from the United Arab Emirates, where they had planned, but did not actually undergo cosmetic surgery. They were charged under emergency legislation in force at the time that required travellers to spend 14 days in a designated quarantine facility after arriving in Ireland. Judge John Hughes today dismissed the case at Dublin District Court, saying gardai failed to outline the potential penalties to the accused for refusing to comply. Kirstie McGrath The friends had been charged with breaching Section 38 of the Health Act 2021 by resisting being brought to a designated quarantine facility on April 2 that year. Ms McGrath, from St Anthony's Road, Rialto, and Ms Mulreany, of Scarlett Row, Essex Street West, Dublin 2 had both denied the charges. Mark McLoughlin of the Irish Air Corps said he was the airport's terminal liaison officer on duty to organise transport for passengers to a quarantine hotel on the day. He was told four of the six people on a flight from Dubai were happy to go to the hotel but two- Ms McGrath and Ms Mulreany - were refusing. Gardai were called. Garda Karl Carroll said he arrived at Terminal 2 at 1.03pm and was introduced to the two women. He discussed the situation with them and they advised me they were refusing to go into quarantine. He cautioned them. They claimed they couldnt afford to go into quarantine, Gda Carroll said. He had numerous conversations with them, and over the course of 90 minutes explained the regulations numerous times, allowed them to discuss it among themselves and make phone calls. They said they had neither the means nor the ability to go into quarantine due to financial restraints and their commitments at home due to their children. Gda Carroll formed the opinion that the avenues had been exhausted and after one final explanation, he arrested them and took them to Ballymun garda station where they were charged. The garda agreed with defence barrister Mark Lynam SC that the accused had pre-booked the hotel as required. Garda Robert Barber said after the regulations were explained, the defendants said they would rather be arrested than go to the hotel and people who were minding their children wouldnt be able to mind them for much longer. They wouldnt change their minds, he said. We were left with no choice but to arrest them. Asking the judge to dismiss the charges, Mr Lynam, instructed by Michael French solicitor, said the prosecution had failed to prove Dubai was a designated state to which the quarantine rule applied. He also argued there was no evidence that the defendants resisted being taken to the hotel having been detained for that purpose. Mr Lynam acknowledged the gardai were doing their best at the time with new and convoluted regulations. A state solicitor said the defendants were given ample opportunity and made their decision very clearly that they were not going to abide by the rules. They resisted by refusing, she said. The Supreme Court had found Dubai was a designated state under the Act, the prosecutor said. Judge Hughes said the complex and complicated legislation was designed to deal with the Covid emergency that swept Ireland in a an evolving set of circumstances that threatened lives and killed millions across the world. The legislation tried to balance human rights against the requirement to protect citizens lives, he said. The court is not here to pass judgement on whether the defendants were reckless to themselves or others in electing to travel to Dubai at that time, he said. He found that the two women through their actions did resist being detained and being brought to a designated facility. However, he ruled the prosecution failed to give any evidence of what would result from a failure to comply with the quarantine requirement. He dismissed the charges. The accused had failed in an earlier challenge to the constitutionality of the legislation in the High Court and an appeal to the Supreme Court. Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/news/all President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with manufacturers from Odesa region, following which he instructed the government to work out the possibility of meeting with foreign partners in the "industrial Ramstein" format to discuss support for the restoration of strategic enterprises affected by Russian attacks. According to the presidential press service, among the key topics of discussion are strengthening protection against constant Russian attacks and continuing the operation of the sea corridor. In addition, Zelenskyy spoke about the ongoing work to strengthen the air shield over Odesa region. "There are only talks about a ceasefire: at sea, in the sky and on land. If we are talking about a complete ceasefire, then everywhere. And then there will be free shipping. There will simply be no concept of a 'sea corridor,' because there will be free shipping," Zelenskyy said. They also discussed the main challenges for business, in particular, access to financing, logistics, export development, the results of the implementation of the policy for the development of Ukrainian manufacturers "Made in Ukraine" and the platform "Dialogue of the authorities with business" the expansion of economic support programs and the involvement of partners in the restoration of damaged industrial equipment. Mark McAnulty, 42, Rossmara Park, Newry, Co Down, punched and repeatedly spat in his face while pulling out some of his hair A father of one who assaulted a hotel security guard in a drunken rage after missing a concert in Dublin has been spared jail and a criminal conviction. Mark McAnulty, 42, Rossmara Park, Newry, Co Down, punched and repeatedly spat in his face while pulling out some of his hair. He pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court today to assault causing harm, resisting arrest and criminal damage on November 7. However, he was granted the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act after paying compensation. Judge John King heard that McAnulty got agitated at 1050 pm in the Premier Inn, Brabazon Place, Dublin 8. A 26-year-old security officer approached McAnulty and asked him to leave. In response, the accused threw two pint glasses, which smashed and stained the carpet. The security man tried to remove McAnulty, who "spat into his face a number of times punched and pulled his hair, causing some of his hair to come out from his head". Gardai found him outside, very intoxicated and agitated. "He put up a struggle and had to be restrained" before being taken to Kevin Street station," the court was told. McAnulty remained aggressive in custody and urinated on the cell door, which needed to be cleaned. He had no previous convictions. Pleading for leniency, the defence asked the judge to note that the victim did not need medical attention and continued working. The court heard he came to Dublin by train with friends but started drinking on the trip to the city. He had been going to a concert at the Vicar Street venue but had separated from his companions. In a plea for leniency, his barrister said McAnulty did not know the city well and instead ended up indulging in several licensed premises and "consumed a considerable amount of alcohol". It happened after a period of "quite a while" where he had abstained from alcohol. He also spent two nights in custody in the immediate aftermath until 650 bail was lodged. Counsel asked the judge to give McAnulty credit for his guilty plea and remorse and to consider that the victim did not suffer any injuries and carried on his shift. The court heard unemployed McAnulty gets a disability allowance called the Personal Independence Payment due to depression and physical health issues. Court Garda Sergeant Niall Murphy, who presented the case facts on behalf of the arresting officer, accepted the victim did not seek medical attention and continued working. But he submitted that did not make it any less serious. McAnulty was ordered to pay compensation of 1,500 to the security guard and 120 to cover the cleanup costs at the Garda station and the hotel. David McMorrow, an energy trader of Seagrange Road, Baldoyle, had pleaded not guilty to assaulting PJ Regan at The Bloody Stream, Howth A pubgoer recklessly elbowed a bouncer in the face, leaving him with a nasal injury, as he was being ejected from a bar late at night. David McMorrow (58) had been asked to move away from the dancefloor when he became aggressive and was taken out by doormen. The victim was a visiting security worker who stepped in to help and was struck and suffered a deviated septum, a court heard. McMorrow, an energy trader of Seagrange Road, Baldoyle, had pleaded not guilty to assaulting PJ Regan at The Bloody Stream, Howth. His defence claimed any contact was unintentional while he was being manhandled by staff at the pub, who went all gung-ho and Rambo on him. Judge John Hughes found him guilty, fined him 1,000 and ordered him to pay 1,000 compensation. Dublin District Court heard McMorrow was dancing in the pub on July 3, 2022, when some people wanted him to move away and bar manager Gerard Cagney asked to have a word with him. McMorrow told him to f**k off, drew back his hand and Mr Cagney felt was going to punch him. Mr Regan, a bouncer, was not working at the pub but was standing outside as security workers brought a struggling, arguing McMorrow up the steps. The accuseds face was red and he looked like his blood pressure was rising. Mr Regan put his hand out so nobody would fall and McMorrows elbow came up aggressively and hit him on the nose, which bled. Staff brought the accused to the ground and Mr Regan helped restrain him. Denying any aggression, McMorrow told the court after he was asked to move, he was manhandled by four people who grabbed him violently and dragged him out. He was struggling to get free and did not see Mr Regan. If I made contact with him I regret that, I didnt intend it, he said. Prosecuting solicitor John Forde said McMorrow had recklessly hit out in anger. Defence barrister Ciara Murray said if her client did strike Mr Regan, it was while he was trying to defend himself and get free of an unlawful restraint by staff acting utterly over the top. Judge Hughes disagreed and convicted the accused. McMorrow had no previous convictions. Judge Alec Gabbett has found Jack Sheehan guilty of drink driving and careless driving on the night of December 2nd 2023 A judge has rejected a defence that a 28-year old west Clare man was undergoing a sleep disorder episode when he was drink-driving and his car veered off the road into a ditch. At Kilrush District Court on Tuesday, Judge Alec Gabbett has found Jack Sheehan of Sheehans Corner, Shragh, Kilrush, Co Clare guilty of drink driving and careless driving on the night of December 2nd 2023. Imposing penalty, Judge Gabbett has banned Mr Sheehan from driving for two years for the drink driving offence and postponed his driving ban until October following a request from Mr Sheehan's solicitor Patrick Moylan. Judge Gabbett said that the defence put forward on behalf of Mr Sheehan was a very important point raised in defence. Insp Ronan McMahon previously told the court that Mr Sheehan was twice over the legal alcohol limit for driving when he crashed his car near the west Clare village of Doonbeg at around 2.30am on December 3rd 2023. At a contested hearing last September, sleep disorder expert, Dr John Garvey of St Vincents Private Hospital in Dublin said that in his opinion that Jack Sheehan on the night of December 2nd 2023 drove his car as a result of a NREM parasomnia. NREM parasomnia is a non-rapid eye movement disordered sleep-related behaviour that occurs during the first few hours of sleep. Dr Garvey said that when Garda Gearoid Mangan found Mr Sheehan at the roadside, he was not clearly awoken from sleep. Dr Garvey said that Mr Sheehan had no motive to leave his house and get into his car in the early hours of December 3rd. In his judgement, Judge Gabbett said that the main issue at hand is that Mr Sheehan was suffering from a form of automatism and that for intent and purpose that Mr Sheehan was asleep whilst driving the car and therefore did not have the requisite mens rea and therefore it was not possible for him to commit a crime. Judge Gabbett said: The defence are effectively saying that the accused was acting involuntarily and without any internal control of his behaviour." From the medical evidence before the court, he accused only has a recent diagnosis of non REM parasomnia and notwithstanding the clear expertise of Dr Garvey the court is not satisfied that there is a significantly long relationship between the treating doctor and the accused to state with absolute certainty that any of the behaviour was involuntary due to his diagnosis. Furthermore, the State quite rightly points out that Dr Garvey was not present on the night and could not with absolute certainty confirm the medical event on the night. Judge Gabbett pointed out that the State contended that a defendant cannot rely on automatism where it is produced as a result of voluntary ingestion of substances such as alcohol. Judge Gabbett said that due to the fact that Dr Garvey cannot confirm absolutely due to the fact that there was no brain tracing on the night that there was a parasominal event the court finds that there is not sufficient reasonable doubt raised by the defence to allow an acquittal of the charges. In evidence, Garda Gearoid Morgan told the court that he saw Mr Sheehans white Skoda Rapid car veer off the road into a ditch outside Doonbeg at around 2.30am Garda Morgan said that Mr Sheehan got out of the car and said that he was fine but his eyes were glassy and speech was slurred that in his opinion rendered him incapable of driving a vehicle. Garda Morgan arrested Mr Sheehan on suspicion of drink driving and Mr Sheehan said in response: I am sorry. I was drinking at a friends. Mr Sheehan was subsequently tested and was found to be over the limit at 68 grams per 100 ml of alcohol. Asked by solicitor for Mr Sheehan, Mr Moylan how his client appeared, Garda Morgan said: He seemed intoxicated. In evidence, Mr Sheehan said that he was at home on the night and had four bottles of beer and two rums before going to bed at around 1am. Mr Sheehan said that he couldn't recall saying he was at a friend's house and said that he wasn't at a friend's house on the night. Middle-aged woman had no known gangland links but was providing money to one of the key members of Irelands biggest drugs gang Detectives investigating a fraud-related case have uncovered numerous transactions between a woman connected to an entertainment business in Dublin and a key member of The Family gang. The middle-aged woman had no known gangland links but was providing money to one of the key members of Irelands biggest drugs gang. Detectives were very surprised and concerned when they realised the businesswoman was dealing directly with the criminal. It is understood there is clear evidence of a number of significant bank transfers between the woman and the senior gang member. The links between the two became known to gardai as part of a separate investigation not linked to the gang. A complex web of companies and serious criminal figures has emerged One line in the investigation is whether the money was coming from a fraudulent enterprise in which the businesswoman was allegedly involved. Several companies have come to the attention of gardai who discovered links between these entities and a number of known criminals based in the capitals southside. A complex web of companies and serious criminal figures has emerged, a source said. It is all very strange and the explanation that has been given does not really add up, they added. A 39-year-old Dublin-based criminal with whom the businesswoman had allegedly been dealing was one of six gang members arrested in Ireland last month as part of a major international operation against The Family gang. A further six people were detained in Spain. It was described as a major takedown of the crime gang that in recent years has succeeded the Kinahan cartel as Irelands predominant drug importer. Its business as usual for them The gang mostly profit from cocaine and cannabis, but are also major heroin importers, which yields less profit but has a specific market. The six arrested and linked to The Family gang in Ireland were later released without charge. A file will now be prepared for the DPP. Three brothers, including the overall gang boss, were among those six. One of those brothers is the 39-year-old criminal the businesswoman has been dealing with. The Familys tech expert was also arrested and is suspected of selling secret communication devices to them. But he is in his own right suspected of involvement in the drugs trade. It was information from the Ghost-encrypted platform when it was infiltrated by the gardai last September that led Irish and European investigators, with the support of Europol, to work together to attempt a takedown the gang. However, since the major arrest operation, sources say the gang continue to be highly active and it continues to be business as usual for them. They are suspects for organising an arson attack at a location in Leinster earlier this month in which two large trucks and a Mercedes car were burnt in a sinister early-morning incident. Gardai have been investigating if the arson attack is connected to a recent high-profile drugs seizure linked to The Family. Jack Kelly says the Kinahans were flashing red to US officials. The Kinahan Cartel arranged for gangland criminals to murder a political dissident in the Netherlands after accepting a contract from the Iranian regime, an ex-DEA officer has claimed. Electrician Ali Motamed (56) was shot dead at point blank range by a gunman on his doorstep in the quiet Dutch town of Almere in December 2015. His clinical assassination initially baffled police as Mr Motamed had no known links to organised criminality or drugs trafficking. However, police ultimately discovered the unassuming electrician was an Iranian dissident who had been living under a fake name after fleeing to Europe in the 80s. His real name was Mohammad Reza Kolahi Sama and he was the chief suspect for planting a bomb which killed 73 people at the Islamic Republic Party headquarters in Tehran. Now, a former US Drug Enforcement Agency officer has claimed the murder of Motamed was directly arranged by the Kinahan Cartel who used their contacts in the Dutch criminal underworld to have him shot. Read more Lawyer for Kinahan Cartel associate Ridouan Taghi arrested after prison meeting The Irish mob have a long term alliance with a feared Dutch-Morrocan crime gang known as the 'Mocro Maffia'. The claim is made by Jack Kelly in the fourth episode of the BBCs Kinahan: The True Story of Irelands Mafia. He says: "The way I heard it the Kinahans were actually the ones who made the connection on behalf of Iran to provide the assassin. "That dude who actually did the shooting was someone who was familiar with the Kinahans. Kelly, who oversaw the DEAs Hezbollah cases at the Special Operations Division, claims the US government became aware of the Kinahans during their investigations into the terror group. Kelly says: So during the time the Kinahans werent just flashing red, they were flashing bright red specifically Daniel Kinahan. Daniel Kinahan Customs and Border protections said to me, Jack, we dont have to specifically target this guy Kinahan but you need to know he is working directly for these guys were are going after in Hezbollah. In 2008, the US government launched Project Cassandra after the DEA uncovered evidence that Hezbollah had embedded itself in the international drugs trade. The group were suspected of making up to $1 billion a year from drug and weapons trafficking and money laundering. It is believed Hezbollah use an ancient banking system called Hawala to launder the money for transnational crime gangs. DEA agent Jack Kelly Kelly claims the Kinahans developed ties to Iran came through Hezbollah who are funded by the regime. "Sometimes groups like the Kinahans can become very helpful. Its more like, what can the Kinahans do for us? "And that doesnt always mean lets make money for crime but, really, the strategic level objectives of Iran which means killing people, Iranian dissidents, which the regime believes deserve to be assassinated. Earlier this year, a Dutch Kinahan cartel associate was acquitted of Motameds murder on appeal and convicted of attempting to solicit the murder instead. Ali Motamed Dutch criminal Naoufal Fassih had been arrested in connection with the murder at a Kinahan safehouse on Baggot Street in 2016. After his arrest in Dublin he was extradited to Holland where he was jailed for various offences including ordering gang hits and political assassinations. Fassih was a leading member of a Dutch gang along with Chilean trafficker Ricardo El Rico Riquelme Vega who was jailed for 11 years recently and is the right-hand man of Ridouan Taghi. Fassih, Taghi and Vega had strong links to the Kinahan cartel and along with other criminal organisations were part of so-called supercartel with the Irish gang. Fassih had been hiding out in Dublin with the assistance of the cartel as he was wanted in the Netherlands in relation to various offences including murder and ordering assassinations and sentenced to life. Fassih with Gardai (Collins) However, his sentence was reduced to 25 years and four months in January after he was acquitted of the murder of an Iranian dissident on appeal. In 2019 he was jailed for life for the organising the December 2015 murder of Motamed. The Court of Appeal found while was evidence Fassih tried to solicit the murder there was not enough evidence to show he was involved in the actual murder. The court said acting as an intermediary and conduit is not enough to demand a life sentence. He was convicted on appeal of the crime of attempted solicitation of murder. Other convictions for money laundering and order another gun attack were upheld. In its ruling the court said Fassih "spoke with apparent ease and without any moral sense about this murder as a purely business matter, a nice gig. "The court considers that the defendants actions left no doubt about his ruthless and merciless attitude: a human life was worth nothing to him, the risk of more victims did not matter." Amy O'Connor, 40, of Auburn Heights, Athlone, who also had links to the Irwin mob in Sligo, was given a suspended sentence this week A woman who avoided jail this week is pictured here with her ex-boyfriend Leigh ONeill days after he escaped from a Venezuelan prison where he was serving a drug smuggling sentence. Amy OConnor, 40, of Auburn Heights, Athlone was given a suspended sentence this week after she said a dangerous criminal, who was a friend of ONeill, held a gun to her head and forced her to store almost 67,000 worth of cannabis in her home. At Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Keenan Johnson found that OConnor, who also had links to the Irwin mob in Sligo, was under duress and there was no evidence that she was involved in drug trafficking. He gave her a seven-year suspended sentence on condition she did not re-offend for 10 years and addressed mental health and addiction issues. Earlier, the court heard how OConnor had once travelled to Venezuela to visit her former partner Leigh ONeill and his brother Dermot. The Athlone men had been jailed in South America for drug offences. However, the pair broke out of prison and returned to Ireland in 2013 but have since died. Our pictures show OConnor happily posing with ONeill after his high-profile prison escape. The ONeill brothers returned to Athlone, Co Westmeath, in August 2013 after literally walking out of the high-security prison. During his time in prison, Leigh continued to update his Facebook page and sent posted messages for family and friends. He wrote: Wot a f**king mistake i made. wil never forget the last year never. but in gods hands so i pray it wil all work out. He also described how he witnessed a shooting inside the walls of the infamous San Juan prison. Its funny ya no when someone gets shot in foot rite beside me. another day in prison tel ya people at home no idea. its funny. The previous year, the ONeill brothers had been travelling with Irishman Martin Butch Beirne in Venezuela when Beirne died in a Caracas hotel after a cocaine-filled condom burst in his stomach. Police later arrested the ONeill brothers at the offices of the Irish consulate in nearby Avenida de Mexico. After police examined Leigh ONeill, they discovered he had foreign objects in his body. He later passed 92 balloons filled with 725 grams of cocaine worth 50,000. But an X-ray of younger brother Dermot showed he had not swallowed any drugs. Prosecutors later ruled that Dermot was indirectly linked to the crime and the two men should receive the highest penalty. The brothers had links to the Sligo-based Irwin drugs gang. PARTY: Amy with Tommy Irwin OConnor was a close pal of Tommy Irwin who was involved in the drug trade and died following a cocaine binge in 2019. He was a brother of Sligo mobster Hughie Irwin. Our picture shows OConnor partying with Tommy Irwin a number of years ago. OConnor travelled to Venezuela to visit ONeill in prison and celebrated with him back in Athlone after his release. They subsequently had a child together. She told a court this week that she broke it off with ONeill about a decade ago. Dermot ONeill died suddenly in September 2015 while Leigh ONeill died in March last year. Neither death was suspicious. In late 2019, OConnor came into contact with a person she previously knew through Leigh. The mother of three maintained this man made her drive to another location in Westmeath, held a knife up to her and said, You will do what your fucking told you whore, or I will drive it through your jugular. She told the court that the man stuck a gun to my head and kept it pointed at her during the drive while threatening to kill her. OConnor told the court they met another man to collect the cannabis, and they joked about putting me in the boot. Visibly upset, she said the man left a knife outside her home, and she was terrified. She testified that previously, the same man had blown up a car at her house. The prosecution challenged her account and put it to her that the drugs had been in her house for four months. After being caught with drugs OConnor said that they belonged to the man she knew through Leigh ONeill. However, she did not give gardai the PIN to her phone, which they could not unlock and in court OConnor said she could not remember it due to a brain injury she suffered last year. "The cannabis was discovered concealed in vacuum packed packages within the baggage of a passenger who had disembarked a flight from Abu Dhabi. A man in his 20s was arrested after nearly 450,000 worth of drugs was seized from a passenger at Dublin Airport. Revenue confirmed officers seized 22.3kgs of herbal cannabis after a flight arrived from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday afternoon. The cannabis has an estimated value of approximately 446,000, a spokesperson said. "The cannabis was discovered concealed in vacuum packed packages within the baggage of a passenger who had disembarked a flight from Abu Dhabi. A man in his 20s was subsequently arrested by An Garda Siochana in relation to the seizure under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996 and is now before the courts. Revenue added: These seizures are part of Revenue's ongoing operations targeting organised crime groups and the importation, sale and supply of illegal drugs. If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on Confidential Phone Number 1800 295 295. A number of pipe bomb attacks and arson attacks on cars and homes, as well as shootings and stabbings, have occurred The scene of the incident in Ballinacurra Weston on Sunday Residents in the Prospect area of Limerick City were evacuated from their homes this morning as an army bomb disposal unit made safe a second improvised explosive device in the city, in three days, as a violent feud escalated between rival groups. Gardai requested the assistance of the Defence Forces bomb squad after the firebomb device was discovered at a house around 2.25am this morning. Gardai in Limerick were alerted to a device at a residential property in Prospect at approximately 2:25am, Tuesday. A cordon was established and neighbouring properties were evacuated, a garda spokesman said. An Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team removed an improvised device containing an accelerant for further examination. Residents were subsequently allowed to return to their homes, they added. The army bob disposal team, which is based in Cork, travelled to Limerick city on last Sunday morning to make safe an improvised explosive device (IED) that was found near a car that was firebombed in Ballinacurra Weston. When gardai arrived at the scene thee occupants of a house told them that their property had been damaged by gunfire. No one was injured in the reported gun attack. Gardai believe the incidents are linked to individuals involved in an ongoing violent feud between rival crime families on the south-side of the Treaty City. A number of pipe bomb attacks and arson attacks on cars and homes, as well as shootings and stabbings, have occurred in the Ballinacurra Weston, Southill, Corbally, as part of the feud, in recent weeks. Recently, Gardai hand delivered Garda Information Messages (GIMs) to two males in the city, informing them of a credible threat to their lives. A number of people have been injured as part of the violence, and others are before the courts charged with violent offences. Gardai have appealed to those involved in the feuding to step back from the violence and warned that anyone involved in committing violent acts will be arrested and charged before the courts. Gardai also said that children have been caught up in the violence and expressed concern that children will be injured or worse if the feud continues. Sinn Fein TD, Maurice Quinlivan said last March: As we all know, there is a feud going on on the south-side of the city and we do need to address that, that is very important, because I have a concern people will be killed in that. He warned that garda resources had been spread to the south side of the city to try to tackle the feuding, but that drug dealing and drug use was flourishing in the St Marys Park, Kings Island area of the city. The incident occurred just off the northern section of Main Street in the east Cork town of Youghal Gardai are poised to launch a murder investigation after a young man died following a stabbing in Cork. Gardai have arrested another young man for questioning in relation to the fatal assault in Youghal on Monday night. The incident occurred just off the northern section of Main Street in the east Cork town of Youghal around 10pm. The victim, who is 32 years old, is believed to have been attacked by a nearby flat following a dispute in a local pub earlier in the evening. He fled the property to seek assistance but collapsed on Main Street immediately after the assault from his injuries. The victim was assisted by shocked pedestrians who also immediately alerted the emergency services. Gardai and paramedics were at the scene within minutes. Initial indications are that the young man suffered a deep stab injury to the abdomen. Paramedics provided emergency treatment at the scene before rushing him to Cork University Hospital (CUH). He was scheduled to undergo emergency surgery overnight. Tragically, despite desperate efforts by doctors to stabilise his condition, the man was pronounced dead at CUH. The deceased is from Cork but was not a native of Youghal. It is understood he has lived in several Cork towns over the past decade as well as in Waterford. Several hours after the incident, a man in his 20s was arrested for questioning about the incident. He is being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Youghal Garda Station and can be held for questioning for up to 24 hours. A full post mortem examination will be conducted at CUH by the State Pathologist. Gardai expect to launch a full murder investigation once the results of the post mortem examination are received. The area was immediately cordoned off to allow for a full forensic examination by Garda forensic experts. Gardai are also seeking to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or who may have been on Main Street in the east Cork town at the time. A number of premises in the area have CCTV security cameras and footage will be checked to determine if any camera caught the incident. Youghal ranks as one of the most popular seaside destinations in Cork and boasts a large number of caravan parks, pubs and hotels. It is also extremely popular with daytrippers because of its boardwalk and long strand. A Garda spokesperson appealed for anyone with information to come forward to assist their inquiries. "A number of scenes are being preserved for forensic examination by the Garda Technical Bureau. The Coroner and the Office of the State Pathologist have been notified and a post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course," the spokesperson said. "A Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) has been appointed to lead the investigation and an incident room has been established at Midleton Garda Station." "A Family Liaison Officer (FLO) will be assigned to support the family of the deceased." "Investigating Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact Midleton Garda station on 021 4621550, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station." Mr McGregor was interviewed by the controversial pundit earlier in the day and said the two-hour chat will be broadcast on the Americans various channels soon Conor McGregor behind the bar in his pub The Black Forge Inn. Photo: Theo McDonald Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson visited Conor McGregors pub in Crumlin this evening after interviewing the MMA fighter as he attempts to drum up support for a presidential candidacy. Approximately 40 people gathered inside The Black Forge Inn on Tuesday. Mr McGregor was interviewed by the controversial pundit earlier in the day and said the two-hour chat will be broadcast on the Americans various channels soon. In November 2024, McGregor was found civilly liable in a High Court damages case in Dublin taken by a woman who accused him of rape. Nikita Hand won her claim against McGregor after accusing the fighter of raping her in a penthouse room at the Beacon Hotel in Dublin in December 2018. Ms Hand was awarded 250,000 in damages. A judge at the High Court later said the jury had conclusively determined that McGregor had raped Ms Hand. McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case. He has also publicly declared his intention to seek a nomination for the presidency. Mr Carlson, an American conservative political commentator who hosted Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News until he was suddenly fired by the corporation in 2023, visited the pub in the afternoon for lunch. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Conor McGregor's The Black Forge Inn pub. Photo: Theo McDonald The presenter, who hosts The Tucker Carlson Show on his own Tucker Carlson Network, has interviewed Conor McGregor for his online news show. "We had a good chat today, we had a two-hour chat. Were very happy, were very excited. Onward we go, onwards for Ireland. "I was interviewed by him. Itll be out, McGregor said in the Black Forge Inn. Conor McGregor behind the bar in his pub The Black Forge Inn. Photo: Theo McDonald Mr McGregor had announced Mr Carlsons visit to his pub on social media on Monday evening, saying that he is in The Black Forge Inn tomorrow evening, Tuesday, with Tucker Carlson. God bless you, Ireland, I was put on this earth to serve and protect you and I will forever my days (sic), he added. Since parting ways with Fox News, Mr Carlson has interviewed many populists and right-wing figures, including US President Donald Trump, on his X channel and is a regular figure on many anti-immigration shows and news sites. He also interviewed Vladimir Putin in 2024, nearly two years after Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine. McGregor has stated his intention to contest the next presidential election, which is likely to be held in early November. He is estimated to have little chance of gaining the required backing from either 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities. McGregors interview with Carlson is the latest appearance alongside an anti-immigration amplifier of right-wing populism. The fighter from Crumlin, during a visit with US President Donald Trump at the White House on St Patricks Day, echoed many anti-immigration talking points. He accused the Irish Government of having zero accountability and said Irish money was being spent on overseas issues that has nothing to do with the Irish people, adding that the illegal immigration racket is running ravage on the country. He said rural towns have been overrun. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said his remarks were wrong and do not reflect...the views of the people of Ireland. Pistorius is cautious about possibility of supplying Taurus to Ukraine media German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is cautious about the possibility of supplying Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine, Tagesschau reports. "I don't know of any European partner with such a system. So coordination is a bit of tricky matter," the SPD politician said at a party event in Hanover, referring to CDU leader Friedrich Merz's statement that he wanted to make the delivery dependent on agreement with European coordination, the Tagesschau reported. Pistorius also denied claims that he had always been in favor of such arms aid: "I never said that." While there are good arguments in favor of delivering the Taurus, he said, there are also "many arguments, good arguments against it." Only some of these, he noted, can be discussed publicly. According to media reports, Pistorius will retain his position in Merz's government. As reported, CDU leader Merz supports the delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Merz recently said the transfer of such missiles must be "agreed with partners." Previously, the German authorities categorically refused such military aid. Ukraine received long-range missiles only from Britain, France, and the United States. Senator Nessa Cosgrove says all women should be clearly informed whether they have non-dense or dense breasts after a mammogram The need for accurate breast screening has been raised in the Senate as a campaign gathers momentum following the passing of a much loved mother who received a clear mammogram in in 2022 but lost her life to breast cancer in August 2024. Senator Nessa Cosgrove says all women should be clearly informed whether they have non-dense or dense breasts after a mammogram, and the consequences of this information. Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Nessa Cosgrove highlighted the issue of dense breast tissue, and the part it plays in difficulties associated with accurate breast cancer screening. Referring to the case of Marian Lovett, a talented and much-loved art curator and mother, who passed away last year, aged only 61, Senator Cosgrove said: I was never lucky enough to meet Marian, who raised her family, along with her life partner Shane, in a rural part of county Sligo. But everybody who met, or knew Marian spoke of her many, many personal qualities. People were left with the impression of a fiercely intelligent woman with a passion for social justice, she was a woman who really cared about the lives of other people. She never put her own needs first, and, despite being a high-flyer in the art world, she never gave that impression to friends or neighbours. She was never too busy to put away her work, just to talk. Marian was just 61 years old when, last autumn, she passed away due to breast cancer Senator Nessa Cosgrove Marian had received a clear mammogram in 2022, but just a year later was diagnosed with terminal, stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. While there was initial hope that treatment could, at least, prolong Marians time with us. It was not to be and in 2024 Marian suffered a dramatic and catastrophic health incident, as the cancer rapidly spread and took her life within the space of a couple of days. What Marian didnt know, at the time of her mammogram, was that she had dense breast tissue. Neither did she know that having dense breast tissue makes the screening of potential cancers through mammograms less effective. Dense breasts are breasts which have less fatty tissue, and a greater level of fibrous and glandular tissue. They do not look, or feel different to non-dense breasts. A self-examination, or an examination by a health-professional will not reveal whether a woman has dense breasts. A 3-D mammogram will reveal this. If, at the time of her mammogram, Marian had been made aware of the fact that she had dense breast tissue. And had she been informed that this potentially made her clear test result less accurate, and more prone to developing breast cancer, Marian could have asked for an ultrasound or an MRI scan to confirm the clear result. While it is fruitless to speculate, had further tests detected Marians cancer 12 months earlier, her family, her partner and two young adult children, would be in a different place now. Senator Cosgrove went on to highlight the petition launched by Marians daughter, Martha, since she lost her mother, which aims to raise awareness and introduce mandatory notification. Martha has inherited her mothers sense of justice and compassion, and, rather than dwelling on her own loss and grief, she has channeled her energy into highlighting the issue of dense breast tissue. And this is not just about one woman. Dense breasts, although I had never heard of them until Martha approached me, are very common. It is estimated that between 43 and 50% of women have dense breast tissue, and while the level of density can be genetic, it is also affected by factors such as: Age younger women naturally have denser breasts than older women, Body Weight Women with a low Body Mass Index (BMI) are more likely to have dense breasts. Use of medication, such as HRT, can also affect breast density. Marian Lovett What Martha is asking for is something that is already done in every State in America, as well as across much of Australia, Canada, and several of our EU partners. That is, for information which is easily derived by the radiologist, at the time of a mammogram, be passed on to women at the time of their screening. Women clearly need to know whether they have dense breast tissue. They also need to know the potential consequences of that information. Over seven and a half thousand people have so far signed Marthas petition calling on the Minister for Health to introduce a Bill for mandatory breast density notification that would ensure that: All women are clearly informed whether they have non-dense or dense breasts after a mammogram. Clear guidance is provided on what their breast density means and any additional screening options, such as ultrasound or MRI. GPs receive this information so they can properly advise their patients. The Labour Party spokesperson on Community and Rural Development added: I would like to commend Martha for her work in highlighting this truly important issue, and would ask the Minister for Health to consider drafting this legislation as a priority. Marthas petition can be signed here: https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/mandate-breast-density-reporting-for-irish-women-now Jamie Kelly (32), who also punched shutters outside a takeaway, was heavily intoxicated A father of one who was found lying drunk as a skunk in the middle of a city centre street and tried to take his trousers off at a Luas stop has been told he will be jailed if he does not go into rehab. Jamie Kelly (32), who also punched shutters outside a takeaway, was heavily intoxicated during the incidents. Judge John Hughes adjourned the case, saying he would give Kelly a prison sentence if he does not go into residential treatment. Kelly, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to public order offences on dates in 2023. Dublin District Court heard Luas security found him intoxicated and trying to take his trousers off at the Belgard tram stop on August 25. He shouted abusive and insulting words at gardai. On June 30, gardai had to forcibly remove him from a takeaway on Kevin Street, and Kelly punched a shutter and shouted abuse outside. Gardai found him at the Ripley Court Hotel, on Talbot Street, on August 30, kicking and punching the door, shouting open the f**king door. He was at the same location on September 4, lying in the middle of the road outside the hotel, shouting aggressively at passers-by. He called the gardai names. Kelly, who once worked as a London restaurant manager, had suffered significant alcohol and mental health issues, his barrister Lydia Daly said. You were lying in the middle of the road, drunk as a skunk, taking your trousers down, and shouting in a takeaway, Judge Hughes told the accused. Caireann is autistic and suffers from sensory overload from trying to function in mainstream classrooms As 10-year-old Caireann O'Flaherty enjoyed her birthday party at Murhur National School in Moyvane last Tuesday, Sinn Fein TD Pa Daly was pleading with government in Dail Eireann to sanction an Autism Delivery Unit for her school. Caireann is autistic and suffers from sensory overload from trying to function in mainstream classrooms every day. She is one of five children from the locality that desperately require a dedicated autism service in their school. Its exhausting on Caireann to the point when she sees her school uniform every Monday morning, her personality changes. Even though she willingly attends school and loves her friendships, its a constant struggle. Caireanns mother, Maggie, describes how her daughter arrives home most afternoons feeling upset and overwhelmed by the school day. There is a lot happening in a busy mainstream class for her to handle. If proper autism services with therapy and environmental sensitivity were in place, services Caireann and her classmates are entitled to, it would make a positive difference to her development. Maggy explained that as Caireann is getting older she now perceives her behaviour as troublesome when in fact its just feelings of being overwhelmed. Murhur National School is calling on the Department of Education to sanction an Autism Delivery Unit. A room within the school is already available that would give children like Caireann the downtime they need. Maggie is often forced to collect Caireann early from school as she is burnt out from trying to cope. This has happened more in the past year and is worrying for her parents who feel their daughters developmental milestones are not being met. She might want to put on her pyjamas at one oclock in the day because she feels too tired to do anything else, said Maggie. She wont move out of the house when shes having a bad day. Sadly, theres been more bad days than good ones of late. Even though the school is absolutely amazing and they are all doing their best, when they dont have the resources its hard on them, she said. Caireann is in third class and the older she gets the demands are greater. The fact she must return home most days is frustrating for staff who are doing all they can to help Caireann. She loves the idea of school and she wants to be able to do it all, but she cant. She loves her friends, her teachers, and the idea of school. The sensory overload gets on top of her, Maggie said. When Caireann first met the criteria for attending a special class, her parents were given a list of schools locally and around the country. Places at these schools are full up save for a boys school in Listowel, which Maggie has no intention of sending her to. Why should she have to leave her friends and school community? She is entitled to her education. The principal and board of management at Murhur National School are very willing to set up this class. They have the room. It just doesnt make sense, she said. Matters are made worse by the fact Caireanns older sister, Ellie May, is in the same classroom as Caireann. This is upsetting for Ellie May who is often in tears at the end of the day talking about what happened Caireann in class. Ellie May shouldnt have to see this. Its been very hard for her seeing Caireann upset. They have a little area at the back of the class but its not suitable for her. Next year, her brother will be starting school. We want her in the same school with her siblings, just not in the same class. This is unfair on them, she added. Maggie is spending 180 a week on various therapies that should be part of Caireanns education during the school day. One play therapist told Maggy that Caireann is one of the "most sensory children she has seen for some time. She just needs that space within her own school. I dont see why we should have to move, were not leaving. Its heart breaking as a parent seeing special classes in other schools and wishing my child could have that. She is eligible for it, said Maggie. The school community have really accepted Caireann and her disability. But just because she has a disability, she shouldnt be made feel like this. She is entitled to this. The Minister for Education has said every child is entitled to education regardless of their circumstances, she said. Lastly, Maggies dealings with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) have so far proven a fruitless exercise. They told Maggy they will get back to her when they feel there is a need for a special class at Murhur National School. They came out earlier in the year and made recommendations. As a parent, and a school, we know there is a need for this class. Our school is so willing to open it. We need it, Maggie said. "Caireann wouldnt be as anxious and so overwhelmed if she had the right classroom setting. The frustrating thing is its a simple thing Caireann needs. We shouldnt have to fight for this, she said. Warning: This story contains content some may find disturbing. A 13-year-old girl was brought to New Zealand and enslaved, with a paediatrician saying the teenager would most likely have died if she had not been rescued when she was. But her abusers have never been charged with trafficking the girl - given the pseudonym Grace - and Oranga Tamariki says it would "push a lot harder" for more serious convictions if that situation happened today. International child protection manager Sharyn Titchener told a webinar last month that a social worker was alerted to Grace's plight by a medical professional, got a warrant and described seeing her when she arrived. "The social worker wrote the description of how this child came out looking gaunt, sad. And she was only 13 years old. She spoke very little English, but the social worker who collected her was from her country of origin, so was able to speak in her first language. And she used words such as slave and that she was treated like a dog. "She had 35 current injuries on multiple parts of her body. She was underweight, she had poor hygiene and she had head lice. Due to the appearance of the historical and the current injuries, it was determined that weapons had been used to repeatedly assault her. The paediatrician stated that in his findings - he's an extremely experienced paediatrician - that some of the injuries were the worst he'd seen on a child of that age. The paediatrician also stated that the removal of Grace from the home had very likely prevented a homicide occurring." It was an example in a webinar being held to raise awareness among health professionals about telltale signs of people being held against their will. The two adults in the house where she lived were convicted of abuse and jailed. "This was a couple of years ago, we would push a lot harder now to make sure this was handed to Crown [prosecutors] to consider trafficking," said Titchener. "And without a doubt this - Grace's - story was a story of domestic servitude, slavery. She was moved into New Zealand, into this home, and was enslaved." Servants, drug-growers and acrobats Forms of trafficking varied from country to country, she added, and while sexual exploitation was also happening, many cases involve forced labour by children trafficked across borders. "Traditionally, historically and globally, people think of sexual exploitation in brothels etc," she said. "Our New Zealand context includes places like cannabis-grow operations, where children have been brought in as crop-sitters. And obviously we had the [Zirka] circus, children here as entertainers. So we keep our lens very wide as we learn and understand what the New Zealand context is like. It is different to what international studies may indicate." In the Zirka circus case, children as young as 11 toured the country for years as acrobats before they were uplifted by authorities and returned to China. Children do not necessarily know they have been trafficked, she said, nor do they always come from backgrounds or countries where child protection officers exist, or government officials can be trusted. Prosecutions were hard for victims - and not helped by gaps in the law. "Our current legislation is really tough on children. We have to prove the coercion and deception of a child and in general, trafficking cases - a prosecution - relies on the victim testimony." ECPAT Child Alert director Eleanor Parkes said that issue of coercion is what needed to change to increase prosecutions. The government was handed a draft bill by advocates and campaigners fighting modern slavery in December, written by experts in the field. Authorities needed to both enforce existing laws and overhaul the legislation, said Parkes. "We do have anti-trafficking legislation that isn't being applied in cases like this, where it could be. We also need to really strengthen our modern slavery legislation and make sure that we're not requiring coercion to be proven in these cases. "When we're talking about a child being exploited, and particularly if it comes to sexual exploitation, coercion isn't a relevant question. Children are often really compliant, and they're going to do what they're told. And so you shouldn't need to prove that they were somehow tricked or forced into doing something. The fact that they were in the situation where that's what was being expected of them, is a crime in itself." And she said people need to look out for the potential trafficking - of children and adults - that goes on in homes and public places, within New Zealand and across borders. "This kind of exploitation isn't as rare here as people assume. Generally, people are looking for the wrong thing. They're looking for trafficking the way it looks in the movies, like kids being kidnapped at airports. And really it looks not very glamorous. It looks like child abuse. It can look like sexual abuse, it can look like intimate partner violence. "And so once people are looking for the right thing, they realise it happens here - all of the time." New Zealand needed to catch up with other countries on anti-trafficking and slavery legislation, and step up its operating budgets, she said. Immigration New Zealand said it investigates if it finds red flags in visa applications, and refers relevant cases to partner agencies if there are indications that trafficking may have occurred. Oranga Tamariki told RNZ it is part of the Interagency Trafficking in Persons Operations Group, which is made up of representatives from INZ, Police, Customs, the Department of Internal Affairs and the Labour Inspectorate. "One of the interagency group's priorities is to raise awareness that people trafficking happens in Aotearoa New Zealand and improve understanding, so we can work together to eliminate this crime," said Titchener in a written statement. "The anonymous case you have referenced was spoken about in a webinar that was held to raise awareness within the professional sector and was not for public use. The name used was not the young person's real name and was made up to protect their identity. "Raising awareness about the signs of trafficking within professional sectors, such as health care, helps give people who work in these industries insights about who these crimes can be committed against, signs they can look out for and ways to respond if they feel like someone they are engaging with might be a victim of trafficking." Meanwhile, Grace has been sent back to her home country, but other abuse continues. "We are incredibly busy, which is very sad," Titchener told the webinar, hosted by a Christian medical group, and which has been made inaccessible to public view since RNZ approached Oranga Tamariki for comment on Tuesday. "We're only a team of four. But we are very, very busy - and that just shows what we are facing." Where to get help: Sexual Violence Family Violence A woman who scammed Facebook Marketplace users has admitted taking hundreds of dollars off buyers before ghosting them and failing to hand over goods. Tania Joy Whiteman, 46, from Rotorua, also tried to scam a burglary victim by responding to their online pleas on the whereabouts of stolen jewellery and asking for a reward for its return. When she learned there was no reward, she sold the stolen jewellery. Whiteman has pleaded guilty to five counts of accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes and one charge of receiving stolen property valued between $500 and $1000. Tania Malcolm, now Tania Whiteman, when she was sentenced in 2016. The Rotorua Daily Post reported on Whiteman, who was then known as Tania Malcolm, in 2016 after she admitted stealing $305,000 from her employer where she worked in accounts. At that time, she was jailed for two years and nine months. Whiteman was charged with the latest offending last year and initially pleaded not guilty. She pleaded guilty to amended charges on Tuesday when she appeared before Judge John McDonald. A police summary said Whiteman advertised a Eufy security camera for sale on Facebook Marketplace on June 18, 2023, using the profile name Tania. A would-be buyer agreed to pay $300. Whiteman provided her bank account name and number, and the payment was made that day. Whiteman stopped communicating with the victim, and they never received a refund. She did the same thing on June 20, 2023. On August 20, 2023, she advertised Bose earbuds for sale - still using the profile name Tania - and received $219 for a sale, but again stopped communicating. On October 5, 2023, she took $400 from a buyer for a motorcycle exhaust system and took another $650 on October 9, 2023, for a motorbike exhaust system. She stopped communicating with the victims on both occasions. On May 13, 2024, a property on Matai St in Mamaku was burgled of a large quantity of jewellery, including bangles, rings and watches. The victims son posted on social media seeking information about the burglary and the whereabouts of the items. On May 17, 2024, White contacted the victims son, saying she had recently obtained two rings she believed might have been stolen in the burglary. She sent the victims son images of the ring, which he confirmed belonged to the burgled family. The rings were valued at about $500. The summary said Whiteman then asked about a reward for the two rings, but it was declined. She accepted and claimed she would organise an associate to drop the rings off at the Tauranga police station to be returned, but never did. Instead, she sold the rings to Cash Converters in Rotorua, the summary said. Her lawyer, Des OConnor, opposed a media application to take her photograph in court, saying it should not be allowed because it was not a sentencing hearing. But Judge McDonald said that did not matter because the media could make and would likely be granted an application at a defendants first appearance. The press are entitled to be here, entitled to report on the matters and are entitled to take photographs. Previous offending Whiteman, previously known by her former married name Tania Malcolm, was jailed in 2016 for two years and nine months after admitting stealing more than $300,000 from her then-employer. The Rotorua Daily Post reported at the time she was employed as an accounts and payroll administrator at a Rotorua flooring business, and her offending nearly bankrupted it. Tania Whiteman at one of her court appearances relating to previous offending. Less than a year after being released from that jail sentence, she again tried to buy items in her previous employers name. She was jailed for a further two months. The Rotorua Daily Post reported in June 2021 that she was sentenced to home detention for more dishonesty offending and was sentenced again in May 2022 for three counts of breaching that home detention sentence. Judge McDonald said Whiteman could go to jail for her latest offending and said options would remain open. He remanded her on bail to reappear for sentencing on August 5. -Rotorua Daily Post Tauranga City Council will spend $91.9 million on the lease for its new offices over the next 15 years. The council has also budgeted about $33.5m for the interior fit-out of the new build at 90 Devonport Rd, in central Tauranga. The eight-story building will house about 1000 council administration staff under the same roof for the first time since 2014, when black mould was discovered in its now-demolished Willow St civic administration building. Staff will begin moving from other leased locations into the new $45m building New Zealands largest mass timber office at the end of this month. The initial lease was for 15 years, with an annual rent of $6,129,511, including GST. Annual rent for 65 carparks was an extra $313,352. The council will lease the building from Willis Bond, having sold the property developers the land for the project in 2021 for $8.5m. This was reduced from the initially agreed sale price of $10.75m largely because the sites in-ground conditions were considerably worse than anticipated, council city development and partnerships general manager Gareth Wallis told Local Democracy Reporting. Tauranga City Council city development and partnerships general manager Gareth Wallis. Photo / Alex Cairns He said the $33.5m interior fit-out included construction of walls, meeting rooms, offices, flooring finishes, electrical, digital and IT. The base delivered by developers Willis Bond was a cold shell with only basic structural elements and core utilities, Wallis said. Furniture and fittings from the current offices would be reused where possible. Between 600 and 700 people would work in the building on any given day, Wallis said. The council would use a system to manage desk utilisation efficiently, tried and tested in its other leased office spaces. The councils lease for 1 Spring St will end on April 30. Leases for 306 Cameron Rd and 46 Spring St end on May 31. Council chief executive Marty Grenfell said the move would consolidate offices, boost efficiency and support the city centres revitalisation. The long-term lease meant no upfront construction costs, and the new office would strengthen the councils values of whanaungatanga and collaboration by bringing teams closer together, he said in a statement. Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell. Photo / NZME He said it would add to recent positive momentum from other CBD projects such as the waterfront playground and ongoing $306m civic precinct Te Manawataki o Te Papa development. Bay of Plenty Regional Council chambers had been used for Tauranga council meetings, but these would be held in the new building until 2028, when they would shift to Te Manawatako o Te Papas Civic Whare. Percolated perks Perks staff will enjoy in the Devonport Rd building will include coffee on tap. The council has accepted a tender of $470,000 to supply and service four coffee machines, including coffee beans, for five years from May 1. Instant coffee will also be available. The estimated cost to council per cup from the machines was 70c and 40c for instant. The council has 1299 full-time equivalent staff and associated employee costs of $128m a year. Its 2023/24 Annual Report said 40 people earned between $180,000 and $259,999 a year. Seven staff earned $300,000 or more. Tauranga City Council staff receive subsidised Bee Cards for public transport. Grenfells total pay, including non-financial benefits, was $606,755. His remuneration package was based on advice from an independent consultant, the report said. Council staff also had access to benefits such as up to $100,000 life insurance cover for permanent staff for death or terminal illness, a subsidised Bee Card for work bus commutes, an extra week of annual leave and up to $5000 for staff returning from parental leave. New building blessed A powhiri was held on April 2 to bless the Devonport Rd building. Built by LT McGuinness, it has a 6 Green Star Design rating and features rainwater harvesting and electric vehicle charging. By replacing most traditional concrete and steel elements with engineered timber, the buildings all-of-life carbon emissions were around 60% less than a typical commercial building. Council Te Pou Ahurea cultural advisor Josh Te Kani said they worked with mana whenua to ensure matauranga Maori principles were incorporated into the design. A powhiri was held on April 2 to bless 90 Devonport, Tauranga City Council's new offices. Photo / Tauranga City Council LT McGuinness Tauranga manager Jack McGuinness said the project was an opportunity to create something significant for the city. Its special to see the first mass timber building of this scale become part of Tauranga city centre. The delivery of 90 Devonport shows what is possible with mass timber bringing sustainability, engineering, and resilience together to create a space fit for todays modern workforce, McGuinness said in the council statement. Willis Bond managing director Wayne Silver said he hoped it was the first of many mass timber developments for the company. The project was delivered on time and under its original budget, he said. Willis Bond would not provide the buildings final cost or initial budget. Local Democracy Reporting reported in January that two building consents totalling $45.5m had been issued by the council for 90 Devonport. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Pilar Martinez Malaga Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 13:16 | Updated 19:12h. Compartir Malaga Airport has broken a historic record in the first quarter of 2025. According to Aena, Spain's publicly-owned airport operator, the gateway to the Costa del Sol has once again increased traffic in terms of passenger volume, exceeding last year's record, the highest of its more than 100-year history. What is even more remarkable is that last year's figures included the Holy Week arrivals and departures, as the holiday fell in March, but this year Easter is not part of the first quarter. Yet, 2025 data from the first quarter still exceeds numbers from the same period last year, registering almost 4.8 million passengers and a 6% increase. These figures consolidate the airport's position on the national map as the third largest facility in Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona. Malaga continues to make history. The pull of March has been decisive, when almost 1.9 million passengers passed through the airport, some 8.3% more than in 2024. This is double the average for Aena's network and is the highest number recorded at the country's major airports. There were 13,489 aircraft movements on the runways, 11.3% more than in 2024. A total of 34,843 flights landed and took off in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 7%. Aena confirms the cooling of national demand, which has continued during these first three months. A 1.3% decrease in Spanish passengers was recorded from January to March, while international traffic rose by 7.8%. These figures represent 867,295 and 3,910,295 of national and foreign passengers, respectively. A record number of passengers was reached in Spain's whole air traffic network and especially at 16 airports, including Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas, Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez, Gran Canaria, Tenerife Sur, Valencia, Seville, Cesar Manrique-Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Bilbao, Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna, La Palma, Asturias and A Coruna. 34,843 take-off and landing operations recorded on the runways of Malaga Airport from January to March, 7% more than in 2024 Malaga Airport is already prepared for a historic high season, during which leading airlines will bring a great influx of passengers to the Costa del Sol. Ryanair, the leading airline in terms of passengers at Malaga Airport, has scheduled the largest operation in its history on the Costa del Sol, with 5.3 million seats, 5% more than last summer. In addition, the airline will connect Malaga with 91 European cities, six more than last summer. Of these, five will be new destinations that Ryanair has not flown to before: another airport in Warsaw; Brno, in the Czech Republic; Lubeck, in northern Germany; Munster, also in Germany; and Teesside, in the north-east of the UK. Vueling, Malaga's second most popular airline, is also strengthening its commitment to Andalucia. Jordi Pla, Vueling's strategy director, has announced that this summer the company will link the Costa del Sol with 15 destinations, increasing connectivity with international destinations such as Amsterdam and London-Gatwick with seven extra frequencies. It will also increase its operations with Paris Orly by two flights a week. Domestic flights will also receive a boost on the Tenerife-North route, which will get seven new frequencies a week; in Las Palmas, with nine frequencies, and in Fuerteventura, with five. The company has proposed one more flight to Palma de Mallorca and two to Barcelona. In total, Vueling will increase seats by 23.2%, compared to the same period last year. EasyJet also continues to grow at Malaga Airport. The company's general manager for Southern Europe, Javier Gandara, highlighted that this year is the fifth in a row in which they will have a seasonal base at the Costa del Sol airport, to meet peak demand during the summer. The airline will put 11% more seats on Malaga's market and increase destinations by five, bringing the total to 23. Dutch airline KLM has also announced that it will endorse its operations at Malaga Airport. The company will increase the number of seats from Malaga to Amsterdam by 34% - a figure that significantly contrasts with the overall increase planned for KLM's entire network (4%). The increase reflects the jump in flights to double the number from last year. Predictions about Malaga Airport become true year after year, often exceeding expectations. The airport closed 2024 with more than 25 million passengers, close to the 30-million capacity. Ignacio Lillo Malaga Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 11:13 Compartir This is a breakdown after breakdown at the Cercanias commuter train station at Malaga Airport which is on the C1 line between the city and Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol. All four escalators have been closed for weeks, leaving passengers with the only option of using the overcrowded lifts to transfer their luggage to the platforms on the lower level. The station's facilities are of great necessity, given the volume of people passing every day. "Not a single escalator working. It's not like it's a station with a lot of traffic, especially at this time of year," commented one frustrated passenger on his social media account. "It's shameful and even more so in the middle of Easter," said another. "They've been like this for weeks, I'd say months. There's only one lift on each platform, overcrowded by users; you can imagine the chaos," said an airport worker who uses the Cercania train service every day. Spain's national railway operator Renfe, the company responsible for the facilities, has admitted that there is an issue. "Due to a technical incident, the four escalators at the airport station are out of service," said a company spokesperson and explained that the problem has been caused by "the breakdown of one of the parts". The company has assured that it is working to resolve the problem as soon as possible. As an alternative, it offers the two lifts, which are working correctly. Another Korean escalator? The situation has reminded the travelling public of another frustrating situation: the so-called 'Korean escalator' case, which unfolded between August 2023 and February 2024. It was almost two years ago that one of the escalators at the airport received this title by a regular use of the service. The so-called 'Korean escalator' at the airport station was out of order for six months back in 2023. The passenger sought a response on social media and received the following reply from Renfe: "The maintenance company Schindler is waiting to receive the necessary material from Korea. This will delay the procedure." The component arrived half a year after the problem was first reported - in February 2024. It took technicians two weeks to finish the repair. Matias Stuber Malaga Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 14:16 Compartir The chair of religious brotherhood studies at the University of Malaga presented a study on the economic impact of the "brotherhood industry" in Malaga during a ceremony held on Monday 14 April - Holy Monday. The reference year of the analysis is 2024, when Malaga received an economic impact of 39.7 million euros during the Holy Week and its respective activities. The conference was attended by UMA rector Teodomiro Lopez, Malaga mayor Francisco de la Torre, city-born actor and director Antonio Banderas and director of chair of brotherhood studies Benjamin del Alcazar, along with other representatives of Malaga entities. The event also saw the presentation of the IX Research Awards of the brotherhood studies board. The prizes are awarded to the best doctoral thesis and the best final project in studies related to the social, cultural and economic questions of the Holy Week. Zoom Presentation of the report on the Holy Week in Malaga. SUR The economic study analyses the impact generated, not by visitors, but by what has come to be known as the "cofrade industry": in other words, the economic movement generated by the brotherhoods and fraternities in Malaga. Good relationship Teodomiro Lopez highlighted the collaboration between the UMA and the Lagrimas y Favores foundation, the director of which is Antonio Banderas, in "putting knowledge at the service of society". Malaga-born actor and activist Banderas congratulated the members of the chair for the preparation of a study that is a very useful tool for analysing the impact generated by the Holy Week in all its aspects. The mayor also congratulated the authors of the study and the Lagrimas y Favores foundation for promoting such social work. He also dedicated a few words to the award winners and thanked them for venturing into the field of analysing the Holy Week's contributions. Ignacio Lillo Malaga Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 11:51 Compartir Paco Pinto from Malaga fell in love with sharks when he was just a child, watching Jacques Cousteau's documentaries. Although he was fascinated by the sea, he avoided studying science because mathematics terrified him. Instead, he learned everything he knows about sharks all by himself, spending a life devoted to research. "When I was a child, I would go to the provincial authority and the Casa de la Cultura, both of which had libraries, and I would look for books on sharks and absorb everything in them. At that time, there was no internet and hardly any computers," said Pinto. He went to the US during the 90s, where he spent two months travelling all over the country to see the aquariums that had sharks in captivity. He would talk to the people who took care of the sea creatures to learn more. "Being able to speak English gave me an advantage," he said. At that time, he also did a scuba diving course, but it was during a trip to Kenya when he first got the chance to properly practice. Where does his fascination come from? Pinto is amazed by the shark's seven senses. "In addition to our five, they have two more." One concerns the "lateral line", located on both sides of the body, which allows them to sense vibrations; for example, the tail flick of a fish biting a hook from about 100 metres away. 'My fascination comes from the fact that sharks have seven senses, two more than humans.' The seventh sense comes from the Lorenzini ampoules - "little dots on their nose area that allow them to locate the electrical charges of animals, even when they are buried 50 centimetres deep in sand. It's fascinating". In addition, sharks have an ear that can hear sounds in the water from kilometres away, while their sense of smell has a range of hundreds of metres. Sharks can also see at tens of metres. Working with sharks Paco's fascination became a lifestyle. Although he is now retired (at the age of 61), he has always worked in contact with sharks. He has been with the Aula del Mar almost since its inauguration in 1989, first as a volunteer and then as an employee. He also participated in the initial stages of Sea Life in Puerto Marina (Benalmadena). "We had up to 20 species and every time I went in to clean the algae crystals I would dive with them. We never had any problems." He also lived with sharks in the wild in the Bahamas. Paco's life-long dream came true in 2010, when he travelled to South Africa to drive with the great white shark. "That's the only species that requires the use of a safety cage for the diver." 'I would dive with them and we never had any problems.' The time he spent in Benalmadena opened the doors to international specialist conferences, which he attended on behalf of the Malaga aquarium. He also became a member of the main expert associations in Spain and Europe. They are not dangerous After half a century of living with them, Paco Pinto tries to debunk the myths about the danger that sharks pose. "The problem started with the film Jaws, which exaggerated the images. They never follow boats and never climb on top of them to eat anyone. All that is false, but that is the image that the public has. It is very different for those of us who do this as part of our life." 'Sharks cause far fewer deaths each year than mosquitoes, hippos, elephants and snakes.' There are about 75 shark 'attacks' per year across the globe, but Paco prefers the term 'accidents'. Out of the total number, around ten people die. "Look at the statistics for deaths from mosquitoes, hippos, elephants, snakes - there are thousands of them. Even man's best friend, the dog, kills 20 people every year." The Malaga-native shark lover has summarised all this knowledge in an encyclopaedia, which took him five years to write and which he began to compile during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has two volumes and describes the 536 species that have already been catalogued, although new ones are discovered every year. "We are already around 550, but the latest ones have not yet been described by the scientific community." Paco works for pleasure and with the desire to spread more shark knowledge among people, profit being far from his goal. Russian prisoners of war (POWs) who are accused of crimes against civilians in Kyiv region want to be exchanged, Deputy Head of Irpin court of Kyiv region Mykhailo Odariuk said. "We have two Russians. Both are prisoners of war. One has two criminal cases, which are currently being considered, the other has one. All of them are related to particularly serious crimes executions, murder of civilians," Odariuk said in an exclusive video interview with Interfax-Ukraine, answering questions about the cases against Russian servicemen that are under consideration in Irpin court [the court's jurisdiction extends to Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel of Kyiv region]. According to Odariuk, the cases are being considered collegially, since life imprisonment is provided for the crimes committed, and the jury court is not working due to martial law. "In general, they (Russian servicemen) behave calmly, do not admit their guilt, as far as I know. I believe that they also want to be exchanged for our servicemen in the future," the deputy head of the court said. At the same time, Odariuk said: "One of them said that he might return to the war later." When asked how the occupiers explain the crimes against civilians, the judge said: "I can't talk about this, because the trial is still ongoing... they haven't been questioned as defendants yet, they will most likely give their testimony at the end (of the trial), if they want to give it at all." DeRuyter, NY The Madison County Sheriffs Office has arrested a DeRuyter teacher that deputies say falsified timecards so she would be paid for work she didnt do. DeRuyter Central School District officials told deputies that the teacher, Anna Revette, 37, of Lincklaen, had falsified multiple time sheets and was paid for hours she didnt work, according to Samantha Field, a spokesperson for Madison County. Revette is an English teacher, according to her LinkedIn profile. Revette was arrested on Monday at the Madison County Sheriffs Eaton Field Office. She is accused of being paid $1,000 over her time worked, Field said. She was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and first-degree falsifying of business records, according to Field. Revette was released with appearance tickets to return to the DeRuyter Town Court on April 23. Staff writer Greta Stuckey covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at gstuckey@syracuse.com. Syracuse, N.Y. A man was found shot near Parkside Commons in Syracuse on Monday night and had someone drive him to the hospital. Around 7:08 p.m., police were called to the 2100 block of East Fayette Street for a report of a shooting with injuries, according to Kieran Coffey, a spokesperson for the Syracuse Police. The 24-year-old man who was shot was taken to Crouse Hospital in a private vehicle, Coffey said. He was later transferred to Upstate University Hospital, according to dispatches. The man is listed in stable condition, Coffey said. Two cars were also hit by gunfire during the shooting, according to Coffey. Around the same time, additional gunshots were reported on Robinson Street, between Sedgwick Street and Vine Street in Syracuse. Police ask anyone with information on the shooting to contact them at (315) 442-5222. Staff writer Greta Stuckey covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at gstuckey@syracuse.com. A car lies on its side following a crash Friday evening, Nov. 1, 2024, on Park Street at Harborside Drive in Syracuse. Police were reportedly chasing the car when it crashed. The two occupants of the vehicle were reportedly apprehended. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com) Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuse police attempted to pull over a stolen car spotted at the Destiny USA mall, but when it fled, the officers didnt pursue it. Just moments later, an Onondaga County Sheriffs Office deputy spotted the same car and chased it a short distance before it crashed into another vehicle on Park Street. Syracuse police have adopted a policy of not chasing stolen cars. The sheriffs office, however, is sticking with its policy of chasing stolen cars like the one the deputy spotted near the mall in November. A growing number of police departments in the United States are changing their pursuit policies to stop or reduce the number of times officers chase stolen vehicles. The biggest reason is safety, not only just for officers, but for bystanders and those evading police. Some cities also have been sued after police chases hurt or killed innocent bystanders. One person is going to die today because of a pursuit in the United States, said Geoffrey P. Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina who has studied police pursuit policies. Alpert said many departments are moving to a policy of only chasing people involved in violent crimes. That wouldnt include any property offense, such as stealing a car. Its a piece of property, Alpert said. I certainly dont want the police to put my family, your family or anyones family, at high risk for a piece of property. In Buffalo, officers now are not only told to not chase stolen cars, but to stop and drive the other way so that drivers dont think they are being pursued. In Chicago, and many other agencies, a motor vehicle pursuit is prohibited if its a traffic offense or theft, including possession of stolen vehicle. Those police departments say the change is out of a concern for safety amongst drivers, pedestrians and their officers. A recent database of fatal pursuits built by reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle, from 2017 through 2022, found that police pursuits resulted in the death of more than 3,000 people. More than 500 of those fatalities were bystanders and the vast majority of police vehicle pursuits were to stop drivers suspected of committing minor vehicle and traffic violations or lower-level crimes, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Pursuits in Central New York are sometimes deadly. In October 2022, Sean Girvin, 16, of Syracuse was killed after the stolen vehicle he was driving crashed on East Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse. He was being pursued by deputies. In December 2023, a 15-year-old boy was in a stolen Kia when Syracuse police spotted it in the area of South Salina and West Onondaga streets. A short pursuit ensued and ZyMier Zulueta died when he drove the vehicle into a wall near Fowler High School. Syracuse chief: Pursuits dangerous, ineffective The Syracuse departments current pursuit policy, updated in August, states a stolen vehicle in and of itself is not sufficient justification for initiating a pursuit. However, a stolen car can be pursued if there are other aggravating circumstances. A pursuit can be initiated if an officer believes that the stolen vehicle was used in, or was involved in, a separate felony or violent misdemeanor, according to the policy. There has to be other things involved, Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile said. Was it just taken into a burglary, robbery, a shots fired incident? In addition to safety concerns, Cecile said chasing vehicles also hasnt decreased the number of vehicles stolen in the city. Are we solving the stolen vehicle epidemic? Cecile said. Thousands of vehicles were stolen, so the answer was no, we werent having much impact whatsoever by chasing. In 2024, 1,268 vehicles were stolen within the city, up 12 percent from 2023. The stealing of Kia and Hyundai vehicles contributed to much of the rise. Car thefts in Syracuse have increased 86 percent since 2019. Most pursuits not for serious crimes The Police Executive Research Forum, a research and policy organization, said it is a myth that people flee police only when they have committed a serious crime. Research shows more than 90 percent of pursuits are initiated because of traffic violations, the group said. In California, for example, the majority of reasons for pursuits involved speeding, stolen vehicles, registration or license plate violations, failure to obey traffic control devices at an intersection, and reckless driving, according to The California Highway Patrols report on 2022 police pursuits. The top charges upon apprehension were for stolen vehicle, driving under the influence, larceny, resisting arrest and suspended or unlicensed driver, the report said. Combined, these accounted for 39 percent of all apprehensions and 20 percent of all pursuits, it said. The highest charges assault with a deadly weapon and felon in possession of a firearm accounted for less than 7 percent of apprehensions and less than 4 percent of pursuits, the report said. County not changing its policy Sheriff Toby Shelley has said his office will continue to chase stolen vehicles. And where Syracuse police wont pursue, a sheriffs deputy will. Our credibility with the public and with offenders would be greatly diminished if we didnt pursue vehicles, because the public expects us to enforce the laws, said Lt. Crayg Dykes, a police captain at the sheriffs office. If youre a victim of a crime, and our response is, we were not going to use pursuit to apprehend, our credibility is damaged. In 2024, the county initiated 35 vehicle pursuits and assisted in 18, according to Tom Newton, a spokesperson for the Sheriffs Office. Eleven of the initiated pursuits involved stolen vehicles. Shelley said most of their pursuits are within the city and involve city cases. The offices policy says a pursuit can be initiated if officers believe that an offense has just occurred, is occurring or is about to be committed. If a suspect exhibits the intention to avoid apprehension by refusing to stop when directed to do so also justifies a pursuit, according to the policy. A pursuit also may be justified if the deputy reasonably believes that a suspect, if allowed to flee, would present a danger to human life or cause serious injury. Every situation is different and the ends dont justify the means, Dykes said. You know, were not gonna chase a person at 100 miles an hour who stole a tool set from Walmart. Dykes also said the departments policy is restrictive and that the majority of the responsibility falls on the supervisor who will call off pursuits. Deputies have to consider road and weather conditions, population, vehicle and pedestrian traffic, how the fleeing vehicle is driving, how serious the offense is and the presence of other people in the police and suspect vehicles, according to the policy. The important key, is adequate supervision, Dykes said. So even with those restrictions that we place on the deputies, our supervisors are charged with monitoring the pursuit to make sure that the deputies decisions are in line with sheriffs mission. Some sheriff pursuits end in crashes On Jan. 13, three people were taken to the hospital after deputies joining a traffic pursuit collided with another car in downtown Syracuse. Two sheriffs deputies inside the cruiser crashed into a car at Harrison and South State streets near the OnCenter. They were on their way to join a traffic pursuit that had started about 10 minutes earlier. Deputies said the officers lights and sirens were activated. A patrol car from the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office collided with a car at Harrison and South State streets near the OnCenter in downtown Syracuse on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. Sharon Dellinger | sdellinger@syracuse.com Three teen boys were later arrested after stealing the car and leading deputies on a pursuit across much of Syracuses North Side. Syracuse police did not join the pursuit, according to Kieran Coffey, a spokesperson for the police. The incident led to the handcuffing of an 11-year-old girl who deputies said fit the description of a person involved with stealing the car. They later determined the girl wasnt the person involved. On Nov. 1, Syracuse officers found a stolen Ford Escape when a Flock Safety Camera a license plate reading camera spotted the SUV at Destiny USA. Officers tried to stop the SUV, but the vehicle immediately fled. The city officers did not pursue it, according to Coffey. A county deputy patrolling in the area saw the SUV and began pursuing the car, according to Coffey. The stolen car went a short distance before it crashed into another car on Park Street at Harborside Drive, Coffey said. The crash flipped the stolen vehicle on its side. Police said the two occupants in the car sustained minor injuries from the crash and were later arrested. In 2023, deputies chased a stolen BMW SUV after 6 girls loaded shopping carts with merchandise and fled the Kohls at 3827 State Route 31 in Clay. While on patrol, a deputy spotted the car on Interstate 481 South near the Interstate 81 South interchange and tried to stop the SUV but it kept going. Deputies pursued until the vehicle crashed into another car. Five of the six girls were arrested. Some change chase policies, some dont Buffalo police officers are prohibited from chasing stolen cars, according to Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia. Pursuits are banned where the reason for the attempted stop is a vehicle and traffic law violation, a misdemeanor, or a non-violent felony. The agencys pursuit policy also requires its officers to pull over, rather than pursue stolen vehicles, Gramaglia said. Officers are told to either turn at the next intersection, or if the road is a straightaway, and theres no intersection, to pull over and safely make a U-turn and drive in the other direction. The idea is not to make motorists feel that theyre still being pursued and pressed and pushed, which means theyre going to still drive at excessive speeds and potentially crash into someone, Gramaglia said. So, now with the stolen vehicles, weve chosen other tactics. Gramaglia said the department utilizes Erie Countys helicopter to keep track of the stolen vehicles. The Chicago police department wont engage in a motor vehicle pursuit whenever the most serious offense a person is wanted for is a traffic offense or theft, including possession of stolen vehicle. Other agencies in large cities such as police in Cincinnati and Atlanta have updated their policies to limit police pursuits to cases where violence is suspected. The New York City police also have announced new policies regarding vehicle pursuits that will limit the practice to better ensure the safety of officers and the public, according to the state Attorney Generals Office. The new policy will prohibit officers from chasing vehicles unless the drivers have committed serious and violent crimes. Officers can only pursue if felonies or violent misdemeanors are committed, according to The New York Times. However, the New York State Police and other county agencies have not changed their policies. The state police policy says its members should make every reasonable effort to apprehend suspects in a fleeing vehicle. A pursuit can be initiated whenever a law violator refuses to stop and uses a vehicle to flee. The purpose of the state police policy is to find the balance between protecting the lives and safety of the public and police officers, and the duty to enforce the law and apprehend violators, according to the policy. Other county agencies such as Erie, Cayuga, and Monroe said a pursuit may be initiated whenever an individual suspect refuses to stop and, or, uses a vehicle to flee. There is no mention on what to do when a vehicle is stolen. Its not uncommon for these non-urban, non-municipal police agencies to have less restrictive language in their pursuit policies, Gramaglia said. The rural settings, much more rural roads, spaced out areas, you know, you can actually take more time and engage in a pursuit. Candlelight sets the mood for dinner at Stissing House, a widely acclaimed restaurant housed in a more than 200-year-old tavern in Pine Plains, New York. The eatery has been named one of the 15 top restaurants in America by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Pine Plains, N.Y. One of the oldest taverns in the United States is home to one of the food worlds newest darlings. Stissing House, a restaurant housed in a 243-year-old tavern in Upstate New York, has been named one of the best dining destinations in the nation by Food & Wine. The eatery was one of only 15 restaurants to make the list selected with input from hundreds of experts. The building that now houses the widely acclaimed Stissing House dates back to 1782, when it was built as a tavern and boarding house for travelers in Pine Plains, New York. Stissing House has been named one of the 15 best restaurants in the nation by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Monaco, @lexymonaco on Instagram Photo courtesy of Alexandra Monaco, @lexymonaco on Instagram The two-story building Stissing House calls home was built in 1782 near the end of the Revolutionary War. With a tavern, beds for travelers and the first domed ballroom in America, it was constructed to serve as a watering hole for the swinging country town of Pine Plains" in the Hudson Valley, according to the restaurants website. After entertaining residents and travelers for well over a century, Stissing House fell into disrepair during World War I. The restaurant got new life in the 1990s when Christian Eisenbeiss and Dale Mitchell returned the building to its former glory repairing old-growth floorboards made from trees cut down by settlers and restoring the domed ballroom, according to Stissing House. Stissing House reopened in 1995 as a French restaurant and resumed its place in the heart of Pine Plains. The restaurants acclaim grew in 2022 when Clare de Boer, an accomplished chef, took over as Stissing Houses chef. The building that now houses the widely acclaimed Stissing House dates back to 1782, when it was built as a tavern and boarding house for travelers in Pine Plains, New York. Stissing House has been named one of the 15 best restaurants in the nation by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Monaco, @lexymonaco on Instagram Photo courtesy of Alexandra Monaco, @lexymonaco on Instagram With de Boer as proprietor, dinner at Stissing House is served mostly by candlelight. The restaurants menu changes by day and season. In April, Stissing Houses online menu ranged from bone marrow oysters and pickles to coal-roasted potatoes and wood-roasted chicken from a Catskills farm. Photos shared by enthusiastic diners show a dining room that is proudly from another time. The intimate lighting illuminates what is most important: the thoughtfully plated food and each diners companions. Candlelight sets the mood for dinner at Stissing House, a widely acclaimed restaurant housed in a more than 200-year-old tavern in Pine Plains, New York. The eatery has been named one of the 15 top restaurants in America by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Stissing House has received rave reviews from customers. On Yelp, customers gushed about everything from the restaurants interior to its roast chicken and brown bread. The buzz about de Boer doesnt hurt, either. De Boer is among the four Upstate New York chefs nominated for the 2025 James James Beard Awards. She was named one of Food & Wines best new chefs in 2018 and showed celebrity chef Martha Stewart how to cook Christmas dinner in a wood-burning oven for an episode of Stewarts show, Martha Holidays. Candlelight sets the mood for dinner at Stissing House, a widely acclaimed restaurant housed in a more than 200-year-old tavern in Pine Plains, New York. The eatery has been named one of the 15 top restaurants in America by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Stissing Houses place on Food & Wines list of the 15 top restaurants in the U.S. is a big deal. The list is part of the magazines third-annual Food & Wine Global Tastemakers awards and was created with the expert help of over 400 chefs and food, wine and travel writers, the magazine wrote. Stissing House made the prestigious roundup of the 15 restaurants worth visiting in America right now alongside Burdell, a California soul food restaurant, and Sunnys, a steakhouse in Miami. Heres how Food & Wine suggested diners spend their time at Stissing House: Drive up for a weekend of leaf peeping in Upstate New York, and start with a drink by the fire before getting cozy in the candlelit dining room. The daily changing menu features simple pleasures, like pickles, chips, or a cup of broth. But the real treats are roasted over the wood fire, like dayboat scallops cooked over the coals, or a suckling pig crisped up until crackling. Candlelight sets the mood for dinner at Stissing House, a widely acclaimed restaurant housed in a more than 200-year-old tavern in Pine Plains, New York. The eatery has been named one of the 15 top restaurants in America by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram The building that now houses the widely acclaimed Stissing House dates back to 1782, when it was built as a tavern and boarding house for travelers in Pine Plains, New York. Stissing House has been named one of the 15 best restaurants in the nation by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of Alexandra Monaco, @lexymonaco on Instagram Photo courtesy of Alexandra Monaco, @lexymonaco on Instagram Candlelight sets the mood for dinner at Stissing House, a widely acclaimed restaurant housed in a more than 200-year-old tavern in Pine Plains, New York. The eatery has been named one of the 15 top restaurants in America by Food & Wine. Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram Photo courtesy of @josephinetoni on Instagram A Central New York college is suing the Trump administration after it froze $1 billion in federal funding and grant money. Cornell University has joined a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy and DOE Secretary Chris Wright, alleging cuts to its research grants are violating federal regulations. The Ithaca, N.Y.-based Ivy League school said its long engaged in research sponsored by federal agencies for studies that are critical to the U.S. economy and national security. FILE - The iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are displayed at the Apple Fifth Avenue store, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) AP Consumers and investors who cheered the news last week that smartphones and other electronic items would get an exemption from the tariffs being instituted by the Trump administration may have to temper their enthusiasm a bit. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that the exemption is only temporary. Theyre exempt from the reciprocal tariffs but theyre included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two, Lutnick said on ABCs This Week. The Trump administration late Friday said they would exclude several types of electronic items, including smartphones and computers, from recently announced reciprocal tariffs, including the 125% tariff imposed on China. Hard drives, memory chips, flat-panel television screens and semiconductors were also among the excluded products, according to USA Today. But Lutnicks statement on Sunday indicated that it was just a temporary reprieve. Those products are going to be part of the semiconductor sectoral tariffs, which are coming, Lutnick said on This Week. Later Sunday, in a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said There was no Tariff exception announced on Friday. These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff bucket. Meanwhile, Trump on Monday said that he was considering exemptions from tariffs for the auto industry. Late last month, he announced a 25% tariff on auto and auto parts imports. Im looking at something to help some of the car companies, where theyre switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico and other places, Trump said, according to USA Today. And they need a little bit of time, because theyre going to make them here. Trumps tariff announcements have been a major driver of stock market moves both up and down in recent weeks. When Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2, the next day the stock market had its worst day since the Covid-19 pandemic. When he announced a 90-day pause to many of those tariffs the next week, the market soared. Russia uses pseudo-charitable funds to disrupt the process of returning Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories and from the territory of the aggressor country, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Lubinets said. "Russia is launching its 'tentacles' into the process of returning Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories and Russia. And it does this, in particular, through various charitable funds," he said in the Telegram channel on Tuesday. The commissioner explained his statement using the example of a specific situation. According to him, thanks to one of the MPs of Ukraine, communication took place between employees of the Ombudsman's Office and the head of the charitable fund, who announced her intention to join the return of Ukrainian children. After preliminary consultations, a memorandum of cooperation was signed. "The fund did provide assistance, for which we publicly expressed our gratitude," the ombudsman said. At the same time, he said that no funding issues were discussed during the meetings with his participation. "Financial support was directed exclusively to helping families waiting for the return of children," he said. Subsequently, according to him, the Ombudsman's Office started to record a number of alarming actions by the head of the said fund. In particular: persistent demands to participate in working meetings; attempts to gain access to the personal data of children still remaining in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia; interest in the details of the return logistics and routes; attempts to establish who exactly is providing assistance in this process in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia. The ombudsman said all this information is extremely sensitive and classified. "Their disclosure may threaten not only the effectiveness of return operations, but also the safety of people who directly contribute to these processes. These people are exposed to serious threats, including risk to life," he said. Lubinets said that due to the impossibility of meeting the above-mentioned requirements, cooperation with the fund was terminated. The memorandum expired and interaction was terminated. According to the ombudsman, a year has passed since then and information began to spread in the media, aimed, in his opinion, at discrediting the work of Ukrainian state bodies, in particular, efforts to return Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories and the territory of Russia. He said the information attack was also directed against him personally. "Unknown individuals associated with the above-mentioned organization began to spread disinformation, including through international channels, accusing them of alleged corrupt actions," he said. In his opinion, such activity coincides with the information operations of Russia, the purpose of which is to discredit Ukrainian state institutions and disrupt the process of returning children. In addition, representatives of this fund have appealed to law enforcement agencies. "We are completely open and expect transparent conclusions in accordance with current legislation," he said. The commissioner recalled information from open sources that the representative of the fund allegedly made international trips, where she presented herself as a partner of Ukrainian state bodies, while collecting significant amounts of money. "We are talking about millions of euros. While the amount she publicly declared spent on the return of children amounted to only $18,000. This raises natural questions: where are the rest of the funds collected?" Lubinets said. In addition, Lubinets drew attention to information that this person allegedly tried to organize a press conference for a representative of the aggressor country. He also said the head of Kyiv office of his organization is a former Russian citizen who now uses a diplomatic passport as the wife of a foreign diplomat. "This information is already partially in the public domain and known to the relevant state bodies," he said. The ombudsman called on Ukrainian citizens, journalists and international partners to be critical of such campaigns. "Russia uses all possible channels, including pseudo-charitable organizations, to disrupt humanitarian processes. Especially the return of Ukrainian children," he said. By Brian Kelly | Watertown Daily Times (TNS) Watertown, N.Y Federal border czar Thomas D. Homan says he wants to set the record straight on events that took place in Sackets Harbor, his seasonal hometown, that led to a woman and her three children being detained March 27 by immigration officials. Homan, a West Carthage native, said contrary to many reports, he did not plan the search at North Harbor Farms that ended with a South African citizen being charged with distributing child pornography and the detention of seven dairy farm workers on immigration violations. He said he was first notified of the situation by Assemblyman Scott A. Gray, R-Watertown, who asked if Homan was aware of what was occurring. I did not know what happened in Sackets until it was already done with, Homan said Sunday at the Times office. He said as President Donald J. Trumps border czar, he does not get involved in specific Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations or arrests. Border Patrol and ICE make thousands of arrests a day. Criminal operations take place a hundred times a week. I cant be on top of every one of them, he said. My job right now is to provide the strategic plans on securing the border with the focus on public safety threats and national security threats. He said his job includes finding 300,000 missing children who were released into the country to unvetted sponsors during the Biden administration, many of whom are forced into labor or sexually trafficked. Weve got to find these kids and save them. Thats my job, he said. Homan said he is hearing misinformation that law enforcement didnt have a search warrant to enter the house where the mother and three Sackets Harbor Central School District students lived. He said a federal court warrant was obtained allowing all buildings on the property to be searched as part of an internet-based investigation into child pornography. The idea that Border Patrol and ICE were going door to door looking for illegal aliens is not true. They stuck within the frame of the contents of that warrant. This family was arrested in a house that was covered by this warrant, he said. He said there is also misinformation about how long the family has been in the U.S., with it being said the family has been in the country 15 years. He said the family entered the U.S. illegally on June 19, 2022, in Texas and were deported. They re-entered the country, again illegally according to Homan, on Aug. 15, 2023, less than two years ago. They were released with orders to follow up with immigration coordinators. There are millions of people in this world who want to come to the greatest nation on earth the right way. Taking their test, doing a background investigation, doing the vetting, paying their fees. You come to the greatest nation on earth the right way. Theyre sending back millions of people who crossed the border, under Joe Biden, illegally, which is a crime and cheated the system, Homan said. He said the family was taken to a family residential center in Texas for follow-up investigations and interviews, with Texas being the closest such center. A family residential center is built, its purpose is, for families. Not criminals. Families. Its not a jail. Its not a county jail, not a state prison. It was built for families, Homan said. He said the family underwent a health screening on April 1 and were offered, but declined, a mental health review on April 2. On April 4, they were interviewed by a Homeland Security Investigations case agent and forensics interview specialist to determine if they were possibly victims of a crime or a material witness to one, and then released April 6. The family is still involved in the deportation process, according to Homan. Homan said the decision to release the family was made independently and solely by ICE with no input from him. He said, despite published reports otherwise, the decision to release the family had no correlation to an April 5 protest in Sackets Harbor in which about 1,000 people marched past Homans home. The protest had no influence on me, he said. I said from the beginning, the decision to release, and when, or if it would happen, would be based on the criminal investigation and how that played out. Tom Homan didnt order the operation; Tom Homan wasnt aware of the operation; Tom Homan didnt order the detention; Tom Homan didnt order the release. This was done by the numbers, he said. I got involved and got information because this is my home. The reason Im up here is because I love this community, he said. You can hate me all you want, but hate me based on facts, for Gods sake. Theres a lot of people in this country that dont like me because of what I do, who I work for, thats fine. Im used to that. But if you think sending a thousand people to my summer lake house that I spend three weekends a year at, because Im just so busy, to protest at a vacant house, where Im not even there and my familys out of the country, had any effect on that release is just simply ridiculous, he said. He said a criminal investigation has begun into people doxxing his home, or releasing private information about him and where he lives for the purpose of harassing him. He has a 24-hour security detail at his Virginia home and always travels with a security detail. Heres my concern; my family, ever since I took this job, the death threats are outrageous, he said. All the time, there are death threats from criminal cartels in Mexico, terrorist organizations and other people that just dont like me. People dont like me, people hate me because of what I do, but Im not running a popularity contest. Hate me all you want, its not going to change what I do for this country or the job I have to do, he said. Homan said he believes what he claims is the spread of misinformation has unnecessarily divided the Sackets Harbor community. When I leave here today, they can still hate me, but hate me based on the facts, he said.I hope the community heals, because I love this community. But I am not going to apologize for doing the job the American people elected Donald Trump to do. He said the Trump administration has secured the southern border, with a 95% decline in illegal immigration, a record number of terrorist or national security threats have been arrested and removed from the country and missing children continue to be found. People need to understand, in the north country, that every night when they go to bed, when theyre asleep in their bed, two or three oclock in the morning, the men and women of the Border Patrol and ICE are out there on the street protecting this nation, protecting our communities and arresting a lot of bad people, he said. Dont hate on them for doing their job. If you want to hate on someone, hate on me. Im okay with it, because Ill defend the men and women of Border Patrol and ICE as long as theyre doing what theyre supposed to be doing, at my direction, or the presidents direction, then Ive got their backs. --------- 2025 Watertown Daily Times (Watertown, N.Y.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Photo provided by the New York State Police Patrick M. Poirier, 39, of Bentonville, Arkansas, has been reported missing in the Adirondacks and was last seen near Crown Point, New York. Photo provided by the New York State Police Photo provided by the New York State Police Troopers have asked the public for help finding a missing man last seen in the Adirondacks. The New York State Police started searching for Patrick M. Poirier at 5:08 p.m. Friday after a friend told troopers they were concerned about the 39-year-old mans well-being, troopers said in a news release. Poirier is from Bentonville, Arkansas, but has ties to Plattsburgh. His truck, a white 2025 Ford Maverick, was last spotted in Crown Point traveling east toward Vermont, troopers said. Crown Point is in Essex County on the western shore of Lake Champlain. The state police described Poirier as approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall with brown hair and green eyes. Troopers are actively searching for Poirier and asked anyone with information about where he is to call (518) 563-3761. Cha McCoy is the owner and sommelier of The Communion Wine and Spirits shop in downtown Syracuse. Katrina Tulloch A retail shop that sought to bring underrepresented wines to downtown Syracuse is closing this week after 2 years in business. The Communion Wine & Spirits, located on the ground floor of the State Tower Building, will have a going-out-of-business sale from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The sale includes wines and liquors, plus furniture, equipment and other fixtures. Owner Cha McCoy, an internationally-recognized wine expert, consultant and educator, first announced the closing in a post on Instagram. The shop, which featured many wines from lesser-known producers and regions, had a hard time attracting customers, McCoy said. The major factor was that people dont really shop downtown, said McCoy, who lives in downtown Syracuse herself. I love downtown and people like to come downtown, but its still not a place where people come to shop, she said. People in this area still buy their alcohol where they live, if thats Camillus or Liverpool or wherever. Its not like New York City, where Im from, where people will go out of their way to go to a good shop. She also cited the snow and cold this winter, which hurt foot traffic even more. Despite the closing, McCoy said she believed she did help her customers connect to the wines and winemakers they might have otherwise been unfamiliar with. My inbox has like 70 messages from people saying Thank you for introducing me to that wine I didnt know about, she said. So yeah, there was definitely an impact. But it is hard to get peoples attention sometimes. Despite the challenges, The Communion in 2023 was nominated by Wine Enthusiast magazine for a Wine Star Award in the retailer of the year category. Sommelier and business owner Cha McCoy restocks bottles at The Communion Wine + Spirits, her shop in downtown Syracuse. Katrina Tulloch McCoy herself has been named to Wine Enthusiasts Top 40 Under 40 Tastemakers, and Wine & Spirits magazines Rising Black Voices in Wine, among other national and international recognition. McCoy is a Syracuse University graduate, and plans to continue working as a business mentor with the SU Whitman School of Management. She will continue her wine-related consulting, event and travel business, called Cha Squared. Shes also keeping her wine subscription service. She often uses the term the traveling sommelier to describe herself. McCoy is also working on a book, Wine Pairing for the People, to be published this fall by Harper Collins. It is subtitled The Communion of Wine, Food, and Culture from Africa and Beyond. It has pairings not just with French and Italian for but so much more, McCoy said. Theres a pairing with jerk chicken, for example. McCoy will be at the shop Thursday, Friday and Saturday for the closing sale. Its an everything must go sale, and she will help arrange delivery for larger items like furniture. Come grab a bottle or a sofa lol, share a goodbye hug, and raise a glass one last time, she wrote on Instagram. Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook. 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. It is difficult for victims of war crimes in court, but their testimonies to become 'bricks' for tribunal Irpin court dpty head It is emotionally difficult for victims of war crimes of the occupiers to give testimonies at court hearings on charges of Russian military personnel, but at the same time it is extremely important, since the aggression tribunal takes into account the testimonies of the victims, and not the verdicts of Ukrainian courts, Deputy Head of Irpin Court of Kyiv region Mykhailo Odariuk said. In an exclusive video interview with Interfax-Ukraine, Odariuk said that he was the first in Irpin City Court of Kyiv region to pass a verdict on a war crime committed by the occupiers [the court's jurisdiction extends to Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel]. "We feel everything that happened (during the occupation) in our cases. I passed a verdict against nine Russian servicemen who were accused of torture. The case was based solely on the testimony of the victim. They (the occupiers) took him away three times, did not give him food, beat him... The victim was actually our only source of evidence," the judge said. Odariuk said: "What the victims saw during the occupation, mass brutal crimes, cannot be conveyed in words. It is very good that he (the victim) was able to tell at all, because there is a big problem with this. People do not want to remember." In general, according to the judge, the victims are normal about not seeing the accused in the war crime on the dock. "He is either not yet detained, or there is information that this person was killed. But we cannot close the proceedings, because there is no documentary confirmation and no one can provide it to us except Russia," Odariuk said. The judge assured that he understands the victims not only as a judge, but also as a citizen. "I understand that when you come to court, you want to see some satisfaction from the process, that in the end the criminal will be punished," he said, adding that despite the emotional complexity, the victims are understanding of the circumstances that are developing. "The judges explain to them: what you say, what you tell the judges, being under oath, being warned about criminal liability, these are, so to speak, bricks in the future process of the international tribunal," the deputy head of Irpin court said. He said the court verdicts are not taken into account directly. "But the testimony that was given under oath in court is taken into account. That is, in fact, we are doing preparatory work. So that in the future it is possible to bring high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation to criminal liability," Odariu said. Answering the question whether he personally believes in the inevitability of punishment of the enemy, the deputy head of Irpin court noted: "I hope so. Without this, my work would have no meaning." "I have faith that a tribunal will be created. Maybe not today, not tomorrow, and not this year. Crimes against security, peace... on the surface, we all see missile and drone attacks... There is a lot of evidence with video recording that it was a hit," Odariuk said. At the same time, he said: "Even when the Armed Forces of Ukraine shoot down an enemy missile and it falls somewhere, God forbid, into a house and someone gets injured or dies altogether, it doesn't matter, because it is related to the military aggression of the Russian Federation. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are not responsible for this, because this would not have happened if the missile had not been launched." At the same time, the judge clarified that not a single person has been convicted of the crime of aggression even after the Second World War, everyone was acquitted of this crime, because this type of crime is too difficult to prove. First confirmed case of glyphosate-resistant grass weed in Irish cropping systems Teagasc have confirmed the first reported case of a field population of the grass weed Italian ryegrass, that has proven resistant to glyphosate. Italian ryegrass is already a major challenge on some Irish tillage farms, with some populations resistant to selective herbicides used in crops. Owing to the broad-spectrum activity of glyphosate, glyphosate resistance is a much greater challenge as it severely limits remaining control options. Based on both glasshouse assessments and a molecular analysis of the confirmed Italian ryegrass population, Dr. Vijaya Bhaskar, Weed Researcher, Teagasc Crops Research Department, Oak Park, confirmed that the suspect Italian ryegrass population was tested with different glyphosate products at four rates. Of concern was the fact that all products were ineffective, even at the maximum allowed rate. Molecular analysis revealed a known target-site mutation at the EPSPS Pro-106-Ser position, which has been associated with glyphosate resistance. This is the first confirmed case in Ireland, more than 50 years after the introduction of glyphosate. Over 50 weed species worldwide have developed glyphosate resistance. In Europe, this is mainly seen in perennial crops like orchards and vineyards, but glyphosate resistance in Italian ryegrass has also been found in cereal crops in Italy in 2012 and in the UK in 2025. Commenting on this development, Dr. Ewen Mullins, Head of the Teagasc Crops Science Department, stated that the finding is indeed concerning and will require further investigation to assess the populations resistance to other herbicide types, and develop additional actions, including drastic cultural methods if, or when required. Figure 1: Symptoms of glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-sensitive populations of Italian ryegrass following application of glyphosate. Both populations were treated with dose rates from 540 g ha-1 to 1440 g ha-1 (maximum rate allowed in any single year). What just happened? A man who became the first person ever arrested in Japan for selling modded Nintendo Switch consoles has been fined and given a suspended prison sentence. 58-year-old Fumihiro Otobe was arrested in January and has just been found guilty by the Kochi District Court. While people have been arrested in other parts of the world for selling modified Nintendo Switch consoles, it had never happened in Japan before Otobe's apprehension at the start of this year. Otobe, a transportation worker from Ryugasaki City, was initially arrested on suspicion of soldering hardware modifications onto circuit boards in used Switch consoles, thereby allowing them to run pirated games. Otobe sold the handheld hybrids online for about 28,000 yen (approximately $195). Each Switch had 27 pirated games pre-installed. Otobe admitted what he had done when he was first charged. He said, "I was curious if people would think I was great for selling modified machines." Police found four modified Switch units in Otobe's possession, so he would have likely been found guilty even without the confession. NTV News (via Automaton) reports that in a hearing held on April 14, Otobe was found guilty of infringing on Nintendo's trademark rights and other violations. He was sentenced to two years in prison, though Otobe will no doubt be grateful that this custodial sentence has been suspended for three years. However, he still has to pay a fine of 500,000 yen, which is about $3,500. Otobe certainly got off lightly compared to the unfortunately named Gary Bowser. The Canadian national, a key member of the Team Xecuter group that created tools like modchips and jailbreaks for circumventing Nintendo's security measures, was arrested in 2020 in the Dominican Republic on 11 felony counts of piracy. In 2021, Bowser was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay Nintendo $14.5 million over 400,000% more than Otobe. Bowser was released from prison in April 2023 after serving 14 months. He had paid Nintendo $25 per month using money from his prison job while incarcerated, so the $14.5 million he owed the company had been reduced by $175. President Donald J. Trump has seemingly claimed that he helped Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding tariff exclusions, but did not explain exactly what kind of assistance he gave the executive. The current state of the United States economy and its relationship with other countries are on thin ice thanks to the tariffs. Still, the recent pause on the tariffs has eased the tensions amidst the country's top businesses for now. In addition, the temporary exclusions given to the tech industry, which left out smartphones, laptops, processors, and more, have eased worries. President Trump Seemingly Claims He Helped Tim Cook In President Trump's recent meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, he also answered the media's questions about the US tariffs. He seemingly claimed to have helped out Apple CEO Tim Cook. In a video posted by Aaron Rupar on Bluesky, Trump explained the tariff exclusions for certain products or goods, first discussing the auto industry. However, when asked about smartphones, citing Apple's products as well as other brands, the President's response is unclear, he admitted to helping Cook recently. That being said, Trump said that in "that whole businessI'm not, I don't want to hurt anybody." According to 9to5Mac, this statement may mean that Trump helped Cook navigate through the tariff exclusions for Apple, and this seemingly confirms that the administration has favored the company. That being said, there is no confirmation if Apple is truly exempted from this entire ordeal, but Trump previously pointed out that he is "flexible" but not to the point that he will change his mind about the tariffs. President Trump's Tariffs The entire world was rocked when President Trump's tariffs started taking effect at the start of April as it first centered on base increases and then moved on to imposing massive rates by April 9. It was also revealed in that last increase that the reciprocal tariffs against China rose to 125%. This significantly affects products being manufactured and assembled there, including a number from Apple. However, the next announcement regarding the Trump tariffs is a temporary pause, but it excluded China from the list. That being said, it was also announced that there is an exclusion for smartphones, laptops, processors, and more for the time being, but this is also a temporary leeway that the Trump administration extended to the industry. All in all, Trump's tariffs are inevitable as the companies and countries who are set to face it will soon do so. It was previously discussed by the White House that one of the top solutions to avoid the tariffs is for companies like Apple to bring manufacturing and other processes to the US, with Trump believing that it is possible. A new UK study by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London has made a startling discovery: computed tomography (CT) scans, a ubiquitous medical imaging device available in hospitals and clinics in the US and around the world, could cause more than 100,000 new cases of cancer annually, including almost 10,000 among children. Just when we think that CT scans are beneficial in detecting cancer, they are put on equal footing with alcohol drinking when it comes to cancer risk. Although the personal risk per scan is low, the large number of scans taken every year in the United States makes this a public health issue. CT Scan Cancer Risk: The Numbers Are Alarming In 2023 alone, there were 93 million CT scans in the US, a huge increase from only 3 million in 1980. These scans, says study co-author Amy Berrington, head of the Clinical Cancer Epidemiology Group at ICR, may cause 9,700 cases of pediatric cancer. Contrary to the UK, where formal guidelines restrict the use of CT scans, the United States has witnessed an increase in scan rate with little medical justification or control of radiation dose. Why Radiation Exposure Is Significant CT scans release ionizing radiation, which is a type of energy with the potential to harm DNA and lead to cancer. Although the risk of increased cancer per individual scan is negligible, the impact over millions of procedures is dramatic. "It's important to note that for the individual patient, this increased risk is small, and the benefits far outweigh the risks if the scan is clinically justified. But when millions of CT scans are being carried out across the population, these small risks do add up," Berrington said about the study. Experts are warning about radiation dose variation, reporting that certain patients receive radiation doses as much as 15 times more than required, depending on the machine and clinic. CT Scans for Children: Greater Risk, More Caution Kids are particularly at risk. The still-developing tissue in younger patients is more radiogenic, and the long lead time of cancer means risks could take years to manifest. In 2009, a study discovered that regular multiple scans could raise the chances of acquiring cancer by 12%. Apart from that, scans undertaken before age 22 dramatically increase the risk for blood cancers and brain tumors. Another finding from the same study suggests an increase in the lifetime risk of cancer from one scan of just 0.7%. Experts Demand Change: CT Scans Need to Be Justified According to The New York Post, medical professionals are now calling for increased regulation by regulatory agencies. In the same vein, they also urged the tracking of doses of radiation for each scan, as well as minimizing unnecessary scans, particularly for healthy patients. Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman, a University of California-San Francisco professor, warned that patients are receiving 23 times the correct dose, describing the situation as "unfathomable." A 2015 study supports this by stating that CT scans can cause cellular damage. Although very subtle, low-dose radiation could give rise to cancer risks. Europe flooding in 2024 worst in over a decade: report Paris, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 Europe experienced its most extensive flooding in over a decade in 2024, the EU's climate change monitor reported on Tuesday, with almost one-third of its rivers swelling to bursting point. Swathes of the continent were inundated during the year, with the worst hit Valencia in Spain, and central and eastern Europe, said the Copernicus Climate Change Service. These disasters took place during the hottest year around the world, and underscore the threat that flooding poses for Europe, as the world warms because of human-driven climate change. Storms and floods in 2024 killed more than 300 people, affected 413,000 others people across Europe, and inflicted at least 18 billion euros ($20.5 billion) in economic damage. Some 30 percent of Europe's river network flooded in what was one of the continent's 10 wettest years since 1950, Copernicus said in a new report with the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO). "Europe saw the most widespread flooding since 2013," Samantha Burgess of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which runs the Copernicus climate monitor, told journalists ahead of the report being published. Up to three months worth of rain fell in just five days in September as Storm Boris brought immense flooding and widespread damage to eight countries in central and eastern Europe. A month later, powerful storms whipped up by warm, moist air from the Mediterranean Sea dumped torrential rain over Spain, with subsequent floods devastating the eastern province of Valencia. Most parts of western Europe experienced wetter-than-usual conditions in 2024 but eastern parts of the continent were on average drier and warmer. - Vulnerable continent - Burgess said this east-west contrast was not directly linked to climate change, but opposite pressure systems that influenced cloud cover and the transport of moisture over different parts of the continent. But the storms that wreaked havoc over Europe in 2024 were "likely more severe due to a warmer atmosphere holding more moisture", she added. "As our climate warms, we are seeing more -- and more extreme -- extreme events," said Burgess. Since the 1980s, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average, making it the fastest-warming continent on Earth. Climate change is not just about rising temperatures but the knock-on effect of all that extra heat being trapped in the atmosphere and seas by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Warmer seas mean higher evaporation and a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, feeding energy into storms and causing heavier deluges. The IPCC, the UN's expert climate panel, says extreme rainfall and flooding is projected to get worse in Europe in particular as the planet keeps warming. Only about half of all European cities have national adaptation plans in place to better deal with climate-related disasters, according to the Copernicus and WMO report. That is an improvement from around a quarter in 2018. The hulls of two VVER-1000 reactors, which were previously planned for the Bulgarian Belene NPP and which were under negotiations with Ukraine, will not be sold to it, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov told reporters, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Zafirov noted that he had held talks with partners on the Joint Management Board, as well as with the leader of the center-right GERB party Boyko Borissov, and had reached such an agreement. "We have together supported this extremely important strategic choice," Zafirov was quoted by BTA. At the same time, as the agency indicates, the Deputy Prime Minister added that these reactors are not for sale, but are a key asset for Bulgaria, part of its energy independence. As reported, in mid-February 2025, Energy Minister Herman Haluschenko had already expressed concern that a resolution was registered in the Bulgarian parliament to cancel the permit for the sale of two reactor vessels for power units No. 3, 4 of Khmelnytsky NPP to Ukraine, the term of which expires on March 11. US climate cuts hurting global science: Europe's weather agency Paris, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 Europe's meteorological agency says cuts by US President Donald Trump's administration to a key American science agency had hindered the sharing of crucial observations used around the globe to monitor the climate and forecast weather. Trump's administration has fired hundreds of staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and deleted government websites with data on the weather and climate. The White House plans to go much further, US media reported last week, by gutting funding for NOAA's climate-related research programs and firing even more scientists who study global warming. Florence Rabier, Director General of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), told journalists that the repercussions were being keenly felt across the Atlantic and beyond. "We've been partners with them since our beginning, 50 years ago, and they provide a huge contribution to the science of weather prediction and so the climate science," Rabier said in remarks on April 10 that were embargoed until Tuesday. "What we've seen since March is that there has been a drop in the number of observations delivered by NOAA due to funding cuts," she said. Data provided from weather balloons, which track temperature, wind speed, humidity and other atmospheric readings, had reduced by about 10 percent, she added. These observations were "absolutely fundamental" for forecasts globally, Rabier said, "because the weather doesn't know any border". "It's important for climate monitoring -- any observation lost is a loss for climate monitoring, for calibration of satellite, for verification of forecasts," she said. "In terms of both science, and observations for weather and climate, I think it would have an impact on the whole community." NOAA is one of the world's premier climate monitors, making it a prime target as the Trump administration has downsized government agencies and gutted spending on conservation and environment. Under plans reported by US media, about 75 percent of funding for NOAA's research branch could be eliminated from the 2026 budget -- drastic cuts that could be implemented starting this year. The administration also wants to make budget cuts to a branch of NASA that is tasked with using satellites to study and monitor the effects of climate change, media reported. The ECMWF runs the Copernicus Climate Change Service, which uses billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations to aid its climate calculations. Second debris removal trial starts at Fukushima plant Tokyo, April 15 (AFP) Apr 15, 2025 Japanese engineers began Tuesday a difficult operation to remove a second sample of radioactive debris from inside the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. Around 880 tonnes of hazardous material are inside the site after a catastrophic tsunami caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered one of history's worst nuclear accidents in 2011. Removing the debris is seen as the most daunting challenge in a decades-long decommissioning project because of the dangerously high radiation levels. "At 10:03 am (0103 GMT), the second trial extraction operation was started," Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said in a statement. The second removal comes after TEPCO completed the first trial removal operation using a specially developed extendible device in November. The sample weighing just below 0.7 grams (0.02 ounces) -- equivalent to about one raisin -- was delivered to a research lab near Tokyo for analysis. But TEPCO needs more data to examine methods for full-scale debris extractions. The company said in December it was "upgrading" the telescopic device used for the first experiment by attaching a new camera to its tip. Three of Fukushima's six reactors went into meltdown in 2011 after the huge tsunami swamped the facility. Last month, robots began moving sandbags that were used to absorb radiation-contaminated water on underground floors of two buildings at the Fukushima site. In 2023, Japan began releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools' worth of treated wastewater, which has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. China banned Japanese seafood imports as a result, and Russia later followed suit. This month China said it found no abnormalities in seawater and marine life samples that it independently collected near Fukushima in February. But Beijing indicated that more tests would be needed before it lifts the ban. 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 Starbucks is introducing a new dress code for its baristas and union workers are not happy. On Monday, the coffee chain announced the uniform would be implemented from May 12. The previous dress code allowed for tops of any color and bottoms, hats, footwear, and outerwear to be black, gray, navy, brown, khaki, or white. The new dress code requires employees to wear a solid black shirt that is either a crewneck, collared, or button-up. The shirts can be short-sleeved or long-sleeved. Employees must also wear bottoms that can be any shade of khaki, black, or blue denim. By updating our dress code, we can deliver a more consistent coffeehouse experience that will also bring simpler and clearer guidance to our partners, which means they can focus on what matters most, crafting great beverages and fostering connections with customers, a press release stated. On top of the new dress code, the company revealed it would be providing employees with two company-branded shirts. However, in a statement sent to The Independent, Starbucks Workers United called on CEO Brian Niccol to address other issues at the company. The new dress code requires employees to wear a solid black shirt that is either a crewneck, collared, or button-up ( Getty ) Starbucks top priority should be finalizing fair contracts with union baristas so we have the staffing, guaranteed hours, and support we need to do our jobs, Jasmine Leli, a three-year Starbucks barista and union bargaining delegate, said. Workers United has written to Starbucks demanding no dress code change be implemented at union-represented stores until bargaining concludes. Instead of addressing the most pressing issues baristas have been raising for years, Starbucks is prioritizing a limiting dress code that wont improve the companys operations. Theyre forcing baristas to pay for new clothes when were struggling as it is on Starbucks wages and without guaranteed hours. Theyre spending money and time to force baristas into a specific cultural vision that is counter to building an authentic, inclusive third place where workers and customers can feel like they belong. Its time for Brian Niccol to get involved in the bargaining process and hear from us directly on what Starbucks partners actually need to succeed. In regard to the unions demand about finalizing contracts, a spokesperson for Starbucks said in a statement to The Independent, Since last April Starbucks and Workers United have held more than nine bargaining sessions over 20 days and three mediation sessions over five days with a federal mediator. Weve reached over thirty (30) meaningful agreements on hundreds of topics Workers United delegates told us were important to them. Starbucks remains committed to good faith bargaining to reach a framework for single store contracts for our partners represented by the union. The companys 2025 first-quarter earnings report showed that its comparable store sales in the U.S. declined by 4 percent year over year. The new dress code is one of the many changes Starbucks has implemented this year. Last month, the company announced a menu change, removing 13 drinks. Starbucks said goodbye to drinks that are not commonly purchased, can be complex to make or are similar to other beverages on our menu. This change officially went into effect on March 4. These departed drinks are: Iced Matcha Lemonade, White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino, Espresso Frappuccino, Chai Creme Frappuccino, Caramel Ribbon Crunch Creme Frappuccino, Double Chocolaty Chip Creme Frappuccino, Chocolate Cookie Crumble Creme Frappuccino, White Chocolate Creme Frappuccino, Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino, Java Chip Frappuccino, White Hot Chocolate, Royal English Breakfast Latte, and Honey Almondmilk Flat White. In place of these 13 items, the Seattle-based company ushered in three new picks: Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha, Iced Cherry Chai, and Iced Lavender Oatmilk Latte. Starbucks also added Jalapeno Chicken Pockets and Spicy Falafel Pockets at select locations. 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 Tyra Banks is the latest celebrity to reveal shes left the United States for another country. During Mondays episode of Today with Jenna & Friends, the Americas Next Top Model alum said she moved to Australia alongside her boyfriend Louis Belanger-Martin and her nine-year-old son York Banks Asla. So I have this ice cream company, SMiZE and Dream, she told Jenna Bush Hager. Ive been going to Australia a lot because we were making a lot of our ice cream there in this big facility, doing our recipes. She continued: I just fell in love with it. Every time I went back, and went back and the three countries that eat the most ice cream: America, New Zealand, and Australia. So I was like, 'Im happy here and they love to eat some ice cream, so, are we going to do this family? And we did. Banks then showed off what a day in her life looks like while living in Australia. Her day starts at 6:30 a.m. with a cup of coffee before she brings her son to one of her favorite places. This is Tumbalong Park. People come from all over Sydney to enjoy this park, she said while showing off the park. They have what we call a little mini water park. Theres swings and stuff for kids. Theres this new place that theyve built for the bigger kids that you really cant get your kid away from. So be careful when you come here. Banks revealed the move was to work on her ice cream business ( Getty Images for ESSENCE ) Throughout this year, many celebrities have announced their decision to leave the U.S. Last month, Rosie O'Donnell turned to TikTok to reveal she moved from America to Ireland. She also clarified that she and her 12-year-old adopted daughter, Dakota, moved on January 15, just five days before Donald Trump took office as the 47th U.S. President. Its been pretty wonderful, I have to say, she said in the nine-minute video. The people are so loving and so kind and so welcoming. And Im very grateful. ODonnell, who has a long-standing feud with Trump, also shared that shes in the process of getting her Irish citizenship since she has Irish grandparents. I was never someone who thought I would move to another country. That's what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are, she added. Later in the video, ODonnell shared that while she and her daughter whom she referred to as Clay are happy, she misses her other children in the U.S. I miss my friends, ODonnell added in her video. I miss many things about life there at home and I'm trying to find a home here in this beautiful country and when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America, that's when we will consider coming 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 A 19-year-old man who was upset at his girlfriend for going on a cruise has been sent to prison for making a bomb threat to the ship. Joshua Lowe, from Michigan, admitted that he was annoyed that he had to watch pets while his partner and her family went on a Caribbean cruise, leading him to take drastic measures. Sending an email to Carnival Corp cruise lines, Mr Lowe casually wrote: Hey, I think someone might have a bomb on your sunrise cruise ship. What followed was a search of over 1,000 rooms after the ship had departed Miami in January 2024, prosecutors say. The Sunrise liner was heading for Jamaica, and had to be diverted to the port after authorities were alerted. open image in gallery ( Carnival Corporation ) Assistant US Attorney Nils Kessler said: FBI agents traced the email address to Lowe, who was living with his girlfriend's family," Kessler said. "Lowe admitted he sent the message because he was upset that the family went on the cruise, while leaving him behind to care for their pets. "Anyone making a bomb threat should expect to be taken at his word. Fortunately, this particular hoax did not result in physical injury," Mr Kessler added in a court filing. Mr Lowe has was sentenced to eight months in prison for making the false bomb threat on Monday. The offence carries a maximum penalty of up to five years. In a letter to US District Judge Paul Maloney, Mr Lowe said: "This is all my fault and take full responsibility." Writing at the time the 19-year-old was charged, US Attorney Mark Totten said: We take every threat of mass violence seriously. Hoaxes can endanger lives, incur needless costs, and divert public safety resources needed to address real threats. My office has zero tolerance for wrongdoers who intentionally convey false and misleading information that prompts a law enforcement response. Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, added: Bomb threats are not a laughing matter and are extremely irresponsible. When individuals make false hoax threats, they divert critical law enforcement resources and spread unnecessary fear. The FBI takes all threats to life seriously and will ensure that those who resort to this kind of intimidation face the appropriate consequences. 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 Georgia authorities have arrested an elderly couple for the murder of a man found dead in his truck 24 years ago. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Gary Fowler, 74, and Mary Fowler, 73, of Chatsworth had been charged with murder in connection with the death of Travis Silvers. Silvers body was found inside his truck in the parking lot of a Wendys restaurant in Adairsville, Georgia, on March 10, 2001. According to an article from the Rome News-Tribune that year, Silvers, 51, of Kingston, died from a fatal gunshot wound to the head. A weapon was not found in his car. Another newspaper clipping at the time stated police believed Silvers body was intentionally driven to the restaurant parking lot to be found by authorities. The deceased man had been wrapped in a comforter and was lying on the passenger side of the truck. Police initially responded to the Wendys after someone placed a call to authorities about a suspicious truck. Our examination of the interior of the truck found no gunpowder residue or bullet damage to the vehicle like you might expect if he was shot at close range inside the cab, said Lieutenant Larry Miolen of the Adairsville Police Department at the time. The Independent has contacted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for more information. The Fowlers are being held at the Bartow County Jail without bond. Officials did not state how the couple is connected to the case. They have been booked into Bartow County Jail. Sign up for the Independent Women email for the latest news, opinion and features Get the Independent Women email for free Get the Independent Women email for free Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A retrial in New York for disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who facesrape and sexual assault charges, is set to begin on Tuesday with jury selections. After a flood of women came forward with damning allegations against the world-famous movie mogul, juries in New York and California found Weinstein guilty of sex crimes, with his accusers giving harrowing testimony at trial. Weinstein appealed both convictions within weeks. Last April, an appeals court overturned his New York conviction, and now the 72-year-old is set to be tried again in a Manhattan courtroom, even as he remains behind bars for the Los Angeles charges. The trial is expected to last between four and six weeks. Heres a timeline of Weinsteins legal battles. open image in gallery Harvey Weinstein appears in New York State Supreme Court for a pre-trial hearing on April 9, less than a week before hes set to be retried after his two-count conviction was overturned last April ( The New York Times ) October 5, 2017 Actresses and former employees accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct spanning decades in an explosive New York Times article. The list of accusers includes actress Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan. Weinstein denies that he sexually assaulted or raped anyone but offers an apology, telling the outlet: I appreciate the way Ive behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though Im trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. In the following weeks, dozens of more women, including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, come forward with similar allegations. February 11, 2018 The New York Attorney General sues the Weinstein Company, which was owned by Weinstein and his brother Bob, for violations of the states human rights law and for using the business to facilitate unlawful activities related to the film producers harassment of employees. The brothers are also named in the suit. The company files for bankruptcy one month later. May 25, 2018 Authorities in New York arrest Weinstein on three charges: rape in the first and third degrees and criminal sexual act in the first degree related to two women. He posts $1 million bail and is released that day. He agrees to wear a GPS tracker and surrender his passport. One of the women, Lucia Evans, alleges he forced her to perform oral sex during a 2004 encounter. The rape accuser is not publicly identified. Days later, his lawyer calls the charges absurd, claiming Weinstein had a 10-year-long relationship with the woman hes accused of raping. May 31, 2018 A New York grand jury indicts the Hollywood powerhouse. This indictment brings the defendant another step closer to accountability for the crimes of violence with which he is now charged, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. says in a statement. Weinsteins encounters with both women were consensual and he strongly denies these accusations, his lawyer says. Two days later, Weinstein pleads not guilty to the charges. July 2, 2018 A Manhattan grand jury indicts the movie mogul on three additional charges related to allegations from two other women: two counts of predatory assault and an additional count of criminal sexual act in the first degree. He now faces a total of six counts. A Manhattan grand jury has now indicted Harvey Weinstein on some of the most serious sexual offenses that exist under New Yorks penal law, Vance Jr. says in a statement. This indictment is the result of the extraordinary courage exhibited by the survivors who have come forward. The sex act charge stems from allegations brought by his former production assistant Miriam Haley, who claimed that Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex in 2006 in his New York City apartment. His attorney insists that the encounters were consensual and calls the allegations against his client false. Weinstein pleads not guilty to the new charges days later. August 3, 2018 The disgraced film producer seeks to dismiss the criminal charges. His lawyers cite extensive warm, complimentary and solicitous emails from one of the rape accusers. October 11, 2018 A judge dismisses one of the six counts against Weinstein the one from Evans claim. The top detective failed to inform the DAs office about an account from Evans friend, who heard a different version of the alleged encounter from Evans, prosecutors say in a letter. December 7, 2018 In another attempt to get the criminal case tossed, Weinsteins lawyers point to an email that seemed to show that one of his rape accusers attended a film screening with him hours after the alleged incident. Why would an alleged rape victim go out of her way to spend time with her rapist merely hours after she was allegedly attacked? his lawyer asks. Later that month, the judge rejects the defense teams bid to get the case dismissed. May 24, 2019 Weinstein reaches a $44 million tentative settlement to resolve civil suits brought by women in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada as well as the February 2018 civil suit filed by the Manhattan attorney generals office against his company. August 26, 2019 Following two additional charges of predatory sexual assault brought by New York prosecutors, Weinstein pleads not guilty. The new charges prompt the judge to delay his trial until January 2020 rather than September 2019. December 11, 2019 The New York judge presiding over the movie moguls case raises his bail to $5 million after prosecutors say he mishandled his ankle monitor, causing it to stop working dozens of times. Lawyers for Weinstein, who rolled into court using a walker, say hes expected to undergo back surgery. The same day, the film producer reaches a $25 million agreement to settle civil suits brought by accusers and the New York attorney generals office. The agreement does not require him to admit wrongdoing. open image in gallery Movie producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at criminal court on December 11, 2019 over his bail amount after prosecutors allege he mishandled his ankle monitor ( Getty ) January 6, 2020 Weinsteins trial in New York begins. Across the country, prosecutors in Los Angeles charge him with four counts of sexual assault stemming from allegations brought by two women related to separate 2013 encounters. February 24, 2020 The jury deliberates for five days after hearing weeks of graphic testimony from six women Haley, Jessica Mann, Dawn Dunning, Lauren Young, Tarale Wulff, andAnnabella Sciorra. The 12 jurors find him guilty of a criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree related to allegations involving Haley and Mann. The jury acquits him of the two counts of predatory sexual assault and rape in the first degree. March 11, 2020 A judge sentences the disgraced producer to 23 years behind bars. He had crushed a part of my spirit. If he was not convicted of rape and sexual assault by this jury it would have happened again and again. Im relieved there are women who are safer because he is not out there, Haley says in her victim impact statement. open image in gallery At his 2020 New York trial, Harvey Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, pictured at a press conference in 2017. ( Getty ) April 5, 2021 Weinstein appeals his two-count felony conviction. His lawyers ask for a new trial, alleging the judge and a juror were biased against him. They also claim that the jury shouldnt have been able to hear testimony from witnesses whose allegations werent related to the charges he faced. Simply put, the prosecution tried Weinsteins character not his conduct, his attorneys write in the appeal. July 21, 2021 Weinstein pleads not guilty to 11 charges in Los Angeles, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, and sexual battery. The charges stem from five individuals allegations. He appears in the courtroom in a wheelchair. June 2, 2022 A New York appellate court upholds his conviction. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says prosecutors are gratified by todays decision, which upholds a monumental conviction that changed the way prosecutors and courts approach complex prosecutions of sexual predators. June 8, 2022 Police in the United Kingdom charge Weinstein with two counts of indecent assault stemming from an alleged 1996 encounter. October 25, 2022 The Los Angeles trial begins, kicking off two months of testimony. One month later, a judge drops four of the charges two counts of forcible rape and two counts of forcible oral copulation related to one womans account. He now faces seven counts. open image in gallery In this courtroom artist sketch, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, takes the stand at the trial of Harvey Weinstein in Los Angeles on Nov. 14, 2022 ( Bill Robles ) December 19, 2022 A jury finds him guilty of three counts of rape and sexual assault all tied to one accuser known as Jane Doe 1, who accused him of rape in 2013 during a film festival. Jurors are hung on the remaining four counts. February 23, 2023 A California judge sentences Weinstein to 16 years behind bars. He is ordered to serve the sentence after his 23-year term in New York ends. The encounter with Weinstein has broken me into a million pieces there is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage, the woman says in her victim impact statement. The movie mogul pleaded with a judge. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1. I dont know that woman and she doesnt know me, he says, before accusing the anonymous woman of fabricating a made-up story and of being able to turn on the tears because shes an actress. April 25, 2024 New Yorks highest court overturns Weinsteins conviction. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that the trial judge made egregious errors by allowing prosecutors to call witnesses whose allegations were not related to the charges leveled against him. June 8, 2024 The movie producer files to appeal his California conviction. His attorneys claim he was not given fair opportunity to defend against [Jane Doe 1s] allegations. September 5, 2024 The U.K.s Crown Prosecution Service drops criminal proceedings against him. September 12, 2024 New York prosecutors bring an additional charge against him. The new criminal sex act charge stems from an allegation that he forced oral sex on a woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2006. This woman, who has not been publicly identified, was not involved in his initial New York criminal case. Six days later, he pleads not guilty to the new charge. open image in gallery Harvey Weinstein appears in New York court on September 18, where he pleaded not guilty to the additional charge ( Reuters ) January 29, 2025 The movie mogul begs the judge to move up the start date of his retrial, citing his declining health. I wont be there for April, the 72-year-old said from his wheelchair. I cant hold on anymore. Im holding on because I want justice for myself. He was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in October 2024. A month earlier, he underwent emergency heart surgery. April 15, 2025 Weinstein is set to be retried on the rape and sex act charge in addition to the new charge. The trial is expected to span five weeks. His lawyers have stressed that his previous case is irrelevant. We can take that transcript and all the judges rulings and throw them in the garbage, one of his attorneys argued at a pretrial hearing in March. That trial was declared illegal by the highest court in this state. 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 Florida woman faked her own death after being investigated for stealing over $4 million from her employer. Madelyn Hernandez, 49, of Lee County, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for wire fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Prosecutors said Hernandez worked remotely for a textiles and apparel company for 20 years where she placed orders with vendors and managed shipping, invoicing, and inventory. She schemed the business out of $4,199,498.42 between 2018 and 2024. During the six-year period, Hernandez submitted fraudulent invoices via email from purported fabric supply companies and directed that payment be sent to her bank accounts. Hernandez spent the money on personal expenses and gambling, according to prosecutors. It wasnt until 2024 that the company, not named by prosecutors, found discrepancies in its financial records tied to Hernandez. In June 2024, the company became aware that invoices, proof of delivery records, and inventory reports that Hernandez had submitted were fraudulent. open image in gallery Madelyn Hernandez, 49, of Lee County, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for wire fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. After her company noticed the discrepancies, Hernandez emailed them pretending to be a family member and claimed she had died from surgery complications. ( Getty Images ) As the company was investigating and unraveling the fraudulent records, Hernandez sent a message to her employer, pretending to be a family member. The message said Hernandez died after an illness and complications from surgery. The company alerted the authorities after receiving the message, and the FBI and Internal Revenue Services Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant for Hernandezs home in October. There, Hernandez admitted to agents that she emailed fake invoices to the company for payment and had used the money deposited into her account, held in a fictitious company name. She also admitted to sending the message faking her own death to her employer. Hernandez said that she did not think what she took was as high as $4 million, according to court documents. Prosecutors said that she would occasionally return some of the funds she stole so the company would not find out what she was doing. Hernandez entered a guilty plea on January 28 and has been ordered to forfeit the $4 million as part of her sentence. Photo: https://eurosolidarity.org/2025/04/15 The leader of the European Solidarity party, MP Petro Poroshenko during his speech from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada warned the authorities against using martial law to strengthen authoritarian tendencies in Ukraine. He once again called for unity around the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to do everything possible to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missile terror. "Such tragedies as in Sumy, Kryvy Rih, Poltava, and Zaporizhia are constantly repeated. The enemy wants to strike at the heart of the Ukrainian people, to intimidate. But we have no right to give up. Russian terror is intensifying, children and civilians are dying. And the support for the front that we are currently providing is not enough. We need to support cities, critical infrastructure facilities. We need to strengthen protection in general, and not through Facebook messages, but by doing everything to protect cities," Poroshenko noted. "Yesterday we handed over a set of countermeasures for the technical intelligence Ai-Petri to the Kryvy Rih community. Now the same action is being prepared for Sumy. We are working to help Sumy region. We are working despite the illegal obstruction that the authorities are making to the work of the Charity Fund, after the introduction of unconstitutional sanctions because this is not harming me or the team. It is harming the soldiers at the front, it is harming our troops. And ultimately it is harming Ukraine," states the leader of European Solidarity. "Now another extension of martial law is being introduced. This is the 15th time that the parliament is being asked to support it. We know for sure that this needs to be done, but why a month before the end? I want to emphasize that we must admit the obvious, the authorities have begun to abuse martial law, using it not only to defend the country, but to build an authoritarian regime," says Poroshenko. "Usurpation of power cannot be the goal today. The unlimited power of the Office over you, over parliamentarians is humiliating for all of Ukraine. And we must immediately do everything to unite. Unite not around Zelenskyy or Poroshenko, but unite in order to kill Putin and win. Unite around the Armed Forces," the leader of the European Solidarity party called. "We demand to put the law on personal income tax to a vote and give money to the army. We demand to stop the Druzhba oil pipeline, because this is $20 million a day for Putin," Poroshenko stressed. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An Indiana mother who accused a teacher of indoctrinating children has been arrested after she allegedly brought a gun to school and sent threatening messages. Carrie Rivers, 48, of Indianapolis, pulled her daughter out of Valley Mills Elementary School in Decatur Township on April 9, after objecting to a school lesson that involved, she claimed, same sex relationships, according to WTHR. According to a police report, Rivers complained that the teacher had given her daughter an assignment involving a same-sex relationship. When police questioned the teacher, the educator said they'd given the students an assignment about flags, during which they were shown the flags of various countries and states. The teacher also showed off their own flag, which was a rainbow flag that said "be kind" on its face. The teacher also told police that after Rivers complained about the assignment, her daughter was dismissed from having to complete it. Valley Mills Elementary School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Carrie Rivers, 48, a mother with a child enrolled at the school, allegedly brought a gun to the building while she was complaining about a teacher. She later allegedly sent the teacher threatening messages ( Google Maps ) The incident reportedly so incensed Rivers that she pulled her daughter out of school and then went to the building to complain. Police were called to respond to an "irate parent," and when they arrived they allegedly saw that Rivers had entered the building while wearing a holstered gun, according to Fox 59. Possessing a handgun on school property is a felony offense in the state. The mother insisted that she had forgotten to remove her gun before entering the school, and also admitted that she had brought the gun to the school in the past. Rivers was taken into custody and interviewed by police following the incident. She was reportedly confused, thinking the police had come to the school to confront the teacher, not her. Following her release, Rivers allegedly sent the teacher a defamatory and threatening message, the contents of which were included in court documents. "...your a child predator and your only hope is your b**** a** wife that is a cop otherwise someone else woulda already delt with u for ur wrongs. U messed with the wrong family. I'll tell you that so please say ur prayers and kiss ur kids goodbye and goodnight u never know when god says its our time so always be prepared," the message allegedly said. "God will condemn you to hell not only for your personal beliefs but for the fact that you use your position to mess with the minds of our children. The same day that message was sent, a Facebook account allegedly belonging to Rivers sent a friend request to the teacher. The request included a message allegedly calling the teacher a "sick, nasty teacher." "You should never tell precious innocent kids that it's okay to be in a same sex relationship," the message said. Rivers has been charged with possession of a firearm on school property and harassment. Her first hearing is scheduled for April 15. Decatur Township schools released a statement regarding the incident. "No threats were made against students or staff at that time. The police suspected that the parent had possession of a concealed handgun on her person and escorted her out of the building. At that point, they took possession of the weapon from the parent without incident outside the school," the statement said. "The parent stated that she forgot to remove the handgun before arriving on school property." It continued, noting the harassment aimed at the teacher. "After the incident, it came to our attention that the parent then sent harassing and threatening messages to her childs teacher. A warrant was filed for her arrest, and she is not permitted on any Decatur Township school property," the statement said. "We are committed to ensuring a safe learning environment for students and staff, and are grateful for the quick action of the office staff and school police in handling the situation safely." The Independent has requested comment from Decatur Township schools. 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 Mexico man was arrested for allegedly firebombing a Tesla showroom and a Republican Party office in the state, and could face up to 40 years behind bars. Jamison Wagner, 40, an Albuquerque resident, was detained in connection with arson attacks in February and March at the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom and the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters. Investigators linked the suspect to the attacks through surveillance footage and scene evidence. Officials responded to the showroom on February 9, following reports of two burning Model Y cars in the parking lot outside. The cars sustained damage, with one vehicle being destroyed. Following an examination, police determined the fire had been caused intentionally. open image in gallery An image of the front door of a Republican Party office in New Mexico that was set alight in March ( Department of Justice ) Additionally, officials observed signs of vandalism across the property, including spray painted graffiti reading Die Elon and Tesla Nazi Inc. Some of the letters in the phrases were replaced with symbols representing a swastika, the Department of Justice said in a news release. Five to six vehicles in the parking lot were also spray-painted with similar swastika symbols on windshields, windows and body panels. Some of the cars sustained mechanical damage to the windows, revealing that someone had tried to break into the cars. One jar of ignitable liquid was recovered from the scene. Surveillance footage of the attack showed a light-colored sedan parked east of the showroom. Wagner allegedly approached the facility on foot while wearing all black clothing, a black mask and hoodie and a white box. Police said he used spray paint from the box to draw the graffiti before breaking windows on several vehicles. He then placed a container or incendiary device inside the two Tesla cars that ignited, police said, adding he had a flickering light in his hand consistent with an ignition source. A flame then appeared inside one of the cars. The suspect left the area shortly after the fire started in one of the vehicles. At one point, his hoodie fell back, revealing a balding, police said, helping lead them to Wagner. open image in gallery Jamison Wagner, 40, an Albuquerque resident, has been arrested in connection with arson attacks in February and March at the Tesla Albuquerque Showroom and the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters ( DOJ ) Fire officials later responded to a fire at the Republican Party of New Mexico office on March 30. When authorities responded, they observed flames at the door to the suite. Officials put the fire out shortly after it began. The building sustained damage to the front door, entry/lobby area and smoke extension throughout the office. Graffiti with the phrase ICE=KKK was spotted on the south wall. Following an investigation, officials determined the cause of the fire was arson. Evidence recovered from the scene matched evidence from the Tesla showroom fire. Police believe Wagner used Molotov cocktails to start the fires. During a search of the mans home, investigators recovered a white cardboard box with eight assembled incendiary devices, black and red spray paint, materials for the manufacture of additional incendiary devices and ignitable liquids consistent with gasoline. Officials also seized a Black hooded jacket with red spray paint that matched the surveillance footage from the showroom fire and found a cardboard decal cutout reading ICE=KKK. A vehicle matching the description of a car at the blaze was in the mans garage. open image in gallery The sign police said was recovered from Wagner's home ( DOJ ) Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence, said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a written statement announcing Wagners arrest. We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences. The arrest is the latest in a series of crimes across the world targeting Teslas, superchargers and dealerships due to Elon Musks role with the Department of Government Efficiency, which has overseen the firing of thousands of federal workers. Wagner has been charged with two counts of malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives and will remain in custody pending a detention hearing that has not been set yet. If convicted, he faces five and 20 years in prison for each count. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An undocumented immigrant from El Salvador has been found guilty of the murder of mother-of-five Rachel Morin on a popular hiking trail. Prosecutors believed that Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, was carrying out a planned attack when he grabbed Morin off the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland. The case hinged on DNA evidence connecting Martinez-Hernandez to the crime. A jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty of first-degree murder and first-degree rape, among other offenses, according to Randolph Rice, an attorney representing Morins relatives. Rice said in a statement: The Morin family is incredibly relieved that justice was served today. Martinez-Hernandez was accused of entering the United States illegally after allegedly killing another woman in his home country. Authorities also linked him to a 2023 home invasion in Los Angeles. A jury found Martinez-Hernandez guilty of the first-degree murder and first-degree rape of Rachel Morin ( Tulsa Police ) Morin was killed in August 2023. The act of violence sent shock waves through Bel Air, a suburban community northeast of Baltimore, and became a political flashpoint during the 2024 presidential election campaign as Donald Trump called for increased border security and mass deportations of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Martinez-Hernandez was arrested last summer in Oklahoma. He had been living in Bel Air around the time of Morins death, prosecutors said. They said Morin went walking or running along the same route almost every day, usually in the evenings. Defense attorneys challenged the prosecutors' assertion that the crime was a random attack and said police simply got the wrong man. They also asked jurors to pay close attention to unanswered questions during the trial, including questions of motive. Detectives collected DNA from several places on Morins body and developed Martinez-Hernandez as a suspect, according to prosecutors. After interviewing some of his relatives, detectives matched DNA from the scene with DNA collected from socks that Martinez-Hernandez left behind when he fled Maryland. Morin, 37, left behind five children. Her 14-year-old daughter was the first witness to testify in court last week, fighting back tears as she described the immediate aftermath of her mothers disappearance. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. We demand France cease its steps that do not serve peace and undermine stability in the region, said Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada, Trend reports. "We categorically reject and denounce the claims put forth by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, as reiterated by the French Ambassador to Azerbaijan. The duality in Frances policyprofessing a desire for peace while pursuing actions that perpetuate conflictexposes a troubling inconsistency. Such a hypocritical policy hinders prospects for a durable peace in the region. France's provision of lethal weapons to Armenia, coupled with its persistent anti-Azerbaijan stance, not only undermines the peace process but also stands in stark contrast to Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot's public expressions of concern over regional tensions," Hajizada noted. Moreover, he pointed out that while the finalization of work on the draft peace treaty is an important development, the French side is well aware that the signing of the peace agreement and lasting stability, among others, require addressing core challenges, notably the elimination of Armenia's territorial claims in its constitution and the official dismantling of the Minsk Group and other related OSCE structures. "Obstructing judicial processes for those accused of crimes against humanity not only meddles in a nation's sovereignty but also erodes accountability for grave atrocities. Such interference by France shields perpetrators and risks perpetuating cycles of impunity. Instead of interfering in our regional affairs, France should give up its neocolonial policy, particularly in its overseas territories and Africa, which has drawn large criticism from various nations, not just Azerbaijan. French neocolonialism, while exploiting indigenous populations and resources, has always prioritized French interests over native welfare and fueled long-term instability and ethnic tensions. It is no secret that France's foreign policy exposes the moral bankruptcy of its so-called "civilizing mission. We demand France to cease its steps that do not serve peace and undermine stability in the region," the spokesperson added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Visitors mingle outside the City of Walkers new City Hall following ribbon-cutting ceremonies Friday, May 14. The three-story facility, built at a cost of about $6.5 million, is on Aydell Lane near the citys busiest intersection. City administrative offices will be located on the buildings first and second floors and the third floor will be leased to local business interests. Louisiana executed a man convicted of murder with nitrogen gas on Tuesday evening the state's first execution in 15 years and its first using the largely-untested method after a raging legal battle that ended with a gas mask strapped over his face in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola death chamber. Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration's authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. At about 9:20 a.m. Brice Guidry spotted a black bear walking along Highway 19 near Grace Baptist Church in Slaughter. It was the first time hed seen one in the wild, he said, which prompted him to stop his truck and snap a quick picture. I couldnt believe it, I thought it was a big dog, he said. It was just moseying along. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The next trial session regarding the criminal case of Martin Ryan and Azad Mammadli, charged with spying for France, initiated by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan, has been conducted, Trend reports. During the session, which was presided over by Judge Elmin Rustamov and took place at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes, Ryan answered his advocate's questions. In response to the defense attorneys question, "What was your purpose in contacting people who presented themselves as employees of the French embassy?" Ryan said that there were positive aspects to being in contact with them. "Im a businessman. Due to my work, I needed to have relations with the embassy. I saw this as a positive thing. Thanks to this, I established a wide network of contacts," he answered. When asked by the lawyer, "How did you realize that those individuals were agents of intelligence services?" the defendant answered that he felt it when speaking to Frederic Devos. "It was evident from the questions he asked that he was with an intelligence agency. The people who spoke to me afterward also made this clear. Similarly, it was obvious from the questions and interests of the person in contact with Azad. This has also been reflected in the investigation materials," Ryan noted. When the defense asked, "Why did you continue your relationship with them after realizing they were intelligence agents?" he responded that his main goal was to build relationships with people representing his own country. "If you have a personal relationship with someone, it doesnt necessarily have to involve benefit. My aim was to build friendly relations and ensure my security. There was never any talk of position, benefit, or financial gain," the defendant pointed out. In response to further questions, Ryan said that had he informed the Azerbaijani intelligence services, he would have been betraying France. "At the same time, I didnt have enough evidence. But I should have informed the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If I had documents in hand, I wouldnt be in prison now," he answered. Ryan then answered questions from the lawyer of another defendant in the case, Azad Mammadli. He told the lawyer that he met Mammadli in 2019. "I met Azad in 2019 through a mutual friend. Azad had specific knowledge about Russia. Thats why he was of interest to them. I was the one who introduced Azad to them," Ryan said. Then, Mammadli gave a voluntary statement in court. "I did not provide information to the French embassy; I did not engage in espionage or carry out any assignments. Even though they tried, I did not give them a positive response. I even spoke to Martin by phone in August 2023. During that call, I told Martin that I had rejected their offer. I did not make any verbal or written agreements with the embassy staff. Unfortunately, Ryan gave false testimony during the investigation. He stated that I provided information about several employees of the university where I studied in Russia, but that never happened. I even introduced one of my friends to Martin. We met in October 2023. But I had already rejected the embassys offer back in February 2023. I considered Martin a friend. I didnt know he was a spy," Mammadli said. He also said that one of the charges against him was related to the potential opening of the Zangezur Corridor. "When I came to Baku in 2023, I met with Martin. During that meeting, I shared my personal opinion about the corridor. I told him that if the corridor was opened, I would prefer to see European rather than Russian troops stationed there. I never applied for citizenship, nor was I offered it. While Im a defendant in this case, I am also a victim. Because Martin used me to carry out illegal assignments given to him, and lured me into a trap. My personal information was obtained without my consent. Ryan directly collaborated with embassy staff. He also recruited nine Azerbaijani citizens. To do so, he first formed artificial friendships with them. I regret not informing the Azerbaijani intelligence services about this in time," added Mammadli. The trial will continue on May 19. To note, Martin Ryan and others were arrested on December 4, 2023. Martin Rian, CEO of Mercorama LLC, was charged with espionage. According to the indictment, Martin Ryan was used as a spy agent by employees of the French DGSE (General Directorate of External Security), who involved him in secret cooperation and were subsequently expelled from Baku as a "persona non grata." Along with Martin Ryan, Azad Mammadli, a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, will stand trial in this criminal case on charges of "high treason." As is known, on December 20, 2023, Bernard Emy, the chief of the French Directorate General of External Security (DGSE), was fired from his position following the revelation of a significant espionage network and operational deficiencies. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel If you're African American or in certain organized or social groups, you know there's a national DEI boycott planned for Friday. If you haven't heard about it, know that some Black folks along with allies will be living their normal lives without buying breakfast, lunch or dinner out, without buying coffee, snacks and soda at a neighborhood convenience store and without going to a local or big box store to shop for clothes or groceries. The idea is for enough Black people to withdraw from commerce while standing together in favor of diversity, equity and inclusion and against companies that have moved away from DEI, a valuable business approach and strategy that works to make things better for everyone. Louisianans and Mississippians have long battled over claiming rights for Barqs Root Beer, a beloved soft drink known for its high carbonation, low-foam taste and fabled Southern origins. Thirteenth Ward resident Walker Lasiter posed the question anew after having po-boys with a friend from Mississippi. While both agreed Barqs is the beverage of choice for the meal, they fought over the origins of the drink, each claiming it for his respective state. Lasiter was left with the crucial question: Was Barq's invented in New Orleans? Barqs historian and great-granddaughter of the original Louisiana Barqs manufacturing family, Veni Harlan, has some answers. The operator behind Taco Bell is giving up on running the Mexican-inspired fast food chain in Australia after it failed to gain traction in the face of tough competition from Guzman y Gomez and a series of missteps during the initial growth phase. Collins Foods, which operates KFC in Australia and some other countries, operates 27 Taco Bell restaurants in Australia and is in talks to transition the business to US brand owner Taco Bell International or another operator. Taco Bell in Tamworth. Parent company Collins Foods wants out of the business. This is a business that does not contribute profits, and it does not contribute cash flow, Collins Foods chief Xavier Simonet told investors during a call on Tuesday. Therefore the decision we made will be a positive impact to cash flow once we have fully exited the business. Advertisement Exclusive Eating outRestaurant news Its the end of an era for a much-loved, recently hatted Fitzroy North bistro Its the final weeks of a 14-year-old favourite thats been in its golden period. And what could come next equals a big change in direction. Tomas Telegramma April 16, 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 Fourteen years since opening Pinotta Fitzroy Norths neighbourhood bistro that earned a hat last year under chef Philippa Sibley owner Heidi Modra is selling. Modra will depart at the end of April while Sibley will finish in mid-May, as a prospective buyer looks to flip the St Georges Road venue into a Greek restaurant. Pinotta is a Fitzroy North favourite. Bonnie Savage There was a point last year even with all the success, getting a hat included of knowing I was meant to be happier about how great the restaurant [was], says Modra. The sense of achievement was real ... but I realised that no matter how great it is, it doesnt make running a small business any easier. Advertisement No ones had a moment to recover post-COVID and every year since has delivered a different struggle. I needed to step out of it so I could look back and reflect. Philippa Sibleys tiramisu, with a layer of hazelnut sponge. Bonnie Savage Modra has had the restaurant since 2011, building a loyal following of locals, most of whose names she knows. But securing celebrated chef Philippa Sibley in 2023 whos worked for decades at such Melbourne institutions as Tansys, Est Est Est, Circa the Prince and more was game-changing. Sibley started last spring and the pairing has turned into a golden period for Pinotta, Dani Valent wrote in her 2024 review, awarding the venue a hat. Theres a bright energy in the room, the service has lifted, the wine list is zippy and fun, and the kitchen has identity. Advertisement Less than two years since Sibley took over the kitchen, that golden period is set to end. The sense of achievement was real ... but I realised that no matter how great it is, it doesnt make running a small business any easier. Owner Heidi Modra Pinottas sale is in motion, but it hinges on the transfer of the liquor licence, which has been delayed. Yianni Malindretos outgoing venue manager at Kafeneion says he plans to turn the site into a Mediterranean restaurant inspired by his birthplace, Crete. Questions remain over whether he retains Pinottas name, and if theres a brief closure before his restaurant is up and running. The change [to Greek cuisine] isnt suitable for me, says Sibley, whos leaving to focus on her catering business and her art, which shes soon to exhibit at North Gallery, Fitzroy. Philippa Sibley at last Novembers Good Food Guide awards, where she was nominated for Chef of the Year. Luis Enrique Ascui Advertisement Ive had an absolute blast at Pinotta, she adds. I get really bored and I have a massive repertoire, so being able to do my own thing, change the menu daily, have Heidi handwrite it up for me, has been so great. Modra looks back on 14 years of Pinotta with pride, and hopes it will be remembered as a neighbourhood institution. I didnt think that running a restaurant would give me so much fulfillment, she says. The children Ive seen grow up, the first dates that have gone on to marriages, the hospitality community thats been around me theres legacy in all of those things. Pinotta has been part of a tight-knit community in Fitzroy North for more than a decade. Bonnie Savage Advertisement Despite the challenges of operating her own restaurant, Modra says, I really love hospitality and I want to stay in this industry. Her next step is a job at online wine retailer The Local Drops soon-to-open Collingwood cafe and wine bar. Further up St Georges Road, hatted wine bar Public Wine Shop is also in the midst of change, with its chef Ben Sears (ex-Moon Park, Sydney; Cutler & Co) finishing up this month. The hunt for his replacement is on. 32 Best Street, Fitzroy North, pinotta.com Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Participants of the Second Meeting of the Heads of Committees on Defense and Security of the TURKPA Member Parliaments visited Victory Park in Baku today, Trend reports. The delegation, who arrived in Baku to attend the Second Meeting of the Heads of Committees on Defense and Security of the TURKPA Member Parliaments on the theme Strengthening Security and Defense Cooperation among the Turkic States: Role of Parliaments, laid flowers at the Victory Monument and paid tribute to those who were martyred in the Second Karabakh War. The guests were briefed on Victory Park, which was built to honor the unparalleled valor of the Azerbaijani people during the Patriotic War, commemorate the historic victory, and pay tribute to the sacred memory of Azerbaijani martyrs. It was noted that the Victory Arch, symbolizing the 44-day Second Karabakh War, stands 44 meters high and 22 meters wide and is adorned with 44 columns at the parks entrance. The park was inaugurated on November 8, 2024, by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Should I raid my super to buy a home? Its the question more young Australians are asking as the great Australian dream of homeownership that their parents and grandparents enjoyed moves further out of reach. At an age when theyd traditionally be looking to buy, many in their 20s and 30s are disillusioned by unattainable property prices, high interest rates, stagnating wage growth and continuing cost of living pressures that dampen their homeownership goals. Treating super as a piggy bank risks undermining the very reason our superannuation system was established. Credit: AFR With politicians of both sides of the aisle searching for viable solutions, the debate continues over whether its wise to allow young Australians to access superannuation to buy their first home. Generally, securing a home loan means providing a 20 per cent deposit, which can equate to upwards of $200,000 in major metropolitan areas. Thats a significant amount to save at a time of life when you may be juggling student debt, rent, childcare and early career responsibilities. Ah, South African TV in its early days, with a mandated 50/50 split between the two official languages, reminisces Don Bain of Port Macquarie. Thats when a scarcity of local content saw a dubbing of the UK series The Sweeney that had London constabulary conversing in fluent Afrikaans under the banner of Blitspatrollie Remaining on the Highveld for the moment, Rhoda Silber of Manly says that Roger Harvey (C8) has invoked a huge bout of nostalgia for the Silber family. We all used to gather around our tiny TV on a Tuesday night to watch Dallas in our hometown of Roodepoort. Gus would always do a dancing entrance to the opening theme song. Readers continue to get creative with election corflutes (C8). Readers such as Barbara Tregear of Ashfield: To protect the rear window of our Toyota Prado from stone damage on an outback adventure, my partner recycled an election corflute to fit. We were laughed at by a fellow traveller until his back window was smashed by a stone thrown up by a passing car. Political advertising has value after all. Both Janice McAdam of Roseville and Caron Pearce of Miranda recommend using them as a base for jigsaw puzzles, with Janice adding that you can either cover the picture of the candidate, or use the blank side. I prefer the latter. I have old political corflutes I have used to block holes that foxes have made in the chookyard, says Andrew Brown of Bowling Alley Point. Living in the division of New England, I decided to turn the picture of one politician outwards in an attempt to scare the predators away, and it seems to have worked a treat. Sounds like Andrew made the right Joyce. LNP leaderboard Bookmakers and punters might find it instructive to look at the form of the Coalition prime ministers in the 2000s. John Howard (1996-2007) was rejected by his own safe electorate in 2007. Tony Abbott (2013-16) was rejected by his own party in favour of Malcolm Turnbull in 2016, and by his own blue ribbon electorate in 2019. Turnbull (2016-19) was outed by his Liberal Party in favour of Scott Morrison in 2019. Morrison (2019-22) lost government after winning one term in 2019 after a miracle result. The current contender lost party ballots to Turnbull and then Morrison in 2019. He was unopposed when he became opposition leader after Morrisons electoral loss in 2022. So he is yet to win a group 1 event. In his electorate of Dickson the margin was reduced from 4.6 to 1.7 per cent in the 2022 election despite him being in parliament since 2001 and holding many ministries and shadow ministries over that period. Vince Corbett, Essendon Pork-barrel politics Voters in so-called safe seats needing unlikely swings of 10 per cent or more to unseat the incumbent MP must be watching the election campaign with a mix of disbelief and anger. Against the backdrop of spiralling national debt and fear generated by global uncertainty, the party leaders are squandering tens of thousands of dollars in flying back and forth across the country to marginal seats, throwing spending pledges around like confetti and rice at a wedding. Safe-seat voters must view these announced incentives to attract votes as little more than bribes. Hopes that pork-barrelling would go back to butcher shops where it belongs are lost causes for those desperately needing serious but basic attention to failed roads, bridges, hospitals and schools. Alan McLean, Queenscliff Politicians safety It was worrying to read that Zoe Daniel and her office reported allegations of harassment and stalking to police (Daniel reports harassment as car details leaked online, 15/4). Every politician should feel safe to be able to represent their constituents. This example of doxxing has the potential to make all of our representatives feel that little less safe, which is not good for our democracy or for our representatives and should be condemned. What was equally worrying was the reported response from the Liberal Party where they failed to condemn the doxxing or defend the right to privacy of our politicians. Instead, they victim blame as though it was somehow Daniels fault this doxxing occurred. They could have called out the behaviour, and said they would never action it themselves, rather than ignoring what actually happened and getting personal in attacking the integrity of Daniel. Rod Moran, Brighton Parliamentary behaviour We talk about policies of Liberal, Labour and teals etc. What has not been mentioned is the appalling behaviour of some federal parliamentarians. I hope we will see an improvement in their behaviour, but I wont hold my breath. Christine Hammett, Richmond. Salmon industry taxes Great fact-checking on foreign-owned Tasmanian salmon farms from Caitlin Fitzsimmons (Does the Tasmanian salmon industry pay tax? We do a deep dive, 15/4). The question, however, remains: even if salmon corporations pay some tax, is it enough to compensate for the resources that they take and the mess they leave in Tasmanian waters? Its a similar story with fossil fuel corporations. They extract Australias gas, make exorbitant profits, pollute the atmosphere, compromise the local environment, and pay a pittance for it. The inability to adequately draw revenue from and appropriately regulate environmentally questionable industries represents a scandalous failure of successive governments. No wonder so many voters are turning to independent representatives like David Pocock and Monique Ryan, who actually speak up about the pressing economic and environmental issues hiding within Australias industries. Sharee McCammon, Pelverata, Tas Burning out of control While many scientists and concerned citizens are calling for the abandoning of current Forest Fire Management Victoria planned burns, (Letters, 15/4) the proposed planned burn area in Victoria for this year is up to 298,000 hectares. This dwarfs the 50,000 hectares of forest logged over the 13 years from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2023. To make it worse, there is no independent body officially charged with overseeing FFMV operations; such as salvage logging, the selling of wood for commercial purposes, and these non-scientific burns, which may actually increase flammability. It seems, in spite of a technical end to logging our native forests, the logging continues and the burning is literally out of control. Our forests are under more threat than ever before. Lesley Walker, Northcote US must act on killings Since when did childrens playgrounds, schools and places of worship become legitimate military targets for Russian and Israeli drones to kill and main unsuspecting Ukrainians and Palestinians, many of them women and children? Dismissing such war crimes as a mistake by President Trump is not good enough. Whatever leverage the US can apply to the Israeli and Russian leadership is long overdue. Only then can Trumps repeated boast to stop the killing be achieved. Nick Toovey, Beaumaris. VCAA decision welcomed The removal of the VCAA board is a welcome announcement by teachers and VCE students. This organisation has overseen several monumental errors in VCE exam security and exam writing. Last years exam security fiasco most definitely gave some students an unfair advantage, despite what the official investigation determined. The impact of their mismanagement has had far-reaching consequences for teachers and students. Andrew Dowling, Torquay No to multiple choice As an experienced mathematics teacher of over 35 years and having taught up to year 12 level, the decline in standards is very disappointing. But this can be overcome. The modern student does not seem to have the patience to show detailed workings out to answer questions correctly. It is a total rush to find or give an incorrect answer in the shortest time. Get rid of multiple choice questions. They are a waste of time with few students even attempting to spend 20 seconds to work out the correct answer on paper. The modern student also has an unnecessary total reliance on calculators. There should always be two test or exams: one with a calculator and one without. Geoff van Wyngaarden, Williamstown Hear it for the zoo The biggest well-done to all staff at Melbourne Zoo. My family are regular visitors, particularly to see the elephants. I began as a little girl when there was an elephant ride that I hated, thinking it was cruel, to now visiting the herd happily at home in Werribee Zoo with my great-grandson, granddaughters and daughters The zoo staffs intention, planning, patient work, and care for elephants provide joy in seeing them play happily and roam together in a purpose-built large environment. Margot Sharman, Carlton Bring back boredom Thank you, Cindy Yin for putting voice to something I feel at 8.15am and 5.45pm every day on the tram. (Ditch the phone: Five healthier ways to spend your time on public transport, 14/4). Phone-free public transport is a fertile ground for people watching and surprise social interactions. Just last week, I witnessed a meet cute occurring on the evening commute. The week before, I saw total strangers strike up conversation about the books they were reading. And the best of all when youre sitting on public transport, totally, mind-numbingly bored, watching the sights of Melbourne go by, this is where creativity strikes. Im sure many a magnum opus has been dreamt up on the Hurstbridge train line. Bring back boredom, bring back random interactions with strangers I hope someone running in the 2025 election runs on a platform of a PTV phone ban. Iona Bulford, Carlton North Full moon rising The finest marriage of science, art and life as the all-female astronaut crew comprising Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez, Kerianne Flynn, Amanda Nguyen and Aisha Bowe made us go Oh, oh, oh as they shot across the sky against the full moon leaving us in awe. Like a lightning bolt, our hearts blew. We salute you Valentina Tereshkova, pioneer Soviet astronaut and first woman to fly solo in 1963. Awesome. Nina Wellington Iser, Hawthorn As good as it gets Yes, Rory McIlroys excruciating Masters win was as good as it gets (Masters win as good as sport will get, 15/4 ) and Peter FitzSimons blow-by-blow, anguish-to-hope description of Rorys brilliant and emotive triumph is up there with it. Brian Marshall, Ashburton AND ANOTHER THING Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding Federal election The Coalition and ALP make policies on the run. Its a wonder they dont throw in a bag of mixed lollies to every taxpayer. Garry Mcintosh, Macleod Dutton says we dont want house prices to plummet. Having invested millions in houses, he has very much been part of the problem, not the solution. Tony Haydon, Springvale Are we really expected to feel sorry for a privileged 20-year-old who complains about not being able to afford to buy a house? Bernd Rieve, Brighton With apologies to the Dog on the Tucker Box and the town of Gundagai, is that the track Peter Dutton would have us be back on if the Coalition wins the election? Beverley Campbell, Castlemaine Will Dutton rescind his financially non-viable nuclear plan before or after the election? Andrew OBrien, South Yarra Albanese will defeat Dutton because he is safe, not scary. Dutton has spent a decade acting as a hard man, whether in running the detention camps on Manus and Nauru or in demonising woke perspectives. Di Cousens, Upwey With promises of more houses everywhere, who is going to build them? It is almost impossible to find a builder or tradesperson here to do basic repairs or alterations. Wendy Brennan, Bendigo Trump Whats he done today? Terry Kelly, Coburg Trump gets a clean bill of health from his doctor. Unlike his look at me actions such as scrapping USAID and seeding distrust in vaccination which deserve condemnation from every doctor in the world. Jenny Smithers, Ashburton Finally My favourite tea towel was purchased in Canada many years ago with the words Beer will change the world! I dont know how, but it will, a philosophy I immediately and enthusiastically adopted. Rick Whitelaw, Anglesea Matthew Flinders. Explorer. Now the long-distance mariner has also been revealed as a hot and steamy writer of love letters, and a pioneer in the use of emojis. A collection of letters acquired by the State Library of NSW from Flinders to his bride of three months, Ann, and others he left behind before he set sail in 1801 on HMS Investigator, reveal the human cost of exploration before phones, WhatsApp and Facebook. State Library of NSW executive director Louise Anemaat with some of the letters written by explorer Matthew Flinders during his expeditions. Credit: Max Mason-Hubers State Library of NSW executive director Louise Anemaat said the collection reminded the public that history is, at its heart, about people and their resilience in the face of distance and abandonment, and the tension between love, loss, ambition and acclaim. On his historic trip with Aboriginal navigator Bungaree from 1801 to 1803, where they circumnavigated Australia, proving it was a single continent, Flinders wrote to Ann of his love and lust. Washington: Harvard University has refused to accept a deal with the Trump administration two weeks after the US government threatened to halt $US9 billion ($14 billion) in funding, vowing it wont surrender its independence or its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government, the schools lawyers, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and King & Spalding, wrote on Monday (Tuesday AEST) to US agencies including the Department of Education. Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration announced it was freezing $US2.3 billion in federal funding to the school. The freeze comes after the Trump administration said last month it was reviewing federal contracts and grants to Harvard as part of a crackdown on what it says is antisemitism that erupted on college campuses during pro-Palestinian protests in the past 18 months. The steps of Widener Library at the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Credit: Bloomberg In a post on the universitys website before the freeze, Harvard president Alan Garber said the Trump administration demanded new terms late on Friday that went beyond prior requests in exchange for maintaining federal funding. These included reforming its governance, ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, changing its admissions and hiring and curbing the power of certain students, faculty and administrators because of their ideological views. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. A phone conversation has taken place between Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Interim Government Assad Hassan Al-Shibani, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend. During the conversation, the ministers discussed Azerbaijan-Syria relations and the regional security situation. Both sides noted that following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, there are broad prospects for expanded cooperation between Azerbaijan and Syria. Appreciation was expressed for the support provided toward the resumption of Azerbaijans embassy operations in Syria after a long pause. The importance of Azerbaijans intent to participate in Syrias reconstruction, as well as its humanitarian assistance efforts, was emphasized in the context of contributing to stability in the country. In this context, the significance of establishing a tripartite collaborative framework among Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Syria was underscored. The ministers engaged in a discourse on both bilateral and multilateral matters of reciprocal significance. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Dr Ambedkar dedicated his life to unite Hindus Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat during a programme, in Kanpur, Monday. (PTI) KANPUR : RASHTRIYA Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday praised Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar for his lifelong efforts to unite Hindus, saying despite facing hardships since childhood, he remained committed to social harmony and national development. Speaking at the inauguration of the newly constructed four-storey RSS regional office Keshav Bhawan in Kanpurs Karavalo Nagar, Bhagwat said, Babasaheb had to face severe hardships in his life. From childhood, he faced discrimination and inequality. Yet, throughout his life, he tried to bring the Hindu society together. His commitment to social unity and progress is an inspiration to all, he said. Bhagwat also drew parallels between Ambedkar and RSS founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, stating that both men devoted their lives to the upliftment of society and shared a vision of national development. Both Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Hedgewar worked for the Hindu society throughout their lives. They dreamed of a strong and developed India, Bhagwat said. He called it a privilege that the inauguration of the RSSs new building coincided with Ambedkar Jayanti. B R Ambedkar had worked to unify society, specially Hindus: RSS leader PUNE : RASHTRIYA Swayamsevak Sangh RSS leader Sunil Ambekar said on Monday that Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar had taken steps to foster unity within society, particularly among the Hindu community. The Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh asserted that the country operates solely by the Constitution. People may not have understood it at the time, but with the passage of years, we now understand the steps Ambedkar took to keep the society, especially the Hindu community, united, Ambekar told reporters after paying tribute to the Father of the Constitution at his memorial at Pune railway station on the occasion of his 134th birth anniversary. Regardless of who says what, this country functions as per the Constitution, he added. He said while drafting the Constitution, Ambedkar realised that solutions to the issues faced by the nation must be sought internally rather than externally. He urged citizens to reject discrimination and work towards building a society rooted in harmony. If differences crop up among communities due to some political reasons, people should remember Dr Ambedkar, he added. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Azerbaijan's victory in Karabakh is a source of pride for the Turkic world, Hulusi Akar, Chair of the Committee on National Defense of the Grand National Assembly and former Minister of National Defense of Turkiye said, Trend reports. He made the remark today at the second meeting of the chairpersons of the defense and security committees of the TURKPA member parliaments in Baku. "Today, we have come to a period when tensions are increasing in the regions and economic problems are emerging. The threats are not only military but also economic and climate change problems. Turkiye is trying to play a key role in solving global problems, and the protection of national security depends on a strong army. The success achieved by Azerbaijan in Karabakh confirms this once again. The Karabakh victory has become an example for the whole world. This is a source of pride for the Turkic world. We must work together against international threats and economic problems. We must use the help of artificial intelligence in the field of defense," Akar pointed out. He added that the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will further strengthen cooperation between Turkic states. To note, the second meeting of the chairmen of the defense and security committees of the parliaments of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) member countries is being held in Baku. The meeting is discussing Strengthening cooperation in the field of security and defense among Turkic states: the role of parliaments. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Rana identified New Delhi for terror attack akin to 26/11 By Udayan Kishore : NEW DELHI Tahawwur Rana is being interrogated for 8-10 hours daily by the NIA sleuths to unravel a larger conspiracy behind the dreaded strikes A COURT here has noted that Mumbai terror attack mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana had identified New Delhi for attacks akin to the 26/11 strikes as part of a conspiracy that travelled beyond the geographical borders of India. Special NIA judge Chander Jit Singh noted in an order passed on April 10 that there was enough material produced by the probe agency to say that the allegations in the present case pertained to safety and security of the nation, a source said. Meanwhile, official sources on Monday said that Rana is being interrogated for eight to ten hours daily by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths to unravel a larger conspiracy behind the dreaded strikes. The material produced on record reflect that the conspiracy in question travels beyond the geographical borders of India and multiple targets in the form of various places in multiple cities in India, including the national capital, were sought to be identified, the judge is believed to have noted in the 12-page order. Thus, to reach the root of the matter and to unearth the facts which are laid in the deep-rooted conspiracy, a sustained custodial interrogation (of Rana) is required, the judge said. He needs to be confronted with witnesses and forensic and documentary evidence seized during the investigation, as well as material concerning the reconnaissance visits of the accused and his accomplices, the judge is believed to have said in the order sending Rana to 18-day NIA custody. This exercise indicates the necessity of custodial interrogation for which time is required, the judge said. The judge also said that there was enough material on record to indicate that it was a matter concerning national security. The investigating agency should get a fair chance to thoroughly investigate the matter so as to present before the court complete facts in a holistic manner, he said. Further, since the accused has mentioned that he got certain health issues, details of which he has given as history at the time of medical examination after his arrest and the contention of sovereign assurance given in the extradition proceedings, it is directed that in respect of the health condition of the accused, he shall be given due and proper medical care as per rules, the judge said. Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan and special public prosecutor Narender Mann represented the NIA. To piece together crucial evidence and retrace the events from 17 years ago, officials might transport Rana to key locations, allowing them to reconstruct the crime scene and gain deeper insight into the larger terror network at play, the source added. Rana, the 64-year-old Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman and a close associate of 26/11 attacks main conspirator David Coleman Headley, a US citizen, was brought to India after the US Supreme Court on April 4 dismissed his review plea against his extradition. On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists went on a rampage in Mumbai, carrying out coordinated attacks on a railway station, two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, after they sneaked into Indias financial capital using the sea route through the Arabian Sea. As many as 166 people were killed in the nearly 60-hour assault. 300 kg narcotics worth Rs 1,800 crore seized off Gujarat coast: Shah NEW DELHI : LAW enforcement agencies have seized 300 kg of narcotics worth Rs 1,800 crore near the international maritime border off the Gujarat coast, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday. Sharing the information on X, he underlined that the Narendra Modi government was rooting out drug networks ruthlessly. In the ceaseless pursuit of building a drug-free Bharat, a monumental feat was achieved by seizing 300 kg of narcotics worth Rs 1,800 crore near the international maritime border, he wrote on the social media platform. The Home Minister said the operation in the seas was a shining example of the success of the Modi dispensations whole-of-the-Government approach to rooting out the evil of narcotics. He applauded the Gujarat Police ATS and the Indian Coast Guard for their success. Act tough ONCE again, West Bengal is occupying the centre stage -- for the same and wrong reasons. One, its Chief Minister, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, has made an anti-constitutional announcement that her State would not honour the centrally-passed Waqf (Amendment) Bill; and two, the State is witnessing some of the worst riots in its Muslim-majority Murshidabad district -- so much so that countless numbers of people have fled to the neighbouring Malda area to escape the mob atrocities particularly in the absence of any protection from official agencies. In the wake of these developments, the demand for Presidents Rule in West Bengal has come up strongly. Considering the overall situation in the State, right time appears to have come for the Centre to take tough action without any political soft-pedalling -- which may mean imposition of central rule so that normalcy can be restored there. Unfortunately, the West Bengal Government has not made any sincere attempts to bring the Murshidabad situation under control. An impression has gained ground that West Bengal Police, too, are acting like by-standers as rioters go berserk. Hence the exodus to safer places by countless numbers of people -- as per official acknowledgement. The administration is now trying to arrange for facilities such as shelter and food for the people fleeing Murshidabad. The Murshidabad riots have stemmed from violent protests against the new Waqf law recently passed by Parliament. These riots are believed to have been triggered by Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjees adamant statement that her State Government would not follow the new Waqf law -- in direct confrontation with the Centre. No State has any such right to declare a central law ineffective in its jurisdiction. Yet, as has been her wont, Ms. Banerjee has followed her own old practice to defy the Centre. She has done this earlier on a couple of occasions and has taken a stand against the Centre much in contravention of the principles of cooperative federalism. The new Waqf law has been passed by Parliament after a due process and all States are bound by its norm. Yet, Ms. Banerjee has stressed that her State would defy the new law. In all likelihood, some other Opposition-ruled States, too, may follow the trend and create a new national issue. During the last legislative elections, West Bengal had seen terrible riots during which goon-gangs had assaulted those who were thought to have voted against Ms. Banerjees Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidates. So severe those riots were that countless thousands of people had fled to neighbouring States for safety. That time, too, the demand for Presidents Rule had come up strongly. The Centre, however, did not find the situation fit for the central rule -- which many felt was strange in every sense of the term. That time, Mr. Jagdeep Dhankhar, then West Bengal Governor (and now Vice President), had recommended strong steps against the Mamata Banerjee Government. This time also, West Bengal Governor Mr. C.V. Ananda Bose has written a detailed account of the riots, again reportedly recommending strong action. Against the background of reality, the Centre needs to take a clear view about the happenings in West Bengal and not hesitate in taking tough action -- which may include imposition of Presidents Rule. Non-partisan observers of national politics feel that Presidents Rule would serve more purpose than one -- far beyond the narrow political goals. It would be in the best interest of West Bengal and its people that the Centre impose Presidents Rule on the State without much political ado and without delay. Such an action would send a larger political message to the whole country and many more embarrassments in future could be avoided. Of course, everything depends on the Centres perception. Besa-Pipla Mpl Council starts treE census By Kaushik Bhattacharya : Tree count is underway at Besa, Beltarodi, Pipla and Ghogli areas under Majhi Vasundhara drive Only 19% counting done in one-and-a-half months Under Government of Maharashtras Majhi Vasundhara campaign, the Besa-Pipla Municipal Council has started tree census in Besa, Pipla, Ghogli and Beltarodi areas. The Besa, Pipla and Beltarodi areas are experiencing a surge in real estate development, with numerous housing projects under construction, indicating a growing demand for residential properties. Due to growing demand of infrastructure projects, rampant tree felling has also taken place in these areas in recent time. Amid these development projects, the tree census will provide the exact scenario of the green cover in Besa-Pipla areas. Whereas, the Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan includes tree-counting in Nagar Parishads as part of its environment conservation efforts. Meanwhile, these four areas have the lowest green cover and the tree census will give the exact scenario of environment there. Besa-Pipla Municipal Council has deployed Pune-based Abell Electro-Soft Technologies Pvt Ltd company to perform the tree census. Under Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan, the tree census is underway and we have allotted the company a time span of three months to complete the process, Bharat Nandanwar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Besa-Pipla Municipal Council told The Hitavada. There are 17 wards in Besa-Pipla Municipal Council area. The company has completed tree count in two wards, so far, and the process is underway in three other wards. Apart from this, the tree count of 12 other wards is yet to start. The process started in March and it should be finished by May 31. Whereas, the company completed the tree count of only two wards in last one-and-a-half months. Till May 31, the company has to finish the tree count in all 17 wards. As per information provided by the agency, till date, the tree count in Ward No 2 and 9 has been completed. Whereas, the counting is underway at Ward No 1, 8 and 10. There are 1,731 trees, including 16 heritage trees in Ward No 2 and 1,846 trees including five heritage trees in Ward No 9. In Ward No 1, 45 per cent tree count is complete and there are 1,975 trees, including 15 heritage trees, listed so far. 65 per cent work has been completed in Ward No 8 with 1,750 trees, including 18 heritage trees. Only 15 per cent work is complete in Ward No 10. Out of 123 trees in this ward, there is one heritage tree as well. In last one-and-a-half months period only, 19 per cent tree count has been completed. If one considers pace of the work, it will be difficult for the company to complete the project in next 45 days. BJP remembers Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on birth anniversary, tributes paid MP Ashish Dubey addressing a huge gathering during the main programme at Ambedkar Chowk. (Below) Senior party leaders and workers pay tributes on Dr Ambedkars birth anniversary, on Monday. Staff Reporter : The Bharatiya Janata Party has remembered Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, on Monday. The party has organised a grand programme at Ambedkar Chowk, where senior BJP leaders, office bearers and party workers paid floral tributes to the statue of the social reformer and architect of the Indian Constitution. District BJP President Ratnesh Sonkar, Member of Parliament Ashish Dubey, Rajya Sabha MP Sumitra Valmiki, MLA Ashok Rohani along with several senior party leaders, workers offered their respects to Dr Ambedkar by laying wreaths and garlands. To mark the day, BJPs city unit also organised celebrations across all 967 polling booths in the city. Party workers, senior citizens and locals shared views on Dr. Ambedkars life and legacy during the programme. A collective reading of the Preamble to the Constitution was also held. Speaking during the main event, District President Ratnesh Sonkar highlighted Dr. Ambedkars monumental contributions in the 20th century that played a pivotal role in dismantling the social injustices originating from centuries of oppression. It is due to his vision and tireless efforts that India today stands as the worlds largest democracy, added Sonkar. He recalled Dr. Ambedkars message "Educate, Organize and Agitate" emphasising that Ambedkar himself left no stone unturned in his pursuit of education. His life teaches us that education must never be compromised. Today, literacy rates among Scheduled Castes, once a mere 1.5 per cent, have surged to 59 per cent. Praising the current leadership, Sonkar stated that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav, the BJP governments at both central and state levels are working to realise Ambedkars vision by upholding constitutional principles and ensuring inclusive development. Amongst those the party leaders also present on the occasion were Pankaj Dubey, Rajneesh Yadav, Sandeep Jain, Kamlesh Agrawal, Jai Sachdeva, Kailash Sahu, Rupa Rao, Santosh Jharia, Ram Sonkar, Ganga Prajapati and others. Mehul Choksi arrested in Belgium on Indias extradition request NEW DELHI : The Belgian federal public service of justice confirmed in an email that Choksi was arrested on Saturday ABSCONDING diamantaire Mehul Choksi has been arrested by Belgium authorities following an extradition request by Indian probe agencies for his involvement in the Rs 13,000 crore Punjab National Bank loan fraud case. The Belgian Police took custody of the second prime suspect in this case, after Choksis nephew diamantaire Nirav Modi, on April 12 in Antwerp based on an extradition request moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), official sources said on Monday. The Belgian federal public service of justice confirmed in an email to PTI that Choksi was arrested on Saturday (April 12). He is being detained in anticipation of further judicial proceedings. Access to his legal counsel has been assured, it said, adding that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi. Choksi, 65, was located in Belgium last year after he reached there on the grounds of getting medical treatment, sometime in November, 2023. He had been staying in Antigua after leaving India in 2018 and had taken citizenship of the Caribbean country even as his Indian citizenship is stated to be valid. The sources said the Interpol Red Notice against him for arrest was deleted sometime back by the global police body after analysing the representation made by the businessman against that notification. Indian agencies were pursuing him via the extradition route since then. India and Belgium have a long-standing extradition treaty. At least two open-ended arrest warrants, issued by a special court in Mumbai in 2018 and 2021, have been shared by the Indian agencies with their Belgian counterparts as part of the extradition request, the sources said. Formal paperwork is being done following the arrest/detention. Legal and investigating teams of the ED and CBI will ensure their presence during the ongoing legal processes where it is expected that Choksi may seek bail on health grounds, they said. He is reported to be seeking admission in a Switzerland-based hospital for his treatment but there was no confirmation to this claim. Choksis lawyer Vijay Agarwal said his client was taken into custody by the Belgian authorities on Saturday. At the moment, he is in prison and there (Belgium), the procedure is not to apply for bail but file an appeal. During that appeal, request is made that he should not be kept in detention and he should be permitted to defend himself and oppose the extradition request while not being in custody, Agarwal told reporters. He said the obvious grounds for the appeal would be that Choksi is not a flight risk, is extremely sick and undergoing treatment for cancer. He said their legal defence would be that this is a political case and the human condition (in Indian prisons) was not good. Choksi, Nirav Modi, their family members and employees, bank officials and others were booked by the CBI and the ED in 2018 for perpetrating the alleged loan fraud at the Brady House branch of the Punjab National Bank (PNB) in Mumbai. It was alleged that Choksi, his firm Gitanjali Gems and others committed the offence of cheating against PNB in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the LoUs (letters of undertaking) issued and got the FLCs (foreign letter of credit) enhanced without following prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to the bank. Modi fulfills admirers 14-year pledge Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents a pair of shoes to Rampal Kashyap from Kaithal, who had vowed 14 years ago that he would not wear shoes until Modi becomes the Prime Minister and he could meet him in person, in Yamunanagar, Haryana on Monday. (PTI) YAMUNANAGAR : PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met one of his long-time admirers during a visit to Haryanas Yamunanagar, who had vowed 14 years back that he will wear footwear only after the BJP strongman became the Prime Minister and he got to meet him. Modi shared a video on X of his meeting with Rampal Kashyap, whom he gifted a new pair of shoes and also helped to put them on. At todays public meeting in Yamunanagar, I met Shri Rampal Kashyap Ji from Kaithal. He had taken a vow 14 years ago that he will only wear footwear after I became the PM and he got to meet me. In the video posted by the Prime Minister on X, Kashyap, wearing a white kurta-pyjama, is seen walking barefoot to meet Modi, who greets him by shaking his hands. Then Modi picked up a pair of grey sports shoes and told him, Toh Aaj Hum Tumko Juta Pehna Rahe Hai, Lekin Baad Mein Phir Kabhi Aise Karna Nahi. Rewa soldier succumbs to injuries while taking part in war exercise Martyr Ajay Vishwakarma Our Correspondent Rewa, Final rites of Martyr Ajay Vishwakarma were performed at Madhi Khurd village of Rewa district Soldier Ajay Vishwakarma, passed away during treatment after he met with accident during war exercise. The mortal remains were laid to rest with full Military Honours at his village. He was resident of Madhi Khurd village of Rewa district. He was seriously injured during war exercise and was undergoing treatment at Roorkie. On April 11, he succumbed to his injuries. Martyr Ajay Vishwakarma was deployed in the 119 Assault Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army at Patiala. The mortal remains of Martyr Ajay Vishwakarma were brought to his village on April 13 and in evening were cremated with full military honors in his native village Madhi Khurd Tehsil Mangawan, 35 kilometers from the district headquarters. All villagers, local public representatives, administrative officers were present on the occasion. They expressed condolences to Satendra Vishwakarma, father of martyr soldier. Ajay Vishwakarma elder brother Arvind Vishwakarma is also in Army and currently posted at Ranchi. His father is a farmer and mother is a housewife. An army team led by Subedar Satyanarayan Sharma was present to bid final farewell to the martyr. RTMNU to launch Suvidha Kendra at four places in Vid By Vikas Vaidya : Now, students from other districts do not have to come to Nagpur for petty work Colleges finalised for facilitation centres Indraprasth New Arts Commerce and Science College, Wardha Nabira Mahavidyalaya, Katol n Dhote Bandhu Science College, Gondia J M Patel Mahavidyalaya, Bhandara About a month ago, acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Madhavi Khode-Chaware had promised in the Senate meeting that Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) would launch Suvidha Kendra on April 15. Fulfilling her promise, now, the Suvidha Kendra is set to start at four places under the jurisdiction of RTMNU. The institutions in four districts, including Wardha, Gondia, Bhandara and Nagpur, are affiliated to RTMNU. The students studying in these institutions have to come to Nagpur for even petty works. The Senate members have been demanding that students from other places should get facilities by which they do not need to come to Nagpur. Some Senate members on November 1, 2023 during the meeting had demanded to start RTMNUs sub-centres. But university had expressed its helplessness as Government did not allow to start it. After the Senate members pursued for an alternate arrangement, the then Vice Chancellor Dr Prashant Bokare had made a provision of Rs 20 lakh for the facility in 2023. The plan was not getting finalised. In the Senate meeting held on March 21, 2025, Dr Madhavi Khode-Chaware approved the plan and assured the members that the Kendra would begin on April 15, 2025. Finally, the places have been finalised. Initially, the centres will begin at Gondia, Bhandara, Wardha and Katol in Nagpur district. Dr Khode-Chaware, while talking to The Hitavada said, It was the need of the hour. I strongly Salman Khan again gets death threat, case lodged MUMBAI : THE Mumbai traffic police have got a message threatening Bollywood actor Salman Khan and registered a case in this connection, officials said on Monday. In the message, received on the traffic polices WhatsApp helpline on Sunday, the sender threatened to blow up the actors car and also thrash him by entering his residence, a police official said. An official posted at the traffic police control room then alerted seniors about the message, based on which the Worli police here registered a case against the unidentified person under section 351(2) (3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, he said. A probe is on into the case, the official added. The traffic police helpline has received many threat messages targeting the 59-year-old actor in the recent past. Khan had earlier received death threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. While Bishnoi is lodged in Ahmedabads Sabarmati jail in cases including attempted murder and extortion, suspected members of his gang opened fire outside the actors Bandra home in April last year. Weeks after that, the Navi Mumbai police claimed to have uncovered a plot by the Bishnoi gang to kill Khan when he travelled to his farmhouse at Panvel near Mumbai. In November last year, the Mumbai Police received a threatening message against actor Salman Khan. The threat message gave the actor two options: apologise or pay Rs 5 crore to stay alive. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. China's new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan, Lu Mei has arrived in Baku to begin fulfillment of her diplomatic duties, Trend reports via the Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan Lu Mei was met at the airport by a representative of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and diplomats of the Chinese Embassy in Baku. Ambassador Lu Mei made a statement at the airport, in which she noted that China and Azerbaijan are sincere and trusting friends, equal and mutually beneficial partners. Under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, cooperation between the countries in all fields has been continuously deepening. At this important moment, I am honored to be appointed Ambassador to Azerbaijan. I intend to follow the important agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries and work together with representatives of various segments of Azerbaijani society to deepen pragmatic cooperation, strengthen mutual understanding between the peoples and bring the strategic partnership between Beijing and Baku to a new level, the ambassador stated. Welcoming Ambassador Lu Mei, the representative of the Azerbaijani side noted that the government, parliament, and ruling party of the country attach great importance to cooperation with China. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, met with Deputy Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Mohamad Alamin, on April 15, 2025, Trend reprots. According to the information, the meeting discussed issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Malaysia in the spheres of economy, trade, energy security, and alternative energy, education, tourism, as well as issues of the regional and international agenda. Moreover, the sides noted the existence of prospects for expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, and emphasized the importance of the mechanism of mutual contacts and political consultations in this direction. The meeting, which discussed ways to promote Azerbaijani-ASEAN relations, also discussed possibilities of expanding cooperation within other international organizations, including the UN, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Non-Aligned Movement, and Economic Cooperation Organization of Eight Developing Countries (D-8). The importance of Azerbaijan's admission to the D-8 membership was emphasized and welcomed. Furthermore, it was noted with satisfaction that Azerbaijan will hold the OIC summit in Baku in 2026 within the framework of the OIC chairmanship, during which an exchange of views on cooperation issues took place. The delegation congratulated Azerbaijan on its successful chairmanship and holding of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) on the successes achieved. The meeting also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest. On the same day, political consultations were held between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Malaysia. The political consultations were led by Deputy Minister Elnur Mammadov from the side of Azerbaijan and Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamad Alamin from the side of Malaysia. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The second meeting of the chairpersons of defense and security committees of the parliaments of the member states of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TurkPA) is currently being held at the Parliament of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.. The session is focused on the theme "Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Security and Defense Among Turkic States: The Role of Parliaments." The event participants include Hulusi Akar, former Minister of Defense of Turkiye and current Chairman of the National Defense Committee of the Turkish Parliament; Amangeldy Nugmanov, member of the Committee on International Relations, Defense, and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan; Eldar Sulaymanov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense, Security, and Migration of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament) of Kyrgyzstan; Kutbiddin Burkhanov, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defense and Security of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan; Yasemi Ozturk, Chair of the Committee on Legal, Political Affairs, and Foreign Relations of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; Mehmet Sureyya Er, Secretary-General of TurkPA; and others. During his speech, Hulusi Akar noted that Azerbaijan's victory in Karabakh is a source of pride for the Turkic world. " Today, the world faces growing tensions, economic problems, and climate change threats. Turkey strives to play a key role in solving global problems, and national security protection is directly dependent on a strong army. The success Azerbaijan achieved in Karabakh confirms this. We must unite our efforts in addressing international threats and economic challenges, and we should leverage the opportunities of artificial intelligence in the security sector," he said. Kutbiddin Burkhanov, in turn, emphasized the importance of maintaining regular dialogue on political and security issues within the framework of inter-parliamentary cooperation among Turkic countries. "Given the complex and multipolar international environment, it is especially important for the defense committees of the parliaments of Turkic states to deepen regional cooperation in the fight against global threats, such as terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, and cybersecurity," Burkhanov said. He noted that Uzbekistan had already implemented a range of strategic measures to ensure national security. "One of the key initiatives was the adoption of the 'Uzbekistan-2030' strategy in 2023, which outlines priorities: protecting national security and territorial integrity, maintaining peace and harmony in society, strengthening the country's defense potential, developing armed forces, and implementing digital technologies," Burkhanov added. According to him, based on this strategy, Uzbekistan is focusing on developing its military-industrial potential, improving the combat readiness of the army, equipping it with modern weapons and technologies, and enhancing personnel training. Yasemi Ozturk highlighted that challenges of the new era, such as cybersecurity, energy resilience, and disaster management, require the Turkic world to consolidate efforts and unite around common goals. Addressing these challenges is only possible with strategic thinking and a unified vision for the future. In this context, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-Speaking States (TurkPA) serves as a unique platform to harmonize and implement these goals. She emphasized that Northern Cyprus is an integral part of the political, economic, and cultural unity of the Turkic world. "The bonds between the Turkish people of Northern Cyprus and the Turkic world, based on shared roots, history, and values, are strong. This alliance must manifest not only in cultural relations but also in strategic cooperation," she said. "Our unity in language, history, and culture highlights the equality of Turkic states in defense and security matters. In this sense, the sustainable development of healthy dialogue between Turkic states and the creation of a joint infrastructure in the defense industry are of strategic importance," she noted. Ozturk expressed confidence that strengthening cultural ties between Northern Cyprus and the Turkic world would deepen cooperation between their peoples and contribute to building a shared future. During the meeting, Mehmet Sureyya emphasized that multi-faceted cooperation between Turkic states is being implemented within TurkPA. "The Permanent Commission contributes to deepening cooperation between parliaments by developing model laws in various areasfrom legal issues to international relations and economics, from socio-cultural and humanitarian spheres to environmental protection and healthcare," Sureyya mentioned. He stressed the importance of meetings between the relevant committees of the Turkic parliaments, which have become an essential part of the cooperation mechanism within TurkPA. "I'm convinced that the meetings of the chairpersons of the defense and security committees of the parliaments of the member states, which will continue in the future, will make a significant contribution not only to the development of interaction within TURKPA but also to strengthening the security of our states and the region as a whole," the secretary general noted. According to him, the cooperation of Turkic countries, based on common history, culture, language, and values, turns the Turkic world into a growing center of power. The meeting concluded with an exchange of views on the topic. 12:21 The second meeting of the chairpersons of defense and security committees of the parliaments of the member states of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TurkPA) is currently being held at the Parliament of Azerbaijan, Trend reports. The session is focused on the theme "Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Security and Defense Among Turkic States: The Role of Parliaments." The event participants include Hulusi Akar, former Minister of Defense of Turkiye and current Chairman of the National Defense Committee of the Turkish Parliament; Amangeldy Nugmanov, member of the Committee on International Relations, Defense, and Security of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan; Eldar Sulaymanov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense, Security, and Migration of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament) of Kyrgyzstan; Kutbiddin Burkhanov, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defense and Security of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan; Yasemi Ozturk, Chair of the Committee on Legal, Political Affairs, and Foreign Relations of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus; Mehmet Sureyya Er, Secretary-General of TurkPA; and others. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received the newly appointed Ambassador of China Lu Mei, the Foreign Ministry told Trend. Mei presented a copy of his credentials to Bayramov. The minister congratulated the ambassador on his appointment and wished him success in his diplomatic mission in Azerbaijan. During the meeting, the sides discussed various aspects of the Azerbaijan-China strategic partnership, including political, economic, trade, transport and communication, and humanitarian cooperation, as well as regional and international issues. It was emphasized that last year was marked by the adoption of the "Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and China" and that further efforts to strengthen this partnership remain of great importance. In this regard, the significance of high-level visits and consultation mechanisms was underlined. The parties noted the wide potential for expanding cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, and investment. They also discussed cooperation within regional and international organizations, including the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It was highlighted that Azerbaijan-China cooperation within the framework of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), hosted by Azerbaijan last year, was commendable. Ambassador Lu Mei expressed gratitude for the reception and stated that he would spare no effort to contribute to the development of strategic partnership relations during his tenure in Azerbaijan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Yes Significant efforts are being made No Much more needs to be done Some progress But there are still critical gaps Vote View Results BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Court hearings on the criminal case against Ruben Vardanyan, an Armenian citizen charged with torture, mercenary activity, violation of the laws and customs of warfare, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and other crimes under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, continued on April 15, Trend reports. The open hearings were held at the Baku Military Court, presided over by Judge Zeynal Agayev and a panel of judges consisting of Anar Rzayev and Jamal Ramazanov, with reserve judge Gunel Samadova. The accused was provided with an interpreter in Russianhis language of choiceand was represented by defense attorneys. The session proceeded with the questioning of victims. The next hearing is scheduled for April 22. Ruben Vardanyan is charged with crimes under Articles 100.1, 100.2 (planning, preparing, initiating and waging a war of aggression), 107 (deportation and forced displacement of the population), 109 (persecution), 110 (forcible disappearance of persons), 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law), 113 (torture), 114.1 (mercenary activity), 115.2 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare), 116.0.1, 116.0.2, 116.0.10, 116.0.11, 116.0.16, 116.0.18 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict), 120.2.1, 120.2.3, 120.2.4, 120.2.7, 120.2.11, 120.2.12 (intentional murder), 29,120.2.1, 29,120.2.3, 29,120.2.4, 29,120.2.7, 29,120.2.11, 29,120.2.12 (attempted intentional murder), 192.3.1 (illegal entrepreneurship), 214.2.1, 214.2.3, 214.2.4 (terrorism), 214-1 (financing of terrorism), 218.1, 218.2 (creation of a criminal group), 228.3 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation and possession of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives and devices), 270-1.2, 270-1.4 (acts threatening aviation safety), 278.1 (forcible seizure or retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state), 279.1, 279.2, 279.3 (creation of armed formations or groups not provided for by law) and 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Photo: Press service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva and Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva visited Nursery No.1 in Nasimi district and Orphanage social service institution No.1 in Nizami district of Baku on April 15th, Trend reports. Nursery No.1 currently cares for 63 children under the age of three. First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva regularly visit this facility, showing care and attention to the children and ensuring their well-being. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation initiated a comprehensive renovation of the nurserys building, originally constructed in 1930. The renovated facility was inaugurated on May 10, 2015, with the participation of First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. Afterwards, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and Leyla Aliyeva visited Orphanage No. 1. The First Lady and Leyla Aliyeva are frequent visitors to the Orphanage No. 1, where they celebrate holidays with the residents and bring gifts. Currently, Orphanage No.1 provides care for 100 children between the ages of 3 and 18. The facility offers comprehensive resources for education, sports, and healthcare. As always, the residents of the facility welcomed their esteemed guests, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and Leyla Aliyeva, with a program of poems, songs, and literary performances. Since its establishment, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has kept this institution in focus, working to ensure that its residents have access to higher education, employment opportunities, and the development of professional skills. The facility underwent a major renovation with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and was reopened in 2005 with the participation of the First Lady of Azerbaijan. In 2017, two residents of the facility married. The Heydar Aliyev Foundation organized their wedding and gifted the young couple an apartment and a car. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Mikheil Kavelashvili, President of Georgia, visited the Heydar Aliyev Center on Tuesday, as part of his official visit to Azerbaijan, Trend reports. The Georgian President was informed about the Heydar Aliyev Center, which is considered one of the rare pearls of world architecture. The Center's activities are aimed at in-depth study and research of the state philosophy of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, the ideology of Azerbaijanism, and the heritage of the National Leader. In a virtual format, the Heydar Aliyev Museum at the Center showcases several aspects of the concept of the National Leader's activities both in the Soviet era and during the years of Azerbaijans independence. President Kavelashvili also viewed the cars that National Leader Heydar Aliyev used during his leadership of Azerbaijan from 1969 to 2003. The exhibits, photographs, and multimedia hall reflecting different periods of the National Leader's concept of activities, both during the Soviet period and during the years of independence, aroused great interest in the Georgian President. The Georgian leader also familiarized herself with the Pearls of Azerbaijan exhibition, highlighting the rich history and culture of Azerbaijan, as well as unique exhibits related to the rich natural resources, centuries-old history and cultural heritage of the country. The exhibition also features carpets, national costumes and ancient coins, etc. He also viewed the "Classic cars exhibition" and then signed the guest book. The Orangefield FFA officers attended the Ricebelt District Convention in February. Parker Donnaud ran for and was elected to Ricebelt District Parliamentarian for the 2025-2026 school year. The land judging CDE team participated in the Bedias Creek CDE contest and all the CDE teams participated in the Katy Invitational CDEs as well. The CDE teams include Land Judging, Livestock Judging, Vet Med, Floriculture, and Nursery Landscape. The Orangefield FFA CDE teams competed in various CDE contests that include the Taylor-Katy CDE, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and Klein CDEs. While CDEs are ongoing, Colt Longron also showed his lamb and pig at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, while Brooklyn Wagoner showed her heifer at the same show. After the Houston Rodeo wrapped up, it was time for the YMBL Beaumont fair. At the fair, Colt Longron showed his lamb, getting Grand Champion, and his pig getting Reserve Grand Champion for that. Also showing at the fair was Parker Donnaud showing her pig, Nicole Gay and Kylie Howes showing their chickens, and Brooklyn Wagoner showing her heifer. The CDE teams also competed in the SFA Invitational CDE in March. The welding students also traveled to Vidor for their Welding Certification tests. Five students passed their certification test. Orangefield FFA CDE Judging Teams competed in the Sam Houston Area 9 Contest and the SFA Area 9 Contest. Results for those contests include: Livestock Judging placed 25th in a very competitive contest, Nursery Landscape placed 13th, Floriculture placed 11th, Land Judging placed 6th, and Vet Med placed 5th qualifying for State at Texas A&M in a few weeks. Stand outs for vet med are Diana Burns who placed 10th overall individual and Harley Beaudoin who placed 14th. Colt Longron also placed 4th overall in Land Judging. Cheiraoba celebrated in South Korea | IMPHAL, Apr 15 : The Manipuri community living in South Korea came together to celebrate Cheiraoba at a pension house in the suburbs of Anseong City located 80 km south of Seoul on April 5. A press release issued by the Korea Manipuri Association (KMA) has informed that a special Manipuri cuisine was prepared exclusively for the Lunar New Year celebration and Cheiraoba prayers were offered. Additionally, Piba gifts and blessings were exchanged among all attending Pibas and Ningols. Guests from other Indian states were also invited highlighting the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. On April 15, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov met with Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan, Trend reports. At the meeting, satisfaction was expressed with the comprehensive development of Azerbaijani-Georgian relations of friendship and strategic partnership. The issues of expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in various fields were discussed. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The 11th meeting of the Forum of Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities (FBRA) of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) member countries, organized by the Audiovisual Council of Azerbaijan, was held in Baku, Trend reports. The BRAF is a key player in the regional arena, designed to open the floodgates for dialogue and cooperation among the broadcasting regulatory authorities of the region's countries, paving the way for a rich exchange of ideas and experiences. The main topic of the meeting, bringing together around 30 heads and authorized representatives of the audiovisual media regulatory bodies from Serbia, Romania, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkiye, Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, as well as officials from the State Committee for Family, Women, and Childrens Affairs of Azerbaijan, the Media Development Agency, and media representatives, is "Protection of Children in Media Services." The event will roll out the red carpet for a general session, shining a spotlight on the latest twists and turns in audiovisual media regulation across the member countries, along with panel sessions on "Legal regulation of child protection and its effective implementation" and "The role of media literacy and parental control in child protection." The Audiovisual Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established as the authority controlling the field of audiovisual media by the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Media," dated December 30, 2021. The council guarantees the execution of the existing legislation, regulates the audiovisual media sphere, monitors audiovisual media in order to control conformity with the current legislation, and participates in the formation of state policy in the audiovisual media sphere. Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Audiovisual Council of Azerbaijan Ismat Sattarov noted that strengthening relations between the media of the countries of the Black Sea-Caspian region is of great importance. It is a great honor and a great responsibility for us to hold a Forum in Baku a city that unites countries with its rich culture, history and traditions, and also plays an important role in modern politics, " Sattarov said. Speaking about bilateral cooperation, he noted that Azerbaijan is interested in developing relations with Albania, Bulgaria, and Georgia. Georgia is not only a neighbor and strategic partner, it is also a bridge to the Black Sea region, " he said, calling for deepening cooperation in the field of regulation of media distribution. Secretary General of the Black Sea broadcasting regulatory bodies Forum Deniz Gucer said in her speech that the media and children are a very sensitive topic and affect each of us, no matter where we are. She said that another problem is how children are presented and shown on social media. "Today, video and audio media and Broadcasting create too much information for children, and unfortunately, children are exposed to harmful content. Finding a solution to how to protect children in broadcasting services is our common problem," She said. Moreover, it was noted in the form that the 12th Meeting of the Black Sea broadcasting regulatory bodies Forum (BRAF) will be held in Albania. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Trinamul Congress government in West Bengal is trying to use the Anti-Waqf Bill to save face from the job losses of 26,000 school teachers in the state, said Naushad Siddiqui, sole MLA from Bhangar constituency of the Indian Secular Front (ISF). While addressing a protest rally against the recently amended Waqf Bill organised by the ISF at Ramleela Maidan in the city on Monday Mr Siddiqui said, The ruling Trinamul Congress is trying to use the protests against the Waqf bill to save its face from the job loss of nearly 26,000 schoolteachers. The bill is not only against the Muslims but also against the socio-economic development in the country. Advertisement The ISF supporters, without carrying their party flags, were seen shouting slogans against both the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah. Many of them had national flags during the protest programme. Advertisement Mr Siddiqui accused the ruling party in the state and the BJP of working in tandem to destroy Bengals culture for political ends. Our protest is to save our Constitution. Many ministers and leaders have looted Waqf property in the state and we will release a list of such people, he said. The ISF protest march was trying to move towards Esplanade from Sealdah this afternoon but the police stopped the leadership of the party at Sealdah and asked them to hold their rally at Ramlila Maidan. Earlier this morning, trouble started at Bhangar from where Mr Siddiuqui was elected in Assembly elections in the state in 2021 after the ISF supporters got involved in scuffle with the police. Busloads of ISF supporters were stopped on the way to Kolkata. They were trying to march towards the city by breaking barricades installed by police at Bhangar. The supporters of ISF allegedly set fire to two-wheelers of Kolkata Police. Police resorted to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control. Protests over the changed law governing Waqf properties has witnessed large-scale violence in Malda and Murshidabad, among few other districts with both ruling Trinamul Congress and the saffron party accusing each other of inciting violence. The ISF supporters blocked the Basanti expressway when cops stopped their vehicles coming from Bhangar from proceeding towards Ramleela Maidan in Kolkata. The cops said the ISF did not seek any permission for the protest meeting at the venue. Apart from Bhangar, the protesters were coming from Sandeshkhali and Minakha. We were going for a peaceful protest. By stopping our vehicles the police are trying to provoke our supporters, said the ISF legislator. On Sunday, the BJP state leaders issued provocative statements from a public meeting at College Square. They were allowed without any intervention by the cops, he said. The Bengal government has suspended the internet in Murshidabad with prohibitory orders in place at Suti, Samserganj, Dhulian and Jangipur. Senior police officers said the situation in these towns is under control now. Slamming the ISFs protests the state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firhad Hakim said: The chief minister has already announced that the Waqf act wont be implemented in Bengal. Then, why do they (ISF) disrupt normal life in the name of protests? Lets all of us give a call to organise protests in Delhi where the Waqf bill was passed. Indian enterprises are taking the lead in adopting Generative AI (GenAI) globally, with 86 per cent of them already having strategy in place, a new report said on Monday. This figure is higher than both the global (55 per cent) and Asia-Pacific-Japan (60 per cent) averages highlighting Indias strong focus on AI-driven innovation. Advertisement India is not only embracing GenAI faster than other regions, but is also investing heavily in cloud-native technologies, infrastructure upgrades, and workforce training to support this shift, according to a Nutanix report. Advertisement Prasanna Ranade, Senior Director, Enterprise and Government Sales, Nutanix India, said the countrys fast adoption of GenAI is a sign of a broader transformation in digital innovation. He emphasised the importance of containerisation, infrastructure modernisation, and talent development to help companies stay competitive in the AI-powered future. The report shows that 66 per cent of Indian organisations are already in the process of implementing their GenAI strategies. Additionally, 99 per cent of enterprises are working to containerise their applications an essential step in supporting modern AI workloads making India one of the most advanced countries in this area. With this rapid progress, however, come new challenges. About 96 per cent of Indian businesses are facing difficulties in scaling GenAI workloads from development to production, said the Nutanix report. The biggest challenge is integrating GenAI systems with existing IT infrastructure, which has prompted many companies to prioritise IT modernisation. Despite these hurdles, Indian enterprises remain optimistic. Nearly 90 per cent expect their IT costs to rise due to GenAI, but 75 per cent believe they will see a return on investment within one to three years. Many organisations are also using GenAI for critical areas like cybersecurity, fraud detection, and customer support. Security and privacy have emerged as top concerns. While 90 per cent of respondents say data privacy is a priority, 95 per cent agree that more needs to be done to secure GenAI applications. Investments in cybersecurity and infrastructure upgrades are now seen as vital to unlocking the full potential of GenAI. The report also highlights the growing need for skilled talent. Over half of the Indian enterprises surveyed plan to invest in IT training, and nearly as many are planning to hire new talent to support GenAI-related roles. Encouragingly, 53 per cent see this as an opportunity to reskill and become AI experts. A delegation of the Delhi Legislative Assembly led by Speaker VIjender Gupta, on Tuesday, met Odisha Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati, Odisha Assembly Speaker Surma Padhi, and Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi to discuss the implementation of renewable energy initiatives of the government of national capital. During the study tour of Delhi government officials, Odisha CM presented them an overview of states digital attendance system that allow legislators to mark present and aaccess daily proceedings through digital dashboards that enabled the Assembly to transit towards making it paperless. Advertisement Odisha Assembly Speaker Surma Padhi assured the delegation of their full cooperation and insights into the paperless legislative process. Advertisement The delegation also interacted with Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati wherein Gupta outlined the Delhi Assemblys initiative to become fully solar-powered stating that it will soon generate 550 kW of solar power, resulting in estimated monthly savings of 15 lakh in electricity costs. The Governor commended Delhis progressive steps toward integrating technology with environmental sustainability and expressed interest in adopting a similar solar energy system at the Odisha Raj Bhavan. The three-day study tour is aimed at knowledge sharing and strengthening inter-legislative cooperation. The insights from Odishas pioneering efforts in digital transformation and sustainability will significantly support the Delhi Legislative Assemblys own E-Vidhan and green energy initiatives. The 48th edition of the India Carpet Expo, organized by the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, received an overwhelming response on its second day, with registrations from 195 international buyers and 125 representatives of overseas buyers. Major participating countries include Australia, Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Egypt, France, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the USA. Advertisement The Carpet Expo was inaugurated on April 14, 2025, by Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh, who lit the ceremonial lamp. He was joined by special guest Amrit Raj, IAS, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Advertisement On the second day, Rajya Sabha MP Arun Kumar Singh, Cabinet Minister Rakesh Sachan (MSME, Khadi, Village Industries, Silk Production, and Textiles, Government of Uttar Pradesh), and Minister of Labour & Employment and Coordination, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Anil Rajbhar, visited the expo. They appreciated the arrangements and lauded the vibrant display of carpets. The ministers conveyed their best wishes to all exporters and importers, stating that such expos not only benefit those associated with the carpet industry but also help steer it in a new direction. CEPC Chairman Kuldeep R Wattal said that the buyers were extremely pleased and expressed gratitude for being provided with such a world-class platform. The objective of the Carpet Expo is to promote the highly labour-intensive Indian handmade carpet industry, which provides direct and indirect employment to around two million artisans and workers, especially women from rural areas. India Carpet Expo is one of the largest handmade carpet fairs in Asia, offering buyers a unique platform to explore the finest handmade carpets, rugs, and other floor coverings under one roof. Wattal, along with Committee Members Anil Kumar Singh, Wasif Ansari, Aslam Mehbub, Imtiyaz Ahmad, Rohit Gupta, Piyush Barnwal, Hussain Jafar Husaini, Sanjay Gupta, Sheikh Ashiq Ahmad, Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Bodhraj Malhotra, Mehraj Yaseen, Shaukat Khan, and Executive Director and Secretary Dr Smita Nagarkoti, expressed their satisfaction with the progress and success of the expo. The Chairman noted that the success of the fair depends on the volume of trade conducted between international buyers and participating exporters. Based on the information received so far, participating exporters are highly satisfied with the business generated in the first two days of the expo, and he expressed confidence that this edition of the fair will prove to be a grand success. In a moment of remembrance and patriotism, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was visibly moved after attending the special screening of Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh in New Delhi on Tuesday. The film, which brings to light the tragic massacre of April 13, 1919, paints a stirring portrait of Indias painful past. Akshay Kumar steps into the role of C. Sankaran Nair, a fearless lawyer who dared to confront the British Empire in court over the brutal killings at Jallianwala Bagh. His fight for justice and truth forms the emotional core of the story. Advertisement After the screening, CM Gupta reflected on the weight of the sacrifice made by countless Indians during the freedom struggle. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) So many people laid down their lives for our independencemost of whom history has forgotten. We dont even know their names, she said, her voice heavy with emotion. Praising the film, Gupta called it marvellous and said it served as a much-needed reminder of the courage and pain endured by unsung heroes. We may never get a chance to die for our country as they did, but we certainly have the chance to live for it, she added, encouraging citizens to dedicate their efforts and energy toward building a better India. The Chief Minister also recited a heartfelt line, Tan samarpit, man samarpit, aur yeh jeevan samarpit, expressing her deep personal commitment to the country. She urged the younger generation to stay connected to the nations history and to find inspiration in the sacrifices that paved the way for Indias independence. Slated for release on April 18, 2025, Kesari Chapter 2 is the much-anticipated follow-up to the 2019 hit Kesari, which portrayed the heroic stand of 21 Sikh soldiers during the Battle of Saragarhi. While the original film spotlighted military bravery, the sequel shifts focus to civilian resistance and legal defiance against British atrocities. Its not every day you get to witness a true-blue star celebrate 25 years in the world of cinema and do it with the kind of grace and gratitude that only R. Madhavan can pull off. As the actor marked a quarter-century in the Indian film industry, he chose a path of peace and reflection rather than fanfare: a soulful visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The occasion was made even more special as he was joined by his Kesari Chapter 2 co-stars, Akshay Kumar and Ananya Panday. Advertisement The trio wasnt just there for spiritual blessings they were also marking the countdown to their upcoming release on April 18. Advertisement But for Madhavan, the moment went far deeper than promotions. In a heartfelt post, he looked back on the journey that began on April 14, 2000, with Alaipayuthey, a film that turned him into an overnight heartthrob. Reflecting on his career, he wrote, 25 glorious, wonderful, rewarding and blessed years as a film actor Journeys beyond my wildest dreams with ecstasy and agony as constant companions, yet all the love earned overwhelms my heart. View this post on Instagram A post shared by R. Madhavan (@actormaddy) He didnt hype up the anniversary with grand declarations or glitzy celebrations. Instead, he bowed his head in gratitude at the shrine, calling it a spontaneous pilgrimage on a very auspicious and special day. From the charming Maddy in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein to the nerdy yet lovable Farhan in 3 Idiots, and the quirky Manu in Tanu Weds Manu, Madhavan has never stuck to one genre or one persona. Hes been a romantic, a realist, a rebel, and even a rocket scientist quite literally, in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, which he also directed and produced. He even went dark and gritty in Shaitaan, proving hes as fearless as he is versatile. Death, says one song in this remarkably dense and evocative film, is akin to love. It sure seems like death for Vikram (Shiney Ahuja) every time Geeta(Chitrangda Rao) looks at her idol-lover Sidharth(Kay Kay Menon). And death sure feels like a renewal and assertion of life every time Sudhir Mishra makes a new film. His outstanding understanding of the complex polemics and politics that motivate the mysteries and contradictions of modern Indian society, has given us great pieces of alternative art in the past including the unusual thriller Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin where the characters ran around in pursuit of exits to a door-less existence. Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is Mishras most complex ambitious and politically driven film to date. He minces no words while castigating the Nehruvian ideal that modern India adopted, a model for governance that generated a social order thats unjust and degenerate. Subsuming the murky and incoherent politics of Kolkata, Delhi and the Bhojpur district of Bihar between the decadent decade that falls between 1969 and 1977, HKA takes us on a strange stirring and reverberant journey into the erosion of the collective conscience in modern India. Advertisement Nobody cares. And those who seem to care lose their idealism in the welter of tortuous compromises that characterise Indias journey into modernism. And yet, if we look back in anger as Sudhir Mishra does so coherently in this film, what do we see? A social order based on the brutal oppression of the socio-economically challenged. Advertisement Sahir Lidhianvi wrote the immortal lines Jinhe naaz hai hind par woh kahan hain to express the fatal disillusionment of Guru Dutt in Pyaasa. HKA is almost a modern-day version of Pyaasa, with the protagonist Sidharths journey from Marxist jargon to Naxal rebellion to cast oppression being mapped out in the narrative with the harsh inevitability of a cyclone that can bring no relief, only damage. Sure, Siddharth rages on about injustice. And like the prostitute Gulabo in Pyaasa he sucks the besotted Geeta into his ideological web. Its interesting to see how in Geeta, the director amalgamates both the Waheeda Rehman and Mala Sinha characters in Pyaasa. Like Waheeda, Chitrangda Singh is willing to sacrifice everything and follow her man to the end of the world. Like Mala Sinha, she falls into a marriage of compromise and comfort(with the well-meaning alcoholic richie rich, played by Ram Kapoor) but soon pulls back and re-focusses her priorities. But does she get her just rewards for her ideological transference? Sudhir Mishras pessimistic view of politics and love offers no comfort to the uncompromising. In that sense HKA reminded me of Hrishikesh Mukherjees Satyakam where the ideologue ends up dead on a hospital bed. Sudhir Mishras Siddharth nearly ends up the same way. But is saved in the nick of time by a savage twist of irony when Vikram in a bid to rescue Siddharth from the clutches of uniformed Bihari goondas, gets his identity interchanged with his friends. What follows is the most brutal interlude of violence ever witnessed in a political drama where Vikram is almost bludgeoned to death by two heartless cops in the green fields of rural Bihar. The dying moments of this disturbing drama show Vikram, now reduced to a vegetable, resting his head on Geetas shoulder in a place far away from the politics of the city. Love in Mishras brutally unflinching scheme of nightmarish dreams, is a commodity that demands exorbitant compensation. The commodious yet compact screenplay (Sudhir Mishra, Shiv Subramaniam, Ruchi Narain) knits the major political upheavals of the times into a love triangle. Love and politics intermingle in a copulatory clasp, whereby the sweat and heat of one transfer itself into the other domain. Their swift cuts(editing Catherine DHoir) and the relentlessly probing cinematography( Jacques Bouquin, Aseem Bajaj) suggest a close link between the politics of the state and the politics of the conscience. Overlapping harshly across the narrative the films quivering underbelly never shows up on screen. The characters are monstrously challenged by their destiny. But the narrative is always ahead and unwavering in its perceptions of the blueprint of social revolution and where cinema slips into the scheme of radical change. The performances are even, though not outstanding. The leading lady Chitrangda has evidently been selected for her resemblance to Smita Patil whom Sudhir Mishra and the avant-garde filmmakers of the 1980s saw as a champion of political grace. All three protagonists seem to have understood the politics of Mishras layered cinema. Mishra makes no bones about his contempt and cynicism for Nehruvian idealism. This film lashes out at the Congress role model of governance almost to the point of denouncing and demolishing all that the architects of modern India dreamt of. If youve ever thought of why our nation is in such a mess, this is a film that tells you where we could have gone wrong. It offers no solutions. But it makes you sit up and think about the politics of a nation governed by self-serving leaders who have never really cared for the country and have left the nitty-gritty of the country to middlemen and power-brokers. In one hard-hitting sequence, the wheeler-dealer Vikram strikes a multi-crore deal with an aristocrat while the infuriated scion shoots from the palace roof in protest. This is an image that illustrates the drama of Sudhir Mishras politics. A lot of what you will see in Hazaar Khwaishein will seem unreal and bizarre. Dont take that to be an exaggeration. Its the politics weve been gifted by the architects of Indian democracy. Sudhir Mishra is rightfully proud of his rumination on the politics of corruption. There are some films that emerge out of a filmmakers head on account of who he is essentially. These are films only he can make. Hazaaron was that film for me. I am known as the Director of Hazaaron which enhances my stature as a filmmaker but also lessens it, because I have made films like Khoya Khoya Chand, Dharavi, Chameli, and Serious Men which are as good as Hazaaron . I nurtured the script for many years before making it and now it nurtures me. For Shiney Ahujas role I went through a very elaborate casting process and conducted auditions in four cities but found him literally next door. Initially, we tested him for Kay Kay Menons part but one look at the audition and I knew he was Vikram. I just cant believe that the Shiney is the same person I know. There were so many women on the sets. They never had any complaints about Shineys behaviour. In fact, Shiney did a film with my assistant Ruchi Narain called Kal: Yesterday and Tomorrow. Shiney was always a thorough gentleman. Eventually, the woman who accused him of rape withdrew her case. But it was too late.,Our film industry ostracised him for something he had not done. Sudhir feels a huge owners pride. I was born to make Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. Every filmmaker is born to make just one or two films. The rest are all space fillers. K Asif and Mehboob Khan made films other than Mughal-e-Azam and Mother India. But they are known largely for these two films. I do hope I can make something that will take me beyond Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. I think it is one film when the right story found me. Its right there at the top. Some films change a film-maker and Hazaaron changed me. I found a softer side of myself. A more compassionate side. Making it and putting it out in the public was not easy. It is more difficult in one way but then it was always difficult. Back in 2005 after the UPA government had taken over, my film Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi was totally ignored at the National awards. Some of my best friends, and filmmaker-colleagues were sitting in the jury. They chose to honour other films. But does anyone even remember the films that won the National award that year? Whereas my Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi is discussed for its relevance even today. My point is, you cant gag what is relevant. The voice will find a way. Watch out for what I am directing now. I am not allowed to speak about it. India and Italy held a dialogue aimed at further enhancing defence cooperation as a key pillar of strategic partnership between both the countries. The meeting took place between Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto during the formers recent visit to Rome. A statement from the Ministry of Defence stated that Rajesh Kumar Singh co-chaired the 11th IndiaItaly annual bilateral Joint Defence Committee meeting with his Italian counterpart and Secretary General of Defence Luisa Riccardi. Advertisement They discussed a wide range of issues related to defence, security, and industrial cooperation, including maritime cooperation and information-sharing arrangements between India and Italy, with an emphasis on the Trans Regional Maritime Network. The situation in the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean Region also came up during the discussions. Advertisement The Defence Secretary stressed closer defence collaboration, especially in technology and armament production, which is a priority area for India. He highlighted that the Government of India is proactively building an ecosystem for defence production and innovation within the country through conscious policy initiatives. India has developed a vibrant innovation and industrial ecosystem. In his keynote address during the IndiaItaly Defence Industry Roundtable, the Defence Secretary shared his views on how the Indian defence industry has witnessed significant changes, particularly in the past few years through progressive reforms. He said that these reforms have been marked by the creation of a conducive environment for the growth of the Indian Industry through transparency, predictability, and ease of doing business. An MoU was also signed between the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and the Federation of Italian Companies for Aerospace, Defence and Security (AIAD), marking a significant step towards fostering closer cooperation between the defence industries of both nations. Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh has expressed satisfaction over gradual evolution of Bhilwara into a major textile hub of India. In brief chat with the media at the sidelines of a programme here Tuesday, Singh said, I foresee Bhilwara emerging as one of the modern and prime textile and garments manufacturing centers that would have potentials of providing employment to numerous youths. Advertisement However, this will require huge funds for investment may be to the tune of Rs 30,000 to 60,000 crore. For catering to this huge funds requirement the Centre and the Rajasthan government are needed to work in cohesion and coordination, Minister Singh said. Advertisement This spirit of cohesion and synchrony between the Centre and the state was lacking during the previous Congress regime and Bhilwara suffered from this wanting, he asserted. Presently, there is desired rapport and proper coordination among the local MLAs, MP, the state government and the Centre, Singh quipped. He also claimed that the next assembly polls in Bihar would bring back the NDA/BJP in power. People in my state are not in the mood to create a West Bengal like situation in Bihar. The textile minister also participated in a number of programmes in the city. Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Tuesday that the Centre is focused on providing healthcare which is not only curative but also preventive, palliative, and rehabilitative. Speaking at the fifth convocation ceremony of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, he reiterated the governments commitment to providing world-class healthcare for the citizens. Advertisement He said providing affordable and quality healthcare to every poor person in the country is a priority of the government. Advertisement Highlighting the achievements of the government in the health sector, the Minister informed that 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are operational across the country providing a range of services pertaining to healthcare and wellness. In the last 10 years, there has been a 101 per cent increase in medical colleges, totaling 780 across the country. There has been a 130 per cent increase in MBBS seats while PG seats have seen an increase of 138 per cent in the last 10 years. Similarly, to cater to the paramedics, 157 nursing colleges are also being established, to be co-located with the medical colleges, he said. Emphasising that the government spends between Rs 30-35 lakh for every MBBS student, he urged the new doctors to shoulder more responsibilities as they embark on their professional careers. The Minister lauded AIIMS Rishikesh for being one of the best institutes in the country for using digital services like telemedicine (eSanjeevani) to serve the remote and underserved areas of the state. During the event, Nadda also inaugurated several healthcare facilities to enhance the institutes medical services, including Integrated Medicine in the Ayush Department, a PET scan machine in the Nuclear Medicine Department, PACS facility in the Radiology Department, and a Centre for Advanced Pediatrics in Pediatric Care. In his address, the Chief Minister said that Indias healthcare sector has seen a significant uplift in the last decade with the launch of initiatives like Ayushman Bharat and establishment of new AIIMS and medical colleges. He said that AIIMS Rishikesh is providing quality and affordable healthcare services and facilities to people from across the state. Dhami said the government is working to set up a medical college in every district of the state and expand the network of Jan Aushadi Kendras in the state. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. It is important to strengthen media ties between the countries of the Black Sea-Caspian space, said Chairman of the Audiovisual Council of Azerbaijan Ismat Sattarov as he welcomed the participants of the 11th Meeting of the Black Sea Regulatory Authorities Forum in Baku, Trend reports. It is a great honor and a great responsibility for us to hold a Forum in Baku, which unites so many countries with a rich culture, history and traditions, and at the same time plays an important role in modern politics, Sattarov said. Highlighting bilateral ties, he noted Azerbaijan's interest in enhancing cooperation with Albania, Bulgaria, and Georgia. Georgia is not only a neighbor and a strategic partner, but also a bridge to the Black Sea region, he said, calling for deeper regulatory collaboration. He welcomed the Greek delegation, noting that establishing closer ties between our media and media regulators will be highly beneficial for both countries, while also pointing to Moldova as a country with a common history and common problems, emphasizing the need to update a 2017 cooperation agreement. Sattarov highlighted preparations for a visit to Romania and ongoing efforts with Serbia to finalize a memorandum. He noted the special nature of relations between Serbia and Azerbaijan, marked by strong political and economic ties. Particular appreciation was expressed toward Turkiyes Radio & Television Supreme Council (RTUK). The existence of this Forum has only been possible thanks to the activity and competence of one of the world's leading media regulators, he said, thanking RTUK members for their ongoing support. Sattarov also extended gratitude to BSEC for its role in supporting the Forum, welcoming Ambassador Dr. Merve Safa Kavakc and expressing hope that the event would serve the purpose of strengthening cooperation between the countries of the organization. The Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court on Tuesday ordered the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to provide a copy of the charge sheet in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.(CMRL)-Exalogic case, which names Veena Vijayan, daughter of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan , among the accused, to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Following the submission of the prosecution complaint(charge sheet )by the SFIO in the case, the ED had filed an application requesting a copy of the same . Advertisement The EDs further action will be based on an examination of the evidence, including the statements submitted along with the charge sheet. Advertisement Accepting the prosecution complaint (charge sheet), the court found that sections 129 (7) (for not producing financial statements that reflect the tru nature of the company), 134(8) (penalties for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 134), 447 (corporate fraud), and 448 (punishment for making false statements in legally required documents) of the Companies Act, 2013, would apply to the accused.The offences listed in the SFIOs charge-sheet reportedly also include violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). An earlier probe by the Income Tax Department and the subsequent order by the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board(ITISB) had concluded that Rs 1.72 crore was received by Veena Vijayan and her company without rendering any services. Investigations found that private mineral company CMRL committed a fraud amounting to Rs 197.7 crore, which included payments to Veena, her company, and other political figures. As per the SFIO charge sheet, Veena is booked under Section 447 of the Companies Act. The same charge has been levelled against CMRL managing director and others It is learnt that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is planning to register a fresh Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against the Chief Ministers daughter, Veena Vijayan and others based on the Serious Fraud Investigation Offices (SFIO) prosecution complaint(charge sheet) in the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.(CMRL) case. The ECIR is almost similar to a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the police for cognizable offences. In view of the Bihar assembly elections due in November, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav held a meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and party MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday. The meeting was held at Kharges residence in Delhi, where Congress leader K C Venugopal and RJDs Manoj Jha were also present, among others. Advertisement Speaking to reporters in the morning, Yadav said, Today is our official meeting. We will discuss the strategies for Bihar (elections). Advertisement A high-stakes battle is expected to take place in Bihar, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA); consisting of Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, and the BJP fighting against the alliance consisting of Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Left parties. Earlier, RJD MP Manoj Jha said that this meeting will discuss seat-sharing and the alliance between the two parties, there are clamours that the RJD should look beyond Congress. The grand old partys performance has not been up to the mark for the last four polls. The lower strike rate has hurt the performance of the Mahagathbandhan, an alliance of RJD, Congress and Left. In the 2010 Bihar assembly polls, the Congress had contested all 243 seats but won just four with a vote percentage of little over 8 per cent. In the 2015 assembly polls, when Nitish Kumar parted ways with the BJP and his party JDU joined RJD-Congress in Mahagathbandhan, the Congress contested 41 seats and won 27 seats with a vote share of around 6.7 per cent. In the 2020 assembly polls when Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA, the Congress contested 70 seats and won 19 with around 9 per cent vote share. With growing tension in the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) on the issue of CM face, all constituents of the opposition alliance in Bihar will meet in Patna on 17 April. The alliance partners will discuss election strategy, seat sharing and formation of a coordination committee in the first meeting before the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar. While the ruling NDA is far ahead in election preparations, the Grand Alliance is still planning to hold its first meeting due to the Congress Partys stand on the CM face of the alliance. On March 30, while sounding the poll bugle for the BJP in Bihar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad for jungle raj and corruption between 1990-2005. Since his meeting on March 30, Shah is also going to spend two days a month in Bihar to prepare for the polls. Sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided some premises of ex Congress Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas in connection with the infamous Chit fund (PACL) scam. In total raids were made at around 18 20 locations in the state and some in other states, including Delhi and Chandigarh. Advertisement The ED sources and some eye witnesses said that team from the ED Jaipur headquarters having tip off about considerable (quantum) investment by the Congress leader-, reached at his residence in the area adjoining the Civil Lines (locality) early this morning. Advertisement Soon the report of the ED action spread around, supporters of Khachariyawas-, who is ex MLA from the Civil Lines assembly constituency, gathered outside his residence and opposed the raids raising slogans. This continued till late afternoon. The raid and searches were conducted in several towns in different state. The scam had come in lights in 14 years back with lodging an FIR at the Chomu (Jaipur) police station in year 2011. Around 5.75 crore investors have reportedly invested Rs 49,000 crore. There are unconfirmed reports that that Khachariyavas has invested Rs 25 30 crore in the company, however, officials did not make any comments to the media in this regard. The Supreme Court had also set up a high powered committee headed by retired CJI Justice RM Lodha in 2016. Meanwhile, talking to the media outside his residence, Khachariyawas who is the nephew of former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, said I am not scared, I have committed no wrong, so, I can not be tamed down. I dont know what they are searching for, they did not give me any notice, no prior intimation about their move. They asked me 2 4 questions, I replied back, they found nothing (no document no cash). What is the sad aspect of this happening is they did not follow the procedure, the premises The Khachariyawas House, is not owned by me,this belongs to my father and the tallest BJP leader late Bhairon Singh Shekhawats younger brother Laxman Singh Shekhawat. The ED officials did not show even the optimum regard and courtesy for the former VPs brother. The Opposition Congress has rallied behind its former Minister Khachariyawas to support him against the vendetta politics based harassment by the ruling BJP. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and the party Rajasthan unit incharge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, AICC General Secretary and ex Dy CM Sachin Pilot and party state president Govind Singh Dotasara have condemned the vendetta politicsof the BJP through the central agencies like ED, CBI and IT department. Gehlot has strongly condemned the raids at ex-Ministers premises saying, Khachariyawas had boldly opposed the ruling BJPs bid of toppling the then Congress led government in 2020. Annoyed with his stance the ED sleuths had took action against Khachariyawas and grilled him for 7 to 8 hours on August 12, 2020. This because Khachariyawas has always been vocal and active in fighting out wrong doings of the BJP and its government. Similar, action was taken by the central government agency against the Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasara and also against a Congress sympathiser Independent during the assembly polls December 2023 bringing the real face and intent of the BJP for their political adversaries. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel, however, justified the raids saying no body should be worried as we do work only in total fair, impartial and transparent manner. Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, on Tuesday, reviewed the implementation of the Post-Matric Scholarship (PMS) schemes for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Class (OBC) students. These Centrally-sponsored schemes are currently being implemented by seven departments of the state, namely, Higher Education, Technical Education, Medical Education and Research, Skill Development and Industrial Training, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, AYUSH, and School (Secondary) Education departments. Advertisement During the meeting, Rastogi emphasized the need for timely disbursal of scholarships and directed all concerned departments to clear pending cases without delay. Advertisement He instructed the School Education Department to make full use of the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC students and Component-I of the Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for OBC students, which are funded by the government of India. These schemes play a crucial role in supporting the education of students from disadvantaged communities at the school level. Highlighting the need for financial discipline, the chief secretary stressed timely submission of Utilization Certificates (UCs) to ensure prompt reimbursement of funds by the Central government. To enhance transparency and accountability, he also directed that Aadhaar-based biometric e-KYC be made mandatory for all institutions, district nodal officers and state nodal officers associated with the implementation of these scholarship schemes. Rastogi reiterated the state governments commitment to ensuring that no eligible student is deprived of educational opportunities. He urged all implementing departments to work in close coordination to ensure smooth and effective delivery of benefits under these centrally sponsored schemes. Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education and Research, Sudhir Rajpal informed that the department has streamlined the disbursement process to ensure that scholarships are delivered efficiently and without unnecessary delays. Dr G Anupama, Additional Chief Secretary, SEWA Department, presented a comprehensive overview of the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC students. She informed that the scheme is centrally sponsored with a funding ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and the state. Asserting that he is not afraid of Karni Sena protests, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav announced his decision to visit Agra on April 19. Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, he said law and order in UP is zero. Industrialists are scared and no one can question the government. One trillion dollar economy is just a dream, he added. Advertisement In a veiled attack on BJP leaders, Akhilesh Yadav said those who are coward have kept NSG while he has no regrets that NSG security has been withdrawn from me. Advertisement Talking about Karni Sena and SP MPs statement on Raja Rana Sanga, Akhilesh Yadav said, We are not against the maharajas. The king has no caste. I will go to Agra and am not afraid of anyone. Karni Sena has launched a protest against the SP for the statement by its MP Ramji Lal Suman on Raja Rana Sanga. Attacking the chief minister Yogi Adityanath for his statement that lathi is the only language for rioters, the SP president said, Now, people are ready to give them farewell but they are trying to instill fear among the people. But I will ask my workers not to write anything on social media. Indias automotive industry is the cornerstone of the nations manufacturing and economic growth, contributing 7.1 per cent to Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 49 per cent to manufacturing GDP, according to a NITI Aayog a report, titled Automotive Industry: Powering Indias Participation in Global Value Chains. The report was released last week by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery and senior members of the premier policy think tank of the government. Advertisement The report outlines Indias Global Value Chain (GVC) potential in the automotive sector and highlights strategic pathways for global leadership. Advertisement Indias automotive industry is a cornerstone of the nations manufacturing and economic growth, contributing 7.1 per cent to Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 49 per cent to manufacturing GDP. As the fourth largest automobile producer globally, India possesses the scale and strategic depth to emerge as a global leader in the automotive value chain. The sector spans a vast ecosystem, from vehicle assembly and auto component manufacturing to deep interlinkages with critical industries such as steel, electronics, rubber, IT, and logistics. In recent years, India has seen exponential growth in vehicle production, with over 28 million units manufactured in 202324 alone. The industrys contribution goes beyond industrial output, and it supports millions of direct and indirect jobs, spurs innovation, and is central to Indias green mobility transition, industrial ambitions, and trade strategy. The global automotive component market was valued at USD 2 trillion in 2022, with USD 700 billion traded across borders. Despite Indias strong manufacturing base, its share in the globally traded auto component market remains at just 3 per cent (~USD 20 billion), highlighting a vast scope for expansion. Indias trade ratio in auto components is near-neutral (~0.99), with exports and imports nearly balancing each other. This also underlines the domestic sectors limited penetration in high-value, high-precision segments such as engine and engine components, along with drive transmission and steering systems, where India holds just 24 per cent of the global trade share. Bridging this gap requires structural reforms, strategic investments, and a coordinated industrial policy approach. With the right enabling conditions, India can triple exports to USD 60 billion, generate a USD 25 billion trade surplus, and create over 2-2.5 million direct jobs by 2030, propelling it toward becoming a globally competitive, innovation-driven manufacturing hub. A major disaster was averted on Monday night when a fire broke out on the second floor of the government-run Lokbandhu Hospital in Lucknow. While 200 patients were safely evacuated, one patient died and another remains in critical condition. The fire broke out in a section of the hospital that includes the female medicine ward, ICU, and HDU. Due to the Ambedkar Jayanti holiday, most administrative officials were not present at the time of the incident. Approximately 40 to 50 patients and their attendants were on the affected floor. Advertisement Eyewitnesses reported that the fire quickly filled the hospital with smoke, and many on-duty doctors and staff fled the scene. Remarkably, attendants took the initiative to rescue patients, carrying them on their backs to safety. Advertisement The fire brigade arrived shortly after, breaking glass to enter the building and evacuating people using staircases and cranes. According to hospital authorities, 200 patients have since been shifted to other hospitals across the city. One patient, Rajkumar Prajapati (61), who was admitted to the ICU, died due to the shutdown of the oxygen supply. Another patient, 26-year-old Kanti, remains in critical condition and is currently undergoing treatment at the Trauma Center. The incident occurred at around 9:25 PM. Dr Ajay Shankar Tripathi, Chief Medical Superintendent of the hospital, confirmed that a short circuit appears to be the cause of the fire, based on preliminary investigations. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak visited the hospital late Monday night and ordered an inquiry into the incident. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also taken cognizance of the matter. Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth met Tanzanian Vice-President Philip Isdor Mpango and Minister of Defence and National Service Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax in Dar es Salaam, recently. A statement from the Ministry of Defence stated that during the meeting Seth updated them on the ongoing Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement, and Defence Expo. The minister also offered to help fulfil the defence requirements of the Tanzania Peoples Defence Force. India-Tanzania development partnership, cultural connections and cooperation in health and education were also discussed, the statement said. Advertisement The meeting also reviewed the defence cooperation between the two countries, and new ways to further bolster the ties were explored. Training of Tanzanian officers in Indian military training institutes, defence industry collaboration, cooperation in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, and cybersecurity were some of the key areas of cooperation deliberated upon during the meeting. Advertisement Later, Seth also met the Indian Community and spoke about the contribution of the Indian diaspora in the growth and prosperity of not only India but Tanzania too. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday discussed various aspects of bilateral relations as well as global developments during a telephonic conversation. Glad to speak with PM Mette Frederiksen today. Reaffirmed our strong support for the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership and enhancing cooperation across sectors for the benefit of our people. We also discussed regional and global developments of mutual interest, PM Modi said in a post on X after the phone call. Advertisement Recalling high-level exchanges between both countries ever since the launch of the Green Strategic Partnership in 2020, the leaders noted the expansion of the Green Strategic Partnership in various fields which have created favorable conditions for Danish investments in India to contribute to green transition. The leaders also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest. Advertisement PM Modi said he was looking forward to the 3rd India-Nordic Summit scheduled to be held later this year in Norway, and his meeting with Prime Minister Frederiksen at that time. Denmark is also the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership. Both leaders had co-chaired a Virtual Summit between India and Denmark in September 2020 and launched a Green Strategic Partnership between the two countries that envisioned co-operation in the field of environment/water and circular economy and sustainable urban development including Smart Cities. Frederiksen has in the past hailed Prime Minister Modi as an inspiration for the rest of the world for having set some very ambitious targets when it comes to providing clean water and renewable energy to millions of households. PM Modi has also spotlighted the role that Danish expertise and Danish technology can play in the scale and speed at which India wants to move forward. During his visit to Copenhagen in May 2022, PM Modi had appreciated Frederiksens warmth and respect for Indians and emphasised that both countries can work together in finding innovative solutions for green growth. He had lauded the positive role played by the Indian community in Denmark and also highlighted Indias economic potential, inviting more India-Denmark collaborations. Last year, PM Modi was amongst the first world leaders to express his concern after the attack on Frederiksen in Copenhagen. Deeply concerned by the news of the attack on Mette Frederiksen, Denmarks Prime Minister. We condemn the attack. Wishing good health to my friend, PM Modi posted on X after Frederiksen was attacked by a man in central Copenhagen. Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman made yet another provocative statement here on Tuesday, which could further widen the rift between the SP and Karni Sena in light of the MPs statement on Rana Sanga in Parliament recently. With SP President Akhilesh Yadav slated to visit Agra on April 19, another round of protest by the Karni Sena could be witnessed. Advertisement Speaking to media persons here on Tuesday, Dalit SP MP Ramji Lal Suman challenged the Karni Sena, stating that if they want, they should try to protest against party president Akhilesh Yadav, who is coming to Agra on April 19. Advertisement I want to tell these people that the ground is ready, and if they have the courage, they should protest on that day, he said. Triggering another controversy, he said, If you claim a temple exists beneath every mosque, we will say there is a Buddhist monastery under every temple. Do not uproot the dead, or it will create a heavy burden on you, the SP MP warned. He further questioned, If you claim there is DNA of Babar among Muslims, then whose DNA is there in you? Just tell us this as well. Attacking the Karni Sena, he exclaimed, Until now, we have heard of Thal Sena, Vayu Sena, and Jal Sena (Army, Air Force, and Navy), but where did this fake army (Karni Sena) come from? The SP MP had made a statement in the Rajya Sabha that Rana Sanga had invited Babar to fight against Ibrahim Lodi, which triggered controversy and angered the Rajputs. Later, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat removed the statement from the records. Meanwhile, SP President Akhilesh Yadav confirmed at a press meet in Lucknow that he will go to Agra on April 19. He said he would go alone and is ready to take on the fake Sena, whose members are none other than BJP activists. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The 12th meeting of the Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (BRAF) of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) member countries will be held in Albania, Trend reports. This information has been announced at the 11th BRAF meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 11th meeting of the Broadcasting Regulatory Authorities Forum (BRAF) of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) member countries, organized by the Audiovisual Council of Azerbaijan, has begun its work in Baku . The BRAF is a key player in the regional arena, designed to open the floodgates for dialogue and cooperation among the broadcasting regulatory authorities of the region's countries, paving the way for a rich exchange of ideas and experiences. The event brought together around 30 heads and authorized representatives of the audiovisual media regulatory bodies from Serbia, Romania, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkiye, Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, as well as officials from the State Committee for Family, Women, and Childrens Affairs of Azerbaijan, the Media Development Agency, and media representatives. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Ahead of an election year, state autonomy is back in public discourse in Tamil Nadu with the DMK government of Chief Minister MK Stalin announcing the constitution of a three-member committee headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice Kurian Joseph to review the provisions of the Constitution, laws and policies pertaining to state-Centre relations and recommend appropriate measures to strengthen federalism and state autonomy. Announcing this under Rule 110 in the Assembly, which does not entail any discussion, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin said on Tuesday that the panel, comprising former IAS officer Ashok Vardhan Shetty, and former Vice-Chairman of State Planning Commission M Naganathan, has been mandated with examining afresh Constitutional provisions and recommend appropriate measures to restore subjects moved from the State List to the Concurrent List, suggest necessary reforms to ensure maximum autonomy for states, overcoming administrative challenges. Advertisement It has been asked to consider the recommendations of the Rajamannar Committee as well as the Sarkaria Commission and Punchhi Commissions on Centre-state relations in the context of changed socio-political and economic developments. Advertisement For the DMK, states autonomy is an ideological credo, and Stalin is following the footsteps of his father and late Dravidian patriarch M Karunanidhi, who constituted the first ever committee on Centre-state relations headed by former Chief Justice of Madras High Court PV Rajamannar. The recommendations of the panel were passed through a resolution in the state assembly. Every state should be given autonomy for the nation to progress and Tamil Nadu has been consistent in its demand for more state autonomy. At a time when no other state in India took an initiative on State autonomy, it was Kalaignar Karunanidhi who in 1969 formed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Justice PV Rajamannar In 1971, the Committee submitted its detailed report and on April 16, 1974, the assembly passed a resolution adopting its key recommendations, Stalin said, adding that the Union Government then constituted the Sarkaria Commission in 1983 and the Punchhi Commission in 2004. Bemoaning that the recommendations of these panels have been allowed to gather dust, Stalin blamed the present BJP-led dispensation of stripping the states of some of the important subjects in the State List including Health, Law and Finance. But, this was not the intention of the Constitution makers. Our Constitution makers headed by Dr BR Ambedkar shaped our nation not as a Unitary State but as a Union of States envisioning Federalism. Contrary to this, today the rights of States are being steadily eroded and forced to fight even for basic rights from the Union Government, he said and buttressed his arguments citing the National Eligibility-cum Entrance test (NEET) for medical admissions and the New Education Policy (NEP 2020) which override the social-justice based educational policies of Tamil Nadu. The NEP is a mask for Hindi imposition, he said, adding that discriminatory financial devolution from the Central pool robs the financial autonomy of the state. Quoting Dr. Ambedkar, he said, Both the Union and states are created by the Constitution and both derive their authority from the Constitution. One is not subordinate to the other and the authority of one is to coordinate with the other. The Committee is likely to submit an interim report by January next year and its final report within two years. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of encouraging communal unrest under the guise of secularism. She has given rioters a free license in the name of secularism, he stated. Speaking in Hardoi during the inauguration and foundation-laying ceremony of 729 development projects worth Rs 650 crore, Yogi compared the current law and order situation in Bengal to pre-2017 Uttar Pradesh. He emphasized that only strict actionsymbolized by the lathican control rioters. Advertisement Before 2017, UP was plagued by frequent riots. We restored law and order because rioters only understand one language the language of lathi. Mere words wont stop them, he said. Advertisement He alleged that a similar state of unrest is unfolding in West Bengal, where the administration remains silent. Bengal is burning, and the Chief Minister calls rioters messengers of peace. Such elements cannot be controlled with words. In the name of secularism, she has given them a free license to create chaos. Murshidabad has been burning for a week, yet the state government remains mute, Yogi added. He lauded the judiciary for stepping in and deploying central forces to protect minority Hindu communities in Bengal. We are thankful to the Honourable Court for intervening and ensuring the safety of innocent citizens, he noted. Yogi also criticized the silence of opposition parties, saying, The Congress, Samajwadi Party, and TMC have all remained silent. Instead of condemning the violence, they offer veiled support. Anyone glorifying what happened in Bangladesh should simply go there. Why be a burden on Indias soil? During the event, the Chief Minister paid floral tribute to 1857 freedom fighter Raja Narpati Singh Raikwar on Vijay Diwas. He praised the legendary heros contributions to Indias first war of independence and highlighted the importance of the historical site. He acknowledged former CM and current Union Minister Rajnath Singh for developing the memorial, calling it a pilgrimage site of modern India. The CM said Hardoi is being transformed to reflect the vision of a modern and developed India. He spoke of Indias rapid economic growth, saying, In the last ten years, India has made remarkable progress and is now the worlds fifth-largest economy. In the coming years, we will become the third-largest, behind only the US and China. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the Waqf Amendment Act, saying it will prevent the illegal occupation of land meant for the poor and help build public infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and houses. Now, no one will be allowed to grab land and indulge in hooliganism, he said. CM Yogi cautioned citizens against those spreading misinformation and urged them to trust the Constitution drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar. He pointed out the governments welfare initiatives, stating that more than 10 crore people in Uttar Pradesh are benefiting from the Ayushman Bharat health card scheme. He concluded by reiterating Indias goal of becoming the worlds leading power by 2047, in line with PM Modis vision of a Developed India. He paid homage to freedom fighters like Ram Prasad Bismil, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Roshan Singh, and Ashfaqullah Khan, who sacrificed their lives for the nations future. The Congress on Tuesday slammed the BJP-led NDA government after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet against its top leaders- Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case, calling it vendetta politics and intimidation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The party also said it will not be silenced. Advertisement Congress general secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh asserted that seizing the assets of the National Herald is a state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law. Advertisement Attacking the Prime Minister and Home Minister, he wrote on X, Filing chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but the politics of vendetta and intimidation by the Prime Minister and the Home Minister gone completely berserk. The INC and its leadership will not be silenced. Satyameva Jayate, added Ramesh. Echoing similar sentiments, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, A chargesheet has been filed in a fake and non-existent case. This will be contested fully in all aspects. The government by such a matter is exposing itself and its campaign of political vendetta. There is absolutely nothing in this case. Congress MP Manickam Tagore said the National Herald case chargesheet is a clear case of political vendetta. The organisation called the National Herald is the pride part of the Congress party. Our Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ji is fighting against the misrule of Modi and Shah. Because of that they are trying to silence him. We will fight it, he said. Congress leader K C Venugopal posted on X that the party will hold protests across the country on Wednesday. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that the amendments in the Waqf Act were made aimed at correcting past mistakes and ensuring justice in land ownership across the country. The NDA government has only taken steps to address legal inconsistencies that could otherwise lead to any land being declared as Waqf property, he said. Speaking to media persons in Kochi, Rijiju reiterated that the Centres amendments to the Waqf Act are not directed against the Muslim community but that the government intends to ensure that there is no provision for anybody to forcefully and unilaterally take away someones land in India. Advertisement There is a false narrative being spread that the central government is working against Muslims. This is not true. The Waqf Amendment Act is not targeted at the Muslim community. It is to correct mistakes of the past, he said. Advertisement Had the Waqf law not been amended, any land could have been declared as Waqf land. Recognising this, the government decided to amend the law, said Kiren Rijiju. Referring to the Munambam issue, where around 600 families in the Munambam village of the Ernakulam district face the threat of eviction from their residence and land due to claims by the Waqf Board, Rijiju said the issue was one of the reasons that prompted the government to act. He assured that a situation like Munambatm would not be repeated anywhere in the country. Nearly 600 fishermen who had begun paying land taxes were suddenly informed that 404 acres of land in Munambam had been declared Waqf property by the Kerala Waqf Board. This is how the tragedy unfolded and the people realised the injustice done to them, the Minister said. Rijiju assured the people of Munambam, who have been protesting for months against the Waqf Boards claims on their land and homes, that such incidents would not be repeated elsewhere in the country. He stated that justice would be ensured for the affected residents. India has the largest number of Waqf properties in the world. The Munambam case came to our attention some time ago, and I was deeply disturbed when I learnt about it, he said. Rijiju also underlined the importance of land security for all citizens. Land is the most precious thing for us. If you lose your land, you lose everything. That is why we believe there should be no provision for anyone to unilaterally or forcefully take over another persons land. We must make laws to protect every inch of land for its rightful owner, he stated. Kiren Rijiju also addressed the residents of Munambam on Tuesday evening at a meeting titled Thank You Modi, organised in the village to express gratitude to the Modi government for amending the oppressive provisions in the Waqf Act. Union Minister George Kurian and BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrsekhar also participated in the function. Earlier, Rijiju met Archbishop of Varappuzha Joseph Kalathiparambil at the archdiocese headquarters. New research has revealed that Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium), a parasitic infection affecting millions globally, can trigger cancer-related gene activity in the cervical lining, with changes becoming even more pronounced after treatment. Presented at the ESCMID Global 2025 in Austria, this pivotal study sheds new light on how this often-overlooked parasitic disease may contribute to cervical cancer risk at the molecular level. Advertisement Certain cancer-related biological pathways became more active post-treatment, particularly those involved in inflammation, tissue remodelling and the breakdown of protective barriers in the cervix. Advertisement These changes were linked to increased blood vessel formation, activation of tumour-related processes, and reduced programmed cell death (apoptosis)a key mechanism for eliminating abnormal cells. The findings suggest that infection may trigger molecular changes that make women more vulnerable to cancer-related processes in the cervix, especially after treatment, explained Dr. Anna Maria Mertelsmann, lead study author. One particularly concerning observation was the downregulation of genes responsible for maintaining cervical tissue integrity, including claudins and tight junction proteins. This loss of protective function could facilitate HPV infection and persistence, a major risk factor for cervical cancer, said Mertelsmann. The research shows that women who received praziquantel treatment exhibited more genetic changes linked to cancer than those with an active infection, Dr Mertelsmann added. This raises critical questions about the long-term effects of treatment and highlights the need for careful post-treatment monitoring. This study, published in the journal BEYOND, serves as an important first step in understanding the role of S. haematobium in cervical cancer, and a larger study following 180 women over 12 months is currently underway to confirm these findings. Future research will also explore whether women who have had schistosomiasis are at greater risk of cervical cancer due to long-term HPV infections. Researchers stress the need for greater awareness of Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS), as many women with S. haematobium are also affected by this difficult-to-diagnose condition. Women diagnosed with S. haematobium should be closely monitored for early signs of cervical tissue abnormalities, she emphasised. She also suggested that additional treatments such as anti-inflammatory or immune-modulating therapiescould help counteract the harmful effects seen after treatment. Moreover, widespread HPV vaccination could play a crucial role in reducing cervical cancer risk for women affected by schistosomiasis. We all know that failure of the Cripps Mission to offer any advance towards self rule and growing discontent among the people were the immediate factors leading to the Quit India Movement in 1942. But, there was a story behind the story. Gandhi had already had a change of heart in regard to the British Empire in the late 1930s. At that time he decided to wait till the heat of the battle webbed, instead of continuing his unconditional co-operation with the Raj. This is because, at this point, he thought that Britain was losing the war. It is significant that in September 1940, in his speech at the A.I.C.C. meeting, Gandhi said, the position today is such that if we do nothing, our very existence will be imperiled [CWG Vol. 73]. Thus, he clearly advised Congressmen to take an active position against the British India government rather than passively watching how they were dragged into the war. He expressed anger at Viceroy Linlithgows declaration that India was with Britain in the war. He questioned why he made such a declaration unilaterally. He [the Viceroy] could have at least kept Congress out of it. But, the Viceroy did not do so. Under the circumstances, he urged the Congress to make its opposition known; otherwise they would cease to exist. Advertisement The man who decided to assist the British Empire in the Boer war, and back home, in 1918, went on a drive for recruiting Indians as soldiers of the British army, was now steadfastly opposing Britain in the Second World War. He made his point more explicit when he said, in the same meeting, I want them [the British] to win But, I cannot bear that their rule over my country should be perpetuated and we forever remain under their protection. So, I shall not board their ship. [CWG Vol.73 p. 11] He did not confine himself to statements only. He gave a call for action. Advertisement He said, We cannot become free by merely declaring our freedom. We can be free only when the British go out bag and baggage It is this transformation of attitude toward the British Empire that led to the Quit India movement. How did it happen? Did the war change the scenario? If it were so it could have taken place in the First World War. But, then his faith in the Empires benevolence seemed unshakable. The reason for this change can be traced to how he always wanted to relate himself to the authority. His observations in Satyagraha in South Africa concerning the Boer war would be highly instructive here. He admitted that although justice was on the side of the Boers, he supported the British. He explained why. He wrote, authorities may not always be right, but so long as the subjects owe allegiance to a state, it is their clear duty to accord their support to acts of the state. There is the rub! As long as the British Empire held supreme power which seemed undefeatable, his subservience to it in India remained a subjects allegiance to the authority. In the First World War, he had a firm conviction that the mighty empire would come out victorious and then grant freedom to India within the Empire. From the 1940s, the entire situation started taking a new turn. Initially, the advance of the Axis Powers appeared to be inexorable and Gandhis faith in the British power no longer remained as unwavering as it was in the past. He openly started praising Hitler the moment he saw the tide of the war was moving in Hitlers favour. From Wardha, Gandhi wrote to Amrita Kaur on 15 May 1940, I do not want to see the Allies defeated. But, I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and he seems to be gaining victories without much bloodshed On 26 May 1940, he said in his letter to the Viceroy Linlithgow, assuming that things are as black as they appear to be for the Allied cause, is it not time to sue for peace for the sake of humanity? I do not believe Herr Hitler as bad as he is portrayed. He might have been a friendly power as he may still be. The climax was reached in his speech at the Gandhi Seva Sangh and Charkha Sangh on 22 June 1940. What he stated there was a paean to Hitlers single minded devotion to destruction. He advised all to emulate, in their sadhana for Ahimsa, the faith and perseverance with which Hitler had perfected his weapons of destruction. Gandhi added that it commanded his admiration. He also said, That he [Hitler] uses them [weapons of destruction] as a monster is immaterial for our purpose. Thus, it is evident that apart from the urge to revive Congress predominance in the current struggle against the Raj, Gandhi also began mulling over switching allegiance from the British to some other authorities as and when they would be found suitable. The most shocking aspect of this development was his no holds barred admiration for the most powerful. It was power that drove him to become a subject instead of a citizen. From this point of view, his non-violent agitations seemed to have strategised a method of peaceful coexistence of the British oppressor and the oppressed Indians. (The writer is former Head of the Department of Political Science, Presidency College, Kolkata) Indias contemplation of allowing its companies to list on the London Stock Exchange marks a pivotal moment in the nations evolving economic strategy. The recent meeting between Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UKs Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has given this idea fresh momentum. It is a clear indication that India is not only seeking to deepen bilateral ties but is also looking to strategically position itself in the global financial ecosystem. Allowing Indian firms to list abroad could unlock a powerful new source of capital. The London Stock Exchange offers access to a mature and diverse investor base, which can provide Indian companies with long-term funding for expansion, innovation, and international ventures. More than just capital, global listings bring visibility, enhanced credibility, and greater scrutiny ~ factors that can push Indian companies to elevate their standards of transparency and governance. The timing of this exploration is significant. As India aspires to become a $5 trillion economy, access to international markets becomes a natural step. Listing on a globally recognised exchange could also help Indian firms become more competitive, both in terms of valuation and operational benchmarks. It would send a strong signal to the world that Indian companies are ready to play in the big league. Advertisement This also presents an op por tunity to reimagine how Indian entrepreneurship is perceived globally ~ dynamic, transparent, and growth oriented. These are qualities that resonate strongly with international investors seeking reliable emerging market exposure. But this ambition is not without its challenges. India will have to undertake a careful review of its regulatory framework. Current laws on capital controls, taxation, disclosure norms, and investor protection will need to be reconciled with UK requirements. There will also need to be safeguards to prevent capital flight and to ensure that domestic investors are not placed at a disadvantage. At the same time, this move must be balanced with efforts to strengthen Indias own capital markets. Advertisement Ex changes like the BSE and NSE have made remarkable progress over the past two decades, and they must continue to be supported through robust infrastructure, regulatory clarity, and investor education. India cannot afford a scenario where the brightest companies opt for foreign listings at the expense of domestic market depth. There is also the broader geopolitical and economic context to consider. The UK, post-Brexit, is keen to forge deeper economic partnerships outside the European Union, and India is a natural partner. A potential free trade agreement between the two nations could dovetail well with financial cooperation, making such listings both a symbolic and practical step toward greater integration. Ultimately, allowing Indian companies to list on the London Stock Exchange is more than just a financial manoeuver ~ its a declaration of confidence. It signals that Indias corporate sector is ready to embrace global standards and compete on a wider stage. If handled thoughtfully, this could be a defining move in Indias journey toward becoming a truly global economic powerhouse. The termination by India of transshipment facilities for Bangladesh marks more than a policy decision ~ it signals a recalibration of regional diplomacy, trade priorities, and strategic red lines in South Asia. By pulling the plug on a trade mechanism that had enabled Bangladesh to route its export cargo through India, New Delhi is not only responding to a diplomatic slight but also reasserting its agency in a region of increasing geo political complexity. Bangladeshs interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunuss recent comments in China, describing his country as the only guardian of the ocean for the landlocked North-eastern states of India, have been widely viewed as provocative. The timing and venue of the remarks ~ during a four-day visit to Beijing ~ underscore a growing shift in Dhakas foreign policy posture, one that appears increasingly comfortable in the Chinese orbit. Indias move to suspend the 2020 circular allowing transshipment, therefore, must be read as more than a reactionary response to rhetoric. It is a strategic message. Advertisement The Indian Ministry of External Affairs cited logistical congestion and trade delays as formal reasons, but the subtext is clear: access to Indian logistical infrastructure is a privilege, not an entitlement, especially when geopolitical intentions are in question. This development also illustrates the tight-rope India must walk between economic pragmatism and strategic assertiveness. While Bangladesh has been a significant trade partner and a recipient of zero-duty access to Indian markets for over two decades, overtures to China ~ particularly in regions bordering sensitive Indian territory like the Chickens Neck ~ demand scrutiny. The proposed revitalisation of a Chinese-supported airbase near Siliguri is understandably perceived as a red flag in Delhi. Advertisement Some may argue that Indias move contradicts World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations, especially under Article V, which promotes freedom of transit for landlocked nations. But sovereignty and national interest are not absolutes in international law ~ they are balanced through diplomacy, context, and signaling. India has not blocked trade to Bhutan or Nepal via its territory. What it has done is to draw a firm line where its goodwill could be misused to strengthen a rival sphere of influence. Regional partnerships thrive on mutual respect and predictability. When one partner courts strategic rivals while leveraging shared infrastructure, the balance of trust inevitably tilts ~ and recalibrations, however disruptive, become necessary. The region stands at a crossroads. The Seven Sister states in Indias Northeast require robust connectivity, not coercive diplomacy. If Bangladesh wishes to be a vital partner in this transformation, it must exercise caution in its geopolitical alignments and rhetoric. This episode may strain ties temporarily, but it also offers a chance for both nations to reset expectations and reaffirm mutual respect. In South Asias intricate web of history, geography, and power, every gesture carries weight. Indias decision is not just about containers and customs ~ it is about control, context, and carving out strategic clarity in a rapidly shifting landscape. There is an unconfirmed report that the US has redeployed at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan. This base was the command centre for NATO and US forces throughout their occupation of Afghanistan. It was taken over by the Taliban after the US withdrawal and collapse of the Afghan army. Bagram has two runways, including one capable of handling bombers and large cargo aircraft, parking slots for over 100 fighter aircraft, a 50-bed hospital and can accommodate substantial forces. The report first emerged on Khaama Press, a media outlet which claims it reports from Afghanistan, though based in the US. The report tracked a US C-17 aircraft which took off from the Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar and landed in Bagram via Pakistan. The report adds that the flight was carrying top US intelligence officials, including Michael Ellis, the CIAs deputy chief. Adding to the mystery and dubious intent, the report mentions that the aircraft switched off its transponder on entering Afghanistan airspace and switched it on when it re-entered Pakistan. Advertisement The report has been denied by the Talibans chief spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. He said, There is no need for any countrys military presence in Afghanistan at present and the Islamic Emirate will not allow such an action. He added that such an act was impossible. There were no comments from the US. To add credence to the report was another input claiming that officials from Chinas Ministry of State Security and Irans IRGC rushed to Kabul to meet Talibans senior intelligence officials. Advertisement President Donal Trump has repeatedly been desiring redeployment in Bagram. The reason given by him is because Bagram is exactly one hour away from where China makes its nuclear missiles. He had mentioned that the US should have a small force in Bagram. Trump possibly hinted that the US need not take over the airbase and deploy aircraft but initially establish monitoring facilities, concentrated towards both China and Iran. Hence, the report of the base being handed over would be denied as it remains under the control of the Taliban while resources which arrived on the first flight were those of the CIA meant for establishing a monitoring station and not military deployment. Taliban and US ties are being recalibrated. The Taliban recently released a US citizen, George Glezmann, held by them for the past two years; he was arrested while touring the country. Glezmann was handed over to the US hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, when he visited Kabul accompanied by former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad. Discussions are on for the release of two more US citizens in exchange for an Afghan national under detention in Guantanamo. In response, the US government lifted its USD 10 million bounty on Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani alongside two others, though they remain on the FBIs wanted list. The three had been accused of the 2008 Kabul Serena hotel bombing which killed six, including an American citizen. There were also reports that the US may hand over the Afghan embassy in Washington to the Taliban, though it may not recognize the ambassador as the formal representative of the Kabul regime. Afghanistan also possesses minerals which the US needs. In case things move positively, it could invest in their extraction. The Trump administration no longer demands that Afghanistan return US equipment abandoned on its soil, while Afghanistan desires that the US release the $9.5 billion frozen in American banks. Whether the Taliban offered Bagram or it was a US suggestion when Khalilzad visited Kabul is unknown. China, concerned by increased attacks on its nationals by Baloch freedom fighters, is now directing the Pakistan army to enhance its operations in Afghanistan. Simultaneously, Pakistan is pushing back Afghan refugees from its soil brutally, resulting in a strong anti-Pakistan wave in Afghanistan leading to an increase in cadres of anti-Pakistan terrorist groups. Clashes along the Durand Line are a regular feature. This impacts Kabuls ties with Beijing and Islamabad. The US currently does not need Bagram as a base to deploy airpower and troops. It needs it as a monitoring station ensuring it stays ahead of its rivals, China, Iran and Russia. This does not necessitate taking over the base. The Russian Supreme Court will determine in mid-April whether the Taliban can be removed from its list of terrorist groups, opening doors for its recognition by Moscow. The US is already one step ahead. Bagram would also provide the US monitoring over Central Asia, a Russian-dominated region, which it currently lacks. Iran is next door and talks have commenced between Washington and Tehran on its nuclear programme. Trump has threatened war in case talks fail. While that may not happen immediately, close monitoring could be better from Bagram. Chinese nuclear facilities, including those under construction in Xinjiang are barely 400 kms away and its missile producing factory is 1,500 Kms from Bagram. Thus far the US was monitoring these from the Philippines, about 3,000 km away. Bagram would be a far better and more effective option. In case of an emergency, US aircraft could be rapidly deployed or transit through the base. That is unlikely in the near future. The nation most impacted will be Pakistan, which is facing a brunt of attacks from Afghan soil. US-Taliban ties could impact Pakistans economic blackmail of Afghanistan. While US presence would enable it to monitor multiple terrorist groups operating in the region including the ISIK, al Qaeda and the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), it could have been told by Kabul on what it could concentrate on, most likely ignoring the TTP. These are early days. The US flight into Afghanistan and its landing in Bagram was confirmed. Presence of a deputy director of the CIA on the flight does not hint at US intent to have a military presence in Afghanistan, at least presently. Hence, in all likelihood the US would be establishing a monitoring station with strict restrictions on its personnel on movement. The Taliban could provide perimeter security. Rushed visits by Chinese and Iranian intelligence agencies to Kabul add credence to this news. Deployment of airpower resources is some distance away. It may happen in the future. Denials flowing from all sides today are logically correct as the base remains under Taliban control. The future could be different. (The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army.) Over the past decade, India has undergone a transformation that has reshaped its global standing from a developing nation with potential to a powerhouse pushing boundaries across defence, space, and technology. The Narendra Modi governments relentless focus on self-reliance, innovation, and technological advancement, through initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India, has propelled the nation into the elite echelons of cutting-edge technology and capabilities. Advertisement Indias defence sector has witnessed a paradigm shift, with the nation joining elite clubs through cutting-edge technologies. These milestones, driven by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and supported by the Modi governments focus on self-reliance, underscore Indias readiness for modern warfare. Advertisement In a historic breakthrough, India recently successfully conducted trials of a laser-based directed energy weapon system capable of disabling fixed-wing and swarm drones. With this, it has entered an elite group of only four nations, alongside the United States, Russia, and China, that possess such advanced capability. Also in 2025, India joined the elite club of nations testing an Active Cooled Scramjet for hypersonic missiles. The indigenous development of endothermic scramjet fuel, the first time in India, jointly by the DRDL and industry is central to this breakthrough. Similarly, in a very significant development, the DRDO, in November 2024, test-fired the countrys first long-range hypersonic missile that can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. The missile is manoeuvrable and flies over five times the speed of sound. This achievement has put India in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies. In 2024, India joined the elite club of nations with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. The successful Agni-V test with MIRV technology enhances Indias ability and power to deploy multiple nuclear warheads on a single missile, striking different targets. Earlier, in 2023, India conducted a maiden flight trial of a sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile. The purpose of the trial was to engage and neutralise a hostile ballistic missile threat, thereby elevating the country into the elite club of nations having a naval ballistic missile defence (BMD) capability. Also in 2023, India joined the elite club of nations with successful flight test of indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The successful flying demonstration of this autonomous stealth UAV is a testimony to maturity in the technology readiness levels in the country. Prior to this, in 2019, through Mission Shakti, India successfully tested an anti-satellite missile, destroying a live satellite in low Earth orbit. This feat placed India alongside the United States, Russia, and China as one of the few nations with demonstrated ASAT capabilities. This strategic achievement underscored Indias ability to safeguard its space assets in an increasingly contested domain. Likewise, Indias space program, led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has captivated the world with record-breaking missions and pioneering technologies. The Modi governments increased funding and reforms have propelled India into the elite ranks of spacefaring nations. Recently, India successfully joined the elite group of four nations demonstrating satellite docking and undocking technology, thanks to ISROs SpaDEx mission. The undocking process succeeded on the first attempt after over 120 simulations, showcasing Indias advanced technological capabilities in space exploration. In 2023, ISRO created history by being the first country to land on the Moons South Pole. India has reached the South Pole of the Moon, where no country in the world has reached to date. This made India the fourth country in history to soft-land on the moon after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. In 2022, India became the sixth country in the world to have cryogenic engine manufacturing capabilities. India inaugurated its highly ambitious Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF), which will cater to the entire rocket manufacturing and assembly under one roof for the ISRO. In 2017, India became the first nation in the world to have launched over a hundred satellites in one mission. The ISRO continued to surprise the developed world with its out-of-the-box space missions that earned itself a distinct position among the space-faring nations. The countrys workhorse PSLV in its 39th flight (PSLV-C37), elegantly blazed through the blue skies and successfully deployed 104 satellites into the designated orbit, setting a new world record. Indias ambitions also extend to emerging domains, positioning it as a competitor among global tech leaders. With the announcement of Semicon India, the nation has entered the race to become a semiconductor hub, with investments from global tech giants and partnerships that place India among few nations seriously competing in chip manufacturing. Similarly, by creating the National Mission for Quantum Technology and Applications (NMQTA) in 2020, India formally entered the race for quantum computing to keep up with China and the United States. With over Rs 6,000 crore allocated to the initiative, the Modi government is aggressively backing next-gen tech to build future-ready capabilities. Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaija BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Under the training plan for 2025, approved by the Minister of Defense, the next training session involving a group of reservists called from the reserve continues within the framework of joint actions with the State Service for Mobilization and Conscription, Trend reports. In order to improve the discipline and the moral-psychological state of reservists, classes on socio-political training were held in accordance with the plan. Fire training classes were held with reservists involved in the session, and they carried out practical shooting using small arms and grenade launchers. The main objective of the training session is to strengthen reservists the combat training, expand knowledge and skills, enhance practical abilities, as well as instill new military expertise. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi will travel to Russia later this week for talks on recent developments in indirect negotiations with the United States, Irans Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters that Tehran remains committed to consultations with all signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), stressing that maintaining such interactions is beneficial. Advertisement Russias Foreign Ministry confirmed the visit, saying Araghchi will meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other senior officials during his trip. Advertisement According to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff held indirect talks centered on Tehrans nuclear issue and sanctions relief on Saturday in the Omani capital of Muscat in a constructive atmosphere, and the two countries will hold the second round of negotiations on April 19 outside Oman, though the structure and mediation of the negotiations will remain unchanged, Xinhua news agency reported. Iran and the United States are set to hold a second round of talks on April 19, following what both sides described as a constructive first round in the Omani capital on Saturday. The meeting, which lasted two and a half hours, marked a rare thaw in a long-frozen relationship fraught with sanctions, military brinkmanship and regional rivalries. The indirect talks, held between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, focused on Irans nuclear issue and sanctions relief, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress. The arrest of Bangladeshi model and actress Meghna Alam has triggered widespread anger across the country after she was taken into custody under the Special Powers Acta law known for its tough stance on national securityover allegations that she attempted to harm diplomatic ties between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. But its not just the charges that have shocked people. Its the way it all unfolded. Keep reading to know more! Advertisement A few days ago, officers from the Detective Branch (DB) of Bangladesh Police raided Meghna Alams home while she was live on Facebook, passionately denying any wrongdoing. Advertisement The livestream ended abruptly as officers entered her residence and detained her without presenting formal charges, according to a report by Prothom Alo. Initially, it was speculated that she had been abductedrumours that spread rapidly online, prompting backlash and questions about police transparency. However, the authorities soon clarified that she had been arrested, not abducted, and was being held under the Special Powers Act, according to Bangladeshi media outlets. The fallout was swift. The top DB official involved in Alams arrest was removed from his post, and legal advisor to the interim government, Asif Nazrul, publicly acknowledged that arresting her under the Special Powers Act had been a misstep. Reportedly, they produced Meghna Alam the next day and has ordered her to spend 30 days in prison. No detailed charges have been made public yet. The controversy has only deepened with whispers of a failed romance with a senior diplomat. According to a Daily Star report, Meghna Alam had claimed in previous Facebook postsnow deletedthat she was romantically involved with a married foreign diplomat. That diplomat, her family confirms, was the Saudi ambassador to Bangladesh. Her father, Badrul Alam, told Daily Star that his daughter had been engaged to the ambassador. They were in a relationship. But when Meghna found out he was already married with children, she rejected his marriage proposal, he said. He went on to claim that Meghna had called the diplomats residence and spoken directly to his wife. It was after this, Badrul alleges, that the diplomat approached Bangladeshs Home Ministryleading to Meghnas sudden arrest. The news has exploded across social media, with thousands questioning whether personal matters were being disguised as threats to national security. Critics have also pointed out the silence from both the Saudi Embassy and Bangladeshs Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A new round of talks between the United States and Iran on Tehrans nuclear programme will be held in Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday. He noted that Italy agreed to host the meeting following requests from the negotiating parties and Oman, which is serving as a mediator. Tajani made the remarks while visiting the Italian pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Ansa news agency reported. Advertisement He added that the Italian government is prepared to do everything necessary to support negotiations that could lead to resolving the nuclear issue and building peace. Advertisement A first round of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials was held in Oman on April 12. These were the first such discussions since the United States withdrew in 2018 from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed in 2015. Earlier in the day, Iran said that the next round of indirect talks with the United States over its nuclear programme will take place outside Oman, though the structure and mediation of the negotiations will remain unchanged, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, Tehran does not consider the location of the talks to be as significant as the framework in which they are held. He indicated that the discussions will continue to be conducted indirectly, with Oman maintaining its mediating role. Baghaei said Muscat will coordinate the new venue for the upcoming round and expressed appreciation for Omans role in hosting the initial phase of negotiations. Baghaei also dismissed the possibility of direct engagement with Washington, saying Iran does not view that format as effective. He said indirect talks are not unusual, and have been used previously in dealings between the two countries. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi will travel to Russia later this week for talks on recent developments in indirect negotiations with the United States, Irans Foreign Ministry said on Monday. Baghaei told reporters that Tehran remains committed to consultations with all signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), stressing that maintaining such interactions is beneficial. Russias Foreign Ministry confirmed the visit, saying Araghchi will meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other senior officials during his trip. Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) announced Monday that it has supported the deployment of judges, prosecutors, and investigators to Leer County to deliver formal justice through a mobile court. Leer County, located in the Unity State, Greater Upper Nile region, is among the areas hardest hit by conflict and has lacked access to formal justice mechanisms for over a decade. Advertisement The initiative, a joint effort by the Judiciary of South Sudan, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and the Unity State government, is set to begin Tuesday and will run through May 9. Advertisement Mobile courts, while not a substitute for formal justice structures, play a vital and innovative role in restoring public faith in South Sudans rule of law architecture, Guang Cong, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Political) for South Sudan and Deputy Head of UNMISS, said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. According to the statement, the Leer mobile court will focus on adjudicating serious criminal cases, including murder, Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV), Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV), and forced or early marriage. The deployment follows the recent training of 20 new investigators in southern Unity State, with specialised instruction on handling SGBV and CRSV cases. On March 28, UNMISS facilitated the early deployment of prosecutors and investigators to begin receiving and processing criminal complaints, Xinhua news agency reported. More than 60 cases were reported prior to the courts arrival, with additional filings expected in the coming days. The court is set to handle both criminal and civil cases. Judges withdrew from Unity State in 2013 due to ongoing conflict and insecurity, leaving residents to rely exclusively on customary courts, even for serious crimes outside their jurisdiction. These mobile courts, which have been previously deployed in Unity, Western Bahr El Ghazal, and Warrap states in 2024 and 2023, are transforming justice delivery, changing attitudes towards sexual violence and childrens rights, and instilling hope in communities that fair trials are possible and perpetrators face justice. A group of US lawmakers told South Koreas top diplomat Monday that America will not withdraw from the Indo-Pacific region as they reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral alliance, Seouls Foreign Ministry said. Members of the US Congressional Study Group on Korea, a bipartisan study group on South Korea, made the remarks during their meeting with Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul in Seoul, held as part of their trip to South Korea this week. Advertisement The lawmakers, including Reps. Ami Bera (D-CA) and Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA), described the South Korea-US alliance as playing an important role for regional peace and stability, noting that it has bipartisan support, according to the ministry. Advertisement They also noted the resiliency of South Koreas democracy during the meeting, which took place after former President Yoon Suk Yeols ouster earlier this month, Yonhap news agency reported. Cho thanked the lawmakers for the trust and support US Congress extended while his country experienced recent political uncertainties, it said. On April 4, the Constitutional Court upheld Yoons impeachment over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, removing him from office. Cho also called for Congress interest in ensuring conditions for South Korean companies to invest stably in the United States and lifting South Koreas sensitive country designation by the Energy Department. He also requested their support for economic cooperation in shipbuilding, artificial intelligence and other sectors, noting that South Korea is an important investor and partner for the US. Earlier in the day, South Koreas Acting President Han Duck-soo said that US President Donald Trump apparently instructed his administration to conduct immediate tariff negotiations with South Korea, Japan and India. Han made the remark during a meeting with government officials and large business executives, referring to Trumps actions after they held a phone call last week. We discussed what we are going to do regarding the implementation of the United States reciprocal tariffs, and which subjects South Korea and the US will hold negotiations on, the Acting President said. President Trump was very satisfied and apparently gave instructions (to his aides) to hold immediate negotiations with South Korea, Japan and India, he added. The basis for Hans remark was not clear, but the same day that Han and Trump spoke by phone Tuesday, Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council, told Fox News that Trump obviously prioritizes two of our closest allies and trading partners, Japan and Korea, in tariff negotiations. The next day, Trump announced a 90-day pause in the implementation of the reciprocal tariffs, including 25 per cent for South Korea. If necessary, I will directly communicate with President Donald Trump and make efforts to come up with a solution, Han said, vowing to push for a negotiating team led by Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun to visit the US at an early date. It appears South Korea and the US will establish a negotiation system for all sectors and begin negotiations at an early date to produce detailed measures, Han said, noting he expects the two sides to hold a videoconference in the next one or two days regarding cooperation on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska. Photo: Official information source of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 15. As part of the implementation of the instructions from the President of Kazakhstan, the government of the country has allocated 40 billion tenge (approximately $76 million) from the reserve to support agricultural producers, Trend reports. The corresponding decree has been signed by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov. "The funds are planned to be used to address a range of tasks, including ensuring the quality of spring fieldwork, freeing up elevator capacities to accept the 2025 harvest, enhancing the competitiveness of Kazakhstans grain exports, and exploring new markets," said a statement from the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan. As noted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the first Agricultural Workers Forum in 2024, Kazakhstan's export potential for grain crops is 12 million tonsa large volume and a huge responsibility. The governments priority is to provide comprehensive support to farmers in selling their products in foreign markets. "Currently, 10 million tons of this export potential are directed to traditional markets, for which routes have already been established. 2 million tons are directed to new and distant markets," the press service added. Thus, facilitating the subsidization of transportation cost mitigation will enable agronomists to strategically export grain to emerging markets in a timely fashion while optimizing elevator readiness for the upcoming harvest cycle. In the interim, leveraging the most recent analytics, from September 2024 through April of the current fiscal cycle, Kazakhstan's grain export metrics reached an impressive 6.9 million tons, reflecting a substantial 54 percent uptick compared to the analogous timeframe in the 2023/24 agricultural season. Furthermore, in the fiscal year 2024, the nation achieved an unprecedented yield of grain, totaling 25.2 million metric tons. Optimal output metrics were realized through the strategic implementation of agronomic innovations and conducive meteorological phenomena. Concurrently, the internal marketplace necessitates approximately 10 million metric tons. At present, conventional export pathways encompass Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan. The logistical throughput of resources to Iran and Azerbaijan has experienced a notable uptick. Transit pathways traverse the geopolitical landscapes of Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, and China. 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. It's a houseful on a weekday at Indian Accent in New Delhi's The Lodhi, not a big deal for a restaurant that often finds itself on the 'Best 50' lists. Executive chef Shantanu Mehrotra, who helms the kitchen, is seen instructing the staff, meeting the diners, and telling them what's brand new on the menu. While chef Mehrotra might be a man of few words, his food speaks volumes -- loud and clear -- evident from Indian Accent's new tasting menu, crafted by him. "The idea is simple. We present India's traditional flavours with modern techniques," the chef explains the new tasting menu quite simply. Suffice it to say, there's no drama but simplicity; where every dish on the menu tastes like a bomb, with flavours that are impeccable, balanced, and hit the taste buds just right. The starters The new tasting menu begins with a mushroom soup, accompanied by blue cheese naan. These are followed by three different chaats. The first takes you to Gujarat as khakra is presented as a tart, filled with vatana (white chickpeas) and dhokla. Then there is the never-can-go-wrong aloo tikki reimagined in the French pave technique, probably one of the best takes on popular street food. Next, we head to Maharashtra as kothimbir vadi, the famous Marathi snack, is served with a chilli-peanut thecha. "The idea here was to present foods from the different states of India," the chef says. Next, we head south. As I opt for the vegetarian meal, I'm served green jackfruit with congee, a rice porridge popular in Tamil Nadu, and narthangai, a fruit from south India. This is followed by ratalu shaami, boursin, urad dal kataifi; and achaari paneer, banarsi aloo papad, and red chili pickle, each packed with the right amount of flavours, nothing overpowering or subdued. The main course As I wait for the main course, a treat of nostalgia arrives on the table. It's strawberry, kala khatta sorbet, served in a mini pressure cooker. Although a palate cleanser, it reminds you of the ice lollies classic for the summer. The main course comprises elephant yam, white asparagus, hajikame, veg nihari; served with dal, bhujia raita, and kulchas; making for a comforting meal. The tasting menu hits it off the park in the desserts section, too, with dishes that aren't heavy but are balanced, comforting, and the right amount of flavours. And the dessert! First comes the Tender Coconut, Chocolate dessert - bite-sized but a burst of flavours. It's followed by malpua in crepe suzette style, served with orange sauce. With a tasting menu that bridges nostalgia, India's regionality, and innovation, Indian Accent reminds you why it continues to set the bar for modern Indian cuisine. JSW Steel, India's second-largest steel maker is gearing up for the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) with a green steel plant at its existing facilities in Salav, Maharashtra. JSW will set up an integrated green steel plant in Salav with a planned capacity of 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in phases. It will eventually go up to 10 MTPA. The total investment in setting up this capacity will be over Rs 50,000 crore, said chairman and MD Sajjan Jindal. With CBAM, the European Union's objective is to reduce carbon emissions, put a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods imported into the EU and encourage cleaner industrial production. That has necessitated companies like JSW to look at specific capacities for green steel. In the backdrop of the import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and worries of Chinese companies dumping cheap steel in India, Jindal was hopeful that a safeguard duty by the Indian government would be in place soon. "India remains a very strong market. Now that also attracts a lot of other countries where the markets are not that strong. So, specially China, Vietnam... They are trying to dump steel in India. And so, the government of India is also very vigilant and they are already working on the recommendation for putting the safeguard duty," mentioned Jindal. He said green energy and green steel was the way forward. "The future is only going to be green because global warming is for real and Trump is there for four years. So, after that whoever will come will realise the reality of the world," said Jindal. Meanwhile, Jindal believes India needs to take steps to boost economic growth, which in turn would create more jobs. "We should try and push this economic growth rate higher. Lately, we are growing at 6-6.5, 7 per cent, which is not bad given the headwinds that we see globally. But, as the economy grows, to feed that growth in the economy, automatically jobs get created," stressed Jindal. Speaking at the session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Jindal also threw some light on the electric vehicle business. JSW MG Motor India is a joint venture between China's SAIC Motor and JSW Group. The company, which sells the MG Hector and the recently launched MG Windsor EV among other vehicles, will launch a hybrid next year. The company also has plans to make EV battery cells in India and is in talks with foreign companies for the same. "At JSW we have plans to manufacture these cells. We are already working on developing the cells with the technology from China," he said. The company is also in talks with a Korean company for the same, he added. Amid reports that the Indian Air Force's transport aircraft carrying relief materials to earthquake-hit Myanmar under 'Operation Brahma' late last month faced "GPS spoofing", the IAF said its crew is efficient in handling such situations and "every mission was achieved as planned". GPS (global positioning system) spoofing is a form of cyber attack that includes generating false GPS signals to mislead an aircraft, vehicle or vessel. The false signals result in misleading the navigation equipment, posing a significant risk. "The possibility of degraded GPS availability was published by the Mandalay International Airport as NOTAM and all due precautions were put in place to cater for such conditions," the IAF said in a post on X on Monday. NOTAM or 'Notice to Airmen' is a notice filed with an aviation authority that seeks to alert pilots of an aircraft of potential hazards. "IAF crew are well capable to handle such unavailability, while ensuring safety of flight and achievement of the designated task or mission. Accordingly, every mission was achieved as planned," the tweet further read. ALSO READ: 'GPS spoofing' had hit Indian Air Force mission. What is it? Why is it dangerous? India sent the first consignment of relief materials to Myanmar on March 29 in a C-130J aircraft and its pilots reported that the plane's GPS signal was tampered with when it was in Myanmar's airspace, sources told PTI on Sunday. IAF transport aircraft carrying relief materials to Myanmar late last month faced "GPS spoofing", triggering security concerns as pilots were forced to rely on the backup systems, sources in the military establishment had said. Besides the C-130J Super Hercules, the Indian Air Force also operated C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift transport aircraft to carry relief materials and rescue teams to Myanmar. One of Christian Bale's most celebrated films turned 25 on Monday. Having gained cult status in a span of two decades, American Psycho got more attention after Bale got more attention after he took on the new iteration of the Caped Crusader in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005). The fact that a film where some female characters are subjected to extreme violence by Bale's character, Patrick Bateman, was adapted by two women (and directed by one of them) may have come as a surprise to many. Director Mary Harron, who co-wrote the screen adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel of the same name with Guinevere Turner, discussed in an interaction with Letterboxd Journal how the film is perceived today in the wake of Donald Trump's re-election and how it continues to be treated with a measure of hostility even though its darkly satirical edge was lately embraced by many, especially young women. Harron and Turner didn't, however, expect the film to be adopted by "Wall Street bros" and wondered whether they failed as filmmakers due to this reason. It was about a predatory society, and now the society is actually, 25 years later, much worse," she observes, adding, "The rich are much richer, the poor are poorer." Before the film eventually fell into the laps of Harron and Bale, the adaptation went through considerable trouble trying to fetch the right director-actor combo. Martin Scorsese came close to directing it. Leonardo DiCaprio came close to starring in it. The latter, however, was persuaded by journalist and feminist Gloria Steinem not to take it so as not to alienate his female fans, as per Eric Saks' documentary American Psycho: From Book to Screen. Drawing the parallels to Trump, who was looked at as a role model in the story by Bale's Patrick Bateman character, Harron says she would never have imagined that there would be a time when "racism and white supremacy" is celebrated, remarking, "which is basically what we have in the White House." Recalling the backlash the film and the book got from feminist groups back then and how that attitude changed significantly later, with younger women warming up to the ideas presented in the book penned by its openly gay author, Harron says a lot of people missed the "clear critique" inherent in the book of not just "masculine behaviour" but a critique of "society, of the world of exploitation and consumption and greed and reduction of people So Im really delighted that young women have started liking it. As for the gay elements in the book, Harron explains that it was very clear to her and her gay co-writer that it was a "gay mans satire on masculinity" and that "Ellis being gay allowed him to see the homoerotic rituals among these alpha males, which is also true in sports, and its true in Wall Street, and all these things where men are prizing their extreme competition and their elevating their prowess kind of thing. Theres something very, very gay about the way theyre fetishizing looks and the gym. Interestingly, filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Call Me By Your Name), who is openly gay, is circling a contemporary reboot, with a script by Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, The Bourne Ultimatum). American Psycho is available to stream on Prime Video for Indian users. Saif Ali Khan is gearing up for the release of his action thriller Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins. Set to debut on Netflix on April 25, the trailer for the film was released yesterday, heightening fan excitement. ALSO READ | Netflix unveils trailer of 'Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins': Saif Ali Khan-Jaideep Ahlawat film to premiere on this date During the trailer launch for the film, helmed by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Garewal, the actor weighed in on his fascination with playing a thief in the upcoming flick, describing his character as exciting. As quoted by PTI, the actor said, "In heist films, the lines between hero, anti-hero, and mastermind often blur. What I like about the heist film is that the guy is technically wrong, he breaks the law, but he does it for a good reason, to help someone in his family; it's an honourable kind of theft. So, it makes for an exciting character. Khan further pointed out that viewers enjoy watching characters breaking the law as it provides them an escape to take on the system what heist films essentially capture. ALSO READ | Saif Ali Khan stabbing case: Mumbai police files 1,000-page chargesheet against accused Shariful Islam Siddharth Anand, who co-produced the film with his wife Mamta under their Marflix Pictures banner, shared his experience working with leading man Khan, pointing out his unique sense of humour. (Saif) is lovable, he is a darling on sets, he makes everybody comfortable. Sometimes his jokes scare people because his sense of humour is such, the filmmaker said. Kunal Kapoor, who is also featured in the flick, expressed his gratitude for doing a rollercoaster ride film with a supportive team. Kapoor said: I was looking to do a film which is a rollercoaster ride, a thriller, surprise after surprise. I wanted to do this, and luckily, I had the chance to do it with an amazing team. ALSO READ | 'Fighter' not an easy film to make, says director Siddharth Anand It was also a different creative lane for Kapoor who is more sought after for mediator, peace maker, the poet, and the philosopher roles. It was exciting for him to play a tough character, he added. The man who allegedly sent a death threat to Salman Khan on Monday is said to be a 26-year-old mentally unstable man from Gujarat, according to a report by ANI. The police have revealed on Tuesday that they have apprehended the man, who is a resident of Vadodara district, and served him a notice to appear before them when required. They did not, however, arrest the man. In a statement to ANI, Mumbai Police said: "Worli Traffic Control Room's WhatsApp number received a threat message for actor Salman Khan wherein it was threatened that the actor would be killed at his home and an explosion would be executed in his vehicle. Worli Police have registered an FIR against unidentified individual and launched an investigation. The number was traced to belong to a 26-year-old man in a village near Vadodara in Gujarat. The man has been sent a notice for investigation. He has been asked to appear before Worli Police within 2-3 days. It is also being claimed that the man is mentally unstable and is under treatment. The matter is being investigated by Worli Police." It was earlier speculated that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang could be behind the message given that in last April, there was an incident of two men on a motorcycle opening fire at the actor's apartment in Bandra. Upon their arrest, the Police learned that the attack was orchestrated by Lawrence Bishnoi's younger brother Amnol. Later, in October last year, former Maharashtra Cabinet minister Baba Siddique was assassinated given his association with Salman, following which the Bishnoi gang took responsibility. It is believed that the actor is receiving these threats on account of his connection to the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. Salman was recently spotted at the Mumbai airport with multiple armed security personnel along with his longtime bodyguard. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 15. An international roundtable on the development of the gas industry was held at KMG Engineering, where participants discussed a wide range of issues, including the strategy for commercializing natural gas, the development of small and remote fields, Trend reports. The event saw participation from stakeholders across various sectors, including governmental entities, petroleum and natural gas corporations, research institutions, academic establishments, apparatus producers, tech enterprises, and capital investors. "Special attention was given to attracting investments and analyzing market demand, as well as the prospects for small-scale gas processing and the implementation of innovative technologies. New directions and types of products in gas processing and gas chemistry were also discussed, allowing participants to exchange experiences and suggestions for further development of the industry," said the statement from KazMunayGas. LLP "KMG Engineering" is a scientific and engineering company that is part of the group of JSC NC "KazMunayGas". It functions as a hub of expertise, delivering scientific and technical assistance while executing cutting-edge solutions within the oil and gas sector of Kazakhstan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel In all probability, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Amaravati on May 2 to relaunch and revive the proposed capital city of Andhra Pradesh under the TDP government. The scheduled visit of the PM is learnt to have come up for discussion during the Andhra Pradesh cabinet meeting held on Tuesday under the leadership of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. In 2015, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for Amaravati. In 2019, the YSRCP came to power and put the project on the back burner. The latest visit of the PM comes at a time when the Amaravati reconstruction works are gathering momentum, with the state government setting a three-year deadline to complete permanent government structures and road networks. At the cabinet meeting, several key decisions were approved to expedite Amaravati's development works. Among them were the green signals given for the construction of permanent buildings for the Assembly and the High Court. The Assembly complex is estimated to cost Rs 617 crore and the High Court will come up at a cost of Rs 786 crore. #WATCH | Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu chairs a cabinet meeting at the Secretariat. Source: I&PR Department, Andhra Pradesh pic.twitter.com/44052LPfrn ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025 The cabinet also ratified decisions made at the recent Amaravathi Capital Regional Development Authority (CRDA) meeting, as part of the wider capital city planning process. Meanwhile, a separate proposal to construct an international airport in Amaravati is gaining steam. While CM Naidu is keen on an international airport, a final decision on whether to opt for land acquisition or land pooling is yet to be taken. Recently, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, P. Narayana said that land pooling is being considered as a more farmer-friendly alternative. Local MLAs have conveyed that acquisition could hurt landowners, as it offers only 2.5 times the registration value. In contrast, pooling provides better long-term returns and developmental benefits, he said. The minister added that if the government goes with pooling, up to 30,000 acres may be needed to accommodate the airport along with support infrastructure such as roads, drains, and amenities. However, the minister clarified that no final call has been taken yet on this issue. He also confirmed that 68 projects worth Rs 42,360 crore meant to develop the capital have completed the tendering process and construction has begun. The Mines Department has allocated 851 acres to the CRDA for gravel needed in the upcoming infrastructure works. A search operation is underway as security forces and terrorists exchanged fire in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch on Tuesday. An Army personnel suffered injuries in the exchange of fire. According to authorities, the brief exchange of fire took place in Lasana village in Poonch during the late hours of Monday. The search operation was launched based on intelligence inputs regarding terrorists presence in the area. Op Lasana Contact was established with #terrorists during a joint #operation with @JmuKmrPolice at #Lasana, #Surankote last night. Additional troops have been inducted, and search operations are ongoing to prevent the terrorists from escaping.@adgpi@NorthernComd_IA White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) April 15, 2025 The White Knight Corps of India Army tweeted, Op Lasana: Contact was established with #terrorists during a joint #operation with @JmuKmrPolice at #Lasana, #Surankote last night. Additional troops have been inducted, and search operations are ongoing to prevent the terrorists from escaping. Officials said an Army personnel suffered injuries in the exchange of fire and he was shifted to hospital immediately. The security operation comes days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis landmark visit to Jammu and Kashmir this week. Modi will visit the Union territory on Saturday to inaugurate key railway projects. Security has been heightened in Jammu and Kashmir following his visit. The prime minister will inaugurate the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project on April 19. The project includes the iconic Chenab rail bridge, the worlds highest arch railway bridge. The stretch enables direct rail connectivity between Kashmir and New Delhi. Modi will also flag off two Vande Bharat trains on the day. Security forces had gunned down three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists in Chhatru forest areas of Jammu and Kashmirs Kishtwar recently. The slain terrorists include top JeM commander Saifullah, who was active in the Chenab Valley region for the past one year. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav has reached Delhi to formally discuss seat sharing arrangement with Congress for the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar. Yadavs trip comes a day after Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party leader Pashupati Kumar Paras announced severing ties with BJP-led NDA. According to reports, Yadav will be meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss strategies for the Bihar Assembly polls. Today is our official meeting. We will discuss the strategies for Bihar, he told on Tuesday. #WATCH | RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav arrives at the Delhi airport. On his meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, he says, "Today is our official meeting. We will discuss the strategies for Bihar (elections)." pic.twitter.com/ZVhKdrvlYt ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2025 The meeting bears significance as it comes a day after former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras charged he has been sidelined by the National Democratic Alliance due to his Dalit identity. Paras had said he would contest the upcoming assembly polls alone. Paras party came into being in 2021 as a result of the split he engineered in the Lok Janshakti Party, founded by his late brother Ram Vilas Paswan. "I have been with the NDA since 2014. Today I announce that henceforth my party shall have no links with the NDA," said Paras, who gave up his cabinet berth ahead of last year's Lok Sabha polls. Paras resigned after his nephew, Union minister Chirag Paswans party, Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) got five seats to contest as an NDA constituent. Reportedly, Paras had tried for some time to have a toehold in the NDA by meeting top leaders like BJP president J.P. Nadda. Paras said Bihar has been ruined under Chief Minister Nitish Kumars regime. "In Nitish Kumar's 20-year-long rule, the education system has been ruined in the state, no new industries have been set up, and rampant corruption affects the implementation of all welfare schemes," he charged. Lately, Paras has been meeting with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. Paras, who is currently on a statewide tour, aims to strengthen the party in all 243 assembly seats in Bihar. More than six lakh trucks are off the roads in Karnataka since Monday midnight as the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents Association has launched an indefinite strike demanding the rollback of the hike in diesel price owing to a hike in sales tax. The association has also demanded the abolition of toll collection on state highways and reduction of fee for fitness certificate among other demands. However, trucks carrying essential commodities like milk and perishable items have been exempted from the stir. "The diesel prices have soared, toll fares, fitness certificate (FC), and cost of spare parts have all increased. We won't be able to sustain the business if we hike the rental accordingly. The government will have to roll back the diesel price hike," said G.R. Shanmugappa, president of the association. Incidentally, the Federation of the Lorry Owners Association and Transport has denied support to the strike stating they were not consulted before announcing the statewide stir. "We are the main association and we will not support the strike as the diesel price in Karnataka is the lowest in South India," said Channa Reddy, honorary president of the association. Meanwhile, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy urged the associations to call off the strike stating the diesel price was the lowest in Karnataka and the marginal rise of 2 was inevitable. "Why didn't they call a strike when the Centre kept increasing the diesel price over the last decade?" said Reddy indicating the strike was politically motivated. Reddy also cited the price hikes in the UPA and the NDA regimes. "In 2015, the diesel cost was 49.50 and now it is 91.05. The crude oil cost during the Manmohan Singh regime was $140 per barrel and the diesel price was 41.29 per litre. But under Modi rule, the crude oil prices dropped to $60 per barrel, but diesel cost soared to 91 per litre," claimed Reddy. BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra slammed the Congress government in the state saying the Siddaramaiah government was blaming the Central government and spreading misinformation to hide its own failures. "During the UPA rule from 2004 to 2014, petrol prices had increased by 90% and diesel prices by 96%. But under the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from 2014 to 2024, petrol prices rose from 72 to 100 a 38% increase. Diesel prices increased from 55 to 90 a 63% increase," asserted Vijayendra, during a press meet. Elephant attacks have shocked Kerala once again. On the night of April 14, two people who went to collect forest produce were killed by an elephant in the Athirapally region of Thrissur. On April 13, another youth from the neighboring region, Malakkappara, who went to the forest at night to collect honey, was also killed by elephants. Satish and Ambika from Vazhachal Shasthapoovam Ooru were the ones killed by the herd of elephants on April 14. Meanwhile, it was 20-year-old Sebastian from Adichilthotti Adivasi Unnathi who got killed in Malakkapapra forest region. Two people who were with Sebastian, escaped from the tusker attack. Kerala has been marked by a number of deaths due to wildlife attacks. In February, when five people were killed in a week, the forest minister had promised emergency measures. Back then, the Catholic Church, which has a strong presence in the agrarian and farming communities in the near forest areas, sharply criticised Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran. Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil of the Thamarassery Diocese had even demanded the ministers resignation, questioning whether the government and the forest department bore no responsibility in preventing wildlife attacks. In response, Minister Saseendran commented that the bishops demand for his resignation had a political angle. He also remarked that the generally positive notion about bishops should not be tainted by such statements. In February, following back-to-back deaths, the forest department adopted a 10-mission plan to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. This initiative was approved after a high-level meeting convened by the forest minister on February 12. The plan included advanced surveillance along the usual travel routes of elephants and other wild animals, as well as the formation of a volunteer force in areas prone to conflict. It also sought to leverage the knowledge and traditional wisdom of tribal communities to prevent such incidents. Notably, tribal communities bear the maximum brunt of elephant attacks, as seen in the most recent fatalities. Opposition leader V. D.Satheesan alleged that despite repeated demands for urgent action, the state government continues to remain inactive. By abandoning the people living on forest fringes to their fate, the government remains a silent spectator. It must act immediately to deploy special monitoring teams in areas with increased elephant movement and provide protection to the people, he said. Satheesan also criticised the forest minister for repeating what he called a worn-out excusethat wildlife attacks occur only inside the forest. The two Adivasis who were killed today had gone into the forest to collect forest produce. In accordance with the Forest Rights Act, Adivasis can reside within forest areas. Ensuring their safety is the government's responsibility. The state is currently facing an unusual situation where wildlife attacks are happening daily. The government and the forest department, which have failed to confront the real issue, are the primary culprits in this crisis, he said. The forest minister has called the Athirapally deaths unnatural and has asked for a report from the chief wildlife warden. Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has dissolved all units of his party, the Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP), triggering widespread speculation about his political future. Azad launched the DPAP in 2022, shortly after ending his five decadeslong association with the Congress. He was also part of the G-22, a group of senior Congress dissidents who had pushed for internal reforms in the party. At the time of its formation, the DPAP attracted significant attention, and several leaders from the Congress joined Azad. However, most of them returned to the Congress after Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Yatra in late 2022 rekindled support for the party. In the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, the DPAP performed poorly. The party fielded 23 candidates but failed to win a single seat. Five candidates polled fewer votes than NOTA (None of the Above). DPAP also failed to make a mark in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, trailing behind established parties like the National Conference (NC), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress. The decision to dissolve the partys entire organisational structurestate, district, block, and zonal committeeswas confirmed in a joint statement issued by DPAP spokesperson Bashir Arif and Azads secretary. It remains unclear whether the move signals an internal restructuring or a possible shift in Azads political path. Observers say the failure to build DPAP as a credible alternative to both regional and national parties has led to disillusionment among Azads supporters. One major factor behind the partys decline was the perceptionpushed by Congress and other regional playersthat Azad was aligned with the BJP. This narrative gained strength after the abrogation of Article 370 and the conversion of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union territory in 2019. These allegations significantly hampered Azads outreach, particularly among Muslim voters in the Jammu region, who had once formed a key part of his support base. For now, Azads next political move remains uncertain, as speculation continues over whether he will attempt a revival or exit active politics altogether. If the BJP really cares for Muslim minorities, then it should appoint a Muslim as its president or prime minister, said Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal today, as per a Congress press statement. Sapkal explained that so far, the Congress party has had 89 presidents representing all castes and religionstribals, SCs, STs, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. He added that while undertaking development work, the Congress had ensured that the benefits reached all communities. However, he claimed that the BJP was showing excessive concern for the Muslim community, claiming to have introduced the triple talaq law and the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in support of Muslim women and the poor. Speaking at a Congress workers gathering in Akola, Sapkal said that BJP president J.P. Naddas term had ended, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was nearing 75. Rather than waiting for the RSS to decide a successor, he declared that the BJP ought to directly appoint a Muslim leader as the PM or party president. He also suggested that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat should step down and be replaced by someone from the tribal or Dalit communities. Addressing a press conference after the gathering, Sapkal also criticised the state government for withholding local body elections to retain control. He alleged that the entire state was being run by just three people who had created a system of exploitation. He claimed the Modi government had deliberately lowered the prices of tur (pigeon pea) before it reached the market and failed to offer fair rates, breaking the backbone of farmers. Also, compensation for damages caused by excessive rain and hailstorms have not been disbursed, nor have contractors and ST (State Transport) workers been paid. Sapkal stated that if the trio leading the stateFadnavis, Ajit Pawar, and Shindetruly had any influence with PM Modi, they would have demanded a special financial package from the Centre for Maharashtra, waived off farmer loans, and brought the state's economy back on track. He also raised concerns about law and order, claiming that illegal businesses had peaked, with a booming black market for marijuana and narcotics. Drugs were entering Maharashtra from Gujarat's Kandla port, but the police were not taking any action. Sapkal concluded by saying that the absence of a full-time Home Minister had indeed severely impacted law enforcement in Maharashtra, and something ought to be done to fix these problems and bring the state back on track. Amid the run-ins with Governor R.N. Ravi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has fired yet another salvo against the Union government. In a significant move, Stalin had constituted a high-level panel to study the Centre-state relations and recommend measures to strengthen Indias federal structure. The panel chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, with members including retired IAS officer Ashok Vardhan Shetty and former state planning commission vice chairman M. Naganathan, will submit their interim report in January 2026 and the final report within two years. In a defining moment that echoes the uncompromising legacy of the Dravidian movement, I announced in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the formation of a High-Level Committee on #StateAutonomy, comprising Honble Justice Kurian Joseph, former Supreme Court Judge; Thiru. M. pic.twitter.com/d1DKxVv1pL M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 15, 2025 Making this announcement in the assembly, Stalin said that it has become imperative to take a relook into the Centre-state relationship at a time when the Union government was only interested in snatching the powers of the state governments. The final report with recommendations will be submitted in two years, Stalin told the state assembly. The committee will study, as per the law, to transfer those subjects that went from the state list to the concurrent list, he said, while pointing out how the National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test (NEET) is affecting the students as it is out of the purview of states. Citing yet another example about the imposition of Hindi on students of Tamil Nadu through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, he pointed out how the Union government has centralised the powers by dictating to states on subjects like education and health. He also urged that education should be made an exclusive subject of the states, calling for the reversal of the 42nd constitutional amendment which moved it from the state list to the concurrent list. Only the mother knows what the baby needs. We cant allow someone from Delhi to dictate what our baby needs, Stalin said while speaking in the assembly. Stating that the committee will review the constitutional provisions, existing laws and state government orders related to the Centre-state relations, he said the committee will also examine how the concurrent list had snatched away the powers of the state in several subjects. Union Minorities minister Kiran Rijiju claims that the amendments to the Waqf provisions have opened up a solution for the Munambam residents, even though he hinted at a long legal route in front of them. The Munambam issue Rijiju had mentioned while presenting the Waqf amendment Bill in Parliament involves a dispute over 404 acres of land in which more than 600 families reside but is claimed by the Waqf Board. In 1950, a man named Siddhique Sait gifted the property to Farook College, which in turn sold the property in the 1960s. The current residents claim that their predecessors have brought the property from Farook College. In 2019, the Waqf Board declared it Waqf property, halting land tax payments and threatening evictions. Notably, the case is currently pending in front of the Waqf tribunal. The state government in November 2024 appointed a Commission to find a permanent solution" to the issue. A Single Bench of the High Court had quashed the appointment of the Munambam Judicial Commission, observing that the issue was still pending before the Waqf Tribunal. But last week, a Division Bench of the High Court issued an interim order allowing the inquiry commission appointed by the government in connection with the Munambam land dispute to continue functioning. Notably, the appeal before the Waqf Tribunal Kozhikkode challenges the enlisting of the property as 'Waqf'. While talking to the media in Kerala before visiting the Munambam residents, Rijiju said that Sait had transferred the property to Farook College, and according to Islamic law and practice, once a Waqf (endowment) is created, the wealth cannot be transferred or reclaimed. Once it is transferred then that particular property is no more Waqf, he said. However, because of the provisions in the old Act, the high court had given a ruling. So now as a minister, I will not say that the high court order is redundant. I have to honour the judicial pronouncement but it is challengeable in the Supreme Court and I would strongly urge that. Because of the provisions in the old Act, it was disadvantageous to the Munamabam people. But now with the new Act and the new provisions we have made, it is easily challengeable in the Supreme Court. The minister added that the Central [Waqf] Council will be issuing specific directions and suggestions to the state government to take appropriate steps. He also urged the state government to immediately direct the district collector concerned to thoroughly review the entire matter to ensure justice is served to the Munambam people. From the central governments side, I will provide all necessary documentation, as well as legal and administrative support. I will also instruct my officers to offer every possible assistance to ensure that the Munambam fishermen receive their rightful claim and ownership of the land that belongs to them, he said. When questioned about how the current amendments would solve the issue of Munamabam as the new legislation has no retrospective effect, Rijiju said with the new legislation, the tribunals and the boards will be reconstituted. He also added that even if the Munamabam people do not get a favourable verdict from the tribunal, they can still go for an appeal in the High Court. Earlier the appeal was restricted". Rijiju added that if the matter needs to go up to the Supreme Court, the Union government is fully prepared to provide support and assistance. Former Union minister and BJP Kerala state president Rajeev Chandrashekar said the Parliament has no authority to bypass an ongoing legal proceedingonly the adjudicating body has the jurisdiction to preside over it. In this case, that responsibility lies with the tribunal and the High Court, he said. Chandrashekar, however, noted that the tribunal will be reconstituted to ensure greater neutrality and a clearer understanding of the law. Moreover, in any instance where a court attempts to misread or ignore legislation passed by Parliament, the government has every right and responsibility to intervene, clarify, and ensure the proper implementation of the law, he said. No, there isnt a magic wand [to solve the Munambam issue]. But yes, the people of Munambam are now closer to a resolution in their favour. Meanwhile, both the LDF and the UDF in Kerala are expected to intensify their criticism, accusing the BJP of politicizing the issue. They are likely to seize upon recent remarks by the BJP state president and the Union Ministeracknowledging that there is no magic wand solution and that the matter requires a lengthy legal processto target the saffron party's claims of solving the Munambam issue. Tension continues to grip Jangipur in Murshidabad following violent clashes and alleged attacks on Hindus during demonstrations against the Waqf Amendment Act. Despite the deployment of heavy police and central paramilitary forces, sporadic incidents of violence persisted. On Monday, Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Mohammad Salim, along with Minakshi Mukherjee and other party leaders from Murshidabad, visited the homes of Hargobind Das and Chandan Das. The father and son were allegedly killed last week in Jafrabad, under the Samserganj CD Block, during the waqf protests. #WATCH | West Bengal: Police and Fire Department personnel remove Police vehicles from Sonepur Bazar in Bhangar, South 24 Parganas that were vandalised in the violence during protest against Waqf Amendment Act. pic.twitter.com/9GrtptDwZ9 ANI (@ANI) April 14, 2025 After their visit, fresh unrest reportedly broke out. Stones and bricks were suddenly hurled at the central forces patrolling the area. In response, the forces attempted to chase down the attackers but were soon surrounded and narrowly escaped the ambush. The arrival of additional police and central units helped bring the situation under control. However, the incident reignited fear among residents in Jafrabad. Earlier in the day, West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar had stated from Samserganj that the situation was stable. ADG of the BSFs Eastern Command, Ravi Gandhi, who had met with DGP Kumar and other senior officers, echoed that normalcy was gradually being restored. Speaking to the media about last weeks attack on the Das family, Salim alleged serious lapses by the administration. This violence is a result of police negligence. The entire village has suffered. The attackers had four to five hours, yet no police came despite the police station being just ten minutes away," he said. He added, The police minister [Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee] must be held accountable. Shops were ransacked and set ablaze, but even then the fire brigade didnt arrive. Whats the point of having these departments if they fail in such moments? A judicial inquiry is essential. Meanwhile, the BJP announced plans to commemorate the father and son by observing Martyrs Day and organizing protest events in their names. In an effort to prevent further unrest, the local administration has set up peace committees at the booth level, including members from different communities and political parties. These committees are responsible for promptly informing the police about any disturbances or circulating rumours. Since Monday, over a hundred peace meetings have taken place. The impact of these initiatives was evident on Tuesday with Bengalis celebrating their traditional New Year. According to local media reports, several shops reopened in Samserganjs Dhuliyan market after days of closure. Additionally, bidi workers in the area have started resuming work in their neighbourhoods. The violence in Samserganj forced over a hundred families to flee to neighbouring Malda district, where relief camps have been set up. On Monday, police officials said some families had begun returning, and arrangements were being made to ensure the safe return of others. 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. The West Bengal police have been proactive in arresting those involved in recent violent protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025 in West Bengal. As part of the operation, nine people were arrested in the South 24 Parganas district, along with two suspects on Monday night linked to the murder of a father and son in Murshidabad. On Monday, a protest was held at Kolkatas Ramlila Maidan opposing the amended Waqf Act. Hundreds of protesters, mainly workers of the Indian Secular Front (ISF), were allegedly stopped by the police along the Basanti Highway near Bairampur in Bhangar, South 24 Parganas, when they were on their way to Kolkata. #WATCH | West Bengal: A relief camp has been set up in Malda's Par Lalpur for the people who left Samserganj-Dhuliyan in Murshidabad after violence broke out there during a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act on April 11. pic.twitter.com/Bqe7pMY4HT ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025 This led to a flare-up, with enraged protesters blocking the highway, setting at least five police motorcycles on fire, pelting stones at officers, smashing a Kolkata Police vehicles windows, and vandalising a prison van before overturning it. In response, police quickly launched search operations throughout the region to locate those responsible. Nine people have been arrested so far, and the search for additional suspects is ongoing. Authorities have, reportedly, registered five separate cases connected to the Bhangar violence. Meanwhile, in the case related to the murder of Hargobind Das and his son Chandan Das, the police have arrested one person from Murshidabad and another from Birbhum district. The father and son were, reportedly, stabbed to death in Jafrabad, under Samserganj CD Block in Jangipur, Murshidabad. Supratim Sarkar, Additional Director General (South Bengal), told the media on Tuesday, All available CCTV footages from the area were reviewed, and several miscreants were identified. During an overnight raid last night, two individuals were arrested. He informed that the arrested suspects were brothers. To investigate the murder of the father-son duo, the police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) with members from local police stations and experienced officers from the state polices STF, CID, and IB. So far, 221 people have been arrested in Murshidabad in connection with the Waqf protest-related violence. As the Congress party struggles to make important appointments of the Leader of the Opposition and new state unit president in Haryana, the party leaders indicate that it will be difficult to sideline ex-chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hoodas claims to the post. Most of the legislators have suggested the name of 77-year-old Hooda as the LoP. "Therefore it will not be in the interest of the party to sideline him," said a Congress legislator. Notably, it has been more than six months that the party has delayed the appointments. The absence of an LoP in the state assembly has only helped the BJP government as it has been actively pushing forward its development agenda. According to party insiders, the tussle seems to continue as the top leadership wants to make way for the next line of leaders. However, Hooda is said to have firmly dug in his heels, standing resolute on his demand to lead the party unit. A section of leaders thinks that if Hooda is sidetracked, it could dearly damage the party and reduce its organisational footprints across the state. A senior Congress leader in Haryana said, "The party is still contemplating. If they don't give Hooda any position, it might make the regular functioning of the party difficult." To bring in the perspective, Hooda was given the chiefdom in Haryana to navigate the party to victory in the last three assembly elections. However, he failed repeatedly and was defeated by the saffron camp. The Congress fancied its chances during the 2024 Lok Sabha and later during the assembly polls. It was widely believed that the anti-incumbency against Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar would help the grand old party return to power. However, owing to the infighting in the state unitthe party was divided between the Hooda and Kumari Selja campsthe BJP won a historic third term winning an all-time high of 48 seats. The Congress state leaders had opposed the alliance with the AAP also. The stunning Haryana victory for the BJP exposed the Congress shortcomings. The reverberations were felt a few months later in neighbouring Delhi, too. There were voices from the high command that they should move on from Hooda to other state leaders bringing in generational change. With the partys focus on building its organisation at the grassroots level, the party is still struggling to find a face who could bring fresh energy to the states political scene and create a robust organisation. How the grand old party would navigate the tricky situation of recognising the claims of the older leadership versus the new remains to be seen. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came down heavily on his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee for her "silence" regarding the violent protests in her state over the Waqf Amendment Act. Adityanath accused Banerjee of deeming the violent protesters as "messengers of peace" and said she had given them a complete free hand in the name of secularism. "These were people who understood only force and thus could not be pacified by words," the UP CM said at a public meeting in Hardoi. He used the Hindi phrase laaton ke bhoot baton se nahin maante (those who are used to violence do not understand words), to describe how the protesters should be dealt with. #WATCH | Hardoi: On violence in West Bengal, UP CM Yogi Adityanath says, "...Bengal is burning. The Chief Minister of the state is silent. She calls rioters 'shantidoot'. Laaton ke bhoot baaton se kahan man'ne waale hain? But in the name of secularism, these people have given all pic.twitter.com/kGZcGn9QKf ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025 Murshidabad district of West Bengal has been witnessing violent protests over the last week and the Ministry of Home Affairs has said that there is a possible hand of Bangladeshi miscreants in the same. Adityanath said that those who preferred Bangladesh should go to that country. He also took on the Congress and the Samajwadi Party for their "silence" over the violence. He accused the opposition of inciting violence in the name of the Waqf amendments and trying to create another Bangladesh in India. The UP CM thanked the judiciary for directing the Centre to deploy central forces to contain the violence in West Bengal. The Calcutta High Court had ordered the deployment of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) in Murshidabad where three people lost their lives in the clashes. On Monday, too, Adityanath spoke on the violence in West Bengal and alleged that people were being dragged out of their homes and killed. Taking potshots at those parties which are "projecting themselves as the protectors of Dalits", the UP CM claimed only the BJP has been speaking for them. Amid reports that the second round of 'indirect' talks between the US and Iran would be held in Rome, Tehran has reportedly chosen to continue with the negotiations in the Omani capital of Muscat itself. Iran's decision comes as Axios reported on Monday that the Trump administration is insistent on picking the venue for the second round and has opted for Rome. The change of plans came after Italy rejected Tehrans request to hold the talks at the Omani embassy in Rome, Iran International quoted unnamed sources. Though Italy was willing to hold the talks, the government wanted it under the auspices of the Italian government in Rome and not at the Omani Embassy, which Iran disagreed to. Trump losing patience with Iran talks: I think theyre playing us. One meeting last Saturday, another next Saturdaythats too long. Theyre used to dealing with fools in this country. Asked about striking Irans nuclear sites: Absolutely. pic.twitter.com/Ik2jPNQtxS daniel hanukayeb (@LionsOfZion_ORG) April 14, 2025 Soon after that, Tehran confirmed that the second round of its negotiations with the US would be held in Muscat and not Rome. "It has been agreed that Muscat will continue to host the second round of negotiations, which will be held on Saturday, April 19," Foreign Minister spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said. Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Parliaments National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Takht-e-Ravanchi had earlier told Iranian Parliament that Oman would continue to mediate the talks. The US is yet to confirm the venue of the talks, but President Donald Trump later told reporters that he felt Iran was "tapping us along." Both sides had hailed the first round of talks as constructive. Though the US would prefer the talks to be more direct, Iran insists on it being "indirect". For Iran, the goal of the talks is the removal of sanctions, while the US now wants to see Iran take steps to move its nuclear programme further from weaponisation. Speculations are that in the second round, the negotiations could take place with Iranian and U.S. officials sitting in the same room. Meanwhile, Araghchi has reportedly briefed his Saudi, Turkish, Bahraini and Iraqi counterparts about the negotiations with the United States. He held phone calls with the Kuwaiti, Emirati, Qatari and Egyptian foreign ministers. Another Palestinian student was detained on Monday for his alleged participation in protests against Israel's Gaza war, according to his lawyer. Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University student, was reportedly taken into custody by federal agents when he arrived at a citizenship interview in Vermont. Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank is a permanent resident of the US. He had completed a philosophy programme at Columbia late last year and was expected to graduate in May. He had also planned to do his master's this year. His lawyer Luna Droubi said in the court filing that he was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security during his naturalization interview in Vermont. "Earlier today, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process," they said. "Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered. These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him." A video of three officers escorting Mahdawi in handcuffs to an SUV was also shared by a Vermont lawmaker. Andrew Delaney, another one of his attorneys, said Mahdawi is being held in Vermont though they have no received any confirmation about his whereabouts despite numerous attempts to locate him. A federal judge temporarily blocked his removal Monday after a petition was filed challenging his detention. Mahdawi's detention comes after another Columbia student and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil was detained by the ICE officials for deportation. Khalil's deportation was barred by a federal judge in New Jersey. Mahdawi first drew attention after a controversial pro-Israel group that regularly encourages the Trump administration to detain pro-Palestinian protest leaders posted a video, stating he was on the the organization's "deport list." The organisation claims to have provided thousands of "names of jihadis to the Trump Administration of visitors to America who support Hamas." According to his lawyers, Mahdawi had stood for a "peaceful political solution" to the Palestinian conflict. He also claimed in an earlier interview to CBS News that he didn't support antisemitic statements. The Trump administration has ordered a freeze of $2.26 billion in federal funding for Harvard University following its refusal to comply with demands from the White House, including dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, and altering Harvard's governance and admissions processes. Harvard's President, Alan Garber, has rejected what he called government overreach and has chosen to assert the university's right to autonomy and constitutional protections. In a message to the Harvard community, Garber said, "The University will not yield its independence or forsake its fundamental rights." It represents a significant challenge to the administrations efforts to reshape higher education, particularly targeting elite institutions accused of fostering ideological conformity." No governmentregardless of which party is in powershould dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. - President Alan Garber https://t.co/6cQQpcJVTd Harvard University (@Harvard) April 14, 2025 The government's response was swift and severe. Within hours, federal officials confirmed the suspension of $2.26 billion in multi-year grants and contracts. This is a portion of the nearly $9 billion in federal funding Harvard and its affiliated hospitals receive annually, including $7 billion for medical institutions like Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Childrens Hospital, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and $2 billion for research in areas such as space exploration, cancer, Alzheimers disease and tuberculosis. The full impact of the freeze remains uncertain, but it could affect critical academic and medical initiatives. The Trump administration accused Harvard of an "entitlement mindset," claiming the university disregarded its obligations to comply with civil rights laws in exchange for federal support. A government task force on antisemitism had previously outlined nine requirements for Harvard to maintain its funding. These included a blanket ban on face masks during protests, the termination of DEI initiatives, and reforms to governance, leadership and admissions. The task force sought to influence academic content, demanding essential changes to curricula to promote "viewpoint diversity" and eliminate perceived ideological biases that, they claimed, contributed to antisemitism. Harvards legal team, including lawyers William Burck and Robert Hurboth with ties to President Trumpargued that those demands violated the First Amendment and due process. In a letter to the task force, they highlighted Harvards efforts to create a welcoming environment, including disciplinary actions against policy violations and efforts to encourage ideological diversity. "Harvard is a markedly different institution today than it was a year ago," they asserted, pointing to progress made since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. The latest dispute is part of a broader administration campaign to pressure elite universities, with institutions like Brown, Princeton, Northwestern and Cornell also facing funding reviews or freezes. Columbia recently agreed to similar demands when threatened with a cut of $400 million in federal funding. Harvard, however, has taken a different approach, leveraging its vast resourcesincluding a $53.2 billion endowment and a recent $750 million bond issuanceto prepare for a prolonged battle. Legal challenges have also emerged. The Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) filed a federal lawsuit, accusing the administration of using civil rights laws to undermine academic freedom. A similar lawsuit was filed regarding Columbias funding cuts. The administrations actions do not conform to established protocols under the Civil Rights Act, which suggest investigations and voluntary resolutions, not punitive freezing of funds. Harvard University students STAND with Palestine! pic.twitter.com/DydNXSC49r Jackson Hinkle (@jacksonhinklle) April 12, 2025 The ongoing conflict stems from the wave of campus protests that rocked American universities last year, sparked by the Gaza war. These protests often led to vandalism and some violence, causing many Jewish students and faculty to feel concerned. Harvard has accepted such challenges, with Garber outlining the universitys efforts to combat antisemitism and promote diverse perspectives. However, the Trump administration wants an audit of the ideological moorings of students and faculty, which are seen by many as an unacceptable intrusion into academic independence. Harvards defiance towards Trump has resonated beyond academia, encouraging other institutions wary of the administrations tactics. Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council of Education, praised Harvards defiance as essential, exhorting other universities to emulate the move. Harvards critics like New York Republican Representative Elise Stefanik, who is also a Harvard alumna, however, condemned the university's move, calling it a symbol of "moral and academic decay". She also demanded a complete withdrawal of taxpayer support. As the wealthiest and oldest university in the United States, Harvard may be uniquely positioned to take on Trump. Its endowment surpasses the GDP of nearly 100 countries, and its alumni include eight American presidents. Yet it will be an uphill battle, taking a president head on. It could lead to further punitive measures, including scrutiny of Harvards non-profit status or restrictions on international student visas, further scaling up the conflict. There is so much currently happening on the political scene in Eretz Yisroel. Aside from the burning issue of the hostages and the ongoing war in Gaza, there is an entire ruckus over the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet among other issues. The Gedolei Yisroel and the Charedi community, as a whole, are very worried and disturbed over the ongoing efforts to try drafting bnei yeshivos. Much effort has been expended both publicly and through quiet diplomacy to try dissuading the powers that be and those in the legal system from their attempt to curb the koach of todays Shevet Levi. After all, in this fraught period, Klal Yisroel, more than ever, needs the zechusim of limud haTorah to enable us to overcome our enemies. The Gedolei Yisroel have been focusing on explaining the Charedi position, hoping to impress upon influential figures in the government and the legal community a better understanding of the the role that Torah learning plays in ensuring the future of the country. Recently, the Nasi of Dirshu, Rav Dovid Hofstedter was in Eretz Yisroel. As a prominent resident of chutz laaretz who leads the largest Torah organization in the world, Rav Hofstedter has been involved in the hishtadlus effort. Rav Hofstedter held numerous meetings at the homes of several senior Gedolei Yisroel. The Gedolei Yisroel all urged him to use his influence to try finding common ground with decision- makers in Eretz Yisroel regarding this difficult, critically important issue. As a prominent figure in the diaspora, Rav Hofstedter also conversed with Mr. Yitzchak Herzog, the President of Israel. Rav Hofstedter discussed the underpinnings of the Charedi outlook regarding limud haTorah and the fact that the avreichim who devote their days and nights to learning do so most altruistically, forgoing many of lifes comforts and living extremely frugally so that they can continue to learn Torah. Rav Hofstedter spoke about the value of Torah learning and its exalted role in shielding and preserving those living in Israel, and Judaism as a whole. President Herzog was very receptive to Rav Hofstedters words and commented that despite the incitement that we are witnessing in some quarters, he had, in general, noticed that the secular and traditional Jews in Eretz Yisroel have strengthened themselves in observance and recognizing the integral role that Torah has in the lives of the Jewish People. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a prominent Jew and Democratic leader, narrowly escaped an attempted murder early Sunday morning when an arsonist set fire to the Governors Residence in Harrisburg. The attack, which took place just hours after Shapiro and his family celebrated the first seder of Pesach, has been described by authorities as a targeted act of political violence. A suspect, identified as Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, has been arrested and charged with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson, and other serious offenses. The incident unfolded around 2 a.m., when Shapiro, his wife Lori, their four childrenSophia, Jonah, Max, and Reubenand several guests were sleeping in the historic Georgian-style mansion. According to court documents, Balmer scaled an iron security fence, eluded state troopers, and broke into the residence through a southern wing, a room often used for parties and art displays. Carrying homemade incendiary devices, including Molotov cocktails and Heineken bottles filled with gasoline, he ignited fires in multiple rooms, including the piano room and dining area, causing significant damage estimated to be in the millions of dollars. The residence, built in 1968, lacks sprinklers, which allowed the flames to spread rapidly. A state troopers urgent banging on the governors door woke the family, and all were safely evacuated without injury. We were sleeping, and suddenly we hear this pounding, like a gevald, Shapiro recounted at a press conference later that day. The troopers got us out, and were all okay, but its a sobering reminder of how far some will go to harm others. Your browser does not support the video tag. Balmer, who turned himself in to Pennsylvania State Police hours after the attack, allegedly admitted to harboring hatred toward Shapiro and expressed intent to harm him physically. According to a criminal affidavit, he told investigators he carried a small sledgehammer and would have beaten the governor had they crossed paths. Authorities have not yet released a definitive motive, but the timingmere hours after Shapiro hosted a Pesach sederhas raised suspicions about possible antisemitic undertones. The FBI is assisting in the investigation, with particular attention to whether the attack was fueled by anti-Jewish sentiment, especially given Balmers history of posting anti-government sentiments and violent memes on social media. Shapiro, who rose to national prominence as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, addressed the attack with characteristic resolve. Speaking outside the charred remains of the mansion on Sunday, he drew on the themes of Pesach. Last night, in the state dining room, we told the story of going from slavery to freedom, he said. I refuse to be trapped by the shackles someone tries to put on me or my family through this kind of evil. I wont let it stop me from doing the work I love or proudly celebrating our Jewishness. The attack has drawn widespread condemnation, including from President Donald Trump, who called it inexcusable and urged an end to political violence. Vice President JD Vance described the incident as really disgusting, while former Governor Mark Schweiker praised Shapiros leadership in the face of adversity. The incident is the latest in a disturbing string of attacks on elected officials in the United States, including the 2022 assault on Nancy Pelosis husband and last years assassination attempts on Trump during his campaign. Balmer, who was denied bail at his arraignment on Monday, faces a slew of charges, including attempted criminal homicide, terrorism intended to coerce the conduct of a government, burglary, and reckless endangerment. Court records reveal a troubled past, including a 2023 assault charge against his wife and stepsons and a reported suicide attempt by overdose. His mother told CBS News that Balmer is mentally ill, though authorities have not confirmed any mental health diagnoses as a factor in the crime. The fire left the Governors Residence, a symbol of Pennsylvanias history, in disarray. Charred walls, a scorched piano, and ruined furniture bore witness to the attacks ferocity. Among the debris, a singed page of Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, was recovered. Security measures at the residence are now under review, with questions raised about how Balmer managed to bypass troopers and perimeter defenses. This is a wake-up call, said Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police. Were looking at every angle to ensure this never happens again. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) A recent ceasefire proposal presented by Egypt to Hamas has reportedly failed to make headway, according to a senior Hamas official cited by Qatars Al Jazeera network. The proposal, delivered to the Hamas delegation during their visit to Cairo in recent days, outlined a 45-day ceasefire in Gaza, during which half of the 59 remaining hostages would be released in the first week. The remainder including both living captives and the bodies of deceased hostages would be handed over on the 45th day. The Egyptian-mediated proposal included a stipulation that any agreement to end the war would require negotiations on the disarmament of Hamas. The senior terror official said the group firmly rejected that condition, asserting that disarmament is non-negotiable and that Hamas would only consider an agreement centered on a permanent end to the war, not on surrendering its weapons. In a further development, Arabic-language media reported that the Hamas delegation, which had been in Cairo since Friday, has since departed, casting additional doubt on the prospects for a near-term truce. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Yet another Shin Bet affair was revealed on Tuesday morning when an Israeli court lifted the gag order on the case, which began when the Shin Bet leadership and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara threw a senior Shin Bet agent into jail without access to a lawyer for exposing information that embarrassed them. Several weeks ago, Israeli media outlets reported that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar had launched a probe into the infiltration of Kahanism into the Israel Police against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and senior police officials. According to leaked documents, Bar launched the probe even after he was told by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Attorney General Gali Barahav-Miara that there was no legal basis for the investigation. Bar denied launching the probe when confronted by Ben-Gvir, but was then publicly humiliated when Ben-Gvir presented him with an internal Shin Bet document proving that Bar launched the investigation. A Shin Bet official is now being investigated for harming state security for leaking classified information about the probe to Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli and Channel 12 News reporter Amit Segal. He also revealed information about the internal Shin Bet report regarding its failures on October 7 that was hidden from the public to Yisrael Hayom reporter Shirat Avitan. The suspect, who has served in the Shin Bet for decades and returned to service following the October 7 massacre, was thrown into prison without access to a lawyer for eight days. Segal responded to the exposure of the affair by slamming Bar and Baharav-Miara, explaining: The story is ultimately very simple. Ronen Bar told the Attorney General a chilling story about the Kahanist takeover of the police as it was expressed on Tisha BAv on Har Habayit. The Attorney General rushed to investigate, and then, much to her embarrassment, it became clear from Bars subordinates that it never happened. Bar, in an attempt to restore his standing with her and his people, opened a secret and unprecedented investigation of the police, on suspicion of the spread of Kahanism on the police and ordered to bring some findings. This investigation also ended with nothing. This did not bother the Attorney General, and she included the false classified information as part of her justifications [for freezing Bars dismissal] to the Supreme Court without disclosing that, in professional slang, it was nonsense. I exposed this story and it embarrassed them very much. So far, a total failure. But Bar and Baharav-Miara have tools to hunt down whoever exposed their nakedness and so they threw him into custody without a lawyer. Why? For obstructing a probe? How can you obstruct an investigation that ended in nothing? Will it expose Shin Bet sources? When there are no sources, it is difficult to locate them. In a climate where people care, even reluctantly, about appearances and freedom of the press, you dont conduct a hunt for sources for personal reasons. A serious organization would be busy with a deep internal investigation into what caused it to dive headfirst into a sham investigation, not double down on it. The suspects lawyers stated: Our client, who served in the Shin Bet for decades with great dedication and professionalism, passed on information of enormous public importance in order to bring it to the publics attention, while taking care not to pass on security information. The information that our client passed on was also not supposed to be classified, and it is undisputed that our client did not pass on information that could endanger the public. The lawyers said that the suspect did reveal information to Minister Amichai Chikli and journalist Amit Segal about the investigation process that the heads of the Shin Bet system asked to conduct regarding political figures and those around them. Additionally, our client revealed information from the Shin Bets full investigation into October 7, information that contrary to the report that was published and pointed mainly to the political echelon on certain issues presented a more complex picture regarding the conduct and position of the Shin Bet on the eve of October 7th. Our client shared this information of enormous public importance to journalist Shirit Avitan, and it is undisputed that it did not endanger state security. Following the transfer of the aforementioned information, draconian tools were used against our client, his lawyers said, laborating that he was arrested shortly before Pesach and was prevented from meeting a lawyer. The lawyers added: Contrary to the impression arising from the prosecutions statement, the order preventing a meeting with a lawyer was only removed after an appeal was filed to the District Court, in a decision by the President of the Court, and with the staunch opposition of the law enforcement authorities, the Police Invesitgations Department and the Shin Bet. It seems that the decision of the heads of the systems is subject to a conflict of interest that affected the way the investigation against our client was and is being conducted. Our client, a family man, a model citizen, who contributed decades to the security of the state, is still detained, and an appeal was filed last night that is expected to be heard before the District Court as soon as possible. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) By participating in the 49th meeting of the Technical and Operational Safety Committee (TOSC) of the Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe), held in Warsaw, Heydar Aliyev International Airport once again demonstrated Azerbaijans growing role in the international aviation agenda. The event brought together representatives of leading European airports, aviation regulators, and technology companies to discuss joint solutions to key industry challenges. The delegation of Heydar Aliyev International Airport actively contributed to discussions on the integration of artificial intelligence into turnaround operations (the full cycle of ground handling between aircraft arrival and departure), digital coordination with air navigation service providers, and enhancement of airside safety. Particular attention was paid to the prevention of runway excursions and the mitigation of human factor risks. In this context, advanced approaches were presented regarding the professional training of special equipment drivers and the reduction of operational risks. The TOSC forum is not just a platform for exchanging knowledge and experience. It is a space where future standards of aviation safety are shaped. We strive not only to adopt best practices, but also to take part in shaping them, said Elmir Gulu-zadeh, Deputy Director on Safety at Heydar Aliyev International Airport. As part of the forum, a proposal was made to hold one of the upcoming TOSC meetings in Baku. This initiative marks an important step in recognizing Azerbaijans contribution to the development of the global aviation ecosystem and the growing role of Baku as a next-generation transport hub. It is worth noting that since 2024, the international airports of Baku and Ganja have been official members of ACI Europe the largest industry association of airports in Europe. T-Residence presents Home Couture, your finished home with total peace of mind WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET The tiles you deliberated over on Zoom look horrendously orange, nothing like the sophisticated peach you thought you chose. Your precious two-week visit to Israel is consumed by frantic trips to showrooms and contractor meetings, with only hurried moments left for grandchildren. Your WhatsApp fills with urgent design questions at 3 AM your time, decisions needed immediately. The kitchen cabinets you splurged on are installedbut the contractor forgot the internal organizers you specifically requested. This is the traditional path to buying a home in Yerushalayim from abroad. Until today! T-RESIDENCE offers a new reality. THREE DISTINCTIVE WORLDS PRESENTING HOME COUTURE The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has revealed their list of complaints and queries handled by their advice line in 2024, with a dead spider in a loaf of brown bread and a pack of muesli full of maggots being just some of the foreign objects discovered in unfit food. A total of 8,596 complaints and queries were handled by the authority and the FSAI confirmed that there were 4,996 complaints from consumers, with 32% of complaints relating to unfit food and 29% to suspected food poisoning. Overall, the 4,996 consumer complaints in 2024 represented a 13.7% increase compared to the previous year, which had 4,395 complaints. The figures reflect an overall upwards trend over the past decade. All complaints received by the FSAI in 2024 were followed up and investigated by food inspectors throughout the country. Unfit food, which is food that is not safe to eat, was the most frequently reported complaint in 2024 and this also includes contamination with a foreign object. Commonly reported foreign objects in food included: plastic; insects/spiders; hairs; glass; metal; and stones. Examples of some of the complaints include a large piece of rubber in a protein bar; a dead spider in a loaf of brown bread; a piece of glass in a chicken breast; a pack of muesli full of maggots; a toothpick in a bag of chips; a metal pin in pre-packed prawns; a piece of plastic in a milkshake; a metal nail in a takeaway meal; a snail in a box of grapes; a live insect in a burrito bowl; and a large piece of metal in a chocolate biscuit. Other complaints regarding unfit food cited undercooked meats; food served cold when it should be hot; and foods with off tastes or smells. The second most frequently reported category related to reports of suspected food poisoning, making up 29% of the total complaints in 2024. This was an increase on the 23.3% of food poisoning complaints in 2023. READ MORE: Boy with 'devastating condition' told help will cost millions amid Go Fund Me appeal The third most frequently reported category related to poor hygiene standards with reports of rodents spotted in businesses; staff not wearing appropriate clothing; poor personal hygiene with staff openly coughing and sneezing; staff not washing hands and handling food and money with the same gloves; excessive flies and insects spotted in food businesses; generally unclean premises; food not being stored correctly with fridges and freezers not cold enough; and food being stored in boxes on floors. The breakdown of all complaints are as follows: Unfit food: 1,597 Suspect food poisoning: 1,449 Hygiene standards: 1,289 Labelling: 169 Others: 156 Allergen Information: 155 Unregistered food business: 81 Greg Dempsey, Chief Executive, FSAI, stressed the importance of making complaints to the FSAI, so that any food safety issues can be addressed. He said, We welcome consumers and food businesses contacting us via our advice line. People reporting inappropriate and unsafe food and practices is vitally important and is an essential component, supporting the work of the food inspectorate to ensure the highest standards and quality across the food chain. The year-on-year increase in complaints to the advice line reflects an increased awareness among consumers of the importance of food safety and also demonstrates their zero-tolerance approach when it comes to poor food safety and hygiene standards in food products and in food premises. Food businesses have a legal obligation to provide safe food and it is vital that food businesses ensure they adhere to the legislation at all times. The FSAI advice line, supported by a comprehensive website and learning portal, are important resources for the food industry, and we encourage all food business operators to avail of these free and accessible tools, Mr Dempsey added. The FSAI advice line also offers advice and information. During 2024, there were 3,600 queries from people working in the food industry, including caterers, food manufacturers, retailers; and others. Popular topics included: how to start a food business; food labelling information; best practice in food businesses; food safety training and several others. The advice line is contactable through an online complaint form makeitbetter or through their online query form. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. About a year ago I moved my family of four in with my aging parents, and joined my mom in taking care of my dad, who has advanced frontal lobe dementia. I also joined 26 million other Americans who are sandwich generation caregivers constantly juggling the needs of an 8-year-old, an 11-year-old, a career and my 76-year-old dad, who can never be left alone. Luckily my big brother also moved his family a few blocks away and has joined in the caregiving, so we are a ragtag village of five adults raising four beautiful, weird kids and tending lovingly to the demise of my dad. Given our situation, you can imagine how we shuddered when we heard about the tragic isolation and fate of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, who were found dead recently in their home. An investigation by local authorities in New Mexico concluded that Arakawa died of a rare respiratory disease around seven days before her husband, who died from complications of being left alone for a week with Alzheimer's disease. In the wake of this tragedy, Emma Heming Willis, the primary carer for her husband, the actor Bruce Willis, who is suffering from dementia, took to Instagram and said, among other things: "Caregivers need care, too." She added that "it is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person." But what does it actually mean to "show up for" family caregivers? Living in a loving community of friends and neighbors that recognize your dedication and struggles as a caregiver is certainly part of the answer, ideally. Steady deliveries of homemade aromatic dahl and gooey vegetarian lasagna and tart lemon bars from friends have kept our family going. When one irate neighbor knocked on our door and yelled at my mom about my dad wandering onto their lawn, the rest of our neighbors rallied around us and said they saw our heartfelt, if imperfect, efforts to keep him safe and welcomed his innocent intrusions. Thankfully the family picnic he crashed in our local park was also received with grace; he went home with a ciabatta sandwich clutched in his hand and a big smile on his face, and the kind family who tolerated his confusion made our day infinitely easier with their kindness. But even this the meal trains and the neighborly grace are not enough, and many caregivers don't have the good fortune to have such networks. Family caregivers need us to show up for them through structural investment in formal elder care, especially day programs for people with Alzheimer's and dementia. There are 7 million Americans who have Alzheimer's and about twice that many family caregivers. The lifetime risk for Alzheimer's at age 45 is 1 in 5 for women and 1 in 10 for men. Just as there are child-care deserts all over America, there are elder-care deserts, too. In California, where we live, Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program) recipients residing in 32 counties have no access to these kinds of day programs. In fact, the number of day programs in the state peaked at 366, back in 2004 when there were significantly fewer elders in America. For a brief period my dad attended a day program in the Bay Area, where we live. We'd drop him off in the morning and he'd wander in to get a cup of instant coffee. While I got a full day's work done, and my mom recovered from (usually) a horrible night's sleep, my dad sang karaoke (Beatles and Stevie Wonder were his go-to's) and did chair yoga. It was a game changer for our family: affordable, near our house but outside of it, full of loving caregivers and community. But after more than three decades of existence, the day program closed last December. If someone without the ability to pay walked into its doors, the program had taken care of them and then filed for reimbursement through Medi-Cal. The state gave the organization $76.27 a day for care that costs $250 to provide a reimbursement rate that hasn't changed since 2009. My dad's health took a nose-dive when the program closed, as did my mom's. We tried to work with an in-home health aide, a fantastic woman who loved bringing my dad fried chicken and spaghetti for lunch and laughing at his antics, but ultimately she couldn't handle his wandering and increased agitation. And we were not unique. When I asked the other families in the program how they had been doing since the closure, they replied with words like "devastating" and "desperate." One daughter shared: "I fear that my career is stalled due to my need to be available to manage my dad's financial affairs including reimbursements, caregiving on weekends, and managing two kids who have dyslexia. My husband's career is stalled, too." If Gene Hackman had been attending a day program like the one my dad briefly thrived at, he and his wife might still be alive. These day programs make caregivers' lives and careers possible, enrich the lives of our elders at the most vulnerable moment and literally save lives. And day programs for our elders with dementia and Alzheimer's are not only the moral and psychologically sound solution, but the fiscally responsible one. The average day program costs $2,167 a month, in contrast to an in-home healthcare aide, who costs an average of $6,483 a month, or a private room in a memory care facility, which costs an average of $10,646. Mealtrains are so nourishing. The grace of understanding neighbors is such a blessing. But what family caretakers in this country need, more than anything else, are reliable, accessible and enlivening day programs. And we're not likely to get them unless Americans make clear that they won't tolerate otherwise. If the Republicans' much-discussed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare go through, states will be even less likely to raise reimbursement rates for these kinds of programs, and providers will be under even more pressure to raise already exorbitant fees to make up for federal shortages. That means the inadequate number of day programs we already have will shut down, and new ones won't open, right when America is entering a historic surge of people turning 65. People will suffer and people will die. It's that simple. Novelist Pearl Buck once wrote, "Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members." We are already failing, and will only fail more lethally if we cut Medicare and leave aging Americans and their caregivers stranded. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Courtney E. Martin is the author of many books. She is also the storyteller-in-residence at the Holding Co., a lab to redesign care. (COMMENT, BELOW) A quick review of local headlines mostly related to worsening danger on Kansas City streets. Check TKC news gathering . . . Kansas City officials decry ATV driver accused of running over police officer over the weekend Law enforcement has asked the public for help in identifying a driver on an all-terrain vehicle who ran over a police officer in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. 'It's a miracle': KCPD chief says officer run over by ATV now home recovering The Kansas City Police Department is searching for an ATV driver who was involved in a hit-and-run crash that left an officer with serious head injuries on Saturday. Lenexa man pleads guilty to murdering wife, son at their home Todd Donovan will be sentenced on two counts of first-degree murder in July. Former Johnson County employee charged with sexual exploitation of a child A former Johnson County, Kansas, government employee has been charged with the sexual exploitation of a child. 2 men charged after North Kansas City police found fentanyl in their vehicles Friday Clay County prosecutors charged two men with drug crimes involving fentanyl that prosecutors said could have caused drug overdoses in 1,800 people. Kansas City man charged with aggravated fleeing after chase in Cass County An attempted traffic stop in Pleasant Hill has led to charges against a Kansas City man. One person shot near Grain Valley Dollar General, suspect in custody One person was injured in a shooting near a Dollar General in Grain Valley, Missouri, on Monday evening. KC man charged for road rage incident after officer punched during arrest A Kansas City man has been charged in connection to a road rage incident after a law enforcement official was punched in the face. Former Johnson County, Kansas, government employee charged with child sex abuse A former Johnson County, Kansas, technical support analyst has been charged with child sex abuse crimes. Thieves steal $500,000 by taking checks from Lenexa mailboxes, police say The Lenexa Police Department said it has received numerous reports of checks stolen after they've been dropped in a mailbox. KC woman says she's a victim of tow company under criminal investigation A Kansas City woman says she's a victim of a local tow company now at the center of serious criminal allegations. Security X-ray machine to go into effect at Wyandotte County Municipal Building Those who plan to visit the Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas, Municipal Building in the future will now need to walk through a security X-ray machine. Grandview named among first Blue Shield Communities in Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe's initiative is designed to support law enforcement with community backing and potential grant funding. Let Freedom ring: KC brothers develop an app that helps exonerees Using AI, educational resources and service request software, the Organization of Exonerees app serves as a one-stop shop for exonerates. Kansas City, Missouri, police looking for family of 5-year-old boy found Monday night Kansas City, Missouri, police officers want to find the parents or other family members of a child found wandering Monday night. Developing . . . Today local MSM is selling fear for parents . . . The reality is actually a bit more scary but involves people taking personal responsibly rather than hiding in fear and waiting for the next newscast. First a truism . . . "Most sexual assaults and rape are committed by someone the victim knows." Sadly, that's usually FAMILY and then close friends. Meanwhile . . . Check the local discourse hyping more rules & regs that STILL don't help to keep the innocent safe. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . Christian school is moving to KC - to site near 13 sex offenders: 'Blindsiding' Blue Ridge Christian School's relocation to Kansas City near 13 registered sex offenders is sparking parent concerns about student safety at the new campus. Blue Valley institutes new policy, banning sex offenders from all school property and events The Blue Valley School District is banning registered sex offenders from all school property and events. Developing . . . Our dead-tree friends made a very big deal of the last days of a sketchy biz model based on the disposable income of the shrinking middle-class. Photo credit . . . It's time for marriage counseling when wife-y suggests this bit of home furnishing. Meanwhile, here's the sitch: Small local businesses, like My Home Contemporary Furniture in Merriam, Kansas, are already feeling the effects. The store located at 5400 Antioch Drive will be closing for good. The furniture store has been serving the community for four years, but owner Henrik Svendsen said the uncertainty of tariffs on imported goods is the reason they are making the difficult decision. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KC area furniture store will close over tariffs. 'Nobody can afford that' Rising tariffs force Johnson County's My Home Contemporary Furniture to shut down. Owner Henrik Svendsen shares concerns for local furniture businesses. Actually, KCTV5 ran this story about two weeks ago . . . Tariffs lead owner toward planned closure of local furniture store Small local businesses, like My Home Contemporary Furniture in Merriam, Kansas, are already feeling the effects of tariffs. Developing . . . Tonight the "Queen Bey" and her advert work inspires another quick peek at pop culture, community reporting and top headlines. Check TKC news gathering . . . Cowtown Freebie Cash Discontinued Metro nonprofits deal with 'uncertainty' surrounding future grant money Nonprofits that work on domestic violence prevention say their funding future sits in limbo thanks to federal cutbacks and freezes. Golden Ghetto Job Scheme Overland Park officials set to review company's plans to bring 2K jobs to Aspiria campus Economic development officials in Overland Park and Kansas are asking for approval to move forward with a $125 million project that would bring up to 2,000 new jobs to the Aspiria campus in OP. Global Money Bets Local C2FO accesses $30M investment with World Bank-backed IFC A just-announced capital infusion for Leawood-built C2FO reflects a shared commitment with global partners to boosting jobs and strengthening economic opportunities - notably for micro, small and medium enterprises in emerging markets worldwide. Santa Snubs Super Bowl Losers Chiefs unlikely to lock down Christmas Day, per NFL decision-maker A recent report had indicated Kansas City wanted to be a permanent host for the holiday game. Home Team Upstaged Yankees torpedo Royals 4-1 Witt good. Everything else bad. Advertising Backstory Beyonce's fans go wild over new Levi's campaign Fans went wild for the new images saying she was 'the most beautiful woman on the planet' and 'You're the best momma. I love you Bey.' She will be going on tour soon. Hitting Brakes On Trade War?!? Auto industry could get exemption from tariffs, Trump says President Donald Trump on Monday said he's considering exemptions from his 25% tariffs on the auto industry. Trading On Goodwill . . . Marjorie Taylor Greene bought stock before market jumped on Trump tariff pause The Republican congresswoman profited from the timely purchase. Blue State Crackdown Cont'd Democrats Launch Shameless Attack On Gun Owners Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado just signed one of the most restrictive gun laws in the country into law. Latin Lockup Defends White House El Salvador President Bukele says he won't be releasing Kilmar Abrego Garcia back to the US President Donald Trump's top advisers and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, say that they had no basis for the small Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. GOP Teachable Moment Trump admin freezes billions in funding to Harvard University after rejecting demands After Harvard University said it is refusing to comply with a series of demands from President Donald Trump's administration, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced a multi-billion-dollar freeze on funding to the university. The administration's task force said on Monday evening it would withhold $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to the institution. Another Celeb Shares Backstory Carrie Underwood's Major Wardrobe Malfunction Had Her 'Booty on Display' Carrie Underwood's penultimate Vegas performance was one to remember - even if those memories involve an onstage mishap, during which, to quote Underwood Kansas City Hipsters Level Up Flight Cru: Popping the bubbly on Brookside's new American bistro Giving you the scoop on the newest addition to the Brookside neighborhood-Cru Bistro & Bottles on 63rd Street. Forecast: Still Springtime . . . FIRST WARN FORECAST: Tuesday may be best day of the week before spring showers return If you need guaranteed dry time for a project or outdoor plans, Tuesday is your only "lock" of the week. And this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. Posted if only because, like it or not, most urban leaders have been dedicated to the "local control" fight for more than a decade . . . Here's the update . . . Board of Alderman President Megan Green is listed as a co-plaintiff, along with the City of St. Louis. The lawsuit states that a clause in state law forbidding city officials from interfering with the boards work violates Greens First Amendment rights. It also says provisions requiring the city to spend more of its budget on police violate the state constitution. The lawsuit is the latest attempt by city leaders to stop the law. They point to declining crime over the past few years as a reason why a state takeover is not needed, warning it could reverse the progress. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . City of St. Louis sues State of Missouri over plan to takeover police department The City of St. Louis is suing the State of Missouri over its plan to take control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Mayor's office confirms lawsuit to prevent state takeover of police The City of St. Louis is suing Missouri in federal court to prevent the state takeover of the city police department. Developing . . . Book your summer flights to India with FlyDealFare and get up to 30% off on usa to India flights. (TRAVPR.COM) USA - April 10th, 2025 - Are you planning to travel to India for the summer? Then why are you still doubtful about flying to a beautiful country thats rich in culture? Pick the one for your trip before the demand for the USA to India flights gets high. If you are looking for the right price for airfare to India, then end your search here at FlyDealFare. In the blog post, we share a real-time comparison of top international carriers and ways to find the best flight deals in India. The Overview of the USA to India Flight Market There is a highly competitive ratio in the airline and flight market between the USA and India. However, many airlines operate directly, connecting flights to India from the USA. Typically, key airlines are American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air India, Emirates, Qatar Airways and British Airways. Each airline offers different pricing structures, amenities, and stopover options that help make the overall travel experience better. The Significant Factors That Influence Flight Prices Many factors may affect the cost of flights from the USA to India. Some of them are as follows; Seasonality The peak season may affect the cost of airfare, whether domestic or international. Summer months, particularly June to August, are peak travel times as schools are closed and enjoyable favourable weather. This leads to higher demand for airfares, which impacts the pricing. Advance Booking To get Summer Flights to India under budget, the best solution is to book them in advance. Booking tickets for international travel from the USA to India can save much money compared to getting them in peak seasons at a high cost. This is crucial as many airlines increase prices as the departure dates approach. Flight Route and Duration Typically, direct flights are more expensive than connecting ones. Therefore, if your airfare isnt urgent, then connecting flights are cheaper. However, longer travel time and layovers can often be discomforting but affordable. Pricing Strategies From Airlines Each airline has its own pricing algorithms influenced by fuel cost, demand, competitive airline market and operational expenses. ### BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. TotalEnergies has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Energia Natural Dominicana (ENADOM), a joint venture between AES Dominicana and Energas, for the supply of 400,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year, Trend reports. The agreement, which is subject to the finalization of Sales and Purchase Agreements (SPAs), is set to commence in mid-2027 and will last for 15 years. The price of the LNG will be indexed to Henry Hub. The LNG will be used to supply a 470 MW combined-cycle power plant currently under construction in the Dominican Republic. This plant is expected to increase the countrys electricity generation capacity and contribute to the nation's energy transition. By shifting from coal and fuel oil to natural gas, the project aims to reduce the countrys reliance on more carbon-intensive energy sources. Gregory Joffroy, Senior Vice President LNG at TotalEnergies, commented, We are pleased to have signed this agreement to address the energy needs of the Dominican Republic. This new contract highlights TotalEnergies' leadership in the LNG sector and our commitment to supporting the energy transition on the island. It will serve as a natural outlet for our increasing US LNG supply. Edwin De los Santos, CEO of ENADOM, emphasized the importance of the agreement: This partnership reflects the confidence placed in the Dominican Republics energy sector, specifically in ENADOM and AES. ENADOM is committed to ensuring a reliable, competitive, and environmentally responsible energy supply, and we are proud to contribute to the strengthening of the countrys energy matrix. The agreement marks a significant step in enhancing the Dominican Republic's energy infrastructure and advancing its transition to cleaner energy sources. TV Programm heute Wer heute Fernsehen sehen will, greift entweder zur Programmzeitschrift oder vor allem bei jungeren TV-Zuschauern gang und gabe nutzt den Programmguide seines Vertrauens im Internet. Bei TV SPIELFILM gibt es mit der "TV Programm von heute"-Ubersicht eine praktische Zusammenstellung aller Sendungen des Tages. Von den Hauptprogrammen Das Erste, ZDF, RTL, Sat.1, ProSieben und kabel eins bis hin zu den Spartenkanalen, Dritten Programmen und Sport- oder Infokanalen: Wer das Programm heute kennen will, kann sich kinderleicht durch die Ansicht navigieren. TV heute: Vielseitig aber auch unubersichtlich Im Laufe der Jahre bevolkern immer mehr Sender die deutsche Fernsehlandschaft. Wer das Fernsehprogramm heute im Auge behalten will, muss uber einen breiten Blick verfugen. Der durchschnittliche deutsche TV-Haushalt empfangt mehr als 70 vollwertige Programme uber seinen Fernseher, insgesamt gibt es mehr als 400 Programme im deutschen TV. Landesweite, regionale und lokale Fernsehangebote dominieren das Programm heute. Mit dem Aufkommen von Streamingdiensten wie Netflix und Amazon oder der wachsenden Bedeutung des Pay-TV wird die Auswahl fur Fernsehen heute immer groer. Mit dem TV Programm von heute wahrt der Programmguide Ubersicht in Zeiten der Unubersichtlichkeit. Auch bei der Auswahl einer geeigneten Sendung hilft TV SPIELFILM: Wir geben Programm-Tipps fur jeden Tag, zeigen mit dem bestens bekannten Daumen, ob sich das Programm heute lohnt oder nicht. Die Kritiken und Tipps stammen aus der Redaktion und werden taglich gewissenhaft und mit geubtem Auge ausgewahlt und verfasst. Informationen bezuglich des Genres, der Schauspieler und der Altersfreigabe im TV sind ebenfalls ersichtlich. Die ubersichtliche Darstellung in Tabellenform gliedert die einzelnen Sendungen zeitlich und liefert einen schnellen Uberblick uber das tagliche TV-Programm. Fernsehen heute: Webseiten und Apps Eine weitere Moglichkeit sich nicht nur uber das TV Programm zu informieren, sondern auch direkt einzuschalten, besteht uber die digitalen Angebote von TV SPIELFILM. Mit den Apps oder uber die Internetseite kann direkt ins tagliche Programm geschaltet werden. Auch eine Verbindung zu den Streamingangeboten findet sich unter jeder Sendung: Wenn eine Serie auch uber Netflix, Amazon, Maxdome und Co. streambar ist, erfahrt ihr es im EPG von TV SPIELFILM. Der mobile Zugriff, aktuelle Informationen nach einem Programmwechsel und die Funktion, Sender nach eigenem Belieben zu sortieren, stellen weitere Vorteile fur das Fernsehen von heute dar. Hilfreiche Features sind auerdem die integrierte Suchleiste sowie eine Erinnerungsfunktion. Durch diese Funktion erhalt der Zuschauer die Moglichkeit, von ihm favorisierte Filme, Serien oder Dokumentationen fur das Programm heute auszuwahlen und auf eine Merkliste zu setzen. Kurz vor der Ausstrahlung wird der Nutzer uber das gewunschte Programm im TV heute informiert. By Alex Greenwood, April 15, 2025 Since 2010, the THRIVE program at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) has offered students with intellectual and developmental disabilities a unique and supportive college experienceone that opens the door to greater independence, employment opportunities and personal growth. This spring, that door just opened wider. THRIVEshort for Transformation, Health, Responsibility, Independence, Vocation and Educationis more than just a college program. Its a fully immersive experience for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including those with autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, designed to help them live more independently and enter the workforce. Following years of feedback, planning and persistence, UCM has received approval from the U.S. Department of Education to officially expand THRIVE into a four-year comprehensive transition and postsecondary (CTP) program. The new designation not only strengthens the academic and life-skills journey of students in the program but also unlocks additional financial aid options that had previously been out of reach. This is big, said Tony Lubbers, director of the Office of Student Financial Services at UCM. The four-year CTP approval means eligible students can now access Pell Grants, even if theyre not degree-seeking. Thats a major support for families whove carried a heavy financial burden to give their students this opportunity. The expansion didnt happen overnight. It began years ago, with a conversation. We asked parents what more we could do, said Michael Brunkhorst, director of the THRIVE program. Many told us that after two years in THRIVEliving in residence halls with mentors and staffthe jump to life back home was a hard one. Some parents said they wished their students had a more realistic living arrangement, like an apartment, to ease that transition. That feedback sparked the idea of a third and fourth year, with programming tailored to build on students earlier experiences while moving them toward greater independence. Apartment-style living, internships and more career-specific coursework became central to the vision. But the vision needed validationand funding. Working with colleagues across campus and with the guidance of emeriti faculty member Joyce Downing, Ph.D., Brunkhorst and Lubbers built the framework and submitted it to the Department of Education. In March, they received approval, retroactive to the beginning of the spring 2025 semester. The expansion of the UCM THRIVE program to be approved as a comprehensive transition and postsecondary program for Title IV financial aid is an important achievement that provides educational access to many students and families and aligns with our university strategic plan goal number one to provide a welcoming campus environment for students of all backgrounds and provide opportunities, support and resources for them to be successful, said Tim Crowley, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. He added, These students now have the opportunity to learn and integrate into the broader UCM community through participation in academic, social, residential and community activities across a four-year collegiate experience. This expansion of the THRIVE program access is a point of pride for our institution and reflects the hard work of our dedicated faculty and staff. During the initial two years, students live on campus, improve their academic and social skills, gain computer literacy and participate in internships. Alongside core THRIVE classes focused on life and job skills, students also take traditional university courses, such as University Foundations or Learning Strategies, plus electives in areas that match their interests. Many earn the programs Certificate of Success and build a personal portfolio. Some even transition into UCMs general student population as degree-seeking students. One of our students recently applied to become a typical student, Brunkhorst said. His family didnt think college was even in the cards for him, and now hes on a path to a degree. Thats the kind of transformation we love to see. Since its inception, THRIVE has served 176 students. Its impact reaches far beyond UCMs Warrensburg campus. Weve had students from Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, even Doha, Qatar, Brunkhorst noted. That early demand meant we were often turning students away. Now, not only are there more programs across Missouri, but with our expansion, we can support more students here at UCM than ever before. The THRIVE team doesnt measure success by degrees alone. For many students, the confidence gained through THRIVE is the real milestone. We had a student email me a while back, just thrilled that she could pay her own bills. Shes working in fashion retail, has benefits and lives in her own apartment, Brunkhorst said. Another bought a new car. Its those day-to-day markers of independence that show us the program works. THRIVE students also engage deeply with campus life. They play on rec league softball teams, take healthy living classes alongside Early/Elementary, Middle and Physical Education majors, and build relationships with UCM students training to become speech pathologists, special education teachers and counselors. This isnt a program on the sidelines, said Lubbers. Its embedded in UCM life. With the CTP expansion complete, Brunkhorsts eyes are already on the next milestone: accreditation through Think College, the national accrediting body for transition programs. Were already certified as a two- and four-year CTP, but accreditation would be another layer of assurance for families that were delivering the best possible experience for their students, he said. Above all, both Lubbers and Brunkhorst emphasize that THRIVE is about choicegiving students and their families options that didnt exist a generation ago. When we started, we got over 50 applications for 12 spots, Brunkhorst said. Now, with other Missouri programs also emerging, families have real choices. But if theyre looking for a smaller university experience with strong support and integration, we think UCM is the best option out there. For more information about THRIVE, including admissions and program details, visit ucmo.edu/thrive or follow UCM THRIVE on Facebook. Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian-born Columbia University student and legal U.S. permanent resident since 2015, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 14, 2025, during a routine naturalization interview in Colchester, Vermont. His attorney, Cyrus Mehta, claims the detention was retaliation for Mahdawi's role as co-founder of the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia, alongside Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident recently detained by ICE. The arrests have raised alarms about targeted crackdowns on student activists. Mahdawi, who has lived in the U.S. for a decade and is set to graduate next month, had met all requirements for citizenship, making his detention highly unusual, legal experts say. "He was clearly eligible for naturalization," Mehta told reporters, noting that Mahdawi had applied for citizenship last year and was expecting a straightforward interview. Instead, he was taken into custody without any criminal charges, prompting swift legal action. A federal judge in Vermont issued a temporary halt to Mahdawi's removal from the U.S. or transfer to another state, giving his legal team time to challenge the detention. The case has drawn national attention, with advocates arguing it reflects a broader crackdown on foreign-born students involved in political activism. "This sends a chilling message to students exercising their free speech," said Ramzi Kassem, another attorney representing Mahdawi, in a statement to the press. The incident follows a similar case involving another Columbia student, Mahmoud Khalil, who faced deportation proceedings amid allegations of national security risks tied to his activism. Both cases have fueled debates about the balance between immigration enforcement and First Amendment rights, particularly on university campuses where protests over the Israel-Gaza conflict have been prominent. Columbia University has not publicly commented on Mahdawi's detention, but student organizations have rallied in his support, planning demonstrations to demand his release. Social media posts from peers describe Mahdawi as a dedicated student leader who grew up in a West Bank refugee camp before building a life in the U.S. "Mohsen's only crime is speaking out for justice," one classmate posted on X. As the legal battle unfolds, Mahdawi's case is likely to intensify discussions about the vulnerabilities of international and immigrant students in the U.S., especially those engaged in politically charged causes. For now, his futureand his dream of becoming a U.S. citizenremains uncertain. On April 14, 2025, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business announced a $100 million gift from private equity investor and alumnus Konstantin Sokolov, aimed at bolstering its executive MBA program. The donation, one of the largest in the school's history, comes at a critical juncture as elite U.S. universities grapple with the risk of losing billions in federal grants due to recent policy shifts under the Trump administration. Sokolov, a Russian-born entrepreneur who credits his Booth education for launching his career, finalized the gift after discussions with Dean Madhav Rajan, which began over dinner in Hong Kong last October. The funds will support scholarships, faculty research, and program enhancements, with the executive MBA program set to be renamed in Sokolov's honor. "This gift is about giving back to the place that shaped me," Sokolov said in a university statement. The donation follows a pattern of significant giving to Booth, including a $300 million gift from David Booth in 2008, which led to the school's renaming, and a $100 million contribution from Ross Stevens in 2023 for its Ph.D. program. These gifts underscore Booth's appeal to donors, even as the broader higher education sector faces uncertainty. The timing is notable, as the Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of universities, freezing $2 billion in federal funds to Harvard and threatening similar actions elsewhere, citing concerns over campus activism and ideological priorities. While Chicago Booth has not been directly targeted, the gift provides a financial cushion. "This support strengthens our ability to innovate and lead," Rajan said, hinting at the need for resilience in a volatile funding landscape. On X, reactions ranged from praise for Sokolov's generosity"A game-changer for Booth!"to debates about reliance on private donors amid public funding cuts. The gift also sparked discussions about the growing influence of alumni wealth in shaping university priorities. As elite institutions navigate these challenges, Sokolov's donation positions Booth to maintain its global standing, potentially shielding it from the financial pressures facing peers. For now, the school celebrates a milestone that reinforces its legacy and future ambitions. On April 14, 2025, Washington University in St. Louis announced a pause on significant capital projects at its Danforth Campus due to looming uncertainties surrounding federal funding. The decision affects high-profile initiatives, such as a 110,000-square-foot Arts & Sciences building, set to break ground this spring, and planned improvements to Mudd Field, which began earlier this year. Chancellor Andrew D. Martin described the move as a prudent response to a shifting financial landscape, particularly with the Trump administration's push to slash federal research grants. "We regret these actions, but it's simply not wise to proceed as planned given the current climate," Martin said in a statement. He pointed to potential reductions in funding from agencies like the National Institutes of Health, where WashU's medical school ranks second nationally, as a key concern. The university also faces pressures from a proposed increase in the federal endowment tax, prompting a 5.4% tuition hike to $68,240 for the next academic year. The Arts & Sciences building, designed by Weiss/Manfredi to achieve LEED Platinum certification, was poised to house key departments and foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Its delay, alongside Mudd Field's stalled upgrades, reflects a broader reevaluation of WashU's $4 billion endowment spending. Martin noted that the university is also scaling back graduate admissions in some programs and reviewing high-level staffing to brace for fiscal constraints. Faculty and students expressed mixed reactions. Sociology professor Jake Rosenfeld called the pause "disappointing but understandable," citing the building's potential to elevate research. On X, some students voiced frustration"WashU's sitting on billions, why cut now?"while others supported the caution: "Smart to wait out the chaos in D.C." The decision follows similar belt-tightening at other universities, like Harvard, which recently lost $2 billion in federal funds. WashU hopes to resume the projects once the federal funding outlook stabilizes, but no timeline was provided. For now, the pause underscores the ripple effects of national policy debates on higher education, leaving Danforth Campus plans on hold as the university navigates an uncertain future. On April 13, 2025, a University of Houston (UH) assistant professor, identified only as Jeon in reports, informed students via Canvas that he could no longer teach their upper-level math course due to the "unexpected termination" of his visa. The announcement, first reported by The Daily Cougar, has sent shockwaves through the UH community, with Jeon stating he is preparing to leave for South Korea. The university confirmed on April 15 that the professor's visa was revoked "based on his recent status as a doctoral student at another institution," and a new instructor has been assigned to the affected class. Jeon's case is not isolated. UH disclosed last week that a "small number" of its international students have also had their visas revoked, part of a larger trend impacting at least 115 students and recent graduates across Texas since late March, according to data compiled by Inside Higher Ed and Texas Newsroom partners. Nationwide, over 600 individuals have faced similar visa terminations, often with little explanation. Jeon did not specify the reason for his revocation but noted in his message to students that "many international scholars" are experiencing the same fate. The revocations come amid heightened immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, which has targeted universities perceived as hubs of activism. A Houston-based attorney reported that three international students, including one from UH, had visas revoked following arrests, though no such connection was confirmed in Jeon's case. The lack of transparency has frustrated advocates, with immigration lawyer Maria Barbosa calling the process "arbitrary and devastating" for academic communities. UH has not reported additional faculty impacted but is monitoring the situation. The university's statement emphasized support for affected students, but faculty like Jeon face immediate disruption. On X, sentiment reflects alarm, with posts lamenting, "Losing talent like this hurts our schools," while others question the policy's intent: "Why target professors and students?" The Cougar's report sparked further discussion, amplifying concerns about academic freedom. The broader crackdown has hit Texas hard, with at least 24 UH students affected, per The Cougar's estimates. As Jeon prepares to depart, his case highlights the personal toll of these policies, leaving students without a professor and raising questions about the future of international scholars in U.S. higher education. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. An extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of "Aqrarkredit" Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) was held on April 15, 2025, Trend reports, citing the Azerbaijani Ministry of Finance. According to the ministry's statement, the meeting, chaired by Minister of Finance Sahil Babayev, focused on the formation of a new board of directors due to the expiration of the terms of the current members. Under the regulations of "Aqrarkredit" CJSC, members of the board are selected for a term not exceeding four years by the shareholders' general meeting. Babayev expressed gratitude to the board members, including the chairman, Mammad Musayev, for their work, highlighting that "Aqrarkredit" CJSC has been a stable and profitable financial institution providing banking services to the country's agricultural sector. He also noted the institution's effective performance in managing and optimizing the problematic assets of the "International Bank of Azerbaijan" CJSC and in recovering overdue loan debts. The shareholders' meeting confirmed the new board members of CJSC. Based on the meetings decision, Ilham Kalashov, Rajab Huseynov, and Jahid Guluzade were elected as new board members. Kalashov was appointed the first deputy chairman and the acting chairman, while Huseynov was named deputy chairman. Minister Babayev congratulated the new members of the board and expressed his confidence that "Aqrarkredit" CJSC would continue to contribute significantly to socio-economic development in the regions, providing loans to businesses in rural areas and improving the quality of financial services to the population. He emphasized that the institutions efforts would align with the purposeful policies of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to improve the welfare of the people and strengthen the country's economy. "Aqrarkredit" CJSC was established by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan with an order dated April 14, 2001, and is the legal successor to the Azerbaijani Agricultural Industry Bank. In line with Presidential Decree No. 144, dated August 7, 2009, "On the Procedure for State Participation in the Management of Banks and Non-Bank Credit Organizations with State-Owned Shares in Their Authorized Capital," the Ministry of Finance serves as the sole shareholder of "Aqrarkredit" CJSC. The state holds 100 percent of the shares in "Aqrarkredit" CJSC. The company operates through its head office and 12 regional branches. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel 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. The Peruvian flag flew at half-staff Monday as the South American country marked the passing of literary great Mario Vargas Llosa with a day of national mourning. Tributes poured in from around the world as President Dina Boluarte attended a private wake at the Vargas Llosa family home for the novelist and Nobel laureate who died there Sunday aged 89. The remains of the author of such acclaimed works as "Conversacion en la catedral" ("Conversation in the Cathedral," 1969) and "La guerra del fin del mundo" ("The War of the End of the World," 1981), will be cremated in a private ceremony. Wreaths of white flowers decorated the outside of the family home in Lima's Barranco neighborhood, where admirers gathered clutching Vargas Llosa books. Some were in tears. "His passing will mark a before and after in the history of world literature," one of them, 30-year-old artist David Marreros, told AFP. Added philosopher Gustavo Ruiz, 55: "I am shedding tears because he was a very important reference for me. He used to say that 'literature saved my life' and I always use this phrase." The Nobel Prize committee, meanwhile, hailed Vargas Llosa as "a significant figure in Latin American literature and culture." Reflecting on his deep love of storytelling and use of rich language, it recalled that he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat." - 'Loved and admired' - Boluarte, dressed in a black suit, was received for the wake by Vargas Llosa's son Alvaro, who briefly addressed journalists at the entrance to the family home. "My siblings Gonzalo and Morgana and I would like to express our infinite gratitude for the displays of affection that we are receiving from all over Peru, from friends, acquaintances and anonymous people who loved and admired my father," he said. He also expressed thanks for condolences that have been pouring in from around the world. The family has not specified the author's cause of death, but his health had been deteriorating in recent months. The Peruvian flag was flown at half-staff at municipalities, military and police barracks and public institutions in compliance with a day of national mourning decreed by the government. In Lima, bookstores displayed Vargas Llosa's works prominently in their windows, and offered discounts. And at the Leoncio Prado Military School, where Vargas Llosa studied and where one of his novels is set, the cadets paid tribute by forming human lines spelling out the writer's initials. After the private vigil at his home, Vargas Llosa's remains were transferred to a military crematorium in Lima in a dark wooden coffin on a hearse followed by a procession of cars. - 'Master of the word' - Born into a middle-class Peruvian family, Vargas Llosa was one of the greats of the Latin American literary boom of the 1960s and 1970s, along with Colombia's Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Argentina's Julio Cortazar. Rumors of the writer's deteriorating health had spread in recent months, during which he had been living out of the public eye. He celebrated his 89th birthday on March 28. The writer's "intellectual genius and enormous body of work will remain an enduring legacy for future generations," Boluarte posted on X. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum paid tribute to Vargas Llosa as a "great writer," while Chile's Gabriel Boric praised his ability to chronicle Latin America "with a pen of real tears in delicate and thought-provoking fiction." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sent a message on X in which he thanked the "universal master of the word" for books he said were "key to understanding our times." Vargas Llosa's works were translated into some 30 languages. A Francophile, he lived in Paris for several years, but also in Madrid and Barcelona. His family said there would be no public memorial, in accordance with instructions left by Vargas Llosa himself. ljc/nn/mlr/dw ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, April 15. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov met with Japan's Emperor Naruhito and discussed interest in attracting advanced Japanese technologies to modernize key sectors of the national economy, Trend reports. The meeting identified the priority areas of cooperation, including the power industry, oil and gas, and chemical industry, construction, transportation, and agriculture. The Turkmen leader noted that these sectors are actively introducing innovative solutions and are open to expanding international partnerships. Special attention was given to opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy, information technologies, environmental protection, and sustainable development. On the same day, President Berdimuhamedov also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japans exports to Turkmenistan in January 2025 totaled 360.78 million yen ($2.4 million), reflecting a notable decline from previous months. For comparison, exports in December 2024 amounted to 437.64 million yen ($3.3 million), while November exports were recorded at 708.18 million yen ($5.3 million). The highest export volume in 2024 was recorded in May, reaching 770.25 million yen ($5.8 million). Frederick Leon Newell exits the Hennepin County Government Center after a court appearance on Jan. 22, 2025. He is the first person to be convicted of criminal wage theft in Minnesota. (Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer) A Hennepin County District Court judge handed down Minnesotas first wage theft conviction on Wednesday against a painting contractor, Frederick Leon Newell, for stealing more than $35,000 in wages from five workers at an affordable housing development in north Minneapolis. Prosecutors and union leaders heralded the conviction as a major step forward in the states yearslong effort to crack down on wage theft, which is more common than robbery, according to some estimates despite being rarely prosecuted. This prosecution and conviction should send a message to all workers: Your wage complaints will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated and prosecuted, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference on Thursday. In 2019, Minnesota legislators passed one of the most stringent wage theft laws in the country, making it a felony to steal more than $1,000, like other forms of theft. Yet few have been charged in the past six years, in large part because of a lack of knowhow and resources by local law enforcement to investigate white collar crimes. Newell will likely be put on probation for three to five years but could face a year in the county workhouse for the felony convictions of wage theft and theft by swindle when hes sentenced in June, Moriarty said. An attorney for Newell did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The convictions stem from painting and cleaning work Integrated Painting Solutions was hired to do in 2020 on the Redwell, an affordable apartment complex in north Minneapolis. Newells company received more than $320,000 for the work on the development, which required that he pay a prevailing minimum wage of $36 per hour for painters and $36.41 per hour for general laborers plus benefits because it received public funding through tax increment financing. Newell paid his workers far less than required from $15 to $25 per hour and submitted falsified payroll records to cover up the underpayments. All told, Newell stole more than $43,000 in wages from five workers, with one employee underpaid by nearly $14,000 over just three months in 2020, according to the criminal conviction. The case came to light after the workers filed complaints with the city of Minneapoliss Civil Rights Division, with the help of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades union. The city investigated their claims and in June 2021 issued a violation letter to Integrated Painting Solutions that employees were owed restitution for unpaid wages. Newell signed a settlement agreement with the city to pay $43,166 in restitution but never did. Greiner Construction, the general contractor for the Redwell, voluntarily made Newells workers whole beyond what they had already paid to Newells company. In 2022, the previous Hennepin County attorney, Mike Freeman, filed charges against Newell after receiving a referral from the city of Minneapolis. Hennepin County District Court Judge Michael Burns presided over a bench trial in the case in January. Prosecutors called 12 witnesses and submitted 60 exhibits while Newell didnt call any witnesses or submit any evidence. His attorney argued that prosecutors hadnt met the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Burns determined there was sufficient evidence to convict Newell of the two felonies and also ruled that there are factors justifying a longer sentence than the stayed 21 month prison term recommended under the states sentencing guidelines. Newell may still operate a painting contracting business though he is effectively barred from publicly funded projects in Minneapolis and may face similar restrictions at the state level, according to the Hennepin County Attorneys Office. On Thursday, Jordan Fry, a business agent with the painters union, encouraged workers to report labor law violations so that low-road contractors are held accountable. You must come forward to tell your story, Fry said. We are here we will stand with you. While prosecutors and labor leaders celebrated the convictions, they also acknowledged that the slow pace of justice is a significant impediment to deterrence. The convictions come five years after the crime occurred, illustrating the low priority wage theft cases have in finding time on court schedules packed with murders, assaults, burglaries and rapes. We are trying to figure out how to make these cases go a little faster, Moriarty said, which includes encouraging the court to set aside a judge to handle wage theft cases. Its hard to hold people accountable when they know theyre not actually going to see a judge, she said. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is currently prosecuting another felony wage theft case against a central Minnesota dairy farmer, accused of stealing millions in wages from hundreds of workers in a civil case that settled for $250,000 last year. Donald Trump has been in office for more than three months. He has issued a staggering number of executive orders of all kinds, giving the impression of a confused personality. However, despite the short time he had, his first results are beginning to appear. Decolonizing the "American Empire" He initially sought to decolonize the "American Empire." However, since his 2017 attempt was a resounding failure, he changed his approach. During his first term, on the eighth day of his term, he had, by executive order, removed the permanent seats of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the CIA from the National Security Council. [1] This ensued a revolt in the senior administration that led him, sixteen days later, to dismiss his National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn. This affair has left its mark, as the senior National Security Administration intervened during the last election campaign to falsely assert that Hunter Bidens computer did not exist and that those who claimed to have seen it were agents of Russian disinformation. [2] Donald Trump therefore stripped them of their top-secret clearances in the first days of his second term [3]. This time, Donald Trump took the bull by the horns: he forced early retirement of all the officials who had fought against him during his first administration and dissolved the Federal Executive Institute that trained them [4]. Once this level of personalities was purged, he also revoked the security clearances of 15 politicians (including former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) to ensure they would not stand in his way again [5]. "Never two without three," as they say: he also dismissed six more officials from his National Security Council [6] on April 2, because they continued to work with their Straussian friends [7]. Once these people were incapacitated, President Donald Trump began peace negotiations on Ukraine, Palestine, and Iran. Everyone reacted when he put the unelected Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in his place, but he also put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his place twice [8]. The first time, he responded to his plan to annex Gaza by announcing that he would rather build a new Riviera than see him occupy the territory; the second time, he told him that he could do nothing to divide Syria and that he could not attack Iran either. Certainly, for the moment, none of these three hotspots is at peace, but things are moving quickly: In Ukraine, he has admitted that Crimea, Donbass, and part of Novorossia are indeed Russian. Moreover, it is clear that a presidential election will have to be held. The "integral nationalists" [9] already know they have lost. Regarding the territories to be divided, the only two Ukrainian demands are, on the one hand, the recovery of the Zaporozhye civilian nuclear power plant (which Russia is firmly opposed to [10]) and whether or not Moscow will be allowed to annex Odessa without having to conquer it. In Palestine, he has made almost everyone admit that Hamas could not return to power in Gaza, but he has failed to find an alternative to the "revisionist Zionists" (i.e., the disciples of the fascist Vladymyr Jabotinky [11]) in Israel. Donald Trump has failed to stop the massacre of Palestinians, who are still starving in Gaza, nor to end the sectarian massacres in Syria, which is still dominated by jihadists, but he has forced Israel to abandon its ambitions in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria. In Iran, he is just getting started and has not yet made the Islamic Republic admit that it cannot safely arm the regions Shiite minorities, but he has not yet offered to guarantee their security by any other means. The situation here is more difficult because he has threatened Iran, as he did with Ukraine and the Palestinians, prompting an immediate hardening of Tehrans stance [12]. In all three cases, President Trump used his military without engaging in combat: he briefly suspended the intelligence the Pentagon was providing to the Ukrainian armed forces [13], causing a military collapse; he also briefly suspended arms deliveries to Israel, although this point was not publicized, but it caused great concern within the Israeli general staff. Conversely, he is building up forces in Diego Garcia to threaten Iran [14]. His only military action was to attack Ansar Allah in Yemen; a deadly and tactically useless action, given that the Yemenis were prepared for it, but useful for getting his message across to Iran. Purging the Federal Bureaucracy In parallel with his reorganization of US foreign relations, President Donald Trump has begun to "trim the mammoth," that is, to prune the useless branches of the US federal government. This is the other major project of the "Jacksonians," that is, the disciples of President Andrew Jackson [15]. To achieve this, he relies on the oligarch Elon Musk. However, the richest man in the world is not a Jacksonian, but a libertarian. His concern is not to destroy the unconstitutional attributes of the federal state for the benefit of the federated states, but to diminish its influence. In this case, these two distinct objectives are served by the same actions, at least so far. In twelve weeks, Elon Musk has managed to register the resignations or dismiss 230,000 federal employees. While we certainly experience this approach as savagery, the fact remains that he is not questioning their competence, but their usefulness, which is quite different. Most of them were ensuring the enforcement of rules that should not have existed. This doesnt mean theyre bad, but they simply dont fall within the federal governments purview and should therefore not be implemented with taxpayer money. This downsizing has accidentally brought to light numerous cases of corruption, such as a $900,000 grant awarded by the Small and Medium Enterprises Agency to a nine-month-old baby. However, the real issue isnt there yet. $6 billion in Pentagon grants have just been canceled, including grants to universities, with no connection whatsoever to US homeland defense. Once DOGE has access to the nations accounts, itll be able to see the purpose of every transfer made by the federal government, such as the salaries paid to numerous foreign leaders. Its therefore understandable why the ongoing legal battle is underway to keep all this secret. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) predicts $150 billion in savings over one year from these cuts to bureaucracy and the fight against fraud, a gain of $931.68 per taxpayer. This is small compared to what was projected, but absolutely considerable. No comparison should be made between the United States and other states, only with the European Union, whose federal bureaucracy is equally opaque, as demonstrated by the current scandal involving secret grants to NGOs [16]. (To be continued) TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, April 15 Starting May 1, 2025, Qazaq Air will launch a new route from Astana to Samarkand, featuring a convenient transit stop in Turkistan, Trend reports, citing Qazaq Air. The new route is expected to enhance regional connectivity, strengthen economic ties, and support the development of tourism between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Qazaq Air, a Kazakh airline, operates a fleet of modern Canadian-made De Havilland Dash 8-Q400 aircraft, offering passengers a safe, reliable, and comfortable travel experience. On April 15, 2025, Italian President Sergio Mattarella was admitted to Rome's Santo Spirito Hospital for the implantation of a pacemaker. The procedure was deemed necessary following medical evaluations. The President is reported to be in stable condition and is expected to resume his duties shortly. The Santo Spirito Hospital, one of Europe's oldest medical institutions, has previously hosted President Mattarella during official events, underscoring his longstanding connection to the facility. Italy's President Mattarella marks record 10 years in office Further updates on President Mattarella's health and recovery will be provided as more information becomes available. Traveling to Rome offers an unforgettable blend of ancient history, vibrant culture, and stylish flair, especially for women. Preparing thoughtfully can elevate your experience, from packing the right wardrobe to understanding local customs. In this article, we will highlight the essential tips every woman should know to stay comfortable, confident, and ready for adventure while discovering Rome. Dress Smart for Style, Comfort, and Respect In Rome, dressing smartly means striking the perfect balance between style, comfort, and cultural respect. Opt for modest yet fashionable outfits like midi dresses, tailored pants, and breathable blouses. These pieces keep you cool while blending with the citys chic vibe. As per Rome Travel Tips, clothing style must be according to the current season in Rome. The weather is hot in summer, so the clothing must be light and breathable. Autumn is pleasant in the city, so clothing can be multilayered. Winters are chilly, so dressing cozy, which provides warmth, is important. Avoid overly revealing clothing, beachwear, or loud touristy prints when visiting churches or dining out. Comfortable walking shoes, such as stylish sneakers or low-heeled sandals, are a must for cobblestone streets. Understand Romes Transportation System Romes transportation system combines the charm of an ancient city with modern-day convenience. While buses, trams, and metro lines are common and affordable, they can be a bit unpredictable due to delays or strikes. According to Rome.info, the metro is not just the fastest option but also the most cost-effective way to roam around. The metro network of Rome is the smallest one in Europe, but around 1 million people travel on it daily. Buses are also widespread but often crowded. There are 338 bus lines and more than 8000 stops in Rome. Walking remains one of the best ways to explore the citys historic center. Rome also offers unique experiences like electric scooters and Vespa rentals, adding flair to your travels. How can I avoid taxi scams or overpriced rides in the city? Use licensed white taxis with a visible meter and official badge. Discuss the fare before seating for a non-metered trip. You can also use trusted ride apps like Free Now or Uber to ensure fair pricing. Be Prepared for Sudden Changes in Health Needs Carry a basic health kit with essentials such as motion sickness tablets, pain relievers, band-aids, and any necessary prescription medications. It's also wise to bring a copy of your prescriptions and learn their Italian equivalents to avoid delays in case of a medical emergency. Women using long-acting contraceptives like Depo-Provera should exercise extra caution while traveling. Potential side effects, including bone density loss, irregular bleeding, and mood changes, can interfere with your trip. According to TruLaw, women who have experienced severe health complications from prolonged use of Depo-Provera may be eligible to file a lawsuit. Dont ignore Depo Proveras side effects, especially while traveling. Severe symptoms can disrupt plans and signal complications. You must know your legal rights and the Depo-Provera lawsuit sign up procedure if adverse reactions become overwhelming or harmful. How can I handle unexpected side effects from medication while overseas? Visit a local pharmacy for advice or seek medical help immediately. Carry a list of your medications and allergies in Italian to communicate clearly, and consider travel insurance for urgent medical consultations. It's also helpful to research English-speaking medical facilities in Rome beforehand and keep emergency numbers handy. Know What to Expect When Dining Out Expect leisurely meals, attentive service, and a focus on fresh, local ingredients. Roman specialties you shouldnt miss include Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, Saltimbocca alla Romana, and Suppli, crispy rice balls with gooey mozzarella. Water and bread may come with a small charge. Meals often start late, and tipping is modest but appreciated. Some of the popular restaurants suggested by Rome Wise are Trattoria Monti, Roberto e Loretta, Cesare al Pellegrino, Grappolo D'Oro, etc. These are some of the vibrant eateries with friendly staff and owners. These restaurants offer delectable selections of Roman and Marchigiana cuisine, as well as numerous wine options. Knowing Roman customs helps you enjoy authentic Roman cuisine while respecting the local dining culture and making the most of every moment. What are some local dining customs that first-time visitors often overlook? Italians typically dine later, with dinner starting around 8 PM. It's also customary to order multiple courses and not rush through meals. Bread may be served without butter, and asking for separate checks is uncommon in traditional restaurants. Respect Local Culture and Social Etiquette You must show appreciation and respect for local culture and social etiquette to enhance your travel experience. Start by dressing modestly, especially in churches, and cover your shoulders and knees. Greet people with polite phrases like Buongiorno (good morning) and Grazie (thank you). Avoid being loud in public places and never eat near historical monuments, as its considered disrespectful. Learn a few basic Italian phrases; locals appreciate the effort, even if its not perfect. If you dont follow these norms, you may encounter cold stares, unhelpful service, or even verbal reminders about proper behavior. Italians take great pride in their culture and traditions, so being considerate helps you. When you show respect, you'll likely receive warmth, friendliness, and even extra help from locals. Plan for Off-Grid Days Without Wi-Fi While Rome offers plenty of Wi-Fi hotspots, it's wise to plan for days when connectivity is limited, especially in older neighborhoods or museums. Download offline maps, translation apps, and important reservation details beforehand. Carry a physical city map as a backup, and jot down key phrases in Italian. As per Road Genius, Rome is the fourth most popular destination among European cities. During the offline day, you can visit Pantheon, Colosseum, or Trevi Fountain. These are among the top attractions that attract millions of visitors each year. Having local addresses and directions written down can be a lifesaver when GPS fails. Embracing occasional digital disconnection allows you to fully soak in Romes charm and spontaneity, making your travel experience more memorable. Embrace Rome with Confidence and Grace Traveling to Rome as a woman can be empowering, exciting, and deeply rewarding when you're well-prepared. From navigating transportation and dressing appropriately to planning for health needs and cultural norms, these essentials help you explore confidently and respectfully. With the right mindset and thoughtful planning, youll blend in like a local. This also helps you make the most of every unforgettable Roman moment. Waterford made history earlier this year becoming the first-ever city in Ireland to achieve Autism Friendly status. Friends, allies, members and supporters of the autistic community gathered at the Granville Hotel last week for a celebration dinner to officially mark the achievement. Over one hundred people attended from various local groups, organisations and businesses, all of whom contributed to Waterford receiving the award. Mayor of Waterford City and County, Cllr Jason Murphy and Minister Mary Butler were also in attendance. Adam Harris, CEO of asiam, a National Autism charity spoke at the event, highlighting the hard work of the Autism Friendly Waterford committee over the last three years and the incredible support they got from the community. Mr. Harris said: "Waterford has paved the way for other cities to follow and it is fitting that Irelands oldest city is showing others how to do it." Tony ONeill, Secretary of Autism Friendly Waterford and MC for the night thanked all the organisations and businesses who had undergone training and implemented accommodations for autistic people. He emphasized, however, that this was only the beginning. "We are only just starting" he said, "and we couldnt have done it without you. We look forward to your ongoing support as we continue our journey to make Waterford a truly inclusive and supportive place for the Autistic community." In order to attain full Autism Friendly status, Autism Friendly Waterford delivered autism-friendly training to more than 60 businesses and organizations. The committee has also worked on various initiatives with other groups and organisations who support the autistic community including 50 Shades of Exceptional, the National Learning Centre, ASD Dungarvan and Waterford Disability Network, all of whom were represented at the celebration last week. A highlight of the evening was DJ Sean O'Neill, a young autistic adult who had everyone on the dance floor! On the day that the National Report on Cardiology Services 2023 emerged, the Minister for Health, Carroll MacNeill, in a welcome positive from a Fine Gael minister, announced that 24/7 emergency cardiology will be provided at UHW. Funding of 611k will be made available in 2025 to begin phasing in the extra staff and other resources to move to a full 24/7 cardiology service. None of what became the cardiac campaign would have fully developed from people power and relentless protest without the selflessness of senior consultants in the system, namely Paddy Owens, Mark Doyle, Aidan Buckley, Niall Colwell and Rob Landers. They raised their heads above the parapet in 2016, risking future career promotion, by publicly calling a Dublin press conference to push against the Herity Report. While acknowledging Ministers Butler and Cummins, the massive public input of Matt Shanahan during Dail Leaders Questions over the past five years was crucial. Anyway, its a good day for Waterford. An incredible disgrace has been remedied. The injury is undone, but the scar remains. Think particularly of those whose lives were lost or seriously impaired by those who actively prevented this service from being put in place. In the upper levels of Irish politics, something very weird and dark went on. For tiny money over the past decade, the department and the HSE held the line, to prevent this service coming on line. It speaks volumes, while the funding wait goes on for SETU, our airport, port, roads etc., that on the day of the 24/7 announcement, they were unloading 456 million in Cork for a motorway to Ringaskiddy, to commence immediately! There was or is something rotten in the HSE or Dept. of Health system, which opposed the regional development of tertiary acute medical services in Waterford. Is it temporarily dormant or does an embedded, malignant opposition remain? The National Cardiology Report was not favourable to UHW. It said: Recommendation 4.0 The NRCS recommends that the 24/7 emergency care of patients with STEMI-ACS continues to be concentrated in the four National Comprehensive Cardiac Centres (MMUH, SJH, GUH and CUH). It went on: Recommendation 4.1 The NRCS recommends that interventional cardiology services should be sustained and strengthened at Beaumont Hospital (BH), University Hospital Limerick (UHL), University Hospital Waterford (UHW), St. Vincents University Hospital (SVUH), and Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) and that these centres should focus primarily on scheduled care. On December 8, 2015, following the publication of the 2014 Annual Report of Cardiology Services, this column contacted the HSE national clinical lead for cardiology Prof. Kieran Daly of UCG asking why that report contained no cardiology procedures data for UHW. He replied: However, I will say that there were problems transferring from the local database in Waterford to the national database in 2014, not allowing core analysis. This is being rectified. In last weeks national report we find again in a data list of all the hospitals in Ireland (including Altnagelvin in Derry), which provide public PPCI: Table 72.0: NOCA, IHAA data on PPCI in reporting centres, 2017-2020. UHW did not return data to the audit. This farrago was shown to be manifestly untrue by UHW cardiologists in 2016. The UHW computer and the HSE computer apparently had incompatible software. The problem existed in 2014 and earlier. Was it ever fixed, or was it allowed to persist to conveniently skew findings and conceal UHWs true level of activity? Capital Plan Last week, the HSE National Capital Plan 2025 was published. This lists what the HSE hopes to build. Anyone giving the plan even a cursory glance can see that UHW as a Model 4 hospital is just not in the same capital projects league as the other hospitals of that level. The number of projects for CUH, UHL, UHG etc is enormous, while the historic failure to get vital UHW projects on the list in 2022 and 2023, other than those growing grey hair, still haunts. The one bright spot is the UHW surgical hub, which is under construction. Credit for that lies wherever your political loyalties take you. The systems view of UHW is summarised by an entry on the list of projects, To Proceed to detailed design, in the 2024 National Capital Plan: Project 11810 Two-storey extension to the existing UHW laboratory providing, specimen delivery etc. This identical project appears again on the same list in the 2025 National Capital Plan even though the extension is currently under construction. Do they even know whats going on here? Two new UHW projects appear on the 2025 Capital Plan, one is a proposed 96-bed ward block and the second is a multi-storey car park. Both are at the appraisal stage and would be a massive boost for UHW. The plan also has several other proposed developments listed for years without any visible progress. Among them are: Project 13239 Refurbish part of St Otterans incorporating an extension to house diagnostics to provide a permanent location for ICPCD & ICPOP for Waterford which is at detailed design stage and Project 11730 Replacement of the existing Adult Acute Mental Health Unit 44-bed multi-bed unit at UHW with a 50- bed single bed unit, which is at appraisal stage. Project 11455 New build St. Otteran's: Childrens Therapy facility to facilitate therapy services for children and young with complex needs (including Sacred Heart Centre). Works part funded by Touching Hearts charity is at detailed design stage and is listed for so long that its just plain disgraceful. What is in evidence is the level of capital projects completed and planned for St Lukes Hospital Kilkenny, a Model 3 hospital under the aegis of UHW tertiary services. Kilkenny has attracted far more capital spending than UHW in the past five years. All hospital investment in the South East is welcome, but we must take issue with politics that direct capital spending. UHW as the largest hospital in the South East does not and has not fully benefitted to the level its status requires. Long-term doubts about the level of push for UHW projects by the HSE Estates office for the South East, which has been based in Kilkenny since SEHB days, are again beginning to surface. The tariff regime proposed by Donald Trump has been unveiled. By the time you read this, he may have changed his mind. Who knows? Waterford people know that the tariffs will, if implemented, have an impact on us. But to what extent do chickens come home to roost? How much fat, if any, is there on our local economy? We know that in the rebound after the 2008 to 2011 financial crash Waterford city has seen a modicum of progress. After all, this is a nice place to live and work, attributes that always help, hence the fact that the local population is growing, but it is self-evidently true that Waterford did not benefit to the same extent as our onetime peer cities of Limerick and Galway. Comparisons with Dublin or Cork are risibly fanciful. A visit to our peer cities clearly shows the investment difference. We have a much leaner and narrower economy than them. Many readers have visited those cities during the past dozen years, on holidays or business. The difference is evident in industry and in education. If you havent been, then go and look at UL or UCG. Objective reality is hard to confront and perhaps when we see it we dont want to confront it? The hard truth is that Fine Gael and many who travel that road are deliberately blind to this city. Their government cancelled new WIT business and new engineering schools in 2011. That, and the subsequent Fine Gael failure to build anything at all at WIT in the intervening period, has done incalculable damage to the city, to the local economy and to our citys ability to function as a regional centre. Still, the party was rewarded with a Dail seat at the last election. Are we just politically naive? Many people were skeptical of Taoiseach Varadkar, a man of Waterford extraction, when he said in January 2024: What we dont disagree on, is that Waterford needs more investment. I can guarantee you that so long as this Government remains in office. Why? Because he also said in July 2017: Many in the city and city region feel that Waterford has fallen behind, has been neglected, even forgotten. And, it's not hard to understand why. This must change. So long as I am Taoiseach Waterford will not be neglected or forgotten. I say that not just because of my affection for the city and the county, or because of my roots here. I say it because the success of Waterford, in the decades to come, will be a litmus test for the Republic of Opportunity of which I speak, one in which every part of the country has an equal chance to share in our country's prosperity. Yet in two vital sectors, education and FDI, the litmus test result is appalling. UHW has been funded at par but still lacks the resources of other Model 4 hospitals. The paucity of support for SETU/WIT over the past 15 years, while Carlow IT was stuffed with new buildings to satisfy the Carlow/Kilkenny/Wexford agenda, is particularly egregious. I choked every time I heard Fine Gael tell us that this was done from their own resources! God help us, but the tooth fairy is alive and well. This was done to suppress Waterford and WIT ambitions for a university the same as UL or UCG. A quite deliberate and obvious policy, in the interests of Cork and Dublin educational hegemony and Fine Gael Wexford/Carlow/Kilkenny politics. In April 2024 Minister John Cummins announced that a tender had been received for a new engineering building at WIT/SETU Waterford. In December 2024 Minister Cummins announced that the government had sanctioned the development. We still await a commencement, but slow walking Waterford projects is a Fine Gael art form! Last week, David Cullinane raised the failure of government to fund the N24 and give any indication of support for Waterford Airport. He has remembered that he is a Waterford TD. During the five years of the last government he was silent, to an incredible extent, on Waterford issues. Despite 20,000 first preference votes in 2020, he was abjectly silent on WIT. But then Sinn Fein has never been a friend of that institution. Did its election material in the 2024 election even mention it? Still we rewarded the party that did not speak our name with a second Dail seat. To what end? They now point at the deficits and highlight them in the local media, but what are they going to do about them? When will Mary Lou call out the systemic failures to fund the airport, UHW and SETU Waterford in the Dail for what it is? When will she be on national TV and radio demanding equity for Waterford? Anyway, failure to fund our airport is incomprehensible. The tiniest investment would secure Waterford Airport but it is subjected to a government funding regime of abnormal severity, in order not to support it. Its always amazing that delay is our fault, the airport board, the business plan, the financial arrangements, while the contemptible delay and endless process inflicted on us by ministers and their mandarins, is rarely questioned. Our government reps seem unable to make a stand for Waterford, being tied so firmly to their parties that independent action, heaven forbid, is impossible, and now, with the Trumpian tariffs, and cries for belt-tightening and careful selection of projects being heard, who knows how we will fare? Legendary US financier Warren Buffett uses three words: And then what? when a particular course of action is proposed. They are useful in making people think out the repercussions of any particular chain of events. Government wont fund the airport? And then what? Staff will be laid off, support services will be discontinued. And then what? The helicopter rescue service will be unable to function. And then what? The rescue service will move to Cork. And then what? Weeping and gnashing of teeth from the political sheep grazing in these parts when they knock on your door looking for votes? And then what? We vote to reelect them again? What is it they say about insanity and doing the same thing? BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. A whopping 16 billion manats will be invested in the reconstruction of liberated territories of Azerbaijan in 2026-2029, Trend reports. According to the information, the share of expenditures related to the reconstruction and restoration of liberated territories in capital expenditures is 30.6 percent. As many as 17.6 billion manat ($10.3 billion) have been allocated from the state budget for the reconstruction and restoration of liberated territories in 2020-2024, including 5.3 billion manat ($3.1 billion) in 2024 and 4 billion manat ($2.3 billion) planned for this purpose in 2025. Following the results of last year, more than 10,000 former internally displaced persons in the liberated territories were provided with housing, and the relevant funds from the state budget were directed to ensure their social protection, the information says. This is no bread-and-butter diplomatic incident. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thrown his support behind Vegemite after Canadas food inspection agency demanded the famous spread be removed from a Toronto cafe. Talk about elbows up. Leighton Walters, an Australian-Canadian cafe owner, shared his shock on Instagram after receiving a letter from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordering him to destroy an $CA8000 ($9132) shipment of Vegemite, and to remove the spread from his menu because it has added B Vitamins. Walters said he was absolutely floored that the concern over added B vitamins only applied to Vegemite, and that British-made spread Marmite, which also has added B vitamins, was deemed compliant by the CFIA. Photo: The Permanent Mission of Turkmenistan to the UN Office in Geneva ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, April 15. Turkmenistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, Vepa Hajiyev, held a meeting with Umberto de Pretto, Secretary General of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and discussed prospects for cooperation in the field of transport and logistics, Trend reports. In the course of the meeting, Hajiyev emphasized the importance of strengthening collaboration between Turkmenistan and the IRU and expressed the countrys readiness to expand its partnership in these areas. Following the meeting, Hajiyev extended an official invitation to de Pretto to attend events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan's neutrality, scheduled for December. The fourteen English-speaking Fellows, currently participating in the 91st edition of the Fellowship Programme of the World Customs Organization (WCO), have now completed the second component of the Programme taking place at the WCO Headquarters. The Fellowship Programme, which this year marks its 40th anniversary, aims at enabling Customs officers from developing countries to acquire sound knowledge of internationally recognized Customs standards, techniques and practices, and to bolster their supervisory and management capacities so as to help them carry out reform and modernization processes within their respective administrations. The Programme keeps a standard structure and is organized in three components over a period of seven weeks. The first component mainly consists of online meetings, self-learning on CLiKC! and remote tutorship sessions. A round table session with the WCO Secretary General Ian Saunders marked the start of the second component and their stay in Brussels. On this occasion, the Secretary General exchanged views with the Fellows, responding to their questions, sharing his vision and priorities, and encouraging them to take the lessons of the Programme with them in their careers going forward. While at the WCO Secretariat, the Fellows were also given the opportunity to take part in a Leadership and Management Development Workshop in view of enhancing their skills and knowledge so as to contribute more effectively to the development and modernization processes of their respective administrations. They also worked on developing a modernization project under the guidance of a WCO tutor. A study trip to observe operational practices in a partner Customs administration constitutes the third and last component of the Fellowship Programme, and is currently taking place within one of the following partner administrations: China, Japan, or South Korea. Thanks to the financial support of and partnerships with the Customs Administrations of China and Japan, as well as the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Korea, the 91st Fellowship Programme has brought together participants from the Administrations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Bhutan, Cameroon, Eswatini, Guyana, Maldives, Nepal, Peru, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Zimbabwe. For more information, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, April 15. Today, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Ahmed Gurbanov, held a meeting with the newly appointed Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the "Central Asia China" format, Sun Weidong, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The main topic of the discussions was the preparation for the second summit of heads of state in this format, which is scheduled to be held in 2025 in Astana. The participants of the meeting positively assessed the existing mechanism of multilateral dialogue between the Central Asian countries and China, highlighting its constructive nature. The discussions covered key areas of regional cooperation, including trade and economic relations, the energy sector, transport and communication projects, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges. Special attention was given to the Turkmen-Chinese partnership, emphasizing its strategic and long-term nature. The participants noted that the high level of trust and friendly relations between the leaders of Turkmenistan and China contribute to the further strengthening and expansion of bilateral cooperation. It is worth noting that the first summit in the "China-Central Asia" format took place on May 18-19, 2023, in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. bp has special safety rules and procedures for adverse weather conditions for both its offshore and onshore operations, bp Azerbaijan told in response to Trends inquiry regarding the adverse weather conditions in the country. These rules and procedures are activated in advance based on the weather forecast and are strictly observed by all personnel at all our facilities. In accordance with these safety rules, open-air activities are normally restricted while operations continue as normal, said the company. Starting from the night of April 14 to 15, the weather in most parts of Azerbaijan has been rainy, with downpours of varying intensity in some areas. In Baku and on the Absheron Peninsula, the amount of precipitation recorded is 6 mm, which accounts for 26% of the monthly norm. Following prison, Utah man uses past to offer others brighter future April 15, 2025 OGDEN, Utah Tyson Steeds life has been shaped by addiction and the prison system. Now five years sober and studying social work at Weber State University, Steed hopes his experiences on the other side of the law will make him an effective advocate for fellow addicts and former prisoners as they try to change their lives for the better. I know my story alone is not going to change anybody. They have to want to do that themselves, Steed said. But I feel like if I can relate to those individuals that most people dont want to relate to, thats the key. Steed, 41, has spent most of his life in and out of state and federal prison. As a teenager, he began using drugs and spent time in the Mill Creek Youth Center, group homes, and wilderness programs for troubled youths. His first stay in federal prison came at age 20 for a charge of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and he continued to rack up charges and jail time as he got older. I just couldnt figure it out. I didnt feel welcome anywhere, Steed said. You might not see it at first when youre using, but when the drugs wear off and you realize what youve been doing Its a lot of guilt and shame that I didnt know how to communicate and deal with. Outside of prison, he had periods of recovery, attending 12-step programs and participating in a sober softball team where he built community connections. But in 2020, Steed hit his lowest point, relapsing into drug use, violating parole, and engaging in several high-speed chases with police that eventually led to a stand-off with guns drawn. At his parole hearing following his last arrest, Steed was surprised to see that many of the connections hed made during his period of sobriety had stuck around and had written several letters of support to the parole board, with one letter including a treatment plan for him after prison. That gave me hope that what Ive chosen up to this point in my life doesnt define who I am as an individual, Steed said. After serving several months in prison, Steed was released to his sponsors house, washing dishes for $10 an hour to save up for inpatient recovery treatment. He stayed at a sober living house for 18 months, eventually becoming a house manager, and was grateful to have a safe place to stay while rebuilding his life. My life today, I couldnt have imagined it five years ago, he said. Id rather worry about school work, working my butt off at my regular job, and saving money than being in prison. While he was in sober living, Steeds now wife, Ashley, was studying social work at Weber State and working at a treatment center. His sister had also recently received a masters in social work from Utah State University, inspiring him to look into getting a degree himself. Steed began studying part-time at WSU Davis in 2023 and eventually plans to earn his masters in social work at WSU. He wants to work as a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in treating people with trauma, a history of incarceration, or addicts and those in recovery. My goal is to reach the individual who spent the majority of his life in prison and doesn't have a clue what to do and everyone's given up on him, he said. I feel like I can connect with an individual like that, because I can say, I've been in your shoes, actually, I do know what it's like. At WSU, Steed has served as a guest speaker for criminal justice classes, talking about his experiences in the system. Hes grateful for the opportunity to share his story, and often speaks at county jails and the Utah State Correctional Facility, hoping to reach others like him. He and his wife also run a non-profit, the Ashley Michelle Project, focused on addiction recovery support. I want people to live, and I think it's important we work together as a community. Weber State has given me that right now, he said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Investment in transition infrastructure like the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) requires clearer EU support mechanisms, said Teodora Georgieva, Executive Officer at ICGB, during her participation at the Budapest LNG Summit, Trend reports. She emphasized Bulgarias growing role as a strategic hub in Southeast Europe through the IGB pipelines key role. Part of the Southern Gas Corridor and the Vertical Gas Corridor at the same time, the interconnector is vital for ensuring diversified gas flows to the region, including Ukraine and Moldova. With the planned expansion of the IGB pipeline to 5 bcm/y, Georgieva outlined the progress made, the challenges encountered, and the long-term strategic importance of the interconnector for Europes energy resilience. "To accelerate the energy transition in a truly sustainable way, we must balance ambition with realism. Investment in transition infrastructure like IGB is essential but it requires clearer EU support mechanisms that reflect todays commercial realities," she noted. "Amid lower Russian natural gas deliveries and increasing strategic urgency, Europes LNG imports are projected to surge by 25% in 2025 - adding nearly 30 billion cubic meters", Georgieva added, discussing the need for Europe to cover strong storage injection needs and diversify supply. In addition to the panel discussions, ICGB held engaging discussions and productive meetings with representatives of all key regional TSOs, resulting in a set of concrete action points for joint next steps. 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 Ellen O'Donoghue A man (20s) was arrested after 446,000 of cannabis was seized by Revenue at Dublin Airport on Tuesday. Revenue Customs Officers seized 22.3kg of cannabis, and the man was arrested by gardai. He was detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996, at a garda station in North Dublin. He has since been charged and was expected to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice this afternoon, April 15th, 2025 at 4pm. Investigations are ongoing, gardai said. Opening in Spring 2026, The Grace, Westport Estate, will be a new hotel at the heart of one of the most significant tourism developments along the Wild Atlantic Way. It is designed to reflect the natural beauty and cultural story of Westport Estate, offering guests a welcoming place to rest, explore, and reconnect. The Grace is inspired by two iconic women connected to Mayo, Grace OMalley, the 16th-century Pirate Queen, and Hollywood icon Grace Kelly, and draws on their shared spirit of bold elegance and independence. Set just moments from the 300-year-old Westport House within Westport Estates 430-acre grounds, the hotel will offer an atmosphere of slow luxury, a place to unwind in style and enjoy moments of stillness and renewal. Dining at The Grace, Westport Estate, will spotlight seasonal produce and local flavours, crafted in partnership with regional producers who know the land best. Meanwhile, The Grace Spa & Wellness will offer tailored treatments in a calming setting, encouraging guests to pause, reset, and experience the restorative power of place. For those celebrating lifes special moments, weddings at The Grace will be intimate and thoughtful, drawing on the estates historic charm and natural beauty. Whether exchanging vows beneath ancient trees or gathering for an elegant evening reception, guests will experience moments that feel both special and uniquely their own. The Grace, Westport Estate, will play a central role in the estates 430-acre transformation, which is evolving through a careful process of regeneration, led by its in-house ecologist and skilled local stonemasons working to restore natural habitats and preserve historic features. New attractions are also in development at the estate, including a Grace OMalley experience with interactive tours and digital storytelling, and a uniquely Irish landscape journey designed by renowned lead landscape designer Mary Reynolds. At the heart of the estates vision is to invite every guest to Awaken Your Wild, whether by pausing in nature, seeking adventure, or connecting with the lands deeper story. Located on The Wild Atlantic Way, close to Croagh Patrick, Clew Bay, and on the doorstep of the culturally vibrant Westport Town, the hotel will offer guests an ideal base to explore both the storied grounds of the estate and richness of the West of Ireland. Whether spending the day discovering the West, exploring the estate, or simply unwinding within the hotel, guests can return to a place designed to feel both refined and restorative. Ciaran Reidy, General Manager of The Grace, Westport Estate, commented: When we open in Spring 2026, our focus will be on creating an authentic Irish experience, blending luxury at ease with a genuine sense of place. Everything from the design to the hospitality reflects the estates unique character and the spirit of the West. Barry OConnor, CEO of Westport Estate, added: The Grace plays a central role in how were reimagining Westport Estate. This is a special part of the world, and our goal is to create a space where guests feel the richness of Mayos culture, landscape, and people. Cathal J Hughes, Director of Westport Estate, said: As the hotel becomes a reality, we're mindful of the role it plays not just in welcoming visitors, but in supporting the community here in Mayo. This project will bring meaningful employment opportunities and contribute to the local economy in a sustainable way. Its a chance to grow something lasting and positive for the region, with a deep respect for its history and people. The Grace is designed by Mayo-based Taylor McCarney, with interiors by GW Design. The hotel will create up to 170 jobs, with further opportunities emerging as Westport Estate continues to evolve. The Grace, Westport Estate, will offer a gentle space to pause and take in the beauty of the West. Whether drawn by the landscape, the stories, or simply the sense of stillness, guests will find space to reconnect in their own way and inspired to return again and again. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Mostly sunny and pleasant with refreshingly low humidity! Great weather to celebrate the 4th of July!. Tonight Mostly clear skies and very comfortable overnight. Reading, PA (19601) Today Mostly sunny and pleasant with refreshingly low humidity! Great weather to celebrate the 4th of July!. Tonight Mostly clear skies and very comfortable overnight. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, April 15. Kyrgyzstans next presidential election is scheduled to take place on January 24, 2027, following the approval of amendments to the constitutional law governing presidential and parliamentary elections, Trend reports. The decision was made during a session of the parliamentary committee on constitutional legislation, state structure, legal affairs, and regulations. The draft law, initiated by President Sadyr Zhaparov, aims to align the electoral law with the current Constitution by clarifying the timing of regular presidential elections. According to the amendments, future presidential elections will be held on the fourth Sunday of January in the year the incumbents term expires. The parliament is required to officially schedule the election no later than four months before the voting day. President Sadyr Zhaparov was elected on January 28, 2021, for a six-year term under the previous version of the Constitution. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, April 15. The Ministry of Transport and Communications of Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement with the Japanese company Takenaka Civil Engineering as part of the "Improvement of International Trunk Roads" project, Trend reports. Under the agreement, a 750-meter-long tunnel will be constructed at the 400th kilometer of the BishkekOsh highway. The construction work is scheduled to begin in June 2025. The project aims to enhance the safety and efficiency of one of the countrys key transport routes connecting the north and south. Both parties have articulated their dedication to facilitating optimal execution and punctual realization of the initiative. The agreement reflects ongoing cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Japan in the field of infrastructure development, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA is an independent agency founded in 1974 that supports the economic and social development of developing countries on behalf of the Japanese government. In Kyrgyzstan, the emphasis is on fostering sustainable, equitable economic development to catalyze the entrenchment of democratic governance. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, April 15. During a working visit to Jinan, Shandong Province, President of the Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce and Industry Temir Sariyev signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Trend reports via the chamber. As the accord seeks to enhance synergistic collaboration in the domain of electric vehicle production and cutting-edge technological advancements, the parties discussed partnership opportunities and expressed mutual interest in technology exchange and future joint projects. During the visit, the Kyrgyz delegation rolled up their sleeves and took a deep dive into the industrial zones in the province, where they found over 300 factories buzzing with activity across a variety of sectors. It was noted that the zones are supported by government initiatives and offer comprehensive infrastructure for workers and enterprises. According to the Kyrgyz Chamber of Commerce, New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. stands at the forefront of the electric motorcycle manufacturing sector, leveraging cutting-edge innovations and strategic market penetration initiatives to enhance its export footprint, with a keen focus on establishing a foothold in the Kyrgyz market. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel World renowned Wits Sterkfontein Caves reopen Wits University announces the reopening of one of humanitys most important palaeontological sites to the public. The world-renowned Wits Sterkfontein Caves reopen to the public from 15 April 2025. This development marks a new chapter for one of humanity's most important palaeontological sites, as it transitions to full management under Wits University. (Download the Media Pack) For more information visit https://sterkfonteincaves.wits.ac.za Location: Approximately 50km northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa Open: Tuesdays-Sundays (Closed Mondays) Operating times: 09:00-16:00 (Last tour departs at 16:00) Ticket bookings: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1567409832 Importance of the site Located within the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site near Johannesburg, the Sterkfontein Caves have yielded some of the most important hominin fossil discoveries including the iconic "Mrs Ples" (1947) and "Little Foot" (1997) in addition to the hundreds of other fossils of human relatives. These discoveries have been crucial to informing the global understanding of human evolution and the origins of humanity. New research and educational experience Whilst previously serving primarily as a tourist destination, attracting thousands of international and local visitors, the reimagined Wits Sterkfontein Caves will offer a more immersive research and educational experience, bringing visitors closer to the science that has defined the site for nearly 100 years. "This reopening represents a significant evolution in how we share the story of human origins," says Professor Nithaya Chetty, Dean of the Wits Faculty of Science. "Visitors now have unique opportunities to engage with active live science and research, all happening in real time." Under the new management structure, Dr Job Kibii will serve as the Head of the Wits Sterkfontein Caves, overseeing daily operations and visitor experiences, while Professor Dominic Stratford will continue to lead research activities as the research permit holder. (Read their full biographies below.) The enhanced visitor experience will feature: Direct interactions with scientists and students conducting research, Behind-the-scenes access to fossil preparation laboratories, Guided tours of the Wits Sterkfontein Caves with enhanced scientific context, Educational programmes focused on human evolution and palaeoanthropology, as well as other scientific disciplines in the Earth Sciences, such as Climate Science and Geosciences, and Exhibits showcasing the latest discoveries and research findings. Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University, says: "The reopening of the Wits Sterkfontein Caves represents an exciting opportunity to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and the publics understanding of science. By making science more accessible, we hope to inspire the next generation of researchers while helping everyone connect more deeply with our shared human story." Importance of the Caves Since taking over the management of the Sterkfontein site in 1966, Wits University's researchers have made countless contributions to the study of human evolution. The University houses the world's largest repository of hominin fossils, many of which were discovered in the Wits Sterkfontein Caves. The limestone caves, formed many millions of years ago, have preserved critical evidence of our relatives as their remains fell into the deep caves through tall, narrow shafts. For more than three million years, the remains of hominins and many other animals living on the Cradle of Humankind landscape have accumulated underground in huge deposits, creating a fossil record spanning several million years of human evolution. The Wits Sterkfontein Caves hold exceptional universal value which led to their designation as part of the Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Their scientific importance cannot be overstated, as they continue to yield new discoveries that shape our understanding of who we are and where we come from. The management, researchers and tour facilitators of the Wits Sterkfontein Caves will continue to work closely with the Cradle of Humankind Management Authority and the South African Heritage Resources Agency to ensure that the proper preservation of the site. The opening of the Wits Sterkfontein Caves aligns with Wits University's commitment to excellence in research and education, building on the legacy of prominent Wits palaeoanthropologists like the late Professor Phillip Tobias and Professor Ronald Clarke, whose work at the Wits Sterkfontein Caves fundamentally advanced our understanding of human origins. Africa gave the world humanity; Africa gave the world its first human culture and that is no small feat - Emeritus Professor Phillip Tobias About the Wits Sterkfontein Caves The Wits Sterkfontein Caves is a dolomite cave system that formed about 20 to 30 million years ago. It consists of a series of underground chambers and passageways with a total mapped cave system of over 2.5 kilometres. The Wits Sterkfontein Caves are situated 50km northwest of Johannesburg within the UNESCO Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The cave system has yielded revolutionary palaeosciences discoveries, including "Mrs Ples" (1947) and the nearly complete "Little Foot" skeleton (1994-1998), alongside over 700 hominid specimens dating back 3,67 million years is now under the sole management of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University). For over a century, Wits University has been a leading African institution renowned for its academic excellence and pioneering research. The University's stewardship of Sterkfontein enhances its distinguished record in the palaeosciences whilst complementing broader research strengths in digital technology, health sciences, and engineering. With research output increasing by 45% in recent years, Wits continues to produce globally competitive, locally relevant scientific discoveries through its management of this extraordinary site where humanity's origins continue to be revealed. Visit https://sterkfonteincaves.wits.ac.za/ and read more about: Biographies Dr Job Kibii is the new Head of the Wits Sterkfontein Caves as from 1 April 2025. Dr Job Kibii is a product of Wits University and Sterkfontein Caves (now the Wits Sterkfontein Caves). He obtained his Master of Science and Doctorate degrees in 2000 and 2005 respectively, analysing fossils from Sterkfontein caves under the supervision and mentorship of Professors Ronald Clarke and Kathleen Kuman. He was the first indigenous African to obtain a doctorate in Palaeoanthropology from the University of the Witwatersrand. During his doctoral studies, he discovered crucial hominin specimens from the Wits Sterkfontein Caves, one of which changed our understanding of the evolution of the human pelvis. Other hominin specimens became part of the materials that formed the core of global collaboration in producing co-authored books; Hominin Postcranial Remains from Sterkfontein, South Africa in 2020, and The Paleoenvironments of Sterkfontein: Old Questions, New Approaches in 2022. Between 2008 and 2012, as a researcher at the Institute of Human Evolution (IHE) which later became the Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI), he was a co-permit holder and director of excavations at the Malapa Caves. He was in the original team that led to the discovery of Australopithecus sediba and associated fauna. During his leadership in the Malapa excavation, numerous Australopithecus sediba specimens were recovered, which continue to draw scientists to South Africa and Wits specifically. Between 2012 and 2018, he was the permit holder of the Gondolin site, also within the Cradle of Humankind, where additional fossils were recovered, adding to the heritage of South Africa. In both the Malapa and Gondolin sites, he directed two international field schools comprising staff and students from the University of the Witwatersrand, University of Switzerland, National Museums of Kenya, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Between 2016 and 2021, he joined the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) as the Head of Paleontology. One of the highlights during his tenure at NMK was sourcing funds and organising an NMK-Wits training symposium in 2016, which was held at NMK and brought together students and staff from ESI for skills exchange in casting, fossil preparation, micro CT scanning, digitisation, data management, fieldwork, and curatorship. Between 2022 and 2024, he joined Turkana Basin Institute (TBI) as the Coordinator of Plio/Pleistocene Paleontology and related earth Sciences, and Acting Director of Research and Science, during which time TBI enhanced links with Turkana University College (TUC) to offer Kenyas first Masters degree in Human Evolutionary Biology. Dr Kibii also serves on the GENUS DSI-NRF CoE-Palaeo Research Advisory Committee. Professor Dominic Stratford is a Lecturer in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at Wits University. He is the research permit holder at the Wits Sterkfontein Caves. He investigates the site formation and stratigraphy of archaeological and palaeoanthropological sites in southern Africa. Most of his work focuses on site formation processes in caves and rock shelters. His work applies a broad suite of multi-scale quantitative and qualitative methods to reconstruct the formation history of deposits that range in age from tens of thousands to millions of years. As part of his role at the Wits Sterkfontein Caves, he coordinates a large international team of specialists working on the diverse archaeological and palaeoanthropological collections from previous and continuing excavations. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, April 15. Uzbekistan and Chinese Xinjiang Qianyuan Kunyu Construction Engineering company signed an agreement for construction of nine mini-hydroelectric power plants on the Karadarya River in the Andijan Region, Trend reports. The news follows a meeting between the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan with General Director of the Chinese Xinjiang Qianyuan Kunyu Construction Engineering Hou Hue. The initiative marks a step forward in Uzbekistans commitment to expanding renewable energy sources and strengthening energy sustainability through international cooperation. In the course of the meeting, the parties also held a constructive discussion on the technical aspects and next steps for the development of cascades of small hydroelectric power plants along Uzbekistan's waterways. Founded in 2011, Xinjiang Qianyuan Kunyu specializes in the construction of electricity transmission and distribution systems, as well as the development, investment, construction, and management of renewable energy projects. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The Iranian government is preparing a plan to stop cash payments as subsidies for approximately 18 million citizens, Irans Minister of Labor, Social Welfare, and Cooperatives, Ahmad Meydari, told local media, Trend reports. According to Maydari, close to 80 million people in Iran are currently cashing in on government aid through subsidies. The government is required to pay around 250 trillion rials (about $433 million) monthly for these subsidies. Maydari explained that by cutting subsidies for 18 million people, the government would save about 54 trillion rials (about $93.6 million) per month. If those whose subsidies are cut protest, and their complaints are deemed unjustified, several benefits, such as tax exemptions, will be revoked for them, even if their objections are deemed unjustified, he noted. Some subsidies for products like fuel, food items, water, and electricity were eliminated in Iran in 2001. Currently, the maximum cash subsidy paid monthly to each citizen in Iran is 4 million rials (about $6.93). Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. The National Iranian Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC) and Russia's ZN Vostok Company have emphasized the importance of accelerating operational activities in their joint projects, Trend reports. A strategic convergence occurred today in Iran, involving key stakeholders from both corporate entities. During the convening, the stakeholders engaged in a discourse on amplifying bilateral synergies and delved into methodologies for mitigating prevailing impediments. Focused emphasis was allocated to the advancement of the Aban and Paydar-e Gharb hydrocarbon reservoirs, alongside the Cheshmeh-Khosh, Dalpari, and Paydar-e Sharq formations. As of February 2024, ZN Vostok Company, a Russian entity, has allocated in excess of $500 million towards hydrocarbon-centric initiatives within the Iranian market. In 2019, ZN Vostok signed a 10-year agreement with Iranian companies Iran Ofoqh and Kayson for the development of the Cheshmeh-Khosh, Dalpari, and Paydar-e Sharq fields, involving a total investment of $3 billion. The development operations on these fields began in mid-2020. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Li Xueren] HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, on Monday called for deepening the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. Xi made the remarks when meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam during his state visit to Vietnam. Xi pointed out that he was very pleased to pay a state visit to Vietnam and realize the first round of mutual visits with General Secretary To Lam. This year marks the 95th anniversary of the founding of the CPV, the 80th anniversary of the founding of Vietnam and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South, he said, extending warm congratulations to Vietnam on behalf of the CPC and the Chinese government. China will, as always, support Vietnam in taking a socialist path that suits its national conditions, successfully holding the 14th National Congress of the CPV in 2026, and its steadfast pursuit of realizing the two goals set for the centenary of the party and the country. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, as well as the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, said Xi, stressing that over the past 75 years, regardless of changes in the international landscape, China and Vietnam have supported each other in the struggle for national independence and liberation, advanced side by side in the cause of socialist development, and forged ahead in their respective modernization endeavors, setting an example of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries. Facing the changing and turbulent world, China and Vietnam have stayed committed to peaceful development and deepened their friendly cooperation, bringing much-needed stability and certainty to the world, Xi said. Standing at a new historical starting point, the two sides should build on past achievements, forge ahead together and carry forward the profound traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood," said Xi. Guided by the overall goals of achieving higher political mutual trust, more solid security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, stronger public support, closer multilateral coordination and better management and resolution of differences, the two countries should work to advance their comprehensive strategic cooperation with high quality, ensure steady and sustained progress in building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, and contribute even more to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said. Building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future carries great global significance, Xi said, noting that as the two countries jointly pursue peaceful development, their combined population of over 1.5 billion is jointly advancing toward modernization, which will contribute to regional and global peace and stability while promoting common development. Both countries are committed to opening up and have played a constructive role in maintaining the stability and smooth operation of regional industrial and supply chains, as well as contributing to the advancement of economic globalization, Xi said. A small boat with a lone sail cannot withstand rough seas, Xi said, noting that only by working together in the same boat can they ensure stability and long-term progress. He noted that both China and Vietnam are beneficiaries of economic globalization, and the two sides should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateralism and bullying practices, and work together to uphold the global free trade system and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains. Xi proposed six measures to deepen the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. First, enhance strategic mutual trust at a higher level. Leaders of the two parties and countries should communicate with each other as relatives, Xi said, noting the two sides should give full play to the role of channels including inter-party, legislative bodies and political consultative organizations, deepen the exchange of experience in governance, and improve the leadership of the two parties in promoting national modernization. Second, build a stronger security barrier. The two sides should set the "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security between the two countries at the ministerial level to enhance strategic coordination. It is necessary to give full play to the role of defense and law enforcement security cooperation mechanisms, resolutely tackle online gambling, telecom fraud and other cross-border crimes, strengthen bilateral and multilateral law enforcement and judicial cooperation, especially within the framework of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, so as to safeguard people's lives and property and uphold regional peace and stability. Third, expand higher quality mutually beneficial cooperation. Seize the major opportunities of China's new quality productive forces and Vietnam's new productive forces to accelerate the formation of practical cooperation between the two countries. Realize the comprehensive connection of standard-gauge railways, highways, and smart ports at an early date. Promote high-tech cooperation such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. China's mega market is always open to Vietnam, and the country welcomes more high-quality Vietnamese products. China encourages its companies to invest in Vietnam and hopes that Vietnam will create a more fair and friendly business environment. Fourth, tighten the bonds of people-to-people ties. China and Vietnam should take the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity and organize more people-oriented exchange activities, and enhance cooperation in tourism, culture, media, public health and other fields. The two sides should continue to explore resources of revolutionary heritage and promote stories of friendship. In the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for "Red Study Tours," which will help the younger generation of both countries better understand the hard-won nature of the socialist countries and the great value of China-Vietnam good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation, and will cultivate greater vitality for the development of bilateral relations and the respective national development endeavors. Fifth, conduct closer multilateral coordination. China and Vietnam should jointly uphold the outcomes of World War II, firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, promote a more equal and orderly multi-polar world and an economic globalization that is more inclusive and beneficial for all, and enhance cooperation under the frameworks of the three major global initiatives. China will stay committed to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and to the policy of pursuing friendship and partnership with its neighbors. It will deepen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries so that the fruits of Chinese modernization can better benefit the region. Sixth, achieve more positive maritime interaction. The two countries should earnestly implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, properly manage maritime issues, expand maritime cooperation, demonstrate resolve in launching joint development, and work toward the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. For his part, To Lam extended a warm welcome to Xi on his state visit to Vietnam, which took place on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said that Xi is not only an outstanding leader of the Chinese people but also a great friend of the Vietnamese people. Xi's choice to make Vietnam his first overseas destination this year fully reflects the importance he attaches to China-Vietnam relations and his support for Vietnam, the Vietnamese leader said. This visit will mark a new milestone in the history of friendly exchanges between the two parties and countries, further advancing the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, he added. Under Xi's strong leadership, To Lam noted, China has achieved historic accomplishments in advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics, made comprehensive progress in its path to modernization, and witnessed rapid development of new quality productive forces. With China's international stature on the rise, Vietnam extends its congratulations and expresses gratitude for China's long-standing support and assistance, he said. Emphasizing that both Vietnam and China are socialist countries under the leadership of a communist party, To Lam said that developing relations with China is an objective requirement, a strategic choice, and a top priority for Vietnam. Vietnam firmly adheres to the one-China policy, supports China's efforts toward national reunification, and resolutely opposes any separatist actions aimed at "Taiwan independence," he said. Advancing Vietnam-China relations, To Lam noted, is in the fundamental interest of both peoples and conforms with the trend of the times. Vietnam looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges between the two parties and countries, enhancing exchanges on governance experience, deepening strategic security cooperation, and continually consolidating political mutual trust; further elevating bilateral cooperation by creating new highlights in areas such as trade, science and technology, infrastructure and environmental protection; and promoting people-to-people exchanges, encouraging local and youth interactions, and enhancing tourism cooperation to nurture closer bonds between the peoples, he said. Vietnam supports the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and the three major global initiatives proposed by Xi, To Lam said. Vietnam lauds the vision set forth during the CPC's central conference on work related to neighboring countries, which envisions building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home with neighboring countries and insists on fostering friendly, mutually beneficial and prosperous relationships, he said. Vietnam is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China, uphold multilateralism and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, safeguard international trade rules, abide by the agreements signed by both sides, and jointly make greater contributions to world peace and human progress, To Lam said, adding that Vietnam is also willing to properly address maritime differences with China to ensure maritime stability. Before the talks, To Lam invited Xi to a small-group chat over tea. The two general secretaries exchanged views on party building and national governance. Xi stressed that party building is crucial to the destiny of the party and the country, and that the party's work style bears on whether it can win public support. The CPC Central Committee has decided to carry out an in-depth campaign throughout the party this year to learn and implement the spirit of the eight-point decision on improving work conduct. This is intended to secure new achievements in work style transformation to further support comprehensive reform and advance modernization. Both general secretaries agreed to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, and pursue progress in socialist development. After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed by China and Vietnam. These documents cover areas including connectivity, artificial intelligence, customs inspection and quarantine, agricultural trade, culture and sports, public welfare, human resource development, media, and more. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Shen Hong] Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi] To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, invites Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, to a small chat over tea before their talks at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Li Xueren] Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, and To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, witness the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed by the two sides after their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. Xi held talks with To Lam at the CPV Central Committee headquarters on Monday. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi] (Source: Xinhua) Editor: Wang Shasha Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi] HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on China and Vietnam to march toward modernization hand in hand. In his meeting with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man, Xi also urged the two sides to inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi pointed out that his state visit to Vietnam once again allowed him to witness the new achievements in Vietnam's cause of Doi Moi (reform) and personally experience the profound foundation of China-Vietnam friendship. At present, China is comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization, and Vietnam will usher in a new era of national rise, Xi said, adding that both sides are at a crucial stage of their respective development and rejuvenation. Facing an international landscape fraught with changes and turbulence, Xi said, China and Vietnam should strengthen confidence in their paths and systems, enhance solidarity and coordination, continue to build the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, join hands to march toward modernization, and inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi stressed that both China and Vietnam are socialist countries led by a communist party, and the political direction is crucial to the future of the parties and countries, as well as the success of their causes. Xi said the top leaders of the two parties and countries should exchange views on bilateral relations and major issues of common concern in a timely manner, continue to build consensus, enhance mutual trust and steer the course steadily, so as to ensure the steady progress of China-Vietnam relations. It is necessary to maintain exchanges and cooperation between the two parties, legislative bodies and political consultative organizations, and to keep sharing governance experiences, Xi added. The two sides should take the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity to carry forward the "red gene" and make good use of the revolutionary resources to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially the young generation, and strengthen the friendly bond between the two countries, Xi added. Recognizing the frequent exchanges and fruitful cooperation between China's National People's Congress and Vietnam's National Assembly, Xi said the two countries' legislatures should do more to strengthen traditional friendship, ensure practical cooperation and strengthen multilateral coordination, carry out exchanges on the development of socialist democracy and rule of law, and continuously enrich the substance of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. For his part, Tran Thanh Man said that Vietnam and China, connected by mountains and rivers, have forged a sincere friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood" under the careful nurturing of successive leaders of the two parties and countries, and the two sides have maintained long-standing friendly relations. He said the visit of Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, fully demonstrates the importance attached by the CPC, the country and the Chinese people to Vietnam-China ties. He said the two general secretaries have provided important strategic guidance on advancing the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, which will open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The Vietnamese National Assembly congratulated China for successfully convening the "two sessions" and looked forward to conducting close communication and cooperation with China's National People's Congress, implementing the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, and contributing to the common prosperity and development of the two countries and friendship between the peoples, Tran Thanh Man said. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [Xinhua/Shen Hong] (Source: Xinhua) Editor: Wang Shasha If Meta loses in antitrust case, it could be forced to break itself up by selling Instagram and WhatsApp CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in the opening day of the antitrust trial between Meta and the Federal Trade Commission on April 14. Bak. Trend: The next round of indirect talks between Iran and the US will be held in the Omani capital Muscat, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said, Trend reports. According to him, a decision was made after consultations to hold the next round of talks on April 19 in the capital of Oman. Earlier, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said that the US and Iran would hold the next round of talks in Rome to resolve the situation around the Iranian nuclear program. On Falling is a realist feature film following Aurora (Joanna Santos), a Portuguese immigrant in Scotland working as a picker in an Amazon-style warehouse. The film, director Laura Carreiras debut, received critical praise, winning Best Director in the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Sutherland Prize for Best First Feature at the BFI London Film Festival. It is an impressive work, critical and highly sensitive, examining the destruction of workers sense of self under conditions of extreme exploitation. Auroras monotonous and grinding existence leaves her with no life outside of work, unable to cultivate one without the time, energy or finances to do so. She lives to work in a way many workers will find painfully familiar. On Falling film poster [Photo: On Falling (2024)] Carreira repeatedly returns to the same settings of Auroras work and life, almost tableaus, to illustrate the repetitiveness and drudgery of her existence. The frame is almost never steady, opting instead for a handheld camera while cutting into tight and uncomfortable close-ups of Aurora. The shaky-cam technique reflects the instability of Auroras life and the close ups give a sense of the claustrophobia felt when social life is so tightly penned in by circumstance. Aurora has a tiny room to herself and shares a bathroom and kitchen, seemingly the only large, shared room in the building. It constantly hums with the repetitive bang of the washing machine. New flatmates come and go. Despite this sparse accommodation, her miniscule wages do not properly cover the cost of living. On several occasions, she is caught with unexpected bills which leave her penniless. A smashed phone screen costing 99 to fix falls close to her week for topping up the shared electricity, which she misses. She is so ashamed when the power cuts out one nightwhile she is showering, guiltily using another flat mates shampoothat she sneaks back into her room dripping wet and crawls under her duvet, where she remains through the next morning, ignoring all knocks from her flatmates. One of them pays in her stead, leaving her embarrassed and in debt to him. She is left with no food money for the rest of the month, relying on the generosity of her flatmates, scraped together spare change for small snacks and loading her coffees with sugar. One powerful scene highlights the class basis of Auroras food instability. At a warehouse staff party/fundraiser, managers laud the huge profits made by the company and pressure workers to give over some of their paltry wages to a charity as part of a corporate PR-stunt. Aurora slips free cakes into her bag and sneaks into the bathroom to eat them, her only meal of the day. When Aurora preforms well in the warehouse early in the month, management insultingly reward her with her choice of chocolate bar, as if she were a child. But when she is clearly suffering with exhaustion and depression and her picking becomes slower, she is immediately reprimanded. There is no support offered or even an inquiry into her mental wellbeing. The company instals suicide deterrent nets. Scrabbling even for the essentials, Aurora lacks the resources to build connections with the people in her life. She tends to go home and straight to bed, where she will sit alone scrolling through short videos on social media. The film examines this reality sympathetically, cutting across the middle-class sneering attitude that young workers are on their phones too much. On Falling establishes that this is not Auroras individual choice but is all she can engage with after being left with no time, energy or money to pursue her actual interests. In the warehouse, workers are given no time to establish any true friendships and are rushed off their feet. The only opportunity they get to talk is over lunch. In one conversation Aurora speaks to a colleague, bonding over the drudgery of their lives and both concluding that all they do at home is wash their laundry. On the next shift she looks out for him, only to find out that he has killed himself. On Falling (2024) [Photo: On Falling (2024)] His colleagues ask, What do you think was wrong at home? One calls the action selfish but then reveals that he too has thought about how he would take his own life. The theme of suicide or suicidal thoughts is present throughout the film, which leaves no doubt about where these pressures actually come from. There is a notable absence of any organised labour movement presence in Auroras life, reflecting the abandonment of the most exploited layers of the working class by the trade union bureaucracy. Where unions do involve themselves, their leaders act to limit, isolate and strangle workers struggles, aiming at a cosy partnership with management. At the climax of the film Aurora has an interview for a new job with a social care company. At first she is relieved when the interviewer doesnt ask her for her qualifications, but being asked to describe her interests and hobbieswho she is as a personis worse. Struggling for an answer, Aurora breaks down in tears, realising that she has been allowed no life at all. She leaves the interview and passes out in a park, likely of malnourishment and exhaustion, staying there until the groundskeeper finds her. She takes comfort in his embrace. The film leaves the audience with a sense that something has got to give. Either workers are forced to sacrifice themselves at the altar of profit or the working class abolishes capitalism. In On Fallings final scene a technical issue stops work, finally giving Aurora and her colleagues the chance to speak and even play with each other. These are the social beings humans are when not crushed under the weight of exploitation. Musicalmost entirely absent throughout the filmfills the scene while Aurora looks happy for the first in a long time. Her face soon drops when she realises it wont last, and the audience is left with that crestfallen image. Explaining the motivations behind the film, Carreira told Big Issue, Cinema avoids looking at work... And I wanted to challenge myself to do it... We work our entire lives and we dont question why. And, you know, I have the suspicion we dont have to work as much and get paid as little. Theres an irrationality in the way were living and I find it baffling that we dont talk about it more often Films can be used to escape your life. But we should maybe look at why were trying to escape life so often. She speaks from experience, moving from Portugal to Edinburgh herself, and working in the gig economy. It was just that shock of how little you were paid, and actually in my second job, I later found out, I wasnt even being paid minimum wage. My life immediately got consumed. Even a simple thing like meeting a friend all of a sudden became this big complication where people had different shifts. Getting to the heart of On Falling, and the universal experience it speaks to in contemporary society, she explains, Money limits the amount of choices you have, the time you have and what you can do with it. If you dont have money to interact with society in a way that leaves you with some agency, then you isolate yourself and it will be harder to make connections with other people. The film is about scarcity, not just financial but of experience, of meaning as well. If you need a job to pay your bills then that sense of vulnerability is universal. In this particular job, the dynamic is more grotesque but anyone who needs to work for a living is experiencing it. Her comments on automation are incisive: I like the idea that with automation we can remove jobs that are repetitive and not interesting to do so it frees us to do other things but it cant be done at the expense of peoples lives. People in these jobs are being expected to work like robots. But people are still cheaper than robots and for as long as thats the case and we do our own maintenance, well keep getting the jobs. On Falling (2024) [Photo: On Falling (2024)] She urges that workers recognise they are not to blame for their situation, produced by the system which exploits their labour and dominates their lives. Whats really important to me is removing this sense of looking within to fix the problem. Were told that if youre experiencing poverty, then, how exactly do you spend your money? If youre experiencing mental health issues, well, theres therapy, you can go for a walk. There are all these symptoms and the solutions always seem to be focused on the individual. I hope the film invites us to look at the way were living as the place to look for answers as to why were feeling this way. Workers are beginning to rebel against these conditions. In 2022, a wave of wildcat actions erupted at Amazon warehouses in the UK, with one workers telling the World Socialist Web Site, We are not treated as workers but as slaves. Strikes took place against the company across the UK, Australia, Europe, the US and beyond last year. Carreiras film helps workers reflect on how much of their own lives they are being denied by their subordination to corporate profit interests, and the commonality of that experience. It and others like it will play a role in furthering the process already underway in the working class of collective struggle which turns isolating experiences of hardship into the solidarity of resistance. Are you a Chicago teacher? For more information on building a rank-and-file movement to fight the coming cuts and Trumps attack on public education, fill out the form at the end of this article. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (blue jacket, center) with CTU officials, including President Stacy Davis Gates (to the right of Johnson) and Vice President Jackson Potter (to the left of Johnson). [Photo: CTU Facebook] The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) announced Monday morning that educators had approved the tentative agreement the union reached with school district officials and the Democratic administration of Mayor Brandon Johnson. CTU officials said 97 percent of the membership who voted approved the deal, with 85 percent participation in the vote. CTU officials, including President Stacy Davis Gates, presented the vote as an overwhelming and historic endorsement of the deal brought by the unions bargaining committee. A post on the unions Facebook page boasted: Our members approved the most popular contract in the CTUs modern history. In fact, the agreement was pushed through on entirely false pretenses. It not only fails to meet teachers demands for substantial pay improvements to keep up with skyrocketing living expenses, increased staffing and smaller class sizes. It also leaves educators and students exposed to devastating cuts due to the budgetary crisis in the school district, the municipal government and Trumps savage cuts to federal funding. In fact, there is only funding for the first of the four years of the contract, which retroactively starts on June 30, 2024. These realities were deliberately concealed from rank-and-file educators by the CTU bureaucracy, the Johnson administration and the corporate news mediawith CTU officials peddling the lie that the agreement would Trump-proof the district. Among rank-and-file educators there was, and continues to be, widespread concern over the lack of funding and Trumps drive to destroy public education. CTUs betrayals The ratification vote was not a ringing endorsement of the deal, which is widely seen as completely inadequate. Instead, large sections of educators knew the CTU leaders would not fight for anything more, let alone lead a serious struggle against Trump. From the beginning of the negotiating process, Gates and other officials refused to call a strike by the 28,000 members. Instead, they kept teachers on the job for 10 months without a contract and told them that even if they rejected the contract, the union would not call a strike. As the Chicago Sun Times noted approvingly, There wasnt a serious threat of a labor stoppage this timeand the CTU had a friendly mayor in office in Brandon Johnson, himself a former CTU official on leave from the union. Johnson is notorious for his role in arresting anti-genocide protesters, including outside last years Labor Notes convention, where he was a main speaker. Gates congratulated teachers for their robust participation in our unions democratic process, declaring that the members had voted on everything. For the first time in 15 years, however, the CTU bureaucrats did not even hold a strike authorization vote, so afraid they were of encouraging the militancy of educators. Nor did the members vote to give up their right to strike. Instead, the CTU officials, working with Johnson, stripped the rank and file of that right, imposing a de facto strike ban on them. Addressing those teachers who voted against the deal, Gates said, The minority of people havent seen the results yet. In 2019, she admitted, union officials agreed to a deal without the class size limits we wanted and increased preparation time for our members in elementary schools. But those issues were platformed in this negotiation and weve gotten further, she claimed, adding, Transformation comes in waves. Gates mused on when the Civil Rights movement began decades after the Civil War and how long it took to achieve its aims. She said: So, Im saying all this to say, that all of this is cumulative and that if we didnt get you the first time, were going to see about getting you the second time and continuing to build. So, I would tell them [unsatisfied teachers], give us a few more years. The irony of telling teachers to wait in the context of the history of the Civil Rights movement must have escaped Gates. It was Martin Luther King, Jr., after all, who wrote in his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, This Wait has almost always meant Never. The contract will resolve nothing. It will soon be followed by demands for layoffs, school closures and program cuts due to the $700 million-plus school deficit, which will only be increased due to proposed Republican cuts of 25 percent or more in aid to low-income, disabled and English learner students, along with cuts to free and reduced school meals. Illinois is set to lose pre-school funding for 28,000 children due cuts in the Head Start program, according to a recent report. Green light for Trump The demobilization of educators by the CTU bureaucracy and the Democrats will only embolden the Trump administration. A strike by 28,000 educators in one of Americas largest school districts would be a catalyst for educators in Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles and across the country to conduct a counteroffensive to defend the right to high quality public education. But that is the last thing the Democratic Party wants. It fears nothing more than the mobilization of the working class against Trump because it could quickly escape their control and threaten the interests of the same corporate and financial oligarchy that the Democrats themselves defend. Asked by a reporter if she was concerned with the impact of Trumps cuts, Gates responded with utter complacency. Im not worried. Let me tell you why Im not worried. What DOGE and Elon Musk are doing to America is what Paul Vallas, Arnie Duncan and Rahm Emanuel already did in Chicago, she said, referring to district CEOs and the Chicago mayor, who implemented pro-business school reforms championed by the Clinton and Obama administrations. Gates said: Everything that weve been fightingschool closings, the privatization of schoolsall those things weve survived, and this contract is a testament to the resilience, the leadership of this organization and the clarity of the people who are going to have to help push back and resist this moment. She continued by promoting Johnson and other city government officials who have been provided a left cover by the Democratic Socialists of America. Gates said: So, Im not worried about it, because Jitu Brown is on the school board, and he did that work already. Im not worried about it because Brandon Johnson is on the 5th floor [mayors office], and he did that work already. Im not worried about it because Jeanette Taylor is in the City Council, and shes done that work already. See, we have set ourselves up for this moment and [our] assignment is to teach America how we fought DOGE and Arnie Duncan and Rahm Emanuel and Paul Vallas. Such statements should be taken as a warning to educators in Chicago and across the country looking to fight Trumps historic attack on public education and democratic rights. First, the CTU bureaucracy has sold out every struggle by educators for decades, including those against Vallas, Duncan and Emanuel, not to mention Clinton, Obama and Biden. The results have been mass school closures and layoffs, the forced return of teachers and students into COVID-infected classrooms, and decades of eroding teaching and learning conditions. Second, Trump is not just a replay of fights against Vallas, Duncan and Emanuel, as reactionary as these Democratic Party school privatizers were. Although such figures paved the way for Trumps attacks on public education and democratic rights, the current White House occupant is a fascist, who plans to destroy public education, illegalize all forms of opposition and establish a dictatorship. Just a few minutes earlier, Gates had admitted this, pointing to a world that is moving quickly to fascism. But the answer she gives to this is not the mobilization of the working class against the imminent danger but promotion of Johnson and other DSA-backed figures in city government as saviors of public education and democracy, along with supposedly anti-Trump billionaires, such as Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker. Gates declared: Rich people who are not Donald Trump or Elon Musk are not our enemies. Only the ones who give them money and vote for them. We believe in coalition work. Educators in Chicago and around the country must draw sharp lessons from the experience with the pseudo-left CORE (Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators) faction that has run the CTU for more than a decade. All its rhetoric about social justice unionism has been used to block any independent struggle against the Democratic Party and the capitalist system it defends. Long pursuing its treasured seat at the table, the CTU bureaucracy has been elevated into the mayors office and put in charge of imposing Trumps savage austerity measures. While the CTU bureaucracy has been increasingly discredited by these betrayals, it is necessary for educators to free themselves of the union apparatus, its pro-Democratic Party politics and subordination to the profit system. Instead, educators should build new organizations of struggle, rank-and-file committees, in every school to prepare the coming struggles in defense of jobs and public education. This fight is inseparable from a struggle against the capitalist system, the expropriation of the oligarchs, and socialism. Only in this way can social resources can be redirected to end poverty, raise the educational and cultural level of the population and establish social equality. For more information on building rank-and-file committees, fill out the form below. People rally at the University of California, Berkeley campus to protest the Trump administration Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. [AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez] In a chilling development, the Trump administration has unleashed a full-scale witch hunt targeting nearly 900 faculty members within the University of California system. Their crime is signing open letters on the Israeli assault on Gaza and calling for the protection of Jewish and Palestinian students alike. In a textbook act of McCarthyite authoritarianism, federal officials are interrogating professorsinterviews that serve no other purpose than to criminalize dissent and enforce ideological conformity. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), under orders from the Trump administration, issued a subpoena for faculty members private information, including names, emails, phone numbers, job positions and more. This information was surrendered by the University of California in March, after which Department of Justice (DOJ) officials began reaching out to faculty, not to uncover acts of harassment but to fish for ideological enemies. This development is a page pulled directly from the playbook of Joseph McCarthys House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Constance Penley, president of the Council of UC Faculty Associations, warned that the goal is to strip away the autonomy of the university and fracture academic solidarity. The campaign cynically uses the EEOC, an agency ostensibly meant to protect workers from discrimination, to punish scholars for holding dissenting views on US foreign policy. The very faculty members who openly opposed genuine antisemitism on their campuses are now being painted as suspects in an inquisition designed to enforce fascist ideology. Meanwhile, true cases of hate and harassment, especially those committed by the Trump administration itself, go un-investigated so long as they align with the political narrative of the oligarchy. Equally damning is the utter failure of the Democratic Party to confront this fascist campaign. The Biden administration laid the groundwork for a crackdown on students and faculty opposing Israels actions in Gaza. Biden and the Democrats jointly directed police interventions on campuses with right-wing Republicans, resulting in mass arrests and suppression of protests. The actions of the Democrats are compounded by the role of major academic unions, many of which have signaled a willingness to accommodate Trumps nationalist crusade. Rather than taking bold action to protect the rank and file, the union leadership often retreats behind legalistic language and procedural inertia. Katie Rodger, president of the UC-AFT (University Council-American Federation of Teachers) union, stated: This is not an attempt just to get information. This is where the EEOC and the Trump administration are asserting power over universities in an attempt to stifle academic freedom and free speech. But while the UC-AFT expresses formal opposition to the subpoenas, it has facilitated bipartisan efforts to suppress pro-Palestinian dissent by aligning with US imperialist policies. At its 2024 convention, the AFT leadership, under President Randi Weingarten, dismissed resolutions condemning Israels actions in Gaza and the repression of campus protests, instead promoting a narrative that minimized these issues as mere conflicts. Weingartens support for the Biden administration, which backed Israels military actions and domestic crackdowns on dissent, exemplifies the AFT bureaucracys integration with both Democratic and Republican agendas that equate anti-Zionist activism with antisemitism. This stance has undermined genuine opposition within the rank and file and contributed to the broader suppression of academic freedom and political expression. Instead of mobilizing the full power of their membership, the union apparatus tries to disarm the enormous opposition against Trump that was in full display in recent demonstrations across the US a week ago. This is not an isolated incident. It is part of a wider authoritarian pattern that has swept across US campuses under Trump. Graduate students like Momodou Taal and Mahmoud Khalil have been kidnapped, smeared, suspended or pressured to deport themselves for statements opposing genocide or US complicity in war crimes. International students, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries, are seeing their visas revoked without cause. At Columbia, federal funding was slashed by the Trump administration as retaliation for non-compliance with ideological demands$400 million vanished and has yet to be restored. Students protesting the Gaza genocide are vilified as antisemitic extremists. Administrators call in police to crush encampments, while politicians threaten to revoke degrees and deport international students. This is not just censorshipit is the deliberate construction of a political apparatus to criminalize anti-war and left-wing views, whose final target is the entire working class. But to meet this threat with protest alone is a fatal illusion. The ruling class is not intimidated by petitions or moral outrage. The machinery of the statethe courts, universities and so-called civil rights agencieshas already been mobilized to destroy the most basic freedoms. This campaign will not be reversed by timid appeals or symbolic resistance. It demands an organized political counteroffensiveone that does not beg for mercy but prepares to take power from the forces enforcing fascist rule. The only way forward is through the independent mobilization of the working class. Teachers and students must turn not to the Democratic Party or union officials but to workers across all industriesrailroad workers, autoworkers, nurses, Amazon and UPS employees. It is in the workplaces, not the ballot box, that the real power to shut down the capitalist machine lies. This means building rank-and-file committeesdemocratically organized and controlled by workers themselvesto coordinate resistance, share information, and prepare for mass action. The strategy must be nothing less than the preparation for a general strike: a nationwide shutdown that rejects every compromise with the forces of reaction. Elevenlabs AudioNative Player President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, April 14, 2025. [AP Photo/Pool] The gathering of fascists at the White House Monday to welcome El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele marked another step in the consolidation of a presidential dictatorship in the United States. Trump hailed Bukele as a kindred spiritsomeone who agreed to accept unlimited numbers of people from the US and imprison them in one of the most brutal detention facilities on the planet, the notorious CECOT mega-prison. Bukele, ruling as a dictator and suppressing all political opposition, repaid the favor by acknowledging Trump as overlord and paymaster. He rejected outright the possibility of releasing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a wrongfully deported Salvadoran immigrant with an American wife and three children in Maryland. To return him to the United States, Bukele claimed, would be preposterous, and he had no power to do so. From Trumps inner circle came a mixture of fascistic threats and outright lies. Attorney General Pam Bondi falsely claimed that two courts had found Abrego Garcia to be an MS-13 gang member and an illegal alien. In fact, Abrego Garcia has never been charged with a crime in either the US or El Salvador and won a 2019 ruling barring his deportation, as his life would be in danger if he was forced to return. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller declared: Hes a citizen of El Salvador, so its very arrogant even for American media to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens as a starting point. This from an administration that is bullying the entire world with a tariff war, combined with territorial demands ranging from the return of the Panama Canal to the annexation of Greenland and Canada. Trump and his agents are using the case of Abrego Garcia to establish three interrelated pillars of presidential dictatorship: 1. The president is above the law and not bound by judicial rulings; 2. The president has unchallenged authority over foreign policy and war; and 3. The executive has the power to deport or detain anyone, including US citizens, outside the protections of the Constitution. The Trump administration seized on a loophole created by the Supreme Court, which had upheld District Court Judge Paula Xiniss directive that the government should facilitate Abrego Garcias return, after a Justice Department lawyer admitted the deportation had been an administrative error. The Supreme Courts April 10 ruling sent the case back to Xinis, instructing her to clarify a portion of her order that required the government to actually effectuate Abrego Garcias release, with due regard for the deference owed to the executive branch. This language is now being used by the administration to pretend that it is not defying the lower court order, by citing the Supreme Courts unanimous ruling that actually upheld that order. Whatever the pseudo-legalistic hairsplitting, the White House is neither facilitating nor effectuating Abrego Garcias release. It is insisting that he will remain imprisoned in El Salvador. The Trump administrations position is that its actions cannot be restrained by the judicial branch of governmentwhich, according to the Constitution, is a co-equal branch of government. This began with the open defiance of the initial ruling by Judge James Boasberg last month, which ordered the deportations halted. Since then, Trump and his allies have launched an increasingly open and ferocious campaign against what they call radical and lunatic judges. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced the ruling by Judge Xinis requiring the administration to return Abrego Garcia to the US. The foreign policy of the United States is conducted by the President of the United States, not by a court, Rubio declared. Its that simple. On Sunday night, the Department of Justice filed a seven-page brief with Judge Xinis making the same assertion: that the US president has unchallengeable authority in US foreign affairs. The federal courts have no authority to direct the executive branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way, it stated, citing the exclusive power of the president as the sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations. While the Constitution grants the executive branch primary responsibility for foreign affairs, this authority is neither absolute nor unreviewable. Congress has always played a major role in shaping and funding foreign policy, and both congressional legislation and executive actions are subject to judicial oversight if they are challenged as unconstitutional or illegal. Forty years ago, Congress passed the Boland Amendment, prohibiting US government agencies from aiding the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The Reagan administration did not dispute Congresss authority, and when it was revealed that White House aides had secretly sold weapons to Iran to fund the Contras in violation of the law, top officials were forced to resign. Some were prosecuted and convicted, and Reagan himself narrowly avoided impeachment because the Democratic Party protected him. Even then, the scandal was largely buried to preserve the legitimacy of the military-intelligence apparatus. Today, by contrast, the Trump administrations flagrant and daily violations of the Constitution are met with silence from the Democratic Party, the courts and the corporate media. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the Trump administration is seeking to establish a precedent for removing US citizens from any judicial process. At the White House Monday, Trump closed out the fascist backslapping session by suggesting, in response to a media question, that he was considering the deportation of US citizens, and not only immigrants, to the Salvadoran prison system. While the question referred to fully naturalized US citizens, Trumps answer made no reference to naturalization and would apply to any US citizen who fell afoul of his government. He said: We have bad ones too, and Im all for it. Because we can do things with the president [Bukele] for less money and have great security. And we have a huge prison population. ... We have others that were negotiating with. But no, if its a homegrown criminal, I have no problem He added, Now were studying the laws right now, Pam [Bondi] is studying. If we can do that, thats good. Trump also told Bukele that hell need to build more prisons to deal with home growns, i.e., US citizens. The trajectory of the Trump administration is unmistakable. As Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson warned in a statement accompanying the April 10 ruling: The Governments argument, moreover, implies that it could deport and incarcerate any person, including US citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene. According to press reports, at least a dozen Democratic representatives have sent letters to the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeking information on reports of US citizens being interrogated and even arrested and detained by agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One letter asked the DHS to provide a list of every US citizen detained since Trumps inauguration. None of these letters has been answered. However, as Trump establishes the framework of dictatorship, he has been aided and abetted by the Democratic Party. The congressional leadership of the Democratic Party and leading figures like Obama, Biden, the Clintons and Kamala Harris have all kept silent. As the White House wages a rampage against the Constitution, the Democrats have worked to demobilize and suppress broad-based popular opposition. The measures being implemented by the Trump administration are directed, above all, against the working class. The precedent being set in the case of Abrego Garcia will be used to criminalize all forms of opposition to the corporate and financial oligarchy that the administration serves. In the eyes of Trump and his fascist allies, any expression of resistancefrom protests to strikesis a threat to national security that must be met with brute force. The defense of democratic rights cannot be entrusted to any of the institutions of the capitalist state. It requires the independent mobilization of the working class, armed with a socialist program to put an end to dictatorship, war and the capitalist system that gives rise to them. On Tuesday, San Diego State Universitys College of Arts and Letters hosted a significant online event featuring David North, chairman of the International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site, in a discussion titled Its happening here: Fascism in 1933 Germany and today. The full recording of the event will be posted on the WSWS this week. Moderated by Political Science Professor Emanuele Saccarelli, this conversation examined the historical and contemporary dangers of fascism, offering critical insights into its origins, development and resurgence. David North is a leading Marxist thinker who has played a central role in the international Trotskyist movement for over five decades. He is the author of numerous critical works, including The Russian Revolution and the Unfinished Twentieth Century, A Quarter Century of War: The US Drive for Global Hegemony 19902016, and most recently Sounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War. North has also been a staunch defender of Leon Trotskys legacy, emphasizing Trotskys unparalleled writings on the rise of fascism in the 1930s and his insistence on the need for an independent socialist strategy to defeat it. The webinar explored both historical and contemporary themes, drawing lessons from Hitlers rise to power in 1933 Germany and addressing the fascistic policies of Donald Trumps second administration. This event is essential for anyone seeking to understand the historical roots of fascism and its manifestations today. Students, workers, and members of the public are encouraged to attend this vital conversation with David North. On Monday, World Socialist Web Site reporter Evan Blake was interviewed by Rebecca Myles, News Director for WBAI Pacifica Radio, on her program Frontline Voices. The conversation focused on Blakes recent WSWS Perspective, The historic significance of Trumps fascist assault on science, and explored the Trump administrations sweeping attacks on public health, scientific research and democratic rights in the United States. Evan Blake interviewed by Rebecca Myles on her radio program Frontline Voices Myles began by asking Blake to clarify the fascist character of the Trump administration and its comparison to historical examples of fascism. Blake responded by grounding his analysis in the Marxist and Trotskyist tradition. He argued that the American ruling class is facing a profound economic, social and political crisis, and that sections of the ruling class are very openly turning towards fascism and seeking to create a dictatorship in this country. However, Blake emphasized a key difference between the current situation in the US and the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe: The American working class and the international working class are not entering this situation from a position of historic defeats, but really of a growing radicalization and a determination to struggle. He cited the mass demonstrations involving millions across the US on April 5 as evidence of this growing opposition. Turning to the core of his article, Myles asked Blake to elaborate on his characterization of the Trump administration as social vandals and to explain how the elimination of scientific and public health programs threatens to reduce the working class to conditions akin to slavery. Blake described the April 1 mass firings as a total counterrevolution, really gutting all of the core public health agencies which exist in the United States. He detailed that over 10,000 federal public health workers were fired, with another 10,000 laid off, amounting to roughly a quarter of all positions. Theyve basically destroyed the majority of their functioning, including, critically, NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healthover 80 percent of the employees were fired there, Blake explained. He stressed that NIOSH is responsible for maintaining workplace safety, monitoring chemical exposure, and testing protective equipment, all of which are essential for workers health and safety. Blake also highlighted the elimination of the CDCs Chronic Disease Prevention agency, the HIV Prevention Division, and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, among others. He argued, Theyre trying to essentially turn back the clock on history, and return the working class to the conditions of industrial slavery at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, or earlier. They aim to destroy all of the key gains won through scientific discovery, going back to the Enlightenment. Myles asked Blake to draw out the implications of these cuts for the ongoing spread of H5N1 bird flu. Blake warned that figures like Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and USDA head Brooke Rollins have floated the idea of letting bird flu just rip through poultry farms, a policy he called insane on the face of it, which has been widely denounced by scientists. Donald Trump watches as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sworn in as Health Secretary in the Oval Office, Feb. 13, 2025 [AP Photo/Alex Brandon] Blake explained that such a policy would basically give the virus millions of hosts in which it could evolve, increasing the risk of a mutation that could enable human-to-human transmission and spark a new pandemic. Myles then asked Blake to reflect on how the United States became the global center for scientific research and innovation after World War II, and what is at stake with the current assault on science. Blake traced this history to the brain drain of scientists fleeing fascism in Europe, which brought figures like Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi to the US. He described how the postwar synergy between the federal government and academia led to landmark achievements such as the mass production of penicillin, vaccines for polio and HPV, treatments for HIV/AIDS and cancer, the Human Genome Project and the revolution in computing technologies. However, Blake warned that the current attacks mark a dramatic reversal: Just in the past three months, under Trump and Kennedy, were seeing the beginnings of a new brain drain. Theres a poll which we cite in the article, which found that 75 percent of scientists in the US are considering leaving the country because the conditions are getting so bad so rapidly. Myles also asked about the consequences of the US pulling out of the World Health Organization (WHO) and cutting international health programs. Blake stressed that these moves have global ramifications: The CDC, the NIH, all of these agencies, which for decades were seen as the standard bearer for public health and for science, can no longer collaborate with the WHO. He warned that in the event of a new pandemic, countries throughout the world would be completely left in the dark. Blake also highlighted the impact of cutting the PEPFAR program, which provides HIV/AIDS treatment to millions in low-income countries: Tens of millions of people throughout the world will now be denied access to these treatments. The lives of millions of people are now at risk. Blake concluded by linking the current crisis to the bipartisan normalization of mass infection during the COVID-19 pandemic, which only accelerated under the Biden administration, arguing that the defense of science and public health cannot be entrusted to the Democratic Party. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Iran must proceed with caution in its negotiations with the US, said Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Trend reports. In his address during a meeting with a group of state officials in Tehran on April 15, Khamenei emphasized that the initial steps taken towards discussions have been carefully planned, but it is crucial to continue proceeding with caution. Khamenei noted that both Iran and the US have clearly defined "red lines" in the negotiations. "It is possible that the negotiations may not lead to a conclusion. We remain neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic about the outcome. While there is evident pessimism on the other side, we remain confident in our abilities," he remarked. The Supreme Leader also clarified that the ongoing work across various sectors in Iransuch as industry, economy, construction, and cultureshould not be linked to the Oman talks. He explained that the Oman talks are just one of the many initiatives handled by Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the country's internal issues will be shaped by the outcome of negotiations. The production sector, in particular, relies heavily on investment discussions, which are intertwined with sanctions. Khamenei pointed out that while the lifting of sanctions is not entirely within Iran's control, there are significant domestic capabilities to neutralize their impact. He further emphasized the importance of strengthening relations with neighboring countries, as well as with nations across Asia, Africa, and beyond, and called for careful monitoring of various processes at different levels. On April 12, indirect talks between Iran and the US on Irans nuclear program were held in Muscat, Oman. The discussions, led by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi and the US Special Representative for Middle East Affairs, Steve Winkoff, were described as constructive and based on mutual respect. The next round of talks is scheduled for April 19. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel In this photo, taken from video, released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, a "Grad" self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher fires toward Ukrainian position in the Russian - Ukrainian border area in the Kursk region, Russia. [AP Photo/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service] The Ukrainian militarys eight-month-long incursion into Russias Kursk region has effectively ended after Russia announced it had regained control over Guyevo, one of the last villages held by Ukrainian forces on Russian territory. Amid mounting Russian advances into its own Donbass region, Ukraine launched the adventurist invasion in August of last year and seized between 1,000 and 1,300 square kilometers of land, making it the largest ground invasion of Russia since Nazi Germanys Wehrmacht during World War II. The troops sent into Russian territory had been trained by the UK and used NATO battle tanks. The right-wing dictatorial government of President Volodymyr Zelensky originally touted the invasion as a means to simultaneously take pressure off its own undermanned forces in Donbass and improve Ukraines position in any future negotiations to end the war. In doing so, the Ukrainian military redirected a significant number of its best forces into an ultimately doomed incursion that predictably led to the casualties of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers with no improvement in Kievs negotiating position or the creation of a buffer zone for Ukraines military. Earlier in March, the BBC reported on the catastrophic withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the strategically important city of Sudzha in the Kursk region. It was like a horror movie, according to the testimonies of Ukrainian soldiers who unanimously condemned the Ukrainian military leadership for the Kursk fiasco. According to one soldier named Dmytro, The roads are littered with hundreds of destroyed cars, armoured vehicles and ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles). There are a lot of wounded and dead. Dmytro estimated thousands of Ukrainian soldiers had perished needlessly since the beginning of the invasion in August 2024 and stated,Everything is finished in the Kursk region ... the operation was not successful. Speaking to Reuters, Ukrainian soldier Oleksii Deshevyi, 32, a former supermarket security guard who lost his hand while fighting in Kursk in September, likewise condemned the disastrous Kursk invasion. We should not have started this operation at all, Deshevyi told Reuters from a rehabilitation center in Kiev. According to the Kyiv Independent, overall equipment losses for Ukraine amounted to 790 pieces of equipment in comparison to Russias 740. In addition to its own military casualties and losses of Western-supplied equipment, the Russian government has implicated Ukrainian soldiers in the murder of 22 civilians in the occupied village of Russkoye Porechnoye between September and November. The habitual liar Zelensky and his Commander in Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi have continued to praise the Kursk operation as a success. In mid-March, as Kiev was withdrawing its forces from Kursk, Zelensky preposterously declared that the retreating soldiers were leaving with the mission accomplished. It will be up to military historians to make a full accounting for the death and destruction caused by the invasion. Notwithstanding the false claims of Zelensky and Syrskyi, the failure of the operation has clearly undermined the position of both figures within the NATO-backed Ukrainian state. Last week, the Guardian published an interview with Bohdan Krotevych, the former chief of staff of the infamous neo-Nazi Azov brigade. In it, he called for the removal of Syrskyi as the head of Ukraines Armed Forces. Krotevych is a known admirer of the Nazi war criminal Albert Kesselring who played a central role in the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and is notorious for overseeing the Ardeatine massacre in Italy in 1944 in which 335 civilians were murdered. Krotevych is a powerful figure. In June of last year, Zelensky replaced Ukraines Joint Forces Commander, Lt. General Yuriy Sodol, with Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov, at his behest, testifying to the enormous influence the far right has within the highest levels of the Ukrainian state. While Krotevych initially supported the Kursk invasion, in his remarks to the British newspaper, he criticized Syrskyi for remaining there too long, particularly as Russian forces continued to advance towards the city of Pokrovsk in southern Donbass. Syrskyi is not trying to apply a high science and an art of war, Krotevych said, accusing him of having just two functions: if the enemy is attacking, you just throw more people in there. And if the enemy is overwhelming, withdraw the people and say that youre concerned about the lives of the people. He also attacked Syrskyi for not granting mobilized soldiers sufficient rest from the front. Practically posturing as some sort of humanitarian when it comes to Ukraines soldiers, Krotevych stated that he quit his post at Azov after receiving from the high army command, from the commander-in-chief HQ, orders that became more and more borderline criminal, which I, in my good conscience, was unable to fulfil and follow. While Krotevych is attempting ex post facto to absolve both himself and Azov from the failure of the Kursk invasion, the capture of historically Ukrainian lands in Russia has long been part of irredentist claims made by far-right Ukrainian nationalists. In September of 2022, Dmytro Yarosh, the founder and former leader of the fascist Right Sector, foreshadowing the Kursk invasion, demanded on Facebook that Ukraine should make territorial claims on several Russian regions and cities. He cited specifically Belgorod, Kuban and Voronezh and called for an expansion of the war to capture Ukrainian lands. At the conclusion of his interview, Krotevych announced he would be spending time in London and starting up a private company, Strategic Operational and Intelligence Agency (Soia), obtaining intelligence on Russia, Belarus, North Korea and other countries unfriendly to Ukraine and acting as an expert liaison with the west. Krotevych stressed that his visits to London are not tied to Valery Zaluzhny, the former Commander in Chief of Ukraines Armed Forces. After a major public row with President Zelensky, Zaluzhny was dismissed from his position and sent to the UK where he is currently serving as the countrys ambassador. Valery Zaluzhny (left) with Andriy Stempitsky, a commander of the fascist Right Sector during his last days in office. Both men are photographed in front of a portrait of Ukrainian fascist leader Stepan Bandera A known admirer of Ukrainian fascist leader Stepan Bandera, Zaluzhny is a favorite in any potential future presidential elections and would likely be supported by the countrys various far-right military and political organizations such as Azov. In March, amidst the ongoing attempts by the Trump White House to broker a deal with Russia and Ukraine to end the war and plunder the countries resources, Zaluzhny gave a provocative speech at Chatham House in London, declaring that the US was destroying the world order and had joined the axis of evil. The Zelensky government publicly distanced itself from Zaluzhnys remarks. While Ukrainian forces have been expelled from Kursk, Kiev has continued its cross-border attacks in the Belgorod region.We continue to carry out active operations in the border areas on enemy territory, and that is absolutely justwar must return to where it came from, Zelensky stated last Monday in a nightly video address. Mohsen Mahdawi being arrested by federal agents on Monday, April 14, 2025 [Photo: Christopher Helali] On Monday, Columbia University student and green card holder Mohsen Mahdawi was snatched by federal agents after he reported to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester, Vermont, for an interview as part of his application to become a naturalized citizen. In a video posted to X by Christopher Helali, Mahdawi is seen being escorted out of the building in handcuffs by hooded federal agents, one of whom is identified on his jacket as with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and placed in an SUV and then driven off the premises in a caravan of unmarked vehicles. Mahdawi was a leading figure during the pro-Palestine student protests at Columbia University through the spring of 2024. After this, he said he took a step back to focus on building bridges with Jewish and Israeli communities on campus. He is scheduled to graduate from Columbias School of International and Public Affairs in the fall of 2025. Mahdawi, who is in his mid-30s, grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His childhood was shaped by the Second Intifada (uprising) in 2000-2005 against the Zionist occupation of the Palestinian territories. He experienced significant personal loss, including the shooting death of his best friend during a confrontation with Israeli soldiers when he was 10 years old. More recently, Mahdawi lost two cousins in the growing violence in the occupied Palestinian territories since Israel launched the Gaza genocide after October 7, 2023. His aunts and uncles homes have been destroyed and his fathers store was blown up as part of the violence in the West Bank city of Jenin. In 2023, Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union (Dar) at Columbia University, which serves to engage with and celebrate Palestinian culture, history, and identity. He co-founded this organization with Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian lawful permanent resident who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in March and is being held at a detention facility in Louisiana for his outspoken opposition to the Gaza genocide and defense of Palestinian rights. According to a report by The Intercept, after his transport away from the Colchester, Vermont immigration office, ICE began the deportation process to return Mahdawi back to the West Bank. As of 4:30 p.m., the Guardian reported that Mahdawis attorney, Luna Droubi, said, We have not received confirmation as to his whereabouts despite numerous attempts to locate him. Mohsen Mahdawi was unlawfully detained today for no reason other than his Palestinian identity, Droubi said in a statement to The Intercept. He came to this country hoping to be free to speak out about the atrocities he has witnessed, only to be punished for such speech. Mahdawis lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition on Monday morning in US District Court in Vermont against President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others, challenging the legality of his detention. The motion alleges the government is violating Mahdawis statutory and due process rights by punishing him for speech related to Palestine and Israel. The motion states, in part: Prior to and following Mr. Mahdawis detention, the government has made clear that it intends to retaliate and punish individuals such as Mr. Mahdawi who advocated for ceasefire and ending the bloodshed in Gaza. Respondents actions plainly violate the First Amendment, which protects Mr. Mahdawis right to speak on matters of public concern and prevents the government from chilling constitutionally-protected speech. Responding to the habeas corpus petition, US District Court Judge William K. Sessions III imposed a temporary restraining order blocking the White House from deporting Mahdawi from the US or removing him from the jurisdiction of the Vermont district court pending further review. According to emails reviewed by The Intercept, when his friend Khalil was abducted and disappeared on March 8, Mahdawi contacted Columbia University administrators and asked them to help him find a safe place to live so he would not be taken away by ICE agents. He said the school did nothing in response. Mahdawi also told The Intercept that deporting him back to the West Bank is essentially a death sentence by the US government, because my people are being killed unjustly in an indiscriminate way. He added, This is the outcome. I will be either living or imprisoned or killed by the apartheid system. Mohsen Mahdawi is the ninth Columbia University student targeted for deportation by the US State Department, among hundreds across the country who have had their visas revoked under the Trump administrations sweeps and abductions of immigrants. His is one of the few cases of legal permanent residents who have been arrested where the government is seeking to cancel his green card instead of revoking his student visa. A study published by Inside Higher Ed beginning on April 8 says, as of Monday, there have been more than 1,000 international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status changed by the US State Department. A review of the data shows a total of 188 colleges and universities in 44 states have had at least 1,066 international students who have lost their visas. The actual number is much higher because there are 33 schools that report instances of visa revocation but have not yet reported the specific number of students impacted, and there are many smaller schools that are not reporting at all in order to avoid government scrutiny. Meanwhile, in an accompanying article by Inside Higher Ed, most college administrators report that they are unsure why foreign students had their legal residency status terminated, or have not received any formal notification of government decisions. The report says, A majority have yet to receive any communications from immigration authorities. In another article entitled Smashing the Student Visa System, Liam Knox of Inside Higher Ed wrote about the postings by university officials to a forum where the impact of Trump administration policies on the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS) database was being discussed: When international students have their entry visas revoked, they almost always retain their legal residency status in SEVIS, according to immigration lawyers. They can stay in the country as long as they remain enrolled in courses and must reapply for a new visa if they leave. Now, as the Trump administration revokes hundreds of student visas each week, federal immigration officials also seem to be terminating students SEVIS statuspaving the way for arrest and deportation. One forum member asked how it was possible that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could alter SEVIS status on their own; theyd never seen it done before and thought it might be a mistake. Im just wondering if we have any recourse to request corrections, they wrote. Trying to think creatively (and maybe desperately) at this point. University officials and immigration experts who spoke with Inside Higher Ed both on the record and on background echoed the concerns of the forum participants. They said the Trump administration is playing fast and loose with the visa system and that its tactics are severely limiting universities options to help students who may be targeted by ICE. The officials on the forum said affected students were almost all Middle EasternTurkish, Kuwaiti, Saudi, Iranianor from majority-Muslim countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh. Some said theyd received letters with unusually forceful wording, demanding they turn over student records under threat of federal investigation. Many fretted over how to advise affected students without running afoul of immigration authorities themselves. They all worried about how best to protect students while adjusting to a visa system that appeared to be changing overnight into something unrecognizable. Most of us are not practicing immigration attorneys (and havent needed to be), one university official wrote. Were in a strange new world where little from past practice seems to apply. Amid an intensifying trade war with the US, Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Vietnam yesterday on the first leg of a trip to South East Asia that will also include Malaysia and Cambodia. The trip is part of Beijings diplomatic efforts to enlist support internationally to counter the punishing reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on virtually every country. Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, with Vietnam's National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. [AP Photo/Athit Perawongmetha] While most countries were given a temporary 90-day pause shortly after the tariffs came into effect last week, Trump maintained and escalated the tariffs on China, making clear that Beijing is the central target of his economic war. The worlds two largest economies have imposed huge tariffs on each others goods along with other bans that have far broader implications for global trade. The US tariff of 145 percent now applies to most Chinese goods, while a Chinese tariff of 125 percent applies to US products. Xi is clearly hoping to find a receptive audience in South East Asia, which has been hit by Trumps tariffsVietnam and Cambodia face the prospect of some of the highest, 46 percent and 49 percent respectively. While lower, Malaysia still confronts a tariff of 24 percent. What happens after the 90-day pause will be determined by the outcome of negotiations in which the Trump administration will undoubtedly demand heavy economic concessions as well as a closer geo-political alignment with Washington. In an editorial published in state-owned newspapers in both China and Vietnam ahead of his trip, Xi hit out indirectly at the Trump administrations policies, warning there were no winners in trade wars or tariff wars, and protectionism leads nowhere. He called on our two countries to resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment. As is the case with most South East Asian countries, China is Vietnams largest bilateral trade partner, with total trade of more than $205 billion last year. Xi hinted that Beijing was willing to take more imports from Vietnam, saying China would welcome high quality Vietnamese products into its market. He also called for stronger industrial and supply chain cooperation as part of broader regional initiatives. At the same time, however, Vietnam is heavily dependent on exports to the US which have risen sharply after the first Trump administration imposed heavy tariffs on China. Investment flowed into Vietnam from major corporations, including American companies such as Intel, Nike and Apple as a hedge against the rising US confrontation with Beijing and also to avoid the tariffs imposed on China. Last year, Vietnam ranked eighth among the top trading partners of the US with total bilateral trade of $US149.6 billion, up by a huge 20.4 percent from 2023. The country also became the USs sixth largest source of imports last year worth $136.6 billion, and recorded a record trade surplus with the US of $123.5 billion. The Singaporean bank OCBC has one estimate of the impact of Trumps tariffs on Vietnam if they go ahead in full, lowering its 2025 GDP growth forecast for the country from 6.2 percent to 5 percent. While Hanoi has a growth target of 8 percent, the latest economic data released last week recorded year-on-year growth of just 6.93 percent. Vietnams heavy dependence on both China and the US makes its balancing act between the two increasingly precarious. Any concessions that it makes to China will rebound in negotiations with the Trump administration that have already begun. Vietnam has already offered to reduce all tariffs on imported US goods to zero. It has also made tentative steps to address Washingtons claims that Chinese goods are simply being rebadged and transhipped through Vietnam by tightening controls on goods labelled Made in Vietnam but with little value added in Vietnam. At the same time, the Vietnamese regime does not want to alienate Beijing. Vietnams top leader, Communist Party general secretary To Lam, stated in an article published yesterday in the state-owned media that Hanoi wanted to boost cooperation with China in defence, security and infrastructure, especially on rail links. More than 40 agreements are to be signed in the course of Xis two-day visit covering a range of issues but their content has not been made public. Of the three railway projects to connect the two countries, the most significant is the construction of an $8.4 billion railway linking the city of Lao Cai on the border with China to Hanoi and the associated port city of Haiphong. Vietnam will also allow the import of more types of aircraft, setting the stage for an agreement with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) that is struggling to break into the global market. Xi only hinted at the most fractious issue between the two countriesterritorial disputes in the South China Seacalling for more maritime cooperation to properly control disagreements at sea. For more than a decade, the US has exploited these disputes with Chinanot only involving Vietnam, but also the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesiato drive a wedge between China and its neighbours. In doing so, US imperialism has transformed the South China Sea into a dangerous flashpoint for a US-led war against China. Trumps attitude to Xis visit was summed up in his crude remark to reporters in the White House, declaring that China and Vietnam were trying to figure out how do we screw the United States of America. The comment simply underscores the fact that the aim of the Trump administration is to economically cripple China, which the US regards as the chief threat to its global hegemony. As far as Trump is concerned, negotiations with Vietnam, or any other country, will only succeed in avoiding the punitive reciprocal tariffs if the economic and geopolitical interests of US imperialism are fully satisfied. Lacking room to manoeuvre, countries will be increasingly forced to choose where they line upa process that is leading to trade and currency blocs, as in the 1930s when the result was world war. The Chinese regime is reaching out not only to South East Asia, but also to other countries that confront hefty US tariffs. Last week, China held video calls with officials from the European Union and Malaysia, which is the current chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Xi made an appeal to visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last Friday, saying China and European countries should oppose unilateral acts of bullying, obviously referring to the Trump administration. European Union leaders are to travel to Beijing in July for a summit with the Chinese president. In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, a Taurus missile flies during a drill off the country's western coast in South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 [AP Photo/South Korea Defense Ministry] German Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz has reaffirmed his intention to supply Ukraine with German Taurus cruise missiles. When asked on the public broadcaster ARD program Caren Miosga on Sunday evening whether he stood by his demand, Merz replied: Yes, I said exactly what I meant. Merzs threat is incredibly reckless and dangerous. He is planning to be elected chancellor on May 6, exactly 80 years to the day after Hitlers Wehrmacht signed the unconditional surrender in Reims on the night of May 6-7, 1945. This marked the end of the greatest crimes in human history. In the Soviet Union, around 27 million peopleand according to more recent research, even up to 40 millionfell victim to the savagery of the German invaders. Millions of them were shot, gassed and burned alive simply because they were Jews, communists or partisans, or because as civilians they stood in the way of the German drive for Lebensraum (living space). The siege of Leningrad alone, which lasted 28 months, claimed 1.1 million civilian victims, 90 percent of whom starved to death. Millions more were literally worked to death as forced laborers and prisoners of war in German factories. Eighty years on, Merz is threatening Russia with the use of a weapon that poses a serious threat to the country. The Taurus, which is launched by fighter jets, flies under enemy radar at an altitude of less than 50 meters and has four independent navigation systems that orient themselves to the terrain. It is therefore difficult to shoot the missile down or disrupt its flight path. With a range of more than 500 kilometers, the Taurus flies further than comparable British, French and American weapons and can reach Moscow from Ukrainian airspace. Its warhead can penetrate bunker systems and then detonate a 480 kilogram charge. The programming and deployment of the complex flying machine requires the involvement of German specialists. Merz himself cited the destruction of the most important land link between Russia and Crimea, i.e., the Kerch Bridge, as an example of the possible use of the Taurus. According to Merz, most of the military supplies for the Russian army are located in Crimea. The Russian government would see the delivery and use of this weapon as a declaration of war. No one can guarantee that it will not respond with attacks on German targets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already accused Merz of supporting measures that will lead to a new escalation. Merzs predecessor, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is still in office, has therefore so far rejected the delivery of Taurus missiles, although he has never completely ruled it out. But although Merz is risking nuclear war with this provocation, there is no one in the established parties and media opposing him. The Social Democrats, Merzs future coalition partner, has joined him in launching the largest rearmament program since Hitler, amounting to 1 trillion, in order to intensify the war against Russia. The Greens, who are now leaving the government, have long campaigned for the delivery of Taurus. The Left Party has also supported the war credits. The same politicians and journalists, who justify every war crime committed by Israel with Germanys responsibility for the Holocaust, have no such scruples when it comes to waging war against Russia. On the contrary, the campaign against Russia is taking on evermore openly revanchist traits. In ruling circles, the victory of the Soviet Red Army over Hitlers Wehrmacht is once again seen as a defeat and not as a liberation. The history books are being rewritten accordingly. Germanys entire official political life is characterized by crazed war hysteriawhich, however, finds little resonance in the general population and confronts mistrust and opposition. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), who is likely to remain in office, already issued the slogan last summer that Germany must be war-ready by 2029 in order to be able to wage a war against Russia. The new government wants to reintroduce military registration this year in order to have enough young people available for voluntary or compulsory military service. Inspector General Carsten Breuer has set a target of 200,000 active soldiers and 260,000 reservists in order to meet Germanys NATO obligations and its role as a logistical hub for a troop deployment on the alliances eastern flank. To achieve this, 20,000 additional active soldiers must be recruited and 100,000 more reservists trained. This is not enough for the Christian Democrat Patrick Sensburg, president of the Reservist Association. Since, according to NATO calculations, in a possible war on NATOs eastern front, it can be assumed that 5,000 of our own troops will die every day, they must be replaced, he said. Otherwise it would be easy to calculate how long it would take for the front to collapse. In order to defend Germany across the board with modern war material, 300,000 to 350,000 soldiers and almost 1 million reservists would be required. Even the contradictory efforts of US President Donald Trump to agree to a ceasefire with Russia are met with blatant rejection in Berlin. Germany and other European powers are determined to continue the costly war against Russia at all costs. Germany and the UK have now taken over the leadership of the Ukraine Contact Group from the US in order to secure the supply of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine. And France and the UK are leading the so-called coalition of the willing, which is attempting to send Western troops to Ukraine. After a Russian missile claimed over 30 victims in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, Merz sneered on Caren Miosga: I say to all those who naively ask Putin to come to the negotiating table: Thats the answer. Thats what Putin does to those who talk to him about a ceasefire. The official propaganda that Russia will attack the whole of Europe if it is not defeated militarily in Ukraine is a lie. It has neither the economic and military means nor the political motive to do so. The Putin regime, which represents the interests of the Russian oligarchs, has long sought to join the circle of imperialist powers. In 2001, Putin was therefore enthusiastically celebrated by the German Bundestag. But the imperialist powers wanted more. In Iraq, Libya and Syria, they violently overthrew governments with which Russia had good relations and expanded NATO ever further towards Russia. In 2014, Washington and Berlin supported a coup in Kiev, whichbacked by fascist forcesbrought a pro-Western regime to power, began to systematically arm the Ukrainian army and thus provoked Russias reactionary attack on Ukraine. Now, in the face of growing conflict with the US, the European powers are seeking to continue the war against Russia on their own. As we wrote in an earlier article, The German ruling class has never come to terms with the fact that it had to take a back seat militarily after the failure of Hitlers war of annihilation. The real purpose of its gigantic rearmament program is to transform Germany once again into a great military power that can free itself from American domination, dominate Europe and take on other great powersRussia, China and the USin the struggle for the violent redivision of the world. Only the working class can stop this relapse into war and barbarism. It bears the cost of rearmament and war in the form of falling wages and social benefits, the suppression of democratic rights and ultimately war and destruction. And it produces all the wealth of society. Europe is already being repeatedly shaken by violent class struggles and protests. But these struggles need a perspective. The working class must free itself from the paralysing influence of the trade unions and the pseudo-left organizations that openly support the war programme or steer resistance against it into the dead end of impotent appeals to the ruling class. It must unite throughout Europe and worldwide and combine the struggle against social cuts and for better wages and democratic rights with the struggle against war and its causecapitalism. This is what the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party, SGP) and its sister organizations in the International Committee of the Fourth International are fighting for. Over recent weeks New Zealand Green Party MP Tamatha Paul has been embroiled in a political and media furore over comments she has made raising criticisms of the police. Tamatha Paul [Photo: Facebook/Tamatha Paul] The beat-up against Paul has been running alongside another right-wing campaign, led by the NZ First Party which is part of the governing coalition, making baseless insinuations, without a shred of evidence, that Green MP Benjamin Doyle is a paedophile. The campaign is part of the sharp turn by political establishments internationally to the far right. Like the Trump administration in the US, New Zealands government and compliant corporate media are attacking the purportedly left wing Greens to divert attention from soaring social inequality and the countrys integration into US-led war preparations against China. Paul, a former Wellington City councillor and Wellington Central MP since the 2023 elections, was a guest speaker at a panel hosted by the University of Canterburys Greens and Peace Action Otautahi groups last month, discussing the topic systemic issues in the police system and radical alternatives to policing. In a TikTok video, Paul described this as an event to talk about the police and what alternatives we could have to the police and what radical kind of police abolition could look like in real terms. Paul said she was hearing nothing but complaints about police beat patrols. Wellington people do not want to see police officers everywhere, for a lot of people it makes them feel less safe, because its that kind of constant visual presence that tells you that you might not be safe, therefore heres heaps of cops, she declared. Paul added all they do is walk around all day waiting for homeless people to leave their spot, packing their stuff up and throwing it in the bin. The increase in patrols was not changing anything as crime hasnt decreased in Wellington city. The patrols were, she said, taking resource away from actual genuine family violence callouts and sexual violence callouts. Paul said there were other really good alternatives to the patrols such as Maori wardens. She also said multidisciplinary teams could respond to incidents. You could have paramedics and mental health specialists and they all go together and go to those callouts. There was a ferocious push-back by political spokespersons and across social media. Police Minister Mark Mitchell said it was pretty divorced from reality, claiming the comments were along the lines of disestablishing the police, an inference Paul rejected. Mitchell posted on X that it was alarming that the Green Partys position is that the Police should have less discretion. The Sensible Sentencing Trust, a far-right lobby group that advocates for harsher prison sentences, funded billboards in Wellington and Auckland ridiculing the Greens alleged call to defund da police. The Trust is supported by the Act Party, another coalition partner. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Pauls comments a load of rubbish. The police, he said, are out on the beat, but doing what theyre asked to do, which is to keep the community safe. And I think shes on a completely different planet. Luxon said the Greens were in La-La Land. Opposition Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins also joined the pile-on. He bluntly declared, Tamatha Pauls comments were ill-informed, were unwise, in fact, were stupid. Asked specifically what was stupid, Hipkins said she was saying that people felt safer with seeing gang members, patched gang members on the street, compared to seeing police on the street. Amid its onslaught on living standards, the National Party-led government last year began implementing a sweeping law and order agenda. This included outlawing the wearing of gang regalia in public, promising 500 more police officers, an expanded prison building program and military-style boot camps for teenage offenders. In the face of the attacks, Paul doubled down. Im not surprised that people are upset that a young brown woman is being critical of an institution that has let her and her communities down for a very long time, she told RNZ. Paul declared her comments were based on legitimate experiences of people that I am supposed to represent. Paul referenced two recent policing incidents, one in which an 11-year-old girl was handcuffed, taken to a mental health facility, and injected with antipsychotics after police misidentified her as a 20-year-old. Another case involved police use of force against a man who lost his life. My view is they [police] are not the best people to be responding to instances where people are in mental distress, in drug psychosis, those high level situations that require specialist responsethats not your average police officer, Paul explained. Statistics show police have killed over 40 people since 1990, at a rate 11 times that of police in England and Wales, per head of population. Many victims had received mental health treatment and others had undiagnosed or untreated mental health issues. New Zealand police do not carry firearms but can access weapons locked in patrol cars and at police stations. Newly appointed Police Commissioner Richard Chambers declared last week he is open to discussing the routine arming of officers, a move long advocated by the Police Association. An Understanding Police Delivery report, co-produced last year by researchers and the police themselves, affirmed that Maori are seven times more likely than European New Zealanders to be victims of police violence. Research conducted in West Auckland showed that Maori and Pacific peoples overwhelmingly preferred other measures to increased police patrols. While racism is certainly a factor, the main reason these groups are more likely to be targeted is that Maori and Pacific people are predominantly among the poorest and most oppressed layers of the working class. Criminologist Roger Brooking wrote in the Listener that comments made by Paul in a TikTok video on March 6in which she said the majority of people incarcerated in prisons were there for non-violent offenceswere correct. Paul declared: They are being punished for being disabled for being poor, for being Maori for the system that we have in this country. Brooking noted that of about 10,000 inmates, 4,000 were on remand waiting for their cases to slowly work their way through the court system and half of these would not deserve a prison sentence. Of 29,000 people imprisoned each year, most are low risk offenders, given a sentence of two years or less and released half-way through, he wrote. Despite Pauls limited criticisms, her contention that minor reforms and alternatives to the police are possible within the current system is bankrupt. The police, courts and prisons are a fundamental component of class oppression under capitalism. Police brutality is moreover a universal phenomenon. As governments lurch towards authoritarian and fascistic forms of rule, they rely ever more on these arms of the state. The Greens, far from being left wing, are a pro-capitalist party of the political establishment acting on behalf of the more affluent social layers. While Paul presents herself as a young brown woman advocating for the poor, the Wellington electorate she represents is one of the wealthiest in the country. Moreover, the Greens should be judged not on their pseudo-radical rhetoric but on the partys actual record. The Greens were part of the 20172023 Labour Party-led coalition government, which also included the right-wing, anti-immigrant NZ First until 2020. That government significantly expanded police numbers, as well as police training programs in schools. The role of the Greens is to present a phony progressive facade centred on identity politics of race and gender. This reactionary agenda is designed to trap workers and young people who are moving to the left and seeking an alternative perspective, in order to chain them to the forces responsible for the crimes of capitalism. To defend basic democratic rights the working class must take up a political struggle against the entire capitalist system and all its parties. Socialist Equality Party local government election public meeting in Jaffna, April 2025 As part of its campaign for the May 6 local government elections in Sri Lanka, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), together with the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), held a public meeting in Jaffna. Another has taken place in Colombo. The SEP is contesting the elections for the Karainagar Divisional Council in the war-torn north, and the Kolonnawa Urban Council near Colombo, fielding 12 and 21 candidates respectively. Both meetings were live-streamed on the SEPs Facebook page. As of yesterday, the videos had received more than 8,000 views. A brief report on the Jaffna meeting was aired by DAN TV in its news bulletin. The SEP also held press conferences in both Jaffna and Colombo, which were attended by a significant number of journalists from the print and electronic media. The well-attended meeting in Jaffna on April 7 took place at the YMCA Auditorium. It was chaired by Diluxan Mahalingam, an SEP Political Committee member and one of the partys candidates for the Karainagar Divisional Council. Drawing on the SEPs March 25 election statement, Mahalingam outlined the partys program. He explained that the worsening social conditions in Sri Lanka are part of the global crisis of capitalism, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the US-led NATO war in Ukraine against Russia. Diluxan Mahalingam addressing Jaffna meeting, April 7, 2025 Mahalingam stressed the need for working peopleSinhala, Tamil, and Muslim aliketo respond to the crisis as a united class, independently mobilising their political strength under a socialist and internationalist perspective. Local council elections were undemocratically postponed by former presidents Gotabhaya Rajapakse and Ranil Wickremesinghe. The newly elected Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna/National Peoples Power (JVP/NPP) regime is now holding these elections not to strengthen democracy, but to strengthen its hand in imposing the International Monetary Funds austerity measures. The JVP/NPP has taken the baton directly from Wickremesinghe to enforce these policies, with Dissanayakes budget for this year based on the IMFs demands, Mahalingam said. M. Anita, a leading member of the IYSSE, addressed the severe education crisis in the Jaffna district. Citing official data, she noted a dramatic drop in school enrolments across the district, falling by over 180,000 students between 2020 and 2023. IYSSE member M. Anita speaking at SEP's Jaffna meeting, April 7, 2025 Anita told the meeting that official reports indicated malnutrition and economic hardship were forcing children out of the classroom and into exploitative work. She emphasised the necessity of fighting for socialist policies to defend and improve free public education. Building IYSSE branches in schools, universities, and among young workers is necessary to fight for this program, she said. Thirugnana Sampanthar, the SEPs lead candidate for Karainagar and Political Committee member, exposed the treacherous role of Tamil nationalist parties. Mass opposition to these parties was demonstrated in the November election [last year]. Votes for the oldest Tamil bourgeois party, Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), dropped to 257,813 in November last year, compared to 327,168 in the August 2020 general election. Similarly, its parliamentary seats fell from 10 to 8, he said. Sampanthar told the meeting that these parties were primarily engaged in wheeling and dealing with successive Colombo governments to secure privileges for the Tamil elite in the North and East. Their supposed concern for the Tamil masseswho were severely affected by the 26-year-long communal warwas disingenuous, he argued. Thirugnana Sampanthar, SEP lead candidate for Karainagar Divisional Council, April 7, 2025 He explained that the Tamil nationalist parties supported IMF-dictated austerity policies under both past and current Sri Lankan governments. These parties are united in defending the interests of Sri Lankas capitalist system. Thats why the JVP/NPP was able to exploit mass opposition to the traditional Tamil parties in the last election and make significant gains. To deceive Tamil voters, President Dissanayake has claimed he will release Tamil political prisoners and repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). But the government now insists there are no political prisonersonly criminals involved in terrorist acts. The PTA will remain in use until a similar law is introduced, he said. Sampanthar condemned the ongoing military occupation of the North and East and the militarys continued possession of land owned by Tamil people. He reaffirmed the SEPs demand for the immediate withdrawal of Sri Lankan troops. The democratic rights of the Tamil people can only be achieved through the overthrow of capitalism and the fight for socialism, he emphasised. The final speaker at the Jaffna meeting was SEP Assistant Secretary Saman Gunadasa. He said the JVP/NPP was functioning as a direct tool of global finance capital, intensifying the IMFs austerity program through tax hikes, subsidy cuts, increased utility charges, and privatisation. The governments so-called anti-corruption rhetoric was a smokescreen, he argued, while it continued to enrich big business and international creditors. The root of corruption lies in the capitalist system itself, which the JVP/NPP defends, Gunadasa said. He explained how the global capitalist crisismarked by contradictions between globalised production and the outmoded nation-state systemhad led to the rise of authoritarianism and war, as seen in the US under President Donald Trump. SEP Assistant Secretary Saman Gunadasa addressing Jaffna meeting, April 7, 2025 Gunadasa drew parallels between Trumps actions and the rise of Hitler, warning that ruling classes everywhere were turning toward fascism and dictatorship. Trump has launched a tariff war against the world, which is escalating into a trade war and could lead to global conflict. This tariff war mainly targets China, with a staggering 145 percent tariff imposed. In Sri Lanka, the Dissanayake government has been shaken by the recent 44 percent tariff increase. Although its been temporarily suspended, the government is nervous because it could trigger further economic turmoil. The ruling elite fears mass unrest, he said. Gunadasa highlighted the ongoing suppression of democratic rights in Sri Lanka. In December, police attacked demonstrations by School Development Officers, and in a major blow to freedom of expression, the government banned an IYSSE meeting at Peradeniya University titled How to Fight Against IMF Austerity. Striking health workers were warned against making unreasonable demands, and police recently cracked down on a protest by unemployed allied health graduates. Gunadasa stressed the urgent need to build a network of independent workers action committees in every workplace and neighborhood to fight the IMFs austerity agenda and defend democratic rights. These committees, he said, must be free from the control of union bureaucracies and capitalist parties. The SEP has advanced a socialist program aimed at mobilising the working class against austerity, to nationalise major enterprises and banks and place them under workers control. Foreign debts must be repudiated. It is necessary to reorganise production to meet human needs, as part of a struggle for international socialism. We follow the example of the Russian Revolution led by Lenin and Trotsky. To fight for this perspective, the SEP is campaigning to build a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses, based on delegates from action committees. Against the capitalist classs strategy, working people must advance their own. This must be the fight for a Sri Lankan and Eelam Socialist Republic, as part of a Federation of South Asian Socialist Republics and the world socialist revolution. BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 15. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have discussed the ongoing indirect negotiations between Iran and the US in the Omani capital Muscat, Trend reports, citing the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a telephone conversation, the foreign ministers of Iran and Turkiye deliberated on the advancements of the indirect negotiations between Iran and the US, in addition to bilateral and regional relations. Iran's Foreign Minister praised Turkiye's constructive stance on the discussions and shared Iran's principled position with his Turkish counterpart. The Turkish Foreign Minister also welcomed the negotiation process and affirmed Turkiye's readiness to support the talks in any form. Furthermore, various consular issues were deliberated upon during the phone call. On April 12, indirect talks between Iran and the US on Irans nuclear program were held in Muscat, Oman. The discussions, led by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi and the US Special Representative for Middle East Affairs, Steve Winkoff, were described as constructive and based on mutual respect. The next round of talks is scheduled for April 19. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Mario Vargas Llosa had known for almost five years that he was going to die. His doctors told him in the summer of 2020. According to the writers closest associates, one of the first things the Nobel Prize winner in Literature did after receiving the news was write a letter to his three children: Alvaro, Morgana, and Gonzalo. In it, he told them about his illness, a serious illness, in his case incurable, but for which there were treatments that could delay the final outcome. The tribe, as the Vargas Llosas call themselves, was quick to respond to the call of the pater familias. The letter served to bring Vargas Llosa even closer to his children and for everyone to finally forget the family disagreements that arose in 2015, when the author of works such as The Time of the Hero (1963) and Conversation in the Cathedral (1975) broke off his 50-year marriage to Patricia Llosa to begin a relationship with Isabel Preysler. Vargas Llosa, the last of a prodigious generation that changed Latin American and world literature, the last living Nobel Prize winner in Literature from Latin America, decided not to make the news of his illness public. He didnt want to talk about it, at least not directly. In the summer of 2019, a year before receiving his diagnosis, he reflected on old age and death in an interview with the BBC, as part of an event on the topic organized by the Nobel Foundation in Madrid. Death doesnt distress me, he acknowledged. Man, theres something wonderful about life: if we lived forever, it would be enormously boring, mechanical. If we were eternal, it would be terrifying. I think life is so wonderful precisely because it has an end. I would like death to find me writing, like an accident, to come and interrupt a life that is in full effervescence. That would be my ideal. Mario Vargas Llosa and Isabel Preysler attend the Teatro Real in Madrid for the 2019 charity gala, November 14, 2019. Francisco J. Olmo (Europa Press) At that time, his life was in full swing. At 83, he was experiencing an almost adolescent romance with Isabel Preysler in his own words, a great passion and was about to publish his 19th novel, Harsh Times (2019). After receiving the news of his illness, he continued exercising for an hour a day and continued writing seven days a week. He spoke of a domestic inertia that began with a workout, a few hours of writing until noon, an afternoon of reading, another workout, and dinner. Despite the diagnosis, he didnt cancel any commitments. He attended the Lima Book Fair as a guest of honor to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Conversation in the Cathedral and traveled with Preysler to Alaska and Marbella. On the Costa del Sol, he spent 21 days at the Buchinger Clinic to undergo therapeutic fasting. It was his preparation to later participate in the Latin American Writers Festival, in Los Llanos de Aridane, and embark on the long promotion of Harsh Times. During the 2020 pandemic, he spent the lockdown at Preyslers home in Madrids exclusive Puerta de Hierro neighborhood. Throughout his relationship with Julio Iglesiass ex-wife, Vargas Llosa was a prime target for paparazzi and gossip columnists, but he always managed to hide his frequent visits to the doctor from the press. Mario Vargas Llosa with his three children after being discharged from hospital in 2022. Morgana Vargas Llosa (Twitter) The illness brought him increasingly closer to his family. In April 2022, he was admitted to the Madrid clinic where he was being treated. His eldest son, Alvaro, announced that the reason for his hospitalization was Covid-19. In December of that year, the Nobel laureate broke up with Preysler. I dont regret anything, absolutely. The experience was there, and thats it, he told EL PAIS in February 2023, on the eve of his induction into the French Academy. In that conversation with Manuel Jabois, he spoke again about death. Being immortal would seem incredibly boring to me. Tomorrow, the day after, infinity No, its better to die. As late as possible, but still die. He also reflected on decrepitude: What I hate is deterioration. Human ruins. Its a terrible thing, the worst thing that could happen to me. For example, I now have memory problems. I always had a very clear memory. I remembered things, and I notice how it has become poorer. A few days after that interview, he entered the French Academy in Paris. The event was attended by his ex-wife, Patricia Llosa, and their three children. King Juan Carlos I and the Infanta Cristina were also among the guests. It was his last major public event. In July 2023, he was readmitted to the Madrid clinic where he was being treated for his illness. His family again announced that the reason was Covid-19. But after the summer, in October, he announced his retirement. He did so in the most discreet way, with a brief note at the end of his final novel, Le dedico mi silencio (I give you my silence, 2023.) And in December 2023, he said goodbye to writing newspaper columns. On December 17, he published his last column in EL PAIS after 33 years. Mario Vargas Llosa poses at the French Academy Library in Paris on February 9, 2023, the day he joined the institution. TERESA SUAREZ (EFE) Subsequently, he reduced his travels and public appearances to a minimum. He spent last summer in Greece with his family, and before returning to Peru, he enjoyed a few days in his Madrid apartment, surrounded by his books. It was his farewell to Spain. The paparazzi managed to photograph him leaving his house on Calle de la Flora, a few meters from the Royal Palace. He looked thinner and somewhat worse for wear. The Nobel Prize winner decided to spend his final months in his native Lima, surrounded by his loved ones and cared for in his own home by a team of professionals. His ex-wife, Patricia Llosa, was by his side until the very end. I would have liked to have lived life to the end and, above all, not to have died in life, which is the saddest spectacle for a human being, the writer told the BBC in 2019. He succeeded; his wish was fulfilled. He spent his last few years visiting the Lima locations of some of his most celebrated novels: the Leoncio Prado Military College and the old red-light district of Lima, the backdrop for The Time of the Hero; the San Juan de Lurigancho prison, linked to his novel The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta (1985); and the premises where the bar La Catedral used to stand, which lends its name to Conversation in the Cathedral. Vargas Llosa receives the Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun from Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima, 2023. Paolo Aguilar (EFE) In March, on the eve of his 89th birthday, he returned to the places where he set his last two novels: the Cinco Esquinas neighborhood in Barrios Altos, which gives The Neighborhood its name, and the inaccessible house where Felipe Pinglo was born, which inspired him to write Le dedico mi silencio. On March 28, he celebrated his birthday with his family at his home in Lima. His memory was more fragile, but he always said he wanted to be remembered as a writer. Although one never knows how one will be remembered, if one will be remembered at all, he clarified. It wasnt his main concern; Vargas Llosa said he didnt write for death, he wrote for life. On the left, Mario Vargas Llosa at the entrance to the La Catedral bar in Lima in the late 1960s; on the right, the author in front of the same building in November 2024. Alvaro Vargas Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Since Sunday, Al Ahli Hospital has joined the long list of medical centers in Gaza whose storming or bombing by the Israeli army has become through sheer repetition a footnote to the war that began in October 2023. Since then, up to January, the UN-affiliated World Health Organization (WHO) has counted more than 654 attacks on healthcare facilities. Of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, virtually all are damaged or have been partially destroyed. Just under half are operating partially, converted into a sort of field hospital that is constantly receiving wounded, virtually without specialized services, and once again undergoing stockpiling due to the decision by Benjamin Netanyahus government on March 2 to block all entry into Gaza of goods such as food, water, and medical supplies. Israeli military authorities gave the residents of Al Ahli, in Gaza City, 20 minutes to evacuate. They then destroyed the emergency department, the laboratory, X-ray equipment, and the pharmacy, claiming without providing evidence that it housed a command and control center used by Hamas. The missiles caused no deaths, given the prior evacuation, but one child died after being deprived of access to the oxygen he needed. He was one of 40 critically ill patients who should not have been moved, as WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed on Monday. Before the invasion, it was a small Christian hospital, but it ended up being the most important operation in northern Gaza, ahead of the three largest facilities in the area. The biggest and most famous is Al Shifa, because Israel also claimed at the beginning of the war that an immense Hamas command and control center was operating beneath it, which was never found. Troops returned in April 2024, and two weeks of siege ended with mass arrests and black shells instead of buildings. The same happened with the Indonesian hospital in November, which ended up closing two months later, shortly before Netanyahu reached a ceasefire agreement that he broke last last month, so as not to have to end the war. The third, Kamal Adwan, is still preparing to reopen some departments despite the attack on Al Ahli as it stressed in a statement on Monday. It was stormed in December by Israeli troops, who have imprisoned its director, Husam Abu Safiya, ever since. Most of the 15 partially operational hospitals are in the center and south of the Strip. One of them is Al Nasser, in the city of Khan Younis, which has recently been squeezed between two military corridors: Netzarim which disconnects it from northern Gaza and was reoccupied by Israel after the truce ended and the newly created Morag, which separates it from the city of Rafah, half of which the Israeli army already occupies and has included in the area it permanently controls. Bullet holes in the Al Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in April 2025. Raul Incertis Spanish anesthesiologist Raul Incertis, a volunteer with the small Canadian medical NGO Glia, works at the Al Nasser hospital. He uses a maritime simile to illustrate the situation he witnesses on a daily basis since arriving last Wednesday: Its like bailing out water from a boat full of holes. Incertis recounts how one day of bombing triggered a mass casualty alarm twice. Between 35 and 40 patients arrived at once. Its not the first time Ive treated bombed casualties, but it often happens here every day. The ICU is full and its like a house of horrors, he says via video conference from the hospital. Incertis still has the equipment for anesthesia (some children have been operated on without it in Gaza during the war), but is concerned about the shortage of supplies after a month and a half of the Israeli blockade of medical supplies. At the rate were operating, I estimate that within a month well notice shortages, he explains. The center already implements cost-saving protocols: gloves are only replaced when they become soiled, intubation devices are cleaned, and when half of a drug is injected into a patient, the other half is used on another person who needs it, instead of throwing it away as is usually done. The Hamas-led governments Health Ministry in Gaza estimates that 37% of medicines and 59% of medical supplies are out of stock. Its data shows zero stock of 60% of what are considered essential items according to international standards. These include 99% of those used for cardiac catheters and open-heart surgeries; 87% for orthopedics; 45% for kidney and hemodialysis; and 42% for emergencies, surgery, and intensive care. Key hospital departments also rely on power generators. Israel has cut off almost all electricity to Gaza since the early days of the war. A month ago, it disconnected the only line it had reconnected (the one supplying the water desalination plant) as part of its strategy to force Hamas to accept its terms by applying collective punishment to the entire population. Gazas health sector is being systematically dismantled The WHO representative for the West Bank and Gaza, Rik Peeperkorn, who spends several weeks in Gaza every two months to monitor the situation on the ground, addressed the United Nations Security Council last January via videoconference. He stated that functioning hospitals had a capacity far below what is needed to deal with the overwhelming crisis situation: 822 beds. Gazas health sector is being systematically dismantled and pushed to its limits, with hospitals time and again turned into battlefields. Most now provide only basic care due to a combination of damage, attacks, and lack of resources, he added. Much of the medical care is thus shifted to health centers and so-called health points., which try to fill the gaps as best they can. More than half of the 145 of the former, and 360 of the latter, are no longer operating. It is, in a way, as if there were only emergencies, with doctors and nurses providing care without the ability to refer patients, because specialized care is practically nonexistent. What would be serious in other contexts can be life-threatening in the Strip (where malnutrition is rampant and infectious diseases have skyrocketed). Polio reappeared in Gaza last August after a 25-year hiatus, necessitating an urgent vaccination campaign. Of the 130 babies born every day in Gaza (27% of them by Caesarean section), one-fifth are born prematurely, with complications, or underweight because their mothers were unable to obtain adequate nutrition during pregnancy. Surgeons at Al Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in April 2025. Raul Incertis Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, Israeli bombings have killed or wounded 7% (mostly children and women) of Gazas more than two million inhabitants. The Gaza Ministry of Health on Monday put the death toll at nearly 51,000 and the number of wounded at more than 116,000. A quarter of the latter suffer life-changing injuries, according to the United Nations. One alternative would be medical evacuation, but it requires dwindling permits from the Israeli military authorities. Baby Mustafa Abu Freij, for example, has just arrived in Italy. His family had been waiting six months for authorization to treat him for the gunshot wound he suffered when he was nine days old. And he is just one of 4,500 children (out of a total of 12,000 people) who require urgent medical evacuation, according to the WHO. Coordinated medical evacuations have fallen short of actual needs since the beginning of the war, but only number a few dozen per month since May 2024, following Israels capture of the Gaza border crossing with Egypt. At the current rate, Peeperkorn estimated, evacuating those in need would take five to 10 years. More than 1,000 health workers have been killed by Israeli attacks during the invasion of Gaza. The manner in which 15 died last month (on the deadliest single day of the war for Palestinian health services) sparked outrage outside the Middle East. They were killed (some with signs of execution) in three separate attacks on their ambulances; soldiers buried their bodies and covered the vehicles. A video recorded by one of the health workers before his death also revealed that the Israeli army lied in its initial account. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Ecuadorians woke up Monday in a state of disarray. President Daniel Noboa, a conservative, tied with leftist Luisa Gonzalez until the final day of the campaign, had won reelection in the second round the day before with a 12-point lead, equivalent to nearly 1.2 million votes. Still in a state of shock, Gonzalez, the candidate of former president Rafael Correa, faced the disaster with a claim of grotesque electoral fraud, which she failed to back with evidence and which was not endorsed by international observers. Even within her own party, Revolucion Ciudadana, top leaders, including prominent governors and mayors who had supported the candidate on Sunday in the face of her defeat, were quick to acknowledge Noboas victory (with 55.6% of the vote to 44.3%). The wide margin has multiple causes, as varied as self-inflicted errors on the part of Correas party, the commitment to a new way, and, above all, an unexpected Trump effect. Ecuador is dollarized. The tariff war that has turned the world upside down is experienced here as its own problem, because Ecuadorians think with their dollars in their pockets, says Caroline Avila, a political analyst and academic. In this turbulent world, Noboa was able to offer himself as a better solution. On March 29, in the midst of the election campaign, the president visited Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence out of the blue. He said it wasnt an official visit and that the U.S. president had asked him not to give too many details. Spokespeople for the Ecuadorian president, including his mother, a congresswoman, let it be known that they had spoken about security cooperation. There was Noboa, showing his voters that he had direct access to the White House and could use it if necessary. Trump reinforced the bond on Monday with a congratulatory message in which he called Noboa a great leader for the wonderful people of Ecuador. On the other side, voters encountered a Correismo that had become stagnant in its fight against U.S. imperialism. Luisa [Gonzalez] showed nothing. Faced with the silence of the left, the only option was an empty right wing without results, but at least they had their photo op with Trump. Correa doesnt even have a visa, and Revolucion Ciudadana never said how it planned to resolve its relationship with the United States, says Avila. The Republican has already displayed that he treats his friends better, and Noboa is one of them. From right to left: Daniel Noboa, Donald Trump, and Lavinia Valbonesi in Palm Beach, Florida, in March 2025. @danielnoboaok Gonzalez also suffered the effects of numerous unforced campaign errors. From Belgium, where he is in exile to avoid a corruption conviction he considers unfounded, Correa criticized dollarization and defended [Venezuelan President] Nicolas Maduro, says Cesar Febres-Cordero, a political analyst and editorialist. Both are highly sensitive issues in Ecuador and forced the leftist candidate onto the defensive. Between the first and second rounds, Luisa Gonzalez underwent a sudden change of style, with many attacks against Venezuelan immigration, in an effort to make the topic of Venezuela less toxic. And then they baselessly accused her of wanting to de-dollarize, says Febres-Cordero. Noboa knew how to exploit these errors. He also succeeded in reviving the great specter that haunts Correismo that of corruption with the release of a series of compromising audio recordings from the candidates entourage. During the final days of the campaign, he went full throttle, taking advantage of his dual role as president and candidate. He championed his position as leader, says Sebastian Hurtado, president of the political risk consultancy Profitas. He gave cash bonuses to hundreds of thousands of people, under the guise of compensating for damages from oil spills or floods. He also used national media chains to promote his security policy in the last week of the campaign, he explains. There was also the problem of violence, the issue of greatest concern in Ecuador. In less than four years, the Andean country has gone from being a bubble of peace to leading the regional statistics for homicides. Noboa came to power just over a year ago to complete the failed term of Guillermo Lasso, and within a few days he had already declared that the country was at war against the mafias. Two days before Sundays elections, he declared a state of emergency and a nightly curfew in seven of the countrys 24 provinces and in Quito. He was the president of the iron fist, even though his results were meager. Last January was the most violent month in Ecuadors history, with nearly 900 murders. It was a mistake by Correismo not to have a clear security plan. Noboas iron fist wasnt successful, but that doesnt mean the population rejects it, says Avila. Despite all these signs, analysts failed to see the tsunami of votes in Noboas favor coming. The result is explained by Gonzalezs stagnation in the coastal provinces, strongholds of Correismo, and a significant loss of votes where Noboa had been strongest in the first round. Hurtado says the underlying problem was failing to see that Ecuador is no longer the same as it was a year ago, when Noboa also defeated Gonzalez in early elections. There is a deeper change in political sentiment that we are still not clear about. Noboa was in power for a year and is still seen as a leader who embodies hope for change and a new face of politics, he asserts. For Febres-Cordero, Noboa also seemed like an option for calm, at worst, the devil you know. Logic tells you that a leader wears himself down, especially if there are no results, Avila adds, which is why his victory hasnt been due to positive results, but rather to fears of a threatening geopolitical context. Its clear that the presidents political capital is limited, based more on others mistakes than his own successes. Against this backdrop, Noboa will now face the challenge of building governability over the next four years. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Don McFarland is 85 years old, but his eyes light up and he starts smiling like a kid when you mention potatoes or how he grows them on his property nestled into the base of the Boise National Forest.. McFarlands life has revolved around the tubers. He seems to know more about them and their varieties than just about anyone. There are the red Gogu Valleys, the purple Bora Valleys, the Taedong Valleys from South Korea, common russets and reds and purples, Yukon Golds and his personal favorite the Huckleberry Golds. He gets ever more excited while talking about the future and million-dollar high-pressure machines that blast potatoes with hot temperatures to stretch the proteins. And how he is joining forces with scientists to extract materials that can then be used in everything from pharmaceuticals to product coatings in a worldwide market he says is worth more than $100 billion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as he looks toward the future, McFarland, the founder of Genesis Organics, is preparing to say goodbye to a 30-year project: his 4,000-acre organic potato farm 30 minutes northeast of Mountain Home, perched at 5,000 feet of elevation on a plateau above the Anderson Ranch Reservoir. Don McFarland, the founder of Genesis Organics, is selling his nearly 4,000 acre property north of Mountain Home for $27 million with Wyoming-based Live Water Properties. McFarland placed the Idaho land for sale, the crown jewel of his operations, in December for $27 million. The property, which sits about an hour-and-a-half drive between Boise and Sun Valley, is surrounded by mountains and overlooks the reservoir, with plenty of trout fishing and elk-hunting opportunities. Its just unreal to go up there and drive around, McFarland said in an interview. People go up there, they dont want to leave. Theyve never seen anything like it. The property includes three farm houses and two cabins. Theres a feeling that you get on it that is just indescribable, said Adam Deakin, a Boise-based broker with Wyomings Live Water Properties, who is representing McFarland on the real estate sale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mountain property includes three houses, two unfinished cabins, four potato cellars, five grain bins and an 85 foot by 40 foot shop, according to the listing. Its acreage includes pasture, timber and a central sage brush knoll plus about 2,800 acres of organic farmland, according to the listing. Multiple farm houses on the property sit behind a row of trees. It sits north of Highway 20 and the Little Camas Reservoir, and Deakin said there is an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities and a tremendous amount of wildlife. Just from a natural resources (and) recreation standpoint, Deakin said, youre in an incredible part of the world split between Sun Valley and Boise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to McFarland, This property is not just a farm Its a legacy property. Don McFarland, the owner of Genesis Organics, stands in a field of crops at his 4,000 acre property overlooking the Anderson Ranch Reservoir, about 30 minutes northwest of Mountain Home. In December, McFarland placed his farm for sale for $27 million. An Idaho outdoorsmans paradise According to Deakin, a hunter and angler, the wildlife is top-of-class. About 300 to 400 elk inhabit the property in the August-to-December hunting season, he said. There are also abundant mule deer, antelope, moose and water fowl. The wildlife in the place is absurd, he said. Hundreds of elk make their way through McFarlands property between August to December. The land sits in the Idaho Department of Fish and Games Unit 44, in the Smoky-Bennett Zone known for trophy elk and deer hunting. Only 3% of those who applied to hunt elk there in 2020 and 9% in 2021 landed tags, according to Idaho Fish and Game. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a landowner, Deakin said, McFarland is able to draw tags every year because he can apply for both the public lottery and the private landowner appreciation program. The program gives landowners better odds at drawing tags in exchange for providing habitat for wildlife. McFarland, though, says he has never fired a shot on the property. I got my permit to kill a bull, but I didnt want to kill a bull, he said. It just breaks my heart to see it happen. He said hed butted heads with Fish and Game when officials wanted to reduce the number of elk, but McFarland said he prefers seeing them in the wild. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We just try and manage the farm to where they dont do intolerable damage, he said. And they can especially if the ground is wet and the whole herd goes through a potato patch. The property boasts an absurd amount of wildlife, according to Deakin, with common sightings of elk, mule deer, antelope, moose and water fowl. McFarland learned that the hard way when elk damaged 300 acres of organic potatoes and 800 acres of organic Khorasan wheat in 2018, according to the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation. Khorasan wheat is a type of ancient grain with a nutty, buttery flavor, according to the national nonprofit Whole Grains Council. McFarland filed a $1 million claim with Fish and Game after the incident, which was then the largest claim ever filed with Fish and Games Expendable Big Game Depredation Account. The department paid the claim, but it led to legislation that capped the amount that can be paid for a single claim to 10% of the accounts annual appropriation, according to the Farm Bureau Federation. For anglers, the site offers nearby easy public access to the South Fork of the Boise River and the 4,600 acre Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The reservoir is stocked with kokanee and fall Chinook, rainbow and bull trout, yellow perch and mountain whitefish, according to Idaho Fish and Game. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The property also has two ponds and a 40-acre private reservoir that is stocked with rainbow trout that have grown up to 20 to 25 inches long, Deakin said. Theres all sorts of wildlife, Deakin said. To me, thats what makes it so unique. The property overlooks the Anderson Ranch Reservoir, as seen in this south-facing aerial view. Eyes to Idahos potato future McFarland said hes looking for the next thing as he gets older and wants to make sure his family is taken care of. But he still has other, smaller potato farms around the state and has big plans for the future, including with Boise State University and Kangwon National University in South Korea. McFarland is working on a process that would extract peptides from potatoes for use in pharmaceuticals, skin care and antimicrobials. Peptides are amino acids that are the building blocks of proteins, according to WebMD. Some potatoes, he said, have properties that can help with stomach disorders or cancer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His company is also working separately on a type of potato milk, which could compete with other alternative milks found on the market. Its amazing where were at with this, McFarland said. McFarlands organic potato operation at his Little Camas property has provided the supplies for his scientific efforts with Boise State University and Kangwon National University in South Korea. According to Deakin, the property is highly isolated despite being about a 70-mile drive to Boise and 90 miles to Sun Valley, which is a boon for McFarlands scientific endeavors. Unlike farms where fields stacked next to each other can become contaminated from non-organic herbicides, the Anderson Ranch property can remain neutral ground. It sets up really well from an organic standpoint and just not any cross contamination, he said. McFarland hopes to continue running his potato operations through a lease-back agreement after selling the property. Deakin said they seek a buyer willing to lease the organic potato operation back to McFarland. According to McFarland, That way we can continue to raise the potatoes up there that I need to raise, not only for the plant, but for seed and for future endeavors that were just getting started on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve taken a lot to build that operation, he said. I want to see it continue. Want to buy one of Boises iconic historic buildings downtown? Nows your chance One of Idahos most influential families pivots to luxury real estate. Where, and why? Could this Boise neighborhood be the next Hyde Park? What developers plan Got $22.5 million? These Idaho benefactors are selling their Boise-area home and grounds UPDATE: Mario Lester Jr., 17, was taken into custody by the Tunica County Sheriffs Office on Wednesday. *** TUNICA COUNTY, Miss. One suspect is in custody and another is still wanted in connection with a Sunday night homicide in Tunica County, Mississippi. Mario Lester Jr., 17, is a suspect who remains at large. He is wanted for First Degree Murder and is considered armed and dangerous. The mother of Makenzie Thomas, 18, is grieving the loss of her son, who was killed in Tunica near the intersection of Carroll Street and Edwards Avenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Armed and dangerous teen wanted for murder following fatal shooting in MS Whitney Thomas says her son and the two suspects are related and hung out together almost daily. I feel like I raised him the correct way. I guided him. I tried my best, said Whitney Thomas. Shooting at Covington apartments leads to multiple arrests You could spot him out a mile away cause he had that certain walk, that build, and you know who he was from a long distance thats Makenzie coming down the street, said Thomas. His mother says he was just a short walk away from home. They took my baby away right here at this place. I was here, said Thomas. He took his last breath. I was here his momma was here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ex-TN police officer, wife charged with child abuse Thomas says her child was a loving child and the suspects took Makenzie away from her. I dont know what triggered him to proceed in what he proceeded in was taking my baby away. I just really want justice and him to turn himself in, said Thomas. The sheriffs office has not released information on the suspect who is in custody. The sheriffs office is advising the public that if you make contact with Mario Lester, Jr. or have any information regarding his whereabouts, call 911 immediately, or the Tunica County Sheriffs Office at 662-363-1411. 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. PENNSBORO, W.Va. (WBOY) A woman was injured and is now a suspect following a shooting incident that happened in Ritchie County last Friday and left a man dead. According to a release from the West Virginia State Police, on April 11, troopers responded to a shooting complaint at a camper located near Farleys Run Road, in the Pennsboro area of Ritchie County. Troopers found a dead man and an unresponsive woman, both of whom had gunshot wounds. The woman has been named as a suspect in this incident, though police have not identified her. Parents charged after 3-year-old found shivering on roof of Gilmer County home Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Troopers administered first aid to the woman until EMS arrived and took her to Camden Clark Memorial Hospital in Parkersburg. She was later taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown to receive further treatment. Her status as of Monday evening is not known. The West Virginia State Police Crime Scene Team assisted troopers on the scene. State Police officials said the investigation is still ongoing as of this publication. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Without income or wealth data from ancient times, researchers used house sizes to infer the degree of inequality at each site. Pictured is Catalhoyuk, one of the oldest cities, excavated near Konya, Turkey. It must have been Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), the philosopher and one of the fathers of the Enlightenment, who was one of the first to link the emergence of wealth disparities both moral and material with the development of complex societies. This was an argument explained in his Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men. Later, in the earliest studies documenting the Neolithic Revolution, social scientists established a direct link between the abandonment of the natural state, hunter-gatherer societies, and the beginning of the end of that Eden. In simple terms, they proposed that as humans domesticated plants and animals, they became anchored to the land. From agricultural settlements arose the first cities, where surplus value accumulated, leading to class differentiation, the rise of politics, and eventually, the formation of the first states. However, a study published on Monday in PNAS examining the size of around 53,000 houses from more than 1,000 archaeological sites spanning the last 10,000 years tells a different story: inequality emerged many generations after humans had ceased to be the Rousseauian noble savage. The study is part of the Global Dynamics of Inequality (GINI) Project, which involves historians, archaeologists, economists, and sociologists. Their goal is to revisit Rousseaus premise, but with the advanced tools of modern science, three centuries later. The project uses an index currently employed to measure income or wealth inequality within a population. It bears the same name as the GINI coefficient, a key tool for statisticians, economists, and policymakers. This GINI index ranges from 0 (representing highly egalitarian societies) to 1 (where the disparity between the rich and poor is extreme). However, there is no data on the income or earnings of inhabitants in cities like Catalhoyuk, a 9,000-year-old settlement in modern-day Turkey, or El Palmillo, a Mayan site dating back between 1,500 and 1,250 years. As a result, researchers turned to the size of homes as an indirect way to assess the wealth of these past populations. As Gary Feinman, an anthropologist at the Field Museum in Chicago, co-author of one of the 11 GINI studies, explains: Variations in house size may not reflect the full magnitude of wealth differences, but they are a consistent indicator of the degree of economic inequality that can be applied across time and space. With this in mind, the researchers studied the size of tens of thousands of homes from nearly 3,000 sites, some dating back just a few centuries after the end of the last Ice Age. I know from my own archaeological fieldwork in the Oaxaca Valley, Mexico, that almost always, the larger the house, the more elaborate it is, with special features and thicker walls, says Feinman. It was enough for the researchers that the floor plan was preserved, although any other data (its layout, material wealth found, etc.) also helped to infer the wealth of its inhabitants. With this approach, they were not only able to compare the evolution of each site, but also to compare within each one, looking for differences in status. Gary Feinman (center), archeologist from the Field Museum of Chicago, during the excavation of a Mayan city with high residential inequality at the El Palmillo site in Mexico. Linda Nicholas/Gary Feinman The various studies include data from the first cities that emerged where agriculture began: the Middle East, Anatolia, and almost simultaneously along the eastern coast of what is now China and Japan. Additionally, they collected data from other parts of the world where the Neolithic arrived later, such as Eastern and Central Europe, pre-Roman Britain, and the pre-Inca, Aztec, and Mayan civilizations. The first key takeaway from this research is that there isnt one singular story of inequality, but rather many. There are many things that have been taken for granted for centuries, for example, that inequality inevitably increases, Feinman says. The traditional view assumes that once larger societies with formal leaders develop, or once agriculture arrives, inequality will increase considerably. These ideas have been held for centuries, and what were discovering is that its more complex than that: in the most complex societies, inequality doesnt necessarily rise to a peak. According to the anthropologist, there are factors that can facilitate or increase inequality, but these factors can be stabilized or modified by different decisions and human institutions. The researchers discovered that over 10,000 years, the greatest inequalities appeared in the longest-lasting human settlements. Another key factor was war, which tended to reduce inequalities. One of the studies classified homes based on whether they were in fortified settlements, using the walls as an indirect indicator of militarism. They found a strong correlation between residential differences and conflict, especially, as the authors note, in the context of collective governance and labor-limited food production. However, they also found long periods, particularly in the earliest periods represented in the database (dating back 10,000 years), when the difference between homes in fortified sites was either smaller or equal to that of non-fortified settlements. Dan Lawrence, a professor at the University of Durham and the first author of one of the studies, as well as co-author of several others, points to cases that highlight this variability. As expected, in many of the older sites, the Gini coefficient is very balanced. The lowest are those of the hunter-gatherer societies of the Jomon period in Japan, explains Lawrence. Regarding more well-known complex societies from history, we can say that Rome was very unequal: Pompeii has a Gini coefficient of 0.61, and Roman Britain is also around 0.6, depending on how you calculate it, he adds. However, in cities like Mohenjo-Daro, located in the Indus Valley, which had around 35,000 inhabitants nearly 5,000 years ago, the Gini coefficient was only 0.22. Another example of low inequality in large cities is the Tripilia culture, a Neolithic society that emerged in what is now Ukraine around 7,000 years ago. These are examples of large centers with very low Gini coefficients, most of them around 0.2, he concludes. The other major finding is that inequality took time to emerge. While there are some cases where inequality appeared almost simultaneously with the rise of agriculture and cities, in most of the archaeological record, it took many years sometimes millennia for the connection between Neolithic developments and wealth disparities to become apparent. The title of one study sums it up: 100 generations of wealth equality after Neolithic transitions. This is probably our most interesting finding: that there is a lag between the rise of agriculture and the rise of inequality, says Lawrence. Since Rousseau, it has been assumed that as agriculture developed, so did private property ownership and, as a result, increased inequality. We show that this isnt the case, and that, instead, people remained virtually equal for more than a millennium after agriculture became widespread. The enormous gap between the development of agriculture, with all that followed, and the rise of inequality still has no explanation. However, the authors propose two potential explanations, which are not mutually exclusive. On one hand, they suggest it may be related to the dynamics between population growth and agricultural methods. Initially, populations were still small, and the primary limitation on production was the available labor force. Over time, population increases and land decreases. Under these conditions, there are more opportunities for conflict, for winners and losers, Lawrence argues. The other explanation, which could have occurred in parallel, is the weight of tradition. Lawrence explains: The cultural norms of egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies may have taken a long time to disappear, so early farmers would have had solid leveling mechanisms that prevented the emergence of inequality. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition LEBANON, Ohio (WDTN) One person has died after a semi struck a pickup truck head-on Monday morning. The Ohio State Highway Patrol Lebanon Post reports a crash occurred on State Route 741 near Greentree Road in Turtlecreek Township around 11 a.m. Two vehicles were reported to be involved. 23-year-old driver in Xenia Ave drag-racing crash dies Investigation revealed a semi truck was traveling northbound when the truck traveled off the right side of the roadway, and overcorrected, traveling left-of-center. The semi hit a Ford F-150 head-on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The semi driver sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital. The pickup truck driver, identified as David R. Willis, 69, of Franklin, was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers were assisted on the scene by the Warren County Sheriffs Office, Turtlecreek Twp. Fire Department, Ohio Department of Transportation, Warren County Coroners Office and Fox Towing. The crash remains under investigation by OSP. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated. A drone strike on a residential building on April 14 in Russia's Kursk Oblast killed one person and injured another nine, Russian authorities claimed. The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify claims made by Russian officials. Russia's Kursk Oblast operational command claimed in a post on social media that a fire stemming from the drone strike engulfed the 8th and 9th floors of a residential building in the city of Kursk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A total of nine people reportedly suffered shrapnel wounds, head injuries, and burns as a result of the blaze. No information was provided on the status of the injured victims. It was not immediately clear which country the drone belonged to. Ukraine's military has not commented on the attack. Andrii Kovalenko, an official at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, claimed that "unknown drones hit a Russian ammunition depot in Kursk." He did not comment on the reported damage to a residential building. Emergency crews are currently on-scene attending to injured victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kursk Oblast, situated on the Russia-Ukraine border, is the site of Ukraine's incursion into the region and sees regular fighting. Ukraine initially seized 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory in Kursk Oblast before Moscow, reinforced by North Korean units, launched a counteroffensive earlier this month. Russia regularly strikes Ukrainian cities with drone attacks, greatly outnumbering Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory. Since Kyiv and Washington agreed on a temporary truce on March 11, Russia has launched 70 missiles, 2,200 Shahed-type drones, and 6,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on April 11. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Panic, screams, dead everywhere Sumy in shock after double-tap missile attack kills 35 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. LARGO, Fla. (WFLA) One person was taken into custody, and another was hospitalized following a stabbing near a Largo smoke shop Monday. The Largo Police Department said the incident happened in the area of 142nd Avenue North and South Belcher Road. Crime scene tape could be seen wrapped around the entrance of a smoke shop in the area, with multiple officers outside. 14-year-old arrested in St. Pete shooting that killed teen Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said the stabbing victim was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. A suspect in the incident had also been detained. A witness told News Channel 8 he was walking by the smoke shop when he saw someone pull out a knife during an argument. Investigators have not yet confirmed what may have led up to the incident. Police said Monday afternoon there was no further threat to the public. The investigation was ongoing, and no further information was immediately available. This is a developing story. Stay up to date on the latest from News Channel 8 on-air and on the go with the free WFLA News Channel 8 mobile app. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) One person was injured in a three-vehicle crash in Darke County on Monday. The Darke County Sheriffs Office said the crash happened at approximately 5:31 p.m. in the intersection of S.R. 49 and Grubbs-Rex Road. Local university to host Lent art gallery The initial investigation found a 2019 Hyundai Tucson driving northwest on S.R. 49 turned left onto Grubbs-Rex Road and failed to yield. It crashed into a 2018 Toyota RAV4 heading southeast on S.R. 49. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said the Hyundai then spun out into a 2025 Peterbilt 337 waiting at the intersection. The Peterbilt was facing east on Grubbs-Rex Road. The Toyota driver was taken by medics to Wayne Healthcare for minor injuries. The Hyundai driver was cited for failure to yield. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Victor Gomes bought a Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol from a licensed gun store in the Central Valley city of Hanford in May 2017. He used that gun to shoot his 10-year-old son, Wyland, in the head. Then he killed himself. Gomes had passed the California Department of Justice's background check required for the purchase despite being under a domestic violence restraining order that prohibited him from buying a firearm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The restraining order from the Kings County Superior Court, it appeared, had not yet been entered into state law enforcement databases that should have flagged Gomes as a prohibited buyer. The delay allowed him to purchase the murder weapon even though his previous threats to kill his son were well-documented in court records. Now, a proposed law by Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, a San Francisco Democrat, aims to bolster and speed up the process by which courts report restraining orders to the state. It would require county courts to keep records proving they submitted the orders and to make those records accessible within one day. The goal, Stefani said, is to stop people subject to restraining orders from being able to buy guns before the paperwork has been filed and to allow families and victims to be able to track the process. Assembly Bill 1363 is named after Gomes' son: Wyland's Law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: He threatened to kill his son. He was still able to purchase a gun. Now, a bereaved mother asks how "Wyland's Law ensures that courts and the Department of Justice maintain clear, trackable records of restraining orders, and that families, survivors and law enforcement can confirm those orders were properly transmitted," Stefani said Tuesday during a news conference about the bill outside San Francisco City Hall. "It's about accountability, transparency and safety." She added: "It is unthinkable that someone subject to a restraining order could still gain access to a firearm because of a bureaucratic failure. Let me be absolutely clear: Our laws are only as strong as our systems to enforce them." Wyland's mother, Christy Camara, said "it's sad it's a law in my son's name because I'd rather my son just be here than have a law in his honor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "But in the grand scheme of things," Camara said in an interview Monday, "the reason we're doing all of this is, hopefully, to save children and save families the heartache that myself and my family have been through." In her garden at home, Christy Camara has a rock painted in honor of her 10-year-old son, Wyland Gomes, whose father killed him in March 2020. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) After Wyland's death in 2020, Camara was determined to find out how her ex-husband was able to buy the gun in California, a state with some of the nation's strictest firearms laws. She ran up against a byzantine system of confidential databases and inconsistent data entry processes that left her with few answers as to why the restraining order was not enforced. Her attorney, Joseph M. Alioto Jr., a former federal prosecutor, said the Kings County Superior Court "never communicated that restraining order to the Department of Justice." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview Monday, he said of AB 1363: "It seems like such an obvious law to ask the court to prove that it did what it is supposed to do." On May 18, 2017, Gomes bought the Glock pistol from Kings Gun Center, a state-licensed gun dealer in Hanford. Todd Cotta, the stores owner, told The Times in 2023 that handgun buyers must provide photo identification and proof of residency. The store then submits the buyers information digitally to the state's Justice Department, which performs the background check. The buyer must wait 10 days to pick up the gun, even though the background check takes seconds, Cotta said. A domestic violence restraining order is flagged if the court system put it in, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Gomes purchase, everything was done per state and federal law, Cotta said. He was approved by the California Department of Justice. Cotta said then that he had records documenting the sale but that it was so standard that he does not remember it, or Gomes. Almost three years later, Wyland and Gomes were dead. After a messy divorce, Gomes and Camara had been in and out of court for years, battling over custody of Wyland. Camara got a temporary restraining order in 2016. In her request to the court, she wrote that Gomes had called at least two friends and said he wanted to kill himself and the boy while leaving his ex-wife alive so that she could "live with the hurt" for the rest of her life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March 2020, Gomes carried out the murder-suicide at his parents' house in Hanford, where he had been living. Only after she filed a records request with the city of Hanford in 2021 did Camara learn that he purchased the murder weapon while the restraining order was supposed to be in effect a revelation she said "was shocking." The proposed Wyland's Law is sponsored by the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which was founded by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived being shot in the head while greeting constituents in 2011. Read more: 6 die in Tucson rampage Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill would require county courts to verify that they submitted restraining orders to the state Department of Justice and that the justice department, likewise, keep records showing its receipt of those orders. The bill would "require those records to be made available to a petitioner, respondent, or protected person, or their representative, within one business day upon an oral or written request" and to be accessible under the state's public records law. Following the murder-suicide, Camara filed public-records requests with local and state law enforcement agencies and courts for documents showing whether, and when, Gomes was listed as a prohibited firearms possessor in any state-accessible databases. She also requested records showing when, and by whom, a background check was conducted before he got the gun and other records detailing the gun purchase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The California Department of Justice, which denied most of her requests, told The Times in 2023 that records about individual firearms background checks and gun purchases as well as information from the states database used to track individual restraining orders cannot be disclosed under the states public records law. Camara sued the Justice Department and Kings County Superior Court. In a 2021 court filing in response to Camara's lawsuit, Department of Justice attorneys said some of the records can be shared only with prosecutors, police officers and other law enforcement officials, and that disclosure of other records would constitute an invasion of personal privacy. Camara told The Times that she felt as if the state cared more about the privacy of a dead man than her right to know how he bought the gun that killed her son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the news conference Tuesday, Camara described her son as "funny, smart and polite," with a "quiet, kind soul." "I can still hear his laugh in my mind. I'd give anything to hear it one more time," she said. "Since that horrible day, one question has haunted me: How could this happen when there was a restraining order that was supposed to protect us?" 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. (FOX40.COM) A 10-year-old girl who was reported missing in Southern California was found in Elk Grove with a man she may have met through an online game video, Roblox. Video Above: What should you do if someone you love goes missing? On April 13, The Kern County Sheriffs Office asked for the publics help to find a missing 10-year-old girl who was last seen around 9:30 p.m. the night before. She was described as being white, 5 feet 1 inch tall, 100 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Deputies said they had reason to believe she was in Northern California. Southern California police search for missing 10-year-old girl, possibly in Elk Grove Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hours later, the girl was found in Elk Grove with a man she may have communicated with through an online video game, Roblox, according to Kern County Sheriffs Office. Matthew Macatuno Naval, 24, allegedly drove nearly five hours to kidnap the girl and bring her back to his residence. Naval was arrested by the Elk Grove Police Department and faces charges of kidnapping and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor child. He is set to be extradited to Kern County. The girl was reunited with her family. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. The 10th day of jury selection for Karen Reads second trial got underway Tuesday morning with 16 jurors in place and at least two more needed. In all, 54 potential jurors filled Dedhams Norfolk Superior Court Tuesday morning, according to a WBZ reporter in the courtroom. Of those 54, 43 said they had read about the case before arriving for jury duty, 26 said they had expressed or formed an opinion about it and eight said they had a bias or prejudice in favor of or against one side. Less than half, 25 of the 54, said they had a substantial scheduling hardship, such as airline tickets or a surgery, that would prevent them from serving on the jury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The selection process for Reads first trial took five days. With selection entering its 10th day Tuesday, it will officially have taken at least twice as long to get a jury for the second trial. The goal for jury selection initially was to seat 16 jurors, but the number was hiked to 18 at some point in the process. Only 12 of the eventual 18 will deliberate the case, with the remainder serving as alternates. Deliberating jurors wont be picked until the final day of the trial. Its not clear when opening statements will be delivered in the second trial, kicking it off in earnest. Read initially told reporters they were scheduled for Tuesday, but they have been delayed as the selection process drags on. How jury selection plays out Each morning of selection begins the same way, with Cannone reading a statement of the case, laying out what prosecutors say Read did: backing her SUV into her then-boyfriend, Boston Police officer John OKeefe, outside a Canton home after a night of drinking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She tells jurors that Read is presumed innocent and has no obligation to prove her innocence during the trial. Cannone also references the intense publicity that has consumed the Read case, saying, public comment will likely continue, but the rule of law will be upheld. Read thanks the potential jurors after each lawyer introduces themselves. Cannone then reads out the entire witness list, which contains 150 names, before beginning questioning. After the group questioning, jurors are left to complete a three-page questionnaire. Only after all that are jurors questioned individually. During individual questioning, both sides can strike a juror for any reason. Each side gets 16 strikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death in connection with OKeefes death. Reads defense claims she is being framed and others are responsible for OKeefes death. Karen Read murder case SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) South Dakotas U.S. Attorney Department of Justice said Tuesday that an organized effort by law enforcement resulted in a large-scale arrest of 12 of the most violent offenders on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The arrests are an effort by the FBI, DEA, USMS, BIA, SD DCI, SD Highway Patrol, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety with assistance from the State of South Dakota in response to increased violent crime on the Pine Ridge Reservation including eight homicides since Sept. 1, information from the U.S. Department of Justice said. VIDEO: 1977 escapee dies in prison Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The individuals arrested are not low-level offenders they represent a dangerous criminal element driving drug activity, intimidation, and deadly violence within the community, according to the DOJ. This coordinated operation represents a deliberate and strategic effort to dismantle violent criminal drug trafficking networks operating on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of FBI Minneapolis, said in a statement. These arrests are the result of extensive investigative work targeting individuals responsible for driving drug-related violence. The level of violence affecting the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is unacceptable and this operation is just the beginning. In the coming months, we will be participating in Operation Not Forgotten, a Department of Justice initiative focused on locating violent offenders and resolving long-standing cases. With this surge in resources, we will continue to work closely with our tribal, federal, state, and local partners to pursue justice and strengthen public safety. On April 1, the DOJ announced that the FBI would send 60 personnel, rotating in 90-day temporary duty assignments over a six-month period in Indian Country. This operation is the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, the FBIs Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations, according to the April 1 news 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 KELOLAND.com. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) A teenage boy turned himself in for his involvement in a robbery that happened last month in Northwest D.C., police said Monday. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said two suspects went up to a group of people standing in the 1400 block of Irving Street NW at about 3:30 p.m. on March 21. The suspects reportedly started arguing with the group and snatched a pair of headphones from one of them. The two then fled the scene on a bike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not ready to file your taxes? Heres how to file a tax extension On April 14, one of the suspects a 13-year-old boy from Northwest D.C. turned himself in to police. He was charged with Robbery (Snatch). Anyone with information is asked to contact MPD at (202) 727-9099 or text the departments tip line at 50411. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO A 14-year-old boy has been charged in the shooting of a 15-year-old boy during a large teen gathering in the Streeterville neighborhood last month. Police said the boy faces one felony count of aggravated battery/discharge firearm, one felony count of reckless discharge firearm-endanger, and one felony count of an unlawful use of a weapon-unlawful possession handgun. 15-year-old boy shot during teen takeover in Streeterville Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to police, he was arrested Monday by Chicago police and the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force on the 400 block of East Pershing Road on the citys South Side. Police said the boy was positively identified as the offender who, on March 28, discharged a firearm and struck a 15-year-old boy in the 400 block of North City Front Plaza Drive during a teen takeover incident. CPD sends message to CPS parents on preventing teen takeovers He was placed into custody and charged accordingly. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 figure has been swirling around immigration policy messages for months. We can start with one million, J. D. Vance repeatedly said as the November 5 presidential election approached, and he continued to cite it after he and Donald Trump had won. The Republican presidents public statements have been more ambiguous, but no less ambitious: he has repeatedly promised the largest deportation in history. Although this is only a fraction of the at least 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, deporting one million immigrants in a year would fulfill the promise, far exceeding Barack Obamas average of 400,000 annual deportations. However, analysts and experts view the figure which appears to be completely arbitrary with suspicion and point to logistical and financial obstacles that cast doubt on its feasibility. According to several anonymous sources within the Trump administration cited in a Washington Post article, the figure of one million deportees is mentioned practically daily. Stephen Miller, the senior White House adviser credited with crafting Trumps anti-immigrant policies, is in constant conversation with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to find a way to move toward that goal as soon as possible. But the pace of deportations in the first months of Trumps second presidency still below Joe Bidens average is the clearest evidence that it is not so simple to expel thousands of people overnight. The number being discussed, at least under current resources, is definitely out of reach. Deportations depend on three basic elements: arresting people, detaining them, and deporting them. And all of these components require an immense amount of resources, Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute think tank, explains by phone. The Republican administration is seeking Congressional approval of a new law that, among many other things, would provide a huge new budget allocation for immigration enforcement. However, even if Congress passes it which is far from certain because it is already generating internal divisions within the party it would still require hiring and training people, signing detention contracts, and probably adapting or building new centers for this purpose, as well as managing deportation flights. Another reason why its difficult for Trump to deport one million immigrants in a year is that irregular border crossings have virtually dried up, as most expulsions have historically been quick returns, which are easier to carry out. After he declared an emergency at the border and militarized it, encounters with undocumented immigrants dropped to 7,000 in March, the lowest number in decades. Venezuelan migrants after being deported from the United States to Venezuela, April 3. Leonardo Fernandez Viloria (REUTERS) Furthermore, Putzel adds, since deportation must be ordered by a judge in court, the current backlog of cases approximately 3.7 million for some 700 immigration judges creates a virtually insurmountable obstacle, as a person can wait months or even years for a court date. People who are in the middle of deportation proceedings are likely facing a long wait to get through it. Thats not the case for those who already have a deportation order. They could potentially be removed immediately. The latter appears to be the administration's strategy. There are 1.4 million immigrants with active orders who cannot be deported because their countries of origin are not open to receiving them. With this in mind, according to official records and various reports, the Trump administration is negotiating with up to 30 countries to accept deported foreign citizens. Although this has already been done in recent months, notably with Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and El Salvador, expanding this system could significantly boost the pace of deportations. The announcement of a fine of nearly $1,000 a day for people with an active deportation order also clearly seeks to pressure these migrants to leave the country of their own volition, in what the administration has come to call self-deportation. The White House asserts that this form of deportation is on the rise, demonstrating that the administrations extreme hostility toward migrants has a clear objective. However, it has provided no data or evidence of this. This opacity has been a constant in the months since Trump returned to the presidency. The government stopped publishing monthly statistics on the activities of immigration agencies, as a congressionally funded office has done for years. Instead, the available numbers come from statements by officials that cannot be corroborated. A preliminary analysis of available data by the Migration Policy Institute tentatively supports the logjam theory: while immigration arrests have increased, deportations have not. The immigration agency is on track to detain nearly 240,000 immigrants this fiscal year, more than double the previous year. But deportations, at the current rate, would barely reach 212,000, down from 271,000 the previous year, most of which were people detained after crossing the border without papers. Still, reaching the million deportations mark in a year seems almost impossible, but a drastic acceleration in the pace of expulsions could still make it a reality. Perhaps the administration doesnt care so much about reaching it, as long as it can boast about the implementation of its immigration policy, as when it deported more than 200 Venezuelans accused, many falsely, of belonging to the Tren de Aragua criminal organization. Its easy to say one million deportees, whether or not it can be corroborated, given that the figure, as Putzel says, doesnt seem to be based on anything concrete beyond being a big, round number. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition 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: W. Stephen Williams. Image courtesy Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. We want to remember W. Stephen Williams, 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. Three teenagers have been charged with murder after an 18-year-old was dragged from a vehicle during a robbery. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The two 17-year-olds and 16-year-old were arrested, Toledo police told CBS-affaliate WTOL. According to a police report, Joaquin Simmons, 18, met with the 16-year-old just before 4:15 p.m. on March 29 to sell shoes. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The teens attempted to rob Simmons, according to police. Simmons held onto the 16-year-olds vehicle and was dragged several blocks. Simmons was found in the roadway and taken to the hospital, where he died on April 2. Simmons was a student at Woodward High School. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The Utah Capitol and its North Building construction is pictured in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Utahs top-ranking state Republicans called a news conference in front of the governors mansion on Tuesday to celebrate yet another year of Utah ranking No. 1 for its economic outlook, according to a new report released by the pro limited government think tank American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). To Gov. Spencer Cox, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams, Utah taking the reports top spot for 18 years in a row validates how Utahs GOP-controlled Legislature has been managing the state, not just decades into the past, but also to this day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By nurturing a business-friendly climate with low personal and corporate tax rates along with family friendly policies, they said Utah is continuing its nearly two-decade streak of setting an example for other states to follow. Alongside its No. 1 economic outlook ranking, Utah also ranked No. 3 in the nation in the ALEC report for economic performance based on its gross domestic product growth, domestic migration and non-farm payroll employment growth. Its a ranking not all Utah leaders agree with, however, as some Democrats point to working class Utahns struggle to afford to live in the state. To Cox, Utahs secret sauce is state leaders forward-thinking nature on economic, business and tax policy that fosters growth over decades work that he said isnt easy or sexy in todays polarized political landscape. And its work that takes years, sometimes decades, to have an impact. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As I talk to my colleagues around the country, this is really rare, Cox said. Its very unique. The incentive structure around elections is to only look forward maybe two years or four years at most in our state. And that is true of most states. The governor said theres a pull to focus todays legislation in reaction to national hot-button issues. Without naming names, he said he spoke with a fellow governor from a state that is very close to ours who said the biggest problem I have with my Legislature right now is they only care about right now. One of the reasons that a lot of states arent doing the policy work that our Legislature is doing is because its hard and its boring, he said. There are not a lot of great social media memes about policy work that was done 40 years ago, (like) truth and taxation stuff. This stuff isnt sexy. Its not fun. You dont see immediate results the next year, its just not made for today. Utah isnt immune to that pull, Cox acknowledged. Political toxicity is among the concerns he named that could threaten Utahs economic ranking, which he said could turn us into every other state, where we just focus on the stuff that really doesnt matter but gets the most attention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I will just tell you, there are a lot of new legislators who came in not interested in this stuff, Cox said. (Theyre) really interested in a lot of other stuff that gets a lot of attention. And we have to be intentional about passing that on and making sure that every generation (of leaders), they realize that this is who we are. This stuff matters and we have to keep going. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (right) speaks about the American Legislative Exchange Council ranking Utah No. 1 for best economic outlook during a news conference at the governors mansion in Salt Lake City on April 15, 2025. (Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch) He also named the states stubbornly high housing costs and energy challenges as other issues that could spell trouble but he also expressed optimism that the Utah Legislature is working to tackle those problems, not shy away. Cox didnt point to specific issues or legislators, but in recent years some of Utahs most attention-grabbing and controversial bills stem from national hot-button issues. Last year, the Legislature approved transgender bathroom restrictions and anti-DEI measures in higher education and public entities. This year, Utah became the first state in the nation to enact a broad flag ban in schools and government-owned buildings and the first to ban adding fluoride to public water. Cox supported and signed the fluoride ban, but allowed the flag ban to become law without his signature. An ALEC-backed bill, however, was among the most controversial to win approval from the 2025 Utah Legislature: HB267 which bans public sector unions from collective bargaining. In a Feb. 19 post, ALEC deemed the bills sponsors policy champions for their effort to increase government accountability to state taxpayers. But a referendum effort is underway to overturn the law. Wednesday, the Protect Utah Workers Coalition is expected to deliver its signatures in its bid to put the referendum on the ballot. Why does Utah rank No. 1? For its annual Rich States, Poor States rankings, ALEC a nonprofit that convenes state legislators and corporations to draft model legislation that is dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism, according to its site said its economic outlook rankings are a forecast based on state standings in 15 policy variables. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Generally speaking, states that spend less especially on income transfer programs and states that tax less particularly on productive activities such as working or investing experience higher growth rates than states that tax and spend more, the 2025 report says. Utah ranked high for its lack of an estate or inheritance tax, a low state minimum wage of $7.25, its status as a right-to-work state, and average workers compensation costs of $0.86. It also won points for recently legislated tax changes (lawmakers this year cut taxes for a fifth year in a row, totaling $1.4 billion over time), its flat corporate and income rate of 4.55%, and a relatively low property tax burden of $23.54 per $1,000 of personal income, among other policies. Adams, the states Senate president, also pointed to a newly published report by the University of Utahs Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute that shows Utahs median household income of $98,336 ranked the state highest in the U.S. when adjusted for price parity. I mean, how can you get better than being the No. 1 economy with the best personal income? Adams, R-Layton said. You have families making a lot of money. And that is way cool. They can send their kids to college. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though critics often point to Utahs bottom-of-the-nation rankings when it comes to per-pupil education spending, Adams said the state has been increasing public education spending, including a boost to teacher pay this year that legislative leaders say put Utah among the top states in the Mountain West with the highest starting salaries for teachers. Were cutting taxes and paying teachers more. How do you do that without a strong economy? Not many states can do both, Adams said. Its a great day, not only for the state of Utah, but it is a really good day for those that want to have personal wealth and be able to take care of their families. Dont let economic ranking cloud over our shortfalls, top Democrat says Not everyone agrees that ALECs rankings are a holistic indicator of Utahs performance as a state. One of the states top Democrats, House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, issued a statement on Tuesday arguing that ALECs report provides a concerningly biased evaluation of economic success in our state. Rather than accounting for factors that affect regular working people and families, the index praises Utah for its low minimum wage and tax cuts in favor of corporations, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats problematic given that wages have not kept pace with cost of living, Romero said. She added that economic uncertainty under President Donald Trumps second administration could bring more stress for businesses and working-class families. Rising housing costs, increasing prices on basic necessities, and stagnant wages have left countless Utahns struggling to make ends meet in the very communities theyve called home for generations, she said. On top of that, federal layoffs and our current economic uncertainty have forced businesses to make difficult decisions, resulting in even more financial stress for working families across the state. All of this compounds a growing sense of fear and frustration. Utah state leaders and lawmakers pose for a group photo to celebrate the American Legislative Exchange Council ranking Utah No. 1 for best economic outlook during a news conference at the governors mansion in Salt Lake City on April 15, 2025. (Katie McKellar / Utah News Dispatch) Romero added that although we celebrate these rankings, we must not allow them to cloud over our shortfalls. Utah has consistently ranked among the lowest states for womens equality, and is regularly listed among the ten worst states for workers, with particularly poor outcomes in wages, collective bargaining rights, and labor protections, she said. As a state, we must protect the economic outlook for all Utahns, not only a select few. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, also described ALEC as a partisan group who has created a narrative of an economic outlook that does not benefit all Utahns, and attributed Utahs economic outlook as one that reflects the positive impact of federal investments made in recent years which helped provide a comprehensive safety net of services. These federal investments are now cut or under threat by the current administration, Escamilla said. Escamilla also said Utahs income tax cuts benefit corporations and Utahs 1%, but do very minimum for Utahs working class families. This report does not show the families who are hurting and the Utahns who are living paycheck to paycheck dealing with a housing crisis, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For years, though, Utahs conservative leadership has applauded ALECs rankings as a gold standard. Schultz, the House speaker, said ALECs ranking shows Utahs success is rooted in the principles that work: low taxes, reasonable spending, and a business-friendly but most importantly a family-friendly environment that fosters innovation and upward mobility. Its capitalism, its competition, Adams said. Its trying to make things better. I have 16 grandkids. Talk about vision. I want those 16 grandkids to have better upward mobility, to have a better life than I have. Thats what we do in Utah. Competition is a great thing, and I look forward to other states pushing us. A rising competitor In that spirit of competition, Cox, Adams and Schultz chuckled when Jonathan Williams, ALEC president and co-author of the report, noted that one state is on the rise and could be giving Utah a run for its money in coming years: Tennessee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX We saw Tennessee this year move from No. 12 to No. 2, and now is nipping at the heels of Utah, he said. Tennessee ranked high for its lack of a personal income tax, no estate tax, its low property tax burden, and personal income tax progressivity, which the report defined as the difference between average tax liability per $1,000 at incomes of $50,000 and $150,000. Utah leaders have repeatedly said they want Utah to get rid of its income tax but that would require a major tax overhaul legislators have not yet tackled, and a drastic change to how the state funds public education, which is required under the Utah Constitution to be funded through income tax revenue. In the meantime, though, lawmakers continue to gradually cut the income tax rate. Speaking about Utahs competition with other states, though, Cox said hes happy to see Tennessee surface as a healthy competitor. They deserve it. I love what theyre doing out there. He added that the state is copying many things that are happening in Utah, and I couldnt be more proud. He added Utah leaders reject the zero-sum mindset. We do not believe that our economy is a zero-sum game, that if someone else wins, we lose. Thats not how we look at it. Still, the governor indicated Utah will continue to look for ways to keep its No. 1 ALEC ranking. He half-jokingly said at the end of Tuesdays news conference, Were going to take care of Tennessee. Dont worry. The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Georgia State Patrol has identified both the driver who caused a crash and the innocent driver killed on Monday night. GSP says Cooper Schoenke, 19, of DeKalb County was killed when Fadume Mohamed, 23, of Stone Mountain led troopers on a chase. His mother remembered her son was the sweetest, kindest, most gentle kid in the world. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Just before 8 p.m., a trooper spotted a dark-colored Chevrolet Equinox speeding on Interstate 20, so the trooper tried pulling the driver, later identified as Mohamed, over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mohamed sped away, GSP says, and continued off of the interstate and onto Moreland Avenue in Atlantas Little 5 Points neighborhood. They say Mohamed ran a red light and crashed into a Honda Accord being driven by Schoenke, who was pronounced dead on the scene. Surveillance video shows the moments after the Honda accord was violently struck at the intersection of Moreland Avenue and McClendon Avenue. Witnesses told Channel 2s Candace McCowan that the scene was jarring. Just seeing that they had the red tarp over the Honda that was tough, said witness Shamir Yates. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mohamed was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment of her non-life-threatening injuries. She will be charged with vehicular homicide, murder, possession of a schedule I narcotic, fleeing and other traffic-related crimes. Witnesses say they watched as Faduma was taken out of the car and put into an ambulance. They say she seemed excited to have survived the ordeal. Throwing up hand signs, middle fingers. Maybe, I dont know, a reaction as if she survived and it was a celebration more than a disappointment, added Yates. Schoenke worked at The Fox Theatre, who shared a statement with Channel 2 Action News. Our thoughts are with Coopers loved ones during this unthinkable time. The entire Fox family is mourning his loss. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) Two people were arrested in Coleman on April 12 after law enforcement seized property suspected of being stolen from storage units as well as methamphetamine. According to the Coleman Police Department, an officer on patrol noticed suspicious activity at the ABC Storage Units in the 1200 block of South Concho Street at 4:30 a.m. on April 12. The officer made contact with two suspects at the scene, who were later identified as 36-year-old Bradley Horton and 46-year-old Gayla Carlisle, both of whom are of Runnels County. While investigating why the suspects were at the storage units, the officer noticed locks cut off two of the storage units, one of which was lying near the suspects vehicle. The officer then requested another officer and K-9 Rino to his location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scammers deceive Tom Green County inmate relatives with fake releases Rino would alert on the suspect vehicle, leading law enforcement to seize a quantity of meth and property believed to be stolen from the storage units. The suspects were also found to be in possession of multiple tools including at least two pair of bolt cutters. The department stated that Horton and Carlisle were arrested and transported to the Coleman County Jail on charges of burglary of a building and possession of a controlled substance. Horton was also held on a warrant for parole violation and a Runnels County warrant for criminal trespass. Horton and Carlisle are held on bonds of $15,000 each in the Coleman County Jail as of the time of publication. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Two men are dead, and another is facing charges after a shooting in an east Las Vegas parking lot over the weekend. On Sunday, April 13, at around 1:30 a.m., officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to the 3900 block of East Owens Avenue near Pecos Road after a report of a shooting in the parking lot of a business. Arriving officers found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. Medical personnel pronounced both men dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives learned the victims were leaving a party at a banquet hall when a verbal fight occurred, and a man, later identified as Julio Bautista-Martinez, 24, shot both men. Bautista-Martinez left the scene before police arrived, but officers later arrested him and booked him into the Clark County Detention Center for two counts of open murder. He was held without bail, and his next court appearance was scheduled for April 16. The identification of the decedents, as well as the cause and manner of death, can be obtained through the Clark County Coroners Office. Anyone with any information about this incident is urged to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section by phone at 702-828-3521, or by email at homicide@lvmpd.com. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385-5555, or on the Crime Stoppers website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Two people have been rescued in separate incidents after being stranded in remote areas of the desert in southern Arizona, authorities said. The first incident took place on Saturday when Tucson Sector Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents, along with help from the Pinal County Sheriffs Office, responded to a call from a hiker stranded near the Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, after they suffered a potentially broken ankle and were unable to walk, according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday. MORE: 3 skiers killed, including American, in large avalanche in Canada Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aboard Pinal Air 1, the rescue team quickly located the injured hiker, authorities said. Due to challenging, mountainside terrain, to evaluate the hiker, a BORSTAR agent was lowered to the ground using the helicopters hoist. The hiker was then rescued via hoist and taken to a safe landing zone for further evaluation. In a second and separate incident the following day, agents assigned to the Sonoita Border Patrol Station responded to a call from the Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office for a lost and injured hiker on the Arizona Trail near Pauline Ridge, according to CBP. MORE: Toddler found wandering streets alone with soiled diaper leads police back to shocking scene at home A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations helicopter located the hiker, but rugged terrain and dense foliage prevented the helicopter from landing, and the rescue was conducted by agents on the ground, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After reaching the hikers location, agents discovered that the unnamed man had been lost for two days. They were able to provide immediate medical aid and transported him to the Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department for further evaluation and treatment. MORE: Cop dies when police car split in 2 by light pole while in pursuit of suspect during chase I am incredibly proud of our agents swift and professional response to these incidents, said Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sean L. McGoffin. These rescues are a testament to their training, teamwork and unwavering commitment to public safety. Our agents and teams continuously demonstrate their dedication to saving peoples lives. 2 hikers stranded in remote areas of Arizona desert rescued in separate incidents originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Federal agents and local officials rescued two different hikers who were stranded in remote parts of the Arizona desert over the weekend, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said. Each of the hikers had suffered injuries. In the first incident, Border Patrol agents based in Tucson used a helicopter to locate and retrieve a hiker from a rough area near the Superstition Mountains that was too difficult to land in. The hiker's ankle may have been broken, and the person could not walk, according to the agency. Working with the local sheriff's office, a member of that search and rescue crew was lowered to the ground on the helicopter's hoist and used that to lift the hiker back up. The hiker was flown to safety and evaluated, Border Patrol said. Located roughly 50 miles east of Phoenix, the Superstition Mountains are spread over an isolated desert wilderness. The U.S. Forest Service notes that a well-developed network of trails is built into the area but warns that "trail conditions vary from fair to very poor," and the rugged terrain "can be inhospitable to those not equipped to meet nature on her own terms." The Superstition Mountains in Arizona's Sonora Desert, pictured in March 2017. / Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images The second incident, on Sunday, involved another injured hiker who by then had been lost for two days in a southern section of the Arizona Trail near Sonoita, not far from Mexico. A Border Patrol air crew located the hiker in a helicopter, but the agency said they could not land because of the harsh and foliage-dense topography. Agents were ultimately able to reach the hiker during a ground search, and he was taken to the Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department for medical treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Arizona Trail runs for about 800 miles through the entire state of Arizona, touching the U.S.-Mexico border at one end and Utah at the other. According to the Forest Service, the trail includes some easily accessible passages and others in "remote and challenging wilderness." Sean McGoffin, chief patrol agent of Border Patrol's Tucson sector, praised the crews involved in both successful rescue missions. "I am incredibly proud of our agents' swift and professional response to these incidents," McGoffin said in a statement. "These rescues are a testament to their training, teamwork and unwavering commitment to public safety. Our agents and teams continuously demonstrate their dedication to saving people's lives." Incidents over the weekend followed multiple search and rescue operations on Arizona trails last week. The National Park Service branch in Lake Mead, located in far northwestern Arizona near the Nevada border, temporarily closed two trails in that area Friday as extreme heat led to at least one hiker's death. Around the same time, rangers were managing what the park service called "a large-scale rescue" involving a hiking group that included three adults and 25 children. The group had set out on a trail to Arizona Hot Springs, described as strenuous and steep by the park service and one of the two hiking routes eventually closed on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This incident underscores the severity of the current conditions and the significant strain these emergencies place on park resources," said park service officials in Lake Mead, announcing the trail closures on social media. Savannah Bananas pack stadiums with their zany twist on baseball | 60 Minutes Watch: Blue Origin's first all-women flight crew launches to space Harvey Weinstein's retrial begins in New York BILOXI, Miss. (WKRG) Two Louisiana men are in jail after a shooting on Saturday morning in Biloxi left one person with life-threatening injuries. Recipe for disaster: Residents voice concerns over proposed landfill in South Mobile County According to the Biloxi Police Department, officers responded to a shooting Saturday, April 12, just before 3 a.m. to 1768 Beach Boulevard, the Days Inn by Wyndham Biloxi Beach. On the scene, they found a person with multiple gunshot wounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BPD officers saw the alleged suspects walking eastward away from the shooting scene. Keyronic Deshun Stewart, 40, and Saterius Virshon Cobb, 45, both of Jackson, Louisiana, were arrested. Keyronic Stewart, left, and Saterius Cobb, right. (Biloxi Police Department) Both Stewart and Cobb were issued a $500,000 bond for aggravated assault, and Cobb was issued another $100,000 bond for possession of a weapon after a felony conviction. They were then transported to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center, according to BPD. Authorities believe Stewart and Cobb knew the victim, and they were in the area for spring break. UPDATE: 2 teens killed at Foley intersection known for deadly wrecks Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to police, the victim is still in critical condition. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TOKYO - Japan's defense spending and related costs for fiscal 2025 are expected to total 9.9 trillion yen ($70 billion), equivalent to 1.8 percent of gross domestic product three years earlier, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tuesday, as the country endeavors to reach 2 percent by fiscal 2027. Nakatani told a press conference that the government will allocate around 8.5 trillion yen for its defense budget and about 1.5 trillion yen for related outlays in its initial budget for the current fiscal year starting this month. In updating the long-term National Security Strategy policy guidelines in late 2022, the government set a goal of raising the defense budget and related spending to 2 percent of that fiscal year's GDP by fiscal 2027 and pledged to obtain "counterstrike capabilities" to attack enemy territory directly in an emergency. Having a war-renouncing Constitution, Japan had long capped its defense spending at about 1 percent of GDP, or around 5 trillion yen, but the country is increasing it in response to security challenges such as China's rapid military buildup and North Korea's missile and nuclear development. The latest estimate was released at a time when the United States under President Donald Trump has been increasing pressure on its allies, including Japan, South Korea and NATO members, to shoulder more of the costs for their defense and for hosting U.S. military forces. The figures "show our efforts to strengthen our defense capabilities are steadily progressing" toward the target, Nakatani said. Defense spending and related costs for fiscal 2023 and 2024 were equivalent to 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent of GDP, respectively, according to the Defense Ministry. When comparing the latest 9.9 trillion yen to an estimated GDP for fiscal 2025, the ratio is 1.6 percent, Nakatani added. As for the percentages for fiscal 2028 and later, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that they "may top 2 percent, if needed" in the context of the security environment at that time. The defense-related costs consist of spending on Japan's coast guard, United Nations peacekeeping operations and cybersecurity development, among other responsibilities. Trump, who returned to the White House in January, has repeatedly complained the U.S.-Japan security treaty is unfair and one-sided, a stance he has maintained since his first four-year term starting in 2017. Elbridge Colby, new U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, demanded Tokyo raise its defense spending to 3 percent of GDP as early as possible before he officially took up the post last week. Related coverage: Japan parliament enacts FY 2025 budget to pass after rare revision Pentagon chief Hegseth shows unity with Japan at WWII site Iwoto Japan sets up new SDF command to unify defense force operations MEMPHIS, Tenn. A man and a woman from the Memphis area were among nine arrested during a human trafficking sting in East Tennessee over the weekend. Vincent Billingsley, 30, of Memphis, was charged with one count of promoting prostitution and one count of simple drug possession. Morgan Garrett, 38, of Cordova, is facing one count of promoting prostitution. Morgan Garrett & Vincent Billingsley (TBI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said special agents with TBIs Human Trafficking Unit, the Hendersonville Police Department, the Sumner County Sheriffs Office, members of the 18th Judicial Drug Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Office of 18th Judicial District Attorney General Ray Whitley were all involved in the undercover operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The TBI said the operation was aimed at addressing human trafficking in the Hendersonville area and identifying individuals seeking to engage in commercial sex acts with minors. Neighbors advocate for change after 3 MS teachers face child pornography charges On April 11 and 12, officers placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be associated with prostitution and sex trafficking. As a result, nine people were charged and booked into the Sumner County Jail. Among the other individuals arrested were the following: Steven Cannon, 52, from Charlotte, charged with one count of promoting prostitution.- Jerry Delp, 68, from Westmoreland, charged with one count of patronizing prostitution.- James Jones, 40, from Gallatin, charged with one count of solicitation of a minor.- Trinity Knutson, 20, from Conway, Arkansas, charged with one count of prostitution.- Carlynn McIntosh, 28, from Goodlettsville, charged with one count of prostitution.- Druce Phillips, 21, from Nashville, charged with two counts of patronizing prostitution involving a minor.- Mahicol Rivas, 35, from Nashville, charged with one count of promoting prostitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The TBI said they were also trying to identify potential victims of human trafficking and recovered two individuals. The victims were offered services through the human trafficking victim service organizations Thistle Farms and AncoraTN. Information about human trafficking and TBIs efforts to address this type of crime can be found online at www.ITHasToStop.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 WREG.com. A full jury has been seated in the retrial of Karen Read, paving the way for the start of opening statements in her second murder trial. Two more jurors were picked Tuesday on the 10th day of jury selection, bringing the total juror count to 18: Nine men and nine women, Boston 25s Ted Daniel reported. While opening statements wont begin until Tuesday, April 22, Judge Beverly Cannone will hear an array of motions filed by the prosecution and defense. Follow Ted Daniel for live updates from court: Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be motions starting at 10am Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) April 15, 2025 Judge calls for a 35 minute break so the remaining jury candidates can eat. It would appear at least one more juror has been selected so far today but waiting for confirmation. Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) April 15, 2025 New Prosecution filing: SP Hank Brennan notifies court of his intention to use statement made by Karen Read in his opening statements. Brennan also requests to know the visual aids/exhibits the defense may use in their openings. pic.twitter.com/SvtRYNQ8oq Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) April 15, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Good morning from the courthouse in Dedham, MA for day 10 of jury selection in the Commonwealth vs. Karen Read 16 seats filled. They want to add 2 to 3 more depending on how long it takes. Im on the alternate list this week for media access to the courtroom and will find out Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) April 15, 2025 Previous story: Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of hitting John OKeefe with her Lexus SUV in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in the cold 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. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone has indicated that she wants to start Reads second trial with at least 18 jurors seated. One new juror was added Monday, but another selected last week was excused, leaving the current juror count at eight men and eight women. Of the 56 prospective jurors brought in on Monday, 49 of them acknowledged theyve seen, heard, or talked about the case, 24 indicated they have already formed an opinion, and four entered with bias or favor to one side or another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cannone, along with the prosecution and defense, hopes to seat at least six alternate jurors should others leave during trial. Despite the jury selection process dragging into a third week, Read said outside the Dedham courthouse that shes not discouraged by the pace of how things have played out so far. Im OK with it, Read told reporters. We can use the time. Karen Read Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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 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) 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) 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) Defense attorneys in Karen Read murder trial argue with judge over jury verdict slip 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) Bill Read, Karens father, added, In fairness, if people have a judgment ahead of time and a bias ahead of time favorably or unfavorable toward our daughter us. My son here. I think its in the interest of fairness and justice. I mean, thats all we want is justice. The prosecution has also filed a new notice titled Intention to Introduce Extrajudicial Statements of the Defendant. They plan to try and use interviews that Read has done against her, including her statements in the HBO Max series, A Body in the Snow. Read told Boston 25s Ted Daniel that shes not concerned about the filing. 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. Reads first trial ended with a hung jury in July 2024. Get caught up with all the latest news in the Karen Read case. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Exeter Township police arrested two 19-year-old Philadelphia men in a stolen SUV after a 4-mile chase on Route 422 in which spike strips were deployed to flatten the front tires of the fleeing vehicle. Kamar F. Golden and Tahji Bruce bolted from the vehicle when it became disabled on eastbound Route 422 but were caught by Exeter Officer Joshua Wertz following a brief chase on foot, police said. Both suspects were charged with receiving stolen property, marijuana possession and evading arrest or detention on foot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Golden was additionally charged with reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer and summary traffic offenses. He was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail to await a hearing following arraignment before District Judge Michael D. Kaufman in Reading Central Court. Bruce, who was the passenger, remained free on $25,000 bail. According to court records: Shortly before 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Wertz, who was operating a marked patrol vehicle, saw a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling westbound on Perkiomen Avenue, which is Route 422, approaching the intersection with Gibraltar Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He learned the vehicle had been reported stolen to Philadelphia police on April 4. Wertz turned on his emergency lights and siren in an attempt to make a vehicle stop, but the Jeep fled and a vehicle pursuit ensued. During the pursuit, the SUV traveled east in the westbound lanes of Route 422, went over the raised median and ran a red light, among other traffic violations. After running over the spike strips, the vehicle became disabled at the South Baumstown Road intersection. Both occupants got out and ran but were quickly apprehended. Golden was found in possession of a small amount of marijuana and a universal smart key/fob a programmable fob that can be used to replace lost or broken fobs. DENVER (KDVR) Police are sharing surveillance photos of two suspected baggage thieves at Denver International Airport last month. According to the Denver Police Department, two people were involved in baggage thefts at DIA on March 28 between about 9:14 p.m. and 9:17 p.m. The agency did not say which baggage carousel may have been impacted. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police described the first suspect as a white male in his 30s, approximately five foot, 10 inches tall, with a heavy build. The second suspect was described as a woman in her 30s, approximately five foot, five inches tall, with a heavy build. Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and the Denver Police Department released these images of suspected baggage thieves. (Photo: Denver Police) Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and the Denver Police Department released these images of suspected baggage thieves. (Photo: Denver Police) Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and the Denver Police Department released these images of suspected baggage thieves. (Photo: Denver Police) Metro Denver Crime Stoppers and the Denver Police Department released these images of suspected baggage thieves. (Photo: Denver Police) Anyone with information about the suspects identities is asked to contact the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-867 or at metrodenvercrimestoppers.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 FOX31 Denver. Apr. 15A judge approved the transfer of two 17-year-olds to adult court in the death of a man shot during an attempted robbery in Dayton last year. On April 4, Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Julie Bruns approved the motion to transfer both teens to adult court. Bond was set at $500,000. Their cases will go before a grand jury before they can be formally charged as adults. The Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office said the cases have not been scheduled to be heard by a grand jury as of Monday morning, but the dates should be set soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dayton Daily News typically does not identify juveniles unless they are formally charged as adults. On Nov. 10, five people, including four juveniles, were trying to break into a house in the 3300 block of West Second Street when a resident fired a gun, according to Dayton police. "When the shooting occurred, they had went to the residence there, dismantled the Ring cameras that were outside the residence and tried to force their way into the residence," said Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns. The resident shot from inside the house, striking 23-year-old Aaron Washington in the head. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and died three days later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group was also involved in a similar break-in on Kammer Avenue, where armed suspects dismantled cameras before breaking into the residence and stealing property, Johns said. Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, Jr. announced on Nov. 19 his office filed a motion to charge three of the four juveniles as adults. "There has to be respect for the rule of law," he said. "Even when juveniles commit these kinds of the worst heinous types of crimes, they have to be held responsible and face consequences. In this case adult consequences." Two of the teens were 17 and the third was 16 at the time of the attempted break-in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 16-year-old has an amenability hearing scheduled for the end of the month in juvenile court. A decision has not been made if they will be transferred to adult court. The three were charged with murder, attempted aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence in juvenile court. One of the 17-year-olds was also charged with shooting into a habitation. Both 17-year-olds also had two counts of aggravated burglary added in juvenile court. Under Ohio law, defendants are responsible for any death that happens during the commission of a crime even if the death is one of the accomplices, Heck said. He described the footage from the break-in as troubling. "They're approaching a house, guns in hand, outstretched, going toward this house and disabling the cameras to this house after it catches them coming there," he said. "Then they attempt to kick the door in." Take a hypothetical walk with me about 18 months into the future to November 3, 2026. Americans (well, likely less than half of the eligible voting population) have just voted in a hard-fought midterm election to determine which party will control the House of Representatives. Despite economic uncertainty and the expectation that the incumbent presidents party typically takes a hit in a midterm, the outcome between Democrats and Republicans is still too close to call. Were all waiting on California to finish tabulating a handful of its congressional races before we know whether President Donald Trump will have another two years of a pliant Republican House or if Democrats will be back in control. If its the latter, congressional investigations, a stymied legislative agenda, and even another impeachment are all on the table for the remainder of Trumps term. With the current Republican majority at just a three-seat margin, this scenario is well within the realm of possibility. According to The Cook Political Report, five Republican-held congressional seats in California have a partisan voter index with just a 2- or 1-point advantage for the GOP. California, too, is notoriously slow at counting votes and declaring winners thanks to its expansive vote-by-mail voting practices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not hard to imagine that as America waits for California to count its votes, Trump himself enters the fray to cast doubt on any outcome that allows Democrats to win back control of the House. Republican-run Florida had its results on election night, after all, so what Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democrats are doing in California is automatically suspicious, part of a plot to steal the House elections and shackle the duly elected president! What tools could the Trump administration use to, um, stop the steal? Lawsuits, the Department of Justice, the Insurrection Act? Is it all on the table? This is the nightmare scenario posited by Stephen Richer, the former elected recorder for Maricopa County, Arizona. In a recent interview with me, Richer said the House majority hinging on a couple of elections in California might all of the sudden prompt a deluge of action. I could and can imagine that that would launch an investigation into the California secretary [of state], various election officials, L.A. Countys election director, so on, and so forth, Richer told me. California allows ballots to just be postmarked on Election Day. California has some competitive U.S. House races, and of course, you know, California is the bogeyman. And Richer would know. The Republican was elected in 2020 to a position that put him in charge of everything from voter registration to tabulating mail-in results in Maricopa. But upon taking office he found himself having to defend the previous election as Trump allies demanded recounts and audits. His refusal to bow to conspiracy theories about the 2020 election in Arizona earned him the opprobrium of MAGA world, and as a result, last year Richer lost the Republican primary for Maricopa County recorder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were at this point in early 2025, pondering how populist Republicans might undermine the legitimacy of 2026 as they did in 2020, thanks in large part to Trump himself. He still seems unable to let go of his hang-ups about losing that election more than four years ago. A case in point is a one-two punch of executive orders signed by the president in the last few weeks, which have been lost in the reigning chaos of Trumps tariff actions and the economic fallout. The first, issued on March 25, would represent a significant federal incursion into how state and local governments conduct federal elections. Under the premise that Trumps administration is seeking to enforce the limited number of existing federal election laws, the order as written seeks to throw out mail-in ballots received after Election Day even if they otherwise comply with state laws about postmarking; ban vote-tally machines that use bar codes and QR codes (which a large majority of jurisdictions currently employ); and require the federal departments of Homeland Security and Government Efficiency to review each States publicly available voter registration list and available records concerning voter list maintenance activities. The second order came last week and targeted Christopher Krebs, the first and former director of the federal agency responsible for ensuring cybersecurity over all areas of government. Krebs, a Republican, was appointed by Trump to head the new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in November 2018. Under his leadership, the agency provided pushback via official webpages to online rumors and conspiracy theories on everything from Covid-19 to election fraud. Two years and a day after his appointment, Trump fired him after Krebs stated publicly that there was no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election. The recent statement by Chris Krebs on the security of the 2020 Election was highly inaccurate, Trump tweeted at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than four years later, Trumps executive order appears to continue where he left off with Krebs, calling him a significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his Government authority. The order also calls on multiple high-level officials, including the attorney general and the secretary of homeland security to review Krebss activity while the head of CISA, including whether Krebs improperly disseminated classified information. The executive order does not offer evidence to suggest Krebs acted improperly along these lines. Nobody is even pretending that its about anything other than he said that the 2020 election wasnt stolen and that it was safe and secure, said Richer, who knows Krebs personally. But if were looking for canaries in the coal mine for election chicanery on the part of the Trump administration, these orders fit the bill. They signal a willingness for the administration to get involved in the nitty-gritty of elections and target government officials who threaten to stand in their way. 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. Ready for 2026? Political advertisers certainly are. Not only did political ad spending top $12 billion last year (a new record), with total marketing estimates exceeding $18 billion (another record), but political ad buys are well underway for the 2025 and 2026 races. Two races of note: the New Jersey gubernatorial election and the Florida special election to fill the seat held by former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Millions upon millions will be pumped into both races, among others. But it is up to candidates, campaigns, and other advertisers to spend their ad dollars wisely. Not only is financial mismanagement a serious disservice to donors, but it can only result in electoral losses, as political messages fall on blind eyes and deaf ears. To manage donor dollars wisely, advertisers need to think outside the box, employing an "everywhere" strategy that does not rely on preconceived notions or stale thinking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to AdImpact, broadcast is currently the largest recipient of ad dollars, accounting for more than 30% of the total 2026 spend thus far. Cable and digital are competing for second, with social media advertising projected to reach $273 billion globally by 2026. And there is room for radio, cable, and broadcast. Millions of voters still consume such traditional media, so candidates and campaigns have an opportunity to engage with them where they happen to be active. But there is much, much more to political advertising today than traditional content consumption. From YouTube clips to Spotify podcasts, radio stations and cable news networks no longer have monopolies on insightful, persuasive material, and political advertisers need to rewire their thinking to reflect new realities. For Democrats, advertising on MSNBC may be time-tested, but it may not be as impactful anymore as a short spot on "The Young Turks" and "Pod Save America" - not when MSNBCs ratings have collapsed post-2024. On the flip side, Republicans cant just rely on Fox News at the expense of YouTubers who register millions of views or direct social media engagement on Facebook or Twitter/X. Spotify recently announced that its own programmatic ad offerings will scale by 2026, with its advertising business growing exponentially in the months ahead. Advertisers, including candidates and campaigns, need to pay attention. Not only does Spotify have 675 million monthly active users, but the company is also growing its video inventory to reach audiences new and old in various ways. As video grows, so too will advertising potential. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By turning down an "everywhere" strategy, candidates and campaigns will sell themselves short, failing to win hearts and minds because they arent engaging with voters on the right platforms. In far too many cases, a political candidate may have a winning platform and the charisma to communicate it, only for their communication to be so limited and shortsighted that voters dont actually know about it. The Harris campaigns 2024 failure to lean into YouTube content, while the Trump team reached millions of potential supporters through earned and paid media on YouTube, should be a warning sign to the campaigns of the future. Republicans should learn lessons too. In 2024, advertising on Meta and Google was more than three times higher for Democrats than Republicans. While that didnt come back to bite the GOP in a red-wave year, the same may not hold true in 2026. Both Democrats and Republicans need to be wary of diminishing returns on advertising, particular on social media. Ad fatigue and audience saturation are real factors, forcing advertisers to retain creativity over the course of an entire ad campaign (and not just in the first month) while tinkering with creative if it is not resonating as expected. Over 80% of social media advertisers use multiple tactics to combat diminishing returns, with more than half expanding into additional digital channels beyond social media ads. If Instagram isnt working, maybe the answer lies in Spotify or YouTube, but not experimenting is a failure. Digitization makes experimentation easier than ever before, providing real-time feedback on ad performance. Yet the continued insistence on radio, cable, and broadcast suggests that valuable lessons are not being learned by both parties. How much longer will candidates and campaigns fail to recognize the changing media landscape? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Political advertising has been described as a "Wild West," and its up to the experts to explore every corner of the new frontier. Without an "everywhere" strategy, candidates and campaigns will go nowhere. Cameron Collins serves as a senior account executive of Push Digital. Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics teams latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In todays edition, Bridget Bowman breaks down the state of the 2026 Senate map as campaigns across the country start to get off the ground. Plus, Ben Kamisar finds another example of how President Donald Trump has remade the Republican Party in our most recent poll. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adam Wollner The 2026 Senate map starts to take shape The next battle for the Senate majority has come into clearer focus in recent weeks, with candidates in both parties making their intentions known in high-profile races across the map. As Bridget Bowman reports, Democrats face an uphill climb to take control of the chamber in the 2026 elections: The party must reach into GOP territory to net the four seats they need, while also defending competitive seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire. Republicans, meanwhile, are looking to expand their 53-47 majority while defending blue-leaning Maine and battleground North Carolina. Heres the latest on whos in, whos out and who still needs to make a decision in the top Senate contests of the cycle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michigan: The latest piece of the puzzle fell into place Monday, with former Rep. Mike Rogers becoming the first major Republican to jump into the Michigan Senate race. He quickly snagged endorsements from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott. Rogers lost to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in last years Senate race by less than 1 percentage point. On the Democratic side, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow entered the race to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters last week. Several other Democrats, including Rep. Haley Stevens and former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed, are also considering bids. New Hampshire: Former New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu announced last week he would not run for Senate, despite encouragement from President Donald Trump. Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is weighing a bid in the state, where he lost a 2014 Senate race. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas launched his Senate campaign last week, and fellow Rep. Maggie Goodlander is also still considering a run for the seat being vacated by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Carolina: While former Rep. Wiley Nickel announced last week he would take on Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, Democrats are waiting on former Gov. Roy Cooper to decide if will run against one of the partys top targets next year. Maine: Its a similar story for the party in Maine, with Democratic Gov. Janet Mills not ruling out a campaign against GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Democrats have struggled to defeat Collins even as theyve consistently carried Maine at the presidential level. Georgia: Likewise, the GOP is waiting on a major shoe to drop in Georgia. National Republicans have been recruiting Gov. Brian Kemp to run against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, one of their top targets on the map. If he doesnt, it would likely open the floodgates for Republicans to enter the contest. Read more from Bridget on the Senate map, including the latest from Minnesota, Ohio and Texas Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Homeward bound: We could see more campaign announcements over the two-week congressional recess, with lawmakers back in their home states and districts. Alexandra Marquez reports that Republicans are largely avoiding holding in-person town halls during this period, as National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson has advised. According to news releases and publicly posted event notices, the majority of town halls and town hall-style events taking place over the congressional recess will be hosted by Democrats. Youth movement: In addition to the battleground races, theres also activity bubbling up in Democratic primaries amid dissatisfaction from the base over the direction of the party. Faith Wardwell and Elias Miller write that a crop of candidates in their 20s and 30s is stepping in to challenge older Democrats for their seats in Congress. A growing number of Republicans identify with the MAGA movement By Ben Kamisar Recent polling from NBC News shows how President Donald Trump has consolidated the Republican Party not just around himself, but also around his broader Make America Great Again movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thirty-six percent of registered voters identified themselves as MAGA supporters in an NBC News poll conducted in March. Its a significant increase from past polling up from 23% of respondents in a merged sample of all of NBC News polling throughout 2023, and 27% of respondents in a merged sample of 2024 polling. The overall share is powered by the 71% of Republicans who now call themselves MAGA supporters. NBC News polling already showed signs of a shift afoot between the beginning of the 2024 presidential primary and the final weeks before Election Day, as the GOP consolidated around Trump. In January 2024, days after Trump won nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, just 20% of registered voters said they aligned with the MAGA movement. But in NBC News combined polling in October and early November 2024, that number ticked up to 29%. A shift among Republicans moving more into Trumps camp is primarily driving this movement, with a 16-point increase in GOPers identifying with the MAGA movement between the two polls right before the 2024 election (55%) and March this year (71%). Theres also been a similar shift among college-educated men, from 21% in 2024 to 37% in March also a 16-point increase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its the kind of pro-Trump consolidation that led to him matching his best-ever approval rating (47%) in NBC News March poll, though a majority of registered voters, 51%, still disapproved of his job performance. All of that shift is coming from Republicans, said Bill McInturff, a Republican pollster with Public Opinion Strategies who conducted the survey along with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt, of Hart Research Associates. Read more from Ben More on Trump 2.0:Peter Nicholas writes that the chaotic start of Trumps presidency has been characterized by a rash of reversals and retreats as he hastens to execute his agenda while his party controls both houses of Congress and his political capital is at its peak. Today's top stories Deportation fallout: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele said during an Oval Office meeting with Trump that he would not return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man the Justice Department said was mistakenly deported to the Central American country, to the U.S. Read more Arson attack latest: The man charged in connection with an arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros home over the weekend told police he would have beaten the governor with a hammer if he had found him. Read more School's out: Harvard University said it will "not accept" demands made by Trump's administration amid threats of funding cuts. Read more Tariff talk: Trump said over the weekend that in the next week he would be announcing a tariff on semiconductors, which could affect smartphone and laptop prices. Read more The doctor is in: Trump is in excellent health, the White House physician wrote after the presidents annual physical. Read more Back in action: Former President Joe Biden will deliver his first public speech since departing the Oval Office at a national conference of the disability aid group Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled Tuesday in Chicago. Read more Follow live politics updates Thats all From the Politics Desk for now. Todays newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you have feedback likes or dislikes email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com And if youre a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The most dramatic of tariffs are paused for now, but a different trade war is already underway the battle to use the tariff debate as a springboard to the GOP presidential nomination in 2028. Consider Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. I worry, there are voices within the administration that want to see these tariffs continue forever and ever, Cruz said recently on his podcast. He said the goal of President Donald Trumps shock maneuvers should be to dramatically lower tariffs abroad and result in dramatically lowering tariffs here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With his comments, Cruz implicitly contrasted himself with trade hardliners in the new administration, such as Trumpist trade point man Peter Navarro and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. But the ambitious Texan also broke ranks with some key, would-be 2028 contenders: JD Vance and Steve Bannon, the top two vote-getters in the recent Conservative Political Action Committee straw poll, for one. Bannon, the former Trump adviser, has long assumed the role of vanguard economic nationalist. But the new vice president has also staked out his own distinctive turf, becoming the favorite of the new right that rejects Reagan and Bush-era economic dogma, and is anchored around institutions such as the protectionist-minded American Compass, Zoomer-filled American Moment, and the Buchananite The American Conservative magazine (which I edit). Both Vance and Bannon are likely to run in the next presidential cycle, all bluster about a third Trump term aside. With the trade nationalist market seemingly cornered, other aspirants have been buying real estate in the dilapidated ruins of free-market, movement conservatism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, has been doing this for years. In a February 2024 op-ed, Donald Trumps then-opponent ripped his tariff plan as a joke: Imagine if a presidential candidate promised to raise taxes on every American. Imagine if he promised to make life even harder for the middle class and the least fortunate. That candidate should be laughed off the stage and defeated at the ballot box. Well, Donald Trump was not defeated at the ballot box. But that hasnt stopped Haley from being an eminence grise among that bastion of populism skeptics, the Wall Street Journal editorial board, possessed by the Trump frenemy Rupert Murdoch (who is also pushing war with Iran behind the scenes, one prominent Trump interlocutor told me recently). This is no time to go wobbly on capitalism, Haley wrote in Murdochs vertical as far back as February 2020. This contingent is no doubt licking its chops to capitalize if economic nationalism is discredited amidst a massive recession. Its a delicate balance, however: The free marketeers dont want GOP chances in 2028 to be sabotaged outright. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The WSJ board this month is prattling on about the invincible relevance of the hundred-year-old Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act disappointment, and attacking its own, including Senate GOP leadership fixtures such as the ur-establishmentarian John Barrasso. The Wyomingians crime? Barrasso similarly pretends tariffs are a swell idea. Back in the day, he was one of many Hill Republicans to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership, writes the Journal. Barrasso wore his free-trade credentials more lightly during Mr. Trumps first term, but he wore them. In his 2018 reelection campaign he distanced himself from Mr. Trumps tariffs no easy thing in a state as red as Wyoming. Barrasso may not be in the presidential mix, but every other Republican who is understands the message the WSJ board is sending with its broadside against him: The bastions of traditional conservatism are looking for a showdown in the next GOP primary. Without Trumps gravitational pull (presumably) on the stage in 2028, future contenders are desperate for the Journal and the old guards favor, especially with Vance and Bannon monopolizing the new wing. And there is, of course, a new kid on the block more sympathetic to the golden age of global free trade: Elon Musk, who recently assailed the White Houses Navarro as an idiot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musks unreconstructed libertarian economics and his penchant to spend like a real capitalist is the free traders potential ace-in-the-hole. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was, of course, Musks first choice for president in 2024 before flaming out. DeSantis has mostly kept his powder dry on the tariff furor, but if anything, that he hasnt leaped to the White Houses defense is telling enough. With no love lost with Trump, the doyen of Tallahassee is happy to see where the tide is going in 2028. That his political operation traditionally shared significant overlap with Cruzs including the retention of political consultant Jeff Roe, who was the main consultant on arguably the three major "Trump alternative" projects of the last 10 years should be evidence enough of where DeSantis sympathies truly lie. The Florida governor is a normie Republican on trade. Outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin occupies similar space not as hardline as Vance and Bannon, but not as throwback as Haley and Cruz. Given the chance to back the administration to the hilt, the most important man in Richmond (and ex-financier) told The New York Times this week that no one should be surprised and there is a necessary rebalancing of our trade negotiations or trade relationships that needs to happen, but declined to weigh in further including on if the administration is taking the right approach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Vice President Mike Pence is out of the mix with the new Trump administration, but thats unlikely to deter him from disparaging it and keeping his options open for 2028. Pence has a new think tank, and sees himself as not only a critic of Trump on social conservatism and militarist foreign policy, but as keeper of the flame on Friedmanite economic policy. The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history. These Tariffs are nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence Administration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year, Pence posted on X. In response, Trumps enforcer Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick replied: Mike Pence is just bitter. These tariffs are the definition of America First, which is a concept he doesnt understand. Tariffs arent the only area where the early cracks in the 2028 field are beginning to show. Retro Republicans like Haley and Pence also break sharply with the new wings desire to achieve detente with Russia and Iran. The battle to define America First, after Trump, has probably just begun. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Later this week, and for just one night, the South Dakota Capitol dome will be lit in a different and dramatic way. Rather than a flood of light illuminating the black dome all around, starting at 8 p.m. on Friday, a lone pair of spotlights will shine their beams out through a south window and into the gathering darkness. The display is meant to be a reminder of the two lanterns that history tells us had hung at North Church in colonial Boston, on a similar night of April 18, but 250 years before, signaling that British troops were on the way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, there was no South Dakota in 1775. The dream of statehood still was more than 114 years off in the future. Even so, the Americas 250th South Dakota Commission, chaired by Ben Jones, the official state historian, doesnt want to miss the chance to be part of a nationally symbolic moment. South Dakotans invited to voice concerns at town halls Approximately 30 states are holding similar events. Its part of a run-up to the nations semiquincentennial the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America on July 4, 1776. What the South Dakota panel has done for its part is arrange with the state Bureau of Human Resources and Administration, the agency in charge of maintaining the Capitol, to place two spotlights in the dome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly all of the other exterior lights will be turned off. The only ones that will stay lit are the small red ones at the very top, necessary for aircraft safety. The two beams of light are meant to symbolize the two warning lanterns placed in the church belfry. Paul Revere and William Dawes, after seeing those lanterns, took to horseback and made their ways through the countryside to warn two other Sons of Liberty, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, that the British were heading to arrest them. The dome spotlights are scheduled to remain lit until 8 a.m. Saturday. Leah Haugen, the bureaus special projects coordinator, said there isnt a designated viewing area, but the lights should be bright and easily seen by people looking north at the Capitol. This is a national project with many states participating. We encourage other local folks, businesses, churches, and organizations to participate, Haugen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Haugen said she stood at the flagpoles in front of the Capitols main stairway entrance during a recent test run. KELOLAND News asked whether a photograph might be available. Haugen politely demurred. Im not at liberty to share those as it would spoil the event if they were released prior to the 18th, 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 KELOLAND.com. TOKYO - Japan's minister in charge of U.S. tariff negotiations Ryosei Akazawa will make a three-day trip to the United States from Wednesday for bilateral ministerial talks, the government said. Economic revitalization minister Akazawa, a close aide to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, will meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, the Japanese government said Tuesday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference, "We will urge the U.S. side to review its tariff measures as we take a whole-of-government approach to producing results as soon as possible," adding the meeting is designed to "build trust" among the relevant ministers. U.S. President Donald Trump has moved to slap tariffs on his country's trading partners to rectify what he sees as imbalanced trade. Japan, a close U.S. ally, was not spared, with higher import duties on cars, steel and aluminum, along with a so-called reciprocal tariff, already raising concerns about the potential fallout for the export-driven economy. The launch of bilateral negotiations was agreed upon when Ishiba and Trump spoke by phone last week. Ishiba has rejected the idea of making quick concessions to reach an agreement with Washington, though he has expressed reluctance to impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States. Related coverage: Japan not to compromise in rush to wrap up tariff talks with U.S.: PM Japan, U.S. ministers eye talks over Trump's tariffs next week Japan wants win-win outcome from tariff talks with U.S.: PM Ishiba A second immigration attorney from Massachusetts confirmed she has received a letter from federal authorities to self-deport due to the expiration of parole. In both instances, however, the attorneys are U.S. citizens and were not on parole status. Immigration attorney Carmen Bello works in the East Boston area and she received a letter on Friday from the Department of Homeland Security ordering her to leave the country immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is time for you to leave the United States, the email reads and states that your parole will terminate in 7 days If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States. Bello is originally from the Dominican Republic but became a U.S. citizen in 2007. I was surprised that it was sent out to me, Bello said on Monday. I have never belonged to parole so I knew it wasnt for me ... That is very irresponsible because you are scaring a person that you are getting deported, that we are going to get you. Many of her clients received the same letter, and she described the psychological threat contained within the emails that have scared many people who are afraid their parole is being imminently revoked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The email from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ends with the message, Do not attempt to remain in the United States the federal government will find you. Please depart the United States immediately." It also provides the steps to report their departures to federal immigration authorities. On Sunday, DHS gave a statement explaining that Customs and Border Protection is sending notices about parole termination for people who do not have lawful status to remain. Some notifications are going to American citizens in instances where an immigrant provided federal authorities with an attorneys email address, the statement said. Notices may have been sent to unintended recipients, DHS said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis, the statement read. Bello said she is moving forward from the email without seeking clarification from DHS. The whole idea is to make them (immigrants) scared and leave, Bello said. With everything you see in the news, clients will believe this will happen to them after all these raids. Last week, another immigration attorney received the same email and described the situation as a little concerning since they were being sent to U.S. citizens. Probably, hopefully, sent to me in error, immigration attorney Nicole Micheroni told NBC Boston. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The language in the email is very threatening, she told the outlet. And it looks kind of like a sketchy spam email. It doesnt look like an official government notice, but it is. More News UPDATE: EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Two service members were killed and a third seriously injured in a crash Tuesday morning in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, according to U.S. Northern Command on behalf of Joint Task Force-Southern Border. The three service members were deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of Joint Task Force-Southern Border. According to a news released issued by U.S. Northern Command, the three service members were involved in a crash about 8:50 a.m. MDT Tuesday. The names of the deceased will not be released until the next of kin is notified. The injured service member remains in critical condition at a local hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The crash remains under investigation. In mid-March, U.S. Northern Command announced the activation of Joint Task Force-Southern Border to tactically synchronize Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to secure and seal the southern border. _____________________________ ORIGINAL STORY: EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Three people were injured in a military vehicle crash Tuesday morning on N.M. Highway 9, near the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station, according to the Dona Ana County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Fire Department says they responded to the crash just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 15, at mile marker 115, which is near the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station. The Fire Department says three people were transported before they arrived at the scene. The Sheriffs Office says the three people were airlifted to a local hospital. The crash is currently under investigation. No further information has been released. N.M. Highway 9 runs mostly along the U.S.-Mexico border from Santa Teresa, New Mexico, to the New Mexico-Arizona state line. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Three people were injured after a two-vehicle crash Tuesday morning, April 15, in Northeast El Paso, according to the El Paso Fire Department. The Fire Department says the call came in just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday after a two-vehicle crash on Dyer Street and Leavell Avenue. An extraction occurred at the scene. One person was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries and two other people were transported with minor injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No further 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 KTSM 9 News. A 3-year-old boy died after a shooting inside an Ohio home on Monday, according to WOIO-19 TV and WKBN-27. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The shooting happened in the 2000 block of Pointview Avenue in Youngstown around 5 p.m. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The boy later died at a hospital, both stations reported. Youngstown Police Department Lieutenant Mohammad Awad told WKBN-27 that there is a lack of cooperation from the people who might have been inside the home at the time of the shooting. The shooting remains under investigation. News Center 7 will continue to follow this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Three people were shot, one in serious condition following a shooting on the 4700 block of Haygood Rd, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (WAVY viewer photos Evan Kinnear) Police said the call came in around 9:17 p.m. Police said two adult males had serious injuries. A female victim was also shot, but is expected to be OK. (WAVY photo Cheyenne Pagan) Earlier that evening, a separate shooting occurred on Sassafras Court in which two young adult males were shot with serious injuries in Virginia Beach. Police: 2 injured in shooting on Sassafras Ct. in VB Check with 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. Three people were shot near a bus stop in Exposition Park on Monday afternoon on the heels of three separate shootings that occurred in South L.A. over the weekend. At 4:08 p.m Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a shooting at the corner of Vermont Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to Officer Tony Im. Authorities are searching for two teenage boys, who approached the area on foot, shot three people and then fled, Im said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two 16-year-old boys were taken to a hospital and are stable. The third victim, a woman in her 50s, was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Investigators suspect the shooting is gang-related, Im said. The triple shooting follows a spate of violence that rattled South L.A. over the weekend. Two people were killed and a third was taken to a hospital in critical condition in three separate shootings that happened within a mile of one another in the Green Meadows neighborhood, police said. Im said he had no information to indicate whether any of the recent shootings are connected. Read more: Violent weekend in South L.A. leaves two dead, another injured Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 13-year-old girl died at a hospital Sunday after being shot in the head inside her home in the 700 block of East 108th Street on Friday night, Im said. On Saturday afternoon, a woman in her 30s died at a hospital after being found with multiple gunshot wounds in the 10200 block of South San Pedro Street. At 4:15 a.m. Sunday, another person was taken to a hospital in critical condition after being wounded in a shooting at East 103rd Street and Avalon Boulevard, according to LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman. Times staff writers David Zahniser and Christopher Goffard contributed to this report. 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. Thirty years ago this month, Oklahoma City, and the United States, were changed forever. A bomb was detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Building in downtown Oklahoma City, leaving more than 160 people dead, hundreds injured and countless lives altered. Here's everything you need to know about the Oklahoma City bombing, those responsible, those who were killed and the investigation that brought the perpetrators to justice. Who bombed Oklahoma City in 1995? Timothy McVeigh, a veteran of the Gulf War and a sympathizer with the U.S. militia movement, planned and carried out the Oklahoma City bombing. McVeigh detonated the Ryder rental truck full of explosives that he parked in front of the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Terry Nichols, a fellow veteran who met McVeigh during their time in the U.S. Army, assisted in the planning and preparation of the bombing. Oklahoma City bombing defendants Terry Nichols (L), shown on May 10, 1995, and Timothy McVeigh (R), shown on April 10, 1995. Nichols, one of the main conspirators, lived in Decker, Michigan, a small rural community in Sanilac County. During Nichols trial, prosecutors presented evidence that he stored explosive materials at his Decker home and that he and McVeigh had meetings there leading up to the bombing. In a federal case, McVeigh received the death sentence for his role in the bombing and the deaths of eight federal agents. He was executed by lethal injection in 2001. Nichols was sentenced in the federal case to life in prison without the possibility of release. Nichols was also tried by the State of Oklahoma for the loss of the others 160 men, women and children, and one unborn baby. Nichols was sentenced in 2004 to 161 life sentences without the possibility of parole. More: Here's what happened to the OKC bomber, his accomplice and others in the 30 years since the attack How many people died in the Oklahoma City bombing? An aerial photograph shows the damage to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, surrounded by search and rescue team vehicles and equipment, April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City, Okla. The bombing resulted in the deaths of 168 people. How many children died in the Oklahoma City bombing? Nineteen children, plus an unborn baby, were killed in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fifteen of the children killed were attendees of America's Kids day care center, while four others were elsewhere in the building. A photo of one of the children, one-year-old Baylee Almon, being carried out by a firefighter became a national symbol of the bombing and the devastation it wrought. How many survived the Oklahoma City bombing? More than 600 people survived the bombing of the Murrah Building, according to the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum. The blast injured more than 500 people in the Murrah Building and surrounding buildings. More: The children of the Oklahoma City bombing remain symbols of the city's growth What led up to the Oklahoma City bombing? What to know about Waco, Ruby Ridge While McVeigh began developing his anti-government stance beforehand, the Ruby Ridge standoff of 1992 and the 1993 Waco siege solidified his view that the U.S. government wanted to disarm the public and take away people's Second Amendment rights, according to History.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In August of 1992, U.S. marshals attempted to apprehend Randy Weaver, who hadn't shown up for his trial on weapons charges. The standoff and 11-day siege left Weaver's 14-year-old son, a U.S. Marshal and Weaver's wife, Vicki, dead. Then in 1993, when the 51-day Waco siege ended with a fire that left 75 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead, including 25 children, McVeigh reacted even more strongly. And he wasn't the only one these two events fueled anger within the American militia movement and other far-right groups. McVeigh chose to bomb the Murrah Building on the two-year anniversary of the fire at Waco, and before his execution in 2001 he said he intended the bombing as retribution for the deaths at Ruby Ridge and Waco, according to History.com. When was Timothy McVeigh arrested? McVeigh was arrested just 90 minutes after the bombing by an Oklahoma State Trooper who noticed a missing license plate on his yellow Mercury Marquis. The trooper arrested McVeigh for having a concealed weapon. How did the FBI solve the OKC bombing? It wasn't until days after McVeigh's arrest that he was connected to the bombing. When the rear axle of the Ryder truck which held the bomb was found under the rubble, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation tracked the VIN number to a body shop in Junction City, Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After coming up with a composite image of the man who rented it and asking around town, agents determined his name was Timothy McVeigh. Traces of the same chemicals used in the explosion were found on his clothes, and agents found a business card on which he had scribbled "TNT @ $5/stick, need more." After all was said and done, the FBI investigation was one of the most exhaustive in its history. The Bureau conducted more than 28,000 interviews, followed some 43,000 investigative leads, collected three-and-a-half tons of evidence and reviewed nearly a billion pieces of information. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How many people were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing? What to know Around 350 Israeli authors have signed a letter calling for an end to the devastating war in Gaza, the Times of Israel newspaper reported on Tuesday. The signatories include well-known writers such as David Grossman, Joshua Sobol and Zeruya Shalev. "This war endangers the lives of IDF soldiers, of the hostages, and causes horrific suffering for helpless civilians in Gaza," the letter says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The acts being committed in Gaza and the occupied territories are not done in our name, but they will be on our account." The signatories call for an immediate end to the military operation against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, the return of the hostages abducted to the Gaza Strip and an international agreement on the future of the Gaza Strip. The authors accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of continuing the war for personal reasons. There have been several similar calls from within the ranks of the military demanding an end to the war and an agreement with Hamas on the release of the hostages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Gaza war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel led by Hamas and other extremist groups, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 Israelis were taken hostage and held in the Gaza Strip. Since then, according to the health authority in the Gaza Strip, around 51,000 people have been killed, a large proportion of them women and minors. The information, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, cannot be independently verified. Israel has spoken of around 20,000 terrorists killed. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Prom night turned into an evening of confusion for students at Raymore-Peculiar High School. Four drivers are relieved to have their cars back after they were towed outside the prom on Saturday night. Signs suggest this centers around a miscommunication about use of a private parking lot, one that managers at the Madrid Theater in midtown Kansas City are admitting blame. The four cars were towed after being parked in a lot off Wyandotte Street, which is owned by Kansas Citys Metropolitan Community Church. Private Party Towing has a contract the church to enforce parking at that location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The church actually called us, and indicated they wanted the vehicles to be removed, Jay Bloodworth, owner of the towing company, said. Bloodworth said theater managers quickly realized a breakdown in communication was happening. A theater staff member tells FOX4 the church may not have received word the parking lot beside its sanctuary would be needed on Saturday. Bloodworth said Madrid Theater managers paid $900 for release of the four cars. All parties kind of took responsibility for it, and everybody work together to resolve it. It was nice to see someone that has a venue go out of their way to take care of a guest, Bloodworth said on Monday. Bloodworth added that in 15 years working in his industry, hes never seen a venue owner pay a towing bill to cover a mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Private Party Towing presented documents showing the church called for removal of the cars. Madrid Theater managers believe 400 people attended Saturday nights shindig. A Raymore-Peculiar School District spokesperson said the venue informed students where parking was available. We did what we could to make it right, Missy McVicker, Madrid Theater sales and events director, said. We own up that there was a ball that was dropped. Unfortunately, those four cars and their owners took the brunt of it. Hopefully, it doesnt happen again, but we did what we could, I guess, to make it right. The high school issued an apology over the weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to apologize for the towing incident that occurred during last nights prom, where four vehicles were mistakenly removed from the venues parking area, Principal Scott Bacon wrote to families. This was due to an error on the part of the venue, and we understand the disruption this caused on an evening meant to celebrate our students. The venue has acknowledged their mistake and has already covered all charges directly with the towing company. No students or families were charged as a result of this error, the letter continued. After Saturdays incident, the school said it is reviewing what happened and its overall process for selecting prom venues for the future. FOX4 made four attempts to contact church leaders, but no one answered our messages left on Monday. The theater and the Ray Pec School District are both researching this so it wont happen at future gatherings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (NewsNation) NewsNation has confirmed that the suspect in the Dallas school shooting that injured four students is in police custody. The suspect is a 17-year-old male who reportedly turned himself in and will face multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Wilmer Hutchins High School is secure following a shooting incident Tuesday, according to the Dallas Independent School District. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dallas Fire Department said four people were injured during the incident, three of them between the ages of 15 and 18 and one of unknown age. One person was reported to be in serious condition. All have been transported to area hospitals, police said. Measles cases are rising: What to know Dallas police responded to a shooting call at a high school around 1 p.m. local time, according to the school district. Within two minutes of the call, an officer responded to the scene, police said at a press conference. Police responded to a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas on Tuesday. (@TheNewsTrending) Police responded to a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas on Tuesday. (@TheNewsTrending) Police responded to a shooting at Wilmer-Hutchins High School in Dallas on Tuesday. (@TheNewsTrending) Several emergency vehicles were reported in the area of Wilmer-Hutchins High School, with a heavy police presence and numerous ambulances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eagles Stadium was set up as a reunification point, and counselors were on site for those who needed them. Police confirmed that the reunification process has concluded. School will not be in session for the rest of the week, police said. This is a developing story. Check back for more details. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 - Richard Armitage, a former U.S. deputy secretary of state known as a longtime Asia hand who had close connections with Japan, has died at the age of 79, his consulting firm said Monday. Armitage, who served in the No. 2 post at the State Department between 2001 and 2005 under President George W. Bush, died of a pulmonary embolism on Sunday, the firm said. A leading voice on U.S.-Japan relations, he urged Tokyo to allow the exercise of the right of collective self-defense and came up with many proposals to strengthen the alliance even after he left government service. Ahead of the U.S. presidential election in 2000, Armitage and Joseph Nye, a former assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, brought together a bipartisan group to formulate a vision to improve the alliance between Washington and Tokyo. Led by Armitage and Nye, reports had been regularly published since, impacting the policymaking of U.S. and Japanese officials, with the sixth and most recent version, released last year, recommending a transformation of the decades-old alliance's command and control architecture. Citing security challenges such as China's growing military clout, the 2024 report proposed that the United States and Japan "take the next step" to work toward "an alliance that is more integrated, from planning and executing military operations to linking economic and security concerns." When Bush launched an invasion of Iraq in 2003, Armitage pressed Japan to raise its profile in international security, using the phrase put "boots on the ground," which aroused controversy in the country with its pacifist Constitution. Japan later sent Self-Defense Forces personnel to Iraq for reconstruction and humanitarian missions, its first deployment of troops in a country where fighting was taking places since World War II. Armitage was on the front lines of the Bush administration's handling of the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks in the United States, reportedly telling Japan's ambassador in Washington to "show the flag" as he sought Tokyo's cooperation in the U.S. "war on terror." A Republican, Armitage earlier served as an assistant secretary of defense. He was said to be one of the main architects of a 1996 agreement between the two countries to consolidate and reduce U.S. military bases in Okinawa. Armitage served in the Vietnam War after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967. He left active duty in 1973 and joined the U.S. Defense Attache Office in Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City. After he left public service, he founded Armitage International in 2005 and repeatedly traveled to Japan and many other parts of Asia, developing a wide network of contacts with foreign policy heavyweights. He is survived by his wife and eight children, according to the consulting firm. Related coverage: U.S. experts urge revamp of military command architecture with Japan GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Four more West Michigan communities will receive funding help from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy for solar energy projects. EGLE awards $1.25 million in funding to Muskegon County solar farm EGLE announced the fourth round of grants from the Renewables Ready Communities Awards on Tuesday, doling out another $8.1 million. Lee Township will receive the bulk of the grants. The Calhoun County entity will receive $4,040,000 for the Sunfish Solar projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bethel Township in Branch County will receive $1 million for the Branch Solar Project. Hart Township in Oceana County will receive $600,000 for the Hart Solar Project. Barry County will receive $297,500 for the Spring Creek Solar Project. Eight total projects will be supported in all in this round of RRCA grants. The projects supported by this round will eventually produce 1,836 megawatts of solar power enough to power 1.83 million homes and businesses. Canadian company tapped to handle coal ash left by Campbell power plant EGLE Director Phil Roos says the mission of the RRCA help support local communities move toward clean energy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These awards will enable communities to invest where they see needs in infrastructure, public safety and more, while accelerating the build-out of affordable green power to hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents, Roos said in a statement. The first round of grants was announced last October, followed by the second round in December and the third round in January. Construction begins on Muskegon Solar Energy Center In all, the RRCA will give away $30 million. Half of the grant is awarded when construction starts. The other half is granted when the project starts operating. Several other West Michigan projects have already received support from the RRCA, including the Muskegon Solar Energy Center in Moorland Township. 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. A second major "economic blackout" in protest of major corporations reversing DEI policies is slated for the upcoming Easter weekend, the day after a 40-day Target boycott will end. In recent months, major corporations, including retailers like Walmart and Target, have reversed their DEI policies several of which began rollbacks prior to President Donald Trump returning to office and taking action to eliminate federal DEI programs. The People's Union USA, led by John Schwarz, is behind the upcoming three-day spending freeze. The group is also behind recent week-long boycotts and the first 24-hour economic spending blackout on Feb. 28. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: DEI explained: What is DEI and why is it so divisive? What you need to know. Here's what Wisconsin shoppers should know: When does the Target "fast" end? The 40-day boycott of Target ends on April 17. The protest was planned to run throughout the duration of Lent. More: A 40-day boycott of Target begins this week. Here's what Wisconsinites should know about it When is the second economic blackout? The second economic blackout will take place over Easter weekend, beginning on April 18. It will run through April 20. What is included in the economic blackout? Like the 24-hour "economic blackout" on Feb. 28, consumers are urged to avoid spending any money online or in stores during Easter weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If there's an emergency, the group says consumers should only support local businesses. The first "economic blackout" also urged shoppers to avoid purchasing gas, eating at fast food restaurants and going into work if they are able. It is unclear if these measures are encouraged in the upcoming three-day boycott. What is the upcoming DEI boycott schedule? The People's Union USA has more consumer boycotts planned through July. Here's the schedule: 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 following DEI policy rollbacks, NIH funding cuts and various immigration actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Action Network, founded by Rev. Al Sharpton, said in a Feb. 25 news release that it would announce an authorized boycott at the NAN Convention in early April. During the event, Sharpton threatened to boycott PepsiCo. if it does not restore DEI policies, according to an Instagram post. A NAN March on Wall Street is also slated for Aug. 28. More: Wisconsin K-12 officials challenge Trump demands to quash DEI, saying they appear 'unlawful' This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Easter 2025 'economic blackout' planned: What to know in Wisconsin LAS VEGAS (KLAS) An annual memorial run from Las Vegas to Carson City to honor law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty is scheduled to begin Wednesday, April 23. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Andrew Walsh will lead the first leg of the Law Enforcement Memorial Run a relay that covers 434 miles over four days. The first team of runners begin at Majestic Park, 9902 W. Gowan Road, near Metros Northwest Area Command headquarters. The route typically goes east on Gowan to Durango Drive and then proceeds north to U.S. 95 and continuing out of the valley toward Indian Springs. (Courtesy: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department) Each leg of the relay represents an officer listed on the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Carson City. The memorial is in the courtyard surrounded by the State Capitol, the Nevada Supreme Court and the Nevada Legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are now 157 names engraved on the Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. This event highlights their sacrifice, and our communitys deepest respect for the family members of our fallen heroes, according to a news release announcing this years event. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Companies are cracking down on remote work, demanding workers return to the office and gutting the flexible hybrid policies that became a signature of post-pandemic work-life balance. But employees arent ready to give up on working from home. In fact, they seem to want it more than ever. Software Finder, a software discovery and reviews website, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 on-site employees to ask them their thoughts on their current work arrangements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They found that many employees are willing to make some major sacrifices to be able to work remotely. Continue reading to see Software Finders 5 most surprising survey results. 1. Twenty-five percent of employees wont take anything but remote in their next role. The company found that a surprising one in four employees will only seek a remote job when they reenter the market, refusing to even consider a hybrid option. Its evidence of just how many workers are unhappy about going to the office. 2. Seven in 10 employees would take a pay cut for flexible office policy. A whopping 70% of in-office employees told Software Finder they would trade cash for the ability to work remotely, even just for a few days. If employers are looking to save money, they might want to rethink their in-office demands, since those surveyed said theyd be willing to sacrifice an average of 13.4% of their salary to work remotely. 3. One in 3 employees would take a demotion to work remotely. Its not just money workers are willing to give up for a flexible office policy. Software Finder revealed that 33% of employees are also willing to take a demotion if it means they dont need to return to the office full-time. 4. And workers will give up vacation time too. It couldnt be clearer just how much employees are willing to lose to avoid commuting. The survey found that 46% of workers would give up vacation days for remote work, with 51% Gen Z workers saying they would even ditch up an average of 10 vacation days for the privilege. 5. Workers are likely willing to make sacrifices out of desperation. If the numbers in the previous slides surprised you, its probably because in-office workers are struggling to find jobs that will allow them to work remotely. Forty-nine percent of on-site employees told Software Finder they think remote opportunities will decrease under the Trump administration. Its a trend that is playing out in the finance world in particular, where workers are being told they must return to the office full-time. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. FRANKLIN COUNTY, G.A. (WSPA) Two people were arrested Saturday after deputies found five pounds of methamphetamine in two tumblers in Franklin County. Shortly after 10 p.m., the Franklin County Sheriffs Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the area of Owens Drive and Georgia 17, but a chase ensued when the driver attempted to flee. Authorities identified the driver as Jonathan Andrew Goble, of Kentucky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies said Goble was taken into custody after law enforcement performed a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle from fleeing. He was charged with driving under the influence, trafficking methamphetamine, possession of drug-related objects and felony fleeing & attempting to elude. Goble also received a window tint violation, according to deputies. While searching the vehicle, the sheriffs office located methamphetamine with a street value of $170,000 in two large, pink tumblers. A passenger, Lacresha Glover, of Kentucky, was also arrested and charged with trafficking methamphetamine and possession of drug-related objects. Both suspects were booked into the Franklin County Detention Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident remains under investigation by the FCSO. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. **Related Video Above: Violent crime statistics AMHERST, Ohio (WJW) Five teens were arrested after a 13-year-old was beat up at a park in Amherst on Sunday, police told FOX 8 News. Police were called to Amhersts Grace Sprenger Memorial Park for reports of a boy who had been hurt during a fight. Pedestrian down in the roadway killed after being struck by vehicle Upon arrival, multiple teens were seen fleeing into the woods, and a 13-year-old was found injured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said they deployed a drone to find the suspects, who were reportedly between the ages of 13 and 15. One of the juvenile suspects was charged with felonious assault, obstructing official business and unruly juvenile. The other four teens were charged with obstructing official business and unruly juvenile charges, police said. Police investigate alleged bus stop attack: I-Team An investigation into what led to the fight is ongoing. The severity of the victims injuries was not clear. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) 50 years ago this month, some of the most dramatic, traumatic moments in American history took place, marking a political and cultural turning point for the nation. Through April 1975, military helicopters evacuated South Vietnamese orphan children and then, on April 29, the U.S. Embassy in Saigon in a scene of rooftop chaos and desperation that millions of Americans witnessed on their living room TVs. The moment has faded from memory for many Americans, if they were ever actually aware of it, and even if they were of a requisite level of awareness, they may have forgotten. It was, after all, half a century ago exactly half a century. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last U.S. military units had left Vietnam two years before, leaving the South Vietnamese Army to defend what was left. In over a decade of fighting, some 58,000 U.S. troops had been killed, along with 200,000 South Vietnamese troops and more than a million North Vietnamese soldiers and Viet Cong irregulars. Civilian deaths approached 2 million. The war had divided the U.S. like no other conflict since the Civil War. And now it was ending before our eyes in televised pandemonium. Louie Vega, a semi-retired Kern County Superior Court judge, was a door gunner on an Army attack helicopter. Im glad I wasnt there at the U.S. Embassy, Vega said. I just cant imagine feeling that impending doom. And trying to get out of there, and trying to be the last person out of there alive and hearing the explosions of the oncoming North Vietnamese Army. It was chaos. The last unit, the Embassy guards, they were stranded at the top of a roof and they werent sure they were going to get out of there alive. So, it was sad. It was sad to see what the war had come to. And all the money that we put into it. All the material, all the guys that lost their lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ed Budney was a visual combat tracker wounded four times on a mission four months into his deployment twice by enemy fire, twice by friendly fire. The wars ignominious end stays with him. Did we lose it? he said. I think we all knew we couldnt win. We werent attacked. Its not like a 9/11 where we had to retaliate. Or World War II where we had to retaliate. We went in there of our own free mind. Did we win? I dont know. A sense of relief tempered the frustration for opponents of the war. Eddy Laine participated in protests. Finally, Laine said. Finally. It was a demonstration of the poor decision making that our country engaged in for years and years about going into Vietnam and about continuing in Vietnam and the effect it had on human lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For protestor Verda Varner, it was some vindication to go with the sorrow. Our generation then was cannon fodder for a useless war that we had to stop, she said, and so we took to the streets and we stopped it. Randa Hunter, who grew up in a conservative Bakersfield family, saw the carnage as clearly as might be possible for a 19 year old girl. We thought the government knew what it was doing, she said. Stopping Communism. Seven years later was the chaotic pullout. I thought of the soldiers that were left in Afghanistan and the screaming and yelling in the States, she said, and I thought, Well I continue to play back what happened when we left Vietnam. If you want to see chaos. If you want to see families taking airplanes, begging to get on a plane, throwing their kids onto a C5-1A cargo plane to get out of there, or taking helicopters and pushing them off aircraft carriers cause they didnt have any room, thats chaos and that was abandonment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hunter said we need to appreciate history. Look at the mistakes that have happened. Lets not repeat them, 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 KGET 17 News. Russian attacks across Ukrainian regions killed at least six civilians and injured at least 17, including a child, over the past day, regional authorities reported on April 15. Moscow's forces attack Ukrainian towns and villages on a daily basis, inflicting civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure with drones, missiles, artillery, and aerial bombs. A 78-year-old woman was injured during Russian drone attacks against the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Donetsk Oblast, one person was killed and another injured in Russian attacks on Pokrovsk, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin. Three more injuries in total were reported in Stepanivka, Lyman, and Krasnyi Lyman. Four people were killed and three injured in Russian attacks across Kharkiv Oblast, said the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. In Kherson Oblast, eight people were injured, including a child, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Three high-rise buildings and 21 houses were damaged. One civilian was injured during Russian attacks against the Myropillia community in Sumy Oblast, the regional military administration reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 63-year-old man was killed during a Russian attack against the Zaporizhzhia district, Governor Ivan Fedorov said. The attacks came as Russia continues to reject a U.S.-mediated proposal for a full 30-day ceasefire. Kyiv reiterated that it would be ready to accept the truce if Moscow agreed to abide by the terms. Read also: Panic, screams, dead everywhere Sumy in shock after double-tap missile attack kills 35 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) Day one of the 2025 Fox Cities Chamber Career Expo kicked off on Tuesday morning, offering students from 8th grade to high school seniors a chance to explore future careers in numerous fields. Over 2,000 students across the Fox Cities attended to meet with 65 businesses that set up booths, varying from healthcare, information systems, manufacturing, engineering, human resources and more. Green Bay Metro Fire Department mourns passing of former Captain who served 27 years Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The following schools participated: Appleton North High School Classical School Einstein Middle School Fox River Academy Freedom Faith Academy Freedom High School GPS Ed Homeschool James Madison Middle School Kaleidoscope Academy Kimberly High School LAB Academy Little Chute Flex Academy Little Chute Middle School New London Middle School Project SEARCH Internship Program Stockbridge High School Stockbridge Middle School Valley New School Wilson/Magellan Middle School Winneconne High School Winneconne Middle School Wrightstown High School Fox Cities Chamber President and CEO Becky Bartoszek said its an annual event that serves about 2.5 counties with 17 municipalities. Each school was grouped at the beginning for a presentation to learn about non-verbal communications, which can be helpful during job interviews and in everyday life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They hear from a body language expert who talks about what your handshake should be like or how your hands should be posed while talking to a future employer, Bartoszek said. Then they talk with employers in varying fields and higher education. Bartoszek added that the event is important to host annually because the economy grows by inviting young people to take our jobs one day. 15th year of Packers program sees 350 trees donated and planted in 15 local communities If we can get in front of these students as early as middle school and high school to share that connection with employers and opportunities that exist, theres a better chance that the next generation of the workforce will be better off, Bartoszek said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Click here to visit the Fox Cities Chamber website with more details on all of the businesses that attended the event, which continues on 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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Looking for a new job? If you head over to Clark County, you could find your next opportunity. From 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on April 15, individuals interested in finding a new job are encouraged to visit Hollenbeck-Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center in Springfield. Free and discounted food for Tax Day 2025 Over 60 employers and recruiters will be at the event looking for interested applicants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Job opportunities will be available in customer and food services, education, health care, logistics, manufacturing and public service. Attendees are encouraged bring their resume, while dressing to impress. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MITO, Japan - A revised law on immigration control in Japan, which went into effect last June, introduced a new "supervisory" measure as a solution to prevent the long-term detention of foreigners who are subject to deportation. The revision to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act allows such foreigners to live outside detention facilities under the supervision of designated individuals, but the system has gotten off to a shaky start due to a shortage of people willing to take on the monitoring role. Making matters worse is the fact that such foreigners are unable to work due to their provisional status in Japan, making it financially unfeasible for them to make a living in country. Daisuke Sugawara, 48, who is the owner of a bakery in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, took on three foreign detainees as a supervisor last summer. The three claim persecution in their home countries and have other circumstances that make it impossible for them to return. Sugawara has continued to volunteer to visit detainees at the Higashi Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku in the prefecture -- one of the main detention facilities in Japan operated by the Justice Ministry -- and was asked to be an Immigration Services Agency-designated supervisor. "I am always being asked by detainees to become their supervisor," said Sugawara, referring to the facility in eastern Japan that houses around 50 detainees and has been cited for human rights violations. Supervisory measures are granted when an immigration inspector deems the situation "appropriate," meaning the detainee is not considered a flight risk or likely to violate the conditions of provisional release. The application requirement stipulates that the detainee must independently choose a supervisor and secure a supporter, relative, or acquaintance willing to take on the role. The immigration agency, in response to a media query, said it "does not keep statistics that can be publicly released on the number of supervisors." But according to Sugawara and Kimiko Tanaka, 72, a representative of a citizens' group concerned about issues involving human rights abuses at the detention center, only a few supporters have accepted supervisor roles at the Ushiku detention center. Sugawara and Tanaka explained that because they are obligated to monitor detainees in their daily lives and report to the immigration office, there are few people willing to undertake the task. "Some (detainees) give up on the application process because they wouldn't be able to find work after entering society and are not guaranteed a livelihood," Tanaka pointed out. Sugawara added some detainees "cannot apply for a supervisor because they cannot even find a supporter to request one." A man from Nigeria, for whom Sugawara accepted the role of supervisor, was approved for the measure last November and is living in a guesthouse in Ibaraki. He is in the process of applying for refugee status, citing persecution at home, but he has told Sugawara that "making money is a matter of life and death" and that he has only "managed to get by" with the support of his living expenses from the help of a friend. Treatment of foreign nationals detained at Japanese immigration facilities has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, notably after Wishma Sandamali, a 33-year-old Sri Lankan woman, died in March 2021 at a Nagoya detention facility after complaining of ill health for around a month. The Immigration Services Agency has stated that the basic idea of the revised law is to "ensure the protection of those who should be protected" and "not to unnecessarily detain people." But under the current situation where people abandon their applications out of the frustration of being unable to find a supervisor, there is the possibility they will remain detained for longer periods, even if they qualify for the supervisory measure. Tanaka, who as a volunteer has also continued to visit detainees at the Ushiku detention center, suggested drastic revisions to the current system are needed, even though the law has recently been revised. "There are still people who have been detained for more than a decade there. The problem of long-term detainment has not been fundamentally resolved, and the situation remains severe," she said. Related coverage: Daughter of detained Uyghur scholar spotlights Chinese oppression Cambodian trainee seeks damages over alleged rapes at Japan farm FEATURE: Hate speech bringing unwanted focus on Japan's Kurdish community President Donald Trump has targeted some of the nations most elite universities with demands that include rolling back or eliminating DEI, assisting in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations, and eliminating mask-wearing on campus. The administration has threatened to withhold funds from schools that dont agree to the directives. Harvard University this week declined to negotiate with the administration, which in return cut off billions in funding. Harvards refusal to negotiate expresses its unwavering commitment to academic freedom and integrity and its mission to foster critical thinking. In a time when political agendas seek to shape the direction of higher education, institutions like Harvard must remain steadfast in protecting their independence and prioritizing the pursuit of knowledge above all else, says Dr. Cedric B. Howard, a higher education expert and founder of Howard Executive Consulting. Harvard University Photo: Scott Eisen (Getty Images) Harvard President Alan Garber rejected the Trump administrations demands, writing in a letter this week: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. The administrations prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government. It violates Harvards First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the governments authority under Title VI. And it threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge. The Trump administration responded by freezing 2 billion in federal funds earmarked for the university. Brown University Photo: Scott Einer (Getty Images) Brown University has rebuffed directives from the Trump administration to roll back DEI and adhere to other demands. The Trump administration responded by announcing a pause on over $500 million in federal funding. Brown University is suing the government in response. During the Trump administration, for instance, policies on diversity, immigration, and civil rights presented challenges that tested the resolve of many institutions, Howard said of Trumps first presidency, challenges that are growing in the second one. Cornell University Testing conducted at Cornells USDA avian flu lab - Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images) The Trump administration announced last week that $1 billion in funds to Cornell would be frozen. Cornell officials said in a statement that they had received more than 75 stop-work orders from the Defense Department, but that they had no confirmation that $1 billion in funding had been suspended. The affected grants, they said, supported research that they described as profoundly significant to American defense, cybersecurity and health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are actively seeking information from federal officials to learn more about the basis for these decisions, said the joint statement from Michael Kotlikoff, the university president; and Kavita Bala, the provost. Northwestern University Photo: Scott Olson (Getty Images) Northwestern has earned the distinction of being the only non-Ivy League college to be threatened with a federal funding freeze. The Trump administration has announced a pause on $790 million in funds to the university. The university said it is gathering more information, and indicated that a cut in funding would be harmful. Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and lifesaving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the worlds smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimers disease, said Northwestern spokesperson Jon Yates. This type of research is now at jeopardy. University of Pennsylvania Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images) The White House announced a pause of over $175 million in funding for the University of Pennsylvania. The university responded with this statement: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Penn is closely monitoring federal policy changes affecting institutions of higher education and academic health systems. These include a broad range of government actions that impact the Universitys missions, operations, and community. Penns leadership is directly engaged with public officials to advocate vigorously for the essential role of higher education, scientific discovery, our values, and our service to the greater good. Princeton University Photo: Scott Eisen (Getty Images) The White House announced over $200 million in funding freezes, which cover a range of research. The university has responded cautiously. The full rationale for this action is not yet clear, Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber wrote after the first grant suspensions. Columbia University Photo: Adam Gray (Getty Images) Columbia University is in talks with the Trump administration to claw back $400 million in funding that has been frozen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Where this work aligns with recommendations of others, we believe constructive dialogue makes sense, the trustees wrote. The university has made changes to its student-discipline policies, drawing criticism from those who see them as capitulations to the Trump administrations demands. Talks between the university and the White House continue. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A traffic stop involving a Porsche in southern Michigan led police to a Grand Rapids storage unit where nearly two pounds of illegal fentanyl pills were found, and now the man renting the unit is heading to prison. A federal judge this week sentenced 52-year-old Rene Arnold Ruiz to 16 years in prison. It is not unfamiliar territory; Ruiz has been to prison several times for drug-related crimes. Federal prosecutors say the fentanyl pills seized from the storage unit on 28th Street SE were designed to look like prescription Oxycodone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defendant was caught with over 8,500 fentanyl pills, federal prosecutors said. The defendant distributed drugs he kept in a storage unit. Ruiz had been on police radar prior to the May, 2024 traffic stop on I-69 in Branch County, court records show. During the traffic stop, police found a fake water bottle with a hidden compartment containing 101 fentanyl pills and 7 grams of cocaine, court records show. Police next headed to a Kent County storage unit Ruiz was renting and seized more than 8,500 fentanyl pills which matched those found in his Porsche, court records show. The storage unit also contained nearly a pound of heroin, records show. The drugs were found inside locked suitcases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A search of his home turned up drug packaging materials, including a vacuum sealer, duct tape, parchment paper, sandwich bags and digital scales, court records show. Ruiz was indicted last summer and pleaded guilty in January to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He had been facing a maximum of 20 years in prison. In a sentencing memorandum, the defendants attorney said Ruiz experienced violence on an unimaginable scale in El Salvador before coming to the U.S. in 1987. Mr. Ruiz has struggled with addiction his entire life, and it has contributed to his poor decision making, defense attorney Samuel Roddy wrote in a sentencing memorandum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of this offense, he was also struggling with heroin and abusing prescription-strength painkillers, Roddy wrote. Mr. Ruiz recognizes that his continued dependency on drugs led him to continuous interactions with negative influences. At sentencing, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office, the judge called the amount of fentanyl Ruiz had staggering and said it presents a significant threat to the public. Once he completes his federal prison sentence, Ruiz will serve five years on supervised 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 WOODTV.com. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Eight inmates at Kern Valley State Prison have been charged with murder in the stabbing death last year of another inmate. Not guilty pleas have been entered on behalf of Eric Castilleja, 35, Zackary Andres Holguin, 26, Edwin Alexander Perez, 37, Kevin Tello, 35, Kevin Barrera, 30, Robert Toki, 33, Daniel Mendivil, 46, and Javier Castaneda, 39. Charged last month, theyre being held without bail and are due back in court in late April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre accused of attacking Juan Trujillo, 50, with makeshift weapons in a recreational yard on the morning of Feb. 5, 2024. Officers witnessed the attack and used chemical agents to stop it. Trujillo suffered multiple stab wounds and was taken to an outside medical facility. He was declared dead about an hour 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 KGET 17 News. ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- An eight-year-old boy seriously injured in a shooting last week has died and three people have been charged with Capital Murder. 24-year-old Santos Martin Roman and 24-year-old Anthony Gallegos Ramon Jr. were initially charged with Injury to a Child Felony 1, three counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon Felony 2, and Deadly Conduct Felony 3. They were arrested just one day after the shooting. According to an OPD report, just after noon on April 7, officers were called to the 1000 block of W Monahans Street to investigate a drive-by shooting. While en route to the scene, dispatch operators told investigators that an eight-year-old boy had been shot in the head and had been taken to a local hospital in a private vehicle. The boy, who police say received life-threatening injuries, was later flown to a Lubbock hospital for continued treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When officers arrived on the scene, they found a trail of blood leading from the inside of a home and gunshot damage to the outside of the apartment and a nearby vehicle; witnesses at the scene told investigators that they saw a light-colored Mercedes in the alleyway behind the apartment and two unknown men walking away from the apartment. Witnesses described one suspect as heavyset with black hair and a yellow-colored mohawk and said he was armed with a handgun; both men reportedly ran to the Mercedes and drove away from the scene after firing multiple shots. Later, investigators spoke with the young boys mother, and she told them that shed gotten into a disturbance with Roman, who she described as having a yellow mohawk. She said that after her argument with Roman, he left the home; a couple of hours later, the mother said she heard gunshots and when she ran downstairs, she found her son on the floor with a gunshot wound to his head. After viewing surveillance camera footage from the area, officers confirmed that Roman used the Mercedes to make his getaway after the shooting. Investigators then did a records check and learned that Roman is on Federal Probation for another crime; they used that information to obtain an address and later conducted surveillance on Romans home on Graceland. After a while, both Ramon and Roman pulled up to the home in the Mercedes and investigators learned that Roman had just had his head shaved; they said fresh hair clippings were still on his shirt when they took him in for questioning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators said that they interviewed Roman and during questioning, he said that hed been at the home on Monahans Street earlier in the day and that while he was there, his wallet and cellphone were stolen and his vehicle was vandalized. Investigators did not specify whether or not he admitted to the shooting. However, during questioning, OPD said that Ramon admitted to driving the Mercedes during the shooting. In an affidavit released Monday, April 14, investigators said that 22-year-old Keemadrick Sauls was also identified as a shooter in this incident. He was taken into custody over the weekend and all three men have now been charged with Capital Murder, in addition to three counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and one count of Deadly Conduct. All three remained in the Ector County Law Enforcement Center as of Monday; a new bond has not yet 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 Yourbasin. PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) The city of Pawtucket has taken action against eight firefighters as a result of an internal investigation into possible criminal activity. Chris Hunter, a spokesperson for the city, confirmed Tuesday that of those firefighters, four were fired and the other four chose to resign or apply for retirement. Hunter said the investigation has determined that these firefighters engaged in possible criminal activity result in violations of the public trust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are unable to comment further at this time due to an ongoing criminal investigation being conducted in coordination with the Rhode Island Attorney Generals Office, Hunter continued. While these matters are serious and remain under investigation, it is important to emphasize that the actions of these firefighters do not reflect the dedication, integrity or professionalism of the Pawtucket Fire Department as a whole. RELATED: Pawtucket firefighters placed on leave amid investigation Hunter added that at no time was public safety at risk. The Pawtucket Fire Department is committed to providing a high level of care while maintaining full fire and emergency response services to our community, he concluded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unclear exactly what the criminal investigation entails or if any charges have been filed. 12 News reached out to the Rhode Island Attorney Generals Office, to which a spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation. Vincent Ragosta, the citys attorney, couldnt tell 12 News exactly what the former firefighters are being investigated for, but stressed that they need to be held accountable. I have seen cases that are very atrocious in terms of behavior But I havent seen anything to this degree or this extent and, if I might say, as bold as this in terms of the rather cavalier approach to their criminal conduct, Ragosta said. Its very disturbing in the sense that it brings into question their fitness to go out and respond when that bell rings. This is a safety sensitive position, he continued. Theres no room for error in terms of what these firefighters do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The names of the firefighters in question have not been released. 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. Many royal family members, like Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Edward, served in the military. Prince William served in the military, though not quite as famously as his brother Prince Harry. Princess Mary and Prince Philip's mother both served as nurses during World War I. Many British royals throughout history traded gowns and crowns for military uniforms, either serving their country on the front lines of war or aiding behind the scenes. Before she was crowned, Queen Elizabeth II served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II, training as a mechanic and military truck driver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She is the first and only female member of the British royal family to serve in one of the armed forces, though other royal women have trained or worked as nurses during wartime. Here are eight royals you might not know have served in the military. Queen Elizabeth is the only female royal to have served in one of the armed forces. Queen Elizabeth learned how to change a car wheel as an auxiliary officer during World War II. Roger Viollet/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, was 13 years old when World War II began in 1939. While many British children were evacuated from London to the countryside or other safe havens, Elizabeth and her siblings remained behind with the Queen Mother and their father. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1945, when the princess turned 18, she broke royal tradition and protocol by enlisting in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, a women-only branch of the British Army. While enrolled in the ATS, Elizabeth trained as a mechanic and truck driver. Though she never saw combat, she is the only female member of the royal family to have served in the British Army. Princess Mary, the daughter of King George V, served as a volunteer pediatric nurse during World War I. Princess Mary worked as a nurse during World War I. London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images Long before she trained as a nurse, Mary took a particular interest in supporting British troops during World War I. She designed a program that provided every member of the armed forces with a Christmas gift. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The History Press reported that the program raised over 162,000 in 1914 15.9 million ($21 million) today, per the Bank of England and facilitated the distribution of tins filled with luxury items like tobacco and chocolate to active service members. By the time the war ended, 2 million gifts had been distributed through the program. Mary was the first child of a sitting monarch to train at Great Ormond Street, a children's hospital in London, The History Press reported. Future king Edward VIII served in World War I but wasn't allowed near the front lines. King Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, as a young man in military uniform. Hulton Archive/Getty Images As heir apparent to the throne, Edward trained in the Royal Navy from 1907 until 1911. However, at the start of World War I in 1914, he joined the army as a staff officer in the Grenadier Guards, Britannica reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite being willing to, Edward never served on the front lines of the war. The Secretary of State for War at the time, Herbert Kitchener, deemed it too dangerous for the heir to the throne to risk dying in the war or worse, being captured by enemy forces and used as leverage. "What difference is it if I am killed? The king has four other sons," Edward once asked Kitchener, according to his New York Times obituary. "If I were certain you would be killed, sir, I don't know whether I should be right to restrain you," Kitchener reportedly responded. "What cannot permit is the chance of the enemy securing you as his prisoner." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edward VIII became king in 1936 but abdicated the throne later that year. Prince Michael of Kent is a lesser-known royal with an illustrious military career. Prince Michael of Kent in military uniform. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Michael, a grandson of George V and a cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, began training at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in 1961. Two years later, he was commissioned into the 11th Hussars, a regiment of the British Army. According to his royal profile, he completed service in Germany, Hong Kong, and Cyprus during his 20-year military career. Throughout his lengthy military career, he has held multiple military titles, including Honorary Air Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Senior Colonel of the King's Royal Hussars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prince William's military service wasn't as lengthy as his brother Prince Harry's, but he served in the Royal Air Force. Prince William served in the Royal Air Force. Faye Storer/AP William was commissioned as an officer in the British Army after completing his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2006. Two years later, he transferred to the Royal Air Force, where he trained as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot. He served in active duty for three years, aiding in hundreds of rescue missions. The heir to the throne never served on the front lines, as his brother Prince Harry did in Afghanistan. King Charles served in the Royal Navy. King Charles (then Prince Charles) sits in the cockpit of a Royal Navy Wessex helicopter in 1974. Serge Lemoine/Getty Images While he was still studying at the University of Cambridge in 1971, Charles trained and qualified with the Royal Air Force as a pilot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, he spent most of his military career with the Royal Navy, which he served with between 1971 and 1976. Charles' military career would prove to be a turning point in his life. When he was deployed, he left behind his then-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles. While he was away, she became engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles, setting off a chain of events that led him to marry Princess Diana. Prince Edward joined the Royal Marines in 1986 but left after four months of training. Prince Edward in his Royal Marines uniform in 1984. Tim Graham/Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images The youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II had a brief stint in the military. Edward joined the Royal Marines in 1986 after graduating from the University of Cambridge, but left training after just four months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edward was supposed to complete his training in one year, and his decision to quit sparked considerable media attention. "Prince Edward is leaving the marines with great regret but has concluded that he does not wish to make the service his long-term career," a statement from Buckingham Palace read at the time, The Los Angeles Times reported. Prince Andrew served as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot during the Falklands War. Prince Andrew posing in front of a military aircraft in 1984. Tim Graham/Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images Like Prince Harry, Andrew Queen Elizabeth's third child after Charles and Anne is one of the few working royals to have served in active combat. He served as a helicopter copilot during the Falklands War, engaging in missions related to submarine warfare. He retired from active military service in 2001, earning the title of commander after 22 years in the Royal Navy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prince Andrew later stepped down from his royal duties and was stripped of his royal patronages and military titles in 2022 after Virginia Giuffre accused the prince of forcibly having sex with her when she was 17 years old. Giuffre said disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein introduced the pair. Prince Andrew denied the allegations, which were made public in a 2015 defamation suit. In August 2019, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson issued a statement to Business Insider "emphatically denying" the claims. In 2022, Andrew settled a lawsuit brought by Giuffre over the allegations. Andrew did not admit to sexually abusing her but agreed to pay Giuffre an undisclosed amount and make a donation to her nonprofit advocating for victims of trafficking. Read the original article on Business Insider DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa An incident involving law enforcement caused the closure of I-80 in both directions of travel in Dallas County early Tuesday morning. The first call went out on law enforcement dispatch radios around 1:30 Tuesday morning. On the law enforcement radio traffic, a dispatcher said, Deputy says male is actively shooting at her. Officers closed I-80 west of De Soto as the investigation unfolded. And within 20 minutes, an officer is heard saying, Suspects down, 153. Theres not a lot of information from officials at this time. I-80 was closed in both directions of travel between Exit 104 and Exit 106 for hours, but as of around 7:20 a.m., the westbound lanes were open again. The eastbound lanes were opened up around 8:33 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Check back to www.WHO13.com for more details as they are 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 who13.com. Nine truck drivers and as many vehicles were placed out of service during a commercial vehicle inspection detail Monday morning at the Route 183/222 interchange in Bern Township. The Bern Township Police Department hosted the federally funded countywide detail. The collaborative effort brought together multiple law enforcement and regulatory agencies: Exeter, Muhlenberg, Eastern Berks Regional, Fleetwood, Amity, Cumru, and Reading police departments; state police; Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission; and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Trucks pulled over from the northbound on ramp of Route 222 from Route 183 in Bern Township.await insepections Monday morning during the countywide commercial vehicle inspection detail hosted by Bern Township Police Department. (STEVEN HENSHAW READING EAGLE) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The goal of commercial vehicle inspections is to protect all who travel through Bern Township and the greater Berks County area by ensuring that commercial vehicles adhere to safety standards, officials said. According to Bern police: Inspections were conducted on all four ramps of the interchange. Personnel flagged 48 trucks for full commercial vehicle inspections and conducted 17 driver credential checks. They documented 98 violations. In addition to the nine vehicles pulled out of service, one overweight truck was identified that needed to be addressed before moving on. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Kaiser Permanente announced on Tuesday it awarded a $95,000 grant to the Black Infant Maternal Health Initiative, also known as BIMHI, which aims to address the health disparities in Black mothers, children and infants in Kern County. Kaiser Permanente, a health care provider that also provides services in Kern County, said in a press release it awarded the grant to support BIMHIs mission to address the gaps in maternal health, providing culturally competent care and support during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the maternal mortality rate for Black women in 2023 was 50.3 deaths per 100,000 live births nearly 3.5 times higher than the maternal mortality rate for white women, which was 14.5 deaths per 100,000 live births. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kern Black Infant and Maternal Health Initiative addresses disparities Brynn Carrigan, a member of BIMHI and the director of Kern County Public Health, expressed BIMHIs gratitude for the grant. This funding will significantly enhance our efforts by expanding our support network for Black birthing persons, providing essential prenatal and postnatal care services and fostering community trust in medical providers, Carrigan said in the release. John Yamamoto, vice president of community health and government relations at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, said in the release that health care institutions can take more immediate steps to improve Black maternal health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage By collaborating with medical providers, local doulas and healthcare organizations, we aim to create a supportive environment and build trust to improve health outcomes for Black women in Kern County, Yamamoto said in the release. BIMHI is an initiative consisting of local government organizations, community-based groups, nonprofits and community members, according to the BIMHI website. The Kern County Public Health Department and First 5 Kern created the initiative in February of 2021, the website 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 KGET 17 News. SENATOBIA, Miss. (WJTV) ABB, a global electrification technology company, will expand operations in Senatobia to meet growing market demand. The project represents a corporate investment of $40 million and will create 122 jobs. The expansion includes the addition of 200,000 square feet to the companys Senatobia facility, as well as the addition of new equipment. Officials said this will enable ABB to increase production of its air circuit breaker and molded case circuit breaker lines. Dallas Wings select Ole Miss star Madison Scott in 2025 WNBA draft Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Economic development in Mississippi is thriving, and this latest win from ABB continues that trend. The reasons companies like ABB continuously choose to invest private capital and create more jobs in Mississippi are crystal clear: our inviting business environment and pro-business mindset. Mississippi has momentum, and this investment is further proof of that, said Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.). The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is providing assistance through the Mississippi Flexible Tax Incentive, or MFLEX, program. Tate County and the city of Senatobia also are assisting with the project. ABB expects to complete the expansion during the first quarter of 2026. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. "The initial market response speaks for itself," Daniel Skelly of Morgan Stanley told The New York Times, "but for now, this is just a step in the right direction." The president's actions appear to be a response to the market bloodbath a discomfiting development for many Trump supporters who depend on union pension funds or 401(k) retirement accounts. Trump admitted that "people were getting a little queasy" as investors began dumping U.S. government bonds, an unusual occurrence, The Washington Post reported. But the markets took immediate notice when Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday morning, "More than 75 Countries have called to negotiate a solution and have not, at my strong suggestion, retaliated in any way, shape, or form." As a consequence, "I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately." It remains to be seen whether the administration is simply delaying any potential economic shock or whether Trump and his team use the next three months to aggressively negotiate trade deals with the dozens of nations that the White House insists are eager to come to the table. The latter would be the smartest course, calming jittery investors and giving U.S. companies more certainty over how to plan for the months and years ahead. Trump should also consider a proposal offered by economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore in The Wall Street Journal: Call the bluff of Western nations that protect many of their own producers but expect virtually unfettered access to the American market. "Trump should give a globally televised address announcing to the world that the U.S. is ready to drop its tariffs and industry subsidies to zero tomorrow on any nation that does the same," the men wrote in a Tuesday op-ed for the Journal. "This would be the ultimate reciprocal tariff policy. President Trump and the U.S. would regain the moral high ground in trade disputes. It would be enlightening to see which supposedly free trade' nations accept Trump's challenge." Trump took a prudent step on Wednesday. He and advisers should now come to terms with willing nations on trade deals or they risk a repeat of serious economic disruption three months down the road. (COMMENT, BELOW) NEW DELHI - India is considering adopting the next-generation shinkansen bullet train being developed by East Japan Railway Co. for a high-speed rail project underway in the western region, sources familiar with bilateral relations said Monday. The E10 series trains are expected to begin operations in Japan on the Tohoku line, which connects Tokyo with the country's northeastern area, in the fiscal year starting April 2030, according to the operator, known as JR East. India's bullet train project covers a distance of around 500 kilometers between the western cities of Ahmedabad and Mumbai, with a planned travel time of about two hours. Symbolizing Japan-India cooperation, the initiative will feature Japan's shinkansen system. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2017, and the original goal was to open the line in 2023. Land acquisition, however, has been delayed in the face of opposition from local residents, pushing back the timeline. The maximum speed of the E10 series train is 320 km per hour. JR East emphasized its high level of safety, saying the technology has been repeatedly tested using new prototype trains developed for the next generation of shinkansen. Related coverage: Laos-China railway boosts trade and tourism, but also Beijing's clout Faith Halstead chants along with other protesters and activists near the Florida State Capitol where Florida State Senators voted to pass a proposed six-week abortion ban in Tallahassee, Florida, on April 3, 2023. Credit - The Washington PostGetty Images The number of abortions provided in most of the U.S. increased slightly in 2024 from the year before, according to new data released on April 15. The research was conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, which studies and supports sexual and reproductive health and rights. The organization uses both a statistical model and survey responses from providers to estimate the number of abortions provided by clinicians in states without near-total bans for its Monthly Abortion Provision Study. The data released on April 15 show that nearly 1,038,100 abortions were provided in 2024 across all states without near-total bansa less than 1% increase from 2023 to 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While that number is relatively steady compared to the year before, researchers noted that the finding masked substantial variability across individual states, with some states experiencing significant decreases and others seeing notable increases. For instance, there were roughly 12,100 fewer abortions provided in Florida in 2024 than in 2023, which researchers attributed to the state implementing a ban on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, a policy that went into effect in May 2024. Similarly, South Carolina provided about 3,500 fewer abortions in 2024 than in 2023. Researchers attributed this to the states six-week ban, which was upheld by the state Supreme Court in August 2023. At the same time, researchers found that the number of abortions provided in Wisconsin increased from about 1,300 in 2023 to about 6,100 in 2024an increase of 388%. Abortion access in the state became largely unavailable after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 until late 2023, when a Wisconsin judge ruled that an 1849 law that had been interpreted as a ban didnt make abortion illegal. Arizona, California, Kansas, Ohio, and Virginia also saw significant increases in the number of abortions provided in 2024 compared to the year before. What happens in one state affects what happens in other states, says Isaac Maddow-Zimet, data scientist at the Guttmacher Institute and the project lead for the Monthly Abortion Provision Study. He notes that while Florida saw a sharp decline in the number of abortions provided between 2023 and 2024, Virginia, which allows abortions until about 26 weeks of pregnancy, saw a significant increase. In part, he says, thats because people in Florida were traveling to Virginia to access care. The data also reveal that about 155,100 people traveled across state lines for an abortion in 2024, accounting for about 15% of all abortions provided in states without near-total bans. Thats a slight decrease from 2023, when roughly 169,700 people crossed state lines, representing about 16% of abortions in states without near-total bans. Still, the number of people who traveled across state lines for an abortion in 2024 is nearly double the number who did so in 2020, before the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, according to Maddow-Zimet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Travel is] still a major way that people are accessing care, despite the many barriers that accompany it, and its still extremely elevated compared to historical patterns, he says. Its not yet clear why travel for abortion declined slightly from 2023 to 2024, but he speculates that more patients in states with near-total abortion bans may be receiving abortion pills in the mail via telehealth rather than having to travel across state lines. Another explanation, he says, could be dwindling resources to support travel. Read More: What Are Abortion Shield Laws? Abortion funds saw big increases in donations immediately post-Dobbs, and then really saw that drop off, and theyve only had to deal with an increasing amount of need, Maddow-Zimet says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ushma Upadhyay, a public health scientist at the University of California, San Francisco who was not involved in the new research, says that the slight increase in abortions in 2024 is consistent with data from other sources (including WeCount, an abortion tracking effort that she co-chairs.) While a limitation of the Guttmacher Institutes research is that it doesnt include data from states with near-total abortion bans, she says, it illustrates trends in out-of-state travel for abortion care. Thats a huge contribution to our understanding of whats happening with abortion access right now, Upadhyay says. Familiar states were at the top when it came to the number of abortions provided to out-of-state residents: Illinois, North Carolina, Kansas, and New Mexico. Illinois, which allows abortion until fetal viability, provided the highest number of abortions to out-of-state residents in 2024, at about 35,000 abortions, which accounted for 39% of all abortions provided in the state. Meanwhile, Kansas, which allows abortion until about 22 weeks of pregnancy, provided roughly 16,100 abortions to out-of-state residents, but that accounted for the majority of abortions provided in the state71%. Thats in part due to their geographical proximity to states that have near-total bans, as well as efforts among abortion providers and some state governments to make abortion more accessible, according to Maddow-Zimet. Illinois, for instance, is the closest point of access for many people living in Southern states that have near-total abortion bans and are surrounded by states with restrictive policies, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similarly, Maddow-Zimet says that New Mexico (which doesnt have a gestational limit on abortion) and Kansas see many patients from Texas, which has banned abortion in nearly all situations. North Carolina is also the closest state for many people living in states with restrictive abortion laws, such as Florida. North Carolina has banned abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy and has a 72-hour waiting period to get an abortion. That means that you have to stay multiple days or might have to travel twice, and so its really remarkable that people are still traveling to North Carolina to access care, Maddow-Zimet says. It speaks to the amount of need there is. The number of abortions in states without near-total bans that were provided by online-only clinics increased from 10% in 2023 to 14% in 2024, though the researchers note that the national number is likely even higher. Upadhyay says she thinks this is a trend that will likely continue as people learn more about medication abortion, which can be prescribed via telehealth. Previous research from the Guttmacher Institute has found that medication abortion is the most common method of abortion in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maddow-Zimet says 2024 was a year that saw significant changes in state abortion lawsboth to expand and restrict access to care. Theres really a bifurcated policy landscape where we have a lot of efforts on one side to increase access to care, he says, and, on the other, an enormous amount of effort to make care more and more difficult to access. We absolutely see those trends continuing, he says. Contact us at letters@time.com. Lawyers from the Department of Justice clashed with a Maryland district court judge as they once again resisted compliance with a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States from El Salvador. Ahead of the hearing, Abrego Garcias wife, Jennifer Stefania Vasquez Sura who is an American citizen spoke to reporters and a gathered crowd of protesters, delivering an emotional plea for the return of her husband. Today is 34 days after his disappearance, and I stand before you filled with a spirit that refuses to bring down, she said. I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasnt forgotten about you. Our children are asking, When will you come home? And I pray for the day I tell them the time and date that you will return. As we continue through holy week, my heart aches for my husband, she added. Who should have been here leading our Easter prayers instead, I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Enough is enough, she concluded. My family cant be robbed of another day without seeing Kilmar. This administration has already taken so much from my children, from Kilmars mother, brother, sisters, and me. Abrego Garcia was one of over 200 migrants summarily sent into the custody of El Salvador under the attempted use of the Alien Enemies Act an 18th century wartime law that allows the president to suspend the rights of citizens of a hostile foreign power in order to deport them. Abrego Garcia and his fellow detainees were dumped in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) a mega-prison in El Salvador with a documented history of human rights abuses. The Trump administration has openly flouted a Supreme Court order to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States, despite an admission from the Department of Homeland Security that the Maryland man was wrongfully deported. On Tuesday, lawyers for Abrego Garcia told Maryland District Court Judge Paula Xinis that the Trump administration had made no effort to secure his release from El Salvadors custody and return him to the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Xinis agreed. To date, what the record shows is that nothing has been done nothing. You made your jurisdictional arguments, you made your venue arguments. You made your arguments on the merits. You lost. This is now about the scope of the remedy, Judge Xinis said of the Supreme Courts ruling against the Department of Homeland Security. She ultimately ordered an two-week inquiry into the administrations refusal to comply with the court order, and told the parties to brace themselves for potentially weeks of intensive discovery, adding: Were going to do this by the federal rules of civil procedure. So no press release is going to move the court the same way [as] sworn, under oath testimony from persons with knowledge. If you have objections, youre going to have to make them consistent with the rules, Judge Xinis was unequivocal in her rejection of the Trump administrations claims that their only obligations under the Supreme Courts order was to assist in the physical transportation of Abrego Garcia to the United States should the government of El Salvador choose to release him. When a wrongfully removed individual from the United States is outside the borders its not so cut and dry that all you have to do is remove domestic barriers, she said, adding that the governmentss attempts to play semantics with the word facilitate fly in the face of the plain meaning of the word. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every day Mr. Abrego Garcia is detained in CECOT is another day of irreparable harm, Judge Xinis said. 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. Related video above: Accused pregnant teen killer wont stand trial in Dothan until 2025 DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) A Henry County man accused of kidnapping and shooting a pregnant 19-year-old to death last summer will not stand trial this year. Since the beginning of 2025, Marquis McClouds trial date has been pushed back five times. McCloud was arrested in early 2023 and charged with one count of Capital Murder-Kidnapping and one count of Capital Murder-Two or More Persons in the murder of 19-year-old Anastasia Gilley and her 4-month-old fetus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since his arrest, trial dates have been set and pushed a total of 11 times. Accused pregnant teen killer wont stand trial in Dothan until 2025 Houston County District Attorney Russ Goodman says McCloud wont stand before a jury of his peers until 2026. Goodman says this is due to the gravity of the case, and that neither side is ready for trial. The district attorney says prosecutors and McClouds attorneys have a multitude of evidence to go through, and since McCloud is facing the death penalty, both sides want to make sure everything is ready. The court is also waiting on a mental evaluation to come back on McCloud, determining whether or not he is mentally fit to stand trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Accused pregnant teen killer claims mental disease in plea to Dothan Judge Gilleys badly decomposed body was found in a Houston County field in early May 2023 after she went missing from her Jackson County home. According to Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza, Gilley may have wilfully met McCoud in person after speaking with him through social media. The sheriff says at some point after meeting in person, McCloud began holding Gilley against her will and then shot her to death in the field off Headland Avenue. McClouds indictment from October 2023 claims he shot Gilley multiple times. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (This story has been updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy regarding Jideofor Odoeze's criminal history.) The ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, arguing that the agency wrongfully terminated the legal status of seven international students in Indiana. On April 3, the students were informed that the Department of Homeland Security had terminated their F-1 student status, which allows them to stay in the United States during the duration of their schooling and accompanying practical training, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit notes the seven people listed in the case were in full compliance with the terms of their F-1 status and had not engaged in conduct that would justify the termination. Although the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to revoke a person's visa, the document that allows them to enter the country, the department does not have the authority to revoke a person's legal status, according to court documents. "An F-1 visa controls a student's entry into the country, not their continued lawful presence once admitted," the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit claims that the seven students were incorrectly removed from Homeland Security's SEVIS record system, a government database that tracks international and exchange students' legal status in the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Traditionally, students who are removed from this database fail to "maintain a full course of study" at their university or are removed through a court order. All of the students were in good standing with their respective universities, according to the lawsuit. But with their information removed from the system, all seven students are in jeopardy of being deported, according to the lawsuit. The students also were not provided with a means to contest their removal from the SEVIS record. "The actions of the (United States) also violate basic principles of due process guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution," the lawsuit reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ACLU is requesting a court to pick up this case as soon as possible, as well as provide the seven students with temporary protection from being deported. Who are the seven students? Jelena Liu - a Chinese citizen, who had their student status issues in 2016 and 2018. Liu is a graduate student at Indiana University Indianapolis, studying Human Computer Interaction and has no criminal record. Nina Hu - a Chinese national who was born in Ukraine and had their student status issued in 2023. Hu is an undergraduate student at Purdue University, studying Computer Science and Data Science with a minor in Business, and has no criminal record. Junde Zhu - a Chinese citizen, who had their student status issued in 2022. Zhu is an undergraduate student at Purdue University, studying National Resources and Environmental Science and has no criminal records Xiaotian Yu - a Chinese citizen, who had their student status issued in 2017 and 2024. Yu is a graduate student at Purdue University, studying Aerospace and Aviation. In 2022, Yu was charged with domestic violence in Illinois, but the case was dismissed and there was no conviction. Xilai Dai - a Chinese citizen, who had their student status issued in 2019. Dai is a doctoral student at Purdue University, studying Computer Engineering with a focus on Chip design. In 2022, he was arrested in Tippecanoe County for underage drinking, with the case being dismissed. In 2024, he received a caution for speeding. Zhaorui Ni - a Chinese citizen, who had their student status issued in 2019. Ni is a doctoral student at Purdue University, studying Computer Engineering. In 2024, Ni was charged with criminal trespassing and resisting law enforcement. She entered a diversion agreement, which would have dismissed her charges in December 2025. Jideofor Odoeze - a Nigerian citizen, who had their student status issued in 2018 and 2022. Odoeze is a doctoral student at Notre Dame, studying Electrical Engineering. In 2024, Odoeze was charged with domestic battery and disorderly conduct, however, his domestic battery case was dismissed. He pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge. He was also charged with a speeding infraction, but the case is expected to be dismissed on April 22, 2025. Indiana students losing their visas In late March, the United States House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter to Purdue President Mung Chiang demanding the university provide information on students from China and the subject of their research. "The intelligence community has warned that American campuses are 'soft targets' for espionage and intellectual property theft. The U.S. Department of Justice has further raised concerns that 'international students motives arent just to learn but to share that intelligence with foreign superpowers to see a competitive advantage,'" the letter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On April 1, Purdue officials confirmed that the president had complied with the committee's request and provided them with information regarding Purdue's Chinese students. About a week later, Indiana University Provost Rahul Shrivastav shared that several Indiana University students had their student visas canceled, which led to hundreds of students, faculty and community members protesting. It's unclear how many students have had their visas canceled and the university has not provided details on why its students' visas were canceled. Six out of the seven students named in the lawsuit were either Chinese citizens or nationals. Professor at Indiana college also under scrutiny On March 28, Homeland Security and FBI agents raided the Bloomington and Carmel homes of Xiaofeng Wang, a professor of cybersecurity at Indiana University. It's unclear what federal agents were looking for, but agents could be seen removing boxes from both of his properties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few weeks before the raid, Indiana University placed Wang under investigation for academic misconduct, after being anonymously accused of mislabeling the principal investigator for a grant and failing to disclose co-authors in research. Wang was placed on paid administrative leave until he was terminated from his tenured position on the day of the raid. Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Contributed to this article Wil Courtney; Lafayette Journal & Courier & Brian Rosenzweig; Herald-Times This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ACLU is suing DHS on behalf of seven Indiana international students ST. LOUIS It was just before 4 p.m. when shots rang out at January-Wabash park in Ferguson. Police say they arrived within 50 seconds of the 911 callonly to find no victim in sight. Shortly after, they got a second callleading officers to a church nearby, where a teen was found with a gunshot wound to the arm. He was treated on-site and rushed to the hospital. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe Now Daily News The victim arrived supposedly a few minutes prior to or really seconds prior to the. Somebody yelled and then gunshots, said Captain Tim Harris, Ferguson police captain of Investigations. So they all separated and it was the end of it. Police say it began with a dispute between a group of 18-22 year-olds. No one is claiming to know the shooter, and investigators are reviewing video from the park and nearby church. But this incident that happened, I grew up here. I went to Ferguson middle. I went to McClure and never in my life have I seen anything like this, Lorenzo Clark, a citizen, said. So I dont know whats going on with these teens nowadays but they need to get a handle on them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shooting comes the same day Youth Violence Prevention advocates rushed to Jefferson cCty, speaking out against a Missouri House Bill that would lower the legal concealed carry age from 19 to 18. Its just okay. Its scary! Were already in crisis mode but it puts you even more in crisis mode. Almost like all the work youre working towards is just backwards, said Precious Jones, a Youth Violence Prevention advocate. The bill, already passed by the house, would also allow guns on public transportation and in churches. St. Louis Blues clinch spot in 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Democratic Representative Chanel Mosley says lawmakers outside urban areas dont see the daily violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre not in a city where they see gun violence often. Like you said, they are in rural areas or just in small areas where they dont have those types of problems, so they dont know what the bill will be doing to our area, Mosley said. Individuals like Clark have no issue with the bill. I dont have an issue with lowering the age. I do believe everybody has the right to defend themselves but I do believe folks need to have some type of psych paperwork that they have to go through to be able to carry, Clark said. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death among children and teens in Missouri. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With this latest shooting and legislation in motion, advocates fear what might come next. As police continue to investigate, several youth violence prevention organizations are taking action. On April 22, theyll head to Jefferson City to present their Safer Summer Streets initiative, with local doctors, teachers, and community leaders sharing the real impact of youth gun violence in St. Louis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TYLER, Texas (KETK) A former substitute teacher with Tyler ISD has been arrested following a physical altercation with a special needs student, according to a Smith County affidavit. The Tyler ISD Police Department launched an investigation on April 4 after obtaining video footage of the incident, which occurred on April 1 in a special needs classroom at Moore Middle School. Dallas Wings draft UConn star Paige Bueckers at No. 1 overall Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on the footage, officials identified the substitute teacher as Joacim Castro Lacayo, along with two paraprofessionals who were also present during the incident. Mugshot of Joacim Castro Lacayo, courtesy of Smith County Jail The video reportedly shows Lacayo engaging in a verbal confrontation with the student, which escalated into physical contact. At approximately 3:15 p.m., Lacayo began physically restraining the students arms with assistance from the two paraprofessionals, according to the affidavit. Moments later, Lacayo is seen allegedly twisting the students arms behind her back, causing her to scream in pain. By 3:21 p.m., the affidavit states, Lacayo pushed the student into a wall and continued restraining her as she cried out. He later tackled the student to the ground and stood over her while yelling. When the student threatened to report the incident to her father, Lacayo allegedly responded, Tell him, tell whoever, your grandpa, your daddy. Longview ISD wants community to weigh in on climate survey Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a subsequent interview with the Tyler ISD Police Chief, Lacayo admitted he was aware of the students intellectual disabilities and behavioral history. He described his actions as out of character. Following the investigation, Lacayo was arrested and charged with injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual. As of now, both paraprofessionals have not been arrested. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK) A woman has been arrested in connection to a Saturday morning murder in Smith County after investigators uncovered text messages allegedly revealing she helped plan a robbery leading to the victims death. According to the Smith County Sheriffs Office, they received a 911 call around 2 a.m. on Saturday after a person reported seeing a man lying on the side of the road in Flint. Further information revealed the man had been shot. 2 people arrested after Smith County fatal shooting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When officials arrived, they found James Michael LittleJohn unresponsive and he was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries. Mugshot of Ashley Kate Joiner, courtesy of Smith County Jail An affidavit obtained from the sheriffs office revealed the victim was sitting in the front passenger seat with Ashley Kate Joiner as the driver. A second suspect, John Floyd McDaniel, 55, was in the back passenger seat. While she was operating the vehicleshe witnessed McDaniel grab the victim from the back and attempt to rob Littlejohn with a handgun, documents show. Joiner stated she heard McDaniel tell [Littlejohn], Dont move, or Ill shoot you, give me your phone.' After LittleJohn took out a knife to defend himself, McDaniel shot him one time, according to the affidavit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joiner reportedly told investigators that after fleeing the scene, she and McDaniel went to her home, where he instructed her to dispose of the vehicle while he followed in his car. [Joiner] stated she believed that since McDaniel was trying to get rid of the vehicle, she felt that he was also going to kill her because she was a witness of the incident, the affidavit said. Henderson County Sheriffs Office takes aggressive stance to arrest child predators While being followed by McDaniel, Jonier said she was able to lose him and drove to the Frankston Police Department for help. Officials obtained the vehicle Joiner was driving and took it to the Smith County Sheriffs Office where they found a .9mm Ruger semi-automatic handgun and three cell phones covered with blood in the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blood was also found throughout the vehicle, along with a large amount of blood in the backseat, the affidavit said. Detectives later learned that Joiner was lying as evidence obtained from her phone reportedly showed she willingly participated and helped with planning Littlejohns death. Wood County mourns loss of deputy Melissa Pollard with candlelight vigil It was learned by reviewing the text messages in Ashleys cell phone, she collaborated and acted in accordance with other subjects with the commencement of the robbery against Littlejohn which resulted in his death, the affidavit stated. McDaniel was found in Shreveport, La. Saturday morning around 10:45 a.m. by the Shreveport Police Department at the Economy Inn on IH 20 near the Shreveport Airport. He was then taken to the Caddo Parrish Jail on an unrelated warrant. Smith County investigators are in the process of obtaining an arrest warrant for capital murder on McDaniel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joiner was arrested on capital murder by terror threat and is being held in the Smith County Jail. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2025. (Xinhua/Shadati) TEHRAN, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Monday that the next round of "indirect" talks with the United States over its nuclear program will take place outside Oman, though the structure and mediation of the negotiations will remain unchanged. According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, Tehran does not consider the location of the talks to be as significant as the framework in which they are held. He indicated that the discussions will continue to be conducted indirectly, with Oman maintaining its mediating role. Baghaei said Muscat will coordinate the new venue for the upcoming round and expressed appreciation for Oman's role in hosting the initial phase of negotiations. Western media reported on Monday that the next round could be held in Rome, citing an Italian source involved in the planning. Baghaei also dismissed the possibility of direct engagement with Washington, saying Iran does not view that format as effective. He said indirect talks are not unusual, and have been used previously in dealings between the two countries. CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) The opioid crisis continues to impact western Massachusetts, and one state official wants to make sure resources are available for rural communities. Attorney General Andrea Campbell met with western Massachusetts organizations and leaders to discuss the ongoing opioid crisis and hear how she can help. AG Campbell told 22News that with all that is happening federally, she thinks it is important to remind people that they are still focusing on the opioid crisis and helping to provide the right resources. Resources are one of the biggest problems for cities and towns in western Massachusetts, as clinics are not in rural towns and transportation is not available for everyone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mass. gang member sentenced to prison for fentanyl trafficking The goal is not only to have organizations at the table, but folks with lived experience also at the table and form creative solutions, Campbell said. Regional equity is also really important, and I understand in western Mass rural communities, its much more difficult for folks to access services and these organizations are thinking outside the box. According to the CDC, rates of drug overdose deaths in rural areas are rising and have surpassed rates in urban areas. Behavioral Health Network (BHN) is one of the organizations that plans to speak with the attorney general. I think the biggest challenge is access, said Tony Boswell, Senior Vice President of BHN. There are very few clinics out in remote areas, and transportation is also an issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In efforts to close this gap, BHN uses mobile methadone clinics to identify and reach the areas they deem as a methadone desert. On the state level, Massachusetts State Senator John Velis, the Chair of the Mental Health Substance Use and Recovery Committee, is urging communities to utilize a statewide opioid settlement fund. Theres been a bit of a slower rollout, Velis said. To me, thats incredibly problematic. We still find ourselves in the throes of an addiction crisis. Supply right now is more contaminated, I would argue, than its ever been in the history of this country. A substance use disorder bill was signed into state law at the end of 2024 to reduce drug-related deaths and support residents recovering from addiction. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse and needs help, call the 24/7 National Drug Helpline at 1-844-289-0879. 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. HENDERSON, ky. (WEHT) Attorney General Russell Coleman announced hes calling on Congress to pass a new law protecting Kentuckians from higher drug prices. AG Coleman says he and a coalition of 38 other state and territory attorneys general signed a letter urging congressional leadership to prohibit pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning or operating pharmacies. PBMs are essentially the middlemen in the pharmaceutical industry. Although dozens of PBMs exist nationwide, a select few dominate the market and wield outsized influence in the availability, dispensing and pricing of prescription drugs. AG Coleman announces $19.8M in grants to combat drugs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AG Colemans office explains each of the top six PBMs operate their own affiliated pharmacies, while five of the top six are also a part of parent conglomerates that operate insurance companies and health care clinics. PBMsthrough ownership of affiliated pharmaciesare contracting with and have power over their own pharmacies competition. Were calling on Congress to promote competition, transparency and fundamental fairness into healthcare something thats been needed for too long, said Attorney General Coleman. AG Coleman reacts to executive order involving coal power plants Officials say the letter sent Monday urges Congress to take action and protect consumers by enacting a law prohibiting PBMs or their parent companies from owning a pharmacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter can be read below. 4-14-Pharmacy-Benefit-Managers-_-FINAL-eDownload Eyewitness News. Everywhere you are. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). If there is anyone who seeks to deny the enormity or depths of depravity of the Holocaust, they should perhaps pay a visit to the north London home of Hephzibah Rudofsky. There they will find a one-of-a-kind, one-woman archive of the realities of the Nazis attempts to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe. Among the more than 100 artefacts, photographs, papers and postcards are items carefully gathered from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany which was liberated by British troops 80 years ago today, April 15. Several feature in Traces of Belsen, a new exhibition at Londons Wiener Holocaust Library. Hephzibahs mother, Zahava, and grandmother, Rosy Kanarek, both survived what the BBCs Richard Dimbleby, the first reporter inside the camps gates, described as the world of a nightmare. About 70,000 people, mostly Jews, did not their naked and emaciated bodies were piled around the camp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zahava only discovered the trove of priceless possessions upon the death of Rosy in 2001, coming across a small suitcase at the back of a cupboard while clearing out her mothers room in a home for the elderly in Israel. Zahava Kohn, then Kanarek, grew up in Amsterdam and was just eight years old when she and her mother were transported to Bergen-Belsen - Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror Despite suffering extreme starvation and squalor in the camp, Rosy had evidently been determined to scrupulously collect and conserve every object she could. These included three tin bowls from which the family ate their daily meal. For Hephzibah, they represent not nourishment but aching hunger. The tinniness, the emptiness, the hollowness really affects me every time I see those bowls, she says on a video call from a Passover holiday in Israel. Its chilling, in a sense, because there was so little food in them they had scraps of turnips and water. The majority of people died of disease and starvation at Bergen-Belsen. One of the bowls used by the Kanarek family in Bergen-Belsen, c. 1944 There were also postcards they exchanged with family in Switzerland, discussing food parcels that would never be given to them all part of the Nazis propaganda efforts to dupe the outside world as to what was happening to the prisoners behind the barbed wire. We are healthy, Rosy even writes in one in 1944. After the war, meticulous as ever, she reclaimed the notes she had sent to her parents, making sure to have both sides of the correspondence in her hoard. A postcard sent from Bergen-Belsen by Rosy Kanarek to her father, Josef Guttmann, in Zurich, 1944 We do not know why she amassed the collection, or how she was able to keep it in such pristine condition she died before anybody could ask. But her granddaughter Hephzibah, now 61, has not stopped thinking about it. You couldnt write anything down, you couldnt keep notes of anything, she says. And I wonder if my grandmother was keeping a diary in a sense. I always wonder if she felt, if she ever got out of there, this is to prove to herself what actually happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After discovery of the cache, when Hephzibah was in her late 30s, a tap was opened. Finally, Zahava just eight when she was transported to the camp felt able to start speaking about the familys ordeal. Rosy and Sigmund Kanarek with their children Zahava, right, and Jehudi in Amsterdam, 1941 One of the most precious items relates to Zahavas brother, Jehudi. Their mother had given him up to be hidden by a Protestant family in Holland. In the Westerbork transit camp 100 miles away, Rosy was puzzled to be passed a bag of dried beans, smuggled in by the Resistance. With nothing to cook with, what on earth was she supposed to do with them? At the bottom of the bag, however, she discovered a tiny photo of her son alive and well. Indeed, he still is, aged 83, in Jerusalem, having been reunited with his family after the war. Among the torn fragments of documents in the collection is a sick note from Belsen late in 1944. It records that Rosy had been given time off work as the cleaner for the camp commandant. Why would anyone keep all those scraps of paper? Hephzibah asks herself in amazement. Rosy Kanareks sick note from Bergen-Belsen, 1944 Then there is the Honduran passport Rosy had bought in the hope the citizenship would give the family a way out of the Netherlands. In the end, it was useless. Rather, it was Zahavas papers that proved vital. Her birth in British Mandate Palestine gave her value in a potential prisoner swap and placed the family in the star camp part of Belsen, where prisoners wore the Star of David sewn on to their clothing instead of uniforms. It was this British status that saved the family from being shoved into a cattle car to almost certain death at Auschwitz. The Honduran passport Rosy had bought in the hope of securing a way out of the Netherlands They were literally about to board, and someone came up and said, Youve been taken off this transport. My mother often said that had he come 60 seconds later, the doors would have been shut, says Hephzibah. Nobody would have found them and I wouldnt be here today. Zahavas birthplace ultimately saw the family released from Belsen in an exchange in January 1945 before being sent to two further camps. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Jewish communities around the world celebrate Passover this week, one of the items Hephzibah finds most moving is a letter sent from the Biberach internment camp in Germany in March 1945. Rosy was begging her parents to send the unleavened bread of affliction Jews eat to mark their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, as told in the Book of Exodus. After everything theyd been through, they write to my mothers grandparents, in Zurich, and theyre saying, Were desperate to have matzah. I find it extraordinary that in spite of everything, they still believed in practising their religion. And Passover symbolises the freedom of the Jewish people. In 2009, Hephzibah and her mother began taking their story to schools across the UK. The presentation has been delivered to tens of thousands of children who, Hephzibah says, are absolutely mesmerised by this archive. One listener recently suggested she emphasises that the documents she shows the pupils are the originals. Because in this day of artificial intelligence and misinformation, they might think its computer-generated. So I actually reinforce that these days. Mother and daughter Zahava Kohn and Hephzibah Rudofsky began taking their story to schoolchildren across the UK in 2009 The trauma would linger for decades. Zahava would have enduring health problems and a lifelong aversion to dogs (whose barking took her back to Belsen) and fireworks (which reminded her of gunshots). Meanwhile, Jehudi did not recognise his family, calling Rosy his mummy from Switzerland. But Hephzibah carries with her Zahavas relentlessly forward-looking disposition. My mother made the best of everything. She never was angry. It was never poor me. She literally cherished everything she had. In spite of everything shed been through, she really felt blessed. Zahava made it to London in 1958, where she married pharmacologist Dr Ralph Kohn (his knighthood in 2010 would make her Lady Kohn). They had three daughters and five grandchildren. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon her mothers death, aged 86, in 2022, Hephzibah was still discovering objects squirrelled away. She had never before seen a set of ladles, for example, which her grandmother had taken among her belongings to Belsen. The burden of history and the collection has now fallen on Hephzibahs shoulders. I treat it really with the most love Ive got for any possessions, she says. Its a huge weight of responsibility as we see rising Holocaust denial. Well, you have such proof here, such extraordinary proof. And I feel I need to impart this to the next generation because I dont want it to become one of those things that just goes into history books. Traces of Belsen runs at the Wiener Holocaust Library until July 10; wienerholocaustlibrary.org 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 Trump administration canceled a $3.1 billion grant program for climate-friendly crops, the Agriculture Department announced Monday. In a press release, the department said that it was canceling Biden-era Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, which funded 141 projects that sought to advance climate-friendly farming practices. Projects funded under the program supported things like planting cover crops, which prevent soil erosion, and managing soil nutrients to minimize farmings environmental impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Biden administration estimated that the program would reach more than 60,000 farms and cut more than 60 million metric tons of carbon dioxide the equivalent of taking 12 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year. However, the Trump administration said that most of the projects had sky-high administration fees which in many instances provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers. It also said that select projects could continue if they can show that a significant amount of their funds will go to farmers. The Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative was largely built to advance the green new scam at the benefit of NGOs, not American farmers, said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in a written statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have heard directly from our farmers that many of the USDA partnerships are overburdened by red tape, have ambiguous goals, and require complex reporting that push farmers onto the sidelines, Rollins added. The cancellation comes amid a broader effort from the Trump administration to axe funding for climate- and environment-related 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. Hello and welcome to Eye on AI. In this editionAGI timelines are getting shorter but so is the amount of attention AI labs seem to be paying to AI safetyVenture capital enthusiasm for OpenAI alums startups shows no sign of waning.A way to trace LLM outputs back to their sourceand the military looks to LLMs for decision support, alarming humanitarian groups. Timelines is a short-hand term AI researchers use to describe how soon they think well achieve artificial general intelligence, or AGI. While its definition is contentious, AGI is basically an AI model that performs as well as or better than humans at most tasks. Many peoples timelines are getting alarmingly short. Former OpenAI policy researcher Daniel Kokotajlo and a group of forecasters with excellent track records have gotten a lot of attention for authoring a detailed scenario, called AI 2027, that suggests AGI will be achieved in, you guessed it, 2027. They argue this will lead to a sudden intelligence explosion as AI systems begin building and refining themselves, rapidly leading to superintelligent AI. Dario Amodei, the cofounder and CEO of AI company Anthropic, thinks well hit AGI by 2027 too. Meanwhile, OpenAI cofounder and CEO Sam Altman is cagey, trying hard not to be pinned down on a precise year, but hes said his company knows how to build AGIit is just a matter of executingand that systems that start to point to AGI are coming into view. Demis Hassabis, the Google DeepMind cofounder and CEO, has a slightly longer timelinefive to 10 yearsbut researchers at his company just published a report saying its plausible AGI will be developed by 2030. The implications of short timelines for policy are profound. For one thing, if AGI really is coming in two to five years, it gives all of uscompanies, society, and governmentsprecious little time to prepare. While I have previously predicted AI wont lead to mass unemployment, my view is predicated on the idea that AGI will not be achieved in the next five years. If AGI does arrive sooner, it could indeed lead to large job losses as many organizations would be tempted to automate roles, and two years is not enough time to allow people to transition to new ones. If timelines are short, safety should matter more Another implication of short timelines is that AI safety and security ought to become more important. (The Google DeepMind researchers, in their latest AI safety paper, said AGI could lead to severe consequences, including the permanent end of humanity.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jack Clark, a cofounder at Anthropic who heads its policy team, wrote in his personal newsletter, Import AI, a few weeks ago that short timelines called for more extreme policy actions. These, he wrote, would include increased security at leading AI labs, mandatory pre-deployment safety testing by third-parties (moving away from the current voluntary system), and spending more time talking aboutand maybe even demonstratingdangerous misuses of advanced AI models in order to convince policymakers to take stronger regulatory action. Companies are paying less attention to safety But, contrary to Clarks position, even as timelines have shortened, many AI companies seem to be paying less, not more, attention to AI safety. For instance, last week, my Fortune colleague Bea Nolan and I reported that Google released its latest Gemini 2.5 Pro model without a key safety report, in apparent violation of commitments the company had made to the U.S. government in 2023 and at various international AI safety summits. And Google is not aloneOpenAI also released its DeepResearch model without the safety report, called a system card, publishing one only months later. The Financial Times also reported this week that OpenAI has been slashing the time it allows both internal and third-party safety evaluators to test its models before release, in some cases giving testers just a few days for evaluations that had previously been allotted weeks or months to be completed. Meanwhile, AI safety experts criticized Meta for publishing a system card for its new Llama 4 model family that provided only barebones information on the models potential risks. The reason safety is getting short shrift is clear: Competition between AI companies is intense and those companies perceive safety testing as an impediment to speeding new models to market. The closer AGI appears to be, the more bitterly fought the race to get there first will be. The U.S. government sees safety as an impediment to beating China In economic terms, this is a market failurethe commercial incentives of private actors encourage them to do things that are bad for the collective whole. Normally, when there are market failures, it would be reasonable to expect the government to step in. But in this case, geopolitics gets in the way. The U.S. sees AGI as a strategic technology that it wants to obtain before any rival, particularly China. So it is unlikely to do anything that might slow the progress of the U.S. AI labseven a little bit. (It doesnt help that AI lab CEOs such as Altmanwho once went before Congress and endorsed the idea of government regulation, including possible licensing requirements for leading AI labs, but now says he thinks AI companies can self-regulate on AI safetyare lobbying the government to eschew any legal requirements.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, having unsafe, uncontrollable AI would be in neither Washington nor Beijings interest. So there might be scope for an international treaty. But given the lack of trust between the Trump administration and Xi Jinping, that seems unlikely. It is possible President Trump may yet come around on AI regulationif theres a populist outcry over AI-induced job losses or a series of damaging, but not catastrophic, AI-involved disasters. Otherwise, I guess we just have to hope the AI companies timelines are wrong. With that, heres the rest of this weeks AI news. Jeremy Kahn jeremy.kahn@fortune.com @jeremyakahn Before we get to the news, if youre interested in learning more about how AI will impact your business, the economy, and our societies (and given that youre reading this newsletter, you probably are), please consider joining me at the Fortune Brainstorm AI London 2025 conference. The conference is being held May 67 at the Rosewood Hotel in London. Confirmed speakers include Mastercard chief product officer Jorn Lambert, eBay chief AI officer Nitzan Mekel, Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, noted tech analyst Benedict Evans, and many more. Ill be there, of course. I hope to see you there too. You can apply to attend here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And if I miss you in London, why not consider joining me in Singapore on July 2223 for Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore. You can learn more about that event here. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) In just 20 minutes, a person can find out if they have HIV. People just swab right along their gum line and it just sits in the solution, said David Martins, director of AIDS Project RI. AIDS Project RI works out of Family Service of Rhode Island in Providence and has been offering access to free testing and medication for 40 years. Martins said treatments have dramatically improved in recent years, reducing the symptoms and spread of the disease. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People who are living with HIV currently are able to get themselves to a place of being undetectable, he said. Meaning theres so little HIV in their body that they cannot pass it to someone else. AIDS Project RI helps 350 people with HIV statewide on a regular basis, of which 98% are now undetectable with access to daily medication. But Martins worries HIV cases could go up as access is called into question. Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments as it considers whether the Affordable Care Acts no-cost coverage is constitutional. The provision requires coverage for HIV drug treatments as well as cancer screenings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without insurance, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute said preventative medications like PrEP can cost people up to $22,000 a year. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is continuing its efforts to cut down on taxpayer costs. Martins said more than half of their funding comes from the federal government. He said hes concerned a funding cut could increase the risk of the disease spreading once again. It can spread with the same kind of tenacity as it did in the 80s and 90s, nothing has changed about HIV, he said. Whats changed is what we know about it and that we have these tools to combat 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. Editors Note: CNNs 5 Things newsletter is your one-stop shop for the latest headlines and fascinating stories to start and end your busy day. Sign up here. Welcome to 5 Things PM! Congratulations on getting your taxes done and filed. If youre in line for a refund or already have received one it presents an opportunity to improve your financial situation in one or more ways. The question is, what makes the most sense for you? Consider these options. Heres what else you might have missed during your busy day: 5 things Marko Cvetkovic/E+/Getty Images 1 Calling all parents: As your children sleep, their mattresses and bedding may release toxic flame retardants and other chemicals linked to hormonal, reproductive and developmental harm, according to two new studies. Researchers told CNN that the brands were well-known, lower-cost mattresses found at leading retail stores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 15-minute dash: Do you really need to turn up at the airport two or three hours before your flight? A viral trend called airport theory has people testing the limits of how late they can arrive at the terminal a high-stakes gamble with both winners and losers. 3 Filling in fossil record gaps: Its a long-standing debate in paleontology: Were dinosaurs headed for extinction even before a massive asteroid strike? To find answers, a team of scientists studied North Americas fossil record, focusing on the 18 million years before the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period. 4 Espresso yourself: or not! Starbucks is rolling out a new uniform policy next month to create a sense of familiarity for its customers. The coffee chain has been looking for ways to bring people back into stores and is focusing on one recognizable item to help revive the brand. 5 Tech for thought: Using technology may be linked with a lower risk of developing cognitive decline later in life, a study has found. But if youre thinking that means youre free to scroll to your hearts content not so fast. Experts say there are still many uncertainties. Watch this Extraterrestrial escapade: Four passengers from SpaceXs Fram2 mission talk about their unique orbit over Earths North and South poles and the research they worked on while in space. Top headlines White House calls on Harvard University to apologize as it doubles down on funding freeze Heres whats about to become more expensive with the next round of tariffs His conviction was hailed as a #MeToo victory. After winning his appeal, Harvey Weinstein is back on trial 85% Chilis is starting beef with McDonalds, saying its version of a quarter pounder burger has that much more meat compared to the fast food classic. Check this out Living lavish: Rock star Lenny Kravitz shows off his luxurious Paris townhouse for Architectural Digest. Kravitz calls his aesthetic soulful elegance and says his sensibility reflects his upbringing in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Matthieu Salvaing/AD Quotable Partial paralysis: The Old Town Road rapper posted a series of videos to social media from the hospital, sharing that he lost control over the right side of his face. Quiz time Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Which airline will offer free Wi-Fi on most of its flights, becoming the latest major carrier to add the perk? A. Frontier B. Allegiant C. Hawaiian Airlines D. American Airlines Scroll down for the answer. Good vibes Using poo for good: Its a dirty job, but someones got to do it and its paying off. By analyzing animal feces, researchers say findings could help conservationists better monitor wildlife and perhaps even restore dwindling populations. Thanks for reading Well see you tomorrow. Quiz answer: D. Beginning in January 2026, members of American Airlines free loyalty program will have access to the perk. Check out all of CNNs newsletters. 5 Things PM is produced by CNNs Meghan Pryce. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Alabama, Georgia men sentenced in largest bird mount trafficking case in history WASHINGTON (TRIBUNE) A federal judge in Brooklyn today sentenced two men for trafficking protected birds and eggs into the United States in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) resulting in the largest fine ever in a ESA case, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. John Waldrop of Cataula, Georgia, was ordered to pay a $900,000 fine one of the largest-ever for an ESA case and serve three years of probation. Toney Jones of Eufala, Alabama, was sentenced to six months of probation. Waldrop pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to smuggle wildlife and ESA violations, while Jones pleaded guilty to an ESA charge. Waldrops gigantic and rare bird collection was bolstered in part by illegal imports, where he and his enlisted co-conspirators intentionally avoided permit and declaration requirements, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). We applaud the efforts of the various federal and state law enforcement entities in investigating and prosecuting this case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scale of this investigation underscores the critical importance of protecting our natural resources, said Assistant Director Douglas Ault of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement. Waldrops collection included thousands of bird specimens and eggs, many of which are among the rarest in the world. This is one of the largest bird trafficking cases in history, and the commercialization of species protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and CITES highlights the conservation impact of Waldrops crimes. We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement are unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding wildlife for future generations. We will remain vigilant and will continue to hold accountable those who exploit our shared natural resources for personal gain. Between 2016 and 2020, Waldrop imported birds and eggs without the required declarations and permits. After USFWS inspectors at John F. Kennedy International Airport and elsewhere intercepted several shipments, Waldrop recruited Jones, who worked on his Georgia farm, to receive the packages. Jones also deposited approximately $525,000 in a bank account that Waldrop then used to pay for the imports and hide his involvement. Waldrop and Jones used online sales sites such as eBay and Etsy to buy birds and eggs from around the world, including Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. Waldrop forfeited his collection. The USFWS National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab examined the items and determined it to be the largest seizure of bird mounts in their 37-year history. The ESA requires that all wildlife imports be declared to USFWS and have required permits, including species protected by CITES. According to court documents and statements made in court, Waldrop amassed an extensive collection of 1,401 taxidermy bird mounts and 2,594 eggs which included: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Four eagles protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 179 bird and 193 egg species listed in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and 212 bird and 32 egg species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This included incredibly rare specimens like three eggs of the Nordmanns Greenshank, an Asian shorebird with only 900 to 1,600 remaining birds in the wild; no North American museum has any Nordmann Greenshank eggs in their collection. The USFWS Office of Law Enforcement in Valley Stream, New York, conducted the investigation as part of Operation Final Flight. The operation focused on the trafficking of protected birds into the United States. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources assisted with the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of ENRDs Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Karamigios for the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. Civil defense workers transfer a victim from the rubble of destroyed buildings after an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on April 13, 2025. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) GAZA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Hamas said Monday evening that its leadership is reviewing the Gaza peace proposal received from the mediators and will submit its response after completing internal consultations. In a statement, Hamas said its leadership is studying the proposal "with great national responsibility" and will submit its response "as soon as the necessary consultations are completed." The group reaffirmed its core demands for any potential agreement: "a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, a genuine prisoner exchange, the start of a serious reconstruction process, and the lifting of the unjust siege on our people in Gaza." Hamas did not give details of the proposal in the statement. At least 1,613 Palestinians were killed and 4,233 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes on March 18 across the Gaza Strip, Gaza-based health authorities said on Monday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy signs Senate Bill 43, declaring March to Women's History Month in Alaska, on April 3, 2025, in his office in the Alaska State Capitol. (Photo provided by the Office of the Governor) A bill that would increase Alaskas K-12 education funding formula by $253 million per year is on the desk of Gov. Mike Dunleavy after both the House and Senate passed it. On Monday, a spokesperson for the governor said Dunleavy intends to veto it, confirming prior posts on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Alaska Legislature transmitted House Bill 69, containing the formula funding increase, to the governor on Saturday. Under the Alaska Constitution, the governor has until April 30 to sign it, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature. If the governor vetoes the bill, lawmakers must meet immediately in joint session to vote and either confirm the governors veto or override it. Overriding a veto on HB 69 would require 40 of the Legislatures 60 members. Lawmakers for and against HB 69 have said they doubt there are enough votes to override a Dunleavy veto on the issue. And even if the bill became law, actually funding the formula would require action in a separate budget appropriation bill. Overriding a budget veto would require 45 of 60 legislators. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Fishing boats are seen in Kodiak's St. Paul Harbor on Oct. 3, 2022. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Last year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed five bills, citing the fact that the Alaska Legislature passed them after the constitutional end of the legislative session. So far in 2025, four of those five bills have been reapproved by either the House or Senate. On Friday, the Alaska House of Representatives voted 37-0 to remove a requirement that fishing vessels register with the state Department of Motor Vehicles if theyre already registered with the U.S. Coast Guard and Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That removal will become law if the Senate and Gov. Mike Dunleavy also approve House Bill 31, which contains the removal and was the fourth of the five bills vetoed last year because of the missed deadline. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, in both years. Of the remaining missed-deadline bills, the Legislature has already passed two: one that allows state borrowing for a cruise ship dock in Seward, and another that allows teens to serve alcohol at restaurants, lodges and similar establishments. Senate Bill 15 is awaiting the governors action. The Senate but not the House has passed a bill allowing employers to pay employees via payroll cards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last of the vetoed-and-reintroduced bills, which would have banned insurance companies from denying coverage or charging higher rates to elected officials, has not received a hearing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Vic Fischer, the last surviving author of Alaska's constitution, sits with wife Jane Angvik and listens to U.S. Senate candidates speak at the Oct. 22, 2022, forum at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Alaska lawmakers are planning to name a park in honor of one of the signers of the Alaska Constitution. On Monday, the Alaska House of Representatives voted 37-3 to name Shoup Bay State Marine Park in honor of Victor Fischer, who was the last living signatory to the Alaska Constitution when he died in 2023 at age 99. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shoup Bay is located 5 miles from Valdez, and if the Alaska Senate passes House Bill 79 and Gov. Mike Dunleavy allows it to become law, the park would become Vic Fischer Shoup Bay State Marine Park. Fischer was active in state and local politics for decades, and as a member of the Alaska Legislature in 1983, sponsored the legislation that created Alaskas first 13 state marine parks. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources said that the name change could be done at no cost; the new name will be added to signs and other material during the ordinary schedule of replacement. BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese border officers handled 163 million entries and exits from January to March 2025, marking an increase of 15.3 percent year on year, authorities said on Tuesday. Mainland residents accounted for the majority of cross-border trips, totaling 80.27 million -- a 15.4 percent increase year on year, according to the National Immigration Administration. However, the sharpest growth came from foreign nationals, who made 17.44 million border crossings, up 33.4 percent from the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan made 65.72 million trips, representing an 11.2 percent rise over the previous year, according to the administration. During the period, border officers issued about 361,000 visa documents to foreign nationals. They also issued 5.15 million ordinary passports, 24.85 million documents to mainland residents for travel to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and some 569,000 mainland travel permits to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents. Authorities pledged to implement broader and more substantive measures to enhance communication and exchanges between China and the rest of the world. The first quarter also saw continued progress in the crackdown on border-control violations. Border officers tackled 2,851 criminal cases in this field, where they captured 8,402 suspects, dismantled 127 criminal gangs and 16 relay dens, and confiscated 388 transport vehicles and vessels used in illegal activities, according to the administration. Authorities maintained a firm stance on crimes involving guns, explosives, drug trafficking, and smuggling. From January to March, border officers busted 128 drug cases, seizing 888.4 kilograms of drugs. They also confiscated 201 firearms and 5,463 bullets, and seized smuggled goods valued at 70.87 million yuan (around 9.83 million U.S. dollars). ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) An Albuquerque man was sentenced to federal prison Monday for setting a California church and preschool on fire while children and school employees were inside. Jonathan A. Barajas Nava, 37, set fire to the Retreat Church and Yucaipa Christian Preschool, just outside of San Bernardino, on April 24, 2024. Investigators said Nava poured gasoline on the churchs front door and set it on fire. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school had 14 staff members and 48 kids inside. They were able to evacuate, and no injuries were reported. Officials said the churchs interior carpet, the doorframe seal, and an outdoor mat were damaged by the fire. After the first fire, investigators said Nava traveled to a nearby strip mall and set fire to the exterior wall, which resulted in no damage. He was arrested later that day. Nava admitted in his plea agreement that he set fire to the church because of its religious character. Nava pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 to one count of damage to a religious property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement United States District Judge John F. Walter sentenced Nava to 51 months in prison and ordered him to pay $7,008 in restitution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) After this weekends raid in a Northwest Albuquerque neighborhood where 40-year-old Jamison Wagner was arrested for his connection to two recent arson attacks at a Tesla dealership and at the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters, KRQE News 13 is learning more about Wagner and made a visit to his neighborhood on Monday. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive lived here for four years. I love the neighborhood, its a safe place, I feel totally comfortable with my dogs out walking. My daughters, they come to the park and play all the time. Its always been a really good place to live, said one neighbor. Runners, walkers, and bikers alike are usually all out in a quiet northwest Albuquerque neighborhood but this weekend it was a different scene with dozens of FBI and ATF agents surrounding a home off Unser Blvd. and McMahon Blvd. We woke up to those booms, and I told my daughters, I dont know fireworks? said that same neighbor. I was gonna get ready to go to work, and as soon as I step into my car I hear these loud gunshots or something just boom, boom, boom, said Wagners neighbor, Juan Diego Enciso. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few doors down from Encisos home, the garage door was broken out and windows boarded up, after agents arrested 40-year-old Jamison Wagner, in connection with recent arson attacks at a Tesla dealership and the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters. I didnt think my neighbor three houses down would get raided, but no never experienced anything like this in my life, said Enciso. I didnt think he was involved in stuff like that, its crazy. Online sources seem to show that Wagner graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2018 with a degree in electrical engineering and may have earned a Masters degree in engineering three years later. KRQE News 13 is still working to confirm those facts with the university. On Wagners Facebook page, it was filled with posts about his frustrations with the current political climate and the Trump administration calling Trump a lawless President and Nazi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The passion of the left versus right, and its coming to that, that surprises me too, said one neighbor. The neighbors KRQE News 13 spoke with said they didnt know Wagner well. I cant say that one bad apple like ruins the whole pie, but its still really surprising, said one neighbor. Wagner is federally charged with two counts of arson. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said a woman was killed in a two-vehicle incident involving a pedestrian on April 10. ALEA said the incident happened around 7:38 p.m. on Alabama 227 near DeKalb County 51. The agency said 62-year-old Tammy Smith was standing in the roadway when she was hit by a pickup truck. Smith was transported to Huntsville Hospital for treatment, where she later died of her injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ALEA told News 19 that before Smith was hit, her vehicle was hit by the pickup truck. The agency said Smith exited her vehicle then the pickup truck hit her. According to the agency, this was not an intentional act. ALEAs Highway Patrol Division is continuing to investigate this 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 WHNT.com. An Alexander County doctor is facing multiple charges of sex crimes against children in Alexander and Iredell Counties. Doctor Richard Jordan was first arrested on April 4 on charges of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. He was arrested a second time on Friday on charges of indecent liberties with a child and first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, court documents show. Arrest warrants say the child was just two years old. Dr. Richard Jordan Jordan most recently worked at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem as a resident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Alexander County Sheriffs Office worked with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to arrest Jordan on four counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of indecent liberties with a minor. READ: Teacher arrested again amid child sex exploitation charges He also faces seven counts of secret peeping in Iredell County, according to Alexander County Sheriffs Office. Jordan was provided a first court appearance on Monday and a secured bond of $595,000. The investigation into Jordan will continue, according to the ACSO, and more charges are possible. WATCH: Teacher arrested again amid child sex exploitation charges Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Monday renewed her call for a ban on lawmakers trading individual stocks after a disclosure filing showed that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) bought shares in a number of companies just before President Donald Trump announced a pause on tariffs. We saw Marjorie Taylor Greene buy that dip, Ocasio-Cortez said at a rally in Idaho with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). I got one question for her: How much did you make? How much did you make off of peoples despair? How much did you make off that panic? How much did you make off of that suffering? She slammed lawmakers for using their access to sensitive information to make trades and said Trumps on-again, off-again tariffs were part of that scheme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I hope we see now that it was all about manipulating the markets so that he could quietly enrich his friends who bought the dip before reversing it all in the morning, she said. The disclosure this week revealed that Greene bought between about $21,000 and $315,000 in stocks on April 8 and 9, the day before and the day of Trumps tariff pause announcement, the New York Times noted. That announcement caused the market to soar. Ocasio-Cortez said Democrats and Republicans alike should be united in opposing the practice in all cases. Members of Congress holding and trading individual stock is wrong, she said. It is corrosive. It is destructive. And it needs to be banned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ocasio-Cortez also put Trump on blast. Donald Trump is a criminal who was found guilty of 34 felony counts of fraud, liable for sexual abuse, she said. Of course, hes lying and abusing and manipulating the stock market, too. When he talks about rapists and criminals, he should look in the mirror. See more from Mondays Fighting Oligarchy rally in Nampa, Idaho: Related... ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) A mistrial was declared in the trial of an alleged smuggler accused of human trafficking at an Abilene noodle bar because some evidence was not provided to the defense team. The mistrial was declared in the case against Gerardo Quijada-Soto Tuesday afternoon, just hours after testimony began. Prosecutors confirmed that evidence was provided to the defense too late for the trial to continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They do plan to re-try Quijada-Soto in the future. Quijada-Soto is charged with Human Trafficking in connection to an investigation that took place at Fun Noodle Bar on 300 block of Southwest Drive in 2023. Abilene restaurant changing ownership following human trafficking arrests Quijada-Soto is accused of smuggling an undocumented immigrant into Texas and eventually to Abilene, where he allegedly sold this immigrant to Fun Noodle Bar owner Hai Zhuang. During the trial, and investigator revealed evidence on Quijada-Sotos phone confirmed he was paid for human trafficking. Prosecutors also showed pictures of a home on the 3500 block of Brook Hollow Drive, where the victim and other workers were allegedly kept. There were multiple mattresses in several rooms, including the garage, and there were tables with toiletries and rice cookers next to them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim told investigators he was only allowed to have rice for the first three weeks then was denied food. Its prevalent everywhere: APD dives deeper into human trafficking in Abilene Court documents reveal more about the alleged crime, stating Zhuang told the immigrant he owed the restaurant 6 months of labor then he would be paid $2,000 a month, and that all his food and shelter needs would be covered. However, this immigrant says Zhuang took him to a house in Abilene and hid his passport, and the documents state the immigrant claims he was then forced to work 10-to-12-hour days without even a bathroom break and was often not fed, forcing him to steal scraps that customers left at the restaurant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A third suspect, restaurant manager Peilun Jiao, is accused of taking the immigrant to and from the house of Abilene, not letting him leave. The documents state Jiao would threaten to call ICE so the immigrant would be deported. 3rd suspect arrested during human trafficking investigation at Abilene noodle bar This immigrant also said he was beaten by Zhuang, and when he requested his first $2,000 payment, Zhuang told him that they owned him now, according to the documents. In July or August 2021, the documents state an unknown man helped this immigrant escape and go to Dallas. Stick with BigCountryHomepage.com for any additional information on this 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 KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) A recent amendment to Perus Forestry and Wildlife Law is drawing fierce backlash from environmental groups and Indigenous groups that warn it could accelerate deforestation in the Amazon rainforest under the guise of economic development. The amendment eliminates the requirement that landowners or companies get state authorization before converting forested land to other uses. Critics say the change could legitimize years of illegal deforestation. To us, this is gravely concerning, said Alvaro Masquez Salvador, a lawyer with the Indigenous Peoples program at Perus Legal Defense Institute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Masquez added that the reform sets a troubling precedent by effectively privatizing land that Peru's constitution defines as national patrimony. Forests are not private propertythey belong to the nation, he said. Supporters of the amendment, enacted in March, say it will stabilize Perus agricultural sector and provide farmers with greater legal certainty. The Associated Press sought comment from multiple representatives of Perus agribusiness sector, as well as Congresswoman Maria Zeta Chunga, a vocal supporter of the law. Only one person in the agribusiness sector responded, saying they did not want to comment. A legal reversal and unconstitutional amendments Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peru holds the second-largest share of Amazon rainforest after Brazil, with over 70 million hectaresabout 60% of Peru's territory, according to nonprofit Rainforest Trust. Its one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet and home to more than 50 Indigenous peoples, some living in voluntary isolation. These communities are vital guardians of ecosystems and the rainforests they protect help stabilize the global climate by absorbing large quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is the main driver of climate change. Passed in 2011, the original Forestry and Wildlife Law required state approval and environmental studies before any change in forest land use. But recent reforms have steadily weakened those protections. The latest amendment allows landowners and companies to bypass that approval, even retroactively legalizing past deforestation. Perus Constitutional Court upheld the amendment after a group of lawyers filed a constitutional challenge. Although the court struck down some parts of the amendment, it left intact the laws final provision, which validates past illegal land-use changes. Legal experts say this is the most dangerous part. In its ruling, the court acknowledged that Indigenous communities should have been consulted on reforms to the law and affirmed the Environment Ministrys role in forest zoning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmental lawyer Cesar Ipenza summed it up like this: The court admits the law violated Indigenous rights and (tribes) should have been consulted but it still endorses the most harmful part. Support from powerful alliances in agribusiness The push behind the reform mirrors dynamics seen under former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, where political and economic forces aligned to weaken environmental protections to favor agribusiness. While Brazils effort was led by a highly organized, industrial agribusiness lobby, Perus version involves a looser but powerful coalition. In Peru, support comes from agribusiness interests, land grabbers and figures linked to illegal mining and drug trafficking. Small and medium farmers with concerns about securing their land have also been swept into the effort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What were seeing is a convergence of both legal and illegal interests, said Vladimir Pinto, the Peru field coordinator for Amazon Watch, an environmental advocacy group. Was amendment push to comply with EU regulations? Julia Urrunaga, Peru director at nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency, warned that the Peruvian government is now falsely arguing that the amendments are necessary to comply with the European Unions regulations, which will soon require companies importing products like soy, beef, and palm oil to prove their goods were not sourced from illegally deforested land. If products tied to illegal deforestation are later legalized and allowed into the market, that will weaken the effectiveness of demand-side regulations like those in the EU, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This sends the wrong message to global markets and undercuts efforts to curb deforestation through trade restrictions, Urrunaga said. Olivier Coupleux, head of the Economic and Trade Section of the EU in Peru, has denied that recent changes to the law are linked to the EUs deforestation-free regulation. In interviews with Peruvian media, Coupleux has said the regulation aims to prevent the purchase of products linked to deforestation and does not require legal reforms, but rather traceability and sustainability in goods like coffee, cocoa, and timber. Peru's Indigenous communities say their communities are threatened Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With no further recourse in domestic courts, civil society groups are preparing to take the case to international tribunals, warning that the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for other countries seeking to circumvent environmental law under the banner of reform. For many Indigenous leaders, the law represents a direct threat to their territories, communities, and ways of life. Julio Cusurichi, board member of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, said the measure will embolden land-grabbing and worsen environmental oversight in already vulnerable areas. Our communities have historically protected not just our lands but the planet, Cusurichi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement __ The Associated Press climate and environmental 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. American Airlines will offer free Wi-Fi to passengers. The service will begin in January 2026. Currently, passengers pay as much as $20 to connect to the internet when flying with the carrier. American Airlines is joining the growing number of carriers offering free in-flight WiFi. The company has announced it will no longer charge for passengers to connect to the internet starting in January 2026. The free Wi-Fi will be available to members of the company's loyalty program and sponsored by AT&T. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The change comes as a growing number of airlines have begun making Wi-Fi access complimentary on flights. Delta has offered free in-flight Wi-Fi since 2023. United Airlines is in the process of adding Starlink satellite Wi-Fi to its planes, which will be free to loyalty members. Smaller carriers, such as JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines, also offer free in-flight Wi-Fi. American has been a holdout, collecting $20 or more per connected passenger per flight. Our customers greatly value staying connected while in the air, whether communicating with friends, getting work done, checking in on social media, or streaming their favorite subscription services, said Heather Garboden, chief customer officer at American Airlines. Weve been working diligently to outfit our aircraft with best-in-class high-speed Wi-Fi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond large jets, American said it plans on installing high-speed internet services on 500 regional jets by the end of next year. American's in-flight Wi-Fi will be powered by Viasat and Intelsat, the company said. That could give it a timing advantage over United. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the use of the Elon Muskowned satellite internet service on select aircraft models, but the carrier is still waiting for approval on planes that make cross-country flights. There's no timeline for when that might occur. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, April 14, 2025. Iran has confirmed that Muscat, the capital of Oman, will remain the venue for the second round of "indirect" negotiations between Tehran and Washington. "Following consultations, it was decided that Muscat continues to be the host of the second round of the negotiations, which are scheduled to be held on Saturday," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Baghaei as saying early Tuesday. (Xinhua/Shadati) TEHRAN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran has confirmed that Muscat, the capital of Oman, will remain the venue for the second round of "indirect" negotiations between Tehran and Washington. "Following consultations, it was decided that Muscat continues to be the host of the second round of the negotiations, which are scheduled to be held on Saturday," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei as saying early Tuesday. In the first round of Muscat talks on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi engaged in "indirect" discussions with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, facilitated by Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi. These talks focused on Iran's nuclear program and the potential removal of U.S. sanctions. The talks in Muscat followed U.S. President Donald Trump's statement in early March that he had sent a letter to Iranian leaders, delivered through the United Arab Emirates, proposing negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Iran later agreed on indirect talks. Iran signed a nuclear deal in July 2015 with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. However, Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the deal in May 2018 during his first term, and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to scale back its commitments under the deal. Since then, efforts to revive the nuclear agreement have made little progress. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei attends a press conference in Tehran, Iran, April 14, 2025. Iran has confirmed that Muscat, the capital of Oman, will remain the venue for the second round of "indirect" negotiations between Tehran and Washington. "Following consultations, it was decided that Muscat continues to be the host of the second round of the negotiations, which are scheduled to be held on Saturday," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Baghaei as saying early Tuesday. (Xinhua/Shadati) One of the Americans detained for nearly two weeks in Denmark over an alleged assault against an Uber driver while visiting Copenhagen on their college spring break said he was "shocked" that he and his friend were arrested and maintained that they are innocent. "We were both just very shocked about the fact that we were being arrested over this incident," Owen Ray told "Good Morning America" on Monday, hours after he and his friend were freed. "We had done nothing wrong," Ray added. Ray, a 19-year-old studying at Miami University in Ohio, and his unnamed friend were detained at Copenhagen Airport on April 1 over an alleged dispute with an Uber driver the night prior, Jordan Finfer, a U.S.-based attorney for Ray's family, told ABC News. Local police detained them while they were heading home after deeming them "flight risks," claiming they were planning to run from the incident, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: 2 college students released from jail in Denmark after alleged altercation with Uber driver In an account relayed to Finfer, who then shared the details with ABC News, Ray said he and his friend realized they had entered the wrong address for their destination -- and the Uber driver allegedly refused to take them anywhere else. Ray said they decided to cancel their Uber and left the vehicle. Then, after they walked a few blocks, the Uber driver pulled up, got out of the car and "started yelling at us, thinking he hadn't been paid for the Uber, but in fact, he had been paid for the Uber," Ray said. "He then got in our faces and was saying, 'I'm gonna call 10 guys,'" Ray said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We said, 'We've done nothing wrong. We've done nothing wrong.' He then started an altercation with us," Ray said. PHOTO: Owen Ray speaks with 'Good Morning America' from Denmark, April 14, 2025. (ABC News) "The safety of everyone who uses the Uber app is a top priority, and we take reports of violence very seriously," an Uber spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday. "Any additional questions about the investigation should be directed to the Danish police," the statement added. Copenhagen police said the two students were charged with common assault. Following his arrest, Ray said he thought he would be able to explain to a judge what happened and be released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "But then we went to the judge, and we were actually told that we would be imprisoned in a Danish prison for 10 days," he said. MORE: Columbia University associate of Mahmoud Khalil arrested by DHS Ray said he wasn't able to make a phone call for 36 hours after his arrest and didn't know if his parents even knew where he was. "I was initially very worried about making sure that I could get into contact," he said. He said he was able to text his mother from a phone at court, and she ended up flying to Denmark. "I was very relieved to have heard that she was able to do that, and thankful that she was able to," Ray said. "I'm very thankful to my family and everyone else who's been supporting me throughout this situation." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ray said it also helped that he and his friend had each other while detained. "We read books, we played cards, we played chess and luckily we were able to get through it in a good mental state," he said. Their initial 10-day, pre-trial detention amid the investigation into the incident was subsequently extended until April 24, a Copenhagen police spokesperson told ABC News. Ray said his Danish attorney filed an appeal last week, and the judge ruled in their favor on Monday, releasing them. The teen said Danish authorities have their passports and they have to check in with police daily until they get an update on the case. He said he believes they are waiting for either the investigating authorities to drop the case or for a trial date to be set. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ray said he and his friend are in a good mental state, and that he plans to maintain a positive attitude about the ordeal while hoping for it to be resolved soon. "I just hope that Denmark and the legal authorities here are able to -- and the U.S. government can help us and do what they can to help us be released by Easter, so I can be home with my family," Ray said. "I think the best case would be for the Danish police and the prosecutor to drop the case at this point, because we're completely innocent, and for them to return us our passports and allow us to head back to the United States," he said. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday that they are "aware of media reports of two U.S. citizens detained in Denmark. Staff at our embassy in Copenhagen are providing consular assistance." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad," the statement continued. "Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment." American college student arrested in Denmark speaks out: 'We had done nothing wrong' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) Saturdays North Country Heart Walk helped raise over $125,000 over the weekend. Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday, April 12 at Jefferson Community College, raising funds to further the American Heart Associations lifesaving mission. Is heart disease reversible? In addition to raising critical funds, the heart walk brought together heart disease and stroke survivors, as well as participants from dozens of local companies, to unite in the mission to save lives. Every walker who joined the event, every dollar donated, means more people trained in lifesaving CPR, more research and more lifesaving moments for everyone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donations can be made until May 12 at www.NorthCountryHeartWalk.org. The Heart Walk is a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when we come together. By supporting this year-round initiative, were not just raising fundswere equipping more people with lifesaving skills and making the North Country a stronger, healthier place. Our vision is for every home to be prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency, and were grateful to everyone who helped us take a big step toward that goal. Rich Duvall, president & CEO of North Star Health Alliance and volunteer chairman of the Heart Walk During the event, the American Heart Association also presented Heartsaver Hero Awards to a group of employees from Kinney Drugs. When their coworker Darcy Kerr collapsed at the Gouverneur store a few weeks ago, employees took action to save her life. They called 911 and worked together to provide compressions, give breaths and talk with dispatchers. When EMTs arrived, they took over compressions and used an automated external defibrillator to shock Kerrs heart back into rhythm after several tries. She is recovering well and was able to attend the Heart Walk on Saturday. The Heartsaver Hero Award was presented to Dan Ragan, Brandi Romano and Becky Toomey. 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. The United States is paying El Salvador to house migrants deported from the country, specifically members of Tren de Aragua and MS-13. One Maryland man was wrongly deported, and the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration must facilitate his return. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, joins The Hill to discuss Kilmar Abrego Garcias deportation. Americans should be happy that a member of MS-13 is off of American streets, McLaughlin 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. Members of the New Shepard NS-31 "crew" have responded to criticism of their space flight. Yesterday, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin touted the success of its first all-female space flight. Its six-person team, including Jeff's fiancee Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, and Katy Perry, was the first time an all-female crew had been to space in 60 years. However, the flight was the subject of ample criticism even before it left Earth. The actual utility of such a mission for a private space tourism company was questioned, as the entire trip to the Karman line in the autonomous ship amounted to around 11 minutes. Justin Hamel / Getty Images In a press conference following the ship's landing, the women were asked by People how they'd respond to critical comments. Gayle responded, "I feel that anybody that's criticizing doesn't really understand what is happening here. I've heard it, we've all heard it." Advertisement Advertisement "I hope that they will do a deep dive into what this represents. We can all speak to the response we're getting from young women, young girls about what this represents," the talk show host continued. "This is really a lot of work, what went into getting us up and getting us down." Lauren then said, "I get really fired up a little bit on this. I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that dont just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle. Rocket scientists, engineers, all kinds of people, they love their work and they love the mission and its a big deal for them." "So when we hear comments like that, I just say, Trust me. Come with me. Ill show you what this is about, and its really eye-opening,'" Lauren continued. Former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe said on the issue, "I wish those who were criticizing the mission could read the messages in my inbox. When I decided that I was going to pursue aerospace engineering, it was after my high school guidance counselor told me that I should pursue cosmetology because she did not think that I would be suited for this field. I went from pre-algebra in community college, to doing two degrees in aerospace engineering, to working for NASA, to being able to sit on this stage and say it is bigger than the criticism. I am seeing boys and girls around the world say, Im inspired, and I see myself in this crew.'" Advertisement Advertisement "We all are no stranger to watching Star Trek. And what did they have? They have artists, they have musicians, they have journalists, they had all people on the crew because we need all of us. And when I look at this stage, and I'm sitting with these incredible women, we advanced science today," she continued. Aisha further claimed, "More people are going to be able to do meaningful research with Blue Origin because we collected data. And it wasn't just plant biology we studied human physiology, we contributed to the knowledge base of what people know about women. We flight-qualified hardware, so that more people could use our hardware to fly. It is bigger than the criticism. We are inspiring the world right now." Despite Amazon rolling back its DEI initiatives in recent months, film producer Kerianne Flynn also said of Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos, "We had a female crew number seven who exhaustedly, wonderfully, and patiently trained us and prepared us for every possible situation. We also had a lead capsule communications person, she was amazing. Jeff is also working toward equity in the workplace." I guess I shall await my invitation to Blue Origin... Lawmakers in Missouri are debating a move that could significantly expand families educational options. Within the K12 politics of 2025, however, the proposal has an almost retro feel. In March, the state House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow students to transfer to public school districts outside their community of residence, a policy known as open enrollment. If it became law, districts would have the option to decline student transfers from other areas, but could not prevent their own students from leaving. Per-pupil funding from the state, totalling roughly $6,700, would follow each child to his or her new destination. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Its a somewhat familiar idea. According to the nonprofit Education Commission of the States, over 40 states explicitly permit some form of interdistrict transfer, whether through voluntary agreements between communities or via statewide mandate. In Missouri itself, the House has passed statewide legislation for the last five consecutive years, only to have it stall in the state Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related Five Years Later: How COVID Triggered a School Choice Renaissance In troubled districts like St. Louis, too, it has become common for families to select among schools in nearby suburbs, mostly through a long-running desegregation effort. Advocacy groups like the No More Lines Coalition have also attempted to draw attention to parents prosecuted for falsifying their addresses to send their kids to better-performing districts. Yet open enrollment and the occasionally fierce debates it triggers has also been somewhat overshadowed in recent years as calls have grown for private offerings like education savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships. With Republicans at the state and national level supporting the channeling of public funds to non-public institutions, school choice has increasingly come to imply private school choice. Republican Rep. Brad Pollitt, the bills sponsor, said his aim was to allow parents to exercise more autonomy without having to leave the traditional school system. With birth rates falling and a substantial post-COVID migration of students to homeschooling, he continued, public schools needed a seat at the table during discussions of choice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whatever the percentage of people that want to see a different option maybe a better fit for their family, depending on work or other factors I just want them to have another choice in the public school system instead of going to ESAs, a charter school, or even a virtual school, Pollitt told The 74. But critics of the proposal say it will introduce still more instability into school finance and governance, ultimately leading to districts battling among themselves for families who operate as free agents. Todd Fuller, the communications director of the Missouri State Teachers Association, said he worried that a downward spiral of competition would benefit a few districts and gradually strip the rest of badly needed resources. Its not going to happen all at once, he said. Over the course of time, there will be less services, he said. Ive seen districts already that tell their students, Sorry, we dont have foreign languages, or, Sorry, we dont have a science class that you should take. Families are leaving in droves Inter-district transfers are one of the oldest and most common forms of school choice across the United States. Indeed, Missouri already provides several forms of it, allowing parents to take the necessary step of switching districts if their own does not include a high school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More controversially, students attending schools that have lost accreditation usually for persistently low academic performance have the option of leaving for a higher-achieving school elsewhere. That scenario was most vividly illustrated in the case of the Normandy school district, which was stripped of its accreditation by the state in 2013. The resulting exodus was far greater than anticipated, with about 1,000 students (roughly 25 percent of all enrolled) heading for the exits that fall. Neighboring districts spent years fighting to reject their transfers, arguing that they could not provide space or meet the learning needs of so many new pupils, before ultimately yielding to court orders and a swell of negative press. Peter Franzen is the associate director of the Childrens Education Alliance of Missouri, an organization that supports parent empowerment and school choice. Having worked for decades in and around communities severely impacted by poverty and poor services, he said he believed the Normandy experience illustrated the existing appetite for open enrollment among families who are otherwise told to wait for solutions that may never come. If a quarter of your school drains out because nobody wants to be there, who the hell wants to put their taxes into that? I dont care how proud you are of your school if families are leaving in droves, what could you possibly say to that? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related St. Louis Schools Face One of the Steepest Post-Pandemic Climbs Anywhere Education leaders in the state have long had to work with troubled or under-resourced districts, most famously St. Louis and Kansas City, where only small proportions of the overwhelmingly disadvantaged student population can read or do math at grade level. Both cities feature a wide array of choice options, including charter and magnet schools, and both have seen huge drops in student enrollment over the past few decades. Students were also able to enroll in nearby suburbs under the terms of long-lasting desegregation orders. But St. Louiss desegregation program has recently stopped accepting new students, leading some to worry that they will miss a chance to receive a better education outside the city. But with the passage of statewide open enrollment, smaller districts could suddenly be placed in the same position as some of the largest communities in the state. Missouri is home to a large number of rural districts, including many that struggle to attract high-quality teachers. According to recent data, nearly half of all those districts are operating on a four-day school week, which has been generally shown to negatively impact student achievement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill passed in the state House partly addresses the concerns of districts that fear instability in headcounts by capping the number of student departures at 3 percent of total enrollment annually. But John Benyon, superintendent of Cape Girardeau Public Schools in southeast Missouri, said that restriction could nevertheless compound into unsustainable losses over time. Even a gradual loss of 3 percent each year can have a compounding effect, particularly for smaller districts, Benyon wrote in an email. Over time, this could lead to school closures and consolidations, which would not only disrupt students but also deeply impact the identity of small, rural Missouri communities. Rural GOP resistance The legislation is now scheduled for a hearing in the state Senate, which has persistently declined to pass earlier versions over the last half-decade. Pollitt said his bill, which has been supported almost exclusively by Republicans each time he has offered it, aimed for a middle ground in the ongoing school choice debate. In the Senate, its never been drastic enough, he reflected. Those who are for total school choice think it doesnt go far enough, and those who are against any school choice think it goes too far. Thats why I think its a good bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just last year, the state GOP struck a bargain to sizably increase the size of Missouris tax credit scholarship system, which facilitates student enrollment in private schools. They have yet to advance legislation that would allow for universal access to ESAs or other voucher-like programs, which have been rapidly adopted in a rash of Republican-led states since the pandemic. Related Anti-ESA Republicans Fall in Texas Primaries, Setting Stage for School Choice Expansion Pollitt, who is currently campaigning for a seat in the state Senate, observed that resistance in the upper chamber is largely concentrated among rural Republicans concerned about the fate of their local public schools if students begin to leave in large numbers. That same dynamic has colored intra-partisan clashes in states like Texas, where resistant legislators have been met with primary challenges for opposing the spread of ESAs. In Missouri, he acknowledged, changes to enrollments would likely create winners and losers. Still, his proposal found new momentum after being endorsed by newly elected Republican Gov. Michael Kehoe in his State of the State address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Benyon, meanwhile, has recently traveled to Jefferson City with members of his school board to lobby against the measure. Though he said students in his district enjoyed access to a range of coveted offerings, including extracurricular opportunities and advanced coursework, he added that already-struggling communities would likely lose students if open enrollment becomes a reality. Instead of opening new avenues for flight, he concluded, the state should work with those schools to make them more attractive places to learn. In cases where other districts are underperforming, shouldnt we be asking why and working to fix those root issues? Photo illustration illustration by Getty Images. Montanas big budget bill, House Bill 2, is headed to the full Senate after bulking up in the Senate Finance and Claims Committee, as is a separate proposal for a beefy new trust fund. The debate over spending is taking place alongside a discussion about how the state can keep paying for its needs and whether legislators can keep adequate oversight and control over state dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday, Senate Finance and Claims voted 13-9 to approve HB 2 after passing several amendments that added to its bottom line, and it will likely be on the floor Thursday. Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, said HB 2 was costing a lot more for the 2027 biennium than the 2025 biennium, and he would be opposing it. My constituents did not send me here to spend 18% more than we did two years ago, Fuller said. But Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said he expected to see other proposals that would add more money to HB 2, and it was time to move the $16.6 billion legislation out of committee. I think that we need to use this as a cutoff, at least for now, slow it down a little bit, Windy Boy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some legislators want to slow down House Bill 924, too. Sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, the controversial piece of legislation would create a new trust fund for Montana. Jones said the bill collects a lot of small funds that already existed and people figured out how to raid into one trust. He said that fund will earn money for Montanans for generations to come in housing, childcare, disaster resiliency and more. This is kind of a Montana-made legacy and investment in the future, Jones said. Detractors, though, fear it was rushed into existence and loosens the grip legislators have on their ability to appropriate funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the House floor last week, Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell, said hed never seen a larger fiscal note than the one for HB 924. The bill initially directs $679 million from the general fund into the trust. Monday marks day 74 of the 2025 session, the Montana Legislature has 90 days to complete its work, and both bills are progressing. At this point in the session, the state budget sometimes looks like it wont pencil out, with numerous proposals to reduce income and property taxes still in play, and plenty of spending bills alive. On top of that, prior to the session, a report from the Legislative Fiscal Division warned of the risks of recession and potential federal cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It said continued income tax reductions and spending pressures raise a question about whether the governors proposed budget will mean income can match expenses by the 2029 fiscal year. Decisions of this magnitude will be made by the 2025 Legislature and will set up Montanas state finances for success or failure for decades to come, the report said. Projection , as of April 10, 2025, of ongoing expenses and ongoing revenues, by the Legislative Fiscal Division. The projections will change as the legislature starts reconciling costs of legislation. (Screenshot from status report) The most recent calculation of bills in play by the Legislative Fiscal Division shows ongoing expenses outpacing ongoing revenues by 2026, and a gap of $500 million by the 2029 fiscal year. However, the Legislature wont pass all the bills that reduce income, and it will kill some of the spending ideas, although in a debate last week on the House floor, Falk said hes worried by the trend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even just the last few days, the line between structural deficit and breaking even has gotten quite a bit worse, Falk said. In a press availability Friday, Sen. Christopher Pope, D-Bozeman, said HB 2 is large in part because legislators want some ideas to stay in the mix, but only for the time being. There will be a reckoning, and there has to be a reckoning, Pope said. Too complex, or an investment for generations? Jones described HB 924, the Growth and Opportunity Trust, as an opportunity for the legislature to have a significant and positive impact on Montanans for decades. The bill, which received bipartisan support and opposition with a 53-44 final vote in the House, is a combination of several proposals the Montana Legislature had already heard, Jones said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the trust is a kind of a conservative, forward looking trust that takes a portion of volatile revenues and turns them into long-term assets. Montana has a coal trust, but Jones said its worth only about $1.2 billion, while other states have tens of billions of dollars in similar trusts, such as Alaska, with $80.3 billion, and Wyoming, with $11.6 billion. The Montana trust fund would take in about 50% of volatile revenue, such as income from capital gains. He said half of the trust would reinvest funds, and the other half would distribute funds. A fiscal analysis of the bill said allocations would go to local disaster resiliency, state property tax assistance, water development, bridges and early childhood programming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones said the principle is protected, and withdrawal would require a two-thirds vote by the legislature. He said the bill allows Montana to store money, but it includes recession triggers for hard financial times. This is the acorn, Jones said of the bill. Im hoping it will grow into an oak tree. Although the bill passed to the Senate, it elicited criticism from both Republicans and Democrats on the House floor. Falk said the bill came much too late in the process given its heft and complexity, and he would have liked such legislation to be thoroughly vetted by the Legislative Finance Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If were taking tax revenue that creates a surplus, and its too high, I think we need to give it back to people, Falk said. We dont even give them interest on their money. Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, said the bill allocates money for specific purposes in advance, and she wasnt sure legislators should box themselves out of future decisions that way. What this bill does is it takes away from your ability to spend future funds and ties the hands of future legislatures, Gillette said. Minority Leader Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, said she liked the idea of being able to save money and prepare for the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Sullivan said she had concerns both about the authority the governors office has to reduce the size of transfers and how the bill reserves a portion of future income tax revenue. She said the structure gives away some legislative power and oversight in the appropriations process. The legislature is in charge of appropriations, and we should keep doing our job in that space, Sullivan said. Sullivan also said property tax rebates proposed in the bill amount to just $40 for residents, and we need to amp that up so its meaningful for taxpayers. Jones agreed that property taxpayers need more help, but he said the only way the executive can touch the funds is during emergencies as outlined with specific language and set triggers in the bill. In support of the bill, Rep. Jonathan Karlen, D-Missoula, said it might not be the way he would write it, but it would make a difference for Montanans. Karlen said legislators dont always have the chance to take up bills that affect their constituents for generations to come. Whats in this bill is an ongoing, fiscally responsible way to support pensions, housing, critical infrastructure, water, our early childhood system, Karlen said. The bill will have a hearing Tuesday in Senate Finance and Claims. HB 2 is expected to be on the Senate floor later this week, and the most recent report said the legislative proposal is 0.7% more than the governors budget. In the meantime, a plan still needs to gel for a property tax decrease for residential payers, and an income tax reduction is expected too. Falk said hes only in his second session, but he thinks every session, projections show a negative structural balance in the out years. I think this is worse way worse than normal, he said. He said legislators will make reconciliations, erasing here and there, and the governor may veto some spending, but he sees the need for work ahead. Pope sees work ahead as well. He said he is proud of the work Democrats have done on their priorities, at times with help from nine Republicans in the Senate, whether it be increasing provider rates or help for housing. At the tail end of the session, he said, the legislature is entering the firefight. We have to not only keep pursuing the things that remain undone, and theres a fair amount of that, yet we also have to circle back every half hour to protect something thats already been decided, and it can be harrowing, Pope said. Chief Justice John Roberts has been outmatched by President Donald Trump in the fight over the administrations wrongful deportation of a Maryland man to El Salvador. No matter how much the right-wing justices wanted to balance deference for the executive branch with the effort to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia, they now appear ineffectual. The White House has rendered the Supreme Courts order in the case completely hollow, insisting it won 9-0 and need do nothing to bring Abrego Garcia back from a notoriously brutal Salvadoran prison. The Trump team read the Supreme Courts order in the stingiest terms possible, acting with a degree of bad faith that the justices may not have anticipated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, Roberts and the Supreme Court majority partly set the country on this course with their short, opaque order that said the government should facilitate, not effectuate, his release. At the same time, the justices emphasized in last Thursdays order due regard for the deference owed the executive in foreign affairs. Unlike lower court judges who had previously handled the Abrego Garcia case, the Roberts majority expressed no outrage at the administrations mistake. They failed even to latch onto the language of a fellow conservative, US appellate Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson. There is no question that the government screwed up here, Wilkinson wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wilkinson, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, similarly said that the administration must facilitate Abrego Garcias return, rather than effectuate, that is, ensure it happens. (US District Court Judge Paula Xinis had earlier ordered the government to facilitate and effectuate his return by 11:59 pm April 7.) But where the Supreme Court employed no rhetorical muscle in its decision upholding a portion of the Xinis order, Wilkinson warned of what could happen if the Trump team remained recalcitrant. The facts of this case thus present the potential for a disturbing loophole: namely that the government could whisk individuals to foreign prisons in violation of court orders and then contend, invoking its Article II powers, that it is no longer their custodian, and there is nothing that can be done, Wilkinson wrote. It takes no small amount of imagination to understand that this is a path of perfect lawlessness, one that courts cannot condone. What might have been imagined is now reality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Echoing their assertions in court filings, Trump officials on Monday in the White House claimed they have neither the power nor responsibility to retrieve Abrego Garcia. Thats up to El Salvador if they want to return him, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. Thats not up to us. The Supreme Court ruled that if El Salvador wants to return him we would facilitate it: meaning, provide a plane. White House advisor Stephen Miller added in that Oval Office meeting Monday between Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, It was 9-0, in our favor, against the district court ruling, saying no district court has the power to compel the foreign policy function of the United States. For his part, Bukele said he would not be releasing Abrego Garcia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The order from the Supreme Court was unsigned. If Roberts and his fellow justices hoped for a different reading of their decision, they miscalculated. (Alternatively, they could be completely satisfied.) In the public eye, however, Trump officials have scorned the Roberts Court decision. And Abrego Garcia remains in prison. As liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor observed as she wrote separately last week, the Government has cited no basis in law for Abrego Garcias warrantless arrest, his removal to El Salvador, or his confinement in a Salvadoran prison. where he has been detained for 26 days and counting. It has now been 31 days. Another face-off Since Trump first won election in 2016, he and Roberts have often squared off, in cases and beyond the bench. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One notable clash occurred just last month after Trump referred to a federal judge handling a separate migrant deportation case as crooked and declared in a social media post that the judge should be IMPEACHED. Roberts, who for weeks had declined to respond to Trump administration rants against the judiciary, issued a statement that said, For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose. Roberts, the 17th chief justice of the United States, obviously has a more measured style than the 47th president. As he writes his opinions, Roberts seems unconcerned about scoring rhetorical points against the administration. Yet, as a fervent proponent of executive branch authority, Roberts has often sided with Trump. Earlier this month, he and four fellow conservatives let Trump speed up deportations with enforcement of the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that had previously been used only in wartime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision did require a safeguard. The court said that for future cases people who face deportation should receive notice that they are subject to the Act and be able to contest the deportation before a US judge in the district where theyre being held. Roberts appears to be trying to move slowly and avoid confrontation with Trump. Certainly, the administrations attitudes toward the judiciary have foreshadowed a constitutional breakdown and eventual defiance of a Supreme Court order. As other institutions have discovered since January 20, the day Roberts read Trump the oath for his second presidency, Trump has sought total control. He appears ready for combat. It is understandable that any jurist would seek a relationship that is more collaborative than combative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But based on Trumps disregard for federal judges, and the current rejection of any relief for a mistakenly deported man, Roberts may soon recognize that the judiciary has been met with neither collaboration nor respect. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Corinne Smith Alaska Beacon An Anchorage senator has proposed expanding the Alaska Board of Parole, and widening the range of experiences of its members, citing the boards workload and importance of fairness and accountability in its work. The parole board has granted far fewer people parole from state prisons in recent years. Since 2021, the board granted parole on average 25 percent of the time, with the other 75 percent denied or continued, according to a legislative audit last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the ACLU of Alaska, the board has released 79 percent fewer people and held 75 percent fewer hearings than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates argue the high rate of denials is contributing to overcrowding and a sense of hopelessness, also contributing to higher rates of suicide. There have been at least 67 deaths in Alaska since 2020, with 17 reported as suicides. Senate Bill 62 expands the board of parole from five to seven members, to help address a substantial workload and process parole applications in a fair and accountable manner, according to a statement by the bills sponsor, Sen. Loki Tobin, D-Anchorage. This precipitous decline in successful parole applications has created this climate of hopelessness, Tobin said in an interview. It has created this dynamic where people dont know why they should be involved in treatment, why they should be trying to rehabilitate. And that, to me, is very concerning. Tobin said she frequently hears from concerned residents with family members who are incarcerated. For every person who is behind bars, there are people outside who love them and who are concerned about their health and safety, she said. Tobin said she wants to expand opportunities for parole, also because as a Christian she believes in redemption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some folks have done terrible, terrible things, but that is not the whole of who they are, she said. There is an ability for them to be redeemed, and I believe that we should offer that path of redemption. The five-member parole board is appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and reviews applications for parole, which totaled 181 applicants last year. That review process includes whether theyve taken part in educational and rehabilitation programs, as well as the persons suitability for release, the nature of their offense, and behavior while incarcerated. The board also takes into consideration statements from any victims or their family members. Parole can be granted for those who are elderly, or with a severe medical diagnosis, with some exceptions for serious crimes. The parole board sets conditions of release like terms for work, housing, and sometimes further behavioral health treatment. The legislation would create selection criteria for the expanded seven-member board, and limit members to two five-year terms. Four of the seats would require certain licenses or expertise: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement one for a licensed physician, psychologist or psychiatrist; one for a victim of a crime, a family member of a victim, or member of a victim advocacy group; one for someone with expertise in addiction recovery; and one for a member of a federally recognized tribe. The bill would remove the only current specific experience requirement for board membership: that at least one has experience in criminal justice. It would keep a provision that the governor appoint people on the basis of their qualifications to make decisions that are compatible with the welfare of the community and of individual offenders and who are able to consider the character and background of offenders and the circumstances under which offenses were committed. The tribal affiliation requirement is aimed at addressing the disproportionately high number of Alaska Native people incarcerated the largest ethnic group in state prisons, at 44 percent in 2024, Tobin said in the sponsor statement that accompanied the bill. The legislation would also require the board of parole to submit an annual report on parole decisions, and reasons for granting or denying parole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates, including with the ACLU, have complained that the current boards decision process for discretionary parole is opaque. A legislative audit last year found the board was unable to provide specific reasons why its parole approval rate decreased. Its hard to know if youre going to be a successful applicant for discretionary parole, if you dont know how the board of parole makes their determinations and decisions and why someone might be denied parole, Tobin said. Chair says board follows law, considers each case individually Tobin questioned Leitoni Tupou, the board chair, directly about some of these issues at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 26. Tupou has worked in Alaska corrections starting in 2000, and was appointed to the board in 2020. Hes up for another five-year term. When asked about the decline in numbers of parole applications granted, Tupou rejected the premise of the question. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every hearing is an individual hearing, he said, and noted higher approval rates for drug offenses and property crimes. When asked about demographic data of parolees being removed from the parole board website, Tupou said that data was not required to be public under current law. For medical or geriatric parole, there were no applications granted in 2024, according to state data. When asked about these rates, Tupou said the board is confined to follow current law. If the law allows the parole board the discretion to apply the law of mercy, I believe we can do that, he said. So my recommendation is we look at the current law when it comes to medical parole. Because there are times wed like to release these folks, but our hands are tied. They do not meet the criteria set by the law to allow them to be released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He cited a recent case of a 94-year-old applicant for parole that the board denied. Can you imagine the kind of expenses that we spend to take care of this person? he said. At the same time we had to look at the seriousness of his offense. He committed one of the most heinous crimes. At the same time, what is he going to do? Hes 94 years old. But the laws basically tell us hes not qualified. So as lawmakers, I think that is something that needs to be reviewed. Tupou told the committee more addiction treatment and rehabilitation programs would benefit people who are incarcerated, as there can be waitlists or lack of programs offered at certain facilities. In some cases, he says the parole board continues the application, to allow people time to get off waitlists and into those treatment programs. Because it appears to us, the only way we can help these folks is (for them) to participate in some programs, Tupou said. We cannot just let them be released to the community and have the parole officer in the community supervise them, without them being part of some kind of a program. Jobs are great, but programs (like) substance abuse treatment programs, sex offender treatment programs, mental health programs those are the programs that have to be available for these folks to go to. And looking at the risk of them reoffending, the possibility will be less. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the hearing, Tobin said it sounds like double jeopardy for the parole board to put so much weight on the original crime, when someone has already been to trial and sentenced. She also noted it costs the state to keep people incarcerated at a cost of $202 per day plus medical care, at the expense of other programs and services. The average cost is $75,000 (per person) per year, she said. Im not saying that this is about cost containment and cost savings, but its all part of the conversation . As we give money to our Department of Corrections to keep people incarcerated, we are making choices to not invest in other places, like pre-K (education). Tobin introduced similar legislation last year that failed to move out of committee. She said the bill this year scaled back some requirements for board seats, with feedback from other legislators. Those included requirements like a required seat for someone with a felony conviction that has been dismissed or sentence served, and limiting seats of former correctional employees. Advocates argue more transparency will help avoid recidivism The Reentry Coalitions of Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks support the bill, as well as the ACLU of Alaska. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Megan Edge, director of an ACLU project focused on prisons said the move to make the parole board process more transparent, and share decision making processes would also help better ensure support services and lower the rates of people reoffending, known as recidivism. Why are they recidivating? Because most people that are making parole, theyre excited to go home, she said. Did they have a substance use issue? Did they have a mental health issue? Was it a housing problem? Was it an employment issue? And we just need better data to understand why our recidivism rate is where it is at and how we can improve it. Alaska rate of recidivism defined as when someone is paroled and then violates the terms of parole or commits a crime again was almost half, or 47 percent of discretionary parolees and 67 percent of mandatory parolees over the last three years. Edge emphasized that more representation on the board of people with technical and career expertise in behavioral health and rehabilitation in particular can help improve conditions of release. So I think a properly functioning parole board should be looking at an applicants ability to be successful once theyre released, and so when theyre not successful, we would all be served better on knowing why people are failing, she said. Itll make our communities safer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Expanding opportunities for parole helps unite families, she added, and lessens negative impacts on children especially. She said cultivating hope can also improve prison safety and conditions for inmates, and for staff. Its sad. You hear the clink on the door, and you realize all these people are locked in there and like, its an impossible job, Edge said, who also worked for the Department of Corrections under Gov. Walkers administration. So when you take that hope away from inmates, youre making that a more toxic workplace for your staff. So theres benefits for everybody when people have hope. SB 62 is being heard in the Senate State Affairs Committee with the next public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, April 8. This story was first published by the Alaska Beacon LONDON (Reuters) - Andrew Tate, an internet personality and self-described misogynist, faces a 2027 trial in four women's civil lawsuits for alleged physical and sexual abuse, in a case their lawyers say is the first of its kind in Britain about allegations of coercive control. The four claimants, who have been granted anonymity, allege Tate subjected them to physical or sexual violence between 2013 and 2015. Two say they were in an intimate relationship with Tate, while two worked for Tate's online webcam business. The women's lawyers say in court filings that one woman was threatened with a gun as Tate said "you're going to do as I say or there'll be hell to pay", while another alleges Tate strangled her until she was unconscious during sex. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tate, 38, denies the allegations, with his lawyers saying in his written defence that the claims are false and that all sexual activity was consensual. The lawsuit had its first preliminary hearing at the High Court on Tuesday ahead of a trial likely to start in early 2027. Tate's lawyer Vanessa Marshall said Tate, who did not attend Tuesday's brief hearing and was not required to do so, intended to give evidence in his defence at trial. The claimants' lawyer Anne Studd said that "this will be the first occasion (coercive control) has been brought before the High Court in a civil context", to decide whether it amounts to an intentional infliction of harm under English law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Studd described coercive control in court filings as "a form of grooming and manipulation where the victim becomes less and less able to respond in what might be perceived as a normal way". Tate and his brother Tristan are under investigation in a criminal case in Romania over allegations of forming an organised criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering, which they deny. The pair flew to the U.S. in February after Romanian prosecutors lifted a travel ban, flying to Romania last month to fulfil legal obligations. (Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sharon Singleton) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged China and Vietnam to jointly oppose hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism. In his meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Xi said that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese government, the country has achieved political and social stability, and made impressive achievements in its cause of Doi Moi (reform), while its international status is increasing, for which China feels rejoiced. Both sides shoulder the historical mission of realizing national rejuvenation and accelerating national development, Xi noted. He called on the two countries to forge a strong sense of a community with a shared future, and deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation, so as to serve their respective modernization processes, and better benefit the two peoples. The two sides, Xi said, should strengthen the strategic coordination and consolidate the political foundation for building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. He urged the two sides to intensify high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication, and jointly oppose hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism. Xi also called on the two sides to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, so as to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, and safeguard peace, stability, development and prosperity in Asia and beyond. Xi said the two sides should promote high-quality development to provide solid strategic support for the two countries' joint march toward modernization. China and Vietnam, Xi said, should give full play to their geographical advantages of being connected by land and sea, strengthen the alignment of development strategies and tap the potential of industrial cooperation. He also called on the two countries to steadily advance cooperation in infrastructure development, enhance connectivity and ensure a smooth flow of trade. The two countries should expand cooperation in traditional areas such as trade and investment, and expand cooperation in emerging industries such as 5G, artificial intelligence, clean energy and digital economy. Xi also said China and Vietnam should firmly uphold the multilateral trading system, and work together to push for economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. The two sides should deepen cultural cooperation and promote the main theme of China-Vietnam friendship, Xi said. He urged the two sides to ensure a series of activities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges a success, so as to tell stories well of friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as their joint pursuit of modernization. Xi also urged the two sides to carry out more projects to win the hearts and minds of the people and improve their lives. For his part, Pham Minh Chinh said that Xi's state visit to Vietnam is the most important high-level exchange between the two countries this year, adding that this is a great, joyous event in Vietnam-China relations and of historic significance, and will surely lead Vietnam-China relations to greater development and inject strong impetus into bilateral cooperation. Since Xi's visit to Vietnam in 2023, the strategic mutual trust between the two countries has been further enhanced, practical cooperation has witnessed significant progress and the friendship of the two peoples has deepened, he said. Vietnam attaches great importance to its relations with China and is determined to firmly promote the building of a Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, said the Vietnamese prime minister. Noting that Vietnam sincerely congratulates China on its tremendous development achievements, he said Vietnam supports China's sustained development and growth, and hopes to learn from China's experience in the governance of the party and the country, its spirit of self-reliance and its development philosophy and model. The Vietnamese leader noted that his country looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in areas including economy and trade, investment, connectivity, science and technology, as well as finance to enhance economic vitality and growth drivers so as to jointly cope with risks and challenges. He also said that Vietnam looks forward to the successful hosting of the Vietnam-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges and expects more robust personnel exchanges and sub-national cooperation, and closer bond of the two peoples. He said that his country also looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in international and regional affairs, so as to maintain strategic focus in the complex and volatile international situation, and jointly safeguard multilateralism and the international order. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) The Ascension Parish Government gave an update on the animal welfare centers progress. The schematic design and design development phases of the animal welfare center are complete. The project is headed to the construction drawing phase, which is expected to be done within 60 days, according to the Ascension Parish Government. The center will be used to serve residents and their pets for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The AP Government said it will also address current needs and support education, engagement, and advocacy for animal welfare in Ascension Parish. With the current design, our new Animal Welfare Center will provide shelter space for approximately 148 dogs and 164 cats, said Parish President Clint Cointment. This facility is being built two feet above the base flood elevation to help safeguard our animals during potentially severe weather events. Its thoughtfully designed to serve the public, host community adoption events, and allow room for future expansion. The public can expect more updates including architectural renderings as the project continues to progress. Louisiana woman arrested on 56 counts of animal cruelty; dog found in plastic bag 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. HENRY COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) All Vets, a nonprofit organization, has announced its second annual county-wide rucking event. On Memorial weekend, the rucking team will be escorted by deputies from the Henry County Sheriffs Office on a 22-mile course across the county in honor the fallen military members. The course starts at 6 a.m. at Rucksacks located at Jack Dalton Park at 130 Jack Dalton Road in Collinsville. The 25-person team will be carrying hundreds of American Flags, service flags, and POW/MIA flags in honor and remembrance of military members no longer with us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veterans Voices: Largest Vietnam veterans parade held in Chicago in 1986 Photo Credit: All Vets Photo Credit: All Vets The team is expected to return to the park around 2 p.m. and invites members of the community to finish the Ruck and take the final lap around the park. The park will be filled with hundreds of flags and other patriotic symbols. Once the walk-in finished participants and community members can join in for storytelling. All Vets and Henry County officials will be presenting a Plaque to a local Gold Star Widow to support the ones that have lost loved ones and have been left behind. The event ceremonies will be from Army Veteran Melissa Gaona. 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. A new class of antibiotic has been found to be safe and effective in treating gonorrhea in late-stage trials, according to a new study published Monday in The Lancet. The drug, called gepotidacin, works by preventing bacteria from replicating in the body and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in March to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women and in girls 12 years and older. If approved to treat gonorrhea, it will be the newest antibiotic to treat the sexually transmitted infection since the 1990s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The drug is manufactured by the pharmaceutical company GSK and is sold under the name Blujepa. After reaching a historic low in 2009, cases of gonorrhea in the United States steadily increased until 2021 and have slowly declined since then, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Still, gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted infection in the country with, 601,319 reported cases in 2023, according to the agency. Gonorrhea, and other sexually transmitted infections, are becoming more difficult to treat as they become increasingly more resistant to existing antibiotics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CDC currently recommends providers treat gonorrhea with a 500 mg injection of the antibiotic ceftriaxone. The agency updated its treatment guidelines in 2023, directing providers to administer a higher dose of the drug to combat antibiotic resistance. Justin Gill, an urgent care nurse practitioner and president of the Washington State Nurses Association, told The Hill that he frequently treats gonorrhea and has encountered cases of the infection that are resistant to ceftriaxone. There are only a handful of antibiotics that are available as backup options, he said. The development of new antibiotics has been slow, but federal investment in new and emerging antibiotic options is necessary before resistant strains of gonorrhea expand further. If left untreated, gonorrhea can cause serious health complications that can lead to infertility in both men and women, and it can increase the odds of contracting and passing HIV, according to the CDC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trial of more than 620 people showed gepotidacin was about 92 percent effective in treating the infection among those who took the drug twice a day. Meanwhile, a regimen of combination ceftriaxone and azithromycin was about 91 percent effective. Stuart Ray, an infectious disease professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who did not take part in the study, said that any progress in safely and effectively treating gonorrhea is exciting. He added that the fact that the drug can be administered in pill form makes it attractive. In general, its very exciting to see a late-stage trial for a new antimicrobial for a thorny problem like gonorrhea, he said. I think its very exciting to see data and progression of an agent this far down the path. Ray said that of the more than 600 trial participants, less than 10 percent were women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to be careful about making conclusions about subgroups that may have been somewhat underrepresented. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. At a rally in Nampa, Idaho, on Monday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a message for her colleague, Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene. How can anyone possibly make an objective vote on health care, energy, or war when their own money is tied up in pharmaceutical, oil and gas, or defense company stocks? You cant. And we saw it just happen with Trumps corrupt and disastrous and rushed tariff scheme, Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd at the Fighting Oligarchy rally with Senator Bernie Sanders. We saw Marjorie Taylor Greene buy that dip, Ocasio-Cortez added to boos from the audience. I got one question for her: How much did you make? How much did you make off of peoples despair? How much did you make off that panic? How much did you make off of that suffering? BOOM!!!! Aoc called out Marjorie Taylor Greene. "We saw MTG buy that dip and my question to her is how much did you make ?" pic.twitter.com/hPFlbrNdAd Winter's Politics (@WintersPolitics) April 15, 2025 According to a public disclosure Monday, Greene bought between $21,000 and $315,000 in stocks last Tuesday and Wednesday in 17 companies including Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, and Palantir, just hours before President Trump announced he was partially pausing some of his tariffs and deepening a possible ethics violation. Trump later bragged about how much money his friends made off of the pause, blatantly admitting to market manipulation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I hope we see now that it was all about manipulating the markets so that he could quietly enrich his friends who bought the dip before reversing it all in the morning, Ocasio-Cortez said. Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have been barnstorming the country, holding rallies against oligarchy and the Trump administration. They have drawn large crowds angry at Trump and the GOP, even in areas that strongly support Republicans, by calling out the influence of billionaires in American politics at the expense of everyone else. If their attacks keep landing, their rallies will only grow and build momentum for a long-overdue political revolution. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised more than $9.5 million this quarter, and none of it came from lobbyists or super PACs. The New York congresswoman racked in donations from 266,000 individual donors, with each donation averaging about $21, marking this her strongest quarter to date, according to her campaign. I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy, she wrote in a post on X. Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AOCs funding haul no doubt sends a message to the Democratic Partywhich is predominantly funded by billionairesas it desperately tries to gain footing in the face of Donald Trumps attack on federal funding, civil liberties, and the Constitution. The 35-year-old has spent much of Trumps first term accompanying Bernie Sanders on his Fighting Oligarchy Tour, which has drawn record-breaking crowds in red and blue states across the country. Theres been plenty of buzz about her future within the party, and shes been floated as a potential replacement for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who decimated his reputation when he broke party lines and voted to pass the GOPs disastrous stopgap spending bill last month. There is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal, Ocasio-Cortez told reporters following Schumers decision. And this is not just about progressive Democrats. This is across the boardthe entire party. In a March CNN poll, the Democratic Partys favorability dropped to an all-time low, with 47 percent of voters saying the party should be doing more to stop Trumps agenda. Ten percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said AOC best represents the partys values. In another poll for the 2028 New York primary released by Politico, AOC led Schumer by 19 points, a sign that Democratic constituents are desperately ready for someone new to rally behind. DAR ES SALAAM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities have confirmed that they are preparing to introduce regulations for operating cable transport, also known as cable car systems, to boost the country's tourism and transport infrastructure. Habibu Suluo, director general of the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LATRA), said on Monday that eight regions -- Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Tanga, Coast, Morogoro, Mbeya, Kilimanjaro, and Iringa -- have been identified to operate cable transport. "Cable transport will help tourists access tourist attractions located in mountainous areas within a short time," he said at a news conference in the port city of Dar es Salaam. Suluo said LATRA, which regulates railway and road transport in the country, has also been mandated to regulate cable transport. According to Suluo, the proposed cable transport will be introduced in Tanzania on Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, in mountainous regions such as Mbeya and Iringa, and in congested regions, including Arusha and Dar es Salaam. Suluo dismissed concerns that the introduction of cable transport on Mount Kilimanjaro will result in job losses for porters who assist climbers, saying the technology is intended to complement and not replace. A death investigation is underway in Edgar County, with that death apparently the result of the hit-and-run striking of a pedestrian. Dead is Dakota J. Gibson, 34, of Paris. Edgar County Coroner Scott Barrett said a 911 call came in at 8:27 p.m. Saturday. In that call, a woman said she was traveling on East 1200 County Road north of Paris when she came upon a body in the road. The Edgar County Sheriffs Department responded, with Illinois State Police and the Edgar County Coroner's Office called for assistance. Gibson was pronounced dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evidence shows Gibson was walking on East 1200 about a mile east of Illinois 1 when a vehicle struck him from behind, the coroner said in a news release. The vehicle left the scene. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Edgar County Sheriffs Department at 217-465-4166 DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) An appeal has been filed after a wrongful death lawsuit in the murder of a Lyft driver from Beavercreek was dismissed. Brandon Cooper, 35, was found shot dead in his vehicle in 2022 while working for the ride-share company. Two 17-year-olds pleaded guilty to his murder in July 2024 and were sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. But the drivers family filed a lawsuit alleging Lyft was partly responsible. 2022 Rideshare murder and carjacking incidents A Montgomery County judge granted Lyfts motion to dismiss the case, finding that Lyft did not owe a duty to protect Cooper from the criminal acts of third parties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coopers family has filed an appeal, arguing the judges decision was in error. Written arguments have not yet been submitted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency is very likely stealing sensitive labor data from the National Labor Relations Board, according to a whistleblower from inside the agency. NPR reports that a whistleblower reached out to Congress and other federal watchdogs, alarmed about what they saw happen when DOGE employees gained access to the NLRBs internal systems. Ostensibly, the DOGE staffers said they were reviewing the agencys data to comply with the Trump administrations new policies, as well as to cut costs and increase efficiency. But, according to the whistleblower report, the NLRBs technical staff were shocked to see a sharp increase of data leaving the agency and DOGE employees covering their tracks. The NLRB holds sensitive information about unions, legal cases about workplace complaints, and corporate secrets, data which, according to four labor law experts who spoke to NPR, is highly sensitive and should rarely, if ever, leave the agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant attest to what their end goal was or what theyre doing with the data, the whistleblower, Daniel Berulis, told NPR. But I can tell you that the bits of the puzzle that I can quantify are scary. This is a very bad picture were looking at. A former White House cybersecurity official, Jake Braun, told NPR that a foreign actor could be involved in the increase in data leaving the agency. If he didnt know the backstory, any [chief information security officer] worth his salt would look at network activity like this and assume its a nation-state attack from China or Russia, Braun told NPR. According to Berulis, right after DOGE gained access to the NLRB, a Russia-based I.P. address tried to log in. While that attempt was blocked, it happened to be using one of the new DOGE accounts and had the correct name and password. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berulis also said DOGE employees requested accounts that would allow them to read, copy, and alter NLRB data, the highest level of access in the agency. When one IT staffer suggested a streamlined way to set up the accounts that would track DOGEs actions, all I.T. employees were told to stay out of DOGEs way. That was a huge red flag, Berulis said. Thats something that you just dont do. It violates every core concept of security and best practice. The whistleblower report pointed out that controls to prevent insecure or unauthorized mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, from logging into the NLRB system were disabled. Some of the agencys system was left exposed to the public internet, leaving it vulnerable to attacks. On top of that, internal alerts and monitors had been turned off, with login authentication disabled. All of this raises disturbing questions about what DOGE did not only with the NLRBs data but with the data it has collected from across the federal government, which includes Americans sensitive personal information. But with Musk exercising unchallenged authority in the government with Trumps blessing, what can be done? JACKSONS MILL, W.Va. (WBOY) A program of the American Legion designed to teach civic engagement to high school juniors is taking applications for its 86th session this summer. The American Legion Mountaineer Boys State will return to Jacksons Mill from June 8 to June 14. Boys State citizens assemble at Jacksons Mill The annual summer program aims to create a government of a 51st state in the image of the West Virginia state government. The program takes the student citizens of Boys State through the political process from party platforms to campaigns to elections, before electing a slate of officials for the new state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White Hall Elementary receives statewide recognition as an Exemplary Practice School In addition to electing city, county, and state officials, Boys State also highlights other careers connected to government, including emergency services, journalism, forensics and more. Boys State Director Robbie Robinson said Boys State doesnt just instill good government practices, it also helps prepare them for life after graduation. The boys that are here are junior boys, said Robinson. Next year, theyll be graduating and going out into the workforce or into college or or whatever theyve chosen as their career. This could give them a boost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teaching civic engagement is important to the volunteer staff, but its also a way to help make a mark on the states future as well. Some of these boys will go on to be leaders in business, leaders in government, leaders in the military, and these are all things that were paying it forward to improve our society and to hopefully continue our form of government, said Assistant Director Matt Sampson. The American Legion Auxiliary also organizes the Rhododendron Girls State every year; its currently held at Davis & Elkins College in Elkins. You can find more information on how to apply to either Boys State or Girls State on their websites. 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. April's pink full moon has already passed, but there are plenty of celestial events Tennessee stargazers can catch throughout the rest of the month. From planetary alignment to a particularly active meteor shower, the night sky has plenty to entice people to stay up a bit later in April. The biggest celestial event stargazers can see in Tennessee will be the Lyrid meteor shower, starting on Tuesday, April 15. But don't worry about rushing out tonight to catch a glimpse; the meteor shower's peak isn't for a few days still. Here's a look at when the peak for the Lyrid meteor shower is and other things people can find in the night sky this month. When is the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower? The Lyrid meteor shower will be active from April 15-29, with the peak happening in the late evening of Monday, April 21 into Tuesday, April 22. Lyrid meteor shower set to light up April sky The Lyrid meteor shower is born from a parent comet called Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. Each year around mid-April, the Earth's orbit takes us into the stream of debris from the comet, which causes the meteor shower. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With no moon, people might be able to catch a glimpse of upwards of 10 to 15 Lyrids per hour. The Lyrids, one of the oldest known meteor showers, is known for its uncommon surges that can sometimes bring rates of up to 100 meteors per hour, according to NASA. Where can I see the Lyrid meteor shower in Tennessee? Tennesseans only need to find a place where there is little to no light pollution to look for the meteors. Astronomy website Earth Sky recommends that people try and spot meteors ahead of the rise of the crescent moon at midnight on Monday, April 21. See the smiling moon in April The moon, Venus and Saturn are about to smile down on the Earth. Before sunrise on Friday, April 25, people can catch a glimpse of the "smiling" crescent moon. The thin waning crescent moon will effectively make a triangle with Venus and a fainter Saturn to form almost a lopsided grin to those looking at it in the eastern sky, according to EarthSky. A celestial event you won't see: April's new supermoon This celestial sight will be a bit more difficult to discern. On Sunday, April 27, a new supermoon will happen, but due to the phase, it will be almost completely invisible to most stargazers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How close will the moon be? It will be 221,917 miles away, nearly 17,000 miles closer than the moon's average distance of 238,900 miles, according to EarthSky. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: April brings meteor showers: When to see Lyrids peak in Tennessee The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn is where history hums through exhibits and stories echo in every corner. More than a museum, it stands as a living archive a place where the textures of Arab American life are woven into art, memory and movement. This April, as Arab American Heritage Month is recognized nationwide, the country's only museum dedicated to Arab American stories is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the theme "AlBayt Baytak" Arabic for "This home is your home." The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn on April 14, 2025. "We want to highlight the museum as a home for Arabs living in the United States," said Diana Abouali, the director of the Arab American National Museum (AANM). "This month is an opportunity to pause and to reflect on the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans, who are an integral part of the makeup of this country, and in particular, Michigan and Southeast Michigan." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Located at 13624 Michigan Ave. and open Wednesday through Sunday, the museum is offering several events and free admission to view its temporary exhibits during Arab American Heritage Month. Events From noon to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, attendees can explore Arab American food culture on a guided tour of East Dearborn called Yalla Eat!, which means "Let's go eat!" Participants will sample bites and sweets from local grocery stores, restaurants, spice shops and bakeries along Michigan Avenue. The tour has been an ongoing program since 2013. "Guests will meet business owners eager to share the story of their family-run enterprises and savor the sights, sounds and delicious scents at bakeries, nut and coffee houses, and fresh produce markets," according to the museum. "Traditional Arab hospitality is on full display, as generous samples are offered along with the stories of individuals, their families and their history." Tickets can be purchased here at $50 for museum members and $60 for the general public. April 24: Words for Palestine The museum has hosted Words for Palestine, a monthly online series, since late 2023. The livestream features poets and writers many of them Palestinian who use poetry to express the Palestinian struggle. The series is free to watch on YouTube, with the next event scheduled for 7 to 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 24. An RSVP is optional and can be made here to receive the livestream link. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think it's important to celebrate our community here in the U.S., but also keep our eyes and our thoughts on the pain and suffering of Palestinians and other counties that are currently going through hardship," Abouali told the Free Press. More: 'Mo' on Netflix breaks stereotypes, resonates with Michigan's Arab and Muslim communities "Zawaya, meaning 'corners' in Arabic, is where edges, lines and sides meet," according to the Arab American National Museum. This event is a book launch highlighting recent works exploring intersectionality and new literary perspectives by Arab American writers. Moderated by the museum's artist-in-residence, Mariam Bazeed, the panel features authors Hadeer Elsbai, Laila Lalami, Tarik Dobbs and Youssef Rakha. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zawaya focuses on celebrating contemporary Arab American literature and fostering discussion among writers and readers, according to the museum. Authors will also be available for book signings. The event, on Saturday, April 26, is free to attend with an RSVP. Details about the writers and their work can be found here. Exhibitions The following exhibits are free to view throughout April as the Arab American National Museum is offering free admission in honor of Arab American Heritage Month. Until July 31, "Seeing the Southend: A Photography Exhibition by Tony Maine" will be in the main floor gallery of the Arab American National Museum. The exhibit showcases what Maine documented while growing up in Dearborns Southend in the 1970s and 1980s. "Seeing the Southend: A Photography Exhibition by Tony Maine" at the Arab American National Museum showcases the lives of Yemeni and Lebanese Americans in Dearborn during the 1970s and 1980s. "Maines work is both a time machine and a mirror," according to the museum. "It invites us into the rich interior lives of Yemeni and Lebanese Americans at a time when the country was still getting to know who Arab Americans really were." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The artist's images offer a rare glimpse into those communities' daily life from children learning English to autoworkers on the line highlighting a community whose legacy of perseverance and activism still shapes Dearborn today. The interactive display includes QR codes that visitors can scan to submit names of people they recognize in the photos or to share their own images depicting life in Dearborn. "Seeing the Southend: A Photography Exhibition by Tony Maine" at the Arab American National Museum allows visitors to submit their own images depicting life in Dearborn. Described as a "museum within a museum," " // al-Falaq" is an octopus-shaped sculpture by artist Alia Ali, designed as a futuristic Yemeni starship reclaiming looted artifacts, according to the Arab American National Museum. Suspended under the museums dome through Dec. 31, it features 81 digital screens on its tentacles that stretch across the atrium, playing experimental videos exploring Yemeni history, culture and identity. " // al-Falaq," an octopus-shaped sculpture by artist Alia Ali, hangs under the dome of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. The piece includes 81 screens playing experimental videos on Yemeni history, culture and identity. In a time of war and displacement, "al-Falaq" envisions both remembrance and future possibilities for Yemen. Ali was the museums artist-in-residence in 202122. " // al-Falaq," an octopus-shaped sculpture by artist Alia Ali, hangs under the dome of the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn. The piece includes 81 screens playing experimental videos on Yemeni history, culture and identity. Rajie Cooks "Waiting for Peace" exhibit sheds light on the Palestinian struggle under occupation. Within the exhibit, the "Alarming" display presents striking data from 2024 on the number of Palestinian children killed due to violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The "Waiting for Peace" exhibit showcases the work of Palestinian American artist Rajie Cook, who died in 2021 at 90. While he is best known for designing the universal pictographs used in public spaces, Cook spent the last two decades of his life creating sculptural collage boxes that highlight the suffering Palestinians have endured under decades of occupation and their struggle for self-determination. Cooks work serves as a testament to his lifelong advocacy, shaped by his own longing for peace one he did not live to see. The exhibit will remain on display in the lower-level gallery of the museum until Aug. 15, 2026. The "Waiting for Peace" exhibit by Rajie Cook highlights the Palestinian struggle for self-determination. It is on display at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn until the summer of 2026. Members get 20% off gift shop items to celebrate 20 years of AANM To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Arab American National Museum is offering members 20% off all items in the gift shop. Guests can find clothing, tote bags, books, accessories and handmade pieces by artists from the Middle East and Arab American artists. Members receive unlimited free museum admission, discounts on programs and events, and access to the museum's library and resource Center. Membership also supports exhibitions and free programs that foster community connections through art and dialogue. More information is available here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Michigan celebrates Arab American heritage this month. Here's what to know Whitmer's 2025 proclamation In a proclamation issued on April 1, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared April 2025 as Arab American Heritage Month in Michigan, recognizing the communitys contributions to medicine, law, business, education and public service. Whitmer highlighted Arab Americans' strong family values, work ethic and cultural influence while acknowledging the challenges they have faced. "The history of Arab Americans in the U.S. too often has been tainted with misconceptions, bigotry and hatred," according to the proclamation. "Arab American issues, such as civil rights, stereotyping and bullying, must be combated through education and awareness." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter. Email her: nrahal@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @nrahal1. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Celebrate Arab American Heritage Month with events at Dearborn museum An entire ancient Egyptian settlement from the New Kingdom, also known as the Golden Age of Egypt, surfaced from beneath Greek ruins at the site of Kom el-Nugus near Alexandria Among the artifacts found were the remains of a temple and pottery including an amphora and a grape crusher that indicate the settlement had something to do with the production of wine. Continuing excavations in the upcoming months may reveal more about the settlement, whose name is still unknown. On an Egyptian desert rock ridge west of Alexandria and between the Mediterranean sea and Lake Mariout is Kom el-Nugus, an archaeological site named for a mound roughly in the shape of a horseshoe, or kom, in the midst of ancient ruins surrounded by fig orchards. The kom appeared unassuming. Most relics found there until now were from a long-abandoned Greek necropolis and lakeside town from the time of Alexander the Great. What emerged when archaeologists dug deeper was a whole other city, one that was already ancient when Alexander arrived in Egypt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It turned out that a 3,500-year-old settlement from Egypts New Kingdom had been lying beneath the Hellenistic ruins for thousands of years. The New Kingdom was the height of Egypts splendor in antiquity. It gave birth to legendary 18th and 19th Dynasty pharaohs such as Tutankhamun (nobody wanted to speak of his heretic father Akhenaten), Seti I and Rameses II. It is thought to have been built over around 332 B.C., when the Egyptians willingly allowed Alexanders forces in to liberate them from oppressive Persian rule, and was occupied by Greeks for several hundred years. Towards the interior, the curious shape of the kom has long puzzled visitors, and the steep inward slope from the top of the hill to the centre has defied easy explanation, Sylvain Dhennin of the University of Lyon in France, who led the team of archeologists in unearthing the lost settlement, said in a study recently published in Antiquity. In the middle of the Kom are the remains of a Hellenistic monument that is probably a temple, carved out of calcarenite, a type of limestone. Hardly anything is left except its crumbling foundations. Dhennin thinks the proportions of the building, along with some telltale inscriptions, set it apart as a temple. Parts of it were eventually plundered. Some New Kingdom artifacts that have surfaced at the kom hint at the splendor of what was also known as Egypts Golden Age. An amphora stamped with the name Meritaten dated back to the 18th Dynasty, from 1550 to 1292 B.C., since Meritaten Tasherit or Meritaten the Younger is known to be the eldest daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Wine was often stored in amphoras, and a grape crusher discovered at the site suggests that the ancient settlement had something to do with the production of wine. Dhennin thinks the stamp with Meritatens name means that the wine belonged to a royal estate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The name Meritaten translates to she who is beloved of the Aten. The Aten was the sun disk that Akhenaten demanded all of Egypt worship when he ascended the throne. Ushering in an era of monotheism, he did away with the Egyptian pantheon, fueling political and religious upheaval. After Akhenatens death, his subjects tried to erase every possible statue, carving, and other vestige of him that remained, and his mummified body has never been found. Tutankhamun (named Tutankhaten at birth) then took the throne and restored the pantheon. There were also some fragments of what were once stone monuments scattered on the Hellenistic levels, including blocks from one of the many temples dedicated by Rameses II, with one of them depicting Ra-Horakhty, Horus of the two horizons. Ra-Horakhty is one of the many forms of the sun god Ra. In this iteration, he has the falcon head of Horus, another god of the sun who crossed the vast expanse of sky every day. This carving must have been intended to show him during the daytime since his right eye was believed to be the sun, while left eye was the moon. More artifacts found at Kom el-Nugus include pieces of chapels from the 19th and 20th dynasties, otherwise known as the Ramesside period. There was also piece of a stele carved with the cartouches of Seti II and a pit containing five miniature ceramic bowls. The buildings of the settlement were made of mud bricks, with two groups of them lined up on either side of a street that headed slightly southward and featured a water-collecting system to keep the buildings dry so they wouldnt collapse. This road was found to have been rebuilt at some point. The restructuring of the buildingsin stages that appear to have taken place in quick successionraises the possibility that this was a seasonal or intermittent settlement, as in the case of temporary military garrisons, Dhennin said in the same study. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More excavations will be carried out during the coming months. The artifacts and remnants of buildings that emerge may not be a glittering golden hoard like the scene that greeted Howard Carter when he broke the seal to Tutankhamuns tomb, but they will still be treasures. You Might Also Like ARCHER COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL) Archer County continues to grieve this evening after losing Constable Doug Strange, a man many considered family in the school district. Every morning outside Holliday Elementary before the school bell rang, students could count on one thing: a warm smile and greeting from Constable Doug Strange. Groundbreaking ceremony held for new hospital in Olney Ask almost any student or staff member in Holliday, and theyll tell you Mr. Strange made them feel important and safe and brightened their day. Now, the district is feeling that absence in a big way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Constable Strange, who served Archer Countys Precinct 1, passed away last week, leaving a deeply shaken community and a school district in mourning. Known for his deep commitment to public safety, his peers say hes never met a stranger and made everyone feel seen, safe and supported. Doug was not just a man who dedicated his life to the law; he also took it upon himself to go above and beyond and pour his heart into the youth. Every morning, Doug outside Holliday Elementary greeted kids with smiles, hugs and jokes. He also helped in any way he could at Archer City and Windthorst schools. Holliday Superintendent Cody Carroll said that no matter what was asked, Doug would be the first to volunteer to help in any way he could and was happy to do it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we had a big student group that would go on a trip. So, say like our band qualified for state to go to San Antonio for a few days to compete in the state marching contest. Doug was always the first one to volunteer. And in fact, we even had parents calling my office just to make sure he was going, so they would feel safer sending their kids, Carroll said. Mariah Sutherland, principal of Holliday Elementary, said Strange was a prime example of a kind heart and servant and hopes the students acquire his ability to form meaningful relationships. I hope that they can take away his mentality of never meeting a stranger. You know, I think that something thats lost in todays day and age and everythings on a device. His ability to make connections face to face, is something that I hope that the students take away from, Sutherland said. I truly mean it when I say hes never met a stranger; everybodys his friend. Even if he didnt really know who they were. And so, I hope that they can just remember him for that. Doug Stranges funeral will be Friday, April 18, at 10 a.m. in the gymnasium of Archer City High School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everybody is asked to wear red because that was Dougs favorite color. He leaves behind a wife who teaches at Holliday Elementary and two children. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. This is an adapted excerpt from the April 14 episode of "The Beat with Ari Melber." The story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man stuck in a Salvadoran prison where the Supreme Court has ruled he should not be and where the Trump administration admits he was mistakenly sent has consumed public attention in the United States, marking a flashpoint in Donald Trumps aggressive second-term deportation efforts. While the Supreme Court ordered the administration to follow a lower judges ruling and facilitate Garcias return last week, the president is now trying to hide behind the Central American country and claim he suddenly has no power. On Monday, Trump met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele at the White House. During that meeting, Bukele followed Trumps playbook and echoed the administrations claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How can I return him to the United States? I smuggle him into the United States? Of course, Im not going to do it, Bukele said. Its like the question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? I dont have the power to return him to the United States. Bukele is now effectively helping Trump to defy the Supreme Court order. There are established, detailed protocols for the legal passage of individuals between countries, from routine tourism and migration to extradition for defendants and detainees to exactly what happened in this case. Trump and Bukeles explanation is legally weak since administrations often face court rulings that require some diplomacy or foreign policy work to right a wrong. Its also factually dubious since Trump is waging a trade war he built on his belief that his administration can make other countries do things, whether they like it or not. Mondays White House display showed how the Trump administration has used a mix of defiance, bad faith and its own brand of foreign policy to get another country to claim some kind of catch-22 in which both leaders blame each other and claim they cannot do what the highest court in the United States has ordered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And what did the court order? While the Supreme Court did uphold that lower court ruling against the president, it also left a crack open for the administration, stating that the order to facilitate Garcias return be followed, with deference to a presidents foreign policy power. When the news of the courts ruling first broke, I spoke about how an administration operating in bad faith could exploit the courts language as a loophole. That is exactly what the administration is doing, from the president down to Justice Department lawyers, who are laying out in new filings that they brazenly view the ruling as a suggestion with no binding, legal obligation to make the return happen. They claim that the ruling only requires officials to admit Garcia into the country if he makes it back from El Salvador, a formulation that taunts the high court since a prisoner is not going to make it back on his own. The Justice Department has noted the Maryland father is alive and still in prison but has offered no other details, despite a judges demand for daily updates. So here we are. Its not all doom and gloom for the rule of law, but its not exactly a sunny day, either. On the one hand, the Supreme Court did rule against Trump unanimously; on the other, the high court left a way for the administration to duck the clear purpose of the order. Whatever the courts reasoning to do this, its obvious that an administration that gets away with such ploys will be incentivized to do so again, which risks further legal crises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While there are hard, complex cases in law and immigration, this is not one of them. The administration admits it made an administrative error in deporting Garcia to El Salvador; no one in the case claims thats where he should be. If the high court cannot effectively wield its legal powers to return one person who is in the wrong place, when everyone agrees that a mistake was made, how can it maintain the rule of law in this Trump era on much harder cases? Imagine if the mistake was not sending Garcia to the wrong country but picking up the wrong person entirely or deporting an innocent American citizen to a foreign prison. If that happened, under the Trump administrations current legal position, the Justice Department could claim it still has no obligation to fix it and that its up to the other country to do so. In a separate ruling against Trumps deportation efforts last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned against exactly that. United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes History is no stranger to such lawless regimes, but this Nations system of laws is designed to prevent, not enable, their rise. Sotomayor is telling the public that if this kind of behavior is allowed for some, it can happen to others and those others could be American citizens. That is not some alarmist critic writing an op-ed; its the jurisprudence of a serious judge based on current filings and evidence, accessing what Trump actually says and does, rather than ignoring his literal statements as many of his apologists have done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And on Monday, Sotomayors warning appeared one step closer to becoming reality. From the Oval Office, Trump suggested seizing power to send American citizens to the notorious El Salvador prison. We always have to obey the laws, but we also have homegrown criminals, Trump said. Id like to include them in the group of people to get them out of the country. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com USDA Sec. Brooke Rollins (left) stands next to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders as she announces Arkansas' request to exclude soda and candy from SNAP benefits on April 15, 2025. (Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate) The state of Arkansas submitted a waiver Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking to ban food stamp recipients from using the benefit to purchase soda and candy. Arkansas is among the first states to request these restrictions for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries, with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders citing President Donald Trumps laser focus on solving Americas chronic disease epidemic as a motivating force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders announced the waiver submission alongside U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Arkansas Human Services Secretary Kristi Putnam at the Governors Mansion Tuesday, with a stated goal of having the waiver approved and the proposed restrictions in place by July 1, 2026. The second Trump administration has been pushing to Make America Healthy Again since Trump retook office in January, with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. frequently railing on ultra-processed foods and other foods he said are contributing to poor health in Americans. Sanders echoed those sentiments during her remarks Tuesday. Our country spends $119 billion dollars each year on food stamps. Twenty-three percent of that spending, which is $27 billion annually, goes toward things like soft drinks, unhealthy snacks, candy and dessert, she said. At the same time, our state Medicaid program spends at least $300 million each year treating chronic illness. Taxpayers are subsidizing poor health were paying for it on the front end and the back end. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats not a nutrition program, Sanders continued, its actively harming Arkansas health and contributing to our nations mountain of debt. Adding rotisserie chicken The exclusion of soda and candy would not decrease overall SNAP benefits received by beneficiaries, she said, but would rather free up more of their benefits for healthier foods. In addition to banning the purchase of soda and candy, including zero-calorie soda, the state also requested that low and no-calorie soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice and unhealthy drinks also be excluded from the list of foods eligible to be purchased with SNAP money. Foods considered candy in Arkansas waiver request are confectionary products with flour and artificially sweetened candy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the end of the day, we will never restrict choices of you, of myself, of others, Rollins said. What were working to do is make sure that taxpayer dollars that when government is involved, and when theyre spending the money of our people that that money is being spent wisely and in the best way we know how. Arkansas is also asking the federal government to allow SNAP recipients in the state to use their money to purchase rotisserie chicken. The State also proposes to distribute SNAP Education nutrition program funding directly to schools, food banks, and other community agencies so they can distribute healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables to families and provide education and outreach about healthy food choices, the waiver request reads. Rollins said that as she and Sanders were addressing the small crowd at the Governors Mansion, Kennedy was in Indiana for a similar event with Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Putnam, whose department oversees SNAP and federal health insurance programs for Arkansas, said allowing the purchase of soda and candy with SNAP benefits subsidized unhealthy nutritional choices. Were devoting significant resources to treating the same health conditions brought on by consuming unhealthy food, Putnam said. This makes no sense. Why do we contribute to poor health in one program and then try to fix it in another program? Industry objections Food industry groups immediately decried the states request. The American Beverage Association, an industry group for non-alcoholic beverage companies, criticized Sanders and Rollins for choosing to be the food police rather than take truly meaningful steps to lift people off SNAP with good-paying jobs. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Make no mistake, this waiver wont make an ounce of difference on health, the ABA wrote in an emailed statement. If Governor Sanders is serious about making Arkansas healthy again, this would be a comprehensive effort not one narrowly focused on excluding one population from buying just two sets of products in the grocery store. Meanwhile, the National Confectioners Association called the move misguided and not needed, citing data released by the USDA in 2016. SNAP participants and non-SNAP participants alike understand that chocolate and candy are treats not meal replacements, said Chris Gindlesperger, NCAs senior vice president of public affairs and communications, in an emailed statement. In fact, candy purchasing patterns are basically equivalent between SNAP and non-SNAP families with only 2% of SNAP purchases being candy. Consumers have a unique mindset when they enjoy chocolate and candy that is not present when interacting with other foods whether or not they are using SNAP benefits for food purchases. According to that same study, 20 cents of every dollar spent by both SNAP and non-SNAP recipients went towards sweetened drinks, desserts, salty snacks, candy, and sugar. Soft drinks specifically made up 5.44% of a SNAP households expenditures, according to the study, which relied on purchasing data from 2011. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SNAP program is designed to help those in need of assistance, not to hurt them, Rollins said. Its also funded by the American taxpayer, who deserves a say in how the program is administered and what the program funds. President Trump has given his administration, our administration, the mandate to make America healthy again. The state is implementing what Sanders described as a voluntary 30-day public comment period on the waiver. As Sanders and Rollins were speaking at the mansion, state lawmakers at the Capitol about two miles away debated a bill Tuesday morning that would require the Arkansas Department of Human Services to submit a waiver to exclude candy and soda from being eligible for SNAP money. Senate Bill 217, sponsored by Sen. Clint Penzo, R-Springdale, would require DHS to continue submitting the waiver request every year if it is denied. Dennis Farmer, president of the Arkansas Beverage Association, spoke against the bill, saying such legislation would put a scarlet letter on producers of the targeted products. Just because the state wont pay for it, doesnt necessarily mean it will change SNAP beneficiaries consumption behavior, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families also spoke against the bill. While we appreciate the positive intent, the bill would be an example of unnecessary government intervention in peoples daily choices, and it kind of misses the mark when it comes to ensuring better health outcomes for low-income families, said Christin Harper, AACFs policy director. Harper said the administrative complexity of implementing restrictions such as the ones proposed in the bill would be costly and confusing. A lot of candy bars have chocolate and nuts but, as has been mentioned, so do a lot of granola bars, Harper said. So this potentially introduces a slippery slope in terms of debating what foods are healthy or not, good or bad, and puts an additional stigma on those receiving SNAP benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Incentive-based programs have been shown to produce healthier outcomes, she said, without restricting peoples autonomy in their grocery shopping. More focus needs to be given to the root causes of poor health outcomes, such as poverty, unstable housing and access to medical care, she added. The committee ultimately voted along party lines, 12-5, to advance the bill to the full House. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE This photo taken on April 12, 2025 shows a grassland in Baicheng County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 7, 2025 shows oleaster saplings in Hotan County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 8, 2025 shows people planting coix at a sand industry experimental base in Yutian County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 12, 2025 shows a grassland in Baicheng County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) A staff member sorts cistanche at a cistanche planting base in Qiemo County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on April 9, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) A villager arranges a drip irrigation pipe at a desert-control model zone in Yutian County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 8, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Volunteer Wang Chengbang checks seedlings at a nursery in Korla, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 11, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 9, 2025 shows staff members planting seedlings at a sand-control base in Qiemo County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Protective nets are attached to seedlings to prevent animals from eating them at a sand-control base in Qiemo County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 9, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) This combo photo shows a rose seedling (L) and cistanche (lower R) at sand-control model zones of Yutian County, Hotan Prefecture on April 8, 2025, and apricot blossoms in Baicheng County, Aksu Prefecture on April 12, 2025 (upper R) in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 8, 2025 shows checkerboard sand barriers in Minfeng County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 13, 2025 shows a photovoltaic power project in Xayar County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) A villager plants coix at a sand industry experimental base in Yutian County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on April 8, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) This photo taken on April 13, 2025 shows a wheat field irrigated by desalinated water in Xayar County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 8, 2025 shows checkerboard sand barriers at a sand-control zone in Minfeng County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 11, 2025 shows a forest park in Hejing County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) People arrange drip irrigation pipes at a sand-control experimental base in Yutian County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 8, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) A staff member dries cistanche at a cistanche planting base in Qiemo County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on April 9, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 13, 2025 shows a photovoltaic power project in Xayar County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Staff members plant onions in sandy land at a sand-control experimental station in Minfeng County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on April 8, 2025. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) Fu Guoxi checks the trees at a green belt built by his father Fu Zhizhou in Hejing County, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, April 11, 2025. Over the past four decades, Fu Zhizhou had planted more than 800,000 trees and his son Fu Guoxi took over the cause after his father passed away in 2024. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) An aerial drone photo taken on April 8, 2025 shows staff members embedding water pipelines in Minfeng County of Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region covers 337,600 square kilometers and its circumference measures 3,046 kilometers, making it the largest desert in China and the second-largest drifting desert in the world. Thanks to decades-long sand prevention and control efforts, the Taklimakan Desert was completely encircled with a sand-blocking green belt on Nov. 28, 2024. In 2025, Xinjiang aims to afforest a land area of about 796,000 hectares, including 562,666 hectares for frontline control in the Taklimakan Desert. These afforestations form a part of the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, the world's largest afforestation program, which tackles desertification in northwest, north and northeast China. Meanwhile, Xinjiang will further widen the sand-blocking green belt and enhance desert-locking efforts to achieve sustainable sand control while improving local livelihoods. (Xinhua/Ding Lei) By Leah Douglas (Reuters) -Arkansas and Indiana on Tuesday became the first states to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow them to ban soda and candy from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, with the support of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has signaled she will approve state requests to restrict what SNAP recipients can buy with their benefits. More than 41 million Americans receive SNAP benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Rollins announced that state's request in a joint press conference. Later on Tuesday, Indiana Governor Mike Braun announced his state's request alongside Kennedy. Rollins and Huckabee Sanders said the purpose of the effort is to encourage SNAP recipients to make healthy choices, not to restrict their options. Other states including Nebraska and West Virginia have said they will soon submit requests of their own to the USDA in the latest chapter of a years-long debate over whether to bar purchases of sugar-sweetened drinks and junk food from SNAP. The soda and candy industries were critical of Sanders' move. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If the Governor is sincere about what taxpayers can buy with SNAP dollars, this sends a ridiculously conflicted message: its okay to buy a wide array of desserts, snack cakes and treats, just not soda and candy. How does that make sense?" said American Beverage, which represents soda companies, in a statement. Chris Gindlesperger, senior vice president of public affairs and communications at the National Confectioners Association, said the approach is "misguided" when it comes to chocolate and candy, which consumers understand are treats. Rollins said she expects the USDA's approval of the state's request to move quickly and that the USDA and Arkansas officials have a conference call scheduled for Wednesday. (Reporting by Leah Douglas in WashingtonEditing by Marguerita Choy and Alistair Bell) Sen. Jimmy Hickey (left), R-Texarkana, votes present on House Bill 1427, cosponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin (center), R-Mountain View, on the Arkansas Senate floor on February 18, 2025. At right is Sen. Ricky Hill, R-Cabot. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) A legislative budget committee on Monday pulled down a bill that would have added $250 million to a fund dedicated to prison construction in Arkansas. The decision comes less than a week after state lawmakers said a separate $750 million appropriation bill to support construction of a 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County appears dead after five failed votes in the Senate. Disputes over the two bills are the latest in a monthslong battle to fund and build a new state penitentiary in the rural western Arkansas county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Bill 633 would authorize the addition of $250 million from general revenue to a correctional facilities fund that the Legislature placed $330 million into in 2023. State lawmakers also set aside $75 million in 2022 for expanding the states prison capacity, and that money has already been allocated to the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Republican lawmakers questioned the intent of SB 633 during the Joint Budget Committees meeting Monday. Rep. Jim Wooten, R-Beebe, asked if the bill was a backdoor way to fund the new penitentiary. Meanwhile, Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, sought assurances that state officials wouldnt try to pull money from a separate $350 million miscellaneous appropriation to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to support prison construction. I have no problem moving money into this account, but I think that we need to have a path of where we think were goingbut what I want to make sure is that its not our intention that were going to use a large part of that miscellaneous appropriation that we give through DF&A to fund this prison, Hickey said. Specifically, Hickey asked if the $75 million thats already been allocated to the corrections department would be used to assess a more detailed cost estimate of the whole project as requested by some state lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Magnolia Republican and Joint Budget Committee Co-chairman Rep. Lane Jean said the goal is to spend the $75 million first. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has called for expanding bed capacity at state prisons to alleviate overcrowding in county jails. A lack of space at Arkansas prisons has led to some state inmates being housed in local jails. Controversy arose last October when Sanders announced the state purchased 815 acres near Charleston for nearly $3 million as a site to construct a new prison. Local residents and state officials decried the lack of transparency in the decision and have pushed back against the project for months. The Arkansas Board of Corrections has moved forward with the project by hiring a construction management company and seeking proposals from architectural firms and contractors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Searcy Republican and JBC Co-chairman Sen. Jonathan Dismang recommended removing SB 633 from consideration Monday, noting that the corrections department isnt likely to use all $75 million before next years fiscal session in April when lawmakers could again explore options for funding prison expansion. If officials do need additional funding before then, they have the ability to request lawmakers approval for a temporary appropriation increase, Dismang said. Theres no reason to have a continued debate this morning with where we are in the session, he said. The Arkansas Legislature is scheduled to finish the bulk of its work by Wednesday, before recessing for a few weeks and officially adjourning the legislative session on May 5. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The Arkansas State Police introduced a new member of their bomb squad and SWAT mission team on Monday, a robot dog courtesy of Boston Dynamics. Affectionately named Buford, after a former bomb squad commander and retired Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agent Bill Buford, the department says it will be used in multiple missions to mitigate the risk of life. We can use this to go into dangerous situations where we wont have to send an individual, said Corporal Josh Berry, a bomb technician with the Arkansas State Police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robotic dogs are patrolling Mar-a-Lago to help protect Trump, Secret Service confirms In those dangerous situations, Berry says the robot, which a member of the department will control, will use artificial intelligence in training to do things like open doors, deliver throw phones, and capture surveillance of a scene before officers would have to be deployed. The robot dog moves on four legs while being controlled by an officer. It uses thermal vision and video recording technology to give officers a set of eyes in a potentially dangerous and life-threatening area from afar. Berry said it would be an addition to their robots already in use on the force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal grant money paid for the $282,000 robot. This coming Tuesday and Wednesday, Berry said the state police bomb squad team will undergo 16 hours of hands-on training with Boston Dynamics before the new addition is deployed in the field. Its easier than some of our other platforms, we can load this up and put it in a vehicle real quick, versus having to take on of our large response vehicles, Berry said. Meet Spot, the LAPDs new crimefighting robot dog Berry said the robots battery life is 90 minutes before it needs to be replaced, adding that Buford is the first of its kind in Arkansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were not sure on how long it will last, but the great thing they do is send us [software] updates at no additional cost, Berry said. Berry said theyve already shown the robot off at various school events around the central Arkansas area, and any similar future technological investments will be gauged by how well Buford performs in the field. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Felix Light (Reuters) -Armenia called on Azerbaijan on Tuesday to investigate ceasefire violations along the two countries' frontier, as a surge of reported incidents of cross-border gunfire raises the prospect of renewed fighting between the long-term rivals. Armenia and Azerbaijan said in March they had agreed the text of a peace treaty to end almost 40 years of conflict over the Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which previously had a largely ethnic Armenian population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But since the text of the still-unsigned treaty was agreed on March 13, authorities on both sides have reported ceasefire violations 26 times. Multiple incidents have been reported on several days in the last month. In the five months prior to the treaty announcement only three violations had been reported. Most of the accusations have come from Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev has hinted at renewed military action if Armenia fails to sign a peace treaty. On Monday, Armenia accused Azerbaijan of shooting at the border settlement of Khnatsakh, damaging the village's cultural centre. Azerbaijan called the report "disinformation". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Addressing Armenia's parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Azerbaijan should investigate the violations, either with Armenia or with international participation. According to an official transcript of his speech, Pashinyan said that the incidents were: "either a consequence of indiscipline in the armed forces of Azerbaijan, or are aimed at exerting psychological pressure on the population". "The Republic of Armenia calls on the Republic of Azerbaijan to investigate the mentioned cases and take measures to stop them," he said. Both sides consistently deny the other's accusations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked to comment on Pashinyan's speech, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry referred Reuters to a March statement in which it said Armenia was distorting facts on the border and conducting "massive military buildups". Azerbaijan retook Karabakh in 2023, which prompted almost all the territory's 100,000 Armenians to leave. Shortly after, both sides said they were willing to formally end their conflict via a peace treaty, but negotiations have been slow. Azerbaijan has said it will not sign the draft agreed in March until Armenia changes its constitution to remove a reference to Karabakh, which could take until 2026. Azerbaijan has also demanded that Yerevan provide it with a corridor across Armenian territory, linking Baku to its exclave of Nakhchivan and its ally, Turkey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There have been no casualties in the recent ceasefire violations, with no deaths on the roughly 1,000 km (620 mile) frontier since February 2024, when four Armenian soldiers were killed in one incident. (Reporting by Felix LightEditing by Ros Russell) Several prisons in France were targeted with arson attacks and gunfire overnight, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday. The detention centres have reportedly become targets of intimidation attempts, ranging from cars set on fire to shots fired with automatic weapons. Darmanin planned to visit the affected prison in Toulon in southern France in the afternoon. There were no reports of injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The minister views the attacks as a coordinated response from organized drug crime, against which France has declared a fight on various fronts. Prisons in Marseille, Valence, Aix-en-Provence, Nimes, Nanterre and Villepinte were also affected by the attacks, the newspaper Le Parisien reported citing the Justice Ministry. The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has reportedly been tasked with the investigation. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau described the incidents as "unacceptable attacks on the staff and property of the penal authorities." Several cars belonging to pupils of the training academy for judicial employees in Agen were set on fire for the second time on Monday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The justice minister recently announced the construction of a high-security prison where all convicted serious drug criminals in France are to be housed. This is intended to put an end to the practice of serious criminals having access to mobile phones behind bars despite the ban, allowing them to continue coordinating their operations, including contract killings, from their cells. Additionally, a law is being developed in France to enable a tougher crackdown on drug trafficking. In the aftermath of the attack on the governors residence on Sunday, charges against the accused are piling up, with one of those charges being terrorism. Police have charged 38-year-old Cody Balmer with attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and other crimes after Balmer turned himself in. Police say a person is in custody after a suspected arson fire at PA governors mansion While a formal motive hasnt been disclosed, Balmer told investigators that he had been harboring hatred towards Shapiro. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a local intelligence expert, that political motive is what elevates the charge from a felony to terrorism. THIS TYPE OF VIOLENCE IS NOT OKAY: Shapiro condemns attack on Governors Residence I think if you look at the totality of the picture, theres a number of factors contributing to why were in this polarized state. In incidents like this, you look at the footage, that family could have been easily killed in that fire, said Fred Hoffman, department chair and associate professor of intelligence studies. Hoffman said social media and a polarized society have helped to foster feelings of hatred and violence toward elected officials and that platforming is dangerous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. If you see an Ashanti Alert in Oklahoma, it's a sign that there may be a missing person in your area. The alert has been in place since 2018 and is used nationwide. Similar to other notification systems like AMBER, Silver and Kacey alerts, Ashanti Alerts are sent out to those in the area to help locate an individual. Here's what the alert means and many others like it. What is an Ashanti Alert? The Ashanti Alert is used to notify about missing individuals who meet the following criteria: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Individual(s) is over the age of 17 Individual(s) has special needs or circumstances Individual(s) is endangered or have been involuntarily abducted or kidnapped Ashanti Alerts function like AMBER, Silver and Blue alerts as they are administered by local law enforcement agencies. Who is Ashanti Billie? The Ashanti Alert system is named in honor of Ashanti Billie, who was a 19-year-old woman who disappeared on Sept. 18, 2017, in Hampton Roads, Virginia. After two weeks of being missing, authorities located her body over 350 miles away in Charlotte, North Carolina. Due to the distance traveled since her abduction, authorities worked to find a state, regional, or nationwide missing persons alert system that focused on individuals over the age of 17. What is an Amber Alert? Local, state and federal officials can activate an Amber Alert to quickly notify the public that a child has been abducted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first Amber Alert program started in 1996, when Dallas-area radio and TV stations began using the federal Emergency Alert System to quickly broadcast news of child abductions. That effort came in response to the case of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who had been abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas earlier that year. Soon after, AMBER, for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, became part of federal and state laws. Not every missing child gets an alert, however. A case must meet the following guidelines to ensure it's used appropriately, according to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety: There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred The abduction is of a child aged 17 years or younger The law enforcement agency believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death There is enough descriptive information about the victim and the abduction to assist in the recovery of the child The childs name and other critical data elements, including the Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What is an Ashanti Alert? What to know about the missing person ping ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WSPA) A man was arrested on Tuesday for a sexual assault cold case from 1999. The Asheville Police Department said they had obtained new information from forensic evidence, and charged 75-year-old Darnell Rex Young Jr. with statutory rape of a child. Young was transported to the Buncombe County Detention Center and is held under a $100,000 bond, police 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 WSPA 7NEWS. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The Nevada State Assembly rejected the portion of a bill that would have provided funding for some 50 new judges across the state, including 18 in Clark County. AB66, as the bill is known, would have increased the number of district judges in certain judicial districts according to the population of counties. Currently, 58 judges and 14 hearing masters preside over the criminal, civil, family and probate matters of Clark Countys 2.4 million citizens, according to public record. Clark County District Court Chief Judge Jerry Wiese asked the legislature for another 18 judges as well as additional building space to house the new judges and their courtrooms, Wiese testified in a public hearing before the Assembly Committee on Judiciary with regard to AB 66 in February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That committee then revised the bill to include an amendment that decimated the portions related to Clark County, deleting all but a handful of lines. Other chief judges from various counties also testified to their courts staffing and budget needs. In his testimony before the committee, Wiese described increasing workloads for the existing judges and indicated that certain judges work nights, weekends and holidays to sign warrants and perform other duties. The different types of cases that judges hear require different time commitments, Wiese said. Wiese also testified that should the legislature approve the judges, the court would need to find additional space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We would need a new building, Wiese said. While that space was made available, Wiese said, judges could share courtrooms, use remote hearings and allow attorneys and parties to cases appear remotely. Covid has taught us that theres ways to handle our work without being present sometimes, Wiese testified. It depends on the need, right? If were going to do a trial, we need a courtroom. Hearings need a courtroom. But there are other things we can do without necessarily being there. Wiese said Clark County District Court is the busiest in the state. Its headquarters, the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas, had over 600,000 visitors in 2024, Wiese said. The court employs 678 people on a full- and part-time basis, and its Fiscal Year 2025 budget is staggering $136,449,959, Wiese testified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Committee members, while not supporting his ultimate goal, lauded him for the courts fiscal responsibility. We generally come up under budget, Wiese said. The February hearing also included comment and criticism of the measure, including testimony that challenged judges workloads, which Wiese defended, saying case filings dont tell the whole story. AB 66, while it requests additional judges, we are not asking for additional judges so we have less work to do, Wiese told the committee. All of us will continue to work 40-hour weeks or more. The ask is to give us additional judges so we can provide better access to justice to the people in our communities. So that instead of waiting four or five years for a civil trial in Clark County, we can provide access to justice and people can get trial dates and get a trial resolved within a year or two. Thats the ask. The ask is not to try to make it so were doing less work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the assembly did pass AB 66, but its amendment excluded the provisions that would have budgeted for the new judges. An email sent to Wieses law clerk on Thursday night, well after the courts business hours, was not immediately answered. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JERUSALEM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that he opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, reaffirming his long-held position amid mounting international support for a two-state solution. In a phone call, Netanyahu expressed to Macron his "strong opposition" to Palestinian statehood, calling it "a major reward for terrorism," according to a statement from his office. He warned that a Palestinian state founded "just minutes" from Israeli cities would become "a stronghold of Iranian terrorism," and added that "an overwhelming majority of the Israeli public strongly opposes it." Macron said on his X account after the phone call that he had reiterated France's support for Israel's security. "The release of all hostages has always been an absolute priority, as has the demilitarization of Hamas." Macron also said that a ceasefire is the only way to ensure the release of the hostages still held by Hamas. He underscored the urgent need to open all humanitarian aid crossings to support Gaza's civilian population. The conversation followed Macron's statement last week that France could recognize a Palestinian state "in June." In an interview on France 5 TV, Macron said: "We must move toward recognition (of a Palestinian state), and so, in the coming months, we will." France is expected to co-chair a meeting with Saudi Arabia at the United Nations in New York in June that will focus on advancing a two-state solution, amid Israel's 18-month military offensive in Gaza. The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem -- territories where Palestinians seek to establish an independent state -- have been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Middle East war. Israel kept its control over them despite international criticism. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family are lucky to have survived the arson attack on his official residence in Harrisburg early Sunday. It was the second act of violence in the state against a high-profile politician in less than a year; last July in Butler, a would-be assassins bullet grazed Donald Trumps ear during a campaign rallythe first of two attempts on his life in 2024. Researchers who study political violence indicate that no uptick is yet evident in data about the phenomenon. Public support for using violent means to influence political outcomes remains low. President Trump described the perpetrator as probably just a wack job. None of this is reassuring, though, because nobody knows what makes an unstable person fixate specifically on the idea of assassinating a governor or a president. Every attack on a well-known political figure undermines our norms. By the time political violence shows up in statistics, the damage to society is done. The security failure at the governors mansion in Harrisburg is startling. Shapiro, a Democrat, had hosted a Passover seder on Saturday night. He and his family were sleeping when a man scaled a fence, used a hammer to smash a window, threw in a homemade incendiary device, and made his way to the other side of the building, where he broke in and ignited another fire before escaping. A state trooper awakened the Shapiro family, but police did not find the perpetrator; the suspect, identified by authorities as Cody Balmer, later turned himself in. Investigators say Balmer intended to hurt Shapiro, but they have not spelled out what his specific motives might have been. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Read: What the Josh Shapiro attack reveals] Some people who attempt to kill political leaders have clear ideologies. In 2022, a mentally troubled man who disagreed with Brett Kavanaughs conservative views went to the Supreme Court justices Maryland home with a pistol, a knife, zip ties, and other gear. A man reportedly steeped in right-wing conspiracy theories broke into thenHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosis San Francisco home. (She was in Washington at the time, but the attacker badly injured her husband.) Other assailants political views have proved more difficult to discern. Shapiros attacker wasnt wearing a MAGA hat or yelling anti-Semitic epithets. The man who shot Trump in the ear did not have a clear ideological outlook. Some attackers might well have political motivesbut ones that defy conventional categories and make sense only to the perpetrators themselves. Democracy requires a strong shared belief that our political differences must be settled through peaceful means. As I have previously argued, Trump has used his megaphone and his official powers in dangerous ways: embracing far-right groups, casually threatening to jail his political enemies, egging on the January 6 riot at the Capitol, pardoning the insurrectionists who were convicted of crimes. No other major American political leader in recent memoryand certainly no other presidenthas so publicly entertained the idea of getting his way by force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps statement yesterday, in reference to the attack on Shapiro, that a thing like this cannot be allowed to happen, was a healthy sign. Then again, the president had waited a day and a half to condemn the incident. And hed asserted, unprompted, that hed heard Balmer was not a fan of Trumpas if to insist that no one in his camp could have done such a thing. Precisely because no one can predict which disgruntled person might feel emboldened to kill a politician, Americans have every reason to be anxious about the Shapiro attack as part of a baleful trend. Whats clear is that, in the past several years, some of the most heavily protected people in American civic life have been subjected to violence, and even unsuccessful attacks contribute to an aura of vulnerability that now permeates our politics. Article originally published at The Atlantic WASHINGTON (DC News Now) On Monday, D.C. police responded to two incidents, an attempted robbery and a shooting, that occurred within a couple hours of each other, police said. Womans death in Northeast DC ruled a homicide Just before 10 p.m., officers responded to the 2600 block of Stanton Road, SE, for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located an unconscious man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to an area hospital for treatment. No suspect information is available in this case as of Tuesday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after, around 11:20 p.m., officers responded to the 1400 block of Somerset Place, NW, for a report of an assault. Officers arrived at that scene to find a man who had been attacked by two people in an attempt to rob him. The victim was not injured during the attack. The suspects were two males in all black clothing wearing ski masks. Police encourage anyone with information on either incident to call 202-727-9099 or text MPD at 50411. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Washington State Attorney Generals Office has filed a lawsuit against Seattle Public Schools (SPS), alleging that the district repeatedly failed to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees as required by law. According to the suit, SPS routinely failed to provide legally required accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees such as flexible restroom breaks, modified work schedules, and the ability to sit more frequently. KIRO 7 has reached out to the school district for comment and has yet to hear back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suit alleges that one employee, while eight months pregnant, was unable to sit her entire workday. The states investigation revealed that Seattle Public Schools did not have a district-level policy for how to handle pregnancy accommodation requests from employees. The district also failed to provide reasonable break time to express milk, or clean and private locations for nursing employees to pump. Employees were walked in on while expressing milk, endured painful clogged ducts, and experienced infections like mastitis. One employee felt they had no choice but to take leave to continue breastfeeding, according to the complaint. The suit also alleges the school district violated state law by retaliating against employees who sought reasonable accommodations. The practices detailed in the suit, dating back to at least 2021, allegedly violate the state Healthy Starts Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination, according to the AGs office. The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, seeks to halt Seattle Public Schools from engaging in its discriminatory practices and award restitution to each impacted employee, the suit reads. Attorneys for a Maryland man mistakenly deported to a Salvadoran prison said the Trump administration has run afoul of a Supreme Court order by failing to even attempt to secure his return. The Supreme Court last week determined the Trump administration must facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national now held in the countrys most notorious prison. But attorneys for Abrego Garcia contend the Trump administration has not even tried to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Government contends that the term facilitate is limited to remov[ing] any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the aliens ability to return here. Not so. The Supreme Court ordered the Government to facilitate Abrego Garcias release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador, lawyers wrote in a Tuesday brief. To give any meaning to the Supreme Courts order, the Government should at least be required to request the release of Abrego Garcia. To date, the Government has not done so. Attorneys for the Justice Department and Abrego Garcia are set to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis later Tuesday. On Monday, attorneys for the Justice Department flouted an order from Xinis to provide an update on Abrego Garcias whereabouts and efforts to secure his return, instead submitting an affidavit from a Department of Homeland Security official suggesting they were not obligated to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administrations position on the case was made clear in an Oval Office meeting Monday alongside Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Thats up to El Salvador if they want to return him. Thats not up to us, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. The Supreme Court ruled, President, that if El Salvador wants to return him we would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane. During the same meeting, Bukele referred to Abrego Garcia as a terrorist. How could I return him to the United States? I smuggle him to the United States? Of course Im not going to do it. The question is preposterous, Bukele said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont have the power to return him to the United States. Im not releasing I mean, were not very fond of releasing terrorists into our country. Abrego Garcias attorneys noted Tuesday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced that 10 more men had been sent to CECOT, the Salvadoran prison known by its acronym in Spanish. That involved all three of the actions that the Government contends the courts cannot order: (i) mak[ing] demands of the El Salvadoran government (ii) dispatch[ing] personnel onto the soil of an independent, sovereign nation, and (iii) send[ing] an aircraft into the airspace of a sovereign foreign nation, they wrote. The Government holds contractual rights to send prisoners to its contract facility, where the United States has outsourced part of its prison system, and it holds the power to secure and transport [its] detainees, Abrego Garcia included. It can exercise those same contractual rights to request their release, as the detainees are being held pending the United States decision on [their] long term disposition. 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. An Auburn police officer was arrested at the station on Monday and faces charges related to buying sex with a child after an online sting operation in Berkshire County. Dominick Boschetto, of Brookfield, an Auburn police officer for the past two years, has been charged with sexual conduct with a child under 18 that was paid for, and enticement of a child under 16, according to court filings. Boschetto was arrested Monday by Massachusetts State Police officers, said Auburn Police Chief Todd Lemon. State police had notified Auburn police of its warrant for Boschettos arrest earlier that day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boschetto was immediately placed on administrative leave as per department policy, and Lemon began an internal investigation that will go alongside the criminal investigation, he said. The charges against Boschetto are not related to his on-duty actions, Lemon added. Lemon called the accusations against Boschetto reprehensible and deeply offensive to every member of the Auburn Police Department. The residents of Auburn and the members of the Aubum Police Department deserve and demand that Aubum Police Officers are held to the highest standard, Lemons statement read. We work hard every day to maintain the publics trust and while this matter is extremely concerning, it is not a reflection of the hard working men and women of the Auburn Police Department as a whole, he said. More local crime stories Apr. 14Woman schemed payments intended for deceased mother for 25 years An Austin woman has entered a plea of guilty to theft of government funds after over two decades of Social Security fraud. According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota, acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick announced that Mavious Redmond had conducted the fraud for 25 years resulting in $360,000 in payments that were intended for her mother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fraud lasted from January 1999 to June of 2024. Redmond pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds in U.S. District Court before Judge Nancy E. Brasel on April 9. A sentencing hearing will take place at a later date. In the release it was related that according to court documents, Redmond, 54, carried out a scheme to collect her deceased mother's social security retirement benefits following her mother's death in January 1999. On multiple occasions, Redmond impersonated her deceased mother to keep her fraud scheme going with one example taking place on June 4, 2024, when Redmond personally visited the SSA office, posing as her mother, and submitted a fraudulent SS-5 Application for Social Security Form using her mother's name, date of birth, social security number, and forging her deceased mother's signature. Redmond visited the SSA office again on June 20, 2024, resubmitted her deceased mother's documentation and the form with the forged signature. This case is the result of an investigation by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. SYDNEY/JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia dismissed on Tuesday a report in defence publication Janes that Russia has requested basing military aircraft in Papua, its easternmost province, after the issue caused concern in Australia. "The report is incorrect," said Frega Wenas, the spokesperson of Indonesia's defence ministry. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles spoke to his Indonesian counterpart Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin who said there would be no Russian air force planes based in Indonesia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He (Sjamsoeddin) has said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true", Marles said. Papua is about 1,200 km (750 miles) north of the Australian city of Darwin, where a U.S. Marines Corp rotational force is based for six months of the year, and Australian air bases are being upgraded to host visiting U.S. bombers. Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government has asked Indonesia about the Janes report, as the issue dominated Australia's election campaign on Tuesday. "We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region," Albanese told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Janes reported that Jakarta has received an official request from Moscow, seeking permission for Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) aircraft to be based at a facility in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov met Indonesias President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta on Tuesday, the president's office said in a statement. Australia is "seeking further clarification" with Indonesia about the report, Albanese said, adding Canberra has a good relationship with Jakarta. Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Roy Soemirat said the ministry has not heard of the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said "Indonesia is critical for Australian security" and the two countries had struck a defence cooperation agreement last year, she said at a news conference on Tuesday. Opposition leader Peter Dutton said during a campaign stop the report was concerning and he is seeking a briefing from the Australian government on the issue. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham and Christine Chen in Sydney, Stanley Widianto and Ananda Teresia in Jakarta; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Raju Gopalakrishnan) Australian officials are pushing back on a report that Russia is seeking to base long-range bombers at an Indonesian airbase. On Monday, Janes wrote that Jakarta has received an official request from Moscow, seeking permission for Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) aircraft to be based at a facility in Indonesias easternmost province. That location, Manuhua Air Force Base, is situated about 850 miles north of the Australian port of Darwin. Separate sources from the Indonesian government have confirmed with Janes that the request was received by the office of Minister of Defence Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin following his meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu in February 2025, the publication added. An overview satellite image of Indonesias Manuhua Air Force Base and Frans Kaisiepo Airport. (Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies) A closer view of aircraft hangars at Indonesias Manuhua Air Force Base. (Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies) Janes said the information it received did not contain details about what kind of airframes Russia is seeking to station at the base. However, Janes understands that over the past few years, the VKS has made several ad hoc requests to land its Tupolev Tu-95 bombers and Il-76 airlifters at the very same airbase, the publication reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia wanting to place long-range bombers closer to Australia as Moscow, Beijing and Washington all seek to expand their influence in the South Pacific isnt hard to imagine. The U.S. maintains a military presence in Australia and is working to improve the RAAFs base at Tindal to accommodate B-52 bombers. In addition, for more than a decade, the U.S. Marine Corps sends about 2,500 Marines to the Marine Rotational Force Darwin Marine Air-Ground Task Force for training. U.S. Marines and sailors with Marine Rotational Force Darwin, deplane a Boeing 747 at Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, Australia, March 29, 2025. MRF-D 25.3 is part of an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defense Force and allies and partners and provide a forward-postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Anita Ramos) Cpl. Anita Ramos Meanwhile, Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. signed an agreement known as AUKUS to provide Canberra with nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines. All this comes against the backdrop of increasing tensions in the Pacific, including China sailing a flotilla of its warships in international waters around Australia earlier this year, which involved live fire exercises. Beyond Australia, such a basing agreement would give Russia a seat of power projection in a very contentious and important region overall. It is an area of the world the U.S. and other powers with global reach are also invested in projecting power into more heavily and consistently. And, of course, its an area where Chinas extra-territorial interests loom very large. Russia is a key ally of China, especially militarily, with their bomber units flying joint patrols throughout the Pacific in increasing regularity. Indonesias Manuhua air base is located about 850 miles north of Darwin, Australia, and about 850 miles southeast of the Philippines. (Google Earth) Regardless of what Russia may want or not, there seems to be little logic to Indonesia agreeing to put Russian strategic assets on its soil. Doing so would greatly upset relations with countries in its own region as well as allies farther abroad, including the United States, which also, like Russia, supplies weapons to Indonesia. And what would Russia be willing to pay for such access during a time when its military is embroiled in a brutal conflict that is sucking tremendous resources? More importantly, what would Indonesia see as so important that it needs it for compensation, regardless of the geopolitical upheaval such a decision could cause? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its also worth noting that in 2020, Indonesia rejected a U.S. proposal to allow its P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance planes to land and refuel there, Reuters reported at the time. Regardless, the Janes story set off alarm bells in Canberra. The Australian government believes both Russia and China are also increasingly focused on the growing U.S. military presence in Darwin and the Northern Territory, ABC posited. Diplomatic alarm bells are ringing after reports emerged Russia wants to base long range aircraft in Indonesia. It's become the focus of this afternoon's federal election campaign with questions being raised about when the Prime Minister found out about Putin's intentions. pic.twitter.com/CI42CoSYtk 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) April 15, 2025 We obviously do not want to see Russian influence in our region, very clearly, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday. We have a position, which is: we stand with Ukraine, we regard [the Russian president] Vladimir Putin as an authoritarian leader who has broken international law, that is attacking the sovereignty of the nation of Ukraine. Australian officials cast doubt about whether Russia will base those bombers at Manuhua. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indonesias defense minister has assured Australia it will not allow Russian planes to be based in Papua province after a United States media outlet reported that Moscow was pushing to get access to a military base in Papua, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported on Tuesday. I have spoken to my counterpart, Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the minister for defense, and he has said to me in the clearest possible terms, reports of the prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia are simply not true, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Secretary Richard Marles said in a statement to news organizations. Breaking: reports of Russian planes to be stationed in Indonesia "simply not true", defence minister Richard Marles says, after talking to Indonesian counterpart Statement from his office: https://t.co/FbDdbvhDf8 pic.twitter.com/3zXeC28cSx Josh Butler (@JoshButler) April 15, 2025 However, while Sjamsoeddin told Marles he had not received any Russian request to access the base, that doesnt rule out the possibility it was raised at a more junior level, ABC noted. Earlier, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters that Australian officials were seeking more information from Jakarta about the report. Russia, meanwhile, also seemed to downplay the notion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kremlin, when asked about the report that Russia has asked Indonesia for permission to base aircraft in its territory, said there was a lot of fake news around, ABC reported. Although Indonesia has long maintained strategic neutrality, it has deepened security and defense ties with Russia since President Prabowo Subianto was elected last year, Politico pointed out. As one example of that growing relationship, Russia and Indonesia held naval drills in the Java Sea in November, ABC reported. At the time, Russias ambassador to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov, said the exercises were a significant event and that the navies of our countries are ready to enhance mutual trust and understanding to cooperate in different areas. Russia's Pacific Fleet visits Indonesian port city of Surabaya ahead of first-ever bilateral drills between two nations pic.twitter.com/IK2J43brTC RT (@RT_com) November 4, 2024 Despite those ties, offering Russia bomber-basing rights is likely a step too far, one analyst suggested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if Russia is proposing to use an Indonesian airbase, I doubt that the government will allow it. There will be a very significant blowback, Yohanes Sulaiman, a defense analyst and lecturer at the Jenderal Achmad Yani University, told The Guardian. The Indonesian military is very averse to having other countries build military bases in Indonesia. However, there is precedent for a Russian presence at the base. ABC reported in 2017 that RAAF Base Darwin was placed on a short period of heightened alert, while over 100 Russian personnel and several aircraft were stationed there. During a five-day stopover, two nuclear-capable Tu-95 bombers flew their first-ever patrol mission over the South Pacific, prompting concerns they may have been collecting valuable intelligence, ABC noted at the time. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed at the time that its strategic bombers carried out [an] air alert mission over neutral waters of the South Pacific Ocean in a flight lasting more than eight hours, the outlet stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In all, this report feels reminiscent of similar claims regarding Russia forward basing bombers in South America, namely in Venezuela. Those reports have come and gone multiple times, but beyond largely symbolic visits, such an agreement never came to pass. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com SYDNEY, April 15 (Xinhua) -- A woman has been killed in a drive-by shooting in Sydney, the capital city of Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW), said the police on Tuesday morning. The shooting outside a home in Ambarvale, about 45 km southwest of central Sydney, was reported to emergency services shortly after 11 p.m. local time on Monday night, said NSW Police Force on Tuesday. Local police arrived at the property to find a 65-year-old woman had suffered a gunshot wound to her leg. She was treated by police and ambulance paramedics but died at the scene. According to a police statement, the woman was struck when an unknown vehicle fired several gunshots at the home before leaving the scene. A 34-year-old male and 21-year-old female were also in the home at the time but were uninjured. The police force has established a strike force with the homicide squad to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. LONDON (Reuters) - The former chief executive of an Austrian bank can be extradited to the United States on money laundering charges relating to Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, London's High Court ruled on Tuesday. Peter Weinzierl former chief executive of Meinl Bank, later renamed Anglo Austrian AAB Bank is accused of helping launder hundreds of millions of dollars in a scheme involving the use of slush funds to bribe public officials. The 59-year-old Austrian national denies the allegations and fought against his extradition on a number of grounds, including that he was "lured" to Britain in May 2021 by an alleged U.S. law enforcement agent in order to arrest him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But his challenge to his extradition was dismissed in June 2023 and an appeal against that decision was mostly rejected in February. The High Court had ruled that Weinzierl could not be extradited in relation to one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, but approved Weinzierl's extradition on the other charges. Judge Jeremy Johnson on Tuesday ruled that Weinzierl's case did not raise a point of law of general public importance, blocking the path to take the case to the UK's Supreme Court. Weinzierl's lawyer David Pack said in a statement: "The judiciary have missed an opportunity to provide certainty on UK-U.S. extradition law." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weinzierl faces charges in New York for his alleged role in a massive fraud and bribery scheme involving Odebrecht, which changed its name in 2020 to Novonor SA after its name became synonymous with graft. Odebrecht has admitted it doled out bribes to governments across Latin America to help build its vast construction empire. In 2016, Odebrecht and affiliated petrochemical company Braskem, Brazil's largest petrochemicals company, agreed to pay at least $3.5 billion to settle charges brought by U.S., Brazilian and Swiss authorities. (Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) Even before Carole Hopson was born, she knew she wanted to fly. When you're coming through the little embryo conveyor belt, somebody puts pixie dust in your ear and you just can't get it out your whole life, she said. That pixie dust sparked in Hopson at a young age a sense of curiosity, adventure and travel. The wanderlust was stoked by her grandmother, Lorene, who lined her homes stairwell windowsill with little cappuccino cups of places she visited nearly every state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That wanderlust stayed with Hopson as an adult and changed her career trajectory. After a 20-plus-year career in journalism and corporate America, Hopson went to flight school. She earned her pilots license at age 50 and now pilots Boeing 737s as a United Airlines captain. "I've got the best office in the sky," she said. Hopson also has written a book about her inspiration to fly aviatrix Bessie Coleman. A Pair of Wings" recounts the life story of Coleman, the first American to earn a civilian pilots license, a few years before Amelia Earhart. Hopson will be the keynote speaker at the Delta Memorial Endowment Funds 47th Literary Luncheon, at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 26, at Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel, 139 E. Kilbourn Ave. The annual event raises funds for college scholarships while highlighting Black authors. Carole Hopson is a United Airlines captain and has published her debut novel, "A Pair of Wings," based on the life story of pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman, the first American to earn a civilian pilots license. Hopsons debut novel is historical fiction that distills the last decade of Coleman's life and how the dawn of aviation awakens her desire to fly. Encountering resistance, Coleman travels to Europe, where she learns to fly from French and German WWI combat pilots. She returns to the U.S. on barnstorming tours, doing aerial tricks across the country, determined to dispel doubters and haters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I had to know who this person was," Hopson said. "And it took me 12 years to write this book." Many people, she said, dont know Coleman's story. She was long before World War II," Hopson said. "She was two years before Amelia, 20 years before the Tuskegee Airmen and 50 years before 'Hidden Figures.' She was badass. Why don't we know about her?" Like Coleman, Hopson took an unconventional path to become a pilot. Her husband gifted her flying lessons after learning about her desire to fly. At 30, Hopson took lessons with people 10 years her junior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She flew through flight school in eight months and became a flight trainer to accumulate flight hours. Then 9/11 happened. Hopson paused her aviation career to raise two children. After a 14-year hiatus, she became a pilot for ExpressJet in 2016 at 54 and a United captain at 58. Hopson wants women attending the Delta event to be inspired by her story as much as Colemans. Both knew they wanted to fly but had to overcome obstacles racism, sexism or ageism to achieve their dreams. Hopson said people often asked if she was afraid to give up a six-figure corporate salary for a job making $16 an hour to achieve her dream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was much more afraid to say, Oh my goodness. I never got to do what I wanted to do. That, to me, was much more frightening, Hopson said. I wanted to fly. She's helping other women fly, too, through her Jet Black Foundation, which aims to send 100 African American women to flight school by 2035. Hopson is among a long line of notable Black authors to address the Delta luncheon. Since 1977, the event has hosted authors from Maya Angelou and science fiction writer Tananarive Due to screenwriter and TV producer Attica Locke, of Empire fame and LGBTQ+ novelist E. Lynn Harris. We've had some heavy hitters over the years, Dr. Theopa Christine Tolbert, president of the Delta Memorial Endowment Fund, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tolbert praised Hopson's book, saying it doesnt read like a debut. Carole Hopson did her homework, she said. Hopson's story is empowering, said Rayven Peterson, fund vice president and luncheon co-chair. Most people, she said, are afraid to change careers in mid-life to pursue a passion. Tickets for the event are $100, available online at dmefmke.org/events and include a copy of A Pair of Wings. The DMEF works in partnership with the Milwaukee Alumna Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. This year, the sorority will award $20,000 in scholarships. Since its inception, it has awarded more than $300,000 in aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike most scholarship funds, the money goes directly to students, not their school. Students can use it to pay for more than room and board, like for books, a laptop or dorm-room items. We are very intentional about that, Peterson said. The kids still need things to get there (to college) and, a lot of times, thats a barrier and will keep a lot of them from going to school. ... We're working with young people that really have financial need. La Risa Lynch is a community affairs reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Email her at llynch@gannett.com This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Author, pilot Carole Hopson headlines Milwaukee scholarship event This is my first book that will not be published in Russia, says Sergei Lebedev, looking, not for the last time in our conversation, unspeakably weary. After a moment, however, his face brightens. But my Ukrainian friends and colleagues have been able to read it in Russian. And theyve said: youve done good. Lebedev is currently one of the most admired novelists from Russia, if not in Russia. His books have been translated into 20 languages and the New York Review of Books has called him the best of Russias younger generation of writers. His latest novel, The Lady of the Mine, which explores the events that inaugurated the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict over a decade ago, is his first book since the acclaimed Untraceable, which was translated into English in 2021. An offbeat thriller about the Russian inventor of a Novichok-style nerve agent who is pursued by assassins after defecting to the West, Untraceable was inspired by the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury in 2018. Lebedev is amazed that some people were taken by surprise when Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine: the Salisbury affair, to him, had been a clear demonstration of Putins contempt for the notion of sovereignty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think that anyone [in the West] took the Skripal poisoning really seriously, or [Alexander] Litvinenkos [in 2006] as well. It was like: OK, this is what we expect from the Russians, this is their business as usual. But if it is not an act of state terrorism in miniature, I dont know what to call it. Lebedev, 43, is an exile: hes talking to me over Zoom from his home in Potsdam, an hour from Berlin. He moved to Germany in 2018 with his wife, a political scientist and historian, when she was offered a job there. Initially he made frequent return trips to Moscow, but not any longer now that the Iron Curtain has fallen again. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in 2017 - MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV Potsdam, with its former KGB prison and Soviet barracks, is a salutary place to live, he says. Feeling these traces of the former presence of the Imperial force, it keeps you on the alert, it keeps you vigilant: it reminds you that the Russian version of history that this was a liberation, not an occupation is not true, though that is something that very few Russians, even intellectuals, would admit. For Putin and his generation of decision-makers, they do remember [the Soviet withdrawal from East Germany] as a retreat, as a defeat, and they of course would like one day to regain it. I ask him what he thinks of President Trumps recent intervention in the ongoing saga of Putins imperial ambitions. Maybe Im naive but Im highly surprised by this course of events. I think its how to put it in a diplomatic way? a betrayal of Ukraines trust. Its an attempt to get rid of the moral language which includes the terms aggressor and victim, and to depict the whole conflict in terms of business: Ukraine as just a proxy in a big conflict between two superpowers who can negotiate. Which is what Russian propaganda has been saying for years. This approach is a huge gift to the Putin side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lebedevs latest novel, The Lady of the Mine, is set during the annexation of parts of eastern Ukraine by Russian separatists in 2014. It examines the impact of these events, including the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, on the residents of a former mining town in the Donbas; but it also delves further back into the areas history. The coal mines of this region have been a convenient dumping ground for corpses over the years, from opponents of the Bolsheviks to tens of thousands of Jews murdered by the Nazi invaders during the Second World War. Lebedev lends one of these forgotten bodies a voice, allowing him to tell us about his life and afterlife in an impressionistic, incantatory lament. The remains of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Donetsk - MAXIM ZMEYEV These murdered Jews in eastern Ukraine have been forgotten on our mental map, the eastern border of the Holocaust is Babi Yar in Kyiv because the Soviets knew that if they brought the worlds attention to this Nazi atrocity, they would also draw focus on to the mass murders earlier committed by Russians. They literally covered for the Nazis. This is the place where the two systems of these bitter enemies, the Soviets and the Nazis, overlapped in a very strange and eerie romance. For me this was the departure point for attempting to understand how the Soviet Union, which positioned itself as a stronghold of anti-fascism, eventually turned into what is now a fascist state. This red monsters skin is now turning brown, and this is what I try to depict and to understand in this novel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lebedev was born in Moscow in 1981, the son of two geologists (he followed them into the field for several years in his 20s). As a small boy he devoured English-language books his father had picked up on a trip to London as part of a scientific delegation: my passion in childhood was Mr Sherlock Holmes. Of course, when I went to London earlier this year, I visited Baker Street. What Mr Sherlock Holmes shows is that every evil leaves a trace nothing will go unnoticed if you are intelligent enough and this was something subconsciously important for me in my childhood. It is what geology teaches, too: it is possible to reconstruct a whole epoch. And this was my inspiration when I faced Soviet history, full of disconnections, full of loopholes, missing links, chains and witnesses; but still, if you dare, you can go there and you can reconstruct. He has retained a love of English literature: readers of Untraceable will remember the assassin who loves Audens poetry. This was my way to learn English, I translated [Auden] into Russian, together with Leonard Cohen maybe a strange couple. Yulia and Sergei Skripal were poisoned by Russian military intelligence in Salisbury For many years Lebedev was a journalist but it was a metaphysical crisis that turned him into a novelist: he discovered that his grandmothers second husband had been a senior officer in the NKVD, Stalins secret police. I simply wasnt able to cope with the fact that a member of the family was a mass murderer. Then I realised that the way of dealing with this was to write a book about it and because the state archives are classified, it had to be fiction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And I realised all of a sudden that this whole generation of evil-doers had simply disappeared from the public memory and conscience. We can all produce a mental image of an SS officer but this was not the case with the Soviets, and I realised that I needed to bring this figure back on to the cultural scene, made of flesh. The result was his first novel, Oblivion (2011), which confronted its readers with the obscene actions of the men who ran Stalins gulags. I ask Lebedev if he thinks he can ever return to Moscow. You know, Im not thinking about this right now because it is weakening to go into these kinds of deliberations. I have many things to do, I have my texts to write, I have my language to be defended from those who use it as a language of aggression. And this is it for now. Friends in Moscow report that the war is an accepted fact of life now: even for those who say, or think, that they are anti-Putin, anti-war, this has become a new reality that you cannot fight with. And of course a new social stratum has been born soldiers, soldiers families, those who produce military equipment, millions of people involved in the war effort who, whatever they really think, will say that this is a just war. And the problem is that I dont see any real political leverage to remove this stratum from its position of power even in the best-case scenario. Normality: the Red Square in Moscow - ALEXANDER NEMENOV I ask Lebedev if he has ever received any flak from the Russian authorities. Not seriously not yet. Does he worry about placing himself in danger by being so outspoken? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It doesnt feel good, but I think its part of the job description. Theres also something very personal here. Generations of my family lived in the Soviet Union and they all kept silent. At least half of my family was destroyed by the Bolsheviks. My grandmother was one of the only survivors, and despite this she was the editor of many volumes of Lenins works. She took care of the writings of the man on whose orders her relatives were executed, and she never expressed any resistance or disagreement. That is not Lebedevs way: I think that Im physically just tired of this burden of unspoken words. The Lady of the Mine, tr Antonina W Bouis (Apollo, 18.99), will be published on April 24 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. On March 27, thousands of people came to catch fish in the limited recreational harvest window of seven hours in Sandy River, Oregon. Unfortunately, many took advantage and overfished. According to Outdoor Life, "Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and the Oregon State Police had seized roughly 2,500 pounds of illegally caught smelt." What's happening? Since the Endangered Species Act classifies the Eulachon smelt as threatened, recreational harvests are limited. Only four times in the last 15 years have people been allowed to harvest them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Outdoor Life noted that "recent upticks in smelt numbers have allowed for limited recreational harvests." The harvest was limited to licensed anglers, who were only allowed to catch 10 pounds of smelt. A smelt only reaches six to nine inches and weighs an average of 0.18 pounds. It's calculated that 12,500 fish were illegally caught, but the county sheriff's office and the state police haven't released how many offenders there were or what fines were issued. The two organizations confiscated and donated the fish to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Why is overfishing of smelt concerning? Eulachon smelt is a species native to the Pacific Northwest. They live in many of the same rivers as salmon and have many of the same threats. For example, salmon and smelt swim upstream to spawn and die and are victims of overfishing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smelt hold cultural relevance to the region and are a staple food source. Northwest tribes have nicknamed the fish "salvation" because they would still be around in winter when the other fish had vanished. The County Sheriff's Office said, "Overharvesting has serious consequences." It added, "Smelt are a crucial food source for many species and benefit the health of our entire river ecosystem. We're committed to protecting these fish and ensuring sustainable populations." What's being done about overfishing? Regulations are often put in place to prevent overfishing. For example, the National Marine Fisheries Service said, "The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires annual catch limits and accountability measures in federal fisheries to end and prevent overfishing." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While these regulations help, more can be done. Earth.org suggested regulations be put in place on fishing nets to prevent by-catches where fishermen catch fish they weren't intending to. It also recommended introducing "traceability standards" to track the fish to the end of the market to ensure regulations are being followed. Unity Environmental University believes another solution is for consumers to explore if the "fish you purchase is local and sustainably sourced." 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. PORTLAND, Wis. (WFRV) After reportedly uncovering a clandestine drug laboratory, the Dodge County Sheriffs Office arrested a 40-year-old man on allegations of manufacturing drugs. On April 13, around 4:30 p.m., deputies with the Dodge County Sheriffs Office were sent to an address for a possible domestic disturbance, the sheriffs office said. It was reportedly learned that a suspected secret laboratory used for making illicit drugs may be in the basement of the residence. Green Bay man sentenced to 10 years in prison for child assault cases at local hotel Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report mentions that investigators determined the secret laboratory was used in making ecstasy. One day later, on April 14, a search warrant was executed by investigators at the residence. Investigators recovered suspected illicit controlled substances, suspected drug paraphernalia, laboratory equipment and hazardous materials from the residence, the release said. Deputies ended up contacting the suspect, identified as a 40-year-old man from Dodge County. He was taken into custody on the following charges: Domestic battery Domestic disorderly conduct Maintain a drug trafficking place Possession with intent to manufacture certain other schedule I controlled substances and ketamine Possession with intent to manufacture psilocybin Possession of a schedule I/II narcotic drug Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The residence was later deemed safe by the Clandestine Laboratory Response Team, and the community was advised to have no concerns for their safety, according to the sheriffs office. 15th year of Packers program sees 350 trees donated and planted in 15 local communities 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. By Nancy Lapid (Reuters) -Rates of autism spectrum disorder among U.S. children reached a record level in 2022, continuing a recent trend of increasing prevalence, according to data released on Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At 16 monitoring sites in 14 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, prevalence of the disorder among 8-year-olds in 2022 was 32.2 per 1,000, or 1 in every 31. That was up from 1 in 36 in 2020 and 1 in 44 in 2018, researchers reported in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rates ranged from about 1 in 103 8-year-olds being diagnosed in one south Texas county, to about 1 of every 21 in a suburban county near Philadelphia and roughly 1 in 19 near San Diego, California. Differences in prevalence over time and across sites can reflect differing practices in autism screening and diagnosis and availability of services, the researchers said. The true or actual rate of autism (in the United States) is more likely to be closer to what this report has identified in California or Pennsylvania, said study co-author Walter Zahorodny of Rutgers University in New Jersey. California in particular has a longstanding and excellent program for screening and early intervention. The problem is theres not a lot of research that gives us a strong indication for what is driving the rise," Zahorodny said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rising rates of autism in the United States since 2000 have intensified public concern over what might be contributing to its prevalence. A large recent study added to evidence that diabetes during pregnancy is linked with an increased risk of brain and nervous system problems in children, including autism. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who now runs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and has long promoted a debunked link between vaccines and autism, last week set a September deadline for the U.S. National Institutes of Health to determine the cause behind the rise in autism rates. The populations at the 16 monitoring sites do not precisely reflect the characteristics of the entire country, and the CDC study was not designed to identify possible causes of any increase in prevalence. Considering the wide variations in autism symptoms among individuals, a combination of genetic and environmental factors that together affect early brain development are likely to be the cause, said Dr. Lang Chen of Santa Clara University in California, who studies the brain networks involved in learning disabilities and autism but was not involved in the CDC study. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, it is critical to know that there is no scientific evidence supporting the link between vaccines and autism, he said. Zahorodny noted that vaccination rates have been falling while autism diagnoses have risen. As in 2020, ASD prevalence among 8-year-olds was higher among Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic children than among white children, the CDC data showed. Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic children with ASD were more likely than white or multiracial children with ASD to also have an intellectual disability. The data also showed that ASD is more common among boys than girls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The disorder is increasingly being identified at younger ages, with higher rates of diagnosis by age 4 among children born in 2018 compared with those born four years earlier. Heightened awareness and the inclusion of a wider range of behaviors to describe the condition have contributed to the increase but do not explain all of it, experts say. (Reporting by Nancy Lapid; additional reporting by Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Bill Berkrot) The National Guard has formed two new military corps as part of a broader reform of Ukraine's Defense Forces, National Guard Commander Oleksandr Pivnenko told Interfax-Ukraine in comments published on April 15. Ukraine announced earlier this year that it would transition its military to the corps system to improve its efficiency and organization on the battlefield. One of the new formations, the 1st Azov Corps, will be led by Colonel Denys Prokopenko, the commander of the 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Azov Brigade, as well as the 1st Presidential Burevii Brigade, the 14th Chervona Kalina Brigade, the 15th Kara-Dah Brigade, and the 20th Liubart Brigade, will make up the new corps. Colonel Ihor Obolensky, commander of the 13th National Guard Khartiia Brigade, will lead the second corps, Pivnenko said. The National Guard commander said the new corps system will improve communication and make the military more effective, considering experiences with the full-scale war. The corps commanders should be familiar with the situation on the ground and understand the specifics of the units, Pivnenko said, naming the lack of coordination as the main obstacle facing Ukrainian forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ukrainian military currently operates under a brigade-level system, with more than 100 brigades subordinate to operational-tactical groups (OTU), which are subject to operational-strategic command (OSUV) and operational commands (OK). Experts told the Kyiv Independent in February that the old structure created an unwieldy management system, and commanders of OTUs and OSUVseffectively temporary bodieswere not familiar with their units. Poor battlefield coordination has often been named as one of the key challenges plaguing the Ukrainian military as it continues to face Russia's all-out war. Read also: Ukraines army is reforming its structure. Will it help the fight against Russia? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A 1-year-old girl from Ingham County is the latest in a growing number of people from Michigan and across the U.S. to contract the measles virus this year, according to county health leaders. The baby, who recently traveled out of state, may have exposed others to the extremely contagious virus from April 4 to April 8 at multiple sites in Okemos, Lansing and East Lansing, including on the Michigan State University campus. Anyone who was at the following locations on these dates and times may have been exposed, according to the Ingham County Health Department: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday, April 4: 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Tractor Supply Co., 5241 W. Grand River Ave., Lansing. Saturday, April 5: 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Farmers Market inside Meridian Mall, 1982 W. Grand River Ave., Okemos. 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. at Aldi, 5165 Marsh Road, Okemos. Sunday, April 6: 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Towar Hart Baptist Church, 6157 Towar Ave., East Lansing. The child spent time in the infant room during the service. 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. at Toscana Restaurant, 3170 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. Tuesday, April 8: 5:30 p.m.-7:35 p.m. at the MSU Community Music School, 4930 Hagadorn Road, East Lansing. The child was in a bathroom at the school. 6 p.m.-10:30 p.m. in the emergency department of the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, 1215 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles is so contagious, 90% of people without immunity to the virus from vaccination with the measles, mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine or previous infection will become ill after exposure, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported. The virus remains in the air for as long as two hours after a person with the infection leaves a room. People can be contagious four days before the telltale rash appears and up to four days after the rash starts. Nina Warren, 4, gets a Measles Mumps and Rubella vaccine from CMA Cassie Couch at the UnityPoint Clinic in Des Moines, Monday, April 7, 2025. Health leaders urge anyone who may have been exposed to monitor for symptoms for 21 days after the date of potential exposure. If symptoms develop, call ahead before visiting a doctor, urgent care center, or hospital emergency department to ensure precautions are taken to avoid exposing others. We are closely monitoring this case and taking it very seriously, said Dr. Nike Shoyinka, Ingham County's medical health officer, in a statement. Measles is highly contagious and can lead to severe complications, especially in young children, pregnant individuals and those with weakened immune systems." What are the symptoms of measles? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measles symptoms typically start within seven-14 days of exposure, but also have been known to appear as long as 21 days after initial exposure and can include: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fever, which may rise above 104 degrees. Respiratory symptoms such as runny nose, cough. Red, watery eyes that can develop into pink eye or conjunctivitis. Two to three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots, known as Koplik spots, may develop on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of the mouth. Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash that is red, raised and blotchy appears. It usually begins on the face and spreads to trunk, arms and legs. A chart shows how measles affects a patient, with children being most at risk. How many measles cases have been reported in Michigan this year? The baby girl from Ingham County is the fifth person in Michigan to contract the measles this year, the state health department reported. The other Michigan cases involved: An adult from Oakland County who traveled internationally with an unknown vaccination history and was the state's first measles case of 2025. The person exposed others March 8-10 at a restaurant in Rochester and at Henry Ford Rochester Hospital. A traveler from Kent County who potentially exposed hundreds of other people to measles March 24-28 when visiting Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, along with a restaurant in Kentwood and a Corewell Health facility in East Grand Rapids. An adult from Macomb County who traveled to the Windsor-Essex County area of Ontario, Canada. The case was announced April 4, and the person is not believed to have gone out in public while infectious, so there are no known exposure sites. A Montcalm County resident whose measles case was announced April 9 by the Mid-Michigan District Health Department. The person recently traveled out of the state, but no details were released about possible exposure sites. As of April 10, there have been 712 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. this year in 24 states more than double the number of cases nationally in all of 2024, when there were 285, according to the CDC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of the cases so far this year, about 70% were among children and teenagers, and 97% were among people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. More: Michigan's 1st 2025 measles case reported, likely exposing others at 2 Rochester locations More: Traveler with measles exposed others at Detroit Metro, Grand Rapids airports: What to know How serious is a measles infection? Measles can cause serious illness, long-term disability and death in people of all ages. So far this year, 79 people in the U.S. with confirmed measles cases have been hospitalized for treatment that's about 11% of the 712 confirmed infections nationally. The vast majority 65 of the 79 who were hospitalized were younger than the age of 20, according to the CDC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 1 in 20 children with measles develops pneumonia. Roughly 1 out of every 1,000 children with measles infections will also have encephalitis. Brain swelling from encephalitis can lead to convulsions, permanent hearing loss, intellectual disability and death, according to the CDC. Anywhere from 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children with measles dies from respiratory or neurologic complications from the virus. People who contract measles during pregnancy also are more likely to develop pneumonia and be hospitalized. The virus can cause miscarriage and stillbirth as well as trigger preterm birth and lead to lower birth weights, according to the CDC. The CDC has confirmed two deaths from measles in the U.S. this year. A third death remains under investigation. How can measles be prevented? Make sure you and your loved ones are fully vaccinated with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two doses are about 97% effective at preventing measles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following when it comes to the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine: A first dose for children at 12 months-15 months old, with a booster dose administered between ages 4 and 6. Anyone born during or after 1957 without evidence of immunity against measles or documentation of having been vaccinated with two doses of MMR vaccine should get vaccinated. The second dose should be given no sooner than 28 days after the first. People exposed to measles who cannot document immunity against the virus should get post-exposure prophylaxis a dose of the vaccine to potentially provide protection within 72 hours of initial exposure, or immunoglobulin within six days of exposure. The CDC changed its recommendations in 1989 from one dose of the MMR vaccine to two doses, which provides longer-lasting and more robust protection. People born between 1957-1989 who have had just a single dose of the vaccine may be at a higher risk of contracting the virus in an outbreak setting. Where can I get a measles vaccine? Ingham County residents can get an MMR vaccine at the health departments immunization clinic, 303 S. Cedar St., Lansing. (Use entrance No. 3 when entering the building and go to the second floor.) Walk in hours are: 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays 1-4 p.m. Thursdays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MMR vaccines also are available through primary care providers and pharmacies. Medicaid and most private insurance plans cover the MMR vaccine at no cost. Low- to no-cost vaccines also are available at local public health department offices. Children eligible for the Vaccines for Children program also may receive the vaccine from a provider enrolled in that program at no cost. To learn more, go to: Vaccines for Children (VFC): Information for Parents | CDC. The Oakland County Health Division offices in Southfield and Pontiac also have MMR vaccines available 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays, and 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays at: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Oakland Health Center, 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Building 34 East, Pontiac. South Oakland Health Center, 27725 Greenfield Road, Southfield. In Macomb County, call 586-469-5372 or visit the Immunization Clinics webpage to learn more about vaccination services available. (This story has been updated with new information.) Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan baby with measles exposed others at MSU, stores, church, more The technicolor Florida sunset had faded into darkness, and my extended family, assembled from two continents and three countries, gathered on the beach at Longboat Key to look at the stars. We were incredibly lucky that night in 1984, when I was seven, because a satellite came into view. With no clouds and few lights, it moved steadily like a bright little star across the dark, dark sky. We oohed. We ahhed. Today, some laypeople may still gather to watch a gaggle of newly-launched Starlink satellites, each designed for a lifetime of about 5 years, as they move through the sky like a string of pearls, or a long ellipse of unblinking stars. But the satellites are common enough these days that they often zip through the field of view of astronomers' telescopes, and their radio signals interfere with the signals used by those telescopes. With sunlight reflecting off their solar sails, at times satellites can be brighter than the stars that, from our viewpoint, surround them, and there are enough of them to brighten the night sky. There is little regulation of such space sources of light pollution. And work to better regulate and limit terrestrial, or ground-based, light pollution, while showing some promising results, is still in its infancy. Could an increasingly popular, intermittently successful legal argument involving what's called the Rights of Nature or more-than-human rights possibly reclaim our planet's dark skies? It sounds like a goth dream, but do we have a legal right to darkness? Is light pollution really that bad? It's a small step from annoyance to menace. While satellites offer many benefits, including environmental data gathering, with hundreds of thousands satellites expected to swarm the skies within the decade, we are looking at a genuine threat to the nighttime darkness within which we, and all living things, evolved over hundreds of thousands, in fact millions, of years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not that satellites are the only concern. Light pollution from terrestrial sources has been a gradually growing menace to dark skies since the Industrial Revolution, as electrical lighting, explosive population growth, and dramatic increases in industry over the years have steadily brightened the sky while dimming the stars, especially near large urban centers. Since the advent of LEDs, though, the problem has become dramatically worse. The low cost, perceived environmental benefit, and abundant availability of LEDs has led to lights being used in entirely unnecessary ways. "Ground-based light pollution has been growing with urbanization, but there's an inflection point just a couple of years ago due to the arrival of LED lights, which have made it much easier to make much more light with less energy," astronomer James Lowenthal, also a dark skies advocate and professor of astronomy in Northampton, Massachusetts, told Salon in a video interview. "And not only are they bright, they're very blue ... It looks white to your eyes, it looks sparkling while, like an emergency room, operating room kind of light". White light with that cool, bright white appearance, like intense moonlight, actually contains a higher proportion of short-wavelengths, the blue and green part of the visible spectrum. This cool blueish light is said to have a high temperature (the higher the temperature of light, the bluer it looks to us). In fact, the original LEDs that hit the market around 15 years ago had such a high temperature that when cities and towns installed them in street lights, people were horrified, Lowenthal said, describing "many cases of cities where citizens just revolted against what their city had done." As most late-night computer users know by now, probably thanks to someone nagging at them, informatively but in vain, to get off the damn screen, blue light has effects on animal and human eyes, especially on older humans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Just as blue sunlight scatters in the Earth's atmosphere and makes the sun look slightly less blue, light from a strong blue, rich white street light enters your eyeball, scatters around in your eyeball and causes a sort of gauzy veil of glare," Lowenthal explained. There's more, though. The short wavelength blue light of LEDs bounces around more in the sky, intensifying the brightness of light pollution more than an equivalent amount of less blue light energy. To add insult to injury, our eyes' sensitivity shifts towards the blue end of the spectrum at night. That's why moonlight looks bluish, when it's actually the same color as sunlight. "And that's actually one of the main reasons that we see the stars less and less than we did just ten, twenty years ago," Lowenthal said. A few steps short of regulation As a result of these twin Earth-based and sky-based threats to the skies under which we all evolved, dark sky advocacy became a thing. So have dark-sky preserves, where light pollution is restricted; dark sky certification, which echoes programs such as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites; and dark skies as a marketing attraction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Dark and Quiet Skies report, a 2021 report commissioned by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, notes from the first paragraphs the wide scope of dark sky advocacy from the importance of that astronomical research for protecting the Earth from asteroids or for advancing scientific research that benefits all humanity, to the cultural significance of dark skies. Many Indigenous peoples use the stars for orientation as their ancestors did, and the panorama of stars serves as a "library" of Indigenous knowledge. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. "We are adapted to darkness. But I would say not just in a physiological way," Aparna Venkatesan, an astronomer at University of San Francisco, told Salon in a video interview, citing numerous studies on human creativity at night, the rich history of references to darkness in human languages and storytelling, and the prevalence of human origin stories including the scientific account of the Big Bang that begin with total darkness. Venkatesan, with astronomer and dark sky consultant John Barentine, coined the term "noctalgia," meaning "sky grief," to describe "the accelerating loss of the home environment of our shared skies." It's a loss that affects all of us but has intense implications for Indigenous people, for whom access to dark night skies is a vital factor in preserving traditions around navigation and calendaring. It even impacts food sovereignty, as pollinators are impacted by light pollution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's individual rights and community rights, including the rights of future generations and freedom of religion," Venkatesan said. "All of that is true, but I also want to advocate that we are part of the continuum, that darkness lives in our language, our storytelling, our identity, our science, our creativity. Really, much of our human identity rests with darkness." In response to concerns about terrestrial light pollution, dark sky preserves or parks have been springing up around the world (there are more than 120 in the U.S.), offering a distinct attraction for tourism as well as residents and the ecosystems that are able to enjoy a kind of life that has become largely endangered, life where circadian rhythms follow the same schedule as our ancestors' did. Light pollution country versus city International Dark Sky Places is an international program of independent third-party certification of particular areas that apply to become IDSPs. Starting with Flagstaff, Arizona's appointment as the first Dark Sky City in 2001, the organization has certified dark sites, which can be communities, parks or protected areas, on six continents, 22 countries. There are now some 200 of them around the globe, representing 160,000 square kilometers of land on Earth from which you can see clear night skies, glittering heavens, the full starry span of the Milky Way rarely visible from cities or even the average over-illuminated suburb. Some of these are in the remote, austere sites that often serve as ideal sites for astronomical observatories. But not all of them. There are practices of light pollution mitigation that can be learned and adopted if everyone in a given community is on board or brought on board through policy decisions. But getting agreement and motivation to pursue dark sky certification status by working to achieve light pollution reduction targets is easier said than done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There are no binding treaties that have to do with the night sky, with that type of environmental protection," Barentine told Salon in a video interview along with Venkatesan. That's even though certain U.N. instruments do mention itthe U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the underlying treaties establishing the United Nations Environment Programme are among these, he said. "At best, what we might get is a series of recommendations to members states of these different conventions that they could choose to enact if they wanted to." But voluntary standards for light pollution, like voluntary standards for much else where profit and community or ecosystem well-being might be at odds, have a habit of failing to meet the need, of being inconsistently applied, and of simply being ignored. In fact, Ben Price, director of education at the Community Environmental Legal Defence Fund, which assisted in establishment of the world's first community rights of nature legislation, notes that the establishment of minimum protected areas tends to be supported or even promoted by the corporations that cause greatest environmental harm, effectively maximizing the amount of harm that can be done everywhere else. The federal Clean Air and Clean Water acts, and similar state laws, likewise set out in law just how much degradation or destruction of the natural world corporations or others can get away with. Partly as a result, environmental damage is far, far worse and natural habitats are far smaller and more fragmented than they were half a century ago, before these pieces of legislation existed. Price told Salon in a video interview that he enjoyed amateur astronomy as a child and plans to travel to a noted dark sky preserve in the Pennsylvania wilds. "But really, do you have to travel hours and hours to see the stars the way they actually come through?" he asked rhetorically. "Do we really need to have every damn thing on the surface of the Earth lit up?" Or in the sky Price has also watched satellites and has memories of seeing Sputnik overhead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legislation, Price believes, is the answer to bringing back the dark as opposed to carving the Earth up into little pieces, a few fragments of which might achieve protected status. But with over two decades of work to advance rights of nature at the community level in the United States nearly 200 communities have adopted CELDF-drafted community bill of rights laws including rights of nature he believes that the entrenched domination of property rights in the U.S. means that it's going to be an uphill battle. The damage done by bright skies In the law, reparations are often thought of in terms of damages. Well, there's plenty of damage to be redressed. Remember how our eyes naturally become more sensitive to the blue end of the visible spectrum at night? That's just one of the many known and other likely unrecognized ways in which even daylight-waking creatures like us have been conditioned by millions of years of evolving in a world with roughly equal hours of daylight and darkness. Nocturnal animals obviously depend on having adequate darkness for the kind of eyesight they've evolved and the nighttime behavior they've evolved to carry out in the dark of night. But diurnal animals like humans, and crepuscular animals, like cats, that are naturally at their most active at dawn and at dusk, also have exquisitely calibrated chronobiology, with hormone patterns that change according to the light and processes that take place during either daytime, when the sun is out, or nighttime, when it's not. Research demonstrating the negative health impacts of messing too much with our bodies' ingrained expectations about light and darkness has accumulated over decades. Light pollution is linked to a host of health harms. Exposure to artificial light when we should be asleep alters our production of the important hormone melatonin, increasing risks of obesity, reproductive problems, certain cancers such as breast and prostate cancer, and mood disorders, and negatively affects immune function. It's even worse for animals, who aren't able to make choices like dimming the lights at a decent hour, using a red shift filter on their phones, or installing blackout curtains. Exposure to constant bright light causes pigeons to lose their regular locomotor and feeding patterns, and goldfish that are normally active in daytime likewise lose their own consistent patterns of activity and rest. Abnormal patterns of light and darkness reduce reproductive capacity in male sheep. Both sunlight and moonlight play roles in regulating the spawning and migration of Japanese eels. Outdoor lighting can trap migratory birds and moths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In fact, even kingdoms of life beyond Animalia depend on darkness. Plants, linked in our minds with light thanks to their ability to turn it into energy through photosynthesis, require darkness, too. Artificial light that hampers nocturnal pollinators reduces plant reproductive success and fruit production. It also puts trees' schedules out of whack, affecting the dates of when leaves bud and how and when temperature triggers leaves to change color (though it also might delay plants' schedules for flowering, budding and leap-dropping otherwise moved forwards as a result of global heating-induced changes in seasonal temperatures.) Even fungi need darkness, as they evolved to use patterns of light to interact with the world. They sense light with photoreceptors, and while they use them to avoid too much of it so as not to dry out, that's not all they're for. Fungi can have white collar proteins and cryptochromes for detection of blue light, opsins that detect green light, and phytochromes for red light. These photoreceptors also regulate things like sexual and asexual development and metabolism, accumulation of protective pigments and proteins, and growth. Artificial light seems to reduce the diversity of both fungi and beneficial ("good") bacteria living on grassland plant species, destabilize natural bacteria communities in soil, and may cause harmful algal blooms of blue-green algae in freshwater lakes. And it isn't just darkness, but specifically the clear view of the stars that dark skies provide that is key to wellbeing for some species. Songbirds that migrate at night calibrate their magnetic compass to the setting sun, then use the stars as a compass. Bull ants use stars to find their way home. The dung beetle, which disperses seeds as it rolls its dung balls, fertilizing topsoil and enhancing biodiversity and engineering its environment, normally orients itself using the Milky Way and the moon. When light pollution or skyglow (light pollution from elsewhere reflected downwards) dims it, the beetle is forced to orient itself by sources of light on Earth. This increases competition within the species as all the dung beetles are attracted to the same artificial light source, or results in them becoming disoriented when they can't find a replacement for the stars. Either way, the result is less of that dispersal that's so important for soil health and biodiversity. Suing for dark skies "Now, of course, there is no legal precedent in U.S. courts for non-human entities having rights in and of themselves. When we talk about laws like the Endangered Species Act, it's always about the value of those species to humans, even if it is only our curiosity or our wonder," Price said, noting that momentum is building in other countries towards a less anthropocentric approach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We should draft and enact local [and] state laws," Price argued, "that recognize the right to dark skies as belonging intrinsically to nocturnal life, and not just nocturnal because what happens to life at night, if it's diminished or wiped out is going to have absolutely devastating effects on those creatures and on [that] plant life and so forth that is more active in daylight. It's all connected, and that's the very point of it all." A rights of nature argument would be about "conveying enough legal recognition to those natural systems that they can at least compete with the Western view of humans being at the legal and environmental apex," where the purpose of the nature is framed as being the benefit of humans, and nature is to be made subservient to us, Barentine said. He has scoured the global legal literature for examples that could serve as precedents for applying legislation to dark skies. Some countries have subjected light pollution to law and to judicial review, Barentine said. "And I found some examples of countries that have given a level of consideration to these natural systems that are at least close enough to that, to where you can make the jump and say, if you would protect a river, for example, under rights of nature by giving it [legal] standing ... that there's really no reason that you cannot apply exactly the same logic to light pollution." But the more foundational idea of a legal right to darkness or, complimentarily, a right to starlight has not been tested in courts. But rights of nature arguments more generally have found favor with courts in enough jurisdictions that it's definitely no longer a fringe or symbolic legal concept, despite Price's reluctance to be over-optimistic about how quickly change can be achieved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the framing of darkness or starlight as a right is not entirely new. In 2009, the general assembly of the International Astronomical Union passed "Resolution 2009-B5", which among other related points, states that "an unpolluted night sky that allows the enjoyment and contemplation of the firmament should be considered a fundamental socio-cultural and environmental right, and that the progressive degradation of the night sky should be regarded as a fundamental loss." And since this resolution built on a 2007 conference called the "International Conference in Defence of the Quality of the Night Sky and the Right to Observe Stars held jointly by UNESCO and the IAU, the idea that it's a sociocultural right might seem to be endorsed by UNESCO, the global body dedicated to such rights. But there are limits to how far international bodies are willing to go. Noting a "growing number of requests to UNESCO concerning the recognition of the value of the dark night sky and celestial objects," by 2007, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre stated that "the sky or the dark night sky or celestial objects or starlight as such cannot be nominated to the World Heritage List within the framework of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage." Nor, they say, can Dark Sky preserves be considered under the various categories of cultural and natural properties subject to protection because no criteria exist for them to be considered. And that's still several steps away from an enforceable right. So we're not there yet. If a person or group of people are going to go to court on behalf of nature, "it is a stronger case if the complaint is brought by a human person who lives in a place that is affected by that thing. So it would be hard for me to make an argument that I should be the plaintiff in a case involving light pollution in China or Europe or somewhere like that," said Barentine, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, a dark sky city, "but I could be the person who brings the complaint in my part of the United States, because I can argue that I am impacted by this and I have an interest in this ecosystem." Barentine and colleagues have been developing the concept of a lightshed, analogous to a watershed, a geographical region that may cut across existing legal boundaries but that could define an area within which total light pollution must be kept within a certain limit in order to mitigate harm and limit skyglow. "If we believe that there's anything like a commons and that there is a public interest in the commons, then I could bring suit on behalf of all people similarly situated. We could define a class of people. I can say that literally, every person who lives in my city is affected in one way or another by this issue, and therefore could stand to suffer a legal injury that we're asking a court to remedy," Barentine said. While restrictions on local governance in the US and the country's strong legal emphasis on property rights makes it extremely difficult to advance dark sky legislation through a rights of nature argument, Price said that, in theory at least, were a bill introduced this year in the New York legislature that would grant rights of nature to the Great Lakes ecosystem prove successful, it might then be possible to argue in court that documented harms resulting from light pollution must be rectified under that legislation. The proposed legislation would devolve powers to local municipalities and counties to protect the ability of local ecosystems to exist, to flourish naturally, and to be restored when harmed. And as we've seen, humans, animals, and other organisms might have a strong case that we've all suffered harm from too much light when it should be dark, and even too few stars when the sky should be a-glitter with them. Still, Price thinks that this bill is likely to be a public learning experience more than anything else. "There has to be a change in paradigms that are at the foundation of how we run our society and the kinds of laws we create," he said. "It's really people's minds that have to change more than the laws before they can accept these laws." But he quoted science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin on the eventual inevitability of once-unimaginable change. Accepting an award from the National Book Foundation, Le Guin said that "We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings." BEIRUT, April 15 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed, and another wounded on Tuesday in an Israeli drone strike targeting a pick-up truck in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese official media. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli drone targeted the village of Aitaroun in the Bint Jbeil District in the central border sector, with three guided missiles, leading to the casualty. In a separate incident, a hostile drone dropped an explosive device on farmers near a vocational school in the village of Aita al-Shaab, also in the central sector of the border area, the NNA reported without specifying the casualty or damage. It added that the Israeli forces also opened fire with machine guns toward the village of Mays El Jabal in southeastern Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army Command's Orientation Directorate announced that, as part of efforts to combat arms smuggling along the Lebanese-Syrian border, "an intelligence patrol in the Bekaa region arrested a Syrian national involved in arms trafficking and smuggling, and seized military weapons in his possession." It also arrested a Lebanese citizen working in coordination with the detained Syrian in operations in West Bekaa, eastern Lebanon, the army command said, noting investigations are currently underway. Since Nov. 27, 2024, a ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France has been in effect between Hezbollah and Israel, bringing an end to more than a year of clashes triggered by the conflict in Gaza. Despite the truce, the Israeli army continues to carry out near-daily strikes in Lebanon, claiming to be targeting "threats" from Hezbollah. It has also maintained its presence on five hilltops along the Lebanese border, in violation of the agreement. BAKER, La. (Louisiana First) Helix Community Schools officials laid out the plans and benefits of Baker School System becoming a charter school district at a community town hall meeting. Preston Castille, CEO and President of Helix Community Schools, showcased a presentation at the meeting about all the benefits merging with the charter school system will bring to the community. After the flood in 2016 flooded Baker High School, they had to rebuild. Theyve only been fully operating for a year. Castille said with the tragedy of having to rebuild, this will also provide more resources. This partnership allows us to take what was really a tragedy in terms of the natural disaster build upon it from the struggles that happened as a result of that disaster and now build something even better than before, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baker High School and Parkridge Middle School are the two schools in the district that will join the charter school system. JT Stroder, Superintendent of the City of Baker School System, said some of their concerns at first were how this would look for current teachers, if they lost benefits, and more. He said this an adjustment but will be a pathway to provide better opportunities for the schools. If we continue to do things the way that weve done them, were going to get the same results. So, were really looking to try to like change things up and Baker and bring in a different type of education, a different system, said Stroder. Parents and teachers also raised concerns and questions on if some would lose their jobs or if their kids may lose the current activities they have. They also raised concerns on how care for special needs students will operate. Parent Myra Harriss daughter currently dances at Baker High. She said after getting clarity and a better understanding of what this merging will do, shes optimistic about the changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just understanding that, hey, the City of Baker School System is not going anywhere, but they are doing something very unique. Im excited to see what it brings for the students, for the staff, for the community, said Harris. The boards will still operate the same for both districts. Stroder said the Baker School System could become a fully charter district by July 1. They will have a five-year plan, which afterwards they can decide if they want to stay in the charter school district or not. 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. GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin was in Green Bay on Tuesday as part of her Hands Off Medicaid Tour, voicing opposition to Republican-backed health care proposals in Congress. Baldwin says GOP lawmakers are pushing plans that would make deep cuts to Medicaid, threatening access to health care for many Wisconsinites while giving tax breaks to the wealthy. Wisconsin man sentenced to 20 years for brutal 2022 attack on woman and children in Sturgeon Bay Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we know, threats to Medicaid are very serious right now as the president and Republicans in Congress are proposing massive slashes to the Medicaid program, Baldwin said. Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Tony Wied co-sponsored a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen rural health care services. The legislation would provide training and equipment to medical staff in rural areas, particularly to support emergency obstetric services during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum care. 21-year-old man in Wisconsin arrested for battery and property damage at a party, reportedly punched a television This allows for grants and funding to teach those in the medical community to help them deal with pregnant mothers when theyre out in rural areas, Wied explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The contrasting efforts reflect the broader debate in Washington over the future of health care access and 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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. CHIMNEY ROCK, Wis. (WFRV) A bale of hay that fell off a trailer is being blamed for a major crash Tuesday afternoon on Wisconsin State Highway 93 (STH 93), leaving a semi-truck driver critically injured. According to the Trempealeau County Sheriffs Office, deputies responded to a report of a semi-truck crashing into a large hay bale that had fallen from a trailer. The crash caused both lanes of STH 93 to be blocked. Elderly woman found dead in Wisconsin after Silver Alert issued Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities say a truck pulling a gooseneck trailer loaded with large square hay bales was heading north on the highway when a gust of wind dislodged one of the bales. As the semi-truck approached from the opposite direction, the hay bale struck its windshield, causing significant damage. The impact led the semi-truck driver to lose control and jackknife across both lanes. The driver was airlifted to a nearby hospital with critical injuries. A dog riding in the semis cab was unharmed and has since been taken to the Trempealeau County Humane Association until the drivers son can retrieve it. No injuries were reported in the vehicle hauling the hay. The driver of that vehicle was cited for traffic violations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wisconsin man sentenced to 20 years for brutal 2022 attack on woman and children in Sturgeon Bay STH 93 remained closed for more than two hours as crews cleared debris and removed the semi-truck. Authorities remind drivers to ensure all cargo is properly secured to avoid preventable tragedies on Wisconsin roads. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. "The ball is in China's court: China needs to make a deal with us, we don't have to make a deal with them," Leavitt told a press briefing, saying Trump had given her that statement directly in an Oval Office meeting to use. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "China wants what we have ... the American consumer, or to put another way, they need our money," Leavitt said. China raised its tariffs on imports of U.S. goods to 125% on Friday in a retaliatory move to Trump, who effectively raised U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%, while putting a pause on planned levies for other countries' goods. Responding to the U.S. comment on Wednesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said Washington should stop its practice of "maximum pressure" and give up threats and blackmail if it truly wants dialogue and negotiation. "This tariff war was initiated by the U.S. side... China does not want a fight, but it is not afraid of one either," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has described Chinese President Xi Jinping in admiring terms, but neither man has backed down in an escalating trade war between their two countries. "The president, again, has made it quite clear that he's open to a deal with China. But China needs to make a deal with the United States of America," Leavitt said. Trump has said he expects something positive to come out of the trade tensions between the world's two largest economies. But, unlike multiple other nations who have responded to his plans for tariffs by seeking deals with Washington, Beijing has raised its own levies on U.S. goods and not sought talks. (Reporting by Jeff Mason: additional reporting by Nandita Bose and Katharine Jackson, and Ethan Wang in Beijing; editing by Deepa Babington and Tomasz Janowski) Former President Barack Obama on Monday praised Harvard University for its decision to defy the demands made by the Trump administration for the institution to maintain federal funding, calling the governments effort an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom. The changes ordered by the administration to be made by August 2025 included ending all diversity, equity and inclusion programs, limiting international student admissions, requiring viewpoint diversity in all programs, and closing departments and teaching units that cannot meet the administrations demands. Alan Garber, the president of Harvard, said the requirements set out by the administration in a five-page letter on Friday violate the universitys First Amendment rights and threaten our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, Garber said. In a post on Bluesky, Obama lauded the universitys decision to not give in to pressure. Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect, Obama wrote. Lets hope others follow suit, he added. Obama is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following Harvards announcement, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, under the Department of Education, announced it had frozen $2.2 billion in multi-year grants as well as $60 million in multi-year contract value to the university. Earlier on Monday, Harvards lawyers William Burck and Robert Hur both conservatives said it was unfortunate that the government has ignored the efforts the university has made over the past 15 months to ensure it constitutes a supportive environment for all students. Harvard remains open to dialogue about what the university has done, and is planning to do, to improve the experience of every member of its community, they wrote in a letter to Trump administration officials. But Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration. Since his inauguration, Trump has taken aim at elite universities across the country under the pretext of combating antisemitism and DEI practices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Columbia University agreed to make several changes ordered by the Trump administration to restore its frozen federal funding, including placing its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under academic receivership for at least five years. Related... AUSTIN (KXAN) On Monday, Bastrop County Commissioners approved an agreement with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) to conduct a study regarding the expansion of the Highway 290 Toll Road. The 290 Toll Road would extend from State Highway 130 Toll before Manor to State Highway 95 past Elgin, according to the agenda item report. Currently, the Highway 290 Toll Road ends just before reaching Manor. On Monday, Bastrop County Commissioners approved an agreement with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) to conduct a study regarding the expansion of the Highway 290 Toll Road. (Courtesy: Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority) According to the agreement made between Bastrop County Commissioners and the CTRMA, the county will not be responsible for providing any funding for the study and planning of the project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No other details were released regarding how long the study will take to complete. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) Bay County early voting began Monday, and hundreds of Panama City and Lynn Haven residents hit the polls. The 2025 municipal election is next Tuesday, April 22nd. But if you want to beat the lines on election day, cast your ballot at the Lynn Haven Senior Center or Panama City City Hall. Both locations are open from 8 am to 5 pm through Friday. Panama City Mayor and wards one and four commissioners are on the ballot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Lynn Haven commissioner seats three and four are up for reelection. Mexico Beach residents are welcome at either polling location to vote for the council member group two seat. You can go to either one of those locations. No lines to report. So thats great. Its very quick. Easy in and out. If youve got your mind made up, I would definitely encourage you to utilize early voting this week. You need your Florida ID. And weve got a list of those IDs on our website. And hopefully you got your sample ballot in the mail so you can use that as a guide. Take it in with you if you need to, and to just make the process go extremely quick and smooth, and easy. We want you to leave with a smile and that I voted sticker, Bay County Supervisor of Elections Nina Ward said. Officials say there are still about a thousand vote-by-mail ballots that have not been turned in yet. Be sure to drop off those ballots at either early voting site or the supervisor of elections office this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more information, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) A Beckley man was identified as the construction worker killed on I-77 in Kanawha County on Monday, April 14, 2025. According to the West Virginia State Police, at 10:46 AM, Parkways Control received a report of a Parkways employee, now identified as 23-year-old James Harper, of Beckley, being hit by a commercial vehicle that was travelling in the southbound lanes near mile marker 92. The driver of the vehicle was identified at 28-year-old Anvar Sabirov, of Rego Park, New York. Witnesses stated that Sabirov allegedly entered the marked work zone with his head down. Harper was hit while he was filling a pothole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GHSP encourages drivers to drive safely during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month Sabirov was arrested and charged with Vehicular Manslaughter. An investigation into the incident remains active. Today, we are forced to cope with another fatality in a work zone, this one being a young Parkways employee working on a West Virginia Turnpike project. While the details are still being sorted out, we do know the vast majority of work zone tragedies are preventable. Work zone safety isnt coming up with a clever phrase and wearing orange for the month of April every year. It is a year-round mindset, a habit, and an attitude, and it is non-negotiable! We mourn the loss of an employee, and extend our condolences to his family. As temperatures warm and road construction begins in earnest, we continue to stress how important it is to slow down and stay alert in work zones and allow an employee to go home to their family. Todd Rumbaugh, P.E. | Transportation Secretary Stick with 59News for updates 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 WVNS. FAIRMONT An outbreak of bedbugs at Barrackville Elementary School has parents outraged at how Marion County Schools is handling the situation. Teachers found bedbugs at Barrackville Elementary early last week, according to an email sent by a parent to the Board of Education. The school began notifying parents on Thursday and confirmed two cases on Friday. School Superintendent Donna Heston said affected parts of the building were treated over the weekend, but the discovery of a bug in the gymnasium Monday morning spurred more outcry. Allyson Donahoe, a parent with children at the school, said the outbreak is having an impact on her kids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are constantly asking if theres bugs on their jackets and backpacks when they come in, she said. I havent seen anything here, thank goodness, but its got them all worried. Theyre all in the gym together at various points in the day, which is where they found some today. Its stressful for our kids. Heston said the school system is following a three-year-old protocol to treat the outbreak. She said the county goes above and beyond what many neighboring counties do when it comes to handling a bedbug outbreak. That protocol starts by having a captured specimen be identified by a nurse. The school then brings in an exterminator to do another layer of confirmation. If its confirmed to be a bedbug, treatment and heightened cleaning is done during a weekend. For treatment, Heston said the infested classrooms are identified and sealed off. Then, those rooms, as well as adjacent rooms, are treated. Heston said this was the protocol Barrackville followed, and at 7 a.m. on Saturday, an exterminator from Orkin came in to treat the classrooms for bedbugs. However, multiple parents who spoke with the Times West Virginian characterized the school districts response as inadequate. Most parents chose to have their names withheld from publication, but some came forward. Andrea and James Komaromi both have students at Barrackville. Andrea spoke to Heston directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we first found out about it, I kept my cool. It happens sometimes, bedbugs, lice, Andrea said. But when I found out it went so long before we were even notified, and then went so long until they treated, instead of closing for a day to treat it properly they waited until the weekend and only notified us on Thursday. Thats when I started to get more concerned. Andrea Komaromi wasnt the only parent who was unhappy that they were not notified until Thursday. Several other parents echoed her frustration, saying they should have been told sooner. One parent said because of the length of time between Monday and Thursday, parents feel like theyve been lied to. Other parents are calling for the entire building to be treated, not just the affected classrooms. Still others have raised concerns about lingering fumes from the treatment over the weekend on their children. The school will stay open this week, despite the gym sighting, and a possible sighting on a school bus. Heston explained that this is because bedbugs are labeled a public nuisance by the W.Va. Department of Education and Public Health Department. No schools have ever been closed due to bedbugs in Marion County Schools, she said. Last year, the school system had a total of 13 cases of bedbugs. The public nuisance explanation has left a lot of parents feeling unsatisfied. At least one member of the Board of Education supports closing the school while its being treated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, Ive been aware and have been fighting with Supt[sic] about this, Board Member James Saunders wrote in an email to a parent. School should have been closed Fri[sic] and whole school sprayed. Sorry for this. Christy Day, Director of the WVDE Office of Communications, said bedbugs are declared a public nuisance by the health department but not WVDE. There is no state level guidance on the health issue. She added WVDE is aware of the issue in Marion County and is supporting the administration as it works through the outbreak. Counties are expected to work with their local health departments with the support of guidance from U.S. EPA to address these type of public health issues, Day said. As a result, counties often have local protocols that address the specific needs of the schools, students and families in that area. The Marion County Health Department released a statement confirming bedbugs are considered a public health nuisance and not a public health hazard. Under WV Code 16-6-16, bed bugs are only investigated by local health departments when theres an outbreak in restaurants and hotels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parents suspect theres more bedbugs at the school than publicly revealed. On Friday, school officials declared two cases of bedbugs at the school. Every parent the Times West Virginian spoke to expressed a preference for shutting the school down while the bedbugs were treated. Andrea Komaromi said the school should use remote learning until something is done. Theyre not proactive, theyre reactive, James Komaromi said. Another flashpoint for parents is the source of the outbreak. Multiple parents said the family where the bedbugs came from is refusing treatment. Andrew Komaromi acknowledged treating a home for bedbugs is expensive. Heston said the school system tries to educate parents, and that charities last week stepped up to raise funds so the family could afford treatment. The Times West Virginian could not confirm if the family turned down the treatment, but that point was repeated by multiple parents. Komaromi said one familys choice puts every family with children at risk. One of Komarmis children is allergic to fleas, and its not a far leap to think another child out there could be allergic to bedbugs, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre young children, you get bit and youre scratching, and then you have the risk for bacteria, infections, Komaromi said. Theres so many different ways that it could be a health risk instead of just a nuisance. State guidelines prevent any student from being excluded from public education in case of a bedbug outbreak, including if a family refuses to treat the home for it. Heston said she understands the frustration parents are going through. We do everything we possibly can, and even go above and beyond in our protocols, in working with families that we identify as carriers, Heston said. Not every district does that. The public nuisance explanation didnt inspire confidence in the Komaromis. They pulled their children out of school after the Monday sighting, and plan to keep them at home until the outbreak is cleared. However, Andrea is frustrated by the possibility that her children will be penalized for their absence. The Komaromis think bedbugs need to be elevated from public nuisance to health risk, so the school district has the ability to treat an outbreak with urgency it deserves. They think because they do more than other counties, that its good enough, Andrea said. I was like, you may do more than other counties, but that doesnt make you good. Youre still bad. Theyre just worse. KABUL, April 15 (Xinhua) -- In the drive against illegal crops, police have destroyed more than 88 acres of poppy farms and arrested a dozen persons on the charge of involvement in the drug business in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province, provincial police spokesman Assadullah Jamshid said Tuesday. During the recent campaign against illegal drugs, police have destroyed 88 acres of poppy farms and about half acres of hashish farms in parts of Kandahar, the official said. Police arrested 12 individuals over poppy cultivation, and after preliminary investigation, referred them to the judiciary, he added. In identical operations, police have thwarted attempts to smuggle 15 kg of opium poppy and took into custody an alleged smuggler in Kandahar's neighboring Uruzgan province a couple of days ago. Lisa Lee remembers when fentanyl first hit Reno. Lee, a founding member of the Northern Nevada Harm Reduction Alliance, was distributing the overdose antidote naloxone out of the back of her silver SUV to the street encampments near downtown, which she visits regularly. Just a day or two after shed provided 30 kits of naloxone, someone called desperate for more, which was unusual. She then realized just how unprepared anyone was for an opioid drug roughly 50 times stronger than anything else on the streets and the spike in overdoses about to hit the Mountain West. It was during the pandemic, in early 2021. Overdose rates were already worryingly high: Sometimes shed hear of a few a week, sometimes a few a day. But suddenly there were 10 in a single encampment and people were reporting that it sometimes took more than one dose of naloxone to restart the victims breathing. Lee, who is in recovery from heroin addiction herself, described the scene as sheer panic. A man she knew ran up to her, just minutes after being revived. Hes hugging me and hes like, Im back. I almost died today, she says. As fentanyl continued to flood the state, she says shes lost count of the number of friends shes lost to it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2018, a Nevada law went into effect limiting the prescriptions of opioids. Lee saw the ripple effects firsthand: She was the program director for a methadone program at the time the same program where she had once been a patient. Pain patients who didnt use illegal drugs not just people with addiction began calling for help. Theyd had a safe supply. Now theyre getting pills from their grandkids friends that are, of course, not covered by insurance, she says. Many lost their cars or housing. Since neither pain management nor addiction treatment was provided for people who were dropped by their doctors or faced rising prices for pills as the supply shrank, many began turning to street heroin. As these new markets grew in places where the drug was formerly rare, suppliers began supplementing it with fentanyl, which can be lethal at a dose equivalent to just 10 or 15 grains of table salt. The drug began wreaking havoc across America. Recently, however, for the first time since the late 1990s, what seemed like an unstoppable rise in drug overdose fatalities has begun to slow. Between 2023 and 2024, overdose deaths in the U.S. dropped by nearly 24 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Headlines declared overdose deaths falling at the fastest rate ever seen, calling the decrease historic. Even now, CDC data analysis suggests the downward trend is continuing for the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But zoom in, and the picture looks a little different. Unfortunately, fatalities are not falling everywhere in some states and certain populations, they are still climbing. This is most marked in the West, which is the only region in the U.S. reporting increased fatalities. Montana, Utah, Nevada and Alaska all saw a rise, with Nevadas and Alaskas death rates reportedly climbing into double digits. The recent decrease in overdose deaths also varies sharply by race. Recognizing why these disparities persist can shed light on what matters most in turning the tide. Its still really important to recognize that this is an extraordinary amount of death, says Karla Wagner, professor of public health at the University of Nevada in Reno, emphasizing that even states seeing declines should not pull back from their efforts. Were still looking at 90,000 dead friends and family members a year across the country. Overdose deaths are falling at the fastest rate ever seen in the U.S.But zoom in, and the picture looks a little different. One of the most overlooked aspects of the fentanyl crisis is its geography. Drug trafficking has historically been distinctively regional, with different networks supplying different places with varying products. On the East Coast, heroin was historically supplied as a white or beige powder whereas in California and nearby Western states, it was typically dark and sticky black tar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps because it is easier to mix fentanyl with powdered heroin or simply because of cartel supply networks fentanyl spread first in the East. The drug rapidly gained a foothold because making and importing it costs a fraction of what it does to supply heroin, in part because its extreme potency makes it lighter and easier to smuggle. Even as late as 2018, some 88 percent of deaths caused by fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids which are now by far the most common type of overdose fatalities occurred east of the Mississippi. It just seems like with novel substances, it goes from east to west, says Brandon Delise, senior epidemiologist for the Southern Nevada Health District. That may be because the established networks for trafficking and consumption have just historically favored the East Coast as a starting point. The decline in deaths is now following roughly the same pattern. West Virginia, for example, which has led the nation in overdose deaths per capita for most of the crisis, saw these fatalities decline by nearly 40 percent between 2023 and 2024. The places that literally to the month, almost started with rising fentanyl overdoses, were also the first places to show, if you look at monthly data, declines, says Dan Ciccarone, professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. A first approximation of whats going on is that the West got fentanyl later, and were still learning to cope with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement States with policies that ranged from progressive to conservative saw overdoses skyrocket when fentanyl arrived, simply because it was so much stronger than anything else. In 2021, for example, Oregon was in the process of implementing a ballot initiative to decriminalize the possession but not the sale of all drugs, while expanding access to treatment for those struggling with addiction. Fentanyl hit the state around the same time, leading to increases in visible public drug use and overdose. Although nearby states that did not decriminalize saw the same negative trends, politicians in Oregon blamed the new policy, recriminalizing possession in 2024. But states with tough drug policies like Texas and Idaho had essentially the same rise in overdose associated with fentanyl that Oregon and California did. And, around three or four years later, those same states are now seeing overdoses fall. So, what is responsible for this decline? One distressing part of the answer is likely that fentanyl has already killed most of the local residents at the highest risk, shrinking the vulnerable population and therefore the new death numbers. At the same time and far more hearteningly fewer young people are using opioids. National statistics from surveys on youth drug use support this idea. For example, in 2002, over 9 percent of high school seniors reported having misused a prescription opioid in the past year; in 2024, that proportion was 0.6 percent. In terms of street opioids like heroin, 1 percent of 12th graders reported past-year use in 2002; in 2024, just 0.2 percent did, an 80 percent decline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most obvious thing is that drug cycles come to an end, says Ciccarone. Crack cocaine, for example, showed a similar rise and fall when young people who saw the drug devastating their older siblings and parents began to steer clear of it. But experts say that this is not the whole story. Decisions made by people who use drugs, the suppliers and policymakers also seem to matter. One factor may be changes in the drug supply itself. The Drug Enforcement Administration has noted a recent decline in the potency of fentanyl. It argues that this shows that their crackdown has started to work. It is also plausible that traffickers have changed their formulas, recognizing that killing so many customers is not good for business. Policy changes to increase access to overdose antidotes like naloxone and treatment could also be making a difference. Harm reduction groups which invented the strategy of distributing naloxone directly to people at risk reported providing around 702,000 doses in 2019. In its first year, 2022, Remedy Alliance/For the People, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company that makes cheap naloxone, had distributed over 1.6 million units. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between 2019 and 2023, the number of naloxone prescriptions filled at pharmacies rose over 25 percent and the drug became available over the counter in 2023, which should further improve accessibility. At the same time, the percentage of people with opioid addiction who received gold-standard treatment which involves long-term use of either methadone or buprenorphine more than doubled in recent years. Since these are the only treatments that cut the death rate by 50 percent or more, improving access to these medications can have a significant impact. Unfortunately, as late as 2022, 75 percent of those who needed such treatment did not receive it. And access to these more effective treatments is even more limited for those at the highest risk of overdose. Fentanyl spread from the East to the West. The decline in deaths is now following roughly the same pattern. The encouraging declines in national overdose mortality statistics hide variations by both geography and race. Black and Native American communities are still seeing sharp increases in overdose deaths, while deaths in white populations are falling. These differences may offer insight into which policies are helping, and which are harming. For one, Black people have long faced far higher arrest and incarceration rates compared to white people, despite equal levels of drug use and sales. If, as many believe, criminal justice crackdowns aid access to treatment, Black people should have higher treatment rates and lower overdose deaths. But the disparities run in the opposite direction, with less treatment received and greater overdose risk. Native people experience similar results, with more incarceration and less treatment completion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think there needs to be more research to figure that out, says Chelsi Cheatom, chief operating officer for the PACT Coalition for Safe & Drug-Free Communities in Las Vegas, noting that she has seen the racial disparities in overdose deaths in her work in the state. Research conducted in large urban areas finds that Black people are less likely to receive overdose reversal training and have less access to naloxone. Cheatom advocates for messaging and distribution to change this. Another issue in large Western states is helping people who live far from big cities. Many parts of Montana, Utah, Nevada and Alaska are so unpopulated that they dont even qualify as rural for those who study these issues. These areas have six or fewer people per square mile and are known as frontier regions. Lisa Lee is aiming to reach these more isolated groups who live in these regions, particularly Black and Native communities. Were really trying to branch out into places that arent served and build trust, she says. This often involves connecting with people who are respected in these areas and helping them help each other, as well as providing accurate health information and supplies like naloxone, clean needles, test strips that can detect the presence of fentanyl in the drug supply and other tools that can protect residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though some argue that providing such help enables continued addiction, the research clearly suggests these programs make it more likely that people will access treatment and recovery. The only way that someone can recover, the only way that someone can ever stop using drugs, is if theyre alive, says Cheatom. To help drive overdose deaths down in every state in the U.S., she says, support for a continuum of care, including harm reduction, prevention and treatment for everyone, is needed. Lisa Lee notes that the latest provisional figures from the state medical examiner suggest that Nevada may be beginning to see a drop in fentanyl deaths, and a recent analysis by the Opioid Data Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill supports this view. They may be on the cusp of saving more people than they are losing. She says she finds hope in her kids, and the young people whom she mentors in her harm reduction work, watching them catch on and recognize the power of love and kindness. Most people who overdose dont want to die, she says. People just want relief. This story appears in the April 2025 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe. Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg returned to Washington this week, testifying in a landmark trial that could force the worlds largest social network to break off Instagram and WhatsApp. The outcome of the high-stakes case between Meta and the Federal Trade Commission could unwind some of the company's most lucrative acquisitions, disrupt its ads business and reshape the future of social media. The highly-watched antitrust trial also comes as Zuckerberg and other tech executives try to curry favor with the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This case could go either way, said Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School who studies antitrust law. There's some strengths of the government's case, and there's also one big weakness that we can expect Meta to really exploit. Read more: Once a Trump critic, Mark Zuckerberg pivots toward the president Meta says it faces competition from apps such as TikTok and YouTube, but the FTC says video apps are different from personal social networking services. Meta and the FTC didnt respond to a request for comment. More than 3 billion people use one of Metas apps daily, including Instagram and WhatsApp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres what to know about the legal showdown: What is the FTCs antitrust case against Meta about? The FTC alleges that Meta maintained monopoly power in personal social networking services in the U.S. by illegally acquiring its rivals including Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp. Meta's better to buy than compete strategy suppressed innovation and also harmed consumers and advertisers because they have fewer choices, the agency said in its 2021 amended complaint against Facebook, which later rebranded itself as Meta. The FTC and Meta have clashed over how the government defines the relevant market. The agency says that personal social networking services include apps such as Snapchat and MeWe but not TikTok, YouTube or Twitter, now X. That's because people aren't downloading apps like TikTok to stay connected with family and friends but to post content for users they don't know. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, the case will be challenging for the FTC to win, said Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow for technology policy at the libertarian think tank Cato Institute. "It's trying to show that Facebook has monopoly power and what it defines as personal social networks, but that doesn't really fit what consumers experience when they look at social media," she said. Whats Metas response? Meta called the FTCs case against the company weak and said it ignores reality. The social network said in a blog post that the company competes with apps including YouTube and TikTok. While allowing people to connect with family and friends is a top priority for Meta, Zuckerberg told the courtroom that weve always been a service that lets you discover and learn about whats going on in the world, Bloomberg reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company also said its multibillion-dollar investments in Instagram and WhatsApp helped fuel their popularity. If Meta is forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, the government would be sending the message to businesses that no deal is ever final. What's at stake for Meta? Forcing Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp would be a big blow to its business, analysts say. "Instagram really is its biggest growth driver, in the sense that it has been picking up the slack for Facebook for a long time, especially on the user front when it comes to young people," said Jasmine Enberg, vice president and principal analyst at eMarketer who covers social media. "Facebook hasn't been where the cool college kids hang out for a long time." Instagram's U.S. ad revenue this year is expected to reach $37.67 billion, making up about half of Meta's total ad revenue nationwide, according to eMarketer. While WhatsApp makes up a smaller chunk of Meta's revenue, businesses also use the messaging app to drive sales and customer support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both apps have a massive audience. Instagram has more than 2 billion monthly active users globally. WhatsApp also has more than 2 billion users globally, roping in people not only in the United States but across developing countries. Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012 for roughly $1 billion. The social network then bought WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. How will this affect the social media landscape? Some analysts say breaking up Meta could open the door for more rivals. Wed likely see a renaissance of social media startups looking to grab a piece of the new social media world order, said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester, a research and advisory firm based in Massachusetts, in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others noted that getting people to move to another social media app is an uphill battle. "It's a huge question mark," Enberg said. "The reality is that starting or launching a social app is not easy and then getting it to stick is even harder." Isn't this deja vu for Zuckerberg? Yes. Zuckerberg has gone head-to-head with both the FTC and lawmakers in the past. In 2022, Zuckerberg testified in a case in which the FTC tried to block Metas purchase of Los Angeles-based Within Unlimited, the company that created VR fitness app Supernatural. A California judge sided with Meta in 2023, allowing the social media company to close the deal. Zuckerberg also testified in an intellectual property trial in 2017 that accused Oculus, which Facebook purchased, of stealing technology from ZeniMax Media to create its virtual reality headsets. A jury initially ordered Facebook to pay $500 million to ZeniMax, but the company appealed and the lawsuit was eventually settled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 40-year-old tech mogul has also appeared before Congress, facing questions from lawmakers about data privacy and child safety concerns. Will Zuckerberg's attempts to cozy up to Trump help Meta? The FTC's antitrust case started during President Trump's first term. In 2020, the agency sued Facebook. A federal court dismissed the case after ruling the agency failed to provide enough facts to prove that Facebook held a monopoly in personal social networking. During Bidens administration in 2021, the FTC filed an amended complaint. Zuckerberg, who previously criticized Trump during his first term, has been trying to mend his relationship with the president. "It's clear Zuckerberg is trying to make it worth his while, but so far, it appears not to have worked, because this case is going forward," Allensworth said. Whats next? U.S. District Judge James Boasberg is presiding over the case and the trial is expected to go on for several weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the trial, FTC lawyers brought up emails Zuckerberg sent colleagues years ago, including one from 2018 in which the executive mentions there's a "non-trivial chance" the company could be forced to spin out Instagram and WhatsApp as calls to break up big tech companies grow. The tech mogul wrapped up his testimony Wednesday. Sheryl Sandberg, Meta's former chief operating officer, also took the stand this week, facing questions about how people use Facebook and the company's purchase of Instagram. More Meta executives and other witnesses will likely be called to testify in the trial. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. The Chinese government has denied any involvement in the participation of Chinese citizens in Russia's war against Ukraine and says it will assess the actions of those captured in Donetsk & Luhansk Oblast under Chinese law after verifying the circumstances. Source: Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to a request from a Ukrinform correspondent in China, who sought a comment on the appeal by Chinese POWs to be brought back home Quote: "The Chinese government's position is very clear. We've issued numerous warnings and asked Chinese citizens to stay away from armed conflict zones, avoid participating in armed conflicts in any form and avoid participating in military operations by any side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conduct of Chinese citizens abroad will be reviewed in accordance with current law and necessary consular and other measures will be taken." Details: Jian said Chinese authorities are still verifying information about the nationals captured in Ukraine and clarifying the circumstances of their involvement. He added that China's stance on the so-called "Ukrainian crisis" [China's term for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine ed.] remains unchanged, claiming Beijing seeks to "promote peace talks to end the conflict". Quote from Jian: "We call on all relevant parties to accurately understand Chinas objective and impartial position and to refrain from political manipulation or using this issue [of captured Chinese citizens ed.] for publicity or self-promotion." Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Last month, the noted public intellectual Jonathan Rauch stood before an audience at BYUs Wheatley Institute and made a confession. He pulled up a 2003 article from The Atlantic, titled The greatest development in modern religion is not religion at all its an attitude called apatheism. The article made the case for secularism as a social achievement worthy of celebration. Rauch then declared, in deadpan, that this article was the dumbest thing I ever wrote. As secularism has increased, Rauch went on to explain, America has witnessed a number of troubling social trends: the rise of social isolation, extreme polarization and an overall decline in mental health and human flourishing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The founders, he said, warned the nation about the perils of a democratic republic devoid of religious underpinnings. George Washington wrote in his famous farewell address: Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. Recently released data from Pew Research Center, then, should come as welcomed news. Pews latest Religious Landscape study shows a leveling off of what had become a rise of both religiously unaffiliated Americans and those distancing themselves from Christianity (the so-called nones). The robust survey of close to 37,000 people attributes this plateau in secularization to the youngest group surveyed, 18 to 24 years old, whose share of the nonreligious has declined from 34 percent in 2014 to 28 percent today. This special Faith Issue of Deseret Magazine explores this striking change in trend. Mariya Manzhos, a contributing writer at the magazine, looks at why young adults are turning toward faith and how churches are responding. The Rev. Andrew Teal, meanwhile, encourages the faithful to reach out and listen to those who have discarded religion, pointing out that many believers were once in fact nones themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his essay titled The Religion of AI, evangelical Christian leader Johnnie Moore points out the many advantages and opportunities the burgeoning technology offers religious institutions in meeting the needs of their community members and society at large. And the Rev. Heber Brown III explains how his calling inspired the creation of the Black Church Food Security Network to address hunger and disease in vulnerable communities. It wasnt just Rauch and Washington who observed the need for strong religious threads woven within the American fabric. We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion, John Adams said, revenge or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. Or put in the positive by Franklin D. Roosevelt: I doubt if there is a problem political or economic that will not melt before the fire of a spiritual awakening. This story appears in the April 2025 issue of Deseret Magazine. Learn more about how to subscribe. Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump are on the brink of announcing a new trade deal after nearly five years of negotiations. The previous government began discussions for a free trade agreement in May 2020 with then-president Joe Bidens administration. Now, Mr Trump has said "major trade deal" will be announced with a "highly respected country" on Thursday, widely believed to be a reference to the UK. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sir Keir's spokesman has promised an update from the prime minister on Thursday, too, all but confirming a deal has been done. While the UK initially received the lowest possible tariff rate under Mr Trump's trade war, with 10 per cent taxes applied on exports to the United States, it was later left at the same rate as the rest of the world. But Thursday's announcement confirms a coup for Sir Keir, with his fawning diplomatic approach to Mr Trump appearing to have paid off. What could a trade deal look like? Sir Keir Starmers government has made no pretence over the fact that it is not looking for a traditional comprehensive trade deal. Instead, it is pushing for an agreement based around the growth of future industries, such as biotech, new pharmaceuticals and artificial intelligence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal is that the UK and US research base, coupled with the money markets in New York and London, would create a powerhouse for the latest industrial revolution, which could shape the future of the world. The US largely embraces this idea, but there are caveats, and the negotiations have been complicated by President Trumps tariffs. In February, prime minister Keir Starmer met with US president Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance (PA) While a final deal would see close integration for those future growth industries, it now would also mean deals on more traditional areas to remove tariffs altogether. The biggest issue as is often the case will be how far it affects agricultural products. Mr Trumps team would like the UK to allow chlorinated chicken or beef with added hormones. But the UK does not want to go this far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There could also be demands for the UK to repeal legislation on tech controls, which the White House says affects free speech. In the end, the quick deal will be closer to the UK vision on future growth technologies, but the ongoing question is how much Sir Keir will have to compromise in other areas. What does the UK trade with the US? The US continues to be Britains largest single-country trading partner, followed by Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and France. As a bloc, trade with the EU is significantly higher. The UK has nearly no trade imbalance with the US when it comes to goods, exporting 59.3bn and importing 57.2bn in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has likely contributed to the fact that Britain has not been in Mr Trumps firing range when it comes to extra tariffs and why a trade deal is on the cards. Currently, the UK is facing a 10 per cent tariff on all goods exported to the US. British automotive and steel exports are taking a stronger blow, with a separate 25 per cent levy on sales to the US market. Cars are Britains single largest export to the US, valued at 8.3bn in the year up to November 2024. The US is also the top buyer of domestic cars, from Aston Martin to Mini; though British brand Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is the most at risk from tariffs, with the US being its top sales market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has been a point of tension between Sir Keir and Mr Trump, as negotiations to exempt the UK from these industry-specific tariffs have so far fallen short. Other industrial exports are also high on the list, with 5.3bn in mechanical power generators and 2.3bn in aircraft sent to the US last year. Meanwhile, the UKs health and scientific industries are also reliant on the US market. The UK sent vaccines, medicines and other pharmaceutical products worth 7.3bn to the US last year, and 2.4bn in scientific instruments like microscopes and X-ray equipment. Britain buys billions in medical and pharmaceutical products from the US, too, meaning that both industries are significantly intertwined, with health secretary Wes Streeting warning that tariffs could pose challenges. Packets of Brexit Selection Freshly Chlorinated Chicken were shown by campaign group Peoples Vote in 2018 (Getty) The UK only imports around 100m in animal products from the US, a point of contention for Mr Trump, who has urged Britons to buy more chlorinated and hormone-treated animal products such as beef and chicken. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, crude oil is Britains leading import from the US, at 8.6bn in the 12 months up to November 2024. President Trump has suggested in the past that buying more American oil and gas could be a way to curry favour in the global trade war. Tech at the heart of UK-US trade future Services are perhaps the most significant element of UK-US trade, representing some 179bn in services exchanged between the two countries. The UK benefits from an open relationship with the US, exporting twice as many services (124bn) as it imports (55bn). This includes 52.3bn across various business services, 27.8bn in financial services, and 11bn in insurance and pensions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps most importantly, with regards to the new trade deal, the UK exports 10.3bn in telecoms, tech and IT services across the pond and imported 3.5bn last year. The tech industry in particular AI, biotech and quantum is on the agenda for UK-US negotiations, as both sides seek to deepen their ties in so-called future industries. On a visit to California last month, UK technology secretary Peter Kyle met with US tech leaders, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia, touting Britain as a global hub for AI investment. The UK is keen to attract investment from global tech players, while US companies seek relaxed regulation (AP) Both countries have been aligned on tech for some time and have expressed their intentions to steamroll ahead on AI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, both the UK and the US refused to sign an international agreement on AI, which aimed to make development open, inclusive, and ethical. While the UK cited national security concerns, the US said that overregulation would kill a transformative industry. Less than one year earlier, both countries under different governments had announced a partnership on AI safety. BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) Two men were arrested Monday night after Berkeley County deputies conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle and discovered 911 grams or about two pounds of meth. Agents with the Berkeley County Sheriffs Office Narcotics Task Force were conducting an investigation when they pulled over a vehicle connected to their investigation. According to the sheriffs office, authorities observed indicators of criminal activity when they made contact with the people in the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The occupants, Ryan Carl Newman, 35, of Summerville, and Preston Goldie Long, 35, denied a consent search, so deputies deployed a K9 for a free air sniff. Authorities found probable cause, and a vehicle search ensued. That is when deputies found the methamphetamine. Newman is charged with trafficking methamphetamine 400 grams or more. Long is charged with trafficking methamphetamine 400 grams or more and faces a probation violation charge from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. This is a significant seizure that highlights the dedication of our Narcotics Task Force and K-9 teams in combating the flow of dangerous narcotics into our communities, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis stated. We remain committed to proactive drug enforcement and protecting our residents from the devastating impact of illegal drug trafficking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Berkeley County Narcotics Task Force consists of agents from the Berkeley County Sheriffs Office, Goose Creek Police Department, Hanahan Police Department, and Moncks Corner 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 WCBD News 2. NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) The City of New Bern will welcome Christian nonprofit, Water Mission, for their annual Walk for Water event in April. The event is intended to raise awareness of the global water crisis that leaves more than two billion people without access to safe, clean water, according to Water Mission. Walkers will start at Union Point Park in New Bern at 2pm on April 27. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children five and up. Children four and under able to attend for 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 WNCT. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) appeared convinced their brand of progressive politics is resonating in traditionally Republican states as they spoke at a filled-to-capacity arena in Idaho. For weeks, the Vermont senator has been drawing large crowds to his nationwide Fighting Oligarchy tour, with the New York congresswoman often featuring as a guest speaker. While it might be expected that the duo could sell out venues in their Democratic heartlands, both indicated they believe its notable that theyve also been drawing huge crowds in red states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday night, the crowd at Nampas Ford Idaho Center was at full capacity of 12,500, the Idaho Capital Sun reported, as Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez attacked the economic damage caused by the Trump administration and championed universal healthcare. The night before, they spoke to a crowd of 20,000 to the south in Salt Lake City, Utah. In any case, attracting thousands of people to a Monday night political rally in a non-election year is no mean feat. But President Donald Trump won Idaho by 36.5 percentage points in 2024, and no Democratic presidential candidate has taken the state since President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, underlining the scale of the fight in the Gem State. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And yet, despite the record suggesting Idahoans wouldnt be very interested in what Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are selling, both were in a bullish mood. Alexandria, they told us this was a conservative state, Sanders said after being introduced by his touring partner to huge cheers from the crowd. They got it wrong. Sanders, the 83-year-old who has twice run for president, addressed critics dismissive of lawmakers who come from some of the most liberal and blue states in the country. He continued, We dont accept this blue statered state nonsense. We are the United States of America, not red states, not blue states. We filled an arena of 12,500 people tonight in Nampa, Idaho. Yes, Idaho. Red state, blue state the American people are prepared to fight Trumpism. pic.twitter.com/kutzSuZJru Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) April 15, 2025 During her address, Ocasio-Cortez also responded to those questioning why theyre visiting Idaho. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ill give you one simple answer, she added. Its because you matter. Ocasio-Cortez, who recounted her own economic struggles caused by the 2008 financial crash, went on to claim, We are here for the long haul, Idaho. Were here to flip this state, she continued, arguing she wants to build towards giving the boot to Republican representatives in Congress and replace them with a brawling Democrat who will stand up for the working people of Idaho. She added, If places like Tennessee and Kentucky and West Virginia could be blue and go to red, Idaho can go from red to blue. Related... Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling out President Donald Trump for his thin-skinned reaction to Sundays 60 Minutes broadcast on CBS and for once again demanding the network lose its license over last years interview with Kamala Harris. Sanders has been drawing large crowds in recent weeks with his Fighting Oligarchy tour alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). He shared concern Monday at a Nampa, Idaho, stop about Trumps mass deportations and defiance of the U.S Supreme Court. And right now, hes going after the media, the Vermont senator said. I dont know if any of you saw it. He is now wanting to take away CBSs license because they did a story that criticized him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oh, my word, CBS criticized him! Oh, lets drive them out of business! How terrible is that! Sanders continued in a mocking tone to boos from the crowd directed at Trump. He added: He has sued ABC. He has sued Meta. He has sued the Des Moines Register. This guy cannot take criticism. He can dish it out all right but he cant take it. Trump has targeted the media since the earliest days of his first presidential term and has decried any reporting critical of him as fake news. He ramped up substantially last year after Harris gave a seemingly standard interview on 60 Minutes. Trump demanded at the time that CBS lose its Federal Communications Commission license and doubled down on that Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conservative billionaire, whose frequent defense of free speech galvanized voters at the polls but contradicts his actual White House policies, wrote on social media that CBS should land maximum fines and punishment over Sundays 60 Minutes broadcast. The program covered Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Trumps plan for the U.S. to take over Greenland. It prompted him to relitigate the Harris interview, complaining that CBS edited its own show and claiming they engaged in unlawful and illegal behavior. Sanders: He now wants to take away CBSs license because they did a story that criticized him. Oh my word, CBS criticized him! Oh, lets drive them out of business, how terrible If you cant take criticism, get out of the political process. This is a democracy pic.twitter.com/iJthIDlV6d Acyn (@Acyn) April 15, 2025 Trump has been in office again for only 85 days but his actions have already spurred large demonstrations against him. The Hands Off protests on April 5, prompted by his declaration of steep international tariffs that have roiled the stock markets and raised the risks of a recession, became the largest single-day protests since he returned to the White House. The administration has also been deporting foreign-born students with legal U.S. status who have expressed support for Palestinians. Last week, the White House said Trump is exploring ways to deport American citizens who have committed crimes to foreign prisons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I say to Mr. Trump, if you cant take criticism, get out of the political process, Sanders said Monday. This is a democracy. Related... HELSINKI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Up to 95 percent of Finland's electricity production in 2024 came from fossil-free sources, including nuclear, wind, hydro, solar and renewable fuels, according to preliminary data published by Statistics Finland on Tuesday. Nuclear power accounted for the largest share of electricity generation at 38 percent, followed by wind power at 24 percent, which surpassed hydropower of 17 percent for the first time. Solar power also posted significant growth, albeit from a smaller base. Compared with 2023, wind and solar power production rose by 37 percent and 61 percent respectively. In contrast, output from hydropower fell by 6 percent and nuclear by 5 percent, the statistical agency said. Electricity generated from coal dropped by 50 percent year-on-year, contributing just 1 percent to total consumption. Total electricity use rose 3 percent to 82.7 terawatt-hours (TWh), with domestic production covering 96 percent of demand. Net imports accounted for 4 percent, with Sweden remaining Finland's largest electricity supplier. The Finnish government has announced that the use of coal in Finland's energy production would end this spring, after energy firms Helen and Vantaan Energia closed the country's last coal-fired power plants. The closures came four years ahead of Finland's legislative deadline to phase out coal by May 2029. Finland began reducing coal use in the 2010s as part of its decarbonization strategy. The Finnish parliament passed a law in 2019 banning coal as an energy source, a legislation the government described as the first of its kind globally. Editors note: This story was updated at 11:50 a.m. on April 16, 2025 with a response from the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has officially cut $300,000 in funding dedicated to citizenship application assistance in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition announced the formal funding loss on Tuesday. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem originally announced a blanket freeze on all grants to nonprofits in late January. But the coalition had been hopeful the money would be reinstated. It was granted last year and intended to run through September 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the funds were initially suspended, the Massachusetts organization had to immediately cease citizenship application assistance, saying hundreds of immigrants would now be forced to navigate the daunting and costly citizenship application process without the support of qualified, trained experts. Currently, the MIRA Coalitions website reads: UPDATE: WE CURRENTLY DONT HAVE ANY CITIZENSHIP CLINICS SCHEDULED, AND UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE ALSO NOT ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS. Please check back with us at a later time. In response to the official funding cut, the groups executive director, Elizabeth Sweet, said Tuesday that abandoning green card holders who are pursuing U.S. citizenship is a betrayal of the American promise so many of them - and the American people - believe in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Making it harder for hundreds of longtime, law-abiding, hard-working Green Card holders to secure U.S. citizenship is unfortunately just the latest in the Trump administrations long list of anti-immigrant actions, Sweet said. The hundreds of Green Card holders that participated in our citizenship program work tirelessly, pay taxes, and now, are on the cusp of earning the right to vote. A senior official at the Department of Homeland Security told MassLive that USCIS has terminated all grants awarded through the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program because taxpayer-funded programs that support, or have the potential to support, illegal immigration are out of step with the administrations priorities. Its no secret that many organizations funded by USCIS grants over the years actively undermined the rule of law and integrity of our nations immigration system by supporting sanctuary cities and open borders, the official said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The MIRA Coalition is the largest group in New England advocating for immigrant rights and has historically helped green card holders navigate the complexities of applying for citizenship through free clinics, office visits and one-on-one support. Staff members and volunteers guided people through the naturalization form, provided final application reviews and kept copies of personal documents on hand at their office. As of 2022, there were approximately 249,870 green card holders living in Massachusetts who were eligible to become U.S. citizens, data from the MIRA Coalition show. Other citizenship class providers around the state are listed on the MIRA Coalitions website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The loss of funding comes as the Trump administration has enacted a wave of student visa revocations across the country, impacting several colleges and universities in Massachusetts. Attorneys in Massachusetts are also reporting receiving emails from the Department of Homeland Security telling them to leave the U.S. despite having citizenship. More stories on immigration A 36-year-old Jacksonville man is dead after he was hit by an SUV Friday on Jacksonvilles Northside. The man was riding a bike eastbound on Old Kings Road North at about 3:24 p.m. The man entered the path of the SUV, driven by a 17-year-old Jacksonville girl, that was traveling southbound on New Kings Road, Florida Highway Patrol stated Monday in a news release. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The front of the SUV hit the bicyclist. Traveling in the car with the girl was an 18-year-old Callahan man, a 15-year-old Jacksonville girl, and a 10-year-old Jacksonville boy. None of the occupants in the SUV were injured, the news release states. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Read: Report reveals incident that preceded Duval inmate Charles Faggarts death stretched over 2 hours Read: Jacksonville police identify 9 officers removed from jail duties after injury of inmate who died Read: Man dead, woman injured in Jacksonville double shooting [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. Editors Note: WGN coverage of the former presidents Chicago remarks is in a new article: Biden says Trump administration has done breathtaking damage to Social Security CHICAGO (WGN) Former President Joe Biden will be in Chicago on Tuesday to speak at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in an effort to rally bipartisan support for Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Biden is listed as the headliner for the event, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile Hotel. Social Security Administration lists thousands of living immigrants as dead List: Social Security Administration offices DOGE is closing While event organizers had billed this as Bidens first public address since leaving office, a Biden spokeswoman told the Chicago Sun-Times that Biden has been public for some time. According to the Sun-Times, he gave remarks at an IBEW event last week and also spoke at a National High School Model United Nations conference in New York last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Either way, the former presidents address in Chicago on Tuesday comes at a crucial time. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern that Trump administration efforts to reduce the federal workforce will negatively impact those who rely on Social Security. We are deeply honored President Biden is making his first public appearance at ACRDs sold-out conference, Rachel Buck, the organizations executive director, said in a statement. As bipartisan leaders have long agreed, Americans who retire after paying into Social Security their whole lives deserve the vital support and caring services they receive. As a result, we are thrilled the president will be joining us to discuss how we can work together for a stable and successful future for Social Security. Also planned to attend are former Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Martin OMalley, who previously served as Marylands governor and as commissioner of the Social Security Administration. Its typically the tradition for immediate past presidents to avoid speaking publicly so soon after leaving the White House. But Trump has frequently brought up Bidens name, claiming hes to blame for the nations problems. And upon returning to the White House, Trump almost immediately began slashing the government workforce, including thousands of employees at the Social Security Administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Along with a planned layoff of 7,000 workers and controversial plans to impose tighter identity-proofing measures for recipients, the SSA has been sued over a decision to allow Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency to access individuals Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information. Musk, the worlds richest man and one of Trumps most influential advisers, has called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines At the same time, Social Security recipients have complained about long call wait times as the agencys my Social Security benefits portal has seen an increase in outages. Individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income, including disabled seniors and low-income adults and children, also reported receiving a notice that said they were not receiving benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency said the notice was a mistake. And the White House has vowed that it would not cut Social Security benefits, saying any changes are intended to reduce waste and fraud. 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 WGN-TV. Former President Joe Biden in one of his first public speeches since leaving the White House offered a full-throated rebuke of the Trump administrations efforts to cut Social Security on Tuesday, calling the amount of damage the White House has inflicted on the program "breathtaking and devastating," -- a sharp departure from his efforts while in office to protect it and "make it stronger. Well, look what's happening. In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much done so much damage, and so much, it's kind of breathtaking it could happen that soon, Biden said. Biden avoiding saying his successors name. In his nearly 30-minute remarks, the 82-year-old often sounded hushed, with several distinct outbursts in defense of Social Security and its recipients. His only indirect mention of President Donald Trump was to call him this guy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Trump administration reviewing case of FBI informant convicted of lying about Bidens Biden was introduced by former Maryland Gov. and Social Security Administrator Martin OMalley in front of roughly 180 attendees at the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled conference in Chicago. PHOTO: Former President Joe Biden speaks at a conference in Chicago, on April 15, 2025. (Pool via ABC News) I will not go further and get in trouble Biden said wearily early in his speech, as he pivoted then from highlighting his own accomplishments as president to uplift Social Security to rebuking the current White Houses cuts. Last time this guy had the job, he raised the debt ceiling because of an enormous and profligate tax cut to the super wealthy, Biden said later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They wanted to cut Social Security, Biden added, calling out Republican members of Congress. Not on my watch. We refused to go along with any of that, he said. Later in the former presidents remarks, he threw out any hesitancy to critique the current administration, even saying Trump voters in the 2024 election had no heart. What makes us distinct from the rest of the world? Basic, in my view, fundamental American values. Nobody's king, Biden said, again referencing Trump. MORE: Trump is ending Secret Service protection for Hunter and Ashley Biden You can't go on like this, as a divided nation, as divided as we are, like I said, I've been doing this a long time. It's never been this divided. Granted, it's just 30 percent, but it's a 30 percent that has no heart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also warned of additional cuts to Social Security. They've taken a hatchet in Social Security, pushing additional 7,000 employees, 7,000 out the door in that time, including the most seasoned career officials. Now they're getting ready to push something more out the door. Biden also hit directly at Trump's Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and his senior adviser Elon Musk. "Based on [Lutnicks] comments, he doesn't seem to even care. You saw what he said the other day. By the way, he's a billionaire ... He said his 94-year-old mother-in-law wouldn't complain, wouldn't bother her. Probably lovely woman. No kidding.... her son-in-law is a billionaire. What about that 94-year-old mother living all by herself? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Folks, it's not just the Secretary of Commerce, where we heard how others, empowered and emboldened by this administration, talk about Social Security, one of them called it a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme -- what the hell are they talking about?" Biden said, referring to Musk. Biden suggested that the White Houses moves were based on the tech industry adage of move fast and break things. He also asserted that this Congress would move to cut the program through the Republican funding package that would make Trumps 2017 tax cuts permanent. These guys are willing to hurt the middle class, working class, in order to deliver significant, greater wealth to the already very wealthy, he said. Who in the hell do they think they are? I really think they -- I mean just basic, basic decency. Who do think they are? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Biden's speech came as Democratic congressional leaders billed Tuesday as a "Day of Action" focused on Social Security. Across the country, Democrats are leading the fight to oppose the Republican plan to gut Social Security. Our Save Social Security Day of Action will mobilize Americans from every corner of the United States to push back on Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGEs cuts to Social Security," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement. Republicans want to slash this critical lifeline by making it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to access their earned benefits. Shutting down local offices, firing large numbers of experienced constituent service workers and cutting phone services makes it harder for people to get their checks. Republicans are trying to kill Social Security from the inside -- it is a cut by another name -- and we wont let that happen." Biden says damage Trump has done to Social Security is 'breathtaking' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com CHICAGO (WGN) Former President Joe Biden warned a Chicago audience assembled Tuesday at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled that the Trump administration has taken a hatchet to Social Security. Biden, 82, was the headliner for the event, which was slated to be held Tuesday and Wednesday at the Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile Hotel. In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. Its kind of breathtaking, Biden charged. Theyve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While event organizers had billed this as Bidens first public address since leaving office, a Biden spokeswoman told the Chicago Sun-Times that Biden has been public for some time. According to the Sun-Times, he gave remarks at an event for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers last week and also spoke at a National High School Model United Nations conference in New York last month. Social Security changes: Financial expert shares what to know Either way, the former presidents address in Chicago on Tuesday comes at a crucial time. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern that Trump administration efforts to reduce the federal workforce will negatively impact those who rely on Social Security. We are deeply honored President Biden is making his first public appearance at ACRDs sold-out conference, Rachel Buck, the organizations executive director, said in a statement. As bipartisan leaders have long agreed, Americans who retire after paying into Social Security their whole lives deserve the vital support and caring services they receive. As a result, we are thrilled the president will be joining us to discuss how we can work together for a stable and successful future for Social Security. Former President Joe Biden, seen here shortly before leaving office in January 2025, delivers remarks at the US Conference of Mayors during the 93rd winter meeting in Washington, D.C. (Ting Shen/AFP via Getty Images) Its typically the tradition for immediate past presidents to avoid speaking publicly so soon after leaving the White House. But Trump has frequently brought up Bidens name, claiming hes to blame for the nations problems. And upon returning to the White House, Trump almost immediately began slashing the government workforce, including thousands of employees at the Social Security Administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump almost immediately began slashing the government workforce upon his return to the White House, including thousands of employees at the Social Security Administration. Along with a planned layoff of 7,000 workers and controversial plans to impose tighter identity-proofing measures for recipients, the SSA has been sued over a decision to allow Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency to access individuals Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information. Musk, the worlds richest man and one of Trumps most influential advisers, has called Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. Trump blames Zelensky for Ukraine war after 60 Minutes interview Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, Social Security recipients have complained about long call wait times as the agencys my Social Security benefits portal has seen an increase in outages. Individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income, including disabled seniors and low-income adults and children, also reported receiving a notice that said they were not receiving benefits. The agency said the notice was a mistake. And the White House has vowed that it would not cut Social Security benefits, saying any changes are intended to reduce waste and fraud. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) Many in Frankfort are still rebuilding after homes and businesses were destroyed by the most recent flooding. This has been the most catastrophic one that I have seen since I lived here, said Frankfort resident Rigel Ramsey. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Homes on Big Eddy Road in Frankfort will never be the same following the most recent flooding. It just got to the point where there was no hope, said resident Heather Mammen. It was horrible because we knew that we were going under. In just 48 hours, floodwater rose to nearly 10 feet in Mammens home. To see your home just being taken over with water is really tough, Mammen added. LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS: While she is working to clean up the damage to her home, her organizations GLOW Project and GlowNGrow Cleaning Services joined together to help those in the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve helped 4 or 5 homes. Weve got two crews out today who are working with our neighbors and friends here in Frankfort, she said. Mammen started the GLOW Project after her daughter, Elaina Mammen, was shot and killed in 2022. She led her life with love and light, and I think she got that pretty honestly from her mama, but also because of who she is, said Mammen. When you help others, it takes the focus off of your own pain. You cant have darkness and light in the same space. And when youre helping others, you dont have time to think about all your own struggles as much. Mammen and other volunteers have been working together to rebuild from the damage. Its something neighbors like Carol Olson-Smith, whose home was also filled with 10 feet of water, are grateful for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Latest central Kentucky weather forecast I think we can just say to each other, Its going to be a good day, even though so many people on this road are experiencing much worse than I am. I recognize that immediately, and I cant imagine what some of my neighbors are going through, said Olson-Smith. Other people feed me when Im weak. Their prayers, text messages, and support when Im at my lowestthats what helps bring me up, Mammen added. And thats what encourages me to give to others because I know that Im going to help them too. Mammens twin sister, Ruthie Clayton, has also been helping Olson-Smith. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I used to work with her at the hospital here in town, and her house flooded just up to the main level and the whole bottom level, so shes got contractors out here already working, said Clayton. Shes packing her things to move to Louisville for about 3 or 4 months. Mammen said she expects the recovery process for her community to take 2 to 6 months. MORE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: You can donate to the organizations Venmo @GLOW-Project or contact Mammen at (859)-420-5653. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youd like to volunteer, you can join the GLOW Project or visit their 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. SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO) It promises to be a fun filled night of music and hope, while raising money for a good cause. This Thursday night the Denny Sanford Premier Center will host the 8th annual Big Stars and Pink Guitars. Its a fundraiser for breast cancer research and patients that was started by Kory Van Sickle of Kory and the Fireflies. And as youre about to see, theyll be auctioning off pink guitars signed by some of the biggest names in music. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kory and the Fireflies are arguably one of the regions most popular bands. Notice of high-risk offenders release to Huron But their founder, Kory Van Sickle has found a way to illuminate another way to turn music into money by starting and event called Big Stars and Pink Guitars thatll take place this Thursday night at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. I thought if we take a ribbon shaped guitar and start having all these artists who play in this beautiful building sign them we can do something with that, Van Sickle said. And they have. For the first few years the event was held in smaller venues, but Big Stars and Pink Guitars has become a wildly popular fundraiser for the Sanford Health Foundation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now here we are transitioning to the Denny Sanford Premier Center because weve grown so significantly and we have a lot of people who are onboard we are auctioning off a significant number of guitars every single year, Erin Sanderson of the Sanford Health Foundation said. This year, they are auctioning off 20 pink guitars all signed by music icons. I think one thing to really notice is 100% of every dollar given or any gift to the Sanford Health Foundation stays local, this event specifically supporting the Edith Sanford Breast Center, Sanderson said. It supports the cancer patients in various ways. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Making sure that people are supporting them through wigs, head coverings, nurse navigation programs, state of the art equipment anything we can do to wrap our arms around these women, we are here working for you through community events like this, Sanderson said. Van Sickle remembers Jason Aldean signing one of the guitars when he peformed at the Premier Center. But Van Sickle says Aldean got up on stage in Michigan during one of his concerts and played the pink guitar. A couple of weeks after that it was put on eBay and sold for $15 plus thousand and crazy enough found our dear friend, hes a dear friend now, but I didnt know him at the time Brian Kern from Madison, South Dakota had bought that, of all the people in the world on the internet, he bought that guitar and he has a killer collection now, Van Sickle said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Various artists, from Tim McGraw, which was the very first one, to Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs He also got the Taylor Swift one last year. Don: What did you give for that one? Brian: It was a lot He doesnt even play guitar. I have a grand piano in my house too, but I dont play piano, so kind of the same thing, Kern said. But why so many guitars? Thats an easy question to answer, my first wife passed away from cancer, Kern said. She was 28 years old at the time so when Kory approached me I thought it was a great cause. A cause thats raised a lot of money. Last year they hit the $1 million dollar mark in one night bringing the total money raised since its inception to now $4.5 million dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But it wouldnt have been possible without the cooperation of the stars. We find that a huge amount of the artists have been touched by breast cancer in some way, whether its their mom or sister or daughter or a dear friend, whatever; a lot of women deal with it, and almost every artists who has come through here has signed guitars for us as well, Van Sickle said. Now some of those signed pink guitars hang in the Premier Center as subtle reminder of what can happen when music and money come together for a good cause. Van Sickle has always had a desire to help others and this is one way he can give back to people who have supported him and his band over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This program is going to save literally thousands of women, Van Sickle said. Van Sickle says besides the 20 pink guitars, theyll also be auctioning off one that he says will be a big surprise. To learn more about the event and how to donate to the Sanford Health Foundation click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. SOUTH CHINA SEA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China's coast guard authorities on Tuesday said one of its ships patrolling waters near Huangyan Dao was harassed by a Philippine vessel in an attempt to smear the Chinese side with staged photos. The Philippine coast guard ship 4409 dangerously approached the Chinese vessel Zhongnan in waters near Huangyan Dao on Monday morning, crossing close to the bow of the Chinese vessel four times, said the China Coast Guard, adding that the Philippine vessel was later repelled from the area. The iconic columns of the University of Missouri-Columbia campus (University of Missouri photo). A Missouri House committee advanced an amended Senate bill Monday that would end the University of Missouris exclusive permission to grant doctoral degrees. The new provision is tacked onto Senate Bill 150, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Jill Carter of Granby, which originally established a fund to reimburse tuition and book fees for students in community colleges and technical schools. It passed the Senate last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A substitute version of the bill adopted Monday by the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee consolidates six smaller education bills, including provisions ranging from expanded financial aid opportunities to increased requirements for universities to accept transfer credit. Among these consolidated bills is one sponsored by Republican state Rep. Melanie Stinnett if Springfield which would remove statutes that grant the University of Missouri and other UM System campuses exclusive license to offer certain doctoral degree programs. The UM System is the only public university system permitted to grant research doctorate and professional degrees. Other state universities are allowed to partner with the UM System to offer similar degree programs but cannot do so independently. The amended version of the bill passed Monday out of committee would repeal this provision, specifically to allow Missouri State University to offer programs that compete with those on UM System campuses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Proponents of the bill say that the exclusivity granted to UM System campuses makes doctoral degrees less accessible to those who do not live near a campus. When I look at that, if that is a space that someone is interested in, we really shouldnt be limiting that for people just because they cant travel to a specific area of the state, Stinnett said in a committee hearing last month. Missouri State University President Richard Williams testified last month that his university simply seeks more flexibility. Missouri State currently offers 10 doctorate programs but is required by state law to do so in partnership with UM System campuses. This is relieving restrictions so we can be nimble, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opponents to ending UM Systems exclusive power include the University of Missouri Flagship Council, which said in February in a Missourian guest commentary that tuition increases would likely follow as a result. The bottom line is that starting doctoral programs at public universities without research funding will need to be propped up with significant state support, Chuck Brazeale, chair of the Flagship Councils board of directors, wrote. The bill passed through the House committee Monday by a vote of 10 to 1, with only state Rep. Bill Allen, a Republican from Kansas City, dissenting. This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online. State Rep. Alyssa Brown speaks in favor of bill that would prohibit DEI in local government on April 14, 2025. (Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate) Legislation banning diversity, equity and inclusion policies and practices at the local level passed the Arkansas House of Representatives Monday, sending the bill to the governors desk. Senate Bill 520 is one of several bills targeting culture war issues that have been taken up during the 2025 legislative session. The bill, if it becomes law, would prohibit DEI offices, officers, policies, or practices in local government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the proposed law, local governments would be prohibited from implementing hiring and employment policies that take into account diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI offices, or programs, policies, practices or applicant statements that promote DEI. Local officials or contractors would also be prohibited from compelling another official or contractor to personally affirm, adopt, or adhere to certain beliefs or ideals specified in the bill. Private citizens would have a right to sue local governments if they do not cease violations of the prohibition within 30 days of being notified under the bill. Senate Bill 520 is sponsored by Rep. Alyssa Brown, R-Heber Springs, in the House and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, in the Senate. Sullivan also sponsored Act 116 of 2025, which repealed state affirmative action programs and prohibited discrimination or preferential treatment by state entities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sullivan told the Senate last week that the state needed to align itself with the current presidential administrations positions on DEI. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January that shut down DEI programs within the federal government, and the government has targeted federal grants for cancellation for not complying with the administrations positions on DEI. Rep. Jessie McGruder, D-Marion, criticized the bill on the House floor Monday, asking why SB 520 was targeting local governments when state GOP lawmakers placed so much emphasis on maintaining and returning local control to cities and counties. Im trying to get an understanding of why were doing this, because we always say local control, McGruder said. So each city should be able to control whats happening within their community. We dont understand the differences in the dynamics that occur in each and every community. Brown appeared to take issue with McGruders comments when closing for her bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont get to gaslight members with this idea of local control that takes away what is deemed constitutional. We wouldnt let a local government take away the Second Amendment rights of their citizens, Brown said. This bill is about making sure were consistent with what weve passed on a state level. Brown added that discrimination is illegal under federal and state civil rights law, but this bill ensures that in the process of preventing discrimination. We do not allow our local government to discriminate in its policies. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Voters cast their ballots in the 2024 general election at Plymouth United Church of Christ polling location in Des Moines on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The Iowa Senate sent legislation to the governor Monday making changes to Iowas election recount process. House File 928, passed 31-14, would change who can request a recount for an election in Iowa. In races for local offices and the Iowa Legislature, there would need to be difference of 1% or 50 votes between the candidates whichever is less for a candidate to request a recount. For statewide and federal races, the bill would require a 0.15% difference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Election recount boards would change from their current make-up of a person designated by each candidate, alongside one other individual agreed upon by both candidates. The new system would have county auditors lead the board with their staff and hired election workers, with a requirement that boards must have equal numbers of workers from each political party. Candidates could also be able to choose up to five people to observe the recount in each county. Sen. Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, said these changes put Iowas recount process in line with other states, and addresses existing problems with potential conflicts of interest that exist in allowing campaigns to oversee the recount process. Theres no uniformity, no reliability or enforcement, Rozenboom said. That creates distrust the system. However, Sen. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, said the proposed changes to the recount system allowing auditors to oversee election recounts could create conflicts of interest if they are the incumbent party involved in an election recount. Rozenboom countered that county auditors would still be bound by the law to fairly administer recounts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I understand the nature of your question, but in the unlikely event that that happens, theres still their responsibility to do that, Rozenboom said. And please note that there will be observers to watch that process. But Winckler said the current recount process serves Iowa well, without bringing up potential conflicts of interest posed by the county auditor who is a partisan elected official and their staff overseeing the process. Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, said in the recount elections she has been involved in, balance in the process was not an issue as both candidates got to appoint a member of the recount board, and saying that candidates come out with much greater respect for the process for ensuring fair election results. What we will have if we shift through this new model is candidates feeling very suspicious, very uncertain and not knowing if they can trust what theyre hearing as part of this process and not feeling represented in it, Trone Garriott said. Just because someone is a member of the same political party does not ensure that that person has that candidates best interest at heart, or is qualified to be the representative, or is qualified to be part of this process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rozenboom argued that these criticisms do not acknowledge that partisan county auditors are already overseeing elections. If we trust them to conduct the election in the first place, it seems reasonable to me that we would trust them to conduct a recount, Rozenboom said. The bill would also implement an earlier deadline for requesting a recount, requiring requests be submitted by the end of the day of the second Wednesday after an election. The current deadline is the second Friday after an election. Recounts would be requested through the Secretary of States office for legislative, statewide and federal races, a change from the current system where campaigns make requests to each county auditor. Another portion of the bill requires recounts to be conducted using vote tabulators, whereas current law allows hand-counting in some areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rozenboom said the measure will bring consistency, reliability, fairness, uniformity and enforcement to the states election recounts. Election law is maybe the most important legislation that we can pass in this state, because election law, fair elections, are the absolute bedrock of our system of government, Rozenboom said. This legislation will correct flaws in our current system. The bill, approved by the House in late March, now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds. Legislation is headed to the governor's desk that would expand disability and death benefits for first responders from the current 14 cancers covered to all types of cancer. (Photo courtesy of the Des Moines Fire Department) Iowa House lawmakers unanimously passed a bill expanding cancer coverage for emergency responders in Iowa, sending it to the governor. House File 969 expands disability and death benefits for firefighters, emergency medical services responders and law enforcement officers from the current 14 cancers covered to all types of cancer. The bill also proposes changes to contribution rates for the Peace Officers Retirement, Accident, and Disability System (PORS), the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa (411 System) and the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) the retirement programs for these public workers in part to finance this expanded coverage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, celebrated the bill making it to Gov. Kim Reynolds after failing to advance in the Senate in previous sessions. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Finally, after six subcommittees, six committee votes, and what will be our fourth and hopefully final floor vote, we are finally going to get this bill for cancer coverage, screening for first responders down to the governors desk, Kaufmann said. The bill passed the Senate earlier in April with an amendment making minor changes to contribution rates, and only one no vote, from Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig. The final House vote was greeted with a standing ovation from lawmakers and supporters of the legislation in the gallery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kaufmann thanked Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, for leading the bill in the other chamber. I think its important also to know that we, as a House body, can pass this bill as many times as we want, but without a senator being willing to take up and run with it, it wasnt going to happen, he said. And so I would be remiss if I did not thank Senator Scott Webster, who took this bill on, didnt take no for an answer and got this back to us. He also thanked Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, for his work to pass the bipartisan measure. Turek spoke in support of the measure, saying this expansion of coverage will help the state better care for its workers responding to emergencies throughout the state. This is what we are here to do, is to take care of our citizens, protect our citizens, and particularly our heroes, Turek said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some supporters, including firefighters, law enforcement officers and their families, sat in the gallery as the House passed the measure. Turek said he was grateful that this is the last time you have to come back. Kaufmann also thanked emergency responders for their efforts to move the bill forward. For the folks that are up in the gallery each and every day, at any given moment, you lay down your lives or are willing to, for all of us, Kaufmann said. This is the least we can do, is finally get this across the finish line. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE In her new memoir, Melinda French Gates shared her first pregnancy experience. She said Bill Gates went to work and she was "cheerfully alone" at the hospital. Gates joined her when she was in active labor, which took over 14 hours. Right before giving birth, Melinda French Gates was alone at the hospital. She said she loved it. In her new memoir, "The Next Day," Gates, 60, shared details of her 27-year marriage and divorce from Bill Gates, including how she dealt with different life transitions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of them was the birth of Jennifer Gates, the first of the Gates' three children, in 1996. Gates said the birthing process was long, and that she spent the beginning of her labor experience by herself while Bill Gates returned to work. Bill Gates went to work as a 'compromise' Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in the early years of their marriage. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images First-time deliveries often take longer because the body's tissues and muscles haven't been stretched before. Gates was told that "labor can last an astonishingly long time," she wrote in the book. The Gates's arrived at the hospital before Gates technically started feeling contractions. Because they were early, their doctor debated sending them back home to wait. Instead, Gates said she "settled on a compromise" with her husband: he would go to the office while she stayed at the hospital. The plan was to call him once she entered active labor. She enjoyed the solo time "Before you roll your eyes, keep in mind that there really wasn't anything for him to do yet," Gates wrote in the book. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she was "cheerfully alone," roaming the halls of the Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue, Washington. To keep herself occupied, she read Edith Wharton's "The Custom of the Country" and thought about her upcoming delivery. Gates said Bill Gates' assistant was "hovering by the phone" all day, expecting a call at any minute. Once she entered active labor, Gates told Bill to hurry over. Gates with her daughter, Jennifer Gates, in 2013. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images When he arrived at the hospital, she said he was "fascinated" by the delivery process, which took over 14 and a half hours. She described the experience as "really hard," due to a complication in the baby's positioning. Gates also opted out of pain medication, wanting to "feel every sensation." In the end, Gates remembers immediately falling in love with her new daughter. "I was absolutely smitten," she wrote. "A new chapter began." Read the original article on Business Insider (NewsNation) Bill OReilly recently spoke with President Trump and believes the president has several tariff deals already done that he will roll out in the coming weeks. He said to me, in the next few weeks, there are going to be stunning positive achievements that happen for the United States, OReilly told NewsNations Leland Vittert. OReilly said in his 35 years of knowing Trump, hes never been misled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bill OReilly: Trump tariffs will bleed China until it makes better deals Iced out? Yes, but not misled, OReilly mused. He would not have said that if those deals werent already done, OReilly said. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to meet with Trump on April 17 to talk tariffs, but OReilly thinks that deal is already done. He also believes the Japan deal is done. Trump pushes Democrats to verge of collapse: Bill OReilly OReilly said Trump believes hes going to bring the American people a series of deals over a short period of time that makes the president look like an economic genius. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats what Trump believes, OReilly said. I cant with any certainty predict what will happen. A raft of trade deals would likely come as welcome news to American businesses and financial markets that have been rocked by uncertainty in recent 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 NewsNation. Protesters opposing a bill that would raise the standard for proving liability for lawsuits involving pesticides peer through the windows of the Capitol on April 14, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota Senate on Monday passed a bill that backers say ensures farmers in the state will have access to needed ag chemicals, while protesters outside the Capitol lobbied against legal protections for pesticide manufacturers. House Bill 1318, which is similar to legislation being considered in several other states, passed on a vote of 29-18. The bill was amended and will return to the House, which had previously given the bill unanimous approval. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Much of the discussion on the bill has centered on the product Roundup, produced by the German company Bayer. Bayer has been hit with several lawsuits alleging that Roundup causes cancer even though the Environmental Protection Agency has not determined that the herbicide causes cancer. Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg. (Photo provided by the North Dakota Legislative Assembly) Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, said the bill confirms that the label is the law and that a court ruling cant lead to the product being pulled from the market. A California case threatened to temporarily pull Roundup from the market in some western states. The bill says that the EPA label provides adequate warning to the hazards of the product and shields manufacturers from lawsuits if the product is labeled and manufactured property. Myrdal and other supporters referred to frivolous lawsuits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bayer has been ordered to pay billions of dollars to people who have successfully filed lawsuits claiming they have been harmed by Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate. Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, one of the opponents of the bill, said he understands farmers want to use pesticides, but he feared they will regret the bill should a product later be found to cause health problems. Farmers themselves are giving up some protection, Mathern said. Dont give it away. The bill spurred a small protest in front of the Capitol before the vote. Sam Wagner, who focuses on ag issues for the Dakota Resource Council and helped organize the protest, said the group wanted to make sure North Dakota citizens have a fair shot if they challenge prominent pesticide makers in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (The bill) isnt going to stop them from filing a lawsuit, Wagner said. Its just going to make the bar so high. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He said the national group Modern Ag Alliance is trying to get similar bills passed in other states to insulate ag chemical companies from liability. Charlene Nelson of Casselton said the bill would strip away a fundamental right of people to use the court system if they feel wronged. If this passes, it will be almost impossible for someone to win a case, Nelson said. While the focus of discussion has been on Roundup, she noted that there are about 16,000 different chemicals registered for use with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, on April 15, 2025, spoke in favor of a bill that protects availability of pesticides to North Dakota farmers. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) We dont know what the full effects of all of those are, Nelson said. What if five, six, 10 years down the road, we find out that they really are dangerous? We will have no way to recover the losses or the damages that those incur. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other arguments in favor of the bill included helping ensure that Bayer and other manufacturers would not pull out of the U.S. market because of the product liability claim, and that it would encourage further research and development of ag chemicals. Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, said without protections for the chemical industry, any new investment would be chilled. Reporter Michael Achterling contributed to this report. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A group of Fort Mill citizens, upset about solar manufacturing company Silfab, have posted billboards speaking out against the company. Both billboards are posted on Highway 21, near Logistics Lane in Fort Mill. One sign calls Silfab a Toxic Chemical Site and says the plant will be within one mile of 12 schools. The group Citizens for Governmental Integrity posted the billboards. Judge declines to halt construction at controversial Fort Mill solar panel manufacturing facility Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On its website, Silfab Solar said, When the company moved into the light industrial zone, schools were not allowed to be built in these zones. There was a decision by the York County Council to rezone our area to allow a school to be built. Our other facilities are next to bodies of water and in the middle of urban areas. Our safety protocols have kept environments and the people around our facility safe. The company also said it has taken best-in-class steps to reduce any risk to employees, their families, and neighboring communities. Materials used during their assembly processes can all be found in household products, Silfab said on its website. However, on the website movesilfab.com, opponents of the project said regarding the chemicals, Silfab Solars proposed factory in Fort Mill poses serious risks to our community. One of the biggest concerns is the hazardous chemicals they plan to use and store in large quantities. These include some of the most toxic, explosive, and flammable substances known. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Silfab Solar was approved to assemble solar cells and solar modules in December 2022 by York County. VIDEO: National Pediatric Health Group joins debate over schools being built near Silfab Solar in Fort Mill The North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel) On a busy day at the North Carolina General Assembly, the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee approved pair of bills that have received a good deal of public attention. House Bill 133, NC Farmland and Military Protection Act, sponsored by Reps. Jennifer Balkcom (R-Henderson), Neal Jackson (R-Moore, Randolph), Jeff Zenger (R-Forsyth), and John Bell (R-Goldsboro), would ban adversarial foreign governments from purchasing, acquiring, or leasing agricultural land in North Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The restrictions would also apply to land situated within a 75-mile radius of a military installation a number influenced by national defense recommendations, Balkcom said such as Fort Bragg near Fayetteville. A complete list of applicable installations is outlined in the bill text. The measure comes at the same time that international tensions have been on the rise amidst the Trump administrations tariffs on foreign trade partners. HB 133 defines adversarial foreign governments as the ones subject to the U.S. State Departments International Traffic in Arms Regulations, according to the bill text, but does not explicitly outline the nations. Its counterpart in the upper chamber, Senate Bill 394, Prohibit Foreign Ownership of NC Land, passed the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environment Committee last week and specifies the adversarial governments as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Phil Sheperd (R-Onslow) asked if the bill had anything to do with legislation in previous years aimed towards reimbursing farmers for the purchase of their land. Balkcom responded that the bill is more of a preventative measure. Instead of incentivizing farmers to sell their land, it targets foreign groups and bars them from purchasing the property. This is basically protecting it from being able to sell, those who do were not given any incentive to do it, she said. Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba) brought up the legality and constitutionality of preventing a landowner from selling their property to a ready, willing buyer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Private property rights are crucial here, but so is national security, Balkcom said. The way we look at this bill doesnt impact private buyers or U.S. companies. It applies only to entities controlled by foreign governments designated an adversary from our own federal agency. The bill now heads to the House Rules Committee. Youth social media ban The committee also approved House Bill 301, Social Media Protections for Minors Under 16. According to a legislative staff summary, the bill would among other things: Prohibit social media platforms from allowing minors under the age of 14 to create an account. Prohibit social media platforms from allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to create an account without parental consent. Require social media platforms to use age verification to verify the age of account holders. Authorize the Department of Justice to bring an action for unfair and deceptive trade practices against a social medial platform that violates these provisions and collect a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per violation. Authorize a civil action on behalf of a minor account holder and an award of up to $10,000 in damages. HB 301 moves to the House Rules Committee for further discussion. BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 90 individuals across China have been recognized for their significant contributions to national security, the Ministry of State Security announced Tuesday, the 10th National Security Education Day. The awards mark the seventh consecutive year since 2019 that state security authorities have honored citizens who played key roles in protecting national interests, particularly through reporting suspicious activities. Among those commended is a fisherman surnamed Lu from a coastal region, who received a major contribution award after retrieving a foreign espionage device from the sea. An office worker surnamed Liu, from Liaoning Province, northeast China, was recognized for reporting individuals covertly photographing military facilities. In Zhejiang Province, a scholar surnamed Shi was honored for identifying a foreign organization's illegal efforts to collect sensitive Chinese data. The honorees come from diverse backgrounds and professions, including soldiers, doctors, engineers, civil servants and farmers. They range in age from a 16-year-old high school student to a 70-year-old retired teacher. The ministry praised the recipients for their vigilance and dedication, saying citizens from all walks of life had made "extraordinary contributions from ordinary posts" by standing up to activities that threaten national security. National Security Education Day is observed annually on April 15 to raise public awareness of national security issues and encourage greater civic involvement in safeguarding the country. The flu sickens millions of people in the U.S. every year, and the past year has been particularly tough. Although infections are trending downward, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the winter of 2024-2025 a high severity season with the highest hospitalization rate in 15 years. Since early 2024, a different kind of flu called bird flu, formally known as avian influenza, has been spreading in birds as well as in cattle. The current bird flu outbreak has infected 70 Americans and caused two deaths as of April 8, 2025. Public health and infectious disease experts say the risk to humans is currently low, but they have expressed concern that this strain of the bird flu virus may mutate to spread between people. As a doctoral candidate in immunology, I study how pathogens that make us sick interact with our immune system. The viruses that cause seasonal flu and bird flu are distinct but still closely related. Understanding their similarities and differences can help people protect themselves and their loved ones. What is influenza? The flu has long been a threat to public health. The first recorded influenza pandemic occurred in 1518, but references to illnesses possibly caused by influenza stretch back as as early as 412 B.C., to a treatise called Of the Epidemics by the Greek physician Hippocrates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, the World Health Organization estimates that the flu infects 1 billion people every year. Of these, 3 million to 5 million infections cause severe illness, and hundreds of thousands are fatal. Influenza is part of a large family of viruses called orthomyxoviruses. This family contains several subtypes of influenza referred to as A, B, C and D which differ in their genetic makeup and in the types of infections they cause. Influenza A and B pose the largest threat to humans and can cause severe disease. Influenza C causes mild disease, and influenza D is not known to infect people. Since the turn of the 20th century, influenza A has caused four pandemics. Influenza B has never caused a pandemic. An influenza A strain called H1N1 caused the famous 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed about 50 million people worldwide. A related H1N1 virus was responsible for the most recent influenza A pandemic in 2009, commonly referred to as the swine flu pandemic. In that case, scientists believe multiple different types of influenza A virus mixed their genetic information to produce a new and especially virulent strain of the virus that infected more than 60 million people in the U.S. from April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, and caused huge losses to the agriculture and travel industries. Both swine and avian influenza are strains of influenza A. Just as swine flu strains tend to infect pigs, avian flu strains tend to infect birds. But the potential for influenza A viruses that typically infect animals to cause pandemics in humans, like the swine flu pandemic, is why experts are concerned about the current avian influenza outbreak. Seasonal flu versus bird flu Different strains of influenza A and influenza B emerge each year from about October to May as seasonal flu. The CDC collects and analyzes data from public health and clinical labs to determine which strains are circulating through the population and in what proportions. For example, recent data shows that H1N1 and H3N2, both influenza A viruses, were responsible for the vast majority of cases this season. Standard tests for influenza generally determine whether illness is caused by an A or B strain, but not which strain specifically. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials at the Food and Drug Administration use this information to make strain recommendations for the following seasons influenza vaccine. Although the meeting at which FDA advisers were to decide the makeup of the 2026 flu vaccine was unexpectedly canceled in late February, the FDA still released its strain recommendations to manufacturers. The recommendations dont include H5N1, the influenza A strain that causes avian flu. The number of strains that can be added into seasonal influenza vaccines is limited. Because cases of people infected with H5N1 are minimal, population-level vaccination is not currently necessary. As such, seasonal flu vaccines are not designed to protect against avian influenza. In fact, no commercially available human vaccines currently exist for avian influenza viruses. How do people get bird flu? Although H5N1 mainly infects birds, it occasionally infects people, too. Human cases, first reported in 1997 in Hong Kong, have primarily occurred in poultry farm workers or others who have interacted closely with infected birds. Initially identified in China in 1996, the first major outbreak of H5 family avian flu occurred in North America in 2014-2015. This outbreak was caused by the H5N8 strain, a close relative of H5N1. The first H5N1 outbreak in North America began in 2021 when infected birds carried the virus across the ocean. It then ripped through poultry farms across the continent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March 2024, epidemiologists identified H5N1 infections in cows on dairy farms the first time that bird flu was reported to infect cows. Then, on April 1, 2024, health officials in Texas reported the first case of a person catching bird flu from infected cattle the first time transmission of bird flu between mammals was documented. As of March 21, 2025, there have been 988 human cases of H5N1 worldwide since 1997, about half of which resulted in death. The current outbreak in the U.S. accounts for 70 of those infections and one death. Importantly, there have been no reports of H5N1 spreading directly from one person to another. Since avian flu is an influenza A strain, it would show up as positive on a standard rapid flu test. However, theres no evidence so far that avian flu is significantly contributing to current influenza cases. Specific testing is required to confirm that a person has avian flu, and this testing isnt done unless theres reason to believe that the person was exposed to sick birds or other sources of infection. How might avian flu become more dangerous? As viruses replicate within the cells of their host, their genetic information can get copied incorrectly. Some of these genetic mutations cause no immediate differences, while others alter some key viral characteristics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Influenza viruses mutate in a special way called reassortment, which occurs when multiple strains infect the same cell and trade pieces of their genome with one another, potentially creating new, unique strains. This process prolongs the time the virus can inhabit a host before an infection is cleared. Even a slight change in a strain of influenza can result in the immune systems inability to recognize the virus. As a result, the process forces our immune systems to build new defenses instead of using immunity from previous infections. Reassortment can also change how harmful strains are to their host, and can even enable a strain to infect a different species of host. For example, strains that typically infect pigs or birds may acquire the ability to infect people. Influenza A can infect many different types of animals, including cattle, birds, pigs, and horses. This means there are many strains that can intermingle to create novel strains that peoples immune systems havent encountered before and therefore arent primed to fight. Its possible for this type of transformation to also occur in H5N1, and the CDC monitors which strains of flu are circulating, in order prepare for that possibility. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a surveillance system for monitoring potential threats for spillover from birds and other animals, although this capacity may be at risk due to staff cuts in the department. These systems are critical to ensure that public health officials have the most up-to-date information on the threat that H5N1 poses to public health and can take action as early as possible, when a threat is evident. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The post How Bird Flu Differs From Seasonal Flu An Infectious Disease Expert Explains appeared first on Katie Couric Media. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Birmingham police are searching for a missing 17-year-old girl who was reportedly last seen March 21. According to the Birmingham Police Department, TyKeria Samuels was last observed near the 3200 block of 31st Place N heading to a friends house in the Norwood area. She did not return home. TyKeria Samuels (Photo courtesy of the Birmingham Police Department) Samuels is 5-foot-5 and weighs around 165 pounds. Those with information on her whereabouts are asked to call the BPD at 205-328-9311 or 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. Black social media was set ablaze after Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell, founder of Atlantas 2819 Church, shared a sermon that has him going viral. And not in that good, inspiring viral to which most pastors aspire. Stop blaming white cops for the killing of black kids, Mitchell told his congregation during his Sunday (April 13) sermon. Instead, teach your black children to be obedient towards authority. tiktok-7493249900809932063 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A native of Queens, NY, Mitchell referenced his own youth experience: Walking through the Hollis neighborhood, he described his humbling moment with an Italian cop, which Mitchell said held the cop held a Glock to his head and dared him to say something. In that moment, I hear the voice of my mom and my father, he said. Son, obey authority. The backlash moved quickly through social media. Commenters lit up their timelines with criticism, accusing the pastor of his Christian conservative views of being out of touch with the realities that our Black youth endure in the eyes of the law. Using the disparate and systemic murders of black people at the hands of the police was not only a bad example but very harmful, one commenter on X wrote. Horrible example to prove his point. Very disappointing. Regardless of what Phillip Anthony Mitchell was trying to convey in that sermon, using the disparate and systemic murders of black people at the hands of the police was not only a bad example but very harmful. Horrible example to prove his point. Very disappointing Whitney (@whitney_jenise) April 15, 2025 For many commenters who witnessed the brutal police killings of George Floyd, Sandra Bland, and Philando Castile the sermon sounded more like a political lecture than a call for spiritual growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bishop Talbert Swan didnt hold back. Pastor Phillip(sic) Mitchell is engagiing in c**ntastic preaching, he wrote. It is the regurgitation of white supremacist ideology through Black mouths. He is not preaching Christ-he is preaching complicity. Another commenter defended him: Some people are so pro-black more than they are pro-God. After Pastor Philip A Mitchells sermon, he preached some of yall just only looking at the clip & not the entire sermon. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill that would significantly impact blind business owners across the state. Now, those owners are calling on legislators to oppose House Bill 1066 as it goes to the floor for a vote on Thursday. The bills author, Rep. Kevin Vaughan, says the basis behind the bill is that it was bought to him by administrative staff who were frustrated by the level of service provided by the commissary vendors on the grounds of the Cordell Hull building and the Capitol. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charges dropped against woman in Rhodes student death Tennessee currently has a good reputation as a state to business in, but at this time were looking at draconian legislation that essentially kind of put 304 people out of work immediately, said Billy Brumlow, Chair of the Tennessee Committee of Blind Vendors. Like any loving couple, Lance and Edna Morris depend on one another. However, they dont want to have to depend on the government to make a living. If this bill passes, we will no longer have the money. Most are 80 or certainly at least 61, probably within a year or two of their jobs they will lose their health insurance. And like most families, they go paycheck to paycheck. Theyll lose their homes, said vendor Lance Morris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edna Morris works as a commissary vendor at 201 Poplar and believes the Tennessee Business Enterprises Program for the Blind is one of the best in the nation. She says the Tennessee Department of Human Services will lose around $3 million in matching federal funds if this bill passes. Weve got people wanting to move to Tennessee to get into our program, said Edna Morris. See more breaking news, local news and weather from WREG.com for Memphis and the Mid-South. Sign up for WREG newsletters and have the latest top stories sent right to your inbox. In a statement, in part, Representative Vaughan said, Initially, we were attempting to increase performance by introducing competition for those services, including preferences for vendors with various disabilities. We want to make sure that any conflicts or inconsistencies are remedied prior to bringing it back before the House for a vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as a blind person, I had to have a full-time employee to drive me around so that we could log our machines. It costs blind people more money to do the same business as well, and Lance Morris. A large contingency of blind people are expected in Nashville this week to advocate and express their opposition to this bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Blue Valley School Board unanimously approved a new sex offender policy Monday after parents discovered a registered offender attended an elementary school dance back in February. The policy states: No person 18 or older who is registered on the Kansas Public Offender Registry (Offender Registry) as a result of the commission of a sex crime against a minor child shall be allowed on any school district property or to attend any school-sponsored activity, event or program except for those adults who are current Blue Valley students. For purposes of this policy, sex crimes are defined in K.S.A. 21-5501, et seq. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any Blue Valley student who is on the Offender Registry with a legal right to attend school will require a safety plan that has been approved by the Director of Safety and Security and the Superintendent before beginning. Nothing in this policy is intended to impose a duty upon any district administrator, employee or Board member to review the Kansas Public Offender Registry to determine the presence of offenders in the community. This policy shall apply when district or school administrators have direct knowledge that a person in question is on the Registry. KC woman says shes a victim of tow company under criminal investigation Blue Valleys new policy comes after a registered sex offender, who once admitted to having child pornography, was seen at a Blue River Elementary School dance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man, who lives with a woman whose children attend the school, was seen taking pictures of students at the dance. According to previous reporting, in 2011, the man pleaded guilty to having and sharing child pornography. The man went to prison before getting supervised release, but he will remain on the sex offender registry for the next 17 years. Despite the mans record, previous reports said he had gotten prior permission to be at the dance. This caused outrage amongst parents and families who reached out to the school board for change. However, in response to the incident, the school board president reiterated that there was no violation of Kansas law, district policy, or administrative guidelines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, after the board approved the policy on Monday, that will no longer be the case. In addition to a new policy change, Kansas lawmakers had considered a bill, Senate Bill 288, that would have made it a felony for any 18 or older registered sex offender to attend school events or enter school property if their underlying offense involved a child. Two men charged in connection with major drug bust in Kansas City Even though many were in favor of the bill, others said it would hurt the families and children of sex offenders who are trying to put the past behind them. Senate Bill 288 passed in the senate but did not pass in the Kansas House of Representatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, Kansas still has no restrictions, but just across the state line, Missouri has laws prohibiting sex offenders from residing within 1,000 feet of daycare centers or schools. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BLUEFIELD, WV (WVNS) Bluefield State University released a statement where administrators said their Mining Engineering Technology program perfectly aligns with President Donald Trumps coal policies. According to a press release, the program, which is in its second year, is in step with President Trumps policies which emphasize that coal is essential to security of the nations economy. Our Mining Engineering Technology program aligns with the goals of President Trumps coal initiative. The President aims to reduce federal regulations, promote coal use, boost exports, and ensure fair treatment of coal production in federal policy, all of which aim to increase coal production. Similarly, our program focuses on training skilled professionals who will help strengthen Americas energy independence. Dr. Darrin Martin | President, Bluefield State University The degree program supports priorities laid out by President Trump through different approaches, the release stated. It addresses the shortage of mining professionals needed to put in place the Presidents goals for increased domestic coal production. Dr. Darrin Martin, President of Bluefield State University (Photo courtesy of Bluefield State University) Our students learn cutting-edge mining technologies and processes that align with the Administrations focus on efficient resource utilization. This includes training in automation, safety systems, and extraction methods that maximize production while meeting regulatory requirements. The programs emphasis on technological innovation ensures graduates can help modernize operations across the coal industry. Dr. Darrin Martin | President, Bluefield State University Bluefield art exhibit gives local student artists the spotlight Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The course of study also focuses on topics such as international standards and practices, preparing graduates to enter the workforce even in global markets. As domestic coal businesses aim to expand, graduates from Bluefield State will be equipped to meet the needs of these companies worldwide, the release noted. Students receive comprehensive training in environmental compliance and sustainable practices, equipping them to implement coal production methods that satisfy both energy needs and environmental standards. This balanced approach allows for the industrys growth while addressing regulatory requirements and stakeholder concerns. President Trumps policy recognizes what weve long understood at Bluefield Statecoal remains fundamental to American energy security. Our program prepares professionals who can implement this vision through technical expertise and innovation. The program also prepares students for extraction of critical mineralsincluding lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, and coppersupporting the Administrations broader strategy for American resource independence and supply chain security. Dr. Darrin Martin | President, Bluefield State University Bluefield State University introduces International Studies program Bluefield State University uses its strategic position to give students hands-on experience through partnerships with mining operations, the release stated. The training prepares to take part in the revitalization of the industry through the new policy directives. For generations, coal has been more than just a resource in southern West Virginiait has been a way of life. Our Mining Engineering Technology program honors that legacy while preparing students to lead the future of the industry. Dr. Darrin Martin | President, Bluefield State University For more information about the program, as well as information on how to apply, visit the programs 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 WVNS. HOWLAND, Ohio (WKBN) Boardman finished its contest against Howland with six homeruns in its 12-3 win in an All-American clash. Addie Rudge hit 3 long balls as the teams catcher closed out her night with 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs. Tori Strines homered twice and drove in 5 runs. She also pitched the first 4 innings, striking out 4 and permitting just 4 hits. Mikayla Rivera also hit a solo-shot and had a single in the Spartans big win. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boardman has won 4 games in a row to improve to 10-2. Madison Schmitz belted a home run for the Tigers atop of their order. Howland (7-5) saw their 5-game win streak snapped. On Tuesday, Boardman will welcome Howland. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BOCA RATON The three members of a Palm Beach County family killed Friday morning, when a six-seater Cessna 310 plane crashed in Boca Raton, were headed to Tallahassee for a college visit, according to a family friend. The victims were identified Friday night by Boca Raton police as Robert Stark, 81, of Boca Raton and Stephen Stark, 54, and Brooke Stark, 17, of Delray Beach. The elder Starks were the grandfather and father of Brooke Stark, the teenager on board, said Matthew "Whiz" Buckley of Boca Raton, an FA-18 fighter pilot who also flew jets for American Airlines. Both also were certified pilots, Federal Aviation Administration records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Buckley said Brooke, who was a senior at Atlantic High School, was considering attending Florida State University and the family was taking a trip to visit the school for the weekend. "Brooke, she was an Honor Society girl," said Buckley, who added that Brooke was a cheerleader with his daughter, a junior at Boca Raton High school. "A beautiful soul, brilliant academic, daughter, older sister, just the nicest human being." The Boca Raton Hurricane All Stars, Brooke Stark's cheerleading team, called her "a beacon of light," in a Saturday Instagram post. "She not once ever entered the gym without a smile," the post read. "Her kind, compassionate, loving heart was inclusive and magnetic. Brooke is brilliant, hard working, positive and her cup is always nothing but full. Her spirit and energy will shine on forever and never be forgotten." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday at Atlantic High School, students showed support by wearing blue and creating the hashtag #BlueforBrooke as a way to honor of their classmate and support the Stark family. Florida plane crash: Memorial on the side of the road grows for victims Two girls, friends of Boca Raton plane crash victim Brooke Stark, sit next to a memorial of flowers and photographs to remember the victims of the Friday, April 11, 2025 plane crash. The memorial is at the crash site on Military Trail near the Glades Road overpass. The Tallahassee-bound plane had departed from Boca Raton Airport at about 10 a.m. and was in the air for about eight to 10 minutes before it hit the ground, said Kurt Gibson, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator. It made a series of loops after takeoff, and witnesses said it was dangerously close to the ground before it crashed onto Military Trail near Glades Road, where remarkably it only affected one driver. "These were two very, very experienced aviators," Buckley said. "These weren't weekend flyers, or anything like that. These two fellows were capable and knew what they were doing." BOCA RATON PLANE CRASH: NTSB says plane was built in 1977 and was in air 8-10 minutes Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BOCA RATON PLANE CRASH: A bizarre flight path ends in tragedy with three killed The aircraft hit the ground and immediately erupted into flames, sending up large plumes of smoke visible from nearby homes, schools and offices. The crash did not directly hit anyone on the ground, but it forced a northbound driver of a 2017 Toyota Prius, Pablo Tafur, 24, to swerve and hit a tree, police said. Tafur, who suffered minor injuries, was able to exit the car and find safety despite being surrounded by fireballs and smoke. Buckley described Stephen Stark as a kind local business owner. He is survived by his wife and a younger daughter. "Everybody loved him and and his dad," Buckley said of the Stark family. "Everybody in the aviation community is just so sad." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Monday, a makeshift memorial of flowers and pictures at the scene of the crash was building on the side of the road northbound on Military Trail. A memorial of flowers and photographs to remember the crash victims of the Friday, April 11, 2025 plane crash in Boca Raton that took the lives of three people sits at the site of the crash on Military Trail near the Glades Road overpass. NTSB is leading an investigation into the crash. The standard procedure for NTSB is to issue a preliminary report within 30 days, followed by a 12-24 month report that will offer final analysis and probable cause for the crash. Jasmine Fernandez is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida plane crash: Victims were headed to Tallahassee for FSU visit Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on China and Vietnam to march toward modernization hand in hand. In his meeting with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man, Xi also urged the two sides to inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi pointed out that his state visit to Vietnam once again allowed him to witness the new achievements in Vietnam's cause of Doi Moi (reform) and personally experience the profound foundation of China-Vietnam friendship. At present, China is comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization, and Vietnam will usher in a new era of national rise, Xi said, adding that both sides are at a crucial stage of their respective development and rejuvenation. Facing an international landscape fraught with changes and turbulence, Xi said, China and Vietnam should strengthen confidence in their paths and systems, enhance solidarity and coordination, continue to build the China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, join hands to march toward modernization, and inject more stability and positive energy into the world. Xi stressed that both China and Vietnam are socialist countries led by a communist party, and the political direction is crucial to the future of the parties and countries, as well as the success of their causes. Xi said the top leaders of the two parties and countries should exchange views on bilateral relations and major issues of common concern in a timely manner, continue to build consensus, enhance mutual trust and steer the course steadily, so as to ensure the steady progress of China-Vietnam relations. It is necessary to maintain exchanges and cooperation between the two parties, legislative bodies and political consultative organizations, and to keep sharing governance experiences, Xi added. The two sides should take the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity to carry forward the "red gene" and make good use of the revolutionary resources to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially the young generation, and strengthen the friendly bond between the two countries, Xi added. Recognizing the frequent exchanges and fruitful cooperation between China's National People's Congress and Vietnam's National Assembly, Xi said the two countries' legislatures should do more to strengthen traditional friendship, ensure practical cooperation and strengthen multilateral coordination, carry out exchanges on the development of socialist democracy and rule of law, and continuously enrich the substance of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. For his part, Tran Thanh Man said that Vietnam and China, connected by mountains and rivers, have forged a sincere friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood" under the careful nurturing of successive leaders of the two parties and countries, and the two sides have maintained long-standing friendly relations. He said the visit of Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, fully demonstrates the importance attached by the CPC, the country and the Chinese people to Vietnam-China ties. He said the two general secretaries have provided important strategic guidance on advancing the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, which will open a new chapter in bilateral relations. The Vietnamese National Assembly congratulated China for successfully convening the "two sessions" and looked forward to conducting close communication and cooperation with China's National People's Congress, implementing the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, and contributing to the common prosperity and development of the two countries and friendship between the peoples, Tran Thanh Man said. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man at the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) AMITE COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) A system-wide boil water notice was issued for the North Central Amite Water Association in Amite County. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), the alert was issued due to a water line break from someone doing dozier work. The repair work is in progress. Health officials strongly recommend that all water be boiled for one minute before it is consumed. The water system will be notified when tests show that the water is safe to drink. 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. GOLDEN CITY, Mo. A Golden City man will not go to prison after authorities found a bomb in his vehicle. Mugshot courtesy Barton County authorities FOUR STATES CRIME Last week 52-year-old Terry Mitchell pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of an illegal weapon. After his plea, judge David Munton sentenced Mitchell to five years in prison, then suspended that sentence, giving Mitchell five years probation instead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The charges stem from an incident in September of last year when Barton County deputies pulled Mitchell over for improper tags. Deputies say Mitchell told them he had a bomb in his car and investigators say they could see it in the console. The Springfield Bomb Squad confirmed it was an explosive device. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A judge last week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court revoked the bond for the suspect in a 2024 shooting death on the South Side. Judge Maureen Sweeney agreed to the request by prosecutors to revoke the $275,000 bond of Jules Freeman, 22, of New Philadelphia, because he was arrested April 5 by New Philadelphia police on charges of strangulation, a fourth-degree felony; and domestic violence, a first-degree misdemeanor. He is presently being held on those charges in the Tuscarawas County jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Freeman is accused of murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and improper discharge of a firearm at or into a habitation for the Jan. 22, 2024, shooting death of Allan Pierce-May, 23, at the intersection of Erie Street and East Evergreen Avenue. Police say Pierce-May was killed during a drug deal. Freeman is claiming self-defense. A trial date was set today for Sept. 15. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) Bond has been set at $1 million for a man secretly indicted last week for a 2023 shooting death. Mickele Glenn, 35, pleaded not guilty before Judge Anthony DApolito in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to charges of murder and aggravated burglary. He was secretly indicted by a grand jury Thursday for the Nov. 2, 2023, shooting death of Edward Lewis, 53. Lewis was found shot to death several times in a home on Oneta Street after officers were called there for a report of a body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives have not commented on a motive. Glenn was taken into custody Friday by U.S. Marshals and booked into the Mahoning County jail. A trial date of June 9 was set before Judge DApolito. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Another cold front is on its way, although temperatures will get warmer before it gets here. The cooler temps won't last long. Expect above-normal temperatures to return by the Easter weekend, according to the National Weather Service Tallahassee. Weather alerts via text: Sign up to get updates about current storms and weather events by location Cooler temperatures are expected to arrive Wednesday and Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the front may bring a few sprinkles to some areas tonight, an elevated fire danger will continue today across a large portion of the state. "We will be bone dry over the next seven days, with no rainfall expected," the National Weather Service Tampa Bay said. As of Tuesday morning, April 15, there were 57 wildfires burning across Florida. South and Southwest Florida are among the areas seeing the worst drought conditions. The average statewide drought index increased Sunday to 360. No red flag warnings currently in effect in Florida The National Weather Service has not issued any red flag warnings as of Tuesday morning. However, very low humidity combined with dry soil and vegetation is creating an elevated fire danger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Fires may quickly become uncontrolled under these conditions," the National Weather Service Jacksonville warned. What is a red flag warning? 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. What should you do or not do under a red flag warning? Forecasters said residents under a red flag warning should follow this advice: If you are allowed to burn in your area, all burn barrels must be covered with a weighted metal cover, with holes no larger than 3/4 of an inch. Do not throw cigarettes or matches out of a moving vehicle. They may ignite dry grass on the side of the road. Extinguish all outdoor fires properly. Drown fires with plenty of water and stir to make sure everything is cold to the touch. Dunk charcoal in water until cold. Do not throw live charcoal on the ground and leave it. Never leave a fire unattended. Sparks or embers can blow into leaves or grass, ignite a fire, and quickly spread. See the map: Active wildfires reported across Florida Where are the largest fires currently burning in Florida? Wildfire at Lake Woodruff in DeLeon Springs According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the largest wildfires burning in Florida as of April 11 were (data is updated every Friday): Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement East Marsh Fire: One mile west of DeLand. 3,377 acres. Now 100% contained. Fernadez Fire: Four miles northeast of Lake Kathryn. 565 acres. Now 100% contained. Red Horse Fire: Fire started on private land seven miles northwest of Bowling Green. 390 acres. Now 100% contained. How do Florida brush fires get their names? "Wildfire names are generally based on the geographic location of the fire or a nearby geographic feature," according to Tim Brown, communications manager with the Florida Forest Service in an email. "For example, the 344 Fire was due to its location near 344 Street." Will it rain today in Florida? While a few sprinkles are possible as the cold front moves through, don't count on anything helping drought conditions seen through most of Florida's peninsula. The National Weather Service Tampa Bay warned "We will be bone dry over the next seven days with no rainfall expected." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Forecast for Tuesday, April 15: Western Panhandle, Pensacola: Sunny. High 77. Low 55. Central Panhandle, Tallahassee: Increasing clouds. High 84. Low 50. Northeast Florida, Jacksonville: Sunny. High 86. Low 58. East Coast, Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Stuart: Sunny. High 86. Low 63. South Florida, West Palm Beach, Naples: Sunny. High 81. Low 67. Southwest Florida, Fort Myers to Sarasota: Sunny. High 75. Low 68. Interactive map: Enter your address to find closest wildfire risks Current drought conditions in Florida The Keetch-Byram Drought Index average for Florida was 367 Sunday. The drought index uses a scale from 0, which is very wet, to 800, which is very dry. As of Monday, April 14, there were 19 Florida counties with a mean Keetch-Byram Drought Index over 500, which means drought or increased fire danger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Counties with drought index over 600, which is associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurring: Hendry: 605 Lee: 612 Counties with drought index in the 500s: Broward: 543 Charlotte: 573 Collier: 597 DeSoto: 535 Glades: 562 Hardee: 574 Highlands: 504 Lake: 549 Manatee: 554 Martin: 512 Miami-Dade: 543 Monroe: 559 Palm Beach: 587 Pasco: 527 Sarasota: 564 Sumter: 536 Volusia: 512 Another 12 of Florida's 67 counties have index numbers in the 400s. Five counties are within 25 points of hitting 500: Hernando: 490 Hillsborough: 497 Orange: 491 Polk: 498 Seminole: 489 What do the drought numbers mean? Here's an explanation of what the Keetch-Byram Drought Index numbers mean, according to the Wildland Fire Assessment System. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 0-200: Soil moisture and large-class fuel moistures are high and do not contribute much to fire intensity. Typical of spring dormant season following winter precipitation. 200-400: Typical of late spring, early growing season. Lower litter and duff layers are drying and beginning to contribute to fire intensity. 400-600: Typical of late summer, early fall. Lower litter and duff layers actively contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively. 600-800: Often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels. Burn bans in place for 7 Florida counties Burns bans are in place for several Florida counties as drought conditions continue April 1, 2025. According to the Florida Forest Service, burn bans are in place for the following counties: Charlotte Collier Glades Hendry Highlands Lake Sarasota The open burning of yard debris is always prohibited in these counties: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duval Hillsborough Orange Pinellas Another weak cold front coming to Florida this week Yet another weak cold front is expected to move through Florida April 15-16, according to the National Weather Service Tampa Bay. While chances of rain are low, the front is expected to bring a "reinforcing shot of drier and slightly cooler air" for the middle of the week. It won't last long. Temperatures will climb the latter half of the week and into the weekend. 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 Naples Daily News: Florida brush fire threat and drought: Any rain? See forecast The First Amendment rights of students at Department of Defense schools are being violated by removal of library books about Black history, alleges the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others. (Getty Images) Kentucky students are part of a federal lawsuit challenging U.S. Department of Defense policies that led to schools at Fort Campbell and other military bases removing books about slavery and civil rights. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is one of the defendants as lawyers ask the court to block Trump administration executive orders related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Filed in the United States District Court for Eastern Virginia Tuesday, the suit slams system-wide censorship that the plaintiffs say violates students First Amendment right to receive information. American Civil Liberties Union chapters in Kentucky and Virginia are joining the national ACLU in filing the suit on behalf of 12 students from six families. Celebrating International Day in 2017, kindergarteners at Barasanti Elementary School at Fort Campbell donned a handmade Chinese dragon they had made to wear in a fashion show. (Photo by Mari-Alice Jasper/Fort Campbell Public Affairs Office) Students in fourth grade, kindergarten and pre-kindergarten at Fort Campbells Barsanti Elementary School are among the plaintiffs. Other plaintiffs are enrolled in schools in Virginia, Italy and Japan. They are among more than 67,000 students enrolled worldwide in schools run by the Department of Defense Education Activity. Via executive order Trump directed schools receiving federal funding to not teach ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups, rather than as individuals; he also told the Armed Forces to dissolve DEI offices and directed all federal agencies to recognize only cisgender male and female identities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, Clarksville Now, a news outlet in Clarksville, Tennessee, reported Fort Campbell librarians were busy scrubbing for books that contain references to slavery, the civil rights movement and anything else related to diversity, equity and inclusion in compliance with Trumps orders. Fort Campbell is an Army base than spans the Kentucky-Tennessee border between Hopkinsville and Clarksville. Fort Campbell schools also had to remove bulletin boards that reference Black History Month and Black leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks, according to Clarksville Now. The ACLU lawsuit says Trumps orders censor references to slavery, civil rights, race, ethnicity, immigration, diversity, sexual orientation and gender identity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the government has broad discretion to populate public school libraries and create curricula, the First Amendment imposes guardrails to ensure removals are justified, the brief says. Public school districts cannot suppress educationally valuable books and materials about race and gender in public schools simply because a new presidential administration finds certain viewpoints on those topics to be politically incorrect. Corey Shapiro, legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said in a statement that students have a right to receive an education that includes an open and honest dialogue about Americas history. Censoring books and canceling assignments about the contributions of Black Americans is not only wrong, but antithetical to our First Amendment rights, Shapiro said. Being part of a military family does not erase students constitutional rights, said Emerson Sykes, a senior staff attorney with the ACLUs Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, in a Tuesday statement. Sykes said that Defense Department schools are some of the most diverse and high achieving in the nation, making it particularly insulting to strip their shelves of diverse books and erase women, LGBTQ people, and people of color from the curriculum to serve a political goal. Our clients deserve better, and the First Amendment demands it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ACLU says the Department of Defense has prohibited cultural awareness months including Black History Month, Pride Month, Womens History Month and National Hispanic Heritage Month and that books reportedly removed include The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Hillbilly Elegy by Vice President J.D. Vance, as well as a preparation guide for the Advanced Placement psychology exam. Michael ODay, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense Education Activity, said he couldnt comment on the active lawsuit. However, The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is unwavering in its dedication to providing an exceptional educational experience for every student. Our curriculum, rigorously aligned with DoDEAs proven standards, has earned us the distinction of being the top-ranked school system in the United States for four consecutive years, based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nations Report Card, ODay said in a statement. These standards promote academic excellence, critical thinking, and a learning environment that empowers all military-connected students to excel. The nations military academies also are under pressure from Hegseths office to eliminate DEI, prompting the Naval Academy to remove almost 400 books from its libraries. The New York Times reports that Maya Angelous I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a memoir of growing up Black in America, was removed while two copies of Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf remain on the shelves in Annapolis. Read the lawsuit filed against U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others ek_v_dodea_-_2025.04.15_ecf_001_-_complaint SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A New Jersey woman has pleaded guilty to stealing roughly $4 million from her employer, a trucking company, to fund her gambling habit. Jeanette Avellan pleaded guilty to charges involving theft from West End Express, based in South Brunswick. The companys website describes it as a truckload carrier and drayage provider. Avellan pleaded guilty to second-degree theft of movable property, third-degree failure to pay income taxes and third-degree filing a fraudulent tax return. The guilty plea comes with a recommended sentence of four years in state prison, according to a prepared statement from state Attorney General Matthew Platkin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Employers need to know the people they hire to handle sensitive financial duties can be trusted to do their jobs honestly and professionally, Theresa L. Hilton, director of the states Division of Criminal Justice, said in the statement. The DCJ also participated in the investigation. Unfortunately, in this case, the defendants gambling habit led her to steal from her employer and then try to hide her theft by filing fraudulent tax returns. At the plea hearing, according to the release from the attorney general, Avellan said she was a bookkeeper for West End Express beginning in 2005. Her theft of the $4 million occurred between January 2017 and January 2023. Avellan said at the plea hearing that she did not declare any of the stolen funds as income when filing her tax returns. Restitution is set at $4.03 million to her victims and about $560,000 to the state for back taxes and penalties. She will be formally sentenced May 9 in Monmouth County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More articles by John Kingston Breaking from the FreightTech AI pack: Companies make their case at TIA meeting New Mack long-haul truck makes grand entrance in bid for market share ATBS says independent drivers earned a little more in 24 but drove more as well The post Bookkeeper pleads guilty to stealing $4M from New Jersey trucking company appeared first on FreightWaves. A Boston man is facing charges in connection with breaking into an apartment belonging to Boston University students and stealing their belongings last summer, the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office announced Tuesday. Dorchester resident James Williams, 62, is facing a charge of breaking and entering at nighttime to commit a felony and larceny over $1,200, the district attorneys office said in a press release. On July 17, 2024, police responded to a home on Bay State Road for a report of a theft, the district attorneys office said. A Boston University student told officers hed come back from taking a shower to find that his backpack which contained his iPad and laptop was missing from his bedroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police did not find any signs of forced entry into the apartment, but a different student who lived at the home noticed that a window on the second floor that was normally closed had been opened, the district attorneys office said. The student whose electronics had been stolen turned on their location finding feature and discovered that his belongings were still nearby. Police soon received a call about a strange man who was later identified as Williams on Bay State Road, the district attorneys office said. Williams was found with the students backpack, as well as an electric scooter belonging to another student who lived in the apartment. Williams was summonsed to appear in court on Aug. 27, 2024, but did not attend his arraignment, the district attorneys office said. As a result, a warrant was issued for his arrest. Williams was finally arraigned on the charges in Roxbury District Court last week, and the judge ordered him held on $500 bail, the district attorneys office. He is due back in court on April 28 for a pretrial hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Williams has a 44-page criminal record dating back to 1980 that includes many similar charges, the district attorneys office said. He was recently convicted of charges including trespassing, attempted larceny and possession of burglarious tools. While no one was physically hurt in this case, these scenarios are always unpredictable because you never know whats going to happen if an intruder encounters someone inside. Luckily that didnt happen here, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. More local crime stories Apr. 15An 8-year-old Odessa boy died Monday morning, one week after being shot in the head on West Monahans and now three men are facing a capital murder charge in connection with the incident. Ector County jail records show Keemadrick Dreyveon Reellre Sauls, 22, was booked into the jail Friday on suspicion of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, deadly conduct and injury to a child. However, jail records now show Sauls, Anthony Gallegos Ramon Jr. and Santos Martin Roman are each facing capital murder of a person under 10. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an OPD report, dispatchers received a 9-1-1 call April 7 about a child who was shot in the 1000 block of West Monahans and was on his way to a hospital via a private vehicle. In speaking with the boy's mother at the hospital, police learned she was upstairs in her room when she heard gunshots. She said when she came downstairs she found her son suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She picked him up and drove him to the hospital in a neighbor's vehicle. According to the report, the boy's mom said she'd gotten into a disturbance with Santos Roman earlier that morning and described him as having black hair with a yellow mohawk. One witness reported seeing two men get into a light-colored Mercedes in the alley behind the victim's apartment after hearing the gunshots and another witness saw a man with black hair and a yellow strip in the middle of his hair walking toward the alley, the report stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Surveillance video from a neighbor's home showed a silver Mercedes driving past the home minutes before the shooting and another camera caught it entering the alley before the shooting, the report stated. According to the report, officers began watching Roman's home and saw a silver Mercedes stop in front of the home about two hours after the shooting. Inside the car was Roman with a freshly shaved head and Ramon. Roman, who still had hair clippings on his shoulders, told officers he'd been at the home earlier in the morning and his wallet and cell phones had been stolen from him, the report stated. He also said his car had been vandalized. Ramon admitted to being the driver of the Mercedes during the shooting and that he'd been at an apartment on Beal Parkway in Midland, the report stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the report, video surveillance showed the Mercedes turn onto Beal from Graceland less than an hour after the shooting and a search of Ramon's phone showed a video of Roman with a freshly shaved head in an apartment on Beal Parkway. Investigators learned Ramon was associated with Sauls and Sauls lives on Beal. According to the report, an unnamed co-defendant identified Sauls as being one of the shooters in the incident, the report stated. Roman and Ramon were booked into the Ector County jail April 8 on suspicion of injury to a child, deadly conduct and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to OPD, Midland law enforcement officers, the Texas Rangers, DPS and the U.S. Marshal's Service assisted in the investigation. This undated photo shows a patient talking to a girl inside a hospital managed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Atbara city, Sudan. (ICRC-Sudan/Handout via Xinhua) KHARTOUM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- As the armed conflict in Sudan enters its third year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described the situation in Sudan as a "major protection crisis," citing widespread violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and escalating risks to civilians and humanitarian workers alike. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Daniel O'Malley, head of the ICRC delegation in Sudan, painted a grim picture of the ongoing crisis. "For us, this is one of the ongoing conflicts where we see the highest level of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations in general," O'Malley said. "In many instances, the remit and the rules of war, which are enshrined within the IHL, have not been respected." He emphasized that the devastating impact on civilians -- including mass displacement, sexual violence, disappearances, and destruction of livelihoods -- stems from the failure of parties to the conflict to uphold international humanitarian law. O'Malley voiced particular concern over the situation in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur State, where recent violence has directly affected both civilians and humanitarian personnel. "We were very sad to learn about the death of nine colleagues from Relief International, something which shouldn't be happening. It's something which is very clear within the IHL (that humanitarian personnel must be protected)," he noted. The ICRC official called on both parties to the conflict in Sudan to abide by the provisions of international humanitarian law and to honor the explicit commitment they made when signing the Jeddah Declaration in May 2023. "The Jeddah Declaration is not a political declaration. It is a humanitarian declaration, and what we've seen is that there's been very little adherence or very little respect to this declaration which was signed for both," he noted. The chief of the ICRC delegation in Sudan also condemned the increasing pattern of attacks on critical infrastructure, including water, electricity, healthcare, and communications -- essential lifelines for communities and families. He said that targeting vital infrastructure is clearly "contravening international humanitarian law," adding that the ICRC is pushing for agreements to protect essential infrastructure. Meanwhile, the ICRC official acknowledged that it is sometimes difficult for humanitarian organizations to access populations in need, due to shifting front lines, logistical challenges such as seasonal weather, and growing security risks. It was impossible to operate in a zero-risk environment, said O'Malley, but said they were trying to minimize the risk exposure as much as possible. "In the last two years, we've had a number of incidents, especially the two incidents where we lost four colleagues and injured nine," he said. Regarding the number of casualties caused by the two-year conflict, O'Malley emphasized the difficulty of obtaining precise figures in a crisis of this scale, noting that "any statistic is likely to underrepresent the reality on the ground." He said in 2024 alone, the ICRC documented nearly 8,000 cases of disappeared civilians, noting that there was a nearly 70 percent increase in tracing requests compared to 2023. Meanwhile, nearly 50,000 weapon-wounded individuals have been treated with ICRC-supported medical care, though O'Malley warned this number represents just a fraction of the real toll. He explained that the organization's key activities include protecting civilians, supporting health facilities, assisting internally displaced people, and restoring access to essential services such as water. Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023. The conflict has displaced over 15 million people, both inside and outside Sudan, according to estimates from the International Organization for Migration. Lino Monteleone, a Montreal resident, is fighting a $186 ($134 U.S.) parking ticket after a bus stop sign was installed overnight in front of his house, replacing a legal parking spot where his daughter's car was parked. On April 1, 2025, Monteleone's doorbell camera showed city workers setting up the sign just before 8 a.m. A parking agent issued the ticket just minutes later at 8:05 a.m. The Societe de transport de Montreal said the sign was added due to nearby construction and that it doesn't notify residents about new bus stops because there are 10,000 in the city. Monteleone, frustrated by the lack of warning, says he has seen no buses on his street and plans to contest the ticket in court. He is supported by lawyer Thierry Rassam, who argues it's unfair since there was no way to prevent the violation. The post Brickbat: Bus Stop and Go appeared first on Reason.com. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) The Tennessee Law Enforcement Accreditation (TLEA) Program granted accreditation status to the Bristol, Tennessee Police Department. The police department received this accreditation during the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police meeting in Nashville on April 9. The police department accomplished TLEA accreditation by meeting the criteria that measured the level of professionalism, organization and overall readiness in law enforcement policy and procedures. This is the fifth TLEA award this department has received. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The standard of excellence that is met through this process is to be admired. We are proud to recognize the hard work of the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, its staff, and community leaders, TACP President Mark Gibson said. To achieve TLEA accreditation, agencies voluntarily submit a three-year process that enhances the professionalism and effectiveness of the agency using the 164 law enforcement standards. The standards used aid in evaluating the agencys policies in various areas such as organizational, operational and budget management practices. The TLEA program is intended to encourage cooperation, recognize professional standing, develop professional services and ensure public safety throughout Tennessee. I believe being an accredited agency means each member of the Bristol Tennessee Police Department is devoted to providing professional services to every person and each day will continue to provide service and protection to all citizens and visitors of Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol Police Chief Matt Austin said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program was created under the authority and direction of the TACP, which endorses and supports the improvement of law enforcement and emergency communications operations and maintains the framework for equal access to effective and comprehensive polices for Tennessee 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. Britain and the EU pledged to give more than 567 million in aid to Sudan on Tuesday as world leaders met to discuss ending the countrys brutal civil war. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said Britain would give 120 million to the north-east African country, while the EU and member states pledged over 522 million. The conference at Lancaster House in London marked two years since war broke out between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fighting has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and triggered the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Mr Lammy said Britains financial contribution would go towards delivering food and to emergency support for survivors of sexual violence. Two years is far too long the brutal war in Sudan has devastated the lives of millions and yet much of the world continues to look away, Mr Lammy said. We need to act now to stop the crisis from becoming an all-out catastrophe, ensuring aid gets to those who need it the most. At the Lancaster House conference, Mr Lammy said much of the world continues to look away from the war in Sudan - Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Fighting erupted on April 15 2023 between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, headed by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March, Burhan announced the capital Khartoum was free of the RSF, cementing his upper hand. But the RSF has since ramped up its attacks in Darfur, launching a fierce assault on El Fasher the last state capital in the vast western region still held by the regular army. Aid agency Oxfam said the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war risked becoming a regional crisis, with fighting spilling into neighbouring countries. It said that in South Sudan, itself wracked by recent war, the arrival of people fleeing Sudans conflict has put more pressure on already scarce resources, which is deepening local tensions and threatening the fragile peace. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has ramped up its attacks in Darfur - AFP via Getty Images Almost 200 people have been killed and 125,000 displaced in South Sudan since March, the United Nations said on Tuesday, while around 3.8 million Sudanese refugees are seeking asylum in Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other countries in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With over four million refugees having fled the country, and instability spreading far beyond Sudans border, its also strategically wrong to forget Sudan. And thats why, as Foreign Secretary, I refused to turn away. I felt a duty to confront this wars horrors head on, said Mr Lammy. The UN said it expected more than two million people displaced in Sudan to return to the capital Khartoum within the next six months, if security conditions allowed. Representatives from more than 20 countries attended the meeting on Tuesday, including from the US and Arab countries. But notably absent was anyone from Sudan. The countrys foreign minister wrote to Mr Lammy objecting to the exclusion. 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. An investigation is underway after firefighters found human remains while battling a brush fire along the Massachusetts Turnpike last week, officials said. Firefighters from Wayland and Framingham stumbled upon the remains just before 9:45 p.m. on Thursday while responding to a report of brush fire just west of Exit 117 in Framingham, according to the Middlesex District Attorneys Office. The preliminary information indicates that the remains may have been there for several months, a spokesperson for the DAs office told Boston 25. Information gathered at the scene does not indicate foul play. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A forensic anthropologist at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiners Office is working to learn more about the remains. Massachusetts State Police troopers assigned to the DAs office are leading the investigation. There were no additional details immediately available. 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 Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, introduces the budget on third reading before the Senate on April 15, 2025. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) The states two-year budget cleared a hurdle on Tuesday in the Senate, securing bipartisan support to move forward through the legislative process. The portion of the budget under House Bill 1001 dedicated to funding the states share of Medicaid expenses continues to grow, increasing from from 15% in 2021 to 18% in 2023 and 22% in this years budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the last couple of years, Ive been very concerned about Medicaid, said Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka. I hope youre all starting to see that as well. Mishler helms budget-writing in the Senate. Aside from Medicaid and K-12 education, two state agencies absorbed nearly all of the increased spending: the Department of Child Services and the Department of Correction. The former overspent its last appropriation while the latter ran out of dollars to pay the per diem for local jails to house low-level felony offenders. The Republican-led budget won the vote of Sen. David Niezgodski, a Democrat from South Bend. He pointed to funding for commuter rail in his district along with settling the lease with the (Indiana) Historical Society, an agreement that was in doubt following some language appearing to contradict Republican intentions. Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, also broke his streak of opposing the budget to support House Bill 1001 on Tuesday. The sole Republican to vote against the measure, Indianapolis Sen. Mike Young, didnt explain his vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But not everyone was on board, despite the bipartisan support. Sen. Fady Qaddoura criticized the lack of funds dedicated to shrinking the states outstanding waitlists for Medicaid waiver services as well as inadequate funding for curricular materials for local school corporations. The question is not whether or not Indiana has the resources it is the question about the priorities. Sen. Mishler and my colleagues are correct: Medicaid is growing and public education is growing, said Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis. Doesnt it concern you that two million out of 6.9 million have to rely on some form of health care provided by the government? What does that tell you about the status the futures across the state? One Republican also shared her concerns about the budget moving forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Vaneta Becker said that while she would support the proposal on Tuesday, she likely wouldnt when it returned for a final vote. She cited public education funding concerns as well as the decision to strike funding for the Womens Commission and the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males. Im very disappointed in the loss of those but the biggest thing Im sorry about is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Its such a small amount when youre looking at a $44 billion budget. It was $2 million in the first year, said Becker, R-Evansville. if youre concerned about early childhood literacy, you cant do better than that. She said she hoped First Lady Maureen Braun would be able to independently raise funds for the program, as she previously said she would do. The proposal will go to a conference committee, which allows the two chambers to negotiate final language that reflects updated data due to be released during a Wednesday revenue forecast. Whats new in the budget The budget now also includes a repeal of caseload ratios for Department of Child Services case workers that was never discussed publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, Mishler said he worked with Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, to craft the caseload language to help create more flexibility for DCS caseworkers since some cases require more attention than others due to the varying complexity of cases. The staffing rules were originally put into law under then-Gov. Mitch Daniels at a time when the system was overwhelmed and riddled with deaths. Ron Green, a spokesperson for DCS, said the agency monitors its family case manager caseloads, complexity of cases and allocation of assignments on a regular basis. We do this to ensure our case managers feel supported, not overburdened by the number of cases for which they are responsible and ultimately, to make sure we are operating in the best interest of children while prioritizing their safety. Removal of the 12-12-13 standard from Indiana law, if it passes, will have no bearing on DCS administrative capabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The standard means that no family case manager shall have more than: 12 active cases related to initial assessments, including investigations into an allegation of child abuse or neglect 12 families monitored and supervised under active cases related to ongoing in-home services 13 children monitored and supervised in active cases related to ongoing services who are in out-of-home placements The fiscal analysis on the budget said as of April 2025, there are 890 vacant budgeted family case manager positions statewide, which accounts for 30% of all budgeted family case manager positions in the agency. Two organizations focusing on child abuse and neglect in the state declined to comment for this story. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX LOCKPORT A Buffalo man will face up to life in prison after his guilty plea Monday morning to a grand jury indictment that had charged him in connection with a domestic-related homicide in the Falls. Keith William Hill, 32, entered his plea to all the counts in the indictment, including second-degree murder, aggravated criminal contempt and second-degree criminal contempt in the death of Tania Wilson. He originally pleaded not guilty to those charges and was being held without bail. Niagara County Court Judge Caroline Wojtaszek told Hill she would cap his possible prison sentence at 23 years to life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Falls police patrol officers said they found Wilsons body inside her home on the 2400 block of Orleans Avenue, at about 11 p.m. March 31, 2024, after they were called for a report of a possible domestic violence incident there. When officers arrived at the home, they said they found four children, ranging in age from early teens to toddlers, along with the body of Wilson. Investigators said Wilson, who was pronounced dead at the scene, had suffered multiple stab wounds. Wilson was the childrens mother and they are now being cared for by family members. Falls Police Criminal Investigation Division detectives said their work on the homicide had uncovered at least one prior domestic incident involving Hill and Wilson and a previous weapon possession conviction for Hill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of his arrest, on April 4, 2024, Hill was also charged on an outstanding domestic violence arrest warrant. The warrant charged Hill with a single count of second-degree criminal contempt for apparently violating an order of protection issued by a Pennsylvania court. That order of protection had barred Hill from having any contact with Wilson. The order of protection was reportedly issued after a domestic incident between Hill and Wilson in February 2024. That charge remains pending in Pennsylvania. Prosecutors said Hills previous weapon possession conviction stems from a Jan. 3, 2021 arrest on the 1700 block of Ashland Avenue. A jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles was targeted by burglars on Monday in a raid that may cost the business millions of dollars. The burglary was reported just before 10 a.m., and when officers arrived to the scene in the 500 block of Broadway, they learned that unknown suspects gained entry and took property, according to Officer Im of the LAPD. The shop owners son, who did not want to be identified, told KTLA that the value of the stolen goods was in the million, and that the thieves, likely a professional crew, tunneled into the store from a neighboring building thats empty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They probably had been in there every night, slowly drilling until there was enough room for them to get in, he explained. Once inside, he said the burglars disabled the shops cameras and alarm and then entered the main portion of the store where they targeted two large safes, one of which they breached with a drill. He estimates that the job probably took the crew anywhere from five to six hours, with the job of drilling a hole into the safe taking somewhere around three hours alone. As for the second safe, they managed to get inside of it without drilling. They probably had a professional locksmith, the shop owners son said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department have not confirmed the value of what was taken, the store owner did not carry insurance, his son saying that at around $1 million a year, its too expensive to afford. Elizabeth Chapman 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 KTLA. State Sens. Ben Hansen of Blair, left, and Merv Riepe of Ralston. April 14, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN State lawmakers took a step Tuesday toward requiring Nebraska health care facilities that perform procedural abortions to dispose of the remains by cremation or burial. Legislative Bill 632, from State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, advanced 34-11, with one senator who voted yes saying after that he had done so inadvertently. However, whether the bill will have the 33 votes needed to keep moving forward depends on negotiations between Hansen and State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston for a possible amendment. State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair. July 26, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Hansen has described the intent of LB 632 as uplifting the dignity of an aborted fetus, similar to a 2003 Nebraska law requiring hospitals to have a written policy for the proper disposition of the remains of any child born dead at a Nebraska hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hansen said other health care facilities, such as Planned Parenthood, are an exception to the 2003 law. He has said LB 632 is mirrored after a similar Minnesota law adopted in 1987. Nothing differs in the body of a baby between elective or spontaneous abortion, Hansen said, referring to the medical term for miscarriages. The only difference is the cause of death. Back door abortion ban? State Sen. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, whose nonprofit I Be Black Girl is focused on reproductive justice, led opposition to the bill. She was a key part of an unsuccessful ballot measure in 2024 to expand abortion rights in the state to the point of fetal viability. Spivey blasted the bill as a back door attempt to ban abortions in the state, which Hansen repeatedly denied. Spivey said the bill also ignores existing laws for how facilities handle human tissue, including fetal or pregnancy tissue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reality is LB 632 disrespects patients by essentially imposing a funeral requirement for abortion, Spivey said, stating the human dignity goal cannot be further from the truth. She continued: Imposing this type of requirement without the patient having any say in the matter is wrong and, furthermore, insulting. State Sen. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, center, shakes hands with State Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus on the first day of the 2025 legislative session, her first as a lawmaker. Jan. 8, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Under Hansens bill, a facility would not need to notify the woman upon whom an abortion is induced of the method of disposition of the fetal remains. Abortion is legal up to 12 weeks gestational age in Nebraska after 2023 legislation, and the Nebraska Constitution now explicitly prohibits most abortions in the second or third trimester after a 2024 vote of the people. Broader impacts State Sen. Dan Lonowski of Hastings, who selected Hansens proposal as his 2025 priority bill, said fetal dignity laws are needed when the abortion industry shows a high disregard for aborted remains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is crucial to start affirming the humanity of the unborn in the law, Lonowski said. Fetal dignity laws help shape a culture that honors and respects the unborn by acknowledging their humanity and affirming the dignity of each life lost through abortion. Spivey and others said the Hansen-Lonowski partnership could open the door to future personhood legislation, extending civil rights to fetuses often by legally stating life begins at conception. Other religions, such as Judaism, consider life beginning with the first breath. Spivey cautioned that such laws might open the door to banning in-vitro fertilization, care for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies. State Sen.-elect Dan Lonowski of Hastings, center. Dec. 13, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) State Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln described LB 632 as big government overreach and read a letter from a military veteran who said she was raped while serving and got an abortion. Dungan and Spivey said the bill could revictimize survivors and limit accessibility to women seeking abortions in cases of rape or incest, which are legal exceptions to the current 12-week law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We can find ways to support people that dont create these problems and that dont have these hoops to jump through, Dungan said. If your true goal is to try to create a healthier, safer Nebraska, invest in health care, invest in housing, and make the right decision. State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha also questioned whether the bill would require the burial or cremation of fetal tissue or blood, asking how much blood has to be on the pad or what evidence would be needed. She questioned whether the bill could create an abortion bounty and encourage civil penalties against abortion providers. Spivey and Hunt said the end result would be increasing costs to patients, pushing care further or fully out of reach. Human dignity State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil referred to the Health and Human Services Committee hearing for LB 632, when a representative from Planned Parenthood who was asked about the organizations current protocol for disposing of aborted remains did not specifically say what happens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What we do currently is completely in line with what most other health care providers who manage fetal tissue do, she responded at the hearing. State Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha listens to State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil kneeling at her desk. March 12, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska estimated that about 18% of abortions in the state are procedural, not medication abortions. Hansen said that if burial or cremation was not being done, providers might be disposing of remains by throwing them in a dumpster. Hunt and Spivey said the lack of a policy didnt mean the allegations that Lonowski, Murman and Hansen stated were accurate. Murman argued that if the remains were treated with dignity, then Planned Parenthood should have been able to detail the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I believe every human, no matter how small, deserves some measure to ensure human dignity, Murman said. Getting to 33 votes Riepe spoke little during the four-hour debate but echoed a comment from Dungan that the bill is a serious topic. He continued to work with Hansen off the legislative floor and said little during debate, other than arguing that women having an option for the disposition of fetal remains might be better. His possible amendment has not been filed, but in details shared with the Nebraska Examiner, Riepe is looking to give mothers the choice of mass cremation, individual burial or cremation or the disposition of remains in a manner determined by the health care facility. If the woman doesnt choose, it would be up to the facility. State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, Merv Riepe of Ralston and Danielle Conrad of Lincoln join at the back of the legislative chamber to escort the chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court on the first day of the 2025 legislative session. Jan. 8, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Riepes in-progress amendment also is looking to explicitly protect in-vitro fertilization and medication abortions, the latter of which Hansen sought to fix by having his language cover abortions performed and completed at the same facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riepe told the Examiner that he and Hansen are at a very friendly point and that he feels good about the negotiations. Second-round debate would be limited to up to two hours on Hansens bill, pursuant to scheduling from Speaker John Arch of La Vista on controversial and emotionally charged bills. That could narrow the time needed to amend Hansens bill to secure Riepes support, putting him in a similar position as he was two years ago when he defeated a near-total abortion ban. Also similar to 2023: Hansen and Riepe working behind the scenes for a path forward. The two worked together to craft the current 12-week law, rising from the ashes of the near-total ban. If we dont get what I feel is needed on this thing, to try to make it a less controversial issue, then at that point in time I would not vote for cloture, Riepe said, referring to the procedural motion to cease debate, which requires at least 33 votes. Riepe is likely to be the 33rd vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Freshman State Sen. Victor Rountree of Bellevue spoke against the bill during the debate and voted against cloture, but he later voted to advance Hansens bill. He said that was a mispunch and remains opposed to the bill. State Sens. Dan Quick of Grand Island and Jason Prokop of Lincoln were present, not voting on the advancement of Hansens LB 632. Prokop opposed cloture, while Quick did not take a position, the same stance he took when the bill advanced 5-1 from the committee. State Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island, left, talks with State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair. Feb. 4, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Quick said he has some concerns about whether the new requirements would apply uniformly and that he understands, for instance, the disposition policy of CHI Health St. Francis in Grand Island but not the policies of non-faith-based facilities. Quick said its possible that an amendment could address his concerns. Prokop said he would continue listening to ongoing negotiations. How to grieve my losses State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha, a progressive who is friends with Riepe, said an unintended consequence of Nebraskas 2003 law required providers to ask parents what they wanted to be done with fetal remains after a miscarriage or abortion in a hospital setting. She said dictating medical practice in law means we muck things up that we dont even know were mucking up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cavanaugh detailed that she had been pregnant with twins but had a nonviable pregnancy that was so early in her pregnancy she had no remains. Eight months later, as she was preparing to give a live birth to one of her children, she was still asked to fill out paperwork to cover the hospitals liability. While Hansens bill wouldnt require providers to talk to the parents, Cavanaugh said they would still take a familys baby. Im not going to let you take my baby and bury it without my permission, without my say-so. No. Absolutely not, 100% not going to happen, Cavanaugh said. If I want to bury a baby, I will grieve how its best for me and my partner and my family. I dont need the state telling me how to grieve my losses. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX People join in the celebration of Pohela Boishakh, or the first day of the New Year, in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, April 14, 2025. The Bangladesh people in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country on Monday celebrated the Bengali New Year 1432 with colorful rallies, traditional delicious food and gorgeous cultural and musical events. (Photo by Habibur Rahman/Xinhua) People join in the celebration of Pohela Boishakh, or the first day of the New Year, in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, April 14, 2025. The Bangladesh people in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country on Monday celebrated the Bengali New Year 1432 with colorful rallies, traditional delicious food and gorgeous cultural and musical events. (Photo by Habibur Rahman/Xinhua) SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Fire danger is high in southeastern KELOLAND. South Dakotas most populated county is putting out a warning to not light any fires right now. VIDEO: 1977 escapee dies in prison Minnehaha county officials put a burn ban in effect because of extremely dry conditions. The area has not received much moisture since late March into early April when the previous burn ban ended. Officials expect today to be dry and windy, which can enhance the fire danger. 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. An important responsibility of governments around the world is to make rules and regulations that deal with the safe and secure disposal of commercial waste. Business owners then have an obligation to follow those laws and regulations to make sure their fellow citizens and communities remain safe and healthy. When businesspeople fail to follow those obligations, then governments must enforce the laws. That's exactly what happened in Cheltenham, England, recently. A man named Cameron Thompson pleaded guilty to failing to dispose of waste generated by his automotive repair shop under the country's Environmental Protection Act, Circular reported. Thompson's company, Overbook Automotive, allegedly allowed toxic waste, which mostly consisted of sealant foam and plastic sheeting, to build up on site, as well as into neighboring properties. The actual site of the business itself had also fallen into disrepair, which led to further toxic litter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Cheltenham Magistrates Court fined Cameron Thompson over 12,000 (over $15,400) for the violations. Toxic litter that is not properly disposed of can cause tons of health risks for the people in the surrounding community. That's why both strong environmental regulations and enforcement of those regulations are so important. When that doesn't happen, it can be incredibly frustrating to local residents. For instance, activists near a large poultry farm in North Carolina recently drew attention to large piles of feces, urine, and sawdust not being properly disposed of. Towns in Connecticut have found that wastewater was not being properly disposed of in the area and ended up contaminating a local river, threatening the health of residents in the vicinity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The waste being generated by Overbook Automotive is particularly dangerous if not handled properly. The Environmental Protection Agency has detailed rules and recommendations about how to safely handle and dispose of sealants, which include proper safety attire. But there are responsible business people out there. Some large corporations are making massive efforts to safely dispose of their waste and protect local communities. Companies in Northern Arkansas recently announced the implementation of new septic tank technology that safely treats the wastewater generated by large farms. Councillor Juliet Layton was adamant about enforcing the environmental laws to protect the community, Circular revealed. "The council will not hesitate to take action against those who fail to comply with their legal obligations." She went on to explain the importance of her mission. "Poor waste management not only harms the environment but also negatively impacts our communities." 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. SULLIVAN, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) UPDATE: Due to a scheduling conflict, Governor Braun did not make it to the opening, and instead, Suzanne Jaworowski, the Indiana Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources showed up. On Wednesday, Indiana DNRs largest conservation project in 20 years officially opened. The Busseron Creek and Wildlife Area is 3,950 acres of permanently protected land in Sullivan County, which includes forest, woodlands, marshes, swamps, lakes, and grasslands. The DNR said this land will provide a major habitat for local turkey, deer, waterfowl, and other species. DNR has established hunting units, parking areas, and access trails, and plans to continue adding infrastructure to improve visitor accessibility. The DNR said that the area will be a prime spot for wildlife viewing, hunting, trapping, fishing, and foraging, and will be open for use during the spring turkey hunting season. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another place for people to come out and enjoy nature, and you know the conservation that the DNR and so many people throughout the state really kind of concentrate on and work on, said DNR Director Alan Morrison. And so many people came together to make this happen. For over 30 years, the DNR leased the property as part of the Minnehaha Fish and Wildlife Area but in 2016 the owner declined to renew the lease, and the area was shut down. The land was then purchased by the DNR for $10.8 million in 2024. Visit this link to learn more and see video of the property, and to find more information on Busseron Creek FWA and the lands history, click here. Indiana Governor Mike Braun will dedicate the area at the official opening celebration on Wednesday, April 16. 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. Apr. 15OREGON A Byron man who was found guilty three years ago of sexually assaulting two young girls in 2004 and 2008 was sentenced to a total of 25 years in prison Friday, April 11, following an emotional hearing in a packed courtroom at the Ogle County Judicial Center. Duane Upchurch, 60, was ordered to serve two consecutive 12-year, six month sentences in the Illinois Department of Corrections despite pleas from his attorney that lesser sentences were warranted based on Uphurch's age, medical condition, and lack of prior criminal history. But the two victims Upchurch was found guilty of assaulting tearfully told Ogle County Judge John "Ben" Roe that he had scarred them for life and was a "predatory monster" who should be put behind bars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "How do you quantify the impact of abuse," one of the women asked when reading her victim impact statement. "As an 8-year-old, he made me feel disgusting. I struggled with self worth, depression...crippling anxiety. "He abused and traumatized numerous children. The justice here today will not fix the damage," she continued, urging Roe to put Upchurch "away from anyone he can harm." The other woman said Upchurch assaulted her numerous times. "Duane Upchurch raped me on many occasions when I was 5-6 years old," she said, looking at Upchurch as he sat with his attorneys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upchurch was found guilty in May 2022 of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in 2004 and 2008, both Class X felonies, and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, Class 2 felonies, with both girls being under the age of 13 when the crimes occurred. He was found not guilty of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault one in July 2005 and 2008 and the other in September 2004 and 2008. He was arrested Aug. 8, 2019 by Ogle County sheriff's deputies following an investigation by the Ogle County Sheriff's Office that began in March 2019. He was charged in August 2019 for the offenses which prosecutors said occurred in September 2004 and 2008. Upchurch posted bond and was released pending his trial in 2022. He has been in custody in the Ogle County Jail since he was found guilty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roe presided over the April 2022 bench trial. Upchurch's sentencing hearing was delayed several times for post-trial motions and responses. About a dozen people were in the courtroom in support of the victims on Friday while approximately 20 came to show their support for Upchurch. One of the victims told the court it took her 19 years before she could face coming forward about the incidents. "The abuse and rape has shifted everything for me," she said. "I'm telling my truth today to protect other children. He is a vile child predator. I am no longer a weak, scared little girl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This predatory monster deserves life behind bars. He has a sick and disgusting attraction to children," she said. Upchurch's attorney, Stephen Komie of Chicago, presented one witness in mitigation Dr. Pedro De Guzman, a physician who examined Upchurch in the Ogle County Jail's clinic in March. Guzman, an internist, said Upchurch had high blood pressure and other health concerns that could result in a stroke or heart attack if not treated correctly. When asked by Komie to give a prognosis for Upchurch, Guzman replied: "It would be a bad prognosis." "If he were to be sentenced to 10 or more years in prison?," asked Komie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I don't think he would survive it," Guzman replied. "He will progressively decline." Komie asked Guzman if he was recommending Upchurch be sent to a prison that has hospital services. "Yes, but I think he needs more than that," Guzman replied. "You have no experience whatsoever with the care given in prisons," Ogle County State's Attorney Mike Rock said to Guzman in cross examination, adding that Upchurch's conditions were not unusual for a person of his age. Under redirect questioning by Komie, Guzman agreed that "medical care was generally not as good as it is on the outside." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney arguments Rock said lives had been forever changed by the actions of the defendant. "They [victims] are haunted by what happened to them at such a young age," Rock said. "He repeatedly raped them." Rock said the victims were "recounting the horrors" while Upchurch "focuses on multiple women who he says wanted to hurt him." "He takes no responsibility," said Rock. "This defendant took away their innocence at a very young age. We demand that this defendant never has access to a child again." Rock recommended Upchurch be sentenced to 25 years in prison on each of the Class X offenses and 4-6 years on the other charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are well aware of the defendant's age. The state does not want this defendant to be in the community ever again where he can perpetrate these horrors again," Rock said. Komie asked Roe to use sentencing guidelines from 2004 and argued that Upchurch had no prior criminal history. When asked by Roe if he wanted to make a statement to the court, Upchurch declined. Judge's sentence Roe recessed the hearing for an hour while he reviewed arguments, testimony and evidence presented at the hearing including the victim witness statements and written character statements. He acknowledged that Upchurch had minimal criminal history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He has led a law-abiding life for a substantial time," said Roe. "We did hear from victims that were here this afternoon and one other person. It's all very relevant to me. There were powerful statements from the victims. I have to balance what is appropriate with what is just." "This was an emotional case from the start to the finish," Roe continued. "I do know the defendant has a lot of support here... the state and what they represent the people to my left the victims and interested parties. It's a full courtroom." Roe said he read through the written statements submitted by Upchurch's family members and friends. "There's been lots of harm done to them too," Roe said. "I recognize that. And I weigh that with the lifelong trauma of the victims. And when I do so, this is what I believe is appropriate." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roe sentenced Upchurch to 12 years, six months in prison for each predatory criminal sexual assault charge to be served consecutively and 5 yrs in prison for each of the other charges, to be served concurrently. "That will be a total of 25 years, served at 85%," Roe said. When released, Upchurch will be supervised for three years and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Upchurch will get credit for 1,077 days served in the Ogle County Jail. Komie said he will be filing a post-trial motion. That hearing was set for 1 p.m. June 9. U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), center, joins Maximus Federal Call Center workers at a protest outside the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on December 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Communications Workers of America (CWA)) In an Ohio visit Monday, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-CA, critiqued and offered a counterpoint the Trump administration. At the City Club of Cleveland, he argued the presidents campaign tapped into genuine grievances in cities that saw jobs move overseas, but they offer no hopeful vision, no real solutions for the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khanna jabbed Trump about conquering Greenland and building a fortress out of tariffs, but added, you simply cant have James Polks expansionism, and William McKinleys protectionism, and expect to win in the 21st century. Polks administration annexed territory from Texas to Washington in the 1840s, at the cost of a war with Mexico, and heightened tensions between slave and free states. McKinleys calling card in in Congress and as president was protectionism, although even he was having second thoughts when he was assassinated. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Khanna described the Trump administrations tariff strategy as a disastrous self-inflicted wound. Instead of lashing out at other nations, U.S. leaders should be investing in companies that could be the economic engine of their communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khanna termed this economic patriotism with lofty comparisons to the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe following World War II. But the more recent example was the CHIPS Act. Khanna argued the federal investment in companies like Intel yielded more than ten times as much in private dollars. We can do this for other industries, he argued, and we can do it in factory towns across this country. The benefit isnt just improving the local tax base. He contends that economic development might begin to repair our politics. Its difficult to despair when there are plenty of job opportunities, and a growing community breeds a sense of collective purpose. But even as Khanna offered a collaborative vision for the future, the more competitive subtext was difficult to miss. At every turn, he emphasized Vice President J.D. Vances role shaping policy and rhetoric. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With President Trump constitutionally barred from a third term, Vance appears to be the partys heir apparent. Khannas Midwest swing could be a campaign rehearsal his effort to contrast his own vision against Vances hints at his own 2028 ambitions. What attendees wanted to know After speaking for about half an hour, several City Club attendees asked about several issues including immigration and economic policy. On immigration, Khanna emphasized due process. Im all for deporting people who have been convicted of violent crimes, he said. I just want to make sure we know whether they actually committed the violent crimes in the first place. Former Fox News commentator Geraldo Rivera, who lives in Shaker Heights, asked about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khanna said if the Trump administration defies the Supreme Court order to facilitate Garcias return, that would precipitate a constitutional crisis. He pointed to Vances statements encouraging the president to ignore court orders. Even if you believe that people convicted of heinous crimes, as I do, should be deported, even if you believe that MS-13 gang members should be deported, you have to speak up for due process, he said. And even if you dont agree with the due process, you have to speak up for listening to a Supreme Court in this country the whole system depends on that. Other attendees asked if theres really an appetite for rebuilding former factory towns among voters in places like Silicon Valley, which Khanna represents. And even if the political will exists, how do you avoid the red tape that has plagued industrial policy like the CHIPS Act and the Infrastructure law? Khanna acknowledged that permitting has been a problem but its only one challenge. Permitting reform is not going to magically redevelop Ashtabula County, he argued. Federal financing to train workers and support businesses will be necessary. And he said theres a long tradition of pairing private and public investment stretching back to Alexander Hamilton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we inspire the American public with a common mission, Khanna said, we will overcome the propaganda and the anger and the falseness of what Trump and Vance are selling. People are angry. Thats why theyre looking for alternatives, he added. We need to inspire them with a real one. Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Grizzly bears are extinct in California but still show up everywhere you look. The golden bruins emblazon the state flag and seal, live on in cartoonish effigy as university mascots, and roll off the tip of our tongue in place names like Grizzly Flats and Big Bear Lake. But what if the real ursine deal could be brought back? A new study indicates that they can be roughly 1,180 of them and Southern California mountains are among prime potential habitat for the apex predators. Whether they should be is a question for 40 million Californians and their policymakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The states official animal inspires awe and holds cultural significance for tribes, and researchers note that they pose low statistical danger. But some wildlife officials say reintroducing grizzlies which can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and run 35 mph for short bursts would lead to increased conflict between humans and bears. An estimated 60,000 black bears roam the state, and property damage, break-ins and the first confirmed fatality linked to the bruins have made headlines in recent years. Recovering grizzly bears in California is a choice, said Alex McInturff, co-editor of the study and assistant unit leader of U.S. Geological Survey's Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. We can choose to do it by making necessary investments and creating the necessary partnerships to make it possible. There's habitat available. A number of questions can be answered. But it's a choice. A grizzly stands over a cub at Grand Teton National Park. (C. Adams / Grand Teton National Park / AP) California was home to as many as 10,000 bears before the Gold Rush in 1848, but their fortunes turned swiftly. Human-fueled habitat loss drove down their numbers, but their ultimate demise came at the hands of hunters and trappers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1916, the last known grizzly roaming Southern California was gunned down in the Sunland area of L.A., and aptly became known as the Sunland Grizzly. Just a few years later, in the spring of 1924, Californias last known grizzly bear was spotted in Sequoia National Park. While they're unlikely to return to the state on their own, "[a] well-planned, well-resourced and well-managed reintroduction and recovery program could, however, likely establish a sustainable California grizzly population in one or more recovery areas over several decades," the study released Tuesday states. Behind the study is the Grizzly Alliance Network, a group of collaborators that include researchers, tribal leaders and wildlife advocates working to bring the bears back to the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spanning just over 200 pages, the report pulls together novel and existing research to explore where in the state bears could live and how many could live in those areas, as well as economic effects, safety considerations and other dimensions. Reintroducing the bears would require moving them from a place they currently live, such as Yellowstone National Park, into California. Read more: Bears have learned to open doors in Sierra Madre, 'like Jurassic Park.' One made himself at home, literally Using several habitat suitability models, the study identifies three potential regions where the bears could live: in the Transverse Ranges stretching from the coast to the desert in Southern California (with a focus on large, protected areas in the Los Padres National Forest); the entire Sierra Nevada (with emphasis on the southern part of the range); and the Northwest Forest (which includes the Klamath Mountains, Trinity Alps and other nearby ranges in the northwest corner of the state). The study reports that the regions contain large swaths of protected, high-quality habitat, but does not advocate for any or all of them to actually be used. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Assuming bears couldnt live outside the designated regions, the study estimates that California could house around 1,183 grizzlies: 115 in the Transverse Ranges, 832 in the Sierra Nevada, and 236 in the Northwest Forest. Two young grizzly bear siblings tussling in the early morning along Pelican Creek in Yellowstone National Park. (Jonathan Newton / Getty Images) Researchers priced a "well-resourced" recovery program at up to $3 million a year for the first decade. It represents .4% of the budget for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, based on 202425 figures, according to the study. Grizzlies often invoke fear as an animal standing 8 feet tall with prodigious claws does and human safety is often a top concern when discussing grizzly recovery. But the study says the statistical risk the animals pose to humans is "extremely small." Of the estimated average fatalities caused by wildlife every year in the U.S., 96% stem from car collisions with deer, the study reports. Still, the risk isnt zero. In North America, there are roughly 1.5 fatalities associated with bears annually, researchers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A separate 2019 study examining brown bear (a group that includes the grizzly) attacks on humans across much of their global range between 2000 and 2015 found that attacks increased significantly over time. Researchers said the increase was likely due to several factors, including the growth of bear and human populations, leading to increased habitat overlap. They also noted that a growing number of people are recreating in areas bears live. Grizzly bears also bring benefits, including dispersing seeds and aerating soil. At large enough numbers, they can keep other species like black bears in check. Read more: Editorial: For California towns with a bear problem, using dogs to hunt is no solution Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peter Tira, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the state lacks the resources and wouldnt be able to prioritize reintroducing grizzlies, given all its existing responsibilities. California, he said, no longer offers abundant stores of salmon that bears are believed to have once fed on or opportunities to roam on the now-highly developed coast. Given their tendency to range widely, he said theres no reason to assume theyll stay put in far-flung areas. "Reintroducing grizzly bears potentially into places where people live, recreate and raise livestock would likely necessitate further management of human-wildlife conflicts, which is already extremely challenging with the animal species that are here notably mountain lions, wolves, black bears and coyotes," Tira said in a statement. Bruce McLellan, a retired grizzly bear research ecologist and author of "Grizzly Bear Science and the Art of a Wilderness Life," admits he initially thought the idea of reintroducing grizzlies in California was crazy in part because of the sheer number of people who live in the state. But much of the population is jammed into the lower half of the state, he realized upon closer inspection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In British Columbia, where McLellan lives, the southern part of the province is home to most of its 5 million people and that region now supports hundreds of grizzlies as the population has rebounded over time. People have largely acclimated to their presence, he said. It makes me think that it's certainly biologically possible to have grizzly bears in those remoter corners of California, he said. Sure, he said, it would bring conflicts an odd bear will wander down from the mountains and snatch someones chickens; an odd bear would have to be shot but there are effective ways of dealing with conflict. People would need to be "bear aware" and potentially install electric fences, he said. Grizzlies are also "very adaptable," he said, noting that they dont need salmon or unfettered beach access to survive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "A lot of people where I live like to see grizzles in their yard," McLellan said. "I love it." Read more: A bear crashed a picnic and swiped at a woman's leg. Wildlife cops had a decision to make Yet even if Californians decided they wanted bears, he believes the U.S. lacks an adequate process to make it happen. McLellan was involved in efforts to restore grizzlies in the North Cascades in Washington state and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area in Montana and Idaho. Yet decades of expending money and energy hasnt brought them to fruition, he said. "I've been disheartened having been involved with both of them," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peter Alagona, an environmental studies professor at UC Santa Barbara who led the study, however, sees a California grizzly comeback as a way to dispel such ideas. I think it would light a fire under people to show that we can do some things that we didn't think we could do, said Alagona, who in 2016 founded the California Grizzly Research Network. Alagona also said it would serve as a form of reparative justice. In a foreword for the study, Octavio Escobedo III, chairman of the Tejon Indian Tribe, highlights what he describes as "parallel paths" forcibly walked by Native Americans and grizzlies subject to state-sanctioned ideology that "drove the relentless persecution of both Indigenous people and grizzly bears." The Tejon tribe, he writes, is among hundreds of Indigenous nations that value and revere the grizzly, and are leading efforts to conserve and coexist with the species. Read more: California's grizzlies: gargantuan, dangerous meat-lovers. Totally wrong, research shows McInturff, the federal employee, who is also an associate professor at University of Washington, said the new study marks a turning point in the discussion by providing a compilation of the best available science. "There were a lot of speculations, a lot of assumptions, and now we actually have a body of research that we can look at to speak in an informed way about this topic," he said. At some point, Alagona intends to present the findings of the study to the California Fish and Game Commission, which sets wildlife policy for the state. Last year, the Commission and the state Senate passed resolutions recognizing the centennial anniversary of the extirpation of the California grizzly, with the Senate declaring 2024 the "Year of the Grizzly." This month marks the 101st anniversary. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. (Reuters) -Cambodia said on Tuesday it had arrested a number of "Chinese criminals" in late March, including individuals from Taiwan, and days later handed them over to Chinese authorities, in deportations that have angered Taipei. Taiwan's foreign ministry said on Monday that Cambodia had sent an unknown number of Taiwanese citizens to China after they were arrested working in telecom scam centres. In a statement, a Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman said the decision to send the arrested people to China was in accordance with Cambodian law and adhered to Beijing's "one China" policy, which states that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese President Xi Jinping is due in Cambodia this week on a Southeast Asian tour that began in Vietnam on Monday and will also include Malaysia. "The individuals handed over to the Chinese authorities are criminals, not ordinary people, and the handover of these individuals to the government of the People's Republic of China is no different from the practice by some other countries adhering to the 'one China' policy," it added. The ministry did not say how many people had been deported to China. China's foreign ministry said it had no information about the deportations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taipei says Cambodia arrested 180 Taiwanese suspected of working in fraud centres and that on Sunday and early on Monday almost 190 people were deported to China at the Chinese government's request. Cambodia is one of China's closest allies in Southeast Asia, and Taiwan does not have a de facto embassy there, unlike in many other parts of the region. Hsiao Kuang-wei, Taiwan foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters in Taipei earlier on Tuesday that the government was still trying to find out exactly how many Taiwanese had been deported. "The foreign ministry again calls on our nationals not to take a chance and go overseas to engage in unlawful activities," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taiwan has previously complained about countries including Cambodia, Kenya and Spain deporting its nationals to China following their arrest on suspicion of involvement in telecom fraud schemes. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan strongly objects to Chinas sovereignty claims and says only the islands people can decide their future. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Kate Mayberry) NEW YORK Richard Davis, a member of the citys Campaign Finance Board, has recused himself from voting on any matters related to Mayor Eric Adams after penning an op-ed in February in which he blasted the Donald Trump Justice Departments dismissal of the mayors corruption indictment as ludicrous. Davis, a former U.S. Treasury Department official who worked on the Watergate investigation into late President Richard Nixons administration, revealed the recusal during a Campaign Finance Board meeting Tuesday, where the panel, among other actions, voted to continue to deny Adams reelection campaign public matching funds. Davis didnt provide an explanation at the meeting for why he recused himself. But a spokesman for the board confirmed Davis did so out of an abundance of caution due to an op-ed he wrote in February in his personal capacity about Adams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Davis op-ed, published in the Daily News on Feb. 12, criticized an attempt by President Trumps Department of Justice to drop the mayors federal corruption case. At the time, the DOJ had just submitted a controversial filing claiming the historic criminal case amounted to interference in Adams reelection bid and prevented him from assisting Trumps effort to target undocumented New Yorkers for mass deportations. In his op-ed, Davis wrote that the claim that Adams indictment amounted to election interference is in a word, ludicrous. He also wrote in the opinion piece that Adams has without any evidence claimed his indictment, filed in September, was political retribution for his criticism of President Joe Bidens handling of the migrant crisis. Davis penned the opinion piece after participating in a vote in December in which the Campaign Finance Board first denied Adams reelection campaign public matching funds due to his indictment, which charged him with taking illegal political contributions and bribes, mostly from Turkish government operatives, in exchange for political favors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then, the board has voted multiple more times to continue denying Adams matching funds. According to the Campaign Finance Board rep, Davis has sat out all votes on that matter since the publication of his op-ed. A spokesman for Adams reelection campaign declined to comment on Davis recusal. The judge in Adams case ultimately this month approved the dismissal of the mayors criminal case, writing that he had no choice but to do so, while also lamenting that the move smacks of a bargain in which the mayor is getting off scot-free in exchange for helping Trump with immigration enforcement. Adams has denied any quid pro quo. Though the indictment is now dead, the Campaign Finance Board made clear at Tuesdays vote that it will continue to withhold matching funds from Adams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a written explanation about Tuesdays decision, the board stated its denying Adams matching funds because of general noncompliance with campaign finance rules, as well as Adams failure to file his annual financial disclosure form on time. The boards explanation doesnt elaborate further on the reasoning for its latest denial. The mayor has vowed to pursue legal action to get matching funds. After his indictment was killed, Adams dropped out of Junes Democratic mayoral primary and is now seeking reelection as an independent candidate in Novembers general election. In addition to Davis, Frederick Schaffer, the CFBs chairman, also announced Tuesday hes recusing himself from voting on any matters related to ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose mayoral campaign was just denied matching funds due to missing documentation about his donors. The CFB spokesman said Schaffer is recusing himself because he interacted with Cuomo and his gubernatorial staff while serving as general counsel for the City University of New York between 2000 and 2016. Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), meets with Eddy Soeparno, deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia, in Beijing, capital of China, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Huning met with Eddy Soeparno, deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia, in Beijing on Tuesday. Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said that China and Indonesia enjoy profound traditional friendship, and under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Indonesia relations have entered a new stage of building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future. He said China is willing to work with Indonesia to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen strategic coordination, jointly carry forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the Bandung Spirit, and make a greater contribution to the development, prosperity and stability of the region and the world. The CPPCC National Committee is willing to strengthen exchanges with the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia and make new contributions to the building of the China-Indonesia community with a shared future, Wang added. Soeparno expressed his willingness to take the opportunity of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries to deepen bilateral cooperation, push bilateral relations to a new level and make positive contributions to world peace and stability. He said the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia is ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the CPPCC National Committee to add impetus to practical cooperation between the two countries in various fields and friendship between the two peoples. Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), meets with Eddy Soeparno, deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia, in Beijing, capital of China, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Gao Jie) A major Canadian professors association is urging academics to limit their travel to the United States. The Canadian Association of University Teachers, which boasts a membership of 72,000 staff at 125 universities across Canada, recommended in an advisory published Tuesday that academic staff travel to the U.S. only if essential and necessary. The announcement comes as President Donald Trump continues to target higher education institutions and international students, while antagonizing Canada with ever-changing tariffs and barbs about its sovereignty, saying the country should instead become the 51st state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Travelers who identify as transgender or are citizens of countries at diplomatic odds with the U.S., the organization wrote, are among those who should take particular caution. Travellers leaving or returning to Canada, particularly those traveling to the U.S., are increasingly vulnerable to preclearance zones and border searches that may compromise research confidentiality and academic freedom, the association said in a supplement to its advisory. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president still believes that Canadians would benefit greatly from becoming the 51st state of the United States of America. The White House has spent months arresting and revoking visas for international students it alleges are sympathetic to Hamas. On Monday, authorities detained a co-founder of Columbia Universitys Palestinian Student Union at what he thought was a naturalization appointment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And an immigration judge last week ruled that Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident with a green card who represented student protesters at Columbias Gaza Solidarity Encampment last spring, could be deported as a national security risk. The White House has also paused federal funding to several elite universities and launched investigations into dozens more in an effort administration officials say is meant to crack down on antisemitism and rein in diversity initiatives. Canadians in general are freezing travel to the U.S., and tourism from Canada to the United States is expected to take a hit. Academics should carefully consider what information they have, or need to have, on their electronic devices when crossing borders and take actions to protect sensitive information where necessary, the association wrote. By Wa Lone and Promit Mukherjee TORONTO/OTTAWA (Reuters) - More students living in the United States are applying to Canadian universities or expressing interest in studying north of the border as U.S. President Donald Trump cuts federal funding to universities and revokes foreign student visas. Officials at the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus said the school reported a 27% jump in graduate applications as of March 1 from U.S. citizens for programs starting in the 2025 academic year, compared to all of 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to rising demand for graduate-level programs, UBC Vancouver briefly reopened admissions to U.S. citizens for several graduate programs this week with plans to fast-track applications from American students hoping to begin studies in September. University of Toronto, Canada's largest university by number of students, also reported more U.S. applications by its January deadline for 2025 programs, while a University of Waterloo spokesperson reported an increase in U.S. visitors to campus and more web traffic originating from the United States since September. The universities in Toronto and Waterloo did not cite the reasons for the increase in interest, while the UBC's Vancouver campus attributed the rise to the Trump administration's policies. The administration has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for numerous universities, pressing them to make policy changes and citing what it says is a failure to fight antisemitism on campus. It has begun deportation proceedings against some detained foreign students who took part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, while visas for hundreds of other students have been canceled - actions that have raised concerns about speech and academic freedoms in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, Canada has capped the number of international students allowed to enter the country for the second year in a row, meaning there may be fewer spots for U.S. and other international students. Canada's immigration ministry said it expects learning institutions to only accept the number of students they can support, including providing housing options. Provinces and territories are responsible for distributing spaces under the cap, the ministry said. US CRACKDOWN Gage Averill, UBC Vancouvers provost and vice president of academics, attributed the spike in U.S. applications to the Trump administration abruptly revoking visas of foreign students and increased scrutiny of their social media activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That, as a result, and especially as a result of the very recent crackdown on visas in the United States for international students, and now the development of a center that's reading foreign students' social media accounts," Averill said. The University of Toronto, considered an alternative to U.S. Ivy League schools, is seeing a "meaningful increase" in applications from those living or studying in the U.S. over previous years, the university said in a statement. University of Waterloo, which is known for its technical graduate programs and churns out top-notch engineering talent, said some faculties including engineering have seen increased interest and applications from students in the U.S. "We have seen an increase in U.S. visitors to the UW Visitors Centre on campus, and web traffic that originates in the U.S. has increased by 15% since September 2024," a University of Waterloo spokesperson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It did not specify whether these students were foreign students studying in the U.S. or American citizens. Averill said UBC has seen only a modest 2% increase in undergraduate applications for this year's programs, which closed around the time of Trumps inauguration. However, interest appears to be growing, with campus tour requests from U.S. students up by 20%. "We were concerned about the United States universities, our sister institutions in the U.S., who are under enormous pressure right now," said Averill, referring in particular to the Trump administration's efforts to withhold funds from universities that continue with diversity and equity initiatives or study climate science. According to UBC's annual report, the United States ranks as one of the top three countries for international student enrollment. Currently, about 1,500 U.S. students are enrolled in both graduate and undergraduate programs at the university's two campuses. (Editing by Caroline Stauffer and Deepa Babington) Ukraine held a press conference with two Chinese prisoners of war on Monday. Wang Guangjun, 34, said he was drawn to Russia's military by promotional social media videos. Wang said he was told he'd care for injured soldiers but was instead sent to fight in Donetsk. A Chinese prisoner in Ukraine said videos on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, enticed him to join Russia's military. The man, identified by Ukraine as 34-year-old Wang Guangjun, spoke with international and Ukrainian press in a two-hour press conference on Monday. He and another Chinese man described what they said was life in Russia's armed forces and their eventual journey to the front lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both men were captured in Donetsk, Ukraine said on Wednesday. Because they are prisoners of war, their ability to speak freely at the conference is unclear, and Business Insider couldn't independently confirm their statements though they're consistent with what can be observed on Chinese social media. Wang told the press in Mandarin that he was an "ordinary employee" in China who worked in rehabilitation therapy. "My family can be considered a rather harmonious one, with a wife, with kids, with parents," Wang said. "But because of China's pandemic issues, I lost my job. So I was looking for any kind of work; that's how I ended up in this situation." Wang said that while in China, he'd watched "flashy and cool" videos on Douyin of Russian soldiers and weapons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Because in China, the status and social identity of a Chinese soldier is very high, especially in the hearts of the public," Wang said. "So in China, every male has this dream of success." "When you are in China and have no chance of being a soldier, and you see this kind of opportunity, you feel a stirring of the heart," he added. "And I came from that kind of motivation." ByteDance, the firm that owns Douyin and TikTok, didn't respond to a request for comment sent by BI. Rehab therapist on the front lines Wang said he worked as a rehabilitation therapist in China and thought he'd be helping injured soldiers in Moscow. Genya SAVILOV / AFP via Getty Images Wang said he'd seen a video promoting a job in Russia's military that involved providing rehabilitation therapy to injured soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It said that due to Russia's last two years of fighting, there were a lot of injured people who needed us to administer rehabilitation therapy," he said. He added that the video promised the role wouldn't involve fighting against Ukraine. "When I arrived in Moscow and reported for work, they also told me the same. But after I followed them to the recruitment office and signed up, and then went to the training camp, I was no longer in control of my situation," he said. "At that point, I could no longer make my own decisions." Chinese social media platforms often feature pro-Russia videos from Chechen special forces showing off captured NATO weapons to clips of young Russian soldiers labeled as "handsome big brothers." State media often emphasizes Moscow and Beijing's "no-limits" partnership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, Wang said Chinese authorities had warned him not to cross into Russia for the job, which he did anyway. He and the other Chinese prisoner, identified as 27-year-old Zhang Renbo, said they weren't associated with any Chinese security or armed forces. Wang said he was given a few days of training in Moscow and then sent in February to the Russian cities of Kazan and Rostov. He said he was eventually deployed to northern Donetsk on April 4, after which he was captured by Kyiv's forces. A tourist in the trenches Zhang Renbo said he was vacationing in Russia when he sought work for some extra money. He said he was eventually sent to the trenches in Donetsk. GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images Meanwhile, Zhang told reporters that he worked as a firefighter in Shanghai and had traveled to Russia on vacation in December. Zhang said that he'd tried to "earn a bit of money" while on holiday and that he was offered work in construction but later realized the job instead was actually in the warzone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Chinese media and state media always emphasized our friendship with Russia, so we always have trusted them. Because of this trust, perhaps we have been taken advantage of," Zhang said. He said he was sent to Rostov in early January, where he received about six days of training, and was moved to Donetsk later. Zhang said he spent about a month in the trenches until March 31, after which he and two other soldiers were ordered to advance on the front lines and were captured. Both Wang and Zhang said they agreed to speak publicly in the hope that China would notice their imprisonment and negotiate their return. "If you are considering joining this war against Ukraine, to my fellow Chinese, do not participate in this fight," Wang said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his government believes more than 150 Chinese citizens are fighting in Ukraine for the Russian military. "North Koreans were fighting against us in the Kursk region, while the Chinese were fighting against us in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said on April 8. Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, called Zelenskyy's remarks "irresponsible." "The Chinese government always asks Chinese nationals to stay away from areas of armed conflict, avoid any form of involvement in armed conflict, and in particular avoid participation in any party's military operations," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider It was supposed to be a small step for (wo)man, a giant leap for feminism. But an all-star, all-female mission to space has come back down to Earth with a bit of a bump. This week six women, including pop star Katy Perry and Jeff Bezoss fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, were blasted more than 62 miles above Earth to the Karman line, the internationally recognised boundary of space, during an 11-minute flight. The women were the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years, and their aim was to inspire young women to love science while no doubt also promoting Bezoss company Blue Origin, which plans to commercialise space travel for the wealthy. Although Blue Origin has not released full ticket prices, a $150,000 (114,000) deposit is required just to reserve a seat. The all-female crew included (L-R) Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen - Blue Origin Also on board the New Shepard rocket were former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and CBS presenter Gayle King, who said a highlight of the flight was hearing Perry sing Louis Armstrongs What a Wonderful World. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nguyen made history as the first Vietnamese woman to travel to space, and Bowe was the first person of Bahamian heritage to make such a mission. Its an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around, said Perry. But numerous people have criticised the timing of the all-star space flight, and poked fun at a video of the crew members experiencing zero gravity for the first time, where they shrieked and did somersaults. And its Perry, 40, who has come in for the most merciless mocking. Pop singer Katy Perry has faced a backlash online for taking part in the Blue Origin space flight - AFP One of the most vocal critics has been Emily Ratajkowski. The model posted a video on TikTok calling the mission end-of-times s--- and beyond parody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ratajkowski, who was made famous by Robin Thickes controversial Blurred Lines music video in 2013, seemed to attack Perry in particular. Apparently referring to the singers statement that she had dedicated her participation to Mother Earth, Ratajkowski wrote: You say you care about Mother Earth, and youre going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that is single-handedly destroying the planet. Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. And for what? Im literally disgusted. Comedian Amy Schumer made a sarcastic video for Instagram where she joked: Guys, last second they added me to space and Im going to space. She then held up a Black Panther toy and said: Im bringing this thing. It has no meaning to me, but it was in my bag and I was on the subway, and I got the text and they were like, Do you want to go to space? so Im going to space. The actress and film director Olivia Wilde reposted one of many memes of Perry kissing the ground on her return to Earth. She captioned it: Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess. Companies social media accounts also joined the pile-on, with American fast-food chain Wendys commenting on a photo of Perry which had the caption Katy Perry has returned from space with the words: Can we send her back. The pop star Kesha then posted a picture of herself holding a Wendys drink and smiling. Wendy's reacts to Katy Perry returning from space following the Blue Origin launch: "Can we send her back" pic.twitter.com/vwgFJaAc9s Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 15, 2025 Earlier this month, the American actress Olivia Munn, who has appeared in X-Men: Apocalypse and The Newsroom, slammed the space stunt as gluttonous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know this probably isnt the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now, she said. I know this is probably obnoxious, but like, its so much money to go to space, and theres a lot of people who cant even afford eggs. Whats the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here? I dont know if all that rocket fuel is good, this is a lot of resources being spent. Before they went into space, a picture released of the six crew members in their specially designed blue spacesuits drew angry comments online. Who is ready to watch a gaggle of dolled-up damsels, largely untethered from practical skill or sweat-earned expertise, lounge in the space pod sipping stardust, while the invisible hands of competent men labour endlessly to ensure everything works flawlessly, and that the ladies arent incinerated in a fiery catastrophe, wrote one X user. DEI: Who is ready to watch a gaggle of dolled-up damsels, largely untethered from practical skill or sweat-earned expertise, lounge in the space pod sipping stardust, while the invisible hands of competent men labor endlessly to ensure everything works flawlessly, and that the https://t.co/99ginxb4OG pic.twitter.com/tQ6ivASmhb @amuse (@amuse) April 14, 2025 Many people pointed out that it was galling that celebrities going into space for one short flight was generating more media coverage than both the swingeing cuts being made by the Trump administration to Nasas budget and the scrapping of the organisations diversity initiatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rhonda McMilllan, an artist, wrote on X: Crazy how Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez going to space for 10 minutes is supposed to inspire women, but the women who already worked at Nasa are *checks notes* getting fired and getting their bios removed from the site. Her tweet has been liked more than 108,000 times. Critics have also pointed out that the mission was environmentally damaging, as rocket engine exhaust contains gases and particles that can affect Earths climate and ozone layer. Perry has previously spoken out about the dangers of climate change, and in 2015 made a video for Unicef warning about the effects of extreme weather. Although Blue Origin states on its website that during flight, the only by-product of New Shepards engine combustion is water vapour with no carbon emissions, scientists have pointed out that water vapour is a greenhouse gas which depletes the ozone layer. In a press conference after the flight, crew members addressed the barrage of criticism that their mission had received. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I feel that anybody who is criticising doesnt really understand whats happening here, said King, who added that the astronauts had received a huge positive response from young women and girls. Earlier this month, King responded to claims that the mission was just a PR stunt for Bezos. As one critic pointed out on X: Jeff Bezos couldnt even pay Amazon workers fairly but he can send six rich women into space like its nothing. Jeff Bezos couldn't even pay Amazon workers fairly but he can send 6 rich women into space like it's nothing.. Aes (@AesPolitics1) April 14, 2025 Listen, it is troubling to me, too, she told CBS. There have been some questions and decisions that hes made that Ive actually gone, Huh? But I think in this particular case, this is so much bigger than one man and one company. Ive chosen to separate the two. Its not a zero-sum game. You can do this on one hand and this on the other hand, and both things can be true. Sanchez, 55, said she had got fired up about the criticism and wanted naysayers to come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that dont just work here but put their heart and soul into this vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stars including Tom Hanks and Drew Barrymore made a send-off video for the six women to watch. And others, including Oprah Winfrey and several members of the Kardashian family, watched the launch from the ground in west Texas. Khloe Kardashian said: I didnt realise how emotional it would be, its hard to explain. I have all this adrenalin and Im just standing here. Whatever you dream of is in our reach, especially in todays day and age. Dream big, wish for the stars and one day, you could maybe be among them. On her return to Earth, Perry clutched a daisy that she had taken to space with her, in honour of her daughter Daisy Dove, who was also there to watch the launch. I feel super-connected to love, said Perry. This experience has shown me you never know how much love is inside of you, like how much love you have to give and how loved you are. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Presumably she hadnt had a chance to check her social media yet. 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 Newark fire department's lack of training and familiarity with marine firefighting during a deadly cargo ship fire at the East Coast's largest port in July 2023 amounted to a failure of leadership, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday. The board met publicly in Washington to unveil its findings about the inferno inside the Italian-flagged Grande Costa DAvorio, which smoldered for nearly a week and resulted in the deaths of two Newark firefighters. In addition to singling out Newark's fire department for criticism, the board also found that the fire ignited when cargo loaders used a Jeep that wasn't designed for such work to push vehicles into position. It also found that a carbon dioxide fire suppression system was ineffective because a large hydraulic door had to be closed for it to operate correctly, and could only be shut from inside, where the fire was raging in cramped conditions, with vehicles parked as narrowly as 4 inches (10 centimeters) apart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I hope that Newark fire department leadership is listening. This isnt just a failure of communication. This was a failure of leadership. Thats what this was, NTSB chairperson Jennifer Homendy said. Board investigators said the department's chiefs exposed firefighters to unnecessary risk," first responders were not familiar enough with marine firefighting and the department lacked a fire control plan for the ship. Staff feels that Newark Fire Division, responding land-based firefighters should not have gone into the space, investigator Bart Barnum said Tuesday. The need for more training, Barnum said, was his main takeaway from the accident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You have to be properly trained when you respond to a marine vessel fire," he said. In this particular instance, if they had been, they should never have went inside. In a statement, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda praised the bravery of the firefighters. They also said that every firefighter not on long-term medical leave about 540 out of 600 firefighters was certified in Maritime Firefighting Awareness Training. The events that transpired have informed every endeavor of our entire firefighting force, Baraka and Miranda added. A message seeking comment was left with Ports America, the company overseeing cargo operations at the port. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The blaze ignited as the ship was being loaded with about 920 mostly used vehicles destined for West Africa. Port workers were using a Jeep Wrangler to push nonrunning vehicles into the ship when a worker heard clunking noises and another operator reported seeing flaming fireballs dripping from the Jeep, according to the board. The Jeep had pushed 37 other vehicles on board by then, investigators said. Federal rules require that any vehicle used to push other vehicles onto a ship meet standards for such work. The Jeep didn't meet that Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard and was straining beyond its capacity, the board's investigators said. Maybe it was a readily available vehicle, one investigator said Tuesday. Maybe they overlooked OSHA requirements that it couldn't be used in that manner just speculating. The fire began on deck 10 of the 12-deck ship, investigators said, and the ship's crew had activated the carbon dioxide suppression system, but it required the ship's exterior doors to be closed to operate effectively. Because the door on the top deck couldn't be closed except from inside the ship, it remained open, according to the board's presentation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newark firefighters quickly responded and got lost inside the vessel, the board said, as dark smoke billowed into the sky. We cannot find our way out, the board said one firefighter relayed. We are lost. Newark firefighters Augusto Augie Acabou and Wayne Bear Brooks Jr. were killed. Firefighting boats ultimately blasted water cannons at the ship for days to extinguish the blaze. Board members noted that relatives of the fallen firefighters were present at the meeting and expressed condolences to them. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark's port, relies on local fire departments to assist with fires since it doesnt have its own firefighting agency. Authorities earlier declined to answer whether firefighters should have gone into harms way to put the blaze out when no lives appeared to be at risk, with the ship's 28 crew members safe and accounted for. Fritz Frage, who was Newark's public safety director at the time, said the city and port authority have continuing conversations about training. He didnt offer specifics. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) Flare-ups tied to the Carolina Forest wildfire are likely to continue over the next several days, sending visible smoke into the area as dry weather persists, officials said. On Monday, Horry County Fire Rescue and state Forestry Commission crews responded to about an acre-wide burn near Covington Drive. This flare-up like other recent flare-ups related to this incident was well contained within the fire lines and breaks made by firefighters, not threatening any structures, Horry County Fire Rescue said in a Facebook post Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now burning into its 46th day, the 2,095-acre wildfire remains 90% contained. Officials said smoke plumes likely will be visible from Carolina Forest Boulevard, International Drive and Highways 31, 90 and 501 until heavy rains move in. Most of the hot spots are located underground, essentially un-extinguishable by firefighter sprinklers and handlines, Horry County Fire Rescue said. We will need Mother Natures help, but will supplement with firefighter response, coordination and hard work as these flare-ups occur. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. 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. PAOLA, Kan. A Carthage man was sentenced to 10 years and three months in prison for the murder of his wife at a hearing Monday in Miami County District Court in Paola. Gavino McJunkins-Macias, 24, of Carthage, pleaded guilty in February to one count of second-degree murder, unintentional but reckless, in the death of Kenia Lopez, 24, of Carthage. Macias was originally charged with second-degree murder for intentionally killing Lopez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was sentenced Monday by Miami County Chief Judge Amy Harth. Officials say the killing happened June 13, 2024, in Louisburg, Kansas, and McJunkins-Macias put Lopezs body in a camper trailer and drove it to the industrial area at the north end of North Main Street in Carthage. Jasper County Coroner James Harrison said Tuesday that an autopsy showed that Lopez died of stab wounds. McJunkins-Macias still faces charges of abandoning a corpse in Jasper County with pretrial motions set for 9 a.m. Monday, April 21, before Judge Joseph Hensley in Joplin. Carthage police arrested McJunkins-Macias after he called 911 and reported that his wifes dead body could be found in the camper at 600 N. Main St. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said McJunkins brought the camper with Lopezs body in it from Kansas to Carthage and parked it around 7 a.m. He left it parked there for several hours before calling 911, according to a probable-cause affidavit filed in Jasper County Circuit Court with the charge of abandonment of a corpse. Carthage police Chief Bill Hawkins said at the time of McJunkins-Macias arrest that Carthage investigators called the Miami County Sheriffs Office when they learned he has just returned from that county where he was working on a construction job. Further investigation led to a warrant for second-degree murder being issued in Miami County, Kansas. Hawkins said investigators in Carthage exercised search warrants at the trailer, a couple of residences and on some vehicles in connection with the homicide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The affidavit filed with the charge of abandoning a corpse states that video surveillance footage obtained by investigators from the 400 block of North Main shows a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with Missouri license plates northbound with a Jayco camper in tow at 7:50 a.m. The truck can be seen leaving the area about 8:15 a.m. without any trailer in tow. The suspect purportedly told investigators he reached Carthage with the trailer in tow about 7 a.m. The affidavit alleges that he left the body in the camper on the dead-end street for more than three hours while he met with family members and spoke with an attorney before contacting police. CARTHAGE, Mo. A Carthage man will go to prison for more than a decade for murdering his wife. This morning in a Kansas courtroom, a judge sentenced Gavino McJunkins-Macias to 10 years and 3 months in prison on charges of second-degree murder. Gavino McJunkins-Macias McJunkins pleaded guilty to the charge back in February. Those charges are connected to the death of his wife, Kenia Lopez, 24, of Carthage. Kansas authorities charge Carthage man with wifes murder; body discovered in Missouri Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police found her body in a camper in the 600 block of North Main on June 13, 2024. McJunkins-Macias killed Lopez in Louisburg, Kansas, put her body in the camper and then drove it to Carthage. They say he then parked the camper for about 3.5 hours while he met with his family and handled other business. Carthage woman charged in connection to daughter-in-laws murder He still faces charges in Jasper County for abandonment of a corpse. Hes scheduled to be in court next week on that charge. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SPRINGFIELD The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield introduced Tuesday not only a new executive director, but a new focus for its Catholic Charities Agency following the end of its refugee resettlement program. Moving forward, the $3.5-million-a-year Catholic Charities Agency will focus on three pillars: mental health, and food and housing insecurity. The Trump administration pulled $600,000 in grant money that the diocese had used to help resettle refugees in Western Massachusetts, help them get jobs and provide for basic needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a national retrenchment for the church, with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops saying it would not renew cooperative agreements with the federal government related to refugee support and aiding unaccompanied children. Bishops across the country are seeking more than $24 million from the federal government for resettlement services that were still pending payment as of April 7, according to published reports. The stoppage of funds forced the diocese to lay off workers, despite having 83 recently arrived refugees on its rolls, including 13 families still living in temporary housing, said Shaina Rodriguez, introduced Tuesday as the new executive director of the local Catholic Charities Agency. She said shes still working with other agencies, including the state Department of Transitional Assistance and Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, which also lost funding and staff, to aid the newly arrived families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And that commitment goes to the top of the diocese, said Bishop William D. Byrne. We havent abandoned the service to those that we have remaining in our system, Byrne said Tuesday in response to a reporters questions. It was an important collaboration that we were undertaking with the federal government and the grants that we received. But the diocese cant go it alone. Without those grants, the capacity to be able to do that work effectively was removed from us, the bishop said. Even before the federal government pulled the funding, the diocese was reevaluating its priorities for Catholic Charities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were we meeting what we were called to do at this time? he said the diocese asked of itself. While this (refugee resettlement) was an important work, it was not the only work and the primary work that was needed at this time. The shift also was motivated, Byrne said, by a desire to move away from dependence on government contracts. Rodriguez is a native New Yorker educated in Catholic schools including Fordham University. Her work has spanned behavioral health, youth development, housing and education, most recently as the chief strategy, people and experience officer with Clifford Beers Community Health Partners of Connecticut. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Always with a focus on strengthening systems to better serve the most vulnerable, the diocese said. Rodriguez said she already is working on ways to strengthen Catholic Charities support for those seeking help around mental health, possibly with local partnerships. Im looking to get out in front of the parishes and make sure that they understand that Catholic Charities are here to support them and their parishioners. Shes also looking to support the dioceses network of food pantries and sandwich ministries. But, like housing, everything will be in partnership with entities already working in the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The diocese covers four counties Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire 79 parishes and 7 missions with more than 199,289 Catholics. Stories by Jim Kinney GAZA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 51,000 since the outbreak of the conflict on Oct. 7, 2023, the Gaza-based health authorities said on Tuesday. In a press statement, the health authorities added that 116,343 others have been wounded in the ongoing Israeli military assaults. During the past 24 hours, at least 17 Palestinians were killed and 69 others wounded due to Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling in various areas in the enclave, the health authorities said. The health authorities said that many victims remain under the rubble, as continuing hostilities and the absence of safe corridors have hampered rescue work. Since the resumption of Israeli military operations on March 18 this year, 1,630 Palestinians have been killed and 4,302 others wounded, it added. The Gaza Strip continues to face a worsening humanitarian situation amid deteriorating security conditions and restricted access to relief efforts, according to the health authorities. SANDUSKY, Ohio (WKBN) Cedar Point is hosting a job fair next week. The event is set for 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at the main gate. The company is calling it a hiring party and will provide perks for applicants, such as free food and raffles, concert tickets and park admission tickets as well as the running of some rides. Teens, retirees and career professionals are invited to apply. Positions available include food and beverage, housekeeping, merchandise, games, traffic and tolls, ride operations and office jobs just to name a few. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hourly pay ranges from $13 to $15. Scheduling is flexible, and employment includes discounts, reward and recognition programs and special ride nights for employees only. You can also get free tickets for friends and family. On-site housing is available for those who qualify, and free admission is available to any Six Flags park. For more information on available seasonal, part-time and year-round positions, potential candidates can apply online immediately at cedarpoint.com/jobs. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 recall has been issued for about 1,587 cases of ready-to-eat celery sticks sold in Walmart stores in 29 states, including Florida. The "precautionary advisory" was issued for the possibility of contamination of listeria, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The voluntary recall was made by Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc., a Florida-based corporation with its headquarters in Oviedo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's what you should know. Celery recall issued due to possible contamination from listeria Duda Farm Fresh Foods issued a voluntary recall of a single production lot of washed and ready-to-eat Marketside Celery Sticks. "This advisory is being initiated due to the possibility of contamination with listeria monocytogenes. The potential for contamination was discovered during random sampling by the Georgia Department of Agriculture from a Georgia store location where one of multiple samples yielded a positive test result," the FDA said. How do you know if you have the recalled celery sold at Walmart? Duda Farm Fresh Foods issued a recall for Marketside Celery Sticks for the possibility of listeria contamination. The celery in the recalled is washed and ready-to-eat, sold in four-count, 1.6-ounce packages at Walmart stores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What to look for: Best buy date: March 23, 2025 UPC code on the back of the package is: 6 81131 16151 0 Lot code on the front of the bag: P04765. All potentially affected products are past their expiration date and no longer for sale, but the recall was issued in case some consumers froze the celery for future use. What should you do if you have the recalled celery? Discard the celery if you still have it, even if it was stored in the freezer, the FDA said. Do not consume it. Where was the recalled celery sold? The recalled celery was sold at Walmart stores in these states: Alabama California Colorado District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Iowa Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland Michigan Missouri Montana North Carolina New Jersey New York Ohio Pennsylvania Tennessee Texas Virginia Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The advisory does not apply to any other Marketside or Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc. produced products. Has anyone gotten sick from eating the recalled celery? As of April 10, no illnesses have been reported, the FDA said. What is listeria? Listeria are bacteria that can contaminate many foods, the CDC said. People who eat contaminated food can get infected with the bacteria. "The disease-causing bacteria can be found in many places, including soil, water, sewage, rotting vegetation, and animals," the FDA said. What are symptoms of a listeria infection? Signs and symptoms of listeriosis depend on the person infected, and the body part affected, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Listeriaare most likely to harm pregnant women, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems." According to the Mayo Clinic, if you develop a listeria infection, symptoms could include: Fever Chills Muscle aches Nausea Diarrhea "Symptoms might begin a few days after you've eaten contaminated food, but it can take 30 days or more before the first signs and symptoms of infection begin," the Mayo Clinic said. If the listeria infection spreads to your nervous system, signs and symptoms can include: Convulsions Headache Stiff neck Confusion or changes in alertness Loss of balance How can you avoid listeria? Especially for those in high-risk groups, the CDC offers the following suggestions to avoid the listeria bacteria found in food. Do not eat: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unpasteurized soft cheeses, such as queso fresco and brie. Unheated cheeses sliced at a deli. Unheated deli meat, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages. Premade deli salads, such as coleslaw and potato, tuna, or chicken salad. Refrigerated pate or meat spreads. Refrigerated smoked fish. Raw or lightly cooked sprouts. Cut melon left out for more than 2 hours. One hour if its exposed to temperatures hotter than 90 degrees. Cut melon in refrigerator for more than a week. Raw (unpasteurized) milk, yogurt, and ice cream. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Celery recall by FDA reports Duda Farm for potential listeria If you're a woman in America, your chances of leading a life free of sexual violence aren't good. One in 5 American women will be raped or be the victim of an attempted rape in their lifetime. One in 3 of those survivors will be between the ages of 11 and 17 when the attack occurs, so being a child is actually a risk factor for females. And for every 1,000 sexual assaults, about 975 of the perpetrators will face no legal consequences for a variety of reasons that include the ongoing biases of those meant to help survivors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "How our society looks at or ignores these horrific crimes of sexual assault is staggering," said former Alameda County Dist. Atty. Nancy O'Malley. If sexual assault were a disease like COVID-19, we would be declaring a public health emergency. Instead, even after decades of incremental improvement, this crisis of violence against women and girls continues to spread like a virus and even thrive because as a society we refuse to wipe it out. A group of California women led by O'Malley and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom released a report Tuesday by a group of female advocates, legislators and health experts with a blueprint of how the Golden State can lead when it comes to protecting women. California stepping up now is even more critical when you look at the national picture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alarmed by the disenfranchisement and rightward turn of young American men, much focus has been placed on how we can make them feel better about life, too often ignoring the misogyny and repression of women's rights that their conservative shift is fueling. In some states, survivors of rape and incest now face restrictive abortion bans, including places that won't allow an exception unless the assault is reported to police. So pushing back in the other direction, protecting women's rights and highlighting where we can do better in preventing sex crimes and supporting survivors, is essential. Read more: Chabria: The bravery of Jennifer Siebel Newsom facing Harvey Weinstein and facing us all "In some areas we've done very well. Legislatively, California kind of leads the way," O'Malley told me. California has passed a string of laws in recent years that give survivors greater rights and more help and take a nuanced approach to their trauma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in other places, we haven't come a long way. O'Malley, who worked in a rape crisis center in the 1970s before becoming a sex crimes prosecutor and then D.A., pointed out that from law enforcement to courts, women still face stigma and ignorance when it comes to sex crimes. "We have partners who need to step up and do a better job," O'Malley said. The findings of the report are remarkably common sense, making it all the more frustrating that some of the recommendations have not been done already. For example, not every county has a designated hospital where forensic exams can be done. Especially in rural areas, getting proper care and treatment for sexual assault survivors is challenging. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And if an exam is done, California lacks a cohesive statewide system to track results to "support the identification and prosecution of serial perpetrators," according to the report. Yes, in this day and age when DNA is helping to solve decades-old murders, we still don't have a reliable system to track active serial rapists. O'Malley points out that almost 40% of those convicted of sex crimes re-offend. Don't get me started on untested rape kits sitting in storage. The report suggests that the state ensures that local crime labs submit DNA to the California Department of Justice, and that we also make sure that survivors have a way to track that sample through the system. One of the most basic problems that Siebel Newsom and O'Malley found was that the system, from responding officers to judges, still lacks trauma-informed training. Whether it's the uniformed officers responding to a domestic violence call or the jurist passing a sentence on an acquaintance rape, survivors still too often find themselves facing the same kinds of bias that has infused the system for decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were they drinking? Why did they wait so long before coming forward? Did they fight? Throughout our justice system, all the stereotypes and victim-blaming that have stopped women from seeking or finding justice remain. It's really hit-or-miss. Some within the criminal justice system have evolved, some haven't. "We have a lot to do in terms of educating people," O'Malley said. She would like to see required training for judges, for example, so that victims' rights are upheld in the courtroom and testifying doesn't become its own trauma. And the report recommends teaching better interviewing techniques to law enforcement, so that survivors don't give up on getting help or justice. Read more: Cops lie to suspects during interrogations. Should detectives stick to the truth? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It doesn't have to be an abusive system," O'Malley said. "It should be a compassionate system." Few know that better than Siebel Newsom. In 2022, she courageously testified against once-super-mogul Harvey Weinstein in his Los Angeles rape trial, detailing how he had assaulted her in an L.A. hotel room in 2005. Before she even entered the courtroom, Weinstein's lawyer labeled her a "bimbo." This week, Weinstein headed back to court in New York for a new trial on his conviction there. In a harsh reminder of where we are culturally at this particular moment, that retrial is being billed as a referendum on the #MeToo movement, which hoisted the epidemic of sexual assault into the spotlight. Now, right-wing commentators including Joe Rogan are claiming that poor Mr. Weinstein, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, was just "in the wrong place at the wrong time." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If this happened in the 80s, they probably would have thrown it out. But in the #MeToo movement, it was a hot witch hunt," Rogan said. It was not. It was a moment of reckoning now facing a backlash because some of the men who hold power in our country do not want accountability when it comes to sex crimes. But the women of California, and I suspect the U.S., do. As a survivor, the work of preventing sexual violence and supporting other survivors is deeply personal to me, as it is to so many others," Siebel Newsom said. This report "is more than a set of recommendations, its a call to action for every system designed to support and protect survivors. Weve laid out a bold, actionable path forward that is rooted in healing, justice and accountability because every survivor deserves to be treated with dignity." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In short, a plan for California that embraces women's well-being, while others trample on it. 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. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) The Champaign School Board was supposed to meet Monday night for their regularly scheduled meeting, but that meeting was canceled after three members called in absent. The three members who wouldve been absent include Mark Holm, Betsy Holder, and Amy Armstrong. The meetings agenda could have seen the board confirm two principals at Edison Middle School and Booker T. Washington Academy, as well as SROs at Central and Centennial High Schools. Champaign woman killed in Monday night I-57 crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WCIA caught up with the school board president to weigh in on how she feels about the canceled meeting and the state of the current board. By not being able to meet tonight and not being able to find another date to meet at the time, were holding peoples careers up, said Gianina Baker. And I dont think thats appropriate. The Champaign School Board canceled its meeting due to a lack of a quorum, which means the board did not have the necessary four members in attendance to hold a meeting. We cant meet tonight because three individuals have decided they dont want to meet. This is not whats in the best interests of our students, Baker said. And I would hope that our public would understand that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Board member Amy Armstrong told WCIA that the district was well aware she would not be at tonights meeting, saying in part: Prior to today, there was no effort made to reschedule, Armstrong said. Ive not heard any information on these important topics prior to being asked to vote on them. There was a silence in the car; Urbana family remembers, mourns baby after fatal crash She added: This petty toxic circus needs to end. Betsy Holder said she told the district of her likely absence ahead of time. In a statement, she said in part: If the district was aware of a quorum issue, they had multiple opportunities to reschedule before posting the agenda on Friday and then canceling the meeting today. And Mark Holm told WCIA over the phone he had a pre-arranged business meeting. He also told WCIA about his desire to get the newly voted-in board members sworn in as soon as possible. Clear the deck and get out of the way, Holm said. Theres five new ones. Lets swear them in. But Baker said the current sitting board has a responsibility to conclude business before the new members take their seats. The votes havent been certified, so we cant even name the board members as we speak, Baker said. And so this is absolutely a duty of this current board, and Id like to finish that out. The election certification for the five new board members is scheduled for Tuesday. Once certified, the board will have until May 11th to swear in the new members. The next scheduled board meeting is April 28th. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) The full Nebraska Legislature appears likely to debate a governor-backed bill to reexamine contributions for school employees retirement plans, which the sponsor described as a win-win-win, the Nebraska Examiner reports. The Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee on Monday morning voted 4-0 to advance Legislative Bill 645 by State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, the committee chair. State Sens. Brian Hardin of Gering and Danielle Conrad of Lincoln were absent from the vote, but Ballard left the vote open through at least the end of the day for both to weigh in if they choose to. This is a win for state tax dollars, a win for teachers and also, I believe, a win for property taxpayers as well, Ballard told the Nebraska Examiner of his amended bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school retirement plan at center stage applies to eligible school employees outside of the Omaha Public Schools, which has a separate retirement plan. Nebraska social media age-verification bill moves forward Currently, teachers and other eligible school staff contribute 9.78% of their monthly payroll to the pooled retirement plan. School districts match this at 9.88% of the amount they pay their employees, while the state contributes 2% of statewide school employee payroll each year. State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln, left, talks with State Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln. July 26, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) The estimated payroll for teachers in Nebraska, as of July 1, 2024, was $2.5 billion annually. That means the plan took in $543 million in direct contributions about $50 million from the state, $245 million from employees and $248 million from school districts in the most recent year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amended LB 645 is significantly different from when it was introduced in January, which at the time would have reduced state contributions to 0% depending on the plans actuarial funding status, but left contribution rates for employees and school districts the same. The plan is currently 99.91% funded. If LB 645 moves forward, contribution levels of all three groups would change at four stages based on the actuarially funded level less than 96% funded, between 96% and 98% funded, between 98% and 100% funded and fully funded. The state would fall to 0.7% of annual contributions at the two intermediate stages, retaining the 2% contribution level when the retirement plan is underfunded and paying zero when the plan is fully funded. State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood, chair of the Legislatures Appropriations Committee, and a member of the Retirement Committee, said LB 645 could save the state $77 million over the next biennium. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neb. Gov. Pillen requests federal disaster declaration for March winter storm The governors office maintains that the freed-up funds should not be used to balance the states projected budget deficit but instead to invest in education. Increased take-home pay Under the latest version of Ballards bill, school employees would contribute 9.75% of payroll if the plan is less than 96% funded. This would lower to 8.75% and 8%, respectively, at the intermediate stages. When fully funded, employees would contribute 7.25% of their individual pay to the plan. Employees were brought to the table for negotiations prior to LB 645s public hearing last month. Ballards staff provided data estimating that the average school teacher could receive $1,000 in more take-home pay if the retirement plan is more than 98% funded, as it is now, because of lower monthly contributions. The following represents the scaling contribution rates that would be in place under an amended LB 645 proposed by State Sen. Beau Ballard of Lincoln. (Courtesy of Sen. Beau Ballard) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the plan is fully funded, take-home pay for the average teacher could rise by up to $1,500 each year. Employers would continue to contribute 101% of what their employees do, which is a first for the continued negotiations. Before, LB 645 would have locked the employer contribution rate at 9.88% of what employees are paid. Ballard said allowing lowered contributions when the retirement plans are flush could lead to reduced property taxes. Lowered contributions at full funding would lower contributions for both employers and employees by 2.5%, potentially freeing up funding for a priority of the Nebraska State Education Association funding more long-term substitutes so teachers can take paid time off around significant life events. That bill, LB 440 from State Sen. Ashlei Spivey of Omaha, is planned to be advanced through the Education Committees LB 306. An amended version of her bill seeks a 0.35% payroll tax, for both employees and employers, to fund four weeks of long-term substitutes, rather than her original proposals idea for six weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KCAU 9 Morning Update Excess funds collected under the Spivey proposal above whats needed to cover subs would be steered toward teacher retention or recruitment, such as forgivable loans for special education teachers as provided in Lincoln State Sen. George Dungans LB 408. Latest actuarial study Before structural changes to state retirement plans can be made, an actuarial study must assess the feasibility. The latest study came back last Thursday indicating the plan would still receive about 0.27% more funds each year than required under state law at full funding. The actuaries said this provides little cushion to absorb adverse experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State law currently requires that the state is on the hook for additional funding in any given year if the plan requires more funds outside of annual contributions. The actuaries wrote that part of the challenge in the future will be adjusting to the varied contribution rate, which could eat into state funds, property taxes or employee pay. Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, center, talks about 2025 priorities for the teachers union. Jan. 28, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) The study also takes into account a phased-in slightly lower assumed return on investment for the retirement plan. State Sen. Tony Sorrentino of the Elkhorn area, vice chair of the Retirement Committee, said normally contributions would increase in that case. The actuaries agreed this could increase risk to the retirement plan. However, Ballard and Clements noted that one built-in fail-safe is increased contributions if the funding status of the retirement plan lowers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The actuaries predicted the probability that the retirement plan would be fully funded about 56.4% of the time over the next 20 years, while it could be less than 96% funded about 31.5% of the time. This is their livelihood Ballard, who introduced LB 645 more than 50 legislative days ago, said he appreciated the feedback that he received from teachers, administrators, school boards, the Governors Office and more, all of which he said are now on board. Conrad clashed with Ballard at LB 645s public hearing in March in part over the bills negotiations. She could not immediately be reached for comment Monday on the advanced bill, nor could the NSEA. Ballard said he took the feedback of teachers and other employees with high consideration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is their livelihood, this is their retirement plan, Ballard said. We want to make sure that they are protected because they do so much for our state, and we just really appreciate their feedback. Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and X. This story was republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. VIRGINIA (DC News Now) Democratic Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine expressed extreme concern regarding the recent revocation of visas among college and university students. In a letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators demanded information as to why the visas are being revoked without due process, a means of seeking recourse or even a notification to the students or their schools. DC Mayor announces significant freezes after Congresss $1.1 billion budget slash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Axios reported that federal immigration authorities have revoked the visas of at least 25 international students and three recent graduates attending Virginia universities. At George Mason University alone, Inside Higher Education reported that 15 students have had their visas revoked. Such revocations, the senators noted, are then used to terminate students records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), potentially impacting their ability to attend school. Worse, State and DHS are taking such actions without providing any notice to the affected students or their schools, with only vague, non-individualized reasons given for terminations in SEVIS, Kaine and Warner wrote. They noted that if international students violate criminal or immigration laws, they should be removed. But revoking students visas or terminating their records without any notice to the students or their schools undermines confidence in the DHS and State Department and erodes peoples trust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The chaos caused by your actions is not acceptable. We believe in the rule of law and that immigration laws should be enforced. That starts with the Constitution and its guarantees of free speech and due process, the senators wrote, in part. These Constitutional protections apply to noncitizens in the United States, including people in nonimmigrant status. 4 West Virginia University students, 3 alumni have visas revoked by US government Warner and Kaine called on Noem and Rubio to provide the senators with the following information: Since Jan. 20, how many F-1, M-1 or J-1 nonimmigrant visas has the State Department revoked for people attending schools in Virginia? For each revoked visa, provide justification. How many had their records terminated in SEVIS after their visas were revoked? Since Jan. 20, has the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) terminated the SEVIS records of any students attending schools in Virginia whose nonimmigrant visas have not been revoked? For each termination, provide the reason why their SEVIS records were terminated and specify what evidence SEVP reviewed before terminating each record. How would Virginia students whose visa has been revoked and/or had their SEVIS record terminated be notified that this has happened? How would their schools be notified? If a student or school believes that such revocation and/or termination was made by mistake, what are the avenues for review or appeal? How long would such a process take? 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. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A Baton Rouge father accused of beating his 5-year-old daughter to death now faces a first-degree murder charge. Court records show a grand jury upgraded the charge on April 9. Aaron Hawkins, 26, was originally indicted in June 2022 for charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty after the death of his daughter, Summer. The child was taken to a local hospital on April 6, 2022, after being found unresponsive, to treat her injuries. Bruising was reportedly found on her body by hospital staff. According to an affidavit, a witness told investigators Hawkins struck the child with a belt as a way to discipline her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hawkins was arrested and initially charged with cruelty to a juvenile, but the charge was upgraded to first-degree murder after the death was ruled as a homicide. Woman found dead in Baton Rouge home after attack, police say 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. A St. Paul man is accused of sexually assaulting four young children while volunteering at a Twin Cities church this year, according to new criminal charges. Joshua Alirio Seeman, 50, has been charged in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of 2nd-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the allegations. Seeman is accused of sexually assaulting three boys and one girl in bathroom stalls during Sunday school while volunteering at King of Kings Lutheran Church and School in Roseville, charges state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the criminal complaint, the victims include a six-year-old boy, a five-year-old boy, a four-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. The first report was made on April 6 and the other three were reported to police on April 7. In each instance, Seeman would either use Facebook messenger or text the parents of the children after the alleged assaults had taken place, asking if the parents needed a babysitter or about their statuses of coming to school. Seeman was arrested on April 10. Joshua Alirio Seeman.Ramsey County Jail The criminal complaint describes Seeman as a "cognitively delayed" adult. Court documents show that he also has a pending 2022 case where he's been charged with 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly luring a vulnerable adult to a bathroom and sexually assaulting them. A notice of intent to prosecute was filed in the case on April 9. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors believe Seeman is a high risk to public safety, asking the court for him to remain in custody. He's being held at the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center as of Tuesday. Precautions have been put in place due to Seeman's cognitive disability. Investigators have been advised to not interview him by his brother, who is his legal guardian. Bring Me The News reached out to King of Kings Lutheran Church and School but have not received a response. BMTN also reached out to Seeman's attorney for comment and haven't heard back. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Charges have been dropped for a woman arrested in connection to the death of a Rhodes College student in 2021. On Monday, Lori Fryes 10 charges including facilitation of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and kidnapping were dropped during disposition. She was arrested back in 2022 by U.S. Marshals. Woman arrested in Rhodes students death This is all in connection to the death of Rhodes student Andrew Rainer. Drew Rainer Earlier this month, another suspect connected to the case, Rainess Holmes, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holmes and three other suspects allegedly broke into a North McLean home where Rainer and others were staying. Those deadly shots were reportedly fired over an iPad. The D.A.s office says Holmes was involved but not the shooter. Lori had no prior criminal history and spent over a year in jail awaiting resolution of her case. At the time of the incident, she was present in the hotel room when her boyfriend, Rainess Holmes returned with stolen property from the Rhodes familys home, said the D.A.s office in a statement. She has not had any further involvement with the justice system since the incident. Most importantly, the victims family was consulted and supported the resolution of her case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) HANOI, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, on Monday called for deepening the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future. Xi made the remarks when meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam during his state visit to Vietnam. Xi pointed out that he was very pleased to pay a state visit to Vietnam and realize the first round of mutual visits with General Secretary To Lam. This year marks the 95th anniversary of the founding of the CPV, the 80th anniversary of the founding of Vietnam and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South, he said, extending warm congratulations to Vietnam on behalf of the CPC and the Chinese government. China will, as always, support Vietnam in taking a socialist path that suits its national conditions, successfully holding the 14th National Congress of the CPV in 2026, and its steadfast pursuit of realizing the two goals set for the centenary of the party and the country. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam, as well as the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, said Xi, stressing that over the past 75 years, regardless of changes in the international landscape, China and Vietnam have supported each other in the struggle for national independence and liberation, advanced side by side in the cause of socialist development, and forged ahead in their respective modernization endeavors, setting an example of solidarity and cooperation between socialist countries. Facing the changing and turbulent world, China and Vietnam have stayed committed to peaceful development and deepened their friendly cooperation, bringing much-needed stability and certainty to the world, Xi said. Standing at a new historical starting point, the two sides should build on past achievements, forge ahead together and carry forward the profound traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood," said Xi. Guided by the overall goals of achieving higher political mutual trust, more solid security cooperation, deeper practical cooperation, stronger public support, closer multilateral coordination and better management and resolution of differences, the two countries should work to advance their comprehensive strategic cooperation with high quality, ensure steady and sustained progress in building a China-Vietnam community with a shared future, and contribute even more to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, Xi said. Building the China-Vietnam community with a shared future carries great global significance, Xi said, noting that as the two countries jointly pursue peaceful development, their combined population of over 1.5 billion is jointly advancing toward modernization, which will contribute to regional and global peace and stability while promoting common development. Both countries are committed to opening up and have played a constructive role in maintaining the stability and smooth operation of regional industrial and supply chains, as well as contributing to the advancement of economic globalization, Xi said. A small boat with a lone sail cannot withstand rough seas, Xi said, noting that only by working together in the same boat can they ensure stability and long-term progress. He noted that both China and Vietnam are beneficiaries of economic globalization, and the two sides should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateralism and bullying practices, and work together to uphold the global free trade system and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains. Xi proposed six measures to deepen the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. First, enhance strategic mutual trust at a higher level. Leaders of the two parties and countries should communicate with each other as relatives, Xi said, noting the two sides should give full play to the role of channels including inter-party, legislative bodies and political consultative organizations, deepen the exchange of experience in governance, and improve the leadership of the two parties in promoting national modernization. Second, build a stronger security barrier. The two sides should set the "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security between the two countries at the ministerial level to enhance strategic coordination. It is necessary to give full play to the role of defense and law enforcement security cooperation mechanisms, resolutely tackle online gambling, telecom fraud and other cross-border crimes, strengthen bilateral and multilateral law enforcement and judicial cooperation, especially within the framework of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, so as to safeguard people's lives and property and uphold regional peace and stability. Third, expand higher quality mutually beneficial cooperation. Seize the major opportunities of China's new quality productive forces and Vietnam's new productive forces to accelerate the formation of practical cooperation between the two countries. Realize the comprehensive connection of standard-gauge railways, highways, and smart ports at an early date. Promote high-tech cooperation such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. China's mega market is always open to Vietnam, and the country welcomes more high-quality Vietnamese products. China encourages its companies to invest in Vietnam and hopes that Vietnam will create a more fair and friendly business environment. Fourth, tighten the bonds of people-to-people ties. China and Vietnam should take the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity and organize more people-oriented exchange activities, and enhance cooperation in tourism, culture, media, public health and other fields. The two sides should continue to explore resources of revolutionary heritage and promote stories of friendship. In the next three years, China will invite Vietnamese youth to China for "Red Study Tours," which will help the younger generation of both countries better understand the hard-won nature of the socialist countries and the great value of China-Vietnam good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation, and will cultivate greater vitality for the development of bilateral relations and the respective national development endeavors. Fifth, conduct closer multilateral coordination. China and Vietnam should jointly uphold the outcomes of World War II, firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, promote a more equal and orderly multi-polar world and an economic globalization that is more inclusive and beneficial for all, and enhance cooperation under the frameworks of the three major global initiatives. China will stay committed to the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and to the policy of pursuing friendship and partnership with its neighbors. It will deepen friendly cooperation with neighboring countries so that the fruits of Chinese modernization can better benefit the region. Sixth, achieve more positive maritime interaction. The two countries should earnestly implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, properly manage maritime issues, expand maritime cooperation, demonstrate resolve in launching joint development, and work toward the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. For his part, To Lam extended a warm welcome to Xi on his state visit to Vietnam, which took place on the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He said that Xi is not only an outstanding leader of the Chinese people but also a great friend of the Vietnamese people. Xi's choice to make Vietnam his first overseas destination this year fully reflects the importance he attaches to China-Vietnam relations and his support for Vietnam, the Vietnamese leader said. This visit will mark a new milestone in the history of friendly exchanges between the two parties and countries, further advancing the building of a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, he added. Under Xi's strong leadership, To Lam noted, China has achieved historic accomplishments in advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics, made comprehensive progress in its path to modernization, and witnessed rapid development of new quality productive forces. With China's international stature on the rise, Vietnam extends its congratulations and expresses gratitude for China's long-standing support and assistance, he said. Emphasizing that both Vietnam and China are socialist countries under the leadership of a communist party, To Lam said that developing relations with China is an objective requirement, a strategic choice, and a top priority for Vietnam. Vietnam firmly adheres to the one-China policy, supports China's efforts toward national reunification, and resolutely opposes any separatist actions aimed at "Taiwan independence," he said. Advancing Vietnam-China relations, To Lam noted, is in the fundamental interest of both peoples and conforms with the trend of the times. Vietnam looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges between the two parties and countries, enhancing exchanges on governance experience, deepening strategic security cooperation, and continually consolidating political mutual trust; further elevating bilateral cooperation by creating new highlights in areas such as trade, science and technology, infrastructure and environmental protection; and promoting people-to-people exchanges, encouraging local and youth interactions, and enhancing tourism cooperation to nurture closer bonds between the peoples, he said. Vietnam supports the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and the three major global initiatives proposed by Xi, To Lam said. Vietnam lauds the vision set forth during the CPC's central conference on work related to neighboring countries, which envisions building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home with neighboring countries and insists on fostering friendly, mutually beneficial and prosperous relationships, he said. Vietnam is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China, uphold multilateralism and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, safeguard international trade rules, abide by the agreements signed by both sides, and jointly make greater contributions to world peace and human progress, To Lam said, adding that Vietnam is also willing to properly address maritime differences with China to ensure maritime stability. Before the talks, To Lam invited Xi to a small-group chat over tea. The two general secretaries exchanged views on party building and national governance. Xi stressed that party building is crucial to the destiny of the party and the country, and that the party's work style bears on whether it can win public support. The CPC Central Committee has decided to carry out an in-depth campaign throughout the party this year to learn and implement the spirit of the eight-point decision on improving work conduct. This is intended to secure new achievements in work style transformation to further support comprehensive reform and advance modernization. Both general secretaries agreed to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, and pursue progress in socialist development. After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed by China and Vietnam. These documents cover areas including connectivity, artificial intelligence, customs inspection and quarantine, agricultural trade, culture and sports, public welfare, human resource development, media, and more. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, holds talks with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, invites Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, to a small chat over tea before their talks at the CPV Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, and To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee, witness the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed by the two sides after their talks in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. Xi held talks with To Lam at the CPV Central Committee headquarters on Monday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) After five years of service, Charlotte Anderson, the executive director of Keep San Angelo Beautiful, is retiring. A retirement reception was held today at the City Annex Building, where several dozen city officials, colleagues and friends gathered to celebrate her contributions. Anderson began her role in 2020, when the new Keep San Angelo Beautiful office opened under the City of San Angelo. She said when she first started, there was a noticeable increase in roadside litter, especially from COVID-related PPE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I remember at a City Council meeting, and our mayor hopped up and said how horrible everything was looking. We all put our heads together TxDOT, our Public Works team and we all met at Loop 306. We jump-started our efforts, and we havent stopped, Anderson said. Since then, the organization has held more than 60 community cleanups over the past five years. Anderson said San Angelo is full of people who truly care about keeping their city clean and green. During her time with the organization, she also focused on education, working closely with local schools to plant the seeds of environmental responsibility through programs like KSAB Junior Ambassadors, she said. When asked what message shed like to leave with the community, Anderson said: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would say lets continue to pledge to be litter-free, please Lets not go backwards. We need to keep taking steps forward. Lets make a difference in our community and the environment. Lets continue to give the kids the education they need to move us all 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 ConchoValleyHomepage.com. Charlotte City councilmembers are considering spending tens of millions of dollars to help create or preserve around 1,000 units of affordable housing. City staff presented the proposed projects to city leaders Monday night. Citys new year push for affordable housing: 200 units open in southwest Charlotte The potential projects include spending nearly $20 million on rental developments including 198 units on Oneida Road and 140 units on Old Pineville Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City staff is asking Charlotte City Council to consider spending $4.7 million on homes for sale. Of that $4.7 million, $2.4 million would go toward building 54 homes on Old Concord Road. City staff is also asking Charlotte City Council to consider spending more than $10 million on preserving existing rental properties, the Hideaway at Kingspark and Woodford Estates In 2024, voters approved $100 million for the Housing Trust Fund. Charlotte City Council will hold a vote in the coming weeks. Brooklyn Village The embattled Brooklyn Village development is asking for $13.5 million from the city of Charlotte. Peebles Corporation is seeking the money from Charlotte City Council to help build two affordable housing complexes in Uptown. This is the largest Housing Trust Fund request the city has received. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vertical construction of Brooklyn Village wont start until June 2026 City staff is not recommending Charlotte City Council move forward with the proposal. The Brooklyn Village project was announced to great fanfare nearly a decade ago, but nothing has been built. Car-Free Development Charlotte City Council will consider purchasing land for a developer to build apartments without dedicated parking. The project would be located on West Trade Street in the former Westside Meats building. READ MORE: Charlottes first parking-free apartment community Council will consider spending $1.5 million to purchase the 0.45-acre property. The developer is planning 102 units. There will be no dedicated parking. The project is located along the Gold Line. (GIF: TENOR) Freight fraud has continued to be a hot topic of discussion in the freight brokerage space. Last week at the Transportation Intermediaries Association annual conference, TIA President Chris Burroughs provided some guidance on the agencys plan to tackle freight fraud. Burroughs referenced 2020 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data showing the agency had more than 80,000 complaints of freight fraud. He called the figure staggering and quite frankly unexpected. He doubled down on the need for enforcement: Were also working directly with Congress and the federal agencies to push forward and getting regulations that are already on the books enforced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecuting and otherwise doing more than just reporting bad actors and stolen freight has long been a struggle for the entire freight industry. It seems there is some hope to be found in this arena after all. A bipartisan bill has been brought to the Senate in hopes of cracking down on flash mob robberies and intricate retail theft schemes. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025 would establish a coordinated multiagency response and create tools to tackle evolving trends in organized retail theft. The two main sponsors of the bill are Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. The proposed law would create a department under the Department of Homeland Security and develop means to investigate and prosecute thieves. Grassley said: Our bill improves the federal response to organized retail crime and establishes new tools to recover stolen goods and illicit proceeds, and deter future attacks on American retailers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cortez Masto added: Large criminal organizations are constantly evolving their tactics to steal goods from retailers and the supply chain in communities across the Silver State [Nevada]. The rise in organized retail crime has left businesses scrambling, and it is time for Congress to pass this bipartisan legislation to help law enforcement agencies keep our communities safe. Grassley and Cortez Masto introduced similar legislation in 2022 and 2023. Heres hoping the third time is the charm. Legislation like this could not come at a better time. There is a strong fear that more fraud will occur as tariffs continue to change and surge between the U.S. and China. Grace Sharkey notes in a FreightWaves article: Importers facing steep duties are resorting to creative, and sometimes illegal, methods to avoid paying the required fees. Mislabeling goods, undervaluing shipments and falsely declaring the country of origin are just a few tactics being employed to bypass customs inspections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sharkey also brings up the historical precedent for tariff evasion. These types of fraudulent activities have already had significant financial implications. In one case from the early 2000s, a group of importers used fraudulent schemes to misrepresent the country of origin of textiles from China to evade tariffs. In that instance, the perpetrators were caught, but not before costing the U.S. Treasury over $100 million in lost duties. A new artery for fraud and no way to stop the bleeding are the last things the supply chain needs. Last year estimated losses to fraud were $454.9 million. Thats just the reported number; its likely much larger once you get into loss of revenue, loss of business and financial fraud. The average value per theft also rose to $202,364 in 2024, up from $187,895 the previous year. SONAR Key Market Insights Ontario, California Market Check. Ontario, California, typically serves as a strong barometer for the freight market in the U.S. Its a trendsetter. With most West Coast imports coming through the ports of LA and Long Beach and then heading inland, Ontario serves as that gateway. That being said, there is plenty of excess truck capacity and most outbound lanes have decreasing spot rates. Inbound container ships have seen a drop-off in volumes amid the threat of tariffs, which has pulled significant volume from the market. The prognosis for spot rates isnt much better as the Outbound Tender Rejection Index is 2.12% half the national average. Ontario saw a 1.49% drop in rejection rates, which is great for shippers and brokers in the market as contract carrier compliance is incredibly high for this time of year. (GIF: GIPHY) Whos with whom. Tariffs on goods coming into the U.S. from Mexico were subject to a 25% tariff before tariffs were paused for 90 days. It seems as though that number is subject to an increase. President Donald Trump has brought up a long-running water dispute between the U.S. and Mexico as a reason to possibly levy higher tariffs. The spat is over a 1944 water treaty, the Treaty Relating to the Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The gist of the treaty is that the U.S. is obligated to deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of water annually to Mexico from the Colorado River and Mexico is obligated to deliver 1,750,000 acre-feet of water over a five-year cycle to the United States from the Rio Grande, with an average annual delivery of 350,000 acre-feet. Why does a treaty about water stand to disrupt cross-border freight? Great question. The current administration is saying Mexico has not fulfilled its water obligation. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum claims the drought has made it difficult for Mexico to comply fully with the treaty. However, the International Boundary and Water Commission, the organization that enforces the treaty, has been working to identify solutions that benefit both countries. The water shortage is negatively impacting produce grown in the Rio Grande Valley, which can also negatively impact the freight market, especially since produce season is around the corner. There has been no official word on whether additional tariffs would be levied or what possible actions could be taken against Mexico. The main impact seen from this will be decreased produce volumes from South Texas in a few weeks. The more you know Trump exempts smartphones, chips, computers from tariffs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New rail-sea route boosts auto exports from western China to Middle East How RFID helps retailers streamline reverse supply chains ITS Logistics issues April U.S. port/rail ramp freight index Trumps tariffs rattle fashions global supply chain The post Check Call: New legislation targets freight fraud appeared first on FreightWaves. HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) From the catastrophic to the microscopic, just about everything man makes affects the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes Virginia, West Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Life around the Chesapeake Bay as we know it could be at stake after President Trump last Wednesday ordered five agencies, including the EPA, to set expiration dates on a wide range of regulations that were created to reduce pollution and improve safety. The White House calls the order a plan to unleash American Energy innovation while wiping out legislation that stifles innovation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Chesapeake Bay Foundation called the order a step back in time when creosote, a substance used to preserve telephone poles, created pollution in the southern branch of the Elizabeth River that sickened fish with cancer and wiped out vital underwater grasses. And what I really fear is that we are going to see that backsliding, said Alison Prost, senior vice president of environmental protection and restoration for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. And were going to see those success stories reverse, like what you talked about for the Elizabeth River, that were going to see that throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed, putting peoples livelihoods and public health at risk. President Trump is also banning so-called woke efforts to improve the environment in poor neighborhoods that have shipyards and chemical tank farms as neighbors. In the southeast community of Newport News, water is sprayed on mountains of coal as the fuel is loaded on ships and transported to other countries. Residents in the area told 10 On Your Side they suffer from asthma they believe is linked to the coal piers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones responds following Trump anti-DEI policy taking aim at environmental justice These communities have been overburdened for years, Prost said. It was commonplace. Theres already industry there. Lets just put it there, again and again and again. And then finally, when more science came along, more social justice, more social science, scientists came into play and working with the other types of scientists, we realized that this was an environmental injustice, that the cumulative of impacts that, you know, well, maybe its just one more facility, but it was on top of legacy issues. In the Hampton Roads area, these Black communities and others are overburdened communities, Prost said. You lay over the climate change vulnerability maps, or the public health maps, and these areas turn bright red. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation said the executive order could set back decades of progress and that could harm the flavor and the finances around the Chesapeake Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first thing that comes to mind to me is the fisheries industry throughout the Bay, Prost said. You think about theres commercial harvest for oysters, crabs, rockfish, many others, and if they dont have clean water or habitat, those fisheries could collapse. President Trump said energy regulations will expire no later that September 2026. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation urges concerned residents call local members of Congress and then governors office as the state of Virginia may have to pick up more of the bill to save the Bay. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. A Chesapeake woman was arrested Saturday following a chase with multiple law enforcement agencies, who said she was believed to be under the influence, sideswiped a deputy and injured a trooper all while driving with a small child in the back of her car. Heather Lee Barrington, 53, faces over 10 felony charges, including reckless care for a child and assault on law enforcement, jail records show. Chesapeake police said in a statement the chase began in Elizabeth City Saturday afternoon. Barrington, believed by troopers to be driving under the influence in a 2011 Lexus RX 350, had struck an Elizabeth City County Deputys vehicle, the Virginia Beach Police Department said in a statement. Chesapeake officers began their pursuit when she drove up Dominion Boulevard onto Interstate 64 in Chesapeake, traveling westbound toward Virginia Beach. Chesapeake police deployed spike strips to try to stop her, according to a release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Barrington continued on I-64 and Virginia State Police joined the pursuit. As she neared Greenbrier Parkway, authorities positioned themselves in an attempt to slow her down and stop her, the release stated. Barrington struck several state police vehicles, which caused one vehicle to crash and its airbags to deploy, near the Indian River Road exit. She was stopped shortly thereafter, authorities said, and was found with an infant girl restrained in a safety seat in the back of her car. A trooper was injured and taken to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital with injuries not considered to be life-threatening. The infant was transported to Childrens Hospital of The Kings Daughters for evaluation. No other injuries were reported, authorities said. Barrington was booked at the Chesapeake City Jail. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. An impasse between two health care providers ended with an announcement on Tuesday morning. CHI St. Vincent announced it had reached a multiyear agreement with insurer UnitedHealthcare effective April 9. Under the agreement, UnitedHealthcare networks will be able to maintain in-network access with St. Vincent. United Healthcare, Baptist Health settle, restore insurance coverage for patients Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement United Healthcare stated in a release that the CHI St. Vincent coverage includes UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored commercial plans, including UMR and UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, as well as Group Retiree and Dual Special Needs Plans. CHI St. Vincent Market President Chad Aduddell said the hospital was excited to have reached an agreement. We are excited to have reached an agreement with UnitedHealthcare, he said. We are proud to continue to provide them with in-network access to local, high-quality care. Conway Regional reaches agreement with UnitedHealthcare, restores in-network care Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CHI St. Vincent is a regional health network serving Arkansas since 1888. Officials said the Little Rock-based network includes primary care, specialty clinics, urgent care, hospitals, home health, rehabilitation and surgery centers across 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 KARK. CHICAGO Mayor Brandon Johnson lambasted President Donald Trump dangling the possibility of cutting federal funding over Democratic leaders as terrorism in a Tuesday news conference during which he offered few specifics on how he would fight back. Speaking to reporters at City Hall, the mayor responded to a question about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers now-viral visit to the Oval Office last week by flatly rejecting the possibility of stopping by the White House himself. I will just say, outside of a 2016 Cubs World Series ring, Im not kissing a ring, OK? Johnson said. The president of the United States of America has an open invitation to the fifth floor of the greatest freakin city in the world, the city of Chicago. He can come talk to me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then Johnson addressed the ongoing balancing act that politicians previously unfriendly to Trump have had to walk between flattering and antagonizing the president as he has threatened to withhold federal aid to blue states and cities including Chicago. Last week, the president said he was moving to strip cities with sanctuary policies for immigrants of all federal aid, a threat he has made before. Trying to force your will to break the spirit of working people in order to have a conversation, thats terrorism. Were not going to negotiate with terrorists, Johnson said. Asked if he was calling Trump a terrorist, the mayor continued: No. What Im saying is trying to hold people hostage and manipulating them to succumb to his will and then hold up our tax dollars, that is how terrorists behave. Johnsons assessment comes about three months after Trump assumed office for his second term and brought with him a host of fresh anxieties for Chicagoans to consider, from mass deportations to the revocation of up to $3.5 billion in federal aid for the city and sister agencies. Johnson had said a week before the inauguration that he was open to a serious conversation about how we build a better, stronger, safer Chicago with the Trump administration because he is not mean-spirited, but his Tuesday remarks signaled those prospects were dimmer than ever. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Trumps first term, Johnsons predecessor Lori Lightfoot met with the presidents daughter Ivanka in the West Wing when she was mayor-elect, but she did not otherwise visit the White House. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel similarly skipped meeting with Trump while the two were in office, though they did huddle in 2016 before Trump was sworn in. Emanuel on Tuesday also caught some scorn from Johnson in the news conference. Our challenges in Chicago did not start with Donald Trump, the mayor said. One of the greatest, I believe, acts of terror that was ever administered by an administration was the Emanuel administration. Johnson was talking about Emanuels 2013 decision to close dozens of Chicago public schools. But he did not provide clarity on the subject he was asked about, the future of the school districts diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the wake of White House threats against its $1.3 billion in federal funding. And Johnsons answer when he was asked Tuesday about his contingency plans should the city in fact lose its total $3.5 billion in total federal aid similarly lacked details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These arent threats anymore, right? These are real, adversarial attacks against working people, the mayor said while nodding to his promise to start planning earlier for the citys 2026 budget which includes a projected $1.12 billion deficit. _____ CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) Chicopee fire crews were called to a basement fire on Hilton Street Monday afternoon. Police looking for drivers who caused damage to Wilbraham roadway According to the Chicopee Fire Department, all occupants were able to evacuate safely before emergency crews arrived. Courtesy of the Chicopee Fire Department Courtesy of the Chicopee Fire Department The fire was put out quickly, preventing further damage to the structure. The American Red Cross is assisting the affected individuals, providing emergency shelter and support services as needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Chicopee Fire Department. No injuries were reported. 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. WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) Trumbull County Children Services is celebrating its community partners while also recognizing families who have overcome adversity. Its all part of the agencies Rising Up and Moving On luncheon at DiViestes Banquet Centre. The annual event honors families that have embraced agency services and other resources to successfully rebuild and keep a safe, healthy home for their children. This years theme was hope flutters on painted wings, reminding us that transformation is possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its important for the families that were honoring as well as for our staff because they trauma and horrible things ever day and for them to see families overcome that, its an inspiration for them, said Marilyn Pape with Trumbull County Children Services. The luncheon takes place during National Child Abuse Prevention Month each 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 WKBN.com. SEOUL, April 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's automotive export rose slower in March due to lower demand for eco-friendly vehicles, government data showed Tuesday. Car shipment edged up 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 6.24 billion U.S. dollars in March after increasing in double digits in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The slower growth was attributed to weaker demand for eco-friendly sedans, the export of which slipped 3.1 percent to 2.02 billion dollars in March. The number of exported vehicles was 240,874 in March, down 2.4 percent from a year earlier. Auto parts shipment reduced 3.6 percent to 1.84 billion dollars. The number of vehicles, manufactured in local factories, added 1.5 percent to 370,836 in March on a yearly basis. The number of cars sold in the country, including domestically-made and imported vehicles, was 149,512 in March, up 2.4 percent from a year earlier. CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WCMH) Pixelle Specialty Solutions announced Tuesday that it would be shutting down its paper mill in Chillicothe. The company said the closure is necessary as part of its effort to align its operation footprint with long-term business objectives. About 800 employees will be affected, a company representative told NBC4. The company said it will help employees with job placement assistance and other workforce-related resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was an extremely difficult decision, President and CEO Ross Bushnell said in a statement. We value our Chillicothe team and the contributions they have made to Pixelle. While this step is necessary for our long-term strategic goals, our priority at the moment is to support our employees with care and transparency throughout this transition. Polaris Fashion Place, other Ohio malls to be sold; corporate staff face layoffs The company said the mill will be shut down in phases over the coming weeks. A WARN notice filed with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services states that the first employee separation is expected to be June 13. The carbonless and Defensa paper franchises will be relocated to its facility in Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, according to the news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are confident that this decision, while difficult, allows us to better align our resources and focus on future growth opportunities that pair with our operational goals and competitive solutions, Bushnell said. Our focus remains on delivering high-quality paper products while ensuring a responsible transition for our workforce and operations in Chillicothe. Paper mills have been a part of Chillicothe since at least the 19th century. For an incredible 215 years, papermaking has been more than just a job; it has been a cornerstone of our Ross County economy and a career in which generations have built their lives and futures, Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mike Throne said in a statement. This announcement brings profound sadness and significant uncertainty to the dedicated individuals and families who have poured their hearts and souls into the mill for so long. Throne said the chamber would also assist employees and their families as much as possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While this chapter in Chillicothes history seems to be ending, the spirit of our community our compassion, resilience, and unwavering support for one another remains strong, Throne said. We will honor the legacy of papermaking and the countless contributions of its workforce by confronting this challenge with empathy and a collective determination to build a brighter future together. In a statement, Mayor Luke Feeney said his heart is with the families impacted by the closure. Todays announcement that Pixelle is shutting down is heartbreaking, he said. Eight hundred of our neighbors, friends, and family members are losing their jobs. The workers who clocked into the mill day after day are the backbone of this city and are a part of our heritage and history, he said. The City will continue to make job growth and opportunity a top priority and we will do everything we can to support displaced workers and attract new opportunities that build on the strength and skill of our local workforce. 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. China has for the first time publicly accused three hackers of working for the National Security Agency and offered a reward for information leading to their arrest, echoing tactics the U.S. routinely uses against alleged Chinese cyberspies. The accusations are an escalation in the ongoing cyber conflict between the two countries, one long feared by U.S. intelligence officers. It comes as President Donald Trump wages a trade war with China, and in the wake of the U.S. accusing China of two of the largest hacking campaigns against American infrastructure in history. While there is little doubt that the NSA conducts cyber espionage against Chinese targets, China provided little evidence for its claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an emailed statement, White House National Security Council spokesperson Kylie Newbold said: The Chinese Communist Party needs to stop with these fabrications. If they want to engage in useful conversations they can pick up the phone and call. Instead of engaging productively, China continues unfair trade practices and retaliation to hurt the United States and our workers. The CCP also continues to claim false equivalence to excuse its own bad acts in cyberspace. The NSA did not respond to requests for comment, and NBC News was unable to immediately determine if the NSA currently employs people with the names China made public. The claims were published Tuesday in a report by Chinas National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC), a Chinese organization that tracks cyber threats to the country; echoed by the countrys primary law enforcement agency, the Ministry of Public Security; and amplified by state media organizations. The CVERC report largely focuses on claims that the NSA hacked digital infrastructure to spy on the Asian Winter Games, held in February in the Chinese city of Harbin, but include few technical details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lin Jian, a spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a news conference Tuesday: The nature of these actions is extremely malicious, and China condemns the U.S. governments malicious cyber activities. We urge the U.S. to adopt a responsible attitude on cybersecurity issues, stop cyberattacks on China, and cease unwarranted smears and attacks against China, he said. For more than a decade, the U.S. has indicted accused hackers working for intelligence services in China, as well as in Russia, Iran and North Korea. While its extremely unlikely those countries would ever turn over their own officers to the United States, the name and shame tactic has served as a means of intimidation to those accused hackers, hoping to disrupt their operations and prevent them from traveling to countries abroad that cooperate with U.S. law enforcement. Chinese law enforcement also offered an unspecified financial reward for information leading to the arrest of the alleged NSA hackers. The U.S. routinely offers substantial bounties on accused foreign hackers through its Rewards for Justice program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tuesday is Chinas National Security Education Day, a holiday established in 2015 by Chinas leader, Xi Jinping. Dakota Cary, a China analyst at the cybersecurity company SentinelOne, told NBC News that the timing of the accusations indicates theyre less oriented toward curbing U.S. hackers behavior the stated reason for the U.S. employing such tactics and more toward scoring a propaganda victory. Theyre celebrating a holiday by putting out this piece. For me this says a lot about what the purpose of the claims are, Cary said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Chinese researchers will be granted access to NHS data despite MI5 fears that Beijings regime could acquire sensitive information, an investigation has found. UK Biobank, a research hub, is preparing to transfer data from half a million GP records to its central database where it will be available for use by universities, scientific institutes and private companies. The medical information has been donated by volunteers, who have agreed for data from their GP records to be added to the database. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health officials have now audited processes for sharing data internationally including assessment of applications from China. A spokesman from UK Biobank told The Guardian that China had passed the audit, meaning researchers from the country can apply to access the records. The newspapers analysis found that one in five successful applications for access to medical data already held by UK Biobank has come from China. MI5 has previously warned that Chinese organisations and individuals granted access to UK data could be ordered by Chinese intelligence agencies to carry out work on their behalf. Chinese spying risk warnings In a joint address in July 2022, Ken McCallum, MI5s director general, and Christopher Wray, the then FBI director, raised concerns about Chinese entities attempting to acquire sensitive information and technology from Western institutions, warning of businesses and individuals being forced by law to co-operate with the Chinese Communist Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the past year, UK health officials had been assessing whether extra safeguards were needed for patient records when added to the genomes, tissue samples and questionnaire responses in the database. Personal details such as names and dates of birth are stripped from the database before it is shared, but some experts say it is possible for some individuals to be identified. Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: UK data transfer rules are totally inadequate. Zettabytes of personal data are routinely transferred to China, and its all totally legal. Beijings regulations make enforcing data rights in Xis party-state impossible, and vulnerable to requisition by the Chinese authorities. We should close the loophole that allows UK citizens to be exposed to this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A government spokesman said: Protecting national security is the foundation of everything we do. We have strict security procedures in place to ensure all sensitive UK health data information is protected. Of the 1,375 successful applications for access to UK Biobank data, 265 came from China, second only to the US, according to a Guardian analysis of its published records. A unit of Chinese genetics company BGI is among those given approval to access the data. The US has blacklisted BGI subsidiaries. In 2023, Joe Bidens administration justified the restrictions, saying it had information indicating that BGI units collection and analysis of genetic data poses a significant risk of contributing to monitoring and surveillance by the government of China, which has been utilised in the repression of ethnic minorities in China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also claimed the actions of these entities concerning the collection and analysis of genetic data present a significant risk of diversion to Chinas military programmes. But a BGI representative said these were unsubstantiated allegations, adding: We have never undertaken genetic surveillance of anybody. BGI does not engage in unethical practices and does not provide gene technology for surveillance. BGI does not condone and would never be involved in any human rights abuses. The company dismissed claims the military could access data, saying its research is undertaken for civilian and scientific purposes only. A UK Biobank representative said it was continually in dialogue with MI5 and other state agencies about the use of its data, including by BGI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chinese researchers have used UK Biobank data to research air pollution and biological markers to predict dementia. Approval to access data In October, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, gave instructions to press ahead with the transfer of patient records for consenting volunteers to UK Biobank and other research hubs, despite objections from some GPs and privacy campaigners. In December, Michael Chapman, a senior NHS England official, said access will only be for countries approved by NHS England, adding that approval would be based on security considerations and countries data protection. NHS England said: Any approval of access to personal data from overseas territories requires data recipients to comply with their responsibilities under UK data law and is kept under review if circumstances change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Intelligence sources raised concerns that health data can be useful in espionage if anonymisation can be broken. Experts say it may be possible to match public information about an individuals medical treatment with anonymised patient records to identify who they refer to. Edward You, then a top US intelligence officer specialising in new technologies, said in 2021: Once they have access to your genetic data, its not something you can change like a pin code. A spokesman for UK Biobank said it had no evidence of anyone being identified. Prof Sir Rory Collins, UK Biobanks chief executive, said: All our volunteers have given explicit consent for researchers to study their de-identified health data, and many have emphasised the importance of their GP data being analysed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After China adopted legislation in 2017 to enforce cooperation with the regimes spies, MI5 warned custodians of British personal data that the national intelligence law may affect the level of control you have over your information and assets as you engage with Chinese individuals and organisations, especially if you work in an area that is of interest to the Chinese state. The UK government spokesman added: UK Biobank data sharing has been in use for over a decade and is always de-identified, removing the direct and indirect details that allow people to be identified. There is an extremely high bar and data is only shared with legitimate researchers for specific research purposes. It can only be accessed within a secure digital environment and it is not possible to download copies of the GP data outside of that secure digital space. An NHS spokesman said: NHS England is working closely with government and the GP profession to allow GP data to be shared with specific approved research studies in cases where individual patient consent has been provided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While a legal direction would be required before any data is shared or before any agreement reached, NHS England will continue to work to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect NHS data. 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 Chinese police named three alleged US spies they said carried out cyberattacks on the Asian Winter Games, which China hosted in February. Authorities in the northern city of Harbin also argued that two American universities were involved in the apparent hack, in the latest in a series of tit-for-tat espionage accusations between the US and China. Beijing tacitly acknowledged late last year that it was behind a number of huge cyberattacks on US infrastructure including utilities and ports, The Wall Street Journal reported. China wants US officials to know that, yes, they do have this capability, and they are willing to use it, a cybersecurity expert said. SHENZHEN, China - The rapidly worsening trade war between the worlds two largest economies is threatening the place where Americans and Chinese most regularly interact: online shopping. Chinese sellers in recent years have made it their business to fulfill - cheaply - every American consumers every desire: from fake nails and crop tops to fish-tank speakers and night-vision rifle scopes, delivered to American doorsteps via fashion giant Shein, direct-buy retailer Temu or Amazon. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that could all come to an abrupt halt with President Donald Trumps decision to impose a minimum 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods and to end the tax exemption that had allowed small packages to enter the United States duty-free. Many Chinese e-commerce exporters are despairing. My biggest worry is that our companies wont survive the next few months and will go bankrupt, said Wang Xin, head of the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association. As many as 90 percent of the associations members do business in the U.S., and tariffs have forced many factories to suspend operations, cut wages or give weekends off. Everyone is waiting to see if China and the U.S. will return to the negotiating table, Wang said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump last week said packages worth less than $800 shipped from China would attract a 120 percent tax from May 2, effectively shuttering the loophole that allowed sellers on Shein, Temu and Amazon to sidestep duties. He said the exemption was being exploited to smuggle synthetic opioids that were fueling the U.S. fentanyl crisis. Shipments from China accounted for around two-thirds of all tax-free small packages entering the U.S., according to Reuters data. Many were from Shein and Temu, but they also came through Amazon. Half of Amazons top sellers are based in China. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) In the early days of the trade war, when tariffs were still in the low double digits, thousands of vendors gathered at an e-commerce expo in this southern Chinese city to learn how to sell to global - and especially American - consumers. Organized by Chwang, one of Chinas bigger e-commerce service providers, the expo last month brought together online retail entrepreneurs to trade tips on artificial intelligence-driven data analytics, skirting government internet fire walls to advertise on Instagram and ways to make products TikTok-famous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, attendees were mostly upbeat. They pointed to their resilience and adaptability - and the low prices of increasingly competitive goods. They underscored that Chinese sellers had a deep understanding of American sales platforms and buyers that few other countries could replicate. Deng Longyun, Chwangs chief operating officer, said Chinese retailers were committed to their largest export market. The U.S. has such formidable consumption power. Chinese sellers will not give up easily, he said in an interview when U.S. tariffs were only 20 percent and the small-package loophole remained open. Few predicted the triple-digit tariff storm. Now, some in Shenzhen are rethinking their bets on the U.S. market. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current policies of the U.S. platforms are really unstable, said Trevor Tang, an instructor at an e-commerce school that teaches sellers how to use Amazon. Many sellers no longer focus on the U.S. because of unclear politics, even though Chinas consumer goods still have incomparable advantages in a global market. Shenzhens 150,000 online retail exporters Online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay first took root in the United States, but their explosive growth in recent years has in large part been thanks to China: The worlds largest manufacturer has become really good at figuring out what Americans want and how to get it to them quickly and cheaply. At the Chwang expo, 3,800 businesses were seeking partnerships to expand overseas. Numerous products appeared designed to appeal to American buyers, such as toy Cybertrucks and ice princess bubble-making wands inspired by the Disney movie Frozen. Even with the end of the small-package exemption, Chinese online retailers are likely to still find ways to reach American buyers - even if they have to do so at higher costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These platforms have proven that theyre very adaptable, said Eli Clemens, a policy analyst at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank. Government policy has encouraged Chinese online retailers to reach foreign consumers directly, rather than relying on American rivals such as Amazon, Clemens said. Because Beijing wants Chinese companies to compete internationally, policymakers have tried to support the industry by setting up industrial parks where companies can receive subsidies for patent applications, trademark registration and logistics networks. That support, combined with a surge of entrepreneurship in manufacturing hubs like Shenzhen, turned online retail into an area where the Chinese and American economies have become more intertwined in recent years, despite simmering trade and technology tensions. Shenzhen alone is home to more than 150,000 online retail exporters and 41 million square feet of warehouses dedicated to overseas shipments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The concentration of e-commerce firms makes the city the ideal base for businesses like that of Liao Changyi, who ships 30,000 to 50,000 sets of plastic press-on nails to buyers across the world each week. All the major cross-border e-commerce platforms have offices in Shenzhen. If you have any problems, they can solve them immediately, Liao said from a spacious sales room where hundreds of different hand-painted fake nail designs were on display. We are really a group that just gets swept along with the market. If the competition gets intense, if tariffs rise, taxes and costs increase, all we can do is adapt, he said. - - - Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement E-tailers focus on American market China has been the factory of the world for three decades, but the rise of online retail supercharged that role. Today, Chinese firms dont just make the products. They build online marketplaces, operate global logistics networks and employ American influencers to promote their goods on TikTok. Platforms such as Shein and Temu brought models pioneered in China to the United States. Using the tax exemption, they could offer a massive variety of cheap and constantly updated products tailored to match the latest trends on American social media. Their success led Amazon to launch a new section - Amazon Haul - in November to make it easier for buyers to purchase cheap goods directly from mostly Chinese sellers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vast U.S. market - and a proliferation of ways to sell there - also helped create a subset of manufacturers making products especially for the American market. One stall at the expo specialized in two things: stainless steel face massagers and whiskey paraphernalia. We still hope to sell to the United States even with tariffs, because there isnt much of a domestic market for these things, said Mason Zhou, gesturing to a shelf of reusable metal ice cubes shaped like rifle bullets and hand grenades. But there were also early signs of retailers adapting to Trumps tariffs. They were buoyed by surging sales in Southeast Asia and Russia and the emergence of Chinese AI companies such as DeepSeek, which could improve efforts to target consumers in real time and discover gaps in the market. People at the expo were especially excited about the promise of TikTok Shop. Launched in 2023, the platform allows users to sell products directly in the video app, and it has been embraced by Chinese retailers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump on April 4 gave TikTok another 75-day reprieve before its China-based parent company, ByteDance, must sell the app or face a ban in the United States. One of the speakers at the expo, 24-year-old seller Vicky Zheng, recently founded a consultancy to teach others how to climb U.S. rankings on TikTok Shop. Her firm has had multiple top sellers on the platform. These include jump ropes that count calories and quirky lamps that were promoted on TikTok by a network of 30,000 influencers in the U.S. and China. Even with tariffs, Zheng still saw opportunities in investing in a mostly unexplored blue ocean market like TikTok Shop - as long as Trump continues to extend the deadline for a nationwide ban. The volume on Amazon was so-so right at the time, and TikTok Shop just happened to be a brand-new platform, Zheng said. After the latest tariff hikes, however, Zheng has started to advise her clients to consider branching out. The current situation means it is essential to focus on emerging markets outside the U.S. as a preventive measure against future trouble. - - - Vic Chiang and Pei-Lin Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report. Related Content Ja Morant dares the NBA to punish him, knowing it wont pull the trigger Scientists are X-raying the Amazon, unlocking a lost human history The Smithsonian could be the beginning of Trumps plan to edit history. Or the end. HANOI (Reuters) - China and Vietnam took initial steps during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Hanoi this week to develop new rail links, as they agreed to conduct feasibility studies for two lines, according to one of the agreements reviewed by Reuters. The two neighbours have long been discussing plans to upgrade two railways that were built by the French more than a century ago, and develop a third direct link along their adjoining coast. Amid growing concerns over U.S. tariffs, Xi urged Vietnam on Monday to strengthen supply chains, in which components made in China are often assembled in northern Vietnam before being exported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vietnam's top leader To Lam said on Monday the building of the three railways was "the highest priority" in infrastructure cooperation between the two countries and encouraged China to offer concessional loans. They agreed China will carry out feasibility studies for two of the planned rail links, at a cost of 9.95 million yuan ($1.36 million), according to the two-page cooperation document, dated April 14, seen by Reuters. The studies will take place within 12 months from the selection of the contractor to conduct the work, according to the document, which provided no deadline to complete the selection process. The agreement concerns a railway connecting southern China's Guangxi region to Vietnam's capital Hanoi, and another new line that would link the port cities of Shenzhen and Haiphong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is already a railway line from Nanning in Guangxi to Hanoi but passengers and goods currently have to swap trains at the border because the Vietnamese gauge - dating from French colonial times - is incompatible with China's modern high-speed tracks. Mistrust between the two Communist-run countries, which fought a brief border war in the late 1970s and often clash over the disputed South China Sea, has long hampered progress on rail links, but in recent months economic considerations appear to have prevailed over security concerns. A third railway linking Vietnam's northern coast to Kunming in China will begin construction this year, the Vietnamese parliament said in February, estimating the section through Vietnam would cost $8.3 billion and be partly covered with loans from China. The Vietnamese part of the line also dates back to the French colonial period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has been no loan announcement so far during Xi's visit, which will end on Tuesday after the launch of what is listed as a "Vietnam-China Railway Cooperation". Reuters could not establish what that cooperation entails and whether it adds new commitments. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Kate Mayberry) HANOI (Reuters) - China and Vietnam expressed their support for maintaining a multilateral trade regime centered around the World Trade Organization in a joint statement issued on Tuesday at the end of a two-day visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit by Xi, which had been planned for months, came as Beijing faces 145% U.S. tariffs, while Vietnam is negotiating a reduction of threatened U.S. tariffs of 46% that would otherwise apply in July after a global moratorium expires. The two nations also jointly opposed hegemony, power politics, and unilateralism, according to the joint statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Faced with the uncertainty, instability and unpredictability of the international situation, the two sides will firmly uphold multilateralism," the joint statement said. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the two countries' discussions were focused on how to harm the United States, but that he did not blame them for holding such talks. In the joint statement, Vietnam also said it was ready to discuss a partnership with the BRICS grouping of countries. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, during his visit to Vietnam, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva invited Vietnam to the BRICS summit that Brazil will host in July. In Tuesday's statement, the two countries also eyed research and cooperation in the key mineral sector, in accordance with the laws and industrial policies of each country. During Xi's visit, China and Vietnam have signed 45 agreements, including deals on enhancing supply chains and on cooperation over railways, state media of both countries reported. (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by John Mair) By Laurie Chen, Farah Master and Liz Lee BEIJING (Reuters) - China accused the United States National Security Agency (NSA) on Tuesday of launching "advanced" cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February, targeting essential industries. Police in the northeastern city of Harbin said three alleged NSA agents to a wanted list and also accused the University of California and Virginia Tech of being involved in the attacks after carrying out investigations, according to a report by state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NSA agents were identified by Xinhua as Katheryn A. Wilson, Robert J. Snelling and Stephen W. Johnson. The three were also found to have "repeatedly carried out cyber attacks on China's critical information infrastructure and participated in cyber attacks on Huawei and other enterprises." It did not specify how the two American universities were involved. The U.S. Embassy in China did not respond to an emailed request for comment. China's foreign ministry later confirmed the attacks and said Beijing had raised its concerns with the United States. "We urge the U.S. to take a responsible attitude on the issue of cyber security and ... stop unprovoked smears and attacks on China," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The detailed allegations come as the world's two largest economies spiral deeper into a trade war that has already spurred travel warnings for Chinese tourists going to the U.S. and halted imports of U.S. films into China. "The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) launched cyber attacks against important industries such as energy, transportation, water conservancy, communications, and national defence research institutions in Heilongjiang province," Xinhua said, citing the Harbin city public security bureau. The attacks had "the intention of sabotaging China's critical information infrastructure, causing social disorder, and stealing important confidential information," it added. ANONYMOUS SERVERS Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Xinhua said the NSA operations took place during the Winter Games and were "suspected of activating specific pre-installed backdoors" in Microsoft Windows operating systems on specific devices in Heilongjiang. In order to cover its tracks, the NSA purchased IP addresses in different countries and "anonymously" rented a large number of network servers including in Europe and Asia," Xinhua said. The NSA intended to use cyberattacks to steal the personal data of participating athletes, the news agency said, adding that the cyber attacks reached a peak from the first ice hockey game on February 3. The attacks targeted information systems such as the Asian Winter Games registration system and stored "sensitive information about the identities of relevant personnel of the event," Xinhua said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. routinely accuses Chinese state-backed hackers of launching attacks against its critical infrastructure and government bodies. Last month, Washington announced indictments against a slew of alleged Chinese hackers who targeted the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, South Korea, India, and Indonesia. Beijing denies all involvement in overseas cyber espionage. After years of being accused by Western governments of cyberattacks and industrial espionage, in the past two years several Chinese organisations and government organs have accused the United States and its allies of similar behaviour. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In December, China said it found and dealt with two U.S. cyber attacks on Chinese tech firms to "steal trade secrets" since May 2023, but did not name the agency involved. (Reporting by Laurie Chen, Liz Lee, Qiaoyi Li and Colleen Howe in Beijing and Farah Master in Hong Kong; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Saad Sayeed) MAPUTO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The 25th batch of the Chinese medical team in Mozambique organized a large-scale free clinic at Matola Provincial Hospital on Monday, as part of a series of activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Mozambique. The event offered consultations in gynecology, obstetrics, cardiology, urology, pain management, general surgery, orthopedics, spinal surgery, and acupuncture. Medical stations were also set up for blood pressure, glucose, and oxygen saturation checks, as well as for the distribution of basic medicines. "Today is my first time receiving acupuncture treatment from a Chinese doctor, and I can clearly feel the pain in my neck has eased," said Melia da Assuncao, a patient from Matola. "I've already added the doctor's contact and hope to arrange my next session soon." Luisa Panguene, national director of medical assistance at the Ministry of Health, expressed gratitude to the Chinese medical team for promoting health, well-being, and hope for Mozambican citizens. "On behalf of the Mozambican people, I would like to thank the People's Republic of China and the Chinese medical mission for their continued support and for the solidarity they have shown throughout these 50 years of brotherhood," said Panguene. Ma Litai, leader of the Chinese medical team, said the free clinic is not only a medical outreach effort but also a vivid symbol of the deep friendship between the two countries. "We have come here with Chinese expertise, equipment, and medicine to serve the people of Mozambique," said Ma. "Chinese medical teams have been working in Mozambique for nearly 50 years, and we will continue to serve the health needs of the Mozambican people." Gaps in enforcement of China's insolvency laws can leave creditors vulnerable to opaque dealings and malicious bankruptcy filings by firms seeking to evade payment obligations, or by individuals trying to appropriate company assets, they said. Reuters reviewed dozens of court and company records and interviewed nine people, including lawyers and investors, who described growing concern about the potential misuse of China's bankruptcy process and the heightened risks it poses for investors as insolvencies rise during the country's economic downturn. In three markets and a grocery store around Dalian, Chuming signs were displayed prominently where pork was on sale, though labels on packaged meat showed the name of the other entity, in Chinese. Reuters couldn't determine whether Chuming is still trading. In March, Reuters found a factory operating at Chuming's last registered address in Dalian, where signs bore Chuming's logo but a slightly different name, Dalian Chengsan Chuming Food Processing. That company didn't respond to questions about its relationship with the liquidated Chuming. A health and safety certificate issued last June verified that Chuming had passed an inspection that month, according to a copy of the document published by the Dalian Administration for Market Regulation. Pork bearing Chuming's name was on the market as recently as November, according to photos seen by Reuters, which showed the meat was packed last May. The regulator didn't respond to a request for comment. But a bigger surprise greeted Hill and other shareholders in June 2024: They learned from China's food regulator that Chuming was still operating, almost four months after the court had declared its liquidation complete. "I feel cheated," he said. "I would have liked to have that money to pass on to my children." For Hill, who turns 86 in May, the loss of his funds has been painful. A decision by a Chinese court in Dalian to place Chuming into liquidation in 2021, a three-year process during which the company auctioned off assets and repaid debt, meant U.S. shareholders had to drop their pursuit of unpaid dividends. The retired Apple executive from Albuquerque had invested about $100,000 last decade in Dalian Chuming Meat Processing through a U.S.-listed holding company, Energroup Holdings. Chuming had not paid dividends for many years, but it supplied pork to Walmart and had been profitable at least as recently as 2016. DALIAN, China (Reuters) - When a Chinese pork producer filed for bankruptcy in 2019, the news came as a jolt to Alan Hill. Story Continues In the case of Chuming, some of its investors assert that it violated Chinese regulations by failing to obtain shareholders' consent for the bankruptcy; refusing to allow shareholders to examine its accounts; and continuing to operate after liquidation. Shareholders, including Hill, successfully sued Chuming executives in Nevada in August 2018 over the illegal transfer of assets out of the company. But they say they have not been able to obtain any redress through Chinese courts. Details of the case, and another involving a Chinese developer's contested bankruptcy, haven't been previously reported. China's justice ministry didn't respond to questions about courts' handling of the cases and bankruptcy matters broadly. Chuming and a lawyer for the company didn't respond to requests for comment about its bankruptcy. Energroup said that after several legal proceedings regarding the group's assets it has no relationship with Chuming. Walmart didn't respond to questions. THEORY AND PRACTICE Bankruptcies are increasing in China, where a protracted economic slowdown and property slump have triggered high-profile collapses, including developer China Evergrande Group and shadow bank Zhongzhi. Chinese courts handled some 30,000 bankruptcy cases last year, up from 10,132 in 2020, data released by China's top court in March shows. While the figures don't identify the proportion of bankruptcies considered malicious, four lawyers told Reuters that such cases had increased as China's economy had slowed. "Now, you could say there are a lot" compared with a couple of years ago, said Zhu Xinpeng, a lawyer at Shanghai Rongying Law Firm, declining to estimate a figure. For company managers, there can be an upside to filing for bankruptcy: Doing so triggers a stay on enforcement of payment obligations against the firm, said Sven-Michael Werner, partner at Bird & Bird in Shanghai. But it is illegal for a company to continue trading after a court has liquidated it, said Werner, describing the rules generally rather than Chuming's case specifically. Three other lawyers in China told Reuters a company must cease to exist within 10 days of a court finalising its liquidation. Chinese law also specifies that in some circumstances, shareholders have a right to check the accounts of an entity filing for bankruptcy. Companies can be fined for failing to provide accounts during the process. Jin Kun, board chief at Chuming's sole direct shareholder, Dalian Precious Sheen Investments Consulting Limited, said Chuming refused to allow investors to inspect its accounts, even after a court on appeal ordered the company to do so. This prevented creditors such as Precious Sheen, a wholly owned foreign enterprise held indirectly by U.S.-based Energroup, from assessing whether Chuming was really bankrupt, he said. Kun also alleges Chuming filed for bankruptcy without shareholder consent, as is required under Chinese law. Kun said he complained to Dalian police about Chuming's actions during the bankruptcy, but they declined to pursue it due to insufficient evidence. The police didn't respond to a request for comment. In 2022, Kun sued the manager of the bankruptcy proceedings for failing to disclose information on the company, but court documents show the judge rejected the case as lacking legal basis. China's bankruptcy law has existed in its current form for only two decades. It differs from rules in developed markets such as the U.S., and creditors often wait years for outcomes. To enter a Chapter 11 reorganisation in the U.S., for example, a company need only have difficulty paying its debt. In China, the bar is higher - in theory. But Chinese courts sometimes don't enforce the requirement that a company seeking to enter bankruptcy or liquidation must demonstrate it is unprofitable, which can leave creditors exposed, the lawyers and investors told Reuters. In the case of Chuming, the investors said the company did not submit sufficient evidence. Court documents don't indicate whether Chuming did so, and the Dalian court didn't respond to a request for comment. LOCAL INTERESTS Since the 1970s, China's local governments have raised funds by selling land to developers. But construction went into free-fall several years ago after policymakers moved to rein in leverage and speculation. The ensuing collapse of developers such as Evergrande left local and foreign shareholders relying on China's bankruptcy laws and their fair application. One goal of bankruptcy law "is to identify whatever value a failed business or an individual has and to distribute that as fairly as we can among creditors to spread the loss," said Jason Kilborn, law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. Zhou Jianmin was left dismayed by his experience of China's bankruptcy law, following the fate of Hunan United Real Estate Development, of which he was chairman and key shareholder. In 2019, a creditor, Fangtai Construction Group, following a payment dispute alleged Hunan United was insolvent, public company records show. Zhou alleges Fangtai, which didn't respond to questions, took the step to strip his company of its assets. A court in Huaihua placed Hunan United into bankruptcy in December 2019 because its assets didn't cover its debts, court records show. In an echo of the Chuming case, Zhou says Hunan United wasn't insolvent. He told Reuters he argued unsuccessfully in court that the firm's asset value exceeded its debt. The court didn't respond to questions about the case. For investors and company owners, the lack of transparency during bankruptcy proceedings can be galling. Foreign investors face even greater difficulties in engaging Chinese courts to enforce foreign judgements and obtaining information in accordance with the law. "The local, regional courts in China always favour their local citizens and seem to ignore the rights of U.S. shareholders," said Hill. Even in purely domestic cases, Chinese courts generally side with local authorities and interests, three lawyers told Reuters. This can disproportionately influence cases connected to local governments, such as developer bankruptcies, they said. Kun, who said he lost hundreds of millions of dollars in Chuming's demise, hopes China's government steps up to shield private companies from malicious bankruptcies. China's State Council did not respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Engen Tham; Additional reporting by Clare Jim in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and David Crawshaw) BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said deepening high-level strategic cooperation with Malaysia serves the common interests of both countries, in a statement released as he arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, the state broadcaster reported. The Chinese president was looking forward to enhancing political trust between the countries during the visit, China's CCTV reported. (Reporting by Beijing Newroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens) The Chinese Embassy in Argentina has criticized U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for maliciously slandering the country as it continues to fund development assistance for African and Latin American countries. We advise the U.S. to adjust its mindset, instead of spending time repeatedly smearing and attacking China, meddling in the foreign cooperation of regional countries, the embassy said, according to Reuters. The statement comes after Bessent said he met with Argentine President Javier Milei a President Trump ally on Monday to emphasize the administrations economic support for the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bessent, who has been critical of China amid the tariff war and ongoing geopolitical competition, spoke with BloombergTV after the meeting, where he said the administration is looking to help Latin American countries avoid the rapacious foreign aid agreements made by China in Africa. What we are trying to keep from happening is what has happened on the African continent, where China has signed a number of these rapacious deals marked as aid, where they are really, they take mineral rights, theyve added huge amounts of debt on to these countries balance sheets, Bessent said, referencing the countrys investment in infrastructure and commercial projects. Since Trumps return to the White House, Bessent has taken on a leading role in the Trump administration and its sweeping tariff agenda. The Chinese Embassy in Argentina disagreed with Bessents Monday remarks, saying the claim about agreements being predatory and the large amounts of debt is false. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The intention of these cooperations has been to contribute to socioeconomic development and improvement of the well-being of the people, which have been very well received by the beneficiary governments and peoples, the embassy said in a statement, translated from Spanish. The embassy argued the U.S. is lacking respect for developing countries and the Global South and has asked the administration to refrain from deliberately obstructing assistance from one country to another. Chinas cooperation with Latin American countriesincluding Argentina is a South-South partnership that always adheres to the principles of equal treatment, mutual benefit, and shared benefits, the embassy said. It never aims to carve our a sphere of influence or target third parties. Earlier this week, China and Argentina finalized a deal allowing the South American country to borrow $5 billion in a currency swap, The Associated Press reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Treasury Department said it had no further comment than Bessents original remarks. Updated at 12:56 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. Two Chinese prisoners of war spoke to the press on Monday, describing life under Russian forces. Both men said they were duped into becoming frontline soldiers for Russia. One of them said it was impossible to escape because he was constantly being watched. A Chinese man who said he was tricked into fighting for Russia's military told reporters on Monday that he was guarded so closely he couldn't go to the bathroom alone. Identified by Ukraine as 34-year-old Wang Guangjun, the man said at a Kyiv press conference that he had entered Russia believing he would be a rehabilitation therapist for Moscow's troops, only to discover he was being deployed on the front lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine said on Wednesday that Wang and another Chinese man, 27-year-old Zhang Renbao, were captured in Donetsk. Because they are prisoners of war, their ability to speak freely is unclear, and Business Insider couldn't independently verify their statements. Both men said they were speaking to the press in hopes that China would notice their situation and negotiate for their release. They also denied fighting against Ukraine voluntarily. Wang described himself as being trapped after reporting for work in Moscow in early 2025, saying he was sent for a few days of training and later to Ukraine's front lines. "Escape is impossible. Because from the moment you enter the training camp, if you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, there will be a guard with a loaded gun following you," Wang said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "And during training, your commander will keep a close eye on you. You have totally no opportunity to escape. Anyway, Russia is filled with military police, even if you try to run, there is nowhere to go," he added. Zhang who said he was previously a rescue worker and firefighter in Shanghai and Wang told Ukrainian and international reporters that they were promised monthly salaries of up to 280,000 rubles, or about $3,400. But they said they were often left in the dark and couldn't communicate well with their Russian-speaking officers. Wang added that he surrendered his mobile phone and was unsure whether he was paid at all. "I can very honestly tell everyone that I absolutely don't know the specifics," Wang said. "Because everything that involved us was kept secret." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia's Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by BI. Wang and Zhang describe their capture Zhang Renbao being escorted by a Ukrainian armed guard at a press conference in Kyiv. GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images Wang said he was deployed on April 1 in Donetsk with a unit that went by the "7th" which could be a reference to Russia's 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade. The Chinese man said he could communicate with his commanders only via sounds and hand gestures. He told reporters that on April 4, he and several soldiers were sent to advance on the front lines in northern Donetsk. Wang said that as they neared their destination, a Russian soldier called his name and mimicked the sound of a gun firing, urging him to begin attacking. "On the way there, we had gone through many Russian bunkers, so I thought we had arrived at our own friendly position. I thought he was joking," he said. "So I hid to one side." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wang then said the "sky was filled with countless drones" that killed several of his comrades. The survivors soon surrendered to Ukrainian forces, he added. Meanwhile, Zhang said he arrived in Moscow as a tourist in December and, after seeking work there, was eventually shipped to Donetsk for a month. He said he and a small Russian squad were sent in late March to advance on foot at the front lines and then spent hours hiding and trying to survive repeated drone attacks. "I just ran and ran and ran, until I eventually encountered Ukrainian soldiers," Zhang said. Ukraine says that it has evidence that more than 150 Chinese people are fighting for Russia but that there's no sign their presence is sanctioned by Beijing. On Friday, Reuters cited unnamed US officials saying Washington believed most Chinese citizens fighting for Russia were mercenaries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, China says it has always told its citizens to stay away from the war. "We call on the relevant party to be correct and sober about China's role and refrain from making irresponsible remarks," a spokesperson for Beijing's foreign ministry said on Thursday. Read the original article on Business Insider HONG KONG (Reuters) - One of China's top officials overseeing Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, said on Tuesday that the United States' tariff war was "extremely shameless" and aims to "take away Hong Kong's life". Xia, the director of China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, said bullying had never worked on Chinese people, including those from Hong Kong. Xia said that "let those peasants in the United States wail in front of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Chinese people do not cause trouble, nor are they afraid of trouble. Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China," Xia said in a televised speech on Hong Kong's National Security Education day. The comments came after China hiked its levies on imports of U.S. goods to 125%, hitting back at U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to single out the world's No.2 economy for effectively raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said this month the U.S. borrows and buys from "Chinese peasants", remarks that drew condemnation in China. Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, is subject to U.S. tariffs imposed on China as it is no longer considered a separate trading entity by Washington amid a years-long crackdown under a sweeping national security law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike the mainland, Hong Kong, as an international free trade hub, is not planning to impose any retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. right now, its leader John Lee said last week. Beijing has dismissed the U.S. president's tariff strategy as a "joke." (Reporting by Clare Jim, Farah Master and James Pomfret in Hong Kong; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Stephen Coates) ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) On Tuesday morning, Rockfords Coronado Performing Arts Center served as the gateway to the American Dream, as 319 people took their oaths of citizenship to the United States. The new citizens represent immigrants from 63 countries, from Afghanistan to Zambia. U.S. District Judge Ian Johnston, who has been a part of naturalization ceremonies for over a decade, presided over todays event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have voted with their feet. Theyve left the country of their origin, where they had family, understood the culture, and understood the language, and theyve decided and made the difficult decision that they were going to uproot themselves, come to the United States, and make their lives here. Which goes to show their courage, their determination, and how great this country is, Johnston said. The League of Women Voters of Greater Rockford also attended the event to help the new citizens register to vote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) The City of Albuquerque has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to end the settlement agreement on police reforms. Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina revealed the news Monday afternoon shortly after New Mexico Senate Republicans announced they had asked the U.S. Attorney General to discontinue the consent decree. Albuquerque man charged federally for arson attacks at Tesla, Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters Albuquerque police have been under the settlement agreement since 2014 after nearly two dozen officer-involved shootings and cases of excessive force. APD said it is in full compliance with the consent decree, except for three paragraphs that still need to be addressed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chief Medina said this latest deal came last Friday, before the Republicans letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi. A lot of these individuals, the senator from Farmington, have never spoken to the chief of the Albuquerque Police Department, has never come had a ride-along with our officers, and does not recognize that our officers deserve the credit, the credit for coming into full compliance, said Chief Medina. The chief said the settlement agreement should be dismissed sometime this spring, once the paperwork is finalized. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) Beckley Code Enforcement Officers and the city manager in Beckley said city officials are working with developers who are rehabilitating a dilapidated apartment complex in the University District. Local officials made the statement after one of the complexs new owners said some code requirements had been an obstacle to rehabilitation of the dilapidated complex many have called a slum. Golden Bear Associates bought Hargrove Apartments in 2024 with plans to turn it from a local eyesore into affordable housing. But one of the new owners, John Paul Houston of Golden Bear Associates, said some local code requirements were restrictive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Captain Donnie Morgan of Beckley Code Enforcement said on Monday, April 14, 2025, that he was waiting on documents from the projects contractors. Ten interesting facts you may not have known about West Virginia Houston said on Friday that cooperation is vital in cities with a number of dilapidated properties which are in need of rehabilitation. Its going to take some creativity on both the part of the legislators, the governance in both the state and the localities and also with the developers, said Houston. I think if you work together, theres a middle ground that hasnt been found yet, but its there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Captain Morgan and Beckley Acting City Manager Phillip Jarrell said city officials had spoken with Senator Brian Helton, another owner of Golden Bear Associates, and that the development was making satisfactory progress. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KHARTOUM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Sudan has been embroiled in an armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 15, 2023. In the early months, the RSF seized control of much of Sudan's capital Khartoum and expanded throughout the Darfur region, taking over most central Sudanese cities. However, by early 2024, the tide had turned in favor of the Sudanese army, which began reclaiming key cities and territories. By March 2025, the army had secured most of Khartoum. FIGHT ERUPTS IN KHARTOUM On the morning of April 15, 2023, intense fighting broke out between the SAF and the RSF, triggered by escalating disputes between the two sides over a framework agreement, which stipulated reform of the military institution and the integration of all armed groups, not least including the RSF into the Sudanese army. On the same day, the RSF seized key locations in Khartoum, including the presidential palace and the Khartoum International Airport. On May 19, 2023, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council and army chief, issued a decree dismissing his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF commander. He appointed Malik Agar, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, as the new deputy chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council. With the mediation of Saudi Arabia and the United States, the Jeddah Declaration was signed on May 20, 2023, calling for a seven-day ceasefire and improved access for humanitarian aid. However, both parties failed to uphold the terms of the agreement. CONFLICT SPREADS BEYOND KHARTOUM On June 15, 2023, the RSF captured El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, before expanding its control to East Darfur, Central Darfur and West Kordofan. In central Sudan, the RSF took control of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State, on Dec. 19, 2023. On June 30, 2024, they seized Singa, the capital city of Sinnar State, along with several other towns. INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO CONTAIN CONFLICT In July 2024, indirect talks were held in Geneva under UN auspices to address humanitarian aid and civilian protection. The talks, mediated by UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Sudan Ramtane Lamamra, failed to reach an agreement. In August 2024, the United States hosted another round of ceasefire negotiations in Geneva, where the RSF sent a delegation. However, the Sudanese army did not attend, and the talks ended without a ceasefire agreement. On Jan. 7, 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo; and on Jan. 16, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Sudanese army chief Al-Burhan. DRAMATIC SHIFTS IN WAR TRAJECTORY Since February 2024, the Sudanese army has adopted a more aggressive approach, successfully taking control of key neighborhoods in central Omdurman, north of Khartoum. On Sept. 26, 2024, the Sudanese army launched a large-scale military operation across Khartoum State, using ground, air and naval forces. On Oct. 6, the army regained control of the strategic Jebel Moya area in Sinnar State, and later captured the cities of Al-Dinder and Al-Suki. On Oct. 20, Abu Aqla Keikel, the RSF commander in Gezira State, defected along with a large group of fighters, joining the Sudanese army. In retaliation, the RSF launched a violent military campaign in eastern Gezira on Oct. 21, killing over 500 people and displacing nearly 1 million others, according to local organizations. On Nov. 23, the Sudanese army regained control of Singa after days of intense fighting. On Dec. 15, the army launched a ground offensive to recapture Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State, and successfully regained control of the city on Jan. 11, 2025. On Jan. 25, 2025, the army recaptured the Al-Jaili oil refinery, the largest in the country, after fierce battles. On March 21, it announced control of the presidential palace and several federal ministries in central Khartoum; and on March 22, it recaptured the headquarters of the Central Bank of Sudan. On March 26, the army announced its capture of the Khartoum International Airport, with army commander Al-Burhan arriving at the airport by helicopter for the first time since the civil war began. At present, the Sudanese army controls most of Khartoum while the RSF maintains presence in parts of western and southern Omdurman. Currently, detailed figures on the casualties of the violence in Sudan are not available. However, latest statistics from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group, said that the war has claimed 29,683 lives. The conflict has also displaced over 15 million people, both inside and outside Sudan, according to the International Organization for Migration. As the conflict enters its third year, both the army and the RSF remain determined to continue fighting until "victory" is achieved. On March 29, Sudanese army chief Al-Burhan said peace would be possible if the RSF surrendered, but warned that the army would continue fighting otherwise. On March 30, RSF leader Dagalo vowed to keep fighting, saying the war was far from over and still in its early stages. (FOX40.COM) The City of Sacramento announced the launch of its new initiative, Streamline Sacramento, which is aimed at boosting housing production and reducing construction costs, according to officials. Video Above: Sacramento community find alternative to eggs amid Easter Holiday The 2025 initiative led by Mayor Kevin McCarty and Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum is searching for ways to advance the development approval process, improve efficiency and increase certainty for developers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision comes as the 2024 numbers for the annual Regional Housing Needs Allocation goal fell short. Despite a goal of 5,700 units, only 2,387 housing units were issued building permits in the past year, according to the citys most recent eight-year housing strategy annual report. Lodi resident wins $750,000 jackpot at Sky River Casino Tuesday night the city council took its first action to come from our Streamline Sacramento task force, said Mayor Kevin McCarty. This task force is aimed at streamlining our permitting process so we can make Sacramento a better place to live and do business. Streamline Sacramentos effort include: Submittal of building permit applications Plan reviewing Issuance of building permits Inspections Final inspection leading to the certificate of occupancy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the City is always looking for ways to streamline and make our processes more efficient, the development market is also continuously changing and we want to make sure our building processes are working well for those who are investing and building in Sacramento, said Matt Hertel, assistant director with the Citys Community Development Department. Officials also provided a list of improvements in progress, including: Virtual inspections for minor projects to save time Bond Opportunities for Land Development program, offered by the California Municipal Finance Authority to finance public infrastructure required for new development within the city. Instant building permit issuance to eliminate the wait time for applicants to receive their building permit. More information can be found on Streamline Sacramentos 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 FOX40 News. Apr. 14The city of Spokane has committed another $100,000 to fighting a federal lawsuit brought by pastor and former state lawmaker Matt Shea, bringing total costs with a Seattle-based law firm to $150,000. The Spokane City Council voted 5-1 to approve the added funding during their Monday meeting. Councilman Jonathan Bingle, who was the sole "no" vote, noted he had been censured by the council in 2021 for refusing to wear a mask and argued that colleagues named in the lawsuit should not be indemnified by the city. Shea filed a $24 million tort claim against the city in October, claiming the City Council violated his civil rights when the legislative body formally condemned former Mayor Nadine Woodward for appearing alongside him at a 2023 event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As wildfires fires smoldered in Medical Lake and Elk in August 2023, Woodward joined Shea on stage at the Podium during a stop on the Kingdom to the Capitol tour, a religious and political series organized by self-described Christian nationalist Sean Feucht's organization Let Us Worship. Shortly before introducing Woodward to the stage, Shea compared same-sex marriage and transgender rights to the fires that had devastated the nearby communities. Woodward publicly denounced Shea soon after, calling him a threat to democracy and distancing herself from his political views. She maintained that she had not known that Shea would be present at the event and believed its purpose was to pray for the victims of the Oregon Road and Gray fires. Shea has disputed this version of events. Soon after, the City Council voted to denounce Woodward's appearance alongside "alleged domestic terrorist" Matt Shea, noting his penning of a controversial manifesto titled "Biblical Basis for War," and his involvement in an armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge in 2016 which Shea's own caucus in the Legislature condemned as "an act of domestic terrorism against the United States." He was stripped of leadership roles in the House and leaders in both parties called on him to resign; in 2020, he announced he would not run for re-election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shea has argued the resolution denouncing Woodward, as well as individual comments by council members, paint Shea as a domestic terrorist despite there never being a criminal trial on those charges. "Pastor Shea has never been charged with, much less convicted of, any crime associated with domestic terrorism, political violence, or taking up arms against the United States," the claim stated. Shea, an attorney, has claimed he was exonerated last October when the Washington State Bar Association dismissed a grievance filed against him, citing "constitutional scrutiny" and the lack of a criminal conviction. "Our country cannot long endure civic debate being replaced with political opponents falsely implying those they disagree with are criminals, terrorists or worse," Shea wrote. In January, after the city refused to settle Shea's claim for damages, he filed a federal lawsuit. The city's legal counsel is attempting to have the case dismissed, which Shea's attorneys are fighting. April 13 marked Russias deadliest attack on the northeastern city of Sumy, killing 35 people and injuring nearly 120. As locals flocked to the city center on the morning of Palm Sunday, Russia launched two ballistic missiles in what is known as a double-tap attack. The second missile, fired minutes after the first one, was armed with cluster munitions used to inflict greater devastation on civilians. The strike soon sparked controversy as a local official accused Sumy Oblast Governor Volodymyr Artiukh of inadvertently giving Russia an excuse to attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the deadly strike, Artem Semenikhin, the mayor of the Sumy Oblast city Konotop, accused Artiukh of planning an awards ceremony for the 117th Territorial Defense Brigade in Sumy on April 13. Artiukh confirmed the event was planned but denied responsibility for initiating it. He was dismissed on April 15. The Kyiv Independent reached out to the 117th Brigade for comment but has not received a response. The brigade has not publicly commented on the controversy. Soon after the attack, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed it had struck the command of the Siversk operational-tactical group in the city, though it provided no evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kyiv Independent reached out to the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces for comment but has not received a response as of publication time. There have been several cases in which Ukrainian military gatherings in residential areas have come under Russian attack, resulting in high civilian casualties and sparking discussions about negligence. However, Russia has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims of hitting military targets while striking civilian areas since the start of the full-scale war in 2022. In total, at least 13,000 civilians have been killed and over 30,000 injured in Ukraine since 2022, according to the United Nations. The actual number is likely much higher since its currently impossible to verify casualties in Russian-occupied territories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But even if a strike targets military personnel or infrastructure in a densely populated area, does it make it a legitimate military target? The Kyiv Independent asked Wayne Jordash KC, president of the Global Rights Compliance Foundation. Wayne Jordash KC, president of the Global Rights Compliance Foundation. (Global Rights Compliance Foundation) Editor's note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. The Kyiv Independent: Under international humanitarian law, is it ever lawful to strike a military target in the middle of a densely populated civilian area? Wayne Jordash: First of all, it has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Secondly, the assessment has to be based on whether the firing party properly distinguished between civilians and civilian objects and combatants and military objectives. You have to make sure that your attack is proportionate. That means what you have to do is make an assessment before you fire your weapon, essentially to understand whether, compared to the anticipated concrete and direct military advantage, the incidental civilian deaths or collateral damage would be excessive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the case of Sumy, I think Russia has quite a task to justify why it would fire two missiles into a busy, crowded civilian square full of people celebrating Palm Sunday. A soldier's gathering would depend on who they are and their importance. It would also depend, ultimately, on the anticipated concrete and direct military advantage compared to the incidental civilian deaths. Russia must have known it was going to hit a huge amount of civilians, and it's very difficult to justify such an attack in these circumstances. Rescuers work at the site of a Russian ballistic missile strike in Sumy, Ukraine, on April 15, 2025. (Eugene Abrasimov / Suspilne Ukraine / JSC "UA:PBC" / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) Two men comfort each other as Ukrainian police psychologists assist residents after a missile attack in Sumy, Ukraine, on April 13, 2025. (Oleg Voronenko / AFP via Getty Images) The Kyiv Independent: If Russia deliberately targeted the area, knowing it was surrounded by civilians and potentially aware of the ceremony, would this constitute a violation of international humanitarian law? Wayne Jordash: You have to look at what was the advantage of hitting the military award ceremony. If there were a military award ceremony with an extremely important Ukrainian general or important Ukrainian officers who were important for the Ukrainian war effort, that would be one scenario. Then you're looking at a quite concrete and direct military advantage by striking and killing those officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, if you're looking at a much lower-rank meeting with few soldiers, that's another calculation. Of course, the anticipated civilian deaths in this instance were obvious. You can't go hitting a square full of civilians celebrating Palm Sunday without expecting massive civilian casualties. It is not impossible that this was a proportionate attack, but it's a very, very difficult argument to advance. The Kyiv Independent: So a strike targeted a gathering of high-ranking military officers in a densely populated civilian area, resulting in the same number of casualties but also killing the intended military targets would that be considered justified? Wayne Jordash: Justified is a difficult word in the face of Russian illegal aggression. But it may not be a war crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the anticipated military advantage is extremely significant, you can justify hitting more civilians and civilian targets. That's how the law works. In this instance, the key question would be, what was the anticipated military advantage in hitting those soldiers if that was their aim, and was it significant enough to justify killing and injuring all those civilians? That's the calculation that must be conducted. Israel justifies its attacks in the Gaza Strip on the basis that It destroys a hospital because it says that Hamas has a headquarters in that hospital. So they anticipate that the advantage militarily will be significant because they're going to destroy a military headquarters. That may justify killing lots of civilians. It depends on the significance of the military headquarters. That's, of course, assuming that the Israeli government is telling the truth. And I don't believe that they are telling the truth most of the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same with Russia. I don't believe they're telling the truth most of the time. If they say there was a group of soldiers gathering for an award ceremony, I would demand that they prove that and demonstrate that there was a clear anticipated military advantage that justified this level of destruction to civilians and civilian targets. I doubt we will see that. People lay flowers at a memorial at a missile strike site in Sumy, Ukraine, on April 14, 2025. (Roman Pilipey / AFP) The Kyiv Independent: Does international law require parties to a conflict to refrain from holding military gatherings in civilian areas? Is there a legal obligation not to do so? Wayne Jordash: All parties to a conflict have to exercise precaution, including all feasible precautions to protect civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the Ukrainian soldiers were gathering in that area for an award ceremony, that was incredibly reckless because it, therefore, gives Russia an excuse, not necessarily an excuse that can be justified, but an excuse that allows them to promote their usual propaganda. If Ukrainian soldiers are admitting that this happened, then it's difficult to reconcile that with their obligations to protect civilians. The Kyiv Independent: Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said that Russia used cluster munitions during the attack. These weapons are designed to maximize casualties by dispersing hundreds of smaller "bomblets" in a wide area upon impact. Is the use of cluster munitions a relevant factor for those investigating the incident? Wayne Jordash: That may be the most compelling illustration of an intended war crime. Aiming a precision weapon at the Ukrainian soldiers' award ceremony is one thing. But why would you launch a weapon that is designed to spread across tens and tens of meters if you're just trying to kill officers in a room or a building? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you do a proper calculation of the military advantage compared to the incidental damage, this does not, therefore, look like incidental damage. It looks like Russian troops have deliberately used weapons that would maximize the damage to civilians and anyone in that area. I think it's difficult, even if there were soldiers gathering for an award ceremony, to justify such an attack When you add cluster munitions to the equation, then it's implausible. A Ukrainian rescuer takes a break at the site of a missile attack in Sumy, Ukraine, on April 13, 2025. (Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images) The Kyiv Independent: What are the next legal or investigatory steps to determine if the Sumy attack qualifies as a war crime? Wayne Jordash: The first step is to investigate whether there was an award ceremony, where that award ceremony was, if it was taking place, who was present, and the significance of those present for the war effort. The second step would be to examine precisely the weapons used by Russia. The third step is to examine the relationship between where the missiles were fired, where the soldiers were, and how precise or otherwise the firing was. Then, we'll begin to see a picture of what the Russians may have known or should have known, including the anticipated military advantage, balanced against what they should have known about the likely civilian damage. Once we have a clear picture of those two issues, we will have a good picture of whether this was a war crime. Note from the author: Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia's all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russias brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russias war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent's member, you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) Between federal funding cuts and new tariff policies, food banks are trying to keep up and waiting to see how they will be impacted. Emily Straw, president of the Clark County Food Bank, said one of the biggest challenges they are facing is how little they know. What they do know is that a couple of their key funding sources the local food purchasing agreement and the emergency food assistance program are being cut. Missing kayaker near Willamette Falls was 20-year-old California man, deputies say Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Straw said they stand to lose around $900,000 over the next two years because of it. Thats about $900,000 worth of products that was going to come here thats no longer going to come here, she said. So thats impactful. In addition to that, theres been some truckloads of federal food thats been canceled. So, some actual products that just would have landed that we wouldnt have paid for directly, that its not coming here. In the past, grant funding has allowed the food bank to buy from local farms. And while Straw said they have built relationships they want to maintain, they are not sure if they will be able to. That product is really good product, she said. Its some of the top quality product you can possibly get. It comes at a price tag that we probably cant afford to just replace like that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For now, Straw does not know exactly how the tariffs will impact them. Years ago, they had gotten help from the Trade Mitigation Program, where the government stepped in to help farmers adjust to market disruptions from tariffs. The federal government said, Oh, we need to support our local farmers and purchase a ton of extra product, Straw said. And that came to food banks, because I dont know where else it would go. So I think thats part of our like wait and see is though weve heard some things are going to be cut, were hopeful that other things might be bolstered. Oregon lawmakers urge Trump administration to declare fishery disaster Straw said these new tariffs could prompt more help like that, which would be a good thing for food banks. They are not sounding the alarm yet, but Straw said they do need to figure out how they will replace the money they are losing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were really trusting our community, she said. Were moving forward with some contingency plans. We are fundraising to recoup the funding that was lost. It is significant. I cant scoff at $900,000 worth of funding that was coming our way. Thats very substantial to us. But yeah, were not well still be here to see another day. With all this change, Straw said they are balancing being proactive and being reactive. She said she does not want to get flat footed, but they also do not want to panic. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WINCHESTER, Ky. (FOX 56) Honoring our veterans is what one Clark County group is trying to do for those who served during World War II and the Korean War. The Clark County Veterans Council is in the process of building a new monument for those veterans, something that has been two decades in the making. 20 years ago, there was a design competition for this monument. Healing hidden wounds: Kentucky veterans find hope in hyperbaric oxygen therapy Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The purpose of this monument was to allow the brave men and women from Clark County to get the proper recognition for their service for generations to come. Between World War 2 and the Korean War, more than 90 service members from Clark County were killed. The monument is about making sure their legacy lives on. Veterans who have been pushing for this monument say it means the world to have served their country, and theyd do it all over again. You might be wondering why its taken so long for them to build such a monument. In August of 2023, the veterans council was finally approved for a site for where the monument will be, right off E. Broadway Street in downtown Winchester. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The site was approved, and the council received some grant money, but project organizers said the group still needs funding to complete the monument. Its been a roadblock because you can only work as fast as you have money in the bank, and weve said that many, many times, said Dee Birkes. There were 77 veterans that were killed in action during World War 2 and 19 in Korea. We want their legacy to live on. They never die if theyre in our hearts and our minds and this is a long overdue. Despite the roadblock, there have been some positives when it comes to fundraising. Birkes said two 6th graders have taken it upon themselves to raise a significant amount of money for the monument over the course of a week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walker Puckett and Colton Wilson, they raise and lower the flag every day at school. Those two young men took it upon themselves to go out and fundraise for this memorial and raise $2,500, said Birkes. Birkes says the entire community can learn something from the two boys and give just a little. Unfortunately, as time goes on, more and more of our older veterans are passing away. In 2023, it was estimated that 167,000 veterans who served in World War II and 500,000 who served during the Korean War were still alive, and that number has only continued to decrease. Veterans in Clark County said the support of the community long after their service means so much. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think in a community the size of Winchester, it probably means even more because theres a lot of us that are much closer to one another, explained Chuck Witt. But I think we all agree that having served, theres a special kind of camaraderie that exists even after you get out. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: To raise funds, the council is selling brick pavers for $100 each, which you could dedicate to a veteran you know or someone else in your family. Brick-Paver-Form-1Download Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To donate to the Clark County Veterans Council, fill out the form above to buy a brick paver, or visit the councils GoFundMe. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Legal experts panned an idea floated by President Donald Trump to deport some U.S. citizens to El Salvador. Former U.S. attorney Joyce Vance weighs in on The Eleventh Hour. Sabrina Elba, CEO and Founder of SABLE Labs and chair of Global Citizen Europe Board speaks during the Climate Solidarity in the Commonwealth panel at Global Citizen NOW on September 25, 2024 in New York City. Credit - Rob KimGetty Images For Sabrina Elba, the fight against climate change must begin in the Global South. The actress, model, and co-founder of the beauty brand SABLE Labs has seen first-hand how climate change is impacting smallholder farmers in Africaand just how ignorant most of the Western world is to it. In the Global North, she says, the discussion is so often about climate change happening like 10, 50, or 100 years from now. No, it's not. It's happening now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elba is a Goodwill ambassador for the U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations that addresses poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. In 2020 she, along with her husband Idris Elba, launched a $40 million fund with IFAD to prevent the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from triggering a global hunger and food crisis. She spoke with Time about the importance of prioritizing farmers in the Global South, why more people should know where their products come from, and the need for urgency in the climate fight. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. TIME: What inspired you to get involved in the climate movement? Elba: Growing up, in Vancouver, Canada, being the only Somali family, being the only Black girl in my high school, I didn't really have that connection to identity. My mom at home would always be like, We're strong Africans and I was just like, Okay, I believe you, but then the trauma porn I was seeing on TV, the name teasing that came with being a minority, made me feel like people didn't understand what it meant to be African. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What didn't help was, at the time, there were a lot of droughts throughout Africa, and there were a lot of ads talking about food insecurity and hunger and portraying Africans in the light that made it look to some people that they were waiting for a handout. And actually what was happening was that people were in a circumstance where their carbon footprint had very little to do with what was causing this impact on them. It wasn't being framed as a climate conversation, but it was the start of us seeing that, actually, [climate] impacts ... were happening in Africa very early on. I remember becoming very passionate about [how] Africans are hard working, people in the Global South are hard working. But if you don't invest in people, or if you don't consider people in the narratives around climate change, then of course, they're going to be in a situation like the one that they were in. So I got involved in the agencies that I am involved in, particularly IFAD, because I saw what IFAD was doing and how they were framing the conversation. I was like, bingo, this is the type of climate work that I want to do. A lot of your activism has focused on rural communities in the Global South. Why was it important for you to focus on the struggles of these communities? My mom is a product of these pastoral communities. So I was flooded in my youth with stories about how farming is so important, and agricultural communities are the backbone of Africa. The farmers of our world are the custodians of this planet. They're protecting the biodiversity of the land. We owe them so much. Sabrina Elba visits farmers in Ghana in 2025. World Vision You have worked as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Can you speak about that work and why its an important part of the climate fight? They're a little known secret in the U.N. I had just been so impressed by the fact that, unlike the other food agencies, they weren't focused on the aid cycle. Aid is obviously important, particularly when it comes to climate disasterspeople need food in emergency situations. But when you're trying to think long-term and future-proof these things, aid can feel like a short-term solution. So rather than giving farmers what they need in that moment, why not equip them so they have the tools to take care of themselves going forward? It took me five minutes to hear that and go, Oh my God. I didn't even know something like this existed. Why give a fish when you can give a fishing rod? It just makes sense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Agriculture and climate change are so interlinked. Climate change is directly impacting farmers across the Global South today. So if they're not set up to adapt to these changes then they're in a pickle. Its mostly the women [who are farming]. That means agriculture is a gender issue. We are all connected through food and agricultureit is a great way to actually humanize the climate conversation, because people forget there's a face to climate change, and most times it's an African woman. You recently visited shea cooperatives in Ghana. What did you learn on that trip? I came across the beauty report that World Vision had written. And this ties right into one of [SABLE Labs] ethos as a brand: We source all of our raw materials that come from Africa in a responsible and traceable way. We make sure we connect with the communities, business person to business person, help them set up the infrastructure they need to ship us the raw materials overseas, make sure that they're getting paid the right wages, and that we can also guarantee that there are no harmful situations for those farmers when we source those materials. The supply chain in beauty is broken. An ingredient like shea is so overly abused because it's in such demand. But people have totally forgotten again that there is a face and a name behind these ingredients, that things don't just appear out of thin air. Shea has a long, rich history across West Africa, passed down from mother to daughter. These ingredients were sacred at one point. They were used for childbirth. And now it's just everywhere, and keeping up with the demand for that, especially when it's such a manually intensive ingredient to farm, is really hard for a lot of these communities. Speaking to the farmers directly is the best way to find out about any issue, because you're hearing firsthand their struggles or what they think needs fixing in this supply chain process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I don't think [consumers] even realize, when you're buying a beauty product off a counter, that you might be harming someone, that you might be supporting a product with child labor, because we talk about it in fashion, but we don't talk about it in beauty. So we were like, if we can amplify this message with World Vision and Fairtrade let's do it. You often speak of the importance of uplifting small scale farmers. What can the climate movement learn from their practices? So much. We hear again and again Indigenous people's knowledge is overwhelmingly stronger than some of the data and information that we've accumulated. People who understand directly how to protect the biodiversity of these areas, what's needed to maintain some of these forests. Those are the people we should be listening to and valuing and learning from; their voices just mean so much in this conversation. But often Indigenous people aren't given the platform. They are stakeholders in this and theyre stakeholders on this planet, and they should be given a seat at the tablemore than just one. What are some of the most pressing issues youre noticing in the climate space right now? What can be done to address these issues? The lack of urgency. We've gone backwards on some of the Paris Climate Agreement milestones, and it's a very scary time to be talking about climate. We've seen some countries turn their backs completely to the climate conversation when it's a time where we all need to be focusing and giving attention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I do think that people should find out how they can pressure their [elected] leaders and people running for office and ask themselves, Who do we need elected at this time? because everyone's livelihood is at stake. Everyone's future is at stake at this point. The effects are impacting people today, you know, around the world, and it's heartbreaking when someone has the luxury in the Global North of worrying about it in some distant future, but in the Global South, someone's like, Well, I've just lost my livelihood and my capital because of climate change. What gives you hope? There's a seriousness there and an urgency there that does need to be considered, but because I've been able to work with agencies like IFAD, I've seen that the solutions do work. The solutions are there. It's just about political will at this point. Thats why it's so important to share these stories with people, because our leaders are failing us, and if everyone else is working really hard, they need to work as hard as we do. So there is hope out there. And also we don't have the luxury of saying there isn't [hope] for the people who are feeling the effects today. Write to Simmone Shah at simmone.shah@time.com. CLINTON, Ill. (WCIA) A high speed chase through Clinton ended Monday after a semi tractor-trailer was stopped by local law enforcement. A Clinton man, later identified as 53-year-old Joseph Adams, was taken into custody by Illinois State Police after the chase. One dead, four hospitalized after Piatt Co. crash State Police said they first attempted to stop Adams, who was driving the semi tractor-trailer, in McLean County. But, he failed to stop and drove in a reckless manner endangering other motorist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Police then requested the help of the Clinton Police to stop the vehicle as it was traveling southbound on US Highway 51 and approaching Clinton. Clinton Police and Dewitt County Sheriffs Office deputies responded to the area and worked to help State Police stop the driver. Eventually, Adams brought the semi tractor-trailer to a stop in a yard near the intersection of Illinois Route 54 and Portland Place. He attempted to flee on foot, but was taken into custody by State Police and brought to the McLean County Jail on multiple charges. Illinois State Police are investigating. No further information is available at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) Today is expected to be a cloudy one, with temperatures still sitting well above average. The high temperatures for the day will be hitting the mid-seventies with increasing cloud coverage and some breezes. Tonight, temperatures will drop the mid-to-high forties with cloud coverage letting up ever so slightly. This week, expect the potential for showers to increase as the week progresses. Temperatures remain well above normal today and Wednesday with much cooler temperatures arriving later this week. Moisture spreading northward out of the Southwest will bring showers to the southern and central Colorado mountains and adjacent valleys this afternoon and evening. A more impactful storm is expected to arrive late Thursday and linger into early Sunday bringing much cooler temperatures and widespread precipitation. The probability of mountain snowfall exceeding six inches is greater than 50 percent by late Saturday evening. Surface dew points are still in the single digits to lower teens across the lower elevations of southeast Utah and southwest Colorado. While it isnt likely the valley will be seeing showers today, chances begin to increase throughout the week. This afternoon, some gusty outflow winds and possible virga can be spotted however. This is slightly different from rain due to it evaporating before hitting the ground, so while the air may have moisture in it, its not complete rainfall. Wednesday night will see ridging still in place over eastern Utah and western Colorado. To the west, a closed low will be moving into Southern California as a northern trough drops into the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. These two features will be the big players as we move into the late week period. Ahead of the troughs, a southwesterly jet will move over eastern Utah and western Colorado, acting on abundant moisture to keep showers going into Thursday morning. Overall, expect a cloudy but warm day on the western slope with a little bit of extra humidity in the air. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Local people fetch water to celebrate the New Year of the calendar of the Dai ethnic group, which is also called the water-splashing festival, by the Lancang River in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County of Lincang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Gao Yongwei) Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County of Lincang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County of Lincang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) An aerial drone photo taken on April 15, 2025 shows tourists and local people celebrating the water-splashing festival at a square in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County of Lincang, southwest China's Yunnan Province. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) Tourists and local people celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County of Lincang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2025. The water-splashing festival is regarded as one of the most important festivals of ethnic groups in southwest China. During the festival, water is considered an auspicious symbol and people splash water on one another, thereby wishing happiness and good fortune. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo) CNN chief executive Mark Thompson has called on the network to hold Donald Trumps administration to account without entering the ring with the U.S. president. In an interview with the Financial Times, the former New York Times and BBC boss said it was not CNNs job to fight political regimes, but to report on them without prejudice. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We shouldnt slip into the idea that part of our job is to oppose political forces as such. Our job is to cover the political contest, rather than to head into the ring and start throwing punches ourselves, Thompson said. The analogy was notable and perhaps not an accident after one of Trumps most famous run-ins with CNN in 2017, during which he tweeted a video showing himself beating a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his face. Trump punches CNN in a juvenile tweet, was the headline from CNNs Brian Stelter at the time. In further comments to the FT, Thompson said CNN must report on the government of the day in whichever country it is in a way that is accurate, is fair-minded, doesnt labour under its own prejudices or biases, and doesnt shy [away] from holding power to account. During the same interview, Thompson said he strongly supported The Associated Press in the agencys efforts to win back access to the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The AP reported that a journalist and photographer were barred from an Oval Office news conference on Monday. This was despite a federal court order that forbids Trumps administration from punishing the AP for refusing to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Thompson said the AP was a valuable partner, and that a self-organising pool of people covering Washington D.C., and entities like the White House Correspondents Association, are genuinely useful in co-ordinating coverage. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. CNNs chief data analyst Harry Enten on Sunday stressed that Americans arent buying what Donald Trump is selling as he looked at data showing their souring views on the economy since the president launched his massive trade war. Enten pointed to a new CBS News/YouGov poll showing the amount of Americans who oppose Trumps widespread tariffs plan increased from 46% to 58% between January and last week. The number of those who favor the tariffs, Enten noted, has decreased from 48% to 42% in the same time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More and more people are turning against Donald Trump. Their views of the economy are getting worse. They are holding Donald Trump responsible, Enten told CNNs Jessica Dean. And when it comes to his signature issue so far in his second term, tariffs, I mean, my goodness gracious, that trend line is ridiculously awful for Trump. Earlier in his CNN appearance, Enten pointed to figures from the same poll showing the number of those who think the economy is getting worse increased 11% between November and last week (from 42% to 53%). I will just say, Ill put it in stark terms, I believe this is the worst poll that Donald Trump has received in his second term, Enten said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He later turned to numbers from the poll showing Trumps net approval rating sink from +6 points in early February to -6 points last week, marking the first time in his second term that figure has been underwater. Watch more of Entens analysis below. Related... (NewsNation) The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for five people who were missing from a suspected smuggling venture nearly 30 miles off the St. Lucie Inlet in Southeast Florida. Four people were rescued and were among nine individuals who were reported to be on a boat that left Biminia chain of islands in the Bahamason Friday. Officials said that the boat capsized Saturday morning and that on Sunday, a person officials described as a Good Samaritan reported seeing an overturned 25-foot boat with four people clinging to it. Coast Guard crews rescued the four people after crews searched by air and sea for almost seven hours, covering more than 1,240 square miles, Coast Guard officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida woman runs over estranged husbands new girlfriend: Deputies The four people were transported to a local emergency medical facility. In a social media post, the Martin County Fire Rescue unit reported that five people were found and that one of those people had died. The decision to suspend a search is always difficult and never taken lightly, Chief Warrant Officer Edgardo Insignares, a Coast Guard Sector Miami search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a statement. Smugglers routinely exploit vulnerable aliens for profit while putting their lives at risk aboard overloaded and unseaworthy vessels. These dangerous and illegal voyages must not be attempted. Safe, legal and orderly migration saves lives. Dont take to the sea. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) U.S. Coast Guard crews on Sunday intercepted two boats carrying nearly two dozen illegal immigrants off the coast of Point Loma in San Diego. The Coast Guard reports a Coast Guard Station San Diego crew intercepted a 25-foot cuddy cabin style boat that had 8 people aboard about seven miles south of Point Loma at 6:50 p.m. Sunday. 22 undocumented immigrants stopped by U.S. Coast Guard near San Diego Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Coast Guard says the boat was carrying five adult men and three adult women, all claiming Mexican nationality. Then, at 7:27 p.m., Coast Guard crews from the CGC Sea Otter and CGC David Duren intercepted an 18-foot cuddy cabin style boat with 10 people aboard about 10 miles west of Point Loma. Illegal border crossings hit record low in March, says White House The Coast Guard reports that boat was carrying one adult woman claiming South Korean nationality, four men and two adult women claiming Mexican nationality, and three men with no identification. All 18 people aboard the two boats were taken into custody by the Coast Guard and transferred to U.S. Border Patrol personnel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The man accused of firebombing Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's house over the weekend had struggled in recent years with problems in his home life as well as issues stemming from covering his home mortgage, according to court records reviewed by ABC News. Cody Allen Balmer was arrested on Sunday for allegedly breaking into the governor's home while he and his family were inside and setting fires with two Molotov cocktails. He was denied bail at his arraignment on Monday. PHOTO: Cody Balmer arrives at court, April 14, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (ABC News) Before he was arrested and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated arson and terrorism in the attack on the governor's mansion, Balmer was already due in court this coming Wednesday on charges stemming from the domestic assault allegations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Balmer, 38, had grappled with a protracted back-and-forth over foreclosure proceedings, and allegations that he assaulted his then-wife and children amid what he told police was his failed attempt at suicide. He had worked as an auto mechanic in the Harrisburg area and served eight years as an Army Reservist from his late teen years onward. U.S. Army Spokeswoman Heather J. Hagan said in a statement that Balmer was a construction equipment repairer (62B) in the Army Reserve from April 2004 to June 2012. He had no deployments. He was a sergeant when he left the Army. The Service declined to say whether he had been discharged honorably, citing privacy laws. PHOTO: Investigators are on the scene after an overnight fire at the governor's official residence on Sunday, April 13, 2025 in Harrisburg, Pa. (Marc Levy/AP) MORE: Arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's residence was 'domestic terrorism': Fire chief In 2022, Balmer was sued by a mortgage lender seeking to foreclose on his Harrisburg house. By June 2024, he owed nearly $117,000 plus interest. A sheriffs sale had been set, but Balmer's lawyer asked that the sale be postponed, saying Balmer had found it harder to make ends meet because of bad luck and marital strife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Balmer had "fallen behind in his mortgage due to several hardship factors, including injuries from an auto accident leading to his inability to work and maintain an income and a separation from his wife," his lawyer said in court documents. Still, he had just found a buyer despite "numerous issues in and with the property" and needed time to finish the sale. The case was dismissed in Jan. 2025 as the parties had "resolved" the matter. At the same time, he had an escalating and allegedly violent situation at home, court documents show. PHOTO: Damage is seen after a fire at the Pennsylvania governor's mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP) In late Jan. 2023, local police were called to a home in the Harrisburg area for what was characterized in court documents as an "active physical domestic" incident. "A child caller advised his stepfather was beating his mother," the responding officer's affidavit said. The officer responded and outside the home met Balmer's then-wife "in an elevated state, yelling and crying about her husband, Cody Balmer, having assaulted her." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Cody was still inside the residence," the officer said. Balmer told the officer "that he had taken a bottle full of pills in an attempt to kill himself," the affidavit said. "An argument ensued between Cody and [his wife] to a point that his 13-year-old son" had "stepped in between them. Cody then admitted to shoving his son and that a fight ensued between all parties. Cody showcased injuries to his face." Balmer had hit his 10-year-old son "in the chest and stepped on his broken leg in the midst of a scuffle with the victim and two others," and had hit his 13-year-old son and his wife "with closed fists, and bit his wife causing a puncture wound on her hand," according to the criminal complaint. PHOTO: Booking photo of arson suspect, Cody Balmer. (Dauphin County District Attorney) A $5,000 unsecured bail was set for Balmer, according to a criminal docket. The document says this was "to make [it] easier to co-parent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Pennsylvania, defendants given an unsecured bail do not have to post any money upfront but must agree to pay the stated bail amount should they not show up for court or violate bail conditions, according to state law. The assault case is still pending in Dauphin County. A separate criminal docket states that a hearing in that case was scheduled for this coming Wednesday. Available court documents did not indicate whether he had entered a plea in the domestic assault case. His estranged wife and public defender did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment. PHOTO: Damage is seen after a fire at the Pennsylvania governor's mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP) Balmer was also previously accused of forgery. Court records show he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of probation. Balmer's estranged wife's aunt told ABC News over the phone that she had only met him "a couple of times" but that "he seemed nice." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He was a little quiet, just, a little laid back, but he seemed nice," Aunt Janel Jones said. She had heard of the arson attack of which Balmer is now accused -- a "shock" to her, she said. "It's a shock. To me, it's a shock. But you never know - I wasn't around him 24/7 either. The only person that could give you, like, a better understanding of him would be my niece, his wife," Jones said, adding her niece has two daughters with Balmer. "So that's -- this is crazy. This is really crazy," Jones said. MORE: Man charged for arson attacks at Tesla dealership, New Mexico GOP office A Facebook profile being reviewed by law enforcement in connection to Balmer reflects a mix of family photos with what appeared to be an expression of disdain for politicians on both sides of the aisle. His pictures include selfies with small kids wearing costumes, and other posts include critiques of both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden, the latter of whom he criticized for his age and his economic policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Balmer also made numerous posts complaining about the high cost of living in the United States. In Nov. 2022, he posted, "Can't pay rent? Sell your f**** organs! No more organs? F**** die then this is America be grateful for the opportunity you had." In a 2022 post, Balmer shared an image of an embroidered flaming Molotov cocktail, with the inscription: "Be the light you want to see in the world." Who is Cody Allen Balmer? Suspect accused of arson attack on Gov. Shapiro's home originally appeared on abcnews.go.com ALBANY Yes, the Southwest Georgia Regional Job Fair Thursday is a high-priority event for the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission and its partners. But for EDC Director of Business Relations Marvin Oliver, the activities leading up to the job fair at the Albany Civic Center and the event itself are only a large piece of an ongoing puzzle. This is not just about numbers or even jobs that are available, Oliver said of the event that is expected to attract as many as 1,400 job-seekers. Its about a community working together to address one of its major concerns: poverty. There are a number of great needs in our community, and a lot of them relate to joblessness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, the primary approach organizations in communities like ours seem to take is one of addressing individual resources. Everyone works in a silo. What I hope we can do with this job fair and continue to do afterwards is collaborate. Instead of everyone doing his own thing and, often, its the same thing we can work together, pool our resources and take a more collaborative approach. The Sherwood Baptist Church Hope Center is one of the job fair sponsors that is taking Olivers concern to heart. The Hope Center has offered a pair of resume workshops at no cost and will offer one more on Tuesday at 6 p.m. leading up to the job fair. The workshop gives potential participants an opportunity to interact with employees at the job fair with a leg-up. This (resume workshop) is one of several ministries offered by Sherwood, Hope Center Director Matt Nowicki said before the start of Fridays workshop. It offers job-seekers an opportunity to present themselves in a way that will help them in their efforts to find a job. We work well with the Economic Development Commission not just to help potential applicants with resume building but also on how the potential employees should present themselves, how to dress, on down to the finer points like how to shake hands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sherwood member and volunteer Phyllis Rolle said the three workshops leading up to Thursdays job fair are part of an ongoing project undertaken by the Hope Center. Wed actually had a workshop back before Hurricane Helene and had a good turnout for that session, Rolle said. The whole program stems from the large number of individuals in the area who are not prepared for this challenge. Yes, we offer to help them build a resume how to format it, what to put in it but we also work with them to build the skills needed to complete a successful interview. Albany resident James Robinson III, who is studying IT at Georgia Tech, came to Fridays workshop to help prepare for the job fair. He said hell use the workshop to hone his resume as he searches for a job in his specialty area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im either going to return to school full-time or find a part- or full-time job in my area, Robinson said. I recently moved back to Albany, and Im looking for a job right now. I want to find something in data analysis, software engineering, information technology, artificial intelligence, robotics. Robinson and other job-seekers should find plenty of opportunities at the job fair. Oliver said 38 employers already had signed up to be a part of the event, and he expects that number to grow to between 50 and 60 by Thursday. Among the businesses and agencies represented at the job fair are the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force, Sunnyland Farms, MolsonCoors, Tyson Foods, Albany State University, the city of Albanys HR Department, the Albany Area YMCA, Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Service and the Albany Police Department. Oliver said the events itinerary is planned to help in a couple of vital areas: resume building and giving special attention to the needs of veterans. A resume-building opportunity will be held from 2-4 p.m., and veteran job-seekers will be allowed in from 3-4 p.m., giving them an hours head start before the general public is allowed in at 4 p.m. Having the resume workshop beforehand helps keep things from getting overwhelming, the EDC director of business relations said. A large number of people come in needing help with their resume or with no resume at all, and that certainly hurts their chances of getting a job. We feel that helping these folks is an important part of the event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We also want to make sure we dont deter our veterans, who have served our country. Allowing them to go into the job fair first is our way of honoring them. We want them to know that they dont have to feel concerned about what we expect to be a large crowd. Well make sure they get first opportunity to talk with employers. Oliver said events like the job fair help the community attack poverty, one job at a time. Yes, this event allows job-seekers an opportunity to talk with employers who are hiring, he said. But its not just about the job fair. This is about building collaborations that continue to offer opportunities as we continue into the future. When William Muse served in the Gulf War, his step brother, Andre Lamar had been murdered in Tacoma. Crime was high in the city and so was resistance to police from his community. These were some of the reasons that prompted him to decide to join the Tacoma Police Department. Muse told The News Tribune that at one point his grandfather, an activist during the Civil Rights Movement in Tacoma, wanted to become a police officer, but believed he wasnt allowed to because of his skin color. Now, 31 years after Muse himself joined in 1995, he has gone through the ranks from being a police officer to a member of the SWAT team and a detective. Detective William Muse, Tacoma Police Department Public Information Officer, gies and update and brief during a press conference on the stabbing that took place on Feb. 10 at Point Defiance Park, at Tacoma Police Department headquarters, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. Brian Hayes/bhayes@thenewstribune.com For me, it wasnt because I looked up one day and I saw an African American police officer and said Im gonna be like that guy, he told The News Tribune in an interview. For me, it was the fact that I saw somebody in uniform, a person of color, help out my family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muse said before applying to the department, he saw his family members and community not having faith in law enforcement. I was asking myself, what can we do to change that? He said. After Muse told his family and friends that he wanted to become a police officer, he received more resistance than praise. When I first expressed interest in becoming a law enforcement officer, a lot of people in the African American community would challenge me and say, why would you want to do that? Thats a racist organization, he said. Muses response to members of his community was that if they believe police departments are racist organizations, they could join to change that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My childhood growing up, law enforcement came into my home, and they were of help to my family members, he said. I wanted to be a part of that. I saw that as the biggest mechanism to help make changes in our town. Only a few officers were minorities when Muse first joined TPD. The numbers have gone up and down over the years. The vast majority of us in the police department arent looking at color. We work with each other, we have a common job, he said. TPD has added more nonwhite officers since the start of 2020, and they reduced their proportions of white officers, according to public records analyzed by The News Tribune. The police department in 2024 trickled down to 74.27 percent white, about 15 percent whiter than the citys population that year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muse said he sees having a diverse law enforcement community as important, whether it is hiring people of different ethnic backgrounds, religions or other facets of their identity that make them unique. In the past, he has been able to recruit some people of color to join. At other times, he would speak to people of color about joining TPD, but they would resist, saying they did not want to arrest their friends. So theres this stigma there, that if youre a minority or a person of color that it felt like youre more inclined to commit crimes. And if youre a police officer, youre more inclined to arrest people of color because people of color commit harm, which is totally wrong, he said. Muse and other members of the department have traveled to military installations or historically black colleges to recruit people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only thing we cant do is force people to join, he said. People just have to apply. People actually have to want to join. At some point in time, Muse said his career will come to an end and he hopes that what hes done at the department has made an impact, whether it is on victims of the crimes he has investigated, or if he inspired someone to join law enforcement because they saw a Black officer. I didnt get here because of my color, my color inspired me to get here, he said. Mohsen Mahdawi walked out in handcuffs shortly after arriving for a citizenship interview inside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service office in Vermont. Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident who has held a green card for at least 10 years, was anticipating a scheduled interview in Colchester as part of his citizenship process on Monday. Instead, hooded federal agents walked him into a car and drove off. Born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, where he lived until moving to the United States in 2014, Mahdawi is among the latest Columbia University student activists marked for removal by Donald Trumps administration for their Palestinian advocacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal judge on Monday swiftly granted a temporary restraining order blocking his removal from the state after Mahdawis attorneys filed a petition with the court challenging his arrest and detention. He remains in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the agencys inmate locator. Members of Vermonts congressional delegation called his arrest immoral, inhumane and illegal and demanded his immediate release from detention. Mahdawi walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process, they wrote. Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered, lawmakers added. These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him. This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention. An image taken from a video by Christopher Helali and provided to the Associated Press shows Mohsen Mahdawi being escorted out of a federal building by federal agents on March 14 (AP) Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked hundreds of student visas over campus activism, leading to several high-profile arrests of international scholars who are now awaiting deportation hearings in remote jails across the southern United States while the administration conflates protests against Israels war in Gaza with antisemitic violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After taking office, Trump signed an executive order that declares U.S. policy is to ensure noncitizens do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security. Another executive order pledges immediate action to investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities with a promise to deport Hamas sympathizers and revoke student visas, according to a fact sheet from the White House. Mahdawis petition in federal court states that it appears he was similarly targeted for removal from the country under the Trump administrations determination that there is reasonable ground to believe his presence would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. That language has also been used to target Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian student activist from Columbia. Public statements by government officials, including statements by the President and Secretary of State, establish that [the administration] detained Mr. Mahdawi to punish and silence him because of his constitutionally protected speech, beliefs, statements and associations, his attorneys wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahdawis attorneys contend that his arrest violates his First and Fifth Amendment rights. Mr. Mahdawi is fearful that, if he loses his lawful permanent resident status and he is removed to the West Bank, he will experience the same harassment, detention, and torture that his family has experienced, and would be in even more danger in light of the campaigns that have targeted and spread lies about him, his attorneys wrote. Demonstrators gathered in Times Square on April 12 demanded the release of Columbia University student activist and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil (Getty Images) Like Khalil, Mahdawi was among the prominent faces of Columbias student-led campus demonstrations against Israels campaign in Gaza, making him a prime target for far-right pro-Israel activist groups that have shared information about student activists with federal law enforcement. At Columbia, where he enrolled in 2021, Mahdawi helped organize the Palestinian Student Union (Dar) with Khalil. His attorneys describe him as a committed Buddhist who believes in non-violence and empathy as a central tenet of his religion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahdawi was featured in a segment on campus protest for 60 Minutes on CBS News in December 2023, during which he described how he confronted an agitator who shouted antisemitic chants. I was shocked, and I walked directly to the person, and I told him, 'You don't represent us,' because this is not something that we agree with, he said. To be antisemitic is unjust, and the fight for the freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand in hand, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Last week, Louisiana immigration court judge Jamee Comans determined that the Trump administration can deport Khalil for his involvement in campus demonstrations. The administrations claims that Khalil poses adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is facially reasonable, the judge said. Khalil is also challenging the constitutionality of his arrest and detention in a federal courtroom in New Jersey, where his attorneys successfully moved jurisdiction to handle a legal challenge to his arrest. Immigration authorities detained another Columbia University student in direct retaliation for his participation in protests against the Israel-Gaza war, his lawyer said Monday. Mohsen Mahdawi, who was born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank and is a U.S. permanent resident, was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security during his naturalization interview in Vermont on Monday, the lawyer, Luna Droubi, said in a filing. Mahdawi was detained amid a widening and unprecedented crackdown on foreign students. Video posted by a Vermont lawmaker showed three officers, two of whom were masked, escorting Mahdawi in handcuffs to an SUV. Authorities escort Mohsen Mahdawi in Colchester, Vt., on Monday. Andrew Delaney, another one of his attorneys, said Mahdawi is being held in Vermont. A petition challenging his detention says it appears he was taken into custody for deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal judge temporarily blocked his removal Monday. In a joint statement, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., called Mahdawi's detention "immoral, inhumane and illegal." "Earlier today, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process," they said. "Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered. These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him." "Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention," they added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security referred NBC News to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Citing federal privacy law, a Columbia spokesperson declined to comment. Mahdawi was detained days after an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Columbia student and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil can be deported even though a federal judge in New Jersey has barred his deportation while he challenges his detention in that state. Federal officials have accused Khalil, who led students protests at Columbia, of supporting terrorists and harassing people based on their faith. The White House and federal officials have cited a rarely used provision in immigration law that allows them to "remove aliens who pose serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plainclothes agents detained a student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Ozturk, after she wrote an opinion piece in her school newspaper criticizing the school's response to the war in Gaza, according to her lawyers. Federal officials said last month that hundreds of student visas have been revoked amid the unprecedented crackdown. An NBC News analysis has found that the students, many of whom are Middle Eastern, are from at least 29 states. According to a temporary restraining order Droubi filed for Monday, Mahdawi moved to the United States in 2014. The filing describes him as an outspoken critic of Israel's military campaign who helped organized protests at Columbia University until March 2024, when he stepped back. Mahdawi recently attended Columbia and planned to return to the school in the fall for a master's degree, according to filing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CORRECTION (April 15, 9:24 a.m. ET): A headline in a previous version of this article misstated when Mahdawi was detained. It was during a naturalization interview, not a ceremony. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com MANILA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached 3.02 billion U.S. dollars in February, 2.6 percent higher than the 2.95 billion dollars recorded in February 2024, the Philippine central bank said Tuesday. The bank said the remittance increase was observed from land- and sea-based workers. Correspondingly, the bank said the cumulative remittances reached 6.27 billion dollars from January to February, 2.7 percent higher than the 6.10 billion dollars recorded in the same period of 2024. The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates mainly contributed to the increase in remittances in January-February 2025, the bank added. With an estimated 10 million Filipinos living or working overseas, personal remittances remain vital to the country's foreign exchange source. According to the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines is among the top 10 global recipients of remittances. Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, who was arrested by immigration authorities Monday, was taking the last step in the process for him to become a U.S. citizen, his attorney told ABC News. Mahdawi, a permanent United States resident, was arrested during his naturalization interview and detained in Vermont, Luna Droubi, one of his attorneys, told ABC News. "It was the last stage, the last hurdle for him," Droubi said. "What he wanted was to become a US citizen, and attended this naturalization with that hope." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge William Sessions subsequently granted Mahdawi's attorneys a temporary restraining order barring the government from moving Mahdawi out of the District of Vermont "pending further order" from the court. Mahdawi, who founded a university organization called the Palestinian Student Union with Mahmoud Khalil, was an activist in student protests on Columbia's campus until March 2024, according to a habeas petition obtained by ABC News. PHOTO: Columbia student and Palestinian Mohsen Madawi was just arrested during a visit to the immigration office here in Colchester, VT, April 14, 2025. (Christopher Helali) "He advocated on behalf of his people," Droubi said. "He had moments where he spoke out and that is the extent of his participation." Droubi said Mahdawi was detained "solely on his first amendment rights." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He's being detained based solely on his first amendment rights -- his speech," Droubi told ABC News. "That's a violation of the law, that's a violation of the Constitution, and he should be released immediately as a result of the detention." Droubi said "there was a smear campaign against Mahdawi" on social media. MORE: Judge rules Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported "They were all non-governmental actors," Droubi said. "So the reality is the government has not provided any evidence to justify his detention by government agents." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Droubi said she has requested that Mahdawi be released on bail. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement referred ABC News to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a court filing in Khalil's immigration case, DHS submitted a two-page memo from Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserting that the law gives him the power to determine a person is deportable even if their actions are "otherwise lawful." Rubio wrote that Khalil should be deported because of his alleged role in "antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States." Columbia student arrested by ICE was one step from citizenship, lawyer says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A glum Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was ushered into the Oval Office as President Trump signed "outrageous" executive orders on April 9, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images) Kudos to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She managed to generate the most negatively iconic photo of a Democrat since Michael Dukakis wore a helmet atop a tank . Whitmer, long considered a promising presidential prospect by Democratic insiders, was at the White House to discuss state business. But when President Trumps aides whisked her into the Oval Office, it was not for the planned one-on-one with the president, but for a photo op during which Trump signed (outrageous) executive orders targeting two perceived political enemies for criminal investigation. Realizing that she was in a political tiger pit, Whitmer opted for the Ostrich Maneuver. Lacking sand to stick her head in, she hid her face behind some binders. The photo perfectly encapsulates Democratic dysfunction. Her White House visit was wholly defensible, but because she was in the room when Trump was doing something indefensible, shes being vilified by her own side for enabling Trump, generating more Dems in disarray drama in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Column: Markets to GOP: We won't save you from Trump's folly Of course, the Dems really are in disarray. If you just go by the topline 2024 presidential election returns, its not obvious they should be. Kamala Harris lost by 1.48% of the popular vote, the fifth closest election since 1900. And yet, Democrats are a mess. In March, the party hit its all-time low in popularity . Last week a bad week for Trump Quinnipiac released a poll finding that voters are evenly split 33% to 33% on the question of which party cares more about them and their problems. Democrats had led on that question by double digits, going back to 1994. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This to me is the most shocking pieces of poll data that I truthfully have seen this year, maybe in any prior year, CNNs polling guru Harry Enten exclaimed. Read more: Column: What will Trump's tariffs 'liberate' us from? The main driver of the Democrats' plight is that the party that likes to see itself as the party of the little guy is perceived, not inaccurately, as the party of urban and coastal elites by the largest chunk of the electorate: white voters without a college degree. More broadly, voters remain profoundly distrustful of elite institutions, and progressives have dominated most of those institutions for decades. What the Democrats can do to fix themselves and voters perception is the subject of intense internal debate. At least four options have emerged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first is to replay the resist! theatrics of the first Trump term. The second is the Fight the Oligarchy! tour headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, which made a splash in California over the weekend. Both approaches are psychologically appealing to Democrats because they require no philosophical introspection or political self-correction. Not so Option 3. Abundance is the buzzword and book title for a technocratic theory of supply-side liberalism that seeks to clear away the red tape and interest-group NIMBYism standing in the way of government planners who want to expedite the delivery of public services housing, high speed rail, etc. Read more: Column: Congress wants to impeach judges instead of doing its job This course has the most to recommend it. But it has three political weaknesses. First, the bureaucratic bottlenecks that the abundance Dems want to circumvent are closely guarded by progressive constituencies. If you want to bulldoze through the Clean Water or Endangered Species acts, you wont be picking fights with a lot of Republicans. Youll be antagonizing well-heeled Democrats and a liberal-dominated media that reflexively casts such efforts in a negative light. Second, national Democrats are powerless in the Republican-controlled House and Senate. So absent a truly courageous governor, they cant demonstrate the efficacy of their ideas. Last, it essentially represents a bunch of elite eggheads saying trust us, were different now when no one trusts them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ironically, the fourth option is symbolically close to what Whitmer did: Hide. Or, as James Carville puts it , Play dead. Keep your head down and powder dry while Trump self-immolates. I think this is, by far, the wisest course in the short term. Trumps approval, most notably on the economy , is plummeting . A majority 54% of Americans think Trumps policies are responsible for the state of the economy. If trends continue Trump will lose support from the groups that believed he could deliver on his economic promises. The problem is the long term. Our politics are broken because both parties have given up on the idea of being majority parties. When out of power, they rely on turning out their bases and the unpopularity of their incumbent opponents to squeak out narrow victories, only to squander power on fan service to their bases once elected. This cycle can be broken only by a party that, when elected, opts to build a majority from the center-out. I see no sign of that happening anytime soon. @JonahDispatch 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. SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The 2025 commercial salmon fishing season in California will be closed for an unprecedented third year running, and sportfishing will be restricted to only a few days due to dwindling numbers of fish, fishing regulators voted Tuesday. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which manages West Coast fisheries, warned earlier this year there would be limited salmon fishing this year in California, if at all, because of a predicted low number of fall-run Chinook salmon, often known as king salmon, in the Sacramento River. This closed commercial and token recreational fishing season is a human tragedy, as well as an economic and environmental disaster, Scott Artis, executive director of Golden State Salmon Association, said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salmon fishing is wildly popular in California but has been off limits for the past two years to commercial and recreational fishing due to dwindling stocks. People who commercially fish blame the issue on a years-earlier drought that walloped waterways, as well as state and federal water management policies they say have made it tough for the species to thrive. Sacramento River fall-run Chinook, historically the largest contributor to the ocean salmon harvest off California and Oregon, have experienced dramatic declines over the last five years, according to the association. The Pacific Fishery Management Council has also voted to highly curtail the commercial salmon fishing season in Oregon this year, the association said. Salmon must swim upstream to lay their eggs, and young fish then make their way out to the ocean through waterways that wind through the state. That's done more easily when cool water flows are abundant. Agricultural water diversions described as excessive by anglers led to warm river temperatures and low flows when baby salmon were trying to make it from their spawning beds to the ocean. The closure comes a few months after President Donald Trump ordered officials to find ways to put people over fish and route more water to farmers in Californias fertile Central Valley and residents of its densely populated cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ongoing battle over where to route the water and how much tends to pit California environmental groups and anglers against the states farm industry, which produces much of the countrys fresh fruit, nuts and vegetables. Trump contends too much water is being used to protect the tiny delta smelt, a federally threatened species seen as an indicator of the health of the Sacramento- San Joaquin River Delta, but salmon rely on the same water for their survival. Californias salmon fishing industry includes commercial fleets and charters that take anglers out for recreation. Commercial fleets have been especially hard hit by the closures. Earlier this year, there were fewer than 900 permits for commercial salmon fishing in the state compared to 1,200 in 2010, according to Dock Street Brokers. Recreational fishing charters have also been hit by the closures and have been devoting their boats to activities ranging from party tours to ash scatterings to stay afloat. Both have also been fishing for other species but say anglers and markets aren't as interested in halibut or cod as they would be in salmon. Montana State Hospital. Credit Keith Schubert Admonishing the Montana Legislature for being the enabler of a pampered and dysfunctional health department, Rep. John Fitzpatrick said Monday its time to break up the largest bureaucracy in the state. The Republican from Anaconda said legislators have been forking over tens of millions of dollars to the Department of Public Health and Human Services and excusing it from accountability, and its time for a structural change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The problem with DPHHS is its too big, its inefficient, and the service quality declines, Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick made his remarks in support of House Bill 851, which he said would transfer administration of state healthcare institutions and community-based programs to a new department of health services. But his arguments didnt fly with the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee, which unanimously tabled his bill the same day. The health department has experienced major and high-profile challenges, most notably the Montana State Hospitals loss of federal funds and decertification by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, during the hearing, members of the health community said the department is making progress, and a change would disrupt that trajectory. Douglas Harrington, state medical officer, said in testimony regarding the confirmation of the health department director, Charlie Brereton, nearly 50 different groups expressed support not only for the director but for the path on which he has set the agency. Additionally, Harrington said all seven health department facilities have stable leadership. For the first time in years, nursing vacancies have been reduced by 30%, and the agency is recruiting roughly one new nurse a week, he said. Except for one-on-one visits, he said patient costs are down 25%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill is highly problematic for us at a time when significant momentum has been achieved, Harrington said. The health department annual plan for the current fiscal year which ends June 30 said the agency aims to implement 100% of required CMS recertification reforms at the state hospital in Warm Springs. DPHHS did not respond to a question about whether the hospital will reach that goal this year. Echoing the comments from many opponents of the bill, Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, said the idea to split the agency is so massive, it would need to be studied first. Additionally, Glimm said, the state is starting to see positive results. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frankly, I think if you rip it in two right now, I think that starts to tear apart some of the effect of what we have going on there, Glimm said. Sen. Daniel Emrich, R-Great Falls, said he agreed. Emrich said the bill wasnt fully baked, essentially directing the governor to issue executive orders to finish it, and he moved to table it, which the committee supported on an 11-0 vote. Even if legislators resurrect the bill, it may meet a hurdle in the Governors Office. At a press conference last week, Gov. Greg Gianforte said he would not comment on the specific bill, but he said generally, his administration is opposed to bigger government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said splitting up an agency means two separate executive teams and potential silos that would make government less efficient. Those are principles that matter to our administration, Gianforte said. The House had supported the bill on an 82-15 vote, and Fitzpatrick was unrelenting in his criticism of the agency in committee. He said the state hospital is not in his district, but its close, and he gets frequent complaints about it. Fitzpatrick also said the health department has spent profligately because it has failed to properly recruit, and legislators have been complicit in shoveling the publics money out like water going over the dam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DPHHS has burned through $71 million to pay for traveling health care staff, Fitzpatrick said. Thats $97,000 a day. Most of the people who testified, though, said the bill would have negative consequences for the people the department is serving, although some said they appreciated the sponsors hunt for efficiencies and his care for Montanans. Kali Wicks, with national mental health advocacy organization Inseparable, thanked Fitzpatrick for his interest in the topic, but said the bill had the potential to stop progress in its tracks and create some issues with continuity of care. Wicks agreed it might be time for a study bill if time allowed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Chavers, representing the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch and the Behavioral Health Alliance of Montana, said change is hard, and progress in public systems can feel painfully slow, but HB 851 would derail momentum. We must oppose this bill, not because were resistant to reform, but because we started to see the fruits of our hard work, Chavers said. The agencys chief legal counsel, Paula Stannard, said the bill could raise a significant legal issue depending on the way Montana broke up the department. Stannard said federal rules require a single state agency to administer the state Medicaid plan, and a split could risk federal funds if it created separate points of contact. Counterfeit forms of weight loss and diabetes drugs are endangering consumers, and Oklahoma General Attorney Gentner Drummond wants to take action against what he calls "bad actors" in the distribution. Drummond stated in a Feb. 26 letter to the Food and Drug Administration, signed by 37 other state and territory attorneys general, that states need help to intercept these "unsafe drugs" before they reach consumers. Referred to as GLP-1 drugs, the FDA posted concerns on the compounding of these drugs, and that they may be unsafe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "A compounded drug might be appropriate if a patients medical need cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug, or the FDA-approved drug is not commercially available," states the FDA site in an article titled, "FDAs Concerns with Unapproved GLP-1 Drugs Used for Weight Loss." "However, compounded drugs are not FDA-approved. This means the agency does not review compounded drugs for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed." The agency has identified some areas of concern for compounded GLP-1 drugs. The FDA is working with its state regulatory partners and will continue to communicate with compounders regarding these concerns, states the article. Local pharmacist Shanon Gower, co-owner of Tahlequah Drug Co., has a compounding lab. She spoke to the questions raised by Drummond's concerns on counterfeit drugs. Gower said she does not do "sterile compounding," so she doesn't compound semaglutide or tirzepatide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The issue is that the companies for Mounjaro and Ozempic own the patent of the chemical structure of Ozempic and semaglutide," Gower said. "This is different than owning a patent of a drug they actually own the patent of the chemical structure." That makes it illegal, after the emergency approval to compounding facilities expired, to purchase the powders the chemical from secondary entities to compound the drug. "It is legal to purchase the Mounjaro and Ozempic, which is available on the market from Big Pharma, and dilute for a lower dose titration, but it will not be cost-effective," Gower said. "So they are saying we don't care if you buy our product and then compound it to different strengths, but you can't buy the powder from other places because it's illegal for them to have it because they have the patent on that chemical structure." She said the pharmacy was able to sell tirzepatide the generic for Mounjaro and Zepbound until March 19. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The stop date for the semaglutide, which is Ozempic or Wegovy we can sell until May 22," Gower said. "Legally we can sell the compounded versions until those two dates." After those dates, pharmacies can only sell it as Mounjaro, Zepbound tirzepatide products, or Wegovy or Ozempic - semaglutide products. "We can buy the Ribelsus capsules, which is semaglutide, and we can compound those into sublingual [under the tongue], and that's legal," Gower said. "So it's not that it's not going to be on the market; it's just not available as an injectable on the market, and won't be as cost-effective or as efficacious, as far as results go." Program instructor Teresa Foster teaches a compounding class in Muskogee at Indian Capital Technology Center. She has worked in pharmacy for 45 years and has taught at ICTC for two semesters, and explained the nature of compounding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There are sterile and nonsterile cremes with compounding," Foster said. "Sterile compounding is IV mixtures, infusions those type of things. Nonsterile compounding is ointments and cremes, anything that is topical." The benefit of compounding is it gives physicians more options with the apothecary-type medications, Foster said. "Like estrogen; you could either take a compounded hormone that is a topical that is less likely to impact your health in a negative way versus taking the pill," Foster said. The medicine is going in your system on a "different route" because it is topical. Most of the hormone medicines are synthetic and made in a lab, and in Foster's opinion, it is healthier than taking the synthetic pill, but the patient is still getting the medication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every compound has to have a base ointment or creme, and you measure out the ingredients of the recipe or drug, and it is either compounded through a spatula and a tray or inside the IV hood," Foster said. IV hoods, or vertical laminar flow hoods, provide a positive pressure enclosure to protect the product and users from cross-contamination of airborne contaminants. At ICTC, equipment is limited, and Foster brought in simulation to her teach students. "Simulation is hands-on example of what you would be doing in the real world," Foster said. "My students were able to fill prescriptions. TYhey counted out capsules and had stock bottles that's simulation. When we do our compound lab, they will simulate making an ointment or creme or reconstitution." LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) Louisianas 6th District Representative Cleo Fields is touring his district to meet with constituents, and earlier today, he made a stop in Lafayette. Fields says its important to him to meet the people in his district. People want to talk to their members of Congress, Fields said. I want to talk to them, and I want to hear what they have to say most importantly. Congressman Fields invited the public to attend a town hall meeting he held during his district tour. Fields hosts town meetings to answer questions people may have about the current climate of the state and federal economy. He says some of the things his constituents are concerned about are tariffs, federal cuts and challenges America is facing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre here to talk about all of these federal employees that are being cut from the payroll, talk about education, FEMA and a host of other things, he said. Medicaid in particularI mean, Louisiana is a state that leans very heavily on Medicaid. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest Fields has been touring his district to get input and hear from communities on how to serve them better. He says he thinks its the best way to serve people by finding out what impacts them, and how he can better represent the people of his district. Im here to take questions from members of the community and respond to them and learn what they have to tell me and take it back to Washington to try to represent them adequately, he said. 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. ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (WNCT) Congressman Don Davis held a press conference at Rocky Mount Mills to address rural North Carolinians about how his first one hundred days in office have gone. Davis made it clear that the people of Eastern North Carolina continue to be the priority in his political agenda. He addressed ongoing issues that hes digging into, which includes social security protection, agriculture concerns, and the fentanyl crisis just to name a few. He spoke about positive strides in the administration as well as what continues to need more work. Fentanyl needs to be eliminated, and a key component in doing so, is increasing screening measures at the borders. Along with fentanyl, farming is in a crisis of its own, with areas in the west and east trying to recover from dramatic crop loss last year. Congressman Davis says hes also concerned about funding for a new roof at North Lenoir High School. The Department of Education took away covid funds that were going to help the local district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I just want to be clear, this is no politics, he said. This is simply, we need to tell the story, share the story, you know, so that we can continue to make sure that were doing right by our children and that they have a good environment to learn in. A good environment to learn in is the only thing that were looking for. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) When emergencies like heart attacks happen, medical professionals arent always nearby to help save their lives. Sometimes, it can happen in a restaurant, so the Max Restaurant Group and Hartford HealthCare are teaming up to offer lifesaving training, called Choking, Stop the Bleed and CPR class. I think the audience is asking very good questions I think this is something everybody should take serious because when it happens outside the hospital its those minutes that save lives, explains the programs director Stephen Donahue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hartford HealthCare launches restaurant safety training program Mondays first-of-its-kind training involved Hartford HealthCares Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI) staff showing the Max Restaurant Groups restaurant professionals how to use hands-on CPR to get someones heart pumping again. Restaurant team members also used realistic medical manikins to learn how to safely use an external defibrillator to shock a heart back. They also used special bands to stop the bleeding in an emergency. Having these skills makes it a lot more easy and a lot more applicable versus not having people able to panic and not have anything to do, says Brenden Race, a Hartford Healthcare simulation tech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Workers also learned how to respond to choking and drug overdoses in a quick manner. Hartford Healthcare hopes to train more hospitality workers in the future. We prefer to go to your restaurant to their environment and have them practice in their own environment, says Donahue. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese border officers handled 163 million entries and exits from January to March 2025, marking an increase of 15.3 percent year on year, authorities said on Tuesday. Mainland residents accounted for the majority of cross-border trips, totaling 80.27 million -- a 15.4 percent increase year on year, according to the National Immigration Administration. However, the sharpest growth came from foreign nationals, who made 17.44 million border crossings, up 33.4 percent from the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan made 65.72 million trips, representing an 11.2 percent rise over the previous year, according to the administration. Authorities pledged to implement broader and more substantive measures to enhance communication and exchanges between China and the rest of the world. A Los Angeles consumer group has sued Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to block potential surcharges on home insurance policies statewide as a result of the heavy losses suffered by the California Fair Plan after the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, Consumer Watchdog alleges that Lara violated state law when he reached a deal last year with California's property insurer of last resort that would allow its member insurance companies to charge their policyholders for some of the billions of dollars of Fair Plan losses. The Fair Plan Assn. is run by licensed property and casualty companies to offer insurance to home and business owners who cannot obtain insurance through the commercial market. The insurers backstop its losses and enjoy its profits based on their market share. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We look forward to defending the rights and pocketbooks of Californians and stopping this socialization of Fair Plan losses at the publics expense, while the Fair Plans profits will wholly remain with the insurance companies, Consumer Watchdog staff attorney Ryan Mellino said in a statement. Read more: California's FAIR Plan, the home insurer of last resort, may need a bailout after the L.A. fires Gabriel Sanchez, a spokesman for Lara, said the department could not comment on the lawsuit's allegations but added: "This hurts homeowners, small business and nonprofits who need access to insurance options, while doing nothing to address the insurance crisis. It also serves to undermine our efforts to restore competition to all areas of our state, so people can get off the Fair Plan and back to the regular market. The Fair Plan declined to comment on the lawsuit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Fair Plan has grown rapidly as insurers have pulled out of the state's fire-prone neighborhoods, with its rolls jumping from about 200,000 residential policyholders in 2020 to nearly 560,000 as of March. The Los Angeles-based association of insurers has said it expects losses of $4 billion due to the Jan. 7 fires. A state bill would allow the plan to issue bonds to help cover losses, but last month the plan also received approval from Lara to assess its member companies $1 billion to help pay claims with consumers possibly on the hook for nearly half of that. Last year, Lara reached an agreement with the Fair Plan that would allow losses suffered by the plan that were assessed on its member insurers to be recouped by surcharges on the carriers' statewide residential and commercial insurance policies in an extreme worst case scenario" such as when a disaster caused the plan to run through its reserves, reinsurance and any catastrophe bonds. Read more: L.A. consumer group calls FAIR Plan insurance reforms an industry 'bailout' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Insurers would be required to cover up to $2 billion in FAIR Plan claims $1 billion for residential and $1 billion for commercial claims. They could then temporarily surcharge their own policyholders for half of what they are assessed with Lara's approval. Homeowners would not be surcharged for commercial losses. But the agreement also allows insurers to temporarily surcharge policyholders for 100% of claims in excess of those amounts, with the approval of the insurance commissioner. Consumer Watchdog called the deal an industry "bailout." Denni Ritter, vice president for state government relations for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association trade group, called the lawsuit a "reckless and self-serving stunt that threatens to ... harm the consumers Consumer Watchdog purports to represent" by pushing the state's "fragile insurance market closer to total collapse." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Jan. 7 wildfires damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 homes, businesses and other structures, killing at least 30 people. The Fair Plan said the $4 billion in losses caused by the Palisades and Eaton fires, as well as the Hurst fire in the Sylmar area, wiped out its reserves and $5.78 billion in reinsurance which includes a $900-million deductible and co-payments that raise the plans cash payouts to $3.5 billion. Lara's decision on Feb. 11 to allow the plan to assess its member carriers for $1 billion in losses did not allow them to immediately surcharge their own customers. Lara must approve the surcharges separately. The lawsuit estimates the surcharges could run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars and seeks a court order to stop that. Read more: FAIR Plan to assess insurers $1 billion for L.A. fires; consumers may be on the hook for nearly half Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consumer Watchdog alleged in its lawsuit that Lara's actions violated state law because nothing in the 1968 statute that created the Fair Plan contemplated such an assessment on policyholders. It also alleged Lara violated state law by approving the assessment policy via "admistrative fiat" rather through the proper rule-making procedure. Lara implemented the new Fair Plan policy last year as part of his Sustainable Insurance Strategy, which seeks to reduce the plan's rolls by giving insurers several policy concessions in the hopes they will write more policies in fire-prone neighborhoods. Read more: Ten victims of the Jan. 7 fires sue the California Fair Plan over smoke damages Those concessions include allowing them to charge policyholders for the cost of reinsurance they buy to protect themselves from catastrophes. Consumer Watchdog contends in its lawsuit that allowing policyholder surcharges will not give insurers more incentive to write more policies in risky neighborhoods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The consumer group's legal action is only the latest lawsuit involving the Fair Plan. Last week, 10 plan policyholders in the Palisades and Eaton fire zones filed a tort claim against the plan, accusing it of failing to investigate or properly compensate for smoke damages. Prior lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles and statewide with similar smoke-damage claims against the plan. 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. Its time for Democrats to end the circular firing squad between moderates and progressives. Each side blames the other for Trumps win in 2024, with each urging the other to adopt its diagnosis of what went wrong and give in to its vision of the path forward. Both sides need to change and the key is to understand not just the economic but also the cultural dimensions of politics. Economics first. Moderates now acknowledge that neo-liberal policies like free trade during the Clinton and Obama eras opened the door to far-right populism by robbing generations of Americans of the dream the implicit promise of doing better than their parents. Assumptions that free markets would raise all boats led Democrats to shift away from support for unions and good blue-collar jobs to a focus on global trade and cheap consumer goods. The subsequent hollowing-out of American industry led to the anger that fuels the far right. Im not a Donald Trump fan, but I do credit him with smashing the neo-liberal consensus, shifting to an intense (though probably ineffectual) focus on bringing back good American jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hats off to moderate Democrats who now join progressives in centering the way our economy is rigged in their analysis of whats wrong with America today. This new economic consensus among Democrats represents real progress. But its not enough. Trump won two elections not just because he gave voice to economic frustrations but also because he understands the cultural dimension of contemporary politics. He gets us, said a 2024 Trump voter. Like other populist figures, Trump connects culturally with the middle-status voters in routine jobs who delivered far-right victories in both Europe and the U.S. Democrats need to rival Trumps cultural competence at connecting with the working class, which will require changes from progressives. Immigration, which has been a defining issue of every successful far-right movement offers a perfect example of the political power of class-based cultural preferences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Working-class voters respond to arguments about protecting America from foreign invaders because being American is blue-collar peoples strongest boast; its the source of their status, so they like politicians who emphasize it. A 2020 poll found that being American was an important part of the identity of 79% of Americans with (at most) high school degrees, but only 43% of predominantly college-educated progressive activists. The college-educated, in contrast, prefer to stress their top-of-the-heap membership in a globalized elite. Working-class voters also define their communities geographically, where they have networks based on neighborhood and kinship. By contrast, the Brahmin Left (to use Thomas Pikettys term) see themselves as part of an international community characterized by feeling rules that mandate empathy for immigrants and racial minorities but less often for class-disadvantaged citizens of their own countries. Peoples values reflect their lives, and their lives reflect their privilege or lack of it. This is a message progressives, with their acuity about racial and gender privilege, should be able to hear. It could help them come to terms with an uncomfortable fact: Non-college voters of every racial group are less liberal than college grads of the same group. But moderates need to expand their cultural awareness too. When moderates like commentator Ruy Teixeira and the advocacy group Third Way argue that Democrats should throw identity politics under the bus and abandon their strong views on trans rights and climate change, they too are overlooking the cultural dimension of contemporary politics. Just as members of the Brahmin Left need to acknowledge that the logic of their lives differs from the logic of working-class lives, moderates need to acknowledge that progressives wont just give in on issues like climate change. Those issues are deeply etched into progressives identities: The Brahmin Left is truly worried about the end of the world, even as non-elites are more concerned about the end of the month. Whats the way forward? For guidance, Democrats should recall how they won an important victory: same-sex marriage. At first, leaders of the gay rights movement werent that interested in marriage, said Matt Coles, who led the ACLUs Center for Equality. But then they listened to other LGBTQ+ people and recognized that those who wanted to get married were not doctors and lawyers; they were ordinary, average people. Coles reflected: I looked at their faces and said to myself, I get it now. Its the prom and the wedding ceremony and everything rolled into one. Understanding that quintessentially working-class aspiration to enjoy the social honor and the stability offered by marriage drove the gay equality movement to success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a lot of talk about Democrats need for better messaging. Thats too superficial. Coles and his gay rights colleagues did change their messaging to one that resonated with the working class but they also changed priorities. They didnt abandon their vision of full LGBTQ+ rights, but they did shift tactics to engage a wider range of people. Democrats, thats the path forward. Moderates and progressives need to be open to changing both messaging and tactics by developing the cultural competence to connect respectfully with non-college voters. Joan C. Williams is director of the Equality Action Center at UC Law San Francisco and the author of White Working Class and the forthcoming Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back. 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. On March 25, representatives of six Southwestern tribes announced the formation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition. They are following the model of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition , the moral force behind the 2016 establishment of Utahs Bears Ears National Monument. This elevation of Indigenous voices in land management signals a cultural shift in America and its a transformation worth celebrating in this dark time. These Native people including the Hopi Tribe, the Navajo Nation, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the Zuni Tribe all have ancestral connections to this vast southern Utah monument designated by President Clinton in 1996. Indigenous groups have unique and authoritative standing to advocate for the conservation of these aboriginal lands and to work with federal agencies as co-stewards, preserving sensitive monument resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Contributor: What happens when Washington runs amok? Ask a Native American The Grand Staircase Coalition is launching just in time to defend this particular landscape from any attempts by the Trump administration to modify the monuments boundaries or reduce its protections. On Feb. 3, Trumps secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, issued orders unleashing American energy and mandating a review of public lands where energy development is forbidden, such as Bears Ears and Grand Staircase. Tribes carry an invaluable treasure of traditional knowledge about these lands, meticulously passed down through generations, Anthony Sanchez Jr., head councilman of the Zuni Tribe, said in a statement announcing the coalitions formation. Indigenous perspectives illuminate the intricate interconnectedness of ecosystems. The rich tapestry of oral histories, cultural narratives, and ceremonial traditions provides essential context, often uncovering insights that written records overlook. When I worked on book projects in Native America in the 1980s and 1990s, I listened to dozens of such narratives. I interviewed and photographed several hundred Native people in the 50 reservations in the Southwest and encountered stunning generosity and enduring traditions everywhere. I did my best to honor these gifts, to channel the warmth and strength of the People (as so many cultural groups call themselves in their own languages) in my work as messenger, bringing Native stories to general readers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Trump downsized national monuments. Biden restored them. Project 2025 calls for reductions again As a white man, I couldnt do those books today, and this shift is both appropriate and thrilling. Native people now speak for themselves, and they insist on the right to do so. Young members of tribal communities are fierce about claiming their voices in writing, in art, in film, in public policy. FXs streaming series "Reservation Dogs," whose writers and directors, and most of its actors and crew, were Indigenous, broke ground for authenticity on television. Tribal members have served as secretary of the Interior (Deb Haaland, from New Mexicos Laguna Pueblo) and director of the National Park Service (Chuck Sams, Cayuse and Walla Walla). The Biden administration appointed more than 80 Native people to federal positions. President Biden also established national monuments in Arizona , Nevada and California that protect Indigenous sacred lands, responding to longstanding tribal initiatives. He issued a formal apology for the federal government's forced assimilation practices and established Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument in Pennsylvania, acknowledging the painful legacy of the Indian boarding school era and the resilience of Indigenous communities and tribal nations. In those long-ago years of my fieldwork, Peterson Zah, then president of the Navajo Nation, told me, Indian life is a roller coaster. When we are at the very top of the roller coaster, we have to do things to allow the survival of the Indian people. That's the only time you can accomplish things, when people are willing to listen. Lakota historian Vine Deloria Jr. noted that the United States gets interested in Native people in cycles. About every 20 years, theres a brief flurry of attention, and then Indigenous issues disappear again from the national agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Confusion clouds the fate of two new California monuments In 1990, what grabbed headlines was the film Dances With Wolves. At the 1991 Academy Awards, Doris Leader Charge translated acceptance speeches into the Lakota language. In the weeks that followed, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), longtime chair of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, found prominent senators knocking on his door daily, requesting a seat on his usually neglected committee. For the first time ever, he had a designated committee room and a full slate of members. Inouye joked with Zah that the new converts were the "Dances With Wolves" senators. With increasing co-stewardship and co-management of their ancestral lands, todays Native people are breaking the on-again, off-again cycle of attention. Native American and Indigenous people may be on the list of words scrubbed from government documents and websites, but Trumps lack of respect for tribal sovereignty and disinterest in Indian Country will be a passing blip in the rediscovery of America , as Native historian Ned Blackhawk calls our new regard for Indigenous history. Native peoples who continue to interact with the Grand Staircase-Escalante landscape traditionally and ceremonially can trace their deepest roots in the region back at least 13,000 years. We are the living descendants of the ancestors that left their footprints and writings across Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, says Autumn Gillard, cultural resources manager with the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indigenous people have persisted, miraculously, despite Americas efforts to erase them. No matter the volatility of changing political winds, we must continue to honor Native voices, listen to traditional ecological knowledge and insist on respect for our Native neighbors. Empowering and engaging with the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition is one way to live up to that responsibility. Stephen Trimble served on the board of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. His books include The People: Indians of the American Southwest and Talking With the Clay: the Art of Pueblo Pottery in the 21st Century. 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. FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A convicted murderer out of Arizona charged in connection with a 2021 homicide in Fort Smith has decided to represent himself in court. John Anthony Cole, 48, was arrested and booked on first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by certain persons on Apr. 7. He is also being charged as a habitual offender. John Anthony Cole, 48 (Courtesy: Sebastian County Detention Center) Cole pleaded not guilty to those charges on April 9. Cole appeared in court on Monday, where he appeared without an attorney. During his appearance, he filed a motion to waive counsel and proceed in propria persona or to represent himself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His trial date is set to begin the week of July 14. Coles plea deadline is June 25, and a pretrial hearing is scheduled for July 11. Cole is being held in the Sebastian County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. These are the safest cities in Arkansas for 2025, report says Fort Smith case On Oct. 2, 2021, Fort Smith police responded to the 1300 block of Jackson Street around 10:26 a.m. regarding a mans body in a vehicle, according to court documents. Officers found Jeremiah Tel Hawthorne, 35, of Fort Smith, had been shot multiple times in the drivers seat of a gray Chevrolet pickup truck. In Sept. 2022, an officer received a call from Coles ex-wife saying Cole was the suspect of a murder investigation in Arizona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I heard rumors on the street that [Cole] had either committed the murder or had knowledge of the murder of [Hawthorne], the officer wrote in the probable cause affidavit. Cole was interviewed, where he admitted to shooting Hawthorne several times as he sat in the pickup, the affidavit said. Video evidence recovered from a nearby business where the alleged shooting occurred showed the incident, and the video reportedly matched what Cole told authorities. The officer said in the affidavit that Cole could not have known the exact route taken by the suspect were he not the murderer. Former Razorback pitcher promoted to Northwest Arkansas Naturals Arizona case and conviction Cole was also connected to a murder in Arizona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Sept. 2022, Antoine Smith was reported missing in Phoenix after sending text messages to friends saying he had been kidnapped by Cole in an attempt to collect debt. The Phoenix Police Department tracked Smiths phone from Phoenix to Tucson. Tucson police did a welfare check a Coles home and found suspicious items like a blood-stained shovel and cleaning supplies. Officials tracked Coles phone near the Arizona/California border, where he was arrested. Coles vehicle was searched and remains of Smiths body were found in the trunk, according to Arizona court documents. Cole later pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault and one count of abandonment or concealment of a dead body. He was sentenced to 31 years in prison in Nov. 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. When disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and a criminal sex act in 2020, the verdict was hailed as a groundbreaking victory for women around the world and a sign of progress in a cultural fight to stop workplace abuse of power. The case that catalyzed the #MeToo movement is now back in the spotlight, one year after Weinsteins conviction was overturned when the New York Court of Appeals ruled that testimony against him from women who were not part of the case led to an unfair trial. For Weinstein, his retrial is another chance toward exoneration. For his accusers, the stakes feel higher amid a changed cultural and political climate in America in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its painful, to go through the process again about a traumatic event, attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing Mimi Haley, one of three women who will testify in Weinsteins retrial, told CNN. Haley, a former production assistant who worked on one of Weinsteins television shows in the early 2000s, will testify against Weinstein for a second time after facing him in court at his first trial. Her testimony, along with that of former actress Jessica Mann, led to Weinsteins conviction and a sentence of 23 years in prison before it was overturned. Both women agreed to testify once again, in hopes of securing justice. I commend her, Allred said of her client. It does take a tremendous amount of courage. Prosecutors have also added a new accuser in the retrial, after Weinstein was indicted by a grand jury earlier this year on an additional sex crimes charge. The new witness is a Jane Doe who alleges Weinstein assaulted her in a Manhattan hotel in 2006. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She is one of the bravest, strongest women that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, Does attorney, Lindsay Goldbrum of the law firm, Outten & Golden, told CNN. You can imagine that any individual who is going to testify against someone as powerful as Harvey Weinstein is going to be nervous. Theres going to be a certain level of anxiety, Goldbrum said. She is ready for her testimony. I believe her, the DA believes her, and I think the jury is going to as well. Weinstein at an appellate hearing in 2024. - Curtis Means/Pool/Getty Images The retrial will focus on those three accusers, compared to six women who testified in the first trial. I think much of the public was aghast when this conviction was set aside, Allred said, adding she disagreed with the courts decision to exclude supporting witness testimony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The women who testified at the last criminal trial, they refuse to be ruled by fear, Allred said, describing the women as heroes of the #MeToo movement. Weinsteins defense team has argued widespread media coverage of the #MeToo movement ahead of his first trial tainted the jurys perception of him. Its a much different vibe in the whole country, Weinsteins lead defense attorney, Arthur Aidala, who argued the appeal and defended the former movie producer in his 2020 trial, told CNN. Now, there are other priorities in the country and in the world and I think that will put Mr. Weinstein in a much better position to get a fair trial in front of a fair jury. Weinsteins first trial was a media firestorm. Demonstrators were regularly outside the lower Manhattan courthouse to protest Weinstein and draw attention to the #MeToo movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was an enormous amount of pressure on those jurors to find him guilty of something, Aidala said. Hopefully the jurors will keep an open mind and listen to the facts in the courtroom and not what theyve read or seen elsewhere, he said. Realistically, Mr. Weinstein and our legal team have an uphill battle not because of the evidence. And it saddens me and troubles me to say it. Weinsteins defense maintains he was convicted under societal pressure and not based the evidence. But the three women testifying all allege that they were sexually assaulted by Weinstein, who has been publicly accused of sexual abuse by more than 100 women. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and repeatedly denied that he ever raped or sexually assaulted anyone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has remained in custody at Rikers Island prison complex in New York while he appeals a separate 2022 conviction in Los Angeles, where he was found guilty on three sexual assault charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Weinstein, 73, underwent heart surgery earlier last year and has experienced poor living conditions in prison, according to his representatives. Harvey Weinsteins health is rapidly deteriorating in custody and the conditions at Rikers are directly contributing to the decline, Weinsteins longtime spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told CNN, stating that his client is suffering from diabetes, tongue inflammation, mobility issues and his heart condition. This is not just a matter of discomfortit is a medical crisis. As his trial proceeds, the physical and emotional stress poses a serious threat to his health and even his life. Some of Weinstein accusers who have spoken with CNN since his New York conviction was overturned expressed concern about him potentially winning his appeals. The thought that he would be free again is terrifying, Dawn Dunning, who testified for the prosecution in Weinsteins 2020 trial but is not allowed to testify again, told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether or not Weinstein is convicted in the retrial, Allred said that progress for women in the workplace and in the justice system over the past decade is a direct result of his prosecution. She added, No matter what happens in this case, women are still going to be moving forward. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com CHICAGO Cook County is trying to make navigating its services easier for people, regardless of what language they speak. Starting Tuesday, people who may not speak English but need help from the county can pick up an I Speak Card at the Sheriffs Kiosk in the Cook County Building, 118 North Clark Street, or at the George W. Dunne Cook County Administration Building, 69 West Washington Street. The card has 34 languages on it to help get people to the right Cook County department and to someone who speaks their primary language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here in Cook County, were committed to meeting people where they are, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. That means recognizing that language is a barrier, but it doesnt have to be. Bill removing cannabis odor as probable cause for warrantless vehicle search clears Illinois Senate The I Speak Card initiative was spearheaded by 13th District Commissioner Josina Morita and was announced as part of Cook Countys Language Access Month, which is being recognized for the first time throughout April. The effort is being made in part to combat the Trump administrations rolling back of some of its language services and declaring English the national language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here in Cook County, we believe that language access is a human right, Morita said. Language access is essential. In many ways, there is nothing more basic than the right to communicate, to be understood, to be represented, recognized and respected. Non-English speakers can use the I Speak Card by showing it to a county employee and pointing to their language. The other side of the card tells the employee in English what language the person needing assistance is pointing to so that they can get the help they need. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said the I Speak Cards will immensely help people throughout this county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not some theoretical thing that sounds nice, Dart emphasized. No, this is very, very practical (and) pragmatic, and its going to be so helpful for the people in this county who rely on us. While the I Speak Cards are for now available only at the two aforementioned locations, there are plans to expand them to other county facilities in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. Editor's note: This story originally stated Rodney King was shot. It was been updated to correctly reflect his 1992 police beating. Commentators usually benchmark the first 100 days as a time to assess the initial accomplishments of a new presidential administration. But it may be that ten days earlier, April 20, will mark a more important day on the calendar for the Trump administration. On that date, the president will receive a report from the secretary of defense and the secretary of homeland security about the conditions at the southern border of the United States and any recommendations regarding additional actions that may be necessary to obtain complete operational control of the southern border, including whether to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807. That act gives the president broad authority to use the military on American soil. As the Brennan Center explains, The statuteis the primary exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, under which federal military forces are generally barred from participating in civilian law enforcement activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president can do so when requested by a state's legislature, or governor, if the legislature cannot be convened, to address an insurrection against that state to address an insurrection, in any state, which makes it impracticable to enforce the law, or to address an insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination or conspiracy, in any state, which results in the deprivation of constitutionally secured rights, and where the state is unable, fails, or refuses to protect, said rights. Given the breadth of the authority the Insurrection Act grants presidents, it is unsurprising that President Trump has long thought about using it. In 2022, then-former President Donald Trump stated, The next President should use every power at his disposal to restore order and, if necessary, that includes sending in the National Guard or the troops to conduct law enforcement activities on U.S. soil. In November 2023, he complained that during his first term, he was prevented, as the AP notes, from using the military to quell violence in primarily Democratic cities and states. Referring to the problem of violence in New York City and Chicago, President Trump said, The next time, Im not waiting. A year later, President Trump focused his thinking about the Insurrection Act on the enemy from within. As he put it, We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think theyre the big and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they cant let that happen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats why it was unsurprising that on January 20, the first day of his second term, he put the Insurrection Act on the table, this time as a tool to deal with the problem of illegal immigration. The plan seems already well worked out. As Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has described it, [I]n terms of personnel, you go to the red state governors and you say, give us your National Guard. We will deputize them as immigration enforcement officers.The Alabama National Guard is going to arrest illegal aliens in Alabama and the Virginia National Guard in Virginia. Make no mistake, the Insurrection Act grants the president broad authority. In 1827, the Supreme Court made that clear. The authority, the Court said, to decide whether the exigencies contemplated in the Constitution of the United States and the Act of Congress in which the President has authority to call forth the militia, to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions have arisen is exclusively vested in the President, and his decision is conclusive upon all other persons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The power itself, it continued, is to be exercised upon sudden emergencies, upon great occasions of state, and under circumstances which may be vital to the existence of the Union. A prompt and unhesitating obedience to orders is indispensable to the complete attainment of the object. The president alone gets to decide what constitutes an insurrection, rebellion, or domestic violence. And once troops are deployed, it will not be easy to get them off the streets in any place that the president thinks is threatened by radical left lunatics. Thats why April 20 will be so consequential. If Americans take to the streets to protest the presidents invocation of the Insurrection Act, the president might use those protests as an excuse to extend the deployment of troops. The prospect of using the military against Americans is a nightmare and would mark a further descent into authoritarianism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The people who wrote our Constitution knew that nightmare well. In 1768, regulars from the British Army were sent to an increasingly disorderly Massachusetts colony. Two years later, they opened fire on a group of colonists who were taunting them by throwing rocks and snowballs. That event was later dubbed the Boston Massacre. As the Center for American Progress notes, Article I, Section 8 and Article II, Section 2 (of the Constitution) split military authority between the president and Congress to prevent either branch from using the armed forces to carry out their policy agenda, as the British did in Boston. After the Constitutions ratification, Congress passed the Insurrection Act to define the presidents power in emergencies. From its enactment to today, it has been used 30 times. President Ulysses Grant alone accounts for six of them. He called out the military to deal with outbreaks of violence during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. In the 20th century, Presidents Kennedy and Johnson each used it three times, most often to protect the civil rights of Black Americans against rebellious segregationists. The Insurrection Act was last used more than three decades ago, when President George HW Bush sent troops to Los Angeles to deal with riots in the wake of the Rodney King police beating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In all his musings about the Insurrection Act, protecting civil rights has not seemed high on President Trumps agenda. Instead, as his Executive Order put it, the object would be to complete operational control of the southern border. But once invoked for that purpose, the act could be used to involve the military in rounding up illegal immigrants across the country. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. As we contemplate what might happen on April 20, Americans who object to the invocation of the Insurrection Act will be in something of a bind. If they take to the streets to protest, that may give the administration a pretext to expand its use further. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The activist Daniel Hunter is right to observe that Trumps desire to criminalize protests against him is obvious Trump would relish the opportunity to use the Insurrection Act more broadly against opponents. Another source of resistance could come from within the military itself. And finally, there are the courts. Despite the breadth of its 1827 decision, in subsequent cases, the Supreme Court has pointed out that the nature of the power granted to chief executives in emergency situations necessarily implies that there is a permitted range of honest judgment as to the measures to be taken in meeting force with force. Such measures, conceived in good faith, in the face of the emergency, and directly related to the quelling of the disorder or the prevention of its continuance, fall within the discretion of the executive Note the emphasis on honest judgment and good faith. Americans can demand no less, even from President Trump. If they dont get it, they should ask the courts to get it for them. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning Americans that counterfeit units of Ozempic have recently found their way into the U.S. drug supply. The drugs distributor, Novo Nordisk, notified the FDA about the counterfeit lot of its 1mg injection after it was found to be distributed outside the authorized supply chain. The FDA said it has since seized several hundred units of the counterfeit products but warns patients, wholesalers, retail pharmacies, and healthcare professionals that there could be more. Any Ozempic products labeled with the lot number PAR0362 and serial number starting with the first eight digits 517465517 should not be distributed, used, or sold, according to the FDA. An example of packaging on Ozempic products that is deemed to be counterfeit. (Courtesy: Novo Nordisk) It is important to note that lot number PAR0362 is an authentic lot number, Novo Nordisk said in a press release. It is a counterfeit product only when that lot number has those eight digits in the serial number. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Novo Nordisk said an investigation into the seized batch of products is ongoing. As the investigation continues, neither the FDA nor Novo Nordisk can confirm the quality of the counterfeit product, adding that it may be a safety risk for patients who use it. Ozempic is among the injectible drugs that have risen in popularity in recent years as a way to manage diabetes and lose a significant amount of weight. Nexstar reports that in recent months, it has become popular with those who may not need a full dose but want to reap some of the drugs benefits. Both the FDA and Novo Nordisk said they were testing the seized batch of products and do not yet have information on the identity, quality, or safety of the drugs. An investigation led by the FDA is still ongoing. What to do if you come across counterfeit Ozempic? Novo Nordisk said anyone who comes across any of the counterfeit Ozempic is encouraged to call Novo Nordisk customer care at 1-800-727-6500. The product can also be reported directly on the FDA website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retail pharmacies are advised only to purchase Ozempic and other semaglutide-containing medicines through authorized Novo Nordisk distributors. Any pharmacist who has concerns about the authenticity of their patches is also encouraged to call Novo Nordisk customer care. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President Donald Trump earlier this month announced far-reaching reciprocal tariffs on scores of countries, but he soon suspended the levies on all but one: China. Instead, Trump ratcheted up China tariffs to a whopping total of 145%. In response, China slapped 125% tariffs on U.S. goods and issued other countermeasures. The trade war between the worlds two largest economies amounts to a battle of wills in which each stands poised to draw on economic advantages and political pressure points, analysts said. An assessment of each sides leverage, they added, helps reveal how the standoff may unfold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Trump tariffs live updates: 'Good chance' of US-UK trade deal, Vance reportedly says The stakes are extremely high and the only issue remaining is who is going to blink first, Yasheng Huang, professor of global economics and management at MIT, told ABC News. Potential economic damage The U.S. and China each are among the others top trade partners, meaning a sizable chunk of each economy depends on the relationship. U.S. consumers and firms purchase more goods and services from China than the other way around, putting China at risk of a larger loss in economic activity if trading comes to an effective halt, analysts said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, they added, the trade imbalance also threatens acute product shortages and price increases for U.S. consumers. The U.S. imports more from China than it exports to China -- that gives the U.S. an advantage, Shang-Jin Wei, a professor of finance and economics at Columbia University who studies the U.S.-China trade relationship, told ABC News. But the very fact that the U.S. buys so much from them also means that it is dependent on their supply of low-cost goods, Wei said. Last year, the U.S. imported about $438 billion worth of goods and services from China, making it the largest destination for Chinas exports. In all, that figure accounts for about 15% of Chinas exports, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. China makes up a primary source of consumer electronics like laptops and smartphones, as well as footwear, apparel and toys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. tariffs are expected to lower Chinas gross domestic product growth this year by 0.7%, though the Chinese economy is still forecast to expand by more than 4%, J.P.Morgan said on Tuesday. The loss of relatively cheap Chinese goods, meanwhile, is expected to raise prices for U.S. shoppers. Over the weekend, the Trump administration issued a tariff exemption for some consumer electronics from China, but price hikes are expected for a host of other goods. On the other hand, China purchased about $143 billion of U.S. goods last year, including crops such as soybeans and wheat, as well as oil and gas. Roughly 930,000 U.S. jobs are supported by exports to China, the U.S.-China Business Council said in a report last year. During Trumps first term, the U.S. provided financial relief to some farmers to make up for lost sales to China. Essential materials The U.S. or China could also derive leverage from specialized goods that would be difficult for the other country to replace in the event of trade restrictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, China imposed export restrictions on some rare earth elements and magnets that make up critical inputs in some U.S. auto, energy and defense products. For now, Chinese companies can still export to U.S. buyers, though the Chinese firms must receive approval from the Chinese government. Rare earths are vital for a range of defense technologies, including F-35 fighter jets, Tomahawk missiles and radar systems, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, said on Tuesday. The U.S. is not prepared to immediately make up for a potential loss of those components through domestic industry, CSIS found. The U.S. dependency on China for rare earths is extremely high, Huang said. China can shut it off or turn it on at will -- that is leverage. PHOTO: A container ship is seen at the port in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong province, April 15, 2025. (AFP via Getty Images) Meg Rithmire, a professor of business administration at Harvard University, said the U.S. could seek out alternative sources abroad but China remains the dominant source of such materials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It doesnt seem like this is the kind of thing that will cripple anyone in the short term, but the supply chains are such that it could get messy in the medium term, Rithmire said. Meanwhile, China relies on the U.S. for some important components of its electronics, auto and technology products, Huang said. China could likely withstand a temporary shortfall, Huang added, though a long-term shortage of such goods would pose a problem. It would definitely hurt them -- no question about it, Huang said. Tolerance for financial pain Analysts told ABC News that Chinas authoritarian form of government affords it greater capacity to tolerate a prolonged period of economic hardship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By contrast, separate branches of government and regular elections in the U.S. make it more difficult for the country to hold out through potential widespread financial challenges, they added. The Chinese public faces limits on public expression and little recourse for bringing its displeasure to bear on political representatives, analysts said. Theres a lot structurally built into the Chinese system to withstand political pain, which isnt the case for the U.S., Rithmire said. The U.S. system incorporates the unhappiness of people as they experience the economic effects. The countries different responses to COVID-19 exemplify how their respective political systems respond to flagging general welfare, analysts said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Trump's tariffs still risk inflation and recession as China trade war looms, experts say China maintained a zero-COVID policy for several years, severely restricting individual mobility and hamstringing a broad swath of the nations economy. In the U.S., on the other hand, eight states never issued COVID lockdowns, while the federal government focused on economic stimulus and expedited vaccine development. The trade war, as substantial as it is, doesnt compare to the COVID lockdown that China implemented, Huang said. We have solid evidence that the political system is quite immune from economic hardship. Still, that tolerance of economic pain has limits, Wei said. Over the past half century, the Chinese government has drawn legitimacy from its ability to deliver economic growth and improved living standards, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anything that hurts that can undermine their power, Wei said. Ultimately, the standoff may endure until each country sees a pathway out of the trade spat that promises sufficient political benefit. Is there a productive off-ramp for each side? Huang said. Which country has leverage in US-China trade war? Experts weigh in originally appeared on abcnews.go.com EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) El Paso County is making progress on capital improvement bond projects that were approved by voters during the November election, County officials said. During a County Commissioners court meeting on Monday, April 14, commissioners approved the Countys Public Works Department to begin early design work and possible construction on the projects. The projects will include upgrades to regional and neighborhood parks across the County, construction of a new Office of the Medical Examiner, and an animal shelter. Altogether, these projects will cost $155 million and will raise taxes, County officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The County had a larger list of projects that would have raised taxes by $0.03 because of the amount that was authorized. And its only going to raise taxes by half that amount to about 1.5 cents, said Deputy County Administrator Jose Landeros. Landeros said the design timeline for some of these projects can be anywhere from 12 to 18 months, and construction would start afterwards. Projects are expected to be done by 2028, County officials said. County officials add that the capital improvement bonds are different from the $54 million of certificates of obligation the county is trying to issue to fund infrastructure projects. Landeros said the certificates of obligation do not require voter approval and will not impact taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its called debt layering. By issuing new debt, when we pay off old debt, we continue to make investments in critical infrastructure while protecting taxpayers and not raising their tax rates. So we continue to pay the same amount, 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 KTSM 9 News. by Thong Mengdavid The concept of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future has become a cornerstone of the deepening ties between the two countries across various fields. In 2019, the two sides signed an action plan to build a community with a shared future. By 2023, the initiative entered a new era marked by high quality, high level and high standards. It represents a partnership beyond economic cooperation, encompassing shared development goals, cultural connections and long-term prosperity. This vision has yielded concrete results: stronger trade ties, expanded infrastructure development and enhanced people-to-people exchanges. Cambodia's agricultural exports to China have increased, while Chinese investments continue to grow in Cambodia's industrial and technology sectors. Key Belt and Road Initiative projects -- including highways, ports and energy infrastructure -- have improved Cambodia's connectivity and boosted its economic potential. Cooperation has also deepened in education, tourism and culture. Scholarships for Cambodian students in China, expanded language programs and joint cultural initiatives have fostered greater mutual understanding and reinforced trust. More scholarships and language training will continue to strengthen people-to-people bonds. At a broader level, the China-Cambodia community with a shared future supports regional and global cooperation. It strengthens Cambodia's role in relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, and highlights the importance of regional stability and sustainable development. Looking ahead, Cambodia-China ties are expected to grow even stronger, driven by the continued commitment of both countries' leaders. Deeper collaboration in trade, infrastructure and emerging areas like the digital economy and green energy is on the horizon. Economic integration will likely deepen in industrial production, e-commerce and finance. The expansion of the China-Cambodia Free Trade Agreement is set to open new opportunities for Cambodian businesses, especially in agricultural exports, textiles and processed goods. Meanwhile, growing Chinese investment in Cambodia's special economic zones is expected to generate jobs and accelerate industrial modernization. Technological and digital cooperation will also be a priority. As Cambodia develops its digital economy, collaboration in artificial intelligence, smart cities and telecommunications will be vital. China's expertise can support Cambodia's digital transformation, boosting efficiency in governance, education and business. Major infrastructure projects -- including highways, railways and ports -- will solidify Cambodia's role as a regional trade hub and bolster connectivity. Better logistics and transport networks will enhance links between Cambodia, China and the broader ASEAN region. The two countries are also set to cooperate more closely on climate change and sustainable development. As Cambodia expands its green economy, China's experience in clean energy technologies will be instrumental. As Cambodia works toward its long-term development goals, China's support for strengthening infrastructure, human resources and investment will remain essential. Together, both nations will play a growing role in promoting regional peace and economic integration. The future of Cambodia-China relations is bright -- built on enduring friendship, mutual progress and shared prosperity. With continued joint efforts, the partnership will become even more dynamic, resilient and beneficial to the region and beyond. Editor's note: Thong Mengdavid is a lecturer at the Institute for International Studies and Public Policy of the Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency. Apr. 14A court martial of Col. Christopher Meeker, former commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is scheduled to begin Tuesday at the base. The trial is open to anyone who has access to the base, said Derek Kaufman, spokesman for the Air Force Materiel Command. The referred charges include one charge and one specification under Article 90, "willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer," and one charge and two specifications under Article 134, "extramarital sexual conduct and fraternization." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are some distinct differences between a civilian trial and a court martial of a uniformed member of the military. "Willfully disobeying superior commissioned officer," for example, is a distinctively military charge. "This offense and others, including failure to obey a lawful order or regulation, desertion, malingering, and mutiny ... are distinctly military offenses designed to maintain good order and discipline in the armed forces by making specific conduct criminally punishable," then-Lt. Col. Andrew Norton, an Air Force judge advocate, wrote in 2019. Another big difference between courts-martial and civilian trials: There are no mistrials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "That is because the military is one of the few jurisdictions that allows for split verdicts in criminal trials," Norton wrote. Another difference, according to Norton: "Military members may plead guilty only if they truly believe themselves to be guilty." The military does not allow nolo contendere or "no contest" pleas. Don Christensen, a former chief prosecutor for the Air Force and the president of the group Protect Our Defenders, said military courts-martial have rigorous and well developed rules of evidence. Defendants are entitled to free defense representation, no matter what their rank, he said. "You can appeal all the way up to the Supreme Court at no cost," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is no hung jury in the military. To secure a conviction, prosecutors need to have three-quarters of the members of the jury agree to a guilty verdict. And military juries tend to be highly educated and heedful of instructions while judges tend to judge only criminal cases, Christensen said. "If I were innocent, I would want to be tried to court martial," he said. Meeker assumed command of the the 88th Air Base Wing in July 2022. He was fired in late December 2023 by Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton, commander of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, also headquartered at Wright-Patterson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since it's possible Shipton will be a material witness in the case, she transferred the case to another convening authority, Maj. Gen. Charles D. Bolton, 18th Air Force commander at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Meeker waived an Article 32 preliminary hearing and charges were referred to a general court-martial by Bolton. Parties agreed afterwards to change the date and venue of the trial. Two years ago this month, an Air Force judge sentenced former Maj. Gen. William Cooley to a reprimand and ordered that he forfeit $10,910 of monthly pay for five months. Cooley, then 56, was a two-star general and a former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory. He was found guilty in a Wright-Patterson court martial of one specification of abusive sexual contact against his brother's wife. Prosecutors said he forcibly kissed his sister-in-law after a family barbecue in New Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cooley was the first Air Force general officer to be court-martialed and convicted. In May 2023, Air Force Materiel Command said Cooley would retire as a colonel in June that year, a demotion of two ranks. COURTLAND, Ala. (WHNT) The Town of Courtland has voted to revoke the business license for a child and teen behavioral health facility. Courtland Fire Chief Scott Norwood told News 19 that the town council voted unanimously to revoke the business license for Brighter Path Courtland during a meeting Monday night. Owens Cross Roads Council schedules another hearing regarding mental health centers business license Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brighter Path is a state-contracted behavioral health facility for children and teens. The facility has previously been involved in lawsuits and faced a scathing report regarding its conditions. More recently, the facility was cited for multiple fire code violations in May of 2024, including doors being bolted shut from the outside. The council first looked at revoking the facilitys business license in June of 2024 but ultimately tabled the issue at the time after an executive session. Norwood said after that initial meeting that during the executive session, Brighter Path showed the council that they had taken steps to address the fire code issues. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. The Department of Justice recently issued new guidance directing prosecutors to scale back their efforts to investigate and litigate cryptocurrency crimes. This subsequently disbands the governments National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) in an effort to prioritize immigration and procurement issues over cryptocurrency enforcement. While the DOJ frames this as a move to streamline resources, threat actors are watching and adapting. While its too early to observe its impact on the cryptocurrency world, I believe this move is more than a bureaucratic shuffle it signals an enforcement vacuum that cybercriminals will rush to fill. When Regulations Relax, Fraud Follows Cybercriminals are highly adaptable and thrive in moments of regulatory ambiguity. When criminal enforcement whether of blue-collar or white-collar crime becomes limited, threat actors take note and often shift their operations outside the lines of prosecutable conduct. The same is true of the cryptocurrency space. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the digital economy, especially within the decentralized, unregulated, and fast-moving world of Web3 and crypto, this gray area is fertile ground for impersonation scams, fake airdrops, phishing campaigns, and spoofed tokens. Even before this policy change, scams involving fake coins, phishing sites, and wallet siphons were already on the rise. According to the FBIs latest Cryptocurrency Fraud Report, cryptocurrency fraud amounted to $5.6 billion in losses, a 45% increase since 2022. Now, as the glare of federal scrutiny moves away from the crypto space, individuals, exchanges, and brands otherwise vulnerable to impersonation must prepare for a rise in cryptocurrency fraud. Cybercriminals will continue to exploit platforms and dupe investors, especially in spaces where technical complexity, anonymity, and lack of regulation already hamper detection and enforcement. Reactions from the Field: Relief or Concern? The administrations decision to rethink crypto enforcement has already elicited mixed reactions from legal experts, who echo the sentiment that the move may elicit fraudulent activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to the Washington Post, Vanderbilt University Law Professor Yesha Yadav underscored the importance of the NCET in disrupting criminal activity across the crypto space, noting that the government may find it harder to prosecute the incredibly nimble, very opportunistic actors in this space. Similarly, Kleptocracy Initiative director and anti-corruption expert, Nate Sibley, emphasized that Dangerous US adversaries rely on cryptocurrencies to launder money and evade sanctions. However, a different tune can be heard within the industry. Non-profit advocacy group DeFi Education Fund's Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer Amanda Tuminelli stated that it was heartened to see that the DOJ announced it is redirecting resources to prosecuting the bad actors who are actually culpable for misuse of technology rather than the builders of our financial future. On one side, experts looking from the outside warn that the move may lead to an increase in cybercrime, while those within the industry argue that shifting focus to crimes relating to terrorism and drug cartels is a better use of resources. Only time will tell which side is correct. Frictionless Fraud: AI Lowers the Bar for Bad Actors Complicating matters is the increasing use of AI by attackers. With an arsenal of generative AI tools at the fingertips of anyone with an internet connection, fraudsters can now produce scams that go beyond phishing links theyre full ecosystems of deception: fake social media accounts, copycat token launches, cloned websites, and AI-generated influencers pushing scams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The result? Digital fraud is not only becoming more prevalent, its becoming more believable and harder to detect. What does this mean for those trying to build a safer crypto ecosystem? How the Crypto Community Can Respond As the United States government reprioritizes its criminal focus, the responsibility of protecting investors and brand reputations will fall even more heavily on the private sector. Heres how blockchain platforms, exchanges, brands, and investors operating in this space can respond: Audit your brand perimeter: Regularly scan for unauthorized token listings, fake domains, and imposter accounts. Use threat intelligence tech: AI-powered monitoring can detect spoofed websites and phishing campaigns across Web2 and Web3. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Engage with regulators early: Dont wait for regulation to hit. Anticipate it, and build compliant, trustworthy systems before its too late. Collaborate across the ecosystem: Whether youre a small-time investor or an exchange with billions of dollars of assets under management, sharing information across platforms (i.e., between exchanges, social media platforms, and wallet providers) is key to identifying emerging fraud patterns. The DOJs pivot may be strategic. But its ripple effects especially in a fast-moving space like crypto are already visible. If you're building in web3, nows the time to tighten your defenses. Because for every dollar the government pulls back, bad actors are investing tenfold. At the heart of every financial system traditional or decentralized is trust. And, right now, trust is one of cryptos biggest vulnerabilities. Widespread impersonation and scams, coupled with limited enforcement, have created a sense of skepticism that keeps the broader public on the sidelines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If companies operating in the crypto space want digital assets to become mainstream, they must take ownership of building trust from the ground up. That means doubling down on transparency, accountability, and proactive protection. Because until trust becomes the norm, adoption will remain the exception. Correction (April 15, 2025, 15:20 UTC): Edits DEF's description. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Some business owners in the Crossroads are concerned about a recent uptick in parking violations. If they try to fit inside the white line on Main Street and get their tire on the curb, they get a ticket for parking on the sidewalk, which is $85, said Bradley Gilmore, the owner of Lula Southern Cookhouse. Two men charged in connection to major drug bust in Kansas City Gilmore says hes not against paid parking downtown but wants to ensure that prices and penalties are fair so that people continue returning to districts like the Crossroads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So were worried about the type of tickets being written. Were worried about the frequency of tickets being written. Were not worried about them coming after the cars that have been parked for two to three days, invalid tags, all of those things we are all for. But it shouldnt also cost $30 to park, Gilmore said. Business owners in the Crossroads are already facing issues with cars being broken into and stolen. I want to open more businesses in the crossroads. I love the crossroads. But I cant viably do that if my patrons are going to have to pay so much money to be down here and risk their car getting stolen. We need more protection, Gilmore said. Hes also concerned about how parking costs add up every hour and the price people must pay if ticketed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the aggressiveness of it going from 0 to 60, going from Monday through Friday until 6:00, paid parking and everything else free, to now (paid parking) seven days a week, all day long. Its just too aggressive for Kansas City right now, Gilmore explained. Some choose to bypass parking downtown altogether. I take the streetcar because parking is terrible downtown; its just hard to find a parking space, said Christina Jones. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas responded to some of Gilmores concerns over the weekend, noting that most parking enforcement is handled through a private contractor for the public works department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think we need to make sure that were looking at our penalties. Not everythings the same. Not all challenges are the same, and that, frankly, we do the work to try to make sure were addressing these issues in a really fair way, Lucas told FOX4 on Monday. Lucas plans to work with small business owners to balance necessary enforcement action with accessibility for patrons and workers. Gilmore said 12 other small business owners have contacted him with similar concerns. They plan to invite city leaders to hear their concerns and discuss solutions. Memorial set up for 5-year-old killed in Lexington home explosion Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hopefully, we can make some changes because were all advocating for the city to grow, and with growth comes paid parking just like every other large city, Gilmore explained. I think there are some compromises that the restaurants can make, and I think there [are] compromises that the city can make. Lucas said the citys parking app could be used to resolve some of these concerns. So were requiring a lot of people to engage with this technology, but at the same time not actually taking advantage of all of those positives of technology. We ought to explore all of that. I want Kansas City, Crossroads, and downtown to be as easy to go as anywhere, Lucas said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. A study from the BBC has found that last year, the 40-top funded theatre companies put on 229 original commissions, a 31% drop from the 332 productions put on in 2014. For the research, it analysed the showings from 2014 and 2024 at the UKs top 40 venues, festivals and touring companies that have the highest annual grants from [**Arts Council England**](https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/07/25/berlins-new-culture-budget-more-than-double-englands-arts-funding) (ACE), the countrys governments culture funding body, and counted the number of professional productions over an hour that ran for at least a week. Related Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The steep decline in original commissions demonstrates the severe state of the UKs theatre industry. At the other end of the financial spectrum, theatres are struggling to keep their doors open. A [**2024 study**](https://uktheatre.org/investingintheatre/) found that one in five theatres need at least 5 million (5.8 million) to remain open in a decade. Without significant financial investment, 40% could close within the next five years. With the top theatres not staging as many plays and the lower-earning theatres facing closure, concern has also been raised about the youth pipeline for theatre-makers. Drama is declining as an available school subject across the country, while major drama schools are shutting down, with the Bristol Old Vic theatre school closing its doors after nearly 80 years of training actors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Responding to the BBCs investigation, Leeds Playhouse chief executive and artistic director James Brining said that his theatres decision to cut their original shows from 12 to eight a year is due to increasing expenses. We love making work. So it's heartbreaking that the amount of work you can make is reducing, and it is reducing the pipeline opportunities for artists at the beginning of their careers, Brining said. London's National Theatre - Canva If it is [**costly for theatres to stage work**](https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/04/06/on-its-200th-anniversary-the-old-market-theatre-is-still-innovating), it is near impossible for the freelancers behind the productions to make ends meet in the UKs current cost-of-living crisis. Responses to a 2024 Freelancers Make Theatre Work showed that over a third of freelance theatre-makers earned under the National Living Wage. Although freelancers feel valued, respected and uplifted by their colleagues, they feel there is a lack of support from arts organisations, politicians, and funding bodies. Whilst there is an evident love for the job and the craft of theatre-making, as one freelancer aptly put it: love is not enough, the executive summary of the survey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theatre-maker and blogger Carl Woodward wrote on X: of course, a big drop in plays staged by theatres, is a big drop in writer commissions, a big drop in director opportunities, a big drop in designer gigs, a big drop in stage management jobs on it goes there is clear and present danger for regional theatre in Britain. Related Many of the major theatre productions in the UK are now co-productions between theatres. This splits the financial investment, reducing the risk and allowing productions to tour across the country. While this creates opportunities for bigger productions, it has meant a reduction in smaller shows that are often the breeding ground for new talents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These larger productions often musicals are also more likely to be aimed at crowd pleasing over challenging theatrical works. When money is tight, people want a good night out and they don't want to take a risk, Salisbury Playhouse artistic director Gareth Machin said. They're probably not coming out as much as they were, so when they do come out they don't want to take a chance on something they're not sure is going to be entertaining and a fun experience, he added. Welsh actor Michael Sheen - Invision In 2022, ACE was heavily criticised when its five-year funding plans for institutions revealed that funding had been cut from many key establishments in the UKs culture scene. Of these, [**two theatres that specialised in producing new writing**](https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/11/25/english-national-opera-funding-cuts-create-an-impossible-future-for-the-arts), the Hampstead Theatre and Donmar Warehouse, were cut entirely from the funding list. As cuts rampage across the theatre industry, there are some shreds of hope. In response to Arts Council Wales slashing 1.6 million (1.9 million) from the National Theatre Waless budget, forcing its closure, actor [**Michael Sheen**](https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/01/14/michael-sheen-to-fund-new-welsh-national-theatre) has set up a new Welsh National Theatre. Welsh theatre makers, Welsh stories and Welsh actors will be put at the forefront of the venture, Sheen said. I want it to be something that represents the rich culture that we are and always have been in this country. KABUL, April 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 296 Afghan nationals imprisoned in Pakistani jails were set free and returned to Afghanistan on Monday, the country's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said Tuesday. According to the ministry's statement, the detainees were imprisoned in Pakistan for 15 days to 6 months, and after being released, they returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing. Earlier, 293 Afghans were freed from jails in Pakistan and repatriated to Afghanistan last week. Reportedly, about 7 million Afghan refugees, most of whom are undocumented migrants, are currently living abroad, with most living in Afghanistan's neighboring Pakistan and Iran. Federal Overhaul is a multipart series that explores the impact of the Trump administrations restructuring of the federal government on Black communities. WASHINGTON For most of 61-year-old Jocelyn Fryes life, her hometown of Washington was majority Black. As a child, she was keenly aware of how some white lawmakers would disparage D.C. and assert that its residents were dangerous. The predominantly white Congress was almost like an overseer and I use that word intentionally, said Frye, who lives in the districts Michigan Park neighborhood, which is also where she grew up. There was always this sense that D.C. couldnt take care of itself, this sense that it couldnt rule itself, that was paternalistic and disrespectful. This narrative fed a stereotype about Black communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Frye and other residents say, that narrative may be contributing to demands to strip away much of the districts ability to govern itself. As plans to raze Black Lives Matter Plaza a mural in D.C. created after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 were underway, U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee and U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, both Republicans, introduced legislation to overturn the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973. Ogles said in February that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has left the capital in shambles. Capital B reached out to Bowser for comment on home rule. Her office noted her previous statements celebrating the Home Rule Act and advocating for full D.C. statehood. Many claims about crime in the district, municipal governance experts argue, ignore how D.C.s complex criminal legal system a result of its lack of real autonomy can impede efforts to prevent violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The demolition of a plaza that symbolized the countrys racial reckoning five years ago came as a response to Republican threats to D.C.s funding. It also followed a campaign cycle during which President Donald Trump used his platform to pledge a federal takeover of the district. For more than half a century, federal officials have empowered D.C. residents with whats known as home rule authority, which means that district voters can elect a local government, including a mayor and a legislative body. Congress still reviews D.C.s laws and has power over its purse strings. Without home rule, the district would be run by federal lawmakers whom its roughly 700,000 residents never elected and who would seemingly have little incentive to respond to infrastructure needs, public safety concerns, or other challenges. In a country that prides itself on being the model of what democracy should look like, we sit in a district that doesnt experience democracy in the same way, said Frye, who is the president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, a nonprofit advocacy group. No community is perfect. No set of leaders is perfect. Holding D.C. to an impossible standard in an attempt to rationalize why Congress still plays this role of decider doesnt make a lot of sense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Race has always been a main character in the story of home rule, according to D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson, 39. During Reconstruction in the 1860s, white elites in the district insisted that having no autonomy would be better than allowing Black men in D.C., who had just gained the right to vote, to influence local affairs. This history is super important, said Henderson, who has been an at-large councilmember since 2021. White D.C. elites were essentially like, Were willing to give up our right to vote if that means that nobody has it. Take it from everybody. The fight for home rule, as we know it today, gained fresh momentum in the 1960s. The passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 shifted the political landscape, and encouraged activists such as Walter Fauntroy, a native Washingtonian, to register Black voters in districts where they could tip congressional races. Organizers made sure that D.C.s lack of political autonomy was an animating issue in elections across the South. Thanks to these efforts, newly enfranchised Black voters in 1972 were able to oust U.S. Rep. John McMillan of South Carolina, a Democrat and a segregationist who had been obstructing home rule on the House District Committee. With McMillan gone, the Home Rule Act passed both houses of Congress, and President Richard Nixon who had no desire to supervise D.C.s affairs signed it into law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to the present-day threat to home rule, many residents are speaking up, focusing their attention on preserving at least some degree of autonomy in D.C. On a recent Saturday in the basement of St. Martin of Tours Church in the districts Bloomingdale neighborhood, residents participated in Community Art Build Day, an event hosted by Free DC, a movement that seeks to educate residents on an array of issues, including home rule. A young boy paints a sign calling for D.C. autonomy during Community Art Build Day. (Julia Keane) For Alex Lewis, the day was an opportunity to establish community at a time when home rule is more vulnerable than ever. The Lexington, Mississippi, native moved to the district around five years ago, drawn to its diversity while D.C. hasnt been majority Black since 2011, its still nearly 45% Black and the ubiquity of political organizing here. Its great that there are things like this. It makes me feel less hopeless and less alone, Lewis, 27, said. It makes me feel like theres something I can do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside the church, music pulsed from the speakers: Stop! In the Name of Love by The Supremes, Lets Stay Together by Al Green, Ill Be There by The Jackson 5. Children and adults decorated posters as they ate slices of pizza. And, later, some walked around the block to hang up their artwork, emblazoned with messages such as Keep D.C. free! and D.C.s workers are beautiful! The event also was an attempt to mitigate some of the unease felt by residents across the broader D.C. region which includes parts of Maryland and Northern Virginia as the administration guts the federal workforce. Until this year, Black families viewed a good government job as a ticket to the middle class (Fryes father was in the U.S. Air Force, and her mother worked at the Library of Congress). Now, that access is caught in the crosshairs of Trumps war on diversity. Free DC has been hosting frequent meetings and trainings throughout the districts eight wards usually in the evenings at a public library to raise awareness of the uncertainties ahead and to teach residents about the role of protest and nonviolent action in advancing civil rights goals. Home rules murky future Its easy, 49-year-old George Derek Musgrove said, for D.C. residents his age and younger to take home rule for granted: They dont know life without it. The Baltimore native arrived in the district in 1994 and was in and out until 2005, when he came to stay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But theres never been as much unanimity within a single political party around eliminating home rule as there is in the current Republican Party, said Musgrove, who is a history professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Hes also the co-author of the 2017 book, Chocolate City, A History of Race and Democracy in the Nations Capital. Going into the 2024 presidential election, you had Project 2025 talking about getting rid of home rule. You had Trump talking about taking over D.C. and cleaning it up whatever that meant, but certainly a curtailment of home rule, Musgrove said. You had legislation, sponsored by Republicans, that would do away with home rule. Even if it isnt serious it doesnt create a replacement governing structure we know that the GOP, under MAGA leadership, could very well do it. And if Trump and his associates gut home role, residents would likely have to rely on a congressperson whos not answerable to them to address their everyday issues. If youre asking people who have absolutely no reason to look out for your best interests to look out for your best interests, thats a recipe for really horrible governance, Musgrove added. The job of being a local legislature would obviously be subverted to the duties that they have to the people who actually elect them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henderson underscored that, regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in power, her message is the same. D.C. isnt a federal agency. We operate as a city, a county, a state, and a federal district, she said. And there are 700,000 people here who are trying to live out the American dream, just like everybody else. Its our responsibility to ensure that were providing services to residents of the district that are beyond what the federal government is able to do, just like other jurisdictions: trash pickup, public schools, traffic enforcement, all those things. Residents arent taking the threat to home rule lying down, even if as Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.s nonvoting representative to Congress, put it to WUSA in February many feel overwhelmed. Theyre mobilizing, emphasizing the perils facing the district. Capital B reached out to Norton about the issue of home rule. Her office didnt respond to a request for an interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some people are gripped by hopelessness right now, so Free DC functions as a joy-driven movement that builds noncompliance and creates events to raise awareness and enact change, 32-year-old Shaila Huq, a Free DC leader, said, pointing to the recent Community Art Build Day as an example of this organizing. A Free DC member helps participants create prints during Community Art Build Day. (Brandon Tensley/Capital B) It was important, she explained, to supercharge peoples creativity to give them something to do where theres both direction and autonomy and then show a clear connection between creating art and using that art to disrupt. The equation isnt really complete until you figure out what youre going to do with your protest art, said Huq, who has lived in D.C. since 2015. Whats your goal? What message are you trying to get across? For us, were trying to activate that fire in your stomach, to make people sit up and say, What theyre trying to do to the district is wrong. Residents will continue organizing in the weeks ahead, as Free DC hosts workshops and other events to encourage people not only to fight for the bit of autonomy that the district has won but to push for complete self-governance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This also is a moment when residents such as Frye, in the Michigan Park neighborhood, hope that the rest of the country will learn and finally understand that D.C. is as complicated, imperfect, and deserving of respect as any other jurisdiction. There are people who come here and know nothing about the nuances. They just harp on one or two things, she said. But I am here for a reason. I love D.C. Theres no other city Id rather live in. Can it be better? Absolutely. Are we perfect? Most assuredly not. There are lots of things that could be fixed. But a lot of the narrative is disingenuous. And its not like you cant go to other cities and find problems. The post Can D.C. Keep Its Local Power? Residents Stand Up Against Federal Takeover. appeared first on Capital B News. The original version of this story incorrectly stated the individuals were arrested for vehicle theft, and we apologize. The story has been updated to accurately reflect the facts of the case. We regret this error. DANVILLE, Va. (WFXR) The Danville Police Department has made seven arrests connected to offenses related to several thefts from motor vehicles over the first months of 2025. Investigators have identified 49-year-old Syreeta Watkins, 48-year-old Tohn Echols, and 49-year-old Shadd Breakley as allegedly working together. Watkins and Echols have been arrested, while Breakley is still wanted and at large. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their charges are as follows: Syreeta Watkins Felony Grand Larceny Four Counts of Felony Theft of Credit Cards Tohn Echols Misdemeanor Petit Larceny Eight Counts of Misdemeanor Theft of Credit Cards Felony Unauthorized Possession of Two or More Credit Cards Misdemeanor Enter or Set in Motion a Vehicle Felony Grand Larceny Felony Auto Theft Shadd Breakley Felony Theft of Credit Cards Misdemeanor Credit Card Fraud Misdemeanor Enter or Set in Motion a Vehicle Appomattox County Sheriff charges 11 in drug trafficking crackdown Investigators have also identified four other individuals who currently do not have any ties to each other at this time. They are charged with the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roderick Tabb, 33 (Danville, VA resident) Two Counts of Misdemeanor Petit Larceny Three Counts of Misdemeanor Enter or Set in Motion a Vehicle Six Counts of Felony Theft of Credit Cards Felony Grand Larceny Roland Cobbins, 64 (Winston-Salem, NC resident) Felony Unauthorized Possession of Two or More Credit Cards Felony Possession of Burglarious Tools Lashaunta Saunders, 41 (Danville, VA resident) Two Counts of Felony Grand Larceny Four Counts of Misdemeanor Enter or Set in Motion a Vehicle Preston Gardner-Phelps, 18 (Mississippi resident) Two Counts of Misdemeanor Enter or Set in Motion a Vehicle The Danville Police Department is continuing to investigate. Except for Shadd Breakley, all suspects have been arrested. Cobbins was arrested in North Carolina and then released on bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts Breakley, or thefts from motor vehicles, please contact the Danville Police Department by either calling 911, patrol at 434-799-6510 option 4, investigations at 434-799-6508 option 3, and option 1 again. You can also leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 434-793-0000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) A rideshare driver was recently cited in Campbell County for having illegal window tint on his car. In Tennessee and Kentucky, window tints on frontside windows must allow more than 35% light in. The term is called visible light transmission, or VLT. 35% is considered a medium tint, neither too dark nor too light. This is the tint most police officers in Tennessee will overlook and not issue a citation, but they may cite you if your windows are too dark. Aaron Campbell is an Uber and Lyft driver. As a single dad and student, he depends on a good running car for his livelihood. It was last month when he bought this 2022 Chevy Bolt from a local dealer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teen dies after accidental drowning in New Market Around two weeks after buying the used car, he was given a citation. His drivers side window was too dark. It happened as Tennessee Highway Patrol officers operated a check on 25W in LaFollette on April 4. The ticket did not include a fine, as the patrol office explained the violation to Campbell. The citation said window tinted, frontside, 25%. Tinted front side windows in Tennessee must allow 35% light. I said to the trooper that I wasnt aware that the car was in any sort of violation, Campbell said. He didnt say anything like that, he just gave me the citation, Campbell said when asked if the trooper told him it was an issue he should have been aware of. And told me if I got it fixed before the court date on May 15th that the ticket would be dismissed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Book of Mormon coming to Tennessee Theatre for 2025-2026 Broadway season On a window tint charts that can be found at window tint businesses are various shades of gray and different numbers representing Visible Light Transmittance, as Cameron Clamon of 865 Tint explains. The lower the number the darker the shade, so the less light come through. If you went to five that would mean five percent of light comes through, he explained. Campbells window was 25%. It was too dark for a law officer to see inside. The percentage of solar tint can be found on the windows of most cars. Aaron plans to have the dark window film removed from his car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As an Uber driver and as a Lyft driver, they do periodic background checks. This is a Class B misdemeanor, Campbell said. It doesnt take to long to scrape off darker window film. Aaron intends to have it done as soon as possible. Clamon told us window tint laws vary significantly by state, with some states having stricter regulations than others. See more top stories on WATE.com Frontside windows for cars in Tennessee is 35 percent VLT. Much darker tints are allowed in Florida, 28 percent. Arkansas allows for even darker at 25 percent. Campbells car was sold as is, and the car dealer wasnt responsible for the darker tint. If youre not sure about the window tint on your car or truck, visit a reputable shop 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 WATE 6 On Your Side. CENTRAL ILLINOIS, (WCIA) Farmers are back in the field, but their crops may look a little different this season. A new USDA report shows theyre expected to plant more corn and fewer soybeans. Across the country, experts estimate farmers will plant 95.3 million acres of corn, which is 5% more than last year. 83.5 million acres of soybeans are expected to be planted, down about 4% from 2024. Bailey Conrady, the Champaign County Farm Bureau manager, said economics play a big role in farmers deciding what to plant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said many are 50/50 in Central Illinois, meaning they split their land equally between corn and soybeans. But, when markets shift, some people may be changing their minds on what to grow. Champaign gas station robbed at knifepoint, Crime Stoppers looking for tips As of Monday, Conrady knows theres a higher ceiling in the corn market versus soybeans. Soybeans are dealing with a lot of uncertainty around tariffs, she said. One of our biggest soybean trading partners is China. If China decides to go to Brazil to get their soybeans, thats gonna hurt demand on our Illinois soybeans. If that happens, she knows that can drive the market down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com. RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) New data from the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association shows an increase in the number of patients that have drug use disorder across the state. According to VHHA, there has been an 11% increase of discharged patients diagnosed with drug use disorder in Virginia hospitals from 2020 to 2024. Its part of continuing trend of data analyzes that our team shares with the public about public health issues, topics of concern and interest, things that our team spots in the data, said Julian Walker, VHHA vice president of communications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walker explained the data brief shows the number of patients who were treated at Virginia hospitals, discharged and diagnosed with a drug use disorder. Of the 10 localities that had the highest volume of patients with drug use disorder across the state, four are in Hampton Roads. They include Norfolk and Virginia Beach at 4.4%, Newport News at 3.2% and Chesapeake at 2.4%. This is a five-year analysis covering the period from 2020 to 2024, Walker said. Walker also pointed out that these patients are being diagnosed with more than just a drug use disorder. Among that patient population that there is a significant share of those patients who also had co-occurring mental health conditions, in some cases, a mental health challenge, in other cases, a mental health challenge induced by the use of drugs or alcohol, Walker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walker explained that sharing these numbers is their way to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. When people are informed about health and are informed healthcare decision makers, you know they are equipped with better information to be able to address the health needs that they or their family may have, Walker 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 WAVY.com. Tetiana, a resident of Sumy, and her young daughter Liza were among those caught up in a Russian ballistic missile attack on the city centre on 13 April. Source: Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia (Life) Details: Tetiana admitted that she and her daughter had planned to visit relatives that day, as reported by local media outlet Kordon.Media. To Tetiana's surprise, her daughter asked to wear a cross before they left. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When we were getting ready, my daughter said, 'Put a cross on me'. She usually doesnt like wearing it, but that day, she insisted, 'Put it on,'" Tetiana recalled. They made their way to a public transport stop and boarded a bus, which would later be caught near the epicentre of the missile strike. Tetiana remembers a boy who gave up his seat for them. It was 13-year-old Kyrylo, who later helped passengers escape from the burning bus. "The bus was packed. We were sitting on the seats near the middle door. Some people said they heard a whistling sound. I heard the explosion itself," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the strike, Tetiana shielded her daughter with her body as glass shattered, debris fell and dust filled the air. She recalls passengers immediately trying to leave the bus, but she was unable to stand. Fearing more falling shrapnel, she stayed put. By then, people had started jumping out of the vehicle and crowding around the exit, which turned out to be blocked. "I looked at my little girl she opened her eyes, saw me covered in blood and started crying. I began to calm her down," Tetiana said. Eventually, Tetiana and her daughter managed to escape the burning bus. "A woman held out her hand and I managed to get out. My focus was entirely on my daughter, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see people lying around," Tetiana said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After leaving the damaged bus, the pair waited for Tetiana's husband, who had been unable to reach them as the street had been blocked. Concerned locals approached and offered assistance. That day, both Tetiana and Liza sustained minor injuries, particularly to their faces. "I blame myself for going out during the air raid. I regret getting on that bus... My baby is slowly recovering from what happened, but I am struggling. Whenever were in the car, I feel like it could happen all over again," Tetiana shared. Background: On the afternoon of 13 April, two Russian missiles struck the heart of Sumy, injuring 125 local residents, including 18 children. The latest reports confirm that 35 people were killed. The Sumy City Military Administration reported that the majority of casualties were caused by a second ballistic missile strike, which occurred just two minutes after the first. The attack claimed the lives of schoolchildren, students, teachers and drivers. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Apr. 14A Dayton man was found guilty of stabbing and killing a man in July 2024. Exco Tremarsean Kennedy, 46, was found guilty Monday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court of two counts of murder and two counts of felonious assault. He also previously pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated possession of drugs connected to this case. He was found not guilty of one count of tampering with evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy was scheduled to be sentenced on the drug charge April 29. It is unclear whether he will be sentenced for the murder and felonious assault charges at the same time. Kennedy was charged connected to the stabbing death of Randall Middleton, 43, July 7, 2024 after an argument. Just after 10 p.m., Dayton police responded to the 500 block of Deeds Avenue for a stabbing on the sidewalk, according to Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns. On arrival, police found Kennedy on top of Middleton, who had a large laceration on his torso, according to an affidavit filed in Dayton Municipal Court. "Kennedy told responding officers he believed Middleton was going to stab him, so he (Kennedy) stabbed Middleton first," the affidavit said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024 Johns said the men knew each other but the details of their relationship were unclear. The argument was reportedly captured on video surveillance. "During the stabbing incident Kennedy is observed pulling a pocket knife from his person and rubbing Middleton's blood on the knife and throwing the knife into the street nearby," according to the affidavit. Middleton isn't seen on the video with a weapon or heard making comments about having a weapon, court documents said. Kennedy was arrested at the scene early the next morning. Middleton was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died, Dayton police Lt. Steven Bauer said previously. Staff writer Kristen Spicker contributed to this report. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) After being challenged by Daytons mayor and a state representative last week, the president of the Dayton Public Schools board has responded. In a post to Facebook, Dr. Chrisondra Goodwine said the district will mourn Alfred Hale, the 18-year-old Dunbar senior killed April 4 near the Greater Dayton RTAs Wright Stop Plaza hub. Goodwine used the statement to also criticize elected officials for attempting to place the blame for Hales death solely on DPS. She said current Ohio law forces districts to prioritize busing charter and private school students first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This tragedy is not just a school issue it is a citywide crisis, wrote Goodwine. The City of Dayton must take responsibility for making the areas where our students and families live, work and attend school safer including our streets, neighborhoods, and downtown corridors. The burden of safety cannot fall on schools alone. Every sector education, local government, law enforcement, transportation and commerce has a shared responsibility in ensuring that our city is not only livable, but truly thriving for everyone. Goodwine said that while DPS would like to use the familiar yellow school bus, it doesnt currently have the staff or money to do so. During a media event Thursday, April 10, Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. and State Rep. Phil Plummer argued in favor of a budget amendment that would ban students having to transfer at urban hubs on their trips between home and school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We believe that public school students deserve to have the same level of service that their suburban peers have, said Mims. The amendment says that when students take a public bus to or from school, the district should provide routes that do not require switching buses. The amended budget bill is currently awaiting consideration in the Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TAIYUAN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 3,000 people have been mobilized to battle a wildfire in Lingchuan County, north China's Shanxi Province, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday, local authorities said. The wildfire broke out on Saturday in neighboring Huguan County and spread to Liuquan Township in Lingchuan due to strong winds on Sunday, according to the authorities. Firefighting operations are still underway, with personnel including members of the forest fire brigade from neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, local fire and rescue teams, as well as local officials and residents. Five helicopters have also been deployed to assist in battling the blaze. So far, 266 residents have been evacuated from Lingchuan, and no casualties have been reported. Efforts to contain the wildfire are facing significant challenges due to strong winds, complex terrain, and dense, highly flammable vegetation, local authorities said. Dead rodents and feces were found on the late Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawas property following their deaths, per multiple reports. Hackman and Arawaka were found dead inside their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home on February 26. Arakawa, who was 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease that can be contracted from rodents. According to CNN and TMZ, the New Mexico Department of Health conducted a risk assessment on the couples property on March 5, a week after their bodies were discovered, for the safety of first responders and others who had accessed the estate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A report obtained by the outlets on Monday, April 14, said that dead rodents and rodent nests were discovered within eight detached outbuildings on Hackman and Arakawas estate. Rodents and rodent feces were found in three garages, while feces were also found in two casitas and three sheds. A Complete Timeline of Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawas Deaths and the Aftermath Department of Health staff said the risk of exposure to hantavirus in the couples primary residence, which was considered clean, was low, reported CNN. New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell confirmed in March that Hackman died due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimers disease as a significant contributing factor. He was 95. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arakawas cause of death was confirmed to be hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The infection is usually caused by inhaling hantaviruses that have become airborne from rodent urine, droppings or saliva, according to the Mayo Clinic. Because treatment options are limited, the Mayo Clinic notes that the best protection is to avoid contact with rodents and safely clean up rodent habitats. What Did Gene Hackmans Wife Betsy Arakawa Die Of? Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome Explained Officials said that Arakawa likely died before Hackman, around February 12, while the Oscar winner died around February 18. After news broke of Hackman and Arakawas deaths, the pair were mourned by their loved ones in a statement to Us Weekly. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy, noted Hackmans daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter Annie. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The dean of UNLVs school of medicine will step down on Friday, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Dr. Marc J. Kahn, who took the top job at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine in April 2020, will return to the schools faculty, the schools officer in charge said in a statement Monday. Kahns appointment came during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement written Monday, Kahn said he will assume the new role of chief of hematology in the department of internal medicine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During this transition, I remain committed to contributing to the school in new ways as a member of faculty, Kahn said in the statement. Neither Kahn nor the university provided a reason for Kahns abrupt departure. Last month, Dr. Keith Whitfield stepped down as UNLVs president, claiming he needed tend to his mother and spend more time with his grandchildren. 8 News Now reported, at the time, a growing frustration from the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents toward Whitfield, some of whom seemed to lost faith in university presidents leadership. NSHE appointed its provost, Dr. Christopher Heavey, to serve as its officer in charge, while it searches for a replacement for Whitfield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his statement about Kahn, Heavy did not mention a replacement but said the school would begin the process to identify an interim dean to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Apr. 14The death of a 25-year-old man found in Dayton early this year has been ruled an accident. Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger determined Trenton Ladd died from hypothermia with recent drug use contributing factor. On Jan. 5, eight Dayton police cruisers responded to Bates Street just north of East Third Street for the report around 12:47 p.m., a Montgomery County dispatch supervisor told this news outlet. The location is two blocks east of Third and Keowee, just east of downtown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 911 caller reported a male lying on the sidewalk was not breathing, according to dispatch records. "I just drove by and saw him laying there," the caller said. Dayton police Lt. Steve Bauer said officers arrived to find a deceased male. He was later identified as Ladd. By Paul Mathiasen (Reuters) - The death toll at last week's nightclub roof collapse in the capital of the Dominican Republic rose to 231, the Minister of Interior and Police said on Monday, as families of victims began filing lawsuits against the nightclub's owners. Holy Week will be different this year in the Caribbean tourist destination, with multiple events and activities canceled and beach parties banned, according to the Dominican Navy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Municipal authorities have also suspended the traditional Easter activities that take place in public squares and parks. Relatives of Virgilio Rafael Cruz, one of the victims who died on April 8, have begun a legal action against the establishment's owners, the family's lawyer told local media on Monday. Other families have also indicated they will file lawsuits. Jet Set nightclub is owned by Antonio Espaillat, the second-largest broadcaster in the Dominican Republic and owner of 50 radio stations. "From the very beginning we have been collaborating fully and transparently with authorities," Espaillat said in a video posted on Instagram shortly after the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local media and ticketing sites indicate the club could accommodate between 700 and 1,000 people, though there is no official confirmation on how many were present at the time of the disaster. Authorities have begun investigations to determine the causes of the collapse. The forensic investigation will take about three months to reach an official conclusion, according to Leonardo Reyes, who heads a government department that oversees building structure vulnerabilities. (Reporting by Paul Mathiasen; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Rosalba O'Brien) Pittsburgh park rangers say the citys two-part deer management program helped provide over 36,000 meals over the last year. City officials, in February, said that archers harvested nearly 200 deer from five city parks during the 2024-25 season. Then, according to the park rangers final report, USDA officials bagged another 136 deer in targeted harvesting at Frick and Riverview parks. In total, 9,120 pounds of venison from 228 deer were donated, providing 36,480 meals to local food pantries. Since the programs inception, over 45,000 meals have been provided to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Park rangers say there were no public safety incidents in either phase of the program that works to reduce the population of deer to reduce vehicle-deer crashes, over-browsing of the environment and improve the health of the herd. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW From right: House Republican Floor Leader Matt Lehman and Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta count lawmakers to resolve "division" over changes to a "craft hemp flower products" bill on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) On the cusp of key legislative deadlines, GOP-led regulations for a marijuana-like drug got more edits Monday despite vocal opposition from fellow Indiana House Republicans. Legislation cracking down on homelessness and diversity initiatives, plus promoting high-speed internet access, also passed muster. They return to the Senate for consent to the Houses changes, or to kick off negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Products with legally low concentrations of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol have proliferated in Indiana, alongside those containing delta-8 THC and other isomers. Attempts to regulate the nascent industry, which is booming on shaky legal footing, have failed repeatedly. Senate Bill 478 has gotten further than its predecessors, but its journey hasnt been smooth. It has been revised at every opportunity possible: during two Senate committee hearings, on the Senates floor, in each of a whopping three House committee hearings and, Monday, it was the subject of 17 wide-ranging amendments filed for discussion on the House floor. The measure sets out advertising, age-limit, licensing, packaging, testing and other requirements. It authorizes the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission to regulate. Provisions defining craft hemp flower products and setting out high milligram limits have sparked opposition from Indianas chief attorney and others, but werent changed Monday. Instead, lawmakers took up just two of the amendments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One, removing a new tax that was only partially removed last week, was adopted easily. Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, reminded his colleagues that new taxes must go in House bills. Attorney General Todd Rokita speaks to the media on Friday, March 21, 2025. (Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle) But the other, raising the cap on retail permits from 9,400 to 20,000 and allowing permits for convenience and drug stores, prompted blowback from Teshkas own caucus. House Speaker Todd Huston presided over a first, then a second voice vote, but both sides were just as loud. Representatives from both caucuses counted up supporters and opponents instead: it was accepted on a vote of 63-21. Other complaints werent addressed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokitas office wrote that the legislation expands a loophole for high-potency, intoxicating THC products under the guise of hemp, in a letter to lawmakers. The missive signed by Legislative Director Erin Tuttle was included in a Monday morning alert from the American Family Associations Indiana chapter. A 2018 federal law defined legal hemp as containing 0.3% delta-9 THC by dry weight or less, but the letter observes lawmakers didnt apply that limit to other isomers. Only very high caps of 100 milligrams per serving and 3,000 milligrams per package would apply. The legislation also allows THC potency to be measured by weight or volume without limits on the products size or mass instead of by dry weight, Rokitas office continued. That means manufacturers can increase the milligrams by manipulating a products volume. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By allowing these products to be sold, SB 478 effectively creates a parallel cannabis market in Indiana one that operates entirely outside the states marijuana laws at a time when marijuana remains illegal at both the state and federal levels, the letter said. The House gavel and sound block sit in a basket of legislative documents atop the rostrum on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) It urged lawmakers to instead consider any product containing more than 0.3% total THC by dry weight as banned marijuana. Homelessness measure divides GOP House Democrats also spent about an hour apiece attacking proposals they maintain criminalize homelessness and undo progress born out the Civil Rights Movement. Rep. Andrew Ireland, R-Indianapolis, said Senate Bill 197 is not about punishing people for being homeless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are never going to arrest or jail our way out of this problem, said Ireland, the bills sponsor in the House. He said the goal is to keep public spaces accessible and clean, while offering individuals every reasonable opportunity to access the services and the shelter they so desperately need. The bill stipulates that a person may not camp, sleep, or use for long term shelter a public right-of-way or public land unless authorized for that use by the state or political subdivision, as appropriate. Before they can make an arrest, officers must first determine if there are reasonable grounds for an emergency detention of the person. If not, they must warn the person to leave within the 24- or 72-hour timeframe and offer transportation to a shelter or other form of temporary accommodations that provide respite and offer access to services and permanent housing options, within five miles, as long as one exists and has a spot available. If the person refuses or theres no space, officers must call a local crisis intervention team, if there is one. Those who have not moved from a public right-of-way within 24 hours of a law enforcement officers warning or from public land within 72 hours could be arrested and charged with a Class C misdemeanor. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail or a $500 fine. Legal proceedings would be referred to a problem-solving court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a bill grounded in principle, Ireland told the House. Rep. Andrew Ireland defends his homelessness bill on the House floor on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) It defends the rule of law, respects property rights, brings compassion to public safety, ensures fairness before fines, offers help before punishment, restores dignity through due process, he added. Democrats remained staunchly opposed. This is not a compassionate bill. This is a cruelty bill, Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, said in response to Irelands assertion it represents a compassionate response. If you dont abide by these rules, then you are going to be criminalized and penalized, and you might have a record simply because you dont have a place to lay your head, Pryor said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her colleagues also criticized the process. Rep. Maureen Bauer noted there was no testimony taken when a House committee co-opted a building safety bill to revive homelessness language from a dead bill. It wasnt vetted properly before the public, said Bauer, D-South Bend. And it adds a new criminal penalty without ever going to (the) Courts and Criminal Code (Committee). If this was about connecting people to services, there would be no criminal penalty. The House approved Senate Bill 197 in a 52-40 vote a narrow margin featuring more than a dozen Republican defections. Diversity bill debated Legislation outlawing discrimination in state education, employment and licensing based on a personal characteristic of the person advanced in a 67-27 vote along party lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Bill 289 sponsor Rep. Chris Jeter said discriminatory programs have crept their way into our government institutions and created division. This current version of this bill avoids legislating words because words can be manipulated; words can be weaponized, Jeter, R-Fishers, said. This bill instead focuses on actions and behaviors. It would also allow Rokita, the attorney general, to impose hefty civil penalties for violations: $50,000 for a first offense and $100,000 for a second or subsequent offense. Rep. Vernon Smith speaks on the House floor in an undated photo. (Courtesy Indiana House Democrats) But Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, said pro-diversity policies came into existence for a reason. In a lengthy speech from the House floor, he recalled how his mother faced racist attacks when forced into an attempt to integrate the former Emerson High School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She and the other Black honors students were called all kinds of names. They were pushed, they were spit on, he said. The white teachers refused to let them enter their classrooms, locking the doors instead, while the white students walked out. Smith further described how he himself wasnt allowed to eat at certain restaurants, go to certain events or enter certain parts of the city in his younger years. As a 12-year-old, he got off at the wrong bus stop and got stoned by white children because I was not supposed to be in that neighborhood. I never thought, when I was fighting (in) the Civil Rights Movement, that we would be reversing ourselves in this country, Smith said. Senate Bill 289 could also create a serious problem for the South Bend Community School Corp., per Rep. Ryan Dvorak, D-South Bend. He feared the district could be on the hook for damages. I believe (its) the last school corporation in the state thats under a (federal) desegregation consent decree, Dvorak said. It requires each school to mirror the districts overall Black student population. Jeter said that federal law reigns supreme in conflicts with state statutes. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US Other Democrats said the changes would harm veterans. Jeter said they wouldnt. The House also unanimously approved legislation offering a compromise between electricity and telecommunications providers in a bid to speed up the buildout of high-speed internet in rural and other underserved areas throughout Indiana. Senior Reporter Casey Smith contributed. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Oklahomas gubernatorial race drew its first Democrat on Tuesday when state Rep. Cyndi Munson, the minority leader in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, announced she was seeking the post. Munson, 39, joins four Republicans seeking the post: former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former House Speaker Charles McCall and businesswoman Leisa Mitchell Haynes. In an interview with The Oklahoman, Munson said she wanted to be governor to improve the quality of life for all Oklahomans. The Oklahoma City lawmaker said she believed the 2026 governor's race should be about the issues facing people in Oklahoma and not just federal politics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think economic challenges are going to prevail," she said. "Those are still going to be concerns for Oklahomans. And I think they (state residents) are ready to hear from a normal Oklahoman who understands living paycheck to paycheck." More: McCall, others announced their 2026 bid for Oklahoma governor: Who's running? What to know More: Despite tweet from governor, state Democrats and Republicans tout cooperating on lawmaking House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson announces Tuesday shes running for governor. Munson said she believes state voters have been frightened by how politicized both state and national issues have become. "With everything that is happening on the federal level, there is so much uncertainty," she said. "What you see happening on the state government right now, almost every statewide leader is vying for the president's attention and looking at national politics versus listening to what Oklahomans have to say." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Munson said cultural war issues have sidelined more important discussions such as increasing teacher pay and making college more affordable. Munson said she also wants to address the state's infrastructure needs and improve roads and highways. "I've spent way too much money on car tires," she said. As one of the younger candidates in the contest, Munson, who turns 40 in May, said she's ready for the hard work. She said she was good at building relationships and connecting with people with different ideas. "You have to sometimes put some of your differences away and figure out where you have common ground," she said. "I think I have been able to do that. I get it that there will be moments where they (Republicans) want to fight me. But they fight the current governor who is in their party right now that's not unusual." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Munson faces several serious challenges to become governor. The last time Oklahomans elected a Democratic governor was in 2006, when voters reelected then-Gov. Brad Henry to a second term. Republicans have held a majority in the Oklahoma Legislature for more than 20 years. Currently, Democrats hold 20 seats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives to the GOP's 81. In the state Senate, Democrats hold eight seats to the Republicans' 40. Those numbers, however, don't worry Munson. She said she was ready for the fight. House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson announces her gubernatorial candidacy Tuesday at the Oklahoma Capitol in Oklahoma City. "I love a challenge," she said. "In a state like Oklahoma where people think that Democrats can't win or can't retain their seats or that they have no resources or no infrastructure we can overcome those challenges and make a way and hopefully change some minds throughout the country." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oklahomans will return to the polls next year to decide the state's next governor. The primary election is scheduled for June 16, 2026, with the general election set for Nov. 3, 2026. This article was updated to correct an inaccuracy. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Democrat Cyndi Munson will run for Oklahoma governor in 2026 The open court hearing in the criminal case involving citizens of the Republic of Armenia including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, David Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others continued on April 14. They are accused of committing numerous crimes against peace and humanity, including war crimes, genocide, violations of the laws and customs of war, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and the violent seizure and retention of power resulting from Armenias military aggression against Azerbaijan. Azernews reports that the session took place at the Baku Military Court under the chairmanship of Judge Zeynal Agayev and with the participation of Judges Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev (reserve judge: Gunel Samedova). Each defendant was provided with an interpreter and defense attorneys. The accused, their lawyers, some of the victims, their legal representatives, and state prosecutors were present at the hearing. During the trial, Vusal Aliyev, Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General, presented documents collected during the preliminary investigation concerning Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories. These included inspection reports of crime scenes, photographic evidence, witness testimonies, and expert opinions about ethnic Armenian individuals interrogated as suspects in the 1990s. It was emphasized that on September 19, 1988, the Soviet Prosecutors Office launched a criminal case based on the Azerbaijani Criminal Code regarding crimes committed by Armenians in Khojaly, Shusha, and Khankendi, and assigned the investigation to a special Soviet team. According to testimony from Artur Abramyan, several Armenian leaders including Arkadi Manucharyan, Zori Balayan, Henrik Poghosyan, and others led rallies in Karabakh. Murad Petrosyan and Serzh Sargsyan were involved in arming illegal Armenian militias. Financial support for these groups came from Yerevan, coordinated by Vazgen Manukyan (Deputy Chairman of the Armenian Supreme Council), with funds being distributed by Robert Kocharyan in Azerbaijani territories. Murad Petrosyan reportedly ordered the destruction of a bridge over the Khalfali River on the Shusha-Khankendi road. Samvel Babayan, former "Defense Minister" and "Security Council Secretary" of the former regime in the occupied territories, confirmed during his interrogation in 19901991 that Samvel Bagmanyan, under the command of Murad Petrosyan, was responsible for bombing a civilian bus on the Yevlakh-Lachin road in April 1991. Another witness, Yuriy Jahangiryan, stated that Robert Kocharyan, who worked as a party organizer at the Karabakh Silk Plant, actively spread ethnic hatred against Azerbaijanis through the nationalist group "Krunk." The trial then proceeded with state prosecutors questioning the defendants. Arkadi Ghukasyan requested additional time to respond to questions, which was granted by the presiding judge. Arayik Harutyunyan, when questioned, acknowledged the involvement of figures such as Kocharyan, Petrosyan, and Manucharyan in organizing demonstrations and movements during the occupation. He recalled Azerbaijanis leaving their homes in Khankendi and remembered the bridge bombing. While he had heard of killings, arson, and looting, he claimed to be unaware of the scale of violence. Harutyunyan admitted to killings, stating: Yes, there were many murders, even among Armenians. The violence wasn't only directed at Azerbaijanis internal conflicts among Armenians also led to killings, including high-ranking officials. He named Valeri Grigoryan, who was allegedly killed after visiting Baku, possibly due to political rivalry. He also discussed the 2000 assassination attempt by Samvel Babayan against Arkadi Ghukasyan and explained that he had no close ties with Murad Petrosyan, despite previously offering condolences upon Petrosyans death. Levon Mnatsakanyan also confirmed hearing about the bridge explosion but denied knowing or associating with Murad Petrosyan, noting Petrosyan supported protesters in 2020 in Khankendi. Further questions were directed by Prosecutor Terana Mammadova to Bako Sahakyan and David Ishkhanyan. Sahakyan condemned the bridge bombing, while Ishkhanyan claimed he was unaware of the event until the court proceedings. The court reviewed documentation and testimonies related to the Baghanis-Ayrim incident and announced the next hearing for April 17. It is worth noting that 15 Armenian-origin individuals are being prosecuted for crimes such as planning and conducting an aggressive war, genocide, mass killings, slavery, forced displacement, persecution, unlawful imprisonment, torture, terrorism, financing of terrorism, and the illegal formation of armed groups. Among those charged are Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Vazgen Manukyan, and other high-profile Armenian figures and military commanders. BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Travel and exchanges across China's borders have seen a vibrant uptick in early 2025, with the country recording 163 million entries and exits in the first quarter of 2025, marking an increase of 15.3 percent year on year. While mainland residents accounted for the majority of cross-border trips, the sharpest growth came from foreign nationals, who made 17.44 million border crossings, up 33.4 percent from the same period in 2024, data from the National Immigration Administration (NIA) showed. Officials attributed the surge of foreign nationals in border crossings to recent changes in border control policies, part of China's broader opening up efforts. The visa-free transit initiative, combined with other visa-waiver policies, has attracted more visitors to China, said Lin Yongsheng, spokesperson for the NIA. In its latest easing of transit policies on Dec. 17, China allowed eligible citizens from 54 countries to enter through more ports visa-free and stay for up to 10 days before departing for a third destination. Visits made by foreign tourists to popular destinations like Huangshan Mountain have jumped 21.6 percent, compared to the same period last year. China has also extended unilateral visa-free access to travelers from more countries, allowing stays of up to 30 days. Similar expansion has been introduced to regional visa exemptions and mutual visa agreements. These sweeping policy changes have made exploring the country easier than ever before, fueling a rising wave of "China Travel" content on platforms like YouTube. Among the recent first-timers was IShowSpeed, a 20-year-old U.S. content creator whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr. The young man live-streamed his explorations through Chinese streets and alleys, sharing with his millions of subscribers a memorable episode in which he chased his kung fu dream at the Shaolin Temple in central China. "China is an underrated tourist destination. I don't know why people overlooked China," he said, a view shared by many in his audience. EXPLORING BEYOND BORDERS At the same time, spontaneous international getaways have become a part of everyday life for many Chinese people, thanks in part to easier access to global flights, expanded visa-free arrangements, and a rising desire to explore the world. Wang Liuqing, who works in north China's Shanxi Province, and her friends spent their Qingming Festival holidays at Jeju Island in the Republic of Korea earlier this month. "A visa-free destination would be our top pick. The jelly-like sea and cherry blossoms on the island were absolutely stunning -- every spot was perfect for a photo of a lifetime," said Wang. More than 80 countries and regions have introduced visa-free or visa-on-arrival policies for Chinese travelers. To attract more Chinese tourists, many international destinations are streamlining visa procedures and stepping up marketing efforts. According to Skift, a U.S. travel industry news site, China's outbound tourism market is projected to reach around 200 million trips by 2028. Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said that more Chinese tourists are now willing to pay for a better lifestyle -- opting for good hotels, fine dining, and high-quality cultural performances during trips. FASTER CUSTOMS CLEARANCE Getting across Chinese borders has become much easier, thanks to new measures such as real-time traffic monitoring at entry ports, which has helped streamline operations. At the Detian-Ban Gioc Waterfall at the China-Vietnam border, crowds of tourists are buzzing with excitement. Miles away, at the Shuolong border checkpoint in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, officers reported that policies such as waiving fingerprint collection have boosted immigration processing efficiency by 40 percent. Visiting two countries in a single day has become possible. Meanwhile, Vietnamese fruits, like the durian, have made it to more households in China. At the Friendship Pass in Guangxi, Chinese freight drivers can clear customs in 15 seconds using ID and biometric scans. In the first quarter alone, the inspection station there handled over 200,000 inbound and outbound trips by freight trucks, up 16.8 percent year on year. Nationwide, border officers handled 8.5 million trips by planes, trains, vessels and motor vehicles from January to March, the NIA data showed. More measures are in the pipeline to further enhance communication and exchanges between China and the rest of the world, according to the NIA. With progressive stars Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slated to make an appearance in Bakersfield on Tuesday, local Republicans plan to hold their own rally across the street. "Our purpose is clear: We are here to peacefully protest against tyranny and defend the principles that make Kern County great," a social media post from the Bakersfield Republican Women, Federated said. Billed as a "Welcome to Bakersfield Block Party," the event's flyer shows a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump, many of them wearing the signature red "Make American Great Again" hats and a slogan that reads "Let them know this is MAGA country." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our goal is to be a strong opposition to socialist ideology, all while fostering a spirit of respect and dialogue," Bakersfield Republican Women, Federated said. "Together, we will make our voices heard without succumbing to provocation. Let's stay focused and outsmart those who wish to undermine our freedoms!" The Republican rally runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Truxtun Avenue and N Street, across from the Dignity Health Arena where doors open for the Sanders event at 10:30 a.m. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are the latest in a series of visits to Bakersfield by out-of-town Democrats. But where past visits specifically targeted the highly competitive 22nd Congressional District currently held by Republican David Valadao of Hanford, Tuesday's visit is part of a nationwide blitz of rallies by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bakersfield has seen several large demonstrations against the Trump administration, particularly with regard to its policies around immigration, but the city and Kern County are Republican-dominated. Trump received 53% of Kern County's vote in 2016 and 2020, but in 2024 his share of the vote shot up to 59%. Sanders, a Vermont Independent, previously visited Bakersfield in 2016 and 2020 as part of his Democratic presidential campaign. Tuesday will be the first time visiting the city for New York Democrat Ocasio-Cortez. At least 80% of students enrolled in UI medical and dental programs would have to be Iowa residents or have a connection with the state under a bill that passed the Iowa Senate on Monday. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The Iowa Senate voted Monday to set residency requirements for classes enrolling in University of Iowa medical and dental programs, despite concerns from some lawmakers that it would create an unfair, affirmative action program in highly sought-after fields. House File 516, which would require that 80% of students accepted to the UI doctor of medicine or dentistry programs be residents of Iowa or fulfill other qualifications, passed the Iowa Senate with a vote of 34-11. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, filed an amendment that would have barred the UI from lowering its admission standards and the Iowa Board of Regents from penalizing the university if it doesnt reach the 80% mark. Trone Garriott said these changes would ensure that lower-quality candidates are not chosen over their peers because the university needs to meet a quota. The most qualified applicants should be our priority for Iowas medical school, but the majority party is going to mandate quotas give special status to one group of students over others based on identity rather than merit, Trone Garriott said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX She was joined by Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, and other Senate Democrats in calling the proposed requirements an affirmative action program, as it gives preference to a certain group of people based on an aspect of their identity. The debate comes as Republican lawmakers and the governor-appointed regents have been purging programs and policies from state universities related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To make exceptions for certain applicants because theyre from Iowa would put a stain on all others enrolled in the programs, Bisignano said, and a codified requirement to maintain standards would help push against the possibility of giving Iowans special treatment. Were not talking in those terms, but its an affirmative action program. Were going to weight it towards Iowa applicants, Bisignano said. But that doesnt work in medicine, because not only do you want the best and the brightest, but thats what draws your investment money in your research, is the quality and the level of your doctors and your research scientists. The amendment failed to pass. Sen. Mike Klimesh, R-Spillville, also filed an amendment that would have applicants state whether they are an Iowa resident, have graduated from an Iowa high school, have family in Iowa or who graduated from an Iowa high school or college, or have lived in a rural community with similar characteristics to Iowa communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If none of these qualifications apply to the applicant, Klimesh said they can express interest in completing their medical residency or practicing in the state after graduation. The amendment passed. The additional questions were asking an amendment 3069 now put Iowa in the same league as other states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, who ask very specific questions of their incoming applicants to ensure theyre getting the mix they need to provide health care in those specific states, Klimesh said. The bill returns to the House for consideration of the Senate changes. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The Scoop Ten Democratic senators are asking an independent federal watchdog to investigate the Federal Housing Finance Agencys shakeup at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In a letter shared first with Semafor, a group led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and Andy Kim, D-N.J., asked FHFA inspector general Brian Tomney to probe FHFA director Bill Pultes decision earlier this year to remove most of the existing members of Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs boards, after Pulte installed himself as director of both boards. Tomney, who was confirmed to his role during the Biden administration, should determine whether or not FHFA leadership complied with all relevant federal laws, regulations, and agency policies and procedures in its decision making, as well as assess the impact of FHFA workforce reductions on the agencys ability to fulfill its statutorily mandated functions, the lawmakers wrote in the letter dated Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because of Fannie Mae and Freddie Macs role in the US mortgage market, the senators wrote, clarity in their operations is essential to the stability of the housing finance system. The firms process most of the nations mortgages, packaging them into bonds to sell to investors. A spokesperson for FHFA did not immediately return a request for comment. A spokesperson for the inspector general told Semafor the office received the letter and will review it in accordance with our processes. Know More The Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also pressed Tomney to scrutinize the recent firing of some 100 employees at Fannie Mac for what Pulte described as fraudulent activity. In a Fox News interview earlier this month, Pulte who was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed in March said the behavior was subject to an ongoing investigation but claimed the agency discovered some employees were working two jobs (some were working in China, he said) and getting kickbacks through an internal company charity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News reports have suggested that the ousted employees took advantage of Fannie Maes program for matching gifts to certain charities. It is critical that federal employees not engage in unethical or illegal conduct, and FHFA should take steps to prevent fraud and, if necessary, discipline employees who break the law or fail to follow agency policies, the Democrats wrote. It is also, however, essential for Congress to understand whether workforce reductions at the FHFA comply with all relevant laws and agency procedures. Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., all signed onto the letter, in addition to Schumer, Kim, and Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee. Notable The chaos at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac added another layer of economic risk to Trumps agenda , Semafors Eleanor Mueller reported earlier this month. Trump moved to fire inspectors general across multiple other agencies after assuming office. The Social Security system has seen better days. As the Trump administration makes significant personnel cuts and closes offices, the Social Security Administration is reportedly now preparing for additional cuts to regional offices. That is, of course, just the start. The New York Times reported last week on the mess within the Social Security system. The Washington Post reported a day earlier that retirees and disabled people are facing chronic website outages and other access problems. The Wall Street Journal added that people who show up at Social Security offices are confronting multi-hour waits. It doesnt help that the administration is misusing the Social Security system in legally dubious ways, Elon Musk is slamming Social Security as a Ponzi scheme, and JD Vance is using his vice presidential platform to peddle discredited claims about the system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donald Trump mightve promised voters that Social Security would go untouched if he returned to the White House, but its already clear that the Republican president and Elon Musks DOGE operation have destabilized the system to a degree without modern precedent. This has not gone unnoticed in Democratic circles. On the contrary, the party thats responsible for creating Social Security is investing new time and energy into fighting on the programs behalf. The Associated Press reported on one especially familiar figure stepping up in support of the system. Former President Joe Biden returns to the national stage Tuesday to elevate liberal concerns that President Donald Trumps agenda is threatening the health of Social Security. ... Biden is expected to fight back in an early evening speech to the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago. While Biden has made a handful of public appearances in recent weeks, Tuesdays high-profile address focuses on a critical issue for tens of millions of Americans that could define next years midterm elections. The former president will be joined by, among others, former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley, who led the Social Security Administration during the Biden administration and who has launched a new organization a political action committee called Win Back Our Country that intends to focus on protecting the program. OMalley will have plenty of partners. The Democratic National Committee, for example, has launched a new Social Security war room, and party leaders on Capitol Hill created a day of action focused specifically on Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans want to slash this critical lifeline by making it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to access their earned benefits, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a joint statement. The New York Democrats added, Shutting down local offices, firing large numbers of experienced constituent service workers and cutting phone services makes it harder for people to get their checks. Republicans are trying to kill Social Security from the inside it is a cut by another name and we wont let that happen. Soon after, Schumer called on the acting head the Social Security Administration, Leland Dudek, to resign immediately. If youre thinking this issue will remain a Democratic priority between now and the 2026 midterm elections, youre not the only one. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com The Washington state Capitol on Nov. 11, 2024. (Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard) Democratic lawmakers in Washington are beginning to lay out the buffet of tax increases they want to use to fill most of a $16 billion state budget shortfall. There are hikes in business and capital gains taxes, new sales taxes on services and greater property tax collections by the state and local governments. Other selections include an increase in a surcharge on technology companies, an expanded tax on nicotine products, and a mandate for some large businesses to make a one-time pre-payment of sales tax owed to the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Major financial institutions will pay a little more, too. And theres a surcharge on corporations with more than $250 million in annual revenue that starts Jan. 1, 2026, and lasts four years. Among those exempted from that surcharge is Boeing. The a la carte of taxes rolled out Tuesday will bring in close to $12 billion over the next two budget cycles. Democrats hope those receipts, combined with targeted spending reductions, will allow them to maintain current levels of service, pay for new and expanded programs authorized in previous budgets and cover the cost of updated collective bargaining agreements with state employee unions. A pivotal question now is whether Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson endorses the slate of tax measures. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle, said the governor is aware of the components of the package. We think he understands there is a need for revenue, Fitzgibbon said. State of play Last month, House and Senate Democrats rolled out separate packages to raise up to $21 billion. But Ferguson threw cold water on their desire to tax those with more than $50 million, a pillar in both approaches. The governor said this proposal was untested, difficult to implement, and most importantly, for purposes of adopting a sustainable budget, will face an immediate challenge in court. That sent legislators searching for new options. They came up with a whole bunch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also discarded a payroll tax modeled on Seattles JumpStart tax that would have been levied on companies with large payrolls and highly-paid employees. This was another central plank in their earlier tax plans. The new approach permanently increases the states primary business and occupation tax rates from 0.484% of gross proceeds to 0.5%. This move could affect hundreds of thousands of businesses. Another provision of House Bill 2081 boosts the tax rate for service businesses with annual taxable revenue exceeding $1 million from 1.75% to 2.1%. Democrats latest proposals also still rely on many of the states corporate and banking giants to pay more. Financial institutions with annual net income of $1 billion or more would see the rate for an additional tax they pay rise from 1.2% to 1.5% starting Oct. 1. This will impact about 200 businesses, Democrats have said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 400 corporations with more than $250 million in annual revenue would be subject to a 0.5% surcharge for four years. The new plan also still targets wealthier individual taxpayers with the addition of a second tier of the states capital gains tax, which took effect in 2022 and has been upheld in court. Washington imposes a 7% tax on gains over $270,000 from the sale or exchange of long-term assets like stocks, bonds and business interests. Senate Bill 5813 and House Bill 2082 call for a new 9.9% tax on gains greater than $1 million, an idea Senate Democrats discussed in December. This would bring in an additional $280 million for the budget, $560 million over four years. One piece of the original House plan is retained. It would allow an increase in annual property tax growth from the current 1% cap to the combined rate of population growth plus inflation within a taxing district, not to exceed 3%. This would apply to the states common schools levy and for cities and counties, as well as special purpose districts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A fiscal analysis for House Bill 2049 estimated uncapping the state property tax would bring in an additional $200 million in the next biennium and $618 million in the 2027-29 budget. The legislation could be voted on Friday in the House Finance Committee. The Senate version will be among several tax bills receiving public hearings in the Senate Ways and Means Committee at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Fault lines Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, noted the new revenue legislation arrived on the same day as this years deadline for individuals to file their federal income taxes. This isnt just bad timing; its bad governing, he said in a statement. Washington families are already feeling the pinch of high inflation, soaring housing costs, and a slowing economy. Now, Democrats want to pile on even more taxes on small businesses, on innovation, and on the very people who are trying to build a future here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, the Republican lead on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said Tuesday it will be his number one job in the waning days of the session to defend the people who will be hit hard by the massive taxes. Then, invoking the words of the late President Ronald Reagan, Gildon said, When someone says they want to tax business, what theyre really saying is they want to tax you, they just dont want you to know theyre taxing you. A few hundred people showed up on the Capitol steps on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 to voice their opposition against tax increases proposed by Democrats in the Washington state Legislature. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard) Several hundred people gathered outside the state Capitol on Tuesday afternoon to protest against Democrats tax plans. Elizabeth Doll of Bainbridge Island said if property taxes climb, her landlord will likely be forced to pass it on in the form of higher rent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats in Washington say they want to follow the science but theyve been unwilling to follow the science of economics, she said. Stop the property tax. Stop the tax increases. Stop harming those of us who are trying to make a living and become successful adults. Braun was one of several Republican lawmakers to address the crowd. We want fiscal restraint. We want fiscal responsibility, Braun said. We need your voice pushing back against all the taxes that they cant seem to get enough of. Not all concern Tuesday came from Republicans and the business community. Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle, disagreed with exempting Boeing from the four-year surcharge imposed on companies with annual earnings above $250 million. He said hes drafted an amendment to exempt the firm from the added 0.5% tax for two years and it would pay the final two years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are in a budget climate today where we are asking everyday people to make sacrifices, he said. It is disappointing to see that some of the entities who have gotten the best deal from the government are potentially going to get off scott-free. This story has been updated. West Virginia Senate President Randy Smith, seen on the final night of the session on April 12, 2025, said that he didnt understand the legislative procedures that led to the passage of Senate Bill 474. (Will Price | West Virginia Legislative Photography) The West Virginia Democratic Party on Tuesday condemned Senate Republicans passage of a bill ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the state, saying the way they did so violated the Legislatures rules. What happened on the Senate floor was nothing short of disgraceful, Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said in a release Tuesday. They did not allow any debate. They didnt even allow us to take up the amendments we had filed in the system and have a hearing on each of them which I believe, under the rules, is something that had to happen. The rules were simply not followed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia has threatened legal action if Gov. Patrick Morrisey signs the bill into law. The Senate passed Senate Bill 474 March 26. The House of Delegates passed it at 10:41 p.m. Saturday, a little over an hour before the legislative session ended. When the bill got back to the Senate to concur with House changes to the legislation, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, made a motion to suspend Joint Legislative Rule 3, which governs how amendments to amendments and disagreements are handled between the two legislative chambers. The motion was adopted and the Senate concurred without considering any of the 13 amendments to the bill that Garcia filed. Minutes later, Tarr withdrew the motion to suspend Joint Rule 3 due to a technical error. Another member then moved the previous question to consider the Joint Rule 3 motion again and concur with and pass the Houses version of Senate Bill 474. Again, the Senate voted 31-2 approving the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As motions were considered, microphones for Garcia and Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell the lone no votes on the bill were muted while they attempted to call points of order on Tarrs motions as well as Smiths rulings. According to the Democrats, Tarrs motion to suspend Joint Rule 3 required a two-thirds vote by the Senate and concurrence by the House of Delegates, neither of which happened. The Democrats also criticized comments from Senate President Randy Smith, who said after the chaos that he didnt understand the legislative procedures that led to the passage of the bill. His job, he told West Virginia Watch, is to preside over the body and the process, but other people tell him what is within the rules and not. The Senate President is the presiding officer of the Senate. Its literally his job to make sure rules and procedures are properly followed, West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin said in the news release. In this instance, President Smith didnt just neglect his duties; he actively abdicated his responsibility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith, through a spokeswoman for the Senate, did not comment further on Tuesday. Senate Bill 474 is the legislative side of an executive order posed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey that bans offering specific services or opportunities to people based on their race, color, ethnicity, country of origin and, in some instances, sex. Its reflective of a trend spearheaded by Republicans nationwide meant to undermine and end DEI in all its forms. This story has been updated to reflect that the ACLU-WV has threatened legal action if the Senate Bill 474 is signed into law. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX More congressional Democrats are planning trips to El Salvador to meet with government officials and visit the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported from the United States by the Trump administration. The various visits are being arranged as awareness and alarm continue to grow around the circumstances surrounding the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who is now being held in a prison in his home country after Trump officials linked him to gang activity for which he was never charged. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, the No. 4 Senate Democrat, is organizing a trip to El Salvador, according to a person granted anonymity to share his plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Separately, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced during a town hall Tuesday night that he is planning to go to El Salvador Wednesday making good on a vow to travel to the country if Abrego Garcia was not released. He had also requested a meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele while the Salvadoran leader was in the United States. The growing concern from Democrats comes after the administration contended that it is not legally obligated to arrange for Abrego Garcias return to the United States even after acknowledging his deportation was in error. A recent Supreme Court ruling, the administration argued, only requires officials to admit him into the country if he makes it back from the high-security prison in El Salvador, where he is currently in custody. Bukele said in the Oval Office on Monday he would not return Abrego Garcia. Some House Democrats who initially expressed interest publicly in traveling with Van Hollen are now trying to plan trips of their own, arguing that sending their own congressional delegation would allow lawmakers to conduct a welfare check on Abrego Garcia and others the administration has recently deported to El Salvador. We are prepared to travel as soon as possible. We would gladly include any Republican Members of the Committee who wish to participate, Democratic Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida and Robert Garcia of California wrote Tuesday in a letter to House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.). Given that the Senate has already authorized CODEL travel to CECOT, we believe the House should also be represented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were referring to El Salvadors Terrorism Confinement Center, the isolated maximum security prison where Abrego Garcia is currently confined. Though House Democrats could travel on their own to El Salvador, they need sign off from a House GOP chair for the travel to constitute an official congressional trip, known as a CODEL. A spokesperson for Comer, who is chair of the committee on which Frost and Garcia are members, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. DENVER (KDVR) Students in the Denver Public Schools system will now be able to earn associate degrees in high-demand fields thanks to a new law. Last week, Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 25-1221, Emily Griffith Associate of Applied Science Degree, permitting the technical college to offer Associate of Applied Science degrees through a registered apprenticeship program and transferable general education courses. Polis signs bill preventing new liquor licenses from being issued to grocery stores Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Emily Griffith Technical College is self-described as the public, postsecondary and adult education arm of the Denver Public Schools system. Until now, the college has offered career and technical education certificates, concurrent enrollment for high school students, apprenticeships, English language acquisition and GED and continuing education courses. This new credential can help connect more Coloradans to needed skills that lead to good-paying jobs. I appreciate the work of the sponsors on this legislation and look forward to seeing Coloradans take advantage of it, said Governor Jared Polis in a signing ceremony on Thursday. DPS called the legislation groundbreaking and said it makes DPS the first pK-12 public education system in Colorado and one if not the very first in the entire United States to be able to issue higher education degrees. This is a transformative moment not just for DPS, but for public education across the country, said DPS Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero in a release on Monday. By removing barriers between high school, college, and career, were reimagining what it means to truly prepare students for 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 FOX31 Denver. DENVER (KDVR) The warmer weather is back on Tuesday, with highs in the 70s and mainly sunny skies before changes arrive by Friday in the Denver weather forecast. Weather today: Sunny and comfy Denver will see mainly sunny skies by Tuesday afternoon, helping highs climb into the lower 70s. The above-average temperatures will feel nice, with a light wind out of the north. Sign up for the FOX31 Denver Guide weekly newsletter for events and activities Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The southern mountains have a chance to see a quick afternoon shower. Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on April 15 Weather tonight: Extra clouds A few clouds from the late afternoon could linger Tuesday night with light winds. Overnight low temperatures will dip into the mid-40s, keeping Denver mild. Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on April 15 Looking ahead: Mild before end of week changes Wednesday is another warm afternoon with highs in the mid-70s and increasing clouds. There is a small chance for some light showers in the mountains and maybe the metro later in the day on Wednesday. View the latest Weather Alerts in Denver and across Colorado on FOX31 Thursday has morning sunshine with highs in the lower 70s, clouds in the afternoon and maybe a late shower before midnight. Pinpoint Weather: Next chance for moisture on April 18-19 Most of the moisture will move in overnight and into Friday. Rain and snow showers are possible Thursday night and through Friday with a breezy wind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With showers in the area on Friday, highs will be much cooler in the lower 40s. This system may begin to wrap up on Saturday, and there is the chance for some light accumulations along the Front Range, but better chances for snow to accumulate will be in the high country. Pinpoint Weather 7-day forecast for Denver on April 15 Saturday has extra clouds with below-average highs in the low 50s. Denver could still see some precipitation on Saturday, but models arent in great agreement on the end of this system. Easter Sunday should have a mix of sun and clouds with more seasonal highs in the lower 60s. Sunshine is back with above-average highs, nearing 70 degrees, on Monday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. DENVER (KDVR) Warmer weather and sunshine will move back into Denvers weather forecast ahead of the next chance for showers. Weather tonight: Mainly clear Monday night will stay mainly clear and cool. Low temperatures will fall to the low to mid-30s, which is right in range with normal for this time of year. FOX31 Weather: View the latest Denver forecasts, maps and radar Weather tomorrow: Sunny, warmer More sunshine is in Tuesdays forecast. High temperatures will climb to the 70s, which is more than 10 degrees above average. Looking ahead: Rain & snow showers Wednesday will start off with sunshine as high temperatures climb to the mid-70s, ahead of stray showers in the evening. The better chance for showers will move in by the end of the week and into the start of the weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thursday will start off mild with a high in the 70s and increasing clouds. Then, the chance for showers will move in alongside breezy conditions. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up for weather alerts from the Pinpoint Weather team Rain will mix with snow Thursday night as temperatures drop into the 30s. Friday will be the coolest and wettest day of the week, with a high only reaching the 40s alongside a mix of rain and snow showers that will change over to snow Friday night into Saturday. This could lead to a light grassy accumulation of snowfall Saturday morning, ahead of clearing conditions by the afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Visitors take an elevator at the venue of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) GUANGZHOU, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Tuesday, with the number of export exhibitors exceeding 30,000 for the first time in the history of this famous event. Scheduled to take place from April 15 to May 5 in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, this edition of the fair has attracted about 31,000 participating firms, up by nearly 900 compared with the previous fair. More than 200,000 overseas buyers from 215 countries and regions have preregistered, with the lineup featuring the likes of retail giants Walmart and Target from the United States, Carrefour from France, Tesco and Kingfisher from Britain, and Germany's Metro. This edition of the fair is divided into three phases. The first will focus on advanced manufacturing, the second on quality home furnishings, and the third on products that promote a better quality of life. The event will involve 172 product zones, including, for the first time, a special zone for service robots focused on showcasing the latest achievements of China's AI development efforts. Xinhua reporters at the fair witnessed an exhibition hall becoming packed with participants just after 9 a.m. Notably, the exhibition area focusing on service robots was especially busy. Many overseas buyers used their mobile phones to capture images of robotic dogs, industrial exoskeleton equipment, automatic cruise robots, coffee-making robots and other products, while asking exhibitors for more details about their functions. "This Canton Fair is held in the year when China's '14th Five-Year Plan' nears completion -- which is of great significance in promoting the innovative development of trade, thus ensuring stable foreign trade volume and improving foreign trade quality," said Zhang Sihong, deputy director of the China Foreign Trade Center. He noted that the large gathering of global buyers at the fair underlined the trust of the international business community in made-in-China products. Guo Yanhu with Gree, a leading home appliances enterprise, said that through green technology innovation and AI intelligent upgrading, the company provides users with efficient and low-carbon solutions, having sold products to more than 190 countries and regions in 2024. The Canton Fair has always been an important driver of global trade, said Andre Rocha, president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Goias, Brazil. Here, people can learn about the major global development trends and cutting-edge technologies, as well as solutions that can actually boost industrial development, he added. Established in 1957, the Canton Fair is held twice a year in Guangzhou. It is the longest-running of several comprehensive international trade events in China and has been hailed as the barometer of China's foreign trade. Despite the weak momentum of global economic growth, intensified trade protectionism and geopolitical tensions, China's foreign trade has maintained stable growth. According to the General Administration of Customs, China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms expanded 1.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2025. China's exports rose 6.9 percent to 6.13 trillion yuan (about 850.1 billion U.S. dollars) during this period, while imports fell 6 percent to 4.17 trillion yuan. In addition, the fifth China International Consumer Products Expo, being held on the tropical island province of Hainan in south China this week, has also reaffirmed China's position as a vital marketplace for global enterprises. It has drawn record participation from over 4,100 brands across 71 countries and regions, reflecting the expanding international appetite for engagement with China's vast consumer market and its evolving landscape. A foreign buyer (C) has business talks at the venue of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) People talk about business at the venue of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) People visit the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) People visit the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Rowan County deputies successfully used a robot to lead to a peaceful surrender, the first time the technology was deployed in the field, the sheriffs office said. On Monday, April 14, deputies responded to a welfare check at an apartment complex in Salisbury. The caller told deputies there was a man inside an apartment who had been drinking, was suicidal, and possibly armed with a gun. Law enforcement contacted the man over the phone, but that was unsuccessful, and he eventually hung up on the negotiators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies then decided to deploy the robot to enter the residence to determine if the man was armed and to see if he could be persuaded to come out and surrender. Once the robot was inside, deputies could see inside the apartment, and negotiators were able to communicate with him through the robot. Credit: Rowan County Sheriffs Office Officials say he eventually came out without further incident, and he was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The sheriffs office received a grant from North Carolina in 2024, part of which was used to buy the robot that helped end this situation peacefully. Successful missions like these are the reason the Rowan County Sheriffs Office must use every opportunity available to seek funding to improve and modernize our equipment and services. Sheriff Travis Allen said. One cannot put a price on the life of a citizen or Deputy. Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area >> Latest stories 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 Queen City News. A Nobles County Sheriff's deputy is in critical condition after his stopped squad vehicle was struck on Interstate 90 on Sunday. The Minnesota State Patrol says the crash happened just after 4:30 p.m. on I-90 near milepost 34 in Dewald Township. That's where Deputy Arnold Waldner was stopped and in his Nobles County Dodge Durango squad when it was struck by a Chevy Equinox driven by a 63-year-old Sioux Falls woman. According to the crash report, Waldner's patrol vehicle "was parked with lights activated" while assisting at the scene of a separate crash investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 30-year-old deputy from Worthington was taken to Sanford Hospital in Worthington with life-threatening injuries. The crash report states Waldner was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash. "Please continue to hold Deputy Waldner in your thoughts and prayers," Nobles County Sheriff Ryan Kruger said, noting that Waldner has been with the sheriff's office for two years. Waldner was in critical condition as of Monday afternoon. A fund account has been established at 1st State Bank Southwest in Worthington for anyone interested in contributing to Waldner's medical costs. Those interested can call 507-376-9747 or visit the bank in person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Sioux Falls driver was taken to the Sanford Luverne Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcements latest version of events, and may be subject to change. Gov. Ron DeSantis bashes the TRUMP Act during a press conference in Destin on Jan. 31, 2025. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass stands next to the governor. (Screenshot Florida Channel) Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo lives in Pinellas County, nearly 260 miles from the Florida Department of Healths central office in Tallahassee, but lawmakers want him and other executive branch appointees to move to the state capital. Florida Surgeon General attends a press conference raising awareness of the dangers of leaving children in hot cars in front of the Florida Historic Capitol on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled Tuesday he would veto the legislation, which he said would have the effect of firing agency heads who dont live in Tallahassee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Proposals that a Senate panel approved unanimously Tuesday and the House could vote on Wednesday would end remote work for agency heads and other appointees of the governor by Oct. 1. Theyre saying all the agency heads must live in the swamp, DeSantis said during a press conference in Pensacola. I want to drain the swamp; I dont want to refill the swamp. Where are they getting this? Its an asinine proposal. While the governors bashing was aimed at the House, the Senate is also moving forward with the proposal. Theyre pulling it out of their rear ends and trying to jam it through this process. Over my veto pen, DeSantis said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vero Beach Republican Sen. Erin Gralls bill, SB 1760, additionally would require university trustees and members of the Board of Governors to be U,S. citizens and state residents. Trustees must be alumni of the university theyre appointed to and members of the board must be alumni of a state university if they dont live in the state. The Republican senator said she wasnt trying to target any specific agency heads with her proposal. We have agencies that have leaders the secretary or the executive director, or the chief administrative officer who need to be present. This is to further the conversation about what does this mean, Grall said during the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government meeting. She added: If they choose to live in another place, should we be reimbursing the cost of that travel? Scrutiny for outsiders Trustees must move to Florida by Jan. 6, 2027, to keep their posts under the proposal. New College of Florida Trustee Christopher Rufo is an example of a DeSantis appointee who is neither a Florida resident nor an alumnus, yet has helped lead the governors culture war on higher education at the Sarasota institution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most recently, a panel of senators recommended against confirmation of one of DeSantis nominees for the University of West Florida Board of Trustees. Lawmakers criticized Adam Kissell, a Heritage Foundation fellow, for living in West Virginia. I think that its unfortunate when you look at the number of trustees that that are on our slate for confirmation, and you look at where a lot of them are from, and you look at one individual, particularly, who is not even from our state, said Republican Sen. Jay Trumbull, who represents the area, during the March 27 panel. Kissel has faced criticism for advocating defunding of public universities and suggesting the GI bill led to over-enrolled four-year colleges. While the Senate bill has to get through one more committee, the House version, HB 1445, from Melbourne Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield, is up on the floor this week. House wants to stop politicking from state employees Brevard County Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield. (Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives) A provision prohibiting unelected state employees from conducting campaign-type activities while theyre working is missing from the Senate version of the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Mayfields proposal, state employees couldnt participate in political campaigns, solicit contributions, or use their authority to influence peoples votes. Those prohibitions would apply both to candidate and issue campaigns, and employees could face a first-degree misdemeanor penalties if they do so. The move from the House comes after NBC News reported that state employees in the governors office called lobbyists to request donations for a political committee aligned with DeSantis as he and the First Lady hinted that she was mulling a run for governor. State employees also engaged in activities that could be banned when they joined DeSantis campaign against last years ballot initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana and protect abortion access. Both Ladapo and Jason Weida, former secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, were targets of lawsuits over the health departments letters threatening broadcasters that aired ads on behalf of the pro-abortion-rights campaign, Amendment 4. The surgeon general also appeared in press conferences against the passage of the marijuana constitutional amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AHCAs creation of a webpage stating that Amendment 4 threatens womens safety and Weidas promotion of it prompted a complaint to the Florida Supreme Court, which ultimately sided with the DeSantis administration because the plaintiff lacked standing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department are seeking witnesses or potential victims of a 26-year-old Armenian national arrested for kidnapping a teenage girl, officials announced Monday. Varush Manoukyan was arrested on April 10 for a kidnapping that occurred a day earlier at around 5 p.m., according to a community alert released by LAPDs Mission Division. The victim, a female in her mid-teens, was able to immediately escape from the suspects vehicle and notify police, officials said. Varush Manoukyan, 26, an Armenia national seen with his black 2014 Mercedes sedan. (LAPD) Authorities say the 26-year-old may have approached victims in his vehicle, a black 2014 Mercedes E350 four-door sedan, speaking a foreign language. He has reportedly been known to try and use his cell phone to translate a request for direction or to ask for some type of assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VIDEO: Dangerous Southern California stolen vehicle pursuit ends in crash The vehicle and the 26-year-old are currently in police custody, officials said. According to detectives, Manoukyan may have frequented the following areas in the last two to three months: Van Nuys and Roscoe Boulevard area in Panorama City 1640 block of West 3rd Street in Los Angeles 3000 block of West 3rd Street in Los Angeles 7000 South Hoover Street near Mt. Carmel Recreation Center in L.A. Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Sheldon Street in Sun Valley Authorities added that potential victims, including any females approached or contacted by Manoukyan, can report the incident to detectives at LAPDs Mission Division. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information about this investigation is urged to contact Detective Anderson at 818-838-9810 or the Mission Area Station front desk at 818-838-9800. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Apr. 14WILKES-BARRE The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services this week released the latest issue of the Positive Approaches Journal, which aims to provide the most recent research for people with mental and behavioral health challenges, intellectual disabilities, autism, and other developmental disabilities to help them live an everyday life. This edition provides resources on how to best support the physical and mental health needs of individuals with disabilities. "The Shapiro Administration believes that every Pennsylvanian with an intellectual disability or autism deserves to receive the supports they need to achieve an everyday life with dignity and opportunity to pursue their goals and live, work and recreate among their families and peers," said DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh. "It is our hope that the research in this edition of the Positive Approaches Journal can help Pennsylvanians find the resources they need to improve their everyday lives." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the 2024-25 budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro secured $354.8 million in federal and state funding to ensure more than 40,000 Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities or autism have access to the services they need. In less than one year, this investment reduced the adult emergency waiting list for services by nearly 20% and decreased the direct support professional vacancy rate to 14% the lowest it has been since 2015. This edition of the Positive Approaches Journal features research and articles on the following: Data Discoveries details health care shortages in physical and mental health professions, and details where these shortages are creating the most need. Applying Public Health Principles to Health Psychology explores how systemic factors influence mental health, and discusses public health policy solutions aimed at addressing systemic trauma and promoting overall wellness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cooking with Confidence for Autistic Individuals highlights positive outcomes and lessons learned from the community-based educational program that allows individuals with autism to practice independent living skills, and participate in social and community engagement, through hands-on cooking classes. The Fatal Five and the Importance of Monitoring outlines the five primary conditions that significantly elevate the risk of mortality in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and details ways to prevent these risks. Voices of Suicide discusses the negative impacts of stigma around behavioral health, and details organizations that are attempting to fight this stigma. Supporting crime survivors highlighted Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In honor of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and Office of Victim Advocate, this week teamed up with statewide victim advocacy organizations to highlight the importance of supporting survivors, raising awareness of their rights, and Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed $9 million investment in the Victims Compensation Assistance Program in the 2025-26 state budget. National Crime Victims' Rights Week highlights the importance of ensuring that victims of crime receive the support, protection, and justice they deserve. Last year, more than 323,000 Pennsylvanians were victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, gun violence, assault, human trafficking, homicide and other crimes. "Ensuring that victims are informed, respected, and supported throughout their healing journey is our top priority," said Kathy Buckley, director of PCCD's office of victims' services. "No crime victim should have to worry about paying for medical care, no family should face the stress of funeral costs, and no survivor of sexual assault should have to choose between healing and financial hardship. This week is about making sure victims know their rights including their right to financial support to help through some of their most difficult times." A critical resource available to Pennsylvania residents is PCCD's VCAP, which provides financial assistance to victims for expenses incurred as a result of a crime. Each year, VCAP receives an average of 12,000 claims for eligible expenses, including medical and counseling expenses, loss of earnings, loss of support, stolen cash, relocation, funeral costs and crime scene cleanup. Over the past five years, PCCD has paid more than 67,000 VCAP claims totaling $67 million in eligible expenses for residents across all 67 Pennsylvania counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VCAP partners with 887 Pennsylvania police departments to analyze crime reports for eligible expenses quickly, ensuring timely financial assistance for victims. Last year, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Police, PCCD streamlined the process, reducing report turnaround time from months to days, expediting support for those in need. PCCD supports child advocacy centers and multidisciplinary investigative teams statewide and also provides funding to over 200 victim service programs across Pennsylvania to support essential services for individuals who have experienced crime victimization, including counseling, emergency shelter and safe housing, notification of criminal justice events, crisis intervention, hotlines and crisis counseling, and emergency justice-related assistance. Future of AI innovation to be reviewed The Senate Majority Policy Committee, chaired by Sen. Dave Argall, R-Pottsville, and the House Republican Policy Committee, chaired by Rep. David Rowe, R-85, will visit Pittsburgh this week at the invitation of Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, R-24, to discuss the future of AI innovation in Pennsylvania. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public hearing will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday at Astrobotic Technology, located at 1016 N. Lincoln Ave., Pittsburgh. "As we look to the future, it's crucial that we understand the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence," said Sen. Pennycuick, who chairs the Senate Communications and Technology Committee. "This discussion will help ensure Pennsylvania remains competitive, forward-thinking, and prepared to lead in this rapidly evolving field." "Artificial intelligence is the future," said Sen. Argall. "By learning from the experts at the forefront of this emerging industry, we can prepare Pennsylvania to effectively harness this technology and grow our economy." Panelists for this hearing will include industry experts, educators, and local and statewide business officials. The hearing will be live-streamed on the Senate Majority Policy Committee's website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local representative introduced legislation State Rep. Bridget M. Kosierowski, D-Waverly, and colleagues introduced two bipartisan bills that would ensure all Food and Drug Administration-approved formulations of epinephrine used to treat serious allergic reactions and anaphylaxis can be administered in Pennsylvania schools and other settings as codified in state law. The legislative package HB 1043 and HB 1044 would replace "epinephrine auto-injector" with "epinephrine delivery system" in statutes related to the use of epinephrine under state law. In August 2024, the FDA approved a nasal formulation of epinephrine for treatment of serious allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, necessitating an update of state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "As a registered nurse for 30 years, I know full well how important time is during an emergency," Kosierowski, D-Lackawanna, added. "This tweak to state law will allow epinephrine to be more readily available when people need it." House Bills 1043 and 1044 have been referred to the House Health Committee. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle. Protestors outside the U.S. District Court of Maryland in Greenbelt rally in support of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Maryland father who was deported to El Salvador in an "administrative error, calling for him to be returned to the U.S. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom) The 14th Amendment of the Constitution bestowed a new covenant of law and order to the several states, citizens and residents of the United States. While born or naturalized citizens are entitled to certain rights and privileges that noncitizens are not, namely franchise and eligibility for public office, Section 1 of the amendment makes abundantly clear that any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States is entitled to equal protection of, and due process under, her laws. Neither the federal government nor the states may hold any person subject to their jurisdiction to a lower standard of legal protection or override the legal process this condition does not move with the tide of political ideology in Washington, and its application ought not to change with popular sentiment toward immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These constitutional realities, nonetheless, clash with the prerogative of the Trump White House. Within 100 days, enabled through Congress via the Laken Riley Act, the due process and equal protection clauses have been overridden. The consequences have been gravely concerning, with one Maryland family being ripped apart in a gross display of administrative incompetence. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was recently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and subsequently deported to the CECOT megaprison in El Salvador. He is a resident of Prince Georges County and has a wife and three young children who are all U.S. citizens. He fled El Salvador due to gang activity targeting his business, and a U.S. judge granted Temporary Protected Status on the basis that he would likely be targeted and harmed by gang violence were he to return to his home country. Your opinion matters Maryland Matters welcomes guest commentary submissions at editor@marylandmatters.org. We suggest a 750-word limit and reserve the right to edit or reject submissions. We do not accept columns that are endorsements of candidates, and no longer accept submissions from elected officials or political candidates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion pieces must be signed by at least one individual using their real name. We do not accept columns signed by an organization. Commentary writers must include a short bio and a photo for their bylines. Views of writers are their own. The administration has conceded that he was incorrectly detained based on an administrative error, with Robert Cerna, the acting field office director for enforcement and removal operations for ICE saying so in a sworn statement. Despite this, the administration argues that Abrego Garcia cannot be retrieved because he is now under Salvadorean jurisdiction. The U.S. District Court for Maryland ordered Abrego Garcia returned no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 7, and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that order. The Supreme Court paused the district court order briefly, but on April 10 it sent the case back to the lower court, directing the government to facilitate Abrego Garcias return and ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security doubled down on their assertion that Abrego Garcia is affiliated with the gang MS-13. Tricia McLaughin, DHS spokesperson, stated without evidence in a Fox News interview that he is involved in human trafficking, and in a later interview with National Public Radio cited an unnamed immigration judge who allegedly determined his affiliation with MS-13. When pressed to provide evidence for her claims, McLaughin said the information was law enforcement sensitive and its release would undermine national security. In a clear-cut example of Orwellian doublespeak, McLaughlin told NPR on April 7 that due process is being applied to each case of deportation, but that it looks different for terrorists: In every single case, there is due process. When youre looking at members of MS-13 and Tren de Aragua and other terrorist organizations that were designated as terrorist organizations under President Trump and the Trump administration, due process does look different because youre under terrorist authority. So its going to be more law enforcement sensitive, but I can guarantee, and our DOJ guarantees, due process to these individuals. She asserts that due process is adhered to, then proceeds to rationalize a lack of due process on the basis of a national security threat that has not been demonstrated or proven. If this statement was not in direct contradiction to DHSs own admission of error, perhaps it would be more convincing. The complete lack of evidence presented, along with her antagonistic response to the fact that Abrego Garcia is a Maryland father, demonstrates the truth of the matter: the Trump administration is mandating Homeland Security to override the constitutional rule of law, and is prepared to defend the illegal detention and deportation of an innocent man to a foreign prison rife with human rights abuses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Salvadoran President Nayib Bukeles visit to the White House on Monday, both he and Trump resolved that they do not intend to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States, defying the 9-0 Supreme Court verdict and teeing up a constitutional crisis. If this can happen to one Maryland family, the fabric of communities across the state is now jeopardized. This disruption to law and order ought to spark a sense of urgency in Maryland lawmakers to defend their oath to the laws of the United States, advocate for Marylanders and protect their communities even, and especially, when the federal government cannot be relied upon to do so. People linger around a POP MART store, a Chinese pop culture brand, near Louvre Museum in Paris, France, on March 18, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) Editor's note: China has long been known as the "factory of the world," with the Made-in-China label often associated with cheap and low-quality products. However, this perception is now becoming a thing of the past. Driven by rising R&D investment and consumption upgrades, many Chinese manufacturers are advancing up the value chain and gaining ground in the high-end market. Xinhua hereby presents a series of three stories that examine upgrades in the country's manufacturing sector. The following is the first piece in the series that explores how the toy industry is reinventing itself to go global. BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Paris' Louvre Museum has become the latest hot spot for toy collectors, with enthusiasts lining up for exclusive designer toys from Chinese pop culture brand POP MART, featuring its iconic characters like Labubu redesigned after Western art masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, Van Gogh's self-portrait and Manet's The Fifer. POP MART opened a 60-square-meter store near the museum last summer as part of its overseas market expansion, drawing fans from across Europe. Victoire, a POP MART fan from France, has been collecting the brand's blind box figurines for a year and a half. "I'm quite fascinated with the concepts the blind boxes contain. They are incredibly adorable and colorful. They bring joy to the inner child within me," the lady in her 20s told Xinhua. For decades, China has been known as the "factory of the world" for low-cost products. POP MART's designer toys stand as a prime example of a new wave of innovative Chinese products, revolutionizing global perspectives on "Made in China" within the toy industry. DESIGNER TOY ON A ROLL With its original intellectual property (IP) and innovative designs, Beijing-based POP MART has quickly risen in the burgeoning blind box market, where primarily young consumers are spending heavily on collectible figurines shrouded in mystery. The brand operates over 500 retail stores and nearly 2,500 Robo Shops worldwide. With the help of these stores and e-commerce platforms, its products have been sold in nearly 100 countries and regions. POP MART's revenue more than doubled last year to 13 billion yuan (about 1.8 billion U.S. dollars), and its adjusted net profit surged nearly 186 percent year on year to 3.4 billion yuan. Sales in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, together with overseas markets, soared 375 percent to nearly 5.1 billion yuan. Nan Fang, a Chinese artist based in Paris for over a decade, has witnessed firsthand the rise and the success of Chinese designer toys in the overseas market. "POP MART products are far more than merely toys. These items are, in essence, vibrant artworks imbued with life and spirit," she said. Besides POP MART, WoFactory in China's southern city of Dongguan, China's toy manufacturing heartland, also witnessed success in the designer toy market. It has so far received orders totaling over 100 million yuan for merchandise based on characters from "Ne Zha 2," the blockbuster animated sequel that has sparked a nationwide craze for IP derivatives and a surge in demand for Ne Zha-themed merchandise. Following a strong start to the year, WoFactory president Sun Wenke expressed confidence that robust sales growth will continue throughout the rest of 2025. Dongguan is home to over 4,000 manufacturers and nearly 1,500 supporting enterprises in the designer toy industry, producing nearly 85 percent of China's designer toys and a quarter of the global animation-related merchandise. Nationwide, China's designer toy industry is poised for robust expansion in the coming years. Industrial data showed that the market size of China's designer toys is expected to exceed 110 billion yuan in 2026, nearly doubling from around 60 billion yuan in 2023 and taking up around 20 percent of the global designer toy market. Sun Wenkai, a research fellow at Renmin University of China, believes that an efficient industrial chain, huge domestic demand, decades of production experience, and the rise of Chinese designers who understand cultural diversity are the key drivers behind the rapid development of China's designer toy industry. EMBARKING ON AI WAVE As China's technological capabilities expand with the rollout of more AI models, many toy makers are increasingly leveraging AI as a powerful tool to enhance product interactivity and overall appeal. One of the companies riding the wave of AI innovation is Shanghai-based startup FoloToy. Using Chinese AI chips and the popular chatbot DeepSeek, FoloToy has turned fluffy animal-shaped toys into interactive English tutors and daily companions for children, according to Wang Le, the company's founder and CEO. FoloToy started developing AI-integrated toys in 2023 and has sold more than 20,000 units through e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and Amazon in 2024. In the city of Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, a major global trading hub for small commodities, toy retailers have also seen a surging demand for AI-powered toys. "We've designed Arabic-speaking smart dolls for the Middle Eastern market, with about 70 percent of our recent orders coming from the region," said Sun Lijuan, owner and designer of a local toy store. Yiwu's highly efficient industrial chain enables new products to move from concept to production in as little as a day, giving manufacturers a sharp competitive edge. Thanks to mature industrial clusters, intellectual capital and the push for brand building, China has built a competitive edge in high-end manufacturing and brand operations, said An Zidong, professor of economics at Renmin University of China. "Driven by structural changes in the labor force, consumption upgrades and technological progress, China's manufacturing industry is undergoing a profound transformation toward high-end, brand-oriented and intelligent development," An added. People linger around a POP MART store, a Chinese pop culture brand, near Louvre Museum in Paris, France, on March 18, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) People linger around a POP MART store, a Chinese pop culture brand, near Louvre Museum in Paris, France, on March 18, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui) Indian-born diamond dealer Mehul Choksi has been arrested in connection with an almost $2-billion bank fraud, with Indian authorities requesting his extradition from Belgium, his lawyer Vijay Aggarwal said on Tuesday. Choksi, 65, was reportedly captured on Saturday and is receiving medical treatment for cancer. His lawyer advocates for his release to defend himself against extradition outside of prison, asserting there is no risk of flight. The Indian police CBI accuses Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi of fraudulently obtaining illegal loans from the state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scandal, which emerged several years ago, involved unauthorized transfers worth about $1.8 billion discovered in 2018 at a Mumbai branch. The funds reportedly flowed abroad through other financial institutions, with PNB employees allegedly assisting Choksi and Modi in obtaining the loans. Modi was captured in London in 2019 and remains in a British prison, also facing an extradition request. Indian media reports suggest Choksi has been hiding mainly in the Caribbean and with family in Antwerp, a global diamond trade centre, since the scandal. The potential transfer of Choksi and Modi to India remains unclear. Choksi's lawyer plans to argue against extradition by claiming it is a "political case" and citing inhumane conditions in Indian detention facilities. While Elon Musk may not be in the headlines as often as he used to be, the White House press secretary says he hasn't gone anywhere. Recent reports say President Trump told members of his inner cabinet that Musk would be stepping back from his role with DOGE in the coming weeks. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, responded on X, formerly Twitter, that this wasn't true. As of April 15, there has been no announcement of Musk stepping down from his position. On Friday, April 11, Musk announced that DOGE would lower its projected savings estimate for fiscal year 2026 from $1 trillion to $150 billion. As recently as a March 27 interview on Fox News, Musk said he was on pace to eliminate $1 trillion in federal spending by the end of May. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's what to know about Musk's position with DOGE and its future. Is Elon Musk leaving DOGE soon? In an X response, Leavitt said, "Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete." President Trump told reporters late last month that while he's pleased with Musk, he would eventually return to running Tesla and SpaceX, USA TODAY reports. "I think he's been amazing, but I also think he's got a big company to run," Trump said on March 31 in the Oval Office. "And at some point, he's going to be going back. He wants to." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Made in America: Tesla is under attack, why Americans are abandoning the brand and Elon Musk When does Elon Musk's position with DOGE end? Officially, Musk is designated as a special government employee, allowing him to work temporarily for 130 days. According to the U.S. Federal Labor Relations Authority, his employee status is "not to exceed 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days. Using the 130-day timeline, Musk should depart his position at the end of May or early June. If he performs duties beyond the 130-day stint, he would still be a special government employee, as the 130 days are considered a "good faith estimate," according to the agency's ethics rules. What happens to the $5,000 DOGE checks if Musk leaves? If Elon Musk departs from his role overseeing DOGE, it likely will not impact whether Americans receive the proposed $5,000 stimulus checks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk says that DOGE payouts are up to President Trump and Congress to decide. It's somewhat up to Congress and maybe the president to, you know, as to whether specific checks are cut, Musk said in a rally in Wisconsin on March 30, USA TODAY reports. How much money has DOGE saved? According to the Department of Government Efficiency's website, the agency had saved an estimated total of $155 billion as of April 14. Based on an estimated 161 million taxpayers, the department had saved about $960 per taxpayer. The top agencies DOGE has cut the most from, as of April 14, are: Department of Health and Human Services Department of Education General Services Administration Department of Labor Office of Personnel Management Department of Housing and Urban Development Small Business Administration Environmental Protection Agency Department of Agriculture Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department's website does not list how much money has been saved from each agency altogether. USA TODAY contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Is Elon Musk leaving DOGE soon? What to know about his position Some Vilano Beach residents are breathing a sigh of relief since the St. Johns County Cultural Resources Review Board is putting a pause on the fate of the Magic Beach Motel. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The demolition permit applicant and prospective developer, Rick Johnston, says he acknowledges the motels charm and its cultural significance in the Vilano Beach community, but with the motel being in a flood plain and increasing costs to get the building up to regulation code, Johnston called the structure not salvageable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Magic Beach Motel owner, Tejal Patel, says Johnston has plans to transform the property into a commercial/residential use space with Johnstons vow to retain some elements of the property. Not everyone was satisfied with that idea, though. And it was conveyed during the meetings public comment portion. You can go into other places, and everything is brand new. They almost all look the same. But Magic Beach is special, Keith Willard shared. But not every speaker at Mondays meeting shared the same sentiment. It doesnt make any money, and its in disrepair. It needs to have an upgrade, Linda Lacerva remarks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the end, board members made a unanimous vote to defer the decision for the demolition permit. Board member Blair Knighting says county leaders wanted more evidence than were just going to tear it down and save some elements before the board moves forward. County officials tell Action News Jax that the Cultural Resources Review Board continued the application. The item will come before the board again whenever the applicant is ready. [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 Bernie supporters were outside the rally hours before it began. They flocked to Nampas Ford Idaho Center on Monday afternoon wearing gear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders past presidential campaigns, along with T-shirts that read resist, Hands off! and We the People. Attending Sanders Fighting Oligarchy tour stop, they voiced anger about national politics: the deportations of undocumented immigrants and people deported by mistake; rollbacks of womens rights and access to abortion; what they see as the audacity of the Trump administration to take aim at health and other benefits, even as it slashed jobs with the Department of Government Efficiency and imposed and rescinded tariffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in a shout-out to local issues, many wore shirts that read Everyone is welcome here a nod to the classroom sign a West Ada School District teacher was told to take down in March. She refused, and the episode rose to national prominence. I think this represents Idaho, said Shirley Hurley, who wore an Everyone is welcome here shirt to the rally, along with rainbow LGBTQ+ Pride earrings. She said she lives in Boises North End off Harrison Boulevard where an annual display of Pride flags is in jeopardy because of a new law from the Republican-dominated Idaho Legislature. Shirley Hurley wears an Everyone is welcome here t-shirt at the Fighting Oligarchy Tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and special guest U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Monday. Everyone knows this represents Idaho, Hurley said. The crowd roared its approval Monday evening when Idaho Rep. Todd Achilles alluded to Boise Mayor Lauren McLeans decision to continue to fly a Pride flag outside of Boises City Hall, despite another new Idaho law banning such a display. Hurley told the Idaho Statesman that she opposes the policies of the Trump administration, but she thinks Idaho has been taking even more extreme stances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thousands descended on the arena Monday with voices like Hurleys, filling both the lower and upper tiers, and half of the floor, by the time U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., took the floor around 6 p.m. She and Sanders, I-Vermont, took to the stage to decry the oligarchy they say the U.S. is becoming. The Idaho Centers capacity is listed at 12,200, depending on the arrangement of the stage. Rally organizers said they closed the venues doors at 12,500. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) speaks to a crowd of 12,500 during his Fighting Oligarchy Tour with special guest U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Monday. Several there to support the Fighting Oligarchy message expressed dread about the direction the U.S. was headed in Trumps second term and a sense that Sanders and Ocasio-Cortezs previous warnings were coming true. Theyve spoken about things that people have not been paying attention to, Silas Randall of Meridian said. And now it feels like, I dont want to say its too late, but it feels like its a dire time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others, including Megan Pando, appreciated that the duo offered a model for taking action in opposition to the Trump administration. A lot of times you see, on the Democratic side, they tell you to be angry and then just go back to their job, she said. Instead, Sanders and AOC have been trotting across the U.S. They were in Salt Lake City on Sunday night, will be in California on Tuesday, and will head to Missoula, Montana, on Wednesday all part of their tour of the West. Some on Monday said they were new to Sanders message and came with an open mind. Others, such as Esteban Galan of Boise, said they were longtime Sanders supporters who attended to contribute to their visibility in a deep-red state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats were born and raised in Idaho, Galan said. Were not imported from anywhere. Were the backbone of our communities. We are nonprofit workers, we are federal workers, we are people who are investing in each other, he told the Statesman. Sanders message has long resonated in Idaho. In the 2016 presidential primary, he handily defeated Hillary Clinton in the Democratic caucus, which had a record-breaking turnout. Jaclyn Kettler, a political science professor at Boise State University, said Sanders was able to tap into Idahos longstanding populist bent and a real push against elites and political insiders. Its the same predisposition, she said, that has attracted many Idahoans to Trump. (Trump lost the 2016 Republican primary in Idaho to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, before winning handily in 2020 and 24.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Galan and other attendees said that to them, Sanders message was about class solidarity, not about party. It really comes down to, were fighting the billionaire class, he said. Regardless of ideology, beliefs or how you pray, we all are still just trying to get to the next month, from paycheck to paycheck. Dozens of counter-protesters set up camp outside the arena, holding Trump signs and waving a DOGE flag a reference to the controversial department led by billionaire Elon Musk. Galan directed part of his comments to them. What I love about (Sanders) message is that its for everybody, Galan said. (To) the Trump folks outside, come on inside, because its for you, too. Youre angry. Youre upset because America is not working for you. This is for you. Amber Dayley wears Bernie pins Monday at the Fighting Oligarchy Tour with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. This U.S. House member will join Bernie Sanders at Nampa rally Monday Idaho Democrats pick Sanders by wide margin MADISON, Wis. (WFRV) Elevated fire danger over the weekend led to 63 wildfires burning a combined 135 acres across Wisconsin, prompting the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to continue its suspension of burn permits in 24 counties. With dry weather and high winds expected through Wednesday, the DNR says fire danger remains high to very high in many parts of the state. Officials are urging the public to avoid burning debris and to be vigilant during spring cleanup efforts. What if severe weather threatens NFL Draft? Packers, NFL detail contingency plan Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To respond to the increased risk, the DNR is staffing all available fire equipment statewide and shifting resources to higher-risk areas. An incident management team is also on standby should a large wildfire ignite. Additionally, the Wisconsin Army National Guard has two Blackhawk helicopter crews ready to assist with water drops. Spring is considered the most critical fire season in Wisconsin. After snowmelt, even a few dry days can leave grasses, pine needles, and leaf litter vulnerable to ignition. Warm temperatures, low humidity, and strong windscombined with widespread outdoor burningmake this time of year especially hazardous. Great Undie Giveback collects 3,200 pairs for those in need Many of the weekends wildfires were sparked by people burning yard debris or conducting prescribed burns for habitat management. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DNR reminds residents to always obtain proper burn permits, check daily fire restrictions, and follow all guidelines. Fires must be fully extinguished before being left unattended. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Good morning! Sarah Palin's libel suit against the New York Times is in a retrial, Ark Invest's Cathie Wood thinks Trump's tariffs could lead to trade deals, and Blue Origin's spaceflight had some moving moments among the flash. - Ready to launch. Ill admit it, I'm a space skeptic. When I see billionaires spending millions on a suborbital trip to near-space, my first thought is usually (like Olivia Munn) all the other things that money could go toward on Earth. (People cant even afford eggs, Munn said while guest-hosting the Today show last week.) The marketing rollout of Blue Origins trip of six women, dubbed the first all-female spaceflight, wasnt quite doing it for me. There was too much talk of lash extensions flying around in zero gravity and putting the ass in astronautand promises that the flight would inspire people, without much of a rationale for why. But I was on the ground at Blue Origins remote Launch Site One in the West Texas desert yesterday, and watching the newly-minted astronauts return to Earth with tears in their eyes and a new perspective on the worldlike them, I was moved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The morning started for me at 2:30 a.m. with a convoy of more than a dozen cars, winding out of pitch-dark Van Horn, Texas, past an authorized personnel only neon sign. Eventually, the sun rose over the rocky terrain as friends and familyincluding Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom, and two Kardashianscheered on the soon-to-be space travelers. Blue Origins rocket launched relatively quietly, but a sonic boom echoed minutes later. By 8:45 a.m., the usually perfectly-composed Lauren SanchezJeff Bezoss fiancee and the person who convened Katy Perry, Gayle King, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and activist Amanda Nguyen to join her for Blue Origins 11th human spaceflightwas coming down from the atmosphere with her hair mussed, sounding truly overwhelmed and calling for her three kids, her babies. Gayle King, an anxious flyer on a regular airplane and the most scared among the six, embraced the ground, thanked Jesus, and swore she could now tackle any fear. Amanda Nguyen, a sexual assault survivor who had always dreamed of traveling to space, brought with her the hospital band from the night she was assaulted and watched it float in zero gravity. NS-31 Astronaut Lauren Sanchez celebrates a successful mission to space. When Blue Origin or the flyers themselves talk about the impact of NS-31, that raw emotion hasnt always translated. Genuine feeling has drowned in platitudes. Leading up to the launch, what felt more urgent were the challenges facing professional astronauts and scientists right now. The latest reporting shows President Donald Trump cutting 20% from NASAs budgetand 50% of its science budget. NASA, like the rest of the federal government, axed its DEI leader; NASA's chief scientist was let go. A pledge to put a woman and person of color on the moon disappeared from NASAs website. In these circumstances, what meaning does it really have for women to send a pop star to space? But the problem, ultimately, isnt sending women to space. Its everything thats wrong on Earth. One day, hopefully NASA will front an all-female spaceflight of true astronauts. In the meantime, though, why should commercial space travel be solely the domain of the worlds richest men? The flyers spoke of making this experience more accessible for everyonebut how exactly remains to be seen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanchez said the women who were going to space are all storytellers, and thats how she thought they could inspire others. Before the flight, it was unclear what that meant. After seeing their profound reactions, its obvious each traveler should have a story to tell. The real test will be what these women do back on Earth. Emma Hinchliffe emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortunes daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Todays edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com The Internal Revenue Service may be Americas least-loved government agency, but it is one of the most important. Without the taxes the IRS collects, the United States would essentially have no funds for key services and no creditworthiness, and the nation would rapidly grind to a halt. Ensuring that everyone pays their fair share is also a key component of the social contract: If the wealthiest can skip their obligations, that weakens any shared commitment to the common good. No one loves paying taxes, but the IRS does give taxpayers good value: For every dollar spent by the agency, it generates at least $5, and possibly as much as $12; in addition, every hour devoted to auditing the very wealthy produces a return of $13,000. This time last year, a modernization effort was making real progress in improving the IRSs service quality. Today, what can only be described as a demolition effort is deliberately dismantling this vital state capacity. President Donald Trump and Elon Musks DOGE intend to cut the number of IRS employees by half. Already, thousands were fired during tax season. Cuts have fallen especially hard on tax-audit functions. The IRS was finally assembling teams with the skills to pursue complex tax scams, those more likely to be undertaken by the very wealthy. These teams, and the accompanying audits, are now falling apart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, core tasks are being neglected. Less money will be collected, which will increase government spending deficits and put pressure on appropriations for crucial programs. The very rich, in particular, will benefit. Not only are they likely to be handed an extension of the tax cuts from Trumps first term; they are also getting a tax-reporting environment where the IRS will simply be unable to keep up. All of a sudden, these cases are going to be closed and were going to look like idiots, one senior revenue agent told an investigative-journalism nonprofit. There is no one left to work them. This Tax Day, the IRS has never been in worse shape. The early firings focused on probationary employees, but many of those relatively new employees did have substantial experience, because the IRS had been focused on recruiting specialists in accounting and tax law who can keep up with their private-sector counterparts. The unit that examined billionaire tax evasion has already lost 38 percent of its staff. DOGE says it will write new code to replace the IRS system. This has served as a justification to halt the modernization program. The new code may or may not work well, but it wont replace the auditing functions performed by human experts who generate much more revenue than they cost. These cuts will be a boon for wealthy tax cheats. The wealthiest 1 percent of Americans are responsible for about 28 percent of uncollected revenue. Trump just gave them a license to keep dodging taxes. Large businesses and higher-wealth individuals are where you have the most sophisticated taxpayers and the most sophisticated tax preparers and lawyers who are attuned to pushing the envelope as much as they can, according to John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner. When you hamstring the IRS, its just a tax cut for tax cheats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another grave area of concern is the way the IRS is being recruited as a tool of the Trump administrations mass-deportation plan. When DOGE first demanded access to IRS data, it was rebuffed, because providing such data would be illegal without an act of Congress. The Privacy Act of 1974 reflected fears about both political abuses of tax data and, as Danielle Citron documents in Lawfare, unprecedented surveillance of the public enabled by new technologies. Now, however, the IRS is starting to share its data without congressional oversight. As with many areas of Trump policy, the process starts with unauthorized immigrants, a group that is less likely to draw large-scale pushback. The Department of Homeland Security has deputized IRS agents as immigration officers and reached an agreement to receive IRS data about undocumented immigrants. ICE officials have told the IRS that they hope this tax information can help them deport as many as 7 million people. One predictable effect is that immigrants will see the tax system as a risk to avoid, and move their labor into an informal economy characterized by untaxed, under-the-table payments. Audrey Casillas, who helps low-income workers prepare their taxes in Los Angeles, told The New York Times, The fear is real. There a lot of no shows. Clients are asking us: Is ICE going to be there when we do our taxes? Beyond the human costs, the financial losses to the U.S. are great. Undocumented migrants pay an estimated $66 billion in taxes; $43 billion supports Medicaid and Social Security, programs theyre unlikely to benefit from. If immigrants become half as likely to file, the Budget Lab at Yale suggests that the losses would add up to $313 billion over a decade. Beset by problems, the IRS is experiencing a dire vacuum of leadership. Trump has nominated Billy Long, a former representative with no experience running a large organization, to lead the IRS. The outgoing commissioner, Danny Werfel, had been willing to stay in the position until the new one was in place, but resigned when his offer received no response. He was replaced by an acting commissioner, a career official named Doug ODonnell. ODonnell quit a month later, after he rejected calls to share IRS data. Next up was acting Commissioner Melanie Krause. She was seen as more aligned with DOGE, and put the chief human-capital officer on administrative leave for not being cooperative enough with DOGE. Krause herself resigned earlier this month after DHS succeeded in accessing IRS data. So the agency has gone through three commissioners in three months; other resignations over the privacy violations have included the chief of staff, the chief financial officer, the chief risk officer, and the chief privacy officer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Presumably, the Trump administration will eventually find people to fill these positions, but you cannot gut the entire leadership of an organization without severe disruption. Taxpayers should be very worried when the entire C-suite of the nations revenue-collecting organization exits because none of the executives want to be associated with what happens next. One final concern is that Trump will use the IRS to pursue his political enemies. This is standard practice for authoritarians, and not without precedent in the United States: President Richard Nixon pursued such practices to the extent that they gave rise to charges in the impeachment case that was mounting before he resigned. We have no evidence yet that this is happening now, but there are worrying signs. Trump has mused about using the IRS in this fashion. He has also placed a political appointee in the leadership of the IRSs criminal-investigations division for the first time since the Nixon era. If Musk and DOGE truly cared about closing the deficit or tax fairness, they would increase the modernization investments at the IRS. But their revealed preference is for a tax system that does not trouble the wealthy unduly, and makes taxation more voluntary, a tip jar for public services. America will become one of the countries where tax payments are largely optional for the very rich and are avoided entirely by poorer migrants. Yales Budget Lab estimates that, taking into account the induced noncompliance, the full effect of the proposed IRS cuts would be a $2.4 trillion loss over a decade. That means DOGEs biggest financial impact will be on the IRSbut in the opposite direction of what has been promised: costing the government an extraordinary amount of money in return for relatively minor savings. When you add up the numbers, you begin to understand how Trump managed to bankrupt a casino. This article was adapted from a Substack post. Article originally published at The Atlantic The rates of domestic violence and reported incidents are certainly on the rise, said Jared Alexander, Executive Director for Harmony House in Springfield. I would say this year already we received over 800 calls to our emergency hotline. Alexander says last year, their hotline (417-864-7233) was called over 3,400 times, an indication the issue isnt going away anytime soon. On average nationwide, it would take someone about seven times returning to an abusive relationship before they make a final break, and thats the hardest part, Alexander said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nationwide, Alexander says one in three women will experience abuse in their life, whereas its one in four for men. The discussion about domestic violence is ramping up again after a murder-suicide in north Springfield on April 11, when Springfield Police say Jeremy Kudrna murdered his wife Julie inside her office before turning the gun on himself. Its unfortunate to see what occurred here in Springfield last week, and our hearts go out to the family, Alexander said. A recent study showed 62% of all murder-suicides are in an intimate partner relationship. A search through Missouri Court records shows Julie Kudrna had filed for divorce from Jeremy on April 6, but died five days later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alexander says for those in abusive relationships, leaving is the hardest part. All abusive relationships are based in power and control over another individual. When that abuser feels like they are losing that control, be it served divorce papers or the victim is leaving or making, you know, comments about, Im going to leave you, Im leaving on this day, theres usually no telling at that point what they may do, Alexander said. We encourage folks to have a plan in place, because the moments in the immediate days following when that person makes the decision to leave, theyre the most dangerous for those victims, Alexander said. We want people to be prepared, and thats why Harmony House and others around the community do such a good job of trying to have those safety planning conversations so that people can feel prepared and stay safe. Alexander adds their advocates help victims create plans to leave those situations, with their hotline open 24 hours a day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He adds there are signs you should look for before any potential abuse escalates. Some easy ones can be, you know, increased aggression, you know, concerned about your whereabouts at all times, wanting to track information, especially in the digital age that we live in, Alexander said. Psychological abuse, a term, you know, most people have may have heard of by now is gaslighting which is trying to create scenarios in someone elses mind that are really real, creating that sense of false understanding or really any of those control tactics of trying to manipulate someones whereabouts or isolating them from friends and family. Alexander encourages those impacted to reach out for help if needed. We do want people to know that if youre concerned about your safety or someone that you know and love, we want to help, Alexander 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 KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. HANGZHOU, April 15 (Xinhua) -- East China's Zhejiang Province, a hub of technological innovation, is ramping up efforts to enhance the digital competence of its officials by inviting prominent artificial intelligence (AI) entrepreneurs to provide training programs. On April 10, Wang Xingxing, founder of robotics startup Unitree Robotics, delivered an online lecture to civil servants across Zhejiang on the present and future of robotics and AI. In his lecture, Wang introduced the development path of Unitree Robotics and the significance of humanoid robots in modern society. He also shared insights into cutting-edge trends in intelligent robotics, sparking strong interest among officials. Unitree Robotics' stunning videos have garnered widespread attention on social media, showcasing wheel-legged robots climbing hills and humanoid robots performing martial arts moves, including punches and backflips. Officials across Zhejiang responded positively to Wang's engaging lecture. Jiang Chengtuan, head of the Jinhua Talent Development Group Co., Ltd. in the city of Jinhua, watched the lecture alongside nearly 200 other individuals in a local conference hall. "It broke our outdated perception of robots as mere tools on factory lines. Now we see their immense potential in the future society," he said. Feng Ling, an official from the data bureau of Changxing County in the city of Huzhou, emphasized the importance of AI literacy. "Learning about AI is no longer optional, it's essential. I look forward to using tools like DeepSeek to streamline administrative tasks, conduct data analysis, and support smarter policymaking." Since March, Zhejiang has been offering an online training program designed to enhance both general and applied AI knowledge among officials at all levels. The program has already included lectures by leading scholars and experts from tech giants like Huawei and Alibaba Cloud. Topics covered in the lecture series include "Understanding AI Development Through DeepSeek," "Large Language Models" and "Computing Infrastructure for AI." The program will span around 10 sessions, offering in-depth knowledge of AI and hands-on training in using tools like DeepSeek. This AI training push is not limited to Zhejiang. Across the country, other local governments are also taking proactive steps to equip their officials with AI skills. In Jishan County of north China's Shanxi Province, for example, a lecture titled "Principles of DeepSeek Application and Empowering Government Efficiency" was recently held in a conference hall accommodating over 100 participants. "The more precise and detailed the prompts we give to AI assistants, the more powerful the algorithms and computing resources they can leverage," said Xue Gaofeng, director of the county's media service guidance center. He noted that the session offered participants a preliminary understanding of how to "tame" AI tools, enabling them to better support grassroots governance. The initiative coincides with the increasing adoption of DeepSeek-powered AI services in multiple cities nationwide, which serves to both enhance governance and streamline urban management. For instance, integrating DeepSeek in the "12345" public service hotline has increased data processing efficiency by 20-fold in northeast China's Liaoning Province. Moreover, this year's government work report also reaffirmed China's commitment to accelerating the development of a digital government, vowing to refine the integrated national online platform for government services. "Integrating AI models like DeepSeek into government services will enhance public service efficiency through content generation and intelligent interaction, advancing the modernization of the urban system and capacity for governance," said Wu Yiping, a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. However, as AI-driven governance expands, experts say that challenges related to data security, privacy protection and ethical considerations remain crucial. "We should be mindful of the boundaries of AI applications to prevent over-reliance and systemic risks following the integration of AI into government systems," said Wu Shenkuo, deputy director of the research center of the Internet Society of China. "The ethical risks and fairness concerns arising from AI-assisted governance decisions also require a careful and comprehensive assessment," Wu added. If you're a procrastinator, congratulations, your time is here. Today, April 15, is the deadline to file your tax return. If you can't, you must file for an extension and pay your estimated tax. If a few tax day deals or freebies will make you feel better, you can find anything from food to a massage being offered by several businesses. Here's what you should know as you finish to complete your tax form. When is the deadline to file your taxes? April 15 is the tax deadline for most people to file their 2024 returns. Can you file your taxes on April 15? Yes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Postal Service, the IRS considers a tax return filed on time if it is: addressed correctly has enough postage, and is postmarked by the due date, April 15, 2025. "To ensure your tax return is postmarked on or before the due date, take it to your local Post Office location, go to the retail counter, and ask the retail associate to postmark it," the Postal Service said on its website. Want extra peace of mind? You can buy a certificate of mailing at post office "For added peace of mind, you can buy a Certificate of Mailing at the Post Office," according to the Postal Service. "If your return is delayed or lost, a Certificate of Mailing is a proof of mailing receipt that proves you mailed your tax return on a certain date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After you send your taxes, keep your receipt in a safe place. The Postal Service does not keep copies of receipts." A certificate of mailing costs $2.20 and you'll need to fill out a Form 3817. Can't file your taxes on time? Request an extension April 15 to avoid penalties If you can't file your taxes Tuesday, April 15, you'll need to ask for a six-month extension AND pay what you owe now if you want to avoid any penalties. You're required to estimate and pay the tax you owe, or at least most of it, by April 15 or, if applicable this year, May 1. How do you ask for an extension to file your taxes? There are three ways to ask for an extension and pay the taxes you owe. Go to IRS.gov and click the "File an Extension" link: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pay online and check the box : Use an online payment option from your bank account, debit or credit card, your IRS account, or other payment programs and check the box that says you're paying as part of filing for an extension. You won't have to file a separate extension form and you'll get a confirmation number. Use Free File : The IRS offers a free income tax filing system and you can electronically request an automatic tax-filing extension. You can also try Direct File, which has no income limits but may not be suitable for all taxpayers. Request an extension by mail: The IRS prefers electronic filing, but you can fill out Form 4868 and mail it in, file it online with an IRS e-filing partner or through a tax professional. You'll need to estimate how much tax you owe for the year on the form and subtract any taxes you already paid in 2024. What are the penalties if you miss the tax deadline and don't ask for an extension? It's going to cost you if you miss the tax deadline and don't ask for an extension. The Failure to File penalty is 5% of the tax due for any month the return is late, less any tax paid on time and available credits, up to a maximum of 25%. A smaller penalty of .05% per month is levied if you file in time but don't pay what you owe, up to 25% of your unpaid taxes. Florida residents impacted by hurricanes in 2024 have until May 1 to file their taxes Three hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton made landfall in Florida in 2024, prompting the Internal Revenue Service to set a May 1 deadline for Florida residents to file their taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Affected taxpayers in all of Florida now have until May 1, 2025, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments," the IRS said in a release. Where's my refund? How to check online To track your refund, use the IRS's "Where's my refund?" search tool or use the IRS2GO mobile app. If you filed an amended return, go to irs.gov/filing/wheres-my-amended-return. You'll need your Social Security number or individual taxpayer ID number, your filing status and the exact refund amount on your return. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tax day here. Can you mail return April 15? How to file extension BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) A bit of history flew into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport on Monday afternoon. A rare Douglas A-26 Invader landed at the airport ahead of Tuesdays commemoration of the Bay of Pigs Invasion. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but an experience is worth a thousand pictures, Million Air CEO Roger Woolsey said. Sixty-four years ago, four airmen from the Alabama Air National Guard died in the failed operation on the coast of Cuba in a mission known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Ron Fogleman was a part of the flight on the A-26. He said people must honor those who came before to keep the warrior spirit in todays force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You see a grandparent bringing a grandchild out, talking about the airplane and this sort of thing, Fogleman said. Its that intergenerational thing that really makes it work. Thats the beauty of this airplane. Its like a magnet. The company that flew the A-26 in, Million Air, said it loves to honor the past and bring it to the present. We have freedoms today because of people like that who were selfless, sacrificed and a lot of time are forgotten and, in this case, the Bay of Pigs, Woolsey said. They had to be silent for what, 17,19 years? Couldnt even tell their families what had happened to them. They thought they were in an accident in the Caribbean. Immigration judge requests information from US, attorneys before ruling on bond for Alabama student Alireza Doroudi Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Janet Ray is one of those families. Her dad, Pete Ray, was one of the four airmen from the Alabama Air National Guard killed in the Bay of Pigs. After finding out how he actually died, Janet Ray said she learned then-Cuba President Fidel Castro was keeping her fathers body on display. She started her fight with the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. government to bring her fathers body home. When I got him out of Cuba in 1979 after 18 years in a morgue on display, the CIA said, We can bury him in Arlington,' Janet Ray said. I said No, hes a Southern boy. Hes going home to Alabama. Hes buried at Forest Hill, and he overlooks the airport, the air guard and the hill that went to his house in Tarrant. Hes home. A commemoration ceremony will be held honoring the lives of Leo Baker, Wade Gray, Pete Ray and Riley Shamburger on Tuesday. The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. at Pete Rays grave. The A-26 will perform a flyover as part of the ceremony. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The city of Eaton is welcoming back the Downtown Eaton Farmers Market this May. It will be returning on Saturday, May 3, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the corner of Barron and Somers streets. The market will be open each Saturday throughout the summer. Farmers market coming to downtown Dayton this summer Supporting small businesses by highlighting local farmers and artisans, the market will feature a variety of products. Shoppers can look forward to locally grown, baked, crafted and handmade goods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you are interested in becoming a vendor, call 937-839-1009 or email glennma92@hughes.net. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Context: The above video initially aired on April 14, 2025. TOPEKA (KSNT) City of Topeka leaders are considering raising the cost for people looking to park in the downtown area next year. The City of Topeka reports the current parking rates in the downtown area are not bringing in enough revenue. Added to this are other issues such as current parking zones being confusing and inconsistent, according to documents submitted for the April 15 Topeka City Council meeting. City leadership is also considering the following cost increases: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monthly garage rate from $67.75 to $74. 10-hour meter price from $0.50 to $1 per hour. 10-hour meter monthly permit price from $44 to $74. One downtown business owner said he doesnt want the parking costs to impact people trying to come to his store. I think if we are going to charge, and especially if we are going to have a system where visitors have to figure it out, its got to be really easy and really predictable, and the cost if there is one, needs to be pretty modest, said Nick Xidis, owner of Hazel Hill. Why legalizing weed in Kansas isnt working The Topeka City Council will discuss the issue during their meeting on Tuesday, April 15. No action is expected on this topic during the meeting. 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. 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. Downtown Topeka staff rally following cancer diagnosis TOPEKA (KSNT) A downtown Topeka bar, arcade and restaurant is taking a moment to give back following a health tragedy for a local family. The Pennants General Manager, Todd Renner, recently found out his wife, Dani, has a form of aggressive and rare cancer. Over the weekend, the Pennants social media page said shes undergoing six round of chemotherapy with the hope of surgery in the future. To support the Renner family, the Pennant is hosting a dining give back day Saturday, April 19. The post states that 10% of the total sales will go directly towards the cost of treatment, second opinions and travel for Dani and the Renner family. The Pennant has hosted give back events in the past for the Helping Hands Humane Society, Topeka Civic Theater and other local organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pottawatomie County honors 50 local vets for service and sacrifice Giving back to support one of their own through such an incredibly difficult time was an easy decision for staff. Were definitely who we are here at the Pennant because of Todd, Pennant Bar Manager Bill Franks said. He has established the culture throughout the building here. Through the staffing, how we relate to each other, how we relate to the guest that we have in the building and just how we relate to the community in general. In addition to Saturdays give back day, you can support Dani and the rest of the Renner family through a gofundme here. 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. Dozens of former student pilots who say they racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt for tuition are suing United Airlines and its flight school in the Arizona desert, saying it didnt have enough teachers or aircraft to properly train and graduate its students. The federal lawsuit accuses United and the school, United Aviate Academy, of falsely promoting a well-equipped, intensive training program that would put students on a path to becoming commercial pilots after a year. In reality, the students said in an amended complaint filed last week, their flight time was limited due to the staffing shortages and frequent staff turnover. In some cases, students were teaching other students, according to the lawsuit. Some of the students said they ultimately left the program when it became clear they would not finish training after a year. But many of them alleged in the lawsuit that they were wrongly expelled from the school for taking too long to advance" through the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around the time of the pandemic, United purchased the pilot school in the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear to address a critical problem facing the industry: not enough pilots. Airlines have complained about the shortage for years, but they made it worse during the COVID-19 outbreak by encouraging pilots to take early retirement when air travel collapsed in 2020. In a statement, Chicago-based United said it couldn't comment on specific allegations, citing the ongoing lawsuit, but it defended its pilot school. We have the highest confidence in the rigorous curriculum and flight training program provided at United Aviate Academy and are proud of the schools hundreds of graduates, the statement said. The lawsuit claims the school had an enrollment cap of 325 students to ensure sufficient resources. Instead, according to the complaint, there were more than 380 students enrolled in the program in March 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within months, the school's accrediting body issued a warning letter to the flight school, in part because of its enrollment numbers, according to the lawsuit. Around this time, the lawsuit claims that United Aviate Academy began expelling students from the program in order to comply with the enrollment cap. By August of that year, the school was placed on probation by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, according to the lawsuit. The school voluntarily withdrew its accreditation in January. United told The Associated Press that it is exploring an alternative accreditation that better meets the needs of the flight school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Richard Levy, a retired captain who flew for a major international airline for 41 years and who now works as a flight instructor in Texas, said a one-year program is in line with industry training standards. He said students who want to fly commercial jets will typically train for about a year for certain certifications, then go on to work for a regional airline and log additional flying time up to 1,500 hours before they can fly for a major airline. Whats important, Levy said, is that students are flying frequently and following a structured, uniform program during their training. But the lawsuit says that at one point there were roughly 20 aircraft for the hundreds of students enrolled in United's flight school. One student said he was able to fly just once or twice over several months and was repeatedly reassigned instructors. He was eventually expelled for taking too long to advance through his courses, the lawsuit alleges. Another expelled student said she had a different instructor during each of her first four flights. During her eighth flight, she said, her instructor was a fellow student of the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was students teaching students," the lawsuit says. It also alleges that students were sometimes evaluated by instructors who were not pilots themselves. Levy said he's never heard of non-pilots evaluating student pilots. Most of the students suing said they took out loans with the expectation that they were attending a one-year program that would lead to gainful employment. Many of them had to relocate to Arizona to attend the program. One student sold his home, according to the lawsuit. Another left his job of 21 years to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot while his husband stayed behind at their home in Texas. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Phoenix on behalf of 29 former students from states across the country, including Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, Nevada and Connecticut. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Detectives are investigating a shooting as a homicide after a man was killed earlier this month in north Dayton. The Dayton Police Department was first called out to the 1900 block of N. Main Street on reports of a shooting on April 5 around 4 a.m. Upon arrival, officers discovered a male victim who was then transported to the hospital, where he died of his injuries less than an hour later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man has been identified by the Montgomery County Coroners Office as 46-year-old Keyson Webb. Detectives with the DPD Homicide Unit are actively investigating this 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 WDTN.com. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Dayton Public Schools are planning on launching a new program to help with college and career readiness. DPS held a town hall at Belmont High School Monday evening the very place where this program will begin. Belmont staff, parents, students and district administration were all in attendance to learn more about the program DPS says will help keep kids in school and ensure they graduate prepared for the workforce and college alike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were excited to open up these career paths in the City of Belmont, as well call it, said Dr. David Lawrence, superintendent for Dayton Public Schools. The new initiative is meant to better Dayton schools across the board, starting with Belmont High. It creates a transformation in the entire high school space, where we believe that we can guarantee pathways and experiences at each one of the high schools, which Belmont is a part of, said Lawrence. Gearing up in just a few school years, the initiative would bring programs focusing on the medical field to Belmont, and then expand to other schools. Its intended to reinvigorate students and give them a reason to come to school and graduate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to be in the medical field when I grow up. Everything like that will help me get my foot in the door, said Sudie Boggs, Belmont student. DPS has also been struggling with graduation rates as well as chronic absenteeism. I think implementing this will help a lot, because it will give people a reason to actually go here, said David, Belmont student. Despite the positive outlook, some teachers at the meeting had concerns, primarily with resources being stretched too think due to overcrowding. Some of them question if these programs will be too much. The Belmont High School students need to be given the priority they deserve, said Mr. Vitali, Belmont teacher. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 NEWS spoke with one parent off camera, who is concerned the program could be wasteful. They said if the kids right now are struggling with basic learning skills, DPS leaders could be jumping the gun when dedicating resources to this ambitious learning initiative. The program will be taking effect if it passes during the upcoming DPS board meeting Tuesday night. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HANOI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China and Vietnam have agreed to build a more extensive and in-depth all-round cooperation pattern. The two countries made the announcement Tuesday in a joint statement released in the context of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Vietnam. The two countries will accelerate synergy between their development strategies, implement in earnest the cooperation plan between the two governments on synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy, according to the statement. China and Vietnam will prioritize accelerating the interconnectivity of railway, expressway, and port infrastructure between the two countries, said the statement. The two sides will develop international railway transport and launch more cross-border train services between them. They will also encourage airlines of the two countries to resume and add flights in keeping with market needs. China is actively promoting access procedures for Vietnamese farm products such as citrus and herbal medicine. Vietnam will accelerate the import of sturgeon from China. In the statement, the two sides agreed to implement the agreement on search and rescue at sea and another on establishing a hotline on incidents in fishing activities at sea. Nobody likes sitting in traffic. And ranking right up there is the frustration of road work that seems to drag on forever. So mark this on your calendar: construction of "congestion relief lanes" on one of the busiest sections of Interstate 4 has finished ahead of schedule. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this week that 6 miles of added lanes on I-4 will be completed eight months ahead of schedule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's what is going on. Where are the new 'congestion relief lanes' on I-4? Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced early completion of congestion relief lanes through one of the busiest sections of Interstate 4 from U.S. 27 in Polk County to World Drive in Osceola County. The lanes will be open for use the week of April 28, 2025. The new lanes, one additional lane in each direction of I-4 from U.S. 27 in Polk County to World Drive in Osceola County, will be open for use beginning the week of April 28, DeSantis said. "The new lanes will be located on the inside of the existing I-4 mainline to provide motorists with congestion relief," FDOT said. The project is being completed eight months ahead of schedule. How was the I-4 project completed so fast? After DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Transportation to deliver immediate congestion relief along I-4, the department "used an innovative construction approach to open new lanes early." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FDOT launched the Moving I-4 Forward program and introduced a new streamlined method called Modified Phased Design-Build, a news release said. "Benefits of using this pioneering process include reduced project timelines, travelers spending less time in traffic, fewer taxpayer dollars being spent, and a continued focus on innovation," FDOT said. In practical application, on the section intended to open the week of April 28, construction crews paved the inner breakdown lanes, converting them to traffic lanes. The approach allowed new lanes to open "without waiting for full project completion. These lanes will remain open through all future construction," FDOT said. Are more traffic projects planned to ease congestion on I-4? Yes. The Moving Florida Forward program includes nearly 700 projects across Florida, with $75 billion in infrastructure investment committed since 2019, a news release said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FDOT listed these projects after the new lanes open the week of April 28: Accelerated Start phase: Segment A: I-4 from east of U.S. 27 to west of S.R. 429. 4.1 miles. Segment B: I-4 from west of S.R. 429 to east of World Drive. 3.4 miles. Highlights include: Expand I-4 to accommodate up to 12 total lanes at the ChampionsGate Boulevard (C.R. 532) and World Drive interchanges. These additional lanes will consist of up to eight general use lanes and four express lanes (for future use). Project 1: East of World Drive to east of U.S. 192. 2.6 miles. Highlights include: Three general-use lanes and two new express lanes in each direction. Maintain existing access to State Road (S.R.) 417 from the general-use lanes onI-4. A New ramps will connect the S.R. 417 toll to the I-4 express lanes. Replace toll plazas on S.R. 417. Project 2: East of C.R. 532 to west of World Drive. 3.1 miles. Highlights include: Improvements to the State Road (S.R.) 429 interchange, which currently ends at I-4. Four general-use lanes and two express lanes in each direction. New ramps will be built to connect the express lanes on I-4 to S.R. 429 and from the I-4 general-use lanes to S.R. 429. Old Lake Wilson Road will be widened from Sinclair Road to Assembly Court and over I-4 from two to four lanes with sidewalks and bicycle lanes on both sides, including building a second bridge. Project 3: West of U.S. 27 to west of ChampionsGate Boulevard (C.R. 532). 3.4 miles. Highlights include: Adding two express lanes in each direction along I-4. Adding ramps to connect I-4 express lanes and U.S. 27. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Project 4: West of Osceola Parkway to east of World Center Drive (S.R. 536). 2.1 miles. Highlights include: Adding two express lanes in each direction along I-4. Adding ramps to connect the express lanes and S.R. 536. Existing I-4 bridges at the Osceola Parkway interchange over Bonnet Creek will be reconstructed. Project 5: Poinciana Connector from C.R. 532 to S.R. 429. 3.5 miles. Highlights include: Extending the Poinciana Connector from where it ends near U.S. 17 to Osceola Polk Line Road, County Road (C.R.) 532. The I-4 project will continue and connect south of the interchange with S.R. 429. Final configuration of the new road includes three lanes in each direction with the ability to expand to four lanes in each direction. Ramps connecting to Osceola Polk Line Road (C.R. 532) will be included. What is the Moving Florida Forward initiative? DeSantis announced the Moving Florida Forward initiative last year at a news conference in Polk County. The program includes nearly 700 projects across Florida. These projects will "deliver much-needed congestion relief 10 to 20 years ahead of the original schedule," according to FDOT's website. The projects are intended to: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Strengthen resilient infrastructure for future growth. Improve travel times by reducing congestion. Increase safety and connectivity. Enhance the quality of life for the community. We launched the Moving Florida Forward initiative to accelerate major transportation projects that reduce congestion and improve connectivity, DeSantis said. With nearly 700 projects underway and $75 billion in infrastructure investment since 2019, were delivering real results for Floridians and keeping Florida moving. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida Interstate 4 congestion relief. New lanes opening April 28 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A commercial truck driver who was acquitted in the 2019 deaths of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday for driving under the influence in Connecticut a month before the deadly crash an offense that should have resulted in his license being revoked. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy appeared in Hartford Superior Court and entered an Alford plea, which means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged the state had enough evidence to win a conviction at trial. The plea results in a conviction, and he was sentenced to 18 months of probation. He clearly understands the significance of this, Zhukovskyys lawyer, John OBrien, said during the brief court proceeding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zhukovskyy, 29, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, only said Guilty, Yes your honor and No your honor during the hearing. OBrien clarified it was an Alford plea. Zhukovskyy, wearing a taupe polo shirt under a taupe and white flannel shirt and black pants, did not comment entering or leaving the courthouse. He was arrested for driving under the influence in East Windsor, Connecticut, on May 11, 2019. Connecticut officials alerted the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, but Zhukovskyys license wasnt immediately suspended due to a backlog of out-of-state notifications about driving offenses. Son of Bridport man shot dead in 2024 charged with murder East Windsor police said they responded to a call about a man revving his truck and then yelling outside of it. Officers said Zhukovskyy was acting erratically when they got there, including seeming hyperactive, He failed field sobriety tests, and he later tested positive for cocaine, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 21, 2019, Zhukovskyy was driving a truck towing a flatbed trailer in Randolph, New Hampshire, that collided with the motorcyclists, killing seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, an organization of Marine Corps veterans and their spouses in New England. Killed were Albert Mazza Jr., of Lee, New Hampshire; Edward and Jo-Ann Corr, a couple from Lakeville, Massachusetts; Michael Ferazzi, of Contoocook, New Hampshire; Desma Oakes, of Concord, New Hampshire; Daniel Pereira, of Riverside, Rhode Island; and Aaron Perry, of Farmington, New Hampshire. A jury in 2022 found Zhukovskyy not guilty of multiple manslaughter and negligent homicide charges. At his trial, prosecutors argued that Zhukovskyy who had taken heroin, fentanyl and cocaine the day of the crash repeatedly swerved back and forth before the collision and told police he caused it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But a judge dismissed eight impairment charges. Zhukovskyy told authorities he didnt think he was impaired at the time of the crash. His attorneys said the lead biker was drunk and not looking where he was going when he lost control of his motorcycle and slid in front of Zhukovskyys truck. The lead biker, Mazza, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.135%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%, according to his autopsy report. Federal agents arrest Columbia student in Colchester Zhukovskyy, who came to the U.S. as a child from Ukraine and had permanent residency status, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the 2022 verdict. A judge ordered his deportation in 2023, but the U.S. paused repatriation flights to Ukraine due to the war with Russia and authorized temporary protected status for qualified Ukrainians. As part of his Connecticut sentence for driving impaired, Zhukovskyy must perform 100 hours of community service and submit to random drug tests. If he violates probation, he could be sent to jail for six months. He told a New Hampshire judge last year that he had been sober for the previous five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In November, the owner of the trucking company Zhukovskyy worked for was sentenced to two months in prison for lying to investigators after the crash, including falsifying driver logs to avoid federal highway safety regulations and giving false statements on how long he had known Zhukovskyy, Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) A commercial truck driver who was acquitted in the 2019 deaths of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire pleaded guilty and was sentenced Monday for driving under the influence in Connecticut a month before the deadly crash an offense that should have resulted in his license being revoked. Volodymyr Zhukovskyy appeared in Hartford Superior Court and entered an Alford plea, which means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged the state had enough evidence to win a conviction at trial. The plea results in a conviction, and he was sentenced to 18 months of probation. He clearly understands the significance of this, Zhukovskyys lawyer, John OBrien, said during the brief court proceeding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zhukovskyy, 29, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, only said Guilty, Yes your honor and No your honor during the hearing. OBrien clarified it was an Alford plea. Zhukovskyy, wearing a taupe polo shirt under a taupe and white flannel shirt and black pants, did not comment entering or leaving the courthouse. He was arrested for driving under the influence in East Windsor, Connecticut, on May 11, 2019. Connecticut officials alerted the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, but Zhukovskyys license wasnt immediately suspended due to a backlog of out-of-state notifications about driving offenses. East Windsor police said they responded to a call about a man revving his truck and then yelling outside of it. Officers said Zhukovskyy was acting erratically when they got there, including seeming hyperactive, He failed field sobriety tests, and he later tested positive for cocaine, police said. On June 21, 2019, Zhukovskyy was driving a truck towing a flatbed trailer in Randolph, New Hampshire, that collided with the motorcyclists, killing seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, an organization of Marine Corps veterans and their spouses in New England. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Killed were Albert Mazza Jr., of Lee, New Hampshire; Edward and Jo-Ann Corr, a couple from Lakeville, Massachusetts; Michael Ferazzi, of Contoocook, New Hampshire; Desma Oakes, of Concord, New Hampshire; Daniel Pereira, of Riverside, Rhode Island; and Aaron Perry, of Farmington, New Hampshire. A jury in 2022 found Zhukovskyy not guilty of multiple manslaughter and negligent homicide charges. At his trial, prosecutors argued that Zhukovskyy who had taken heroin, fentanyl and cocaine the day of the crash repeatedly swerved back and forth before the collision and told police he caused it. But a judge dismissed eight impairment charges. Zhukovskyy told authorities he didnt think he was impaired at the time of the crash. His attorneys said the lead biker was drunk and not looking where he was going when he lost control of his motorcycle and slid in front of Zhukovskyys truck. The lead biker, Mazza, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.135%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%, according to his autopsy report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zhukovskyy, who came to the U.S. as a child from Ukraine and had permanent residency status, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the 2022 verdict. A judge ordered his deportation in 2023, but the U.S. paused repatriation flights to Ukraine due to the war with Russia and authorized temporary protected status for qualified Ukrainians. As part of his Connecticut sentence for driving impaired, Zhukovskyy must perform 100 hours of community service and submit to random drug tests. If he violates probation, he could be sent to jail for six months. He told a New Hampshire judge last year that he had been sober for the previous five years. In November, the owner of the trucking company Zhukovskyy worked for was sentenced to two months in prison for lying to investigators after the crash, including falsifying driver logs to avoid federal highway safety regulations and giving false statements on how long he had known Zhukovskyy. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW HONOLULU (KHON2) A man has been charged with Negligent Homicide following a crash that resulting in the death of his juvenile passenger this past weekend. Natrin Auela Naki, 33, was arrested on April 12 after the Mililani crash. Authorities say Auela Naki was speeding and overtaking other vehicles when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed into oncoming traffic, hitting a fence and a guardrail. Dave & Busters makes Grand Opening Debut at new location Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The juvenile was thrown from the vehicle and died as a result of the collision. Authorities suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash. Auela Naki faces Negligent Homicide and Driving Without a License charges, and is being held on a $75,000 bail. According to prosecutors, Auela Naki was convicted of a felony for criminal property damage last year. If convicted on these charges, he would be classified as a repeat offender, which would make him eligible for an extended prison term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A man was seen shooting at a deer out of his car window before going 117 mph past authorities in Oregon, deputies said. Someone first called about driver at 7:07 p.m. April 12 near Lebanon, the Linn County Sheriffs Office said in a news release. The caller reported seeing someone shoot at a deer out of their black Mustang, deputies said. Deputies said another report came in of the same vehicle driving recklessly, doing burnouts in the middle of the road and racing through the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver then sped 117 mph past deputies as they were responding to another call, authorities said. Deputies said the driver was going toward Albany and was seen passing vehicles in no passing zones. As authorities went looking for him, they got more calls about someone in the same vehicle side-swiping a Mercedes and fleeing, deputies said. The owner of the Mercedes contacted authorities and said theyd tracked the vehicle down, finding it parked in a driveway, deputies said. Deputies responded and began looking for the three occupants. They found the driver, 36-year-old Justin Franklin of Oklahoma, trying to hide in a field and took him to a hospital after he was bit by a police dog, deputies said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was then arrested him on these charges: Suspicion of attempting to elude a police officer Felon in possession of a firearm Reckless driving Reckless endangerment Failure to perform the duties of a driver His 19-year-old son was also in the vehicle, along with a 20-year-old from Louisiana. Authorities said they found an AR-15 in blackberry bushes near the field and determined Franklin used it to shoot at the animal. They couldnt find an injured or dead deer that night, deputies said, so its not known if the animal was ever hit by the shots. Lebanon is about a 35-mile drive southeast from Salem. Deer crashes into bar, sending Missouri worker into a frenzy. Deer love gin too Rare creature was elusive for years. Then it reappeared on trail camera with cubs Hunter illegally kills black bear on a whim, takes selfie with it, Missouri cops say ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) A diner in the town of Manchester has been forced to close down after an alleged drunk driver drove a car through the restaurant Monday morning. New York State Police said the crash happened just after 5 a.m. Troopers found a broken telephone pole and a large hole in the side of Jacks Kitchen on South Main Street. When troopers got to the scene, they said the involved vehicle was not at the scene but was unoccupied in a nearby parking lot off Clinton Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Troopers later identified 29-year-old Samantha Jones of Clyde nearby. Jones was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and was issued appearance tickets. The owners of Jacks Kitchen took to social media Monday to share images of the damages and told customers they will be closed until it gets fixed. (Provided by Jacks Kitchen) (Provided by Jacks Kitchen) (Provided by Jacks Kitchen) (Provided by Jacks Kitchen) (Provided by Jacks Kitchen) We will be closed until it gets fixed which will involve an engineer, the post read. Luckily the [people,] which includes children that live upstairs are all ok. We will keep you updated as we know 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 RochesterFirst. Apr. 14LIMA A Lima man whose blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit when his vehicle struck a man who was unloading items from his car last summer was sentenced Monday in Allen County Common Pleas Court to a minimum of 5 1/2 years in prison. Anthony Hardesty Jr., 25, was indicted by a grand jury in August 2024 on charges of aggravated vehicular assault, failure to stop after an accident, operating a vehicle under the influence and driving under suspension. He entered into a deal with prosecutors in February and pleaded guilty to a second-degree felony count of aggravated vehicular assault and the failure to stop charge. Judge Jeffrey Reed followed the recommendation of Special Prosecutor Ray Grogan of Marion County with his sentence for Hardesty. In addition to the prison term, Reed suspended Hardesty's driver's license for life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The charges stemmed from a June 29 traffic accident in Lima where Nathan Richard was struck as he was unloading items from the back of his car on North Dixon Avenue in Lima. Richard was pinned between two vehicles and suffered extensive injuries to his lower extremities. Hardesty left the scene but was located a short time after the accident in a backyard on West Market Street. Grogan said that after the crash Hardesty "got out of his truck, ran several blocks and then disrobed." He was found hiding in the back yard of a residence. Richard told the court he has undergone several surgeries and is still required to use a walker to get around. His wife spoke of the emotional toll the accident has taken on her husband and her family but says she has "no hate" for the victim. Both asked the judge for a fair and just sentence. "Likely I will never walk or run correctly again," Nathan Richard told Reed. "I know God loves us, but my struggles have been to understand the good in what God has put before me." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Richard asked that Reed's sentence contain an element of mercy, saying, "I ask that your sentence reflect the pain that he (Hardesty) has inflicted on my body and soul, but I ask for justice and mercy as well." Hardesty wept as he asked the victim for forgiveness. "I'm sorry for the pain I have cause you. It's the biggest mistake I've made in my life. I've lost everything; I regret everything," Hardesty told Richard and his wife. "I've prayed for nine months for God to heal you. I pray you will forgive me." Reed said he appreciated the humble words of the victim and his wife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm touched by your expression of faith and your request for mercy," the judge said. "I don't hear that very often." It was suggested Monday that a civil lawsuit surrounding the crash will be forthcoming. Featured Local Savings PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The woman who caused a fatal crash on NE Marine Drive last year was sentenced to six years in prison by a Multnomah County judge on Monday. Maria Moncada, 23, was intoxicated and driving over 100 mph when she struck a parked vehicle on Feb. 23, 2024. The 75-year-old woman, Bonny J. Heyn, 75, who was in the parked car, was found dead at the scene. Additionally, Moncada will serve three years of post-prison supervision. 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. VERSAILLES, Ky. (FOX 56) Kentucky Community and Technical College System is continuing to invest in the future of the Commonwealth by offering dual credit courses at many high schools. The courses allow for students to get college credits while still in high school. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The executive director of credentialing strategies, Harmony Little, said in fall 2024, they saw a more than 12% increase with over 29,000 students enrolled in the courses, saving nearly $15 million. It is insane to think about. And I think families are really paying attention that its a great deal. I mean, KCTCs already has the lowest tuition in our state for all of our students. So then to be able to lower that by 50% for dual credit, obviously not everybody can pay out of pocket for that, she said. Little said because scholarships pay for two courses for junior and senior years, she said the courses are for everyone. LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But we see across the board that every student that engages with dual credit has a higher likelihood of going to college, whatever that means, right? Not everybody needs a four-year degree. You can get a certificate with us that leads to a job. You can get an associate degree with us that leads to a job, Little explained. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Visitors take an elevator at the venue of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Tuesday, with the number of export exhibitors exceeding 30,000 for the first time in the history of this famous event. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) A foreign buyer (C) has business talks at the venue of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Tuesday, with the number of export exhibitors exceeding 30,000 for the first time in the history of this famous event. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) People talk about business at the venue of the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Tuesday, with the number of export exhibitors exceeding 30,000 for the first time in the history of this famous event. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) People visit the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Tuesday, with the number of export exhibitors exceeding 30,000 for the first time in the history of this famous event. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) People visit the 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, April 15, 2025. The 137th edition of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off on Tuesday, with the number of export exhibitors exceeding 30,000 for the first time in the history of this famous event. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) Our public libraries serve as a great equalizer, offering the chance for anyone rich and poor alike to access great novels, nonfiction and literature without spending a dime. Budgetary concerns notwithstanding, throwing library funding into limbo is a terrible idea. Amid a flurry of executive orders from President Donald Trump creating uncertainty in many corners of our lives, a recent order targets the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides federal funding that supports local libraries. Theres much to support when it comes to identifying wasteful spending and cutting it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not one of those instances. The IMLS doles out $267 million in grants to public libraries. This funding pales in comparison with Medicaid and Social Security and countless other federal expenditures. As Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias pointed out, its just 0.003% of federal spending. Eliminating it isnt going to make a dent in Americas $2 trillion deficit. But it may well put at risk vital services like access to books your library system doesnt have but can obtain from a sister system. And these funds support upkeep for library buildings a cost libraries struggle on their own to handle. To be sure, if federal funds dry up, local libraries will continue to function. Those of us who pay property taxes know that residents contribute a fair amount to their local library districts. Still, it seems to us a priority to keep our nations libraries strong, especially given our countrys worrisome literacy problem. Just a third of American kids can read at grade level. In Illinois, about 20% of adults are illiterate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Aurora Public Library District is very concerned about the proposed elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Executive Director Michaela Haberkern said library users benefit every day from statewide delivery services that are partly funded by the IMLS. Everyone deserves a healthy and strong public library, and the elimination of the only federal agency that supports museums and libraries is a disservice to us all, she said. We agree. As one thoughtful reader pointed out to us, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is part of a coalition of attorneys general that filed a lawsuit hoping to stop the dismantling of IMLS, and 11 of our 17 members of Congress signed an open letter questioning IMLS elimination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our forebears understood the power of access to knowledge. An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people, as Thomas Jefferson put it. This board wholeheartedly supports the notion of an electorate that can think critically, discerning for themselves when an idea is good and questioning when its flawed and being able to explain why. Of course, educated minds will disagree on certain issues, but isnt that the point? Informed opinions from informed people foster open-mindedness and discussion, something that fuels thriving, supportive communities. What we see all too often today is closed-minded, us-versus-them thinking, with many hewing to whatever a political party or leader tells them. For now, we encourage readers to make use of the libraries in their communities and read. Nows a great time to check out Susan Orleans The Library Book, an engrossing examination of libraries and their role in American society, or Friedrich Hayeks The Road to Serfdom, a classic warning against tyranny and centralized control. _____ Last Tuesday, the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt new, stricter guidelines on cellphones that essentially require students to keep them turned off in the lockers or other storage areas and be allowed to use them only in case of emergency and even then only with the express permission of a school administrator. Even teachers and staff will be expected to curb their use of cellphones during the school day. The policy will go into full effect during the next school year. One obvious question arises from this decision: What took them so long? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oh, weve heard the pros and cons of cellphones in student hands for years. They are, after all, essentially powerful handheld computers and so could theoretically be incorporated in learning. In some schools, the devices are so commonplace that asking an entire class to research a classroom assignment by way of cellphone is not far-fetched. And then theres the matter of communication and staying in touch with parents and guardians. A change in the pickup schedule? After-school activities altered? How convenient to be a text away. The reality, unfortunately, is often quite different. Not only are cellphones a major source of distraction in school but they enable all sorts of destructive behavior including bullying. Why are your classmates snickering over at that nearby lunchroom table and perhaps looking up from their phones to eyeball you? Too bad youre not on their messaging app or maybe youll find out after the ridicule (and perhaps video) has bounced around school all day. Small wonder that a nationwide survey of teachers last year by the National Education Association found 90% support a cellphone ban during class time and 83% would favor one during the entire school day which is what the city school system just did along with a growing number of its peers. Teachers and individual schools may already have the authority to restrict cellphone use in classrooms or whole schools but how much better to set a standard system-wide. Indeed, a growing number of states are adopting this broader approach. Although Maryland isnt one, Education Week now counts 23 states that either outright impose school cellphone restrictions statewide, recommend them to local districts or perhaps offer incentives for systems to pass tougher limits (nearby Pennsylvania and Delaware falling into that last category). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We can only hope parents and guardians are paying attention. Mental health professionals are increasingly concerned about how widespread use of cellphones can harm a childs development particularly in the teen years and especially with the use of social media platforms. Schools ought not be the only place where some reasonable boundaries are drawn. Spending four, five, six or more hours a day on screens just isnt a good idea and parents worried about being overprotective may have, in the case of their kids iPhone, fallen into a distinctly under-protective trap. _____ In the Oval Office Monday, Salvadoran strongman Nayib Bukele and wannabe American strongman Donald Trump sat together and, among other things, explained why Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia, sent illegally to Bukeles CECOT mega-prison at Trumps behest. The leaders laughed at the suggestion that they should comply with a court order to facilitate Abrego Garcias return, with Bukele saying the demand was preposterous because he couldnt smuggle the man in, even as Trumps people said the impediment was that he was in Bukeles custody. Both cant be true. For two men who go to great lengths to make themselves seem all-powerful for their domestic audiences, they each seem adamant that they are powerless to comply with the courts very simple ruling, which they treat as extraordinarily complex when it really just amounts to a few steps: the U.S. government, which is paying for and directed Abrego Garcias detention, directs Bukeles forces to release him; they do; Abrego Garcia is provided transport back and allowed in via humanitarian parole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is preposterous is not the question of whether and how the Maryland union man will be brought home, but both parties insistence here that they cant make that happen. What they really mean is that they wont. If the governments admission in federal court that they had illegally deported Abrego Garcia despite his legal protections was a rare moment when it publicly admitted that it was circumventing due process with these renditions to CECOT, they now seem to be stepping away from admitting that they are at fault or indeed even could be at fault. In a declaration from an ICE official filed Sunday to the court, the government tries to give itself the power to effectively retroactively strip his protections away based on their contention that he is a member of MS-13, which they have yet to provide any concrete evidence for. The administration wants to distract you by painting all these folks as monsters Bukele, in the Oval Office, went so far as to call Abrego Garcia a terrorist and then framing the push for due process as coddling monsters, even though the whole point of due process is that it is an opportunity to determine whos guilty and who isnt, and dole out reasonable repercussions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even in cases where someone might have been legitimately involved in gang activity, nothing in the law gives the federal government the power to ship people off to a foreign prison from which they allegedly cant get them back. It is horrible that this is happening to anyone, but well remind readers that Trump administration leaders have explicitly and enthusiastically endorsed the idea that U.S. citizens could be sent to El Salvador as well. That means that, at various times and in different ways, Trump and his administration have admitted that they are not being particularly diligent about who theyre sending and on what evidence; that they will send citizens; and that they have no power to get folks back even when theyve acknowledged that they were sent illegally. You should think about what that might mean for you. The Supreme Court, which already sided with a lower court that had directed the government to bring him back, must put a stop to this madness before it can go any further. _____ By Mohamed Ezz RAS HANKORAB (Reuters) - Ras Hankorab Beach, a pristine spot on southern Egypt's Red Sea coast with crystal clear waters and flat white sands, is the jewel of Egypt's Wadi el-Gemal National Park, home to one of the country's last untouched marine ecosystems. Today, the beach, a 90-minute drive from Marsa Alam international airport, and a four-hour drive from the huge, fast-growing resort of Hurghada, is closed off by a wooden fence, and campaigners are battling to halt its development with, according to the original plans, dozens of accommodation huts, a restaurant and a farm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conservationists warn a fragile ecosystem supporting turtles, the coral reef, sea grasses and myriad species of fish is under threat and locals fear losing a precious natural resource forever. Fighting economic crisis, Egypt has been selling investment licenses in its national parks to developers in the hope of raising income. Projects vary in size and scope. Tourism is one of the most important pillars of the Egyptian economy. A recent UN Tourism report estimated annual tourism revenue at $14.1 billion in 2024, more than double Suez Canal revenues. With 17 million visitors in 2024, an annual increase of 17%, Egypt sees potential to boost numbers with more infrastructure, air connectivity and sustainable, coastal and desert-focused holidays. Turkey had 62 million tourists in 2024, Greece 35 million and Dubai 18.7 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Environmentalists and local communities warn that even light construction on the beach would destroy one of Egypts last untouched marine sanctuaries. Asmaa Ali, executive director of Ecoris, an Egyptian sustainable development and conservation group, said the national park and beach is one of the world's most important spots for biodiversity. "It has one of the most precious coral reefs, located at the reserve's beach. It also has sea turtles at risk of extinction, it has mangrove trees," she said. Sherif Baha el-Din, a co-founder of Wadi el-Gemal national park, said tourists seek unspoiled nature, not concrete resorts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The more development on the Red Sea coast, the more important it becomes to leave this small part untouched," he said. "If we must develop, lets talk about where. But the best thing to build here is nothing at all." The Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), an NGO, notes that the reef is so significant because it is one of the world's most tolerant of climate change, and has the potential to repopulate other reefs and even bring back some from extinction. REVENUE FROM NATIONAL PARKS Over the past decade, changes to the law have allowed spots within Egypt's national parks to be used for commercial projects. Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said projects within protected areas including national parks surged from 10 in 2016 to 150 in 2024, with revenue increasing by 1,900%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Egypt's Environmental Affairs Agency initially offered the operation of Ras Hankorab for tourism use to investors, albeit under strict conditions. However, responsibility has now moved to a government fund, the minister said in a recent presentation on Wadi el-Gemal. She declined to comment further. Worried conservationist groups have filed an appeal with a state prosecutor, alleging development is not meeting protection laws and would damage a public resource. Locals say they have been sidelined. Many once made a living from low-key eco-tourism but are now effectively barred from the beach. "I used to take my kids there for free. Now, I have to pay 250 Egyptian pounds ($5) just to enter," said Mohamed Saleh, a tribal elder. "They didn't consult us. They didn't hire us. They just took over our land." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fouad and other Egyptian officials argue that eco-tourism and investment can coexist. She defended development of the beach and Wadi el-Gemal as a "controlled expansion," ensuring sustainability while attracting revenue. Her ministry will monitor and evaluate the proposed projects in sensitive areas, including Ras Hankorab, Ras Boghdady, and the world-renowned diving spot the Blue Hole, she said. However, critics see the ministry as lacking the resources for that. Egypt has lost environmental expertise due to low wages and limited resources, conservationists say. In 2007, Wadi el-Gemal had 20 wildlife specialists monitoring biodiversity. Today, there are only a handful, said an NGO member. The Environment Ministry and the State Information Service did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This [development] completely undermines the idea of eco-tourism. How does handing over protected land to private investors align with conservation?" said environmental lawyer Ahmed El-Seidi. "The state is obliged to protect its natural resources and to protect the rights of future generations in these resources." ($1 = 51 Egyptian pounds) (Reporting by Mohamed Ezz; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) STORY: With crystal clear waters and flat white sands, Ras Hankorab Beach is home to one of Egypt's last untouched marine ecosystems. However, this pristine beach in the Red Sea has now been closed off for development. And according to the original plans, that would include dozens of accommodation huts, a restaurant, and a farm. Images obtained by Reuters showed the start of construction work at the beach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conservationists warn a fragile ecosystem supporting turtles and coral reefs is under threat. Here is Asmaa Ali, executive director of conservation group Ecoris. "This area is important because it is globally ranked as one of the most important spots of biodiversity, including nearly extinct species, including marine ones. It has one of the most precious coral reefs, located at the reserve's beach. It also has sea turtles at risk of extinction, it has mangrove trees. It has a wide range of biodiversity and it is considered a valued destination which many people seek out from around the globe." Ras Hankorab is the jewel of Egypt's Wadi el-Gemal National Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But to fight an economic crisis, Egypt has been selling investment licenses in its national parks to developers. Environmental lawyer Ahmed El-Seidi describes the construction as a catastrophe. "This is completely illegal because there is an article in the constitution stipulating that the state is obliged to protect its natural resources and to protect the rights of future generations in these resources. It is supposed that the government should work towards sustainable development and my understanding of sustainable development is that it is one aiming to take care of the environment, protect the environment, not just focusing on the economy and money." Tourism is one of the most important pillars of the Egyptian economy. A recent UN Tourism report estimated the country's annual tourism revenue at $14.1 billion in 2024. BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China has extended its condolences to Dominica following the tragic deaths caused by a roof collapse in the capital, Santo Domingo, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Tuesday. "China mourns the victims, expresses our sympathy to the bereaved families and the wounded, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured," said Lin. The tragedy occurred on April 8, when the roof of the Jet Set nightclub roof collapsed. As of Monday, Dominican authorities reported that the death toll had risen to 231. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) An El Paso married couple was sentenced in a federal court to a combined 25 years in prison for charges related to drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office from the Western District of Texas. The U.S. Attorneys Office says officers conducted a traffic stop on Carlos Morales, 41, and Rebekah Sue Morales, 55, during an FBI surveillance operation on March 5, 2024. Two handguns were located in a backpack that belonged to Carlos Morales, who is also a convicted felon, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A search warrant was then executed on the couples home which resulted in the seizure of additional firearms, ammunition, and methamphetamine. Further investigation revealed that the couple was involved in trafficking the meth, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Carlos Morales pleaded guilty back in January to one count of a felon in possession of a firearm. Rebekah Morales pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Carlos Morales was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison and Rebekah Morales was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. In addition, the court ordered the forfeiture of the defendants residence and multiple firearms which were all used to facilitate the commission of their crimes, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the El Paso Country Sheriffs Office, and the El Paso Country Constables. 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. From the The Morning Dispatch on The Dispatch Happy Tuesday! It appears that Bay Area techies are trying to find love by leaving notes in the seats of self-driving taxis. We sense the next Netflix rom-com in the making. Quick Hits: Todays Top Stories El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said Monday that he would not return Kilmar Abrego Garciaan immigrant who was deported to an El Salvador prison due to an administrative error last monthto the United States. How can I return him to the United States? Like if I smuggle him into the United States? Bukele said during an Oval Office visit, claiming that he had no power to return Garcia, who is a Salvadoran national. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling requiring the U.S. government to facilitate Abrego Garcias return last week, but the Trump administration has argued the decision over whether to expatriate the detainee lies with El Salvador. Cody Balmer, the Pennsylvania man facing charges connected to an arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros residence, is being treated at a hospital for an unrelated medical event, according to police. While the motives for the attack remain unclear, court documents have shown that Balmer told police he planned on beating Shapiro with a hammer after breaking into the mansion. His mother told reporters Monday that Balmer had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but was not taking his medication. Politicians of both parties condemned the attack, with Republican Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania calling it an assault on democracy. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified Monday in an antitrust trial, the first held under President Donald Trumps Federal Trade Commission, in which government lawyers accused Meta of establishing a monopoly over social media. By acquiring the social media platforms Whatsapp and Instagram while they were still start-ups, Meta established a monopoly over the market for social networking, FTC lawyers said. In defense of his company, Zuckerberg testified that the social media market was larger than the governments definition of demand for services that connect friends and family. Zuckerberg also argued that Meta, which owns Facebook, faced competition from companies like TikTok. Harvard University said Monday that it would refuse to comply with a list of Trump administration demands that it make significant reforms to its governance and operations. An administration task force charged with investigating allegations of antisemitism across dozens of American universities made extensive demands of Harvard, including ending all diversity and inclusion programs, submitting to external audits of a range of departments, and refusing admission to international students hostile to American values. The Trump administration threatened to pull roughly $9 billion in federal grants and funding if these conditions were not met. Following Harvards statement on Monday, the White House announced plans to freeze more than $2 billion in multi-year grants to the Ivy League university. In a Sunday post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote that he had a hope that the Federal Communications Commission would block the merger of CBS parent Paramount Global with Skydance Media, after he was apparently angered by an episode of CBS 60 Minutes, which included reports on Ukraine and Greenland, that aired over the weekend. Hopefully, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as headed by its Highly Respected Chairman, Brendan Carr, will impose the maximum fines and punishment, wrote Trump, after recounting his unrelated and ongoing suit against CBS and 60 Minutes. You Have to Imprison Some U.S. President Donald Trump meets with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the Oval Office of the White House April 14, 2025. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Nayib BukeleEl Salvadors 43-year-old president and the architect of its mass incarceration schemeoffered words of advice to his American counterpart. Sometimes they say that we imprisoned thousands. I like to say that we actually liberated millions, he said of his countrys crackdown on gang violence. Mr. President, you have 350 million people to liberate. But to liberate 350 million people, you have to imprison some. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Bukele appears more than willing to help Donald Trump in the process. The Salvadoran president, the first Latin American leader to receive an invitation to the Oval Office during Trumps second term, found himself at the center of Americas immigration debate after opening his sprawling prison system to deportees from the United States. But Bukele is an ally of both opportunity and ideology. Since taking office in 2019, the young president has attracted the praise of Trumps inner orbit for successfully ridding his country of rampant gang violence. But critics warn that the crackdown came at a high cost: Bukele has marginalized his political opponents, undermined due process, and flouted court orders. Now, some fear he may be helping the Trump administration to do the same. Last month, Trump ordered the transport of hundreds of immigrantsand alleged gang membersto El Salvadors largest prison complex, the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. Among them was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who the Justice Department later said had been deported due to an administrative error. As we recounted earlier this month: While seeking work in a Home Depot parking lot in 2019, Abrego Garcia was picked up by police under suspicion of gang affiliation and subsequently transferred to ICE to be deported. But the judge did not convict him of being a gang member. They simply reviewed the evidence cited by ICE, which immigration case law requires to be considered inherently trustworthy unless positively proven otherwise. No criminal charges were ever brought against Abrego Garcia, and in October 2019, an immigration judge granted him withholding from removal protection on the grounds that hed been fleeing gang threats and would face persecution if he were deported. Abrego Garcia was released from ICE detention after the judges order. Before and since his detention, he has had no criminal record beyond some traffic violations. He is married to an American citizen and has a 5-year-old child with her. Upholding a lower courts ruling, the Supreme Court last week directed the government to facilitate Abrego Garcias return to the United States. But the administration has yet to do so, arguing it lacks the authority to order a foreign country to expatriate its own citizenand that the lower court order compelling it to do so runs afoul of the separation of powers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bukele helped the Trump team strengthen its case during his White House visit. Asked whether he would facilitate Abrego Garcias return on Monday, he responded: Of course Im not going to do it, arguing that it would be akin to smuggling a terrorist into the United States. The government has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the MS-13 gang, an allegation he and his lawyer dispute. U.S. officials, meanwhile, continued to assert that the issue was out of their hands. Thats up to El Salvador if they want to return him. Thats not up to us. The Supreme Court ruled that if El Salvador wants to return him we would facilitate it: meaning, provide a plane, Attorney General Pam Bondi said from the Oval Office, offering the administrations interpretation of the Supreme Courts order. But scrutiny over the mistaken deportation did not stop Trump from exploring new ways to partner with El Salvador in cracking down on crime. At one point during Bukeles visit, Trump indicated that homegrown criminals could be next, adding that the administration is exploring the legality of detaining U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the countrys prison system. The Trump administration may regard Bukele as something of an inspiration. The former San Salvador mayor rose to power promising to usher in a new era in the Central American country long beset by corruption and gang violence. And in many ways, he delivered. Under Bukeles leadership, El Salvador has transformed from the murder capital of the world to one of the safest countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 2015, the country recorded some 103 homicides per 100,000 people. In 2024, that figure had dropped to 1.9 homicides per 100,000lower than any other Latin American countrys recorded murder rate in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the reduced crime came at a high price. El Salvador now has the worlds highest incarceration rate, and human rights groups argue many innocent people have been swept up in the mass detentions. In 2022, Bukele declared a state of emergency to detain suspected gang members without warrantsand it remains in effect today. A year later, he opened the doors to CECOT. The largest prison in Latin America and one of the largest in the world, it can hold up to 40,000 inmates. A 2023 report by the State Department detailed arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and inhumane conditions in pursuit of the Salvadoran governments crime crackdown. Still, Bukele enjoys widespread popularity among his people. In 2024, he won reelection with nearly 84 percent of the vote. (His second term came despite El Salvadors constitutional ban on consecutive second terms, after the Supreme Courtlargely populated by Bukele loyalistsruled that he could run for office again.) A publicist-turned-populist, Bukele is one of the 21st century leaders to rise to prominence with the help of social media. Since taking office, he has marketed El Salvador as a land of surf, volcanoes, and coffee. He has also signaled that, after a long period of internal strife, El Salvador is now open for investment. Now we can grow faster, offer better infrastructure, and generate a fertile ground for companies, the president said in February. The branding has won Bukele the support of not just his own people but also many on the MAGA right. He first began forging ties with the movement during the first Trump administration. In March 2019, he delivered a speech before the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.his first public address since being elected the previous month. In turn, several Trump alliesincluding Donald Trump Jr. and former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetzattended his second inauguration last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administrations partnership with Bukele is likely to grow, as Trump looks to Bukele as both an ally and as a leader who has achieved sweeping changes in his country. We didnt tolerate being told what to do. In doing so, we did the unthinkable. We transformed El Salvador from the most dangerous country in the world to the safest in the Western hemisphere, Bukele declared at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference. The people of El Salvador have woken up, and so can you. Todays Must-Read radiofreeeurope5 James Kirchick Given the diffuse nature of Radio Free Europe/Radio Libertys work, the magnitude of its contribution to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the spread of freedom across Central and Eastern Europe is difficult to quantify. An approximation, however, might be deduced from the hostile actions undertaken by the regimes whose legitimacy the radios undermined. From RFE/RLs very beginning, Eastern Bloc intelligence agencies were constantly trying to infiltrate it with spies, so that they could pilfer information and sow discord among the staff. Communist regimes went to great lengths jamming its broadcasts and doled out harsh prison sentences to those caught listening to the radios forbidden programming. In the 1950s, two Radio Liberty employees were murdered in West Germany, probably by Soviet agents, and the Czechoslovak intelligence service once tried to poison the salt shakers in the RFE/RL cafeteria. Toeing the Company Line Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska leaves the Capitol Hill Club after a meeting of the House Republican Conference on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Politics April 15, 2025 Charles Hilu Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Nebraska congressman from a purple district has made a habit of pushing back against Trump. Illustration by Noah Hickey. (Photos via Unsplash.) Policy April 15, 2025 Jeremiah Johnson We need more kidney donations. I would know. Then-Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and other electoral officials hold a press conference to explain the electoral process in Maricopa County in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 4, 2024. (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images) Politics April 15, 2025 Michael Warren Two recent executive orders have at least one former election official worried. Alex Jones on The Tucker Carlson Show. (Screengrab from tuckercarlson.com) Fact Check April 14, 2025 Peter Gattuso Both Jones and Carlson pushed incorrect claims onto viewers. Worth Your Time Writing for Pirate Wires, Trae Stephens argued that the Trump administrations aim of reshoring manufacturing and defense production elides a critical factor: automation. But tariffs arent enough. A concrete equipment construction factory in, say, Youngstown, might see a short-term spike in demand thanks to artificially reduced foreign competition. But that factorys long-term economic competitiveness depends on production-side improvements: it has to turn out products faster and cheaper. And the only way to do that is by leaning hard into automation, he wrote. Patriotism demands we go all-in on robots and AI in manufacturing. More than any treaty or tariff, automation is what will keep us ahead of the worlds foremost authoritarian menace. Fighting automation isnt just bad economics its a surefire way to ensure America loses the battle for the 21st Century. M. Anthony Mills and TMD alum Price St. Clair examined the changing politics of science in Issues in Science and Technology. The idea that distrust in science is due simply to ignoranceor a deficit of informationhas been especially alluring to many members of scientific, educational, and media institutions because it presupposes that what needs fixing lies not with those institutions but rather with ignorant others. Although this framing has long been discredited by scholars, it persists in part because these same institutions are uniquely well-positioned to supply more information. Yet distrust is a relational conceptit calls for repair, not more information. Efforts to fill the void left by distrust with more information are therefore unlikely to succeed; they also run the risk of aggravating the underlying cause of distrust, they wrote. From this point of view, what is remarkable is not that some of us distrust abstract systems more than others, but rather that most of us do trust them most of the time. The question is, why? How do modern societies maintain social trust given the centrality of abstract systems, which demand faceless commitments? Presented Without Comment The Financial Times: EU Issues U.S.-Bound Staff With Burner Phones Over Spying Fears In the Zeitgeist If you like the sound of a sonorous Midwestern man singing over electronic music, youve probably had a good week. Bon Ivers new album SABLE, fABLE dropped last week, and he put out the official music video for Theres a Rhythm/ Au Revoir over the weekend. Happy napping! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let Us Know Is it possible for countries beset by gang violence to balance human rights and security? 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. Elaine Wynn, the co-founder of Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts, billionaire art collector and philanthropist, has died. She was 82. The Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation announced her death on Tuesday. The cause of death was not immediately known. She was born in New York City and raised in Miami Beach, but it was Las Vegas where Wynn found a longtime home for herself, her investments and her philanthropy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: For Las Vegas' Elaine Wynn, a test of her taste "No matter where people are or where they go, theres no place in the world like Las Vegas," she told Vegas Magazine in 2021. "When you think about an immediate moment of having fun and enjoying yourself no matter how serious and weird things get we all need to laugh and dance and watch other people sing and perform." She and husband Steve Wynn the couple married twice and divorced for good in 2010 moved there in 1967, using the money from Steve Wynn's family bingo parlors to invest in the Frontier Hotel. Elaine Wynn tries on earrings at the promenade at the new Encore Hotel in Las Vegas in 2008. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) Ultimately, the Wynns transformed the Las Vegas Strip, notably opening the Mirage and Bellagio casino resorts, in 1989 and 1998, respectively. Elaine Wynn infused her touch of glamour on the resorts, setting the tone for luxury mega-resorts. At the time, the Bellagio was the most expensive resort ever built. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Mirage Resorts was acquired by MGM in 2000, the couple founded Wynn Resorts Ltd. and financed Wynn Las Vegas, which opened in 2005. The sister property, Encore Las Vegas, opened in 2008. Wynn Resorts, of which Elaine Wynn was the largest individual shareholder, issued a statement Tuesday morning. "Elaine cared deeply about the employees of our resorts," the statement reads. "The current and former employees who worked alongside her to create Wynn and Encore Las Vegas cherish the many fond memories they have of her, especially of when they opened Wynn Las Vegas with her 20 years ago this month." As the statement alludes to, Wynn was known for her philanthropic spirit as much as her business ventures, especially in Las Vegas. She chaired the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Foundation from 1985-1991, co-chaired Nevada's Blue Ribbon Education Reform Task Force in 2011 and sat on the Nevada State Board of Education from 2012 to 2020, serving as president in 2015 and 2017. Wynn also served on the national board of Communities in Schools, an organization dedicated to encouraging children to stay in school, since 1999 and was the founding chairman of Communities in Schools of Nevada. Read more: Inside LACMA's plans to share its collection with a new Las Vegas museum: 'I'm a West Coast booster' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wynn was also a patron of the arts. President Obama named her a trustee of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2010. She served as co-chair of Los Angeles County Museum of Art since 2015. An avid art collector, Wynn purchased a Francis Bacon triptych of painter Lucian Freud for $142.5 million in 2013 the most expensive artwork ever sold at the time. In 2016, she pledged $50 million toward LACMA's new Peter Zumthor-designed permanent collection building. Parts of the plaza around the David Geffen Galleries will open by summer; the north wing is named the Elaine Wynn Wing in honor of the trustee and board co-chair's initial contribution. In its statement, the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation directed contributions in Wynn's memory to be made to LACMA to support the building of its satellite Las Vegas Museum of Art, which is tentatively slated to open in 2028. Las Vegas is one of the largest cities in the country without an art museum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wynn is survived by two daughters, Kevyn and Gillian, and seven grandchildren. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated to clarify details of the incident. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) An Elk Grove man has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and unlawful sexual conduct after being found with a 10-year-old Taft girl who was reported missing over the weekend, authorities say. Matthew Naval, 27, allegedly picked up the girl on Saturday after communicating with her through Roblox, according to Kern County Sheriffs Office. She was located Sunday and has been returned to family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naval will be extradited to Kern County, sheriffs officials said. Elk Grove is in Sacramento County. The suspect was found by collaboration with Elk Grove PD and with the help of the Sacramento news medias response to missing flyers sent by KCSO, and our local media partners here in Kern County, sheriffs spokeswoman Lori Meza said. We are confident that spreading the word so quickly contributed to the successful location of the victim and the suspect. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Malaysia will boost bilateral ties and set the course for the next 50 years, says Dato' Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, President of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association and former Malaysian ambassador to China. The visit, set for April 15 to 17, follows last year's 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations -- a milestone moment for both sides. The veteran diplomat adds that as global trade faces disruptions from U.S. tariffs, ASEAN must act with unity. "This time, we are better off in the sense that we have China as our strong partner." A Miao Xiaojuan Studio Film Produced by Xinhua Global Service Indiana lawmakers are struggling with whether noncompete agreements involving doctors and employers should be legal in the state. (Getty Images) As the CEO of Kem Krest, a mid-sized company with a deeply rooted employee-first culture, Ive always believed that caring for our associates means going beyond competitive wages and traditional benefits. For years, like many American businesses, weve struggled with the rising costs of health care and the challenge of offering meaningful, affordable benefits. We appreciate that this has been a top priority for state policymakers for many years. As a business, we are always looking for ways to reduce unnecessary spending, and a direct-to-employer partnership with our local hospital presented the perfect opportunity to cut out waste and reinvest into our most valuable asset our employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Originally to manage costs, we implemented high-deductible health plans paired with wellness programs that offered cash incentives for participation. But over time, the data told us a different story: those incentives mostly benefited employees who were already healthy. Meanwhile, many others avoided seeking care unless it was catastrophic discouraged by high out-of-pocket costs. We realized this approach wasnt just ineffective; it was inconsistent with our values of putting associates, their families, and their health first. My perspective began to shift even further during my time serving on the Board of Beacon Health System. Though Im not a medical professional, this role opened my eyes to the critical role community hospitals play, not just in delivering care, but in shaping the overall health of the communities they serve. How to help employees We surveyed our team and confirmed what many employers are also discovering: health care and childcare are the two biggest challenges facing working families. While exploring solutions, we learned a surprising insight: Many of our associates werent seeing a primary care doctor at all. Most prioritized their childrens health care needs and would visit the ER only if absolutely necessary. That reframed the question for us. Instead of asking, Is an on-site clinic feasible? we asked, Whats the right thing to do? And the answer was clear: bring accessible, high-quality care directly to our people on-site and at no cost to them or their families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initially, we considered doing it ourselves. But we quickly realized that to do it right, we needed more than just a doctor. We needed infrastructure, equipment, IT systems, compliance protocols, and most importantly, employee trust. Thats where Beacon came in. In partnership with Beacon, we launched our on-site clinic that features a private entrance and the look and feel of a traditional doctors office. Beacon provided the clinical staff, scheduling systems, electronic records, and the medical equipment. As usage grew, we identified another opportunity: prescription costs. Employees paid the same co-pay regardless of pharmacy pricing, while the company absorbed wide variations in drug costs. So we expanded our clinic to include free prescription medications for the most common conditions. This not only reduced our overall spend but also created a powerful incentive for employees to seek care early. Real results The results have been extraordinary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, our Indiana clinic saw over 500 visits, ranging from routine checkups and labs to chronic condition management and mental health services. Associates who hadnt seen a doctor in years came in for physicals and womens health screenings. Most meaningfully, we know of at least three lives saved through early detection of heart disease and cancer conditions that could have been fatal if left undiagnosed. In 2024 alone, Kem Krest has saved more than $800,000 in total health care expenses, and for the first time in years, weve seen flat to declining insurance premiums. The clinic has also become a standout advantage in both recruiting and retention. Encouraged by the success of our Elkhart, Indiana site, weve expanded our clinics to our Wisconsin and Michigan facilities, with plans to open another in Carmel, Indiana by 2027. What weve done at Kem Krest wouldnt have been possible without the visionary partnership of Beacon Health, a community hospital system dedicated to improving lives not just treating illness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As state lawmakers navigate the complexities of our current health care system, I implore them to encourage innovative, market-based solutions that demonstrate real results, as they have for us at Kem Krest, instead of more government regulation. Employers have the tools they need to implement these types of partnerships, which lower costs across the board while improving health care quality, access, and value for employees. Real commitment means making bold, values-based investmentseven when theyre unconventional. Were proud to be part of that movement. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Emily Ratajkowski has criticized Blue Origin for sending a famous crew into space. The Blue Origin rocket made the trip on Monday with its all-female team, which included Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. The craft flew through space for around four minutes before floating back down to Earth, with the entire journey taking a little over 10 minutes. Hours later, Ratajkowski shared her thoughts about the mission in a TikTok video, criticizing the praise and support Blue Origin has received for this trip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That space mission this morning, thats end time s***. Like this is beyond parody, she said. That you care about Mother Earth and its about Mother Earth, and youre going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company thats single-handedly destroying the planet? Look at the state of the world. Think about how many resources went into putting these women into space, she continued. For what? For what? What was the marketing there? Im disgusted, literally. The model shared a follow-up video on the topic on Tuesday, sharing her belief that the mission is confusing to people, since it looks like progress to see women of color in science and political spaces, which they havent been a part of before. Emily Ratajkowski says shes disgusted by Blue Origin mission with famous crew to space (@emrata / TikTok) However, she expressed that the trip was not progress, since it was done for space tourism and organized by billionaire Jeff Bezos, whos engaged to Sanchez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It just speaks to the fact that we are absolutely living in an oligarchy where theres a very small group of people who are interested in going to space for the sake of getting a new lease on life, Ratajkowski said. While most of the people on planet Earth are worried about paying rent or having dinner for their kids. Its not clear how much money was spent on the recent Blue Origin flight, or how much it cost to build the space shuttle for the trip. However, it likely cost a pretty penny to be on the shuttle, since the first seat on the New Shepard vehicle into space was sold for $28 million in 2021. Many other celebrities have criticized the recent Blue Origin trip. On Monday, actor Olivia Wilde posted a viral meme of Perry kissing the ground after the spaceship landed back on Earth. Billion dollars bought some good memes I guess, the director wrote on her Instagram Story, while sharing the meme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, Olivia Munn shared her feelings about the trip, which were similar to Ratajkowski's. While co-hosting an episode of Today With Jenna and Friends, she said there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now, other than the Blue Origin mission. What are you guys gonna do up in space? What are you doing up there? Munn asked. If you wanna go to space, why do you need to tell us about it, you know? Its just like, go up there, have a good time, come on down. During a press conference after the trip on Monday, Sanchez and King responded to the backlash. I feel anybody thats criticizing doesnt really understand whats happening here, King said. Weve all heard it. We were even all talking about that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She then encouraged critics to do a deep dive into what the flight means to so many people. We can all speak to the response we're getting from young women from young girls about what this represents, she added. This is really a lot of work, what went into getting us up and getting us down. Sanchez chimed in to share her thoughts about the criticism, adding: I get really fired up, a little bit on this. I would love to have [critics] come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don't just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle, she said. They love their work and they love the mission and it's a big deal for them. The backdrop for Utah Gov. Spencer Coxs ceremonial signing of several education bills was not what one might expect. Not a chalkboard, principals office or school desk was anywhere to be found. Instead, Cox and several state lawmakers were dwarfed by giant tractor-trailers, diesel engines and other massive equipment in the diesel/heavy duty technician lab at Davis Technical College in Kaysville. There was a reason behind Mondays nontraditional bill-signing setting: Education today in Utah is increasingly being delivered in nontraditional ways including the colleges gigantic auto-shops that functions as a classroom for Utahns training for the heavy-duty transportation industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is one of my favorite places, said Cox. Ive had chances to to visit here often, and its a little noisier in here than it is right now. But Im grateful to the students that are working quietly in the background so that we can celebrate together. The governor added that the education bills ceremoniously signed Monday signals the states commitment to education and reaching out to all students wherever they are and whatever their interests are. Cox highlighted four new pieces of education-themed legislation, and their respective sponsors: Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, left, claps after sponsor of HB219 Rep. Neil Walter, R-Santa Clara, right, spoke at a ceremonial signing for bills on education and student opportunity at Davis Technical College in Kaysville on Monday, April 14, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News House Bill 219: Charter school credit enhancements Co-sponsored by Rep. Neil Walter, R-St. George, and Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, HB219 is designed to help Utah charter schools improve their financial viability and accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the things I love about this is that it doesnt cost the state money and were actually going to save schools, said Walter. This is a great way for us to put money back into schools and back into classrooms by working on some of the financing mechanisms without asking taxpayers for more resources and more funds. Walter saluted the Utah State Treasurer Office for its collaboration and the states charter school community. House Bill 260: Creation of the first credential program This educational reform bill aims to enhance Utah secondary students readiness for the states workforce by establishing and facilitating industry-recognized credentials. HB260 is designed to better align education opportunities with industry needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new legislation replaces the states existing PRIME program that expanded students access to concurrent enrollment and career and technical education certificates. The PRIME program was something that was making a difference, but it needed more clarity, said the bills co-sponsor, Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden. It needed to be simpler for students. It needed to be simpler for parents. It needed to be clear that this is an option that will allow you to go to work or go to school and continue your higher education, or both. Millner hopes HB260 will broaden educational possibilities for Utah students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our goal is that every student who wants this opportunity, in a wide range of career fields and needs that we have in the workforce, will be able to have that opportunity, she said. Sponsor of HB381 Rep. Doug Welton, R-Payson, speaks at Gov. Spencer Coxs ceremonial signing for bills on education and student opportunity at Davis Technical College in Kaysville on Monday, April 14, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News House Bill 381: Boosting civics-savvy in Utah high schools Co-sponsored by Fillmore and Rep. Douglas Welton, R-Payson, HB381 amends Utah high school graduation requirements to include a course on American constitutional government and citizenship. Welton said Monday that there is a shortage of civics education. Many Americans lack the ability to engage meaningfully in the vast public square. It doesnt matter whether you like politics or not, everyone engages in civics, he added. So what (HB381) does is put a greater focus on our founding principles and institutions and our documents including a study of the Utah Constitution, something that I think very few people in the state have ever read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Welton said he and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle support the idea of Utah students building a strong foundation of what it means to be an American and what it means to be a Utahn. House Bill 447: Expanding CTE opportunities for Utah students A big fan of career and technical education high school programs, House Speaker Mike Schultz, co-sponsored HB447, which helps establish and support expanded CTE programs in Utah high schools called catalyst centers. Schultz, R-Hooper, said Monday that technical education in Utah schools has been left behind for several decades within the public education system. More CTE opportunities are needed. Our workforce, our businesses, our citizens and our kids are wanting more opportunities in technical education, he said. This bill expands that. Sponsor of SB162 Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, speaks at Gov. Spencer Coxs ceremonial signing for bills on education and student opportunity at Davis Technical College in Kaysville on Monday, April 14, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News Senate Bill 162: Connecting talent between students and employers Co-sponsored by Millner and Rep. Jefferson Moss, R- Saratoga Springs, SB162 is designed to enhance statewide portals between talented students and employers from high-demand industries, utilizing timely data and cooperative programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Millner said the bill was motivated by many people asking how to better prepare students for the ever-evolving workforce. Workforce experience within that workforce, she said, is absolutely critical to building technical and durable skills. Gov. Spencer Cox ceremonially signs SB162, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, at Coxs ceremonial signing for bills on education and student opportunity at Davis Technical College in Kaysville on Monday, April 14, 2025. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News SB162 structures programs that will, among other things, empower local industry to create paid, credit-earning apprenticeship opportunities for Utah students. That is going to help our students be better prepared, when they graduate, to enter our companies and make a real contribution, said Millner. Cox added that SB162 better connects work and education. If we can help kids find what they want to do and then have our employers actually helping to sponsor we get the best of all worlds, he said. Iowa's emergency medical service providers are overseen by the state's Bureau of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services. (Photo by Getty Images) A state-licensed EMT from Indianola is facing two felony charges of grooming minors to commit an unlawful act of a sexual nature. Police allege that in October 2024, 37-year-old Jeremy Dean McCormick of Indianola took a 15-year-old female and a 16-year-old female on a shopping trip to eastern Iowa. He allegedly took the two teens to a Victorias Secret store, where he purchased underwear for both of the girls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prior to that incident, police say, one of the two teens had previously gone to a Victorias Secret store with McCormick where he purchased underwear for her. According to police, the girl alleged McCormick knew she was a minor and that after both shopping trips, he asked her to send him photos of her in the underwear he had purchased for her. McCormick has pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of grooming. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 5, 2025. Separately, the Iowa Bureau of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services has issued an emergency order suspending McCormicks EMT license, citing his arrest. The board alleges his continued practice of emergency medical services constitutes an immediate danger to the public health, safety, and welfare. A hearing date on the suspension has yet to be scheduled. Enbridge is pushing forward with a series of permit applications that ignore the risks of running a 4-mile oil tunnel through the heart of the Great Lakes the Straits of Mackinac. In March, Enbridge submitted several permit applications to Michigans Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) as part of its push to replace the aging Line 5 pipeline into a tunnel it wants to construct in the Straits. But by a plain reading of Michigan environmental law, the application is woefully incomplete. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather than conducting a thorough analysis of the projects full impact on the Great Lakes, Enbridges submission narrowly focuses on the tunnels north and south ends ignoring vital ecological, cultural and hydrological consequences of drilling into the gravel-like lakebed. Michigans law is clear: The Great Lakes belong to the public, and the state has a legal obligation to protect these waters under the Public Trust Doctrine and the Michigan Submerged Lands Act. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and EGLE Director Phil Roos now have a critical decision to make. Will they stand with the millions of Michiganders who rely on clean water, healthy fisheries and a thriving tourism economy? Or will they allow Enbridge to cut corners, ignore environmental risks and endanger our states most precious natural resource? More from Freep Opinion: How much of Project 2025 has been implemented? Enough to break us beyond repair. How it works Heres how the EGLE permitting process works: There are EGLE must deem three major permits administratively complete, and ultimately approve, for this project to move forward. The first is under Part 31 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. This permit, previously granted under the Snyder Administration, revealed Enbridges plans to discharge up to 5 million gallons of wastewater and other construction liquids per day into Lake Michigan during tunnel construction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second permit they are pursuing is under Part 303, Wetlands Protection. This permit has been recently filed and must be scrutinized by EGLE to ensure that critical wetlands are not negatively impacted by the project, along with rare plant species which have been identified in the project area. Currently, the application only considers the north and south ends of the proposed tunnel. The company is seeking a reissuance of this permit, in part because of the companys failure to disclose delineated wetlands in the first round. Finally, the third permit falls under Part 325, Great Lakes Submerged Lands, which explores whether the proposal will negatively impact fisheries and navigation. Enbridge submitted a letter expressing that it believed Part 325 did not apply, but begrudgingly did submit a limited application. The scope of that application was restricted to a small area near the wetlands considered in the previous permits scope. The company claims that the project will cause no harm during the three to five years that they are drilling and blasting through our Great Lakes bottomlands. Now, EGLE must rigorously scrutinize this to ensure that this project serves the public interest not just the financial interests of a foreign oil company. More from Freep Opinion: After 30 years in Detroit journalism, I can't stop thinking about this story Scope of harm The risks of this project are not hypothetical. Enbridges lengthy history of environmental disaster proves the company cannot be trusted. The catastrophic 2010 Line 6B spill in Michigans Kalamazoo River remains one of the worst inland oil spills in U.S. history, contaminating nearly 40 miles of waterways and requiring over $1 billion in cleanup costs. More recently, during the construction of its Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota, Enbridge breached multiple aquifers, releasing millions of gallons of groundwater and inflicting long-term damage to local ecosystems. In November of 2024, Enbridges 70,000-gallon spill on Line 6 in Wisconsin marked the largest oil spill in that states history. Plus, dont forget that Line 5 itself has already spilled more than a million gallons during its lifetime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These disasters are not anomalies; theyre the predictable outcome of a business model that, in my estimation, is built on negligence, incompetence and a propensity to operate until failure. Michigan cannot afford to gamble with the Great Lakes by allowing Enbridge to drill a tunnel beneath one of the most sensitive ecosystems in the world. Environmental hazards aside, approving this 99-year oil infrastructure would lock our economy into decades of continued reliance on fossil fuels at precisely the moment when we must be accelerating our transition to clean energy. The economic and environmental costs of this outdated infrastructure would be borne by Michigan residents, while the profits would flow to Enbridges corporate headquarters in Canada. Its worth remembering that Enbridge petitioned and won approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to pass the costs of tunnel construction onto their shippers, which may then be passed onto consumers i.e., you and me. Plus, the Line 5 tunnel would be owned by the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority (MSCA), a state entity, while Enbridge would lease and operate it. This financial structure raises concerns about liability, as Michigan taxpayers could ultimately be responsible for costs associated with potential pipeline rupture cleanup, maintenance or unforeseen damages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tunnel also represents a direct affront to indigenous sovereignty and threatens to desecrate indigenous sites of immense cultural and spiritual significance, violating treaty rights and perpetuating a long history of environmental injustice. Efforts to fast track this permit on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers behind closed doors have led seven Michigan tribes to withdraw from continued federal discussions. A way of life at risk Expert review of Enbridges deficient Michigan Public Service Commission application has already highlighted serious risks including potential methane intrusion, explosion risk and unstable geology. Given these significant threats, EGLE must not only demand a more rigorous review, but ultimately reject this application outright once the scope of harm is fully accounted for. The Great Lakes are the heart of our region. They provide drinking water for more than 40 million people, fuel a $6 trillion economy, and support industries that are the backbone of Michigans prosperity, from tourism and fishing to shipping and recreation. These waters are not just a resource; they are our way of life. But today, these waters comprising more than 20% of the worlds fresh surface water stand threatened by Enbridges unvetted proposal to build an oil tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EGLE and Gov. Whitmer must recognize Enbridges application for what it is: An attempt to push through a deeply complicated and ultimately flawed project without proper scrutiny or oversight. To date, no single agency, state or federal, has completed an assessment of whether the tunnel is actually feasible, safe or cost effective. By deeming their permits administratively incomplete, the agency would send a clear signal that Michigan takes its duty to protect the Great Lakes seriously. Ashley Rudzinski is the Climate & Environment Program Director for Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online and in print. Like what you're reading? Please consider supporting local journalism and getting unlimited digital access with a Detroit Free Press subscription. We depend on readers like you. Ashley Rudzinski This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Latest Enbridge info for Line 5 tunnel isn't good enough | Opinion Back in March, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported back to his home country of El Salvador by ICE and President Donald Trumps administration, where he is now imprisoned in CECOT (otherwise known as Terrorism Confinement Center). The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images Even though the White House has openly admitted their decision as an administrative error, Kilmar has not been returned to the US. In fact, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who visited President Trump yesterday, stated he would not return Kilmar, even though the Supreme Court unanimously ruled (9-0) that Trump's administration must facilitate his release. Win McNamee / Getty Images Naturally, this dismissal from both President Trump and President Bukele has caused a lot of emotions among American citizens. So when Reddit user 2a_lib asked: "Americans, what do you think about President Trump and El Salvador president Bukele refusing the Supreme Courts order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US?" over four thousand people shared their thoughts. Here's what they said below. Advertisement Advertisement 1."Due process was one of the most important demands of the Founding Fathers of America. The loss is a total and complete abrogation of the Constitution." Win McNamee / Getty Images Godlessheeathen666 "There is literally no constitution without it. No rights. No such thing as citizenship. No laws. No government." square_error 2."In his meeting with President Nayib Bukele today in the White House, President Donald Trump told his Salvadoran counterpart that home-growns are next and that El Salvador would need to build about five more places to hold American citizens.' The President is directly saying he intends to send US citizens to concentration camps while also saying he can do this without any due process and while ignoring the Supreme Court's instructions to stop and return an innocent man. Source: Home growns are next: Trump tells El Salvador president to build more jails for U.S. citizens." Advertisement Advertisement Irish_Whiskey "Saves room in American prisons and is cheaper. Isnt that what hes said? Fucking scary." broggygoose 3."I'm currently looking at South Korea with envy with regards to how they handled their president staging a coup and wondering why the fuck we can't have that here (even though I know why we can't have that here)." Pool / Getty Images GNOIZ1C "I've been wondering the same. They didn't like what he was doing and did something. We are just sitting here with our thumbs up and our asses wondering what shitty thing Trump is going to do next." UnicornFarts84 Advertisement Advertisement 4."In a proper country, Congress would at least withhold money from the State Department and ICE until this was resolved." Hrekires "It should be grounds for impeachment proceedings to start immediately. But we all know that's not going to happen." eMouse2k 5."The only possible comfort of any sort that I get here is that Trump still feels it's necessary to distort the truth about the Supreme Court decision. He can't just nakedly say, 'lol, get fucked, Courts,' but honestly, we're fucked. This isn't a jail. It's a death sentence. There is no hope of release. There is no accounting for the alleged crime. There is only unending punishment. Once Trump knows he was able to get away with sending this person despite the courts, there will be little to restrain him. American citizens are next and we're only two months into this maniac's rule." Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images medes24 Advertisement Advertisement 6."The single most worrying development in the federal government of my 41-year life. The conservative sub continues to cheer it on, which makes everything so much worse." FattyMcBlobicus "There are conservatives on that sub expressing concern, but they get dismissed as rhinos and brigaders. You can't reason with the hard-core MAGA." Strict-Extension 7."Horrified, angry, powerless. All of our institutions and leaders failed us to allow this to happen." Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Prestigious_Luck_676 "For the last decade specifically, did I fight my way through endless Trump supporters? When it became heavily apparent that he was a newborn Hitler with everything to prove and nothing to prove with, I said so. Advertisement Advertisement Let it be known that hes not just sending protesters or immigrants into a jail; hes sending them to a modern-day concentration camp and has claimed that if he can find a way to legally, he would not be above sending natural-born US citizens there to rot and die. History doesnt often repeat itself in a 1 to 1 ratio. This really will be the USs homegrown holocaust with a different context if hes not stopped and not stopped soon." passion-froot_ 8."I think its one of the worst things to ever happen to America. Its the end of democracy. Youd hope Congress would wake up and take a stand, but they have no spine or anything to worry about. So without them, it relies on citizens to take a stand, and that infrastructure isnt there yet. Dark days are ahead for this once-great country. This is how civilizations collapse. History is the best teacher, and it gets ignored too often." Advertisement Advertisement jboarei 9."If they bring him back, he'll be on every news outlet in America describing how he was tortured and abused after an American president had him kidnapped and sent to a concentration camp in El Salvador without due process. He'll be a hero, he'll be a victim, he'll be the face of these illegal deportations, and the public will have no choice but to reconcile with the inhumanity of this atrocity. Trump will look like the worst villain to ever lead this country. Then he'll sue, and he'll win. But it won't be enough; there are still hundreds left behind in that fate. None of them can be allowed back, or the show's over." Win McNamee / Getty Images "Knowing who we're dealing with, though, I'd bet money they stage an Epstein instead. They'd rather deal with that fallout than the fallout of bringing him back. Because if Fox News says it was likely suicide, that's what every red hat in this country will believe. They'll just say he was depressed. Anything else is speculation, and these people live and lurk in the shadows of plausible deniability. Bring him back; there's no deniability. Stage a suicide, and you get deniability all day long. Then you just commit another atrocity, and everyone moves on from the current one. It's a shitty playbook, but it's predictable." CaBBaGe_isLaND Advertisement Advertisement 10."Let me find my answer to all the previous questions about blatant executive overreach on this subreddit: 'Oh look, more fascism! Next question?' It's all fucking fascism. Like, I'm not really sure what people are looking for here. ~30% of the country was tired of this whole democracy thing because they weren't getting their way, and another 30% couldn't be bothered to show up and vote against a candidate who literally said he was going to do this. So, here we are, where apparently you don't need 2/3's of Congress and 3/4 of the States to ratify a new amendment. You just need 51% of the Electoral College and 34% of the Senate, and the president can do whatever the fuck he wants. Sigh." "Republican voters are out of excuses. There is no smokescreen to hide behind. If you voted for Trump or any Republican congressperson, you did this. You voted to end democracy because it was inconvenient for you. You are all the modern American Nazis. You know what we call Nazis who didn't agree with Hitler's racism but supported his economic policy? We call them Nazis. If we survive this, 'Republican' is going to be the same type of 'obviously a bad person' as a Nazi is. Fascists in 100 years will cry, 'You can't call me a 'Republican' just because you disagree with me!' And we'll do it all again because, apparently, people are just that stupid..." Solesaver Advertisement Advertisement 11."It's a criminal violation of the 13th amendment and extremely un-American. Everyone involved deserves the maximum prison sentence, general pop." Win McNamee / Getty Images YaBoiChillDyl "Sorry, the Supreme Court ruled that the president has immunity for whatever he does in an 'official' capacity. The six Republican members of SCOTUS who ruled in the majority in Trump v. United States are absolutely complicit in what is going on now." Anthro_the_Hutt 12."I'm fucking terrified as a citizen. How long before I'm gone? Will my daughter, a mixed baby, be safe? How the fuck are people okay with this? How does my own father still support him?" Advertisement Advertisement Cup8489 13."I think more people should be reading Project 2025, because this was actually their idea. Ken Cuccinelli wrote the section on immigration, and it contains this exact thing. Page 133 is where it starts. Page 146 is where he instructs that they will not follow judge orders if the judge does not have jurisdiction: 'USCIS should make it clear that where no court jurisdiction exists, it will not honor court decisions'" BONNIE CASH / AFP via Getty Images "Also, they are allowing state and local law enforcement to be unofficial ICE agents, are calling to use Blackies Warrants, and consider a DUI to be an offense that allows them to deport (i.e., disappear) 'aliens' (their word, not mine). They also want camps that can take in 100,000 immigrants a day (and putting families in tents is an acceptable form of taking care of human needs). Please, for the love of God, I know its a huge pain in the ass, but please read this document. It literally laid this all out as it is currently happening in real life." youareasnort Americans, what are your thoughts about President Trump and El Salvador President Bukele refusing the Supreme Courts order to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US? Share with us anonymously in the Google Form or in the comments below ENFIELD, Conn. (WWLP) The potential removal of a Black Lives Matter flag from a classroom has sparked controversy in the Enfield school district. Enfield Mayor Ken Nelson says he stands behind Superintendent Steven Moccio and the Board of Education in their recent decision to enforce policies that have been in place for many years. In a board meeting last week, Superintendent Moccio said that while the Connecticut and United States constitutions guarantee freedom of speech there are limitations. He adds that while some materials are related to history, civics, and political science, they must be used sensitively and not attached to specific political organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Superintendent for Enfield Public Schools Steven Moccio told 22News, You have to allow the kids within their program of study to develop the skills, to examine the materials. Both sides, not just one site, to analyze it, to evaluate it, and then to eventually synthesize their being regarding it. Our Public Schools are not a place where ones personal ideologies should be cast upon our students. This is not an issue on one particular flag, but rather about politically motivated materials in our Public classrooms. Ken Nelson, Mayor of Enfield Those on the school board tell 22News that this undermines their work and that this is an attack not only on classroom flags but also on curricula like the Black and Latino Studies course. Its unfortunate that it came to this, and it is more unfortunate that a sitting town council member used their position of power and influence to air a personal grievance and personnel matter on camera at the Dias. It is an abuse of their power. Further, some of the previous and current elected republicans on both the town council and board of Ed in Enfield have been trying to dictate not only classroom flags but curriculum as well singling out social emotional learning, classroom books, and high school course offerings like the Black and Latino Studies course. Thankfully, our current BOE has a much greater consensus. We have worked hard to promote the good of the students. This attack undermines our work. Tina LeBlanc, Board Member 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. By Catarina Demony (Reuters) - The push for slavery reparations is at a defining moment, a Caribbean Community official said on the second day of a United Nations forum, adding it was time to step up actions to hold former colonial powers to account for past wrongs. "Enough talk, time for concrete results," said Hilary Brown on Tuesday, representative of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, at the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent in New York. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Calls for reparations are longstanding but have been gaining momentum worldwide, particularly among CARICOM and the African Union. Backlash against it has also been growing. CARICOM has a reparations plan, which, among other demands, calls for technology transfers and investments to tackle health crises and illiteracy. The AU is developing its own plan. CARICOM and the AU have in recent years joined forces in the fight for reparations, and Brown said that partnership put the movement at a "defining moment" as they can use one voice to demand action. Brown said together they could advance the reparations agenda at the UN and other intergovernmental bodies, co-sponsor a joint UN resolution on reparations and advocate for a high-level political forum on the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "CARICOM is ready to take this agenda to the next level, and we welcome the partnership of the AU and other coalitions that share the vision and conviction necessary to ensure that Europe is held to account," Brown said. Many of Europe's leaders have opposed even talking about reparations. At least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported by European ships and sold into slavery from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Opponents of reparations argue, among other things, that contemporary states and institutions should not be held responsible for their past. But advocates say action is needed to address the legacies, such as systemic and structural racism, and say that contemporary states still benefit from the wealth generated by hundreds of years of exploitation. (Reporting by Catarina Demony in London; Editing by Rod Nickel) A brown bear wades through river water in Katmai National Park and Preserve on Aug. 12, 2023. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance is seeking a restraining order and injunction to prevent the state from carrying out a third bear-killing season in its program to reduce predators in the area of the state used by the Mulchatna Caribou Herd. (Photo by F. Jimenez/National Park Service) Opponents of a controversial predator control program in Western Alaska are seeking a court order to halt this years work before state officials kill any more bears. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance last week filed an application for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction barring the state Department of Fish and Game from starting its planned bear- and wolf-killing program in late spring and early summer. If the predator control takes place, it would be the third year of a state program that has so far killed 180 bears and 19 wolves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program is aimed at boosting the population of the faltering Mulchatna Caribou Herd. The herd, which in the 1990s numbered about 200,000, is down to only about 15,000, according to the Department of Fish and Game. Hunting of those caribou has been closed since 2021. Even though a state judge ruled on March 14 that the program violates the Alaska constitution, the Department of Fish and Game is preparing to embark on its third year of bear and wolf removals. The Alaska Board of Game on March 27 approved the departments emergency petition to resume the program. Department officials, in arguing in favor of the emergency determination, told board members that they needed to be able to get into the field in time for the caribou calving season to make sure that bears are not preying on newborn calves. The department contends that predation, mostly by bears, is keeping the Mulchatna Caribou Herd population low. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Alaska Wildlife Alliance and other opponents of the predator control program contend that the states plan is based on faulty science and that other factors, including habitat changes, are responsible for the drop in caribou numbers. They argue that the states program could harm bear populations, including the internationally famous population that roams Katmai National Park and Preserve. The March 14 ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 2023 by the Alaska Wildlife Alliance. Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi found that the predator control program violated constitutional mandates for due process and sustained yield. A separate but similar lawsuit filed by Anchorage attorney Michelle Bittner is still pending. The Alaska Wildlife Alliance, in its April 10 memorandum in favor of a restraining order, said the states efforts to continue killing bears suggests the Department and Board are contemptuous of the judiciarys role in interpreting the state constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The emergency regulation was not justified or legal, the memorandum argued. The effort to circumvent the courts ruling (in) this case through an emergency regulation is misguided and unlawful. Blatant efforts to sidestep court rulings must be recognized by the judiciary as such, and rejected, the document said. The Alaska Department of Law will take action to support the predator-control plan, a spokesperson said. The States position is that the Board acted within the available law to address an emergency regulation petition. The State intends to oppose the motion, Patty Sullivan of the Department of Law said by email. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX TOKYO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has stated that Japan will not rush into an agreement in the upcoming trade talks with the United States regarding the tariff measures. During a session of the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Monday, Ishiba emphasized the importance of achieving a result that aligns with Japan's national interests based on detailed analysis. The discussion in parliament centered on the recent tariff actions taken by the U.S., which are set to incur significant negative impacts on Japanese exports. The Japanese government is preparing for bilateral negotiations set to begin this week. Among the series of tariff measures introduced by the U.S., the one that has raised the greatest concern for Japan is the tariff on automobiles. In 2024, Japan's automobile exports to the U.S. made up 28.3 percent of its total exports to the country. According to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, approximately 1.37 million vehicles were exported to the U.S. in 2024. Due to the extensive connections of the automobile industry with various sectors, related industries in Japan, such as steel and distribution, will also be severely affected. ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. Less than a month after visiting the St. Louis area to tour an area contaminated by radioactive material, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new plan to clean West Lake Landfill 12 to 18 months ahead of schedule. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin met with Senator Josh Hawley to tour the landfill, as well as portions of Coldwater Creek and the St. Louis International Airport. During that visit, Zeldin pledged his office would devote more resources to expedite the cleanup. On Monday, Zeldin issued an updated timeline for remediation, noting that a projected May 2029 excavation start date might now take place as early as late 2027. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meeting and speaking with the St. Louis community members who have long endured radioactive waste in their community was beyond moving. This moment requires an unprecedented effort to clean up the West Lake Landfill and impacted sites in the area, Zeldin said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Nuclear waste contamination from World War II and Cold War-era activities has affected 19 locations across the United States, with several sites concentrated in the St. Louis area. Between 1942 and 1957, Mallinckrodt, a company in St. Louis, produced uranium for the Manhattan Project under a government contract. The resulting nuclear waste was initially stored in hundreds of thousands of drums and buried near St. Louis Lambert International Airport on a 21.7-acre site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The waste was eventually relocated. Some was transported to Colorado, while the remainder was distributed between the West Lake Landfill and another landfill on Latty Avenue in Hazelwood. Its estimated that 47,000 tons of that same radioactive waste was illegally dumped into West Lake Landfill in 1973. A portion of this waste leaked from both the Latty Avenue sites and the airport location, contaminating Coldwater Creek. The EPA deemed the landfill as a superfund site in 1990 amid fears of a subsurface fire heading toward the buried landfill waste. Government documents, released in July 2023, revealed that officials were aware of the risks posed by radioactive waste to residents near Coldwater Creek as early as 1949. Despite this knowledge, federal authorities consistently minimized the potential dangers, often describing the risks as minimal or low-level. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) An El Paso Community College professor who is also a Columbine survivor will share his story during two talks with students. EPCC History Professor Joshua Hevert will speak to students on Wednesday, April 16 at the Valle Verde Campus, and Wednesday, April 23 at the Jenna Welch and Laura Bush Northwest Campus Library. Hevert will discuss what he experienced the day of the tragedy, how to place Columbine in its historical context, and what it means to survive after the unthinkable happens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school shooting and attempted bombing is often considered the first large-scale school shooting, shocking the nation at the time. Twelve students and one teacher were murdered on April 20, 1999, by a pair of seniors who had planned the attack for a year. Twenty other people were injured by gunshots. The event at the Valle Verde campus will be at 4:30 p.m. April 16 the Flexitorium, AST Building. The one at the EPCC Northwest Campus library will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 23. The talks are free and open to students, staff, faculty and community members. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Erie County Department of Health has officially declared an outbreak of measles in the region, after confirming the fourth and fifth cases of the virus since March. These cases were directly connected to exposures from a local positive case of measles back on March 30, not due to international travel. ECDH confirms case of measles in Erie Co. child A slow, spread of measles to unvaccinated people in Erie County continues to be documented with now five cases made public. The three most recent cases stem from local spread. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we just had the one case at the childcare facility, that did not count as an outbreak. Now that we have two cases linked to the exposure to that individual, thats what the cdc would define as an outbreak, said Erin Mrenak, director of public health for Erie County. More than 200 people who were at creative learning childcare and Fitness U on March 30 were reached out to for contact tracing. Its from this group that these most recent case came from. Measles outbreak confirmed in Ashtabula County We ended up putting a list together of all of those individuals and then our team, which consists of contact tracers, nurses, supervisors, public health preparedness coordinators, worked really hard to reach out to all of those individuals to talk about their vaccination status. Those who are vaccinated do not have any quarantine despite exposure because the risk of getting measles if youre vaccinated is very small, only 3%, Mrenak said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This time around, people who were at UPMC Hamots emergency department on Saturday, April 5 between 5:30 and 9:00 p.m. Should monitor for symptoms of measles until April 26. Mainly those who are unvaccinated. At this time, the Erie County Department still doesnt consider there to be a high risk of community spread or exposure with these cases but any symptoms can take weeks to develop. What were finding is that theres a lot of people that didnt realize that they didnt have access to their vaccine records. Before electronic medical records were as prevalent, you either had your parent might have had your paper vaccine record or your PCP office, but a lot of those offices have closed for a lot of people that are in their late 30s, 40s, 50s, and so people are insistent that theyre vaccinated but dont have a way to show that they are, Mrenak explained. Erie CRIZ nearing it start in downtown Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The health department will be hosting an MMR vaccine clinic next Tuesday, April 22 at the Zem Zem Shrine Club from 11 until 6:30 p.m. They can vaccinate anyone older than 18 who is looking to get their vaccine, or for people who are unsure of their vaccination status. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) The Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio held its annual job fair on Tuesday, connecting attendees with local school districts in the Valley. Nearly two dozen schools were at the job fair, needing to fill positions from teachers to bus drivers. ESC Human Resources Supervisor Steve Mines said it becomes a challenge with enrollment taking a dip every year. We see the enrollment numbers declining both locally, as well as across the state, with education, so we just got to work that much harder to find good candidates for our districts, Mines said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twenty school districts within Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties were at the event. Available opportunities are on the ESCs 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 WKBN.com. Serbia could be blocked from joining the European Union if its president travels to Russia next month for Vladimir Putins Victory Day parade. Russian state media reported that Aleksandar Vucic would be one of the foreign dignitaries in attendance, as well as contributing military hardware to the spectacle on May 9. In response, European officials warned Mr Vucic that his visit would be a breach of the blocs membership criteria and would derail his countrys EU ambitions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need to ensure that they understand that certain decisions come at a cost, said Jonatan Vseviov, the secretary-general of Estonias ministry of foreign affairs. The consequence is them not joining the European Union. The annual May Day parade was instituted during the Soviet Union but has been enthusiastically upheld during Putins reign - Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Military vehicles file through Moscows Red Square during the 2024 May Day parade - Anadolu via Getty He added: Russians have been working hard to get people to attend . . . For us this will be an important litmus test. Basically what we look at is whether or not they are on our side or playing on the other team. Kaja Kallas, the blocs top foreign diplomat, said EU foreign ministers had discussed prospective member states attending the ceremony in Moscow, at a gathering on Monday. What was also discussed very clearly, and said by different member states, is that any participation in the May 9 parades or celebrations in Moscow will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe, she told reporters after the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Serbia has long attempted to simultaneously cultivate relations with Brussels and Moscow. It applied to join the bloc in 2009, and was made a candidate for membership in 2012. Credit: Reuters Talks on Serbias accession have stalled in recent years because of its apparent support for Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine. Belgrade has refused to adopt Western sanctions against Russia in response to the war, which a majority of EU member states demand as a criterion of membership. Russia owns Serbias only oil refiner and is refusing to sell, leaving the Western Balkan state reliant on Moscow for economic stability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Kallas has been forced to warn other EU members not to attend Putins Victory Day ceremony, which this year marks the 80th anniversary of the deafeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Slovakia, an EU country with close ties to Moscow, has also been invited to the event next month. A T-34 tank in Red Square during the 2024 parade - Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Vladimir Putin raises a toast at a reception honouring the heads of state who attended the 2024 Victory Day parade - Mikhail Metzel/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, said last year that he would attend, and is one of the blocs few leaders who have met Putin in more than three years since he sanctioned the invasion of Ukraine. Hungarys Viktor Orban, who is considered Putins closest ally in Europe, will not be attending. Ms Kallas said: Ive also called all the member states but also representatives of the institutions to visit Kyiv as much as possible to show really our solidarity and that we are with 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. Lawyers in Brussels are preparing a plan B to help override Hungary's veto of the June extension of sanctions against Russia. The idea came up during the negotiations before the March sanctions extension although doubts remain as to whether it is legally flawless. Source: Rikard Jozwiak, Europe Editor for Radio Liberty, as reported by European Pravda Details: European sanctions are formally outlined in two documents: a decision and a resolution. The texts are nearly identical (countries agree upon and adopt the decision, which is then implemented through the resolution). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is the resolution that requires unanimous renewal every six months, not the decision: the decision remains in force until a qualified majority votes to repeal it. Proponents of the idea argue that this mechanism could be used to bypass Hungary's veto and maintain the sanctions. Sources told Jozwiak that the decision is viewed as "a fallback option, and a temporary one", as Hungary and its allies could challenge it in court, and the decision is not entirely legally flawless. Other plan B options are also being considered. One proposal suggests that the European Commission could introduce the 17th sanctions package against Russia, with the aim of trading the abandonment of this package for Hungary's agreement to lift its veto on the extension of existing sanctions. This would allow Budapest to claim a formal victory in blocking the new sanctions package. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another option being discussed is to impose high tariffs on Russia in all relevant areas if the sanctions cannot be extended, which does not require a unanimous decision. However, this cannot be a complete substitute for sanctions, particularly export restrictions. In addition, the option of imposing identical restrictions at the national level is being explored, similar to the approach taken by some countries regarding individuals removed from the sanctions list due to Hungary's veto. However, this solution is also imperfect, as not all member states have comprehensive national legislation on sanctions and instead rely on the European framework. In addition to the sanctions issue, Brussels is considering ways to pressure Hungary into unblocking the start of Ukraine's accession talks, which it aims to begin by June at the latest. There is speculation that offering concessions to Hungary regarding some funds suspended due to rule-of-law concerns could serve as leverage in both situations. Background: Earlier, the Financial Times reported that the EU is growing increasingly impatient with Hungary, which consistently blocks key EU decisions, with some calling for its voting rights to be revoked. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The European Union has acknowledged that an earlier draft of the UkraineUS critical minerals agreement contained provisions incompatible with EU law and therefore unacceptable to Ukraine. However, Brussels believes Kyiv will succeed in negotiating a version that better serves its national interests. Source: Guillaume Mercier, spokesperson for the European Commission, at a briefing on 15 April in Brussels, as reported by a European Pravda journalist Details: Mercier expressed confidence that Ukrainian authorities would be able to ensure the agreement aligns with Ukraine's strategic interests during ongoing talks with Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What we can say is that, according to what we have seen in the past, we welcome the statement by President Zelenskyy that some provisions were incompatible with EU law, and those conditions would not be acceptable to Ukraine," he said. "And we trust that Ukraine authorities will negotiate the draft agreement to the best of Ukraine's interest," he added. Background: On 11 April, the Ukrainian delegation submitted proposals prepared by Kyiv to Washington during technical consultations on the minerals agreement. However, the prospects for a breakthrough following the 11 April meeting appear slim, given the reportedly "antagonistic" atmosphere. Earlier, European Pravda reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump had reinstated a provision in the minerals agreement requiring Ukraine to repay all assistance provided by the United States since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! TEHRAN, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Tuesday warned against "extreme optimism or pessimism" in the country about the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington. He made the remarks in a meeting with senior government officials in Iran's capital Tehran while pointing to the talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Tehran's nuclear program and removing sanctions, the first round of which was held in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday, according to a statement published on his website. "We should not be extremely optimistic or extremely pessimistic about these talks," he said, adding that the negotiations may or may not yield results. He stressed, "We are, of course, very distrustful of the other side. However, we are optimistic about our capabilities." The Iranian leader also cautioned against "tying the country's affairs to the talks," emphasizing that activities in industrial, economic, construction, and cultural sectors, as well as the implementation of major projects, should proceed uninterrupted, as they are unrelated to the talks in Oman. The second round of the indirect talks between Iran and the United States is scheduled to be held on Saturday in Muscat. The talks were proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened Iran with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program. Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States -- in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress. (NewsNation) The European Union is willing to work with the United States to eliminate all tariffs on a variety of imported goods but says the U.S. needs to provide more details about what it wants in a deal to reach that goal. EU officials want to work toward achieving zero-for-zero reciprocal tariffs for all industrial goods including cars, officials said in a statement released on Tuesday after meetings took place Monday. The EU said that the two parties will have more discussions moving forward. EU Trade Chief Maros Sefcovic met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yellen sees very worrisome pattern in Treasuries selloff Mondays meeting covered several topics, ranging from tariffs to non-tariff barriers. The discussions also included the exploration of the scope for a fair and mutually beneficial deal. Other discussions were held about the global overcapacity of steel and aluminum as well as the supply of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, officials said. The commissioner reiterated that the EU and the United States share many challenges and could address them jointly to the benefit of both sides, the EU said in a Tuesday statement summarizing the meeting. The EU is doing its part, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has complained about what he characterizes as the European Unions unfair trade practices. The 27-nation bloc faces 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars and 20% tariffs on an array of other goods. The European Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, imposed $23 billion in extra duties of 25% on a variety of products imported from the United States. Trump floats deporting homegrown criminals to El Salvador However, the commission said last week that it would put trade retaliation measures on hold for 90 days to match Trumps 90-day freeze on widespread tariffs as a way of leaving the door open to negotiations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EU officials said after Mondays meeting that the United States needs to define its position and that, like with any negotiation, both sides must bring something to the table and that conversations must go both ways. The Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representatives Office did not respond Monday to inquiries from NewsNation about the 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 NewsNation. DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) A Eufaula man accused of helping a Georgia doctor smuggle in thousands of illegal taxidermy birds and eggs into the U.S. has been sentenced. A statement from the Department of Justice revealed Toney Jones, of Eufaula, was sentenced to six months probation after pleading guilty to an Endangered Species Act charge. The second suspect in the case, Dr. John Waldrop of Cataula, Georgia, was sentenced to serve three years of probation and pay a $900,000 fine. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle wildlife and ESA violations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the DOJ, Waldrop, with Jones help, amassed a collection of 1,401 taxidermy bird mounts and 2,594 eggs. This included: Four eagles protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act 179 bird and 193 egg species that were listed on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 212 bird and 32 egg species covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This included incredibly rare specimens like three eggs of the Nordmanns Greenshank, an Asian shorebird with only 900 to 1,600 remaining birds in the wild; no North American museum has any Nordmann Greenshank eggs in their collection, the DOJ said in its statement. Photo of birds and other mounts, from the sentencing memo in United States v. John Waldrop (Courtesy of the United States Department of Justice) Photos of a freshly killed Roseate Spoonbill (left) and mount from Waldrops collection (right)- (Courtesy of the United States Department of Justice) Photo of a portion of Waldrops egg collection, from the sentencing memo in United States v. John Waldrop (Courtesy of the United States Department of Justice) The birds and eggs were imported without the required declarations and permits between 2016 and 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously unsealed indictments for Jones and Dr. Waldrop claim that the two used online sites like eBay and Etsy to buy the hundreds of taxidermized bird mounts and thousands of live eggs from countries including Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. DOJ attorneys say that federal inspectors intercepted several packages at John F. Kennedy airport, Waldrop recruited Jones, who worked on the doctors Georgia farm, to receive the packages. Jones was also accused of depositing around $525,000 in a bank account used by Waldrop to pay for the imports and hide his involvement. Waldrops gigantic and rare bird collection was bolstered in part by illegal imports, where he and his enlisted co-conspirators intentionally avoided permit and declaration requirements, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). We applaud the efforts of the various federal and state law enforcement entities in investigating and prosecuting this case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys previously said Waldrop collected protected avian species such as canary, dipper, duck, eagle, falcon, grouse, gull, hawk, heron, hoopoe, kestrel, kinglet, lapwing, murre, owl, parrot, pochard, rail, teal, snipe, spoonbill, vulture and woodpecker. USFWS National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab said tat after examining Waldrops forfeited collection, it was determined to be the largest seizure of bird mounts in their 37-year history. The scale of this investigation underscores the critical importance of protecting our natural resources, said Assistant Director Douglas Ault of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Office of Law Enforcement. Waldrops collection included thousands of bird specimens and eggs, many of which are among the rarest in the world. This is one of the largest bird trafficking cases in history, and the commercialization of species protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and CITES highlights the conservation impact of Waldrops crimes. We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement are unwavering in our commitment to safeguarding wildlife for future generations. We will remain vigilant and will continue to hold accountable those who exploit our shared natural resources for personal gain. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Kate Abnett BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Europe faced its most widespread flooding last year since 2013, with 30% of the continent's river network hit by significant floods, scientists said on Tuesday, as fossil fuel-driven climate change continued to prompt torrential rain and other extreme weather. Flooding killed at least 335 people in Europe in 2024 and affected more than 410,000, the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization said in a joint report on Europe's climate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Western Europe was hit hardest, with 2024 ranking among the region's ten wettest years in records going back to 1950. Storms and flooding are Europe's costliest weather extremes, last year causing damage exceeding 18 billion euros. Globally, 2024 was the world's warmest year since records began, as well as the warmest for Europe - the planet's fastest-warming continent. The planet is now around 1.3 degrees Celsius warmer than in pre-industrial times, mainly due to human-caused climate change. "Every additional fraction of a degree of temperature rise matters because it accentuates the risks to our lives, to economies and to the planet," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. The report noted bright spots, including that renewable energy sources produced a record-high 45% of Europe's energy in 2024, while most European cities have plans in place to better adapt to climate change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But weather extremes were recorded across the continent. Southeastern Europe had its longest heat wave on record, totalling 13 days, while Scandinavia's glaciers shrank at the highest rates on record, and heat stress increased across the continent. Much of Eastern Europe was hit by lack of rain and drought, while floods ravaged western Europe. Nearly a third of Europe's overall river network exceeded a "high" flood threshold, while 12% breached "severe" flood levels in 2024. Devastating floods in Valencia in late October accounted for most of the lives lost and economic damage caused in Europe by floods, with 232 people killed in the disaster. Storm Boris in September dumped the heaviest rain ever recorded in Central Europe onto countries, including Austria, Czechia, Germany and Slovakia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scientists have confirmed climate change has made such downpours more likely, because a hotter atmosphere can hold more water, leading to intense rain. Atmospheric water vapour reached a record high in 2024. Other factors that influence flooding include river management and urban planning that determines whether homes and infrastructure are built in flood-prone areas. (Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Aurora Ellis) The News US Vice President JD Vance again on Monday criticized Europe over its security reliance on the US, as analysts grow increasingly skeptical of the transatlantic alliances ability to hold. European leaders have radically underinvested in security, and that has to change, Vance told UnHerd, adding that an independent Europe could act as a check on US foreign policy. The widening gulf between the Trump administration and the European Union could complicate the effort to avoid a trade war, with both sides planning tariffs on the other if an agreement cant be reached. SIGNALS Trumps trade war has deepened Europes mistrust of the US Sources: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Chatham House Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donald Trumps tariffs have reinforced a growing European perception that the US under [Trump] is not only an unreliable partner, but a partner that cannot be trusted in any way, one expert told The New York Times. Friends and allies and foes are being treated the same, with no respect, a former Danish official told The Wall Street Journal, with some commentators concluding that Washington has effectively become Europes adversary. Even as it pursues tariff negotiations with Washington, the European Union is already diversifying its trading partners. Ironically, tariffs could also drive up the cost of US defense products, fueling Europes push for military independence, too, a Chatham House analyst noted. Europe increasingly regards the US as a security threat Sources: Politico, Financial Times, The Guardian Donald Trumps rapprochement with Russia has poured fuel on some European officials concern about intelligence sharing with Washington: Theres less of a consensus about who the common enemy is, one analyst told Politico. The transatlantic relationship has deteriorated to the extent that the European Commission is now equipping some of its US-bound staff with burner phones and basic laptops to avoid cybersecurity threats, a measure usually reserved for trips to China, the Financial Times noted. Though Europe has sought to bolster its traditional defense capabilities, the continent may be vulnerable to an increasingly autocratic and hostile US, an Irish civil liberties expert argued in The Guardian, noting that besides TikTok, US companies control almost every major digital platform that Europeans use to debate and share news. Transatlantic souring has forced Europe to adjust Sources: The International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Economist, Der Spiegel Europe cannot fathom what it should do to fix its already broken relationship with the Trump administration, The Economist wrote, with a prevailing perception among American Europhobes of the continent as being in economic and moral decline. Donald Trumps foreign-policy style and process have already done lasting damage to [economic and strategic] relations, two experts warned: The basis of Europe-US alliance could shift from a complex mixture of norms, values and interests from the post-World War 2 era, to baseline mutual interest on AI, climate and other issues. In this reality, Europe must rediscover its economic and military strength in order to survive in this new world one defined by the naked pursuit of power, a Der Spiegel editorial argued last month. Total assistance allocated by Europe to Ukraine since 2022 stands at 138 billion euros ($157 billion), 23 billion euros ($26 billion) more than the U.S., according to an April 15 report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy's Ukraine Aid Tracker. The U.S. still holds an edge in terms of military aid its 65 billion euros ($74 billion) total leads Europe by 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) but the gap is narrowing, as Washington has not allocated a new aid package since Jan. 9, still under the Biden administration. U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to provide fresh aid for Ukraine as he seeks to broker a ceasefire and restore ties with Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. president partially justified his reluctance to provide new aid by claiming that Europe has donated considerably less assistance to Ukraine while putting the U.S. aid at $350 billion, claims refuted by the Kiel Institute's report. In March, the new administration even briefly paused all military and intelligence assistance previously approved by Biden to pressure Kyiv into accepting a mineral resources deal. As a result, U.S. assistance to Ukraine has stalled since Trump took office, while Europe has steadily maintained its support. Ukraine previously experienced such a long gap in new U.S. aid allocations in early 2024 when a Trump-aligned wing of the Republican Party blocked the assistance in Congress. Researchers highlighted several recent European aid packages, including Sweden's largest assistance tranche to date worth $1.6 billion and new support from Germany, the U.K., Norway, and Denmark. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking at the 27th Ramstein-summit format on April 11, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey announced that the allies not including the U.S. had committed more than 21 billion euros ($23.8 billion) in new security assistance to Kyiv. Ukraine has ramped up calls for new aid, particularly air defense, as Russia continues in its unrelenting attacks against Ukrainian cities and rejects a temporary truce backed by Kyiv and Washington in March. "The recent pause in U.S. aid raises the pressure on European governments to do more, both in financial and military assistance," Taro Nishikawa, project lead of the Ukraine Support Tracker at the Kiel Institute, said in a statement. Researchers also highlighted the disparity between various European countries. Some of the larger Western economies, such as France, Italy, or Spain, have allocated notably smaller portions of their GDP than the Nordics and the Baltics, the report shows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine developing strategic-level air defense system; Russia intensifies assaults against Kharkiv Oblast Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) Big things are on the horizon for the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporations robotics team. The New Tech Institutes team won the Engineering Inspiring award after competing in Indianapolis, and will head to worlds. The competition, held in Houston, will put the team competing among 600 teams from across the world. The CEO of the team says the goal for the program is to inspire kids in STEM at all ages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The competition begins on Wednesday and the teams robot, Doctor Smith, is already en route to Houston. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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). A former Massachusetts State Police trooper from Wareham pleaded guilty last week for his role in a conspiracy to falsify records to certain people who failed taking their Commercial Drivers License tests, United States Attorney Leah Foleys office said. On Friday, Perry Mendes, 64, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to falsify records, three counts of falsifying records and two counts of making false statements, Foleys office said in a statement released Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled Mendes sentencing for July 15. Mendes was charged in a 74-count indictment in January 2024. Between May 2019 and January 2023, Mendes and three other members of the Commercial Drivers License unit gave preferential treatment to at least 17 CDL applicants, Foleys office said. Mendes and others gave passing scores to those applicants who took the CDL test regardless of whether they actually passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The men used the code word golden to identify the applicants, the statement read. Butner texted comments to another co-conspirator: Golden mess, Total mess this guy[.] i think some time[s] we should just do what we can but not golden. Ill tell you about it later, among other messages. Mendes was among several retired or suspended state troopers previously indicted in connection with the scheme. Sgt. Gary Cederquist, 58, of Stoughton; retired Trooper Calvin Butner, 64, of Wareham; Trooper Joel Rogers, 54, of Bridgewater; civilian Scott Camara, 42, of Rehoboth; and Eric Mathison, 47, of Boston, were all named in the January 2024 indictment. Cederquist gave passing scores to several applicants who actually failed the CDL skills test, and others who only took a partial test, federal prosecutors said. He did this in exchange for bribes of free inventory from the water company. The free items included bottled Fiji, bottled Arizona Iced Tea and coffee and tea products. Mathison delivered these items to an office trailer at the CDL test site in Stoughton. Cederquist and Rogers were both suspended without pay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal prosecutors said in one case, Mathison admitted to getting texts from Cederquist that described one CDL applicant as an an idiot, who had no idea what hes doing, and should have failed about 10 times already. Cederquist gave this applicant a passing score. On March 21, Mathison pleaded guilty, as did Butner on April 7. The charge of conspiracy to commit extortion provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. More local crime stories Wade Steen sitting at his desk in the STRS board room, hearing reformers thank him for his work. (Photo by Morgan Trau, WEWS.) A former public official and an investment firm are defending themselves after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine spoke out about their conversations after our reporting exposed their close relationship. Former retired teachers pension fund board member Wade Steen argued that nothing was inappropriate about his behavior, claiming the governor should be the one being looked into. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an exclusive one-on-one interview, the governor finally addressed the alleged corruption scheme plaguing the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). The day after that sit-down, I spoke with Steen and Seth Metcalf, the head of QED, the investment firm at the center of the scandal. For the past year, we have dug into and exposed the controversy swirling inside the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS), a roughly $100 billion pension fund for the more than 500,000 active and retired public educators in Ohio. In summary, there has been constant fighting, two board resignations, and allegations of both a public corruption scheme and mishandling of funds. There has been a senior staff dismissal and at least two senior staff resignations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scandal centers around former board member Wade Steen, board chair Rudy Fichtenbaum, and their relationship with investment firm QED Technologies, run by former Ohio Deputy Treasurer Metcalf and Jonathan (JD) Tremmel. This piece will be formatted as a Q&A, as it features moments from the 15-minute interview. It has been lightly edited only for clarity and length, as well as to get to the crux of the comment. How we got here In May 2024, the governor received a 14-page anonymous whistleblower memo alleging a massive public corruption scheme brewing and moving quickly within STRS. In 2020, Metcalf and Tremmel set their eyes on STRS, according to the document. The documents claim that they despite having no clients and no track record tried to convince STRS members to partner with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They couldnt impress the board members, mainly because of their lack of experience and because QED was not registered as a broker-dealer or investment adviser. The men also didnt own the technology to facilitate the strategy, the documents said. So what exactly are Steen and Fichtenbaum trying to change, and what would QED allegedly attempt to do? Revise the investment structure. The men are seen as the leaders of the reform movement. This fight began from a debate on how STRS should invest money through the current system of actively managed funds versus an index fund. Active funds try to outperform the stock market, have more advisors, and typically cost more. Index funds perform with the stock market, are seen as more passive, and typically cost less. In short, reformers want to switch to index funding, while status quo individuals want to keep actively managing the funds. Recent elections have allowed the reform-minded members to have a majority of the board. The STRS memo claims QED and ORTA, the Ohio Retirement for Teachers Association, had worked together, specifically when it comes to elections, to get a more sympathetic or willing board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steen and Fichtenbaum had allegedly been bidding continuously, pitching QEDs direct documents to board members and proclaiming the companys talking points to other staff. Soon after, Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit to remove Steen and Fichtenbaum from the board, stating they were participating in a contract steering scheme that could directly benefit them. Yost started the investigation after the memo, now known as being prepared by STRS employees, alleged that Steen and Fichtenbaum had been doing the bidding of QED. The AG states that the pair should be removed because they broke their fiduciary duties of care, loyalty and trust when colluding with QED. In late August, Yost filed several subpoenas against QED and others allegedly involved in this scheme. The same month, QED spoke out to us for the first time, and so did the AG. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we have continued the dozens of reports on the topic, our investigation in September revealed that STRS was, once again, moving to hire a firm that allegedly lacked experience and personal ties to the board leaders, according to senior staff. After our report, the board chose not to move forward with the firm that has been the subject of my investigations. Communications obtained via a records request of a court filing reveal that QED associates consistently told then-board member Steen what questions to ask, gave him documents to propose, and pushed him to follow its plan. Texts between Steen, Metcalf and Tremmel show that the pair consistently worked together. There are hundreds of text messages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Texts show a group chat between Steen, Metcalf and Tremmel. The pair constantly texted Steen during board meetings with advice, including numerous messages of Vote! and Force the vote when it came to policy and following QED. Thanks for the support today! Steen said. Wade you are a champion! We moved the ball down the field today and have time to recoup and refresh during the holiday! Metcalf texted the group. To read what the texts said, click here. CLICK HERE. Our reporting stunned the governor, he said, so after more than a year of requesting an interview with him, he agreed to a date in April 2025. Steen, QED, STRS responds to the governor Morgan Trau: Theres still a lot of support for you from the STRS board and from the pensioners. How do you feel now that there is still this support for reform? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wade Steen: Im happy that theres support for reform. Everything I tried to do when I was on the board was restore [cost of living adjustments]. It was a benefit that was taken away If I in any way contributed to getting that conversation started about how do we do a better job for the teachers in Ohio, I feel satisfied that I made a little bit of a difference. Originally appointed by former Gov. John Kasich, he was reappointed by DeWine when the governor started his administration, but the governor asked him to resign in 2023. Steen refused, so DeWine removed him. DeWine originally cited Steens alleged poor attendance at board meetings as reasoning. However, a court ruled that DeWine did not have the legal authority to remove Steen based on Ohio law, and thus, Steen was put back on the board in the spring 2024. I asked the governor during our interview why he had removed Steen, to which he reiterated that his attendance was unsatisfactory. Steen disagreed. However, I pressed DeWine on his updated statement from May 2024, months after the removal, in which his team said that there were concerns about Steens involvement with QED. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trau: Do you find that suspicious that hes changing his mind now or do you think that this was always something that he was worried about? What do you take from that change? Steen: I dont know what I would take. When I got a call from his staff person her comment, and its noted in numerous disclosures, was, We want to go in a different direction. Didnt say who we was, and I asked what direction that was because I reiterated that I had met with the governors chief of staff just a few months prior, and the staff were very aware of what I was doing and what I was fighting for which was for teachers. I said, I dont understand whats this different direction? Never once did I get that answered. So if anythings hung in the back of my mind, its they wanted to go in a different direction.' On his removal, he notes that the governor and Yost argue that they want the same things I was fighting for, which is shocking. Steen: They want to restore cost of living, they want to improve performance, they want to make sure that the fund is doing the best job possible for teachers. I thought, Wow, thats exactly what I say, but they wanted to go in a different direction? Why the argument from attendance to something else, I dont know. When my attendance was pulled, they found out that it was actually very good, and better than many, so, maybe they had to come up with a different reason My attendance was never a problem, when I saw that I was a little surprised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I brought up to DeWine how Steen was removed during a critical election when the reformers took control of the board, and then he released the 14-page memo during another pivotal election when the reformers took a supermajority of the board. With this dominance, they would be able to start shifting the investment structure, something that reformers claim DeWine wants to prevent. Throughout the past year, Ive spoken to Steen about this in which he argues that the governor wants to prevent true reform. Steens supporters say the removal was to silence him. The governor insists he has no reason to stop reform, but rather, he wants to stop possibly corrupt activity. The texts paint a picture between Steen and Metcalf that was disconcerting, DeWine said. Hundreds of texts show Metcalf gave Steen questions to ask during board meetings, documents to propose, and pushed him to follow QEDs plan. I think we can win this but I need to nuisance it, Steen texted in 2020, as he was pitching QEDs proposal. I think youve got the votes! Make the motion! Announce that you have a solution, Metcalf responded. Metcalf continually texted talking points, themes and direct quotes for Steen to follow while he was in the board meetings. Steen followed his lead. Trau: Do you think that they were appropriate? Steen: Absolutely. I had conversations not just with Seth Metcalf, but with numerous people. Part of my job as a board member is to try to get information, know as much as I can. And as has been documented and you noted, I knew Seth from years prior we go to the same church So for me to try to better understand whats going on or ask peoples opinion whether it would be our staff, whether it be Seth Metcalf as an individual, whether it would be other people that are in the investment field that I know that never get mentioned I didnt find that unusual. He doesnt know why his relationship with Metcalf was the focus, he added. Steen: I ask a lot of people a lot of questions. The question I would have is, if you read the letter, the anonymous letter, from 2021 on, information had been provided by STRS staff to the attorney general. So for more than three years, theyve been getting all kinds of information. Nothing in the letter is new, and yet here we sit a year after the attorney general made allegations and brought charges, and theres nothing because there is nothing, theres no merit to it. Its almost weaponization But clearly, if there was something, I would think in three years you would have some evidence. They clearly have none other than He spoke to this person. OK, well, I spoke to a lot of people.' He was removed in 2023, so he missed some time, and then was not reappointed so he has begun to move on, he added. Steen: I feel like I did make a small contribution toward fighting for teacher benefits for retirees and trying to improve benefits in the future for active teachers not receiving them yet. I take some satisfaction in that, but my terms done. He is focused on his job as chief financial officer of the Cleveland Metroparks and spending time with his grandchildren, he added. Steen: I really havent thought much about it since then, other than when we have to file something in the court because these cases, as I understand, drag on for some period of time. I brought up how the governor pointed out that QED was specifically trying to get a job. Trau: QED was specifically trying to get money for their startup to be able to work with you and work with STRS on investing. Thats where he says it crosses a line. Steen: I dont know how to respond to that. I guess that the issue that I kept raising I think everybody keeps missing is that we have non-disclosure agreements with numerous groups that we make investments with, and I have been outspoken that there needs to be transparency, and yet no one, governor, AG, staff seem to be concerned about the fact that investment staff make investments and the board does not know the details of those investments and are not provided when asked, they are denied access to that information. He continued. Steen: And so, Morgan, Id ask you as a reporter does that concern you? That was really the crux of what started so much of this was, What are our fees with the hedge funds? What is in the agreements? and at every turn I was denied, denied, denied. Thats all I wanted I wanted transparency. I want to know what are we investing in, whos benefiting from this? He was roadblocked on numerous occasions from trying to get information on investments from staff and information on how bonuses are given to staff members. Other information he wanted falls under different types of trade information and, thus, isnt disclosed. Steen: I dont want to say something is there because I dont know I dont know whats there because we were never provided. I was never provided that information. When it comes to Metcalf, he denied knowing whether they fully wanted a job. Steen: Whether or not QED was trying to get work, I guess people could say they were. I was intrigued by the idea. Going on to say that in the 14-page memo, staff acknowledged they do something similar to QEDs idea, so this wasnt out of the realm of the norm. I could not substantiate that through my multiple readings of the memo. The closest thing I found to that is the staff noting that it was familiar with the use of similar strategies on a much smaller scale but was not aware they could achieve anywhere near the results suggested. The former board member said that the investing didnt have to be with QED; he was just wondering if the idea has merit, he said. Steen: I was pushing for more performance I wanted our expenses done and I wanted our results better. Thats what I think every oversight body should do how do we do better? What ideas can we take from others and implement here. But, if thats the assertion that I was trying to secure work for one person, thats not accurate. I wanted to know more about this idea. Was there merit? But the bigger idea was How do we restore cola for our retirees? How do we restore benefits that were taken away from them? How do we do better time and again? He was removed for questioning the staff, he said. Steen: If someone tries to remove me, if someone tries to attack me because Im asking how we do better, I guess Ill wear that because If I were on the board today, I would continue to say, How do we do better for teachers. Youve watched the meetings and youve been around, Morgan, long enough to know and see the questions I asked. I was pretty direct on my question about how do we do better? I think sometimes that made staff uncomfortable that they were being held into account, whether it be staff or consultants about how do we do better they didnt really have a good answer. I referenced how Steen said he would speak to multiple people for advice. In reference to Metcalf, he asked for edits on documents; he was given themes to bring up during meetings. Trau: How would you categorize or characterize that relationship? Steen: Probably nothing more than input, like I would get through reading information, calling people that I know that do institutional investments in town for private sector pension funds and others just personal friends. Hey, what do you guys think about this? What do you think about that idea? What do you think about the way we pay our bonus structure, that kind of thing So those are the kind of things that people would tell me that just raised questions for me. He continued. Steen: But to your question, how would I categorize? Just someone I bounce an idea off of like anyone else. People would send me their thoughts, talk to me, go have coffee I spent a lot of time trying to really understand what we were doing, what we were tasked with. I was really trying to do my job as a board member. But back to my relationship it would be one where I was just seeking input or advice. That was all. Trau: Were you talking with other people during board meetings that were giving you direct quotes to say or they were giving you ideas on motions? Steen: No, I wasnt I didnt no, no. Then we got on the topic of DeWines history with text messages. Now-indicted FirstEnergy executives allegedly worked with DeWine and his team to pass legislation that was the result of the largest corruption scheme in state history, according to newly released text messages. DeWine denies knowing House Bill 6 was a bribe. A public records request reveals that DeWine communicated frequently during his first run for governor with former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and VP Michael Dowling. The pair held lavish fundraisers before he was elected, with Jones giving speeches about how DeWine would be great for his company and shareholders, a speech I received said. Plus, Jones provided the now-governor money when he asked. Chuck. Can you call me? DeWine wrote on Oct. 13, 2018 less than a month before he faced off against Democrat Rich Cordray in the governors race. OEA put in million yesterday for Cordray. OK, Jones responded. Ill call at 2:30. Three days later, Dowling texted Jones and said, Chuck go ahead and call Mike DeWine on the $500k. Its going to RGAs C(4) called state solutions. All set. Jones responds, OK. Ill call him around 5. I explained to Steen how DeWine said the conversations were very different because FirstEnergy was just helping DeWine in an individual sense, whereas QED wants a job. Click here to read more of the governors stance. Steen didnt want to fully comment without knowing the entire quotation but did critique the governor as many reformers do regarding the H.B. 6 scandal. Steen: I think theyre even more different in that his relationship with Chuck Jones is much different. He was getting something from Chuck Jones. Chuck Jones gave him a campaign contribution. I got nothing. Again, three years of investigation. The assertion was Wade had a relationship. The assertion was Wade got something. The assertion was something was offered. Morgan, unless Ive missed it, none of thats true. Theres no evidence to that. The governor got a campaign contribution from First Energy, correct? Trau: Got a few. Steen: Yeah, so if there is a difference he got something They are quite different. Hes the governor. Im a volunteer board member just who we are in our positions is a lot different, too. I mean, the amount of authority and power one has, hes the governor, he got campaign contributions. Im just a volunteer board member trying to work hard for teachers. Its interesting how, somehow, ones volunteer service somehow becomes this negative that they have to wear this attack upon them. I guess the better question is why the attack upon me? Because I talked to one person? If you think about it and step back and and view it through that lens why were they after this person so much? Trau: Why do you think? Steen: Im not at liberty to say because our cases are still pending, but things are still moving forward. What Steen didnt acknowledge was the fact that he has received thousands of dollars to fight his legal battle against not just his original removal from the board, but also the AGs lawsuit. Robin Rayfield, who runs ORTA, put together a fund in 2023 to pay Steens fees. I communicated with Wade, Rayfield said in an interview with me in May 2024. I said, Well, do you wanna fight this? And he goes, Let me think about it because fighting the governor is a tough thing to do But nonetheless, we stood with Wade and I said, Well, ORTA could potentially help you fight this. Case Western Reserve University business law professor Eric Chaffee explained that this raises red flags. If you have certain benefits being paid to an individual, whos supposed to represent a complete group of people, from a segment of that group of people, it creates concerns that there are going to be policies that favor them, Chaffee said. Last year, I obtained thank you cards that Steen wrote to pensioners for donating to his legal fund, adding that the generous financial contribution will allow him to deliver for teachers. ORTA leader Robin Rayfield told me they ended up raising more than $80,000 for Steen but they recently started fundraising for Fichtenbaum due to the AGs lawsuit involving him as well as Steen. In September, ORTA finally filled out the lobbying expenditures requirement. It showed that, in total, they spent about $115,000 to support the two men. About $87,000 went to Steen, and $27,000 went to Fichtenbaum. In 23 years of reviewing lobbying expenditures, this is a complete outlier weve seen nothing comparable, Legislative Inspector General Tony Bledsoe told me during our report exposing the money. This means both Steen and Fichtenbaum, the chair, are using donations from a section of members to pay their legal fees. After telling me he had to get onto another call, abruptly ending the interview, Steen added that the H.B. 6 scandal should be the story to focus on. I was able to squeeze in one final question. Trau: Are you interested in going back on the board or being executive director or CIO? Steen: No, Im very happy in what Im doing here at the Metroparks. Metcalf declined an interview but did provide a statement. Im grateful this matter is now in a court of law, where the evidence will show that QEDs interactions with the STRS board were lawful, ethical and appropriate, Metcalf emailed. Whistleblowers Steen and Fichtenbaum collaborated with QED to unravel a web of misinformation and expose a system enriching STRS employees at the expense of Ohio educators. I also reached out to the STRS team to ask them how they viewed the conversations between Steen and QED. Their spokesperson told me they dont comment on pending litigation, but provided a copy of their ethics policy, which includes provisions stating that no one on the board can Vote, authorize, recommend, or in any other way use his or her position to secure approval of a Board or System contract (including employment or personal services) in which the Board Member or employee, a family member, or anyone with whom the Board Member or employee has a business or employment relationship, has an interest; Solicit or accept any compensation, except as allowed by law, to perform his or her official duties or any act or service in his or her official capacity; Solicit or accept anything of value from anyone doing business with the Board or System. There is no evidence of any kickbacks, Steen and QED argue, so this wouldnt apply. 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 By Akbar Novruz The Baku Grave Crimes Court has resumed the high-profile trial of Martin Ryan, a French national and General Director of Merkorama LLC, and Azad Mammadli, an Azerbaijani citizen, both accused of espionage in favor of France. Presided over by Judge Elmin Rustamov, the session included direct questioning of Martin Ryan, who is charged under Article 276 (espionage) of the Criminal Code. Responding to questions from his defense lawyer about his interactions with individuals linked to the French Embassy, Ryan stated: I am a businessman. Due to my work, I had to have contact with the embassy. I saw this as a positive thing. Thanks to this, I have established extensive contacts. When asked how he realized those individuals were likely members of the French secret services, Ryan answered: It was clear from the questions he asked that he was an employee of the secret services. It was also clear to the people who spoke to me after that. This is also reflected in the investigation materials. Despite acknowledging suspicions, Ryan justified maintaining the relationship: If you have a personal relationship with someone, it does not necessarily have to be for profit. My goal was to establish friendly relations and my safety. There is no question of position, profit, or financial resources. Ryan added that he did not report his concerns to Azerbaijani authorities, fearing it would be seen as betrayal by France: At the same time, I did not have enough evidence. But I had to inform the French Foreign Ministry about this. If I had the documents, I would not be in prison right now. During cross-examination by Azad Mammadlis lawyer, Ryan revealed that he met Azad in 2019 through a mutual acquaintance, noting: Azad had special knowledge about Russia. That is why Azad was in their circle of interest. I introduced Azad to them. In his testimony, Azad Mammadli denied all allegations of espionage, saying: I did not provide information for the French Embassy, ??I did not spy or carry out assignments. Although they tried to do so, I did not respond positively to those individuals. Mammadli rejected claims that he had ever collaborated or agreed to cooperate with French officials, calling Ryans previous testimony false. He stated: Martin Ryan gave false testimony during the investigation. He stated in his testimony that I had provided information to the French Embassy employees about several employees of the university where I studied in Russia. However, this did not happen. Addressing one of the accusations related to strategic security, Mammadli said: I met with Martin when I came to Baku in 2023. At that time, I expressed my subjective opinions to him about the [Zangezur] corridor. I told him that if this corridor is opened, I want European troops here, not Russian ones. Mammadli emphasized that he never sought French citizenship and was not offered it. He also portrayed himself as a victim, stating: In addition to being the accused in the case, I am also a victim. Because Martin used me to fulfill the tasks given to him illegally, and trapped me. My personal information was obtained from me without permission. He further alleged that Ryan involved nine Azerbaijani citizens through artificial friendships, and added: I regret that I did not inform the Azerbaijani special services about this in a timely manner. Both defendants were arrested on December 4, 2023, following an investigation by the State Security Service (SSS). The charges accuse Martin Ryan of acting under orders from the DGSE (French General Directorate for External Security) and of recruiting Mammadli and others before being declared persona non grata and expelled from Baku. The next hearing is scheduled for May 19. BEIRUT, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli drones carried out three airstrikes on Tuesday evening near the village of Ramyeh in southern Lebanon's Bint Jbeil district, Lebanese official sources said, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). "Israeli unmanned aircraft launched three successive strikes targeting Wadi al-Mazlam on the outskirts of Ramyeh, located in the central sector of the southern border region," the NNA reported, without providing further details. The NNA also reported an earlier attack on Tuesday, with an Israeli drone targeting a civilian vehicle near Aitaroun, a village along Lebanon's southern border, killing one person and wounding three others, including a child. Israel has yet to comment on the attack reports. A U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has been in effect since Nov. 27, 2024, ending over a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza. Despite the truce, the Israeli military has continued to carry out occasional strikes in southern Lebanon, citing the need to address "threats" from Hezbollah. Israel has also maintained positions at five key locations along the Lebanese border beyond a Feb. 18 deadline for full withdrawal. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A now-former Paris, Tennessee police officer and his wife have been accused of child neglect, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday. TBI says they were asked by the district attorney general on April 10 to investigate Alexandria Elkins, 23, and Brian Ray, 26. Neighbors advocate for change after 3 MS teachers face child pornography charges Authorities say an investigation determined Elkins and Ray were responsible for injuries to their 3-year-old child, which were found during a child custody hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elkins and Ray turned themselves in on Monday. They were each charged with one count of Child Abuse/Neglect/Endangerment. They were both booked into the Henry County Jail on a $20,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Former News 2 morning show co-host Nikki Burdine who left WKRN in February with no explanation from her or from the station confirmed April 14 she's doing two new projects with her former morning show co-host, Neil Orne. Orne said late last year he was leaving News 2 after 29 years to pursue new ventures. In a phone interview, Burdine, 41, said she and Orne will be doing two fun projects together, content that will appear online and not on a local TV or radio station, though details on exactly how the projects will appear have yet to be worked out. A 2024 picture of Nikki Burdine and Neil Orne on the set of WKRN-News 2's "Good Morning Nashville" show "Its going to be the real Nikki and Neil, how we used to be, without parameters, unhinged in the best way," Burdine said with a laugh. "Just fun, good-spirited joy-filled content." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a video posted to Facebook and Instagram on April 14, Burdine said a small part of what she's doing next "will involve a dear friend who I think y'all will recognize? Turns out he's got some free time too." Orne did not immediately respond to a text message and a voicemail from The Tennessean. Burdine also told The Tennessean that WKRN surprised her by letting her go in February, just a few months after she and the station signed a new multi-year contract. She said she was "very surprised" when station management told her on a Monday that her previous Friday was her last day at the station. Burdine added she was "very sad" that she wasn't given an opportunity to say goodbye to viewers in the way station managers allowed Orne to do a few months earlier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 2 management did not immediately respond to a Tennessean email asking for comment on Burdine's departure. Nikki Burdine on the set of News 2 in Nashville in December 2024. Burdine and the station parted ways in February 2025 after she worked at the station for seven and a half years In February, News 2 Vice President and General Manager Mike Spruill declined to discuss Burdine's departure, writing in an email to The Tennessean: "It is our company policy that we do not comment on personnel matters." Burdine said the station gave her a reason for dismissing her but declined to say what that reason was. Burdine also declined to talk about whether she's considering legal action against the station for terminating her employment before her contract was up. In her social media video posted April 14, Burdine said, though: "Sometimes the best decisions in life are made for you. And this was one of those." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burdine said in the video she's grateful to be able to tuck her young daughter, Andi, into bed at night and get up with her in the morning, which her work hours didn't allow when she was a morning show host. "I mean, I hated missing two very important parts of her day, sacrificing the best time in the morning time for a job that does not love you back," she said. Burdine also said she's excited about being her own boss in the world of creating content. A 2020 picture of Nikki Burdine and her then baby, Andi, at their Nashville home "My career up to this point has been working for someone else and creating things and writing stories that I just didn't have a lot of control over," she said. "And now I have that control back, and honestly, a lot more joy." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burdine said in the video she loved her time at News 2 and was grateful for the chance to become a main anchor and for the support she has felt from fans since her departure. Burdine said in the video post that she's staying in Nashville and she thinks her fans will be excited about what next professionally, promising that details would be coming soon. Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ex-WKRN News 2 co-hosts Nikki Burdine, Neil Orne are reuniting By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leading advisers, Dan Caldwell, was escorted from the Pentagon on Tuesday after being identified during an investigation into leaks at the Department of Defense, a U.S. official told Reuters. Caldwell was placed on administrative leave for "an unauthorized disclosure," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The decision has not been previously reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The investigation remains ongoing," the official said without providing details about the nature of the alleged disclosure, including whether it was made to a journalist or to someone else. President Donald Trump's administration has moved to aggressively pursue leaks, an effort that has been enthusiastically embraced by Hegseth at the Pentagon. A March 21 memo signed by Hegseth's chief of staff, Joe Kasper, requested an investigation into "recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information involving sensitive communications." Kasper's memo left open the possibility of a polygraph, although it was unclear if Caldwell was subjected to one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although Caldwell is not as well known as other senior Pentagon officials, he has played a critical role as an adviser to Hegseth. His importance was underscored in a leaked text chain on Signal disclosed by The Atlantic last month. In it, Hegseth named Caldwell as the best staff point of contact for the National Security Council as it prepared for the launch of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. Caldwell had drawn attention in Washington for past views that critics have called isolationist, but which advocates said sought to right-size America's defense priorities. A Marine Corps veteran who deployed to Iraq, Caldwell was quoted saying before going to the Pentagon that America would have been better off if U.S. troops had just stayed home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think the Iraq war was a monstrous crime," Caldwell told the Financial Times in December 2024. He was also a skeptic of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and advocated for U.S. retrenchment from Europe. The decision to put Caldwell on administrative leave is separate from a wave of firings since Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran, took over the Pentagon in January. Those firings of top brass have included the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top admiral in the Navy, the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the top U.S. military lawyers. Reuters was first to report last week the firing of the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee. (Reporting by Phil Stewart, Editing by Franklin Paul and Howard Goller) A powerful photo series showing polar bears wandering through abandoned buildings on a remote Russian island has captured the world's attention but experts say it's not just an eerie snapshot. It's a warning sign. As sea ice continues to shrink, polar bears are adapting in unexpected and troubling ways, and their growing presence on land could put both wildlife and people at risk. What's happening? Wildlife photographer Dmitry Kokh was seeking shelter from a storm in far northeast Russia in 2021 when he spotted something strange on the deserted island of Kolyuchin polar bears. Nearly 20 of them roamed the ruins of a long-abandoned Soviet weather station, with some even peeking out of the windows. "We were super surprised because we never expected to meet polar bears so far to the south," Kokh told the BBC in a new report this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The image, titled "House of Bears," went on to win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. But while the pictures are visually striking, researchers say this behavior is a growing and potentially more dangerous trend. Polar bears are spending more time on land, often close to human settlements. And it's not out of curiosity, as the BBC detailed, but hunger. Why is this concerning? Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt seals, their main source of food. But with rising temperatures melting ice earlier each year, they're left with fewer options. Some have begun scavenging land-based food sources, including open dumps near northern towns. Wildlife scientist Tom Smith notes that while bears don't see humans as prey, encounters are becoming more common and potentially more threatening. Hungry bears accustomed to garbage may start wandering into villages, damaging property, or in rare cases, attacking people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They're curious animals so we see them in structures often, or they will be climbing on top of cars or pipelines," Smith said. On land, the bears burn through fat reserves quickly and can't get the nutrients they need. Research shows their health, reproductive success, and long-term survival are all at risk if this shift continues. What's being done about it? Experts like Smith are urging governments to fund better waste management in Arctic villages, where open garbage dumps are drawing hungry polar bears closer to people. "It's extremely expensive. They need help," Smith said. Some Arctic communities have already started securing waste with bear-proof bins and enclosed landfills. In a town in Manitoba, Canada, called Churchill, closing an open dump helped reduce conflicts with bears. Experts also advocate for wider use of deterrents like bear spray and increased public education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Long-term solutions will depend on slowing the planet's overheating and preserving sea ice. Supporting clean energy, reducing single-use plastics, and backing conservation groups like Polar Bears International are all small steps individuals can take. Kokh's haunting images may be art but they also tell a deeper dystopian story. One where polar bears are adapting to a world they were never built to survive in. 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. After the Environmental Protection Agency announced it had set up an electronic mailbox for regulated companies to request presidential exemptions under the Clean Air Act, experts fear a public health crisis could be looming if the administration grants passes to notorious polluters. What's happening? In March, the EPA revealed that regulated companies had until the end of the month to request presidential exemptions to a series of rules involving hazardous air pollutant emission standards under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, established in 1970. If they filed requests, companies had to provide reasoning for why they qualified for exemptions for up to two years under Section 112, explaining why they didn't have the technology to adhere to emissions standards and how their requests would support national security interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Submitting a request via this email box does not entitle the submitter to an exemption," the EPA wrote. "The President will make a decision on the merits." Why are critics worried about Section 112 filings? After the EPA announced a rule in 2024 to tighten ethylene oxide emissions standards in order to reduce the risk of cancer from exposure the Biden administration also offered companies a chance to apply for exemptions under Section 112, as EPA spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou noted to the Associated Press. However, critics are wary of this year's move because it comes amid planned layoffs at the EPA, a renewed focus on drilling for dirty fuels, and a push to roll back environmental protections that also safeguard community health. This time around, nine EPA rules are up for reconsideration. These include regulations limiting mercury (known to cause brain damage in children), coal-fired plant pollution (coal is the deadliest fuel), and ethylene oxide (a notorious pollutant in "Cancer Alley," which has unusually high rates of the disease). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vickie Patton, general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund, said to the AP that the EPA's announcement was nothing more than "an invitation to pollute." What's being done about this? As of April 4, the Trump administration hadn't announced which exemptions if any it had approved. However, Patton suggested to the AP that the Environmental Defense Fund would be among the organizations pushing for transparency and clean-air regulations. "We will go to court," she said. "We will get their records and we will make that list public." On April 8, a White House press release indicated exemptions for coal operators are on the way. More broadly, the Trump administration has said that improving the country's health is one of its key priorities, noting how American life expectancy is less than that of other developed countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some say these stated goals have gotten off to a rocky start amid federal restructuring. For instance, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters he expects to reinstate mistakenly cut programs, including one that monitors lead exposure levels in children, per ABC News. However, health-friendly legislation like the banning of petroleum-based synthetic food dyes experiences broad bipartisan support. Raising awareness about the risks of issuing emissions exemptions, including by contacting your representatives, is one way to advocate for a healthier future for everyone. "It is an enormous stretch to suggest that there's some national interest in giving industry the right to pollute," Jason Rylander, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity, told the AP. "That doesn't make sense to me." 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. Key points After the 90-day pause, reciprocal tariffs are still expected to go into effect, and a 10% flat tariff on imported goods is already in place. Experts say that the cost of tariffs will be passed on to consumers, who will pay more for healthy staples at the grocery store. Domestically produced foods are also likely to become more expensive, as American producers face labor shortages due to Trump's immigration policies. One day it's on, the next day it's off. We can never tell what's next in the saga of President Donald Trump's tariffs. For now, Trump's reciprocal tariffs have been paused for 90 days, which means he does (at least for now) eventually plan to move forward with them, and his 10% flat tariff for imports from all countries remains in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ten percent might sound small, but that flat tariff is already looking like it will raise the cost of many goods. And when reciprocal tariffs do go into effect, they will without question change the price of staple commodities in the United States, including all the healthy foods the "Make America Healthy Again" movement is promoting. Here's how Trump's tariffs could affect your efforts to eat healthier meals. Who will bear the cost of tariffs? As Food & Wine has reported, U.S. consumers should be aware that the burden of these tariffs will most likely fall on Americans not on the countries Trump is targeting on or the companies who have to pay the tariffs. Instead, companies will likely pass this new cost on to you. While importers could absorb part of the tariff, historical evidence suggests most of the tariff burden will be passed on to consumers. Prices are likely to increase close to the tariff rate, meaning a 25% tariff on food imports from Mexico and Canada will likely increase prices for imported goods by a similar margin, Dr. Shawn DuBravac, a PhD-trained economist and founder of the Avrio Institute, a strategic growth consulting and trendcasting firm, previously shared with Food & Wine. This price adjustment would likely happen in a single step rather than gradually over time, though some lag may occur as existing contracts and inventories deplete. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: How the Latest Wine Tariffs Could Crush the Wine Industry Which items are affected by tariffs? Because of the 10% blanket tariff, essentially everything that is imported will be affected, save for a few special exemptions on tech goods like computer chips. But even these exceptions, Trump says, are temporary. That 10% tax also applies to the foods the U.S. imports from all over the world. It should be noted that the U.S. imports more agricultural products than it exports, so the already staggeringly high price of groceries will likely continue to rise. How will tariffs affect your ability to make healthy meals? "Even with just the 10% baseline tariff, grocery prices will rise for a number of healthy foods, including olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Italy, bananas and blueberries from Central and South America, and everything from rice and nuts to seafood and spices from Asia," Dr. Monica Gorman a previous special assistant to former President Biden for manufacturing and industrial policy and deputy assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing, who is now a managing director at Crowell Global Advisors shares with Food & Wine. "If the higher reciprocal tariffs go into effect in 90 days, the costs to American shoppers will rise precipitously." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Gorman notes, the foods that are most likely to see price increases include coffee, which is primarily imported into the U.S. from Latin America and Asia, along with seasonal fruits from Latin America, seafood, cooking oils, nuts from Vietnam and China, and an array of spices, including pepper and cinnamon from Asia and vanilla from Madagascar. Dr. Mohammad Elahee, a professor of International Business at Quinnipiac University, adds to this list, noting that "milled grain and edible oil, sugar and other sweeteners, vegetables such as avocado, tomato, etc., alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, preserved food and vegetables, meat, seafood, bakery products, dairy products, grains (such as fine rice), and oil seeds" will all likely see price hikes. "While tariffs on some items could be as high as 54% (like those coming from China), some other items would be subject to lower tariffs of 20% (like wine and olive oil from Spain or Italy) or 10% tariffs (like chocolate and whiskey from the United Kingdom, coffee from Latin America, and beef from Australia), unless new tariffs are imposed on those countries," Elahee details, echoing the uncertainty around the exact numbers Trump will decide on for each country. Elahee makes one more critical point: It's not just the cost of imported goods that will increase. Domestically produced foods will likely also become more expensive due to Trump's tariff and immigration policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The price of domestically produced food items will also go up as U.S. agricultural farms suffer from labor shortages," Elahee says. "A large proportion of U.S. agricultural workers are undocumented immigrants. The deportation of undocumented immigrants is causing a further shortage of agricultural labor, thereby pushing the wages of existing farm workers. Such higher wages will translate into higher prices for agricultural produce and food items that are grown or made in the U.S." Related: How Tariffs on Everything From Aluminum to Barley and Malt Will Impact Beer Pricing Can we avoid these price increases? That decision appears to be largely up to Trump. "As there are some indications, albeit weak, that the Trump Administration is open to negotiations over tariffs, it is possible that the reciprocal tariffs on certain countries may be revised down a little bit, resulting in some relief for consumers," Elahee explains. But the professor emphasizes that, "Regardless of the outcome of any negotiations to lower tariffs, it is clear that the centerpiece of U.S. international trade is going to be tariffs. Hence, the price of all imported food items will experience a dramatic rise not seen in many decades." Is there any way for consumers to save on food? There are a variety of ways to try and save on groceries, and not every strategy will work for every person or household. If you have plenty of time and access, then shopping from local producers and for in-season products might actually save you money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For others, buying products in bulk at stores like Costco, planning meals for a whole week to limit waste, and searching for coupons might be most effective. As Gorman notes, "People looking to save money should consider stocking up now on shelf-stable spices" and other non-perishable goods before they jump in price so you can continue to eat the foods that make you feel good for a bit longer. Read the original article on Food & Wine MACAO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition on national security education opened Tuesday in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). China's National Security Education Day is observed annually on April 15 to raise public awareness of national security issues and encourage greater civic involvement in safeguarding the country. Jointly hosted by the Macao SAR government and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR, the one-month exhibition presented over 500 photographs and several videos to showcase the country's latest achievements in national security work and those over the past decade. In his speech at the ceremony, Macao SAR Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai said that the Macao SAR must concentrate on its development while preventing various risks and hidden dangers. He stressed the need to curb interference by external forces, implement the principle of "patriots governing Macao," ensure the eighth Legislative Assembly election, and maintain Macao society's long-term stability and security. Zheng Xincong, director of the liaison office, noted that it was imperative to enhance Macao's capacity to safeguard national security, while ensuring high-level security through high-quality development. The exhibition will run through May 15. Since lead paint hazards have been discovered in seven Milwaukee schools since January, families are concerned about how many schools could be next. They've demanded more transparency from Milwaukee Public Schools about the state of lead-based paint in all schools. For a window into the wider problem, the Journal Sentinel requested a year's worth of MPS' paint-related work orders. The records, published below, show MPS staff asked the district's maintenance department for help with paint issues over 1,000 times between February 2024 and February 2025. About a quarter of paint-related requests from the last year haven't been completed, district officials told the Journal Sentinel in March, prompting concern from parents and school board members about response time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Search by school to see the paint-related work orders entered for each building, provided by MPS in response to a records request. Not all of the orders specifically relate to lead-based paint. Contact Rory Linnane at rory.linnane@jrn.com. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @RoryLinnane. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Explore a year of work orders for paint problems at MPS schools MILAN Norway became the first F-35 partner nation to fulfill its program of record with the delivery of the last two F-35A airframes this month, marking the completion of the Scandinavian countrys order of 52 aircraft, manufacturer Lockheed Martin said. The announcement followed the establishment last month of a new F-35 maintenance centre in Rygge, Norway. The sustainment work and future upgrades will be carried out at the new 5,000 square-meter facility by Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services and the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency. Before this, intermediate-level upkeep for the Norwegian fighter jets was done at the Italian F-35 maintenance hub in Cameri. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The creation of a national facility will allow Norway to gain an independent capacity to perform this work locally, strengthen supply chains, and increase operational availability, a Kongsberg statement said. Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, concerns have grown in Europe about the extent to which Washington could exercise control over F-35 fleets globally. Such worries spring from a new degree of unpredictability of an ally whose weapons exports have underwritten much of the Wests deterrence architecture for decades. Lockheed executives have refuted the existence of a remote F-35 kill-switch by which leaders in Washington, soured on Europe, could turn the aircraft into expensive chunks of metal. At the same time, the inner workings of the warplanes sprawling ecosystem for operations and maintenance are, by design, a U.S. construct, meant to offer client nations peace of mind because of Washingtons backing. One spotlight now lies on the distribution of spare parts, a potential bottleneck that F-35 nations are moving to preempt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Endre Lunde, special adviser to the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency, said it is rare to see spare parts transferred from one F-35 nation to another, with components remaining American property until they are mounted on a countrys jets. At that point, they are handed over to the user country for budget, accounting and custom purposes, and this also applies to any parts manufactured by the Norwegian industry for the F-35, Lunde explained. They do so as subcontractors of the F-35 prime contractors, [therefore] the parts are exported to them for use either on new aircraft or to be used as spare parts we do not buy F-35 parts directly from our industry, as all of them are pooled or distributed to the user nations through combined contracts, Lunde told Defense News in an email statement. As F-35 countries rarely possess more components than what they require for their daily operations or national readiness stocks, it is infrequent to see instances where spares are sent to other users. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, the only examples weve had of F-35 parts leaving Norway have been when they are shipped back to the U.S. for repair and replacement, Lunde said. Mediterranean footprint On March 24 a U.S. F-35 based in the UK touched down at Cameri air base to become the first American jet to check in for a tune-up at Italys Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul, and Upgrade (MRO&U) hub. Funded by Italy and managed by local firm Leonardo, the center is co-run with Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office and has already serviced Italian, Norwegian and Dutch F-35s. The tighter cooperation on F-35 logistics is giving Europe greater responsibility while at the same time creating greater inter-dependance with the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dubbed the F-35 Euro-Mediterranean Airframe Depot, the center sits alongside a final assembly line for the jet which has turned out Italian and Dutch F-35s and is where Lockheed Martin staff have handled sensitive aspects of assembly such as anti-radar coatings. Cameri is the only site in Europe offering heavy maintenance and is now expanding its operation as European fleets grow. Capt. Sigfrido Chiandussi, the Italian national deputy with the F-35 Joint Program Office, said Italys investment in the centre was significant, adding, we are confident that our investment will yield significant returns in terms of regional security, stability, and prosperity for all. Security of supply In general, every F-35 nation also maintains a national readiness stock of spare parts for its aircraft, known as security of supply. For Norway, this has looked like investing in separate spare parts packages for the countrys readiness requirements, where it can operate the aircraft independently for a certain period during crises. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Netherlands, which stands to get upwards of 50 of the fifth-generation aircraft, a court case last year by three humanitarian organizations seeking to block the shipment of F-35 parts to Israel shed some light on how logistics for the stealth aircraft are managed. Woensdrecht Air Base, the main support base of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, acts as one of three global distribution hubs for F-35 parts for several countries. The three hubs store U.S. supplied parts that are then forwarded to F-35 users, with the parts remaining property of the U.S. until theyre mounted on an F-35, according to court documents. The Dutch distribution hub supplies parts to countries including the Netherlands as well as Israel, which is a user but not a partner in the F-35 program. The Netherlands made the choice in 2001 to participate in development of the F-35, and the country says Dutch firms provide airframe parts, cables, in-flight opening doors and parts of the power supply and radar systems. The Norwegian Air Force, for its part, trains regularly for situations where it may not have access to central maintenance servers and must fly the aircraft unassisted for a given length of time, Lunde said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finland, which has ordered 64 F-35s, has a similar security clause in place. According to a Finnish Air Force Command representative, the national production capabilities are reinforced by a spare parts reserve that is under national control and ensures continuity of operations in all situations. Tom Kington in Rome and Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris contributed to this story. Editors note: This story was updated to reflect that the F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter. NEW YORK (AP) Federal aviation regulators issued an emergency order Monday grounding the helicopter tour company involved in a deadly New York crash after learning it had fired its operations director minutes after he had agreed to suspend flights during the investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration said it suspected the firing was retaliation for a safety decision. The FAA is taking this action in part because after the companys director of operations voluntarily shut down flights, he was fired, acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau said on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New York Helicopter Tours' sightseeing helicopter broke apart in midair and plunged into the Hudson River Thursday, killing five tourists from Spain and the pilot. Rocheleau said the agency also began a comprehensive review of the companys operations. The review is designed to determine whether an operator complies with regulations and effectively manages safety, and identifies hazards and risks. The victims included passengers Agustin Escobar, 49, his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, 39, and their three children, Victor, 4, Mercedes, 8, and Agustin, 10. The pilot was Seankese Johnson, 36, a U.S. Navy veteran who received his commercial pilots license in 2023. The crash has renewed safety concerns about the popular sightseeing flights. The company's director of operations, Jason Costello, agreed on Sunday to voluntarily halt flights while the crash was being investigated. But 16 minutes after Costello sent an email to the FAA, the company's chief executive officer sent a separate email to the agency saying he did not authorize the halt. The CEO, Michael Roth, also said Costello was no longer an employee, according to the FAA order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The immediate firing of the Director of Operations raises serious safety concerns because it appears Mr. Roth retaliated against Mr. Costello for making the safety decision to cease operations during the investigation, read the document. The FAA in its order said the company now lacks a required director of operations. An email seeking comment was sent to Roth. Also Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said divers found key components of the Bell 206 L-4 helicopter as they wrapped up recovery efforts in the river. New York City police divers working with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and Jersey Citys Office of Emergency Management recovered and secured the main rotor system and the tail rotor system, which are expected to provide clues about the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration accused the owner of the company behind last weeks fatal Hudson River helicopter crash of firing its director of operations in apparent retaliation for voluntarily shutting down all copter tours and has ordered the company grounded. New York Helicopter must immediately surrender its air carrier certificate in the wake of Thursdays deadly crash and its CEOs apparent decision to sack the operations director over the weekend, which raised serious safety concerns, the FAAs acting administrator, Chris Rocheleau, announced on X.com Monday night in an emergency order of suspension. According to the order, agency officials called New York Helicopters director of operations, Jason Costello, on Sunday requesting the company cease operations while the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Costello agreed, and sent an email confirming the company would voluntarily shut down its flights. Sixteen minutes later, New York Helicopter CEO Michael Roth sent the FAA an update. According to the order: he didnt authorize the move to cease operations, and Costello no longer works for New York Helicopter. The immediate firing of the director of operations raises serious safety concerns because it appears Mr. Roth retaliated against Mr. Costello for making the safety decision to cease operations during the investigations, the FAAs lawyers wrote. That apparent firing factored into the FAAs decision to ground New York Helicopter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NY Helicopter does not have a qualified person serving in the position of director of operations, the FAA lawyers wrote. The continued operations on NY Helicopter pose an unacceptable risk to safety in air commerce. Roth did not immediately return an email seeking comment. The Bell 206 helicopter, which had no equipped flight recorders, was on its eighth tour of the day when it dropped from the sky during a sightseeing tour Thursday afternoon, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Spanish tourists Agustin Escobar, the CEO for rail infrastructure at Siemens Mobility; his wife, Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three young children all died in the crash, as did pilot Seankese Sean Johnson, after pieces of the helicopter, including the rotor, appeared to break off in midair. The helicopter overturned and fell from the sky, hitting the river upside down. FAIRPORT, N.Y. (WROC) Governor Kathy Hochul announced that 13 state landmarks will be illuminated blue, white, and red Monday to honor the victims of the Dominican Republic nightclub tragedy. The Fairport Lift Bridge was one of those landmarks. I have directed State Landmarks to be illuminated blue, white and red tonight, April 14, to honor the more than 200 individuals who lost their lives in the devastating roof collapse at Jet Set Nightclub in the Dominican Republic, including several who called New York home, Hochul said. Our hearts are with all who are mourning this profound loss. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 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? KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) The search for a pastor with connections to Maryville continues in South Africa after he was abducted at gunpoint during one of his sermons. Because of the abduction, 6 News looked into the dangers that come along with the work of a missionary. Authorities in South Africa are investigating the disappearance of Josh Sullivan. The Knox County Association of Baptists (KCAB) explained that while some countries welcome missionaries, others dont allow the spread of different faith. All we can do now is pray and thats certainly a powerful thing to do said Alan Price, the Director of Missions for the KCAB. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It could be months Child hit by car in Knoxville begins long recovery process Being a missionary is rewarding, but can be dangerous. Missionaries travel to different countries to share the gospel aware of the challenges they may face. Its admirable what theyre doing, that theyre willing to leave all of the comforts of home, including the safety in some sense of home, and go around the world because of the belief that the message of the gospel needs to be heard by everybody around the world, and theyre willing to make those sacrifices to get it heard, explained Price. Depending on the country they travel to this risk can include crime and violence, disease, harsh climates and other risks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Loudon County community remembers Sgt. Chris Jenkins at the third annual memorial ride Youre around the world in countries where other religions are more prominent, and those religions are not necessarily wanting our faith in there. And so, theres always that danger and the missionary knows that. But the danger is undertaken because the message is urgent, Price added. Price offered his condolences to Sullivans family during this hard time. Its very alarming to think you could be in your church preaching from your pulpit and be taken in front of everybody. Certainly, we are praying for them. I was in a church yesterday and that was brought up and he was prayed for. And so, we are praying for him and his family that not only he returned safe, but his family is at peace during this time because its got to be extremely difficult for them to be waiting, explained Price. See more top stories on WATE.com Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Southern Baptist Missionaries International Mission Board takes the dangers of this work very seriously, using a variety of precautions to protect their missionaries. The South African Police Service in Motherwell opened an investigation into the abduction. The Police Anti-Gang Unit is now leading 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 WATE 6 On Your Side. CAIRO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- China's Befar Group has begun construction on a 500-million-U.S.-dollar project to produce chlor-alkali in Egypt's Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (TEDA), the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) authority said on Tuesday. The facility, described as Egypt's first green chemical plant, aims for an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes and will be built on a 400,000-square meter site in two phases, the SCZone said in a statement following a foundation stone ceremony. The first phase, covering 200,000 square meters, is scheduled for completion within 18 months, the authority added. The project is expected to create around 800 jobs. SCZone Chairman Waleid Gamal El-Dein, who attended the ceremony, highlighted the project's reliance on diverse clean energy sources and its alignment with Egypt's push towards a green economy. "This project opens up broad horizons for complementary industries and enhances Egypt's ability to secure its needs for strategic products," Gamal El-Dein was quoted as saying in the statement. Befar Group Senior Vice President Cai Yinghui said that the company would leverage Egypt's energy, transport, and policy advantages, aiming to develop a "new energy plus chemical industry" model. Established in 1968, Befar Group is a comprehensive chemical enterprise whose products are exported to more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, according to the group's official website. Niagara Falls city officials are poised to select another provider from Grand Island to oversee municipal animal shelter operations until the citys permanent shelter at Hyde Park is completed and deemed fully operational. Mayor Robert Restainos administration has asked city council members to approve a contract during a special meeting today with Island Pet Lodge, Inc., an Alvin Road company owned by Town of Grand Island animal control officer Michael Ludwig and his wife, Kim. Island Pet Lodge is in line to replace the citys previous animal shelter provider, The Pit Chic, which is also located on Grand Island. The Pit Chics owner, Kelly Swagel, announced last month that she was restructuring her business and moving away from municipal animal shelter operations to focus more on dog boarding and training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Restainos administration released an invitation for proposals from vendors interested in providing animal sheltering services in the Falls while work continues on the development of the citys new permanent shelter at Hyde Park. In a letter submitted in response to the citys invitation for proposals, Ludwig offers to enter into a contract through Dec. 31, 2025, with an option to extend the agreement until the citys Hyde Park animal shelter is fully operational. In his companys proposal, Ludwig offers to make 10 kennel spaces available to the city on or before April 28, at a monthly charge of $10,500, which, over the course of a standard 30-day month, equals a daily rate of $350. The city paid The Pit Chic a monthly rate of $20,270 under her companys contract. In the proposal, Ludwig indicates that his company will only release stray dogs under its care to rightful owners during normal business hours and only after the owner has presented staff with a photo identification and a receipt signed and dated by the city clerk that confirms ownership and the owners payment of all applicable charges and fees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Ludwigs letter, Island Pet Lodge was formed in 2010 and the companys Grand Island location, which provides dog daycare, boarding and training services, opened in 2011. According to the letter, the site has also served as the Town of Grand Islands municipal dog shelter for the past decade. Ludwig stated that management and staff are well-acquainted with inspection and legal requirements from New York State Agriculture and Markets, the public agency that oversees such animal shelters statewide. Needless to say, I am very proud of what my family and I have achieved over the past fourteen years, Ludwig noted in his letter to the city. The city councils special meeting will begin at 6 p.m. inside council chambers at Niagara Falls City Hall, 745 Main St. The family of a New Bedford teenager killed in a crash in January 2024 is suing the school district where he was a student, accusing officials there of ignoring ongoing abuse he suffered at the hands of a former school security guard. The estate of 18-year-old Jacob Pothier recently filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court in Boston and named the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical School District and numerous officials as defendants. Among the named defendants is Kathleen Martins, a former security guard at the school, and accused by the family of grooming Pothier and sexually abusing him beginning when he was 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Jan. 5, 2024, Pothier died after being ejected from a Honda Accord belonging to Martins after the car crashed near Padanaram Bridge in Dartmouth at about 10:35 p.m. Martins survived the crash, and mini Smirnoff liquor bottles were found inside the car, according to lawyers for Pothiers family. The lawsuit doesnt say who was driving. The 25-count suit seeks nearly $10 million in damages. Greg Manousos, an attorney for the school, said it disagreed with the accusations leveled in the suit. The School took immediate action once it became aware of the alleged inappropriate conduct, Manousos said in a brief statement. At the time of the fatal car crash, the individual had not been employed by the School for nearly a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martins, 45, was hired in August 2021, the same month Pothier began his freshman year at the school, and the suit claims the abuse began the day he started there, with Martins providing alcohol, marijuana, clothing, jewelry, food and money in exchange for sex. The suit claims school officials should have known about the abuse in the fall of 2021, with Pothier showing the classic telltale signs of grooming, according to a letter sent on June 5, 2024, to Superintendent Michael Watson as well as the other city officials, including Mayor Jonathan Mitchell from the familys lawyer, Scott Lang. Sometime between August 2021 and February 2023, a New Bedford police officer found Martins and Pothier in the Pine Grove Cemetery (which is across the street from the school) in Martins car, the lawsuit states. More than a year after Martins was hired, in February 2023, the district and school administrators became aware of a video depicting Martins and Pothier engaged in a sex act, the lawsuit states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Pothier was called to the main office to discuss the video, however, school administrators interrogated and threatened him, telling him he could face discipline at school or even criminal charges for possessing the video, according to the lawsuit. Pothier was not treated as a victim, but rather as a perpetrator, the suit claims. His treatment was counter to that of female victims of abuse at the school, who the suit claims were treated as victims and supported as such, including with an investigation and discipline for their perpetrators. In the wake of the video, school officials filed a report with the Department of Children and Families, but then failed to follow up with the department when the abuse continued, according to the suit. After the video surfaced, Martins was placed on administrative leave. She resigned in March 2023 without an investigation into her conduct, according to the suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But even after her firing, Martins continued to harass and stalk Pothier, according to the suit, despite his attempts to distance himself from her. After the car crash in Dartmouth, Pothier was taken to St. Lukes Hospital in New Bedford and pronounced dead. Martins sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash but survived. By the summer of 2024, Martins had returned to work at SouthCoast Behavioral Health Center, according to the suit. The suit claims Pothier was not Martins only victim, and there was a history of teacher-student grooming, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and/or sexual violence at the school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But officials regularly treated boys who were abused as perpetrators, not victims, according to the suit, a pattern that extended to Pothier. The suit filed on April 4 also demands a jury trial. Beyond Manousos public statement, the school has not responded to the suit, nor have any of the other defendants. The defendants are expected to file a response to the lawsuit by April 29, according to court filings. More News Alexi Canas had a routine after work each day. The father of eight would sit in the living room of the familys Ballenger Creek house and watch movies. Often, the younger Canas children would return home from school to find the TV on a sign that Alexi was there waiting for them. For the past month, however, Alexi has not been home to greet his children. The last time they saw him was March 10, when he appeared in Frederick County Circuit Court to face a charge of driving on a suspended license. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On that day, Circuit Judge Scott Rolle ordered Alexi to spend two days in the Frederick County Adult Detention Center. Alexi left the jail on March 12 but instead of returning home, he was transferred into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which took him to Baltimore and initiated removal proceedings against him. A notice to appear filed on March 11 alleges that Alexi, a native of El Salvador, entered the United States in May 1995 without being admitted or paroled, which refers to temporary permission to remain in the country. The document, obtained by The Frederick News-Post, said Alexi was ordered to appear before an immigration judge in Baltimore on April 14. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Online records show that as of Monday, Alexi was being held at the Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez, Mississippi hours away from his family in Frederick County, Maryland. Diana Canas, Alexis 22-year-old daughter, said her family did not receive an official explanation as to why her father was being moved there. It was more him just telling me theyre taking me here, and thats that, Diana said, referring to a phone conversation she had with her father while he was still in Baltimore. Representatives of ICE did not respond to multiple requests for comment through phone and email last week and this week for this story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement QUESTIONS AT DETENTION CENTER Katie Robine, a spokesperson for the Frederick County Sheriffs Office, wrote in an email last week that everyone who is processed into the Adult Detention Center is asked a series of 13 questions, two of which pertain to a persons country of birth and country of citizenship. Anyone who answers anything other than the United States or one of the United States Territories is asked additional questions to determine removability by a Correctional [Officer] that is a Designated Immigration Officer through the 287(g) Program, she wrote. The federal 287(g) program allows ICE to train local law enforcement officers to assist with immigration enforcement. Only the corrections side of the Frederick County Sheriffs Office participates in the 287(g) program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robine said Alexi was questioned by designated immigration officers within the Adult Detention Center during his stay there. The Frederick County Sheriffs Office subsequently placed an immigration detainer on him, Robine confirmed. According to online records, Alexis next hearing is scheduled for April 22. He will appear virtually in a Jena, Louisiana, immigration court before Judge Allan John-Baptiste, who is based in Fort Worth, Texas. Its an extremely complicated and difficult legal landscape, said Brandt Tingen, a friend of the Canas family. Weve got Diana, his mom, his sisters and a handful of colleagues and people who know him in the community, Tingen continued. And were literally working eight to 14 hours a day each trying to figure out what the hell is going on and how to protect him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement REALLY INVOLVED IN THE FAMILY Since his arrival in the U.S. three decades ago, Alexi has worked diligently to build a life for himself and his family, people who know him said. Alexi is the owner and operator of AC Painting and Remodeling, a home improvement business serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. It was through his business that he first met Tingen, a real estate agent. Over time, Tingen said, Alexi became close with many of the people who contracted with him. When Tingens fiancee unexpectedly died last year, he said Alexi stepped in without hesitation to help keep his business going. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes helped me and so many other people in critical, severe life-changing moments, while having a family of eight, Tingen said. Tingen said Alexi typically works at least six days a week, sometimes in excess of 100 hours, to provide for his family. Diana said Alexi has given her family every single thing that weve ever needed from him. The eight Canas siblings, ranging in age from 8 to 22 years old, were all born and raised in Maryland. They moved to Frederick County three years ago with Alexi and their mother, who declined to be interviewed for this story. Even if hes tired from work, he still takes time out of his day to come and hang out with us, Diana said. Hes really involved in the family, and it just kind of really sucks the situation we are in now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Alexis absence, Diana has taken on many new responsibilities. In addition to working full-time as a receptionist in a medical office, she has been laboring to keep the familys bills paid and her fathers business afloat. Diana has also been collaborating with Tingen and others close to Alexi to put up a defense to allow him to remain in the U.S. The process has been complicated by the need to find not just any immigration lawyer, but one who can practice in the district where Alexi is to be tried. The friends of Alexi Canas have started a crowdfunding campaign to help his family pay their bills, including legal costs. It can be found at gofund.me/310e0630. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have intentionally made this extremely difficult, Tingen said. All told, its going to be tens of thousands of dollars just to get him his day in court for something that really shouldnt have happened, and wouldnt have happened in the last three decades. President Donald Trump has taken several steps to crack down on illegal immigration in the past few months, ramping up deportations and allowing ICE to operate in sensitive locations like schools and places of worship. The White House says Trump has deported more than 100,000 illegal migrants since his return to office on Jan. 20. In an interview in February, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins told the News-Post that immigration officers are targeting violent criminals, gang members and people that have criminal convictions, not just in this country, but countries where they came from. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Online court records do not show any convictions for a violent crime in Maryland for Alexi. His only convictions that still stand are for traffic offenses. He was pardoned by the governor last year for misdemeanor cannabis possession, an offense dating back to 2003. Diana said she and her father both recognize that he should not have been driving on a suspended license. But she said neither of them realized how severe the consequences could be. I think he just never imagined that it would be something that would kind of rip him away from his family, Diana said. I just want it to be known that he honestly is a really good person. During the past month, Diana said she has had conversations with some of her siblings about what to do if Alexi is not allowed to return home. I dont think we like to bring it up too much. We try to keep hope, Diana said. But we do know that if worst came to worst, we dont think that we would all be able to uproot our lives here and go live in El Salvador with him, as much as we would want to be with him, she continued. Tingen pushed back against the idea that Alexi and people like him pose a danger to their communities, adding that Alexi is already American in the minds of everyone who knows him. He couldnt hurt a fly. Hes never hurt anybody, Tingen said. If this is who were getting rid of, who are we keeping? The aunt of a 23-year-old Maryland man who died in the Bahamas has taken to social media to plead for international assistance, as she believes crucial evidence might disappear. Dinari McAlmont was vacationing with his family when he was found dead on a beach April 5. A post-mortem exam revealed that McAlmont died as a result of drowning and no foul play was suspected, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Still, his mother, Michelle McAlmont, alleges he was beaten to death and is asking authorities to release more information about the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dinari McAlmonts aunt, Marcelle Bacchus, said in an April 11 Facebook post that her nephews body was scheduled to be released from a mortuary on April 10 but was not due to a spelling error with his name. Bacchus is asking for more support with the investigation. According to Bacchus, no cameras were allowed in the mortuary, and photos of Dinari McAlmont were not shared publicly. Bacchus believes evidence will disappear and is asking for international help ASAP. Bacchus could not immediately be reached for comment. Hours before her sons body was found, Michelle McAlmont said she sent texts to her son trying to find him. There have been reports of a possible altercation between her son and an unknown person, who reported to police that Dinari McAlmont spat at them, according to Eyewitness News in the Bahamas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After looking at a photo provided by police, Michelle McAlmont said she noticed her sons hair was full of sand, which she believes suggests he could have been killed on the beach. Officials with the Bahamas police could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Prince Georges County Councilmember Ingrid S. Watson is also seeking more clarity with the case and has asked Bahamian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into what happened. The Atlantis resort, where the McAlmont family was staying, issued a statement of condolences and said it was fully cooperating with the investigation. The U.S. State Department has issued a Level II travel warning due to an increase in crime in the Bahamas. ------------ WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) White House officials and the leader of El Salvador are defending their decision to *not* return a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador last month despite a Supreme Court ruling calling for the U.S. to facilitate his return. White House officials say its now up to El Salvador whether to return the Maryland man to the U.S. El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele said he wont return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S.. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House previously said Garcias case was an administrative error but maintains that hes part of the MS-13 gang. The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? asked. President Donald Trump thanked Bukele for putting suspected gang members in prisons. The Supreme Court has upheld an order for the Trump administration to facilitate Garcias return. Attorney General Pam Bondi said its now up to El Salvador. If they wanted to return him, we would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane, said Bondi. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the president has authority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The foreign policy of the United States is conducted by the President of the United States, not by a court, said Rubio. Garcias family and supporters rallied outside the White House Monday calling for his return. A district court judge is set to hold a hearing Tuesday on whether the administration is complying with the order to facilitate Garcias return. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CAIRO (AP) As Sudan marks two years of civil war on Tuesday, atrocities and famine are only mounting in what the United Nations says is the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last month, the Sudanese military secured a major victory by recapturing the capital of Khartoum from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. But that has only moved the war into a new phase that could end up with a de facto partition of the country. On Friday and Saturday, RSF fighters and their allies rampaged in two refugee camps in the western Darfur region, killing at least 300 people. The Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps, which shelter some 700,000 Sudanese who fled their homes, have both been stricken with famine, and aid workers cannot reach them because of the fighting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Up to 400,000 people have fled the Zamzam camp in recent days, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday. Local sources are telling us that armed groups have taken control of the camp and are restricting the movement of those remaining, especially young people. Half the population of 50 million faces hunger. The World Food Program has confirmed famine in 10 locations and says it could spread, putting millions in danger of starvation. This abominable conflict has continued for two years too long, said Kashif Shafique, country director for Relief International Sudan, the last aid group still working in the Zamzam camp. Nine of its workers were killed in the RSF attack. He said the world needs to press for a ceasefire. Every moment we wait, more lives hang in the balance, he said. Humanity must prevail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here is what is happening as the war enters its third year: Carving up Sudan The war erupted on April 15, 2023, with pitched battles between the military and the RSF in the streets of Khartoum that quickly spread to other parts of the country. It was the culmination of months of tension between the head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSFs commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The two were once allies in suppressing Sudans movement for democracy and civilian rule but turned on each other in a struggle for power. The fighting has been brutal. Large parts of Khartoum have been wrecked. Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes, 4 million of them streaming into neighboring countries. At least 20,000 people have been recorded killed, but the true toll is probably far higher. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and the RSF fighters have been notorious for attacking villages in Darfur, carrying out mass killings of civilians and rapes of women. The militarys recapture of Khartoum in late March was a major symbolic victory. It allowed Burhan to return to the capital for the first time since the war started and declare a new government, boosting his standing. But experts say the RSF has consolidated its hold on the areas it still controls a vast stretch of western and southern Sudan, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The military holds much of the north, east and center. The reality on the ground already resembles a de facto partition, said Federico Donelli, an assistant professor of international relations at Universita di Trieste in Italy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donelli said its possible the two sides could seek a ceasefire now. But more likely, he said, the military will keep trying to move on RSF-held territory. Neither side appears able to defeat the other. Both parties are suffering from combat fatigue, said Suliman Baldo, director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. The RSF is weakened by internal fissures and lacks political legitimacy within the country, said Sharath Srinivasan, professor of international politics at Cambridge University. But it has strong access to weapons and resources, bolstered by support from the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without understanding the complex regional geopolitics of this war, it is easy to underplay the RSFs resilience and ability to strike back, said Srinivasan, author of When Peace Kills Politics: International Intervention and Unending Wars in the Sudans. Famine is deepening Hundreds of thousands of people trapped by the fighting face hunger and starvation. So far, the epicenter of famine has been in the North Darfur province and particularly the Zamzam camp. The RSF has been besieging the camp as it wages an offensive on El Fasher, the regional capital and the last main position of the military in the Darfur region. Amna Suliman, a mother of four living in the camp, said people have resorted to eating grass and tree leaves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have no choice, she said in a recent phone interview. We live in fear, with no communication, no food, and no hope. Since famine was first declared in Zamzam in August, it has spread to other parts of the province and nearby South Kordofan province. The WFP warned this week that 17 other locations will also soon fall into famine including other parts of the Darfur region but also places in central and south Sudan because aid workers cannot reach them. The situation is very dire, said Adam Yao, deputy representative of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Agency in Sudan. Already, at least 25 million people, more than half of the countrys population, face acute hunger, including 638,000 who face catastrophic hunger, the most dire rating used by aid agencies, according to the WFP. Some 3.6 million children are acutely malnourished. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Huge needs everywhere In other areas, the militarys capture of territory allowed aid groups to reach refugees and displaced people who have been largely cut off from aid for two years. Sudan has been hit by multiple outbreaks of cholera, malaria and dengue in the past two years. The latest cholera outbreak in March killed about 100 people and sickened over 2,700 others in the White Nile province, according to the Health Ministry. The economy has been decimated, with a 40% drop in GDP, according to the United Nations Development Program. Full-time employment has been halved and almost 20% of urban households reported that they have no income at all, it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, U.N. agencies and aid groups have faced funding cuts from major donors, including the United States. Only 6.3% of the $4.2 billion required for humanitarian assistance in Sudan this year has been received as of March, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan. The reductions come at a time when the needs in Sudan have never been greater, with more than half of the population hungry and famine spreading, she said. About 400,000 people managed to return to their hometowns in areas retaken by the military around Khartoum and nearby Gezira province, according to the U.N. migration agency. Many found their homes destroyed and looted. They depend largely on local charities for food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abdel-Raham Tajel-Ser, a father of three children, returned in February to his neighborhood in Khartoums twin city of Omdurman after 22 months of displacement. The 46-year-old civil servant said he found his house, which had been occupied by the RSF, severely damaged and looted. It was a dream, he said of his return, adding that his life in the largely destroyed neighborhood with almost no electricity or communications is much better than living as a refugee or a displaced person. ___ Associated Press writer Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report. Farmers in Tanzania are expressing concern over a prolonged dry spell affecting cereal-producing regions in the country. Due to a lack of rainfall, they fear the upcoming harvest may produce far lower yields than are typical, as the Citizen detailed. What's happening? Ongoing dry conditions in Tanzania have farmers in Singida, Mtwara, Ruvuma, Dodoma, Iringa, Mbeya, and Rukwa concerned about the effects on their crops, especially if rain doesn't begin to fall soon, the news outlet reported. They've expressed concerns via reports to the government that the prolonged dry conditions will lead to possible food shortages and a lack of food security this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, authorities in the Agriculture Ministry say it is currently too early to worry about potential rainfall and the future of the crops. According to the government, rainfall should still be getting started and should continue until late May or early June, ending the dry spell. For now, though, the Agriculture Ministry is conducting an assessment to determine the levels of food production in the different regions. The Citizen reported that Nyasebwa Chimagu, crop development director at the Agriculture Ministry, explained, "The assessment report will give us a clear picture and recommend possible measures, as conditions can vary across regions. For example, while one area may experience a dry spell, drought-resistant crops may have flourished in another part of the country." According to Chimagu, this assessment will allow them to identify the regions experiencing surplus and those experiencing shortages so the surplus can be redistributed to those most in need. Why is Tanzania's dry spell concerning? Tanzania's dry spell is concerning because it's yet another example of how our overheating planet impacts crops and those who depend on them for both their livelihoods and food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With ever-warming temperatures across the globe, droughts are more likely to occur due to enhanced evaporation. When this occurs, food shortages tend to follow, which can lead to increased prices at the grocery store, the disruption of food chains, and a lack of food security. One farmer in Tanzania, Aziza Hussein, shared with the Citizen, "I am beginning to foresee tough months ahead. If we don't receive rain this March, food prices will rise sharply, and most of us will be unable to afford food." Do you worry about how much food you throw away? Definitely Sometimes Not really Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What's being done about Tanzania's dry spell? Currently, the government is continuing its assessment to determine which regions may experience shortages, while Tanzania's TMA Central Forecasting Office is keeping an eye on its weather forecasts, promising to update the public if things change, per the Citizen. The Tanzanian government has also worked to address drought conditions for the past several years via community-driven land use planning, increased infrastructure such as rainwater reservoirs, training communities on how to do jobs that aren't affected by drought, and more. 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. An unexpected weather event in Yadgir, a district in southern India, has left many farmers reeling. On Saturday, scattered pre-monsoon rain and high-speed winds ripped through hundreds of acres of farmland, wiping out crops just days before harvest. What happened? The districts of Shorapur and Hunsagi in Yadgir saw heavy losses after strong winds and unseasonal showers struck the area, as reported by The Hindu, one of India's oldest newspapers. Crops like paddy, bajra (pearl millet), and groundnut were either flattened or irreversibly damaged. "The bajra was reaped for harvest. But rain and gusty winds damaged it," one farmer told The Hindu. "Now, I have lost half of the yield that I had expected." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What makes this even more difficult to withstand for local farmers is the timing. Just weeks earlier, many were already worried about water shortages after a key canal system was shut down. For some, this second blow means financial loss and food insecurity not just for their families, but for the communities that rely on their crops. Why is this event concerning? While unusual weather has always existed, scientists say human-driven global warming is making these kinds of extreme climate events more common and more intense. Heat-trapping pollution from burning gas, oil, and coal is overheating our planet and disrupting local weather systems. That means heavier rains, longer droughts, and unpredictable seasons the kind of instability that's putting enormous pressure on farmers around the world. Events like these can send ripple effects through the food system, leading to higher grocery prices and less food security especially for the most vulnerable. And it's not just an India problem. Farmers across the globe, from California to Kenya, are seeing similar losses from supercharged weather events. What's being done about it? Local leaders are urging the district administration to assess damage and release financial relief. But broader solutions are needed too including better weather prediction tools, crop insurance, and infrastructure that can help farming communities bounce back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Globally, efforts are underway to make farming more resilient. Companies are developing heat- and drought-tolerant crop varieties, while some communities are turning to "climate-smart" agriculture using tech and traditional methods to protect crops from weather extremities. As individuals, we can support these efforts by reducing our own pollution totals. That could mean driving less, using energy-efficient appliances, or eating more locally grown foods. Every step counts for the planet, and the people feeding it. 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. OCEAN VIEW, Hawaii (KHON2) Hawaii Police Department is investigating a fatal vehicle fire in the Hawaii Ocean View Estate subdivision on the afternoon of April 13. Police and fire officials were sent to the vehicle fire just before 3:30 p.m., on King Kamehameha Boulevard just off Highway 11. Thousands of racers traverse Waikiki streets for Hapalua Half Marathon When authorities arrived, they were met with a blazing four-door sedan. The fire was then extinguished, leading to the discovery of a body in the passenger area of the sedan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The identity of the deceased and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation, and an autopsy has been ordered to determine the victims exact cause of death. Those with information on the incident are urged to reach out to Detective Donovan Kohara at (808) 961-3118 or at donovan.kohara@hawaiicounty.gov. Alternatively, the police departments non-emergency number can be called at (808) 935-3311. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. OTTAWA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Canadian academics are being advised against all non-essential travel to the United States, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) said in a travel advisory to its members on Tuesday. Given the rapidly evolving political landscape in the United States and reports of individuals encountering difficulties crossing the border, CAUT strongly recommended that academic staff travel to the U.S. only if essential and necessary, said the association, which represents more than 72,000 professors, researchers and other academics at Canada's public universities and colleges. CAUT said academics of a country where there are diplomatic tensions with the United States, or with passport stamps evidencing recent travel to countries that may be subject to a travel ban or where there are diplomatic tensions with the United States, should be particularly cautious about U.S. travel. The warning is particularly targeted to academics who have expressed negative opinions about the current U.S. administration or its policies, or those whose research could be seen as being at odds with the position of the current U.S. administration. The group also recommended travelers who identify as transgender or whose travel documents indicate a sex other than their sex assigned at birth exercise particular caution. Academics should carefully consider what information they have, or need to have, on their electronic devices when crossing borders and take actions to protect sensitive information where necessary, said CAUT. According to local media, CAUT executive director David Robinson said the warning is the first time his group has advised against non-essential U.S. travel in the 11 years he's worked with them. The Canadian government recently updated its U.S. travel advisory, warning residents they may face scrutiny from border guards and the possibility of detention if denied entry. (NewsNation) Adi Alexander, father of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, said his family has seen a Hamas propaganda video featuring his son the last known living American hostage in Gaza. Alexander said the video is an additional sign of life but that its difficult to see his son under these conditions. It was devastating. It was very tough to observe, very tough to see our son in this situation. Its a really miserable situation, Alexander told NewsNations Morning in America on Monday. Its a really tough one to see your child begging to be released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alexander is again calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Trump floats plan to imprison US citizens in El Salvador I wonder when President Trump will lose patience with the situation. He gave a lot of credit to Prime Minister Netanyahu to restart this war, Alexander said. And to the prime minister, the question still remains: How do you plan to get the last hostage out without ending this war and without committing to the second phase of this deal? Alexander shared a message for his son, assuring him the family would not stop fighting for his return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just stay strong. Keep surviving. We are hopeful, wont give up, and I really hope to see you soon, even this weekend, he said. Edan Alexander, 21, was kidnapped by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023. He has spent two birthdays in captivity. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Peter Hildebrand buried his 8-year-old daughter, Daisy, barely a week ago after she died from what Texas health officials say was measles pulmonary failure. Yet having had a week to reflect on the decline of his daughter and her heartbreaking death, he told the anti-vaccine nonprofit Childrens Health Defense he has no regrets about not vaccinating Daisy or any of his other children. Absolutely not, he told the media outlet in an interview Monday that aimed to sow doubt about the cause of his daughters death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From here on out, if I have any other kids in the future, theyre not going to be vaccinated at all, he added. Hildebrand told the hosts that he believes doctors foolishness killed his daughter by not properly treating her pneumonia. Pneumonia is the most common cause of death from measles in young children, according to data tracked by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1 in 20 children with measles develops the inflammatory lung condition. Everybody else that I know of that has had the measles is completely fine, he said. Because the measles dont kill people. These foolish doctors are the ones that kill people. Second 'Measles Death': Father Speaks Out The media claims eight-year-old Daisy died from measles, but her father and medical records tell a completely different story. Who is more credible? The bought and paid-for media who only profits from peddling measles propaganda or pic.twitter.com/QxuenrTpgP Childrens Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) April 14, 2025 Out of every 1,000 children who contract measles, somewhere between 1 and 3 will die from respiratory and neurologic complications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Tuesday, the virus has sickened 624 people in West Texasand New Mexico, 607 of whom have no record of being vaccinated. So far, three people, including Daisy and another girl, age 6, are believed to have died from the highly contagious disease. Like Hildebrand, the parents of the other girl, who died last month after being hospitalized with measles, also told Childrens Health Defense they have no regrets about not vaccinating their children. Vaccine skepticism, sowed in part by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has undermined health officials attempts to stymie the outbreak. This is the epitome of an absolute needless death, Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administrations former vaccine chief, told The Associated Press in an interview after Daisy died. These kids should get vaccinated thats how you prevent people from dying of measles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kennedy initially dismissed the outbreak as not unusual, before touting vitamins A and D, administered via cod liver oil, as a possible treatment. Soon after, unvaccinated children began showing up in Texas hospitals with vitamin A toxicity. Health professionals told HuffPost they dont recommend parents provide supplements like cod oil, which is unregulated and subject to inconsistent dosing, to children. Related... LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A proposed Senate bill aims to reform healthcare in Nevada and fund the construction of a multimillion-dollar clinic in Clark County that will serve both children and adults. Its time for Nevada to take care of our kids, Eric Ballew said. Ballews son, Tyler, was both an athlete and a dedicated student. At just 11 years old, he was diagnosed with melanoma. While rare in children, the National Cancer Institute notes that melanoma is the most common form of skin cancer among kids in this age group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After school, wed pick him up, wed come down here to this park [and] play kickball, Ballew said. I miss him. After a two-year battle and receiving the best possible care, Ballew shared that Tyler passed away in December 2022 at just 13 years old. On the day he died, Ballew said they were on their way from Las Vegas to Los Angeles for cancer treatment, but they did not make it. We pulled right outside of Baker, Ballew said. We are losing Nevada kids on the interstate traveling to and from treatment because we currently dont have the treatment options here. The Ballew family is just one of the many who traveled out of state to get treatment. Now, they are for a proposed bill that could improve access to cancer services in Nevada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Bill 212 would allow a hospital called City of Hope to open a $50 million cancer clinic in Clark County. Republican State Senator Jeff Stone sponsors the bill. SB212-City-of-HopeDownload What we dont have in Nevada is a research-oriented top 5 oncology center ranked in the world and the City of Hope is certainly one of those, Stone said. The bill also proposes a partnership with the City of Hope and UNLVs Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine to facilitate clinical training for medical students. Comprehensive cancer centers are almost always affiliated with a medical school, Doctor Marc J. Kahn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kahn is the leader at UNLVs School of Medicine, and he said comprehensive cancer centers provide the highest quality of care, and its what Nevada needs and deserves. Kahn said the closest comprehensive cancer center to Nevada is the City of Hope in California. 8 News Now did reach out to City of Hope, but they did not comment on the bill at the time this story aired. The Ballews shared that Tyler was not receiving treatment at the City of Hope; they just hope their story helps enhance access to cancer care in Nevada. A hearing for SB 212 has not yet been scheduled. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Fayette County Commission will address a proposal involving three Fayette County public service districts at its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 15. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in commission chambers at the Fayette County Courthouse in Fayetteville. According to the posted agenda notice, among the items the commission will address Tuesday is "a proposal to reduce, merge, dissolve Armstrong PSD, Page-Kincaid PSD and Kanawha Falls PSD." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commission president John Brenemen said the commission Tuesday will decide on one of three potential outcomes it supports: combining the PSDs, selling part of the operations, or selling all of the operations. West Virginia American Water (WVAW) earlier this year proposed to buy the Kanawha Falls PSD water and wastewater systems and the wastewater systems only of Armstrong Creek PSD and Page-Kincaid PSD in a package deal. The original purchase offer was $15.6 million, but Jake Glance, the director of business development for WVAW, said Monday that over the course of recent discussions with the county commission the figure has been reduced to $13 million, which would result in the commission receiving no proceeds from a potential sale. Instead of the potential financial proceeds, he said, commissioners are seeking a three-year rate phase-in for customers of both Kanawha Falls PSD systems and the Armstrong Creek sewer system. Glance said a phase-in wouldn't be necessary in the Page-Kincaid sewer scenario, since those customers would pay lower rates from WVAW than they are currently paying if a sale eventually occurs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A state Public Service Commission (PSC) meeting concerning the situation has been set for May 7 in Montgomery. The county commission will face several other matters on Tuesday, include laying the levy rates for the coming fiscal year, an update from the ICE Collaborative, and a plethora of items from county administrator Ruth Lanier. The latter ranges from a letter to the PSC regarding a rate increase request from Appalachian Power, new hires in 911 and the park, and several other letters, including missives to the Department of Highways regarding the Pea Ridge overpass bridge and the bridge at Liberty Road Rte. 612 intersection. For more on the agenda, visit the Fayette County Commission page at https://fayettecounty.wv.gov/commission/Pages/County%20Commission.aspx. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A Fayetteville High School teacher has been selected to join a deep-sea exploration expedition with the Ocean Exploration Trust, a non-profit focused on learning more about the ocean and the ecosystems throughout it. After being selected as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow for National Geographic in 2023, Matt Holden learned about the OETs Science Communication Fellowship opportunities. This year, Holden is one of eight first-time Science Communication Fellows to be on the 2025 expeditions, who will be joined by three Lead Science Communication Fellows that will act as mentors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City of Fayetteville looking for feedback on Safe Routes to School Action Plan He will be heading to the Marshall Islands this summer to learn more about and share the teams discoveries as they explore deep sea habitats. However, the team members themselves are not the ones who will be diving into the deep. Well be sending these robots down, Holden said. While theyre on their dives, well have a live feed where I will be talking and explaining what were seeing and what were doing. Holden said hes not only excited about being on the expedition, but also the knowledge he plans to bring back to his students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are a landlocked state, so I think its incredibly important to provide some knowledge about these ocean ecosystems and the threats that theyre currently facing, Holden said, Many students that I teach may have never visited the ocean, and so this might be the first time theyre learning about these types of environments. And I think its very important for them to understand 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 KNWA FOX24. FAYETTEVILLE (KNWA/KFTA) Fayettevilles ongoing housing crisis is closely tied to a growing parking problem. A newly proposed amendment aims to ease parking issues by loosening restrictions on how much parking larger developments can include. But not all residents are convinced its the right fix. Billy Cook is an organizer for a tenants rights organization, Arkansas Renters United, and he said the issue is a supply and demand issue that this amendment will only make worse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We at Arkansas Renters United firmly believe that we need to do everything we can to incentivize the creation of more housing in the middle of a housing crisis, because that supply and demand issue is always at the forefront here, Cook said. If were not creating more units of housing, we are doing a disservice to, you know, all of the efforts to combat our housing crisis. These are the safest cities in Arkansas for 2025, report says City council member Sarah Moore said she does not necessarily agree with the new legislation, but that the proposal includes some positive elements. My concern is that the city has very publicly made a commitment that were going to remove barriers for developers, that were very committed to increasing housing stock, Moore said. So, any policies that we put forward in the city, I think, have to align really strongly with that to show our commitment to those things that weve espoused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amendment will be heard at the April 14 Fayetteville city council meeting at 5:30 p.m. and council members encourage the public to show up and to voice any concerns. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The FBI El Paso Field Office is looking for teenagers who want to make a difference and learn more about what the law-enforcement agency does. FBI El Paso is looking for high-school students to apply to attend the annual summer Teen Academy here in El Paso. The application, release form and a supporting essay must be received by the El Paso Field Office by 5 p.m. May 16. To attend you must be in ninth through 12th grade, attending an accredited high school (public, private or home school). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Participating in the FBI El Paso Teen Academy is an exciting and unique opportunity for students who are passionate about making a difference in their communities and our nation, said John Morales, FBI El Paso special agent in charge. As the future leaders and changemakers, todays teens have an amazing, firsthand opportunity to step inside the world of the FBI and explore how they can be part of something greater protecting the American people and upholding the U.S. Constitution. This immersive experience not only introduces students to real-world, multi-disciplinary career paths in federal law enforcement, but also inspires them to develop leadership, integrity, and a strong sense of civic duty. If youre driven by purpose bigger than yourself, a burning desire to protect your community and curious about how the FBI serves our nation, the Teen Academy is your first step toward an impactful and rewarding future. The FBI Teen Academy provides an opportunity for high-school students to catch a glimpse behind the scenes of the FBI and give participants a greater understanding of the FBIs mission. The FBI hires from all academic backgrounds, not just criminal justice, the organization said. Submit applications to: FBI_EP_TeenAcademy@fbi.gov. Incomplete and late applications will not be accepted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FBI will notify students of their application status by email no later than Friday, May 30. The application and more information can be found 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 KTSM 9 News. WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. researchers will soon test whether livers from a gene-edited pig could treat people with sudden liver failure by temporarily filtering their blood so their own organ can rest and maybe heal. The first-of-its-kind clinical trial has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, according to pig producer eGenesis, which announced the step Tuesday with its partner OrganOx. An estimated 35,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized each year when their liver suddenly fails. There are few treatment options and death rates as high as 50%. Many don't qualify for a liver transplant or can't get a match in time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new study, which is expected to get underway later this spring, is a twist on the quest for animal-to-human organ transplants. Researchers won't transplant the pig liver but instead will attach it externally to study participants. The liver is the only organ that can regenerate, but the question is whether having the pig's liver filter the patient's blood for several days could give it that chance. In experiments with four deceased bodies, that bridge attempt showed the pig liver could support some functions of a human liver for two or three days, said Mike Curtis, CEO of Massachusetts-based eGenesis, which genetically modifies pigs so their organs are more humanlike. The trial will enroll up to 20 patients in intensive-care units who don't qualify a liver transplant, he said. A device made by Britains OrganOx, currently used to preserve donated human livers, will pump participants' blood through the pig liver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its the latest step in attempts to use gene-edited pig organs to save human lives. Pig kidneys from eGenesis and another pig producer, United Therapeutics, are being used in experimental transplants. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. JERUSALEM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited northern Gaza on Tuesday, vowing to intensify military operations against Hamas until "all war objectives are achieved." Accompanied by Defense Minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir, Netanyahu received a security briefing from commanders at the site, according to a statement from his office. The visit came as Gaza-based health authorities reported that the death toll from the 18-month Israeli offensive had surpassed 51,000. Netanyahu praised Israeli troops for what he called "a remarkable job" in the Gaza Strip and said Hamas would continue to "absorb more and more blows." Defense Minister Katz echoed the remarks, saying the military would escalate its pressure on Hamas until the group agrees to release the hostages and is ultimately defeated. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has been continuing its attacks on the Strip. According to Gaza-based health authorities, an Israeli strike hit a gate of the hospital in Khan Younis's Mawasi area earlier in the day, killing at least one medic and injuring nine other patients and medics. An Israeli military spokesperson told Xinhua the strike targeted "the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and a combat zone commander." "The strike was conducted using precise munitions to mitigate harm in the area as much as possible," the spokesperson said. A man on the run and wanted for murder was captured in Savannah by members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. According to ICE, Orville Andrew Pernell, 32 of Jamaica, was taken into custody in Savannah on April 4 after a multinational manhunt. Pernell was wanted for a 2020 murder in St. Lucia, in the Caribbean, where he was accused of escaping custody during a murder trial and fleeing to Jamaica. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE said hed been a fugitive for several years, but was encountered near California by members of the U.S. Border Patrol in December 2022 while trying to enter the United States with a fake identity. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: In July 2023, Pernell was arrested by the Clayton County Sheriffs Office in Georgia for having a stolen motorcycle and trying to evade arrest. When he was taken into custody then, police found a stolen 9mm handgun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are committed to tracking down fugitives who pose a serious threat to public safety, no matter where they may try to hide, ICE HSI Special Agent in Charge Atlanta Steven N. Schrank, said. This operation highlights our ongoing work to dismantle criminal networks and bring violent individuals to justice. We are thankful for our local, state, and international law enforcement partners who helped us secure this arrest. ICE said Pernell was eventually found after the federal investigation took them to Savannah, where he was taken into custody without incident. Federal officials said Pernell faces charges of being an alien in possession of a weapon and is being extradited back to St. Lucia to stand trial for murder. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] In March of 2025, there was a near-record number of layoffs in the United States. In total, 275,240 workers were laid off during the month, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This is a 205% increase in the number of layoffs compared with March of 2024, and a 60% increase from the 172,017 cuts announced one month prior. It was the third-highest number of layoffs ever to occur in a single month in the U.S., surpassed only during the pandemic, with 671,129 job cuts in April 2020, followed by May 2020, when another 397,016 people were let go. Don't miss Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These layoffs didn't happen equally across all industries, though. They were largely isolated to government employees. A total of 216,215 federal workers were dismissed in March. This brings the total number of laid off federal workers to 280,253 across the past two months. These layoffs are happening because of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and they are likely to continue in the coming months. They'll affect not just those let go, but also the economy as a whole. Here's what you need to know about why they're happening, the widespread impact they could have and what you can do if you were one of the thousands laid off Why is DOGE laying off so many workers, and will this continue? DOGE was created by executive order by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025. President Trump has made it clear that Elon Musk was put in charge of DOGE to wage "war on government waste, fraud, and abuse." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE has begun aggressive audits of virtually every department in the U.S. government, and has already laid off or made plans to lay off thousands. According to Newsweek, in March alone this included: around half of all employees at the Department of Education 20 employees from NASA 4,000 civilian employees from the Department of Defense 7,000 IRS workers, with up to half of the 90,000 workforce potentially on the chopping block in future layoffs 1,000 employees at the Department of the Interior more than 1,300 workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs, with more layoffs expected 780 employees from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with a total of 4,000 layoffs ultimately expected thousands of workers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) just under 700 Department of Energy employees 400 probationary workers from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 200 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 76 Department of Treasury employees 10,000 layoffs expected to occur at the United States Postal Service "I'm just here trying to make government more efficient, eliminate waste and fraud, and so far we're making good progress, actually," Elon Musk told Fox Business mid-March. "Our savings at this point exceed $4 billion a day, so it's very significant." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musk also said he believes DOGE will likely meet its goal of cutting $1 trillion from government spending, unless the department is stopped. Read more: The US stock markets fear gauge has exploded but this 1 shockproof asset is up 14% and helping American retirees stay calm. Heres how to own it ASAP How will DOGE's firings affect local economies and communities? Massive cuts to the federal government have obviously left many federal workers and their families struggling, and this is likely to have consequences for the broader economy. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has indicated that when unemployed federal workers reduce spending, local businesses near military bases, national parks and federal field offices suffer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Private companies that contract with the government are also being affected and may need to lay off staff. And nonprofit groups that have lost access to funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are also being impacted, as are farmers who previously sold $2 billion in U.S.-grown crops to USAID for provide humanitarian relief efforts. All of these layoffs, and the resulting ripple effects, could potentially push the country further toward recession which is already a looming threat because of the uncertainty surrounding tariffs. What to do if you're laid off Whether you are a federal worker experiencing layoffs or you lose your job because of the ripple effects, there are steps you can and should take to shore up your finances and help protect your future. One of the first things to do is make sure you understand your rights. The government has already ordered the Trump administration to rescind the firing of some federal workers. Be sure to check with your union rep, if you have one, or consider consulting with an employment law attorney if you feel you were treated unfairly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE was offering severance payments to some federal workers. So, you can explore whether you are eligible for this separation pay as well as make sure you know whether you are owed any money for unpaid vacation or sick time. You'll also need to explore options to get health insurance ASAP if you had coverage through your government job, as COBRA (which allows you to stay on your workplace plan for up to 18 months) doesn't apply to federal employees. You'll also want to apply for unemployment benefits right away, as most federal workers will be eligible. Lastly, you should start making cuts to your budget to spend the bare minimum until you can find new work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By taking these steps, as well as reaching out to your professional network and polishing up your resume, you can help get yourself back on track. Your new job may need to be in the private sector, at least for the next few years. But with careful financial planning and a dedicated job search, you can help avoid long-term damage to your finances caused by the DOGE cuts. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. CHICAGO (AP) A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the U.S. Department of Labor from requiring government contractors and grant recipients to certify they do not operate any diversity, equity and inclusion programs that run afoul of anti-discrimination laws until further order from the court. Judge Matthew Kennelly of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit dedicated to training and retaining women in skilled construction trades that receives several grants from the Department of Labor. The certification provision is a key part of President Donald Trumps executive orders aimed at curbing DEI programs because contractors and grant recipients could be subjected to crippling financial penalties under the False Claims Act if they are found in violation of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit filed by Chicago Women in Trades argued that Trump's executive orders infringe on First Amendment Rights and are so broad and vague in their definition of what might constitute illegal DEI as to make compliance impossible. Kennelly had already issued a temporary restraining order against the Labor Department last month that was shorter in duration. His order is limited in scope because he declined to extend the injunction to other federal agencies beyond DOL. However, he ruled that Chicago Women in Trades was ultimately likely to succeed in its lawsuit against key parts of the executive orders, writing that it is anything but obvious what constitutes illegal DEI programs in the government's view. The lawsuit is one of several challenging Trumps executive orders targeting DEI programs in both the private and public sectors. A federal appeals court last month lifted a Baltimore judges block on the anti-DEI orders in a similar case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump signed two DEI-related executive orders in January, one of which directs federal agencies to eliminate their own DEI activities and end any equity-related grants or contracts. The other takes broader aim by imposing the certification provision on all companies and institutions with government contracts or grant dollars. It also directs federal agencies to identify private companies, non-profits or foundations for potential investigation into DEI practices. In response to Tuesday's ruling, Justice Department spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre said that the DOJ "has vigorously defended President Trumps executive actions, including the order to end radical and wasteful government DEI programs, and will continue to do so. Chicago Women in Trades and lawyers for the organization had no immediate comment. Kennelly on Tuesday also prohibited the Labor Department from canceling or freezing a congressionally-appropriated grant to Chicago Women In Trades under the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations initiative, which aims to expand pathways for women seeking to enter skilled trades. Kennelly said taking away that grant would violate separation of power provisions under the Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Kennelly's injunction is narrower in scope than his earlier decision to prohibit the Labor Department from canceling all grants to Chicago Women in Trades. ________ The Associated Press women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. 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. BOSTON (AP/Boston25) A federal judge has dismissed a contempt case against an agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement whose arrest of a man during his trial sparked criticism among the law enforcement community in Boston. ICE agent Brian Sullivan took Wilson Martell-Lebron, 49, into custody last month as he was leaving court. Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville found Sullivan in contempt, arguing that he deprived Martell-Lebron of his rights to due process and fair trial. But on Monday, U.S. District Judge William Young dismissed the case after the Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell agreed with U.S. Attorney Leah Foley that the contempt order should be vacated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While you might disagree with the enforcement of our federal immigration laws, there is simply no legal basis for you to hold federal officers in criminal contempt for carrying out their sworn duties, Foley wrote to the municipal judge on April 2. Any attempt or threat to interfere with the lawful functions of federal government agents will not be tolerated. Ryan Sullivan, one of the attorneys for Martell-Lebron, criticized the decision. We feel that the U.S. Attorney Foleys position that a state should not investigate whether a federal agent exceeded the bounds of their authority is a chilling threat to Judges, prosecutors, and justice, Sullivan wrote. Perhaps Agent Sullivan acted within what is necessary and proper in the performance of his duties. Or perhaps, as we contend, he did not. An investigation would have revealed that and answered these questions. Instead, the Federal Government told the State to cease and desist. Ryan Sullivan described a tense scene in which ICE agents pounced on Martell-Lebron without identifying themselves, put him into a pickup and sped away. The trial had begun with opening statements and the first witnesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video shared with Boston 25 News showed the moments after Martell-Lebron was taken into custody. The Justice Department said in its motion that agents including Brian Sullivan identified themselves and told Martell-Lebron to stop before detaining him. Martell-Lebron, who is from the Dominican Republic and living with family in Massachusetts, is now at the Plymouth detention facility for allegedly being an undocumented immigrant. In its motion, the Justice Department alleged that Martell-Lebron is in the country illegally and has several criminal convictions for drug trafficking. It also said ICE has been trying to detain him since 2007. After his arrest by ICE, Summerville dismissed a charge against Martell-Lebron of making false statements on his drivers license application namely that he was not Martell-Lebron. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A day later, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden lashed out at ICE over the arrest outside court. This action by ICE was troubling and extraordinarily reckless, Hayden said. As the judge noted, ICEs actions deprived Mr. Martell-Lebron of his right to a fair trial. It also deprived our office of our intent to hold the defendant accountable for his alleged crime. Neither spokesman for Hayden nor a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Attorney Generals office responded to a request for comment about the dropping of the contempt case. Immigration officers were a growing presence at courthouses during Trumps first term, prompting some pushback from judges and other local officials. Trump has gone further in his second term by repealing a policy in place since 2011 to generally avoid schools, places of worship and hospitals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under current policy, immigration officials can make arrests in or near courthouses when they have credible information that leads them to believe the targeted alien(s) is or will be present and as long as they are not prohibited by state or local law. 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 A federal judge stopped the Trump administration on Monday from rescinding deportation protections and work permits for more than a half-million Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who were granted entrance into the United States under a humanitarian parole program during the Biden presidency. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled, after a hearing last week, that the paroled migrants can stay in the United States as they pursue immigration benefits. In effect, her ruling will prevent the Department of Homeland Securitys secretary, Kristi Noem, from revoking their parole status as part of an administration plan to end the humanitarian program on April 24. While [Trump administration officials] are correct that the Secretarys discretion in this area is broad, their conclusion that the Secretarys actions are wholly shielded from judicial review is incorrect, Talwani wrote in in a 41-page order filed in Boston federal court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Talwani said that while her role in reviewing the agencys revocation order is limited, the judge said she has the authority to stay the secretarys termination of parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans because it revokes, without case-by-case review, previously granted parole and work authorizations for individuals currently in the United States. For now, the judges ruling signals a major victory for the paroled immigrants from the four countries, who sued the Trump administration in the hope of remaining in the United States for a two-year period. Talwani, in a separate order on Monday, also certified the group as a class. Many of them have been living and working in South Florida after being sponsored by relatives to come to the United States to apply for asylum or other protections instead of trying to get in through the U.S.-Mexico border, where a migrant crisis erupted during the Biden administrations watch. Talwani said that if she did not issue her stay putting the Homeland Security secretarys termination order on hold, the consequences would be dire for the paroled immigrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The immediate impact of the shortening of their grant of parole is to cause their lawful status in the United States to lapse early in less than two weeks, the judge wrote. If their parole status is allowed to lapse, [the paroled immigrants] will be faced with two unfavorable options: continue following the law and leave the country on their own, or await removal proceedings. If [they] leave the country on their own, they will face dangers in their native countries, she added. On Tuesday, lawyers for the 11 migrant plaintiffs and eight sponsors rejoiced over the judges ruling, saying it freezes the status quo so that hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela wont collectively face the imminent termination of their parole status by the Trump administration. Still, the paroled immigrants, depending on when they arrived in the United States, face a two-year deadline that affects each one differently it could fall next month, this summer or the end of the year, for example. The immigration lawyers cautioned that the path forward was fraught with challenges, including for those paroled immigrants who may have applied for asylum, Temporary Protected Status or, in the case of the Cuban nationals, a green card under the decades-old Cuban Adjustment Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We know this win is the beginning of a very long fight, Esther Sung, legal director for Justice Action Center, told reporters on a Zoom call on Tuesday. Anwen Hughes, a lawyer with Human Rights First, said the judges ruling was an enormous relief for the paroled immigrants who played by the governments rules. Hughes said that historically, even if an immigrants two-year parole status expires, federal authorities usually allow any person with a pending asylum or other benefit request to remain in the United States until its resolved. But that courtesy would not likely be extended by the Trump administration, which argued that the Homeland Security secretarys order terminating the parole program was not subject to review by a court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be clear, the judges ruling only stayed the administrations move to revoke the parole status and work permits of all the immigrants from the four countries. Her decision, however, did not provide protections for any pending applications for additional immigration benefits. Last month, President Donald Trump sought to halt the humanitarian parole program as part of his crackdown on ending legal pathways for immigrants to come and stay in the United States under the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden. Secretary Noems action published on March 25 as a notice in the Federal Register and scheduled to take effect 30 days later was based on a flawed interpretation of immigration law, said Talwani, an appointee of former President Barack Obama. At a hearing in Boston federal court last week, Talwani said the administrations goal was to place the paroled migrants on a fast-track of deportation later this month, but authorities relied on a wrong interpretation of the process. She said Homeland Security viewed the migrants as individuals who illegally crossed the U.S. border and could be removed on an expedited basis. She said they should instead be viewed as migrants who were granted permission to enter the United States under a grant of parole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What youre prioritizing is not people coming over the border but the people who followed the rules, Talwani said during the hearing. As of December 2024, the last full month Biden was in office, a total of 531,690 people had come through the parole program, known as CHNV for the nationalities of the migrants involved. That includes 110,240 Cubans, 211,040 Haitians, 93,070 Nicaraguans, and 117,330 Venezuelans who flew into U.S. airports. The CHNV group represented by the class-action case come from the regions most troubled countries. In Cuba, the island remains under a repressive dictatorship and Cubans are experiencing repeated blackouts and shortages of food and medicine. In Haiti, there hasnt been a general election in nearly a decade; more than a million have been displaced by armed gang violence and the countrys volatile capital is on the verge of collapse. In Venezuela and Nicaragua, repressive regimes have also prompted a humanitarian crisis that has forced millions to flee. Biden created the parole program so people from the four countries would have a new legal avenue to come to the U.S for two years, in an attempt to reduce irregular migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. People could use the program to come to the U.S. as long as they had a financial sponsor here, could arrange for their airfare, and passed health and background checks. About 30,000 people a month were coming to the U.S. under the program since it began in January 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the Trump administration said the program does not align with the presidents foreign policy and did not have much impact on curbing the flow of migrants at the border. Rather, officials argue, the program added to the immigration backlogs because 75,000 of the people who came on the parole program have applied for asylum. The program also created pressures at airports Florida received 80% of the arriving migrants, the administration said. These programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the Administrations foreign policy goals, the Federal Register notice says. The need to break the vicious cycle of unlawful immigration supports this [Homeland Security] action to terminate the CHNV parole programs in favor of new presidential directives that address the demand for enhanced border security, the notice added. The end of the parole program is part of Trumps crackdown on legal immigration paths that allow people to temporarily come to the U.S. Republicans also criticized the parole program as an overreach and abuse of executive presidential power. But past Democratic and Republican presidents have used their parole authorities to allow people from countries in turmoil to come to the United States, including Soviet and Vietnamese citizens. Homeland Security, which could appeal the Boston judges ruling, intends to prioritize for deportation those who have not properly filed a request for an immigration benefit to remain lawfully in the U.S. This includes applying for adjustment of status, asylum or Temporary Protected Status. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A federally indicted East Memphis doctor can practice medicine while his case makes its way through the legal system. Weve told you about Dr. Sanjeev Kumar back in February, who was indicted on 23 charges including healthcare fraud and coercing people into sexual acts. Dr. Kumar is also accused of conducting unnecessary medical procedures and reusing devices that were designated as single use without properly cleaning or disinfecting the devices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And now, weve learned that the state of Tennessee recently issued a disciplinary report saying Dr. Kumar is not permitted to prescribe Schedule II drugs while his case is in the legal system. Accused Memphis doctor to be released on $100K bond; patients left questioning their care However, his attorney told WREG that scheduling those drugs likely wouldnt happen. To be clear, Dr. Kumar denies any wrongdoing. His attorney said reopening the clinic is about patients deciding who they want to receive health care from. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar. Certainly, no doubt based on the media in this case that everybody is aware of the governments side of the story and the allegations there and if a patient still elects to see Dr. Kumar because the treatment they received they believe is appropriate, that is something that every individual in the United States should be able to decide to do and thats really what the judges ruling means here, attorney Ron Chapman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In filings submitted by Kumars attorney, its cited hes one of only 300 specialists nationwide in gynecologic oncology and high-risk pelvic surgery, saying the Poplar avenue Clinic where he practices is the only clinic providing specialized services in a 200-mile radius of Memphis. There are many different types of specialists here but thats a rare type of specialty, Chapman said. While there are people who have that specialty, Dr. Kumar has written and published a wealth of papers, hes had groundbreaking research in this area. ORIGINAL STORY: East Memphis doctor indicted, accused of fraud, sexual coercion But re-opening the clinic comes with stipulations: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No re-using single use scopes Any and all new patients must be notified that Dr. Kumar is looking at charges so they can decide if they want to receive health care from him Dr. Kumar cant perform hysteroscopies (patients have to be referred to another doctor) Ron Chapman cited the influence the pre-trial publicity has made on his clients case. It actually causes people to reframe the way that they thought about their healthcare, Chapman said. The clinic is not open yet but its expected to re-open in the coming days. Dr. Kumar is expected to be back in court next month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tunisian President Kais Saied (R) meets with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Tunis, Tunisia, on April 15, 2025. Saied on Tuesday reaffirmed his country's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. (Tunisian Presidency/Handout via Xinhua) TUNIS, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian President Kais Saied on Tuesday reaffirmed his country's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Speaking during a meeting with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Tunis, Saied said Palestinian rights are upheld not only by international law but also by moral and spiritual principles, according to a statement from the Tunisian Presidency. Saied strongly condemned Israel of seeking to "destroy" the Palestinian people and their will to achieve independence. Despite these efforts, he said, Palestinians remain determined to defend their land and freedom. The talks also covered broader joint Arab efforts aimed at strengthening the region's influence amid what Saied called "rapid and unprecedented" global changes. He stressed the importance of the Arab world playing a more active role as the current international order undergoes transformation. According to the statement, Aboul Gheit expressed support for Saied's vision and confirmed his participation in the upcoming Arab League summit in Baghdad, scheduled for May. Tunisian President Kais Saied (R) shakes hands with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit during their meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, on April 15, 2025. Saied on Tuesday reaffirmed his country's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. (Tunisian Presidency/Handout via Xinhua) Federal prosecutors have charged a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy with smuggling heroin into a jail where he was assigned to investigate gang crimes. Michael Meiser, 39, has pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges he trafficked drugs while armed with his Smith & Wesson service weapon. An attorney representing the deputy, who was released on bail, didn't return a request for comment. Read more: How the Mexican Mafias 'Pomona Mike' made L.A.s federal jail his fiefdom Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meiser was already facing charges in Los Angeles County Superior Court that he conspired with gang members to distribute heroin within the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic. Detectives from the Sheriff's Department's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau arrested Meiser as he and his partner left the jail's parking lot on April 30, 2024. Earlier that day, the detectives searched a bag that Meiser allegedly left inside a police cruiser and found more than a pound of heroin hidden inside two tubes of Pringles chips, according to law enforcement records reviewed by The Times. Read more: Inside the alleged Mexican Mafia plot to smuggle heroin with an L.A. jail deputy Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meiser was accused of trying to smuggle the drugs to inmate "shot-callers" whom the Mexican Mafia appointed to control Latino inmates in the county lockups. Jose Rodriguez, a reputed member of the Pacoima Project Boys gang called Benji, and Jackie "Boy" Triplett from the Victoria Park gang have pleaded not guilty to conspiring with Meiser to bring the drugs into North County Correctional Facility. Meiser's partner told internal affairs detectives that Rodriguez and Triplett oversaw drug sales, collected extortionate "fines" from inmates who broke the Mexican Mafia's rules and meted out discipline through beatings. Meiser was detailed to Operations Safe Jails, a unit dedicated to investigating suspected gang leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 'A well-oiled machine': The Mexican Mafia's money-making operation in L.A. County jails Meiser was found carrying a bag containing $15,000, according to an internal affairs report. At his Lancaster home, they found another $10,500 in his sock drawer, the report says. 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. Residents of Lexington, Missouri where on Wednesday a natural gas explosion killed a 5-year-old boy, severely burned his father and sister, leveled two homes and damaged some 20 others will have to wait for answers on what triggered the fatal blast. On Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board, which typically investigates only two to four of the more than 100 dangerous natural gas breaches that occur across the United States each year confirmed that it had opened an official investigation. Alistair Lamb, 5, died in the house explosion in Lexington, Missouri. Such investigations typically take months. City officials said Monday they will be limited in what they can tell the public directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is now a full National Transportation Safety Board investigation. Its now at the national level, Lexington City Administrator Shawnna Funderburk said Monday. As such, public statements to the media would no longer go through the city. Theyre basically saying that everything goes through them, Funderburk said of the NTSB. You dont cross the federal government. I can tell you that the city is cooperating fully with the NTSB for any information they need. Anything we are providing them, it is going to come out with any reports that they have. Explosion in Lexington The explosion occurred around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday as employees with Liberty Utilities was working to repair a gas line that had been hit more than three hours prior, around 4:15 p.m., when a worker subcontracted by Sellenriek Construction was excavating to lay fiber optic cable. The blast, which rattled homes and was heard for miles, completely flattened the rental resident of Jacob Cunningham, a single father who was at home with his 5-year-old son, Alistair Lamb and daughter, Camillia Cami Lamb. Alistair was killed in the explosion. Cunningham and his daughter were severely burned and air lifted to separate Kansas City area hospitals where they currently remain. Five-year-pld Alistair Lamb (center), center, died on April 9 when his Lexington, Missouri home exploded due to a nearby gas leak. Ten-year-old Camillia Cami Lamb, left, and the childrens father Jacob Cunningham, right, survived the explosion with severe burns. No cause of the blast has yet to be determined, said Keith Holloway, NTSB spokesman, but a government felt a full investigation was warranted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It really comes to the fact that unfortunately there was a fatality, substantial property damage, natural gas fueled, jurisdictional and resources were available, Holloway said. Also, there may be information the NTSB is gathering that may (point to) systemic issues that could have broader safety implications, and/or high public risk. Resident living in and around Franklin Avenue, a stretch of older and historic homes from the towns antebellum history, said that although they had been smelling natural gas during the several hours that Liberty Utilities was at work to repair the gas line, no one warned neighbors that a danger might exist. None were told to leave their homes or evacuate the area. Worker hit gas line On Thursday, Sellenriek Construction CEO Steve Sellenriek said in a statement that a subcontracted employee struck the gas line while laying fiber optic cable between the homes on Lexington Avenue and the Walker-Nadler-Fuller Funeral Home, a block south at 1720 South St. Sellenriek has maintained that the gas line was not properly marked with signage or paint above ground. According to the information we have gathered as of this moment, the subcontractor followed all required procedures before, during, and after the accident, Sellenriek said Thursday evening, a day after the explosion. Lexington, Missouri, is pictured in a file photo The CEO also said that the employee called Missouris 811 information line to verify the location of all underground utilities, including gas lines, before starting to dig. On Monday, Sellenriek said he had no further information beyond his previous statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well still continue to support the investigation and the community, Sellenriek said. Inspectors from the Missouri Public Service Commission, which regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, steam, water and sewer utilities in Missouri, were in Lexington soon after the explosion, and are still at the scene. Our goal is to help find out what happened, said Forrest Gossett, director of communications for the Public Service Commission. And how do we make sure it doesnt happen again? On the federal level, two agencies, the NTSB and the The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, part of the Department of Transportation, share responsibility for ensuring the safe transport of hazardous materials, such as natural gas. Among its few pipeline investigations, the NTSB investigated a natural gas leak that on Feb, 22, 2025, caused a commercial building in Hutchinson, Kan., to explode and the the surrounding community to be evacuated. No one was killed. On its website, the NTSB maps only eight recent pipeline investigations. They include an ongoing investigation into underground natural gas leak in Hutchinson, Kansas, that on Feb. 25 caused a commercial building to explode and for the surrounding community to be evacuated. No one was killed. On Nov. 6, one person was killed in natural gas explosion that destroyed a home in South Jordan, Utah. The investigation is also continuing. Joe Biden has been hankering to do more. Many leading Democrats across the country including some former top aides and close allies, who note theyre sad to say it are desperate for the former president to stick to a quiet retirement. But Tuesday in Chicago, Biden waded into one of the most charged political fights set off by President Donald Trump. The first big public speech of Bidens post-presidency focused on protecting Social Security and comes as many Democrats stage a national day of action against feared cuts to the program, with protests planned across the country. Its an odd spot for someone who was the leader of the free world less than 100 days ago, and for those who have been trying to sort out what to say and do about a man they feel affection for but blame in part for the situation theyre in now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked by CNN about hearing from the former president since January 20, one longtime supporter and donor said only this: No. Thank God. While Trump is still attacking him nearly daily from the White House or Air Force One to an extent that amazes the former presidents inner circle Bidens world has shrunk drastically since he left the Oval Office just three months ago. Only a few of Bidens most loyal aides stayed with him, mainly those who were the last fighting for him to stay in the presidential race. Hes been mostly at home in Delaware, coming back to an office in Washington about once a week, often via his beloved Amtrak. Hell occasionally get spotted around Wilmington, but his public appearances have been limited to a Model United Nations conference in New York, a St. Patricks Day brunch in Delaware and accepting a lifetime achievement award from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers at the unions convention in Washington this month. People close to Biden are calling this a period of reconnecting, rebuilding and reflecting with his grandchildren, with old friends, with movies and books he missed, even just with a wife he now gets to see for more of the day than only dinner. He even got to put on a tuxedo for the premiere of the latest Othello on Broadway and greet the cast backstage as star Denzel Washington talked about the honor of his attendance. Biden and former first lady Jill Biden arrive to the opening of "Othello" on Broadway in New York City on March 23, 2025. - James Devaney/GC Images/Getty Images Hes been putting together thoughts for a book hes hoping to sign a deal for soon. Hes been having intense conversations with some of the freed Israeli hostages and families of others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sunday afternoon, Biden called Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to express his sympathy and support after the attack on the governors mansion hours after a Passover seder there. Sunday evening, Biden joined Delawares new governor, Matt Meyer, as a guest at a seder himself. Meyer welcomed Biden to the group of about 50 community leaders and family members by talking about what a friend of Delaware Joe is, and what a friend of the Jewish people Joe is. He joked that the former president had probably spent more time in synagogue than he has. Though Biden didnt lead any of the participatory service, in short remarks of his own, Meyer recalled, he talked poignantly about Passover as a day for a hope for a brighter future. Biden has yet to begin fundraising for his presidential library, to the confusion of several loyal donors who told CNN they had been expecting to hear from him. He and his aides have been sketching out a focus for his foundation in raising up and protecting his legacy, but theyre still working up a mission statement and board of directors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several Democratic officials who supported Biden for years told CNN they have had, at most, passing conversations with him. Others say theyve been amazed how completely hes disappeared. I havent heard of one person who has communicated with him, said one Democratic member of Congress who talked with Biden regularly over the years. Publicly, Biden and his tight circle have stayed quiet about the unflattering reports trickling in from the pile of books being published about the 2024 campaign. Privately, theyve been less serene, most of all about former chief of staff Ron Klain questioning Bidens mental state in on-the-record comments to author Chris Whipple. Family and close aides went on a rampage in a flurry of calls, though Klain, in a statement to CNN, said the published comments were framed to distort my meaning. But Klain also reached out several times to Biden to apologize, according to people familiar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joe Biden is going to thrive in that very wise, senior statesman role of How do you help navigate? And I think people do want him engaged and involved, one person close to Biden told CNN. Were not hearing Stay away. Were hearing the opposite. But its not going to look like it did before theyre not running for anything. Starting to speak out against Trump Ever the institutionalist, Biden deliberately waited most of Trumps first 100 days to speak out, before accepting the invitation to Tuesdays meeting of the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled, or ACRD a relatively new group of mostly lawyers who work with Social Security beneficiaries, co-chaired by Republican former Sen. Roy Blunt and Democratic former Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Martin OMalley, the Social Security Administration commissioner under Biden, who introduced him at the event, told CNN on Monday that with Bidens long record of speaking about the dignity of work and bolstering the program, this is a fitting way for him to return to public life. In fact, OMalley said, he hopes that Biden will encourage more people, including the other living former presidents, to speak out against Trumps plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the stabilizing influences in the history of our republic has been the voices of former presidents, said OMalley, a former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor. President Bidens administration racked up a lot of important progress for the people of our country. I dont believe that as a party we did the best job we could have in telling that story. But theres no time like the present. Biden is making a relatively fast return to the fray for a former president: Eight years ago, when Barack Obama first popped up in public the April after Trumps first inauguration, his only comment about his successor was a sly passing joke. But Biden already started sounding off earlier this month. Its just that almost no one noticed. In his speech to the IBEW conference on April 4, kept closed to the press amid concerns of triggering Trumps wrath, union International President Kenneth Cooper presented Biden with a certificate naming him an honorary member and praising him for having led with his heart and soul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When he stepped to the microphone, Biden reminisced about his long relationship with organized labor, including being the first sitting president to walk a picket line, as he did in 2023. It wasnt all warmth and nostalgia. Two days after Trump sent global markets careening with his Liberation Day tariffs and amid the reversals that followed, Biden talked to 1,000 people at the Washington Hilton about his own economic record and said, That economy is being squandered utterly, needlessly squandered. You know, folks, I spent the last two years of my presidency hearing the press and the pundits talking about how I was about to send the country into a recession. Remember that? It was relentless, Biden said, according to a person in the room. Well, guess what? It never happened. We did not have a recession when I was president. But, do you want to know what we did have? We had the strongest economy in the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In office, Biden was often frustrated he didnt get more credit for the strength of the economy hed overseen. Out of office, he still is. Ill say it again: On the day I left office, America had the strongest economy in the world. Thats a fact. Its not just my view. Its the consensus view among economists and financial publications around the world, Biden said. And now, whats happening? One IBEW member in the crowd later posted on Facebook that the former presidents speech was very feisty. Expectations for a scaled-down library Toward the end of Bidens term, his aides were floating plans for keeping him in the conversation after he left office. About as far as they got was saying he might start an account on BlueSky, the social media platform emerging as a more left-leaning alternative to Elon Musks X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He did not. While most modern presidents filled part of their lame-duck time planning libraries and foundations, Biden who never had many relationships with major donors put together the paperwork for his foundation only in December, with weeks left in his term. No one expected Biden to attempt anything on the scale of the giant campus, complete with community fitness center and a branch of the Chicago public library, that Obama is raising for upward of $2 billion to build, but hes facing overlapping problems that will complicate even getting a fraction of that. Many devoted donors felt burned and ignored during his presidency, struggling for basics like invitations to White House holiday receptions and that was before they blamed him for helping along Trumps return in November. Despite a black-tie thank-you dinner for some of his most committed supporters held at the White House a few weeks after the election, several donors described to CNN feeling too bitter and resentful to write checks. A helicopter carrying the Bidens flies over the White House following President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025. - Julio Cortez/AP Among those who are considering giving, some fear that donating to Biden could make them targets for retribution from Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul who was a key early fundraiser for Obamas efforts and then took on a central advisory role for Bidens aborted reelection campaign until the relationship fell out, did not respond when asked by CNN what, if anything, he would do to help Biden now. And time may be short: Biden, 82, is already the oldest president to leave office. That means less time to fundraise, but also a different sensibility for a foundation that people involved acknowledge will likely be a vehicle for 10 to 15 years of a post-presidency, rather than the 50-year horizon that Bill Clintons or Obamas was structured for. Hes trying to listen and connect with people, and then organize on how he stays engaged across the board, said one person involved with the foundation planning. Thats what weve been trying to do. Biden and aides have been talking with the Kennedy and Clinton families and staffs, and listening to Obama aides on how a digital collection could alter traditional approaches to presidential libraries and museums. Three main options are in play: building in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania; reworking the center he started to build at the University of Delaware after his vice presidency; or building out from his other existing relationship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Though some Biden administration alumni have been checking in, several former top aides told CNN they havent heard from the former president or the small staff now managing him for months. For many, disappointment in how Bidens presidency ended has curdled into bitterness and sad exasperation. Suspecting that all the successes they racked up wont be memorialized as grandly as they might have if not for his difficult last year in office has them depressed. Its crushing, one former top aide told CNN. But Rufus Gifford, a deputy campaign manager for Biden in 2020 and finance chair for his 2024 campaign with deep relationships with donors, said he believes the former president speaking out more could actually be a boost for the relatively small group of deep-pocketed donors who can fund libraries, and who keep asking Biden aides for a clear plan. There is less anger at Joe Biden right now than there is nostalgia, given what we are up against, Gifford said. The skepticism will quickly wane as he talks in a more gloves-off manner. Feeling out a political future Bidens only significant political meeting of his post-presidency so far was with new Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin. Asked what role he would like the former president to play for Democrats going forward, and how Biden could be most helpful in rebuilding the party, Martin did not answer with any specifics. Through a spokesperson, Martin provided a statement: No Democratic president has invested more in the partys infrastructure than Joe Biden, and Im deeply grateful for the presidents service not only to our nation, but his ongoing commitment to the party. Aides familiar with the matter, though, say a March 31 DNC fundraising email signed by Biden was one of its best-performing of the year, and also reactivated tens of thousands of donors. I think with every passing day, people miss him more and more. Hes for sure a net positive, OMalley said. You can agree or disagree with Joe Bidens policies and politics, but this is a man who cares deeply for our country and has personally sacrificed so much for our country, said Meyer. The degree to which hes seen as a divisive figure now, to us in Delaware, is kind of strange. Hes always been one to bring us together. This headline and story have been updated with additional developments. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Federal Emergency Management Agency has canceled a popular grant program that previously awarded millions of dollars for Hampton Roads projects meant to protect against natural disasters. On the chopping block is a $24.2 million award slated for the Lake Meade Dam, a drinking water reservoir operated by Portsmouth. FEMA announced this month it will cut the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, or BRIC. Under the Biden administration, $1 billion was made available for BRIC over five years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and FEMA reports $133 million to date has been provided for about 450 project applications across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FEMA announced all applications from 2020-2023 have been canceled, and any funds not distributed to cities will go back to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury. But not every BRIC-funded Hampton Roads project will lose out. A $25 million grant for Virginia Beachs Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Project was already allocated and city officials said the project was spared. Funding through the BRIC program was allocated to cities for hazard mitigation activities or projects that promoted climate adaptation and resilience, and the award required a funding match from the awarded communities. In the cancellation announcement, FEMA called the BRIC program wasteful and ineffective and stated it was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters. What got cut? The defunded Portsmouth project is the biggest blow to the region. The funding was supposed to help enhance protection and stabilization of the Lake Meade Dam, located in Suffolk. Portsmouth maintains the dam, which serves as a critical reservoir for drinking water. The project would strengthen the dam, upgrade spillways and retrofit the reservoir to prevent overtopping during extreme precipitation, when water spills over the top of a dam. The project would help protect 80 residential properties and about 30 businesses within the dam break inundation zone. A Portsmouth spokesperson did not respond by Tuesday afternoon to questions about the grant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, a regional organization representing 17 local governments in Hampton Roads, also had BRIC funding cut. Matt Klepeisz, communications administrator for the HRPDC, said about $200,000 had been dedicated to updating the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan, updated every five years, recommends specific actions to protect residents, businesses and development from environmental hazards that pose the greatest risk. Those risks include hurricanes and flooding. Klepeisz said the team has applied to other funding opportunities to support the updates. U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined Reps. Bobby Scott and Jennifer McClellan in writing a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the cuts to Virginia projects, specifically noting the loss of money for the Portsmouth project as well as a $12 million grant for improvements to the Richmond Water Treatment Facility. The potential revocation of existing BRIC awards is an unanticipated shock to Virginia localities that have budgeted, planned and in some cases begun work on these crucial projects, the Democrats letter reads. Whats been spared? In Virginia Beach, about $25.1 million was awarded in 2021 to help pay for improvements done through the Eastern Shore Drive Drainage Project, and the city will match the grant with about $10.7 million. In 2023, the City Council voted to approve the ordinance that would accept the funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The awarded funding in Virginia Beach is planned to be used in the first stage of the multiphase drainage project. The project will include drainage improvements, the addition of large stormwater pump stations, an automated tide gate and the deepening and widening of the Cape Henry Canal to help reduce flooding in the Shore Drive area of the city. According to the city, the improvements would protect neighborhoods of extreme rain events, including 614 properties and community lifeline facilities. Virginia Beach said in a statement officials were aware of the potential cuts, but funding for the Shore Drive improvements likely will not be affected. A FEMA dashboard for BRIC projects shows the money was already obligated. Our FEMA liaisons have communicated that they do not foresee the City being at risk of losing the grant funds for this flood protection project, a city statement reads. Other cuts to climate resiliency The BRIC cuts are the latest federal grant cancellation to hit a climate resiliency project in Hampton Roads. Hampton is expected to lose out on $20 million after Environmental Protection Agency grants to address flooding were targeted for cancellation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a time where flood infrastructure projects are increasingly expensive to execute, federal funding is an avenue that many cities take to fight against negative impacts of climate change. The total cost of the Flood Protection Program in Virginia Beach has increased to more than $1 billion as the result of hikes in material and labor. Meanwhile, Hampton Roads has several large-scale construction projects underway leading to a short supply of contractors and heftier contract prices. Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. After a generational flood hit West Memphis, Arkansas, over a week ago, the city is still finding ways to recover and both FEMA and the American Red Cross have been aiding those in need. Numbers-wise, we do have quite a bit of people who are impacted across the area, said Carlos Carmona, Senior Program Manager of Red Cross. Were definitely coming into a recovery phase. Were still sheltering folks. Were still providing emergency supplies. We do know that FEMA is on the ground. They were here doing a damage assessment, but I think its gonna take a few days to compile that information, said Elzadia Washington, Red Cross Volunteer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tax deadline extended to November for TN residents affected by severe weather West Memphis resident, Katrina Bumphus says her whole house was completely flooded and she is having problems with insurance. Everybodys wondering where the funds are to help because they say that the insurance dont cover floods, said Bumphus. Because everybody on this side, it got their floors, carpets and everything, and they say they aint got no help they call insurance. And the insurance say they dont cover damage. Bumphus says she only saw one organization for local assistance helping out. I wish FEMA would do more, but I havent seen no one help but the Red Cross, said Bumphus. 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. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will attend Russia's military celebrations in Moscow on May 9, despite EU High Representative Kaja Kallas' warnings to European leaders. "I am going to Moscow on May 9," Fico wrote in a Facebook post published April 15. Kallas earlier in the day urged European leaders to boycott the event in solidarity with Ukraine. Participation in the Moscow celebrations "will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that Russia is really waging a full-scale war in Europe," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his post, Fico addressed Kallas' warning directly and insisted he had the right to visit Moscow. "Ms. Kallas, I would like to inform you that I am the legitimate Prime Minister of Slovakia a sovereign country," he wrote. "No one can tell me where I should or should not travel. I will go to Moscow to pay my respects to the thousands of Red Army soldiers who died liberating the Slovak Republic." Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has reportedly invited a number of world leaders to attend events marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. In addition to EU member Slovakia and EU candidate Serbia, the Kremlin has invited leaders from China, India, and Brazil. Russia has repeatedly used historical commemorations to justify its invasion of Ukraine, with Putin falsely claiming the war is an attempt to "denazify" the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fico initially announced his plans to attend the May 9 parades in November 2024. A month later, Fico traveled to Moscow for a meeting with Putin, becoming the third EU leader to do so since the start of the full-scale invasion. The meeting with Putin precipitated large-scale protests in Slovakia, with demonstrators denouncing Fico's Kremlin-friendly policies. In addition to seeking warmer ties with Moscow, Fico has made comments justifying Russia's invasion and has consistently opposed military aid to Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has invited senior EU leaders and officials to Kyiv on May 9 to counter Russia's celebration. Read also: Our readers questions about the war, answered. Vol. 8 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Allison Riggs didnt set out to be at the center of the nations sole uncalled 2024 election, but its fitting that she is. Before Riggs became a justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, she spent years as an attorney pushing to make it easier for people to vote, often challenging Republican-passed laws. Now shes at the center of one of the most pitched battles over vote-counting in memory. In November, Riggs, a Democrat, appeared to win reelection to the court by a paper-thin 734-vote margin, but her opponent, Republican Jefferson Griffin, has challenged more than 60,000 voteseffectively trying to get courts to change the rules of the election, despite the votes already having been cast and counted. Whether those votes are included in the final tally will decide the outcome of the raceand Riggss political future. I didnt expect for me to be in a the-cheese-stands-alone kind of situation, she told me in late March at her home in North Carolina. I dont want this fight, but since it came to me, Im up for it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The battle has now dragged into its fifth month, and could stretch on for months to come. Earlier this month, the North Carolina Court of Appeals overturned a lower courts ruling and sided with Griffin. (Hes currently a judge on that court, though he did not participate in this decision.) Splitting 21 along partisan lines, a panel of judges ruled that the challenged votes should not have counted but gave most of the voters three weeks to cure their ballotsto provide information to election officials proving they were eligible voters. [Read: The November election that still hasnt been certified] Then, on Friday evening, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a ruling that rejected the overwhelming majority of Griffins challenges but agreed that overseas absentee voters, representing a few thousand ballots, should have to provide photo identification, even though they had not previously been asked to do so. It also threw out ballots from American citizens and North Carolina residents children who have never resided in the state but had been legally registered. (The court has a 52 Republican majority, but Riggs is recused from the case.) Riggs appealed to a federal court, which allowed the curing process to move forward but blocked certification of the election until all issues of federal law are resolved. Legal experts see serious conflicts between Griffins arguments and federal law. This is consistent with what we asked in our initial filing, Griffins campaign said in a statement after the state supreme courts ruling. The ballots of those overseas without IDs and those who have never lived here need to be addressed; the rest are up to the Court to decide whether they want to be addressed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the election, Riggs has given a limited number of interviews, while Griffin has opted not to speak publicly at all, citing the states Code of Judicial Conduct. (Justice Riggs decision to ignore the Code is her decision, which is an issue that will most likely come before the court once this litigation is resolved, Paul Shumaker, a consultant to Griffins campaign, wrote in an email.) She agreed to speak with me because she believes that the ordeal she is going throughand the fate she may yet meetis a warning to the American people about the direction the country is heading. If partisan judges can change the rules of an election after the election, in a brazen effort to help a candidate from their own party, what can guarantee that votes cast in good faith will be counted? And without that guarantee, how can the voting public be sure it will have its say? Whats worrisome is this idea that people with power, if they dont like who wins, can decide whether or not to acknowledge the election outcome, whether or not to peacefully transfer power and concede, she told me. This kind of election denialism is a real attack at the fundamentals of democracy; its like dropping a match in a dry forest. So I see the stakes as nationally very high. Riggs didnt set out to be a judge. She didnt even set out to be a lawyer. She grew up in West Virginia and attended the University of Florida, where she got involved in politics and started to appreciate the power of election laws. I was in school, living in Florida, during the 2000 election, so 537 votes making the difference in a national election focused me early on the importance of every single vote, she said. But Riggs studied microbiology as an undergraduate. She considered a career in academia and even got a masters degree in history, then applied to law school, with plans to become an environmental lawyer. During an activity fair her first year, she stumbled into a clinic on civil-rights restoration for people convicted of crimes. Riggs discovered a passion for election work and switched her focus. During a summer internship working for thenNorth Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, she met a lawyer named Anita Earls, who was a member of the state board of elections. Earls was starting a new nonprofit called the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) that would fight for fair congressional maps, and she brought Riggs on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a remarkable moment to get involved in voting litigation in North Carolina. The Old North State had long been dominated by Democrats, but in 2010, the GOP won control of both houses of the state legislature for the first time since 1870; two years later, Republicans also captured the governorship. This gave them control over a pivotal redistricting process after the 2010 census; those battles have not ended yet. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, allowing North Carolina and other states to rewrite voting laws without federal oversight. Many of the new measures were billed as efforts to prevent fraud, though voter fraud is vanishingly rare, and a federal court found in 2016 that Republican-backed laws targeted Black voters with almost surgical precision. Although SCSJ often litigated against laws passed by the GOPRiggs argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in a gerrymandering caseRiggs told me she didnt view her work as partisan. I tell people all the time, over the years, I helped more Republicans cast their ballots and get them counted than most Republican political operatives, she said. When people sought help through voter-assistance hotlines, I didnt care what your party affiliation was. I cared that your vote got counted. [Read: Democrats actually had quite a good night in North Carolina] In 2023, Cooper, who had become the Democratic governor, appointed Riggs to a seat on the court of appeals; nine months later, he elevated her to the supreme court, where she rejoined Earls, whod won a seat on the court in 2018. (In North Carolina, the governor can fill judicial vacancies, but jurists must then win election when their terms are up.) She told me the switch from advocate to jurist was not difficult. Part of being a good litigator is understanding every side of an argument, she said. The willingness to give credence and try to understand all sides of a legal question was not something that was new to me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Riggs had never run for office, though shed worked in grassroots organizing, and she faced an intense race in 2024. State supreme courts have become a new battleground for partisan warfare, and North Carolinas is among the most polarized. The dominant issue in the contest between Riggs and Griffin was the partisan balance of the court and its power over issues such as abortion and redistricting. On Election Night, she seemed to fall just short: Initial results showed her trailing by about 10,000 votes. But as provisional and absentee ballots were counted, she slowly erased Griffins lead and finally overtook him. This pattern of late-counted Democratic votes, known as the blue shift, was also prominent in the 2020 presidential race, and President Donald Trump used it to falsely claim fraud. Its a product of how long tallying every vote can take, especially in understaffed county-elections offices. No ballots came in, she said. They were all there. It was just a matter of counting them and counting every eligible ballot. Griffin requested multiple recounts, but he didnt gain any ground. Then, with certification looming, he moved his fight to the courts. The challenges seemed like a long shot then, especially because his arguments required throwing out votes that had been cast lawfully at the time of the election, and in situations in which no one alleged wrongdoing by voters. Griffin challenged three groups of voters. The largest was voters whose registration records did not include drivers-license or Social Security numbers, either because they had not been asked to provide them or because election officials had not correctly recorded them. Among these voters, remarkably, are Riggss own parents. The second group was overseas voters, including some members of the military, who didnt submit photo identification with their ballot, again because it was not required by law. (Griffin himself had used the same method to vote in previous elections.) The third was the never-resident voters. Griffins litigation had other peculiarities. It argued that these votes were improper, but only in the supreme-court race; other races that included them had already been certified. He also went after ballots in only a few counties that had voted heavily for Riggs. You cannot straight-face talk about election integrity and then challenge ballots only in four heavily Democratic counties, she told me. You just cant. (No one knows for sure what the tally would be if all or some of the challenged votes were thrown out. Votes are retrievable under state law, as the journalist Jeremy Markovich has explained, but whom they support is unknown for now. Even so, one can surmise that going after votes thought to lean Democratic would hurt the Democratic candidate more than the Republican.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The argument for excluding these votes is similar to the anti-fraud justification for voter-ID laws: For its adherents, allowing even one fraudulent vote taints the tally. But Riggs said excluding eligible votes for hypothetical reasons is no better. Every time you exclude one eligible vote, you have the same problem: Youre distorting the electorate, she told me. And even if completely eliminating all fraud were a reasonable goal, my opponent cant point to one ineligible vote amongst the 68,000 people whose votes hes trying to toss, Riggs told me. A few prominent Republicans have spoken out against Griffins effort. One is former Governor Pat McCrory, who himself made an absurd fraud claim in a strongly Democratic county after losing the 2016 election. The longtime GOP elections attorney Benjamin Ginsberg recently wrote a column in The Carolina Journal, a conservative outlet, comparing Griffins arguments to Vice President Al Gores after the 2000 election. (Ginsberg would know: He was general counsel to George W. Bushs campaign.) [Read: Stop the (North Carolina) steal] It should be embarrassing for Judge Jefferson Griffin to makeand ask his fellow judges to buyhis arguments to disenfranchise legal voters, especially members of our military. Ambitious candidates may not always stick to principles, but judges must, he wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But by and large, North Carolina Republicans have kept quiet or lent support, especially as Griffins challenge looks like less and less of a Hail Mary. Riggs said she expects to prevail eventually, but she told me that even if she does, the ongoing delay is harmful on its own. The longer this drags out, the more voters are like, Im just a pawn in their games. And what difference does it make if I vote? Because if the other person wins, theyll just challenge my vote, Riggs said. Every single day that this goes on, it does real and lasting damage to our democracy and peoples faith in it. Theres no going getting that time back, but the outcome is now in the hands of Republican justices who will have to choose between one of their own and the voters pick. Article originally published at The Atlantic WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Two efforts for multimillion-dollar improvements at Mulvane schools have failed. The election offices in Sedgwick and Sumner counties have released the final vote counts on two Mulvane USD 263 bond questions. Question 1 was a $50 million proposal for infrastructure and safety improvements at Munson Primary, Mulvane Grade School, Mulvane High School, and Mulvane Middle School. Voters rejected the proposal: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes 827 48% No 901 52% Question 2 was a $9 million proposal to build a new early childhood education center. Voters also rejected the second proposal: Yes 696 40% No 1,032 60% Deputy hit with pot of boiling water at Sedgwick County jail After the election last Tuesday, April 8, Mulvane Public Schools posted a message on its Facebook page. We appreciate all the ways our community supports Mulvane students and families. The district will continue to move forward with an unwavering commitment to improving our schools and serving our students. We are extremely thankful to the Bond Committee and the Facilities Steering Committee for their countless hours over the last several years working on a long-term plan to address the Districts needs. Mulvane Public Schools 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. DENVER (KDVR) The final defendant charged in connection to a string of armed robberies, burglaries and attempted burglaries mostly involving marijuana dispensaries has been sentenced for his actions. Korey Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of burglary, one count of aggravated robbery and one count of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, and was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison. Trial underway for suspect accused of murder in deadly Jeffco rock throwing case Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Denver District Attorneys Office said that Anderson was one of 14 defendants charged in connection to five armed robberies, 40 burglaries and 12 attempted burglaries. Most of the crimes involved marijuana dispensaries, the attorneys office said, which occurred throughout the Denver metro area during the summer and fall of 2023. Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Denver Field Office Mark Michalek said the sentencing is the end to a months-long investigation into the Bloods street gang that he said is responsible for dozens of violent crimes. He said that the 14 defendants were all gang members who are now off the streets of Colorado. This outcome demonstrates that when meticulous investigative work is combined with the exceptional legal expertise of the Denver District Attorneys Office, we are an unstoppable force in the pursuit of justice, Michalek said in a district attorneys office release. Andersons sentence was the final case to be resolved, with other defendants sentenced to a range of prison terms from 10 years to 30 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Korey Anderson was part of an organized criminal group that robbed marijuana dispensaries at gunpoint and conducted over three-dozen burglaries in the summer and fall of 2023, Denver District Attorney John Walsh said on X. This 25 years ensures hes off the streets of Denver for decades. This case, along with the cases of Andersons 13 co-defendants, demonstrates that law enforcement agencies throughout the Denver metro area are committed to working together to disrupt and disband dangerous criminal organizations. Funeral home owner who left corpse in hearse for a over a year pleads guilty in Denver Denver Police Department Chief Ron Thomas said that partnerships between agencies help hold individuals doing harm to our communities accountable. Let these lengthy sentences serve as a warning to anyone involved in criminal enterprises that they too could spend decades in prison for their actions, Thomas said in a Denver DAs Office 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 FOX31 Denver. PARIS, April 15 (Xinhua) -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot announced on Tuesday that France will recall its ambassador to Algeria and expel 12 Algerian diplomatic staff stationed in France in a reciprocal move. Barrot made the announcement on his X account after Algeria ordered 12 French diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours on Monday. In a press release published on Tuesday, the Elysee said Algerian authorities should take full responsibility for a "sudden" deterioration in bilateral relations. "In this context, France will proceed with the symmetrical expulsion of twelve agents serving in the Algerian consular and diplomatic network in France. The President of the Republic has decided to recall the French Ambassador to Algiers, Mr. Stephane Romatet, for consultations," the Elysee said. Relations between France and Algeria have deteriorated in recent months, partly due to the hardline stance of the French interior minister. Although both sides expressed a willingness to improve ties following Barrot's visit to Algeria on April 6, tensions escalated after France indicted a consular official over suspected involvement in the 2024 abduction of an Algerian government opponent. (FOX40.COM) A man who was found in a body of water in Thornton back in 1981 was identified with the use of fingerprint technology, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office. Video Above: Homicide vs Murder vs Manslaughter SJCSO said deputies responded to reports of a body floating in the water around 2:37 p.m. on July 13, 1981 near Blossom Road and Beaver Slough. Authorities found a severely decomposed body wearing white swim shorts with red and blue stripes. Deputies also said the victim had a Black is Beautiful tattoo on his left arm and a gunshot wound on his right shoulder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Remains of Wilseyville serial killing case victim reunited with family According to SJCSO, the victim may have been connected to a Cadillac that was seen driving in the area days earlier. The sheriffs office said the advancement of fingerprint technology recently helped identify the victim as Edward Donald Raymond, born on February 21, 1947. The victim also had the alias Edward Wilson, born July 21, 1948. (IMAGE: San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office) Authorities confirm the man was never reported missing and the only available information is a 1976 arrest by the San Francisco Police Department where an address in Oakland was provided. The San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office is asking anyone with any information on what happened to Raymond call (209) 468-4400. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. Apr. 14DIXON A rural Dixon home was damaged by fire Monday morning. The Dixon Rural Fire Protection District, Dixon City Fire and Advance EMS were dispatched about 8 a.m. to a structure fire at 1308 Harmon Road. ExpandAutoplay Image 1 of 13 Firefighters battle a house fire Monday, April 14, 2025, at 1308 Harmon Road. (Alex T. Paschal) A mutual-aid alarm was immediately initiated to provide additional resources for the response; it was quickly upgraded to a second alarm, Dixon Rural Fire Chief Dustin Dahlstrom said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When crews arrived at 8:05 a.m., they found a two-story residence with a heavy fire on the second floor. Firefighters remained at the scene until about noon. No injuries were reported, according to a news release. The fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office. Firefighters from Rock Falls, Sterling, Oregon, Franklin Grove, Amboy, Sublette, Polo, Byron, Milledgeville and Mt. Morris assisted Dixon firefighters with the blaze. Also assisting were the Lee County Sheriff's Office, CGH EMS and Com Ed. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Fire crews have worked to put out a fire at a church in Washington Township. First responders received a call at 4:04 p.m. to respond to the 1400 block of Old Spring Valley Court in Washington Twp. for a reported fire, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch. Photo/Miami Valley Fire District Firefighters from the Miami Valley Fire District assisted the Washington Township Fire Department in putting out the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. SOMERSET, Ky. (FOX 56) Somerset fire crews battled a house fire on Tuesday that led to two people reportedly getting injured, as well as the death of a dog. Just before 11 a.m. on Tuesday, the Somerset Fire Department posted on Facebook that crews had been dispatched in response to fire and smoke coming from a house on Lair Street. When crews arrived, two people had gotten out of the home. Emergency personnel took one survivor to the hospital while the other refused to go. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While battling the fire in the home, the department said crews learned there were two dogs also inside. One of the dogs was rushed to an animal hospital in Richmond, while the other succumbed to injuries, the SFD wrote. An investigation into the cause of the fire remains 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 56 News. Three months after the crash between a Delray Beach Fire Rescue truck and a Brightline train, the city has released its investigation report that resulted in the termination of the veteran firefighter who was behind the wheel. City Manager Terrence Moore announced on Thursday his decision to terminate driver-engineer David Wyatt after two investigations found he violated city policies and state traffic laws by driving the $1 million ladder truck onto the railroad tracks, directly into the path of a Brightline train, and by driving the citys fire trucks for months with a suspended license before the crash, according to the investigation reports and Wyatts termination letter obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Monday. The investigation of the Dec. 28 crash concluded on April 1. A separate investigation into firefighters driving city vehicles with suspended licenses concluded in February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A total of 15 people were injured in the Dec. 28 crash, including Wyatt and his two passengers, firefighter Joseph Fiumara III and Capt. Brian Fiorey. On more than one occasion, your actions have jeopardized the safety of the public, something that I do not take lightly, leaving me with no other option than to terminate you, Moore wrote in a termination letter to Wyatt, dated Thursday. Your reckless actions have cost the taxpayers of Delray Beach millions of dollars. But, above all, your actions resulted in serious bodily injury to your colleagues and members of the public. Wyatt was hired more than 20 years ago and became a driver-engineer about 10 years ago. Craig Mahoney, president of the fire departments union IAFF Local 1842, in an email to Moore and city commissioners on Thursday asked that both sides agree to move forward into the arbitration process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyatt will remain on paid administrative leave while the disciplinary process is pending, according to Moores termination letter. Truck 111 There were mechanical issues that morning with the windshield wipers of the fire truck that would soon be destroyed, the investigation report showed. Wyatt drove the fire truck, Truck 111, to the city garage just before 8:30 a.m., but a worker wasnt able to fix the malfunctioning wipers. Fleet Manager Andrew Rayfield said the wipers were a safety concern, and the truck would need to come out of service, the report said. One of the battalion chiefs was notified that morning that the fire truck would be removed from service. He came to the city garage to pick up Wyatt and have him swap to a different, spare ladder truck from Station 114, according to the report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyatt later returned to Station 111 in the spare ladder truck. Moments later, the alarm sounded for an apartment building fire in the 300 block of Southeast 6th Avenue. The crew loaded into Truck 111, the one that had been removed from service because of the wipers. It is unclear why they took Truck 111 rather than the other spare ladder truck, the report said. Apartment fire Wyatt, Fiorey and Fiumara III left Station 111 in Truck 111 at 10:39 a.m., according to the report. At 10:42 a.m., command staff relayed over dispatch that it may have been related to burning food on the second floor of the apartment building. Less than a minute later, Truck 111 communicated they were delayed by a train, the report said. When Wyatt approached the railroad tracks, the guardrail arms were down and the warning lights were flashing, the report said. Cars were stopped in front of the fire truck in the eastbound lane, so Wyatt maneuvered into the opposite lanes of Southeast First Street and waited for a freight train to pass the intersection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was D/E Wyatts intention to get ahead of the cars that were stopped in the eastbound lane once the train passed, the report said. But Wyatt didnt see the Brightline train coming from the opposite direction of the freight train that had just passed. He drove around the still-lowered, flashing gates at 10:44 a.m., the report said. Brightline says fire-rescue truck at fault in Delray Beach crash that injured at least 15 | Video The Brightline train smashed into the truck at 79 mph, slicing Truck 111 into three separate pieces, according to the report. Pieces of the destroyed truck were strewn on opposite sides of the tracks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Someone called 911 reporting the crash at nearly the exact same moment the crew was called off from the reported apartment fire. Not the first time Wyatt told independent investigator Erin Jackson, of Johnson Jackson PLLC, that he remembered approaching the railroad crossing on his way to the call, where cars were stopped in the eastbound lanes. He said he didnt remember whether the gates were lowered or if the lights were flashing, but he did remember that he intentionally drove into the opposite lanes of the road so he could get ahead of the cars after the freight train passed, according to the report. He said he had no memory of seeing the Brightline train coming toward them on the track and no memory of the actual collision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Notably, Wyatt explained that this is not the first time that he has positioned a fire truck into the lane of oncoming traffic and then maneuvered around the cars to pass through the train track, the report said. He does not recall how many times he has done this but says not very often.' Wyatt said he had previously rode in fire trucks with other firefighters driving who maneuvered around other cars and crossed the railroad tracks after a train had passed, the report said. He recalled that happening about 10 times, he said. But he said he didnt recall whether in those instances, the driver went around lowered guard gates. Fiorey was sitting in the front passenger seat when the train violently crashed into the truck. His last memory before the collision was turning onto SE Swinton Avenue from Atlantic Boulevard, the report said. His first memory post-crash was in the trauma bay at the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fiorey told the investigator that their policy requires a fire engine to stop for guardrails at a crossing and communicate the train delay. If safe to do so, the fire engine takes a front position on the traffic just to make sure that once the gate goes up, the fire engine is the first one through, the report said, summarizing Fioreys statement. Under no circumstances is a fire engine to maneuver around guardrails that are down at a railroad crossing. Fiumara was sitting in the back left passenger seat. He was putting on his gear when the crew first stopped at the railroad tracks and remembered that the guardrails were lowered, the report said. After the crash, he helped pull Wyatt, who was very concussed, from the truck. Delray police launch review of 2023 off-duty accident involving driver of fire truck in Brightline crash | Video Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Firefighter Fiumara does not recall ever being in any other fire engine that maneuvered around a railroad crossing guard gate that was down, the report said. Ive never seen it The investigation found that Wyatt violated three city policies and two Florida traffic laws in the Dec. 28 crash. Wyatt had received required training, including to follow all traffic laws and not to take unnecessary chances. Earlier this year, Wyatt was issued a noncriminal traffic citation after a Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office investigation. His decision to navigate into oncoming traffic at a railroad crossing and maneuver around guardrails demonstrates his reckless disregard for the safety of life and property and a clear lapse in adherence to safety protocols and statutory requirements, the investigation report concluded. He failed to obey traffic laws of the State of Florida. He failed to avoid taking unnecessary chances. He failed to ensure the safety of all personnel riding on the apparatus. He failed to operate the vehicle with due regard for others at all times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigator found no evidence that Fiumara violated any policies or laws. In Fioreys case, the investigator could not determine whether his actions violated any policies or laws. Though the passenger is responsible for assisting the driver-engineer, there is no testimony in the record as to whether there was a violation in this incident, the investigator wrote in the conclusion. Wyatts actions that day were not in conformity to any trainings or policies of the city, the investigator found, quoting Fiorey: Ive never seen it. Ive never been asked to do it. Ive never ordered it This is not standard operation for our Department at all. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Firefighters responded to an apartment fire in Northwest Oklahoma City Tuesday morning. Officials say crews responded to an apartment complex near Hefner Rd. and MacArthur Blvd. around 2 a.m. LOCAL NEWS: Broken elevator causing concerns at Edmond independent living apartment Upon arrival, crews found flames coming from the building. They were able to get the flames knocked down, but two tenants have been left displaced due to the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whenever crews arrived on scene, we did have fire coming out of the first and second floor of the three story apartment building, said Major Bo Woodard with the Oklahoma City Fire Department. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Two people were checked out for smoke inhalation, but their current condition is 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. The Hartford Fire Department was in for a surprise this Sunday when it received word about a dog in need of rescuing. Firefighters responded to a call from 291 New Park Ave. at around 3:45 p.m. about a small dog stuck on the roof of a two-and-a-half story house. It apparently got on the roof after climbing through an open window in the attic. It was a scary situation for everyone involved, but thankfully there was a happy ending. One official for the Hartford Fire Department used a ladder truck to grab the dog from the roof. According to multiple reports, the dog didn't suffer any injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Based on his bravery, climbing, and comfortability being on that roof, I may have to offer this puppy a job," Hartford Fire Dept District Chief Mario Oquendo Jr. told WFSB-TV. This isn't the first time a family's pet has found itself in a rough situation. Hartford Firefighters Back in March, the Charleroi Fire Department had to rescue a cat that got caught inside a car's engine. Fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. spoke to the Mon Valley Independent about that wild incident. "Our guys dismantled the interior fender and one headlight fixture, and there was so much room between the motor and the bumper the cat was a little scared, so it was running back and forth from one side to the other," Whiten said. "Getting it off of the street was the biggest thing because we didn't want it to crawl back in there or get hurt somewhere else running around." Getting caught in an engine might be worse than being stuck on a two-and-a-half story house's roof. At the end of the day though, we're just glad firefighters perfectly managed both situations. GAZA/JERUSALEM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Hamas said on Tuesday that it has lost contact with the group that captured Israeli-U.S. hostage Edan Alexander after an Israeli bombardment targeted their location. Abu Obeida, spokesperson of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a press statement that efforts are ongoing to re-establish contact with the group. "It seems that the occupation army is deliberately trying to kill him and hence relieve itself from the pressure caused by the dual-citizen prisoners in order to continue its genocide against our people," the statement added. Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said it had killed the commander of Hamas's Shuja'iyya battalion in an airstrike in Gaza. According to a military statement, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet internal security agency jointly carried out the strike Sunday night. The commander, Muhammad al-'Ajlah, had previously served as the leader of a combat support company within the battalion. The Israeli military said he was responsible for arming Hamas fighters with weapons. AUSTIN (KXAN) On Monday, people started assessing the damage after an explosion leveled a house in northwest Austin over the weekend. The home is on Double Spur Loop near US-183 and Spicewood Springs. Several people said they felt the explosion miles away. On Sunday, first responders received several calls about a loud explosion in the area. According to the Austin Fire Department, a house collapsed from an explosion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 6 injured after house explosion in northwest Austin, cause under investigation I heard this big blow up kind of noise. All of a sudden, when I looked at the sky, I saw this big cloud, brown and yellow color. Prabha John, Neighbor First responders called this an isolated incident and said a total of six people were hurt. Texas Gas Service said the home did not have natural gas services. The Travis County Fire Marshal said they wouldnt comment further until the investigation is complete. (Photo: KXAN) The Travis County Fire Marshal said they wouldnt comment further until the investigation is complete. (Photo: KXAN) The Travis County Fire Marshal said they wouldnt comment further until the investigation is complete. (Photo: KXAN) The Travis County Fire Marshal said they wouldnt comment further until the investigation is complete. (Photo: KXAN) The Travis County Fire Marshal said they wouldnt comment further until the investigation is complete. (Photo: KXAN) The Travis County Fire Marshal said they wouldnt comment further until the investigation is complete. (Photo: KXAN) The Travis County Fire Marshal said they wouldnt comment further until the investigation is complete. (Photo: KXAN) This home does have propane. No underground gas service to any of these residences, but they do have propane tanks, said Austin Fire Department Assistance Chief Thayer Smith. The Travis County Fire Marshal released a statement on Monday about the situation. Yesterdays tragic events will remain under investigation until all relevant facts and evidence are gathered, examined, and confirmed. Until the investigation is complete, this office will not release any information or speculate on causes. We appreciate the publics understanding and patience. Travis County Fire Marshal Gary Howell PHOTOS: House explosion in northwest Austin injures 6 Howell said the office would not comment further until the investigation is complete. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first thing the investigators are going to be looking for is, what was the source of the fuel for the explosion? Natural gas or propane, or even spilled gasoline or something within the home, said fire and explosion investigation expert Richard Meier. Meier said it doesnt take much to ignite a flammable gas or vapor. Innocent things such as flipping a light switch, static electricity, an electric appliance turning itself on or off, like a refrigerator or a dishwasher, Meier said. That can trigger the explosion. Such a disruption Neighbors and first responders spent the day looking at how bad the damage is. Monica Story, an insurance agent, said her client lives nearby. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The power of it just like sucked the house in, because windows and doors are condensed in, Story said. Broken glass everywhere. Story compared this to a scene from a tornado. These homes and the people in them are now on a journey to rebuild. Its such a disruption to peoples lives. You just dont think about that. The shock effect of how it, like you said, it impacts people so much. Monica Story, Insurance Agent An elementary school about a half-mile away also felt the impacts of the explosion. Round Rock ISD said it blew out windows in the cafeteria and at least one classroom at Lauren Mountain Elementary School. On Sunday, crews cleaned up the area and boarded up the windows. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. A Russian court has sentenced Roman Ivanishin, a soldier from Sakhalin, to 15 years in a maximum security prison for surrendering to Ukrainian forces, Russian pro-state media outlet Kommersant reported on April 15, citing an undisclosed source. The case marks the first known conviction in Russia for voluntary surrender during the full-scale war against Ukraine. Ivanishin, who served in the 39th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade deployed in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, was captured by Ukrainian troops near the village of Stepne on June 10, 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The soldier was released in January 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange involving 248 Russian service members. Upon his return, Russian authorities detained and charged Ivanishin with voluntary surrender, an additional attempt to surrender, and desertion. The South Sakhalin Garrison Military Court also stripped him of his rank of junior sergeant. Prosecutors had requested a 16-year sentence. Ivanishin pleaded not guilty and denied the charges. The court convicted Ivanishin following 15 hearings. The proceedings were closed to the public, and details of the prosecution's case and the defense's arguments were not disclosed. Ivanishin, a civilian mountain master before his army service, had no prior military experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: Vance accuses Zelensky of absurd criticism of siding with Russia Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Poland and the Baltic states would be the "first to suffer" in a direct conflict between NATO and the Russian Federation, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said on April 15. The nations along NATO's eastern flank have sounded the alarm on escalating threats from Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Any NATO aggression against Russia or Belarus would have damaging consequences for Poland and the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, Naryshkin told the Russian state news outlet TASS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They should understand, but do not yet understand, that in the event of aggression by the North Atlantic Alliance against (Russia and Belarus), damage will be done, of course, to the entire NATO bloc, but to a greater extent, the first to suffer will be the bearers of such ideas among the political circles of Poland and the Baltic countries," Naryshkin said. These countries have shown "high aggressiveness" towards Russia, he said, accusing Poland and the Baltics of "constantly rattling their weapons." Naryshkin singled out Poland for its plans to install anti-personnel mines along the border with Belarus and Russia's heavily militarized Kaliningrad exclave, as well as Warsaw's request for the U.S. to deploy nuclear weapons in Poland. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland on March 18 announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, an international treaty banning the use, production, and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines, citing "fundamentally deteriorated" security in the region. The defense ministers of the four countries said military threats from Russia and Belarus had "significantly increased." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naryshkin called this posture "sad" and implied that NATO was to blame for Russia's all-out war against Ukraine an oft-repeated Kremlin propaganda narrative used to justify the unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country. "(Poland and the Baltic countries) just can't understand that it was the build-up of military activity on the borders of Russia and Belarus that became one of the factors, one of the reasons for the current large, acute, and very dangerous crisis on the European continent," Naryshkin claimed. This narrative has found traction with some members of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, including Trump himself. As Russian officials escalate rhetoric against NATO member states, the White House is reportedly planning drastic funding cuts to the Alliance. Some members of Trump's circle, including billionaire Elon Musk, have called for the U.S. to exit NATO althogether. The U.S. is also likely planning to withdraw some 10,000 troops from member states in Eastern Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on April 13 that if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, its next step may be to seize NATO territory and trigger a global conflict. Western leaders and intelligence agencies have warned of a potential large-scale war in Europe within the next five years due to Russia's increased aggression. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian forces target Russian missile brigade behind deadly Sumy attack; Witkoff unveils 5 territories deal for Russia Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) Governor Glenn Youngkin has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Wednesday to mark 18 years since the mass shooting at Virginia Tech. We Remember: Virginia Tech hosts 2024 Day of Remembrance 17 years after mass shooting On April 16, 2007, 27 students and five staff members were killed in what was one of the deadliest school shootings in United States history. To mark the 18th anniversary, Governor Youngkin ordered all United States and Virginia flags to be flown at half-staff on all state and local buildings starting at sunrise on Wednesday, April 16. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the anniversary, Virginia Tech will also be holding several remembrance events. For a full list of events, click here. 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. WILL COUNTY, Ill. (WGN) Flags across Illinois will fly at half-staff through sunset on Thursday to honor a soldier who was killed during a training exercise in Lithuania last month, per an order from the governor. In addition, flags in Joliet will fly at half-staff beginning sunset Friday following an order from Mayor Terry DArcy. The tributes honor Army Sgt. Jose Duenez Jr., of Joliet. The 25-year-old and three others were killed last month when their vehicle sank in a swamp. April 1: U.S. soldier from Joliet dies during training exercise in Lithuania This is a tragic loss of life, DArcy said. We all owe it to him and his family to show our deepest respect for his commitment to our country by lowering flags to half-staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Tuesday afternoon procession carried Duenezs body from Lewis University Airport in Romeoville to the Tezaks Home to Celebrate Life, at 1211 Plainfield Road., in Joliet. A wake is scheduled for Thursday evening at the funeral home with a Friday morning funeral at Word of Life Church, at 1500 Cedarwood Drive, in Crest Hill. Both gatherings are open to the public. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ANKARA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 234 suspects were detained in a drug trafficking bust carried out in simultaneous operations early Tuesday by the police teams of Turkiye, Europol, Belgium, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. In his post on social media platform X, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 225 suspects were apprehended in Turkiye and nine internationally, 10 of whom are listed on Interpol red notices. The operation, named "Orkinos-Bulut," targeted four major international drug trafficking organizations, he said. The detainees are accused of crimes, including international drug trafficking, money laundering, homicide, kidnapping, and blackmail, according to the minister. The groups were also involved in the production and distribution of cocaine from South America, heroin from Iran and Afghanistan, and synthetic drugs like ecstasy and skunk from Europe, the minister explained, adding that they also trafficked precursor chemicals from East Asia to European countries for drug manufacturing. Authorities confiscated assets worth 13 billion Turkish lira (approximately 341 million U.S. dollars), including properties, vehicles, business shares, and bank accounts, he noted. Turkish police collaborated with Europol for eight months to uncover the organization's structure, connections, and operational methods, the minister said. Simultaneous raids were conducted in 20 Turkish provinces, with international cooperation from law enforcement agencies in various countries, according to Yerlikaya. A big agriculture omnibus bill in the Florida Legislature would ban water fluoridation and tinker with gun background checks. A comprehensive farm bill being pushed by the Florida Department of Agriculture cleared its fourth and final committee in the Florida House on Tuesday and now goes before the full chamber for a vote. Meanwhile, in the Florida Senate, that chambers version (SB 700) was debated on Tuesday and will go for a floor vote later this week, as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The omnibus proposal contains a multitude of provisions, including preventing public water systems from using additives like fluoride. At least 22 Florida communities have stopped fluoridating drinking water since November, after state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo issued guidance against the dental health practice. In the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday to debate the measure (HB 651), Bailey Kuykendoll, operations director for Stand for Health Freedom, told the committee that her organization strongly supports the legislation because of the fluoride provision. Water fluoridation is a form of medical treatment, she said. Its recognized as such by the FDA for addressing tooth decay. Most city commissioners and councilors are not doctors and should not be in a position to be prescribing treatment, especially when theres no way to opt out. Miami-Dade County was one of the latest (and biggest) counties to attempt to ban fluoride in the past week, but Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoed the measure on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Florida Senate, Democrats filed amendments regarding the fluoride provision. One by South Florida Democrat Lori Berman would have given the power to regulate fluoride back to local governments contradicting what the bill calls for. Fellow South Florida Democrat Tina Polsky said there was no reason to do anything on fluoride, and questioned what was motivating the bill sponsor, Central Florida Sen. Keith Truenow? What has happened, besides it being the conspiracy theory du jour? she said. Its time to stick with the science. Stick with whats been working and not upend our whole health system based on unproven theories. Another amendment by Polsky would have required the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to study the effects of water fluoridation in communities that have elected to fluoridate their water system and send that report to the governor, House speaker and Senate president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both amendments failed. Meat vs. meat The measure would also bar plant-based products from using milk and meat and egg labels. That prompted Orlando Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith to pose questions to Truenow. Are we saying that by labeling oat milk that the manufacturers of that product are being untruthful and suggesting that this is milk that comes from a cow and not from oats? he asked Truenow. I didnt know that you could milk oats, Truenow replied, making Smith laugh. If youre going to call that beverage or that material milk, then it should be coming from a cow or a goat or some other lactating animal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another provision would change the number of extra days to issue a permit to carry a concealed gun if a background check reveals a potentially disqualifying criminal history The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) now has 90 days to issue or deny concealed carry permits and can suspend the process if a law enforcement agency or court notifies the department that the applicant has been arrested or charged with crimes relating to domestic violence, drugs, and other violence. If the screening identifies information related to a crime that may disqualify the applicant, but does not contain the final disposition of the crime or lacks sufficient information to make an eligibility determination, the House bill says that FDACS would have an additional 45 days to review. The bill originally called for an additional 90 days, but the compromise brought along Second Amendment supporters who had earlier criticized the measure. ESG Another part of the extensive legislation would establish that financial institutions may not discriminate in the provision of financial services to an agriculture producer based, in whole or in part, upon an ESG factor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. Its a framework used to assess a companys non-financial performance and sustainability practices, but the Florida Legislature has already passed a major bill in the 2023 session that prohibits and seeks to punish any consideration of these factors in the states investment decisions. In the House committee, the Florida Bankers Associations Anthony DiMarco said that with that legislation already enacted, there is no reason to include this provision. He said that the measure would encourage more lawsuits in the state. We havent been told any real reason why this needs to be changed, he said. Seminole County Republican Rep. David Smith said that while he supported the House bill, he didnt like that theres aspects of the bill that I dont like. I know I hear from my constituents that they dont like these bills which have been so jam-packed and so off-topic. If you live in Florida, theres no way that you cant support agriculture, added Broward County Democratic Rep. Christine Hunschofsky. Unfortunately, this bill isnt just about agriculture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure passed easily in the committee, with only Hunschofsky and fellow Democrats Felicia Robinson from South Florida and Leonard Spencer from Central Florida voting no. The measure now goes to the full House for a vote. The Senate will also vote on its final version of the bill later this week. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A bill before the Legislature this year would adjust the way Florida's public schools are graded. That's because a school's grade of "A" doesn't necessarily mean what would traditionally be considered an A. The Schools Committed to Outstanding Results and Excellence, or SCORE, Act (HB 1483), sponsored by Rep. Susan Valdes, R-Tampa, would move the Florida Department of Education's A-F grading scale to match the usual percentages used for grading student performance in school. The shift would take place over a 10-year period. During a PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee meeting in the Florida House of Representatives on Monday afternoon, Valdes said there were about 260 schools that are graded an A where less than 50% of the students are meeting grade-level benchmarks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So that means that there's some students that we're not capturing, that we're still not wrapping our arms around them with their needs in order for them to prosper," Valdes said. "So that means that there's some students that we're not capturing, that we're still not wrapping our arms around them with their needs in order for them to prosper," Valdes said. Currently, a school's rating is based on different criteria, including graduation rates and English language arts, math and science exams. But an elementary school but can still get an A even if the school receives a 62% achievement score from the state's Department of Education, for example. Such a percentage normally would be deemed a "D." The SCORE Act would, over a decade, shift those percentages to match the traditional grading scale, so that by the 2033-34 school year, schools graded an A would have to achieve at least a 90%. According to a staff analysis, 1,299 schools or 38% were given an A grade in 2024. Rep. Erika Booth, R-St. Cloud, acknowledged the change in school grade percentages would be "hard for a community to absorb." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "But wouldn't you rather know? Wouldn't you rather know that you're driving your beautiful child to a school that is actually a C grade, instead of patting yourself on the back and thinking that you've school-choice'd into an A-rated school?" Booth asked during debate. "Don't put an A in the window of a school when it's actually at 60% and tell me to be happy about it, whether I'm a teacher, a parent or community leader," she added. Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, said this could pose a problem for turnaround schools, like Jefferson County K-12 in her district. The Jefferson County School District was taken over by the state after years of being rated as a failing district. Almost a quarter of the county's residents live in poverty, according to U.S. Census data. Rep. Allison Tant talks with someone at the Annual Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce Breakfast on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. "How are we making sure that in this grading system we're also bringing those kids that aren't similarly resourced to some of their peers, (that) don't have anybody reading to them at home, are hungry, maybe come to school with health issues. How are we addressing that?" she asked Valdes during the subcommittee meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Valdes said the bill also expands the interventions provided for children who do not perform on grade level from VPK to eighth grade. It also expands the eligibility for the summer bridge program for VPK and creates a grant program for classroom libraries in Title I schools. The bill passed 12-2, with Tant and Rep. Jervonte Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach, opposed. What's next The House bill heads to the Education & Employment Committee, its fourth committee of reference. There is no Senate version. The legislative session is scheduled to end May 2. Ana Goni-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: School grading overhaul aims to reveal true student achievement gaps PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) A heated confrontation between a Florida homeowner and his neighbor over the shooting of a protected bird has prompted outrage in the community. The exchange took place in Madeira Beach after the neighbor, identified as a 42-year-old male, allegedly shot a heron, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). FWC said the man accused of shooting the birds later admitted to doing so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No longer a spring break town: Florida beach town tells idiots to go somewhere else Footage of the confrontation, taken by the accuser, begins as he approaches his neighbor. A lifeless great blue heron appears to be floating in the neighbors pool. The man then accuses his neighbor of shooting the protected bird, saying such activity is highly illegal. He also claims that he overheard the neighbor discussing plans to rid his property of the birds. No, I said I was going to try to get em away, the 42-year-old says at one point. You moved into the birds house. You cannot kill the animals that live here, the man filming the video shoots back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 42-year-old is also heard claiming he did not mean to kill the damn thing but rather scare it away. (UGC) (UGC) (UGC) (UGC) (UGC) FWC officers responded to the home on April 12 in response to a complaint, and found a dead heron and a dead mallard duck in the homeowners yard. The agency said the man told them he shot the birds with a pellet gun to keep them away from his pool. The man accused of shooting the birds was cited for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and was issued a notice to appear in court. Speaking with Nexstars WFLA, Charlotte Arndt, an education coordinator at Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, said no one should be shooting at a protected bird. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My best advice is if you dont want to have great blue herons on your property, dont move to a place where great blue herons live, Arndt said. Removing any one bird from the area especially during mating season can have a devastating effect on the babies. Of course both parents contribute to the nest but taking one of those parents away takes a lot of the resources away which makes it less likely that all the eggs that hatch are going to become fledged adults. Battle of the birds: Florida considers changing state bird The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is about 10 minutes from where the incident happened. The vice president of the Clearwater Audubon Society, Kim Begay, said the 42-year-old couldve reached out to the sanctuary, the FWC or even the Audubon Society for help. Its not that hard to deter them, said Begay. You can install motion activated sprinklers. You can actually just bang a pot really loud when you see the bird in your backyard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Begay said the neighbor may now be facing misdemeanor charges as a result of this incident. If you have a problem like this, reach out. Please dont just start shooting. Its not the way to go, said Begay. The Audubon Society, however, also recommends getting law enforcement involved before confronting a neighbor on a problem. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. EDITORS NOTE: This story contains graphic details of violence as well as explicit language. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, you can call the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-500-1119. Additional resources are at the bottom of this story. CLEARWATER It was dark by the time Audrey Petersen got home, but a neighbor keeping watch said the coast looked clear. She disabled her security system and, pepper spray in hand, went to make herself a drink. No sign of him, Petersen texted a friend as she mixed green tea with a shot of vodka. Her yellow Labs, Chewy and Digger, hovered near. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It had been two weeks since shed called it quits with Frank and one week since shed first called the police. She was 61, a pediatric nurse with laugh lines and strawberry hair. He was 71, a retired handyman from New York City. Theyd been together 20 years, most good or at least, not bad but his drinking had gotten out of hand. Now, he was driving by at night, revving the engine of his jet-black Camaro, messaging that he missed her and that hed never leave her alone. Over the last seven days, Petersen had filed three reports with the Clearwater Police Department. At the urging of officers, she took a day off to apply for an injunction, essentially a restraining order. Petersen noted that her ex, Francis Scoza, had threatened her. She wrote that he had guns. No appearance of an immediate and present danger, the ruling came back. To get the injunction, shed have to offer more evidence or face Scoza in court. I am basically a prisoner in my home, Petersen texted one of the officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As she settled in for the night on Feb. 9, 2024, Petersen wondered how she had found herself here, tiptoeing around the flower-filled abode where shed prepped for countless Girl Scout meetings and puzzled over homework with her three girls from a previous marriage. She had followed authorities instructions, provided updates at every turn. Now, she had to trust that the system would protect her. In the days after the breakup, Petersen was adrift in dangerous waters. Scozas intimidation tactics should have sounded alarms especially since stalking can be a warning sign for murder. Instead, those who could help moved too slowly to save her. A little past 8 p.m., Petersen headed toward her backyard, where she liked to unwind. She walked past the big kitchen table, the mosaic of shimmering angels, the sticky note that reminded her to set the alarm when she came inside. As she unlatched the back door, the winter air swept her cheeks and filled her lungs. There was Scoza, dressed in jeans and a camouflage hoodie. He was holding a gun. Tap to read more. The owners of a Florida curio shop have been arrested for selling human remains on Facebook Marketplace, according to the Orange City Police Department. Kymberlee Schopper, 52, and Ashley Lelesi were arrested and charged with the purchase or sale of human organs and tissue, according to court records. This is something I havent seen in the 17 years that Ive worked for this agency, Orange City Police Department Capt. Sherif El-Shami told ABC News. Orange City is located about a half hour north of Orlando. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police began looking into Schoppers store, Wicked Wonderland, back in December 2023, when they received a tip regarding a business within the city attempting to sell human bones, according to the charge affidavit. The tip included images from the stores Facebook page, which advertised various human bones for sale, complete with pricing information, the affidavit said. Schoppers store was allegedly selling two human skull fragments for $90, a human clavicle and scapula for $90, a human rib for $35, a human vertebrae for $35 and a partial human skull for $600, the affidavit said. Police spoke to Lelesi, the co-owner of Wicked Wonderland, who said the store had been selling human bones for several years and was unaware that it was prohibited in the state of Florida, the affidavit said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She confirmed to authorities that the store featured multiple bone fragments, all purchased from private sellers, the affidavit said. Lelesi said she had documentation for these transactions, but could not provide it at that moment, the affidavit said. Schopper and Lelesi later met with police, where Schopper showed documentation from PayPal, but she had redacted certain information to protect their privacy, the affidavit said. Schopper told police the bones were indeed educational models and that a warrant would be required if further information was needed, the affidavit said. Police submitted five pieces of human bones from Wicked Wonderland as evidence, with the Volusia County Medical Examiners Office finding that the fragments likely represent two different individuals one of possible archaeological origin and the other of anatomical origin, according to the affidavit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schopper was taken into custody on Thursday and was released on a bail of $7,500 on Friday, according to court records. It is not immediately clear if Schopper has obtained a lawyer. Lelesi has also been charged with the same crime, El-Shami told ABC News. It is not clear whether Lelesi is in police custody or has obtained a lawyer. In a post on the stores Facebook page, the pair wrote of the store closing on Saturday, Wicked Wonderland is currently temporarily closed due to dedicating our time to the care of a beloved family member in their final moments. Absolutely nothing more. While there may be a whirlwind of misguiding information and horrendous assumptions and opinions, were choosing to focus on what we always have: Life, love, death and Family. Schoppers arraignment has been scheduled for May 1, according to court records. 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 WDHN - wdhn.com. The collapse of Champlain Towers South nearly five years ago caused the deaths of 98 people and injured 11 others. The state Legislature responded by adopting a law designed to prevent another such tragedy from ever occurring. But those same laws have created a financial crisis in Florida and Palm Beach County. The Palm Beach Post has written extensively on the topic, which has generated significant interest and concern for many condo owners in South Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill that led to the problems in 2022, Senate Bill 4D, created new standards for condo buildings three stories or higher. It has left many Floridians wrestling with the option of paying significant association fees, selling their unit or going into foreclosure. The Post will discuss the new law in detail during a Town Hall meeting April 16 called "The Condo Crisis." A panel of industry experts will discuss the issue and answer your questions. The forum will be from 6-8:30 p.m. in The Press Lounge at The Post's headquarters at 2751 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach. Here are five key things to know about the current situation: Florida's condo crisis: What does the law say? The law passed by the Legislature now calls for periodic safety inspections of condo buildings three stories or higher. An initial one is supposed to identify whether there are structural issues that must be addressed following a much more intrusive Phase 2 inspection if the initial inspection says a Phase 2 is needed. Condo buildings impacted by the new law were supposed to file reports by Dec. 31. Many have not. Florida's condo crisis: What is a Structural Integrity Reserve Study? A structural integrity reserve study or SIRS is supposed to ensure that money is set aside for future repairs and replacement of condominium property. Surfside had failed to do that. Studies showed that there were structural issues with the the basement of a parking garage under the pool deck that needed to be repaired. The association approved $15 million in repairs before the collapse, but the main structural work had not started before the building fell apart. Florida's condo crisis: Is there another Surfside out there? What have engineers discovered? Just how many buildings are out there that could be the next Chaplain Towers? Thats difficult to say because statewide data has yet been released. But information recently released by the Palm Beach County Building Division indicates there is cause for concern. Florida's condo crisis: What have Palm Beach County officials discovered? Searchers dig through rubble at the base of Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside, Fla., on June 29, 2021. The condominium partially collapsed June 24, 2021. Thirty-six building condo associations have failed even to respond to repeated requests for Phase 1 inspection reports, which means county officials have no idea whether it is safe to live in those buildings. Twenty-nine building associations must do a more intrusive Phase 2 inspection. All of them have failed to respond to county requests for the status of those inspections. Fifty-six building associations have either had their Phase 1 inspection reports returned for more information, or their initial reports were so lacking in detail they were denied outright. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those 121 buildings in Palm Beach County house thousands of residents. County commissioners have instructed the Building Division to begin fining those condo associations not complying with the law. Florida's condo crisis: How many condo units are there in Florida and how many people live in them? Statewide, there are more than 25,000 condominium buildings with more than half of them in the South Florida counties of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade. More than 1.5 million people live in those 25,000 condominium buildings. Not all of them are under the jurisdiction of the new law. The result of the new law has forced many retirees on pensions or fixed incomes to sell, and prices in affected buildings have significantly fallen. Potential buyers are avoiding older buildings because of the high assessments. Meanwhile, insurance premiums are soaring. FLORIDA'S CONDO CRISIS: Is it bad enough to call a special legislative session? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FLORIDA'S CONDO CRISIS: The list: Did your condo association fail to turn in its Phase One inspection report? FLORIDA'S CONDO CRISIS: A checklist of what condos need to know about the new law and how it will affect Floridians SPECIAL REPORT: Why Florida's new safety inspection law is creating havoc for condo owners Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues impacting homeowner associations. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida's condo crisis: 5 things to know CAIRO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 Arab-China International Forum on Traditional Medicine concluded on Tuesday in Egypt's New Cairo, where experts from the medical communities of China and Arab states exchanged views on promoting mutual learning and innovation-driven development of traditional medical cultures. The two-day forum was co-hosted by Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, the Egyptian Chinese University (ECU), Sun Yat-sen University Institute of Advanced Studies Hong Kong, and Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine. During the event, the participants gave special reports on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and physiotherapy, had discussions on the use of traditional medicine in treating intractable diseases, and visited TCM projects at the ECU where seminars were held on talent cultivation. Sami Nassef, dean of the faculty of Physiotherapy at ECU, told Xinhua on Monday that the faculty had been incorporating TCM into its physiotherapy programs since 2017 and had launched cooperation projects with several Chinese universities with TCM majors. He expected the forum to help more people in the Middle East and Africa understand TCM's methods and efficacy of treating intractable diseases and promote the TCM culture. Diwu Yongchang, head of the delegation from Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, said after the opening ceremony that the forum was expected to strengthen the cooperation between the university and the ECU, promote the development of traditional Chinese and Arab medicine, and boost friendly exchanges between the two peoples. Jamil Hodeib, a Lebanese doctor who has been running a TCM clinic in Beirut for over 30 years, told Xinhua during the forum that he had successfully treated many patients with TCM and hoped that traditional Chinese and Arab medical practitioners will work together to further spread TCM knowledge so as to benefit more people. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) The federal deadline to file taxes is Tuesday, April 15. However, the IRS has extended the deadline to May 1 for anyone living in Florida because so many people were impacted by hurricanes that hit our state. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 8 on Your Side However, while youre working on your taxes, thieves are working, too. They pose as trusted sources, such as the IRS or professionals working for a tax service company. And now, consumer experts warn, they have more time to trick you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Remember, the IRS will not send you text messages or demand money over the phone. Be on look out for fake IRS emails promising refunds, scam texts claiming your account is on hold, and misleading tax advice. Hope Florida contribution controversy continues Another scheme impacting taxpayers in the Tampa Bay area is fake 1099s. Better Call Behnken has have heard from several people who received tax forms from companies they never did business with. You may remember Clint and Lebra Johnson. They were stunned when they received a 1099-K tax form in the mail showing $9,306.57 was collected through 437 transactions in November. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken was able to help them obtain a corrected 1099 form and they are now monitoring their credit. If this happens to you, call the entity that sent you the form and file a fraud report with the IRS. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. One of the nations leading distributors in the food processing industry has announced a new location in Erie County. Nelson-Jameson will be moving into a 45,000-square-foot warehouse in Fairview Township just off Interstate 90 on Klier Drive. Erie CRIZ nearing it start in downtown The new location will be the fifth of the food processing companys centers nationwide and will hire up to 20 full-time employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The warehouse was fully remodeled this year and sits on an 8.4-acre lot, with an adjacent 20-acre parcel reserved for future expansion. Arsonist charged with terrorism after starting fire in PA governors residence The company is shooting for an opening date of the facility on September 10 where theyll provide products meant to increase food safety, quality and 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 WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. HONOLULU (KHON2) Executive Chef, Makoto Ono, and Restaurant Manager and Wine Director, Jon Carlile, of Arden Waikiki joined Wake Up 2 Day to discuss holiday specials. Olive Garden is serving up a taste of Italy with new specials This Easter edition features a curated selection of dishes including our famous rainbow salad, bone marrow, Ludovico fried chicken, beef fillet, brussels sprouts and carrot cake. Well be offering the Easter Ohana Menu on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, and we definitely recommend making a reservation. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You On Mothers Day weekend, were offering a special a la carte menu on May 10 and 11 to help guests celebrate the moms in their lives with something truly memorable. Some of the featured dishes include a corn chowder with crispy bacon, ulu, and potatoes, a rich and savory uni udon with butter sauce, and for dessert, a white chocolate almond cake topped with mixed berries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news For more information or to reserve a table visit Restaurants in Waikiki | Arden Waikiki | Official 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 KHON2. Chaotic surveillance footage from inside a federal courthouse showed the moment two ICE agents knocked down an elderly man with a cane as they attempted to arrest a Venezuelan migrant. Arnuel Marquez Colmenarez, 33, is currently in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Texas, ICE records show, following the incident at the courthouse in Nashua, New Hampshire, in February. He had been charged on February 9 with drunken driving, driving without a license and failing to provide information after an accident and was heading to his arraignment on those charges when he was apprehended, Nashua Police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Footage shows the two ICE agents, along with Marquez Colmenarez and two other men, passing through security and entering an elevator. After the two other men exit the lift, a man wearing a sweatshirt bearing the letters "ATF" taps Marquez Colmenarez on the shoulder as he also prepares to exit. ATF stands for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Chaotic surveillance footage from inside a federal courthouse showed the moment two ICE agents knocked down an elderly man with a cane as they attempted to arrest a Venezuelan migrant Marquez Colmenarez turns to face the man before attempting to quickly leave the elevator, at which point the two agents grab him. The scuffle spills into the corridor where the elderly man with a cane is walking. One of the agents tackles Marquez Colmenarez, knocking the legs out from underneath the man, who falls to the floor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another court officer arrives to help the two ICE agents restrain Marquez Colmenarez, though the elderly man is left in apparent pain. Footage shows the two ICE agents, along with Marquez Colmenarez and two other men, passing through security and entering an elevator (New Hampshire Judicial Branch) After the two other men exit the lift, an agent taps Marquez Colmenarez on the shoulder as he also prepares to exit. He turns to face the man, before turning around and attempting to quickly leave the elevator, at which point he is grabbed by the two agents (New Hampshire Judicial Branch) Jared Neff, the court liaison officer for the Hudson Police Department, said he was in the prosecutors office when he heard a loud commotion near the elevators and went out to investigate. There were voices yelling Stop! and then a loud bang which sounded like people had fallen on the ground and were actively fighting and struggling, he wrote in an incident report. Neff said he helped restrain Marquez Colmenarez, whom he described as actively resisting attempts to handcuff him. The agents were working on orders to detain immigrants in the country illegally, Neff said. They told Neff they had tried to detain Marquez Colmenarez quietly in the elevator, but he had fled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A judge later issued a bench warrant after he failed to appear for his arraignment. The prosecutor handling the case wasnt contacted by federal agents before the arraignment and didnt witness the arrest, police said. The scuffle spills out into the corridor where the elderly man with a cane is walking. One of the agents tackles Marquez Colmenarez, knocking the legs out from underneath the man who falls to the floor. The elderly man is left in apparent pain (AP) In a statement shared with Reuters, an ICE spokesperson said the agency is "focusing all its law enforcement personnel on mitigating public safety threats and preserving the integrity of our immigration laws." The ATF did not immediately respond to the outlets request for comment. April 15 (UPI) -- An international summit to try to revive peace talks in war-torn Sudan opened in London on Tuesday, two years to the day since fighting erupted in the Northeast African country between forces of the military government and the Rapid Support Forces, a rival military faction. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he wanted to use the conference, co-hosted by the African Union, France and Germany and attended by 20 foreign ministers as well as major donors and multilateral bodies from around the world, to step up efforts to protect civilians and work toward ending a conflict responsible for one of the worst ever humanitarian crises. The United Nations and non-governmental organizations said the situation was worsening for civilians who have been largely left to fend for themselves by an international community distracted by crises elsewhere in the world with deadly attacks on refugee camps, the latest atrocity to befall the population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tens of thousands are reported to have been killed since the civil war broke out in April 2023 amid violations of international humanitarian law on a "massive scale," said Daniel O'Malley, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Sudan. "All of the civilian population, irrespective of where they are in the country, have basically been trapped between one, two or more parties. And they have been bearing the brunt," he said. Lammy said with more than 30 million people in desperate need of aid, at least 12 million people displaced, more than 12 million women and girls at risk of gender-based violence and famine spreading throughout the country, urgent action was needed to figure out how to improve humanitarian access and find a long-term political solution. "Two years is far too long -- the brutal war in Sudan has devastated the lives of millions -- and yet much of the world continues to look away. We need to act now to stop the crisis from becoming an all-out catastrophe, ensuring aid gets to those who need it the most." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saying he had witnessed first-hand the warring sides' "appalling disregard for the civilian population," he said the summit would facilitate the international community in establishing a pathway to halt the suffering. "Many have given up on Sudan -- that is wrong -- it's morally wrong when we see so many civilians beheaded, infants as young as 1 subjected to sexual violence, more people facing famine than anywhere else in the world. We simply cannot look away," Lammy said as he opened the conference. African Union envoy Bankole Adeoye called for an "immediate, unconditional cessation of hostilities," warning there was no military solution to the conflict. He said following a cease-fire there had to be "all-inclusive" negotiations to achieve a permanent peace -- a dig at the fact neither of the warring parties were invited to London. "The AU will not allow a Balkanization or partition of Sudan," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.N. said Tuesday that than 400 people fleeing the fighting were reported killed at the weekend after RSF troops unleashed ferocious attacks using ground and air forces against refugee camps around the city of El-Fasher in the country's western Darfur region. El-Fasher is the last remaining regional capital still controlled by the Armed Forces of Sudan, the Sudanese army. Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab said in a report Monday that it had a "high degree of confidence," that RSF had taken control of Zamzam Refugee Camp where an estimated 500,000 people were sheltering as of Sunday, razing the camp in the process. It said its analysis of satellite imagery and thermal data showed "widespread thermal scarring to 1.183 square kilometers in the camp, including at the camp market, a kitchen operated by an international aid organization, the Sudanese American Physicians Association, and a compound with temporary structures consistent with Internally Displaced Persons." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has been no response from the RSF. Medecins sans Frontieres said in a news release that 20,000 people had fled southwest to Tawila, which was overwhelmed, and that it was treating people with gunshot injuries and that children were dying of disease and thirst en route or shortly after arriving. The BBC said people fleeing the camp had told of being attacked by armed looters in the camp and on the journey to Tawila. The News UK, European, and African Union officials gathered in London Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of Sudans civil war, which has led to thousands of deaths and millions of people displaced. The meeting was aimed at building a united front on how to end the conflict although Sudans main warring parties were not invited and to find ways to get more humanitarian aid into the country: The UK on Tuesday announced a new 120 million aid package for Sudan. But the UK foreign secretary warned that a lack of aid was not the biggest obstacle [to peace]... its lack of political will. A chart showing the number of internally displaced people in Sudan SIGNALS Sudans conflict may not be resolved through military force Sources: Financial Times, Wilson Center, Foreign Policy, Cameron Hudson for Semafor Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Civilian leadership is the only viable route to lasting peace in Sudan, former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok argued in the Financial Times, stressing the crisis can not be resolved through force: Military takeovers and authoritarian rule risk formenting future conflicts. Yet that begs the question of how to convince the military leaders to play a constructive role in... a democratic transition, Wilson Center analysts argued last year. Some pro-democracy activists have aligned themselves with the Sudanese Armed Forces, but its human rights record make it unfit to govern, a Sudan-based aid worker wrote in Foreign Policy. If the SAF doesnt choose the path of peace, Cameron Hudson argued in Semafor, it would create the conditions for Sudan to become the regions next failed state. Other African nations have a critical role to play Sources: allAfrica, Policy Center for the New South, Wilson Center The African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development-led peace initiatives lack the political will to push beyond rigid state-to-state diplomacy, a Sudanese policy expert told allAfrica, adding that these groups have yet to engage with Sudanese civil society. Only a Sudanese-led solution can hope to address the root causes of the war, argued one expert at the Policy Center for the New South, but the countrys African neighbors and other nations still hold considerable sway over the situation and its outcome. That includes the backing of warring factions, with the Sudan civil war functioning as a proxy conflict, an expert at the Wilson Center noted. Sudans foreign minister criticized the apparent presence of the UAE, Chad, and Kenya at Tuesdays UK conference, describing them all as stakeholders in the war. Foreign aid cuts see international organizations compete with local groups for resources Sources: Politico, The Telegraph, The New Humanitarian, BBC The UKs promise of more aid to Sudan comes as it has slashed its foreign aid budget to fund defense spending, Politico noted, with more reductions looming on the horizon, according to one Labour parliamentarian. Relief groups in Sudan have already been left reeling from drastic US funding cuts, which have created the risk that international organizations, worried about their own institutional stability, must compete with local responders for ever fewer resources, one aid official told The New Humanitarian. Private donors will need to step up to plug the gap left by the Trump administration, but any funding would need to be planned for the long-term, the founder of the Mutual Aid Sudan Coalition told the BBC: Even if humanitarian assistance resumes, its never going to be what it was. Montana State University welcomes students back to campus for the first day of the Fall 2023 semester. (Provided by Montana State University) Two graduate students at Montana State University are asking a federal court to stop the Trump administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from terminating their foreign student status, which could allow officials to immediately deport them. Officials with Montanas largest public universities last week announced that four foreign students had their F-1 visas revoked and their F-1 statuses cancelled, meaning they could be subject to immediate deportation. Their cases mirrored hundreds of other cases across the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana filed the motion in court on Monday on behalf of two of the four students, who are anonymous in court filings. Laywers said that both students were sent identical form letters which said their status had been revoked because of criminal status, although neither has been convicted or charged with any crime, leading to confusion and panic. The identity and status of the other two students mentioned by MSU are not publicly known. The Department of Homeland Security has not just revoked the F-1 visa, which is a document that allows a student entry into the United States, it has apparently wiped out their F-1 status, which allows a student to remain lawfully and allows them to be employed in certain jobs, like teaching assistant positions or research. By cancelling the status, the lawsuit argues, the Trump administration has made it impossible for the students to keep employment or be paid. The lawsuit also points out that cancelling an F-1 visa is not necessarily cause to revoke the students entire status. The ACLU of Montana says the actions of the Trump administration violate the U.S. Constitutions guarantee of due process, which extends to residents who are not U.S. citizens, but still lawfully in the country, like the students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, neither student has been convicted of a crime, and neither student has participated in protests or demonstrations. The court documents also shed light into the inner workings of the moves by the Trump officials to boot foreign-born students. For example, officials did not appear to give either the students or the universities any advance warning. The four students in Montana learned of the changed status after officials with the university system were doing a routine check of the database on April 10. It is unknown when the change was made, and the lawsuit said the university system officials have had no communication explaining the status change. However, with both the F-1 visa and the F-1 status being changed, the court filing said theres little to stop an immediate deportation, and officials worry about due process rights being protected. This policy appears to be primarily targeting African, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and Asian students, the court brief said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court filings say that both students fear that years of work and research could be abruptly ended with the decision. The ACLU has asked for emergency relief for the two unnamed students so that they couldnt be immediately deported, and to have their status restored. Moreover, the lawsuit asks federal court Judge Dana Christensen to prohibit the administration from arresting, detaining or transferring the students from beyond the Montana federal courts jurisdiction without providing adequate notice to contest any action. Students who come to the U.S. under an F-1 status must maintain a full course of study, and have limited options for income, usually related to that field of study. One of the MSU students is a doctoral student in electrical engineering and physics, with a completion date around December, 2025. He has never been convicted of a crime in the United States or elsewhere, the court filing said. He does not understand why his visa was revoked and his (foreign student) record was terminated. Neither the government nor MSU has provided any additional details or explanation for the change in (his) status or the revocation of his F-1 visa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to placing his entire doctorate in jeopardy, the students sister is a graduate student at the University of Colorado. He financially supports her, and according to the lawsuit, the sudden status change has threatened both of their ability to support themselves. The second graduate student from MSU is studying microbiology, and she has never been convicted of a crime in Montana or her native country. This has placed her in an extremely difficult financial and academic position, as her teaching assistantship is not only her only source of income, but also a core component of her masters training, the suit said. In addition to violating the Administrative Procedures Act, the lawsuit said, terminating their status already violated the guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plaintiffs were not afforded the most basic of notice nor opportunity to heard that was owed to them before having their F-1 student status terminated, the lawsuit said. The letter did not include any further information as to why (their) F-1 status had been revoked, or how they might seek further information about their specific situations, or even of any available procedures they could follow to challenge the termination. The court filing also says that without the federal court taking immediate, emergency action, the students will continue to be at risk, not just of deportation and financial hardship, but that they will have their study interrupted unfairly. (Their) due process rights are being impaired, the court filing said. (They) face the imminent risk indeed, likelihood that they will be unable to complete their graduate studies, that they will be unable to earn an income, and support their families, the suit said. (They) also current face the serious risk of immediate arrest and detention for deportation because they no longer have lawful status to remain in the United States. A court-martial is underway this week for a former commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, who is accused of adultery and fraternization. Col. Christopher Meeker, the former commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, was removed from his leadership position in late December 2023. In December 2024, it was announced that he was facing three violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The charges include "one charge and one specification under Article 90, Willfully Disobeying Superior Commissioned Officer; and another charge and two specifications under Article 134, Extramarital Sexual Conduct and Fraternization," Wright-Patterson announced at the time in a press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read Next: Massachusetts Guard Revokes Shaving Waivers WDTN, Dayton's NBC affiliate, reported Tuesday afternoon that Meeker entered a guilty plea for all charges. Base spokespeople at Wright-Patterson did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday afternoon from Military.com asking about Meeker's plea or whether he faces a bench or jury trial. Derek Kaufman, a spokesman for Air Force Materiel Command, told Military.com on Tuesday morning that the trial is docketed for two days but that could be subject to change. The trial was originally scheduled for this summer at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. However, it was announced in December that Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Commander Lt. Gen. Donna Shipton at Wright-Patterson could "be a material witness in the case," adding the transfer to a different base was "in the interest of justice." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kaufman told Military.com in a statement that, for the "convenience of trial participants," the court-martial would take place at Wright-Patterson. Scott Air Force Base's 18th Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Charles D. Bolton is still the convening authority. Such moves aren't uncommon in the military justice system. Eric Carpenter, a former military lawyer who is now a law professor at Florida International University, told Military.com in an interview Tuesday that choosing a convening authority or judge from another base eliminates any potential conflicts that might emerge, while having the trial locally prevents witnesses from having to pay for travel to a different base. "That can happen when you have a convening authority that might otherwise be conflicted," Carpenter said. "They find somebody neutral, and then that convening authority can refer the case." WHIO-TV, Dayton's CBS affiliate, reported last year that Meeker was being represented by a defense lawyer with Joint Base Langley-Eustis Area Defense Counsel. Spokespeople for the counsel group did not immediately return a request for comment asking whether it was still representing Meeker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carpenter told Military.com that it's "pretty unusual" for any allegations of consensual affairs to go to trial in the military justice system, saying they're typically handled with administrative punishment. Meeker's trial this week follows other high-profile Air Force officers facing court-martial proceedings in recent years. Maj. Gen. Phillip Stewart, the former commander of the 19th Air Force, faced a court-martial last year after being accused of sexual assault and other allegations by a subordinate. He was ultimately found not guilty of sexual assault, but he pleaded guilty to and was found guilty of lesser charges. In 2022, Military.com reported on the court-martial proceedings for former Maj. Gen. William Cooley, previously the commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory, who was convicted in a 2023 bench trial of forcibly kissing his sister-in-law and was the first Air Force general ever to face a military trial. Related: Former Air Force Commander at Wright-Patterson Charged with Adultery, Faces Court-Martial A former Colorado sheriffs deputy convicted of killing a 22-year-old man in distress who called 911 for help was sentenced Monday to three years in prison, the maximum sentence, by a judge who said the shooting was about power. Andrew Buen was convicted in February of criminally negligent homicide in the 2022 death of Christian Glass, which drew national attention and prompted calls to reform how authorities respond to people with mental health problems. Prosecutors alleged that Buen needlessly escalated a standoff with Glass, who showed signs of a mental health crisis and refused orders to get out of his SUV near Silver Plume, a small, former mining town along Interstate 70 in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His parents and the agencies involved reached a $19 million settlement that included crisis intervention training for officers responding to people in distress. Judge Catherine Cheroutes said Buens sentence needed to address both the loss of Glass and the damage done to the community by the shooting. I think this was about power. It wasnt a mistake. It was about, you need to listen to me because Im in charge, she said. She said she believed Buens family and supporters that he was a shirt-off-your-back kind of guy but said he acted differently when he put on a uniform and had a gun. Buen, wearing an orange jail uniform, apologized to the Glass family, dabbing his eyes with a tissue with his handcuffed hands as he spoke at a podium. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Glasss family had questioned whether any remorse Buen might show would be sincere. Buen, his voice shaking, said they had every right to feel the way they do. He said his actions had escalated the standoff and told the judge he wasnt owed anything. There are a million things I should have done better that night, he said before he was sentenced. Sally Glass told Cheroutes that Buen had acted like a bully toward her son, a creative and gentle artist who was born in his fathers native New Zealand. He met evil that night and there was no compassion, she said. Simon Glass said his familys grief was compounded at first by authorities initially describing his son as the aggressor in the standoff, which the sheriffs office later apologized for. He said he struggles with anxiety and has trouble referring to his son in the past tense, but takes comfort that his sons name has been cleared, in part because of body camera footage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Katie Glass said she and her mother try to always drive below the speed limit to avoid being pulled over by the police. She said she regrets watching the body camera footage showing her older brothers final moments. He died terrified, in pain and all alone. That is what hurts me the most, she said. Buen, a former deputy in Clear Creek County, was convicted after a second trial. Nearly a year ago, another jury convicted him of a misdemeanor for recklessly putting other officers in danger by opening fire. However, jurors could not agree on a murder charge or a charge of official misconduct. With the support of Glass family, prosecutors decided to try Buen again on a second-degree murder charge. Jurors also had the option of convicting him of the less serious charge of criminally negligent homicide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defense argued that Glass had a knife and Buen was legally justified in shooting him to protect a fellow officer. After his SUV got stuck, Glass told a 911 dispatcher he was being followed. He also made other statements suggesting he was paranoid, hallucinating or delusional and experiencing a mental health crisis, according to Buens indictment. When Buen and other officers arrived, Glass refused to get out. Video recorded by officers body cameras showed him making heart shapes with his hands to the officers. The officers fired bean bag rounds and shocked Glass with a Taser, but that failed to make him exit the car. He then took a knife he had offered to surrender at the beginning of the encounter and flung it out a rear window, which had been broken by a bean bag, toward an officer, according to the indictment. At that point Buen fired five times at him. Lord, hear me, Lord, hear me, Glass was heard saying moments before he was shot. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Hundreds of former Israeli soldiers have called for the prioritization of the release of hostages over continuing the Gaza war, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday. A letter signed by 472 former soldiers from special units, including 135 active reservists, stated that the release of hostages is the most important moral imperative, taking precedence over all other objectives. The letter argued that the continued holding of hostages in the Gaza Strip undermines the moral foundations of the state. The Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas is demanding an end to the war in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of more people abducted from Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are increasing calls within Israel, including from army ranks, criticizing the country's actions in the coastal area and questioning the government's priorities. Some are even calling for an end to the war. Some 1,700 artists and cultural figures have also called for an immediate halt to the fighting and the release of the hostages, the Times of Israel reported. They argue that the Gaza war, which endangers hostages and soldiers and leads to thousands of casualties and suffering on both sides, serves political interests. Additionally, 350 Israeli authors have demanded an end to the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In another letter, around 600 architects, engineers and urban planners reportedly demanded the release of the hostages, even if it means ending the war. Israeli media report that more reservists are refusing to return to the Gaza war as they disagree with the army's actions and fear a potential Israeli reoccupation of the Gaza Strip. By Qabil Ashirov Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing the Embassy of Georgia in Baku. It is worth noting that this will be President Kavelashvilis first foreign visit. The embassy stated that high-level meetings are planned within the framework of the visit, and issues of bilateral cooperation and regional security will be discussed. "The Presidents first official foreign visit begins with the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgias strategic partner and friendly country. Discussions will cover bilateral cooperation, regional security, as well as important economic projects currently being implemented between the two countries," said Zurab Pataradze, Georgias Ambassador to Azerbaijan. It should be noted that President Kavelashvilis visit to Azerbaijan will conclude on April 16. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) HANOI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged China and Vietnam to jointly oppose power politics and unilateralism when meeting with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong during his state visit to Vietnam. Xi extended warm congratulations on the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the 80th anniversary of the founding of Vietnam and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South. Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, Xi said over the past 75 years, China-Vietnam relations have evolved from the traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood" to a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, setting a good example of friendly mutual assistance, solidarity and cooperation between countries. Standing at a new historical starting point, China is ready to work with Vietnam in line with the overarching goals characterized by "six mores" to strengthen strategic communication, enhance solidarity and coordination, and join hands in advancing their respective modernization processes, so as to write a new chapter of unity, self-strengthening, mutual benefit and win-win results among socialist countries, and constantly demonstrate the regional and global influence of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. Xi called on China and Vietnam to respond to the external uncertainties with friendly cooperation and socialist strengths, and propel the ship of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future to sail along the right waterway. Xi said that politically, the two countries should steer the course forward steadily, maintain high-level strategic communication, strengthen mutual learning on party and state governance, jointly improve the two parties' leadership capability, and work together to ensure the steady development of their respective socialist paths. On security, the two countries should forge an anchor of solidarity, and take the upgrade of the "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security as an opportunity to continue to deepen security cooperation on defense and law enforcement, Xi said. China supports Vietnam in preparing for the 14th National Congress of the CPV and safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests, he added. Economically, the two countries should keep a firm grip on the oars of cooperation, create greater synergy between development strategies, and implement well the cooperation plan on synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy. The two sides should deepen multidimensional connectivity in railways, highways and aviation, ensure stable and unimpeded industrial and supply chains, expand cooperation in emerging fields such as 5G, artificial intelligence and green development, and empower the all-round cooperation between the two countries with new quality productive forces. On people-to-people ties, the two sides should raise the sail of friendship, make this year's China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges a success, implement more "small and beautiful" livelihood projects, and make China-Vietnam friendship resonate in the hearts of the two peoples with cultural, tourism, media and sub-national exchanges, Xi said. Xi pointed out that in recent years, the role of the United Nations has been challenged, as unilateralism has clearly been on the rise and protectionism is making a comeback. Trade wars will undermine the international trading system, the stability of the global economic order and the legitimate interests of all countries in the world, especially developing countries, he said. As key members of the Global South, China and Vietnam should strengthen coordination and cooperation, safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and fulfill their responsibilities in promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, said Xi. Luong Cuong described Xi's visit to Vietnam as a historic one, noting that Xi and General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee To Lam have reached extensive consensus on deepening bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperation, which will greatly strengthen mutual political trust, promote the bilateral friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood," and provide important strategic guidance for advancing the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future. China has made great achievements in its development under the guidance of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Luong Cuong said, adding that the Vietnamese side firmly believes that China will smoothly realize the Second Centenary Goal to build itself into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful, making greater contribution to regional and global peace and development. Luong Cuong said China is a top priority in Vietnam's foreign relations. The Vietnamese party, state and people attach great importance to developing relations with China, firmly adhere to the one-China policy, resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, support China's stand on issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong, and oppose any external forces interfering in China's internal affairs, he said. Vietnam is ready to maintain high-level exchanges with China, strengthen experience sharing on national governance, elevate the level of practical cooperation, and create more highlights in such fields as interconnectivity, high technology and environmental protection, he said. Vietnam is also willing to boost people-to-people exchanges and consolidate public support for bilateral relations, strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation to enhance the international influence of the two countries, and properly handle differences and maintain maritime stability, he added. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling) Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney and deputy assistant attorney general, said President Trumps idea to send U.S. prisoners to El Salvador is an abomination. Litman joined CNN News Central with Boris Sanchez on Monday after Trump met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele at the White House to discuss deportations. He was sharply critical of the two leaders who have no plans to return a wrongfully deported Maryland man and the suggestion that U.S. prisoners could head to the Latin American mega-prison where Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, the Supreme Court ruled the U.S. must facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia, but Trump and Bukele suggested they dont have the power to do so. The order offered the administration some wiggle room, as it was unclear if or when the man would return home. During the Monday meeting, administration officials mischaracterized the substance of the courts order, which the former Justice Department official called monstrous. The attempt by the president to just say, Well, I say otherwise, you cant say otherwise, Litman said. Thats the whole point. Litman emphasized that its a violation of Abrego Garcias due process rights and it could cost him his life due to gang violence in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The discussion came as Trump and Bukele have strengthened their relationship following a $6 million deportation deal. Both leaders have avoided responsibility for Abrego Garcias deportation and been at the center of a legal battle to return the Maryland man. Sanchez also asked Litman about Trumps recent claim that he would love to send violent U.S. prisoners to El Salvador, but would need to check if it is legal first. Yes, there are terrible criminals here, but that doesnt mean you can torture them, Litman replied, invoking the Eight Amendment, which prohibits excessive punishments. Its pernicious. This is really even in this case, an abomination of a day with both those suggestions, Litman said of Abrego Garcias deportation and Trumps suggestion. I know you can hear it from my tone, but it is way, way beyond the pale, and just contempt for the Constitution and rule of 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 The Hill. U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Democrat from Thornton, speaks at a press conference in Brighton on Aug. 2, 2023. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline) Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo is seeking a rematch in 2026 against Rep. Gabe Evans, the Republican who unseated her in Colorados 8th Congressional District last year. The 8th District deserves a representative whos looking out for them but Gabe Evans has already shown that he will always put Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and his MAGA backers in Washington first, Caraveo said in a press release Tuesday announcing her 2026 campaign. I cant stand by while Gabe Evans tries to rip away health care from tens of thousands of Coloradans, including the very families I served as a pediatrician, and make life harder for working families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caraveo was elected in 2022 as the first-ever representative for the 8th District, drawn by an independent redistricting commission after Colorado was awarded an additional congressional seat following the 2020 census. The district encompasses parts of Denvers northern suburbs as well as more rural areas in southern Weld County. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The district is the states most diverse about 40% of its residents are Latino and most competitive House seat. Caraveo won election in 2022 by about 1,600 votes out of more than 236,000 ballots cast, then lost to Evans by about 2,500 votes last year. During her time in Congress, Caraveo faced criticism from some progressive Democrats for her moderate voting record, which represented a move to the center relative to her tenure in the state Legislature, where she was a representative. She said during her 2024 reelection bid that her political shift reflected what she called a responsibility to portray the opinions of my constituents in a very evenly divided district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By contrast, Evans, also former state representative, has been an unapologetic supporter of his partys agenda. He has affirmed his support for Trumps plans to carry out mass deportations of tens of millions of undocumented immigrants, and remained silent on the administrations effort to end birthright citizenship. Last month, Evans voted for House Republicans sweeping budget resolution to cut taxes and slash social spending, and he has since falsely claimed that the plan would not force drastic cuts to Medicaid, as nonpartisan congressional budget analysts conclude that it would. Caraveos announcement sets up a primary contest with Democratic state Rep. Manny Rutinel, who previously announced he would challenge Evans and reported a strong first-quarter fundraising haul of over $1 million. With Republicans holding just a three-vote majority in the House, the 8th District race could again prove crucial in determining control of Congress in the 2026 midterms. The National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday quickly slammed Caraveo as a radical and predicted the Democratic primary would be a race to please the far left. While Gabe Evans is delivering commonsense solutions, whoever emerges from the Democrats radical rat race will be just another out-of-touch liberal ready to be rejected by Coloradans, said NRCC spokesperson Zach Bannon. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas on Tuesday launched a bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar in 2026, followed by her campaign announcing just hours later on social media that she had been hospitalized with no further details. Flores was the first Mexican-born congresswoman in the U.S. House after winning a 2022 special election in another Texas border district. She served about six months in Congress but lost her bid for a full term. Her campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment about why she was hospitalized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We pray that Mayra will return stronger than ever, ready to continue her unwavering commitment to serving our country, her campaign said in a statement posted on X. Flores' challenge highlights Republicans' growing confidence in making gains in South Texas, a region once a stronghold for Democrats but has slowly chipped away its support for the party in recent elections. President Donald Trump flipped several counties near the border including the two most populous, Hidalgo and Cameron in November. Starr County, with a predominately Hispanic and working-class population, broke generations of precedent when it flipped for Trump in 2024. Cuellar, who has represented Texas' 28th Congressional District for two decades, won reelection last year against a Republican newcomer who had little outside support. It was a test of Cuellar's resiliency after he and his wife were indicted in 2024 on bribery charges. Prosecutors allege the couple accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said that he and his wife are innocent, and the case remains ongoing. Cuellar's office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ___ Nadia Lathan 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. Solicitors general from past administrations are emerging as some of the most prominent opponents of President Donald Trumps actions targeting the legal profession . In recent weeks, at least three of the nations top advocates across Republican and Democratic administrations have spoken out against or challenged in court Trumps executive orders that seek to punish law firms. I think this is a moment to stand up, former President Joe Bidens solicitor general Elizabeth Prelogar told students during an appearance at Harvard Law School last week. It has been key in our society and in our democracy to hold the executive to account. And there is a legal system that is designed to deal with an issue like this one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two prior solicitors general Donald Verrilli and Paul Clement have been instrumental in challenging Trumps orders in court. Verrilli, appointed by former President Barack Obama, represents the firm Susman Godfrey and Clement, appointed by former President George W. Bush, represents the firm WilmerHale. Both firms are fighting Trumps orders that cut them off from government contracts, strip their lawyers of security clearances and bar firm employees from interacting with government officials or entering government buildings. As Trump targets major law firms for employing attorneys who have investigated him or for taking on cases he views as opposed to his personal and political interests, nine firms, including some of the most profitable in the world , have opted to strike deals with the president instead of challenging him in court. But for firms who have chosen to fight the presidents actions, there may be no greater advocates than those who previously spoke for the federal government at the highest level. You would think the first in line to defend the rule of law would be solicitors general, said a former solicitor general granted anonymity to speak candidly. Every single former living solicitor general should be out in front of this. The solicitor general is the Justice Department's top lawyer and is responsible for representing the executive branch before the Supreme Court. The position is sometimes known as the tenth justice for how frequently they appear before the court and their influential role in shaping its docket. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Verrilli has been especially active on the Trump matter, filing amicus briefs on behalf of hundreds of law firms who sought to take a public stand against his orders, calling the presidents moves an unprecedented threat to the rule of law. The presidents orders are one of the most brazenly unconstitutional exercises of executive power in the history of this nation and a direct assault on Article III courts and the independence of the judiciary, Verrilli said during a Tuesday hearing where a judge granted his motion to temporarily block most of the sanctions against Susman Godfrey. (Susman Godfrey lawyers subject to the executive order wouldnt even be able to go to the post office to mail a letter, Verrilli said.) Clement, the first solicitor general to publicly take on the administration, filed a lawsuit on behalf of WilmerHale at the end of March. It came less than 24 hours after the president targeted the firm with an executive order due to its employment of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller and two of his deputies from the 2017 investigation into alleged Russian collusion with the Trump campaign. The order is as palpable a threat to the separation of powers as Ive seen, Clement said during a March hearing in that case. In the audience during that hearing: Seth Waxman, another former solicitor general under former President Bill Clinton and co-chair of WilmerHales appellate practice who is representing a group of agency inspectors general fired by Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clement has a history of standing up for the rule of law. In 2011, he quit his job at major law firm King & Spalding after the firm decided it would no longer represent the House of Representatives in a case concerning the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act. By Simon Jessop and Richa Naidu (Reuters) -A group of former U.S. Department of Labor officials has urged federal contractors to maintain their corporate diversity policies in the face of legal threats by the Trump administration, a letter seen exclusively by Reuters showed. In an open letter to firms that hold federal government contracts, the ten signatories - whose tenures straddled the Clinton, Obama and Biden administrations - said the administration of President Donald Trump has no authority to forbid companies from running equal opportunity programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Executive orders issued by Trump since his inauguration have sought to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs across federal agencies and contractors, and pressure the broader private sector to follow suit. Opponents of DEI argue the initiatives give some an unfair advantage, but advocates say they address inequality by promoting opportunities for women, ethnic minorities and other under-represented groups. Collectively, contractors employ around a fifth of the U.S. workforce. They include plane maker Boeing and defense company Lockheed Martin, which are among those to have pulled back on DEI programs or communications in recent weeks. Yet the former officials who worked at the U.S. Department of Labor and its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which enforces anti-discrimination laws, said the government's actions on DEI were legally unsound. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Although the federal government has chosen to dismantle diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs in its own workplaces at its own peril, the government cannot prohibit private employers from engaging in fully lawful strategies to advance equal opportunity for all," the letter said. A push by the new OFCCP Director, Catherine Eschbach, to punish unspecified "illegal" DEI initiatives has fuelled "widespread concern and uncertainty" and prompted the signatories to write the letter in a bid to help boards stand firm, they said. "Folks are concerned about what they should be doing, whether they need to back away from this work," letter signatory Pamela Coukos, OFCCP Senior Advisor during 2011-2016 and now co-founder and CEO of consultancy Working IDEAL, told Reuters. The Trump administration has characterized DEI initiatives as radical and wasteful, and steered institutions from making decisions based on merit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Companies who make millions off of taxpayers are welcome to DOGE themselves out of consideration for contracts if they are married to discriminatory DEI policies," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in an emailed response, referring to the government's Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to cut federal spending. "Americans made clear in November that they do not want to fund these radical, wasteful priorities." Contractors needed to weigh their response to the Trump edicts carefully despite the "chaos and confusion," the letter said, adding that DEI had protected firms legally by giving them tools to avoid potentially discriminatory practices. Specifically, Trump cannot change laws set by Congress through an executive order, or hold companies liable for complying correctly with older rules, it said. The move to force private firms to drop DEI also raised constitutional concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They are attempting to turn bedrock civil rights laws on their head and use them to intimidate employers from maintaining not just lawful policies but policies that have really helped them run their business in a positive way," Seema Nanda, Solicitor of Labor under former President Joe Biden and a letter signatory, told Reuters. (Additonal reporting by Ross Kerber and Michael Pell; Editing by Nia Williams) The former commander of the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) has pleaded guilty at his court-martial. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Colonel Christopher Meeker pleaded guilty to a charge of disobeying a lawful order and a charge of fraternization as part of a plea agreement. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors withdrew the charge of unlawful sexual conduct that he was also facing, News Center 7s Mike Campbell reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As previously reported by News Center 7, Meeker was removed on Dec. 29, 2023, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead. Meeker was charged in October 2024 with three violations of Articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice after an investigation. On Tuesday, Meeker admitted he had disobeyed a lawful order after ignoring a no-contract order involving a female staff sergeant hed developed a relationship with. A visiting judge questioned Meeker, who admitted, I was ordered to have no contact with this person and I had contact with this person...due to my own lack of discipline, I did not obey my no-contact order. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, things got even more awkward for Meeker as the judge, Air Force Colonel Matthew Stoffel, questioned him about his guilty plea to the fraternization charge. The judge said that included a personal and sexual relationship with the female staff sergeant. Meeker admitted he and the woman became on a first-name basis with each other, cooked together, and had lunches and dinners together. The judge asked Meeker if the activity also included a sexual relationship, to which Meeker confirmed. He also confirmed it took place on multiple occasions. As reported on News Center at 6:00, prosecutors played five excerpts of interviews with the female staff sergeant the married Meeker was involved with. Among other things, she told them sex was a regular part of their relationship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meeker told the judge that he, was in an emotional and psychological struggle to do the right thing and still help the person I care about. A tearful Meeker added, I was faced with a choice to risk her life or do I take her in and try to help her. She helped me, so I chose to help her. Meeker could have faced dismissal from the Air Force and seven years of confinement as a maximum penalty. He was ultimately sentenced to 21 days of confinement Tuesday afternoon, a reprimand, and forfeiture of $7,000 pay per month for two months. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) The Santa Fe Police Department arrested four suspects in connection with an armed robbery on Friday. Police said the victim arranged to meet a woman, but she was accompanied by three other people. Albuquerque neighborhood reacts to weekend raid of arson suspects home The victim was accused of beating one of the female suspects previously, which police said he denied, and was hit by a man with a gun. The other man then fired his gun. The victim was not hit by gunfire. The group then took the victims vehicle and left the area. Police were later able to find the suspects vehicle, and they were arrested after a chase. Edward Lucio | Courtesy: Santa Fe Police Department Christoper Lee Varela | Courtesy: Santa Fe Police Department Mari Bella Gonzales | Courtesy: Santa Fe Police Department Consuelo Ortega | Courtesy: Santa Fe Police Department Edwin Steven Lucio is facing five charges, including armed robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Christopher Lee Varela is facing six charges, including armed robbery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Mari Bella Gonzales was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon. Consuelo Ortega was charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ortego, Varela, and Lucio all had active warrants in other cases as well. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Four journalists linked to the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny were sentenced to spend five years and six months in a penal colony on Tuesday, after they were accused of working for a banned organization run by the Kremlin critic, Russian state media TASS has reported. The reporters Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov and Artem Kriger have been on trial behind closed doors since October on charges, which they deny, of belonging to an extremist group established by Navalny in 2011. Prosecutors claimed the four had produced material for the YouTube channel of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), according to Reuters, which is prohibited under the countrys foreign agents law. Amnesty International has warned that the repressive legislation is an attack on freedom of association in Russia, where Moscow has increasingly attempted to stifle journalists under censorship laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, mourners gathered at Navalnys graveside in the Russian capital to mark the first anniversary of his death in prison. Dozens of people were detained at memorials, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other rights groups. Over his storied political career, Navalny generated some of the largest anti-government demonstrations in recent years, and unfurled corruption at Russias highest seat of power, under the FBK. Navalny died suddenly at the age of 47 on February 16, 2024, while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges he denied. At the time, Russias prison service claimed he felt unwell after a walk. But Navalnys wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and former US President Joe Biden have long held Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for his death. Moscow has rebuffed those allegations. Authorities in Russia have since tried to erase Navalnys political legacy through their extensive arsenal of repressive tools, according to HRW which called the arrests on the first anniversary of his death just the tip of the iceberg in the Kremlins continued crackdown on his supporters. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner literally employed the Just Asking Questions trope on Tuesday to openly speculate whether Barack Obama is antisemitic because the former president praised Harvard for rejecting the Trump administrations ham-handed effort to regulate the university. Faulkners suggestion that the 44th president could be an anti-Semite comes as Donald Trump continues to escalate his war against Harvard and other elite universities over his administrations claims that they are hotbeds of antisemitism due to campus demonstrations which included hundreds of Jewish students protesting the war in Gaza. After the Trump administration accused Harvard of failing to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment, the university said on Monday that it would not comply with a list of the governments demands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In order to maintain federal funding, the administration warned, Harvard would need to cooperate with immigration officials, screen foreign students for their political views, overhaul academic programs that supposedly have egregious records on antisemitism, subject itself to a viewpoint diversity audit, invalidate pro-Palestinian student groups, and end all programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, Harvard President Alan Garber responded to the administrations demands. Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner says she is "just asking the question" if former President Barack Obama is "antisemitic" after he defended Harvard against the Trump administration. (Fox News) Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect, Obama, a Harvard Law graduate, reacted on social media on Monday night. Lets hope other institutions follow suit. With Harvard being the first university to reject the administrations campus crackdown which has categorized all participants in pro-Palestine campus protests as antisemitic Hamas sympathizers Trump responded by freezing more than $2 billion of federal grants to the university and a $60 million contract. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During an interview with conservative radio host Jason Rantz on Tuesday, Faulkner noted that Harvard now has a new fan in Obama, pointing out that the former president had expressed his support for the university in its fight against the Trump administration. What is he saying? As a former president, what is he saying? Lets hope other institutions drain your cash dollars and fight the current president, the Fox News host exclaimed. He is lying about what happens at Harvard rigorous debate. One of the issues here was a lack of diversity of viewpoint, Rantz replied. So I dont know exactly what it is they are debating, except Jewish students say they have the right to exist on campus. This has nothing to do with academic freedom. Claiming that a lot of folks within the Harvard administration are ideologically aligned with folks on the radical left and that they are rejecting anything perceived as conservative, Rantz added that Jewish students are going to pay a price because of this standoff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Would that put former President Barack Obama and others in his political camp, by the way he went to Harvard Law School, pushing against this are they antisemitic? We cant say whether or not they are. Im just asking the question, she noted. Because Im not listening to what theyre saying because I almost dont believe them. Because I can see what they are doing. Rantz said that, as a Jewish person, if anybody is emboldening antisemitism and justifying it even for different reasons, I view it as antisemitic. Even if they might not be anti-Semites themselves, he insisted, they are certainly emboldening antisemitism, and there is no real difference between the two because it feels the same way to him. On the same day that Rantz seemingly labeled anyone who supports Harvard as emboldening antisemitism, MSNBC political analyst Molly Jong-Fast rejected the notion that the administrations fight against Harvard was justified. This is thought policing 101. This is not ok. The truth is, and I say this as a Jew, this is not. They are using antisemitism as a cloak, she stated. If this administration really cared about antisemitism, theres a lot of stuff they could do. This is not about that. This is about targeting universities. This is about targeting speech. This is right out of the authoritarian playbook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jong-Fast added: It has nothing to do with antisemitism and everything to do with authoritarianism. Meanwhile, it was just a year ago when Faulkner was absolutely beside herself when a Democratic guest brought up Trumps dinner with avowed anti-Semite and white supremacist Nick Fuentes while claiming the president had spewed racist nonsense in the past. In the end, she admonished her guest for even talking like that during the segment. NEW YORK, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Multiple U.S. small businesses Monday sued to challenge the White House's authority to unilaterally issue tariffs on April 2. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade argues that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has no authority to issue across-the-board worldwide tariffs without congressional approval. The lawsuit was jointly filed by the Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan and public-interest litigation firm, and Ilya Somin, a co-counsel and professor of law at George Mason University, according to a court document. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of five owner-operated businesses from the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia and Vermont. "Trade deficits have existed for decades, and do not constitute a national emergency or threat to security," the Liberty Justice Center said in a release. "Moreover, the (Trump) Administration imposed tariffs even on countries with which the United States does not have a trade deficit, further undermining the administration's justification." Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the "Liberation Day" tariffs, as well as the tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, noted the center. However, the IEEPA does not authorize the U.S. president to impose across-the-board tariffs, and not even authorize tariffs at all, argued the complaint. Amid widespread opposition, Trump signed an executive order on April 2 on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" and higher rates on certain trading partners. PARIS (Reuters) - France will expel 12 agents serving in the Algerian consular and diplomatic network in France and will recall its ambassador to Algiers for consultations, the French presidency said on Tuesday. The move comes after Algeria protested France's detention of an Algerian consular agent suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of an Algerian opposition activist. France later said Algeria had expelled 12 of its diplomatic staff. France's relations with Algeria, a former colony, have long been complicated, but took a turn for the worse last year when President Emmanuel Macron supported Morocco's position over that of Algeria over the disputed Western Sahara region. But only last week, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had said that ties between the two countries were returning to normal. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Makini Brice; Editing by GV De Clercq) FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) On Monday night, the Franklin County Board of Education met for the first time since devastating floods swept through the region. The district is working alongside families to help them recover, especially after the tragic loss of a young student. It was a somber beginning to the meeting as the Franklin County school community remembered a young life gone too soon. We want to express our deepest sympathies to the family of Gabriel Andrews and the staff and students at Hearn Elementary, said Board Member Jennifer Kantner. Please join us for a moment of silence in memory of Gabriel Andrews. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dozens of Kentucky roads still closed after flooding in early April According to officials, Andrews was walking to his school bus stop when he was swept away by floodwaters the Friday before spring break. He was pronounced dead shortly after. Andrews had just turned 9 earlier that week and was a student at Hearn Elementary. Superintendent Mark Kopp could not speak about the student because of an ongoing investigation but said grief counselors have been made available to staff and students in their schools. Theyve done a wonderful job in helping our students through a very trying situation. Franklin County Schools spent the last week on spring break, and Kopp said the school district used this time to help the devastated community. Franklin County High School filled its gym with cots, food, and water, serving as a shelter for families who were displaced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its just another example of how we are a family, said Kopp. And were all one team here in this county and in this district. Kopp explained that the family resource centers in schools have also worked diligently to coordinate and distribute supplies to families impacted by the floods. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: We also set up water donations, said Kopp. The National Guard came in at Bondurant Middle School, and weve been delivering water to folks who have been impacted. So, its just been a really great thing for us to come together, work together, and help each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While no one participated in public comment at the meeting, some parents are still left with unanswered questions. When FOX 56 asked why students were in school that Friday and how the events that unfolded may impact future school closing decisions, Superintendent Kopp said he could not 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 FOX 56 News. A fraudster who posed as a Greggs boss to defraud a city council out of 710,000 in Covid loans has been jailed for four years. Aftab Baig, 47, pretended to be a property manager for the bakery chain giant to fraudulently claim small business grants from Leeds city council during the pandemic. He received the money against a number of Greggs buildings in the West Yorkshire city soon after Britain went into lockdown, Leeds Crown Court heard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guy Kearl KC, the Recorder of Leeds, told him: This was a disgraceful attempt to deprive the government of monies, which were in short supply at a time of extreme public anxiety and crisis. The judge said the sophisticated fraud was conducted at a time of national emergency. Baig, of Paisley Road West, Glasgow, was found guilty of three counts at his trial. Leeds city council called his actions brazen and calculated. During the Covid pandemic, the government created a scheme called the Small Business Grant Fund to assist small businesses with their trading amid the lockdown. It was administered by local authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In order to qualify for a grant, applicants had to complete an online application form and then submit it to the relevant local authority. Nadim Bashir, prosecutor, told the court that Baig was the sole director of AUE Catering LTD, which operated within the take-away food business. Baig initially sent an email pretending to be the group property manager for Greggs PLC to Leeds city council, asking for a business rates reference number for 32 business properties in the city. This was provided by the council, after which he made a claim for 710,000 and, whilst posing as a responsible officer for Greggs PLC, provided his own Barclays Bank details for AUE Catering. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That sum was authorised by the business rates manager for Leeds city council, and the money was then sent to the AUE Catering Limited bank account. Five days after the money had been paid on 22 May 2020, the council received information that the applications were fraudulent and his bank account was frozen. Before it was frozen, Baig had managed to transfer 95,000 to two separate accounts, one in the Netherlands. Justice has been served On July 8, police found 16,000 in cash at his Glasgow flat and remittance slips from Leeds city council in the glove box of his car Mr Bashir said the council has recovered most of the money but that over 90,000 remains outstanding and that there will be a proceeds of crime hearing at a later date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In mitigation, Huw Edwards, Baigs barrister, said Baig had no previous convictions and the fraud was out of character. Following the guilty verdict, Kelly Ward, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: Baig took advantage of the difficult circumstances of the pandemic in 2020 to defraud the council out of taxpayers money. Those who cheat the public purse are stealing funds which should rightly go towards services and the community or, in this case, towards supporting small businesses through an extremely challenging time. A Leeds city council spokesman said: This money was intended to support local businesses in Leeds at a time when they were facing unprecedented pressures and when the city and its communities were coming together to get through the pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For someone to take advantage of such challenging circumstances and defraud the public purse is shocking and we would like to thank all those involved in this investigation for helping to ensure justice has been served. 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 ANTONIO In the midst of an industry meeting of freight brokers who talked about freight fraud at every opportunity, Kendra Tucker made an interesting observation: She knows of no fraud perpetrators who ever found themselves in handcuffs. What I get a lot of are anecdotes from our customers about how cargo was stolen, the lengths to which people are going to steal it, Tucker, the CEO of Truckstop, said in an interview at the companys booth on the exhibition floor of the Capital Ideas Conference of the Transportation Intermediaries Association. What you dont hear are stories about how this was punished. And to make that happen, Tucker said, there will need to be a concerted effort on the part of the industry across companies and associations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think it has to do with the issue not rising to the level of enough people as a group being hurt for the right dollar amount to get the FBI to really look at it and try to help us, she added. Truckstop, known primarily for its freight-matching loadboard, has made being out in front of the fraud issue one of the most industry-facing strategies the company has undertaken. But Tucker suggested the company cant do it alone. The TIA itself talks about the issue regularly, and President Chris Burroughs, who rose to the top position last year, made it the core subject in his first address to the organizations biggest conference. Working together is needed But Tucker said the fight against fraud needs to be more collaborative. I was talking with TIA about this, and there really is an opportunity for brokers, carriers and shippers, who are all impacted by this, to come together with people like us and other key players in the industry, to decide how we want to approach it within the industry, so that we can have a cohesive approach to it, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such a step would involve bringing in the Department of Transportation and other government agencies to put some teeth on this. And that gets back to how she opened the conversation: The reason fraud continues is because it isnt being prosecuted. In conjunction with the TIA meeting, Truckstop released a report of a recent survey it did on the top issues facing the industry. According to the company, the top issue identified by brokers was finding a carrier you can trust. Fraud is not new. But there is a consensus in the industry that it has exploded in recent years. Tucker, who became CEO in April 2022 but who joined Truckstop in August 2020, said her discussions with Truckstop customers have been consistent in saying that the fraud of the past few years most definitely is more pervasive than it was several years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But she said there is a parallel: what the industry went through during the great recession. That seems to track right where were in, where weve been in a down cycle or down market that you see fraud really ticking up, Tucker said. Chasing the bad guys and their technology The difference this time from 2008 and 2009 is technology, she said. Two years ago at the TIA meeting, the buzzword was double brokering. Its a practice that can be legitimate if it is simply legal rebrokering: A broker assigns a load to a carrier who then reassigns it to another. There are instances in which that is acceptable under the terms of a contract. But beyond those situations, it can involve theft, late deliveries and service that violates the terms of a brokers agreement with a shipper, and a small loss on the cargo is a much lesser problem than cleaning up the mess afterward. But at the San Antonio TIA meeting, the conversation was about fraud in general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tucker said the latest developments cover a wide range of categories: various digital activity, phishing emails, the actual stealing of freight at the docks and in the warehouses, and the trafficking in legitimate motor carrier numbers bought from an owner willing to part with it for several thousand dollars. I think there have been so many technological advances since the great recession that fraud has been able to proliferate differently than it might have, she said. Technology tools are available to the industry as well, Tucker said, but you have to think one step ahead of the fraudsters because for the nefarious actors, as soon as we find ways to prevent a certain type of fraud thats happening, new ways pop up. Buying a legitimate MC The scam of fraudsters purchasing legitimate motor carrier authorities, usually from an unwitting seller, has become a big problem, Tucker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Tucker described it, the legitimate MC might have a clean record attached to it. But then if the MC number is not being actively used, the owner might stumble upon a Facebook page or other social media channel set up specifically for a scam artist to buy an MC. The pages say, Well buy your MC for $15,000 or even $50,000, Tucker said. It is very active. She noted that while there are more sophisticated tools that fraudsters can use rather than paying an unwitting seller for an MC, the purchase of a legitimate MC to pursue illegitimate ends relies on the seller being not educated enough and protective enough of their personal information. When the scam hits, she said, the illegitimate activity will be tied to that MC number, with potentially long-lasting consequences for the person who sold it. Why would you sell your identity for any amount of money? Tucker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But heres the irony: For all the focus on fraud, the survey also found that it had declined in the past year. Tucker said Truckstops own customers reported a 57% reduction in fraud between last year and this year. Im not saying that fraud has gone away, she said. Im saying that for a good chunk of our customers, it is not at the peak that it was in 24 so thats very good. Truckstops own data is that last year, it blocked almost 13,000 entities that were trying to get on to the Truckstop load board but flunked the companys identity verification. That verification includes needing to present a drivers license as a basic first-step test. Beyond that, Tucker said, there is a multifactor authentication that includes a review by the companys security and assurance team. Over recent years, Tucker said, that team has blocked more than 70,000 entities trying to get on to the loadboard as a broker, carrier or shipper from making it on to Truckstops platform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve got an actual team of humans; some of our highest tenured staff at Truckstop work on that team, Tucker said. That enables them to address head-on the surveys biggest concern about a broker being able to trust the carrier that it hired. Our customers tell us consistently that theyve never gotten a fraudulent carrier from us, Tucker said. So nothing is 100% sure, of course, but very consistently, we get really positive feedback from our customers about how much they trust us. More articles by John Kingston Breaking from the FreightTech AI pack: Companies make their case at TIA meeting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mack long-haul truck makes grand entrance in bid for market share ATBS says independent drivers earned a little more in 24 but drove more as well The post Freight fraud everywhere, but Truckstop CEO asks: Is anybody going to jail? appeared first on FreightWaves. French President Emmanuel Macron will honour 101 craftspeople and public servants who contributed to the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, exactly six years after the devastating fire that endangered the cathedral. The ceremony will take place today at the Elysee Palace from 6pm, around the same time that the fire broke out on 15 April 2019. Senior civil servant Philippe Jost, who oversaw the conservation and restoration effort following the death of general Jean-Louis Georgelin in 2023, will be made Commander of the Legion of Honour, one of the highest decorations in France. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Architects, entrepreneurs, engineers and artisans will also be awarded with the Legion of Honour or the National Order of Merit. Honourees include stone carvers, stained-glass windows restorers and even an organ builder, who all helped revive the splendour of the centuries-old church. In this list, I see rewarded those who have concretely made this restoration a success, hands-on men and women", Philippe Jost told French outlet Le Parisien. Construction workers who took part to the Notre-Dame cathedral restoration visit the cathedral on 29 November 2024 in Paris - AP Photo We owe this transformation to you, said President Emmanuel Macron during his last visit to the cathedral before its reopening. You were the alchemists on the construction site, and you transformed coal into art. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after five years of work, in a grandiose ceremony attended by 1,500 guests including heads of states and royal figures. Since then, the cathedral has welcomed about 30,000 visitors per day, who come to admire the monument, rebuilt exactly as it was before the fire. The cathedrals spire and bells have been replaced, and its stained-glass windows were restored to reverse the damage done by dust and smoke. The South Rose window inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris - AP Photo For five years here, every single woman and every single man was needed to rebuild, every single piece of help was required, even from the other side of the world, said President Emmanuel Macron in his speech during the reopening ceremony. We rediscovered what great nations can do: achieve the impossible. Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala (C) arrives at a court in Lima, Peru, on April 15, 2025. A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison after finding them guilty of money laundering. (Str/Xinhua) LIMA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison "after finding them guilty of money laundering." The decision was handed down by the Third National Collegiate Criminal Court presided by Judge Nayko Coronado, with a majority of the judges voting in favor of the sentence. The time the former president and his wife have spent in pretrial detention, approximately nine months, is to be considered time served. The money laundering charges against the former president and his wife stemmed from alleged illegal contributions that Brazilian construction company Odebrecht made to the Nationalist Party to finance electoral campaigns between 2006 and 2011. Photo taken on April 15, 2025 shows the trial of former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala in Lima, Peru. A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison after finding them guilty of money laundering. (Str/Xinhua) Former Peruvian President Ollanta Humala (C) arrives at a court in Lima, Peru, on April 15, 2025. A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison after finding them guilty of money laundering. (Str/Xinhua) Prisons in France have been hit by coordinated gun and arson attacks in an apparent response to a government crackdown on drug trafficking. About 10 prisons, from Paris to Marseille in the south, were targeted overnight on Monday and Tuesday. Arsonists set fires to parked cars, many belonging to prison staff, outside jails in Villepinte, Nanterre, Aix-Luynes and Valence. The entrance to one prison in Toulon was sprayed with more than a dozen bullets from an automatic weapon at 1am on Tuesday. No injuries were reported in any of the attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gerald Darmanin, the French justice minister, condemned the attacks as attempts to intimidate prison staff and challenge the governments renewed war on drugs. The Republic is confronted with drug trafficking and is taking measures that will deeply disturb the criminal networks. It is being challenged and will be firm and courageous, he said. Along with plans to open a high-security prison that will house the countrys most dangerous drug traffickers, on Monday, Mr Darmanin announced plans to build new prisons that can hold 3,000 inmates. A law currently going through the French parliament would also create a special prosecutors office to deal with narcotics crimes and give new powers for investigators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Overcrowding has become a major problem in French prisons. There are 82,140 prisoners for 62,540 spaces, forcing some to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Bruno Retailleau, the French minister of interior, called the gunfire and acts of vandalism unacceptable and said he had requested extra security for prison staff. The states response must be implacable. Those who attack prisons and prison officers should be locked up in prisons and watched over by prison officers, he said. Mr Darmanin condemned the attacks as attempts to intimidate prison staff - Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but Le Parisien newspaper reported that vandalised cars were found tagged with the letters DDPF, which stands for Defending the Rights of French Prisoners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Telegram channel, also named DDPF, called for attacks on prisons. The channel bears an image of Mr Darmanin behind bars and describes itself as a movement denouncing the violations of our fundamental rights that minister Gerald Darmanin intends to undermine. The messages exchanged are ominous. One reads: All prisoners in France must mobilise and wake up. The situation is grave: we are entering a dangerous and worrying era for the future of the prison population. Posts also accuse prison staff of physical and sexual abuse. The rise in gang crime has lifted support for the far-Right National Rally party and helped drag French politics towards the Right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Darmanin and Mr Retailleau have prioritised tackling drug trafficking. In February, as he announced record cocaine seizures of 47 tonnes in the first 11 months of 2024 compared with 23 tonnes total in 2023, Mr Retailleau said that France had been hit by a white tsunami that had rewritten the rules of the criminal landscape. Mr Darmanin has proposed measures to tighten prison security including building high-security jails to isolate the countrys top 100 kingpins. 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. Asian food sellers were notified last week they can no longer sell at River Parks farmers market and a food truck event. The vendors selling everything from Lao sticky rice with steak to Filipino chicken adobo were told they could no longer do business at the Fresno shopping centers Tuesday evening farmers market or its Saturday afternoon event. The move stems from a complaint from a competing brick-and-mortar Asian restaurant at the shopping center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News of only Asian food sellers being pushed out of the popular events took off on social media over the weekend spurred by posts by many of the vendors. Miski Rustic Peruvian Cuisine is a regular farmers market vendor at River Park, selling Peruvian food. Owner Miguel Quispe defended his neighboring Asian food vendors with an Instagram post over the weekend calling the move racist. He told The Bee in a phone call Monday: I think its incredibly discriminatory, racist, unfair. It undermines what the farmers markets are about, which is inclusivity, bringing different cultures to the forefront. Update from River Park Monday afternoon, River Park released a statement saying it planned a broader review of participants in the farmers markets that might compete with shopping center tenants, regardless of background. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But vendors were still reeling from the news that they had lost access to one of their most popular events. Sticky Rice on Wheels started selling at River Park five years ago always at the Tuesday farmers market and sometimes at the Saturday event. When Natalie Sakkakhanaune-Simmavong, who handles scheduling and other behind-the-scenes tasks for the Lao food trailer, got the news, she was shocked. My first thought was, My God, can they do that? No Asian food? she said. My heart still hurts. I felt literally ran over by a truck. I felt really hurt. Reaction from the public was swift on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Absolutely shameful, said one commenter on El Jabalito food trucks Instagram post. Is this not discriminatory? said another on a Facebook post from Bread and Butter, a Filipino bakery that got its start at River Park before opening its own bakery. Complaints from restaurants on site Vendors said the directive came from River Park, not the two organizations that handle the events with food trucks. The Tuesday farmers market, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., is organized by the California Fresh Farmers Market Association, which also handles two other markets in town. Fresno Street Eats, which organizes food truck events in and around the greater Fresno area, holds the Saturday event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vendors were told they were no longer invited verbally or via text through organizers, they said. Sakkakhanaune-Simmavong shared the text she got from Fresno Street Eats founder Mike Osegueda that said: I just got a call from River Park that because of complaints from restaurants on site, well have to eliminate all Asian food from our events effective immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They did not identify which restaurants made the complaint. But Lins Restaurant Group and its four restaurants in River Park put out a statement on Instagram on Saturday. The company owns Spicy Js, J-Pot, J-tea, and Japanese restaurant O-iza. We are not aware of any such ban, and we have never raised any concerns or complaints about food vendors operating in the area, it said, and went on to say it supported local businesses. The only other Asian restaurants in River Park are P.F. Changs and the little dessert shop Fuwa Fuwa (which specializes in Japanese pancake desserts not commonly found at the farmers markets). P.F. Changs referred The Bee to its corporate headquarters, which did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement River Park executives did not return several messages seeking comment, and Osegueda was not available for comment Monday. Whats next for events at River Park? California Fresh executive director Peter DeYoung said Monday morning that our goal has always been to create a family friendly, multi-ethnic ethnic celebration on a weekly basis. The nonprofit organization has a conditional-use permit with River Park in which it has to follow its rules, he said. DeYoung said his organization and Fresno Street Eats were asked to sign the statement that River Park wrote and that went out Monday afternoon. After stating that all three organizations value the richness of culture and cuisine in the rich multi-cultural communities of the central valley, it said a broader review of participants in the events would start soon to ensure they didnt compete with shopping center tenants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are going to do a thorough review of all food vendors and crafters to make sure that they are in not in direct competition with the Shops at River Park the restaurants and the shops, DeYoung said. CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A busy road in southwest Charlotte is shut down due to a fuel spill in the area, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. Currently, both lanes of South Tryon Street near Clanton Road are closed from the spill. Authorities said to expect delays in the area. Please avoid the area and seek alternate routes, CMPD said on Tuesday. No word on what caused the fuel spill at this time. Queen City News has reached out for more information. MORE FROM QCNEWS.COM Charlotte Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. DENVER (AP) A former member of Gambia's military was convicted in federal court Tuesday of torturing five people accused of involvement in a failed coup against the West African country's longtime dictator nearly 20 years ago, capping a rare prosecution in the United States for torture committed abroad. Jurors at the weeklong trial in Denver also found Michael Sang Correa guilty of being part of a conspiracy to commit torture against suspected opponents while serving in a military unit known as the Junglers, which reported directly to Yahya Jammeh. Correa came to the U.S. in 2016 to work as a bodyguard for Jammeh, eventually settling in Denver, where prosecutors said he worked as a day laborer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Correa, who prosecutors say overstayed his visa, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2019 and then indicted the following year under a seldom-used law that allows people to be tried in the U.S. judicial system for torture allegedly committed abroad. The law has only been used twice since 1994 but both of the previous cases were brought against U.S. citizens. The U.S. Department of Justice said the verdict was the first conviction of a non-U.S. citizen on torture charges in a federal district court. If you commit these atrocities in your country, don't come to the United States and seek refuge, said Steve Cagen, the head of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations' Denver office. Demba Dem, a former member of the Gambian parliament who testified to being tortured by Correa and others, was among those in the packed courtroom to hear the verdict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a victory of democracy, a victory of all the victims, he said. Those alive and those who passed away." 1. Dem and other survivors traveled from Gambia, Europe and elsewhere in the U.S. to testify, telling the jury they were tortured by methods such as being electrocuted and hung upside down while being beaten. Some had plastic bags put over their heads. Prosecutors showed the jury photos of victims with scars left by a bayonet, a burning cigarette, ropes and other objects. The men were asked to circle scars on photos and explain how they received them. Members of the media from Gambia covered the trial in Denver and immigrants now living in the U.S. attended proceedings, including sisters Dr. Jaye Ceesay and Olay Jabbi. They said their brother was killed by Junglers after returning to Gambia in 2013 to start a computer school for children there and they wanted to support others victimized by the regime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defense had argued Correa was a low-ranking private who risked torture and death himself if he disobeyed superiors and that he did not have a choice about whether to participate, let alone a decision to make about whether to join a conspiracy. One of his lawyers declined to comment after the verdict. But while the U.S. government agreed that there's evidence that the Junglers lived in constant fear, prosecutors said at trial that some Junglers refused to participate in the torture. Jammeh, a member of the military, seized power in a coup from the countrys first president in 1994, and survived three significant coup attempts, making him suspicious of the very military he depended on to stay in power, according to testimony. Jammeh has been accused of ordering opponents tortured, jailed and killed during his more than 22-year rule of Gambia, a country surrounded by Senegal except for a small Atlantic coastline. He lost the 2016 presidential election and went into exile in Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after initially refusing to step down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, a truth commission in Gambia urged that the perpetrators of crimes committed under Jammehs regime be prosecuted by the government. Other countries have also tried people connected with his rule. Last year, Jammehs former interior minister was sentenced to 20 years behind bars by a Swiss court for crimes against humanity. In 2023, a German court convicted a Gambian man who was also a member of the Junglers of murder and crimes against humanity for involvement in the killing of government critics in Gambia. Human rights activists in Gambia hope those who committed torture under Jammeh's regime will also be held accountable at home. "Correas conviction is very significant in the quest for justice for victims of human rights violations, but many Junglers and other human rights abusers continue living in impunity. Some are even living freely in Banjul, said Kadijatou Kuyateh, spokesperson for the Alliance of Victim-Led Organisations, referring to Gambia's capital. Correa faces up to 20 years for each of the six counts he was convicted of. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after lawyers determine when survivors can return to Denver to speak about the impact of his actions. The 47-year-old leader of that marketed methamphetamine, organized cockfights and kept a firing range on a 10-acre property will spend 14 years in federal prison. Edward Caspino was sentenced Friday by Senior U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright to 168 months followed by five years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine and operating an illegal gambling business. Caspino also must give up money he made from selling pounds of methamphetamine and running illegal game rooms and chicken fights. He will forfeit at least $600, 000 in cash seized by federal investigators, all part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice filed Dec. 12. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caspino originally pleaded not guilty to the allegations in November 2023. Caspino has to relinquish ownership of the property at 87-881 Iliili Road in Wai anae that served as the headquarters for his operations. Caspino led the Westside gang and hosted large-scale derbies from February 2021 through March 2023 that involved betting on the chickens, side crap games and other gambling. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement the day-to-day operation of the chicken fight events by setting fight schedules, soliciting fighters, constructing the chicken fighting pavilion and seating and coordinating payments for the property. The fights cleared about $2, 000 a day while operating. A typical fight at Caspinos property involved three to five roosters per team with larger events involving more than 50 teams. Individuals paid an entry fee of $500 to $2, 000 per team of roosters. The team with the best record at the end of the derbies was awarded a cash prize. Betting on the outcome of the chicken fights, which end when a chicken is killed or cant continue fighting, was common, both between competing teams and among spectators, according to federal court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amount of individual bets ranged from $10 among spectators to over $1, 000. At some of the fights, other games of chance such as craps or pepito were in operation. In a letter to Seabright on March 31, Caspino apologized for his crimes and took ownership of his behavior. I would like to apologize to the Waianae community for selling drugs and hosting chicken fights. As a longtime member of Waianae, my hometown where I was born and raised, I should have known better about selling drugs, wrote Caspino. Instead of making decisions that hurts my community, I should have been donating my time and effort to build up Waianae. Drugs damage the entire community, families and so many people. In addition, I was also involved in illegal chicken fights. These events often bring violence, gambling and drugs. Plus these fights hurt and kill innocent animals. I have learned from my actions and will work my hardest to improve as a man. Between 1997 and 2001, Caspino committed eight separate felonies at the state level including burglary, robbery and car theft, and received the benefit of a concurrent 10-year sentence to cover all counts, according to federal court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caspino is the first of six people to be sentenced for aiding the illegal gambling business. His brother William Caspino ; mother, Lavern Joseph ; Edward Caspinos wife, Kerilyn Caspino ; and Fausto Aragon Jr. each pleaded guilty to charges related to the illegal gambling conspiracy. Co-defendant Howard Unebasami was convicted by a jury of conspiracy and operating an illegal gambling business after a four-day trial in March. Caspinos sentence demonstrates that federal authorities will work together to put behind bars those responsible for illegal gambling operations and the community violence and drug trafficking tied to them, said acting U.S. Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This prosecution has already secured convictions against five co-conspirators, and Caspinos 168-month sentence stands as a stark warning : running an illegal gambling business in Hawaii carries serious and lasting consequences under federal law, said Sorenson. Anthony Chrysanthis, deputy special agent in charge for the DEA Los Angeles Field Division, said in a statement that the DEA is committed to stopping the flow of drugs on the island. The methamphetamine epidemic continues to threaten the health, safety and well-being of our communities. We are determined to intercept drug suppliers and to disrupt their criminal activities, at every point, he said. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas and the Federal Bureau of Investigations Honolulu Division Special Agent in Charge David Porter lauded Seabrights sentencing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Porter said it sent a strong message that we will use every available resource to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle these organizations. This case was investigated by the DEA, FBI, HSI, the Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Honolulu Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese prosecuted the case. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Gates Police are attempting to identify the driver of the vehicle below accused of a theft from the Gates Chili Central School campus. Gates Police confirmed it appears stop signs were stolen from the campus Thursday evening. As pictured, the vehicle has a front brush guard with a type of yellow or amber light. Anyone with information is asked to call (585) 247-2262 or tips@townofgates.org. 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. Gayle King has responded to the viral online memes poking fun at the footage that was taken of her just moments before she boarded her Blue Origin flight to space. On Monday, King participated alongside Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe and Kerianne Flynn in a mission to sub-orbital space conducted as part of Blue Origins New Shepard space tourism program. Funded by Sanchezs fiance and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, the flight marked the first time an all-female crew has flown to space since Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkovas solo flight in 1963. Before their Blue Origin flight took off, King and her fellow crew members were recorded ringing a bell as they walked toward their space capsule. After the footage was shared, many online were quick to note that King did not look particularly excited about her forthcoming flight. Im hearing Ive become a meme, she said at the top of an Instagram video posted late Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didnt realize that I was being photographed at that moment, nor did I realize that my expression looked so terrified, King said of the memed moment in question. But I was! She did not, however, let her fear stop her from taking part in the successful trip to space. I just thought, Im just gonna go in and get in my seat and Im gonna do this,' she explained. I knew I was always going to do it. King revealed that she, Perry and co. were told they had until two minutes and 30 seconds before the flight was scheduled to take off to back out if they wanted. I wasnt going to be that guy. But getting on, it was a little scary, King noted. So the memes show that I was apprehensive. [But] I tell you: Look at the picture when I got off the capsule! Thats the one that matters. Thats the victory speech. Kings latter comment referenced her reaction to safely landing back on Earth at the end of her 11-minute flight, at which point she knelt down to kiss and touch the ground beneath her feet. Im so glad to be back on Earth, King concluded at the end of her Instagram response. Welcome home has a new meaning. The flights participants have all been criticized, including by Hollywood stars like Olivia Munn, for taking part in the Bezos-funded flight at a time when space exploration is being increasingly taken over by private billionaires and many Americans are struggling to afford their bills and groceries. In response to the flights critics, King told PEOPLE, Anybody thats criticizing it doesnt really understand what is happening here. We can all speak to the response were getting from young women, from young girls, about what this represents. The post Gayle King Explains Her Blue Origin Flight Face That Became a Meme appeared first on TheWrap. WINDHOEK, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The increasing impacts of climate change across southern Africa make science-based and adaptive solutions not only necessary but urgent, a senior Namibian official said here on Tuesday at the opening of a regional climate workshop. Speaking at the two-day thematic workshop hosted by the Southern Africa Science Service Center for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL), Namibian Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Ruthy Masake warned that the country faces escalating climate variability, including severe droughts, devastating floods, and pest outbreaks. "Last year, Namibia declared a State of Emergency due to prolonged drought, which caused widespread crop failures and water shortages," Masake said. "More recently, torrential rains triggered flooding in several regions, while locust infestations in the Zambezi Region further threatened food security." To combat these challenges, Namibia is leveraging research supported by SASSCAL, a regional initiative backed by Angola, Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, and Germany, to guide climate adaptation policies. The country is also enhancing its monitoring capacity, with 44 automated weather stations to be upgraded this year under a 2.9-million-euro (about 3.3 million U.S. dollars) investment. Masake highlighted Namibia's progress in renewable energy, including the launch of Africa's first Green Hydrogen Village in the Erongo Region, supported by SASSCAL. In addition, 34 Namibian students have received scholarships for climate-related studies under the program. The workshop brings together researchers, policymakers, and regional partners to assess achievements and strengthen the use of scientific data in policymaking. "This collaboration is critical to building resilience and securing sustainable development for our nations," Masake said. She encouraged participants at the workshop to turn research into real-world solutions for food security, water management, and energy transition amid growing climate threats. (NewsNation) The daughter of a man who was executed in Iran says the regime used barbaric, Mafia-style methods to send a message to Western nations and urged the Trump administration to pay attention. His tongue was cut out, his heart was cut out, Gazelle Sharmahd, daughter of Jamshid Sharmahd, told NewsNations Chris Cuomo on Monday. Gazelle Sharmahd recently saw her fathers body for the first time after he was executed by the Iranian regime last fall. She said he was unrecognizable, cut into pieces and mutilated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jamshid Sharmahds family wants proof of execution: Gov failed us The German-Iranian 69-year-old, who also had U.S. residency, was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces and sentenced to death for spreading corruption on Earth. The conviction stemmed from terror charges that Western governments and his family heavily disputed. Gazelle Sharmahd wants to meet with President Trump to convey the brutality of the Iranian regime and said her fathers death is a national security case. This is a direct, Mafia-style message, and all the other terrorist organizations are watching how we react to it and how we react to it will determine how safe Americans will be, Gazelle Sharmahd said. Watch the interview with Gazelle Sharmahd in the 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 NewsNation. CARTERSVILLE, Ga. (WJBF) On Friday, April 11th, 2025, the GBI, the Bartow County Detective Unit, the Bartow DTF/SWAT Unit, and the Murray County Sheriffs Office arrested and charged 74-year-old Gary Fowler, and his wife 73-year-old Mary Fowler, both of Chatsworth, GA, with murder in connection to the death of Travis Silvers. Silvers body was found on Saturday, March 10, 2001, in his truck at the Wendys parking lot in Adairsville, Georgia. Courtesy of Google Maps Gary Fowler and Mary Fowler were booked into the Bartow County Jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the GBI Tip Line. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app. The GBI will continue the investigation. Once complete, the case file will be given to the Bartow County District Attorneys Office for prosecution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A second chance at success: Lackawanna County is bringing back a GED program for inmates at the county prison. The goal? Give individuals the tools they need to rebuild their lives and reduce the chance of returning behind bars. The GED program inside the county prison was shut down during the pandemic, but now, its making a comeback thanks to a new contract with a local nonprofit and funding that doesnt touch a single taxpayer dollar. A long-awaited GED program is returning to the Lackawanna County prison Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roughly half of the prison population doesnt have a high school diploma. Officials are aiming to educate, empower, and prevent repeat offenses. What we were finding is as people maybe got that confidence, built up that self-esteem and became, for, eligible for more employment, they were getting jobs out there that were keeping them on a straight narrow path and they werent coming back to see us, Lackawanna County Prison Warden Tim Betti said. Lawmakers react after arson at Governors House The nonprofit Outreach Center in Scranton will provide test prep, tutoring, and help the facility become a certified GED testing site so inmates can take the exam as soon as they feel prepared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have classes, they have certified teachers that come in, all the core classes that you need for a GED, besides providing the GED classes to the population here, is getting this facility certified as a testing site, Betti explained. The program comes with a $200,000 price tag, but its funded entirely through the inmate canteen account Were taking those funds and were reinvesting them for the benefit of the inmate and really for the benefit of the taxpayers, as I said before, in the hopes that our inmates become successful, they get their GED and then they dont come back through our doors, Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan said. The goal is to give inmates a foundation for life after incarceration, opening doors to employment, college, and self-sufficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard to really do anything without a GED these days, so were trying to give the inmates at the prison the tools to be able to be successful once they leave, Commissioner Gaughan added. If an inmate is released before taking the test, Outreach will still help them finish the process at their facility in Scranton. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Gene Hackmans home was infested with rats which carry the disease which killed his wife, an investigation found. An assessment of the late actors $4 million (3 million) property in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was carried out a week after the bodies of Mr Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakwa, 65, were discovered. Traps had been set up throughout the several buildings that made up the property, investigators from the New Mexico Department of Public Health said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators also found rodent droppings, a live rodent and rodent nests in three of the garages. There were additional rodent droppings in two external houses and three sheds within 50 ft of the main house. The main living area was clean with no signs of rodent activity, New Mexico public health officials said. The house owned by Hackman and his wife - Roberto E Rosales Police said they believe Ms Arakawa, a classically-trained pianist, died on Feb 12, while Mr Hackman died on Feb 18. Their bodies were found two weeks after, on Feb 26. Ms Arakwa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a potentially fatal lung condition that humans can contract from contact with rodents and rodent faeces, or their fumes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Hackmans cause of death was severe heart disease with Alzheimers a contributing factor. The actor shared three adult children with his first wife, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne. While they had previously been estranged, they had become closer in the years before his death, according to the Daily Mail. The home was found to have been infested with rats - Santa Fe County Sheriff Office/AP All three of Hackmans children were left out of his will. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa, his two daughters and granddaughter said in a statement following his death. We will miss him sorely, and are devastated by the loss. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carbon monoxide was initially suspected as a possible cause of death after one of the couples dogs was also found dead at the home. The New Mexico Department of State concluded that the dog, named Zinna, had died of dehydration and starvation. One of the couples dogs was also found dead at the home - Facebook Dr Heather Jarrell, the New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner, said last month that it was quite possible Mr Hackman did not realise his wife had died because of his mental state. During his decades in Hollywood Mr Hackman was nominated for five Oscars and won two including for playing the tough New York Police Department detective Jimmy Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, his most celebrated role. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Hackman retired from acting in 2004 and led a private life in Santa Fe. A representative for the couples estate cited Mr Hackmans withdrawal from public life in their bid to block the public release of the couples autopsy and any investigative reports related to the deaths, especially photographs and video. 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. Originally appeared on E! Online More has come to light about Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's residence. After the French Connection star and his wife of 33 years were found dead along with one of their dogs in their Santa Fe home in February, authorities revealed the state of their sprawling property in New Mexico Department of Public Health records obtained by CNN. The March 5 assessmentwhich was conducted to ensure the safety of investigators, first responders and others with access to the propertyfound dead and alive rodents, as well as rodent nests, in three detached garages. Officials also discovered rodent feces in three garages, two casitas and three sheds, per the outlet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the eight buildings on the premises were accessible to the rodents, including two vehicles on the property, the documents noted that the couple's primary residence didn't show any signs of rodent activity and was deemed clean by the department. The assessment was essential as Arakawa, 65, had died of hantavirus pulmonary syndromea respiratory illness that is transmitted to humans through contact with infected rodentsSanta Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed in a press conference. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Days after her passing, Hackman, 95, died from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributing factor. Following their deaths, friends of the couple speculated that Arakawa, who was also Hackman's caretaker, likely didn't know how sick she was since the illness is so rare. "I'm sure if Betsy knew how sick she was, she would've had some backup help," Stephen Marshall said in the Last Days of Gene Hackman: ABC News Special documentary. "She probably thought she was going to get better. She wasn't worried about herself. She was worried about taking care of Gene." Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images While Arakawa, a classically trained pianist, was Hackman's biggest supporter, the feelings were mutual, according to their loved ones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Betsy was just a lovely and charming woman," Marshall recalled. "She had been with Gene since she was pretty young. He was very proud of her accomplishments. She had played with the Honolulu Philharmonic Orchestra." Meanwhile, their pal Kevin Bobolosky shared a glimpse into the couple's sweet dynamic at home. "He was a gentle giant, very calm," he said of Hackman. "Betsy, I think, mostly did all the cooking and cleaning on this big estate out of love. She just adored him. So they had everything they wanted." Read on for everything we know about Hackman and Arakawa's deaths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gene Hackman and Wife Betsy Arakawa Found Dead Feb. 26, 2025 Gene Hackman and his wife of 33 years, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their Santa Fe, N.M., home on Feb. 26 by two maintenance workers who spied their bodies through a window from outside the house. According to authorities, they alerted the caretaker in the gated community where the couple lived and that person called 911. "No, they are not moving," the caller told 911, per an audio recording. "Please send someone out here quick." When Santa Fe County sheriffs deputies arrived, they found Arakawa, 65, on the floor of a bathroom to the left of the frontdoor. She was clad in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, according to a Feb. 27 search warrant affidavit obtained by E! News, and there was an open prescription pill bottle and loose pills scattered on the countertop. Hackman, 95, was on the floor in what deputies described as a mudroom near the kitchen, per the warrant. A walking cane and sunglasses near the body. One of the couple's three dogsinitially misidentified as their German shepherd Bear, it was actually their Australian Kelpie mix Zinnawas found dead in a closet of the bathroom, according to the warrant. Another healthy-looking dog was found near Arakawa's body and the other, also seemingly healthy, was running around outside. A search warrant was executed on the house at around 9:30 p.m. Feb. 26 and Hackman and Arakawa's bodies were removed the following morning. Gene Hackman Death Deemed "Suspicious Enough" to Conduct Investigation While the sheriff's office said Feb. 27 that there were no signs of foul play, investigators determined "the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation," the warrant stated. The warrant noted there were no signs of obvious blunt-force trauma, carbon monoxide poisoning or forced entry into the home. Rather, deputies said they found the front door ajar. There were also signs that Hackman and Arakawa had been dead for awhile: One deputy observed that her body was partially decomposed, with mummification around her hands and feet, according to the warrant, while Hackman's body showed "similar and consistent" signs of death. It was also noted that both looked as if they may have fallen to the ground suddenly. The worker who first saw the bodies told investigators he had last spoken with the couple about two weeks beforehand, per the warrant, and that he usually communicated with Arakawa over phone calls and texting. "All I can say is that were in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza told the Santa Fe New Mexican. "I want to assure the community and neighborhood that theres no immediate danger to anyone." Items of Interest Found in Gene Hackman's Home Two cell phones, blood pressure and thyroid medications, Tylenol, medical records and a 2025 planner were among the items removed by investigators during the search, according to a warrant summary. A Timeline Slowly Comes Into Focus Sheriff Mendoza said at a Feb. 28 news conference that Hackman's pacemaker last recorded activity on Feb. 17, calling it "a very good assumption that it was his last day of life. They were continuing to analyze "cell phone data, phone calls, text messages, events, photos in the cell phone," Mendoza said, "to try to piece a timeline together." But it wasn't going to be easy. As the sheriff explained on TODAY, "We understand that is a challenge because they were very private individuals and a private family. We're trying to put all that information together right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gene Hackman's Family Speaks Out "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy," the actor's daughters Leslie and Elizabeth and granddaughter Annie said in a statement. "He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss." Leslie Anne Allenone of three children the actor shared with first wife Faye Maltesetold Fox News Digital that she hadn't seen her father for "a few years" because she lived in California and he no longer traveled much, but they had "been in touch over the last couple of months." I loved him dearly, she said. "He was a genuinely good-hearted person." And, Leslie said she knew him to be in good health, practicing yoga and pilates regularly. As days went by, family members said they were trying to tune out the noise about what might have happened while whey they waited for official answers. "Were waiting on toxicology," nephew Tim Hackman, whose dad was the actor's brother Richard Hackman, told Us Weekly in an interview published March 3. "That will tell us everything. Its hard to theorize. There are lots of theories out there and I dont want to speculate. Its easy to speculate negative theories. He added, "My uncle was 95 years old at an age where you think about, 'OK, its time.' But from the circumstances now things have changed a bit. Its a major change. Inside Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's Private Life in Santa Fe Hackman, whose last film credit was 2004's Welcome to Mooseport, had lived in Santa Fe with Arakawa since the late 1980s. A painter himself, he was active in the local arts scene and sat on the board of the Georgia O'Keefe Museum from 1997 until 2004. He was a pretty low-key individual even though he was someone who had amazing stories to tell about Hollywood and other celebrities, longtime friend and gallery owner Stuart Ashman told the Los Angeles Times. He was just a regular guy." Santa Fe film commissioner Jennifer LaBar-Tapia told reporters that both Hackman and Arakawa were "deeply woven into the fabric of Santa Fe." But sightings of Hackman had become increasingly rare, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Friend Daniel Lenihan told People the actorwho used to walk his dogs and ride his bicycle around their neighborhood and patronize local businesseshad been "essentially kind of home-bound" in recent months. His son Aaron Lenihan said Arakawa "was still trying to keep him as active and engaged and healthy as possible," but Daniel said Hackman was "really slipping." Daniel's wife Barbara Lenihan said Arakawa, a classical pianist, had been in "perfect health" and was "so fit." The last paparazzi shot of a frail-looking Hackman and Arakawa out in public together was published by Page Six in March 2024. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Gas Leak Ruled Out Tests on Hackman and Arakawa's bodies for signs of carbon monoxide poisoning came back negative, Sheriff Mendoza told reporters Feb. 28. But, he noted, complete autopsy and toxicology results could take "three months or longer." The New Mexico Gas Company stated March 4 that, while a "minuscule leak" was found in a stove burner, it didn't emit enough carbon monoxide to have proved fatal, nor did their investigation reveal any further leaks or gas line issues. Investigators said there were several other code violations in the home, but nothing having to do with gas or carbon monoxide. Cause of Death Determined for Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare respiratory infection caused by exposure to rodent feces, urine or saliva, New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said during a March 7 news conference. Hackman, meanwhile, "showed evidence of advanced Alzheimers disease, Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately thats what resulted in his death." Arakawa may have experienced flu-like symptoms before she died, the medical examiner said. New Mexico state public health veterinarian Erin Phipps said the couple were at "low risk" for exposure from their house but there were signs of rodents in other structures on the property. A total of 122 cases and 52 deaths from hantavirus were reported in New Mexico between 1993 and 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heartbreaking Death Timeline Revealed According to the coroner, it looked as if Arakawalast known to have run errands on Feb. 11had been dead for about a week before Hackman died, seemingly on Feb. 18 going by his last pacemaker activity (a day after originally noted by authorities). Their bodies weren't discovered for another eight days, so 15 days after Arakawa died. As far as authorities know, Hackman was alone in the house with his wife's body until he himself passed. Its quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Hackman didn't have food in his stomach when he died, she noted, but he was not dehydrated. Their dog Zinna had been in a crate in the bathroom and died of starvation and dehydration, according to state vet Phipps. Why Gene Hackman Couldn't Live Without His Wife At this point," Sheriff Mendoza said March 7, "theres no indication that there was a caretaker at the home." Arakawa had basically been managing her husband's life for years, scheduling his golf games and visits with friends, according to pal Tom Allin, who told the New York Times he knew Hackman for 20 years but it was always the actor's wife he spoke to on the phone. She was very protective of him," Allin said," and Hackman would have died "long ago" if not for her. All of us that knew him should have been checking on him," Hackman's friend Ashman told the Washington Post. "I had no idea...Its just really sad. And that she died a week before him. My God." On the apparent last day of Arakawa's life, she emailed her massage therapist in the morning, went to a grocery store in the afternoon and stopped at a pharmacy before going to a pet store. She was back home by around 5:15 p.m., according to authorities, and responded to no emails after Feb. 11. Sheriff Mendoza said he believed she wore a mask while running her errands, which friends said she regularly did for fear of bringing any illnesses home to her husband. Unexpected Timeline Twist While the coroner determined Arakawa died around Feb. 11, a local doctor says he spoke to her the following day. "She called back on the morning of February 12 and spoke to one of our doctors who told her to come in that afternoon, Dr. Josiah Child, who runs Cloudberry Heath in Santa Fe, told the DailyMail in an interview published March 17. "We made her an appointment, but she never showed up." The appointment was not related to hantavirus, he added, noting, "We tried calling her a couple of times with no reply." For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App Gene Hackman's residence was severely "infested" with rats, making it what has been described as a "breeding ground" for the deadly hantavirus. The legendary actor and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at his Santa Fe mansion in February, alongside their dog, with reports later confirming she died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome about a week before he passed away. Gene Hackman's daughter Leslie has since broken her silence on her father and stepmom's deaths, explaining that although it was concerning, it was "not terribly shocking because he was 95." Gene Hackman And Betsy Were Found Dead In Their Home Guerra Jr/The Grosby Group / MEGA More revelations are coming out from investigations into Hackman and Arakawa's deaths earlier this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The couple was found dead at their New Mexico home in February after a neighbor called police to perform a welfare check on them. Carbon monoxide poisoning was initially suspected to have been the cause of their death but was later ruled out after investigators discovered their dog was also found dead elsewhere on the property. The New Mexico chief medical examiner, Dr. Heather Jarrell, told a press conference in Santa Fe in March that it was "reasonable to conclude" that Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome on February 11, a rare condition that's brought about by the hantavirus which spreads mainly by rodents and can cause various disease syndromes in people. Hackman died a week later, on February 18, of "hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributory factor," the expert said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hantavirus infection occurs through inhalation of aerosolized urine, droppings, or saliva of infected rodents. The Couple's Property Was A 'Breeding Ground' For Hantavirus Due To Rat Infestation Luis Guerra/The Grosby Group/ MEGA According to TMZ, the New Mexico Department of Public Health conducted a health assessment on the property after the tragic event, and it has now been declared that the mansion was "infested" with rats, making it a "breeding ground" for the deadly hantavirus. Droppings were found in three garages, two casitas, and three sheds on the property. Also, a live rodent, a dead one, as well as a rodent nest were found in three more garages on the property. The property also had traps on site, suggesting that the Hackman had been trying to find a solution to the rodent infestation their home was under. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also conducted the health assessment on first responders or others who were on the property were safe, with the results declaring the primary residence as "low risk" with no signs of a rodent infestation inside. Gene Hackman's Daughter Said His Death Wasn't 'Terribly Shocking' MEGA Shortly after his death, Hackman's daughter Leslie broke her silence in an interview with the Daily Mail, suggesting that his passing was quite puzzling as "there was no indication that there was any problem" with her father. "Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition," she told the news outlet, adding that the actor did not have any major surgeries in the months before his death. "He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health." She went on to say that his death, however, was "not terribly shocking because he was 95." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Leslie and Hackman's children and family may not get anything from his fortune as his will listed Arakawa, whom he married in 1991, as his sole inheritor. On the other hand, Arakawa's will stipulated that if she and Hackman were to die within 90 days of each other, the proceeds from the estate would be donated to charity. The Actor Retired For Health Reasons CAMERA PRESS / TSUNI/STILLS/GAMM/ MEGA Little was known of Hackman in his final years as he had become quite a reclusive figure following the end of his acting career in 2004 at age 74. He relocated from Los Angeles to New Mexico after his retirement and told Empire in a 2009 interview that his health was the major cause of his calling it quits on his acting career. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The straw that broke the camel's back was actually a stress test that I took in New York," Hackman said. "The doctor advised me that my heart wasn't in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress." Gene Hackman's Daughter Credits Betsy Arakawa For 'Keeping Him Alive' News Licensing / MEGA Hackman's last role was in the 2004 film "Welcome to Mooseport," where he played a former US president who retired to Maine and ran for mayor in the small fictional town opposite Ray Romano. In her interview with the Daily Mail, Leslie credited Hackman's wife, Arakawa, "for keeping him alive." "They had a wonderful marriage. And I give credit to his wife, Betsy, for keeping him alive," she said. "[Betsy] took very, very good care of him and was always looking out for his health." She added, "So I am appreciative to her for that, and I'm very saddened by her passing." Democrats have been grappling with the need for generational change inside their party leadership in the months since last Novembers election. In the Senate, that debate could soon get kicked into overdrive. Sen. Dick Durbin, the partys No. 2 leader, will announce in the coming weeks whether he will run for reelection. Many Democrats in Washington and back in Illinois are expecting the 80-year-old to say he will retire next year at the end of his current term. That decision would have major ramifications inside the Senate Democratic Caucus, where the median age is 66 years old. If Durbin the third-oldest in the caucus hangs up his hat, it will provide an opening to inject new blood into the upper echelons for the first time in a decade. And it could come at a politically precarious moment: Congressional Democrats are facing doubts from their own partys voters about their ability to lead in President Donald Trump's Washington , and there are lingering questions outside of the Senate about Minority Leader Chuck Schumers continued leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many senators are hailing the modest shift that's already underway that has empowered an influx of opinionated, media-savvy freshmen and elevated some of the caucus younger members into the lower rungs of the leadership ladder. We need that youthful energy in caucus leadership, said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), 67, about the broader changes, crediting their newest members for not sitting down and waiting for years before they speak up. Durbins potential retirement at the end of 2026 could solidify that generational shift: 52-year-old Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii is currently viewed as his most likely successor though one person granted anonymity to describe internal discussions cautioned that there hasnt yet been a thorough caucus-wide discussion out of respect for Durbin, who has not tipped his hand on his reelection decision. Schatz, the seventh-youngest Senate Democrat, is viewed as having ambitions of one day leading the caucus though hes made no indication that he would challenge Schumer, who will face a referendum on his leadership after the 2026 election and reelection for his Senate seat in 2028. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two other relatively youthful members Minnesotas Amy Klobuchar, 64, and New Jerseys Cory Booker, 55 have also taken on more senior roles in caucus leadership since January. Booker, who has helped the caucus and his colleagues expand their reach online, is viewed as unlikely to challenge Schatz for the whip position. A spokesperson for Klobuchar did not respond to a request for comment. Klobuchar moved into the No. 3 role after the 2024 election, while Schumer gave Booker the No. 4 spot and a newly created position chairing the strategic communications committee. Schumer also added 51-year-old Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut onto his expansive leadership team with the title of deputy conference secretary. Schumers effort to widen his leadership table came after the release in recent years of some pent-up angst over the distribution of power within the caucus, which still runs largely on seniority. Hes discussed elevating younger members of his caucus as a key part of his job, comparing himself to an orchestra leader. That includes recently touting Schatz and Murphy as effective voices and Booker for boosting Senate Democrats digital efforts. Schumer also helped tap 48-year-old Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin who was once overheard jokingly referring to the Senate as a retirement home to give the party's response to Trumps recent joint session address. But Durbins potential exit would be an especially significant moment. Democratic insiders in Illinois expect him to announce a decision soon, with the veteran lawmaker signaling he faces a difficult decision committing to two years of campaigning on top of another six years on the job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Already at least six Illinois Democrats have expressed interest in running to succeed him, including Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton; Reps. Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lauren Underwood; state Sen. Robert Peters and Christopher Swann, a nonprofit leader in Chicago. In addition to his leadership post as whip, Durbin holds the top Democratic seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee a high-profile role that includes riding herd on lifetime judicial nominations. The man expected to succeed him in that spot Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who is 69 led a failed effort in 2020 that would have effectively forced Durbin to pick between the whip job and the top Judiciary spot. Intra-caucus tensions boiled over last month amid a confrontation with Republicans over government funding. Inside closed-door meetings, heated debates played out that underscored the divides within the caucus, according to three people granted anonymity to detail the discussions. That included fierce questions from a historically quiet corner: The freshmen, many of them former House members, who were united in questioning why leadership had waited so long to articulate a cohesive strategy. But they also rankled some of their more senior colleagues, who felt that they leaned too eagerly into a possible government shutdown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the end, Schumer cast a procedural vote with Republicans that effectively sidestepped a shutdown. Durbin was among those who joined the top leader as was Schatz, who echoed Schumers warnings about the dangers of shutting down the government in a statement about his vote. But Schatz also acknowledged the backlash that emerged from multiple corners of the party over that position, and he said that while he shared the frustration, Democrats can't let disagreements about strategy and tactics divide us. Senate Democrats have tried to turn the page publicly on their internal infighting since then, but privately they are still grappling with what their strategy should be both in terms of messaging and how aggressive they should be with their tactics. Part of their answer, so far, has been rhetorical, with Schumer ramping up his media appearances to criticize Trumps tariffs and Republicans legislative agenda, which includes plans for tax cuts and potential cuts to safety-net programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A number of Senate Democrats have announced they have placed holds on many of Trumps nominees a tactic that can slow them down if not ultimately prevent them from being confirmed. That includes Schatz, who had already said before the government funding fight that he would slow down Trumps State Department picks before later expanding his target list. Freshman Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona also announced earlier this month that they would make moves to hold up Trump nominees. But the tactic that has most resonated with Democratic activists and voters was Bookers recent 25-hour speech from the Senate floor, which revived questions about his future leadership ambitions whether those would include rising inside the Senate Democratic Caucus or pursuing another White House bid. Booker has batted down suggestions he wants to challenge Schumer, and his colleagues say he hasnt privately indicated that is his aim. But hes also making his own case for how he believes Democrats should be acting amid the current political climate. Theres a lot of people out there asking Democrats to do more to take risks and do things differently, Booker said after his speech. I just think a lot of us have to do a lot more, including myself. Shia Kapos contributed to this report. Editors Note: Previously, the article mentioned that WKRG would have a livestream of the news conference; however, we will not be able to livestream the event. GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WKRG) The George County Sheriffs Office will hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss a recent operation in conjunction with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. George County Sheriffs Office to hold National DEA Drug Takeback event Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GCSO Sheriff Mitchell Mixon and Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell will be speaking at the event. News 5 will have a crew at the conference. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Gov. Brian Kemp will sign a pair of tax-related bills on Tuesday. One would give Georgia taxpayers another special tax refund while the other will reduce Georgias state income tax rate. Kemp will hold a ceremonial signing at 11:15 a.m. on Tax Day with members of the Georgia General Assembly in attendance. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< House Bill 112 passed the General Assembly for the one-time special refund, which Kemp first proposed back in October. It matches the previous refunds that taxpayers received in 2022 and 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Single tax filers will receive $250; single head-of-household filers $350; and joint tax filers $500. Taxpayers who filed returns for 2023 and 2024 would be eligible. The governors office says the refunds would total $1 billion. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The Georgia General Assembly also passed House Bill 111 to lower the state income rate to 5.19%. The state income tax cut had already been planned, but HB 111 accelerated the new tax rate retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year. Read: Report reveals incident that preceded Duval inmate Charles Faggarts death stretched over 2 hours Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read: Jacksonville police identify 9 officers removed from jail duties after injury of inmate who died Read: Man dead, woman injured in Jacksonville double shooting [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. MOGADISHU, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Two fishing vessels and a dhow were hijacked off the coast of Somalia between Feb. 7 and March 16, indicating that piracy in the region remains a threat, according to a new report released Tuesday by a global anti-piracy body. The International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) first-quarter report reveals that 26 crew members were taken hostage in these incidents, which demonstrates the continued capability of Somali pirates. "The IMB advises ships navigating these waters to exercise caution and to strictly follow the latest version of the Industry Best Management Practice," the IMB said. According to the agency, all crew members and the vessels have been released. The international navies patrolling these waters continue to coordinate and liaise with merchant and fishing fleets to identify and apprehend pirate action groups. It cautioned vessel owners and masters against complacency. "Although three Somali piracy incidents have been recorded, several hijackings of dhows and fishing vessels may have gone unreported," the IMB said. Meanwhile, the IMB urged continued caution in the Gulf of Guinea waters as crew members remain at risk, although the number of reported incidents within the region and adjoining littoral states continues to be at its lowest in nearly two decades. "All 13 kidnapped crew were reported in these waters in two separate attacks with a total of six incidents reported in the first quarter of the year," the IMB said. "While we welcome the reduction of incidents, the safety of crew members in the Gulf of Guinea remains at greater risk. It is essential to maintain a strong regional and international naval presence to address these incidents and ensure the protection of seafarers," IMB Director Michael Howlett said. A Georgia man was arrested after federal authorities said he made numerous death threats against Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Monday. Aliakbar Mohammad Amin, of Lilburn, Ga., was charged Friday with transmitting interstate threats to injure Gabbard and her family, according to the DOJ press release. Threatening to harm public officials is a criminal act that cannot be excused as political discourse, acting U.S. Attorney Richard Moultrie Jr. said in a statement. Our Office, in coordination with our law enforcement partners, will vigorously prosecute individuals who commit these acts of violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors allege Amin sent text messages between March 29 and April 1 that contained threats against Gabbard and her husband, including, You and your family are going to die soon and I will personally do the job if necessary. The home you two own is a legitimate target and will be hit at a time and place of our choosing, Amin wrote in another text, according to the DOJ. Other texts allegedly included, Prepare to die, you, Tulsi, and everyone you hold dear. America will burn and Death to America means death to America literally, Tulsi is living on borrowed time. The DOJ press release said federal agents discovered similar threats that Amin made against Gabbard and her husband on social media. They allege he posted a photo with a firearm directed at a photo of Gabbard and another photo with a firearm directed at a photo of Gabbard and her husband. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal agents later found a firearm at Amins house while executing a search warrant, the DOJ said. The FBI sees all threatening communications as a serious federal offense. We will employ every investigative tool and resource available to identify those responsible and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, Paul Brown, special agent in charge of the FBIs Atlanta Field Office, said in a statement. Let this arrest serve as a clear warning: if you engage in this kind of criminal behavior, you will be caught and you will go to prison, Brown added. Gabbard thanked the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement Friday after the FBI announced the arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thank you @FBI, @USMarshalsHQ, and local law enforcement for your service and dedication in apprehending this radicalized, dangerous criminal who repeatedly threatened the lives of me, my family, and @realDonaldTrump. Thank you for your tireless work every day keeping the American people safe, she wrote in a post on social platform X. Amin remains in custody pending trial, after making his initial appearance before a federal judge. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. State Rep. Devan Seabaugh, of Marietta, entered a guilty plea for a 2024 case where he was accused of driving under the influence in Atlanta and hitting a bicyclist. The case, which was investigated by the Georgia State Patrol in August, saw Seabaugh charged with failing to yield to a a bicyclist in a bicycle lane and DUI. Channel 2 Action News reported in 2024 when members of law enforcement said Seabaugh veered into a bike lane and hit a cyclist. Witnesses at the scene said the cyclist appeared uninjured at the time, but Seabaugh was still cited. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day after the incident, Seabaugh put out a statement denying he was driving under the influence, but a GSP trooper said in a report obtained by Channel 2 Action News through an open records request that the Congressman smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from [Seabaughs] breath. The GSP said the cyclist suffered an injury but was unsure if it was from Seabaughs car hitting him. According to records from the Atlanta Municipal Court system, Seabaugh entered a guilty plea on Tuesday. However, the details of the plea were not immediately available. Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the Atlanta Municipal Court Clerk and Rep. Seabaugh for further detail and comment and is waiting for their responses. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, is participating with combat aircraft in a United Arab Emirates exercise for the first time since 2012. Tornado jets had taken off from the Norvenich air base in western Germany to join in the "Desert Flag 2025" manoeuvre on the Arabian Peninsula, a spokeswoman for the German armed forces said on Tuesday. Germany is seeking to strengthen relations with the nations of the Arabian Peninsula. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germany has initially sent eight Tornado jets to participate in the exercise, which starts in a few days. Together with air forces from other nations, they will train for complex air war scenarios, low-level flights and cooperation with so-called Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) - covert ground forces who guide planes to their targets. The United States, Britain, France, Australia, South Korea, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, India and Turkey are also taking part in the exercise. The Luftwaffe describes the United Arab Emirates as a long-standing, important and reliable partner in the region, and says the cooperation provides important benefits for both sides. The support of nations in the Middle East is also considered important for planned deployments of German military aircraft to the Pacific region in the future. The "world's largest humanitarian crisis" unfolding in Sudan cannot be forgotten, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Tuesday at an international aid conference in London to mark two years since civil war broke out in the north-eastern African country. "How can we forget the world's largest humanitarian crisis?" asked Baerbock, highlighting the plight of the "30 million who cannot survive without humanitarian assistance" and the "horrific reports of women and children being raped." "This war must end," added the outgoing minister, who is set to step down in May when Germany's next government takes office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Germany is contributing 125 million ($142 million) in aid for Sudan and neighbouring countries, Baerbock said. But the sum can never be enough if the conflict does not stop, she argued. "This war must end." Some 20 countries participated in the London Sudan Conference, alongside representatives from the African Union and the European Union. The civil war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary organization and the Sudanese Armed Forces has been ongoing in the north-east African country since April 2023. Figures from the United Nations suggest that more than 12 million people have been displaced in the conflict, while 24.6 million face acute hunger within the country. Human rights organizations have accused both sides of war crimes such as sexual violence, attacks on civilians and ethnic cleansing. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, and Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, attend the London Sudan Conference at Lancaster House. Isabel Infantes/PA Wire/dpa Perhaps the citizen naysayers are right. Perhaps this is all nefarious and underhanded these Gilbert Town Council members asking sharp questions about public information requests. After all, they represent a town that fell asleep on the Gilbert Goons, the gang of thugs who violently preyed on mostly young men in Gilbert and surrounding communities. Theyre also on a council that has been at war with itself, filled with angry insults and a half-dozen ethics complaints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, some of those same town leaders are asking about the so-called frequent flyers, the citizens or even non-citizens who keep requesting public information from the town detailed statistics, email exchanges, text messages, police records, you name it. Gilbert spends millions on records requests The requests for public information are so vast today and rising that the town now must budget $2.1 million a year simply to process them all, town Clerk Chaveli Herrera said. In 2024, Gilbert responded to some 27,328 total record requests across multiple departments more than Mesa, a city nearly twice its size, The Arizona Republics Maritza Dominguez reports. Some Gilbert citizens didnt like the questions asked by Council Members Chuck Bongiovanni and Jim Torgeson, suggesting there was something vaguely intimidating about them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Interestingly, Bongiovanni and Torgeson both won election promising greater transparency on a council riven with controversy. Ive never interviewed these men. Dont know them. So, I went to the video of their March 25 council study session to see what all the fuss was about. Even a healthy system can be abused What I saw at the start was a town attorney and clerk tell the council that there is almost no give in the Arizona Public Record statutes. Anybody can request information, and the town must provide it. There are exceptions, but they are few. And they had better pass muster with the courts, Town Attorney Chris Payne said. This is a healthy system in a democracy that depends on informed citizens electing town and city leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Surprise! The First Amendment is against the rules in this Arizona city But the system can be abused, and in Gilbert and across the United States there are cranks and conspiracy theorists who like to put town halls through expensive exercises of mass data collection and processing. Some people make broad requests for official email exchanges over many years all of which require sorting and eventually vetting by the towns legal arm. An example was a request last August for 3,100 emails with 730 attachments (some with multiple pages), Payne said. That took about 40 hours and $2,000 in staff time. Why does it cost so much? It's a fair question And it was hardly unusual. In fact, that request was small compared to others that are broader and require many times more staff hours, Payne said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The town attorneys office spends upwards of $350,000 a year just to vet public information queries, he said. Hearing all this, Bongiovanni asked an essential question: Gilbert is a very prosperous town, and we can only afford $10,000 to help seniors and people on fixed income pay their water bill. And yet we can spend $400,000, $500,000 on wasteful FOIAs that we know are just being submitted as harassment. Neither Bongiovanni nor Torgeson were talking about mainstream media queries. They were referring to serial abusers of public information requests. If this was an underhanded effort to turn off the spigot of information to the public, Torgeson sure didnt sound like a censorship fiend. Torgeson doesn't sound like he has secrets to keep He asked the town attorney if there was a way to just grant people access to all of the councils communications. Could they be stored in a clearinghouse with public access, so Gilbert could save millions on processing and vetting? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have no problem opening up every email, every phone call, every text. I want the abuse of the tax dollars to stop. Because these few people are costing us hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars, Torgeson said. If it can be done for a reasonable number and just open everything up, I have nothing to hide, and Im sure no one here has anything to hide. I want to stop the abuse. Payne said, Well look at that. The information would still need to be vetted. Im sure Torgeson knows that. But he didnt sound like a guy with secrets to keep. Nor did Bongiovanni. This looked more like a two-man DOGE session to ferret out waste, fraud and abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Phil Boas is an editorial columnist with The Arizona Republic. Email him at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gilbert councilmen want to stop waste. That's no conspiracy | Opinion GLUCKSTADT, Miss. (WJTV) Gluckstadt police arrested a man after a chase in a vehicle that was reported stolen in Georgia. Police said the suspect, Nigel Keshune Wilcox, led officers on a short chase around 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 15. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed on Interstate 55 near the 109-mile marker. Memphis man sentenced for Mississippi human trafficking case According to investigators, Wilcox was later seen near the Fleetway Service Station in Gluckstadt and ran into a wooded area behind Sonic. He was located a short time later and arrested. Nigel Keshune Wilcox (Courtesy: Gluckstadt Police Dept.) Gluckstadt police arrested a man after a chase in a vehicle that was reported stolen in Georgia. (Courtesy: Gluckstadt Police Dept.) Gluckstadt police arrested a man after a chase in a vehicle that was reported stolen in Georgia. (Courtesy: Gluckstadt Police Dept.) Wilcox was transported to the Madison County Detention Center. He has been charged with felony eluding a police officer, receiving stolen property and reckless driving. Wilcox is expected to make his initial appearance in court on Wednesday, April 16. 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. by Fayez Elzaki KHARTOUM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- A video from my neighbor popped up on my phone without warning. Grainy footage showed armed men kicking down the door of my Khartoum apartment and ransacking the rooms I know by heart. My throat tightened, and my hands shook as I stared at the screen, assuming that my family must have been scattered elsewhere, seeking refuge. A journalist without a home, documenting the destruction of a nation he no longer recognizes -- this is how I found myself two years into the conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. As I traveled across the nation trying to gather what survival looks like, I passed hollowed-out buildings and streets littered with unexploded ordnance, I smelled the air of burnt concrete and despair, and I met my fellow countrymen clinging to fragments of their former lives. In Karari District, Omdurman, I encountered 50-year-old Asiya Abdul-Rahim. The aluminum teapot in her hands gleamed dully as she wiped it with the edge of her faded black robe. Behind her, the skeletal remains of her mud house stood as a silent witness to the unrelenting war. When her granddaughters' stomachs growled, she could only offer water. "Last night, we ate the last little bit of sorghum flour, and today, all we have is water to fill our stomachs," she told me, her calloused hands resting on a child's distended belly. Abdul-Rahim's story unfolded with the brutal familiarity I'd come to expect: a son lost 14 months ago to artillery shelling, a roadside hut of branches and straw offering no real shelter, a faltering tea business beneath falling bombs, and little grandchildren to feed. "A cup (of tea) costs only 500 Sudanese pounds (about 20 U.S. cents on the parallel market), but who would want to drink tea under the bombardments?" she wondered aloud. The question hung between us. I had no answer. Further north in the Shambat neighborhood, I met Nawal Abdel-Hafeez, 48, who was sitting on a cold stone and quietly scrubbing old pots and pans she had brought back from a shelter. The woman and her four children had just returned from Atbara city after being displaced to find "no trace of life" but only rubble where her home once stood. "I couldn't recognize where my house was," she told me. Each day, Abdel-Hafeez would sift through the wreckage, hoping to uncover pieces of her home to hold onto. "The family album, the carved wardrobe, the children's toys, their schoolbags ... everything is gone," she said. The sole surviving treasure was a torn photo of her and her missing husband. "We miss him so much, we long for that warm home, and we pray he's still alive," she whispered, tears in her eyes. A kilometer east, 80-year-old Omer, who didn't disclose his full name, was watering okra seedlings in a cratered courtyard when I encountered him. His son was taken by the war, and his grandson fled to Egypt. He returned home alone from a shelter near the city of Ad-Damir, with nothing but a torn blanket, and found that water, electricity, and daily services were no longer available in his neighborhood. Every day, Omer has to drag his aging body to collect food aid from a charity, fetch water from a kilometer away, and gather firewood for cooking. "My grandson loves okra," he murmured, the watering can shaking in his hands. "When these seedlings grow, maybe he'll come back." At his age, the silence of loneliness is perhaps even more terrifying than death. Omer often sits at his doorstep at night, reminiscing about the old times and crying alone as the evening wind whistles through the broken window frame. "I'm old, I can't move, and I don't want to walk anymore," Omer said, sighing. Over the last some 700 days, I've walked through broken streets and seen pitiful souls, encountering fathers clutching photos of sons killed, mothers desperately searching for their children separated during escapes, and hollow-eyed youths who lost entire families in a single explosion. As the war enters its third year on April 15, the numbers are staggering -- over 29,600 dead, more than 15 million displaced, and about 25 million facing hunger. United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher called the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan an unprecedented one of "staggering scale and brutality." Yet these numbers didn't capture Ali Mustafa's face when his son asked the father of three where mom is, why they live with another family in a small tent in River Nile State, or when they can return home. They also didn't convey Halima Adam's fear of losing her five children "at any moment," as they survive on one daily meal in a cramped and suffocating self-dug underground shelter in El Fasher. Two years into this war, we've all become "experts" in loss. We measure it in missing family photos, in children's growth stunted by hunger, in the way our voices catch when we say "before the war." The video from my neighbor still haunts me in my dreams -- those shadowy figures storming the rooms that once held the laughter of my beloved ones. As I'm writing this, my heart struggles to accept a fact: War doesn't just steal lives. It also steals the proof that those lives matter. Tim Russell of Sydney was among the minority of demonstrators on Jan. 3, 2024 who protested in support of gun rights. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) After scraping by with razor-thin support last session and pending questions about its legality, Maines 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases is before lawmakers again as Republicans seek to repeal it. Last session, the Legislature passed a bill requiring a three-day waiting period after someone purchases a gun before they can bring it home as part of a slew of gun safety legislation in the aftermath of the deadly Lewiston mass shooting. The law is currently suspended amid a legal challenge questioning its constitutionality, but legislators are still seeking to do away with it in Maine statute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After lawmakers voted to enact the bill 73-70 in the House of Representatives and 18-17 in the Senate, Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat who has a history of support for gun rights, allowed it to become law but did not endorse it with her signature. At the time, she said she was conflicted over what she saw as the burden it placed on law-abiding citizens, while also understanding the argument that it could save lives by preventing impulsive suicides and homicides. After the waiting period took effect in August, opponents filed a lawsuit in November claiming it violates the Second Amendment rights of people who have passed background checks. Earlier this year, a U.S. District Court judge sided with the gun rights advocates and temporarily paused the waiting period. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey appealed the decision, but a federal appeals court last week refused to reinstate the waiting period while the lawsuit unfolds. Meanwhile, the Legislatures Judiciary Committee is set to hold a public hearing Wednesday morning for two proposals to repeal the law entirely. Both bills would repeal the portion of Maine statute that requires someone who sells a firearm to wait 72 hours before delivering it to the buyer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LD 208 is sponsored by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor), while the nearly identical LD 1230 is sponsored by Rep. Quentin Chapman (R-Auburn). The committee will also hear a proposal from Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) to roll back another gun reform measure passed last session: background checks on the private sales of firearms. Specifically, LD 1062 would repeal a law that was part of a slate of reforms introduced by Mills in response to the Lewiston shooting that expanded background checks to advertised sales. During last years House discussion ahead of the floor vote on the bill, proponents said it closed a loophole in Maines background check law without requiring universal background checks which Mainers narrowly voted down in a 2016 referendum. But opponents argued it was an infringement of Second Amendment rights that would only further burden law-abiding citizens. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte joins NewsNation to discuss the rising tensions between the U.S. and Canada, which are starting to impact border state economies. According to Politico, travel from Canada to the United States is expected to decline by 20% this year, potentially resulting in over $3 billion in lost revenue for the U.S. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently declared the old relationship with the U.S. over, citing sovereignty concerns amid ongoing trade disputes. Businesses in border towns like Sweetgrass, Montana, say theyre already feeling the pinch as Canadian customers stay away. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (WHNT) Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a joint resolution Tuesday encouraging officials to move Space Commands headquarters to Redstone Arsenal. Gov. Ivey signed Senate Joint Resolution 63 to continue to encourage the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense and the United States Secretary of the Air Force to immediately proceed in establishing a permanent headquarters for Space Command at Redstone Arsenal. Alabama Republicans and Democrats along with the facts agree the U.S. Space Command Headquarters belongs in Huntsville, Alabama! Ivey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resolution further emphasizes the 2021 announcement of Redstone Arsenal as the preferred location for Space Commands headquarters. In determining where to permanently locate the United States Space Command Headquarters, Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, consistently ranked as the top location throughout the selection process and compared more favorably across four key factors and 21 criteria than any other finalist location, the resolution states. The resolution highlights the findings and results from the Strategic Basing Action. This action found Huntsville provided a large and qualified workforce, quality schools, superior infrastructure and low initial and recurring costs to the DoD. You can read the full joint resolution below. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alabama-2025-SJR63-EnrolledDownload It also says the action proved Redstone Arsenal was and remains the best location for the headquarters of Space Command. On the other hand, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense released a report concerning the location of Space Command on Tuesday. It says, according to officials at Redstone Arsenal and information technology leaders at USSPACECOM, constructing temporary operational facilities with the same capacity, connectivity and security as those already in use in Colorado Springs would take 3 to 4 years. The report from the inspector general said the USSPACECOM Commander had concerns to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Air Force about risks to USSPACECOMs readiness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on these concerns, the USSPACECOM Commander advised the Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of Defense that the USSPACECOM headquarters should permanently remain in Colorado Springs, the report said. On April 8, Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers said the announcement of Space Commands relocation could come this month. I expect sometime during the month of April, Space Command will be officially assigned to build its headquarters in Huntsville, Rogers said. Senator Tommy Tuberville said everything is ready for Space Command in Huntsville. Everythings ready, Tuberville said. Weve got the land, weve got the process and weve got organization of what were going to do and how were going to do it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he believes the presidents appointee for Secretary of the Air Force will be confirmed in the next few weeks, and he will be in charge of the decision. Tuberville said Dr. Troy Meink can move the Space Command headquarters if hes confirmed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. The Nebraska State Capitol. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN The director who handles public health matters for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Charity Menefee, has resigned. Gov. Jim Pillen announced the departure, effective May 9, in a statement Tuesday that said Menefee made the decision to devote more time to her family. Charity Menefee, director of the Division of Public Health for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. (Courtesy of DHHS) Menefee has served in the position since 2021. She oversees preventative and community health programs including epidemiology, vital statistics, regulation and the licensure of health-related professions and healthcare facilities and services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leading and serving alongside the dedicated people at the Division of Public Health has been the greatest honor of my career, Menefee said in a statement. The Governors Office offered no information on interim leadership, saying details would come later. Pillen said he appreciated Menefees public service, including in the military. Menefee recently retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee Air National Guard after 25 years. Prior to joining Nebraskas DHHS, she served at the Knox County Health Department in Knoxville, Tennessee. Charity leaves public service with an impeccable record of dedication to the health and well-being of Nebraskans, Pillen said. Under her leadership, the division reduced processing times from 100 days to 25 for certain licenses and improved disease tracking capabilities throughout the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steve Corsi, CEO of DHHS, called Menefee a shining example of a person who puts others first, citing late-night meetings coordinating with stakeholders and weekends spent on operations tracking and containing infectious diseases. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Gov. Brian Kemp signed a pair of tax-related bills on Tuesday. One gives Georgia taxpayers another special tax refund while the other reduces Georgias state income tax rate. Channel 2s Michael Doudna was at a special ceremony Kemp held with members of the Georgia General Assembly in attendance during the Cobb Chamber of Commerces event at the Battery. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] House Bill 112 passed the General Assembly for the one-time special refund, which Kemp first proposed back in October. It matches the previous refunds that taxpayers received in 2022 and 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Single tax filers will receive $250; single head-of-household filers $350; and joint tax filers $500. Taxpayers who filed returns for 2023 and 2024 would be eligible. The governors office says the refunds would total $1 billion. Putting the money back where it belongs - with you all, Kemp said. The Georgia General Assembly also passed House Bill 111 to lower the state income rate to 5.19%. The state income tax cut had already been planned, but HB 111 accelerated the new tax rate retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year. MORE FROM TAX DAY Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emory University Professor Usha Rackliffe says these rebates had a $1 billion price tag on them, but its made possible because of a growing Georgia economy. When more people come to the state, when more businesses come to the state, the state will collect a lot more in revenue, she said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Gov. Laura Kelly sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education requesting the administration of President Donald Trump reverse a decision to freeze $22.6 million allocated to the state for benefit of students and teachers. This is a 2023 image of Kelly meeting students at Jardine Elementary in Topeka. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday a request was submitted to the U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to reinstate more than $22 million in federal funding appropriated to Kansas to help students who fell behind during the COVID-19 pandemic catch up with peers and to retrain teachers in the science of reading. The U.S. Department of Education announced in March that approximately $3 billion in pandemic relief funds would be frozen nationwide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kansas State Department of Education had received an extension on the deadline for expending the funds, but the federal governments latest maneuver reversed that decision. The state Department of Education requested the administration of President Donald Trump set aside the latest plan to sweep the $22.6 million allocated to Kansas. That request is pending at the federal level. Abruptly stripping this funding is a disservice to the Kansas students and teachers who rely on it to excel in the classroom, Kelly said. In Kansas, the funding in jeopardy was allocated to supporting student learning recovery and ensuring the education workforce was prepared to assist those students with academic deficiencies. The aid also was used to retrain teachers in reading instruction, support students career and college exploration and to lower start-up costs for child care providers. In addition, a portion of the funds was relied on to cover the cost of licensure, fingerprinting and background check fees for early childhood educators. The Kelly administration began waiving the fees using federal and state funds in 2021. The fees will be reinstated until the Trump administration restores Kansas funding allocation, the governor said. KAMPALA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The technologies being shared by Chinese experts in the crop, livestock, and fisheries sectors in rural Uganda are set to enhance production and ultimately improve household incomes, according to a Ugandan official. "These technologies are all being introduced here, tried, produced, and adopted. A number of varieties have been officially released, including rice and foxtail millet," Julius Twinamasiko, head of the Ugandan side of the South-South Cooperation (SSC) project between China and Uganda, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, told Xinhua in a recent interview. Since the SSC project began in 2012 and is now in its third phase, China has dispatched more than 60 experts to assist Ugandan farmers in transitioning from subsistence to commercial farming. In addition, China has set up three agricultural technology transfer hubs focusing on crop varieties, livestock, and fisheries, according to Twinamasiko. Figures from Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries show that 248 new varieties of rice, millet, and sorghum have been introduced through the SSC framework. One major achievement in the crop sector is the introduction of the WDR-73, a new high-yielding and drought-resistant rice variety developed jointly by China's Shanghai Agrobiological Gene Center and Uganda's state-run National Agricultural Research Organization. The variety, according to Twinamasiko, is now being promoted nationwide and has benefited nearly 5,000 households. It has resulted in the production of 15,000 tons of rice and increased the average household income by 4 million Ugandan shillings (about 1,100 U.S. dollars). Twinamasiko said that this year, the project is prioritizing the completion of 300-acre rice demonstration sites and 60-acre foxtail millet demonstration sites. Technologies have also been introduced in the livestock sector, particularly in poultry and dairy farming. Aquaculture has also benefited from the introduction of rice-fish farming and fingerling production. The project aims to set up 1,400 broiler demonstration sites and 200 beef cattle demonstration sites. The process of importing big-ear goats from China has also been initiated, according to Twinamasiko. "There is a tremendous impact not only on incomes but also on food and nutrition security," the official said. Idaho Gov. Brad Little hopes to retain control of more than half a million dollars in emergency funding after he rejected part of a bill lawmakers passed in the last few days of the legislative session. Little signed off on the other elements of House Bill 482 but vetoed the line item Monday evening that would have eliminated the governors emergency fund, by transferring the remaining $652,500 in the pool to the states general fund. In a news release Monday, Little pointed to his use of the funding in the past few years, which included his pledge to provide $1 million to support law enforcement with the homicide investigation of four University of Idaho students in Moscow. He also used the fund to pay for trips to the U.S.-Mexico border that he said helped his initiative to tackle the fentanyl crisis, Operation Esto Perpetua. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Little can use the fund in any emergency that the Legislature couldnt reasonably foresee under state law. In his veto letter, the governor said eliminating the fund would have hindered the states ability to respond to certain crises swiftly. I share the Legislatures vigor for ensuring government is efficient, but citizens expect government to be responsive in times of crisis, Little said in his news release. Lawmakers can typically override a governors veto with another vote on the bill if the legislation receives two-thirds support from each chamber, though the Idaho Legislature ended this years regular legislative session early this month. Lawmakers can call themselves back to the Capitol in Boise for special sessions with a petition signed by at least 60% of the House and Senate. The rest of House Bill 482 remained intact and became law, Little said in his veto letter. That included transferring the remaining $37.8 million from a fund created to help public schools pay interest on bonds into the general fund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill also included moving $1.1 million from the Constitutional Defense Fund into the Legislative Legal Defense Fund. Both pools of money have been used to fight lawsuits against the state. But the constitutional fund needs sign-off from leaders of both legislative chambers, the governor and attorney general. The use of the legislative fund needs approval only from legislative leaders. Emergency fund aids Idaho State Police Before police found Bryan Kohberger, the suspect accused of killing the four college students in November 2022, Little committed up to $1 million to help fund the sprawling investigation. About $435,000 from the fund was used to reimburse Idaho State Police and the Moscow Police Department, which had a total budget of $6.5 million in 2022. Kohberger was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the stabbing deaths of the college students, as well as one count of felony burglary. His murder trial is expected to start with jury selection in late July, and prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. The four victims were Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur dAlene; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls; and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Little, a University of Idaho alumnus, said the fund has been used to address serious unexpected situations that fall outside of a formally declared state of emergency, including high-profile criminal cases. Taxpayer costs for the Moscow homicides case have continued to climb as Kohberger awaits his chance for a defense at trial and remains jailed. The amount had already exceeded $3.6 million as of April 2024, with the University of Idaho shouldering the brunt of the cost, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. Apr. 14ROCHESTER Outfitted in a hard hat and safety vest, Gov. Tim Walz stood in the middle of the construction zone ground zero of a physical transformation that will reconfigure Mayo Clinic and downtown Rochester as part of Mayo's $5 billion expansion project. "You're seeing transformation in the physical aspect of Rochester, but transformation globally on (the way) health care is delivered," he said. The project is still in its earliest stages. Surrounding Walz and assorted dignitaries that included Mayo bigwigs, local politicos and lawmakers was mostly upheaval. To the north, the old Lourdes High School was being clawed down. Roads were blocked off. Mayo's Ozmun East building was gone. Ozmun West was waiting for the wrecking ball. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Where Walz stood will rise an innovative care facility in the next year or so, one of five buildings that will reshape the Rochester skyline. During the brief press conference, Walz touted the construction jobs created, the improvement in health care through AI and technology, the lives improved and saved. Mayo Clinic is investing $5 billion to remake the downtown campus, and $585 million in public dollars funded upgrades in public infrastructure within the Destination Medical Center district. "We're getting the payback in terms of improving people's lives," he said. Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said a "team of folks worked really hard to come up with a vision about what is the future of Rochester, what are we going to become?" In the beginning, many people didn't know what that would mean or look like. Now, that vision is becoming more concrete and real. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It wraps around this growth and development," she said. "I couldn't be more excited to have these careers and facilities that's going to transform health care." Walz's trip to Rochester was part of a statewide tour of multimillion-dollar economic development projects. He also toured a $31 million manufacturing and research facility in Plymouth and a $200 million expansion of tissue paper maker Sofidel in Duluth. DFL Rep. Kim Hicks, of Rochester, said the physical changes signify an investment in "future doctors, in future health care professionals" who will take the knowledge and training they get at Mayo and spread it to other areas "to make lives better for all people." Asked whether the on-again, off-again tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on countries has had any impact on construction projects through higher cost in materials, Walz said he hadn't seen evidence of any impact so far. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "At this point in time, no (there hasn't been an impact)," he said. "But I think any time you have a construction project, any time you have the amount of goods that are coming in, medical equipment, whether in the United States or elsewhere, anything that adds to the confusion or lack of stability, I don't believe can be a good thing." Mayo President and CEO Gianrico Farrugia was not present during the press event, but Walz said he spent part of the morning talking with Farrugia about the future of health care. "We spent a little bit of time talking about the transformation we're seeing and the importance of artificial intelligence ... to improve the quality of life for a patient and improve their outcomes," Walz said. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Governor Kevin Stitt appointed attorney Travis Jett for the open State Supreme Court position on Monday. Jett, who has been a private practice attorney in Woodward, was one of three finalists for the seat. He was the only one without any prior judicial experience. The two other nominees were district judges in Oklahoma. Jett has represented state agencies like the Tax Commission, Corporation Commission, and State Department of Health in the past. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ill look forward to his prudent interpretation of the Constitution and the new energy he brings to the court, said Stitt. Jett was announced on Monday afternoon at the Capitol. He thanked the governor for the selection. Finalist for vacant Oklahoma Supreme Court seat tied to group that urged voters to create vacancy in the first place Its a responsibility that I dont take lightly, and Im committed to using all of my abilities to make sure that the law is applied in a fair, predictable and just manner, said Jett. He was one of 14 candidates who applied for the position after voters did not retain long-time Justice Yvonne Kauger during the November election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She had held the seat for 40 years. Two other Justices narrowly retained their seat during the election. All three were targets of dark money ads during election season that aimed to replace them. Oklahomas Judicial Nominating Commission was responsible for selecting the three finalists. While Jett was an attorney, he represented Oklahomas Council for Public Affairs, a group who has openly advocated for changing the nominating process in the past. The JNC was formed in the 1960s after bribery scandals with some of the states justices. The appointment does not need to go before the Senate for confirmation and there has been no announcement on when Jett will officially be sworn in. Stitt and Jett did not take questions from the media following the Monday announcement but he did give a brief statement. I look forward to service to that state, said Jett. Ill fulfill my duties with great humility, and I could not be prouder to accept appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. 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. GRAFTON, W.Va. (WBOY) Grafton High Schools senior class currently leads the state with the most eligible students registered to vote. On Tuesday, West Virginia Secretary of State, Kris Warner visited Grafton High School to award its senior class the Jennings Randolph award for all 160 students who registered to vote through a student-led voter registration drive. The award is named after the late U.S. Senator Jennings, who attempted to pass the 26th Amendment for 29 years before its success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 12 News spoke with West Virginia Secretary of State, Kris Warner, about how getting these students involved in politics early on will impact their futures. 2 Taylor County students recognized as Honorary Secretaries of State This obviously is our future. If we had this kind of participation amongst our entire population, I have no doubt that we would solve every problem that the state is facing right now, Secretary Warner said. Typically, you have about one-third of the people register and vote in every election. That means about 16% of the people are deciding who our next governor is, who were voting for president, who were voting for county commission. Currently, Secretary Warner is on a 55-county tour meeting with county clerks to clean voter rolls by removing names of those deceased, convicted felons and people who have moved out of state. The Secretary of States office has removed around 440,000 names in the last eight years. 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. Scioto County Prosecutor Shane A. Tieman has announced the Scioto County Grand Jury met Friday, April 4, and returned 23 public indictments. The defendants indicted are charged as follows: Keenan Parks, 36, of Columbus, Ohio, was indicted on: * Failure to Appear as Required by Recognizance Eric Peyton, 46, of Lucasville, Ohio, was indicted on: * Possession of a Deadly Weapon While Under Detention * Felonious Assault (2 Counts) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Devonte Walton, 35, of Lucasville, Ohio, was indicted on: * Felonious Assault * Possession of a Deadly Weapon While Under Detention Tiffany Charles, 40, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Aggravated Possession of Drugs * Illegal Use or Possession of Drug Paraphernalia Marie Miller, 43, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Telecommunications Fraud * Misuse of Credit Cards * Grand Theft * Theft Kaleb Dixon, 26, of Wheelersburg, Ohio, was indicted on: * Aggravated Burglary * Felonious Assault (2 Counts) Jessica Riggs, 26, of West Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Illegal Use or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits or Wic Program Benefits Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brian Taylor, 52, of Rarden, Ohio, was indicted on: * Breaking and Entering Rava Hudson, 30, of McDermott, Ohio, was indicted on: * Illegal Use or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits or Wic Program Benefits Zachary Hudson, 29, of McDermott, Ohio, was indicted on: * Illegal Use or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits or Wic Program Benefits Jeanie York, 22, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Illegal Use or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits or Wic Program Benefits Cameron Dixon, 21, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Illegal Use or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits or Wic Program Benefits Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mason Armstrong, 19, of Knoxville, TN, was indicted on: * Receiving Stolen Property James Young, 53, of New Boston, Ohio, was indicted on: * Grand Theft * Receiving Stolen Property (2 Counts) * Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle Anna Caudill, 33, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Theft * Theft from a Person in a Protected Class * Telecommunications Fraud (2 Counts) Richard Colley, 36, of Stout, Ohio, was indicted on: * Theft from a Person in a Protected Class * Telecommunications Fraud (2 Counts) Brian Bowen, 56, of Wheelersburg, Ohio, was indicted on: * Attempted Burglary Mark Cole, 44, of Manchester, Ohio, was indicted on: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Attempted Burglary Bradley Sudbrook, 29, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Strangulation * Domestic Violence (2 Counts) * Assault * Aggravated Menacing Kevin Rodgers, 31, of Hernando, MS, was indicted on: * Receiving Stolen Property Justin Whisman, 30, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Burglary * Disrupting Public Services * Domestic Violence * Assault Jodi Howard, 51, of West Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Theft from a Person in a Protected Class (2 Counts) * Telecommunications Fraud (2 Counts) Ronald Howard, 53, of West Portsmouth, Ohio, was indicted on: * Theft from a Person in a Protected Class (2 Counts) * Telecommunications Fraud (2 Counts) HONOLULU (KHON2) Strokes are the third most common cause of death in Hawaii and is the leading cause of disability in the state. A recent grant of nearly $7-million dollars is needed to help first responders, hospitals, and care providers save more lives. Neighbor island businesses worry of shipping rate hike, tariffs The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is giving $5.8-million, and the American Heart Association another $1-million for what theyre calling Mission: Lifeline Stroke. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials told KHON2 Mission: Lifeline Stroke focuses on connecting all components of acute stroke care into a smoothly integrated system that reinforces the use of evidence-based guidelines to timely and effectively treat stroke patients. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You It brings together hospitals, emergency medical responders and first responders, rehabilitation facilities, communications and regulatory agencies, and state and local government to forge a proactive system of stroke care that saves and improves lives. The program focuses on the entire stroke care continuum from community awareness and early recognition to hospital treatment, rehabilitation and secondary prevention and education. This proactive approach saves and improves lives by ensuring seamless coordination and access to high-quality stroke care. Were told through Mission: Lifeline Stroke, residents of Hawaii will receive the following benefits: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Improved public awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of a stroke and the need to call 9-1-1, with focused attention on diverse ethnic populations disproportionately impacted by cardiovascular risk factors and disease. Expanded culturally and linguistically relevant public awareness on the signs, symptoms of stroke, the need to call 9-1-1 and stroke prevention education. A coordinated EMS network, well-trained to identify and treat suspected stroke patients quickly and transport them to the most appropriate facility, and early activation of downstream care teams. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well-trained hospital staff who are prepared to properly treat stroke patients and transfer, when appropriate, to higher levels of care and high-quality rehabilitation 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 KHON2. After three weeks of air warfare training over the Greek mainland and sea, the Hellenic Air Forces (HAF) multinational Iniochos exercise wrapped up Sunday. This years maneuvers involved a remarkably wide variety of air forces and types and provided a unique opportunity to see tactical aircraft put through their paces at low level through the spectacular mountainous scenery of western Greece. Aviation photographer and TWZ contributor Rich Cooper was in Greece and now shares with us some of the highlights of the exercise, which was hosted out of Andravida Air Base, home to the HAF Air Tactics Center. A stunning formation photo over the Aegean Sea provides an idea of the variety of aircraft types and nations involved in Iniochos 2025. Rich Cooper RCP_ The 2025 iteration of Iniochos began March 24 and concluded April 13, with training on a wide range of missions. These comprised Offensive Counter Air Operations (OCA), Defensive Counter Air Operations (DCA), Strategic Air Operations, Air Power Contribution to Counter-Land Operations (APCLO), Air Power Contribution to Maritime Operations (APCMO), Reconnaissance Missions (RECCE), Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Time Sensitive Target (TST), and High Value Airborne Asset (HVAA). Reflecting the growing use of virtual training aids in air warfare training, Iniochos 2025 also made use, for the first time, of F-16 tactical simulators of the HAFs newly established Synthetic Training Squadron. A Hellenic Air Force F-16 fitted with conformal fuel tanks and displaying the Greek flag in the cockpit. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As well as putting multiple Hellenic Armed Forces assets including ground-based air defenses through their paces, the exercise also saw strong foreign participation, underscoring how these drills have become increasingly popular for a range of NATO, allied, and partner air forces. External participants this year included French irage 2000D and Italian Tornado strike fighters, Emirari irage 2000-9, Indian Su-30MK, Polish F-16, Qatari F-15QA, and Spanish EF-18 multirole fighters, Israeli G550 signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, Montenegrin Bell 412 utility helicopters, Slovenian PC-9 turboprop trainers, and U.S. Air Force F-16s as well as KC-46 and KC-135 aerial refueling tankers. Few other places in the world offer the chance to see a Polish F-16 take part in an air combat exercise with an Indian Flanker. Rich Cooper RCP_ Israeli participation in Iniochos is not new, but remains noteworthy, for several reasons. In the past, the Israeli Air Force has conducted exercises with the Hellenic Armed Forces to expose its assets to Greek-operated S-300 air defense systems, originally procured for the protection of Cyprus. These Russian-made surface-to-air missiles are notably operated by Iran and Syria. Meanwhile, Greek jets have also flown in Israels corresponding Blue Flag maneuvers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iniochos also provides a rare platform for the Israeli Air Force to take part in maneuvers alongside their counterparts from the Gulf states: in this instance, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Although Qatar and the UAE, like most of the Arab world, long rejected diplomatic ties with Israel, these policies have softened in recent years, and the UAE, in particular, has cultivated increasing military relations with the country. Fighters old and new, as a Hellenic Air Force F-4E Phantom flies alongside a Qatar Emiri Air Force F-15QA. Rich Cooper RCP_ Nevertheless, in light of general security concerns, the Israeli Ministry of Defense typically provides very few details about the Israeli Air Forces participation in Iniochos, but did provide some comments this time. The Israeli Air Force confirmed it sent a single SIGINT-configured G550, although in previous years it had sent several fighter jets and tankers, as well as surveillance aircraft. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said that its participation in the exercise was intended to strengthen strategic cooperation with foreign armies, improve the competence of the participating forces, and give the crews a professional challenge in flight conditions in an unknown environment and with varying threats. The IDF finally comments on its participation in an annual aerial exercise hosted by Greece, which this year included the participation of Qatar. Eleven other countries joined Greece in its Iniochos exercise this year: the United States, France, India, Israel, Italy, Montenegro, pic.twitter.com/RxckC4oLRn Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 11, 2025 While classed as a medium-scale exercise, in terms of participating aircraft, this years Iniochos was the biggest since the maneuvers first took place in the late 1980s, which was as an all-Greek affair back then. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The exercise had a notable focus on low-level flying, with most of the participants making good use of the Peloponnese mountain low-level flight training area. Low-level flying is a highly perishable skill and one that remains of critical importance for evading hostile air defense networks. Access to appropriate flight training areas is not always easy, so opportunities like this are very welcome for tactical fliers. Here is just a taste of what a few lucky spectators got to see flying down low in the Greek valleys and over the Aegean Sea during the 2025 edition of an exercise thats clearly of growing significance. Hellenic Air Force F-4E Phantom. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Hellenic Air Force Mirage 2000-5. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Hellenic Air Force F-16. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER French Air and Space Force Mirage 2000D. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indian Air Force Su-30MKI. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Italian Air Force Tornado. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Montenegrin Air Force Bell 412. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Slovenian Air Force PC-9s. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spanish Air Force EF-18 Hornet. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER United Arab Emirates Air Force Mirage 2000-9. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER U.S. Air Force F-16. Rich Cooper RICH_COOPER Rich Cooper runs the Centre of Aviation Photography, which you can check out here, and you can see more of his work on Instagram. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com Anderson, Tx (FOX 44) After entering guilty pleas, 41-year-old Jason Glenn Elliott was sentenced to 25 years in prison for possession of child porn videos. Elliott had appeared before 12th District Court Judge David Moorman in Grimes County, where he had been charged with five counts. On July 18, 2024 District Attorney Investigator Blake Baldobino was assigned a cyber tip to follow up as a member of the Southern Texas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He learned that the suspect had downloaded images of child porn through the internet and that he lived in Bedias at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigator Baldobino executed multiple search warrants and recovered both digital images and digital videos and was able to interview Elliott who gave a statement about the material. Murder trial in death of Stanley Wilcox begins He remained in the Grimes County Jail Tuesday awaiting transfer to a state prison, Upon his eventual release, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. District Attorney Andria Bender issued the following statement following the sentencing: The child sexual abuse material in this case was amongst the most vile Ive seen during my career. Elliott being incarcerated and having to register as a sex offender for life will make our community safer. 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. Members of Erik and Lyle Menendezs family have taken the Los Angeles County District Attorney to court for an affront to victims everywhere by displaying bloody 1989 crime-scene photos of the dead body of the brothers father Jose Menendez during a hearing last week. A grotesque spectacle occurred last Friday in this Court, declares a filing Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court from Bryan Freedman and other lawyers on behalf of relatives seeking the siblings release from prison after more than 30 years. This Court should ensure such a mockery never occurs again. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The District Attorney has made a mockery of the Victims Bill of Rights, or Marsys Law, which provides victims with the constitutional right to be treated with fairness and respect and to be free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse throughout the criminal justice process, including post-conviction proceedings, adds the document put in the court docket this morning against DA Nathan Hochman, his deputies and office. To that, the more than 20 members of the Menendez family represented in todays filing say the scandalous behavior showing those horrific and gruesome photographs of the 1989 deaths of their relatives was an entirely personal and intentional part of an antagonistic relationship with Hochman. They also say showing those photos was against the law. It is patently obvious that the District Attorney treated the victims family members as second-class victims, due to a policy disagreement between District Attorney Hochman and the victims family members, the six-page filing states. The District Attorney represents all victims, not simply those that share the Offices policy views. In the same token, Marsys Law provides constitutional rights to all crime victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the fallout from the lurid photos being shown in court Friday, the brothers 85-year-old aunt and sister to Jose Menendez ended up in the ICU. Already fighting cancer, Terry Baralt collapsed in her L.A. hotel room Sunday; while upgraded from critical condition she remains hospitalized, according to todays filing. Late Sunday, the DAs office put out a statement both justifying and apologizing for showing the photos. However, the statement made no direct reference to Baralt or her condition. That omission stung the family, Im told. To that, after previously asking for Hochman and team to be removed from the case, the relatives are fast-tracking for an early-morning hearing Thursday on this latest turn in the Menendez saga. Hitting the law-and-order, new-ish DA where they hope it hurts, the family is seeking a court order to admonish Hochman and his office. They also want guarantees theyll be given a heads up the next time such photos and other graphic material is exhibited. In a packed week for the brothers, their supporters and opponents, any potential hearing later this week would come on the same day as the start of a long-delayed resentencing hearing where the brothers expected to be in attendance. If Judge Michael Jesic agrees the duo has shown true rehabilitation and meet the standard required, he could rescind their life-without-parole sentences. Pending a probe by the state parole board, which is already conducting a risk assessment of the brothers as ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of a clemency request, the Menendez brothers could theoretically be out within weeks. After two individual trials in the 1990s and allegations of sexual abuse by Jose Menendez, no one debates whether Erik and Lyle Menendez blasted fatal holes in their father and mother Kitty with shotguns in the familys Beverly Hills home 26 years ago. The role of that abuse and subsequent trauma has grown in recent decades, though it was a factor in the original trials. Amidst supposed new evidence, overall exemplary behavior from the brothers (they are now in the same facility near San Diego), Netflix and Ryan Murphys hit Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story and several documentaries, the case has been thrust back in the spotlight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In that vein, Hochmans resounding defeat of progressive incumbent George Gascon , who introduced a motion for resentencing late last year ahead of the election, set the stage for what has become a very public showdown. After weeks of consideration, Hochman last month gave a press conference to say the brothers do not meet the standards for rehabilitation and his office was withdrawing the resentencing motion for reconsideration. It was at Fridays hearing where the vivid photos were displayed that Jesic rejected the DAs move and ruled a formal resentencing hearing would go ahead this week. The Los Angeles County DAs office did not respond to request from Deadline for comment on Tuesdays filing by the family. Outside of the motion itself, the family said today: Life is not black and white. It is messy and painful and complicated. But believing in redemption doesnt mean weve stopped being victims. It doesnt mean we should be treated with contempt. Were asking the court to recognize that our constitutional rights matter and to ensure that the District Attorneys office follows the very letter of the law they are charged with to uphold. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. NAIROBI, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Multiple crises, driven by ongoing conflicts, political instability, economic shocks, disease outbreaks, and severe climate events, are exacerbating existing humanitarian needs and fuelling displacement in Eastern Africa, the United Nations relief agency said Tuesday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the region hosted more than 24 million displaced people, including 5.7 million refugees and asylum-seekers and 18.8 million internally displaced people as of March. According to OCHA, over 56 million people across Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda are projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity from May 2024 to June 2025. "South Sudan and Sudan have the highest prevalence of food insecurity with approximately half of their populations affected. In Sudan, famine has been confirmed in more than 10 locations," OCHA said in its latest report released in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. OCHA said since January, the region has reported over 36,000 cholera cases and 583 deaths, with South Sudan bearing the brunt of the outbreak, accounting for more than 25,000 cases. Meanwhile, six countries confirmed over 4,300 mpox cases, with more than 3,500 cases in Uganda alone. Ebola and Marburg were also confirmed in Uganda and Tanzania, respectively, OCHA said. "Multiple disease outbreaks, including cholera, measles and mpox, continue to pose significant public health challenges." The UN agency said high levels of acute malnutrition have also been reported, with over eight million children and 1.3 million pregnant and lactating women affected. OLNEY (KFDX/KJTL) Olney Hamilton Hospital has begun the construction of its new hospital with a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, April 14, 2025. As we pick up our shovels and turn this soil, this isnt about just building a hospital. Its about strengthening a community. Its about investing in people. KFDX team dominates in small market category at Texas Broadcast News Awards It was a historic day for Olney Hamilton Hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its finally coming to fruition, Olney Hamilton Hospital CEO Michael Huff said. Construction of the new hospital has begun in the rural city. This comes after hospital district voters approved a $33 million bond in November 2023. A feat Huff said was a lot of moving parts. Were seeing an influx rather than the community shrinking. So we have to be able to meet the needs as our community grows, Huff said. I think we are positioned very well to do that. According to a report, Texas leads the nation in rural hospital closures. Despite rural healthcare struggles, Olney Hamilton Hospital Board President Dale Lovett said the hospitals longevity hasnt been by accident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many, many dedicated local citizens and local health care providers have dedicated their lives to making sure that health care stays at the forefront for our citizens, Lovett said. Value people have in the district to receive exceptional healthcare in Young County and beyond. Were seeing people drive from Abilene, from Dallas, Wichita Falls here to seek service. Thats how were going to stay afloat and stay healthy for the next hundred years. Huff said. Were counting on our new hospital being more functional, more efficient. And, the greatest level of technology that we can utilize at this point. Lovett said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hospital officials plan for the future for generations to come. Lovett said construction will take about 18 to 24 months. Lovett said they are still making plans for the future of the current hospital building, which will be a different phase of the project. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A patient undergoes an HIV test at Crescent Care in New Orleans. (Photo courtesy of Crescent Care) In 1989, Ronald Johnson did not think he would live to see old age. Johnson, a Black gay man, was diagnosed with HIV that year, during the height of the U.S. AIDS epidemic, when the life expectancy was 1 to 2 years after diagnosis. I just assumed that I would die, Johnson told The 19th. Im from New York City, and particularly before treatments, I was seeing friends and people I know dying. Then going into the 90s when treatments became available, and there was the struggle to get access to the treatment, dealing with managing the regimen of treatment: the number of pills that you had to take, some had to be refrigerated, some had to be taken before meals, some taken with meals. It was a challenge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the course of his career as a respected advocate and policy expert, Johnson watched activists and researchers fight for treatments and prevention efforts so that he and others could live long, happy lives. With modern treatments, a person living with HIV now has a similar life expectancy as someone who does not have HIV. This article was first published by The 19th. The Illuminator is a founding member of The 19th News Network. Thirty-six years after Johnsons HIV diagnosis, on the afternoon of his 77th birthday, he spoke with The 19th about a new threat that he fears will disrupt those decades of progress and could hit older LGBTQ+ people the hardest: federal cuts across a range of health equity and social safety net programs, particularly in HIV services under the Department of Health and Human Services. The National Institutes of Health has reportedly canceled hundreds of active grants funding research on HIV and AIDS, according to the science journal Nature. Last week, thousands of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were fired or put on administrative leave. This includes those working in HIV prevention and treatment like Dr. Jonathan Mermin, the director of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among its responsibilities, the center monitors HIV transmission trends, conducts research on prevention strategies, publishes guidance on medications for pre- and post- exposure to HIV and funds community-based prevention and treatment organizations. The CDC cuts are part of a broader push by President Donald Trumps administration that also includes possible cuts to Medicaid and the elimination of the Administration for Community Living, which funds services to help aging people and those with disabilities live independently in their communities versus being housed in institutions. Advocates say that the cumulative loss of services will be devastating for older people living with HIV, a disproportionate number of whom are LGBTQ+. About 54 percent of people living with HIV in the United States are ages 50 and older. By 2030, researchers estimate that this proportion will increase to 70 percent of those living with HIV. In 2021, this age group represented 16 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the country. In general, most people dont think about older people and sexuality or sexual health, said Terri Wilder, the HIV/aging policy advocate at Sage, a national organization focused on older LGBTQ+ people. Were very concerned that people are going to acquire HIV. Some people are not going to be connected to care. They may not have access to a test to find out if they have HIV, and by the time they find out, they might be so sick and ill that they may be very vulnerable to death. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Older LGBTQ+ people with HIV sit at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. Older people and queer people generally are both at higher risk of receiving improper or discriminatory medical care. They also face challenges with housing insecurity and financial instability that can worsen with the costs of medical treatments. These factors can converge with remaining HIV stigma and inconsistent access to education, prevention and treatment efforts, which create barriers to identifying HIV and receiving care soon after exposure to the virus. In 2021, an estimated 34 percent of people aged 55 and older diagnosed with HIV in the United States were also diagnosed with AIDS, according to CDC data. I think with increasing age, we also tend to see a decline in the immune systems associated with aging. And so when youre combining age-associated decline with HIV, then we see a more rapid declining immune system function, like with an earlier progression to AIDS, said Kristine Erlandson, a professor with the University of Colorado School of Medicines division of infectious diseases. Beyond the education and prevention work, older people with HIV have other considerations. As people age with HIV, many experience conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, bone frailty or heart disease at younger ages than expected, Erlandson said. This has raised questions about whether providers need to be testing for and treating these other conditions more aggressively at an earlier age for people with HIV. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal agencies like the CDC play a key role in HIV prevention and treatment. The National Institutes of Health runs clinical trials used for vaccine development, the Health Resources and Services Administrations Ryan White Program provides funding for HIV clinics, especially for uninsured or low-income people. The CDC was the first federal agency to monitor the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, and it continues to fund community work and maintain important geographic data that can show if a particular state or region of the country is experiencing an outbreak. Though people over the age of 50 have been overlooked in HIV prevention and treatment work broadly, advocates made strides in recent years to bring more attention to their needs. In 2024, a new rule designated people living with HIV and LGBTQ+ people as populations of greatest social need under the Older Americans Act. The law was initially passed in 1965 to fund a network of programs and services aimed at addressing a range of needs, including caregiving, transportation and nutrition. As a result of the updated rule, states need to specifically account for the ways in which they are addressing the needs of these populations. So its a way for the feds to essentially make sure that these populations are given the care and attention that they need, regardless of whether you live in Oklahoma or Massachusetts, said Kae Greenberg, a staff attorney at the Center for HIV Law and Policy. Authorization for the Older Americans Act expired in September. In December, the Senate passed a measure for reauthorization, but the House did not vote on the bill before the end of the congressional session. Last year, Wilder from Sage and other advocates were also close to changing the CDCs HIV screening guidelines, which currently recommends providers offer tests to people between the ages of 13 and 64. Wilder said removing the upper age limit would support testing for older people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current political climate has created stress and anxiety for older people living with HIV who are left with the uncertainty of what services and medical coverage they have access to, Johnson said. During Trumps first term he praised scientific breakthroughs in prevention work and promised to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. Johnson who spent years working on AIDS policy locally in New York City and at national organizations said its unclear what kind of progress, if any, will continue to address these concerns during the new administration. I am very, very upset over what has been taking place in the past few weeks and what is taking place every day, Johnson said. The infrastructure of care, prevention and research that has developed over the 40-plus years of this epidemic is virtually being eliminated or drastically reduced to the point that the progress that we have made, and the impact of that progress on peoples lives the saving of lives is being threatened. This article was originally reported by Candice Norwood of The 19th. Meet Candice and read more of her reporting on gender, politics and policy. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Hackers are taking credit for getting inside the online 4chan message board, which experienced operating issues overnight. The website DownDetector.com showed significant reporting of user complaints beginning Monday at around 10:30 p.m. ET. The difficulties appeared to decline by Tuesday morning, though several hundred reports were still being registered before noon. Many of the issues reported were in the New York area. 4chan famously operates with little transparency even by social media standards, which makes it a popular platform for users seeking anonymity. As such, it can be used to disseminate what the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes as extremely high levels of hateful rhetoric, including racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy and antisemitism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A hacker collective calling itself the Soyjak Party claimed late Monday night it had infiltrated 4chans systems and could leak coding information from the site and personal information about its staff. Tonight has been a very special night for many of us at the soyjak party, the alleged hackers posted on their own site. The group claimed 4chans administrators were forced to take the site offline to mitigate the damage, but cited unconfirmed reports that the servers have already been completely compromised and may not be up for some time. The Soykjak Partys claim couldnt immediately be authenticated. 4chan hasnt addressed the matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some commenters on Soyjak.st claiming to be 4chan users wondered if their email addresses and posting history could be made public. Others expressed optimism over the possibility of learning the identities of 4chan operators they accuse of over-regulating content. Is there a way to see if they had a shadowban capability? wondered a commenter on the Soyjak site. I always suspected they did because no one ever replies to me. To what extent 4chans security may have been compromised is unclear. KHARTOUM, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Commander of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo announced Tuesday the formation of a "parallel government," which he said will "represent a political charter and a historic transitional constitution for a new Sudan." The "parallel government" will introduce new currencies and issue national identity documents, Dagalo said in a televised speech broadcast on Telegram, calling on the African Union to recognize the "parallel government." The announcement coincides with the two-year anniversary of Sudan's war on Tuesday. It also came almost two months after the RSF and its allied political and armed groups signed "a political charter" in Nairobi, Kenya, expressing intention to form a "parallel government" in Sudan. On March 13, the Sudanese government, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who also serves as the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), suspended all imports from Kenya in response to Kenya hosting the signing ceremony. Khartoum accused Nairobi of interfering, an allegation Kenya denied. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and RSF, which erupted in April 2023 over tensions linked to a planned political transition, has killed tens of thousands, displaced over 15 million people, and left Sudan facing what the United Nations calls one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. UN agencies warn the country is nearing famine, with its healthcare system collapsed and accurate casualty counts nearly impossible to verify. Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday said its leadership is studying the latest ceasefire proposal it received from mediators with "great national responsibility" and will respond after completing internal consultations. In a statement, the group said that any agreement must include a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a genuine prisoner exchange, a serious path of reconstruction, and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza. Earlier on Monday, broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that Hamas had rejected Israel's demand to disarm as a condition for a ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al Jazeera cited an unnamed senior Hamas official as saying the group had received a new ceasefire proposal from Egypt, but the mediators made clear that no agreement with Israel would be possible unless Hamas agrees to disarm. "Our negotiating delegation was surprised that the proposal Egypt conveyed included an explicit text regarding the disarmament of the resistance," the official told Al Jazeera, adding that Hamas's weapons were "not subject to discussion." Israel and Hamas are currently negotiating a new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in indirect talks, after efforts to extend a temporary truce failed. Egypt, Qatar and the United States are mediating the talks. Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on March 18, blaming Hamas for the deadlocked negotiations and effectively shattering a fragile ceasefire that had been in place since mid-January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The war erupted after Hamas and other extremist groups attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages. Israel's subsequent campaign in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 50,983 people, according to the Hamas-run health authority. CONCORD, N.H. (ABC22/FOX44) New Hampshires Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission will be working together to tackle the ongoing E-ZPass scam issue. The announcement from Attorney General John M. Formella comes nearly one month after a consumer alert was issued across New Hampshire, warning residents about false unpaid toll notifications. The states DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission aim to collaborate so that state residents can share scam data and report incidents. Gathering information from consumers will help identify patterns and disrupt scam operations, according to the release from Attorney General Formella. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone who spots a scam should now report it to FTC through reportfraud.ftc.gov. This E-ZPass scam involves messages that threaten consumers with DMV consequences and fees, often stressing that payments should be made immediately. Officials are reminding residents to verify their toll account, contact the Attorney Generals Consumer Protection Hotline if needed and more. Additional information can be found on the Consumer Protection Bureau 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 ABC22 & FOX44. CONNECTICUT (WTNH) A New Hampshire man was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl, according to the Department of Justice. Griswold man charged with sexually-assaulting children Court documents said that in September 2022, David Eddy, 59, of Manchester, New Hampshire sexually abused the girl and used his phone to take pictures of the abuse. Analysis of his phone revealed more than 150 child sexual abuse images and videos of the girl and other child victims of sexual abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He pleaded guilty in September to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Eddy has been detained since his arrest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MSNBCs longtime host Lawrence ODonnell host recently took a two-week break, sparking questions from viewers about his health and return. After originally planning a short hiatus, ODonnell extended his time away due to an unexpected illness. Heres what we know about Lawrence ODonnells absence and current status. Is The Last Words Lawrence ODonnell still sick? Lawrence ODonnell has recovered from his illness and has returned to hosting The Last Word on MSNBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a two-week absence, he resumed his role on Tuesday night, April 1, 2025, telling viewers, Its great to be back. He had initially planned a one-week break due to exhaustion but extended it after contracting an infection. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) dated March 27, 2025, ODonnell stated, Thanks to @msnbc team @CapehartJ @AliVelshi @jrpsaki for filling in for me. My week off turned into 2 weeks after I picked up an infection. Expect to be back @TheLastWord next week. His colleague Symone D. Sanders-Townsend filled in for him on March 31. Thanks to @msnbc team @CapehartJ @AliVelshi @jrpsaki for filling in for me. My week off turned into 2 weeks after I picked up an infection. Expect to be back @TheLastWord next week. Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) March 27, 2025 During his return broadcast, ODonnell remarked, This morning was the first morning I started not in a doctors office in the last two weeks or so. I really got used to it. He then proceeded with his regular news coverage, including commentary on the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. ODonnell had preemptively announced his break on March 12 in an on-air conversation with Rachel Maddow, saying, This is day 52. I thought it was day 92. It turns out its day 52, Rachel. And Im exhausted at day 52, and so Im going to take next week off (via TV Insider). He assured viewers that he would return to cover the remaining days of the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A new segment titled Lawrence on Trump attacking the rule of law is currently available on MSNBCs website, confirming his active participation in ongoing programming. ODonnell, 73, continues to host The Last Word weeknights on MSNBC at 10/9c. The post What Happened to MSNBCs Lawrence ODonnell? Illness & Absence Explained appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. The parallels between Donald Trumps offensive against law firms and his related campaign against American higher education are unsubtle. In both instances, the president has launched what are effectively extortion campaigns, telling firms and schools theyll face harsh penalties unless they meet the White Houses unreasonable demands. In both instances, some of the targets have tried to appease the Republican, while others have chosen to fight. In both instances, Trump has publicly taunted his victims. And in both instances, at least some of the presidents targets have come to realize that bending the knee in the face of authoritarian-style pressure doesnt always work out well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly a month ago, for example, Columbia University agreed to most of the White Houses demands in the hopes that Trump and his team would restore $400 million in federal funding. Not only were those hopes soon dashed Columbia didnt get its money back but the administration soon after proposed installing oversight personnel to help run the school in ways that would make the president happy. In effect, the White House responded to Columbias appeasement by trying in part to take over Columbia. Other universities took note. Take Harvard, for example. The White House approached Harvard with 10 demands on a wide variety of topics, including the installation of outside auditors who would monitor academic departments to ensure viewpoint diversity, as defined by Team Trump. Harvard rejected the terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As NBC News reported, the retaliatory response was swift. The federal government on Monday night said it was freezing more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard University after the school said it would not accept Trump administration demands that included auditing viewpoints of the student body. ... [The administration] said that $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value would be frozen to the Ivy League university. This might not be the full extent of the punishment. The morning after Harvard resisted the extortion scheme, the president turned to his social media platform to peddle a new and related threat. Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting Sickness? the Republican wrote. The developments mark a breakthrough moment in an extraordinary and historically unusual fight: No previous White House has ever tried to use the power of the state to steer the nations preeminent institutions of higher learning in an ideological direction favored by the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also helps to set the stage for a series of legal fights that will be of enormous importance, as a variety of leading universities Cornell, Northwestern, Brown, Princeton, Penn et al. face Trumps wrath. The consequences have the potential to be far-reaching. I didnt agree with everything in The Washington Posts recent editorial on the subject, but the papers editorial board noted, U.S. research universities, and the federal funding that supports them, are one major reason Americans have collected more Nobel Prizes than citizens of any other country. They also help make the United States the worlds innovation engine and the top destination for foreign students. No other country is as adept at converting raw human talent and ideas into cutting-edge products. Research universities anchor innovation clusters such as Silicon Valley, which in turn fuel the countrys economic growth. The stakes, in other words, are quite high. Watch this space. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com As the Trump administration cracked down for months on what the president said was unchecked antisemitism and leftist ideology on campuses, even the nations most prestigious and wealthy universities seemed to be on their back foot. In March, Columbia agreed to a sweeping, unprecedented set of demands, including creating a new campus police force to remove student protesters and putting a Middle East studies department under outside control to win back potential access to $400 million in imperiled federal funds, the same month its second president in the span of 12 months stepped down. At least 60 universities were warned they could soon be the next to potentially lose hundreds of millions or even billions in federal funding if they didnt fall in line with the presidents vision of campus civil rights, which has categorized all of those who engaged in campus pro-Palestine protests, which included scores of Jewish student leaders, as antisemitic Hamas sympathizers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By late March, the administration was making its boldest push yet, threatening to cut off some $9 billion in federal funding to Harvard. To maintain the funding, the administration warned, the university needed to agree to demands like ending diversity programs, cooperating with federal immigration officials, screening international students for their views, de-recognizing pro-Palestine student groups, and subjecting itself to a wide-ranging viewpoint diversity audit. Then, in the last few days, Harvard, the nations oldest and richest university, began to push back more forcefully than any of the other five Ivy League schools that have faced administration funding threats. The Trump administration has demanded unprecedented changes at Harvard in response to alleged antisemitism that took place during campus pro-Palestine protests (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) It began on Friday, when a group Harvard faculty sued the administration over the demands, alleging that Trump was simultaneously exploiting and ignoring provisions like the Administrative Procedure Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids discrimination at federally funded institutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suit alleged that the administration had failed to follow steps laid out in federal statute that come before a university can be defunded under the civil rights law. Threats like these are an existential gun to the head for a university, the complaint reads. They overtly seek to impose on Harvard University political views and policy preferences advanced by the Trump administration and commit the University to punishing disfavored speech. Over the weekend, hundreds joined protests near campus against the Trump demands. Then, on Monday, the university issued its starkest response yet to Trump, with messages from the universitys lawyers and Harvard president Alan Garber that the school wouldnt agree to the demands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, Garber wrote. Attorneys for the university argued in a letter on Monday to Trump administration officials that the White House had ignored the universitys work to combat antisemitism and instead presents demands that, in contravention of the First Amendment, invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court. The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, the lawyers added. Hours later the Trump administration announced it had frozen billions if dollars in federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which is made up of several federal agencies, including the Justice Department and Education Department, announced a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard University." The task force did not specify what programs the grants were related to. The clash will now likely head to the courts. Columbia University became first of targeted schools to agree to Trump demands Other Ivies facing funding cuts have also suggested they might fight back, like Princeton, whose federally funded work with the Department of Energy, NASA and the Defense Department was suspended at the beginning of April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Princeton University will comply with the law," Princeton President Chris Eisgruber said in a statement at the time. "We are committed to fighting antisemitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating antisemitism. Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this University." But writing in The Atlantic last month, Eisgruber warned that the country was entering the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s. University campuses have emerged as perhaps the key battleground over the Trump administrations signature policy priorities. The attempted deportations of non-citizen campus pro-Palestine activists has prompted lawsuits and protests, as have the administrations attempts via the DOGE push to slash federal spending by cutting federally funded academic research through the National Institutes of Health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Donald Trump reportedly decided at the beginning of this month to make a specific example of Harvard as part of his larger agenda. What if we never pay them? reportedly Trump said after a lunch in the White House on April 1, a source familiar with the conversation told The New York Times. Wouldnt that be cool? Were not looking to just file lawsuits we want to compel a cultural change in how Jewish Americans are treated on college campuses, Attorney General Pam Bondi, a member of the administrations task force on combatting antisemitism, told the paper. The Trump administration has honed in on campus pro-Palestine activism, seeking to deport protest leaders like Columbia grad Mahmoud Khalil (Getty Images) The members of the task force have largely been undisclosed to the public, and some of the universities who have been targeted for lost funding said they found out about the potential cuts through news reports or didnt know exactly why they were being targeted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With scores more more colleges and universities under investigation, the conflict only looks set to continue. Universities arent the only civil society entities facing Faustian choices from the administration. President Trump has threatened law firms that represented political opponents with losing their security clearances and access to federal buildings and government contractors as clients. In response, scores of top firms have reached agreements with the administration to avoid sanction, offering hundreds of millions of dollars of pro bono legal work to support the administrations favored causes. Others have chosen to challenge the administration, including the firm Susman Godfrey, which sued Trump on Friday, becoming at least the fourth firm targeted by the White House to file a lawsuit. This week, the oldest (and richest) American educational institution did what one of its peers could not: it defied the Trump administration. Harvards president Alan Garber issued a defiant statement on Monday stating that the university wouldnt accept a list of demands from the Trump administration he said amounted to a federal takeover of the institution. Just as with other universities, the Trump administration demanded the university cooperate with federal agencies engaged in prosecuting and, in the case of foreign-born students, targeting for deportation, college students who engaged in a broad range of activities in opposition to the Israeli governments siege of Gaza. It also would have forced Harvard to end diversity-based hiring policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A letter sent to the government in response was itself filled with subtle jabs. It was signed by two familiar faces: Robert Hur, the former Justice Department attorney who oversaw the probe of Joe Bidens handling of classified materials, and William Burck, outside ethics counsel for the Trump Organization. Further, the pair wrote that [n]either Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government a remark that could clearly be seen as disapprovingly commenting on Ivy League member Columbia University to accept the sweeping policy changes demanded by the White House. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, wrote Harvards president. So far, Harvard is unmoved in the face of the Trump administrations retribution: roughly $2.2bn in various grant cuts affecting the university. Demonstrators rally in support of Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts (REUTERS) A host of other colleges and associations took another step on Tuesday and filed suit against the US Department of Energy aimed at halting DOGE-led grant cuts. The group includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brown University, and wrote in court filings that the implemented cuts to research funding would be devastating. Students across the country have reported the reversals of graduate school admissions and research program acceptances in the wake of cuts to a host of federal agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The framework of resistance is beginning to form. And one of the biggest names in Democratic politics is throwing himself behind it. Barack Obama, the last Democratic president to be re-elected, backed up his alma mater on Twitter: Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Lets hope other institutions follow suit, he added. Obama, who was one of the highest-profile figures to emerge and pressure Joe Biden to step down from the Democratic ticket in 2024, remains one of the Democratic Partys most influential voices. His statement is likely to be a rallying cry for a party which poll after poll (and FEC report after FEC report) indicate that voters believe is not energetic enough to build that resistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also emerged from the 2024 election looking far more prescient than his onetime running mate, who most insiders now agree was encased in a tightly-contained sphere of advisers and close family members who, throughout the election season, shielded the president from signs of his growing unpopularity. But hes not the only Democrat finding a voice as the party considers what Resistance 2.0 looks like, nor is he arguably the most effective. The progressive wing of the Democratic Party seems to have shaken off much of the post-election malaise affecting all corners of their coalitions big tent. Now, its members are hammering Republicans in their home districts across the country. Out west, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now at the side of Senator Bernie Sanders as the two lefty icons hit red state after red state, drawing staggering crowds day after day. On Monday evening, the pair were in Nampa, Idaho, turning out a crowd which some estimates (including stand-by seating) ranged upwards of 15,000. The Squad member isnt just getting her voice out shes building a political machine of her own, and on Tuesday reported a jaw-dropping amount of donations for the first quarter of 2025 more than $9.6m. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks at a rally in Los Angeles, California, as part of the Fighting Oligarchy tour with Senator Bernie Sanders (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) In the east, John Fettermans old rival Conor Lamb continues to stir up what former Rep John Lewis would probably call good trouble in Pennsylvania. The former congressman headlined an empty-chair town hall event in a GOP-held district outside of Penn State University in March and is set to do it again on Wednesday. This time, hes doing it in Pittsburgh Fettermans backyard and calling the senator out directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Looking forward to this on Wednesday, wrote Lamb on Twitter on Monday. Maybe our senators who both live within a few minutes drive of this event will come explain recent votes, and address what they plan to do about Trumps economic downturn and his defiance of the Supreme Court. With new polls coming out showing Donald Trumps approval taking a serious slide in the face of economic instability brought on by his on-again-off-again tariff plan, Democrats may finally be finding their footing. Will they do anything with it? On Friday, the Trump administration insisted that Harvard comply with an updated litany of demands or risk losing billions in federal funding and grants. Ostensibly, the administration is trying to force the university to uphold civil-rights law, but it is obviously attempting to bring Harvard to heel as part of an ongoing effort to subdue institutions that could, in some shape or form, oppose President Donald Trumps agenda. Few private institutions anywhere are as well insulated from outside pressure as Harvard, which has amassed a $53.2 billion endowment. This is doubtless one reason that Harvardunlike Columbia University, certain law firms, and many giant corporationsannounced yesterday that it would fight instead of capitulate. The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, its lawyers said. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the governments terms as an agreement in principle. [Read: What Harvard learned from Columbias mistake] Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to focus here not on Harvards response, but on the nature of the administrations demandswhich, among other things, are internally contradictory. To start, Harvard would have to reduce the power held by faculty (whether tenured or untenured) and administrators more committed to activism than scholarship. Departments deemed lacking in viewpoint diversity would be forced to hire and admit a critical mass of new faculty and students that would provide it. In addition, the school would have to abolish all criteria, preferences, and practices, whether mandatory or optional, throughout its admissions and hiring practices, that function as ideological litmus tests, while at the same time commissioning an external party, which shall satisfy the federal government as to its competence and good faith, to audit those programs and departments that most fuel antisemitic harassment or reflect ideological capture. Whether by design or accident, the imperative to screen for anti-Semitic beliefs and ideological capture, and to mandate viewpoint diversity, clearly contradict the dictates to reduce administrative activism and abolish the implementation of litmus tests in promotion and hiring. In a letter addressed to the university community, Harvard President Alan M. Garber observed that although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the intellectual conditions at Harvard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would submit that the demands go much further, epitomizing a defining characteristic of the second Trump administration: the comprehensive repurposing of the woke social-justice movements most controversial and coercive tools for reactionary ends. And so this performative confrontation with the nations apex university has taken the form of a crusade for so-called freedom that is completely destructive of liberty and independence. The administration is not anti-woke; it is woke with right-wing characteristics. Resentful of places like Harvard, jealous of their ability to confer status, Trump and his happy warriors of aggrievement have attempted to force themselves inside. To that end, they are all too willing to apply the full fiduciary might of the federal government to impose their very own diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucracy replete with mandated safe spaces that would preclude the slightest microaggression. They are, among their countless other hypocrisies, pursuing the most ham-fisted program of affirmative actionthis time for MAGA. Article originally published at The Atlantic TOKYO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Japan's defense-related budget for fiscal 2025 is expected to total about 9.9 trillion yen (about 70 billion U.S. dollars), equivalent to 1.8 percent of gross domestic product three years earlier, local media reported Tuesday. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told a press conference that the government will allocate around 8.5 trillion yen for its defense budget and about 1.5 trillion yen for related spending in its initial budget for the current fiscal year starting this month, Kyodo News reported. The country has set a goal outlined in its 2022 National Security Strategy of bringing defense spending to 2 percent of the GDP in fiscal 2027, after long maintaining an informal cap of around 1 percent, or about 5 trillion yen, under its war-renouncing Constitution. The defense spending increases will be based on the fiscal 2022 GDP. The figures "show our efforts to strengthen our defense capabilities are steadily progressing" toward the numerical target, Nakatani said. However, the expansion of Japan's military budget has raised concerns domestically and internationally. (1 Japanese yen equals about 0.007 USD) Harvard University announced on Monday they will not give in to President Trumps unprecedented demands for reforming the schools admissions process for international students. On Friday, the Trump administration sent a letter to Harvards President Dr. Alan M. Garber with a list of changes to be implemented as the basis for an agreement in principle that will maintain Harvards financial relationship with the federal government. The changes include hiring and admissions reforms, discontinuing DEI hiring practices, student discipline reform, as well as whistleblowing reporting and protections as it relates to antisemitism on campus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Garber responded Monday, saying the proposed demands invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court. Activists call on Harvard to stand up to Trump Administration, at stake $9 billion in funding The governments terms also circumvent Harvards statutory rights by requiring unsupported and disruptive remedies for alleged harms that the government has not proven through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law, he wrote. President Garber pointed to several programmatic changes already implemented in response to combatting antisemitism. He says the federal governments letter disregards the universitys efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, he wrote. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. In closing, President Garber said Harvard would not accept the federal governments demands and criticized them for threatening to cut funding he says is used for vital research and innovation for the countrys scientific and medical fields. He did, however, say the university remains open to dialogue about improving the experience of members of the Harvard community. Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration, President Garber wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Governor Maura Healey backed the prestigious institution in a statement on Monday night. I join others around the country in extending congratulations and gratitude to Harvard University, President Garber and the Corporation for their leadership in standing up for education and freedom by standing against the Trump Administrations brazen attempt to bully schools and weaponize the U.S. Department of Justice under the false pretext of civil rights, Healey said. Complying with the Trump Administrations dangerous demands would have made us all less safe and less free. The full letter can be read below: Harvard opposes Trump administrations disruptive demands for policy changes tied to fed. funding 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 Jury selection began for Harvey Weinsteins retrial Tuesday morning in New York City after his landmark #MeToo conviction was overturned last year. Weinstein, in a wheelchair and carrying a book with the cover torn off, had a brief smile on his face as he approached his legal team in the courtroom. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first group of prospective jurors consisting of approximately 70 individuals was eventually sworn into the courtroom, where Judge Curtis J. Farber announced that he would be presiding over the selection process. The prospectives were first asked whether they cant serve due to scheduling conflicts, then whether they would be unable to serve fairly and impartially in a case that, as the judge said, involves allegations of criminal sex act and rape and has been widely reported in the news. The judge, however, did not mention Weinsteins name. A few dozen prospectives signaled they could not serve for one or both reasons, with Judge Farber noting that there was a smattering of hands following both questions. However, the majority of the panel then stood and waited in line to disclose their issue with serving as a juror on the case. At 12 p.m. ET, a second batch of potential jurors consisting of just under 75 individuals was summoned into the courtroom. Once again, dozens of prospective jurors raised their hands to signal that they would be unable to serve due to work or personal-related conflicts, and/or they couldnt be impartial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge also shared with both groups that the trial will most likely end the last week of May, but as a precaution said they should expect it to last until the first week of June. In total, only 49 jurors remained after Farbers questions. Weinstein was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in 2024 and has been imprisoned on Rikers Island while awaiting the retrial. In October of that year, a Manhattan judge ruled that Weinsteins multiple sex crimes charges would be consolidated ahead of his 2025 retrial. Due to his cancer diagnosis, the disgraced movie mogul claimed he wont be there for the April 15 trial and requested Judge Farber move the date up, even a week earlier to April 7. Weinstein has been treated at Bellevue Hospital for the cancer, in addition to leukemia, diabetes, coronary artery disease and sleep apnea. In September, he underwent emergency heart surgery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier last year, in April, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinsteins 2020 rape conviction. The appeals court ruled that Weinsteins original trial committed an error by including testimonies from three additional accusers when they should not have been permitted. These testimonies were deemed prejudicial, as they did not provide relevant insight into the charges he faced. As a result, the appeals court vacated the conviction and ordered a retrial. In September, Weinstein was indicted on an additional sex crimes charge after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Manhattan hotel on one occasion between April 29, 2006, and May 6, 2006. He pled not guilty to the charge. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Happy Tax Day (if any tax day can be happy) and welcome to another edition of Rent Free. This week's stories include: Single-stair reform takes a big step forward in Austin, Texas. Parking reform advances in Washington. But first, our lead item on a permitting story from hell that shows just how thin America's property rights protections can be. Hawaii Homeowner Goes Through Permit Hell After County Tells Him His Decades-Old Home Is Illegal When Shahzaad Ausman purchased a small seaside home in Captain Cook, Hawaii, in 2021, he had every reason to believe that it was a perfectly legal dwelling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The home was first built in 1987 and the original owner had lived in it for years without incident. The second owner Ausman was purchasing the home from had recently obtained a remodeling permit in 2020 to make repairs and alterations. As part of his due diligence during the purchasing process, Ausman had confirmed with the county that the remodeling permit was valid for five years. An agent and appraiser working for Ausman also confirmed with the county there weren't any outstanding permit issues with the home. "Three people checked with the county that everything was good on the permit and everything was good," Ausman tells Reason. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With those assurances from the county, Ausman purchased the property and continued with partially completed remodeling work. But, as local Hawaiian media has reported, the county's assurances proved to offer Ausman little protection from the bureaucratic nightmare that was soon to follow. The Nightmare Begins At the time that Ausman purchased the home, Hawaii County was in the process of setting up a new Electronic Permitting and Information Center (EPIC) to track building permits. Soon after the EPIC system was to go live, all permits that had been open for more than five years would be declared null and void. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Property owners would have a grace period to renew their permits before June 1, 2022. After that, they'd have to start the permitting process from scratch. On that June deadline, a full 40,000 permits were nixed by the county. Since the permit Ausman inherited from the previous owner was good through 2025, he didn't think he had anything to worry about. In early 2022, after already spending $138,000 on remodeling work on the house, Ausman called the county to get a final inspection on some of the completed work. But no one from the county responded. Finally, in July 2022, a county official told Ausman over the phone that, contra past assurances, his permit had expired. But not the 2020 permit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather, the county was now telling Ausman that the original 1987 building permit for his home had expired on the June 1, 2022, deadline. The county asserted that even though a building permit had been issued for the 1987 home, there was no record of a final inspection having been completed. Therefore, it was the county's position that the permit was never finalized and thus was canceled along with the 40,000 permits that were axed as part of the EPIC overhaul. According to the county, Ausman's entire home was illegal. He could not continue his remodeling work or even occupy the home without the risk of daily fines. In an October 2022 letter to Ausman, the county also said that he would have to remove the remodeling work he'd already completed and apply for a completely new building permit. Setbacks Getting a new building permit was also easier said than done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the original owner of Ausman's home constructed the dwelling in 1987, he was able to build it 27 feet from the shoreline. Since then, Hawaii's state and local coastal development regulations have been amended to require development be setback 40 feet from the shoreline. As Ausman explained in a December 2024 interview with the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii's Joe Kent, his home's 27-foot proximity to the shoreline would likely prevent him from obtaining a required "special management area" permit from the state. If he wanted to get a new permit, he'd have to move it back to the new 40-foot limit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doing so however would then require him to rebuild the home to the current building code standards, which are much more stringent than the standards that were in effect in 1987. That, he tells Reason, would mean "basically changing every stick and every nail in the house." In effect, he would have to demolish his home completely and start over. In that October 2022 letter, the county had given Ausman 90 days to apply for a new permit. Instead, given the amount of money he'd already sunk into the house and the expense posed by a complete rebuild, he decided to appeal the county's revocation of his permit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ausman's appeal would be heard by the Hawaii County Board of Appeals. Ausman would have to convince this body staffed by county officials, over the objections of county counsel, that the county had made a mistake. In May 2023, the county Board of Appeals decided that the county hadn't made a mistake. Rather, it told Ausman he had made a mistake by relying on the county's assurances that his home was legal. He'd need to start the permitting process over again. His administrative options exhausted, Ausman filed a lawsuit against the county in Hawaii's 3rd Circuit District Court. Late last month, the court ruled firmly in Ausman's favor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Wendy M. DeWeese found that Ausman had reasonably relied on the county's assurances that all his permits were up-to-date when he began his remodeling work. The county's subsequent decision to revoke his permits was "clearly erroneous," it said. The decision entitles Ausman to proceed with the work on his home he began four years ago. All he needs to move forward is for the court to enter its judgment. Pending Appeal Still, Ausman is not quite out of the woods yet. The county has 30 days to appeal DeWeese's decision after the judgment is officially entered. Ausman says that after the court's decision, the county told him again that they would still issue him a notice of violation if he attempted to continue his remodeling work or reoccupy the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He speculates that the county is pressuring him to settle the case to stave off an appeal and all the legal process and expense that would entail. He tells Reason he has little interest in reaching a settlement with the county now that he's won in the district court. "I have very little faith in doing that for them," he tells Reason. "I won. I don't have any incentive" to settle. Austin Passes Single-Stair Reform This past week, the City Council of Austin, Texas, voted 101 to update the city building code to allow apartment buildings up to five stories to be built with just one staircase. Advocates argue single-stair reform enables mid-rise apartment buildings to fit on smaller lots. By wrapping apartments around a single stairway, floorplans can include more window-lit bedrooms as well. The city's reforms will make it easier to build "small sunlight-filled apartment buildings with large family-friendly units," says Chris Gannon, an Austin-based architect and single-stair supporter. As a recent report co-produced by the Center for Building in North America and Pew Charitable Trust documents, American building codes are uniquely restrictive of single-stair apartments. With the notable exception of New York City, Honolulu, and Seattle, most cities require apartment buildings taller than three stories to have two staircases. This restriction is typically justified on fire safety grounds, but the Pew report found no evidence that single-stair buildings with sprinkler systems posed greater safety risks. Austin's reforms require that the landings in single-stair buildings include sprinkler systems. The city also prohibited electrical outlets on single-stair landings. The single-stair reform "opens up smaller lots in existing multifamily zones" where apartment buildings are already allowed, says Ryan Puzycki, a member of Austin's Zoning and Platting Commission. But "there are other things that we need to do to fully realize the benefits of this." Puzycki says that shrinking Austin's 8,000-square-foot minimum lot size requirement for multifamily buildings, reducing impervious cover requirements, and upzoning low-density zones for small apartment buildings would see single-stair reform yield even more units. Parking Reform Advances in Washington State This past week, the Washington House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 5184, which caps the number of parking spaces local governments can require in new residential and commercial developments. According to the Sightline Institute, which helped draft the bill, S.B. 5184 would allow local governments to require at most .5 parking spaces per multifamily unit (or one parking space per detached single-family home). Local governments could mandate that commercial businesses include at most one parking space per 1,000 square feet. The bill passed the Senate in February. It was amended in the House, meaning that it will have to be taken up again by the Senate in order to pass the full Legislature. Quick Links A recent study finds that Maui's proposed conversion of hotels and short-term rentals to long-term housing would lower housing costs, as well as employment, economic activity, and tax revenue. Hell Gate reports that current New York City mayoral candidate and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo used ChatGPT to help write his housing plan. When boomtowns boomed my map of "miracle decades", when major cities grew by ~50% or more in 10 years or less https://t.co/lIQrZrt1ph pic.twitter.com/p58THou3wi Michael Andersen (@andersem) April 12, 2025 The upzoning of commercial- and transit-adjacent neighborhoods in Sydney, Australia, is producing a real estate boom as developers scramble to snatch up newly buildable properties. The owners of historic homes in affected neighborhoods are demanding their properties be de-landmarked so they can cash out too. Yet another report finds that Los Angeles' "mansion tax" is killing new apartment construction. The post Hawaii County Tells Homeowner His 38-Year-Old House Is Actually Illegal appeared first on Reason.com. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who could emerge as a key vote on President Trumps agenda, says working-class Americans should be able to take tax deductions on their payroll taxes, which would save thousands of dollars for families earning less than $80,000 per year. Hawley, who has already come out against steep cuts to Medicaid, is laying down another marker for lower- and middle-income individuals and families in his home state by arguing that working-class Missourians should also see their taxes cut this year. The negotiations over President Donald Trumps big, beautiful budget bill have to date included surprisingly little talk of tax cuts for the people who need them most: Americas working class, Hawley wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blue-collar workers havent gotten a real pay raise in decades. Mortgages are unaffordable. Rent is unaffordable. Groceries are unaffordable, Hawley wrote. All of this takes a toll on the spirit as much as the checkbook. Hawley says Republicans can start repairing the eroding buying-power of working-class Americans by giving them the biggest working-class tax cut in our history. He says they should make the largest income tax credits the home mortgage deduction, the child tax credit and the charitable deduction available to all Americans who pay payroll taxes, which fund Social Security and Medicare. He noted those popular tax credits, which provide billions of dollars in tax relief per year, are unavailable to millions of Americans who pay little to nothing in income tax but who still pay a significant chunk of their income in payroll taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two-thirds of Americans pay more in payroll taxes than they do in income taxes. And most working-class Americans pay little or no income tax at all, he noted. Republicans should fix this now. Make the home mortgage interest deduction, the child tax credit and the charitable deduction available against the payroll tax, he urged. That would allow Americans earning a wage and paying payroll taxes to claim these popular tax credits. He wrote that this would save a local pastor of a small church with six children who makes roughly $80,000 a year more than $6,000 in taxes in one year. And he said it would provide a $7,500 tax break to a police officers family that pays $33,000 a year in day care costs for two girls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every working family could use the money. And they deserve it. They earned it, after all. Republicans should get back to doing what they once did best: cutting taxes for the people who make this nation work, Hawley wrote. Hawleys proposal comes while Republican negotiators are reviewing other proposals to provide more tax relief to Americans who dont pay much in income taxes, specifically people who earn most of their money from tips and seniors who live on fixed incomes. During his address to Congress last month, Trump called on lawmakers to exempt tipped-income from taxation and to shield Social Security benefits from taxation. These two proposals would cost an estimated $200 billion and $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, fiscal hawks on Capitol Hill are mulling proposals to offset tax relief for lower- and middle-income Americans by raising corporate taxes or taxes on the wealthy. Two proposals being floated are letting the top marginal income tax rate revert from 37 percent to 39.6 percent or creating a new tax bracket for people who earn more than $1 million annually. Hawley told The New York times that he would be open to enacting higher taxes for the wealthy if Trump decides he wants to offset the cost of tax cuts for working Americans. I think we need to cut taxes for working folks, so if the president wants to offset that, then Im definitely open to it, he said. I would go so far as to argue thats the core of his base. So we need to do something for those folks. 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. By Akbar Novruz On April 14, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a telephone conversation with Assad Hassan Ash-Shibani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Syrians Abroad of the Transitional Government of Syria. According to Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry, the two ministers discussed the current state and future of Azerbaijani-Syrian relations, as well as broader regional security dynamics. They emphasized the broad prospects for bilateral cooperation in the post-Assad era, with both sides expressing readiness to deepen ties once the Assad regime is no longer in power. Minister Bayramov also expressed appreciation for Syria's support in restoring the work of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Damascus following a long hiatus. During the call, the importance of Azerbaijans humanitarian assistance to Syria and its potential role in the countrys reconstruction process was underlined. The ministers agreed that enhancing tripartite cooperation between Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Syria could contribute to regional stability and rebuilding efforts. The conversation also touched on key bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest. COLOMBO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has ratified the Third Amendment to the Maldives Immigration Act prohibiting Israeli passport holders from entering the territory of the Republic of Maldives, the President's Office said on Tuesday. The amendment was passed by the People's Majlis during the 20th sitting of the first session of the year on April 15, the President's Office said in a statement. The Maldivian government reaffirms its strong solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its ongoing commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of the Palestinian people, according to the President's Office. The Maldives continues to advocate for accountability for violations of international law and remains vocal across various international platforms in its condemnation of Israel's actions, the President's Office said. President Muizzu has consistently reiterated the Maldives' principled support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, the President's Office said. The News The Department of Health and Human Services has fired nearly half of the workers at the federal agency that oversees child care, and advocates and Democratic lawmakers are warning it could destabilize the already-expensive US child care system. The Administration for Children and Families which funnels federal funds to state governments and community organizations for things like child care, early education, foster care, and child protection services has lost an estimated 40 percent of its employees in the last four months, according to a tracker compiled by former staff and shared with Semafor. Staffing fell from about 2,400 in January to about 1,500 following this months latest most recent round of layoffs, per the informal tracker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has overseen the departure of 25 percent of department employees overall, recently said he expects to reinstate some 20% of those fired workers. Still, child care advocates are raising the alarm that the layoffs at ACF could throttle child care availability by slowing down federal funding, driving up the cost to US parents. You cant cut an office by 45 percent and expect it to do the same job, said Ruth Friedman, a former director of the ACFs child care office who is now a senior fellow at the progressive Century Foundation. Children are going to be less safe; the cost of care is going to go up for parents; and its going to be harder to find. The average parent already spends 22% of their households income on child care, according to Care.com. It can be more in major cities; in Washington, DC, for example, the typical cost of caring for an infant is $25,000 a year. Democratic lawmakers are grappling with a bigger worry: that Kennedy is uninterested in continuing the departments child care work. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told Semafor that when she sat down with the top health official ahead of his confirmation, the former presidential candidate was unaware that HHS even worked on child care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I first met with RFK Jr. before his confirmation hearing, he had zero clue the department he wanted to lead oversees federal child care programs, Murray told Semafor. But he then agreed that child care should be a priority, Murray added. So far, Kennedy is revealing little about his long-term plans. HHS did not return a request for comment for this story. But some Republican lawmakers are also quietly pushing back against the downsizing of the federal child care agency. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., has asked Kennedy to testify before his committee on the goals, structure and benefits of the proposed reorganization of HHS. A handful of other Republicans have signed bipartisan letters raising concerns about the dismantling of ACF teams that administer key programs in their states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im always going to be concerned about budget reductions that would affect low-income families, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Semafor. Know More Kennedys latest round of layoffs this month affected 10,000 workers across HHS, including an estimated 500 at ACF. The former staff maintaining the tracker said they believe most employees spread across regional offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle are out. In Washington, ACFs Office of Regional Operations is down from 59 workers to 13 and its Government Contracting Services is down from 135 to 100. The Office of Child Care tasked with overseeing the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, which provides subsidies to low-income parents that help pay for care for an estimated 840,000 children has lost a third of its staff. It could not come at a worse time, Friedman, the former OCC director, said. We already have a situation where we dont have as much child care as families need and to disinvest support of the sector absolutely exacerbates the problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Teams within the HHS Office of Community Services that funneled money to states through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance and Social Services Block Grant programs have been scrapped completely, the former staff say. A division of the Office of Family Assistance that helped states spend money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program has also been eliminated. LIHEAP helps an estimated 6 million low-income households pay their energy bills. Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., in asking Kennedy earlier this month to reverse course on any staffing or funding cuts that would jeopardize the distribution of these funds. Together, social services block grants and TANF funds help provide child care to about 2.4 million children a year, according to the most recent data available. They also help pay for foster care for some 470,000 children and child protective services for around 2.7 million children. That whole chain is broken, said one former staffer, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. Eleanors view The ACF layoffs have so far flown below the radar as Washington grapples with hits to higher-profile federal programs not to mention Trumps stock-busting trade war and Republicans tax turmoil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But most parents can tell you that the child care situation was dire to begin with; it seems inevitable that a tariff-induced recession, as several prominent analysts have recently forecast, would make things worse. The political stakes are high. Americans elected Trump on a promise to lower the cost of living, but so far, his administrations actions have mostly threatened to do the opposite. The second-term president wont face voters again, but Hill Republicans will. Room for Disagreement Some on the right say cuts to ACF could make child care more affordable, if theyre done right. That would include scrapping some restrictions on how states can spend funds from programs like Head Start and development block grants, which in turn could require fewer staff to administer them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So much of it is just lost in administrative and bureaucratic processes that arguably are wasteful and inefficient, Rachel Greszler, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said. Either way, Greszler said, its likely too soon to predict how Kennedys layoffs will play out. It could be that the cuts and the number of staff have a negative impact. But it could be that they have little impact, or it could be that they have positive impact I just dont know yet, Greszler said. Notable ST. LOUIS A hearing was held today for the man charged in the death of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer David Lee back in September 2024. In the early hours of Sept. 22, 2024, Lee was alerted to a car accident on I-70. While he was placing cones to separate traffic from the impacted area, Lee was hit by a passing car, in which the supposed driver lost control of the vehicle. Lee was taken to a hospital, where he later passed away during surgery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The alleged suspect in relation to Lees death, Ramon Chavez-Rodriguez, 24, is facing various charges, including DWI, exceeding the posted speed limit and driving without a valid license. Officials are saying that Chavez-Rodriguez does not have legal status in the United States. He remains at the city justice center without bond. Following Officer Lees passing, the Missouri House Special Committee on Urban Issues unanimously voted to advance HB 957, which looks to honor the fallen officers 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 FOX 2. DENVER (KDVR) Brighton police are investigating a threat involving social media posts to a few Brighton schools, the department said Tuesday morning. Police said the students in question are in either police custody or under adult supervision, though they did not say if the students are facing charges. FOX31 has asked Brighton police if the students were arrested and if charges were expected. 2 taken to hospital after serious crash involving stolen vehicle: Denver police Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brighton police in a Tuesday afternoon update said they were made aware of the threat last week to Overland Middle School and launched a criminal investigation. They said they worked with the school district, 27J Schools, to share information with impacted school communities. We understand that students, parents, and families are understandably concerned about the school threats and the perception that information has not been clearly communicated to both the school community and the broader public, police said in a press release. While we are bound by state law regarding the release of juvenile information, we will continue to provide updates as it relates to school safety while the investigation is ongoing. FOX31 obtained a message the school district sent to parents, which said two students were mentioned in connection to the threat. The students in question have been in custody or under close adult supervision for a week and remain in that situation today, the message read. These students are not currently a threat to our schools, and police continue to investigate this matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Heightened security measures are in place at affected schools and neighborhoods, police said in a Facebook post. These are the schools affected, according to the district: Overland Trail Middle Brighton High School Vikan Middle School Innovations and Options Northeast Elementary School Resource Officers (SROs) and additional police officers are being dedicated to school safety, and the school districts armed security team remains in place and vigilant at all campuses, police said. We are confident in the proactive steps we are taking together with the district to help keep our schools safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parents questioned why the whole district wasnt informed if so many schools were affected. They said they were first informed of a credible threat on April 9. However, today on social media, all of the moms in Brighton, we just were super scared because there were some posts that provided some more information about what had happened last week, however, we did not receive more information from the police or from the school, Luisa Rodriguez, a parent of 6th grader at Overland Trail Middle School, told FOX31s Kasia Kerridge. But, after all this movement on social media, the school and the police reached out to the parents via email, social media and phone call to tell us that there were two students on their adult supervision so if we hear anything or if we see anything, we should all report it to Safe2Tell. She said shes not alone in feeling like it isnt safe to send her children to school. I hear that a lot of moms are just going to keep their kids for the rest of the week because we havent heard of any plans that the school is doing, we havent heard more information about what was the threat that was made to the school, Rodriguez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jim Ponzi, a school safety expert and former Denver Police Department lieutenant, told Kerridge that the big thing at the moment for district security is called threat assessment, versus the previous zero tolerance. If you remember, you heard about zero tolerance a lot where any kind of a threat or anything like that was immediately reported to everybody and people were put in jail and thrown out of school, Ponzi said. A threat assessment, just a basic assessment of whether this person that made the threat was really serious about it. Of course, that doesnt mean you do nothing, you still take precautions, but to the point of maybe not calling the parents right away and saying maybe, Hey, were going to close the school, come and get your kids, were going to bus them somewhere else.' Federal legislators: Report confirms Space Command headquarters should remain in Colorado He said that the assessment could include looking at the students social media accounts, and checking their personal items for potential weapons and other measures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the school in this case may have left a little too much information out but what theyre looking at, but as soon as a parent thinks theyre a legitimate problem, whats the first thing theyre going to do? Theyre going to run up to the school take their kid home or keep them out of school the next few days, Ponzi said. Police say anyone can report anything that would harm them or their school to police or school staff directly at safety@sd27j.net or via Safe2Tell Colorado and at 877-542-7233. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AUSTIN (KXAN) KXAN has, for years, been the beneficiary of loyal viewers who provide various kinds of weather information, especially during severe weather. They email pictures and videos when its hails, rains and snows. Some provide pictures of their rain gauges letting us see how much rain has accumulated in their yards. Its not just confined to wet and stormy weather, but also nice weather days that feature pretty sunrises and sunsets. No matter what the weather may be, they always come through. The National Weather Service office in New Braunfels the one that handles weather duties for eleven counties in the Austin area would appreciate some of our viewers to assist them with similar ground-truth reports. Volunteers across the state are part of the COCORAHS network. It stands for Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paul Yura, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says they have several volunteers who make their reports through COCORAHS. He calls it citizen science where people report weather information to people who can use and need it. The COCORAHS weather observers who provide 24-hour rain totals make it easier for weather service meteorologists to see what impacts the rain has had on the drought and how much water has made it into the creeks and lakes, among other needed information. There are many weather observers in the Austin metro area and other highly-populated urban locales. Its the outlying areas where more volunteer weather observers are needed less-populated areas in the rural communities. Volunteers report every day whether there is rain measured or not. Yura says even a report of no rain is still data thats needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its easy to join COCORAHS. The one thing they do ask is that you purchase one of their rain gauges. Learn more about COCORAHS and how to become a volunteer Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A coffee shop is pairing up with a local organization to assist sexual assault survivors. At Coffea Roasterie locations across Sioux Falls, not only can you find a cup of coffee, this month you also can find a hygiene drive for the Compass Center. So the 1st through the 21st, you can drop off full sized items at any of our locations. And they will go to women in crisis, Coffea Roasterie COO, Esther Shore said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have a team in our crisis care services department called sexual assault advocates, and they are, responding 24/7 to people in need in our community. They go to our hygiene supply closet, they prepare a bag for items for that person in need, and deliver that in person, stand beside them on the long process, but really just help them in their transition, Compass Center Chief Development and Communications officer, Sydney Bartunek said. Hibachi defendants to be released on PR bond Also this month, Coffea and the Compass Center are partnering together to host Grounds for Change. Over a cup of coffee, people can create that connection, they can hear stories, they can listen to others who have maybe survived sexual assault, or learn more about what they can do to be a part of that process of support and healing. So its really important to us to have those connections and engagement and to be able to use specialty coffee as a vehicle for those things, Shore said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Helping survivors and starting conversations during sexual assault awareness month. I think the unfortunate reality of our world is more women than probably not have experienced some level of sexual assault and if we are not willing to have these conversations in a brave and compassionate and healing way, nothings ever can change, Shore said. Healing happens in community. Healing happens in connection. Healing happens in relationships. So the more that we can support them in different ways through supplies and then, our team through advocacy and counseling, the better off they are to start the healing journey, Bartunek said. There is one more week to donate hygiene supplies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The last Grounds For Change is tomorrow morning, April 15th, from 7:30-8:30 at the Louise Avenue Coffea location. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK) The Henderson County Sheriffs Office has taken an aggressive stance to arrest child predators and keep East Texas safe. KETK news visited with Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse who makes sure his team is keeping the local community protected and raising awareness for victims of abuse. Kemp man charged with sexual abuse, accused of paying child $1 to do something nice Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have seen a rise, Hillhouse said. I think its the aggressive stance we have taken and the Crimes Against Children Task Force that was formed. We knew when it was formed that we would work more cases than we were originally. We knew the case load would go up due to when you work one of these crimes, you do the interviews and start gathering physical and digital evidence, a lot of the times you get more and more victims, Hillhouse said. Recent arrests in Henderson County: Crimes against children Online solicitation of a minor sexual conduct A sting operation in Henderson County led to the arrest of an Arizona man who was attempting to solicit a minor, an affidavit stated. Mugshot of Robert Paul Brooks III, courtesy of Henderson County Jail During the sting operation, an officer utilized an online dating messaging platform to target individuals who were seeking minors to have sexual relationships with. The officer created an undercover persona where he portrayed himself as a 15-year-old girl living in Henderson County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The officer sent photographs from the suspects profile to the sheriffs office to get a facial recognition of the suspect. Officials then identified the suspect as Robert Paul Brooks III, 53 of Benson, AZ. Brooks is currently being held on a $25,000 bond at the Henderson County Jail. Possession of child pornography A cyber tip submitted to the Henderson County Sheriffs Office led to the arrest of a 20-year-old who allegedly confessed to having child pornography. Mugshot of Alexander James Kallus, courtesy of Henderson County Jail Within the content, officers found a photo of a subject showing his private parts and in the background was his face, officers identified him as Alexander James Kallus, 20 of Athens. Kallus was interviewed where he reportedly admitted to having child pornography on his cellphone and on his computer in his room. The suspect said he has been looking at child pornography for years and that there are children in the child pornography that are around five years of age, the document said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kallus was booked into the Henderson County Jail on March 28 for five counts of possession of child pornography with his bond totaling $500,000. Continuous sex abuse of a young child An 80-year-old man was arrested on March 30 after he allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting two children in his 18-wheeler. Mugshot of Randall Tee Tidwell, courtesy of Henderson County Jail On March 18, investigators interviewed the suspect, Randall Tee Tidwell, 80 of Kemp, at the Henderson County help center office in Athens and advised Tidwell he was free to leave and was not under arrest. During the interview, Tidwell reportedly said he used whipped cream to aid in the sexual assault of a five-year-old and eight-year-old more than once in his 18-wheeler he drives for work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tidwell said he was sorry for doing this and it never happened with any other child, the document stated. Tidwell was arrested for continuous sex abuse of a young child on March 30 and released the same day from Henderson County Jail. Other Henderson County recent crimes against children arrests: Hillhouse said that although these are serious crimes again children every Texan has the ability to post bond when they are first arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everybody in the state of Texas on their initial arrest is able to post bond, Hillhouse said. A bond is not used for punishment, its strictly used to promise to appear in court. The only instance a judge can deny a bond amount on an initial arrest would be a capital murder offense. Snapchat tip leads to arrest of Murchison man for child pornography For now, the only reason a judge can deny bond is capital murder but Hillhouse explained that the courts regularly gather to improve the the bail system. Every two years they look over bail reform and legislature studies to make the bonding procedure better, Hillhouse said. With many victims coming forward and child predators being arrested, Hillhouse said that the amazing organization, Henderson County Help Center, (HCHC) is a huge resource for the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This nonprofit provides essential services for individuals and families including: Help line : Financial resource referrals and information HELPing crime victims : Through crisis and beyond Maggies House: Childrens Advocacy Center Abstinence Program : For Henderson County teens OVAG: Other victims assistance grants We are lucky to have our task force housed at the help center so they are easily accessible if the help center has a concern they contact an investigator thats already there in the office and see if there is another case that needs to be worked, Hillhouse said. The Henderson County Commissioners Court declared April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month but Hillhouse and Henderson County officials believe protecting children should be talked about every month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henderson County declares April as Child Abuse Prevention month Protecting our children is one of the most important things we can do as a community, Henderson County Judge Wade McKinney said. This proclamation is a call to action not just for agencies and officials, but for every person in Henderson County. If we all stay aware, stay involved, and support families, we can help break the cycle of abuse and give every child the chance to grow up safe and strong. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Inside an active police station, a volunteer with five years of service, who criticized a decision by the city manager, was told she was terminated effective immediately. The City of Henderson does not deny it happened, and instead of answering why it occurred are disputing the word terminated. Amanda Swartz, a crime analysis unit volunteer, was sitting at her post at the Henderson West Community Police Station. Her colleagues would typically ask her to review firearm information and review case entries, but her direct supervisor was calling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [I] received a call from my boss that the city manager advised Acting Chief Hen and Deputy Chief Brooks to terminate me effective immediately, Swartz said. I got upset. Of course, you know, I cried. Then I realized, Okay, Im just going to pack my things up. After the call, her boss came by her station, talked to her briefly, and she drove home. Amanda Swartz, a crime analysis unit volunteer, was sitting at her post at the Henderson West Community Police Station. Her colleagues would typically ask her to review firearm information and review case entries, but her direct supervisor was calling. (Armando Navarro/KLAS) I have an extraordinary track record within the department, Swartz said. Never any complaints, nothing but positive feedback, emails and phone calls from the public, from other officers, from our detectives. Why was Swartz terminated? On Feb. 18, Swartz went to a public city council meeting to express her thoughts about the firing of former police chief Hollie Chadwick. She would go several times, again on Mar. 18 and recently on Apr. 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Where is the transparency from most of you, Swartz said. Were hearing nothing but silence. Almost none of you have said a word. A council member has posted many times on social media the truth will come out. So, where is it? Two weeks after making her remarks as a Henderson resident at a public city council meeting, Swartz alleged the City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause let her go because of her comments. I fully believe this was retaliatory, because I dared to speak up and speak out in the last meeting two weeks ago, she said. I called out, for example, one contract that the city hired, with LCP Consulting for the amount of $30,000 the city was going to pay this consulting firm to advise Garcia-Vause on best practices for the City of Henderson. Two weeks after making her remarks as a Henderson resident at a public city council meeting, Swartz alleged the City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause let her go because of her comments. (KLAS) 8 News Now asked if there were possibly too many volunteers in the police department, and if this was a cost-cutting measure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think the city is bursting with volunteers, but I certainly believe its possible some positions could be reviewed, possibly eliminated, she said. I dont know if we need three assistant city managers, for example. Swartz said if there was an issue with her performance, she would have liked the chance to talk to Garcia-Vause. If there was any concern, any issue at all with me, I would hope that she would have had a conversation with me where we could hear each others concerns, she said. And I could take any constructive feedback or criticism from her and maybe corrected some actions. The question of why Swartz was fired echoes requests for information from other residents on Chadwicks firing. Questions asked at city hall and elsewhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Kyle Paine, [Garcia-Vause] said there was no secrecy in the department, Swartz said. If theres no secrecy, why are you doing this? Why did you fire chief Chadwick? Why did you fire me? All we want is we just want answers, and were not getting it. Determination vs. Termination 8 News Now requested the City of Henderson respond to questions regarding when Swartz was terminated, why Swartz was terminated, and if Garcia-Vause made her decision due to Swartzs public comments. None of the questions were answered in an emailed city response. The City of Henderson disputed Swartz was terminated since volunteers cannot be terminated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres their full response: Volunteers are not employees, and therefore they cannot be terminated. The City determines its volunteer needs. We value and appreciate the contribution of over 2,400 volunteers whose dedication has made a positive impact on our community. 8 News Now asked Swartz for her reaction to the citys response. She expressed astonishment at the citys statement. I was told I was terminated effective immediately, 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 KLAS. HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Hendersonville firefighters are at odds with their mayor. Mayor Jamie Clary held his State of the City address last Friday. In it, Clary mentioned past pay raises for the Hendersonville Fire Department and Don Dallenbach, a beloved HFD captain that passed away following a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Both of those talking points have since caused Hendersonville approves pay raises for entire police department Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The association claims the mayors reference to Dallenbach was disingenuous, and that his comment on pay raises stating In the past eight years weve provided seventeen pay raises for firefighterswas misleading, given all city employees were eligible/given those raises. The fact that there were ample opportunities to show support for [Dallenbach] and his family leading up to that point that werent taken, and then to publicly, in that forum, use his image and his story in a way to, what we saw, as a political maneuver, explained Elliott. Elliott said they fully support Hendersonville police, who were given a raise earlier this year. He said voicing their displeasure is about increasing the spotlight on local government. We want to educate our community with whats really going on, behind the scenes, said Elliott. As weve continued to show what we need in comparison to the problems and the issues the police department has been having, we arent getting the same consideration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our main concern is a growing separation from what were expecting from our leadership, and then what were receiving from our leadership, Elliott added. Aside from better pay, Elliott said Hendersonville firefighters want better communication from their city leaders, and for Mayor Clary to show more personal respect towards HFD and Chief Scotty Bush. Over the last eight years, our mayor has been invited to our fire recruit rookie graduations, and to my knowledge, hes never been in attendance for those, said Elliott. That kind of shows some of the divide that were a little concerned with. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Mayor Clary sent a statement to News 2 in response to the criticism, which reads: We recently reached 12 vacancies in our police department, creating an urgent need. Meanwhile, police departments across Middle Tennessee were raising their police pay, putting Hendersonville at a competitive disadvantage. We increased police salaries last month and will continue looking at pay studies for other city departments, including our fire department. Mayor Jamie Clary Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JACKSON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) A man was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Jackson County on Monday, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. The crash happened Monday around 1 p.m. on County Road 78 just west of Ider. ALEA said Zachary Smith, 27, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding left the road and hit a ditch. Smith was thrown from the motorcycle and the agency said he was pronounced dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State troopers are continuing to investigate 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 WHNT.com. ULAN BATOR, April 15 (Xinhua) -- At the invitation of Mongolia's State Great Hural (Parliament), Losang Jamcan, vice chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, led an NPC delegation on a visit to Mongolia from April 12 to 15. During the visit, Losang Jamcan met with Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan, chairman of the State Great Hural, and co-chaired the sixth meeting of the bilateral parliamentary exchange mechanism with Khurelbaatar Bulgantuya, deputy chairman of the State Great Hural. Losang Jamcan spoke positively of the achievements in bilateral ties, noting that under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders, China-Mongolia relations have maintained a sound momentum of development in recent years. Guided by the building of a community with a shared future for the two countries, China is ready to work with Mongolia to strengthen the alignment of development strategies, deepen cooperation across various fields and exchanges of experience in state governance, strengthen interactions between legislative institutions, and support each other on their respective paths to modernization, he added. The Mongolian side said developing relations with China is the primary direction of its foreign policy and that the country looks forward to maintaining the momentum of high-level exchanges with China, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and strengthening exchanges between legislative institutions. The Mongolian side reiterated its adherence to the one-China principle. Some people try to forget painful events. Others choose to remember. Over and over again. Thirty years ago, Sara Sweet was finishing her fourth year at Oklahoma State University. One of her classes that semester was speech. She had put off taking it as long as possible because of her fear of public speaking. Then came the fateful phone call to the Kappa Alpha Theta house on April 19, 1995. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City had been bombed. Her father, Steve Williams, was among the missing. He worked in the Social Security offices on the first floor. He was scheduled to preside over a meeting at 9:15 a.m. The massive truck bomb assembled by Timothy McVeigh had exploded at 9:02. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twelve grueling days went by before Williams body was found in the rubble. Today, Sweet is an enthusiastic missionary for the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Despite her initial fear of public speaking, she has made scores of appearances to discuss the bombing and its impact. She and her husband, Kyle Sweet, are sponsors of the Day One Luncheon held every fall to kick off the annual bombing observance. Steve Williams helping move Sara into her freshman dorm room in the fall of 1991. Q: How was your lifes trajectory affected by the bombing? A: I have a lot of, I suppose you could use the term, PTSD. There are things that Im hyper-aware of. Things like flying. Things like taking road trips. Even going to the post office, going to a movie theater. In the back of my mind, its the thought that something could go wrong. I dont know that I would have had that if we hadnt gone through the bombing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also, there was so much kindness and charity that flowed into Oklahoma City. We were all the recipients of that, our family. One thing that I really struggle with is the guilt that I have over having had all this goodness and feeling helpless to pay it back. More: Heartland Chapel near memorial gets restoration ahead of OKC bombing anniversary Q: What have you missed the most about not having your dad around? A: His not meeting my husband and kids. I think hed be a great grandpa, when the kids got a little bit older. My dad would have been like, 'OK, bring them to me when theyre 7, and well go fishing, well go hiking, well go check out the cowboy museum.' I think he would have been a really active grandparent when they got to a certain age. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think he and my husband would have really hit it off in a lot of ways. Q: Over the years, what has helped you work through the trauma of the bombing? What recommendations do you have for others who experience severe trauma? A: First of all, everyone responds differently. With grief, theres no instruction manual. So, you just have to be patient with yourself. When I feel like I have that fear coming on, I just remind myself that my dad would never want us to live in fear. And that if we do, if I let that dictate my actions and how Im going to live, then Im going to miss out on a whole lot of happiness. Sara Sweet Q: Timothy McVeighs conviction and execution apparently brought a sense of closure to some survivors. Did you experience that? A: There were two times. The first was when he was found guilty. The second time was when Mom and I met his dad in Denver. We were in the courtroom when he testified and asked the jury to spare his sons life. Just seeing Timothy McVeigh through his dads eyes, it was like, OK, theres someone whos actually worse off than we are. Because we still have family, we have friends, we have support. I remember thinking, this man, whos he going to turn to? Q: You and Kyle are very involved in the annual observation of the bombing. Why did you choose to remember instead of trying to forget? A: Theres a saying that history doesnt repeat, but it rhymes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres no excuse, no reason, theres nothing that ever justifies violence. Thats why I remain involved. Anytime I speak, thats at the heart of my message, that my dad is dead because someone was marinating in all of this hateful political rhetoric and then became activated. Q: Do you worry that more acts of domestic terrorism are possible because of the current political environment? A: Every single day. Q: Do you see any signs of progress? A: I do. Its more grassroots, as opposed to having leaders that we can look up to those people seem to be fewer and further between. I think now its more among your own family and your own community that you have to look for leadership. Q: Are you feeling more or less hopeful about the future of our country? A: Im actually feeling more hopeful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think that Gen Z, as people call them, theyre pretty cool. Theyre hard workers. Theyve got great ideas. Theyre smart. They have the ability to want to reach out and work together. I think this generation may end up being the next greatest generation. Q: What about the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum? Can it remain relevant as time goes by? A: Theres so much to learn from the memorial. Telling the story of what happened in Oklahoma City, how it happened, how Timothy McVeigh got activated to the point where he was willing to commit mass murder, people need to hear that. Warren Vieth is a retired journalist and a member of the board of directors for the Sustainable Journalism Foundation. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Nothing justifies violence says daughter of bombing victim| Opinion With stories of deportations to El Salvadoran prisons and in secret middle-of-the-night flights dominating headlines, advocates warn that detention in American immigration facilities is a harrowing punishment in itself and one that looms large over many residents of the United States as President Donald Trumps administration has ramped up its deportation campaign. Stefania Artega, a co-founder of the Carolina Migrant Network, helps operate a hotline that people in North Carolina and South Carolina can call to report sightings of immigration enforcement in their communities, as well as to access legal resources. She told Salon that recently some have begun calling to report emergencies before calling the police because theyre scared that any contact with law enforcement might lead to ICE agents knocking on their door. Early on, we got a call from somebody who was hiding in the bathroom from an abusive partner and was unsure if she could call 911 and called our hotline instead, Artega said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fear of calling the police isnt the only effect of Trump and the Republicans deportation campaign. Artega told Salon that, in the communities she works with, children are staying home from school and parents are staying home from work because of fear of ICE and what it could mean for them and their families if theyre detained. Becca ONeil, an immigration attorney and co-founder of the Carolina Migrant Network, described a system where detainees enjoy fewer rights than criminal defendants and one characterized by uncertainty. She regularly visits the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, one of the largest detention centers in the United States, where she said detainees regularly get stuck for years. Immigrants are typically held in a county jail or a different partner facility before being transferred to a longer-term facility, like Stewart. These are people who are being held purely on immigration charges, and charges is not even a good word for it. These are simple violations. Nobodys there on criminal charges, ONeil said. Stewart is a private prison operated by CoreCivic, a for-profit corporation that makes money off detained immigrants, most of whom have no legal counsel. Unlike in criminal court, immigration courts are not required to provide detainees with an attorney. ONeil said that navigating this system without a counsel can be confusing and difficult, an issue that is compounded for detainees who dont speak English, Spanish or another language for which an interpreter is readily available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ONeil said she knew of one detainee who was kept in Stewart for 900 days while his wife and child were allowed to apply for asylum and live in North Carolina. He later won his case. However, when the government appealed his legal victory, he was forced to stay in jail throughout the appeal; about a year after his initial legal victory, he was still in detention as the appeal was pending. ONeil said that the best immediate outcome that people who are detained by ICE can typically hope for is to be released on bond. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which keeps detailed data on immigration proceedings, only about 31% of detainees are released on bond. These rates also vary dramatically based on national origin, with about half of Turkish detainees being released on bond, while just 16% of detainees from the Dominican Republic are released. Marcela Hernandez, director of organizing and membership at the Detention Watch Network, told Salon that for some detainees who are unable to be released on bond, deportation is preferable to the treatment they receive in detention centers. In talking with people inside or supporting people that have been released, folks have reported that there's a lot of medical neglect and overcrowding. Also, when people are trying to organize to get medical support, such as seeing a nurse because they're feeling bad or have a life-threatening condition, or for better food since it's really bad, they have been met with a lot of violence including the use of pepper spray, rubber bullets, beatings and sent to solidarity confinement, Hernandez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, detainees were alleged to have been pressured to undergo unneeded procedures like hysterectomies under the first Trump administration. Hernandez said that when detainees attempt to advocate for their rights, they are sometimes transferred to other facilities. The Detention Watch Network has compiled reports detailing alleged abuses at different detention facilities, like the use of tear gas as punishment for perceived insubordination, and the myriad health problems that plague detention centers. One Virginia facility, for example, experienced a mumps outbreak in 2019, which the organization says was exacerbated by unsafe and overcrowded conditions. We have people that are just enduring the horrible conditions detention to the point where some folks say, I prefer to be deported than to be in these abuses in a detention center. Detention serves as a key piece of the deportation systems and is designed to be abusive so people are discouraged from fighting for their case and rights, Hernandez said. At the same time, its often difficult for the families of those detained to even figure out where their loved ones are being kept. Matt Cameron, a Massachusetts immigration attorney, told Salon that its easier to track a package in the mail than to locate a detained family member. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think most people would be surprised to learn that you can't even get anywhere near the basic level of tracking that you could get if you ordered a pair of shoes on Zappos right now, on a human being in the ICE system, Cameron said. Cameron said that he recently had a client who was facing a bond hearing on a Monday and disappeared over the preceding weekend. He said hed talked to several ICE officers and no one seemed particularly concerned about he fact that they dont know where he is and that they dont know where hes going. He's just disappeared, and this has been happening a lot. I'm sure you've seen stories. There's always been chaos built into the system, but this is something else, Cameron said. There is a detainee locator that you can use online, and if you're wire somebody's details, but that's pretty much functionally useless at this point because they haven't been updating it, and it's always been 24 to 48 hours behind. Cameron said that, compared to criminal custody, immigration detention has a lot less certainty for those who are detained. Cameron recounted a story of a client from a Southeast Asian country who was suffering from dementia and held for years, in part because he couldn't afford legal counsel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He didnt know what was going on. He was going in and out of dementia and no one was doing anything about his situation. He was just showing up to the immigration judge, and the judge was trying to do his best to explain his rights and help him through these proceedings. But without a lawyer, especially if you don't know what's going on, it's really hard to know what to do, and I worry there are people like that getting lost in the system all the time, especially now, when we're being so careless about everything, Cameron said. Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit advocacy group, told Salon that the threat of both deportation and detention is hanging over the Hispanic community in the United States. He noted that it's not just immigrant communities that are affected, citing reports of Puerto Ricans being targeted by ICE. First of all, I can tell you that I have family members and people I know that are concerned and are walking around with their passports because they're concerned that the way they look and the language they're speaking in public will be cause for them to be detained, Miranda said. In response to a request for comment from Salon, an ICE spokesperson said: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement law enforcement activities are not conducted based on racial or ethnic profiling. The Department of Homeland Security takes all allegations of racial or ethnic profiling very seriously." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "ICEs law enforcement actions are taken consistent with DHS and ICE policies, as well as U.S. immigration law, which prohibit the consideration of race or ethnicity when conducting enforcement actions," the spokesperson continued. "Instead, ICE relies on data-driven, fact-based intelligence to identify, arrest and remove criminal aliens from the United States. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality." Miranda explained that hes worried that information that immigrants have given to the government in other contexts, like when paying taxes, may be used against them. The IRS, for example, has agreed to share the taxpayer information of immigrants with the Department of Homeland Security. Some documented immigrants, Miranda said, have expressed guilt because theyve provided an enormous amount of information to the government and they feel that they have put their families at risk. Instead of providing resources to clear the backlog, what they have been doing is taking resources away from trusted partners in communities and investing millions of dollars in a campaign to terrorize communities, Miranda said. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Here are this mornings top stories with KELOLAND On the Go. Three defendants affiliated with Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet in central Sioux Falls were ordered to be released on personal recognizance bonds Monday. Hibachi Grill defendants released on PR bonds A new restaurant in Sioux Falls hails from Minneapolis, and it specializes in one thing -egg sandwiches. Egg on a Roll sees strong start in Sioux Falls The weather will be changing again by Thursday. The Storm Prediction Center has already posted a slight risk of severe weather in southeast. The amount of severe weather will depend on several factors, including the timing of the cold front Thursday afternoon near Sioux Falls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mild weather today Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (NewsNation) Research has found that paper receipts from major retailers in the United States have a high level of bisphenol S, which has been linked to cancer and reproductive problems. Some receipts reportedly have such a high level of bisphenol S that holding one for 10 seconds can cause the skin to absorb the toxic chemical and violate Californias safety threshold. The new findings are being used in legal action aimed at forcing retailers to stop using receipt paper with bisphenol S, or BPS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Center for Environmental Health nonprofit has sent violation notices to 50 retailers including AMC Theaters, Dollar General and Burger King that have reportedly exceeded Californias Proposition 65 limits. What does RFK Jr.s Make America Healthy Again movement aim to do? Bisphenol is a class of chemicals used in a variety of consumer products, such as food packaging, fabrics, toys and cookware. The use of bisphenol A, which has also been branded as toxic, is no longer widely used, and food companies now advertise when packaging is BPA-free. BPS is added as a coating to thermal paper to develop ink on receipts. The Center for Environmental Health urges companies to use a safer alternative to BPS, such as vitamin C thermal paper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The violation notices give companies 60 days to respond by switching to paper that does not use BPS or include a warning that alerts consumers to its toxicity. If there is no response, the nonprofit can sue the companies in a California state court under Proposition 65 and ask a judge to order the changes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Sachin Ravikumar LONDON (Reuters) - It took Ed Roberts over a year to find a senior scientist to work at his cancer research laboratory in Scotland, a delay he blames on high UK visa costs that made it harder to attract international workers. Scientific academy the Royal Society says UK immigration fees for foreign workers are up to 17 times higher than the average for other leading science nations, inflated in part by an upfront charge to access Britain's state-run health service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Society, scientists, consultants and a lawmaker who spoke to Reuters said the fees are making it harder to hire global talent to fill Britain's skills gap and undermining Prime Minister Keir Starmer's "mission" to grow the economy. They also risk efforts to attract scientists who may leave the United States following President Donald Trump's cuts to research funding. "If we can't convince people to come here, they're going somewhere else," said Roberts, who interviewed a mix of British and foreign candidates for the specialised role. "It's definitely slowing down research." Fees for visas to live and work in Britain have increased as successive governments vowed to cut record net migration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roberts said an immunology researcher from Hong Kong rejected an offer to join his Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute over the roughly 15,000-pound ($19,800) upfront bill he would have to pay to move to Britain with his wife and child. Like many other employers, the lab will reimburse visa costs for the employee but not accompanying family members. Reuters was not able to contact the Hong Kong researcher. Frenchman Baptiste Brauge was reimbursed for his 4,400-pound visa fee when he took up a separate role with Roberts. Even so, it was "frightening" to initially part with a large chunk of his personal savings, the 28-year-old researcher said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Britain's Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) went up by 66% last year, reaching 1,035 pounds a year per adult. "As soon as these kind of things come in, the number of applicants we have go down," Roberts said. "It just makes it hard to convince them that this is an attractive place to be." Starmer's government, which has commissioned a review of labour shortages in sectors including IT and engineering, says it is difficult to compare different countries' visa costs. It said a policy paper would soon set out a plan "to restore order to our broken immigration system, linking immigration, skills and visa systems to grow our domestic workforce, end reliance on overseas labour and boost economic growth". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement UPFRONT COSTS Britain currently charges businesses 12,120 pounds for a typical five-year skilled worker visa - nearly 60% more than in 2021, said Louise Haycock, a partner at immigration services firm Fragomen. Adding a partner and two children could push the upfront cost to 30,000 pounds. According to the Royal Society, even Britain's specialist route for researchers and innovators, the Global Talent Visa, is the most expensive among comparable visas of 18 leading science nations, including the U.S., China, Japan, France and Germany. The Society said it was hard to estimate how many people had been discouraged from applying for British jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cancer Research UK estimates it will spend 700,000 pounds on immigration fees annually - money it says could be used in the fight against cancer. British fees have been increased as net migration hit record levels in recent years, fuelling a debate over the ability of strained public services to cope with population growth versus the need for foreign workers to drive the economy. The former Conservative government also raised the minimum salary threshold for immigrant workers by nearly 50%, hoping to deter what it described as "cut-price foreign labour". FALLING VISA DEMAND Visas granted for science, research and engineering roles fell by a third in the second half of 2024 from the same period a year earlier, Home Office data shows. The fall, which followed the increases to the salary threshold and IHS, was broadly in line with a drop in overall work visas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alison Noble, a senior academic and the Royal Society's foreign secretary, said the costs will limit Britain's ability to court those who may seek to leave the U.S. after Trump's administration cut funding for universities and research bodies. "One factor will be, can they afford it, or how open and welcoming is a country?" Noble told Reuters. Starmer's artificial intelligence adviser, Matt Clifford, warned in the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan that the "cost and complexity" of visas created barriers for startups and deterred overseas talent from coming to the UK. Although home to world-famous universities including Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London, Britain has a severe science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills shortage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of 934,000 vacancies recorded in the economy at the end of 2023, about 46% were in STEM-related fields, a University of Cambridge report said last year. Fragomen's Haycock said engineering had been hit hard by the salary threshold rising because of its reliance on overseas workers, forcing businesses outside London with typically lower salaries to pay significantly more. Julia King, a lawmaker who chaired the Science and Technology Committee in parliament's upper House of Lords until January, described the restrictive visa policy as an "act of national self-harm". "If we're going to get growth in this country, it's going to be in these knowledge-intensive areas," King, an engineer who also serves as chancellor at a research university in England, told Reuters. "We're shooting ourselves in the foot." ($1 = 0.7577 pounds) (Editing by Kate Holton and Catherine Evans) ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) A call for new applicants to join Highland Hospital as it is hosting a nursing job fair later this month. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says there will be more than 193,000 nursing openings each year through 2032. However, just 177,000 new nurses are expected to enter the workforce annually during that time. Danielle Barry, the nurse recruitment manager at Highland stopped by News 8 to share more about job openings and what potential candidates should know. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The nursing job fair is Wednesday, April 30 at the Jackrabbit Club on Anderson Avenue from 4:00 to 6:30pm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) They were hired to stop crime and now, theyre accused of fueling it. Two Syracuse men working for a state-funded anti-violence program are now at the center of a drug investigation. A year-long probe led to the shocking discovery and a 24-count indictment. Just steps away from the Southwest Community Center in Syracuse where they were paid to steer young people away from violence, prosecutors say Cassieum Pitts and Ahmed Abdi, were selling drugs. And theyre accused of doing this on the clock? NewsChannel 9s Rachel Polansky asked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, Senior Assistant District Attorney, Alphonse Williams, said. Williams said Pitts and Abdi are accused of dealing cocaine and meth while on the job working for SNUG a state-funded program with 14 sites across New York, including here in Syracuse. They were taking time, allegedly, from their day at SNUG, and then participating in and trafficking narcotics, Williams said. The two were outreach workers for SNUG, a program designed to stop street violence. SNUG, which is guns spelled backward, is a state-backed initiative, which hires credible messengers, often people with criminal records, to connect with at-risk youth and help keep them off the streets. Cassieum Pitts and Ahmed Abdi The model has long been supported by Governor Kathy Hochul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is an important program because I know that it works. I want to continue investing in what we know has a proven track record of accomplishment, Governor Hochul said during a press conference in March of 2022. Just this past February, Hochul announced more than $20 million for SNUG programs statewide. Of that, $1.8 million went to the Syracuse site. Two weeks later, Pitts and Abdi were arrested. According to the indictment, Pitts sold cocaine to a state police investigator at least three times last year. Where was the level of supervision? How did this go on for so long? Syracuse PBA President, Joseph Moran, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moran, who leads the police union, is calling for more oversight and accountability. I think its a slap in the face to all of the taxpayers here locally knowing that their hard-earned money was being utilized in a program where two individuals were selling drugs, where children were around, Moran said. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services responded to NewsChannel 9 with a statement, saying in part: The allegations against two individuals do not reflect the hard work, dedication and integrity of hundreds of SNUG street outreach workers, supervisors and program managers across New York State. Read the full statement at the bottom of this web story. A spokesperson for the city of Syracuse reiterated that Adbi and Pitts were not employed by the city, adding that primary SNUG funding comes from New York State. Read the citys statement at the bottom of this web story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every organization has bad apples, no matter what the organization is, Lateef Johnson-Kinsey, who heads the Mayors Office to Reduce Gun Violence, said. It was two individuals, not 20. Two individuals does not stop what we are doing as a community. Johnson-Kinsey calls the incident disappointing, but isolated. Still, he admits theres more work to do. We have to do a better job of oversight. We have to do a better job of supervision, Johnson-Kinsey said. It seems to me like youre acknowledging there was a problem and youre saying youre gonna fix it? Polansky asked. Were gonna fix it, yeah, Johnson-Kinsey said.. Theres gonna be oversight and thats gonna tighten up now, because of what happened, were gonna tighten that up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But for those young people who put their trust in Pitts and Abdi, the damage may already be done. Theyre the ones that are gonna see this and be like Why even listen to this message if they werent even practicing what they were preaching essentially? And I think that unfortunately, we may have lost some of these at-risk kids because of this indictment, Williams said. Both Abdi and Pitts are due back in court on Thursday. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services denied our request for an interview but provided NewsChannel 9 with the following statement: The SNUG Street Outreach program uses credible messengers to connect with people particularly young adults who traditionally have been difficult to reach in communities most affected by gun violence. The program has a strict vetting and hiring process that includes several rounds of interviews and hiring panels that consist of public and private stakeholders; as well as standardized training, oversight and protocols to ensure that funded organizations and staff maintain fidelity to New York States SNUG program model, which has been recognized as a national leader in community violence intervention. The allegations against two individuals do not reflect the hard work, dedication and integrity of hundreds of SNUG street outreach workers, supervisors and program managers across New York State. The SNUG program continues its critical mission to help reduce gun violence in 14 communities across the state and has contributed significantly to decreasing gun violence to record lows in the communities it serves, with a 28 percent decrease in shooting incidents and a 25 percent reduction in shooting victims last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city of Syracuse sent NewsChannel 9 the following statement: SNUG employees are not employed by the City of Syracuse. Primary SNUG funding comes from New York State. The City of Syracuse provides $84,600 in Department of Justice funding to SNUG through its fiscal sponsor, Syracuse Community Connections, for expanding outreach of the Citys Safer Streets program to the citys Northside. The employees engaged in that work were not involved in the recent law enforcement 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 WSYR. Feeling tariff whiplash? You're not alone. On April 2, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs -- a 10% levy on nearly all U.S. imports, along with targeted duties aimed at punishing countries he accuses of exploiting American markets. Just a week later, on Wednesday, his administration abruptly paused much of the plan for 90 days, leaving markets and allies scrambling for clarity. The proposed tariffs were pitched as a way to revive U.S. manufacturing, reclaim jobs and counter what Trump considers unfair trade practices. But they immediately rattled the financial markets and raised alarms among economists and America's global partners. Critics across the political spectrum revived a familiar warning: "beggar-thy-neighbor." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement History shows that such policies rarely succeed. In today's interconnected world, they're more likely to provoke swift, precise and painful retaliation. What is the 'beggar-thy-neighbor' strategy? The phrase comes from economic history and refers to protectionist measures -- tariffs, import restrictions or currency manipulation -- designed to boost one country's economy at the expense of its trading partners. Think of it like cleaning your yard by dumping the trash into your neighbor's property: It looks tidy on your side until they respond. This approach starkly contrasts with the principles laid out by Adam Smith. In The Wealth of Nations, he argued that trade is not a zero-sum game. Specialization and open markets, he observed, create mutual benefit -- a rising tide that lifts all boats. Trump's tariffs disregard this logic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And history backs Smith. In the 1930s, the U.S. adopted a similar strategy to the one Trump is experimenting with through the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, raising duties to protect domestic jobs. The result was a wave of global retaliation that choked international trade and worsened the Great Depression. A case in point: Lesotho As an example, consider the 50% tariff the United States imposed on imports from Lesotho, a small landlocked African nation. The measure took effect at midnight on April 3, but was reportedly subject to the 90-day pause starting midday April 4. The tariff rate was calculated by taking the U.S. trade deficit with Lesotho -- $234.5 million in 2024 -- and dividing that by the total value of Lesotho's exports to the United States, or $237.3 million, and dividing that by two. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 50% tariff would have a negligible effect on the U.S. economy. After all, out of the $3.3 trillion the United States imported in 2024, only a tiny fraction came from Lesotho. But for Lesotho, a nation that relies heavily on garment exports and preferential U.S. market access, the consequences would be severe. Using the same tariff logic across all partners, big or small, overlooks basic economic realities: differences in scale, trade capacity and vulnerability. It epitomizes beggar-thy-neighbor thinking: offloading domestic frustrations onto weaker economies for short-term political optics. Lesotho is just one example. Even countries that import more from the U.S. than they export, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, haven't been spared. This "scoreboard" mentality -- treating trade deficits as losses and surpluses as wins -- risks reducing the complexity of global commerce to a tit-for-tat game. The return of a familiar -- and risky -- playbook Such thinking has consequences. During Trump's first term, China retaliated against U.S. tariffs by slashing imports of American soybeans and pork. As a result, those exports plummeted from $14 billion in 2017 to just $3 billion in 2018, hitting politically sensitive states like Iowa hard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The European Union responded to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs by threatening to target bourbon from Kentucky and motorcycles from Wisconsin -- iconic products from the home states of former GOP leaders Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. Canada and the European Union have shown a willingness to use similar tactics this time around. This isn't new. In 2002, President George W. Bush imposed tariffs of up to 30% on imported steel, prompting the European Union to threaten retaliatory tariffs targeting products such as Florida citrus and Carolina textiles made in key swing states. Facing domestic political pressure and a World Trade Organization ruling against the measure, Bush reversed course within 21 months. A decade earlier, the Clinton administration endured a long-running trade dispute with the EU known as the "banana wars," in which European regulators structured import rules that disadvantaged U.S.-backed Latin American banana exporters in favor of former European colonies. During the Obama years, the United States increased visa fees that disproportionately impacted India's technology services sector. India responded by delaying approvals for American drugmakers and large retail investments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not all forms of trade retaliation grab headlines. Many are subtle, slow and bureaucratic -- but no less damaging. Customs officials can delay paperwork or may impose arbitrary inspection or labeling requirements. Approval for U.S. pharmaceuticals, tech products or chemicals can be stalled for vague procedural reasons. Public procurement rules can be quietly rewritten to exclude U.S. companies. While these tactics rarely draw public attention, their cumulative cost is real: missed delivery deadlines, lost contracts and rising operational costs. Over time, American businesses may shift operations abroad -- not because of labor costs or regulation at home, but to escape the slow drip of bureaucratic punishment they experience elsewhere. Tariffs in a connected economy Supporters of tariffs often argue that they protect domestic industries and create jobs. In theory, they might. But in practice, recent history shows they are more likely to invite retaliation, raise prices and disrupt supply chains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Modern manufacturing is deeply interconnected. A product may involve assembling components from a dozen countries, moving back and forth across borders. Tariffs hurt foreign suppliers and American manufacturers, workers and consumers. More strategically damaging, they erode U.S. influence. Allies grow weary of unpredictable trade moves, and rivals, including China and Russia, step in to forge deeper partnerships. Countries may reduce their exposure to the U.S. dollar, sell off Treasury bonds or align with regional blocs like the BRICS group -- led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- not out of ideology, but necessity. In short, the United States weakens its own strategic hand. The long-term cost isn't just economic -- it's geopolitical. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather than resorting to beggar-thy-neighbor tactics, the United States could secure its future by investing in what truly drives long-term strength: smart workforce development, breakthrough innovation and savvy partnerships with allies. This approach would tackle trade imbalances through skillful diplomacy instead of brute force, while building resilience at home by equipping American workers and companies to thrive -- not by scapegoating others. History makes a clear case: Ditching the obsession with bilateral trade deficits and focusing instead on value creation pays off. The United States can source components from around the world and elevate them through unmatched design, innovation and manufacturing excellence. That's the heartbeat of real economic might. Bedassa Tadesse is a professor of economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. A photo illustration of a Happy Meal at McDonald's in San Francisco, California. In 2010, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to pass a law to control giving away free toys with unhealthy meals for children. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images) Kids menus may serve up smaller portions, but smaller doesnt always mean healthier. A piece of legislation recently heard in both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly would set nutritional standards for restaurants that serve kids meals by capping calories, sodium, added sugars, and fats. The default drink included with a childrens meal would be water, milk or a milk substitute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Pam Lauria, the bills sponsor and a Barrington Democrat, told her colleagues at an April 10 hearing of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services that the Healthy Kids Act isnt meant to limit what businesses can do, but instead aims to improve families access to more nutritious meals for their kids. Parents are very busy, Lauria said. There are sports, there are activities, and frequently they need to feed their children on the fly, and they will frequent a restaurant to help them to do that. The bill would give parents more healthy options, Lauria said, by specifying each restaurant with a kids menu serve at least two qualifying meals. A healthy kids meal per the bills definition has no more than 550 calories, 700 milligrams of sodium, and 15 grams of added sugars. A maximum 10% of calories would come from saturated fat, and no trans fats would be allowed. Portions would need to include at least two of five food groups, with one of them being a fruit or non-fried vegetable. The remaining kids meals would not need to follow these standards, and the default beverage choices could also be swapped out at the customers request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What this bill does not do is stop restaurants from serving anything else that they want for children, Lauria said to the Senate committee. Kids can still have a hot dog if its on the menu, kids can still have chicken nuggets if theyre on the menu. Kids can still have a soda if they prefer, if their parents allow. This [bill] just says that we have to acknowledge that we need healthy options available, and that the healthy options should probably be default, particularly when it comes to sugary drinks. On the House side, the Healthy Kids Act is sponsored by Rep. Susan Donovan, a Bristol Democrat, and has not yet been scheduled for a committee hearing. Lauria said that the bill was spurred by the heartbreaking prevalence of obesity among Rhode Island kids. According to the 2024 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook, Rhode Island ranks last place in New England for the number of children ages 10 to 17 that are overweight or obese, accounting for 35% of that demographic. Rhode Island ranks 39th on this same metric nationally, according to the factbook. There are also racial disparities in these numbers, the factbook noted: In 2022, 17% of Hispanic children ages 2 to 17 were overweight and 32% were obese, and 16% of non-Hispanic Black children were overweight and 28% were obese. The Rhode Island Senate Committee on Health and Human Services heard Sen. Pam Laurias bill on regulating kids menus on April 10, 2025. (Screencap/CapitolTV) Doctors showed up to support the bill last week in the Senate, including Dr. Amy Nunn, CEO of the Rhode Island Public Health Institute and a professor at Brown University. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal is just a common sense bill that promotes healthy opportunities for kids, Nunn said. Our obesity rates are nearly on par with states in the Deep SouthOur children, our Hispanic children in Rhode Island, fare 49th in terms of lifetime health and education achievements. Those statistics are breathtaking. Nunn said the bill was about making accessible the kinds of meals you would want to put in front of your children. Nobody wants their kids to be eating supersized food. Dr. Philip Chan, also of the Public Health Institute and a primary care physician with Brown University Health, framed the bill as a preemptive measure to reduce chronic disease rates and health problems seen in Rhode Islands adult population. These behaviors start in childhood, right? So we have to start there in terms of addressing them, Chan told senators. You can have the chicken nuggets, you can have the lemonade or soda every once in a while, but have a vegetable, have a fruit. This is the thing that we try to teach our children. A lot of times you cant find veggies or fruit on the menu. You have to order it specially made. Hamburger Happy Meal qualifies The push to legislate healthier kids menus is not new. An April 2024 roundup by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found over 30 jurisdictions have laws governing childrens meals. The majority of these laws regulate the default beverage to push kids away from soda or other sugary drinks. Nutrition-based laws ones closer to Rhode Islands current proposal are largely found in county-level governments, many of them in Maryland. Statewide initiatives in California, Hawaii, Delaware and Illinois have focused on beverages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the Senate committee, Nunn referenced these efforts, saying, The data and studies around these bills show that they have had demonstrable impacts on improving healthy eating behaviors among kids and among people of color. So the science around all of this is really sound, and it really hasnt had a huge detrimental impact on restaurants. You can have the chicken nuggets, you can have the lemonade or soda every once in a while, but have a vegetable, have a fruit. Dr. Philip Chan, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Brown University Industry giants like McDonalds have had enough time to change and accommodate the trend. The fast food juggernaut at first took a subversive approach to regulations, like in 2011 when McDonalds locations in San Francisco started selling Happy Meal toys for 10 cents to get around a municipal law banning toys inclusion with unhealthy meals. But by 2014, McDonalds had started to retool its menu, and in 2018 announced all of its kids meals would max out at 600-calories by 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, a hamburger Happy Meal would satisfy the requirements of Rhode Islands Healthy Kids Act. The cheeseburger Happy Meal, however, would not, as it exceeds pretty much every threshold specified in the bill (as well as McDonalds previously stated goal, as it has 690 calories). As for the enforceability of the proposed law, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) would be charged with ensuring compliance. The bill text prescribes the health department to issue relevant rules and regulations, supply multilingual signage and outreach materials for restaurants, and check that restaurants are training staff properly and maintaining documentation about their meals compliance. But Dr. Jerome Jerry Larkin, the health departments director, wrote in a testimony that those duties are easier said than done. The department applauds the intent of the proposed legislation, which is to establish and enforce environmental food changes to address rising childhood obesity and associated chronic disease emergence in Rhode Island, Larkin wrote. However, RIDOH would not be able to implement the provisions outlined in the bill without adequate resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department would need another full-time position to enforce the bill, Larkin wrote specifically, a grade 27 full-time, nutritionist position that would cost $116,544 a year, with that salary expected to increase in future years. Rolling out content like signage, plus tracking and analyzing compliance, would cost about $1,850 in the first year, Larkin wrote. The proposed cost for an extra nutritionist comes at a time when the department is still reconciling the recent loss of $31 million in federal grant money, as well as the potential loss of dozens of existing full-time staff. The Senate committee voted to hold Laurias bill for further study, the typical procedure for a bill at its first hearing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX JAKARTA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia and Russia pledged on Tuesday to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of industry, trade, energy, agriculture and investment. The pledge came during a meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Jakarta. Both sides discussed a number of agendas related to current issues in bilateral relations. Manturov, also the co-chairman of the Russian Side of the Russia-Indonesia Joint Commission for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation, arrived here on Tuesday. HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) A Holyoke man has been arrested as a suspect in a child abuse investigation. Holyoke Police Chief Brian Keenan announced on Tuesday that an alleged child abuser has been arrested following multiple outstanding arrest warrants from Hampshire Superior Court. West Springfield man charged with DUI, wrong-way driving in Connecticut On April 2 at approximately 10:00 p.m., Holyoke officers were assisting with a loose manhole cover on Maple Street when a vehicle was identified in connection with a suspect. The car was registered to 26-year-old Nicholas Rodriguez of Holyoke. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holyoke detectives were able to relay information to the officers about Rodriguezs potential whereabouts, and they went to 446 Maple Street to investigate. Rodriguez was located and arrested. Nicholas Rodriguez was charged with: Arrest Warrant (Hampshire Superior Court) Assault and Battery on a Child with Substantial Injury Permitting Substantial Injury to a Child Assault and Battery on a Child with Injury Permitting Injury to a Child 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. HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) A raccoon was freed from a storm drain in Holyoke on Monday by police officers with the help of a concerned resident. Holyoke Police Chief Brian Keenan said that on Monday, officers in front of the Holyoke Police Department were waved down by Fernando Rivera, Jr., who reported seeing a raccoon stuck in a storm drain in Heritage Park. Police found the raccoons head lodged in the storm drain cover and unable to escape. VIDEO: Three black bears spotted in Chicopee yard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The officers removed the storm drain cover, but the raccoon was still unable to free itself. Holyoke Police said that Rivera then opened two laundry pods and lubricated the raccoons head. After approximately 20 minutes, officers were able to successfully free the raccoon. Courtesy of the Holyoke Police Department. Holyoke Animal Control arrived at Heritage Park to take the raccoon into its care. The Holyoke Police Department extends its thanks to Fernando Rivera, Jr., for assisting in getting the raccoon the help it needed. 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. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) Gov. Ron DeSantis called out state lawmakers Monday, as they continue to investigate Hope Florida. House members are looking deeper into the money trail between the non-profit and political groups that campaigned against the recreational marijuana amendment last year. At the start of the 2025 legislative session, House Speaker Daniel Perez, (R-Miami) challenged lawmakers in his opening remarks to have the big debates and bring the messy and controversial ideas before their committees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No longer a spring break town: Popular Florida beach town tells idiots to go somewhere else We have an obligation to make sure that government works for the people and isnt the playground for a group of insiders, said Speaker Perez. We are the publics watchdogs. We must never hesitate to curb the excesses of government, eliminate programs that cause more harm than good, and hold officials accountable for abusing their power. Members, do not be afraid to shake the tree of government, and pull out the weeds of waste, fraud or abuse. Now, months later, House members said they are seeking accountability and transparency from the Hope Florida Foundation after it received $10 million from a $67 million settlement with Centene. Centene was fined $67 million for Medicaid overbilling. Payments like this, by law, go to general revenue. But somehow the company was instructed to give $10 million from the settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation, a charity overseen by First Lady Casey DeSantis, said House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, (D-Tampa). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leader Driskell said Monday that the money Hope Florida got in the settlement was sent to two political groups, who days later, gave millions of dollars to a political committee fighting against Amendment 3, the legalization of marijuana. So, if lawmakers are following the money correctly, the question remains: Were taxpayer dollars used to serve the public or political campaigns? And was any of this even legal? Heartbreaking case: Florida woman arrested after 12-year-old dog found severely matted, deputies say At best, this was the inappropriate use of settlement dollars. At worst, this was fraud. This looks, smells and feels like an illegal, coordinated scheme to use our tax dollars to fund political actions by Ron DeSantis, said Leader Driskell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaker of the House, Daniel Perez said lawmakers are simply seeking accountability. Even if Hope Florida is necessary, the money that they are using, the only thing that we have asked and by we, I say the members of this body, of Chair Andrades committee, How was the money received? Where did it go? How was it used and why?' said Speaker Perez. However, Gov. DeSantis argued that the legislature is stabbing voters right in the back. None of these Republican leaders got elected on the platform that they were going to launch baseless attacks against the governor and first lady, said DeSantis. Hope Florida now available in all 67 sheriffs offices to assist those in need In the mix of the controversy, Floridas newly appointed Attorney General, James Uthmeier, is now being watched by lawmakers as they highlight his connections to the political committee set up to defeat Amendment 3. This political committee was controlled by James Uthmeier, who was the Governors Chief of Staff at the time, said Leader Driskell. After that, the committee sent millions to the Florida Republican Party, which campaigned against Amendments 3 and 4, and also sent $1,000,000 to a political committee DeSantis controls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked what his response was to the investigation, Uthmeier said that it is totally fine for an independent foundation to give generous support to other non-profits with the same mission. Hope Florida didnt do anything wrong. Im proud of the work they do. These other nonprofit organizations that have helped, you know, against the Amendment 3 effort, we should be thankful of them to all of them, said Uthmeier. Gov. DeSantis and his cabinet believe this is a political attack, but lawmakers in the House continue to seek answers from Hope Florida, the governors office, attorney general, and state agencies involved. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. The Hope Florida Foundation, the fundraising arm of the program spearheaded by First Lady Casey DeSantis, didnt file tax forms, didnt follow its own bylaws for approving grants and didnt follow state laws requiring open meetings, its chairman said Tuesday. "In recent weeks, the public reporting has made evident that mistakes were made, Josh Hay told the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee. There were lapses in reporting procedures and the foundation was not provided with the staffing support necessary to ensure all matters were being quickly and appropriately handled." Hay, CEO and founder of Tallahassee-based consulting firm Indelible Solutions, was sworn in at the start of the hearing and his lawyer, Mark Herron, who has represented the Florida Democratic Party in the past, sat by him. He said a meeting is set for Thursday for the board to correct those deficiencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Hay spoke, Gov. Ron DeSantis during a 1 hour-long appearance in Pensacola was excoriating the Florida House's GOP leaders, saying they were working with Democrats and the liberal media to smear Hope Florida. More from the Pensacola News Journal: Gov. Ron DeSantis declares war on Pensacola Republicans Reps over higher ed, HopeFlorida To have Republicans in the Florida House leadership colluding with these people, when they're doing that and they're not cutting your property taxes, they're not fixing the condo crisis, they're not doing the things that voters want them to do, make no mistake about that, DeSantis said. They are stabbing you in the back. They are refusing to do their jobs." Questions mount over Hope Florida Foundation's finances, spending The foundation's lapses came to light as reporting from news outlets uncovered a $10 million donation as part of a settlement between the state's Agency for Health Care Administration and Centene, a Medicaid managed care vendor for the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The entire settlement, to resolve alleged overpayments, was $67 million but $10 million was directed to the Hope Florida Foundation in October. The Hope Florida Foundation then gave two $5 million grants each to two nonprofit organizations: Securing Floridas Future, chaired by Mark Wilson, who is also the chairman of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and Save Our Society from Drugs. The new Attorney General of Florida James Uthmeier (left) shakes hands with Speaker of the House Daniel Perez during the 50th annual Red Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More with many members of Floridas executive branch, legislators, attorneys, state agency officials and community members in attendance Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Those groups in turn gave $8.5 million to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee chaired by James Uthmeier, then DeSantis chief of staff. In February, DeSantis appointed him to be Florida's attorney general. Keep Florida Clean was set up to oppose an amendment on the 2024 ballot to legalize recreational marijuana. The group has given $1.2 million to the Florida Freedom Fund, another political committee chaired by Uthmeier and used by DeSantis to fight both the marijuana amendment and an amendment that wouldve installed a right to an abortion into the states constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for the $10 million in grants that were made at the end of last year, those distributions were made after my review and reviewed by the foundation's general counsel, Hay told lawmakers. I had no reason to believe there was anything odd about those grants." During Tuesdays two-hour hearing, committee chair Alex Andrade, a Pensacola Republican, asked Hay if he thought the stated purpose of the $5 million grants, to bring public awareness to the Hope Florida program through a marketing campaign, had been fulfilled. State Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, has been questioning Hope Florida and the finances of the foundation behind it. He chairs a key Florida House panel. The only reason I ask is it sounds like Mr. Uthmeier owes yall money, Andrade said. Andrade asked if Hay was going to attempt to recover those funds, but he deflected, saying he was unsure where the money went or for what purpose. He said he would seek to impose greater review of how funds given to grant awardees are used in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under questioning, Hay said the foundation has raised about $12.5 million and disbursed about $10.5 million since its inception in August 2023. That means aside from the $10 million that was funneled to groups that gave to Keep Florida Clean, the Hope Florida Foundation has spent $500,000. Foundation connected to Florida's child welfare agency The foundation was created as a direct support organization, or DSO, for the Department of Children and Families, to help raise funds for the Hope Florida initiative. The program itself was created by Casey DeSantis to help connect Floridians on welfare to churches and nonprofits to provide food, shelter, housing and other assistance. The goal is to get people off state welfare rolls. In practice, state workers are tapped as "Hope Navigators," who help coordinate assistance with other agencies and nonprofits to those in need. Casey DeSantis speaks during a press conference in the Cabinet Room on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has said the program was created with pure intent but is something state workers should be doing anyway to help Floridians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the hearing, Hay frequently said he relied on the advice of the foundation's general counsel, Jeff Aaron, whom DeSantis appointed to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the 6th District Court of Appeal. Hay also said attorney Mohammad Jazil, who has long represented state agencies in Florida, was helping him determine how to cure any legal deficiencies and comply with state laws. Andrade noted Jazil served as a lawyer for Keep Florida Clean, too. Jazils firm, Holtzman Vogel, received nearly $131,600 for legal work for Keep Florida Clean from July 2024 to January 2025, according to state campaign finance records. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: As DeSantis fumes, House seeks answers from Hope Florida Foundation The charity arm of Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis passion project Hope Florida continues to face scrutiny from lawmakers in the Florida House. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Republican lawmakers pushed for more answers Tuesday to piece together the money trail that started with a state Medicaid settlement ended with millions of dollars making it into a political committee tied to the Governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Hope Florida Foundation Chair Josh Hay, the Foundation had only raised $2 million prior to the $10 million donation it received as part of the state settlement. Almost immediately, Hay unilaterally approved two $5 million grants to a pair of anti-drug non-profits with no restrictions or oversight to guarantee how the money was spent. How many $5 million grants has the Hope Florida Foundation issued? House Budget Subcommittee Chair Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) asked Hay. Two, Hay replied. Have they issued any larger grants than $5 million? Andrade asked. Have not, Hay responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon after, the groups contributed a combined $8.5 million to the Keep Florida Clean PAC, which was established to fight the effort to legalize recreational marijuana last year and led by Governor Ron DeSantis then-Chief of Staff James Uthmeier. Uthmeier now serves as Floridas Attorney General after being appointed to the position by the Governor earlier this year. Hay told the subcommittee that mistakes were made and that the Foundation is working to file its delinquent tax returns. The Foundation Board will be meeting Thursday to adopt new rules and procedures to address deficiencies within the charity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But when Hay mentioned the name of the new attorney now helping the Foundation in that effort, it caught the subcommittee chairs attention. The attorney for Keep Florida Clean to help Hope Floridas Foundation in complying with the paperwork to retroactively justify this payment? Is that what Im hearing right now? Members, Im sorry, I am a little flabbergasted at this revelation, said Andrade. In Pensacola, Governor Ron DeSantis continued to defend the Foundation Tuesday morning. He argued the Foundation, which was established to help Floridians get off of government assistance programs, has an interest in reducing drug abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeSantis alleged the inquiry is simply meant to tarnish the reputation of Floridas First Lady. If youre looking at like 2026 and youve got, you know, some horse, you dont wanna hear anywhere near that. Youre very worried because shed run circles around their people. Everybody knows that, said DeSantis. Andrade called on Uthmeier to return the money his PAC received to the state. James Uthmeier knew what he was doing. He misused Medicaid money. He directed it to his own PAC. That money ended up at RPOF, paying for campaign ads against Amendment Three, said Andrade. Andrade also suggested the investigation may need to go beyond his subcommittee and could warrant a federal investigation. [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. KABUL, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has deported nearly 60,000 Afghan refugees through two border points during the past 13 days, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Tuesday. "Between 1 and 13 April 2025, IOM recorded a sharp rise in forced returns, with nearly 60,000 individuals crossing back into Afghanistan through the Tokham and Spin Boldak border points," the statement declared. More than 2.43 million undocumented Afghan migrants have returned to their homeland, Afghanistan, from neighboring Pakistan and Iran since September 2023. Most of them have been repatriated forcibly. The Pakistani government is set to deport 3 million Afghans to their home country in 2025. Reportedly, about 7 million Afghan refugees, most of whom are undocumented migrants, are currently living abroad, with most living in Afghanistan's neighboring Pakistan and Iran. Hospitals, Ayotte spar over Medicaid tax, new payments plan Gov. Kelly Ayotte accused the state hospital lobby of "playing political games and misleading the public" after it sued the state, challenging a Medicaid Enhancement Tax it pays to leverage additional federal grants to the state. For the third time, the states hospital lobby has gone to court challenging the constitutionality of a state Medicaid Enhancement Tax plan that it claims cheats them out of $70 million in reimbursements to their members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Kelly Ayotte fired back a strong response, accusing the hospitals of being solely focused on playing political games and misleading the public. The exchange reveals that a year later, Ayotte finds herself in the same place as former Gov. Chris Sununu, who engaged in a long public debate with hospital executives after he moved to divert some of their reimbursements to federally qualified health and substance abuse recovery centers. In 1991, the state imposed the Medicaid Enhancement Tax on hospitals to qualify the state for bonus matching grants from the federal government. Under the legal maneuver, the state pays back the hospitals for nearly all that they paid out in taxes, often on the same day. Under the arrangement, the state receives more than $300 million in annual reimbursements from Washington that it must spend on the federal/state Medicaid program of health care for the poor, disabled and many senior citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Biden administration ordered New Hampshire and all states to change these so-called disproportionate share hospital payment plans. Federal officials are requiring states to make direct payments to the hospitals to receive the qualifying federal help, rather than impose a tax on hospitals and then pay them back. This suit charges the state is violating the takings clause of the U.S. and state constitutions because the Medicaid Enhancement Tax is imposed on all net patient revenue but then hospitals are being reimbursed only for services provided to New Hampshire residents. For example, 40% of Dartmouth Health's patient revenue comes from care of out-of-state residents, the suit said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DH Providers are paying taxes on revenue generated from services for which New Hampshire will no longer provide reimbursement, said the six-count suit filed in Merrimack County Superior Court. The dispute in 2024 was over Sununus insistence that at least 9% of what comes from the Medicaid Enhancement Tax go not to hospitals but be given to other Medicaid providers the former governor said struggled to thrive. April 15 was the date for hospitals to pay the tax, which triggered the lawsuit, according to Steve Ahnen, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Hospital Association. With no resolution in sight, hospitals have no choice but to le this lawsuit to protect access to important health care services for all patients, Ahnen said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hospitals sue state, claim Medicaid tax scheme cheats them out of $70 million Steve Ahnen, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, filed a lawsuit in superior court with member hospitals charging the new reimbursement scheme the state uses to leverage for itself federal grant money cheats them of up to $70 million they should rightfully receive back. The solution put forward by the governor embraces the punitive cuts to hospitals and the 80% distribution formula put in place by the prior administration. Under that formula, hospitals lose $70 million annually, to the benet of the state, and at the expense of patient care in local communities." Joining the NHHA in its lawsuit was Dartmouth Health and Concord Hospital, along with its affiliate hospitals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney General John Formella's office issued a statement that the state is prepared to fight the suit in court. The state is fully committed to ensuring access to quality health care while protecting taxpayer resources," Formella's office said. Ayotte said her last offer would have increased grants to all 26 hospitals and provided added benefit to the more than a dozen critical access hospitals that provide care in underserved parts of the state. Unfortunately, the plaintiffs are only focused on driving more money to billion-dollar corporations and have resorted to playing political games and misleading the public," she said. "They should return to the table and come to an agreement that benefits all Granite Staters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahnen pointed out that in the past two superior court judges found the Medicaid Enhancement Tax to be unconstitutional and an agreement only came about after hospital executives returned to the table to hammer out a compromise with state officials. This year, the MET is anticipated to generate $348 million; that funding will be used to bring $485 million in additional federal funding to New Hampshire to support the States Medicaid Program, Ahnen said. Without a new agreement the state would have to look to the general fund to nance the Medicaid program. By not getting what they requested, the hospitals could see restrictions on services that affect all New Hampshire families, Ahnen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This tax increase will cause hospitals to lose $70 million and will have a rippling eect on their ability to deliver health care services to the communities who depend on them and will harm the ability of patients to get the care they need, when and where they need it, Ahnen said. This will force hospitals to make decisions about the services they are able to provide. Leading Senate Democrats blamed Ayotte for putting at risk as much as $400 million in federal grants. This would be catastrophic to our states healthcare system the cost of healthcare for every Granite Stater will skyrocket, and hospitals, the largest employers in many communities, would be forced to cut services and potentially even close entirely," said Senate Deputy Democratic Leader Cindy Rosenwald of Nashua. "This could have been avoided altogether had the governor led on this issue. klandrigan@unionleader.com Punishment in state courts in Texas is, if the defendant elects, left to juries. After a presentation of evidence, argument and a guilty verdict at trial, the legal system regularly asks a panel of people to answer a version of the question, What would you do? For one member of a jury in Tarrant County that reached a punishment verdict on Monday, it was a familiar query. ABC News correspondent John Quinones, who hosts the hidden-camera social experiment television program What Would You Do?, served on a jury in the 372nd District Court in Fort Worth. Quinones, who is 72 and lives in Keller, was on Friday selected by other members of the panel to be its presiding juror after the weeklong trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorneys Office alleged that the defendant, Dorian Harris, was a pimp who stirred fear in at least one of the women who were under his command. From 2020 to 2023, Harris controlled, supervised and managed a prostitution enterprise, Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Bill Vassar and Stephanie Simpson argued. Harris created for women accounts on websites commonly used for prostitution and recommended prices to be charged and time allotments. Defense attorneys Shane Lewis and Jake Wiggins were appointed to represent Harris. More top stories from our newsroom: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Texas House OKs $100M for child care scholarships Shooting near Crowley district elementary school closes campus to students Texas cattle ranchers have reasons to fear tariffs [Get our breaking news alerts.] In a notice before trial, the prosecutors described acts beyond those that underpinned the indictment for which they might present evidence. It is not clear whether the state presented that evidence. In April 2021 Harris grabbed a woman by her throat and hit her face with his fists, prosecutors alleged. He forced her to sit on the bathroom floor for several days, and threatened to torture and kill her if she tried to leave, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harris forced the woman to have sex with at least 200 people in exchange for money, the state alleged. Harris killed the womans rabbit by rolling on top of it, according to prosecutors. He later killed her second rabbit by throwing it against a wall when he was angry with the woman, they alleged. The state also alleged that Harris committed bestiality. Harris was charged with continuous trafficking of persons, compelling prostitution, trafficking of persons to engage in sexual conduct, aggravated promotion of prostitution, promotion of prostitution, multiple counts of assault of a family member by impeding breath/circulation and continuous violence against the family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The jury found Harris, who is 29, guilty of aggravated promotion of prostitution, promotion of prostitution and prostitution. He was found not guilty of the other offenses. The jury assessed the equivalent of a six-year prison term. Judge Julie Lugo had instructed the panel to consider a period of five to 99 years or life. I was very surprised that as a true crime journalist at @abc2020 and host of @wwydabc I would be selected! Quinones wrote on Instagram after the trial ended. But, indeed I was. Such a privilege to serve with a jury of my peers. In the guilt-innocence phase, the jury deliberated for about four hours and for about 90 minutes in the punishment phase, according to defense attorney Wiggins. GREENE COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) A new bill from the Indiana House has been proposed and it looks to change some court locations in Indiana. House Bill 1144, authored by Representative Chris Jeter, proposes the addition of Superior and Magistrate Courts in more densely populated areas of Indiana. However, after an amendment made by the Senate, the bill, if passed, would also reduce the number of courts in more rural areas of the state, including Superior Court in Greene County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Greene County would keep Circuit and Magistrate Court, it would lose its Superior Court judge and employees. That judge handles all misdemeanor cases, all level 6 felony cases, and half of the level 5 and above felony cases in the county. Greene County Attorney Marvin Abshire said the loss of Superior Court would cause issues for both government employees and residents. Losing Superior Court would flood the Circuit Court and Magistrate with an additional 633 criminal cases, Abshire said. In addition to that, theres the old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. When you add that many cases to the existing court system, it is going to dramatically slow down access to civil and criminal justice in the county. Abshire said Superior Court in Greene County also runs a rehabilitation program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Superior Court runs a therapeutic justice program, paid for by the opioid settlement funds, Abshire said. Its not county money or state money. That program is beginning to show some real successes. Circuit Court with Magistrate alone will not be able to handle that program and handle the additional load. The amendment by the Senate was added last week, just before the bill was heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee. However, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw said they werent informed of the change until a mere few minutes before the hearing. It seems very, almost orchestrated, the complexity in which amendment 16 was drafted and only released minutes before the hearing on it, Holtsclaw said. That seems to suggest there were some behind the scenes dealings with trying to eliminate. Theyre eliminating more judges than what are being created. Were trying to, one, figure out what was really behind this amendment and, two, talk to those who may have some say in it. One of those people that has a say is State Representative Bruce Borders. He said hes been doing everything he can to not allow this bill to pass. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive been on the phone, Ive been emailing, Ive been receiving emails and forwarding those on to the Speaker of the House and to our floor leader, Borders said. Im going to share my concerns and the letters I have received from judges, prosecutors, deputy prosecutors, etc. with my caucus members and go to battle on behalf of the Greene County Superior Court. These changes will not take effect immediately if the law passes. House Bill 1144 would become effective in each county differently, based on the term of the sitting judge. For Greene County, Judge Martins term ends on December 31 of 2026. The Indiana Judicial Branch made a statement saying they conduct a weighted caseload study, and the most recent study shows that Indiana has about the right number of judges, but not necessarily in the right location. 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. House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson, D-Oklahoma City, announces herself as a candidate for Oklahoma governor in the 2026 election on Tuesday outside the state Capitol. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY Democrat House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson announced shell run for governor in 2026 during a campaign event outside the state Capitol Tuesday. Munson, 39, of Oklahoma City, was first elected to the Oklahoma House in 2015 as the first Asian-American woman in the state Legislature. She said she will continue to serve in her role as House Minority Leader until her term ends in 2026. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im going to spend the next year-and-a-half traveling our beautiful state, listening to people and asking them whats important to them, she said. I want to know what they love about Oklahoma and what they think we can do better, because that is what this campaign is about, the people of our great state, and that is what I will carry with me as your next governor. She filed paperwork with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission on Monday. Munson is the only Democrat to announce a bid for governor during the 2026 election cycle thus far, but already faces opposition from a crowded Republican field that includes Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, former House Speaker Charles McCall, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei, and Leisa Mitchell Haynes of Choctaw. Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, cannot run again due to term limits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she was the first Democrat to flip her seat from Republican, and plans to use the same strategy of listening to Oklahomans regardless of their political affiliation in her campaign for governor. I know Im not what you would call a typical candidate for governor. I work for a living, I pay my student loans, I rent my house, and I know what it is like to live within a budget, she said. I feel the pressure of rising costs of our daily necessities. I dont come from a wealthy family. Im not beholden to any political party. Im not an extremist. I have a proven track record of working across the aisle to get things done and wont pander to Washington D.C. politicians who only want to continue deepening our political divide. And as your next governor, I will fight for the things that will help everyday Oklahomans. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE House Oversight Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Twp.) at an April 15, 2025 committee meeting. | Kyle Davidson Following a lengthy discussion and a vote on the rules governing its subpoena process, members of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday authorized a subpoena to the Department of State as part of an ongoing request for documents used to train election workers. During a previous meeting of the committee in March, House Election Integrity Committee Chair Rachelle Smit (R-Martin) detailed her frustrations regarding a request she made with the Michigan Department of State in November while serving as the minority vice chair of the House Elections Committee where she requested information used to train election workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smit told the committee her office made its first request on Nov. 7, two days after the 2024 election, seeking access to the Bureau of Elections e-learning portal, which provides education and training materials for the states election clerks. In response to my request, we were initially told that we could not access the information, but maybe some exceptions might be made, Smit said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Smit said she was asked to submit a Freedom of Information Act or FOIA request for the information, with the Department of State confirming on Nov. 20 that Smits office submitted a FOIA asking for electronic copies of all training materials offered or otherwise provided to elections clerks. The department denied the request on Nov. 21 due to a lack of specificity and offered the opportunity to resubmit the request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the department, Smit submitted a refined FOIA request on Dec. 10, 2024, with the Bureau of Elections sending a letter on Dec. 18 requesting an extension in fulfilling the request. On Jan 7, 2025 the department sent Smit an estimate of the cost for fulfilling the FOIA request, saying the request would take 140 work hours to fulfill, with an estimate cost of $8,781.75, which Smit called ridiculous saying it was obviously designed to deter our office from scrutinizing its elections management. Nearly a month later, Smit sent a direct request in her capacity as the chair of the Elections Integrity committee, which she said received no response initially. Our staff followed up on the request repeatedly, only to be met with obvious sandbagging and delayed efforts. We even have met with representatives from the department and discussed the request. Ultimately, the department promised they would produce some of the request materials, but not all, Smit told committee members in March. According to the Department of States timeline, their staff discussed the request with Smits staff on Feb. 19, seeking clarity on what documents would be most helpful. Smit reiterated her request for all information so as to inform the committees work Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 4, the department said it verbally informed Smit that its staff was working to compile a response, which they expected to deliver by the end of the week, by Friday, March 7. However, Smit said shed exhausted all options, and sent a formal request to the Oversight Committee to issue a subpoena to the department to produce the records they had requested. The Oversight Committee posted the notice of its March 11 meeting four days earlier, with the Department of State sending its response to Smit later that afternoon. During the March 11 committee meeting, Smit said the Department deliberately and openly withheld documents on the pretense that the clerks educational materials were too sensitive to disclose to myself, Smit said, emphasizing her background as a former township clerk and her role as the chair of a legislative committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the meeting, the House Oversight Committee Chair Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Twp.) sent a letter to the Department of State, giving them 10 business days to provide the remaining documents. The department responded to DeBoyers letter on March 19, noting that its response to Smit had come about through a combined 42 hours of tax-funded time, costing $3,820.52, producing more than 1,200 pages of documents with more than 300 links to election law references in response to Smits wide-ranging and inexact request for records. Despite this, the Oversight Committee scheduled a hearing and took testimony on the false premise that the department had not adequately responded to Rep. Smits request, Michael Brady, the departments chief legal director wrote in the response. After MDOS expended a considerable amount of taxpayer funded staff time to provide these records, it was disappointing to see that the chair of the Election Integrity Committee had apparently not thoroughly read our response. In addition to the resources we provided, we indicated that much of the information she sought is publicly available on our website, Brady continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While DeBoyers letter requested login credentials for the e-learning portal, noting that links to several of the pieces of information requested by Smit directed the user to a password-protected website, Brady responded noting that the portal contains sensitive training materials regarding the cyber security and physical security of election systems and election machines. This limited access is critical to ensure the ongoing integrity of our election systems and thereby the integrity of our elections. Lest there be any question as to the necessity or wisdom of complying with industry need to know standards in the protection of critical infrastructure and sensitive information, unfortunately, we need look no further than the ongoing criminal prosecution of individuals (including a former state representative from during her time in office) who are alleged to have attempted to gain unauthorized and illegal access to voting machines for their own personal and political purposes, Brady wrote, referencing former state Rep. Daire Rendon (R-Lake City) who is facing criminal charges for allegedly attempting to access and tamper with voting tabulators following the 2020 election. While the department acknowledged it had withheld some items as they were sensitive or unduly burdensome to produce, Brady explained Smits request for items from 2016 to 2018 predate the administration of current Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, making it significantly more difficult to locate potentially responsive documents and ensure a complete response. Additionally, the e-learning portal contains more than 500 items in various formats including materials on cyber security and physical security of election machines, Brady said. If these materials were to be released, each item would need to be individually reviewed and redacted, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeBoyer sent another letter on April 4, giving the department until April 14 to provide the documents it had not provided. In its response, the department reiterated the security concerns in providing login credentials to access the training materials, but said it would be happy to provide the materials on a rolling basis following a security review, and planned to produce initial materials on April 30. During the meeting, all nine Republican members in attendance voted to authorize the issuance of the subpoena while six Democratic members voted in opposition. Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Twp.), the committees minority vice chair, passed on her vote. When issued, the subpoenaed parties would include the Michigan Department of State, and/or its relevant officers, employees or agents, including Benson and any records custodian of the Department of State. The subpoena, when issued, requests any documents and information outlined in DeBoyers letter that have not yet been provided. At this time the authorization is only for a subpoena to seek the production of records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement posted after the vote, Smit said the training materials she requested werent state secrets, but basic materials regularly provided to election clerks. Secretary Benson had five months and ample opportunities to be transparent and work with us to strengthen our election systems. She refused, leaving us with no choice but to issue a subpoena, Smit said. Angela Benander, Bensons chief communications officer, further emphasized the security concerns that could come with forcing state employees to disclose sensitive information, noting that the department will take all necessary steps to protect the security and integrity of Michigans elections and is more than willing to make those arguments in court. The House Oversight Committee, after rejecting the departments multiple attempts to provide the requested materials in a way that protects the security of our election system, instead voted to issue an unnecessary subpoena for this sensitive information, Benander said. This includes materials that show active screens of the Qualified Voter File; specific information that could be used to compromise the technology used by local election officials; specific procedures for securing voting equipment, ballots, and other election-related materials; information that could be used to gain improper access to secure communication channels used to report security risks; specific locations of election administrator training and templates for official election notices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, the committee has hijacked what was supposed to be a legitimate oversight process. They have made the committee chair a single individual with no legal background judge and jury with the power to force state employees to disclose sensitive election security information or face discipline. Its now clear that the plan all along was to weaponize this process and continue to undermine the publics faith in the security and legitimacy of our elections, Benander said. The Michigan Democratic Party similarly condemned the vote, with party Chair Curtis Hertel slamming House Republicans for granting the oversight committee subpoena power, saying theyd given themself the power to investigate their political opponents. This is a gross overstep by the House Oversight Committee, plain and simple. If [Michigan House Speaker Matt] Hall (R-Richland Twp.) really cared about transparency, he wouldve sent FOIA reform to Governor Whitmer for signature, but we all know that this is really about political persecution, not good government, Hertel said, in reference to Halls refusal to move forward with a package of bills passed by the Senate that would subject the Legislature and the Governors office to the states Freedom of Information Act. Hall stood by DeBoyers decision during a press conference on Tuesday, telling reporters hed told DeBoyer and the committee to issue subpoenas if departments or administrations are not responding. Im not holding them back, right? Were asking them to go out and do a job, and if thats what they need to do, then I support them 100%, Hall said. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Another Grand Rapids business in the food and beverage industry has closed. House of Wine, located at 53 Monroe Center near Ionia Avenue in downtown Grand Rapids, announced its closure in a social media post Tuesday. It is with heavy hearts and deep gratitude that we share the news that House of Wine has closed its doors, the post says. Weve had the incredible honor of serving this community since 2018pouring your favorite wines, crafting cocktails, celebrating milestones, first dates, girls nights, anniversaries, engagements, quiet conversations, and spontaneous toasts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The notice which was also posted to the wine bars door when a News 8 crews stopped by Tuesday said that House of Wine started as a dream and grew into something much bigger than we couldve ever imagined. House of Wine in Grand Rapids on April 15, 2025. Pronto Pup GR opening ghost kitchen in Eastown pizzeria House of Wine became a gathering place, a space to connect, to unwind, and to share in lifes big and little moments, the post goes on to say. It became a home. The wine bar then thanked those who supported it over the years. House of Wine was opened by father-daughter duo Jim and Emily Lynch back in December of 2018, according to its website. It offered wine tasting workshops, a wine club and almost 50 wine options. Its menu also offered cocktails, build-your-own charcuterie boards, desserts, small plates and paninis. House of Wine in Grand Rapids on April 15, 2025. This chapter is ending, but the memories will stay with us always, the post says. While this goodbye is bittersweet, we are so proud of what we built and eternally grateful for the love and community that surrounded it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tex-Mex Basalt closing in Eastown GR, opening new concept with lower price point It did not say what lead to the decision to close. News 8 reached out to House of Wine Tuesday and did not immediately hear back. House of Wine joins a growing list of closures in the Grand Rapids area, with many businesses in the food and beverage industry citing rising costs and changing customer behaviors. Recent and upcoming 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, Wise Men Distillery and Basalt (which will reopen as a new concept). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside WOODTV.com: Building West Michigan Theres also been new restaurants that have opened their doors, and existing restaurants are asking the community for 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 WOODTV.com. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) Houses for Healing in Abilene is gaining another address, the lot next door. Although it is currently empty, president and founder Brian Massey said it will soon be filled with eight new homes and a space for maintenance and security. We will have four units that will be primarily for NICU needs and youth-related medical crisis needs. Additionally, well have four units for transplant candidates, Massey explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abilene Houses for Healing to expand community impact The nonprofit, seeing a rise in temporary medical housing needs, said there is a need, especially for NICU and transplant residents. We do see a large and increasing need regarding NICU lodging and youth-related lodging needs. We have taken care of several families. In fact, that was our very first guest here at phase two, who was a NICU need, Massey explained. Were always on the verge of running out of houses, just getting really close. In fact, weve had to become a little more selective about who we can say yes to. With 20 houses sponsored by various Big Country churches, Massey said he enjoys seeing the transformation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We also see a lot of need for transplant candidates. In fact, today theres a gentleman thats been staying with us for a while that had to hurry up and get to Fort Worth because theres a liver that came available for him, Massey said. KTAB/KRBC wins 4th consecutive service award for work with Houses for Healing Abilene A community, he said, truly takes a village to cultivate. It involves a Christian faith community here in Abilene that is very, very strong. We dont just say that we love our neighbors, we do it, Massey said. The organization is still fundraising for the next phase, which will continue the impact with eight additional houses. They hope to have it completed by the end 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 KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) The Rhode Island Department of Housing wants to build 15,000 new units by 2030 to help with the states housing crisis. State legislators are discussing a number of bills to try to help accomplish that goal. For Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, his main legislative priority is reforming the 8-Law. LEER IN ESPANOL: Crisis de viviendas: Prioridades legislativas del alcalde de Providence y por que algunos no estan de acuerdo Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mayor says developers are often held back by funding. The person who lives in the apartment pays rent based upon how much they can afford based upon their income, which is less than what it costs to build. So, we have to fill that gap, Smiley explained. The bill would make it easier for developers to get tax breaks. It also gives a 30-year tax break to developers who convert commercial properties into residential housing. However, state Rep. David Morales pointed out that developers wouldnt be required to convert those commercial properties into affordable housing. What theyre doing is pushing the people and families who have lived here out of Providence, Morales said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 8-Law reform bill has been held for further study. MORE COVERAGE: RI Housing Crisis Mayor Smiley also wants to pass a tax break when it comes to construction material. He hopes it will help projects like the renovation of the Superman Building into affordable housing. The R.I. House of Representatives also passed a bill expanding the tax break the city offers to veterans. It has not been updated in 20 years. The tax break would be determined by the mayor in his yearly budget. The bill still needs to be approved by the state Senate. 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. Billionaire Elon Musk's popularity has fallen off a cliff a particularly precipitous decline, because he used to be immensely popular before squandering it. According to the latest polling averages aggregated by statistician Nate Silver, the richest man in the world's favorability is in free-fall, with a mere 39.4 percent of Americans seeing Musk positively, while a majority of 52.7 percent see him negatively. In total, that's a net favorability of -11 points a significant drop since Donald Trump took office at the beginning of the year, when it stood at -3 points, and a stomach-churning plunge from 2016, when his favorability was a glowing +29. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1910753163000369387 The latest numbers highlight an astonishing degree of disillusionment with Musk's indiscriminate and sloppy slashing of government budgets with the help of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency. His embrace of far-right extremist views has also proven extremely polarizing, with the billionaire going as far as to perform two Nazi salutes during Trump's post-inauguration celebration. Anti-Musk sentiment has risen considerably since then, inspiring an entire movement, called Tesla Takedown, which has seen thousands of people peacefully demonstrating in front of the EV maker's dealerships. The carmaker has seen its sales plummet as a result across the globe. Many investors have also grown fed up with Musk's antics and refusal to fully commit his time to the company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How much longer Musk will continue to gut the government remains to be seen. Trump recently suggested he could be out in the coming months. Experts have since speculated that Musk's unpopularity could be a political liability for the president, who's battling issues with his own favorability. Trump's ratings have dipped this month, following a disastrous rollout of global tariffs. "Although Musk may eventually leave the government, hell remain an exceptionally important and controversial public figure even if he does," Silver wrote. "Until then, he could be a liability for Trump because hes less popular than the president is even as Trumps numbers have also declined." The cracks are already starting to show. After Musk threw $25 million behind Republican judge Brad Schimel, who ran against liberal candidate judge Susan Crawford during a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court election earlier this month, Crawford beat Schimel handily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a resounding defeat for Musk, who went as far as to hand out $1 million checks to voters in a desperate bid to sway election results. Could his backfiring political efforts be a sign of what's still to come? Given that he's widely expected to leave his post at DOGE while potentially falling comically far short of his initial goal of excising $2 trillion from the government budget it remains to be seen whether surging anti-Musk sentiment will die down again. But now that Tesla's brand has been raked through the mud, it'll likely take some time for his favorability to recover. More on Musk: When Elon Musk Hears About Lives He's Destroyed, He Reportedly Responds With Laugh-Cry Emojis Students experience Chinese calligraphy during a celebration to mark the International Chinese Language Day in Suva, Fiji, April 15, 2025. The event was held on Tuesday at Yat Sen Secondary School in Suva, treating attendees to a diverse array of performances, including music, dances, poetry reading and Chinese waist drum performance. (Photo by Gao Xin/Xinhua) by Guo Xinhui SUVA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- "I love learning Chinese, because it is the language of the future," said Jope Rokotuibau, a Fijian student who was participating in a vibrant celebration to mark the International Chinese Language Day. The event was held on Tuesday at Yat Sen Secondary School in Suva, treating attendees to a diverse array of performances, including music, dances, poetry reading and Chinese waist drum performance. It also offered an immersive cultural experience that highlighted the richness of the Chinese language and its cultural heritage through calligraphy, tea ceremony, paper cutting, Chinese chess, and pot throwing. Rokotuibau learned to write down a Chinese character with a writing brush. "Chinese is tough. But it feels so cool to learn it well," he said. Miyuni Wanninayake, who just finished a paper-cutting work, said her love of the Chinese language was inspired and motivated by her Chinese teacher. Chinese is more than just a language, said Sikivou, principal of Yat Sen Secondary School, "it is a living thread that weaves through 5,000 years of history, art, philosophy, science and literature. It is the voice of poets like Li Bai and Du Fu, the wisdom of Confucius and Laozi, and the rhythm of billions of conversations every day across continents." School Board Chairman Warren Yee encouraged students to learn Chinese language, saying that as one of the most spoken languages in the world, "Chinese is everywhere -- tech giants like Huawei and TikTok, AI with Deepseek the breakthrough Chinese chatbot, global trade, solar technology leader and your favourite take-out noodles..." "It would be a great plus in your resume for future job applications," he told students. Impressed by enthusiasm of Fijian teachers and students for the Chinese language, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Zhou Jian said in order to enable more Fijian youth to experience Chinese culture, the embassy will invite students from Yat Sen to a summer camp in China this year, which marks the 170th anniversary of the arrival of Chinese in Fiji and the 50th anniversary of China-Fiji diplomatic relations. Rokotuibau and Wanninayake said they were looking forward to the summer camp. Students experience paper folding during a celebration to mark the International Chinese Language Day in Suva, Fiji, April 15, 2025. The event was held on Tuesday at Yat Sen Secondary School in Suva, treating attendees to a diverse array of performances, including music, dances, poetry reading and Chinese waist drum performance. It also offered an immersive cultural experience that highlighted the richness of the Chinese language and its cultural heritage through calligraphy, tea ceremony, paper cutting, Chinese chess, and pot throwing. (Photo by Xie Di/Xinhua) Niagara County hunger relief organizations are piecing together whats left of funding and resources for putting food on their clients tables. Last week, FeedMore WNY, which assists many Niagara County agencies, lost access to $3.5 million in food products after the Commodity Credit Corporation program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture was cut. Other organizations are in similar funding limbo. The United Way of Greater Niagara was notified Jan. 27 that funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide food and shelter to families that need assistance was paused. Andrea Gray, United Way president and CEO, said the $82,000 that was allocated could have supported food banks. Eleven agencies applied for support under the grant, but the applications must remain on hold. Brendan Conley, chairman of the advisory board for the Salvation Army of Lockport, said with daily changes at the federal level this month, there has been no time to read and react. Salvation Army of Lockport has yet to quantify the impact that cuts are having on its food pantry operation and the Sister Mary Loretto Memorial Community Soup Kitchen. Conley said the demand for hunger relief in the Lockport area is greater now than ever. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The impact on peoples lives is real and discernible, he said. When you go about cutting programs, trying to save federal tax dollars, that might seem well intentioned. But when youre not judicious about where the cuts are made, youre damaging the most vulnerable people in our communities. Conley said that up to 100 people a day come to the Lockport soup kitchen. Our vulnerable population and homeless population have been increasing the last several years, Conley said. It places a larger burden on these types of services. Partners like FeedMore are relied upon heavily. Theres going to be consequences and fallout from all of this. Intercommunity Services of Ransomville operates the Care n Share food pantry at the former W.H. Stevenson Elementary School. According to treasurer Claudia Fleckenstein, the program serves 150 to 170 individuals each month from Ransomville, Youngstown, Sanborn, Lewiston, Cambria and the Tuscarora Reservation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the third Saturday of every month, the Ransomville site hosts a mobile food pantry open to anyone in Niagara County. Fleckenstein said the truck brings five-pound bags of potatoes, yams, apples, and other produce. We have recently had eggs, which was unusual, and periodically we get butter, she said. Hams and other meats have also been available. Fleckenstein said state grants such as Nourish New York seem to remain intact. Were kind of feeling our way through this, Fleckenstein said. We have a budget and well have to see in three months how we do. In the meantime, grassroots support has been extremely valuable to the organization. Theres been four or five different boy scout troops that collected goods for us and donated them to the food pantry, she said. They have really helped us out. Many of the local churches are regular donors. Weve been encouraging some groups to buy soaps, body wash, shampoo. After immigration officers arrested two people in the hallways of the Milwaukee County Courthouse complex, a county committee on April 15 formally called on county officials to work together to ensure access to services and safeguard every individuals right to due process. The resolution co-authored by County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez and Caroline Gomez-Tom also requested that the county share materials throughout the courthouse complex that educate residents on their rights and how to handle potential interactions with immigration authorities. Supervisors Sky Capriolo, Willie Johnson, Jr., Juan Miguel Martinez, Justin Bielinski voted to adopt the resolution, which now moves to the full County Board on April 24. Supervisor Patti Logsdon abstained from voting, citing ongoing questions about the "legal uncertainty" and standing of the resolution and possible retaliation from the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Some may ask, why should this county act on what appears to be a federal issue? The answer is simple, because we are the stewards of this place," Nicholson told the committee, calling for the courthouse to remain "accessible, safe, and legally sound for all people." In the last two weeks, County Executive David Crowley, Chief Judge Carl Ashley as well as other county officials and stakeholders have raised concerns about the presence of federal agents in the courthouse and how it could not only deter immigrants from accessing the judicial system but also erode trust and create confusion regarding the legal protections immigrants have. State Reps. Priscilla A. Prado and Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, and Darryl Morin, president of advocacy group Forward Latino, backed the resolution during testimony. Gomez-Tom highlighted that the courthouse complex not only houses Milwaukee County's court system but also serves as the home for resources and services for residents, including child support, victim services and vital records from the Register of Deeds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is our responsibility to serve our community and all inhabitants of our county," she said. "We have many more services at the courthouse than even just the justice system, and that's something that we also have to remember that people are coming in and out of this building, thousands at a time, for various resources ... and everyone should have a right to do so and to do so in peace." For Martinez, the resolution represents the "first step towards creating more action," later likening the current administration under President Donald Trump to 1939 Nazi Germany. "Every single day, it descends into more and more madness," he said. "What we have to do here is we have to make sure that, as local representatives of our communities, that we make sure that we fight every single day against this unlawful administration ... We won't let our country descend into absolute tyrannical madness." In his successful run for president last year Trump campaigned heavily on a promise to remove people in the country illegally and since taking office has embarked on a large-scale crackdown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a Department of Homeland Security directive issued in January, ICE officers may make civil immigration arrests "in or near courthouses" when they have credible information that the person will be present. Both people arrested in the Milwaukee County Courthouse complex were facing criminal charges. While Ashley previously told the Journal Sentinel that the ICE arrests were not unprecedented, he reiterated to the committee that he was working on a policy that is both legally strong and assures access. A draft copy of the policy is in the hands of system partners, according to Ashley, who said he anticipates releasing a final version in the next couple of weeks. "I know the community is concerned, and rightfully so, and from our lens we have to do our due diligence and make sure whatever proposal we come up with is going to be something that can be adhered to, and not give people a false sense of security about what would happen down at this courthouse," Ashley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chief Deputy Sheriff Brian Barkow said the agency was awaiting a legal opinion to understand the Sheriff's Office purview. Barkow said that they had been notified by ICE "seconds" before the first arrest of Mexican citizen Marco Cruz-Garcia, 24, on March 20. He added that the agency had not been notified about the second arrest of Nicaraguan citizen Edwin Bustamante-Sierra, 27, on April 3. As a result, Barkow shared that they had reviewed video surveillance footage involving the ICE arrests and noted that the federal agents had been in plainclothes, but said it was hard to tell whether they had been armed. According to an ICE spokesperson, Cruz-Garcia is "a known member of the Surenos transnational criminal street gang" and was ordered to be removed by an immigration judge in February 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court records show Cruz-Garcia was charged in January in a misdemeanor domestic abuse incident in Milwaukee County. He has not been convicted. Bustamante-Sierra faces felony charges of recklessly endangering safety and reckless use of a firearm and a misdemeanor cocaine possession charge, according to court records. He also has not been convicted. Eva Wen of the Journal Sentinel contributed. Contact Vanessa Swales at 414-308-5881 or vswales@gannett.com. Follow her on X @Vanessa_Swales. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ICE arrests at Milwaukee County Courthouse prompt push for safeguards On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump said that he was going to take away visas from "antisemitic foreigners" on college campuses. But his first target, Mahmoud Khalil, is not a visa holder; he is a legal permanent resident and the husband of an American citizen, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents discovered as they were detaining Khalil. Now, the Trump administration is trying to deport a Palestinian-American immigrant on the cusp of citizenship. Ten-year legal U.S. resident and Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi showed up at an immigration center in Vermont on Monday for what he thought was his naturalization appointment. Instead, ICE agents swooped in and "refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him," according to a statement by Vermont lawmakers. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, referred Reason to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbia students gathered with candles and Palestinian flags at the Sundial, a monument at the center of campus, on Monday night. The apparent leader of the demonstration declined to be interviewed but said she had already been planning to hold a vigil before Mahdawi's arrest. After a moment of silence, she recited an Islamic prayer for the dead and a poem by Palestinian-American poet Noor Hindi. A man in a suit walked by and muttered, "Isn't this not allowed anymore?" Khalil and Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian student union at Columbia, and Mahdawi was president of the Columbia University Buddhist Association for two years, according to the court filings. While Khalil is soft-spoken in public, Mahdawi comes off as the hothead of the duo. He has been frank about his struggles between feelings of vengeance and forgiveness. "Radicalism is not Justice, and will not make Justice," he wrote on Instagram in November 2024. "Justice is balanced, Justice is compassionate, Justice is empathetic, and Justice is transformative." In any case, Mahdawi hasn't been accused of any crime, according to a habeas corpus petition filed by his lawyers. Vermont District Court Judge William Sessions issued a temporary restraining order preventing ICE from removing Mahdawi from Vermont. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Mohsen Mahdawi was unlawfully detained today for no reason other than his Palestinian identity," Mahdawi's attorney, Luna Droubi, said in a statement to The Intercept. "He came to this country hoping to be free to speak out about the atrocities he has witnessed, only to be punished for such speech." The filing by Mahdawi's lawyers speculates that the Trump administration may want to deport him under Section 237(a)(4)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows the U.S. government to remove anyone whose presence poses "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences." Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited that law in Khalil's case, arguing that anti-Israel student protests pose such a threat. Mahdawi himself told The Intercept that getting deported to the Palestinian territories would be "kind of a death sentence." The Israeli army raided Al Faraa Refugee Camp, where Mahdawi grew up, in February 2025. Mahdawi claimed on Instagram that the soldiers ransacked his childhood home, beating up his disabled brother and marching him through the streets with a blindfold on, then blew up his father's convenience store. The Mahdawi family has been violently at odds with the Israeli government for years. His uncle, Capt. Thayer Mahdawi, was a Palestinian police officer killed during an Israeli raid in September 2001, according to a memorial article by Fatah, the political party that Thayer Mahdawi was associated with. The International Foundation for Solidarity with Prisoners, a Palestinian diaspora organization, states that Thayer Mahdawi was arrested while wounded but still alive, and died in Israeli custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several months after his uncle's death, the younger Mahdawi witnessed a killing in person, he told 60 Minutes in December 2023: "I had my best friend with me, Hameida, and suddenly I see an Israeli soldier pointing the rifle at us, and he shot my friend in the chest. I was 10 years old, and I still remember when we put him in the grave. I held him, and I spoke to him, and I said, 'Hameida, wake up! Wake up!' He didn't wake up. I told him, 'I promise, I promise, I will revenge [sic].'" Mahdawi's cousin, Maysara Masharqa, became a field commander in Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a Fatah-aligned rebel group that has killed Israeli civilians. Masharqa was killed by an Israeli drone strike on the West Bank in August 2024. Mahdawi posted an Instagram eulogy for Masharqa's "fierce resistance," which is no longer visible on his page, according to The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet. Mahdawi himself took a very different path. He studied computer engineering at Birzeit University, the top university in the West Bank, completed a second undergraduate degree in philosophy at Columbia, and enrolled in a master's degree at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, set to begin in the fall. (Somewhere along the way, he got involved in Buddhism.) After 10 years of living in America, he had also applied for U.S. citizenship. "I have faith in the people living in this country. The government is not the people," Mahdawi told The Intercept in an interview shortly before his naturalization appointment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When someone shouted antisemitic threats at the November 2023 rally, Mahdawi led students in chasing out the heckler, the Columbia Daily Spectator reported at the time. "You don't represent us," Mahdawi shouted, thanking the "Jewish brothers and sisters who stand with us here today." His lawyers cited the Spectator article in their filing. Over the past few months, Mahdawi reportedly stepped back from activism to try befriending Jewish and Israeli students. Before his detention, he had been meeting with Israelis for Peace NYC "about how to possibly work together to promote safety and equality for everyone on the land," the Israeli diaspora antiwar group wrote on X. "This is a Palestinian. I'm an Israeli. Our people are at war," Israeli-American Columbia graduate Mikey Baratz told The New York Times. "And [Mahdawi's] willingness to actually hear and actively learn and understand the Israeli experienceI mean, I've never met anyone who so quickly was willing to take feedback." But Mahdawi also had a inkling that this journey might be abruptly ended by the government. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services had asked him to come in for his naturalization interview a few months ahead of schedule. Mahdawi felt it was a trap, he told The Intercept. That feeling was right. The post ICE Arrests Palestinian Immigrant at His Citizenship Test appeared first on Reason.com. This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com. Salt & Straw bowed out of moving into Pike Place Market less than a week after the ice creamery announced the move. The ice creamery was set to move into 102 Pike St. on First Avenue, right across from Pike Place Market, replacing a Starbucks location that closed last year. The reason the ice cream shop did not move to that location was because the site plan is not ready yet for submittal. There are no further details regarding Salt & Straws decision, as of this reporting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Originating as a simple food cart in Portland in 2011, cousins Kim and Tyler Malek have expanded Salt & Straw to 46 locations across seven states, including 11 in Oregon and Washington. Salt & Straw announced it was expanding to Seattles Queen Anne neighborhood in January. Additionally, Salt & Straw has locations inside T-Mobile Park and inside the Microsoft campus in Redmond. Follow Frank Sumrall on X. Send news tips here. Idaho Gov. Brad Little leaves his office to give the State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2025, at the Idaho Statehouse. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Monday issued a line-item veto on a bill to retain the governors emergency fund. House Bill 482, passed nearly unanimously by the Idaho Legislature, would have eliminated the balance of the governors emergency fund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent years, Little has used the emergency fund to support the investigation into the killings of four University of Idaho students, and for efforts to fight fentanyl and help secure the U.S.s southern border with Mexico, the governors office said in a news release. Slightly more than $652,000 remains in the governors emergency fund, according to the bills fiscal note. As leaders, we need the tools to be agile in responding to crises that affect our citizens. I line-item vetoed this budget bill because eliminating the Governors emergency fund only hinders our ability to respond quickly in a fast-moving situation, Little wrote in a prepared statement. I share the Legislatures vigor for ensuring government is efficient, but citizens expect government to be responsive in times of crisis. The bill would have zeroed out the governors emergency fund by directing the State Controllers Office to transfer all remaining balance in the fund to the states general fund as soon as practicable for Idahos current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Littles line-item veto rejected that transfer, but approved the bills other fund transfers into law. The governors emergency fund transfer would have, according to the bills fiscal note, centralized the states emergency funds in the Office of Emergency Management in the Military Division. In his veto letter, Little called it critical for the governors emergency fund to maintain the funds. The fund, he wrote, has been used to address serious and unexpected situations that fall outside of a formally declared state of emergency. Unclear if Idaho Legislature will reconvene to respond to line-item veto Its not immediately clear how the Idaho Legislature will respond to the governors line-item veto. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Legislature adjourned for the year, officially called sine die, more than a week ago on April 4. During the legislative session, the Legislature can override gubernatorial vetoes with two-thirds support in the House and Senate. Speaker of the House Idaho Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, leads proceedings on the House floor at the State Capitol in Boise on Jan. 9, 2023. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) With support from 60% of members, the Legislature can call itself back in for a special session. House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, doubted that would happen but said legislative leaders could see if theres a desire for a special session, he told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview Monday. But Moyle called the veto unusual, saying the governor could still access $31 million in emergency funds if he declared an emergency. The fund the bill wouldve zeroed out was created as a response to COVID-19, Moyle said. He could declare an emergency and still send the officers to the border. He could declare an emergency and still help out up there Moyle said. This wasnt to reduce funding. Usually, a veto is to reduce funding. This is to increase funding in his own budget. This is not normal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shanon Gray, an attorney for the family of homicide victim Kaylee Goncalves, provided a statement from the family in support of the governors line-item veto. We are in support of keeping the governors emergency fund, the family wrote. In a case like ours, where a terrible tragedy occurred in a small jurisdiction in Idaho the promise of a Governor who prioritizes justice over dollars was pivotal in our case. Using the emergency fund to allocate resources to Moscow in order for a proper investigation to be done was one of the most critical pieces in bringing the defendant to justice. letter Disclosure: Idaho Capital Sun reporter Kyle Pfannenstiel worked for the University of Idahos communications department when the four students were killed. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to let ivermectin be sold as an over-the-counter medicine without a prescription or consultation with a health care professional. (Getty Images) Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to let ivermectin be sold as an over-the-counter medicine without a prescription or consultation with a health care professional. Typically used to treat parasites in humans, ivermectin has drawn interest since the COVID pandemic after largely conservative activists, doctors and politicians inaccurately touted it as an alternative medicine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Usually, the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration, or FDA, handles whether drugs should be made available over-the-counter, a process that uses data on safety and effectiveness. The FDA hasnt approved ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19, saying the federal agency finds existing clinical trial data dont show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19 in humans. The federal regulators website also warns large doses of ivermectin can be dangerous, overdose can risk death, and human-appropriate doses can interact with other medications, such as blood thinners. Little on Monday signed Senate Bill 1211, the ivermectin deregulation bill, according to the governor offices legislation tracker. The new law takes effect immediately through an emergency clause. Passed during the last week of this years legislative session, Idaho lawmakers didnt hear public feedback on the bill from doctors, pharmacists or health care professionals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill was cosponsored by the top Republicans in the Idaho House and Senate Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert and House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star along with two other lawmakers: Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, and Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur dAlene. Pam Eaton, CEO of the Idaho Retailers Association which represents Idaho pharmacies, testified in Senate committee that without an over-the-counter label that includes information like drug interactions, Idaho pharmacies largely cant sell ivermectin over-the-counter. Two states allow ivermectin to be sold over-the-counter, according to local news reports: Arkansas passed a law this year, and Tennessee passed a law three years ago. North Carolina is considering a similar bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Apr. 14As STAAR testing begins April 15, two teachers at IDEA Yukon are taking different approaches they hope will engage students and make the ordeal a little bit more bearable. Most of the month of April is taken up with the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. IDEA administers Mock STAAR tests in March to help prepare students for what to expect and help them see potential areas for them to work on. Erick Trujillo's ninth grade reading class and Grace Roa's third grade math class have been making strides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trujillo's mock scores are in the top 10% of the IDEA district as his students prepare for the test. Roa is setting her students up for success by focusing on clear expectations, goals and encouraging students to be invested in their progress. Recently on Mock STAAR testing, she had one of the highest-ranking scores in the IDEA district. She encourages her students to make sure they don't just know the skills for math but understand the concept behind them to help them continue to build on their math foundations. Roa also serves as the grade team leader at IDEA Yukon and the regional math mentor for math teachers in the Permian Basin. Trujillo said he conducts a lot of Socratic seminars and has discussions on topics that tie in with the test. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said they watched the movie "The Truman Show" and asked some discussion questions. "The students were able to understand themes of control and reality. So just cool things like that," he said. It sets them up for success in life and academics. "We've been seeing it with numbers. They've been able to be in the top 10 and top 5% of the (IDEA) district every time," Trujillo said. This is Trujillo's fifth year at IDEA. He graduated from an IDEA school in South Texas. He said things are similar at IDEA to when he was a student. It's the same structure, same format, the same energy from the teachers and the same goals for students, which is to set them up for life and to go to college. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ideas to use in the classroom come up when he's going about a regular day. "For example, 'The Truman Show' is one of my favorite movies and I said, why not talk about this and connect it to themes of reality and control," or have a discussion on the book "To Kill a Mockingbird," Trujillo said. He added that the students get very engaged. They want to finish The Truman Show and find out what happens. "And in our Socratic seminars, for example, for 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' they just want to know what the thinking is behind what the characters do. They're just pretty excited to talk about those things," Trujillo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added that it was eye-opening for students to see what the social structure was back then and connect it to real-life examples. Reading and math are emphasized. Trujillo said even reading by itself and having some basic reading comprehension prepares them for life. He used inference as an example: When you see someone walk in a building with rain boots and an umbrella you think there is probably bad weather outside. Trujillo said IDEA has about 120 ninth graders with approximately 25 students per class. He refines his lesson plans and STAAR preparation as the year goes on. "From the beginning of the year until now, I've been refining my lessons, polishing them ... As my lessons get better, the students also started getting more engaged," Trujillo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added that their exam scores have "been increasing massively. "I've seen about a 20-point increase on their (in-house) exam scores on average," Trujillo said. He has also seen good results on the STAAR. "I've always had good results with the things that I do. But this year, since I've been polishing up my skills a little more I see way more results so it's really exciting," Trujillo said. Results from the regular exams, he said, will translate into good STAAR scores. "I try to connect everything that I do with the STAAR," Trujillo said. He added that he's excited to be working with the students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I've seen them grow so much from the beginning of the year in their personalities, as well as in their academics. Students that have always had trouble with reading in previous years, this was their year to ... grow and tell me Mr. T ... I haven't passed this exam in past years, but I passed it this time so I'm really excited. It's really cool to hear those things," Trujillo said. Roa serves as the grade team leader and campus content lead for math for grades three to five and the regional math mentor for IDEA Permian Basin. That includes the Yukon campus in Odessa and IDEA Travis in Midland. Roa said she has been doing intensive reviews in class for math. "We do constant practice with the different testing strategies, although our focus is the different concepts or TEKS ... But I also incorporate the different testing strategies," Roa said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said she believes that no matter how well the scholars know the concepts, if they don't know testing strategies it won't help them reach their goal. "For math, there are a lot of strategies for each concept," Roa said. Students have to master the concept for them to retain it and that includes constant repetition. The strategies are modified to the student's level. Many of her students struggle with word problems. She'll use names for division and multiplication that stick with the students. For multiplication and division, she uses the word "get." For addition and subtraction, she uses PPT part, part, total. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roa, a founding teacher at IDEA Yukon, teaches 123 scholars in third grade. Her classes range in size from 28 to 32. She has been teaching at IDEA for four years, but she is in her 15th year of teaching overall. "When my third graders started third grade last August, they were at an average math level (of) 2.8," which means it's second grade and eight months, Roa said. She added that that's not really bad because of the two-month summer break. "But what I'm proud of is the growth," Roa said. From 2.8, they grew to a 3.7 average. "That's almost a year by just January," after five to six months in school, Roa said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also had the Mock STAAR to prepare students for the real thing and to help teachers determine where their students were at that moment, where they were struggling and what concepts they needed extra support for. "I am proud to say that we ... ranked first (in) the district of IDEA Public Schools," Roa said. She said it's not just her. Her students are working really hard. "I'm just the facilitator of learning in the classroom, but it's my scholars' work," Roa said. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) If you just look at the line item for the Illinois Department of Human Services in Governor Pritzkers proposed budget, you will see an increase for services for the developmentally disabled. However, advocates are now drawing attention to a specific cut that could result in less care hours for people who need care in group homes. The They Deserve More Coalition, which is made up of different organizations that support the developmentally disabled, came to the Illinois State Capitol to share their concerns. Bill cracking down on license plate flippers in Illinois passes Senate Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Governors proposed budget would include a $32 million dollar decrease in funded hours for care of developmentally disabled living in group homes. The funded hours specifically pay for direct support professionals to staff these group homes. The Illinois Association for Rehabilitation Facilities said the decrease would result in 900,000 hours being cut from the current total, which could mean over an hour less of care per day. If we cut 900,000 hours out of the service system from those people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, then theyre going to be in danger of not being able to live effectively in their community, Lore Baker, President of the Association for Individual Development said. People with developmental disabilities are assessed and prescribed a certain number of hours of care. In these group home settings, hours are typically pooled together to make sure the people have the proper care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for Governor JB Pritzkers office said the rollback is more about efficiently using the hours allotted. Illinois House passes Dillons Law to help more people carry Epi-Pens The discussion of the funded hours obscures a basic fact: IDHS and Governor Pritzker are committing more to DD services than ever before, Spokesman for the Governor Alex Gough said in a statement. Providers will never be told youve reached your hours limit or be forced to lay off support workers. The global hours total is part of a funding model with multiple parts, designed to fairly and equitably distribute limited resources. The administration pointed to the other investments being made to services for the developmentally disabled. Those include a 50-cent per hour wage increase for direct support professionals. Its also another year of increases for the overall budget for that division. That overall increase is why advocates and organizations were so caught off guard by the proposed cut, especially since they thought they were past this discussion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This cut was proposed after the state already backed off a much bigger proposed cut last year. Starting in 2023, the state was prepared to cut 2.3 million hours to the same area. At the time, the state said that was just a step in implementing the findings from the state-commissioned Guide House Rate study, but the state backtracked on that plan after pressure from advocates and lawmakers. While this proposal will impact significantly less hours, advocates still say it will result in a loss of care. Bill to ban two food additives passes Illinois Senate I think it might be possible if the hours didnt disappear, Baker said. But what happened, instead of moving around two hours to go have more hours for someone who has a higher service need and less hours for someone who needs less support, the total amount of hours in the system totally shrunk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governors proposed budget is just that a proposal. Lawmakers will spend the next month and a half hammering out the details of the budget. Advocates voiced their concerns about these proposed cuts to the appropriations committee in the House of Representatives. Every legislator that weve spoken to has been shocked that this was in the governors proposed budget, Baker said. They keep saying, didnt we fix this last year? And were like, We thought so, but not so much. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BISHKEK, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyz Economy and Commerce Minister Bakyt Sydykov met with Hungarian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Sandor Dorogi and discussed a wide range of issues related to economic cooperation, the Kyrgyz government's press service reported on Tuesday. During the talks, the two sides gave particular attention to the Hungarian government's decision to provide additional financing for the authorized capital of the Hungarian-Kyrgyz Development Fund. Sydykov emphasized that this step is an important element in strengthening economic ties and opens up new opportunities for launching joint projects. The two sides also highlighted the important role of the Kyrgyz-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission as a key mechanism for developing bilateral partnership. The discussion also touched upon expanding cooperation in the agricultural sector, including increased collaboration between agricultural universities in both countries. The Hungarian side expressed its readiness to further exchange experience in scientific research, water management, and the implementation of innovative solutions. Following the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their mutual interest in expanding partnerships, creating joint ventures, and implementing promising projects across various sectors of the economy. CHICAGO, Ill. (WCIA) Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined 38 other attorneys general in an effort to stop pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from running pharmacies. On April 15, it was announced that the bipartisan coalition of attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to pass an act that would prohibit PBMs from operating and owning pharmacies. PBMs are third-party administrators of prescription drug programs for health plans. Illinois seniors relieved after Social Security keeps phone service Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Raoul, over the course of the last few decades, horizontal consolidation and vertical integration have transformed PBMs from effective administrative service providers into roles that dominate the market and ultimately control the industry. PBMs have opted to focus on driving up their own profits at the expense of patients, Raoul said. Their control of an outsized share of the market has led to patients having fewer choices and paying higher costs. I join my fellow attorneys general in calling on Congress to reign in PBMs, and I will continue to advocate for reforms that ensure prescription pricing is transparent and reduce the financial burden on patients. Additionally, the coalitions letter is encouraging Congress to take action and protect consumers by passing a law that would ban PBMs or their parent companies from owning a pharmacy. The top six PBMs operate affiliated pharmacies, while five of the top six are also a part of parent conglomerates that operate insurance companies and health care clinics. Illinois Department of Public Health updates vaccine dashboard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through their ownerships of pharmacies, PBMs are contracting with and have power over the competition of their own pharmacies. They use their roles as intermediaries to use this power to hurt independent pharmacies. Raoul said they ultimately force these small businesses to accept contractual terms that are confusing, unfair and harmful among other things. Attorneys general from the following states joined Raoul as a part of this coalition to send the letter: Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Delaware District of Clumbia Hawaii Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minneosta Mississippi Missouri Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Dakota Tennessee Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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) Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has joined four other Democrat governors in signing a letter protesting the Trump administrations proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. The efforts are part of President Donald Trumps announced efforts to cut the federal budget and reduce the burden to taxpayers. The budget resolution adopted by the House in February calls for $880 billion in budget cuts for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid. While Trump has denied plans to cut Medicare or Medicaid, analysts say it would be impossible to reduce the committees budget without those cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposed Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule would revise standards relating to past-due payments, exclude Deferred Action for Chilchood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from certain coverage, change work requirements for eligibility, and remove mandates for insurers to cover gender affirming or sex-trait modifications. Its a clear signal that, certainly, the federal government would not be looking to ensure that coverage is not discriminatory, as it has been doing before, said Katie Keith, director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law at Georgetown University. Analysts say the potential changes would shift Medicaid costs away from the federal government and to the states, which have to make up the difference. The federal government covers 90% of expansion states Medicaid budgets, with nonexpansion states receiving a match rate of 50%-77%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governors contend that the proposed rules would result in higher insurance premiums and cause low-income residents to abandon healthcare coverage altogether. The letter, signed by Gov. Pritzker, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, and Gov. Tina Kotek of Oregon, is addressed to Peter Nelson, Director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Any rule changes for the 2026 plan year, which will be filed for approval in late spring, create a high risk of destabilizing state health insurance markets, particularly as Congress contemplates the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits and cuts to Medicaid, the letter reads. The governors jointly argued against key concerns, such as restricting the states ability to set open enrollment periods and determine eligibility for coverage, eliminating options for special enrollments, and changing premium adjustment calculations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once again, it is clear that the Trump Administration will stop at nothing to restrict access to health insurance for Americans, said Pritzker. This proposed rule will cause confusion, make it harder to enroll, and limit healthcare access for the most vulnerable Illinoisans. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HENDERSON ,Ky. (WEHT) The Indiana Senate approved a bill that would begin the process of making the state larger, by incorporating part of Illinois. The bill creates the Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission, which will look into incorporating 33 counties in Illinois that voted to leave the Prairie State. The commission will include six members appointed by Governor Braun and five members appointed under Illinois law. The commission would discuss and recommend whether it is advisable to adjust the boundaries between the two states. Braun unveils 9 executive orders to help Make Indiana Healthy Again Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill has already passed the House, and now heads to Governor Braun. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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). A man convicted of killing an Indiana police officer during a foot chase 24 years ago will be executed next month, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. Benjamin Ritchie shot Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney in September 2000. According to court records, Ritchie jumped out of a stolen van after a police pursuit. Toney was chasing him when Ritchie turned and shot him four times. A jury convicted Ritchie of murder and other offenses in 2002. The trial judge imposed the death penalty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ritchie has spent years challenging the convictions at the state and federal level to no avail. His latest motion asks permission to raise claims that his attorney was ineffective because the lawyer failed to investigate whether Ritchie suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders as well as childhood lead exposure. Ritchie also sought permission to argue that his age at the time of the shooting he was 20 years old should be taken into consideration. The Supreme Court denied the request and ordered that he be executed before sunrise on May 20. Justice Geoffrey Slaughter wrote that the court couldn't assume further evidence of Ritchie's cognitive impairments would have swayed his jury. Chief Justice Loretta Rush wrote in dissent that the evidence suggests Ritchie was suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder when he committed his crimes. We should not set a date for the most irrevocable of punishments without first ensuring that Ritchie was not denied the effective assistance of counsel, Rush wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court records list Ritchie's attorney as public defender Amy Karozos. She didn't immediately respond to a message The Associated Press left on her office voicemail after hours Tuesday seeking comment on the justices' decision. Ritchie's execution will be the first in the state since Joseph Corcoran was put to death by lethal injection on Dec. 18. Corcoran was convicted in the July 1997 shootings of his brother; his sister's fiance; and two other men. His execution was the state's first in 15 years, a hiatus marked by a scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide. Indiana's Supreme Court set a May 20 execution date for convicted murderer Benjamin Ritchie. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Newsmakers) Indiana Supreme Court justices on Tuesday set a May 20 execution date for death row inmate Benjamin Ritchie, who was convicted in 2002 for killing a law enforcement officer from Beech Grove. The high courts decision followed a series of exhausted appeals previously filed by Ritchie and his legal team. The inmates request for post-conviction relief was denied in Tuesdays 13-page order, penned by Chief Justice Loretta Rush, although she disagreed with the decision in her opinion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Included in the death row inmates post-conviction filings are claims that his trial and post-conviction counsel provided ineffective assistance by not investigating Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and by failing to analyze the effect of Ritchies childhood exposure to excessive amounts of lead. Additionally, counsel emphasized that Ritchie was only 20 years old at the time of the crime, and recent developments in the law require the state supreme court to consider his age at sentencing. Ritchies team held, too, that the state engaged in prosecutorial misconduct throughout his jury trial. Indiana justices weigh in Justices said Ritchie has not persuaded a majority of the Court that there is a reasonable possibility he is entitled to relief, however. Even so, Rush said she believed evidence submitted to the court suggests a strong likelihood that Ritchie suffered from FASD when he murdered William Toney, the police officer, in 2000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Story continues below. Order SPCR and execution date She noted that Ritchie has recently been evaluated by two FASD experts. Rush preferred to hold off on an execution date so the court has more time to receive and consider the experts evaluations. If those evaluations both confirm that Ritchie suffers from FASD and explain its effect on his behavior when he committed his crimes, a successive petition for post-conviction relief would be authorized, the chief justice wrote in her opinion. But Justices Derek Molter and Geoffrey Slaughter disagreed with Rush. what Ritchies experts turned up is irrelevant. The issue before us is not whether Ritchie suffered from FASD in 2000 or whether he does so today; it is whether his trial counsel were constitutionally ineffective during sentencing for failing to investigate the possibility that Ritchie suffered from FASD then, Slaughter wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On this claim, Ritchie cannot show a reasonable possibility of relief, the justice continued. Even if he suffered from FASD in 2000, as he now claims for the first time, he did not preserve that claim, so it is procedurally defaulted. And he cannot avoid his default of this claim because his counsel were not ineffective under either standard for assessing counsels performance. Justice Christopher Goff dissented, in part, saying he would have temporarily stayed the execution date to consider Ritchies claim. Justice Mark Massa did not weigh in. Next steps could bring clemency hearings When asked to comment, Ritchies defense attorneys told the Indiana Capital Chronicle only that theyre considering next steps, which is likely to include a clemency petition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With clemency, the governor in tandem with Indianas Parole Board can elect to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment or grant a pardon for a criminal offense. Benjamin Ritchie (Mugshot from the Indiana Department of Correction) The Indiana Constitution gives the governor exclusive authority to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons for all offenses including capital crimes except for treason and impeachment. The parole board is tasked by state law with assisting in that process. The five-member board, specifically, is responsible for conducting an investigation into the merits of a clemency petition. Three clemencies have been granted in Indiana since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita whose office requested an execution date for Ritchie last fall told the Capital Chronicle on Tuesday that he had been expecting an execution date, and that everything is going to plan. If and when Ritchie files for clemency, Rokita said well continue on like we do with any other one. Nothings changing our plans or procedures based for this fellow versus the last, he said. Per court documents, the underlying crime began as a police pursuit of a stolen van on Sept. 29, 2000. Toney, the Beech Grove police officer, later pursued Ritchie on foot. Ritchie ultimately fired four shots at Toney, who did not survive the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Executions were put on hold for 15 years in Indiana until convicted killer Joseph Corcoran was put to death in December. The state paid $900,000 on execution drugs but wont say how much was purchased. Ritchie and six other men remain on the states death row at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A Deputy Jailer was attacked by an inmate during an escape attempt, and other inmates stepped in to help. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Sunday, April 13, the Morgantown Police responded to the Butler County Jail in Kentucky on reports of an inmate who had attacked a Deputy Jailer, according to a release posted on social media. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation determined that 26-year-old Charles Clayton of Russellville, Kentucky, had placed the deputy in a chokehold, threatened to stab him, and demanded the keys to the jails door in an attempt to escape. A trustee at the jail witnessed the attack and attacked Clayton in an attempt to release the deputy, according to the press release. Another Deputy Jailer arrived to help, and Clayton was able to seize his taser. Clayton attempted to tase the deputy and another inmate. He was eventually restrained after two other inmates arrived to assist the deputies. Clayton was charged with several charges, including Kidnapping-Adult, 1st Degree Strangulation, 1st Degree Escape (Attempt), Disarming a Peace Officer, 3rd Degree assault-Inmate Assault on Correctional Employee, and Criminal Mischief 1st Degree. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A police chase turned deadly Monday night after a driver crashed into another car in Atlantas Little 5 Points neighborhood. The Georgia State Patrol said troopers spotted a car speeding down Interstate 20 and driving erratically near the Boulevard exit. Troopers tried to stop the car, but the car sped away and troopers began chasing the driver as it exited along Moreland Avenue. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the chase approached the intersection of Moreland and McLendon Avenues, the fleeing driver went through a red light and hit another driver. The driver of that car ended up dying from their injuries at the scene. The fleeing driver was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. GSP said their Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is currently at the wreck scene investigating. LONDON (Reuters) - The investigation into the deaths of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, banker Jonathan Bloomer and members of their families who perished when a luxury yacht sank last year will take many months, a British inquest was told on Tuesday. Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and Morgan Stanley International chairman Bloomer and his wife Judith died when the superyacht "Bayesian" sank during a severe and sudden storm off the port of Porticello, near Palermo in Sicily on August 19, 2024. Two other guests and the ship's cook also perished. The ship, owned by the Lynch family, is still on the seabed, but British investigators said they expected it to be raised and brought to shore next month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lynch built Britain's biggest software company, Autonomy, and sold it to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. A year later, HP discovered a massive accounting scandal at Autonomy, and both it and U.S. prosecutors pursued Lynch. The 59-year-old was celebrating his acquittal on 15 counts of fraud in June 2024 when the sinking occurred. Italian prosecutors have placed three crew members under investigation: captain James Cutfield, ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and night watch duty sailor Matthew Griffiths. They are suspected of manslaughter and causing a shipwreck, although being investigated in Italy does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sinking is also being investigated by Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), which examines whether there is criminal culpability, and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, an inquest hearing at Suffolk Coroner's Court was told on Tuesday. "Salvage efforts are beginning to start and we expect it to be on the shoreside sometime in May of this year," said Mark Cam, senior investigator at the MCA. He said the MCA would look to examine the Bayesian, which is currently lying on its right side at a depth of around 50 metres, and the subsequent investigation of the yacht and its data would take "many months". Senior Coroner Nigel Parsley asked him if it would be fair to say that because the MCA was a long way from finalising its criminal inquiries, the inquest process was also unlikely to complete for many months. "I would believe that would be the case sir, yes," Cam said. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Ros Russell) Representatives of Elon Musks U.S. DOGE Service have sought for weeks to get around a court order barring their access to sensitive data and internal systems at the Social Security Administration, prompting career staff to repeatedly resist their efforts, according to a half dozen people familiar with the DOGE teams actions and records obtained by The Washington Post. The battle inside the agency led the Justice Department to intervene to deny DOGE access to the data, even as the Trump administration installed and promoted DOGE-friendly leaders to dramatically cut back services at Social Security. It involved staff, from rank-and-file employees to senior leaders, including acting commissioner Leland Dudek, who was appointed to his position after displaying public loyalty to DOGE. And it eventually helped lead to the physical removal last week of a top career executive, who had been warned he would be fired if he kept refusing to let DOGE into Social Securitys systems. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, Dudek mistakenly let one of the DOGE representatives into a Social Security database last week, violating the court order, according to a person familiar with events who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. That error led a federal judge to summon Dudek for a hearing Tuesday at federal court in Baltimore, but the Trump administration said in a filing late Monday that he would no longer appear. Dudek declined to comment. The Social Security press office did not respond to a request for comment. As soon as DOGE representatives arrived at Social Security earlier this year, they began trying to get inside the agencys troves of sensitive personal data, which include information on the work, pay history, residences and identities of more than 70 million Americans who receive benefits. The DOGE hunt for data forced the departure of the agencys previous acting commissioner, who clashed with the team over the request and whose removal led to Dudeks elevation. DOGE - or the Department of Government Efficiency, which is not a Cabinet-level agency - ultimately gained access to the data. That spurred two labor unions and an advocacy group to file a lawsuit over DOGEs access, arguing that it posed a major risk to their members. In mid-March, Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a temporary restraining order barring DOGE and its affiliates from working with Social Security data. In response, Dudek blasted the order as overly broad and warned that, to satisfy it, he would have to deny all of his employees access to Social Securitys systems, effectively shutting down the agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Hollander and the White House told Dudek he was out of line, he said, and he promised to keep Social Security running. As the legal back-and-forth played out publicly - terrifying retirees who worried their benefits might stop - an internal conflict was growing inside Social Security. At first, officials obeyed the courts. Immediately after Hollander issued her order, the agency cut off DOGE staffers from all systems, according to employees and records obtained by The Post. The compliance came at the direction of Michael Russo, then the chief information officer, who was recommended for the job by Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trumps nominee to become the permanent leader of Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Russos swift action did not go over well with the Trump administration. He was reassigned in late March to a senior adviser position focused on IT Modernization in the office of the commissioner, according to a memo obtained by The Post. He was replaced as chief information officer by Scott Coulter, a New York-based hedge fund manager and a member of Musks DOGE team, according to the memo and court filings. Russo did not respond to a request for comment. Coulter has previously declined to comment. Meanwhile, Mark Steffensen - another Trump appointee and DOGE ally serving as acting general counsel - was tasked with determining whether DOGE representatives should be allowed to access Social Security data. Steffensen, a former top financial executive, had assumed his role as a senior adviser at Social Security at Bisignanos recommendation on Feb. 24, according to another memo obtained by The Post. Steffensen did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soon, Steffensen was fighting with career lawyers at Social Security. Attorneys in the office of general counsel wanted to draft agencywide guidance that would comply with the judges order, setting strict rules for how staff could interact with DOGE representatives, according to a person briefed on the events. But Steffensen initially wanted the lawyers to issue a memo giving DOGE access to Social Security data, the person said. None of the career employees would agree to Steffensens plan, the person said. So he began circumventing the lawyers by telling DOGE representatives to keep working on their projects anyway, according to the person and records obtained by The Post. Meanwhile, the Trump administration repeatedly promoted Steffensen, giving him more authority. In rapid succession, he was elevated to acting deputy commissioner for legal and policy and acting general counsel, then named as chair of the Executive Resources Board, according to additional memos obtained by The Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, some DOGE staffers were also trying to get around the court order on their own. DOGE team members asked staff to let them back inside the agencys databases, citing Steffensens approval of the idea, according to two people and records obtained by The Post. In another division of Social Security, those requests rose all the way to Greg Pearre, a veteran senior executive who oversaw a staff of hundreds of technology experts, according to a person familiar with what transpired. Despite building pressure, Pearre refused to let DOGE inside an agency dataset, the person said. Sometime last month, according to the person, Pearres resistance prompted a warning from his boss: Keep saying no, and youll be fired. Pearre was placed on administrative leave last Thursday, The Post reported, and was marched out of Social Securitys Maryland headquarters by security guards. His resistance to DOGE had proved problematic - but the final straw was Pearres criticism of a Trump administration move to label 6,000 living immigrants as dead in a Social Security database, in a bid to make them leave the country. On Friday, an email went to Pearres former colleagues saying he was on assignment outside that office, with no further details, a message obtained by The Post said. Near the end of March, the office of general counsel issued its guidance on DOGEs data access at Social Security, according to a copy of the memo obtained by The Post. The final version appeared to align with career lawyers viewpoint. It said that DOGE team members are restricted from accessing, viewing, or otherwise working with any information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individuals identity, including any nonpublic datasets that are aggregated or deidentified but could be used to identify a person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOGE team members were defined as anyone (e.g., employees, contractors, special government employees, or consultants) working on the DOGE agenda and anyone, directly or indirectly, working with or being directed by DOGE, the memo stated. In early April, lawyers with the Justice Department were called in to give their opinion, too, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Department lawyers told Steffensen that under no circumstances should DOGE be allowed inside the agencys data and that Social Security must follow the judges order, one of the people said. But DOGE kept up the pressure and, according to current and former officials, tried unsuccessfully to get Steffensen fired for failing to get them access. Members of the DOGE team also sought an exemption from the judge for several projects, the officials said. It is unclear if the judge agreed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In recent weeks, Social Security hired a new DOGE team member, but Dudek - not realizing this staffer was a member of the DOGE team - granted him access to some of the agencys data, violating the judges order, according to records and a person familiar with the matter. Once Dudek realized his mistake, he removed the DOGE staffer from the agencys systems, the person said. Related Content Ja Morant dares the NBA to punish him, knowing it wont pull the trigger Scientists are X-raying the Amazon, unlocking a lost human history The Smithsonian could be the beginning of Trumps plan to edit history. Or the end. International students from colleges across the country, including several here in Georgia, have filed a lawsuit against the government after learning that their visas were being terminated. The filing claims the government violated their Fifth Amendment rights to due process and asks the court for a temporary restraining order to reinstate their legal status. It names Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons as defendants in the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A total of 17 students from across the country have joined as plaintiffs in the suit. Students involved in the suit here in Georgia attend Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Emory, and Kennesaw State universities. With their visas now terminated, that means students can be detained by immigration authorities. The lawsuit complaint says visas were terminated without notice and without providing the students with an opportunity to respond. At the most elemental level, the United States Constitution requires notice and a meaningful opportunity to be heard, the complaint reads. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Friday, more than 500 visas had been revoked nationwide for students at 88 colleges and universities as part of the Trump administrations efforts to carry out mass deportations. The U.S. State Department is manually terminating records in the Student and Exchange Visitor program. It has not informed most of the universities or students about their visa cancellations. Universities discovered the visa revocations by checking the system. Channel 2s Courtney Francisco reported on the visa terminations last week on WSB Tonight, where she spoke with Javeria Jamil, The Legal Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said some of those students impacted are undergraduate students, others are in their masters, Ph.D., or professional training programs. Theres mostly a lot of fear right now, and there also a lot of uncertainty on what, if anything, they can do to protect themselves to make sure that they can continue their education, Jamil said. Shes been warning students this could happen as the Trump Administration condemned pro-Palestinian demonstrations at universities nationwide. CAIR Georgia said some of the students theyre working with were not involved in any protests. So, it was unclear why their visas are being revoked. Except for, perhaps, a minor traffic violation like speeding, Jamil said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francisco also spoke with The Chairman of the Georgia Association of College Republicans, Emanuel Hernaiz, who supports the visa revocations. Its a privilege to study in our grade schools, and, you know, many people fight for those student visas, and if youre going to use that privilege to go against the interest of America, well, we should give those opportunities to people who actually want to support the county, Hernaiz said. Free speech is OK, but we shouldnt allow violence and terrorist supporters to have those student visas. As for the lawsuit, a hearing over the temporary restraining order has been scheduled for Thursday morning. Yang Libai (L, Front), leader of the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, offers health consultations to a woman in Santa Venera, Malta, on April 15, 2025. Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). (Xinhua/Chen Wenxian) VALLETTA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team to Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). The team delivered a lecture and provided free clinical services, captivating the audience with both their knowledge and hands-on care. Wei Jianhua, a member of the medical team, gave a practical and engaging lecture on acupoint massage techniques designed to ease common age-related ailments such as sleep disorders and gastrointestinal issues. Using real-life examples and live demonstrations, Wei explained the principles of acupuncture point therapy in an accessible way, drawing enthusiastic interest from attendees. Following the talk, the medical team offered complimentary health services, including blood pressure and blood sugar testing, traditional massage, and one-on-one consultations. They also donated a box of medicinal plasters to the Santa Venera local council. "I'm very glad that Chinese doctors are here to take care of us. We learned some useful health tips," said 79-year-old Antoina Micallef. After applying a plaster to her shoulder with help from the team, she smiled and said, "I feel much better," raising her arm to demonstrate her improved mobility. Monica Pace, 77, expressed her eagerness to try the techniques herself. "These techniques are very helpful, and I will try practicing them at home," she said. She also shared her interest in considering acupuncture to treat her chronic back pain. Another participant, Carmen Saliba, 77, called the event "helpful." Having been treated with acupuncture about 15 years ago, she plans to follow the team's exercise recommendations for managing her stomach hernia. "It worked well," she recalled of her past treatment. Daycare centre supervisor Lydia Sciberras was pleased with the residents' engagement. "They want to learn more about TCM. It's very important for them to gain knowledge that can help maintain their health," she said, expressing hope that the team would return in the future. This marked the first time the Santa Venera local council invited the Chinese medical team to deliver such services. Mayor Gianluca Falzon voiced his support for further collaboration. "I want to organize more events like this with the Chinese medical team," he said, underlining the value of promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine for healthy aging. Founded in 1994 through cooperation between the Chinese and Maltese governments, the MRCTCM has since hosted 20 Chinese medical teams. Together, they have provided Traditional Chinese Medicine services to around 250,000 Maltese patients. Tang Limei (L, Front), a member of the Chinese medical team for Malta, offers health consultations to a woman in Santa Venera, Malta, on April 15, 2025. Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). (Xinhua/Chen Wenxian) Yang Libai (2nd L), leader of the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, offers health consultations to a woman in Santa Venera, Malta, on April 15, 2025. Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). (Xinhua/Chen Wenxian) Santa Venera Mayor Gianluca Falzon (C) gives a speech during the Chinese medical team's free clinical services in Santa Venera, Malta, on April 15, 2025. Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). (Xinhua/Chen Wenxian) Wei Jianhua (1st L), a member of the Chinese medical team for Malta, gives a lecture on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Santa Venera, Malta, on April 15, 2025. Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). (Xinhua/Chen Wenxian) Members of the Chinese medical team for Malta offer health consultations to local residents in Santa Venera, Malta, on April 15, 2025. Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). (Xinhua/Chen Wenxian) Wei Jianhua (L), a member of the Chinese medical team for Malta, offers health consultations to a woman in Santa Venera, Malta, on April 15, 2025. Elderly people at the Santa Venera day care centre in central Malta received a warm and enlightening visit on Tuesday from the 20th Chinese medical team for Malta, affiliated with the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM). (Xinhua/Chen Wenxian) CARROLL COUNTY, Iowa (Iowa Capital Dispatch) A Carroll County paramedic is facing criminal charges alleging she repeatedly stole liquid painkiller from a county ambulance service and replaced it with saline to conceal the theft, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. Teresa Marie Johnson, 53, of Manilla, who is a state-licensed paramedic, is charged with the felony of unlawfully obtaining a controlled substance through fraud or deceit while working as a licensed paramedic in February 2025. Northwest Iowa woman accused of growing marijuana inside home sentenced to probation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She also faces five separate counts of misdemeanor prohibited acts related to unlawful possession of drugs. She has yet to enter a plea in the case and is scheduled to be arraigned April 21, 2025. Police records indicate the alleged thefts occurred while Johnson was working for the Carroll County Ambulance Service. Separately, the Iowa Bureau of Emergency and Medical Trauma Services has issued an emergency order suspending Johnsons license as a paramedic. The board alleges her continued practice of emergency medical services constitutes an immediate danger to the public health, safety, and welfare. Sioux City council votes to cut $35k from Human Rights Commission budget instead of $140k Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the board, Johnson removed 25 micrograms of fentanyl from each of three different vials and replaced the missing opioid painkiller with normal saline. In addition, Johnson is also accused of stealing one full vial of fentanyl. All of the vials of fentanyl were located in an ambulance which she helped staff, the board alleges. In its suspension order, the board claims Johnson admitted gluing the caps back on the vials after the alleged theft. A hearing on the disciplinary charges has yet to be scheduled. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) A woman in southeast Iowa wasted no time when the floor opened for questions at Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley 's public meeting Tuesday, asking about the impact the Trump administration's trade war could have in this export-dependent state. My son has cattle, she said in the crowded city hall chambers of Fort Madison, a Mississippi River port and railroad hub that typifies Iowa's export economy. I just want to know how the tariffs will affect someone like him, market-wise. Grassley hedged, suggesting Trump's trade policy could benefit producers if countries relax their import rules on U.S. beef or hurt them if they don't. But he finished by hinting at the most serious issue for Iowa. I think it's more grain than livestock," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps tariffs are likely to cost Iowa farmers their biggest market, China, for the hundreds of millions of bushels of soybeans they grow every year. And it's put Grassley, an anti-tariff warrior, in a difficult spot in a state inordinately dependent on agricultural exports as the nation's second-leading soybean producer. Despite 45 years in the Senate and his party in power at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, Grassley is joined by only a handful of his fellow Republicans in an effort to curtail future tariffs by Trump and subsequent administrations. Grassley proposed a bill this month with support from both parties that would require presidents to justify future tariffs to Congress but would not affect the measures Trump has put in place. The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility of setting taxes and tariffs, but lawmakers have ceded much of that power over import taxes to the president over the past 60 years. However, the White House issued a statement last week to congressional leaders that Trump would veto Grassleys measure if it passed, effectively killing it. The White House argued it would hamper the presidents ability to conduct foreign policy and pursue national security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement American farmers sold nearly $13 billion worth of soybeans in China last year, accounting for more than half of all the soybean exports worldwide and dwarfing the next largest markets of the European Union and Mexico. Iowa follows only Illinois in soybean production and, in 2023, was second only to California in agricultural export sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Trump has imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese imports. China has responded by slapping 125% tariffs on all U.S. imports. Farmers can try to sell some of their soybeans in other countries, but that may be difficult given that Trump has imposed 10% tariffs on most countries and threatened much higher reciprocal tariffs. So this years crop may pile up until farmers can find a buyer, and likely at a lower price. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The experience from Trumps first trade war with China in 2018 gives farmers plenty of reasons to worry. Soybean exports to China fell from $12.2 billion in 2017 to $3.1 billion in 2018 after Trump imposed tariffs, and China retaliated. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley defended Trump's record as he addressed more than 700 activists Saturday at a fundraiser for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, an influential player in Iowa's leadoff Republican caucuses every four years. What is President Trump doing every single day? He is restoring our economy, Whatley said. Finishing their chicken and potatoes, the audience waited for Whatley to finish before a polite wave of applause swept the suburban Des Moines hall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres going to be some short-term pain, said Ray Darin, a retired Iowa State University professor who voted for Trump and attended the fundraiser. We worry about the trade economy in Iowa. We worry about exports. Bonita Bappe was a bit more hopeful. She suggested she thought Trump was using tariffs to intimidate China. I dont think its going to be as bad as people think, Bappe, also of Ames, said while leaving the fundraiser. Because I think hes using this to even out the situation. To fight back. I think hes using it as a bargaining chip. The White House says 15 countries have sought to negotiate lower tariffs on their country. If Australia, which blocks U.S. beef not born, raised and slaughtered in the United States, relaxes those barriers, the tariffs might benefit more U.S. beef producers, Grassley said. Through the increasing of tariffs, bringing people to the table, and bringing things down, President Trump with his tactics are going to be more successful than previous trade efforts, Grassley told reporters after the meeting that drew roughly 100 into the tight council chambers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though Grassley did not attend the Saturday fundraiser, he appeared via video and, in closing, was a little more candid to his fellow Iowa Republicans than he was with his audience in Fort Madison. "If they work, Ill say, Amen," he told the crowd. If they dont work, Ill say, I told you so. ___ Beaumont reported from Clive, Iowa; Funk reported from Omaha. The golden dome of the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The Iowa Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday to raise the bar that future lawmakers must clear to increase income taxes. Senate Joint Resolution 11 would require a two-thirds majority vote from the Iowa Legislature to increase individual or corporate income tax rates, or to establish any new income taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resolution, passed 32-15, brings the measure closer to appearing before Iowa voters on the 2026 general election ballot and potentially added to the state constitution. In Iowa, constitutional amendments must be passed by the state Legislature in two consecutive general assemblies and then approved by a simple majority as a ballot measure in a general election. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX As both chambers approved the proposed amendment in the 2024 legislative session, all that is left is for the Iowa House to take up the measure and pass it before the language would go to voters for final approval. During floor debate Tuesday, Sen. Rocky De Witt, R-Lawton, said Iowans have entrusted protection of the Iowa State Constitution with lawmakers and that the proposed amendment will improve protections for Iowans. De Witt said the state constitution is a barrier that guarantees those folks that voted us in their freedom and freedom from excessive taxation is real. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This constitutional amendment will actually strengthen that constitution, he said. That is our job. Democrats argued the measure would limit the abilities of lawmakers Iowans elected to make decisions on issues like taxes. Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, said the measure is tying any future legislatures hands (more) than anything I have ever seen, keeping lawmakers from accessing tools particularly, the ability to raise income taxes that may be crucial for managing budget crises in the future. The Des Moines senator said limiting income tax increases is especially devastating as the state is facing decreasing revenues while federal financial prospects remain uncertain. The governors budget proposal for the upcoming year fills the gap from a projected revenue shortfall, in part caused by recent cuts to state income tax rates, using money from the Taxpayer Relief Fund and other reserve funds. We have different philosophies in taxation, and thats not a bad thing, Bisignano said. But this particular proposal is nuclear. Its nuclear to this state into the future. And what youve done through your architecture is set this state up for probably one of the largest sales tax increases we will ever see. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner said the measure, by not limiting other types of government fees and fines, or taxes like property and sales taxes, will mean the state will turn to tax increases that will all fall on the backs of working Iowans. Democrats and advocates with groups like Common Good Iowa have argued that income taxes are more equitable than other forms of taxation, as wealthier taxpayers typically pay a higher proportion of taxes than low-income people. I do not like higher taxes. I also dont happen to like unlimited budget items like vouchers, Weiner said. This constitutional amendment, joint resolution, does nothing to limit property taxes, sales taxes, or other government fees and fines, and thats where politicians will have to go in the future if they fall short to balance their budgets. Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink, R-Fort Dodge, criticized Democrats for not considering spending cuts as an alternative to any kind of tax increases. Basically, what youre saying, is if we get tight on the budget, youre just going to right away raise taxes, Kraayenbrink said. Youre not going to look at what youre spending. Youre just going to raise taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement De Witt stressed that the constitutional amendment would not entirely block future lawmakers from raising income taxes, but would just require a two-thirds majority to approve an increase, a higher standard than simple majority approval currently required. Raising taxes on anything, I dont care what, should be hard, De Witt said. The comment came up earlier, What if we have a state emergency? What if we do? The worst thing its going to do is force us to work together. The measure moves to the House for further consideration. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE In the first few weeks of Donald Trumps second term, Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, repeatedly rejected the U.S. presidents offer of negotiations over Irans nuclear program, just as he had during Trumps first term. Tehran would not talk to this U.S. administration, Khamenei insisted. And even if it did talk, it would only do so indirectly. Talking to Washington was not honorable, the supreme leader claimed. Khameneis objections collapsed on Saturday evening when Irans foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, chatted with Trumps Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, in the residence of Omans foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, in Muscat. Prior to this hallway chat, the two sides had spent close to five hours in two different wings of Albusaidis palatial home, exchanging written messages with Omans top diplomat as their mediator. The direct discussion, long demanded by Trump but rejected by Iranian officials, showed just how well the initial talks via Albusaidi had gone. But it also underscored how weak, even humiliating, a position Khamenei finds himself in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. and its allies in the Middle East want to ensure that Iran wont build nuclear weapons; Iran wants to gain relief from harsh U.S.-led economic sanctions and avoid potential Israeli or American military strikes on its nuclear sites. Until recently, Khamenei was unwilling to consider making the concessions necessary for an agreement. But the pressure on Khameneis regimeboth external and domestichas grown to the point that he had no choice but to retreat. [Read: Iran wants to talk] During the past year, Irans so-called Axis of Resistance, a coalition of pro-Tehran militias across the Middle East, has been crushed by Israeli strikes on Lebanons Hezbollah and American strikes on Yemens Houthis. The Syrian revolution that brought down Bashar al-Assad, Khameneis close ally, further eroded the Iranian leaders strategy of forward defensewhich is to say, relying on its Arab proxies to keep its adversaries away from the homeland. Meanwhile, Trump has also bolstered Americas presence in the Persian Gulf, suggesting to Khamenei that military attacks on Iranian soil are the most likely alternative to negotiations. Inside Iran, public discontent with the regimes political repression and economic mismanagement has grown. Many in the Iranian establishment are making ever more explicit demands for an end to their countrys isolation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a remarkable display of elite dissatisfaction, the chief of staff of Irans armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri, commemorated the Iranian New Year holidays earlier this month by shooting a video message outside Persepolis, the seat of the First Persian Empire, which dates back to the sixth century B.C.E. Bagheri expressed hope that Iran could follow the same ideals he had witnessed in the ancient monument: peace, calm, friendship, and brotherhood with other nations. Such a statement from Irans top soldier was unprecedented: Glorifying Irans pre-Islamic past is taboo for officials of the Islamic Republic. Bagheri also spoke of peace with other nations, which in the tightly constrained vocabulary of Iranian politics is code for diplomatic engagement with the West. Proponents of such engagement are gaining strength in Tehran. Former President Hassan Rouhani, who negotiated Irans nuclear agreement with Barack Obamas administration in 2015, has reemerged and is bitterly attacking people who oppose talking to the United States. By contrast, Khameneis most devout anti-American followers find themselves isolated. Their preferred presidential candidate, Saeed Jalili, badly lost the election last year. Khamenei himself has taken a more conciliatory tone and openly speaks of welcoming American business. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Araghchi said Trump could become a president of peace. For Irans foreign minister to bestow this title upon the man who ordered the killing of Khameneis favorite general, Qassem Soleimani, is astonishing. Just like that, a new round of Iranian-American diplomacy has started. A second round of talks is scheduled for Saturday. The evidence suggests that the two sides have agreed at least on a framework for initial dialogue. Perhaps Iran is ready to make real concessions. Maybe it will accept heightened monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose head will visit Tehran this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Iran and the U.S. can make a deal now, it might prove more enduring than the Obama-era one that Trump backed out of in 2018. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had led an impassioned campaign against Obama even talking to Iran, would be less likely to undermine an agreement negotiated with Trump, with whom he is much friendlier. Saudi Arabia and other Arab powers that felt left out by Obamas focus on Iran are now welcoming the talks in Oman. The talks could fail, of course. During Trumps first term, U.S. discussions with North Korea over its nuclear program quickly collapsed despite all the buzz around his meeting with Kim Jong Un. The U.S. presidents lack of patience and his preference for showmanship may not bode well for the difficult, technical talks that must precede any substantive agreement with Iran. Faced with making real concessions to the U.S., Khamenei might panic. [Read: The Axis of Resistance keeps getting smaller] When talks get under way Saturday, Khamenei will be celebrating his 86th birthday. The jockeying to succeed him has begun, and his current humiliation is visible to Iranians. His shift in position offers a sign of hope that the page can be finally turned on his disastrous legacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last weekend, just as the Muscat talks were going on, Asadollah Amraee, a longtime Iranian writer, posted a photo on Instagram of a woman walking on a Tehran street with her curly hair uncovered, in defiance of the regimes mandatory-veiling rules. She was passing by a building emblazoned with the slogan Death to the USA and a quote by Khamenei: We will not accommodate to America, not even for a moment. No comment, is how Amraee delicately captioned the picture to his 120,000 followers. But the message was clear: Just as the regime gave up on imposing the hijab on women, it will also have to give up on its anti-Americanism. In the comments section, Reza Kianian, one of Irans best-known actors and public intellectuals, opined: Time and habit makes everything ordinary. Khameneis vision of an Islamist, anti-American, anti-Israeli Iran is unlikely to survive him. Although some opponents of the Iranian regime worry that a new nuclear deal might throw it a lifeline, Khameneis need to negotiate more likely augurs his regimes unravelling. Article originally published at The Atlantic US envoy Steve Witkoff has said that moving forward, talks with Iran would be about verification of its nuclear program. The conversation with the Iranians will be much about two critical points, Witkoff told Fox News on Monday. The first is verification of uranium enrichment, and ultimately verification on weaponization, that includes missiles, type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb. In the interview, Witkoff did not mention a demand to fully dismantle Irans nuclear program, as other US officials have, saying only that Iran does not need to enrich uranium past 3.67% to run a civilian program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Witkoff later reversed his position in a statement on X in which he said any final deal with Iran would require it to stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program. Asked to explain Witkoffs apparent reversal, an administration official told CNN: Its the most recent elaboration of policy. Other officials have been hawkish on what the US expects from Iran. On Sunday, a day after Witkoff started talks with Iranian negotiators in Oman, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Tehran to fully dismantle its nuclear program. Iran, come to the table, negotiate, full dismantlement of your nuclear capabilities, he said on Fox News, echoing earlier remarks by US National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, who told CBS last month that US President Donald Trump would demand a full dismantlement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iranian officials have dismissed that proposal as a non-starter, accusing the US of using it as a pretext to weaken and ultimately topple the Islamic Republic. Tehran is entitled to a civilian nuclear energy program under a UN treaty. The UN nuclear watchdog has however warned that Iran has been accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, closer to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade. The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, in Bushehr, Iran on November 10, 2019. - Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Uranium is a powerful fuel used in nuclear energy and weapons. When enriched, it can be used either to generate electricity or make bombs, depending on how much it is enriched. On Friday, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iran had set strict terms ahead of the talks with the US, saying that red lines include threatening language by the Trump administration and excessive demands regarding Irans nuclear program. The US must also refrain from raising issues relating to Irans defense industry, Tasnim said, likely referring Irans ballistic missile program, which the US Middle Eastern allies see as a threat to their security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witkoff began talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday, which both sides described as positive. The next round of talks will take place on April 19. Rome had been considered for a location but its still being figured out, a person familiar with the planning told CNN. It is unclear how the deal Trump envisions would differ from the one brokered by the Obama administration in 2015, which Trump withdrew from three years later. Trump has vowed to strike a stronger agreement this time around. In his first comments on the issue since Iranian and American negotiators met over the weekend, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Tuesday against repeating the mistake we made in the last negotiations with the US. He said Iranians should not tie the countrys issues to these talks. A deal may come to fruition, or it may not, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel has been among the loudest advocates for Iran to fully dismantle its nuclear program. Speaking alongside Trump at the Oval Office last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted a Libya-style nuclear deal between the US and Iran, which in 2003 dismantled the North African nations nuclear program in the hopes of ushering in a new era of relations with the US after its two-decade oil embargo on Muammar Qaddafis regime. After relinquishing its nuclear program, Libya descended into civil war following a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Qaddafis regime and led to his killing. Iranian officials have long warned that a similar deal would be rejected from the outset. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Leila Gharagozlou, Alex Marquardt, Kevin Liptak and Abbas Al Lawati contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the second round of indirect talks with the United States are expected to take place in Oman on Saturday, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. The first round of talks were "well executed" in their "initial steps," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a post on his official X account on Tuesday. "The Oman talks is a movement that's been decided upon and well executed in its initial steps," he said in a post. "The red lines are clear. They're clear for the other side, and they're clear for us too," he added in another post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An Iranian delegation had arrived in Oman's capital, Muscat, last Saturday to meet with U.S. officials for "indirect talks" about Tehran's nuclear program, Iranian state-owned news agency IRIB reported. PHOTO: This combination of pictures created on April 09, 2025 shows U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaking to AFP during an interview at the Iranian consulate in Jeddah on March 7, 2025. (Evelyn Hocksteinamer and Amer HILABI /various sources/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Iran delegation holds 'indirect' nuclear talks with US in Oman, state media says The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff spoke directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as part of "very positive and constructive" talks. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted to their telegram channel Saturday that the talks ended after two and a half hours. It says the two parties "exchanged the positions of their respective governments" on Iran's nuclear program and on sanctions. There had been speculation that the second round of talks would be held in a European country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iran's supreme leader advised Iranian officials on Tuesday not to count on the Oman talks as they may or may not yield results. We're neither overly optimistic nor overly distrusting about the Oman talks, he said. He added that the country's issues should not be tied to these talks and the mistake made in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- the former nuclear deal Iran signed with the U.S. and other countries must be avoided as they made everything dependent on the progress of the talk. ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Victoria Beaule and Guy Davies contributed to this report. Iran-US nuclear talks to continue in Oman on Saturday, Tehran says originally appeared on abcnews.go.com LONDON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- When countries disengage from trade, they tend to isolate themselves, exacerbating points of difference and increasing the risk of global conflict, said Ollie Shiell, CEO of the UK National Committee on China (UKNCC), in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday. Commenting on the recent escalation of trade tariffs imposed by the United States, Shiell noted that historical evidence provides little support for tariffs as an effective tool for resolving international disagreements. On the contrary, such measures often lead to "a race to the bottom." "I think U.S. President Donald Trump's approach is very blunt and chaotic. He could address the issue more constructively, rather than creating this massive global destabilization," said Shiell. He argued that the tariffs have undermined the United States' global standing, as they compel other nations to reassess existing alliances, reconsider the established international rulebook, and determine where strategic alignment lies. "Businesses need a plan, but it's very difficult to plan in this environment," Shiell added. Shiell rejected the notion that globalization is in decline. "I think it's evolving, and it's evolving as a consequence of China's rise," he said. Shiell emphasized that China now has a significant opportunity to demonstrate itself as a more responsible global actor compared to others. He described China as being more consistent, more predictable, and capable of generating value worldwide. "Therefore, I think that globalization will continue, but it will adapt according to the times," he added. Moreover, Shiell highlighted China's potential contributions in key global areas such as trade, climate change, health, and artificial intelligence. Reflecting on China's transformation over the past four decades, he remarked that the country has shifted "from factories to algorithms," describing its development as remarkable. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will visit Moscow for consultations with Russian officials ahead of the second round of nuclear program negotiations, a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry said on April 14. Following years of heightened tensions, Iran and the U.S. held their first round of indirect talks in Oman on April 12, according to Iranian media sources. The negotiations aimed to address Irans advancing nuclear program, amid U.S. threats of potential military action if no agreement is reached. The talks were mediated by Oman, with delegations in separate rooms exchanging messages through Omans foreign ministeran arrangement preferred by Iran, in contrast to U.S. calls for direct talks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Iranian spokesperson said that Araqchi will visit Moscow before the next round of talks are scheduled to be held on April 19 in Oman. Russia has previously expressed interest in mediating the relationship between the U.S. and Iran. "Russia is ready to make every effort, to do everything possible to contribute to this problem's resolution by political and diplomatic means," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 7. Russia and Iran have deepened ties since the start of the full-scale invasion. Notably, Iran has provided Russia with thousands of Shahed drones used in attacks against Ukrainian cities, as well as short-range ballistic missiles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January, the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement, strengthening cooperation in security and defense, as well as energy, finance, transportation, and other areas. Read also: All the presidents men: Inside the closed world of Putins key advisors Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Like millions of American citizens and immigrants, Ivan filed his taxes last year. But Ivan, 54, a Massachusetts resident who hails from Colombia, is worried a recent agreement between the IRS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement means he is in danger of being deported for doing what he believed was the right thing. And if taxpayers like Ivan decide not to file taxes because the IRS has said it will share certain tax information filed by undocumented immigrants with ICE, it could cumulatively eliminate billions in tax revenue and create a massive problem for citizens and immigrants alike, experts said. Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan tax policy organization. About $59.4 billion of that went to the federal government and $37.3 billion to state and local governments, according to the groups analysis. It found that even a 10% decrease in the number of undocumented immigrants filing their taxes would mean a decrease of $9.5 billion a year in tax revenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The biggest issue from a revenue standpoint is that opening up tax records for immigration enforcement is going to reduce tax compliance of immigrants, whether undocumented or not, and that will have a significant impact on tax revenue, said Tom Bowman, a policy counsel with the Center for Democracy and Technologys security and surveillance project. The agreement between the IRS and ICE is a break with the longtime precedent of the federal governments telling people that tax information would not be used against undocumented people to seek their deportation. Lawyers, advocates and other immigrants have also spread the same message only to have that sense of safety come crashing down for undocumented immigrants like Ivan under the new Trump administration policy. Its like a broken promise. Its like a betrayal, Ivan said in Spanish. He asked that his full name not be used out of fear of deportation. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that President Donald Trump is doing what should have been done all along, sharing information across the government to solve problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McLaughlin has previously said, Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at the American taxpayer expense. Undocumented immigrants and people without Social Security numbers can pay their taxes with the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, which the IRS created in 1996. To seek a persons tax information, ICE needs to include certain data in its request to the IRS, including the persons name and address, the alleged offense the person is being investigated for and the reasons disclosing the tax information is relevant to the criminal proceeding or investigation, according to a court filing. Tax and immigration experts said the change could both erode the publics trust of the government and lead to a decrease in tax compliance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not just an attack on undocumented immigrants. Its an attack on all people who call this country home, said Murad Awawdeh, the president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition. ICE did not immediately respond to request for comment about the policy. Neither did the Treasury Department, which the IRS is part of. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated what would happen if more undocumented immigrants did not pay their taxes. It found that for every 10-percentage-point drop, tax revenues would decrease by $9.5 billion annually, with $8.6 billion of that coming from federal funds and an additional $900 million from state and local tax revenue. Thats going to have trickle-down effects that are going to place increased financial burdens on citizens across the country, Bowman said, adding that it would decrease the revenue available to go to major federal programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which undocumented immigrants are not even eligible for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The implications are just massive, he said. On an individual level, it feels like being stabbed in the back, said a 30-year-old Brazilian asylum-seeker who asked that his name not be used for fear of being deported. He added that he has filed taxes for years. Most of us want to file taxes and comply with the law. Now were at risk with our lives on the line. He said he did not know whether he would pay taxes this year. Ivan also said he is undecided because he fears being deported. Its a constant terror for immigrants, he said. Theyre not only taking criminals. They want to take everyone, people who are working and contributing to this country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There have been stringent taxpayer privacy laws after former President Richard Nixon sought to use IRS information to go after his political opponents. Its origin was to prevent the weaponized use of tax data against political opponents and perceived enemies, Bowman said. Angela Divaris, an attorney with Greater Boston Legal Services, which provides free legal services, said people who prepare taxes for large immigrant communities nationwide reported both fewer first-time tax filers and returning filers so far this year. Divaris said attorneys have also been reaching out for guidance about how to educate immigrants about paying their taxes and explaining the new potential risks associated with doing so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys and advocates who have counseled undocumented immigrants are also feeling an enormous feeling of guilt and concern, Bowman said. For decades, lawyers and civil society organizations have been telling undocumented immigrants to file your taxes to demonstrate financial responsibility for use in immigration proceedings and to assimilate into life in the United States, he said. Now theres a question as to whether thats good advice. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The IRS could see a mass exodus of up to 40 percent of its workforce through a combination of buyouts offered by the Trump administration and widespread layoffs, according to an internal memo obtained by POLITICO. The memo outlines the agencys plans to reduce its workforce to between 60,000 to 70,000 employees, down from a previous headcount of roughly 100,000. Notices of "reductions in force" will start going out this week, the memo says, specifying that taxpayer services and compliance will need to be trimmed. Already, around 22,000 employees at the IRS have opted to take the administrations latest deferred resignation buyout offer, according to a person familiar with the plans granted anonymity to share them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Combined, the figures mean the IRS could lose significant portion of its workforce just as the 2025 tax filing season draws to a close Tuesday night. The new figures are on top of 7,000 probationary workers the IRS terminated earlier this year and up to 5,000 employees who accepted the administration's first deferred resignation offer. Some tax experts fear that the sudden budget cuts could result in the Treasury losing out in hundreds of billions in tax receipts, potentially accelerating the timeline under which Congress must reckon with the debt limit. A Treasury Department spokesperson said the cuts would lead to "consolidation of critical support functions" that "are vital to improve both efficiency and quality of service," calling the expansion of the agency during the Biden administration "wasteful." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The [Treasury] Secretary is committed to ensuring that efficiency is realized while providing the collections, privacy, and customer service the American people deserve, the spokesperson said. The total number of anticipated resignations is not final, though. Thats because employees who opted into the deferred resignation program could change their mind and decide to stay within a grace period. Once an employee receives a deferred resignation agreement, they have a set amount of time to sign it. If the employee is over 40, they have 45 days to review and sign and seven days to change their mind afterward. Federal employees must receive a 60-day notice of reduction in force if their position is being terminated, under Office of Management and Budget regulations. Only one IRS office had received a RIF notice as of Monday afternoon, the person familiar with the plans said, but employees are expecting many more. Hamas is studying an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza that would see 10 hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, an official with the militant group told CNN. The proposal, received by Hamas on Monday, outlines an initial framework for a 45-day truce in the Palestinian enclave during which the two sides would aim to negotiate a permanent ceasefire, according to the official. The Israeli proposal also calls for the disarmament of Gaza, previously a red line for Hamas. It does not include a guarantee of a permanent end to the war, which Hamas has demanded as part of a comprehensive agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hamas official said the group will not agree to any Israeli ceasefire proposal that calls for its disarmament or sees Israeli forces return to Gaza after an initial withdrawal, making it unlikely that the group will accept it. The offer marks Israels first proposal to bring back hostages from Gaza since it resumed the war in March. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under intense pressure from hostage families and a growing number of military reservists to reach a deal. CNN has reached out to Israeli officials for comment. Under the proposal, Israeli American Edan Alexander would be released on the first day of the truce as a special gesture to the United States, the Hamas official said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamas released a propaganda video over the weekend in which Alexander appealed directly to Trump, asking why he hasnt been released yet. The three-minute video, almost certainly filmed under duress, is the second proof-of-life video of Alexander since the war began 18 months ago. However, Hamas military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed on Tuesday that they have lost contact with the militants holding Alexander, after they said the Israeli military bombed the location where Alexander was being held. CNN cannot independently verify the claim. The militant organization did not say when or where the strike happened. The Israeli military and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Al-Qassam Brigades previously lied about the fate of at least one hostage. In November, the group claimed that an Israeli woman it was holding hostage had been killed in an Israeli bombing and released a photo of her body wrapped in a red-stained white sheet. A tattoo identified the women as Daniella Gilboa, an Israeli soldier. Gilboa was released by Hamas alive in January. The Hamas official speaking about the Israeli proposal said that a further nine Israeli hostages would be released in two stages in exchange for 120 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and more than 1,100 detainees held without charge since October 7, 2023, the official added. Israels proposal also demands that Hamas provide information about the remaining living Israeli hostages held by the group, in exchange for information about the Palestinian detainees, and the release of the bodies of 16 deceased Israeli hostages in exchange for the remains of 160 deceased Palestinians held by Israel. The temporary ceasefire lasting 45 days would also include the cessation of military operations and the entry of aid into Gaza as well as an agreed mechanism to ensure that aid reaches only civilians, the Hamas official said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal would also include the entry of equipment necessary for sheltering Palestinians displaced in Gaza. A Hamas delegation met with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo over the weekend. Israel has not publicly acknowledged whether it sent a team to the negotiations. Since early March, Israel has cut Gaza off from the supply of humanitarian aid including food, with aid agencies warning that the situation for the strips 2 million civilians has deteriorated dangerously, only worsened by intensive Israeli military operations. People carry posters with pictures of Edan Alexander, kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, as supporters of Israeli hostages take part in a protest in Jerusalem on Sunday. - Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Israels move to block aid came ahead of its renewed military offensive in the enclave, in what it said was a bid to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages and impose new conditions on a ceasefire that was in effect at the time. More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since mid-March, according to the Ministry of Health in the enclave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the new ceasefire proposal, the Israeli military would withdraw for seven days from parts of Gaza including the southern city of Rafah, some areas of the north and the east of Gaza City, according to the Hamas official. Israels proposal also stipulates the disarmament of the Gaza Strip and negotiations on a declaration of a permanent ceasefire, to begin on the third day of the truce, the official told CNN. Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire should be completed within 45 days, after which the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas, both living and deceased, would be released to Israel, the official said. If an agreement is reached on the temporary ceasefire, it can be extended under conditions and for a duration agreed upon by the two parties if the period ends without an agreement, it will be extended in exchange for new prisoners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some details outlined by the Hamas official appeared to match aspects of the proposal earlier confirmed to CNN by a senior Israeli official. Steps are underway to reach a deal The Israeli official previously told CNN that the latest proposal from Israel would demand the release of 10 hostages from Gaza, as well as the release of Alexander as a gesture to President Donald Trump. According to the Israeli official, the proposal would include phases during which Hamas would provide information about all the other remaining hostages. On Sunday, Netanyahus office said that steps are underway to reach a new hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza, while speaking to the family of hostage Eitan Mor. One of the groups representing hostages families, the Tikva Forum, confirmed the conversation and said that Netanyahu had updated the Mor family on the progress of the negotiations for the release of 10 abductees alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Netanyahu, who visited Israeli troops in northern Gaza on Tuesday, said Israel was determined to achieve all our war goals. We insist that they release our hostages, he said while in Gaza. Israeli media have also reported that the negotiations are for the release of 10 hostages, but the prime ministers office has not confirmed the number. CNN is working to confirm other details of the proposal that were laid out by the Hamas official. Also on Sunday, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on Telegram that while Hamas had a positive attitude to any proposal based on halting the aggression and the withdrawal of occupation forces we will not accept a shift toward a fragmented process limited to a food-for-prisoners (hostages) deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNN reported last week that mediators have been frustrated by Netanyahus decision to push aside career national security professionals who were leading Israels delegation in the talks in favor of his closest adviser, Ron Dermer. They say the move has slowed down the discussions to resurrect the broken ceasefire. CNNs Oren Liebermann, Kareem Khadder, Ibrahim Dahman, Eugenia Yosef and Tim Lister contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people, a hospital spokesman said. The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. The wounded were all patients and medics, and two of the patients were in critical condition after the strike, said Saber Mohammed, a hospital spokesman. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, a spokesman for Hamas said that strikes had caused them to lose contact with the unit guarding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Hamas released a video of the 21-year-old soldier days earlier, likely speaking under duress. Hamas said a direct strike hit the location where Alexander was being held and they were trying to reach them. In a separate development, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to Palestinian statehood in a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who had said France aimed to recognize a Palestinian state later this year. Strikes on hospitals Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The military has struck and raided hospitals on several occasions during the 18-month war, accusing Hamas militants of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting Gaza's health system. On Sunday, Israel struck the last major hospital providing critical care in northern Gaza after ordering an evacuation. A patient died during the evacuation, and the strike severely damaged the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings, according to Al-Ahli Hospital. The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital, condemned the strike. Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control center within the facility, without providing evidence. Hamas denied the allegations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Netanyahu visits Gaza In the call with Macron, Netanyahu said the creation of a Palestinian state would be a huge reward for terrorism and result in a militant-run entity just miles from Israeli cities. In his own statement posted on X, Macron called for another ceasefire, the release of hostages and renewing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has blocked for over a month. He did not mention recognition of a Palestinian state. Macron said last week that France should aim to recognize a Palestinian state by June when it joins Saudi Arabia in hosting an international conference on implementing a two-state solution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later on Tuesday, Netanyahus office said he visited northern Gaza. Hes previously entered Gaza a handful of times during the war. Population displaced The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israels retaliatory offensive has killed over 51,000 people, according to an updated toll released by Gazas Health Ministry on Tuesday. That includes more than 1,600 people killed since Israel ended a ceasefire and resumed its offensive last month to pressure Hamas to accept changes to the agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ministry is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government. Its toll is seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts, though Israel has challenged its numbers. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 militants, without providing evidence. The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up more than half of the dead. The offensive has destroyed much of the territory and displaced around 90% of its population of roughly 2 million Palestinians. The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is widely seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the decades-old conflict. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for a future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down after Netanyahu returned to power in 2009. A number of European states have recently recognized a Palestinian state in what is largely a symbolic move aimed at reviving the peace process. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. ___ Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war KIEV, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has presented its proposals on the minerals agreement to the United States, the Ukrinform news agency reported Monday, citing First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. "The Ukrainian delegation had the opportunity to convey to the American side all the proposals that we prepared in Kiev," Svyrydenko was quoted as saying. She said that some agreements were reached during the consultations and expressed hope for continued dialogue with Washington on the matter. "This is not the final round," she said. A technical delegation from Ukraine arrived in the United States last week for the consultation, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. By Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Russia does not appear serious about seeking peace in Ukraine despite pressure from Washington, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Reuters in an interview in which he also voiced anger over Israeli strikes on Gaza. Italy's conservative government is ideologically aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump and unlike many other European nations, it has refused to criticise his policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But while Rome has welcomed U.S. efforts to secure an end to the three-year-old war in Ukraine, ministers have expressed alarm in private over the way Trump has treated Kyiv and have openly warned that Russia might try to deceive him. "Nothing has changed with the Russians," said Crosetto, who is politically very close to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. "It is clear the Russians want to continue with the attacks as they have over the past three years," he added. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday it was not easy to agree with the United States on a possible peace deal, adding that Moscow would not walk into a diplomatic trap. Underscoring Italy's closeness to the Trump administration, Meloni is due to hold talks with the U.S. president in Washington on Thursday and will then fly straight home to see Vice President JD Vance, who is visiting Rome over Easter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Italy, like the United States, has firmly supported Israel during its invasion of Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israeli communities by Hamas militants. However, Crosetto criticised recent Israeli actions in the Palestinian enclave, such as a strike on a hospital and other attacks that killed civilians, including paramedics. "For me, a Palestinian child is worth as much as a Ukrainian child or an Italian child. A Palestinian hospital is worth as much as a Ukrainian hospital or an Italian hospital," he said, adding that Israel needed to acknowledge its mistakes. "Sometimes you need to have the courage to say 'sorry'." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The minister said he regretted the end of a ceasefire last month, and worried that the violence could ripple beyond Gaza. "Gaza is a pond in which a stone is being thrown every day, and the circles that this stone creates widen more and more," he said, referring specifically to the threat of war with Iran. DEFENCE BUDGET On the domestic front, Crosetto stressed the need for Italy to bolster its military spending -- a longstanding demand by Trump -- even though he acknowledged that there was opposition at home to doing more. Italy's projected defence budget for 2024 was 1.49% of GDP, NATO figures show, below the military alliance's 2% target, which Trump wants raised to 5%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government has said it is considering shifting various budget items, including the coastguard and military pensions, into the defence portfolio and thereby lift spending in one fell swoop to 2% of GDP. However, Crosetto said years of underinvestment in military equipment and infrastructure still needed to be addressed. "To begin a serious adjustment, defence spending would need to rise at least 0.5% or 0.6% (of GDP) immediately," he said, adding that the budget would have to remain elevated for many years. However, he said many Italians were reluctant to prioritize defence because of what he called a mistaken fear this would lead to war. "Investing in defence is precisely aimed at avoiding conflicts," he said. (Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer; Editing by Frances Kerry) By Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has said Britain is not fully sharing technologies with Italy and Japan in a major project to develop a new fighter jet and urged London to bring down the "barriers of selfishness". In an interview with Reuters, Crosetto emphasised the importance of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which aims to develop by 2035 an aircraft that incorporates the most advanced technologies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defence minister, a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's rightist Brothers of Italy party, said sharing technology when making investments together was crucial to a "serious relationship". "There is no longer anyone who can be considered first and second class and who wants to defend old legacies," he said. "You have to break down some barriers of selfishness. Italy has broken them down totally, Japan almost totally. It seems to me that the UK is much more reluctant to do this, and that's a mistake because selfishness is the worst enemy of nations." He did not give any specifics about what technologies the British might be holding back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD), asked about Crosetto's comments, said GCAP was a "leading example of the strength of joint programmes". "The technologies we are developing and the capabilities we are building together are at the cutting edge of science and engineering," an MoD spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Collectively we will take to the skies one of the world's most advanced fighter jets." Rome is in favour of Saudi Arabia joining the programme, which Crosetto called an example of how defence cooperation can be extended to countries outside Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The choice of Japan was key in this respect, so would be Saudi Arabia, which has a need for technological growth and has more resources available than our three countries," he said. Britain, Italy and Japan announced last year they would set up a joint company to develop the jet, a step forward in their initial 2022 agreement. Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Leonardo, Japan's Aircraft Industrial Enhancement (JAIEC) will each hold a 33.3% share. (Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer; Additional reporting by Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Frances Kerry) ROME (Reuters) - Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said his ministry could only provide a technical assessment of a potential deal with U.S. billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink company over encrypted satellite communications, but the issue had been overly politicised. "In theory, the only evaluation we should give to the Starlink system ... should be purely technical," Crosetto - a senior member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party - said when asked in a Reuters interview about negotiations on the deal between Italy and Starlink. "I believe we need to distinguish political aspects from technical ones, as we cannot base our reasoning solely on sympathy, antipathy, or temporary political ties to people like the world's major tycoons," Crosetto said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Talks between Meloni's conservative government and Starlink have angered Italian opposition parties, which have questioned the wisdom of handing a national security contract to a foreign businessman and close political ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. Reuters reported last month that Franco-British satellite operator Eutelsat was among the contenders for the Italian contract. Italy's co-ruling League party is pushing Rome to pick Starlink over Eutelsat, saying the U.S. company's technology is more advanced. (Reporting by Angelo Amante and Crispian Balmer; Editing by Frances Kerry) Ivy Tech Community College celebrated Ivy Tech Day on Tuesday, April 8, and the Kokomo Service Area raised $60,000 in donations to support Ivy Tech student success. Ivy Tech Day is a day for celebrating the school and raising money to help students succeed. This is the third year that Ivy Tech has held the event. The Ivy Tech Kokomo team sat a goal of raising $45,000 during the 24-hours of giving. The Kokomo service area was the top funded area during the day thanks to 391 gifts. Ivy Tech raised a total of $480,000 from 2,900 gifts from across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kokomo Service Area includes Cass, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Pulaski and Tipton counties. (Tuesdays) level of engagement made for the best Ivy Tech Day yet, said Dr. Ethan Heicher, chancellor of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area. And the most important part of the day was the financial support that we generated for our students and the palpable sense of community we created on our campus. We are so incredibly grateful to our many community partners who joined in supporting the Ivy Tech Kokomo culture of pulling together to help our students, said Kelly Karickhoff, executive director of Resource Development for the service area. Those of us on campus all see the impact these donations have in breaking down barriers and supporting student success, Karickhoff added. But Ivy Tech Day shines a light on our impact in the communities and how much people believe in what Ivy Tech is doing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Ivy Tech Kokomo garnered 268 gifts totaling $41,687, far exceeding the first years results of 171 gifts and $25,000 in donations on Ivy Tech Day. Karickhoff thanked Kokomos Ivy Tech Day partners, including Security Federal Savings Bank, Coca-Cola Bottling Company Kokomo, Community Howard Regional Health, La Fiesta Restaurant of Logansport, Pizza Quik of Peru, Larison Media and the Kokomo Post. She noted that donors had successfully met every match and challenge issued by more than a dozen supporters that honored everything from first-generation students to members of the Circle of Ivy Women in Philanthropy group to alumni and retirees. This one day can mean everything for our students, Karickhoff added. All these gifts stay local and will help students who live and work in our six-county region. By Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -J-pop star Kenshin Kamimura pleaded not guilty in a Hong Kong courtroom on Tuesday to a charge of indecent assault of a woman at a Hong Kong restaurant in March. Kamimura, 25, formerly a member of the six-member boy group ONE N ONLY, was fired by his management agency Stardust Promotion in March over "the discovery of a serious compliance violation," the company said at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kamimura's hands were shaking before the hearing began, and he broke out in tears after loudly pleading "not guilty" at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court. When Magistrate Li Chi-ho asked if he needed a break, he said he could continue, adding "no problem" in Cantonese, which is widely spoken in Hong Kong. Under Hong Kong law, indecent assault carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years' imprisonment. Reuters was unable to reach Kamimura's lawyers for comment. Dozens of his fans started queuing up outside the court early on Tuesday to get passes to enter the courtroom. Some said they had flown in from Japan and China to see the star, known for his role in the Japanese drama "Our Youth." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A judiciary clerk said they had handed out more than 170 passes. Kamimura was granted cash bail of HK$ 100,000 ($12,890.58), with the next hearing scheduled for July 30 and expected to last three days. He was charged with indecently assaulting a woman in a restaurant in the busy Mong Kok district on March 2 this year, according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters, which did not provide further details. He was released on bail following the reported incident and has remained in Hong Kong awaiting trial. ($1 = 7.7576 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Jessie Pang; Editing by Saad Sayeed and Bernadette Baum) OGDENSBURG, N.Y. (WWTI) The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce will honor Jack Backus with the Chamber Appreciation Award at its annual Membership Breakfast Meeting on Tuesday, April 15, at the Inn at Gran View in Ogdensburg. The Chamber says Chamber Appreciation Award is presented yearly at the membership meeting to a partner individual or organization who has gone above and beyond to assure the chambers success, mission and members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Backus has served on the Chambers Board of Directors for decades, is being honored for his long-standing contributions to the Chamber, dedication to the countys communities and leadership at Mort Backus & Sons, a family-owned business with community support at its core. One nomination for Backus noted that even in his retirement, he still shows up to every meeting and event and is a bright and shining staple in the St. Lawrence County communityHe is a great ambassador for the chamber and really cares about the community and small business. Another nomination said Backus was always vocal about our members and supporting local businesses, making sure their best interests are being looked after. Others expressed their appreciation for the thoughtful insights and questions he brings to his fellow Board members, along with recognition of the great things about St. Lawrence County. The annual breakfast meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m., will also include appointments to the Board of Directors and Officers, as well as updates from Chamber leadership on previous accomplishments and goals for the coming year. North Country Easter Guide Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More information regarding the Chambers annual membership meeting is available in the member events on Visit STLCs website. Additional information about this and other St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce events and programs is also available on their website or by calling 315-386-4000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Jacksonville police were called to the 2900 block of Ernest Street at about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in regards to a shooting. Officers arrived to find an adult male suffering from what appeared to be a single gunshot wound, Jacksonville police said. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Jacksonville Fire and Rescue crews took the victim to the hospital where he died, police said. At this time, we do not know the circumstances of the incident or the relationships of those involved, police said in a news release. Because of this, the classification of the incident is pending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The name of the victim was not released. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Read: Two men arguing over something minor ends with one shot in neck in East Arlington Read: Man dead, woman injured in Jacksonville double shooting Read: Report reveals incident that preceded Duval inmate Charles Faggarts death stretched over 2 hours [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. James Carville on Monday urged Democrats to continue going after Donald Trump as the president openly defies a Supreme Court order to return a Maryland man to the U.S. whom officials wrongly deported to an El Salvador prison. Sometimes you got to fight on two fronts, said the longtime Democratic strategist when asked by CNNs John Berman whether the Trump administration would rather have a fight against the deportation than one targeting the presidents tariffs and wild swings in the markets. He continued, You can fight on the economic front but also this is such an egregious trespass of justice that you just cant say, Well, well just pass for a higher ground and talk about egg prices and forget about this guy. Well, Im not for that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carville, who called on Democrats to take back the economic narrative from the GOP earlier in the day in a New York Times opinion piece, tore apart the president after his Oval Office meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. Trump officials insisted they wouldnt bring the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, back to America. Bukele referred to a question on whether he planned to return the man as preposterous and portrayed him to be a terrorist. Carville told Berman that Trump officials tuning out court orders marks the very essence of a constitutional crisis. This is not something thats a minor thing where you just ignore a court order and this tinhorn is coming in here in the White House and refusing to pay attention to a legitimate order issued by American courts, Carville said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not going to end well unless somebody gets this guy back in this country where he belongs, and hes done nothing to be in a prison anywhere and its a real shame, he continued. Carville later added that the Trump administration has made an offense against a nation. Its an offense against the Constitution. Its an offense against order. You just cant let this go. Im sorry, it might not be the most politically productive thing in the world but sometimes you got to just get a backbone and take a stand, he said. Related... By Alimat Aliyeva As part of its ongoing trade conflict with the United States, the Chinese government has imposed a ban on its airlines from purchasing Boeing aircraft, as well as equipment and parts for these planes. This move comes as tensions between the two economic giants continue to escalate, Azernews reports. The Chinese government is exploring ways to assist airlines that currently lease Boeing aircraft, including potential support for the 10 Boeing 737 Max planes that are scheduled for delivery to Chinese carriers. These aircraft are being prepared for integration into the fleets of local airlines, but their future remains uncertain given the current trade restrictions. Earlier, the United States increased tariffs on Chinese goods by 145%, a significant escalation in the ongoing trade war. In retaliation, China raised tariffs on American products, including a notable increase from 84% to 125%, effective from April 12. The Chinese governments move to limit Boeing aircraft imports is part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on American-made technology and promote domestic manufacturers, such as COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China). COMACs C919, a competitor to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, is currently in development and could eventually challenge Boeings dominance in the Chinese market. While the C919 has yet to enter commercial service, the Chinese governments push for greater self-reliance in aviation manufacturing could be a significant long-term shift in global aerospace dynamics. Chinas decision to suspend Boeing purchases adds pressure to the companys already strained relationship with its largest international market. As Chinese airlines look to diversify their fleets, European and Russian aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus and Sukhoi, may see increased opportunities to expand their share in the Chinese market. KIEV, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday asked parliament to extend the current martial law for an additional 90 days. According to the parliament's press service, the bill to prolong the martial law, which is due to expire on May 9, has been submitted for consideration. Meanwhile, Zelensky also requested for approval of the extension of the general military mobilization for the duration of the martial law, if extended. The Ukrainian parliament first imposed martial law and declared mobilization in February 2022 in the wake of the military conflict with Russia. TOKYO (AP) Japan on Tuesday announced that two of its minesweepers will visit a naval port in Cambodia this weekend in the first foreign navy visit since a Chinese-funded expansion project was completed. The Bungo and the Etajima are set to the enter the Ream Naval Base on Friday. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to be in the country the same day as he ends a three-country tour of southeast Asia. Ream was inaugurated earlier this month with a new pier to accomodate much larger ships, a dry dock for repairs and other new features. China's role in the project drove concern among its rivals that Beijing may seek to use the facility as its strategic outpost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the port call by the Japanese ships will help Cambodia to have a naval port that is open and transparent, as he noted concern about China's growing move to secure overseas outposts to expand its military activity. The visit symbolizes friendship and closer security cooperation" between the two countries, Nakatani said. It will contribute to the further openness of the port and it is important in achieving stability and peace in the region. The two ships left Japan in January and are currently on a four-month mission that includes multinational exercises in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East. Japan has developed increasingly close ties with Cambodia in recent years, seeking to offset China's influence in the region, and Cambodia invited it to make the renovated port's first port call. Tokyo had kept mum on its plans until today, apparently due to political sensitivity of the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Cambodian government said it was giving priority to Japanese warships as a tribute to the high level of openness in cooperation, relations and mutual trust between the two sides. China is Cambodias biggest investor and closest political partner. Chinas funding of the ream Ream naval port triggered concern by the United States and its regional allies and partners that the port will allow China to station its military, store weapons and berth warships in the Gulf of Thailand. SARAJEVO, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Bosnia and Herzegovina's Council of Ministers adopted a revised Mine Action Strategy for 2025-2027, reaffirming the country's commitment to a mine-free future, officials said on Tuesday. The strategy reflects the country's ongoing obligations under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Despite progress in recent decades, an estimated 822 square km of land remains contaminated as of early 2025. Since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995 through August 2024, landmine incidents have injured 1,781 people and claimed 624 lives. Among humanitarian deminers, 134 have fallen victim to mines, including 53 fatalities. Landmine contamination remains a significant legacy of the 1992-1995 war when all three warring factions laid mines near present-day entity borders. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) continues to face one of the world's most serious landmine challenges. At the end of 2024, the Ministry of Civil Affairs secured 2 million Convertible Marks (1.15 million U.S. dollars) from the national budget specifically for demining, demonstrating growing political will to accelerate clearance operations. The Minister of Civil Affairs emphasized that demining is not just about safety but also about fostering local development, restoring farmland, and improving citizens' living conditions. Based on a review of operational capacities and expenditures from 2018 to 2023, the new strategy sets a realistic target of clearing 75 square km annually in 2025 and 2026. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) Jericho Roads CEO will step down later this year, the organization announced Tuesday. Dr. Myron Glick has served as the CEO since he and his wife founded the organization in 1997. The organization is designed to help refugees, asylum seekers, and pregnant women in underserved communities. Jericho Road has five health centers across Buffalo. Glick said that is was his decision. He plans on staying in the organization as a full-time doctor and will help the organization with their global work by raising money and advocacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He will remain the CEO until a successor is named. A search committee has been formed to conduct a national search to find a new CEO. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (PIX11) Neighbors should know the rules before feeding the wildlife in some New Jersey areas. The Village of Ridgewood is the most recent location to pass an ordinance that expands rules and regulations for wildlife feeding. More Local News It applies to both private and public lands. In Ridgewood, food cannot be purposely or accidentally left for wildlife. An exception exists for bird feeders. The feeding structure must be six feet from the ground, and it must catch seeds or food from falling on the ground. A property can have only three or fewer feeders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The regulations were adopted by the council due to concerns over increased exposure for humans and pets to rabies, bird flu, and Lyme disease. The deer population is a major reason for the legislation, along with bears and raccoons. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Village of Ridgewood Manager Keith Kazmark says public feedback was considered. Campaigns to educate residents are ongoing. The New Jersey Legislature is considering a similar proposal that would increase the height limit of bird feeders. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 coalition of Jewish groups is criticizing the Trump administration for actions it has taken at U.S. universities, saying the stripping of student visas and cutting of grant funding creates a false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy. A number of Jewish groups in recent weeks have argued that combating the real problem of antisemitism cannot come at the expense of civil rights. In recent weeks, escalating federal actions have used the guise of fighting antisemitism to justify stripping students of due process rights when they face arrest and/or deportation, as well as to threaten billions in academic research and education funding. Students have been arrested at home and on the street with no transparency as to why they are being held or deported, and in certain cases with the implication that they are being punished for their constitutionally-protected speech, the groups wrote in a join statement spearheaded by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a nonpartisan civil rights group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Universities have an obligation to protect Jewish students, and the federal government has an important role to play in that effort; however, sweeping draconian funding cuts will weaken the free academic inquiry that strengthens democracy and society, rather than productively counter antisemitism on campus. These actions do not make Jews or any community safer. Rather, they only make us less safe. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, National Council of Jewish Women, American Conference of Cantors, Central Conference of American Rabbis, HIAS, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and the Union for Reform Judaism all signed on to the statement. The Trump administration has also stripped more than 300 student visas and arrested some who have participated in protests of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. While the administration has asserted those arrested have supported Hamas, critics say lawful First Amendment protests have been mischaracterized as part of a broader crackdown on free speech. The statement comes the day after the Trump administration said it would withhold more than $2 billion in grant funding for Harvard University after demanding the university change numerous policies, including around protesting and diversity, equity and inclusion programs, to keep federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harvard refused. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, Harvard President Alan Garber said in his message. Fighting antisemitism on campus will not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate. The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community, he said. Columbia University, also accused by the administration of failing to protect its students from antisemitism, last month acquiesced to similar demands from the administration, but it has yet to see the return of some $400 million in frozen federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would begin to screen the social media accounts of applicants for immigration benefits for antisemitic content. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs has asked DHS for details about how it plans to do so. Make no mistake: the threat of antisemitism is real and rising in the United States and around the globe, the groups CEO, Amy Spitalnick, wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. At the same time, this new policy raises significant questions as to how it will be applied particularly as many in the Jewish community have already expressed deep concerns about how our legitimate fears of antisemitism are being used as the pretext to advance policies that undermine rights such as due process and our core democratic norms and values, which ultimately threatens the safety of Jews and all communities. 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. Former President Joe Biden reemerged on the public stage on Tuesday for the first time since leaving the White House to stress the importance of Social Security and defend it amid attacks against its efficacy under Donald Trump. Social Security is more than just a government program. Its a sacred promise, Biden said at a conference in Chicago that was hosted by advocates for disabled people. From their first paycheck, people count on Social Security to be for them when they need it. We must never, ever turn our backs on that obligation, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Trumps administration and billionaire Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, Social Security has faced website outages, technical glitches and unanswered phone lines. Thousands of staff members at the agency administering the program have been laid off and dozens of field offices have been shuttered. Biden called the deterioration of services in the program under Trump breathtaking. In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and done so much destruction....theyve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration. More than 70 million retired and disabled Americans receive monthly Social Security benefits, with several million more enrolling every year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Biden accused Republicans of seeking to wreck Social Security and other safety net programs to help finance a new package of tax cuts this year. Thats going to cost $5 trillion. Where are they going to get $5 trillion? Where they always do, running up the national debt and by taking money from somewhere else, he said. The former president also whacked Trumps advisers for controversial comments they made about Social Security in recent weeks, including Musk, who called the program a Ponzi scheme, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who said his mother-in-law wouldnt complain about missing one Social Security check. The current secretary of commerce doesnt seem to get it. He doesnt even seem to care, Biden said. (NewsNation) In a first return to the national stage since leaving the White House, former President Joe Biden delivered a speech focusing on Social Security and a rebuke of the Trump administration. A source familiar told NewsNation that Biden would focus on Social Security as a sacred promise to those who receive it, the remarks coming as the Trump administration looks to drastically change the government service and make cuts. Biden did indeed hold that rhetoric and was critical of the Trump administration throughout his lengthy speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Look whats happening now: Fewer than 100 days, this new administration has made so much damage and so much destruction, Biden said. Shapiro arson attack underscores threats to politicians Its kind of breathtaking. They have taken a hatchet to social security administration, pushing out 7,000 employees out the door in that time, including the most seasoned officials The former president was the keynote speaker at Tuesdays national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago. Biden has made a handful of public appearances, but this conference appearance was looked at his most outward-facing event since January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The speech comes as the Democratic Party is looking for new party leaders amid debates about a generational divide in the party. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have held rallies that drew large crowds. Some Democrats in Congress have reportedly not put faith in the former president as a current leader or voice for their party. Most of the criticism coming from Democrats on the Trump administrations actions on Social Security stems from the Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musks comments, calling Social Security the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time. What the hell are they talking about?, Biden said of Musks comments. People earn these benefits, they paid into that benefit, they rely on that benefit, and no one, no one, no one, should take it away. 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. The only word the Supreme Court left out of its order last week to return a wrongfully deported Salvadoran migrant from the prison where he is being held in El Salvador was please. To briefly recap, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran migrant, is married to a U.S. citizen and has one child. He has been living in this country for more than ten years and since 2019 has had a green card work permit. He was granted temporary protected status based on his claim that if he were returned to his home country, he would be in danger of persecution from Salvadoran gangs. He has never been arrested. Agents for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) picked him up in Maryland on March 12, shipped him to an immigration holding facility in Texas, from which he was later deported on a flight along with some 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members. His wife recognized him in a photo of the deportees taken in the Salvadoran prison, the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT). She got a lawyer and filed a lawsuit in Maryland seeking to have him returned from his confinement in El Salvador. The judge in the case, Paula Xinis, held several hearings, during which the government admitted that Garcia, in the words of the Supreme Court order, acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal. The United States represents that the removal to El Salvador was the result of an administrative error. Judge Xinis eventually issued an order directing the U.S. government to facilitate and effectuate the return of [Abrego Garcia] to the United States by no later than 11:59 PM on Monday, April 7. Since that date, the Trump Department of Justice has stalled repeatedly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld Judge Xiniss order and issued an order of its own, echoing her language that the government should facilitate Garcias return. The Trump DOJ has reported that Garcia is alive and secure at the prison in El Salvador, yet cannot be returned because He is detained pursuant to the sovereign, domestic authority of El Salvador." In other words, once Trumps immigration and justice authorities deposited Garcia on the soil of El Salvador, they felt justified in washing their hands of him, despite their admission that his deportation was illegal. Trump appeared Monday in the Oval Office with the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who, when questioned by reporters, refused to return Garcia, saying flatly, Of course Im not going to do it. Although he could put a diplomatic end to the entire matter by asking Bukele to return the illegally deported U.S. resident, Trump sat there and allowed the president of a tiny Central American country to run the Oval Office appearance as if he were in charge. While the Garcia affair is being called a constitutional crisis and a clash between the executive and judicial branches of government, whats happening here is outright defiance of the law by the President of the United States. In yet another act of defiance, the White House on Monday barred a reporter and photographer from the Associated Press from the Oval Office despite an order last week by District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee, that the administration could not discriminate against the AP in its issuance of press credentials or access because Trump disagrees with the editorial point of view of the news organization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Trumps defiance of two court orders amounts to a constitutional crisis, it is one of the chief justices making. The courts are essentially telling Donald Trump that they are ordering him, do not break this law, and Trump is telling the courts, I can break any law I want because John Roberts told me I can. The reference is to the Supreme Court decision last year granting Donald Trump, and any future president, immunity from prosecution for any official acts taken while in office. Refusing to return an illegally deported person to U.S. jurisdiction is, according to Trump, an official presidential act, so given your immunity decision, Justice Roberts, what are you going to do about it? Not much, according to the courts order of last week, which Roberts softened by instructing the lower court judge that the effectuation of her court order should be carried out with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs. It seems not to have dawned on Roberts that if the United States is conducting its foreign affairs in an illegal manner by, for example, committing war crimes in furtherance of U.S. policy aims, it is the business of the courts, and especially the Supreme Court, to uphold the laws by finding such conduct illegal and ordering the Department of State and/or the Department of Defense to cease and desist and correct its errors under court instruction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Constitution does not have a clause which states specifically, either we have laws and follow them, or we dont. The closest the Constitution comes is in Article II, Section 3, where it is mandated that the president shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed. This clause is violated each day when Donald Trump awakens and opens his eyes. He committed the offense of insider trading last week, when two hours before he relaxed his onerous tariffs, he posted on Truth Social that it was a good time to buy! signaling to his friends that stocks would be recovering from the dive they took when he imposed the tariffs in the first place. Trump is running a lawless presidency right out in the open and announcing that fact practically every day because he has been given permission by the Supreme Court to ignore not only norms and traditions observed by previous presidents, but the law itself. Today, a law-abiding migrant is the victim of Trumps blatantly illegal behavior. The most frightening thing about the first three months of Trumps second term is not knowing where we stand. Unless and until John Roberts decides to step up and draw some lines, there are no limits on Donald Trump. Even if that happens, it remains to be seen whether Trump will deign to adhere to judicially imposed limits. He is already in violation of two district court orders and one order by the Supreme Court itself. We are learning a grim lesson: Democracies dont necessarily die in darkness but in the sunlight of outright defiance of the law by a president charged with its enforcement. JOHNSON CITY, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) One Johnson City standout now at the collegiate level has decided to make a move away from her hometown college in the transfer portal. Marisa Smith has decided to take her talents away from Binghamton University and head to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to play for the Bucknell Bison. The 2023-24 Section IV Class A Player of the Year did not appear in her freshman season with the Bearcats. She averaged a double-double in her junior and senior seasons of high school and also won a sectional title. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The forward now heads to Bucknell, where the Bison went 17-14 and fell in the Patriot League semifinal to Army. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Teams of scientists warn in two recently published medical research papers that marijuana leaves people vulnerable to developing dementia and likely contributes to psychosis. On April 14, the American Medical Association (AMA) journal Neurology released findings covering 6 million people and showing that those who were admitted to hospital or visited an emergency room had a 72% and 23% greater risk respectively compared to others of a new dementia diagnosis within five years. "Long-term and heavy cannabis use has been associated with memory problems in midlife along with changes in brain structure associated with dementia," says Daniel Myran, associate scientist at The Ottawa Hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Regular cannabis use might directly increase the risk of dementia through changes in brain structure," says Colleen Webber of the Bruyere Health Research Institute, who said cannabis use could contribute to "established risk factors for dementia" such as high blood pressure, depression and isolation. Another AMA publication, Psychiatry, last week published results of brain scans suggesting smoking weed helps cause psychosis. "We now have evidence that shows a straight line linking cannabis with dopamine and psychosis that has never been shown before, and it's crucial that clinicians, patients, and families work together to break this line," says Lena Palaniyappan of University of Western Ontario. Palaniyappans team explains that while dopamine is "an important neurotransmitter that helps process motivation, mood, learning and motor control," excess levels can be disruptive. Proving there can indeed be too much of a good thing, the generation of superfluous dopamine "may increase the risk of psychosis, particularly in individuals who are already vulnerable," according to the London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute's (LHSCRI) Betsy Schaefer, co-author of the Psychiatry paper. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic (R) welcomes Polish President Andrzej Duda in Zagreb, Croatia, April 15, 2025. (Robert Anic/PIXSELL via Xinhua) ZAGREB, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and visiting Polish President Andrzej Duda reaffirmed on Tuesday that their countries will not deploy troops to Ukraine. "Poland clearly does not want to take part in that, and neither will Croatia," Milanovic told reporters following his meeting with Duda. He emphasized that while such discussions should not be considered taboo, they must be approached with caution. Meanwhile, Milanovic emphasized the need for Europe to pursue greater independence from the United States. "We need autonomy in foreign policy and increased solidarity wherever possible," he said. Milanovic has repeatedly voiced his opposition to sending Croatian soldiers to Ukraine. He has accused the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of engaging in a proxy war against Russia through Ukraine, and has criticized Western sanctions on Russia as "absurd" and "useless." Croatian President Zoran Milanovic (R) welcomes Polish President Andrzej Duda in Zagreb, Croatia, April 15, 2025. (Robert Anic/PIXSELL via Xinhua) Credit: YouTube President Donald Trumps refusal to return a Maryland man illegally deported to El Salvador, desire to deport U.S. citizens, and attack of free speech at universities and media outlets prompted Jon Stewart to compare Trump to his authoritarian counterparts. In a game called How Authoritarian Is We?, Stewart dedicated Monday nights Daily Show monologue to assessing how Trumps garish decor at the Oval Office, sycophantic cabinet, and dubious physical exam add up alongside the likes of your Putins, your Xis, your Anna Wintours. More from Rolling Stone Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Stewart has criticized Democrats for being too eager to call Trump a fascist, it seems that the late-night host has had a change of heart following Trumps escalating attacks on the free press, judges, lawyers, and other perceived threats to his regime. After rolling a news clip of a journalist asking the president if he would be open to deporting U.S citizens, Trump replies: If its a homegrown criminal, I have no problemIm talking about really bad people. Really bad people. Hes gonna do that to U.S. citizens. I think the hosts of The View are about to get administratively errord, quipped Stewart. I did not think we would get this authoritarian this fast, he continued. I really didnt. Im sorry. Who couldve known? Maybe if somebody out there had yelled at me on Bluesky about this, I would have known. But no one did, except every day, in all caps. Elsewhere, the host played clips of Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and more of the presidents employees showering him with praises. Still, Stewart noted that any run of the mill authoritarian can get the praises from those that fear him. The OGS, the real autocrats extract something much, much weirder and humiliating, the forced uncomfortable laughter, said Stewart, before rolling a video of Trumps cabinet awkwardly chuckling to the presidents attempt at a joke. Before wrapping his monologue, Stewart concluded, So Trumps got it all, authoritarian-wise: the looks, the attitude, the relentless dissent-crushing All the ingredients to be a top-tier authoritarian. However, a reel of Trumps tariff blunders and stock market chaos, worsening measles outbreak, and DOGEs haphazard dismantling of the government, prompted Stewart to declare that the president has yet to bring it home with his ruthless competence. Best of Rolling Stone Sign up for RollingStone's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. On this weeks episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart took a more serious tone than usual as he slammed President Donald Trump for the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Stewart opened the segment by explaining the situation surrounding Garcia. According to the late-night pundit, Garcia is an undocumented migrant from El Salvador as well as a father and a husband to an American woman. But last month, he was suddenly deported to El Salvador and locked up in a mega-prison over an administrative error, according to the Justice Department. Stewart then informed the audience that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele visited the White House on Monday, and joked that Garcia could catch a ride with him back to the States. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You dont even have to give Garcia the middle seat, Stewart said. Im sure Garcia would just grab the wing and Tom Cruise it over here if he had to. But sadly, Bukele arrived at the White House with just the Miami club promoter clothes on his back and a pocket full of excuses. Stewart then played a clip from the meeting between Bukele and Trump. When asked if he had plans to return Garcia to America, Bukele replied, How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Can I honestly tell you? Like, theyre fucking enjoying this, like the two of them, Stewart said, shifting to a somber tone. Our president, their president, [theyre like], I cant do it. I guess well just have to let him rot in fucking prison, even though he didnt deserve to be there.' He continued, I know you guys dont care about this guy. Im talking about [Trump and Bukele], but somebody else cares about this person, and you just randomly, with no evidence that youll show anybody, call him a terrorist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stewart then pointed out that Trump seemed completely unbothered by the Garcia situation and was more concerned by the questions of CNN journalist Catlin Colins. A news clip then played of Colins saying to Trump, You said that if the Supreme Court said someone needed to be returned, that you would abide by that. Trump replied, Why dont you just say, Isnt it wonderful that were keeping criminals out of our country. Why cant you just say that? Why do you go over and over? Thats why nobody watches you anymore. Stewart then shared another news clip, in which a journalist asked Trump if he would be open to deporting U.S citizens. Trumps response: If its a homegrown criminal, I have no problemIm talking about really bad people. Really bad people. Hes gonna do that to U.S. citizens, Stewart said. I think the hosts of The View are about to get administratively errord. I gotta tell you, I did not think he would get this authoritarian this fast. I really didnt. Im sorry. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Comedian Jon Stewart weighed in on President Trumps Cabinet meetings, calling them fing weird. Stewart, who hosts The Daily Show, highlighted the Cabinet meeting from last week during his Monday evening show. He described the scenes as authoritarian after top Trump administration officials praised the president following a tumultuous week with his tariff plan. He played a compilation of clips in which Interior Secretary Doug Burgum thanked Trump for his leadership, Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler praised the president for standing up to the Chinese Communist Party amid the tariff war and other officials celebrated Trumps vision, leadership at the border and the results of the election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I watch those Cabinet meetings, Im actually thinking, are they making fun of him? Its so over the top, Stewart said during his show. Its just so fing weird, he later added. Stewart argued that the Trump administration officials are falling into an authoritarian regime, and it begins with the praise from his closest allies. The key to the authoritarian regime is the suspension of the normal processes by which you understand the world, the matter by which data and your experiences paint a cohesive grounded picture of reality, he said. The calling card of an authoritarian regime is that you must suspend that reality, that rationality, and then you test people by pushing the limits of that absurdity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The praise for Trump came amid a market fluctuation as he rolled out and then paused his tariff plan. On April 2, which Trump dubbed Liberation Day, the president announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on imports and varying additional reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners. He later paused most of the latter tariffs amid international concern, leveling almost all the tariffs to 10 percent for 90 days as his administration looks to strike deals with different countries. He continued to raise tariffs against China, however, placing a more than 100 percent tariff on the country after it responded to the initial announcement by placing an equivalent levy against the United States. Trumps double-down was also met by China, and then the two countries placed 125 percent tariffs on each other. That rate adds to an existing 20 percent tariff Trump had previously levied against China, meaning Chinese imports to the U.S. now face a tariff rate of at least 145 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The situation has caused markets both in the U.S. and internationally to fluctuate and sparked concern. 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. JOPLIN, Mo. Two decades after the program first launched. The REAL ID deadline is almost here. May 7 is the date that the requirement will be enforced. In Joplin, youll need the upgraded identity card if you plan to fly out of the Joplin Regional Airport or for air travel anywhere in the US. It will also be required at federal courthouses and other federal facilities. Mark Howell, Regional TSA Spokesman, says its important not to wait to get your REAL ID, since demand is growing as the deadline approaches. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres always a thing that will come up. You may not be a traveler, but something may come up and you need to travel. And you need to make sure you have an acceptable form of ID if youre planning to travel after the May 7th enforcement date, said Howell. Earlier this year, the state estimated just 41 percent of Missourians have REAL ID identification. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. Jacksonville University announced its sunsetting programs beginning in Fall 2025, as well as cutting expenses as part of its Future Focused initiative. Its the next iteration in our strategic planning to improve everything, from academics and operations to financials. So were focusing a lot now on what we think the Jacksonville region needs, which is what we do in teach[ing] in health care, business, and technology, says JU President Tim Cost. Cost says 40 faculty members will be laid off as part of the new initiative, and the changes will impact about 100 of the 4,200 students. Every one of those 100 is being met with personally, and theyre all being met with a pathway. Nobody who goes to school here will not be able to graduate here. We actually have a group of about 20 students who are being impacted in particular, and I just met with them and offered every one of those 18-20 students a full tuition scholarship, full, through to their graduation and many of them are in their first year...The area that is being impacted more than others, if you will, more than others is were reducing our investment in the fine arts, especially music and theatre. In a press release, JU says " As of May 5, 2025, the new Linda Berry Stein College of Arts and Sciences will house combined disciplines from the Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts & Humanities and the traditional College of Arts and Sciences. Led by Dr. Christopher Corbo, this college will serve approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 15 fields of study in the School of Fine Arts and Humanities, the School of Social Sciences and Education, and the School of Science and Mathematics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cost adds that the university is reducing expenses by 10% across all institutions and schools by Fall 2025. This was not targeted at anyone, this was a comprehensive program. According to the press release, the university created an Academic Financial Task Force that consisted of administrations and a group of tenured and non-tenured faculty. The release adds that Collective recommendations reflected hundreds of hours of conversation with Deans, unit administrators and the work of the faculty Task Force. The vast majority of these recommendations were accepted by the University Administration and Board of Trustees. You can see video of the announcement below. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Former New Mexico lawmaker Sheryl Williams Stapleton, accused of swindling millions out of Albuquerque Public Schools, is now under the supervision of pretrial services. Stapleton has pleaded not guilty to 35 charges, including conspiracy to defraud the Unites States and multiple counts of bribery and money laundering. Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton Coverage / Story continues below Stapleton was scheduled for a pretrial hearing Tuesday morning in front of Judge David Murphy, but she showed up 30 minutes late for that hearing. Judge Murphy was visibly upset with her tardiness and amended her conditions of release, putting her under the supervision of pretrial services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stapletons attorney, Amy Williams, offered an apology. I understand, your honor, and Im so sorry about that. I think there was miscommunication in our and Mr. Vs office about who should be contacting Mrs. Stapleton to inform her of this hearing, said Williams. She accidentally went to federal court, because I think she was confused about the location. Williams asked Judge Murphy if he could reconsider pretrial services if they go well for a period of time. He told her no, saying I have continued this many, many times. I indulged a lot. Williams agreed. Attorney Ahmed Assed apologized on behalf of his law firm and client, telling Judge Murphy the anger issue is quite evident, judge. I want to apologize personally. He said he didnt believe it was her fault, and instead, his offices fault. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Murphy responded, saying I appreciate your explanation. I also know that your office knew about this. Assed confirmed this, and Judge Murphy told him your office contacted mine directly about the start time. Assed confirmed Murphys sentiment again. Overall, Judge Murphy drove home this point. The fact is Mrs. Stapleton has to be here for these hearings and I cant imagine she would ever be late to federal court. The state court is no different, he said. So, Im going to take care of that order, check in with pretrial services as a level one. You guys are good to go. Stapleton has a federal trial scheduled on September 30. Judge Murphy is hoping for the state trial to being in late December. 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. By Andrew Goudsward and Luc Cohen GREENBELT, Maryland (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Tuesday demanded U.S. officials provide documents and answer questions under oath about what it had done to secure the return of a man wrongly deported to El Salvador, ramping up an inquiry into whether the Trump administration defied a court order. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said at a hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland that she would not immediately hold the government in contempt of court, but said the documents and closed-door testimony would help her weigh the Trump administration's compliance with her earlier order to "facilitate" Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judge last week ordered Republican President Donald Trump's administration to provide her with daily updates about the steps it was taking to get him back. On Tuesday, she said the administration had not given her any information of value about what it had done. "There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding," said Xinis, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama. "To date, what the record shows is that nothing has been done. Nothing." At the same time, the judge said she was not ordering the administration to ask El Salvador's government to return Abrego Garcia - even though she called its refusal to ask for his release "stunning." "I'm not ordering you to do that," Xinis said. "I don't know if I'll ever be there." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abrego Garcia was deported on March 15 despite an order protecting him from removal to El Salvador. His case is one of several that have sparked concerns among Democrats and some legal analysts that Trump's administration is willing to disregard the judiciary, an independent and equal branch of government. Administration officials have accused the judiciary of overstepping and interfering with the executive branch's ability to conduct foreign policy. The administration's confrontations with the judiciary come as it is also applying what critics say is unprecedented pressure on other U.S. institutions that have long cherished their independence from partisan politics. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status after it rejected what it called unlawful demands to overhaul academic programs or lose federal grants, part of a broader push to punish universities over their handling of pro-Palestinian student protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has also targeted law firms he says have ties to his legal and political adversaries with executive orders restricting their ability to conduct their work. On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked most of an order targeting law firm Susan Godfrey, but lamented that other firms had "capitulated" by reaching deals with the administration to avoid becoming targets themselves. Abrego Garcia's case is one of several in which Trump, who ran for president on a platform of stepping up deportations, is testing the legal limits of immigration enforcement. Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center alongside hundreds of Venezuelan migrants deported under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that had only previously been invoked when the U.S. was at war. Several judges have since blocked further deportations under the law. Judges have also temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to deport several university students in the country legally over their participation in pro-Palestinian protests. On Monday, Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested in Vermont upon arriving for an interview for his U.S. citizenship petition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DEPOSITIONS BY NEXT WEEK On Tuesday, Xinis said she would require the four officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement who had submitted sworn declarations in the case to sit for depositions by April 23. Government lawyer Drew Ensign said officials may respond to certain questions by asserting the attorney-client privilege, which protects lawyers from being compelled to disclose information their clients have told them. Ensign also said the administration interpreted Xinis' order to "facilitate" Abrego Garcia's return to mean they should remove any U.S. barriers to his return to the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the administration had done that by officially asserting in a court filing earlier in the day that if Abrego Garcia were to show up at a port of entry or a U.S. embassy, he would be allowed into the United States and then immediately taken back into custody. Xinis said that interpretation of the meaning of 'facilitate' is contrary to "the plain meaning of the word." 'POLITICAL GAMES' The U.S. Supreme Court last week largely upheld Xinis' order to "facilitate and effectuate" Abrego Garcia's return following a challenge by the Trump administration, but said the term "effectuate" was unclear and might exceed the court's authority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a meeting with Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday that the president, not courts, conduct U.S. foreign policy. Bukele told reporters at the meeting he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. At Tuesday's hearing, Ensign cited Bukele's comments, saying "ascertaining the position" of the Salvadoran government was "an important part of compliance" with Xinis' order. Before the hearing, Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, urged Trump and Bukele to return her husband. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I find myself pleading with the Trump administration and the Bukele administration to stop playing political games with the life of Kilmar," Vasquez Sura told a crowd of protesters. After the hearing, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a Democrat, said in a statement he would travel to El Salvador on Wednesday to check on Abrego Garcia's wellbeing and discuss his release with government officials there. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward in Greenbelt, Maryland and Luc Cohen in New York; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington, Kristina Cooke in Los Angeles, and Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware;Editing by Noeleen Walder, Deepa Babington and Lincoln Feast.) MADRID, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Tuesday emphasized the need for diplomacy and dialogue over tariffs, following Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's recent visit to China. Speaking on national broadcaster TVE, Albares stressed the importance of global engagement to tackle international challenges. "You can't be a global player and you can't hope to solve major global challenges without engaging with China," he said, noting that the visit resulted in new trade agreements with what he described as an "irreplaceable" market for Spanish companies. Albares said Spain aims to maintain a "sovereign and coherent" foreign policy, open to dialogue with partners such as Washington, Beijing, Brussels, Latin America, and Africa. He specifically called for diplomatic solutions to tensions arising from U.S. tariffs on foreign goods. "This is a time when the world, Spain, and Europe, needs diplomacy, because we need dialogue, negotiation, and to build bridges," he said. In recent weeks, the additional tariffs imposed by the United States have raised broad concerns and caused severe damage to global markets. Major world economies, including the European Union, have voiced objections to such a move of unilateralism and protectionism. By Andrew Goudsward ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge agreed on Tuesday to dismiss a gun charge against a man Attorney General Pam Bondi has called a leader of the MS-13 street gang after prosecutors said the Trump administration wanted to deport rather than prosecute him. U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick put the order on hold until Friday to allow the man, Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24, to pursue other legal channels to contest what his lawyer warned could be an imminent removal to an El Salvador prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fitzpatrick said the criminal case was not the proper forum to decide issues related to his deportation and noted that he had limited authority to question the decision by prosecutors to drop the charge. I cannot and will not go in and second guess decisions that are uniquely prosecutorial in nature, Fitzpatrick said during a hearing in Alexandria, Virginia. Villatoro Santos, a Salvadoran man living illegally in Virginia, was charged last month with illegal possession of a firearm after an FBI SWAT team raided his home. During a news conference, Bondi called him one of the top three leaders of MS-13 in the U.S. and touted his arrest as part of President Donald Trumps crackdown on immigrant gangs. In a criminal complaint, an immigration agent said law enforcement observed indicia of MS-13 association and seized four guns and ammunition during a search of Villatoro Santos room, but made no reference to his alleged leadership in the gang. He was not charged with any gang-related activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Villatoro Santos case is one of several in which Trump administration officials have publicly labeled immigrant detainees gang leaders and terrorists without backing up those claims with evidence in court. Less than two weeks after Villatoro Santos was arrested, prosecutors moved to drop the charge and Bondi said he would face removal proceedings. A federal prosecutor, John Blanchard, told the judge on Tuesday that he did not know what would happen to Villatoro Santos once the charge was dropped. A lawyer for Villatoro Santos asked the judge to delay ruling on the motion, warning of a risk that Villatoro Santos would be sent to El Salvador without the ability to challenge his deportation. The Trump administration has sent hundreds of migrants it has branded members of MS-13 and other transnational gangs to a prison in El Salvador without a court process. The lawyer, Muhammad Elsayed, said the Trump administration had made a high-profile spectacle of the case and sought assurances that Villatoro Santos would have an opportunity to defend himself in immigration court. This was clearly a political decision, Elsayed said of the decision to drop the criminal case. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Frances Kerry) A man accused of attempted sexual battery on a College Park jogger remains in jail, even after a judge granted him bail. On Tuesday morning, a judge set bail at $30,000 for Tyler Feight. Feights attorney told Judge Cherish Adams hes not competent to proceed, as Feight tried disrupting court. Adams told him, Anything you say here can be used against you thats why your lawyer is telling you not to speak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Feight, 26, is accused of assaulting a woman last Thursday morning on Northumberland Avenue. Investigators said the victim fought back and Feight ran away. Police arrested him later that day after getting a tip from neighbor. Feight is charged with attempted sexual battery and battery. The judge told Feight that he is not to have any contact with the victim and is not to go back to the College Park neighborhood where the alleged attack happened. Its the same neighborhood where he has lived with relatives. The defense attorney told the judge, He has been in the Orlando area for 10 years. He does have ties to the community. Tyler Feight is accused of attacking a woman who was out jogging in College Park. One neighbor, Lily Yan, said Feight followed her around last year, but ser never reported it because she thought he was ill and felt sorry for him. She said he never tried to touch her, though. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. " " Anime is a wide-ranging genre. Nicole Antonio / DALL-E If you're diving into Japanese animation for the first time or just looking for a refresher, you're in for a treat. This list is a diverse sampling of some of the best anime movies of all time, pulling from decades of groundbreaking animated storytelling. These films arent just popular in Japan; theyve found audiences around the world thanks to their powerful stories, dazzling animation and unforgettable characters. Advertisement So whether you're into high-octane action, quiet slice-of-life tales or mind-bending sci-fi, theres an anime movie here with your name on it. A federal judge is set for a hearing Tuesday on Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant from El Salvador who was mistakenly deported by the U.S. government to a notorious megaprison in his homeland. U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis is expected to rule on next steps in the case in which the Supreme Court unanimously backed her ruling and ordered the government to facilitate Garcias return to the U.S. President Donald Trump and El Salvadors Nayib Bukele have both said they wont do anything to release Garcia or return him to the U.S., putting the case in limbo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Xinis might set a new deadline for the U.S. government to secure Garcias return, order specific actions or consider holding officials in contempt of court if they do not comply. Any new order might be appealed back to the Supreme Court, which may clarify its order that tweaked Xiniss original order to effectuate the return of Garcia and replaced the term with the word facilitate. A delegation of Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Van Hollen, D-Maryland, vowed to journey to El Salvador to press for Garcias release and return. Attorney General Pam Bondi has asserted that the administration is complying with the top courts edict because it stands ready to fly Garcia back to the U.S. if El Salvador hands him over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bukele said he doesnt have the power to free Garcia at a chummy meeting with Trump at the White House, without elaborating. In a court filing late Monday, Joseph Mazzara, a Department of Homeland Security lawyer, said it does not have authority to forcibly extract Abrego Garcia from El Salvador because he is in the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation. Mazarra also argued that Abrego Garcia is no longer eligible for withholding of removal because the U.S. designated MS-13 as a foreign terror organization. Abergo Garcias attorneys say the government has provided no evidence that he was affiliated with MS-13 or any other gang. Garcias case has put a harsh spotlight on the role being played by El Salvador as a crucial partner in Trumps plan for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has also suggested he could try to send Americans accused or convicted of crimes to prison in El Salvador, even though legal analysts say that would be unconstitutional. Hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants were recently sent to the megaprison over allegations of gang membership. The Trump administration has paid Bukeles government $6 million to jail them for a year. At least 10 more Venezuelans were deported to El Salvador last weekend. Trump has suggested he plans to send more immigrants deported under the terms of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to the prison. _____ A woman who was suffering a stroke sued New Jersey after a state trooper mistook her failure to respond to commands as inebriation and arrested her instead of seeking medical help. A judge has rejected the states bid for a new trial after an Essex County jury handed down an $11.5 million verdict against a New Jersey State Police trooper who mistook a motorists stroke for inebriation and arrested her, delaying medical treatment so long shes now permanently disabled. In an order issued Friday, Superior Court Judge Thomas Vena also dismissed the states claim that jurors got it wrong and refused to set aside or modify their January verdict. He denied, too, the states request to reduce the judgment, which attorneys had argued was excessive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It does not clearly and convincingly appear to the Court that there was a miscarriage of justice under the law, Vena wrote. The Court is satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to support the verdict that the jury reached and that no reasonable mind could disagree with the outcome. Cheryl Rhines of Jersey City was driving to work in October 2017 when she began feeling ill and pulled over to the shoulder of a highway in Newark, according to the lawsuit her mother later filed. The responding state trooper, Jennifer Albuja, misinterpreted Rhines failure to respond to commands, communicate coherently, or stand upright as intoxication even though Albuja found no smell or sign of substance use and Rhines had facial drooping and other signs of a stroke, was dressed in business attire at 8 a.m. on a weekday, and had no prior offenses, her lawsuit says. Albuja failed to get Rhines treatment at a hospital 5 minutes away and instead searched her car and hauled her, handcuffed, to the state polices Somerville station, delaying treatment by two and half hours, according to the complaint. A sergeant at the station finally called EMTs, but troopers still left Rhines shackled on the floor even after they determined she was in medical distress. Albuja had been a trooper for only two years when she arrested Rhines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rhines, now 56, had to leave her job as an event planner and move in with her mother in Nashville because shes unable to speak or understand what people say to her a language disorder called global aphasia thats caused by stroke-related brain damage, her attorney, Dennis M. Donnelly, told the New Jersey Monitor in February. Vena rejected all of the states arguments for reconsideration, including that jurors wrongly assessed damages for both emotional damages and pain and suffering, that the care Rhines mother gave her is not compensable, and that evidence of Rhines shackling was irrelevant and prejudicial. The Court permitted such testimony regarding the Plaintiff being shackled to provide the jury an accurate representation of the events that transpired before she was finally able to receive medical attention and that led to the basis of her complaint. Thus, a new trial is not warranted on this ground, Vena wrote. Before trial, the case went through mediation, but the states attorneys refused to resolve the case for more than $1 million and Rhines care expenses had exceeded that, Donnelly said in February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jurors initially returned a $19.1 million verdict after a nearly month-long trial to cover Rhines future medical care, emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of income. But they blamed 60% of Rhines disabilities on the delayed treatment and 40% on the stroke itself, which the trooper didnt cause. So they reduced their initial award by 40%. Vena reminded the state several times in his ruling of that reduction, writing: This ended up being advantageous for the Defendants. Donnelly could not be reached for comment Monday. Attorney William J. Hamilton, who represents the state and Albuja, declined to comment. The judgment, which now stands at $11.2 million after some tweaking to reflect Rhines medical expenses and insurance benefits, is unusually high for lawsuits filed against the state. In 2023, when the state paid out $121 million to settle 364 claims, only 23 resulted in payouts of over $1 million, according to a recent New Jersey Monitor analysis. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Apr. 15GRAND FORKS U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak said she will continue to host virtual town halls but indicated she is opposed to holding in-person town halls. Fedorchak, R-N.D. said she intends to hold "frequent" virtual town halls as the state's sole representative in the U.S. House in order to connect with constituents. "I want them to know where I stand on things that are important to them, and I want to hear how they feel too," Fedorchak said. "Telephone town halls are a wonderful tool to do that in a state as big as North Dakota." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fedorchak held her first such event March 25, answering questions from 10 people during a 50-minute session. She told the Grand Forks Herald on Friday that her team did not screen questions ahead of the event and she answered as many questions as possible. Fedorchak answered questions about international relations, her support for President Donald Trump and climate change, among other issues, but did not respond to questions about access to public lands and cuts to the federal agencies overseeing them. Republican lawmakers across the nation have come under fire for avoiding in-person town halls and town hall-style meetings after videos of Republican lawmakers facing angry constituents at local events went viral. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fedorchak said Friday she does not plan to hold an in-person town hall in the future, saying she did not think the town halls Republicans have held since Trump took office were productive or safe. "Have you seen the town halls that have happened nationwide?" she said. "Do you think they've been productive conversations on relevant issues?" The chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee advised Republican lawmakers in March to avoid in-person town halls, advice that House Majority Leader Mike Johnson seconded. Republicans appear to have largely heeded his advice, with NBC News reporting that Democrats are hosting the majority of town halls and town-hall-style events taking place during a two-week recess that began Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some North Dakotans are calling on the state's members of Congress to hold in-person town halls. U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer told WDAY in March there was a "good chance" his office would schedule an in-person town hall soon, saying he'd shifted from in-person events to talk radio appearances since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sen. John Hoeven's office sent the Herald its March statement to WDAY, saying that Hoeven holds "many public meetings on issues important to our state and nation" that residents are "welcome to attend." The senator made a similar statement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement on the Plain Talk podcast April 4 . The North Dakota Democratic-NPL staged an in-person town hall in Fargo last month, at which speakers listed a litany of complaints with the Trump administration. Organizers pointedly left three seats open for the state's three Republican members of Congress. Fedorchak said she continues to make appearances and meet with some North Dakotans directly, pointing to a meeting she held later that day with members of the Grand Forks/East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce. She said her staff is planning to hold another virtual town hall sometime in May. NEW YORK (AP) As jury selection began Tuesday in Harvey Weinsteins New York City rape retrial, some prospective jurors made clear they couldn't be fair in judging the one-time Hollywood mogul-turned-#MeToo pariah. Mark Axelowitz, an actor who plays a Manhattan prosecutor in the new Robert De Niro film The Alto Knights, was one of more than a dozen candidates who raised a hand when the judge asked if anyone felt they couldn't be impartial. I dont like the guy, he is a really bad guy, Axelowitz told a reporter after being dismissed from consideration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another dismissed prospective juror disqualified herself because she had previously been sexually assaulted. Yet another wondered whether anyone could be impartial. The first day ended with no one chosen for the panel of 12 jurors and six alternates. Jury selection will resume Wednesday. Weinstein is being tried again after New Yorks highest court last year overturned his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial, finding that improper rulings and prejudicial testimony tainted the original one. That Court of Appeals ruling gave Weinstein a second chance to fight the charges, with his retrial playing out in a different atmosphere than the first, which was held amid a global reckoning over sexual misconduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty and denies he raped or sexually assaulted anyone. He is older and more frail, in and out of the hospital regularly for a variety of health problems and far removed from his time among the most powerful men in show business. Weinsteins lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said the ex-studio boss is "cautiously optimistic that when all the evidence is out, the jury will find that all of his relationships were consensual and therefore reach a verdict of not guilty. Even if he is acquitted, Weinstein wont go free. Weinstein is also appealing a 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles. His 16-year prison sentence in that case still stands, though his lawyers said he needs to be resentenced because the since-vacated New York conviction factored into how his punishment was calculated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weinstein is being retried on two charges from his original trial. Hes accused of raping an aspiring actor in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and a criminal sex act by forcing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant in 2006. He is also charged with one count of criminal sex act based on an allegation from a woman who was not a part of the original trial. That woman, who has asked not to be named publicly, alleges that Weinstein forced oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel. Speaking outside court on Tuesday, that accuser's lawyer, Lindsay Goldbrum, said one thing would become crystal clear from her clients upcoming testimony at the trial: This was not consensual. This was sexual assault with force. I am confident that there will be justice in this case, Goldbrum told reporters, adding that her client was resolved to testify. It is important for women everywhere and for people who are victims of sexual assault everywhere that others pave the way and show their dedication in this fight against sexual assault. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Curtis Farber has set aside at least four days for jury selection and expects opening statements and the start of testimony next week. The judge, prosecution and defense are working to whittle a massive pool of potential jurors down to the 18 people needed for the trial. Selecting the jury involves bringing in around 80 potential jurors at a time for two basic screening questions. The first group was brought in late Tuesday morning after the sides ironed out some last-minute loose ends. Along with the question about impartiality, the judge is also asking each group of prospective jurors for a show of hands from anyone who has work, family or other obligations that will prevent them from serving. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who raises a hand to either question will be sent home, Farber has said. Those who remain will be seated in the jury box, 24 at a time, and asked additional questions about things like their education, work, and whether anyone they know is in law enforcement or has been a victim of a crime. Prosecutors and Weinsteins lawyers will each have 40 minutes to question each subset of 24 potential jurors. Often, lawyers will use that time to follow up on things raised in earlier questioning or zero in on concerns about potential biases. Either side can ask the judge to dismiss a potential juror. If too many jurors are dismissed, another group will be brought in and the process will repeat until the full jury is seated. The last time a New York City jury sat in judgment of Harvey Weinstein, the ex-movie studio boss was convicted of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison. Five years later, that landmark #MeToo verdict is gone - wiped away on appeal - and Weinstein is set to go on trial again, beginning today with jury selection. New Yorks highest court, the Court of Appeals, overturned Weinsteins conviction and ordered a new trial, finding that his original one in 2020 was tainted by improper rulings and prejudicial testimony. That ruling gave Weinstein a second chance to fight the charges, and do so in a different atmosphere than his first trial, which was held in the middle of a global reckoning over sexual misconduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weinstein, 73, who has pleaded not guilty and denies that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone, is older and more frail, in and out of the hospital regularly for a variety of health problems. He's now far removed from the time when he was among the most powerful men in the movie business. Harvey Weinstein appears in State Supreme Court for a hearing in his sexual assault case on Wednesday 9 April 2025 in New York - AP Photo In the New York retrial, Judge Curtis Farber has set aside at least four days for jury selection and expects opening statements and the start of testimony next week. The judge, prosecution and defense will work to whittle a massive pool of potential jurors down to the 18 people - 12 jurors and six alternates - needed for the trial by asking questions and seeking to eliminate anyone they feel cant judge the case fairly. Miriam (Mimi) Haley arrives at court in New York in 2020 - AP Photo Weinstein is being retried on two charges from his original trial. He is accused of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and performing a criminal sex act by forcing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is also charged with one count of criminal sex act based on an allegation from a woman who was not a part of the original trial. That woman, who has not been named publicly, alleges Weinstein forced oral sex on her at a Manhattan hotel. Jessica Mann outside court in Manhattan in July 2024 - AP Photo Even if the retrial ends in not guilty verdicts, Weinstein will remain behind bars at Rikers Island, as he was sentenced for a second time in February 2023 after being convicted of raping an actress in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2013. He was also found guilty of forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object in relation to the same woman, named only in court as Jane Doe 1. Weinstein is also appealing the Los Angeles rape conviction. His 16-year prison sentence in that case still stands, though his lawyers said he needs to be resentenced because the since-vacated New York conviction was a factor in how his punishment was calculated. On a particularly lawless Monday, President Trump defied a Supreme Court order on live TV, barred the Associated Press from that event in defiance of a different court order and prompted a fired agency chair to ask for intensive questioning of officials under oath following the governments alleged violation of yet another court order. Since the beginning of Trumps term, its been a matter of when, and not if, the administration would ignore a judges unfriendly ruling. Some, including elected officials, have shifted the Overton window to when itll defy a Supreme Court order, as if ignoring a lower judge is a lesser catastrophe. By either metric, the crisis is here. Trump, beaming alongside strongman Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, performed in a little two-man show where both feigned an inability to retrieve Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an innocent man the administration admitted that it deported to Bukeles torture prison by accident. Stephen Miller, high on the brutality, chimed in to lie about what the Supreme Court had ordered a 9-0 ruling that the administration had to facilitate Garcias return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Outside the Oval Office meeting, the administration was busy defying another court order keeping an AP reporter and photographer out of the Trump-Bukele meeting, despite a federal judges order returning the outlet to the press pool. The AP exclusion has been ongoing since February, a fit of pique at the outlets decision not to use Trumps favored Gulf of America over the Gulf of Mexico. Later the same day, a new filing hit the docket in Brehm v. Marocco, in which lawyers for the fired chair of the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) call for testimony from and cross examination of DOGE members and Pete Marocco, the administration official who unwound USAID and was put into place to do the same at USADF. The plaintiffs write that Marocco lied to the court about having fired additional USADF employees and terminating grants, accusing the government of having ignored this Courts instructions. After so many years of conservatives stacking the courts and smoothing the pipeline of right-wing legal thought, Trump has found it more efficient to simply ignore the courts altogether. Further proceedings, particularly in the Abrego Garcia case, will reveal the extent of the courts appetite to try to punish him for taking a jackhammer to the foundation of our government. But these are dark days. Only four months into his term, and Trump is molding the American presidency into something ever closer to the grinning dictator seated next to him in the Oval Office Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kate Riga Trump Wants CBS To Pay A Big Price Its for the sin of reporting on the on-the-ground devastation of Russias ongoing war on Ukraine, it seems. After CBSs 60 Minutes aired its segment this weekend it involved correspondent Scott Pelley traveling to Ukraine to interview Volodymyr Zelensky and visit the site of a Russian attack where nine children were killed this month Trump posted on Truth Social, calling on his FCC chair Brendan Carr to fine and punish the news network. Its an escalation of his ongoing attacks on CBS News and other news outlets, which include blocking the AP from the Oval Office event Monday, openly defying a court order. Trump has been engaged in a $20 billion lawsuit against 60 Minutes for some time, angered by how the network edited an interview with Kamala Harris. The FCC under Carrs leadership has already launched its own version of an investigation into the interview, which Trump claims made Harris look good. White House Forcing Its DOGE Will On Congress As I noted earlier this month, it appears that the White House is going to formally request that Congress turn its lawless DOGE rampage into formal legislative action creating a backwards, aconstitutional situation where the executive branch is dictating how the legislative branch legislates. It appears these so called recissions will specifically target the budget for NPR and the State Department, according to Politico: The White House will soon ask Congress to cancel $9.3 billion already approved for foreign aid initiatives, public broadcasting and other programs, according to a White House official granted anonymity to speak freely. Congress is expected to receive that so-called rescissions request when lawmakers return from their two-week recess later this month. To nix the funding, the House and Senate will each have to vote at a simple-majority threshold to approve the formal ask. Harvard Will Not Bend The Knee In a message to the university on Monday, the university President Alan Garber announced that Harvard would not give in to demands from the Trump administration involving gutting diversity programs, cracking down on student protests, cooperating with DHS on campus and letting the government conduct audits in exchange for keeping its federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, he wrote, per the Harvard Crimson student newspaper. In Case You Missed It What Are Universities Supposed to Do? A Slo-Mo Constitutional Clash Is Already Well Underway Trump, Bukele Condemn Abrego Garcia to Prison On Live TV Senate Republicans Sneaky Math Gimmicks Foreshadow Plans To Run Roughshod Over The Senate Beyond Showerheads: Trumps Attempts to Kill Appliance Regulations Cause Chaos Yesterdays Most Read Story Trump Anoints Himself With The Power To Secretly Repeal Regulations What We Are Reading The Trump Administration Is Sticking to Its Gulag Plan in Defiance of the Supreme Court Palestinian Student Leader Was Called In for Citizenship Interview Then Arrested by ICE Trump plan would slash State Dept. funding by nearly half, memo says MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) A fixture when it comes to education in Montgomery County is closing its doors at the end of the school year. Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS) will shut down after more than six decades of providing students with an education rooted in Quaker principles. SSFS graduates told DC News Now that they were devastated when they heard the news. When I saw it, I kind of gasped because Sandy Spring was such a home for me, Becky Green said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maryland teen arrested after police pursuit on I-66 in Fairfax County leaves trooper, 3 others injured Alina Zhukovskaya shared a similar sentiment, saying, It was just like a jab in your heart. It was just really sad because it honestly was the best school. The schools Board of Trustees sent a letter to parents, students and staff on Monday to let them know. The Board explained, we simply do not have the financial wherewithal to meet our obligations next year. Green graduated from the school in 1987. It just felt like home, she said. Everyone was accepted, everyone just flourished in their own way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green says she feels for everyone impacted by the closure. Not only current students and staff, she said, but future students and staff who wont get to experience the amazing school that it is and was. Zhukovskaya graduated from SSFS in 1997. DC to implement freeze on hiring, overtime as it prepares for massive budget cuts The slogan of the school is Let your life speak, Zhukovskaya said. And I think everybody who went to the school, they know how significant they are, and they can create something in this world. She feels for students who will need to find a new school and the teachers who need to find new jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with a heart who goes to Sandy Spring knows how special it is, she said. So to be told that you cannot come back the next year, Im sure its heartbreaking. Like, where do you go? SSFSs last day of class is June 5, followed by graduation on June 7. Unfortunately, the closure also means the school will not host its annual summer camp. The full letter from the SSFS Board of Trustees can be found below: Dear SSFS Parents, Students, Staff, and Community: With heavy hearts, we write to share that the Board of Trustees has made the extremely difficult but necessary determination that Sandy Spring Friends School will close following completion of the 2024-25 school year. The Board does not take this decision lightly. It comes only after a thoughtful and extensive assessment of the schools untenable financial position, as well as thorough analysis of our enrollment and fundraising picture. Regrettably, despite an immense effort to shore up the schools financial foundation, we simply do not have the financial wherewithal to meet our obligations next year. We understand that this news comes as a shock, and that the timing of our announcement may only compound the stress of selecting a school for 2025-26 and beyond. We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for all involved. For students and families currently enrolled, we will provide additional information regarding 2025-2026 deposit and tuition refunds and the process of identifying and applying to another school. For faculty and staff, we will provide additional information regarding compensation, benefits and career transition support. Some general FAQs around this closure announcement are provided below. We are incredibly grateful for the support, trust and dedication that each of you has shown to Sandy Spring Friends School over the past six decades. Our alumni have made lasting impacts across society and our faculty and staff have developed students academically and spiritually in lasting ways. Our students are daily reminders of the beauty of Quaker SPICES in an uncertain world. It is our sincerest hope that their educational journey and personal development will continue to flourish. We will share more in the coming days. Thank you for being part of the SSFS community and keeping each other in the Light. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CONWAY, Ark. Witnesses say a fun event became anything but in Conway after a shooting broke out over the weekend, leaving two people dead and several injured. Officials with the Conway Police Department are investigating a Sunday evening shooting at 5th Avenue Park that left two dead and nine injured. University of Central Arkansas releases statement after Conway mass shooting Police said that the people who were injured in the shooting have been taken to area hospitals and are currently considered stable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nyla Stewart said she and her friends were at the party when they heard gunshots and started to run. I was just running anywhere, going over peoples bodies, tripping, falling, knocking people over, Stewart said. Jerreace Morman remembers the panic he felt knowing his son was there. He said someone popped a shot, there was some arguing prior to that, there was a fight, Morman said. My heart goes out to the families because my son came home and people lost people and its not comparable. He was not the only parent rushing to hear from their child. Kimberly Rodgers says her son was at the party and couldnt sit still until she heard from him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres nothing like knowing you have a child somewhere in possible danger, she said. Conway police: 2 dead, 9 injured in Sunday evening shooting at 5th Avenue Park Morman said no parent should have to go through this. There are guns everywhere and that creates what we see now a situation where our kids are not safe, Morman said. Stewart said she thought the party was a college event, but that was incorrect. In a statement from the University of Central Arkansas, officials said they have not received confirmation that UCA students or anyone in the UCA community were involved in the shooting. School officials also noted that they were informed of promotional events that included an unauthorized UCA logo and clarified that the university did not authorize the use of the brand. University officials added that they were not involved in planning or hosting any weekend events. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We believe the promotion was meant to persuade UCA and other college students to attend and falsely align universities with various parties and activities, the statement said. Again, UCA did not authorize the use of the logo and was not involved in the planning or hosting of these events. Stewart said the violence should end, and she is still traumatized. It makes you not want to go outside to be at parties or events anymore because they dont know how to act, she said. Little Rock police offering $10,000 reward for information leading to arrest in deadly 2023 shooting Conway police have yet to make an arrest and have not given any details on the possible suspects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement University officials said the University of Central Arkansas Police Department is working with the Conway Police Department during the investigation. The citys police are also getting assistance from state 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 KARK. A federal judge on Tuesday allowed the Justice Department to temporarily stop funding legal education programs for people facing deportation or immigration court while a lawsuit brought by the organizations that provide the service moves forward in court. The decision from U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss in Washington, D.C., means a coalition of nonprofit groups that offer the education programs will lose their federal funding Wednesday and possibly some access to potential clients inside detention centers. Unlike criminal cases, people in immigration courts and detention centers dont have a right to an attorney if they cant afford one themselves. Proponents of the legal education programs say they ease the burden on immigration judges and help immigrants navigate the complicated court system more efficiently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congress allocates $29 million a year for four programs the Legal Orientation Program, the Immigration Court Helpdesk, the Family Group Legal Orientation and the Counsel for Children Initiative and those groups spread the funding to subcontractors nationwide. The Justice Department first instructed the nonprofit groups to stop work immediately on the programs on Jan. 22, citing an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting illegal immigration. The nonprofit groups sued about a week later, and the Justice Department then rescinded the stop-work order. But on April 11, the agency said it was terminating its contracts with the groups nationwide, effective 12:01 a.m. April 16. During a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Moss told attorneys on both sides that he didn't see enough immediate justification to order the Justice Department to keep the funding in place for now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, Moss said he wanted more information before hopefully coming to a final decision in the case next month. When the Justice Department first ordered the work stopped in January, the nonprofit groups were also cut off from even reaching out to immigration detainees, said Laura Sturges, an attorney representing the nonprofit groups. That access was cut off so completely that they were even ordered to remove informational posters and other educational materials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, Sturges said. That damaged the First Amendment rights of the organizations to disseminate information, she said, and left noncitizens without any legal aid, placing a greater burden on immigration judges and immigration courts. Sturges said the funding cuts wrongly usurped Congress' spending power, because the money had already been allotted and the Justice Department had not yet identified any replacement programs to use the funds. And she argued the cuts were arbitrary and capricious because the Justice Department didn't provide any justification for ending the contracts other than convenience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Justice Department attorney Zachary Sherwood told the judge that the case was essentially a contract dispute, and shouldn't be handled in U.S. District Court at all. Instead, Sherwood said, the dispute should be moved to the Court of Federal Claims, which handles most contract-related claims against the federal government. I think there are a number of substantial and important issues that this case presents, Moss said. He gave the attorneys a list of details he wants before the next hearing on May 14, including any records showing how the Justice Department decided to end the contracts, any plans for spending the earmarked money in the future, and information about any problems the nonprofit groups experience as they try to reach out to detained noncitizens in the coming weeks. A few blocks away from the federal immigration courts in New York City, a leader of one affected program testified at a city council hearing on immigration fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were often the first attorneys people are able to speak to about their immigration cases, said Hannah Strauss, an immigration lawyer who supervises a team triaging cases for the Immigration Court Helpdesk run by Catholic Charities. New York state is one of only six states in the U.S. where more than half of immigrants are represented by an attorney in pending immigration cases, according to government data compiled by Syracuse Universitys Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Thats thanks in part to state and city grants, as well as a large pool of lawyers who volunteer. But federal funding forms an important part of the system. Strauss said the $1.2 million federal grant covering New York covered the Helpdesk, a skeleton crew relied upon by other nongovernmental organizations to screen immigration referrals and by immigration judges to explain the basics on laws regarding asylum and other forms of legal immigration. Unfortunately today marks the final day of both ICH and FGLOP, as the federal government has chosen to terminate our contracts as of midnight tonight, said Strauss, referring to her organization and the Family Group Legal Orientation Program, run by the Acacia Center for Justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The main reason for falling prey to immigration scams is the lack of legitimate legal help, said immigrants at the hearing who testified without using their names, citing fear they could become targets of ICE for speaking out. Details they shared were representative of cases that have been investigated by federal prosecutors, costing immigrants thousands of dollars. In the hearing, the city council discussed ways to crack down on immigration service providers advertising exaggerated or outright fraudulent services. ___ Boone reported from Boise, Idaho, and Attanasio reported from New York. President Donald Trumps tax returns have revealed strategies that reduced his tax bills but also highlighted risks every taxpayer should avoid. Find Out: 7 Tax Loopholes the Rich Use To Pay Less and Build More Wealth Learn More: 5 Types of Vehicles Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying For individuals and business owners, these records offer critical lessons about leveraging tax laws and managing risk. Here are five key takeaways to guide smarter financial decisions, blending Trumps methods with expert-approved compliance strategies. Leverage Business Losses Strategically Trumps tax returns demonstrated the aggressive application of net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards. This is a provision that allows businesses to deduct losses from previous years against current or future income. In 2015, he reported a $105 million loss carried forward, followed by $73 million in 2016, which significantly reduced his taxable income during his presidency, according to Politico. When done right, this strategy offers significant tax relief for small businesses without raising red flags. While small businesses can adopt similar tactics, they must ensure losses are legitimate and well documented to avoid IRS scrutiny. Marcus Sturdivant of The ABC Squared suggested businesses avoid consecutive years of losses, which attract audits. Consulting a professional ensures compliance, especially when navigating complex rules like IRC Sections 704(d) and 465. Be Aware: Trump Wants To Eliminate Income Taxes: Heres What That Would Mean for the Economy and Your Wallet Separate Personal and Business Finances Trumps tax returns revealed issues with mixing personal expenses with business deductions, a practice that increases audit risks. Trumps private aircraft companies, DT Endeavor I LLC and DJT Aerospace LLC, had similar revenues and expenses in 2016, which removed their tax obligation. The Joint Committee on Taxation questioned the validity of these deductions and whether they were for personal activities, per USA Today. Structuring your business as an LLC or S-corporation creates legal separation, shielding personal assets from liabilities. Sturdivant suggested practical steps, like opening separate bank accounts, using distinct credit cards and labeling receipts with details like lunch with client, to keep matters separate. Clear separation of finances is not just a best practice but a legal necessity. Mixing personal and business accounts complicates audits and increases liability risks. Understand the Value of Tax Credits Trumps returns revealed significant use of historic rehabilitation tax credits, which reward property owners for restoring certified historic structures. These credits offset up to 20% of qualified renovation costs. For example, Trump applied credits from the redevelopment of the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C., to reduce liabilities across multiple entities, according to Washingtonian. A juvenile was arrested on Tuesday when police found a stolen car in Greenwich which led to a pursuit that ended on Interstate 95 where two people fled from the vehicle. The vehicle was reported stolen from Newtown and was found by officers with the Greenwich Police Department, according to Capt. Patrick Smyth. Smyth said the driver of the vehicle led police on a brief pursuit before the vehicle was abandoned on I-95 between Exits 8 and 9. Two people got out and took off on foot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Connecticut State Police spokesperson said troopers assisted in the search with a K-9 unit. According to Smyth, a juvenile was later found and arrested. The second individual is believed to have been picked up by another motorist, possibly an Uber driver, before leaving the area, according to Smyth. Additional information was not immediately available. TOPEKA (KSNT) Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is asking that millions in funds stripped from the states education department be restored. Kelly announced in a press release on April 15 that her office is calling on the administration of U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to restore around $22.6 million in federal funding to the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE). The U.S. Department of Education (DE) announced in March that nearly $3 billion in pandemic relief funds was being recouped from several states, including Kansas. Abruptly stripping this funding is a disservice to the Kansas students and teachers who rely on it to excel in the classroom, Kelly said. This funding is critical for our schools to continue setting Kansas children up for a strong start to life. I urge the Trump administration to reinstate this funding to ensure our students can continue to access these key resources they need to succeed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why legalizing weed in Kansas isnt working The $22.6 million Kansas was receiving were critical for supporting student learning recovery and helping to ensure the education workforce remains prepared to assist those students with their academic needs, according to the Office of the Governor. These funds were also used to retrain teachers in the science of reading and other evidence-based interventions to support the learning of students, career and post-secondary exploration experiences for students and other endeavors. The KSDE previously requested the administration of President Donald Trump restore Kansas funding and allow the agency to continue using this cash for its intended purposes. McMahon informed state education leaders in early April the DE was ending the liquidation period for the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF). You can read the full letter Kelly submitted to the DE by clicking here or by reading through it below: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Kelly Letter to Sec. McMahon by Matthew Self on Scribd 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 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KANSAS CITY, Mo. On Tuesday morning, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced that a letter was sent to United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon calling for the reallocation of $22.6 million in federal pandemic relief funds to the state of Kansas. In late March, the U.S. Department of Education said it would be taking back nearly $3 billion in pandemic relief funds in the states, which Gov. Kelly said has already been designated to special programs, students and educators in Kansas. Blue Valley schools approve new policy after sex offender attends school dance Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abruptly stripping this funding is a disservice to the Kansas students and teachers who rely on it to excel in the classroom, Kelly said. This funding is critical for our schools to continue setting Kansas children up for a strong start to life. I urge the Trump administration to reinstate this funding to ensure our students can continue to access these key resources they need to succeed. According to Kelly, back in October 2024, she announced that her administration would continue allocating a portion of the funds to cover the costs of licensure, fingerprinting, and background check fees for early childhood educators. She continued, saying that state and federal funding began covering these fees back in 2021 and has since covered about $3.34 million in application costs for over 15,500 providers and background checks for over 39,400 providers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the help of the Department of Education and these resources, we are seeing positive results for Kansas students and educators, Kelly wrote. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelces steakhouse to open in Kansas City this summer In Kansas, state assessment scores are on the rise and graduation rates are at an all-time high. Extending the liquidation of these funds will allow our states education system to remain on a positive trajectory and serve Kansas students and families well. Kelly said the fees would be reinstated until the Trump administration restores the states funds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Wichita Republican Rep. Leo Delperdang, right, helped convince the Kansas House to overwhelmingly vote for Senate Bill 98 extending sales tax exemptions for construction, equipment and operation of large-scale data centers in Kansas. The projects can cost billions of dollars each. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA The Kansas Legislature completed a fitful process of writing and rewriting a bill delivering a state tax subsidy to investors betting on construction of enormous data centers costing a minimum $250 million. The House and Senate voted with bipartisan majorities on the final day of the 2025 session to send Gov. Laura Kelly a bill containing the sales tax incentive to help attract warehouse-shaped hubs packed with computer servers relied upon in the digital economy. The governor has 10 days to act on Senate Bill 98 once it lands on her desk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Negotiators tossed an earlier Senate-passed version of the bill in a dumpster before approving an alternative limiting the length and scope of the sales tax break, setting boundaries on how huge quantities of electricity could be sourced and encouraging owners of data centers to conserve water used to cool the systems. Modifications to the bill reflected anxiety about data centers hogging the electric grid or sucking up scarce water resources and leaving residential customers to pay the cost of replenishing those necessities. This bill affects everybody and we want to make sure we do the right thing, said Rep. Leo Delperdang, a Wichita Republican who urged the House to approve the package. He said a key piece of the puzzle was a prohibition in the bill forbidding owners of data centers to construct their own electric power plants. In addition, he said, the bill blocked data centers from taking advantage of a state law allowing big economic development projects to receive from a local utility company a 40% electricity rate reduction for five years and a subsequent 20% rate discount for the next five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, the House vote was 85-37. The Senate approved the bill 26-9 without substantive debate. Not only will it affect everybody, its going to affect the next generation and the next generation, said Rep. Henry Helgerson, a Democrat from Eastborough who voted no while expressing concern about future water shortages. I hate to be the spoiler in all this. There is no requirement of whether theyre going to save any water. People are being told right now not to plant trees, not to put bushes in. Helgerson also said it wasnt appropriate for legislative leadership to force votes on the final day of the legislative session on a 100-page bill subjected to months of behind-the-scene wrangling. The urgency made sense only in the context of pleasing those who would financially benefit the most from construction of facilities capable of centralizing storage, management and dissemination of data, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whos pushing all this? My guess its the investment bankers outside this state. They have billions of dollars they want to bring in, he said. Substantially different Under the overhauled SB 98 formerly the data center reforms were in Senate Bill 51 the state would authorize a 20-year sales tax exemption for companies investing in data centers costing at least $250 million. The exemption would cover purchases for development, acquisition and operation of a data center, including land and site improvements, buildings and data center equipment; labor services to install and maintain data center equipment; purchases by a contractor to build or modify a data center; and backup generators. It would exclude electric generation equipment. The bill would define equipment in a data center to include servers, routers and connections and security systems; hardware to operate and equip a data center, including cooling and water management systems; computer networking equipment, including racks and cabling; and conduit and cabling to link one or more data centers substations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kansas Fusion Center Oversight Board would be authorized to deny projects deemed a threat to state infrastructure, but the Kansas Department of Commerce would otherwise handle certification of applicants for the tax break. A qualified business would have to begin construction within 10 years of being approved by the state and must make the aggregate investment of $250 million within five years of starting operations. In addition to construction jobs, the data center would be required to create and maintain at least 20 new jobs within two years of launching operations. A telecommunications, wireless and video service provider wouldnt be eligible to become a qualified firm to receive a state sales tax exemption for data centers. Countries of concern, including China, would be excluded from providing equipment to Kansas data centers that drew upon the sales tax break. The data center would for 10 years be required to purchase electricity from the public utility providing the areas retail electric service. If the Department of Commerce concluded a data center was in breach of the agreement, the firm would have 120 days to address the problem. If not, the agency could require the firm to repay all or part of the sales tax exemption and wholly or partially terminate the exemption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican who led Senate negotiations on the bill, said adjustments to the original bill demanded by the House improved the legislation. It is substantially different with additional guardrails than what passed the Senate, Owens said. I believe that actually makes this a better bill. Hail hyperscale centers The original data center bill, know as SB 51, was introduced in January by a representative of NetChoice, a trade association representing online businesses such as Meta, Apple, Amazon, Google and X. NetChoice has been involved in legal challenges to state regulations the organization believed infringed on free speech or free enterprise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An early version of the bill was more generous in terms of delivering a sales tax exemption for 15 years on investments of $250 million, 30 years for investments of $500 million and 60 years on investments of $1 billion. The economic development incentive for data centers was opposed by Americans for Prosperity of Kansas and the Kansas Sierra Club. During a Senate committee hearing, the bill was endorsed by NetChoice, Geiger Ready-Mix, Evergy, Kansas Power Alliance, De Soto Chamber of Commerce, Diode Ventures, Kansas Electric Cooperatives, KC Tech Council and Wyandotte Economic Development Council. Data centers are the infrastructure for state-of-the-art search engines, cloud computing, web-based services and artificial intelligence, said Brad Smoot, who lobbied for the tax break on behalf of NetChoice. Hyperscale data centers are not being built in states that impose a sales tax on their construction, equipment, repair and operation. If Kansas wants to benefit from the billions in private dollars that go into data center construction and operations, it will need to create a tax structure that is competitive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A company called Red Wolf recently filed plans in Wyandotte County to build a 400-acre data center west of Kansas Speedway. The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City said the project could total 1.8 million square feet of building space. One estimate indicated the total project investment could reach $12 billion. Greg Kindle, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, said the county had actively sought to attract data center development projects that would benefit from a state sales tax exemption. We have pursued data centers over the years, but were unsuccessful in large part due to sales taxes on the ongoing investments made by these facilities, he said. Kansas central and safe U.S. location is beneficial to attracting mega-investments of this scale. Correction: This story misspelled the name of Brad Smoot. Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, on April 10, 2025, on the House floor condemned a veto override of legislation allowing LGBTQ+ kids in foster care to be placed in religious households that may disagree with their gender identity or sexual orientation. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA The way Kansas LGBTQ+ youths in foster care are placed into homes could change after lawmakers forced a bill into law that permits foster children to be placed with families who dont affirm a childs sexual orientation or gender identity based on the parents religious or moral beliefs. Republicans argued that Kansas is at risk of losing needed foster families, and the bill prevents the state from discriminating against parents, even though their beliefs might conflict with a childs sexuality or gender identity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, vetoed the bill April 7, characterizing it as a departure from the Kansas Department for Children and Families adherence to the best interest of the child standard. Legislation like this detracts from this standard and stands in the way of best serving those in the child welfare system, Kelly wrote in her veto message. She also feared the legislation could open the state up to lawsuits. The House overrode House Bill 2311 Thursday in an 87-38 vote, with Emporia Republican Rep. Mark Schreiber joining Democrats in opposition. Senate Republicans overrode it the same day in a 31-9 vote along party lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kerrie Lonard of the Kansas Office of the Child Advocate said her office recognizes the proponents intent, the concerns of those opposed and the possibility for unintended consequences. It will be cognizant, Lonard said, of the implementation of HB 2311, which includes recruitment and training of foster parents, and in placement decisions, specific to increased placement options or potential harm or actions that do not maintain best interest of the child as the guiding center. Foster care youths are entitled to basic rights under the Gail Finney Memorial Foster Care Bill of Rights, which was codified in 2023. Embedded in that bill of rights, Lonard said, is the right to live in a safe, comfortable placement, to be treated with respect and to live with someone from such childs community with similar religious beliefs or ethnic heritage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The office will advocate that placement decisions are made with respect to foster childrens statutorily protected rights and in their best interests, Lonard said. HB 2311, which is set to go into law as soon as it is published in the Kansas Register, forbids the states foster care agency from creating policies for a childs placement, custody or adoption that require a foster parent to affirm, accept or support a childs sexual orientation or gender identity that may conflict with the parents religious or moral beliefs. It bars rejections of eligible foster parents based on their religious or moral beliefs on sexuality or gender. The state cannot reject parents if they intend to guide or instruct a child consistent with their beliefs, the bill said. People can sue the agency for damages and attorney fees if barriers to foster care or adoption are enforced after July 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kansas foster care system has endured a rocky history, and it is currently measuring court-mandated improvements to course correct. Brenna Visocsky of the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, which submitted testimony to the House Committee on Child Welfare, said HB 2311 doesnt fix any of the states prevailing problems. She said it furthers them instead. Considering that conversion therapy is still legal in this state, there is the potential for serious harm coming to LGBTQ children placed with anti-LGBTQ foster parents, said Visocsky. Alliance Defending Freedom, a national conservative Christian legal advocacy group, applauded the effort and Kansas Family Voice, a Christian organization that lobbies on abortion, sexuality and parental rights. Greg Chafuen, senior counsel for the alliance, said other states have put politics over people when it comes to religious families in the foster care system, but not Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kansas Legislature correctly voted to override Gov. Kellys misguided veto, he said in a statement. This is a critical step to prioritize the well-being of kids by prohibiting state and local government officials from discriminating against adoption and foster care providers and parents simply because of their religious beliefs and moral convictions. Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat, said the bill puts the foster parents sincerely held religious beliefs ahead of kids sexual orientation or gender identity. This was a bad bill when we heard it last time, Ousley said on the House floor. This sends a terrible signal to a vulnerable population in the state of Kansas. Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, rebutted the idea that religious freedoms are under attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Religious liberty is well-protected in Kansas, she said. What is not well protected in Kansas are children and their rights. The bill isnt needed, she said. The purpose of the bill really is to discriminate against a certain child, Ruiz said, a child that may be talking, speaking about, that they may be transgender. WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)President Donald Trump said on Monday that he expects to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals in the near future. Kansas pharmacy owners are bracing for this as they continue to struggle to stay open. Over the past year, KSN has aired stories about how locally-owned pharmacies are not getting paid enough for medications, leading to more closures over the years. Pharmacists have mixed opinions over whether tariffs will improve the situation. Four months into 2025, the Kansas Pharmacists Association says Kansas has lost five pharmacies, and a sixth is closing soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were already struggling to pay for things because were not getting reimbursed [for] what we should be getting reimbursed, Sloane Freeman, president of the Kansas Pharmacists Association, said. Were not covering any of our costs already. Pharmacy owners say costs are already high because Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, arent reimbursing pharmacies enough to cover the cost of many medications. Tariffs would make medications more expensive, so PBMs would have to increase reimbursement rates to keep pharmacies from stomaching the extra cost. My big concern is, would they react quick enough to increase what theyre paying our pharmacists, or would they sit back and keep that spread? Mike Burns, owner of AuBurn Pharmacy, said. Wichita phone experts warn of upcoming smartphone price hikes due to tariffs Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Freeman says it can take up to six months for PBMs to adjust reimbursement rates to match increased costs. Upfront we have to pay for the drug at a higher cost, so I think just the lag would be scary for some of us pharmacists, Freeman said. Freeman opposes the tariffs as a whole and is concerned that they could spark a drug shortage. Burns believes tariffs could be beneficial in the long term. Its not just about economics and bringing business back to America, its also about [the] safety of our products, Burns said. (Thats) more easily guaranteed by having the production here in America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Larry Straub, a professor of management at Newman University, says building a new manufacturing plant can take 5-10 years, which is a major investment. If I were the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, I would probably want to see how this thing plays out for at least a year, Straub said. Regardless of the outcome, pharmaceutical tariffs are still likely on the way. Straub says even if the tariffs stay in place long term, a new administration could buck them in four years, leaving manufacturers expanding operations in the dust. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt could barely cobble together an answer Tuesday when asked to explain how Donald Trumps executive order targeting specific individuals wasnt an abuse of power. Last week, Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate Chris Krebs, his former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who was fired in November 2020 for publicly contradicting the presidents false claims of massive voter fraud in the presidential election that year. Leavitt was clearly caught off guard during a press briefing when The New York Times White House correspondent Jonathan Swan asked about the hypocrisy of Trumps order targeting Krebs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president has long said that it would be an abuse of power for a president to direct prosecutors to investigate him. Last week, President Trump explicitly directed the Justice Department to scrutinize Chris Krebs to see if it can find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, asked Swan. How is that not an abuse of power, to direct the Justice Department to look into an individuala named individual? Look, the president signed that executive order. Its the position of the president in this White House that its well within his authority to do it, otherwise he wouldnt have signed it. And he signed it, and thats his policy, Leavitt said. According to Leavitts logic, Trumps order to investigate Krebs was not an abuse of power for the simple fact that Trump was the one doing it. It doesnt get more authoritarian than that. Trump had previously railed against former President Joe Biden after Trump became the subject of multiple federal lawsuits and was indicted for allegedly mishandling classified documents and alleged election interference. Both cases have now been dismissed. Trump also claimed that Biden was virtually leading Trumps hush-money case in New York, in which he was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. Its reportedly the disagreement between a loving couple (hey, who doesnt have em?) that keeps going and goingbut will eventually find resolution when the Prince and Princess of Wales ultimately decide where they will send eldest son Prince George to school next after his years at Lambrook end. George is currently a pupil at Lambrook alongside his younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. For his next stop, though, its become an ongoing battle of the alma matersin the right corner, Prince Williams alma mater, Eton, and in the left corner, Kate Middletons alma mater, Marlborough, competing for where the future king will attend come 2026. Getty Kate Middleton, Prince George, and Prince William Kate Middleton, Prince George, and Prince William Eton is seen as more stuffy, if you will (per Cosmopolitan); Marlborough is more laid back. Another feather in Marlboroughs cap? That its co-ed, meaning that Louis and Charlotte could eventually join him there, just like they are all three together at Lambrook. Broadcaster Helena Chard told Fox that There has been much speculation surrounding Prince Georges next school. The discussions have been circulating for years, with the Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly arguing and debating the decision for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im surprised the bookies havent initiated a bet on which school Prince George will attend next autumn, she added. When it comes to education, There has been a long line of unhappy schooling within the family, Chard continued. King Charles was very unhappy at Gordonstoun. Eton wasnt suitable for Prince Harry. Even Princess Catherine was bullied at secondary school. Therefore, she [the Princess of Wales] is committed to securing the perfect fit for Prince George. And, lets face it, the world is their oysterthey have the pick of all schools. Getty Images Prince William, Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Kate, and Princess Charlotte attend the Christmas morning service on December 25, 2024 Prince William, Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Kate, and Princess Charlotte attend the Christmas morning service on December 25, 2024 Royal commentator Ian Pelham Turner shared that, because of her own bullying experiences, Kate is worried about the same happening to George: School days for Kate at times were not the happiest as she experienced bullying, so she leaned more towards a less conventional education for George than William, he said. William, on the other hand, wanted to keep his traditional education by sending George to Eton College, which he enjoyed, and let him keep in close contact with Harry. Kate favors a more relaxed education for George rather than the structured life at Eton which, although it has many opportunities, is steeped in tradition. (For what its worth, Turners money is on Eton.) George apparently paid a visit to Eton ahead of his Easter break from school, according to The Daily Express, and the decision over where to send the future king has become a real dilemma for the Prince and Princess of Wales. Though Eton and Marlborough appear to be the frontrunners, theyve reportedly also visited other schools, like Londons Highgate School. The Daily Mails Richard Eden said Highgate has a world-class drama department (which Kate was attracted to) but the distance between their home at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor and Highgate makes it an unlikely choice, he wrote. Getty Prince George at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024 Prince George at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024 At Eton, meanwhile, Eden wrote George possibly attending is the talk of the school, and of the parents. Etons graduates include Prince William and Prince Harry; Marlborough was attended by Kate and her two siblings Pippa Middleton and James Middleton, as well as Princess Eugenie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Comparing costs, Eton costs just over $83,000 per year, while Marlborough slides in at just under $78,000 annually. At Marlborough, Parents have been talking about nothing else, and discussions have really ramped up in recent weeksbut security is obviously a massive consideration, a source said, per Tatler. Getty Images Prince Louis, Prince William, Princess Kate, Princess Charlotte, and Prince George in a video released September 9, 2024 Prince Louis, Prince William, Princess Kate, Princess Charlotte, and Prince George in a video released September 9, 2024 If Marlborough is chosen, George could also make a little historyhed be the first male heir to study at a co-ed school ahead of the 11-year-olds future graduation as part of the class of 2031. Read the original article on InStyle Upon returning to Earth on Monday following her 11-minute trip to Earth's outer atmosphere onboard a Blue Origin spacecraft, pop star Katy Perry still decked in her custom blue flightsuit and full-coverage glam told reporters that her brief adventure in low orbit was for "future women." And "Earth." Or both, we guess? "It's about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging," Perry gushed, explaining that she sang Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" whilst in orbit onboard the Blue Origin's New Shepard. "And it's about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it." "This is all for the benefit of Earth," she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perry's word salad is, in part, a callout to the six-person flight crew's all-woman makeup, which has been central to the spectacle's framing. That's not an accident: the flight was organized by Lauren Sanchez, the former news anchor and helicopter pilot best known today as fiancee to Blue Origin's founder and the world's second-richest man Jeff Bezos, with Sanchez cryptically telling Vogue back in 2023 that the mission then still in its nascency would be "paving the way for women." (It was later revealed that Sanchez would be joined by Perry; the journalist and broadcast personality Gayle King; film producer Kerianne Flynn; civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen; and Aisha Bowe, a former aerospace engineer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.) To be clear, Monday's flight didn't mark the first time that a rocket made it out of Earth's atmosphere without a man onboard. That honor belongs to Valentina Tereshkova, the Russian cosmonaut who became the first woman in space after making a solo trip into the cosmos back in 1963. And while all these women are certainly accomplished in their respective fields, there's an insidious hollowness to the sweeping characterization of the flight as a great achievement for women that's somehow paving roads for aspiring future space travelers particularly by Perry and Sanchez that's deeply, and cynically, at odds with the way that new federal mandates about diversity policies are actively working to erase women's legacy in American space exploration. As has been widely reported, NASA has been incredibly hard-hit by the Trump Administration's chaotic and widespread attacks on what it refers to as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Last month, the Orlando Sentinel first reported, NASA scrubbed language from a webpage about the agency's Artemis missions declaring that a goal of the mission was to put the first woman and first person of color on the Moon; just a few days later, NASA Watch reported that comic books imagining the first woman on the Moon had been deleted from NASA's website. A webpage for "Women at NASA" is still standing, but pictures of women and people of color astronauts, engineers, scientists have reportedly been removed from NASA's real-world hallways amid the so-called "DEI" purge. Per Scientific American, the word "inclusion" has been removed as one of NASA's core pillars. And as 404 Media reported in February, NASA personnel were directed to remove mentions of women in leadership positions from its website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These purges haven't just impacted the hard-earned visibility for women and minorities at NASA and across the American space sciences, whose work has been integral to the furthering of American space exploration. As The Verge reported last month, the administration's anti-DEI mandates which intersect with ongoing confusion and chaos around federal funding cuts and layoffs, scientific censorship, and attacks on universities and research institutions are wreaking havoc within the American space science landscape at large, threatening to make missions to space less safe. "The 1986 Challenger disaster in which seven crew members were killed when their Space Shuttle broke apart shortly after launch was directly linked to a homogeneity of thought among NASA personnel," wrote acclaimed space journalist Georgina Torbett for the Verge. "The agency's lack of diverse perspectives fed into the tendency toward groupthink that contributed to the disaster, while research has shown that more cultural and ethnic diversity in groups leads to more creative and higher quality ideas and lower risks for space missions." Though Blue Origin and its most famous flyers repeatedly promoted the 11-minute journey as a push to get a diverse mix of young people interested in the sciences and achieving their dreams Perry, for her part, told Elle Magazine for a pre-launch cover story that she hoped the trip would "inspire a whole new generation and make space and science glam" nothing about the flight was particularly scientific or boundary-pushing. This was Blue Origin's eleventh successful space tourism flight. And while two of the flight's crewmembers do have backgrounds in STEM, as Amanda Hess noted in The New York Times, the crew's "central mission" wasn't to conduct science but "to experience weightlessness, view the Earth from above, and livestream it." "They are like payload specialists," Hess wrote, "with a specialty in marketing private rockets." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And then there's Blue Origin's founder, to which the supposedly historic all-women crew is inextricably linked. On the same day that president Donald Trump issued the executive order that caused NASA to erase its declaration that it would soon put a diverse group of astronauts on the Moon, and peel images celebrating the diversity of its spacefarers and scientists from its walls, Bezos stood alongside several other billionaire Big Tech CEOs, together on prominent display behind the returning commander-in-chief. (Several months before, Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, killed the paper editorial board's endorsement of then-vice-president Kamala Harris for president, and has since reorientied its opinion pages in "support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.") Next to him was Sanchez. For the occasion, she wore suffragette white. In case you're wondering, the space travelers didn't have anything to say about NASA's purge of material about women or the Trump administration's attack on science. Instead, speaking to Elle ahead of the flight, the crewmates discussed wearing makeup and doing their hair for the brief spaceflight. "Who would not get glam before the flight?!" Sanchez told the magazine. "Space is going to finally be glam," added Perry. "If I could take glam up with me, I would do that. We are going to put the 'ass' in astronaut." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Perry's case, her vacant brand of empowerment feels sadly reminiscent of her recent refusal to address criticism of her decision to work with the music producer ukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald on her latest album, including to produce an attempt at a feminist anthem titled "Woman's World." In 2014, fellow musician Kesha Sebert of "TiK ToK" fame filed a bombshell lawsuit accusing Gottwald of drugging and raping her shortly after she signed to his record label at the age of 18, and subjecting her to years of "mental manipulation" and "emotional abuse" thereafter (Gottwald quickly sued Sebert for defamation, and the two parties finally settled the case in 2023 after a decade-long legal battle.) When asked about working with Gottwald for her recent album on the popular "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Perry didn't seem to think it was a big deal. "Look, I understand that it started a lot of conversations," Perry meekly responded, adding that Gottwald "was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with." As Hess notes for the NYT, over 100 women have gone to space since Sally Ride's historic 1983 flight; even so, women remain deeply underrepresented in astronomy and space exploration. And to that end, going to space for the good of all women, or the "benefit of Earth," or even to make science "glam," are much better stories than "a centibillionaire and his fiancee said I could go to space on their penis-shaped rocket, I wanted to go, and I wanted to look good for it." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At best, Perry and Sanchez are cosplaying in ChatGPT-generated feminism, searching for excuses to paint billionaire-funded space tourism as something more than what it was. At worst, though, their framing of their mission as a path-carving, glass-shattering step for women obfiscuates the very real attacks on women and minorities across the American sciences that threaten the legacy of the real women spacefarers and scientists who came before Sanchez, Perry, and company and in turn, the direction of the young women who dream of furthering American space exploration in the future. More on The Perry Flight: Chat Relentlessly Mocks Katy Perry's "Space Trip" KANSAS CITY, Mo. A Kansas City woman says shes a victim of a local tow company now at the center of serious criminal allegations. The companys owners are accused of flat-out stealing cars across the area. I was really in shock because I didnt think it was possible, Tkia Hill said. Grain Valley police investigating shooting at Dollar General Monday night FOX4 first showed exclusive video of police hauling vehicles out of Metro Tow on Agnes Avenue last Wednesday during a police raid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the companys owner, Donald Adamson, and his mother, Lannette Adamson, each face nine felony charges. Details in the probable cause statements are alarming. Police allege the Adamsons were simply taking advantage of peopleand investigators consider them dangerous. The car was gone, thought it was stolen, I placed a stolen car report at 9:18, Hill said. Hill is an educator who also does hair in her spare time. On April 7, after finishing her day in the classroom, she headed to a clients apartment for a hair appointment that went smoothly. But when she returned to the parking lot, her car was gone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What she didnt know at the time was that she had just become a target of what investigators allege is a serial criminal towing operationbut she would find out fast. They wouldnt let me get my work badge, my house keysI was locked out of my house. They said my tags were fake, they said my bill of sale expiredwhich doesnt expire. I called the police, but then they got there and told me it was a civil matter and they couldnt really do anything about it, Tkia Hill said. Relief would come sooner than expected. One day later, on April 9, she got a call from detectives. I got that call that theyre searching the tow place, and they found like all the information I gave the tow place is true, and they had no reason to keep my car from me, Hill said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents say Donald and Lannette Adamson were hiding behind their tow business to steal cars and harass customers who tried to get their vehicles back. The probable cause statement reads: These patterns show the vehicles are towed illegally and the state 4669 form being filled out fraudulently all under Donalds business Metro Tow. But thats not all. Police say during the investigation, they installed a surveillance camera on a nearby pole. On March 8, a black pickup truck drove past the camera, then doubled back and fired several rounds, disabling it. Five shell casings were recovered at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators say, Employees and/or the owner of Metro Tow is suspected of shooting the camera out. I just hope that they get everything thats coming to themthat they get what they deserve, Hill said. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android FOX4 stopped by Metro Tow on Monday to ask questions and to see if they were still open. Sure enough, they are. But staff closed the window before any questions could be answered. Both Donald and Lannette Adamson are due back in court Tuesday morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Antom, a payment and digitisation provider under Ant International, has partnered with Adobe to enhance payment experiences for Asian customers. The collaboration aims to integrate localised payment solutions to strengthen Adobe's presence in Asia, utilising Antom's payment technology and regional payment method coverage. In the initial phase, customers in eight key Asian markets will gain access to eight new alternative payment options. These are AlipayHK in Hong Kong SAR, China, DANA in Indonesia, GCash in the Philippines, Kakao Pay in South Korea, Momo in Vietnam, PayPay in Japan, Touch n Go in Malaysia, and True Money in Thailand. The partnership is expected to aid transaction flows, increase conversion rates, and provide payment settlements for Adobe. The companies are also considering the introduction of further payment methods such as credit cards, bank transfers, and digital wallets. Additionally, they are exploring the integration of Adobe into Antoms A+ Rewards program, an in-app digital marketing platform that leverages privacy-preserving computing and AI to connect brands with e-wallet users in Asia. Adobe global payments vice president Matt Wegner said: At Adobe, were always looking to deliver elevated and localised experiences for our customers. As our base of customers in Asia fast expands, were excited to announce our partnership with Antom to integrate localised payment options for our customers and unlock new growth opportunities in the various markets were expanding with Antom into. Ant International Antom general manager Gary Liu stated: "We are excited to collaborate with Adobe, a pioneer in leveraging AI to enhance creativity and productivity for its users. Through this partnership, we aim to make Adobe's advanced tools more accessible to a broader customer base in high-growth markets. Adobe's AI strategy aligns closely with our commitment to supporting merchants with unified payment solutions powered by AI, and we look forward to driving greater synergy together." Antom currently supports merchants in over 50 countries and regions, facilitating connections with consumers in more than 200 markets and processing payments in over 100 currencies. "Ant Internationals Antom enters payments alliance with Adobe" was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. Gov. Brian Kemp has met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune as the Republicans court Kemp to run for Senate in 2026. Axios reported that the two met on Monday, though Kemp has not announced that hes even running for the spot that would put him in a race against Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff. Channel 2s Richard Elliot spoke with Kemp last week. Kemp wouldnt say no about a Senate run, but he wouldnt say yes either. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont really have a time frame on that, but now that we are out of the legislative session, I mean, Im going to give some thought to that, Kemp said. TRENDING STORIES: But if Kemp decides against it, there is speculation that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene may seek the nomination. In a statement, Ossoffs campaign spokesperson said: No matter who our opponent is, this momentum proves that the Senator is in a strong position to be reelected in what will be the biggest and most relentless turnout effort in Georgia history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The race would be a pick up spot for Republicans and Kemp is very popular in the GOP. Kemp is seen as the partys strongest potential candidate, Axios said. Rep. Tim Scott was also with Thune during Mondays meeting. Scott told Axios in March that he expects Kemp to make a decision soon and that the party has been in touch with other possible candidates in the event the governor doesnt run. If [Kemp] runs, he wins, Scott told Axios. The fate of a 29-year-old Maryland father and sheet metal worker was in the hands of two presidents on Monday afternoon. President Donald Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele sat side by side in the Oval Office, both resolute that Kilmar Abrego Garcia wouldnt be returned to the United States. That decision was cheered by Republicans who see Abrego Garcia as someone on a deportation list who entered the country illegally and doesnt belong here. It was decried by Democrats who see it as a kidnapping someone without a criminal record taken from the U.S. without due process. The Abrego Garcia case has put Maryland in the national spotlight and tests the power of all three branches of the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres what we know about the case so far. Is Kilmar Abrego Garcia a U.S. citizen? Abrego Garcia is not a U.S. citizen. He is a citizen of El Salvador. However, he was legally allowed to be in the U.S. because a federal immigration judge granted him a legal protective order in 2019 to prevent his removal to El Salvador. Is Abrego Garcia in the MS-13 gang? Court records say Abrego Garcia left El Salvador when he was 16 in 2011 to get away from gang violence, claiming the Barrio 18 gang was threatening him and his mothers food business. The Barrio 18 gang is a rival of MS-13. Beginning around 2006, gang members had stalked, hit, and threatened to kidnap and kill him in order to coerce his parents to succumb to their increasing demands for extortion, court records say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents say a confidential informant claimed Abrego Garcia was an active member of an MS-13 gang operating out of Long Island, New York a state the deported mans attorneys say he has never lived in. He has not been charged with any crimes in the U.S. or El Salvador, according to court documents. When did Abrego Garcia enter the U.S.? Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. illegally as a teen in 2011, according to court documents. Sometime around 2011, Plaintiff Abrego Garcia entered the United States without inspection. He then made his way to the state of Maryland, where his older brother, a U.S. citizen, resided, the court records say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abrego Garcia has only lived in Maryland, according to the documents. When did Abrego Garcias case begin? Abrego Garcias case began during the first Trump administration. Prince Georges County police arrested Abrego Garcia while he was trying to get a job at Home Depot in Hyattsville, Maryland, on March 28, 2019. ICE took him into custody. A day later he was charged with illegally being in the United States. At an immigration court hearing on April 24, 2019, ICE said a police document indicated Abrego Garcia was in a gang, partially because of what a confidential informant said. He filed an I-589 application for asylum to prevent his removal from the country. His hearings were held on Aug. 9 and Sept. 27 in 2019. A Baltimore immigration judge ruled in his favor on Oct. 10, 2019. ICE did not appeal the federal judges ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the judges ruling to keep him in the country legally, Abrego Garcia had to check in with ICE annually, and his lawyers said he fully complied. What is Abrego Garcias connection to Maryland? Abrego Garcia has family in Maryland, including a brother and grandmother. He lived in Beltsville with his wife, a U.S. citizen, their 5-year-old son and two stepchildren. He worked as a sheet metal apprentice and attended the University of Maryland to earn his journeyman license. Why was Abrego Garcia deported? Abrego Garcias deportation to El Salvador was an administrative error, according to the Trump administration. Though he entered the U.S. illegally, an immigration judges ruling in late 2019 allowed him to stay in the country legally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, he was arrested by ICE on March 12 after finishing a job in Baltimore. He was held for a couple days in Louisiana before being deported without a hearing to the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, a notorious prison known as CECOT. Whats next? The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold a federal judges ruling that Abrego Garcia should be returned to America. The Trump administration maintains that U.S. courts cant compel Abrego Garcias return because they dont have jurisdiction in El Salvador. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said Monday he will not release or return Abrego Garcia to the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A follow-up hearing will be held in Greenbelt, Maryland, late Tuesday afternoon, when lawyers are scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, who previously ordered the government to facilitate Abrego Garcias return. ----------------- Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images) Apple (AAPL) stock surged 4.5% in Monday afternoon trading after U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced a temporary exemption for smartphones, laptops, and other electronics from President Donald Trumps newly imposed 145% reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods. Its the kind of move that reverberates well beyond Cupertino. Apple has a market capitalization of $3 trillion meaning the almost 7% jump it saw in premarket trading translates into a staggering $200 billion increase in market capitalization. For perspective, thats more than the total market cap of Intel (INTC), Caterpillar (CAT), or Goldman Sachs (GS). That number is nearly equivalent to the GDP of Greece or New Zealand. And because Apple is the largest by weight in the S&P 500, the ripple effect of a move like this can sway the entire index. When Apple moves almost 7%, its not just a stock story its a seismic event for global markets. Tariffs whiplash tech industry On Monday afternoon, Trump left the door open to Apple receiving temporary tariff exemptions on products manufactured in China. Im a very flexible person, Trump said in the White House in response to a reporters question about potential exemptions for Apple products. Ill speak to Tim Cook. Other tech companies exposed to Chinese manufacturing, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Dell (DELL), both also rallied on Monday. Nvidia was up 0.3%, while Dell climbed 4.8%. But the celebration may be short-lived. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned that smartphones and similar devices are still slated to be included in a forthcoming semiconductor-focused tariff round coming in probably a month or two. Trump echoed that ambiguity on social media, insisting no product was actually exempt and calling the change a simple reclassification. Look, there is no tariff policy. Its just all chaos and corruption. Thats all we have going on, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said during a TV appearance Sunday. Wall Street analysts say the muddled messaging adds to investor unease, particularly for companies with deep supply chain ties to China. The bottom line: The exemptions may delay pain, but they dont erase it. iPhone dominance endures Even amid policy uncertainty, Apples core business continues to flex its strength. The company retook the global top spot in smartphone shipments for the first quarter of 2025, buoyed by strong demand for the iPhone 16e in Japan and India. With both hardware traction and brand loyalty still going strong, Apples grip on the high end of the global market remains unshaken for now. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Kim Kardashian almost became a part of the Blue Origin mission, as she and her mom, Kris Jenner, received an invitation to join Katy Perry and other crew members to fly into space. However, as per an The U.S. Sun insider, the mom-daughter duo declined the opportunity. Besides Perry, the all-female Blue Origin included Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, and Kerianne Flynn. The highly anticipated launch of the flight into space took place on April 14. Kim Kardashian couldnt make it to Blue Origin mission because of scheduling conflicts, claims source A source recently revealed why Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, turned down the invitation to be a part of the Blue Origin mission. According to The U.S. Sun, an insider disclosed that both The Kardashians stars had the opportunity to make their first-ever space journey but declined for two reasons. The individual told the news outlet, Kris and Kim were offered to go on the Blue Origin. Kris absolutely did not want to go for safety concerns and not wanting to put herself in a risky position being a mom and a grandma. In the meantime, while talking about the SKIMS co-founders reason for turning the invitation down, the insider said, Kim was more open to it but had scheduling conflicts. They added, Maybe in the future, especially seeing how much of a success this flight was. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although Kris Jenner didnt go to space, the media personality showed her heartfelt support to the Blue Origin crew, which was comprised of Katy Perry and Jeff Bezos fiancee Lauren Sanchez, from the sidelines. She and her daughter, Khloe Kardashian, were right outside Van Horn, Texas, at the time of the rocket launch. While there, Jenner said in an interview how this was a really unique experience and that she was honored to be here to support them and watch this amazing part of history. The post Kim Kardashian Nearly Went to Space With Katy Perry on Blue Origin Report appeared first on Reality Tea. Kim Kardashian will testify in person at an upcoming trial over the 2016 robbery in Paris that left her bound, gagged and begging for her life, her lawyer revealed Tuesday. We can confirm that Ms. Kardashian will be testifying in person at the upcoming French criminal trial involving the 2016 incident in which she was bound and robbed at gunpoint by a number of masked assailants, her attorney Michael Rhodes told The Associated Press. He added that the reality star has tremendous appreciation and admiration for the French judicial system and hopes for the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rhodes statement confirms reporting from TMZ and E! News last month. French news agency AFP reports that Kardashian will take the stand on May 13 in a trial thats set to run from April 28 to May 23, according to a provisional schedule. A representative listed for Kardashian did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment. Kim Kardashian attends the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, California. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin via Getty Images Twelve people allegedly involved in the Paris heist were originally charged in the robbery, but 10 are slated to stand trial for armed robbery, kidnapping and other criminal charges, the AP reports. One man who confessed to participating in the robbery published a book in 2021 detailing what happened in the heist, but a French court mandated shortly after the books publication that he may not benefit financially in any way from its sales. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kardashian was robbed of around $10 million in jewelry in October 2016 while she was staying in an apartment for Paris Fashion Week. She says five people entered the residence where she was staying, held a gun to her head, bound her wrists and legs with zip ties, wrapped her face and eyes in duct tape and placed her in a bathtub while they robbed the apartment. Kardashian said she begged for her life and mentally prepped myself for the thieves to sexually assault or kill her, though she was ultimately left physically unharmed. During appearances on her familys Hulu reality show The Kardashians, shes discussed the lasting trauma from the incident and the ways it has impacted how she moves through the world. I mean, imagine youre like, gun to your head, getting tied up, dragged across a hotel room, and the guy, I remember him telling me, Just like, stay calm, and youll live. And I did that, Kardashian recalled in an episode that aired last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [It] served me well at that time, and I think it saved my life, she continued. But I think Ive let it get too calm to where people could take advantage of my calmness or Im just turning into a full robot with like, no emotion. Related... DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) KinderCare Learning Centers is offering a free day of care for military families in honor of National Month of the Military Child. Families of any branch can redeem the free day between April 15 and May 16. Were proud to support and show our gratitude towards the families who serve our country through our free day for military families, said Dr. Marquita Davis, Chief Academic Officer for KinderCare. The nuances of the military lifestyle impact families as much as individuals serving. Military families face unique challenges when seeking reliable and consistent child care amidst frequent relocations and transitions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vietnam veteran finds PTSD relief with RTM therapy KinderCare and Child Care Aware of America have a partnership that offers active duty families child care tuition assistance. Being a national company means military families can easily switch between centers as they relocate. There is also a subsidy program for active-duty members of the Coast Guard; National Park Services; Customs and Border Protection; and General Services Administration employees who are not near on-base care. Air Force Museum pauses social media activity Access to affordable off-base childcare for military families with young children is critical, said Francisco Jamison, Vice President of Military Programs and Executive Director of Respite Care of America. Child Care Aware of America knows that child care is a mission readiness factor and a force multiplier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To find KinderCare centers in the Miami Valley or to sign up for the free day, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. It's no secret that Prince Harry and King Charles are going through a rough patch. Harry's relationship with his father, brother Prince William, and Buckingham Palace in general has been tense at best ever since he and Meghan Markle decided to leave their royal duties and move to California, but their estrangement has only worsened with time. The two haven't had a conversation one-on-one since February of last year, and new reporting claims that things are so bad Charles won't answer Harry's calls or letters. In fact, Charles appears to be avoiding his youngest son at all costs. Harry was in the UK just last week for a court appearance regarding his fight against RAVEC, the group responsible for allocating security, to ensure his family, including children Archie and Lilibet, receive state-backed security when in the UK. His father, however, reportedly scheduled a trip to Italy at the very same timeafter Harry's court dates had been set. A new report from People suggests that Charles is avoiding his son because he doesn't want to end up in the middle of the legal case, which Harry reportedly believes could be solved if his father simply requested his security be reinstated. [The legal battle] puts Harry in direct contact with the people who are carrying out the King's orders, royal author Sally Bedell Smith told People. If his father was to say something even seemingly innocuous, it could end up landing in the middle of the court case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At this point, even if Charles and Harry could meet privately, it's hard to tell if anything constructive would come out of a meeting. Charles, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment, reportedly won't answer any of Harry's calls or letters and didn't even tell his son when he was hospitalized last month. Speaking outside the courtroom last week, Harry hinted that discovery in his current court battle had revealed some distressing truths about his exit from the royal family and how the decision to strip his security was made. Harry reportedly believes that cutting his security was an attempt by the Palace to get him and Meghan to remain as working royals. He told People that his worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this caseand that's really sad. Sources at Buckingham Palace deny that Charles had anything to do with it. The appeals court is expected to return a judgment in a few weeks. You Might Also Like The number of hate crimes in King County this year, in which victims have been targeted for gender expression or sexual orientation, is close to eclipsing last years total number just four months into the year. There have been five hate crimes in King County this year related to gender identity or sexual orientation. There were seven in total in all of 2024, a year that saw a notable drop from the record number reported in 2020 (24). Its hard to say exactly why this is happening, said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office. Whatever it is. Its not going to be tolerated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The true number could be even higher, as McNerthney warns hate crimes can be underreported. People dont always realize the behavior that theyre facing is not just hateful, its a hate crime, he said. In one of the most recent incidents, four men are accused of assaulting a transgender woman in Seattles University District in late March. It happened as the victim was leaving her workplace. The men are accused of yelling slurs before punching her in the face, knocking her to the ground, and then kicking her in the torso. Court documents say the victim was able to get away, but the group followed her and continued to punch and kick her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was left bruised, bleeding, and with broken teeth. One of the suspects, Andre Phillip Karlow, was arraigned in King County on Monday. His attorneys entered pleas of not guilty. A judge set his bail at $200,000. The other suspects have not yet been referred to prosecutors. Karlow was previously charged with another hate crime in September and had been released on bail. In the September incident, he allegedly shouted slurs at another transgender woman before punching her in the face in Seattles International District. That woman was Lexi Young. I was doing my job, she said. I was simply existing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Young said shes never experienced anything like this previously in Seattle. Not only was it soul crushing in a manner that he will never understand, but just incredibly, incredibly disgusting, she said. She was shocked and disheartened to hear Karlow could be linked to another hate crime. To hear that it happened to somebody else, it was absolutely heartbreaking, she said. Since the latest incident, shes taken leave from work. I am so scared of encountering something else like this, she said. She hopes those watching will help stand up to hate. People are being emboldened to act out and to spread misery, Young said. The only thing that we can do is push back and stand up for each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office is pushing for more accountability in hate crimes. The office is advocating on behalf of two bills that seek to clarify what constitutes a hate crime. Right now, state law says that someone is guilty of a hate crime if the person commits a crime because of their perception of a victims identity. Prosecutors say the language confuses jurors, who are not clear whether that bias must be the only motive. Both bills, SB 5038 and HB 1052, would clarify the language to allow prosecutors in Washington to charge hate crimes if a suspect is motivated in whole or in part because of their perception of a victims identity. That makes it very clear for jurors that it doesnt have to be the whole motivation, McNerthney said. It can be partially motivated by hate, and that should be enough to convict somebody of a hate crime. NEW YORK (AP) Five years after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and hauled to jail in handcuffs, the former movie mogul returns to a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday for a new trial covering the very same allegations plus one that hasn't been tried before. It isnt double jeopardy, but rather a legal redo after a New York appeals court overturned the landmark #MeToo verdict a year ago. The states Court of Appeals threw out Weinsteins convictions and 23-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial after finding that the original one was tilted by egregious judicial rulings and prejudicial testimony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jury selection could take a few days. Opening statements and the start of testimony are expected next week. Judge Curtis Farber said that in addition to 12 jurors, six alternates will be picked. Prosecutors expect the retrial to last a month. Heres what you need to know about Weinsteins retrial: How is this trial different from 2020? In some ways, the new trial will be two trials spliced into one. Weinstein, 73, faces charges involving two women from his original trial in 2020, Jessica Mann and Miriam Haley, and hes being tried for the first time on an allegation from a woman who wasnt in the first case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone. Prosecutors are not allowed to retry Weinstein on certain counts that he was acquitted of during his first trial, including charges of predatory sexual assault and one count of first-degree rape. The judicial reboot will play out in a different climate than Weinsteins first trial, which drew intense media attention and saw protesters chanting rapist outside the courthouse. The #MeToo movement, spawned by scores of allegations in 2017 against the ex-studio boss, has evolved and ebbed over time, and Weinstein has since been convicted in a separate rape case in Los Angeles a verdict he is also appealing. While some stars are still facing a legal reckoning for alleged sexual misconduct like Sean Diddy Combs, who is set to go to trial next month the drumbeat of allegations against powerful figures has abated from #MeToos early days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is Weinstein accused of? Weinstein is being retried on two charges from his original trial: one count of criminal sex act for allegedly forcibly performing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant in 2006 and one count of third-degree rape for allegedly assaulting an aspiring actor in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. Haley, a former production assistant on the Weinstein-produced Project Runway, testified at the 2020 trial that he pushed her onto a bed at his Manhattan apartment in June 2006 and forced oral sex on her, undeterred by her kicks and pleas of, No, please dont do this, I dont want it. Haley, who has also gone by the name Mimi Haleyi, acknowledged that she kept in touch with Weinstein, exchanged warm messages with him, and accepted an invitation to his hotel room two weeks after the alleged assault, where he pulled her into bed for sex. Under New York law applicable at the time, Weinstein has not being charged with rape in connection with Haleys allegations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mann, who said she saw Weinstein as a pseudo father figure as she pursued an acting career after a rough upbringing, testified at the 2020 trial that he trapped her in a hotel room in March 2013, ordered her to undress as he loomed over her, and then raped her. She alleges that Weinstein raped her again eight months later at a Beverly Hills hotel, where she worked as a hairdresser. Mann also kept in touch with Weinstein after the alleged assault, testifying that she sent him flattering emails, because his ego was so fragile, she said, and it made me feel safe, worshipping him in this sense. What is the new charge he faces? In addition to Haley and Mann, Weinstein is also charged with one count of criminal sex act for allegedly forcing oral sex on a different woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2006. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That woman, who was not part of Weinsteins first trial, has not been named publicly. The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named, as Haley and Mann have done. Prosecutors said that the woman came forward to them just days before the start of Weinsteins first trial but was not part of that case. They said they did not pursue the womens allegations after Weinstein's conviction, but revisited them and secured a new indictment after the first verdict was thrown out. Weinsteins lawyers contend that prosecutors shouldn't have waited nearly five years to bring the additional charge. Why is there a new trial? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Yorks highest court, the Court of Appeals, threw out Weinsteins conviction in April 2024. In a 4-3 decision, the court said then-Judge James Burke had denied Weinstein a fully fair trial by letting three women testify about allegations that werent part of the case and his decision to let prosecutors confront Weinstein, if he had testified, over his history of brutish behavior. The court labeled the allegations against Weinstein appalling, shameful, repulsive conduct but warned that destroying a defendants character under the guise of prosecutorial need did not justify some trial evidence and testimony. Burkes term expired at the end of 2022, and he is no longer a judge. In a dissenting opinion, Court of Appeals Judge Madeline Singas wrote that her colleagues in the majority were continuing a disturbing trend of overturning juries guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence. The ruling came at the expense and safety of women, she wrote. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has reopened to the public his official residence that was closed after an arsonists fire engulfed one of its wings. A former state police commissioner is studying the residences security and fundraising is in the works to help cover the millions of dollars in damage to the property. The first public event took place Tuesday an Easter egg hunt for children on the west lawn nine days after the fire. Shapiro said Jeffrey Miller, a former state police commissioner who went on to lead security for the NFL, is conducting a security review and that former governors and first ladies are raising money to help cover the cost to restore the damaged rooms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shapiro also said President Donald Trump called him to see how he was doing. How has Shapiro handled it? Shapiro has thanked police and firefighters for rescuing him and his family. While he said there were security failures, he also professed confidence in the state police's ability to protect him and improve security at the three-story brick Georgian-style residence. And I have confidence that theyre going learn from this experience and make our systems even tighter, Shapiro said Tuesday. Shapiro, who is Jewish and viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic Party in 2028, has been emotional about the fire. He fought back tears at his initial press conference when he said he and his wife Lori were overwhelmed by the prayers and the messages of support theyd received from across the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also has said he is unbowed and will not live in fear. The attack came during the Jewish holiday of Passover, but Shapiro has declined to speculate on the arsonists motives or whether it was religiously motivated. Shapiro expects to begin staying at the residence again in the coming days as workers tear out fire-damaged floors, walls and ceilings. Who is the suspect? Cody Balmer, 38, has been jailed since turning himself in, on charges that include attempted homicide, arson, assault and burglary. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 28 to determine whether the case will go to trial. Balmer has not entered a plea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rooms he is accused of setting alight in the early hours of April 13 were where Shapiros family had held the Passover Seder just hours earlier. The fire caused millions of dollars of damage, according to fire officials, but no injuries. State troopers roused Shapiro, his wife, kids and members of his extended family and evacuated them down a rear staircase to escape the blaze. Balmers mother and brother say he suffers from mental illness, something that Balmer denied in his only court appearance. Authorities say Balmer expressed hatred for Shapiro and say they are investigating whether he was motivated by religious or political bias. Police affidavits say Balmer was asked what he might have done had he encountered Shapiro while in the residence and that he said he would have hit the governor with the hammer he carried that night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police have seized Balmers cellphones, lap top computer and digital hard drive and are examining them for signs of a motive. Balmers public defender, meanwhile, said Balmer will undergo an examination of his competency to stand trial. Whats the deal with the residences security? The residence has a nearly 7-foot (2.1-meter) iron security fence, movement sensors on the grounds and video cameras ringing the property, which covers half a city block in Harrisburg along the Susquehanna River. It is bordered on three sides by public streets and on the fourth by an alleyway. State troopers provide security. After Balmer allegedly scaled the fence from the alleyway around 2 a.m. on April 13, he tripped a movement sensor that prompted a trooper to investigate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Balmer eluded the trooper in the darkness, crossed the grounds and used a hammer to smash a window that looked into dining areas where the governor typically entertains crowds, police say. Balmer ignited a beer bottle filled with gasoline and threw it inside, broke another adjacent window and, after crawling inside, ignited a second glass bottle filled with gasoline and threw it, police say. Video cameras in the residence showed Balmer kicking open a doorway outside and slipping off into the night minutes later, police say. Will federal charges be filed? Federal investigators arent commenting. On the day of the arson, Shapiro and Pennsylvania State Police officials said they had been in touch with the FBI. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who is Jewish, called for a federal hate crimes investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps attorney general, Pam Bondi, described the arson as absolutely horrific, said she believes the alleged culprit wanted to kill Shapiro. She vowed to help state law enforcement by doing anything we can to help convict the person who did this. Trump called Shapiro on Saturday. He was very gracious. He asked how Lori and the kids were doing. We talked for a couple minutes about what transpired at the residence and then we talked about for maybe the next 15 minutes or so about a whole host of other topics, Shapiro said. ___ Follow Marc Levy on X at https://x.com/timelywriter. Not even four months after FrieslandCampina and Milcobel set out plans to merge, another pair of European dairy groups have announced they are to join forces and they are unlikely to be the last. On Tuesday, Denmark-based Arla Foods and Germanys DMK outlined a deal they said would create the largest dairy cooperative in Europe. The new co-op is to have more than 12,000 farmers across seven countries and a pro-forma revenue of 19bn ($20.75bn). The two cooperatives, who have worked together in the past in areas like whey processing, believe the merger will provide resilience amid an anticipated decline in the overall European milk pool. And, Peder Tuborgh, the Arla CEO who is set to be the chief executive of the larger business (which will carry the Arla name) sought to outline other positives. By uniting resources, we enhance our product portfolio and expand globally, reaching over 160 markets to ensure stable food production. This synergy strengthens our investment and innovation capabilities, driving new technologies and sustainable practices, Tuborgh said. The maturing of Europes dairy market into a low-growth industry makes deals like this understandable even if it coming so soon after FrieslandCampina and Milcobel announced their plans might have raised some eyebrows. I think the current situation in the EU calls for combining strength, lets put it that way, Mark Voorbergen, a Netherlands-based dairy industry consultant and partner at Claassen, Moolenbeek & Partners, says. Unless we have these kinds of consolidation initiatives, I think theres a decent chance that we will see capacity reductions. If everyones doing that all by themselves, I think its a less efficient process than when its carried out by two companies combined. Europes dairy processors are operating in an industry facing stagnant consumption and falling production. Sluggish consumption in the EU has been a factor in the consolidation seen in the regions dairy sector for the last couple of decades including in deals that have already involved both Arla and DMK. In the last decade and more, Arla has been involved in transactions in European markets including the UK, Belgium and Germany. DMK itself was born in 2011 when two of Germanys largest dairy processors, Nordmilch and Humana Milchindustrie, combined. Five years later, DMK struck a notable merger with Netherlands-based DOC Kaas. According to research by The European Commission that sets EU forecasts for various agricultural sectors out to 2035, the consumption of dairy products in the bloc is projected to remain flat (it forecasts a 0.1% annual decline out to 2035), with, for example, falling consumption of drinking milk but opportunities in areas like cheese, whey and functional dairy ingredients. Republican Senate President Robert Stivers speaks to reporters about President Donald Trump's executive orders aimed at averting the retirements of coal-fired power plants. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) FRANKFORT Saying that fossil fuels role in causing climate change is subject to debate, Republican Senate President Robert Stivers touted President Donald Trumps recent executive orders aimed at boosting the coal industry as a step in the right direction toward making the United States and Kentucky competitive in coal production again. Stivers, who was among Kentuckians present when Trump signed the executive orders last week, told reporters Tuesday morning Trump is offering a two-pronged approach by first incentivizing coal mining and distribution and then expediting the process to get coal mining permits. Stivers said the policies put Kentucky in a good position to be a low-cost energy producer. Stivers said producing more coal is also a national security issue, so the U.S. can control more of its own resources instead of relying on importing energy materials. The U.S. already has significantly decreased its dependence on energy from other countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. has been a net exporter of energy since 2019, reports the U.S. Energy Information Agency, and a net coal exporter since at least 1949. In 2023, annual U.S. coal exports increased by about 15% and equaled about 8% of total energy exports, reports the agency. The U.S. is most dependent on other countries for crude oil which accounted for the largest share of U.S. energy imports in 2023. When Stivers was elected to the legislature in 1997, the state generated nearly $300 million annually in coal severance tax, he said. In the last few years, its been close to $100 million, a reflection of production, which has declined steeply, Stivers added. The Trump administration policies are likely to be an economic booster in Kentucky, Stivers predicted. Coal production in Stivers home of Clay County in Eastern Kentucky peaked at 2.5 million tons annually in 1980, according to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. Clay County now produces no coal. In recent years, Western Kentucky led by an Alliance Resource Partners mine in Union County has surpassed Eastern Kentucky in coal production. Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers posted photos of his White House visit on X, formerly Twitter. (Screenshot) Alliance Resources Partners CEO Joe Craft, a Republican megadonor, also was at the White House with Stivers last week to watch Trump vow to revive beautiful, clean coal, a promise he also made in his first term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It wont just be miners going back to work, Stivers said. Itll be all the peripheral jobs that will come back, that youll see that used to be there supply stores, lumber companies, little grocery stores, mom and pop operations. Thats the hope. Kentucky generated about 68% of its electricity from coal in 2023, the third-highest of all states. Over the last 25 years, Kentucky has fallen from producing the countrys cheapest power to the 12th cheapest as natural gas, solar and wind have often become cheaper than maintaining aging coal-fired power plants. The last large coal-fired power plant built in the country was in 2013. During the press conference, Stivers pushed back on fossil fuels like coal contributing to climate change. He said the assumption that fossil fuels are a contributor to climate change is subject to debate. Stivers assertion contradicts scientific studies that consistently identify the heat-trapping emissions from burning fossil fuels coal, oil and gas as by far the leading cause of climate change. If it is a factor in climate change, do you want us with some of the strongest regulatory processes doing more fossil fuels than shipping it and allowing our products to be produced in Russia, China and India that have limited or no environmental concerns and produce way more than what anybody in the United States does in the realm of fossil fuels contaminants? Stivers said. I would rather do it here. Were more cognizant of potential impacts, or at least aware there is an argument of that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China in 2023 released more heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions than any other country, followed by the U.S, India, the European Union and Russia, according to an independent tally. Historically, the U.S. is the worlds No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases emissions, which accumulate in the atmosphere, because of the countrys earlier and rapid industrialization dating back to the 1800s. Special legislative session coming? During the Tuesday press conference, Stivers also was asked about the response to Kentuckys recent devastating floods, which have renewed conversations about the states disaster funds. Before the legislature finished the 2025 legislative session, it passed a law to create a new state aid fund for communities affected by February floods. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said it would not be enough to cover damage from those storms. Beshear also has warned that a spending cap imposed by the legislature will limit state resources available for flood recovery. When asked about Beshears concern that the state could run out of funding if it faces another natural disaster this year, Stivers said he finds Beshears lack of knowledge problematic and that calling the legislature into a special legislative for one day would cost less than the governor traveling to Davos, Switzerland, for an economic forum, or paying the salary of Beshears Senior Adviser Rocky Adkins, a former House speaker. He is creating a crisis without the crisis existing, Stivers said. One day is all it takes. In 2021, the Legislative Research Commission said a special session costs about $65,000 a day. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE From left, Louisiana Public Service Commissioners Mike Francis, Jean-Paul Coussan and Eric Skrmetta during a Feb. 19, 2025, PSC meeting. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator) In a surprise agenda change for Wednesdays meeting, the Louisiana Public Service Commission will consider terminating a statewide energy efficiency program it just recently hired a contractor to run after spending 14 years to create it. Commissioner Mike Francis, R-Crowley, added the agenda item Monday, two days before the LPSC meets at the Cypress Bend Resort in Many. Most of the commissions monthly meetings are held at its headquarters in Baton Rouge, but members periodically schedule hearings in different parts of the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioner Francis decision to bring this vote with virtually no notice leaves little time for public input on an issue that directly impacts household budgets and statewide energy policy, the Alliance for Affordable Energy said in a statement issued Tuesday. The proposal would end all energy efficiency programs in the state, except for municipal-owned utilities that dont fall under the LPSCs jurisdiction. The Alliance noted that residential electricity rates in Louisiana have increased roughly 45% since 2018, stressing the need for a greater emphasis on efficiency programs. This is the only program the commission has to help residents manage rising bills, the groups news release said. In January 2024, the LPSC voted 3-2 on energy efficiency resources standards (EERC) that a consultant had worked on for over a decade at a cost of more than a half-million dollars. The policy requires utilities under the commissions jurisdiction such as Entergy, Cleco and Swepco to meet certain energy savings targets each year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For example, they can meet the standards through customer-focused upgrades such as adding new insulation to buildings or replacing inefficient heating and cooling systems. The utilities pay for it with little-noticed energy efficiency fees theyve charged customers for years. Entergy Louisiana customers can find those fees on their monthly statements billed as Rider EECR-QS and Rider EECR-PE. The energy efficiency program used in Louisiana for the past decade was voluntary, and utility companies managed them with their own staff. Energy efficiency presents a dilemma for utilities because they lead to customers using less of their product, an inherent conflict of interest for companies that profit from the sale of electricity or natural gas. The program adopted in 2024 is mandatory and uses a third-party administrator to manage and hold the utilities to the energy savings targets. The LPSC recently hired two companies, Aptim and TetraTech, to provide those services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Francis is proposing to terminate those contracts and establish a different energy efficiency policy. In a phone interview Tuesday, he said the current policy framework is too complex and believes it will cost too much money. You need a lawyer and a CPA to work through all of this, Francis said. Its pretty complicated. Francis initially opposed adopting the program in 2024 alongside Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, R-Metairie. Former Commissioner Craig Greene, R-Baton Rouge, provided the swing vote that passed the measure, which had support from the LPSCs two Democrats, Foster Campbell of Bossier City and Davante Lewis of Baton Rouge. Debate on the matter at that time attracted ratepayers who filled the meeting room and chanted, demanding commissioners vote on the new program after hours of discussion. That memory wasnt lost on Francis, who admitted his latest proposal might not be popular with some members of the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im probably making some enemies doing this, he said. Commissioner Jean-Paul Coussan, R-Lafayette, who now sits on the commission in place of Greene, will likely be the deciding vote Wednesday. Sounds like there are several ideas being bandied about regarding the program, Coussan said, offering few clues about how he intends to vote. Im anxious to hear more about the proposals. The program is the first of its kind in the Southeast run by a third-party administrator. It is especially important when it comes to both environmental protection and electricity system affordability, said Joshua A. Basseches, an assistant professor of environmental studies and public policy at Tulane University. Scrapping it now would not only be bad public policy, but would also set a bad precedent in terms of process. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The AI-generated bias meter that the Los Angeles Times rolled out last month in its Voices section and pulled the next day after it added that the KKK was not an explicitly hate-driven movement is not likely to come off the bench, managing editor Hector Becerra said in a recent meeting. In an April 4 Zoom meeting, shared to a blog for former Times staffers, Becerra said of the short-lived Insights feature, Thank God there is no real bias meter I cant say that anybody was a huge fan of it. Its a bit of a distraction, but I think people mostly moved on. On March 3, newspaper owner Patrick Soon-Shiong said that Insights would offer readers an instantly accessible way to see a wide range of different AI-enabled perspectives alongside the positions presented in the article. He also said, I believe providing more varied viewpoints supports our journalistic mission and will help readers navigate the issues facing this nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The following day, the feature was yanked after it added, in part, the note that the KKK was merely responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement to Gustavo Arellanos column. Becerra explained in the April 4 meeting, That citation did not defend the KKK. But it was written in such a passive kind of voice and almost, like, backwards, that I think some people misread it as almost being too soft. And then it got picked up by media: AI defends KKK.' He added, I have to be honest with you, that kind of pissed me off, because media, in general, we should be better than that. There is so much disinformation going on. Lets be precise about what it actually said and what it actually did. As Arellano himself pointed out in a follow-up to his column on March 7, only part of what the AI had added was included in the news pick-ups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local historical accounts occasionally frame the 1920s Klan as a product of white Protestant culture responding to societal changes rather than an explicitly hate-driven movement, minimizing its ideological threat, Arellano wrote, italicizing the last four words. Arellano noted at the end of his March 7 article that he had earlier predicted that whatever AI program the Los Angeles Times would end up using on its opinion pieces, it would self-immolate the moment it encountered one of mine. The Times and Hector Becerra did not respond to TheWraps request for comment. The post The LA Times Has Moved On From AI-Driven Bias Meter After KKK Snafu appeared first on TheWrap. Editors Note: The article has been updated to include additional content. On Tuesday, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) reported a first-quarter fiscal 2025 net income of $7.4 billion (versus $6.7 billion a year ago) and EPS of $0.90, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $0.81. Revenue, net of interest expense, increased 6.0% year over year to $27.37 billion, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $26.99 billion. This was driven by noninterest income growth across all segments and higher net interest income (NII). Also Read: Stride Bank, Affirm Issue New Debit Card With Pay-Over-Time Loans Segment Net income: Consumer Banking clocked $2.53 billion versus $2.66 billion Y/Y, Global Wealth and Investment Management was $1.007 billion versus $1.005 billion Y/Y, Global Banking was $1.91 billion versus $1.99 billion Y/Y, and Global Markets was $1.94 billion versus $1.79 billion Y/Y. Investment banking fees declined by 3% to $1.5 billion. Net interest income was $14.44 billion (+3.0% Y/Y), driven by Global Markets activity and fixed-rate asset repricing. Noninterest income was $12.92 billion (+9.6% Y/Y). Provision for credit losses grew 12.2 Y/Y to $1.48 billion. The efficiency ratio for the quarter was 64.59%, compared to 66.36% Y/Y. The bank reported a CET1 ratio of 11.8%, compared to 11.9% a year ago. The book value per share of $36.39 improved by 8%. The average loan and lease balance was $1.09 trillion (+4.0% Y/Y). Average deposits are up 3% Y/Y to $1.96 trillion. Bank of America added ~1.0 million credit card accounts during the quarter. Bank of America CEO and Chairman Brian Moynihan said, "Our business clients have been performing well; and consumers have shown resilience, continuing to spend and maintaining healthy credit quality. Though we potentially face a changing economy in the future, we believe the disciplined investments we have made for high-quality growth, our diverse set of businesses, and the team's relentless focus on Responsible Growth will remain a source of strength." Outlook: Bank of America reiterated a fourth-quarter net interest income of ~$15.5 billion $15.7 billion. Bank of America stock has lost over 17% year-to-date. In March, at least five Wall Street firms reduced their price forecasts for the stock. Last week, the U.S. financial sector got some relief after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day suspension of tariffs on countries that have not retaliated against U.S. trade actions. The financial sector is a high beta, as it tends to outperform when markets are bullish and underperform during risk-off conditions. The tussle over British Steel has laid bare just how exposed UK industry is to foreign influence. Ministers seized control of the day-to-day running of its Scunthorpe site after talks with British Steels Chinese owner Jingye broke down. It was about more than just an issue with an individual company, as Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, made clear over the weekend. I wouldnt personally bring a Chinese company into our steel sector, he said, marking a clear departure from five years ago when Boris Johnson said the Jingye takeover meant the sound of steelworks in the North East would ring out for decades to come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reynolds has said there was now a high trust bar for dealing with companies from China. However, he insisted most Chinese investments were in non-contentious industries like cars, farming and life sciences. The qualification makes clear the uncomfortable balance ministers are struggling to maintain. While taking a hard line on British Steel, the Government is wary of offending Beijing as Labour courts Chinese cash. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, flew to Beijing in January hoping to build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest. Rachel Reeves greets Vice Premier He Lifeng after she travelled to China to build long-term economic relations - Kirsty O'Connor/HM Treasury Chinese investment is important to driving the growth the Chancellor so sorely needs and its industry is crucial to meeting Ed Milibands net zero drive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China supplies much of the renewable energy infrastructure needed to decarbonise the energy grid by 2030 and is building the cheap electric vehicles (EVs) we need if we are to wean Britain off combustion engines within a decade. However, experts say MPs should be much more wary about Chinas drive to buy up Britain, with investments spanning from nuclear energy to Heathrow Airport. Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, warns that Chinese involvement only spells trouble. They shouldnt be involved in any of our critical national infrastructure because theyre just not reliable partners, and their behaviour over steel illustrates that pretty well. Why on earth the last high quality steel maker should have a Chinese owner when we now need it to build submarines and tanks is anybodys guess, he adds. Energy industry investments One of Chinas most contentious investments in recent years has been China General Nuclear Corporations (CGNs) stake in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. A deal announced in 2015 saw CGN take a 33.5pc share in the project, although the Chinese halted funding in 2023 amid mounting tensions between London and Beijing. One of Chinas most contentious investments has been China General Nuclear Corporations stake in Hinkley Point C Tom Greatrex, the chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, has insisted Beijings investments in nuclear energy does not threaten national security because there is no Chinese tech involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Dan Marks at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank believes otherwise. As a financial investor of course theres a lot less risk. But the real question is, do you want Chinese state companies to have quite detailed knowledge and access to operational material, even if they dont have access to very detailed engineering plans? Theyll still know a lot more than everybody else, and theyll know what corporate discussions are being had, what direction everything is going in and whether its making money. This is important information. Critics also point to Chinas dominance in the manufacturing of wind turbines as a red flag in terms of national security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A dossier commissioned by Germanys defence ministry recently warned that enabling Beijings dominance over energy supplies meant it may have the power to delay projects and even remotely shut down turbines as an instrument of economic warfare. Politicians are now urging the Scottish Government to rethink a deal with Chinese supplier Mingyang to decarbonise the North Sea in a deal that could see Beijing overseeing power generation for millions of British homes. Were shooting ourselves in both feet with net zero and having a timetable that is going to endanger this country, says one defence source. Milibands commitment to one of the most ambitious decarbonisation timetables on the planet is completely bonkers, they add. Britain beholden to Beijing Labour pledged an audit of Britains relationship with China in its 2024 manifesto. We will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to, and challenge where we must, it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Downing Street said there were no current plan for a wider review into Chinese investments. A spokesman said there was already a very rigorous review system, particularly when it comes to our energy sector all investments are subject to the highest national security scrutiny. However, Luke de Pulford, co-founder of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, says Labour must speed up the audit it promised in its manifesto. De Pulford also warns that unless the Government changes its approach to net zero, Britain will be beholden to Beijing. Our net zero targets are completely unachievable without reliance upon China. We have to wake up and smell the coffee over what the Chinese Communist Party is and why its making these investments. Then we need to audit and reduce our dependence upon China, particularly in areas of critical infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is of course precedent for excluding China from critical infrastructure. The Government has banned Huawei from the UKs 5G networks. However, investments elsewhere have raised concerns of naivety in government. The Chinese were allowed to take control of London-based Global Switch, Europes largest data centre operator, despite significant concern elsewhere. The company stores huge amounts of sensitive data and Australias defence ministry moved secret files out of a Global Switch site in Sydney following the deal, amid concerns that the Chinese could access military secrets. The division was eventually hived off and put back into Australian hands. There are also questions surrounding investments by China Investment Corporation (CIC). The worlds second biggest sovereign wealth fund has stakes in warehouse and logistics giant Logicor, which counts major retailers including Marks & Spencer and Amazon among its clients, as well as Heathrow Airport, where Reeves recently backed expansion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then there are EVs. Roughly 100,000 new Chinese cars drove off British forecourts last year, representing almost one in 20 new vehicles sold. Sir Richard says: If in future there is a crisis, they could be a real menace. EVs are computers on wheels that can be reprogrammed by the manufacturer at the drop of a hat. So you can get a Chinese car in a crisis and find out that it only goes backwards or it doesnt go anywhere. Its not just paranoia. The Biden administration warned last year that Chinese tech in cars that was connected to the internet posed a very real threat to US drivers. Marks at Rusi says its not just EVs, either. For example, should someone like the Prime Minister have a smart speaker? Because that can equally listen to you, and it could be the manufacturer, it could equally be somebody hacking, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EVs are particularly susceptible to it because they are kind of just so smart, and also because theyre so dependent on software. Britain should, ironically, take a leaf out of Chinas book, he says. China doesnt allow EVs or other smart cars with sensors that are connected onto secure sites for any government use. Heeding Hong Kong Ministers would also do well to monitor the fortunes of Li Ka-Shing, the Hong Kong billionaire with a sweeping portfolio of British businesses spanning from Superdrug to Greene King and, crucially, majority stakes in Northumbrian Water and mobile phone network Three, which has been given the green light to merge with Vodafone. Li Ka-Shing, the Hong Kong billionaire, has majority stakes in Northumbrian Water and mobile phone network Three - Kin Cheung/AP The 96-year-old billionaire is a self-made man but has recently come under pressure from Beijing over plans to sell a string of ports including assets in the Panama Canal. China is piling pressure on Lis CK Hutchison Holdings to call off the deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State media circulated an article in Hong Kong with the less than flattering title Dont be naive and senile. Referring to the Three-Vodafone merger, De Pulford warns that Beijing may assert more political pressure over Lis empire in future. Thats a vast swathe of our telecoms infrastructure that will be owned by a Hong Kong company, says De Pulford. The UK Government remains intent on pressing ahead with deals, including exporting more British services to China. Sir Keir Starmer plans to travel there later this year. De Pulford acknowledges that a complete decoupling will not be possible, but he says Britain must be wary. Ultimately, we need the water and trains to keep running. We need the lights to switch on when we push the switch. And we dont want to be in a situation where weve handed control to an adversary state over all of that critical infrastructure. 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 Government must explain a rail nationalisation blunder that is costing taxpayers 250 million, MPs have demanded. A group of 24 Liberal Democrat MPs has written to Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, asking for an explanation on the deal with South Western Railway (SWR). Last week, The Telegraph revealed that civil servants had negotiated a 250 million increase in costs for leasing SWRs train carriages. It raises fears that passengers will have to pay increased fares to cover those extra fees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rolling stock rental negotiations normally take between 18 months and two and a half years, according to both Government and industry sources. Yet talks on the SWR deal only began in December just six months before the Government takes it over on May 25 and are still ongoing, The Telegraph understands. Insiders said the cost of leasing the carriages under the new Government-controlled operation is set to soar by 50 million a year, increasing the companys train rental bill by a third. The Lib Dem MPs, most of whose constituencies are served by SWR, are demanding answers from Ms Alexander and assurances that similar blunders will not happen with the other nine train companies the Government intends to nationalise over the coming three years. Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, has been asked to explain the mistake and to confirm the cost of the new leasing deal to the taxpayer - Hannah McKay/Reuters The Transport Secretary is being urged to explain exactly when the Department for Transport (DfT) realised it had to negotiate new contracts for SWRs rolling stock, as well as confirmation of how much the new leasing deal is costing the taxpayer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Government has frequently justified nationalisation on the grounds it will deliver better value for money for British taxpayers. We are consequently concerned by recent media reports indicating missteps in the run-up to SWRs nationalisation which have negatively impacted the public purse, said the letter, signed by Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, and Paul Kohler, the partys transport spokesman. Assurances were given to the House on March 27 that the department was across the detail and the issues delaying the rollout would be resolved by the time of nationalisation on May 25, the letter pointed out. MPs have asked how the DfT will avoid any increase in leasing costs being borne by passengers in the form of increased fares or decreased investment. Taxpayers are already propping up SWR, with the operator receiving net subsidies of 154.7 million during the 2024 financial year, according to Office of Rail and Road figures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter also asks whether negotiations with Roscos (the companies that lease train carriages to operators) have begun in respect of the next train companies to be nationalised c2c and Greater Anglia or any other operators. Roscos are typically owned by pension funds and similar investment businesses. They have the cash to pay for new trains up front, recovering those multi-million pound investments by charging leasing fees to train operators. The creation of Roscos was one of the key parts of John Majors rail privatisation of the 1990s, with the idea being that the companies would fund a wave of new investment to replace tired old British Rail trains. Labours nationalisation plans do not include taking these businesses into state ownership, as it would cost billions to buy out the tens of thousands of carriages that they own. Hire of rolling stock SWR spent 92.5 million on the hire of rolling stock in the 12 months to March last year, down from 104 million in the previous year, according to accounts filed at Companies House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It operates a mixed fleet of more than 2,000 carriages, comprising everything from ex-British Rail diesel trains to a new 1 billion fleet of air-conditioned, electrically powered units. c2c, whose trains run between London, Southend and Shoeburyness in south Essex, will be nationalised in July, while Greater Anglia, serving the rest of eastern England, falls under Government ownership in autumn this year. Both are similarly dependent on Rosco contracts for their trains. An official said: This Government is taking the railways back into public ownership at the lowest reasonable cost to the taxpayer, so we can get on with making the long-overdue improvements needed to make day-to-day journeys easier. The only alternative available to this Government would have been to buy the current operator out of the contract, a few months before it lapsed anyway but this would have incurred the same rolling stock renewal costs next month, in addition to millions of pounds worth of compensation paid to the outgoing operator. 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. HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) Governor Ned Lamont Tuesday announced over $2.5 million in state funding will go to two regional education service centers. He said the move is a step towards helping cities and towns reduce costs and find efficiencies. Lamont approves $3 million in funding for nonprofits These grants are yet another example of those efforts that are taking place throughout the whole of government to lower costs and reduce taxes. Working together we can make government work the way our taxpayers expect, Lamont said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The funds are being released through Connecticuts Regional Performance Incentive Program, which gives grants to regional councils of governments and education service centers which help municipalities reduce costs. These grants will go to LEARN and EdAdvance. Gov. Ned Lamont pushes for more money for program aimed at getting disconnected youth back into school LEARN is southeastern Connecticuts regional education service center. The $1,295,941 grant going to them will be used to expand back-office support services to members districts, among other things. EdAdvance is northwestern Connecticuts regional education service center. Theyll receive a $1,165,116 grant, which is expected to be used in part to expand their Regional Transportation Collaborative and improve transportation efficiency, reduce costs, and convert to electric vehicle (EV) technology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More information about the Regional Performance Incentive Program can be found on the State of Connecticut 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 WTNH.com. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Gov. Jeff Landry testified Wednesday morning as part of his ongoing push to overhaul Louisianas insurance system and bring down the highest car and home insurance rates in the nation. Landry is supporting House Bill 576, sponsored by Rep. Robby Carter (D-Amite), which would change how insurance rates are regulated in Louisiana. The bill would eliminate the current distinction between competitive and noncompetitive markets, replacing it with a single, uniform standard. Under current law, the insurance commissioner can reject rates for being excessive only in noncompetitive markets. In competitive markets, the commissioner can disapprove rates only if theyre inadequate or unfairly discriminatory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HB 576 would allow the commissioner to disapprove any ratein any marketfor being excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory. However, it would also prohibit the commissioner from rejecting any rate that is actuarially justified, even if it might otherwise be considered excessive. The only way I can figure it is if you keep trying to do the same thing over and over again, and you get the same results, and the results arent that good, you have to try something different, Landry said. He added that the bill would give the commissioners office the opportunity to succeed. Car and homeowners insurance in Louisiana have been identified as the most expensive in the country. According to Bankrate, the average cost of full-coverage car insurance is $3,994more than double the national average. Insurify estimates the states average annual home insurance premium will rise to $13,937 in 2025, the highest in the U.S. Gov. Jeff Landry outlines priorities for Louisiana legislative session Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The changes come amid growing public frustration over soaring premiums and limited insurance availability following several destructive storm seasons. Nothing in statute today, nothing in statute in the past and nothing in statute if this bill passes would allow the commissioner to set a rate. Hes only allowed to approve or disapprove. He cannot set a rate. That has never been the case in Louisiana and cannot be the case in this bill, Carter told lawmakers. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple opposes the legislation, arguing that insurance reforms passed last year with Landrys support are already working. He said eight companies have filed to decrease rates for 2025 and that the percentage of companies requesting rate hikes has declined. The reform is working, Temple said. I would encourage you dont upset the progress that weve made by signaling to the market that were going to try something vastly different. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Landry and Temple have publicly clashed over the states path forward. On April 10, the governor wrote on X: Id remind him that we were not elected by insurance companies or trial lawyers, but instead were elected by the people who entrusted us to fix this mess. Landrys broader insurance package includes a ban on insurers passing advertising costs to consumers. If the insurance companies want to hire overpaid celebrities to appear in commercials and have a gecko sipping on coffee riding motorcycles, then our citizens should not pay for that in their premium increases, he said at an April 9 press conference. The bill passed out of the House Insurance Committee with amendments Wednesday afternoon. The regular legislative session continues through June 12. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the effect of House Bill 576 on the insurance commissioners authority. The bill would eliminate the distinction between competitive and noncompetitive markets and would allow the commissioner to disapprove rates that are excessive, unless they are actuarially justified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lying to get cheaper car insurance can end up costing you 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. UPDATE: This story has been updated to clarify the dates charges were issued. LANSING, Mich.(WLNS) A woman charged in two separate child abuse incidents is still working at a mid-Michigan daycare facility. A mother who wants to remain anonymous tells 6 News the director of the Happy Elephant daycare in west Lansing, Rebecca Kenney, assaulted her one-year-old son back in September 2024. Kenney is already facing two separate charges of child abuse. The director of Happy Elephant had slapped my son on the mouth. I was upset. I was super upset, said the mother. As a parent, you send your kids to daycare while you go to work so you make a living. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She says she received a call from the Eaton County Sheriffs Office and Child Protective Services about her son and that after she learned the news, she immediately pressed charges and removed her son from daycare, then spoke to the owner directly. I asked her if it was appropriate, in her opinion, that she had someone with an alleged child abuse case pending, charges pending, and she told me that it was none of my business, said the mother. That I need to, if I wasnt comfortable, I needed to pull my son out. The mother says she already had concerns about the director, Rebecca Kenney before her son was assaulted. His belongings were left there. I was just not comfortable going back to that environment, said the mother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents say that Kenney has been charged with child abuse of the 4th degree for pulling a childs hair. That case is from 2025. Court files show that Kenney is now facing another similar charge for a separate incident in 2024. The mother says more needs to be done. The owner to take accountability. You know, this is the second time its happened. She has charges pressed against her, said the mother. She still has a job and makes a living every day. 6 News went to the daycare in person last week to see if Kenney was still employed, and she was. We have reached out to Kenney and the owner of the facility, but we have not yet heard back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News. Elaine Wynn, the woman who built a Las Vegas casino empire alongside her husband, Steve, has died at 82. Wynn died Monday after battling a brief illness, a family spokesperson told the Nevada Independent. We are all deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Elaine Wynn, and send our condolences to her daughters, grandchildren, and her many close friends, Wynn Resorts said in a statement on Tuesday. Her many talents and special touches are indelibly imprinted on the company and still evident throughout our resorts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Wynns co-founded Mirage Resorts in 1976, eventually selling the company to MGM for $4.4 billion in 2000. After that, the Wynns founded Wynn Resorts and built two more mega-resorts, the Wynn and the Encore, on the Las Vegas Strip. While Steve Wynn was known as the eclectic billionaire, Elaine was considered the grounding force in their relationship. When Steve tried to put a dolphin habitat in the couples backyard, Elaine convinced him to move it to the Mirage instead. Shes very supportive when he gets a bit crazed and impatient, lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe told the New York Times in 2006. Shes much more centered well, she is his center. Born April 28, 1942, in New York, Elaine Pascal was raised in Miami and first met Steve Wynn on a blind date in 1961. They married for the first time in 1963 and moved to Las Vegas in 1967, when Steve bought a share of the Frontier Hotel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Wynns were often credited with transforming Las Vegas, with Steve considered a visionary for building two of the early mega-resorts, the Mirage and the Bellagio. The couple divorced in 1986 but remarried in 1991. At the second wedding reception, Steve told the guests, We regret to inform you, the divorce did not work out. After 19 more years together, the couple split again in 2010 reportedly one of the most expensive divorces in American history. However, their relationship remained cordial afterward. Throughout her time in Las Vegas, Elaine Wynn poured significant time and money into charitable causes in the city. Her biggest focus was Communities in Schools, a program focused on keeping grade-school children from dropping out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to Steve, shes survived by their two daughters, Kevyn and Gillian, and seven grandchildren. She was a tireless advocate for Las Vegas, for children and their education, and for the arts, Wynn Resorts said. Were grateful that the enduring sense of philanthropy she instilled in our company continues to this day. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) An impaired driver who killed a father on his way to pick up his children from school pleaded guilty Tuesday and will be sentenced next month, records said. James McCoy Jr., 62, was riding an e-bike in a marked lane on Feb. 21 when Jesus Robles Jr., 49, driving an unregistered SUV, collided with him. Robles has two open criminal cases: one in North Las Vegas Justice Court and a second in Las Vegas Municipal Court, records said. The second case involves DUI allegations. James McCoy Jr., 62, was riding an e-bike in a marked lane on Feb. 21 when Jesus Robles Jr., 49, driving an unregistered SUV, collided with him. (KLAS) In court Tuesday, Robles pleaded guilty to a charge of DUI resulting in death, records said. Robles has remained in custody without bail since his arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nevadas DUI-with-death law carries a potential minimum sentence of 2-8 years. A judge scheduled sentencing for May 27. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 federal judge on Friday sided with the Trump administration in a battle over a policy that could lead to more immigration raids in churches. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the more than two dozen faith groups that challenged the policy lacked legal standing to bring the case since they havent been significantly impacted by its implementation. She found that ... only a handful of immigration enforcement actions have been conducted in or around churches or other houses of worship and that the evidence at this point doesnt show that places of worship are being singled out as special targets, according to The Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An attorney for the religious organizations told the AP that theyre still considering what to do next. ICE raids in churches The lawsuit from 27 Christian and Jewish groups centers on the Trump administrations decision to allow ICE agents to conduct raids in houses of worship and other sensitive locations without securing preapproval. Administration officials have argued that the policy change is not a big deal since ICE raids in churches have been permitted in some form for decades. But religious leaders and others have criticized the more permissive rules, claiming the Trump administrations approach interferes with religious freedom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congregations are experiencing decreases in worship attendance and social services participation due to fear of immigration enforcement action, the lawsuit from the faith groups said, as the Deseret News previously reported. In her Friday ruling, Friedrich acknowledged that worship attendance has been lower this winter, but said the faith groups had not proven that the shift stems from the updated policy on ICE raids in sensitive locations. That evidence suggests that congregants are staying home to avoid encountering ICE in their own neighborhoods, not because churches or synagogues are locations of elevated risk, she wrote, per the AP. Public opinion on ICE raids As a result of the ruling, the Trump administration is free to leave its current policy on ICE raids in place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But officials will likely still tread carefully moving forward, since polling shows that most Americans dont support doing immigration enforcement in sacred spaces. A Pew Research Center survey fielded in February and March found that two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) believe immigration arrests should not be allowed in places of worship. Americans were similarly opposed to the idea of raids in schools and hospitals. By contrast, majorities say arrests of immigrants in the U.S. illegally should be allowed in the following places: protests or rallies (66%), homes (63%) or workplaces (54%), Pew reported. A federal judge in Maryland will order sworn testimony by officials in President Donald Trumps administration to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued her order after Trump officials continually refused to retrieve Abrego Garcia, saying they defied a clear Supreme Court order. She said the process could take two weeks and told the attorneys on both sides to cancel any vacations or appointments. The bottom line is it was a very simple directive, Xinis said of her own order. Ive got nothing. Ive got no real response. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The afternoon hearing came a day after White House advisers repeated the claim that they lack the authority to bring back the Salvadoran national from his native country. The president of El Salvador also said Monday that he would not return Abrego Garcia, likening it to smuggling a terrorist into the United States. Here's the latest: Army to take over 170 square miles along southern border in anti-immigration effort Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum said Tuesday that the Army will manage that terrain along the frontier with Mexico on an emergency basis to allow more foot patrols and infrastructure aimed at preventing illegal immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Friday memo from President Trump laid the groundwork for the transfer of the Roosevelt Reservation buffer zone from the Interior Department to the Department of Defense in an attempt to get around a federal law barring troops from being used in law enforcement on U.S. soil. If soldiers are providing security for land that is part of an Army base, they can perform that function. The newly announced militarized zone for New Mexico would extend farther inland than the 60-foot (20-meter) Roosevelt strip, by a distance that varies. At least one presidential powers expert says a court challenge is likely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump exempts dozens of coal plants from Biden-era rules on pollution from mercury, other toxics The administration granted nearly 70 coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. A roster posted on on the Environmental Protection Agencys website lists 47 power providers which operate at least 66 plants that received exemptions from Biden-era rules under the Clean Air Act. The actions follow Trumps executive order last week boosting the struggling coal industry, a reliable but polluting energy source that has long been in decline. Among those receiving an exemption are the massive Colstrip Generating Station in Montana, a leading emitter of pollutants such as lead and arsenic; Coal Creek Station, a large plant in North Dakota that is a top producer of mercury emissions; and the Oak Grove plant in Texas, another big polluter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more about the coal plant exemptions Biden: 30% of the country has no heart Toward the end of his speech Tuesday, the former president offered a somber reflection and said the country should not forget about upholding fundamental American values. After referring to how divided the nation is, Biden said there is a 30% that has no heart. Its what we see in America. Its what we believe in fairness. And thats the America we can never forget or walk away from, Biden said. His reference to heartless people was interpreted on social media by some conservatives as an insult to Trump supporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maryland Democratic senator to travel to El Salvador Sen. Chris Van Hollen announced that he will make the trip Wednesday to investigate the wellbeing of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was recently deported to a notorious prison in the Central American country in a move that officials have said was erroneous. Following his abduction and unlawful deportation, U.S. federal courts have ordered the safe return of my constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States, Van Hollen said in a statement. It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release. The Supreme Court has ruled that the administration must facilitate Abrego Garcias return, and a federal judge presiding over the case ordered an intense two-week investigation into the governments conduct. During a Monday Oval Office meeting, President Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said Garcias return was not possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Van Hollen earlier sent a letter to El Salvadors U.S. ambassador requesting a meeting with Bukele, but he was rebuffed. 3 groups fighting child labor sue Department of Labor after millions in grant funding is cut The groups, which combat child labor and slave labor around the world, filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday against the department after the Trump Administration canceled millions of dollars of international grants funding the programs. The plaintiffs are the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, American Institutes for Research and Global March Against Child Labor. The nonprofits had 15 federal grants worth more than $100 million combined, but their funding and work agreements were terminated in March as part of spending cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They want a judge to order the Labor Department to reinstate the grants and their programs. Biden calls for decency, finishes first public speech since leaving office The former president made a plea for just basic fundamental decency. But he sounded pretty defeated on how polarized the country is. Ive been doing this for a long time, Biden said. Its never been this divided. Elsewhere in his speech, he criticized the impact of federal government cuts on Social Security. He said the Trump administration has fired seasoned employees, including in the tech division, and complained that the website has crashed and phone lines have been overwhelmed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also criticized billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk for calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme. What the hell are they talking about? Biden said. No one, no one should take it away. He wrapped up his remarks after speaking for under half an hour. Army and Air Force libraries ordered to review books for DEI material Army and Air Force libraries have been told to go through their stacks to find books related to diversity, equity and inclusion, according to new memos obtained by The Associated Press. The orders from service leaders come about two weeks after the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths office to get rid of those that promote DEI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest orders are part of the Trump administrations far-reaching efforts to purge so-called DEI content from federal agencies. The memos suggest that any book removals will happen only after the initial lists are reviewed more closely. That slower pace may reflect a desire to be more careful about what is pulled from shelves after the Navy faced criticism over some that it removed. Joe Biden makes first public speech since leaving office The former president has taken the stage at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago. He began his speech thanking the organization for advocating for people with disabilities and reminding them that he co-sponsored the the Americans with Disabilities Act as a young senator. Thats what got me involved with politics in the first place, he said. Biden said the government must not turn its back on protecting Social Security, which he called a sacred promise received by 73 million Americans. Folks must never, ever betray that trust, Biden said. Biden was introduced by Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley, who said Biden led the country out of the coronavirus pandemic and into the strongest economic recovery of any country in the developed world. OMalley served as Social Security administrator under Biden. He criticized Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk for threatening the health of Social Security. Protesters removed from Rep. Taylor Greene town hall Three opponents were dragged out of a town hall featuring U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, including one against whom Acworth police deployed an electrical stun gun. This is a town hall, this is not a political rally, this is not a protest, Greene said as she took the stage, before thanking officers for removing the people. Afterward she launched into a full-throated defense of Trumps policy before a mostly friendly room of more than 150 people, arguing that the real economy and immigration enforcement are thriving under him. She argued that Trumps political opponents unfairly ignored a stock market decline during the middle of Joe Bidens presidency and also said measures that touch everyday people are improving. This is the real economy, ladies and gentlemen, that affects you every single day in your life and its only been three months, Greene said. We look forward to seeing more of this. New executive orders signed by Trump Among the directives signed Tuesday by the president: An order to overhaul federal contracts and the governments procurement process, as well as a memorandum meant to ensure only U.S. citizens can receive Social Security benefits. A directive for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to look at the Medicare prescription drug pricing negotiation program established under the Biden administration. He called on Kennedy to improve transparency around the process and to lower Medicare drug coverage premiums. Pentagon senior adviser ousted in investigation into leaks Dan Caldwell, a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has been placed on administrative leave and was escorted out of the Pentagon by security Tuesday, two defense officials said. The officials said Caldwells sudden downfall was tied to an ongoing investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of department information. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. They did not disclose what leaks are being investigated, but there has been a crackdown across the Pentagon and the broader Trump administration on the disclosure of sensitive or classified information. Caldwell, who served in the Marine Corps, was one of several senior advisers who worked closely with Hegseth. Trump might give money and airplane tickets to immigrants who leave voluntarily The president said he wants to give them to any immigrant who is in the country illegally who chooses to self-deport and also to work to get those who are good back in the U.S., a break from his usual hardline immigration rhetoric. Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to carry out mass deportations, said in a recorded interview with Fox Noticias that his administration is focused right now on getting murderers out of the country. But for others in the U.S. illegally, he said, he intends to implement a self-deportation program. Trump offered few details about the plan, including timing, but he added, Were going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then were going to work with them if theyre good if we want them back in, were going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can. In a bid to corral the anti-Trump resistance, Bernie Sanders and AOC visit red states Sanders, alongside his fellow progressive champion Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, took his Fighting Oligarchy tour deep into Trump territory this week and drew the same types of large crowds they got in liberal and battleground states. Outside Boise on Monday, the Ford Idaho Center arena was filled to capacity, with staff forced to close the doors after admitting 12,500 people. There are just 11,902 registered Democratic voters in Canyon County, where the arena is located, according to the Idaho Secretary of States office. While Idaho, Utah and Montana will almost certainly remain Republican strongholds for the near future, the events offer a glimpse of widespread Democratic anger over the direction Trumps administration and a dose of hope to progressives living in the places where theyre most outnumbered. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are among a cadre of Trump critics venturing into potentially hostile territory as Democrats are thinking about how to reverse their fortunes in next years midterms and the following presidential election. Read more about the two progressives red-state tour Judge orders sworn testimony over Kilmar Abrego Garcias mistaken deportation A federal judge said Tuesday that she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis sternly told administration attorneys that Thursdays ruling by the Supreme Court was clear in its order to facilitate Abrego Garcias return to the U.S. She also disregarded Mondays comments by White House officials and El Salvadors president that they were unable to bring back Abrego Garcia, calling their two very misguided ships passing in the night. The Supreme Court has spoken, Xinis said, adding that what was said in the Oval Office is not before the court. Judge lets Justice Department cut funding for legal education programs for people facing immigration court A federal judge has allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily stop funding legal education programs for people facing deportation or immigration court while a lawsuit moves forward in court. The decision from U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss in Washington, D.C., means a coalition of nonprofit groups that offer the education programs will lose their federal funding Wednesday, and possibly some access to potential clients inside detention centers. Unlike criminal cases, people in immigration courts and detention centers do not have a right to an attorney if they cannot afford one themselves. Proponents of the legal education programs say they ease the burden on immigration judges and help immigrants navigate the complicated court system. Congress allocates $29 million a year for the programs. The Justice Department first instructed the nonprofits to stop work on the programs Jan. 22, citing an executive order targeting illegal immigration. Judge blocks the freezing of billions in climate and infrastructure funding A federal judge ordered several federal agencies to halt efforts to freeze billions of dollars meant to finance climate and infrastructure projects across the country. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, sided with conservation and nonprofit groups and issued a preliminary injunction until she rules on the merits of the lawsuit. In her ruling, McElroy demanded that the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Interior and the Agriculture Department end their practice of freezing, halting or pausing funding the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Trump hosts Navy football The president welcomed the team to the White House on Tuesday in recognition of its defeat of Army and Air Force to win the Commander-in-Chiefs Trophy last fall. Trump introduced the Midshipmens coach and co-captains to deliver brief remarks, received a football and a ring from the team and invited them to tour the Oval Office. It was the latest victory celebration hosted by Trump in recent days. Income tax day is here, but Trump is unlikely to release his returns like most presidents before him have done Trump interrupted that tradition in his first term, insisting he couldnt release the returns because they were being audited. He held to that reasoning even after the IRS said taxpayers under audit are free to release their returns. A White House spokesperson doubted that Trump would release his returns on Tuesday. Trumps immediate predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, released his income tax returns annually during his four-year term. Representatives for Vice President JD Vances office did not respond to an email request for comment on whether hes releasing his 2024 return. The administration has repeatedly claimed it is the most transparent in history. Washington mayor orders hiring and overtime freezes Washingtons mayor ordered a freeze in hiring and overtime Tuesday and told staffers to prepare for potential facility closures. Mayor Muriel Bowsers wide-ranging order comes as the capital looks to reconcile a $1.1 billion hole left in its budget last week when the House adjourned without addressing it. The order also gives the city administrator until April 25 to present a plan for furloughing employees and closing facilities. Public schools and Department of Human Services shelters are listed as exempt, but police and fire stations are not. Were concerned when people call 911, they wont get the same level of help that they see now, said David Hoagland, president of the D.C. firefighters union. Agencies can seek waivers on a case-by-case basis. Bowser said Monday that she notified Congress that the city was using federal law to increase its budget by 6%, which it can do without lawmakers approval. Tariff confusion, rapid-fire orders and potential cuts are troubling Alaska Sen. Murkowski The confusion over tariffs in the first months of the Trump administration, along with a head-spinning rash of executive orders and potential cuts to safety-net social programs, are exceptionally concerning, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said. We are all afraid, Murkowski said Monday at a leadership seminar for nonprofit and tribal representatives, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Its quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And Ill tell ya, Im oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And thats not right. The moderate Republican has been one of the few in the GOP to challenge both her party and the president when she felt it necessary, such as voting against Pete Hegseth, Trumps pick for defense secretary. Murkowski criticized some of the administrations approaches to implementing policy measures and service cuts, saying some were unlawful. It is as hard as anything I have been engaged in, in the 20-plus years Ive been in the Senate, Murkowski said. Lawyers for Harvard in Trump administration dispute are no strangers to high-profile legal matters The two attorneys representing Harvard University in a pitched fight with the Trump administration are no strangers to the spotlight or to Washington investigations that reach into the White House. One of them, Robert Hur, was a senior Justice Department official during President Donald Trumps first term and served for a time as the top federal prosecutor in Maryland. But hes perhaps best known as the special counsel who investigated President Joe Bidens handling of classified information and produced a report that painted a damaging assessment of Bidens mental acuity months before the Democrat dropped his bid for reelection. The other, William Burck, has been a go-to attorney for Washington legal crises dating back years. A former lawyer in President George W. Bushs White House, he represented multiple Trump associates during special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and has more recently defended New York Mayor Eric Adams in a corruption case that was brought, and later dropped, by the Justice Department. The involvement of the lawyers both well-known in conservative legal circles and both selected in the past for prominent Trump orbit positions is an interesting wrinkle to a hugely consequential dispute between the federal government and the countrys oldest and wealthiest university. The clash is shaping up to be a seminal moment in Trumps ongoing efforts to bend elite universities to his will by threatening to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding if they dont agree to major campus policy reforms. Read more about the lawyers and the issues at stake The framers of our constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power A federal judge on Tuesday placed a hold on much of Trumps order forbidding the federal government from doing business with anyone who hires the law firm Susman Godfrey, making it the fourth time a judge has found the presidents targeting of law firms is likely unconstitutional. The framers of our constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power, District Court Judge Loren AliKhan said as she entered the temporary restraining order on behalf of Susman, which represented a voting machine firm that won a $787 billion settlement from Fox News over its airing of Trumps lies about the 2020 election. Trumps order cited the firms election work as a reason it was targeted. Several other firms that have been targeted by Trump entered into settlements, promising to provide hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free legal work for the presidents favored causes. Susman and at least three others have chosen to fight and all have so far won in court. Trump border czar not ready to comment on legality of sending Americans to El Salvador prison Tom Homan told reporters hed only gotten back to Washington on Monday and had yet to discuss the issue with the president. Homan said he didnt want to be opining on something I really dont have the information on. When he met in the Oval Office on Monday with El Salvadors president, Nayib Bukele, Trump reiterated that hed like to send U.S. citizens who commit violent crimes to the prison. Such a move likely would be illegal. Key vaccine committee meets for the first time under RFK Jr. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a leading voice in the U.S. anti-vaccine movement. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices two-day meeting is taking up policy questions that had been put on hold when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly postponed the panels February meeting. The committee is slated to vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to make new recommendations regarding three kinds of vaccines, including one for meningitis and another to prevent a mosquito-borne illness. It seems likely those recommendations would fall to Kennedy to decide on. US judge to question Trump officials refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia The administration has continued to refuse to retrieve Abrego Garcia from an El Salvador prison, even after the Supreme Court ordered his return to the U.S. The 4 p.m. hearing in a U.S. District Court comes a day after White House advisers repeated the claim that they lack the authority to bring back the Salvadoran national from his native country. The president of El Salvador also said Monday that he would not return Abrego Garcia, likening it to smuggling a terrorist into the United States. Abrego Garcia, 29, lived in the U.S. for roughly 14 years, during which he worked construction, got married and was raising three children with disabilities, according to court records. Read more about Kilmar Abrego Garcias case Federal judge bars Trump administration from taking action against student from India The University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering student is slated to graduate in less than a month. The order comes as the Trump administration is revoking the legal status of foreign students across the country with little notice. The judge granted Krish Lal Isserdasani, 21, a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from revoking his student visa or detaining him. U.S. District Judge William Conley wrote that Isserdasani was given no warning, no opportunity to explain or defend himself, and no chance to correct any potential misunderstanding before his F-1 student visa record was terminated. The judge set a hearing for April 28, less than two weeks before Isserdasani is to graduate. White House removes aging Kennedy magnolia tree from the Rose Garden due to safety concerns The National Park Service, in a statement released by the White House, said the more than 60-year-old saucer magnolia was removed from the southwest corner of the garden last Saturday because its condition had steadily declined due to underlying soil issues and root disease. Certified arborists had confirmed the tree had entered a state of irreversible decline and needed to be removed for safety. The Kennedy magnolia was one of four planted in the corners of the Rose Garden during John F. Kennedys administration in March and April of 1962. A new tree has taken its place. Last week, a nearly 200-year-old magnolia tree at the south entrance to the White House that dated to Andrew Jacksons presidency was removed for similar reasons. NAACP sues Trump administration over efforts to limit diversity, equity and inclusion at schools The lawsuit challenges actions by the Department of Education threatening federal funding for schools that dont end DEI programs, saying the department is prohibiting legal efforts to give equal opportunity to Black students. In direct conflict with its mission, the Office for Civil Rights has baselessly characterized vital efforts to advance racial equality to themselves be racially discriminatory, thus weaponizing the anti-discrimination laws against the very communities they are meant to protect, said Michaele N. Turnage Young, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of NAACP. Visa revocations for international students pile up, with hundreds of students fearing deportation At least 600 students at more than 90 colleges and universities around the U.S. have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated in recent weeks, according to an Associated Press tally. Advocacy groups collecting reports from colleges say hundreds more students could be caught up in the crackdown. The speed and scope of the visa and status terminations have alarmed students, schools and immigration lawyers, who say theyve been flooded with calls from panicked students. Some students have begun to challenge the terminations in court, with one student in New Hampshire granted a temporary restraining order. Read more about the student visa revocations White House says the ball is in Chinas court on resolving tariffs and trade issues President Trump imposed new tariffs of as much as 145% on Chinese goods on the premise that the taxes will generate new revenues, help reduce the federal budget deficit and force China to make concessions in talks. So far, the Chinese government has shown no willingness to back down by placing 125% tariffs on U.S. goods. The ball is in Chinas court, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Tuesdays news briefing. China needs to make a deal with us. We dont have to make a deal with them. Theres no difference between China and any other country except they are much larger. And China wants what we have, what every country wants ... the American consumer. Or to put it another way, they need our money. A bill to direct the University of Iowa to establish a center of intellectual freedom passed out of the Senate after debate Tuesday. (Stock photo by Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images) Legislation directing the University of Iowa to form a new center focused on American history, civil government and intellectual diversity is headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds desk after Senate passage. House File 437 would require the UI to establish a center for intellectual freedom, which would open with one offered course on American history and civil government and develop campus programming about free speech and civil discourse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The center would work with similar civics initiatives at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa to create academic programs, including undergraduate and graduate degrees, that would be accessible online or in person by students at all of the universities. A nine-person advisory council created by the Iowa Board of Regents, of which no more than one member can be employed by the UI, would oversee the center. The council would conduct the search for a center director for approval by the board of regents. Whoever is appointed director would have sole and exclusive authority over hiring and firing practices for the center. This bill, as amended, comes as a result of a compromise with the board of regents, floor manager Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen said. This bill creates a huge step forward in strengthening civic education at Iowas three regent universities and in promoting greater intellectual diversity at the University of Iowa. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Democrats who spoke against the bill said it was duplicative of both Iowa code and what the UI already offers to students. Sen. Herman Quirmbach of Ames said the state already houses 18 centers of intellectual freedom the community colleges and universities that make up the Iowa public higher education system. Quirmbach gave examples in Iowa law of academic freedom and free speech protections for students and universities. Sen. Matt Blake, D-Urbandale, also argued the proposal was redundant, listing current UI classes covering American history and politics. Quirmbach also pointed out that giving exclusive hiring and firing power to the director could lead to certain viewpoints being outweighed by others that the director may have a preference for. Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, questioned the legality of naming the University of Iowa in the bill when references to certain cities and counties in other legislation have been restricted. She also brought up costs, referencing a fiscal note putting the cost of establishing a school of intellectual freedom at $1.5 million, and said there is no guarantee that the center will garner interest from students. The majority party is legislating less bang for the public buck, Weiner said. The bill passed with a 32-15 vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE By Alimat Aliyeva The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has accused Meta Platforms, Inc. of engaging in monopolistic practices, threatening to force the company to sell Instagram and WhatsApp, Azernews reports. According to the FTC, the agency filed the claim in an effort to address concerns that Metas acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp stifled competition. On April 14, Metas CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, appeared in court to face these charges, rejecting all allegations. The FTC asserts that Facebook's purchases of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 were specifically aimed at eliminating competition with Facebook (which is banned in Russia), citing emails where Zuckerberg had previously referred to Instagram as a competitor prior to the acquisition. The agency argues that losing Instagram could have a significant financial impact on Meta. In 2025, Instagram is expected to generate approximately $37 billion in advertising revenue, which would account for nearly half of Metas total advertising revenue in the United States. The FTCs case is part of a broader scrutiny of big tech companies and their growing influence over the digital economy. Metas dominance in the social media space, alongside other tech giants like Google and Amazon, has drawn increasing regulatory attention. The outcome of this case could set a significant precedent for how governments around the world approach antitrust issues in the tech industry, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape for years to come. Furthermore, the controversy around Metas acquisitions has raised questions about the future of smaller competitors. As Meta faces increased pressure, companies like TikTok, Snapchat, and other emerging platforms are likely to watch the case closely, as it could impact their opportunities for growth and competition in the digital advertising market. Why is CEE such a desirable location for investments in AI? Why are international investors turning their focus here more and more? Let's dissect it. Quick development and sturdiness of the CEE AI environment AI investment in the CEE region has increased rapidly because of a robust ecosystem that endures in the face of challenging global economic conditions. Over 850m was raised by AI startups in 2023, while an additional 593m was raised in the first eight months of 2024. Poland, Greece, and Croatia are at the forefront thanks to big rounds from well-known companies like Croatia's Verne and Poland's ElevenLabs (74m Series B round). Due to strong international interest, Poland led the region in fundraising, with firms raising 171m in 2024 alone. The area's entrepreneurial spirit, technical and technological prowess, and quickly evolving digital infrastructure particularly appeal to investors. CEE has shown its capacity to draw in capital despite global economic downturns and tighter investment conditions, exhibiting resilience that is frequently absent in other areas. The area's resilience in the face of economic upheaval emphasizes its developing reputation as a centre for AI innovation. The Principal Industries Influencing AI Investment Investors are focusing on particular high-impact industries where CEE businesses are succeeding rather than simply placing bets on AI in general. Biotech and healthcare are major drivers, with businesses like Causaly in Greece getting a sizeable round of capital (55m) to use AI-powered analytics to revolutionise the life sciences. In general, financing for healthcare AI was comparable to that for media-focused AI, but it was split across about 40 early-stage businesses. Fintech and Digital Banking : equally important; Romanian leader FintechOS raised 55m, demonstrating the region's strength in financial services and digital banking. Industrial Automation & Manufacturing : Robotics startups, such as the Croatian company Gideon, which is currently supported by Toyota, are promoting automation and efficiency in a variety of industries. Cybersecurity: AI-powered security solutions are drawing significant investments as cyber threats get more complex; the Hungarian startup SEON was able to secure 87m. The growth of vertical AI solutions that are suited to the demands of particular industries is another significant factor driving investment. Instead of creating generic AI platforms, CEE startups are succeeding in specialised applications like AI-driven video production, where businesses like Creatopy (which raised more than 120m in 2024), ElevenLabs, and Colossyan are revolutionising content creation. By providing highly specialised solutions, CEE companies can compete globally thanks to their strategic focus on vertical AI. Jane Doe, who is concealing her name because of the sensitive nature of the allegations, filed the lawsuit against Kanakuk Kamps on Monday in Taney County Circuit Court Another survivor of sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by Kanakuk Kamps staff member Peter Newman is suing the camps leadership for allegedly concealing knowledge of Newmans misconduct. Jane Doe, who is concealing her name because of the sensitive nature of the allegations, filed the lawsuit Monday in Taney County Circuit Court. She is represented by the same attorneys who represented Logan Yandell, another survivor of Newmans abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newman worked for the Branson-based Christian summer camp for over two decades. He was director of Kanakuks K-Kountry camp for ages 6 to 11 in 2009 before he was fired and later convicted of sexual abuse. Newman initially pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual abuse, but the cases prosecutor estimated the number of survivors to be in the hundreds. Doe was nine years old when she attended K-Kountry in 2008. She was placed in a cabin with older girls and was bullied and taunted, according to the lawsuit. She met Newman, who began to isolate her away from other campers. He forced Doe into sexual acts, the lawsuit alleges, and told her if she didnt do such acts or (if she) said anything to anyone, she would not get to go home. Doe repressed what happened until 2024, when the memories came back. She began to question camp leaderships responsibility in causing severe emotional trauma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The timing of the discovery is important in personal injury claims. Missouri law limits claims to five years from the incident or five years from discovery of the injury, in some cases. A Christian County Circuit Court judge ruled against Yandell in January in a fraud case he brought against Kanakuk alleged the camps CEO lied to his parents and pushed them to sign a settlement and non-disclosure agreement for $250,000 that they otherwise would have continued to fight. The judge ruled Yandell should have known about the camps misstatements more than five years prior to his lawsuit. Newmans abuse has been well documented, with reports in local and national news outlets and a page on Kanankuks website acknowledging the abuse and naming Newman a master of deception. But according to Does lawsuit, Kanakuk leaders knew about Newmans misdeeds years before she attended camp. Parents had told the camp as far back as 1999 that Newman was behaving inappropriately, such as swimming and four-wheeling nude. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Years prior to Does abuse, Newmans supervisor recommended that he be fired, the lawsuit says. Instead, he was promoted in 2005. In 2006, Kanakuk CEO Joe White learned that Newman was ministering to children in the evenings in his hot tub, the lawsuit states. White felt this was enough of a problem to issue a corrective action. The correction, however, was not to prohibit hot tub encounters, but merely an encouragement to Newman to assess the amount of time he was spending with his family, says the lawsuit. White and the camp had a duty to protect campers after repeated reports of sexual abuse, Does attorney Reed Martens argues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite having explicit knowledge of the particular sexual danger Newman posed to (Doe) prior to the onset of his abuse, Martens wrote, Kanakuk defendants did nothing to supervise Newmans interactions with (Doe), nothing to control Newman and nothing to protect (Doe). Kanakuk did not respond to a request for comment. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) A Palestinian man arrested at a Vermont immigration office during an interview about finalizing his U.S. citizenship is relieved that he hasn't been moved out of state and thankful for those supporting him, his attorney said Tuesday. Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident who led protests against the war in Gaza at Columbia University, was arrested Monday in Colchester, Vermont. A judge later issued an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country, and one of Mahdawi's attorneys confirmed Tuesday afternoon that he remains in Vermont. Attorney Luna Droubi said attorneys have connected with Mahdawi, though they have not received any information about why he was detained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He believes in peace and unity despite having witnessed atrocities many of us cannot comprehend, she said in an email. His detention that appears to be based on defamatory statements by non-governmental actors and opponents of Palestinian human rights should outrage us all. According to the court filing, Mahdawi was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank and moved to the United States in 2014. He recently completed coursework at Columbia and was expected to graduate in May before beginning a masters degree program there in the fall. As a student, Mahdawi was an outspoken critic of Israels military campaign in Gaza and organized campus protests until March 2024. He co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia with Mahmoud Khalil, another Palestinian permanent resident of the U.S. and graduate student who was recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Khalil was the first person arrested under President Donald Trumps promised crackdown on students who joined campus protests against the war in Gaza. On Friday, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Khalil can be deported as a national security risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The day before his arrest, Mahdawi told CBS News that any allegation that the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia was anti-Semitic was false. I want people to know that the work and the activism that we have done was centered in the energy of love, he said.I want people to know that my compassion extended beyond the Palestinian people. My compassion is also for the Jewish people and for the Israelis as well. MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) Several international students studying in the mid-state, including six at Middle Tennessee State University, have faced changes in their immigration status. Another nine students with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville are also at risk for deportation. The changes in immigration status appear to be related to an immigration crackdown from President Donald Trump. RELATED: Immigration status changed for six MTSU students, per university officials Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The universities have joined more than 180 colleges and universities nationwide have identified hundreds of international students who had their legal immigration status changed by the State Department, according to Inside Higher Ed. We are dealing with families, with students, with individuals who want to work, Leen Heresh, attorney at Cole Law Group, said. Our immigration laws allow for so many different types of visas. The Hill, a News 2 partner, has reported that hundreds of visas are being revoked for issues as minor as traffic violations. It could just be that there is enforcement of the law, but there is not really one reason why visas are being revoked, Heresh said. I will say that ICE has been very active about checking in with colleges and universities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reasons for the revocation of the six MTSU students visas are not known. President of the MTSU Student Government Association Michai J. Mosby told News 2, in part: As the Student Government Association President at Middle Tennessee State University, I want to express our deep concern and unwavering support for the six international students at MTSU whose immigration statuses were unexpectedly changed [..] At MTSU, we value inclusion, equity, and the fundamental right of every student to pursue their education without fear or uncertainty. We are actively in communication with university leadership and relevant campus offices to ensure that affected students are receiving emotional and academic support. [..] To our international community: we see you, we stand with you, and we will continue advocating for your right to be here and thrive. Heresh said they have been preparing for the influx of immigration advice and legal needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every fact is different, every person is different, every status is different, Heresh said. We, as attorneys, have to read the law over and over again to make sure that to make sure that is being applied to the correct person so I would say: seek the advice of legal counsel. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com News 2 reached out to several Middle Tennessee universities on how they would proceed if this were to happen on their campus. Tennessee Tech continues to support and assist our intentional students while remaining fully compliant with all applicable laws and regulations, a statement from Tennessee Tech University reads, in part. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Austin Peay State University is committed to protecting the privacy and safety of all of our students, including our international students, a statement from Austin Peay State University reads, in part. We are closely monitoring the situation and will fully comply with all federal and state laws. Supporting our international student community is a priority, and we remain in open communication to keep them informed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The lawyer for accused Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermanns wife says a Netflix docuseries raises concerns and questions about how investigators determined her and her daughters hair were found on the victims bodies. The DNA evidence in the case against Heuermann has taken center stage in an ongoing hearing in Suffolk County Court. On Tuesday, Asa Ellerup, Heuermanns estranged wife, and her daughter, Victoria Heuermann, watched from the gallery as the co-founder of the California lab that tested the hair samples took the stand. After watching the Netflix series, which came out last week, it raises more concerns and questions about how this investigation was conducted and the procedures that were employed to extract that DNA, Ellerups lawyer, Bob Macedonio said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was referring to Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer, a three-part Netflix series that aired allegations corrupt former Suffolk Police Chief James Burke compromised the investigation and blocked the FBIs involvement in the case. The extraction, how they obtained Asas hair, Victorias hair, allegedly, in light of that last Netflix series that came out, it brings us more concerns and questions, Macedonio said. Its difficult because they are the people, the only people in that courtroom that their DNA is supposed to be on victims bodies. So its very important for them to see and listen and hear it for themselves, instead of have somebody else tell them that it was your DNA. Heuermann, an architect who lived with his family in Massapequa Park on Long Island, is charged with killing the so-called Gilgo Four victims: Melissa Barthelemy, 24; Megan Waterman, 22; Amber Lynn Costello, 27; and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 42. Hes also charged with killing three more women Jessica Taylor, 20; Sandra Costilla, 28; and Valerie Mack, 24. He has pleaded not guilty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, Richard Green, the co-founder of Astrea Forensics, the lab in California that did the nuclear DNA testing of the rootless hairs found at six of the seven crime scenes, took the stand. Astrea Forensics DNA analysis linked Heuermann, Ellerup, and their daughter Victoria to the hairs. Heuermanns lawyers have asked a judge to disqualify much of the DNA evidence, saying that the new DNA methodology employed by prosecutors has never been tested in New York courts. On Tuesday, Green went over his background and the labs history with assisting law enforcement agencies. Assistant D.A. Nicholas Santomartino ask Green if the lab, which was founded in 2019 is accredited, and he said not currently, though it started the process last summer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Green explained they initiated the process to become accredited last summer. That process includes an internal on-site audit by the ANSI National Accreditation Board, which wont happen until winter 2026. Weve been told they are backed up, Green said of the audit scheduling. Green testified that Suffolk County has paid the lab $190,000 total, which includes $130,000 for the Gilgo Beach case. Heuermanns defense lawyer is expected to cross-examine Green when the hearing continues Wednesday. By Nelson Renteria and Sarah Kinosian SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Lawyers challenging the incarceration in El Salvador of more than 200 Venezuelans deported by the U.S. said the Salvadoran government is denying the prisoners access to attorneys and contact with the outside world. Under an agreement with the Salvadoran government, President Donald Trump's administration in March sent 238 Venezuelans to its Terrorism Confinement Center, the largest prison in Latin America, as part of a crackdown on immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawyers said they have not been able to visit, speak to or learn about the whereabouts and conditions of their clients, whose identities they have gleaned through leaked information. El Salvador's presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment. President Nayib Bukele visited the White House on Monday. Private attorneys, some recruited by the Venezuelan government and all paid for by families, have filed writs of habeus corpus at El Salvador's supreme court, seeking to compel the government to justify the deported Venezuelans' detention or release them. Law firm Grupo Ortega, which represents at least 30 of the Venezuelan deportees, has received no response to any of those petitions, said general director Jaime Ortega. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "None of these people have committed a crime in El Salvador," Ortega told Reuters. "If they are foreigners and people who have lived in other countries, why have they come here directly to a penitentiary center?" Rights groups and foreign governments, including the United States, have for years said El Salvador lacks an independent judiciary, and the supreme court has not taken any steps to consider the habeus corpus petitions to date. Human Rights Watch on Friday said there is no official list of the detained Venezuelans, and relatives have not received responses to requests for information on their location from Salvadoran and U.S. authorities. The rights group called on the Salvadoran government to confirm who is being held and where, reveal any legal basis for their detention and allow them contact with the outside world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salvadoran human rights group Cristosal is preparing habeas corpus claims for more than 100 Venezuelans, but Director Noah Bullock is not optimistic about the outcome. The group has filed over 7,200 unanswered habeas corpus claims for Salvadorans arrested under Bukele. Bukele came to power in 2019 on promises he would combat the country's notorious gangs and crime rate. Since then his party has acted in congress to remove the attorney general and all five supreme court judges, replacing them with loyalists. The president declared a state of emergency about two years ago that he said was needed to implement the crackdown. Salvadoran authorities have since detained around 2% of the adult population and the homicide rate has dropped significantly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The moves have drawn widespread criticism, including by the United states, over the suspension of constitutional rights like due process and the right to a lawyer, as well as over reports of arbitrary detention, torture and death. (Reporting by Nelson Renteria in San Salvador, Sarah Kinosian in Mexico City; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) WASHINGTON (AP) The two attorneys representing Harvard University in a pitched fight with the Trump administration are no strangers to the spotlight or to Washington investigations that reach into the White House. One of them, Robert Hur, was a senior Justice Department official during President Donald Trump's first term and served for a time as the top federal prosecutor in Maryland. But he's perhaps best known as the special counsel who investigated President Joe Biden's handling of classified information and produced a report that painted a damaging assessment of Biden's mental acuity months before the Democrat dropped his bid for reelection. The other, William Burck, has been a go-to attorney for Washington legal crises dating back years. A former lawyer in President George W. Bush's White House, he represented multiple Trump associates during special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference and has more recently defended New York Mayor Eric Adams in a corruption case that was brought, and later dropped, by the Justice Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The involvement of the lawyers both well-known in conservative legal circles and both selected in the past for prominent Trump orbit positions is an interesting wrinkle to a hugely consequential dispute between the federal government and the country's oldest and wealthiest university. The clash is shaping up to be a seminal moment in Trump's ongoing efforts to bend elite universities to his will by threatening to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding if they don't agree to major campus reforms. Its a wise move on Harvards part to pick the pair, said Kermit Roosevelt, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Theyre looking for people that the administration won't dismiss as leftists. A look at the lawyers and the issues at stake: Who is Robert Hur? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The son of Korean immigrants and a Harvard alumnus himself, Hur has spoken openly about his desire to give back to the country that took in his family decades ago. He spent years as a federal prosecutor in Maryland before being selected as the Justice Department's principal associate deputy attorney general one of the agencys most powerful positions early in the first Trump administration and even spoke from the White House podium in 2017 about efforts to counter gang violence. He was later unanimously confirmed by the Senate for the role of U.S. attorney in Maryland. Rob proved himself to be extremely competent, affable and a straight arrow and an exceptionally good litigator, said Harvey Eisenberg, a former federal prosecutor in Baltimore who worked with Hur. Hes just a professional." In January 2023, he was selected by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as special counsel and investigate whether Biden mishandled classified materials that he took with him after serving as vice president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hur pledged at the time of the appointment to conduct the investigation fairly and with dispassionate judgment. His conservative bona fides besides his Trump administration service, he also clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the Supreme Court were meant to signal to the public that it could trust the outcome of the investigation because it was in the hands of an outside prosecutor who would not protect the president for political purposes. His final report a year later faulted Biden for his retention of classified material but decided criminal charges weren't warranted. One of Hur's more memorable conclusions was that it would be hard to prove to a jury that Biden possessed the required criminal intent because he would likely present himself as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Republicans seized on that language to raise questions about Biden's ability to lead the country for a second term, while Biden and his advisers accused Hur of straying beyond his mandate and reaching an unjustified assessment. Hur has defended his investigation as independent and rigorous and said he needed to explain Biden's state-of-mind to show how he arrived at his decision to not charge. Hur has since returned to private practice and is a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Who is William Burck? Burck has long been one of the most prominent attorneys in Washington, with a track record of participating in a litany of politically complicated and high-profile matters. A former federal prosecutor who was part of the Justice Department's trial team in the Martha Stewart case, Burck was also a top lawyer in the Bush White House and advised the president on legal matters. Bill was always a straight shooter, said Roosevelt, who was a Supreme Court clerk at the same time as Burck. He was honest, dependable, honorable and a very good lawyer. Years later, as Mueller investigated whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election, Burck represented a stable of Trump associates, including adviser Steve Bannon, then-White House counsel Don McGahn and Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff at the time. All were witnesses in the investigation; none was charged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also played a role in the 2018 confirmation process of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when he was responsible for culling documents for the Senate from Kavanaughs White House years. Some Democrats accused Republicans of cherry-picking the documents they made available and called Burck conflicted because of his representation of Trump-world figures, an assertion he brushed off when he told The Associated Press at the time: I think partisanship may be getting in the way of rational thought." Burck also represented New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft against accusations that he paid for massage parlor sex acts Florida prosecutors later dismissed the case and was part of the defense team for Adams as Justice Department prosecutors in the Trump administration moved to throw out the prosecution. In January, the Trump Organization announced that it was hiring Burck, a managing partner of Quinn Emanuel LLP, to vet deals that could pose conflicts with public policy. He also represented the Paul Weiss law firm when it reached a settlement last month with the Trump White House that resulted in an earlier executive order against it being rescinded. What is the Harvard dispute about? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government said this week that it was freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard, the seventh time the Trump administration has taken such a step at one of the nations most elite colleges. It's part of a broader effort to force compliance with the administration's political agenda, as well as to influence campus policy and limit student activism. In a letter dated Monday, Hur and Burck argued that Harvard had already made lasting and robust structural, policy, and programmatic changes to ensure that the university is a welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students. But it said Harvard would not accede to the administration's demands, which include broad government and leadership reforms, in order to preserve its funding. The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government, the lawyers wrote. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the governments terms as an agreement in principle. Harvard President Alan Garber struck a similar note, saying that the government could not dictate what universities teach and whom they admit or hire. New Jersey Democrats have sparred with grid operator PJM Interconnection over who is to blame for rising electricity costs. (Amalie Hindash for New Jersey Monitor) News that the CEO of the states grid operator is resigning provides an opportunity for the company to reform its practices, a New Jersey Senate Democrat said Tuesday. Sen. John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester) said PJM Interconnection President and CEO Manu Asthanas impending departure should signal a change in priorities for the company, which Democrats have blamed for skyrocketing electric rate hikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The departure of PJMs President is an opportunity for the organization that determines our utility rates to reform its practices to prevent the spikes in electric bills that have been imposed on New Jersey ratepayers, Burzichelli said in a statement. As the disastrous results of the latest energy auction show, the current system is broken. Burzichelli sits on a legislative committee that has been tasked with examining rate hikes. Asthana announced Monday that hes stepping down at the end of 2025 after five years at the helm of the Pennsylvania-based PJM, which operates the electric grid for 13 states, including New Jersey. The change comes as Democrats in the Legislature fret over rising electricity rates that are scheduled to increase in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PJM critics have griped that renewable energy projects that could lower consumer costs are languishing in the companys interconnection queue, the waiting list for generation projects looking for permission to connect to the grid. The company has said spikes in demand and lower supply drove up the price of electricity. Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, say Gov. Phil Murphys focus on renewable energy sources has caused the spike in rate hikes by decreasing the states energy supply. Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex), when asked about Asthanas retirement during an energy-focused press conference Tuesday, quipped that he thought PJM couldnt retire outdated and expensive things. It doesnt really matter who is at the head, Zwicker said. We should make sure that whoever that person is understands the importance of queue reform happening quickly. LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) A report of a stranger who tried to entice a girl into his vehicle in Leander was determined to be unfounded, police said. The Leander Police Department initially reported that a juvenile girl was walking on Artesian Springs Crossing, in the Crystal Springs neighborhood, Friday afternoon when a man pulled up in a vehicle next to her and yelled at her to get inside. The child ran away and the vehicle sped off, police said in a press release Friday. In an update posted Tuesday, LPD said an investigation began immediately, and detectives and officers canvassed the area and spoke to people involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through this investigation, it was determined that the alleged incident was unfounded, police said. This case is now closed and there is no ongoing threat to the community regarding this matter. Leander police are still looking for a suspect in an unrelated possible attempted child abduction that occurred earlier this month. That incident happened April 2 at an apartment complex on Lakeline Boulevard. Anyone who finds anything suspicious or has footage to share was asked to contact Sgt. George with LPD at ageorge@leandertx.gov. Police in Round Rock and Hutto are also investigating attempted child abduction reports that happened Friday. The Round Rock incident involved a report of a man who attempted to lure children into a van. Hutto police said the incident in that city involved a child who was approached by two men in a van. One of those men attempted to grab the child through the open side door of the van, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Independent contract hire and leasing broker Central Contracts has reported record sales growth over the past 12 months, with volumes nearly doubling compared to 2023. The company expects continued growth into 2025, driven by operational improvements and technology investment. Focusing primarily on the personal leasing market, Central Contracts also reported a contract renewal rate of 45%, which it described as among the highest in the sector. The company attributed its improved performance to three key changes: a revised procurement policy, the launch of a new digital platform, and the development of proprietary technology solutions. Gareth Roberts Its updated procurement strategy included the implementation of a new acquisition programme with OEMs, enhanced pricing analysis tools, and improvements to stock ordering processes. This approach has supported stronger ties with manufacturers such as Vauxhall, Nissan, Renault, Kia and Hyundai, as well as with funders underwriting the leasing agreements. A new digital platform has increased the visibility of available stock and deals. In addition, new software introduced by Central Contracts enables automated vehicle taxation and streamlined documentation requests from funders. The company stated that these changes have improved customer experience and compliance. According to Gareth Roberts, strategy director at Central Contracts, the broker is now approaching 10,000 vehicle sales per year. He said this level of growth is encouraging for the company and its partners and added that the business is seeing continued monthly growth in vehicle registrations and expanded availability of vehicle models. Roberts said the renewal rate was a true measure of the companys performance and ongoing customer satisfaction. According to the BVRLAs bi-annual Leasing Broker Report (July 2023 June 2024), leasing brokers collectively delivered 380,000 new cars and vans into the personal and business sectors during the past year. "Central Contracts reports record sales as leasing growth accelerates" was originally created and published by Motor Finance Online, a GlobalData owned brand. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun gave his vision on Tuesday of how to integrate fighters from the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia into the Lebanese Army. The integration of the fighters must be carried out under strict conditions, he told the Qatari news portal al-Araby al-Jadeed (The New Arab). He said that "only the members [of Hezbollah] who enjoy certain qualifications, possess academic certificates and succeed in admission tests will be integrated" into the military. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president added that it would be the same integration process as when militants from various Lebanese parties who had participated in the country's 1975-90 civil war were absorbed into the army in the early 1990s. The Lebanese state is under pressure to enforce the ceasefire agreed with Israel at the end of November. This includes the disarmament of the Iranian-financed and trained Hezbollah fighters. In Aoun's view, disarmament can only be achieved through dialogue. "The decision to limit weapons to the state has already been made," Aoun affirmed, adding that implementation will come through national dialogue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president said he informed US envoy Morgan Ortagus of his keenness "not to jeopardize civil peace and risk a civil war" and to leave the issue of resolving the file of Hezbollahs arms to the Lebanese state. He called on the US to pressure Israel to end its attacks on Lebanon and emphasized that Hezbollah has no intention of being dragged into a new war. Earlier Tuesday, Israel launched another attack in the south of the country. According to the Israeli army, a commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan unit was killed in southern Lebanon. Aoun is travelling later Tuesday to Doha on an official visit, following an invitation from Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. For the first time in the history of the often-uneasy relations between Lebanon, Israel and the United States, all three sides agree on a common end state for Lebanon: The Lebanese state should gain a monopoly on the use of force in that country, and the Lebanese army should become its sole legitimate provider of security. In practical terms, this means the disarmament of Hezbollah and all other armed militias operating on Lebanese soil, consistent with United Nations Resolutions 1559 and 1701. The three sides still disagree on how to achieve that outcome, and U.S. President Donald Trumps administration is running out of patience with the impasse. But through U.S.-facilitated confidence-building measures between Lebanon and Israel, the current diplomatic deadlock can be broken. This is urgently needed to preserve the momentum created since the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah last November, avert a new war and ultimately achieve a lasting peace between the two countries. But first, its important to recognize how monumental this moment is and how the three sides got here. Hezbollah emerged severely weakened from its latest war with Israel, which began when the group started launching rockets, drones and missiles against northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in support of Hamas. The conflict ended after a sustained assault by Israel last summer and fall that left Israeli forces in control of five strategic positions in southern Lebanon. The war may not have dealt a fatal blow to Hezbollah, but it is definitely not the force it once was. Israel has decapitated the group, deeply penetrated its upper-echelon leadership and destroyed much of its arsenal, thus casting serious doubt about its future as a coherent armed unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hezbollahs significant loss of influencecoupled with the collapse of the regime of former dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which had long been a major conduit of Iranian-supplied weapons for the Shiite partyhas had immediate effects on Lebanons internal power dynamics. Because Hezbollah is no longer able to exercise a veto on political developments in the country, let alone impose its will on its domestic adversaries as it did in recent years, a pro-reform tandem is in now charge in Beirut: President Joseph Aounthe highly respected former army chiefand Prime Minister Nawaf Salam are charting a new political course for Lebanon, one that is centered on holistic change and free of the dominance of Hezbollah and its main ally, Iran. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. To be sure, Lebanon is still faced with numerous challenges, including fixing a severe economic crisis, securing the independence of the judicial system, reforming the state bureaucracy and restructuring the banking sector. Yet none is more significant and urgent than identifying a viable path toward disarming Hezbollah. Indeed, Hezbollahs weapons are the biggest obstacle to any Lebanese state-building project, as they enable and sustain all of the above-mentioned problems. The standoff between Lebanon and Israel ultimately comes down to lack of trust between the two sides, which only an incremental approach that includes U.S.-backed confidence-building measures can fix. Brokered by the U.S. and France, the ceasefire agreement that ended the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah last year calls on the former to withdraw all its troops from southern Lebanon and the latter to move its fighters away from the northern bank of the Litani River. The Lebanese army, with the help of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, is expected to substantially increase its deployment in the area and seize all arms belonging to Hezbollah. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Lebanese army has made important strides in destroying Hezbollah stockpiles in the area south of the Litani River, with little to no resistance from the group. Since the ceasefire, it has carried out more than 500 missions to inspect potential Hezbollah sites, dismantle infrastructure and confiscate weapons. It has even won praise for its efforts from the commanding officer of the U.S.-French monitoring mechanism helping it locate those sites. While the Lebanese army has admirably pursued its mission in the area south of the Litani River, it has struggled in the northern part, whose Lebanese Shiite communities have long been a base of support for Hezbollah. Indeed, it only started to move very slowly and carefully toward the area north of the Litani, where it is suspected that heavy Hezbollah stockpiles are located, last week. Beirut has argued that the lack of progress in the area is due to Israels continued occupation of the five key high points in southern Lebanon, in violation of the ceasefire agreement. The Lebanese government is reluctant to instruct the army to dismantle Hezbollahs weapons infrastructure north of the Litani more quickly and forcibly, because Hezbollah stores many of its weapons in the area in civilian homes, meaning the army would have to enter those homes to confiscate them. It fears that, absent a full Israeli withdrawal, Hezbollah and its supporters may be less compliant than they have been to date south of the Liani. And the army, which remains one of the few state institutions to enjoy broad popular trust in Lebanon, is not about to fight the very people it is supposed to protect for the sake of Israeli security. If it does, it could lose that societal consensus on its role and see defections within its ranks. Thats a recipe for disintegration along sectarian lines, which has happened twice in Lebanons recent history, in 1976 and 1984. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For its part, Israel cites security concerns for keeping its troops in Lebanon, claiming that Hezbollahalso in violation of the ceasefireis attempting to rebuild in the south as well as in Beiruts southern suburbs. There have also been several instances of rockets having been fired against Israel from southern Lebanon since the ceasefire. In addition to remaining in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military has been conducting periodic attacks against Hezbollah operatives and facilities anytime it sees a threat. Israel has at least three reasons for wanting to maintain a troop presence in southern Lebanon: first, to create a buffer zone that might alleviate the concerns of Israelis who had to flee their homes in the north during the 13 months of fighting with Hezbollah; second, to exercise political pressure on the Lebanese government to expedite the process of Hezbollahs disarmament; and third, to maintain the unity and cohesion of the ultra-rightwing Israeli government, which opposes making any concessions in Gaza and Lebanon. The standoff ultimately comes down to an understandable lack of trust between the two sides, which only an incremental approach that includes confidence-building measures can fix. The Lebanese government can do its part by formally announcing that it is committed to a verifiable process to disarm Hezbollah, as well as a fixed timetable of at most a few months to do so. In addition, it should immediately instruct the Lebanese army to formulate and publicly communicate a comprehensive strategy for securing both its southern and northeastern borders. To make it politically credible and militarily effective, such a strategy would need to be developed with the help of U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Embassys Defense Attache Office in Beirut. Over the years, U.S. military assistance has helped improve the capabilities of the Lebanese army, allowing it in 2017 to successfully evict scores of ISIS fighters in the north and pursue a range of counter-smuggling operations along the border with Syria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But even if the Lebanese government were to order the army to step up, it lacks the experience and the necessary funding, personnel, training and equipment to secure the borders with both Israel and Syria. Indeed, that the army has been able to survive at all despite years of political crises in Beirut and the collapse of the Lebanese economy is nothing short of a miracle. This is where U.S. engagement becomes crucial. If Washington significantly upgrades its military assistance program with Lebanon, it will enable the Lebanese army to deploy 15,000 troops south of the Litani in accordance with the terms of the U.S.-French roadmap, which itself could alleviate the security concerns of Israel and incentivize it to withdraw from the five hilltops it now occupies. The troops arent a problem.What the Lebanese army lacks in particular to fulfill its duties is a multidomain awareness concept and system to carry on and expand the disarmament of Hezbollah along the southern border with Israel, and to prevent the smuggling of goods, arms and people across the northeastern border with Syria. Some of the requirements for implementing such a strategy include enhanced capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, such as unmanned aerial surveillance and targeting systems, radars, ground sensors and human intelligence assets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But that only covers data collection. The Lebanese army would also have to analyze, fuse and disseminate that data effectively, which would require AI-driven threat analysis, a joint operations intelligence center and improved connectivity. Finally, to act on this data, the Lebanese army would have to create two additional Land Border Regiments as well as a Quick Reaction Force equipped with tactical and reconnaissance vehicles, helicopters and maritime assets. All of this would require U.S. security cooperation. But in addition to helping to build the capacity of the Lebanese army, the U.S. must also try to bridge the divide between the Lebanese and Israeli positions and push both sides to make concessions in the interest of a common end state and regional security. Indeed, it is uniquely positioned to do so, but as mentioned already, the Trump administrations patience is wearing thin. Israel must realize that it is shooting itself in the foot by continuing to occupy Lebanese territory without a clear security rationale, while Lebanon must appreciate that the new strategic environment has dramatically shifted in favor of Israel and that the window of opportunity for U.S. engagement will not remain open forever. The worst-case scenario for Lebanon would be if the U.S. loses interest in the country. Were not there yet, but unlike in the past, its no longer an unthinkable scenario, especially if Lebanon continues to avoid the hard decisions on disarming Hezbollah and kick the can down the road. Bilal Y. Saab is the senior managing director of TRENDS US, an associate fellow with Chatham House and an adjunct professor with Georgetown University. The post Lebanon Needs Help From the U.S. to Finish Disarming Hezbollah appeared first on World Politics Review. PINE BLUFF, Ark.- The Jefferson County Quorum Court and Judge Gerald Robinson are back in a legal debate, this time over legal fees and the lack of being able to pass a 2025 budget. At Monday nights quorum court meeting, the justices could overturn the Jefferson County judges veto of a procedural ordinance. The original passing of a procedural ordinance caused concerns for Judge Gerald Robinson, which is why nearly three weeks ago, he sent a letter to seven of the justices of the peace stating he is seeking legal relief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jefferson County judge seeking legal relief against seven justices of the peace When I vetoed it was out of an abundance of caution that the meeting would be illegal, Robinson said. I still say that it was illegal, I still say that it was invalid. Justice of the Peace District Four Patricia Johnson said she was never notified properly of the meeting. Justice of the Peace District Three Reginald Johnson said confusion may have arisen due to the meeting being notified via text instead of the usual route of email. The majority of the justices did call a meeting, Johnson said. First off, our email had not been paid for, so our email was down so thats where the confusion comes from. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jefferson County defamation suit filed by county judge, others against Justice of the Peace However, this was not the only legal action mentioned at Monday nights meeting. The judge announced he had been served earlier in the day for legal fees from a 2023 lawsuit between him and some of the justices of the peace. They signed an agreement to pay her (the attorney for the justices) and now they want the taxpayers of Jefferson County to foot their bill, Robinson said. However, Reginald Johnson said that because they were sued in their professional capacity, the county should have to pay the fees, and Robinson is refusing, which is why they have served him legal notice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs Jefferson County budget correction bill, goes into immediate effect What we did tonight is just ammunition for me to go further, so as long as they keep doing what they are doing, it keeps building a case for me, when I do take it back to court, Robinson 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 KLRT - FOX16.com. This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday dismissed its case against Comerica Bank, without prejudice, meaning the bureau could refile the lawsuit. In March, the bureau had requested a 90-day stay in its lawsuit against Comerica, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas by the Biden-era CFPB. The bank, in turn, asked the judge to deny that request, which Judge Jane J. Boyle did March 10, saying the bureau had failed to explain how staying this case would be in the interest of justice, and doing so presented a fair possibility of harming Comerica. The bureau dismissing the case without prejudice stands apart from a handful of other dismissals by the CFPB under the second Trump administration, which have been done with prejudice, meaning the CFPB cant revive the lawsuits. The bank declined to comment. The CFPB didnt immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Dive Insight: Last month, the consumer watchdog had requested a stay in the case to give new agency leadership time to review the case, including its position on Comericas motion to dismiss. In December, the CFPB led by former Director Rohit Chopra sued Comerica for allegedly systematically failing 3.4 million federal benefits recipients who held Comericas Direct Express prepaid cards with intentionally poor customer service and illegally harvested junk fees. The CFPB alleged the bank intentionally dropped some 24 million customer service calls with holders of its Direct Express prepaid card, and subjected callers who were not dropped to excessively long wait times often in excess of several hours to speak with a representative about unauthorized transactions, charge disputes, or lost or stolen cards. The CFPB also accused the bank of charging ATM fees to cardholders who were legally entitled to free withdrawals, mishandling complaints from consumers who said they had been fraudulently enrolled in the Direct Express program, and repeatedly failed to address complaints of fraud in an appropriate time period or provided vague and confusing findings to potential fraud victims. That lawsuit came one month after Comerica sued the bureau, asserting the CFPBs investigation of the banks handling of the Direct Express prepaid card program which began in 2021 was aggressive and overreaching. BOSTON (SHNS) Home care providers, a union leader and even the top House Democrat on the committee hearing the pitch all agreed Monday that lawmakers should stand up a licensure process to oversee those who provide transportation, meal prep and other services for seniors in need. Massachusetts is among a minority of states that does not require non-medical home care agencies or professionals to be licensed. While many submit to industry accreditation instead, experts said the status quo leaves oversight gaps that can put both consumers and caretakers at risk. Jake Krilovich, executive director of the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, said he regularly tells prospective home care agency owners that in many respects, its often easier to open a home care agency than it is a pizza shop in Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You simply file with the secretary of states office as a business, and then youre supposed to adhere to one or two [Department of Public Health] regulations when sending workers into an older adults home, and then you can operate, Krilovich told lawmakers. Today, we have no idea how many home care agencies are operating in Massachusetts, he added. If you ask any of our provider members, and two of them are here today, any of them can give you an example of an agency operating in the shadows or skirting these best practices, whether its by failing to adhere to wage and labor laws, not carrying liability insurance, or not conducting background checks on workers. All of these things are things you would think are required of a provider who is caring for a person in their home. Krilovich and a string of home care agency operators urged the Joint Committee on Aging and Independence to advance legislation (H 789 / S 470) that would require the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to create a new home care licensure process. The regulations would need to include background checks for workers, service plan standards, workers compensation and liability insurance, training and competency standards for providers , and more, according to a House-produced summary. Officials would also craft fines and a process for suspending or revoking licenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A state task force in 2021 recommended creation of a licensure framework for home care agencies, highlighting policies in place in other states that Massachusetts could emulate. Members at the time warned of gaps in the current oversight of home care agencies. No state agency currently licenses home care agencies, the task force wrote. While home care agencies that contract with ASAPs [aging services access points] are subject to contractual requirements and oversight by the ASAPs and the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA), private home care agencies that do not contract with ASAPs are not subject to such requirements or oversight. Earlier iterations of the bill won favorable reports from the former Elder Affairs Committee in each of the prior two sessions, but died in the House Ways and Means Committee without a vote in either chamber. Rep. Thomas Stanley, who chairs the Aging and Independence Committee, said he and co-chair Sen. Patricia Jehlen had many, many meetings with advocates to work out differences with previous iterations of the legislation. Stanley called the latest version, which he and Jehlen filed, a very good bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the past, Stanley said, the proposal had been held back by questions about the cost of the state launching a new licensure program. While he said Monday we havent got the answers to that inquiry, he also suggested the landscape has shifted amid upheaval in Washington, D.C. Now we have bigger problems with losing our financial partner from the federal government, Stanley said. I think it just adds to the point that we need services like this certified so that every consumer knows what theyre getting. Everyone that Ive talked to, whether its administration or advocates or whomever, all agree that keeping people home costs the state a lot less money than having to go to assisted living or a long-term care facility. In the absence of a licensure process, Krilovich said, the Home Care Alliance in 2010 created an accreditation process that includes standards for insurance coverage, training, background screening and more. Its not often you have an industry coming to this body asking for itself to be regulated, and its even more rare to see the industry alongside the union in support of a single bill, yet we believe in this initiative so deeply that we created our own accreditation standards in lieu of state licensure many years ago, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tim Foley, executive vice president of 1199 SEIU, voiced his unions support for the bill on his final day on the job. He described the legislation as really a consumer protection and worker protection bill. The way I like to think about it is, in the state of Massachusetts, we have a lot of standards that we put in place to ensure consumers know what theyre purchasing, and this is just another example of that, Foley said. If you were looking for health insurance, we have the stamp of approval that you meet some credible standards before you can offer that youre in health insurance and you should purchase that health insurance. We have a lot of standards in our nursing home spaces as well as our hospital spaces, and it feels critically important now, after hearing today that many other states have similar license processes in place, that we do that here as well. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) Local leaders told NBC4 they worried major construction delays in Licking County could complicate revenue for school districts, but superintendents are taking new timelines in stride. Microsofts $1 billion data center investments were paused last week, not long after Intels $28 billion Ohio One project was delayed again in February. Microsoft was set to build data centers in Heath, Hebron and New Albany, receiving various incentives, including property tax breaks. What does a yes or no vote mean for Issue 2? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Heath and Hebron centers were within the boundaries of Lakewood schools. Microsoft said it intends to follow through on its infrastructure investments in the Lakewood School District but will ultimately repurpose the land for farming. The New Albany development, which Microsoft delayed rather than canceled, joins Intel Ohio One in falling within Johnstown-Monroe Local Schools district. Johnstown-Monroe Superintendent Philip Wagner said fiscal complications with Intel delays or Microsoft pauses are less impactful than one might think. As the area prepares for growth, enrollment numbers have remained relatively steady, so the revenue development would provide is not yet needed. What will drive the need for increased revenue is more housing, or more students in the school district, more residents, and we havent really seen a significant increase in that so far, Wagner said. Lakewood administrators agreed, and both Lakewoods treasurer and Board President said the Microsoft delays would not complicate their districts tax revenue. Still, Lakewood Superintendent Scott Coffey said the delay was disappointing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We were and are definitely looking forward to a productive partnership with Microsoft and all entities who are choosing Lakewood as their home, Coffey said. Microsoft has a stellar reputation for partnering with schools, and the adjusted timeline will simply defer the potential benefits of that partnership. Ohio bill would mandate free feminine hygiene products for inmates In April 2024, Microsoft said local tax revenue was one way the company would give back to Ohio communities. Ohio school districts rely heavily on property tax revenue, but both Intel and Microsoft received property tax breaks from New Albany. Microsoft owes nothing in property taxes for 15 years, and Intel has a 30 year property tax break on its buildings, although it is still responsible for the land. To offset these breaks, Wagner said most of the money schools would receive from Intel or Microsoft would come from income tax funds. These payouts have been minimal so far, as Wagner said there have not been many new employees. However, Wagner said steady enrollment has given them more freedom to wait for payouts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The change is for us is more transient behavior. We have more students coming in and out of the school district than any time in our recent history, Wagner said. Our overall enrollment is staying the same, generally, but weve seen houses turn over and much faster, and some of its related to the demolition of existing homes to make way for economic development projects. Within Johnstown-Monroe district boundaries, more than 100 homes have been demolished to make way for development. Wagner said the district receives a small sum of money from real estate transfers, which offsets possible property tax losses from home demolitions. What to know about SAVE Act, voting and Ohio REAL IDs Wagner said timeline delays offer more time for districts to prepare for increased enrollment. Johnstown-Monroe is investing in new construction, including a six-classroom addition at Johnstown High School set to open this summer. Currently enrolling around 1,680 students, Wagner said if enrollment reaches projected levels, the district could increase capacity to nearly 4,600 by constructing two new school buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were taking any of these delays or pauses as an opportunity to continue our planning and to prepare, Wagner said. So in some respects, thats been a gift for us. A gift 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. A 35-year-old man was charged Tuesday in connection with the Saturday fatal stabbing of a 29-year-old woman in the Lincoln Square neighborhood, Chicago police said. Nurmuhammed Inus of the 2700 block of West Balmoral Avenue was charged with first degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Mairunnisa B. Osman, police said. Osman, who lived in the West Ridge neighborhood, was discovered Saturday after a fight with Inus inside a residence where he lives, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inus allegedly fled the residence after the stabbing and was arrested shortly before noon on Saturday in the 5400 block of North Lincoln Avenue, police said. Inus is scheduled to appear Tuesday afternoon at a detention hearing at 26th and California. PENSACOLA, Fla. (WFLA) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis decried Republicans in the state legislature in a news conference Tuesday, claiming they are colluding with Democrats to undermine his agenda. Speaking at Pensacola State College, DeSantis touted his administrations higher education reforms and said a Republicans representatives bill threatens to undo the success of those changes. Hope Florida contribution controversy continues Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Something is rotten in the Florida House of Representatives, DeSantis said. These people are not doing what they told you they would do. DeSantis spoke out against HB-1321, filed by Rep. Michelle Salzman (R-Pensacola) and co-sponsored by Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando), who he called the most flamboyantly left-wing Florida representative. Salzman said the bill aims to bring transparency to the process of selecting university presidents and other officials. By bringing presidential searches into the sunshine, ensuring financial accountability for board members, and empowering students with clear information about their courses and textbook costs, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing affordable, high-quality education to all Floridians. This bill will ensure that our higher education institutions are governed in a transparent and ethical manner, with the best interests of our students and taxpayers as the guiding principle, Salzman said, according to the Florida House website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeSantis floated the idea of vetoing the bill, if passed, stating that Republicans who support legislation that eschews his agenda are stabbing voters in the back. The question is, why the hell are they doing this? DeSantis said of Republicans in the legislature. This is not what you asked for. None of them campaigned on this. Why is this happening given the success we had? This comes as the DeSantises are embroiled in controversy surrounding Hope Florida, a foundation that connects Floridians in need to resources, spearheaded by Casey DeSantis. Florida lawmakers are looking into a $10 million contribution to Hope Florida from a $67 million settlement with Centene, a health insurance company fined for overbilling Medicaid. House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) said that the money was sent to two political groups, who, days later, gave millions of dollars to a political committee fighting against Amendment 3, which would have legalized marijuana for adult use. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida Republicans are also looking into the matter, House Speaker Daniel Perez said. DeSantis called the criticism from Perez and other Republican lawmakers a total farce and a manufactured hoax against him and his wife. The states newly appointed Attorney General, James Uthmeier, is also in the mix due to his ties to the political committee, which he oversaw as DeSantis Chief of Staff. He said Hope Florida didnt do anything wrong. In the news conference, DeSantis defended Hope Florida, touting it as an alternative to government welfare. He also announced the organization now has liaisons at state colleges to help students in need and questioned why Republicans would want to look into the organization. This just blows my mind. These guys in the Florida House of Representatives, youve got a cabal of them in the leadership, DeSantis said. Theyre colluding with liberal media and the Democratic Party in Florida to try and smear to manufacture smears against Hope Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First Lady Casey DeSantis also appeared at the news conference to defend Hope Florida and the merits of the program. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Apr. 14MITCHELL The Mitchell Board of Education will review Mitchell Middle School policies when it meets in regular session Monday night. The meeting, set for 5:30 p.m., is scheduled to take place in Room 10 at the Mitchell Career and Technical Education Academy. The Mitchell Republic will livestream the meeting the link below. Among the other agenda items to be considered are a presentation on Kernel Club initiatives and board consideration of resolutions to approve the renewal and participation agreements with ASBSD for workman's compensation pool group and a participation agreement with ASBSD protective trust for the South Dakota School District Benefits Fund. The full agenda for the meeting can be found at the link below. The meeting is open to the public. SPRINGBORO, Ohio (WDTN) A local boy battling leukemia got a big surprise for his birthday. Dozens of law enforcement lined up in Springboro to parade by 6-year-old Elis house. Eli wants to be a police officer when he grows up, so his family reached out to the Springboro Police Department. The department posted the plan to Facebook, leading cruisers from across the Miami Valley to show up in support of Eli. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officer Aaron Morgan says the response was overwhelming, especially given the short notice. We want him to know that, he wants to be a police officer, weve already adopted him into our family, said Morgan. Weve got his six, were going to do anything we can to get him through this cancer. Springboro PD organized the parade in just four days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. China plans to continue building coal-fired power plants through to 2027, according to government guidelines for upgrading the coal power system. The state planner and energy regulator emphasised that the plants are necessary in regions where they are needed to meet peak power demand or stabilise the grid, as reported by Reuters. The decision raises questions about China's commitment to reducing coal usage between 2026 and 2030. The guidelines specify that newly constructed coal plants should have between 10% and 20% lower carbon emissions per unit of power output compared to the 2024 fleet. Upgrades to some existing coal plants are required to meet these conditions. The newly built and upgraded plants must adjust their output safely and reliably to accommodate peak power demand. A recent report from the China Coal Association indicates that China's coal consumption will not peak until 2028, later than other forecasts suggesting a peak in 2025. The association noted that rising coal usage in the power and chemicals sectors would support a small increase in consumption, offsetting falling demand from the steel and building material industries. China recently unveiled plans to develop substantial renewable energy projects. Its National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has outlined initiatives for offshore wind farms and new energy bases in desert areas. These efforts are part of the country's strategy to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The NDRC report also highlights a controversial hydropower facility on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, raising concerns in India about its impact of downstream water flow. A direct power transmission route connecting Tibet with Hong Kong, Macao and Guangdong is also proposed. "China to continue coal-fired power builds up to 2027 for peak demand" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Local comic book shops are gearing up for this years Free Comic Book Day. ACME Comics and Collectibles and StarFighter Comics are both getting ready for Free Comic Book Day 2025 on May 3. Local community college prepares for upcoming music festival This year is the 25th Free Comic Book Day, and will be offering a wide variety of titles for readers all ages, ranging from popular Marvel and DC heroes, Star Wars, Speed Racer, Minecraft, and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At ACME, visitors can meet with local clubs such as the Sioux City Ghostbusters and Darth Vaders 501st Legion. The Mystery Machine and Iron Man car will also be there. Other guests are also planned for the event. The Corndog Company of Sioux City will be there to serve those who come hungry. ACME will be hosting the event from 11 a.m. through 8 p.m. At StarFighter, the event will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fuzzy Pig BBQ will be there, too. For a full list of comics available for this years Free Comic Book Day, 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. DES MOINES, Iowa In 2023, the Petek family filed a civil rights complaint against the Urbandale School District after they said the district did not take proper action in a situation involving their disabled student Keaton Petek. A teacher at the Urbandale elementary school, Amanda Delzell, was placed on administrative leave after attempting to report what she considered abuse. Delzell was later fired by the district. Its this situation that has Paige Petek and Pam Gronau seeking a change in Iowa code. Its my understanding that a full formal investigation where the parent should have received a report showing what they had found in their investigation was never done, it was never given to them. And so that was where the huge red flag came in and I said this has to change, said Pam Gronau, a concerned parent with three students attending a central Iowa school district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under current state law, teachers are mandatory reporters, except for when the abuse is at the hands of an educator. This allows school districts to take the lead in abuse allegations, which means the information surrounding an incident could be kept private. Gronau is advocating for a bill that will take alleged abuse investigations out of the hands of the school districts and into the hands of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Havent filed your taxes yet? Here are some helpful tips As a parent, you want to make sure you send your children to the school you want to know that theyre safe when theyre there. And in most cases, I think, most of our schools are doing the right thing. But we cant let there be even one opportunity for the right thing not to be done. We need to ensure that we are protecting our kids at all costs, said Gronau. The bill sets up districts the department would open across the state to handle these investigations. The Legislative Services Agency projects that the DHHS will conduct around 600 investigations per year, and would need seven new full-time employee positions to handle the cases. The projected cost is over $700,000 in year one and $656,000 in year two. Though the bill passed through the Iowa House unanimously in a 96-0 vote, Gronau is concerned that the fiscal implications may hold it up in the Iowa Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill was recently placed in unfinished business, which means it could or could not pass and be signed into law this session. Gronau is urging Iowans to reach out to their elected officials and ask them to advance this bill along in the process. We need to protect our students in the state of Iowa and there shouldnt be a cost taken on their protection, said Gronau. Iowa News: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) In Virginia Beach, the production company Stage Right Lighting set an open house date for their newly expanded facilities. We want to be a creative hub says Owner of Stage Right Lighting David Bell in a release. Stage Right Lighting is a Virginia Beach based production and lighting company. According to their website, their services include providing custom fabrications, installations, production equipment and studio space for local organizations and individuals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company has recently added on to the initial space with a brand new 3,000 square-foot studio space. We believe that demand for this kind of high-tech production will continue to grow. Its exciting to see how videographers and photographers in advertising, music, and cinema will find creative uses for the new studio. We want to bring your vision to life says Bell, in a release. No other local space offers this combination of size, tech, and support staff. Filmmakers and content creators no longer need to travel to cities like Atlanta or New York to get the studio experience they need. Weve built something special, right here at home says Bell, in a release. Stage Right Lightings Cyclorama Wall Courtesy: Stage Right Lighting The new studio features a 60 x 30 cyclorama wall with a 24 trim height, LED ceiling, XR technology and a ROLE LED Video Wall, a release states. The facility also comes with a professionally operated control room with the latest production equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This studio fills a void in Coastal Virginia says Bell, in a release. An open house is set for April 16. It is open to the public and located at 513 Viking Dr Unit 6, Virginia Beach VA. To learn more or to schedule a visit, contact Ian Miller (757-431-4501). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PALO PINTO Lone Camp residents told county commissioners Monday the emergency services district governing fire calls countywide has targeted their department for closure. "We've done everything we can and everything they've asked us to do to save our fire department," Casey McGloen said, telling the court he was speaking for himself only. McGloen and others described a rebuilding Lone Camp Volunteer Fire Department. New members have been added, a governing board has been created and a new fire chief has been installed, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We've done what they asked us to do," McGloen said of the Palo Pinto County Emergency Services District No. 1. "We hear they are going to continue to try not to fund us." A statement from the president of the countywide board overseeing fire calls confirms a decision made in March " ...to not offer Lone Camp VFD an agency agreement for 2025-26." The statement from Palo Pinto County Emergency Services District No. 1 Board President Brent Nance cites a decline in response times, low staffing levels and non-attendance at countywide training programs. Nance wrote that neighboring volunteer departments have been responding to Lone Camp calls for more than a year, and that VFD service boundaries have been redrawn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The staffing challenges were not due to any fault of the dedicated volunteers, who also maintain full-time jobs elsewhere," Nance wrote, tying that challenge to "delays of up to six minutes" as neighboring departments responded to Lone Camp calls. But the volunteers speaking to commissioners Monday described a lack of support from the emergency services district at a critical moment as the Lone Camp force rebuilds. John Hoover said the Lone Camp volunteers, " ...at least in my eyes, feel a little bit neglected." "I support the volunteers," Hoover said. "But we seem to find out after the fact about people getting appointed to the (ESD) board. It seems like there's a whole lot of Possum Kingdom getting represented. ... It sounds like their minds are made up to shut us down." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioners interview and appoint board members to the services district. Hoover's wife, Holly, described an arson wildfire that came within a half-mile of their home three years ago. "The fire department from Lone Camp was Johnny on the spot," she said. "We need our fire department. ... Give us a chance, please. Talk to the board members that you appointed, and give us a chance." JoLynn O'Neal of Lone Camp cited a threat to the community's Insurance Services Office rating, which is tied to the ability to respond to fires. "We're not going to be able to insure our homes," she said, adding her voice to those saying the department is doing what the countywide district asked. "We are making progress. We are doing everything we are supposed to do." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The residents spoke during the open comments section of the meeting, and County Judge Shane Long told the group the court was barred from replying since the issue was not on the meeting agenda. "Please don't take our nonresponse for we don't care," Long said. "We're hearing you." Nance's public statement ended by encouraging residents with questions to contact the district at 940-859-0880 or by email at board@palopintoesd1.com/. Later in Monday's meeting, the court reinstated the burn ban for unincorporated sections of the county. "This is a tricky time," Fire Marshall/Emergency Management Coordinator Chad Jordan said, placing the county's average rating on the 0-800 drought index at 274. "But we have parts of this county that are well over 400." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monday's Water Weekly report from the Texas Water Development Board placed both Palo Pinto and Parker counties in the 'abnormally dry' category. In other action Monday, commissioners gave Precinct 3 Constable Johnny McKee the green light to appoint Mike Lindhorst as a volunteer, unpaid deputy constable. McKee said Lindhorst has experience with the Ranger Police Department and is especially needed in patrolling Possum Kingdom. "I'd prefer some backup," he said. "He'd be a great asset to this whole county." Commissioners also agreed Monday to a $7,213 request from District Attorney Jett Smith to better secure his third-floor office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lead Computer Tech Justin Smith told the court the system will require a card or a code to reach the third floor by stairs or elevator. Finally Monday, the court opened bids from four banks hoping to be the county's depository and sub-depository. The latter is where some trust accounts are deposited, Treasurer Deanna Copeland said. Commissioners agreed to award the bids at their next meeting, which is 9 a.m. April 28. The bidding institutions are Commercial National Bank and Trust of Texas, Clearfork Bank, Simmons Bank and First Financial Bank. Apr. 14MORGANTOWN The 2025 legislative session wrapped up at midnight Saturday, and a number of bills we followed along the way completed their journeys. Most prominent among them is HB 3279. Over the objections of WVU and Marshall and others who said it addresses a problem that doesn't exist, it turns the student, faculty and staff members of college and university boards of governors across the state into non-voting advisory members. For WVU specifically, it also makes the Extension service faculty representative a non-voting member. Some final amendment fiddling and concurrence concluded Saturday afternoon and it heads to the governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WVU provided this statement to The Dominion Post on Monday: "West Virginia University is West Virginia's University because of our students, faculty and staff, and their commitment to serving the state. We believe their voices should be heard and, in this case, they made their opposition to HB 3279 known to lawmakers. "Once the bill is signed into law, " WVU said, "we will work to implement its provisions as we do with every other law. The WVU Board of Governors will continue to include two faculty representatives, one classified staff representative and one student body representative. Going forward, we hope their perspectives and guidance will continue to be sought in the decision-making process." SB 50 aligns municipal election dates with statewide primary and general election dates, effective July 1, 2032. Last Monday, April 7, the House adopted an amendment by Delegate Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia, to move the effective date to July 1, 2028. The Senate rejected that amendment and on Saturday the House receded and passed the Senate version 93-2. Chiarelli joined the majority but Delegate Evan Hansen D-Monongalia, voted against it (he voted for it when the House passed its amended version). It heads to the governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are some other bills heading to the governor. After failing in 2023 and 2024, the bill to require the display of the U.S. Motto "IN God We Trust " finally passed. SB 280 requires public schools and higher education institutions to display a durable poster or framed copy of the motto "in a conspicuous location within a common area of the main building ...that is accessible to the public." Displays in other areas is optional. Public funding is prohibited, while private funding is permitted. HB 2003 requires county school boards to establish policies for permitting, or not permitting, personal electronic devices on school property. If permitted, the board will set parameters for use and for storage during instructional hours. It includes exceptions for medical issues and for students with Individualized Education Programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also requires school boards to establish consequences for violations, including confiscation and ongoing prohibition from possession on campus. HB 2164 allows schools three options to put security officers in their hallways. It allows public and charter schools, along with private and religious schools, to employ school safety officers. It allows public schools, including charters (private and religious schools do not appear in this section), to contract with a retired law enforcement officer to provide Guardian services. And it allows schools public, private and religious to contract with private security firms. HB 2434 is the Stop Squatters Act. It says a squatter is a person occupying a dwelling or other structure who is not so entitled under a rental agreement or is not authorized to do so by the tenant or owner. It allows a property owner or their authorized agent to request law enforcement to undertake the immediate removal of the squatter, under specified conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill establishes the crime of criminal mischief for causing damages, with misdemeanor and felony penalties depending on the value of the damages. It also sets criminal penalties for selling real property without authorization and for advertising property for sale or rent without authorization. HB 2960 launches a pilot project to plow secondary roads in Monongalia and Preston counties. It says, "Snow removal on the secondary roads in Monongalia County and Preston County has not been dependable, providing a hardship on the citizens of West Virginia." It establishes a two-year pilot project to put out a Request for Proposal for vendors to provide snow removal for District 4's secondary roads in Monongalia and Preston counties. The Division of Highways will identify the roads to be plowed. The DOH can terminate a contract, with 30 days' notice, for substandard or unsatisfactory work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A couple measures died. SB 85 aimed to ban the prescription and dispensing of abortion medications by mail order. It passed the Senate but died in House Health without a hearing. And the House was set to take up a Senate pro-coal resolution on Saturday but let it die. SCR 18 announced the intention to create a West Virginia Coal Renaissance Act, citing the changing views about energy as the Trump administration follows the more renewable-minded Biden and Obama years. It said the Coal Renaissance Act, along with programs and initiatives, will encourage and foster greater coal usage, and state agencies will develop strategies to fully develop coal production and consumption, including new coal-fired plants and efforts to keep current plants open. PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (WPRI) Owning a home with a waterfront view may be a dream for many, but some people living on these properties are being confronted with the nightmare of climate change. The Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) is charged with determining what can and cant be built along Rhode Islands shore. But some homeowners are willing to challenge state regulators, if it means keeping their home. Anne-Marie Corbett moved into her Portsmouth home along the Sakonnet River in 2018. She said trying to protect her property from erosion has proven costly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those three times put together came to in excess almost $500,000, Corbett recalled. Corbett said she started receiving fines from the CRMC when she moved in. The agency wanted her to take down a seawall the previous homeowners had built because it was along conservation waters. If you didnt pay that fine, then they would put a lien on your house, Corbett said. Corbett took down the wall, but after she did, stormwaters destroyed her backyard. We lost 30 feet of property that just went into the water, she said. As a result, Corbett decided to build her own wall, and now shes part of a class action lawsuit against the CRMC to keep it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her attorney, Michael Kelly, argues the CRMC violated Corbetts right to protect her property. What do they do then? Let the house get taken and fall into the river? I dont think so, Kelly said. The CRMC declined to comment on the pending lawsuit. RELATED: RI lawmakers debate multiple Coastal Resources Management Council reform bills In the meantime, Kelly said his office obtained records from the CRMC which show nine properties have faced similar seawall violations between 2022 and 2024. But Topher Hamblett, the executive director of local environmental group Save the Bay, said seawalls are only a temporary fix that harm wildlife and neighboring properties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Erosion gets worse on either side of the seawall and over time, the energy of the sea and of the waves actually undercuts the wall beneath it, he explained. But some say the CRMC is not doing enough to hold violators accountable. Attorney General Peter Neronha has been advocating to reform the agency for three years. In todays day and age, you cant regulate things as important as our coastline without the expertise necessary and in place to do it, he said. Several bills are being considered in both the Rhode Island House and Senate to reform the CRMC. No vote has been scheduled, but House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said he believes the agency should be reformed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Save the Bay accuses CRMC of power abuse for canceling controversial seawall meetings As for Corbett, she feels she cant take her wall down because of her neighbors. My neighbor has a stone wall, same as my neighbor, and same as my neighbors neighbor, she said. I happen to be at the end. 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. Detectives and loved ones are asking for the communitys help to find and bring home two young boys whove been missing since Monday evening. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department identified them as Jace King, 10, and Daley Blue, 12, both county residents. The pair was last seen on April 14 at 6:20 p.m. in the 700 block of West Cypress Street in San Dimas, according to the missing person report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement King is described as a 10-year-old Black male who stands 4 feet and 10 inches tall, weighs about 84 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing camo pants, a black shirt and red Nike shoes. Authorities described Blue as a 12-year-old Hispanic male who stands 5 feet and 3 inches tall, weighs about 89 pounds and also has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing black pants and a turquoise jacket. Daley Blue, 12, (left) and Jace King, 10, (right) are seen in these undated photos. (LASD) Officials did not immediately say whether the two boys are related, friends or if they knew each other before they disappeared. Loved ones are concerned for both juveniles wellbeing and are pleading with the public to help find them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators encourage anyone with information about this incident to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department San Dimas Sheriffs Station at 909-450-2700. To provide information anonymously, you may call Crime Stoppers by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477) or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.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 KTLA. Loved ones and detectives are seeking the communitys help in finding a teenage girl who went missing on Sunday afternoon. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department said Amauri Shalougn Williams, a county resident, was last seen around 2:45 p.m. at the intersection of Date Avenue and Oldfield Street in Lancaster. Williams is described as a 13-year-old Black female who stands 5 feet and 4 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes. Amauri Shalougn Williams, 13, of Los Angeles County, is seen here in this photo taken in October of 2024. (LASD) The missing person report added that Williams also goes by the moniker Dada Mauri. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When she was last seen, Williams was wearing a black T-shirt, blue sweatshirt, black jeans and black boots. Officials did not immediately add whether Williams was last seen on foot or in a vehicle, or if she had a known destination. The teens family is concerned for her well-being and is pleading for community members to help find her and bring her home. The sheriffs department encourages anyone with information about the juveniles whereabouts to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Lancaster Sheriff Station at 661-948-8466. To provide information anonymously, you may call Crime Stoppers by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477) or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org. 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. CoinDesk: Ethereum was born in Canada, yet most of its ecosystem developed elsewhere. Is there a certain irony in having to convince Canadian institutions to embrace a technology with Canadian roots? We're lucky to have a regulatory regime here where we operate under a compliant regime in Canada to grow our business. We are now pursuing our IIROC registration with IIROC as a full dealer registration, that'll expand the types of products and services that we can offer Canadians. Lucas: Coinbase has been in Canada for almost four years now. We've been officially pursuing our registration here in Canada for a number of years as well. Canada is registered as a restricted dealer under CSA. We're the first international exchange to be registered in Canada. CoinDesk: How long has Coinbase been operating in Canada, and what regulatory milestones have you achieved? After selling that company, I joined Shopify and I worked there for almost six years, helping build their business, their operational and finance functions. At Coinbase, I help lead a team who are building a platform for Canadians to diversify their assets into the digital economy. Lucas: I'm a Canadian entrepreneur and I've been working in finance and business most of my career. I spent the first part of my career in finance, mostly in M&A, and I founded a tech company after grad school with my best friend in Silicon Valley, which is where I started my journey with Coinbase. I've been a Coinbase customer for over 10 years now. CoinDesk: Your career has taken you from traditional finance to Shopify to crypto. Was there a specific moment when you realized digital assets would reshape finance, or was it a gradual conviction? As a Canadian entrepreneur with experience in both traditional finance and tech startups who joined Coinbase after nearly six years at Shopify, Matheson urges the Canadian government to move quickly to integrate crypto into their economy. I spoke with him about the cryptocurrency exchange's expanding presence in Canada, the unique characteristics of the Canadian market, and his vision for the country's crypto future. Our conversation revealed not only Coinbase's strategic ambitions but also Matheson's personal passion for advancing blockchain adoption in his home country. As Canada approaches a pivotal election on April 28, 2025, Lucas Matheson, CEO of Coinbase Canada, is positioning the cryptocurrency giant for influence in a market he believes is primed for blockchain innovation. Story Continues Lucas: Coinbase seeks regulatory clarity all over the world, and we look for markets that provide stability and clear rules for us to operate under a regime. Canada is one of those markets that is identified as being open to providing clear rules and regulating cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase. When we look across the world, Canada's also a very crypto-literate country. It's the third most crypto-aware country of all the international locations that we operate in, so we have quite a strong awareness about the technology here. The opportunity for it to help our financial system as you probably know, Ethereum was founded here in Canada. We have very strong roots here in Canada around cryptocurrency and around technology. We have a lot of really great universities in computing science that are focused on blockchain technology and helping our students in Canada understand the opportunity. CoinDesk: That's fascinating about Canada being the third most crypto-aware country. How does that translate to adoption rates? Lucas: When we survey countries around the world, we survey how aware citizens are to specific types of cryptocurrencies, uses of cryptocurrencies and technology. Canadians are the third most crypto-aware country of all the international markets that we survey. We see some surveys in Canada suggesting that upwards of 30% of Canadians by the end of this year will own digital assets. So we see very strong adoption in Canada and healthy diversification into the asset class. Of course, Canada was the first to introduce crypto-related ETFs, so we have quite a broad awareness about the opportunity for Canadians to diversify into crypto through traditional ETFs as well. CoinDesk: Who are the Canadians using Coinbase? Is there a particular demographic profile? Lucas: We have a very broad distribution of demographics in Canada. We have a very diverse user group in Canada people who are diversifying from young students, immigrants who are looking to remit money. We see a significant number of people building and diversifying portfolios, accumulating digital assets for long-term diversification and wealth preservation. Then we have a significant amount of institutional investors in Canada starting to diversify assets into the crypto economy as well. So we see very strong adoption across retail, and in Canada specifically now we're seeing a healthier adoption from institutional investors and more interest from institutional investors, pension funds, asset managers who are exploring diversifying their clients' assets into crypto as well. CoinDesk: With Canada's election approaching on April 28th, what policy changes would you like to see from the next government? Lucas: We proposed a number of changes for our new government to really think deeply about over the next term. We've recommended that they: Launch a government task force and create a national crypto strategy Consider a Bitcoin strategic reserve Regulate stablecoins federally from a prudential regulator as a payment instrument Introduce a market structure bill like we're seeing in the US where we can clearly define crypto assets so that it's clear for the public, institutions, and builders exactly how crypto assets are defined Make it easier for banks to bank crypto trading platforms in Canada Currently, our large banks we have big banks with 80-90% of the money in Canada do not bank crypto trading platforms, so we are very keen to help our government encourage our financial institutions to participate in the digital economy. (You can read Lucass writing on what Canada should do to be a global crypto leader here.) CoinDesk: You've mentioned 'Stand with Crypto' as an advocacy initiative. How are you organizing the industry to influence policy in Canada? Lucas: Stand with Crypto [which Coinbase funds] is an organization that has advocated for clear rules all around the world for crypto, and we've recently launched Stand with Crypto here in Canada with a number of partners. We have a number of crypto trading partners joining Stand with Crypto to help us advocate for change. Stand with Crypto is really an opportunity for our elected officials to understand this opportunity so that we can prioritize it clearly. Canada has a lot of priorities and challenges within our economy, and crypto technology can help us rebuild our economy and our economic freedom. That's one of the ways that we organize. Canada also has two strong industry associations, the Canadian Blockchain Consortium and the Canadian Web3 Council, and these organizations help unify views and help us align on opportunities that we can engage with our regulators to drive more regulatory clarity in the market. CoinDesk: Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are challenging centralized platforms like Coinbase in the US. How do you view this trend affecting your business in Canada? Lucas: I think decentralized finance will form a very healthy and significant part of our financial economy. I think that's the foundation of the technology and the ecosystem to decentralize financial interactions in a trusted, safe, compliant manner. I think the decentralization of finance will be a healthy part of how some investors will choose to participate. But centralized exchanges provide a very valuable tool to on-ramp and off-ramp from the digital economy in a compliant way that helps governments and institutions around the world get comfort that platforms like Coinbase are managing risks appropriately, managing anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, ensuring that people on their platform are acting in good faith. CoinDesk: If you could say a few things to the upcoming administration, what would they be? Lucas: I would say the rest of the world is moving quickly to adopt crypto and integrate it into their economy. It's time for Canada to do the same to integrate crypto into our economy, build a national strategy, and educate Canadians about why the world is going digital. CoinDesk: There seems to be a patriotic element to your advocacy. Do you see Canada becoming a global leader in crypto? Lucas: I think Canada can be a leader in crypto. Canada has the opportunity to embrace this technology in a meaningful way to help this country rebuild ourselves and grow our economy. I think we're entering a time where we need to rethink how we organize our government, how we tax our government, how we generate revenues, and how we spend money. I think we're entering a cycle where governments are expected to do more with less. That's what entrepreneurs do with technology every day, and that's what governments around the world are starting to embrace is the opportunity to do more with less, to be more efficient, to provide better government services through technology, to be more entrepreneurial. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Oklahoma communities are gearing up for the the 37th Annual Lt. Governors invitation-only Turkey Hunt, taking place April 16th to the 25th. According to the Lt. Governors office, the event will showcase Oklahoma communities to prospective out-of-state companies and site selection representatives. This years communities include: Alva, Ardmore, Duncan, Elk City, Hugo, Okemah, and Woodward. Festival of Arts kicks off April 24 27, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I look forward to speaking with guests about why Oklahoma is the best location for their businesses to thrive, said Lt. Governor Pinnell. More companies than ever before are moving or expanding to Oklahoma for a reason we have a skilled workforce, healthy economy, and lost cost of doing business. Oklahoma is an incredibly pro-business state, and this event gives out-of-state companies a chance to see that for themselves. The Lt. Governors Annual Turkey Hunt is organized in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. The dates and locations for the 2025 Turkey Hunt are as follows: April 16-18, 2025 Alva, Ardmore, Duncan, Elk City, Okemah, and Woodward April 23-25, 2025 Southeast Oklahoma 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. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Over 500 students, faculty, and researchers have had their visas revoked this year, including several students at UMass Amherst. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, over 300 visas were revoked in March, most of them belonging to international students. Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll visited Springfield on Sunday, and she told 22News that it is un-American to not be able to express personal views. Its very troubling to us to see students who dont even know their visas are being rejected being picked up without even any advanced notice, Driscoll said. More UMass Amherst student visas revoked Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lt. Governor Driscoll said that they still dont have answers as to why these students are being targeted. Higher ed is part of our calling card, Driscoll said. We are calling on the administration in Washington. If there are issues or concerns, say them. Since President Trumps inauguration, hes worked to deliver his campaign promise regarding cracking down on immigration. The Trump administration has not shared the reason behind the visa revocations. Cases like Tufts University PHD Student Rumeysa Ozturk are now facing legal battles. Ozturk is being accused of pro-Palestinian activism after co-authoring an op-ed in the Tufts University newspaper in March 2024. The op-ed discussed holding Israel accountable for violations of international law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Massachusetts is an inclusive Commonwealth, Driscoll said. We want to make sure international students feel they can come here and be safe. A federal judge in Vermont agreed to hear Ozturks detention case on Monday. In the meantime, she is scheduled to have her first immigration hearing on Wednesday. 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. A North Richland Hills City Council member has been publicly reprimanded and stripped of his position as deputy mayor pro tem for calling the mayor a liar, writing about employees on social media and violating rules and procedures. Blake Vaughn, a one-term councilman who is not seeking reelection in May, was disciplined by his colleagues April 9 after a closed meeting that lasted over an hour. The matter came out of a disagreement over language in a resident survey about carports. The vote to reprimand Vaughn was 6-1, with Vaughn in opposition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City attorney Bradley Anderle read a seven-page resolution listing the councils findings against Vaughn. Vaughn said he wasnt given adequate time to respond to the accusations because he received the resolution minutes before it was read. Some of the accusations included making comments during a public meeting that were not relevant to what was being discussed, calling the mayor a liar and accusing him of misleading the public, disrupting a meeting by abruptly leaving, discussing personnel matters publicly on social media, and acting independently without council authorization. Vaughn said in an email to the Star-Telegram that he questioned why he was removed as deputy mayor pro tem and reprimanded just weeks before he was leaving office. Vaughn had called for an investigation of the city manager, Paulette Hartman, over the carport survey. The council found there was no wrongdoing on her part. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to be very clear, Vaughn told the Star-Telegram, this was not a debate about the city managers performance or an attack on her character. This was a factual dispute about whether a directive had been given. That distinction matters. The controversy grew out of a heated March 24 meeting where the council discussed a FlashVote survey gauging residents thoughts on changing an ordinance regulating carports. Vaughn said he and other council members wanted to see the survey language before it was presented to the public, and objected that the wording didnt refer to limited government and property rights. Mayor Jack McCarty told Vaughn repeatedly that he was out of order and said there wasnt a decision to review the survey questions. You are not running the meeting, and you are lying to the people, McCarty said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vaughn responded that the mayor was lying and asked to play a video clip from a Jan. 27 council meeting where the city manager was asked about the survey language. Vaughn wanted it to ask residents whether they wanted an HOA form of government where they are told what to do. McCarty told the Star-Telegram that Vaughn knew personnel matters are to be discussed in closed session, but he attempted to air his grievance against the city manager in public. While he only has a few weeks left in office, his actions have been a pattern and has undermined the integrity of the City Council and City staff, McCarty said in a Facebook message to the Star-Telegram. His statements on social media created a potential liability for the City and its taxpayers that could continue even after he leaves office. His actions made it necessary for the City Council to take action and create a public record separating the City from Councilman Vaughns actions. After the reprimand last week, McCarty told Vaughn, Blake, were here for you any time. We want healing in the community and unity . I hope that things can go forward, and certainly, any time you want to talk and go through things, Im happy to do that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I appreciate that, Vaughn said. In his statement to the Star-Telegram, Vaughn said: This is not about personalities. Its about principles. If a majority of a governing body can declare that one of its own is no longer acting in their official capacity simply because they are asking difficult questions or holding others accountable, then oversight dies. Transparency becomes optional. And representative government turns into rubber-stamp politics. This resolution seeks to isolate me, but its real target is the peoples right to know what happens at City Hall. On Monday, Vaughn said Birdville school officials declined to go forward with a job for him to substitute teach because of his political speech. The Birdville school district said in an email to the Star-Telegram, Mr. Vaughn has applied to be a substitute teacher. However, that process has been placed on hold. CPA Australia is urging significant enhancements to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) audit oversight. The professional accounting organisation says the initiative is intended to rebuild public confidence, ease compliance pressures, and reinforce the long-term resilience of Australias auditing sector. Without these improvements, the number of auditors in the country is expected to continue declining. In its submission to the Australian National Audit Offices review of the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions oversight of registered company auditors, CPA Australia highlighted the pressing need to reform audit regulation to ensure it is both supportive and sustainable. Tiffany Tan, who leads Audit and Assurance at CPA Australia, underscored the need to tackle existing challenges in the regulation and supervision of the auditing profession. She said: Registered company auditors play a crucial role in safeguarding Australias financial markets and this ANAO review provides the opportunity to reduce unnecessary complexity and burden, while upholding quality and trust in financial markets. The number of registered company auditors has more than halved over the past two decades. Without urgent action to make audit regulation more supportive and sustainable, we risk not having enough professionals to meet the rising demand for assurance, especially in areas like sustainability reporting. CPA Australia said it sees opportunities to improve the timeliness, certainty, and transparency of ASICs audit inspection process. These improvements aim to enhance real-time feedback to firms, increase efficiency, and improve market integrity. While supporting ASIC's continued role in auditor oversight, CPA Australia calls for key improvements in process, culture, and capability. We would like the ANAO to consider opportunities to modernise audit inspection engagements and improve communications and information sharing within ASIC itself, as well as with auditors, firms and professional accounting bodies, including CPA Australia, said Tan. We want to see ASIC working more transparently and collaboratively with the profession. More open dialogue and sharing of findings will lead to better outcomes for all. Earlier in April 2025, CPA Australia released strategic recommendations to assist local businesses affected by the announced US trade tariffs. The accounting body identified key areas for business leaders to address to mitigate the potential impact of the tariffs and position themselves for long-term resilience. Apr. 15AUGUSTA Lawmakers heard a proposal Tuesday to stop issuing driver's licenses and identification cards in Maine that meet strict new federal security standards known as Real ID. Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, sponsored a bill to repeal a Maine law that allows the secretary of state to issue state IDs that comply with the federal REAL ID Act, which critics say compromises privacy. The law was passed in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to increase security on airplanes and in federal buildings, and involves a higher level of verification than standard driver's licenses or nondriver identification cards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Libby said Tuesday that longstanding privacy concerns related to the law have only grown in recent years. "At its core, Real ID represents a dangerous consolidation of personal information that undermines the privacy of law-abiding Americans," she said during a public hearing before the Transportation Committee. Because she has been censured by the House, Libby can't speak on the House floor or vote on legislation, but she is allowed to testify in committee. Libby and other supporters of the repeal (her bill, LD 160, includes five Democratic co-sponsors) said the Real ID law represents government overreach and raises concerns about data collection and use by the federal government and potential breaches. "Every time a Real ID is used whether to board a plane or enter a federal building a record can be created and uploaded to a federal system, building a detailed profile of individuals' movements and activities," said Sen. Nicole Grohoski, D-Ellsworth, a co-sponsor of the bill. "Mainers value their privacy and do not want their personal data funneled into a national tracking system," she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who previously pushed back on Real ID as a former state lawmaker and former leader of the ACLU of Maine, testified against the bill. She said that while she sympathizes with some of the reasons for the legislation, it would make Maine the only state unable to provide its residents with a federally compliant credential. That would force Mainers to submit their data to the federal government to fly domestically or enter military bases or other federal facilities, Bellows said. "Mainers who want a Real ID or who are required to get one by the federal government should not be prohibited from doing so," she said. Bellows said the only information the secretary of state's office currently transmits to the federal government when processing a Real ID are monthly numbers of Real IDs issued, though the office is required to maintain records of the documents people submit. Bellows said supporters of the bill are not wrong that when people use a Real ID, their information is captured by the federal government. "But opting out of Real ID here in Maine or prohibiting the Bureau of Motor Vehicles from providing a Real ID is not going to change that," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Standards for a Real ID are consistent across the 50 states and involve a higher level of verification than standard driver's licenses or IDs. To receive a Real ID, an individual must bring proof of identification and citizenship/lawful status, such as a certified birth certificate, two forms proving residency and a Social Security number. Proof of any legal name changes must also be provided, if applicable. Critics of Real ID have long raised concerns about personal privacy and increased governmental surveillance. In 2018, Maine was one of the last states to comply with the law's requirements for digital photos on state driver's licenses, IDs that can be used with facial recognition software, and the digital archiving of identity documents such as birth certificates or Social Security numbers, among other requirements. After years of delays, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said last summer that it will begin enforcing federal requirements for people over the age of 18 to present Real ID compliant identification at airport security stations and before entering federal buildings on May 7. Residents who don't get a Real ID from the state can still get through airport security or into federal buildings, but they will need to bring extra forms of federal identification, such as a passport, to meet the requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bellows said Tuesday that since March the Bureau of Motor Vehicles has seen an increase in the number of people seeking Real IDs. While about 27% of all credentials issued by the BMV are Real ID compliant, 83% of people who sought driver's licenses or ID cards in April sought a Real ID, she said. "What we are seeing is that Mainers are making the decision that they want the Real ID if the federal government is going to prevent them flying domestically or entering a federal building without it," Bellows said. Copy the Story Link Apr. 15Colleen Cosgriff learned a lot while volunteering at the front desk of her law school's legal clinic. "Sitting there every single week and getting those calls was really grounding during a very academically rigorous (first) semester where the law feels very philosophical and you're learning about it in a textbook, and there's not a face and a voice to the people we're learning about," Cosgriff said. Now in her second year at the University of Maine School of Law, Cosgriff is actually working in the clinic, where she and 28 other students help represent Mainers in all kinds of legal matters at no cost. It's a competitive program where students have to reapply each semester for a spot in one of five clinics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year, the school is hoping that the Legislature will help increase its capacity by paying for a new clinic focused on adult criminal cases. "As we know all through the state, we need lawyers," said Leigh Saufley, the law school dean, and such a clinic would be "an immediate benefit for cases that can be taken today." The state was found liable earlier this year for violating the constitutional rights of more than a hundred unrepresented criminal defendants because they weren't appointed a lawyer, waiting weeks, sometimes months, for representation. In its pitch to the Legislature, the law school argued its student attorneys can help, even if it's just a small dent. More importantly, Saufley said, the clinic would introduce more students to careers in criminal justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We simply have not had a lot of students thinking about the importance of criminal justice practice and the changes that they can make in their own community by engaging in criminal justice law, whether it's prosecution or defense," Saufley said. "Every community needs a great criminal law bar because together they can make a huge difference in what happens with people who come in contact with the criminal justice system." But the law school's $1 million budget request faces competition. The governor has directed the Legislature to keep its budget proposal lean, and the law school is vying for money along with dozens of other related initiatives, including proposals from the judicial branch, victim services and the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services. BRINGING BACK THE CLINICS The University of Maine School of Law is the state's sole law school and has one of the oldest clinic programs in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has struggled to regain traction, though, since the 2008 market crash and recession, Saufley said, which took its toll on law schools across the country and caused Maine Law to have to cut its previous criminal law clinical work. "Maine Law really lost a whole lot of its vitality," Saufley said. "It lost criminal justice programs, it lost its center for innovation there were a number of programs at Maine Law that were simply lost over that period of time because there wasn't sufficient funding to keep the law school going on some of those really important areas of law." Today, the law school oversees five clinics: The Prisoner Assistance clinic helps incarcerated clients with civil matters, the Youth Justice clinic serves juveniles and young adults under 25, the Rural Practice clinic gives law students the opportunity to work outside the city, the Refugee and Human Rights clinic serves immigrants, and a General Practice clinic lets students address a broad array of cases based on their personal interests. The students represented over 440 clients in 519 cases last year and assisted in more than 681 others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cosgriff, who has been working with the law school's Youth Justice clinic, said she would be interested in a criminal law option if it were offered. "We're the only law school in the state, and our state is facing a huge challenge right now that I think is concerning to everyone, not just the defense bar," she said. "I think having a criminal law clinic and having more pathways to people is so important." In addition to their clinic work, student attorneys also contribute to a weekly project, helping people file and respond to protection orders. The clinics run year-round, with students working both semesters and over the summer. All student attorneys are supervised by a professor. "We run, essentially, a midsized firm," said professor Sarah Branch, who oversees the Youth Justice clinic. "You think about every law student's an attorney in the firm, we have all those client files and we manage it like a firm." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DIFFICULT FUNDING YEAR The law school is requesting $1 million from the state to pay for the criminal law clinic for three years. That money would cover two supervising staff positions, including a professor and an office administrator. The bill, LD 884, was passed out of the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee with unanimous support. It is sponsored by Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick. While state leaders are still fighting about who and what is at fault for the state's crisis, Ankeles said the legislation "avoids that debate completely and goes right to the source the jobs pipeline." "This will create a clear, well-lit professional pathway to criminal defense law at exactly the moment when Maine needs to staff up its public defender offices," Ankeles told the committee last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public defense leaders have previously said they're doing more outreach at the law school to combat mass retirements and a shortage of lawyers available for court-appointed work. (Prosecutors say they have also struggled to attract new attorneys to their ranks.) The legislation was modeled after a proposal in 2022 that led to the Rural Practice clinic, which also cost a little more than $1 million for three years. Much of that has been covered by funds from the Office of the Maine Attorney General through the enforcement of state antitrust laws. Ankeles said in committee that he understands that any bills with a cost this year are at a disadvantage, but "it's very easy to imagine the cost of not setting up this type of clinic being far, far higher in the long run." The bill is supported by the University of Maine System and the state bar association. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sam Warren, a spokesperson for the system, told lawmakers their support "would send a strong message that this is a priority to the state," as the law school struggles to hire faculty for criminal law because the salary isn't competitive. CREATING A PATHWAY Jeffrey Sullivan, a third-year student, said he's a better attorney after having worked in the youth justice clinic. It's complicated work; he has two clients who each have several cases in more than one court. "We work the case," Sullivan said. "You review discovery, you meet with your client to get information from them, you write motions, you negotiate with prosecutors, you meet with your supervising professor to get any and all advice. ... I think it really is like the best way to learn how to be a lawyer, without completely winging it on Day One with your bar card." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sullivan said he was interested in criminal law before law school, but that interest grew through his experience in the clinics. He was one of the founding members of the law school's "Students for the Sixth" group, a nod to the constitutional right to an attorney when you can't afford your own. In the group's brief 2 1/2 years, members have followed an unprecedented civil rights lawsuit against the state's system for representing poor Mainers and the creation of its first public defense offices. The group hosts public panels, including a "6th Amendment and Maine" discussion with prosecutors, defense attorneys and the director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition. "It's a group for like-minded people to create a community together, and to start conversations, to have conversations within the law school with students and the legal community," Sullivan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He will graduate soon and has accepted a public defender position in New Hampshire. Unlike other states, Maine has fewer than 30 public defenders, and still has yet to open offices in southern Maine and on the Midcoast. The state relied exclusively on private attorneys until 2022. Sullivan said he regrets that there's not an opportunity for him yet in Maine. But Branch said that's not the only point of introducing Maine law students to criminal justice law. "What we want here is for our students to be hopeful and determined when it comes to this work," Branch said. "And I think more clinic opportunities give them the chance to go, 'I'm not only making a difference in one person's life. This can be a life for me, and it can bring me passion and hope,' and all the things you want from a career in the law." Copy the Story Link BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) In line with its record regarding some other properties across the U.S., the new owners of the Southern Park Mall are behind on their local taxes. Read next: Youngstown Police investigating after 3-year-old is shot, killed Kohan Retail Investment Group, which purchased the Southern Park Mall in December under the subsidiary Southern Park Mall Realty Holding LLC, is behind on its taxes, according to Mahoning County Auditor records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sale of the mall by former owners Washington Prime Group initially sparked concern among those in the Valley familiar with Kohans record, which includes closures due to unpaid bills and property deterioration. County auditor records list Southern Park Mall Realty Holding LLC as the owner of seven parcels of land in Mahoning County, including five addresses on Market Street which house the mall itself, surrounding lot and buildings on that lot and two on California Avenue, which are empty lots adjacent to the mall. All of the parcels have late taxes for the first half of 2024, which were due on March 7. While the taxes are late, they are not technically considered delinquent until August, according to a representative of the Mahoning County Treasurers Office. Until that time, they will only face a 10% penalty on the unpaid amount. WKBN 27 First News did a deep dive into all seven parcels owned by Southern Park Mall Realty Holding LLC surrounding the mall, and tax reports show every one of them is late on their tax payment. Address Amount Due ($) 7401 Market Street 437,834.11 7441 Market Street 7,921.82 California Avenue 13,731.91 Market Street 5,644.97 7311 Market Street 10,549.84 California Avenue 168.56 7401 Market Street 43,433.23 Combined properties 519,284.44 Combined, Southern Park Mall Realty Holding LLC owes $519,284.44 in a combination of taxes, fees, and special assessments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Records show the last tax payment was made July 22, 2024, when Washington Prime Group owned the property. Boardman Township trustee Tom Costello says he is concerned about this missed payment deadline in addition to the lack of communication from the Kohan group and mall management. Costello said the last time trustees heard from the company was on their March 18 meeting, and township attempts to reach out since have gone unanswered. Costello impressed upon the importance of the malls success for the Boardman community. One part of the mall property is up to date on its bills, however the former Dillards anchor store. Unlike the majority of the mall, this property is owned by Boardman SC LLC, a subsidiary of the Cafaro Company, which also owns the Eastwood Mall. Auditor records show that portion of the mall is in the green. First News has reached out to Kohan Investment Group and the Southern Park Mall manager for comment and has yet to 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 WKBN.com. DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) A man was arrested in Darlington County after allegedly fleeing from law enforcement before assaulting an officer while resisting arrest, authorities said Monday. Jarrell Johnson was charged with failure to stop for a blue light and assaulting an officer while resisting arrest. He was booked into the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center on Friday, where he awaits a bond hearing. Deputies responded Friday to Tedder Street in the Darlington area to assist city police officers with a noncompliant traffic stop, the sheriffs office said. Deputies assisted in a chase with Johnson on Harry Byrd Highway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the chase, Johnson fled on foot and allegedly punched a Hartsville police officer in the face and neck, warrants show. Online records show Johnson also faces two counts of attempted murder, but no information on those charges were immediately available. Count on News13 for updates. * * * 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Two Vancouver Police officers are recovering after a man allegedly set them on fire during an arrest in the Downtown Eastside last week, according to police. The incident happened Thursday night. They approached a man for jaywalking, but police say he attempted to run. When officers caught up to him and tried to take him into custody, the man is believed to have used a flammable substance to ignite the officers uniforms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite their injuries, the officers were able to put out the flames and radio for help. The suspect fled again but was arrested a short distance away after additional officers responded to the scene. One officer was treated by paramedics and is recovering at home. The second officer did not suffer physical injuries. Police later identified the suspect as 40-year-old Jordan Mutual of Vancouver. He was wanted across British Columbia for 10 different offenses at the time of the arrest. Mutual was treated for burn injuries sustained during the incident and remains in custody. The BC Prosecution Service has since approved charges against Mutual, including one count of assaulting a police officer and one count of obstructing a police officer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More charges are being recommended by VPD, including assault with a weapon and breaching a release order. Police say more than 35 VPD officers have been assaulted so far in 2025 a 25% increase compared to the same time last year. Mutual remains in jail ahead of his next court appearance. A Georgia man has been arrested after he allegedly threatened Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her family. Aliakbar Mohammad Amin, 24, was arrested and charged Friday with making interstate threats against Gabbard, who was nominated to her position by President Donald Trump earlier this year. You and your family are going to die soon, Amin allegedly texted about Gabbard and her family, according to the Justice Department. I will personally do the job if necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Death to America means death to America literally, Tulsi is living on borrowed time, Amin allegedly said in another text. The messages, sent between March 29 and April 1, included threats to target Gabbards home. Authorities did not say to whom the texts were sent. Prepare to die, you, Tulsi, and everyone you hold dear, Amin allegedly texted. America will burn. The Justice Department said Amin also had social media posts that depicted a firearm being pointed at Gabbard and her husband. Federal agents found a gun at Amins residence, according to the DOJ statement. Gabbard thanked authorities in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thank you @FBI, @USMarshalsHQ, and local law enforcement for your service and dedication in apprehending this radicalized, dangerous criminal who repeatedly threatened the lives of me, my family, and @realDonaldTrump, Gabbard wrote. Thank you for your tireless work every day keeping the American people safe. The information released by authorities makes no reference to threats against Trump. OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) A West Union man was arrested after beating a man to death, Oconee County deputies said. The Oconee County Sheriffs Office said they had responded to a call of a possible cardiac arrest on Welborn Road, January 23. An adult man was found on the floor and evidence showed that he had bruising and injuries on his body, deputies said. 46-year-old Matthew Scott Chastain was arrested on April 11, deputies said. Chastain had killed the victim by beating him on the chest and upper torso, according to the arrest warrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim was identified as 45-year-old William Jamie Daniel Chastain. Chastain was charged with involuntary manslaughter and received a $35,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) An Austintown man who reports said was in a Campbell house with a gun pleaded guilty Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to a gun charge. Read next: Youngstown firefighter facing charge, placed on leave Tirone Moore, 38, entered a guilty plea to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, a third-degree felony. He is expected to be sentenced April 24. Reports said Moore was found inside a home Oc. 19 in the double-digit block of Oxford Street at about 7:35 p.m. by police who were sent there for a report of an unknown man inside the home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police found the front door open and found Moore inside, reports said. As an officer went to handcuff him, reports said he reached toward his waist and the officer could hear something hitting the floor. At first, Moore told police he did not drop anything and then he said he dropped a speaker, reports said. When other officers arrived, reports said they found a loaded 9mm handgun on the floor where Moore had been handcuffed. The homeowner said she did not wish to pursue burglary charges against Moore, only that she wanted him to leave, reports 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 WKBN.com. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) will release its first-quarter earnings results before the opening bell on Wednesday, April 16. Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings at $1.07 per share, up from 98 cents per share in the year-ago period. According to data from Benzinga Pro, Abbott Laboratories projects quarterly revenue at $10.41 billion, compared to $9.96 billion a year earlier. On March 10, Bank of America Securities analyst Travis Steed maintained Abbott with a Buy rating and raised the price target from $133 to $150. With the recent buzz around Abbott Laboratories, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends. Currently, Abbott offers an annual dividend yield of 1.84%. Thats a quarterly dividend amount of 59 cents per share ($2.36 a year). So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly? To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $325,274 or around 2,542 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $65,004 or around 508 shares. To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($2.36 in this case). So, $6,000 / $2.36 = 2,542 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $2.36 = 508 shares ($100 per month). View more earnings on ABT Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis, as the dividend payment and the stock price both fluctuate over time. How that works: The dividend yield is computed by dividing the annual dividend payment by the stocks current price. For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and is currently priced at $50, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50). However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40). Similarly, changes in the dividend payment can impact the yield. If a company increases its dividend, the yield will also increase, provided the stock price stays the same. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield. ABT Price Action: Shares of Abbott Laboratories gained 0.9% to close at $127.96 on Monday. Read More: Image: Shutterstock 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. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? Cody Balmer, charged with attempted murder and terrrorism in the firebombing of Gov. Josh Shapiro's official residence Sunday, is escorted from his first court appearance Monday, April 14, 2025. (Ian Karbal/Capital-Star) The man charged with firebombing Gov. Josh Shapiros official residence was held without bail after his first court appearance Monday afternoon. Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg pleaded not guilty to eight counts, including attempted murder, aggravated arson, terrorism, aggravated assault, burglary and related offenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District Judge Dale Klein denied a request by Balmers attorney for reasonable bail, citing a danger to the community if he were released. Balmer is being held at the State Correctional Institue- Camp Hill in Cumberland County.. Balmers arraignment had been scheduled for earlier in the day Monday. But, it was postponed when he suffered a medical event not related to his arrest or the events of the night before, state police said. He was brought to court after receiving treatment at an hospital wearing civilian clothes blue jeans and an inside-out thermal shirt. Bald-headed, sunken-eyed and wearing a large beard, Balmer let out a long sigh after taking a seat in the courtroom and stared straight ahead waiting for the judge. During the brief hearing in West Hanover Township outside Harrisburg, Balmer gave terse answers to Kleins questions. Asked whether he suffered mental illness, he replied, Thats the rumor, but no maam. The governors residence on April13, 2025, after a fire led to the evacuation of Gov. Shapiro and his family. It is being investigated as arson. (Ian Karbal/Pennsylvania Capital-Star) Balmer also told the judge he has a lot of children, but refused to disclose how many and said he had been living with his parents for the last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In charges filed Sunday, state police accused Balmer of scaling a fence at the governors residence in downtown Harrisburg and using Molotov cocktails to set fire to a ceremonial dining room where Shapiro had celebrated the first night of Passover with family and guests hours earlier. In a news conference after Balmer turned himself in at state police headquarters in Harrisburg, Shapiro said he and his wife Lori were thankful to first responders and others who had offered support. He added that the attack would not prevent him from serving Pennsylvanians or proudly celebrating his Jewish faith. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE CHICAGO A man is facing a first-degree murder charge after allegedly stabbing a woman and killing her Saturday night in Lincoln Square. Police responded to a residence in the 2700 block of West Balmoral Saturday night at around 11:30 p.m. on the report of a stabbing. Nurmuhammed Inus, 35, of the same address, allegedly stabbed Mairunnisa Osman, 29, in the torso during a physical altercation, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Osman was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. She did not live at the same address, according to the medical examiners office. Previous: 29-year-old woman dies after being stabbed during altercation with man in Lincoln Square late Saturday Inus was arrested just before midnight Saturday in the 5400 block of Lincoln Avenue. He was charged with first-degree murder and has a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. ST. LOUIS A man who staged auto accidents and committed insurance fraud was sentenced today. According to court documents, Adrian Peebles staged auto accidents from September 2021 to January 2023. The office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri claimed that Peebles staged these incidents primarily at night in remote areas. Prosecutors say Peebles went to emergency rooms, saying he had pain that required expensive tests that never identified any particular injury, according to his plea agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peebles suggested that his payments from the vehicle insurance companies be made to him instead of the hospital. Prosecutors also said Peebles never paid his medical bills. From 2021 to 2023, Peebles scheme cost insurance companies $107,951. He is now 32 years old and pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud 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 FOX 2. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) A man charged in a double homicide that occurred over the weekend dismembered one of the victims, an affidavit from the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office said. Police responded to the 108th St. North home on the morning of April 12 after receiving a 911 call reporting a homicide. Double homicide under investigation in St. Petersburg They arrived to find two deceased victims and 41-year-old Kirk Hysell Jr. barricaded in the bathroom of his residence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to detectives, Hysell was initially located in the bathroom by other family members and said he was trying to kill himself. He also stated he had killed his girlfriend and her mother. His daughter then called 911 to report the homicides, police said. The defendants girlfriend, Christina Donzero, 34, was found partially dismembered and with multiple stab wounds. Donzeros mother, 75-year-old Betti Suzanne Thevenet Donzero, was found in the garage with multiple stab wounds. Both women were pronounced dead on the scene. The affidavit from PCSO said Donzero had also been suffocated with duct tape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hysell admitted to killing and dismembering his girlfriend, and to suffocating and stabbing her mother, according to the affidavit. PCSO also said that Hysell stated he wanted to kill the whole family and that if released, he would do it again. Hysell was suffering from self-inflicted wounds when police located him, and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where he remains pending his transfer to Pinellas County Jail. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Christina Donzeros coworkers said they were shocked to hear of her death. Marleys House sends its deepest condolences to the family of Christina. We are so, so very sorry for your loss. Christina had a very kind disposition, she was always happy, the owners of Marleys House Smoke Shop wrote in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her children and family are in our thoughts and prayers at this time. We can only hope justice will be served for Christina, they said. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call CASA Pinellas 24-Hour Domestic Violence Hotline at (727) 895-4912 or the Statewide Florida Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 500-1119. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) The McDonald man charged with breaking into a home and assaulting a police officer has pleaded guilty to an amended indictment. Read next: Youngstown Police investigating after 3-year-old is shot, killed Jesse Pace entered the plea in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to felony charges of aggravated burglary, assault and harassment with a bodily substance. It stems from a February incident on Hayes Avenue in McDonald. Police say Pace forced himself into a home, took off, and returned while an officer was there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the ensuing altercation with police, he punched Sgt. David Smith with the McDonald Police Department several times in the face, said assistant prosecutor Michael Burnett. He also spit on Sgt. Fridley with the Weathersfield Township Police Department. Police body camera video showed officers using a stun gun to apprehend Pace. Hell undergo a presentence investigation prior to sentencing, which will be set at a later date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DENVER (KDVR) A man is facing several charges after reportedly setting fire to a car at a Lone Tree apartment complex over the weekend. According to the Lone Tree Police Department, officers were first called to the IMT at RidgeGate Apartments on April 10 around 5 p.m. on the reports of a suspicious person. The apartment is southeast of the Heritage Hills neighborhood, just off Park Meadows Boulevard. Once officers arrived, they found Nathan Johnson, 41, and eventually charged him with misdemeanor theft from the management office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Officers were soon called back to the apartment a day later, on April 11, around 9:30 a.m. due to Johnsons involvement in another criminal incident, police said in a release. Johnson allegedly set fire to a vehicle in the complexs structure. No one was injured from the fire, and police couldnt track Johnson down until later in the day when he returned to the apartment complex. Police said when he returned, they arrested Johnson and booked him into Douglas County Jail. Johnson is facing charges of felony arson and other related offenses, police 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 FOX31 Denver. CHICAGO A man was shot and killed Tuesday morning in Humboldt Park. Chicago police said the shooting happened just after 6:40 a.m. in the 700 block of North Spaulding Avenue. Man charged with murder after allegedly stabbing woman in Lincoln Square A 25-year-old man was standing near the sidewalk when an unknown vehicle drove up. Thats when at least one unknown suspect got out of the vehicle and fired shots at the man, according to investigators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the man was shot multiple times and taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital where he died. No arrests have been made and Area Four Detectives are investigating. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 50-year-old man has been handed a hefty fine in a German court, two years after he bypassed security at Frankfurt Airport and hugged Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the runway. The Frankfurt District Court on Tuesday found the man guilty of traffic offences and trespassing, fining him 4,500 ($5,100) and banning him from driving for two and a half years. The incident in May 2023 saw the man join the chancellor's convoy without authorization in his private vehicle while under the influence of drugs, illegally gaining access to the airport. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After getting out of the car, he approached Scholz, shook his hand and embraced him before being detained by police at the airport. In court, the accused showed remorse for his actions and vowed to make amends. "I apologize for everything," he said. He said he had been partying for two days, consuming cocaine and not sleeping when he joined the convoy. The man had previously been caught driving while under the influence of drugs. Prosecutor Christian Lang said the judgement was focused on the traffic offences and largely unrelated to the man's subsequent embrace of Scholz. The curious incident led to a debate in Germany over the chancellor's security. Apr. 15On Tuesday afternoon, the man accused of attacking South Point Elementary School Principal Bill Christian last October was found guilty of attempted murder and several other charges. Joshua Collins, of South Point, could face seven decades in prison. Collins waived his right to a trial by jury and instead elected to have Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge Andy Ballard hear the case, which began on Monday. Closing arguments were on Tuesday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ballard found Collins guilty of first-degree felony attempted murder with a specification for committing a crime in a school zone, first-degree felony illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or deadly ordnance in school safety zone, fourth-degree felony inducing a panic and seven counts of first-degree felony kidnapping with a specification for committing a crime in a school zone. He was found not guilty of fifth-degree felony breaking and entering. Three charges of first degree felony kidnapping and a charge of first-degree misdemeanor telecommunications harassment were dismissed before the trial started. With his $2 million bond revoked, Collins will remain in jail until his sentencing hearing on May 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawrence County Prosecutor Brigham Anderson said he was satisfied with the verdict. "I think it brings justice to the victim and hopefully some closure to the school system," he said. " Anderson said the amount of prison time Collins is facing is "significant." "Each of the kidnapping charge carries 11 16 1/2 years, the attempted murder carries 11 16 1/2 years, the felonious assault carries 8-12 years, inducing panic carries 18 months, having weapons in a school zone carries 12 months. The specifications carry an additional year on top of the minimum amounts," Anderson said. "So, you add all those together, you're looking at 70-plus years." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added he didn't know if all the court would run all the sentences consecutively or not. "I anticipate the court will give him a lengthy sentence," Anderson said. Anderson said that Collins did not take the stand in his own defense and that no reason was given in the courtroom as to the reason for Collin's attack on South Point Elementary Principal Bill Christian in the court proceedings. "But Mr. Collins in his statement to (Lawrence County Sheriff's detectives) said it 'was to teach him a lesson,'" Anderson said. Anderson said there was no reason given as to why Collins decided not to have a jury trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There was not, it was a pretty surprising move (on Monday). We had the jury there when he waived the jury," Anderson said. The case against Collins began on Oct. 24, 2024. According to reports, Collins was upset over a custody issue, which Anderson said the mother had removed their child from school and that was why Collins was upset. Collins was creating a scene in the South Point Elementary school lobby and Christian came out to deescalate the situation. When Christian turned away from the man, Collins stabbed Christian in the neck and upper torso. Christian fled back into the office behind a locked door, at which point Collins broke the glass out of the window in the door and entered the office. Collins pursued Christian through multiple parts of the office and finally into the cafeteria area and that is where a South Point Police officer confronted Collins and took him into custody. Christian has been the South Point Elementary School principal since April 2024, prior to that he had been the school's assistant principal for 12 years. OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) A man has been found guilty of soliciting sexual conduct of a child in Okaloosa County, according to Florida State Attorney Ginger Bowden Maddens Office. We would like to be clear: Baldwin County restaurants react to study on locally sourced shrimp According to a news release from Maddens office, Michael Todd Ronna, 28, was found guilty last week of two counts of using a computer to facilitate or solicit a parent, legal guardian, or custodian to consent to the sexual conduct of a child. Michael Todd Ronna. (Okaloosa County Department of Corrections) Court officials said Ronna reached out to an undercover officer on social media, acting as if he were the father of a 10-year-old girl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Maddens office, the undercover officer and Ronna exchanged messages over several months. Ronna asked to rent the 10-year-old child for sexual contact, the release from Maddens office said. Search warrants revealed Ronna owned those social media accounts, according to the release. He was arrested in August 2023. Ronna is set to be sentenced on May 22. The Okaloosa County Sheriffs Offices Internet Crimes Against Children unit investigated the case. Mary Zoghby, former Alabama State House rep who served Mobile, dies at 86 Assistant State Attorney Sarah Barickman prosecuted the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. A Camarillo man was sentenced to 85 years to life in state prison after he crashed a vehicle into a group of Westlake High School students two years ago, killing one of them and injuring several others. Austin Allen Eis, 26, a transient, killed 15-year-old Wesley Welling and left other students severely injured, though Wellings death was just the culmination of a crime spree that included an attack on a store greeter at a Walmart in Simi Valley in which he stabbed, pepper sprayed and spat on the victim. He pleaded guilty in February to 10 felony charges, including murder, attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors said in an statement announcing the verdict that Eis admitted he targeted the students out of personal frustration and a desire to commit mass violence, and the investigation uncovered disturbing evidence, including years of violent ideation, admiration for mass murderers, and extremist beliefs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defendant committed acts of terror and extreme violence that took the life of a teenage boy and shattered the lives of many others, said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said after the guilty plea. While no number of guilty pleas will ever close the anguish of the victims and their families, they will ensure the defendants removal from society and impose accountability for his horrendous crimes. Wesley Welling, 15, is seen in a family photo. Austin Eis is seen in this undated photo provided by the Ventura County Sheriffs Office. Austin Allen Eis, 26, pleaded guilty on Feb. 21, 2025, to 10 felony charges and special allegations in the death of Wesley Welling, 15, and the severe injuries of several others during a violent April 2023 crime spree in Ventura County. (Ventura County District Attorneys Office) At the sentencing hearing, Kelly Welling, the mother of Wesley, addressed Eis directly. No nightmare I can ever have is worse than waking up to this realityto know that the last thing my son might have seen is your face, Kelly said, as detailed in the VCDA release. You robbed me of my son and the world of a boy who would have become an amazing man. At 15, he was already more of a man than you could ever be. You are not seen as powerful. You are seen as the coward that you are who chose to hurt children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone else will move onyou will go to prison, your lawyer to her next case, but Wesley is never coming back, she added. Every day from this point on is filled with an emptiness. There are no words to describe this pain. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Eni has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with YPF to explore potential participation in the Argentina LNG (liquefied natural gas) project. The MOU was signed by Eni's CEO, Claudio Descalzi, and YPF president and CEO Horacio Daniel Marin. Led by YPF, the initiative aims to tap the Vaca Muerta onshore gas field, with plans to export up to 30 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of LNG by the end of the decade. The MOU outlines collaboration on the development of upstream, transportation and liquefaction facilities through two floating LNG units with a combined capacity of 12mtpa. Descalzi stated: YPF's choice of Eni as a strategic partner stems from the specific and distinctive know-how we have developed in FLNG [floating LNG] projects in Congo and Mozambique, and from the recognition of our global leadership in implementing projects with this technology. This agreement aligns with Eni's strategy to support the energy transition by enhancing gas production and minimising emissions, targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. Marin said: "We are very pleased to sign this agreement with Eni, which would allow us to accelerate the timeline for the Argentina LNG project. We see great interest worldwide, both from large production companies and from countries seeking to purchase gas from Vaca Muerta." Also, this month, Argentina has commenced gas exports to Brazil from the Vaca Muerta shale formation, using Bolivian pipelines. This involves a strategic partnership between TotalEnergies, YPFB and Matrix Energia, creating a sustainable export channel for Argentine gas to Brazilian markets. The initial export volume was approximately 500,000m through the Bolivian pipeline. "Eni, YPF sign MOU for Argentina LNG project development" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. A Los Angeles County man will spend 30 years in federal prison for producing and distributing disturbing child abuse videos that showed him sexually abusing a toddler. David Lisandro Perez Figueroa, 23, of Monrovia, was sentenced in federal court Monday to 360 months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $2,799 in restitution. From at least July 2023 until his arrest later that year, Perez Figueroa recorded himself sexually abusing a 2-year-old child and distributed the videos on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An X account linked to Perez Figueroa was discovered by law enforcement agents in the United Kingdom who were investigating a separate matter, and the information was passed along to federal agents in the U.S. On Dec. 5, 2023, a search warrant was served at his home and he was taken into custody. Perez Figueroa remained in custody for months, finally pleading guilty to felony charges in November 2024. His 30-year sentence is less than the statutory maximum sentence of 50 years in federal prison as part of the two-count indictment. The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A 29-year-old man was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious grandmother on a TriMet platform in 2023, the Washington County District Attorneys Office announced Monday. A jury found Eduardo Guillermo Madrid-Roque guilty of six counts of sexual abuse, two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration and two counts of public indecency. Prosecutors say Madrid-Roque assaulted the woman in June 2023 while she was visiting the area to attend her grandsons graduation. The woman, 63, had flown into town and taken the MAX line to the Hillsboro Transit Center, where she arrived around 8 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, a poor interaction with her medication left her entirely incoherent and led her to sit on the sidewalk to take off her pants and eventually lie down. While on the flight, [the woman] had a glass of wine, but due to a recent change in her prescription medication, she had a bad reaction causing her intoxication level to be higher than expected, the court documents say. Surveillance footage showed Madrid-Roque getting off a bus at the station, where authorities say he immediately noticed [the woman] on the ground and waited for the bus to leave before approaching her. For the next 30 minutes, the defendant sexually abused [the woman] at varying intervals in the middle of the transit station, the court documents say. The defendant paused his abuseon three separate occasions when other individuals neared the vicinity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He will be sentenced on June 23. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BERLIN (AP) A German court has fined a man for slipping into a VIP convoy for Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2023 and giving him a hug as he prepared to board a plane at Frankfurt Airport, according to German news agency dpa. The court gave the 50-year-old man a 4,500-euro ($5,093) fine and a two-and-a-half-year driving ban for endangering road traffic in conjunction with trespassing, dpa reported Tuesday. The man's name was not made public in line with German privacy rules. The hug prompted an investigation into Scholz's security. The chancellor was unharmed. It occurred as Scholz was returning to Berlin after a celebration for the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scholzs spokesperson Wolfang Buechner at the time told reporters that the German leader didnt feel threatened at any point. The defendant was under the influence of drugs and was found only partially responsible for the crime, dpa reported. The man apologized in the courtroom. Scholz's days as chancellor are nearing an end. The German parliament plans to meet on May 6 to elect Friedrich Merz as the countrys next leader, if all the parties in his proposed government approve a coalition agreement reached last week. (FOX 5/KUSI) A man in a vehicle allegedly connected to several thefts across two Southern California counties was detained after a pursuit. According to El Centro police, on Monday, officers spotted the vehicle linked to thefts across El Centro and in San Diego County. 5.2 magnitude earthquake shakes Southern California Officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver continued driving, eventually entering I-8 westbound toward San Diego. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police worked with the California Highway Patrol and Border Patrol to use spike strips at a Border Patrol checkpoint, eventually stopping the vehicle. The driver, a San Diego resident, was arrested on multiple felony charges, including an active felony warrant out of Riverside County, police said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. UPDATE: State police have confirmed that a tip led to the arrest of Bret Trunzo. Hes currently in Jefferson County Prison. DUBOIS, Pa. (WTAJ) State police detectives are searching for a man they said was part of a string of robberies in January that included Sheetz and Dollar General. Detectives are attempting to locate Bret Allen Trunzo, 31, whose last known address was in Brockway. Photo: Pennsylvania State Police Photo: Pennsylvania State Police Its alleged that Trunzo robbed Sheetz on Rich Highway in Sandy Township, Jan. 15 at around midnight. The next robbery was at Dollar General on W. Liberty Street in Sykesville, Jan. 18, just before 10 p.m. and then at Family Dollar on N. Main Street in DuBois, Jan. 29, at around 7:30 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Troopers said that Trunzo emulated having a firearm during all three robberies, where he stole roughly $150 from each store. Its believed Trunzo left the area and may be in West Virginia. Trunzo was described as 5-feet 11-inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes with a slim build. Stay up to date with the latest news in the palm of your hand. Click here to download the WTAJ app for Apple and Android devices. Anyone who encounters Trunzo is advised to be cautious. Troopers said he may be armed. Anyone with information on Trunzos whereabouts is asked to call PSP DuBoise at 814-371-4652 or PSP Tips at 1-800-472-8477. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) It started with one commissioner asking questions. That opened up a whole new can of worms when commissioners, and then the public, found out the machine that fluoridates the water in Manatee County hasnt worked in years. Anna Maria City Pier remains closed; mayor shares progress made so far Now, the question is, do they start adding the fluoride back to the water or not? Manatee County commissioners will vote on whether to eliminate it Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It should be something that we have a choice about at this point, Commissioner Amanda Ballard said. Ballard explained to 8 On Your Side, her concerns surrounding fluoride began to rise last year when she says a meta-analysis was published. There was a lawsuit that was based off of that and then the surgeon general of Florida came out and said maybe we should look at removing this from our water, she said. So at that point, I decided that there was enough research available that it was time to give people a choice. So, she started asking questions. I actually found out that here in Manatee County, the machine that does the fluoridation has actually been broken in the county since 2021, Ballard explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ballard is in favor of this ordinance: ORDINANCE_25-025.PDFDownload Commissioners will vote on it Tuesday. It would end the requirement of adding fluoride to Manatee Countys water supply. Dr. Lauri Wright is the director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida. News Channel 8 asked her how exactly fluoride impacts tooth decay in children. Its the calcium and fluoride that form the tooth but its the fluoride that kind of puts a shellac or a hard coat that helps protect us from dental cavities, she said. But Wright disagrees with the recent studies suggesting there are serious health risks associated with fluoride. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Number one, its unrealistically high doses, she explained. Number two, the methodology has been really flawed and inconclusive. As for the people of Manatee County, they have differing opinions. I dont see any benefit whatsoever of putting chemical waste into our water system, Michelle Martin told commissioners. Dr. Steve Tinsworth disagreed saying, You treat water with chemicals every day to make it safe. Fluoride is no different. Tuesdays meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the Manatee County Administration Building. If youd like to send Nicole a tip, you can fill out the form below. Submit a form. 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. MANHATTAN (KSNT) Due to its popularity, the City of Manhattan is extending its Spring Cleanup. Every year, the City of Manhattan hosts a city-wide Spring Cleanup to assist its residents and get the city looking nice after the winter. The city posted on its social media that the Spring Cleanup Week is turning into Spring Cleanup Weeks. Map courtesy: City of Manhattan Due to overwhelming demand and turnout, our #PublicWorks crews are still out collecting materials from the curbs in Areas 4 and 5. Statement excerpt from City of Manhattan Facebook page Lawrence PD try to identify suspect who bit off part of mans finger Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three of the five areas in the city have already been completed in the cleanup. On Monday, April 14, city crews should be finishing the clean up the southeast portion of Manhattan. The city will be cleaning the northeast portion of Manhattan on Tuesday, April 15. Residents in that area are expected to have their materials out no later than Monday. During the Spring Cleanup, the city will assist with curbside pickup of brush, limbs and paper bagged grass clippings or leaves. For more instructions about the Spring Cleanup, click here. Crews with public works will not take major household appliances, tires, batteries, concrete or rock rubble, construction of demolition debris or house house hazardous waste, according to the citys website. 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. Europes ETF industry registered its four busiest sessions on record, with orders for European exchange-traded funds worth a total of $161.6 billion, following President Donald Trumps "liberation day" decision to impose swinging tariffs on Americas trading partners, which triggered a huge increase in volatility across financial markets globally. ETF activity in Europe spiked amid fears that President Trump was determined to provoke a full-scale global trade war following the announcement on April 2 that the U.S. would impose reciprocal tariffs on some of Americas trading partners based on a crude back-of-the-envelope calculation that was widely ridiculed by trade specialists. European ETFs See Record Trading Trades involving European-listed ETFs worth an estimated $31 billion were completed on April 3, followed by another $40.6 billion on April 4, as investors reacted to Beijings decision to retaliate with a 34% levy on all imports from the U.S. Stock markets in China and Hong Kong were closed on Friday, April 4, and played catch-up after re-opening the following Monday, sparking a rout across Asia and Europe that spread to the U.S. later in the day. The increase in volatility was again accompanied by huge surges in dealing volumes across stock markets globally with ETF trades in Europe worth $51 billion completed on April 7. Another turbulent day followed on Tuesday when Beijing vowed to fight to the end if the U.S. pressed ahead with steep tariffs. Another $37 billion in European ETF trades were registered on April 8. For comparison, daily trading volumes for European-listed ETFs averaged $5.7 billion during March, according to ETFGI, a London-based consultancy. BlackRock's iShares Captures Trading Surge BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, registered record activity levels on consecutive days for its iShares operations in Europe, with ETF trades worth around $17.8 billion completed on April 4, followed by a further $19.9 billion on April 7. ETFGI data indicate that average daily trading volumes for iShares ETFs were running at around $2.2 billion during March. A spokesperson for BlackRock said that ETF trading across Europe had remained very orderly, with ETFs offering liquidity to investors and providing price discovery during all three of the volatile trading sessions. The data, which is preliminary, was provided by BlackRock and data providers big xyt and OneTick. Order cancellations and late prints are expected to lead to some revisions to the data over the next few days. This article was originally published at etf.com sister publication ETF Stream. A Texas man was arrested after his dogs fatally attacked his neighbor, with a history of disturbing others, according to the Houston Police Department. Marshall Garrett, 38, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with three counts of criminal negligent failure to secure his dogs after his three Staffordshire mixes fatally mauled 65-year-old Harriette Phillips, according to court documents filed on April 9. The attack occurred on March 23 in Houston, when Phillips was walking toward the left side of her backyard, and it "appeared that the defendant's dogs had broken through her fence," the court records said. PHOTO: Marshall Garrett, 38, is wanted by police after his dogs fatally attacked his neighbor, according to court records. (KTRK) Phillips' home security cameras reviewed by police show her "scanning her backyard looking for something" and hitting her fence with a hammer. Then, the dogs "returned through the broken fence and attacked her." She began screaming for help and attempted to use her hammer as a form of defense, the court records said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: 'Bachelor' alum Sean Lowe details injuries after attack by rescue dog: 'We're torn' She fell to the ground, and the dogs began "mauling her head, neck area, arms/elbows and other parts of her body until the complainant was unable to move anymore or screamed for help," the court records said. Garrett did not witness the attacks but "realized what occurred afterward and called 911," court documents said. PHOTO: Marshall Garrett, 38, is wanted by police after his dogs fatally attacked his neighbor, according to court records. (KTRK) On the same day as this attack, another neighbor texted Garrett that he saw the dogs in Phillips' yard, to which he replied: "Oh lord, I'm about to get it resolved," the court records said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Woman tries to save dog running into traffic, both hit and killed: Police In that same month, the dogs also nipped the finger of another neighbor when she was trying to fix a hole in her fence, the court records said. All three dogs were euthanized after the attack, the court records said. Garrett already has an established criminal record prior to this incident, as he and a female suspect, Latrecia Washington, were charged with murder last year when they fatally assaulted a man outside a Family Dollar store, according to court records. On Oct. 29, Garrett approached 69-year-old Alton Martin from behind and punched him in the back of the head, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The altercation appears to have stemmed from a dispute over whether jewelry Martin had sold to Washington was authentic or fake. Martin died from his injuries, court records said. Garrett was arrested for this crime and was previously released on bond, according to court records. As of Tuesday, Garrett is back in police custody. Man's dogs fatally maul woman, suspect arrested originally appeared on abcnews.go.com By Akbar Novruz Azerbaijans State Border Service has successfully foiled an attempt to smuggle narcotics into the country using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), according to a statement from the agencys Press Center. The operation took place on April 6 in the Horadiz border detachment zone, where the Border Troops Command, in coordination with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, intercepted a drone crossing from the Islamic Republic of Iran into Azerbaijan. Authorities confiscated a total of 14.24 kilograms of narcotics, including 14.2 kilograms of marijuana and 40 grams of methamphetamine. The seizure highlights ongoing concerns about cross-border trafficking and the increasing use of UAVs in illicit operations. The State Border Service emphasized that it is continuing its operational-investigative measures as part of broader efforts to ensure reliable border protection and combat the illegal trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances. This story was originally published on Supply Chain Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Supply Chain Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: FedEx is levying a demand surcharge for parcel shipments from China, Hong Kong and the Philippines entering the U.S. starting Tuesday, according to a notice from the delivery giant. The fee, which ends May 2, is $0.45 per pound with a minimum charge of $1 for each shipment. FedEx previously instituted the surcharge on imports from those countries between September and January at a $1 per-pound rate. "FedEx continues to make adjustments within our network to best deliver for our customers," per the notice. UPS implemented a similar fee on Sunday, charging $0.29 per pound for shipments from China, Hong Kong and Macau going to the U.S., but it did not list an end date for that surcharge. Dive Insight: FedEx and UPS are reinstating China-to-U.S. surcharges as volatility on the trade lane persists. Many shippers are pushing to bring inventory into the U.S. earlier than normal as they seek to limit their exposure to tariffs installed by the Trump administration. Many cross-border parcel shippers lean on the de minimis exemption, which enables shipments less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty free, to avoid added costs like tariffs. But the exemption will no longer apply to products from China and Hong Kong starting May 2, with other countries to follow once systems are in place to collect duty revenue. On that date, FedEx will adjust the fees it charges for clearing de minimis-eligible imports through customs. FedEx shipments imported into the U.S. with a customs value of $800 or less will begin seeing a Disbursement Fee of $4.50 or 2% of duty and tax, whichever is greater, per the company's service guide. The fee applies to its international package and express freight services. If a shipper uses a third-party billing service in which duties and taxes are paid outside of the destination country, they will be charged a Duty and Tax Forwarding Fee instead. Through the surcharge, sub-$800 shipments will be charged the greater amount of $8.50 or 2% of duty and tax starting May 2. The cost of both fees will remain unchanged for shipments of more than $800, according to the service guide. FedEx rolled out the surcharge adjustments after executives expressed confidence in a March earnings call that the company's clearance capabilities were ready for any de minimis changes. EVP and Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere said FedEx was working with customers to help them navigate the market as well. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once floated the idea of wiping users Facebook friends to boost the platform's relevance. The email was revealed as part of the FTC's landmark antitrust case against Meta. The FTC is seeking to unwind Metas acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, but the company maintains it does not hold a monopoly power in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving digital marketplace. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the witness stand on Monday amid a landmark antitrust trial against the company. Various emails from Zuckerberg's past communication were introduced as evidence, including one from 2022, when the Meta boss proposed a crazy strategy to boost Facebook's waning cultural relevance: deleting all users' friend networks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Option 1. Double down on Friending," Zuckerberg wrote in a 2022 message to senior Meta executives. "One potentially crazy idea is to consider wiping everyone's graphs and having them start again." The message, suggested in response to growing concerns about Facebooks weakening relevance, suggested that the company could revitalize user engagement by eliminating existing friend connections and encouraging users to rebuild their networks from scratch. The proposal was met with skepticism from some within the company. Tom Alison, the head of Facebook at the time, cautioned that such a move could undermine critical platform functionality, particularly on Instagram. He responded to the Meta boss, writing, "I'm not sure Option #1 in your proposal (Double-down on Friending) would be viable given my understanding of how vital the friend use case is to IG." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zuckerberg pressed the idea further, however, questioning whether a shift from a friend-based model to a follower-based model might be feasible. Though the proposal was never actually implemented, as Zuckerberg noted in court on Monday, the email reveals how concerned Meta was with remaining competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Meta's antitrust trial A separate internal email, written by the Meta CEO in 2008, is at the heart of the FTCs ongoing antitrust case against the platform. In it, he wrote, It is better to buy than compete. The trial, which began Monday, is the result of a years-in-the-making case over Meta's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC's case alleges the company bought the rival platforms to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market. If Meta loses the case it could be forced to break off Instagram and WhatsApp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meta insists that the competitive landscape has shifted dramatically and that it now contends with a host of formidable rivals including TikTok, YouTube, iMessage, and more. The evidence at trial will show what every 17-year-old in the world knows: Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp compete with Chinese-owned TikTok, YouTube, X, iMessage and many others. More than 10 years after the FTC reviewed and cleared our acquisitions, the Commissions action in this case sends the message that no deal is ever truly final. Regulators should be supporting American innovation, rather than seeking to break up a great American company and further advantaging China on critical issues like AI, the company said in a statement. Experts say the FTC will face an uphill battle in proving its case, pointing to a recent court filing in which Meta emphasized that the FTC must demonstrate the company holds monopoly power in the current marketnot based on conditions from years past. This requirement may be a hurdle for regulators, as the competitive landscape has evolved significantly since Meta acquired WhatsApp and Instagram with new powerful rivals like TikTok gaining ground. The risks for Meta are still significant, as a forced divestiture of Instagram could slash its advertising revenues by as much as 50%. Representatives for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune, made outside normal working hours. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Katrina Crumbacher Gaylord News Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin received pushback Wednesday after joking that violence could solve fake news in a video posted on X late last week. Freedom of Information Oklahomas Executive Director Kurt Gwartney called the whole matter disheartening. When political leaders joke about violence against those they disagree with or dislike, they demean their elected roles in American public life and the people they represent, Gwartney said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Founded in 1990, FOI Oklahoma is a statewide organization dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations trying to obtain access to open records or open meetings that have been illegally closed, according to its website. The video, which made national headlines this week, opened with Mullin telling a story about a reporter who shot and killed a congressman-turned-lobbyist in 1890. However, as the story came to an end, it took a dark turn. Now, theres a lot we could say about reporters and the stories they write, Mullin said, but I bet they would write a lot less false stories as President Trump says, fake news if we could still handle our differences that way. Across the United States in 2024, journalists were assaulted 80 times, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Of the 1,100 incidents of assault that have been reported since the organization started keeping track in 2017, three happened in Oklahoma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each assault can be viewed as an attack on First Amendment freedoms, Gwartney wrote. Using violence against journalists is an established chapter in the anti-democratic playbook used by politicians across the globe and here at home. FOI Oklahoma was not the first to air grievances about Mullinss comments. On Sunday, The Oklahoman published a news article about Mullins remarks, and a couple of hours later, Mullin responded on X, calling the newspaper out of touch with Oklahoma. The Oklahoman followed with an editorial on Monday, saying Mullin is out of touch with the dignity of his office and the volatile environment our country currently finds itself in. In a time when Mullin could have gone before the cameras to help alleviate all the fears that consume Oklahomans in these uncertain times worry about their Social Security benefits, whether their Medicaid insurance will be cut, among others he chose to talk about the potential benefits of harming journalists, The Oklahoman editorial board wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The editorial contrasted Mullins remarks with the Oklahoma Standard and the upcoming 30-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19. Markwayne Mullin's response to an argument is violence, The Oklahoman wrote. But thousands of Oklahomans, including survivors, families, friends and others affected by the bombing responded to an unspeakable horror 30 years ago with dignity, grace and kindness. On Tuesday in another post on X, Mullin again responded to the few reporters pretending to be upset about this video. If you watchedit was a *reporter* who shot a congressman in 1890. You dont see me crying, Mullin wrote. Take a joke and quit trying to find a reason to be offended. Focus on your low readership and declining relevance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Gwarteny, violence isnt something public officials should joke about. Expressions of violence in our political system are something you don't joke about or expect from a member of the U.S. Senate unless youre willfully ignorant of civics and history, Gwartney wrote. Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net. The family of Martin Luther King Jr has condemned Marine Le Pen for comparing her ban from front-line politics to the US civil rights movement. Last Sunday, the leader of National Rally (RN), the hard-Right and anti-immigrant party, repeatedly cited Dr Kings name in two speeches, calling on supporters to take inspiration from the American struggle for racial equality to help her win the right to run for president in 2027. As part of her sentence for embezzling EU funds to pay party staff, French courts barred her from running for office for five years, effectively banning her from the 2027 presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Le Pen has described it as a politically motivated witch hunt. Distortion of civil rights But members of Dr Kings family denounced her comments, calling them an attempt to distort or establish false equivalences with Dr Kings fight for civil rights. This constitutes an inappropriate distortion of history and undermines the sacrifices made by those who stood against hate and fought for justice, son Martin Luther King III and his wife Arndrea Waters King told French media BFMTV on Tuesday. His efforts inspired generations of Americans and paved the way for the creation of his vision of a beloved community, a society built on unity rather than division. Martin Luther King Jr with his children Yolanda and Martin Luther III - GETTY Ms Le Pen made a video appearance at a conference on April 6 for Italys far-Right Lega party in which she attacked the French court and portrayed herself as the victim of a political manhunt. She claimed to be fighting for Frances version of the civil rights movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will take inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr who defended civil rights, she said. Today it is the civil rights of the French that are being called into question. Later that day, at a rally in Paris, she invoked Dr Kings struggle for racial equality a second time and compared her supporters to American citizens who were oppressed and disenfranchised, saying that the peace-loving Dr King was her own inspiration. To this end, we intend to invite all French people and freedom-lovers to join us in a peaceful and democratic resistance, a popular and patriotic resistance, she said. Grossly indecent Her comments provoked a negative reaction from her political opponents, who called her comparison crass. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seeing Madame Le Pen, at the head of a party in which a number of leaders have been convicted of inciting racial hatred, come and somehow remake herself in the guise of Martin Luther King, I found that grossly indecent, Manuel Bompard, the co-ordinator of the hard-Left party France Unbowed told news site France Info. Ms Le Pen has filed an appeal against her conviction. The decision of the appeal hearing is expected to land in the summer of 2026. Should the decision be upheld, its expected that her protege Jordan Bardella, 29, will replace her as presidential candidate for the party. Dr King was an American baptist minister, who in the 1950s and 60s was one of the most prominent leaders of the civil rights movement, which aimed to end racial segregation and discrimination. 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. UPDATE (April 16, 2025; 8:42 a.m. ET): Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Wednesday morning that he is boarding his flight to El Salvador, where he hopes to meet with government representatives and Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration, to let the government of El Salvador know that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home until he returns to his family, he said in a video on X. As President Donald Trumps administration defiantly says it has no authority to order the release of a man it said it mistakenly deported to El Salvador, Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he would travel to the Latin American country to push for Kilmar Abrego Garcias return. In a letter dated Sunday, the Maryland Democrat formally requested a meeting with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who is in the United States this week, to discuss the illegal detention of my constituent. Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident and legal permanent resident of the U.S., is being held in a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have met with Mr. Abrego Garcias wife, mother and brother and, as you can imagine, they are extremely worried about his health, safety, and continued illegal confinement, as am I, Van Hollen wrote in a letter to Milena Mayorga, El Salvadors ambassador to the U.S. In a news release Monday, Van Hollen added that if Abrego Garcia is not home by midweek, he planned to travel to El Salvador this week to check on his condition and discuss his release. Several other Democratic lawmakers, including Reps. Maxwell Frost of Florida and Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, have said they would be willing to join Van Hollen on his trip. Its unlikely that Abrego Garcia will get to leave El Salvadors Terrorism Confinement Center and return home in the immediate future. Despite a Supreme Court order last week that the administration must facilitate Abrego Garcias release, Trump officials have argued that his fate is no longer in their hands since he isnt on U.S. soil. Bukele has similarly expressed helplessness in the matter, saying at the White House on Monday that he doesnt have the power to return Abrego Garcia. The Trump administration has moved quickly to deport hundreds of people to El Salvador under an 18th-century wartime law, paying the Latin American country approximately $6 million to detain them for a year. Many of their family members have rejected claims that they are affiliated with any gang. Meanwhile, Democrats have sought to highlight Abrego Garcias case as an example of the cruelty and chaos of the administrations immigration policy, as well as its defiance of the judicial branch. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com A Massachusetts police officer is among 10 people who have been charged in connection with an online sex sting operation aimed at apprehending child predators, authorities said. Dominick Boschetto, 31, of Brookfield, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of sexual conduct for a fee and enticement for sex involving a child under the age of 16, according to the Berkshire District Attorneys Office. He was ordered held on $5,000 bail. The Berkshire State Police Detective Unit and Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force conducted a two-week-long operation that authorities say was established to apprehend individuals engaging in criminal activities connected to human trafficking crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the operation, law enforcement officers posed as 14 and 15-year-old females on various online platforms, according to the DAs office. The ten suspects arrested in the sting allegedly communicated with the undercover officers and traveled to a pre-arranged location in the Berkshires with the intent to pay money in exchange for sex with individuals under the age of 16. Auburn Police Chief Todd Lemon confirmed that Boschetto has been working as an officer in the Worcester County town since 2023. Boschetto has since been placed on leave, and an internal investigation has been initiated, according to Lemon. The allegations against Boschetto are reprehensible and deeply offensive to every member of the Auburn Police Department, Chief Lemon said in a statement. The residents of Auburn and the members of the Auburn Police Department deserve and demand that Auburn Police officers are held to the highest standard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities noted that the allegations against Boschetto do not involve on-duty conduct. Others arrested and arraigned in connection with the operation are as follows, according to the DAs office: Sydney Brodrick, 21, of Pittsfield, is charged with possession of obscene material and distribution of obscene material. Ted Crosby, 56, of Pittsfield, is charged with sexual conduct for a fee, enticing a child under 16, attempting to commit a crime, and posing/exhibiting child in a sexual act. Roger Prell, 67, of Pittsfield, is charged with paying for sexual conduct with a child under 18, obscene matter to a minor, enticing a child under 16, and attempting to commit a crime. Dana Brookman, 31, of Pittsfield, is charged with enticing a child under 16, obscene matter to a minor, and attempting to commit a crime. Eduardo/Kevin Miranda Hernandez is charged with enticement of a child under 16, attempt to commit a crime, and procuring liquor for a person under 21. Jonathan Kornbluth, 45, of Housatonic, is charged with enticing a child under 16, attempting to commit a crime, and Class B drug possesion. Forhad Chaudhury, 40, of Ronkonkoma, New York, is charged with paying for sexual conduct with a child under 18, enticing a child under 16, and attempting to commit a crime. Jean Arce, 39, of Westfield, is charged with paying for sexual conduct with a child under 18, enticing a child under 16, and attempting to commit a crime. Stevenson Clercidor (case was still being heard as of Tuesday afternoon) Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue thanked Gov. Maura Healey for awarding his office grant money to carry out the operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The utilization of grant funding and the dedicated work of our Law Enforcement Task Force allowed us to apprehend those looking to abuse our most vulnerable population, children. I want to especially thank the North Adams Police Department and Chief Bailey for their commitment to this operation, Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said in a statement. I also would like to recognize and thank Governor Healey in awarding grant funds that allowed our office to conduct investigations into human trafficking in our county. Sex trafficking is far more prevalent than most people realize. Through the Governors support, we are able to devote resources to disrupt and apprehend criminals looking to exploit victims of human trafficking. All of the suspects in this case were ordered held on various bail conditions. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW BOSTON (WWLP) Over 30 critically endangered sea turtles, some rescued from Cape Cod, were released back into the ocean after months of rehabilitative care at the New England Aquarium. In a news release from the New England Aquarium, 25 Kemps ridley sea turtles from the aquariums sea turtle hospital in Quincy and the remaining from New York Marine Rescue Center were treated for conditions including pneumonia and dehydration after becoming cold-stunned in November and December. Due to the rapidly changing ocean temperature and wind patterns, the aquarium says that more than 500 live turtles were rescued between November 2024 and January 2025. On Monday, 31 sea turtles were released back into the Atlantic Ocean in Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement VIDEO: Three black bears spotted in Chicopee yard It is always incredible to watch these turtles become healthy again after being cold-stunned, said Sammi Chaves, a Rescue Biologist at the New England Aquarium who led the transport. The progress they make from when they first arrive at the New England Aquarium, all the way to when they are released on the beach, is amazing and really proves how resilient these animals are. PHOTOS: Sea turtles released back into ocean A crowd of onlookers gathered on the beach in Fort Fisher, N.C., to watch the sea turtles head into the ocean waters. Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium Photo courtesy of New England Aquarium During their care, the sea turtles were named Pegasus, Linus, Medusa, Apollo, and Echo, to name a few, under this years Greek mythology theme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With sea turtle strandings on the rise over the past decade, our rescue, rehabilitation, and research efforts are more important than ever, said Adam Kennedy, the Aquariums Director of Rescue and Rehabilitation. We have much to learn about these animals, especially the critically endangered Kemps ridley, if we are to ensure a viable future for them. The aquarium has an additional 42 sea turtles that are still undergoing rehabilitation and will be released off Cape Cod in the summer months. 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. WACO, Texas (FOX 44) Maternal health is defined as womens health and well-being during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Locally, in McLennan County, maternal health has become a rising concern for the past several years. According to Gabby White, the Director of Programs for Women and Children at Waco Family Medicine, Waco Family Medicine found a rising preterm birth rate in McLennan County. White explained that there has been a 41 percent increase in preterm births since 2010, but only a 3.5 percent increase in live births for the same period. The most concerning is that non-Hispanic Black patients had a 19.1 percent (one in five rate) of preterm births in 2024. We know that babys health is really connected to moms health. And so, we can see the way that as a county, we are not making the best improvements when it comes to maternal health and child and infant health, White said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added that overall preterm birth rose for the county from 11.5 percent in 2023 to 13 percent in 2024 despite the difference in live births being only one patient. In the United States, black women are more than three times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women or Hispanic women. A lot of this comes from more systemic or bigger-picture things. And so, its really a chance for us to raise awareness so that we can improve some of those maternal health outcomes, she added. This week, Waco Family Medicine is hosting several events in light of Black Maternal Wellness Week with a Maternal Wellness Fair for all women in the area. For more information on those events, you can 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 KWKT - FOX 44. Matthews town officials announced that James E. Avens, Jr. has been named the new chief of the police department. Avens is a native of Halifax County, where he began his career at the sheriffs office. Matthews police chief resigns after 6 months on the job After that, he became a school resource officer with the Northampton County Sheriffs Office. Avens returned to his hometown of Weldon, North Carolina, and joined the police department, where he was promoted to captain in 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is a member of professional organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and currently serves as President of the North Carolina Police Executive Association. Im honored to have the opportunity to serve the Matthews community, said Avens in a news release. Matthews is a vibrant and welcoming town with a strong commitment to public safety. Im excited to work with the dedicated professionals of the Matthews Police Department to continue building trust and collaboration with the community. Interim Chief Penny Dunn will finish her time with the town of Matthews, and Avens will begin his role on June 2. VIDEO: Extremely important: CPCC plans first responder training facility in Matthews Privately-owned confectionery major Ferrero is investing C$445m ($321m) to expand its production facility in Brantford in Canada. Ferrero told Just Food the factory's capacity will increase by an additional 90,000 square feet. The investment will see the launch of production lines for Nutella Biscuits and Ferrero Rocher chocolate squares, a statement from the Ontario government said. Nutella Biscuits are already sold in Canada but Ferrero is set to start producing the snacks in the country next year. The Ferrero Rocher chocolate squares will be a new product for the Canadian market, although the company would not say when they were set to be launched. The province is contributing C$36m towards Ferrero's investment, the statement read. Ferrero confirmed the expansion would generate 500 new jobs once the expansion work has finished, taking the company's workforce at the plant in Ontario to more than 1,800 full-time employees. The Brantford facility supplies Canada, as well as other undisclosed factories. "This expansion represents a commitment to Ferrero's tremendous momentum in the region and will strengthen our manufacturing capabilities and supply chain," Omar Zausa, the president of Ferrero's business in Canada, said. For the financial year ending 31 August 2024, Ferrero posted a consolidated revenue of 18.4bn, up 8.9% from the previous year. The company operates 37 manufacturing facilities worldwide at the end of the period. In August last year, Ferrero announced plans to invest approximately 170m (then $189m) in upgrading its Stadtallendorf facility in central Germany. The site, which has operated since 1956, was to be expanded with a new production hall following approval from the local Gieen Regional Council. In May last year, Ferrero opened its first chocolate-processing plant in the US. The facility is in Bloomington in Illinois. "Ferrero invests in Canada facility expansion" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. HAIKU, Hawaii (KHON2) Eddie the pig was adopted by Sarah Haynes a few years ago. She adopted him from a local pig rescue after he was found running around Kihei with scars and rope burns. They believed he was used for hunting dog training. I adopted him and built a big enclosure and a house and a pool and all sorts of stuff, Haynes, who has a pet sanctuary on her nine acre lot in Haiku, said. And I promised him a good life and that I would keep him away from that kind of treatment. Health officials identify 10 vulnerable individuals who came in contact with measles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, according to court documents, sometime between May 11 and May 12, two teens trespassed onto Haynes property, stole Eddie and killed him. Would you pay $45M for this modern Hawaii palace: 10 things to know When Haynes realized he was missing, she noticed her wire fence had been cut, and posted on social media about her missing pig. She said her phone blew up instantly. Move over eggs: These 4 tiny toys are taking over Hawaiis Easter baskets And it was just video after picture after video of Eddie getting attacked, and they posted everything on Instagram of what they did, Haynes said. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You She said most of the calls came from hunters because they didnt believe the two teens, who had just won $1,000 from a biggest pig contest actually found a wild pig. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hawaiian Airlines gets a top mark in new study They appear just moments before the contest ends with well-over the biggest pig, because hes grain fed, and hes clean, and hes neutered and they couldnt carry him from the truck to the scale. Nobody believed him, Haynes explained after speaking with hunters. She wanted justice and did everything she could to build a case and said police and the prosecutor have been extremely helpful. 4 Easter events at Kahala Mall celebrate springtime In January, one of the teens, who is 19-years-old, changed his plea from not guilty to no contest and will be sentenced on Wednesday, April 16. He faces two felony counts for 1st degree animal cruelty and livestock theft which each carry a maximum five year sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The other teen is expected to change his plea the same day. She said her prosecutor has been amazing and has shot down their efforts to get the cased dismissed. Eddie was super friendly, Haynes said. Little kids could hug him, you know, hed sit. You could get him to bark like a dog. I mean, he was just the most adorable, sweet, gentle soul. And you know, his life started with cruelty, and I was determined to make that go away for life. And, unfortunately it ended the same way it started, you know, with hunting dogs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Haynes will have a rally outside the Wailuku courthouse on Wednesday, April 16 from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. right before sentencing advocating for Eddie and all cruelty against animals. I dont want to ruin anybodys life and I dont think theres any possibility of them getting the 10 years, but what I would like to see, I would like to see a punishment. This wasnt an innocent mistake, this wasnt confusion about the law. This was a planned attack on my pet, she 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 KHON2. Mayor Brandon Johnson lambasted President Donald Trump dangling the possibility of cutting federal funding over Democratic leaders as terrorism in a Tuesday news conference during which he offered few specifics on how he would fight back. Speaking to reporters at City Hall, the mayor responded to a question about Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers now-viral visit to the Oval Office last week by flatly rejecting the possibility of stopping by the White House himself. I will just say, outside of a 2016 Cubs World Series ring, Im not kissing a ring, OK? Johnson said. The president of the United States of America has an open invitation to the fifth floor of the greatest freakin city in the world, the city of Chicago. He can come talk to me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then Johnson addressed the ongoing balancing act that politicians previously unfriendly to Trump have had to walk between flattering and antagonizing the president as he has threatened to withhold federal aid to blue states and cities including Chicago. Last week, the president said he was moving to strip cities with sanctuary policies for immigrants of all federal aid, a threat he has made before. Trying to force your will to break the spirit of working people in order to have a conversation, thats terrorism. Were not going to negotiate with terrorists, Johnson said. Asked if he was calling Trump a terrorist, the mayor continued: No. What Im saying is trying to hold people hostage and manipulating them to succumb to his will and then hold up our tax dollars, that is how terrorists behave. Johnsons assessment comes about three months after Trump assumed office for his second term and brought with him a host of fresh anxieties for Chicagoans to consider, from mass deportations to the revocation of up to $3.5 billion in federal aid for the city and sister agencies. Johnson had said a week before the inauguration that he was open to a serious conversation about how we build a better, stronger, safer Chicago with the Trump administration because he is not mean-spirited, but his Tuesday remarks signaled those prospects were dimmer than ever. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Trumps first term, Johnsons predecessor Lori Lightfoot met with the presidents daughter Ivanka in the West Wing when Lightfoot was mayor-elect, but she did not otherwise visit the White House. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel similarly skipped meeting with Trump while the two were in office, though they did huddle in 2016 before Trump was sworn in. Emanuel on Tuesday also caught some scorn from Johnson in the news conference. Our challenges in Chicago did not start with Donald Trump, the mayor said. One of the greatest, I believe, acts of terror that was ever administered by an administration was the Emanuel administration. Johnson was talking about Emanuels 2013 decision to close dozens of Chicago public schools. But he did not provide clarity on the subject he was asked about, the future of the school districts diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the wake of White House threats against its $1.3 billion in federal funding. And Johnsons answer when he was asked Tuesday about his contingency plans should the city in fact lose its total $3.5 billion in federal aid similarly lacked details. These arent threats anymore, right? These are real, adversarial attacks against working people, the mayor said while nodding to his promise to start planning earlier for the citys 2026 budget which includes a projected $1.12 billion deficit. Former Rep. Mayra Flores, a Republican who is the first Mexican-born woman to serve in Congress, announced on Tuesday that she has switched districts to challenge Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, in 2026 as Cuellar awaits the start of his criminal trial. Less than three hours after her campaign launched on social media, Flores team announced that the former congresswoman has been hospitalized. We pray that Mayra will return stronger than ever, ready to continue her unwavering commitment to serving our country, the team wrote on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flores has been discharged from the hospital, according to a sister who responded to questions from The Texas Tribune. A statement Tuesday evening from the campaign said that Flores is now fully recovering and feeling stronger than ever and will be back on the campaign trail soon. These statements did not provide additional details. Flores, 39, represented Texass 34th district for about six months after she won a special election in June 2022. She lost her reelection in November 2022 to Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen. The pair ran against each other again in 2024 when Flores lost by less than three percentage points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She immigrated to the United States, where she is now a citizen, at six years old, her campaign website says. On the website, Flores said she is fighting for a better future for the children of South Texas, and listed her top campaign issues including securing the border, strengthening the economy and giving parents choices regarding their childrens education. This campaign is driven by a love for our country and a commitment to fight for justice, opportunity, and unity for all, Flores wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The Justice Department indicted Cuellar, 69, on charges of alleged bribery, money laundering and working on behalf of the Azebaijani government and a Mexican Bank. The indictment, which was unsealed in May 2024, alleges that Cuellar accepted almost $600,000 bribes in return for his influence from December 2014 through November 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His trial is scheduled to begin in September. The congressman has maintained his innocence and has said that his actions are consistent with those of his congressional colleagues. Cuellar, who represents the 28th district, won his reelection in 2024, by just under six percentage points, after the Republican party did little to raise money for or advertise their candidate. However, the National Republican Congressional Committee placed Cuellars seat on a list of 26 target pick-up opportunities in the 2026 midterm election as the party aims to grow its slim majority in the House of Representatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berenice Garcia contributed to this report. Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 1315 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. By Mariam Sunny, Jorge Garcia and Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) -The Texas health department reported 561 cases of measles in the state on Tuesday, an increase of 20 from April 11, as the U.S. government said it was sending seven people to the state to help battle the outbreak of the childhood disease. Cases in Gaines County, the center of the outbreak, rose to 364 from 355 reported on Friday, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. David Sugerman, from the Division of Viral Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Tuesday gave a rare update on the U.S. measles outbreak and response during a meeting of a panel of experts who advise the CDC. He said the response was being hindered by the cancellation of about $11 billion in federal grants to states that were allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were being used to track, prevent and control infectious diseases, including measles and bird flu. "We are scraping to find the resources and personnel needed to provide support to Texas and other jurisdictions," Sugerman said. Sugerman told the panel that the CDC had deployed 15 personnel to Texas to respond to the outbreak and provide on-site technical assistance from March 4 through April 1. He said the agency is sending a second team on Tuesday to help with the outbreak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CDC has provided infection prevention control systems to seven hospitals and reviewed school infection control strategies. It is providing remote technical assistance to multiple state health departments, he said. In neighboring Lubbock County, where the state reported 41 cases, a local public health official said in an interview that she became aware of measles in their area in January when two children were hospitalized. The children had not travelled and the families said the disease had been circulating in Gaines County for some time, Dr. Katherine Wells, director of Lubbock Public Health, said. "I'm not sure we'll ever know definitively how measles came into this community, but it had definitely been circulating when we found out about it," Wells said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The outbreak could last a year, she added. Sugerman said the U.S. could be at risk of losing its measles elimination status if the cases in the outbreak continue to spread past January 20 2026. Over the course of the outbreak, 58 patients have been hospitalized in Texas, while two unvaccinated children with no underlying health conditions have died of measles in the state. Nearby New Mexico's health department reported 63 cases on Tuesday, up by five from its last update four days ago. The state also reported one additional hospitalization due to the disease. The state's Dona Ana County also reported its first case in 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of New Mexico's cases are from Lea County, which is adjacent to Gaines County in Texas. (Reporting by Mariam Sunny, Sriparna Roy and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Caroline Humer and Nia Williams) (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) New Mexico health officials reported five new measles cases in children Tuesday, including the first reported infection in Southern New Mexicos most populous county: Dona Ana, which may have exposed people in a preschool and several Memorial Medical Center locations. The remaining four cases were in Lea County, where the majority of the outbreak has spread in New Mexico, bringing the measles total to 63 cases. Five of those cases were serious enough to warrant hospitalization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New Mexico Department of Health officials recommended Tuesday that parents seek one dose of the measles, mumps rubella vaccine for infants aged 6-11 months living in Dona Ana County, or who will be traveling to either Dona Ana or Lea counties. Given how contagious measles is, we expected it to find its way from El Paso County in Texas to neighboring Dona Ana County, NMDOH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham said in a statement. No matter where you live in New Mexico, make sure you and your family are up to date with your vaccinations. Health officials said measles exposure may have occurred in the past two weeks at the following dates and locations in Las Cruces: April 2: noon to 6 p.m. at Kids Kountry Place Preschool and Childcare, 3704 Elks Drive April 3 and April 7: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Center, 2605 Terrace Drive April 6: 1 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. at Memorial Medical Center Emergency Department, 2450 S. Telshor Blvd. April 7: 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Center, 2605 Terrace Drive April 8: 7:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Medical Center Emergency Department and Pediatric unit, 2450 S. Telshor Blvd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NMDOH requests that anyone exposed or showing symptoms call the measles Helpline at 1-833-796-8773 for help in English or Spanish for vaccine questions or further measles testing. They urged patients to contact doctors offices or emergency rooms before coming in to allow them to prepare for a potential measles case. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, spread through contact with airborne droplets from infected people. People can spread the measles days before symptoms show, which include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a red spotty rash starting on the head and face and spreading over the body. The most effective prevention against the measles is two doses of the vaccine, according to health officials. New Mexicos vaccination rate has more than doubled between Feb. 1 and April 14, with 18,449 vaccinations this year over the 9,863 in the same time period in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to the 10 walk-in vaccine clinics in eight counties posted to the website, NMDOH announced two additional locations in Las Cruces: Walk-in vaccine hours are from 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays from 1 to 3 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday mornings at the Las Cruces Public Health Office, 1170 N. Solano Drive. (575) 528-5001. From 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays at Las Cruces East Mesa Public Health Office, 5220 Holman Road. (575) 382-0540. In other parts of the state, cases remain unchanged at two infections reported in Eddy County and one infection in Chaves County. Nearly 60% of New Mexicos measles cases have impacted children, with 17 cases reported in very young children; 19 cases in children ages 7 to 17-years old; and 27 cases in adults. Texas Health officials reported 20 additional cases Tuesday, totaling 561 cases in 23 counties. The majority of cases remain in Gaines County, which has one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. has more than twice the number of measles cases reported in 2024. Three reported measles deaths have occurred during the outbreak: two Texas children, and one Lea County adult, which is still under investigation, according to a spokesperson for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Experts regardless of political affiliation have expressed alarm about federal moves to abandon support for vaccines. Photo illustration by Getty Images. Cities and states fighting a historic measles outbreak find themselves undermined by the Trump administration as they struggle to provide crucial vaccinations and overcome disinformation. As of this week, cases were nearing 650 in 22 states, on track to reach a 34-year high. A second unvaccinated child died of measles in West Texas last week. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended her funeral Sunday and called vaccination the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles in a social media post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet, as experts have noted, Kennedy has promoted vaccine skepticism and pitched alternatives such as cod liver oil and vitamin A to prevent measles neither of which works. A top vaccine expert working under Kennedy resigned in protest. Abrupt cutoffs in federal funding under President Donald Trump have also crippled some state efforts to vaccinate people against measles and other diseases. A third death in New Mexico, of an unvaccinated adult who tested positive for measles, remains under investigation. Before vaccination started in 1963, measles caused as many as 500 deaths a year in the United States. The most important things states can do are providing vaccine clinics, testing quickly for measles, and tracing the contacts of people with identified cases, as well as fighting misinformation on vaccines, said Dr. Susan Kansagra, chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles is one of the most contagious diseases, so one of the roles of public health is working to identify others that might have been exposed, Kansagra said of contract tracing. Despite vaccines effectiveness, recent federal funding halts have crippled state and local efforts to vaccinate more people not only for measles but also for this years deadly influenza viruses and COVID-19. On April 3, a federal judge in Rhode Island agreed to temporarily block the Trump administration from pulling $11 billion in federal health grants from states after a court challenge by Democratic states. But in the days before the judges order, measles response plans came to a crashing halt in parts of Minnesota, Texas and Washington state when federal health grants were abruptly cut off. Dozens of free vaccination clinics in the Dallas area were canceled overnight. On March 24, Washington state was forced to cancel 104 upcoming Care-a-Van mobile clinics that would have provided 2,000 vaccinations against childhood diseases, including measles. In Minnesota, where $220 million in previously approved federal health funding was cut off, the state announced layoffs April 1, including some positions supporting measles vaccination and other disease response. Minneapolis vaccination clinics were canceled March 26. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sudden and unexpected action from the federal government left us with no choice but to lay off workers, Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Brooke Cunningham said in a statement. We are working now to figure out how much of this critical public health work we can save and continue. Alarm among experts Experts regardless of political affiliation have expressed alarm about federal moves to abandon support for vaccines. They include the nations top vaccine expert at the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Peter Marks, who was appointed to the position in 2016. In his resignation letter March 28, Marks said the measles outbreak reminds us of what happens when confidence in well-established science underlying public health and well-being is undermined. He accused Kennedy of seeking only subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies about vaccines in general. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA commissioner in the first Trump administration and is now a fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said the measles outbreak could easily worsen and cost the United States its eliminated status, which was declared in 2000 based on the absence of the continuous spread of the disease. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think were headed into a good place, Gottlieb said, speaking March 31 on CNBC. He [Kennedy] has been very focused on dismantling components of the vaccine enterprise in this country. Measles is so contagious that it can spread to 90% of unvaccinated people near an infected person. The virus can linger in the air up to two hours after an infected person has coughed or sneezed. Symptoms of the disease include high fever, cough, runny nose and rash, leading to a severe lung infection. Rare severe cases can cause swelling of the brain and death. Measles is most dangerous for infants, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. In Texas there are already signs that misinformation and vaccine skepticism may be feeding a rise in measles cases. The state had 499 cases as of April 6. People stand outside of a Mennonite church in Seminole, Texas, where Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended funeral services April 6 for Daisy Hildebrand, 8, the second Texas child to die from the measles this year. Measles cases are on track to reach a 34-year high as vaccine hesitancy spreads and funding cuts imperil state responses. (Photo by Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune) A Lubbock hospital reported that several unvaccinated children were treated for vitamin A toxicity, apparently in response to Kennedys recommendations to take vitamin A and cod liver oil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr. Ashish Jha, who worked on COVID-19 vaccine plans under the Biden administration, said vitamin A treatment is appropriate in parts of Africa where vitamin deficiency is a factor, but not often in the United States. In Texas and Louisiana and New Mexico and Ohio and Pennsylvania, where were seeing a lot of these outbreaks, vitamin A is going to do very little for kids because they already have plenty of vitamin A, Jha said. Really, the only thing that helps is making sure you dont get measles and the only way to do that is to be vaccinated, said Jha, who is now dean of Brown Universitys School of Public Health. State responses The current outbreak is on track to surpass 2019, when there were nearly 1,300 cases, and to be the worst year for measles since 1991 when there were more than 9,600 cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local and state health officials in Texas also warned against measles parties where people try to expose themselves and their children to the disease hoping to gain immunity. Measles can cause severe complications and death even in otherwise healthy people, state officials warned. New Mexico has opened 22 free walk-in measles vaccine clinics around the state, including two in Lea County, where most of the cases are located, near the Texas border. The state is also trying to head off more infections in Guadalupe and Valencia counties, where a traveler from Texas may have exposed people to measles in early March at a restaurant, hotel, church and travel center. Funding cutbacks forced New Mexico to cancel contracts for vaccination outreach to potential clients in underserved communities, but the state has not interrupted its own public service messages or vaccine clinics, said New Mexico Department of Health spokesperson Robert Nott. Kansas, where there are 24 known cases, recommended early vaccination for children in affected areas starting at 6 months of age instead of the usual 1 year. The state also put doctors on alert to watch for symptoms such as fever and rash among unvaccinated people and offered expedited testing for suspected measles cases. Kentucky, with only one case, requires doctors to send such tests directly to the state for faster processing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As in other states, almost all the Kansas cases are among unvaccinated people. Only one person with measles was fully vaccinated, and another case is not clear. Colorado, where the states first case was reported March 31 in an unvaccinated Pueblo resident, state officials were already sending reminder texts and emails about vaccination to parents because of cases in nearby Texas and New Mexico. They also warned residents who may have been exposed at a restaurant and clinic in Pueblo and Pueblo West in March. In New Mexico, theres been an encouraging increase in measles vaccinations since the outbreak, said Nott. There were almost 15,000 new vaccinations in February and March, up from about 8,200 in the same period last year, he said. On April 2, New York state warned residents to get vaccinated before traveling to areas with measles outbreaks. In March, the Pan American Health Organization said measles outbreaks in North and South America could endanger the regions status as measles-free. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some states are working to locate people who, residents or not, may have exposed others while traveling. New Jersey has three cases among residents, all members of one family, but is seeking people exposed to measles by travelers on an Amtrak train, at Newark Liberty International Airport, in hospitals and at other places in March. A March editorial in The Lancet, a medical journal, said the recent measles outbreaks should be taken as a wakeup call for more vaccinations. People should be encouraged to listen to factual scientific evidence and verified sources. Awareness of the safety of the measles vaccine needs to be spread to combat the viral misinformation against it, the editorial stated. Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson@stateline.org. Like Minnesota Reformer, 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. JOHNSTOWN, Pa. An initiative using aerial drones to deliver defibrillators, EpiPens and other medical supplies to local emergency scenes has been cleared for a test run. Drone814 partners plan to begin airlifting supplies across Greater Johnstown this summer through medical drone trials in a bid to show the world that the effort can save lives and medical costs, ATA Aviation Managing Director John Eberhardt said. Drone814 deployment map Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The partnership called Drone814 will begin coordinating aerial drone deliveries of medical supplies this summer across part of the Greater Johnstown area. From there, the sky's the limit, with the group hopeful the effort will also deliver high-salary jobs in the area, he said. The launch signals a new era of high-tech emergency response that will expand across the state if the Johnstown pilot project proves successful, Aerium Chairman Larry Nulton said. This initiative doesnt just push the boundaries of whats possible in emergency response; it opens new doors for our local workforce and sets the tone for how technology and community impact can go hand-in-hand, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Virginia-based ATA Aviation, which is in the process of opening a three-employee office in Richland Township, is working with Richland Township-based aviation nonprofit Aerium, the Cambria County Department of Emergency Services and the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission on the project. ATA Aviation is implementing the operational "software" framework for the multi-modal mobility project. Pilot phase According to Eberhardt, preliminary systems tests will start in June, including "mock deliveries" designed to ensure that the drones and their safety procedures are operating properly before they are dispatched to accident and emergency scenes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aerial drones about the size of a Weber barbecue grill will be equipped to carry the supplies and be operated remotely by licensed "pilots" from a site at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Richland Township. The goal is to start deploying them for live medical delivery "trials" over two separate periods in July and August, he said. "During that period, if someone calls 911 and reports an incident the medical drones (can support) in Greater Johnstown, they'll be dispatched in addition to local ambulance services," Eberhardt said. The goal is to track how quickly life-saving aid can be delivered to the scene by aerial drone, compared to by ambulance. And Drone814 will also track data on the medical side to outline the savings that faster responses mean not just in terms of lives, but also projected savings through faster treatment and recovery times, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When it comes to cardiac arrest, or a bleed, or an overdose, it's proven that the faster you provide (essential aid) the less time someone is in the hospital, the less therapy they might need afterward," Eberhardt said. Drone814 partners will handle the test runs, with the goal of getting funding and the official clearance to begin making drone response a 24/7 operation in Johnstown, he added. The Drone814 program received U.S. Department of Transportation approval to use the airspace over most of Johnstown, Ferndale, East Conemaugh and the West Hills this summer to deliver critical supplies to accident and emergency scenes. The trial project was funded in 2024 by a $2 million federal grant, enabling Cambria County officials to install a network of drone-specific radio sensors across the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a necessary step to avoid signal interference with other air traffic, while also permitting drone operators to legally fly the devices outside their line of sight, officials said at the time. Rural response When emergency officials are alerted about a cardiac arrest, aerial drones would have a clear, direct path to the scene to drop off an AED device. If an overdose is reported, Narcan spray could be delivered just as quickly to a caller at the scene likely before an ambulance or fire crew arrives. Eberhardt said boxes with color-coded compartments will be loaded within the drone's supplies, enabling a 911 dispatcher to instruct a caller on which one to open, depending on the type of medical emergency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Once the drone lands and delivers the supplies, it won't be any different than a typical emergency call," Eberhardt said, adding that 911 telecommunicators often find themselves instructing people how to render aid until ambulance paramedics arrive. Those "seconds count" when someone is suffering from a cardiac arrest, said Johnstown fire Chief Bob Statler, who praised the initiative. He said the new technology will likely have a big impact in remote areas of the region. Because of the call volume, Johnstown is a great place to (test) this project, said Statler, but I think its going to be the rural areas, locally and all over the U.S., that will really benefit. There are areas in Somerset and Bedford counties where the nearest ambulance might be 30 minutes away. Job creator Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aerium and its partners, including St. Francis University, have launched drone aviation programs in recent years to cultivate a workforce of drone pilots locally. Drone814s operations and anticipated growth will fuel a need for local talent, officials said. Eberhardt said the initiative will need Federal Aviation Administration-certified drone pilots, mechanics to keep the unmanned aircraft running as designed. Staff will also be needed to load supplies onto the remote aircraft if the program gets the clearance to go full-time. He said certified drone pilots earn salaries of $75,000 to $150,000 annually, so "these will be great local jobs." And the need for those jobs would only multiple as the effort expanded into neighboring counties, he added. Somerset County is already taking steps to become part of an expanded drone network once the testing phase is completed. Last week, the Somerset County commissioners approved an $18,000 contract with the SAPDC to enable the program to move into the northern part of Somerset County. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) The 2026 Election is already underway, as candidates throw their names in the ring for local, state and federal offices. Monday morning, Randy Villegas announced his run for Californias 22nd Congressional District. 17 political reporter Jenny Huh sat down with Villegas for a local exclusive candidate profile. CD-22 is one of the most contentious House races nationwide, each election cycle, without fail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The big question for 2026 will Villegas be the Democratic candidate? I am running for Congress in Californias 22nd Congressional District, Villegas announced to a cheering crowd Monday morning at the Liberty Bell in downtown Bakersfield. The 30-year-old Democrat will be running against longtime incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao in the 2026 Midterm Election. I think our communities work too damn hard to not have a representative whos going to stand up and speak on the issues, especially when those issues are going to impact us so dearly, Villegas said in a sit-down interview with 17 News Monday morning, ahead of the big announcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Villegas, a professor at the College of the Sequoias and elected board member of the Visalia Unified School District, calls himself a product of public education. I was the first in my family to graduate from Bakersfield College, then CSUB, and then I earned a full-ride fellowship to UC Santa Cruz to get my PhD, he said. Villegas also described himself as a son of the Central Valley, son of Mexico immigrants and son of a working-class family that can represent working-class constituents. Though no stranger to advocacy work, Villegas in recent weeks has been front and center of rallies protesting potential cuts to federal assistance programs like Medicare, as Republicans work to cut spending in their new budget blueprint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its just something I couldnt stand for, Villegas explained. And so immediately, I began speaking out against these cuts to Medicare, to SNAP, to WIC. These are programs that I grew up on. My mother was one of the 40,000+ women in this district who relied on WIC to make sure she had baby formula to feed me. Villegas added that he not only wants to protect but expand those programs. We know that the Central Valley feeds the world, and yet our workers are struggling to feed their families. And thats because right now, we have Congress thats prioritizing tax cuts for billionaires, the congressmember hopeful stated. Now, Villegas is a declared candidate for one of the nations most competitive House races. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CD-22 includes Kern, Kings and Tulare counties. Its majority Latino and leans Democrat, yet CD-22 is a purple district theres a fair shot of it flipping blue or red in each election. Though his Democratic predecessor Rudy Salas former California Assemblymember, Bakersfield City Councilmember and two-time CD-22 candidate against Valadao failed to flip the seat blue, despite being the Democratic candidate at the local, state and national levels. 17s Jenny Huh: When it comes to the Democrats and the Democratic candidates in the race, does it come down to you and Rudy at this point? Randy Villegas: I actually interned for him back in college, so there is a relationship there. But with all due respect, I dont think that third time is going to be the charm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Villegas is more progressive than Salas and is also affiliated with the progressive Working Families Party. He said hes already working to earn the endorsements of party leaders, like Dolores Huerta, a steadfast fierce backer of Salas. Salas confirmed with 17 News he is not ruling out a 2026 run. Hes also filed papers delcaring an intention to run. Another important consideration for Villegas in this race will be CD-22s typically low voter turnout. 17s Jenny Huh: In 2022, in 2024, [Salas] just didnt see that Democratic, that Latino base turn out to vote. How are you going to get voters to turn out? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Randy Villegas: Beyond just contacting [voters], its also giving people something to believe in. When you look at some of the issues, with all due respect to Assemblyman Salas and Congressman Valadao, a lot of the times, I felt I was listening to the same person. Villegas also spoke with confidence in saying hell run a people-powered campaign and that his issues transcend party lines. Healthcare concerns, like Valley Fever, the candidate noted, affects everyone, whether theyre Democrat, Republican or voted in the last election. The candidate also promised at least two in-person town halls each year, offering constituents a time to ask questions and provide feedback. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Click here to watch the full interview with Randy Villegas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Meghan Markle remains vulnerable about all the highs and lows that come with the journey to parenthood. The Duchess of Sussex opened up about experiencing pregnancy loss after she and Prince Harry welcomed their first child, Archie. Ive spoken about the miscarriage that we experienced, Meghan said on the latest episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder. The Duchess of Sussex spoke about her miscarriage on the latest episode of her podcast. Bryan Bedder via Getty Images And I think in some parallel way, when you have to learn to detach from the thing that you have so much promise and hope for, and to be able to be OK at a certain point to let something go something go that you plan to love for a long time, the As Ever founder added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meghan was joined by Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code, on Tuesdays episode. Saujani also spoke about her own pregnancy loss, and how it affected both her personal and professional life at the time. Oftentimes, I was performing in front of these children that I desperately wanted. And, I just got really good at that, but it was eating me up inside, Saujani said. She recalled one particular event where she was experiencing loss, as the activist was sitting there in front of these girls and my heart was just breaking. I had to detach because I felt like I was letting the girls down, explained Saujani, whos also the CEO of Moms First. Meghan first shared about experiencing pregnancy loss in an emotional opinion piece for The New York Times in 2020. She recalled changing Archies diaper when she suddenly felt a sharp cramp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right, she wrote at the time. I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second. Meghan and Harry would go on to welcome a daughter named Lili in 2021. Related... Gold Fields is set to cease operations at its Damang gold mine in Ghana following the government's decision not to renew the mining lease. The mining company had sought a 30-year extension to the lease through its subsidiary Abosso Goldfields but was notified of the rejection by the Minerals Commission of Ghana. Abosso Goldfields, the Ghanaian registered company that operates the Damang mine, is 71.1% owned by Gold Fields Ghana, with IAMGold holding 18.9% and the Ghanaian Government owning the remaining 10%. The Damang site includes five prospecting licences and two mining leases, covering a total area of 8,111ha. Gold Fields, which also owns the Tarkwa mine in Ghana, has been in discussions with authorities, asserting that its lease extension application met all statutory requirements. Despite these efforts, the lease, set to expire on 18 April 2025, was not extended. In a press statement, Gold Fields said: The Government has instructed Gold Fields to cease operations and vacate the lease area by the 18th April on expiry of the lease. Gold Fields is therefore preparing to safely and responsibly cease operations and ensure the safety and security of our people and high-risk operations. The company continues to seek ongoing engagement with the Government to secure the best outcome for all stakeholders. These developments at Damang do not affect operations at Tarkwa, which remain ongoing. Gold Fields had already stopped mining activities in 2023, focusing on processing stockpiles as part of its end-of-life plan for Damang, reported Reuters. The company is shifting its focus to larger projects such as the Salares Norte mine in Chile and the Windfall project in Canada. In a separate development, Ghana has directed all foreign entities involved in its gold trading sector to exit the market by 20 April 2025, reported Reuters, citing a statement issued by a newly formed government agency. The move comes as the country aims to restructure the way it purchases gold from small-scale miners to increase national revenue and curb smuggling activities. Previously, both local and foreign companies holding export licences were authorised to buy and export gold sourced from artisanal or small-scale mining operations. This system, however, is now due to be replaced by a centralised model. Under the new framework, only the recently established Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) will have the authority to purchase, sell, assay and export artisanal gold. As a result, all previously issued licences for such activities have been rendered invalid. Its no secret that since the Supreme Courts decision in the Citizens United v. FEC, deep-pocketed donors and super PACS have poured money, and influence, into politics. Regarding the uber-wealthy people who have entered positions of power in the country in an interview with CNNs Abby Phillip airing Tuesday night, Melinda French Gates said, I think we are seeing some of their true personalities come out in the last few years. I think this has always been in the undertone of lots of people. Among billionaires gaining prominence in politics, tech billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have been especially notable, including at Donald Trumps inauguration. That, and moves by others of the ultra-wealthy such as Warren Buffett and Michael Bloomberg, has prompted criticism that the country has become an oligarchy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement French Gates is one of the worlds wealthiest and most prominent philanthropists. She resigned from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last year following her divorce from Microsoft founder Bill Gates. As part of her divorce agreement, she received $12.5 billion from the Gates Foundation for her charitable work upon her resignation. Her net worth is now $14.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The current slate of prominent billionaires, she said without naming them, have values that they espouse (that) are just different than mine. I know a lot of these folks. Ive met a lot of them. French Gates started The Giving Pledge in 2010 with her then-husband, Bill Gates, and billionaire Warren Buffett. The initiative aims to get the worlds wealthiest to donate at least half of their fortunes to charities and philanthropic causes, either during their lifetimes or in their wills. Sam Altman and his husband recently signed the pledge, but notably Bezos whos the second richest person in the world has not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you have a billion dollars, thats an absurd amount of wealth. You have a moral responsibility to give away at least half of it, French Gates said on CNN. Last year, the philanthropist committed to donating $1 billion through 2026 to advance womens rights through her organization, Pivotal Ventures. She said she wanted to support reproductive freedom in the US after the Supreme Courts 2022 Dobbs decision, which found that abortion is not a constitutional right. Critics have said the ultra-wealthy have an outsized role in the Trump administration. French Gates said she has voted Republican and Democratic in different elections. However, she said that the effects of the Supreme Courts decision in Citizens United v. FEC havent been decisive in elections. I see a lot of giving on both sides of the aisle, and I wouldnt say one or the other swayed the election, French Gates said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked if America is becoming an oligarchy, she said: I sure hope not. Watch the interview with Gates tonight at 10 pm ET on CNN NewsNight. CNNs Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com FOX LAKE, Ill. Melodie Gliniewicz, the widow of disgraced lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz, was paid nearly $1 million from the Village of Fox Lake to settle a survivor benefits case. The Village of Fox Lake announced late last week that they have agreed to a joint settlement with the Fox Lake Police Pension Board. The village told WGN News Gliniewicz will receive $1 million. Gliniewicz was convicted in 2022 on a felony count of deceptive practices after helping her late husband, Sgt. Joe Gliniewicz, embezzle money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Fox Lake Lt. Joe Gliniewicz made national headlines in 2015 when he staged his own death setting off a massive manhunt for suspects that never existed. He was buried with honors before detectives began to realize what really happened. Gliniewicz ran Fox Lake polices youth explorer program and the couple allegedly used the money to pay for vacations, mortgage payments, pornography subscriptions, restaurant tabs and more. Fox Lake Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz Melodie was convicted after nine other charges were dropped in a plea agreement. She had been fighting to receive survivor benefits from his pension fund. The villages recent agreement with the police pension board eliminated the risk of an adverse ruling, according to Fox Lake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has been a difficult chapter for our Village, said Mayor Donny Schmit. While we cannot change the past, we can choose a path forward that brings closure and represents a prudent financial decision for the Village. This agreement does just that, and we are ready to focus on the continued growth and well-being of our community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. April 14 (UPI) -- The 85-year-old aunt of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving life sentences for the 1989 murders of their parents, has been hospitalized after prosecutors showed graphic crime scene photos in court, according to the family. Terry Baralt, who is Jose Menendez's sister, traveled from her home in New Jersey to Los Angeles on Friday to support her nephews at their hearing, as they fight to be released after 35 years in prison. "No physical pain has ever kept her from being there for her nephews," the family wrote in a statement, adding that she has been battling colon cancer. "But the display put on by the DA's office pushed her past the brink." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the family, Baralt was found unresponsive Sunday and was hospitalized in critical condition. The relatives blamed the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for its "cruel" presentation last week in court as they showed a photo of Jose Menendez's lifeless body. "No one prepared us. There was no warning, no humanity -- just shock and pain inflicted on people who have already endured decades of grief," the family said. Lyle Menendez breaks down into tears while on the witness stand at Van Nuys Superior Court on September 13, 1993. He and his brother Erik testified to years of sexual abuse by their parents whom they were accused of killing. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI "The display was re-traumatizing, completely avoidable and we believe it was intentional," they added. "The District Attorney's Office knew what the law required and deliberately chose to ignore it." According to the family, the DA's office violated Marsy's Law, which is California's bill of rights for victims, entitling them to "be treated with fairness and respect" and "free from intimidation, harassment and abuse." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, the Menendez family had asked for District Attorney Nathan Hochman to be removed from the case. "The prosecutors have shown again and again that they are incapable of handling this process with fairness, care or neutrality required by law," they said. Friday's hearing reviewed Hochman's motion to withdraw the brothers' resentencing petition, which was submitted by former district attorney George Gascon. The judge denied the motion and scheduled the brothers' official resentencing hearing for Thursday and Friday. Erik, 54, and Lyle, 57, Menendez admitted to killing their parents in 1989 and claimed it was in self-defense as they accused their father of physical and sexual abuse. Prosecutors said the brothers lied about the alleged abuse and killed their parents for a $15 million fortune. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Hochman apologized to the family Monday "for not giving prior warning" about the crime scene photos, he said "these hearings are intended to be a place where the truth, no matter how painful, is brought to light." "We caution anyone attending a hearing in person to be prepared for some of the difficult details," the DA's office added, "and images surrounding these tragic circumstances." Apr. 14LIMA The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin Counties will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 16 for a regular board meeting at the board office, 528 W. Market St., Lima. The meeting is accessible via Zoom, bit.ly/4kzv33e. Featured Local Savings Search giant Google will only allow cryptocurrency exchanges and software wallets to advertise in the European Union if they hold a license under the EUs Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, starting April 23, the company announced Monday. Google said advertisers must now obtain a certification from the company and demonstrate they are registered as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) under MiCA. The company also requires advertisers to comply with any additional country-specific legal obligations. MiCA which covers all 27 EU member states, marks a shift away from the patchwork of national licensing regimes that currently govern crypto ads in some regions. For crypto platforms already advertising in France, Germany and Finland under local rules, Google has carved out a temporary reprieve. Those national licenses will remain valid until mid-to-late 2025, aligning with each countrys MiCA transition period. The tech giant said accounts will not be suspended immediately for non-compliance. Instead, it will issue a warning at least seven days before any enforcement action. Currently several cryptocurrency exchanges have secured a MiCA license, including OKX, Crypto.com, Bitpanda, Boerse Stuttgart Digital, eToro and others. Notorious Mexican cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero wants to get rid of a member of his defense team a lawyer whose dad is the federal judge who ordered the seizure of the druglords real estate in Mexico. Caro Quintero, the so-called Narco of Narcos who the feds say orchestrated the 1985 torture and murder of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, was represented by court-appointed attorney Michael Vitaliano after he was hauled to Brooklyn and arraigned Feb. 28. Prosecutors this month flagged a potential conflict of interest involving Vitaliano. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the government hasnt publicly disclosed the nature of the conflict, Vitaliano is the son of longtime Brooklyn Federal Judge Eric Vitaliano, who in 2021 ordered the seizure of five of the drug kingpins properties in Mexico. A Mexican court upheld the order in what prosecutors referred to as a landmark ruling in 2022. Mr. Caro Quintero acknowledged his awareness of the potential conflict of interest posed by the continued representation of him by Mr. Vitaliano, and does not wish to waive the potential conflict of interest existing here and desires to proceed without the services of Mr. Vitaliano, Donald Duboulay, another member of his legal defense team, wrote to Brooklyn Federal Judge Frederic Block on Monday. A spokesman for Brooklyn U.S. Attorney John Durham declined to comment, as did Michael Vitaliano when contacted Tuesday. Cara Quintero is accused of masterminding the kidnapping, torture and murder of DEA Agent Enrique Kiki Camarena, which was depicted in the Netflix series Narcos, and was one of the founding members of the notorious Guadalajara cartel, the predecessor of the Sinaloa cartel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caro Quintero, who at one point topped the FBIs list of most wanted fugitives, was arrested in Mexico in a dramatic 2022 capture. He and 28 other cartel figures were expelled from Mexico in February, in whats been viewed as a show of cooperation from Mexican officials to stave off the Trump administrations ever-changing tariff threats. Federal prosecutors have said the Justice Department is weighing whether to seek the death penalty, and Block formally assigned veteran defense lawyer Elizabeth Macedonio as Caro Quinteros learned counsel meaning shell represent him in any death penalty-related proceedings. An Ingham County baby who is now infected with measles had one dose of a measles, mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine the day before she traveled through a Michigan airport where another person was contagious, said Dr. Nike Shoyinka, the county's medical health officer, during an afternoon news conference April 15. The 12-month-old girl, who has the first documented measles case in Ingham County since 1994, traveled out of state with her family, but there wasn't enough time between her immunization and her exposure to the virus for the vaccine to fully trigger her immune system and protect her from getting sick, Shoyinka said. "Usually, what we expect is that our body's immune system ... would have developed full immunity at about a two-week mark" after vaccination, Shoyinka said. "Even though this child was vaccinated, she was still relatively susceptible given the short period of time. However, I will say that this child's symptoms were very mild ... presumably because she had received at least one dose. File art: Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus on Nov. 20, 2023. A traveler from Kent County was infectious with measles when visiting both Metro Airport and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in late March, potentially exposing hundreds of others. "We have been in close contact with the family, who, by the way, have been excellent in providing the information we need about potential exposures, about where they've been," Shoyinka said. "I want to also emphasize that they did exactly what they were supposed to do in terms of making sure that their child was protected as they took her out of state (for) travel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This individual is doing well currently and is isolating at home with family." The girl visited one of the two Michigan airports where a Kent County traveler exposed potentially hundreds of others to measles in late March Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Shoyinka said, though she did not specify which airport the child visited or exactly when. "It's unclear at what point the exposure happened during that trip," she said, noting that health officials are still investigating whether the cases are epidemiologically linked. "We are looking at specimen samples and we have sent them all the way to the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in order to identify matches to figure out where the exposure happened." The tricky thing about measles is that a person can be infectious and spreading the disease for as many as four days before they develop the telltale rash, and for four days after the rash begins, according to the CDC. And the virus is so contagious that even after a person infected with measles leaves the room, up to two hours later, 90% of people without immunity to the virus will get sick if they enter the room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ingham County Health Department issued a news release April 10 detailing multiple exposure sites in Lansing, East Lansing and Okemos from April 4-8 where the girl went with loved ones while potentially infectious. But the health department did not disclose that the child also attended a Lansing day care/preschool over the course of several days in early April, exposing about 50 other children, along with staff members and other visitors. "We are matching records with every single child and every single family in there to make sure that we can communicate with them (about) what they need to do" to protect themselves and their children, Shoyinka said of the health department's contact tracing efforts. "If a child was unvaccinated, then we would monitor them for 21 days following the last date of exposure." The school's name was not publicly disclosed, Shoyinka said, because "we are working closely with the school. ... They have been very cooperative in terms of giving us a list of the students in the school, the staff, the people who have been there. And so the information that we need in order to communicate with the people who are exposed and provide them with the adequate information is available. "The other places that are listed are places where it is difficult for us to determine exactly who was there during those time frames." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those other known exposure sites, dates and times are: Friday, April 4: 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Tractor Supply Co., 5241 W. Grand River Ave., Lansing. Saturday, April 5: 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Farmers Market inside Meridian Mall, 1982 W. Grand River Ave., Okemos. 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. at Aldi, 5165 Marsh Road, Okemos. Sunday, April 6: 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Towar Hart Baptist Church, 6157 Towar Ave., East Lansing. The child spent time in the infant room during the service. 5:30 p.m.-9 p.m. at Toscana Restaurant, 3170 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. Tuesday, April 8: 6 p.m.-10:30 p.m. in the emergency department of the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, 1215 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. 5:30 p.m.-7:35 p.m. at the MSU Community Music School, 4930 Hagadorn Road, East Lansing. The child was in a bathroom at the school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health leaders urge anyone who may have been exposed to measles to monitor for symptoms for 21 days after the date of potential exposure. If symptoms develop, call ahead before visiting a doctor, urgent care center, or hospital emergency department to ensure precautions can be taken to avoid exposing others. 5 Michigan measles cases so far in 2025 The Ingham County child is the fifth person in Michigan to contract the measles this year, the state health department reported, and it comes amid an exploding number of cases in the U.S. As of April 10, there were 712 confirmed measles cases in the U.S. this year in 24 states more than double the number of cases nationally in all of 2024, when there were 285, according to the CDC. Of the cases so far this year, about 70% were among children and teenagers, and 97% were among people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The other Michigan cases involved include: An adult from Oakland County who traveled internationally with an unknown vaccination history and was the state's first measles case of 2025. The person exposed others March 8-10 at a restaurant in Rochester and at Henry Ford Rochester Hospital. A traveler from Kent County who potentially exposed hundreds of other people to measles March 24-28 when visiting Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus and the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, along with a restaurant in Kentwood and a Corewell Health facility in East Grand Rapids. An adult from Macomb County who traveled to the Windsor-Essex County area of Ontario, Canada. The case was announced April 4, and the person is not believed to have gone out in public while infectious, so there are no known exposure sites. A Montcalm County resident whose measles case was announced April 9 by the Mid-Michigan District Health Department. The person recently traveled out of the state, but no details were released about possible exposure sites. How can I protect myself from measles? "Our recommendation is for everyone to be vaccinated," Shoyinka said. One dose of the MMR vaccine provides about 93% protection against the virus, and two doses offer about 97% coverage, the CDC says. It recommends the following for MMR vaccines: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A first dose for children at 12 months-15 months old, with a booster dose administered between ages 4 and 6. Anyone born during or after 1957 without evidence of immunity against measles or documentation of having been vaccinated with two doses of MMR vaccine should get vaccinated. The second dose should be given no sooner than 28 days after the first. People exposed to measles who cannot document immunity against the virus should get post-exposure prophylaxis a dose of the vaccine to potentially provide protection within 72 hours of initial exposure, or immunoglobulin within six days of exposure. The CDC changed its recommendations in 1989 from one dose of the MMR vaccine to two doses, which provides longer-lasting and more robust protection. People born between 1957 and 1989 who have had just a single dose of the vaccine may be at a higher risk of contracting the virus in an outbreak setting. "We're really encouraging everyone to contact their primary care provider if they're not sure about their vaccination status," Shoyinka said. "If they have received one dose in the past, then we're asking them to get another one. If they have not received any, then they need to start their vaccinations as soon as possible." As of February, about 83.3% of Ingham County children ages 19 to 35 months had gotten the MMR vaccine, the health department said. That's slightly higher than the statewide average of 80%, but it's still well below the 95% threshold required to protect the most vulnerable people in society from becoming infected with measles through herd immunity, Shoyinka said. Herd immunity occurs when almost an entire community is immune to an infectious disease, which reduces the risk of spreading the illness to those who are not vaccinated because the virus cannot maintain sustained spread within the population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When our numbers are less than that expected herd immunity number, we create a lot of immunity holes, so to speak, where a lot of people are unprotected," Shoyinka said. "And the more unprotected people we have, the higher the chance we have of outbreaks." What are the symptoms of measles? According to the CDC, measles symptoms typically start within seven-14 days of exposure, but also have been known to appear as long as 21 days after initial exposure and can include: Fever, which may rise above 104 degrees. Respiratory symptoms such as runny nose, cough. Red, watery eyes that can develop into pink eye or conjunctivitis. Two to three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots, known as Koplik spots, may develop on the inner cheeks, gums and roof of the mouth. Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash that is red, raised and blotchy appears. It usually begins on the face and spreads to the trunk, arms and legs. How serious is a measles infection? Measles can cause serious illness, long-term disability and death in people of all ages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far this year, 79 people in the U.S. with confirmed measles cases have been hospitalized for treatment that's about 11% of the 712 confirmed infections nationally. The vast majority 65 of the 79 who were hospitalized were younger than the age of 20, according to the CDC. About 1 in 20 children with measles develops pneumonia. Roughly 1 out of every 1,000 children with measles infections will also have encephalitis. Brain swelling from encephalitis can lead to convulsions, permanent hearing loss, intellectual disability and death, according to the CDC. Anywhere from 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children with measles dies from respiratory or neurologic complications from the virus. People who contract measles during pregnancy also are more likely to develop pneumonia and be hospitalized. The virus can cause miscarriage and stillbirth as well as trigger preterm birth and lead to lower birth weights, according to the CDC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CDC has confirmed two deaths from measles in the U.S. this year. A third death remains under investigation. Where can I get a measles vaccine? Ingham County residents can get an MMR vaccine at the health departments immunization clinic, 303 S. Cedar St., Lansing. (Use entrance No. 3 when entering the building and go to the second floor.) Walk in hours are: 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. 1-4 p.m. Thursdays. Call the health department at 517-887-4316 or email Immunization@ingham.org to make an appointment. MMR vaccines also are available through primary care providers and pharmacies. Medicaid and most private insurance plans cover the MMR vaccine at no cost. Low- to no-cost vaccines also are available at local public health department offices. Children eligible for the Vaccines for Children program also may receive the vaccine from a provider enrolled in that program at no cost. To learn more, go to: Vaccines for Children (VFC): Information for Parents | CDC. The Oakland County Health Division offices in Southfield and Pontiac also have MMR vaccines available 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays, and 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays at: North Oakland Health Center, 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Building 34 East, Pontiac. South Oakland Health Center, 27725 Greenfield Road, Southfield. In Macomb County, call 586-469-5372 or go to the Immunization Clinics webpage to learn more about vaccination services available. Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan baby had measles vaccine day before possible airport exposure The Michigan Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Heres a look at April 14, 2025, results for each game: Winning Daily 3 numbers from April 14 drawing Midday: 5-3-8 Evening: 3-6-1 Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Daily 4 numbers from April 14 drawing Midday: 6-3-7-8 Evening: 4-8-6-3 Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Lucky For Life numbers from April 14 drawing 10-11-23-35-40, Lucky Ball: 13 Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Poker Lotto numbers from April 14 drawing QH-KH-QS-2D-5H Check Poker Lotto payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from April 14 drawing 03-24-25-27-32 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 01-08-16-23-29 Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here. Winning Daily Keno numbers from April 14 drawing 01-04-05-06-13-15-16-20-24-27-30-31-45-48-54-58-63-67-68-70-71-76 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 April 14, 2025 Sheri King was working with a federal civil rights attorney to get the Detroit school district to pay for tutoring for her son, George. The regional enforcement office the attorney worked in was shuttered by the Trump administration before there was a resolution. (Sylvia Jarrus for Chalkbeat) This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters Sign up for Chalkbeat Detroits free newsletter to keep up with the citys public school system and Michigan education policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was a time George Finley Jr. was on the honor roll. After the seventh grader started having epileptic seizures a couple of years ago, he experienced memory loss. Now, hes far behind where he should be academically. The Detroit Public Schools Community District agreed in November to pay for outside tutoring to help him catch up, records show. That still hasnt happened, and the school year is near its end. My son is not progressing, said his mother, Sheri King. She was close to getting an answer from the district. But the Trump administration gutted the U.S. Department of Educations workforce weeks later, and the civil rights attorney who was helping facilitate Kings communication with Georges school stopped responding to her emails. His position, along with hundreds of others, was eliminated. With new leadership, the department shuttered more than half of its regional civil rights enforcement offices, which had investigated and resolved complaints for decades. Now, remaining offices must take on the backlog of cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement King is in the same position as many families in Michigan and across the country. Parents of students with disabilities and those who experience racial discrimination or sexual violence in schools are uncertain of the fate of their federal complaints. Many say they have not gotten updates on their cases since the regional offices closed. Some, like King, fear what the future will look like for their children. Hundreds of federal civil rights cases were put on hold after President Donald Trump took office in January. On Feb. 20, Craig Trainor, now the deputy assistant secretary for policy in the Office for Civil Rights, ended the pause on cases that solely dealt with disability discrimination. Staff were still told not to pursue race- and sex-based discrimination cases. At the same time, under new guidance, targeted investigations of school programs that promote diversity and policies that support transgender students were initiated. Education Secretary Linda McMahon lifted the freeze on all cases on March 6. However, the department laid off the staff of seven of its 12 civil rights enforcement offices on March 12. The closures included the Cleveland office, which handled cases for Michigan and Ohio. Advocates said the move effectively decimated the departments workforce and sabotaged its ability to enforce civil rights protections for students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former attorneys at the Department of Education said the nearly 50% reduction in staff will undoubtedly add to an existing backlog of cases. The reality is, cases arent moving, period, one former Cleveland office staff attorney told Chalkbeat on the condition of anonymity due to fears of retribution. The gutting of the department added to an existing backlog of thousands of open complaints. In Michigan alone, there are currently 782 civil rights cases under investigation, according to the departments list of records published online. Of those, 462 are disability discrimination cases. Those investigations were opened before the dramatic changes to the department. Michigan special education advocates said many of the parents they work with have not heard updates on their cases. Some had pending mediation hearing dates with their districts scheduled that have since passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jacquelyn Binford, whose son, Rocco, is in first grade in Chippewa Valley Schools, was scheduled to have a mediation hearing on March 19 for a complaint she filed in December 2023. She hoped the district would agree to provide more occupational therapy to help her son develop his motor skills. The districts representative never responded to confirm the hearing date. Since then, all of Michigans cases were assigned to the federal departments Denver office. Binford said she hasnt gotten any updates about the case. Here we are now, Binford said. This could have already been resolved. Chippewa Valley Schools did not respond to a request for comment on Binfords case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detroit Public Schools Community District officials said they respect the challenges that all parents with students with individualized education programs, or IEPs, have. The district said it will continue to problem solve through the challenges they are facing to ensure their children succeed in school with the limited resources the District receives to educate each child with an IEP. Critical services, safety at stake for children, workers say The Office for Civil Rights is charged with investigating and enforcing federal protections for students in K-12 schools, as well colleges and universities. It also facilitates mediations to come to voluntary agreements between parties. The department is mandated to promptly investigate and resolve complaints against local and state education agencies as an impartial third party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal laws it seeks compliance with include Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which ensures students with disabilities have a right to equal access to educational opportunities and services. Quickly resolving complaints is crucial to the safety and educational outcomes of many children, former federal workers say. There could be a kid staying at home because theyre the survivor of sexual assault and there are no measures in place to ensure their safety, the former Cleveland staff member said. Or there could be a student with a behavior plan thats not being implemented and that student is being restrained. Before his departure, the attorney said there was a case close to mediation that involved a high school student in a juvenile detention facility. The complaint alleged the facility did not have the special education services that would allow the child to graduate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I did feel like there could be a pathway to see this kid graduate, the attorney said. We had to cancel mediation because we were told not to do any communication with schools. Because the department missed the opportunity to intervene before the end of the school year, the attorney said the window to help the student graduate is gone. A large part of the work of attorneys at the Cleveland office fell outside of investigations and mediations to reach early resolutions, another former staff member told Chalkbeat. In Kings case, a mediation agreement was already made. But, the mother told the attorney who was assigned to her original complaint that the district was not complying with the tutoring portion of the agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attorney was in the process of finding the point of contact in the district to finalize Georges enrollment and payment for the tutoring program before the Cleveland office was shuttered. Binford said while she waits for an answer from Chippewa Valley Schools about whether they will provide in-school occupational therapy for Rocco, he struggles to keep up with his peers in gym class. He still needs help developing his muscles to open and close zippers, write, and cut food. Michigan families are also awaiting the outcome of an Office for Civil Rights investigation that found the Michigan Department of Education allegedly violated the rights of students with disabilities during COVID-era school closures. The state agency was accused of repeatedly giving incorrect information about students rights to parents and schools, according to legal filings. The federal investigation also alleged the state agency knew districts were failing to provide services to students with disabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal investigation alleged students at the Michigan School for the Deaf, which is operated by the Michigan education agency, had their instructional time reduced by 43% during the 2020-21 school year. Students didnt get speech language pathology, social work, or visual impairment consultation services for long periods of time, according to the federal agency. The complaint seeks compensatory services for all students with disabilities in the state who were denied adequate educational support during that time. Attorneys for the agency asked multiple times for the case to be thrown out. The Office for Civil Rights accused the state agency of attempting to shield itself from scrutiny and said in case filings it had not provided any proof that its alleged violations have been remedied. Marcie Lipsitt, a special education advocate who filed the initial complaint against the state agency, said the administrative law judge assigned to the case was not impacted by the cuts to the Department of Education. She said a final hearing date for the administrative judge to issue a ruling has not yet been set. Were still waiting every day to see what happens, said Lipsitt. The Michigan Department of Education has denied any wrongdoing. Caseloads have doubled since federal cuts, former staff say The federal Department of Education handles thousands of cases each year. In 2024, it received nearly 23,000 complaints. Now that 240 staff members at the Office for Civil Rights have been laid off, those who remain are saddled with more than double their usual caseloads, according to former Cleveland attorneys. Staff working at the regional offices that are still open also will have to learn the idiosyncrasies of state-specific laws. The attorneys who were laid off took with them decades of institutional knowledge, according to former staff. A federal lawsuit filed on March 13 against the Education Department, Trainor, and McMahon, alleges the agencys complaint and investigation processing functions have fallen under attack. Two parents and the nonprofit association Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, including two Michigan members, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege the department has abdicated its responsibility to enforce civil rights protections, leaving students who should be able to trust and rely on their government to protect and defend their rights to instead endure discriminatory and unsafe learning environments without recourse. The Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment. Michigan families say they have run out of options Many families feel they have run out of options after years of fighting for their children to receive appropriate education and support. Lyn Hollister, mother of twins in ninth grade in Tri County Area Schools, filed federal complaints in February and still hasnt heard anything about their statuses. Shelbie, Hollisters daughter who has autism and mild cognitive impairment, is still waiting for the district to modify her curriculum to focus on life and job skills. As she waits, Shelbie is suffering from mental health issues because of the stress to meet grade level standards. Last week, the district agreed to put Hollisters other daughter, Makenzie, who has cognitive impairment and severe cerebral palsy, on a track to receive a high school completion certificate instead of a diploma. The change will allow Makenzie to get more thorough transition services after high school, her mother said. Hollister requested the same for Shelbie but is still fighting for the change. When your child comes home on certain days they have struggled and wrap their arms around you crying because they are so overwhelmed that day because of what is put on them, you just break down, she said. And your hands are tied. A representative for Tri County Area Schools declined to comment on Hollisters case. Hollister said she plans on moving her daughters to another school in the fall. They qualify for a Section 105c waiver, which will allow them to attend a school outside of their district. Were hoping in this new district, they can finally have a team to support our children to be the best that they can be, she said. King, the Detroit mother, said if she could afford to, she would move to another part of the state in hopes of finding a district that might provide a better outcome for George. Options like private school wouldnt work for Rocco, said Binford. I worry he would be forgotten about, she said. They dont have the resources or the training to support him in a private school. We really do rely on the public education system. In some cases, complaints filed with the federal department can be handled by state or local agencies. That depends on what protections states have covered in their own civil rights laws. In Michigan, the state education agencys Office of Special Education enforces compliance with parts of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and state law. The office investigates and mediates state-level complaints. Complaints can also be filed with local intermediate school districts. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights enforces the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which includes protections from discrimination based on gender, sexuality, religion, race. It also enforces the states Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act. Binford said since she hasnt heard anything back from the federal office, she was advised by an advocate to make a mediation appointment with Macomb Intermediate School District. Another avenue for parents are lawsuits. However, legal cases are costly and timely. The standard of proof in the court system is also higher than in administrative proceedings. King said after years of fighting for her son, she is left with limited choices. I feel hopeless, she said. I dont know where to go from here. Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 education and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. MISSOURI The National Weather Service has confirmed that a powerful tornado traveled 117 miles across state lines from Arkansas into Missouri during a tornado outbreak in mid-March. This tornado ripped through both states during the late-evening hours of March 14. The new designation was confirmed nearly a month later after updated NWS damage surveys, according to a Weather.com report from The Weather Channel. The long-tracked tornado began around Alco, Arkansas, headed primarily in a northeast direction, and ended around Lone Hill, Missouri, according to data obtained by FOX 2 from an NWS damage assessment tool. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 14-year-old Maryland Heights girl missing: Police Some points along the path reported peak tornado speeds of 170 miles per hour. Most areas along the path reported damage consistent with EF1 or EF2 tornado rankings. However, parts of Stone and Sharp counties in Arkansas experienced the strongest impacts, with damage rated at EF3 and EF4 in some locations. Such long-track tornadoes are rare. According to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center, the average tornado path is around 3.5 miles long and lasts less than 10 minutes. The long-tracked tornado was several hours south of the St. Louis region, though it was still hit hard during the outbreak. In total, the National Weather Service confirmed 14 tornadoes during the same outbreak, which included one with a 30-mile path from Clarkson Valley, Missouri, to Alton, Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NOTE: Video is from FOX 2s report of tornado damage in Villa Ridge, Missouri. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people all patients and medics according to a spokesman for the hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has bombarded and raided hospitals throughout the 18-month war in Gaza, accusing Hamas militants of hiding out in them or using them for military purposes. Hospital staff have denied the allegations and accuse Israel of recklessly endangering civilians and gutting Gazas health system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The number of people killed by Israel's war in Gaza has climbed above 51,000 people, according to an updated toll released by the territory's Health Ministry on Tuesday. Since Israel ended the ceasefire last month, it has blocked all food, medicine and other aid from entering Gaza and its forces have seized more than half of the coastal territory. The war in Gaza started when the Palestinian militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to be alive. Here's the latest: Jordan's government arrests 16 people in anti-terror operation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such operations are rare in Jordan, a strategically important U.S. ally. The suspects are accused of trying to undermine national security and incite chaos in the kingdom, and have been under surveillance since 2021, said government spokesperson Mohammad al-Momani. Among other things, they're accused of manufacturing short-range missiles, possessing explosives and automatic weapons, concealing a ready-to-use missile, and illegally recruiting and training people. They are being held in custody until trial. Jordans government said the accused have political affiliations and belong to what it called unlicensed groups, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. Jordans judiciary dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement Tuesday, the Muslim Brotherhood called the accusations unfair and said it was committed to Jordans stability and security. The Muslim Brotherhood is a pan-Arab Islamist political movement with branches in many countries, describing itself as a charitable and political organization, although experts say some branches have apparent ties to militants. Hamas says it lost contact with US-Israeli hostage after a strike A spokesman for Hamas says an Israeli strike caused the group to lose contact with the militants guarding Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier held hostage in Gaza. A direct bombardment targeted their location. We are still trying to reach them, said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas armed wing, on Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamas had released a video of the 21-year-old soldier just days earlier, likely speaking under duress. He is the last living American being held captive by Hamas. Hamas did not say where in Gaza the strike may have taken place. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The Hamas announcement comes as Israeli leaders face growing domestic pressure to halt the fighting and reach a deal to bring home the hostages. Netanyahu makes a surprise visit to Gaza Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to troops in northern Gaza on Tuesday, his office said, without providing details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Netanyahu has previously entered Gaza a handful of times during the war. The visit comes as Israels longest-serving prime minister faces dueling, possibly incompatible pressures: Families of the Israeli hostages want him to cut a deal with Hamas to free them, while his far-right coalition partners want to continue the war with the aim of annihilating the militant group. A second US aircraft carrier is in Mideast waters ahead of second round of Iran-US nuclear talks That's according to satellite photos analyzed Tuesday by The Associated Press, which show the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group are operating in the Arabian Sea to back up the USS Harry S. Truman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The operation of the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group in the Arabian Sea comes as suspected U.S. airstrikes pounded parts of Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overnight into Tuesday. American officials have repeatedly linked the United States' expanded bombing campaign against the Houthis under President Donald Trump as a means to pressure Iran in the negotiations. The Houthis have been attacking shipping in the waters off Yemen since November 2023 attacks the rebels say aim to end Israels war against Hamas in Gaza. The U.S. Navys Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which oversees the Mideast, declined to discuss details of the Vinsons operations. However, hours after the APs report, the U.S. militarys Central Command posted videos from the two carriers on the social platform X saying there had been 24/7 strikes on the Houthis by the two carriers. Netanyahu rejects Palestinian state in call with Macron Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the call with Macron, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the creation of a Palestinian state would be a huge reward for terrorism and result in a militant-run entity just miles from Israeli cities. In his own statement posted on X, French President Emmanuel Macron called for another ceasefire, the release of hostages and renewing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has blocked for over a month. He did not mention recognition of a Palestinian state. Macron said last week that France should aim to recognize a Palestinian state by June when it joins Saudi Arabia in hosting an international conference on implementing a two-state solution. The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel is widely seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the decades-old conflict. Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three for a future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks broke down after Netanyahu returned to power in 2009. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A number of European states have recently recognized a Palestinian state in what is largely a symbolic move aimed at reviving the peace process. Dozens of civilians killed in Lebanon since ceasefire, UN says The office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said Tuesday that at least 71 civilians, including 14 women and nine children, have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since a ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, ending the latest Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes on what it says are Hezbollah facilities and officials since then, saying it aims to keep the militant group from rearming. Lebanon has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal through the strikes as well as by continuing to occupy five strategic points in southern Lebanon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.N. Human Rights spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan said in a statement the Israeli strikes have also hit civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, medical facilities, roads and at least one cafe. From the Lebanese side, at least five rockets, two mortars and a drone have been launched at Israel since the ceasefire, he said. There were no casualties reported from those strikes. After receiving the Part 141 certificate from the FAA enabling it to begin training pilots, Archer is assembling its application for Part 142, the final certification it needs before it can start commercial operations -- a milestone it expects to achieve this year. And it's not only the civilian market where Archer aims to take hold. In late 2024, the company announced a partnership with Anduril to explore the development of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for defense purposes. In the U.S., Archer has signed noteworthy deals with industry leaders such as United Airlines , which has agreed to purchase up to $1.5 billion of Midnight aircraft and a deal with Southwest Airlines to develop air taxi routes in California. Archer is continuously attracting customers for when its aircraft are ready to take flight. Most recently, it announced a deal valued up to $30 million with Ethiopian Airlines. Archer will provide its Midnight aircraft as well as pilots to Ethiopian Airlines, which will, in turn, provide air taxi service to customers. This follows a similar deal it inked with Abu Dhabi Aviation two months ago, which will also see a deployment of Midnight aircraft to operate in the United Arab Emirates. Scott Levine (Archer Aviation): Although roiling markets may be rattling some investors' nerves and motivating them to load up on defensive positions, those with higher thresholds for volatility are turning to growth stocks like Archer Aviation. With shares of the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company plunging about 33% this year (as of this writing), Archer stock looks increasingly attractive -- especially with the company's recent successes finding new partners and progressing toward the requisite Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certifications. Here's why both stocks and the ETF are worth a closer look in April. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer investors diversification and the ability to own several stocks under one ticker. The Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (NYSEMKT: PBW) could appeal to bold investors interested in small-cap clean energy companies beyond Archer Aviation. Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) has sparked excitement from investors interested in technology and electric vehicles (EVs). But the company is still a long way from being consistently profitable. It takes courage to buy beaten-down growth stocks during a stock market sell-off. But long-term investors know that it's better to focus on where a company could be several years from now than get too caught up in short-term fluctuations in stock prices. Story Continues For those willing to ride out some turbulence, Archer is a compelling growth stock that deserves serious attention right now. Despite near-term headwinds, the long-term growth opportunity is significant Lee Samaha (Rockwell Automation): Investors need to get used to the idea that the motivation behind the tariffs is here to stay, which could greatly benefit Rockwell Automation. Whether President Donald Trump's aims are tactically aligned to better negotiate trade deals with America's trading partners or strategically put in place to shift the global economy structurally, one thing is clear: The current administration wants to encourage a reindustrialization of the U.S. Realistically, that's going to come about via competing on labor costs. However, it can come with industrial software combined with automation. That's where Rockwell Automation comes in because it's the leading industrial software/automation company in the U.S. The underlying growth drivers behind automation are already strong, with the increasing adoption of digital technology adding value to automation solutions and the software that runs them. Given the recent tariff actions, there's likely to be an acceleration of investment in automation, and that's a plus for Rockwell. Unfortunately, the upheavals and the near term need to realign supply chains and production are highly likely to lead to some near-term order disruption -- never good news. Still, that shouldn't detract from the long-term growth opportunity at Rockwell and other companies set to bring back manufacturing to the U.S. A catch-all way to invest in small-cap clean energy stocks Daniel Foelber (Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF): Archer Aviation is one of over 60 holdings in the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF. The fund is based on the WilderHill Clean Energy Index -- which is composed of clean energy companies from majors like Tesla to up-and-coming players. Unlike market cap-weighted funds, the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF is roughly equal-weighted. For example, Tesla has a 1.9% weighting, which is close to the same as 1.7% for Archer Aviation even though Tesla has a market cap of $801 billion at the time of this writing compared to less than $4 billion for Archer Aviation. In fact, over 83% of the fund is invested in small-cap companies like Archer Aviation. Unfortunately, small-cap clean energy companies have been especially vulnerable to high interest rates -- leading to a major sell-off in several clean energy industries -- from solar to EVs and more. The ETF is down 27.5% year to date compared to a 14.2% decline in the Nasdaq Composite at the time of this writing. But over the last three years, the ETF is down a staggering 75.8% compared to a 21% gain in the Nasdaq. Due to its focus on small caps, the fund's performance will vary significantly from the major benchmarks that are dominated by megacap companies. It's worth noting that the fund sports an expense ratio of 0.65% -- which is much higher than ultra-low-cost funds like the Vanguard Growth ETF. However, the fee may be worth it if the fund is helping you fill an investment objective, such as targeting equal weights across dozens of clean energy companies. Investors with a long-term time horizon and a high risk tolerance may want to consider the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF, which offers broad-based exposure to small-cap clean energy companies like Archer Aviation. Should you invest $1,000 in Archer Aviation right now? Before you buy stock in Archer Aviation, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Archer Aviation wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $495,226!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $679,900!* Now, its worth noting Stock Advisors total average return is 796% a market-crushing outperformance compared to 155% for the S&P 500. Dont miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of April 14, 2025 Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Lee Samaha has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Rockwell Automation, Tesla, and Vanguard Index Funds-Vanguard Growth ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Hold Archer Aviation? Here Is Another Unstoppable Growth Stock and ETF to Buy in April was originally published by The Motley Fool Republicans are eyeing cuts to Medicaid that could kick young Americans off of the program though many still insist the program wont be touched. Despite assurances from a wide range of party figures, including President Donald Trump, it appears as if the upcoming GOP budget proposal will take one big swing at the expansion of Medicaid to cover lower-income Americans. Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday, when he spoke to Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to root out fraud, waste and abuse, we have to eliminate on, for example, on Medicaid who are not actually eligible to be there. Able-bodied workers, for example, young men, who are who should never be on the program at all, the House speaker told Fox. With his comments, Johnson referred back to a repeated assertion of his that young, able-bodied adults are leeching off of the Medicaid system while not holding employment. In a CNN interview in February, he claimed that 29-year-old males sitting on their couches playing video games were taking Medicaid benefits, adding: We're going to find those guys. We're going to send them back to work. The president has made absolutely clear many times, as we have as well, that were going to protect Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, for people who are legally beneficiaries of those programs, Johnson said in that same interview. Mike Johnson: "We have to eliminate people on Medicaid who are not actually eligible to be there. Able-bodied workers for example, young men who should never be on the program at all." pic.twitter.com/eMaik5F6yj Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 13, 2025 The intent seems clear: the Republican House caucus remains open to cutting Medicaid benefits in states that expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. In 2014, the federal government began assisting states with coverage for low-income individuals of all age groups including able-bodied workers and young men, whom Johnson said should not have coverage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans have long opposed benefits to younger, low-income adults and families, arguing that Medicaid and other programs incentivize individuals to avoid work. Activists and experts who supported the Medicaid expansion under the Obama administration now warn that the program is both extremely popular and part of a key revenue stream for hospitals in lower-income and rural areas. Rural hospitals are going to close, said Dr Rob Davidson, executive director of the Committee to Protect Health Care. He warned that facilities such as nursing homes would also lose key funding and be threatened. Our hospital is so dependent on folks' ability to have access to insurance, and Medicaid is a huge payer, you know about a third or more overall, added Davidson, an emergency room doctor based in Michigan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Access to hospitals and health services remains a major hurdle for rural residents of all income groups not just Medicaid recipients. A 2024 report from CNN found that in Pennsylvanias more remote counties, the average travel time to reach a hospital with a maternity ward for imminently expecting mothers was nearly an hour. A sign with a garbage bag stuck on it points to a closed hospital in Williamston, North Carolina. (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Dozens of rural hospitals have closed or shuttered some services across the country in the past two decades, and hundreds more are said to be at risk. A February report from the National Rural Health Association stated that nearly 50% of rural hospitals operate with negative margins and stated that kicking low-income able-bodied Americans off the program with work requirements (and the associated red tape) would be a major burden on rural hospitals. Progressives say that employment reporting requirements would force many off of the program entirely, through a combination of burdensome red tape, clerical errors and the often unstable nature of employment itself for low-income Americans and those in rural communities. Kelly Hall, whose group has supported and won seven Medicaid expansion ballot measure campaigns, told The Independent: We know that states that have expanded Medicaid have been more successful in keeping their rural hospital infrastructure open and functioning. States that have not expanded Medicaid have seen more hospital closures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The places that have expanded Medicaid are at real risk of losing their rural hospital infrastructure if the program is rolled back, and that is not just devastating to people who are beneficiaries of the Medicaid program, but anyone who lives in those communities, regardless of their type of insurance, said Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project. So far, few Republicans beyond Johnson and hardcore conservatives in his caucus have come out in explicit favor of implementing Medicaid work requirements or simply kicking low-income young adults off the program altogether. Speaker Mike Johnson amended his pledge to not cut Medicaid over the weekend in a way that opened the door to throw low-income young people off the program. (Getty Images) Part of that comes from reflex. Donald Trumps first term, like Joe Bidens after him, was marred by a major legislative defeat on a signature policy issue during his initial year. A massive blow to any president enjoying twin majorities in the House and Senate, the defeat of the Trump-supported GOP effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act altogether sapped the presidents political capital and led to the Republican Congress passing just one major plank of Trumps campaign platform, tax cuts, before the midterms began. Republicans could be well on their way to a self-imposed state of deja vu. A battle over one of the ACAs most popular provisions, Medicaid expansion, could divide the House and Senate GOP caucuses and tank a bill that only passed its latest hurdle last Thursday by the thinnest of margins. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Further defections within the GOP caucus could very well occur if Republicans broach the topic of work requirements any further. At least two House members, Nicole Malliotakis and Jeff Van Drew, have threatened to switch their votes to oppose the bills final passage over the issue already. Working class people receive Medicaid as they are working. This is not just lazy people who are sitting around not doing their job, said Rep Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who added to TIME that he had phoned the president to warn him: I very well may not vote for this, and Im certainly waiting until the last minute to see if some changes can be made, because Im very unhappy. Malliotakis was even more explicit on her position: We will not vote for something that takes away eligibility from our constituents, period. Nicole Malliotakis is one of the Republicans who has vowed not to vote for any bill that cuts Medicaid eligibility. (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) They are far from the only ones. Progressives believe that more holdouts will emerge as the reality of cutting potentially billions of dollars, which would have otherwise ended up making their way to hospitals and health centers already threatened by closure or service reductions, is made clear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fair Share US, one of the progressive groups opposed to the GOP budget plan, held a rally outside the Capitol aimed at driving up popular opposition to the bill last week, which was attended by Democratic lawmakers. The DC rally was also attended by union leaders and others who warned that Trump was threatening to betray working-class voters whom he pledged to champion if he signed Medicaid cuts into law. Two-thirds of adults on Medicaid are already working. [...] They dont need any incentives to get a job. They need steady hours and a real pay raise not cuts to the services that help them stay afloat while they do their essential jobs, said one attendee, Charlotte Neal of AFSCME local 3930. Activists like Kelly Hall hope to spur further Republican resistance by making as much noise as possible, especially in red and purple districts where Democrats have held empty chair town hall-style events to draw scrutiny on GOP lawmakers over the past few months. She predicted: I think we'll see an evolving landscape on people's concern and outrage about potential Medicaid cuts, the more real they become. This article was amended to better reflect Johnson's comments. On April 1, the Trump administration fired the entire federal staff responsible for administering the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a $4.1 billion program that helps millions of families afford heat and electricity. Starting today We Energies, the most profitable monopoly utility in the state of Wisconsin, will end its winter shutoff moratorium. Amidst a manufactured crisis at the federal level, our utilities will soon start cutting off power for tens of thousands of working-class residents at the very same time that emergency relief services lose all capacity to respond. For reference, in 2023, the federal program restored or prevented nearly 85,000 disconnections across the state. This means that thousands of Milwaukeeans will face imminent (and entirely avoidable) blackouts, while $378 million in federal relief sits untouched a ruthless efficiency that requires exceedingly small sacrifice from those with obscene political influence and concentrated wealth, and that exacts life-altering consequences from those of us with neither. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Married women could face new obstacles to vote. This is what conservatives want. We ought to call this what it so clearly is: a coordinated assault on the poor because of their poverty. Congress allocated the money. Hard-working families need the help. Instead, political sabotage by multi-billionaires in the federal executive branch and profit-maximizing imperatives of multi-billion-dollar investor-owned utility have cast literal darkness across our neighborhoods conditions that, as study after study confirms, increase winter mortality, worsen respiratory illness, destabilize housing and break apart families. Public Service Commission refuses to enforce accountability Abandonment and punishment rarely, if ever, generate wholeness or healing. When the former happen simultaneously, the odds shrink to zero that the latter can ever emerge peacefully. What arises in the organized absence of safety or care are the very social phenomena poverty, eviction, homelessness and so-called lawlessness that then justify the further marginalization and increased criminalization of those abandoned by the state and punished by private corporations. In Wisconsin, the state not only allows We Energies to punish the poor in this way, but it actively enables it through relaxed regulation, guaranteed profit structures and a Public Service Commission that has so far refused to enforce meaningful accountability in true service to the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: Changes to Social Security would cost average Wisconsin resident $7,000 a year Energy insecurity doesnt just dim the lights it shortens lifespans. And in We Energies service territory, it compounds the racialized energy burden that already forces Black and brown households to pay a disproportionate share of their income to keep the heat on. Meanwhile, the very institutions tasked with ensuring public well-being continue to collapse around us. Last year, the Social Development Commission once a vital anchor in the heart of Lindsay Heights closed its doors. Whatever the stated reasons, the outcome remains the same: another critical site of support in a historically divested neighborhood disappeared, reinforcing a broader pattern of systemic retreat in the places that need the most investment. Failure to act on income program puts thousands of lives at risk That same pattern plays out now, as federal agencies dissolve essential energy assistance programs under the guise of efficiency, while our Public Service Commission stalls on the very solution it already agreed was necessary. In 2022, the Commission directed We Energies to work with Walnut Way and other rate case intervenors to co-develop an alternative low-income assistance program in response to Wisconsins affordability crisis and racialized disparities in energy burden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The communitys clear demand: a Percentage of Income Payment Program that would cap energy bills at 2% of household income. Nearly two and a half years later, the need has only grown more urgent yet the PSC has failed to act. As disconnections resume and federal help evaporates, that failure now puts thousands of lives at risk. Opinion: Wisconsin Republicans keep trotting out Milwaukee vote trope as built-in excuse As a society, we cannot normalize a government that abandons us under the myth that weve somehow been given too much, nor accept a utility that punishes us for not having enough. We cannot treat disconnection, displacement or death as the price of policy inertia. We must name whats happening, resist it and build something that reflects our values of dignity, justice and love. At Walnut Way, a community-based organization in its 25th year of supporting the residents of Lindsay Heights, we organize, invest and build. Our efforts, from installing solar panels and rain barrels to raising awareness about the energy burden and organizing for structural change, offer a roadmap for community-rooted infrastructure that meets energy needs, keeps people housed and creates local jobs. Were not waiting on a bailout. Were building the alternative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We must stop managing the fallout of abandonment and start confronting the systems that produce it. We dont need nonprofits to patch holes in a sinking ship we need public institutions to be accountable to the people they were built to serve. And we need them to follow the lead of those already doing the work. The safety net didnt break. The state is cutting it, and the corporations are pulling the threads. And now the lives of our elders, our children and our communities hang in the balance. So yes we mend. But we do more than repair what was never designed to hold us. We build something stronger, rooted in care, in justice, and in our refusal to abandon each other. Not just to survive the storm, but to weatherproof the future for all of us. Bryan Rogers is the Environmental Justice Director at Walnut Way and leads the Environmental Justice and Infrastructure Initiative, a statewide formation advancing energy justice and community-led solutions to environmental racism and systemic disinvestment. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Poor people will suffer from coordinated assault on poverty | Opinion Medicaid advocate Patrick Chesla, left, became emotional telling the story of his friend who is on Medicaid. He's afraid his friend will lose access to critical care if Medicaid is cut. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer. Patrick Cheslas friend a Vietnam War veteran named Ted lives at the Martin Luther Campus, an assisted living facility in Bloomington. Hes been able to receive treatments for urinary infections and other ailments and is being cared for at the facility thanks to Medicaid. Chesla, who was in tears, said his friend would be homeless without the program for low-income and disabled Minnesotans. If he lost his care here, where would he go? Would he become homeless? Chelsa said of his friend Ted. We gotta fight for this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chesla was on a panel Tuesday at the assisted living facility, hosted by Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison, a Democrat from the 3rd District. They gathered to discuss the impacts of Republicans proposed $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid. The Republican proposal to gut Medicaid will not only be devastating to the 1.4 million Minnesotans who get their health care coverage through Medicaid, it will be devastating to all Minnesotans, said Morrison, a physician. It will impact everyone, regardless of whether you get your health care through Medicaid or not. It will be devastating to our local hospitals, health care system, and our state budget. Republicans want to cut Medicaid and other programs to pay for more border enforcement, defense spending and tax cuts tilted toward the wealthiest Americans. One-fifth of Minnesotans are enrolled in Medical Assistance, Minnesotas Medicaid program. State budget officials estimate that Minnesota will lose between $1.2 to $1.6 billion annually if the proposed cuts become law. About 650,000 Minnesota children are enrolled in Medicaid, or nearly half of the total. Another 125,000 of enrollees are people with disabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minnesota Medicaid Director John Connolly said that if the cuts are implemented, Minnesota will need to either cut the number of people eligible, cut provider payments or reduce the benefits and services that are covered in the program. Connolly said the proposed cuts would cause state officials to make impossible and unbearable choices about what to cut. Walz said that the federal officials proposing the Medicaid cuts are clueless. They have no damn idea what theyre doing. They dont listen to people who know, Walz said. Republicans say Americans overtaxed and that the tax cuts would spur investment and create jobs. A February poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the majority of Democrats, Republicans, Trump voters and adults living in rural areas think funding for Medicaid should either increase or stay the same. UPDATE: The Missing Vulnerable Adult Alert has been cancelled as of Monday evening. Batson has been located. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) The Ontario County Sheriffs Office is asking for the publics help locating a missing man they say has dementia and may be in need of medical attention. William Batson, 80, was last seen on Douglas Drive in Rushville, Ontario County at around 2:15 p.m. on Monday. Anyone with information is asked to call the Ontario County Sheriffs Office at (585) 394-4560 or 911. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. SANDY, Utah (ABC4) The Sandy Police Department confirmed that the 12-year-old girl who was reported missing on Monday night has been found. She is safely back with her family. The story below has been updated to remove identifying information. ORIGINAL STORY: MISSING: Police searching for 12-year-old girl last seen in Sandy SANDY, Utah (ABC4) The Sandy City Police Department is asking the public for help in the search for a missing 12-year-old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The minor, 12, is said to be about 48 tall and weigh 100 pounds, with shaggy brown and purple hair. The minor was last seen wearing an army green shirt that said NEW YORK and baggy, black sweatpants, according to police. She also had a big bue backpack and black Converse shoes. She was last seen at 8600 South and 700 East. Anyone with information on her whereabouts, or anyone who sees her, has been asked to call 911 to get in touch with Sandy Police. LEARN MORE: What should you do if someone goes missing? There is no further information at this time. What to do when speaking to law enforcement about a missing person Here are some suggestions to keep in mind if someone you know goes missing. Utah officials suggest taking notes on interactions with law enforcement to keep track of details such as officer names, dates and times of interactions, the case number, and what the officers say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When working with local law enforcement to report a missing person, it is recommended one shares as much information as possible about the missing person, including but not limited to: Full name or nicknames. Recent photos. Date of birth and age at the time they disappeared. Gender/sex. Detailed physical description (including unique scars or tattoos). Date of disappearance. Medical conditions. Last known location. Social media accounts. Additional resources For more information, the Department of Public Safety has a page on its website dedicated to resources for missing persons, as well as pages to view missing persons from Utah. Additional hotlines and resources originally compiled in a 2021 guidebook are available 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 ABC4 Utah. Happy Tuesday! Heres your Tuesday Tech Drop, a collection of the past weeks top stories from the intersection of tech and politics. Missing Ratcliffe messages The CIAs chief data officer testified in court last month that he was unable to locate any substantive messages from CIA Director John Ratcliffes Signal app as part of an ongoing lawsuit stemming from his and other top Trump officials use of the messaging app to share highly sensitive U.S. military plans. According to ABC News: Hurley Blankenship, CIAs chief data officer, told a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit challenging the use of Signal that he was only able to retrieve residual administrative content from Ratcliffes personal Signal account. I used that terminology because the screenshot does not include substantive messages from the Signal chat; rather, it captures the name of the chat, Houthi PC small group, and reflects administrative notifications from 26 March and 28 March relating to changes in participants administrative settings in this group chat, such as profile names and message settings, Blankenship wrote. For the record, all defendants in this lawsuit including Ratcliffe were instructed by a judge on March 27 to preserve all Signal messages sent from March 11 to March 15. And several current and former U.S. national security officials told CNN they worry messages Ratcliffe sent in the thread may have damaged the countrys ability to gather intelligence on the Houthis going forward. In light of all that, the missing messages certainly raise eyebrows. American Oversight, the organization that filed the lawsuit, suggested in a statement that the revelation about Ratcliffe's messages raises questions about whether some in the administration are destroying evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more on ABC News. Database tracking DOGE gets deleted The Trump administration is being sued over its deletion of an online database meant to track how federal funds are being spent. The nonprofit group that brought the lawsuit, Protect Democracy Project, says the database offered the only public source of information on how DOGE (Trumps Department of Government Efficiency) is being funded information that Congress and journalists have used in reporting and oversight. Read more at The Hill. Zuckerberg takes the stand Metas high-stakes trial, in which the U.S. government has accused Facebook's parent company of holding a monopoly through its ownership of WhatsApp and Instagram, kicked off on Monday, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg taking the stand. The case could determine whether Meta has to spin off any of its social media companies to comply with anti-monopoly laws. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more at Reuters. And check out this recent CNBC interview with Lina Khan, the former Federal Trade Commission chair who oversaw the agency when it first filed the lawsuit against Meta during the Biden administration. Snooping suspicions As part of a recent report for The Guardian, federal employees shared their fears that they are being snooped on by Trump administration officials trying to crack down on dissent. According to the paper, the employees fear that Trump appointees may be snooping on conversations, using software to track computer activity and, possibly, using artificial intelligence to scan for disloyalty or mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) buzzwords. Read more at The Guardian. Immigrants face digital death under Trump administration I recently wrote about the highly unusual and overtly cruel strategy the Trump administration is using to dehumanize and deter migrants by marking thousands of them as dead in the federal governments Social Security system to effectively cut them off from obtaining employment or other government services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Check out my post about it here. MAGA masculinity and Trump's tariff war I also recently appeared on "Alex Witt Reports" to discuss my recent post about the trend of right-wing influencers promoting the idea that Trumps destructive trade war and efforts to increase manufacturing are good for men and their dignity in particular. It's part of the absurd trend of hypermasculine influencers who have aligned themselves with Trump. Read my post about it here. And you can watch my conversation with Witt below. Sen. Wydens cyber-related stoppage Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has put a hold on Trumps nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, saying he wont release the nomination unless the administration publishes a report on vulnerabilities in the telecommunications industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more at Reuters. Palantir plays to the MAGA crowd with 'meritocracy'-based fellowship Palantir, a tech company that was co-founded by far-right investor Peter Thiel and whose CEO has been gung-ho about using the companys potentially deadly technologies to aid Donald Trumps mass deportation and military plans, recently launched a Meritocracy Fellowship program in response to the companys claim that college is broken and meritocracy and excellence are no longer the pursuits of educational institutions. To be honest, this sounds like little more than a jab at affirmative action policies that promote diversity on college campuses, which right-wingers falsely suggest is antithetical to meritocracy. Read more about the program at Business Insider. Un-4chan-ate circumstances 4chan, a forum website popular among far-right extremists, was recently hit with a major hack that has people wondering what if any data related to the site may have been exposed. Read more at The Verge. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The Special Victims Unit of the Unified Police Department is seeking the publics help in searching for a teenager who was last seen in the Millcreek area on April 6. Andrea Andrew Matthew, 18, is said to be about 510 tall, weigh about 125 pounds, and have black hair and brown eyes. Andrew was last seen heading eastbound from the St. Marks parking lot area wearing a grey hoodie, black-and-white checkered pajama pants, socks, and Spongebob slippers. Courtesy: Unified Police Department According to the Unified Police Department, Andrew is considered to be missing and endangered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LEARN MORE: What should you do if someone goes missing? Anyone with information on Andrews whereabouts has been asked to call the Unified Police Department at 801-840-4000 or SVU Specialist Adam Blakeslee at 385-468-9858 and reference case number 25-28550. Alternatively, the number 801-718-6034 can be called 24/7. No further information was provided. What to do when speaking to law enforcement about a missing person Here are some suggestions to keep in mind if someone you know goes missing. Utah officials suggest taking notes on interactions with law enforcement to keep track of details such as officer names, dates and times of interactions, the case number, and what the officers say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When working with local law enforcement to report a missing person, it is recommended one shares as much information as possible about the missing person, including but not limited to: Full name or nicknames. Recent photos. Date of birth and age at the time they disappeared. Gender/sex. Detailed physical description (including unique scars or tattoos). Date of disappearance. Medical conditions. Last known location. Social media accounts. Additional resources For more information, the Department of Public Safety has a page on its website dedicated to resources for missing persons, as well as pages to view missing persons from Utah. Additional hotlines and resources originally compiled in a 2021 guidebook are available 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 ABC4 Utah. UK-based insurtech company Ripe has completed its acquisition of boat insurance specialist GJW Direct from Munich Re Specialty. Financial details of the deal, initially announced in October 2024, remain undisclosed. Set up in 1826, GJW Direct is known for its non-commercial marine insurance offerings covering an array of boats. Ripe believes that its technological capabilities and marketing expertise will help GJW Direct, paving the way to future growth. GJW Direct's insurance products have been integrated into Ripe's proprietary technology platform, Juice. Ripe CEO Alan Thomas said: Our proprietary platform will enhance the customer experience for GJW Direct policyholders while preserving the brand's trusted reputation. We are thrilled to welcome GJW Direct policyholders to Ripe. Munich Re Specialty global markets UK managing director Danielle Champion said: GJW Direct has been a valued part of Munich Re Specialty for over two decades. This is a great next step for the brand, and we wish Ripe every success as they move forward in driving the future growth of GJW Direct. I would like to thank the customers of GJW Direct for their trust and continuous support during Munich Re Specialtys ownership of this prestigious brand. Munich Re Specialtys decision to sell GJW Direct was driven by a reflection on our strategic goals and plans for the next stage of our own growth. Our Specialty strategy in the UK regional market will continue to advance in the coming years and we are excited to progress our offering of specialty solutions for todays dynamic challenges. The deal is set to boost Ripe's boat insurance market share, adding to its existing portfolio that includes Insure4Boats and Craftinsure, the latter having been acquired by Ripe in 2023. "Insurtech company Ripe finalises GJW Direct purchase from Munich Re " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. A missing 82-year-old woman from Tenino has been found dead, partially encased in concrete, underneath a shed in Olympia. Detectives with the Thurston County Sheriffs Office say they found Marcia Normans body on April 9 five days after she was reported missing. Detectives recently named her handyman, Jeffrey Zizz, as a person of interest; they believed he was the last person to see her alive. He told us they had dinner together. Hes not the average handyman to this family, Lt. Mike Brooks told KIRO 7. Hes a good family friend, so it doesnt necessarily seem like having dinner together would be uncommon, Lt. Mike Brooks told KIRO 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives claim that Zizz built a shed at a piece of property in Olympia, the day after Norman was reported missing. On April 9th, Detectives obtained power equipment to move the shed and excavate the ground beneath it. Detectives discovered human remains buried under the shed and partially encased in concrete. On April 10th, the Thurston County Coroners Office confirmed the remains belonged to Norman. Detectives say that while they were looking into Zizz, he ran away to Missoula, Montana. This violated his sentencing for an unrelated sex offense, and he was arrested. On April 13, detectives extradited Zizz to Washington. He is now in the Thurston County Jail on a no-bail hold for his child molestation probation violation warrant, while Detectives finish gathering evidence to determine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents show Zizzs previous case had to do with child molestation and inappropriate electronic communication with a minor. Thurston County prosecutors say Zizz served 11 months behind bars as part of that case and was currently serving a 93-month probationary period. Because of this violation, they plan to ask a judge to revoke the probation and send Zizz back behind bars for 93 months over seven years. As the investigation into Normans death continues, loved ones are holding tight to the positive memories they share with her. She loved to smile, said Normans niece, Traci Kistenmacher. Everybody loved Marci. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kistenmacher said her aunt gave the best hugs and was always doing thoughtful things to look out for those she loved. She would hug you and she would tell you, Everything was going to be okay, she said. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) -The Department of Government Efficiencys (DOGE) budget cuts are forcing some Mississippi humanitarian organizations to scramble as they try to find ways to do more with less. At the Mississippi Food Network (MFN), shelves and storage space that once used to be filled with pallets of food now sit bare. Order loads are having to be reduced because the organization is expected to be down several million pounds of food this year. Mississippi Food Network serves 56 counties, and we serve a little over 150,000 people a month. And that number is growing. Its hard on us. The cuts are difficult on us and on are partners, but its very difficult for the people that we serve. And we want to continue to be there for them and provide for them in whatever way we can, said Cassandra Mobley, with the MFN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has vowed to bring down housing costs. What is his administration doing? Though funding and inventory are down, the demand for the MFNs resources are up. Agencies from across the state have seen an uptick in people seeking help. Some of them have grown to depend on our agency for food. We try to bridge the gap so when they receive their monthly income for SNAP or their allowance. So, we try to help bridge that gap, said Fred Davis, with Jackson Street Missionary Baptist Church in Vicksburg. And in bridging the gap, we might not be able to bridge it like we used to in the past. Sometimes we provide three to five days, sometimes seven days. And now that might get to the point we can only provide two to three days. The MFN is asking for the communitys help by hosting food drives, so they can meet the needs of people. 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. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Democrats in the Missouri House are once again calling out their GOP colleagues for trying to repeal a constitutional amendment passed by voters in November. Lets be clear, the Missouri GOP is wasting the money of Missouri taxpayers when we debate bills that have already been decided on by the people, said State Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, D-St. Louis City. Republicans are looking to pass House Joint Resolution 73 which, if approved by the Legislature, would bring the issue of abortion back to the ballot box. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure would essentially ban all abortions, except in cases of medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, or incest. (Republicans) do not need our votes to pass their priorities, said State Rep. Ashley Aune, the Democrat leader in the House. And certainly when it comes to abortion, they will do whatever they want. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News While Democrats argue that Republicans are using a roundabout way to put a different abortion measure on the ballot, Republicans have long protested the language in the initial, voter-approved Amendment Three. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The abortion ballot measure, approved by Missouri voters by roughly 4 percentage points or just around 95,000 votes, was certified by former Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, as was the language that appeared on the ballot: Do you want to amend the Missouri Constitution to: Establish a right to make decisions about reproductive health care, including abortion and contraceptives, with any governmental interference of that right presumed invalid; remove Missouris ban on abortion; allow regulation of reproductive health care to improve or maintain the health of the patient ;require the government not to discriminate, in government programs, funding, and other activities, against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care; and allow abortion to be restricted or banned after Fetal Viability except to protect the life or health of the woman? State governmental entities estimate no costs or savings, but unknown impact. Local governmental entities estimate costs of at least $51,000 annually in reduced tax revenues. Opponents estimate a potentially significant loss to state revenue. When asked by (Station) about her partys stance on Missouris process to amend state law or the constitution, Aune says it proves voters still have a say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think that Missouri has an incredibly unique system of allowing the general public to put their priorities on the ballot when their legislators arent responding to their needs, she said. And thats exactly what weve seen over the last ten years in Missouri. Whether its right to work, Medicaid expansion, medical and recreational marijuana, abortion, Prop A, she added. All of these things the voters have said these are our priorities, but their lawmakers arent acting on them. Responding directly to our question about how the Legislature can undue voter-approved measures, the Minority Leader said lawmakers are focused on the wrong thing. No, I dont think its the legislatures purview to go in and mess with what the voters told us that they want us to do, Aune said. If this is a representative democracy, we should represent our constituents. 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. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Missouris Republican-led House advanced a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday asking voters to repeal an abortion-rights measure they narrowly approved last year and instead ban most abortions with exceptions for rape and incest. Democrats and abortion-rights activists denounced the public policy swing as an affront to the will of voters. But Republicans contend they are simply giving voters a second chance and are confident they will change their minds. Missourians deserve to be presented with better options at the ballot box -- options that are more in line with their values, said Republican Rep. Brian Seitz, who is handling the measure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The abortion landscape across the U.S. has been shifting since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending a nationwide right to abortion and clearing the way for bans in Missouri and elsewhere to take effect. Since then, Missouri is the only state where voters have overturned a law barring most abortions at all stages of pregnancy. A constitutional amendment, passed by about 52% in November, guarantees a right to abortion until fetal viability generally considered sometime past 21 weeks of pregnancy and allows later abortions to protect the life or health of pregnant women. A limited number of surgical abortions have since occurred in Missouri, but medication abortions remain on hold while Planned Parenthood wrangles with the state over abortion regulations. In addition to repealing the abortion-rights amendment, the new measure would allow abortions only for a medical emergency or fetal anomaly, or in cases of rape or incest up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It also would prohibit gender transition surgeries, hormone treatments and puberty blockers for minors, which already are barred under state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal won initial House approval by 94-50 vote, with House Speaker Jon Patterson among just two Republicans siding with Democrats in opposition. Another House vote is needed to send the measure to the Senate, where approval would place it on a future Missouri ballot. Some Republican lawmakers assert that voters are opposed to most abortions but desire options for rape and incest and state regulations setting health and safety standards for abortion providers. Democratic lawmakers read aloud the written testimony of numerous residents who came to the Capitol last week to testify against the measure but were denied an opportunity to speak during a House committee hearing. "To repeal what they have already voted on is wrong, Democratic Rep. Marla Smith said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tuesdays debate came on the same day that the House committee heard testimony on separate legislation that would allow abortions to be prosecuted as homicide. That legislation did not advance, but it generated impassioned testimony. Our representatives seem to be sitting up here calling us stupid and saying our opinions dont matter, said Chloe Mix, a Springfield resident who backed last years abortion-rights amendment and opposes this years measures. The Missouri House debate also came one day after the Legislature gave final approval to a bill limiting the courts' ability to rewrite summaries of ballot measures. That measure, which now goes to Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe, was prompted by Republican frustration that a judge rewrote the original ballot summary prepared for last years abortion-rights amendment. Last year, voters in six other states approved ballot measures to bolster abortion rights, and three rejected them. In Arizona, a judge this year permanently blocked enforcement of a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, finding it violated the amendment adopted last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A ballot measure in Montana last year that ensured the right to abortion didnt stop lawmakers from introducing several abortion measures this year. But none gained traction in the Legislature. ___ Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, mingles ahead of Gov. Mike Kehoe's inauguration ceremony. Brattin's bill on ballot measures passed the House Monday evening (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). A bill that would give the Missouri Attorney General the authority to appeal judges decisions to temporarily block state law and change how ballot measures are written and certified was sent to the governor Monday. The House gave final approval to the bill in a 109-46 vote, with Democrats calling the legislation a power grab that targets a Jackson County judges temporary hold on the states strictest abortion regulations which opened the door for Missouri clinics to resume surgical abortions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is pending litigation going on right now, said state Rep. David Tyson Smith, a Columbia Democrat. The Attorney General doesnt like how its going because theres a preliminary injunction issued, so (Republicans) are trying to jam legislation through so they can change the outcome of the litigation. The bill passed Monday would allow Attorney General Andrew Bailey to challenge the preliminary injunction before the judge issues a final ruling on the case. Democrats argued that since the legislation allows for appeals on any preliminary injunction that existed prior to August 28, 2025, it is retroactive and unconstitutional. State Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Springfield, called the accusation ridiculous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres only one ongoing case that this power grants that it could possibly be used for, he said. The House passed an emergency clause on the provision, making it effective as soon as the governor signs it into law. The emergency clause says that immediate action is necessary to ensure judicial efficiency. Missouri law limits emergency clauses to when they are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety. The bills House handler, state Rep. Ben Keathley, a Chesterfield Republican, justified the clause because action could save the lives of women in (facilities that perform abortions) and the children that are the unnecessary victims of these acts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Raychel Proudie, a Democrat from Ferguson, said this provision was not part of the bill. Were not voting on what the court may do one day, she said. The emergency clause passed along party lines with the bills sponsor, state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, smiling at the House dais. Provisions on ballot measures from the General Assembly also drew criticism from Democrats who disagreed with shifting power from the courts to the Missouri Secretary of State. The bill would give the Secretary of State three chances to rewrite ballot language proposed by state lawmakers after the initial summary is challenged. The courts are charged with giving the Secretary of State advice and approving the final language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Rep. Eric Woods, a Kansas City Democrat, said the legislation is an entire upheaval of the current process. The court exists as a check on us in case we turn out some language that has ballot candy on it which is completely unrelated to the topic at hand or something that is entirely intended to trick people into voting for it, Woods said. He referenced a joint resolution the House is prepared to discuss Tuesday with language he says is deceitful to voters. Keathley said the courts should be the last step in the process. We have a constitutional duty and job to send that ballot language through. The courts are only there to call the balls and strikes, he said. Since the court has the final say, he said, there is still separation of powers. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX TALLAHASSEE The Florida charity created by Gov. Ron DeSantis administration didnt keep meeting minutes, had no budget or bylaws, didnt file its tax returns and asked few questions before steering $10 million to two dark money groups, the boards chairperson told a House committee on Tuesday. The Hope Florida Foundation created to support first lady Casey DeSantis top initiative doesnt seem to have obeyed any of the requirements in state law governing its ethics, oversight or governance, lawmakers found. In recent weeks, the public reporting has made evident that mistakes were made, said the boards chairperson, Joshua Hay, the CEO of a company that does tens of millions of dollars in business with the state. There are lapses in reporting procedures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state-created charity has had three meetings since it was created in 2023 but only recorded the minutes from one: the October meeting in which it accepted a $10 million donation by Centene, the states largest Medicaid contractor. Centene said it was directed by Florida officials in a legal settlement to donate the money after it notified regulators it had overbilled the state. The $10 million was by far the largest donation in Hope Florida Foundations history, Hay said. Within days, the foundation received a request from a dark money group affiliated with the Florida Chamber of Commerce requesting a $5 million grant. The group is considered a dark money organization because its a 501(c)(4) nonprofit and does not have to disclose its donors. Hay said he thought the money would go to a public awareness campaign to help Hope Florida, an initiative created by Casey DeSantis to remove Floridians from government assistance. The grant was approved during a 20-minute meeting that was never publicized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the days after the meeting, a second dark money organization, St. Petersburg-based Save Our Society from Drugs, also requested and received $5 million through a similar grant. Hay said the transactions were cleared by the charitys lawyer, Jeff Aaron. I got assurances through Jeff Aaron that, and also with all the other attestations made in the proposals, that there was comfort that it was above board, Hay told lawmakers. Both groups that got grants later sent money to a political committee called Keep Florida Clean thats controlled by James Uthmeier, Ron DeSantis then-chief of staff who is now the states attorney general. Uthmeiers committee then sent millions to the Republican Party of Florida, which campaigned against last years recreational pot ballot initiative. DeSantis Florida Freedom Fund, also controlled by Uthmeier, received $1.1 million from Keep Florida Clean. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Alex Andrade, the Pensacola Republican who has been investigating the charity, said Monday that Uthmeier contacted both dark-money groups and told them to apply for the $5 million grants. This is looking more and more like a conspiracy to use Medicaid money to pay for campaign activity, Andrade said after Tuesdays hearing. If Im the U.S. attorney for the Northern District (of Florida), Id be very concerned about that. He said Uthmeier should give back the money and explain yourself. While Andrade said Monday he would issue a subpoena to Uthmeier for his text messages and call logs, by Tuesday he said he would first seek those records voluntarily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Uthmeier said in a news conference Monday that the charity had done nothing wrong. It made its own decision to give generous support to other not-for-profits that ... already work with the entity and share that same mission, helping moms, helping families, protecting our kids, he said. As House members grilled the organizations leadership, the governor and the first lady were 200 miles away in Andrades district, doubling down on their support for Hope Florida and slamming the Republican lawmakers scrutinizing it. DeSantis did not comment on any of the mistakes that were acknowledged during the House committee. Instead, he attacked what he characterized as a cabal in Florida House leadership for manufacturing smears about the first ladys initiative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At one point, the governor suggested Republican lawmakers are inspecting the program for political reasons because the first lady is considering a run for governor in 2026. A lot of people feel threatened by the first lady. Lets just be clear about that, the governor said, saying that Casey DeSantis runs circles around people. Andrades investigation into Hope Florida and its state-created charity has captivated lawmakers and lobbyists during this years legislative session. They packed Tuesdays committee hearing, sometimes chuckling or gasping at the answers given by Hay, Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch and the new head of Hope Florida, Erik Dellenback. Dellenback started in January and previously served as DeSantis liaison for Faith & Community, a position he still has. Neither Hatch nor Hay said they knew where the $10 million went after it was sent to the two dark-money groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrade asked Hatch whether a political committee is the best method of helping families achieve economic self-sufficiency, the stated goal of Hope Florida. My understanding is those two organizations, again, from what I recently read, are focused on helping to support families from a recovery perspective and access to care, Hatch responded. I have no reason to believe that funds went beyond that. Rep. Debra Tendrich, a Lake Worth Democrat who runs her own charity, noted that the grant process for the $10 million was never made public, making it impossible for other organizations to apply. She noted that the charity had no requirements to report how the money was used. She pointed out that one of the grants explicitly stated that the foundations donation wouldnt be publicly disclosed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Especially with Hope Florida doing such great work, you would think that we would want a press release, make it public, and share this great contribution, Tendrich said. I cant say why it was not publicized, Hay said. I relied on the advice of counsel. The foundations board members include executives and lobbyists who do business with state agencies. They include a lobbyist for Walgreens and an executive vice president for CDR Maguire, the disaster management firm that has received hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts over the years. The foundation has not required its board members to sign statements avoiding conflicts of interest. Hays company, Indelible Solutions, has received mostly no-bid emergency contracts from DeSantis agencies worth about $75 million since he joined the board in 2023, according to the states contracting website. One of those contracts, for $22,400, was to assist the Hope Florida program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hay said the board has scheduled a Thursday meeting to approve its tax returns and remedy its other shortfalls, including signing conflict of interest statements. The board has held three meetings since its inception, and none of them were open to the public, in violation of the states open meeting laws. Im frankly astonished, said Rep. Allison Tant, a Democrat from Tallahassee. Im trying to wrap my head around how this happened and how we prevent it from happening again. Hay said that Tallahassee attorney Mohammad Jazil was helping the foundation organize its records. Andrade said that concerned him because Jazil also works for the Uthmeier political committee that received the $10 million. Andrade said he planned on holding another hearing next week to hear testimony from Aaron and the leaders of the two groups that received the grant money. The fallout from President Trump's tariff announcements and revisions hasn't yet pushed investors to shy away from an old habit: buying the dip. Data from VandaTrack showed the week following "Liberation Day" saw "record dip-buying flows from retail investors," including $3 billion in net purchases on April 3, the largest daily total since VandaTrack began collecting this data in 2014. Global markets sold off sharply in the initial reaction to Trump's reciprocal tariff announcements that pushed levies to their highest level in a century. Across trading on April 3 and 4, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) experienced one of its worst two-day stretches in history. Since this initial crash, markets have remained volatile, with the index seeing its best single-day rally since 2008 last Wednesday, April 9. Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump's tariffs "Even prior to Trump's tariff U-turn, retail investors remained well short of capitulating," the VandaTrack team wrote in a note on April 9. "The glass-half-empty interpretation is that if this rally turns out to be a mere bear market bounce, the risk of further downside remains on the cards." VandaTrack's team added that retail traders not buying the dip is a "hallmark sign of equity market bottoms," but it's not a "necessary condition for an equity trough." "At the slightest whiff of good news, people come roaring back in because that FOMO [fear of missing out] never goes away," Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steven Sosnick told Yahoo Finance last week. "It's always there. No one ever wants to miss a rally." 'Risk appetite is still alive' VandaTrack's data isn't the only indication investors have been aggressive in scooping up stocks during the recent drawdown. An April 8 note from Bank of America showed the firm's clients were net buyers of $8 billion worth of stock during the week of the initial tariff announcements. This marked the fourth-largest weekly inflow in Bank of America's data going back to 2008. Data from Deutsche Bank published Monday also showed equity inflows of nearly $50 billion last week the largest amount seen in 2025 including $31 billion flowing into US stocks. Deutsche Bank chief strategist Bankim Chadha told Yahoo Finance the data shows "risk appetite is still alive." Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City, on April 14, 2025. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images) TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images Chadha added that the recent flows might not be an indicator that investors are intentionally buying the dip but rather a continuation of a post-pandemic trend of consumers putting excess savings into stocks. Its a magnificent sight you dont see every day. Around 20 to 30 right whales have been spotted off a Cape Cod beach, a local harbormaster said Tuesday. The right whales were seen at Scusset Beach by the Cape Cod Canal, according to the Sandwich Harbormaster. The Environmental Police are trying to rescue one of the whales that may be entangled, the harbormaster said Tuesday. The whales have been there for a couple of days. The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered whales in the world, and only a few hundred remain, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Approximately 340 of these majestic marine mammals remain, including less than 80 breeding females, the institution states on its website. Marine wildlife experts say the right whales are returning to waters off Cape Cod in larger numbers than in previous years. Last month, researchers at the Center for Coastal Studies publicly shared images of 80 of the critically-endangered whales in Cape Cod Bay. The species is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and Canadas Species at Risk Act. For more information about right whale research, click this link here. 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 Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed Senate Bill 199 into law at Ripley Elementary School in Ripley, W.Va. on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The bill allows teachers to remove disruptive students from their classrooms. (West Virginia Office of the Gov. Patrick Morrisey | Courtesy photo) West Virginia elementary school teachers have spent the last few years asking lawmakers for help addressing an uptick in violent and disruptive student behavior that includes punching, kicking and classroom destruction. On Tuesday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a bill aiming to give teachers more control over their classrooms. We want our teachers teaching not babysitting, not disciplining, Morrisey said during a bill signing event at Ripley Elementary School in Ripley, West Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure, Senate Bill 199, also mandates that school mental health professionals assess removed students to see what could be causing the behavior. The most violent attacks on elementary teachers are occurring most frequently in kindergarten classrooms. Educators say the problem is linked to the states ongoing substance abuse crisis, and kids are arriving at preschool or kindergarten dealing with trauma, neglect or behavioral issues as a result of neonatal abstinence syndrome. Sen. Amy Grady, R-Mason, is a fourth grader teacher who spent two years working on the bill after it failed to make it to the governors desk last year. The most important part is that we want to make sure that you guys always have a safe classroom and a safe learning environment to learn in and that your teachers have a safe environment to teach in, Grady told Ripley Elementary students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Addressing student discipline has been a top ask from teachers across the state as they say student behavior is worsening and data shows suspensions are increasing. Some lawmakers have said they must address the issue to protect teachers and boost the states struggling test scores. State Schools Superintendent Michele Blatt supported the bill, saying, I think we have something in place thats really going to support our teachers and make a difference. Im thrilled that the governor has decided to sign this. Streamlined process for removing disruptive students The bill outlines how and why teachers in kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms can immediately remove students who are violent, threatening or intimidating toward staff or peers, or students whose behavior is impeding on other students ability to learn. The House of Delegates amended the bill to include pre-K classrooms that are on public school grounds. Morrisey called it a streamlined process for dealing with these students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement School counselors and social workers will now be required to determine any underlying cause of the childs behavior. The measure gives the student a two- to four-week probationary period on a behavioral plan for improvement. If improvement isnt made, the student can be placed in an alternative school or behavioral intervention program. Fewer than half of the states 55 counties have alternate learning centers. If theres no county program, the student may be removed from school and find alternative learning environments. Maybe its a virtual school or other learning environments, Morrisey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate unanimously signed off the bill, and the House passed the measure with a 94-3 vote. Three Democrats in the House opposed the measure, citing concerns about potentially unqualified counselors or social workers conducting an assessment to determine the underlying cause of a childs behavior. The bill doesnt come with funding for schools to add behavioral support staff; some teachers told lawmakers that money and additional staff were key parts of addressing the problem. Lawmakers also passed a bill permitting counties to ban cell phones in classrooms, which was a request from Morrisey. The session ended without any movement on teacher pay raises; West Virginia teachers are the lowest paid in the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We know a lot more needs to be done, Morrisey said. Reversing courses is a major priority for my administration Im going to do whatever it takes to make sure West Virginia kids excel. Editors note: This story has been updated to correct that the bill was signed on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE RIPLEY, W.Va. (WBOY) Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed a bill on Tuesday that aims to give teachers more power over students in their classrooms. The governor signed Senate Bill 199 into law, which allows for teachers to immediately remove students from class who are intimidating staff or peers, creating an unsafe learning environment, or impeding on the other students ability to learn safely, according to a release. The new law also creates a process for students who are removed from class, which could include them being barred from returning to the class for the rest of the day, suspension or an alternative learning situation, if deemed necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How federal funding cuts are affecting West Virginia libraries We cannot truly excel as a state without a world-class education system, and that means empowering parents, supporting teachers, rewarding merit, and ensuring that every child has what they need to succeed, Governor Morrisey said. This legislation provides teachers with the tools to regain control of the classroom and ensure safe learning environments for our kids. Gov. Morrisey visited Ripley Elementary School to sign the bill, joined by Senators Amy Grady and Eric Tarr, State Superintendent Michele Blatt, and Ripley Mayor Carolyn Radler. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. We recently published a list of Goldman Sachs Value Stocks: Top 12 Stock Picks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) stands against other Goldman Sachs value stocks to invest in. As we recently discussed in another article, growth stocks are massively overvalued and trading at significant premiums, which is why investment firms advise investors to concentrate on value stocks. Near the end of March 2025, artificial intelligence stocks that had taken the market over by storm faced losses, while undervalued stocks gained momentum. Similarly, hedge fund managers believe that now is the time to invest in value stocks, with cheap equities available across all industries. Banks, energy, consumer durables, healthcare, and media companies offer lucrative investment opportunities. So, what is value investing? Matthew Fine, portfolio manager at Third Avenue Management, describes it as identifying companies trading at a notable discount to a conservative estimate of their true value. These opportunities often arise when a business, industry, or region faces challenges that cause investors to overreact and assume current difficulties will persist long-term. This pessimism creates chances to invest at attractive valuations. While broader equity markets currently appear overvalued, largely driven by the United States, Third Avenue sees overlooked value in many individual companies. Despite a rocky economy, the fund manager believes many quality businesses have become even cheaper, offering compelling opportunities for patient investors. However, the key is to avoid buying a company that seems cheap just because it has temporary advantages that might not last. Warren Buffett is the king of value investing, and back in 2023, he commented in his annual shareholder meeting that what gives you opportunities is other people doing dumb things. Buffetts Berkshire picks up stocks when others are panic-selling their holdings, and although the Oracle of Omaha understands that the world is rapidly changing, he still sees several value investing opportunities. Overall, the stock market is in mayhem because of the uncertainty brought on by US trade wars and tariffs. However, institutional investors like Goldman Sachs align with the market perspective and have a thriving $634 billion portfolio. So, lets take a look at the top Goldman Sachs value stocks. Is JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Among The Top Goldman Sachs Value Stocks? A group of business people discussing plans around a boardroom table adorned with a financial services company logo. Our Methodology To compile our list of Goldman Sachs' top value stock picks, we searched the investment firms Q4 2024 portfolio, starting from the top and assessing the PE ratios as of April 11. From there, we chose the top 12 stocks with PE ratios of 25 or under as Goldman Sachs' value picks. We have also mentioned the Q4 2024 hedge fund sentiment around the holdings for further insight. The list is ranked in ascending order of Goldman Sachs stake value. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) A motorcyclist is dead following a crash in a St. Petersburg intersection on Monday afternoon. Police said 25-year-old Christian ODonnell was riding his motorcycle southbound on Park Street North approaching the intersection of 40th Avenue North. Man pulled from burning car after fleeing traffic stop, crashing into tree A Honda Civic, in the northbound lanes of Park Street North, went to make a turn onto 40th Avenue North. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the St. Pete Police Department, the driver of the Civic turned in front of the motorcyclist, crashing into him. ODonnell was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries. The investigation into the crash continues. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tourists visiting the area surrounding Mount Rushmore on Monday were hit with unhealthy air quality warnings in a wide stretch of the Great Plains, according to readings from the Environmental Protection Agency. The worst-affected areas included Badlands National Park and Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge, which are approximately 75 miles and 140 miles away from the memorial, respectively. Both are key landmarks situated east of Rapid City, a common stopping point in southwest South Dakota for tourists about 23 miles away from the national monument. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There, air quality index values in the range of 151 to 200, Newsweek reported. The EPA classifies Air Quality Index (AQI) readings in that range as unhealthydepicted on its map as a red zonewhich could cause some members of the general public to experience health effects, with those in sensitive groups at greater risk. AQI readings in Badlands National Park were about 36 by about 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, with values from zero to 50 falling in the good range. Readings in Rapid City were at 14. Portions of Badlands National Park, approximately 75 miles from Mount Rushmore, came under the EPAs red zone (Rapid City Journal) People traveling from the east by car on Monday morning to the iconic 60-foot-high sculpture featuring the faces of former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln would likely have traveled through the red zone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The area around Badlands National Park was given an AQI score of about 161 on Monday morning. Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge and areas westward toward the Pine Ridge Reservation were reportedly also in the red zone. An orange perimeter, which includes AQI readings between 101 and 151, extended south past the North Loup River, Nebraska, and as far north as Faith, South Dakota. The EPA classifies that range as unhealthy for sensitive groups. Accuweather meteorologist Elizabeth Danco told Newsweek that air pollutants like dust and exhaust fumes combined with gusty winds may have caused the temporary spell of poor air quality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Gusty winds can allow air pollutants like dust particles, emissions, etc., for example, to disperse in the air, which could be promoting the unhealthy air quality levels across portions of South Dakota and Nebraska, she said. Likewise, the gusty winds in place combined with low relative humidity in the area will promote conditions favorable for fire start and/or spread across the region. CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) Mozambique's security forces carried out a brutal, three-month crackdown on protesters after the country's election last year, a leading international rights group said Wednesday, citing local activists who alleged that more than 300 people were killed and more than 3,000 were injured in the unrest. In its new report, Amnesty International called on Mozambican authorities to investigate the killings and all rights violations in the wake of the election, and to bring law enforcement officials responsible to justice. Thousands of Mozambicans took part in waves of protests in the weeks after the Oct. 9 presidential and parliamentary election, where Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party was declared the winner amid allegations of rigging and election fraud raised by his challengers and international observers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The protests were in support of Venancio Mondlane, who ran as an independent candidate but was supported by the opposition Podemos party. The demonstrations intensified after the Oct. 18 killing of Mondlane's lawyer and a Podemos official, who were fatally shot by gunmen late at night while sitting in a car in Mozambique's capital, Maputo. Mondlane denounced the slayings as a political assassination and called for 25 days of protests one day for each of the 25 bullets that were fired at the car. Mondlane, citing fears for his own safety, left the country for two months but returned in January. According to Amnesty's report, between Oct. 21 and Jan. 25, the Mozambique police and army used deadly force against largely peaceful marches and gatherings, shooting live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas canisters at protesters and bystanders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amnesty cited the Mozambican civil society group Plataforma DECIDE, which said 315 people died in the protests between Oct. 21 and Jan. 16 a toll that far exceeded numbers that authorities have acknowledged. Police said in January that 96 people were killed in the protests during the three-month time period, including 17 officers. "Police unlawfully used firearms and less lethal weapons, killing and injuring protesters and bystanders, Amnesty said. The army also used force and less lethal weapons recklessly and unlawfully. Amnesty said its report was based on interviews with 28 people, including eyewitnesses, victims, victims' relatives, doctors and lawyers. Other rights groups have reported that at least 10 children were among those killed in the protests. Police carried out mass arrests of protesters and bystanders, including teenagers, Amnesty said. Plataforma DECIDE said more than 4,000 people were arrested, most of them arbitrarily. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amnesty also said it has evidence suggesting that Mozambican internet providers restricted access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and the messaging service WhatsApp at key moments during the protests. In January, Chapo was sworn in as president. He and Mondlane met in March in an attempt at mediation, with the president promising to investigate protest deaths. The Frelimo party has ruled Mozambique since independence from colonial ruler Portugal in 1975 and has often been accused of rigging elections by putting officials loyal to it in charge of electoral processes. A report by election observers from the European Union said last year's vote was marred by deliberate invalidation of opposition votes and alteration of polling results, as well as ballot box stuffing in favor of Frelimo. Mozambican politics have been largely framed by a 15-year civil war between Frelimo and rebel group Renamo, which ended in 1992, with the rebel group later becoming an opposition party. The protests in support of Mondlane, previously a member of the Renamo party, were the largest threat to Frelimo's rule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests died down after the crackdown but violence still persists. Mondlane this week visited the port city of Quelimane, where gunmen on Sunday shot one of his main campaign organizers, Joel Amaral. He was shot three times, including once in the head, but survived and remains in an intensive care unit in the hospital. ___ Mangwiro reported from Maputo, Mozambique. ___ AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa MEMPHIS, Tenn. Memphis Police have released an image of a suspect accused of shooting two people at Ridgecrest Apartments. On Mar. 30, at approximately 4:00 p.m., officers responded to a shooting at 2610 Woodcliff Drive. Officers found a 23-year-old man in the breezeway who had been shot. A second victim, a six-year-old boy, was found in the 2800 block of Shady Vista. Hed also been shot. ORIGINAL STORY: Man, 6-year-old injured in Frayser shooting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both victims were taken to the hospital. They were treated and were eventually released. Video in the Ridgecrest Apartments showed the adult victim speaking before the shooting. The suspect fled the scene on foot after the shooting. MPD released image of suspect of shooting two people Police described the suspect as a 40-45-year-old man whos approximately 61 and 200-pounds. At this time, no arrests have been made. Police said that this is still an ongoing 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 WREG.com. There is a reason some nicknames stick. That nasal knight who occupies the role of Prime Minister is Two-Tier Keir because if two sides indulge in poor behaviour, you just know he will support the side whose narrow political belief leads him to prefer one rather than treating both just the same. A brilliant Morten Morland cartoon from 2023 shows Starmer dressed in police uniform with the palm of his hand raised as if against an advancing mob. The caption has him saying: STOP IT. SOME OF YOU! This perception of bias is hugely damaging because it fixes the PM in the popular imagination as a duplicitous hypocrite who arrived in No 10 promising a government unburdened by doctrine, guided only by a determination to serve your interests. Whose interests might they be? You may well find yourself asking that question after nine months of our far-Left Government playing ethnic-minority favourites. We cant help noticing that No 10 posts enthusiastically about every religious festival and tradition except what we might quietly call our own. The PM issued an effusive video about Eid Mubarak at the exact moment most families in the UK were marking Mothers Day (no tribute for the love and care of millions of women who are the lynchpin of our society. Thanks, PM). While it was right and proper this week to highlight Vaisakhi, with Sikhs playing such a valuable, well-integrated role in British life, so far there has been a deafening silence about Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week. The slight to millions of Christians is starting to feel deliberate. Dont be too surprised this coming Easter weekend if Starmer pays tribute to the Haitian Voodoo community, extolling the multicultural joys of ritual sacrifice and drinking goats blood, while blanking our Lord, the risen Christ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People are not stupid; they can see whats going on. Ray Connolly, a Conservative councillor and husband of Lucy Connolly, jailed for a hasty, horrible tweet after the Southport massacre of little girls, told me he went into a cafe in Northampton and got talking to a group of men who voted Labour at the general election. Ray was startled by the vehemence of their dislike for Starmer. When he asked why they hated Keir so much, back came the answer: Hes not for the British. Its a simple, not particularly sophisticated sentiment, but it has the ring of truth, doesnt it? To its eternal, two-tier shame, Labour had already rejected a national inquiry into the mainly-Pakistani-origin grooming gangs, the greatest scandal in our history no less. Last week, the Brummily-gurning Jess Phillips announced the Government was even back-tracking on its plan for inadequate local inquiries into those heinous crimes: an unconscionable betrayal of tens of thousands of white working-class girls by the MP for Birmingham Yardley who obscenely clings onto the title and perks of Minister for Women and Equalities. Starmers government of service has morphed into a government of self-service do whatever it takes to prop up your Muslim vote. Two-tier Keir is not for the British; if its expedient, Labour will pander to the child rapists and sod the rest. Everywhere we look, we see the warped, anti-British discrimination used to prop up multiculturalism. It is pretty dumbfounding that a report this week by the Home Affairs Select Committee into the policing of last summers riots, triggered by the Southport massacre, has just declared that it found no evidence of two-tier policing. In fact, it said such claims were baseless, unsubstantiated, and disgraceful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Funnily enough, those are the very words I would use about the committees laughable suggestion that our police, who increasingly see their job as defending so-called protected characteristics against white, straight Britons, are not guilty of two-tier policing. Just compare and contrast with the handling of the rioting in the Harehills area of Leeds last July (triggered by four children from a Roma family being taken into care) when vehicles were set on fire and the police essentially ran away, leaving the mob to get on with it. But that was forgivable because immigrants are allowed to have a reason to feel upset, whereas Lucy Connolly, the white, middle-class wife of a Tory councillor who lost a child of her own, is not permitted any context or mercy for her rage and distress. The Home Affairs committee says that those participating in disorder in the wake of Southport were not policed more strongly because of their supposed political views but because they were throwing missiles, assaulting police officers and committing arson. If you focus solely on the actual rioters, then they have a point. Quite rightly, the policing of physical violence and criminal damage was extremely robust, and lots of people were arrested to restore order. What the report conveniently doesnt mention is how peaceful protest (holding up a placard like sweet grandfather, Peter Lynch, who later killed himself in jail) and social media commentary were treated as equivalent to the actual violence. Two-tier Keir was swift to promise harsh punishment for those feeding a far-Right narrative with misinformation. In practice, what far-Right often meant was people who simply didnt believe the authorities when they insisted the unnamed killer had no links with terrorism and was actually a sweet choirboy born in Cardiff who had, quite inexplicably, happened on a Taylor Swift dance class and decided to butcher the infants taking part. As we later found out, every chief constable in the country, the Prime Minister and his deputy Angela its not terrorist-related Rayner were the ones guilty of misinformation. Details about Axel Rudakubana possessing an al-Qaeda training manual, having enough ricin under his bed to kill 10,000 people and being known to the Prevent anti-terror group, were deliberately withheld from the public supposedly to comply with contempt of court law with inflammatory consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whatever that cross-party committee of MPs may say, two-tier policing definitely occurred after Southport because inconsistent standards were applied to the manner in which people reacted. There was complete disregard for the proportionality principle, which is the application of good old-fashioned common sense and discretion. Fairness didnt come into it; this was a message being sent by a censorious Starmer, and police chiefs willingly followed the PMs lead using ludicrously subjective hate legislation to criminalise ordinary people who were deeply upset by the mass murder of innocent children and vented their horror on the internet. The aim was not justice; it was to smother criticism and distract attention from another embarrassing failure of multiculturalism. The fast-tracking of defendants through police cells to the courts almost all, like Lucy Connolly, were leant on to plead guilty was another example of standard practice being adjusted, particularly when you compare it to the reluctant, notably lethargic prosecution of two Muslim men who were involved in a serious brawl with police at Manchester Airport. As one senior officer told me: They attempted to cover that up, no question. It should have been an immediate remand in custody and charge, but instead they launched an investigation into who had leaked the CCTV footage rather than prosecute the offenders! It was only after Nigel Farage threatened a private prosecution of the two men if the CPS didnt pull their finger out that any action was taken. Unbelievably, the case is still not concluded while Lucy Connolly who, unlike some, did not kick a policewoman in the head, enters her ninth month in captivity and is even being denied time at home with her daughter and sick husband. (I was impressed when Kemi Badenoch spoke out on this with the ringing moral clarity so lacking in Two-tier Keir. The bigger issue, tweeted the Tory leader, is the perception of bias in the application of the law. Lucys sentence, disproportionately severe compared to those for actual violence in the riots and other contexts, suggests shes being treated as low-hanging fruit. This perception is dangerous, fuelling radicalisation and threatening community cohesion. Hear, hear!) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One thing which I can exclusively reveal today is that according to a reliable police source, every police force in the country was on standby for a particular date on which ministers planned to finally release the truth about Rudakubana. Keir Starmer would pick his moment to reveal the appalling terrorism details, which he would have known about within hours of the teenage murderer being arrested. In the event, the news about Rudakubanas identity was postponed, such was the official nervousness, and, when it eventually broke, it got rather lost in the fuss around Rachel Reevess first Budget. But we should never forget that speculating about such details landed people in jail who were not so very far from the truth. One other two-tier policing episode, curiously overlooked by the Home Affairs committee, was the officer in Stoke-on-Trent who, on August 3 last year, was caught on video telling Muslim demonstrators, If there are any weapons or anything like that, then what I would do is discard them at the mosque. Dont give anybody any reason to have any interaction with police, so if there are any weapons, get rid of them, and we wont have to arrest anyone. Can you imagine any circumstances under which the police would advise white rioters to stash their weapons in a church? Me neither. A white Briton need only use the wrong words, let alone a machete, and find themselves behind bars. What we are witnessing is what that senior police officer calls different containment strategies for different groups. More and more people are now openly dissenting from the diversity is our strength narrative seeing their smallest, most vulnerable citizens slaughtered at a holiday club will do that to a nation and the state has no clear idea how to respond. Terrified of civil unrest which they dont have the numbers to handle, police continue to appease Islamist elements, looking the other way and pretending the problems created by a parallel society dont exist while cracking down on the far larger, and therefore more threatening, majority group. What a doomed and delusional strategy. Two-tier policing exists. For the Home Affairs Select Committee to conclude otherwise, is baseless, unsubstantiated and disgraceful. A shocking 65 people a day are issued with a non-crime hate incident as the Government and police struggle to suppress opinions which are unhelpful to the official creed of diversity and inclusion. But that is not the religion of this country and, pray God, it never will be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two-tier Keir may prefer to acknowledge any religious festival that isnt a Christian one because he is not for the British, but I am and I do. There is a green hill far away. Without a city wall. Where the dear Lord was crucified. Who died to save us all. Whatever they try to do to us, the resurrection was and forever will be a love incident. Happy Easter. 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 Donald Trump swept into power earlier this year and almost immediately began using his bully pulpit and the federal governments leverage, in the form of massive amounts of funding for contracts and grants to embark on an unprecedented pressure campaign against some of the countrys oldest and most revered institutions of higher education. Universities have historically operated at somewhat of a remove from the wheeling and dealing of Washington, but the scale and speed of the upheaval and the lack of transparency into the administrations next targets has caught the world of higher education off guard. K Street is cashing in on the panic as schools scramble for well-connected fixers who can offer guidance on how to try and stave off some of the deepest cuts. Trump has frozen or threatened to withhold billions of dollars from universities across the U.S. unless they took steps to stamp out progressive ideology that his administration feels has run amok on college campuses and stifled conservative viewpoints. Under threat of having a crucial funding stream choked off, being grilled by Republicans in Congress, having their tax bills hiked or their tax-exempt status revoked, some universities have caved to Trump by cracking down on campus activism and scrapping programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Others have opted to fight: Monday, Harvard University said it would reject a list of demands made by the Trump administration. Trump yanked more than $2 billion in federal grants and contracts from the school as a result. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to the demand from schools, one of Washingtons top-earning law and lobbying firms, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, has launched a new higher education task force to advise universities on how to navigate the whims of the Trump administration. The firms clients include Yale University, DePaul University, Davidson College, the Baylor College of Medicine, Colorado State University and Washington University in St. Louis, among others. All of these universities they don't intuitively get Washington, says Marc Lampkin, a longtime Republican strategist who is helping lead the new task force at Brownstein. And so what we do is we help them understand how to navigate it, with a unique understanding about the issues that they deal with on campus. Lampkin is leading the task force alongside Evan Corcoran, who previously served as Trumps personal attorney, and Radha Mohan, a veteran tax and education lobbyist. The three of them spoke with POLITICO Monday about how the task force is helping bridge the divide between the cosseted world of higher education and the rough and tumble realm of politics, the biggest threats facing higher education right now and how universities can hope to navigate the competing pressures in Washington and on their campuses. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Whoever wants to take this first question to start us off, do you want to just give us the backstory for how this higher education task force came together? Lampkin: It really started when the House [Education] and Workforce Committee had that infamous hearing with the two college presidents which we were not involved in which, by every accounting, turned out to be a disaster for the principals from these major universities who sat at the table. It was clear that they didn't understand the storm that was brewing, and that in prepping for it, they didn't anticipate some of the key things they needed to be aware of. It was certainly well-lawyered, but were they prepared to understand the politics that were swirling around the issues of these protests on campus, what the Republican Congress and their allies were looking for? And they provided in many respects all the wrong answers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It struck us then that there was a need for a unique set of combined skills: a law firm that had great legal talent, smart acumen, but also had a unique set of understanding of the politics of the moment and the relationships in and around Congress [and] the executive branch, the potential for new administration allies. We want to be able to provide this as an offering, to provide a one stop shop to be able to navigate oversight, navigate understanding the implications, the application of executive orders, et cetera. Who is involved in the task force? And what do those folks bring to the table? Lampkin: Evan Corcoran, Radha Mohan [and] myself are the center points. But then we've got other folks in the Washington office and beyond who are key support for this. Brian McGuire, who's a former senior official in the first Trump administration, who spent nearly a dozen years working in Senator [Mitch] McConnell's office in leadership roles and was a chief of staff in his personal office. Bart Reising, who worked for 10 years plus in [House Majority] Leader [Steve] Scalise's office, who gives us a broad perspective and reach around the officials in the House of Representatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the Democrat side, we've got Al Mottur, longtime senior Democrat political operative who can help with Senate Democrats when necessary. And we've got Nadeam Elshami, who used to be Nancy Pelosis chief of staff. What are some of the top concerns that you've been hearing from colleges and universities? What are they looking to get out of their engagement with you? What are their top priorities and things they want to accomplish, or, conversely, things they want to protect? Mohan: I think it's actually been a mix of things, right? When the administration started, pretty quickly, especially given the events of October 7 and last year, [schools] were already walking into an environment where they were facing numerous congressional hearings. The Trump administration got started pretty quickly in terms of gearing up [the Justice Department and the Education Departments civil rights office] and other agencies to investigate institutions of higher education. And then on top of that, with the Republican majority in Congress, you also have the opportunity to legislate on this. On the House side, it's everything from the College Cost Reduction Act, which would go after colleges and universities for things like rocketing tuition costs [and] student debt, through policies such as risk-sharing. And then on the tax side, it's things like the endowment excise tax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They're looking for a firm with the political connections that can actually reach into the administration and have an in with Congress. Corcoran: The help that colleges and universities are looking for perhaps could be positioned broadly in two categories: one is reactive and one is proactive. And in terms of reactive, there are colleges and universities who look to us because of funding cuts that they've had based on recent enforcement actions. And there are also clients that have received investigative letters from the Department of Education. And then there are others who are proactively looking to navigate this new world by saying, How do we avoid becoming a target? Radha mentioned the endowment tax, which has been big, the DEI executive orders. It's essentially for many of these, particularly the larger institutions, they see it as a multi-front war which involves the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, Congress. And now, particularly into this current administration, the White House itself that's taking a very active role on these things. So we can help with everything from preparing witnesses for hearings, helping colleges and universities respond to investigative requests for documents and even interviews. When you guys are bringing on a new client for this task force, what are some of the first things that you do with them? Are there any topline recommendations that you make, what are the types of things that you go over with them from the start, and what's the best way that you think that these schools should be engaging with the Trump administration on these issues? Corcoran: When we partner with an institution and try to help them develop a strategic plan that's going to be successful, it really starts with that individual institution, which has its own history, it's got its own individualized mission, it has its own unique stakeholders. It's not a wholesale, off-the-rack approach. It's really a bespoke approach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of the engagement with public officials, and it may be a decision whether to engage or not at a given moment, is understanding who the audience is, what tone is appropriate, what type of information is going to be important to the decision makers. And those are all things that we bring to bear at an early stage in our representation. Lampkin: All of these universities, they don't intuitively get Washington. And so what we do is we help them understand how to navigate it, with a unique understanding about the issues that they deal with on campus. You've got a president, you've got donors, you've got parents, students, the faculty senate. You've got the pressures from all of these parties around you, all the while you're now being drawn into Washington and have to face things that, for some universities, could mean the difference between succeeding and failing. Their grants and contracts and their ability to help provide financial aid are all at risk. Maybe it might be helpful to back up a little bit too. Can you talk about the nature of colleges engagement and interaction with the federal government, [what] that usually looked like up until the past couple of years, and how has that changed under the Trump administration? Lampkin: Historically, colleges rely almost exclusively on two things: One, their trade association and the collective influencing power of the various trade associations. Separately, they also had a president or a chancellor who, when they had relationships with their members of Congress or their state or their senators, they had great sway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think what we've seen over the last number of years [that] has really gotten more acute is that there's growing skepticism and doubt about the power of the collective. More recently, because there's some concern about what's going on on campuses, there's a skepticism about the coursework that's being taught, lack of accountability around, or understanding about the pricing of schools. And so now youve added fuel to the fire. You've got a Trump administration that has come into place with a mandate for change, and this is a place where that's particularly focused because of what we saw last fall on campuses, in part around the antisemitism activity, the campus protests, the building takeovers. There's now a confluence of the Congress having taken a long look at this, [and] now the Trump administration wanting to bring about rapid, deep change. Mohan: I think we need to look at it as both [a] danger and opportunity for the university ecosystem, right? Republicans are coming in and for decades, there has been a desire to revamp and remake higher education. There is this feeling from conservative lawmakers that institutions of higher education have an intolerance for non-liberal points of view. The motivation behind some of the policies is twofold. Part of it is punitive, and the other portion of it is reform, right? How do we actually make changes that will last not just the next three years of the administration, but decades? And I think that's where you have opportunity. You have opportunity to walk in and say, Listen, there are actually a number of universities that have gone loan-free, that use a very sizable percentage of their endowment to pay for things like tuition, to offset research projects that are instrumental to do things that I think lawmakers actually want them to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And I think there's an opportunity to message on that, and then create legislation that actually works, and incentivizes other universities to do the same. Corcoran: So it's not just that there are policy differences that have been emphasized on this call, but the process is very different, and its different in a way that makes knowing the key decision makers extremely important. The personalities that are involved in these key decisions that affect institutions. You know, Youve got to know them, and youve got to understand how they think, how they make decisions, what's important to them, what they're trying to achieve. There's definitely a concept that the federal government is not just a benevolent patron of universities that's going to provide money without any scrutiny of what that funding is going towards. And that's changed. How do you help these universities navigate all of the competing pressures from Washington, from their students, their faculties? Princeton's president [Christopher Eisgruber] wrote in The Atlantic a couple weeks ago that the Trump administration's actions toward Columbia risk sparking the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare. Would you agree with that characterization? And what is your response to schools who do feel that way and see the moves as an attack on free speech or academic freedom, or feel like they will never be able to do enough to appease the administration? Lampkin: Columbia was an extreme case because of the very prominent activity that went on on campus, but I think it certainly sent a shockwave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The thing that we can best do is try to gather intel in anticipation of how the administration and congressional oversight activities might impact [universities] if they decide that I won't. If you don't cut a DEI office, if you don't adhere to the case of a maybe loosely-sourced executive order. [University] presidents are in very difficult positions, right? You're leading complex organizations that have competing demands and pushes. Our job is to give them our political risk assessment about what happens if you don't do it. Corcoran: Putting aside for a minute the way that some institutions of higher learning have taken a hard line in terms of engagement with the current administration, our role with the task force is to help colleges and universities analyze that, consider it, develop a strategic plan and make a decision. And sometimes our advice is that you can engage with the federal government, federal government officials without sacrificing academic freedom. There's no question that right now there is a president and an administration that are taking a different interpretation of certain laws and changing many of their enforcement priorities. And institutions of higher learning can't just close their eyes to that. They've got to respond in some way, and so our job is to help them decide whether and if so, how, to engage. What kinds of feedback are you hearing from the administration when you guys are talking to them? Lampkin: The reception we have gotten is that there's still a lot of hard work to be done. Republicans believe that these universities are the training ground for left, progressive camps, and that they're resistant to change, and are resistant to adhering to Supreme Court decisions, executive orders and getting in line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And we have to overcome that skepticism with proof points that they're willing to change. Then I think there's a pathway to de-escalate. Mohan: To that point, it's not just about getting out of the next hearing, or getting your name off one list, or prepping for the hearing that your university president has been called to testify in front of Congress, right? What lawmakers are looking for is systemic change. When you talk about showing that willingness to change, what kinds of things can you help universities come up with that show, we're in this for the long haul? How do you get, whether it's the administration or people on the Hill, to trust that you're going to follow through on the changes that you're pledging to make? Lampkin: A couple of the things that we've done is there's been a lot of criticism around their reaction to last years campus protests. Have they adopted reforms on campus about how they treat and protect their Jewish students, the latitude that they give protesters to be disruptive or not? Are they adhering to the recommendations from law enforcement and groups like the Anti-Defamation League about what creates a safe and secure atmosphere on campus? Conservative speakers should feel as tolerated and safe on campus as progressives or liberals do. And you can't have a dual standard where you bend over backwards to make sure you have great tolerance to anti-Israel protesters, but then when [conservative activist] Charlie Kirk or someone else comes on campus, they get booed off and disrupted in a way that would not make them hospitable. Do your campus conservatives in groups feel like they have a space to be able to articulate their views, even if some people on campus dont like them? So in your academic setting, are you countering all of the institutes and specialty studies, etc., that are oftentimes seen as bastions of progressive thought? Are you countering that with opportunities for conservative scholars to have a home to articulate more conservative activities? Again, you're not quieting or running roughshod over progressives, but you're providing an opportunity for students and faculty to look more at the broader issues intellectually, a place where they feel like they can have a home as well. We've made a conscious effort that we want to be good stewards to help them to understand what's going on, so they can do what this world class, number one university system in the world is very good at [which] is teaching and developing young minds, and allowing intellectual thought. PRYORSBURG, Ky. (FOX 56) A four-month-long manhunt for a convicted sex offender has come to an end after he was found hiding in the walls of his mothers home. According to the Graves County Sheriffs Office, Kentucky and Tennessee authorities have searched for John E. West, 43, since November 2024. He reportedly failed to appear for trial in Graves County, and a warrant was issued for his arrest on bail jumping and violation of sex offender requirements charges. Furthermore, in Tennessee, West reportedly couldnt be located after a parole violation, rendering his parole to be revoked after an aggravated assault and evading arrest conviction. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West is reportedly known to live at his 78-year-old mothers U.S. Highway 45 South home, and according to the sheriffs office, deputies have checked the house several times over the past few months. But he was never found, and his mom reportedly asserted she had no idea where he was. Sheriffs deputies then began receiving information that West was in fact living at that home, in Graves County, and that Wests mother was hiding him, the sheriffs office said. Around 10 a.m. on Monday, April 14, Graves and McCracken County sheriffs deputies and U.S. Marshals went to the Pryorsburg home, and Wests mother, Carlien E. West, again insisted that her son wasnt there. According to the sheriffs office, when authorities searched the home, they discovered a trap door in a closet that led underneath the home and another disguised as a mirror that led to an interior wall. It was apparent and obvious that West had been hiding in these locations during the previous searches by law enforcement officers, authorities said. She stated that she had been aiding him from being captured because she did not want him to go to jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West was discovered hiding inside the walls of his mothers home, the sheriffs office said, and he was subsequently arrested. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: His mother was not arrested but was cited for harboring a non-compliant sex offender. According to Graves County officials, West was taken to an out-of-county detention center and faces Graves County, Tennessee, and federal charges. The investigation into how West was able to evade arrest is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed. 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 56 News. Since late March, rumors of a potential serial killer in New England have spread rapidly, sparked by several recent discoveries of human remains across at least three states in the region. Its gotten to the point where millions of views have racked up across dozens of TikTok posts on the topic. A 55,000-person Facebook group called New England Serial Killer gained nearly 10,000 new followers in just the last week more than 3,000 between Friday and Saturday alone. As of April 12, however, none of the investigating New England police departments have publicly linked any of the human remains discoveries as a serial killer targeting the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is no information at this time suggesting any connection to similar discoveries in RI & the CT shoreline area, and there is also no known threat to the public at this time, a statement from Connecticut State Police on April 11 read, from Connecticut news outlets. That hasnt been enough to convince people spurring the conversations online who dont seem to believe police, as theories continue to swirl. I dont like that the police are like, Dont jump to conclusions, ... this has literally got [expletive] serial killer written all over it, a TikTok user with the screen name @sassykittypaw said in an April 10 post. In her post, the TikToker mentioned the case of Denise Leary, a 59-year-old mother of two who went missing in September and was found dead near her home in New Haven, Conn. on March 21, by people clearing thawing brush outside their home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leary has been referenced in many other online posts about a possible killer, with particular attention on the fact she was last seen six months ago. And though no cause of death has officially been ruled, New Haven police officer Christian Bruckhart said on April 11 that the investigation so far hasnt indicated Leary was even killed. Theres certain things that have a mystique about them, and I think serial killers are one, Bruckhart told MassLive. ... A serial killer is this almost mythical figure in the zeitgeist I mean, how many Hannibal Lecter movies have been done? Bruckhart points out, he doesnt speak for all New England police investigating recent cases of discovered human remains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though Learys case does not appear to be a homicide, theres nothing to say no one is ever going to be a serial killer again, he said. Theyre out there, we know that they exist. But I can only speak to my departments investigation, in the missing person case, that theres no indication there was any homicide, Bruckhart said. The discovered bodies raising concerns At least six cases of bodies have been found in past weeks in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, in mostly geographically close towns. With all but two unidentified, these cases include a skull unearthed in the woods of Plymouth on March 6, human remains found in at least three Connecticut towns at the end of March and start of April in New Haven, Groton and Killingly and a body discovered in Foster, Rhode Island on March 27. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Killingly, Connecticut is just over the border from Foster, Rhode Island, and about an hour from Groton and New Haven, Connecticut. Plymouth is closest to Foster, about 90 minutes away. Detectives in New Haven and Foster have identified the remains found, both as women missing since the summer and early fall of last year. Their public identifications, combined with no official causes of death announcements, have invested the public further in to the theory of a potential New England serial killer. Bruckhart cautions social media detectives to be sensitive to the unintended affect their relentless probing can have on others. Public focus on a case can be traumatic for a victims family, as it tries to search for closure. We dont want this womans death to be treated as like a sideshow for peoples own personal interests, Bruckhart said. ... At the same time, we do want to be as forthright as we can to the public, and say, Hey, listen, theres no indication that the woman was killed. More local crime stories Kincora Copper has made a major amendment to its existing earn-in and joint venture (JV) agreement with AngloGold Ashanti Australia, a subsidiary of AngloGold Ashanti, facilitating expanded exploration in the Northern Junee-Narromine Belt (NJNB) in Australia. The amendment will support up to A$100m in total expenditure for a second JV in the NJNB of the Macquarie Arc in central-west New South Wales. This region is recognised for its potential to host new district-scale porphyry deposits, similar to the major Cadia-Ridgeway deposit. The agreement covers the Nyngan South, Nevertire South and Mulla projects. The multi-phase agreement was initially signed in May 2024. Under the terms of the amended agreement, in stage one, AngloGold may earn a 70% interest in the new tenements by investing A$25m over seven years, with the option to earn an additional 10% by completing a pre-feasibility study or funding a further A$25m over three years. Kincora will initially operate and conduct exploration activities, with both parties contributing to an exploration management committee. Stage two will have the option to increase the stake to 80% through further funding and/or studies. The two JVs will span more than 100km of continuous strike, encompassing five projects covering over 2,350km. First-phase drilling is under way at Nyngan and drilling at Nevertire and Nevertire South will begin shortly. Kincora Copper VP of exploration Peter Leaman and technical committee chair John Holliday said: We are very pleased to broaden our partnership with AngloGold Ashanti. It comes as we continue to progress our ongoing exploration programme at the Nyngan project, with a ground gravity survey and hole 12 of the scout drilling programme recently completed. The revised agreement aligns with the interests of Kincora shareholders, potentially carrying them to a stage comparable to four pre-development discoveries in the Vicuna district, which have a valuation exceeding A$10bn. AngloGold Ashanti has already committed more than A$14m in the NJNB, demonstrating its commitment as a greenfield explorer. Kincora's project generator funding model has unlocked more than A$110m of potential partner funding for eight earlier-stage porphyry projects Partners include AngloGold Ashanti, Fleet Space Technologies, Earth AI and Orbminco, with Kincora retaining operational control over the NJNB projects and receiving a 10% management fee on expenditures. The company's strategy involves managing exploration budgets of more than A$10m per annum, ensuring self-funding through project management fees and maintaining partnerships with industry producers and explorers. CONWAY, Ark. (AP) Multiple people fired weapons during a weekend shooting at a city park in Arkansas that killed two and injured nine others, authorities said Tuesday. Conway Police identified 24-year-old Tatayana Penister of England, Arkansas, and 23-year-old Demetrius Feemster of Little Rock as the victims killed in the Sunday night shooting. Conway is about 27 miles (43 kilometers) north of Little Rock. Police Chief Chris Harris said that shots had been fired from at least six different weapons during the shooting and investigators estimate that at least 100 rounds were fired. Harris did not identify the suspects police are looking for, or say how many suspects there are. Harris said one of the nine injured remained in intensive care as of Tuesday and the other eight had non-life-threatening injuries. The shooting occurred during an event at the park that hadn't been permitted by the city, officials said. CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)After a court of appeals overturned his sentence and conviction, former banker and Alex Murdaugh accomplice Russell Laffitte has agreed to plead guilty to a slew of financial charges. Court records state that Laffitte pleaded guilty to six charges in U.S. District Court: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, and three counts of misapplication of bank funds. If he complies with all the agreement terms, Laffitte is ordered to serve 60 months in prison, and the government agrees not to file additional charges connected to the indictment against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By entering the plea, Laffitte agreed to pay $3,555,884.80 in criminal restitution and can not participate in affairs with any federal bank or credit union. Laffitte was sentenced in 2023, nearly seven months after he was found guilty of helping convicted murderer and ex-attorney Alex Murdaugh steal from clients. At the time, he served as the CEO of Palmetto State Bank and allegedly used his position to carry out the crimes. Laffitte was fired from the role in early 2022. A court of appeals overturned his sentence in November 2024. A judge vacated the sentence and sent the case to U.S. District Court for further proceedings. Documents show the decision was based on what the ruling described as juror errors during the original trial that violated Laffittes Fifth Amendment rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before the vacate, he was initially sentenced to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay the same amount in restitution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) The Noor Islamic Cultural Center filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Hilliard after the city rejected a zoning change for a vacant building the center purchased. The building in question is the former BMW office space on Britton Parkway, which has been sitting empty for nearly two years. Joe Miller, the attorney representing Britton Parkway Holding, said that in no way did the Noor Islamic Cultural Center want it to come to this, but Noor leaders decided it was time they stood up for themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch: JD Vance fumbles Buckeyes national championship trophy You can imagine the Muslim community in central Ohio doesnt want to be in court, he said. They want to be practicing their faith and enabling their members to have successful businesses and other enterprises at this building. Thats been their only intent all along. According to the 128-page court filing, the Noor Islamic Center is suing Hilliard for discrimination and violation of constitutional rights. Nearly a year ago, the Noor Islamic Center and Mosque invested millions of dollars to buy the former BMW Financial building on Britton Parkway, a building that had been vacant for two years. They want to rejuvenate the building in the city of Hilliard for both their benefit and the benefit of the residents of Hilliard, Miller said. Its the most egregious example of overt discrimination in land use that Ive seen in my over 25 years of practice. Its inexplicable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noor leaders said they have the vision to turn the 220,000-square-foot building into a mixed-use facility. That plan was rejected by the planning commission. What yes or no vote really means for Ohio Issue 2 in May election Miller said the city has tried to obstruct the project from happening at every turn. What the Noor Islamic Cultural Center has proposed conforms in every way to the city of Hilliard zoning code, and yet they were still denied and still dont have the free use of their private property, he said. Back in November, after council members denied the proposal, they sent out a statement saying that the city embraces diversity in the community. The statement goes on to say, in part, Hilliard leaders negotiated diligently with Noor for the past ten months and have worked hard to accommodate their evolving plans, including allowing up to 56,000 square feet for school and event space These efforts to accommodate were rejected by the applicant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hilliard City Councilmember Les Carrier said that while the lawsuit doesnt come as a surprise, he feels that this is a failure on the citys part. Polaris Fashion Place, other Ohio malls to be sold; corporate staff face layoffs Ive always been proud of who, because were unique, he said. Look at old Hilliard. I mean, theres no density down there in old Hilliard, but we still have everyone coming there and its a destination, you know, and I think we just do it a little differently and we could have with the Noor, we just chose not to. And I am concerned, you know, this attack on the religious piece of it. So very unfortunate. While a court date has not been scheduled, Miller said Noor is seeking recovery of substantial damages as well as attorneys fees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hilliard City Manager Michelle Crandall said she wishes she could comment on the lawsuit, but added she couldnt because its pending litigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - The NAACP sued the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday to stop its alleged illegal effort to cut off funding to schools that use diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and prevent Black students from receiving equal education opportunities. In a complaint filed in Washington, D.C., the largest U.S. civil rights group faulted the Trump administration for targeting programs that offer "truthful, inclusive curricula," policies to give Black Americans equal access to selective education opportunities, and efforts to foster a sense of belonging and address racism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also said the policies "advance a misinterpretation" of federal civil rights laws and Supreme Court precedent that undermine NAACP members' equal protection rights and protections from viewpoint discrimination under the U.S. Constitution. The Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the federal lawsuit. U.S. President Donald Trump has made ending racial preferences and so-called DEI programs a top priority in his second White House term. The Education Department had on February 14 sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to schools receiving federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That letter said federal law prevented the schools from considering race as a factor in areas such as admissions, hiring and promotion, pay, financial aid, scholarships and prizes, housing and graduation ceremonies. Then on April 3, the department demanded certifications of compliance from schools, including an end to DEI programs. It said this was required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars recipients from allowing discrimination based on race, and a 2023 Supreme Court decision involving Harvard University that effectively ended race-conscious admissions in higher education. While the department agreed in a separate lawsuit in New Hampshire not to enforce the "Dear Colleague" letter until April 24, the NAACP said some schools have lost funding while others have flinched and canceled programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It cited the Waterloo, Iowa, school district's withdrawal of first-grade students from the University of Northern Iowa's annual African American Read-In, which nearly 3,500 students at 73 schools attended. NAACP President Derrick Johnson accused the White House of "effectively sanctioning" discrimination that U.S. civil rights laws were designed to prevent. "Children of color consistently attend segregated, chronically underfunded schools where they receive less educational opportunities and more discipline," Johnson said. "Denying these truths doesn't make them disappear--it deepens the harm." The NAACP was founded in 1909. Its acronym is short for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case is NAACP v U.S. Department of Education et al, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, No. 25-01120. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis) A man was arrested after exposing himself to Disneyland visitors on Saturday. Guests visiting Disneyland took to social media to share that an unclothed man was seen climbing one of the buildings in the theme park. A video from Instagram showed the unclothed man on top of the entrance of Tianas Place, a New Orleans-inspired restaurant inspired by The Princess and the Frog movie. Man strips naked and wanders around classic Disneyland ride Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A person on Reddit who was at the park shared said they saw the man also climb a tree. A Disneyland spokesperson declined to comment, deferring questions to the Anaheim Police Department. At 10 p.m. on Saturday, Anaheim Police officers were called to assist Disneyland security who had a nude male detained inside the park near New Orleans Square, Matt Sutter, a department spokesperson, told KTLA 5. Sutter said the man was 38 years old and a resident of Calgary, Alberta. The man was booked on suspicion of trespassing, public nudity and being under the influence of narcotics. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Nancy Mace, who once challenged another congresswoman to take their disagreement "outside, denounced political violence and rhetoric after being targeted by a Pennsylvania man who threatened Donald Trump. Shawn Monper, of Butler, Pennsylvania, has been charged with allegedly making threats against Trump and Mace, according to Fox News, citing a law enforcement source. The man allegedly wrote about wanting to shoot Mace in a YouTube comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If I ever see her unprotected in public I would [love] to be the one to put a bullet in her skull," the man allegedly wrote. "What a disgusting [piece] of trash." Monper also allegedly made threats against Trump, saying he would assassinate the president himself and calling for those opposed to the MAGA movement to just start killing people. "Nah, we just need to start killing people, Trump, Elon [Musk], all the heads of agencies Trump appointed, and anyone who stands in the way, he allegedly wrote on YouTube. Remember, we are the majority, MAGA is a minority of the country, and by the time its time to make the move, they will be weakened, many will be crushed by these policies, and they will want revenge too. American Revolution 2.0." According to Fox News Digital, Mace appears to be the only member of Congress who received a threat. Congresswoman Nancy Mace was allegedly threatened by Shawn Monper, a Pennsylvanian man who is accused of threatening President Donald Trump (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) Monper allegedly said he'd bought guns and ammunition since Trump took office, and allegedly made threats against members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and against Tesla CEO and head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, according to law enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mace confirmed the threats on Monday night and issued a statement denouncing political violence. "If you think attempting to assassinate elected officials makes you a hero, youre not an activist. Youre a terrorist. And you should never see the light of day again," she said. "This political violence is getting out of control, and silence is no longer an option. I wont be intimidated. I wont be silenced. We have a duty to call this evil outloudly and publicly." Mace herself was involved in a high-profile incident earlier this year when she challenged a political opponent to fight with her during a disagreement on Capitol Hill. In January, Mace was arguing with Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, during which she asked the representative if she wanted to "take it outside" generally understood to be a challenge to brawl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mace and Crockett were arguing about Republicans' attacks on trans rights before the incident took a turn for the threatening, according to NBC News. I can see that somebodys campaign coffers really are struggling right now. So [Mace] is gonna keep saying trans, trans, trans, trans so that people will feel threatened, and child, listen Crockett said, before Mace interjected. I am no child, do not call me a child, I am no child, Mace shot back. If you want to take it outside, we can do that." Representative Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, defended Crockett and said Mace was trying to incite violence against her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican Congressman James Comer, who chairs the subcommittee on civil rights, facilitated a discussion and decided that Mace's words did not constitute a call to violence, offering the explanation that perhaps Mace was simply asking Crockett to "have a cup of coffee or perhaps a beer." Mace herself, despite referencing the incident and saying that she "went off" on the Congresswoman, insisted she was not calling on Crockett to fight her. Let me be clear: I wanted to take the conversation off the floor to have a more constructive conversation, not to fight. At no point was there any intention of causing harm to anyone, she wrote in a post on X. Crockett maintained that she had been threatened and called Mace an "attention seeking loser." Last I checked, threatening members in a committee room doesnt exactly reduce the cost of eggs, she wrote at the time. Organizations in Nassau County will have the chance to take part in a state-wide Opioid Lawsuit Settlement. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Dating back to January 2021, the state of Florida negotiated and received more than $3 billion from companies accused of contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis. In 2024, the Nassau County Opioid Settlement Task Force was organized to help distribute these funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Funds through the Task Force must be used by organizations on opioid/substance abuse education, treatment, prevention, and recovery services. Applications are due May 12 via email or mailed to the Nassau County Managers Office. Click HERE to view the application. [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. Australian resources company Larvotto Resources has announced that the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, is nearing completion, despite delays due to engineering modifications. These changes, including the transition from a wet tailings storage facility to a dry stack landform and the incorporation of inputs from ongoing metallurgical testing to optimise processing, aim to minimise environmental impact and enable progressive rehabilitation. The DFS will incorporate conservative commodity price assumptions of $2,400/oz for gold and $25,000 per tonne (t) for antimony. These figures are notably lower than the current market prices, which exceed $3,100/oz for gold and $60,000/t for antimony. Additionally, Larvotto is progressing with its exploration efforts, with four diamond rigs operating double shifts on-site. The expanded exploration team of around 30 employees and contractors is set to deliver a continuous flow of results for mineralisation and future drilling targets. Larvotto also opened a community engagement centre, Hillgrove Hub, at the project to deepen the companys ties with Armidale, Hillgrove and nearby areas. The Hillgrove Hub serves as a central location for hiring local employees and offering residents a place to access information and connect directly with Larvotto representatives. Larvotto Resources managing director Ron Heeks said: "As the project progresses with the DFS nearing completion and exploration activities ongoing we are proud to be creating employment opportunities, supporting local businesses and delivering critical minerals that will contribute to both the regional and national economy. In March 2024, Larvotto Resources signed an $8m (A$12.62m) non-binding term sheet with Wogen Resources and Xcelsior Capital for the progress of the Hillgrove project. "Larvotto progresses Hillgrove antimony-gold mine DFS in Australia" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. Mondays meeting between President Donald Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele made it clear that the two men are political partners in Trumps deportation efforts. But ahead of a Tuesday hearing in Kilmar Abrego Garcias case, a court filing from the Trump administration also shows how U.S. officials are enlisting Bukele in their defiant litigation stance in that case. The filing was a court-mandated status report, which U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the government to submit daily, given its lack of compliance with her command to facilitate the illegally deported mans return. Last month, the Trump administration flew Abrego Garcia and others without due process to El Salvadors infamous terrorism confinement center, even though a judge had previously ruled that Abrego Garcia cant be removed to that specific country because he faced persecution there (to say nothing of being indefinitely detained in a dangerous prison there). The governments status report, which appeared on the court docket about an hour after the administrations 5:00 p.m. daily deadline, quoted Bukeles response to a reporters question: I hope youre not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course Im not going to do it. The question is preposterous. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bukeles comments were off-base in multiple respects. For one, no one is asking him to smuggle anyone anywhere. The implication that Abrego Garcia is a terrorist is also lacking. The government has accused him of belonging to MS-13, a gang that the administration has deemed a foreign terrorist organization. But Xinis cast doubt on that claim, writing earlier this month, The evidence against Abrego Garcia consisted of nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant claiming he belonged to MS-13s Western clique in New York a place he has never lived. At any rate, Bukele isnt under a court order in this case U.S. officials are. Specifically, theyre under an order to take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States as soon as possible. Mondays White House event made plain that U.S. officials arent taking those steps, as Trump and some of his top officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, not only failed to press Bukele on the matter but supported his stance while misstating the Supreme Courts command to work toward Abrego Garcias return. (Though even Bondis stingy appraisal of last weeks high court order that, according to her, its facilitation demand means the U.S. just has to provide a plane if El Salvador wants to return him cuts against Bukeles smuggl[ing] suggestion.) Therefore, Bukeles comments could only be relevant to include in the governments latest court update if they addressed Xinis questions in this litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a reminder of what those questions are, the Obama appointee demanded that the updates contain a declaration made by an individual with personal knowledge as to any information regarding: (1) the current physical location and custodial status of Abrego Garcia; (2) what steps, if any, Defendants have taken to facilitate his immediate return to the United States; (3) what additional steps Defendants will take, and when, to facilitate his return. The three reports so far Saturdays, Sundays and then Mondays hardly try to answer those questions. Indeed, the updates (such as they are) are a good microcosm of the governments Kafkaesque approach to this litigation as a whole. Mondays reference to Bukeles comments simply offers them without explaining the governments view of their relevance. The administrations implication could be that theres no point in taking any facilitation steps because they wont lead to Abrego Garcias return without Bukeles support. But again, that doesnt address the underlying question of what steps U.S. officials have taken to comply with the order to facilitate Abrego Garcias return regardless of whether those steps are ultimately successful. Xinis will have the chance to inquire about this and anything else at a hearing Tuesday afternoon, which she set for a follow-up when she ordered the daily updates. Whatever she does next might set the stage for another round of Supreme Court litigation, which could be necessary due to how much wiggle room the high court majority left the administration in its order last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet, because the administrations litigation conduct over the past few days seems to defy not only Xinis order but also the high courts, the position the administration advances at the hearing could preview how it plans to survive another round of high court review without trying to get Abrego Garcia back as even the high court majority commanded. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for expert analysis on the top legal stories of the week, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in the Trump administrations legal cases. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson has settled with one of the six landlords accused of illegally raising rent prices in the state, his office said Tuesday. In January, Jackson took legal action against Greystar Real Estate Partners, Blackstones LivCor, Camden Property Trust, Cushman & Wakefield, Pinnacle Property Management Services, Willow Bridge Property Company, and Cortland Management, alleging they illegally worked together and with the software company RealPage to raise rent prices for North Carolina residents. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: NC attorney general sues 6 landlords accused of illegally raising rent prices Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cortland, the second-largest North Carolina landlord named in the lawsuit, agreed to settle with the attorneys general of North Carolina and Colorado, according to Jacksons office. As a result of the settlement, according to the North Carolina Attorney Generals Office, Cortland will: Stop using sensitive data from its competitors to inform its pricing model Not use third-party software or algorithms to price apartments unless under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor Stop sharing or using any competitively sensitive data from other landlords and property managers to set rent prices or generate recommended rent prices The North Carolina Attorney Generals Office said this is one of the first settlements to restrict a major landlord from unlawfully using RealPage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Todays settlement means one less landlord is using RealPages unlawful AI software to charge North Carolinians unfair rents, Jackson said in a statement. Were going to keep fighting this case to make sure all landlords and property managers play by the rules and people can afford rent. RELATED: NC joins USDOJ in suing software company accused of illegally raising rent prices According to the attorney generals office, the six landlords own or manage more than 70,000 units throughout the state, mostly in the Triangle and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg areas. The lawsuit against the landlords is part of an ongoing bipartisan case against RealPage, which began last August. RealPage is accused of exploiting landlords competitively sensitive information to create a pricing algorithm in violation of antitrust laws, resulting in renters paying inflated prices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson alleges the landlords communicated with RealPage and each other to share non-public information about rent prices, occupancy, strategies for setting rents, and discounts, allowing landlords using RealPages products to set higher prices for rent than competitive market forces would have set. According to the attorney generals office, the case against the other five landlords and RealPage is continuing in 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 CBS17.com. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) Republicans in the North Carolina Senate released their 2025-2027 budget late Monday afternoon, which outlines the current leaderships top spending priorities. In total, the budget calls for spending $32.6 billion in the first year and $33.3 billion in the second year for a total of $65.9 billion. The senators unveiling the budget said they want to focus on more aid for western North Carolina and pay increases for state employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres also lots of talk in the budget about how to handle taxes moving forward. The budget suggests cutting the state personal income tax rate 3.49% in 2027 and and 2.99% in 2028. Other highlights of the budget, according to GOP senators, include: $700 million for Helene recovery efforts An average pay increase for teachers of 2.3% in fiscal year 2025-26 and an average of 3.3% over the two years, as well as a $3,000 bonus over the same time period A 1.25% pay increase for most state employees in the first year of the budget, plus a $3,000 bonus over the two years A $3,000 bonus for local law enforcement officers over the biennium Cutting the state personal income tax rate rate to 3.49% in 2027 and 2.99% in 2028 Increasing support for NC Childrens, a standalone hospital that will be built and run as a joint partnership between the UNC and Duke healthcare systems Unprecedented partnership: Duke, UNC unite to build first standalone childrens hospital in North Carolina Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its worth noting theres some talk of the state being in a budget deficit in two years, but in a statement made Monday, Senator Phil Berger was adamant that Senate Republicans do not believe that and are not worried the tax cuts could impact that. Our state has faced significant challenges over the last year, in part because of the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene; this budget reaffirms our commitment to western North Carolina and continued economic growth, said Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham). We took a critical look at all state spending to find opportunities to cut obsolete or outdated programs to better reflect todays needs and continue to provide tax relief for North Carolinas people and small businesses. The budget will be in committee this week before it heads to the Senate floor. From there, it heads to the House where representatives from every corner of the state will debate what they want to spend the most money on. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com. Veterans, nurses, and union members protest job cuts outside of the Durham V.A. on April 2, 2025 (Photo: Greg Childress) A bill expanding eligibility for hiring preferences for military veterans, spouses and dependents in state government got a favorable hearing Tuesday in the Committee on Homeland Security and Military and Veterans Affairs. While veterans are already granted an employment preference under current state law, House Bill 114 would: Remove the requirements that service be related to a period of war. Include people serving on active duty. Include members of the U.S. Armed Forces Reserve. Include the spouse or dependent of a qualified person. Rep. Charles Smith (Photo: NC General Assembly) It [HB 114] addresses an employment preference statute thats a little bit antiquated, said Rep. Charles Smith (D-Cumberland), one of the bills co-sponsors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under current law, for example, veterans must have served during a period when the nation was at war. Current law defines the Vietnam War as the nations last such conflict. Time has passed and so to expand that preference to a greater pool of veterans, it strips away that language [defining the Vietnam War as the nations last], Smith said. Expanding eligibility for state job preferences could help fill vacancies in state government, Smith said. In March, NC Newsline reported that the states job vacancy rate was 20%. The turnover rate was 12%, but significantly higher within an employees first year 31%. Key sectors have especially high vacancy rates: 33% for health care, and 26% for corrections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith said the changes in the law particularly a provision extending the preference to spouses would help North Carolina keep former military personnel in the state once they leave the service. As we strive to be a military friendly state, if we want to retain service members as they transition into civilian life, I think having a spouse with a career in state government is a good way to do that, Smith said. The veteran unemployment rate was 3.7% in March, which was down from 4.0% the previous month and up from 3.0% the prior year. Meanwhile, the civilian unemployment rate was 4.2%, which marked a slight increase over the 4.1% rate in February. HB 114 comes amid uncertainty in federal employment as the Trump administration slashes jobs as part of its efforts to streamline the federal government. According to the Pew Research Center, more than 700,000 veterans worked in federal departments and agencies as of September 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, reported in March that the Trump administrations federal workforce cuts may jeopardize the careers of nearly 900,000 veterans, spouses of veterans and spouses of active military personnel. They makeup 30% of the entire federal government workforce. The federal government also gives hiring preferences to veterans. Veterans comprise just 5% of all employed Americans. The Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care for millions of veterans, is planning to cut 83,000 jobs. In North Carolina, there are 84,900 civilian federal employees, according to EPI. Nearly 28,000 of them are veterans. Meanwhile, 33,200 are spouses of veterans or spouse of active-duty military service members. A quarter of the VAs 482,000 employees are veterans. Rep. Eric Ager (D-Buncombe), Rep. Edward Goodwin (R-Chowan) and Kyle Hall (R-Forsyth) are also primary sponsor of HB 114. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development. North Carolina Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) holds a press conference on Senate Republicans' budget proposal on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline) Republicans in the North Carolina Senate released their blueprint for state spending Monday evening, outlining a budget that raises pay for teachers and state workers, moves ahead with planned income tax cuts and sets aside money for future Hurricane Helene recovery spending. The new plan from the GOP majority came with a pledge from its leader that legislators would eliminate waste and bloated spending from state government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two-year budget proposal sets out modest increases in spending, totaling $32.6 billion in 2025-26 and $33.3 billion the year after. Without a doubt, this is one of the fastest timelines that weve seen for pulling a budget together, said Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) during a press conference. Senators will begin moving the budget through their chamber this week; it is set for its first hearing Tuesday morning. When it passes the full Senate, it will move to the House. Leaders have agreed to a top-line spending total with the Senate, but the NC House will make changes and additions of their own. Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, has requested that the GOP-led legislature approve more extensive pay raises, spending on child care and affordable housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch strongly criticized the plan Monday, calling it a blueprint for neglect and cowardice. She said it offered pathetic raises to public servants and shortchanges infrastructure needs. Budgets reflect priorities, Batch said. And this one, unfortunately, sends a loud, clear message about what my Republican colleagues care about: protecting the wealthy, ignoring working families, and leaving workers behind. Pay raises for teachers, state workers The Senate Republicans budget would increase salaries for teachers, law enforcement and government workers over the next two years. Educators would receive an average 2.3% pay increase next year, and an average 3.5% total increase over the next two years. Theyll also receive a $3,000 bonus over the next two years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That would bring the average teacher salary in the state to $62,407, according to Berger. Most state workers would see a 1.25% raise next year, as well as a $3,000 bonus over the next two years. Thats in addition to raises for correctional officers, probation and parole officers, state-funded nurses and other workers. This makes concerted efforts to target funds to areas with the most pressing workforce shortages, Berger said. Setting aside money for future Helene recovery State lawmakers have thus far spent about $1.4 billion on recovery from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Any future spending will likely come in a separate bill but Senate Republicans would set aside another $700 million for future relief spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, some money would flow to western colleges and Steins teams spearheading recovery efforts. The state is facing major uncertainty on the federal level, with FEMA ending its cost-share and other programs and no new congressional spending on the horizon. We remain hopeful that the federal government will provide increased and expedited reimbursement, Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell). But we must be prepared to fend for ourselves. Income tax cuts continue, and pledge to cut waste The governor has urged lawmakers to pause a series of planned cuts to the states income tax rate. He points to a joint forecast of legislative and executive branch economists who predict a shortfall in the coming years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate Republicans budget effectively doubles down on those tax cuts, guaranteeing they take effect in 2027 and 2028 and adding two more triggered cuts in years down the line. Berger, who has been a leading advocate for the cuts, said Monday he was skeptical of the joint forecast, saying he had rejected it in the past. It was used to model this years budget, he said, but that he did not have confidence in its accuracy long-term. What we have seen is the states economy continuing to grow and flourish, Berger said. And echoing sentiments on the federal level, Berger said their budget would target waste within state government to curb unnecessary spending. He did not provide specifics Monday on what those eliminations might look like, besides a proposal to consolidate community colleges administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Much of it could come from eliminating long-empty jobs. The budget plan lays out workforce reductions in many departments and agencies that have struggled to chip away at a 20% vacancy rate. Its not clear as of Monday evening whether those cuts could impact currently employed workers as well. Health care, Rainy Day funds and DEQ The Senate Republicans budget proposal also : CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) The Department of Justice is urging North Carolinas Chinese-American community to be wary of robocalls from scammers speaking Chinese and pretending to be government officials, law enforcement officers, or healthcare workers. There has been a nationwide rise in scam calls, where scammers seek out Chinese speakers and try to con them out of personal information or money. Scammers will pretend to be employees who manage insurance claims for a health care provider. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyll ask the person theyre targeting if theyve recently been to China to have surgery. When the person says no, the scammers will claim that a false insurance claim has been filed using the victims personal information like birth date, ID number, or address, which understandably worries the scam victim. The scammer will often say they are going to transfer the victim to a law enforcement officer so the victim can file a police report, but then transfer the victim to another scammer. This is another layer of the scam, intended to get victims to share more personal information. The FCC has also received reports about scammers impersonating FCC officials over the phone in an attempt to steal money. Here are some important reminders to avoid these scams: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FCC doesnt make calls to consumers, in Chinese or in any other language, and will never request payment over the phone. If someone is asking you to send money or information right away because of a tight deadline or serious consequences, theyre often frauds. Remember that scammers can spoof real phone numbers and may use information about a real health care provider, law enforcement agency or government body that the scammer can find online or on social media to make their impersonations seem more convincing. Scammers often ask for money via a wire transfer, payment app, money order, or gift card. Government or law enforcement bodies will never pressure you for money or request payment and will never urge you to send money via an outside payment platform. Never give any personal or financial information to someone you dont know over the phone or online. That includes your Social Security number, passwords, Medicare ID numbers, credit card numbers, bank account info, mothers maiden name, or anything else that could be used to steal from you. If someone calls you and says theyre a government employee or representative from a health care provider, hang up. Then, go to the official website of the company/agencynot one given to you by the scammerand call their official number to check whether the call was legitimate. More information on how to avoid consumer scams is available at https://ncdoj.gov/protecting-consumers/. If you think someone is trying to scam you or youve fallen victim to one of these scams, you can file a complaint with the FCC at https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/ or with NCDOJ at https://ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint/. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Mimosa Spencer PARIS (Reuters) - LVMH lost its position on Tuesday as Europe's largest luxury company in terms of market capitalization after being overtaken by rival Hermes due to investor pessimism after disappointing first-quarter revenue from the sector bellwether. LVMH, whose high-end brands include Louis Vuitton and Dior, jewellery brand Tiffany & Co. and beauty chain Sephora, missed expectations for first-quarter sales as U.S. shoppers curbed purchases of beauty products and cognac while sales in China remained weak. LVMH shares dropped 7%, bringing its market capitalization down to 246 billion euros, compared to 247 billion euros for Hermes. While market valuations tend to fluctuate, Tuesday's trading "does reflect diverging performance and investor sentiment about the two companies," said Jelena Sokolova, senior equity analyst at Morningstar. Sokolova pointed to LVMH's larger exposure to the lower end of the luxury spectrum, whereas the wealthier client base of Hermes allowed it to better weather an industry downturn. Hermes, which sells $10,000 Birkin and Kelly handbags, is known for its tight hold on production, sticking to a 6-7% increase each year. The overtaking in market cap is "quite telling of the post, post-Covid world," with LVMH fashion labels enjoying a far greater market share than in the past, having gained ground on rivals during the post-pandemic boom, noted Flavio Cereda, who manages GAM's Luxury Brands investment strategy. There will be "short term pain for sure said Cereda, noting Vuitton's focus more on middle-range luxury goods was an the area of concern." LVMH, down 7.2%, led share declines across the sector, with Gucci-owner Kering and Hermes down 2% and 0.3% respectively. Swiss-based Richemont, which owns Cartier, was down 0.7% while Italy's Prada was down 4.2%. A 3% decline in LVMH's first-quarter sales - well below analyst expectations for 2% growth, pointed to another difficult year for luxury companies following President Donald Trump's recent tariff announcements, which have sparked fears of a recession. The performance signaled "a more difficult trading environment for the broader luxury sector," said RBC analyst Piral Dadhania, who lowered his organic sales forecast for LVMH this year to flat from growth of 3% expected previously, citing the first-quarter sales miss. Investors had been hoping the luxury sector would pull out of its slump this year, but trade tensions have raised concerns of a global recession. Business in downtown Omaha and elsewhere have more tax incentives and credits to claim. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN Jumping into the discourse over Nebraskas budget shortfall, State Auditor Mike Foley sent a letter to state senators Monday alerting them of the financial weight of previously-passed business tax incentive laws. In a 20-page letter, he wrote that over the next four fiscal years, Nebraska companies stand poised to call in more than $1.5 billion in corporate tax incentives, an expense he said would significantly impact the availability of state general funds. The Nebraska State Auditors Office is located in the State Capitol. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner) The auditors letter focuses on the Nebraska Advantage Act, adopted in 2005, and a newer version called the ImagiNe Nebraska Act of 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also highlighted the states steadily increasing delinquent tax balances, which Foley noted were generally unrelated to business tax incentives but still could constitute hundreds of millions of tax dollars owed but not collected by the Nebraska Revenue Department. When you combine over $1.5 billion in business tax incentives to be used over the next four fiscal years plus potentially hundreds of millions of dollars more in uncollected tax proceeds, the result is a staggering loss of revenue to the state all of which must be counterbalanced in some way, Foley said in a media statement. He added: The Legislature must be made aware of these facts in order to pursue sound fiscal policies. 33,000 jobs in two decades Before he was auditor, Foley served as lieutenant governor under then-Gov. Pete Ricketts and before that was a state senator. He acknowledged that he supported economic development tax incentives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But with lawmaker turnover and the crush of so many other policy matters and responsibilities, Foley said he suspects that many senators may not be fully informed of how yesterdays legislative decisions will most assuredly influence tomorrows policy choices. Regardless of how the credits are used to receive a tax benefit, the result is a reduction of the states tax revenues. State Auditor Mike Foley The auditor said he and his team recognize the benefit of business-focused economic incentive programs in that they can spur construction, investment and jobs to expand the tax base that helps pay for public services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foley acknowledged data from the Nebraska Department of Revenue indicating that corporate tax incentives reportedly have led to more than $25 billion in qualifying capital investments since 2006 and helped create more than 33,000 new full-time Nebraska jobs. Whether the claimed benefits are accurate or not, the significant tax breaks now being paid to corporate taxpayers are real and measurable, Foley said. The auditors team concluded that the Nebraska Advantage and ImagiNE Acts appear to contain some operational inadequacies that could result in the legislation becoming a drain as opposed to a boon to the state economy. Gov. Jim Pillen sits down with the Nebraska Examiner at the Governors Mansion in Lincoln on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Gov. Jim Pillen said he appreciated Foleys report. He said that when the current iteration of tax incentives passed, Nebraska was a high tax state. He described Nebraska now as competitive from an income tax perspective. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am of the firm belief that we need to refocus our tax incentive strategy and make them more people-focused and less company-focused, Pillen said in a statement. All Nebraskas tax credit and relief programs should be focused on working class Nebraskans, not Fortune 500 companies. Probe goes back decades Foley said he does not mean to opine on the merits of the tax incentives, but hoped that the information he compiled for lawmakers would prove worthy of review in the Legislatures search for additional revenue sources. Lawmakers are starting to debate more fully on the floor different components of the two-year budget that by law must be balanced. The session ends June 9, and the latest projected shortfall is $289 million. Last week the Legislature advanced to a second round of debate a package that would help close the budget gap by about $71 million, partly by clawing back several business-focused incentives and other initiatives that had been previously approved by Pillen and the Legislature. Mike Foley has served as state auditor twice, from 2007-2015 and again beginning in 2023, after serving as lieutenant governor under then-Gov. Pete Ricketts. (Rebecca S. Gratz for the Nebraska Examiner) The auditors Monday letter is based on several sources, including financial data found in the states accounting system and tax incentive reports, some dating back more than 25 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foley explained incentives under the two key laws, Advantage and ImagiNE: A qualifying company earns annual credits for meeting specific employment and investment benchmarks, and those credits may be used at a later date for any of the following benefits: credit refunds of sales and use taxes paid; credit refunds or offsets of income taxes paid, and credit refunds of real property taxes paid. Additional benefits include direct refunds of sales and use taxes and personal property tax exemptions. Regardless of how the credits are used to receive a tax benefit, the result is a reduction of the states tax revenues, said the letter. Under the Advantage Act, Foley said, participating companies have already qualified for $2.6 billion in tax credits, and about $1.4 billion remains unused. As of November, the letter said, requests by 57 businesses were pending to claim more credits. Serious deficiencies Foley said that over the next four years, the Revenue Department projects the state will cover more than $1.1 billion in tax credits and direct sales and use tax refunds. That amount, in addition to the $421 million for the ImagiNE program, accounts for the $1.5 billion expense that the auditor foresees over the next four fiscal years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the tax credits also impact other smaller political subdivisions. Said Foley: When qualifying businesses use credits earned to obtain a refund of prior tax payments, including local-option sales and use taxes levied by municipalities, those local communities are denied an important source of revenue. He said that since 2005, nearly $163 million in local sales and use taxes have been refunded to qualifying companies, resulting in a direct reduction of tax revenues originally intended for the municipalities. Foley pointed out serious deficiencies in state processes that check on businesses using tax incentives. He said the Department of Revenue is supposed to perform an initial qualification audit and, after that, periodic audits to verify the information. He said those are the departments only mechanisms for ensuring that participating companies qualify for the benefits received. Bryan Slone, president and CEO of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is leaving the post after seven years. (Courtesy of Nebraska Chamber of Commerce) The audit team reported that 14 of 20 companies reviewed lacked a timely qualification audit and 17 of those 20 never had a maintenance audit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without the proper and consistent performance of qualification and maintenance audits, the department is incapable of confirming the occurrence of reports for either qualified capital investments or increases in new jobs both of which were expected when the (Advantage Act) was being promoted to the Legislature, he said. The audit noted that the Advantage Act contained no limits on the amount of investment and compensation credits that companies may earn or use. The ImagiNE law did cap the total new annual tax incentives that can be granted. Business chamber perspectives Bryan Slone, outgoing CEO of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the 2005 Nebraska Advantage Act served the states economy through challenging economic times, and needed modernization. He described its successor, the ImagiNE Act, as a streamlined incentive program with more targeted incentive benefits and reasonable structural caps on the potential state budget effect. In designing ImagiNE, Slone said, the Legislature helped avoid the same tax administrative delays and uncertainties that have plagued the Nebraska Advantage Act. He said ImagiNE is relevant to todays economy, while fiscally constrained. Heath Mello (Courtesy of Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce) Slone said Nebraska should still review business tax incentives periodically, in part to measure competitiveness with other states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With all of the economic uncertainties these days and a slowing of the economy, we need now more than ever to continue to remain focused on jobs, people attraction and retention, business expansion in our communities and economic growth. Heath Mello, president of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce and former state senator, said his network remains steadfast in support of business tax incentives as critical tools in attracting and retaining quality jobs and investment. Mello said a recent analysis from a site selection group ranked Nebraska 45th nationally in economic incentives. He called that a disappointing indicator of Nebraska losing opportunities to other states, depriving Nebraska of growth and tax revenue. The Chamber urges policymakers to stand firm in defense of Nebraskas economic competitiveness and ensure we are positioned to win in an increasingly competitive national marketplace, Mello said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX On Apr. 13, the price of the Mantra Chain (OM) token dramatically tanked by more than 90% to as low as $0.456472. Mantra is a well-known blockchain for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. The token was trading well above the $6 price mark before the collapse. Its market cap has come down from more than $6 billion to $681 million. Mantra co-founder JP Mullin wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that reckless forced closures initiated by centralized exchanges on OM account holders led to the tokens collapse. He further claimed that there was one particular exchange responsible for it but denied that it was Binance. On-chain analytics platform Lookonchain claimed that at least 17 wallets deposited 43.6 million OM tokens worth $227 million then into exchanges. These tokens constituted 4.5% of the total circulating supply. Two of these addresses are linked to Laser Digital, a strategic investor in Mantra, Lookonchain added, citing data from Arkham. Laser Digital denied such claims on X and said it has not deposited any OM tokens to OKX. The wallets being referenced to OKX are not Laser wallets. Shorooq Investors, another prominent investor in Mantra, also denied on X that Shorooq funds, founding partners or MANTRA teams sold any OM tokens. It also denied any exploit, claiming that on-chain data confirmed a large forced liquidation was the trigger for the prices collapse. The cascade happened in low-liquidity hours, leading to panic sell-offs, Shorooq Investors added. Note that Laser Digital and Shorooq Investors are among the leading investors in the MANTRA Ecosystem Fund, Mantras investment initiative to drive projects, worth $108 million. At press time, the OM token was trading at $0.7057. Smoke from the South Fork and Salt fires blots out the sun Tuesday along NM Highway 70 outside of Tilley, NM. (Photo by Danielle Prokop / Source NM) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams veto of a bill creating state funds for post-fire recovery and current wildfire suppression deeply disappointed House Bill 191 sponsor Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), who is also one of the state budgets main architects. Lujan Grisham said the $12 million the bill authorized didnt provide enough money to even put a dent in post-wildfire recovery. Recovery from South Fork and Salt fires and ensuing floods last year in Ruidoso, for example, will cost more than $200 million, the governor noted in her veto message. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lujan Grisham also wrote that another new fund the bill created, designed to pay for the states wildfire suppression efforts, had no money in it at all and instead would have relied on federal reimbursements, which have only gotten slower in recent months. Lawmakers approved the HB191 amid concerns about the federal governments capacity to suppress wildfires in New Mexico and elsewhere, thanks to federal funding cuts, and as the state beefs up its own crews of full-time and volunteer wildland firefighters. Also, most of New Mexico is experiencing above-average wildfire potential this month and through the rest of the summer, according to the latest forecasts. Small, who chairs the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, told Source New Mexico in a statement Monday that the governors veto was not just disappointing but also surprising given that the governors office was involved in crafting the legislation. As for her specific objections, Small said the $12 million was a starting point that nonetheless would have made a significant difference to New Mexicans who will face the devastating impacts of the next wildfires in our state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also noted that while the governor vetoed the bill, she left its accompanying $12 million appropriation intact in the budget. As a result, money will now sit unused instead of helping communities respond and recover from wildfires, he said. Unfortunately, New Mexicans will pay the price for the lack of action this year, but my colleagues and I will continue to fight to protect our communities from the catastrophic wildfires that continue to threaten our people, businesses, and lands. Source has a pending request to the governors office to respond to Smalls comments and will update this story as necessary. State Forester Laura McCarthy, whose agency would have received the post-fire funds defended the concept behind HB191 as a way to budget for wildfire suppression, taking climate change into account and also preserving the governors ability to issue executive orders to pay for wildfire suppression on a case-by-case basis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But she also agreed with the governors criticism of the way HB191 created a fire suppression fund without putting any money in it. The Governors veto message made clear that without funding for HB191, creating a wildfire suppression fund that relies on federal reimbursements or payments for state crews when they are on out-of-state assignments, does not set the program up for success, she said in an emailed statement. Without the legislation, the state will have to pay for any costs to suppress wildfires this year through the use of executive orders, McCarthy said. The Forestry Division has said that is the wrong way for the state to proactively anticipate and budget for the volatile but predictable expense of wildfire suppression. Executive orders are handled on a case-by-case basis and capped at $750,000 at a time, often requiring multiple orders for the same natural disaster. McCarthy also said recruitment of state wildland firefighters is going well, and the state is anticipating full staffing ahead of increased wildfire activity expected in May and June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the veto, Lujan Grisham noted that she signed Senate Bill 33, which creates guidelines and criteria for a new Wildfire Prepared Program, including grants and certifications for property owners to make structures less prone to wildfire damage. The governor said that bill achieves similar objectives to HB 191. I fully support a revamped process to fund both pre- and post-wildfire maintenance, she said. I hope the Legislature will provide a meaningful way to accomplish that goal during the 2026 legislative session. EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) For Leah Wyckoff, opening her own bead shop has always been a lifelong dream. That dream became a reality on June 1, 2024. Wyckoff told 12 News her East Providence shop, Bead Chroma, attracts so-called beaders from far and wide. I sell jewelry-making supplies locally and to those across New England, Wyckoff said, noting that some beaders will drive several hours to visit her Warren Avenue store. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyckoff, who dove headfirst into the beading world as a teenager, also sells her supplies online through her Etsy shop. Its niche. It really is, she continued. There are few bead stores left. Wyckoffs goal since opening her brick-and-mortar shop last summer has been to coax beaders back into stores like hers. I think COVID taught a lot of beaders how to become comfortable with shopping online, Wyckoff explained. Now it is my job to bring them back and show them what a brick-and-mortar store can do for them. Thats why Wyckoff is terrified of President Donald Trumps tariffs taking full effect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im taking it one day at a time, she said. Its hard for me to know which moves I should be making. Trump believes the tariffs will spur manufacturing within the United States and in turn create more jobs. But Wyckoff told 12 News its not that easy, especially when it comes to beads. Beads have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years long before the United States was industrialized, Wyckoff explained. [Beads] have already been perfected by other countries. Our best seed beads come from Japan. The best crystal beads come from Austria, she continued. The best glass beads? From the Czech Republic. There are also a lot of supplies manufactured in China that arent manufactured anywhere else. I have no choice but to shop abroad. Jewelry-making tools typically arent sold in the United States either, according to Wyckoff, because other countries have been making them for centuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyckoff said shes already noticed price hikes across the board. She has also heard from several of her suppliers abroad who are implementing their own tariffs due to the uncertain and unstable market. If and when Trumps tariffs take full effect, Wyckoff said she wont be able to eat that cost. I will have to pass them onto my customers in some way, she said. Ill try to make it as painless as possible, but my business would close if I didnt do that. Wyckoff prides herself in carrying a variety of beads, ranging from affordable seed beads to higher-end crystals. For example, Wyckoff said the beads she buys from Japan are perfect, precise and already expensive as it is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To now have to raise those prices even higher is really unfortunate, she said. The tariffs will also impact her more affordable beads and could drive customers away. Everything I carry is going to go up, she said. Its scary. Wyckoff is thrilled her shop will be celebrating its one-year anniversary this summer, but shes also worried that Bead Chromas success will be short-lived. Shopping online opened up a world for [beaders] of sources to go to, she said. Now I have to get them back in here, and it is going to be that much tougher if I have to raise my prices because of these tariffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, Wyckoff is urging everyone to support small businesses as much as possible. Just look at what a small business can do for you that a website cant do, she said. To me, that is worth paying a little bit more. Bead Chroma also offers jewelry-making classes and workshops for beaders of varying skill levels. To register, contact Wyckoff directly at BeadChroma@gmail.com with the name and date of the class in the subject line. NEXT: Fall River business monitoring potential tariff impacts 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. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Missouri Corn News confirms the 2025 Missouri Corn Scholarship has been awarded. This year, the Missouri Corn Scholarship will go to Noah Groose of Dadeville, who will receive $1,000 toward continuing her education. Noah Groose, 2025 Missouri Corn Scholarship recipient. According to Missouri Corn News, Noah Groose is the daughter of Ryan and Casey Groose of Dadeville. She attends Dadeville High School as a senior and plans to attend the University of Missouri where she will study agriculture education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Homepage Missouri Corn Growers Association Officials say the Missouri Corn Scholarships have been available for high school seniors and college students for 29 years, being given to those who meet the qualifications of attending or planning to attend a two or four-year college or university and majoring in an agricultural field. College applicants must also be Missouri residents from a farm or rural area and be a junior enrolled in a four-year college or university. For information about the 2026 Scholarship, applications for which are expected by or before December 15 of this year, please 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 KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) A Norfolk woman was charged Sunday following a stabbing that left a woman dead on Tunstall Avenue, according to Norfolk police. Officers were called to the scene around 11:55 p.m. on the 900 block of Tunstall Ave. and found a woman suffering from deadly injuries. The victim, who was later identified as 22-year-old Taniya P. Scott, died at the hospital from her injuries. Crystal N. Wesby, 42, was charged for second-degree murder and is being held in Norfolk City jail without 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 WAVY.com. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) State Representatives Anthony Daniels and Laura Hall hosted a town hall Monday at Mae Jemison High School. The meeting was focused on localizing the impacts of actions happening in Washington, D.C. Representative Daniels told News 19 he had a couple of points he wanted to strongly address: the tariffs and the federal cuts, all while encouraging people to reach out to local elected officials. New entry onto Redstone Arsenal one step closer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those in attendance asked questions ranging from the possibility of significant Medicaid cuts to keeping books in schools. Rep. Daniels said transparency and availability to his constituents is a top priority and why he hosts town halls. For me, its important that people hear from you, Daniels said. You know, oftentimes you see politicians when its election time, but being able to build that rapport with your constituents or being able to solve a problem. Because at the state level, you know, I may not have an impact on the federal level, but I have contacts; I can make phone calls to help with any situation. Rep. Daniels said he and other elected officials are having dinner with U.S. Senator Katie Britt on Tuesday to discuss issues in D.C. and their impacts here at home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. RALEIGH, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Attorney General Jeff Jackson reached a consent judgment Tuesday with Canary General Contracting and Design, LLC and its operator, Steven Sand, and owner, Khuneary Kim. NCDOJ sued Sand and Kim and the contracting business in March 2024, alleging that they deceived and defrauded North Carolina consumers by taking money for construction projects while failing to complete the agreed-upon work, doing work that was unsafe and not up to code, and by engaging in other unfair practices. The judgment permanently bars Sand and Kim and any affiliated companies from conducting business in North Carolina and requires the defendants to pay $60,000 in restitution. Contractors have an obligation to fulfill their commitments, complete their work safely and on time, and be honest about what they charge their customers. This judgment holds the defendants accountable and gives homeowners back some of what they lost. And as the rebuilding phase of western North Carolinas recovery kicks into high gear, I hope this serves as a warning to would-be scammers: if you attempt to rip off North Carolinians, you will face consequences. Attorney General Jeff Jackson NCDOJs lawsuit alleged that the defendants engaged in numerous unfair and deceptive practices, including the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sand, Kim, and the business were unlicensed general contractors who took money from consumers and failed to complete the construction projects. Defendants failed to obtain permits and did work that did not meet construction codes and was unsafe. Defendants failed to obtain HOA approval and falsely claimed to have used consumers funds to purchase materials. Defendants promised to return money to some consumers but failed to do so. Defendants failed to notify consumers that they had the right to cancel their construction contracts within three business days. NCDOJ received 17 complaints in total against the defendants. Most of the victims live in the Charlotte area. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. We came across a bullish thesis on Medtronic plc (MDT) on Substack by Magnus Ofstad. In this article, we will summarize the bulls thesis on MDT. Medtronic plc (MDT)'s share was trading at $84.22 as of April 14th. MDTs trailing and forward P/E were 25.68 and 14.39 respectively according to Yahoo Finance. Jim Cramer Calls Edwards Lifesciences (EW) a Hold Prefers Boston Scientific Right Now! A skilled surgeon surrounded by a team of medical professionals performing a Transcatheter Heart Valve Replacement. Medtronic (MDT), one of the largest global medical device companies with a market cap of $106.32 billion and a 3.3% dividend yield, is undergoing a period of transformation amidst operational headwinds and strategic reassessments. Known for its diverse portfolio spanning cardiovascular, diabetes, neurology, and surgical technologies, MDT has underperformed peers like Stryker (SYK) and Boston Scientific (BSX) due to its slower pace of innovation and less impactful acquisitions. Particularly, the companys diabetes pump business has faced regulatory scrutiny in the U.S., contributing to its lag in growth. Despite these challenges, the February 2025 announcement that activist investor Starboard Value had taken a significant stake has rekindled investor interest. Starboards track record of driving efficiency and improving profitability positions it as a potential catalyst for strategic and operational improvements at MDT. One major area of focus is divestitures. MDT had been expected to sell its $2.2 billion Patient Monitoring and Respiratory Interventions (PMRI) segment, a move that could have sharpened its focus on higher-margin areas. However, the company reversed this decision due to stronger-than-expected performance in the segment and instead restructured it under a new unit called Acute Care and Monitoring (ACM), discontinuing only its ventilator line. While this pivot suggests internal confidence in the segment, many investors hope Starboard will push MDT toward more aggressive pruning of non-core assets to streamline operations and enhance profitability. However, divestments alone wont suffice. To sustain growth, MDT must reinvigorate its R&D engine and deliver commercially successful new products. It has placed considerable emphasis on platforms like the HUGO Robotic Surgery System and next-generation heart surgery devices, signaling a renewed focus on technological leadership. While MDT is forecasted to grow topline revenue at around 4% annually and trails competitors in EBIT margins, its relatively conservative valuationreflected in a forward price-to-sales ratio of 3.03 and a revenue CAGR of 4.6%still leaves much to be desired in terms of near-term upside. It would take an estimated 27 years of growth at current rates for MDT to grow into its valuation multiple, underscoring the importance of strategic shifts. Although the medical device sector is often seen as recession-resistant, valuations may still compress in downturns. Yet, MDT stands out as a potential value play in a defensive sector, especially for dividend-oriented investors. Starboards involvement could accelerate much-needed reforms, unlocking meaningful shareholder value if the company successfully refocuses on its core strengths and executes on innovation and efficiency. Rep. Lori VanWinkle, R-Minot, speaks on the House floor on April 14, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) North Dakotas House majority leader urged a state lawmaker Monday to forgo her legislative pay for a week of the session she missed while taking a family vacation. Rep. Lori VanWinkle, R-Minot, returned Monday after missing five days at the Capitol to go with her family on an annual vacation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Majority Leader Rep. Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, said he met with VanWinkle to ask where she had been. She indicated to me that she was on vacation, and I said, Thats inappropriate for a legislator to take vacation during a legislative session. VanWinkle defended her absence and said shes being unfairly criticized for spending time with her family. I dont know why Im being singled out in my absence and why everybody else isnt, she said. So its a little bizarre to me. North Dakota lawmakers meet for up to 80 days every two years. Lefor said he does not recall any lawmaker taking a family vacation during a legislative session. He said he recently missed his first day over the past 10 years to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers are paid $213 per day during the legislative session on top of a $592 monthly salary, said John Bjornson, director of Legislative Council. House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, speaks on the House floor on Feb. 25, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Lefor said he does not have the authority to withhold VanWinkles pay during her vacation, but suggested she voluntarily give her daily pay back during the time she was absent. Daily pay for the week she missed totals $1,065. At the end of each floor session, lawmakers routinely vote to excuse absent members. Last Thursday, while VanWinkle was absent, House members voted 55-41 to excuse absent members, with unusually high opposition to the absences. That vote is largely ceremonial, however, according to Bjornson. State law says lawmakers are entitled to be paid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only times the Legislative Council has withheld pay from a lawmaker are instances when the lawmaker volunteers to give back the pay for being absent. If they ask not to be (paid), we wont, Bjornson said. VanWinkle suggested the House do an audit of lawmaker absences during the session to determine if criticism of her missing days is warranted. She said she hasnt taken any sick days and she said other lawmakers have taken additional days off around the crossover break. Give me the answer, are we allowed absent days, or not? she said. VanWinkle said the focus on her absences is an attempt to silence her for her opinions. Earlier this session, VanWinkle drew public backlash for some controversial comments about in-vitro fertilization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This just falls right in line with all of their efforts to basically intimidate me and make me feel like I cant say the things that Im saying, she said. Lefor said telling someone to come to work is not an attempt to silence them. The constituents that elect us are ultimately the final say on whether we are sitting here or not, Lefor said. If her constituents look at this and want her back, thats what it is. The Legislative Management Committee may discuss the absence policy during the interim, Lefor said. Its things that you dont think you need to address because I didnt ever expect to see this, Lefor said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Bob Martinson, R-Bismarck, said he doesnt think the absence policy should be changed. Most of us dont take vacations during the session, Martinson said. Speaker of the House Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield, said it is pretty hard to tell people whether they can or cannot leave during the legislative session. If the policy were to change to authorized absences, he said he worries the leadership in each chamber would be responsible for qualifying every acceptable absence. I dont think anybody in leadership wants to go down that road, Weisz said. The voters put them here and expect them to be here as much as possible. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Sen. Jerry Klein, R-Fessenden, testifies against a bill that sought to authorize the State Investment Board to divest the Legacy Fund from Chinese investments. (Jeff Beach / North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota Senate on Tuesday sank a bill that would have authorized the State Investment Board to divest from Legacy Fund holdings in companies headquartered in China. Under the prudent investor rule, which governs trustees of investment portfolios, the board must prefer qualified investment firms and financial institutions with a presence in the state. It cannot choose not to favor a company purely based on its home country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Bill 1330, which failed by a 20-26 vote, would have updated this language to let the board voluntarily cut ties with Chinese businesses. According to the North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office, that applies to only about $246 million of the $12 billion in the fund. That equates to about 2.1% Primary sponsor Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown, has said North Dakota should do away with holdings in Chinese companies due to human rights abuses committed by the Chinese Communist Party, as well as concerns that Chinas government is a national security threat to the United States. Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, said he supported the bill because it addresses these problems while still giving the State Investment Board flexibility over the funds investments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our own intelligence agency has identified that there are significant threats that come from the Chinese Communist Party, he said on the Senate floor. Critics of the bill said it would hamper growth of the Legacy Fund by discouraging investment in an entire countrys market. Sen. Jerry Klein, R-Fessenden, said its unusual for North Dakota to single out countries in state law. The closest comparison may be a 2023 law the North Dakota Legislature adopted prohibiting investment practices that would result in a boycott of Israel. Klein said many Chinese companies are good-faith business partners to the United States and shouldnt be penalized just because of where theyre located. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Retirement and Investment Board took a neutral stance on the bill. Earlier this month, the Senate passed another Legacy Fund-related policy, House Bill 1319, which requires the Retirement and Investment Office to create a website detailing Legacy Fund holdings. Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed the bill into law last week. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX North Dakota Senate chambers. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota Legislature will continue to meet every other year after the Senate on Monday defeated a bill to meet annually. House Bill 1408 called for shorter legislative sessions every year. It was seen by advocates as a way for North Dakota to be more nimble and to make it easier for more people to run for the Legislature, especially as the effects of the states term limits is expected to result in more turnover in the Legislature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Robert Erbele, R-Lehr, said he felt some legislators were overreacting to the effect of a term limits law passed in 2022. Lets see how it plays out, Erbele said. Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted that much of North Dakotas tax revenue is reliant on ag and energy commodities that are influenced by global events. He said annual sessions would allow legislators to react to fluctuations more quickly. North Dakota is one of just four states where the Legislature does not meet every year. The House of Representatives passed the bill in February. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, advocates for a study of the plant kratom during a North Dakota legislative session on April 15, 2025. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) The path of kratom legislation took another turn in the North Dakota Legislature Tuesday as the Senate changed a bill that sought to regulate the plant and turned it into a study. Kratom is a plant native to Southeast Asia that is related to the coffee plant. Some people consider it an energy booster, like caffeine, or use it to manage pain. Kratom also has been used to wean people off drugs such as fentanyl and heroin with some people reporting withdrawal symptoms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this session, lawmakers considered versions of legislation that proposed to ban kratom, require state regulation by two different agencies or various study proposals. On Tuesday, Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, proposed an amendment to turn House Bill 1566 into a study by Legislative Management. The amendment and the final bill passed on 31-15 votes. The journey isnt over yet for the kratom bill. It will be returned to the House, which passed a version giving the Agriculture Department regulatory authority and about $600,000 for two employees. Magrum said the wide-ranging attempts to regulate kratom by the Legislature, with its members largely unfamiliar with the plant, showed that a study made more sense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kratom-related products are available to consumers, largely through online sales. Sen. Todd Beard, R-Williston, opposed the study amendment, noting that the kratom industry is advocating for regulation to combat adulterated products. Some products that contain kratom also include synthetic ingredients that enhance the opioid-like effects of kratom. The North Dakota Board of Pharmacy advocated for adding mitragynine, derived from kratom, to a list of controlled substances under state law. The proposed study would look at potential uses for kratom and potential regulations on the production and sale of kratom products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Magrum said after the vote that he has used kratom on a couple of occasions to treat back pain. He said the first time he made the mistake of taking it on an empty stomach, which made his stomach hurt so much he forgot about his back pain, he joked. At least people are learning about it, Magrum said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says theyve made two arrests in a 2001 cold case. Gary Fowler, 74, and his wife, 71-year-old Mary Fowler, have been arrested and charged with the murder of Travis Silvers. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Silvers body was found in his truck in the parking lot of a Wendys in Adairsville on March 10, 2001. The GBI did not comment on how the Chatsworth couple was involved or if they knew Silvers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both are being held in the Bartow County Jail without bond. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] High atop the Korean Peninsula, past military checkpoints and bumpy dirt roads in one of the worlds most secretive countries, rises a volcano and deep crater lake steeped in symbolism. Mount Paektu, an active stratovolcano straddling the border of North Korea and China, is the highest peak on the Korean peninsula and lies at the heart of North Koreas foundation myth. The North Korean side of the mountain was recently designated a UNESCO Global Geopark, marking North Koreas first natural site to be included on the list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognized the site for its impressive natural and cultural heritage, including its volcanic eruptions and geological features, in a meeting held in February. But to grasp the significance, you have to stand at the edge of Lake Chon a caldera around 7,200 feet above sea level, formed by a massive eruption more than a thousand years ago and feel the wind cut across your face. I did just that in June 2017, as one of the few Western journalists to reach Paektus summit from the North Korean side. The trip, sanctioned and closely monitored by Pyongyang, offered rare access and a window into how the regime elevates this mountain into something almost divine. The Mount Paektu bloodline The mountain was the birthplace of Dangun, the mythical founder of the first Korean kingdom, according to North Korean legend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kim Il Sung, North Koreas founder and Kim Jong Uns grandfather, purportedly used the mountain as a hideout when fighting against the Japanese occupation for independence in the 1940s. State media often refers to the eldest Kim in reference to the mountain, using titles like the legendary hero of Paektu. North Korea claims Kim Jong Il, the late leader and father of Kim Jong Un, was born near Paektus summit. Guides showed me a wooden cabin where, they say, snow melted and the sun broke through, flowers bloomed, and a new star appeared in the sky to mark his birth. Theres no historical evidence for this and many scholars believe Kim was likely born in Russia, but the story is told without a hint of doubt throughout North Korea. Paektu isnt just a mountain its a national altar. The mountain has been widely used by the Kim dynasty to showcase the familys own lore and deification. Its peaks have been emblazoned on the countrys national emblem and its name has been lent to everything from rockets to power stations and, occasionally, the country itself. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rides a horse during snowfall in Mount Paektu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 16, 2019. - KCNA/Reuters North Korean society prizes racial purity and state propaganda glorifies the Kim family for their Mount Paektu bloodline, which is said to be a noble and heroic lineage tied to the ancient legendary kings of the Korean peninsula. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the soul of Koreas revolution, a guide told me, as North Korean pilgrims stood quietly nearby, some in tears, believing they were on hallowed ground. Kim Jong Un has often visited the sacred mountain, usually before major shakeups like the 2013 execution of his uncle and the 2016 nuclear test. In 2018, he brought then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in up to the summit in a rare moment of unity. Moon, who stood at the top clutching Kims hand alongside their wives, called the visit the realization of a dream. I wondered if I was ever going to have a chance (to come here) but my wish has come true, Moon said. For Koreans on both sides of the border, reaching the peak has long been a rite of passage, but access has been closed off to most living in South Korea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2019, North Korean state media released photographs of Kim riding on a white horse up the sacred mountain on at least two separate occasions amid tensions on the peninsula. Geological significance In its recognition, the UNESCO executive board cited Paektus volcanic legacy, valleys shaped by glacial erosion, and rocky plains as part of its global significance. It also noted the millennial eruption that occurred on Mount Paektu more than a thousand years ago in 946 CE one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history. Currently, there are more than 200 geoparks in 49 countries, according to the organization. UNESCO Global Geoparks are recognized as single, unified geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, the UNESCO board designated the Chinese side of the mountain as a global geopark under its Chinese name, Changbaishan. North Korea sought the UNESCO geopark designation in 2019, a year before China, but an on-site inspection of the site in North Korea was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the designation, Pyongyang may now try to rebrand Paektu as a geotourism destination promoting its natural wonders as well as Korean mythology. Back in 2017, the journey to Paektu took us through remote farming villages where children ran away from our cameras some likely having never seen a foreigner. In Samjiyon, the closest town, monuments to Kim Il Sung dot the landscape, and buildings bear scars from battles with Japanese occupiers. CNN Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley, Senior Vice President & Managing Editor Ellana Lee, producer Tim Schwarz and photojournalist Justin Robertson (left to right), at the site of Lake Chon atop Mount Paektu, June 2017. - Justin Robertson/CNN Life near Paektu is rural and sparse. But the people we met spoke with quiet pride of their history, their home, and the belief that they live in a place that matters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With this UNESCO recognition, Mount Paektu is now not just a national symbol, but recognized as a site of global geological value. Whether that leads to more engagement or remains another tool for Pyongyangs narrative is unclear. For now, the mountain stands, its slopes cloaked in clouds and its stories passed down through generations. And if you ever find yourself at the summit, staring into Lake Chon and breathing in the frigid air, you might understand why so many, North and South, believe it holds the soul of Korea. CNNs Yoonjung Seo and Joshua Berlinger contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The majority of artillery shells used by Russian forces in Ukraine in 2024 were manufactured in North Korea, according to a joint investigation by Reuters and the Open Source Center (OS), published on April 15. North Korea has become a key military ally of Russia, supplying artillery shells, missiles, and reportedly even soldiers in exchange for oil products and advanced rocket technology. Internal technical reports from Russias Defense Ministry, obtained by investigators, indicate that in some Russian military units, between 75% and 100% of artillery shells are North Korean-made. Overall, North Korea is providing roughly half of all artillery shells used by Russian troops, according to Ukraines military intelligence agency (HUR), as cited by Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arms shipments from North Korea to Russia began no later than September 2023, following a July visit to Pyongyang by thenRussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the investigation found. Between September 2023 and March 17, 2025, Russian cargo ships Angara, Maria, Maya-1, and Lady R transported military cargo 64 times from the North Korean port of Rajin to the Russian ports of Danube and Vostochny. According to satellite images, the ships carried at least 15,809 containers in total. Cargoes from North Korea also traveled by the Friendship Bridge railroad across the Tumanna River in Primorye. Deliveries peaked in January 2024, with seven batches per month, and cargo ships are currently transporting about three batches of shells per month, according to the investigation. The containers could carry between four and six million artillery shells alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shells were transported by rail to warehouses near the Russian-Ukrainian border, mainly to Tikhoretsk in Russia's Krasnodar Krai. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir 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. Putin also suggested on March 27 that countries "friendly" to Russia, including North Korea, could take part in the peace process and negotiations to end Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Read also: The rise and fall of Ukraines Kursk gambit Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Two people are facing multiple charges after Georgia deputies said they found more than just liquid inside their tumblers Saturday night. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Around 10:14 p.m. on April 12, Franklin County deputies tried to conduct a traffic stop in the area of Owens Drive and Georgia 17. Officials said the driver, Jonathan Andrew Goble, tried to drive away. FCSO deputies initiated a PIT maneuver to stop Goble and later arrest him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities also arrested the passenger, identified as Lacresha Glover. TRENDING STORIES: Deputies said they searched the vehicle and found two large tumblers containing five pounds of meth with a street value of $170,000. The pair was booked into the Franklin County Detention Center. Goble, of Richmond, Kentucky, was charged with the following: DUI Trafficking methamphetamine Window tint violation Possession of drug-related objects Felony fleeing and attempting to elude Glover, of Elkhorn City, Kentucky, was charged with the following: Trafficking methamphetamine Possession of drug-related objects [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The Northern Lights are expected to be visible across parts of Britain on Tuesday night and Wednesday, the Met Office has said. People in Scotland and Northern Ireland are most likely to see the aurora borealis, which causes the night sky to glow in red, green, purple and pink. It is being triggered by an expulsion of charged material from the Sun, more than 90 million miles away. The Met Office said on its website: The aurora is expected to be at normal background levels until the arrival of a coronal mass ejection, most likely later on Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is likely to bring the auroral oval to northern parts of the UK and similar geomagnetic latitudes, with a chance of some visibility towards the northern horizon for much of England. However, cloud cover over much of the UK will limit aurora viewings. The auroral oval will ease to background levels thereafter. The Lake District, Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh, Shetland, and Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, are expected to be among the best places in Britain to see the display. The phenomenon, called aurora australis in the southern hemisphere, may also be visible in Tasmania and the South Island of New Zealand. 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. SAC CITY, Iowa (KCAU) A woman has received her sentence after she was accused of illegally growing marijuana in the basement of her Sac County home. On Friday, April 11, Glenda Turnquist, 65, was sentenced to one year of informal probation, meaning she does not need to regularly meet with a probation officer. Five days of jail time were suspended, per court documents. She will also have to pay a $430 fine and other court costs. Turnquist pleaded guilty on March 27 to one count of possession of a controlled substance, a serious misdemeanor. Two other counts of manufacturing a controlled substance and failure to affix a drug tax stamp, both felonies, were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a previous release, Sac County deputies executed a search warrant at a residence on the 500 block of South Perth Street in Schaller on August 16, 2024 at 5:45 p.m. to obtain evidence for an ongoing criminal mischief investigation. The residents, Turnquist and Keegan Cross, 42, were detained until the residence was cleared to ensure no one else was inside. Officials identify man killed in Plymouth County semi rollover While walking through the basement, deputies say they found several marijuana plants. This discovery resulted in a second search warrant to search for controlled substances. The grow operation allegedly included more than 40 marijuana plants, grow lights, ventilated grow tents, and other materials to maintain marijuana plants. Turnquist initially pleaded not guilty to three charges on Sept. 16, 2024 before ultimately pleading guilty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Cross is still facing the same three charges that Turnquist had faced. He pleaded not guilty in Sept. 2024 and has a plea hearing scheduled for April 25, 2025. Ariel Pokett 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley plans to retire by the end of 2025 after a transformational tenure marked by record financial performance and strategic diversification beyond brewing. The company says it has launched a formal search for his successor. Gavin Hattersley, the long-serving CEO of Molson Coors, has announced his intention to retire by the end of 2025, capping off a tenure that saw the Coors and Blue Moon maker achieve record financial performance and expand beyond its traditional brewing roots. The companys board has begun a formal search for his successor, considering both internal and external candidates. The search will be overseen by the boards Governance Committee as part of Molson Coors existing succession planning process. Hattersley, who joined the company in 2002 following SABMiller's acquisition of Miller Brewing, has been at the helm of Molson Coors since 2019. How Hattersley transformed Molson Coors During his tenure, Molson Coors launched a strategic "revitalization plan" to return the business to growth, followed by an "acceleration plan" that expanded its premium portfolio, helped it reduce net debt by nearly 40% since the end of 2019, and reach annual net sales revenue of $11.6 billion. Under his leadership, the company formed new partnershipsincluding a joint venture with Yuengling and new U.S. commercialization rights to Fever-Treeand entered markets beyond beer, with launches in hard seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails, spirits, and mixers. Hes put our company on a path to an even brighter future, said David Coors, vice chair of the board. The company also delivered two consecutive years of record revenue and earnings under Hattersleys leadership. In Q4 2024 alone, Molson Coors exceeded expectations with $2.74 billion in revenue and an earnings-per-share of $1.30, beating forecasts of $2.71 billion and $1.13 per share, respectively. Molson Coors' stock is currently up 5.75% year to date at the time of writing. Gavin has been a steady hand at the wheel as CEO, navigating through incredible challenges while guiding our company to growth, said Chairman Geoff Molson. He leaves behind a stronger foundation and a brighter future for Molson Coors. Molson Coors will release its Q1 2025 earnings on April 29, providing further insights into the company's trajectory as it transitions to new leadership. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com European drugmaker Novartis (NVS), best known for blockbuster drugs like Entresto, Cosentyx, and Kesimpta, just announced a major U.S. investment. The $200 billion pharma company intends to invest $23 billion in U.S.-based manufacturing to conduct research and development and produce all its major drugs stateside. Judging by Novartis stock performance in the days following the news, the market signaled its approval. Donald Trump is likely to be delighted, too. Stay Ahead of the Market: Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks. Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener. Novartis (NVS) price history over the past 5 days Novartis latest move is a reactive and proactive response to an evolving supply chain that increasingly favors manufacturing in host countries. Novartis recent financial performance, which allows such investments, and its prescient adaptations make me bullish on its stock. Navigating Tariff Threats and Industry Trends Novartis strategic shift comes amid President Donald Trumps threats to add tariffs to pharmaceutical imports. A significant portion of Novartis revenues are generated in the U.S., so this should offset many costs if tariffs are long-lasting. This is part of a more significant trend in the industry. Other large pharma companies, like Eli Lilly (LLY) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), also plan to increase U.S. investments over the next few years. Comparison Results between NVS, LLY and JNJ stocks Novartis investments are particularly noteworthy because the company is not based in the U.S. but has some presence. Moreover, its intention to produce 100% of its key medicines end-to-end in the U.S. is a major supply chain strategy shift with more significant implications for European pharmaceutical manufacturing. Could others follow suit? In an interview with Reuters, Novartis CEO, Vas Narasimhan, stated that although tariffs were a factor in this decision, they werent a driving factor. Instead, it makes sense for Novartis to invest more within the confines of its largest market. Strong Revenue & Cash Growth Boosts NVS Financial Health Novartis financial performance is characterized by impressive revenue growth and robust cash generation. In 2024, net sales were up 11% year-over-year. Free cash flow was $16.253 billion, representing the cash Novartis has generated after subtracting the cash flows used to maintain operations and capital assets. So, for each $1 Novartis earns, over $0.30 of that goes straight to the bottom line. Main Street Data showing NVS dividends and buybacks in US dollars since 2020 Novartis cash generation also allows for generous dividends. Its most recent dividend yield was 3.05%, which is almost twice the sector average. Former President Barack Obama in a statement praised Harvard University for rejecting President Donald Trump's demands as the university faces a funding freeze for alleged inaction on antisemitism. "Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions -- rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect," Obama posted on X late Monday. "Let's hope other institutions follow suit." MORE: Trump admin freezes billions in funding to Harvard University after rejecting demands Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Obama's remark came after Harvard University said on Monday it was refusing to comply with a series of demands from the Trump administration. On Monday evening, the administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announced a multibillion-dollar freeze on funding to the university. (Harvard University has said it is committed to fighting antisemitism and to making changes to create a welcoming environment.) Obama, an alumnus of Harvard Law School, did not address the funding freeze. PHOTO: Barack Obama participates in a book talk with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel at The Anthem on December 02, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) In recent remarks at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Obama said he was concerned about the White House's moves against universities. "I don't think what we just witnessed in terms of economic policy and tariffs is going to be good for America, but that's a specific policy. I'm more deeply concerned with a federal government that threatens universities if they don't give up students who are exercising their right to free speech," Obama said, according to a transcript of his remarks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had also called on universities not to give into what he framed as intimidation. "If you are a university, you may have to figure out, are we in fact doing things right? Have we in fact violated our own values, our own code, violated the law in some fashion? If not and you're just being intimidated, well, you should be able to say, that's why we got this big endowment," Obama said, according to the transcript. MORE: Barack Obama, Kamala Harris criticize Trump, White House over moves they say are against America's values "We'll stand up for what we believe in and we'll pay our researchers for a while out of that endowment and we'll give up the extra wing or the fancy gymnasium -- that we can delay that for a couple of years because academic freedom might be a little more important," he added. PHOTO: People walk through a gate as they exit Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachussetts, April 15, 2025. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images) Trump, on Tuesday morning, called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status after the university said it would not comply with the Trump administration's series of demands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting 'Sickness?' Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!" Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform. Harvard University is exempt from federal income tax because it is an educational institution. It is also exempt from Massachusetts state income tax, according to the university. PHOTO: People walk through Harvard Yard on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachussetts, April 15, 2025. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images) Asked during a press briefing on Tuesday how serious Trump is about his call for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president has been "quite clear they must follow federal law." "He also wants to see Harvard apologize, and Harvard should apologize for the egregious antisemitism that took place on their college campus against Jewish American students," she said while deferring to the IRS for any updates on the tax-exempt status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leavitt also claimed the university has not taken the administration's demands seriously in response to a question on the funding freeze. "All the president is asking don't break federal law, and then you can have your federal funding," she said. ABC News' Kelsey Walsh, Peter Charalambous, Selina Wang and Arthur Jones II contributed to this report. Obama blasts Trump administration's 'unlawful' Harvard demands originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Former President Barack Obama criticized the Trump administrations freeze of over $2.2 billion in federal funding for Harvard University following the Ivy League schools rejection of a list of demands from the White House. Obama praised Harvard's response as an example of how other universities should respond to President Donald Trumps widespread efforts to punish higher education institutions he views as adversarial. Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect, Obama wrote Monday night on X. Lets hope other institutions follow suit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former presidents comments come after the oldest university in the country decided to defy the Trump administration's so-called Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitisms demands to adopt new policies on student and faculty conduct and admissions, to rein in what the administration describes as antisemitism on campus. Obama graduated from Harvard Law School. In a letter sent to Harvard last week, the administration called for the university to implement broad changes to its governance, such as establishing new disciplinary actions against student protesters, decertifying pro-Palestinian student groups and closing its diversity, equity and inclusion programs. But Harvard President Alan M. Garber said in a message to the campus community on Monday that the administrations prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government and the university would not comply with the demands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few hours later, the Education Department fired back. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support, the task force said in its statement on the funding pull. Harvards response reflects a significant act of defiance against the White Houses ongoing attacks on higher education institutions, including the freezing of federal funds and investigations into what the administration describes as on-campus antisemitism and civil rights issues. The Trump administration has also targeted universities and schools over trans athletes competing in sports. Some other elite universities, including Columbia University, have seemingly bent the knee to the Trump administration in an effort to avoid further targeting. Barack Obama has taken on Donald Trump and publicly backed Harvard after the president froze the universitys funding. Mr Obama praised the Ivy League institution for setting an example by refusing to bow to the presidents demands to end diversity efforts or forego billions in federal funding. The US department of education froze more than $2.2 billion of Harvards funding on Monday, hours after it rejected Mr Trumps demands, warning it was an attempt at government regulation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday Mr Obama came out in support of his alma mater, saying it had set an example for other higher-ed institutions by rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. He added: Lets hope other institutions follow suit. Barack Obama as a student at Harvard University in 1990 - JOE WRINN/AP The former presidents comments came as the Trump administration continued its pressure campaign on a raft of US universities, which many have seen as an assault on academic freedom. The department demanded that Harvard work to reduce the influence of faculty, staff and students who are more committed to activism than scholarship and have an external panel audit the faculty and students of each department to ensure viewpoint diversity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter also stated Harvard must only hire faculty and admit students based on merit and cease all preferences based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin. The university was also told to screen international students to prevent admitting students hostile to American values and report foreign students who violate conduct rules to federal immigration authorities. Refusing to agree to the administrations demands, Alan Garber, Harvards president, said: No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue. Mr Garber said the federal governments demands that it audit the viewpoints of its students, faculty and staff to ferret out Left-wing thinkers generally opposed to the Trump administration, clearly violated the universitys First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, Mr Garber wrote. Entitlement mindset The department of education said the letter from Mr Garber reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nations most prestigious universities and colleges that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws. The Trump administration responded by freezing $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract value to Harvard. On Tuesday, Mr Trump suggested on Truth Social, his social media site: Harvard should lose its tax exempt status and be taxed as a political entity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The deepening furore came as 876 faculty members at Yale University urged the university to resist and legally challenge any unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and self-governance. We stand together at a crossroads, the letter, signed by 876 faculty members, read. It added: American universities are facing extraordinary attacks that threaten the bedrock principles of a democratic society, including rights of free expression, association, and academic freedom. We write as one faculty, to ask you to stand with us now. The staff members also urged the universitys leadership to work purposefully and proactively with other colleges and universities in collective defence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year the government axed $400 million in funding for Columbia University over its handling of the pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The Manhattan university came under fire after giving in to the governments list of demands which included handing oversight of the universitys Middle Eastern, South Asian and African studies department to another faculty. The issue of anti-Semitism on campus erupted before Mr Trump took office for his second term, following pro-Palestinian student protests last year at several universities following the 2023 Hamas attack inside Israel and the subsequent Israeli attacks on Gaza. Last week, a group of Harvard professors sued to block the Trump administrations review of nearly $9 billion in federal contracts and grants awarded to the school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Columbia professors have also sued the federal government. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Tuesday that Mr Trump wants to see Harvard apologise for the egregious anti-Semitism that took place on their college campus. When it comes to Harvard the president has been quite clear: they must follow federal law, Ms Leavitt 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. Former President Obama on Monday touted Harvard Universitys rejection of what he called ham-handed demands from President Trumps administration. Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking concrete steps to make sure all students at Harvard can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect, Obama said in a post on social platform X. Lets hope other institutions follow suit, the former president, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991, added in the post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, the Trump administration demanded that Harvard change multiple policies including those around protesting and diversity, equity and inclusion programs so that it can hold on to its federal funding. On Monday, the school shot down the demands. No government regardless of which party is in power should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue, Harvard President Alan Garber said in a Monday message to the Harvard community. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also offered praise to Harvard in a post Monday on X. Congratulations to Harvard for refusing to relinquish its constitutional rights to Trumps authoritarianism. Other universities should follow their lead. And instead of doing pro bono work for Trump, cowardly law firms should be defending those who believe in the rule of law, Sanders said in his post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, Trump escalated the feud when he floated taking away the universitys tax-exempt status. Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting Sickness? Trump said on his Truth Social platform. Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST! In an emailed statement to The Hill, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said the president is working to Make Higher Education Great Again by ending unchecked anti-Semitism and ensuring federal taxpayer dollars do not fund Harvards support of dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence. Harvard or any institution that wishes to violate Title VI is, by law, not eligible for federal funding, Fields 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. Apr. 14The Odessa College Board of Trustees will meet at noon Tuesday, April 15, in the second-floor conference room of the Wood Health Science Building, 201 W. University Blvd. Some of the items on the agenda include: Certification of unopposed candidates. Approval of Order of Cancellation of Election for Place 3, 6, and 9. Incumbents Montie Garner, Place 6, Trudy Lewis, Place 3, and Laci Harris, Place 9, are unopposed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Committee Reports Property Committee: Digital sign and artwork proposal. Personnel Policy Committee: Request to non-renewal of faculty contracts. Monthly financial statements and budget amendments. Quarterly investment report. Informational Items Education Report Complimentary Legal Aid; Institutional Effectiveness report. Vision 2030+ update. President's Report from President Gregory Williams: Employee Scholarship Campaign; 2025 Chef Showdown; Congratulations to PTK; and Run to Inspire. Executive Session: Personnel Recommendation for Administrative Appointments, Pursuant to Section 551.074 of the Texas Open Meetings Act of the Government Code. Executive Session: Personnel Board Self-Evaluation, Pursuant to Section 551.074 of the Texas Open Meetings Act of the Government Code. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) Some Native Americans pressed the South Dakota Education Standards Board to hold off a year so that formal consultations could be held on how public schools should present information about indigenous people and cultures to their K-12 students. But the governor-appointed boards five members are instead following the recommendation from South Dakota Education Secretary Joseph Graves and have gone ahead with approval of a revised version of what are known as the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings. The board also decided during its meeting on Monday in Rapid City to adopt a first-ever set of computer science standards for K-8 students and approved a revised set of standards for English language arts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pronounced oh-chet-ee sak-oh-in, the understandings originally came together through work by a group of indigenous elders and educators in 2008. South Dakota law requires teachers take a three-credit course in South Dakota Indian studies. But decisions on how to use OSEUs are left to local school districts. The main complaint voiced Monday about the OSEU revisions was that state government failed to formally consult with any of the nine tribal governments. Several people called for the state board to pause a year and allow time for the consultations. A rushed process cannot produce strong standards, but an inclusive one can, said Deborah Bordeaux, executive director for the tribally-run Commission for Oceti Sakowin Accreditation and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The state board spent a half-hour listening to testimony from Bordeaux and eight others, and then considered for another 30 minutes what to do on the proposed OSEU revisions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary Graves defended the preparation of the OSEU revisions, telling the board there was a complete review by a committee of 34 that was double the normal number and included anyone who asked to be on it. He said the review committee spent three days developing the revisions. Monday marked the last of the four public hearings that state law requires the board to hold before adopting or changing K-12 standards. The Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings had also become a regular agenda item for the state Indian Education Advisory Council, whose members include all nine of the tribal education directors, as well as a variety of other appointees chosen by the governor. So this was not a rushed process, Graves told the state standards board. He added, If we continue to pause, my fear is were simply going to pause forever. Sarah White, an Oglala Lakota who founded and is executive director for the South Dakota Education Equity Coalition, said the Indian Education Advisory Council has been gagged and censored, the groups meetings are scheduled without consideration for other duties of the tribal education directors, and that state Office of Indian Education director Fred Osborn has been superficial in his dealings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Gov. Kristi Noem moved the Office of Indian Education from the state Department of Education to the state Department of Tribal Relations six years ago. To date not a single tribal consultation has taken place, White said. State law says the Department of Education is to consult with the Indian Education Advisory Council to develop and review the OSEUs. The state boards president, Steve Perkins of Sioux Falls, said he was born and raised at Pipestone, Minnesota, a place of significance in Plains Indian culture. This is important to me, he said. Perkins acknowledged that school districts vary in their use of OSEUs and said South Dakota generally was moving in the right direction in recognizing the importance of indigenous people and history. But he also said that the state board and the state Department of Education clearly need to work harder on communication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Larry Rhoden, who succeeded Noem earlier this year, has called for a restart of relations between state and tribal governments. Thats going to take some time, Perkins said. He assured the people who had called for a pause that he wasnt voting against them. He said the process of revising the OSEUs was similar to what was done on the science standards that the board approved a year ago. The science standards werent everything he wanted, Perkins said, but they were an improvement over the ones they replaced. This is even more important than that, Perkins 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. Updated at 9:45 AM EDT Nvidia unveiled plans for a massive investment in its U.S.-based manufacturing Monday as the ripple effects of President Donald Trump's tariff gambit, as well as China's retaliation toward the tech sector, continue to reverberate. Nvidia said it planned to produce an American-made supercomputer from a U.S. platform, and planned to produce as much as $500 billion in artificial-intelligence infrastructure over the next four years as part of a partnership with Foxconn (FXCOF) and Taiwan Semiconductor. (TSM) Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The plants are expected to be built in Arizona, to test Nvidia Blackwell chips, and in Texas, to test AI supercomputers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveiled plans for a massive U.S. manufacturing investment. PATRICK T. FALLON/Getty Images The engines of the worlds AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time, said CEO Jensen Huang. Adding American manufacturing helps us better meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chain and boosts our resiliency. Nvidia has found itself in the crosshairs of the accelerating trade war between Washington and Beijing, with Trump planning tariffs on the tech sector that will sit alongside his recently reduced 20% levy on China-made goods. Related: Apple, Nvidia lead tech tumble as China retaliates on U.S. tariffs Late last month, London's Financial Times reported that Beijing was looking to curb some of Nvidia's exports on the basis of new environmental restrictions. Earlier this year, China's State Administration for Market Regulation launched an investigation into Nvidia tied to allegations it had breached anti-monopoly laws with its $6.9 billion purchase of Mellanox Technologies in early 2020. Nvidia generated around $5.4 billion in China-based revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended in October, with another $5.15 billion coming from clients and customers in Taiwan, which collectively accounted for some 30% of the group's overall tally of $35.1 billion. Nvidia shares were marked 0.88% higher in early trading immediately following the investment announcement to changed hands at $111.98 each. More Tech Stocks: Nvidia's new investment plans follow a similar move by Apple (AAPL) , which told investors in February that it would pair with its key supplier to build an AI-focused data center in Texas as part of a broader plan to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. A teenager in Wisconsin who was recently charged with killing his mother and stepfather has also been accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump in a plot to overthrow the U.S. government. Last month, Nikita Casap, 17, was arrested for the deaths of Tatiana Casap, 35, his mother, and Donald Mayer, 51, his stepfather. The teen is facing nine felony charges in Wisconsin, including two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of hiding a corpse, according to CNN. Federal investigators are also pursuing three charges against him: presidential assassination, conspiracy and use of weapons of mass destruction. Nikita Casaps murder charges The bodies of Tatiana Casap and Mayer were found in their home on Feb. 28 when officers were conducting a welfare check, per The New York Times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is believed that the two were killed on Feb. 11. They both died from gunshot wounds. The welfare check was performed in response to a call from Mayers mother who said she had been unable to contact the family. Nikita also had not been at school in two weeks. Casap was not home when the bodies were found, and authorities listed his stepfathers car as stolen. Later that same day in Kansas, police officers performed a traffic stop on the vehicle, and they found the suspect driving. According to CNN, authorities also found $14,000 in $100 bills and over $14,000 worth of jewelry and Mayers .357 Magnum revolver in the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Casap appeared in court on March 27, it was revealed that his mother was found in a hallway covered with blankets and a towel, while his stepfather was found covered in a pile of clothing in a first-floor office, per NBC. Nikita Casaps plot to assassinate Trump While investigating Casap for the murder charges, authorities found written documents and text messages indicating that the teen had been plotting to assassinate Trump as part of a plan to overthrow the U.S. government, per CNN. The documents and messages show that the alleged killing of his parents was an effort for Casap to gain the financial means and autonomy to carry out the assassination plot. Authorities found material on Casaps phone that related to The Order of Nine Angles which is a network of individuals holding neo-Nazi racially motivated extremist views, according to CNN. They also found communications and photos that referenced a self-described manifesto regarding assassinating the president, making bombs and terrorist attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Fox News, a document titled Accelerate the Collapse, was found by authorities. It called for Trumps assassination, saying getting rid of the president and perhaps the vice president is guaranteed to bring in some chaos. Point being this manifesto is specifically for the attack that targets Trump. There were also descriptions in the so-called manifesto of creating a political revolution in the U.S. to save the white race from Jewish controlled lawmakers. The document also included images of Adolf Hitler with the text HAIL HITLER HAIL THE WHITE RACE HAIL VICTORY. Casap had paid, at least in part, for a drone and explosives to use for an attack, per BBC. He also was in contact with someone in Russia and had plans to escape to Ukraine. He was in touch with other parties about his plan to kill the president and overthrow the government of the United States, investigators wrote, according to BBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Casap had told a classmate that he was planning on killing his parents but didnt have a gun, per CNN. He also told the classmate that he and someone he was in contact with in Russia were planning to overthrow the government and assassinate Trump. When is Casap going to court? On April 9, Casap had a preliminary court hearing. He has not entered any plea to the charges, per BBC. He is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment, where the charges against him will be formally given, on May 7. Casap is being held on a $1 million bond. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) More than a decade after former Gov. John Kasich rejected funds to build a train from Cleveland to Cincinnati, the Statehouse is furthering the possibility of passenger rail in Ohio. House Bill 96, passed by the Ohio House in April outlining the states next budget, allocates $25,000 a year to rejoin the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission. Membership would allow Ohio to collaborate with other neighboring states on funding, development and operation of rail routes while ensuring the state has a voice in national rail discussions. Learn more about the House budget proposal in the video player above. Rejoining MIPRC is a win for passenger rail in Ohio, said Mitch Radakovich, chair of All Aboard Ohio, a group dedicated to enhancing public transportation. This measure not only strengthens our current network but also lays the foundation for future enhancements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What made the cut, what didnt in House version of Ohio budget All Aboard Ohio said the provision allows the state to call for better service along existing routes while working to secure federal funding for proposed routes, like the planned 3C+D corridor connecting Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton. Radakovich noted he attended MIPRCs annual meeting last fall but said Ohio projects werent mentioned because the state isnt a member. Ohios possible readmittance comes after the state left the commission in 2013 when Kasich turned down $400 million in federal grants for an Amtrak route stretching from Cleveland to Columbus and Cincinnati. The move was a campaign promise by Kasich, who announced during his first press conference as governor-elect in 2010, That train is dead. The Biden administration announced in December 2023 it selected four key Ohio routes as priorities for Amtrak expansion, including the 3C+D corridor. The effort was spearheaded by Gov. Mike DeWine earlier that year and earned the state $500,000 for each routes planning under the Federal Railroad Administration. The three other selected corridors included: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cleveland-Toledo-Detroit. Chicago-Fort Wayne-Columbus-Pittsburgh with connector service via Lima, Kenton, Marysville, Newark, Cochocton, Newcomerstown, Uhrichsville and Steubenville. Increasing service frequency from three days per week to daily on Amtraks current service to Cincinnati between New York City, Washington D.C., and Chicago. Only issue on May ballot would boost infrastructure spending Good Amtrak service shouldnt be a privilege only for people on the coasts. These new routes would expand opportunity, help grow businesses and create jobs, and connect communities in Ohio and across the Midwest, former U.S. Senate Sherrod Brown said at the time. The budget proposal is now under consideration in the Ohio Senate, which will need to negotiate changes and send the finalized fiscal document to DeWines desk by June 30. 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. Authorities arrested a man accused of cutting off kittens tails and throwing them at someone in Summit County on Friday, according to Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Sheriffs deputies responded to reports of a suspicious person and an argument at East Turkeryfoot Lake Road in Green. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fatheree identified the suspicious person as Bret Stalnaker, 57, of Green. Earlier that day, Stalnaker got into an argument with a female resident. Fatheree said Stalnaker sent the female text messages saying he was going to hurt newborn kittens. He then stated he was going to cut the tails off the newborn kittens and the mother of the kittens, Fatheree said. Soon after, Stalnaker allegedly walked up to the female in a garage and threw a container with cut-off kitten tails at her. When deputies arrived on scene, they found Stalnaker in his van and ordered him to get out. Stalnaker allegedly threw a loaded .45 caliber pistol when he got out of the car, according to Fatheree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was arrested and booked into the Summit County Jail on an animal cruelty charge. Fatheree said sheriffs office personnel took the kittens to a veterinary clinic, where they are recovering from their injuries. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) A Euclid man pleaded guilty on charges of sex trafficking of a minor and coercing a woman to engage in commercial sex. Donte Lashawn Cole, 40, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge William Stickman IV to charges of sex trafficking of a child and coercion and enticement of an adult with the intent that they engage in commercial sex on Monday, according to a press release from Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti. 5 teens arrested after 13-year-old beat up at local park Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the release, Cole took the victims from Ohio to a hotel in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, to engage in commercial sex. Investigators found condoms, lubrication, cleaning wipes, pregnancy tests and a few pieces of clothing inside the hotel room that was used by the minor. Similar items were also found inside the room used by the woman, the release said. According to the release, the investigation found that Cole used online advertisements to market the victims in Western Pennsylvania and elsewhere from April 2023 to October 2023. Cole directed the victims to engage in these acts and then, immediately afterwards, report all amounts of money earned to him, the release said. Cole also controlled access to food, refusing to provide the minor anything beyond fast food if she did not earn him enough money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 4 of Case Western Reserve Universitys international students had their visas revoked Coles sentencing is scheduled for August 18, 2025. He faces 10 years to life in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The United States Department of Justice asks that anyone who is a victim of human trafficking or may have information about a potential trafficking situation call the FBI, local law enforcement, or the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Apr. 15An Ohio man who worked with his girlfriend to reportedly coerce a 13-year-old girl into sending nude images of herself was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. John Brickhouse was sentenced to 405 months or 33 years and nine months and ordered to spend 20 years on supervised release after he's released from prison, according to U.S. Southern District of Ohio court records. On Sept. 17, Brickhouse pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to produce child pornography and production of child pornography and two counts of coercion and enticement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His girlfriend, Nina Darling, was previously sentenced to eight years in prison and seven years of supervised release for a distribution of child pornography conviction. The Junction City couple reportedly told a 13-year-old girl Brickhouse's mother was terminally ill and needed the girl to take explicit images of herself to help pay for his mother's medical treatment. Brickhouse started communicating with the teen on Snapchat, a social media app, while living at a halfway house in Warren County in 2022, according to federal court records. He continued to communicate with her after he was arrested for violating his parole and was in custody at an Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brickhouse and Darling allegedly told the teen his mother had two weeks left to live and that a third party agreed to pay for a life-saving treatment. The third party Michael Jones was a fake persona created by the couple, according to the U.S. Attorney Southern District of Ohio's office. Darling reportedly posed as Jones to convince the girl Brickhouse's mother could only be saved if the teen made and sent them child pornography. Darling was also accused of posing as Brickhouse's mother and aunt. After the girl sent the explicit images to Brickhouse and Darling, they shared it with others, including registered sex offenders, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a separate scheme, Brickhouse reportedly tricked a 10-year-old girl into making child porn. Brickhouse is a registered sex offender who was previously convicted of sexually assaulting children, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. UPDATE 04/15/2025 According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, Amon Killfirst has been located. ORIGINAL STORY OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Oklahoma City Police have issued an Ashanti Alert for a missing 29-year-old man who was last seen near Penn Square Mall on Monday. According to OKCPD, Amon Killsfirst was last seen wearing a red Buccees shirt, gray sweatpants and black shoes. Amon Killsfirst. Photo courtesy Oklahoma City Police. Amon Killsfirst. Photo courtesy Oklahoma City Police. Killsfirst is said to be 510 and 145 lbs. with brown hair and brown eyes. He is also developmentally delayed and could possibly walk into traffic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you see Killsfirst or have any information about his whereabouts, please call 911. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 sound of air raid sirens and bombs finding their targets becomes run-of-the-mill for an Oklahoman and New Zealander when they visit Ukraine as humanitarian volunteers. When the sirens go off, you have no way of knowing where the bombs will drop, but Jason Zan, of Edmond, and Amy Campbell, of Tauranga, New Zealand, said the next best thing to finding a bomb shelter is staying out of any buildings or infrastructure. They do their best to remain safe so they can continue the work they are doing: bringing warm, homemade meals to northeastern Ukraine's frontline villages and soldiers. Zan and Campbell met through their mutual compassion for Ukrainians who are now like a second family for both of them and involvement in grassroots efforts to support the war-torn country and its residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, the pair founded Never Alone Humanitarian Kitchen, and over 12 weeks in August through November made two dozen deliveries and served 2,001 meals. They partnered with Ukrainian organizations and local volunteer translators, including Ernst Kontler, 23, and his fiancee Mary Kuldoshyna, 27. The couple were both born in Kharkiv but now live in the nation's capital Kyiv. Kuldoshyna said what Zan and Campbell are doing is more than just food. It's a "bright light" for Ukrainians who wake up each day not knowing if they will be hurt or killed in the next Russian attack, she said. "It's something spiritual," Zan said. Jason Zan and Amy Campbell, founders of Never Alone Humanitarian Kitchen, a non-profit they created to feed soldiers and residents on the frontlines in Ukraine are pictured in Oklahoma City on Monday, March 24, 2025. How the Russia-Ukraine war stirred an Oklahoman and New Zealander to help When the war started, Zan and Campbell, despite living on opposite ends of the world, both felt the same stirring inside of them. They each knew they needed to help Ukraine in some way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zan, who is Burmese, felt a kinship with Ukrainians. His family's home country, Burma, was taken over by a military government coup in 1962, and renamed Myanmar in the 1980s. His family left for America in 1968. "The American dream has always been important to me, but also recognizing that totalitarianism can take over," Zan said. "It's given me sort of a sense of brotherhood of humanity when things happened in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014, I felt very much a commonality with their struggle. ... (In 2022), I saw them going through a moment, a hardship, and one that I could help carry." More: Kremlin says instant results not possible after Trump demands Ukraine progress He began the work of contacting Ukrainian organizations and finding out how he could be helpful. He purchased a plane ticket, packed his bags and left his Edmond home for Ukraine in March 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While there, he helped organizations weave camouflage nets, develop local tourniquets and "bounced around" wherever he could be put to use, all the while making contacts and building himself a reputation of a trustworthy volunteer. He built upon that reputation during three return trips over the next couple years. Meanwhile, Campbell's family was in the midst of selling their New Zealand bakery when the war began, and they decided to fundraise as a way to help. Campbell and Zan connected on Reddit when she needed someone in the United States to ship American tourniquets to. Eventually, she made her way over to Ukraine herself. On her first day in the country, she arrived at the outdoor relief kitchen she was scheduled to volunteer at. Campbell found herself peeling "crates and crates of carrots" alongside an "absolute firecracker" of an elderly woman named Svetlana. They had been talking for about two hours, somehow getting past the fact that neither spoke the other's language well, when the sound of explosions filled the air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I look at her and I'm like, 'What do we do?'" Campbell said. "I thought, 'Okay, we need to go to a shelter or something.' She just sits there, she raises her middle finger to the air and she curses at Putin and she carries on peeling her carrots. I'm like, alright, so that's what we do. We get on with it. She taught me how to react to fear." Volunteers make Ukrainians feel 'like they're not alone' During their trips to Ukraine, Zan and Campbell watched as humanitarian organizations brought aid in the form of shelf-stable foods, hygiene and other material aid. But for some villagers, the shelf-stable foods were not much use since they no longer had gas to cook with and were afraid of attracting the attention of Russian drones by starting a fire. With Campbell's background in baking, and Zan's large network of contacts in the country, they knew they could make a difference with something more. And make a difference they have the Ukrainians the pair come in contact with have expressed their gratitude and invited them to come back to their villages during their next trip. "When people see somebody coming in from another country, a well-to-do country that's safe, and leaving that safety to come stand next to them, and do something for them, it feels like they're not alone," Zan said. "And that's one of the reasons we called our charity Never Alone, because it's one of the most important things we've ever been told." Jason Zan and Amy Campbell, founders of Never Alone Humanitarian Kitchen, a non-profit they created to feed soldiers and residents on the frontlines in Ukraine are pictured in Oklahoma City on March 24. Zan and Campbell spent three months living in an abandoned apartment in Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine with a population of 1.4 million. The city was targeted by Russian bombs on a nightly basis while they were there. The city is less than an hour out from the Russia-Ukraine border, and just 20 minutes from the frontlines of the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside their apartment, they had a typical kitchen setup with a domestic refrigerator, sink, oven and stove. But in order to cook food for 100 people at a time, they brought in folding tables and three portable gas burners. While in Kharkiv, a meal request would come in and a trip to the bulk grocery store would ensue. In Kharkiv, even that can be dangerous. Air raid sirens would often sound the alert while they were shopping, and during raids the store would empty after another bulk grocery store was blown up with shoppers still inside. "A lot of times we'd have a grocery cart almost all the way full of groceries and we'd have to just leave and start all over again once the air raid's over and hope we can get it done," Zan said. Bringing joy to Ukraine frontline villagers through food During a visit to a liberated village outside Kharkiv, Kontler was faced with the memories of his time as a soldier and part of the liberation effort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as he watched young children of the village filled with joy over getting to eat hamburgers prepared by Zan and Campbell, he said it brought him a sense of hope in a place he wasn't sure would ever see joy again. "I was like 100% sure this village will disappear, that no one will ever come here to rebuild it or live there because it was horrific," Kontler said. "But, when we came to the place with Jason and Amy and Mary and her friends, and seeing happy faces around, happy children playing around with animals and the teacher, just happily living their lives. I was ... shocked but in a good way, you know? It brings me hope that we actually can rebuild." Kontler was trained in artillery reconnaissance before the war, and joined the military ranks just after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. During his time in the army, he was a mortar gunner, a mortar detachment commander, military interpreter and again as a detachment commander before he was wounded during the summer 2023 counteroffensive. He lost eyesight in his left eye, caused by damage from dust-like splinters in the eye, and was able to retire from active military duty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While hamburgers brought considerable joy to the children of that village, Never Alone's meals usually consisted of something easy to serve to a large group of people, like stews, soups and curries. Campbell said she also prioritized serving plenty of meat to give the recipients something hearty they may not be able to access regularly. And, she added, "Ukrainians like their meat." The pair traveled as close as seven kilometers to the frontlines of the war, where the sound of artillery rounds exploding is constant and time is of the essence. Meals were typically served and packed up within 30 to 45 minutes in order to keep everyone safe. "When you're there and you're gathering people together, the amount of time that goes by increases the risk, because the Russians have artillery observing drones and everything is a target, including civilians," Zan said. "And we've witnessed that. I think I've only seen one military target hit the entire time, everything else has been civilian targets." Ukrainians and Oklahomans both value hospitality, even in dark times Ukrainians take pride in their hospitality, and Campbell said it has not wavered even in the face of darkness and fear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It bears resemblance to something Oklahomans are similarly known for: The Oklahoma Standard. Okies take pride in a culture that emphasizes kindness, service and banding together amid hardship. Campbell said she saw this play out in Ukraine time and again, like when the wife of a village leader shared apples from her tree with them. "I feel that they're holding on to that hospitality, that need to be hospitable, because it's something that they don't want to let Russia take from them," Campbell said. "Even when they've got nothing to give, they can still give an apple." While the United States is in talks with both Russia and Ukraine in hopes of negotiating a ceasefire and potential end to the war, Zan said their work won't end when the war does. In the event the war ends, the need in Ukraine will continue in the form of rebuilding cities and villages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We'll be very happy to be able to continue bringing our project to Ukraine in peacetime, when we don't hear explosions, when people aren't having to worry, when we can celebrate with them," Zan said. And even beyond that, Zan and Campbell hope to extend their reach to places like Myanmar and other parts of the world where "evil is prevailing." Jason Zan, a co-founder of Never Alone Humanitarian Kitchen How to help Never Alone - Humanitarian Kitchen For Oklahomans, Zan said he hopes their mission can raise awareness about what's going on in Ukraine, getting through to people beyond the news reports which he knows can be easy to ignore. But he said he wants people to remember that Ukrainians are like us in that they have wishes and dreams for their lives, and that "everyone deserves a safe, independent future." "I think it's really hard for people who are so far away to be able to remember those are humans," Zan said. "They're families. They're people's sons and daughters and grandparents and parents. Every single day there's fewer of them. There's more mountains of dirt covering a lot of them." Kontler, who now works for Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, doubled down on this sentiment, pointing out that what's happening in Ukraine could happen to any country with "bad neighbors." Amy Campbell, a co-founder of Never Alone Humanitarian Kitchen "It's regular people living their regular lives, which was interrupted by an aggressor which came to kill, and rape, and (commit) war crimes, and capture children and turn our own children against us by propaganda," Kontler said. Zan and Campbell leave for Ukraine again at the end of May, and Kontler and Kuldoshyna said they plan to translate for them when possible. As of mid-March the cost of groceries were fully covered and Zan and Campbell's flights were almost covered. Any funds donated will help Zan and Campbell fund a summer camp for children living in regularly bombed cities, plus vehicle rental, fuel and living expenses. Here is how to help them feed more warm meals on the Ukrainian frontlines: Make a donation through the its partner organization in Texas, Ukraine Unlimited Or give directly at givealittle.co.nz. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How an Oklahoman, New Zealander get hot meals to Ukraine frontlines American chipmaker onsemi has decided to terminate its proposal to acquire rival Allegro MicroSystems for $35.10 per share. Announced in March 2025, the proposed deal valued Allegro at $6.9bn, including debt. The decision comes after onsemi concluded there was no actionable path forward for the acquisition. In a statement, onsemi stated that it still believes merging the two companies would have united two highly complementary businesses, benefiting their respective customers and delivering immediate value to Allegro shareholders. onsemi added that it will now focus on existing opportunities to bolster stockholder value. The company plans to continue allocating capital towards its existing share repurchase programme. onsemi president and CEO Hassane El-Khoury said: While we continue to believe that a combination with onsemi would be beneficial to all stakeholders of both companies, after careful consideration, we have decided to withdraw our acquisition proposal given the reluctance of Allegros board of directors to fully engage and explore our proposal. onsemi is well-positioned, both strategically and financially, and we remain sharply focused on executing on our core growth initiatives while pursuing our value-enhancing capital allocation approach. With market-leading technology, a robust innovation pipeline, and a clear strategic roadmap, we continue to see significant long-term opportunities in our core markets of automotive, industrial, and AI data centres. The latest development comes after onsemi announced a restructuring plan in February 2025, that will result in approximately 2,400 job cuts across its global business divisions this year. The restructuring plan, approved by management, includes cost-cutting measures to adjust expenses in response to current business conditions while maintaining progress towards long-term financial goals. The company has initiated the restructuring plan and expects to incur charges of $50m to $60m related to the layoffs. Most of these costs are expected to be recorded within the current year, the company said. In June 2024, onsemi also announced an investment of up to $2bn to establish a silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic. "onsemi abandons bid to acquire Allegro MicroSystems" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. This story was originally published on Packaging Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Packaging Dive newsletter. Some companies obligated under Oregons extended producer responsibility for packaging law have a little more time to file data that could influence the states fee-setting. Circular Action Alliance, the producer responsibility organization operating in Oregon, is now offering a grace period for non-reporting producers to submit their supply reports until April 30, following the March 31 reporting deadline. Receiving additional supply data before fee setting will further reduce the average fee per ton, benefiting all producers, said CAAs Larine Urbina, senior vice president of communications, in an email. CAA is actively encouraging non-reporting producers to submit their late reports as soon as possible so we can set the final fee schedule to be used for invoicing in late May 2025. Urbina said Friday that, to date, more than 1,200 producers had submitted reports, a result we are extremely proud of. In a mid-March update, CAA had reported that more than 2,300 producers were registered with the PRO, 93% of which were obligated in Oregon. The food, beverage, household and personal care product companies are working closely with each states producer responsibility organization to comply with the complexity of various definitions, requirements and reporting dates, said John Hewitt, senior vice president of packaging and sustainability at the Consumer Brands Association, in an emailed statement. Our member companies are committed to meeting the challenge to ensure they meet the deadlines required by the respective statutes. Producers that want to make adjustments to reports they already submitted by the March deadline must get CAAs approval. The PRO will require an explanation for why the changes are necessary and the estimated impacts of the changes. Come July 1, CAA will provide Oregons Department of Environmental Quality with a list of non-reporting producers. Amanda McCaffrey, associate focusing on ESG, environmental litigation and regulatory law at DLA Piper, called the grace period a welcome surprise. Generally speaking, some producers lack of awareness and comprehension of the law inhibited on-time reporting, McCaffrey said. The term extended producer responsibility may make people think of manufacturers, but understanding how these laws place obligations on other entities in the supply chain can be a challenging analysis to untangle, she said. NAIROBI, Kenya (ABC4) For the first time, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will open its doors in Kenya. The Nairobi Kenya Temple of the Utah-based faith group will begin an open house this week. For members of the Church in Kenya, this is something theyve looked forward to for quite some time. The first Church members in Kenya were baptized in 1979, with two small congregations in 1981 in Nairobi and Kiboko. Soon after, Kenyas first stake was organized in 2001, the Church said. Over the years, Church membership has grown fast in Kenya and other African countries. There are more than 19,200 members and three stakes in about 70 congregations. Elder Steven R. Bangerter and Elder Thierry Mutombo of the Seventy welcoming guests from the USA Embassy in Kenya for the Kenya Nairobi Temple open house, 14 April 2025. Photo Courtesy: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Kenya Nairobi Temple, April 2025. Photo Courtesy: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Paul Pieper of the Africa Central Area Presidency welcoming invited guests from Helen Keller Foundation to the open house, Kenya Nairobi, 14 April, 2025. Photo Courtesy: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Kenya Nairobi Temple, April 2025. Photo Courtesy: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We stand amazed to see the construction of the house of the Lord here in Nairobi, Kenya, Elder Thierry Mutombo, President of the Africa Central Area told the Church Newsroom. The house of the Lord is built for worship and sacred covenants of eternal significance. I love to see the house of the Lord in this beautiful land of Kenya and the Eastern Africa region. Both members and non-members alike will be allowed inside of the hallowed Latter-day Saint building before its dedication. After its dedication, which is set to take place May 18, only worthy members of the Church will be able to enter. The Church says Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple. Thomas S. Monson, former Prophet and President of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the temple eight years ago during the April 2017 General Conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public open house will start this Thursday, April 17, and will go through Saturday, May 3. Open house dates exclude Sundays as Church members attend their congregations, known as wards. The Church says all are welcome to tour the new house of the Lord during this unique opportunity. What are Temples? Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are referred to by members as Houses of the Lord, according to the Church website. Members hold the entire property of Temples sacred, from the grounds outside to what is inside and what happens inside. From the very beginning, there have been sacred places upon the earth where God has communed with His children. They were designated by God and hallowed by His presence as places where He would teach and bless His children, the Church says on its site. The Church teaches that throughout biblical history, the Tabernacle carried around was a portable temple. The Church also points to several additional scriptures from the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, which mention temples on several occasions. What happens here? Inside the Temple, members of the Church seek to draw closer to God by making covenants and performing saving ordinances from themselves or members of their family who have passed on. These temples are typically only open to members who have a temple recommend card. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members believe through the temple endowment ceremony, they can be endowed power from on high, which appears in Luke 24:49. Those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of Gods priesthood power by virtue of their covenant, along with a gift of knowledge to know how to draw upon that power, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell M. Nelson, has said. The Endowment is one of many things that can happen inside of a Latter-day Saint temple. In the LDS church, members can also baptize family who have passed away and confirm them as members of the Church if they wish to accept them in the spirit world. Sealings for marriage and family sealings can also be performed in the temple. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike marriages that last only until death do you part, temple sealings ensure that death cannot separate loved ones. For marriages to continue after death, they must be sealed in the right place and with the right authority. The right place is the temple and the right authority is the priesthood of God, the Church teaches. What occurs in the sealing is outlined in Matthew 16:19, the Church states. The Church says that children born into a sealed temple marriage are children born in the covenant, thus, they are part of an eternal family, based upon their faithfulness. Sealings are only performed in temples. Some may ask about those children not born in the covenant, the Church teaches that they too can become part of an eternal family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Children who are not born in the covenant can also become part of an eternal family once their natural or adoptive parents are sealed to one another, the Church says. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. South Korea is floundering in a time of uncertainty, in which its future as both a relatively new democracy and an old American ally is at stake. Unimaginable though it might seem, the conservative government is dealing simultaneously with the twin menaces of President Trumps tariffs and the rise of a leftist-led movement one that has thrown out the countrys conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol and is favored to take over in a snap election on June 3, six months after Yoons foolish attempt at imposing martial law on Dec. 3. The front-runner, Lee Jae-myung, is almost certain to win the nomination of the left-leaning Democratic Party, or Minju, after engineering the demise of Yoon, who defeated him by less than 1 percent in the 2022 presidential election. The fact that Lee is a flawed figure, accused of sending money to North Korea when he was governor of the province surrounding Seoul and bordering the North, does not seem likely to cost him the upcoming election. Rightists, highly divided as to whom to nominate against Lee, are smoldering with rage over his renaissance. Amid the turmoil, acting President Han Duck-soo, who has served as prime minister, economics minister and trade minister as well as ambassador to Washington, is keeping a steady hand on the tiller, even though the Minju-dominated National Assembly voted to impeach him shortly after impeaching Yoon. Thankfully Koreas constitutional court threw out Hans impeachment before agreeing unanimously to get rid of Yoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the ministers Yoon appointed to his conservative government are battling Trumps tariffs and his misbegotten notion of linking them to the costs of keeping Americas 28,500 troops in Korea. Having failed during his first term to get South Korea to pay $5 billion a year for U.S. forces, Trump is sure to demand far more than the $1.1 billion that former President Biden wound up agreeing on. Headlined a nosedive, a tailspin and a bloodbath, the precipitous drop in global stock markets after Trump said he was jacking up tariffs to unprecedented levels was far more than a one-day sensation. Trumps subsequent decision to suspend huge increases for all countries except China in the face of worldwide protests may postpone but hardly halts the chaos the world faces as he goes on trying to enforce tough bargains. China, Americas rival in the contest for regional power, is digging in for a long-term trade war, while Americas northeast Asian allies, Japan and South Korea, along with the independent island province of Taiwan, look for a viable accommodation with Trump in his drive to wipe out enormous trade imbalances. Koreas quest for a new deal with Trumps America is complicated by the struggle that leaves the country without a leader entrusted with setting policy long-range. Acting President Han would appear eminently qualified to talk over solutions, but hes not able to make a real deal while the leftist opposition salivates over the chance to take over. Trump has agreed to exempt smart phones and computers from reciprocal tariffs, but considering that Koreas trade surplus with the U.S. last year was $60.2 billion, he wont yield easily to pleas for mercy. U.S. troops and bases will be cards to play in the bargaining game. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lost in the deluge of propaganda is any reference to Chinas stupendous surplus of $270.48 billion last year in trade with the U.S. Ironically, Taiwan, population 24 million, has profited far more per capita than the mainland, population 1.4 billion, in warding off tariffs that could undermine Washingtons commitment to defend the island. President William Lai has said Taiwan wont retaliate against skyrocketing tariffs on exports that gave the island a surplus of $67.48 billion with the U.S. last year, and he promises to explore countermeasures in a quest for a zero-for-zero deal. Uncertainty, however, prevails. For Korea, the danger of Trumpian tariffs deepens the gap between far right and far left. The rightists, still waving American and Korean flags at mass protests, are convinced that Trump will forever be on their side against the communist North. They cant believe that Trump, eager for a reunion with his old friend, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, with whom he fell in love at their first summit in Singapore in June 2018, might gladly cooperate with Lee, the Souths likeliest next president, who also wants to renew talks with Kim. Rightists and Trump are in complete accord, however, in their hostility toward China. Echoing Trumps charge of the stolen 2020 presidential election, the rightists accuse China of rigging elections last year that gave the Minju its grip over the assembly, which Yoon accuses of blocking all he wanted to do as president. In this cauldron of conflict, Yoon, his former defense minister and about 20 others face trial for insurrection for staging the abortive coup. The trial of Yoon opened on Monday, pouring fuel on the embers that could burst into an explosion long before Kim Jong Un makes good on his threats to nuke the South. Donald Kirk has been a journalist for more than 60 years, focusing much of his career on conflict in Asia and the Middle East, including as a correspondent for the Washington Star and Chicago Tribune. He is currently a freelance correspondent covering North and South Korea, and is the author of several books about Asian affairs. 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. While most of the country spends Tax Day occupied with the stress of W2s, 1099s and tax-filing software, millionaires like us pay our tax attorneys top dollar to make sense of all the red tape for us. That doesnt mean Tax Day isnt still a nightmare for us, too, albeit for a different reason. For us, as Patriotic Millionaires, April 15 serves as a scary reminder of the rigged nature of Americas tax code. The U.S. tax system has enabled a concentration of wealth so extreme that it threatens our economy, our democracy and the planet. And this years Tax Day is even scarier, as Republicans are negotiating a tax bill that would further rig the system in favor of wealthy people like us and deepen Americas inequality crisis. According to Forbes 2025 Billionaires List, the U.S. has 902 billionaires whose combined net worth is a record $6.8 trillion. These 902 individuals hold more wealth than the entire bottom half of the country; their riches exceed the GDP of every country in the world aside from the U.S. and China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of the many factors that drive Americas growing inequality, our tax code is among the most significant. For much of the 20th century, the U.S. had a fairly progressive tax structure that limited large, dynastic fortunes. That is no longer the case. Those who are already rich can make money in ways that are subject to income taxes at lower rates or dont count as income at all (for example, by borrowing against unrealized capital gains). Billionaires now pay lower effective tax rates than all other income groups. For the ultrawealthy like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, paying $0 in federal income taxes isnt outside the realm of possibility. Our organization, Patriotic Millionaires, has frequently sounded the alarm over the threat that wealth inequality poses to society. Our economy doesnt stand a chance when this much money is concentrated in the hands of wealthy people like us. It leaves millions of working people without the incomes they need to buy products and services necessary for survival while also maintaining strong consumer demand. Our democracy doesnt stand a chance when a mere 100 billionaire families are responsible for 1 out of every 6 dollars spent in federal elections, giving them an outsized voice and access to our elected officials and candidates for office. And our planet doesnt stand a chance when the ultrawealthy can continue to accelerate climate change into overdrive with their private jets, superyachts and spaceships. The problem of extreme wealth has festered for years, if not decades, but it has taken on a new level of urgency with President Donald Trump and Elon Musk at the helm of the federal government. Billionaires subsidized Trumps ticket back to the White House, accounting for no less than a third of the funds he raised. Musk alone contributed $235 million to Trumps presidential bid. Now Musk and his fellow billionaires are getting major returns on their political investment, including the massive tax savings from the big, beautiful bill that the GOP is crafting. Last week, Republicans in the House and the Senate moved one step closer to passing their respective budget blueprints: Both of their plans would cut taxes by no less than $5 trillion, and most of those cuts would be used to extend many of the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act a bill that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy. If, as seems likely, the ultrawealthy receive another tax windfall from Republicans, it will only increase the threat that they pose to democracy. This would be bad news at any time and under any administration, but this is especially so under President Trump. Democracy is already hanging by a thread as the president targets perceived enemies, including universities, law firms and the media; purges the Justice Department of officials involved in criminal prosecutions against him; expresses interest in pursuing an unconstitutional third term in office; and declares himself a king on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be clear, we dont have a problem with wealth in and of itself. We make no apologies for our own financial success. People need financial incentives to innovate and work hard, and in the end, their ingenuity benefits all of us. What we do, however, have a problem with is a small handful of people having so much wealth that it inevitably becomes power. We have a problem with billionaires like Trump and Musk using the government to improve their own financial situations and business ventures. More than that, though, we have a problem with the fact that the tax code has done virtually nothing whatsoever to prevent the oligarchic crisis in which America finds itself. If our federal tax system continues to privilege income from wealth over income from work, and if Republicans get their way in passing even more tax cuts for the rich in the coming months, well have baked a totally oligarchic concentration of wealth into Americas economic cake. There are several actions lawmakers must take to safeguard society from the ravages of extreme wealth concentration, but it is imperative they begin with reforming the tax code to ensure all millionaires and billionaires like us pay our rightful share in taxes. Paying taxes for the betterment of society is our civic duty that we are glad to do, because those who dont have the wealth we have should be able to not only survive but thrive in our society. And with so much on the line, it is important that wealthy people carry out this sacred duty now more than ever. Theres no sugarcoating it: Tax Day is a nightmare. And thanks to what Trump, Musk and other ultrawealthy oligarchs are doing to our country, that nightmare has become recurring. To wake our country up and pull our economy, democracy and planet back from the brink of total collapse, lawmakers need to tax wealthy people like us before its too late. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Our country needs more Black teachers and those teachers deserve to feel safe and supported when they show up to serve. This statement is not about racial preference, or any so-called woke priorities. Its about improving learning outcomes for all children. And right now, with public schools divided among racial, ethnic and economic lines even more than they have been since the Civil Rights era, those who claim to care about Black childrens success in school should care whether those students see themselves reflected in those teaching them. Studies show the power of Black teachers and culturally responsive learning environments. They contribute to higher achievement, increased critical thinking skills, and better preparation for a global workforce. By contrast, eliminating these efforts ensures that future generations, especially Black and Latino students, face even greater barriers to success. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Ronald Reagan understood this. Reagan, the GOPs lionized conservative icon, encouraged our country to put more Black teachers in our classrooms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1987, Reagan issued Proclamation 5743African-American Education Week, recognizing the significant contributions of Black teachers within American society. It urged citizens to honor Black educators and acknowledge the historical challenges theyd surmounted. The proclamation states: So that America continues to remain a land of opportunity for all people we should encourage a wide representation of African Americans as teachers and continued concern for African American students. Reagan, the classic America First president, cared enough about our countrys future to emphasize the need for Black educators. But in todays GOP, which has embraced racial polarization and denies the need for any race-based initiatives, Reagan would be derided and booted out. Today, Ronald Reagan would be labeled woke (although others had more colorful names for him) by the Trump administration and his followers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The divergence between these two Republican presidents highlights how far half of the body politic has moved in just under four decades. We are moving socially and politically backwards at a time when our country is becoming increasingly more diverse. The recent executive orders, veiled as an attempt to reduce government spending, and applied on Trumps first day in office before any real due diligence on expenditures could be accounted for, set sights on setting ablaze the public education system. While federal dollars account for about 14% of funding to public schools, public schools are an easy political target. Weaponizing racial equity initiatives that support students such as actively recruiting more Black teachers helps score cheap political points. The effect on students is of no concern to those now in control. Related To Be a Black American Educator Is to Be in a Constant State of Hope and Rage Historically, Republican leaders, even if reluctantly, recognized that investing in education and ensuring access for all Americans, including Black students, was crucial for national prosperity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Republican party of Reagans era somewhat embraced the contributions of Black educators and the essential importance of education for Black Americans to succeed. Today it has been declared that to Make America Great Again, we must erase all mention of race from public discourse in the name of parity while simultaneously rewriting history to remove inconvenient and painful realities. Reagans public acknowledgment of the need for Black educators and inclusive learning environments reflects at least a basic understanding that when diverse talent flourishes, so does the nation and its economy. This appears to elude current Republican leadership. We have to ask: What does the Republican party lose by having a diversified workforce? An increased number of Black teachers? More educated Black students? What could be gained if we did have all three? As their anti-woke fever dreams come to life, they are destroying the very tools that could make America stronger, more competitive, more prosperous and actually great. The Republican party of Reagans era paid lip service to the idea that Black achievement was part of Americas success. The Republican party of Trump, however, seems determined to move the country closer to a dangerous precipice by erasing that idea altogether. Americans have come to rely on the promise that every citizen has the right to have their voice heard. But the U.S. House of Representatives largely erased that promise last week when, in a 220-208 vote, it passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. Dont be fooled by its heroic-sounding name. This legislation aims to disenfranchise millions of voters, many of them people of color and women, and further concentrate power among those who are already powerful. The law would require people looking to register to vote to provide passports or birth certificates and, for citizens who dont have those documents at their disposal, acquiring them costs both money and time. Thus, the so-called SAVE Act would undermine voting rights and block some citizens from the ballot box. The Center for American Progress reports that approximately 146 million American citizens don't own a passport. But thats not all. The bill would make it harder for the tens of millions of spouses who have changed their last names through marriage to vote because, for example, the name on their birth certificate wont match the name they use to vote. And the SAVE Acts in-person registration requirement would force roughly 60 million rural residents to drive far from home to become eligible to vote. What will be next? Will we soon be forced to take literacy tests to prove our right to vote? Will voters be forced to pay a poll tax to cast their ballots? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the lies that some elected leaders have told, the SAVE Act would do nothing more than legalize voter suppression. Lets be clear. Voter fraud is a myth. There is little, if any, credible evidence that widespread voter fraud exists. The justification for the law is rooted in a divisive lie a dog whistle that our elections are not secure. They are. The SAVE Act is the latest in a string of voter suppression efforts that have been growing longer in recent years. Last-minute polling place changes, polling place closures that result in predictably long lines, and voter roll purges the kinds of things that the Voting Rights Act used to protect against are all forms of voter suppression, and those acts of suppression disproportionately affect communities of color. The obvious goal? To deter Black and brown voters from casting their ballots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All around the country, the NAACP has been fighting attempts to silence voters. We refuse to sit idly by as the House tries to return this country to a time when the right to vote depended on being white, being male, and owning property. For the last three months, Congress and the Trump-Musk administration have shown the American people it cannot be trusted. Americans have watched political leaders recklessly gut key jobs from our federal workforce, threaten Social Security and Medicaid and bully our allies around the world. Trump posting This is a great time to buy, and then announcing a suspension of certain tariffs that caused the stock market to spike, prompted questions about whether he was manipulating the stock market. Meanwhile, millions of American families are struggling to put food on the table. So its not surprising that the House passed this legislation that, under the pretense of preserving democracy, would have the effect of silencing millions of voters across the country. The SAVE Act is not being proposed in isolation. Its part of a larger undoing of our democracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cannot allow the right to vote our means of shaping policies and our future to be taken away from us. There is still time to protect voting rights. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., has already reintroduced, would ensure American citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in our democracy. And it would prevent states with a history of discriminatory voting practices from implementing new laws or changes that could harm voters. The NAACP calls on Congress to ditch the SAVE Act and pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act instead. The Lewis act aims to restore and strengthen protections against voter discrimination that were eroded by the Supreme Court in 2013. By restoring key elements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and addressing loopholes exploited to undermine fair elections, the act will ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in our democracy instead of blocking American citizens from voting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SAVE Act would not result in fair elections. But the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, named for the late U.S. representative from Georgia and civil rights activist who put his life on the line in Selma, Ala., for voting rights for all, would. Lewis correctly believed that every citizen regardless of political party or background has a voice that deserves to be heard at the ballot box. The right to vote is one of the most sacred principles of our nation. Protecting voting rights is not a partisan issue its an American one. The SAVE Act furthers a partisan lie that voter fraud is threatening our democracy. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, by contrast, recognizes that voter suppression is the threat and promotes the nonpartisan idea that more people voting is the path to more democracy. Rather than passing a bill that pretends to save our democracy, lets actually do something to save it before it is too late. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com We recently published a list of Goldman Sachs Value Stocks: Top 12 Stock Picks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) stands against other Goldman Sachs value stocks to invest in. As we recently discussed in another article, growth stocks are massively overvalued and trading at significant premiums, which is why investment firms advise investors to concentrate on value stocks. Near the end of March 2025, artificial intelligence stocks that had taken the market over by storm faced losses, while undervalued stocks gained momentum. Similarly, hedge fund managers believe that now is the time to invest in value stocks, with cheap equities available across all industries. Banks, energy, consumer durables, healthcare, and media companies offer lucrative investment opportunities. So, what is value investing? Matthew Fine, portfolio manager at Third Avenue Management, describes it as identifying companies trading at a notable discount to a conservative estimate of their true value. These opportunities often arise when a business, industry, or region faces challenges that cause investors to overreact and assume current difficulties will persist long-term. This pessimism creates chances to invest at attractive valuations. While broader equity markets currently appear overvalued, largely driven by the United States, Third Avenue sees overlooked value in many individual companies. Despite a rocky economy, the fund manager believes many quality businesses have become even cheaper, offering compelling opportunities for patient investors. However, the key is to avoid buying a company that seems cheap just because it has temporary advantages that might not last. Warren Buffett is the king of value investing, and back in 2023, he commented in his annual shareholder meeting that what gives you opportunities is other people doing dumb things. Buffetts Berkshire picks up stocks when others are panic-selling their holdings, and although the Oracle of Omaha understands that the world is rapidly changing, he still sees several value investing opportunities. Overall, the stock market is in mayhem because of the uncertainty brought on by US trade wars and tariffs. However, institutional investors like Goldman Sachs align with the market perspective and have a thriving $634 billion portfolio. So, lets take a look at the top Goldman Sachs value stocks. Is The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) Among The Top Goldman Sachs Value Stocks? A happy couple viewing the products of this household and personal product company in a mass merchandiser store. Our Methodology To compile our list of Goldman Sachs' top value stock picks, we searched the investment firms Q4 2024 portfolio, starting from the top and assessing the PE ratios as of April 11. From there, we chose the top 12 stocks with PE ratios of 25 or under as Goldman Sachs' value picks. We have also mentioned the Q4 2024 hedge fund sentiment around the holdings for further insight. The list is ranked in ascending order of Goldman Sachs stake value. This story was originally published on Trucking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Trucking Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Saia is transitioning its customer service functions to local terminals in order to speed response time, the company told Trucking Dive in an email. The restructuring resulted in "workforce impacts" at its general offices in Johns Creek, Georgia, and Boise, Idaho, the company said. We have invested in bringing customer service closer to the client by leveraging technology and allowing customers to call their local terminal directly for faster response times that will deliver an improved customer experience, Saia said. Dive Insight: Saia said the changes were made to "better align with the evolving needs of the business and customer expectations." Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group, explained that rationale in an interview, noting having shippers call a central office for status updates, only for the central office to call the local terminal, just adds an "extra cog in the wheel." Now the reason why some companies have it centralized is their customer service people, if that's all they do, can be more productive," Jindel said."Because if you position [customer service representatives] in the local facilities, they may not have enough to do." For example, a company that relies on union labor can have very tightly defined job roles, which makes it difficult to rotate tasks. If you're a driver, you come back from delivering shipment in six hours instead of eight hours, you can't be asked to work on the dock for those two hours, he said. Response time also matters to shippers, as having a local carrier presence helps even when their needs arent being met, according to Arash Azadegan, a supply chain professor at Rutgers University. Me being the carrier, you being a shipper, at least you have a face, an eyeball, and some empathy associated with that. And so you're going to give me a break merely by physical presence that might not be available otherwise, Azadegan told Trucking Dive in an interview. With recent tariff back and forth, shippers need responsiveness from carriers even more right now. Imagine if you have a ship that is not docked, right, and the tariffs are going to be put in place as of 48 hours from now, Azadegan said as an example. Suddenly, there's going to be a need for responsiveness by the carriers to do something to get that particular ship or that particular container, right, from a particular customer docket a lot faster than the other one. PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) Akber Khan is seeing a brisk trade at his restaurant in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar. Staff fan skewers of grilled meats and dole out rice and salad. As an Afghan, Khan ought to be leaving as part of a nationwide crackdown on foreigners the Pakistani government says are living in the country illegally. But the only heat he feels is from the kitchen. I have been here for almost 50 years. I got married here, so did my children, and 10 of my family members are buried here. Thats why we have no desire to leave, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Khan is one of more than 3 million Afghans that Pakistan wants to expel this year. At least a third live in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and thats just those with documents like an Afghan Citizen Card or proof of registration. It is not clear how many undocumented Afghans are in the country. Shared cultural, ethnic and linguistic ties The provincial government led by the party of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan appears reluctant to repatriate Afghans. Mountainous terrain, sectarian violence and an array of militant groups have also challenged the central government's expulsion ambitions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Afghans can never be completely repatriated, especially from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as they return using illegal channels or exploiting loopholes in the system despite fencing at the border, said Abdullah Khan, managing director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies. Many villages along the border are divided between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and people in the past three or four decades were never stopped from visiting either side. Khyber Pakhtunkhwas proximity to Afghanistan, together with shared ethnic, cultural and linguistic ties, make it a natural destination for Afghans. The province has hosted significant numbers since the 1980s. Many Afghans have integrated, even marrying locals. The region feels familiar and its easier to access through legal and illegal routes than other parts of Pakistan. While the provincial government was cooperating with federal counterparts, policy implementation remained slow, analyst Khan told The Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The (local) government is sympathetic to Afghans for multiple reasons," he said. "They share the same traditions and culture as the province, and former Prime Minister Imran Khan during his days in power consistently opposed coercive measures toward Afghan refugees. Authorities are also wary about unrest, with Afghans living in almost all of the provinces cities, towns and villages. A slow repatriation rate Although police were raiding homes in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other cities in Punjab and Sindh province farther from the border, the lack of aggressive enforcement was the main reason for the slow repatriation rate, analyst Khan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pressure on Pakistan to have a change of heart from rights groups, aid agencies and Afghanistan's Taliban government could also be a factor. More than 35,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since the start of April through the northwest Torkham crossing. Its a far cry from the volume seen in the early phases of the expulsion campaign in 2023, when hundreds of thousands fled to beat a government-imposed deadline to leave. Many recent deportations have been from eastern Punjab, which is hundreds of kilometers from the border and home to some 200,000 Afghans with documents. We are going under duress Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a highway rest stop on the outskirts of Peshawar, a truck carrying 30 Afghans stopped to give passengers a break before they left Pakistan for good. They had come from Punjab. Families nestled among furniture, clothes and other items. A woman in a burqa, the covering commonly seen in Afghanistan, clambered down. Ajab Gul said the actions of Pakistani officials had forced them to leave: We didnt want to go. They raided our houses two or three times. We are going under duress. Another truckload of passengers from Punjab pulled over by the Torkham border crossing to speak to the AP. Jannat Gul outlined the dilemma that awaited many. Our childrens education (in Afghanistan) has been destroyed. Were going there, but we have no connections, no acquaintances. In fact, people often call us Pakistanis. No one regards us as Afghan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If they take him, I will stop them There were happier scenes at the Kababayan refugee camp in Peshawar, where children played and ate ice cream in the sunshine. The camp, established in 1980 shortly after the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, is home to more than 15,000 people and has schools, a health center, electricity and drinking water. School is a crucial reason Afghans want to stay in Pakistan, because the Taliban have barred girls from education beyond sixth grade. Muhammad Zameer, a camp resident, said girls education was non-existent across the border. Other camp residents have a different concern: their Afghan husbands. Afghan men face deportation, and their local wives are unhappy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some are fighting to get their husbands a Pakistani identity card, which unlocks basic public services as well as indefinite stay, property ownership, bank account access and employment. Some wives said they are willing to fight anyone deporting their husbands. I never imagined the government would treat my husband like this, said one, Taslima. If they take him, I will stop them." ___ Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report. A Palestinian student at Columbia University went into a Vermont immigration office Monday hoping to begin the final step to becoming a US citizen. But instead of having an interview, Mohsen Mahdawi whos been in the United States for a decade was taken away in handcuffs. Immigration officials detained Mahdawi, a prominent organizer of pro-Palestinian protests on campus a year ago, at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services facility in Colchester, Vermont, where he lives, his lawyer told CNN. His detention appears to be part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters from last spring. A Vermont District judge has since issued a temporary restraining order preventing his removal from the US or Vermont. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian, Mahdawis attorney, Luna Droubi, wrote to CNN in a statement. His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional. The Department of Homeland Security referred CNN to the State Department, which declined to comment on the matter at this time. Mahdawi, a senior at Columbia, stepped back from his pro-Palestinian organizing in March 2024, before students started an encampment and occupied university buildings, drawing national scrutiny and a large police presence on campus. He has plans to enroll in a masters program at the school this fall, according to his attorneys. He began the citizenship process in 2024, his lawyer told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahdawi grew up in a refugee camp in the West Bank and has been a lawful permanent resident for a decade, according to a habeas corpus petition filed on his behalf. His family remains in the West Bank. His attorneys submitted the motion in Vermonts federal district court, calling for his release on bail, pending adjudication. Vermont District Court Judge William Sessions issued a temporary restraining order preventing his removal from Vermont and from the country. Mahdawi is the second Palestinian student at Columbia with a green card who has been detained by immigration authorities for removal from the country. The other is Mahmoud Khalil, one of the lead negotiators of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia, who was arrested March 8. Mahdawi and Khalil co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in the fall of 2023. Khalil is a permanent resident and his wife is a US citizen. Khalil is being held at a detention facility in Louisiana, pending litigation on his detention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahdawi remains in Vermont, according to a statement from his lawyers, and his attorneys have been able to speak with him. We have confirmation he remains in Vermont from Acting US Attorney (Michael) Drescher and from the local ICE office, Droubi told CNN. One of his lawyers was able to speak to him. If they now choose to move him from Vermont, it will have been with full knowledge of the courts order telling them not to. Other students detained in similar situations have been transferred to detention facilities in Louisiana and Texas before a judge could order that they remain in the place they were originally detained. Such transfers underscore ICEs power in deciding where to house detained migrants a power that some immigration attorneys say the Trump administration is now using to move disfavored migrants far from their attorneys, families and support systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbia University declined to comment, citing privacy obligations. Vermonts congressional delegation, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Rep. Becca Balint, released a joint statement condemning the detention, calling it immoral, inhumane and illegal. Earlier today, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process, they wrote. Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered. This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention. In its move to cancel Mahdawis green card, his lawyer wrote in the filing, the Trump administration appears to be citing the foreign policy rule of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which grants the secretary of state the authority to cancel someones permanent residency if they are deemed to pose a threat to American foreign policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week discussed visa and green card revocations tied to protests on campus, saying people involved in the 2024 protests helped fuel antisemitism across the nation. If theyre taking activities that are counter to our national interest, to our foreign policy, well revoke the visa, Rubio said. Mahdawi spoke to the CBS program 60 Minutes in December 2023 about his activism on Columbias campus and his experience as a Palestinian. During the interview, Mahdawi also spoke about antisemitism. The fight for freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand in hand because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, Mahdawi told CBS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday, a Louisiana immigration judge ruled Khalil is subject to removal given the governments determination that Khalil endangered American foreign policy. Khalils case is also being litigated in a district court in New Jersey, and the immigration judges ruling in Louisiana can be appealed, meaning Khalils deportation is on hold. His attorneys have made clear they plan to appeal. Khalil and Mahdawi are part of a group of students on college campuses who have student visas or green cards whom the government has detained as part of what the Trump administration claims are efforts to crack down on antisemitism and pro-Palestinian protests. CNNs Eric Levenson and Gloria Pazmino contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A Pennsylvania woman was arrested by Palm Beach Police on Saturday after they said she tried to get into President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club to have dinner with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr. Adrienne Tajirian, 58, was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail early Sunday morning on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, records show. She was released Sunday afternoon without bond, according to jail records. She pleaded not guilty, and was ordered by Palm Beach County Judge Reginald Corlew to have no contact with Trump or Mar-a-Lago, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tajirian is represented by the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office, which as a policy does not comment on open cases. Trump arrived Friday evening for his ninth weekend at Mar-a-Lago since taking office Jan. 20. On Saturday night, he briefly traveled to Miami to attend a UFC mixed martial arts match before coming back to Palm Beach. Trump returned to Washington, D.C., on Sunday night. Tajirian first tried to enter Mar-a-Lago at 12:21 a.m. Saturday to speak with Trump, and Palm Beach Police issued her a trespass warning, according to an arrest report. She then was stopped at 10:19 p.m. Saturday at a tent through which vehicles going to Mar-a-Lago must pass before entering the property, which is part of a security zone established by the U.S. Secret Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After police took Tajirian into custody and informed her of her rights, she said that she knew she violated the trespass warning, but also said she felt that she was invited to have dinner with Donald Trump Jr., Trump's eldest son. President Donald Trump sports a hat that reads,"Gulf of America, yet another TRUMP development" as he waves next to Elon Must as he leaves Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on April 12, 2025. Other recent arrests at Mar-a-Lago Tarijian is the latest person to be arrested at Mar-a-Lago since Trump's inauguration. On Jan. 22, 32-year-old Bijan Arceo of Sunny Isles Beach was arrested by Palm Beach Police after he jumped over the security wall along Mar-a-Lagos east side. Arceo was ordered to complete a pre-trial diversion program that includes 25 hours of community service by April 17, court records show. He must have no contact with Mar-a-Lago for 90 days and cannot have any new arrests during that time, records show. On Feb. 13, Jeffrey Daniel Olson was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service after investigators said Olson jumped over a wall onto the lawn at Mar-a-Lago. Olson was charged with knowingly entering a restricted building. He faces up to one year in federal prison, five years of probation and a fine of $100,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least five others have tried to reach Trump at his Palm Beach home since July 13, when a shooter killed one person and injured three others, including Trump, at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. After that incident, the Secret Service ramped up security around all of Trumps properties. Security was made even tighter around Mar-a-Lago after Trumps Nov. 5 general election win. The first person arrested after July 13 was Zijie Li, 39, a Chinese national who traveled from California to Palm Beach to make multiple attempts to get into Mar-a-Lago to speak with Trump. Li on July 31 was arrested and charged with trespassing. On Nov. 7, he was arrested again after he went back to Mar-a-Lago just hours after being released from a 72-hour mental health hold. On Nov. 21, Li was declared incompetent following a psychologists report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second person to be arrested after July 13 was Patrick Webster Warren, 42, of South Carolina. He was arrested Aug. 13 after police said he walked around concrete barricades next to Mar-a-Lago. When the Secret Service stopped him, Warren reportedly told officers that he wanted to get Trumps autograph and have him sign a T-shirt. Warren pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor trespassing charges: trespassing on a property other than a structure and loitering or prowling. He was released on a $3,000 bond, which he forfeited when he failed to attend a pair of hearings in Palm Beach County court, records show. Judge Ashley Zuckerman on Dec. 6 issued a warrant for Warren. On Nov. 14, 53-year-old Farbod Dolat of Sarasota was arrested by Palm Beach Police, who said Dolat drove across the Sunshine State in a stolen car to try to speak to Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Dolat pleaded not guilty to felony charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle and driving without a valid drivers license. On Dec. 5, Palm Beach Police arrested 62-year-old Ruby Rodriguez of California on a trespassing charge at Mar-a-Lago. She had first tried to get into the club the previous day and said she wanted to meet with Trump, an arrest report said. Rodriguez in December filed a guilty plea, and Palm Beach County Judge Frank Castor withheld adjudication, meaning there will not be a conviction on Rodriguez's record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Castor sentenced Rodriguez to a year of probation and 19 days of jail time, with credit for the 19 days she served, court records show. Rodriguez was also ordered to pay $373 in court fees, which were paid Dec. 20, according to county records. Also Dec. 5, Palm Beach Police arrested a teenager who they said walked down the beach from near Midtown toward Mar-a-Lago with a plan to paint the message Carthage Vs. Rome on the wall of Mar-a-Lago. (This story was updated to add new information.) Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Police arrest woman on trespassing charge at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) A man who admits lying to Nebraska officials in January about the price of a vehicle he purchased wont be allowed to become a law enforcement officer in South Dakota. The decision to deny certification eligibility for Ryken Ishman came Tuesday during the South Dakota Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission meeting in Deadwood. The 21-year-old Ishman filed false information in Nebraska stating that he paid $500 for a vehicle when the actual purchase price was $10,000. He could have been charged with a felony crime had his action occurred in South Dakota. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Field fire breaks out in Tea Pierre Police Chief Jason Jones told the South Dakota Commission on Tuesday that Ishman made a good impression during an interview and that he wanted to hire Ishman as a law enforcement officer. The Pierre City Commission approved the hiring at its March 25 meeting. I think he understands fully what he has done, Chief Jones said. Ishman chose to appear online for the state commissions meeting. I havent been able to stop thinking about this, obviously not the right thing to do. If I could go back and do it again, I would take it back, Ishman said. Ishman was asked whether a criminal charge had been filed against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No, he answered. Then he was asked whether he had corrected the illegal filing in Nebraska. No, he said. Commissioner Steve Allender, a former Rapid City mayor and police chief, said that Ishmans eligibility to be certified as a law enforcement officer in South Dakota should be denied. Allender said that the matter before the commission was public and the information would be published forever that Ishman had committed a crime three months ago in Nebraska. Allender said it would be wrong for the commission to let Ishman remain eligible for certification when there could be an indictment issued. I think it would be a bad move, especially with a three-month-old incident, to give this person eligibility to become a law enforcement officer, Allender said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was no further discussion. The commission in a voice voice unanimously denied eligibility. The commission in other action on Tuesday: Revoked certification of Brookings County deputy Kevin Murfield. The commission found that Murfield had engaged in conduct unbecoming a law enforcement officer because he had shown an investigation photo to a woman with whom he was romantically involved at the time. The woman filed a complaint against Murfield after their relationship had ended and he then began dating someone else. Reinstated eligibility for Tate Fremo. The commission had decertified him in March 2024. Fremo had been working at the Hughes County Jail when he took home a preliminary breath test machine and some plastic blow tubes from the jail without telling his supervisors. Fremo told the commission on Tuesday that he had made obviously a stupid decision and exercised poor judgment and now sought a second chance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denied eligibility reinstatement for Albert Little Elk, who was fired as an officer by Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services after using a taser on a man who was a nephew of the then-Rosebud police chief. Reinstated certification for Paige Erickson, who was a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper from 2016 into 2021. She let her certification lapse. She now is a Lead police officer. Reinstated certification for Khrista Nelson, who was a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper from 2014 into 2019. She let her certification lapse. She now is a deputy for the Pennington County Sheriff 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 KELOLAND.com. House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, speaks to reporters at a news conference in his office at the state Capitol on Feb. 13, 2025. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY A House panel on Tuesday passed a controversial bill that would make it more difficult for residents to get issues on the ballot. Senate Bill 1027 would limit the number of signatures that can be collected in each county to 11.5% of votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election for a statutory change. For a constitutional change, the number of signatures collected could not exceed 20.8% per county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics say changing the states initiative petition process would dilute the voting power of those in urban counties, while supporters argue that it is important to ensure election integrity and transparency. It pushes out the signature gathering process to make sure that its not all confined to the metros, said House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, the House author. Currently, signature gatherers arent going to some rural counties, Hilbert said. All this does is require people to go out to multiple counties instead of just sticking to the two urban metros to get their signatures, Hilbert said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, it takes 92,263 signatures for a statutory change and 172,993 for a constitutional amendment to get on the ballot. Signature collectors can be paid and be from out of state. No financial disclosure is required. Money from out of state can be used. Rep. Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, said in prior years, there have been other iterations of the bill trying to hinder the publics ability to engage in the process after voters upheld the separation of church and state, modernized alcohol laws and legalized medical marijuana. Bennett said the real issue is that urban voters are making decisions that rural lawmakers dont like. I am sick and tired of 50% of Oklahoma being made to be less Oklahoman than rural Oklahoma, just because we live in a more dense space, Bennett said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure would also give the secretary of state, who is appointed by the governor, the power to remove the gist, the brief summary of the ballot measure that voters see at the top of the signature sheet. Currently, the attorney general reviews the ballot title, the language on the actual ballot. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has checks on both the gist and the ballot title. Any Oklahoman can file a challenge to the gist before signature collection begins. Under Hilberts bill, circulators must be registered Oklahoma voters, disclose if they are being paid and the source of the payment. Paid circulators could not take money from an entity outside Oklahoma or be paid based on the number of signatures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure passed by a vote of 14-4. Its passage was met with boos from some members of the audience. The measure moves to the House for consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Editor's note: This article contains graphic descriptions. SUMY Valeriia Maksimova and her husband woke up to the first explosion in central Sumy at around 10 a.m. Their house was damaged by the blast wave. The 38-year-old rushed to the kitchen to start clearing the rubble when the second explosion struck, throwing her three meters, into the corridor. Their apartment was all but destroyed. Everything happened so quickly, Maksimova told the Kyiv Independent the day after the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maksimova, her husband, and their 19-year-old son were lucky to survive. Russias morning double-tap missile strike on the northeastern city of Sumy killed 35 civilians and wounded over 110 in what became the deadliest attack in many months. Two children were among the killed. Russia deployed cluster munitions in its second attack that occurred a few minutes after the first, inflicting deliberate casualties on civilians in downtown Sumy on Palm Sunday, local authorities told the Kyiv Independent. Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink confirmed Russias deployment of the cluster munitions on April 13. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maksimovas husband, Volodymyr, remembers witnessing half a body outside, saying that it was impossible to watch. For him, it is a shock that the apartment where he had lived all his life and where he raised his only son was now without windows and covered in rubble. Valeriia Maksimova, 38, stands in front of her apartment building, where she had sustained an injury following Russia's ballistic missile strike just outside, in the northeastern city of Sumy on April 14, 2025. (Nick Allard / The Kyiv Independent) We could have never imagined that such things would happen, Volodymyr said, describing what he saw outside as panic, screams, and hysteria. The whole street was covered with corpses and wounded people, he added. The deadly attack comes as the U.S. tries to end the three-year-long war in Ukraine at all costs, pushing for a rushed peace deal. Two days before the attack, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss aspects of the Ukrainian settlement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. President Donald Trump, who has long stood by his belief that Russia was serious about peace talks, called the Sumy attack terrible but added that Russia conducted it by mistake without elaborating further. The Sumy attack followed another deadly Russian missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih in the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on April 4, which saw 20 people killed, including nine children. Bodies of two people killed in a Russian ballistic missile strike lie covered with an emergency blanket at the attack site in the northeastern city of Sumy on April 13, 2025. (Yehor Kryvoruchko/Kordon.Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) The weak American response to the attacks was contrasted by a frank one from Europe. European leaders condemned the Russian attack on Sumy as a war crime, with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying that he was appalled by Moscows latest targeting of civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement French President Emmanuel Macron called for stronger measures to impose the ceasefire on Russia, echoing President Volodymyr Zelenskys call. European countries have also mustered up billions of dollars in military support. Read also: These parents and children were killed by Russia after Kyiv agreed to 30-day ceasefire Distrustful of peace talks From morning up until sundown, relatives and friends of the killed, as well as many locals who were devastated by the strike, dropped by the blast site to lay flowers and toys in tribute to the victims. Sumy residents who spoke to the Kyiv Independent harshly dismissed the feasibility of peace talks, saying that the attacks have only gotten worse in recent months compared to a year ago. Many said they now live in fear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also expressed deep hatred toward Russia for continuously launching such deadly attacks. Oleh Strilka, spokesperson for the State Emergency Service in Sumy Oblast, talks to the Kyiv Independent at the attack site in the northeastern city of Sumy on April 14, 2025. (Nick Allard / The Kyiv Independent) The attacks in the northeastern areas have intensified following Ukraines surprise cross-border incursion into Russias adjacent Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian troops held a nearby town of Sudzha for seven months before they were forced to withdraw in March. Fighting still continues in the border areas. Emergency workers continued to dismantle the ruins of the Sumy State University building that was ruined by the Russian attack, carefully using a crane to ensure there were no victims inside. They told the Kyiv Independent that all casualties were pedestrians and civilians in their own vehicles or public transport, with no victims found under the rubble in any of the destruction or damaged sites. The emergency workers found the largest number of killed victims in the burnt bus, with the preliminary count being seven dead, according to Oleh Strilka, a 35-year-old spokesperson at the local State Emergency Service. There were elderly people and children in the bus, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two emergency workers told the Kyiv Independent that the team had to break down the burnt-out vehicles to recover the corpses. The body of a man killed in a Russian ballistic missile strike lies next to a wrecked bus in the northeastern city of Sumy on April 13, 2025. (Oleksandr Oleksienko/Kordon.Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) You never see such things in terrible films, people being burnt alive, Strilka told the Kyiv Independent at the attack site, saying that he believes Russia is trying to destroy us. In one of the vehicles, one of the emergency workers said he saw two people who had been burned alive, and in another, there was a victim who had suffered from shrapnel wounds and died before the rescuers were able to pull the wounded out. Over 50 buildings were damaged in central Sumy, according to the State Emergency Service. The constant aerial threat veiled Sumy throughout the day on April 14, with the emergency workers having to rush to the shelter each time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two missile attacks happened within less than five minutes of each other, giving enough people and rescuers time to run outside to help the wounded when the second one struck, according to the emergency service workers interviewed. Iryna Kulomza, who oversees a seafood shop owned by her son underneath Maksimovas apartment building, is now uncertain about her business prospects. Iryna Kulomza, who oversees a seafood shop owned by her son that was damaged by a Russian missile strike just outside, talks to the Kyiv Independent in the northeastern city of Sumy on April 14, 2025. (Nick Allard / The Kyiv Independent) The director of the shop had received heavy injuries and remains in the hospital awaiting surgery after she had run outside to help the wounded following the first strike. Her other employees working that day were wounded as well. Kulomza said that her 25-year-old family business, Dary Morya, had been heavily affected by the war. Just a week ago, she said that the businesss manufacturing site had been struck with Shahed-type attack drones, burning nearly 500 tons of goods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard to say something, we dont know (what our future holds), Kulomza said, who expressed uncertainty over heading to the basement shelter each time there is an aerial threat or putting the employees at risk. As Kulomza was speaking, the employees were busy cleaning the damaged shop. Read also: All the presidents men: Inside the closed world of Putins key advisors The feeling of uncertainty and devastation was spread across the entire city, home to some 250,000 people before the full-scale war, the day after the missile attack. Three elderly women sat on a bench outside in the courtyard behind their apartment building, facing the intersection and the demolished university building on April 14. One of them, Liudmyla Shelyhina, said they sat in different spots to distract themselves from what was happening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shaken from what happened the day prior, the 70-year-old, who walks with a cane, had hit her head hard due to the blast wave and had suffered a concussion. She said that something had fallen on her legs as well. People lay flowers as they visit a makeshift memorial at the site of a missile attack in the northeastern city of Sumy on April 14, 2025. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images) A woman reacts as she visits a makeshift memorial at the site of a missile attack in the northeastern city of Sumy on April 14, 2025. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images) She is worried whether her pension of 4,000 hryvnia (about $100) would be enough to support the damage left behind from the attack in her apartment. But she said she has her husbands support. While Shelyhina said that even though she had warm memories of Sumy and the recollection from her younger years in the neighborhood, now there are no good memories that she remembers because of the series of devastating attacks and war horrors. Dismissing prospects of the U.S. trying to pull through peace negotiations with Russia, Shelyhina said that she is scared, not for herself but for those who havent lived their lives yet. You can only negotiate with a person who will give you his words and keep them, Shelyhina told the Kyiv Independent. If a person gives you his words and then tries to deceive you, what kind of negotiations (can we have)? Read also: Everything we heard from Russians was a lie Chinese fighters captured by Ukraine speak out Note from the author: This is Asami from the Kyiv Independent. Thank you for reading the story. Telling human stories is the most difficult part of my work, at least for me. Russia's deadly attacks against Ukraine rage on, killing many civilians who had already suffered so much from the war. My colleagues and I are working around the clock to bring you the latest updates. Please consider joining the Kyiv Independent community. Your support helps sustain our work. Thank you. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Paris has expelled 12 Algerian diplomats in response to the expulsion of French embassy staff from Algeria, and President Emmanuel Macron has recalled the French ambassador in Algeria for consultations, the Elysee Palace announced on Tuesday. The diplomatic dispute marks the current peak of ongoing tensions between the North African country and its former colonial power, France. The background to the current conflict is the arrest of three Algerians in France, including a consulate employee. They are alleged about a year ago to have temporarily abducted an Algerian influencer in France who is critical of the government in Algiers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "France takes note with dismay of the decision by the Algerian authorities to expel 12 diplomatic representatives serving at our embassy in Algiers," the Elysee Palace declared. It said the decision was unjustified and incomprehensible. Algeria had justified it with the arrest of the consulate employee. France is now expelling 12 Algerian consular and diplomatic employees, according to the Elysee. "The Algerian authorities bear responsibility for a brutal deterioration of our bilateral relations," it said. According to the Paris Foreign Ministry, this is a unique occurrence since the independence of the North African country in 1962. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Parents of special education students met with Park Hill School District officials on Monday evening, urging them to put a plan on hold that they say would disrupt students who already find change to be difficult. They say a process that will send some special education students to new schools was very different from the redistricting process that took place earlier this year, where parent feedback was solicited through open houses, surveys and committees with parent involvement. Metro nonprofits deal with uncertainty surrounding future grant money Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The school board unanimously approved the redistricting plan in December after it announced the opening of a twelfth elementary school year in 2025. Superintendent Dr. Mike Kimbrel explained at Mondays Special Education Parent Advisory Committee meeting that special education wasnt part of those group discussions during redistricting because of privacy concerns. Leigh Grinter worries how her fifth grade son will do at a new school next year, where he doesnt know any of his classmates or teachers. Hes non-verbal and non-mobile. Grinter said she was informed in late February he will be moving to a new school based on changes to the districts special education programming model. A change like this, hes going to wonder where his people are and why he is in a strange place and they are not there with him, Grinter said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The district says the changes were born both out of redistrictings goals of establishing feeder schools from elementary through high school and feedback from special education teachers on how to improve programs, classroom space and safety and help recruit and retain staff. Weve aligned programs for our special education department for our specialized programming, meaning we are going to have feeder patterns of programs to support individualized needs, Kelly Wachel, Park Hill School District chief communications officer, said. Park Hill said the objective was to move as few students as possible while also accounting for needs and quality classroom spaces available. It says it is happy to assist with transition meetings to support students. The districts PTA President doesnt see the changes as an improvement or like how they were implemented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its horrible and its discrimination. You would never treat another parent that way, so why are we treating the children with disabilities and their family? We spent a lot of money and a lot of man hours for the redistricting process. So why were children with disabilities not part of that discussion? Kelli Johnson said. The community was not involved in this decision, it was done very secretly behind closed doors. It was like they tried to sweep it under the rug thinking they wouldnt notice what they are doing to our kids, Grinter said. Supt. Kimbrel was joined by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jasmine Briedwell and Director of Special Services Adrianne Kelly at Mondays town hall-style meeting. KC woman says shes a victim of tow company under criminal investigation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We welcome that, we want those conversations and we certainly want to have a good faith effort to continue that dialogue and hear those concerns and see where we can help meet in the middle to meet what parents need, Wachel said. Exactly what that could mean is unclear. Committee leaders asked for a pause on the program keeping all special education children at their neighborhood schools. But Kimbrel pointed out as many as 90 students are already at different schools for specialized 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 FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. We recently published a list of Long-Term Stock Portfolio: 15 Best Stocks for 15 Years. In this article, we are going to take a look at where ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW) stands against other best stocks for 15 years. Russell Investments believes that 3 features are defining the market outlook for 2025. These include the elevated level of the S&P 500 forward P/E ratio, the potential for further US dollar strength, as well as the direction of the US 10-year Treasury yield. The active equity managers have been challenged by the severe market concentration. The firm opines that a flattening out of such trends which can be seen due to policy shifts or change in sentiments related to earnings growth and valuations for mega caps can support active manager outperformance. Russell Investments remains focused on sectors in which AI adoption has been ramping up, including industrials, healthcare, and consumer goods. As per the firm, companies that leverage AI for productivity improvements remain well-placed to gain a lasting competitive edge and provide healthy returns. Therefore, skilled active managers are required to look for such companies, primarily those that are in less-covered segments of the market. READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In. Sectors Providing Investment Opportunities With respect to real assets, Russell Investments sees attractive investment opportunities in real estate and infrastructure, mainly sectors that can benefit from the stabilization of long-term interest rates and favorable relative valuations in comparison to other growth assets. The application of AI in real estate, like data centers and healthcare facilities, continues to emerge as a critical growth area. Furthermore, the infrastructure investments continue to gain momentum from energy utilities and pipeline exposures, given the US administrations emphasis on expanding LNG (liquified natural gas) production. The firm also believes that an early focus on deregulation and tax cuts would likely be well-received by equity investors. Overall, an expected US soft landing, together with anticipated policy moderation on trade and immigration, creates specific opportunities for well-positioned portfolios, says Russell Investments. Our Methodology We sifted through the holdings of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and shortlisted the companies that have 10-year revenue growth of over ~10%. Next, we selected stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds. We have ranked the stocks in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment. DENVER (KDVR) Passengers on board and witnesses on the ground are recalling the scary events after a plane made an emergency landing at the Denver International Airport. A United Airlines flight that took off from DIA at around 7:08 p.m. Sunday en route to Edmonton International Airport in Alberta, Canada, made an emergency landing back at DIA about 75 minutes later. A United Airlines spokesperson told FOX31 that the plane turned around to address a possible wildlife strike. 2 suspects wanted for baggage thefts at DIA in March: Photos Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything was normal. We boarded the plane in Denver, they did all their pre-check flight check stuff and they taxied us out into the start of the runway. They proceeded to get to speed and as soon as they rotated, there was a loud bang on the right-hand side of the plane, like a gunshot going off beside us, and then a massive vibration in the plane, said passenger Scott Wolff. In several videos obtained by FOX31, an orange glow could be seen reflecting inside the planes cabin. We were airborne and on the right side of the plane was this rhythmic bang bang and a whirl and a bang bang and it would keep going on and on. It was the same thing over and over, said Wolff. It was like fireballs coming out the back of the engine. On the ground in Commerce City, witness Wyatt McCurry saw the plane, capturing it on video. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I kind of just heard an absurd noise that I didnt know if it was gunshots going out or a car backfiring, it sounded a little odd. I looked in the air and there was a plane flying kind of low in the sky. It was just shooting flames out the right motor of the turbine of the plane, said McCurry. Theres plane flying over us all the time. Ive never seen anything like it before. It was just insane to see. United confirmed the plane was a Boeing 737-800 that had 153 passengers on board and six crew members. No one was injured. Most DIA parking rates to increase next month: What travelers need to know I put the phone away from the video and started texting my kid, my wife, my mom and just saying what you have to say. Everybody was doing the same thing for the next 30-45 minutes as we were safely going around the airport waiting to land, everybody was still shook up by the whole event, said Wolff. You say your goodbyes, you say your I love yous and such. You look forward to seeing them, hearing from them again after this whole thing is over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wolff was able to get on another flight back to Alberta. Youve got to get right back on the bike if you fall off. Yes, a lot of people were a little cautious about flying again but you can see that a lot of people braved it and did it all over again, said Wolff. Everybody was ecstatic. As soon as those wheels touched the ground and that plane came to a complete stop, it was a big sense of relief on everybody in there. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Gilles Guillaume and Giulio Piovaccari PARIS/MILAN (Reuters) - French-Italian carmaker Stellantis has reduced its shortlist of CEO candidates to five, said two people familiar with the matter, as it nears a decision on who will lead the company through one of the industry's most tumultuous periods. Investors are likely to seek an update on the hiring process as well as further insight into how Stellantis will manage President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on foreign auto imports at an annual general meeting in Amsterdam later on Tuesday. Former CEO Carlos Tavares abruptly departed the company - maker of Jeep and Peugeot brand cars - in December following a dramatic plunge in sales and profit. He left behind broken relationships with suppliers and dealers, and unhappy shareholders. Stellantis shareholders are due to vote on Tuesday on Tavares' final remuneration package of 35 million euros ($40 million), which includes severance and 10 million euros in bonus pay for meeting a series of company milestones. Stellantis has said it wants to finalise the appointment of his replacement by the end of the first half. It has already shortlisted two internal candidates, the head of its North America business, Antonio Filosa, and the head of procurement, Maxime Picat. The board has also interviewed three external candidates, said two people familiar with the matter. While they declined to share names, one of the sources said all the candidates are men. The sources asked not to be named as the selection process is confidential. Stellantis declined to comment. The successful candidate will take the helm of a company navigating global headwinds. Stellantis said earlier this month it was temporarily laying off 900 workers at five U.S. facilities and pausing production at one assembly plant each in Mexico and Canada, after the U.S. tariffs were announced. And, like many automakers, it is also struggling with a rocky transition to electric vehicle production. Chairman John Elkann, currently steering the group in the absence of a CEO, and the Peugeot family's Peugeot Invest have both said the hiring process was progressing as planned. Elkann, the scion of the Agnelli family, told analysts in February that Stellantis had excellent internal and external candidates. Peugeot Invest CEO Jean-Charles Douin said last month that the ad hoc committee charged with finding Tavares' replacement was meeting with candidates. The Agnelli and Peugeot families are Stellantis' largest shareholders through their investment firms. Stellantis shares earlier this month hit an all-time low at 7.51 euros, after topping 25 euros one year ago. PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) A Peoria man, accused of having a fully automatic handgun, was ordered held pending the outcome of his case. The hearing, which occurred Monday, came about two weeks after Zavon M. Knox, 22, was initially indicted on the changes. He had been on the lam until his arrest Sunday. A judge agreed with prosecutors that he should remain in the Peoria County Jail rather than be released pending trial, according to court records. Knox was indicted April 1 by a Peoria County grand jury on charges of unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a weapon by a felon, and a warrant was issued for his arrest said Anna Perales with the Peoria County States Attorney Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers with the Peoria Police Department made an investigative stop on several males who had been standing outside the North Valleys Stop N Save which is located in the 800 block of Northeast Jefferson Avenue. When police attempted to approach the men, they all ran off. After reviewing the surveillance video, officers saw one of the men, allegedly Knox, toss a handgun into the dumpster, said Perales. When the gun was recovered, it was allegedly found with an extended magazine and a switch, which is used to turn a gun into a fully automatic weapon, she said. One other man, Zarion Harris, 21, and a 17-year-old had both been previously charged with weapon offenses related to the same incident, Perales said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Knox will next appear in court for his arraignment on May 8. If convicted of charges, he 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 CIProud.com. As previously reported, CIBC upgraded Torex Gold Resources (TORXF) to Outperformer from Neutral with a price target of C$58, up from C$42, citing that companys progress in achieving its key milestones. Torex Gold pre-released Q1 production of 59,630 gold equivalent ounces and with Q1 operational results now priced into the shares and many of the key transitional risks resolved, investors can instead look forward to the remainder of 2025, which the firm says will be an important year for Torex Gold. Stay Ahead of the Market: Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks. Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener. Published first on TheFly the ultimate source for real-time, market-moving breaking financial news. Try Now>> See Insiders Hot Stocks on TipRanks >> Read More on TORXF: Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) - China and the Philippines accused each other on Tuesday of dangerous manoeuvres in a hotly disputed shoal in the South China Sea, in the latest confrontation over the waterway. A Chinese coast guard vessel sped up and manoeuvred on Monday to block the navigation route of a Philippine vessel around 36 nautical miles off the Scarborough shoal, the Philippine Coast Guard said. "This incident highlights the CCG's non-compliance with the international regulations ... and reflects a blatant disregard for safety at sea," it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel "dangerously approached" its ship and crossed its route, alleging it attempted to stage a false collision, Xinhua reported on Tuesday. "They illegally approached Chinas normal sailing coast guard ship in a dangerous manner, threatening the safety of Chinas personnel and ships," Xinhua reported. Tensions between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea have escalated in the last two years, including in the Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing patch claimed by both as their territory. China claims nearly the entire South China Sea, a vital waterway for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, parts of which are also claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Philippine Coast Guard deployed a plane on Tuesday to challenge a Chinese research vessel which it said was operating without authority in its northern waters near Taiwan. Chinese research vessel Zhong Shan Da Xue was spotted around 78 nautical miles off the northern island province of Batanes, and did not respond to attempts by the Philippine Coast Guard's Islander aircraft to establish radio communication. "PCG aviators underscored on their radio challenge that the said Chinese vessel lacks the authority to conduct marine scientific research within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines," the coast guard said. (Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Bernadette Baum) Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly: Stay Ahead of the Market: Discover outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks. Filter, analyze, and streamline your search for investment opportunities using Tipranks' Stock Screener. TARIFF EXEMPTION: According to new guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, President Trump has exempted smartphones, computers, and other electronic devices and components, including semiconductors, solar cells, flat panel TV displays, flash drives, and memory cards from the reciprocal tariffs imposed on China. White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai said in a statement that Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops. Desai added, At the direction of the President, these companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible. Dan Ives, head of technology research at Wedbush, told CNBC, This is the dream scenario for tech investors. Smartphones, chips being excluded is a game changer scenario when it comes to China tariffs. President Donald Trump stated in a Truth Social post, NOBODY is getting off the hook for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst! There was no Tariff exception announced on Friday. These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff bucket. The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it. We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations. What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States, and that we will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China, which will do everything within its power to disrespect the American People. We also cannot let them continue to abuse us on Trade, like they have for decades, THOSE DAYS ARE OVER! The Golden Age of America, which includes the upcoming Tax and Regulation Cuts, a substantial amount of which was just approved by the House and Senate, will mean more and better paying Jobs, making products in our Nation, and treating other Countries, in particular China, the same way they have treated us. PHOENIX (ABC4) The Idaho mother convicted of killing her two children returned to the courtroom Monday on charges of conspiracy to murder her husband, Charles Vallow. Lori Vallow Daybell is representing herself in Maricopa County during this trial. Last week, jurors heard from family members and even a woman who testified she and Vallow had a date the evening before Charles Vallow was killed. Also on the stand were first responders at the scene of Charles Vallows death on July 11, 2019. Vallow Daybell was previously sentenced for murder and conspiracy to murder her children, Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ashlyn Ryan, 16. She was sentenced to prison and is currently serving five life sentences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, several witnesses were called to the stand by the prosecution: The medical examiner who performed Vallows autopsy, an investigator with the Social Security Administration, and the insurance representative who informed Vallow Daybell she was no longer the beneficiary. A forensic scientist who examines firearms and a police detective who was at the scene also testified. RECAP: What happened during Lori Vallow Daybells first week on trial Medical examiners testimony The state called Dr. Derek Bumgarner, a medical examiner with Maricopa County, to the stand. Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Treena Kay led her questions by asking about Bumgarners education and experience. Bumgarner confirmed that he performed the autopsy on Charles Vallow following his death on July 11, 2019. Treena Kay brought up photos from the autopsy, and Bumgarner described what he observed during the autopsy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It passed through the skin of the chest, the sternum which is the breastbone and the paracardium, which is a sac that surrounds the heart. It then hit two chambers, the right atrium and the left ventricle, and then it passed through the ninth thoracic vertebral body and exited the soft tissue and the skin of the left back, Bumgarned testified about the path the bullet took through Vallows heart. According to Bumgarner, the initial gunshot wound may not have been immediately fatal. Vallow could have moved around or even spoken briefly, Bumgarner affirmed. CASE HISTORY: A complete timeline for the Daybell, Vallow murders Bumgarner testified that there was a second gunshot wound on Vallows left abdomen. He stated that he observed shoring around the exit wound. He explained that shoring is caused when the bullet exits the skin while pressed against a firm surface. Bumgarner confirmed it could have been caused by Vallow lying on the floor when he was shot the second time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Treena Kay asked if the toxicology report found any drugs or alcohol in Vallows system. Bumgarner testified that Vallow did not test positive for drugs or alcohol. He confirmed that he determined the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds. Lori Vallow Daybell then began her cross-examination. She asked about the drugs that the toxicology report tested for. Vallow Daybell briefly questioned him about the logistics of shoring. Bumgarner testified that he had never seen a shored wound caused by a t-shirt. Vallow Daybell asked if he was familiar with bamboo clothing and ended questioning when he stated he was not. Idaho mom who killed 2 of her kids goes on trial over husbands death Social Security investigators testimony Mark Saari, a special agent with the Social Security Administration, was then called by the state. He is responsible for investigating fraud, waste, and abuse cases involving Social Security. In 2020, he was assigned an investigation into Vallow Daybells Social Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Saari testified that Vallow Daybell had an appointment with the Social Security Administration to discuss Vallows Social Security regarding JJ on Aug. 12, 2019. He stated that Vallow Daybell told them she was living with Vallow at the time of his death. Previous testimonies from Adam Cox, who is Lori Vallow Daybells brother, and Kay Woodcock, who is Charles Vallows sister, claim that Vallow and Vallow Daybell were not living together at the time of Vallows death. According to them, Vallow was living in Houston, Texas, while Vallow Daybell was living in Arizona. Treena Kay reviewed the Social Security letters sent to JJ and Vallow Daybell following the death of Vallow with Saari. During Vallow Daybells cross-examination, she asked Saari about surviving spousal benefits and child-in-care benefits. Saari confirmed in a follow-up question from Treena Kay that when Vallow Daybell married Chad Daybell, her mother-in-care benefits would have ceased, while JJs benefits would have continued. He testified that Vallow Daybell did not notify Social Security of her new marriage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chad Daybell found guilty on all counts in doomsday murder case Insurance claims representatives testimony Robin Smith Scott, a claims representative with Banner Life Insurance Company, was then called to the stand. She testified that Charles Vallow had a life insurance policy worth $1 million. Scott stated that Vallow Daybell was the beneficiary until Feb. 26, 2019, when the beneficiary was designated as Vallows sister, Woodcock. A recording of a phone call made by Vallow Daybell to Banner Life Insurance Company on July 15, 2019, was played. During this call, Vallow Daybell tells Scott, the representative, that Vallow had been shot and died in an accident. She also stated that she is the beneficiary, and Scott said she would open the insurance case and confirm the beneficiary. Audio from a second phone call on July 18, 2019, was then played. Vallow Daybell contacted Scott to discuss a letter she received stating that she was not the beneficiary on Vallows life insurance policy. During the call, Scott confirmed that the beneficiary was changed and stated that she couldnt divulge much information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im trying to figure out what he was doing since we have five kids and weve been married for 15 years, Vallow Daybell says during the recording. I know he owes a lot of people money, and I was worried if I got money, theyd be coming after me for money now I will be with none. Vallow Daybell stated she had no questions for the cross-examination, and Scott stepped down. I know for a fact that my children are happy: Lori Vallow Daybell speaks at murder trial Firearms and toolmark forensic scientists testimony Jeff Moberg then went on the stand. He is a forensic scientist with the Arizona Department of Public Safety in the Firearms and Toolmark Unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moberg reviewed images of the gun that was found at the scene of Vallows death. He also described how forensic investigation of a gun is completed. He identified the firearm as a Springfield Armory XDM 45 caliber semi-automatic pistol and testified that the two bullets at the scene were fired by that pistol. During cross-examination, Vallow Daybell asked about whether there could have been a ricochet that caused the casings to land in a different area. The jury asked a similar question about where the casings would land if the gun were sideways. Chandler Police detectives testimony Cassandra Ynclan, a police detective with the Chandler Police Department, was called to the stand by the state. She responded to the scene of Vallows death on July 11, 2019. Ynclan recalls seeing Vallow Daybell parked across the street with Tylee after she arrived. Just kind of appeared to be having this, kind of, ordinary interaction with Officer Krautheim, Ynclan said of Vallow Daybell that day. Kind of ordinary and nonchalant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WATCH: Court shows bodycam footage of welfare check in Chad Daybell murder trial Tylee and Vallow Daybell were driven to the police station by Ynclan for police interviews. The detective stated that Vallow Daybell was not emotional and did not appear upset while driving to the station. She was not read her Miranda rights because she was considered a voluntary witness at this time. Clips from the police interview between Vallow Daybell and Ynclan are then played for the courtroom. Its all these threats on my phone all the time hes always mad at me and he doesnt want a divorce, but I dont like him, Vallow Daybell says when asked about Vallow on the recording. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In another clip, Vallow Daybell states that Vallow left his phone, and she kept it from him questioned him about texts he was hiding from her. She claims he was yelling at her to give back the phone. Ynclan testifies that Vallow Daybell told her Tylee brought a bat down, and Vallow later threatened Vallow Daybell with the bat after Tylee went outside. Alex Cox, Vallow Daybells brother, also got involved, according to the police interview. You threw them away like garbage: Day 15 Lori Vallow Daybell murder trial Ynclan states that Vallow Daybell told her she heard the gunshot before leaving, but didnt see it. She would take the children to school to get out of the house, she states in interview footage. Vallow Daybell still had the phone when she left, and it would later be given to police by Tylee, who found it in the van. Vallow Daybells cross-examination centered on the interview of her daughter, Tylee. She asked about what was said during that interview, but those questions were sustained as hearsay, and Ynclan did not answer. Judge Justin Beresky broke court for the evening, and the jury was dismissed. He took some time afterward to speak with Vallow Daybell. He explained his rulings about questions during cross-examination. Beresky also told Vallow Daybell why the clips from the police interview were allowed to be submitted as evidence. The trial will resume at 10:15 a.m. MST tomorrow, 11:15 a.m. in Utah. Latest headlines: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) New photos reveal what the inside of Governor Shapiros residence in Harrisburg looked like before it was set on fire in an attack by a suspected arsonist early Sunday morning. Cody Balmer, 38, of Penbrook, was charged after allegedly setting fire to the Governors residence using Molotov cocktails made from gasoline from his lawn mower and beer bottles. Balmer allegedly scaled the fence of the residence, broke multiple windows with a hammer, and threw bottles inside. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nittany Insiders Balmer allegedly told police that he would have beaten Governor Shapiro with his hammer if he encountered him during the incident. Images shared from a family member of an individual who worked on restoring several rooms in the residence in October and November show what the interior of the building looked like before it was set ablaze. ART FAIRBANKS ART FAIRBANKS ART FAIRBANKS ART FAIRBANKS ART FAIRBANKS ART FAIRBANKS Crews managed to control the fire to certain areas of the residence; however, a significant amount of damage was done. Heres what the affected areas looked like after the fire. Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police provide an update on the act of arson that took place at the Governors Residence. Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police provide an update on the act of arson that took place at the Governors Residence. Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police provide an update on the act of arson that took place at the Governors Residence. Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police provide an update on the act of arson that took place at the Governors Residence. Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania State Police provide an update on the act of arson that took place at the Governors Residence. After turning himself in, Balmer spent a short time at a local hospital for a medical issue unrelated to the incident or arrest. He was arraigned Monday night and taken to Dauphin County Prison, where Magisterial District Judge Dale Klein denied his bail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cleanup started at the Governors residence overnight on Tuesday. Multiple trucks carrying debris could be seen clearing the scene in the morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. A 103-year-old, single-lane bridge that provides access to Mount Rainier National Park and the Carbon River Ranger Station has been closed indefinitely due to its deterioration, the Washington State Department of Transportation said in a news release Monday. The State Route 165 Carbon River Fairfax Bridge is closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic effective immediately, according to WSDOT. The 494-foot-long bridge is at milepost 11.5, three miles south of Carbonado in Pierce County. The bridge provided access to Mount Rainier National Parks Mowich Lake entrance and other outdoor recreation areas. A recent inspection revealed new deterioration of the steel supports of the arched bridge, which goes over the Carbon River, according to WSDOT. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the coming weeks, WSDOT bridge engineers will perform further analysis on the bridge. Until those results are final, WSDOT is closing the bridge as a safety precaution, the news release said. The 103-year-old Fairfax Bridge is closed. Inspection revealed new deterioration of steel supports on the structure. Further analysis is planned in the coming weeks. Until those are final, the bridge is closed as a safety precaution. Read the news release: https://t.co/dqWLNuYf7l pic.twitter.com/647BX7AhZe WSDOT Tacoma (@wsdot_tacoma) April 14, 2025 Last year WSDOT signed an emergency declaration that expedited work for an emergency detour route for first responders and local property owners south of the bridge, which is not open to the public. In July 2024, the bridges load rating was reduced to 16,000 pounds, the third restriction imposed on the bridge since 2008, according to WSDOT. In 2013, commercial vehicles were restricted from crossing the bridge. There is no funding available to replace the bridge at this point. Years of deferred preservation work due to limited preservation funding resulted in the updated weight restrictions and now the indefinite closure, WSDOT said. The bridge first opened to travelers in 1921 and the average life of a state-owned vehicle bridge is 51 years, according to WSDOT, which regularly monitors the conditions of all the states approximate 3,600 bridges. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree addresses more than 700 people who showed up for a town hall at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Photo by Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) Mainers told U.S. Rep Chellie Pingree Monday night that she and other Democrats are not doing enough. A litany of questions at a town hall at Westbrook Performing Arts Center delivered a post-mortem of the 2024 election: Democrats have a messaging problem. Democrats lost young voters. Democrats dont say things plainly. Constituents also delivered sharp criticism of what they view as insufficient action from Democrats to stop President Donald Trump from dismantling the separation of powers and disregarding the rule of law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pingree agreed. I take it all as valid criticism, she said. The 1st District representative also told the crowd of more than 700 that shes working on it. I am in the fight every single day, she vowed. Her constituents commended her for hosting the forum, noting the rest of Maines congressional delegation has not afforded such opportunities. Pingree also hosted a town hall in Camden on Sunday but before that, the last in-person town hall she did was in 2017, when Republicans tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act during Trumps first term. Pingree also hosted a virtual town hall with state Attorney General Aaron Frey last month about the importance of state-level challenges to counter Trump. But attendees ultimately told Pingree she needs to take more of a stand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why are Democrats not doing more to resist the Trump administration and putting on a united front? asked Alex Wu, senior at Scarborough High School and founding member of the youth advocacy team of Democracy Maine, which focuses on making government more accessible. Ive seen you wear pink, Wu said, referring to disjointed messaging with some Democratic congresswomen sporting the color during a speech last month to call attention to Trumps actions negatively impacting women. I want to see disruption. Alex Wu, senior at Scarborough High School, asks U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree a question during a town hall in Westbrook on April 14. (Photo by Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) Wu and others also shared their desire for Pingree and other Democrats to deploy the strategies Republicans have used for decades, such as interrupting normal procedure. What is the vision? Whats the mission? Wheres our Project 2027 or 2029? another attendee asked, referring to Project 2025, the blueprint written by the conservative Heritage Foundation for reshaping the federal government, some of which has now been executed by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mainers requested Pingree take a page out of Trumps playbook, so-to-speak. Stop acting like politicians, they reiterated. Pingree did not go so far as to call Trump a Nazi who was sending people to concentration camps, as one attendee continuously requested before being escorted out by police for interrupting. However, Pingree did reiterate a statement she made earlier Monday on social media demanding the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant who was in the U.S. legally that the Trump administration sent to, as Pingree put it, a Salvadoran gulag. The Democratic caucus spends a lot of time trying to get messaging right, Pingree said, and in turn ends up making things complicated, though she vowed to try to make things as clear as possible. At the request of another attendee, she also said shed pitch to her colleagues having short, to the point COVID-19-pandemic era style press conferences to outline the implications of Trumps policies for all Americans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, however, Pingree said shes never going to win as just one member of Congress, nor can the 215 Democrats in the House. Weve talked a lot about Democrats today and Ill take it all on my shoulders, Pingree said. I will try to do everything better and I will do everything I can to get my colleagues to do it better. But in the long run, [Republicans] control the House. They control the Senate. We only need three of them to change their minds. Not all attendees wanted Pingree to provide a better backstop against the Trump administration. One attendee from Portland questioned whether shell always act reflexively against whatever Trump does. Pingree countered that she wouldnt always but so far she hasnt supported the presidents actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Donald Trump does things that Im in favor of if there are tariffs that I think makes sense I would be wholeheartedly behind them, Pingree said. If there are things that [Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] does to remove toxins from our food or get rid of dyes and colors or support regenerative agriculture, I will wholeheartedly be in favor of it. While much of the night focused on federal policies, some attendees asked Pingree to weigh in on related state-level issues and had some local Democratic members of the state Legislature in attendance to listen in: Senate Assistant Majority Leader Jill Duson, Sen. Tim Nangle and Reps. Drew Gattine, Suzanne Salisbury and Morgan Rielly. One constituent raised concern about the dismantling of the federal Department of Education having implications for the state, which is separately facing a budget deficit. Anna Kellar, executive director of the League of Women Voters, asked Pingree if she would oppose the referendum to require identification at the polls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pingree did not provide a direct answer, but Kellar raised this question in relation to the representatives recent vote against the SAVE Act that would require voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, which Pingree criticized as a sort of poll tax, given the cost of passports and argued would disenfranchise married women, given that many change their name. Kellar told Maine Morning Star after the town hall that they werent surprised Pingree did not weigh in on the state issue, adding that the League hasnt made a formal request to her office for a stance yet. However, Kellar appreciated Pingrees focus on some of the lesser known consequences of the SAVE Act, such as the implications for married women, and said the League is hoping to similarly highlight impacts of the state referendum that Kellar and others argue would make voting harder. I think [Pingree] can help us connect those dots, Kellar said. I do think that there is a really important role that she could play here. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE UK-based drinks manufacturer and distributor Riviera Drinks has acquired ready-made cocktail brand Soho Street Cocktails. In a statement, Colchester-headquartered Riviera Drinks said the deal marked its entry into the B2C market". Financial terms were not disclosed. Up until now, the company has supplied bars and restaurants with soft-drinks, syrups, liqueur and cocktail ingredients. Riviera Drinks director Andrew Howe told Just Drinks it views the deal as the next natural step. When asked why Soho Street Cocktails was an appealing acquisition target, Howe said the brand had a very good reputation and offered high quality products and great branding. Riviera Drinks plans to launch Soho Street Cocktails in a 1.5-litre bag-in-box format, moving away from 1.5-litre pouches. The different packaging is designed to be more convenient for consumers and be more sustainable. We are confident that the new bag-in-box format will be a hit with consumers, providing them with convenient and sustainable options for enjoying their favourite bar-quality cocktails, Howe added. The Soho Street Cocktails portfolio includes flavours such as Passion Star Martini, Espresso Martini and Strawberry Daiquiri, with alcoholic strengths ranging from 10% to 12% abv. Howe told Just Drinks it was planning to launch the brand into the retail channel and was already in talks "with a couple of large retail companies" in the UK. "UKs Riviera Drinks buys Soho Street Cocktails " was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. We recently published a list of 10 Best Bargain Stocks to Buy in May. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) stands against other best bargain stocks to buy in May. While increasing tariffs and a hard sell-off have resulted in uncertainty, Neuberger Berman, an investment manager, expects that negotiations can bring some relief to initial tariff proposals. Furthermore, the firm anticipates a sharply slower growth than a US recession. Also, it believes that stimulus in Europe and China can rejuvenate global industrial activity, and the firm recommends styles, sectors, and regions that are most geared to it. Investment Style- Where Do Opportunities Lie? Given that a significant amount of tariff shock has now been priced in, Neuberger Berman is constructive on global equities for the remainder of the year. The firm expects that an ongoing recovery in the global industrial economy might be dampened but not derailed. The underlying momentum in the goods economy is expected to support equities that are most levered to it. Furthermore, the firm prefers value over growth (which is relatively expensive) and small caps over large caps. While an overdose of growth-inhibiting policy can impact the relatively healthy economy and push it into recession, the investment management firm believes that the US hasnt yet reached that point. As per the firm, performance during the decline demonstrates relative strength in some of the more cyclical economic sectors in the US and around the world. The goods-oriented sectors, regions, and styles continue to outperform amidst the recent sell-off. READ ALSO: 7 Best Stocks to Buy For Long-Term and 8 Cheap Jim Cramer Stocks to Invest In. What Lies Ahead? S&P Global expects inflation to remain closer to 3.0% in 2025 as tariffs raise the prices along the domestic supply chain as well as for the end consumers. For 2026, the firm expects growth to pick up after a slow start. This is because of the abatement of uncertainty associated with the structure of tariffs and the further easing of the policy rate by the Federal Reserve. Also, the growth is expected to be aided partly because of a more favorable growth backdrop in the eurozone, which can help expand US exports. Neuberger Berman opines that a combination of improving fundamentals and stabilizing risks increased the optimism in the energy sector. As per the firm, increased global industrial activity is expected to continue to buoy oil demand and keep prices aloft. Furthermore, energy seems to be the most undervalued sector in the S&P 500 relative to the current and expected earnings growth. The investment management firm believes that much of the negative news, including regulatory concerns and geopolitical risks, seem to be factored in. This suggests that energy stocks can increase as the sentiment improves. (Reuters) - A U.S. House committee on Tuesday asked 23andMe's co-founder to testify next month as it launched an investigation into the risk of genetic data being transferred to potential buyers amid the DNA testing company's bankruptcy. James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky and the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to 23andMe's Anne Wojcicki, seeking her testimony on May 6 as well as documents and information from the genomics firm. The genomics firm filed for bankruptcy protection last month after struggling with weak demand for its ancestry testing kits. Wojcicki made multiple failed takeover bids for the company and resigned as its CEO in March. She is still a board member of the company. The bankruptcy filing has raised concerns about where the genetic data it collected would go. The company has said the bankruptcy process will not affect how it stores, manages, or protects customer data. 23andMe collects saliva samples to provide insights into ancestry and health risks. There were concerns the data on 23AndMe's more than 15 million customers, if not protected sufficiently, could be accessed by countries such as China, or used for assessing higher insurance premiums, among other purposes, Comer said. "We need to ensure the safety of Americans' data," Comer said in the letter. The company was also the target of a hack in 2023, when personal data of nearly 7 million customers was exposed over five months. The company has also made at least 30 deals with pharmaceutical companies such as GSK, giving them access to its database. Most of its agreements remain undisclosed. 23andMe said in March any buyer will be required to comply with applicable laws about how customer data is treated. (This story has been refiled to correct the day of the week from 'Monday' to 'Tuesday' in paragraph 1) (Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo) Princess Catharina-Amalia continues to prepare for her role as a future monarch with another appearance at a state visitand she did so in full princess regalia. For the occasion, the princess chose the Mellerio Ruby Parure Tiara, paired with the "Ginkgo" dress by British label Safiyaa in lavender. The tiara, from the Dutch royal familys collection, was made for the family by French jewelry maker Mellerio, founded in 1613. REMKO DE WAAL - Getty Images According to The Court Jeweller, the tiara was created for Queen Emma around 1888 as a part of a larger ruby parure. Every Dutch queen since Emma has worn the tiara, including Queen Maxima, who wore it last at a state banquet welcoming in honor of Portugal this past December. At that banquet, Princess Catharina-Amalia donned the Dutch Star Tiara. Patrick van Katwijk - Getty Images The Princess of Orange appeared with her parents, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, on Tuesday as they welcomed Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman during a state banquet on the first night of a two-day state visit. This is Princess Catharina-Amalias third state banquet, nearly a year to the day of her first one on April 17, 2024, welcoming King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain. REMKO DE WAAL - Getty Images The princess, who turned 21 in December, is first in line to the throne to the throne of the Netherlands, and her presence at the banquet highlights her rising profile. Princess Catharina-Amalia, eldest child of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, has used the title Princess of Orangea title that can only be held by the heir to the thronesince her fathers investiture as King of the Netherlands in 2013. She has two younger sisters, Princess Alexia, 19, and Princess Ariane, 18, neither of whom were present this evening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Princess Catharina-Amalia is currently studying for her bachelors degree at the University of Amsterdam. You Might Also Like CHICAGO (WGN) Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday that hes not made up his mind whether hell accept an invitation to testify before a Congressional panel about the states sanctuary laws. Part of it is scheduling. Part of it is just a consideration of how beneficial itll be to help people to understand the laws the difference between the federal laws and the state laws and what were aiming at here in Illinois (and) how we might convey that best, he said during a press event at RR Trade School in Melrose Park to announce new grant recipients from the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program. The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested testimony from the Illinois Democrat, as well as from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, on May 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson testified before the same committee last month. Pritzker said he didnt that as particularly productive and felt committee members are just looking for what he called a social media moment. A spokesperson from his office dubbed the invitation another partisan dog and pony show. The invitation came on the same day President Donald Trump said his administration was taking efforts to withhold federal funding from from cities and states with policies that limit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities on some immigration matters. Chicagos policy has been in place, in some form, for 40 years. In 2017, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill which barred police from arresting anyone solely due to their immigration status. Pritzker signed further legislation in 2021 with additional protections. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Visa has launched its Visa+ service in Bahrain, enabling customers to conduct cross-border transfers within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by using the recipient's mobile number. Visa is launching this new cross-border remittance service in partnership with local banks, through the BenefitPay app. Initially, this service is accessible to clients of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) and Khaleeji Bank. Visa+ allows BisB and Khaleeji Bank customers to send funds to Visa debit and prepaid cardholders across the GCC without the need to share sensitive card or bank account details. The service uses a mobile number as an alias for the transaction, which enhances the security and simplifies the transfer process. This move is part of an initiative to create a cross-border payment network. The initial phase includes BisB and Khaleeji Bank in Bahrain, Emirates NBD in the UAE, and Qatar Islamic Bank in Qatar. The goal is to connect multiple banks across the GCC and eventually expand to include Pakistan and EU countries, facilitating global remittances. Visa+ aims to provide financial institutions with the capability to offer their customers a secure and private money movement experience, relevant for peer-to-peer payments, financing disbursements, and cross-border remittances. Visa Bahrain country manager Ahmed ElKaffass said: "At Visa, we understand the crucial role that fast, secure, and easy payments play in people's lives across the region. The introduction of Visa+ in collaboration with BenefitPay, Bahrain Islamic Bank and Khaleeji Bank marks a significant step in transforming remittances, simplifying money transfers, and reshaping the money movement landscape in Bahrain. This innovative service not only enhances convenience for senders but also benefits families, communities, and economies globally." Earlier this month, Visa expanded its portfolio of services with the launch of three new solutions - a reimagined Authorize.net platform, Unified Checkout, and the ARIC Risk Hub. "Visa supports cross-border transfers in Bahrain " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. We recently published a list of 10 AI Stocks to Watch Amid Market Volatility. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) stands against other AI stocks to watch amid market volatility. The uncertain macroeconomic environment is diminishing investors readiness to pay high prices for stocks related to artificial intelligence. Despite the continued buzz around the technology, no one seems interested in buying the falling stocks. Fluctuating tariff policies from the Trump administration have concerned Wall Street and disrupted global supply chains. The cost of AI infrastructure has increased drastically, especially for companies relying on imported components. READ ALSO: 14 AI Stocks Catching Wall Streets Attention and 9 Trending AI Stocks Making Headlines Today. The narrative around AI stocks has also begun to change because investors are critiquing that prices have become too expensive, and because there is intensifying competition from Chinese companies developing their own AI offerings. In the latest news, seven Republican U.S. senators have also sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The letter urges him to get rid of a Biden administration rule that restricts global access to AI chips before it kicks in next month. The letter claims that the AI diffusion rule will deter U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence, which is why it demands an immediate action to halt it. The rule is set to take effect on May 15. Every day this rule remains in place, American companies face mounting uncertainty, stalled investments, and the risk of losing critical global partnerships that cannot be easily regained. We urge you to withdraw this rule and propose an alternative that is effective in preventing Communist China from capturing the world market in leading technology without compromising American advantages. It also noted how the rule puts countries into three tiers, with only 18 nations in the Tier 1 group with the easiest access to American technology. Those in tier 2 have to face arbitrary purchase limits and a cumbersome licensing process. Meanwhile, it asserted that Tier 3 countries are already rightly restricted. For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024. 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). Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Peter Buffett, the son of long-term investing legend Warren Buffett, made a life-changing decision nearly 50 years ago when he traded his inheritance to buy time. Although he missed out on what could have been hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, he stands by his choice, confident that his father would agree. Finding His Path: At 19, Buffett received a portion of the proceeds from the sale of his grandfather's farm, which his father invested in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B), amounting to $90,000, according to CNBC. His father made it clear that this was all the financial support he would receive for personal use. Despite knowing it was his entire inheritance, the legendary investors son sold his Berkshire stock to fund his passion for music. Don't Miss: Buffett dropped out of Stanford University, purchased a modest studio apartment in San Francisco, and invested in upgrading his recording equipment. He dedicated his time to honing his piano and music production skills. His big break came unexpectedly when a neighbor asked him about his profession, setting him on the path to a successful career in music. He told the neighbor that he was a "struggling composer" and the neighbor offered to introduce him to his son-in-law who was an animator looking for ad tunes for a new cable station it turned out to be MTV. Buffett is now 66 years of age and has released around 15 studio albums over his successful career. See Also: This investment company boasts a 33.85% internal rate of return (IRR) for its realized projects, allowing accredited investors to earn passive returns and avoid the headaches of being a landlord. The Path Not Taken: If the son of the legendary investor would have stayed in college and held onto his $90,000 investment in Berkshire Hathaway, it would be worth over $500 million today. "But I didnt make that choice and I dont regret it for a second. I used my nest egg to buy something infinitely more valuable than money: I used it to buy time," Buffett said. That's a decision that his father would be proud of, he noted. The billionaire taught his son that work isn't about making as much money as possible, instead it's about doing something that you love to do. Zurich Insurance Group has invested in Ominimo Insurance as part of the latters Series A funding round, which values the company at 200m ($227.86m). The specific financial terms of Zurichs investment were not disclosed. Zurich also joins Ominimo as a distribution partner and minority shareholder. The partnership is expected to support Ominimos focus on leveraging data science and software engineering to develop its car insurance offering. In its first year of operations, Hungarian digital insurer Ominimo is said to have sold more than 300,000 policies and achieved a claims ratio below the national average. Zurich Insurance will act as the risk carrier for Ominimo, which will operate as a managing general agent (MGA). Zurich Group Germanys carrier, DA Direkt, and Ominimo will jointly launch motor insurance products for retail customers in Poland in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 2025). Following this, Ominimo plans to expand to Sweden and the Netherlands in Q3 2025, with entry into 15 additional EU markets over the next three years. DA Direkt CEO and Zurich Germany digital business and partnerships head Peter Stockhorst said: We have achieved significant success in strategic collaborations with start-ups in recent years. Additionally, drawing on our own pricing expertise in the German market, we see substantial revenue potential for motor insurance in selected European markets. We see our partnership with Ominimo as an ideal combination for realising this potential with tailored offers for a wider customer base. Commenting on Zurichs partnership and investment, Ominimo Insurance said in a LinkedIn post: Their global reach and financial backing give us the kind of foundation most tech companies can only dream of allowing us to stay focused on what we do best: using data science, software engineering and disciplined execution to reimagine car insurance from the ground up. Last month, Zurich Insurance acquired a significant minority stake in mergers and acquisitions insurer Icen Risk to support its expansion in Europe and North America. "Zurich invests in Hungarian digital insurer Ominimo " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. Gold (GC=F) futures opened at $3,226.10 an ounce on Tuesday, up slightly from Monday's closing price of $3,204.80. Gold prices remain near record highs after the White House announced temporary tariff exemptions for certain consumer electronics on Monday. The S&P 500 dipped about 35 points on Monday to show relative stability after stocks moved lower last week amid changing tariff policies. Gold remains attractive as a safe-haven asset as triple-digit tariffs for China remain in place and the Trump administration negotiates trade deals with other countries. Current price of gold Golds opening price of $3,226.10 on Tuesday is up less than 1% from Mondays close of $3,204.80. Gold has risen nearly 8% in the last month from its opening price of $2,994.40 on March 14. In the last 12 months, gold has gained 37% from its opening price of $2,362.10 on April 15, 2024. 24/7 gold price tracking: Don't forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria. How to invest in gold Interesting in buying physical gold? Physical gold includes jewelry, gold bars, and gold coins. In the video below, State Street Global Advisors' Chief Gold Strategist George Milling-Stanley sat down with Yahoo Finance to discuss what you need to know before buying physical gold. Physical gold pros and cons The advantages of physical gold include: Peace of mind. If you keep your physical gold at home, it's available for you to use as a medium of exchange in an economic emergency. No added volatility or ongoing fees. Gold mining stocks tend to rise and fall with gold prices, but business-related factors enhance their volatility. Gold ETFs charge administrative fees in the form of expense ratios. Learn more: Take a deeper dive into the gold sector The disadvantages of physical gold include: Risk of theft or loss. Physical gold must be properly secured. Whether you store it in your home or with a depository, gold can be stolen. In October 2024, a federal jury found Robert Leroy Higgins guilty of fraud charges after $50 million worth of precious metal disappeared from his business, First State Depository. Lower liquidity. Physical gold is less liquid than stocks or ETFs. If you're not using the gold as a medium of exchange, you may need to locate a dealer and pay a markup on the sale. Paying a markup. The problem with buying physical gold is there's a fairly large markup, said Milling-Stanley, which can easily be as much as 5%. Learn more: How to invest in gold in four steps This embedded content is not available in your region. Price-of-gold charts Whether youre tracking the price of gold since last month or last year, the price-of-gold charts below show the precious metals steady upward climb in value. Historical price of gold Historically, gold has shown extended up cycles and down cycles. The precious metal was in a growth phase from 2009 to 2011. It then trended down, failing to set a new high for nine years. In lackluster years for gold, your position will negatively impact your overall investment returns. If that feels problematic, a lower allocation percentage is more appropriate. On the other hand, you may be willing to accept gold's underperforming years so you can benefit more in the good years. In this case, you can target a higher percentage. The precious metal has been in the news lately and many analysts are bullish on gold. In February, Goldman Sachs expected gold to gain another 8% in 2025, after surging more that 40% in 2024. It's already blown past that 8% mark. Worries about tariffs and their impact on the U.S. economy are a primary factor. If you are interested in learning more about golds historical value, Yahoo Finance has been tracking the historical price of gold since 2000. One of Colorado Springs' own is helping revolutionize professional sound design using artificial intelligence. "Sound design has always been one of the most tedious and time-consuming parts of the editing process," said Isaiah Chavous, 26, who grew up in Colorado Springs and is a Rampart High School graduate. "It's extremely laborious and it can also be extremely expensive. Now ... people can focus less on those tedious tasks and more on their artistry." Imagine this scene: A camera focuses on the interior of a dimly lit foyer inside an old home. In the center of the frame is the front door; from a window just to the right, overlooking endless rolling hills outside, the audience can see a young boy running toward the door. He twists the handle, opens it and runs off-screen again through the hallway of hard wood floors, slamming the door closed behind him. Traditionally, a sound designer would watch the footage, mark down each event happening and timestamp where sounds must be placed to enhance the video, then source the correct sounds needed in this case, footsteps running across dirt and gravel, hands hitting a wooden front door, the twist of a metal doorknob, more footsteps running across hard wood, a door slamming. Sourcing the sound could mean searching for it among large existing databases or even creating it. This whole process could take hours on a small film, and up to six months to a year for a feature-length film, Chavous said. Noctal, an online platform he co-founded with his colleague James Paul, is cutting that time down exponentially, they said. Noctal leverages machine learning to automate the placement of sound effects in films, video and other types of content, pulling from a library of human-made sounds. "There was an independent creator who sent me a 30-second video a few weeks ago, meant for Instagram," Chavous said, a University of Colorado Boulder alum who is also Noctal's chief executive officer. "It was an animated video for a promotion he was doing. The sound design alone on just that clip took him eight hours to complete. With Noctal, ideally, that eight hours would be cut down to somewhere around 30 minutes." The co-founders have already raised $1.8 million to launch their Los Angeles-based startup company later this year. Sign up for free: Gazette Business Receive a weekly roundup of business news around El Paso County. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Featured Local Savings "We see (Noctal) as a copilot, or helper, so (sound designers) don't have to sit there and watch all this footage," said Paul, the company's chief operating officer who has more than a decade of media experience. Before co-founding Noctal, Paul worked in physical production on Hollywood films and with technology startups. "If we're giving you your time back, you can spend more time finding that perfect take to use, or you can spend more time figuring out other things in the post-production pipeline instead," Paul said. Chavous was inspired to streamline the sound design process while working in Los Angeles at a gaming firm, Jadu AR, where he met Paul. Chavous realized how laborious sound design for augmented reality gaming was, a gap for which he saw no current solution. "It was something I think was ignored, from a technical perspective," Chavous said. "At the time, everyone was focused on the visual elements of gaming and music. That's great, but sound design is one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure for content to be high quality. So I started investigating what has and hasn't been done in sound design and came up with Noctal." Chavous and Paul reiterated that, through Noctal, they're not trying to replace human creativity with artificial intelligence, but rather enhance it. "The big debate right now is around generative AI. We're choosing not to go down that path. We're choosing to center the creator, center the artist. ... That is a key differentiator between us and other companies," Paul said. Noctal will also help content creators and filmmakers keep up with the pace of content. "The fact is, there will continue to be more content in media that is created year-over-year than ever before. This is another tool in the toolkit to help people do it quicker," Paul said. Parental evaluator Stephanie Norris has been accused of telling parents to violate a protection order and putting children in danger by not adhering to court orders. Norris has been under scrutiny for her evaluation work, with multiple parents challenging her recommendations and complaining about her lack of knowledge of the laws governing protection orders. Norris has also been accused of failing to properly weigh previously sustained judicial findings of domestic violence by a parent, instead finding that the parent was emotionally abusing their children and had engaged in mutual domestic violence with their estranged husband. The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will consider whether prosecutors must prove defendants knew they were involved in an accident resulting in death or serious injury in order to be convicted for leaving the scene. Colorado's second-highest court clarified on Thursday that a U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing First Amendment protections for alleged stalkers does not apply to prosecutions where the defendant's stalking is based on something other than their speech. The majority wrote that it is logical for the state to be able to re-evaluate the competency of a defendant to whom it is providing services A federal judge on Monday signaled she is not fully prepared to take the government at its word that it would provide appropriate procedures for non-citizens to contest their removals under an 18th Century "alien enemies" law and instead said the government's recent actions suggested due process would not actually happen. You are the owner of this article. Former U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, the Thornton Democrat who lost her bid for a second term last year in one of the closest congressional races in the country, announced on Tuesday that she wants a rematch with Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans in Colorado's 8th Congressional District. Republican Greg Lopez talks to a reporter on May 21, 2024, at a Denver restaurant before winning a special vacancy election a month later in Colorado's 4th Congressional District. Lopez announced his third run for governor on Monday, April 14, 2025. LETTERS: A society that does nothing; state has no right Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter. Former U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a Colorado Democrat, speaks at a campaign event on Oct. 25, 2024, in Denver in this file photo. Swell Tuesday. Hang onto your hats, itll be a mite gusty today. Mayor Allen Joines, with nearly a quarter century as an elected official under his belt, knows better than most the hornets nest of confusion, misery and frustration thatll descend on downtown in two short weeks with the dawning of new parking regulations. Rates are going up. Penalties, too. Different signs. And space-age meters that require a smartphone app - or a toll-free number for the truly stodgy Luddites and those who cant afford an $800 telephone - are replacing the low-tech, quarter-eaters and more modern car readers. And in a downtown where some diners and shoppers may still feel ambushed by private parking lot privateers and their BS $75 penalties, the citys new arrangement could mean chaos. Which would explain Hizzoners wry response at the conclusion of a presentation about the parking policy at last weeks City Council meeting. Good luck with that, Joines told Jeff Fansler, the citys transportation director. Bless his heart, he may need it. On-street parking, starting May 1, will cost $1.50 an hour - sticker shock for those who toss quarters around like manhole covers and those known to circle the block like vultures for a shot at the rare two-hours-free zones. And for good measure, the penalty for scofflaws doubles from $15 to $30. As you might expect, overhauling the parking system with gee-whiz apps and significant rate hikes didnt sit well with some. Apartment managers, merchants and building owners piped up in opposition during public meetings on the subject. Councilmember Barbara Burke urged caution when she pushed to table the decision for wholesale change. It proved to be for naught, however. The city ran a $709,000 deficit with parking operations and had to pull from the general fund to cover the loss. Other N.C. cities - Asheville, Durham and Wilmington - charge $2.50 an hour so Winston-Salems $1.50 seems a comparative bargain. But with communal sensitivity to parking concerns rising to the level of sand in swimming trunks, the transition may not be much fun. Downtown denizens, occasional and habitual, know full well how smooth the transition was a few years back when some property owners hired a private company called Professional Parking Management to monitor their lots. The company put up signage and video cameras for enforcement then accessed DMV records to send the unsuspecting $85 bills for violations that added up to a matter of minutes. The technology used by the company is a lot like what the city is about to unleash. A motorist whips into a spot, enters her/his/their license plate number into a phone app and pays to play. For some, particularly those who spend any time in big, big cities, its a snap. But for others attuned to a less frenzied pace, it can be a challenge at first. Perhaps thats why Councilmember D.D. Adams made a point of asking Fansler whether Professional Parking Managements signs look like ours? (Guilt by association isnt a great way to start.) Good question, Fansler said. Ours have the city logo. The good news, at least initially, is that city officials have had the grace and good sense to ease into the change. Parking enforcement workers in those circus cars will help with the apps, and the city isnt going full draconian with the fines right away. Were not just going to be enforcing these right off the bat as soon as we roll these out, Fansler said. We do feel like theres a benefit to educating the community on the program. Consider yourselves warned. Extremes in approach GREENSBORO - Carrot and stick, tough love, a two-prong approach, whatever you want to call City Councils multi-faceted approach to the unhoused, the honorables cannot be accused of ignoring the issue. Last year, in the midst of fierce and sometimes painful discussions between elected officials and frustrated downtown merchants, Council updated local ordinance with language that made it illegal during much of the day to sit, lie down, camp or otherwise take a load off on a public street or highway, public sidewalk, public passageway or entrance or exit to a building. No question which segment of the population that targeted. But its a tricky matter - a humanitarian, public health (and) public safety crisis, in the words of a downtown booster. The man wasnt wrong. The tipping point for me is really the recent escalation in the violence, said Chris Waldeck, a member of the board of Downtown Greensboro Inc. Harassing behavior, property destruction, public urination and defecation is threatening the quality of life for all of our citizens, our downtown businesses and ultimately the reputation of our city. And thats what really scares me the most. Council isnt all stick and no heart, however. Example A is the fact that members agreed to extend its pallet shelter program, which provides beds and respite from scorching summer heat, by moving 30 of its two-person shelter from Pomona Park to the site of a demolished hotel on O. Henry Boulevard it owns. In the press release announcing the plans for the summer shelter program, the city stressed that the relocation is temporary and will not affect the citys long-term plans for redeveloping the former Regency Inn site. Yet Council appropriated some $571,000 to cover the costs of summer pallet shelters - money which covers heat, electricity, water and sewer services as well as payments to private organizations to operate them. () Trekking off the beaten path is a great way to enjoy all the great landscapes and pristine beauty Guam has to offer. There are lots of hikes easy enough for young children, but challenging enough for teenagers to enjoy. Here are few to help you and your family get off on the right foot. INARAJAN FALLS Deep in one of the valleys of Inarajan, lies a little oasis where families have come to enjoy the waterfalls that spill into a pond. A rope hangs from a tree for those who love making a splash into the water. The short leisure trail takes a sudden dip and some scaling on rocks is involved. The trail is a short distance, but it is steep, which requires you to hold on to trees and rocks as you descend down a thickly vegetated ravine. Location: Inarajan Duration: (2 hours) 10 minutes to the falls. Consider taking some time for swimming. Level of ease: Easy-Medium, if you are up for doing some minor scaling down a rocky, and thickly vegetated ravine Driving Directions: Head southbound from the Cross-Island Road intersection. Continue taking the coastal route 4 to Inarajan. As the road begins to slope, be on the lookout for the Inarajan village billboard sign at the top of a winding road. That is where you will turn off from the road and park. Hiking Directions: Follow the trail towards the valley that can be seen as you continue down the trail. The slope will end at a ledge. Have someone who is able to assist others, carefully scale the rocks, first. Before putting weight or firmly gripping a rock, test for stability. Scaling the rocks is a short distance but it is a steep downward climb. Rely on sturdy trees to help make your way down. Avoid stepping on wet slippery rocks as you walk along the river that leads into the pond. Best Time To Go: During rainy season, the waterfalls will be stronger, and there will be several little pools to dip in. TALOFOFO CAVES The mouth of the first cave starts out no larger than a crawlspace and opens up to a two-story cavern. Bring flashlights, or a helmet with built-in light to go on a spelunking tour through the caves short but interesting network (tunnels). The second cave is where you can view petroglyphs used by ancient Chamorus to teach about celestial navigation. The third cave is the largest and has a sharp drop of about 30 feet or more behind boulders that border the mouth. At the backside of the cave, there is a long and thick rope used for repelling to the bottom. Location: Talofofo Duration: (2 hours) 20 minutes to first cave Level of ease: Easy uphill trek, but watch footing on jagged rocks Driving Directions: Head southbound from the Cross-Island Road intersection. Continue on the coastal route 4 through Ipan Talofofo. Stop at the intersection at the top of the hill going to Talofofo village, and down to Talofofo Bay. A lookout point should be on the left. Turn right towards Route 4a, to Talofofo village, and look for the sign that says Talofofo Caves almost immediately to your right. Park your car along the entrance of the trail, by the side of the road. Hiking Directions: Follow the beaten trail and look out for fluorescent ribbons on trees that will direct you to the path of the caves. First and second caves are on the left side of the trail. While the third cave is on the right side. Remain silent or talk quietly inside the caves. Using protective headwear is recommended for safety. Divide groups into two or three depending on size when entering, so that there will be ample walking space inside caves. Keep hands free and cast light on where you will be stepping to ensure steady footing. Stalagmites forming on the bottom make the terrain bumpy and uneven. Do not repel down the rope if you do not have experience and extra climbing equipment. If it is difficult going down, it will take twice the effort going back up. Best Time To Go: Anytime of the day since the trees provide complete coverage throughout the trails. PRIEST'S POOLS Tucked and hidden in the hillsides of Merizo are pristine natural pools consisting of several pockets of refreshing cool waters filled by streams cascading down dark lava-rock formations. The pools are part of the Pigua River. The main pool is large enough for a group of people to take a leisurely dip in, and deep enough for jumping into from the ledge above. Location: Merizo (Malesso) Duration: (1 hour ) 5-10 minutes to pools. Take time to swim, jump in and enjoy the view. Level of ease: Easy, but rocks around the pool areas are steep and may be slick with algae Driving Directions: Head southbound from the Cross-Island road intersection. Continue on the coastal route 4 through the Talofofo and Inarajan villages. Enter the Merizo village and turn right when you approach the Santa Marian Kamelen shrine/park on the left side of the street, onto the road where the San Dimas Church and Malesso Kombento are located. Continue uphill towards the housing area, then take the second left turn into Mansapit Lane and drive in, until you reach a dead end, where there is a parking lot. Hiking Directions: Look for the Priests Pools sign which indicates the direction of the trail heading towards the grassy hillsides. Follow the beaten trail. A trail veering to the left will lead you to some rock formations where you can see a panoramic view of the ocean. Keep on the trail that winds along the bottom of a hill, and continue on the gradually descending path. Shortly after, you will hear the sound of rushing water, indicating you have reached the main pool. Best Time To Go: Since the hike is a short distance, arriving at the pools in the mid-afternoon hours will give you ample time to enjoy the cool waters under the milder afternoon sunlight. FAI FAI BEACH This long stretch of powdery white sands offers a more peaceful and serene experience if youre looking for a relaxing day on the beach than the usual bustle in Tumon beaches teeming with tourists and locals. Although most of the property fronting the beach is private, there are many areas where lush trees and their branches jut out over the sand to provide shade. There is a nice shady cove at the end of the beach trail. Once you reach the end, it is hard to resist the urge to take a stroll in knee to waist-deep water beside the limestone cliffs that lead to the bottom of Two Lovers Point. In the summer months you may encounter one of the limestone rock-walls crawling with hundreds of large hermit crabs, shell-to-shell like it was bumper-to-bumper rush-hour traffic. The eerie clattering sounds, made by crabs skittering across the rocks, can be heard from a distance. If you plan on snorkeling, you may be amazed at the abundance of baby giant clams wedged between the corals displaying their vibrant colors. Location: Adjacent to Gun Beach in Tumon Duration: (3 hours) 20 minutes to the cove, 30 minutes to the bottom of Two Lovers Point. More time for snorkeling, tanning or beach-combing. Level of ease: Easy. Driving Directions: Head northbound on Pale San Vitores Road in Tumon and proceed straight forward at the intersection across Westin Hotel to Gun Beach Road. Drive until the end of the road. You may turn onto the sand gravel parking area or you may park at the Beach Bar parking lot. Hiking Directions: Head towards the headland that separates the two beaches. Beside the site of a Japanese WWII gun are a flight of stairs that lead into a cliff-side trail. The man-made path passes over the headland and leads you to Fai Fai Beach Stay on the length of the beach that will lead you to the cove. Steer clear of areas with posted private property signs. The cove is the area where the sandy beach ends and where tall limestone cliffs begin and meet the rolling incoming waist deep waves. Best Time To Go: Check for the tide schedule and go two hours before high tide, when currents are not as strong. However, any time during the day is fine since there is plenty of shade to find when you need to cool off.tremely slippery and hard to get a firm grip. GADAO CAVES The small cave overlooking the ocean, feeding into Inarajan Bay, houses the famous petroglyphs depicting a male and female human figure. These drawings have inspired countless local entities into using the distinct symbol to promote the Chamoru culture in souvenir items from stickers, t-shirts, environmental posters to company logos. The cave was named after Gadao, the ancient Chamoru Chief of Inarajan village. Location: Inarajan Duration: (30 minutes) 5-10 minutes to cave Level of ease: Easy, but the trail skirts a rocky shoreline Driving Directions: Head southbound from the Cross-Island road intersection. Continue taking the coastal route 4 to Inarajan, and right before the first bay, there is a road on the left with a Historical Site sign. Take that left turn in and you will be driving a long narrow road, right alongside the bay shoreline. Take a right turn on the first gravel road and drive in until you see wire cables on your right, fencing an area. Park your car on the side. Hiking Directions: The wire cables mark the entrance of the trail. Pass under the cable. Walk towards the beach and stay right. After passing through some bushes you will be facing a rock cliff. Follow the edge of the rock cliff. You may be able to see red dirt stains on the rocks where other hikers have treaded making a trail to the cave. You can walk along the rocky cliff-side where a naturally grooved path has been etched. A small opening will appear on the next rock formation to the left of you. That is the mouth of the cave. The wall on the left, facing the mouth of the cave as you walk in, is where the petrogylphs are found. Best Time To Go: Anytime of the day when it is sunny. Rainy weather will make the rock-path extremely slippery and hard to get a firm grip. The Guam Guide website KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian, British, French and Turkish representatives will discuss Black Sea security in Turkey on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. "This is a military meeting on security in the Black Sea, first of all, a coalition of the willing, appropriate steps," Zelenskiy said in Odesa, speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Zelenskiy said meetings would take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was not immediately clear whether meetings were already ongoing Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There are already quite a few such meetings, in various formats," Zelenskiy added. "Turkey has in 2022 already successfully agreed a ceasefire when it came to a greater grain deal ... let's be positive on the fact that Turkey, again, tries to bring together all relevant parties, And let's hope they are successful," Rutte said. "We are talking about the presence of a contingent at sea, and we believe that Turkey can have a serious place in future security guarantees for the sea," Zelenskiy said. "This is not about ending the war, this is about what will happen after the ceasefire - security guarantees." (Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Writing by Max Hunder; Editing by Peter Graff and Giles Elgood) Amid concern in Kyiv that the United States is becoming a less dependable ally, Ukraine has unveiled its own domestically developed drone designed specifically to counter one of Moscow's weapons of choice, Iranian-made Shahed explosive drones. Russia again launched multiple drones on Monday at Ukraine's Sumy region. Explosions rang out from strikes that claimed lives and damaged civilian infrastructure. Vladimir Putin's forces have used the lethal, relatively inexpensive Shahed drones to attack Ukraine's infrastructure for years. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and visiting Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever met representatives of defense companies in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, where the new Ukrainian weapon system was revealed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video posted by Zelenskyy on social media showed what was touted as a newly developed interceptor drone, but the images were kept obscure to avoid divulging details of the system, and no information on it was provided. An image taken from a video posted online by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 9, 2025 shows what Ukrainian officials described as a new, domestically designed and produced interceptor drone, made specifically to take down Russia's Shahed explosive drones. / Credit: Telegram/Volodymyr Zelenskyy Developers claim the interceptors have already taken down more than 20 Shaheds over about two months. Wild Hornets, a Ukrainian non-profit organization, is one of the entities behind the development of new interceptor drones. A co-founder of the group told CBS News that the interceptors it's working on, a system known as STING, went into production at the beginning of the year and are now being supplied in significant numbers to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The organization, which said it's funded largely by private donations like other such groups backing Ukraine's war efforts, claims the interceptors, which it is still developing, can easily reach speeds over 125 miles per hour. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wild Hornets' spokesperson said the group imports many of the components needed to build the STING drones from China, as the European Union currently does "not have similar components of the appropriate quantity and quality." The organization emphasized that it was looking for ways to substitute Chinese components with Ukrainian-made parts. The spokesperson told CBS News that Wild Hornets' production of STING interceptors has been increasing by "several times" every month. Shortly after the weapons system was shown off for Zelenskyy, de Wever and the defense executives in Kyiv last week, Ukrainian and Belgian representatives signed a cooperation agreement between the countries' respective defense industries. Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of joint production to the "future security of all Europe." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The importance of stopping Russia's exploding drones The new interceptors could prove vital for Ukraine. They offer a far cheaper and more sustainable option for taking down Russia's relatively small but multitudinous exploding drones compared to traditional air defense systems, which require more expensive anti-aircraft missiles, often supplied by Ukraine's partners. Kyiv has prioritized the development of such domestic technology in a bid to reduce its dependence on missile systems supplied by its Western allies. In a recent interview with a Ukrainian news outlet, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military, said there had already been a reduction in U.S. support, while touting his country's innovation and growing defense production capacity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The assistance from the United States has decreased. And the main assistance comes from our partners in Europe," Syrskyi told the LB (Left Bank) news outlet in an interview published on April 9. "But we must also rely on our own strength. And we have successes in the production of artillery. Quite significant successes in electronic warfare. We are making progress our partners are already studying our experience." Moscow has used the Shahed drones to relentlessly target Ukraine's civil, energy and transport infrastructure. Rescuers search the rubble of a building hit by a Russian attack using Shahed-type explosive drones, some of which hit residential buildings, causing fires and killing at least three people, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, April 3, 2025. / Credit: Yevhen Titov/NurPhoto/Getty Despite a suspected targeting success rate of only about 10%, according to the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Shahed's harder-to-detect, low altitude operation and cost of only about $35,000 per unit has made them a weapon of choice for Russia. CSIS notes that a single Russian Kalibr cruise missile, by comparison, costs over a million dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though Ukraine shoots down a majority of the Shaheds launched by Russia, they still pose a significant threat to the country. Shaheds launched by Russia at Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, killed two people and wounded more than a dozen others last month alone. A report issued in March by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Science and International Security said that over the course of seven months, Russia launched some 15,000 Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukraine. Russia started using the Iranian-designed Shaheds in August 2022, six months after Putin ordered his military's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Savannah Bananas pack stadiums with their zany twist on baseball | 60 Minutes Watch: Blue Origin's first all-women flight crew launches to space National Guard members heading to Albuquerque to help police fight crime SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The United States flew long-range B-1B bombers in a show of force against North Korea on Tuesday, days after the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to resist a U.S.-led push to eliminate the Norths nuclear program. North Korea often reacts to the U.S. deployment of B-1B bombers and other powerful military assets with missile tests and fiery rhetoric. Tuesdays flyover of the U.S. bombers could draw an angrier response because it happened when North Korea was marking a key anniversary the 113th birthday of state founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of the current leader. South Koreas Defense Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. bombers participated in a South Korea-U.S. aerial drill meant to strengthen the allies combined operational capability and demonstrate their deterrence capability against North Koreas advancing nuclear program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ministry said South Korean F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and American F-16 fighter jets also took part in the training over the Korean Peninsula. It said South Korea and the U.S. will continue to expand their joint military exercises to respond to North Korean nuclear threats. It was the second time a U.S. B-1B had participated in a drill with South Korea since President Donald Trump began his second term in January. In February, North Koreas Defense Ministry slammed the B-1B's earlier flyover as proof of intensifying U.S.-led provocations since Trumps inauguration. It pledged to counter the strategic threat of the U.S. with strategic means. Days later, North Korea test-fired cruise missiles in what it called an attempt to show its nuclear counterattack capability. Trump has repeatedly said he will reach out to Kim Jong Un to revive diplomacy. North Korea hasnt directly responded to Trumps outreach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong Kims sister and a senior official derided the U.S. and its Asian allies over what she called their daydream of denuclearizing North Korea, insisting that her country will never give up its nuclear weapons program. Her statement came as a response to a recent meeting among the top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan where they reaffirmed their commitment to push for North Korea's denuclearization. The Kim Il Sung birthday, called the Day of Sun, is one of the most important holidays in North Korea, where a state-sponsored cult of personality treats key members of the ruling Kim family like gods. On Tuesday, the country's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper issued an editorial urging the public to rally behind Kim Jong Un to achieve a national prosperity. In recent days, North Korea has held seminars, performances and other events commemorating the founder's achievements. GREENBELT, Md. (AP) A federal judge said Tuesday that she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after Trump officials continually refused to retrieve Abrego Garcia. She said they defied a clear Supreme Court order. She also downplayed Monday's comments by White House officials and El Salvador's president that they were unable to bring back Abrego Garcia, describing their statements as two very misguided ships passing in the night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Supreme Court has spoken, Xinis said, adding that what was said in the Oval Office on Monday is not before the court. In her written order published Tuesday evening, Xinis called for the testimony of four Trump administration officials who work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department. She expects the process to last about two weeks. Xinis wrote that Trump administration officials have done nothing at all toward returning Abrego Garcia. But, she wrote, they remain obligated, at a minimum, to take the steps available to them toward aiding, assisting, or making easier Abrego Garcias release. The hearing came a day after White House advisers repeated the claim that they lack the authority to bring back the Salvadoran national from his native country. The president of El Salvador also said Monday that he would not return Abrego Garcia, likening it to smuggling a terrorist into the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abrego Garcias deportation has become a flashpoint as President Donald Trump follows up on campaign promises of mass deportations, including to an El Salvador prison. Following Tuesday's hearing, a crowd outside the federal court house in Maryland chanted, What do we want? Due process. When do we want it? Now!" An attorney for Abrego Garcia said contempt proceedings could be the logical next step after the fact-finding phase. This is still a win, and this is still progress," Rina Ghandi said. Were not done yet, though. Abrego Garcia's wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, said shortly before Tuesday's hearing that he was working hard to achieve the American dream for his family. That dream was shattered on March 12th when he was abducted and disappeared by the United States government in front of our 5-year-old-child, she said. Today is 34 days after his disappearance ... I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said he'll travel to El Salvador on Wednesday. My hope is to visit Kilmar and check on his wellbeing and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release, Van Hollen said. Abrego Garcia, 29, lived in the U.S. for roughly 14 years, during which he worked construction, got married and was raising three children with disabilities, according to court records. A U.S. immigration judge had shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador in 2019, ruling that he would likely face persecution there by local gangs that had terrorized his family. He also was given a federal permit to work in the United States, where he was a metal worker and union member, according to Abrego Garcias lawyers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the Trump administration expelled Abrego Garcia to El Salvador last month anyway. Administration officials later described the mistake as an administrative error but insisted that Abrego Garcia was a member of the MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime and has denied the allegations. His attorneys have pointed out that the criminal informant claimed he was a member of MS-13 in Long Island, New York, where he has never lived. Xinis had ordered the Trump administration in early April to bring Abrego Garcia back. And the U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week that the U.S. government must facilitate Abrego Garcias release. But the White House has balked at trying to broker his return, arguing the courts cant intrude on the presidents diplomacy powers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Xinis ordered the U.S. on Friday to provide daily status updates on plans to return Abrego Garcia. The Trump administration responded the next day, saying he was alive in the El Salvador prison. But it has only doubled down on its decision not to tell a federal court whether it has any plans to repatriate Abrego Garcia. In a filing Tuesday afternoon, Trump administration attorneys said the government is prepared to facilitate his return. But they said that his protection from being deported to El Salvador would be removed, and that he could be deported back to El Salvador or to a third country, they said. In a court filing Tuesday, Abrego Garcia's lawyers rejected the idea that the U.S. lacks the authority to retrieve him. They noted that the U.S. is paying El Salvador to hold prisoners, including Abrego Garcia, and can exercise those same contractual rights to request their release. Bukele struck a deal under which the U.S. will pay about $6 million for El Salvador to imprison Venezuelan immigrants for a year. Trump has said openly that he would also favor El Salvador taking custody of American citizens who have committed violent crimes, which is likely illegal. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) The successful completion of the Southard Homes Infill Project #1 was celebrated Monday by community leaders, marking a major milestone in the regions Homes for the FutureProgram. The event brought together Thrive West Central, in partnership with Southard Homes, LLC, the Wabash River Regional Development Authority (RDA), the City of Terre Haute, and Vigo County to recognize the addition of 15 new, energy-efficient, single-family homes on previously vacant lots throughout the City of Terre Haute. Developed by Billy Southard of Southard Homes, LLC, each home includes three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and ranges from 1,100 to 1,200 square feet. All 15 homes have been sold, with new homeowners already moved in. This project is a testament to the power of local and regional collaboration, said Ryan Keller, CEO of Thrive West Central. Through the Homes for the Future Program, we are not only addressing our regions housing needswere investing in families, neighborhoods, and the long-term vitality of Terre Haute. These 15 homes are just the beginning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project was made possible by funding from READI 1.0 and reflected the shared commitment of local, regional, and state partnersincluding the Wabash River RDA, Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Mayor Brandon Sakbun, Vigo County Commissioners and both the City and County Councils. Bill Rennels of the Wabash River Regional Development Authority (RDA) emphasized the broader vision: This is what regional investment is all aboutturning vacant lots into thriving neighborhoods and funding dreams that lead to real, tangible progress. Were proud to support projects like this that breathe new life into our communities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Photo by Catherine Lane/Getty Images) Lawmakers and education advocates fear changes to student aid programs being solicited by the U.S. Department of Education, including altering Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-based repayment plans, could hurt students, especially the neediest seeking support to pay for school. According to the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia, 32% of undergraduate students in the commonwealth borrowed money during the 2023-2024 school year, which is a decrease from 43% in the 2012-2013 school year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the 2023-24 school year, Virginia was awarded $1.4 billion in federal funds, with an average of $11,000 going to each of 131,045 students. On April 3, the U.S. Department of Education announced it is seeking public feedback on changes to its student aid regulations that streamline or eliminate unnecessary regulatory processes that are not required by law. The agency added that the process should focus on how Title IV regulations have impacted institutions, states and other partners, and if implementing certain student aid programs may be inhibiting innovation and contributing to rising college costs. Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron said in an April 3 statement: Not only will this rule making serve as an opportunity to identify and cut unnecessary red tape, but it will allow key stakeholders to offer suggestions to streamline and improve federal student aid programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Federal Student Aid, an office in the Department of Education, the office provides more than $111 billion in federal student aid each year through grants, loans and work-study, which allows students at participating schools to earn money to pay for tuition, books and housing. Virginians commonly apply for assistance by completing the FAFSA, which has recently been overhauled and faced criticism for its delays, or the VASA application to their preferred institution. State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, told the Mercury she anticipates hearing from her constituents soon about the proposed changes as students and families begin applying for federal financial aid for the fall semester. So many of our students depend absolutely on Pell Grants (and) on the federal loans in order to have access to higher education, Hashmi said, and so with the wholesale firing of so many employees in the Department of Education, the ability of that department to be efficient and effective in processing these applications is on the line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hashmi said shes also concerned that staff cuts at the U.S. Department of Education could negatively impact the agencys ability to handle issues as they come up for those seeking assistance. Some of the applicants seeking assistance are first-generation and low-income students. One of the most controversial programs being considered for a change is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which forgives the student loan balances of borrowers who make 10 years of payments and hold public service jobs, such as working for the government or a nonprofit. On March 7, President Donald Trump directed the agency to review the program through an executive order claiming former President Joe Bidens administration abused the program by using taxpayer funds to pay off employee loans before they were up. The order said the previous administration also misdirected tax dollars into activist organizations that not only fail to serve the public interest, but actually harm our national security and American values, sometimes through criminal means. However, critics have argued the administration has instead targeted nonprofit organizations that focus on assisting immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community. Threatening to punish hardworking Americans for their employers perceived political views is about as flagrant a violation of the First Amendment as you can imagine, said Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense, in a March statement. If the Trump administration follows through on this threat, they can plan to see us in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump also wrote in the order that individuals employed by organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose shall not be eligible for public service loan forgiveness. The education department will also be taking feedback to improve the Income-Contingent Repayment plan, which allows students to pay back what is owed on a fixed monthly plan over 12 years, adjusted based on their income or 20% of the extra money. With the threats to overhaul education, including cuts to research institutions, Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, said the idea of changing financial aid regulations is concerning for students. Financial aid offices at various colleges and universities are charged with processing applications and creating aid packages. But, with the FAFSA issues, administrators have already been frustrated with the delays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rasoul said this is going to create a bureaucratic mess for our students and universities as we move forward. Hashmi added, This is really, really concerning, and it is going to create a tidal wave of concerns for not just the students, but for our colleges and universities and especially in those institutions that have large populations of students who come with federal financial aid. The agency will hold an in-person meeting on April 29 and a virtual hearing on May 1. Public comments must be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. As of April 14, 285 comments have been submitted to the Federal Register. The deadline for comments is May 5. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The News The White House will freeze $2.2 billion in funding for Harvard after the university refused to comply with its demands. President Donald Trump had insisted universities remove diversity programs and screen students for antisemitism, among other requirements, or lose their financial relationship with the federal government. A Stanford academic warned in an op-ed in Nature that broad cuts to academia since Trumps accession put the entire US research enterprise at risk. The US has been unrivalled as the worlds leader in scientific discovery since World War II, thanks in part to the relationship between government and universities, but just as the UK lost its earlier research primacy, American dominance could crumble. The Trump administration disclosed Monday that it had opened an investigation into the effects on national security of importing certain pharmaceuticals, a move widely seen as the prelude to initiating tariffs on prescription drugs. The Department of Commerce in a Federal Register notice said the probe, known as a Section 232 investigation, began April 1, the day before President Trump announced widespread tariffs on all imported goods but specifically exempted pharmaceuticals. Section 232 investigations allow the president to restrict imports deemed a threat to national security. Trump last week said he will impose a major tariff on prescription drug imports in the coming weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the notice, the investigation includes both finished generic and non-generic drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials, and derivative products of those items. The probe will examine specific issues, including current and projected demand for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients in the U.S.; the role of foreign supply chains, particularly of major exporters, in meeting U.S. demand for pharmaceuticals; the concentration of imports from a small number of suppliers and any associated risks; and the feasibility of increasing domestic capacity for pharmaceuticals and ingredients. A typical Section 232 investigation takes 270 days before a report is given to the president, but the public comments on the notice are due just three weeks from the official April 16 publication date, an indication the investigation will move much quicker. Trump launched Section 232 investigations into the copper and timber industries in March. He has already used the investigations to issue tariffs on imported steel, aluminum and cars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Separately, the Commerce Department said it had launched a similar probe on semiconductor technology. Trump has argued that tariffs on electronic chips will force companies to relocate their factories 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 The Hill. Following President Trump's tariff announcement, the administration claimed a surge of interest from world leaders eager to make trade deals. But nearly two weeks later no agreements have been signed, and pressure is mounting to finalize at least one. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is now promoting a "first mover advantage" to encourage swift negotiations, though global uncertainty and resistance to rushed decisions have left key allies hesitant to commit. In the days after President Trump's April 2 tariff announcement, members of his administration said phones had been ringing off the hook as world leaders lined up to cut new deals. But the rhetoric out of Trump's cabinet has begun to change since Trump put a 90-day pause on the "reciprocal" tariffs on April 9, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent now drumming up pressure to push at least a single agreement through. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nearly two weeks have passed since the Liberation Day announcement and more than 75 countries have reportedly contacted the White House to come to new terms. Foreign leaders have made it clear they want to negotiate with Uncle Sam, with the EU going as far as saying it wants zero trade barriers between the nations. Trade negotiations are no small undertaking, with billions of dollars of goods and services on the line and potential regulatory changes also an option. But while the Trump administration made it clear it wants to act quickly, not a single deal has yet to be signed even with Canada and Mexico, who were first subjected to tariff threats back in January. First mover advantage Speaking to Bloomberg yesterday, Bessent began selling the advantage of being the "first mover"the country that is quickest to agree to a deal with the Oval Office in order to avoid paying higher duties on its exports to the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bessent said there would be an "advantage" to allies who moved quickly, adding, "Especially a first mover advantageusually the first person who makes a deal makes the best deal." When pressed on which country that might be, Bessent added, "It's their choice." Bessent's comments come as Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he was in no rush to agree to a deal with the U.S. as trade negotiations kick off in-person in Washington, D.C., this weekperhaps not the reaction Trump was looking for when he imposed a 24% "reciprocal" hike on the country on April 2. We may fail if we rush, and I dont think its good to compromise a lot in order to just get the negotiations done, Ishiba said in parliament yesterday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Bessent was adamant that before President Trump's 90-day pause was up, the administration would have a handful of agreements in the bag in order to prevent trade allies from facing the higher rate. "There could be numerous countries, and it may not be the actual trade document, but we will have an agreement in principle and be able to move forward from there," he added. When asked if the public could expect a handful of deals, or trade agreements with the majority of countries, Bessent added, "It's going to depend, but we're going to move with all deliberate speed and again, it's going to be a process." While at times the Trump team has shrugged off its need for deals with foreign nations, Bessent has shown his hand in why he wants deals: so that he can create a united front against China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This grand encirclement strategy would see the U.S. strike deals with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and India in order to apply pressure on Chinathe only nation that has responded with equally aggressive reciprocal tariffs. [Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and India have] been good military allies, not perfect economic allies, Bessent said last week per Bloomberg. "Then we can approach China as a group." First mover resistance It's worth noting that Bessent's first mover advantage theory usually applies to businesses launching or reacting within a certain industry, not an entire nation negotiating with the world's largest economy. But even then, research into the first mover theory could suggest why countries are resistant to be the quickest to sign a deal. Writing on a microeconomic scale of business and first mover advantage, Fernando F. Suarez and Gianvito Lanzolla wrote in the Harvard Business Review in 2005 that the benefits of reacting quickest lessens in a more uncertain environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And this is precisely the economic landscape that nations are operating in at the moment, with the likes of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon saying that uncertainty is having a damaging impact on markets. Likewise, while businesses have said they cannot change their long-term investment decisions based on potentially short-term tariff policy out of the White House, foreign leaders will also be looking to ensure the best outcome for their people for coming generations as opposed to appeasing the Trump administration for the rest of its term. Even U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmera key military and economic allysaid he would not sign a deal out of haste, and only if it benefited the British people. "I will only strike a deal if it's in the national interest," he said last week. "That's my prioritystrength abroad, security and renewal at home." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is at odds with the outlook of the Trump cabinet, professor Joao Gomes, a macroeconomist at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, previously told Fortune: "My sense is this administration, this president has an enormous belief that ultimately everybody wants to do business in America. "So 'Were the greatest country in the world, we have the greatest.institutions, markets, people, whatever. It doesn't matter what we do, talented people want to come here, businesses want to come here. "I think that belief is corebut there's a limit to everything." This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Private wireless networks provider Anterix, has announced a collaboration with energy technology manufacturer GE Vernova and telecoms equipment vendors Nokia and Ericsson to expedite the adoption of 900 MHz private wireless networks by utilities The four organisations are collectively offering incentives to utilities in the form of bundled or cost-effective services through the AnterixAccelerator program. AnterixAccelerator is designed to expedite the adoption of 900 MHz private wireless networks by utilities, helping them accelerate the digital transformation of the power grid. According to Anterix, more than 15 of the nations leading utilities are actively participating, alongside current Anterix utility customers and members of the Anterix Active Ecosystem (AAE). This groundbreaking collaboration is paving the way for a new era of utility innovation and reliability, propelling us toward a smarter, more connected energy future, said Anterix President & CEO Scott Lang. "With the support of Ericsson, GE Vernova, and Nokia, we are combining technology and human insight to create a more resilient, sustainable, and intelligent energy landscape for generations to come. Through this partnership, were establishing the strategic foundation for the long-term future of utility grid communications. The announcement received praise from leaders of Ericsson, GE Vernova, and Nokia, all of whom are deepening their involvement in the AnterixAccelerator initiative: Dana Jaber, Vice President and Head of Utilities, Ericsson Americas said private broadband networks are a key driver in the digital transformation of utilities, enabling the integration of diverse use cases. "By enhancing the value of the AnterixAccelerator initiative, we are empowering utilities to own and operate these networks to meet their critical needs on security, resilience, safety and reliability, Jaber said. Jeff Pittman, Head of Enterprise, Mobile Networks, for Nokia North America said the vendor's collaboration with the AnterixAccelerator initiative is a natural progression in advancing utilities digital transformation with the adoption of 900 MHz private wireless broadband. We have been a trusted partner in modernising the communications infrastructure of utilities, supporting their TDM to IP/MPLS transition for the last two decades," Pittman said. "Our transformative and scalable technology solutions are based on open, future-proof LTE and 5G standards as well as IP/MPLS services, providing a uniform platform to unite the utility industry across the nation. China's Xi is making the case for free trade as he tours Southeast Asia this week, presenting China as a source of stability and certainty". On Monday, he was welcomed to Hanoi with pomp and ceremony by Vietnam's President Luong Cuong. He arrived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital, later on Tuesday, for a three-day visit and he will end his tour with a stop in Cambodia. In Hanoi, Xi had a meeting with Vietnams Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, where he said the two countries have brought the world valuable stability and certainty in a turbulent world. He also paid respects at the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As beneficiaries of economic globalisation, both China and Vietnam should strengthen strategic resolve, jointly oppose unilateral bullying acts, uphold the global free trade system, and keep global industrial and supply chains stable, he added, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China and Vietnam signed a series of memorandums on cooperation in supply chains and a joint railway project, and Xi also promised greater access for Vietnamese agricultural exports to China, although few details were made public about the agreements. Trump: trip to "screw the United States" US President Donald Trump criticised the meeting, which comes days after his tariffs upended global markets and left governments across the world scrambling. Reacting to the meeting on Monday, Trump said China and Vietnam were trying to figure out how do we screw the United States of America. In Malaysia, Xi is expected to discuss a free trade agreement between China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as Malaysia is chair of the association this year. Xi will meet with King Sultan Ibrahim on Wednesday morning and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later in the day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn told Chinese state media that the agreement will eliminate many tariffs between China and the bloc's members. "We will bring more tariffs down to zero in many cases, and then expand to all the areas, he said in an interview with CGTN, the state broadcaster's English channel. Malaysia is home to several Belt and Road Initiative projects, including a $11.2 billion (9.9bn) Chinese railway project. China is also its largest trading partner and a top source of foreign direct investment. China's relationship with its neighbours Xi's tour was likely planned before the tariff announcements had disrupted the global economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the Chinese perspective, its mostly about ensuring Chinas influence in the region remains strong and vibrant, with Southeast Asia being Chinas major trading partner, said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at Singapore's Institute of International Affairs. However, the trip's timing and the fact that Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, were all countries impacted by Trump's tariffs, provides Beijing an opportunity to project how it would act as a responsible superpower, one of China's long-time stances. China can offer a lot to Vietnam and other ASEAN countries during this volatile period, said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a professor of Vietnamese studies at Fulbright University Vietnam. I think China can be a leader. Anwar called China a true friend during Li Qiangs visit in June and has visited China three times since he took power in November 2022. China's claims to the South China Sea are a point of contention with both Vietnam and Malaysia. Anwar vowed last September that Malaysia will not bow to demands by China to stop its oil and gas exploration in an oil-rich maritime area in the South China Sea as the activities are within the countrys waters. German telecommunications regulator the Bundeskartellamt has accused Vodafone Group and its partially owned towers subsidiary Vantage Towers of abusive anti-competitive conduct towards the country's fourth mobile operator 1&1. The Bundeskartellamt has sent Vodafone and Vantage Towers a preliminary legal assessment relating to perceived shortcomings in providing antenna sites to 1&1. Vantage Towers had contractually agreed to provide the sites in 2021, but Bundeskartellamt alleges massive delays in provisioning have occurred since then. Based on the findings to date, the delay in the contractually agreed provision of sites is to be considered an anti-competitive impediment to 1&1s market entry as a fourth network operator," Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt said. "According to the information available to us at this stage, the delay and its negative effects on competition in the relevant markets could, and in view of the prohibition of abusive practices under competition law, should indeed have been avoided. "At the current stage we are considering using our powers as a competition authority to enforce the provision of the sites which have not yet been made available. Vantage Towers, which markets and manages approximately 20,000 antenna sites in Germany, is Vodafone Groups former radio mast division, and is now jointly controlled by Vodafone Group and two financial investors. The Vantage Towers antenna sites are used by Vodafone as the main lessee and are thus an essential part of Vodafones German mobile network. Vantage Towers business model generally also involves renting out space for antenna installations at these sites to mobile network operators other than Vodafone. However, the regulator says this requires close coordination with Vodafone. In late 2021 Vantage Towers concluded an agreement with 1&1 on the co-use of a number of antenna sites in the four-digit range. However, since the agreement was reached, the regulator says there have been "massive delays" in providing the agreed sites to 1&1 and 1&1 is still not able to use more than a small fraction of the contractually agreed sites. In contrast to this, the regulator points out that Vodafone has significantly expanded its own network in the years following the agreement and upgraded large parts of its network to 5G, including the sites that were meant to be used by 1&1. According to the Bundeskartellamts preliminary assessment, this significantly impedes 1&1s ability to compete, and has severe consequences for competition in the markets affected. The Bundeskartellamts preliminary assessment is that Vodafones and Vantage Towers practices represent abusive conduct within the German Competition Act. According to the Bundeskartellamt, the allegedly offending companies could have concentrated the 5G upgrades for Vodafone on other sites than those intended for 1&1 and could generally have concentrated more of the groups resources on fulfilling their contractual obligations. The Bundeskartellamt also pointed out that Vodafone benefited from the delays imposed on 1&1. "Vodafones general interests make it seem plausible that a delay in fulfilling the contractual obligations was not inconvenient to Vodafone as this delayed the entry of a further competitor to the mobile communications markets and, at the same time, weakened 1&1s position with regard to the award of frequencies by the Bundesnetzagentur." The Bundeskartellamt is considering not only determining that the conduct is anti-competitive, but also imposing an obligation to provide the relevant sites within three years and taking further measures in connection with this decision. A final decision on this is expected to be issued in mid-2025. COMPANY NEWS by Kash Sharma, Managing Director, ANZ, BlueVoyant :The recently reported cyber incident involving Hertz Australia, where customer data has been compromised after a third-party breach, serves as a reminder for organisations to scrutinise their vendors and other third parties closely. Digital supply chain attacks often infiltrate organisations through the weakest link. The data breach incident is only one addition to a growing list of significant cyberattacks in the region in recent years that likely originated from a third-party vendor. Organisations are often attacked through their wider digital networks, with more suppliers, service providers, and partners having more access to sensitive data now than ever before. Personal information at risk Personal information such as contact information, date of birth, drivers license and payment card information, have been reported to be impacted in the Hertz incident. Additionally, car rental companies and customers should also be aware that other data that can be inadvertently stored when a user syncs with a car. Data such as call and text logs, and potentially GPS or locational information could be used maliciously by the next or any subsequent renter. Not only can threat actors potentially access the data stored on the vehicle itself, but there are other less obvious threats. If users sync via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, those connections may not be secure or encrypted and could therefore be vulnerable to hacking, or compromise. Nearby attackers could intercept data being transferred between the users phone and the vehicle. Many vehicles infotainment systems allow the use of third-party apps that integrate with mobile devices, and these apps could have their own vulnerabilities such as backdoors to the customers cellular devices etc. Car rental companies have ethical and legal obligations to adequately protect or purge the personal data that may residually be left behind after the rental period, and their customers should be made fully aware on the risks of syncing their devices to rental vehicles. It is critically important that companies in every sector understand their extended digital supply chain, or the suppliers, vendors, and other third-parties that have direct or indirect access to their network. Organisations need to know who they are connected to and what access these third parties have. If a third party gets breached, this breach can then compromise the main organisation and result in data loss, ransomware, or business interruption. Organisations should incorporate the following strategies to better tackle supply chain cyber security risks: Initiate a proactive visibility program at all levels of the organisation, including cross-departmental and senior stakeholder briefings, reporting, and collaboration. Prioritise effective third-party cyber security risk management and collaboration to reduce breach risk. Implement structured incentives and penalties for third parties to encourage compliance amongst those that fail to demonstrate sufficient hygiene, response, and remediation measures. Monitor and evaluate all suppliers on a continuous basis. Introduce tiered monitoring from simple questionnaires to advanced continuous monitoring offset against costs and aligned with vendor criticality. This will help to alleviate resource, technology and expertise challenges. Ensure third-party cyber security risk management isnt siloed in IT or elsewhere. Work closely with their third parties to close the remediation loop. Triage and track all issues through every step to full remediation. Companies can make it more challenging for attackers to gain access by regularly monitoring both internal networks and third parties, enforcing access control, and practicing good cyber hygiene, such as using multi-factor authentication. Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice makes his first appearance in Yakima County District Court in Judge Brian K. Sandersons courtroom Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at Yakima County Courthouse in Yakima, Wash. Looking for a break? Test your knowledge of this week's news from the Yakima Valley. The opposition Momentum Movement staged a demonstration against the 15th constitutional amendment in front of Parliament on Monday afternoon. Momentum's parliamentary group leader, David Bedo, urged protesters to make their way to the President of the Republic's office and demand that Tamas Sulyok withhold his signature from the amendment. He thanked protesters for "standing up for freedom, fundamental rights and freedom of assembly". He added that it was not time for a revolution as the ruling Fidesz party would be swept from parliament democratically in next year's election. Bedo said people were showing resistance to the "oppressive" government. "We will continue our resistance, because where there is tyranny, there is also resistance," he added. Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, told the protesters to gather for Budapest Pride on June 28 and vowed that the event would go ahead. He said the amendment to the Fundamental Law did not only concern Pride, but freedom too. He said that a free society "means that citizens don't just look after their own freedom but each other's freedom too." He said the constitution must start from the basis that "we Hungarians are not the same but equal". Tamas Soproni, the mayor of the Budapest district of Terezvaros, said restricting the right to assembly was an attack on "the core of our freedom". Krisztina Baranyi, the mayor of Ferencvaros, said: "We are now on the same path as Russia." She said the government's "system of national cooperation" had undermined multiple fundamental values. By curbing various rights, "we suddenly find ourselves exactly as we were before the regime change" in 1990, she added. Baranyi said the ban on Pride was a political trap which should not be jumped over "with our eyes closed". Instead, "we must chase the system of national cooperation into it," she added. Minority rights and the protection and expansion of freedoms "must be made central values ??of Hungarianness after Viktor Orban", she declared. At the start of the protest, 100-120 people gathered on the north side of Parliament before activists and Momentum members headed towards the entrance to Parliament's garage, in front of which police formed a line. The protesters sat down and blocked the road. Shortly afterwards, police removed protesters one at a time. After the speeches, protesters headed to the presidential Sandor Palace, but were stopped by a police line and patrol cars at the Buda end of the Chain Bridge. Some of the demonstrators were able to break through but were held up at the steps leading to the Castle District. Shortly before 8pm most protesters left and the bridge was reopened to traffic. Parlt Adopts 15th Amendment of Constitution Hungary's parliament on Monday adopted the 15th amendment of the Fundamental Law with 140 votes in favour and 21 against. The amendment, proposed by the ruling parties, was designed to confirm that gender at birth is biologically determined, either male or female. Under the new changes, the state must ensure the protection of that "natural order" and prevent any endeavours to suggest there are opportunities to change sex at birth. The fixed nature of the biological gender will ensure the healthy development of society and help maintain fundamental norms of the community, the preamble to the legislation said. Hungarian law refuses to recognise changes to one's sex at birth, thus preserving the stability of the family as an institution and social order, it added. The amendment enshrines in the constitution "the protection of children's bodily, spiritual and moral development, and the right to children's identity according to their gender at birth" as a fundamental right of paramount importance, enjoying proportionate protection. This precedes any other right with the exception of the right to human life, it adds. Also under the amendment, the Hungarian citizenship of dual citizens may be suspended for definite periods of time, but such a suspension cannot be applied collectively to groups of citizens. The amendment also enshrines in the constitution the right to use cash. According to the legislation, retaining cash transactions is the only way to prevent the economy from becoming vulnerable to electronic banking systems, which are prone to failure from technical or economic reasons. Inclusion of those stipulations in the constitution will ensure the option to pay with cash for everybody, thus preventing opportunities from financial segregation, the preamble says. Meanwhile, the new changes outlaw the production, abuse, distribution and promotion of drugs, aimed at reinforcing the Hungarian state's commitment to protecting public safety, healthy life styles and public order. Another change stipulates that, with the exception of the chief prosecutor, prosecutors can continue working until their 70th birthday. Under current regulations, the government has the authority to pass decrees, suspend certain laws or deviate from them, as well as take extraordinary measures in a special legal order. After Monday's amendment takes effect, the government will have the authority to suspend or deviate from some laws under martial law or in an emergency without special authorisation by parliament. In a state of danger, however, the government will need the approval of parliament's two-thirds majority to do so for a given period of time. In changes related to localities, the amended constitution stipulates that the right of movement should not impinge on the right of local communities to uphold their identity. According to the preamble, the new passages would ensure protection to those communities that seek to preserve their way of life, traditions or social structure, and allow them to define the size of their community. New passages concerning the special legal order and prosecutors will take effect on January 1 next year, but the rest of the stipulations will become effective the day after their publication. Photo courtesy: Momentum Mozgalom New Delhi: The teaser for Nawazuddin Siddiquis upcoming biopic Costao has taken the internet by storm, with fans and cinephiles alike praising the actors powerful screen presence and transformative performance. Portraying the late Goan customs officer Costao Fernandes, Nawazuddin is once again being hailed as one of India's finest performers. Known for bringing depth and authenticity to his characters in critically acclaimed films like Manto, Thackeray, Raman Raghav 2.0, and Manjhi: The Mountain Man, Nawazuddin slips seamlessly into the role of Fernandes a courageous officer who, in the 1990s, uncovered a major gold smuggling operation. The teaser hints at a gripping narrative, with Nawaz capturing the quiet intensity and determination of the real-life hero. Watch The Teaser Here: Following the teaser release, fans flooded social media with admiration: Nawazuddin's acting is consistently outstanding One of the best performers who represents India on a global level Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the pride of India. "The legend has arrived, Costao will be (fire)" The legend has arrived Costao will be Kartik (@Kartik11630051) April 15, 2025 Nawaz is truly a legendary actor and hes back again to give us a dhamakedar performance. Nawaz is truly a legendary actor and he is back again to give us a dhamakedar performance Shriya Kanojia (@KanojiaShriya89) April 15, 2025 Just saw Costao teaser and Nawaz is a legendary actor to which we should put more in use. Just saw Costao teaser and Nawaz is a legendary actor to which we should put more in use. nehaaa (@nehaaa650435) April 15, 2025 The wave of praise underscores Nawazuddins continued impact in the industry and fans anticipation for his return to the biopic genre. The recently released poster also unveiled his intense, gripping new look further fueling the buzz around the film. On the work front, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is also set to appear in Raat Akeli Hai 2, continuing his streak of compelling and diverse roles. In todays stressful world, where tension and constant hustle are increasing, yoga has emerged as an effective solution for people seeking balance. What was once considered a traditional practice is now a global health movement, benefiting millions of people worldwide. The key force behind this transformation is Baba Ramdev and his company, Patanjali. Along with promoting Ayurvedic products and natural remedies, Patanjali has played a significant role in bringing yoga to homes across the world. This is why International Yoga Day has become a major worldwide movement today, with Patanjali playing a special role. Lets take a look at how Patanjali's support helped turn International Yoga Day into a global phenomenon. History of International Yoga Day The idea of International Yoga Day began in 2014 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. He emphasized that yoga is an ancient Indian tradition that connects the body, mind, and soul. He suggested that June 21st be celebrated as International Yoga Day every year, as this day is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and holds special significance in many cultures. The United Nations approved this proposal on December 11, 2014, and 177 countries supported it. The first International Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21, 2015, with yoga-related events in major cities like New York, Paris, and Beijing. Patanjalis Contribution Baba Ramdev, the face behind Patanjali, played a crucial role in bringing yoga to the masses. His yoga shows on television, especially on the Aastha Channel, made yoga popular in every household. He taught yoga in a simple, easy-to-understand way that anyone could follow. Additionally, Patanjali organized yoga camps not only in India but also in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Thousands of people attended these camps. Patanjali didnt just stop at teaching yoga; it also promoted yoga through its products and trusts. Their Ayurvedic products helped people believe that yoga and health could go hand in hand. Baba Ramdev presented yoga in a scientific manner, which made people abroad take it seriously. In 2015, at Indias capital, Delhi, 35,985 people performed yoga together at Rajpath. This event set two Guinness World Records: one for the largest yoga session and another for the highest number of countries (84) participating in a single yoga event. This demonstrated that International Yoga Day was widely appreciated and celebrated from the very beginning. Through Patanjalis continued support and promotion of yoga, it has become a global movement, encouraging millions to adopt a healthy lifestyle and embrace the benefits of yoga in their daily lives. (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.) New Delhi: The Ministry of Labour and Employment has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swiggy, one of Indias largest food delivery platforms, as part of a broader initiative to strengthen employment opportunities through public-private partnerships. Swiggy, which currently operates in over 500 cities, has been instrumental in generating employment across various sectors. With nearly 5 crore job opportunities listed on its platform, the collaboration is expected to enhance access to skilled manpower for both employers and job seekers. The MoU is part of a series of agreements the Ministry is forging with private agencies to bridge the gap between demand and supply in the labour market. #WATCH | Delhi | Union Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Mansukh Mandaviya attended the MoU signing between Ministry of Labour and Employment and Swiggy pic.twitter.com/DjptEaIYFG ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2025 Highlighting the significance of the partnership, Union Labour and Environment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said: "The National Career Service (NCS) portal is emerging as a single-window system for job seekers. It currently holds data on over 31 crore individuals registered on the Shram portal. This integration will allow employers to efficiently search for specific manpower, such as 50 civil engineers within a 50-km radius of Noida, without the need to advertise externally." Mandaviya emphasised that the NCS portal will streamline the hiring process and serve as a comprehensive platform for both skill development and employment opportunities. "Employers can access the NCS portal, input their manpower requirements, and instantly identify qualified candidates. This will revolutionise job matching in India," he added. He also expressed optimism about the future, noting that Swiggy alone is expected to create 10 to 12 lakh new job opportunities in the next two to three years. "Many more institutions are lined up to sign similar MoUs. I believe the NCS portal will become the premier platform not only in India but globally, helping employers fulfil their workforce needs while offering dignified employment to millions," Mandaviya said. Salbh Srivastava, Operations In-Charge at Swiggy, said: Today, I feel fortunate to be part of this collaboration with the NCS. Swiggy has created lakhs of jobs over the past decade, and through this partnership, we will be able to connect with more skilled individuals. The NCS will certainly help us scale our hiring efforts and enhance employment generation across the country." Srivastava confirmed that Swiggy plans to integrate more skilled workers through the NCS platform, with an estimated 10 to 12 lakh new jobs projected over the next few years. We are excited about the opportunities this partnership will bring and thank everyone involved for making this happen, he added. The collaboration marks a significant step towards integrating technology with employment services, aiming to make Indias labour ecosystem more efficient, accessible, and inclusive. Hyderabad: Two workers from Telangana have been murdered by a Pakistani national in Dubai, said Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday. Ashtapu Prem Sagar and Srinivas were attacked by a Pakistani national at Modern Bakery LLC in Dubai during working hours on April 11. Bandi Sanjay posted on X that he was deeply saddened by the tragic killings. Spoke to Ministry of External Affairs officials today and our MHA office remains in constant touch with them, he said. The minister said that he spoke to Ashtapu Sandeep, brother of Prem Sagar, and assured full support as the family awaits the return of his mortal remains. Through the Indian Consulate, Dubai Police have been urged to expedite the process. Grateful to the Ministry of External Affairs for their swift response and for pursuing the matter with urgency. We are extending all necessary support for the early repatriation of the victims and stand firmly with their families in this hour of grief, said Bandi Sanjay. Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy also posted that he was deeply shocked by the brutal killing of two Telugu youth from Telangana in Dubai. Ashtapu Prem Sagar was from Nirmal district while Srinivas hailed from Nizamabad district. Kishan Reddy said he spoke to External Affairs Minister S. Jai Shankar, who assured full support to the bereaved families, and the urgent repatriation of the mortal remains. The MEA will also work towards ensuring the delivery of speedy justice in the matter. I thank Shri Jaishankar ji for his support and assistance in this matter, stated Kishan Reddy. The Telangana youth were reportedly killed by their co-worker during work hours. Two others were injured in the attack. The attack was allegedly driven by workplace stress and communal tension. Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday appeared before police in connection with an FIR registered against him over his "50 bombs have reached Punjab" statement. The party rallied behind the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, and hit out at the ruling AAP government, terming the registration of an FIR against Bajwa as a "political vendetta". National leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, were in regular touch with the state leadership and were closely monitoring the situation, said the state unit leaders. Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the party's rank and file accompanied Bajwa to the Mohali Cyber Crime Police station. While only Bajwa and his counsel were allowed inside, the leaders staged a sit-in outside the police station and raised slogans against the AAP government, accusing it of misusing the police to target opposition leaders. Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Basal also condemned the registration of the case against Bajwa. Lashing out at the AAP government over the law and order situation, Badal said, "Even the Leader of Opposition, @Partap_Sbajwa , is being intimidated with false cases. We condemn attempts to suppress the opposition's voice by registering false cases against them or subjecting them to repeated police questioning." Bajwa has been booked under Sections 197(1)(d) (false and misleading information that endangers the country's sovereignty and unity) and 353(2) (false statements intended to create enmity and hatred or ill will) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Earlier, Congress leaders slammed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann with Bajwa asserting that he would not be intimidated by the AAP government's action against him. Senior party leaders, including MPs, MLAs, former MLAs and party workers, assembled at the Punjab Congress headquarters here in solidarity with Bajwa. Speaking to the media here, Warring targeted the AAP government over the "deteriorating" law and order situation and claimed that there was a "jungle raj" in the state. He said the Punjab Police was functioning as a "puppet" and "misusing" its powers. "Daily incidents of loot and murders are taking place in the state. Hand grenades are being hurled," he said. Instead of improving law and order, action is taken against opposition party leaders who express concern over the current situation in the state, he added. Warring cautioned officers, including the state police chief, Mohali senior superintendent of police and the station house officer concerned, to ensure that they do not succumb to the political pressure of the AAP and breach their brief. The Congress party does not forget and will remember each and every official who "intimidated and persecuted" the Congress leaders and workers, he said. Warring said the action taken against Bajwa shows that the chief minister was "quite impatient". He said the Congress veteran had expressed concern over the law and order situation and he took the information about the bombs from a newspaper report. He asserted that Bajwa won't be cowed down. Replying to AAP's allegation that Bajwa had links with Pakistan, Warring said the Congress leader's father was assassinated and he escaped a bomb attack. During the interaction with the media here before heading to Mohali, Bajwa said the issue which he had taken up concerns everyone. "Today, every Punjabi is worried. Blasts are taking place and people are getting extortion calls," Bajwa said. He said if Mann had any idea of what happened in Punjab till 1992-93, he would realise the seriousness of the situation. He must not have heard a gunshot in his entire life. So, how would he know what happened in Punjab and under what fresh threats Punjab was, he said. He warned that the situation in Punjab right now is "very serious and critical" and every Punjabi was concerned about it. Replying to Mann's swipe at him on hiring lawyers following the registration of an FIR, Bajwa said it was his democratic right and asked whether AAP leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia came out of Tihar Jail without lawyering up. He also said that he could get a copy of the FIR only after approaching the court. Asserting that he was not scared of Mann, Bajwa said, "I want to say that if I remain alive, then you (Mann) be prepared (for retaliation)". He said his father had sacrificed his life for the country, while he had been attacked with a bomb during the period of militancy in Punjab. "We have a history of laying sacrifices for the country", he said. Referring to the Punjab Police serving him summons at his home, he asked Mann whether he had issued similar summons to those dismissed in drug cases and those found guilty of facilitating gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's interview to a television channel. Meanwhile, former chief minister and Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi said Mann should have shown some grace and called up Bajwa to discuss the matter instead of ordering an FIR. He reminded Mann that he was not holding a "stage show" but a responsible position of that of the state's chief minister. The case against Bajwa was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Mohali. In an interview with a private television channel, Bajwa claimed, "I have come to know that 50 bombs have reached Punjab. Of this, 18 have exploded, 32 are yet to go off." A team of Punjab Police on Sunday visited the residence of Bajwa and questioned the source of his statement. In a summon issued to the Congress leader, police had asked Bajwa to appear before the Mohali Superintendent of Police on Monday noon in connection with the registration of a case against him. However, Bajwa had expressed his inability to appear on Monday, saying he received the summons late Sunday. Bihar Election 2025: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is in Delhi to hold crucial seat-sharing talks with Congress and is likely to meet Mallikarjun Kharge with regard to the Bihar elections due in November. A high-stakes battle is expected to take place in Bihar, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA); consisting of Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, and the Bharatiya Janata Party fighting against the alliance consisting of Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and left parties. While RJD MP Manoj Jha said that this meeting will discuss seat-sharing and the alliance between the two parties, there are clamours that the RJD should look beyond Congress. The grand old party's performance has not been up to the mark for the last four polls. The lower strike rate has hurt the performance of the Mahagathbandhan, an alliance of RJD, Congress and Left. Number Game In the 2010 Bihar assembly polls, the Congress had contested all 243 seats but won just four with a vote percentage of little over 8%. In the 2015 assembly polls, when Nitish Kumar parted ways with the BJP and his party JDU joined RJD-Congress in Mahagathbandhan, the Congress contested 41 seats and won 27 seats with a vote share of around 6.7%. In the 2020 assembly polls when Nitish returned to the NDA, the Congress contested 70 seats and won 19 with around 9% vote share. When it comes to the Lok Sabha elections, Congress contested 12 seats of the total 40 and won just two while the RJD got four in the 2014 Parliamentary polls. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress contested nine seats bagging just one while the RJD drew a blank. In the 2024 parliamentary polls when the NDA faced a united opposition against the allegations of attempts to change the constitution and end reservation, Congress won three seats out of nine it contested. A Non-Congress Alternative? The Congress party's performance in the Bihar Assembly polls remains dismal and its lower strike rate has proved to be a curse for the RJD. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, under Tejashwi Yadav's leadership, has emerged as the single largest party in the 2020 Bihar assembly polls. Tejashwi still draws massive crowds and commands a big support among the voters. With Pashupati Paras parting ways with the NDA, Tejashwi may look to contest the Bihar assembly polls with Left parties [CPI(ML)L, CPI, CPI(M)], Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) while keeping the Congress aside. The Congress party's vote share without RJD may not go beyond 5 per cent and this may help Tejashwi get a better chance to win the seats lost after being allocated to Congress. Without Congress, RJD stands a chance to perform better. On the other hand, Congress may also look to help its ally RJD by seeking a lesser number of seats in the seat-sharing, if defeating the BJP is the only goal. Congress should ask for only those seats which it had either won or lost by a very thin margin. Handing over the rest of the seats to the RJD may brighten the chance of Mahagathbandhan's victory. LUCKNOW: A fire erupted at Lokbandhu Hospital in Lucknow late Monday night, affecting critical sections of the facility, including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a female ward, and one more ward. Officials confirmed that all patients from the affected zones were safely evacuated and shifted to nearby hospitals as rescue operations were swiftly initiated. District Magistrate Visakh G Iyer stated that a team from the Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched immediately after receiving the information. The patients were referred to three hospitals: Civil Hospital, Balrampur Hospital, and King George's Medical University (KGMU) Hospital. Speaking to ANI, Iyer said, "As soon as we received information about the fire at Lokbandhu Hospital, we dispatched a team from the Fire and Rescue department. They began the rescue operation. The ICU, a female ward, and another ward were affected. All patients from these wards have been rescued and referred to three hospitals. The situation is under control at the moment." "The patients have been transferred to Civil Hospital, Balrampur Hospital, and KGMU Hospital. Currently, our fire team is working to control the situation, which remains under control," DM Iyer added. "Smoke was detected on the ground floor. The hospital staff immediately started shifting the patients. Around 200 patients have been shifted. Serious patients have been sent to KGMU. Some have also been sent to the civil hospital. There is nothing to worry about now," said Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak. In a related statement, Police Commissioner Amarendra Singh Sengar confirmed that the fire brigade had reached the scene promptly. "We received information of a fire at the Lokbandhu Hospital. The fire brigade reached here. All the patients have been evacuated and shifted to nearby hospitals. There is no report of any injury," he told ANI. Inside visuals showed firefighting operations underway, with the SDRF team also arriving at the hospital premises to assist. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said all patients are safe, and firefighting efforts are still ongoing. No casualties have been reported. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the incident. Senior officials reached the location. Fire brigade teams are on site, and fire control efforts are in progress. MUMBAI: Amid speculations about a rift in the ruling Mahayuti, Maharashtra Minister and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil has said it was natural for people of different backgrounds to have disagreements in a coalition government. The state higher and technical education minister was reacting to reports that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde complained to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Speaking to reporters, he said, "Even when people of the same blood live under one roof, there are disagreements. People from different backgrounds have come together in a coalition government, and if there is no noise in such a scenario, one might have to check if they are alive or not." Patil said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies, Shinde and Pawar, come from different backgrounds. "When such people come together, there will naturally be some noise. That noise shows they are alive. It is necessary to express discontent," he said. The Shinde-led Shiv Sena is reportedly upset that some files from ministries held by the party are stuck with Pawar, who is also the finance minister. There is also speculation about the Shiv Sena being miffed at Fadnavis reversing some decisions taken by the previous Shinde government. The ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, came to power in December after a landslide victory in the assembly polls. Shinde, who was the chief minister from June 2022, however, had to be content with the deputy CM's post in the Fadnavis government. UP Bomb Threats: A security alert was triggered in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday after a series of bomb threat emails were sent to multiple district collectorate offices in the state, officials said, as reported by news agency PTI. Following the bomb threat emails, bomb squads were prompted to build evacuations and extensive searches, officials further stated. Separately, a case was registered in Ayodhya after a threatening email was sent to the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust on Monday night warning of an attack on the Ram temple, local officials said. Soon after the emails were received by authorities in Firozabad, Aligarh, Barabanki, and Chandauli, bomb disposal units, anti-sabotage checking teams, dog squads, and local police were swiftly mobilised to the respective collectorate premises on Tuesday, according to PTI. All buildings were evacuated and thoroughly searched, officials said. Authorities in all four districts said that no explosives or suspicious items were found. Investigations were underway to identify those responsible for sending the bomb hoax emails, they said. Speaking to reporters in Aligarh, a senior police officer said, "Soon after the email was received, security forces reached the district magistrate's office and evacuated the premises. A thorough inspection of the entire complex was conducted". The official said that the threatening email was received on the official email ID of the Aligarh District Magistrate. In Barabanki, District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi said, "Today, we received a threatening email on the official ID, claiming that explosives like RDX were planted in the collectorate campus. "Though the information did not initially seem credible, we immediately alerted the Superintendent of Police and called in the bomb disposal squad, which undertook a thorough search. No suspicious object has been found so far. Efforts are underway to trace the source of the email," Tripathi further stated. Barabanki City Circle Officer Sumit Tripathi said the origin and authenticity of the email remain unclear. "Investigations are ongoing to determine whether this was a mischief attempt or part of a larger conspiracy," he said. In Chandauli, District Magistrate Nikhil Tikaram Funde said a person identifying himself as Gopal Swami had sent an email warning of a possible bomb blast at the collectorate, allegedly linked to political issues in Tamil Nadu. "The sender even listed a Tamil Nadu address. We immediately alerted the Superintendent of Police and launched a complete search of the collectorate premises. Nothing suspicious was found. The email content appeared frivolous and lacked credibility, but we still acted with full caution," the DM said. In Firozabad, a similar threat was received via email around Tuesday afternoon, claiming that explosive material had been placed in the District Magistrate's office. Superintendent of Police (City) Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Upon receiving the email, a bomb disposal team, dog squad, local police from Matsena police station, and the SOG team carried out an intensive search of the premises." "No explosives were found," he said. A case has been registered at the cyber police station based on a complaint by the Matsena SHO, and authorities are working to trace the sender of the email. Meanwhile, in Ayodhya, an email was received at midnight on Monday by the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust, with a warning to "increase the security of the temple." Mahesh Kumar, the trust's account officer, filed a complaint with the police cyber cell on Tuesday, after which a case was registered. Following the threat, security patrols were intensified in the Janmabhoomi complex and nearby areas. Electronic surveillance was activated, and police carried out a thorough search operation around the temple, according to officials. The cyber cell in Tamil Nadu has been alerted to help trace the origin of the email and identify the sender. Officials noted that since the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol, several threats have been received, including multiple ones from Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu. Ayodhya police have urged the public to ignore rumours and promptly report any suspicious activity. (With PTI Inputs) Murshidabad Violence: Days after violence erupted in West Bengals Murshidabad over the Waqf (Amendment) Act, security forces kept a strict vigil to prevent any fresh tensions in the district on Tuesday, officials said. As the security was heightened in violence-hit areas of Murshidabad, life was limping back to normal in the district. Personnel of the BSF, CRPF, State Armed Police, and RAF have been deployed in large numbers in Jangipur, Dhuliyan, Suti, and Shamsherganj, where no new incident of violence was reported in the past 48 hours, they said. The state police said the situation in riot-hit parts of Murshidabad is gradually returning to normal, with shops reopening and displaced families starting to come back. Violent protests erupted on Friday and Saturday in pockets of the district, including Suti, Dhulian, and Jangipur, following anger over the amended Waqf Act. The demonstrations soon escalated into clashes, leaving at least three people dead and several injured. Here Are Top Points: 1. On Monday, a BSF delegation led by Additional Director General (East) Ravi Gandhi visited Suti, Samserganj, and Dhulian, some of the worst-affected pockets in the Muslim-majority district, which witnessed widespread unrest over the weekend. "A joint strategy has been chalked out with senior police officers to increase patrolling in the area. We are working in close coordination with the state police to ensure the return of normalcy," he said. 2. A total of 210 people have so far been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said. Meanwhile, vehicular traffic movement was normal along the Basanti Highway in the Bhangar area in South 24 Parganas district, which witnessed fresh episodes of Waqf Act-related violence on Monday, they said. 3. Supporters of the Indian Secular Front (ISF) had clashed with the police at Bhangar on Monday, leading to several injuries, vandalism of public properties, and the torching of multiple police vehicles. 4. The clashes erupted when police stopped ISF supporters from heading towards Ramlila Maidan in central Kolkata to attend an anti-Waqf Act rally addressed by party leader and Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddique. 5. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the opposition over their silence on the violence in West Bengals Murshidabad. 6. During the inauguration of various development projects at the Amar Senani Raja Narpati Singh Memorial site in the Hardoi district, he referred to the ongoing communal tensions in Bengal, where Hindus were attacked during protests against the Waqf Act. 7. CM Yogi lambasted political opponents for what he called selective outrage and appeasement politics. 8. The leader of the opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Tuesday, launched a scathing attack against CPI(M) on the issue of Murshidabad violence, saying that the compulsion of opposition INDIA bloc was preventing it from criticizing Trinamool Congress even though two CPI(M) activists have been killed. 9. Adhikari referred to the killing of Hargobindo Das and Chandan Das, the father and the son at Samserganj in the Murshidabad district last week, whom CPI(M) state secretary in West Bengal and politburo member Md Salim had identified as active party workers. 10. The LoP accused the CPI(M) politburo member of giving misleading statements about the circumstances under which the father and the son were killed. (With agencies Inputs) Waqf Protests: Amid the ongoing protests over the Waqf Amendment Act, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju brushed aside the allegations that the Bill is against Muslims and added that the Narendra Modi government is committed to correcting past mistakes. Rijiju said that the earlier Waqf law gave unprecedented power to the body due to which many rightful owners lost their lands. Speaking at a press conference in Kochi, Kerala, Rijiju said that the land is the most precious thing for Indians. "If you lose your land, you lose everything. That is why we have considered that in India, there should not be any provision for anybody to forcefully and unilaterally take away someone's land," said the Union Minister. Rijiju further said that the government is committed to protecting every inch of land for their rightful owner. "We brought amendments to this law as earlier, there were unprecedented powers given to Waqf. This is not targeted towards Muslims. There is a narrative that the Central govt is against Muslims. But it's not true. We are here to correct the mistakes committed in the past and provide justice to people," said the Union Minister. Rijiju further said that India has the largest Waqf properties in the world. "The Munambam case came before us some time ago. I was deeply upset when I learn about this case. The 600 fishermen living there started paying taxes for the plan, and suddenly Kerala Waqf Board declared the 404 acres of variable land in Munambm as Waqf property. This is how the tragedy came before us and people learnt about the injustice done to people. Looking at such pains of the people, the Modi govt decided to bring amendments to the Waqf Act. Now, there will not be an arbitrary declaration of any land as Waqf land," he said. Rijiju, who was flanked by Union Minister of State George Kurien and state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that following the amendment, 'there will be no arbitrary declaration of a land as Waqf property'. His statement comes amid protests by various Muslim groups against the amendment, which have turned violent in some parts of West Bengal. The Waqf Bill, passed by the Parliament, received the assent of the President on April 5. The ruling NDA has strongly defended the legislation as beneficial for minorities, while the opposition has described it as "anti-Muslim". Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal on Tuesday dismissed speculation of cracks within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), asserting that there is no internal dispute. "Jitan Ram Manjhi is very happy - in fact, happier than us. We met this morning and everything is fine. There is absolutely no issue within NDA. We are contesting the Bihar elections with full strength," Jaiswal said. This statement comes in the wake of Jitan Ram Manjhi, patron of Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) and a Union MSME Minister, demanding 35 to 40 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, asserting that his party can secure 20 seats if given a fair chance. Union Minister Manjhi reiterated his position that the Chief Minister would be decided after the elections, fuelling continued ambiguity within the alliance on leadership. On Rashtriya Lok Jantatntrik Party (RLJP) chief Pashupati Kumar Paras quitting NDA, Jaiswal said the BJP's alliance is strictly with Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan. "Our alliance is not with that party. It's not our concern," he said on Paras' announcement to contest all 243 seats of Bihar independently. On the opposition front, Jaiswal criticised Tejashwi Yadav's meeting with Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, branding the Mahagathbandhan as a "mismatched alliance". "RJD and Congress are like frogs on a scale - neither wants the other to grow. Congress wants a bigger role, but RJD won't allow it. Their alliance won't make any real impact," he said. Notably, after meeting Tejashwi, Kharge posted on X, "This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Mr Tejashwi Yadav, and discussed the strengthening of the Grand Alliance. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from BJP and its opportunistic alliance. Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backward, extremely backward and people of all other sections of society want the Grand Alliance government." Jaiswal also asked West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to "improve" her habits, after the violence in her state against Waqf law. The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the Allahabad High Court for its remark suggesting that the rape victim had "invited trouble," cautioning judges to refrain from making inappropriate and insensitive observations. A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih strongly objected to a recent remark by the High Court, which suggested the woman had invited trouble and was responsible for the alleged rape. "There is another order now by another judge. Yes, bail can be granted, but what is this discussion that she herself invited trouble, etc. One has to be careful when saying such things especially on this side (judges)," Justice Gavai said. Reacting to this, the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, said that complete justice should not only be done but also seen to be done. "How a common person perceives such orders needs to be kept in mind," he added. The Allahabad High Court recently granted bail to a rape accused, observing that the complainant had "invited trouble" by going to the accused's house after consuming alcohol. The Supreme Court made the remarks while hearing a suo motu case it had initiated in connection with a separate matter, where the Allahabad High Court ruled that acts such as groping a child victim, breaking the string of her pyjama, and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert did not amount to rape or attempted rape. The bench has adjourned the hearing of the suo motu case for four weeks. (With ANI inputs) Bihar Assembly Election 2025: The Bihar assembly elections are six months away and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is trying its best to keep its flock together. After the initial rumblings after Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark over the Chief Minister face of the alliance, now, it's Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini who has sparked a row. While speaking at an event in Haryana, Saini said that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary would hoist the flag of victory in the upcoming Assembly elections a statement that left the party rushing to contain the fallout. The comment was quickly seized upon by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) to seek clarity from its alliance partner, the BJP, over Sainis remarks. The event where Saini made the comment was attended by several senior NDA leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, former Maharashtra Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal, and Rajya Sabha members Upendra Kushwaha and Kalpana Saini. Though the statement caused a stir in Bihar, the BJPs Haryana unit refrained from issuing an official response, and party members downplayed the comment. Sanjay Ahuja, media coordinator for the Haryana BJP, defended the Chief Minister, stating that Saini merely intended to convey that the NDA would once again form the government in Bihar and that the decision on the chief ministerial candidate would be taken collectively by NDA leaders. Meanwhile, BJP leaders in Bihar reaffirmed their commitment to Nitish Kumar as the face of the NDA in the state. Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal emphasized that the coalition would contest the Assembly elections under Nitishs leadership, leaving no room for ambiguity. Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary also stepped in to quell speculation, firmly stating that he was not in the race for the top post. Nitish Kumar remains the sole leader of our alliance, and the next election will be fought under his leadership, he said. While the opposition-led by Tejashwi Yadav has been terming Nitish Kumar unfit and unwell for the top post, experts are of the opinion that the BJP might push for the CM post after the poll results, just like in Maharashtra elections. Since Nitish Kumar's JDU has been playing a kingmaker for the last four elections, the BJP cannot afford to upset him. The saffron party appears to have taken a safer stand by maintaining that the NDA will be headed by Kumar in the polls. If the NDA retains power, the CM face can be surprising in Bihar and Kumar may see himself being moved to the national politics. Delhi EV Policy 2.0: The BJP-led Delhi government is likely to introduce its much-anticipated Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2.0, with major incentives to accelerate the adoption of electric mobility in the national capital. However, the proposal is under the government's consideration and it will be approved soon. Once the draft gets the green signal, the new EV policy will replace the earlier version that expired on March 31, which has been temporarily extended by 15 days. To encourage female participation in the EV shift, the government may provide a subsidy of up to Rs 36,000 on the purchase of an electric two-wheeler to women under its proposed Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2.0, as per media reports. Notably, the benefit can be availed by the first 10,000 women, who are holding a driving license. The scheme, which will remain valid until March 31, 2030, outlines a series of incentives targeting not just electric two-wheelers but also three-wheelers and commercial vehicles. Delhi EV Policy 2.0: Incentives For Two-And Three-Wheelers The new policy offers a purchase incentive of Rs 10,000 per kWh (up to Rs 30,000) for electric two-wheelers. All eligible residents can apply. If you're scrapping a petrol or diesel two-wheeler that's less than 12 years old, you may get an extra Rs 10,000. All CNG autos that turn 10 years old during the policy period must be replaced with electric autos. In these cases, a one-time replacement incentive of Rs 1 lakh per vehicle will be given. However, those who get this benefit wont be eligible for any other incentives under the policy. For electric auto-rickshaws (L5M category) that will replace CNG autos, the policy gives a subsidy of up to Rs 45,000, depending on the battery size. If you're scrapping an ICE (petrol/diesel) auto under 12 years old, you may also get a Rs 20,000 incentive. Delhi EV Policy 2.0: Incentives For Commercial Vehicles And Price Cap The EV policy also encourages commercial use of electric vehicles. If you buy an electric three-wheeler goods carrier (L5N), you can get up to Rs 45,000 as a subsidy. For electric four-wheeler goods carriers (N1), the subsidy can go up to Rs 75,000. These benefits will be available for three years and can be claimed by both individuals and businesses. To get the subsidy, the vehicle price must be under Rs 4.5 lakh for L5N and Rs 12.5 lakh for N1 vehicles. Delhi EV Policy 2.0: Key Restrictions On Vehicle Under the new EV policy, petrol, diesel, and CNG two-wheelers will be banned from the roads starting August 15, 2026. For goods carriers, new registrations of diesel, petrol, or CNG three-wheelers will end on August 15, 2025. Adding further, the existing CNG auto permits wont be renewed from the same dateonly permits for electric autos will be issued. New Delhi: Comedian and actor Vir Das has criticized Air India for allegedly failing to provide a pre-booked wheelchair for his wife, who is recovering from a fractured foot. In a detailed post on X (formerly Twitter), Das said the airlines handling of their flight from Mumbai to Delhi on Monday evening was deeply disappointing, despite having paid Rs 50,000 per seat and booking the airlines premium Pranaam service. "Dear @airindia, please reclaim your wheelchair. Im a lifetime loyalist... this post pains me to write," Das began. He detailed a series of issues during their journey, including malfunctioning seats, broken table trays, and a two-hour flight delay. Were flying to Delhi. 50 grand a seat. Broken table, broken leg rests, her seat is stuck reclined, wont straighten fully, he wrote, adding that the crew had described the aircraft as newly refurbished. According to Das, the problems continued upon landing, when they were asked to disembark using a steep step ladder without the promised wheelchair assistance. He claimed that despite having pre-booked both Air Indias wheelchair service and Encalms Pranaam meet-and-assist service, there was no staff available to help. I ask the air hostesses... silence and a clueless look at each other, he wrote, describing the lack of response from staff. When he turned to a male ground staff member for help, he said, Sir kya karein...sorry, and ignored his request. Theres wheelchairs everywhere. No staff because the flight is late. I grab a chair and wheel her to baggage claim, then out of the airport to the parking, he added, ending the post sarcastically: One of your wheelchairs is on the second floor of the parking in Delhi. Do claim it. Cheers. Take A Look At His Post: Dear @airindia Please reclaim your wheelchair. Im a lifetime loyalist. I believe youve got the nicest cabin crew in the sky, this post pains me to write. My wife and I book Pranaam and a wheelchair because shes got a foot fracture thats still healing. Were flying to delhi. Vir Das (@thevirdas) April 14, 2025 In response, Air Indias official X account replied, Dear Mr. Das, we understand and empathize with the experience. Please share us the booking details via DM for us to look into this on priority. The airline later issued a statement confirming that the matter had been noted with concern and was being looked into. New Delhi: After two years of anticipation, HBO has finally announced the first wave of casting for its upcoming Harry Potter TV series, which is officially set to premiere in 2026. Production is expected to begin this summer, sparking fresh excitement among fans of the wizarding world. The newly revealed cast includes Nick Frost, Paapa Essiedu, Janet McTeer, Paul Whitehouse, Luke Thallon, and the legendary John Lithgow. Frost will take on the role of the beloved half-giant Hagrid, while McTeer steps into the shoes of the sharp-witted Professor Minerva McGonagall. Essiedu has been cast as the complex Severus Snape. According to Variety, John Lithgowwidely recognized for his performance in The Crown will portray the iconic headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Meanwhile, Paul Whitehouse, known for his work on The Fast Show, will appear as Hogwarts' surly caretaker, Argus Filch. Luke Thallon has been cast in a recurring role as the nervous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Quirinus Quirrell. The search for the trio of leadsHarry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger is still underway, according to the BBC. HBO held an open casting call for the three main roles, reportedly receiving over 30,000 submissions. Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and executive producer/director Mark Mylod expressed their enthusiasm for the casting announcements. We are thrilled to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon, and Paul Whitehouse as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell, and Filch, said Gardiner and Mylod in a joint statement. Were delighted to have such extraordinary talent on board and cant wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life", quoted ANI. HBO has described the series as a 'faithful adaptation' of JK Rowlings globally acclaimed book series, promising a fresh yet authentic reimagining of the magical world that has captivated generations. New Delhi: At the recent trailer launch for Netflix's upcoming heist thriller ['Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins', actor Kunal Kapoor revealed his enthusiasm for breaking type to play a hardened law enforcement officer. He was also seen in a new hawt-looking hairdo. "I was actively seeking a project like this," Kapoor explained. "I've never been part of a heist film before, the kind of film that's a rollercoaster ride with surprises at every turn. But it's important that it's done by people that understand the genre. When this opportunity came with such an exceptional team, I couldn't pass it up." The actor, known primarily for more cerebral characters, expressed excitement about the chance to embody a tougher persona on screen. "Typically, I'm cast as the mediator, the peacemaker, the poet, or the philosopher," Kapoor noted. He joked that "Typically the kind of roles I'm offered, my character would be the one saying, 'Let's talk this out and find a compromise. Let's divide the diamond into four parts and move on.' This role offered something completely different, a chance to wield a gun and badge, and slam a few people. It was liberating to not be the voice of reason." Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins features an ensemble cast including Saif Ali Khan as a sophisticated con artist and Jaideep Ahlawat as a formidable crime lord. The plot revolves around the pursuit of a legendary diamond known as "The African Red Sun," with Kapoor's ruthless police officer character adding another layer of complexity to the narrative. The film also stars Nikita Dutta in a significant role and is co-directed by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal. "Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins" premieres on Netflix on April 25. Mumbai: A man who allegedly issued a death threat to actor Salman Khan has been traced to a village in Gujarat's Vadodara district and found to be mentally unstable, police said on Tuesday. The Mumbai police on Monday apprehended the 26-year-old man, Mayank Pandya, and issued a notice to him, asking him to appear before them whenever required, they said. The accused, resident of a village in Waghodia taluka of Vadodara, has not been arrested, the police said. The Mumbai Traffic Police's WhatsApp helpline received a message on Sunday wherein the sender threatened to blow up Salman Khan's car with a bomb and assault the Y-Plus-protectee by entering his residence. The Worli police in Mumbai subsequently registered a case against the then unidentified person under section 351(2)(3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and tightened security outside Khan's residence in Bandra area. Following an investigation, the Mumbai police learnt the threat message was sent by a person living in Waghodia taluka of Vadodara, district Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand told reporters. "A team of Mumbai police, accompanied by Waghodia police, reached the suspect's house at a village in Waghodia on Monday. However, it turned out that the 26-year-old man, who had sent the message, is mentally unstable and undergoing treatment," Anand said. "The Mumbai police served him a notice for appearance and left," the official added. As per the notice, the man has to appear before the Mumbai police for investigation whenever required, another official said. In April last year, two motorbike-borne persons fired four rounds outside Khan's residence at the Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai's Bandra area. Khan previously faced threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which warned him of consequences if he did not apologise to the Bishnoi community over the alleged killing of a blackbuck. Following these threats, the Mumbai police provided him with Y-Plus security. Weeks after the firing incident last year, Navi Mumbai Police claimed to have uncovered a plot by the Bishnoi gang to kill Khan when he travelled to his farmhouse at Panvel near Mumbai. New Delhi: Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, who recently returned to Bengali cinema with Puratawn after a 14-year hiatus, is grabbing headlines not just for her comeback but also for her candid comments on the film careers of her grandchildren, Ibrahim Ali Khan and Sara Ali Khan. In a recent interview with Anandabazar Patrika's YouTube channel, the legendary actress dropped an honest review of Ibrahims debut film Nadaaniyan, which received a lukewarm response from both audiences and critics. Sharmila shared her honest opinion, saying, Ibrahims film was not good, but he still looks very handsome. He has tried his best. These things shouldnt really be said in front of everyone, but honestly, the picture isnt great. Ultimately, the picture has to be good. The Gulmohar actress also praised her granddaughter Sara Ali Khan for her dedication to acting: Sara is a good actress. She works very hard and is capable of doing a lot more. Shell also achieve that. Earlier, when Soha Ali Khan, also an actress and Ibrahims auntwas asked about the films underwhelming reception, she said that developing a thick skin is important for anyone entering the film industry. About Naadaniyaan Ibrahim Ali Khans debut film Nadaaniyan, which also starred Khushi Kapoor in a lead role, was produced by Dharma Productions and directed by Shauna Gautam. Despite its big-banner backing, the romantic comedy received largely negative reviews following its release on Netflix in March. The film also featured veteran actors Jugal Hansraj, Dia Mirza, Suniel Shetty, and Mahima Chaudhry. Motorola Edge 60 Stylus India Launch: Motorola has launched the second phone in its Edge 60 series, known as the Motorola Edge 60 Stylus, in India. It is claimed to be the segment's first smartphone with a built-in stylus. The new smartphone comes with AI features like Sketch to Image, AI Styling, and Instant Shopping with Glance AI. The smartphone runs on Hello UI based on Android 15 out of the box. The company claims it will offer 2 years of OS updates and 3 years of security support, along with military-grade certification for durability. The Motorola Edge 60 Stylus joins the Motorola Edge 60 Fusion smartphone, which was unveiled in the country earlier this month. The phone is offered in Pantone Gibraltar Sea and Pantone Surf the Web colour options and features stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support. Motorola Edge 60 Stylus Specifications It features a 6.67-inch 1.5K (1,220x2,712 pixels) 2.5D pOLED display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate and a 300Hz touch sampling rate, offering smooth visuals and responsive touch interactions. With a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, the display ensures excellent visibility even under direct sunlight. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 processor, delivering efficient performance for daily tasks and multitasking. The handset is backed by a robust 5,000mAh battery, which supports 68W fast charging via the included charger, along with 15W wireless charging support. On the photography front, the smartphone houses a 50MP main Sony Lyt 700C sensor, a 13MP ultrawide lens, and a 3-in-1 light sensor. For selfies and quality video chats, there is a 32MP shooter on the front. Motorola Edge 60 Stylus Price In India And Availability The smartphone is priced at Rs. 22,999 for the 8GB RAM+256GB storage variant. It will be available for purchase starting April 23 at the 12PM IST via Flipkart, the official Motorola India website, and select retail outlets across the country. Motorola Edge 60 Stylus Bank Offers Customers purchasing the smartphone on Flipkart can avail a Rs. 1,000 exchange discount. Adding further, the Axis Bank and IDFC credit card users are eligible for an instant Rs. 1,000 discount on full swipe transactions. Reliance Jio users can also benefit from up to Rs. 2,000 cashback along with additional perks worth Rs. 8,000, which include exclusive deals on shopping, flight bookings, and hotel stays. There are different types of conditioners for various hair needs, including moisturizing, volumizing, and color-protecting formulas. Regular use can help maintain healthy hair by providing essential nutrients and protection. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now Pilgrim Patua & Keratin Hair Smoothing Conditioner is formulated to address dry and frizzy hair concerns. Enriched with Patua oil, Keratin, and Sacha Inchi, this conditioner aims to nourish, strengthen, and add shine to the hair, making it more manageable and less prone to frizz. Key Features: Patua Oil: Rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins, Patua oil nourishes and strengthens hair from within, helping to repair damage and reduce frizz. Keratin: A natural protein that enhances hair strength and structure, Keratin smoothens the hair cuticles, reduces breakage, and enhances shine. Not Ideal for Oily Scalp: Some users with oily scalps have reported that the conditioner may not effectively address oiliness, potentially requiring a follow-up wash. Potential Build-Up: Frequent use may lead to product build-up, especially for individuals with fine hair, necessitating occasional clarifying washes. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now L'Oreal Paris Hyaluron Moisture Conditioner is designed to provide intense hydration for dry and dehydrated hair.Enriched with hyaluronic acid, known for retaining up to 1000 times its weight in water, this conditioner aims to lock in moisture, leaving hair feeling hydrated, bouncy, and shiny for up to 72 hours. Key Features: Hyaluronic Acid Infusion: Contains hyaluronic acid that deeply hydrates hair without weighing it down, maintaining moisture for up to 72 hours. Long-Lasting Hydration: Provides 72 hours of intense moisture, ensuring hair remains shiny, bouncy, and manageable. Potential Build-Up: Some users with fine or oily hair may experience product build-up, leading to a weighed-down feeling. Scent Strength: While many appreciate the fragrance, some users may find it stronger than desired. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now L'Oreal Paris Total Repair 5 Restoring Conditioner is formulated to address five common signs of hair damage: hair fall, dryness, roughness, dullness, and split ends. It incorporates Keratin XS technology, which penetrates the hair fibers to provide deep nourishment and strengthen the hair from within. Key Features: Keratin XS Technology: Contains up to 17% Keratin XS and Repair concentrate, aiming to repair damaged hair and restore its natural strength. Comprehensive Damage Repair: Targets five visible signs of damaged hairhair fall, dryness, roughness, dullness, and split endsproviding a holistic solution for hair rejuvenation. Potential Build-Up: Some users with fine or oily hair types have reported that the conditioner may lead to product build-up, resulting in a weighed-down feeling. Scent Strength: While many appreciate the fragrance, some users might find it stronger than desired. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now Khadi Natural Shikakai Hair Conditioner is an Ayurvedic formulation designed to nourish and strengthen hair, helping to prevent split ends. Enriched with natural ingredients like Shikakai, Bhringraj, Brahmi, and Almond Oil, this conditioner aims to repair dry and damaged hair, promoting overall hair health. It's free from SLS and parabens, making it suitable for those seeking gentle hair care solutions. Key Features: Natural Ingredients: Contains Shikakai, Bhringraj, Brahmi, and Almond Oil, known for their hair-strengthening and nourishing properties. SLS & Paraben Free: Formulated without harsh chemicals, making it suitable for sensitive scalps and those preferring natural hair care products. Limited Availability: May not be readily available in all regions, potentially requiring online purchase. Packaging Issues: Some users have reported concerns with the packaging, such as leakage or difficulty in dispensing the product. Conditioner is a vital part of a healthy hair care routine, designed to nourish and hydrate the hair after shampooing. It helps restore moisture, reduce frizz, and make hair more manageable by replenishing the nutrients that shampoos may strip away. With a wide variety of formulas availableranging from those for dry, damaged, or color-treated hair to those designed for volume or anti-frizzchoosing the right conditioner is key to addressing individual hair concerns. 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. Hair serums work best when applied to damp or dry hair, focusing on the ends to avoid weighing down the roots. Suitable for all hair types, they can help manage hair that's prone to frizz, dryness, or split ends, leaving it looking smooth, glossy, and healthier. Regular use of a good hair serum can help maintain manageable, frizz-free hair, while also offering nourishment and protection. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now WishCare Hair Growth Serum Concentrate is a potent, nourishing formula designed to stimulate hair growth and combat hair thinning. Made with a blend of natural ingredients like rosemary oil, biotin, and caffeine, this serum works to improve blood circulation to the scalp, strengthen hair follicles, and promote healthier, thicker hair. Free from harsh chemicals like parabens and sulfates, it offers a gentle yet effective solution for those seeking to rejuvenate their hair and prevent hair fall. The lightweight formula is easy to apply and doesnt leave a greasy residue, making it suitable for daily use. Key Features: Promotes Hair Growth: Encourages healthy hair growth by stimulating the scalp and improving circulation. Strengthens Hair Follicles: Biotin and other ingredients work together to strengthen hair at the root, preventing premature shedding. Requires Consistent Use: Results may take a few weeks to become visible, so consistency is key. May Not Suit Very Oily Scalps: For those with extremely oily scalps, it might feel slightly heavy if not applied properly. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now L'Oreal Professionnel Scalp Advanced Aminexil Advanced Leave-In Serum is a cutting-edge treatment designed specifically to address hair loss and scalp health. Infused with Aminexil, a clinically proven ingredient that strengthens hair follicles, this serum helps prevent hair loss and promotes healthier, thicker hair growth. The lightweight, non-greasy formula is designed to be applied directly to the scalp, where it works to improve blood circulation, nourish hair roots, and fortify hair strands. Key Features: Aminexil Formula: Helps to reinforce hair roots, prevent hair loss, and maintain the health of hair follicles. Strengthens Hair Follicles: Promotes healthier, thicker hair by fortifying the scalp and hair strands. Requires Consistency: Results may take several weeks of consistent use to become noticeable. Slightly Expensive: Higher price point compared to other hair loss treatments. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now The BRILLARE Lactylate & Piroctone Olamine Scalp Serum is a 96% natural formulation aimed at effectively combating dandruff and promoting a healthy scalp. It combines active ingredients such as Lactylate, Piroctone Olamine, and Cactus Extract to address issues like itchiness, flakiness, and irritation. This lightweight serum moisturizes, soothes, and reduces scalp flakiness without leaving a greasy residue. Regular use helps maintain a balanced and healthy scalp environment. Key Features: Effective Dandruff Treatment: Clears dandruff without drying the hair. Gentle Exfoliation: Gently exfoliates the scalp, removing excess oil and flakes. Not Suitable for Oily Scalps: May feel heavy for individuals with oily scalp conditions. Scent Sensitivity: Some users may find the fragrance strong. Image Source: Myntra.com Order Now The Pilgrim Rootactive Anti Hairfall Serum is a specialized hair treatment designed to combat hair fall and promote healthy hair growth. Enriched with Spanish Rosemary, Biotin, and Caffeine, this serum works to nourish and strengthen the scalp, enhance hair density, and prevent breakage. The formula is lightweight and non-greasy, making it suitable for daily use. Regular application can help reduce hair fall, improve the appearance of hair thickness, and leave your hair feeling healthier and stronger. Free from harmful chemicals, this serum is a natural and effective solution for individuals looking to tackle hair fall issues. Key Features: Reduces Hair Fall: Strengthens hair from the root and minimizes hair fall with regular use. Boosts Hair Growth: Stimulates hair follicles, promoting a healthier and denser hair growth cycle. Results May Take Time: It can take 3-4 weeks of regular use before visible results appear. Not Ideal for Oily Scalps: People with very oily scalps may find it slightly heavy if not applied properly. Hair serums are a powerful addition to any hair care routine, providing targeted solutions for various hair concerns such as frizz, dryness, hair fall, and dullness. These lightweight, non-greasy formulations work by coating the hair shaft, providing nourishment, enhancing shine, and protecting from environmental damage. 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. At a jury trial Monday, the Nebraska Republican Party doubled down on the claims it made in two 2020 political flyers in a race for a state legislative seat that pitted two Republicans against each other. In the first mailer, sent to 3,200 registered voters in District 1, which covers the southeast corner of the state, the party said Janet Palmtag had "broke the law & lost her real estate license." In his opening statement, her attorney, David Domina, called it lies. He said Palmtag, who has had real estate licenses in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, has never had her real estate license in any of the states suspended, revoked or disciplined. "And I mean never in the most absolute terms you can attach to that word," Domina said. "I don't mean almost. I mean never." He said when Palmtag got the flyer herself and started getting calls from others, she called Ryan Hamilton, the executive director of the party and told him the mailer was wrong. In 2018, Palmtag had entered a consent agreement, without admitting fault, and paid a $500 civil penalty after a random audit showed a form hadn't been initialed at the right time on one of her agent's sales in Iowa. Attorney Kamron Hasan, who is representing the Republican Party of Nebraska, said 2020 was a "vicious time in politics" in the country. "Nebraska was no exception to this. There was mudslinging going both directions," he said. "This was Republican versus Republican." But it was a tiny snippet of the whole campaign, Hasan said. "They were both running on Republican values, Republican platform. It was bitter," he said. Hasan said, by Nebraska standards, the race had garnered a lot of attention; and Palmtag was running on one thing: her success running a business. He told jurors to focus on the mailers, why they were at trial and whether the words on them could constitute defamation "even though the First Amendment protects free speech, particularly free speech in political advertisements." "What did these advertisements highlight? That real estate laws were broken," he said. Hasan said according to the consent order, Palmtag's business had violated Iowa laws by certain conduct and a civil penalty was paid. And Palmtag was the designated broker in charge. He said Hamilton looked at the documents himself before deciding to print them and the GOP double-checked. "To boil it down, the evidence is going to show you, members of the jury, that the ... statements from the mailers in this case were not false," Hasan said. He said the party believed the statements were true. Palmtag said she voluntarily surrendered the company's license there because business was especially slow following flooding in that corner of the state. Two years later, when Palmtag decided to run for the state Legislature, the Nebraska Republican Party backed another Republican, her opponent, state Sen. Julie Slama, who had been appointed to the seat by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts in 2018. After Palmtag advanced through the primary, defeating a third candidate, she terminated her campaign manager and decided instead of "running for office," she would "walk." She maintained a website and went to parades, Domina said. "But much to her surprise attacks at her ... continued," he said. "And these continuing attacks came from a highly unexpected source. They came from the Nebraska Republican Party. Janet's party." Ads called her liberal and tied her to former Sen. Ernie Chambers. Domina said Palmtag focused on differences between her and Slama, pointing out her opponent had missed 150 votes, including one on funding for Peru State College. "So what did the GOP do in response to that?" he said. "They lied." When Palmtag called Hamilton about the flyer, he told her they had another one coming out. It said again she "broke the law." Instead of agreeing to make a correction, the party "stuck out its jaw," Domina said. "In a race between members of its own political party, and furthermore, in a race that wasn't in doubt, where one of the candidates had essentially conceded," he said. They're asking the jury to find that it was defamation and that the Republican Party did it maliciously or with willful disregard for the truth. "Democracy is not savagery," said Domina, who himself ran for U.S. Senate in 2014 as a Democrat, losing to Ben Sasse. "Democracy is not winning at any cost. It's making sure we all win, one way or the other." He said he wants the system cleaned up. "It just so happens it's this party. I would just as gladly argue against the other," Domina said. Israel confirmed it had eliminated the head of a Hamas Nukhba Force terror cell who participated in the October 7 massacre as well as a hostage release "ceremony," in February, the Israel Defense Forces said. The IDF said Hamza Wael Muhammad Asafah, head of a Nukhba terrorist cell in Hamas' Deir-al Balah battalion, was killed two weeks ago in central Gaza. "As part of his role in the terrorist organization, Asafah participated in the cynical hostage release ceremony of the returning Israeli hostages Eliyahu Sharabi, Ohad Ben-Ami, and Or Levy," the army said. At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas's attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead. WASHINGTON: The White House's Office of Management and Budget has proposed gutting the State Department's budget by almost 50 per cent, closing a number of overseas diplomatic missions, slashing the number of diplomatic staff, and eliminating funding for nearly all international organizations, including the United Nations, many of its agencies and for NATO headquarters, officials said. The proposal, which was presented to the State Department last week and is still in a highly preliminary phase, is not expected to pass muster with either the department's leadership or Congress, which will ultimately be asked to vote on the entire federal budget in the coming months. Officials familiar with the proposal say it must still go through several rounds of review before it even gets to lawmakers, who in the past have amended and even rejected White House budget requests. Though the proposal is preliminary, it gives an indication of the Trump administration's priorities and coincides with massive job and funding cuts across the federal government, from Health and Human Services and the Education Department to the U.S. Agency for International Development. Notes from an internal meeting about the proposal have been circulated in online chat groups among foreign service officers since the weekend but exploded Monday when the State Department was due to present a separate unrelated reorganization plan to the OMB. One senior U.S. Official familiar with the OMB proposal called it aggressive in terms of cost-cutting, but also stressed that it was an early outline that mirrored what OMB chief Russell Vought sought to do in President Donald Trump's first administration when he served in the same job. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations. So did two people familiar with the matter who confirmed the proposal, one of whom also said it originated from OMB. OMB spokesperson Alexandra McCandless said that no final funding decisions have been made. OMB's efforts to severely reduce the State Department's budget during Trump's first term were met with fierce resistance on Capitol Hill and largely failed. However, Trump's second administration has moved swiftly to scale back the federal government, slashing jobs and funding across agencies. It's already dismantled USAID and moved to defund so-called other soft power institutions of foreign policy importance like the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Radio Free Asia and Radio/TV Marti, which broadcasts to Cuba. Thus, State Department officials and others have expressed increasing concern about the possibility that the proposed drastic cuts could actually be implemented. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she was deeply troubled by the reported proposed cuts. When America First becomes America Alone, our economy, security and prosperity will suffer as adversaries fill the void the Trump Administration leaves behind," Shaheen said in a statement. Investments in diplomatic programs that promote peace and stability, and advance American national security interests are commonsense priorities that should be reflected in the State Department's budget request. RACINE Angelina Adkins was shocked to receive the offer. She was asked to work at the Gateway Technical College Connection Center last year and readily accepted. The Connection Center includes a food pantry, professional clothing boutique and space for students to talk with community organizations that offer assistance with food subsidies, housing, mental health services, child care and transportation. Its a lot bigger than just giving out food and clothes, Adkins said. We do anything that you really can think of. Adkins started working at the Connection Center on Gateways Kenosha campus last spring. Now, Gateway is offering the same resources at its Racine campus. The Racine Connection Center is at Gateways Lake Building, 1001 Lake Ave., in rooms L202 and L204, and recently had an open house. The centers are intended to help students with life outside classes by providing essentials and connecting them to community resources. The college aims to have a variety of offerings to meet students needs. The goal is serving the whole student, said Gary Flynn, Gateway dean of learning success. Students have barriers, and the learning piece of it isnt the barrier many of the times. Its life. They have complicated lives. They may have three children. They may be a single mother or father, and were here to assist students beyond the books and tests and papers. Meeting student needs Adkins works as an intake specialist at the centers in Racine and Kenosha and uses the offerings. She was formerly incarcerated and was thrilled to be offered the job, which she said changed her life. It helped with my rehabilitation, Adkins said. It helped bring money into my pockets and its helped with my food insecurities and the clothes. The connection centers are only available to Gateway students. The Kenosha Connection Center had a soft opening in March 2024, starting with a food pantry, and additional services were added last September. The food pantry at the Racine Connection Center opened in October 2024, and the space was recently finalized with an area for community organizations to assist students. The offerings are crucial for students non-academic needs, according to Adkins. When students do not have their basic needs met, they do not do as well in college, Adkins said. When you meet a students basic needs, you are not only meeting those, obviously, but you are setting them up for success in all realms of life. The food pantry, for example, is a Band-Aid that can assist in the short term, according to Flynn, but the Connection Center also can help students connect with entities such as Equus Workforce Solutions, the Racine County Food Bank and the Housing Authority of Racine County. Gateway student fees help fund the centers, according to Flynn. The food pantry is the aspect of the centers most used by students, according to Adkins. Some of the more popular items are Ramen noodles, honey, tuna, dish soap and laundry detergent. According to Flynn, the Kenosha center has averaged 40 monthly visits during the past two semesters. The Racine center has averaged 20 monthly visits since October. Flynn expects the Racine center to eventually have more monthly visits than Kenosha. The connection centers are staffed by students like Adkins and will be internship locations for some Gateway human services students, Flynn said. Carthage College has approved the centers as locations for Carthage social work students to complete internships, according to Flynn. Gateway also plans to have a Connection Center at its Elkhorn location. A good cause Flynn said two of the ongoing challenges are consistent funding to buy fresh food and having a staff member like a social worker available to help students navigate their lives. He said Gateway applied for a grant to cover the cost of a social worker position but did not receive the funding. Work by many people was required to open the Racine Connection Center, and Flynn said the feel-good project is worth the effort because it is for such a good cause. Adkins agreed. The center can help ensure success for our students in all aspects of life, to be there for them and to guide them, she said. We do care about them, and we are here to help them succeed. Adkins said the job has been hugely rewarding. The best aspect is seeing students come in here at their lowest and then watching them progress into something better, she said. Once their needs are met, they excel, and I think thats the greatest part about it. Adapted from Greed to Do Good: The Untold Story of CDCs Disastrous War on Opioids. The 2016 CDC opioid guideline seemed to make obvious sense: Americans were consuming far too many prescribed opioids. Many users of illicit opioids reported that prescribed opioids had been their gateway to illicit usage, even addiction. And users of illegal opioids, whether addicts or not, were dying of overdosesmore and more each year. The prescription gateway to addiction and overdose death was wide open. Not a big leap to arrive at a solution. Slam that prescription opioid gateway shut. Interrupt opioid transmission at its primary and most accessible point. Specifically: (1) have as few people prescribed opioids as possible, (2) keep the dose as low as possible, and (3) keep the duration as short as possible. Sounds nice, sounds clean, but were opioid prescription limitations actually going to have any impact on addiction and overdose rates? The couple line-level CDC authors assigned the task of drafting the opioid guideline were heroically frank: The quality of evidence for an impact on addiction or overdoses was categorized in formal terms as low. That meant the body of evidence has major or numerous deficiencies (or both). The CDC director published his own article a few weeks later in The New England Journal of Medicine, stating that the guideline uses the best available scientific data. Not exactly an untruth, if you give the director the courtesy of italicizing the word available. Unmentioned by the director was a practical advantage to the weakness of evidence. It freed the hands of CDC to designate the prescribing rules it preferred: Absent good evidence, its a judgment call. So CDC leveraged weak data to tell clinicians exactly what they should do. For acute pain, opioids should be prescribed for only 3 days. Or 7 days max under unusual circumstances. For chronic pain (defined as longer than 3 months), the dosage should not exceed the equivalent of 50 milligrams of morphine, and clinicians should carefully justify going to 90 milligrams, above which no recommendation exists and hence should not be exceeded. Almost all these dosage limitations were designated Category A, or applies to all persons. Only a few were designated Category B, or individual decision making needed. Ingenious: The weaker the evidence, the stronger and broader the recommendation. By October 2018, 33 states had passed laws requiring that medical providers conform to some aspect of the CDC opioid guideline, with most limiting initial opioid prescriptions to no more than 7 days. At least one state made it illegal to prescribe opioids stronger than the 90 morphine milligram equivalents specified in the guideline. The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs jointly published a set of policies almost identical to the CDC guideline. In November 2018, Medicare announced reimbursement rules conforming to the CDC guideline. Similarly, multiple health insurance companies (e.g., Blue Cross, Cigna, United Health Care) created payment limitations on opioids, often even more restrictive than the CDC guideline. Not to be outdone, pharmacy chains (e.g., Express Scripts, CVS, Walmart) began implementing their own restrictions consistent with, or even more restrictive than, the CDC opioid guideline. By August 2019, 35 out of 50 state Medicaid programs had implemented reimbursement rule changes that reflected dosage recommendations of the guideline. The Oregon Medicaid program even proposed that all patients with chronic pain have their opioid dosages tapered to zero. Within two years, opioid prescribing rates had dropped dramatically within key provider groups: Primary care clinicians down 40 percent, cancer specialists down 60 percent, ER docs down 71 percent. Merely by our arts of persuasion, the whole country had raced to embrace the simple, rational, plausible, cost-free intervention of opioid prescription limitationsin much the same way that it had previously embraced the simple, rational, plausible intervention of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. Then prominent journals began publishing anecdotes and studies about patients who had attempted suicide and even succeeded because they couldnt handle the pain levels that came with reduced dosages. Among veterans, those discontinued from long-term opioid treatment had doubled overall mortality and a sixfold increase in deaths from suicide or overdose, primarily in the months following discontinuance. A subsequent study of billing records for a broad sample of the U.S. population found a similar pattern. Among persons on Medicaid whose opioid dose was abruptly reduced, a study in one state found a threefold increased risk of suicide. Then horror stories emerged of Medicaid or insurance companies applying the guideline dosage limitations to patients dying of cancer. A 2018 survey by the American Cancer Society found that 48 percent of cancer patients said their physicians had told them that treatment options for pain were now limited by laws, guidelines, or insurance coverage. The number of cancer patients and survivors with opioid prescriptions had decreased by more than half in just two years after the issuance of the CDC guideline. As many as 50 percent of cancer patients now were said to have undertreated pain. Nor was the problem limited to cancer patients. A 2017 online survey of 3,000 chronic pain patients reported that 95 percent thought that the CDC opioid guideline had been harmful, and 84 percent said they now had more pain and a worse quality of life. A subsequent 2019 survey of pain medicine specialists found that 72 percent had been required to reduce the quantity or dose of medication they prescribed after issuance of the CDC guideline. The number of potentially affected persons was not trivialby one CDC estimate, more than 50 million American adults experience chronic pain and, of these, more than 17 million have high-impact chronic pain that limits work and daily life activities. An academic pain clinician, in an interview with Clinical Pain Advisor, asserted that his chronic pain patients were being presented with three impossible choices: One, you can be totally non-functional. Two, you can go out and try to substitute some other form of opioid that would help you function, possibly heroin. Or, you can commit suicide. He described this dilemma as an abomination. A past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine described the guideline as ill-conceived and frankly very harmful. She went on to say that too many people have already been a victim of CDCs misguided attempt to address the opioid problem. A commentary in the Journal of Pain Research by two academic pain specialists attributed the problems with the guideline to the closed manner in which it had been drafted: CDCs invitation for meaningful comment can best be described as somewhere between a charade and a comedy of errors Remarkably, the actions of the CDC in the creation and publication of the prescribing guideline appear to violate every single standard that the Institute of Medicine recommended whenever clinical practice guidelines are created. Perhaps the most powerful argument against the CDC opioid guideline did not come from patient advocates, pain specialists, professional organizations, data reviews, surveys, or modeling studies. In December 2018, Human Rights Watch, an international organization with staff in 40 countries, best known for exposing torture by totalitarian regimes, published a hundred-page investigative report of the effects of the CDC opioid guideline. The report detailed a harrowing series of accounts of persons with undoubted severe chronic pain whose lives had been turned into hell by involuntary opioid dosage reductions or discontinuances prompted by the CDC opioid guideline. One provider, who insisted on anonymity, summarized: It promotes an absolute culture of fear. Human Rights Watch wrote to CDC asking, Is the CDC aware that in multiple states, its recommendations have been written into law and/or used by insurers, state medical boards, or other enforcement bodies as a mandate for physicians? Does the CDC believe that this is appropriate? CDC gave no answer to these questions, merely reiterating in an anonymous response that the recommendations in the guideline are voluntary. Voluntary was an unusual choice of adjective, since the guideline specified that most of its recommendations applied to all persons with no individual decision making needed. Human Rights Watch concluded that the situation could be considered a violation of basic human rights since the United Nations Special Rapporteur on health and torture had specified that the de facto denial of access to pain relief, if it causes severe pain and suffering, constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. ADVERTISEMENT Charles LeBaron is an internal medicine and pediatric physician and author of Greed to Do Good: The Untold Story of CDCs Disastrous War on Opioids. Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Health care executive Jeffry A. Peters discusses his article Ending physicians addiction to unhappiness, focusing on the systemic factors fueling widespread dissatisfaction among doctors. Jeffry outlines how declining reimbursement, increased patient volume, and reduced support staff have turned physicians into disempowered production workers. He offers a blueprint for reversing this trend by creating a culture where physicians feel valued, supported, and heard. Key solutions include competitive compensation, flexible schedules, shared governance, and leadership opportunities. Jeffry emphasizes that health systems that prioritize physician well-being and empowerment will gain a sustainable competitive advantage in recruitment, retention, and quality care delivery. Our presenting sponsor is Microsoft Dragon Copilot. Microsoft Dragon Copilot, your AI assistant for clinical workflow, is transforming how clinicians work. Now you can streamline and customize documentation, surface information right at the point of care, and automate tasks with just a click. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot offers an extensible AI workspace and a single, integrated platform to help unlock new levels of efficiency. Plus, its backed by a proven track record and decades of clinical expertiseand its built on a foundation of trust. Its time to 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 Jeffry A. Peters. He is a health care executive, and todays KevinMD article is Ending physicians addiction to unhappiness. Jeffry, welcome to the show. Jeffry A. Peters: Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here. Kevin Pho: All right, so just tell us briefly about your story and then talk about the KevinMD article that you shared with us. ADVERTISEMENT Jeffry A. Peters: Yeah. I think Ive always worked in health care at the intersection between physicians and health systems. Probably my first endeavor in the health care field after graduate school was helping whats now part of the University of Chicago break into a new market where they had virtually less than 1 percent market share. So this is 40 years agomuch different than today. We built ambulatory care centers, and what was very unique then is we began to employ non-academic physicians and link them to the health system. By building ambulatory care centers with urgent aid and physicians offices, we were able to take their market share from zero to 20 percent. Its sustained itself, and it generates about a hundred million dollars in incremental EBITDA for the bottom line. So Ive been very interested my entire career in physicians and how health systems successfully work with them. Kevin Pho: All right, and you wrote your KevinMD article Ending physicians addiction to unhappiness. Obviously, with that intersection between health systems and physicians, you have a front-row view of physician morale and some of the obstacles physicians face today. So tell us what led you to write this article, and then, for those who did not get a chance to read it, tell us about the article itself. Jeffry A. Peters: Yeah, well, my husband is a physician, and not to be trite, a lot of our friends are physicians. What strikes me is when we get together to have dinner or just to socialize, Kevinsomething you hear all the timethey complain about how awful it is to practice medicine today. The reimbursement is dropping, there are greater burdens on them in their practice, and they cant believe they chose this as a profession. So I think theres a high degree of unhappiness among physicians. Its why 40 percent of all physicians are looking to change positions in the next two years, and the responsebecause the majority of physicians, particularly in primary care like you, Kevin, are employedis that the health system puts greater demands on that physician to see more patients. Rather than having an LPN or a nurse to assist them, they might only have a medical assistant, which doesnt provide enough support, and they feel like theyre hamsters on a wheel. Theyre just not happy. Physicians are so vitally important to all of our lives. Theyre there at the most critical points in our lives. So if we want to make health care better, we need to improve physician satisfaction and happiness, because theres a direct correlation between physician satisfaction and patient outcomes. Kevin Pho: Oh, Im so happy that you said that, because that is a correlation that I always emphasize whenever this topic comes up. Now, whenever you meet physicianswhether its in a social setting or whatnotand they have these complaints about revenue, decreased reimbursement, and so on, are they justified to complain? Do they have legitimate reasons why theyre unhappy? Jeffry A. Peters: I dont think theres any question that there are legitimate reasons. Physicians are very well-trained. They sacrificed a lot of their lives to get their training, and there are people who really dont understand the patient care experience trying to tell physicians like you how to practice and what to do. Theyre relegated to employees with no voice, and that doesnt work in any setting. Yes, I think weve created an environmentparticularly within the hospital-insurance-employed-physician sectorwhere weve taken away physicians ability to care for their patients and self-actualize. Kevin Pho: How did it get to this point? When it comes to taking away that physician autonomyknowing that, as you said, physician satisfaction is correlated with patient outcomeshow did we get here? Jeffry A. Peters: Yeah, so Ive been a hospital CEO; Ive been in the executive suite. The pressure in the executive suite from the board is to improve the bottom line. Its not necessarily to have better outcomes or a more satisfied workforce. Its Have you grown the enterprises revenue, and have you grown our cash reserves? The people making decisions are not focused on what drives physician behavior and, in my opinion, better patient care. Ultimately, thats a failure of the system. But I think there are answers. Kevin Pho: Now, are you saying that there is no long-term correlation between better patient outcomes and increased revenue? Arent some of the ways that hospitals are paid based on patient outcomes? Jeffry A. Peters: A very small percent. So it might affect 1 or 2 percent. I think hospitals are aware of those outcomes and are working toward those outcomes, but theyre working toward that metric, not the underlying tension that, in my opinion, would solve problems. And making money isnt badit allows us to invest in technology, it allows us to build facilities in closer access to patients. Nobody is saying that hospitals and health systems shouldnt make money. I just think part of the formulaand actually the sustainable competitive advantage for health systemsis creating an environment where physicians feel valued and appreciated. If you create that environment, youre going to see exponential returns in terms of patient satisfaction, clinical outcomes, and financial performance. I just think thats part of the formula that health care executives dont always exercise. Kevin Pho: And how did you come to that realization? Because, as you said, theres a lot of pressure on hospital CEOs and the executive team to maximize revenue, and sometimes clinician satisfaction doesnt factor into that equation. How did you conclude that physician satisfaction matters? Jeffry A. Peters: Because the majority of my work has been with physicians, and obviously when Im at home, Im talking to a physician. What I found is that when I paid attention to what physicians wantedand gave it to themeverything improved. Its as basic as: Youre a primary care physician, you should have a say in who your office manager is. You should have a say in how your practice operateswhat your schedule is, how many patients you seeall of those important issues. We need to put physicians in a governance and decision-making body. Ive seen that where, nationally, were losing over two hundred thousand dollars per employed physician. I worked with one system where we put a group of physician leaders together. The board said, We need to get this loss down by fifty thousand dollars per physician by the end of the year, and if we exceed that loss (meaning we do better), well share that with all of you. Well give you some analytical support, some consulting supportbut you decide how many physicians we need, how we structure compensation, how we organize the practice. And lo and behold, in 12 months, they dropped the loss by 50 percent, and patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes increased. I dont think its magical. Physicians are really bright; if you put them in a position of governance and decision making, they make the right decisions. We just need to trust them to do that. Kevin Pho: And why arent more medical institutions doing what you say? How common is it to have that physician empowerment and governance? Would you say its a growing trend, or do you still see friction toward that approach? Jeffry A. Peters: Yeah, I dont think theres one description that fits all. Increasingly, what were seeing is presidents of health systems being physicians with a clinical background. For instance, a physician leader out of Brigham, Womens, and Childrens took the helm in Vermont. Physicians in leadership get it, and theyre able to put other physicians in power. But its not uniform. There are still issues of controlIm the CEO, and I know better than anyone else. But if youre going to make change and if youre going to make improvements, youve got to empower physicians, and youve got to create an environment where physicians feel valued and appreciated. Kevin Pho: Now, in terms of next steps, how does one go about changing that organizational culture to give physicians some of that autonomy were talking about? Jeffry A. Peters: I think it starts with having honest conversations with the entire physician group: Our reimbursement is dropping; its going to drop further in the next two years. Weve got financial pressures, and we cant afford to lose two hundred fifty thousand dollars per employed physician. We want you to be part of the solution, and wed like your thoughts on creating a governance structurea physician board, for lack of a better wordto guide our employed physician group. Wed like to talk to you about what the makeup should be, what youre looking for, and well give you the analytical and practice management support. Well give you people wholl help come up with ideas, but we want you to make the decisions, and we want to break down the barriers. But you cant just have physician governance at the top. Physicians also have to have a say in how their individual practice worksin their podbecause physicians relate to their pod and who they work with on a daily basis. We also want to change the compensation. So if youre successful in improving clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, and financial performance, youll be rewarded financiallybecause you cant make effective change unless the financial incentives are aligned. But we want to do that with you. It takes a lot longer to create this structure, but its sustainable and gets better results. Kevin Pho: So take us behind the scenes when it comes to these board meetings and executive meetings where there is an emphasis on improving hospital revenue. Is there any physician voice in those meetings? Jeffry A. Peters: In a majority of cases, yesevery hospital has a chief medical officer. Increasingly, hospital boards are involving chairs of key departmentsinternal medicine, surgeryin those meetings. So once the topic is introduced, youre going to get physicians in leadership who say, I agree with that. I think it makes total sense, and I think theres a model. I think physician-owned multispecialty group practices do better than hospital-owned multispecialty practices, and I think the reason is the financial incentives are aligned and physicians are in a decision-making position. We dont have to create a new modeltheres a model thats been successful for decades. We just need to duplicate that physician-owned group practice in a health systemowned group practice, and youll get overwhelming support from physicians. Youll see fewer physicians leaving, more physicians delaying retirement, and as the culture builds, physicians will encourage other physicians to join. Its not going to be utopia, but I think therell be improvements, and Ive seen it in multiple organizations. Kevin Pho: Tell us a story of one of those success stories, those improvements, where you suggested or saw some of the changes were talking about today, and it really improved physician morale so they can, as you say, end their addiction to unhappiness. Give us a success story. Jeffry A. Peters: Yeah. I dont want to name the institution because I dont have approval, but this is an institution in the Midwest where the board saw a deterioration in financial performance and basically put the CEO on notice: Either you get these losses down, or well get a new CEO. It was that clear. He got the message, and he put together a group of physician leaders to look at it. I had the privilege of being asked to be a consultant to help them. We put in a new compensation system, changed the way decisions are made, and really made it a more physician-centric environment. Key to making that change was that if the financial performance exceeded the boards stated goal, half of that went to the physicians, and they got to decide how to allocate that. Ultimately, they divided it by RVUs. So the system did better financially, and the physicians did better as well. This relatively small health system in the Midwest, because of its strength, was able to grow. A larger system in a bigger city about 50 miles away got into troublea very well-known system that was twice the sizeand that board had changed CEOs more than once. The larger system still didnt do well, and there was a lot of animosity. Their board said, We need to merge with a physician-centric system. So they took this smaller Midwestern system and merged, and now the system is three times the size in less than a decadestrong financial performance, improved clinical outcomesand its not only helped that short-term problem, but its really the right way to grow strategically and to grow in a sustainable way. So I think its part of the magic sauce. Successful systems need to be aware that if we can improve how we employ, manage, and empower physicians, thats a cultural uniqueness that few organizations are able to create. But if you can pull that off, you will be stronger going forward. Kevin Pho: Were talking to Jeffry A. Peters. Hes a health care executive, and todays KevinMD article is Ending physicians addiction to unhappiness. Jeffry, lets end with some take-home messages that you want to leave with the KevinMD audience. Jeffry A. Peters: Yeah, I think the take-home message is that, for any health system, your most important asset is your physician. What you need to think about every day is how you can nurture and improve your physician relationship so that every physician leaves the building in the evening saying, I feel valued, I feel appreciated, and Im given the resources to take the best care I can of my patients. Kevin Pho: Jeffry, thank you so much for sharing your perspective and insight, and thanks again for coming on the show. Jeffry A. Peters: Thank you. I really appreciated it and enjoyed it. You have a great day, Kevin. 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America 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 Dislog Medical Devices (DDM), a 100% subsidiary of Dislog Group, has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Eramedic, a leading player specialized in hospital engineering, distribution, and maintenance of high-tech medical devices, from sellers 3P Fund and Impulsia. With this move, the group continues its strategy of growth and development in the healthcare sector by integrating Eramedic into a new Medical Devices Division (DDM) within the Group. Following the acquisitions of Megaflex, Africare (soon to become Afrobiomedic), and Farmalac, Mr. Belkhayat stated: Our ambition is to become a One Stop Shop across all therapeutic areas and to be the leader in Medical Devices in Morocco, offering an End-to-End service. It should be noted that Eramedics CEO, Karim Haj Riffi, will remain in charge to support DDM and help reach a new level of development. This transaction is subject to approval by the Competition Council. Dislog Medical Devices was advised on the financial/M&A aspects by Fintrust Capital (represented by Mr. Moncef Benzakour) and on legal matters by Me Rachid Hilmi. Eramedics shareholders were advised on financial/M&A matters by the investment bank Majorelle Capital. About Dislog Group: Founded in 2005, Dislog Group is an integrated and diversified Moroccan industrial group. A market leader in FMCG and, more recently, in pharmaceuticals and blow-molding industry through CMB Plastique, the group operates in three high-growth sectors: hygiene, food, and healthcare. Its industrial units in Morocco and Europe produce and commercialize the following products: Hygiene sector: liquid detergents, multi-purpose and specialized cleaning products, bleach, paper hygiene, baby diapers. Health sector: multi-format pharmaceutical products (capsules, tablets, syrups) and dermo-cosmetics (creams and body care products). Food sector: chocolate, biscuits, confectionery, and organic food products (soups, sauces, juices). With its 150 brands, both owned and partner-based, Dislog Group contributes to improving the daily lives of consumers in Morocco and Europe. The group handles a total annual volume of 276,000 inbound pallets (factories and imports) and an equal number outbound (to agencies and end customers), representing 220,000 tons per year in each direction. This brings the total logistics volume processed to 552,000 pallets, or 440,000 tons annually. Dislog employs 3,400 people and manages a portfolio of hundreds of brands that positively impact households and consumers across Morocco and Europe. In just over 15 years, the group has become a market leader thanks to its brand-building vision focused on the life economy and its Full Service Provider model, integrating the entire value chain from production to the consumers basket. About 3P Fund: 3P Fund is a public-private investment fund aimed at supporting the growth of Moroccan SMEs operating in industry, industrial services, and value-added distribution. Its capital is held by the Moroccan government and major institutional investors. 3P Fund has made investments in sectors including medical devices, mechatronics, water treatment, precision machining, air treatment, and energy. The fund is managed by Entreprises Partners, a joint venture between Attijari Invest and Atlamed. With the experience of its sponsors and a dedicated team, Entreprises Partners supports its portfolio companies in executing development plans and creating value to foster the emergence of leading Moroccan enterprises. About Eramedic: Eramedic is a Moroccan company founded in 1976, a pioneer of innovation and a historic player in the countrys medical device sector. Now recognized as a national leader, the company stands out through its strong growth and unwavering commitment to excellence. Specialized in hospital engineering, distribution, and maintenance of high-tech medical devices, Eramedic relies on visionary leadership and a uniquely skilled team built over decades of field experience. The company represents several top-tier international brands, such as Medtronic, Karl Storz, and Fujifilm, reinforcing its strategic market position in Morocco. Eramedic is committed to social responsibility and sustainable development, and was the first company in Morocco to obtain the CSR Label awarded by the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) a testament to its seriousness and long-term vision. China warned the U.K. government yesterday to treat the Chinese owners of British Steel fairly or risk undermining investor confidence in the country, two days after British authorities took control of the company. Chinas Foreign Ministry made the comment as government-appointed managers raced to prevent British Steel from shutting down the last two blast furnaces in Britain that make so-called virgin steel from raw materials. The U.K. Parliament on Saturday passed legislation authorizing the government to take control of the company and its Scunthorpe steelworks from Jingye Group, which has owned British Steel since 2020. Jingye still owns the company but British authorities have taken control of day-to-day operations. We hope the British government treats Chinese enterprises investing and operating in the U.K. fairly and justly, protects their legitimate rights and interests, and avoids politicizing and over-securitizing economic and trade cooperation, so as not to affect the confidence of Chinese enterprises in investing and cooperating in the U.K., Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said during the weekly press conference in Beijing. Prime Minister Keir Starmers spokesman, Dave Pares, said yesterday that while Jingye still owns the Scunthorpe works in northeastern England, nationalization is a likely option in the short term. In the longer term, the government hopes to find a private investor interested in steelwork, he said. British Steel yesterday announced the appointment of a new executive team focused on ensuring consistent and professional leadership of Scunthorpe. Two longtime British Steel executives, Allan Bell and Lisa Coulson, were named as the companys interim chief executive and chief commercial officer. The appointments were approved by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. Bell, who has worked at Scunthorpe for 14 years, said his main goal was to ensure continued steel production at the plant. Our immediate priorities are securing the raw materials we need to continue blast furnace operations, ensuring we have the dedicated personnel to run those furnaces, and maintaining the highest levels of health and safety for our workforce, Bell said in the statement. Starmer on Saturday took the dramatic step of recalling Parliament from its spring recess to pass emergency legislation authorizing the government to take control of British Steel. Authorities were concerned about the plants future after Jingye stopped ordering the iron ore and coking coal needed to keep the furnaces operating. MDT/AP The British Chamber of Commerce in Macao (BritCham Macao) has appointed Eileen Stow as its new chair, marking a new chapter focused on regional outreach and next-generation leadership. Stow takes over from Keith Buckley, who steps into the role of vice chair after eight years at the helm. A founding member of BritCham and the former British Business Association in Macao, Stow previously served as Chair from 2013 to 2015 and has been vice vhair for much of the Chambers history. She is also the chief executive of Lord Stows Bakery and has lived in the city for over 30 years. My goal must surely be to keep the chamber relevant in a changing world; actively ensure succession planning by attracting much younger business folk than myself; and ensure a good mix of topics are covered at our events to reflect the diverse interests of our members, she told the Times. BritCham Macao will continue to offer regular networking events, business briefings, and its signature charity ball. The chamber also plans to deepen ties with sister chambers in Hong Kong and mainland China, beginning with exploratory visits to Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities such as Huizhou. We intend to begin some trips to the further reaches of the GBA whilst nurturing ongoing interaction with our sister chambers directly across the border and in Hong Kong, said Stow. Staff Reporter The Macau Journalists Association (AJM) has voiced serious concern over what it describes as growing opacity under the administration of Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, citing a sharp decline in opportunities for press access and official accountability. The AJM lamented a significant reduction in chances for journalists to directly interview the Chief Executive, Secretaries, and senior officials. The association noted a rising number of official events held behind closed doors since the current administration took office, calling it a troubling shift from previous practices. Once again, we urge the Macau SAR Government to uphold its promise to respect press freedom, the association stated, stressing the need for open communication with both the public and the media to ensure broader understanding of government policies and direction. Journalists have flagged what they describe as an abnormal pattern of press restrictions, including selective invitations to government-friendly outlets and the exclusion of others. The AJM pointed out that despite the full lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, media access remains limited a situation the association called unprecedented in over two decades of the SARs existence. The association also criticized what it sees as unreasonable bans on local monthly publications and online media outlets, such as All About Macau, from attending official events. International media agencies have reportedly faced similar restrictions. The Government Information Bureau (GCS) has defended these limitations by citing increased demand from foreign outlets and limited space in press conference venues. However, the AJM rejected this rationale, questioning the integrity of such decisions and warning that they risk undermining Macaus international credibility and image. These are not isolated incidents, nor are they confined to specific media organizations, the AJM stated. This reflects a systematic deterioration in media arrangements. The association emphasized that journalists do not need prepared speeches or press releases, but appropriate arrangements for on-site reporting, where they can hear from all stakeholders and interact directly with decision-makers. The AJM hopes that the government will uphold its commitment to the rule of law and restore, as quickly as possible, the arrangements for media news coverage, so as to prevent the publics right to be informed from being continuously undermined, the association concluded. Staff Reporter Air quality in Macau has deteriorated sharply, with levels recorded between the evening of April 13 and yesterday morning reaching very unhealthy to hazardous across the city, according to official monitoring data. Roadside and general air quality monitoring stations reported Air Quality Index readings ranging from 280 to 310 levels classified as very unhealthy to hazardous. In high-density residential areas, Air Quality Index readings ranged from 260 to 290, also falling within the very unhealthy range. Authorities attributed the poor air quality to residual effects of a mainland dust storm, which although gradually easing continues to affect the region due to weak wind conditions in the Pearl River Delta. The stagnant air has limited the dispersion of pollutants, leading to persistently high pollution levels. The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) warns that these hazardous air conditions are likely to continue through tonight and into tomorrow. Vulnerable groups including individuals with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, pregnant women, children, and the elderly are strongly advised to avoid outdoor activities and minimize time spent outdoors. The general public is also urged to reduce strenuous physical activity and limit outdoor exposure until conditions improve. Residents are encouraged to stay indoors and use air purifiers where possible. A report released earlier this year by the Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) shows that the citys air quality deteriorated significantly in 2024, with a marked increase in unhealthy and very unhealthy days compared to the previous year. The findings reveal that the Ka Ho station recorded the highest health-risk index of the year at 216 on October 19. SMG indicates that last year, the SAR experienced two very unhealthy days and 136 unhealthy days, a stark rise from just 91 such days recorded in 2023. Yellow haze warning issued across Guangdong Cities across Guangdong, including Guangzhou, Foshan, and Jiangmen, have issued yellow haze alerts following a surge in air pollution linked to a large-scale sandstorm sweeping southward from northern China. The storm has caused varying degrees of pollution in 21 cities, with officials warning that poor air quality may persist through April 16. According to the Guangdong Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, weak winds and a lack of rainfall have hindered the dispersion of airborne pollutants. Current air quality in the Pearl River Delta ranges from good to slightly polluted, while southern areas face moderate to heavy pollution. Chief forecaster Zhang Jinpu from the Guangzhou Ecological Environment Monitoring Center reported that PM10 coarse particulate matter is the primary pollutant. Though it may not heavily affect visibility, PM10 levels have significantly increased since the storm reached Guangdong on April 12. Zhang noted that this pollution episode mirrors a similar event in 2009 but may surpass it in severity and speed of spread. The dust originated in Inner Mongolia on April 11 and quickly traveled through major cities before reaching Guangdong. Officials predict the situation will return to normal by April 17 to 20, when air quality should improve to good or excellent. Chief Executive Sam Hou Fais first Policy Address has received strong endorsement from the central government, with the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council stating yesterday that the address fully embodies the new administrations spirit of reform, innovation, and pragmatic governance. The Office emphasized that Sams 2025 Policy Address aligns closely with President Xi Jinpings major speeches delivered during his visit to Macau in December last year. According to a statement from the Office, Sams Policy Address follows Xis Three Expectations and Four Hopes, and targets the SARs development goals as one center, one platform, one base. Highlighting Sams consultative approach, the Office noted that the drafting of the report began on the Chief Executives first day in office and involved engagement with community groups, industry representatives, and scholars, ensuring the governments policies are rooted in public needs and consensus. Describing the blueprint as pragmatic and forward-looking, the statement praised the governments readiness to face challenges, undertake top-level planning, and implement a series of well-targeted, innovative reforms. Macau is now in its best period of development, the Office spokesperson said in a statement. Additionally, the spokesperson for the Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Government in the SAR praised the Policy Address for deeply embodying President Xis guidance, aligning with the citys realities, and responding to societal concerns. The report sets out key 2025 policies while also making forward-looking plans for long-term development and reform, the Office stated. Assyrians in North Iraq Gather for Ecumenical Palm Sunday Procession The Christian faithful of Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, came together on Saturday, 12 April, to witness their faith and ecumenical unity during the annual Palm Sunday Procession. Organized by the Catechetical Committee of the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil, the event was organized under the theme: "Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." The event drew hundreds of participants in a celebration rooted in shared faith and common witness, bringing together leaders and faithful from various Christian denominations in a shared act of worship and unity, culminating in prayer at the Shrine of Mar Elia. The procession commenced at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. John the Baptist of the Assyrian Church of the East and proceeded toward the historic Shrine of Mar Elia, a sacred site for the Chaldean Catholic faithful. Leading the event were high-ranking Church leaders, including His Holiness Mar Awa III, Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Archbishop Bashar Warda, Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil, Archbishop Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Nathanael Nizar Agam of the Syriac Catholic Church. They were joined by priests, deacons, catechists, and representatives from the Kurdistan Regional Government, all united in prayer and song. The procession was marked by the active participation of children enrolled in catechetical programs, many of whom led the faithful in hymns and carried palm and olive branches--symbols of peace, hope, and the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Syriac Orthodox Scouts and Syriac Catholic catechism students accompanied the march with chants and spiritual songs. Upon arrival at the Shrine of Mar Elia, the faithful gathered for a concluding prayer service, offering gratitude for the gift of Christian fellowship and the enduring presence of Christ in their midst. The procession, now in its 14th consecutive year, has become a cornerstone event in the life of the Christian community in Ankawa--an annual moment of renewal, identity, and interchurch collaboration. The Committee noted that the unity witnessed during this ecumenical event reflects a broader commitment to cooperation among the churches in the region. Supported by the Kurdistan Regional Government, it said the procession highlights the freedom and vitality of Christian life in Erbil and the importance of religious expression in the public sphere. Palm Sunday liturgies continued in each parish following the procession. Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai delivered his first Policy Address to the Legislative Assembly yesterday responding to the themes of reform and forging ahead that he emphasized during his election campaign, with one of the main themes being reform for development and forging ahead to open up new horizons. In his 2025 Policy Address, Sam articulated his governance philosophy and development goals with clarity and purpose. He emphasized a strong sense of responsibility, a renewed mindset, and pragmatic approaches to advance Macaus initiatives in alignment with Chinas modernization efforts, aiming to pave new avenues for the citys growth. To realize a Macau characterized by the rule of law, cultural vibrancy, and economic vitality, the address outlined a range of medium- and long-term policies. Among these initiatives were key focuses on fostering patriotism and enhancing integration with the nation. The overall direction of the new policy address is to increase diversity, improve peoples livelihood, enhance governance, and integrate into the country. Bold support to families with new borns, modest for elderly In his opening remarks, Sam stated that this years fiscal revenue may not be as optimistic as expected, highlighting that the post-pandemic recovery momentum in the tourism and gaming industries is gradually slowing. He noted that some significant new expenditures are not reflected in the published budget, which may necessitate adjustments. However, the policy address still emphasized that peoples livelihood is of paramount importance, with Sam saying that the current government will prioritize public interests, focus on daily necessities, and address the most urgent issues concerning the public to fulfill their yearning for a better life. Among the measures announced, Sam included support for childbirth, such as a monthly allowance of 1,500 patacas for each infant under the age of three, totaling 18,000 patacas per year. Additionally, the birth allowance has been increased to 6,500 patacas and the marriage allowance to 2,220 patacas, reflecting increases of 1,082 patacas and 98 patacas, respectively. Sam stated that these measures aim to improve fertility support policies and take a multi-pronged approach to actively address low fertility issues. The current birth allowance, set at 5,100 patacas, is exclusively available to public servants, following the implementation of the adjustment bill on April 1, 2018. According to the policy address, the government will continue implementing various tax incentives and measures to benefit the public this year, including improvements to the Wealth Partaking Scheme and increases in allowances such as old-age security, welfare allowance for senior citizens, normal and special disability allowances, marriage allowances, birth allowances, and health care vouchers. The normal disability allowance will notably increase from 9,000 patacas to 10,000 patacas annually, while the special disability allowance will rise from 18,000 patacas to 20,000 patacas per year. Additionally, disability support pensions will go up to 3,900 patacas per month from 3,450 patacas, along with suitable increases for unemployment and sickness allowances. Old-age security will also be raised from 3,740 patacas to 3,900 patacas per month, and the welfare allowance for senior citizens will increase to 10,000 patacas per year. At present, the economic outlook for Macau is facing uncertainty. The sources of fiscal revenue are unbalanced, with rigid fiscal expenditure being relatively large. Therefore, we must make good use of financial resources and adhere to the principles of targeted assistance, policy bias, and resource decentralization [], Sam emphasized. Handouts will never be cut Announcing the continuation of the governments pro-people approach, including the distribution of 10,000 patacas to each local permanent resident and 6,000 patacas to each non-permanent resident in the new fiscal year, Sam pledged that the government would improve the scheme in due course. Addressing a press conference yesterday, Sam reaffirmed that the handout scheme will remain in place, adding that it is not a universal and regular benefit, but is implemented through administrative regulations formulated once a year. He said that timely improvement of the scheme does not imply that the money saved is not used for fiscal reserves but rather that it will be redistributed to the groups and industries with the greatest need. Sam also stated that the scheme has been implemented 17 times since its first introduction in 2008, with a cumulative amount of 92.1 billion patacas [] Macaus budget this year includes more than 120 billion patacas in recurrent expenditure and capital investment, while gross gaming revenue is expected to be about 93.1 billion patacas. The handouts are set to be about 7.4 billion patacas, accounting for about 15% of the governments recurrent expenditure. Emphasizing the importance of recognizing that the primary challenge facing the current government is the relatively single-structured economy, Sam acknowledged both challenges and opportunities, along with the associated pressures and motivations. Looking ahead to this year, he reiterated that the essential task for the governments administration remains aligned with the 1+4 appropriate diversification development strategy. Impact of US tariff increases on Macau not significant He repeatedly mentioned, both in the Legislative Assembly and at the press conference, that the complex and ever-changing international situation has exposed Macau to more factors of instability. However, when asked about the depth, breadth, and direct or indirect impact of measures such as the U.S. tariff increase on Macau, he stated: No one knows for sure, but what is certain is that the direct impact on us will be minimal. Sam added that the indirect impact should not be ignored, pointing out that since Macau is an export-oriented city highly dependent on tourists and the tourism and gaming industries, a rapid change in the economic environment and weakened tourist spending power could indirectly affect the local economy. If gaming tax revenue does not meet expectations, it will directly affect Macaus financial foundation, he said. Although he emphasized that expenditure on peoples livelihood and welfare would not be affected by external fluctuations, Sam stated: This year is a year for planning major projects, not a year for significant investment. Major infrastructure projects will be promoted with government support, including the Macau-Hengqin University City, the Macau International Integrated Tourism and Cultural District, and a Macau Science and Technology Research and Development Industrial Park. This year will not be the year of investing in these major projects, but it is imperative that we get started. There are no plans to increase the budget this year, he added. No other way but to transform and upgrade SME attractiveness When delivering the policy address, Sam stressed that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are an important force in the economic and social development of Macau. At the press conference, he addressed support for traditional industries, stating: At present, the outflow of consumption has a greater impact on SMEs. Although there are many tourists in Macau, the consumption concepts and methods of tourist groups differ, which greatly impacts some SMEs in the neighborhoods. However, there is no other way but to transform, upgrade, and strengthen their attractiveness, he added. For Sam, consumer spending power is still there, as evidenced by the long queues at some shops. Therefore, SMEs must transform and upgrade, and the Secretary for Economy and Finance will assist them in enhancing their competitiveness. As outlined in the policy address, the government will launch the Enterprise Financing Loan Interest Subsidy Scheme, providing a 4% interest subsidy for a maximum loan amount of five million patacas for each eligible business owner. This support will be available for three years, with a total bank loan amount capped at 10 billion patacas. In addition, Sam promised to build Macaus image as an international internet celebrity city. This includes plans to promote transit to Macau for tourists from regions without direct flights, as well as attracting more foreign visitors through airfare and cross-border transportation discounts. Additionally, trade and tourism outposts will be established in Southeast and Northeast Asian countries to strengthen international marketing. Macau should integrate with and serve the countrys overall development, as well as seek economic development. Macau should be the center of the countrys development in the east, west, south, and north, he stated. The north relies on the motherland to integrate into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, the west promotes the development of Hengqin, the east goes to the sea, and the south is Southeast Asia, he added. CE admits complaints about govt productivity Sam stated that the government will strengthen coordination mechanisms to enhance governance effectiveness, aiming to break down departmental barriers and promote efficient collaboration for smooth progress on reform measures. He emphasized that the new government will take responsibility and get things done, addressing issues of negligence and inaction. All public servants, especially middle and senior managers, are urged to strengthen their sense of the big picture, be practical, and maintain integrity. Sam encouraged them to be brave in exploration and bold in reform, ensuring that measures align with the Constitution and the Basic Law. As long as it benefits economic development and social stability, we must be bold in trying and establishing new systems, He asserted. Sam emphasized the crucial importance of public administration reform, stating: There are about 35,500 civil servants and college teachers in Macau, accounting for a high proportion of the population. However, there have long been complaints about interdepartmental coordination, modes of operation, and efficiency. He continued, Therefore, when I delivered the policy address, I announced the establishment of a new interdepartmental coordination group and introduced the relevant leaders to the public, while also clarifying the responsibilities of the leading departments. As the Chief Executive, I will definitely hold accountable those departments that do not cooperate and do not support the promotion of policies. Sam pointed out that this initiative was also in response to Xis call for public administration reform and improving government efficiency. Phased plan launched to support local youths in finding jobs in GBA The main expected goals for the citys development this year include continuously improving the employment situation of residents and maintaining a relatively low unemployment rate. In this regard, Sam announced a plan to subsidize 5,000 patacas per month for college graduates aged 35 or younger employed by designated companies in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area and the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. This initiative aims to leverage the advantages of the Greater Bay Area to create more employment opportunities for local young people and improve their employment conditions. Macaus leading industries are tourism and gaming, and other industries are relatively narrow. Therefore, the government has launched a phased plan to support young people in finding employment in the Greater Bay Area, helping them develop in a region with a wide market and diverse industries, Sam stated. This will broaden their horizons and enhance their knowledge of society, work experience, and skills. The relevant plan is phased and not long-term, the top official added. He also vowed to prioritize the protection of local residents employment, saying: We will dynamically regulate the number of foreign employees, including promoting the localization of middle and senior management personnel in integrated tourism and leisure enterprises. However, when asked about the fact that the transition period for satellite casinos will officially end at the end of this year, the Chief Executive called on gaming companies with satellite casinos to take responsibility and formulate plans as soon as possible to address related issues in accordance with the law. He stated: Satellite casinos are not a new problem. * Be fruitful, and multiply Sam Hou Fais first Policy Address puts reform in the spotlight, boldly supporting fertility and childcare, with Beijings blessing * Gaming | Analysts warn US-China tensions could affect SARs gaming industry * Come on Eileen | Stow eyes youth and regional engagement at BritCham * Macau Journalists Association voices concern over growing opacity under the administration of Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai * President Xi says there are no winners in a trade war as he visits Southeast Asia * U-Trump: He goes with his gut, and the world goes along for the ride DOWNLOAD PDF Tuesday, April 15, 2025 edition no. 4701 Chinas leader Xi Jinping said no one wins in a trade war as he kicked off a diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia yesterday, reiterating Chinas commitment to global trade in contrast with U.S. President Donald Trumps latest tariffs moves. Although Trump has paused some tariffs, he has kept in place 145% duties on China, the worlds second-largest economy. There are no winners in a trade war, or a tariff war, Xi wrote in an editorial jointly published in Vietnamese and Chinese official media. Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment. Xis visit lets China show Southeast Asia it is a responsible superpower in the way that contrasts with the way the U.S. under President Donald Trump presents to the whole world, said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapores ISEASYusof Ishak Institute. Xi was greeted on the tarmac by Vietnams President Luong Cuong at the start of his two-day visit, a mark of honor not often given to visitors, said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a professor of Vietnamese studies at Fulbright University Vietnam. Students of a drum art group performed as women waved the red and yellow Chinese and Communist Party flags. While Xis trip likely was planned earlier, it has become significant because of the tariff fight between China and the U.S. The visit offers a path for Beijing to shore up its alliances and find solutions for the high trade barrier that the U.S. has imposed on Chinese exports. In Vietnam, Xi will meet with Vietnams Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, his counterpart, as well as the Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The trip to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia is all about how China can really insulate itself against the from Trump, said Nguyen Khac Giang, pointing out that since Xi became the president in 2013, he has only visited Vietnam twice. The timing of the visit sends a strong political message that Southeast Asia is important to China, said Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think tank. She said that given the severity of Trumps tariffs and despite the 90-day pause, Southeast Asian nations were anxious that the tariffs, if implemented, could complicate their development. Vietnam is experienced at balancing its relations with the U.S. and China. It is run under a communist, one-party system like China but has had a strong relationship with the U.S. In 2023, it was the only country that received both U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinas Xi Jinping. That year it also upgraded the U.S. to its highest diplomatic level, the same as China and Russia. Vietnam was one of the biggest beneficiaries of countries trying to decouple their supply chains from China, as businesses moved to the country. China is its biggest trading partner, and China-Vietnam trade surged 14.6% year-on-year in 2024, according to Chinese state media. But the intensification of the trade war has put Vietnam in a very precarious situation given the impression in the U.S. that Vietnam is serving as a backdoor for Chinese goods, said Giang, the analyst at Singapores ISEASYusof Ishak Institute. Vietnam had been hit with 46% tariffs under Trumps order before the 90-day pause. China and Vietnam have real long-term differences, including territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Vietnam has faced off with Chinas coast guard but does not often publicize the confrontations. After Vietnam, Xi is expected to go to Malaysia next and then Cambodia. HUIZHONG WU & ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL, HANOI, MDT/AP A federal judge has barred the Trump administration from deporting a UW-Madison international student whose student visa was canceled April 4 just weeks before he was set to graduate. In a ruling Tuesday in the Madison court, U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled that Krish Lal Isserdasani, 21, a student from India, could not have his student visa terminated and that the Trump administration could not take any legal action against him as a result, including deportation. In his 12-page order, Conley wrote the Trump administration had wrongly terminated Isserdasanis visa one month before he was set to complete his bachelors degree in computer engineering and had robbed him of any form of due process to contest the visa cancelation. Given the amount of Isserdasanis educational expenses and potential losses from having to leave the United States without obtaining his degree, the court concludes that Isserdasani credibly demonstrates that he faces irreparable harm for which he has no adequate remedy at law in the absence of injunctive relief, Conley wrote. In statements to the Wisconsin State Journal, Lotfi Legal lawyers said they were grateful that rule of law and justice prevailed, and the court saw the federal governments failure to provide legal justification for the visa cancellations. These international students have done absolutely nothing wrong. They have followed U.S. laws and fully complied with the terms of their student status. They do not deserve this, Attorney Shabnam Lotfi said. America must speak out against this injustice and not allow the Administration to distort the facts for their own political purposes. Isserdasani is one of at least 26 international students and recent alumni at UW-Madison, and 40 across all Universities of Wisconsin campuses, whose visas have been abruptly canceled. UW-Madison has not been informed of the visa cancellations by the Trump administration; instead, staff have been finding the visa cancellations as they search databases every few hours, every day, to learn which of their students have been impacted. The Trump administration has canceled the visas of more than 1,000 international students nationally since January. When entry visas are canceled, students are subject to deportation and are recommended to leave the U.S. immediately. Isserdasanis visa would only be authorized through May 2, forcing him to leave eight days before UW-Madisons spring commencement. The ruling doesnt say when the visa would have expired naturally but notes that, with it canceled, Isserdasani could not file for an extension so he can search for work. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has attempted to force out international students across the country over myriad reasons, such as for participating in pro-Palestinian protests and for traffic infractions. In his order, Conley wrote that Isserdasanis visa seems to have been canceled over an arrest on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, which he admitted to in court documents. The incident, which took place on Nov. 22, 2024, occurred when Isserdasani and a group of friends got in an argument with another group of people while walking home from a bar. While police had referred a charge of disorderly conduct, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne never brought charges against Isserdasani. He never appeared in court for it and believed the matter wouldnt affect his student visa, Conley wrote. Isserdasani had no contact with law enforcement or Immigrations and Customs Enforcement since, Conley wrote. On April 4, Isserdasani was informed his student visa had been canceled, with no explanation other than saying he had failed to maintain his visa status because of the charge referral. As a result, he had no recourse to explain or correct any misunderstandings before his visa had been canceled, Conley wrote. He now fears leaving his apartment and has struggled to sleep due to fear. Isserdasani and his family have reportedly invested approximately $240,000 in his education in the United States, and he stands to lose $17,500 in tuition for the current semester, the order states. He would also be liable for rental payments for the next four months despite being unable to remain in the country. Conleys order also prohibits the Trump administration from deporting an Iowa State University architecture masters degree student, Hamidreza Khademi, who was accused of evading an officer in Texas. Khademi, an Iranian citizen, had been unaware an officer wanted him to stop and charges were never filed against him. Last November, President Donald Trump made significant inroads with college-age voters, along with practically every other demographic. In the traditionally liberal, UW-Madison student-heavy wards, Trump performed better there than he had before. But by the April 1 election, those same wards swung back to the traditionally liberal margins seen in recent state Supreme Court races. Dane County Judge Susan Crawford won student votes by a margin of 83.6%, similar to what justices Jill Karofsky and Janet Protasiewicz pulled in 2020 and 2023, respectively, against their conservative challengers. Waukesha County Court Judge Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate who was financially backed in the race by the worlds richest person, Elon Musk, overperformed compared to the two prior races. But a few hundred more votes for Schimel couldnt outweigh the surge in support for Crawford, who garnered a collective 11,202 votes from wards on and nearest campus that have large numbers of college students, 16% more than what Protasiewicz pulled in two years ago. Some of the biggest margin swings between the two elections were on the southeastern side of campus, where major residence halls house thousands of students, mostly freshmen, and the wards along Langdon Street just east of campus. There, students gravitated toward Trump in November by double-digit margins compared to previous presidential elections. One ward stayed largely the same between the November and April elections: Eagle Heights, which houses graduate students, pulled one of the highest margins, with almost 94% of the vote going to Crawford. There were striking differences between the November presidential election and the state Supreme Court election, especially for students, UW-Madison political scientist Barry Burden said. The economy and young peoples fears of falling behind financially from their parents generation and fear of the future were significant in them giving Trump another chance in the November election, Burden said. But in April, the economy had nothing to do with the Supreme Court race; instead, Musks heavy-handed involvement with the race became a catalyst similar to what abortion was in 2023 following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Burden said. Those issues run parallel to another shift underway. Call it the diploma divide, Burden said: Voters with higher levels of educational attainment tend to vote more often and are more likely to vote for Democratic or left-leaning candidates. Students are a part of that, but the change is happening all across the state, Burden said. This educational line is a big driver, and its a really difficult thing for Republicans in these lower turnout races, because people with lower levels of education tend not to be as regular in these other elections, Burden said. It was for that exact reason that College Republicans of UW-Madison co-president Benjamin Rothove said he knew the April election would be challenging. Trump voters will show up when hes on the ballot, Rothove said, but in April, some of those students didnt go out to vote at all. With similar 10-point win margins to the two previous state Supreme Court races, he doesnt see this election as a referendum on Trump or on Musk. I think its just a referendum on the difficulty of getting a Republican Trump voter out, Rothove said. Defining the issues Following the stinging presidential defeat in November, UW-Madison College Democrats took a few days to process the loss. They then switched focus to the April election, welcoming in Crawford during the fall semester, College Democrats vice chair Sadie Rosenthal said. They worked to build Crawfords name recognition on campus through being visible on Library Mall four to five days a week throughout the spring semester. On the weekends, students with the organization went to off-campus apartments and knocked on over 3,000 doors. On the first day of early voting, they brought dogs out onto Library Mall to catch peoples attention. (We) really wanted to channel that frustration into activism around the spring Supreme Court election, Rosenthal said. Turnout tends to be much lower in state elections, so we have a lot of work to do. Access to reproductive rights and abortion remained top of mind for many of the students who interacted with the College Democrats, she said. There was also an air of frustration with politics in general. But they also found themselves educating potential voters about the donation money Musk was pouring into the campaign, Rosenthal said. A lot of students following the November election have kind of tuned a bit of it out, which is understandable, she said. So we definitely had a lot of students who had no idea that Donald Trump and Elon Musk were even interfering in the election. College Republicans, both at UW-Madison and at UW-Whitewater, leaned into Crawfords record on giving a lenient sentence to a man charged with assaults at both campuses and made her candidacy about public safety. Its not clear how well that may have resonated with students, Rothove said. Going forward How can two elections with such different results predict how students might vote in future elections? Whats clear is that turnout of young voters will remain considerably higher in upcoming elections, compared to the rest of the electorate, as 79% of the UW-Madison area vote tally that appeared in November showed up in April. Thats higher than the rest of the state, where 69% of voters were retained between the two elections still an incredibly high number for a spring election with only state races on the ballot, Burden said. Whats less predictable is how theyre going to vote, Burden said. In the last decade, the younger voting bloc is showing theyre more willing to be friendly toward Trump and other Republican candidates. But that trend hasnt translated over to elections when Trump isnt on the ballot, he said. Thats a big, unsettled question about American politics generally, but also about young people and their role in Wisconsin elections: Whether theyre going to end up being mostly Democrats who were interested in Trump but then moved on, or whether theyre genuinely torn, and sometimes find liberal candidates more appealing, and other times are attracted to the GOP, he said. For that reason, College Republicans, and the party in general, need new strategies to get voters engaged, and especially down ballot, Rothove said. And for the College Democrats, it means continuing to organize and keep students civically engaged, regardless of whether theyre in an election cycle or not, Rosenthal said. We dont want to get too comfortable and feel like this victory means we dont have to keep organizing, because theres a ton of work that needs to be done, both in Wisconsin and on a federal level, Rosenthal said. Just days before World Expo 2025 Osaka opens its doors to the public, the Philippines gave the world a preview of its cultural showcase at the global stage. On 09 April 2025, the Philippine Organizing Committee (POC), through the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), hosted an exclusive media preview of the much-anticipated Woven Pavilion that earned glowing feedback among international press and the Japanese public. Themed Nature, Culture, and Community: Woven Together for a Better Future, the Philippine Pavilion is a multisensory experience that blends heritage and innovation. This fusion of elements has earned early reviews describing it as one of the most inspired, soulful, and innovative exhibits at the Expo. - Advertisement - The response from the international media has been overwhelmingly positive, said TPB Chief Operating Officer and POC Secretary General Maria Margarita Montemayor Nograles. It is deeply encouraging to see how warmly the world is receiving our Pavilion. Every woven panel, every performance, and every flavor is part of the continuing narrative of the Filipino people. In a world driven by innovation, were here to show that tradition still mattersthat human connection and cultural memory can shape a more inclusive, meaningful future. The spirit of the Filipino on the world stage The Philippine Pavilion goes beyond architectureit is a living, breathing expression of Filipino identity. With over 200 woven panels created by artisans from across the archipelago, a first-ever live performance facade, and immersive digital installations, Woven highlights the countrys artistic excellence and creative resilience. From a film-inspired anime facade honoring Japan to a groundbreaking AI-powered installation called Dancing with Nature, every part of the Pavilion draws guests into a celebration of Filipino culture and environmental consciousness. Daily performances by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and handwoven artworks representing the countrys 18 regions offer visitors an engaging cultural encounter. Bringing Filipino warmth to the world The Pavilion also showcases Filipino creativity and hospitality through distinct experiential zones. Guests can shop for artisanal crafts at the Habi Gift Shop, enjoy traditional wellness practices at the Hilot Wellness Space, or savor Filipino flavors at the Hain Takeout Counter with dishes like Adobong Manok sa Gata and Halo-Halo. Adding a playful touch is Kokoro-chan, the Pavilions official mascot inspired by the Philippine tarsier. Designed in collaboration with the Tarsier Foundation, Kokoro-chan is emblematic of the countrys appreciation for biodiversity and storytelling. Celebrating friendship and shared futures As Expo 2025 Osaka sets the stage for the upcoming 70th anniversary of Philippines-Japan diplomatic relations in 2026, the Pavilion also serves as a heartfelt tribute to the enduring friendship between the two nations. The Pavilion is a showcase of our culture and a heartfelt expression of friendship, respect, and shared aspirations with our Japanese partners. We are proud to stand with Japan in advancing the goals of sustainability and innovation, said Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene Garcia-Albano. Through this platform, we invite the world to witness how our bilateral ties continue to grow stronger through art, dialogue, and collaboration. From Osaka to the Philippinesand beyond To ensure that the stories shared in Osaka continue to inspire future generations, the Pavilions woven artworks and select components will find a new home in the National Museum after the Expo. The Philippine Pavilion is our invitation for the world to connect with the heart and soul of the Filipino people and to discover the many reasons to Love the Philippines, said Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco. We hope to inspire travelers to explore our 7,641 islands, experience the depth of our culture, marvel at the excellence of Filipino creativity, and be moved by the stories of triumph and resilience of our communities. By blending the use of traditional weaving methods with innovation and technology in highlighting the diversity of our Regions and the identity of our peoples, we are bringing our message of sustainable tourism development to the fore, where tourists are introduced to meaningful experiences while our local communities benefit with sustained livelihood and employment. With its thoughtful design, emotional resonance, and commitment to sustainability, the Philippine Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka is a must-visit destination for those seeking a meaningful, moving, and truly unforgettable nod to the story of Filipinos. Nigeria is positioning itself as Africas premier tech powerhouse with a wave of high-profile digital events and strategic initiatives designed to attract global investors, boost innovation, and accelerate economic diversification. Three major conferences GITEX Nigeria, ICEGOV, and Digital Nigeria are set to unfold in 2025, showcasing Nigerias surging tech ecosystem. Spearheaded by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and backed by president Bola Tinubus reform-driven agenda, these events are expected to generate over $25 million in revenue and draw tens of thousands of participants. GITEX Nigeria will highlight fast-growing sectors like AI, fintech, e-commerce, edtech, agritech, and healthtech. With fintech alone projected to reach $15 billion by 2025, the conference offers a vital platform for startups to secure investment and scale globally. As part of this development, Wini University the countrys first AI-focused university is set to open in Lagos, aiming to train a new generation in emerging technologies such as blockchain and quantum computing. Inspired by Qatars AI model, the institution seeks to turn Lagos into Africas version of Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, a new partnership with the US. Market Access Center (USMAC) promises to connect Nigerian entrepreneurs with global markets, particularly in the United States, unlocking funding and partnership opportunities. Together, these efforts mark a pivotal shift in Nigerias digital journey, as the nation embraces innovation to transform its economy, reduce unemployment, and become a global player in technology and entrepreneurship. As Sudans brutal civil war marks its third year, world leaders gathered in London on Tuesday (15 April) to confront what many now call the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet. Hosted by the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the European Union, and the African Union, the one-day summit aims to raise urgent funds for Sudan, where violence has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 13 million people. Notably absent from the talks were representatives from Sudans warring factions the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) both accused of war crimes. The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 after a breakdown in power-sharing between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has splintered the country and plunged it toward famine. British foreign secretary David Lammy, announcing 140 million in aid, denounced the brutal war that the world must no longer ignore. Germany pledged 125 million, while aid organizations warned that nearly 25 million Sudanese face severe hunger. Two years of a ruinous war in Sudan had left civilians trapped in a relentless nightmare of death and destruction, said the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric. The RSF continues to hold much of Darfur and Sudans south, while the army recently reclaimed Khartoum. With no peace talks on the table, the London summit has focused on immediate relief and preventing regional spillover. Aid agencies like Oxfam warned that neighboring nations, already fragile, risk deeper instability from Sudans escalating crisis. As civilian suffering intensifies, international actors are under growing pressure to not only fund humanitarian relief but forge a path to peace. In a bid to recalibrate its relationship with Washington, the South African Government has appointed Mcebisi Jonas on April 14 as special envoy to the United Statesa strategic move aimed at repairing increasingly fragile diplomatic ties following Donald Trumps return to office. President Cyril Ramaphosa has tasked Jonas Mcebisi with the critical responsibility of representing South Africas interests abroad, particularly in light of recent diplomatic tensions that have resulted in the expulsion of the countrys ambassador. Jonas will work to engage both the US government and private sector, navigating a complex landscape of political discord, trade friction, and ideological divergence. Jonass appointment signals a calculated and deliberate choice: a respected figure with experience in both public office and global business, and a reputation for integrity. His past as deputy finance minister and his role in exposing alleged corruption during the Zuma era position him as a credible envoy capable of commanding respect on the international stage. His dual role as chair of the MTN Group adds to his clout, placing him at the intersection of diplomacy and commerce. Ramaphosas office has underscored that Jonas is expected not only to defuse tensions but also to forge strategic partnerships and promote South Africas economic agenda in a hostile geopolitical climate. The envoys mission comes at a time of deepening rifts between Pretoria and Washington, sparked by disagreements over land reform, South Africas stance on the Gaza conflict, and broader foreign policy realignments. By dispatching Jonas, Ramaphosa is signalling South Africas commitment to principled engagement, even as ideological differences persist. The role will demand deft diplomacy, particularly as Jonas must counter mounting criticisms from the Trump administration while maintaining South Africas sovereign policy choices. His success may well determine whether South Africas voice remains influential on the global stageor becomes increasingly sidelined amid shifting alliances. Faced with the prospect of steep new US tariffs, Cote DIvoire is re-evaluating its international trade alliances, signalling a potential shift towards closer economic ties with the European Union. The 21% tariff proposed by the Trump Administration, the highest in West Africa, has raised alarm in Abidjan, where officials fear a damaging blow to the countrys cocoa exports. In response, Agriculture Minister Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani stated on April 14 that Cote DIvoire would explore broader partnerships with the EU as a strategic countermeasure, positioning Europe as an alternative market should US demand falter. Rather than focusing solely on retaliatory price increases, officials appear more concerned with maintaining market access and revenue stability. While Cote DIvoire cannot directly control global cocoa prices, it may adjust export levies to mitigate the impact of lost earningsthough such moves would ultimately burden end consumers. By highlighting this, Adjoumani is underscoring the broader consequences of trade protectionism, warning that American chocolate lovers could find themselves paying more for their treats as a result of Washingtons policy choices. This latest tariff dispute also sheds light on the vulnerabilities of commodity-dependent economies navigating a shifting global trade landscape. As the worlds largest cocoa producer, Cote DIvoires reliance on stable export markets makes it particularly sensitive to abrupt policy changes in major economies. The situation is prompting a reassessment of trade diversification and long-term resilience, with the government now actively seeking to strengthen its European partnerships. For Ivorian officials, the goal is clear: safeguard the nations economic lifeline while avoiding overdependence on any single trading partner. Ghana has introduced sweeping reforms to its gold trade regulations in a bold move to clamp down on rampant smuggling that has cost the nation millions in lost revenue and foreign exchange. The newly established Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) is now the sole authority responsible for purchasing, assaying, and exporting gold, following the enactment of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025. According to Prince Kwame Minkah, GoldBods Media Relations Officer, the new legislation is designed to eliminate the shadowy, informal trading networks that have long enabled foreign and local actors to smuggle gold out of the country undetected. Smuggling, which has flourished under Ghanas previously fragmented and poorly regulated gold trade system, has severely undermined the national economy. Minkah noted that foreign operators, in particular, exploited regulatory loopholes to move large quantities of unaccounted gold across borders, evading taxes and bypassing official export channels. With GoldBod now acting as the central hub for all gold-related transactions, authorities expect a sharp decline in illicit trade. The centralisation will not only ensure better oversight but also enable accurate tracking of gold exports and revenue collection. Under the new rules, all dealerslocal and foreignmust operate under GoldBods licensing and regulatory framework. Foreign nationals engaged in local trading must withdraw by 30 April 2025, although they can still participate by purchasing through the Board. The government believes this restructuring will stabilise the Ghanaian cedi by boosting declared gold exports and enhancing foreign currency inflows. Minkah emphasised that the initiative is not about excluding stakeholders but about integrating them into a more transparent and accountable system, ensuring that Ghana reaps the full economic benefits of its gold resources. 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: Google DeepMind from Pexels With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), predictive medicine is becoming an important part of health care, especially in cancer treatment. Predictive medicine uses algorithms and data to help doctors understand how a cancer might continue to grow or react to specific drugsmaking it easier to target precision treatment for individual patients. While AI is important in this work, researchers from University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) say that it should not be relied on exclusively. Instead, AI should be combined with other methods, such as traditional mathematical modeling, for the best outcomes. In a commentary published April 14 in Nature Biotechnology, Elana Fertig, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) and Professor of Medicine at UMSOM and Daniel Bergman, Ph.D., an IGS scientist argue that mathematical modeling has been underestimated and under-used in precision medicine to date. All health computational models need three key components to work: datasets, equations, and software. Then, after generating data, comes leveraging it to improve early diagnoses, discover new treatments, and aid understanding of the diseases. In a second commentary, out April 15 in Cell Reports Medicine, Dr. Fertig and IGS colleagues Dmitrijs Lvovs, Ph.D., Anup Mahurkar, Ph.D., and Owen White, Ph.D., address how to ethically share health data and methods to create reproducible science. Taken together, the two commentaries set a foundational approach to generating, analyzing, and ethically sharing data to benefit both patients and science. Explaining the argument of the Nature Biotechnology commentary Dr. Fertig said, "AI and mathematical models differ dramatically in how they arrive at an outcome.AI models first must be trained with existing data to make an outcome prediction, while mathematical models are directed to answer a specific question using both data and biological knowledge." That means that when data is sparseas it often is in newer cancer treatments such as immunotherapyAI can over generalize, resulting in biased or inaccurate outcomes that cannot be reproduced by other scientists. Mathematical modeling, on the other hand, uses known biological mechanisms, learned from scientific experiments, to explain how it arrived at an outcome. "For example, with a mathematical model, we could create virtual cancer cells and healthy cells and write a program that would mimic how those cells interact and evolve inside of a tumor with different types of treatments," said Dr. Bergman, Assistant Professor at IGS and UMSOM's Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Drug Development. "At this time, AI cannot give us that type of specificity." The authors state that, in addition to using both types of models in "computational immunotherapy," using a breadth of populations, and making datasets publicly available are critical for the most accurate outcomes. "Data breadth and accuracy are key. Artifacts in the dataset, or even a simple typo in computer code, can throw off the accuracy of either type of model," added Dr. Fertig. "Therefore, for any analysis pipeline to work correctly, it must be reproducible and that can only be assured by open sciencegiving access to other researchers whose work can confirm the models will get the right treatment to the right patient." However, reproducibility remains a critical challenge in science. In a 2016 article in Nature surveying more than 1,500 scientists, more than 70% of researchers said they have tried and failed to reproduce another scientist's experiments, and more than half have failed to reproduce their own experiments. "Reproducible research enables investigators to verify that the findings are accurate, reduce biases, promote scientific integrity, and build trust," explained Dmitrijs Lvovs, Ph.D., Research Associate at IGS and first author on the Cell Reports Medicine commentary. "Because data science is computationally driven, all results should be transparent and automatically reproducible from the same dataset if the analysis code is readily available through open science." While that sounds simple enoughand there are best practices in placethe challenge, the authors argue, is how to share data while protecting patient privacy and blocking unauthorized data breaches. Genomic data, when combined with personal health information (PHI), could lead to re-identification of patients, a privacy violation. The authors say that creating ethical open science data sharing means: 1. Getting detailed informed consent from patients; 2. Ensuring data quality when collecting and processing data by mitigating errors; 3. Harmonizing and standardizing data collected from disparate sources; 4. Using and creating resources and platforms, such as multiomic, clinical, public health, and drug discovery repositories; and 5. Working with vetted pipelines, such as open-source analysis tools and software platforms. "Ethical and responsible data sharing democratizes research, supports the advancement of AI, and informs public health policies," said Dr. Lvovs. "With ethical and responsible data sharing, the biomedical research community can maximize the benefits of shared data, accelerate discovery, and improve human health." 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 As firefighters battled the catastrophic blazes in Los Angeles County in January, California's U.S. senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, signed onto legislation with a simple aim: provide federal assistance to first responders diagnosed with service-related cancer. The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act is considered crucial by its supporters, with climate change fueling an increase in wildfire frequency and firefighting deemed carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. Firefighters have a 14% higher chance of dying from cancer than the general population, according to a 2024 study, and the disease was responsible for 66% of career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from 2002 to 2019. The Los Angeles wildfires brought the fear generated by these statistics into bold relief. As homes, businesses, and carsand the products within themwere incinerated, gases, chemicals, asbestos, and other toxic pollutants were released into the air, often settling into soil and dust. First responders working at close range, often without adequate respiratory protection, were at higher risk of developing adverse health conditions. Just days after the fires were contained, researchers tested a group of 20 firefighters who had come from Northern California to help battle the flames and found dangerously elevated levels of lead and mercury in their blood. "Firefighters and first responders put their lives on the line without a second thought to protect California communities from the devastating Southern California fires," Padilla said in a statement. "When they sacrifice their lives or face severe disabilities due to service-related cancers, we have a shared duty to help get their families back on their feet." But while the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act has bipartisan support, it still faces a rough road politically, and those who've spent years dealing with similar government-run programs warn of major implementation issues should the measure become law. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a similar bill in 2024, but the measure didn't advance to a vote on the floor. And with legislators pondering potentially massive federal budget cuts, its fate in Congress this year is far from clear. What is clear is that, for legislation tying benefits to service-related health conditions, the devil is in the details. "Getting the piece of legislation passed is not as hard as guarding it," said John Feal, who was injured at the 9/11 ground zero site while working as a demolition supervisor. He has since become a fierce advocate for first responders and military veterans. "You will watch the legislation mature, as more and more people who need the assistance come forward," Feal said. At that point, he added, the program's capacity to growand to successfully process the applications of those who've come forward for helpmay become a challenge. That, Feal said, is what happened with the various government programs created after the 9/11 attacks to provide monetary compensation and health care to injured first responders, including some later diagnosed with cancer. Both the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and the World Trade Center Health Program encountered substantial funding issues and were beset by logistical failures. The structure of the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., might allow it to sidestep some funding pitfalls. Rather than create a new benefit program, the bill would grant firefighters who have non-9/11 cancer-related conditions access to the long-standing Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program, which provides monetary death, disability, and education benefits to line-of-duty responders and surviving family members. Death benefits in such programs are considered mandatory spending and are funded regardless of congressional budget decisions. Funding for disability and education benefits, however, depends on annual appropriations. Even with full funding, the legislation could face implementation problems similar to those plaguing the 9/11 programs, including complex eligibility criteria, difficulty documenting that illnesses are service-related, andmore recentlylong waits to enroll amid seesawing federal attempts at cutbacks. Attorney Michael Barasch represented the late New York police detective James Zadroga, who developed pulmonary fibrosis from toxic exposure at the World Trade Center site and for whom the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act is named. Barasch, who still represents 9/11 victims and lobbies Congress for program improvements and funding, said the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act should streamline the process for first responders to document that their cancers are related to fighting wildfires. "In my experience representing more than 40,000 members of the 9/11 community, any similar program should have a clear set of standards to determine eligibility," Barasch told KFF Health News. "Needless complexity creates a serious risk that responders who should have been eligible might not have access to benefits." Feal added that lawmakers should be ready to bolster funding to adequately staff the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program if it adds to the conditions currently covered, noting that the 9/11 programs have swelled as more and more first responders have presented service-related conditions. "There were 75,000 people in the program in 2015. There's now close to 140,000," Feal said. "There's a backlog on enrollment into the WTC program because they're understaffed, and there's also a backlog on getting your illnesses certified so you can get compensated." As the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program is currently implemented, firefighters and other first responders are eligible for support for physical injuries they incur in the line of duty or for deaths from duty-related heart attacks, strokes, mental health conditions, and 9/11-related illnesses. The bill would add provisions for those who die or become permanently disabled from other service-related cancers. A study has already been launched to track the short- and long-term health impacts of the Los Angeles wildfires. "This was an environmental and health disaster that will unfold over decades," Kari Nadeau, a professor at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in announcing the study. Firefighters who battled the massive 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California, meanwhile, have been found to carry higher levels of carcinogens and other toxic substances in their blood than the general population, according to a study commissioned by the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation. The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act was first introduced in 2023 and reintroduced on Jan. 23 of this year, with Klobuchar referencing the California wildfires in her press release. The Congressional Budget Office estimated last year that the bill would cost about $250 million annually from 2024 to 2034; it has not weighed in since the measure was reintroduced. "Cancer's grip on the fire service is undeniable," said Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters. "When a firefighter dies from occupational cancer, we owe it to them to ensure their families get the line-of-duty death benefits they are owed." 2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Anna Shvets from Pexels Another Newton-Wellesley Hospital staffer who worked in the maternity wing has reportedly been diagnosed with a brain tumor. This sixth tumor case on the fifth floor of the Mass General Brigham facility comes as officials continue to assure staff and patients that there's "no environmental risk" at the hospital. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Nurses Association has said the hospital's environmental testing was "not comprehensive," and the union is still investigating the situation. The nurses diagnosed with brain tumors have worked in the maternal care labor/delivery unit on the hospital's fifth floor. Five brain tumor casesall benign (non-cancerous)had been reported as of last week. Now, the hospital is reporting a sixth case, according to the Mass General Brigham Department of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). "To date, through their employee interview process, OHS has identified six staff members who have worked for varying durations on the fifth floor and report developing benign (non-cancerous) brain tumors," Ellen Moloney, president and COO of Mass General Brigham/Newton-Wellesley Hospital, wrote to patients and families. "While the OHS investigation is ongoing, we have found no evidence that these medical conditions were caused by the work environment." The investigation has been led by the Mass General Brigham Department of Occupational Health and Safety, and conducted by a multi-disciplinary group of expertsincluding several independent firms. The probe has "involved interviews of impacted staff, a thorough review of air and water quality, and comprehensive testing for any potential radiation, chemical, or pharmaceutical exposures," Moloney said. "Based on the results of this rigorous ongoing investigation, we can assure you that no environmental risks have been identified at our hospital," the official added. This situation at Newton-Wellesley Hospital was first reported by WBZ. Staff members have raised several concerns about this cluster of cases. The hospital has addressed questions about whether brain tumor cases can be related to: wearing masks during the pandemic, the drinking water, use of X-rays, or the pharmacy on the floor below. "As always, your health, well-being, and safetyalong with that of our employeesremain our top priority," Moloney said. "While there has been a great deal of misinformation shared on social media and in other forums, we want to make sure you have the facts." The Massachusetts Nurses Association's division of health and safety, consisting of occupational health nurses, is investigating the cluster. "We are glad to see the hospital is continuing to look into this situation," a Massachusetts Nurses Association spokesperson said in a statement. "Our investigation is ongoing, and we will share the results when our health and safety division completes its review of the diagnoses reported to the MNA." The union expects to be able to share its investigation results with the hospital and then the public in one to two weeks. 2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A subject wearing an EEG cap that allows simultaneous voltage measurements at 64 locations on the scalp. Credit: Peter Valckx, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The human brain can learn through experience to filter out disturbing and distracting stimulisuch as a glaring roadside billboard or a flashing banner on the internet. Scientists at Leipzig University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam have used electroencephalography (EEG) to show that early visual processing in humans changes with repeated exposure. Distractions are often easier to ignore after we have encountered them multiple times. This learned suppression is an important component of the human visual system, which is otherwise strongly influenced by voluntary attention control. In a series of EEG experiments involving 24 female and male participants, the researchers investigated how learning influences attention to prominent distracting stimuli when these distractions frequently occur in specific locations. The research is published in The Journal of Neuroscience. "We found consistent evidence that learning alters the early responses of the visual system to these stimuli," says Dr. Norman Forschack from the Wilhelm Wundt Institute of Psychology at Leipzig University, one of the study's authors. In the experiments, participants were asked to locate a specific target objectfor example, a green circle among green diamonds. As part of the task, a distracting stimulussuch as a red diamondwas frequently placed in the same position. Analysis of brain activity revealed that, over time, the brain began to suppress that position within the very first moments of visual processing. Participants also performed significantly better in locating the target object when the distracting stimulus appeared in the learned position, compared to when it appeared elsewhere. "These findings show that our brain doesn't just react automatically to striking stimuli, but can also learn through experience to filter out distractions efficiently," explains Forschack. "Interestingly, we also observed reduced visual processing for target stimuli when they appeared in the position where the distractor had been frequently shown," he adds. It remains unclear how this habitual attenuation of visual processing works in everyday lifefor example, for commuters who repeatedly travel the same routes. According to the researchers, consistent design of roads and traffic environments could be beneficial for road safety. Dock Duncan of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the study's lead author, concludes, "It is clear that people automatically recognize familiar user interfaces or textbook chapter layouts and find these useful, and that this effect is already reflected in basic visual processing." More information: Dock H. Duncan et al, Learning modulates early encephalographic responses to distracting stimuli: a combined SSVEP and ERP study, The Journal of Neuroscience (2025). DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1973-24.2025 Journal information: Journal of Neuroscience 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 Nearly half of patients diagnosed with cancer in 2023 had a history of smoking, and 15% were smokers at the time of their diagnosis, according to new Yale Cancer Center-led research published in JAMA Oncology. The study used data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB)the largest cancer database in the United Stateswhich began incorporating patients' smoking status in 2023. The database is an important resource for doctors, offering critical insight into which treatments might be the most effective and safest for particular individuals. Tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of a wide range of cancers, including those of the lung, mouth and throat, esophagus, and liver. Adding smoking as a variable to the database will help doctors learn how smoking might impact the outcomes of different cancer treatments. "This is the broadest look at smoking within the U.S. cancer population available," says Yale Cancer Center's Daniel Boffa, MD, the study's senior investigator. Smoking is the cause of about 1 in 5 cancer diagnoses in the United States. And today, about 12% of the U.S. population are active smokers. For their new study, Boffa and his colleagues wanted to investigate how prevalent smoking was among those who have cancer compared with the general population. Smoking history is prevalent among those diagnosed with cancer The NCDB collects data on patient demographics, cancer stage, treatments administered, health outcomes, and more. In 2023, participating hospitals began including patients' smoking status, in part to make sure physicians were asking patients about smoking and to enable researchers to study how smoking changes the safety or effectiveness of treatment. Of the 1.6 million cancer patients entered into the database that year, nearly 97% had information on smoking status. "Treatments can have different levels of effectiveness based on whether someone has a smoking-related cancer or not," says Boffa, who is also a professor of surgery (thoracic) at Yale School of Medicine. "So, this information is really important for doctors to know when treating people for certain cancer types." For example, lung cancers in patients who have never smoked are much more likely to be successfully treated through therapies that target underlying genetic mutations that may be driving the disease instead. The team found that 47% of patients in the NCDB who were diagnosed with cancer in 2023 were either former or current smokers. "When you compare that to 12% of the U.S. populationthat's a fourfold increase in tobacco smoking in the cancer population compared to the general population," says Boffa. "This highlights the relationship between tobacco smoking and cancer." They also found that 15% of those diagnosed were active smokers. "This is a huge opportunity because getting people to quit smoking after being diagnosed with cancer is a really powerful way to increase survival," says Boffa. Quitting not only makes treatments easier on patients because it reduces the risk of side effects and complications, but it can also help treatments work better. "Quitting can have a more impressive impact on a person's outcome than many of the new treatments we have." Furthermore, the prevalence of active and former smokers varies across different parts of the country. For example, four states in the southeastern U.S.Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippihad the highest prevalence of active smokers. The findings highlight that the addition of smoking cessation resources to cancer care programs could be lifesaving for a significant number of patients, and including smoking status in the NCDB could help determine how to prioritize resource distribution. "If we can bring smoking cessation resources to states where certain groups are more likely to be actively smoking, we could really move the needle and improve cancer care outcomes," Boffa says. More information: Giorgio Caturegli et al, Smoking Status of the US Cancer Population and a New Perspective From the National Cancer Database, JAMA Oncology (2025). DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2025.0247 Journal information: JAMA Oncology 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: Research suggests children may breathe and absorb plasticizers called phthalates, flame retardants, and other harmful chemicals from their mattresses while they sleep. Credit: University of Toronto Babies and young children may breathe and absorb plasticizers called phthalates, flame retardants, and other harmful chemicals from their mattresses while they sleep, according to a pair of studies published by the University of Toronto in Environmental Science & Technology and Environmental Science & Technology Letters. These chemicals are linked to neurological and reproductive problems, asthma, hormone disruption, and cancer. "Sleep is vital for brain development, particularly for infants and toddlers. However, our research suggests that many mattresses contain chemicals that can harm kids' brains," says senior author Miriam Diamond, professor at the University of Toronto. "This is a wake-up call for manufacturers and policymakers to ensure our children's beds are safe and support healthy brain development." In the first study, researchers measured chemical concentrations in 25 bedrooms of children aged 6 months to 4 years. They detected concerning levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants, and UV-filters in bedroom air, with the highest levels lurking around the beds. In a companion study, researchers tested 16 newly purchased children's mattresses and confirmed that they are likely the major source of these chemicals in children's sleeping environments. When the researchers simulated a child's body temperature and weight on the mattresses, chemical emissions increased substantially, as much as by several times. The mattresses were purchased in Canada, but most contained materials originating from other countries, including the U.S. and Mexico. Because of integrated mattress markets and supply chains, the results are likely to apply to mattresses purchased throughout North America. The phthalates and organophosphate ester flame retardants measured in this study are hormone disruptors and are linked to neurological harms, including learning disorders, reduced IQ scores, behavioral problems, and impaired memory. Some are also linked to childhood asthma and cancer. Several UV-filters are hormone disruptors. Children are uniquely vulnerable to exposure, given that they are still developing, have hand-to-mouth behaviors, and have breathing rates ten times higher than adults. They also have more permeable skin and three times the skin surface area relative to their body weight than adults. The high levels of flame retardants in most of the mattresses tested were puzzling, given these chemicals are not necessary to pass either Canadian or U.S. mattress flammability standards. Flame retardants are linked to neurological, reproductive, and hormonal harm as well as cancer, and also have no proven fire-safety benefit as used in mattresses. "Parents should be able to lay their children down for sleep knowing they are safe and snug," said co-author Arlene Blum, Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute. "Flame retardants have a long history of harming our children's cognitive function and ability to learn. It's concerning that these chemicals are still being found in children's mattresses even though we know they have no proven fire-safety benefit, and aren't needed to comply with flammability standards." The researchers call for manufacturers to be more vigilant about the chemicals in children's mattresses through testing. Further, stronger regulations on the use of flame retardants and phthalate plasticizers in children's mattresses are needed. In Canada, the authors recommend extending restrictions on certain plasticizers from toys and objects to be mouthed to include mattresses and other bedding items and passing long-proposed restrictions on two flame retardants. Several mattresses had chemicals that are banned or restricted in Canada, suggesting that manufacturers need to test children's mattresses for these chemicals and other unnecessary chemicals before putting them on the market. In the meantime, there are actions parents can take to reduce their children's exposure. The authors recommend decluttering your child's sleeping area by reducing the number of pillows, blankets, and toys. They also recommend washing and refreshing your child's bedding and bed clothing frequently since these act as a protective barrier to reduce exposure. Finally, they say that undyed or neutral colored fabrics are likely safer since keeping strong colors requires the addition of UV-filters and other additives that may be harmful. Provided by Green Science Policy Institute 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: Boni Speer, left, and her daughter, Tracy Balhan, hold a photo of Bill Speer, Tracys father, in Aurora, Ill., on Friday, March 14, 2025. Credit: Benjamin Thorp/WFYI Public Media via AP At her mother's home in Illinois, Tracy Balhan flips through photos of her dad, Bill Speer. In one picture, he's smiling in front of a bucket of sweating beers and wearing a blue T-shirt that reads, "Pops. The man. The myth. The legend." Balhan's father died last year after struggling with dementia. During one episode late in his life, he became so agitated that he tried to exit a moving car. Balhan recalls her dadlarger than life, steady and lovingyelling at the top of his lungs. His geriatric psychiatrist recommended she take him to the emergency room at Endeavor Health's Edward Hospital in the Chicago suburb of Naperville because of its connection to an inpatient behavioral care unit. She hoped it would help get him a quick referral. But Speer spent 12 hours in the emergency roomat one point restrained by staffwaiting for a psych evaluation. Balhan didn't know it then, but her dad's experience at the hospital is so common it has a name: ER boarding. One in six visits to the emergency department in 2022 that resulted in hospital admission had a wait of four or more hours, according to an Associated Press and Side Effects Public Media data analysis. Fifty percent of the patients who were boarded for any length of time were 65 and older, the analysis showed. Some people who aren't in the middle of a life-threatening emergency might even wait weeks, health care experts said. ER boarding is a symptom of the U.S. health care system's struggles, including shrinking points of entry for patients seeking care outside of ERs and hospitals prioritizing beds for procedures insurance companies often pay more for. Experts also warn the boarding issue will worsen as the number of people 65 and older in the U.S. with dementia grows in the coming decades. Hospital bed capacity in the U.S. may not keep up. Between 2003 and 2023, the number of staffed hospital beds was static, even as emergency department visits shot up 30% to 40% over that same period. Number of hospital beds at issue For older people with dementia, boarding can be especially dangerous, Chicago-based geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Shafi Siddiqui said. One research letter published in June 2024 in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at more than 200,000 patients and found long ER stays could be linked to a higher risk of dementia patients developing deliriuma temporary state of mental confusion and sometimes hallucinations. "People need to be enraged about (boarding)," said Dr. Vicki Norton, president-elect of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. National emergency physician groups have lobbied for years to keep boarding under control. While they've made some progress, nothing substantial has changed, despite concerns that it leads to worse patient outcomes. Dr. Alison Haddock, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, said that's because boarding is a failing of the entire health care system that manifests in the ER, so solving it demands a systemic approach. Federal and state policy decisions made nearly 40 years ago limited the number of hospital beds, said Arjun Venkatesh, who studies emergency medicine at Yale. People are now living longer, he said, resulting in more complicated illnesses. In 2003, there were 965,000 staffed hospital beds compared to 913,000 in 2023, according to the American Hospital Association. And another JAMA research letter published in February shows there are 16% fewer staffed beds in the U.S. post-pandemic. The ones available may be prioritized for "scheduled care" patients who need non-urgent procedures, like cancer care or orthopedic surgeries. Insurance companies pay hospitals more for those surgeries, Haddock said, so hospitals aren't likely to move patients into those bedseven as emergency rooms fill up. The Riverside Medical Center Emergency Department in Kankakee, Ill., is seen on Jan. 29, 2025, where Nancy Fregeau said she took her husband, Michael Reeman, three times in 2024. Credit: Benjamin Thorp/WFYI Public Media via AP Where can people go? Though long stays in the emergency department are common, there isn't good data that tracks the extremes, emergency medicine experts said. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently ended a requirement that hospitals track the "median" wait times in their emergency departments. An advisory group that develops quality measures for CMS recommended that the agency try to more accurately capture long emergency department stays. That measure has recently been submitted to CMS, which can choose to adopt it. Patients' families worry that long emergency room stays may make things worse for their loved ones, forcing some to search for limited alternatives to turn for support and care. Nancy Fregeau lives in Kankakee, Illinois, with her husband Michael Reeman, who has dementia. Last year, she said he visited the Riverside Medical Center emergency department several times, often staying more than four hours and in one case more than 10, before finally getting access to a behavioral care bed. Riverside declined to comment on Reeman's case. During long waits, Fregeau doesn't know what reassurance she can offer her husband. "It's hard enough for anyone to be in the ER but I cannot imagine someone with dementia being in there," she said. "He just kept saying 'When am I going? What's happening?'" Since November, Reeman has been going to the MCA Senior Adult Day Center in Kankakee. Fregeau said Reeman treats the day center like it's his job, offering to vacuum and clean, but comes home happier after having time around other people and away from the house. In Illinois, there are fewer adult day centers than there are counties, and other resources for people with dementia are shrinking, too. A report from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living found that 1,000 nursing homes in the U.S. closed between 2015 and 2022. At least 15 behavioral health centers, which are facilities that specialize in treating mental health issues, closed in 2023. With fewer places for patients to go after being discharged, hospital beds are being used for longer, exacerbating the boarding problem. It's becoming more difficult to get a specialty hospital bed, especially when patients' dementia causes aggression. That was the case for Balhan's father, who became increasingly agitated during his ER stay. Hospital staff told Balhan the behavioral care unit wasn't taking dementia patients, so Speer was stuck in the ER for 24 hours until they found a behavioral health facility, separate from the health system, that would take him. While the hospital couldn't comment on Speer's specific situation, Endeavor Health spokesperson Spencer Walrath said its behavioral care unit typically admits geriatric psychiatry patients, including those with dementia, but it depends on factors like bed availability and the patient's specific medical needs. Balhan feels that the U.S. health care system failed to treat her dad as a human being. "It didn't feel to me like he was being treated with any dignity as a person," she said. "If anything could change, that would be the change that I would want to see." 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A female gray seal tending to her pup on the beaches of Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Gray seals only nurse their pups for 15-20 days before the female leaves and the pup must learn to forage on its own. Credit: Michelle Shero, under permits: NMFS 25794 and Parks Canada SINPR-2023-45671-2. Wild animals that have acquired adaptations to maximize their reproductive output in some of the world's most extreme conditions may provide answers to some of the most pressing problems in the field of human reproductive health. A newly published article by Michelle Shero, assistant scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) Biology Department, examines how the study of seals in particular can benefit human health, and it integrates various research on the topic. "When people think about biomedical research, they probably don't immediately think about wildlife such as birds, cheetahs, bears, or sealsbut they should," said Shero. Several aspects of the life history of seals that could provide significant insight into their reproductive physiologyas well as that of humansinclude female seals' ability to undergo lengthy fasting and lose about 30% of their body weight while nursing a pup. Seals also have an exceptional ability to hold their breath for up to two hours in some species, for long dives. The article offers another lesson from seals, through their ability to "pause" pregnancy, in a process known as embryonic diapause, so they can give birth in more advantageous environmental conditions, such as in warmer weather or when there is greater availability of food, according to Shero. "The 'clever' solutions wild animals have found to make a living (and thrive) at the ends of the earth can challenge assumptions and encourage a different way to address an issue," states the journal article, titled "How adaptive solutions from marine mammal life history could address pressing problems in reproductive biomedicine," published in F&S Reports. A female gray seal nursing her pup on the beaches of Sable Island, Nova Scotia. Gray seals give birth once a year and females will quickly lose ~30% of their body mass while the pup triples in size during a short nursing period of only 15-20 days. Credit: Michelle Shero, under permits: NMFS 25794 and Parks Canada SINPR-2023-45671-2. For example, marine mammals challenge the notion that insulin resistance is always detrimental, the article notes. "Instead of seals experiencing the negative effects people have with diabetes, insulin resistance may be advantageous in seals and other marine mammals in order to help these animals break down fats while preserving important muscle mass throughout the long fasts they endure while nursing," said Shero. In humans, gestational diabetes can be especially dangerous because if the mom has too much glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream, it may also be transferred to the fetus, causing the fetus to grow too quickly and increasing the likelihood of birthing complications. However, seals appear to manipulate how glucose is transferred between maternal and fetal blood differently from all other animals studied to date, and may provide insight into early intervention for human pregnancies with gestational diabetes, the article indicates. While human fetuses can suffer life-long or fatal complications due to oxygen deprivation during birth, seals provide lessons in their ability to withstand extremely low oxygen levels as a routine event in everyday lifemaking long dives. "What marine mammals do to make it possible for them to dive for so long is really amazing. First, they carry so much more oxygen in their bodies than terrestrial mammals do. Then, the seals manage it really carefullygiving oxygen to the most sensitive organs such as the heart and brain, while almost entirely cutting off oxygen to other organs and musclesto slow down their oxygen use," said Shero. "Finally, seals can tolerate much lower oxygen levels than human divers or even mountain climbersand they can essentially 'run on fumes' once they have largely used their internal stores of oxygen," Shero continued. "This is even more incredible when we consider the fact that every time the adult seal dives, her fetus is brought along and responds in much the same way on all those dives too." Shero surveying a Weddell seal colony in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Credit: Shawn Johnson, under permits: NMFS 23273 In the article's final lesson from the seals, Shero said scientists think embryonic diapause could be a capability inherent in the background across mammals, including humans. Learning how to hit pause on pregnancy until conditions are optimal, like seals do, would be a breakthrough for potentially improving the success rates for human in-vitro fertilization, the article noted. Early-stage embryos are often frozen for IVF, and the freezing process can cause damage. If the embryos could instead naturally slow or "pause" their growth, this problem could be avoided altogether, and the embryos could stay on hold until they could be successfully implanted, Shero explained. The article shows that wild animals navigating their natural world can provide new perspectives regarding important issues in reproductive health. "In seeking ways to improve human health, we should be looking to the extraordinary feats of wild animalsthey have often found the most innovative solutions," the article states. More information: Michelle R. Shero, How adaptive solutions from marine mammal life history could address pressing problems in reproductive biomedicine, F&S Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.xfre.2025.02.004 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A health care worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Oct. 5, 2021, in Miami. Credit: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File A key vaccine advisory committee met for the first time under new U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a leading voice in the U.S. anti-vaccine movement. Tuesday's meeting was, to some extent, business as usual, though with a major question looming: Who would evaluate the committee's recommendations? The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' two-day meeting took up vaccine policy questions that had been put on hold when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abruptly postponed the panel's February meeting. "It will be striking" if the meeting is routine, given "signals and alarms" that suggest changes and perhaps reductions in federal vaccination efforts, said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher who studies government health agencies. But Tuesday's meeting started fairly routine, with most members joining through a webcast. They discussed an mpox vaccine and how the winter flu and COVID-19 seasons were going. CDC official asks about COVID-19 vaccines The conversation took a turn when a CDC official summarized a committee workgroup discussion about the waning COVID-19 pandemic, and asked whether the panel might consider changing vaccination recommendations. For example, instead of recommending seasonal shots for all Americans 6 months and older, should the recommendations be more focusedat least for certain age groupson people with chronic illnesses or otherwise at higher risk? A sign stands at an entrance to the main campus of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File "I guess I am surprised we're considering a risk-based recommendation," said committee member Dr. Denise Jamieson, dean of the University of Iowa's medical school. She worried it will be harder to implement, and may cause more headaches for patients who want to get shots and have them covered by insurance. Dr. Jamie Loehr, a family medicine doctor in Itasca, New York, said he is happy the committee is considering a risk-based recommendation but also worried about feasibility and the message it would send. "COVID is still a fairly dangerous disease and very, very common," he said. "We are not talking about 10 cases of mpox. We are talking about thousands of hospitalizations and deaths." A vote on the idea could come at the next committee meeting, scheduled for June. Who will take up the committee's recommendations? The 15-member panel of outside scientific experts, created in 1964, makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC directors almost always approve those recommendations on how Food and Drug Administration-cleared vaccines should be used. The CDC's final recommendations are not binding, but for decades they have been widely heeded by doctors and determine the scope and funding of vaccination programs. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr speaks during a Make Indiana Healthy Again initiative event in Indianapolis, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Michael Conroy The committee was slated to vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to make new recommendations regarding three kinds of vaccines, including one for meningitis and another to prevent a mosquito-borne illness called chikungunya. It's not clear who would decide whether to accept those recommendations. The Trump administration named Susan Monarez as acting CDC director in January, and last month picked her to lead the agency. But while she's awaiting Senate confirmation, Monarez has essentially recused herself from regular director duties because of federal law around vacancies, said two CDC officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss agency matters and feared being fired. That means any committee recommendations made Wednesday seems likely to fall to Kennedy. When an AP reporter asked an HHS spokesperson, he said he was looking into the question but did not immediately have an answer. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy told lawmakers he is not "antivaccine." But since taking office, he has promised to "investigate" children's shots and to take a new look at the possibility of links between childhood vaccinations and autisma theory that has been debunked by a number of studies, including at least a dozen that involved CDC researchers. The panel's chair, Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, said she didn't know who would decide whether to sign off on any recommendations. 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Abortion-rights activists rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file Fewer people crossed state lines to obtain abortions in 2024 than a year earlier, a new survey has found. The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, estimates in a report released Tuesday that the overall number of clinician-provided abortions in states where it's legal rose by less than 1% from 2023 to 2024. But the number of people crossing state lines for abortions dropped by about 9%. The report, based on a monthly survey of providers, is the latest look at how the abortion landscape in the U.S. has evolved since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in 2022 in a ruling that eliminated a national constitutional right to abortion and opened the door to state bans and restrictions. The total number of abortions continued to rise Guttmacher estimates there were 1.04 million abortions in 2024, up about 1% from its total the previous year. Multiple studies have found that the total number of abortions in the U.S. has risen since Dobbs, despite some states implementing bans. Twelve states currently enforce abortion bans with limited exceptions at all stages of pregnancy. Four more have bans that kick in after about six weeks, which is before many women know they're pregnant. Guttmacher's tally does not capture self-managed abortions such as people obtaining abortion pills from community networks, foreign pharmacies or through telehealth from medical providers in states that have laws intended to protect those who send pills into places with bans. There's a court battle over the constitutionality of such laws. But another survey found that the number of telehealth pills being sent into states with bans has been growing and accounted for about 1 in 10 abortions in the U.S. by the summer of 2024. Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist at Guttmacher, said even though the number of abortions is up, it's likely some people who would like to end their pregnancies are not able to. "We know that some people are accessing abortion through telehealth," he said. "And we know it's not an option for everybody." Travel for abortions declined The number of people crossing state lines for abortions dropped to about 155,000 from nearly 170,000. The year-to-year impact varies by state. For instance, about 1 in 8 abortions in Florida in the first half of 2023 were provided to people coming from out of state. By the second half of 2024when a ban on abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy took effectonly about 1 in 50 were for people from another state. More people traveled to states including Virginia and New York after the Florida law took hold. A drop in people traveling to Minnesota could be linked to abortions being offered again in clinics in Wisconsin. Most abortions in Kansas are provided to people from elsewhere and the number grew as clinic capacity expanded. Obstacles under bans affect some women more than others A working paper released in March provided different insight into the impact of the bans. It found that birth rates rose from 2020 to 2023 in counties farther from abortion clinics. Rates rose faster for Black and Hispanic women, those with lower education levels, and people who are unmarried. "The takeaway is that distance still matters," said Caitlin Myers, a Middlebury College economic professor and one of the authors of the working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. "It really wasn't obvious that that would be the case." "These bans are more than just policies; these are direct attacks on bodily autonomy," said Regina Davis Moss, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda. The bans also exacerbate the huge disparities in maternal mortality for Black women in the U.S, she said. Black women died around the time of childbirth at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women in 2023. "We're going to be faced with increasing numbers of births, which is going to increase the maternal mortality rate, the infant mortality rate and inequities in care," she said. "It's very upsetting and sad." Bree Wallace, director of case management at the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund in Florida, which helps with the logistics and costs of abortions, said people who consider getting an abortion don't always know their options. "Many people don't know their choices or think that it's just not possible to go out of state," she said. "A lot of people hear 'ban' or 'six-week ban' in their state and that's it." 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Maduwa Geawi (left) was one of the first patients to receive the new BPaL/M treatment for tuberculosis in Daru. Credit: Burnet Institute A new all-oral treatment regimen for patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis has commenced in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Implemented by the National Tuberculosis Program in Papua New Guinea, with support from Burnet Institute, the TB Alliance, the Australian Government, and the World Health Organization (WHO), the new regimen slashes treatment duration by two-thirds, bringing total treatment time down to six months and increasing success rates. BPaL/M treatment is an oral regimen that consists of the TB drugs bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid, with or without moxifloxacin, and is recommended by the WHO. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a major threat in the region, with an estimated 2,400 cases annually in PNG alone. Burnet Deputy Country Director Dr. Shahidul Islam said it was a breakthrough to be able to offer this treatment to patients. "It is the best treatment currently available for drug-resistant tuberculosis and is endorsed by the World Health Organization," he said. "This is a huge step forward for these patients and for the health of people in Papua New Guinea more broadly." National Tuberculosis Program Manager Dr. Herolyn Nindil said the new treatment would help address the high rates of drug-resistant TB in the country. "It is an incredible milestone to now be offering this new treatment regimen in Port Moresby and Daru," she said. "I look forward to seeing more patients offered this treatment as the program starts to expand into other provinces like Morobe. This new regimen will benefit patients by reducing the duration of treatment and has the potential to reduce the hospital costs associated with the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis by up to 60%," she said. Dr. Evangeline Madike from Daru General Hospital said the treatment was an enormous improvement in patient care. "Being able to treat patients in shorter timeframes allows us to take on more patients, which reduces the number of people living with, and transmitting, tuberculosis," she said. "The new treatment regimen also has a much higher success rate, which we hope will help reduce the incidence of TB." Maduwa Geawi was one of the first patients to receive the treatment in Daru. "I had no symptoms and didn't realize I had tuberculosis," he said. "It was only through a routine screening that the tuberculosis was picked up. I am happy that I will only need to take this treatment for six months, rather than 18 months." The introduction of BPaL/M in Papua New Guinea, follows successful implementation of the treatment in various other countries in the region and worldwide. Press Release April 14, 2025 Legacy for Gen Z, Alpha, Beta: TOL hails West Philippine Sea inclusion in Google Maps Senate Majority Leader Francis 'TOL' Tolentino today said that the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is "slowly, but surely gaining recognition" from the international community and reputable global institutions - the latest being its inclusion in Google Maps. "Growing global recognition for WPS represents a victory for all Filipinos. It is also an affirmation of the correctness of the Philippines' current policy to assert its sovereign rights in line with international law and multilateralism," said Tolentino, principal author of the landmark Philippine Maritime Zones Law (Republic Act 12064). It should be noted that the WPS, along with the Talampas ng Pilipinas - a resource-rich undersea rise located in Luzon's eastern seaboard - were defined and enshrined under the so-called 'Tolentino Law.' "Equally significant are the statements of support that the Philippines has been receiving from several nations, including global leaders like the United States and European Union," he stressed. Tolentino clarified that the Philippines' cause is being driven not just by the government's efforts - but also the active online presence and patriotism of Filipinos. "The world is taking notice because of our unity and collective efforts as a people. And this is despite the aggressive actions of China to drive away Philippine government ships and fishermen from our very own exclusive economic zone," he pointed out. Tolentino hopes Google Maps will integrate the Talampas next. Currently, the region still appears as Benham Rise on the app. "This may change soon," as Tolentino noted that the map for the Talampas ng Pilipinas was officially received by the International Seabed Authority last March 27, 2025. To note, it was through Tolentino's Law that Benham Rise was officially renamed Talampas ng Pilipinas. "This is our legacy for the next generation and beyond. I hope to see in my lifetime the energy resources from WPS and Talampas ng Pilipinas being harnessed by Filipinos for Filipinos, and bringing us on the path to industrialization and prosperity," Tolentino concluded. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned Kalapi Shah, a deemed director of Teji Mandi Analytics Pvt Ltd (TMAPL), from accessing the securities market for five years due to his involvement in fraudulent activities linked to Anugrah Stock and Broking Pvt Ltd (ASBPL). Mr Shah played a key role in facilitating unregistered portfolio management services (PMS) which were misleadingly offered as derivative advisory services (DAS). SEBIs investigation revealed that Mr Shah, along with Anugrahs promoters Paresh Mulji Kariya, Sadhana Paresh Kariya and Om Sri Sai Investments, engaged in deceptive practices such as promising guaranteed returns and manipulating records. These actions contributed to a significant financial scam. In the order, G Ramar, chief general manager (CGM) of SEBI, says, Mr Shah, as a deemed director of TMAPL, was responsible for the companys daily operations during the period of ASBPLs fraudulent activities. He failed to exercise due diligence and took no steps to prevent or distance himself from the misconduct. Therefore, his claim of ignorance cannot absolve him of responsibility, and his submission is not accepted. This action stems from an earlier SEBI order issued on 28 February 2023 which found ASBPL and its associates guilty of fraudulent activities. Mr Shah, identified as an associated person (AP) of TMAPL, was deeply involved in the operations. Although his wife, Riddhi Kalapi Shah, was also connected to TMAPL, she was not involved in its day-to-day functioning. Mr Shah had previously offered to accept a three-year ban if found guilty, but due to the severity of his role, he was given the maximum five-year ban. ASBPL and its associates promoted unregistered PMS while misleading investors by promising fixed returns and altering documents. TMAPL, as ASBPLs authorised partner, acted as a coordinator between clients and ASBPL without disclosing the unregistered nature of the services. Although Mr Shah did not hold a formal title at TMAPL, he was actively managing the daily operations, signing board resolutions, handling banking transactions and communicating with clients. These activities made him a central figure in the fraudulent scheme. Mr Shah defended himself by claiming that he was merely following the instructions of Anil Gandhi, TMAPLs director, and had no knowledge of the illegal operations. He also argued that TMAPL did not receive client funds or provide PMS directly. However, SEBI rejected this argument, citing evidence of Mr Shah's direct involvement and control over operations. SEBI's investigation also found that key emails had been deleted, likely to conceal the extent of the wrongdoing. These findings reinforced SEBIs view that Mr Shah was not only aware of the misconduct but actively helped facilitate it. SEBI order emphasised that under Section 27 of the SEBI Act, individuals who manage a companys daily operations can be held liable even if they are not formally directors. Despite Mr Shah's claims, his involvement in facilitating fraudulent PMS offerings was evident. SEBI concluded that TMAPL, under Mr Shah's control, played a central role in coordinating ASBPLs unregistered and unlawful investment services which violated the SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations and the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act. You may also want to read Taking cognisance of allegations of falsification of documents by Ahmedabad-based Gensol Engineering Ltd (Gensol), market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to appoint a forensic auditor to examine the company's books, citing serious financial irregularities, misappropriation of funds\ and misleading disclosures. SEBI barred the company promoters and chief executive officer (CEO) Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi from markets besides restricting them from being appointed directors of any other listed company. It also put on hold the stock split announced by Gensol till further notice. SEBI's order comes after a detailed investigation revealed prima facie evidence of large-scale diversion of funds by the Gensols top executives through a web of related parties. It asked the forensic auditor to submit the report within six months. In an order, Ashwani Bhatia, whole-time member (WTM) of SEBI says, "What has been witnessed in the present matter is a complete breakdown of internal controls and corporate governance norms in Gensol, a listed company. The promoters were running a listed public company as if it were a propriety firm. The Company's funds were routed to related parties and used for unconnected expenses, as if the Company's funds were promoters' piggybank. The result of these transactions would mean that the diversions mentioned above would, at some time, need to be written off from the Company's books, ultimately resulting in losses to the investors of the Company." "In the instant case, prima facie evidence of blatant violation of rules of corporate governance is writ large over the workings of the Company. The diversion of funds of the Company by promoter entities reflects a culture of weak internal control, where even ring-fenced borrowings from institutional creditors were rerouted at the total discretion of the promoters. The internal controls at Gensol appear to be loose and through the quick layering of transactions, funds have seamlessly flowed to multiple related entities or individuals," the SEBI WTM says. SEBI also noted that the promoter holding in Gensol has already come down substantially to 35% as of 31 March 2025 from 70.72% in FY19-20 and there is a risk of the promoters Jaggis further off-loading the shares on gullible investors. "Thus, investors need to be made aware of the alleged wrongdoings detailed above through regulatory action. At the same time, allowing Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi to remain at the helm of affairs as directors or key management personnel (KMPs) in the Company is likely to do further damage to the interests of the Company." Gensol recently announced stock split of its shares in the ratio of 1:10, which is likely to attract more retail investors to the scrip. "At this stage, allowing this corporate action may not be in the interest of the investors. Gensol is directed to put on hold the stock split announced by it," the SEBI WTM says. Last month, ICRA and CARE Rating downgraded the ratings assigned by them for fund-based and non-fund-based credit facilities availed by Gensol to 'D' due to delays by the Company in servicing debt obligations. The market regulator found that funds raised by Gensol through loans from public financial institutions, notably the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC), intended for the procurement of electric vehicles (EVs), were siphoned off through layered transactions. These included alleged payments towards personal luxury real estate purchases, foreign currency transactions, and investments in related entities. Notably, SEBIs probe found that although the company secured loans to purchase 6,400 EVs, it procured only 4,704, with significant discrepancies in fund deployment. A key supplier, Go-Auto, acted as a conduit for routing the funds to various related parties, including Capbridge Ventures LLP and Gensol Ventures Pvt Ltdentities controlled by the Jaggi brothers. Gensol also came under fire for making allegedly misleading stock exchange announcements, including exaggerated claims about EV pre-orders and a non-binding agreement for the sale of its US subsidiary. SEBI found no active manufacturing activity at the companys EV plant in Pune, despite claims of large-scale operations. Further compounding the issue, the company failed to disclose multiple loan defaults and submitted falsified documents to credit rating agencies in an attempt to cover up its financial instability. Promoters are also accused of using Wellray Solar Industries Pvt Ltd, a connected entity, to trade in Gensols shares, raising concerns over market manipulation. You may also want to read... In a major development in the ongoing investigation against the Sahara group, the Kolkata office of the directorate of enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached over 707 acres of land in and around Aamby Valley City near Lonavala in Maharashtra. The land, with an estimated market value of Rs1,460 crore, has been seized under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. According to ED, this land was purchased in benami names using funds allegedly diverted from various Sahara group entities. The investigation was initiated based on three first information reports (FIRs) registered by police in Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan under Sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. In total, over 500 FIRs have been filed across the country against Sahara entities and associated individuals, with more than 300 related to offences listed under the PMLA. The ED alleges that Sahara group operated a massive Ponzi scheme through multiple companies and cooperative societies, including Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd (HICCSL), Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd (SCCSL), Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Cooperative Society (SUMCS), Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd (SMCSL), Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL), Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) and Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL). These entities are accused of luring depositors and agents with promises of high returns and commissions, collecting money in an unregulated manner and failing to repay maturity amounts. Instead, depositors were allegedly forced or misled into reinvesting their funds into other schemes, creating a false illusion of repayment. The ED claims the Sahara group manipulated its books to show reinvestments as fresh investments and continued to accept new deposits, despite being unable to meet existing obligations. Part of the money collected from depositors was allegedly siphoned off to fund personal expenses and create assets in the names of proxies. The agency further revealed that the group sold some of its assets in cash, off the record, denying rightful claims to its investors. Searches conducted under Section 17 of the PMLA led to the seizure of Rs2.98 crore in unexplained cash. Statements from depositors, agents, Sahara employees and other individuals have been recorded as part of the investigation. The EDs latest move adds to the mounting legal pressure on the Sahara group which has been accused of defrauding lakhs of small investors. The attachment of land in the ultra-luxurious Aamby Valley once a symbol of Saharas grandeursignals intensified efforts to recover assets tied to the alleged fraud. The investigation is ongoing. In February this year, the Indian government has announced that Rs2,025.75 crore has been disbursed to 1.16mn (million) depositors of the Sahara group of cooperative societies as of 28 January 2025. It includes depositors of SCCSL, Saharayan Universal Multipurpose Society Ltd, HICCSL and SMCSL, Amit Shah, the Union minister of cooperation, informed the Lok Sabha. The ongoing refund process follows a Supreme Court order dated 29 March 2023 in connection with an interlocutory application filed by the ministry of cooperation in case WP (C) No.191/2022 (Pinak Pani Mohanty vs Union of India & Others). The Court directed that Rs5,000 crore be transferred from the 'Sahara-SEBI Refund Account' to the central registrar of cooperative societies (CRCS) for distribution among legitimate depositors. The disbursement is being carried out under the supervision of justice R Subhash Reddy, a former judge of the Supreme Court and assisted by advocate Gaurav Agarwal who has been appointed as amicus curiae. The process ensures that funds reach eligible depositors securely and transparently, the government says. Moneylife Foundation has been tracking the troubles faced by investors of Sahara's various cooperative societies and has also hosted a Telegram group for aggrieved investors to coordinate and collectively find solutions to their problems. The group, which was formed during the pandemic, has over 600 members who regularly post about their experiences and share updates whenever one of them receives a refund. (Read: Sahara CRCS Refund Portal: A Year of Delays, Many Still Waiting for Payout In 2023, the Supreme Court ordered a portion of the funds (Rs5,000 crore) retrieved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to be transferred to the Union ministry of cooperation to facilitate refunds to the investors. The apex court had ruled that the Rs5,000 crore should be paid to the legitimate depositors of the Sahara group of cooperative societies as soon as possible, but no later than nine months from the date of the ruling. Any remaining funds would then have to be transferred back to the Sahara-SEBI refund account. The Supreme Court on Tuesday cautioned judges against making inappropriate observations in cases involving sexual violence against women (In Re: Order dated 17.03.2025 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Revision No. 1449/2024 and Ancillary Issues). A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih took exception to a recent observation by the Allahabad High Court that the woman herself had invited trouble and was responsible for the alleged rape committed against her. Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh of the High Court had made this comment on March 11 while granting bail to an accused who was arrested in December 2024 for alleged rape of a woman he had met at a bar in Hauz Khas, Delhi. The Supreme Court today said that while grant of bail is the discretion of the judge depending on the facts of each case, such unwarranted observations against the complainant should be avoided. "There is another order now by another judge. Yes bail can be granted. But what is this discussion that 'she herself invited trouble etc'. One has to be careful when saying such things especially on this side (judges)," Justice Gavai remarked. "Complete justice should not only be done but also seen to be done. How a common person perceives such orders will also have to be seen," said Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The top court made the observation while hearing a suo motu case initiated by it in relation to another case in which the Allahabad High Court had held that acts of grabbing a child victim's breasts, breaking the string of her pyjama and attempting to drag her beneath a culvert do not constitute the offence of rape or attempt to rape The Court had taken up the matter suo motu after the judgment was brought to the notice of Court by an organisation 'We the Women of India'. The apex court had on March 26 stayed the High Court order after finding that the order reflected lack of sensitivity on the part of the High Court judge who passed the same and it was not a spur of the moment order. It had also sought responses from the Central government and the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government on the matter and also sought the assistance of Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani and SG Tushar Mehta. When the matter was taken up today, the Court deferred the hearing by four weeks. "Let the case be listed after 4 weeks. Let service on respondents be completed," the Bench directed. The Allahabad High Court had made the controversial observations on March 17 while modifying a summoning order. The High Court had altered the charges against the two accused, who were originally summoned to stand trial under Section 376 IPC (Rape) and Section 18 (Punishment for attempt to commit an offence) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The High Court instead directed that the accused be tried under the lesser charge of Section 354-B IPC (assault or use of criminal force with intent to disrobe), along with Sections 9/10 of the POCSO Act (aggravated sexual assault). While doing so, Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra had observed, "...the allegation against accused Pawan and Akash is that they grabbed the breasts of the victim and Akash tried to bring down lower garment of the victim and for that purpose they had broken string of her lower garments and tried to drag her beneath the culvert, but due to intervention of witnesses they left the victim and fled away from the place of incident. This fact is not sufficient to draw an inference that the accused persons had determined to commit rape on victim as apart from these facts no other act is attributed to them to further their alleged desire to commit rape on the victim." The allegations hardly constitute an offence of attempt to rape in the case, the High Court had said. "In order to bring out a charge of attempt to rape the prosecution must establish that it had gone beyond the stage of preparation. The difference between preparation and actual attempt to commit an offence consists chiefly in the greater degree of determination." As a result, the summoning order was modified, and the lower court was directed to issue a fresh summoning order under the revised sections. This led to the Supreme Court taking up the matter suo motu. Indias popular digital payment system, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has been experiencing frequent technical problems in recent weeks. Launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016, UPI handles massive volumes nearly 7,000 transactions every second across millions of users and banks. However, the recent outages have caused major disruptions for users and businesses. The trouble began on 26 March 2025, when NPCI reported intermittent technical issues that led to partial declines in UPI transactions. NPCI had faced intermittent technical issues owing to which UPI had partial decline. The same has been addressed now and the system has stabilised. Regret the inconvenience. NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) March 26, 2025 Similar problems occurred again on 1st and 2 April 2025, with banks reporting reduced success rates for payments. Today due to the financial year closing, some of the banks are facing intermittent transaction declines. UPI system is working fine, and we are working with the concerned banks for necessary redressal. NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) April 1, 2025 NPCI addressed the situation on social media, stating that the UPI network was stable but certain banks were experiencing fluctuations that affected transaction speeds. There were some intermittent declines in UPI due to fluctuations in the success rates in some banks. These fluctuations increased the latency in UPI network. NPCI has been working closely with them and UPI has been stable. NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) April 2, 2025 Then, on 12th April, another major outage hit, causing nationwide disruptions. Some media reports speculated that the Indian Premier League (IPL) season and increased betting activity were to blame for the spike in traffic. However, this may not be accurate. On the day of the outage, UPI processed 550mn (million) transactions less than the usual 620mn seen on many other days in March and April without issues. NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines. We are working to resolve the issue, and will keep you updated. We regret the inconvenience caused. NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) April 12, 2025 Deepak Abbot, co-founder of fintech firm IndiaGold, told Moneycontrol that the real problem lies in overwhelmed UPI servers, especially those of large banks like State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC Bank. These systems struggle to cope with transaction spikes, particularly during high-traffic events, he says. The broader issue is financial sustainability. UPI transactions are free of charge, meaning neither NPCI nor the banks and payment apps involved make any money from them. Despite this, all players are expected to keep upgrading their systems to handle the ever-growing number of transactions. From 1st to 13 April 2025 alone, NPCI handled nearly 7.86bn (billion) UPI and BHIM transactions worth over Rs11 lakh crore. Back in August 2023, the finance ministry clarified that UPI would remain free for users. They called it a 'digital public good' that boosts public convenience and economic productivity. While they acknowledged that service providers needed to recover costs, the government said this would be done through 'other means'. This announcement followed concerns raised after an RBI (Reserve Bank of India) discussion paper suggested possible charges for payment services in the future. A joint report by PhonePe and Boston Consulting Group argued that a small merchant discount rate (MDR)a fee merchants pay to accept digital paymentscould help build a more sustainable UPI business model. A suggested MDR of 0.2%-0.3% could cover the costs of acquiring and maintaining merchants on digital platforms, they said. Currently, UPI does not charge MDR, unlike debit and credit card transactions. The Payments Council of India (PCI), representing most of the industry, has urged the government to reintroduce MDR and let the market decide the rate. Before 2020, merchants paid less than 1% MDR on UPI transactions, but this was waived to promote digital adoption. Experts believe zero MDR helped boost digital payments, especially among small vendors. In 2022, a top industry expert told Moneylife that zero MDR for small merchants has actually benefited merchants and consumers in the initial days and led to massive adoption of digital payments, especially for small payments to roadside vendors and others. "However, the incentive becomes absurd when it is equally applicable to large-ticket spending and big players." "Why are we giving it free to big players like Amazon and Flipkart? Large offline and online retailers are not even bothered if the consumer uses UPI or other payment methods. They just want you to pay and complete the transaction. They do not want the customer to pay by cash because the returns for cash on delivery are around 25%. So 1% or 2% MDR has no bearing on such merchants," the expert pointed out. (Read: For How Long Will the UPI Ecosystem Survive without MDR Charges? For example, many e-commerce players, including Flipkart, Zomato and Swiggy, to name a few, have been levying a platform fee for every order. Even Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which manages railway ticket bookings, levy convenience fees from everyone for using its platform. Generally, convenience fees are not refundable, even if the ticket is cancelled. In other words, it is pure income for IRCTC. No wonder it is earning a huge profit year after year. UPI has transformed digital payments in India, making transactions fast, easy and free. But as the system grows and faces technical strain, questions arise about how long it can remain sustainable without generating any revenue. If service- providers are expected to continuously upgrade infrastructure without any compensation, the risk of more frequent outagesand a less reliable user experiencemay only increase. A long-term solution is needed to balance accessibility with operational costs. A graduate student at Montana State University was set to defend her final research paper in four days and graduate from her master's program in early May. Now shes suing the federal government to allow her to complete the final days of her studies. This student is one of two graduate students at MSU who filed a lawsuit Monday after they had their F-1 student visas revoked by the federal government last week. The other is a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering and physics who has been working towards his advanced degree for six years and is set to graduate in December. These students, who remain anonymous in court filings, are two of the hundreds of students nationwide who had their visas revoked in recent weeks as part of an immigration crackdown by the Trump Administration. Without proper visas, international students become undocumented and are required to leave the United States or face arrest or deportation. The federal government is also encouraging some students to self-deport instead of challenging these decisions in court. The two Bozeman-based plaintiffs are being represented by attorneys with the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) of Montana, and they are suing Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. In the complaint, the attorneys claim the federal government violated the students constitutional right to due process and a federal law that governs how government agencies conduct their business. Attorneys are requesting a pause in the immigration proceedings for the time being and are asking the court to reinstate the students visa status. Because both students work jobs tied to their studies, the visa revocation also makes them ineligible to receive income from those jobs. The requested emergency relief would restore Plaintiffs ability to safely remain in the United States so that they can complete their degreessomething they have spent years working towardsand any associated employment and training programs a necessity in supporting their livelihoods, the complaint reads. By contrast, Defendants can advance no substantial interest in terminating Plaintiffs F-1 student status. There were also two other students one at University of Montana and another at MSU who had their F-1 visas revoked last week. While the Trump Administration is cracking down on immigration and rescinding hundreds of student visas nationwide, they appear to be the first Montana-based students to have had their visas nixed. Interim Deputy Director of the ACLU of Montana, Alex Rate, explained the ACLU is representing these two students because they reached out to the organization about legal representation. The F-1 visa allows noncitizens to enter the United States as full-time students at certain approved education institutions. In order to qualify, applicants must fulfill certain criteria, including English proficiency (or be taking courses to that effect), and get approval from ICE, among other requirements. It remains unclear why these four students were chosen to have their status rescinded, and the federal government offered little in explanation. In other states, some have been targeted because of criminal offenses or participation in protests. Dan Carter, the director of communications for Montana State University Billings, said none of their 58 international students this semester, who come from 28 different countries, have had their visas revoked. Spokespersons for Carroll College, Montana Western and Montana Tech did not immediately respond to questions Monday about whether any of their students had visas revoked in recent weeks. As for the two plaintiffs, the ACLU said they have no criminal convictions and have never participated in any protest in the United States or elsewhere. The physics Ph.D. student, who is referred to as John Roe in the court filing, is a citizen of Iran. Roe was granted his visa in 2016; it is not set to expire until August 2026, according to the filing. The other plaintiff, a citizen of Turkey who is referred to as Jane Doe in the court documents, is days away from defending her masters thesis and graduating from the program after more than three years of graduate studies. Following the revocation of their visas, both are no longer eligible to work their university jobs, stripping them both of their only sources of income, the court filing explained. Whats more, Roes sister is a student in Colorado also relies on him for financial assistance. This sudden disruption has made him feel vulnerable and anxious, not only about his immediate situation but also about the stability and direction of his life in the years to come, the complaint reads. Roes entire academic and professional identity is rooted in the path he built in the United States, and the possibility of losing that is devastating. The ACLU suit referenced a case out of New Hampshire in which a Ph. D. candidate at Dartmouth had his student visa revoked without a clear explanation. He also sued the federal government, similarly claiming a lack of due process. A judge recently granted a stay in the case, allowing the student to continue his studies for the time being. Montana State News Bureau Reporter Carly Graf contributed to this report. After more than two decades at the helm of Kenyas Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu), Secretary General Francis Atwoli has signaled that he may soon step down. Speaking during the burial of George Oduor, Raila Odingas longtime bodyguard, Atwoli reflected on his long career and service under every Kenyan President since independence. He hinted that President William Ruto may be the last Head of State he serves under as Cotu boss. I have had the opportunity to serve all Presidents of Kenya since independence Maybe your(William Ruto) government will be the last one I serve before returning to Khwisero, Atwoli told mourners in Rutos presence. Atwoli went on to commend Ruto for attending Oduors funeral, pointing out that such a gesture was rare among past leaders. To tell the truth, not all of the Presidents Ive served under would have come to the funeral of someone like George, he added. Atwolis leadership at Cotu began in August 2001, making him the longest-serving trade unionist in the country. His tenure, however, has sparked frequent public debate, with many Kenyans questioning how long he plans to remain in office. Cotu Boss Responds to Term Limit Call from Prof. Kibwana That conversation recently reignited when former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana congratulated Atwoli and his wife, Mary Kilobi, on the birth of their son, Atwoli Jnr. In his congratulatory message posted on X, Kibwana urged Cotu to reflect on the possibility of introducing term limits for its top leadership. I heartily congratulate the Atwoli family for the new arrival in their family. Cotu (K) should give their Secretary General a well deserved Paternity Leave during which they can also discuss: Should Cotu and trade union leadership be a life tenure affair? Kibwana wrote. Atwoli, 75, didnt hold back in his response. He defended his long tenure by highlighting the reforms he has championed, including securing paternity leave for workers as part of the five labour laws he helped push through. Thanks Prof! First, I have fought for Kenyan workers to receive paternity leave as part of my work to bring about the five (5) sets of Labour laws. You realize that these laws and the Constitution of Kenya 2010, as in Article 41, have empowered the Kenyan worker above all else in the region. He also took a personal jab, pointing out that both he and Kibwana are age-matesand that Kibwana had recently been appointed a law professor at Daystar University. So, prof, make me understand, when does your profession come to and end? Can a professor really stop reading, teaching and writing? When will you stop engaging your mind? he posed. A Look at Francis Atwolis Long Career in Labour Leadership Francis Atwoli has held several key positions in Kenyas labour movement over the decades. He began his career in 1967 as a Senior Technician at the Kenya Posts & Telecommunication Corporation, a role he held until 1986. From 1971 to 1986, he also served as Branch Secretary for the Union of Posts and Telecommunication Employees. In 1986, Cotu appointed him as Director of Organizing, a position he held until 1994. That same year, he became the General Secretary of the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union, a post he continues to hold today. Atwoli rose to national prominence in August 2001 when he was elected Secretary General of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu). In addition to his long-standing role at the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu), Francis Atwoli holds several influential positions both regionally and internationally. He currently serves as an independent non-executive director at the National Bank of Kenya. At the regional level, he chairs the East African Trade Union Confederation and serves as President of the Trade Union Federation of Eastern Africa. Atwoli also holds the presidency of the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity, which represents workers interests across the continent. Globally, he represents Kenya on the governing body of the International Labour Organization (ILO). He also serves as a Vice President of both the International Labour Conference and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), further cementing his influence on the global labour stage. Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa has warned that Gen Z may find it difficult to defeat President William Ruto in the 2027 elections if they go up against him alone. Speaking in an interview on NTV on Monday, Wamalwa emphasized the importance of youth aligning with the broader opposition to increase their chances of unseating Ruto. He acknowledged that while Gen Z holds significant potential to influence the countrys political landscape, their numbers alone may not be enough to secure victory. Despite the existing trust gap between veteran leaders and the younger generation, Wamalwa called for an inter-generational partnership. He urged unity in the opposition, pointing out that together, they can build a stronger front to challenge Ruto. They (Gen Zs) have every reason to be cynical about some of us who have been in politics for long. But they say it takes a village to raise a child. It will take the whole country and an intergenerational partnership to rid this country of this regime, Wamalwa stated. He also warned against fragmentation within the opposition, suggesting that if the youth back their own presidential candidate without uniting with other factions, it would make it easier for Ruto to secure a second term. If we are divided, with Gen Z supporting their candidate and civil society backing another, it will be very easy for William Ruto to beat us, he cautioned. Wamalwa further highlighted the untested potential of the youth vote, with approximately 6 million young voters playing a decisive role in Kenyas political future. Were talking about around 6 million votes, an untested factor. People say young people dont vote because they have nothing to vote for, he added. The government has admitted that funds collected through the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) system were initially banked in Swiss accounts during the pilot phase of the program. In a statement issued on Monday, April 14, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura explained that the eTA system was launched in collaboration with a Swiss company, which managed the service during its early rollout. Mwaura clarified that the decision to use Swiss accounts was necessary due to the systems trial phase. However, he assured the public that with the pilot now completed, all future eTA collections would be deposited directly into the Consolidated Fund. There was a piloting phase for the eTA program, which was a collaboration between the Kenyan Government and a Swiss company, read the statement in part. The piloting has been completed, and all payments are now made through eCitizen and remitted to the Consolidated Fund. The statement came after reports surfaced alleging that a Swiss company had received billions of shillings from the eTA program, sparking concerns over the transparency of the arrangement, particularly because the funds had been held in foreign accounts. The eTA system, part of President William Rutos visa-free travel initiative, allows international travelers to obtain approval to visit Kenya electronically. Since its introduction, the program has generated substantial revenue from inbound tourism. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen revealed to Parliament that as of February 25, 2025, 1,596,799 eTA applications had been processed, generating $50,568,810 (Ksh6.5 billion). Of this, the service provider was entitled to $12,255,013.50 (Ksh1.5 billion). Mwaura reassured the public that the government has since transitioned to depositing all funds directly into the Consolidated Fund, marking the end of the pilot phase and the use of Swiss accounts. The Ministry of Health has sounded the alarm over the deteriorating state and overcrowding at Langata Cemetery, warning that the site now poses a serious public health and safety risk. Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni issued the warning while appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Implementation. She pointed to years of neglect and poor upkeep as key factors behind the cemeterys alarming condition. Citing a report from a select committee, Muthoni revealed that Langata Cemetery has reached a dangerous level of congestion. She warned that the overcrowding could trigger environmental pollution and increase the risk of disease outbreaks. The City County of Nairobi must ensure that all operations at Langata Cemetery follow public health regulations to prevent the spread of diseases, environmental hazards, and community distress, she said. MoH Urges Reclamation of Grabbed Land Muthoni stressed that if the Nairobi County Government fails to act swiftly, the Ministry of Health will not hesitate to declare the cemetery a public health hazarda move that could force its immediate closure. To address the crisis, Muthoni proposed the reclamation of a five-acre parcel of land next to the cemetery. She explained that the land is currently under illegal occupation and is home to residential buildings. Reclaiming it, she said, would provide essential space to ease the cemeterys overcrowding. Nairobi City County should urgently reclaim the grabbed land next to the cemetery. We advise that all necessary documentation be secured to facilitate ownership and expansion, she urged. Muthoni also called for the construction of a perimeter fence, noting that the unfenced cemetery has become a hotspot for criminal activity and is often breached by wild animals, putting public safety further at risk. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen is confident that President William Ruto will leave a lasting positive legacy once his time in office ends. Murkomen stated that although Rutos presidency has faced several hurdles, he remains certain that the head of state will steer the country toward prosperityultimately winning over the majority of Kenyans. He compared the current administrations difficulties to those experienced during former President Mwai Kibakis first term. According to Murkomen, Kibaki overcame similar setbacks and eventually gained widespread public support, which led to his re-election in 2007. He recalled that Kibaki had to reorganize his Cabinet just three years into his presidency following a failed referendum. At the time, Murkomen noted, many believed Kibakis political career was over, and potential Cabinet members were hesitant to join his team. Kibaki needed people to stabilize the country. So, he needed a broad-based government. And he had to go to KANU, to pick people like the late John Koech, to come in to stabilize his administration, he said during a memorial service for former Minister John Koech in Karen, Nairobi. Rutos Tough Start Mirrors Kibakis, But Success Is Coming Murkomen drew parallels between Kenyas current political climate and the turbulence witnessed during President Mwai Kibakis early years in office. What President Ruto did with the broad-based government is not new. Kibaki did the same, he said, adding that the challenges Ruto faces today are not unprecedented. He recalled that in 2005, Kibaki was widely unpopular, with many Kenyans complaining that the economy only served a privileged few. Everybody was saying uchumi ni ya watu wachache, Murkomen noted. Despite that backlash, he emphasized that Kibaki later emerged as one of Kenyas most celebrated presidents. I am confident that the future of this country is in safe hands and success is ahead, Murkomen declared. President Ruto will be re-elected and celebrated like President Kibaki in future as the most transformative leader. Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has urged parents to play a more active role in shaping their childrens values to avoid future regret. Speaking in Elgeyo Marakwet on Sunday, Murkomen emphasized the importance of nurturing the spiritual and mental wellbeing of children. He warned that harmful influences, especially those impacting childrens emotional and mental health, could have lasting negative effects. All of us given responsibility to take care of our young people, let us be mindful, not of the things we do, not of the money they are going to earn or infrastructure we are going to build, Murkomen said at an Interdenominational Church Service at AIC Kapngetik, Elgeyo Marakwet County. Let us be mindful of the soul and the minds of our children because whatever they will consume is what will destroy them, and its important for us to sow good seeds. The CS also cautioned that neglecting to properly guide children would bring painful consequences down the road. He expressed concern that some individuals tasked with mentoring young people are, in fact, leading them down harmful paths. When we will be old and my children will not be guided in the right path we will reap with a lot of pain and we will say we wish we guided the. If we do so, the security of our country will be in safe hands. Murkomen had accompanied President William Ruto to the African Inland Church in Kapngetik, Keiyo South, as part of his visit to Elgeyo Marakwet County. In the world of second citizenships, St Lucia and Vanuatu offer attractive options for individuals seeking greater mobility, security, and tax advantages. Both countries provide citizenship by investment programs that allow wealthy individuals to obtain a passport quickly. Lyle Julien, Investment Programs Expert at Immigrant Invest, compares Vanuatu and Saint Lucia Investment Citizenship, outlining the key requirements, benefits, and application processes. What are Vanuatu and St Lucia Investment Programs? Vanuatu and St Lucia offer citizenship by investment. This means that individuals can gain full citizenship in these countries by making a qualifying investment. For both, the process is designed to be straightforward and relatively quick, with the main difference being the specific types of investment required. St Lucias program includes several investment options, such as real estate, government bonds, or contributions to the National Economic Fund. To get Vanuatu citizenship, on the other hand, investors must make a direct contribution to the countrys economy. Both programs are highly popular for their efficiency and relatively low entry thresholds compared to other citizenship by investment routes in the Caribbean and elsewhere. St Lucia Passport Advantages St Lucia offers several benefits for individuals who obtain its citizenship. The St Lucia passport provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to many countries, including the European Union and most of the Caribbean. This makes it a highly valuable travel document for business and personal use. In addition to travel freedom, St Lucias citizenship also offers significant tax advantages. St Lucia does not tax foreign income, wealth, or capital gains, which is attractive for individuals looking to optimise their global tax situation. The country also has a stable political environment and a strong reputation for financial privacy. Requirements for Saint Lucia Citizenship The requirements for obtaining St Lucia citizenship are straightforward but involve a financial commitment. To qualify, applicants must make one of the following investments: Economic fund contribution. The minimum contribution starts at $240,000, making it an affordable entry point compared to other programs. Real estate investment. Investors must spend at least $300,000 on property, maintaining ownership for at least five years. This route appeals to those looking for a dual benefit of citizenship and potential real estate returns. Enterprise investment. The minimum required amount is $1 million, but investors can combine their efforts in a joint project. This path suits those interested in supporting business growth on the island. Government bonds. The starting investment for this option is $300,000, with zero interest paid on the bonds. Its ideal for individuals looking for a secure investment while securing citizenship. Infrastructure-project investment. The applicant invests $250,000 in government-approved projects that enhance the countrys infrastructure of St Lucia. Applicants must also meet the standard Due Diligence checks and provide necessary documents, including proof of legal source of funds and a clean criminal record. Requirements for Vanuatu Citizenship The Vanuatu citizenship by investment program has simpler requirements, focusing primarily on a financial contribution. The main investment option is a direct contribution to the Development Support Program, which starts at $130,000 for a single applicant. Additional family members can be added for an additional fee. The application process is straightforward, but applicants must still undergo thorough Due Diligence to ensure they meet Vanuatus criteria for good character and financial legitimacy. While Vanuatu does not require a residency period or language skills, applicants must demonstrate that they have no criminal record. Comparing Vanuatu and Saint Lucia Citizenship Programs Vanuatu and St Lucia offer different approaches to citizenship by investment, each with its own strengths. The St Lucia program is more diverse, offering multiple investment options, which might appeal to individuals who prefer flexibility. The investment amounts in St Lucia can vary widely depending on the chosen path, with real estate being a particularly popular option for those interested in long-term investments. On the other hand, Vanuatus program is simpler and quicker, with only one main investment option. The required contribution for Vanuatu is slightly higher than Saint Lucias National Economic Fund option, but it can still be considered an affordable and straightforward route for individuals seeking quick citizenship. Both countries offer excellent visa-free travel options, but St Lucia holds a slight edge due to its broader international access. However, Vanuatu offers the benefit of a faster processing time, often taking as little as 14 months, compared to 6 months for St Lucia. Application Process The application process for both countries is similar in that both require submitting documents, passing Due Diligence checks, and making an investment. For St Lucia, applicants must choose their preferred investment option and submit the necessary documents, including proof of funds and a clean criminal record. Once the government has completed its Due Diligence checks, the applicant will receive approval. Saint Lucia typically processes applications in about 8 months. For Vanuatu, the process is quicker, with most applications processed within 14 months. After the initial investment is made, applicants submit their documents, and the government conducts Due Diligence. The final approval is granted once all checks are complete. Both countries allow applicants to include family members in their applications, although the cost of adding dependents will vary between the two programs. Conclusion In conclusion, both St Lucia and Vanuatu offer strong citizenship by investment programs, each with its own set of advantages. Saint Lucia stands out for its flexibility in investment options and broader visa-free access, while Vanuatu offers a quicker, simpler process for those who need fast results. The Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF has awarded the Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing $2.35 million for a program to support Atlanta-area community college students as they complete their associates degree in nursing, continue bachelors and doctoral nursing studies at Emory, and pursue careers in nursing research and education. The Leadership and Educational Advancement Program in Nursing (LEAPN) will expand upon the success of Emory School of Nursings Bridges to the Baccalaureate program, a federally funded initiative from 2013-2018 in which the school partnered with Georgia Perimeter College to help transition associates degree students to Bachelor of Science in Nursing and PhD programs at Emory. Roxana Chicas, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Sarah Febres-Cordero, PhD, RN, were two of those students. After earning their doctorate, they joined the faculty at the School of Nursing. Chicas now researches occupational and environmental health, particularly the effects of heat exposure on farmworkers, and teaches public health nursing and evidence-based practice. Febres-Corderos research focuses on harm reduction, overdose education and naloxone distribution; she teaches evidence-based practice, public and population health nursing, and mental health. The Bridges to the Baccalaureate program taught me how research can improve quality of life for individuals and communities that you can take an entire population and make them your patient, says Chicas, who will serve as LEAPN director. I also have had the opportunity to teach my own students what I have learned providing a challenging academic experience where they can produce publications and present at conferences, ultimately preparing them for success as nurse scientists. The LEAPN program will support 20 high-achieving students with demonstrated financial need as they complete their associates degree at their community and technical college and then continue baccalaureate and doctoral studies at Emory. Key components of the program will include: Summer research intensives with paid stipends at Emory School of Nursing during and just after completing their associates degree. An adapted two-semester bachelors curriculum with tuition support from the Bedford Falls Foundation and the School of Nursing. One-to-one and group mentoring with Emory nursing faculty. Full tuition coverage and stipends for those who pursue their PhD. The program's students will come from backgrounds with limited access to the resources or opportunities for this kind of career exposure. Many of them, Chicas says, simply arent aware of the various opportunities available in nursing or the difference that nursing science can make. It is very exciting to think how this program will push students far beyond their imagination, she says. All it requires is some support. We are incredibly grateful to Bedford Falls for their generosity, which will help these motivated students give back to their communities and help humanity in the process. The Bedford Falls Foundation, a private foundation, and Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF, its associated donor-advised fund, were started by Carlyle Group Co-founder and Co-chairman Bill Conway, Jr., and his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway. Together, they seek to remove barriers to high-quality nursing education and address the critical nursing workforce shortage. This is the second gift from Bedford Falls to the Emory School of Nursing. Last year, the Bedford Falls Foundation awarded the school $1 million to support scholarships for bachelors degree students. We are pleased to partner with the Emory School of Nursing in this effort to support nursing students from associates degrees to PhDs, Bill Conway says. Where a nurse starts the nursing pathway should not limit how far they ultimately go. The program will begin recruiting students in Fall 2025. The School of Nursing will partner with three to five community and technical colleges in the Atlanta area. For more information, contact Chicas at rchicas@emory.edu. About the School of Nursing As one of the nations top nursing schools, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University is committed to educating visionary nurse leaders and scholars. Ranked the No. 1 masters, No. 1 BSN, and No. 8 DNP programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the school offers undergraduate, masters, doctoral, and non-degree programs. It brings together cutting-edge resources, distinguished faculty, top clinical experiences, and access to leading health care partners to shape the future of nursing and improve health and well-being. Learn more at nursing.emory.edu. PRNewswire Singapore, April 15: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced the 5L DynaDrive Single-Use Bioreactor (S.U.B.), designed to meet the evolving needs of modern bioprocessing. The 5L DynaDrive expands the company's robust portfolio of bioreactors, offering seamless scalability from 1 to 5,000 liters and accelerating bench-scale process development, while facilitating the cost-effective transition from bench to commercialization with consistent reactor design and film across all scales. * First-of-its-kind bench scale bioreactor enabling productivity, scalability and efficiency supporting reduced environmental impact "The introduction of the 5L DynaDrive marks a significant advancement in our commitment to helping customers maximize productivity and accelerate time to market," said Ray Mercier, president of Thermo Fisher's single-use technologies business. "With 25 years of experience in single-use technology, we are dedicated to meeting our customers' evolving needs. Our trusted innovations provide seamless scalability and enhanced efficiency, enabling customers to streamline their bioprocessing workflows and successfully develop and commercialize life-saving therapies." "The launch of the 5L DynaDrive Single-Use Bioreactor furthers our commitment to customer centricity and operational excellence, driving easier scale-up and enhanced bioprocessing capabilities across APJ," said Tony Acciarito, President of Thermo Fisher, Asia Pacific Japan. "This addition to our product portfolio will strengthen customer capabilities, accelerate access to life-saving therapies, and enable sustainable healthcare solutions tailored to the diverse needs of the region." The 5L DynaDrive single-use bioreactor is engineered to meet the diverse needs of large biopharma, Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs), and small biotech companies. Its user-friendly design and benchtop size enables use with the HyPerforma G3Lab Controller to provide exceptional scalability and scalable proof of concept, affordably. With a 27% increase in productivity compared to glass bioreactors, the 5L DynaDrive combines small size with high performance and offers effective scale-up with consistent design, software, and film across all sizes. The robust, reliable solution utilizes biobased films built on Thermo Fisher's existing Aegis film offerings and BioTitan Retention Devices, enabling minimized product loss and more sustainability. To learn more about Thermo Fisher's DynaDrive portfolio, please visit www.thermofisher.com/dynadrive. About Thermo Fisher Scientific Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com. (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 Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], April 15: In India, menstrual pain is often dismissed as a normal part of menstruation, leading many to suffer in silence for years. For many, this pain is more than just discomfort - it can be a serious medical condition called Endometriosis. Affecting nearly 10% of women of reproductive age, endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, leading to chronic pain, fertility challenges, heavy periods, and other complications. Despite the widespread prevalence, there is very little awareness about the disease, with an average of 7-10 years of delay of diagnosis before proper medical attention. To address this issue, Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road, Bangalore, organized an exclusive awareness session on 28th March 2025 to shed light on this often-overlooked disease. The event brought together leading medical experts to discuss symptoms, challenges in diagnosis, treatment options, and how to improve the quality of life for those living with endometriosis. Dr. Manish Rai, Zonal Director, Manipal Hospitals graced the event and shared his thoughts on women's overall health and how conditions like endometriosis have a profound impact on a woman's quality of life. About 50+ residents from neighbourhood societies attended the event, listening to the doctors and engaging with them through various queries. Dr. Aditi Godse, Consultant - Obstetrics & Gynaecology highlighted the varied symptoms of endometriosis and how societal misconceptions delay diagnosis. She noted, "Endometriosis is a complex condition that can severely impact a woman's daily life and emotional well-being. Many women are told to 'just endure it' because menstrual pain is normalized in our society. They don't seek help until the disease has progressed and symptoms like heavy bleeding, pelvic pain, painful sexual intercourse, and bowel/bladder issues begin to worsen. Thus, I want to request all women to listen to their bodies and seek medical help early. Remember - awareness can ensure early diagnosis and intervention, helping you lead healthier lives." Dr. Mala Sibal, Consultant - Fetal Medicine discussed the challenges of diagnosing endometriosis and how modern ultrasound techniques can improve early detection. "With endometriosis, diagnosis is especially difficult as many symptoms mimic other conditions. However, advanced imaging techniques like transvaginal ultrasound can help detect different types of endometriosis, from ovarian cysts to deep endometriotic lesions. A lot of times, the inaccessibility of advanced diagnostic facilities may contribute to misdiagnosis. Thus, the best way to reduce the suffering caused by this disease is by improving diagnostic accuracy and spreading awareness among both doctors and patients." Dr. Jayashree Veerappa Kanavi, Consultant - Obstetrics & Gynaecology elaborated on medical treatment options, explaining that while there is no cure, symptoms can be managed through hormonal therapy and pain relief strategies. She stated, "Medical management forms the backbone of endometriosis treatment. First-line treatments such as NSAIDs and hormonal therapies, including progestins and birth control pills, help in symptom relief and prevention of disease progression. In more severe cases, GnRH analogues may be used to cause a pseudo-menopausal state. While there is no definitive cure for endometriosis, the right treatment plan tailored to each woman's specific symptoms and needs can definitely improve her quality of life and reduce pain." Dr. Sadasivan S Iyer, Consultant - Anaesthesia and Pain Management focused on advanced pain management strategies that can help women who do not respond to conventional medications. "Chronic pain is a major challenging aspect of endometriosis, and many women endure it not just during menstruation but also during intercourse, urination, and bowel movements. When pain becomes resistant to conventional medication, we turn to advanced pain management techniques like nerve blocks, radiofrequency neuromodulation, and spinal cord stimulation which reduce dependency on painkillers and ensure women can function better in their daily routines. We must also recognize the psychological impact of chronic pain and provide support through counseling and lifestyle changes." Dr. Gayathri Karthik Nagesh, HOD & Consultant - Obstetrics & Gynaecology explained the role of surgery in endometriosis treatment, stressing that it should be a last resort but done with precision. She added, "While medical management is the first step, some endometriosis cases require surgery, especially when it affects fertility or causes unbearable pain. The first surgery is the most important one and it should be performed with precision to minimize complications and recurrence. Today, robotic and laparoscopic surgery in gynaecology provides better outcomes, with shorter recovery times and minimal damage to surrounding organs. The goal of endometriosis surgery is to provide complete relief while preserving fertility whenever possible. Surgery should only be done when necessary, and it is crucial to have an experienced surgeon to ensure the best possible outcome." Dr. Nagaraj Palankar, Consultant - Surgical Gastroenterology shed light on extrapelvic endometriosis, which can affect organs beyond the reproductive system. He highlighted, "Many people think endometriosis only affects the reproductive organs, but it can extend beyond the pelvis, into the intestines, bladder, abdominal wall, lungs, or the brain, in severe cases, leading to symptoms like bowel and urinary issues, severe pain, and internal bleeding. As these symptoms are so diverse, many go years without receiving the correct diagnosis. When endometriosis is this advanced, a multidisciplinary approach is often needed, including surgery, pain management, and hormonal therapy. Thus, awareness remains important to detect it early so complications like this can be avoided." With awareness initiatives such as this, Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road remains committed to supporting women suffering from this condition through education, advocacy, and appropriate care. For more information, please visit: https://www.manipalhospitals.com/oldairportroad/ Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2663954/Session_Diagnosis_Treatment_Manipal_Hospitals.jpg Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2663953/50_residents_at_event_Manipal_Hospitals.jpg Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2663952/Manipal_Hospital_Hosted_Event.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]/ Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], April 15: In just two years since its inception, Brrandom has emerged as the fastest-growing branding and digital marketing agency in Eastern India. Now, the trailblazing agency has taken a bold leap forward with the official launch of Brrandom Asia, a full-fledged operational hub based out of Malaysia -- making it the first homegrown agency from Eastern India to expand internationally with a physical presence and not just a virtual address. Founded by a team of experienced brand architects with over a decade of industry expertise and a proven track record of working with some of India's biggest brands, Brrandom has consistently challenged traditional norms in branding. Its vision: to deliver holistic, stereotype-breaking, tech-integrated branding solutions that bridge creativity, data, and cultural relevance. "Brrandom was built to challenge the conventional -- not just in design or content, but in how brands are imagined, built, and scaled," said Avik Guha, Co-Founder of Brrandom. "We're not here to follow trends. We're here to redefine what branding means in a borderless, digital-first world." Brrandom Asia aims to blend Indian strategic strength with Malaysian insights and talent to offer truly multicultural, scalable solutions. With a keen understanding of fragmented customer journeys and the need for real-time agility, the agency is poised to address regional challenges with AI-powered martech tools, performance-driven creative strategies, and fully trackable campaign ecosystems. "Malaysian businesses are innovating faster than ever, but face challenges we've already mastered -- from wasted ad spend to scattered data," said Safdar Hussain, Malaysia-based Co-Founder. "Our mission is to turn those challenges into growth opportunities, deeply rooted in the local culture." Looking ahead, Brrandom Asia is setting its sights on strategic expansion across Southeast Asia -- including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines -- through AI-driven platforms, affordable tech-first creative solutions, and on-ground partnerships. "Our success in India wasn't by chance -- we helped brands grow using breakthrough strategies, predictive analytics, data-driven insights and forward-thinking approaches," said Sadhak Mandal, Founding Partner. "Now, we're bringing that same firepower to Southeast Asia." The launch of Brrandom Asia also marks a celebration of Brrandom's two-year journey, fueled by disruptive thinking, cross-border collaboration, and a relentless focus on business outcomes. "We've built something truly unique -- where every campaign is measurable, every pixel accountable, and every idea global," added Amol Kale, Founding Member.. About Brrandom Founded in 2023, Brrandom is a new-age branding and digital solutions agency that blends strategy, technology, and creativity to deliver transformative brand outcomes. Headquartered in Kolkata with a new operational base in Malaysia, Brrandom works across industries -- from startups to legacy brands -- helping them scale meaningfully in the digital age. Media contact: Sadhak Mandal Co-Founder & COO 9831675904 Sadhak.m@brrandom.com https://brrandom.com/ (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) PNN New Delhi [India], April 15: Moscow, Russia's vibrant capital, is a city of immense scale and endless possibilities, attracting millions of travelers each year. In 2024, 85.8 thousand tourists from India visited the Russian capital, which is 40% more than in 2023. In terms of visitor arrivals, India ranked second among non-CIS countries, behind only China. Indian tourists come to Moscow not only for leisure: about 40% of them visit the city for business purposes, 30% for study, and another 24% for a classic tourist experience. Moscow is rightly regarded as a city that can cater to the interests of a wide variety of visitors. However, navigating its bustling streets and cultural landmarks requires careful planning to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. Drawing on extensive experience in travel planning, this article provides a practical checklist for visitors, covering how to book tours or tickets, where to dine on classic Moscow cuisine, and how to manage payments using the Tourist Card from Yoomoney--a reliable financial tool for tourists in Russia. Booking Tours and Tickets: Planning Your Journey The first step in preparing for a Moscow trip is securing your travel arrangements. For those seeking a structured experience, booking a tour through a reputable operator is advisable. Russia's most established tour operators offer a range of pre-designed Moscow itineraries that include visits to iconic sites such as Red Square, the Kremlin, and the Bolshoi Theatre. These tours can be booked online via their official website, with prices typically ranging from $300 to $500 for a 3-day package, depending on inclusions. Booking at least 1-2 months in advance is recommended, particularly during peak seasons like May holidays or New Year, when demand surges. Independent travelers should prioritize early ticket purchases for flights or trains. To maximize sightseeing, the Moscow CityPass is a valuable investment. This single ticket provides access to over 40 attractions, including the Kremlin, the Tretyakov Gallery, and a Moscow River cruise. A 1-day pass costs approximately $80 and can be purchased online, saving time by avoiding long queues at popular sites--a practical choice for a busy itinerary. Where to Dine: Savoring Moscow's Culinary Classics Moscow's dining scene is a rich tapestry of flavors, offering everything from traditional Russian fare to international cuisine. For an authentic taste of Russia, Cafe Pushkin on Tverskoy Boulevard is a must-visit. Known for its elegant 19th-century decor, the restaurant serves classics like borscht with garlic buns, pelmeni with veal, and the renowned Pavlova dessert. The average bill is around $40-$50 per person, reflecting the premium experience. Reservations are strongly advised, especially for dinner, and can be made through their website. Travelers seeking a blend of international and Russian cuisine can visit Bosco Cafe on Red Square, which boasts stunning views of the Kremlin. The menu features Italian-inspired dishes like pasta and risotto alongside Russian favorites, with an average bill of $50 per person. Booking a table in advance via their website is recommended to secure a spot with a view, especially for evening visits. Managing Payments: The Tourist Card from Yoomoney Navigating payments in Moscow can be challenging for international visitors, particularly due to restrictions on foreign cards like Visa and MasterCard, which are not widely accepted in Russia as of 2025. A practical solution is the Tourist Card from Yoomoney, a financial tool designed specifically for tourists. Here's how it works and how to make the most of it: Travelers can register for a Yoomoney profile and issue a virtual Tourist Card before leaving their home country. The process requires only a phone number--no Russian SIM card is needed--making it accessible for international visitors. This allows users to set up their payment method in advance. Once in Russia, the card can be topped up with cash at ATMs that support Yoomoney, providing a straightforward way to add funds using local currency. A plastic Tourist Card can be picked up at several locations, including Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, Yoomoney offices in Moscow, or the Aerostar Hotel. Alternatively, travelers can even order the card in advance and have it delivered by mail to their home country or a hotel in Russia, though a physical card isn't always necessary, as most places in Russia accept payments via the Yoomoney app using QR codes. Android users can add the card to Yoomoney Pay in the mobile app and pay by tapping their phone via NFC. For iOS users, payments can be made by scanning QR codes through the app--a widely accepted method across the country. The Tourist Card operates on Russia's Mir payment system, ensuring compatibility with local merchants, public transport, and attractions. With no monthly maintenance fees, it's a cost-effective choice for tourists, allowing seamless payments for dining, transportation, and more. Additional Tips for a Smooth Visit To enhance your Moscow experience, consider a few practical preparations. Download navigation apps to help with directions and public transport routes. Moscow's metro is the most efficient way to get around, and a Troika card--available for a $1 deposit (refundable)--offers rides at $0.70 each, a cost-effective alternative to single tickets. Comfortable shoes are a must, as exploring landmarks like Red Square, VDNKh, or Zaryadye Park involves plenty of walking. It's also wise to familiarize yourself with local customs. For instance, upscale venues like Cafe Pushkin or the Bolshoi Theatre often have a dress code, so avoid sportswear. When visiting religious sites like the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, women should bring a scarf to cover their heads, and men should avoid wearing shorts. Conclusion These easy steps will make your trip to the Russian capital as comfortable as possible. By following these tips, you can focus on the city's rich history, vibrant culture, and culinary delights. This will make your visit to the Russian capital a truly memorable experience. (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 New Delhi [India], April 15: With more Indians traveling overseas for family visits, jobs, education, or holidays, international travel has grown in popularity. Although organizing travel, lodging, and sightseeing takes precedence, one crucial component that should never be overlooked is travel insurance. Having travel insurance India guarantees that you are covered against unforeseen circumstances, regardless of whether you are traveling to crowded cities in the USA, picturesque Europe, or dynamic Southeast Asia. Your plans might be completely derailed by an unexpected sickness, a delayed flight, or misplaced luggage. You can handle such situations stress-free with the aid of travel insurance, which serves as a safety net. In order to prevent you from having to spend your funds during a crisis in a foreign nation, it provides financial coverage for medical crises, trip cancellations, and other unanticipated circumstances. Additionally, it satisfies certain visa criteria for specific places, making the visa procedure easier for Indian tourists. Being ready is crucial in the fast-paced world of today, when anything may happen at any time. When compared to selecting locations or activities, MakeMyTrip's travel insurance may not appear thrilling, yet it quietly supports each stage of your trip. Consider it a trustworthy travel companion that is always available, silent, and dependable. Why Indian Travelers Should Never Skip Travel Insurance Here's a closer look at how travel insurance, which provides much-needed support at all phases of a foreign trip, becomes a must-have tool for every Indian visitor. Smoothens the Visa Process for Many Countries Many foreign locations--especially in Europe and Asia--have made travel insurance required for visa applications. Those Indian passport holders seeking Schengen, UK, or Canada visas, for example, have to provide current insurance records. Having the correct policy from the start saves time and raises the possibility of a successful visa application. This one-time action keeps you ahead of the process and helps you prevent last-minute anxiety. Protects Against Medical Emergencies Abroad An unexpected medical problem while on holiday may be financially taxing as well as unpleasant. Particularly in Japan or the USA, medical procedures can be rather costly. Travel insurance covers cashless hospitalization, medical visits, and emergency treatment. Knowing you have a solid safety plan can let you concentrate on recuperation instead of costs. Covers Flight Delays, Cancellations, and Missed Connections Many times, international travel consists of large distances and several layovers. Missed connections and extra expenses might result from delays and cancellements. Travel insurance covers lodging charges resulting from unanticipated events or helps you recoup such costs, including rebooking flights. This encouragement helps you maintain going ahead with your vacation plans and lessens the annoyance of the situation. Secures Your Baggage and Valuables Particularly when your basics are inside, lost bags or stolen goods may ruin your entire trip. Travel insurance covers lost, stolen, or delayed baggage so you may replace what is required free from financial burden. It guarantees that a luggage accident won't sour the essence of your trip and lets you keep on with assurance. Offers Support in Case of Legal or Personal Emergencies Unfamiliar rules and linguistic restrictions might be frightening when overseas. Many travel insurance packages provide emergency support services such as linking you to legal aid, assisting with misplaced passports, or planning emergency transit back home. When you live distant from known support networks, these services really change things. Customizes Protection Based on Your Travel Purpose One-size-fits-not travel insurance is not. Plans may be tailored to fit your particular needs whether your journey is for a quick holiday, a lengthy business trip, or study abroad. This lets Indian visitors pay only for what they need, so the insurance is more reasonable and pertinent for the kind of journey they are planning. Conclusion Having travel insurance at hand can help you make all the difference between a tense trip from India and a seamless one. From paying medical bills and getting visas to protecting your stuff and providing backup help, overseas travel insurance is really your best vacation friend. So, be sure you're covered before you head off on your next trip. This is the one choice that ensures mental clarity anywhere you go. (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) PNN New Delhi [India], April 15: Yes Germany, a leading education consultancy specializing in German higher education, has announced an Admission Alert for Indian students aspiring to pursue Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Germany. Indian students particularly benefit from Germany's no-tuition fee policy at public universities, high employability rates, and numerous scholarship opportunities. With a robust focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) courses, Germany has become a preferred choice for students seeking quality education with global exposure. Yes Germany is inviting applications across various disciplines, including Engineering, IT, Business Administration, Artificial Intelligence, Automotive Engineering, and more. The consultancy provides comprehensive student assistance, including university selection, application processing, visa guidance, language training, pre-departure support, and post-departure assistance. Germany continues to be a leading destination for Indian students seeking higher education. Recent data indicates a significant increase in the number of Indian students enrolling in German universities. In the winter semester of 2023/24, there were 49,483 Indian students enrolled in German institutions, marking a 15.1% increase from the previous year. This upward trend is expected to continue, with projections suggesting a 298% increase in Indian student numbers in Germany by 2030. Top Universities & Scholarship Opportunities * Heidelberg University: Hans-Peter Wild Talent Scholarship - Offers up to EUR12,000 per year for undergraduate and postgraduate students in STEM fields. * RWTH Aachen University: RWTH Aachen University Scholarships - Provides tuition fee waivers and stipends, awarded based on academic excellence. * Technical University of Munich (TUM): TUM Scholarship for International Students - Awards up to EUR10,000 to outstanding non-EU students. * Humboldt University of Berlin:Humboldt Research Track Scholarship - Grants EUR800 per month for six months to support early-stage researchers. * Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitatMunchen (LMU Munich):LMU Munich Scholarships - Offers EUR500 to EUR1,500 per semester for students with strong academic records and social commitment. * Hamburg University of Applied Sciences:Merit Scholarships - Provides EUR850 per month for up to two years for academically excellent non-EU students. How to apply Applicants seeking admission can visit for the assistance with University admissions in Germany. Application deadlines vary by university, and Yes Germany offers free consultations to guide students through the process. YES Germany provides end-to-end support in applications, scholarships, and visa procedures. As admissions can be competitive, students are encouraged to apply early to secure their place About Yes Germany Yes Germany is a premier education consultancy assisting students in securing admissions to top universities in Germany. With a decade of experience, the organization has successfully guided thousands of students in achieving their academic dreams. Offering a range of services from admissions to post-arrival assistance, Yes Germany remains a trusted partner for students aspiring to study in Germany. For more details on the application process, visit: yesgermany.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 Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 15: Kaushalya Logistics Limited (NSE: KLL), a diversified conglomerate specializing in logistic support to the cement industry, is pleased to announce the commencement of operations at the Katihar Depot (Bihar) for Ambuja Cements, a part of the Adani Group, under CCFA model. The company has started the financial year 2025-26 on a strong note with the addition of the Katihar Depot. With this addition, the total number of depots operated by the company under the CCFA model now stands at 15. The Katihar Depot is expected to handle over 6,000 MT of cement per month, supporting a more efficient and integrated supply chain solution for Ambuja Cements. With this development, the total number of depots and rake points managed by the company has increased to 103, further strengthening its network and enhancing operational efficiency across key regions. Commenting on this Uddhav Poddar, Managing Director, Kaushalya Logistics Limited said, "We are pleased to begin the financial year on a strong note with the successful commencement of operations at the Katihar Depot for Ambuja Cements under the CCFA model. This launch reflects the continued trust placed in us by the Adani Group and underscores our commitment to providing integrated supply chain solutions. Our growing network of depots and rake points is the result of consistent efforts to enhance operational efficiency. As we look ahead, we remain focused on expanding our capabilities and delivering sustained value across the supply chain." (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 15: Indian composer Ganesh B. Kumar, L.T.C.L., a distinguished musician based in Chennai and holder of a Dual Licentiate (performance & theory) from the Trinity College of Music, London, is poised to mark a historic milestone as his orchestral composition RISE: Symphony No. 1 in D minor is all set to receive its World Premiere in Budapest, Hungary, on the 27th April, 2025. This concert, which is to be held at the iconic Ceremonial Hall of Pesti Vigado, will be conducted by the renowned Viennese maestro Anthony Armore and performed by the globally acclaimed Budapest Symphony Orchestra. RISE: Symphony No. 1 in D minor, composed in 2018 as a respectful homage to the legendary composer Ludwig van Beethoven, will be featured in a prestigious program that bridges Classical and Contemporary traditions. The program includes works by classical legends Beethoven, Ravel, and Brahms, alongside celebrated modern composers Mark John McEncroe (Australia) and Franck Dansaert (France). In an era often driven by 'spectacle and shallow truths', RISE: Symphony No.1 in D minor stands apart--a work steeped in tradition, born of introspection, and shaped by a quiet, persistent belief in the transcendent power of music. It was recorded on July 2nd and 3rd, 2019, in Halle, Germany, with the prestigious Staatskapelle Halle Orchestra, under the baton of the renowned conductor Bernd Ruf. This evocative symphonic composition was released globally in 2020 as part of the composer's album "Spirit of Humanity" by Navona Records, the classical imprint of PARMA Recordings (USA). The release coincided with the 250th birth anniversary of the legendary composer Ludwig van Beethoven, to whom the symphony is dedicated as a heartfelt homage. For further details, please visit: https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6292/. A symphony is a large-scale musical composition typically written for a full orchestra, structured in multiple movements that explore a range of moods, themes, and musical ideas. RISE: Symphony No. 1 in D minor follows the Classical three-movement symphonic structure (Fast - Slow - Fast), with each movement capturing a pivotal phase in Beethoven's artistic and personal journey. The first movement, Arrival of the Legend (Allegro con brio), in sonata form, evokes the bold emergence of Beethoven's genius. The second, Introspection (Andante), also in sonata form, delves into the emotional depth and solitude that shaped his inner world. The final movement, Undisputed 'Numero Uno' (Allegro con moto), crafted in sonata- rondo form, celebrates his towering legacy, as one of the greatest composers of all time. Ganesh B. Kumar says "To see RISE: Symphony No. 1 in D minor take its place among such timeless and contemporary works is beyond humbling. It is a moment of deep gratitude and quiet fulfillment for me and my team. The World Premiere was originally slated for July 2020, but it had to be postponed due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and it now looks forward to its long-awaited debut on 27th April, 2025. This timing carries a profound, symbolic resonance, echoing the very essence of the music: the triumph of rising after enduring a prolonged pause." "This symphony would have remained just ink on paper, if not for the generosity and conviction of our Patron SAnand Madhavan, whose support and commitment to the arts, continues the legacy of his great-grandfather V. Krishnaswami Iyer, founder of Indian Bank and the Madras Sanskrit College, who was among the first to bring the immortal verses of Mahakavi Subramania Bharati to the world, ensuring they reached the hands of young aspiring students across different schools. The same spirit of nurturing creativity lives on today through his great-grandson Anand Madhavan." The composer also extends his heartfelt gratitude to his core team, whose unwavering support was vital in bringing RISE: Symphony No. 1 in D minor to fruition. "I remember with respect the late V. Muthukumaraguruswamy, our Chief Linguistic Consultant and Spiritual Guide, whose profound wisdom shaped the project. Dr. Prem Venkatesh Ram Mohan, Project Lead from the UK, whose invaluable contribution helped to see this project through and Georgina Margarite Ezra, a skilled songwriter, translator, and linguistic trainer, who was a steadfast pillar of support and a constant flame of inspiration behind all my efforts." Ganesh Kumar fondly remembers his first music teacher, Anthony D'Cruz, and remains deeply grateful to his mentor, Abdul Sattar, who laid the foundation for his journey into Western Classical music and under whose guidance he pursued his advanced studies. With deep emotion, Ganesh lovingly remembers his late parents, K. Balakrishnan and Smt. T. Sundari, who gave him everything they had and whose unconditional love and sacrifices made this journey possible. (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) VMPL New Delhi [India], April 15: Kalp Studio and MGrow have launched an industry-aligned Blockchain Certification Program that offers technical training, internship opportunities, and guaranteed job placement. Backed by IBM, the program is designed to support India's growing demand for blockchain talent through accessible, structured education. The program runs for eight months and includes six months of technical instruction followed by a two-month paid internship. Participants receive stipends of up to Rs10,000 per month and gain hands-on experience with Kalp Studio's industry partners. Applicants from across India can apply through a scholarship evaluation process hosted on IBM's assessment platform. Those scoring in the top 250 will receive a 100% scholarship, covering the full program fee of Rs4.5 lakhs. The scholarship application opens on April 1, 2025, with the qualifying test scheduled for June 10, 2025. Kalp Studio, the lead program developer, brings its blockchain infrastructure expertise to the course design, ensuring that participants learn industry-relevant skills such as smart contracts, decentralized applications, and scalable deployments. IBM's certification adds international credibility and recognition to graduates' profiles. "Our goal is to create clear pathways from learning to earning," said Mrityunjaya Prajapati, CEO of Kalp Studio. "This isn't just about education--it's about job outcomes, community-building, and ensuring that blockchain innovation is supported by a capable, job-ready workforce." Supporting the delivery and mentorship side of the initiative, MGrow plays a key role in guiding participants through the scholarship application, onboarding, and one-on-one mentorship phases. MGrow will also oversee quarterly industry meet-ups and over 20 guest lectures covering blockchain, AI, and data analytics. Mreenal Chauhan, Founder and CEO of MGrow, said: "Access to industry-grade education shouldn't depend on where you're from or what you can afford. This program brings high-impact training, expert mentorship, and real career opportunities to learners from Tier 1 to Tier 3 cities." The launch aligns with Kalp Studio's ongoing BUILD Bharat Tour, a national blockchain awareness campaign aimed at students, startups, and professionals. Phase 1 of the tour, which began in January 2025, has already held events in Vadodara, Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Dehradun, offering live demonstrations and training sessions to thousands of attendees. The BUILD Bharat Tour acts as a feeder for the certification program, introducing participants to blockchain fundamentals and directing high-potential learners toward deeper training through the scholarship pathway. About Kalp Studio Kalp Studio, a flagship product of KALP Digital, is a leading blockchain infrastructure provider empowering developers and enterprises to build decentralized applications (dApps) with speed and efficiency. Offering pre-built modules, seamless third-party integrations, and advanced customization features, Kalp Studio delivers scalable blockchain solutions across industries. About MGrow MGrow's mission is to empower 1,000,000 fresh graduates and diploma holders with high-quality, white-collar jobs by 2030. MGrow is a career acceleration platform offering certified programs in blockchain, data analytics, and AI. Backed by DPIIT and NASSCOM, it delivers performance-based scholarships, hands-on mentorship, and guaranteed job placement to learners seeking industry-ready skills and outcomes. For media inquiries, partnership opportunities, or enrollment details, please contact: (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], April 15: JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd., one of India's leading cement manufacturers, showcased its innovative solutions at Vibrant Buildcon 2025, held at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, from April 13th to 16th, 2025. The event highlighted the company's commitment to empowering the construction industry and enabling homeowners to build their dream homes with sustainable, high-performance products. Key executives, including Shrivats Singhania (Director and CEO, Udaipur Cement Works Limited), Arun Shukla (President & Director, JK Lakshmi Cement), and Ranjeev Sharan (Chief of Sales), attended the inaugural day. The JK Lakshmi Cement stall drew significant attention, with Hon'ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, and actor Suniel Shetty, Brand Ambassador for Vibrant Buildcon, visiting & inaugurating the exhibition space. At the event, JK Lakshmi Cement highlighted its eco-friendly JK SmartBlox AAC Blocks, designed for faster construction and energy efficiency, alongside its trusted Ready Mix Concrete and Gypsum Plaster. Arun Shukla, President & Director, JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd., said, "Our participation in Vibrant Buildcon 2025 reflects our dedication to meeting the evolving needs of modern construction. With over four decades of expertise, we are committed to delivering innovative and sustainable solutions. Events like these allow us to connect with Infrastructure companies, builders, engineers, contractors, and homeowners, reinforcing our role as a trusted partner in nation building." The event fostered meaningful discussions with industry leaders, policymakers, and global buyers, strengthening JK Lakshmi Cement's contribution to India's vision of becoming a global hub for building materials. With its participation, the company continues to build on its 40-year legacy of excellence. JK Lakshmi Cement Limited is a part of the prestigious JK Organisation which is over hundred and thirty-five years old and boasts operations in India and abroad with a leadership presence in the fields of tyre, cement, paper, power transmissions, sealing solutions, dairy products and textiles. JK Lakshmi Cement, started in 1982, is a renowned and well-established name in the Indian Cement industry for four decades and has an annual turnover of over Rs 6000 crores. The Company has a formidable presence in Northern, Western and Eastern India's cement markets, with a vision of reaching Cement Capacity of 30 Million Tonnes by 2030. The present combined capacity of the Company is about 16.5 Million Tonnes per annum. The Company offers a wide range of products under Smart business solutions (SBS), such as, JK Lakshmi Concrete- Ready Mix Concrete (RMC), JK Lakshmi-Gypsum Plaster. JK Lakshmi Wall Putty and JK SmartBlox- Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Blocks (AAC Blocks)." (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) India's trade deficit increased sharply in March 2025 to USD 3.63 billion, as against USD 1.92 billion in the same month of 2024, according to government data released on Tuesday. The trade deficit widened to USD 21.54 billion in March, up from a three-year low of USD 14.05 billion in February. India's India's overall export ( Merchandise & Services) showed steady growth in March 2025, with both exports and imports registering year-on-year increases, according to the government data released on Tuesday. Official data shows that the total export, which combines merchandise and services, increased to USD 73.61 billion in March 2024, up from USD 71.71 billion in March 2024. The growth reflects continued resilience in key sectors of the economy. The data shows a sharper increase on the import front, with overall imports climbing to USD 77.23 billion from USD 73.63 billion a year ago. While the uptick in trade activity points to strong economic momentum, the growing trade gap highlights the need for continued focus on boosting exports and managing import dependence, particularly in critical sectors. Talking about the trade data, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the country has seen its highest-ever export of non-petroleum merchandise. He informed that non-petroleum exports are at the highest level at USD 37.07 billion, a growth of 6.0 per cent compared to 36.28 billion in 2023-24. "Our Overall exports will be the highest ever, and they have crossed a threshold of USD 820 billion. We will be waiting for the final figures of services, but our internal assessment is that it will go even above by two more billion dollars. So it should be a figure of more than USD 842 billion," Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said. Last year, it was USD 770 billion, so it is more than USD 42 billion, which is a very good achievement, he said. "A recent assessment highlighted the risk of merchandise dumping into India due to reciprocal tariffs amid the trade tensions. Rising US costs may prompt exporters from countries like China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, all facing US trade deficits--to divert goods to India, potentially triggering import surge Products at risk of being dumped in India," the Commerce Secretary said. In the context of US tariffs, Barthwal said that an Inter-Ministerial Committee for import surge monitoring has been set up with representation from DoC, DGFT, CBIC and DPIIT. He further added that an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) is monitoring weekly as well as monthly import trends by commodities and by countries. (ANI) PRNewswire New Delhi [India], April 15: On April 12th, a spectacle of skill and innovation unfolded under the dazzling lights at Le Meridien Gurgaon, as Diageo's World Class India Finale 2025 concluded with an unforgettable celebration of mixology, creativity, and ingenuity. It wasn't just a competition, it was a moment that placed the spotlight on India's burgeoning bartending culture, a vibrant tapestry woven with passion, precision, and bold innovation. After months of intense competition that were a test in expertise, passion, and artistry, Navjot Singh from Lair, New Delhi emerged victorious, claiming the prestigious title of World Class India Bartender of the Year 2025. This win not only marked the culmination of an incredible journey but also set the stage for Navjot Singh to represent India at the World Class Global Finals in Toronto, Canada, from September 28th to October 2nd. The World Class India Finale was a dazzling showcase of India's finest in bartending talent. 16 of the nation's most innovative mixologists pushed the boundaries of their craft, stirring up cutting-edge creations that tantalized the senses. A panel of esteemed global brand ambassadors and industry icons meticulously scrutinized every aspect of their performance, from technical precision and an understanding of flavour profiles to spirit pairings and the artistry of presentation. Each bartender poured their heart and soul into their creations, vying for the ultimate title. As the night unfolded, it was Navjot Singh who shone brightest, captivating the judges with their ingenuity, skill, and undeniable passion. Reflecting on his victory, Navjot Singh shared, "Winning the World Class India Bartender of the Year 2025 title is a moment of immense pride for me as this platform gives a chance to the most dynamic and inspiring mixologists in India. Competitions like these help us push boundaries, spark innovation, and create memorable experiences. I worked tirelessly for the India finals, and now, I'm looking forward to representing India on the global stage and showcasing our vibrant bartending culture to the world." Anchal Kaushal, Vice President - Consumer Marketing, Diageo India, echoed the sentiment, stating, "We are proud to have created an initiative like World Class, which empowers mixologists and the bartending community to push the boundaries of their artistry, elevate their skills, and showcase them on the world stage. Navjot Singh's remarkable win this year is a testament to the immense talent and creativity thriving in India's bartending scene. We are excited to cheer him on as he represents India at the global finals in Toronto." Beyond World Class 2025 The World Class Festival 2025 wasn't just about the competition, it was a celebration of bartending culture in its purest form. Cocktail enthusiasts were treated to an immersive experience, sampling exceptional drinks crafted by some of India's most innovative bartenders. The festival offered a tantalizing glimpse into the future of mixology, showcasing sustainable ingredients and local flavours, while pushing the boundaries of artistry. But the festival was more than just exceptional drinks. An electrifying music lineup transformed the event into a high-energy celebration, perfectly complementing the creativity of the bartenders. The grand stage saw mesmerizing performances by SAGE, Sheral b2b Bombie, ELSEWHERE IN INDIA, Nash b2b Nida, and Tech Panda x Kenzani. The vibrant beats and performances created the perfect ambiance for an innovative experience such as this. As the World Class India Finals come to a close, Navjot Singh is preparing to take their skills to the global stage. With the world watching, it will be an absolute delight to witness the finest bartenders from around the globe showcasing their talent, creativity, and innovation that will shape the future of mixology. About World Class World Class is dedicated to inspiring individuals to elevate their drinking experiences, promoting the same level of care and appreciation for fine drinking as is customary for fine dining. Over the past 12 years, World Class has supported, trained, and inspired over 400,000 bartenders across 60 countries, partnering them with the world's finest spirits from the Diageo Reserve collection. As a leading authority in the drinks industry, World Class provides consumers with information on the latest trends, cocktail recipes, and industry insights. About Diageo India Diageo India is among India's leading beverage alcohol (alcobev) companies with an outstanding portfolio of premium brands. A subsidiary of Diageo Plc., it is listed in India on both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as United Spirits Limited (USL). Headquartered in Bengaluru, Diageo India has one of the largest manufacturing footprints in alcobev with 36 facilities across India. It manufactures, sells and distributes Johnnie Walker, Black Dog, Black & White, VAT 69, Antiquity, Signature, The Singleton, Royal Challenge, McDowell's No1, Smirnoff, Ketel One, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan and Godawan, an artisanal single malt whisky from India, bringing together global expertise and local pride to deliver innovative, world-class products and experiences to consumers. With a strong focus on driving a positive impact on society, Diageo India has been working on collective action to improve livelihoods, championing Grain to Glass sustainability, responsible consumption and nurturing the alcobev ecosystem, to contribute to India's growth agenda. For more information about Diageo India, our people, our brands, and our performance, visit us at www.diageoindia.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, http://www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practices. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665090/Navjot_Singh_WC_India_Winner_2025.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL New Delhi [India], April 15: Lawyer Panel, a unit of Eresolution Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, today released official statistics confirming its stature as India's largest dispute resolution platform, having counselled over 30,000 individuals and resolved debt of over INR 1700 Crore. The company is dedicated to helping individuals navigate and resolve their debt-related challenges effectively. With a mission to provide accessible, transparent, and efficient legal support, Lawyer Panel is transforming how debt disputes are handled across the country. With a vast network of experienced legal professionals and dispute resolution specialists, the company is committed to promoting ethical debt resolution practices and enhancing financial literacy among borrowers, helping individuals navigate and resolve their debt-related challenges effectively. India's household borrowings have grown significantly in the last few years as per a recent report by The Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As of June 2024, household debt stood at 42.9 per cent of the GDP. The report identified three primary purposes for household borrowing -- consumption, asset creation, and productive activities. Consumption loans include personal loans, credit card debt, and loans for consumer durables. Asset creation loans cover mortgages, vehicle loans, and two-wheeler loans. Loans for productive activities include financing for agriculture, business ventures, and education. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), unsecured loans stood at Rs 16.37 lakh crore as of January 2024, up from Rs 10.34 lakh crore in January 2022, marking a 26 per cent compounded annual growth. Unsecured loans include credit card dues, consumer durables loans, and other personal loans. Aggressive lending practices by banks and NBFCs have resulted in borrowers taking loans beyond their capacity to repay, leading to increased defaults and financial and mental stress among the borrowers. This is where the Lawyer Panel is playing a significant role. As the financial landscape continues to evolve, a growing number of individuals face challenges in managing their debts, dealing with creditors, and overcoming legal complexities. The platform acts as a bridge between borrowers and lenders, offering expert legal assistance, mediation services, and strategic debt resolution solutions that empower individuals to regain financial stability. Anurag Mehra, Director of Lawyer Panel, shared his insights, saying, "We understand the stress and uncertainty that come with debt-related issues. Our goal is to provide structured, legally sound, and customer-friendly solutions to help individuals resolve their debt problems with dignity and confidence." At present, the key offerings by Lawyer Panel include Consumer Education, Stopping Harassment, Negotiation and Mediation & Arbitration. By educating borrowers on their rights, Lawyer Panel helps individuals understand their rights as per RBI rules and guidelines. The firm also ensures recovery agents comply with RBI guidelines and protects borrowers from unfair practices and harassment. Furthermore, Lawyer Panel acts as a mediator to help borrowers find practical debt resolutions by negotiating resolutions with lenders, while also providing mediation & arbitration assistance by facilitating structured dispute resolution. About Lawyer Panel Lawyer Panel, a unit of Eresolution Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, is India's leading dispute resolution platform specializing in debt-related legal services. By leveraging expert legal knowledge and a client-centric approach, the company helps individuals achieve effective debt resolutions while safeguarding their rights. The company is run by experienced entrepreneurs who are alumni of IIT, IIM and MIT USA, with more than 30 years of experience helping individuals and corporates through financial, legal, and business advice. For more information, visit www.lawyerpanel.org or write to info@lawyerpanel.org. (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 New Delhi [India], April 15: The Economic Times CIO (ETCIO) announces its landmark 7th Annual Conclave, themed "CIO 3.0: Transforming Innovation into Business Reality", taking place May 29-June 1, 2025, at the Grand Hyatt, Goa. This invitation-only gathering will bring together over 200 of India's most influential technology leaders to explore the evolving role of the CIO from technology enabler to business strategist and potential CEO. In an era where AI, automation, and data analytics are fundamentally reshaping business landscapes, the 2025 Conclave addresses the critical evolution of the CIO role. No longer confined to technical implementation, today's CIOs are increasingly becoming architects of growth, drivers of customer experience, and shapers of enterprise strategy. "The modern CIO stands at a pivotal crossroads," said Amit Kumar Gupta, Business Head, ET Business Verticals. "This year's Conclave is designed as a blueprint for technology leaders who are ready to translate their innovation capabilities into tangible business outcomes and position themselves for the highest levels of corporate leadership." The ETCIO Annual Conclave 2025 delivers an unparalleled experience crafted specifically for technology leaders at the pinnacle of their fields. Attendees will engage with Dr. Ram Charan's exclusive masterclass on the CIO-to-CEO journey, participate in 25+ visionary sessions spanning multiple formats, and connect during 1,000+ minutes of strategic networking opportunities with peers from India's most prestigious organizations. Technology visionaries from ICICI Bank, Ola, Akasa Air, Zepto, Hero MotoCorp, NSE, Adani Group, and other industry titans will lead critical conversations on AI as the new enterprise operating system, strategies for leading through constant disruption, data democratization across organizations, and next-generation infrastructure approaches. This carefully orchestrated convergence of India's top technology minds creates not merely a conference but a transformative leadership laboratory where today's innovations become tomorrow's competitive advantages. Setting this Conclave apart are the carefully crafted evening experiences featuring conversations with prominent figures from Bollywood, business, and sports, complemented by performances from India's most celebrated musical artists--creating an environment where intellectual stimulation meets cultural enrichment. The ETCIO Annual Conclave isn't just an event; it's where the future of technology leadership is defined. Attendees don't just leave with new ideas--they leave with transformed perspectives on their role in shaping enterprise futures. For more information about the ETCIO Annual Conclave 2025 or to request an invitation, visit https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/annual-conclave . About ETCIO The Economic Times CIO (ETCIO) is India's premier platform for technology leaders, providing insights, analysis, and community engagement for Chief Information Officers and technology decision-makers across industries. Contact Details: Yogesh Kaushik, Email: yogesh.kaushik@timesinternet.in Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2665186/ET_CIO_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) HBO has confirmed the first cast members for the upcoming Harry Potter series. It has announced the names of the actors who will play key roles in the famous TV series, reported Variety. According to the outlet, the cast now includes the following series regulars: John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. In addition, Luke Thallon has joined in the recurring role of Quirinus Quirrell. Paul Whitehouse will appear in the recurring role of Argus Filch in the TV series. Francesca Gardiner, showrunner and executive producer, and Mark Mylod, director of multiple episodes and executive producer, expressed happiness on the new cast and said that they cannot wait to bring such talents onboard. "We are happy to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse to play Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell and Filch," they said, as quoted by Variety. "We're delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can't wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life," added Francesca Gardner and Mark Mylod. According to Variety, these are the first confirmed actors for the highly anticipated series. For the main roles -- Harry, Ron, and Hermione -- HBO launched an open casting call in the fall, with over 30,000 submissions. Variety reported that the show is expected to begin filming this summer. Francesca Gardiner, known for her work on HBO's 'Succession' and 'His Dark Materials,' will serve as the writer and showrunner, while Mark Mylod, acclaimed for directing episodes of 'Game of Thrones' and 'Succession,' will helm multiple episodes. Both Gardiner and Mylod bring their experience and accolades to the project, having garnered Emmy awards for their contributions to HBO's acclaimed series. Gardiner's previous projects also include producing credits on 'Killing Eve' and 'The Rook,' while Mylod has also directed for shows like 'The Last of Us' and 'Shameless.' Originally slated for HBO Max, the 'Harry Potter' series is now part of a strategic move to position it as an HBO original, aligning with Warner Bros. Discovery's broader content strategy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI) Actor R Madhavan talked about the film 'Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh' and said it is a "good portrayal" of history. While talking to the media, he said, "It's a good portrayal of history, the way it is supposed to be. Britishers made a film about us titled 'Gandhi'; now we have made this film." 'Gandhi' is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, directed and produced by Richard Attenborough from a screenplay written by John Briley. The upcoming movie 'Kesari Chapter 2' delves into the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It features a gripping courtroom showdown between Akshay Kumar, who portrays C Sankaran Nair, and R. Madhavan, who portrays Neville McKinley, a lawyer defending the British Crown. During the screening of the film in New Delhi on Tuesday, Madhavan shared that he has been part of several historical films; however, 'Kesari Chapter 2', is among his "proudest" projects. "I have had the good fortune of being part of many historic films, a lot of them depicting true stories about our country; this will be the proudest film of mine. I think everyone should see the film; the message is loud and clear. We are a very proud country with very proud people. The days of taking an Indian for granted are over...," he added. Earlier, Akshay Kumar expressed his gratitude to Union Minister and senior BJP Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for organising the screening of his movie in Delhi. Before the screening, Union Minister Hardeep Puri interacted with Akshay Kumar and the other lead cast members of the film. The team of Kesari Chapter 2 expressed their gratitude to the Union Minister and the senior BJP Minister for attending the screening and extending their support to the film. Union Minister Puri and Delhi BJP Minister Sirsa also interacted with the cinemagoers who attended the screening of Kesari Chapter 2 today in New Delhi. The valiant effort of lawyer-nationalist C Sankaran Nair, on which the film Kesari Chapter 2 is based, was acknowledged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public gathering in Haryana. In his speech, PM recalled Nair's heroism in standing up against the British Empire after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, where British troops fired on unarmed civilians in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, fuelling national outrage and galvanising the fight for independence. "He could have enjoyed all the luxuries, but inspired by Jallianwalah Bagh, he raised his voice against British atrocities. He was removed from his post. He was from Kerala, and the incident took place in Punjab. Sankaran Nair ensured that the British government was brought to the court of law. He showed what unity and humanity actually mean. We should definitely learn from Sankaran Nair," PM said. Akshay Kumar took to Instagram and shared a video of PM Modi remembering Nair's brave fight against the Britishers after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. "Thank you Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji for remembering the great Chettur Sankaran Nair ji and his contribution to our freedom struggle. It is so important that we as a nation, especially the younger generation, value the great women and men who fought valiantly to ensure that we breathe in a free country! Our Kesari Chapter 2 is a humble effort to remind everyone that we must never take our freedom for granted," Akshay wrote in an Instagram post. Kesari Chapter 2 will be released in theatres on April 18, 2025. (ANI) Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa praised the Akshay Kunar starrer 'Kesari Chapter 2' for showing India's history. The historical drama, which delves into the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, features a gripping courtroom showdown between Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan, highlighting the fight for justice against the British Empire. It features a gripping courtroom showdown between Akshay Kumar, who portrays C Sankaran Nair, the lawyer who fought against General Dyer and the British Empire after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and R Madhavan, who portrays Neville McKinley, a lawyer defending the British Crown. The film promises to shed light on the untold story of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, offering a fresh perspective on the tragedy that shaped India's struggle for independence. Manjinder Singh attended the screening of Kesari: Chapter 2 in New Delhi on Tuesday. In a conversation with ANI, he said, "Before the youth, I want to ask everyone in Congress to come and watch this movie. They will understand the crime they have committed by erasing the history of C Sankaran Nair...." Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri shared that the youth can take inspiration from the film. "I want the youth to go and watch this movie and draw inspiration from it to show how in very difficult circumstances, we had individuals who stood up and swam against the tide, and that is how we achieved independence. That is how we are what we are today and are going to be one of the largest economies in the world. That's how we are reclaiming confidence. The Prime Minister spoke about this movie in Hisar yesterday for a good four minutes..." Puri lauded the effort of Kesari Chapter 2 makers to showcase a "transformational period" of India's history with the help of brilliant Bollywood artists like Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan. "We are very privileged to have been given this opportunity to watch this film that not only promises to be, but what I'm sure is a fantastic blockbuster, something which focuses on a transformational period in our history, which takes history out of the history books and with the talent and brilliance of Bollywood brings it to all of you," said Hardeep Puri. The screening in Delhi was an exclusive preview of the film, which was attended by senior BJP Ministers, including Hardeep Puri, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, and others. "Intellectual property and copyright laws being what they are, it is absolutely essential that you watch the film and put your phone on silent and do not use the recording device. It's a great privilege to be able to watch the film 3 days before its release. The Film which promises to break all records. Because I'm a student of history, so what I'm telling you is on the basis of the little I know, but I'm looking forward to being educated," added Hardeep Singh Puri. Actor Akshay Kumar also visited Delhi Secretariat today. Earlier today, he attended the screening of his film 'Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh'. Kesari Chapter 2 is directed by Karan Singh Tyagi and stars Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan in the lead roles. 'Kesari Chapter 2' is set to release on April 18, following the success of its predecessor, which focused on the Battle of Saragarhi. The Kesari film that was released in 2019 also starred Parineeti Chopra and highlighted the valor of 21 Sikh soldiers against over 1000 Afghans in the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi. With Kesari Chapter 2, the filmmakers aim to honour the legacy of India's freedom fighters by showcasing the relentless pursuit of justice and the enduring spirit of resistance against colonial oppression. (ANI) Bollywood star Alia Bhatt is a proud mom as her two-year-old daughter, Raha, prepared a "seven-course meal" for her. Don't be surprised; the toddler cooked for her with a toy kitchen set and clay. On Tuesday, Alia took to Instagram and shared a cute image of a mock lavish meal prepared by Raha during her playtime. Adding a humorous touch to her post, she captioned it, "My 7 course meal...with love from my favourite chef." Alia and Ranbir tied the knot in April 2022, after several years of dating. Their daughter, Raha, was born in November 2022.On Christmas 2023, Ranbir and Alia surprised their fans by making their first public appearance with Raha. In March, Alia and Ranbir met with paps in Mumbai and requested them to stop using Raha's pictures without their consent. Ranbir said, "Mein Mumbai mein pala bada hua hu. Hum industry mein born hue hai. All of you guys are family. Aose koi legal route lene ki humko jarurat nahi hai. Hum aap log ko bulaate hai aap se vinti karte hai aap log sunte ho. We all give words to each other aisa nahi ki hum ispe case kar denge, hum uspe case kar denge. (I have been born and bought up in Mumbai and all of you are like family. So, it's not like we will take the legal route. We call all of you here and request you'll as you'll listen and respect our decision)" He added, "Aap logo ko bula kar hum bas vinti kar rahe for the betterment of our child. It might sound like a privileged problem, I understand that." While Ranbir and Alia did not specify, this appeal seemed to come in light of the recent robbery incident that occurred at Ranbir's actor cousin Kareena Kapoor Khan's Bandra house. Alia has also removed all the pictures of Raha from her Instagram account. (ANI) Filmmaker Karan Johar expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remembering the brave fight of lawyer C Sankaran Nair against the Britishers after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. During a public gathering in Haryana on Monday, PM Modi honoured Nair's historic legacy, remembering his heroism in standing up against the British empire after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, where British troops fired on unarmed civilians in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, fuelling national outrage and galvanising the fight for independence. "He could have enjoyed all the luxuries, but inspired by Jallianwalah Bagh, he raised his voice against British atrocities. He was removed from his post. He was from Kerala and the incident took place in Punjab. Sankaran Nair ensured that the British government was brought to the court of law. He showed what unity and humanity actually mean. We should definitely learn from Sankaran Nair," PM said. Sharing a clip of PM Modi's speech, Karan, who is coming up with 'Kesari 2', a film on how Nair exposed the truth of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, wrote, "Thank you to our honourable PM Modi ji for shedding light on some of our unsung heroes of our Indian freedom, specifically C. Sankaran Nair whose story remains unheard, untold and unread by so many of our citizens. We are looking forward to Indians discover another chapter of the freedom of India through the lens of our film Kesari" Earlier, Akshay also thanked PM Modi for shedding light on Nair's contributions to Indian history. "Thank you Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji for remembering the great Chettur Sankaran Nair ji and his contribution to our freedom struggle. It is so important that we as a nation, especially the younger generation values the great women and men who fought valiantly to ensure that we breathe in a free country! Our Kesari Chapter 2, is a humble effort to remind everyone that we must never take our freedom for granted," Akshay wrote. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a special screening of 'Kesari 2' was held in Delhi for several political leaders and dignitaries. After attending the screening of Kesari Chapter 2, Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra lauded Akshay Kumar's performance in the film. "It is an amazing movie. This movie brings to light an aspect of our freedom struggle that people have heard about but do not know the whole thing. Akshay Kumar has performed exceptionally well. I want to thank the makers for showcasing an unspoken truth of the Indian freedom struggle," said Kapil Mishra. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also lauded the efforts of Kesari Chapter 2 makers showcasing a "transformational period" of India's history with the help of brilliant Bollywood artists like Akshay Kumar and R Madhavan. "We are very privileged to have been given this opportunity to watch this film that not only promises to be, but what I'm sure is a fantastic blockbuster, something which focuses on a transformational period in our history, which takes history out of the history books and with the talent and brilliance of Bollywood brings it to all of you," said Hardeep Singh Puri. (ANI) On Tuesday, streaming giant Prime Video announced the India premiere of 'Fellow Travelers', created by Ron Nyswaner, will be released in India on April 17. 'Fellow Travelers' is directed by Uta Briesewitz, Destiny Ekaragha, James Kent, and Daniel Minahan, and features an ensemble cast led by Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey alongside Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache, Noah J. Ricketts, and Allison Williams. As per a press note, 'Fellow Travelers' is "an epic love story and political thriller, chronicling the clandestine romance of two very different men who meet in McCarthy-era Washington. Bomer plays charismatic Hawkins Fuller, who maintains a financially rewarding, behind-the scenes career in politics. Hawkins avoids emotional entanglements - until he meets Tim Laughlin (Bailey), a young man brimming with idealism and religious faith. "They begin a romance just as Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn declare war on "subversives and sexual deviants," initiating one of the darkest periods in 20th-century American history. Over the course of four decades, we follow our five main characters - Hawk, Tim, Marcus (Alladin), Lucy (Williams), and Frankie (Ricketts) - as they cross paths through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco hedonism of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, while facing obstacles in the world and in themselves," the press note said. The series is co-produced by Fremantle and SHOWTIME and is distributed internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution. (ANI) Union Minister and West Bengal state president for BJP Sukanta Majumdar wrote a letter to West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose and raised concerns over the atrocities happening to the Hindus during the Murshidabad violence. Majumdar shared a post on his official 'X' handle and informed about the development. "Today, I reached Malda and met several displaced, persecuted, and terrified Hindu families who were forced to flee Murshidabad due to barbaric persecution by fundamentalist miscreants. The stories they shared were horrifying and heartbreaking--clear evidence of targeted violence and fear. I have written in detail to the Hon'ble Governor of West Bengal, urging immediate and decisive action. The safety and dignity of these vulnerable Hindu citizens must be protected at all costs. This is not just a law and order issue; it is a humanitarian crisis. I appeal for swift intervention", his 'X' post read. Majumdar, earlier on Monday, expressed concern over the tense situation in Murshidabad, stating that the deployment of Central forces, such as the CRPF, could help improve the situation. Majumdar also urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to request Central assistance to maintain peace and normalcy. "The situation is very tense and bad. The situation can be improved by keeping the Central force here for a long time. I will request the Chief Minister to take the initiative and ask the Center to deploy CRPF here and the Central force should stay here until the situation becomes normal. Our demand is that peace should be established, the state government should take action for this," Majumdar told ANI. The violence in Murshidabad was sparked by protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, which has been a contentious issue in the region. The protests turned violent, resulting in the deaths of three people, injuries to several others, and widespread property damage. The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of supporting the protests and criticised TMC MP Bapi Halder for making threatening remarks against those protesting Waqf properties. Majumdar condemned Halder's comments, saying they incited violence and questioned the state police's inaction against the MP. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that the government is working determinedly to preserve the cultural values and demography of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand. For this, anti-conversion and anti-riot laws have been strictly implemented in the state. He said that the Uttarakhand government has fulfilled its historical responsibility of ensuring equal rights for all citizens by implementing the UCC. Calling for the cooperation of all the saints to organise Kumbh 2027 in Uttarakhand in a grand and divine way, CM Dhami said that the state government has a big responsibility to do so. The cooperation of all the saints is expected in this. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the Ganga Pujan organised at Sarvananda Ghat in Haridwar on Monday in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and participated in the Shobha Yatra from Sarvananda Ghat to Mata Krishna Udyan. After this, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in the inauguration ceremony of the newly constructed Mata Krishna Udyan in Haridwar. Dhami described Acharya Sadguru Swami Teunram Ji Maharaj as a great saint of the Sanatan Sant tradition. The Chief Minister said that throughout his life, he taught charity and service to society. The Chief Minister said that he inspired people to rise above caste, high-low, and show-off and follow the path of love and devotion. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that during Om Birla's tenure as Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament passed many historic and revolutionary laws, such as the abolition of Article 370 from Kashmir, the anti-triple talaq law, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and the Waqf Amendment Act, which are making their important contribution to taking the country to new heights today. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with development, a cultural renaissance is also taking place in the country. Whether it is the construction of Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi, the construction of Mahakal Lok in Ujjain, the construction of the divine and grand temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, or the world-class organisation of the grand Maha Kumbh recently concluded in Prayagraj, it is the result of the efforts of respected Modi ji that today India is being re-established as a major cultural center of the world. The Chief Minister said that with the guidance and cooperation of the respected Prime Minister, our state government is also continuously working towards preserving and enhancing the cultural heritage of the state along with development works in the state. Today, on the one hand, while reconstruction work is being done on a large scale in Kedarnath Dham and Badrinath Dham, work is also in progress towards the construction of the Haridwar-Rishikesh corridor. Along with this, work is also being done towards the construction of a ropeway for Baba Kedarnath Dham and Hemkund Sahib. You will be happy to know that our government has decided to start the study of Center for Hindu Studies in Doon University. The Chief Minister said that our government will continue to work to preserve and promote cultural heritage and bring the Ganga of development to the state. We have full faith that with the blessings and cooperation of the people of the state, we will definitely succeed in making Uttarakhand the leading state of the country with our alternative-free resolve. On this occasion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said that Prem Prakash Mandal is presenting an unparalleled example of human service at various places across the country. Prem Prakash Mandal is serving humanity through the welfare of poor families and various public welfare works. Swami Bhagat Ji Maharaj and Prem Prakash Mandal are carrying spirituality and Dev tradition forward. This newly constructed Mata Krishna Udyan by Prem Prakash Mandal in the religious city of Haridwar, which is full of religious and spiritual consciousness, is also a beautiful example of human service. He said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, along with various development works in the state, commendable work is being done to make the Chardham Yatra smooth and convenient, the cleanliness of Ganga and the grand and successful organization of Kumbh 2027. (ANI) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav arrived at the Delhi airport early on Tuesday for an official meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss seat-sharing and poll strategy for Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, Yadav said, "Today is our official meeting. We will discuss the strategies for Bihar (elections). " Meanwhile, on Monday, RJD MP Manoj Jha said that this meeting will discuss seat-sharing and the alliance between the two parties for the upcoming Bihar elections. With the Bihar Assembly elections expected to take place in roughly six months, all the political parties have ramped up preparations. RJD, known as Congress's "oldest ally" in Bihar, is also part of the INDIA bloc. The RJD-Congress meeting is expected to take place at Kharge's residence. On April 20, the Congress president is also expected to address a public rally in Bihar's Buxar district. Notably, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar has raised the issue of migration in Bihar, taking out the 'Naukri do' rally to urge the state government to stop migration and facilitate job creation for the youth. On April 7, Kumar was joined by Rahul Gandhi in Begusarai for the yatra. On March 30, while sounding the poll bugle for the party in Bihar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav for "jungle raj" and corruption between 1990-2005. Since his meeting on March 30, Shah is also going to spend two days a month in Bihar to prepare for the polls. On April 13, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attended the NDA meeting to discuss the Assembly elections. Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary was also present. A high-stakes battle is expected to take place in Bihar, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA); consisting of Janata Dal (United) led by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, and the Bharatiya Janata Party fighting against the alliance consisting of Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and left parties. The elections in the state are expected to take place between October and November, however, the dates for the polls have not been announced yet. (ANI) The decision to give Hindi titles to English medium textbooks of NCERT is a grave illogicality, Kerala Minister for General Education and Employment V Sivankutty said while criticising the council for its decision to give Hindi names to English-medium books. He further accused the central government of "cultural imposition" and of "sabotaging the linguistic diversity of the country." "It is absolutely wrong to change the English titles that have been used for decades to respect linguistic diversity and instil a sensitive approach in the minds of children and to shift the focus to Hindi titles like Mridang and Santoor," the state minister said on Monday. The Minister clarified that Kerala, like other non-Hindi speaking states, is committed to protecting linguistic diversity and giving priority to regional cultural freedom. This decision by NCERT is a step against federal principles and constitutional values, he said. "The titles in the textbooks are not just names; they shape the perception and imagination of children. English medium students deserve English titles," Sivankutty argued. Minister Sivankutty demanded that National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) should review and withdraw this decision and that all states unite against such impositions. The minister opined that education should not be an instrument of imposition but of empowerment and consensus. Recently, NCERT released the new names of books for various classes. Class 1 and Class 2 books are now named as 'Mridang' and a Class 3 book named as 'Santoor'. The Class 6 English book has been renamed from 'Honeysuckle' to 'Poorvi.' The recent name changes has reignited the language row as multiple ministers of different states, including Kerala and Tamil, accuse the central government of trying to "impose Hindi" on school students through the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP). Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has also criticised the central government for "Hindi imposition" before, claiming that the latter has denied certain funds to state schools for refusing to implement the three language formula in the NEP. (ANI) Following the arrest of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi in Belgium, senior Congress leader TS Singh Deo asserted that individuals taking refuge abroad after committing crimes in India must be brought back to the country to face justice. Emphasizing the need for accountability, Congress leader said that such offenders should not be allowed to evade the law under the protection of foreign jurisdictions. "Those who have committed crimes in India and are getting protection in other countries should be extradited to India," the former Chhattisgarh Deputy CM said. Earlier, former CBI Director AP Singh said that the Indian authorities are now tasked with presenting concrete evidence and ensuring that Belgian courts are satisfied with India's prison conditions and commitment to a fair trial. Speaking to ANI, Singh recalled that the last person extradited from the European Union was Abu Salem 20 years ago. "Mehul Choksi has been arrested on the request of the Indian government. Now we have to give all the evidence of him scamming the PNB. The legal process will take time. Choksi, in his defence, can say that he has some legal status in Belgium since his wife is a Belgian citizen. We will have to convince the Belgian government and courts that he will be looked after and that his medical condition will be addressed. We will have to convince them that our prison conditions are good and that we will give him a fair trial. Getting somebody from the EU is the toughest. The last person extradited from the EU was Abu Salem 20 years ago," AP Singh said. Meanwhile, the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice on Monday confirmed that fugitive Indian businessman Mehul Choksi was arrested on April 12 and is currently being held in detention. The Belgian authorities stated that India had also introduced a request for his extradition. "Finally, the Belgian federal public service of Justice can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Mr. Choksi. As is standard in individual cases, no further details can be released at this stage," they said. The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant who fled India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was also involved with him in the fraud. (ANI) The Indian Army has inducted additional troops and ramped up joint search efforts in the Lasana area of Surankote in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district after the security personnel made contact with terrorists on Monday night, as per officials. According to a post by the Indian Army's White Knight Corps on X, the search efforts were conducted along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police to prevent the terrorists from escaping. "Op Lasana. Contact was established with #terrorists during a joint operation with J&K Police at Lasana, Surankote, last night. Additional troops have been inducted, and search operations are ongoing to prevent the terrorists from escaping," the post read. https://x.com/Whiteknight_IA/status/1911943117022142607 Meanwhile, the Romeo Force of the Indian Army also conducted search operations in Poonch after contact was established with terrorists last night. According to officials, terrorists opened fire on the Romeo Force personnel, in which one of the security personnel got injured near the Lasana village located upon the National Highway connecting Poonch to Jammu. Following the incident, the area was cordoned off, and additional security measures were implemented. Early morning visuals from the spot show Indian Army personnel conducting strict vehicle checking with the assistance of a dog squad. Lasana village remains under high security as joint operations by the Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police continue to prevent any escape attempts by the terrorists. Earlier, amid the ongoing operations and terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army on Saturday reiterated its commitment to continue its operations across the union territories until "terrorists are eliminated". The Director General of the Kishtwar-Doda Ramban range, Shridhar Patil, said during a press conference, "Until terrorists are eliminated, the operations will go on. The people of the area have given full support to security forces. These operations show good coordination of security forces." Meanwhile, security forces on Sunday seized caches of 1 M4 rifle and two AK47s with some of their bullets, along with medicines, after three terrorists were killed in Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. One M4 rifle, two AK-47s, 11 magazines, 65 M4 bullets, and 56 AK-47 bullets have been seized. Apart from that, a cap, some medicines, and first aid materials have also been recovered. Officials have also written to the Pakistani side regarding the medicines, an official statement said. (ANI) Stressing that the extradition of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi from Europe is the "toughest", former CBI Director AP Singh said that the Indian authorities are now tasked with presenting concrete evidence and ensuring that Belgian courts are satisfied with India's prison conditions and commitment to a fair trial. Speaking to ANI, Singh recalled that Abu Salem was the last person extradited from the European Union 20 years ago. "Mehul Choksi has been arrested at the request of the Indian government. Now we have to give all the evidence of him scamming the PNB. The legal process will take time. Choksi in his defence, can say that he has some legal status in Belgium since his wife is a Belgian citizen. We must convince the Belgian government and courts that he will be looked after and his medical condition will be addressed. We will have to convince them that our prison conditions are good and we will give him a fair trial. Getting somebody from the EU is the toughest. The last person extradited from the EU was Abu Salem 20 years ago," AP Singh said. Former Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED) Karnal Singh emphasised that the agencies will succeed in bringing Choksi back to India as they have a lot of evidence against him. "This is a great success for both the Indian government and Indian agencies- Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate. This is an extradition process and in any country, it can be said that it happens in two stages. The first stage is to accept the extradition request politically and bureaucratically. His arrest means they have accepted that they have to execute this extradition request. Now in the court, the Belgian government will fight on our behalf to bring him to India," Singh told ANI. "So this is a big success for India. We have a lot of evidence and we will succeed in the judicial process and he will come to India... The CBI and ED have good evidence. The Enforcement Director has evidence of how he withdrew money from the bank, how he diverted it, and how he used it for personal use. So we will succeed in the judicial process as well," he said. Former ED Deputy Legal Advisor, Ashish Chandra Singh said that the central agencies will now have to send a request for Choksi's extradition, asserting that India already has an extradition treaty with Belgium in existence. "Mehul Choksi purchased citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda. He has now been arrested in Belgium. The CBI has filed two chargesheets against him, and the ED has filed three prosecution complaints under section 44-45. Special Court Mumbai has also issued a non-bailable warrant, based on which Belgium Police have arrested him. Proceedings to confiscate his property have also been initiated... Now that he has been arrested, the ED and CBI will have to send an immediate request for extradition. India already has an extradition treaty with Belgium in existence," Ashish Singh said. Meanwhile, the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice on Monday confirmed that fugitive Indian businessman Mehul Choksi was arrested on April 12 and is currently being held in detention. It further said that India has also introduced a request for his extradition. They also confirmed that Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi. "Finally, the Belgian federal public service of Justice can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi. As is standard in individual cases, no further details can be released at this stage," they said. The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant who fled India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was also involved with him in the fraud. (ANI) Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has called for a meeting of Vokkaliga legislators from the Congress Party on Tuesday to discuss the caste census. Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office, the Deputy CM said, "We will collect the opinion of Vokkaliga legislators on the caste census during the meeting. I haven't gone through the entire caste census report, we are studying it. I would discuss the census with the legislators and advise them to respect the sentiments of all communities." The Vokkaliga legislators' meeting will be held today at 6 p.m. at the DCM's official residence in Kumara Park. When asked about allegations that the Congress party was snatching away the privileges of SC/STs by allocating reservations in contracts for religious minorities, he said, "The SC/STs have reservations in contracts too. It is our priority to uplift all those who are economically backward. Congress is a party that wants to provide justice to all sections of society." Asked about PM Narendra Modi's accusation that the Congress party is snatching away the reservations of OBCs, he said, "We have not snatched away anyone's reservation. An MP from Bengaluru had belittled a particular community, stating they were fit only to fix a flat tyre. We would like show that that community can do a lot more than that." Earlier on April 14, the Deputy CM reacted to the PM's remarks criticising the quota for minority contractors, and defended the state government's reservation policy stating that they were also giving reservations to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs.) "We are also giving reservations to SC/ST. Our aim is to uplift those who are not financially capable and bring them into the mainstream. This is our intention. Congress party is paying attention to every section of society, and Congress government is also paying attention to every section of society," Shivakumar told reporters. The PM attacked Congress in Hisar and stated that his government was focusing on connectivity while ensuring welfare for the poor and social justice, fulfilling Babasaheb Ambedkar's vision and the aspirations of the Constitution's farmers. He criticized the Congress Party for its treatment of Babasaheb Ambedkar, stating that while he was alive, they insulted him, orchestrated his electoral defeats twice, and conspired to exclude him from the system. (ANI) The Indian Army cordoned off the forested region in the Lasana area in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday after an exchange of fire with terrorists. The Romeo Force of the Indian Army are involved in a joint search operation in the region to find the terrorists, along with the Poonch Police. The encounter with the forces happened on Monday night. In response, additional forces and vehicles were rushed to the spot to track down the terrorists suspected to be hiding in the dense forest. Indian Army has inducted additional troops and ramped up joint search efforts in the Lasana area of Surankote after the security personnel made contact with terrorists on Monday night. According to officials, terrorists opened fire on the Romeo Force personnel, in which one of the security personnel got injured near the Lasana village located upon the National Highway connecting Poonch to Jammu. In a post on X, the Indian Army''s White Knight Corps on Tuesday said the search efforts have been intensified along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police to prevent the terrorists from escaping. "Op Lasana. Contact was established with terrorists during a joint operation with J&K Police at Lasana, Surankote, last night. Additional troops have been inducted, and search operations are ongoing to prevent the terrorists from escaping," the White Knight Corps said. Following the incident, the area was cordoned off, and additional security measures have been implemented. Indian Army personnel are conducting strict vehicle checking with the assistance of a dog squad. Amid the ongoing operations and terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army on Saturday reiterated its commitment to continue its operations across the union territories until "terrorists are eliminated". Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Shridhar Patil of Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban (DKR) range, Shridhar Patil, said, "Until terrorists are eliminated, the operations will go on. The people of the area have given full support to security forces. These operations show good coordination of security forces." (ANI) Former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Vikram Singh on Tuesday hailed the arrest of fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi in Belgium as a testament to India's evolving global influence and the determined efforts of investigative agencies like the CBI and ED. Speaking to ANI, Singh termed the development as a victory of India's diplomacy. "It has been made possible due to the tireless efforts of the CBI and ED. Interpol notices were also issued, although they were later withdrawn. Now that he has been arrested from a hospital in Belgium, I express my gratitude and thanks to the Belgian police and government as well," he said. "This is the new India. Now, those who have looted India are not safe anywhere in the world," the former UP DGP asserted. He further pointed out that with Choksi now caught, India's extradition experts say that his extradition will certainly happen within a few months. "The 13,500 crore Rs that was looted also needs to be brought back to India. The money he has looted will now likely be used to hire lawyers and fight legal battles, just as Vijay Mallya did in England. But all escape routes are now closed. He will have to come back to India for extradition. It may take some time, but in the end, he will have to return," Vikram Singh said. Meanwhile, the Belgian Federal Public Service of Justice on Monday confirmed that fugitive Indian businessman Mehul Choksi was arrested on April 12 and is currently being held in detention. It further said that India has also introduced a request for his extradition. They also confirmed that Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi. "Finally, the Belgian federal public service of Justice can confirm that the Indian authorities have introduced an extradition request for Choksi. As is standard in individual cases, no further details can be released at this stage," they said. The 65-year-old fugitive diamond merchant who fled India on January 2, 2018, is wanted by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly defrauding the Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 13,850 crore. His nephew, Nirav Modi, was also involved with him in the fraud. (ANI) Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Tuesday carried out a raid at the residence of former Rajasthan minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas in Jaipur's Civil Lines area. Khachariyawas held the Transport portfolio in the previous Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government. Reacting to the ED raid at his residence, the Congress leader said he is cooperating with the investigation and has nothing to hide. "Today, they have come here to conduct searches and raids; they can do it. I am going to cooperate with them. ED is doing its work, and I will do my work. I believe the BJP should not do politics using the ED. Pratap Singh Khachariyawas is not scared of anyone. I was not given any notice from the ED. ED conducted raids here directly," Pratap Khachariyawas said. Although the reason behind this raid has not been revealed yet, this has caused a stir in Jaipur. As soon as the information on the ED's action was received, Pratap Singh's supporters reached his residence and started raising slogans against the central government. Further, Khachariyawas stressed that he is not afraid of anyone. "Officials are not at fault; they have to work as per the directions of the government. According to the Constitution, they have the right to conduct searches, and we will fully cooperate with them. They can search everything because we are not afraid of anyone. Whoever speaks against them (BJP), ED is sent to their house," he said. The former Minister also issued a veiled threat to the BJP, claiming that when the Congress comes to power, they could do the same with leaders of the BJP "Governments keep changing, and time will change. Imagine what will happen to the BJP when Rahul Gandhi comes to power. You (BJP) have started these proceedings; we will also do the same against the people of BJP. They can do as many searches as they want; we are not scared. We will cooperate with the officers..." the Congress leader said. (ANI) The Indian Army's support for the Azmat-e-Hind initative at the Line of Control (LOC) in Teetwal area of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir has boosted border tourism in the area, transforming Teetwal from being known for cross-border tensions to now being a "beacon of hope and tourism" with potential, Army officials said on Tuesday. Azmat-e-Hind, which translates to "Pride of India" is a 104 feet high national flag, aimed at showcasing the valour of the armed forces, the resilience of local communities, and the beauty of the border areas. "Azmat-e-Hind was made in 2023 in Teetwal for one purpose that tourists visit these border and remote areas, see the area and stay with the people and see how the Army, with the local population, works together," Brigadier SK Pradhan, Commander of Shakti Vijay Brigade, told ANI. The Army official said that home stays have been established in the area for tourists, and the people have been trained by the Indian Army to ensure that the places are well maintained and people are taken good care of. "Many locals have established home stays, and they have been trained by the Indian Army so that they can be maintained properly and they can take good care of the people so that any tourist comes here, he goes back and sends ten people back to this place instead of one," he said. "The Indian Army has played a crucial role in transforming the narrative. Ensuring security to facilitating infrastructure and logistics support has been instrumental in turning the border village into a tourist-friendly zone," read a statement from the Indian Army. "One of the most emotional highlights is the 104 ft High National Flag hoisting at the LOC where patriotic fervor fills the air and visitors stand shoulder to shoulder with soldiers saluting the tricolor," read the statement. Army personnel also engage with tourists and students through interactive sessions, sharing stories of bravery and service, further strengthening the bond between the armed forces and the citizens they protect. Residents have reportedly welcomed the initiative, noting that the increase in tourism is already beginning to benefit the economy. Sunder Shamin, a student at Army Goodwill High School, said that the more than a 100 feet high flag showcases India's unity, and honours the fallen soldiers during wartime. "This village is not only a tourist place but it shows the brave unity of India. Yes, this is the same place where, during the three wars with Pakistan, many heroes of our country lost their lives for the pride and pride of their Mother India...The Azmat-e-Hind memorial was made to honour the sacrifice of the soldiers, with the 104 feet high flag being a symbol of unity and pride of ours," Shamin told ANI. Highlighting the diversity and rich history of battles in the place, the student added, "All the tourists who come here explore the area This place is very good to discuss about our history, how in the three wars that took place in our country...I request everyone to come here and know about the history of this place, like how we have a Sharda temple and gurudwara shows our diversity in unity." Kupwara's 104-foot high national flag installed at the Army's memorial called Azmat-e-Hind was installed on November 21, 2023. It has also served as a venue for various events, including organising Yoga on International Yoga Day and having students be taken to various programs for Border area Youth exchange program. (ANI) Pradhan extended his best wishes to the people and urged them to live together with peace and brotherhood. Speaking to the media, the Union Minister Pradhan said, "In Odisha, people celebrate Hanuman Jayanti starting from Ram Navami on April 6 to April 14. I extend my best wishes to the people of the state and urge people to live together with peace and brotherhood." Pradhan also participated in the Meru Yatra celebrations in Sambalpur on April 14. The leader also sought blessings at the Maa Dakhinakali temple in Khubel and the Maa Dandakali temple in Hirakud. "I had the privilege of visiting the Maa Dandakkali temple in Hirakud and witnessing the Meru Yatra. Maa is the direct goddess. Her glory is immense. May all the wishes of our hearts be fulfilled by her auspicious blessings," Pradhan said in a post on X. The 'Meru Yatra' is a prominent cultural and religious event in Odisha, marking the traditional New Year. It is celebrated with various rituals and community gatherings. It reflects the rich heritage and spiritual fervor of the region. Meanwhile, Union Minister also laid the foundation stone for an agricultural marketing yard and inaugurated a state-of-the-art floriculture polyhouse in Sambalpur with the aim of strengthening the rural economy and empowering farmers' collectives. The polyhouse facility, developed in collaboration with the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), is designed to promote high-value crop cultivation and sustainable farming practices in the region. The initiative is expected to boost the floriculture value chain and encourage climate-smart agriculture, providing significant benefits to local farmers. (ANI) The Outpatient Department (OPD) services at Lokbandhu Hospital in Lucknow resumed on Tuesday morning, hours after a fire broke out there on Monday night. As per Hospital Director Sangeeta Gupta, "OPD services have resumed. All OPD doctors are present here to attend to the patients." The fire affected three wards of the hospital, including the ICU. Following the fire, all the patients were transferred to nearby hospitals. Several patients were shifted to the Civil Hospital in Lucknow. According to Civil Hospital Director Rajesh Srivastava, 24 patients were transferred to Civil Hospital, two of whom were admitted to the ICU. Meanwhile, one patient died on the way and was kept in the mortuary for a postmortem, Srivastava added. "Around 24 patients have arrived. Their condition is stable. Treatment of all has started. Two who were serious have been admitted to the ICU. All those who have come to this hospital are fine and stable. The body of the one who died on the way has been kept in the mortuary so that we can know the cause of the death," he said. According to Chief Fire Officer Mangesh Kumar, the fire department received the alert of the fire at 9:44 pm on Monday. "We received the information at 9:44 pm, and upon receiving the information, our entire team reached the spot. Our team evacuated everyone safely. The cause of the fire is not yet known," he told ANI. UP DCM Brajesh Pathak said that a high-level committee has been set up to investigate the cause of the fire. "The government has taken cognizance of the fire incident that happened yesterday at Lokbandhu Hospital, and a high-level committee has been formed to investigate the cause of the fire. As soon as its report comes out, we will make it public. 1.5 months ago, a mock drill was conducted by the fire brigade. Due to that mock drill, the entire hospital staff was prepared to deal with such an incident. I express my gratitude to the hospital authorities and the fire brigade staff; many lives were saved... Patients have been sent to different hospitals in Lucknow for treatment, where they are undergoing treatment," the UP Deputy CM said. Earlier, District Magistrate Visakh G Iyer said that the fire had been doused and that all patients from the affected wards had been rescued and shifted to other hospitals, including Civil Hospital, Balrampur Hospital, and KGMU. He further added that none of the patients were stuck inside. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said that around 200 patients were safely moved from Lokbandhu Hospital and that no casualties have been reported. (ANI) Expressing concerns over the growing friction between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre, Congress MLA Aassan Maulaana on Tuesday said that the State Council of Ministers has the authority to pass a bill if the Governor withholds his assent for 30 days. Maulana accused the Centre of financially strangling the Tamil Nadu government and said concerns in this regard would be raised in the Assembly. "If the Governor does not sign a bill within 30 days, then the State Council of Ministers can gather and pass the bill. This is the power every state has. When CM brings this, it is to tell the Union government not to curb the functioning of state governments. The Tamil Nadu government is being financially strangled, and we will express this in the Assembly," the Congress MLA said. Further, hitting out at the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over asking students to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', Aassan Maulaana said that a person sitting on a constitutional post should stop promoting religious activities. "This issue of Dalits has come up due to the BJP. How can you ask students to chant Jai Shri Ram? BJP-RSS are missing the whole idea of Ram. The Governor who is on a constitutional post should stop promoting religious activities. Whenever there is a BJP, there are no schemes for the welfare of people. They are afraid of the Dravidian model under which there are people-centric schemes," he said. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is likely to move the State Autonomy resolution in the legislative Assembly on Tuesday. The resolution aims to urge the Central government to ensure that states get more powers. This resolution follows several others criticising the central government's policies. The Tamil Nadu Assembly had previously adopted a resolution against the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Act, urging the central government to repeal the law. This resolution to ensure more power to states also came after the significant development of ten bills passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly, which became law without the Governor's assent after a Supreme Court order. On April 8, the Supreme Court termed Governor RN Ravi's withholding assent to ten bills after they were re-enacted by the State Legislature "illegal and erroneous in law". (ANI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended its interim order of granting protection from arrest to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) trainee officer Puja Khedkar, accused for forging her documents to obtain eligibility for the 2022 Union Public Service Commission test. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma posted the matter for hearing on April 21 by then interim protection given to her from arrest shall continue. The bench adjourned the hearing of the case as her counsel told the bench that a counter affidavit has been filed on her behalf but it was not showing on court's record. Earlier, the top court asked the Delhi police to complete the probe fast and asked why it was not completing the investigation when Khedkar herself has said it on affidavit that she was willing to cooperate. The bench posted for April 15 to hear an anticipatory bail plea filed by Khedkar. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who was appearing for Delhi police, earlier, told the top court that police need to have a custodial interrogation in order to investigate the larger scam of fake documents submitted by UPSC candidates. The bench then had said that the source from where Khedkar allegedly got forged certificates needs to be revealed but that does not require her to be necessarily kept in custody. Khedkar had challenged in the top court the Delhi High court order rejecting her anticipatory bail plea. In January, the apex court granted her interim protection from arrest and asked her to cooperate in the investigation. Khedkar is accused of fraudulently availing reservation meant for Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in order to clear the Union Public Service Commission exam (UPSC exam). The Delhi High Court while dismissing anticipatory bail plea had made strong observations against Khedkar saying its a "classic example of fraud, not only with a constitutional body but also with society and the nation as a whole." The High Court had emphasised that interrogation is necessary to uncover the conspiracy involved. The High Court had also highlighted that the father and mother held high-ranking positions, suggesting the possibility of collusion with influential individuals. Khedkar is facing criminal charges filed by the Delhi Police, accusing her of cheating and unlawfully claiming OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination. (ANI) Maharashtra Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday said that 'Sadbhavana Shanti Yatra' will be held in Nagpur, aimed at promoting communal harmony in the city following a recent violence incident here. Addressing a press conference, Wadettiwar said, "In the wake of the Nagpur violence, the Congress party is going to take out a Sadbhavana March in the city. The aim of this march is to establish peace, eliminate mutual enmity and remove misunderstandings." Nagpur witnessed violent clashes on March 17 over the demand for the removal of Aurangzeb's grave, with stones hurled at police amid rumours that a holy book of a community was burnt during an agitation. On March 25, more than 114 individuals were detained, and thirteen cases were registered in connection with the violence in Nagpur, which involved stone-pelting and vehicles being set on fire following rumors about a holy 'chadar' being burnt. "Action is continuously being taken against those involved in the incident. Thirteen cases have been filed in connection with the incident, and more than 114 people have been accused and detained," Nagpur Police Commissioner Ravinder Singal said. Earlier on March 24, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's anti-encroachment squad demolished illegal constructions at the residence of the accused Yusuf Sheikh and Faheem Khan in connection with the Nagpur riot case. Responding to a query about a potential Muslim president for Congress, Maharashtra Congress MLA countered it by asking whether the BJP or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would ever appoint a Muslim as their chief. "The nation is watching their (BJP's) politics. If they are asking us this (whether Congress will have a Muslim President), I want to ask them, will they ever have a Muslim Chief of the RSS or of the BJP?..." Wadettiwar asked. (ANI) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday stated that it had arrested four individuals as part of its probe into the Digital Arrests case under Operation Chakra-V, as per an official release. The arrests were made following search operations at 12 locations across multiple states. According to the release, two of the arrested individuals are from Mumbai, and two are from Moradabad. The case was initially registered at Cyber Police Station, Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu and later handed over to the CBI by the Government of Rajasthan. According to the complaint, the victim was digitally detained for over three months by cybercriminals impersonating law enforcement officials and extorted 42 times, amounting to Rs 7.67 crore. Following the takeover, the CBI carried out an in-depth investigation involving data analysis and profiling and employed investigative methods to identify those involved. Based on the findings, searches were conducted at 12 locations, including Moradabad and Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai in Maharashtra, Jaipur in Rajasthan and Krishnanagar in West Bengal, leading to the arrest of the four individuals involved in this organised crime syndicate. During the searches, the CBI recovered various materials, including bank account details, debit cards, chequebooks, deposit slips, and digital evidence. The arrested persons were produced before the Competent Court and remanded to five days of police custody. Further investigation is underway. The CBI remains steadfast in its commitment to combating the growing menace of Digital Arrests and cybercrimes by sustained efforts to dismantle the infrastructure that supports these offences and bring perpetrators to justice. Earlier, the Cyber police station of New Delhi's North District busted a cyber racket accused of impersonating Telecom department, CBI, and ED officials and extorting Rs 8.10 Lakh from a woman. According to Deputy Commissioner Raja Banthia, the accused held the woman, along with her daughter and father, virtually hostage for 48 hours and extorted Rs 8.10 lakh in exchange for removing her name from the fake cases they claimed to have against her. (ANI) The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday carried out searches at the premises of Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas in Rajasthan and AAP leader Kulwant Singh in Punjab, among more than 15 locations, in the matter of Pearl Agro Corporation Limited (PACL), which concerns investor fraud involving Rs 48,000 crore. The raids have been underway since early Tuesday across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. ED officials familiar with the development said the locations being searched include the residential premises of Khachariyawas, former Cabinet Transport Minister of Rajasthan and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh. Further, the central agency said that a First Information Report (FIR) has also been registered against associates of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo for illegally disposing of the properties of PACL and associate entities. In October last year, the central agency conducted searches at 44 premises across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand in the case against PACL. The company had illegally collected at least Rs 49,100 crore from 58 million investors over 18 years, as alleged. The ED probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation. It was alleged that PACL collected money from the public through illegal collective investment schemes for allotting plots in different parts of the country or by giving the option to take back their expected tentative value of land in lieu of the allotted plot under the scheme on maturity. As per the ED, the directors of PACL siphoned off the amounts received from investors by transferring them to shell companies located in Kolkata on the pretext of land development expenses. The funds were later withdrawn in cash and handed over to the key associates of PACL in Delhi. They were further transferred from Delhi via "hawala" to the companies incorporated in Dubai in the name of the key associates of PACL for the purchase of immovable properties abroad. The agency has already attached two immovable properties in Australia worth Rs 462 crore in 2018 and movable and immovable properties worth Rs 244 crore in India in 2022. The ED has so far filed prosecution complaints against 11 entities, including PACL and its related companies, and the main accused, late Nirmal Singh Bhagoo, along with his alleged close associates, KS Toor, ML Sehjpal, Prateek, CP Khandelwal, and others. (ANI) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday addressed parents' concerns about alleged harassment by certain schools. Speaking to ANI, Gupta said, "Parents from various schools have been meeting me, sharing their grievances. No school has the authority to harass parents or children, threaten expulsion, or arbitrarily hike fees. There are strict rules and laws in place, and compliance is mandatory." She further warned that schools found violating these regulations would face consequences. "We have issued notices to all schools against which complaints have been received," Gupta added, emphasizing the state government's commitment to protecting students and parents. Earlier today, the Delhi Chief Minister, in a post on X, addressed a complaint raised during a public dialogue programme regarding Queen Mary School, Model Town, where parents alleged wrongful fee collection and expulsion of children. The CM stated that immediate action has been directed, with officials instructed to investigate and take strict measures. CM highlighted a "Zero Tolerance" policy against injustice, exploitation, or irregularities and emphasized the Delhi Government's commitment to transparency, equal opportunity, and children's rights in education. https://x.com/gupta_rekha/status/1912014995162087689 In her X post, Gupta wrote, "Today, during the public dialogue programme, a case related to Queen Mary School, Model Town came up, in which parents of children lodged a complaint regarding wrong collection of fees and expulsion of children from the school. Taking immediate cognizance of this matter, the concerned officials have been instructed to conduct an immediate investigation and take strict and necessary action. The Delhi Government is fully committed to transparency, equal opportunity and the protection of children's rights in the field of education. A zero-tolerance policy has been adopted towards any kind of injustice, exploitation or irregularity- no laxity will be tolerated in this. Our resolve is clear--every child should have access to justice, respect and quality education.#JanSamvad #ZeroTolerance" (ANI) A foreign national was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Squad of the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) for allegedly selling/trafficking MDMA crystals, a prohibited drug, in the Begur police station limits. Items worth Rs2 crore, including narcotics and other materials, were seized during the raid. Acting on information, CCB officers conducted a swift raid at the location. The suspect was caught on the crime scene in possession of MDMA crystals. The officers also seized an electronic weighing machine, a mobile phone, a two-wheeler used in the crime, and other items. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused, who arrived in India on a business visa in 2012, had been purchasing MDMA crystals at a low cost from his acquaintance based in Bengaluru. He allegedly sold the drug at high rates--up to Rs20,000 per gram to college students and IT/BT professionals. Authorities added that the accused had overstayed his visa and was residing in India using fake documents. A correspondence will be made to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) for further action. The accused, along with the seized MDMA crystals, have been handed over to the Begur Police, where a case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. ( In Delhi, the Anti-Gang Squad (AGS) of the Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted an interstate drug syndicate operating across Delhi-NCR, arresting two individuals. According to the Crime Branch Delhi, "The operation was launched after the Crime Branch received specific intelligence indicating that a drug cartel, led by Raja Kumar and his associate Sajan, was distributing ganja (marijuana) in and around educational institutions across the region." The arrested accused have been identified as Raja Kumar (25) and Sajan (19). Both of the accused were part of a larger narcotics supply chain with links extending into Haryana, Rajasthan, and Bihar. Police also recovered 36.135 kg of fine quality ganja (marijuana) and one scooty used in traffickingHarsh Indora, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), said, " On April 11, 2025, the Crime Branch team laid a trap near the ITBP Camp on Dwarka-Najafgarh Road, Delhi. Raja Kumar was intercepted while riding a scooty carrying a large consignment of ganja."The police have registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. (ANI) Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday emphasized that in the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, the state will be freed from the BJP and its "opportunist" alliance. In a post on X, Kharge posted a video of meeting Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and others in New Delhi to begin preparations for the Bihar Assembly polls, scheduled to be held later this year. "This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today, we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav and discussed the strengthening of the Mahagathbandhan. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from the BJP and its opportunistic alliance," Kharge said. "Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backwards, extremely backward and people of all other sections of the society want the Mahagathbandhan government," the Congress President said. Earlier today, after meeting with the Congress' top leadership to discuss preparations for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said that the opposition alliance is united and fully prepared to take Bihar forward. Speaking to the media, Yadav said that another meeting with alliance partners will be held on April 17 in Patna. Further, slamming the NDA, the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister said that even after 20 years of its rule, Bihar remains the poorest state with the lowest per capita and farmers' incomes and the highest migration rate. "We had a meeting and had positive discussions. We will meet again on 17 April in Patna, along with other alliance parties. We are fully prepared, and we want to take Bihar forward. Even after 20 years of NDA government in the state, Bihar is the poorest state, where per capita income and farmers' income are the lowest, and migration is the highest. We want to contest elections based on issues. It is the duty of all of us to highlight the shortcomings of the government," Tejashwi Yadav said. On the question of the Chief Ministerial's face, he said it would be decided unanimously while also declaring that the NDA will not form the government in Bihar at this time. "We will discuss and unanimously decide the CM face. 'Nitish Ji to hijack ho chuke hain'. NDA is not forming the government in Bihar this time," the RJD leader said. (ANI) The registrations for this year's Shri Amarnath Yatra began in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. According to officials, the registrations will take place at 533 branches comprising of Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, J&K bank and Yes bank across the country. "Registration for this Yatra is being done at almost 309 branches of the PNB across the country. Besides PNB, registration is being done at SBI, Yes Bank, J&K Bank - a total of 533 designated branches combined. Through Aadhaar authentication, application will be accepted after e-KYC and producing the compulsory health certificate issued by medical institutions and doctors permitted by the Shrine Board...Daily quota for both routes have been designated, exceeding that, daily-wise registration will not be done. For Yatra on any particular date, registration will close 8 days prior... The Shrine Board is taking charges of Rs 150 per registration," Sharma told ANI. The Amarnath Yatra is all set to commence on July 3 this year, simultaneously from both routes--the Pahalgam track in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district. The Yatra will culminate on August 9 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. Specifying the rules and regulations for the yatra, Anil Sharma, Circle Head, PNB Circle Jammu said that no pregnant women, people below 13 years and above 70 years would be allowed for the yatra, even if they had a medical certificate. "Those below 13 years and above 70 years of age will not be permitted for this Yatra by Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, even if they have a compulsory medical certificate. Pregnant women will not be permitted either, even if they produce a compulsory medical certificate," Sharma added. Dates for the yatra were announced by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on March 5 during the 48th Board meeting of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) at Raj Bhawan. (ANI) Victorian MPs Recognize Armenian, Assyrian, Greek Genocide Victorian Parliament Members of Parliament Chris Crewther, Ann-Marie Hermans, and Kim Wells. The Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia has warmly welcomed and commended the recent statements made in the Victorian Parliament by Members of Parliament Chris Crewther, Ann-Marie Hermans, and Kim Wells, recognising the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides. "These speeches mark a significant moment for justice, remembrance, and the acknowledgment of historical truth," the Federation said in a statement. "As descendants of survivors of the Pontian Greek Genocide, our community has long advocated for formal recognition of these atrocities, and we are heartened to see our voices reflected in Parliament." Across Victoria, Federation members work tirelessly to preserve the memory of the victims, educate future generations, and foster intercultural understanding. "The sentiments expressed by these MPs not only honour the memory of those who perished but also provide reassurance to thousands of descendants that our history is being acknowledged at the highest levels of Government and for this, we say thank you," Federation President, Esta Paschalidis-Chilas, said. The Federation applauded this important step towards broader recognition and said they look forward to continuing their work with elected representatives across the political spectrum to ensure that truth and remembrance remain central to people's shared values. This photo taken on April 13, 2025 shows Chinese bamboo weaving designs at an exhibition of Milan Design Week in Milan, Italy. [Photo/Xinhua] As one of the most anticipated fixtures in the global design calendar, the 2025 Milan Design Week, which closed on Sunday, brought a vibrant burst of color and creativity, drawing designers and enthusiasts from around the world. Among the kaleidoscope of international exhibits, a splash of Chinese red has stood out, symbolizing the rising global presence of Chinese design. China Week of creativity On April 7, the second edition of the China and Design exhibition opened in Milan's Paolo Sarpi district - often dubbed the city's Chinatown. Known as "China Week," the event features dozens of exhibitions and activities focused on industrial cooperation, brand localization, and community integration, aiming at fostering deeper cultural exchange and helping Chinese design concepts take root and flourish overseas. At the heart of China Week is the Chinese cultural and creative design exhibition, which showcases a range of creative works, including a limited-edition "Snake Dwen Dwen" mascot for the Year of the Snake (a spin-off of the beloved Beijing Winter Olympics figure), a specially crafted bronze wine vessel inspired by the ancient Sanxingdui archaeological site in southwest China, and an intricately carved statue of the legendary "Monkey King" from Journey to the West. These exhibits have captivated large crowds of international visitors. Models perform at "The Gift," a light mix design of Milan Design Week by Chinese designer Chen Yaoguang, at the University of Milan, in Milan, Italy, April 11, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] To complement the main displays, the streets of the Paolo Sarpi district have been transformed into a festive cultural landscape. Arches themed around the Year of the Snake - decorated with traditional symbols such as dragons, dumplings, and serpentine patterns - have been erected along the streets. "Through both its immersive exhibits and the festive street atmosphere, China Week brought Chinese design vividly to life in Milan - not only as a showcase of creativity but as a celebration of cultural dialogue, urban engagement, and global visibility," said Michele Brunello, director of the China Design Centre in Milan. China Week has hosted a series of high-level dialogues featuring professors and scholars from top Chinese institutions and Italian design leaders to explore the localization of Chinese design in international markets. Lin Cunzhen, curator of the exhibition, described the event as a bridge connecting Eastern and Western design philosophies. "On the other side of the bridge stands a new generation of Chinese designers - confident, open and globally minded." Innovation on wheels During the opening ceremony of China Week, the Turin Automotive Design Award was launched for the first time. Jointly initiated by the Turin Auto Show and the China Design Centre in Milan, the award aims to spotlight outstanding Chinese automotive designs already present in the European market. The winners will be announced in September at the Turin Auto Show. "We hope this award will strengthen cooperation between the European and Chinese automotive industries and foster cross-cultural synergy," said Barbara Santise, press officer for the Turin Auto Show. People try a BYD Denza Z9GT vehicle at an exhibition of Milan Design Week in Milan, Italy, April 11, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Santise added that Chinese vehicles are not only technically advanced but also competitively priced, making them strong contenders in the European market. Just a few kilometers away, in Milan's Brera district, the Z9GT, a flagship luxury electric sedan by Chinese automaker DENZA under BYD, made its European debut. With flowing curves inspired by Eastern aesthetics, the vehicle stood in poetic harmony with the surrounding Baroque architecture. Lines of international visitors queued for test drives, offering enthusiastic praise. Across Milan, Chinese auto brands such as XPeng, GAC, and Geely have launched their own showcases, drawing attention from passersby. Once the stronghold of Western luxury brands, the high-end auto market is undergoing a transformation - one where Chinese firms are competing not on cost, but with cutting-edge design, innovation, and bold vision. A woman visits the booth of BYD Denza at an exhibition of Milan Design Week in Milan, Italy, April 11, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Design as cultural fusion Chinese design also found an artistic expression at the University of Milan. In the university's central courtyard, a circular mirror installation titled Gift, created by Hangzhou-based designer Chen Yaoguang, reflected the surrounding Renaissance architecture like a shimmering slice of modernity. The sculpture bore the word "Gift" in Latin, Italian, and Chinese-symbolizing the fusion of two rich cultures. "It looks like a pizza sliced from above. It's really fun," said an Italian visitor who only gave his first name as Stefano. "It blends perfectly into the environment. I'm truly impressed by the level of Chinese design." The Bengaluru Police have arrested three individuals in connection with a house theft case reported in the Bellandur Police Station limits. The arrests led to the recovery of 70 grams of gold ornaments, Rs 1.30 lakh in cash, and two two-wheelers allegedly used in the crime. The total value of the seized property is estimated at Rs 5.60 lakh. According to the police, the complaint was filed on March 3 this year after the complainants returned to their residence at Shubh Enclave Layout on the evening of March 2. They found that an unidentified person had entered the house by breaking the glass door of the balcony and stolen 210 grams of gold ornaments, along with Rs 50,000 in cash. The family had been away in Andhra Pradesh for a wedding since March 1. Following the registration of the case, Bellandur Police initiated an investigation. Based on collected information, two suspects were detained near a bakery at Kodati Gate under Varthur Police Station limits on April 3. During questioning, the suspects allegedly confessed to the crime and provided details of a third individual who had received the stolen gold. Police seized Rs 1.30 lakh in cash and two two-wheelers from the accused. The third individual, who had received the stolen ornaments, was also taken into custody the same day after responding to a police notice. All three accused were produced before the Court on April 4 and remanded to five days of police custody. During interrogation, one of the accused reportedly admitted to working as a delivery boy with Flipkart and identifying locked homes for theft. He disclosed that the stolen ornaments were handed over to an associate who later sold them. Further investigation led to the seizure of 70 grams of gold ornaments from a gold shop at Kodati Gate on April 8. The shop owner allegedly accepted the gold at a rate lower than the market price. The three accused were again produced before the Court on April 8 and remanded to judicial custody. The case was investigated by a team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield Division) Shivakumar Gunare, IPS, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Marathahalli Sub-Division) Priyadarshini Ishwara Sanekoppara, Police Inspector Ramesh of Bellandur Police Station, and other officers and staff. (ANI) Tamil Nadu BJP leader Ashvathaman Allimuthu on Tuesday filed a complaint against State Minister K. Ponmudy over his derogatory speech about Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and the dignity of women. Alimuthu, speaking to ANI, said, "We have filed a complaint against State Minister K. Ponmudy over his derogatory speech against Shaivism and Vaishnavism, as well as the dignity of women. It is not only derogatory but also obscene. We are filing a complaint against him and expect action against him. We are expecting that the legal and judiciary should ensure justice." DMK Minister K Ponmudy had purportedly made a 'joke' on two different sects of Hinduism, Shaivism and Viashnavism, drawing criticism from multiple leaders. Notably, on April 12, the DMK Minister had apologised for his alleged derogatory and 'vulgar' remarks. Ponmudy said that he "immediately" regretted his "inappropriate" remarks. "I sincerely apologize for the inappropriate words I used while speaking at an event organized by the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam. I immediately felt deep regret for the inappropriate remarks I had made. As someone who has been in public life for a long time, I am deeply sorry for this lapse in judgment. I regret that my speech caused hurt to many and created an embarrassing situation for them. I once again offer my heartfelt apologies to everyone who was hurt by my words," Ponmudy said. Earlier, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) dismissed Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K Ponmudy from the position of Deputy General Secretary in the party, following his controversial remarks on Hinduism and women. AIADMK leader Sellur Raju slammed Ponmudy on Friday, accusing him of having a "habit" of making "disrespectful" remarks about women. "Minister Ponmudi has made it a habit to continually speak disrespectfully about women and marginalized communities," Raju told reporters. AIADMK National Spokesperson Kovai Sathyan also slammed Ponmudy as a "disgrace" to the public and a "true representation" of DMK. Condemning Ponmudy's reported controversial remarks on women and Hinduism, Sathyan said that DMK leaders can go to any extent to mock religious beliefs and practices, particularly with respect to Hindu religious beliefs. (ANI) Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary expressed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is going to retain his post after the Bihar Assembly elections even if the "entire UPA, INDI alliance" fights the polls. "There is no challenge. Even if the entire UPA and the entire INDI alliance fight, Nitish Kumar will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar," Samrat Chaudhary told reporters in Patna. Chaudhary's comments follow the Congress-RJD meeting, which was conducted at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to discuss poll strategy and seat sharing. "This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today, we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav and discussed the strengthening of the Mahagathbandhan. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from the BJP and its opportunistic alliance," Kharge said. Earlier today, Kharge, while posting about the meeting with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and others, said that the state will be freed from the BJP and its "opportunist" alliance after the polls, which will be conducted later this year. "Youth, farmers-labourers, women, backwards, extremely backward and people of all other sections of the society want the Mahagathbandhan government," the Congress President said. Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru said, "Today's meeting was just a beginning... There is a second meeting in Patna on the 17th of April. The work that started in today's meeting will be taken forward in Bihar by building a consensus and strategy with all the parties." Bihar Congress President Rajesh Kumar said, "Today's meeting was very good, and we will fight the NDA government with unity. Many topics were discussed. We will move forward on all those topics in a systematic manner... We will sit on different dates and discuss all the points." Tejashwi Yadav also expressed that a united alliance is ready to fight the elections. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Yadav said that another meeting would take place on April 17 in Patna. On the question of the Chief Ministerial's face, he said it would be decided unanimously while also declaring that the NDA will not form the government in Bihar at this time. (ANI) Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma on Tuesday commented on the recent violence in West Bengal's Murshidabad, alleging that the West Bengal Government is facilitating infiltration and creating unrest. Speaking to reporters, Sharma questioned the West Bengal government about how it was handling the situation in the state. "What can we say about the West Bengal Government? Hindus are leaving their homes and fleeing to other places. Nobody is there to look after them? What circumstances are forming there? These are all the mistakes of the West Bengal Government, and that is why all of this is happening. Infiltration is being facilitated from there, and attempts are being made to create such an atmosphere at other places in the country also. The West Bengal Government is colluding," he stated. Meanwhile, Param Shakti Peeth founder Sadhvi Ritambhara also responded to the riots, stating that the events were "very unfortunate". "This is very unfortunate. I would urge the Hindu community to unite and stand up for fellow Hindus wherever they are suffering. I would like to ask the government to take strict steps to ensure the safety of Hindus. Hindus need to rise up from castes and regions and unite," she said. Earlier today, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a sharp attack on the West Bengal government over violence in Murshidabad, accusing the Mamata Banerjee-led government of remaining silent while the situation worsened. Addressing a gathering, CM Yogi also thanked the Calcutta High Court for ordering the deployment of central forces "immediately" in Murshidabad. The violence in Murshidabad was sparked by protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, which has been a contentious issue in the region. The protests turned violent, resulting in the deaths of three people, injuries to several others, and widespread property damage. The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of supporting the protests and criticised TMC MP Bapi Halder for making threatening remarks against those protesting Waqf properties. On Monday, the West Bengal police said that the situation in the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad was normal and urged people not to believe any rumours. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here to constitute a medical board of doctors to examine health of mother of Vikas Yadav, accused in Nitish Katara murder case. A bench headed by Justices Abhay S Oka directed the AIIMS, Delhi, to examine the mother of Yadav immediately who is hospitalised in Yashoda hospital in Ghaziabad. The report to be filed before the apex court, said the bench while posting the matter for hearing on April 21. Yadav, who is serving a 25-year-long jail term in 2002 Nitish Katara murder case, had moved the apex court seeking interim release from the jail saying in view of her mother's health condition. Earlier, the top court had asked the medical board, to be constituted to examine Yadav's mother and to file its report before it. Today, during the hearing the bench was informed that Uttar Pradesh government took seven days to constitute the medical board and Delhi governments took 10 days for medical board to examine Yadav's mother and by then time his mother was discharged from the hospital. However, Yadav's counsel said that his mother was again admitted to the hospital. Thereafter, the apex court directed AIIMS to constitute the medical board to examine Yadav's mother health condition. Yadav in his application said his mother is admitted in Yashoda Hospital, Ghaziabad, and is being treated in the ICU. Due to the serious condition of his mother, Yadav's assistance and presence is needed, said application. Yadav's plea raising the issue of denial of remission benefit to him has also been pending before the apex court. A trial court in May 2008 held Vikas Yadav guilty of murdering Nitish Katara for being in a relationship with his sister. On October 3, 2016, the apex court gave jail term without any benefit of remission to Vikas Yadav, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav, and his cousin Vishal Yadav for their role in the kidnapping and killing of business executive Katara. They kidnapped Katara from a marriage party on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002 and then killed him for his alleged affair with Vikas' sister Bharti Yadav. Bharti was the daughter of Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav. (ANI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers staged a protest in Mohali against Punjab Leader of Opposition and Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday, following his controversial remarks that "50 bombs have reached Punjab." An AAP worker said, "Congress is staging a sit-in protest today, alleging vendetta politics by the AAP Government in the state. But Congress knows that LoP Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa said on a TV channel that "50 bombs have reached Punjab", and of them, 18 have been used, while 32 remain to be used. Punjab Police approached him for him to reveal his source and information, but he did not tell them anything. An FIR was registered against him. Congress is protesting today to protect Bajwa. So, we are protesting here." The AAP accused the Punjab Congress of trying to shield Bajwa. "Congress should tell whether it is with the people of Punjab or with terrorists...He will have to explain himself or apologise. Otherwise, legal action will be taken," the protester added. Meanwhile, the Punjab Congress has dismissed the FIR as a political vendetta and is pursuing legal recourse. Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, "It was the wish of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to decide when, how, and in what way he should send Pratap Singh Bajwa to jail or file an FIR against him. The way the case was registered 100% smells of revenge. The way he (Bhagwant Mann) showed enthusiasm, and immediately the officers reached, and then the FIR was registered in the evening. You can guess from this that this is a case registered out of pure revenge." Partap Singh Bajwa has come under fire for his remarks, where he said that 50 bombs have reached Punjab and 18 of them have already exploded, while the 32 bombs are yet to go off. However, Bajwa argued that his statement about several bombs in Punjab was revealed to him by a source who worried for his and his family's safety. "I stated to a TV channel that my sources have warned me that several bombs have come to Punjab. 18 bombs have exploded, and 30-32 bombs are to be used. My source told me that I am in an important position, so I should stay aware since my family has already been a victim of terrorism," he added. (ANI) Madhya Pradesh police on Tuesday said that the situation in the violence-hit area of Guna district was back to normal, and everyone was getting engaged in their respective work. Police teams continued to be deployed, and patrolling was being done in the region as a precaution, Inspector General of Police (IG) Gwalior Zone Arvind Kumar Saxena said. Speaking to ANI, Saxena said, "Currently, 14 mobile teams and around 30 brigades are deployed in the region, and their rotation-wise shift has been set up. The basic objective is to keep the force vigilant, and continuous patrolling is also being done in the area. As of now, there is a good normal situation here, and everyone is engaged in their respective activities. Sometimes, such incidents happen, and everyone should take a lesson from it and think about maintaining peace and calm in their city." Highlighting the police action taken in the matter so far, the officer said that seventeen accused were arrested in connection with the incident that occurred on the night of April 12 during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in the city. "A total of seventeen accused have been arrested in connection with the incident that occurred on the night of April 12. Apart from this, our constant effort is that all the communities should show an example of unity. Guna has been a reputed city, and residents should cooperate in maintaining the peace and security in the region; also, everyone is cooperating in doing so. The daily routine of the citizens here is completely normal," IG Saxena said. When asked about the protest and ruckus held on Monday by the Hindu outfit, the officer said that wherever such an incident happened, which is worth taking cognizance or falls under the category of crime, action will be taken according to law. To prevent such incident in future, he added, "There should be a good assessment at the district level. There are many occasions when major festivals and major processions are held, then we used to hold a meeting with the organizers ahead of it and make SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Objective and Threat) analysis of it. If the district administration works poeprly on all these four points, then all kinds of processions or festivals can be held quite well with coordination among all the communities of the society." "There were many occasions when big festivals took place simultaneously on the same day. At that moment, a meeting was held, and everyone was convinced to celebrate their festivals using their traditional methods and proper coordination. So, every festival can be celebrated peacefully," he added. It is worth noting that a clash broke out during the Hanuman Jayanti procession in the Guna district of Madhya Pradesh on April 12, when the procession was passing near the Colonelganj Mosque. According to the police, stone-pelting occurred following the exchange of slogans between members of two communities. SP Sanjeev Kumar Sinha then said that a few people were injured in the incident and the situation was under control. "The procession was passing near Colonelganj Mosque, during which slogans were raised among the two communities. We got to know that stone pelting also took place, in which some people have been injured. Force was immediately sent as soon as the information was received. The situation was brought under control within 15-20 minutes," Sinha told ANI on April 12. (ANI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is set to launch the 'Sangathan Sirjan Abhiyan' in Modasa area of Gujarat's Aravalli district on Tuesday in an effort to revamp the party to strengthen its organisation by empowering District Congress Committees, and to "introduce a new system of accountability." Rahul Gandhi will be on a two-day visit to Gujarat to launch the party's campaign. This is in line with party president Mallikarjun Kharge's call for 2025 to be the "year of organisational reforms." This commitment was also reiterated during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting in Ahmedabad a week ago. https://x.com/kcvenugopalmp/status/1911990829184336245 Congress's General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, while talking about Gandhi's visit, wrote on X, "Today and tomorrow, Shri Rahul Gandhi will be in Gujarat to kickstart this process. He will be launching the INC's Sangathan Sirjan Abhiyan in Modasa, Aravalli district. The first objective is to strengthen the party organisation by empowering District Congress Committees and their Presidents, and by introducing a new system of accountability." Notably, Rahul Gandhi has previously told the Congress workers in Gujarat that there is a need to purge certain people from the party who are "hand in glove" with the BJP. "If we want to build a relationship (with people), then we have to do two things, the first task is to separate these two groups (loyalists and BJP supporters), strict action has to be taken. Even if we have to remove ten, fifteen, even twenty or thirty people, then we should remove them," Gandhi said while addressing party workers on March 9. Criticising those who might be working for the BJP, Gandhi continued, "You are working for the BJP from the inside. Go out and see how you work from the outside. You don't have a place here." Earlier today, party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu said that the party's initiative will give a new direction to the party. "Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. Rahul Gandhi ji is a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. This new initiative by Rahul Gandhi will give a new direction to the party," the party leader told reporters in Ahmedabad. Rahul Gandhi will address the orientation program for District Observers at around 3 pm at the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee in Ahmedabad. With the revamp of the party in mind, Congress has also started discussing poll strategy with its alliance partner for the upcoming Bihar elections, which will be held later this year. Earlier today, a meeting between Congress leaders and the Rashtriya Janata Dal was also held in Delhi at the Congress president's residence. The Rae Bareli MP was also present during the meeting with Tejashwi Yadav. (ANI) Union Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday appealed to the Muslim community not to allow themselves to be used as a vote bank by opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, noting that once they become a vote bank, they will be treated as a commodity. Addressing a press conference in Kochi, Rijiju said he had also appealed to the Congress and UDF to vote and support the Waqf Amendment Bill and not play "vote bank politics". "I appealed to them (Congress and UDF) on the floor of the house to please vote and support (the bill)... I told them, don't play vote bank politics... Don't treat any community as a vote bank, and I'm telling our Muslim brothers and sisters, don't become the vote bank of the Congress Party and the Communists. Once you become a vote bank, you will be treated like commodities," Rijiju said. "Don't become the vote bank for the communists and the congress. The country is suffering. Any society will suffer if you treat the community as a vote bank," he added. On the Waqf Act, Rijiju said that land must be protected and that no authority should be able to take land away from rightful owners without due process. He clarified that the amendments made to the Waqf Act are not targeted against any community but are aimed at correcting earlier provisions. "Land is the most precious thing for us. If you lose your land, you lose everything. That is why we have considered that in India, there should not be any provision for anybody to forcefully and unilaterally take away someone's land. We must make laws to protect every inch of land for its rightful owner. We brought amendments to this law, as earlier, there were unprecedented powers given to Waqf. This is not targeted towards Muslims. There is a narrative that the Central govt is against Muslims. But it's not true. We are here to correct the mistakes committed in the past and provide justice to people," the Union Minister of Minority Affairs stated. He cited the Munambam case in Kerala as an example, where 600 fishermen living there started paying taxes for the land, and suddenly, the Kerala Waqf Board declared 404 acres of variable land in Munambam as Waqf property. He stated that looking at such incidents, the Modi government had decided to bring amendments to the Waqf Act to stop any arbitrary declaration of any land as Waqf land. "India has the largest Waqf properties in the world. In India, Waqf has the largest number of properties... The Munambam case came before us some time ago. I was deeply upset when I learnt about this case. The 600 fishermen living there started paying taxes for the plan, and suddenly, the Kerala Waqf Board declared the 404 acres of variable land in Munambam as Waqf property. This is how the tragedy came before us, and people learnt about the injustice done to people. Looking at the pain of such people, the Modi government decided to bring amendments to the Waqf Act. Now, there will not be an arbitrary declaration of any land as Waqf land," Rijiju said. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on April 2 and 3, respectively, was passed in both Houses and later received the President's assent on April 5, after which it became law. (ANI) The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been apprised of an initial probe into West Bengal's Murshidabad violence, which indicates the involvement of alleged Bangladeshi miscreants, government sources said on Tuesday. The preliminary findings also suggest that the miscreants may have initially received assistance from local leaders but eventually became uncontrollable. Meanwhile, the MHA closely monitors activities in Murshidabad and other sensitive districts in West Bengal. Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Saturday spoke with the state's Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, assuring all possible help. He advised the state administration to keep a close watch on other sensitive districts and to put in place adequate steps to ensure normalcy as soon as possible. The Union Home Secretary is in constant touch with the West Bengal Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police. The MHA has also deployed nearly nine companies, at least 900 personnel, of the Border Security Force in Murshidabad. Of these nine companies, 300 BSF personnel are locally available with other additional companies at the request of the state government. Earlier, the West Bengal DGP briefed that the situation was tense in Murshidabad but under control and was being monitored closely. The DGP further stated that he was taking the assistance of BSF posted locally and that more than 150 persons had been arrested. The violence broke out last week in the Muslim-dominated Murshidabad district during a protest over the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The protests swept across Malda, Murshidabad, South 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, leading to arson, stone-pelting and road blockades. Officials said the situation in the violence-hit areas remained tense, though no fresh incidents were reported. Prohibitory orders have been imposed and internet services suspended in the worst-hit Murshidabad district, where violence took place. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has expressed concern over recent violence in three border areas of Murshidabad, West Bengal, and has deployed additional paramilitary forces as a precaution. Preliminary reports suggest the involvement of Bangladeshi miscreants, allegedly aided by local TMC leaders, who later lost control over these elements. The violence displaced Hindu families, forcing many to flee to Malda, raising fears of renewed infiltration and communal unrest. The Centre has sought clarification from the state government regarding its failure to protect lives and property, the attack on railway assets, and police inaction during the initial stages of the violence. (ANI) When Dunhuang is mentioned, the most lasting impression is of its historical inheritance, principally the must-visit painted grottos of the Mogao Caves. In addition to preserving this treasured heritage, the city in Gansu province is now seeking to become more contemporary and cater to different needs, by setting up multifunctional cultural venues and offering experiences with a modern touch. The Dunhuang Book Center is one such venue. Like other bookstores, it is stacked with books and creative cultural items, but it is also unmistakably of Dunhuang, with its exterior and interior design, titles and merchandise inspired by the grottoes and the murals. It opened in April 2022, and two years later, earned a spot on the "most beautiful bookstores of the year" list at the Third National Conference on Reading in Kunming, Yunnan province. Liu Xiaxia, general manager of the Dunhuang Gongmei Cultural Creativity Co Ltd, was its chief designer. "We had hoped the center to receive attention on social media platforms. And in the three years since, it has steadily grown in popularity," Liu says. Covering around 800 square meters, it includes some 25,000 books categorized under sections such as Dunhuang history, murals, and calligraphy. The center also boasts its own "library cave", a reference to Cave 17, which is famous for the 50,000 historical artifacts. These include manuscripts, documents, textiles and ritual ware, from the 4th to the 14th century, found inside it when it was reopened. In tribute to the cave, the center set up a unique space dedicated to more than 1,200 publications on Dunhuang manuscripts. "All of our books are about Dunhuang. Seventy percent of them have 'Dunhuang' written on their covers. Another of our features is our Dunhuang Inspiration brand. Our company has been developing cultural merchandise since 2016." It has produced 50 series and more than 10,000 products. Each year, they introduce 1,000 new products. Visitors can easily find souvenirs to their liking, from fridge magnets to tote bags, all with designs that reinterpret traditional Dunhuang aesthetics. The products make for good souvenirs. Among the most popular is a mural-based mystery box, with a miniature mural replica buried in sand from the Mingsha Mountain (or Singing Sand Dunes) scenic site. After they have unearthed the "mural", buyers can display it as an ornament and keep the sand in a small bottle. For those who like to collect seals, the center has a range of mural-inspired stamps and meanwhile, the Dunhuang 1900 cafe is a cozy spot where visitors can take a break while enjoying a coffee. "We are constantly striving to turn Dunhuang's aesthetic heritage, history, and cultural resources into tangible products," Liu says. The center regularly hosts salons, forums, and reading sessions that have attracted upward of 200,000 attendees. Its interactive learning space invites visitors to engage in creative activities such as book binding and painting, and also offers a hands-on experience of Dunhuang's intangible cultural heritage. Collaborating with art education companies, the space hosts workshops teaching crafts, including copying murals, book binding, and making clay sculptures. The mural copying workshops are available daily. Visitors can sit for an hour or two, and paint using natural mineral pigments on specially made boards that mimic the surface beneath the murals. According to Liu Fang, a workshop instructor, the boards replicate the layering of the Mogao Caves walls, with each consisting of five layers. They are made by the instructors. "We also have workshops to teach students to make them. We have sessions available for every step of mural art, from making boards and extracting pigments from minerals, to copying murals." Ouyang Xuezi and her 7-year-old son experienced the workshop for the first time last month. Living in Guazhou county in Jiuquan, a two-hour drive away, they often come to Dunhuang for the weekend. "I learned about this book center on social media, and was recommended it by friends, so I've wanted to come for some time. But my son was too little, and I worried he might disrupt the other readers. Now that he has entered primary school, I thought it was an appropriate time to bring him here," Ouyang says. They initially came for the books, but her son was immediately taken by the painting workshop. They spent an hour copying the famous mural of a nine-colored deer. Afterward, they bought a book about Dunhuang, and her son gladly made use of the center's stamps to mark their journey. "I thought I'd need to help him with the painting, but the instructor was very patient, and he did it mostly by himself," she says. "After this visit, I feel that there's another highlight in Dunhuang. Whenever we have friends visiting from outside Gansu, we always bring them to see the caves and the dunes. Now, I have another place to show them. Especially when the weather's unpleasant, it's nice to stay here to read or paint," she adds. In 2024, the company launched Dunhuang Press, another creative venue that incorporates an interactive cultural space, a gift shop, and a cafe. Unlike the book center, which primarily focuses on publications, the new venue offers an immersive experience that highlights printing and stamping techniques. Visitors can explore a variety of traditional and modern printmaking techniques, including woodblock printing, digital spray printing, and rubbing. With hundreds of seal designs inspired by Dunhuang's cultural heritage, visitors can collect stamps as mementos. "Our approach has always been to create aesthetic spaces with a cultural and creative mindset. We aim to offer our visitors more content-driven cultural tourism destinations," Liu Xiaxia says. "We aspire to be pioneers in shaping a lifestyle that reflects the essence of Dunhuang: enjoying an afternoon tea while looking out at the Danghe River, and reflecting on life. Ultimately, we aim to provide emotional value to our visitors." During the 78th Himachal Day celebrations held at Killar of Pangi valley, a total amount of Rs 86.67 lakh was disbursed in three instalments. CM Sukhu announced that all remaining eligible women in Pangi Valley would be provided benefits under the scheme upon completion of the necessary formalities. The Chief Minister said that to provide Rs. 1,500 per month to eligible women, the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana will also cover women who attain the age of 21 years between January 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, as well as those working as domestic helpers. The Chief Minister also honoured government employees for rendering outstanding services in the region during the Himachal Day function. The awardees included JBT teacher Devi Charan from GPS Phindpar, JBT teacher Surinder Kumar from GPS Kulal, surgeon Dr. Vishal Sharma from Civil Hospital Killar, Principal Bhagwan Das Chauhan of GSSS Killar, Tehsildar of Pangi Shanta Kumar, Assistant Professor of Geography Dr. Promila Devi from Government College Pangi and SHO of Pangi Police Station Joginder Singh. In addition, the Chief Minister felicitated the best-performing police stations in the state for the year 2024. Bilaspur Sadar Police Station, BSL Colony Police Station in Mandi district and Damtal Police Station in Kangra district were honoured for excellence in crime control, investigation and overall performance. The Women's Police Station in Una was also honoured as the best women's police station in Himachal Pradesh. A colourful cultural programme was presented as part of the celebrations, and the Chief Minister felicitated both the parade contingents and the cultural teams for their enthusiastic and commendable performances. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday asserted that his government aims to establish at least one medical college in every district and expand Jan Aushadi Kendras in the state. Addressing the 5th convocation of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Dhami highlighted developments in the country's healthcare sector in the last decade. "We are constructing new medical colleges with the aim of establishing a medical college in every district and expanding the network of Jan Aushadi Kendras in the state. More than 14 lakh people in the state have been treated under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. More than 5000 gram sabha of Uttarakhand have become TB-free," said the Uttarakhand CM. Dhami further said that India's healthcare sector has seen a significant uplift in the last decade with the launch of initiatives like Ayushman Bharat and the establishment of new AIIMS and medical colleges. He stated that AIIMS Rishikesh is providing quality and affordable healthcare services and facilities to people from across the state. He stated that the institute is providing advanced medical treatment like robotic surgery, neurosurgery and radiation therapy to patients. He also highlighted the inauguration of Heli-ambulance services in AIIMS Rishikesh. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda presided over the fifth convocation ceremony of AIIMS Rishikesh, today. He was joined by Uttarakhand Health and Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat; Members of Lok Sabha Ajay Bhatt, Ajay Tamta and Trivendra Singh Rawat; and Speaker of the Uttarakhand Legislative assembly Ritu Khanduri Bhushan. Addressing the gathering, Nadda stated that "the convocation ceremony is a special occasion which marks recognition for the achievements made by students." He said providing affordable and quality healthcare to every poor person in the country is a priority of the central government. Nadda highlighted the achievements of AIIMS institutes across the country in medical education and services. He stated that "till the advent of this century, India only had one AIIMS in the country. Today, there are 22 AIIMS operating in the country." He stated that AIIMS Rishikesh has carved a unique identity among healthcare institutes due to its superior services. He reiterated the central government's commitment to providing world-class healthcare for the citizenry. "The government is focused on providing healthcare which is not only curative but also preventive, palliative and rehabilitative," he stated. (ANI) Following the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress meeting in the national capital, former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam claimed on Tuesday that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav want to turn Bihar into Bengal. "Mamata Banerjee wants to turn West Bengal into Bangladesh, and Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav collectively want to turn Bihar into Bengal. The Hindus of Bihar have to take the call whether they want to see it happening," Acharya Pramod Krishnam told ANI. These remarks come after the Congress-RJD meeting, which was conducted at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's residence to discuss poll strategy and seat sharing. Congress President Rahul Gandhi, party General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, and others attended the meeting. On the RJD side, MP Manoj Jha, MP Sanjay Yadav, and other leaders were present. "This time, change is certain in Bihar. Today, we met the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav and discussed the strengthening of the Mahagathbandhan. In the coming elections, we will give the people of Bihar a strong, positive, just and welfare-oriented option. Bihar will be freed from the BJP and its opportunistic alliance," Kharge said. Reacting to the Murshidabad violence, the former Congress leader said that the Hindus of the country are in grave danger. "The Hindus of the country are in grave danger, and the Union Home Minister and Prime Minister should give it a thought," he added. The violence in Murshidabad was sparked by protests against the Waqf Amendment Act, which has been a contentious issue in the region. The protests turned violent, resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to several others, with widespread property damage. The Bihar Legislative Assembly election for all 243 constituencies is scheduled to be held in October or November this year. The last assembly elections were held in October-November 2020. (ANI) Congress leader and Punjab Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa was seen arriving at the Cybercrime police station in connection with in connection with the FIR registered against him. Police had summoned the Congress leader in connection with the case that was registered against him at the Cyber Crime police station in Mohali. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers today staged a protest in Mohali against Partap Singh Bajwa upon his controversial remarks that "50 bombs have reached Punjab." Speaking to ANI, an AAP worker said, "Congress is staging a sit-in protest today, alleging vendetta politics by the AAP Government in the state. But Congress knows that LoP Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa said on a TV channel that "50 bombs have reached Punjab", and of them, 18 have been used, while 32 remain to be used. Punjab Police approached him to reveal his source and information, but he did not tell them anything. An FIR was registered against him. Congress is protesting today to protect Bajwa. So, we are protesting here." The AAP accused the Punjab Congress of trying to shield Bajwa. "Congress should tell whether it is with the people of Punjab or with terrorists...He will have to explain himself or apologise. Otherwise, legal action will be taken," the protester added. The Punjab Congress has dismissed the FIR as a political vendetta and is pursuing legal recourse. Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, "It was the wish of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to decide when, how, and in what way he should send Pratap Singh Bajwa to jail or file an FIR against him. The way the case was registered 100 per cent smells of revenge. The way he (Bhagwant Mann) showed enthusiasm, and immediately the officers reached, and then the FIR was registered in the evening. You can guess from this that this is a case registered out of pure revenge." Partap Singh Bajwa has come under fire for his remarks, where he alleged that 50 bombs have entered Punjab and 18 of them have already exploded, while the 32 bombs are yet to go off. However, Bajwa argued that his statement about several bombs in Punjab was revealed to him by a source who worried for his and his family's safety. "I stated to a TV channel that my sources have warned me that several bombs have come to Punjab. 18 bombs have exploded, and 30-32 bombs are to be used. My source told me that I am in an important position, so I should stay aware since my family has already been a victim of terrorism," he added. (ANI) Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that the Waqf Amendment Act is not targeted towards Muslims and a false narrative has been spread that the Union Government is against the community. Addressing a press briefing on the Waqf legislation, Rijiju said that land in India is a very "precious" thing and if we lose it then everything is lost and in India there should not be any provision for anyone to "forcefully and unilaterally take away someone's land." "I have come here for an important and sensitive issue; Land is the most precious thing for us. If you lose your land, you lose everything. That is why we have considered that in India, there should not be any provision for anybody to forcefully and unilaterally take away someone's land. We must make laws to protect every inch of land for their rightful owner. We brought amendments to this law as earlier, there were unprecedented powers given to Waqf. This is not targeted towards Muslims. There is a narrative that the Central govt is against Muslims. But it's not true. We are here to correct the mistakes committed in the past and provide justice to people", Rijiju said. The Union Minister said that India has the largest number of Waqf properties in the world. He said that 600 fishermen living Munambam area in Kerala started paying taxes for the land and suddenly Kerala Waqf Board declared the 404 acres of variable land in Munambam as Waqf property. "India has the largest Waqf properties in the world. In India, Waqf has the largest number of properties...The Munambam case came before us some time ago. I was deeply upset when I learn about this case. The 600 fishermen living there who started paying taxes for the land, and suddenly Kerala Waqf Board declared the 404 acres of variable land in Munambam as Waqf property. This is how the tragedy came before us and people learnt about the injustice done to people. Looking at such pains of people, the Modi Govt decided to bring amendments to Waqf Act. Now, there will not be an arbitrary declaration of any land as Waqf land", Rijiju said. Ever since the Waqf Amendment Bill was passed in parliament, there has been widespread protest in the country. The protests even led to violence in West Bengal's Murshidabad and Jangipur, after which the central security forces were deployed in the violence-hit areas following the order of the Calcutta High Court. The security forces have even set up a relief camp in Malda for those who left Samserganj-Dhuliyan in Murshidabad after violence broke out there during a protest against the Waqf Amendment Act on April 11. According to the officials, situation in West Bengal's Dhuliyan town in the Jangipur subdivision of the Murshidabad district is under control after the violent protests staged against the Waqf (Amendment) Act on April 11.Security personnel, including BSF and CRPF, have been deployed in the area, and authorities have stated that the situation is now under control. Three people were killed in Dhuliyan in the aftermath of mob violence against the Waqf (Amendment) Act in the Murshidabad district, West Bengal Police said. Several vehicles were torched on Friday night. Security has been heightened in the area, and as per the Bengal Police, the situation is now under control. (ANI) The Bengaluru Police seized drugs, cash, and vehicles worth over Rs 6.77 crore and arrested 10 individuals, including a foreign national and nine, in separate operations in Karnataka. Bengaluru City police Commissioner B Dayanand in a statement said that an operation by the Anti-Narcotics Team resulted in the arrest of a suspect from Kerala who was found in possession of 3.5 kg of hydroponic ganja, Rs 26,06,500 in cash, and a mobile phone. The total value of the seized items is Rs 4.5 crore. "In a separate operation, a foreign national was arrested, with authorities seizing 1 kg of MDMA crystals, one mobile phone, and a two-wheeler. The total value of the confiscated items is Rs 2 crore," Commissioner B Dayanand said in the statement. In another related development, eight individuals from Kerala were arrested in a drug trafficking case. The police confiscated 110 grams of MDMA, 10 mobile phones, one tablet, and two cars. The total value of the items seized was Rs 27 lakh. Earlier, Bengaluru Police arrested a person in connection with the abduction of a woman and the theft of her gold chain, valued at Rs 1.20 lakh. The incident took place under the jurisdiction of the Yelahanka Police Station in the capital city of Karnataka. According to the police, the petitioner, who resides in a women's PG at Kattiganahalli, filed a complaint at the Yelahanka police station on March 26, 2024. In her complaint, she stated that on the night of March 26, while returning to her PG after shopping with a friend, an unknown person approached from the opposite direction and forcibly took her gold chain, weighing approximately 15 grams, from her neck. A case of abduction was registered at Yelahanka police station based on her statement. During an investigation, the police explored multiple angles and gathered inputs from local informants. Acting on credible information, on March 28, a person was apprehended on the main road of Kattiganahalli under the jurisdiction of the Yelahanka police station. During interrogation, the accused confessed to kidnapping Sara in connection with the case. Further investigation revealed that the accused had pawned the stolen chain at a pawnbroker shop in Madanpally, Andhra Pradesh. On the same day, police recovered the 15-gram gold chain from the location. The value of the recovered chain is Rs1,20,000. The accused was produced before the court on March 29, 2025, which remanded him to judicial custody. (ANI) Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Tuesday elected Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren as the new President of JMM. Shibu Soren, who was serving as the president of the party, has now been elected as the 'Founder Patron' of the party in the 13th 'Mahaadhiveshan' of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). This decision was taken in JMM's 13th central convention, which was conducted in Ranchi. Till now, Hemant Soren was executive president. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is a regional party and is ruling in Jharkhand. It is part of the Congress-led INDIA alliance at the Centre and JMM-led Mahagathbandhan in Jharkhand. The JMM won the recently concluded Jharkhand assembly elections and subsequently formed its government along with its allies Congress, RJD and left. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) won 34 seats, while its allies won 22 seats. Among JMM's allies, the Congress won 16 seats, RJD four seats, and CPI-ML two seats. The BJP won 21 seats, and its allies AJSU, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and JD-U won one each. Notably, the party had witnessed several ups and downs after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, following which he stepped from the post after which Champai Soren was made the Chief Minister of the state. Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28, 2024 after nearly five months following bail from the Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. On July 8, 2024, he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time. After this move, Champai Soren resigned from the JMM and joined the BJP just before the commencement of the elections. Soren had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering. (ANI) The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday, approved infrastructure projects, including the construction of the State Assembly building at a cost of Rs 617 crore and the High Court building at Rs 786 crore. The cabinet also approved a draft ordinance on SC Sub-Categorisation. A group of ministers held a press conference to highlight the meeting's outcomes. Andhra Pradesh Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu said that "as promised in the party manifesto, fishermen will receive Rs 10,000 during the fishing ban period, which extends up to June." The cabinet has also approved the establishment of a dedicated centre to address climate-related challenges in urban areas and to develop special systems for effective flood management in urban regions, enhancing preparedness and resilience. A week earlier, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu instructed officials to expedite the process of addressing grievances and finding solutions to people's problems. He emphasised the use of the latest technology, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), to regularly update applicants on the progress of their complaints. The Chief Minister who conducted a review meeting at the State Secretariat on grievances redressal made several suggestions to the officers. He felt that collecting the Aadhar numbers and the Aadhar-linked mobile numbers is mandatory to check the fake complaints. If anyone tries to make a complaint repeatedly on the same issue, misleading the government machinery and misusing the system, the details of such persons should be collected, and the complaint too should be studied in detail, he added. If anyone makes a grievance complaint after the petition is disposed of, feedback should be taken from such persons, the Chief Minister noted. The respective district collectors can contact the petitioners concerned to resolve the complaints received directly by them so that such petitions can be disposed of at a faster pace, the Andhra Pradesh CM said. (ANI) Delhi CM Rekha Gupta on Tuesday ordered strict action against private schools for arbitrary fee hikes. The issue was brought to her notice today during Jan Samvaad at her home when some parents met her. This incident involved the Queen Mary School of Model Town. The Chief Minister immediately ordered to take strict action, and ordered the Education Department to identify such schools and send notices. "It is completely unacceptable for any school to mentally harass parents or students, threaten them with expulsion, or increase fees without following due process," said Chief Minister Gupta. She reaffirmed that the Government is committed to ensuring that every child receives access to quality and modern education. "Parents of children from some schools are constantly meeting me and telling me their problems. There are rules and laws for this, which are very important to follow. If any school is found violating this, then it will have to bear the consequences. We have issued notices to all the schools against which we are receiving complaints," she further added. Chief Minister Gupta has assured that the Delhi Government will not tolerate any Tampering with any child's future, and whichever institution is found guilty, strict action will be taken. CM highlighted a "Zero Tolerance" policy against injustice, exploitation, or irregularities and emphasised the Delhi Government's commitment to transparency, equal opportunity, and children's rights in education. In her X post, Gupta wrote, "Today, during the public dialogue programme, a case related to Queen Mary School, Model Town came up, in which parents of children complained regarding wrong collection of fees and expulsion of children from the school. Taking immediate cognisance of this matter, the concerned officials have been instructed to conduct an immediate investigation and take strict and necessary action. The Delhi Government is fully committed to transparency, equal opportunity and the protection of children's rights in the field of education. A zero-tolerance policy has been adopted towards any kind of injustice, exploitation or irregularity- no laxity will be tolerated in this. Our resolve is clear- every child should have access to justice, respect and quality education.#JanSamvad #ZeroTolerance" (ANI) The Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) 651 kW Waterjet Propulsion System, designed by Larsen Turbo under the Technology Development Fund scheme, has successfully completed preliminary sea trials aboard the Indian Navy's Fast Interceptor Craft. In a post on X, " A key milestone under @DRDO_India's TDF scheme. The 651 kW Waterjet Propulsion System, designed & developed indigenously by @larsentoubro (Precision Engineering Systems IC) >70% IC content, successfully completed preliminary sea trials aboard Indian Navy's Fast Interceptor Craft." https://x.com/DrdoTdf/status/1912102006665449755 Earlier on April 13, in a major success for the country, India joined the select League of Nations, including the US, China and Russia, with the capability of shooting down fixed-wing drones and swarm drones using a high-energy 30-kilowatt laser beam. The successful trial of the Mk-II(A) Laser- Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) system was showcased at the National Open Air Range (NOAR), Kurnool, mastering the technology of disabling missiles, drones and smaller projectiles, Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials told ANI here. Success has put India in the exclusive and limited club of nations that possess the high-power Laser-DEW. Speaking with ANI, DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat said, "As far as I know, the United States, Russia and China have demonstrated this capability. Israel is also working on similar capabilities, I would say we are the fourth or fifth country in the world to demonstrate this system." Kamat said that this is just the "beginning of the journey", adding that DRDO is working on a number of technologies "that will give us Star Wars capability." "This is just the beginning of the journey. The synergy that this lab has achieved with other DRDO labs, industry and academia, I am sure we will reach our destination soon... We are also working on other high-energy systems like high-energy microwaves and electromagnetic pulses. So we are working on a number of technologies that will give us Star Wars capability. What you saw today was one of the components of Star Wars technologies," Kamat said. Indigenously designed and developed Mk-II(A) DEW system was demonstrated in its entire spectrum of capability by engaging the fixed-wing drones at long range, thwarting a multiple-drone attack and destroying enemy surveillance sensors and antennae. The lightning speed of engagement, the precision, and the lethality delivered to the target within a few seconds made it the most potent Counterdrone System. DRDO's Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS), Hyderabad, developed the system along with LRDE, IRDE, DLRL, academic institutions, and Indian industries. (ANI) Aamir Khan, one of India's most successful Bollywood actors, told China.org.cn that comedy serves as a powerful tool for healing and uplifting people, as he received the prestigious Mr. Humor Award at the second Macao International Comedy Festival on Saturday. Aamir Khan speaks at an event during the second Macao International Comedy Festival in Macao, April 13, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Mahua Fun Age] "I always feel that in order to go global, you have to be local," he said. "The more local you are, I think, the more global you become. Because it's very interesting for people from different parts of the world to experience a different culture, to experience a different life. The world has become smaller." When asked how local humor translates to global audiences across different cultures, Khan said it happens naturally. "I think that human beings are very similar it doesn't matter which language we speak, which part of the world we are from," he noted. "We have the same dreams and aspirations. We have the same emotions. We have the same concerns and fears as well. I think comedy is a genre which travels really well across the world," Khan added. "In a film, perhaps foreign audiences don't understand one or two things, but by and large, I think humor translates really well across languages, across cultures." Khan, known for his roles in "3 Idiots" (2009), "PK" (2014) and "Dangal" (2016), traveled to China's Macao Special Administrative Region to attend the festival. He received the Mr. Humor Award during Saturday night's gala, an honor recognizing those who have made significant contributions to comedy. "Comedy is such a wonderful genre that connects with all of us," he said, praising the festival's diverse programming that included stage plays, stand-up performances and cinema. Khan said he was excited to attend the event, calling it an ideal chance to interact with Chinese comedians and actors. Aamir Khan receives the prestigious Mr. Humor Award from last year's recipient, Takeshi Kitano, during a gala ceremony at the MGM Cotai Ballroom in Macao as part of the second Macao International Comedy Festival, April 12, 2025. [Photo/China.org.cn] "I have always been a big fan of Jackie Chan, who's done a lot of comedy," Khan said. "He's someone I've been watching for decades. He is superb in action, but what I really love about Jackie is his sense of timing in comedy." The Bollywood star also mentioned that his recent favorite Chinese comedy is "Successor," starring Shen Teng and Ma Li. Khan said he sees the comedy festival as a chance for future India-China collaborations. "For me, as an actor, it would be an honor and a great pleasure to work with the great Chinese comedians," he said. "China is a country which has amazing, creative artists, and it would be really a wonderful experience to work with them." The actor expressed deep respect for comedy as a genre and comedians, saying they bring smiles to people's faces something he considers one of the greatest contributions to society. Khan shared a personal experience to illustrate comedy's impact. "About three or four years ago, I was under a lot of stress, and I was in a lot of emotional upheaval in my life. And I have to say that it is comedy which really helped me at that time," he said. "If you can laugh, then you forget your troubles. There is a phrase called 'laughter is the best medicine.' It makes you okay when you laugh, you feel good. And I really believe in that," Khan added. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Jagdambika Pal on Tuesday alleged that the ongoing violence in West Bengal is happening under the protection of the Mamata Banerjee-led state government and called for the imposition of President's Rule of law and order is not restored. "The way the violence is increasing in West Bengal shows that all this is happening under the protection of Mamata government... The police are doing nothing," Pal told reporters. He claimed that the violence appears to be organised and state-sponsored. "This seems to be state-sponsored violence... Who will protect the people when the government has become the one who is promoting violence?" he said. Referring to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent remarks on the Waqf Act, Pal said the CM's stance is encouraging unrest. "The CM (Mamata Banerjee) said that she would not let the Waqf Act be implemented in the state, and the people are being provoked by her statement, after which the violence is increasing," the BJP MP stated. He further asserted that if the state administration fails to control the situation and protect citizens' rights, the central government must intervene. "President rule should be implemented in the state if the state government is not able to safeguard the rights of the people," Pal said. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged on Tuesday that the ruling Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal seems to be held "hostage to those orchestrating criminal conspiracies" in Murshidabad where three people have lost their lives in violence during protest over the Waqf Amendment Act, and many others were forced to leave their houses for safer places "They (TMC government) said that 30 per cent cannot be chased away but is allowing 70 per cent to run away. This is unacceptable to any State or any country. It is unfortunate that this government seems to be held hostage to those orchestrating criminal conspiracies and is promoting and protecting such people. And ignoring their actions. It is in itself a serious matter," Naqvi told ANI, holding the TMC government responsible for the Murshidabad violence. Earllier, the security forces had set up a relief camp in West Bengal's Malda for those who were forced to leave their houses in Samserganj-Dhuliyan areas of Murshidabad after violence broke out there during the protest against the Waqf Amendment Act on April 11. Lalchand Mandal, who is staying in the relief camp after he left the violence-hit area on Saturday requested that the government to bring peace back to the region. "We came here on Saturday. Everything in our house was set on fire. We came here for shelter. If this violence happens again, how will we be able to go back to our homes? We want peace, we request the government to bring back peace there," he said. The violence in the region has left many without homes or livelihoods, and the residents are looking to the government to restore order and ensure their safety. Officials said the situation in Dhuliyan town in the Jangipur subdivision of the Murshidabad district is under control. Security personnel, including the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), have been deployed in the area, and authorities have stated that the situation is now under control. (ANI) Sudarshan Vahini, a Hindu group on Tuesday protested outside the Trinamool Congress office in Delhi over the violence in Murshidabad, demanding that President's rule be imposed in West Bengal. Azad Vinod, a protester, said that they were protesting against the atrocities being committed against Hindus in West Bengal's Murshidabad district and demanded that the President's Rule be imposed. "In Bengal, the way atrocities are being committed against Hindus, the migration of Hindus is happening. Mamata Banerjee, through her appeasement politics, is oppressing Hindus. Such govt should be immediately dismissed, and President's Rule should be imposed. We appeal to our Prime Minister Modi to immediately save our Hindu brothers," he told ANI. Amarjeet, another protester, said that what was happening in Bangladesh is now happening in Murshidabad and demanded that the Central government take strong action on the Murshidabad issue. "The atrocities happening against Hindus in Bengal, they are being beaten, and women and daughters are being mistreated. What was happening in Bangladesh is now happening here too. Here, we have our government, the Government of India, so the government should take strong action," he told ANI. Unrest broke out in Murshidabad during protests against the Waqf (Amendment) Act on April 11. The law has been a contentious issue in the region. The protests turned violent, resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to several others, with widespread property damage.So far, 150 people have been arrested in connection with the Murshidabad violence, and adequate police forces have been deployed in Samserganj, Dhuliyan, and other affected areas of Murshidabad, the West Bengal Police said. The BJP has accused the Trinamool Congress (TMC) of supporting the protesters and criticised TMC MP Bapi Halder for making threatening remarks against those protesting Waqf properties. On Monday, the West Bengal police said that the situation in the violence-hit areas of Murshidabad was normal and urged people not to believe any rumours. Speaking on the current situation, ADG, South Bengal Police, Supratim Sarkar said, "The situation is normal now. Everyone is safe. The CRPF, state police, and joint forces are deployed. The DGP of West Bengal police himself was present at the Samserganj police station. We request everyone not to go through rumours. We opened a control room. Anyone facing any issue can contact us at any time." (ANI) Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda presided over the fifth convocation ceremony of AIIMS Rishikesh on Tuesday. He was joined by Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand; Dhan Singh Rawat, Health and Education Minister, Uttarakhand; Members of Lok Sabha, Ajay Bhatt, Ajay Tamta and Trivendra Singh Rawat; and Ritu Khanduri Bhushan, Speaker of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly. According to a release addressing the gathering, JP Nadda stated that the "convocation ceremony is a special occasion which marks recognition for the achievements made by students." He said providing affordable and quality healthcare to every poor person in the country is a priority of the Central government. As per the release, JP Nadda highlighted the achievements of AIIMS institutes across the country in medical education and services. He stated that "till the advent of this century, India only had on AIIMS in the country. Today, 22 AIIMS are operating in the country." He stated that AIIMS Rishikesh has carved a unique identity among healthcare institutes due to its superior services. According to a release, he reiterated the central government's commitment to providing world-class healthcare for the citizenry. "The government is focused on providing healthcare which is not only curative but also preventive, palliative and rehabilitative", he stated. As per the release, highlighting the achievements of the Union Government in the health sector, Nadda stated, "today, 1.75 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs are operational across the country providing a range of services about healthcare and wellness. In the last 10 years, there has been a 101% increase in medical colleges, totalling 780 across the country. There has been a 130% increase in MBBS seats while PG seats have seen an increase of 138 per cent in the last 10 years". "Similarly, to cater to the paramedics, 157 nursing colleges are also being established, to be co-located with the medical colleges", he further stated. As per the release, the Union Health Minister appreciated AIIM Rishikesh for effectively utilising the helicopter and drone services by rescuing 309 critical patients using the services. He also congratulated AIIMS Rishikesh for being one of the best institutes in the country for using digital services like telemedicine (eSanjeevani) to serve the remote and underserved areas of the state. The release said, Nadda concluded his address by encouraging students to approach their work with compassion, integrity, and dedication. Emphasising that the government spends between Rs. 30-35 lakh for every MBBS student, he urged the new doctors to shoulder more responsibilities as they embark on their professional careers. According to the release, during the event, Nadda inaugurated several healthcare facilities to enhance the institute's medical services, including Integrated Medicine in the Ayush Department, a PET scan machine in the Nuclear Medicine Department, PACS facility in the Radiology Department, and a Centre for Advanced Pediatrics in Pediatric Care. As per a release, during the ceremony, Nadda awarded gold medals and degrees to 10 medical students from MBBS, DM, MSc Nursing, BSc Nursing, and BSc Allied Health Sciences programs. A total of 434 students received degrees during the convocation including 98 MBBS students, 95 BSc (Hons) Nursing students, 54 BSc Allied Health Sciences students, 109 MD/MS/MDS students, 17 MSc Nursing students, 1 MSc Medical Allied student, 12 Master of Public Health students, 40 DM/MCh students, and 8 PhD students. Speaking on the occasion, Pushkar Singh Dhami said that India's healthcare sector has seen a significant uplift in the last decade with the launch of initiatives like Ayushman Bharat and establishment of new AIIMS and medical colleges. The release, he stated that AIIMS Rishikesh is providing quality and affordable healthcare services and facilities to people from across the state. He stated that the institute is providing advanced medical treatment like robotic surgery, neuro surgery and radiation therapy to patients. He also highlighted the inauguration of Heli-ambulance services in AIIMS Rishikesh. Dhami also highlighted that today more than 5,000 Gram Panchayats in Uttarakhand are TB free. He stated the government is working to set up a medical college in every district of the state and expand the network of Jan Aushadi Kendras in the state. The event was also attended by AIIMS Rishikesh President, Prof. Samiran Nandy; Executive Director, Prof. Meenu Singh; Dean Academics, Prof. Jaya Chaturvedi; Medical Superintendent, Prof. B. Satya shri; Deputy Director (Administration), Col. Rajiv Sen Roy; Dean Examinations, Prof. Prashant Patil; Financial Advisor, Lt. Col. S. Siddharth; Organizing Committee Chairperson, Prof. Latika Mohan; heads of various departments, faculty members, officers, and medical and nursing students. (ANI) Union Minister and Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday expressed deep grief and concern over the brutal killing of two youth from Telangana in Dubai and confirmed that the Ministry of External Affairs is actively working to ensure the urgent return of the victims' mortal remains. The Minister said that he has spoken to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who has assured full support to the bereaved families. The deceased have been identified as Ashtapu Premsagar, a resident of Nirmal district; and Srinivas, hailing from Nizamabad district. Taking to social media, Reddy said, "Deeply shocked by the brutal killing of two Telugu youth from Telangana in Dubai, Ashtapu Premsagar from Nirmal Dist. and Srinivas from Nizamabad Dist." "Spoke to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on the matter and he has assured full support to the bereaved families, and the urgent repatriation of the mortal remains. The MEA will also work towards ensuring the delivery of speedy justice in the matter," he added. Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar also expressed grief and said in a post on X, "Deeply saddened by the tragic killing of Shri Ashtapu Prem Sagar and Shri Srinivas, both workers from Telangana, who were brutally attacked by a Pakistani national at Modern Bakery LLC in Dubai during working hours on 11 April 2025." "Spoke to Ministry of External Affairs officials today and our MHA office remains in constant touch with them. Also spoke to Shri Ashtapu Sandeep, brother of Prem Sagar, and assured full support as the family awaits the return of his mortal remains. Through the Indian Consulate, Dubai Police have been urged to expedite the process." "Grateful to the Ministry of External Affairs for their swift response and for pursuing the matter with urgency. We are extending all necessary support for the early repatriation of the victims and stand firmly with their families in this hour of grief," he said in the post. (ANI) Taiwan recorded 10 sorties of PLA aircraft and seven PLAN vessels operating around its territory on Tuesday, as shared by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND). In a post on X, MND observed that these were detected up until until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) on Tuesday. It further noted that six out of 10 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. "10 sorties of PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 6 out of 10 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded", MND wrote on X. https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1911947582244372770 As per the MND, on Monday, Taiwan recorded six sorties of PLA aircraft and seven PLAN vessels operating around its territory. "6 sorties of PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 2 out of 6 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded", MND wrote on X. These frequent incursions and maritime operations reflect rising tensions between Taiwan and China, a relationship long fraught with geopolitical strain. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), governs itself independently with its own political and economic systems. However, China continues to claim Taiwan as part of its territory under the "One China" principle, insisting there is only one China with its capital in Beijing. The dispute's roots trace back to the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when the ROC government fled to Taiwan after the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, took control of mainland China. Since then, Beijing has maintained its goal of reunification, using military, diplomatic, and economic means to apply pressure on Taiwan and diminish its international space. Despite these efforts, Taiwan maintains its de facto independence with strong public support and continues to assert its sovereignty amid ongoing external pressures. The MND regularly monitors and publicly reports such military movements to ensure transparency and national security awareness. (ANI) The Consulate General of India in New York, in collaboration with the Indian American Muslims of North America (IMNA), hosted a vibrant and heartwarming Eid celebration that brought together community members, faith leaders, dignitaries, and elected officials to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Held at the Consulate premises, the evening was a testament to cultural harmony, interfaith unity, and the power of community. The program opened with a soulful recitation from the Holy Quran by Qari Hafiz Faizan Mohammed Khan, followed by a graceful English translation delivered by Zoha Fatima Ahmed. The spiritual beginning set the tone for an evening built around themes of reflection, togetherness, and shared joy. A touching moment came when young speaker Nimra Fatima took the stage to speak about her experience growing up as a Muslim in America. She reflected on how the month of Ramadan helped shape her identity and deepen her connection to both her cultural and religious roots. Her words struck a chord with the audience and emphasised the need to empower the next generation to lead with pride and authenticity. Consul General of India in New York, Binaya Pradhan, delivered the keynote address. Recalling his childhood memories of Eid in India, he applauded the Indian diaspora for continuing to honor and celebrate the festival in their adopted homeland. He expressed gratitude to all the guests and collaborators, especially recognising the efforts of the Indian American Muslims of North America, Chairman Ilayas Quraishi, and Co-chair Ahmed Shakir for organising the gathering. Ahmed Shakir welcomed the attendees warmly and expressed his gratitude to the community for their unwavering support in making such events possible. IMNA President Imtiaz Siamwalla also spoke, stressing the importance of community solidarity and pledging continued support for cultural initiatives that promote inclusivity and dialogue. In an impassioned speech, Chairman Ilayas Quraishi encouraged the community to remain engaged and to bring their families to such celebrations. He spoke of the importance of inclusivity and youth leadership, stating, "You heard from my daughter, Nimra Fatima, earlier as she beautifully described the spirit of Ramadan. I'm proud of her and of all our youth stepping forward. Every year, we aim to bring in the younger generation. I urge you all to bring your children, let them speak, let them lead. Each of you is an ambassador of our rich culture and heritage. India is our Janmabhoomi, and America is our Karmabhoomi. We must not only join events representing India -- we must lead them." The celebration was elevated by the presence of a number of distinguished guests, reflecting the diverse fabric of New York's civic and cultural leadership. Among them was Consul General of the Kingdom of Morocco, Abdelkader Jamoussi, who praised the Indian diaspora for their inclusive celebration. New York State Senator Robert Jackson, a regular attendee, noted that participating in the Eid celebration each year had become a cherished tradition for him. NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams extended warm Eid greetings and commended the community for its unity and advocacy. Deputy Public Advocate Kashif Hussain attended in a show of support for the South Asian and Muslim communities. NYS Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani shared that his family migrated from India nearly two centuries ago and that his Indian Muslim heritage continues to inspire his public service work. Deputy Commissioner Dilip Chauhan of the NYC Mayor's Office for International Affairs affirmed his ongoing commitment to initiatives that promote inclusion and intercultural harmony. A representative from NYC Councilman Salam Yousef's office also joined, acknowledging the event's meaningful spirit of unity. The event included a special recognition ceremony honouring the contributions of various community leaders and organisations. A citation from the Office of NYC Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged IMNA's continued commitment to cultural harmony and interfaith engagement. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also sent a heartfelt video message, extending Eid greetings to the Muslim community and applauding the diaspora's role in strengthening multicultural ties. Several individuals were honoured for their achievements and service. Khaliq Ahmed received a plaque for his outstanding contributions to community service. The Care and Share Foundation was recognised for its efforts in the same field. Community leader Jagdish Sehwani was honoured for his leadership, while Mohammed Abdul Muneer received a plaque for excellence in science and research. A special recognition was also given to an Indian American artist who flew in from Boston to share in the festivities and showcase community talent. The evening concluded on a poetic note with a soulful ghazal performance by Suman Laskar, accompanied by Arindam Chakraborty on tabla. Their performance left the audience in awe, providing a melodious and emotional end to a night that celebrated tradition, diversity, and the unifying spirit of Eid. (ANI) Former Pakistan Minister Fawad Chaudhry has accused lawyers and the current leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of trying to take control of the party from its founder Imran Khan, ARY News reported. Chaudhry accused the PTI legal team and leadership of working against Imran Khan, as per reports. He alleged that some people became members of the National Assembly using Khan's name while secretly expressing hope for convictions against him and other senior members of the party. "PTI lawyers and current leadership are trying to take over the party. There's now a race to meet the founder and feed him false information," he said. Chaudhry also slammed the PTI's legal team for not appearing in the Supreme Court, ARY News reported. "Not a single PTI lawyer appeared in the Supreme Court today. They are destroying the rights of the PTI founder," former minister said. He accused PTI leadership of working hand-in-hand with the government. Earlier, a scuffle broke out between Fawad Chaudhry and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shoaib Shaheen outside Adiala Jail. The argument between the two leaders turned physical, with Fawad Chaudhry allegedly slapping Shoaib Shaheen, ARY News reported, citing sources. While complaining to Imran Khan about Chaudhry, he alleged that he was assaulted by the PTI leader at Gate No. 5 of the jail. Shaheen claimed that he suffered injuries during the scuffle. In response to the scuffle, Fawad Chaudhry accused Shoaib Shaheen of making derogatory remarks about Imran Khan during a TV program. Chaudhry said that he had asked Shaheen not to make such remarks. However, the situation escalated, and a scuffle broke out between two leaders. On December 1 last year, PTI severed ties with Fawad Chaudhry after instructions were given by Imran Khan. (ANI) The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has finalised preparations for a public gathering set to be held at Hyderabad's Hattri Ground on April 18 against development projects on the Indus River, The Express Tribune reported. According to the party statement, senior PPP leader Faryal Talpur reviewed preparations during a key meeting at her residence. During the meeting, PPP leaders reviewed detailed logistical and administrative preparations for the rally in Hyderabad, which is expected to draw a large number of participants. The rally will begin on April 18 at 6 pm, under the leadership of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Addressing the participants at the meeting, Talpur called the event a "public referendum" against development projects on the Indus River. She expressed PPP's firm stance against any attempt to divert the river's water, describing the Indus as the "lifeline of Sindh," The Express Tribune reported. She warned, "If the water of the Indus River is diverted, Sindh will become barren." She stated, "We reject any form of engineering on the river and demand that water distribution be carried out transparently, as per the 1991 agreement." Talpur said that the people of Sindh, especially the youth, stand united with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in defending the province's water rights, The Express Tribune reported. A number of prominent PPP leaders, including Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, PPP Central Leader Makhdoom Jamil-uz-Zaman, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, Provincial Ministers Ali Hassan Zardari and Muhammad Ali Malkani, and Special Assistant Qasim Naveed Qamar, attended the meeting at Talpur's residence. Other leaders of the PPP who attended the meeting included Rafiq Ahmed Jamali, Shafqat Shah Sherazi, Riaz Shah Sherazi, Sikandar Shoro, Sohail Anwar Sial, Pir Mujeeb, and Rawal Sharjeel Memon. On February 15, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff General Asim Munir inaugurated the Cholistan project to irrigate south Punjab's lands amid public outcry and strong reservations in Sindh, Dawn reported. The PPP, which is in power in Sindh, farmers and other stakeholders have opposed the Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI), worth USD 3.3 billion, launched by the federal government to construct six canals to irrigate 1.2 million acres of "barren land" in south Punjab. Earlier this week, lawyers warned the federal government that they would begin protests if the planned development of canals in Cholistan was not stopped within a week. (ANI) El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said on Tuesday that he won't return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US, after Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters it's "up to El Salvador" whether the man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison returns to the US, CBS News reported. Bukele and Bondi made the comments in the Oval Office alongside US President Donald Trump, as the two world leaders met. Over the weekend, the US Justice Department said in court filings that they're willing to take "all available steps to remove any domestic obstacles" to facilitate his return, as per CBS News. "How can I return him to the United States?" Bukele asked the press. "I smuggle him into the United States or what do I do? Of course, I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous." Bukele referred to Abrego Garcia as a "terrorist," and said "I don't have the power to return him to the United States." Bondi, speaking before Bukele, said it's "up to El Salvador if they want to return him." Bondi said that "first and foremost, he was illegally in our country." "That's not up to us," Bondi said. "The Supreme Court ruled, President, that if El Salvador wants to return him... we would facilitate it, meaning provide a plane." But the Supreme Court offered no qualifier of whether El Salvador wants to return Abrego Garcia. The court ruled that a lower court order properly required the government to "facilitate" his release from El Salvador's custody. The US Supreme Court on Thursday (local time) said the Trump administration must facilitate the release of the man, who lives in Maryland, from custody, but ordered additional proceedings before a federal district court, as per CBS News. Abrego Garcia's lawyers insist he has no affiliation with MS-13, and has never been charged or convicted of any criminal offenses in the US or El Salvador. The Trump administration acknowledged that his deportation to the high-security prison in El Salvador known as CECOT was an "administrative error", as per CBS. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national, entered the US illegally sometime around 2011, but an immigration judge in 2019, after reviewing evidence, withheld his removal. That meant he could not be deported to El Salvador but could be deported to another country. A gang in his native country, the immigration judge found, had been "targeting him and threatening him with death because of his family's pupusa business," CNN reported. (ANI) Immigration officials on Monday detained Mohsen Mahdawi, an organizer of pro-Palestinian protests last year at Columbia University, after he arrived at the Vermont immigration office, hoping to begin the final step to becoming a US citizen, CNN reported. Instead of having an interview, Mohsen Mahdawi, who has been in the United States for 10 years, was taken away in handcuffs. Speaking to CNN, Mahdawi's lawyer said that immigration officials detained Mahdawi at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services facility in Colchester, Vermont, where he lives. His detention seems to be part of an effort by the Trump administration to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters. Since then, a temporary restraining order issued by a Vermont District judge has prevented his removal from either Vermont or the US. In a written statement given to CNN, Mahdawi's attorney, Luna Droubi, said, "The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian." She called his detention an attempt to silence those who speak against atrocities in Gaza. She said, "His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional." Mahdawi stepped back from his pro-Palestinian activities in March 2024 before students began establishing an encampment and occupied university buildings, attracting national scrutiny and a large police presence on campus. According to his attorneys, Mahdawi plans to take admission in the master's program at the school this fall. According to his lawyer, he started his citizenship process in 2024. According to a habeas corpus petition filed on his behalf, Mahdawi grew up in a refugee camp in the West Bank and has been a lawful permanent resident for the past 10 years. His family continues to reside in the West Bank, CNN reported. Mahdawi's attorneys filed the motion in Vermont's federal district court, demanding his release on bail pending adjudication. Vermont District Court Judge William Sessions has issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting his removal from Vermont and the US. Mohsen Mahdawi is the second Palestinian student at Columbia who holds a green card and has been detained by immigration authorities for removal from the US. Mahmoud Khalil, one of the lead negotiators of the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia, was arrested in March. According to a statement from his lawyers and attorneys, Mahdawi remains in Vermont. "One of his lawyers was able to speak to him. If they now choose to move him from Vermont, it will have been with full knowledge of the court's order telling them not to," Droubi told CNN. Other students detained in similar situations have been taken to detention facilities in Texas and Louisiana before a judge could order that they remain in the place where they were originally detained. Such transfers demonstrate ICE's power in deciding where to house detained migrants. Vermont's congressional delegation, Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Representative Becca Balint, issued a joint statement against his detention, terming it "immoral, inhumane and illegal." They wrote, "Earlier today, Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process." The lawmakers further stated, "Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed, individuals with their faces covered. ... This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention." (ANI) Peter Chiarelli, screenwriter behind such movies as "Crazy Rich Asians," told China.org.cn on April 11 in Macao that recent tensions caused by President Donald Trump's tariff war against multiple countries, particularly China, won't deter his or others' commitment to cultural exchange with China. Peter Chiarelli, American screenwriter and producer, participates in a forum during the second Macao International Comedy Festival, Macao, April 13, 2025. [Photo courtesy of Mahua Fun Age] "I know what I'm gonna do and it's not gonna impact how I act. It's not gonna impact how I feel," Chiarelli said. "And I can say, I think a lot of people feel the way that I feel rather than the kind of rhetoric that you hear sometimes." Chiarelli traveled to Macao to attend the second Macao International Comedy Festival, which was held from April 9 to 13 in the special administrative region and neighboring Hengqin, Guangdong province. The festival features various activities, including film screenings, stage performances, industry forums, pitch sessions and a gala night. In this chaotic world, the American screenwriter emphasized how comedy and cinema can highlight what unites people rather than what divides them. "If there is something important, it's this idea that I think we're all more alike than we are different. That's what I think comedy and film specifically can do," he said. Having written Macao into his script for the 2016 movie "Now You See Me 2," this is actually his first time visiting the city in person, and he's excited to finally see it for himself. Attending the comedy festival, he expressed his hope to use this platform to exchange ideas with fellow filmmakers. He even joked that he'd love to "steal" inspiration from local culture and other people, later integrating it into his future projects. "Everybody that comes here loves comedy. So you've got to share those ideas, share those thoughts, and then hopefully, we'll all be stealing from one another, taking inspiration back home and doing better work," Chiarelli said. For him, when working on something culturally specific, it's essential to collaborate with people who understand that culture. "That's really important to me. Whenever I'm writing something, I want it to be as authentic as possible. I just want to steal from real life," Chiarelli said. Actress Fiona Xie, director Jon M. Chu, actress Michelle Yeoh and producer John Penotti pose for a photo at the Chinese premiere of "Crazy Rich Asians" in Beijing, Nov. 24, 2018. [Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures] Chiarelli explained that what he loves most about comedy is its ability to address difficult or meaningful topics without feeling heavy-handed. "It doesn't feel like homework," he said. "You're not watching something because you're supposed to watch something or it's a way to talk about these things. Comedy is that you can kind of have a message, but you don't have to be preachy about it. And you can also just have a good time and laugh and turn it off. Be a little bit better in your day, have a smile on your face when you're done. That's what I love about it. That's what I try and do with everything that I write." Israeli soldiers have signed a letter calling for an end to the war in Gaza and speeding up of negotiations for the return of native captives from the war-torn territory, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday. Al Jazeera cited Israeli Army Radio as stating that a group of 150 Golani Brigade members have joined the call to end the war, adding their names to thousands of others in a sign of dissent that has alarmed the Israeli government. Several petitions have been circulating within the Israeli military since last week. The first was signed by 1,000 Israeli Air Force reserves and was followed by others circulated among veterans and officers serving within the armoured corps, navy and other military units. A separate petition was signed by 200 Israeli military doctors on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to dismiss active-duty soldiers who sign petitions, as per Al Jazeera. Hamas is reviewing a new ceasefire proposal from Israel and will respond "as soon as possible" as the movement's spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera that the "request to disarm Hamas is not acceptable to even hear". Israeli forces killed at least 15 Palestinians in attacks on Gaza since dawn on Monday, Al Jazeera reported, with the latest strikes targeting tent shelters in the north and south of the enclave. Gaza's Health Ministry said that at least 50,983 Palestinians are confirmed dead and 1,16,274 wounded in the Israel-Gaza conflict. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023. More than 200 were taken captive, as per Al Jazeera. The UN humanitarian agency, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), also said that "violence is surging" in the occupied West Bank, according to its latest monthly update. https://x.com/ochaopt/status/1911877043555348677 "Aid groups are stepping in, but we must not let the West Bank become another Gaza," OCHA's office in Palestine said in a post on X. According to OCHA's data, 44,285 people were displaced in January and February 2025 in the occupied West Bank. Of those, the vast majority, 38,710 were displaced by fighting between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters in the north of the West Bank. (ANI) MQM founder Altaf Hussain issued a serious warning during his 240th speech, streamed on TikTok, regarding what he referred to as a "revived conspiracy" intended to rekindle ethnic strife between Pashtuns and Mohajirs in Karachi. He claimed that the present turmoil, disguised as the "Dumper Mafia," is part of a broader, planned initiative to disrupt the city by inciting inter-ethnic violence. Hussain referenced historical events, mentioning analogous occurrences from 1964 during General Ayub Khan's administration, the 1985 riots that followed the death of student Bushra Zaidi, and the Aligarh Colony massacre in 1986. He asserted that state-supported groups, during these instances, took advantage of ethnic divisions to throw Karachi into disorder. "Once again, the same perilous game is being enacted today," he remarked. Calling on both Pashtun and Mohajir communities, Hussain appealed for calm and solidarity against what he called "intentional provocation." "Too many lives have already been lost between our communities," he cautioned. "We cannot permit history to repeat itself under any circumstance." Reflecting on his attempts in 1986 to ease tensions, Hussain recalled that he had contacted veteran Pashtun leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan from jail to inform him of the ethnic conspiracy. Wali Khan subsequently visited Hussain's Nine Zero residence in Karachi, an occurrence Hussain credited with restoring peace at that time. To avert further disorder, Hussain encouraged residents to establish multi-ethnic neighborhood committees that would include both Muhajirs and Pashtuns. He stated that such community-driven efforts would help combat criminal activities and attempts at fostering ethnic discord. The MQM leader also voiced concerns regarding the rising number of traffic accidents in Karachi involving dumpers, tankers, and trailers, which have resulted in fatalities among innocent individuals across all demographics. "The Sindh government bears the responsibility," Hussain declared, criticizing local authorities for their inability to implement adequate traffic laws. He suggested creating designated routes and lanes for heavy vehicles, adhering to international road safety regulations. "In other countries, large vehicles are prohibited from using small-vehicle lanes, and strict penalties are enforced for offenders. Karachi needs to implement similar standards." Hussain advised the citizens of Karachi against taking matters into their own hands. "If a traffic accident occurs, do not assault the driver. Instead, hand them over to the police," he recommended, stressing that justice should be pursued via legal means. (ANI) China''s President Xi Jinping, during his visit to Vietnam, emphasised that the two countries should work to "fight unilateral bullying". The Chinese leader''s remarks were made against the backdrop of disruptions caused by tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration of the US. Vietnam was the first stop for Xi, who is on a Southeast Asia tour, including Malaysia and Cambodia, which aims to stabilise regional ties and offset the impact of the US tariffs. In a meeting with Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam, Xi said that both countries "jointly oppose unilateral bullying, and uphold the stability of the global free trade system as well as industrial and supply chains", according to the Xinhua news agency. In his meeting in Hanoi with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Xi urged both countries to intensify high-level exchanges, strengthen strategic communication and "jointly oppose hegemonism, unilateralism and protectionism," Chinese state media reported. Calling on the two sides to maintain the stability of the global free trade system and industrial and supply chains, Xi also urged the two countries to work together to push for an economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial to all, according to a report in the Global Times. A spokesperson of China''s Ministry of Commerce said on April 10 that China has been Vietnam''s largest trading partner since 2004, and Vietnam has been China''s largest trading partner in ASEAN since 2016. Xi''s visit to Vietnam comes after the US, which is the largest export market for Vietnam, imposed a 46 per cent tariff on Vietnamese goods. Although the US tariffs on Vietnam, along with several other countries, have been paused for 90 days, China continues to face big huge duties on its goods. The Chinese President Xi said that China and Vietnam should expand cooperation in traditional areas such as trade and investment, and expand cooperation in emerging industries such as 5G, artificial intelligence, clean energy and digital economy. During his visit the two countries also signed 45 bilateral cooperation documents. Xi last visited Vietnam in 2023 and this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between both countries. After meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam, Xi said, the two sides should build on past achievements and carry forward the profound traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood." "A small boat with a lone sail cannot withstand rough seas, Xi said, noting that only by working together in the same boat can they ensure stability and long-term progress," as cited in the report by the official Xinhua news agency. Meanwhile, Trump on Monday said from the Oval Office that the meeting between Xi and his Vietnamese counterpart, To Lam, was intended to hurt the US. "I don''t blame China. I don''t blame Vietnam," he said. "That''s a lovely meeting -- meeting like, trying to figure out: ''How do we screw the United States of America?'' Don''t forget, the European Union was formed to do just that," CNN reported. The American news outlet pointed out that relations between China and its neighbours have been strained in recent years, with tensions flaring over claims of disputed sovereignty in the South China Sea. In February, Chinese warships held live-fire drills in waters near Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China, after Hanoi published a map defining its territorial claims there. In his signed article in Vietnam''s Nhan Dan Newspaper, Xi urged the two countries to "properly manage differences and safeguard peace and stability in our region." "The successful delimitation of our boundaries on land and in the Beibu Gulf demonstrates that with vision, we are fully capable of properly settling maritime issues through consultation and negotiation," Xi was quoted as writing in the Vietnamese article published on April 13. (ANI) At least three police personnel died, and 16 others were injured in a blast near a police truck in Mastung, Balochistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday. According to Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind, the explosion occurred on Dasht Road when a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) planted on a motorcycle detonated near a truck carrying personnel from the Balochistan Constabulary, a police spokesperson confirmed. The personnel were en route from RTC Qalat and were tasked to provide security for a Balochistan National Party (BNP) protest. Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said that three constabulary personnel were killed in the blast. Of the 16 injured, two are in critical condition, whereas all victims were rushed to nearby hospitals, with the severely wounded being transferred to Quetta for advanced treatment. "Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, and a detailed report has been requisitioned," Rind added. Security forces have cordoned off the area as efforts continue to identify the perpetrators of the attack. Earlier on March 16, Religious scholar and founder of banned group Lashkar-i-Islam, Mufti Munir Shakir, was killed in a bomb blast on Saturday on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, ARY News reported citing police officials. The incident occurred near the Ormur area, where an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated and injured four people, including Munir. He was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, officials said. The Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) said that Mufti Munir Shakir was the target of the attack and that a search operation is currently active in the area, with the police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) teams investigating the case. Shakir was a prominent personality on social media and gained popularity due to his sermons. Previously, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Samiul Haq (JUI-S) chief Maulana Hamid-ul-Haq was among the three who were killed in the suicide blast that ripped through Akora Khattak's Darul Uloom Haqqania in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, chief secretary and IG chief confirmed on Friday according to ARY News. (ANI) Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that his nomination in the rioting cases is part of a political vendetta as he was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on May 9, 2023, when violent protests erupted in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported. On Monday, a division bench of the LHC, which includes Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, resumed hearing Imran Khan's bail applications in eight May 9 cases, including the Corps Commander House attack case. During the hearing, PTI founder Imran Khan's lawyer, Salman Safdar, told the bench that he had presented his argument at the last hearing of the case. In his petition, Imran Khan has said that he was falsely accused and that he and other PTI leaders planned a conspiracy before May 9, 2023, to attack state institutions in case he was arrested, The Express Tribune reported. He requested the court to approve his bail in all May 9 cases and ordered his release. The bench will resume hearing the case on April 17. Earlier in November last year, an anti-terrorism court dismissed all bail applications of Imran Khan. Meanwhile, an Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad on Monday reserved its judgment on bail applications of 86 PTI members who were booked in vandalism cases following the protest held by PTI on November 26. Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain presided over the hearing on the bail petitions filed by PTI workers, who were represented in court by Advocate Sardar Muhammad Masroof, Advocate Amna Ali, Zahid Bashir Dar, Ansar Kayani, Murtaza Turi, and Fatehullah Burki. Advocate Kayani said that none of the accused were originally nominated in the case. However, they were later identified through an identification parade, which was carried out five months following the incident. He mentioned that the identification procedure was carried out entirely in English, the report said. He asked, "Could the police officials speak English? Could the accused understand English?" He said that PTI workers, following their release in Rawalpindi after five- to six-month detention, are implicated in cases in Islamabad, The Express Tribune reported. Kayani said that the statements given by the accused in police custody have no legal weight, and there is no specific role attributed to any accused, no recoveries and no evidence. Kayani requested the court to approve bail, noting that the court had already granted bail to some accused in related cases. Advocate Sardar Muhammad Masroof Khan stated that none of the accused was arrested on the spot by police; all were taken from their residences. The defence lawyer said that the bails issued previously by the court were upheld by the Islamabad High Court. Violent clashes erupted in Pakistan after Imran Khan was arrested on May 9, 2023. The protests were held in remote and major cities as PTI workers were angry over the arrest of the party founder, with Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad summoning the armed forces to ensure law and order. Army installations, including the Corps Commander's house in Lahore, were attacked during the protests held by PTI workers. (ANI) Recently, Prasad Panda, CEO of Reliance Industries, held high-level talks with Shokhrukh Gulyamov, Uzbekistan's Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade. The meeting marked a major step toward bilateral cooperation in telecommunications, digital infrastructure, mining and energy. According to an official statement by the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, the talks focused on "the deployment and management of large-scale telecommunications networks, as well as the development of Uzbekistan's digital infrastructure." Panda and Gulyamov discussed introducing next-generation technologies to boost high-speed communication and data transmission, supporting the country's digital transformation. "The meeting explored the potential for implementing innovative projects in the management of large telecommunications networks, the development of digital infrastructure, and the introduction of high-speed communication and data transmission technologies in Uzbekistan," the statement said. The discussions also extended into the mining and energy sectors, seen as areas of strong mutual interest. "Special attention was given to new projects in the mining and energy sectors of the economy," the ministry added. Both sides emphasised the importance of a long-term partnership focused on innovation, infrastructure, and sustainable resource use. They agreed to establish an "active cooperation mechanism" to move forward with collaborative projects. Reliance's interest reflects growing confidence in Uzbekistan's investment climate and aligns with the country's strategy to attract high-tech foreign investment and modernize critical infrastructure. According to Statista, Uzbekistan's Communication Services market is expected to generate around USD 895.2 million in revenue in 2025, with mobile data contributing approximately USD 441.5 million. The market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.02 per cent, reaching nearly USD 1 billion by 2029. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan's energy sector is undergoing significant reforms aimed at improving efficiency, attracting private investment, and ensuring energy security. Historically reliant on state-owned monopolies and subsidized fossil fuels, the country is now diversifying its energy mix. The government has committed to generating 25 per cent of electricity from renewable sources, tapping into vast solar and wind potential. Energy officials stress that expanding renewable capacity is key to reducing emissions and building long-term resilience. As reforms progress, Uzbekistan's partnership with global players like Reliance Industries could accelerate its transition toward a more sustainable, high-tech future. (ANI) The Punjab government has written to Indus River System Authority (IRSA) requesting it ensure fair water distribution among the provinces. Punjab government blamed Sindh province for drawing excess water, terming it a blatant violation of the agreed share, The News International reported. In a letter written to IRSA dated April 9, the Punjab government said that IRSA declared a 43 per cent water shortage for early Kharif 2025, allocating only 6.702 million acre-feet (MAF) to Punjab. This substantial reduction sparked concerns regarding the province's agricultural productivity and water security. According to the Punjab Irrigation Department, the operational criteria for the JC Zone during early Kharif 2025 had been examined, and the releases from Mangla Dam would be restricted to 8,000 cusecs to ensure 60pc filling of the dam before June 30, 2025. However, Punjab has been facing several challenges in accessing its allocated share of water. Despite the declared shortage, Sindh province had been drawing excess water of its entitled share, further increasing the water scarcity in Punjab. Furthermore, reports of underreporting at Sindh barrages sparked concerns regarding the accuracy of water distribution. The Irrigation Department requested IRSA to ensure correct and transparent reporting from all Sindh barrages and to monitor water shares strictly during early Kharif, The News International reported. Punjab has urged ISRA to start operating the CJ, and the TP-link canals to access its rightful share from the Indus River. According to the letter, the water crisis in Punjab has reached a critical point, causing unrest and economic hardship. The Punjab government noted that the situation demands immediate intervention to re-analyse shares, ensure transport reporting and stop unwarranted downstream Kotri releases. In the letter, the Punjab government urged IRSA to ensure fair and transparent distribution of water among provinces. In addition, the Punjab government said that the allocated share of water should be provided without any reduction or delay. The CJ and TP link canals should function as per Punjab's indents. Punjab government requested IRSA to investigate and address the underreporting of water discharge at Sindh barrages. The Irrigation Department emphasised that the situation requires urgent attention from the authorities to prevent further escalation of the water crisis in Punjab, The News International reported. In its Advisory Committee Meeting for Rabi 2024-25, the IRSA announced short fall of 16 per cent for Punjab and Sindh. However, Sindh province, by the end of the Rabi 2024-25 season, was provided canal water supply with a 19 per cent shortage, while Punjab was given canal water supply with a 22 per cent shortage. Furthermore, IRSA did not make any provision for supplying water downstream Kotri barrage during the whole Rabi 2024-25 season, while the Sindh Irrigation Department escaped 0.470 MAF of water below Kotri barrage despite, shortage of canal water supply in Punjab. Moreover, the IRSA representative carried out an inspection of the Sindh Barrage on February 15 and found that the Rice Canal was running at 936 cusecs, while the Sindh Irrigation Department had reported that canal as 'closed' on February 15, The News International reported. In addition, the Dadu canal was running at 1,226 cusecs against the reported discharge of 950 cusecs. Punjab government stressed that all above mentioned facts clearly indicated that Sindh was using surplus water and underreporting at its barrages, which directly impacted the water share of other provinces, particularly Punjab. (ANI) The Consulate General of India in Seattle hosted the first celebration of Baisakhi at the State Capitol in Olympia. Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson, Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, and Secretary of State Steve Hobbs attended the event. In a post on X the Consulate said, "The 1st Celebration of Baisakhi at State Capitol in Olympia! Thank you Governor Bob Ferguson, Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck and Secretary of State Steve Hobbs for joining us in the celebrations. Deeply appreciate the impressive participation of eminent leaders from the Indian American Sikh community from across the State of Washington. Team Indian Consulate @ Seattle wishes all a very Happy Baisakhi celebration!" https://x.com/IndiainSeattle/status/1912032616263680213 This event marks the first such celebration of the festival of Baisakhi at the State Capitol. State Senators and Legislators from the Washington State Legislature also attended the ceremony, in addition to prominent members of the Sikh community resident in Washington. Baisakhi was celebrated on April 13 in India, where thousands of devotees thronged Sri Harmandir Sahib, popularly known as the Golden Temple, in Amritsar. Offering fervent prayers and taking a holy dip in the sacred Sarovar, pilgrims marked the festival with deep reverence. Devotees will offer prayers in Gurudwara throughout the day. The festival of Baisakhi marks the Sikh New Year and is a spring harvest festival celebrated in Punjab and other parts of north India. To celebrate the festival, people visit Gurudwaras, seek blessings, and participate in Nagar Kirtan. 'Kada prasad' is distributed among the devotees. Devotees offered prayers and took a holy dip at the spiritual Har ki Pauri ghat in Uttarakhand's Haridwar on Sunday to mark the celebration of Baisakhi. Aarti was also performed at Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain on the occasion of Baisakhi. The day marks the anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in the year 1699. On this day, Guru Gobind Singh abolished the distinction between higher and lower caste communities. (ANI) The Uyghur region in northwest China remains under strict oversight by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), even though it is labeled as "autonomous." Abundant in resources such as oil, gas, and cotton, it produces around 20% of the world's cotton and acts as China's link to Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. This area is also inhabited by approximately 12 million Uyghurs, who have a language and culture that is more closely related to Central Asian nations, as stated in a report by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). For many years, the CCP has endeavored to forcibly incorporate Uyghurs into Han Chinese culture through extensive surveillance, forced labor, torture, and detention camps, which the government refers to as "re-education centers," according to HRF. It has systematically sought to eradicate their language, religion, and livelihood while perpetrating beatings, enforced disappearances, targeted killings, sexual abuse, and forced sterilization aimed at diminishing the Uyghur population. The HRF report noted that the Chinese regime has constructed at least 380 detention facilities, marking the largest mass incarceration of an ethnic group since the Holocaust. China has transformed the Uyghur Region into a surveillance state where every financial transaction is observed, and Uyghurs constantly face threats of financial censorship. Rushan Abbas, Executive Director of Campaign for Uyghur, has dedicated years to advocating for the freedom of her community, the Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic group in the Uyghur Region of northwest China. "The entire Uyghur Region is a surveillance state. Every space, every property, any amount of money in the bank, everything is being monitored. They know everything. Every Uyghur person has a mandatory spyware app installed on their phone," Abbas stated. In addition to surveillance, financial repression enables the CCP to freeze assets and exclude Uyghurs from economic involvement. According to the HRF report, banks are required to follow state directives without hesitation. Confiscation is yet another method of control. Uyghur scholars, business leaders, and community figures have been imprisoned, with their properties being taken. Authoritarian regimes like the CCP are increasingly resorting to financial surveillance, confiscation, and repression to dominate and, more severely, erase the Uyghur population, as noted by the HRF report. (ANI) Sardar Akhtar Mengal of the Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNP-Mengal) spoke at an All Parties Conference (APC) held at the BNP's sit-in near Lakpass, Mastung, on Monday, reiterating his party's dedication to the ongoing protest and expressing dissatisfaction with the treatment of political activists during their long march, as reported by The Balochistan Post (TBP). The APC saw participation from various political party representatives who gathered to show their support for the demonstration. Mengal recounted that the long march started in Wadh and faced numerous hindrances along the route. Upon reaching Mastung, he stated that the roads were obstructed, and they encountered tear gas and gunfire. Despite these difficulties, he noted that protestors reached Quetta and have maintained a sit-in for 17 continuous days, according to the BNP chief, as cited by TBP. Addressing recent government actions, Mengal alleged that there was a planned suicide attack on the convoy that ultimately did not succeed. He also pointed out that leaders of the protest have received notices under the Maintenance of Public Order Act (3MPO), and the attorneys who filed a petition regarding the "illegal detention" of Mahrang Baloch were compelled to pledge not to take any actions against the state of Pakistan, as reported by TBP. Mengal raised concerns about the demand for loyalty oaths from lawyers, implying that individuals in Balochistan, particularly those who speak Pashto, Balochi, or Brahvi, have historically been viewed with skepticism. He condemned what he characterized as selective accountability and the suppression of dissent, positing that advocating for one's rights is akin to criminal behavior, according to the TBP report. Mengal voiced his disappointment over being prevented from reaching Quetta to conduct the APC and questioned the state of democracy where citizens supposedly lack the opportunity to voice their complaints, as noted in the TBP report. He urged all political parties to enhance their involvement in the sit-in and appealed to senior members from various political backgrounds to join for a minimum of eight days. He stressed that the protest transcends political interests, focusing instead on the dignity and justice for Balochistan, according to TBP. In closing, he underscored the larger issue of representation and the necessity of honoring voices from the region, particularly women, stating that the issues raised by Baloch girls are frequently overlooked. (ANI) An aerial drone photo shows a view of the Tangshan Port in north China's Hebei Province, Jan. 13, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] China's total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms expanded 1.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, demonstrating stable growth and strong resilience despite external headwinds, official data showed on Monday. According to the General Administration of Customs (GAC), China's exports during the period rose 6.9 percent to 6.13 trillion yuan (about 850.1 billion U.S. dollars) while imports fell 6 percent to 4.17 trillion yuan. Despite the weak momentum of global economic growth, intensified trade protectionism and geopolitical tensions, China's foreign trade has maintained stable growth with progress in high-quality development this year, Wang Lingjun, deputy head of the GAC, told a press conference. The country's foreign trade continued to see structural improvement. The imports and exports of the equipment manufacturing sector expanded 7.6 percent year on year in January-March, accounting for about half of the country's total foreign trade, according to the GAC. GAC spokesperson Lyu Daliang said at the press conference that China's exports to more than 170 countries and regions expanded in the first three months, with strong growth seen in the high-end, smart and green manufacturing sectors. In March alone, the country's imports and exports rose 6 percent from one year earlier, representing continuous improvements compared with staying flat in February and 2.2-percent fall in January, according to the GAC data. Lyu said that China's exports now faced a complex and severe external situation, but "the sky won't fall." He said China had made steady progress in diversifying its foreign trade markets and deepening industrial and supply chain cooperation with partners around the world in recent years. He emphasized that China's vast domestic market remains a strong backup for the economy, adding that the country will turn domestic certainty into a buffer against global volatility. He attributed the decline in imports in the first quarter to various factors including the decline in international commodity prices and fewer working days. China has committed to boosting high-standard opening up and expanding imports, sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world, he said, adding that China has maintained its position as the world's second-largest importer for 16 consecutive years, with its share of global imports rising from 7.9 percent to 10.5 percent. Looking ahead, Lyu said China had huge potential for import growth, and the country's vast market always presents a great opportunity for the world. A breakdown of the GAC data showed that ASEAN remained China's largest trading partner in the first quarter. During this period, trade between China and the ASEAN bloc reached 1.71 trillion yuan, up 7.1 percent from one year earlier and accounting for 16.6 percent of China's overall trade value, the GAC said. During the January-March period, China's foreign trade with the European Union went up 1.4 percent year on year to 1.3 trillion yuan. That with Belt and Road partner countries rose 2.2 percent to 5.26 trillion yuan, accounting for 51.1 percent of China's total foreign trade. China's foreign trade with the United States expanded 4 percent year on year to 1.11 trillion yuan during this period, despite disruptions from the U.S. administration's reckless tariff policies, according to Wang. Wang reiterated that the U.S. "reciprocal tariffs" subvert the existing international economic and trade order, put U.S. interests above the common good of the international community, seriously violate the WTO rules, undermine the rules-based multilateral trading system and disrupt the global economic order. "There is no winner in a trade war, and protectionism is a dead end," he said, adding that China will continue to work with other parties to jointly oppose the U.S. tariff bullying and hegemonism, and safeguard the multilateral trading system and economic globalization. The US-made weapons were used in Jaffar Express attack, ARY News cited The Washington Post report on Monday. The attack took place on March 11, when the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express -- carrying 440 passengers -- was ambushed. Several hostages were taken during the assault, prompting a two-day security operation to neutralize the threat and rescue the captives. Weapons were left behind by United States forces following their 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. Among the weapons recovered from the scene was an M4A1 carbine rifle manufactured by Colt, an American arms maker, ARY News reported. The rifle's serial number confirmed that it was originally supplied to US forces in Afghanistan and later left behind during the chaotic withdrawal, The Washington Post reported stated, as quoted by ARY News. After an extended investigation, the US Army and the Pentagon confirmed to The Post that at least 63 of the weapons examined by reporters had been officially supplied to Afghan security forces during the US mission in the country. ISPR Pakistan DG Lt Gen Sharif Chaudhry said on March 13 that the Jaffar Express clearance operation, launched after the train's hijacking in Balochistan, was complete. He added that all rebels, 33 in total, at the site of the attack had been killed. "On March 11 in Bolan, terrorists targeted a railroad track around 1pm and blew it up and stopped the Jaffar Express. According to railway officials, the train had 440 passengers," he said while speaking in an interview on Dunya News. Chaudhry said the army, air force, Frontier Corps (FC) and the Special Services Group had taken part and recovered the hostages. He added that no passenger was hurt in the final clearance operation, but before that, "the number of passengers who fell victim to the barbarism of the terrorists is 21." "These terrorists were in contact with their supporters and masterminds in Afghanistan during the operation via satellite phone. You saw that around 100 passengers were safely rescued yesterday evening from the terrorists, and today as well, a large number of passengers have been recovered," he said, adding that the process continued intermittently. (ANI) This comes amid the face-off between the United States and China following the Donald Trump administration''s imposition of 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, with Beijing hitting back with retaliatory tariffs. Beijing has also asked that Chinese carriers halt any purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from US companies, sources were quoted as saying in the Bloomberg report. According to the global aerospace company, Boeing airplanes have been the mainstay of China''s civil aviation passenger and cargo transportation systems for more than 50 years. Boeing is the largest customer of China''s aviation manufacturing industry, with more than 10,000 Boeing airplanes flying with China-made parts. According to the company, Boeing activity in China contributes more than USD 1.5 billion annually in direct support of China''s economy, including suppliers, joint ventures, operations, training, and research and development investment. Last week, China announced retaliatory tariffs of 125 percent on goods from the US entering China. The Trump administration, however, on Saturday exempted electronics like phones, computers, and other electronics from the reciprocal tariffs imposed on other nations, including China. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently on a visit to countries in Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. In Vietnam, Xi called on China and Vietnam to oppose "unilateral bullying" and uphold global free trade. Trump, however speaking to reporters in the Oval office yesterday alleged that China was focussed on how to harm the US. "That''s a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, how do we screw the United States of America?" said Trump on the meeting between Xi and his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam. (ANI) Nobel Peace Prize-winning Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi has condemned the dire state of human rights in Iran, accusing the regime of violent repression and its severe crackdown on freedoms. In an exclusive interview with ANI on the sidelines of the Global Justice, Love and Peace Summit in Dubai, Ebadi noted the alarming rise in executions, including the death penalty being imposed on juveniles. She emphasised the Iranian people's desire for a democratic, secular government that engages with the world, rather than remaining isolated under a dictatorship. On the most urgent rights issues currently facing Iran and how the international community can help address them, Ebadi said, "The human rights situation in Iran is at its worst at the moment. It's very bad. There is a very high level of executions in Iran, and the death penalty has also been applied in cases of juveniles under the age of 18 in the country. The people have been protesting... The people do not want this regime. Because the regime is a dictatorship, they want a democratic and secular government, and they want their government to interact with the rest of the world, and they want this isolation to end." The Iranian lawyer and writer who served as one of the country's first judges and was conferred with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 argued that a reinterpretation of Islam is needed to ensure women's rights are respected, stressing the importance of legal reform to end systemic gender discrimination. When asked about the steps that can be taken to promote women's rights in Iran, she told ANI, "Since the beginning of the 1979 revolution in Iran, Iranian women gradually lost all the rights. They have been deprived of their rights, but since then, the women have defiantly started a very strong feminist movement, and I realise that the regime is applying the wrong interpretation of Islam, and thus, they are violating the rights of women in the name of Islam and under the pretext of Islam... We can be Muslims yet respect the rights of women, and that is possible. We need to change the laws in Iran..." A report by Human Rights Watch revealed that Iran remains one of the world's top practitioners of the death penalty, applying it to individuals convicted of crimes committed as children, in cases of individuals charged with vague national security charges, and has sometimes used it for non-violent offences. Iran was among the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023, and the number of executions has remained high in 2024. A UN statement said that in the first half of 2024 alone, Iranian authorities executed more than 400 people. The report also found that Iranian authorities are carrying out the crime against humanity of persecution against Baha'is in Iran, the largest non-Muslim religious minority. Iranian authorities also continue to restrict the freedoms of assembly and expression severely. In 2024, security forces arrested dozens of activists, lawyers, and students. The authorities also targeted outspoken family members of those killed or executed during the 2022 protests, who were demanding accountability for violations against their loved ones. The HRW report also revealed that Iranian authorities intensified efforts to enforce compulsory hijab laws. They prosecuted women and girls, including celebrities, for not wearing the hijab in public, issued traffic citations to passengers without hijab, and closed businesses that did not comply with hijab laws. (ANI) The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition calling for the release of Mahrang Baloch, the chief organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), directing the petitioner to approach the home department for further action, Dawn reported. The court, in a divided verdict, converted the constitutional petition into a representation and forwarded it to the Balochistan home secretary for processing. The petitioner was advised to first seek clarification from the department on the legality of the detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance. On Thursday, the BHC heard another petition filed by Nadia Baloch, Mahrang''s sister, challenging the detention of Mahrang and several other BYC activists who were arrested under the same ordinance. This petition aims to have the MPO declared illegal, with the legal representatives requesting full transparency on the details of Mahrang''s case. Advocate Imran Baloch, who represents the petitioners, spoke to Dawn.com, reiterating the group''s stance that the details of Mahrang''s detention must be disclosed as part of their legal rights. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the court''s direction to approach the home department instead of directly providing the information. The case stems from rising tensions between the Baloch Yakjehti Committee and the provincial government. On March 21, police forces used tear gas, water cannons, and even blank gunshots to break up a BYC sit-in protest on Sariab Road near the University of Balochistan, reported Dawn. The protest was against the alleged enforced disappearances of Baloch activists, including the BYC leader Bebarg Baloch. Both the provincial government and the BYC have claimed casualties from the confrontation, with the activist group reporting three deaths and thirteen injuries, while police officials claimed that around ten of their personnel were hurt. Following the protests, the situation further escalated when Mahrang Baloch was arrested in the early hours the next day. She was charged with terrorism-related offenses, alongside 150 other individuals. This sparked widespread outrage and protests throughout Balochistan. On the weekend, BYC supporters organised shutter-down strikes in several towns across the region, including Quetta, Panjgur, Kalat, Turbat, Mastung, Kharan, Chaghi, Dalbandin, and Dhadar. These protests were a direct response to Mahrang''s arrest and were intended to amplify demands for the release of the detained BYC leaders. As protests surged, rallies were held in various towns such as Pansi, Turbat, Gwadar, Noshki, Kalat, and many others, where demonstrators carried placards and banners with demands for justice. Protestors chanted slogans, calling for the release of Mahrang and other BYC activists, Dawn reported. In Quetta, the provincial administration took strict measures to prevent the protests, deploying a large police presence to prevent rally participants from taking to the streets. Despite this, protests continued to grow in other parts of Balochistan, reflecting the deep-rooted dissatisfaction within the community over the ongoing detentions. (ANI) According to the Maldives president's office statement, "Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has ratified the Third Amendment to the Maldives Immigration Act (Law No. 01/2007), following its passage by the People's Majlis at the 20th sitting of the first session of the year, held on 15 April 2025." "The Amendment introduces a new provision to the Immigration Act, expressly prohibiting the entry of individuals holding Israeli passports into the territory of Maldives," the statement added. This decision reflects the government's strong stance against Israel's actions in Palestine. The ratification reflects the Government's firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people, as per the Maldives president's office. The Government of Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause and its enduring commitment to the promotion and protection of the rights of the Palestinian people, it added. The Maldives continues to advocate for accountability for violations of international law and remains vocal across various international platforms in its condemnation of Israel's actions. President Muizzu has consistently reiterated the Maldives' principled support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and international legal norms. (ANI) Three policemen were killed and at least 16 others were injured on Tuesday morning when an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a vehicle carrying officers of the Balochistan Constabulary in Mastung district, Dawn reported. The attack took place on Dasht Road, and although no group has yet claimed responsibility, the incident highlights the escalating violence in Balochistan, where militant groups have recently intensified their attacks. The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) is suspected to be one of the key perpetrators behind such violence in 2024. According to Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government, the blast struck a vehicle transporting policemen who were returning from Kalat. "Three jawaan (personnel) of the Balochistan Constabulary were killed in the blast," Rind confirmed, adding that 16 others were wounded, with two reported to be in critical condition. The attack occurred while the Balochistan Constabulary officers were in transit, and while the extent of their injuries was still being assessed, the provincial authorities quickly responded by shifting all the injured to a nearby hospital. Those in serious condition were transported to Quetta, approximately 50 kilometers away from the site of the explosion. The Balochistan Constabulary, a key part of the provincial police force, was deployed in Mastung to manage a sit-in by the Balochistan National Party--Mengal (BNP-M). This protest, which has now entered its 19th day, is aimed at raising awareness about the arrests of Baloch activists. On the second day of the sit-in, BNP-M leader Sardar Akhtar Mengal had narrowly escaped a suicide bombing near the rally. The authorities have not yet provided clarity on whether this IED attack was directly linked to the ongoing protests, but the frequency of such attacks suggests a growing insurgency in the region. Mastung Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Younas Magsi reported that the explosion targeted a police vehicle that was part of a larger deployment. "More than 40 cops were returning from duty when the police vehicle carrying them was targeted," Magsi stated. He further elaborated that these policemen typically return to Mastung Police Lines daily after their shifts, and the vehicle was hit while making its way back from a deployment with Levies forces in the Kund Mas area. The blast, a clear attempt to cause maximum harm, not only resulted in multiple injuries but also heightened tensions in an already volatile region. Local administration officials provided more details about the aftermath of the attack. Raja Muhammad Akram, an official from the region, confirmed that the police vehicle was carrying around 40 officers when the roadside IED detonated, reported Dawn. Following the explosion, emergency measures were enacted, with the Bolan Medical Complex and Civil Hospital in Quetta both placed on high alert. This swift response underlined the severity of the situation and the need for rapid medical treatment for those affected by the explosion. The attack comes just a day after another assault in the region where a soldier from the Frontier Corps was killed and two terrorists were killed during an attack on an FC post in Noshki's Galangoor area. Security forces also managed to foil an attack on a Levies post in the same district, injuring a terrorist in the process. The string of attacks indicates a continued and worrying trend of growing insurgent activity in Balochistan, where terrorist organisations, particularly the BLA, have been intensifying their operations. Following the blast, Pakistani officials, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, condemned the attack in strong terms. Prime Minister Sharif expressed his condolences, vowing that the government would not allow terrorists to succeed in their aims. "We will thwart the nefarious designs of the terrorists, who are enemies of humanity. Our war against terrorists will continue until the scourge of terrorism is completely eradicated from the country," Sharif said in a statement. He also directed that immediate medical assistance be provided to those injured in the attack, adding that the government stood with the families of the killed officers. President Zardari echoed similar sentiments, offering prayers for the recovery of the injured and reaffirming the country's commitment to fighting terrorism. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also expressed his condolences to the victims' families, calling the officers martyrs and asserting that "terrorists neither have any religion nor any region." Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the blast and ordered Health Minister Bakht Kakar to ensure the injured received the best possible treatment. He stressed that there would be no tolerance for negligence in the treatment of the wounded, Dawn reported. "The elements involved in the incident do not deserve any concession," CM Bugti declared, underlining the government's firm stance against the perpetrators of violence. In a show of national solidarity, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also expressed his condolences, calling the deaths a huge loss for the nation. Shah further emphasised the need for national unity in the face of terrorism, urging the country to stand together in the fight against such forces. "The entire nation will have to unite to fight against terrorists," CM Murad asserted. (ANI) Sudanese Ambassador to India, Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom, expressed profound gratitude for the humanitarian aid provided by the Indian government amid the ongoing conflict in Sudan. He highlighted India's critical support, particularly the shipment of 25 tons of medicines delivered by a special Air Force flight to Port Sudan right after the war broke out. Eltom said, "Well, we appreciate these humanitarian systems provided by the Indian Government, and it's not only this latest shipment which was received last month in Port Sudan. Right after the breakout of the war." He continued, "The Indian government actually supplied 25 tons of medicines to Sudan by a special Air Force flight, which went and landed in Port Sudan. That was very much needed at the time, and we very much appreciate that from the side of the Indian government." Eltom also thanked India for the second shipment received last month, which included cancer medicines. He emphasized the importance of these supplies, saying, "This was followed by a second shipment, which was received last month and included cancer medicines as well. This is very much needed, and we are in the process of receiving very generous assistance in terms of Hemolysis machines, like 20 machines that we are in the process of receiving now from the Indian Department. This will help those patients with kidney failure. It is very important for them, as you know..." On the conflict in Sudan, Eltom addressed the mischaracterization of the situation as a civil war, stating, "Let me start by giving the right definition of what's going on in Sudan. Actually, this is not a civil war as some reports are trying to characterise and define it. This is a war of self-defence - in post of the people of the Sudanese Army and the Sudanese people who are obliged to defend their country and their land against an external aggression." He framed the conflict as a defence against external aggression, with militias acting as proxies for foreign powers. "The militia acts as a proxy for foreign powers who use the militia to implement their agenda and to wage this war on their behalf," he said. Eltom further explained that the Sudanese people, recognizing the external threat, have rallied around their army in defence of their land. "The very fact of the Sudanese people now realising that external aggression has resulted in them mobilising around their army and joining the fight to defend their land and their country," he concluded. (ANI) Kumar is presently serving as Deputy Director General (DDG) of the Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR) "Rajeev Kumar (IFS: 2001), presently DDG, ICCR, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a release on Tuesday. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. India opened its High Commission in Port Moresby in April 1996 while Papua New Guinea (PNG) opened its resident Diplomatic Mission in New Delhi in October 2006. Diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea (PNG) were earlier conducted from Suva/KualaLumpur. India and PNG enjoy warm and friendly relations. Both countries have been working closely in international fora, including the United Nations. (ANI) According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare statement, the theme of the 15th BRICS AMM is "Promoting Inclusive and Sustainable Agriculture through Cooperation, Innovation, and Equitable Trade among BRICS Countries." Agriculture Ministers and senior officials from BRICS member countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran, are expected to attend the meeting. During the visit, Chouhan will hold bilateral meetings with key Brazilian counterparts, including Carlos Henrique Baqueta Favaro, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, and Luiz Paulo Teixeira, Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA), as per the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. These meetings will focus on enhancing collaboration between India and Brazil in various areas of agriculture, agri-technology, rural development, and food security. The minister will interact with leaders of major Brazilian agribusiness companies and representatives of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries in Sao Paulo, exploring avenues for partnership and investment in the agriculture value chain. As part of his visit, the Minister will also participate in a tree plantation drive at the Embassy of India in Brasilia, under the noble initiative "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam", aimed at raising environmental consciousness and honouring motherhood. In addition, the Minister will interact with the vibrant Indian diaspora in Sao Paulo, acknowledging their role as cultural ambassadors and contributors to bilateral ties. This visit reaffirms India's commitment to deepening cooperation with BRICS nations and to advancing South-South cooperation in agricultural innovation, resilience, and sustainability. (ANI) Kumar is presently serving as Deputy Chief of Mission, Rome. "Amararam Gujar (IFS: 2008), presently Deputy Chief of Mission, Rome, has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Malawi," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a release on Tuesday. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. According to MEA, India and Malawi shares cordial and friendly bilateral relations. India established diplomatic relations with Malawi immediately after its Independence in 1964. Subsequently, a resident Mission in Malawi was established; however, due to some administrative reasons, the High Commission in Malawi was closed in 1993, though India continued to have diplomatic relations with Malawi, the MeA said. Malawi was concurrently accredited to India's Mission in Zambia until February 2012. The resident mission was re-opened in March, 2012. Malawi opened its Mission in Delhi in February, 2007, it said. (ANI) A boy interacts with a cat at Wei Meiling's homestay in Langshuyuan Village, Changzhi City of north China's Shanxi Province, July 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] Once centered on basic companionship and security, pet ownership in China has transformed into a thriving and fast-evolving industry. From the growing variety of pets to booming pet services like grooming, boarding and training, along with more pet-inclusive public spaces, China's pet economy is rapidly expanding. Behind this momentum are both the increasing emotional needs of pet owners and the continuous wave of innovation shaping the pet-related market. Pet choices beyond cats, dogs While cats and dogs remain the most popular animals in Chinese households, exotic pets are steadily gaining popularity. In Shanghai in east China, a once niche pet store has become a magnet for enthusiasts of less conventional animal companions -- such as snakes, lizards, raccoons and spiders. Starting out as a modest reptile shop in 2016, it has since expanded into a 160-square-meter venue that lets visitors interact closely with a diverse mix of exotic animals. Indeed, the 2025 China Pet Industry White Paper reveals that there was a steady exotic pet ownership trend in the country in 2024. According to the white paper, approximately 17.07 million people in China are keeping exotic pets -- with a market size nearing 10 billion yuan (about 1.39 billion U.S. dollars). These less common pets are clearly gaining popularity, especially among young people in China, and are starting to dilute the traditional dominance of the pet market by cats and dogs, said the owner of the Shanghai store Cui Dejun. Rise of refined, personalized pet care As living standards improve in China, people's views on pets are also changing. No longer just protectors or casual companions, pets are now treated like family members. This shift is driving a move from basic care to higher-quality, more personalized spending on their daily needs. According to the Asia Pet Research Institute, China was home to 187 million pet dogs and cats in 2024 -- while the value of its pet market exceeded 300 billion yuan. Another white paper, this one focusing on pet fashion trends, shows that between 2018 and 2023, the pet supplies market had grown at a compound annual rate of 13.6 percent. Adults aged 25 to 34 accounted for 61.7 percent of pet owners, with much of their spending driven by emotional attachment to their pets. Pet owner Ms. Li, for example, spends more than 1,000 yuan monthly on her dachshund, including tailored supplements to address breed-specific health concerns. Online platforms such as Taobao report dramatic year-on-year growth in supplement sales. Notably, sales of freeze-dried supplements increased eightfold, fish oil sales were up ninefold, while lactoferrin sales saw a twelvefold surge. This trend extends to services as well. Ms. Mao, a pet owner from the post-90s generation, spends thousands of yuan each month on professional training to enhance her dog's behavior and socialization. Meanwhile, Zhu Han, a post-2000s cat owner, hires in-home pet-sitting services and installs a smart camera to keep track of her cat's activities in real time while she's traveling. "The pet fashion industry has moved far beyond clothing," said Zhang Xin, director of the recently concluded 2025 Shanghai Pet Fashion Week, which revealed yet another trend. "Collars, shoes, backpacks and smart wearables -- a full ecosystem is taking shape." China's pet-friendlier public spaces With pet ownership rising, cities across China are adapting. More than 100 pet-friendly shopping malls have been established nationwide. Restaurants, hotels and parks are increasingly welcoming animals. In Shanghai alone, over 40 parks offer pet-designated activity zones, exemplifying the growing trend toward "pet-human co-living." As more travelers travel with their pets, many owners are calling for easier and more pet-friendly transport options by rail and air. In response, China's transport sector is upgrading its services. Since last week, ten high-speed trains connecting major stations including Beijing South, Jinan West, Nanjing South, Shanghai Hongqiao and Hangzhou East Railway Station, have launched pilot pet transport services. Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines launched a "Pets in Cabin" option during the Spring Festival travel rush this year. Passengers can now buy a special seat for their pets -- allowing them to travel together in the cabin. Keeping pets has become a basic need and a lifestyle trend in China. Demand for companionship is rising, especially among seniors over 60 and younger generations born after 1990. For many, pets provide emotional comfort, help relieve stress and have become an important part of their everyday lives, said Wang Jinquan, an expert at the Institute of Feed Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. The Human Rights Department of the Baloch National Movement, Paank, has issued a grave statement on the social media platform X, drawing attention to a tragic incident in Mashkai, Awaran--a region in Balochistan marred by ongoing conflict and military operations. Highlighting the recent case of atrocities, Paank stated, "In the latest incident, 13-year-old Nadeem, son of Mehrullah, was caught in the crossfire as Pakistani forces indiscriminately opened fire across different locations in the area. Nadeem sustained serious injuries and was taken into custody by the military. He was later transferred to the Army cantonment in Mashkai." Paank condemned the incident as a clear violation of human rights and civilian protection under international law. According to Paank, the tragedy is even more harrowing given Nadeem's family history - his grandfather, Muhammad Juma, was extrajudicially killed by Pakistani forces in 2015. His brothers were also imprisoned without charges, and one, Ali Muhammad, remains forcibly disappeared to this day, Paank stated. https://x.com/paank_bnm/status/1912071038109700379?t=RpLQ8fmp7Cp_NY3j4nDSRA&s=08 "This is not an isolated case. It reflects a recurring pattern of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, and unlawful detentions that have terrorized the indigenous Baloch population for decades," Paank emphasised. The organisation called on the international community, human rights groups, and the United Nations to urgently intervene and hold Pakistan accountable. It urged global actors to speak out against the systematic violence and take concrete measures to protect innocent civilians, especially children, from ongoing military aggression. Paank stated, "It is high time for the Pakistani government to prioritize the protection of its citizens rather than subjecting them to fear and injustice." Human rights violations in Pakistan include enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, and suppression of freedom of speech. Minority groups, journalists, activists, and the Baloch population face systemic abuse and intimidation. Security forces often operate with impunity under the guise of counterterrorism. Discrimination against women and religious minorities further highlights the lack of legal protection and accountability. These violations demand urgent attention from international human rights organisations. (ANI) India's G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, emphasised the growing threat of cyber warfare, describing it as "silent, borderless, and totally anonymous" at the launch of the Cyber Sikshit Bharat initiative in New Delhi on Tuesday. Kant highlighted that India has seen a significant surge in cyber attacks, with a 300 per cent increase between 2021 and 2024. During the G20 summit in September 2023, the website faced over 1.6 million cyber intrusions per minute while attending an international seminar on 'Cyber Warfare 2025: Strategies and Challenges', organised by Lisianthus Tech, a cyber security solutions company. He added that India faces a shortage of trained cyber professionals and that cyber warfare is no longer a fringe concern but needs to be a pillar of India's national security. "India must build not only walls to protect digital borders but also bridges to collaborate with international players," he said. "We had more than 16 lakh cyber intrusions per minute aimed at the G20 summit website in September 2023," he said. Kant also launched the Cyber Sikshit Bharat initiative during the event. Inspired by the Indian government's Viksit Bharat and Cyber Sikshit Bharat missions, this initiative launched by Lisianthus Tech aims to create a central cybersecurity centre of Excellence in India that focuses on AI-driven security, digital risk management, hardware-based protection, and global policy advocacy. Appreciating the initiative, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Madhya Pradesh's Urban Development, Housing, and Parliamentary Affairs minister, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership has gained a prominent stand for India in the digital market. "Cyber-attacks create vulnerability towards such achievements, and therefore, I appreciate such events and initiatives where efforts are made to reach effective solutions against cybercrimes," the minister said. Led by Lisianthus Tech's founder and CEO Khushhal Kaushik, the program seeks to empower India's digital infrastructure, train future-ready professionals, and contribute to the creation of a secure global cyber ecosystem. Kaushik said Cyber Shikshit Bharat will unfold in three strategic phases across key global regions. The first phase targets Asia and Australia, including India, Singapore, UAE, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia, to build a regional cybersecurity ecosystem in collaboration with governments and industry leaders. "The second phase expands into Europe and North America--specifically the UK, USA, and Canada--positioning India as a thought leader in global AI security and cyber policy. The third phase covers Africa and Latin America with a focus on bridging the digital divide through widespread education and awareness initiatives. The program's core pillars include skill development, advanced hardware security, AI-integrated cybersecurity training, and collaborative policy-making," he said. Former National Cyber Security Coordinator, Prime Minister's Office, and retired Lieutenant General Rajesh Pant, who also is a mentor to Lisianthus Tech, said the initiative aims at benefiting not only Indian citizens--by enhancing cyber awareness, creating job opportunities, and reducing digital threats--but also the global community by fostering partnerships, innovation, and cyber resilience. "As cyber threats evolve in scale and sophistication, initiatives like Cyber Shikshit Bharat offer a timely, structured response by building capacity, encouraging innovation, and shaping global standards. By equipping individuals and institutions with the tools to counter digital threats, India is not just securing its own digital future but also contributing meaningfully to a safer, smarter, and more interconnected world," he said. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday reaffirmed India's strong commitment to the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership in a recent conversation with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Both leaders discussed regional and global developments of mutual interest. In a post on X, PM Modi shared, "Glad to speak with PM Mette Frederiksen today. Reaffirmed our strong support for the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership and enhancing cooperation across sectors for the benefit of our people. We also discussed regional and global developments of mutual interest." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1912120407592784351 Both leaders discussed various aspects of bilateral relations as well as global developments in a telephonic conversation today.. Recalling high-level exchanges between both countries ever since the launch of the Green Strategic Partnership in 2020, the leaders noted the expansion of the Green Strategic Partnership in various fields, which has created favourable conditions for Danish investments in India to contribute to the green transition. The leaders also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest, added Prime Minister's Office press release. PM Modi said that he was looking forward to the 3rd India- Nordic Summit scheduled to be held later this year in Norway, and his meeting with Prime Minister Frederiksen at that time. India and Denmark established diplomatic relations in September 1949, rooted in shared democratic values and a mutual commitment to regional and global peace and stability. The relationship has evolved over time, with significant milestones such as the elevation of bilateral ties to the level of a "Green Strategic Partnership" during the Virtual Summit held on 28 September 2020. This partnership emphasises collaboration in areas such as renewable energy, climate action, and green technologies, aligning with both countries' priorities for sustainable development. The Indian community in Denmark plays a crucial role in fostering bilateral ties, with approximately 21,000 NRIs and PIOs residing in the country. This community includes professionals from various sectors, including IT, medicine, engineering, finance, and academia. Notable cultural exchanges are evident in Denmark, with several public spaces named after Indian leaders, including Gandhi Park (Gandhi Plaene), Indiakaj (road named after India), and Nehru Road near Aarhus University, symbolising the deep-rooted connections between the two nations. Trade and economic relations between India and Denmark have grown steadily over the years. India's exports to Denmark include textiles, apparel, vehicles, metal goods, and leather products, while Denmark exports pharmaceutical products, power-generating machinery, and organic chemicals to India. These exchanges contribute to the strengthening of the Green Strategic Partnership by promoting trade in sustainable industries and fostering economic cooperation. In honour of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary in 2019, the Indian Embassy in Denmark organised a series of events, including talks and tree-planting ceremonies across more than 20 educational institutions, including Copenhagen and Roskilde Universities. This event highlighted the long-standing friendship between India and Denmark, which continues to grow through cultural and diplomatic engagement, as well as shared commitments to global peace and sustainable development. (ANI) Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh visited Rome from April 14-15, 2025, to strengthen India-Italy defence ties. During his official visit, he called on Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, where the two leaders engaged in productive discussions aimed at advancing defence cooperation, a crucial pillar of the India-Italy strategic partnership, the Ministry of Defence reported in a press release. Rajesh Kumar Singh co-chaired the 11th India-Italy Joint Defence Committee meeting with his Italian counterpart, Secretary General of Defence Luisa Riccardi. The meeting focused on various aspects of defence, security, and industrial cooperation, including maritime cooperation and information-sharing arrangements between the two nations. The talks highlighted the importance of the Trans Regional Maritime Network, with particular attention paid to the situation in the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean Region. A key emphasis during the discussions was on closer collaboration in technology and armament production. Defence Secretary Singh underscored the priority India places on these areas, particularly as part of India's broader efforts to build a self-reliant defence ecosystem. He pointed out that the Government of India has been actively fostering a conducive environment for defence production and innovation through targeted policy reforms. India has developed a robust innovation and industrial ecosystem, making significant strides in advancing its defence capabilities, as per the press release. In a keynote address during the India-Italy Defence Industry Roundtable, Rajesh Kumar Singh elaborated on the transformative changes in the Indian defence industry, particularly in recent years. He highlighted the government's progressive reforms aimed at creating a transparent, predictable, and business-friendly environment for the defence sector. These reforms have been instrumental in making India an attractive destination for defence industry growth. As part of the visit, an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and the Federation of Italian Companies for Aerospace, Defence and Security (AIAD). This MoU marks a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the defence industries of both countries, fostering closer business-to-business (B2B) relationships, the press release stated. Rajesh Kumar Singh was accompanied by a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Defence, including senior officials from the Service Headquarters, Department of Defence, and Department of Defence Production. A substantial delegation from SIDM also accompanied the Defence Secretary, with the aim of fostering deeper industry connections and promoting collaboration between Indian and Italian defence sectors. (ANI) KYOTO, Apr 16 (News On Japan) - Pelvic organ prolapse is a condition affecting a significant number of women over the age of 40, yet remains largely under-recognized. It occurs when organs in the pelvic region, such as the bladder or uterus, descend due to weakened support muscles, often as a result of childbirth or aging. In severe cases, the condition can lead to urinary complications, including kidney damage. Despite its serious implications, awareness of pelvic organ prolapse remains low, and many women suffer without seeking medical help. One such case is that of 60-year-old Emi Shibaya from Kyoto Prefecture. She began experiencing unusual discomfort in her lower abdomen more than two decades ago, describing the sensation as something slipping in and out when she bent over. The feeling was not only physically uncomfortable but also mentally distressing, as she feared the condition would worsen over time. It wasnt until she consulted with a doctor that she learned the name and potential seriousness of her condition. Pelvic organ prolapse can present with symptoms such as a heavy or foreign sensation in the pelvic area, difficulty sitting, urinary leakage, and in some cases, visible organ protrusion. Many women hesitate to talk about their symptoms due to embarrassment, and because the condition affects intimate areas, it tends to go unmentioned even among close acquaintances. Doctors warn that this silence leads to a large number of undiagnosed cases, with estimates suggesting that around 3.5 million women in Japan could be affected. Shibaya's condition progressed to the point where her uterus and bladder had significantly descended, posing a risk to her kidneys. Unaware of the connection between prolapse and potential kidney damage, she eventually decided to undergo surgery. The procedure, performed under general anesthesia, involved partially removing her uterus and reinforcing the weakened pelvic muscles using a surgical mesh. The operation took about three hours, and she was discharged after approximately one week. After the surgery, Shibaya expressed relief and satisfaction, noting that she no longer felt discomfort and could now engage in everyday activities without worry. While full recovery requires a few months of avoiding heavy lifting or intense exercise, patients can generally return to normal life relatively quickly. As the condition often progresses slowly and without obvious symptoms, particularly among aging women, medical professionals emphasize the importance of early consultation and treatment. Raising awareness about pelvic organ prolapse is crucial to ensuring that more women seek help before the condition becomes severe. Source: MBS Las Vegas-Based Firm Strengthens Support for Commodity Traders and Related Businesses with Tailored Financial Instruments, Proof of Funds, and Collateral Services LAS VEGAS, Nevada GTFSolutions, a premier financial services provider based in Las Vegas, Nevada, is excited to announce the expansion of its specialized financial solutions explicitly tailored for commodity traders and related businesses. Recognizing the complexities involved in commodity trading and related financial transactions, GTFSolutions is uniquely positioned as an SBLC provider and collateral service provider, offering customized financial instruments to enhance credit and liquidity for traders. Commodity trading, characterized by rapid market fluctuations and large-scale financial transactions, demands robust financial backing and verifiable guarantees. GTFSolutions provides critical support to commodity traders through expertly structured standby letters of credit (SBLC), lease SBLC arrangements, and SBLC discounting services, enabling smoother, more secure trading operations. These offerings allow traders to secure financing, mitigate risks, and confidently pursue market opportunities. Commodity traders face unique financial challenges, stated the CEO of GTFSolutions. With market volatility, substantial capital requirements, and the necessity of verifiable financial guarantees, traders need dependable, specialized financial instruments. At GTFSolutions, we have designed our suite of services explicitly to meet these requirements, providing tailored solutions that enable traders to maximize their potential in a competitive marketplace. Specialized Financial Instruments for Commodity Trading At the heart of GTFSolutions strategy is its renowned expertise as an SBLC provider. Standby letters of credit, also called SBLC letters of credit or standby documentary credit, act as financial guarantees essential in commodity trading. These instruments ensure that contractual obligations between buyers, sellers, and financial institutions are reliably met, substantially reducing transactional risk. GTFSolutions offers extensive support in structuring and issuing SBLCs. Each standby letter of credit is explicitly crafted to address individual commodity trading scenarios, facilitating smoother, secure domestic and international transactions. As an experienced SBLC provider, GTFS ensures compliance with international banking regulations, enabling traders to operate confidently across global markets. Enhanced Credit Opportunities through Credit Enhancement Solutions In the competitive world of commodity trading, securing financing on favorable terms is essential. GTFSolutions excels in providing credit enhancement services to commodity traders, utilizing instruments such as letters of credit and standby letters of credit to improve traders creditworthiness significantly. These credit enhancement strategies provide commodity traders with enhanced negotiating power, access to increased funding limits, and more attractive lending conditions. GTFSolutions expert team carefully evaluates each traders unique requirements and crafts bespoke financial instruments that enhance their financial position, allowing them to capitalize quickly on emerging market opportunities. Lease SBLC and SBLC Discounting: Flexible Solutions for Traders GTFSolutions recognizes that traders often require immediate, flexible financial solutions to adapt to market demands quickly. The companys lease SBLC service provides commodity traders temporary access to standby letters of credit, offering an effective alternative to outright purchasing. Leasing an SBLC is particularly advantageous for traders involved in short-term projects or needing interim guarantees, providing cost-effective financial agility. Further, through SBLC discounting, GTFSolutions enables commodity traders to convert their existing standby letters of credit into liquid funds. This strategic financial mechanism allows traders to leverage their SBLC instruments to enhance immediate cash flow, facilitating timely investment decisions, procurement, and improved liquidity management. Proof of Funds Services: Building Trust and Facilitating Transactions Proof of funds documentation is critical in commodity trading, ensuring all parties involved have confidence in the financial capabilities of their counterparts. GTFSolutions offers robust, verifiable proof of funds services, allowing traders to swiftly and confidently demonstrate financial capacity to trading partners, suppliers, and financial institutions. With GTFSolutions proof of funds services, traders can rapidly fulfill compliance requirements, expedite trade negotiations, and securely establish their credibility in international and domestic commodity markets. Reliable Collateral Service Provider for Commodity Transactions As an established collateral service provider, GTFSolutions understands the necessity of secured transactions within commodity trading. Its structured collateral management solutions enable traders to present the required financial backing confidently and securely. The companys collateral support services significantly reduce risk exposure and provide comprehensive transactional security for commodity traders and their financial partners. Secondary Guarantee Facilities: Strengthening Financial Confidence Understanding the layered complexity of large-scale commodity trading, GTFSolutions offers secondary guarantee facilities, further safeguarding transactions. These facilities introduce an additional financial assurance layer, providing enhanced confidence and security for traders engaged in complex or high-value commodity transactions. Secondary guarantees significantly mitigate counterparty risk, bolstering financial credibility and transactional confidence in the commodities market. Our secondary guarantee facilities provide traders with an unparalleled sense of security, added the CEO. In a market where confidence and rapid transaction execution are critical, our additional guarantee layer ensures transactions proceed smoothly and securely. Comprehensive Financial Expertise Tailored to Commodity Traders GTFSolutions distinguishes itself through specialized financial products and expert, personalized service tailored to commodity traders needs. The companys dedicated financial team collaborates closely with traders and their brokers, offering strategic guidance, industry insights, and precise financial structuring of SBLCs, letters of credit, and collateral services. Our commitment to personal service, transparency, and financial innovation is our hallmark, stated the CEO. We offer far more than financial instrumentswe deliver strategic partnerships that help commodity traders confidently and effectively manage their financial strategies. Positioned to Support Commodity Trading Growth As global commodity markets evolve and expand, the need for specialized financial instruments and credit enhancement solutions grows increasingly critical. GTFSolutions remains committed to innovation, continually developing its suite of financial services to meet emerging challenges and capitalize on market opportunities. Commodity traders partnering with GTFSolutions gain a strategic financial ally equipped with the necessary expertise and resources to propel their business forward. With services encompassing lease SBLC, proof of funds, collateral management, and SBLC discounting, GTFS is well-positioned as the preferred financial solutions provider in the commodities industry. For more information on GTFSolutions comprehensive financial solutions tailored specifically to commodity traders, including standby letters of credit (SBLC), credit enhancement, and proof of funds services, please visit GTFS or contact: (888) 305-9992 On Monday mornings, Rich Gradoville visits the streams near his home in Johnston, not for fishing or recreating, but to test the nitrate concentration of the flowing water. The retired school teacher is part of a network of citizen scientists contributing to the Nitrate Watch program, through the Izaak Walton League of America, to monitor the levels of nitrate and nitrite in surface and drinking water across the country. Monitors expect increased nitrate concentrations this month as part of the spring flush, when April showers wash fertilizer and other nutrients into the waterways. In past years, surface water in Iowa during this time tested in concentrations in excess of 10 milligrams per liter, which is the maximum contaminant level for drinking water set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Why monitor? Gradoville got involved with the program two years ago, shortly after finding out he had a pre-cancerous tumor on his bladder. Its a type of cancer, he said, typically associated with tobacco smokers, but Gradoville had never smoked. He met someone with the same type of tumor who also wasnt a smoker, which led him to poke around for other potential causes and he learned about nitrogen pollution in Iowas waters. A 2016 published study, analyzing bladder cancer in postmenopausal women in Iowa, found a link between long-term ingestion of elevated nitrate levels and bladder cancer. But other organizations, like the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network hold that more research is needed to determine the link between nitrate in drinking water and bladder cancer. Gradoville cant say for sure what caused his, but it was inspiration enough to get involved with Nitrate Watch, which is open to anyone willing to test and submit their results. Heather Wilson, the Midwest Save Our Streams coordinator with Izaak Walton League, said the human health concerns of the nutrient concentrations are more and more present in volunteers minds as they participate in the program. Definitely more research is needed, but theres a lot of research that already points to health impacts occurring even when the amount of nitrate in water is below the current drinking water standard, Wilson said. Wilson said the associated impacts include blue baby syndrome, thyroid disease, neural tube birth defects and cancer. That is of course a major concern, especially in Iowa, where cancer rates are climbing, Wilson said. The recently released Cancer in Iowa report for 2025 found that Iowa is one of only two states with rising rates of new cancer. Nutrient pollution in water also leads to environmental concerns, like algal blooms and dead zones. Iowa is part of a multistate effort to shrink the size of the hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, by reducing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Mississippi River watershed. The task force engages state agencies, with a goal of reducing overall nitrogen load, through practices like cover cropping, reduced tillage, extended crop rotations and more intentional fertilizer application. Recent survey data showed the amount of cover crops planted on Iowa cropland has more than doubled since 2017. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa State University released a free nitrogen application tool to help farmers fine tune their fertilizer applications, and lawmakers are pushing forward a bill to establish a pilot program and a $2 million appropriation to study ag practices that reduce overall nitrogen application. Wilson said the goal of Nitrate Watch is to support efforts, like these, to stop the pollution from getting into the water and to encourage water treatment efforts that protect consumers from potentially harmful drinking water. Testing the water The Iowa Department of Natural Resources monitors water quality across the state and provides assessments on the segments every other year, per the Clean Water Act. Wilson said citizen science monitoring doesnt provide the same level of testing that a trained environmental specialist could, but it helps to fill the gaps. There just simply arent enough people, professionals, DNR employees, Wilson said. They cant possibly measure all the waterways, even if they wanted to. Wilson said Nitrate Watch serves as the eyes on the ground for acute pollution problems and can help draw attention to areas of high pollution. Were not replacing the monitoring of the DNR, or your local soil and water conservation district, were supplementing it, Wilson said. A map from the 2024 report shows high participation in the program in Iowa, and high nitrate concentration levels across the state. Wilson said Iowa has a lot of groups, like Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, local Izaak Walton Leagues, the Iowa Environmental Council, local conservation boards and more that are part of why the map just lights up in Iowa. Wilson said the goal with Nitrate Watch is to make it easy and enjoyable for volunteers to participate. While volunteers are not prescribed a sampling regime, Gradoville has implemented his own schedule for testing. Each Monday, when the rivers arent frozen over, he tests at a site on the Des Moines River just downstream of Saylorville Lake, a site on Beaver Creek and the tap water in his home. Gradoville stops at a flowing part of the water, dips the test strip in quickly, then sets a timer for 30 seconds before reading the pink hue on the strip and logging it on the mobile app. Each stop takes him a couple of minutes. Its not a huge time commitment, Gradoville said. Now, after years of regular testing, he can see a chart of his three monitoring sites and the fluctuating nitrate and nitrite concentrations in the water. Especially now, but even before he started monitoring, Gradoville said his relationship to Iowas waters changed. I used to love to jump into every stream and creek and pond and lake here in Iowa, Gradoville said. Well over the last number of years, you start seeing the water and see whats in it I dont have any interest in doing that. Only election results decided by a margin of 1% or less in Iowa would be recounted under legislation headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds desk. The Iowa Senate on Monday passed House File 928 by a vote of 31-14, with Democrats opposed. State and local elections officials have been requesting an update to Iowas recount laws ever since a protracted 2020 recount in an Eastern Iowa congressional race that highlighted a patchwork of recount procedures across counties. Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks was certified the winner by a scant six-vote margin after reporting errors were corrected in two counties and following a process where counties used different methods for recounting ballots, and a 131-ballot discrepancy in Scott County that was never explained. Iowas chief elections officer, Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate, said the bill will provide needed uniformity, reliability and consistency in the states elections recount process. Recounts should look the same no matter what county you're in, Pate said Friday during a taping of Iowa Press at Iowa PBS studios in Johnston. And also making sure that the people who are doing the recounting are fully prepared for it. And all the rules of the road, if you will, are clearly prescribed ahead of time so everyone knows what they are and there's no room for misinterpretation of those. The bill would: Lower the threshold for election recounts to outcomes decided by either 1% or 50 votes, whichever is lesser, for state legislative and local elections; or by less than 0.15% for a statewide or federal office. Candidates would no longer be required to post a bond for any recount. Change the composition of recount boards to county auditors and their staff of election workers. Currently, recount boards are comprised of one representative from each campaign plus a neutral member agreed upon by both campaigns. The bill also gives auditors the flexibility to make the recount boards as large as they deem necessary. Auditors would be required to appoint an equal number of election workers from each political party to conduct the recount. Allow each campaign to have up to five observers per county to oversee the recount process. Require that all recounts be conducted using automatic ballot tabulating equipment. Recounts could be conducted by hand only in extraordinary circumstances defined to include machine failures, a discrepancy between the results of the election and an initial recount, and a number of overvotes that exceeds the margin between the candidates. Require that recount requests for legislative, statewide and federal races be filed with the Secretary of States office, who will then notify the respective county auditors, instead of having the task performed by campaigns. Streamline the required timeline for recounts. Candidates would be required to request a recount by the close of business the first day after the election canvas, which would be the second Wednesday following the election. Currently the date is the Friday following the canvass deadline. Auditors requested the change to allow more time to prepare for a recount. Require recounts be complete no later than 18 days after the county auditor receives a request for the recount. Sen. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, expressed concern with auditors and their staff being asked to perform recounts, given auditors are chosen by voters in partisan elections, and doing so could put auditors in the position of conducting recounts of their own elections. Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, who has been through two recounts, emphasized the importance of candidates having their own representatives involved. When the candidates can have their representative in the process, they are more confident of the outcome because their representative was there, Trone Garriott said during debate on the Senate floor. They had an advocate in the room, and that person stood up for them and spoke out for them and came back to them and shared everything that happened in the process so they do not feel left out. What we will have if we shift to this new model is candidates feeling very suspicious, very uncertain and not knowing if they can trust what they're hearing as part of this process and not feeling represented in it. As clunky and cumbersome and unpleasant as Iowas existing recount process may be, she said changing the composition of recount boards and putting it on a partisan elected official, on the staff who are supervised and employed by them, does not make it more fair. The bills floor manager, Sen. Ken Rozenboom, R-Pella, argued that auditors are trusted with conducting elections and thus can be trusted with conducting recounts. He called Iowas current process of appointing recount boards haphazard, and that allowing each campaign up to five observers permitted that can represent or listen from both sides equally seems eminently fair to me. This legislation will correct flaws in our current system, Rozenboom said. Campaigns will no longer be in a position to manipulate (the) recount system for their own partisan ends. These changes will bring consistency, reliability, fairness, uniformity and enforcement, correcting the fair process for recounting our close elections and strengthening the trust Iowans have in our elections. Pate, speaking on Iowa Press, agreed. Having sat through a lot of recounts, the auditors pretty much are the ones who do it, he said. The recount board members tend to be more there as observers because the auditor is the one who actually processes the ballots, puts them through the tabulators, hands them the tally sheets. So, they're really doing it right now. The difference is you just have another set of eyes on the process. Having county elections staff conduct recounts ensures continuity from county to county and that those conducting the recount are professionally trained to handle it, Pate said. We still have full transparency, he said. People get to watch every step of the way and ask questions, and both the candidates and the political parties can have people present there and I think that is important. People participate in the 2025 Macao International Parade in Macao, south China, March 23, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Chief Executive of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Sam Hou Fai delivered the 2025 fiscal year policy address on Monday, outlining the overall policy direction, enhancing diversification, improving people's livelihood, strengthening governance, and integrating into national development. Sam delivered his first policy address at the Legislative Assembly. He stated that the new SAR government will work closely with all sectors of society and the public to pursue innovative development and usher in a new chapter for Macao. He noted strengthening coordination mechanisms as a key initiative in the government's effort to reform administration and improve governance capacity, elaborating that the government has established six leadership groups and working groups to coordinate the advancement of major cross-sectoral affairs. Sam also pointed out that Hengqin is key to unlocking Macao's appropriate economic diversification, and the SAR government regards the high-quality achievement of the second-stage development goals of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin as a significant task. In his address, Sam set forth the government's primary expectations for 2025: to consolidate economic recovery, improve employment conditions, deepen administrative reform, and pursue deeper integration into national development. He said that infrastructure connectivity within the Greater Bay Area will be further enhanced, and Macao will further enrich its role as a platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Sam said the SAR government will move forward with several major infrastructure projects, including an international education (university) city, the Macao international integrated tourism and cultural zone, an international aviation hub along the Pearl River, and a science and technology R&D industrial park. Britain announced an additional 120 million ($158 million) in aid for Sudan at an international conference in London on Tuesday, marking the two-year anniversary of a conflict that has created what officials describe as the worst humanitarian crisis on record. Ahead of the conference to increase aid for Sudan, the EU and member states pledged over 522 million to address the crisis. The war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has displaced 12 million people and left 30 million in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, with famine spreading throughout the country. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticized the international communitys muted response to the crisis. The war has been going on for far too long, and yet much of the world continues to look away, he said. We need to act now to stop the crisis from becoming an all-out catastrophe. The London conference, co-hosted by Britain with the African Union, European Union, France, and Germany, aimed to improve coordination of international response efforts. However, the event generated controversy as Sudans government was not invited to participate. Sudans foreign ministry sent a formal complaint to Lammy, also objecting to the presence of the United Arab Emirates and Kenya. Sudan has accused the UAE of arming the RSFallegations the UAE denies. Sudan also recently recalled its ambassador to Kenya after the country hosted talks with the RSF and its allies about forming a parallel government. African Union commissioner Bankole Adeoye emphasized that achieving peace in Sudan depends on valuing every voice and everyone playing a role in building a prosperous Sudan. The aid pledge comes despite recent cuts to Britains foreign aid budget to fund increased defense spending. While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to continue aid to Sudanone of three priority areas alongside Gaza and Ukrainehis development minister resigned over concerns that Britains aid commitments would be impossible to maintain. Separately, lawyers representing Sudanese victims submitted a 141-page dossier outlining alleged RSF war crimes to UK police, requesting it be forwarded to the International Criminal Court. France has reaffirmed its unwavering position on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara, emphasizing that for France, the present and future of Western Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty. This support was reiterated in a statement released Tuesday by the French Foreign Ministry following a meeting between French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita. The statement reiterated the position expressed by President Emmanuel Macron in the letter he had addressed to King Mohammed VI on July 30, 2024, and in an address he had made before the Moroccan Parliament during his state visit to the Kingdom in October last year. President Macron had emphasized that for France, the present and future of Western Sahara lie within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, while recalling the unwavering nature of Frances position and its commitment to act consistently with this position at both the national and international levels. The French official also reiterated Frances clear and consistent support for the autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty, describing it as the only framework within which this issue should be resolved and stressing that it is the sole basis for reaching a political solution, the statement said. Jean-Noel Barrot, the statement added, noted the growing international consensus in support of Moroccos autonomy initiative, affirming that France intends to fully contribute to this momentum. France also reaffirmed its commitment to support Moroccos significant efforts in promoting economic and social development in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, highlighted the various measures taken in this regard, and expressed its willingness to continue this dynamic, according to the statement. Additionally, France praised Moroccos active commitment in multilateral forums on issues related to peace, stability, and development, and reaffirmed determination to pursue close consultation (with the Kingdom) in this area and to promote joint initiatives. In this regard, Jean-Noel Barrot noted that the third United Nations Ocean Conference, to be held in Nice this June, would be an opportunity to showcase the valuable contribution of the Franco-Moroccan partnership in the defense of global public goods. The French Foreign Minister also welcomed Moroccos ratification of the United Nations High Seas Treaty. The two Foreign Ministers, the statement added, also exchanged views on regional and international issues, particularly Euro-Mediterranean relations, the situation in the Middle East, and developments across the African continent. They reaffirmed their desire to place Franco-Moroccan cooperation at the service of resolving regional crises and defending the international legal order, expressing in particular, their commitment to working jointly in Africa through a shared roadmap. At the level of bilateral relations, the two officials welcomed the prospect of holding a High-Level Meeting in Morocco this coming fall, and expressed their satisfaction at the unprecedented dynamism scored by the two countries relationship, for which a new chapter has begun, as described during the meeting between the President of France and King Mohammed VI in October 2024. In this context, both ministers reaffirmed their countries determination to strengthen, preserve, and defend the enhanced exceptional partnership launched during the French Presidents state visit to Morocco, the statement noted. The Sahara conflict seems to be heading towards a settlement under Moroccos Sovereignty, as emerged from a closed-door meeting on the issue, held on Monday, April 14, at the United Nations Security Council. During the meeting, the UN Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, pleaded vehemently for renewed diplomatic momentum to reach a final settlement of a conflict that has been dragging on for decades. The UN diplomat emphasized the urgency of capitalizing on the current contextwhat he called an unprecedented momentumto lay the groundwork for regional de-escalation and a credible revival of the political process. Staffan de Mistura stressed, before the Council members, that the next three months represent a strategic window favorable to building a renewed roadmap toward a political settlement of the conflict. This diplomatic sequence comes amid a gradual realignment of international positions around the autonomy solution proposed by Morocco in 2007. This plan, repeatedly and regularly praised as serious, credible, and realistic by a majority of member states, is gaining increasing support on the multilateral stage. One of the key drivers of this dynamic is the continued support of the United States for Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara. This recognition dating back to 2020 under the Trump first administration, was recently reaffirmed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the visit to Washington by Moroccos Foreign Minister, Mr. Nasser Bourita. The senior U.S. official reiterated Washingtons commitment to a solution based on autonomy within the framework of Moroccos national sovereignty. Moroccos ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, made it clear in a statement Monday evening to Med1TV, that The United States is determined to bring the Sahara issue to a close. We hope to celebrate the happy ending of this conflict once and for all at the 50th anniversary of the Green March, he said, sending a strong signal that marks, as deemed by several analysts, a definitive diplomatic shift in Moroccos favor. Staffan de Mistura also discussed Frances recent diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region. The visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to Algiers aimed to reduce friction sparked by Emmanuel Macrons public statement, in which he described Moroccos autonomy plan as a pragmatic and stabilizing solution. Although this gesture of appeasement received mixed reactions from Algeria, it nevertheless confirms Pariss structural support for Moroccos vision of a lasting resolution. Another key moment during the closed-door session was the intervention of Alexander Ivanko, head of MINURSO (the UN mission in Western Sahara), who gave a stark assessment of the military situation on the ground. Directly contradicting the war of liberation narrative promoted by the Polisario Front and echoed by Algiers, Ivanko stated that the separatists are not capable of inflicting significant damage on Moroccos Royal Armed Forces, nor of changing the status quo by military means. He went further, criticizing the Polisarios ongoing refusal to cooperate with UN bodies, in contrast to Moroccos approach, which he described as cooperative and measured, despite the Kingdoms considerable military capabilities. MINURSO benefits from close collaboration with the FAR [Royal Armed Forces], he noted, while lamenting the inability of the force commander to meet with Polisario counterparts in Rabouni, located in Algerian territory. In light of these observations, several diplomats agree that the United Nations, through the voice of Staffan de Mistura, is hinting at a shift in the paradigm of the issue. In addition, recent statements and reported facts tend to indicate a convergence toward a solution aligned with Moroccan sovereignty, in keeping with Security Council resolutions advocating for a political, realistic, and lasting outcome. This Security Council meeting thus forms part of a historic sequence marked by the consolidation of Moroccos diplomatic gains, driven by a clear vision, proactive diplomacy, and a growing international consensus around the autonomy plan. As the 50th anniversary of the Green March approaches, the signs point toward a possible resolution of the conflict based on the Kingdoms national sovereignty. Two weeks ago, China announced a slew of countermeasures in retaliation against punitive tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, including extra levies of 34% on all U.S. goods as well as export curbs on rare earth minerals. Under the new restrictions, exporters will now be required to apply for a license from Chinas Ministry of Economy and also disclose the final use of rare earth elements (REE) and critical metals such as dysprosium, gadolinium, samarium, scandium, terbium, yttrium and lutetium. This wasnt the first time Beijing is leveraging its dominance in rare earths in a trade war with its biggest rival. Back in December, China banned exports of antimony, gallium and germanium to the U.S., minerals are used in specialty applications in chipmaking, defense and communications industries. In 2023, China banned the export of technology to extract and separate rare earths in a bid to protect its rare earths industries. And now, Washington is hitting back, with the Financial Times reporting the Trump administration is drafting an executive order that will enable the stockpiling of deep-sea metals in a bid to counter China's dominance in rare earths and battery minerals supply chains. According to the report, Trump is looking to "create large quantities ready and available on U.S. territory to be used in the future", to insure the country against future conflicts with its biggest rival. Related: Moscow's New Energy Plan: Oil Output To Remain Flat Until 2050 The U.S. remains heavily reliant on Chinas rare earths, with the Middle Kingdom supplying nearly three-quarters of its needs. China refines 89% of the world's neodymium and praseodymium, the key metals for EV magnets. To complicate matters, U.S. REE imports from other countries including Estonia (6%), Japan (3%) and France (3%) are themselves heavily dependent on chemical substances and mineral concentrates produced in China. This leaves the United States particularly vulnerable to trade wars with a major rival, something Beijing is not shy to leverage. The market impact of such bans can be explosive: In January, antimony prices soared 40% in a single day after China banned exports to the United States China enforced the existing limits on antimony, gallium, germanium, critical minerals that have widespread military applications ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office. Antimony prices have continued rising, jumping from $14,000 per ton before the ban to nearly $60,000 currently. Bismuth prices have also surged from $6 to $40 per kilogram since February after the metal was placed in the dual-use export control list. China is the worlds largest producer of antimony, accounting for 48% of global mined output. The countrys output in 2023 clocked in at 40,000 tonnes, nearly double Tajikistans 21,000 tonnes while Turkey was the third largest producer with 6,000 tonnes. Antimony is considered a strategic metal used in military applications such as ammunition, infrared missiles and nuclear weapons as well as lead-acid storage batteries used in cars and brake pads thanks to its heat resistant properties. Antimony is also widely used in the solar sector to improve transparency for the cover glass on solar cells and is also used in the screens of smartphones. Last year, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin released estimates that U.S. coal ash contains 11 million tons of rare earth elements, nearly eight times the countrys known domestic reserves. Long considered an industrial waste, coal ash is the powdery byproduct left after burning coal for fuel. This is the first national assessment of coal ash as a resource. Unlike traditional mining, coal ash extraction comes with a key advantage since the burning process has already separated the minerals from their original ore, thus reducing the need for energy-intensive refining steps. Theres huge volumes of this stuff all over the country, said Davin Bagdonas, a research scientist at the University of Wyoming. And the upfront process of extracting the (mineral host) is already taken care of for us. However, its likely to take years, if not decades, before the U.S. can become an independent producer of rare earths and cut its reliance on China. The previous Congress introduced a bipartisan bill titled Reclaiming American Rare Earths (RARE) Act that offers a framework of tax incentives to encourage more investment into U.S.-based REE mining and production. Currently, a site in Colorado is set to become the first non-China facility for refining rare earth ores while dozens of companies and startups from Alaska to Texas are advancing mining development. In the meantime, Washington can build new supply chains outside of China just like Japan did when it faced a similar fate more than a decade ago. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Securing EU support is crucial for Turkeys COP31 bid, as its success hinges on addressing concerns about democratic backsliding and leveraging its energy resources. While Australia faces internal funding debates, Turkeys bid is supported by its civil society, who believe it could push for stronger climate policies. Turkeys effort to host COP31 is complicated by its need to balance fossil fuel interests with green ambitions and its current political stance with Western nations. Complicating Turkeys COP31 bid is Ankaras diplomatic distancing from the West in recent years, coupled with mounting democratic backsliding, underscored by the recent arrest of Erdoans leading political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who maintains his jailing is politically motivated. To secure COP31, Turkey is expected to engage in high-level dialogue seeking support from Western Europe, North America and New Zealand. According to Umit ?ahin, a prominent Turkish climate expert and the coordinator of climate change studies at the Istanbul Policy Center, Turkeys ability to secure COP31 will require some adjustments to the governments present foreign political course. Turkey needs to move beyond seemingly logical reasons such as fossil fuels or carbon footprints and instead make a fully political intervention, which perhaps could be an argument that Turkey will further align itself with the West, ?ahin said in a recent interview with Turkish news outlet T24. As long as these steps are not taken, EU support cannot be secured, and it seems very difficult for Turkey to win. Australias COP31 bid has experienced a hiccup since the UN climate summit in Baku. According to a report published by the Australian Associated Press, some elements within the countrys coalition government believe hosting a global summit would not be a wise expenditure of taxpayer funds. But Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen sought to tamp down speculation that Australia might back out. We are bidding to host COP31 in partnership with the Pacific because it is in Australias national interest to bring down energy bills and emissions with reliable renewables while safeguarding our international relationships, the AAP quoted Bowen as saying. Perhaps surprisingly, Turkish civil society organizations which have come under growing pressure from Erdo?ans regime in recent years, and are often at odds with the governments climate policies generally are supportive of the governments COP31 bid. Experts argue that hosting the summit could push Turkey toward adopting more decisive climate policies. ?ahin notes that securing COP31 could encourage Turkey to take more concrete steps, such as phasing out coal and enacting stronger environmental protections. Environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, also have voiced support for Turkeys bid, with Berkan Ozyer, program director of Greenpeace Mediterranean, commenting that hosting COP31 could give Turkeys climate movement a much-needed boost by encouraging bolder decision-making. Whether or not Turkey can win EU support for its bid could be the determining factor in the COP31 hosting competition. With the EU seeking to bolster its energy security and Turkey well positioned to assist through the Southern Gas Corridor and renewed high-level dialogue Ankara holds valuable cards. Yet, ongoing concerns over democratic backsliding cast a shadow over its credibility. By Ata Turkoglu via Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com China is actively seeking to expand its diplomatic and economic influence, offering partnerships as an alternative to the trade uncertainties created by US policies. The United States' imposition of tariffs has led many countries, including those in Southeast Asia and Europe, to reassess their trade relationships and consider new alliances. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called for upholding multilateral trade as he landed in Vietnam as part of a high-stakes tour of Southeast Asia's most export-reliant economies as he looks to capitalize on global trade tensions with the United States. The three-country visit, which begins with a two-day state visit to Vietnam on April 14, will also take Xi to Malaysia and Cambodia as he aims to emphasize China as a stable partner in contrast to the United States, which has imposed and then suspended punishing tariffs across the region and roiled global markets. "There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars, and protectionism has no way out," Xi wrote in an article published in Vietnamese state media ahead of his visit, without mentioning the United States specifically. The Chinese leader also urged strengthening coordination and cooperation through regional initiatives, such as the East Asia Cooperation and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, which he called necessary to "inject more stability and positive energy into a chaotic and intertwined world." Beijing and Hanoi signed 45 agreements, although the contents of all the deals have not yet been disclosed. Xi expected to attend the launch ceremony for a new $8-billion railway project connecting Vietnam and China on April 15. The venture is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy. While planned ahead of the announcement of global US tariffs, the tour now forms part of a broader Chinese charm offensive launched in the wake of a growing trade war that saw US President Donald Trump hit China with 145 percent tariffs and Beijing respond with a 125 percent tit-for-tat move on US goods. Before receiving a 90-day reprieve on "reciprocal" US tariffs, Vietnam and Cambodia were hit with 46 percent and 49 percent tariffs, respectively, and both countries are walking a tightrope in their relations between China and the United States, both of which are important economic partners. China is also looking for inroads in Europe amid the tariff tumult. Xi hosted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Beijing on April 11, where he said China and the European Union should "jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying." Similarly, Chinese premier Li Qiang spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week when they both emphasized the need for a "strong reformed trading system, free, fair, and founded on a level playing field," according to a readout. "US tariffs were seen as truly existential, and while we're in a pause on the retaliatory tariffs, there's still this pervading sense of uncertainty around the threat of future tariffs," said Kaitlyn Garman, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). "You can see short- and long-term scenarios where policy decisions will need to be assessed through the lens of the potential that this opens up another point of confrontation with the United States and risks an escalating trade war," she added. Tariffs Ignite A Delicate Balancing Act in Southeast Asia Trump has said his goal in unleashing tariffs is to eliminate the US trade deficit once and for all, which he says will help lure more manufacturing back to the United States, creating jobs at home and staunching the flow of US money to China. But the tariffs also appear to be a negotiating tool for Washington to remake its trade relationships with much of the world. Some 70 countries are said to currently be negotiating tariff relief with Washington, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week they should "approach China as a group" together with the United States. Many countries across Asia, however, are also grappling with being slapped by soaring tariffs and debating how to respond in the event that they could be reinstated to their full level after the 90-day pause ends. It's against this backdrop that Beijing is looking to gain ground with its strategic neighbors in Southeast Asia. Vietnam and many others in the region have traditionally sought to avoid taking sides between China and the United States. Washington is a crucial export market for southeast Asia and a security partner that serves as a counterbalance to China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea. However, trade in the region is closely intertwined with China, with countries from the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), counting as the biggest recipient of Chinese exports last year, according to China's customs data. Vietnam is in the process of looking to negotiate its trade relationship with the Trump administration and has already sent Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc to Washington, who promised to buy more US goods, including defense systems, as it looks to avoid the 46 percent levy being reintroduced. Exports to the United States account for 30 percent of Vietnam's gross domestic product (GDP) and the country has received a boost in recent years as many companies moved there from China to skirt tariffs imposed by Washington. China Looks For Diplomatic Inroads Elsewhere Beijing has cast a wide net as it has looked to capitalize diplomatically in the aftermath of US tariffs. Last week, China held video calls with Malaysia, as well as Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Xi also vowed to deepen China's strategic partnership with Indonesia in a call with that country's president, Prabowo Subianto, on April 13. Brussels also announced that it plans to host an EU-China summit in July, and the bloc said last week that it agreed to restart talks with Beijing to settle a dispute over Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports, which the EU hit with tariffs in 2024. Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez's recent visit to Beijing also made headlines when he called for Europe to review its relationship with China as it adapts to a new reality with the United States. Those comments were met with a rebuke from US Treasury Secretary Bessent, who warned that cooperating with Beijing would be "cutting your own throat." Analysts say a rapprochement between Brussels and Beijing is not in the cards given that China's support of Russia amid its war in Ukraine has deeply damaged relations with the bloc. But Trump's tariffs threats, as well disagreements over US diplomacy over how to end the war in Ukraine, are also leading European governments to adjust their foreign policies, which could see them forge closer trading partnerships with other "like-minded" partners in Asia like India, Japan, and South Korea, and elsewhere in Europe with Norway and Britain. "Europe will invest into robustly promoting trade through a like-minded partners approach," said Reinhard Butikofer, a former Member of the European Parliament. "The European Union will pursue a very active trade policy and try to strike new trade deals." By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The temperature in downtown Muscat over the weekend was 35 degrees Celsius, but for the swarms of high-level officials from the U.S. and Iran buzzing around busily discussing a new nuclear deal it probably felt a lot hotter than that. On the one side was the delegation from the U.S. who found themselves in direct talks with their Iranian counterparts largely because their President threatened military action against the Islamic Republic if they did not attend. Washingtons core aim is to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons and to prevent Israel from launching a massive attack on the country which could ignite a war across the Middle East. On the other side were the Iranian negotiators whose presence attested to the depth of their countrys economic malaise, leaving the government facing increased public discontent and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) unable effectively spread Irans version of Islam around the world. Tehrans core aim is to avoid being gain sanctions relief to rebuild its economy and influence via the IRGC and its proxies, and to avoid a huge military assault by Israel, backed by the U.S. So, what was discussed and what will happen next? The deal on the table was and remains the same in essence as the deal [U.S. President Donald] Trump wanted to put in place after he withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or colloquially the nuclear deal] in May 2018, a senior source who works closely with the European Unions (E.U.) security complex exclusively told OilPrice.com over the weekend. However, the new rough draft includes two additional points which [Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin] Netanyahu managed to get DT [Donald Trump] agreeing to: first, the indefinite presence of weapons inspectors in Iran, and second, complete access to the banking and financial records of Iranian banks and 47 companies registered in 16 countries that are the most closely associated with the IRGC and related operations, he added. Over and above these two key new additions, three core concepts that underpinned the original 2015 JCPOA remain in the new rough draft. As analysed in full in my latest book on the new global oil market order, the first was the safety and security of U.S. troops from Iranian or Iranian-sponsored attacks around the globe; the second was the safety and security of Israel; and the third is that Iran will never seek to manufacture, acquire, deploy or use any nuclear weapons. Twelve specific clauses were geared towards these aims and remain broadly in place, although some have been toughened up, and one has been dropped (to withdraw all forces under Irans command throughout the entirety of Syria). Two dealing with activities connected to various of Irans proxies have been incorporated into other clauses. Related: Moscow's New Energy Plan: Oil Output To Remain Flat Until 2050 The first was to declare to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear programme and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity. The second is to stop enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing, including closing its heavy water reactor. The third is to provide the IAEA with unqualified access to all sites throughout the entire country. The fourth is to end its proliferation of ballistic missiles and halt further launching or development of nuclear-capable missile systems. The fifth is to release all U.S. citizens as well as citizens of U.S. partners and allies. The sixth is to end support to Middle East terrorist groups. The seventh is to respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and permit the disarming, demobilisation and reintegration of Shia militias. The eighth is to cease regular military support and support from the IRGC and related entities for terrorists and militant partners around the world. And the ninth is to end its threatening behaviour against its neighbours, including its threats to destroy Israel. For its part, Tehrans negotiators also began discussions over the weekend in Oman with elements discussed not just with Trumps team back in 2018 but also those which had been discussed with the team of Barack Obama that put together the original JCPOA in 2015. It is interesting to note here that Trumps original template for a harder line nuclear deal with Iran after the U.S.s withdrawal from its in 2018 was virtually identical to this original tough version that former President Obama wanted to implement, as also detailed in full in my latest book. At those points and now Iran wanted three main items considered. First, compensation by the U.S. for the damage done by sanctions to its economy. Second, immediate access to all of Irans frozen deposits in Europe, the Far East and everywhere else. Third, guarantees that Israel does not continue to increase its intelligence and military presence in the region to threaten the security of Iran. The first of these can be negotiated around easily enough by stressing that any substantive sanctions relief given from the U.S. to Iran once a new deal has been agreed will ultimately compensate for monies lost as a result of previous sanctions, the E.U. source told OilPrice.com over the weekend. The third one too should be easy enough to get around, as the U.S. can say it will do its best to ensure that Israel abides by the spirit of any new agreement, although ultimately it cannot dictate Israeli foreign policy on any country, he added. The second condition is more difficult, as Europe is not included in these talks [in Oman], which was a tactical mistake by the U.S., I think, he underlined. The reason for this is that the European members of the P5-plus-1 Group that signed the 2015 JCPOA on 14 July France, UK, plus Germany (the other signatories being the U.S., Russia and China) are the only ones capable of implementing the additional snapback sanctions on Iran ahead of their expiry date of 18 October this year. These comprise a comprehensive range of UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on Iran that were lifted from the Iranian economy when the 2015 JCPOA was signed. These would include multiple new financial sanctions on companies and individuals and increased surveillance by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF has 40 active criteria and mechanisms in place to prevent money laundering -- an activity that is vital to the IRGCs activities across the world. It also has nine criteria and mechanisms in place to do the same for the financing of terrorism and related activities -- again, a core of the IRGCs role in promoting Irans brand of Islam around the globe. The FATF also has swingeing powers to wield against individuals, companies, or countries who transgress any of its standards and is extremely aggressive in using them by degrees, depending on whether the sanctioned entity is on its grey or black list. The U.K. and France are tuned in to demand an immediate triggering after the [October] deadline, perhaps because they have more accurate information about the stockpile of Irans enriched material, increased number of Russian nuclear scientists sent to Iran between June 2024 and February 2025 and the three top missile experts from Pyongyang who have been in Iran for 140 days or so, said the E.U. source. We are told that the progress on weaponisation know-how has been expedited to critical levels, he underlined. It is clearly in Irans interests to have as many of the current sanctions against it removed. This would allow it time to rebuild its economy and to re-finance the activities of the IRGC and its proxies. However, during every previous round of direct and indirect talks on creating a new JCPOA, the sticking point has been the insistence of the U.S. and its allies for Iran to agree to adhering to the principles of the FATF. The underlying aim here was to erode the foundation of the regime established in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and its ongoing power as exercised through the guardians of that revolution the IRGC and Iran knows this. Consequently, said the Iran source, the negotiators from Tehran will push for any measures that threaten this scenario not to be present in any new JCPOA. Failing that, the Iranian team is likely to keep negotiations going until past the 18 October deadline for the snapback of UNSC sanctions by the European signatories of the original nuclear deal. This may also give them [the IRGC] some breathing space to reorganise and regroup ahead of any new major Israeli attacks against the nuclear facilities, the E.U. source said. Typically Iran thinks by delaying the negotiations they may be able to get more concessions from the U.S. -- a tried and tested approach that has failed for the past forty-five years or so, he concluded. By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com China's coast guard authorities on Tuesday said one of its ships patrolling waters near Huangyan Dao was harassed by a Philippine vessel in an attempt to smear the Chinese side with staged photos. The Philippine coast guard ship 4409 dangerously approached the Chinese vessel Zhongnan in waters near Huangyan Dao on Monday morning, crossing close to the bow of the Chinese vessel four times, said the China Coast Guard (CCG). After repeated warnings and regulatory measures taken by the CCG, the Philippine vessel was eventually repelled from the area, the authorities said, adding that the Philippine side later disregarded the facts and distorted the truth, using media platforms to hype up the incident. The actions of the Philippine side seriously violated relevant provisions of international law and maritime collision prevention regulations, the CCG said. By illegally and dangerously approaching the Chinese vessel, which was on a lawful mission, the Philippine ship threatened the safety of the Chinese personnel and ship, it noted. The CCG responded professionally and in a lawful manner, the authorities stressed. In addition, the CCG vowed to resolutely counter any provocation by Philippine vessels to safeguard China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. Brazils oil industry watchdog has scheduled an auction for drilling rights in an area where environmental authorities have put up serious opposition to any drilling, Bloomberg has reported, noting Brazils state-owned energy major Petrobras has been unable to tap the resources in that area because of that opposition. The tender, to take place on June 17, will include 173 blocks in northeastern and southern Brazil. Of this total, 47 blocks are located in the Fox do Amazonas area where Petrobras has been trying to drill for a couple of years only to have its wings clipped by the countrys environmental protection authority, Ibama. The Equatorial Margin offshore Brazil, which includes Foz do Amazonas, Para-Maranhao, and Barreirinhas basins, is estimated to hold large oil and gas reserves and is believed to share geology similar to that of Guyanas offshore, where Exxon is finding billions of barrels of oil and has developed and is developing half a dozen projects. Petrobras is appealing Ibamas decision to not grant drilling rights. However, this decision may spook potential candidates for the blocks, according to a local analyst. The lack of authorization for Petrobras to drill in the Foz do Amazonas basin brings uncertainty and certainly affects the attractiveness of the auction, Rivaldo Moreira Neto, director at consultancy A&M Infra, told Bloomberg. Indigenous communities are also opposing oil and gas drilling in the area, and indigenous affairs agency Funai says that drilling would violate their rights and ask the environmental agency to consider all potential impacts of a drilling license. All this could make the tender quite challenging, even though President Lula da Silva has thrown his weight behind the drilling campaign of Petrobras and has pushed Ibama to approve it. Lula has argued that oil and gas revenues from the Amazon could go towards financing Brazils energy transition. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com As Indonesia seeks to negotiate a reduction of a planned tariff of 32% on Indonesian goods sold in the United States, the government of Southeast Asias biggest economy will offer to buy an additional $10 billion worth of American oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Indonesia was slapped with one of the highest tariffs - 32% - in the liberation day tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. These tariffs were suspended last week for 90 days, during which the Trump Administration expects most countries to come pleading their cases and promising to boost their imports of U.S. goods to avoid high tariffs. Indonesias Energy Ministry has recommended an increase in the import quota for U.S. LPG and higher imports of U.S. crude oil, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia told local media on Tuesday. With the offer of $10 billion more U.S. energy imports, Indonesia plans to buy total U.S. goods worth between $18 billion and $19 billion to eliminate its trade surplus with America. Indonesian officials are heading to the U.S. to discuss tariffs and how to potentially buy their way out of them. Indonesias imports of U.S. crude oil are estimated to have averaged just 13,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year, out of the total 306,000 bpd crude imports, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters. Indonesia is just one of the countries looking to buy their way out of steep tariffs with deals to purchase American energy products. South Asian nation Pakistan is actively considering the idea of importing U.S. crude oil for the first time to seek a reduction of its trade surplus with America. South Korea is reportedly looking at more LNG imports to get Washington to drop the tariffs, while 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. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com With the next round of EU sanctions on Russia due for renewal in July, Brussels is cooking up a workaround to one persistent problem: Hungary. Specifically, Hungarys Viktor Orban, whos been repeatedly threatening to walk unless he gets what he wants. Traditionally, renewing sanctions requires unanimous support from all 27 EU member states. Thats been increasingly awkward, thanks to Orbans not-so-secret bromance with Vladimir Putin and his tendency to use sanction votes as leverage for unrelated goodies. So now, the European Commission is exploring a new trick: reclassify the sanctions as trade measures, which only need a qualified majority. Translation: Hungary can sulk in the corner while the rest of the bloc gets on with it. Oil, of course, remains the big-ticket item. EU sanctions have already helped slash Russian Baltic oil shipments by about 10% in recent months. The import bans, alongside tech and aluminum restrictions, have been central to curbing Moscows war machine. Hungary, meanwhile, keeps playing defense for Rosneft and friendsuntil someone quietly promises it more favorable energy terms. Then, like magic, the objections fade. The Commissions sleight of hand could be crucial. If they succeed, they can roll through the next sanctions renewal without Orban holding the process hostagepotentially preserving the blocs oil leverage at a time when Russian revenues are still surprisingly resilient. Most EU countries have begun developing alternative sources of gas, although somenotably Slovakia and Hungaryhave said this would drive up costs prohibitively. With Trump back in the White House, the EU may need every procedural tool it can muster to keep the pressure on Moscow without fracturing internally. So the EU might be done tiptoeing around Hungarys veto power, and that just maybe will keep Russian oil boxed out of European markets. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Pakistan is actively considering the idea of importing U.S. crude oil for the first time to seek a reduction of its trade surplus with America and avoid one of the highest tariffs currently paused on its goods sold in the United States. Crude oil is one of the products that Pakistan is actively exploring to buy from the U.S. to appease President Donald Trump, a Pakistani government source and an executive at a local refinery told Reuters on Tuesday. Pakistan imported about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last year, mostly from the major OPEC producers in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Now, the South Asian country is weighing the possibility of buying U.S. crude for the first time ever to avoid a 29% tariff on its goods sold in America, its top trade partner. The 29% tariff on Pakistani goods was announced by President Trump on the so-called liberation day, but was paused for 90 days last week, as were all additional tariffs on all other countries except China. A Pakistani delegation is heading to Washington D.C. these days to negotiate tariffs and could use a minerals deal as leverage, government officials told the BBC on Monday. Crude oil is one of the products being reviewed ahead of a delegation leaving for the U.S. to talk about tariffs, the government source directly involved with the proposal to buy more U.S. crude told Reuters. Pakistans idea is to buy crude oil from the United States equivalent to the value of its current imports of oil and refined products, which is estimated at around $1 billion, the refinery executive told Reuters. Pakistan is just one of the countries looking to buy their way out of steep tariffs with deals to purchase American energy products. South Korea, for example, is reportedly looking at more LNG imports to get Washington to drop the tariffs, while 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. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com The European Union is looking for legal ways to tear long-term natural gas supply contracts with Russias Gazprom without having to pay sizable penalties, the Financial Times has reported, citing three officials from the European Commission as saying the leading option was declaring a force majeure. If the whole idea is not paying Russia, then [paying compensation] would undermine the whole purpose, one of these officials, who were not named, told the FT. The European Union has found it quite difficult to stop importing Russian gas. While pipeline gas flows have been decimated, especially after the bombing of the Nord Stream and the expiry of the transit deal with Ukraine, LNG imports from Russia have soared, despite EU officials efforts to reduce them and eventually stop importing any Russian hydrocarbons into the bloc. The FT report comes as business leaders in Europe begin to hint at not being opposed to actually boosting Russian gas supply to the continent. Reuters cited several executives this week as making suggestions to that effect. If there is a reasonable peace in Ukraine, we could go back to flows of 60 billion cubic metres, maybe 70, annually, including LNG, Engie executive vice president Didier Holleaux told the publication. Europe will never go back to importing 150 billion cubic meters from Russia like before the war ... but I would bet maybe 70 bcm, TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said. He also said, We need to diversify, many routes, not over-rely on one or two, suggesting the EUs celebration of U.S. LNG coming to replace Russian pipeline gas was indeed rather premature. Reopening pipelines would reduce prices more than any current subsidy programmes, the head of one of Germanys largest chemical hubs told Reuters, referring to the Russian pipelines. It's a taboo topic, Christof Guenther added, noting that a lot of fellow executives agreed that a return to cheap Russian gas was urgently needed. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com By Oregon State Representative Mark Owens, Last weekend, Congressman Bentz was in Burns to meet with the community. I want to thank Senator Mike McLane, Harney County officials, the City of Burns, and our state partners who joined him for a roundtable on the ongoing flooding. We heard firsthand about the serious impactsfrom damaged roads to failing sewer systemsand discussed both immediate needs and long-term solutions. My office is committed to supporting Harney County and working together to get the help our communities need. Congressman Bentz meets with community leaders, electeds and state officials in Burns. Late this week, I joined Governor Kotek on a tour of the flood-impacted areas in Burns, including a visit with the Burns Paiute Tribe. We also held a press conference to address the communitys immediate needs and discuss long-term recovery efforts. I remain in close coordination with Governor Kotek, Congressman Bentz, and Oregon Emergency Management to ensure Harney County receives both immediate assistance and future funding support. Already, $40,000 in emergency funds has been secured to help local residents safely dispose of flood-contaminated materials. Governor Kotek, First Lady Amiee Kotek-Wilson and Representative Mark Owens posing for a photo with American Red Cross staff responding to a flooding emergency in Burns, Oregon. Governor Kotek and Representative Owens also held a press conference on the floods with KTVZ 21 on April 11th. Watch the full press conference here. Flash Harvard University on Monday rejected the Trump administration's demands to make sweeping changes to its governance, hiring and admissions practices, despite billions of dollars in federal funding being at risk if it fails to comply. "We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement. The University will not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights," Harvard University President Alan M. Garber wrote in a letter to members of the Harvard Community. "The administration's prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government," Garber argued. "Harvard is committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry in its community," two attorneys representing the university wrote in a letter Monday, while noting that "Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration." Trump administration officials on Friday sent a letter to Harvard, demanding that the university make "meaningful governance reform and restructuring," noting that "an investment is not an entitlement." "Harvard has in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment," the letter read. "We therefore present the below provisions as the basis for an agreement in principle that will maintain Harvard's financial relationship with the federal government," according to the administration's letter. The administration's demands include: adopting and implementing merit-based hiring and admissions policies, and ceasing all preferences based on race, color, and national origin; reforming the recruitment, screening, and admissions of international students to prevent admitting students hostile to the American values and institutions, including students supportive of terrorism or antisemitism; reforming programs with "egregious records of antisemitism"; and shutting down all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funding to the country's top universities, pressuring them to implement major changes. It recently announced that it was reviewing 9 billion dollars in federal funding to Harvard and its affiliates. Columbia University, which was at the heart of last year's pro-Palestinian protests, became the first institution to face consequences, losing 400 million dollars in federal funding last month. University officials said they are currently in ongoing discussions with the administration to have the funding reinstated. By Oregon Property Owners Association April 8, 2025 You can always count on the Oregon Legislature to turn a well-intentioned idea into a fiasco for rural property owners. Case in point: SB 1154 -1. What started as a measure to ensure safe drinking water for rural Oregonians has spiraled into a land use bill that threatens the future of property owners who had no role in causing groundwater contamination. Much like how our wildfire program was started back in 2021, SB 1154 is well-intentioned. It comes in response to a serious state of emergency that is unfolding in Eastern Oregon, and is intended to build off state agencies existing authority. Unfortunately, much like SB 762, the massive 83-page bill has three sections buried in the middle of the bill that target innocent property owners, and stands to hurt the very people its supposed to protect. Specifically, SB 1154 allows counties to prohibit new residential construction in Groundwater Quality Management Areas (GWMAs) unless homes are connected to public water systems, which most are not. It goes further to give the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) carte blanche authority to create rules dictating where counties MUST prohibit new structures. Worse still, it permits the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to enter onto private property in GWMAs without landowner consent to inspect subsurface sewage disposal systems an invasive overreach with almost no checks and balances. Meanwhile, property owners in these areas are likely to see their land values plummet and their ability to build or rebuild homes taken from them. And thanks to Measure 49s exemption for public health and safety regulations, homeowners barred from building or improving their properties will likely have no recourse for compensation. Its a cruel twist: those suffering from industrial contamination are now penalized further, with no relief in sight. Hows that for fairness? Before we explain our concerns in more detail, we need to understand how we got here and why the state is determined to take up this issue. From Morrow County to Salem prolonged groundwater fight hits the session. For the last three decades, parts of rural Oregon have been entangled in a high-stakes battle over groundwater quality specifically over elevated levels of nitrates. It is well established that drinking water with high levels of nitrates can lead to serious health consequences like respiratory infections, thyroid dysfunction and stomach or bladder cancer. Most notoriously, it can cause blue baby syndrome, which decreases the bloods capacity to carry oxygen, especially in infants drinking baby formula mixed with contaminated water. There are many factors that contribute to elevated nitrate levels in groundwater, such as failing septic systems, urban runoff, and atmospheric deposition. However, studies show that certain commercial agricultural practices can cause high levels of nitrate contamination. For example, studies suggest that overusing chemical fertilizers and poorly managing nitrate-rich wastewater on farmland can allow excess nitrates to seep through the soil into aquifers and other groundwater sources. In 2022, Morrow County declared a local state of emergency after private well testing showed high levels of nitrate contamination. Groundwater is the primary drinking water source for Morrow and Umatilla County residents. It was the first time an Oregon county had ever declared a state of emergency over water quality issues. After the declaration, the area was visited by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, and many other high-ranking state and federal officials. DEQ attempted to respond with fines and introduced the 2024 Nitrate Reduction Plan, but critics argued the plan lacked substance as clear deadlines and actionable strategies were glaringly absent. The legislatures answer? SB 1154. SB 1154 builds off of existing authority. Its important for folks to know that Oregon has an existing framework and program to identify areas of groundwater contamination. Under existing law, a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) is a region designated by DEQ due to concerns about groundwater contamination, particularly from nitrates or other pollutants. These areas are identified based on studies showing that groundwater quality fails to meet standards or is at risk of degradation. The purpose of a GWMA is to coordinate efforts among local communities, agencies, and stakeholders to address water quality issues and develop strategies for improvement. In a GWMA, activities such as agricultural practices, waste management, and residential uses are closely monitored, guided, and sometimes regulated to mitigate groundwater contamination. However, public education, best practices, and voluntary community involvement are emphasized to ensure long-term protection of water resources, without causing unintended consequences for property owners in GWMAs. A GWMA is created by DEQ when nitrate levels above 70% of the safety limit or other pollutants over 50% of the safety limit in a certain area. The results are double-checked by a second lab to make sure the findings are accurate. Once a GWMA is declared, DEQ works with local communities to create a plan to fix the issue. They also monitor the area over time to check progress and reduce pollution levels. As of today, there are only three GWMAs in Oregon: the Lower Umatilla Basin GWMA, the Northern Malheur County GWMA, and the Southern Willamette Valley GWMA. SB 1154: Improving processes, protecting the innocent, or hurting victims? As talked about already, Oregon already has a framework in place for addressing groundwater contamination through GWMAs. SB 1154 with the -1 amendment purports to enhance this process and protect rural communities, but includes three heavy-handed sections that undermine this effort: Section 17 Empowers counties to bar residential dwelling (which includes replacement dwellings, farmworker housing, etc.) or accessory dwellings in GWMAs unless connected to public water, effectively freezing development in areas with limited public infrastructure. Section 17 Grants DLCD unfettered authority to create sweeping rules dictating where counties MUST ban new residential structures, even outside of GWMAs. Section 19 Section Authorizes DEQ to enter private properties for underground sewer system inspections with minimal limitations, and no clarity on the consequences for property owners if their sewage system fails the inspection or they cannot afford to make repairs. CALL TO ACTION SB 1154s overreach is the definition of adding insult to injury. Instead of narrowly targeting polluters, this bill punishes homeowners and communities who had no hand in the contamination. Destroying property values, restricting land use, and denying compensation isnt just shortsighted its unjust. Its critical for property owners, rural communities, and stakeholders to speak up! The bill is scheduled for a public hearing and possible work session TODAY on April 8th, 2025 at 1:00pm. However, we believe this bill is being moved to the committee on Rules for further amendment. That means there is more time to make your voice heard. We encourage all potentially impacted property owners to write in and ask the Legislature to REMOVE Section 17 and Section 19 from the -1 version of the bill! You can write in HERE or watching the hearing HERE. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Coin found at Ibo, site C400 site. Credit: Montero-Ruiz et al. 2025 A recent study by Dr. Ignacio Montero-Ruiz and his colleagues examined the provenance of ancient copper artifacts discovered on the Island of Ibo off Mozambique's coast. The study, published in Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, provides new insights into the role small coastal villages played in the early development of the Indian Ocean trade. For much of the Swahili trade history, the role of northern Mozambique has been considered marginal. However, in 2016, a test pit dug on the island of Ibo revealed various artifacts linking the area to the wider Swahili trade, including Persian Gulf or Iranian glazed ceramics, a fragment of a soft-stone ware possibly from Iran or Oman, and glass beads traded from India and Central Asia. Among the finds were also three bronze coins, a chain, and metal fragments. The metal objects were subject to elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and lead isotope analysis. The elemental analysis revealed that the coins had a unique elemental composition unlike any other known Swahili coins. The Ibo coins were made up of an unusually high tin-lead ratio and, unlike Swahili coins, contained no arsenic. The researchers proposed that this may indicate a shift in the source of copper (needed to make bronze) for Swahili coins during the 11th and 12th centuries. Lead isotope analysis was conducted on two of the coins and a fragment of the coin to determine the geological origin of the copper. Using a specialized mass spectrometer, the researchers compared the isotope signatures with sources across Africa and Eurasia. The results showed that none of the metals had originated in the Islamic world, as their alloy composition did not match. Neither were they recycled metal. Instead, the researchers hypothesized that the most likely source of the copper was the Copperbelt region in Congo-Kinshasa (possibly the Shinkolobwe mine). This would make the copper used to create the Ibo artifacts the most distant source of copper to date. While the poor condition of the coins and the fact that the researchers could not claim they belonged to a Swahili mintage made linking them to any particular place difficult, the researchers were able to establish a link between the Ibo coins and coins struck in Kilwa. The Quirimbas Archipelago, which is part of Ibo, was part of the gold trade network that connected Kilwa to areas in Limpopo (South Africa) and the Zambezi, located in the Middle Limpopo Valley. The Middle Limpopo Valley was a significant political entity that controlled long-distance trade in gold and ivory. Within it were several polities, including Mapela (ca. 10551450 AD), Mapungubwe (ca. 12201300 AD), and Great Zimbabwe (ca.13001450 AD). This long history of trade between the southern areas of Africa and the Swahili coast helped introduce gold, tin, bronze, and brass metallurgy into these southern areas around the second millennium. This trade connection between Ibo and the polities in the Middle Limpopo Valley has been demonstrated through the analysis of a gold bead also excavated at Ibo, says Prof. Maria Ruiz-Galvez Piergo, one of the researchers on the study. 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. "According to the provenance analysis, this gold came either from Great Zimbabwe or South Africa, since it isn't easy to distinguish, based on trace elements composition, between the gold ores of the Greenstone Belts and those of the Witwatersrand Basin." While much of the ore, including copper and bronze, used in these polities was mined locally in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, some came from the Copperbelt in the Congo-Kinshasa. The research team proposes that the copper used in the Ibo coins and artifacts likely originated from the Congo region before being redirected eastward to the coast through the Middle Limpopo Valley, suggesting that they followed a similar route to the gold trade network. "Taking into account that Sofala was considered the outlet for the Zimbabwean gold, we considered the Limpopo River, connected to Sofala, as the most probable route [of copper]," said Prof. Ruiz-Galvez Piergo. While the evidence isn't conclusive, the study opens the possibility that copper mining districts in Congo-Kinshasa were linked to Swahili-oriented trade routes. Copper, along with other valuable materials, may have been traded through the Quirimbas before entering into the wider Swahili trade network, highlighting the important role small local villages may have played in the early development of the Indian Ocean trade route system. More information: Ignacio Montero-Ruiz et al, Lead isotopic provenance of some coins and other bronze items from an early Swahili site in Ibo Island (northern Mozambique), Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa (2025). DOI: 10.1080/0067270X.2025.2481762 2025 Science X Network This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain If the archaeological record has been correctly interpreted, stone alignments in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge are remnants of shelters built 1.7 million years ago by Homo habilis, an extinct species representing one of the earliest branches of humanity's family tree. Archaeological evidence that is unambiguously housing dates to more than 20,000 years agoa time when large swaths of North America, Europe and Asia were covered in ice and humans had only recently begun living in settlements. Between that time and the dawn of industrialization, the archaeological record is rich not only with evidence of settled life represented by housing, but also with evidence of inequality. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Within the research, scholars from around the world draw from a groundbreaking archaeological database that collects more than 55,000 housing floor area measurements from sites spanning the globedata that supports research demonstrating various correlations between housing size and inequality. "Archaeologists have been interested in the study of inequality for a long time," explains Scott Ortman, a University of Colorado Boulder associate professor of anthropology who partnered with colleagues Amy Bogaard of the University of Oxford and Timothy Kohler of the University of Florida. "For a long time, studies have focused on the emergence of inequality in the past, and while some of the papers in the special feature address those issues, others also consider the dynamics of inequality in more general terms." "They use this information to identify the fundamental drivers of economic inequality using a different way of thinking about the archaeological recordthinking more about it as a compendium of human experience. It's a new approach to doing archaeology." Patterns of inequality Ortman, Bogaard and Kohler are also co-principal investigators on the Global Dynamics of Inequality (GINI) Project, housed in the CU Boulder Center for Collaborative Synthesis in Archaeology in the Institute of Behavioral Science to create the database of housing floor area measurements from sites around the world. Scholars then examined patterns of inequality shown in the data and studied them in the context of other measures of economic productivity, social stability and conflict to illuminate basic social consequences of inequality in human society, Ortman explains. "What we did was we crowdsourced, in a sense," Ortman says. "We put out a request for information from archaeologists working around the world, who knew about the archaeological record of housing in different parts of the world and got them together to design a database to capture what was available from ancient houses in societies all over the world." Undergraduate and graduate research assistants also helped create the database, which contains 55,000 housing units and counting from sites as renowned as Pompeii and Herculaneum, to sites across North and South America, Asia, Europe and Africa. "By no stretch of the imagination is it all of the data that archaeologists have ever collected, but we really did make an effort to sample the world and pull together most of the readily available information from excavations, from remote sensing, from LiDAR," Ortman says. The housing represented in the data spans non-industrial society from about 12,000 years ago to the recent past, generally ending with industrialization. The collected data then served as a foundation for 10 papers in a PNAS Special Feature, which focuses on the archaeology of inequality as evidenced in housing. 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. Housing similarities In their introduction to the Special Feature, Ortman, Kohler and Bogaard note that "economic inequality, especially as it relates to inclusive and sustainable social development, represents a primary global challenge of our time and a key research topic for archaeology." "It is also deeply linked to two other significant challenges. The first is climate change. This threatens to widen economic gaps within and between nations, and some evidence from prehistory associates high levels of inequality with lack of resilience to climatic perturbations. "The second is stability of governance. Clear and robust evidence from two dozen democracies over the last 25 years links high economic inequality to political polarization, distrust of institutions and weakening democratic norms. Clearly, if the maintenance of democratic systems is important to us, we must care about the degree of wealth inequality in society." Archaeological evidence demonstrates a long prehistory of inequality in income and wealth, Ortman and his colleagues note, and allows researchers to study the fundamental drivers of those inequalities. The research in the Special Feature takes advantage of the fact "that residences dating to the same chronological period, and from the same settlements or regions, will be subject to very similar climatic, environmental, technological and cultural constraints and opportunities." Several papers in the Special Feature address the relationship between economic growth and inequality, Ortman says. "They're thinking about not just the typical size of houses in a society, but the rates of change in the sizes of houses from one time step to the next. "One thing we've also done (with the database) is arrange houses from many parts of the world in regional chronological sequenceshow the real estate sector of past societies changed over time." The papers in the Special Feature address topics including the effects of land use and war on housing disparities, and the relationship between housing disparities and how long housing sites are occupied. A study that Ortman led and conducted with colleagues from around the world found that comparisons of archaeological and contemporary real estate data show that in preindustrial societies, variation in residential building area is proportional to income inequality and provides a conservative estimator for wealth inequality. "Our research shows that high wealth inequality could become entrenched where ecological and political conditions were permitted," Bogaard says. "The emergence of high wealth inequality wasn't an inevitable result of farming. It also wasn't a simple function of either environmental or institutional conditions. It emerged where land became a scarce resource that could be monopolized. At the same time, our study reveals how some societies avoided the extremes of inequality through their governance practices." The researchers argue that "the archaeological record also shows that the most reliable way to promote equitable economic development is through policies and institutions that reduce the covariance of current household productivity with productivity growth." This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Graphical abstract. Credit: Nucleic Acids Research (2025). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaf267 Plants know how to defend themselves against pathogenic microorganisms. In turn, pathogens have sensors to detect such defense mechanisms. What happens when plant and pathogen are locked in that duel? A team from Ruhr University Bochum and Forschungszentrum Julich in Germany has studied how plant-pathogenic bacteria protect themselves against their host's defense mechanisms. The researchers focused on Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a common plant pathogen that uses two sensors to detect reactive oxygen speciestoxic molecules plants release to damage the DNA, lipids, and proteins of invading microbes. One of these bacterial sensors, known as OxyR, had already been characterized in detail. In the current study, the team identified the structure and function of the second sensor, i.e. LsrB. The findings were published online in the journal Nucleic Acids Research. "In the long term, insights into bacterial stress responses could facilitate targeted intervention of regulatory networksboth to combat infections and to optimize beneficial bacteria in biotechnology," says Dr. Janka Schmidt, lead author of the study. Two transcription factors act as sensors Reactive oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide, which is a common household bleach and disinfectant, impose oxidative stress on organisms: They trigger chemical reactions that can cause damage to DNA, lipids and proteins. To mount an effective defense, cells must first detect the presence of reactive oxygen species. This is achieved through redox sensors: molecules capable of undergoing reversible oxidation (donation of electrons) or reduction (gain of electrons). These sensors rely on specific cysteine side chains that can cycle between oxidized and reduced states without being damaged. In Agrobacterium tumefaciens, both identified sensorsOxyR and LsrBare transcription factors, regulating the expression of genes involved in oxidative stress response. Bacteria without redox sensors more susceptible to plant defenses The researchers engineered Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains without the redox sensors OxyR and/or LsrB. These modified bacteria were susceptible to reactive oxygen species and were less able to infect plantswhich highlights how important the two sensors are. In order to understand the structure and function of LsrB, microbiologists, biochemists and structural biologists from Bochum and Julich joined forces under the leadership of Dr. Janka Schmidt and Professor Franz Narberhaus. Using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy images, they showed that LsrB contains four cysteine residues, which are perfectly positioned to form two redox-active pairs. Complementary biochemical analyses further confirmed that LsrB functions as a redox sensor. Unlike OxyR, which responds specifically to reactive oxygen species, LsrB appears to play a broader regulatory role in coordinating both oxidative stress responses and virulence. The interdisciplinary team from Bochum and Julich now aims to decipher this role in more detail in the future. More information: Janka J Schmidt et al, Two redox-responsive LysR-type transcription factors control the oxidative stress response of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Nucleic Acids Research (2025). DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaf267 Journal information: Nucleic Acids Research 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: Researchers identified two specific types of Colombian peatlandspalm swamps, and white-sand peatlandsboth with forested and open variations. Credit: Environmental Research Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/adbc03 UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Scott Winton has been wading through thick, smelly muck in the tropics for almost a decade. He wouldn't have it any other way. As a wetland ecologist and biogeochemist, he's been hard at work investigating an important and mysterious topic: peatlands. Peatlands are a special type of wetland with enormous potential to either help or hurt global efforts to address climate change. If we want peatlands on our side, we'll have to protect them. But that's difficult to do, since we still don't yet know how many of them exist or where they are. Winton's latest research, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, provides the first data-driven map of both newly documented and predicted peatland areas across Colombia's eastern lowlands. Institutions including ETH Zurich, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and Stanford University contributed to the research. Winton is lead author, and senior author Alison Hoyt is an Assistant Professor of Earth System Science at Stanford. Winton and the team estimate that the region contains somewhere between 7,370 and 36,200 square kilometers of peatlands. Protecting these ecosystems could help Colombia reduce its carbon emissions as part of international climate change agreements. Carbon emissions are the excessive amounts of carbon dioxide gas released into the atmosphere by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. When excess carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere, it acts like a heat trapping blanket, warming our planet and resulting in climate change. To address the problem, we mainly need to reduce our use of fossil fuels. But it's also important to conserve key ecosystems that naturally act as "carbon sinks," trapping and storing some of our emissions underground. That's where peatlands come in. Peatlands are great at capturing carbon because their perpetually soggy soils deprive decomposer organisms of the oxygen they need to fully break down dead plants. Normally, plants absorb some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and incorporate the carbon into their tissues, then when the plants die, decomposers digest them, releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. But in peatlands, the decomposition process grinds to a halt, so over time, a large amount of carbon accumulates and remains trapped in peat soils in the form of partially decomposed organic matter. In Colombia, Winton's team found that the average per-area carbon densities in peatlands are four to 10 times higher than in the Amazon rainforest. This finding tracks with what scientists know about the carbon sequestration abilities of peatlands in other parts of the world. "On a global scale, peatlands cover only 3% of land surface but store more carbon than all of the world's trees," Winton explained. "We tend to focus on trees when we think about natural capacity to remove some of the excess carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, but peatlands punch way above their weight in terms of carbon storage." Essentially, peatlands are like unsung heroes that have been working behind the scenes to help buffer the impact of our fossil fuel emissions. But there's a catch. Peatlands can only continue to store carbon if they remain consistently wet. When peatlands are drained for agriculture or other development, decomposer organisms in the soil get right back to work breaking down the partially decomposed organic matter in peat soils, releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere. Dried out peatlands can also catch fire, rapidly releasing their carbon stores. 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. Unfortunately, this scenario is currently playing out in some parts of the world. "There has recently been mass drainage of peatlands for agriculture in Southeast Asia, resulting in soil compaction and subsidence and catastrophic wildfires that become a huge source of carbon to the atmosphere," Winton said. "Indonesia, for example, is actually a huge outlier in terms of their emissions relative to GDP because of these types of land conversion. And once peatlands are destroyed, they can take 1,000 years to recover lost soil carbon, so it really demonstrates the importance of working proactively to protect these ecosystems." One of the major challenges in protecting peatlands is that they're not always easily distinguishable from other types of wetlands based on their surface appearances. Documenting them requires careful investigation, but they remain understudied in many parts of the world. In Colombia, for example, five decades of civil war previously made many parts of the country inaccessible for ecological research. Peace agreements have now made research possible, but the country is also experiencing rapid environmental degradation, meaning there's a good chance that peatlands are being destroyed before they can even be identified. Finding Colombia's peatlands and slowing the rate of their destruction could prevent the release of significant carbon stores, reducing the nation's overall carbon emissions. With that goal in mind, Winton and a team of researchers set out in search of peat. Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Scott Winton (right) and the research team collect soil samples and data on water conditions and plant communities at one of 51 peatland sites they identified through extensive field work in Colombias eastern lowlands. Credit: Scott Winton Starting in regions identified by a global predictive map for wetlands, they talked with local people to get a sense for what plant communities might be associated with peatlands. Then they used satellite imagery to find promising areas to visit and investigate. It was a difficult, but ultimately rewarding process that spanned three years. "We visited a lot of wetlands without finding any peat, and we kind of had to stumble around and struggle a bit before we figured out how to find what we were looking for," Winton recalls. "One day we were swimming through chest-deep water in this swamp, and I remember diving down under the flood water to grab a handful of soil. That's when we found our first peat, and we realized we were finally in the right place." Winton and his team ended up finding peat soils at 51 of the more than 100 wetland sites they visited. At each site where they found peat, they collected soil samples and detailed data on water conditions and plant communities. They identified two specific types of Colombian peatlandspalm swamps, and white-sand peatlandsboth with forested and open variations. White-sand peatlands had not previously been documented in South America. Winton's team described them as permanently wet areas forested by thin-stemmed and often stunted trees, growing in up to two meters of peat soil atop white sand. The team's new observations about the characteristics of Colombia's peatlands allowed them to build an improved predictive model, showing where additional peatlands likely exist across Colombia's lowlands. Researchers also analyzed the soil samples they collected in order to determine their carbon content. Taken together, these results allowed the team to estimate that Colombia's peatlands may currently be sequestering an amount of carbon equivalent to 70 years' worth of the country's emissions from fossil fuels and industry. Winton hopes that improved understanding of the value of these peatland resources and where they might be distributed could help local scientists and the Colombian government continue the work to identify and protect more of the country's peatlands. "There are many places across Colombia and around the world where we could still find large peatlands that we didn't know existed that would totally upend current assumptions," Winton said. "We really need more research across the tropics to groundtruth and identify the distribution of peatlands, so that we can prioritize their conservation globally with a more complete picture." More information: R Scott Winton et al, Widespread carbon-dense peatlands in the Colombian lowlands, Environmental Research Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/adbc03 Journal information: Environmental Research Letters This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Australia is heading to the polls on 3 May, and as we enter the campaign, the amount of misinformation we are exposed to is likely to increase. Some of this misinformation is deliberately designed to deceive us. This type of misinformation is typically referred to as "disinformation." Disinformation is likely to have long-term detrimental effectsbut probably not in the way you think. Disinformation campaigns attempt to convince the audience of something that is not true. These kinds of campaigns are organized and systematicmuch like conventional advertising campaigns. We know a lot about conventional advertising campaigns as they're very well studied. We also know they're highly effective, at least at the population level, and that's why globally more than US$1 trillion was spent on advertising in 2024. Disinformation campaigns are likely to be similarly effective. But demonstrating this is difficult due to ethical and legal concerns: no ethics committee is going to allow the intentional dissemination of misinformation or disinformation to study how it affects democratic outcomes. Consequently, the studies of the effectiveness of disinformation campaigns are indirect and correlational, which limits any conclusions they can draw. The evidence we have suggests that disinformation campaigns can create small but significant shifts in public opinion. These are potentially enough to tip the balance in a close election. But even the threat that a disinformation campaign can affect an electoral outcome can be enough to have an election nullified. This happened in 2024 during the Romanian presidential election. The threat to democratic institutions is one of the many reasons why in 2024, the World Economic Forum labeled misinformation and disinformation the greatest short-term global risk. The greater dangers of disinformation While small shifts in public opinion can influence elections, the greatest danger is how misinformation and disinformation can change our dominant narratives. Our societal narratives are much more important than you might thinkand can cause real harm. For instance, there's no logical reason to suspect that 5G towers could cause COVID-19. In fact, there's no reason to believe that these towers cause any harm at all. But a widespread narrative alleging that 5G towers are harmful has resulted in multiple cases of vandalism that have put lives at risk. If we look at another examplevaccine refusalthe potential for harm is much greater. For instance, between 30 May 2021 and 3 September 2022 there were at least 232,000 deaths in the US caused by COVID-19 vaccine refusal. To put that number into some perspectivethat's more deaths than the number of U.S. military fatalities in World War I, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and in the War on Terror combined. 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. As these examples show, misinformation and disinformation can cause immense harm by undermining trust in science through their impact on public narratives. Sometimes these anti-science narratives are created by companies for financial reasons. The PR firm Hill & Knowlton famously advised tobacco companies to fight the growing science that tobacco was harmful by creating doubt, rather than outright denying it. By sponsoring 'scientific' studies that disputed the harm caused by tobacco, and by mounting large-scale advertising campaigns to sow doubt, Big Tobacco delayed legislation for yearsboosting their profits but causing a vast number of avoidable deaths. Inspired by this "success," other industries adopted the same playbook. The fossil fuel industry funded disinformation campaigns to cast doubt on the connection between human activity and climate change. Major chemical companies funded disinformation campaigns to cast doubt on the connection between pesticides and the environment. Major pharmaceutical companies funded disinformation campaigns to downplay the risks of addiction. And politics is not immune. This denial of factual evidence is something we can expect to see in Australia's federal election, where it's likely to gain prominence through the major parties' official campaigns. In fact, we've already seen it. One of the big debates in Australia right now is about energy. Several politicians have been promoting nuclear energy as a viable, cheap alternative. This is despite a report from Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, which found that nuclear power was still about 50% more expensive than renewableseven after it changed its modeling to accommodate criticism. Similarly, in the US, we're seeing renewed attacks from the new administration on the scientific basis of vaccines. When the science is provided, it's dismissed. And it's a trend that's made its way to Australia. Victoria is already battling a measles outbreak as a result of vaccination rates dropping below the 95% national target since the COVID-19 pandemic. Questioning facts An effective way to raise doubt in scientific research is to repeatedly and publicly question it. Now, science should be questionedbut to add to scientific inquiry, those questions must be objective, and they must be testable. If a statement is repeatedly made, especially by an authority figure, people will begin to believe itthe so-called illusory truth effect. If scientific evidence is repeatedly questioned (without basis), people will begin to doubt it, regardless of whether there is any rational reason to do so. The media often contribute by trying to give equal time to both sides of an argument, even if one side is not supported by robust evidence. For instance, by repeatedly inviting climate change skeptics to debate climate change with scientists, the media contributed to casting doubt about the origins of climate changesomething the scientific community is still wrangling with today. As the advertising industry knows, we tend to believe what we repeatedly hear. That is why disinformation campaigns are so dangerous. During the upcoming federal election, Australians are going to have misinformation and disinformation repeated to them. As a result, some people will end up doubting the science that contradicts it. This, in turn, can affect their subsequent beliefs and how they interact with each other. And that may be the biggest consequence of disinformation in the upcoming federal electiona less rational and cohesive Australia, influenced by information that's been manipulated to make us believe it. 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 Inactive ingredients in agricultural, pharmaceutical, and other common products have typically been excluded from consideration as potential contaminants in drinking water. However, while these chemicals are inert in certain products, they can still pose hazards when combined with other materials during the drinking water treatment process. A new study from researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis reveals how large this impact might be. Jean Brownell, a graduate student working with Kimberly Parker, associate professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering, led the investigation. Brownell examined the use of amines in herbicides and their potential role as precursors to nitrosamines, harmful byproducts formed during water disinfection. Brownell discovered that inactive amines, which are used as stabilizing agents in herbicides to increase solubility and reduce drift, may be more important than active agents in herbicides when it comes to forming disinfection byproducts (DBPs) linked to various health risks, though the impacts vary by region and time. The results were published in the April 15 issue of Water Research. "Everybody needs healthy food to eat and clean water to drink, so there's clear motivation for us to look at how herbicides used in agriculture impact water treatment downstream," Brownell said. "We need herbicides to support effective modern farming, but we also need to examine our assumptions about these products to make sure we haven't missed side effects that might pose risks to people's health and safety. That's why we're analyzing trends in herbicide use that have changed over the past 20 years but have not been reevaluated in terms of how those changes also impact chemical precursors of DBPs." Brownell compared the annual use of amines in herbicides to other known nitrosamine precursors, such as the widely used pharmaceuticals ranitidine and metformin. She found that the use of amines in herbicide formulations has increased in recent decades, particularly affecting certain regions including the Midwest. Because of the quantity of amines used, Brownell found that these inactive agents are potentially much more important nitrosamine precursors than researchers previously thought. Amines from herbicides have the potential to enter the environment at rates similar to precursors from pharmaceuticals. This could have significant implications for water treatment processes, as nitrosamines are known to pose serious health risks even at low concentrations. "We always want to know what the precursors are and where they come from," Parker said. "The conventional wisdom was that the main source of nitrosamine precursors was consumer productsthings like pharmaceuticals, fabric dyes, and so onthat enter the environment via municipal wastewater, and agricultural runoff wasn't a big source. "But when agrochemical practices change, we can't keep applying old results. We need to evolve our studies and question our assumptions to make sure what we're assuming is either truly generalizable or alternatively, needs to be appropriately applied to local areas." Brownell's analysis confirms that shifting trends in herbicide formulation and use necessitate a closer look at nitrosamine precursors. These studies need to be done at specific locations and times of year to account for variations across space and time, which Brownell found could be large and impactful. Brownell and Parker also highlighted the importance of collecting and sharing high-quality data from farmers and agencies across regions to support consistent best practices for water and food safety. "This paper raises questions that require more work to find answers," Parker noted. "We do need to rethink our assumptions that led us to think agriculture is unimportant for nitrosamine precursors, but this needs to be followed up with field research to test and verify these findings." More information: Jean M. Brownell et al, Making Waves: Formulation components used in agriculture may serve as important precursors for nitrogenous disinfection byproducts, Water Research (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2025.123116 Journal information: Water Research 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 The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Prince George's County faces deep Trump administration budget reductions that could cut the nation's space science mission in half, Maryland Democratic lawmakers said Monday. "If you cut the science programming in half, you hurt our country in many ways. You hurt our national security, you hurt our innovation, our economy. You hurt our leadership around the world," Sen. Chris Van Hollen told reporters outside the center. "This is no time to retreat when it comes to space science and yet that is exactly what the proposed Trump budget cuts would do," the senator said. Van Hollen and Reps. Glenn Ivey and Steny Hoyer visited the space flight center before briefing media members. The NASA Goodard budget proposals cited by the lawmakers have not been finalized. They said the cuts could include programs such as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is being developed to study distant planets and galaxies. The center is among a number of federal agencies with headquarters or offices in Maryland, including the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn, the National Institutes of Health and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Montgomery County, and the National Security Agency in Anne Arundel County. Because of those agenciesand the number of federal workers living in the stateMaryland has faced a disproportionate impact from cuts recommended by the Trump administration, under which thousands have lost their jobs. Many of the federal government reductions were recommended by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Trump says Musk is doing "a fantastic job" uncovering waste, fraud and abuse. The Baltimore Sun's inquiries to NASA Goddard were referred to the acting Goddard news chief, who did not immediately reply. "We've seen, over the last three months, an effort to essentially disassemble American enterprise, American government, and American progress by a group that knew everything about how they were going to do it and do it quickly," said Hoyer, the former House majority leader whose district formerly included Goddard. "But as in this instance, in almost every instance in which they've undertaken, they do not know the consequences," Hoyer said. 2025 Baltimore Sun. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Flash China's cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries aims to provide mutual support and is never driven by geopolitical calculations, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a daily news briefing on Monday. Spokesperson Lin Jian made the remarks in response to the "China threat" narrative being pushed by certain U.S. officials. He said that their remarks are steeped in ideological bias and the result of a Cold War mentality, and that they contain not a single word of truth. "Who sees Latin America and the Caribbean as a backyard and forces the 'Neo-Monroe Doctrine' on them? Who keeps pointing fingers at the domestic affairs of these countries? Who has been coercing them with tariff threats? Who has engaged in massive global surveillance? Who has military bases all over the Western Hemisphere? Who is letting small arms, light weapons and ammunition flow into Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace?" Lin asked, noting that the world knows "full well" the answers to these questions. Lin said that China is committed to equality and mutual benefits in engaging with these countries, and never seeks to gain a sphere of influence or target any third party. The United States continues to vilify China and peddle the so-called China threat in order to create a pretext to justify their actions to control countries in this region, yet this will never succeed, Lin added. 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: Computer simulation of a one-sided magnetic field on early Mars based on data from a study led by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. The study could explain the unusual magnetic imprint found on Mars today. Credit: Ankit Barik/Johns Hopkins University Like Earth, Mars once had a strong magnetic field that shielded its thick atmosphere from the solar wind. But now only the magnetic imprint remains. What's long baffled scientists, though, is why this imprint appears most strongly in the southern half of the red planet. A new study from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) could help explain the one-sided imprint. It presents evidence that the planet's magnetic field covered only its southern half. The resulting lopsided magnetic field would match the imprint we see today, said the study's lead author, Chi Yan, a UTIG research associate at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. It would also make Mars' magnetic field different from Earth's, which covers the entire globe. Yan said that the one-sided magnetic field could arise if Mars' inner core was liquid. "The logic here is that with no solid inner core, it's much easier to produce hemispheric (one-sided) magnetic fields," Yan said. "That could have implications for Mars' ancient dynamo and possibly how long it was able to sustain an atmosphere." In the study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers used a computer simulation to model this scenario. Until now, most studies of early Mars had relied on magnetic field models that gave the red planet an Earth-like inner core that's solid and surrounded by molten iron. The researchers were inspired to try simulating a fully liquid core after NASA's InSight lander found that Mars' core was made of lighter elements than expected. That means the core's melting temperature is different from the Earth's and therefore quite possibly molten, said study co-author Sabine Stanley, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University. An illustration of NASA's InSight spacecraft. The lander's instruments found that Mars may have a fully molten core. That could explain Mars' one-sided magnetic field according to research by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech If Mars' core is molten now, it almost certainly would have been molten 4 billion years ago when Mars' magnetic field is known to have been active, Stanley said. To test the idea, the researchers prepared simulations of early Mars with a liquid core and ran them a dozen times on supercomputers. With each run, the researchers made the planet's northern half of the mantle a little hotter than the south. Eventually, the temperature difference between the hotter mantle in the north and the cooler mantle in the south led to the heat escaping from the core being released only at the southern end of the planet. Channeled in such a way, the escaping heat was sufficiently vigorous to drive a dynamo and generate a strong magnetic field focused in the southern hemisphere. A planetary dynamo is a self-sustaining mechanism that generates a magnetic field, typically through movement in the molten metallic core. "We had no idea if it was going to explain the magnetic field, so it's exciting to see that we can create a (single) hemispheric magnetic field with an interior structure that matches what InSight told us Mars' interior is like today," Stanley said. According to UTIG planetary researcher Doug Hemingway, the finding offers a compelling alternative theory to a common assumption that involves asteroid impacts obliterating evidence of a planet-wide magnetic field in northern hemisphere rocks. "Mars is naturally interesting to look at because it's like Earth in some ways and it's the closest planet that we can imagine actually setting up shop on," said Hemingway, who was not part of the study. "But then, it's got this dramatic hemispheric dichotomy where the topography, the terrain and the magnetic field of the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere are dramatically different. Anything that gives a clue to what could account for some of that asymmetry is valuable." More information: C. Yan et al, Mars' Hemispheric Magnetic Field From a FullSphere Dynamo, Geophysical Research Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1029/2024GL113926 Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters 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: Thar desert. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. Aiwok Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar-led research suggests climate change, increased monsoon rainfall and expanded groundwater pumping have driven substantial vegetation growth in the Thar Desert over the past two decades. Global drylands occupy about 41% of Earth's land area. These regions are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change and land use transformation and frequently face the threat of desertification. Rising atmospheric water demands and expanding arid zones can limit vegetation growth, yet human interventions such as irrigation and groundwater pumping have created conditions for greening in several dryland ecosystems. In India, drylands comprise nearly 70% of the total land area and support approximately 1.5 billion people. Among these, the Thar Desert, an arid zone of approximately 200,000 square kilometers across northwestern India and southeastern Pakistan, holds the highest population density of any desert worldwide. In the study, "Greening of the Thar Desert driven by climate change and human interventions, published in Cell Reports Sustainability," researchers conducted an observational analysis using remote sensing, climate datasets, and hydrological records across the Thar Desert. Conditions in this arid zone include temperatures ranging from 5C in winter to over 50C in summer. Annual rainfall averages around 200 mm, concentrated during the southwest monsoon. Surface water remains limited, making groundwater the primary source for agricultural, residential, and industrial use. Researchers used satellite-derived vegetation indices, precipitation data from multiple sources including CHIRPS, and groundwater measurements from in situ wells and satellite missions such as GRACE and GRACE-FO. Groundwater levels were assessed through 728 observation wells across Rajasthan with more than 50% data availability from 1996 to 2021. Of these, 207 wells were located within the Thar region. Groundwater storage changes were also captured using satellite-based terrestrial water storage anomalies from GRACE and GRACE-FO missions. Between 2001 and 2023, vegetation greenness across the Thar Desert increased by 38%, with gains most pronounced in the north-central areas. Both monsoon and non-monsoon seasons showed measurable greening trends. Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Reports Sustainability (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100364 Seasonal analysis revealed that rainfall accounted for 66% of vegetation growth during the summer monsoon months, while groundwater contributed 34%. During non-monsoon months, groundwater's influence rose to 67%, with rainfall responsible for only 32%. Annual precipitation in the region increased by 64%, one of only four major desert ecosystems globally to experience a statistically significant rise during the same period. Thar also recorded the highest population growth among 14 major deserts examined worldwide from 2000 to 2020. Urban areas expanded by 50% to 800% between 1985 and 2020, and agricultural land grew by approximately 300%. Satellite data showed that much of this development was concentrated in areas where groundwater use intensified. 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. Rainfall and groundwater extraction together have enabled rapid agricultural and urban expansion in the Thar Desert over recent decades. Continued greening appears possible, as climate models project a 20% to 50% increase in mean annual precipitation through the end of the century under both low and high-emission scenarios. Groundwater overuse is a critical concern as satellite and in situ observations show long-term depletion, suggesting current rates of extraction may not be sustainable. Future development will depend on balancing increased monsoon rainfall with efficient groundwater management. Rapid expansion of irrigation, especially through deep tube wells, has raised crop yields but also lowered aquifer levels. Longer and more intense heat waves, rising irrigation demands, and water scarcity during dry seasons may strain the region's capacity to sustain growth. Thar's transformation reflects how coordinated infrastructure investments, irrigation systems, and energy access can reshape arid environments. As monsoon rainfall trends shift westward, this region may experience further ecological and economic changes. Continued greening will require adaptation strategies such as drought-resilient crops, improved water recharge, and renewable-powered irrigation to maintain food and water security for a growing population. More information: Vimal Mishra et al, Greening of the Thar Desert driven by climate change and human interventions, Cell Reports Sustainability (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2025.100364 2025 Science X Network This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The experimental apparatus consists of a custom-built vacuum chamber that fits inside the sample compartment of a Nicolet iS50 FTIR spectrometer. Credit: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (2025). DOI: 10.1029/2024JE008334 Scientists have hypothesized since the 1960s that the sun is a source of ingredients that form water on the moon. When a stream of charged particles known as the solar wind smashes into the lunar surface, the idea goes, it triggers a chemical reaction that could make water molecules. Now, in the most realistic lab simulation of this process yet, NASA-led researchers have confirmed this prediction. The finding, researchers wrote in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, has implications for NASA's Artemis astronaut operations at the moon's South Pole. A critical resource for exploration, much of the water on the moon is thought to be frozen in permanently shadowed regions at the poles. "The exciting thing here is that with only lunar soil and a basic ingredient from the sun, which is always spitting out hydrogen, there's a possibility of creating water," Li Hsia Yeo, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "That's incredible to think about," said Yeo, who led the study. Solar wind flows constantly from the sun. It's made largely of protons, which are nuclei of hydrogen atoms that have lost their electrons. Traveling at more than 1 million miles per hour, the solar wind bathes the entire solar system. We see evidence of it on Earth when it lights up our sky in auroral light shows. Most of the solar particles don't reach the surface of Earth because our planet has a magnetic shield and an atmosphere to deflect them. But the moon has no such protection. As computer models and lab experiments have shown, when protons smash into the moon's surface, which is made of a dusty and rocky material called regolith, they collide with electrons and recombine to form hydrogen atoms. Computer-processed data of the solar wind from NASAs STEREO spacecraft. Download here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20278/ Credit: NASA/SwRI/Craig DeForest Then, the hydrogen atoms can migrate through the lunar surface and bond with the abundant oxygen atoms already present in minerals like silica to form hydroxyl (OH) molecules, a component of water, and water (H 2 O) molecules themselves. Scientists have found evidence of both hydroxyl and water molecules in the moon's upper surface, just a few millimeters deep. These molecules leave behind a kind of chemical fingerprinta noticeable dip in a wavy line on a graph that shows how light interacts with the regolith. With the current tools available, though, it is difficult to tell the difference between hydroxyl and water, so scientists use the term "water" to refer to either one or a mix of both molecules. Many researchers think the solar wind is the main reason the molecules are there, though other sources like micrometeorite impacts could also help by creating heat and triggering chemical reactions. Spacecraft measurements had already hinted that the solar wind is the primary driver of water, or its components, at the lunar surface. One key clue, confirmed by Yeo's team's experiment: the moon's water-related spectral signal changes over the course of the day. In some regions, it's stronger in the cooler morning and fades as the surface heats up, likely because water and hydrogen molecules move around or escape to space. As the surface cools again at night, the signal peaks again. This daily cycle points to an active sourcemost likely the solar windreplenishing tiny amounts of water on the moon each day. To test whether this is true, Yeo and her colleague, Jason McLain, a research scientist at NASA Goddard, built a custom apparatus to examine Apollo lunar samples. In a first, the apparatus held all experiment components inside: a solar particle beam device, an airless chamber that simulated the moon's environment, and a molecule detector. Their invention allowed the researchers to avoid ever taking the sample out of the chamberas other experiments didand exposing it to contamination from the water in the air. In 2016, scientists discovered that water is released from the moon during meteor showers. When a speck of comet debris strikes the moon, it vaporizes on impact, creating a shock wave in the lunar soil. With a sufficiently large impactor, this shock wave can breach the soils dry upper layer and release water molecules from a hydrated layer below. NASAs LADEE spacecraft detected these water molecules as they entered the tenuous lunar atmosphere. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab "It took a long time and many iterations to design the apparatus components and get them all to fit inside," said McLain, "but it was worth it, because once we eliminated all possible sources of contamination, we learned that this decades-old idea about the solar wind turns out to be true." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. Using dust from two different samples picked up on the moon by NASA's Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972, Yeo and her colleagues first baked the samples to remove any possible water they could have picked up between airtight storage in NASA's space-sample curation facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and Goddard's lab. Then, they used a tiny particle accelerator to bombard the dust with mock solar wind for several daysthe equivalent of 80,000 years on the moon, based on the high dose of the particles used. They used a detector called a spectrometer to measure how much light the dust molecules reflected, which showed how the samples' chemical makeup changed over time. In the end, the team saw a drop in the light signal that bounced to their detector precisely at the point in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrumnear 3 micronswhere water typically absorbs energy, leaving a telltale signature. While they can't conclusively say if their experiment made water molecules, the researchers reported in their study that the shape and width of the dip in the wavy line on their graph suggests that both hydroxyl and water were produced in the lunar samples. More information: Li Hsia Yeo et al, Hydroxylation and Hydrogen Diffusion in Lunar Samples: Spectral Measurements During Proton Irradiation, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets (2025). DOI: 10.1029/2024JE008334 Journal information: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 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: A composite image of the avatars used in the experiments. Credit: Jasmin Baake at al On TikTok there are exceptional "testimonials" like Nikola Tesla or Marie Curie delivering short science-related messages that have garnered millions of views. This is just one of many examples where AI-generated avatars are used to communicate sciencea strategy that might also have its drawbacks. The generation of images and animations through artificial intelligence is a rapidly growing field, constantly improving in quality. Yet many avatars, though realistic, still present minor flawsglitches, delays, inconsistent facial expressions or lip-syncingsometimes barely noticeable, but still easily picked up by a human observer. Jasmin Baake, researcher at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS), Bochum, Germany, and the other authors of a study in the Journal of Science Communication realized that these avatars could trigger a phenomenon known in cognitive science as the "uncanny valley." Example of female realistic avatar used in the experiments (video). Credit: Jasmin Baake et al The uncanny valley describes a human reaction to humanoid avatars (digital or robotic): when they look hyper-realistic but not quite perfect, they may evoke strong discomfort, while more stylized or cartoonish humanoid figures tend not to. The uncanny valley can provoke outright rejection in viewers, and Baake and colleagues wondered to what extent the human-like characteristics of AI-avatars representing science communicators influence the trustworthiness attributed to them by the viewer. "We wanted to do research on the perception of these avatars and especially on how their degree of realism and their gender might impact the trustworthiness perception of the recipient," explains Baake. The study (conducted in Germany, in German) involved a series of videos featuring AI-generated avatars portraying science communicatorsboth male and female. The experimental conditions were four, varying by avatar realism (very high vs. cartoonish style) and gender (male or female). Example of video with a cartoonish male avatar. Credit: Jasmin Baake et al The nearly 500 participants were recruited through a representative online sample in Germany, selected to reflect the population in terms of age, gender, and education. "For the degree of realism, we assumed that, with the uncanny valley hypothesis in mind, the more stylistic avatars, so the ones that looked a bit more cartoonish, would be perceived as more trustworthy," says Baake. "And, based on existing literature on gendered perceptions of science communicatorswhich show that male scientists are often associated with greater competencecombined with concerns that AI-generated avatars may reflect and reinforce such stereotypes due to biased training data, we hypothesized that male avatars would be perceived as more competent, and therefore more trustworthy overall, than female avatars." However, Baake and colleagues were surprised: in their experiments, the realistic avatars were rated more positively than the cartoon-style ones. In particular, the questionnaires given to participants after viewing the videos assessed perceived competence, integrity, and benevolence of the avatars, which together reflect perceived trustworthiness. Realistic male avatar used in the experiments. Credit: Jasmin Baake et al Realistic female avatar used in the experiments. Credit: Jasmin Baake et al Cartoonish female avatar used in the experiments. Credit: Jasmin Baake et al Cartoonish male avatar used in the experiments. Credit: Jasmin Baake et al The more realistic avatars scored slightly higher across all three dimensions. As for gender, the effect was partial: male avatars were perceived as more competent, but no significant differences were found in terms of integrity or benevolence. "With our findings, we could not find a descent into the uncanny valley with a higher degree of realism, at least in our conditions," comments Baake. Additionally, individual factorssuch as viewers' prior AI knowledge and trust in sciencewere found to moderate trustworthiness perceptions. According to the study's findings, more realistic, human-like avatars appear to be suitable for communicating scientific content. However, Baake emphasizes that while no uncanny valley effect was found here, future studies should test a broader range of realism levels to investigate whether an intermediate uncanny valley effect might emerge between the two conditions tested so far, and whether people perceive the realism of avatars differently depending on the observer. More information: Balancing realism and Trustworthiness: Avatars in Science communication, Journal of Science Communication (2025). 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: Example of a comment from one of the non-professional translators of Spanish songs into Chinese and the responses received from his followers, analyzed by the UPF study. Credit: Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona A recent study by UPF examines an emerging informal practice among the Chinese community learning Spanish: the translation of Hispanic songs, many of them reggaeton, into Chinese through the country's main music streaming platform, NECM (NetEase Cloud Music), which allows its users to cooperate. Non-professional translators and fans of Spanish and Latin music, of Chinese origin, take advantage of this opportunity to share and comment on their translations on the platform. This topic is the subject of an article published in the journal Language and Intercultural Communication in March. It is the result of research by Li Yuan-Cloris, a researcher at the Department of Translation and Language Sciences (TiCL), led by Daniel Cassany, coordinator of the research group on Language Learning and Teaching (GR@EL). Yuan-Cloris is one of 81 students of Chinese origin studying Translation and Language Sciences at UPF, 37% more than five years ago. Like her, most are doing doctoral (51) or master's degree (20) studies. The Department's master's degree with the highest concentration of students of Chinese origin is Translation between Global Languages: Chinese-Spanish. UPF can itself testify to Chinese students' interest in learning the Spanish language and about Spanish culture. In addition to Translation and Language Sciences, during the last five years, the number of Chinese students of all disciplines taught at UPF has also grown by 32%, currently standing at 275 (102 taking bachelor's degrees, 71 master's degrees, and 102 are pursuing their doctoral degree). Apart from the students who have the opportunity to study a portion of their studies in Spain, many more would like to do so from their country of origin. The problem is that in China, there is a lack of formal educational resources to learn Spanish, compared to English. In view of this shortcoming, more and more Chinese are turning to informal digital tools to learn Spanish in a recreational way through virtual communities of people with shared interests, such as music. Some translators already have more than 2 million views The research by UPF focuses on this emerging, scarcely studied practice, analyzing the case of two non-professional translators on NECM, who have been interviewed in depth. One of them, Benito (pseudonym), has 1,300 followers on the platform and his translations have been viewed more than 2 million times; and the other is Lia (pseudonym), with about 800 subscribers. Specifically, 60 of their translations (30 by each) of the following musical genres have been examined: reggaeton (38 songs), ballads (11), pop (6) and trap (5). In addition, the behavior of the translators' followers and their 500 or so comments or responses have been analyzed. The research has combined content and discourse analysis techniques. The results of the study reveal that the translators use various intercultural mediation strategies in their translations to make it easier for the Chinese public to understand the meaning of songs in Spanish. It should be noted that the translated songs contain a total of 183 items with cultural specificities (CSI), referring to concepts of Hispanic culture that have no Chinese equivalent. What intercultural mediation strategies do fan translators use? The strategy most commonly used by translators (68% of cases) is domestication, with which these CSI are replaced by other terms that are nearer the Chinese imaginary. For example, to translate the expression "get stood up", they use the Chinese expression "", which we would literally translate as "free[ing] a dove". Doves have traditionally been considered messengers and, in the Chinese imaginary, releasing a dove that does not come back is associated with a broken promise. 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. Another strategy is euphemisms, which are used to circumvent Spanish concepts that are especially sensitive in the Chinese community and can be subject to censorship. In fact, all the sexual references identified in the original songs (34 explicit or implicit) have been translated using euphemisms. For example, to translate "f*ck" or "do[ing] it", they use expressions such as (possess[ing]) or (exchange/ing pleasure). Other strategies involve the use of non-standard forms of spelling (transcripting). For example, to translate the expression "caliente" (in English, "horny"), they combine two words, equivalent to the Anglicisms "sexy" () and "hot" (). But to circumvent censorship, the translators insert asterisks between the characters of each word (*/*). One particular feature of Chinese is that neither different words nor the characters of the same word are separated by a space. Thus, the insertion of asterisks makes it especially difficult for the platform's algorithms to identify the real meaning of the words. "The translators themselves also accompany the texts of their translations with paratexts, annotations or comments, to explain the Hispanic cultural elements to the Chinese audience and thus promote the intercultural understanding by the Chinese community of Spanish culture", researcher Li explains. An informal learning practice that should be considered by foreign language teachers According to the study, this intercultural mediation exercise has significant potential to promote cultural and linguistic diversity. At the same time, it enhances the multilingual and multicultural skills of translators of Spanish, Chinese (by making advanced use of the language) and English (intermediate language) language and culture. Translators also take advantage of their work to gain influence on the platform, which brings them emotional benefits and influences their identity. In view of the many benefits of non-professional translation, the study concludes that language teaching professionals should foster students' autonomy and encourage them to get involved in these activities. More information: Yuan-Cloris Li et al, From 'fuck' to 'possess': intercultural mediation and identity construction in Chinese fan translations of Spanish-language songs, Language and Intercultural Communication (2025). DOI: 10.1080/14708477.2025.2470300 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 In a context marked by the precariousness of working conditions and the proliferation of intermittent, invisible and unpaid forms of employment, a study involving the participation of the University of Barcelona questions the foundations on which work has traditionally been understood within capitalism. The article, "Simultaneous disruptions: forms of livelihood, fragmentation of classes, and social labor in the twenty-first century" and published in Dialectical Anthropology, was written by researchers Susana Narotzky, professor of Social Anthropology at the UB, and Sharryn Kasmir, professor at Hofstra University. The main thesis of the study is clear: wage labor, understood as the central social relation of capitalism, should not be considered the universal or dominant model. On the contrary, the global economy is based on a wide range of informal, precarious and often invisible forms of work, ranging from temporary and informal jobs to labor practices strongly conditioned by the extraction of natural resources or by situations of social and economic confinement. These activities, although they do not fit into classic labor schemes, are fundamental to the production of value in the capitalist system. The authors argue for a redefinition of the concept of "social labor," understood not only as work that is remunerated through a wage, but also as the collective human effortoften unrecognizedthat enables the reproduction of life and capital accumulation. This perspective makes visible forms of work that have often been relegated to statistical and legal marginality, but which underpin a large part of modern economies, both in the north and south. Thus, it offers a profound critique of the interpretative frameworks inherited from classical political economy, and presents a new grammar for understanding labor in the era of fragmented capitalism. The article is structured around several ethnographic cases that exemplify this reality. In Mexico, indigenous families collect pebbles from the beach to export them to the United States, an informal and environmentally destructive activity that combines family labor, child exploitation and a total lack of labor protection. In the Spanish region of Donana, migrants hired to pick strawberries work in precarious conditions, subject to restrictive work permits that prevent any mobility or possibility of collective organization. Meanwhile, in the United States, many young people opt to combine multiple part-time jobs in the face of distrust of traditional stable work, a strategy that reflects decades of labor market flexibility and weakening labor rights. Far from considering these cases as exceptional or typical of peripheral contexts, the researchers argue that they are representative of the very heart of capitalism today. The authors note that "wage labor has never been the only social relation of capitalism, and today it is more evident than ever." This phenomenon, they point out, is not new, but it has become structural and globalized. The article also analyzes the role of the state in the consolidation of these forms of precarious work, as well as the way in which natureenvironmental resourcesbecomes another element exploited in the name of economic development. In this scenario, the authors propose abandoning the homogeneous idea of "working class" and adopting the notion of "classes of labor," which is more plural and capable of reflecting the diversity of labor experiences that coexist today. However, this fragmentation not only has economic but also political effects, as it hinders the construction of collective solidarities and shared strategies of resistance. However, the identification of common forms of precariousness could open the door to new alliances between workers across sectors and geographies. With this article, Susana Narotzky and Sharryn Kasmir contribute to a key debate about understanding the transformations of the world of labor and the tensions between capital and life in the 21st century. The text is part of a special issue dedicated to rethinking labor and class from a critical and global perspective. It does so, moreover, with a clear desire to situate anthropology as a discipline capable of unveiling the invisible but structural mechanisms of exploitation of our time. More information: Sharryn Kasmir et al, Simultaneous disruptions: forms of livelihood, fragmentation of classes, and social labor in the twenty-first century, Dialectical Anthropology (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10624-025-09763-1 MAYS LANDING The attorneys representing Atlantic Citys mayor and schools superintendent, who are accused of abusing their teenage daughter, claim their clients were only trying to protect their child from her boyfriend, according to arguments presented in court Tuesday. Marty Small Sr., 51, and LaQuetta Small, 48, appeared before Judge Bernard DeLury as attorneys argued motions to dismiss the charges against them. The couple are each charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Mayor Small also is charged with terroristic threats, aggravated assault and witness tampering. Both have pleaded not guilty. Mayor Small, wearing a blue suit, appeared in person for the hearing and was seated between his attorneys, Jordan Barbone and Patrick Joyce. Court officials granted a request late Monday for Superintendent Small to appear via Zoom. Her attorney, Michael Schreiber, was present in the courtroom. Throughout the three-hour proceeding, the attorneys argued the state violated the wiretap statute and claimed the alleged incidents that took place within the family home didnt warrant a second-degree endangering charge. Barbone also argued the alleged threats Mayor Small made toward his daughter were said out of frustration and that he wasnt going to act on them. Last year, the teenage daughter of Mayor and Superintendent Small told officials at Atlantic City High School she was being physically and mentally abused at home, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The affidavit indicated the Smalls disapproved of their daughters boyfriend, who allegedly had 13 recordings of conversations between Mayor Small and his daughter on a cellphone and iPad. Appeal of motion to suppress ruling in Atlantic City principal abuse cover-up case denied An appellate court has upheld an Atlantic County Superior Court judge's decision to reject a motion to suppress evidence found on three electronic devices belonging to the Atlantic City High School principal. However, the recordings were taken without the prior consent of the Smalls daughter, which violates the wiretap statute, Barbone said. In four statements the victim had given to the Prosecutors Office, she never said once that she gave her boyfriend permission to record the interactions between her and her father, Barbone said. It wasnt until the second interview when the victim realized the Prosecutors Office had these recordings. She doesnt indicate that she told him to record, and she was kind of caught off guard in a sense. In response to Barbone, Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Remy said several messages between the victim and her boyfriend showed she gave him consent to record. She was asking if he was able to hear them, indicating she wanted him to hear what was happening on the other end, Remy said. She also told him to stay on mute because the defendants were in the room and she wanted someone to know since she was frightened. She couldve closed that consent at any time by telling him she didnt want him to hear something. Court documents say during one incident, LaQuetta Small punched her daughter multiple times on her chest, leaving bruises; dragged her daughter by her hair then struck her with a belt on her shoulders, leaving marks; and punched her daughter in the mouth. Schreiber argued any physical contact between his client and her daughter lasted only a few seconds as she tried to tell her to stop seeing the boy. She also denied ever pulling her daughters hair. The two were apparently wrestling each other, Schreiber said. My client was trying to get her to do what her parents asked. This case is about a verbal argument and a physical confrontation that lasted four seconds. In another incident, Mayor Small allegedly threatened to hurt his daughter by earth slamming her down the stairs, grabbing her head and throwing her to the ground, and smacking the weave out of her head, the Prosecutors Office said. Judge refuses to block evidence found in Atlantic City mayor, superintendent's home, vehicles An Atlantic County Superior Court judge has denied a defense motion that would have suppressed evidence found in the home and vehicles of Atlantic City's mayor and schools superintendent accused of abusing their teenage daughter, court documents show. Barbone claimed Mayor Small said these things out of frustration following an argument Jan. 3, 2024, in which the daughter allegedly refused to allow him to take her to school. These were parents trying to control their daughter while in turn facing backlash, disobedience, disrespect and resistance, Barbone said. Any comments during this 30-minute verbal altercation were made in anger and nothing more. These are not terroristic threats the Legislature intended to prohibit. He then very calmly told her, Dont make me hurt you, and the discussion turned into a squabble because all she wanted to say is no. The only thing my client was trying to establish was that he was the parent and shes the daughter. He doesnt do any of these things, he just says it because of the inflamed interaction between the two. Barbone further alleged the daughter was provoking the situation and tried to push through her grandmother and Superintendent Small to leave the house as the argument continued, leading Mayor Small to tell her she was going to do harm to herself if she got in his space again. Again, its conditional, Barbone said. The parent is telling the child to listen to them. This was said in fleeting anger to warn the daughter during an attempted parental reprimand. Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Fischer said when the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency came to speak to Mayor Small last April, he admitted the threat was made but didnt say whether it was made to his daughter or someone else. He told them it means a slam to the ground, Fischer said. This man knows what he said, and that was his weak attempt to explain an earth slam to the ground. Mayor Small later allegedly told his daughter to twist up the story she told law enforcement about a previous head injury she sustained days before he and his wife were indicted in the alleged abuse case, prosecutors said. Fischer said the witness tampering charge came to be when the couple brought the victim to their arraignment after they allegedly told her they were going shopping. Hearing on motion to dismiss in case of Atlantic City principal moved to May A motion to dismiss the indictment in the case against the suspended Atlantic City High School principal accused of failing to report the alleged abuse of the mayor and superintendent's daughter will now be heard next month DeLury didnt make any decisions Tuesday as he requested additional information regarding the wiretap argument and the motion to dismiss for Superintendent Small. He gave the attorneys a May 19 deadline, and they will be back in court June 16 on that motion. Before that, the couple are due back in court May 2, when the state will argue to join Mayor Smalls witness tampering charge with the other charges. The Smalls trial is expected to start in July. Tariffs and threats won't work: time for the U.S. to rethink its approach to China 15:27, April 14, 2025 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily Once again, the U.S. administration is reaching for the blunt instrument of tariffs. Cloaked in the rhetoric of so-called "reciprocity," the U.S. is moving to impose sweeping tariffs on all its trading partners, including China. Seeking unilateral advantage through maximum pressure, this approach runs counter to the very principles that have long underpinned international trade. In response to this renewed economic coercion, China has taken and will continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests, while upholding international fairness and justice. At the same time, China remains committed to high-level opening up and sharing development opportunities with the world for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes. China's countermeasures are grounded in law, logic, and proportionality. The so-called "reciprocal tariffs" imposed by the U.S. are less about economic logic than power politics. At their core lies an outdated belief in "might makes right" and "America Only" hegemony. China, a civilization steeped in the values of sincerity and trustworthiness, does not seek confrontation. But it will never back down under pressure. History has taught a clear lesson: threats and intimidation do not work with China. They didn't in the past, and they won't now. Development, after all, is the legitimate right of all countries - not a privilege reserved for a selected few. Yet under the guise of "reciprocity" and "fairness," the U.S. is playing a zero-sum game. Its tariffs are not tools of balance but instruments of disruption that will destabilize the international economic and trade order. Little wonder the world has taken notice - and pushed back. The path forward lies not in economic brinkmanship, but in defending the international system with the United Nations (UN) at its core and the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its center. These institutions remain essential for creating an enabling environment for common development and prosperity. China's firm countermeasures against U.S. trade bullying are more than self-protection - it is a defense of the international order and the principle that international rules should not be bent at the whim of the powerful. The record speaks volumes. After years of waging a tariff war, what has the U.S. accomplished? China's foreign trade has remained resilient, its economy has grown stronger, and its capacity to withstand external shocks has only deepened. Meanwhile, the U.S. has failed to reduce its trade deficit or revive its manufacturing base. Instead, American businesses and households have absorbed the pain of higher costs and disrupted supply chains. Now, as Washington raises the tariff stakes once again, some temporary disruptions may follow, but China is more than prepared. With a vast economy and a comprehensive industrial system, China is transitioning from a manufacturer of quantity to one of high-quality, innovation-driven growth. It maintains trade relations with almost all countries and regions designated in the UN Statistics Division and stands as a major trading partner for more than 150 countries and regions. Even amid global turbulence, China's commitment to win-win cooperation remains firm. Its development not only contributes to global growth but also reinforces its own resilience, fully capable of navigating and thriving through external shocks. China stands firmly on the right side of history. Through continued opening up, it enhances its capacity for self-reliant development and brings predictability to an uncertain world. To those who question whether China's new development paradigm signals a retreat from opening up, the answer is unequivocal: the "dual circulation" strategy is not about closing doors - it is about ensuring that, even if others shut theirs, China still thrives. Its door is wide open, and the invitation to cooperation remains extended to all. Under current circumstances, China's choices reflect strategic clarity and long-term vision. In the face of containment and suppression, it remains focused on "doing its own affairs well" - a principle that includes unwavering pursuit of high-level opening up. No matter how the international landscape shifts, China's door to the world will only open wider, offering new opportunities for the world through its own development. China will steadily expand institutional opening up by proactively adopting relevant rules, regulations, management, and standards; promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation; foster a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment; and work with all countries to promote universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. History does not wait for those who stand against the current. Openness and cooperation are the trend of the times. The world should not - and will not - return to isolation and division. China-U.S. economic and trade relations are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature. The U.S. should view the relationship from the perspective of the fundamental interests of both peoples, set aside the tariff weapon, and work with China to protect a sound and stable global economic order. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Flash Civil defense workers transfer a victim from the rubble of destroyed buildings after an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on April 13, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Hamas said Monday evening that it is reviewing Israel's new Gaza ceasefire proposal delivered by Egypt and Qatar, while Palestinian sources said the prospect of achieving any tangible breakthrough is slim as differences remain between Hamas and Israel. Egypt's Al-Qahera News TV channel reported, quoting high-ranking Egyptian sources, that Egypt and Qatar have delivered the Israeli proposal to Hamas and are awaiting its response as soon as possible. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an informed source of Hamas told Xinhua that the proposal included a 45-day temporary ceasefire, during which Hamas would release half of the Israeli hostages it holds. The source said the Hamas delegation, headed by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, expressed surprise at the inclusion of a clause related to the movement's disarmament, which it categorically rejected. "Disarmament is not on the table and will not be discussed, now or in the future," the source said, adding that any agreement must begin with "a cessation of the Israeli aggression and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip." According to the source, Hamas informed the mediators that it was prepared to release nine Israeli hostages in an initial phase, but only under the condition of a comprehensive halt to hostilities, a demand that Israel has not accepted. On Sunday, the Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo at the invitation of Egyptian officials to participate in the talks. Meanwhile, Israel's Channel 11 reported that Israel is ready to compromise on specific issues but will not accept any agreement that undermines its war objectives. According to the channel, an Israeli official said that Israel will not abandon its position on restricting Hamas's military capabilities and ensuring that any truce leads toward a process of disarmament. According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation Kan, Israel proposed, via mediators, the release of hostages, including American citizen Edan Alexander, in return for U.S. guarantees to proceed with the next phase of ceasefire discussions. The Israeli proposal also includes a 45-day pause in fighting, the entry of conditional humanitarian aid, and the redeployment of Israeli forces to positions held before March 2. Despite ongoing mediation by Egypt and Qatar, sources close to Hamas said "significant gaps" remain between the parties. Efforts by Egypt and Qatar to bridge the divide between Hamas and Israel continue, but no clear path to a truce has yet emerged, according to a source of Hamas. In the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate amid continued military operations. Security sources in Gaza said that Israeli airstrikes targeted several areas across Gaza City, Rafah, and Khan Younis. Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, announced that its fighters engaged in an armed clash with Israeli forces east of the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, claiming to have inflicted casualties. While the Israeli army did not issue an official statement on the incident, Hebrew media reported that two Israeli soldiers were seriously injured and evacuated by helicopter for treatment. However, civilians in Gaza continue to bear the brunt of the conflict. Nader Abdul Karim, a displaced resident from Gaza City now living in a UNRWA shelter in Deir al-Balah, told Xinhua, "We had hoped this round of talks would result in a truce, but our hopes are fading." "Every day, we fear becoming part of the rising death toll," he lamented. Salha Abu Rahmi, a displaced woman from Beit Hanoun, said, "The negotiations are happening far from us, and every time they fail, we face more bombing. We are the ones paying the price." In Khan Younis, resident Oday Abu Zeid echoed similar concerns. "If this war does not end soon, more families will be wiped out. Every failed round of talks means more suffering," he said. A bill to outlaw local governments in Montana from implementing their own extreme risk protection order laws commonly known as red flag laws, which are used by other judicial systems to prevent certain people from owning or buying guns is headed to the governors desk. The Senate voted Monday to pass House Bill 809, sponsored by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, which would subject a local government that does put in place and enforce a so-called red flag law to fines of several thousand dollars money which would go back into the states general fund. Extreme risk protection order laws have been put in place in nearly half of U.S. states in an effort to keep guns out of the hands of people experiencing mental illness or who have made threats to themselves or others. The bill passed its final vote in the Republican-led Legislature on Monday 29-19, with opposition from every voting Senate Democrat and Republican Sens. Wendy McKamey of Great Falls and Russ Tempel of Chester. On the bills final vote in the House, Republican Reps. Ken Walsh of Twin Bridges and John Fitzpatrick of Anaconda joined every Democrat in voting against it. Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, who carried the bill in the Senate, said during debate Saturday the bill would prevent local municipalities from creating a patchwork of laws that violate our constitution. Neither the state nor any local governments in Montana currently allow judges to issue extreme risk protection orders. The Montana Constitution contains a right to bear arms, and the state has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country; it does not require a permit for most firearms and concealed carry is allowed unless a person is ineligible to carry a firearm, though permits are required in some places, and concealed carry is illegal in places like schools and federal offices. The state also restricts local governments from regulating firearms except to protect safety in public buildings, which does allow cities and towns to regulate when and where rifles, shotguns and handguns can be fired. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have extreme risk protection order laws on their books. They vary in terms of who can ask for one, from only law enforcement in some states, to police, family or household members, health care professionals, educators and judges in others, according to a database kept by the University of Michigan. The length of such orders can range from a week for emergency orders issued absent a hearing, to a year or two once the order is upheld after an adjudicatory hearing. HB 809 forbids a local government from adopting any type of ordinance or policy, and from accepting any grant money, that seeks to implement an extreme risk protection order. If a government violated that law, it could face a civil penalty of up to $10,000. The bill defines an extreme risk protection order as an executive order or a written order or warrant issued by a judge, magistrate, or other judicial officer, with the primary purpose of reducing the risk of firearm-related death or injury. A local government would not be able to prohibit a person from controlling, owning, possessing, or receiving a firearm, nor would it be allowed to take a firearm away from a person. The lone exception would be when a person is subject to a protection order requested by another person and approved by a judge. While the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 expanded gun rights in the U.S., it also last year upheld a federal law that prohibited domestic abusers from obtaining, possessing, or using firearms. Courts in Florida and New York have also upheld their states' extreme risk protection order laws. Republicans in the Senate on Saturday were adamant that extreme risk protection orders violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, however, and infringe on peoples due process by allowing governments to obtain emergency orders without the person facing a hearing. Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, called the bill a limitation of governments in their ability to disarm the population. Mitchell had said in the House he saw the bill as an effort to push back against what he called the tyrannical regime of the Biden Administration, which encouraged states to use federal grants to implement red flag laws. Democrats, however, said the bill infringed on local government control and would put more people in danger or at risk of suicide. In 2022, for which the most recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data is available, Montana had the highest per-capita suicide rate in the nation, at 28.7 people per 100,000. That same year, guns were used in two-thirds of suicides in Montana, the highest rate in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health data. A study published last August in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law of about 4,500 issued extreme risk protection orders in four states found it would take between 17 and 23 orders being issued to prevent one case of suicide. A Stateline analysis found the number of extreme risk protection orders issued per 100,000 people went from six to 10 from 2022 to 2023. In Colorado, which has a red flag law in place, 39% of the 353 extreme risk protection orders filed from 2021-2024 led to a firearm being relinquished, according to University of Colorado researchers. About 55% of those petitions were filed by law enforcement, and roughly 94% of those petitions were granted. Petitions filed by others were only granted 35% of the time. After Rep. Ed Stafman, D-Bozeman, ran an extreme risk protection order bill in 2023, which died after its first committee hearing, Democrats did not bring a similar bill this session. However, Sen. Andrea Olsen, a Missoula Democrat, saw her bill to provide a tax credit for people who buy a gun safe suffer the same fate this year as Stafman's. If you or someone you know are in a mental health crisis, the Montana Crisis Lifeline is free and staffed 24 hours by trained crisis responders who answer every call and text message. Dial 988. Online: https://dphhs.mt.gov/suicideprevention/988 Correction: This story has been corrected to note Sen. Olsen is a Democrat. Flash A new round of talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran's nuclear program will be held in Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday. He noted that Italy agreed to host the meeting following requests from the negotiating parties and Oman, which is serving as a mediator. Tajani made the remarks while visiting the Italian pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Ansa news agency reported. He added that the Italian government is "prepared to do everything necessary to support negotiations that could lead to resolving the nuclear issue and building peace." A first round of indirect talks between U.S. and Iranian officials was held in Oman on April 12. These were the first such discussions since the United States withdrew in 2018 from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed in 2015. Authorities investigating the abandonment of eight dogs inside Cancun house Cancun, Q.R. An investigation has begun into the abandonment of eight dogs inside a dilapidated Cancun house. The dogs were removed from the Yaxchilan Avenue property Saturday by municipal authorities. The State Attorney Generals Office announces the initiation of an investigation, through the Specialized Prosecutors Office for Crimes against the Environment and Wildlife, against whoever is responsible for the animal cruelty of eight dogs. Personnel from the Quintana Roo Federal Emergency Management Agency (FGE), in coordination with the Municipal Ecology Directorate and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente), carried out an operation in which they rescued eight abandoned dogs from a property located on Yaxchilan Avenue. This rescue addresses various citizen demands that expressed the unsanitary conditions and lack of food and water in which the dogs were living. After being removed from the facility, the eight dogs were referred for veterinary care, to assess their health and, if necessary, provide appropriate treatment, Cancun authorities said in a statement. Cancun-based plane bursts into flames on Yucatan highway Kaua, Yucatan A small plane bound for Cancun was forced into an emergency landing on a Yucatan highway. The two men on board had taken off from the Chichen Itza Airport midday when the incident happened. The pilot-instructor and one student were on board the small plane when they were forced to land on the Piste-Valladolid highway. Shortly after landing, the plane burst into flames. There were no injuries reported. The plane belonged to a Cancun-based aviation school. The incident happened shortly after noon Monday. Authorities have not said an official cause for the fire. The burning plane caused the two lane highway to be closed in both directions while authorities dealt with the downed plane. Personnel from the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) were also dispatched to investigate the cause of the incident. Highway traffic was at a standstill for several hours due to the burning plane and subsequent arrival of emergency vehicles. The FAA are still working on investigating the official cause of the failure that forced the pilot to land on the highway. Letters to the Editor: No peace in Playa del Carmen Hello Its different years that my wife and I come to Playa to spend three months but these last two years have been very hard. We have had no peace: loud music comes from almost every shop and restaurant. Which kind of tourists does Playa want to host? Here there are people who work, study or simply want to enjoy their holidays, but its not possible with all this noise. Since early morning to late night, there is loud music in every corner which hosts a Mexican shop. Often they put loudspeakers on the street. On top of that when restaurants and shops close, the employees rise the volume of music while cleaning! Here there is not a noise limit or a time limit like in many other countries. This wont bring anything good to this place as residents and tourists start becoming very tired. There is no peace, no respect, which recalls a low level tourism. The one which wont bring you a lot money, the one which wont buy all the beautiful apartments you are building. Thank you Sincerely Max Cocco Yucatan man in custody for broad daylight kidnapping of PDC woman Playa del Carmen, Q.R. A 50 year old man was taken into custody Monday after being reported for a kidnapping. Playa del Carmen witnesses dialed 9-1-1 after watching the woman being forced into a car against her will. Police were notified of the kidnapping and able to locate the vehicle. Inside the car they located the victim. The 50 year old driver, identified by police as Jerry Ismael N from Yucatan, was arrested on Avenida Universidades. The Municipal Citizen Security Secretariat (SSCM) of Playa del Carmen arrested a man for the probable crime of unlawful deprivation of liberty on Avenida Universidades and the Cristo Rey Bypass. During a preventative patrol, municipal police received a report of a white Nissan Tsuru vehicle that had been used moments earlier to abduct a young woman against her will. Upon locating the vehicle, officers intercepted it and were able to rescue the victim, who immediately requested help after getting out of the vehicle. Jerry Ismael N 50, originally from Yucatan, was arrested on-site and later handed over to the State Attorney Generals Office along with the vehicle involved, for further investigation. The young victim received specialized assistance and support from the Specialized Group for Attention to Domestic and Gender Violence (GEAVIG), police reported. On Monday, Mayor Estefania Mercado said it is the training, equipment and strategic patrols that allowed officers from the Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSCM) to rescue the young woman so quickly. Mayor Estefania Mercado She said with strong institutions, trained police forces and a clear vision of social justice, the strategy in Playa del Carmen is bearing results. Police did not say if the victim knew her kidnapper or if it was a targeted or random abduction. Today marks the 160th anniversary of Abraham Lincolns death. Almost immediately after the terrible event of his assassination, the martyred president was elevated to the heights of American civil religion. Despite their earlier opposition to the conduct of the war, Radical Republicans sought to appropriate his legacy to justify their extreme plans for Reconstruction. They wanted to draft him as a kind of secular saint to symbolize their revolutionary cause. As one historian put it, they turned him into the Christ of the passion play of democracy. While Lincolns own plans for Reconstruction are not entirely clear, what is certain is that he would have rejected this religious triumphalism. In his short religious biography of the 16th president as the theologian of American anguish, Quaker author Elton Trueblood argued that the major key to Lincolns greatness is his spiritual depth. Lincoln did articulate a kind of theology of liberty, but it was always tempered by a humility born of sufferingboth his own and the nations. He knew that the new birth of freedom came with an immense cost. To understand Lincolns religious development, it is important to begin with the strange religious context of the 19th century. America has always been home to bizarre religious movements, but the Second Great Awakening sparked even more sectarian oddities. From revivalism in mainstream denominations to the emergence of less orthodox movements such as millenarianism and Mormonism, the Early Republics frontier was on fire with religious fervor. A young Abraham Lincoln would quietly reject this spiritual climate. Although raised in a Baptist home, he preferred the religious skepticism of a Thomas Paine to the enthusiasm of the camp meeting. His law partner and biographer William Herndon even wrote that Lincoln penned a pamphlet defending infidelity, which he and his friends later suppressed for the sake of his political ambitions. As a young man, Lincoln strove above all to be a partisan of rationality. He had little patience for ostentatious ceremony or the intense passion of the traveling preachers he encountered. Instead, Lincoln praised cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason. But as the literary critic Alfred Kazin put it in his masterly God and the American Writer, Lincoln never got over the superstitions of the primitive frontier. Throughout his whole life, the Railsplitter showed a certain inclination toward the doctrine of predestination taught in his Calvinist homestead. In the words of William Shakespeares Hamletone of his favorite plays Theres a divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will. Whatever youthful dalliances he had with atheism and skepticism, Lincoln was constantly haunted by the idea of a divine being who ordered the universe. Over time, Lincoln spoke more openly about the ways this divine order shaped humankinds moral obligations. He especially praised the theology of the Declaration of Independence and its assertion that God created all men with certain natural rights. I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence, he said in one 1861 speech that seemingly prophesied his assassination, because its principles were what I am willing to live by, and, in the pleasure of Almighty God, die by. For Lincoln, freedom was something holynot just a low concession to fallen nature, but rather a high spiritual aspiration. Only a politics of freedom, he believed, could help men achieve the ends for which they were created. The greatest affront to those principles in America, of course, was the peculiar institution of chattel slavery. Lincoln saw its horrors firsthand on trips he took down the Mississippi to New Orleans in the late 1820s and 30s. From the moment he saw his first slave auction, he knew that this moral blot would corrupt the entire Union and had to be driven to extinction. Slaveholders constituted a dangerous factional interest, as they would corrupt the Constitution itself to preserve their power and wealth. As early as the 1850s, Lincoln understood on some level that the preservation of the Union required the extinction of slavery. As Lincoln began his meteoric rise to the heights of national politics, the debate over slavery was quickly expanding into a full-blown theological crisis. Both pro- and anti-slavery ideologues attempted to use the Bible to justify their positions. Entire denominations divided into Northern and Southern wings over the question. As the controversy continued to boil, the opposing factions became more and more zealous. Religious extremism fueled political violence. Although Lincoln was a powerful critic of pro-slavery theology, he also worked hard to distinguish himself from the most radical abolitionists. His position was that Congress did not have the power to abolish slavery outright but only to halt its expansion further into the frontier. He was especially opposed to the religiously inspired violence of certain abolitionists, such as the self-proclaimed prophet and revolutionary John Brown. Lincoln feared every sort of mobeven the well-intentioned ones. It would be wrong to mistake Lincolns humility for moral neutrality. His doubts accord with his sense of a universe not made exclusively for mans self-interest, Kazin wrote, and made him interestingly unlike the divines, South and North, who were perfectly assured that God spoke to them and acted entirely in their behalf. Lincoln was fully persuaded that abolitionist attempts to dissolve the Union or overturn the Constitution for the sake of moral purity would not actually redeem the nation. The will of God is not subject to the manipulations of men, Lincoln insisted. He held therefore that the remedy for slavery must be constitutional, not revolutionary. This political wisdom could be seen from his very first days as president and throughout his entire conduct of the war. Lincolns goal, first and foremost, was to save the Union. Without it, American liberty was doomed to fail. But he also wanted to preserve what he called the Unions philosophical cause, the Declarations principles of liberty. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving, he declared in one speech, concluding that we shall have so saved it, that the succeeding millions of free happy people, the world over, shall rise up, and call us blessed, to the latest generations. Throughout the entire war, Lincoln wrestled with these world-historical stakes and his own place in Gods plan for America. In his torturing [sic] responsibility to the nation, to the future of democratic government in the world, Lincoln had come through a terrible experience to submit to a power higher and greater than anything his political ambition had prepared him for, Kazin wrote, and now he felt himself responsible before God for whatever he did and said to guide the nation. Any order he gave could lead to the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of men. The only place a man in his position could turn for consolation was to the divine. In the White House, Lincoln wrote a number of profound reflections on the meaning of divine will and the price of freedom. He believed, as many other Americans did, that the scale of violence was so massive it could only have a theological explanation. But, along with many of his countrymen, he struggled to understand it. In one note dated September 30, 1862, for example, he meditated that: The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war it is quite possible that Gods purpose is something different from the purpose of either party; and yet the human instrumentalities, working just as they do, are of the best adaptation to effect His purpose. I am almost ready to say that this is probably true; that God wills this contest, and wills that it shall not end yet. By His mere great power on the minds of the now contestants, He could have either saved or destroyed the Union without a human contest. Yet the contest began. And, having begun, He could give the final victory to either side any day. Yet the contest proceeds. But far from absolving Lincoln of any personal responsibility for the horrors of war, these metaphysical ruminations often led him to consider his own role in bloodshed. One striking example of his sense of griefand even guiltcan be found in a letter he wrote to the Shakespearean actor James H. Hackett. In what the president called a small act of criticism, he declared, Unlike you gentlemen of the profession, I think the soliloquy in Hamlet, commencing, O, my offence is rank, surpasses that commencing, To be or not to be. That speech is uttered by the usurping king Claudius to express his guilt for murdering his brother and stealing his crown. But, O, what form of prayer, he cries out, Can serve my turn? Perhaps Lincoln sympathized somewhat with this searing anguish. Was the war destroying the Old Republic he loved like Claudius murdered the old king? Would compromise with the moral evil of the Slave Power have prevented this terrible cataclysm? What saved Lincoln from this sense of despair was his conviction in the fundamental justice of the Unions cause. At Gettysburg, for instance, he depicted the Civil War as a civilizational struggle to determine if a free government could defend itself against the temptations of the will to power. We have, as all will agree, a free Government, where every man has a right to be equal with every other man, he said in another speech. In this great struggle, this form of Government and every form of human right is endangered if our enemies succeed. But it was in his Second Inaugural Address that Lincolns defense of American civilization achieved its greatest theological insight. By the time Lincoln arrived at the U.S. Capitol to take the Oath of Office for a second time, it was clear that the Union would win the Civil War. What remained unclear, however, was how the conquered South could be restored to the Union. Should the leaders of the Confederacy be punished for their rebellion? How long would Northern troops have to occupy the region to truly pacify it? What would the integration of emancipated slaves look like? In the speech, Lincoln did not outline a specific policy plan to answer any of these questions. Instead, he offered something far more profound. The Second Inaugural begins with a history lesson. Lincoln recounts the origins of the Civil War, and places the blame squarely at the feet of the Slave Power. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war, he said, while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. There was no doubt in Lincolns mind that the rebels he fought stood for a fundamentally unjust cause, one utterly at odds with the moral core of the American republic. And yet, Lincoln noted, The Almighty has His own purposes. The North was by no means blamelessits economy may not have relied on actual slave labor to powers its factories, but it certainly depended on the cotton harvested by slaves on Southern plantations. The only way to understand the war, Lincoln seems to have suggested, is as a kind of punishment upon the entire American nation. The speech concludes with one of Lincolns most famous lines: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in. Unlike the Radical Republicans who called for blood and revolution, but also unlike the Copperhead Democrats who simply wanted a negotiated ceasefire, Lincoln understood that the rebels really were enemies in need of forgiveness. Only this kind of charity could reconstitute the great republic; only this love could save liberty. This humility was the substance of Lincolns true greatness. The war led him to a certain realization of the finitude of man and the infinitude of God. He came to understand, and then taught the nation, that this theological truthand not any sort of prideful triumphalismhad to be at the heart of any free government. Tragically, the man who attempted to bring this gospel of forgiveness to a nation divided became the victim of an assassins bullet. In the epilogue to his magisterial history of the Civil War, Shelby Foote described it as a years-long holocaust that was begun by one madman, John Brown, and ended by another, J. Wilkes Booth. The assassin sought vengeance for the Southern cause, but his murderous actions served only to inflame the Norths rage and turn Reconstruction into an even more fiery ordeal. The cycle of violence continued, and its scars can still be witnessed across American society. But independently of the Radicals manipulation of his image, or the ongoing fury of the defeated South, Lincolns example continues to influence the American republic. In part because he paid the last full measure of devotion, Lincolns life itself has become a symbol of our national unity. His sense of justice and humility are the highest expressions of American character. And almost like a ghost, he haunts us to this day through what he once called the mystic chords of memory, summoning us to heed the better angels of our nature. On April Fools Day I recounted a recent adventure that was no joke: Applying for Social Security retirement benefits. Late in March, I did that in person at the local Social Security office on Jefferson Street downtown. The object was to understand how that process works as the Trump administration and the Department of Governmental Efficiency take budget-cutting wrecking balls to a bunch of federal agencies, including Social Security. After waiting in line for about two hours, maybe a little less, to apply, my number got called to one of two open service windows 21 windows were closed. And the woman at my window told me I needed an advance appointment to apply in person. I asked for the earliest one, and that was May 20. Subsequently, the Social Security Administration mailed me a letter confirming the appointment. On page 2 was a section titled Why You Should Complete Your Application Online. It was persuasive. So I did that this past Wednesday. I already had a government login, from when I signed up for Medicare a little more than a year ago. So I used that and logged on and went through the two-factor-authentication security step. Then I completed the application, which amounted to a bunch of different pages with easy-to-answer questions. The whole deal took about 20 minutes and that mightve gone smoothly because I already had the login. The last questions asked for routing and account numbers to the bank account where I want the monthly direct deposits to go. And on April 10 I received an email from Social Security. Below is most of it: Thank you for filing your Social Security application online. Our Social Security Office in PHILADELPHIA, PA received your claim and will be working with you to process it. Our goal is to process all applications efficiently. A representative may call you for more information at the phone number you provided on your application. Please be aware that our representative may call you outside normal business hours, such as on a weekend or during the evening. If we are unable to reach you by phone, we may also contact you by e-mail or U.S. mail. You should receive a letter in the mail within 30 days with a decision or to request additional information. So now Im anxiously awaiting that letter or a phone call, as well as my first Social Security check as my retirement accounts shrink thanks to financial-market chaos caused by President Donald Trumps insane tariffs. Reader Jim Wilson qualified for his full retirement back in the fall of 2023 but didnt get around to applying online until the following December. That was painless, he said, and resulted in a phone call from Social Security in January 2024. The young lady let me know that they had my application and that everything had been filled out properly. She did ask why I stated that I wanted my benefits to start in January and I said I thought that was the best time since I filled everything out so late in December. Her answer was completely unexpected! She said that since my benefit start date was September of 23 they would retroactively start my account there and pay me thru January of 24. That action would make my first check cover all 5 months that I was eligible, and the money would hit my account the next Wednesday, Wilson wrote. And he hasnt missed a monthly direct deposit since. Its the most efficient government activity I have ever experienced! Wilson added. So, my advice to you is to go online. Dick Fowler of Salem said its getting harder to log in on government websites, apparently because Elon Musk and the weirdly named DOGE have added new security features that recently went into effect. Like me, Fowler already had a log-in and password, but this past Friday when I tried to log in to SSA.gov I was directed to verify my identity either online or in person, Fowler wrote in an email Friday. After numerous attempts at online verification, I gave up and now must go to a post office 7 miles away. If you use the SSA website, try to log in and you will see how difficult and onerous the on-line verification procedures are. Ill see if the post office is any better. Jim Patsel of Roanoke and his wife applied for Social Security benefits in-person during the Obama administration. At that time, there was a similar lack of available personnel, at the downtown office, Patsel noted. The process went smoothly for him. He waited about 15 minutes to be seen, and it took him another 15 minutes to apply at the service window. Then Patsel was out the door. His wife had a totally different experience. She had to visit the office six times before getting her benefits straight, Patsel wrote. And this only happened after a letter from (then-) Rep. (Bob) Goodlatte had, shall we say, greased the skids. She said she went so many times that she felt she owed a Christmas card to the security guard. Pastel said his brother applied during the Biden administration and had an experience like his wifes, until the office of Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, intervened. My point in this rambling is that it does not seem to matter which administration is in office when one deals with a government monolith like (Social Security), Pastel wrote. Reader Kim Austin made a similar point. The problems at the Social Security Office in Roanoke did not just start. It has nothing to do with Trump or Musk, she wrote. The situation at the office is a result of COVID and the office has been this way since COVID. Many of the workers at the (Roanoke Social Security) office have been working from home since COVID. Im surprised that there were 2 windows open and the individual could get an appointment by June, Austin added. This has been going on for years now. Thats an improvement. Dont place blame where it doesnt belong! Matthew Barrette, a Roanoke financial adviser, said the Roanoke Social Security office with only two open service windows has been like this for years. Social Security systems and processes are broken, Barrette added. Good thing they now have the opportunity to be analyzed and hopefully streamlined. Too much complacency and fluff from all sides for decades has led to this. And Marshall Harris wrote in reply: Wait times have always been sporadic and sometimes excruciating. Efficiency has never been a highlight of the office. He added: With the increasing emphasis on computer use for routine matters, (Social Security) probably has a reasonably functional website to process retirement applications. Hence, a need for less in-person office staff. My first check was delayed, but they sent the correct amount within a short time. That was a few years ago. Good luck! You are here: World Flash Algeria on Monday ordered 12 French diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, declaring them "personae non gratae" in a move that marks a sharp escalation in diplomatic tensions with France. The expulsion follows the arrest of an Algerian consular official by French authorities -- an action Algiers described as a blatant violation of diplomatic immunity. France confirmed receiving the expulsion notice of the 12 embassy officials, including personnel from the French Interior Ministry. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot urged Algeria to "abandon" the expulsions and said France was ready to "respond immediately" if they went ahead, according to French media reports. The expulsion follows Algeria's summoning of French Ambassador Stephane Romatet on Saturday to protest the arrest of its consular official. The detained diplomat was reportedly questioned over alleged links to the 2024 abduction of Amir Boukhras, an Algerian activist based in Paris known on social media as "AmirDZ." Algeria dismissed the case against its consular official as baseless, noting that the only evidence cited by French authorities was his phone being detected near Boukhors' residence. It demanded the diplomat's immediate release, calling the arrest a "fabricated pretext" that undermines recent efforts to restore Franco-Algerian ties. Algiers warned that any further infringement on its sovereignty would trigger a firm response based on reciprocity. The confrontation marks the most serious diplomatic rupture between the two countries in years, straining a relationship still shaped by colonial-era grievances and modern disputes, including immigration and France's backing of Morocco in disputes over Western Sahara. The Dogman is typically described as a creature with a dog's head, a man's body and the uncanny ability to walk on two legs. Think of it as a werewolf's American cousin, but without the full-moon drama. Eyewitnesses often report it standing over 7 feet (2.1 meters) tall, with piercing eyes and a howl that echoes like a scream. It's usually seen in forested, rural areas, often near water Lake Michigan being a common backdrop. Advertisement Encounters describe a creature that walks on hind legs and moves with both animalistic grace and chilling intelligence. Some say it resembles five wild dogs moving as one, a feature that only deepens the mystery. Robert Fortney's infamous 1930s account describes being attacked after the creature made eye contact and stood tall, as if to challenge him. SIOUX CITY -- Joe Zehring said he wishes someone would have told him building a multi-phase waterpark in Sioux City was going to be hard. Zehring, a partner and co-owner of Frontline Development LLC, has been working "shoulder to shoulder" with a waterpark consultant group to open Siouxland Splash this summer at 3820 Highway 75 North. Zehring and Henk Klopper, who both live in the community, came up with idea for the waterpark "on the back of a napkin" 2 1/2 years ago in a coffee shop. They ceremoniously broke ground on the project in August 2024. "We want this thing to open up as soon as possible. We've got to make sure everything's safe and, obviously, we're subject to weather conditions with outdoor building," Zehring said Thursday. "We're excited to get this thing built for everyone, so we're going to try our hardest to keep it going and keep progress moving forward." He is now eyeing an opening in mid to late June, which is a few weeks later than the waterpark's initially planned Memorial Day weekend debut. Zehring described the waterpark's buildout as "complex." He said it requires various people to put it all together. Over the next few weeks, he said dirt piles will give way to water features. "We had the deep frost and, then, we had a little bit of a muddy spring, so that kind of pushed it back a few weeks. We were mostly on track for Memorial Day or an early June opening, but now we're probably going to be mid to late June," he said. "We're pushing hard. We really want to get this thing up and going." The city acquired 42 acres of land along Highway 75 North in hopes of spurring projects like Siouxland Splash. Last year, the City Council approved the sale of land to Siouxland Splash, LLC and Frontline Development, LLC for the development of the waterpark. Sioux City currently has several public pools and splash pads, but no waterparks. City leaders say the waterpark is just the start of development in that area. Economic Development Director Marty Dougherty previously told The Journal that commercial, housing and business development on the northeast side could follow. The Iowa Transportation Commission approved more than $1.2 million in grant funding for the construction of roadway and turn lanes on Highway 75 North to support the waterpark. That project also included grading, storm sewer and water main. Dougherty told The Journal last week the city's portion of the project has been completed. Zehring said most of the underground pipe work for the waterpark was finished over the winter. He said concrete needs to be poured for the slide tower foundations. The park will have a 50-foot slide tower with multiple waterslides coming off of it, a large kids play structure with splash elements, lazy river, adult pool area and more. "We just have dirt kind of all over the place. Everyone kind of says the same thing, 'How are you going to get this thing done?' Once the concrete's in, all this dirt is just going to get backfilled and cover everything up," Zehring said. "We're going to start with assembling our kids play structure. We're super excited about that. If you were to drive by in a few weeks, you'll start to see some of that going up." Since most of the items for the waterpark have already arrived or are en route, Zehring isn't too concerned about how recently implemented tariffs might impact supply chains. However, he did say some tables and chairs are coming from China. "That'll be a little interesting to see what happens with those things," he said. "A good majority of everything is either on its way or on hand." The waterpark is also hiring lifeguards, as well as food and beverage, retail, security and guest services staff. Visit siouxlandsplash.com for more information. Updates on the waterpark's progress will also be posted to Siouxland Splash's Facebook page. "We're really pushing hard, because this is for Sioux City. It's for the people of the city," Zehring said. "We want to have something awesome to provide, something different." SIOUX CITY -- The family of Marlon Whiteeyes must wait at least one more day to find out if the man charged with killing him is found guilty. Jurors spent a bit more than four hours Tuesday afternoon deliberating in the Yasin Abdi murder case before leaving for the day without a verdict. They'll return to the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center to resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Abdi, 22, of South Sioux City, has pleaded not guilty in Woodbury County District Court of first-degree murder in connection with the June 26, 2023, shooting of Whiteeyes, 36, of Sioux City, near 14th Street and Ingleside Avenue. Abdi is charged with shooting Whiteeyes as Whiteeyes ran from him after attempting to intervene in a fight between a group of four men that included Abdi and two other men who had been walking down the street. That fight occurred minutes after those same four men had been involved in a verbal confrontation with Whiteeyes on the front step of his apartment building at 812 14th St. During that confrontation, captured by a neighbor's surveillance cameras, a man in a black hoodie, later identified as Abdi, had pointed a gun at White Eyes and his girlfriend, Hannah Walker, before they slammed their door shut. All the conflict, the gun pointing, the heated exchange of words, built up to Abdi's decision to shoot Whiteeyes, Assistant Iowa Attorney General Israel Kodiaga said in his closing argument. Jurors were once again shown security camera footage of Whiteeyes approaching the fight, Abdi disengage from the fight he was involved in, walk toward Whiteeyes and open fire, all within three seconds. "He pulls the trigger and pulls the trigger and pulls the trigger and pulls the trigger, seven times. That's malice," Kodiaga said. "This is not a mistake. This is not an accident. This is cold-blooded first-degree murder. The video doesn't lie." Whiteeyes was shot four times in the back, and he died hours later in a Sioux City hospital. An autopsy determined two likely fatal shots struck his liver, colon and pancreas before exiting his body. Abdi ran from the scene and was arrested four days later. A 9mm Ruger semiautomatic pistol was found wrapped in a black hoodie in his home. Ballistics tests determined it was the gun that had fired a bullet removed from Whiteeyes' body. Prosecutors left many questions unanswered, defense attorney Jared Weber said in his closing argument. During the confrontation on Whiteeyes' doorstep, Abdi hung back and said little. Instead, one of the other four men was the most agitated. Abdi didn't know Whiteeyes and had no reason to be upset with him, Weber said. The state also did not prove there were no threats made by Whiteeyes, who Walker had testified always carried a pocket knife, to the men on his doorstep. Minutes later, when Whiteeyes came rushing out to the fight along 14th Street, Abdi had three seconds to react to a man who he may have believed was carrying a knife. "That's not time to ponder, to reflect, to make that kind of decision," Weber said. Weber said Abdi, diagnosed with a trauma disorder that makes him hypervigilant to potential threats, was reacting to the sight of a man approaching his friends, perhaps ready to attack them. That provocation and Abdi's response is not murder. "He's guilty of nothing more than voluntary manslaughter," Weber said. While the jury deliberated, District Judge Roger Sailer denied a defense motion for mistrial that stemmed from an incident that occurred while Kodiaga was giving his closing argument. An audience member seated in benches behind the defense table stood up and, while beginning to leave, according to the defense, muttered to Abdi, "I don't care what you do, there is a green light on you." Green light is slang for having a hit out to kill someone. Sailer, hearing the man speaking, directed him to leave, and he left the courtroom without incident. Once the jury left the courtroom to begin deliberating, the defense asked for a mistrial, saying the man's words could affect the jury's decision. In his oral ruling a couple hours later, Sailer said he had heard the man speak, but could not make out what he said. The prosecution, seated a little farther away, also did not hear what was said. The jury was on the opposite side of the room from the man. "The jury is much farther away than any of those people. It's unlikely the jury heard or was capable of understanding the words the man uttered," Sailer said in denying the motion, adding that the alleged threat was directed at Abdi, not the jury. If found guilty of first-degree murder, Abdi would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. SIOUX CITY The Sioux City Council approved the FY 2026 budget Monday and voted unanimously to amend its reduction to the Human Rights Commission's budget from $140,000 to $35,480. The city's new levy is $17.11835, which includes the added budget of $104,520 to the Human Rights Commission's budget, according to City Finance Director Teresa Fitch. The levy will result in an increase of $43 on $100,000 of assessed residential property. "It's not ideal, but we will give it our best effort to make this work," Human Rights Commission Executive Director Karen Mackey said before the vote. "We will see going forward whether we're able to maintain a low backlog, as we currently have, and continue to be able to investigate cases in real time. If we're not, I'll be back." Councilman Alex Watters met with Mackey, Fitch and Tito Parker, who chairs the commission, for about two hours on Monday and came up with the agreement. "We were able to arrive at a number that I think will not reduce services, will keep staff intact, but looks at being more fiscally responsible with some of the different items and things that were in the budget in years past that they would be able to do without moving forward at least for this fiscal year," Watters said. Watters said putting HUD funding toward full-time staff members will reduce the tax asking. Previously, he said the commission was hiring clerical assistants working in a part-time capacity. For the remainder of the fiscal year, two clerical assistants will be reduced to 15 hours per week. "As long as that is coming in, we would like those dollars to be put towards our full-time staff to be able to offset that," Watters said. Resident Craig Brubaker said "there's not enough money to go around" for things many people want in Sioux City and across the country. "We're in the top 3% of the highest property taxes in the state. We're in the top 10 in nation. That's not where we want to be," he said. Mayor Bob Scott pounded his gavel when Semehar Ghebrekidan, who was fired from her position as the city's first and only community inclusion liaison in May, went over the three-minute limit while delivering remarks. "Cutting (Mackey's) budget while ignoring deeper issues with the city's structure isn't just bad politics, it's deeply concerning. It's inconsistent with the commitments you all made with your strategic plan initiatives," said Ghebrekidan, who accused council members of lacking transparency and leadership. "I hope Karen sues the city, because cutting her budget was never about money. It was personal." The Sioux City Human Rights Commission is a neutral fact-finding agency that investigates discrimination complaints in housing, employment, public accommodations, education and credit. The commission also partners with a dozen community organizations to educate the community about civil rights and sponsors or co-sponsors a number of events. During a Feb. 26 city budget wrap up session, Scott motioned to reduce the commission's budget by $140,000. The vote was 3-2, with Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore and Councilman Matthew O'Kane voting against the reduction. O'Kane motioned on March 31 to reconsider the $140,000 budget reduction. His motion passed 4-0. Scott left the meeting early and did not vote. Then, on April 7, after again hearing several members of the community speak against the reduction in a packed council chamber, the council ultimately voted to defer the matter until Monday's meeting. Both O'Kane and Moore voted against the deferral. "I'm going to vote, 'aye,' but I'm not going to vote for the budget, because I'm sure we're not going to look at anything else to try to compensate," Scott said Monday before making his vote in favor of the amendment. Scott was the only council member who went on to vote against the FY 2026 budget. During the meeting, council members brought forth two other changes to the budget, which failed. Scott motioned to remove a police officer from the budget, which the council nixed by a 3 to 2 vote. Scott and Watters voted "yes." "We've got to do something. Our taxes are out of control. We're getting absolutely killed," Paul Koskovich, a local developer, told the council. "It deters people from coming here. It deters anything here. All we're doing here is getting absolutely crushed." Then, Watters proposed ending the Perry Creek Library's lease in March 2026, which would save $35,000 through the end of the coming fiscal year. During a previous budget meeting, the council discussed the possibility of closing the library's branch on Hamilton Boulevard and replacing it with a vending system, which Library Director Helen Rigdon was looking into. "I've lived there my entire life," O'Kane said of the city's west side. "We have a standing on the west side -- the buck stops at Hamilton. It's not even making it to Hamilton anymore." Scott retorted, "It doesn't get to Floyd Boulevard either, pal." Watters' motion failed 5-0. Council members have pointed out that property tax relief measures passed by state lawmakers in recent years have led to lower local government revenues and the need to cut costs. In Iowa, municipal budgets are due by April 30 for the forthcoming fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong in Hanoi, Vietnam, April 15, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged China and Vietnam to jointly oppose power politics and unilateralism when meeting with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong during his state visit to Vietnam. Xi extended warm congratulations on the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), the 80th anniversary of the founding of Vietnam and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South. Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties and the China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, Xi said over the past 75 years, China-Vietnam relations have evolved from the traditional friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood" to a community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, setting a good example of friendly mutual assistance, solidarity and cooperation between countries. Standing at a new historical starting point, China is ready to work with Vietnam in line with the overarching goals characterized by "six mores" to strengthen strategic communication, enhance solidarity and coordination, and join hands in advancing their respective modernization processes, so as to write a new chapter of unity, self-strengthening, mutual benefit and win-win results among socialist countries, and constantly demonstrate the regional and global influence of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future. Xi called on China and Vietnam to respond to the external uncertainties with friendly cooperation and socialist strengths, and propel the ship of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future to sail along the right waterway. Xi said that politically, the two countries should steer the course forward steadily, maintain high-level strategic communication, strengthen mutual learning on party and state governance, jointly improve the two parties' leadership capability, and work together to ensure the steady development of their respective socialist paths. On security, the two countries should forge an anchor of solidarity, and take the upgrade of the "3+3" strategic dialogue on diplomacy, defense and public security as an opportunity to continue to deepen security cooperation on defense and law enforcement, Xi said. China supports Vietnam in preparing for the 14th National Congress of the CPV and safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests, he added. Economically, the two countries should keep a firm grip on the oars of cooperation, create greater synergy between development strategies, and implement well the cooperation plan on synergizing the Belt and Road Initiative and the Two Corridors and One Economic Circle strategy. The two sides should deepen multidimensional connectivity in railways, highways and aviation, ensure stable and unimpeded industrial and supply chains, expand cooperation in emerging fields such as 5G, artificial intelligence and green development, and empower the all-round cooperation between the two countries with new quality productive forces. On people-to-people ties, the two sides should raise the sail of friendship, make this year's China-Vietnam Year of People-to-People Exchanges a success, implement more "small and beautiful" livelihood projects, and make China-Vietnam friendship resonate in the hearts of the two peoples with cultural, tourism, media and sub-national exchanges, Xi said. Xi pointed out that in recent years, the role of the United Nations has been challenged, as unilateralism has clearly been on the rise and protectionism is making a comeback. Trade wars will undermine the international trading system, the stability of the global economic order and the legitimate interests of all countries in the world, especially developing countries, he said. As key members of the Global South, China and Vietnam should strengthen coordination and cooperation, safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and fulfill their responsibilities in promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, said Xi. Luong Cuong described Xi's visit to Vietnam as a historic one, noting that Xi and General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee To Lam have reached extensive consensus on deepening bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperation, which will greatly strengthen mutual political trust, promote the bilateral friendship featuring "camaraderie plus brotherhood," and provide important strategic guidance for advancing the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future. China has made great achievements in its development under the guidance of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Luong Cuong said, adding that the Vietnamese side firmly believes that China will smoothly realize the Second Centenary Goal to build itself into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful, making greater contribution to regional and global peace and development. Luong Cuong said China is a top priority in Vietnam's foreign relations. The Vietnamese party, state and people attach great importance to developing relations with China, firmly adhere to the one-China policy, resolutely oppose "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, support China's stand on issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong, and oppose any external forces interfering in China's internal affairs, he said. Vietnam is ready to maintain high-level exchanges with China, strengthen experience sharing on national governance, elevate the level of practical cooperation, and create more highlights in such fields as interconnectivity, high technology and environmental protection, he said. Vietnam is also willing to boost people-to-people exchanges and consolidate public support for bilateral relations, strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation to enhance the international influence of the two countries, and properly handle differences and maintain maritime stability, he added. Sabin 33 #24 - Is wind power too expensive? Posted on 15 April 2025 by Ken Rice On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School in 2024. Below is the blog post version of rebuttal #24 based on Sabin's report. In the United States, onshore wind has the lowest unsubsidized levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of all utility-scale energy sources. Onshore winds mean unsubsidized LCOE is $50/MWh, substantially lower than the mean unsubsidized LCOE of gas combined cycle ($70/MWh), coal ($117/MWh), and gas peaking ($168/MWh)1. And, as the figure below from Lazard shows, although offshore wind power is more expensive than gas combined cycle when subsidies are not taken into account, the unsubsidized mean LCOE for offshore wind ($106) is still lower than that of gas peaking and coal.1 Figure 1: The range of unsubsidized LCOE for utility-scale energy sources across various cost of capital scenarios, highlighting the mean unsubsidized LCOE as of April 2023. IRR stands for internal rate of return and WACC stands for weighted average cost of capital. Source: Lazard (Reproduced with permission)1. In addition, the LCOE for offshore wind power has declined substantially over the past decade2 (also Wiser et al. 2021). The Department of Energys most recent offshore wind market report estimates that the LCOE for a fixed-bottom offshore wind project beginning operations in 2022 would have been roughly 50% lower than one beginning operations in 2014, despite a 6% increase in costs compared to a 2021 cost estimate. Researchers further project that the average LCOE for offshore wind energy will fall to $63/MWh by 2030.2 Due in large part to this dramatic price decline, deployment of offshore wind has surged in recent years, both domestically and globally. By the end of 2022, global capacity had reached 59,009 MW, up roughly 18% from 2021.3 As of the end of May 2023, the pipeline of U.S. offshore wind projects in development and operation was estimated to represent 52,687 MW of wind energy capacity, a 15% growth compared to May 2022.2 It bears noting, however, that several offshore wind projects have been removed from the U.S. offshore wind pipeline since May 2023 as a result of project cancellation.4 This includes Ocean Wind I and II, canceled in October 2023, which were anticipated to deliver over 2,200 MW of wind energy capacity.5 Once operational, offshore wind turbines generate more energy and greater revenues than onshore wind farms, due to higher and steadier wind speeds; they also have the advantage of generating energy closer to many U.S. coastal population centers, thus reducing the need for long-distance transmission.6 According to the European Wind Energy Association, while the average onshore wind turbine generates enough energy to power 1,500 homes, the average offshore turbine can power more than 3,300 homes. Moreover, when factoring in costs associated with climate change and human health impacts, offshore wind becomes even less expensive compared to many fossil fuel energy sources.7 Footnotes: [1] Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis: Version 16.0, Lazard, 9 (Apr. 2023) at 2, 6, 9. [2] See Walter Musial et al., Offshore Wind Market Report: 2023 Edition, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, at xiii, 81-83 (2023) [3] Walter Musial et al., Offshore Wind Market Report: 2022 Edition, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, ix (2022). [4] See Associated Press, In a setback for the wind industry, 2 large offshore projects are canceled in N.J., NPR, Nov. 1, 2023; Heather Richards, Offshore wind faces more financial turbulence in 2024, EnergyWire, Jan. 8, 2024. [5] Ocean Wind 2 (last visited March 25, 2024). [6] What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Offshore Wind Farms?, American Geoscience Institute (last visited March 25, 2024); Adrijana Buljan, Offshore Wind Costs in 2050 Could be Lower than Previously Expected, offshoreWind.biz (Apr. 19, 2021); Laura Small et al., Fact Sheet | Offshore Wind: Can the United States Catch Up With Europe?, Environmental & Energy Study Institute, 3 (January 4, 2016); Wind Turbines: the Bigger, the Better, United States Dept of Energy, Aug. 24, 2023. [7] Paul R. Epstein et al., Full Cost Accounting for the Life Cycle of Coal, 1219 Ecological Econ. Rev., Annals of the N.Y. Academy of Sciences, Apr. 2011, 73-98 (Robert Costanza, Karin Limburg & Ida Kubiszewski eds., 2011). Skeptical Science sincerely appreciates Sabin Center's generosity in collaborating with us to make this information available as widely as possible. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. All across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been arresting international students connected to last years college protests for Palestine, rescinding their visas, and initiating deportation proceedings. In at least four high-profile casesthose of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, Badar Khan Suri and Alireza Doroudithe Trump administration is fighting to keep them detained in Louisiana, a state with a notorious prison system. For years, Louisiana has held the second-highest incarceration rate in the worldsecond only to El Salvador, which the Trump administration is paying $6 million per year to detain people it deports. The state has also faced disturbing allegations of abuse. Keeping deportation cases in Louisiana is a tactical move for the administration: It is home to many Trump-appointed district court judges, who are overseen by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the most far-right bench in the country. (Trump handpicked 6 of the 17 judges there during his first term.) In Khalils case, lawyers for the Department of Justice argued that only federal courts in Louisiana have jurisdiction because thats where he is being detained. However, Khalil, who is a legal permanent resident, was first held in New Jersey. That is where his attorneys are based and where they filed a habeas petition challenging his detention; ICE later transferred him to Louisiana, where hes been held since early March. On April 1, U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz ruled that Khalils case should be heard in his New Jersey court. Ozturk, who was arrested in Massachusetts and transferred to multiple different detention centers until she reached Louisiana, is hoping for a similar ruling. A federal judge in Vermont is considering whether her case should be heard there or in Louisiana. To understand why an administration keen on enforcing punitive immigration policies would see Louisiana as a haven, Slate spoke to two experts deeply familiar with the states prison system: Homero Lopez, the legal director of Immigration Services and Legal Advocacythe only nonprofit offering pro bono legal representation to detained immigrants in the entire stateand Mary Yanik, director of Tulane Universitys Immigrant Rights Clinic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Louisiana Has the Beds ICE Needs Starting around 2010, there was a national wave of criminal justice reform, particularly in southern states like Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. This wave took a little longer to reach Louisiana, but in 2017, criminal justice reform advocates partnered with a bipartisan group of state lawmakers to introduce 10 bills, which all eventually became law, which would reduce the maximum sentences for certain crimes and extend parole eligibility. Collectively, the legislation would help lower the states incarceration rate and help it save $262 million. By 2018, the states total prison population had dropped by about 8 percent, and the number of people imprisoned for nonviolent crimes decreased 20 percent. Things took a sharp turn once Donald Trump arrived at the White House for his first term, armed with a plan to tighten U.S. immigration. Youve got a state that has this historical infrastructure of detaining and incarcerating people in these rural areas of Louisiana that are now emptying out and becoming available, Lopez said. ICE doesnt need to build anything new. They basically tell local sheriffs, What if we take over? And well pay you. Advertisement ICE ended up snapping up those newly emptied beds by offering lucrative contracts to Louisianas private prisons. (Almost all of Louisianas detention centers are privately owned.) By Lopezs estimate, in 2016 there were somewhere between 1,500 to 2,000 people total that were detained in Louisiana on any given day. By the end of 2019, that number had jumped up to between 7,000 and 8,000. By 2019, the first Trump administration was detaining immigrants in Louisiana at a rate higher than any other state in the country besides Texas, Yanik and other researchers found. After Trump left office in 2020, the Biden administration continued to leverage the ICE contracts negotiated by the prior Trump administration for a similar purpose. Advertisement Related From Slate Apparently John Roberts Is Fine With Disappearing People to El Salvador Read More Detention Centers Are Isolated Its worth saying that these facilities are extraordinarily remote, Yanik noted. Many of Louisianas detention facilities are located at least two hours from Baton Rouge and three to five hours away from New Orleans. That distance creates multiple barriers for detainees, starting with being able to find a lawyer. Advertisement Many of the states attorneys work in or near Baton Rouge or New Orleans, so taking on an immigration detention case requires a lengthy commutepotentially for years, since immigration cases often take a while to resolve. The legal team for Khalila lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and a Columbia University graduateis based in New York and New Jersey, and that is where hes challenging the legality of his deportation order. The isolating nature of Louisianas detention facilities also means detainees are far from their support network. Lopez has also seen local activists struggle to assemble protests outside the detention centers, something that usually attracts attentionbecause of their remoteness, Louisianas detention facilities create an out of sight, out of mind situation, Lopez said. He believes the administration is also trying to deter others through fear of that isolation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Language access is also a significant barrier for people being detained in Louisiana. A report published last year by the American Civil Liberties Union, ISLA, and a number of other immigrant advocacy groups found that detainees were regularly denied interpretation and translation services, resulting in language-related denials of medical and mental health care; due process in preparation of legal materials; and protection against abusive treatment and coercion. The Judiciary in Louisiana Is Stacked Against Immigrants The federal courts in Louisiana have historically been very anti-immigrant, Lopez saidand the state falls under the jurisdiction of the 5th Circuit, the most far-right federal appeals court in the country. Advertisement Its advantageous for Trumps agenda to have such a MAGA-friendly court ruling on appeals that stem from these cases. The hard-right Republican appointees on the 5th Circuit are unlikely to rule in favor of immigrants seeking to vindicate their rights against a GOP president. Even if a federal court grants a victory to an immigrant, the decision would likely be reversed on appeal. And under U.S. immigration law, there is no rule mandating where ICE must detain someone, giving the Trump administration latitude to, in effect, choose which federal courts will hear immigrants claims. Its not like you have to keep them within a certain radius of where you pick them up, Lopez said. This has enabled the Trump administration to arrest folks anywhere in the country but detain them in Louisiana, or any detention center it so chooses. Advertisement Advertisement When an immigrant is challenging their detention, they must go through a series of different courts, starting with an immigration judge. This judge is a political appointee selected by the attorney general; they have no real independencelet alone life tenure like federal judgesand may only grant relief in a narrow set of circumstances. The Trump administration has recently gone on a spree of firing these immigration judgesincluding Lopez, who had been appointed to an appellate immigration judgeship under the Biden administration. While studying Louisianas immigration system, Yanik and her co-authors looked at about 500 habeas casesa petition challenging a persons detentionwithin the Western District of Louisiana between 2010 and 2020. They found immigration judges only ruled in favor of the detainee 1 percent of the time, resulting in their successful release. That translates to only five cases, three of which were during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement The Biden Administration Also Used Louisiana for Immigration Detention After Trump left office, President Joe Biden continued to leverage the ICE contracts negotiated by the prior administration. Aside from some indication that the Biden administration would reduce detention of at least one of Louisianas facilities, Yanik explained, they basically remained open and at or near capacity. Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, Biden signed an executive order mandating the DOJ to stop contracting with private prisons but made no mention of immigration detention; this omission effectively exempted immigrant detention centers from the ban, and the Biden administration continued to send noncitizens to these sites. Last year, the ACLU along with Lopezs organization ISLA and other immigrant advocacy groups published Inside the Black Hole, a damning report about human rights abuses against immigrants in Louisianas prisons. In some instances, the abuses that detained people describe firsthand in this report meet the definitions of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under international human rights treaties to which the United States is a party, the report said. Advertisement Despite the different language that Republican and Democratic administrations use when speaking about immigration, Lopez noted, their actions, particularly when it comes to detention, tend to be pretty similar. Though the rate of deportations under Trump isnt all that different from the Biden administrations, theyre targeting more legal permanent residents and those on lawful immigration parole. Its indicative of the Trump administration deploying a shock-and-awe strategy to scare people into self-deporting and from trying to immigrate to the U.S. at all. You can weaponize the system, Lopez said, letting everybody else know: If you dont fall in line, this is what comes next for you too. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. It is said that there is nothing new under the sun. That is surely so when it comes to the tyrants will to power. Pick any of President Donald Trumps despotic maneuvers during his latest infection of the body politic, and there is likely to be a lamentable historical precedent. This is definitely true of his administrations lawless deportation of planeloads of supposed alien gang members to the Salvadoran gulag called the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. Its also particularly true of the escalating crisis around the Trump administrations defiance of federal court orders that it facilitate the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, deported to this same Central American hellhole by a confessed administrative error. In England in the 1600s, the Stuart kings sought to establish themselves as absolute monarchs. They asserted a prerogative power to make law independent of Parliament and to control the adjudication of cases through their control over prerogative courts, such as the court of Star Chamber and the Court of High Commission, in which the will of the king was the rule of decision. Parliament fought back and in 1641 abolished prerogative courts. However, the kings council retained authority to detain those suspected of crime. The legal mechanism for ensuring that imprisoned suspects could challenge their detention was the ancient writ of habeas corpus, which required the government to prove to a judge of the ordinary courts that a legal basis existed for holding the prisoner. The writ of habeas corpus was universally viewed as a pillar of traditional English liberties and even the Stuarts were reluctant to provoke a direct confrontation with the judiciary by refusing state prisoners access to domestic courts or defying court orders to release the unlawfully detained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So royal henchman conceived the idea of spiriting those arrested without legal justification out of England and Wales and off to Scotland, Ireland, or overseas colonies where domestic courts did not sit and to which the writ of habeas corpus did not run. Sound familiar? This legal chicanery so outraged Parliament that during the reign of Charles II, it passed the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679. The act prohibited conveying any prisoner resident in England or Wales into Scotland, Ireland, or beyond the seas. Moreover, the act made such a removal a special kind of crime called praemunire and declared that anyone who violated the statute could not be pardoned by the crown. In the long history of England and Great Britain from 1066 to the American founding in the late 1700s, deporting a prisoner beyond the reach of habeas corpus was the only crime ever declared by Parliament to be, literally, unpardonable. It was not an accident, I think, that from the entire ugly catalog of modes of official oppression, Parliament chose this as the sole unpardonable crime. There is an utter wrongness to this crime, a special sin against decency and fairness to dragging a free human being into darkness, away from everything and everyone he knows and loves, without even a chance to plead his innocence to some neutral authority. To simply make ones enemies disappear without explanation and without recourse is, as modern dictatorships have so amply demonstrated, an even more daunting instrument of terror than open official violence. It is the essence of tyranny and the antithesis of the rule of law that Englishmen viewed as their special birthright. Advertisement Related From Slate The Crisis Over Trumps Salvadoran Gulag Has Reached a Terrifying Breaking Point Read More Like the parliamentarians of 1679, restive American colonists of the next century recognized the oppressive potential of jurisdictional transfers. At the outset of the Revolution, the rebellious colonists feared that their leaders would be snatched out of America and transported to England either to be imprisoned without trial or tried for their lives before biased royal judges. Advertisement Therefore, they included in the compilation of complaints against King George III that we know as the Declaration of Independence the charge that he assented to laws [f]or transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences. And when the Framers wrote the Constitution, they guaranteed the ancient right of habeas corpus, declaring in Article I, Section 9, that, The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. It seems to me beyond doubt that the Framers, steeped as they were in English constitutional history and conscious of their own recent struggles, would have viewed efforts to ship prisoners beyond the jurisdiction of American courts to avoid judicial scrutiny of their detention as a gross violation of this provision. Indeed, in this century the U.S. Supreme Court recognized this principle, albeit with caveats and complications, in the cases arising from detentions of so-called enemy combatants in the camp at Guantanamo Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps defenders will no doubt observe that the Constitution does permit suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Which is true, but only if there has been an internal rebellion or an external invasion. As I have written elsewhere, there is no intellectually defensible argument that the United States is now subject to either of these calamities. Moreover, it does not require erudite exegesis of American constitutional law and history to recognize that if the mere presence in the United States of a supposed criminal gangwith which the United States has always been liberally suppliedconfers on American presidents an unreviewable power to exile to foreign prisons anyone suspected of affiliation with such a gang, then the right of habeas corpus exists only at the presidents pleasure. Advertisement Recalling what Americas founders did and said two-and-a-half centuries ago should not be lightly dismissed as the doings of silk-stockinged, periwigged caricatures, mythical beings who were foreordained winners of the fight against faintly ridiculous British redcoats and their aristocratic leaders. The founders were men, not myths. Their victory was far from assured. And whatever their many flaws, they were men who, before and after the Revolution, saw deeply into the nature of power, recognized the tools of oppression, and were willing to fight, if necessary to die, and to expose those they loved and all they had built to utter ruin in order to live free of such abuses. The Constitution they wrote is in critical part composed of defenses against foreseeable mechanisms of despotism. The right to a fair hearing before one can be imprisoned or exiled is perhaps the most important of these. Advertisement It should shock us to the core that an American president is blithely, nay gleefully, asserting the power to seize people and banish them to a foreign prison, apparently forever, on the unexamined say-so of government agents and informers. It should be more shocking still that this same president is now suggesting that, once the deed is done, no American court can order him to return the banished, even when, as is becoming increasingly clear, the evidence connecting most of the deported to a Venezuelan gang is at best tenuous and when, in the case of Abrego Garcia, the government admits that it exiled him in violation of a preexisting court order. We are now at the precipice. Only two unanswered questions stand between us and the abyss. First, will the courts declare the illegality of what Trump and his minions have done, order its reversal, and impose sanctions on those who refuse to comply with their orders? Second, if they do, will Trump obey or, by committing the only unpardonable crime in Anglo-American jurisprudence, sneeringly proclaim personal dominion over law and thus the death of the American republic? Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. It was the first day of February, just a few days after a military helicopter collided with a passenger plane above the Potomac River. Then, a small plane crashed into multiple buildings in Philadelphia. Amid what must have been a deluge of media inquiries, the National Transportation Safety Board announced on its X account: For media covering the airplane crashes in Washington and Philadelphiaall NTSB updates about news conferences or other investigative information will be posted to this X account. We will not be distributing information via email. Some pointed out that the NTSBan independent federal agency by lawwas ditching email in favor of a platform controlled by the presidents best buddy and political benefactor. Five hours later, having seen people making this point, the NTSB replied to its own post that its decision was to better manage the volume of incoming emails relating to press briefing details. This is not a change in policy, the agency said in a quote post of itself, noting that it could not reply to every email. It was a walk back. The NTSB first claimed that investigative information would go on its X account and that it would not be distributing information via email, then moved to saying that X was only the exclusive domain for media logistics. The NTSB still does post a lot on other social media platforms, and it now states on its website, There has been no recent change to NTSB communication policies and no outside interference into our processes and procedures. If you wanted to extend some benefit of the doubt, you could chalk this whole episode up to an honest crisis communications decision. Things were happening fast after two aviation disasters. Theres one real-time text platform on which American media members congregate en masse, and Elon Muskwho co-runs the executive branchhappens to own it. So, try to distribute media logistics on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a little harder to accept that understanding now that a different part of the executive branch is doing something so similar. Last week, Wired reported that one of the Social Security Administrations regional commissioners detailed, on a staff call, a coming change in agency communications policy: We are no longer planning to issue press releases or those dear colleague letters to inform the media and public about programmatic and service changes, said SSA regional commissioner Linda Kerr-Davis in a meeting with managers earlier this week. Instead, the agency will be using X to communicate to the press and the public so this will become our communication mechanism. Social Securitys existing practice has been to write out dear colleague letters intended for professionals who work in the wide world of Social Security benefits. The agency also has a central hub of press releases on its website, a page that it updates with new releases dozens of times per year. As Wired explained, the dear colleague letters are useful for agency staff, who arent allowed to sign up for social media accounts on their government computers without a special security approval. Advertisement The SSA refuted Wireds reporting, but vaguely. This is false. Social Security will continue to communicate through any and all mediums, the agency said from its official X account, a communication that (as best I can tell) it did not place on its other social platforms. A White House spokeswoman called the report misleading and then said the agency was actively communicating with beneficiaries and stakeholders, something that could well be true while saying nothing about Wireds dispatch. (The spokeswoman also took issue with the outlets characterization of staffing cuts.) Related From Slate The One Thing That Brought Trump Close to Reality This Week Read More Meanwhile, SSA has posted just one new press release this month after sending out at least 25 in the weeks following President Donald Trumps inauguration. It is long-standing SSA formatting to include a plug for an agency X account at the end of its press releases, but its most recent release features a change. Previous releases closed by directing anyone reading to find a press information account on Musks platform: To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on X @SSAPress, the agency would say. Advertisement Advertisement Now that press-specific account, @SSAPress, is gone. In its place is a direction to follow the agencys main account, @SocialSecurity. Here, we see how different arms of the executive branch are handling X in ways that are at odds with each other. The NTSB pitched X as the exclusive place to send out media logistics alerts. But if the goal of the government is to communicate efficiently with the news media, then eliminating the press-specific account for Social Security would be an odd way to show it. (The agency has also removed the press account from its social media landing page, where it previously lived.) Unless you were a government agency not especially eager to have news media paying close attention to your actions. That would be a good reason to eliminate a press distribution channel. Maybe axing an X account doesnt sound compatible with trying to force more people to spend time on X, but hostility to reporters while trying to juice Xs user base is a Musk hallmark. You may recall that after taking over the platform, Musk changed its media relations email address to autoreply with a poop emoji. (It later stopped.) Trying to drive the masses to X while eliminating reporter-specific communications tools would be a Musk special, if the government were everperish the thoughtdoing favors for the billionaire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was possible to read the NTSBs post-crashes communications strategy more charitably than as being a handout to Musk. But Social Security leaning more on X while slashing other communications amid a cost-cutting wave is unjustifiable. Journalists are on X in droves, but Social Security beneficiaries, lets just say, are not in the platforms primary demographics. Lots of people who might like to learn about programmatic and service changes to Social Security are not on X, just as most people in general are not on X, a much smaller platform than TikTok or Instagram or Facebook. After paying for Social Security benefits for your entire working life, you should be able to learn whatever you want about its operations without using any specific service. Advertisement There is a Musk enrichment angle at play, too. Are most Social Security beneficiaries scouring dear colleague letters and press releases to learn about coming changes to the delivery of their benefits? Obviously not, but that isnt the point. My grandfather in an assisted-living facility will not add himself to Xs daily active user base so that he can get real-time updates from the @SocialSecurity feed. But the more the government relies on X as a singular distribution platform, the less it is possible for people who do need to closely monitor Social Security news to spend time anywhere else. That especially applies to Social Security employees, of which about 50,000 remain after Musk recently helped fire 7,000. Turning X into a slightly more dominant communications platform is not as glitzy as having Trump read off car prices next to an array of Teslas on the South Lawn, but its another way we are all subsidizing his pal. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250414/orbans-aide-reveals-the-cost-of-ukraines-accession-to-the-eu-1121873000.html Orban's Aide Reveals the Cost of Ukraine's Accession to the EU Orban's Aide Reveals the Cost of Ukraine's Accession to the EU Sputnik International European Union will lose $2.8 trillion, or more than 12 EU budgets for 2025, said Balazs Orban, the political director of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. 2025-04-14T23:51+0000 2025-04-14T23:51+0000 2025-04-15T04:12+0000 world ukraine european union (eu) hungary eu economy eu-accession https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/03/01/1121611012_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_58cc0cc9d039c75d99f2db003200ab3c.jpg Ukraine's accession to the EU will cost the community 2.5 trillion euros ($2.8 trillion), which is 12 times more than the total EU budget for 2025, Balazs Orban, the political director of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said.The politician noted that "according to the most conservative estimates, the restoration of Ukraine will cost $500 billion, while the Ukrainians say the sum is $1 trillion a year," and the functioning of the Ukrainian state costs $100 billion a year, while the US authorities had already stated that they no longer wanted to participate in this.Balazs Orban also emphasized that if Ukraine joins the EU, 25% of the EU's agricultural funds would be directed to Ukraine, thus, Hungarian farmers would lose support.The EU's admission of a country "with such an unstable statehood, an uncertain social and economic situation" would make it impossible to solve all other problems facing the EU and would seriously weaken Hungary's strategic position, he said.On April 14, a general survey of the population on Ukraine's admission to the European Union began in Hungary. The questionnaires will be sent by mail. The ballot contains one question, "Do you support Ukraine's membership in the EU?", to which one can answer "yes" or "no". After the survey is completed on June 20, its results will be sent to Brussels. Unlike referendums, such consultations in Hungary do not imply a turnout threshold. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250327/eu-leaders-fear-peace-in-ukraine-french-army-veteran-1121702072.html ukraine hungary 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 will ukraine join eu, ukraine's accession cost for the eu, why hungary confront uktraine accession to the eu, ukraine economy crisis, can europe pay for ukraine's restoration https://sputnikglobe.com/20250415/kremlin-russia-and-us-strive-for-peace-but-europe-pushes-for-conflict-1121874536.html Kremlin: Russia and US Strive for Peace but Europe Pushes for Conflict Kremlin: Russia and US Strive for Peace but Europe Pushes for Conflict Sputnik International Russia and Washington are working hard for peace, while Europe is working hard for war, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. 2025-04-15T13:27+0000 2025-04-15T13:27+0000 2025-04-15T13:27+0000 world russia dmitry peskov moscow ukraine european union (eu) donald trump kremlin https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/06/0b/1111061972_0:217:3253:2047_1920x0_80_0_0_a932e887bd1249d3f5206ca52fb73ea7.jpg "Yes, here also you and I should clearly understand that at the moment there is intense work between Moscow and Washington. And it is taking place in the name of peace. And against this background, European countries continue to work for war," Peskov told reporters, adding that Russian-US economic cooperation may play a stabilizing role for the world. European countries declare their intention to continue supporting Ukraine and the Kiev regime in its efforts to continue the war, Peskov added.There is quite intensive work on the Ukrainian settlement, but immediate results should not be expected, Peskov said.There are no clear outlines of a future Ukrainian settlement agreement, but there is political will to work in its direction, he added."Once again, we are very, very positive about the constructive and meaningful contacts that have taken place," the spokesman said.Peskov refused to comment on media reports about an alleged US offer to Iran to transfer its uranium reserves to Russia.The Guardian reported earlier that the United States had allegedly offered Tehran to transfer uranium reserves to Russia during talks with Iran in Oman."I leave this issue without comment," Peskov told reporters.Ukraine keeps launching strikes on Russian energy infrastructure on a daily basis, Kremlin spokesman said."The temporary moratorium has not been respected and is not being respected by the Ukrainian military. We see daily strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. It is important for everyone to know this," Peskov said.Unlike the Kiev regime, Russia continues to abide by the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin, given a month ago, and does not target Ukrainian energy infrastructure, he added.A conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump within the next few days is not on the schedule, Peskov said."There is no such conversation on the schedule within the next few days," Peskov told journalists.Peskov specified that if such a conversation were to take place, the Kremlin would provide information about it."We will appropriately inform you the way we usually do it," Peskov said.Russia expects leaders from more than 20 countries to visit Moscow on May 9 and take part in the Victory Day parade, Peskov said."We are ready to receive anyone who is willing to celebrate this extremely important date with us. It has a special meaning now, when Nazism has reestablished itself in Europe. When we do not see a unanimous European desire to eradicate it immediately. Therefore, this day is extremely important, and we will be happy to welcome everyone. We can already say that we are expecting more than 20 heads of state and government who will be here together with [Russian President Vladimir Putin] to celebrate this day," Peskov said.Moscow will be happy to welcome anyone "who is ready to share the pride and joy of this day" and believes that everyone in Europe and the world should understand the significance of Victory Day, he added.Russia has called the statement by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas about the presence of EU countries in Russia on May 9 very harsh, Dmitry Peskov said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250410/immortal-regiment-march-to-be-held-in-mixed-format-on-victory-day-2025-1121853998.html russia moscow 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 and washington, kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov, europe pushes for conflict, russia and us strive for peace https://sputnikglobe.com/20250415/state-department-plans-to-reduce-us-diplomatic-presence-abroad--reports-1121874892.html State Department Plans to Reduce US Diplomatic Presence Abroad Reports State Department Plans to Reduce US Diplomatic Presence Abroad Reports Sputnik International The State Department is expected to unveil a plan to scale back the US diplomatic presence overseas as part of the Trump administration's efforts to cut federal spending, Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday. 2025-04-15T13:32+0000 2025-04-15T13:32+0000 2025-04-15T13:32+0000 world donald trump luxembourg south sudan state department usaid eritrea us embassy https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/01/14/1121469947_0:0:3640:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_7a67edbeeb0f97a071f861ff2a07c881.jpg Outlined as part of the State Departments FY2026 budget proposal, the initiative aims to close at least 17 American embassies and consulates overseas, including those in Eritrea, Luxembourg, South Sudan, and Malta, the report said. The functions of the closed diplomatic missions will be transferred to the US embassies in neighboring countries, the report added. Among the proposed consulate closures, five are located in France Lyon, Rennes, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, and Marseille. Additionally, two are in Germany: Dusseldorf and Leipzig, one in Edinburgh, Scotland, and one in Florence, Italy, according to the report. According to the report, State Department officials are also seeking to shut down the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Iraq's capital and the US mission in Mogadishu, Somalia. On Monday, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration has proposed reducing the budgets of the State Department and USAID by 50% or from $58.8 billion to $28.4 billion. This plan includes significant cuts to humanitarian aid, global health initiatives, and international organizations. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250415/trumps-budget-axe-takes-swing-at-state-dept-and-foreign-aid-1121873901.html luxembourg south sudan eritrea 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 state department, us diplomatic presence, trump administration Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday for a state visit to Malaysia. He was warmly welcomed by Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In a written statement upon his arrival at the airport, Xi said he expected to take his visit as an opportunity to further deepen the bilateral traditional friendship and strengthen political mutual trust. Xi called on the two sides to promote cooperation in modernization endeavors, jointly enhance exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, and continuously elevate the building of a China-Malaysia community with a shared future to new heights. He expressed hope that, with the joint efforts of China and Malaysia, his visit will yield fruitful outcomes, opening a new historic chapter of good-neighborly friendship and mutual benefit between the two countries, and ushering in a new "Golden 50 Years" for bilateral relations. Xi pointed out that China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors across the sea with a millennium-old traditional friendship. He said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than half a century ago, the two countries have been committed to mutual respect, equal treatment and win-win cooperation, setting a good example of state-to-state relations. Xi recalled that the two sides reached important consensus on jointly building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future in 2023, and last year, the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Noting that China and Malaysia are important developing countries and members of the Global South, Xi said deepening high-level strategic cooperation between the two countries serves the common interests of both countries and is conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond. . If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the Access to the chat has been blocked for violating the rules . You will be able to participate again through:. If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the feedback form The discussion is closed. You can participate in the discussion within 24 hours after the publication of the article. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250415/zelensky-dismisses-sumy-military-administration-head--reports-1121874786.html Zelensky Dismisses Sumy Military Administration Head Reports Zelensky Dismisses Sumy Military Administration Head Reports Sputnik International Volodymyr Zelensky has fired the head of the Sumy military administration, Volodymyr Artyukh, in a decision backed by the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian broadcaster reported on Tuesday. 2025-04-15T13:29+0000 2025-04-15T13:29+0000 2025-04-15T13:29+0000 world volodymyr zelensky ukraine russia russian defense ministry kiev https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/0b/0e/1120885313_0:68:2816:1652_1920x0_80_0_0_be4876cca6532eef925e711339d7ae3d.jpg On Monday, Artyukh basically confirmed holding a military awards ceremony in Sumy ahead of the April 13 Russian strike but said that he was not the ceremony's organizer, the broadcaster reported. On Sunday, Russian forces carried out a missile strike on a site of a meeting of Ukraine's Seversk tactical and operational command's leadership in Sumy. Earlier on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the strike killed over 60 Ukrainian servicemen. The Kiev regime continues to use civilians as a "living shield" by placing military facilities in heavily populated cities, the ministry added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250414/civilian-casualties-in-sumy-strike-were-caused-by-ukrainian-militarys-callousness-1121872571.html ukraine russia kiev 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 military administration head artyukh, volodymyr zelensky, ukrainian government Faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha will see their paychecks rise by nearly 5% this year following a successful negotiation by the union representing those employees. On Friday, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents unanimously approved a collective bargaining agreement with the UNO American Association of University Professors (AAUP) for the 2025-27 biennium. Eligible UNO faculty members will receive 4.9% more in salary for the 2025-26 academic year and 4.8% more in 2026-27 the largest pay increase at the universitys metropolitan campus in nearly a quarter century. Faculty at the University of Nebraska at Kearney will also see their pay go up next year by 4% and the year following by 3%. Those increases are also some of the largest over the last two decades. The Board of Regents has not yet set salary increases for employees at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln the largest campus in the system or the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Those decisions will likely be made at the regents June meeting. The win for UNOs faculty follows a hard-fought and lengthy negotiation that saw the union scour the country for salary data to show its employees were being paid less than state law says they were owed. Under the 2011 statute enacted by the Legislature, the university is required to use peer institutions with similar enrollments and similar educational missions to calculate a midpoint for salary negotiations, and keep faculty pay between 98% and 102% of that level. But, for several rounds of negotiations, the university has not shared its list of comparable institutions with union negotiators, said Shannon Cummins, a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship who led UNOs effort. While NU is not required under the law to share its peer group, the university had previously communicated the universities it believed were comparable to UNO. It was the same for the University of Nebraska at Kearney Education Association, the faculty union representing the universitys regional campus, according to Will Aviles, the union president. We had sought this information for multiple rounds, but they historically refused, so we could only speculate in terms of the data they were looking at, Aviles said. As it explored the issue, the UNO AAUP found that NU, in addition to not sharing the schools it was comparing UNO to, had also moved away from using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, a database maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics used in collective bargaining negotiations across the country. They said they had better data than we had, but they wouldnt share it, Cummins said. So, in preparation for this cycle, we took a different tact: We would find the data ourselves. The UNO union filed dozens of public records requests last summer for salary information at universities across the country Cummins said could be considered comparable under Nebraska statute. Cummins said the salary information turned over to UNO AAUP from other institutions was clear: We told the university that our data showed we were under paid, but they refused to budge. The two sides began negotiations last fall but they went nowhere, Cummins said. A federal mediator met with UNO AAUP and NUs negotiator over the winter break, but the talks reached an impasse, leading the union to seek remedy through the Commission on Industrial Relations, the states labor court. Ahead of the Feb. 14 date, both sides were required to share their data. The UNO union eagerly turned its over, but Cummins said NU provided nothing in return. The university didnt have any data to share with us, she said. Had the case progressed to the CIR, the court would have set an array of peer institutions and then determined the salary owed to UNOs faculty based upon comparable universities. Instead, NU agreed to negotiate a partial list of peers with the UNO union. State law requires an array of seven to nine comparable institutions. UNO and NU agreed to five: Cleveland State University, Eastern Michigan University, Akron University, the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The agreement also stipulates both sides may add up to two more peer schools during future negotiations. A deal being struck on Feb. 7, the CIR said both sides agreed to have the case dismissed. Aviles said the union reached an agreement before UNOs faculty representatives, so its unclear whether or not UNO AAUPs efforts had an effect on UNKs collective bargaining agreement. But he said he suspects NU realized UNK was also well below the midpoint of its comparison universities as well, which caused them to agree to a higher increase than has been agreed to in recent rounds of negotiations. To UNOs credit, they called them on it, Aviles said. Im thankful they were able to achieve what they were able to achieve. Aviles said UNOs action may ultimately benefit UNK moving forward. Since Legislative Bill 397 was passed in 2011, striking a balance between state lawmakers who wanted to effectively end public sector unions and those who wanted more predictability in negotiations, the UNK Education Association had been relatively cautious in its approach, Aviles said. I am heartened by what UNO has accomplished and were hopeful it will help UNK come to an agreement on its peer group, he said. It could have a positive consequence for us, too. According to a university spokeswoman, this years faculty pay increases at UNO and UNK followed several years of relatively small salary adjustments. After reviewing compensation trends over the last decade, the university determined that an increase was warranted, the spokeswoman said. The resulting increase reflects a compromise reached through the bargaining process between university leadership and the faculty union, consistent with state statute. As part of its negotiations, the UNK Education Association also secured additional parental leave for new fathers, as well as reforms to the process faculty use to file grievances against the faculty. Under the new contract, faculty who become fathers or adopt children can now receive up to eight weeks of paid leave. They previously received less than one week. The changes to the grievance procedure make it clearer who faculty need to speak with and extend the amount of time for those faculty to make a decision about filing a grievance or appealing a decision, Aviles said. Cummins said the UNO union also sought to add those changes to its union contract and had reached an agreement with the administration on both, but abandoned expanded leave and changes to its grievance procedure when it opted to pursue the salary increase. All we could take to the CIR was salary, so we had to walk away from all those other things that had been negotiated, she said. We just wanted the law to be enforced. The increases in salary to eligible faculty at both UNO and UNK come as the university system is wrestling with a lower-than-requested increase to its state appropriation. NU had sought a 3.5% increase in state funding over the next biennium. Gov. Jim Pillen recommended cutting NUs budget 2% over the biennium. Earlier this week, the Legislatures Appropriations Committee approved hiking its support by 1.25%. The increase would put about $8 million more into NUs state appropriation over the biennium. The increase to UNOs salary pool alone will amount to roughly $2.7 million. Regent Jim Scheer of Norfolk said along with a marginal boost to state aid, the increases to salaries and health benefits for university employees may result in higher tuition rates for students this year. Its always a concern of mine to put the burden back on students and their families, Scheer said. But this is just one example of what were going to be looking at for the next year and having to try to close that gap. KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged China and Malaysia to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and strengthen cooperation on industrial and supply chains. He made the remarks in a signed article titled "May the Ship of China-Malaysia Friendship Sail Toward an Even Brighter Future" published in local media including the English-language newspaper The Star ahead of his arrival in Malaysia for a state visit. The two sides must uphold the multilateral trading system, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and maintain an international environment of openness and cooperation, he said. Each time Longview resident Kevin Poulos refills the prescriptions he uses to manage his chronic pain, he has to make a 150-mile round trip by car, and he still considers himself lucky; unlike some chronic pain patients, he doesnt have to resort to what he called the unreliable process of mail-ordering his medication. Poulos has had seven pharmacies in the last year and a half, as one after another refused to keep filling opioid prescriptions following settlements between the Washington Attorney Generals Office and several opioid distributors and manufacturers. They equate all the overdose deaths with legal narcotics, Poulos said. Hes not the only one struggling locally. Rich Kirkpatrick, owner of Kirkpatrick Family Care in Longview, said his office has had to help hundreds of its chronic pain patients switch between pharmacies to keep filling their prescriptions, with many patients having to switch multiple times. While recent lawsuits and regulations aim to combat recreational opioid use and overdoses, critics say the changes are limiting the chronic pain patients in need of strong painkillers to perform everyday activities. Treating chronic pain Poulos, 65, has been visiting Kirkpatrick Family Care for at least eight years, but has had chronic pain issues for much of his life. Without his pain medication, he would barely be able to function, he said. Simply standing up from a chair can sometimes be difficult. It never makes the pain totally go away, he said. It just makes it bearable. He said pharmacists sometimes question his prescribed dosage, but that a high dose is necessary because of his size and because his tolerance his increased over time. Poulos is 6 feet tall. Over the years its gotten a little less effective, but Ive learned to live with whereabouts Im at, he said. Kirkpatrick Family Care treats around 14,000 patients, just over 500 of whom have chronic pain and have failed all treatments other than opioids, Kirkpatrick said. Finding pharmacies Increasing regulations and lawsuits nationwide mean fewer opioids are being prescribed. For instance, the number of Medicaid prescriptions for opioids in a 2023 national analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation dropped by 27% from 2016 to 2019, mostly due to a decline in opioid prescriptions used to treat pain. About two years ago, when Walmart stopped filling opioid prescriptions at its pharmacies, Kirkpatrick Family Care had to move its patients to other local pharmacies. Then Rite Aid also stopped filling those prescriptions, followed by Fred Meyer and Safeway, Kirkpatrick said. None of those pharmacies replied for comment by deadline. When Safeway stopped in December 2023, it displaced 283 of the offices patients, Kirkpatrick said. Most of those moved to Castle Rock Pharmacy, a local business owned by Jonathan Rodeback. Jonathan was very happy to have them, and we were so thrilled someone would help these poor patients, Kirkpatrick said. Rodeback said that as a small business, Castle Rock Pharmacy doesnt have as many restrictions on accepting patients as larger companies do, and can assess customers on a case-by-case basis. However, there are still issues. At one point, the wholesaler that supplies the medication said it would stop serving the pharmacy if it continued filling Kirkpatricks prescriptions, Rodeback said. Larger companies have also faced costly lawsuits. Albertsons, which owns Safeway, and Kroger, which owns Fred Meyer, were named along with Rite Aid in a 2022 lawsuit by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson that accused them of failing in their responsibility to prevent overuse of opioid prescriptions. The Attorney Generals Office also joined a multistate resolution in 2022 against CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and pharmaceutical companies Teva Pharmaceuticals and Allergan. Washington is set to receive over $1 billion from its various opioid settlement agreements, which will be distributed among participating cities and counties to be used for programs that prevent and treat opioid misuse. Cowlitz County, Longview and Kelso are expected to receive a combined $12.8 million from those funds. As part of the settlement agreements, distributors are required to look out for red flags in prescriptions that could signal possible opioid misuse. This could include pharmacies and prescribers that order large amounts of controlled substances compared to non-controlled substances, especially for out-of-area patients, or prescribers that give large numbers of patients the same type and quantity of controlled substances. These red flags do not automatically mean a prescription should be denied, but pharmacies may still refuse to fill it because theyre worried about being sued or cut off by their distributor, Kirkpatrick said. Concerns about opioids Washingtons lawsuits, like others around the country, stem from concerns about opioid overdoses. In a 2022 press release, the Attorney Generals Office said over-prescription of opioids has flooded communities with addictive drugs, often sold illegally. The Cowlitz County Coroners Office reported that overdose deaths have been increasing in the county over the past several years. The main cause tends to be fentanyl, which can be prescribed as a painkiller but is commonly manufactured and sold illegally. In 2023, 42 of the countys 49 overdose deaths involved fentanyl, either alone or in conjunction with other drugs, the coroners office reported. This mirrors state trends. A February bulletin by the King County Medical Examiners Office found that about 42% of overdose deaths between Jan. 1, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025, involved fentanyl. Methamphetamine was the second highest, at 32%. However, Kirkpatrick argued that making prescription opioids more difficult to access can actually increase the number of overdose deaths as patients are forced to resort to illegal alternatives to manage their pain. It also punishes patients who are doing their best to follow the rules and get treatment legitimately, he said. Youre not stopping the people who are getting illegal drugs at all, he said. Kirkpatrick said he has had patients report buying fentanyl in order to bridge the gap if their prescription runs out early. One patient found fentanyl to be a better pain suppressant than the one he was prescribed, but quit after becoming scared of how it affected him mentally, leaving him with painful withdrawal symptoms. In a 2023 survey of 531 of Kirkpatrick Family Cares chronic pain patients, 80% said they would be forced to stop all activities if they were cut off from their medication, and 30% said they would either turn to street drugs or commit suicide. People who arent dealing with it dont know anything about it, Poulos said. All they know is pharmacy sued, saved peoples lives. 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 AudioDome, a loudspeaker that can reproduce an entire surrounding acoustic field as if the listener is immersed in a real-life soundscape. Credit: sonible GmbH, Graz, Austria Surround-sound speakers can immerse you in a multimedia experience, but what if there was a speaker that could completely re-create a three-dimensional soundscape? The AudioDome is more than just a loudspeaker arrangementit's a dome of speakers that can create an immersive sound experience that reproduces sound sources at any location when the listener is placed in the middle. In The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, researchers from Western University in London, Ontario decided to test the limits of ambisonic sound reproduction through their "AudioDome" loudspeaker array. Ambisonic rendering is a way to simulate the precise locations of sounds in 3D, using an array of loudspeakers. The ambisonics algorithm has allowed researchers to create rich virtual "soundscapes," with each sound appearing to come from precisely the location it occurred in the recording. "The ambisonics technology promises highly focal sound source reproduction, which is enormously valuable to researchers wishing to maintain tight experimental control while also studying human auditory spatial perception in the type of complex, dynamic, three-dimensional soundscapes that the auditory system evolved to handle," said researcher Nima Zargarnezhad. However, whether the ambisonics algorithm that the AudioDome uses to simulate soundscapes is appropriate for studying human perception is unknown. It depends on how precisely and focally it can simulate sound location, and how well it can reproduce the energy composition of sounds. Since Zargarnezhad's team is interested in performing human experiments using the setup, they wanted to validate the effectiveness of the AudioDome's ambisonics technology to simulate real life. "We already knew that some reconstruction errors were theoretically predicted and confirmed with simulations, but we did not know how and to what extent they would affect human perception of sound location and identity," Zargarnezhad said. Our ability to distinguish between stimuli in different locations, known as spatial acuity, is high in front of our faces but decreases around the sides of our head. The researchers' experiments obtained very similar results from listeners in the AudioDome, proving that the loudspeaker array can reproduce sound locations at a spatial scale beyond the human limits of perception. They also found that the accuracy and precision of a sound's simulated location doesn't depend on how far it is from an actual speaker location, which suggests that the spatial resolution of the ambisonics algorithm is appropriate for studying human perception nearly everywhere in three-dimensional space. However, they also observed that the ambisonics algorithm accurately reproduced sound energy up to about 4 kilohertz in frequency, sufficient to reproduce speech although it would sound somewhat degraded, as though heard over a telephone. They showed that the erroneous reproduction of higher frequencies fakes localization cues related to the perception of sound sources' elevation, and sound sources with high frequency components are perceived from an unexpected altitude. "We conclude that the ambisonics algorithm can accurately reproduce the identity and location of many common sounds, including speech, at a spatial resolution that is at the level of human spatial acuity, if not better," said Zargarnezhad. "This is sufficient to ensure the reproduced soundscapes are accurately simulating the real world." More information: Focality of sound source placement by higher (ninth) order ambisonics and perceptual effects of spectral reproduction errors, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (2025). DOI: 10.1121/10.0036226 Journal information: Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 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: Chinese firm CATL produces electric vehicle batteries for major brands including Volkswagen, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The world's leading maker of electric vehicle batteries, Chinese firm CATL, posted a 32.9% jump in first quarter profit, even as demand for electric vehicles slows. The firm produces more than a third of all electric vehicle (EV) batteries sold worldwide, cooperating with major brands including Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen. Founded in 2011 in the eastern Chinese city of Ningde, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) was initially propelled to success by rapid growth in the domestic market. Net profit in the first quarter was up 32.9% year-on-year to 13.96 billion yuan ($1.91 billion), according to a statement CATL released on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Monday. During the same period, CATL's sales rose by 6.2% year-on-year to 84.7 billion yuan, the filing showed. CATL has been aided by strong financial support from Beijing, which has sought in recent years to shore up domestic strength in certain strategic high-tech sectors. But following years of rapid growth, the world's largest EV market is showing signs of flagging sales in the face of a broader slowdown in consumption. CATL warned in January that its slide in sales last year was likely due to a "decline in the prices of raw materials such as lithium carbonate," which had forced the firm to adjust prices. Last year saw lithium prices fall significantly, partly due to market oversupply and weaker consumer demand for EVs. The trends have fueled a fierce price war in the country's expansive EV sector, putting smaller firms under huge pressure to compete while remaining financially viable. CATL is building its second factory in Hungary after launching its first in Germany in January 2023. 2025 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Jovan Kamcev, assistant professor of chemical engineering, places a membrane into an electrodialysis device. Credit: Marcin Szczepanski/Michigan Engineering Desalination plants, a major and growing source of freshwater in dry regions, could produce less harmful waste using electricity and new membranes made at the University of Michigan. The membranes could help desalination plants minimize or eliminate brine waste produced as a byproduct of turning seawater into drinking water. Today, liquid brine waste is stored in ponds until the water evaporates, leaving behind solid salt or a concentrated brine that can be further processed. But brine needs time to evaporate, providing ample opportunities to contaminate groundwater. Space is also an issue. For every liter of drinking water produced at the typical desalination plant, 1.5 liters of brine are produced. Over 37 billion gallons of brine waste is produced globally every day, according to a UN study. When space for evaporation ponds is lacking, desalination plants inject the brine underground or dump it into the ocean. Rising salt levels near desalination plants can harm marine ecosystems. "There's a big push in the desalination industry for a better solution," said Jovan Kamcev, U-M assistant professor of chemical engineering and the corresponding author of a study published in Nature Chemical Engineering. "Our technology could help desalination plants be more sustainable by reducing waste while using less energy." To eliminate brine waste, desalination engineers would like to concentrate the salt such that it can be easily crystallized in industrial vats rather than ponds that can occupy over a hundred acres. The separated water could be used for drinking or agriculture, while the solid salt could then be harvested for useful products. Seawater not only contains sodium chlorideor table saltbut valuable metals such as lithium for batteries, magnesium for lightweight alloys and potassium for fertilizer. Desalination plants can concentrate brines by heating and evaporating the water, which is very energy intensive, or with reverse osmosis, which only works at relatively low salinity. Electrodialysis is a promising alternative because it works at high salt concentrations and requires relatively little energy. The process uses electricity to concentrate salt, which exists in water as charged atoms and molecules called ions. Credit: University of Michigan Engineering Here's how the process works. Water flows into many channels separated by membranes, and each membrane has an electrical charge opposite that of its neighbors. The entire stream is flanked by a pair of electrodes. The positive salt ions move toward the negatively charged electrode, and are stopped by a positively charged membrane. Negative ions move toward the positive electrode, stopped by a negative membrane. This creates two types of channelsone that both positive and negative ions leave and another that the ions enter, resulting in streams of purified water and concentrated brine. But, electrodialysis has its own salinity limits. As the salt concentrations rise, ions start to leak through electrodialysis membranes. While leak-resistant membranes exist on the market, they tend to transport ions too slowly, making the power requirements impractical for brines more than six times saltier than average seawater. The researchers overcame this limit by packing a record number of charged molecules into the membrane, increasing their ion-repelling power and their conductivitymeaning they can move more salt with less power. With their chemistry, researchers can produce membranes that are ten times more conductive than relatively leak-proof membranes on the market today. The dense charge ordinarily attracts a lot of water molecules, which limits how much charge can fit in conventional electrodialysis membranes. The membranes swell as they absorb water, and the charge is diluted. In the new membranes, connectors made of carbon prevent swelling by locking the charged molecules together. The level of restriction can be changed to control the leakiness and the conductivity of the membranes. Allowing some level of leakiness can push the conductivity beyond today's commercially available membranes. The researchers hope the membrane's customizability will help it take off. "Each membrane isn't fit for every purpose, but our study demonstrates a broad range of choices," said David Kitto, a postdoctoral fellow in chemical engineering and the study's first author. "Water is such an important resource, so it would be amazing to help to make desalination a sustainable solution to our global water crisis." More information: David Kitto et al, Fast and selective ion transport in ultrahigh-charge-density membranes, Nature Chemical Engineering (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00205-x Journal information: Nature Chemical Engineering 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 move mirrors similar crackdowns on Google in the United States and Europe. Japanese authorities said Tuesday they had issued a cease-and-desist order to US tech titan Google over an alleged violation of national antitrust laws. It is the first time the country has issued such an order to a global technology giant, Japanese media reported, and follows similar moves in Europe and the United States. "We have concluded that Google LLC's conduct threatens to impede fair competition," Saiko Nakajima of the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) told reporters on Tuesday. The problem is "related to the implementation of search functions for Android smartphones, in violation of the antitrust law," she said. The JFTC accuses Google of imposing binding conditions on Android smartphone manufacturers in Japan since at least July 2020. Specifically, it says Google made sure its online app store Google Play would be installed as part of a package with its web-browser search app Chrome. Google Play is so widely used that without it, "Android devices are basically unsellable," a government source told AFP in December. No financial penalties were announced Tuesday, but Nakajima said the order would increase the options available to smartphone makers. "This will encourage competition and benefit" society, she said. Google Japan said it was "disappointed" by the JFTC's findings. "(Our) agreements with Japanese partners help to promote competition and have undeniably boosted their ability to invest in product innovations which deliver more choice for consumers," it said in a statement. "We will review the order thoroughly to determine our next steps." The US government asked a judge in November to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser, in a major antitrust crackdown on the company. And the European Commission said in 2023 that Google should sell parts of its business and could face a fine of up to 10% of its global revenue if it fails to comply. In Japan, the JFTC conducted an on-site inspection of Amazon's Japanese subsidiary in Tokyo last year, accusing it of abusing its industry dominance to drive down prices. Amazon Japan used its coveted "buy box"a prominent spot on its websiteagainst sellers, pressuring them into lowering prices to give it a competitive edge over rival e-commerce sites, the JFTC said. 2025 AFP (TBTCO) - Mot trong linh vuc ang uoc nha au tu quan tam la cong cuoc sap xep lai on vi hanh chinh khong chi la cai cach hanh chinh on thuan, ma con huong en muc tieu tao ra nhung on vi hanh chinh co quy mo u lon, u tam phat trien va ket noi. oi voi TP. Ho Chi Minh, ay chinh la co so e thanh pho tro thanh manh at mau mo cho von au tu truc tiep nuoc ngoai (FDI).